The Patriots have started 7 and 0. Everyone and their mama are going on and on about Brady and his boys hitting 16 and zero this season. I guess that recent history is already forgotten. The Colts have started the last three seasons as hot or hotter then this year’s Patriot squad. (not true at all—look at the numbers) Those Miami boys only had to wait until week 13 at the longest to pop their champagne corks. Close, but no cigar. The Pats have looked great, but it only takes one slip up. At some point Brady is going to have a hard time passing all over the field like he has so far this year. Could be against those Redskin safeties this week. Then the running game of injured Sammy Morris and “Not on the Field” Maroney could become a liability. New England will have a hard time making the Super Bowl with the Colts standing before them. This hot start could be long forgotten in a season with only 2 or 3 losses.
This Al Saunders has got to go. Sorry, but I could not stand it any longer. I just tried to throw some cold water on the Pats, but let’s get real. They are gonna smash the Skins this week. Washington’s D will be tougher than any New England has faced in a while, but I can’t see Al Saunders’ offensive offense getting the job done. Against the Cards, who had Anquan Boldin at QB for a snap, the Redskins won only with a defensive TD and a barely missed 55 yard field goal at the gun. Jeez! Two months in and Saunders has yet to get Santana Moss going at all. The play calling is just sad. I gotta change the subject. I am gonna blow a gasket.
The Jets are a nightmare. I called for Chad’s head a few weeks back, but apparently Mangini needed another game-ending INT or two. Mangini just guaranteed Chad another week. What is the point? Pennington is 31 and he is not going to suddenly add arm strength. The Kid looked good when Chad missed a game earlier this year. Clemens has done his clipboard apprenticeship. Time to see what ya’ got.
Tennessee held its collective breath when Vince Young left the game two weeks ago with a quad injury, but it looks like he will be back at the helm against the Raiders this week. Still, Kerry Collins and record breaking Rob Bironas steered the Titans to their 4th win on the season. Bigger news for fantasy players was LenDale White’s emergence as a #1 back. He had 27 carries f or 104 yards and a TD. Nice numbers for a guy that many thought would be a bust coming out of that supercharged USC program. He also had 4 catches. This guy could be the total package going forward with most defenses worried about the superstar taking snaps. He might be trade bait in a lot of leagues so if you need RB help, inquire soon or the price might be too high.
You can also look for RB help with Jesse Chatman, who just inherited the Miami job with Ronnie Brown down for the season. If Ike Hilliard is available in your league, he has put up consistent #’s this year in Tampa. Cleo Lemon might end up with a nice stat line this week if you need a bye week QB. The Giants are not great against the pass and Lemon has thrown for over 200 yards 2 weeks in a row. He will also be in the London game which will incite both teams to play well.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Rookie Spotlight
By Ralph Mancini, FFi Senior Writer
Who knew? With king-sized super talents Calvin Johnson and Dwayne Jarrett getting all the fanfare among rookie wide receivers during April’s NFL draft, who knew that the less heralded Dwayne Bowe would end up making the most significant impact as a Kansas City Chief despite the presence of star veterans Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez? Faced with a sputtering running game and the absence of lead wide out Eddie Kennison to start off the season, Bowe has made the most of his opportunity to become one of Kansas City’s go-to playmakers by leading all rookie wide outs in receptions, yards and touchdowns. After hitting paydirt in three consecutive games this season, Bowe made it his mission to be in the end zone every week. At 6’ 2 1/2, 221 pounds, the former LSU standout has been as physical as advertised. In fact, Bowe has not only established himself as a receiver who relishes working the middle of the field, he’s also known to punish defensive backs after making a catch and has been quite a handful to bring down when matched up one-on-one. In addition, Bowe is blessed with extraordinarily long arms allowing him to fend off defenders attempting to jam him, making it possible for the rookie to immediately get into his routes. Perhaps the only physical attribute that’s lacking on the part of number 82 is top-shelf speed. Coming into the 2007 draft, Bowe was clocked at pedestrian 4.52 in the 40-yard dash. But if speed were the sole indicator of a receiver’s value, then former Florida State product Anquan Boldin would probably be applying his talents to another profession right now. Much like Bowe, Boldin was viewed as nothing more than a possession receiver entering the professional ranks with his 40-time falling somewhere in the area of a 4.65. Both Boldin and Bowe prove that Joey Galloway-type speed isn’t required when you’re strong enough to break arm tackles and produce yardage after the catch.
Kansas City’s low-scoring, run-heavy game plan last Sunday severely limited Bowe’s chances of making a dent in their grudge match versus the Raiders, but Bowe found a way to make the biggest play of the ballgame in the fourth quarter. Down 7-6, the young difference maker sensed that Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard was being pressured and kept running to get himself open. Huard evaded a furious rush mounted by Warren Sapp and uncorked his longest throw of the game--a 58-yard completion to Bowe, who would have scored if not for a desperate lunge on the part of cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. Bowe’s effort led to a Larry Johnson one-yard touchdown plunge giving Kansas City all the points they needed to win their battle. In many ways, the Miami native is still an unpolished neophyte in the game of football, who never threw on a pair of shoulder pads until his junior year at Norland Senior High School. Upon entering the league, Bowe was somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of routes one must learn to be an NFL receiver. Suffice it to say, the robust wide out has been a quick study, who has not only has perfected the drag route, but also finds himself in motion much more frequently than he did in his days as a LSU Tiger where he finished his college career with 154 receptions for 2,403 yards and a school-record 26 touchdowns. Kansas City’s expectations of Bowe have risen exponentially from the season’s outset when he was still viewed as somewhat of a project playing behind Eddie Kennison and then-starter Sammie Parker. The fortunes of coach Herm Edwards this season lie squarely the on the broad shoulders of Bowe, Gonzalez and Johnson.
Who knew? With king-sized super talents Calvin Johnson and Dwayne Jarrett getting all the fanfare among rookie wide receivers during April’s NFL draft, who knew that the less heralded Dwayne Bowe would end up making the most significant impact as a Kansas City Chief despite the presence of star veterans Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez? Faced with a sputtering running game and the absence of lead wide out Eddie Kennison to start off the season, Bowe has made the most of his opportunity to become one of Kansas City’s go-to playmakers by leading all rookie wide outs in receptions, yards and touchdowns. After hitting paydirt in three consecutive games this season, Bowe made it his mission to be in the end zone every week. At 6’ 2 1/2, 221 pounds, the former LSU standout has been as physical as advertised. In fact, Bowe has not only established himself as a receiver who relishes working the middle of the field, he’s also known to punish defensive backs after making a catch and has been quite a handful to bring down when matched up one-on-one. In addition, Bowe is blessed with extraordinarily long arms allowing him to fend off defenders attempting to jam him, making it possible for the rookie to immediately get into his routes. Perhaps the only physical attribute that’s lacking on the part of number 82 is top-shelf speed. Coming into the 2007 draft, Bowe was clocked at pedestrian 4.52 in the 40-yard dash. But if speed were the sole indicator of a receiver’s value, then former Florida State product Anquan Boldin would probably be applying his talents to another profession right now. Much like Bowe, Boldin was viewed as nothing more than a possession receiver entering the professional ranks with his 40-time falling somewhere in the area of a 4.65. Both Boldin and Bowe prove that Joey Galloway-type speed isn’t required when you’re strong enough to break arm tackles and produce yardage after the catch.
