Here are my thoughts on the week in the NFL:
1. The people who loved the Panthers going into the season should stop worrying about the Panthers. People started worrying last year when they started 1-2 with loses to Miami and New Orleans and they finished off great. John Fox is a great coach, they have a killer roster, and Deangelo Williams is the next Barry Sanders. Me personally though, I'm a little worried. The two huge question marks for me are their linebackers and their tight ends. Their linebackers have clearly overachieved the past several years, and with Dan Morgan, their only legit one, coming from Miami, you knew he was going to get hurt. As far as tight ends you can't really think that guys who should really be fullbacks are going to be a big threat on offense, especially come crunch time or with Steve Smith out.
2. Is it me or does Bellichick just have beef with every coach. I mean first he disses Parcells and then his boy Mangini does the same thing to him and he can't handle it.
About that Jets-Patriots game:
a:Mangini has them playing tough but he looks too out of control sometimes and immature for me to see him really have a playoff season in the next two years
b: I saw something that seemed very un-Brady like which made me think maybe he is a little more nervous than we think about not having Branch around. He gave a defensive guy a fake, nervous smile after one of the plays he messed up in the fourth quarter. I mean since when is Tom Brady not completely serious during the fourth quarter of any game.
3. People keep questioning San Fran but I'm having a harder time. They're defense is not very good. However, I do think that Manny Lawson looks more solid than either of the NCState first round picks, including Houston's very own Mario Williams, and will be an extremely good linebacker in this league. I also think that they have two solid solid veterns on defense in Bryant Young and Derek Smith. With the trade for Sammy Davis, not Jr. the Rat Pack guy, I think they have enough on defense to get the job done decently. On top of that I couldn't really question Mike Nolan's ability to make a defense play hard. But the more I look at San Fran's offense, the more convinced I am that they are legit. I think they're best move of the season was getting Trent Dilfer for Ken Dorsey, because he is a solid solid vetern quarterback who knows how to work with young guys (see Charlie Frye last year), and you know he can do enough to win (see Baltimore's Super Bowl team). But this team has almost a four headed monster on its hands. If Alex Smith went late in the first round or early second round where he may have belonged, no one would have been calling him a bust or even bad. This guy was good in college, not deserving of the first round pick but definately a more than capable QB in the NFL. On top of that he's got:
a. Frank Gore-who runs like Emmitt Smith and showed that he can make catches as well. This is as long as he doesn't get hurt like he did and like everyone else from Miami.
b. Antonio Bryant who has the size and ability and stupid wide receiver attitude to be an awesome threat.
c. Vernon Davis who is legit. He's huge, he works hard, and he's fast as the dickens.
d. An extremely underrated O Line. Larry Allen and David Baas at Guard are solid with good backups there. Kwame Harris and Jonas Jennings are extremely good tackles, and Newberry is more than a good enough center
e. Eric Johnson as backup tight end, and Michael Robinson and Taylor Jacobs as potential threats.
My problem with this team right now is they have no backup at running back. When Gore gets hurt, they're done.
4. I just have zero clue what kind of operation Tennesse is running down there. I mean with Chris Brown wanting to get out, you knew there would be some beef at the rb position. Travis Henry was never the best team player , and with LenDale White spitting on teammates, something is bound to explode there. And I know Jeff Fischer wants to make a point with Billy Volek and not play guys that take it easy, but Kerry Collins. If you are going to do something don't cause a guy to pout around while making your franchise guy lose two valuable games of experience. I love Keith Bullock because he went to my high school, and with David Thornton there too I would think their defense should get better. Vanden Bosch was clearly a product of a contract year guy last year and is not that good. But their DT's are good as well as Odom and Laboy at end, so they are in decent shape. Cornerbacks are weak though and Pacman is overrated as a cornerback
5. I wish I told more people that I thought Vick was going to have a great year for Atlanta in the next two years. The guy is nasty. Does everyone forget how good he was when he first came into the league. No one could stop him. However, injuries and defenses somewhat figuring how to make him throw, stopped him a little. Yet, there is no way this guy after 6 years in the league wasn't going to figure out how to utilize his skills and win both ways. All the people who said he will never be successful enough will be kissing his gluttious.
6. Minnesota looks pretty legit. You know Brad Johnson can win and he proved it last year with this group. They're defense has always had great players and has even better ones this year, but they never had a good enough defensive coach to utilize their talents.
7. Arizona and Detroit every year I think they are going to be great. Every year they disappoint. i am not ready to give up on them just yet, but I am starting to think that someone up there just does not want them to win. Detroit just has to suck it up and start using Mike Williams. Without a good Tight End and Mike Furrey as your second best receiver you gotta start utilizing your skill players. They have a great offensive line down in Detroit so they really don't have an excuse. They are wasting their defense who has awesome linebackers in Boss Bailey, Teddy Lehman, and Ernie Sims and defensive tackles with Rogers and Cody. But for the past 4 years they've had such secondary trouble and every year they pick the wrong side of the ball going for a wide receiver instead of cornerbacks.