Kansas City’s low-scoring, run-heavy game plan last Sunday severely limited Bowe’s chances of making a dent in their grudge match versus the Raiders, but Bowe found a way to make the biggest play of the ballgame in the fourth quarter. Down 7-6, the young difference maker sensed that Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard was being pressured and kept running to get himself open. Huard evaded a furious rush mounted by Warren Sapp and uncorked his longest throw of the game--a 58-yard completion to Bowe, who would have scored if not for a desperate lunge on the part of cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. Bowe’s effort led to a Larry Johnson one-yard touchdown plunge giving Kansas City all the points they needed to win their battle. In many ways, the Miami native is still an unpolished neophyte in the game of football, who never threw on a pair of shoulder pads until his junior year at Norland Senior High School. Upon entering the league, Bowe was somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of routes one must learn to be an NFL receiver. Suffice it to say, the robust wide out has been a quick study, who has not only has perfected the drag route, but also finds himself in motion much more frequently than he did in his days as a LSU Tiger where he finished his college career with 154 receptions for 2,403 yards and a school-record 26 touchdowns. Kansas City’s expectations of Bowe have risen exponentially from the season’s outset when he was still viewed as somewhat of a project playing behind Eddie Kennison and then-starter Sammie Parker. The fortunes of coach Herm Edwards this season lie squarely the on the broad shoulders of Bowe, Gonzalez and Johnson.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Week 7 Ramblings of Rosstradamus
Yeah, yeah—we all know Tom Brady had a perfect QB rating against the hapless Dolphins. 21-25 for 354 and 6 TDs, and he could have done twice that if he wanted to. But here's my question: why doesn't someone knock him on his ass? If you're the Dolphins, what do you have to lose? I'm not advocating injuring a player, but come on Miami—send 11 guys if you have to! Give Brady something to think about. Brady sits back there, week after week, with all the time in the world. This just in—he'll shred you if you let him! When Dallas put some sustained pressure on him, they had success. To allow Brady to have a clean uniform is insane. What more has to happen for opposing defenses to realize—you MUST pressure this guy! If you get burned, so what—you're going to get torched anyway—you might as well do something which gives you chance. When opposing players are gushing over Brady, as Zach Thomas was when he said following Brady's dissection of his Dolphins, “He's looking awesome...” Well, yeah Zach, he IS looking awesome. Thanks to you and your lousy defensive effort and your team playing as scared as a 3rd base coach for the Indians. Can you imagine someone on the Pats saying another player “looked awesome” after that guy embarrassed his team? I can't. Would someone…anyone--PLEASE. Send the house on Brady until you hit him a couple of times...and while you're at it, hit the receivers too. This is exactly the same situation the rest of the league has faced (and continues to face) with the Colts. Except for the Jags, no one seems to get it. Ironically, the Pats were the last team to understand this “necessity for punishment” when they beat the Rams in the Super Bowl. This is football—you've gotta let the opposition know you mean business. If you get a penalty or two, so be it. I'm sick of watching the Patriots and Colts run wild like a flag football team. Someone needs to instill the fear in them! And fast.
The New York football Giants are 5-2. They throttled the Niners, but come on…it’s not even a fair match-up, so bad is the San Francisco offense. This after they started off 0-2 and everyone was abandoning ship, demanding that Coughlin be fired immediately. However, when new coordinators take over, there is always an adjustment period…sometimes it takes several games. In this case, it took Steve Spagnuolo less than that to get his Giants defense together. Now, they are a formidable unit, wreaking havoc, crushing QBs and taking the pressure off of the offense. They’ve given up 149 points, and 70 of those were in the first 2 games! That means over the next five games, they’ve given up only 79 points, or almost 16 a game. Not bad. They also lead the league in sacks with 27 and anyone who saw Osi Umenyiora’s sack, strip, and dash to the end zone knows—they can turn a game on its head at any time. They’re fun to watch, and I haven’t been able to say that about the Giants defense in a long time. Listen, I know they’re not the 85 Bears, but considering the crap they’ve had in the secondary and the lack of QB pressure we’ve been forced to endure while watching (insert inept DB’s name here) get burned with regularity, it’s a marked improvement. Eli is gaining confidence by the game, the running game has three contributors, Burress and Toomer are rocking out…I’m enjoying the ride while it lasts. Speaking of rides, I’ll be taking one to London to watch Big Blue in action as they take on the minor league Miami Dolphins this Sunday. It’ll be interesting to see how the English react. I know some of them watch “American” football, but to attend a game with 80,000 of them…it should be interesting to say the least. The Giants should win this game and move to 6-2 going into their bye week. Guess who comes to the Meadowlands after the bye? The Cowboys, who have been yapping all season and who are getting all the “Easy path to the Super Bowl” talk from the pundits who see them as being in a league of their own in the NFC. Please. Romo and Co. are more than beatable, in fact—if the Giants lose that game, I’d be surprised. Bring it on Dallas…
And then we have the Jets. What more can be said? They’re beating the Bengals 23-10 with 11 minutes to go in the third quarter. Here’s what followed: The Bengals score a TD to make it 23-17. The Jets go three and out. The Bengals score and take the lead, 24-23. Pennington fumbles. The Bengals score to make it 31-23. The Jets go three and out. The Bengals’ drive stalls and they punt back to the Jets. Pennington throws his patented interception which is returned for a TD. 38-23 Bengals—game, set, match. After the game, Mangini comes out and loses his cool, saying the play is unacceptable, the coaching is unacceptable…Hmmm. You’re 1-6 and NOW the play and coaching is unacceptable? Hey Mangenius—they shot Kennedy, did you hear? Good Lord. No wonder this guy is facing a mutiny—with players sniping about being used incorrectly, players aware that this team is going nowhere, questioning the coaching—where’s the leadership? Mangini has been trying to put round pegs in square holes, and he’s so arrogant and stubborn that it took him seven games to realize it. Now he’s got a team who doesn’t want to play for him, a QB controversy, and a defensive leader who is sick of the system…where’s the light at the end of the Lincoln tunnel? Enjoy the Mangini era Jets fans…and remember that you once called him “Mangenius”… and you were serious about it.
Shockingly, we received yet another snooze-fest involving the Baltimore Ravens. The Bills got a nice win over an allegedly good team, but they couldn't put it in the end zone, which seemed to be a league-wide theme on Sunday. Trent Edwards went 11-21 for 153 and an interception. How is that better than J.P. Losman? It isn't. Meanwhile, Kyle Boller's futility continued as he was 21-26 for 191 and a TD. That's 5.3 yards per attempt. That’s some unacceptable, dismal, losing play from a team with a supposed offensive genius as their head coach. Baltimore is unwatchable. Buffalo has no QB, which is a shame because Marshwan Lynch is a very good back. I feel for the talented Lee Evans, being wasted like that.
Detroit is 4-2 after beating Tampa Bay Sunday. Here are some numbers from that game: 45 passing attempts, 422 yards of offense. No, those weren't Detroit's numbers—they were Tampa's! Garcia was only able to generate 19 points despite all of those yards and a solid game out of RB Earnest Graham. Why? The up-until-this-game, turnover free QB fumbled a snap and a hand-off, both of which were recovered by Detroit. Yardage is meaningless if you can't convert it into points, especially against Detroit's defense! Tampa will regret this loss. As for the Lions, Kevin Jones looked good, which he will until he gets hurt again. How motivated will Tatum Bell be then? Not very, and it's a matter of when, not if with Jones. Kitna only threw for 147 yards, but Detroit played turnover-free football and had only 23 yards in penalties. Sound football can win—a surprise to the Lions who have now won more games than they did last season. They'll have confidence as they take on the resurgent Bears in Chicago next week.
Speaking of Chicago, they got a gutsy, season-saving win in Philadelphia as Brian Griese led a heroic 97 yard drive to deliver the crushing 19-16 loss to the Eagles. No timeouts. 1:52 on the clock. At home. That's what the Eagles had going for them in a game they needed to win to keep pace with the rest of the NFC East. And they blew it. But if you listen to Donovan McNabb, it's no big deal, “It's a position we're not used to, but nothing we can't pull ourselves out of.” Oh, really? When do you plan on doing this pulling? McNabb was 21-34 for 226 and a TD, but he, like so many QBs on Sunday, could not lead his team to the end zone. The Eagles had to settle for Akers FGs time and again, and they're now 2-4. If I'm an Eagles fan, I'd like to hear some sense of urgency, some sort of frustration from the guy who is the leader of the team. For McNabb to essentially say, “yeah, we're down, but it's no big deal.” is alarming. This is a team which put up 100 points against Detroit a few weeks ago and now can't find the end zone, and whose defense gave up an unspeakable drive to lose the game. Again I ask—at what point are Reid and McNabb held accountable? As for the Bears, they have Detroit at home, a bye, then they travel to Oakland. They should be staring at 5-4 which would put them in the thick of things. They have issues on both sides of the ball, most glaringly the continued ineptness of Cedric Benson, but don't count them out. Yet.
Seattle beat up on the Rams. Yay. Shaun Alexander is still 30, still gaining 3 yards a carry, and the Seahawks are still soft. They crushed the Rams—big deal. The Rams offensive line has more holes than the Yankees lineup will next season. The Hawks had seven sacks and yielded a mere 53 yards of rushing...but they had less than 300 yards of total offense against this winless team and they too kicked FGs instead of scoring Tds—at home! They're lucky they were playing a D-III team. The Seahawks have a bye, then play in Cleveland and host the 49ers. Let's see them win those two games. I don't think they will. Soft I tell you!
That was an unreal ending to the Houston/Tennessee game, which proved that neither of them should be taken seriously. I mean, really—the incompetence was startling. First of all, the Titans kicked eight field goals. How can you have THAT many chances to put the ball in the end zone and not do it? Oh...Kerry Collins was the QB? Never mind. Seriously, you'd think that they could get ONE TD out of those eight by accident! But that wasn't even close to the worst display by Tennessee: They gave up 29 points in the 4th quarter. To SAGE ROSENFELS! What? How does that happen to a team who considers itself a serious playoff team? Add to that, the fact that the Titans recovered an onside kick...TWICE! The first recovery was negated by a penalty, but they managed to do it again. To have a team recover two onside kicks against you like that? Sad. They're lucky they were playing Houston, who teased us by getting off to a 2-0 start. Since then, their only win was by a FG over Miami, and when they turn the ball over six times while running24 less plays than their opponent, you get the feeling they're the same old Texans.
Another onside kick was successful in Washington as the Cardinals almost pulled off an amazing win against the lackluster Redskins. This onside kick actually bounced after it traveled 10 yards and a Cardinal actually had to wait for the ball to travel the last couple of feet! Where were the Redskins players? The Cards then drove to the Skins' 37 yard line, setting up a Neil Rackers 55-yard attempt. Sure, it's far, but these days 55 yards is not a problem for any kicker other than Morten Anderson. The distance wasn't the problem for Rackers—the pressure was. Cardinals kickers don't face that many pressure kicks, but if you remember back to last season when the Bears had that otherworldly comeback against the Cards (the Dennis Green meltdown game), Rackers had a 41-yard attempt with less than a minute left to salvage the win for Arizona...but he missed it. He seems to be the Trevor Hoffman of kickers—he does great until it actually matters. The best you can say for the Skins is that they won despite playing terribly, but the game should have been an overtime battle. Rackers missed an extra point, making the score 14-6 instead of 14-7. When the Cards were down eight and scored, they had to go for two. They chose to have Anquan Boldin throw that pass, and the attempt was unsuccessful…a strange play call to say the least. These two point conversions have coaches confused. I'll get into that more in a minute.
Dallas returned a blocked FG for a TD in their 10-point win against the Vikings. Romo played well, Barber ran well...which enough when you're playing Tavaris Jackson. Come on Minnesota—enough already with this guy. He's terrible, and you're kidding yourselves. 6-19 for 72 yards against Dallas' pass defense? That's...that's...I don't have words for how bad that is. What are the coaches doing in Minnesota? Adding to the idiocy is Minnesota's decision to give Adrian Peterson only 12 carries. Are they worried about him getting hurt? No, they have him returning kicks. So why—why doesn't this guy get 25 carries in that game? Consider this—AD was rushing against a defense that was designed to stop him, a defense that KNEW the Vikings couldn't pass at all...and he still averaged over five yards a carry. Give the guy the friggin' ball. Idiots.
The same thing is happening in Atlanta with Jerious Norwood. The man is electric, but gets only six more carries than me for the Falcons. Why? Warrick Dunn had 13 carries and barely averaged 2 yards a carry! What the hell is Petrino doing? I know his “system” likes a big back, but dude—enough! Your team stinks offensively, why are you refusing to give the one difference-maker on your team the ball? I felt bad for Byron Leftwich—he played well, 15-23 for 145 and a TD, but got hurt and had to leave the game—but I can't feel bad for the Falcons, who apparently don't know their own personnel. Give Norwood the ball! Idiots. As for the Saints, they won and are now 2-4. Not out of it at all in the NFC. Brees and Bush had average games, but what happened to this dynamic offense? N’Awlins had 219 yards of total offense against Atlanta? What's wrong with this team? With San Francisco, St. Louis and Houston in three of their next four, they will have every chance to figure it out.
This game brings us to the rant of the week:
As if New Orleans didn’t have enough problems, they have a coach who, for all of his positive attributes, doesn’t know when to go for a two-point conversion. Here’s the scenario: New Orleans is down 16-14. They score a touchdown to go up 20-14 with the conversion to come. Sean Payton decides to go for two. Why? So you can go up six instead of five? The risk doesn’t justify the reward here. If you miss the conversion, you’re only up four and a subsequent Atlanta TD puts you down three—a FG only ties the game for you. If, on the other hand, you kick the PAT, you’re up five. If Atlanta scores, THEY have to make the conversion to go up three. If they miss, you’re within one and a FG WINS the game. If they make it, you’re down three. Wouldn’t you rather—in a world where Atlanta’s offense and your own offense can’t do anything—put the onus on THEM instead of yourself if you’re New Orleans? It’s a small detail, but I’ve seen plenty of examples of coaches going for two when they shouldn’t, not going for two when they should, and calling laughable plays for the conversions. The two-point conversion is a very important part of the NFL now and coaches seem to look at it as an annoyance; something that’s somehow beneath them. I’m not sure why, but between it and the onside kick, there are clearly are some details that need to be given attention. I know it’s not as “real” for a coach as creating a game plan, but when teams constantly screw up two-point conversions, timeouts, and onside kicks, one realizes that these seemingly meaningless details are very often what separates winning and losing in the morass of parity that is the NFL.
The Chiefs are in first place. I don't know what to say. They beat the Raiders in a yawner, and sit at 4-3. I can't see how. They beat San Diego and I can't see how. I'm willing to chalk this up to the Chargers being asleep at the wheel, but for the Chiefs to be over .500 after 7 games? I'm astounded. I still don't think they'll finish over .500 but even seven wins would be worthy of praise with those players and that coach. The Raiders took four steps backward in losing at home to hated KC—the Silver & Black’s ninth consecutive loss to the Chiefs and their hard-to-believe 17th straight loss to AFC West opposition. Wow. JaMarcus Russell, you'd better be for real.