Arizona too has all the pieces in my opinion. Once Karlos Dansby starts playing like a man again and if they could figure out how not to cut Ernest Shazor they should be real good on D. But with Dennis Green as their coach, who knows about that defense.
8. Houston-They get beat up enough for all the obvious reasons. The only thing I'll say though is that I think David Carr may finally have a decent season. I loved DeMeco Ryans also and thought he should have went in the first round. He has defensive rookie of the year written all over him especially since they don't have much else at linebacker. I think their problem is Kubiack, who I thought would be a great coach, is too cocky for his own good and doesn't have these guys playing hard enough, thinking that he can just win it his way.
9. Washington- I said last year that Gibbs is too old. What was wrong with their offensive coordinator from last year. Look at their defense too. Do you really think they could win with those guys. Sean Taylor and Carlos Rogers are the only legit guys.
10. Cleveland will play hard as long as Crennel is their coach and I think they will turn it around. They have decent players on their teams and hard working ones as well
11. Seattle's defense does not get the credit it deserves. Everyone forgets how good Ken Hamlin was before he got shot. He was nicknamed the Hammer and lived up to it. With Julian Peterson there too, they have all the pieces.
12. New Orleans can be put in the San Fransisco category. Good enough offense and good enough coach to carry that defense.
13. Chicago and Baltimore's defense is living up to the hype and their offenses are finally looking solid. Tommie Harris is finally looking like the player he was in college
14. Not buying into Buffalo. Jauron is a good coach and will have them playing hard. i just don't think they have enough to get anywhere this year. Good draft next year and they will be solid.
15. Clearly Green Bay wasn't going to be good enough this year. They needed this year to gel, overcome obstacles and mature and next year be nasty with A.J. Hawk and all their other young guys. Instead their young coach isn't growing with the team and gets undermined by Favre and his desire to see results. Favre clearly should have quit and then come back in two years or something.
16. Miami will get back on track as long as Cleo Lemon or may I say Joey Harrington starts starting for these guys. Denver should be ok although I'm never that convinced on them going in to any year. Tampa Bay should bounce back because Cadillac is playing ten times worse than he really is. Kansas City should just start playing Brodie Croyle to see if that little guy is even tough enough to play in this league.
17. Dallas will be great because they have Parcells and a great defense. Pittsburgh and Cinncinati will be as great as Rothlisberger and Palmer take them because those two are natural born leaders. Indy is obviously good. Giants look great. St. Louis looks like that Will Witherspoon signing is really paying off. Philadelphia and Jacksonville will be those teams that are playing for the wild card spot all year
18. Legal Age
1. The people who loved the Panthers going into the season should stop worrying about the Panthers. People started worrying last year when they started 1-2 with loses to Miami and New Orleans and they finished off great. John Fox is a great coach, they have a killer roster, and Deangelo Williams is the next Barry Sanders. Me personally though, I'm a little worried. The two huge question marks for me are their linebackers and their tight ends. Their linebackers have clearly overachieved the past several years, and with Dan Morgan, their only legit one, coming from Miami, you knew he was going to get hurt. As far as tight ends you can't really think that guys who should really be fullbacks are going to be a big threat on offense, especially come crunch time or with Steve Smith out.
2. Is it me or does Bellichick just have beef with every coach. I mean first he disses Parcells and then his boy Mangini does the same thing to him and he can't handle it.
About that Jets-Patriots game:
a:Mangini has them playing tough but he looks too out of control sometimes and immature for me to see him really have a playoff season in the next two years
b: I saw something that seemed very un-Brady like which made me think maybe he is a little more nervous than we think about not having Branch around. He gave a defensive guy a fake, nervous smile after one of the plays he messed up in the fourth quarter. I mean since when is Tom Brady not completely serious during the fourth quarter of any game.
3. People keep questioning San Fran but I'm having a harder time. They're defense is not very good. However, I do think that Manny Lawson looks more solid than either of the NCState first round picks, including Houston's very own Mario Williams, and will be an extremely good linebacker in this league. I also think that they have two solid solid veterns on defense in Bryant Young and Derek Smith. With the trade for Sammy Davis, not Jr. the Rat Pack guy, I think they have enough on defense to get the job done decently. On top of that I couldn't really question Mike Nolan's ability to make a defense play hard. But the more I look at San Fran's offense, the more convinced I am that they are legit. I think they're best move of the season was getting Trent Dilfer for Ken Dorsey, because he is a solid solid vetern quarterback who knows how to work with young guys (see Charlie Frye last year), and you know he can do enough to win (see Baltimore's Super Bowl team). But this team has almost a four headed monster on its hands. If Alex Smith went late in the first round or early second round where he may have belonged, no one would have been calling him a bust or even bad. This guy was good in college, not deserving of the first round pick but definately a more than capable QB in the NFL. On top of that he's got:
a. Frank Gore-who runs like Emmitt Smith and showed that he can make catches as well. This is as long as he doesn't get hurt like he did and like everyone else from Miami.
b. Antonio Bryant who has the size and ability and stupid wide receiver attitude to be an awesome threat.
c. Vernon Davis who is legit. He's huge, he works hard, and he's fast as the dickens.
d. An extremely underrated O Line. Larry Allen and David Baas at Guard are solid with good backups there. Kwame Harris and Jonas Jennings are extremely good tackles, and Newberry is more than a good enough center
e. Eric Johnson as backup tight end, and Michael Robinson and Taylor Jacobs as potential threats.