Pittsburgh blew a chance to enter the AFC conversation by dropping a 31-28 decision to the desperate Broncos Sunday night. Ben Roethlisberger turned the ball over three times and the Steelers Defense couldn’t stop the Broncos when the game was on the line. Even before that last minute drive, the Steelers D was lacking. Pittsburgh came out and went right down the field to open the game—taking a 7-0 lead. Denver was instantly on the ropes—they’d lost three games in a row, Shanahan was hearing it…in fact, if it wasn’t for the Rockies taking over Denver, Shanahan and Cutler would have been on the hot seat. Anyway, if the Steelers can stop Denver there, I’m telling you—that game would have been a Pittsburgh blowout. Denver was reeling like Trevor Berbick against Mike Tyson…but the Steelers instead chose to roll out the red carpet for the Broncos, allowing Denver to waltz down the field and tie the score. The Bronc’s opening drive featured only one third down, and that was converted on a 15-yard TD pass by Jay Cutler. Again, in the 3rd quarter, Pittsburgh came out and scored to cut the Denver lead to 21-14…only to see the Broncos push the lead to 14 again with an eight-minute drive. So it was to no one’s surprise when Elam got his opportunity at game’s end. Pittsburgh can now join the rest of the AFC on line…waaaaay behind the elite two.
Indianapolis is getting sick of hearing about New England. Who can blame them? After all, it was Indy who won the Super Bowl last year, wasn’t it? They’re unbeaten, just like New England…and they blasted the very-good Jaguars last night. Sure, the Jags lost their starting QB, but come on—Indy was fired up and took care of business led, surprisingly, by their defense. How fast was Freeney on that safety? How psyched was Reggie Wayne to have all of Peyton Manning’s attention? He made several great catches and you can see, the Colts are on a mission now—a mission to show the NFL that it’s THEIR title. THEY are the defending champions who have had to sit and listen to Brady this, Moss that…they can say it doesn’t bother them, that they’re happy the focus (and pressure) is off of them…but I think that’s impossible. They’re human—it HAS to bother them on a competitive level. If you think for a second that they haven’t circled that game in two weeks, you’re kidding yourself. New England and Indianapolis better watch themselves this week—Washington and Carolina are capable of beating them—especially if they’re looking ahead. I can only imagine how many times we’re going to hear the expression “trap game” in the next 5 days.
Look for me in the stands in London, and enjoy the games this week!
R
The New York football Giants are 5-2. They throttled the Niners, but come on…it’s not even a fair match-up, so bad is the San Francisco offense. This after they started off 0-2 and everyone was abandoning ship, demanding that Coughlin be fired immediately. However, when new coordinators take over, there is always an adjustment period…sometimes it takes several games. In this case, it took Steve Spagnuolo less than that to get his Giants defense together. Now, they are a formidable unit, wreaking havoc, crushing QBs and taking the pressure off of the offense. They’ve given up 149 points, and 70 of those were in the first 2 games! That means over the next five games, they’ve given up only 79 points, or almost 16 a game. Not bad. They also lead the league in sacks with 27 and anyone who saw Osi Umenyiora’s sack, strip, and dash to the end zone knows—they can turn a game on its head at any time. They’re fun to watch, and I haven’t been able to say that about the Giants defense in a long time. Listen, I know they’re not the 85 Bears, but considering the crap they’ve had in the secondary and the lack of QB pressure we’ve been forced to endure while watching (insert inept DB’s name here) get burned with regularity, it’s a marked improvement. Eli is gaining confidence by the game, the running game has three contributors, Burress and Toomer are rocking out…I’m enjoying the ride while it lasts. Speaking of rides, I’ll be taking one to London to watch Big Blue in action as they take on the minor league Miami Dolphins this Sunday. It’ll be interesting to see how the English react. I know some of them watch “American” football, but to attend a game with 80,000 of them…it should be interesting to say the least. The Giants should win this game and move to 6-2 going into their bye week. Guess who comes to the Meadowlands after the bye? The Cowboys, who have been yapping all season and who are getting all the “Easy path to the Super Bowl” talk from the pundits who see them as being in a league of their own in the NFC. Please. Romo and Co. are more than beatable, in fact—if the Giants lose that game, I’d be surprised. Bring it on Dallas…
And then we have the Jets. What more can be said? They’re beating the Bengals 23-10 with 11 minutes to go in the third quarter. Here’s what followed: The Bengals score a TD to make it 23-17. The Jets go three and out. The Bengals score and take the lead, 24-23. Pennington fumbles. The Bengals score to make it 31-23. The Jets go three and out. The Bengals’ drive stalls and they punt back to the Jets. Pennington throws his patented interception which is returned for a TD. 38-23 Bengals—game, set, match. After the game, Mangini comes out and loses his cool, saying the play is unacceptable, the coaching is unacceptable…Hmmm. You’re 1-6 and NOW the play and coaching is unacceptable? Hey Mangenius—they shot Kennedy, did you hear? Good Lord. No wonder this guy is facing a mutiny—with players sniping about being used incorrectly, players aware that this team is going nowhere, questioning the coaching—where’s the leadership? Mangini has been trying to put round pegs in square holes, and he’s so arrogant and stubborn that it took him seven games to realize it. Now he’s got a team who doesn’t want to play for him, a QB controversy, and a defensive leader who is sick of the system…where’s the light at the end of the Lincoln tunnel? Enjoy the Mangini era Jets fans…and remember that you once called him “Mangenius”… and you were serious about it.
Shockingly, we received yet another snooze-fest involving the Baltimore Ravens. The Bills got a nice win over an allegedly good team, but they couldn't put it in the end zone, which seemed to be a league-wide theme on Sunday. Trent Edwards went 11-21 for 153 and an interception. How is that better than J.P. Losman? It isn't. Meanwhile, Kyle Boller's futility continued as he was 21-26 for 191 and a TD. That's 5.3 yards per attempt. That’s some unacceptable, dismal, losing play from a team with a supposed offensive genius as their head coach. Baltimore is unwatchable. Buffalo has no QB, which is a shame because Marshwan Lynch is a very good back. I feel for the talented Lee Evans, being wasted like that.
Detroit is 4-2 after beating Tampa Bay Sunday. Here are some numbers from that game: 45 passing attempts, 422 yards of offense. No, those weren't Detroit's numbers—they were Tampa's! Garcia was only able to generate 19 points despite all of those yards and a solid game out of RB Earnest Graham. Why? The up-until-this-game, turnover free QB fumbled a snap and a hand-off, both of which were recovered by Detroit. Yardage is meaningless if you can't convert it into points, especially against Detroit's defense! Tampa will regret this loss. As for the Lions, Kevin Jones looked good, which he will until he gets hurt again. How motivated will Tatum Bell be then? Not very, and it's a matter of when, not if with Jones. Kitna only threw for 147 yards, but Detroit played turnover-free football and had only 23 yards in penalties. Sound football can win—a surprise to the Lions who have now won more games than they did last season. They'll have confidence as they take on the resurgent Bears in Chicago next week.
Speaking of Chicago, they got a gutsy, season-saving win in Philadelphia as Brian Griese led a heroic 97 yard drive to deliver the crushing 19-16 loss to the Eagles. No timeouts. 1:52 on the clock. At home. That's what the Eagles had going for them in a game they needed to win to keep pace with the rest of the NFC East. And they blew it. But if you listen to Donovan McNabb, it's no big deal, “It's a position we're not used to, but nothing we can't pull ourselves out of.” Oh, really? When do you plan on doing this pulling? McNabb was 21-34 for 226 and a TD, but he, like so many QBs on Sunday, could not lead his team to the end zone. The Eagles had to settle for Akers FGs time and again, and they're now 2-4. If I'm an Eagles fan, I'd like to hear some sense of urgency, some sort of frustration from the guy who is the leader of the team. For McNabb to essentially say, “yeah, we're down, but it's no big deal.” is alarming. This is a team which put up 100 points against Detroit a few weeks ago and now can't find the end zone, and whose defense gave up an unspeakable drive to lose the game. Again I ask—at what point are Reid and McNabb held accountable? As for the Bears, they have Detroit at home, a bye, then they travel to Oakland. They should be staring at 5-4 which would put them in the thick of things. They have issues on both sides of the ball, most glaringly the continued ineptness of Cedric Benson, but don't count them out. Yet.
Seattle beat up on the Rams. Yay. Shaun Alexander is still 30, still gaining 3 yards a carry, and the Seahawks are still soft. They crushed the Rams—big deal. The Rams offensive line has more holes than the Yankees lineup will next season. The Hawks had seven sacks and yielded a mere 53 yards of rushing...but they had less than 300 yards of total offense against this winless team and they too kicked FGs instead of scoring Tds—at home! They're lucky they were playing a D-III team. The Seahawks have a bye, then play in Cleveland and host the 49ers. Let's see them win those two games. I don't think they will. Soft I tell you!
That was an unreal ending to the Houston/Tennessee game, which proved that neither of them should be taken seriously. I mean, really—the incompetence was startling. First of all, the Titans kicked eight field goals. How can you have THAT many chances to put the ball in the end zone and not do it? Oh...Kerry Collins was the QB? Never mind. Seriously, you'd think that they could get ONE TD out of those eight by accident! But that wasn't even close to the worst display by Tennessee: They gave up 29 points in the 4th quarter. To SAGE ROSENFELS! What? How does that happen to a team who considers itself a serious playoff team? Add to that, the fact that the Titans recovered an onside kick...TWICE! The first recovery was negated by a penalty, but they managed to do it again. To have a team recover two onside kicks against you like that? Sad. They're lucky they were playing Houston, who teased us by getting off to a 2-0 start. Since then, their only win was by a FG over Miami, and when they turn the ball over six times while running24 less plays than their opponent, you get the feeling they're the same old Texans.
Another onside kick was successful in Washington as the Cardinals almost pulled off an amazing win against the lackluster Redskins. This onside kick actually bounced after it traveled 10 yards and a Cardinal actually had to wait for the ball to travel the last couple of feet! Where were the Redskins players? The Cards then drove to the Skins' 37 yard line, setting up a Neil Rackers 55-yard attempt. Sure, it's far, but these days 55 yards is not a problem for any kicker other than Morten Anderson. The distance wasn't the problem for Rackers—the pressure was. Cardinals kickers don't face that many pressure kicks, but if you remember back to last season when the Bears had that otherworldly comeback against the Cards (the Dennis Green meltdown game), Rackers had a 41-yard attempt with less than a minute left to salvage the win for Arizona...but he missed it. He seems to be the Trevor Hoffman of kickers—he does great until it actually matters. The best you can say for the Skins is that they won despite playing terribly, but the game should have been an overtime battle. Rackers missed an extra point, making the score 14-6 instead of 14-7. When the Cards were down eight and scored, they had to go for two. They chose to have Anquan Boldin throw that pass, and the attempt was unsuccessful…a strange play call to say the least. These two point conversions have coaches confused. I'll get into that more in a minute.
Dallas returned a blocked FG for a TD in their 10-point win against the Vikings. Romo played well, Barber ran well...which enough when you're playing Tavaris Jackson. Come on Minnesota—enough already with this guy. He's terrible, and you're kidding yourselves. 6-19 for 72 yards against Dallas' pass defense? That's...that's...I don't have words for how bad that is. What are the coaches doing in Minnesota? Adding to the idiocy is Minnesota's decision to give Adrian Peterson only 12 carries. Are they worried about him getting hurt? No, they have him returning kicks. So why—why doesn't this guy get 25 carries in that game? Consider this—AD was rushing against a defense that was designed to stop him, a defense that KNEW the Vikings couldn't pass at all...and he still averaged over five yards a carry. Give the guy the friggin' ball. Idiots.
The same thing is happening in Atlanta with Jerious Norwood. The man is electric, but gets only six more carries than me for the Falcons. Why? Warrick Dunn had 13 carries and barely averaged 2 yards a carry! What the hell is Petrino doing? I know his “system” likes a big back, but dude—enough! Your team stinks offensively, why are you refusing to give the one difference-maker on your team the ball? I felt bad for Byron Leftwich—he played well, 15-23 for 145 and a TD, but got hurt and had to leave the game—but I can't feel bad for the Falcons, who apparently don't know their own personnel. Give Norwood the ball! Idiots. As for the Saints, they won and are now 2-4. Not out of it at all in the NFC. Brees and Bush had average games, but what happened to this dynamic offense? N’Awlins had 219 yards of total offense against Atlanta? What's wrong with this team? With San Francisco, St. Louis and Houston in three of their next four, they will have every chance to figure it out.
This game brings us to the rant of the week:
As if New Orleans didn’t have enough problems, they have a coach who, for all of his positive attributes, doesn’t know when to go for a two-point conversion. Here’s the scenario: New Orleans is down 16-14. They score a touchdown to go up 20-14 with the conversion to come. Sean Payton decides to go for two. Why? So you can go up six instead of five? The risk doesn’t justify the reward here. If you miss the conversion, you’re only up four and a subsequent Atlanta TD puts you down three—a FG only ties the game for you. If, on the other hand, you kick the PAT, you’re up five. If Atlanta scores, THEY have to make the conversion to go up three. If they miss, you’re within one and a FG WINS the game. If they make it, you’re down three. Wouldn’t you rather—in a world where Atlanta’s offense and your own offense can’t do anything—put the onus on THEM instead of yourself if you’re New Orleans? It’s a small detail, but I’ve seen plenty of examples of coaches going for two when they shouldn’t, not going for two when they should, and calling laughable plays for the conversions. The two-point conversion is a very important part of the NFL now and coaches seem to look at it as an annoyance; something that’s somehow beneath them. I’m not sure why, but between it and the onside kick, there are clearly are some details that need to be given attention. I know it’s not as “real” for a coach as creating a game plan, but when teams constantly screw up two-point conversions, timeouts, and onside kicks, one realizes that these seemingly meaningless details are very often what separates winning and losing in the morass of parity that is the NFL.
The Chiefs are in first place. I don't know what to say. They beat the Raiders in a yawner, and sit at 4-3. I can't see how. They beat San Diego and I can't see how. I'm willing to chalk this up to the Chargers being asleep at the wheel, but for the Chiefs to be over .500 after 7 games? I'm astounded. I still don't think they'll finish over .500 but even seven wins would be worthy of praise with those players and that coach. The Raiders took four steps backward in losing at home to hated KC—the Silver & Black’s ninth consecutive loss to the Chiefs and their hard-to-believe 17th straight loss to AFC West opposition. Wow. JaMarcus Russell, you'd better be for real.
Pittsburgh blew a chance to enter the AFC conversation by dropping a 31-28 decision to the desperate Broncos Sunday night. Ben Roethlisberger turned the ball over three times and the Steelers Defense couldn’t stop the Broncos when the game was on the line. Even before that last minute drive, the Steelers D was lacking. Pittsburgh came out and went right down the field to open the game—taking a 7-0 lead. Denver was instantly on the ropes—they’d lost three games in a row, Shanahan was hearing it…in fact, if it wasn’t for the Rockies taking over Denver, Shanahan and Cutler would have been on the hot seat. Anyway, if the Steelers can stop Denver there, I’m telling you—that game would have been a Pittsburgh blowout. Denver was reeling like Trevor Berbick against Mike Tyson…but the Steelers instead chose to roll out the red carpet for the Broncos, allowing Denver to waltz down the field and tie the score. The Bronc’s opening drive featured only one third down, and that was converted on a 15-yard TD pass by Jay Cutler. Again, in the 3rd quarter, Pittsburgh came out and scored to cut the Denver lead to 21-14…only to see the Broncos push the lead to 14 again with an eight-minute drive. So it was to no one’s surprise when Elam got his opportunity at game’s end. Pittsburgh can now join the rest of the AFC on line…waaaaay behind the elite two.
Indianapolis is getting sick of hearing about New England. Who can blame them? After all, it was Indy who won the Super Bowl last year, wasn’t it? They’re unbeaten, just like New England…and they blasted the very-good Jaguars last night. Sure, the Jags lost their starting QB, but come on—Indy was fired up and took care of business led, surprisingly, by their defense. How fast was Freeney on that safety? How psyched was Reggie Wayne to have all of Peyton Manning’s attention? He made several great catches and you can see, the Colts are on a mission now—a mission to show the NFL that it’s THEIR title. THEY are the defending champions who have had to sit and listen to Brady this, Moss that…they can say it doesn’t bother them, that they’re happy the focus (and pressure) is off of them…but I think that’s impossible. They’re human—it HAS to bother them on a competitive level. If you think for a second that they haven’t circled that game in two weeks, you’re kidding yourself. New England and Indianapolis better watch themselves this week—Washington and Carolina are capable of beating them—especially if they’re looking ahead. I can only imagine how many times we’re going to hear the expression “trap game” in the next 5 days.
Look for me in the stands in London, and enjoy the games this week!
R
Sunday, October 21, 2007
BRACKET BUSTERS IN OCTOBER?
By Bryan Palmese- "The Grid"
March Madness takes the sports world by storm every Spring and keeps basketball fans on the edge of their seats for a couple of weeks in March. Brackets are printed out and submitted by everyone from rabid college fans to homemakers that submit sheets in their husband's office pool. Even though it's the eve of the college roundball season, seedings and upsets are dancing around the mind of The Grid this week. There is a twist however, and it involves the 2007 crop of rookie NFL players -- the first rounders to be more specific. It's sort of a slant on deciding who the rookie of the year will be for this season by utilizing the inexact science of predicting brackets and comparing players performances thus far during the 2007 campaign. Conveniently, there are thirty-two teams in the league which is perfect for this little game of chance.
There's still a lot of season left to play this year and there are other freshman standouts amongst the league who were drafted after the first round, but for this installment of "Pigskin Brackets," we will stick with the first round talent.
Well after sweating out his strength of schedule and some comittee doubts, JaMarcus Russell locks up the number one seed. His first round match-up will be against the upset minded ex-Ohio State receiver Anthony Gonzalez. Russell will be favored in the long run, but the speedy slot receiver has been helping Colts fans forget about Brandon Stokley. The number two seed, Calvin Johnson is the favorite coming into play and was the consensus top all-around athlete. The former Yellow Jacket has all the tools to excel in this league as he combines Terrell Owens frame with Randy Moss' skillset and Marvin Harrison's poise. Johnson draws the ambitious number thirty-one seed Greg Olsen. Joe Thomas representing the Wisconsin Badgers is the number three seed and will take on the thirty seed wide receiver Craig Davis. The fourth rookie in the rankings is Tampa's Gaines Adams and will battle the twenty-ninth ranked rookie, offensive lineman Ben Grubbs. Rounding out the top five is former Penn State offensive lineman Levi Brown. Arizona's tackle will go up against the twenty-eight seed, Joe Staley.
The sixth ranked player is the hard-hitting safety out of Baton Rouge, LaRon Landry. The Redskins' safety will be matched up against the twenty-seventh ranked cinderella story, Robert Meachem. Former Oklahoma Sooner Adrian Peterson is a little frustrated with his number seven seed, but injury concerns made the selection committee a little nervous. Thus, the ex-Heismann candidate will tangle with the fiery twenty-sixth ranked Anthony Spencer. Jamaal Anderson and his thunderous style of play on the defensive line earned him the eighth slot in the brackets and he will take on number twenty-five Jon Beason out of The U. The number nine ranking is dealt to Ted Ginn, Jr and the Dolphin wideout/return specialist goes head-to-head with safety Brandon Merriweather. The last of the top ten crew is the youngster, Amobi Okoye from the Houston Texans. The defensive tackle will see yet another Tiger from the Bayou in LSU wideout Dwayne Bowe.
By now, our brackets are falling into place nicely but there is a situation arising in that that the selection committee is overlooking a powerhouse player, Brady Quinn. Could it be that Quinn didn't prove himself to the committee versus the opponents that were put in front of him? Perhaps the former Fighting Irish signal caller lacks the skill package that teams desire in a franchise quarterback. For whatever the reason, Quinn had hoped to earn a top ten seed, but he is falling and contraversy is beginning to swirl. Alas, Quinn gets his place in the brackets, but it is not where he had hoped. He will travel out west and take on number eleven, Patrick Willis. At number twelve, former Cal Bear running back Marshawn Lynch finds his slot and will face former Gator safety, Reggie Nelson. Adam Carriker hopes number thirteen won't be an unlucky number for him as he draws Giants cornerback, Aaron Ross. At number fourteen the Jets send cornerback Darrelle Revis to go against another defensive back, Titans' safety Michael Griffin. Former Florida State linebacker Lawrence Timmons will look to advance to the Sweet Sixteen against ex-Wolverine cornerback Leon Hall. At number sixteen, defensive tackle Justin Harrell will go against the seventeenth ranked defensive end Jarvis Moss.
Well, there are the first round match-ups and only sixteen rookies will make it to the Sweet Sixteen. There will be tears of joy as upsets look to dance another day and tears of pain after being ousted from the tourney.
Well a history making event takes place in our first match-up as the number one seed JaMarcus Russell gets knocked out by Anthony Gonzalez. Gonzalez' playmaking ability fits well in Indianapolis and Russell hasn't even taken the field in a regular season game yet for the silver and black. And like that, we have our first upset. Ok, who's brackets have imploded because of this one? Moving on to our next game, Calvin Johnson versus Greg Olsen went to four overtimes and after the dust cleared, the wide receiver beat the tight end in a buzzer beater. Olsen will be an important cog in the Bears offense for years to come, but Johnson has shown the flashes of brilliance already that many hoped for in the Motor City. Joe Thomas and Craig Davis both improve their respective teams' at their position, but Thomas looks like he will help anchor the offensive line in Cleveland for the next decade. He has helped Jamal Lewis to a productive start already this season and kept Derek Anderson alive in the pocket. Davis is solid, but Rivers has two top targets already in Antonio Gates and LaDanian Tomlinson. Advantage- Joe Thomas. Number four versus twenty-nine is a battle of defensive end versus offensive lineman. Gaines Adams ousts Ben Grubbs in a dull game, but shades of Simeon Rice come to mind in Tampa. The five versus twenty-eight match is another borefest, but Levi Brown comes out on top in the battle of offensive linemen over Joe Staley.
Outside of the one shocking upset, everything has pretty much gone as planned. Laron Landry takes on another SEC player in wideout Robert Meachem and shuts him down by maximizing his physical play over the former Volunteer wide receiver. Landry was arguably the top defensive prospect in the 2007 draft and his style will bring a tough ballhawk to team with Sean Taylor and give the Redskins one of the most feared secondaries in the league. Adrian Peterson puts his number seven ranking against the physical linebacker/lineman hybrid Anthony Spencer. Spencer compliments DeMarcus Ware in the Cowboys' 3-4 defensive scheme but Peterson has no problem with the former Boilermaker. Peterson's field of vision, north-south running style and gamebreaking ability are far too much of a match to Spencer. Jamaal Anderson is ready to punch his ticket to the Sweet Sixteen but the twenty-fifth ranked Jon Beason has upset on his mind. The Panthers rookie has shown an amazing ability to be the quarterback of that defense. Beason is fast, hard hitting and has a nose for getting around the ball at all times. Anderson has a great tutor in John Abraham in Atlanta and Anderson probably reminds Abraham of his days in New York playing with Shawn Ellis. In our marquee match, we have the young stud defensive tackle, Amobi Okoye taking the floor against the Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. Okoye has blasted his way onto the scene in Houston and is helping that defense emerge as one of the best in the AFC. Okoye is young, he takes up space and can punish people at the line of attack. Bowe has amazing an amazing frame and improved his hands since lighting it up at LSU. Bowe has found the endzone this year and is one of the top young wide receivers in the AFC. After a game for the ages, Bowe comes out on top and moves onto the next round.
Ted Ginn, Jr and his number nine seed battles it out with Brandon Merriweather and this match is over before it started. The speedy receiver gets on top and never looks back as Merriweather is sent home packing. Ginn hasn't blown anyone away yet at the wide receiver but the former Buckeye should be a solid number two option and his impact on special teams is exactly what any team is looking for. Merriweather has all of the physical tools to be a top notch safety or he could be moved to linebacker in Bellicheck's hybrid defense. Patrick Willis is one of the most complete linebackers to come into the league over the past few seasons. At Ole Miss, Willis boggled the mind at his ability to cover the entire field. His quickness and ability to get involved in almost every play is what makes defensive coordinators drool and offensive players fear entering the middle of the field. Willis has tough competition in the now-underdog, Brady Quinn. Quinn has the mold of a franchise quarterback and played at a top collegiate program, and looked solid in pre-season play. The difference here is that Willis has accomplished more already and doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. With the emergence of Derek Anderson as the starter in Cleveland, look for Quinn to pick up the nuances of the NFL and use this time to absorb as much as possible. Marshawn Lynch puts his number twelve ranking on the line and dukes it out with Jaguars defensive back, Reggie Nelson. Nelson is an athletic safety and was in that tier of safeties just below the amazing Laron Landry. Lynch has stepped in where Willis McGahee left off and looks like the next great Bills' running back. Lynch's elusive speed and quickness in and out of the hole allow him to exploit defenses that have slept on him so far this season. Lynch has his bags packed for the Sweet Sixteen after another nailbiter. Adam Carriker came into this draft and turned heads of scouts with his flexibility on the defensive line. The former Nebraska Cornhusker has the build to play tackle, but also posesses the speed and moves to play end. Carriker's opposition is Aaron Ross. The Giants' cornerback is giving New York their first shutdown corner since a young Jason Sehorn roamed the secondary. Ross has already housed one of his three picks this year and offensive coordinators are thinking twice when throwing at him. The win is a close one, but Ross moves on to the next round.
Darrelle Revis finds himself fighting it out with former Texas safety, Michael Griffin. Revis, hasn't flinched since being thrust into the Jets starting lineup. The former Pitt Panther enjoys physical play, is a true shutdown corner and is stout against the run. The corner shines should also add another dimension to the return game when Leon Washington isn't putting up SportsCenter highlights. Griffin, is good in coverage but amazing against the run. His presence has helped Tennessee's defense and like fellow alum, Michael Huff, will be avoided when game planning by opposing teams. Revis doesn't disappoint the crowd and waltzes his way into the Round of Sixteen. Number fifteen hopes to make it to the field of sixteen, but Timmons runs into a buzzsaw named Leon Hall. The latter, is a breath of fresh air in Cincinnatti and that porous defense. Hall is shifty and is never out of position. Now, if Hall could just get some help from the other ten players on defense, they might get out of their 1-4 hole that they are mired in. The last game of the first round are the middle players, numbers sixteen versus seventeen. The Packers' Justin Harrell takes on the number seventeen seeded Jarvis Moss. Harrell had a training camp injury and has been limited on the field so far in 2007. Moss has been rotated in and out of Denver's defense but hasn't contributed too much on the field either. After it's all said and done, Moss moves on, but it was a toss-up.
Well, the Sweet Sixteen is set. Here are the following players that will meet in the next round -- Calvin Johnson vs. Anthony Gonzalez in a battle of wide receivers. Joe Thomas throws down with Jon Beason, Gaines Adams versus Dwayne Bowe, and Levi Brown battles Aaron Ross. Laron Landry versus Leon Hall will be a great game as the two defensive backs match wits. Adrian Peterson versus Jarvis Moss, Darrelle Revis goes against division rival Ted Ginn Jr. and Patrick Willis takes on Marshawn Lynch. Several key matches will take place and a couple of gimme games are on the slate as well. Check back next week to see the brackets go from sixteen players to an elite group of eight and then on to a champion to be crowned The Grid's NFL Rookie of the Year.
March Madness takes the sports world by storm every Spring and keeps basketball fans on the edge of their seats for a couple of weeks in March. Brackets are printed out and submitted by everyone from rabid college fans to homemakers that submit sheets in their husband's office pool. Even though it's the eve of the college roundball season, seedings and upsets are dancing around the mind of The Grid this week. There is a twist however, and it involves the 2007 crop of rookie NFL players -- the first rounders to be more specific. It's sort of a slant on deciding who the rookie of the year will be for this season by utilizing the inexact science of predicting brackets and comparing players performances thus far during the 2007 campaign. Conveniently, there are thirty-two teams in the league which is perfect for this little game of chance.
There's still a lot of season left to play this year and there are other freshman standouts amongst the league who were drafted after the first round, but for this installment of "Pigskin Brackets," we will stick with the first round talent.
Well after sweating out his strength of schedule and some comittee doubts, JaMarcus Russell locks up the number one seed. His first round match-up will be against the upset minded ex-Ohio State receiver Anthony Gonzalez. Russell will be favored in the long run, but the speedy slot receiver has been helping Colts fans forget about Brandon Stokley. The number two seed, Calvin Johnson is the favorite coming into play and was the consensus top all-around athlete. The former Yellow Jacket has all the tools to excel in this league as he combines Terrell Owens frame with Randy Moss' skillset and Marvin Harrison's poise. Johnson draws the ambitious number thirty-one seed Greg Olsen. Joe Thomas representing the Wisconsin Badgers is the number three seed and will take on the thirty seed wide receiver Craig Davis. The fourth rookie in the rankings is Tampa's Gaines Adams and will battle the twenty-ninth ranked rookie, offensive lineman Ben Grubbs. Rounding out the top five is former Penn State offensive lineman Levi Brown. Arizona's tackle will go up against the twenty-eight seed, Joe Staley.
The sixth ranked player is the hard-hitting safety out of Baton Rouge, LaRon Landry. The Redskins' safety will be matched up against the twenty-seventh ranked cinderella story, Robert Meachem. Former Oklahoma Sooner Adrian Peterson is a little frustrated with his number seven seed, but injury concerns made the selection committee a little nervous. Thus, the ex-Heismann candidate will tangle with the fiery twenty-sixth ranked Anthony Spencer. Jamaal Anderson and his thunderous style of play on the defensive line earned him the eighth slot in the brackets and he will take on number twenty-five Jon Beason out of The U. The number nine ranking is dealt to Ted Ginn, Jr and the Dolphin wideout/return specialist goes head-to-head with safety Brandon Merriweather. The last of the top ten crew is the youngster, Amobi Okoye from the Houston Texans. The defensive tackle will see yet another Tiger from the Bayou in LSU wideout Dwayne Bowe.
By now, our brackets are falling into place nicely but there is a situation arising in that that the selection committee is overlooking a powerhouse player, Brady Quinn. Could it be that Quinn didn't prove himself to the committee versus the opponents that were put in front of him? Perhaps the former Fighting Irish signal caller lacks the skill package that teams desire in a franchise quarterback. For whatever the reason, Quinn had hoped to earn a top ten seed, but he is falling and contraversy is beginning to swirl. Alas, Quinn gets his place in the brackets, but it is not where he had hoped. He will travel out west and take on number eleven, Patrick Willis. At number twelve, former Cal Bear running back Marshawn Lynch finds his slot and will face former Gator safety, Reggie Nelson. Adam Carriker hopes number thirteen won't be an unlucky number for him as he draws Giants cornerback, Aaron Ross. At number fourteen the Jets send cornerback Darrelle Revis to go against another defensive back, Titans' safety Michael Griffin. Former Florida State linebacker Lawrence Timmons will look to advance to the Sweet Sixteen against ex-Wolverine cornerback Leon Hall. At number sixteen, defensive tackle Justin Harrell will go against the seventeenth ranked defensive end Jarvis Moss.
Well, there are the first round match-ups and only sixteen rookies will make it to the Sweet Sixteen. There will be tears of joy as upsets look to dance another day and tears of pain after being ousted from the tourney.
Well a history making event takes place in our first match-up as the number one seed JaMarcus Russell gets knocked out by Anthony Gonzalez. Gonzalez' playmaking ability fits well in Indianapolis and Russell hasn't even taken the field in a regular season game yet for the silver and black. And like that, we have our first upset. Ok, who's brackets have imploded because of this one? Moving on to our next game, Calvin Johnson versus Greg Olsen went to four overtimes and after the dust cleared, the wide receiver beat the tight end in a buzzer beater. Olsen will be an important cog in the Bears offense for years to come, but Johnson has shown the flashes of brilliance already that many hoped for in the Motor City. Joe Thomas and Craig Davis both improve their respective teams' at their position, but Thomas looks like he will help anchor the offensive line in Cleveland for the next decade. He has helped Jamal Lewis to a productive start already this season and kept Derek Anderson alive in the pocket. Davis is solid, but Rivers has two top targets already in Antonio Gates and LaDanian Tomlinson. Advantage- Joe Thomas. Number four versus twenty-nine is a battle of defensive end versus offensive lineman. Gaines Adams ousts Ben Grubbs in a dull game, but shades of Simeon Rice come to mind in Tampa. The five versus twenty-eight match is another borefest, but Levi Brown comes out on top in the battle of offensive linemen over Joe Staley.
Outside of the one shocking upset, everything has pretty much gone as planned. Laron Landry takes on another SEC player in wideout Robert Meachem and shuts him down by maximizing his physical play over the former Volunteer wide receiver. Landry was arguably the top defensive prospect in the 2007 draft and his style will bring a tough ballhawk to team with Sean Taylor and give the Redskins one of the most feared secondaries in the league. Adrian Peterson puts his number seven ranking against the physical linebacker/lineman hybrid Anthony Spencer. Spencer compliments DeMarcus Ware in the Cowboys' 3-4 defensive scheme but Peterson has no problem with the former Boilermaker. Peterson's field of vision, north-south running style and gamebreaking ability are far too much of a match to Spencer. Jamaal Anderson is ready to punch his ticket to the Sweet Sixteen but the twenty-fifth ranked Jon Beason has upset on his mind. The Panthers rookie has shown an amazing ability to be the quarterback of that defense. Beason is fast, hard hitting and has a nose for getting around the ball at all times. Anderson has a great tutor in John Abraham in Atlanta and Anderson probably reminds Abraham of his days in New York playing with Shawn Ellis. In our marquee match, we have the young stud defensive tackle, Amobi Okoye taking the floor against the Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. Okoye has blasted his way onto the scene in Houston and is helping that defense emerge as one of the best in the AFC. Okoye is young, he takes up space and can punish people at the line of attack. Bowe has amazing an amazing frame and improved his hands since lighting it up at LSU. Bowe has found the endzone this year and is one of the top young wide receivers in the AFC. After a game for the ages, Bowe comes out on top and moves onto the next round.
Ted Ginn, Jr and his number nine seed battles it out with Brandon Merriweather and this match is over before it started. The speedy receiver gets on top and never looks back as Merriweather is sent home packing. Ginn hasn't blown anyone away yet at the wide receiver but the former Buckeye should be a solid number two option and his impact on special teams is exactly what any team is looking for. Merriweather has all of the physical tools to be a top notch safety or he could be moved to linebacker in Bellicheck's hybrid defense. Patrick Willis is one of the most complete linebackers to come into the league over the past few seasons. At Ole Miss, Willis boggled the mind at his ability to cover the entire field. His quickness and ability to get involved in almost every play is what makes defensive coordinators drool and offensive players fear entering the middle of the field. Willis has tough competition in the now-underdog, Brady Quinn. Quinn has the mold of a franchise quarterback and played at a top collegiate program, and looked solid in pre-season play. The difference here is that Willis has accomplished more already and doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. With the emergence of Derek Anderson as the starter in Cleveland, look for Quinn to pick up the nuances of the NFL and use this time to absorb as much as possible. Marshawn Lynch puts his number twelve ranking on the line and dukes it out with Jaguars defensive back, Reggie Nelson. Nelson is an athletic safety and was in that tier of safeties just below the amazing Laron Landry. Lynch has stepped in where Willis McGahee left off and looks like the next great Bills' running back. Lynch's elusive speed and quickness in and out of the hole allow him to exploit defenses that have slept on him so far this season. Lynch has his bags packed for the Sweet Sixteen after another nailbiter. Adam Carriker came into this draft and turned heads of scouts with his flexibility on the defensive line. The former Nebraska Cornhusker has the build to play tackle, but also posesses the speed and moves to play end. Carriker's opposition is Aaron Ross. The Giants' cornerback is giving New York their first shutdown corner since a young Jason Sehorn roamed the secondary. Ross has already housed one of his three picks this year and offensive coordinators are thinking twice when throwing at him. The win is a close one, but Ross moves on to the next round.
Darrelle Revis finds himself fighting it out with former Texas safety, Michael Griffin. Revis, hasn't flinched since being thrust into the Jets starting lineup. The former Pitt Panther enjoys physical play, is a true shutdown corner and is stout against the run. The corner shines should also add another dimension to the return game when Leon Washington isn't putting up SportsCenter highlights. Griffin, is good in coverage but amazing against the run. His presence has helped Tennessee's defense and like fellow alum, Michael Huff, will be avoided when game planning by opposing teams. Revis doesn't disappoint the crowd and waltzes his way into the Round of Sixteen. Number fifteen hopes to make it to the field of sixteen, but Timmons runs into a buzzsaw named Leon Hall. The latter, is a breath of fresh air in Cincinnatti and that porous defense. Hall is shifty and is never out of position. Now, if Hall could just get some help from the other ten players on defense, they might get out of their 1-4 hole that they are mired in. The last game of the first round are the middle players, numbers sixteen versus seventeen. The Packers' Justin Harrell takes on the number seventeen seeded Jarvis Moss. Harrell had a training camp injury and has been limited on the field so far in 2007. Moss has been rotated in and out of Denver's defense but hasn't contributed too much on the field either. After it's all said and done, Moss moves on, but it was a toss-up.
Well, the Sweet Sixteen is set. Here are the following players that will meet in the next round -- Calvin Johnson vs. Anthony Gonzalez in a battle of wide receivers. Joe Thomas throws down with Jon Beason, Gaines Adams versus Dwayne Bowe, and Levi Brown battles Aaron Ross. Laron Landry versus Leon Hall will be a great game as the two defensive backs match wits. Adrian Peterson versus Jarvis Moss, Darrelle Revis goes against division rival Ted Ginn Jr. and Patrick Willis takes on Marshawn Lynch. Several key matches will take place and a couple of gimme games are on the slate as well. Check back next week to see the brackets go from sixteen players to an elite group of eight and then on to a champion to be crowned The Grid's NFL Rookie of the Year.
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