My problem with this team right now is they have no backup at running back. When Gore gets hurt, they're done.
4. I just have zero clue what kind of operation Tennesse is running down there. I mean with Chris Brown wanting to get out, you knew there would be some beef at the rb position. Travis Henry was never the best team player , and with LenDale White spitting on teammates, something is bound to explode there. And I know Jeff Fischer wants to make a point with Billy Volek and not play guys that take it easy, but Kerry Collins. If you are going to do something don't cause a guy to pout around while making your franchise guy lose two valuable games of experience. I love Keith Bullock because he went to my high school, and with David Thornton there too I would think their defense should get better. Vanden Bosch was clearly a product of a contract year guy last year and is not that good. But their DT's are good as well as Odom and Laboy at end, so they are in decent shape. Cornerbacks are weak though and Pacman is overrated as a cornerback
5. I wish I told more people that I thought Vick was going to have a great year for Atlanta in the next two years. The guy is nasty. Does everyone forget how good he was when he first came into the league. No one could stop him. However, injuries and defenses somewhat figuring how to make him throw, stopped him a little. Yet, there is no way this guy after 6 years in the league wasn't going to figure out how to utilize his skills and win both ways. All the people who said he will never be successful enough will be kissing his gluttious.
6. Minnesota looks pretty legit. You know Brad Johnson can win and he proved it last year with this group. They're defense has always had great players and has even better ones this year, but they never had a good enough defensive coach to utilize their talents.
7. Arizona and Detroit every year I think they are going to be great. Every year they disappoint. i am not ready to give up on them just yet, but I am starting to think that someone up there just does not want them to win. Detroit just has to suck it up and start using Mike Williams. Without a good Tight End and Mike Furrey as your second best receiver you gotta start utilizing your skill players. They have a great offensive line down in Detroit so they really don't have an excuse. They are wasting their defense who has awesome linebackers in Boss Bailey, Teddy Lehman, and Ernie Sims and defensive tackles with Rogers and Cody. But for the past 4 years they've had such secondary trouble and every year they pick the wrong side of the ball going for a wide receiver instead of cornerbacks.
Arizona too has all the pieces in my opinion. Once Karlos Dansby starts playing like a man again and if they could figure out how not to cut Ernest Shazor they should be real good on D. But with Dennis Green as their coach, who knows about that defense.
8. Houston-They get beat up enough for all the obvious reasons. The only thing I'll say though is that I think David Carr may finally have a decent season. I loved DeMeco Ryans also and thought he should have went in the first round. He has defensive rookie of the year written all over him especially since they don't have much else at linebacker. I think their problem is Kubiack, who I thought would be a great coach, is too cocky for his own good and doesn't have these guys playing hard enough, thinking that he can just win it his way.
9. Washington- I said last year that Gibbs is too old. What was wrong with their offensive coordinator from last year. Look at their defense too. Do you really think they could win with those guys. Sean Taylor and Carlos Rogers are the only legit guys.
10. Cleveland will play hard as long as Crennel is their coach and I think they will turn it around. They have decent players on their teams and hard working ones as well
11. Seattle's defense does not get the credit it deserves. Everyone forgets how good Ken Hamlin was before he got shot. He was nicknamed the Hammer and lived up to it. With Julian Peterson there too, they have all the pieces.
12. New Orleans can be put in the San Fransisco category. Good enough offense and good enough coach to carry that defense.
13. Chicago and Baltimore's defense is living up to the hype and their offenses are finally looking solid. Tommie Harris is finally looking like the player he was in college
14. Not buying into Buffalo. Jauron is a good coach and will have them playing hard. i just don't think they have enough to get anywhere this year. Good draft next year and they will be solid.
15. Clearly Green Bay wasn't going to be good enough this year. They needed this year to gel, overcome obstacles and mature and next year be nasty with A.J. Hawk and all their other young guys. Instead their young coach isn't growing with the team and gets undermined by Favre and his desire to see results. Favre clearly should have quit and then come back in two years or something.
16. Miami will get back on track as long as Cleo Lemon or may I say Joey Harrington starts starting for these guys. Denver should be ok although I'm never that convinced on them going in to any year. Tampa Bay should bounce back because Cadillac is playing ten times worse than he really is. Kansas City should just start playing Brodie Croyle to see if that little guy is even tough enough to play in this league.
17. Dallas will be great because they have Parcells and a great defense. Pittsburgh and Cinncinati will be as great as Rothlisberger and Palmer take them because those two are natural born leaders. Indy is obviously good. Giants look great. St. Louis looks like that Will Witherspoon signing is really paying off. Philadelphia and Jacksonville will be those teams that are playing for the wild card spot all year
18. Legal Age
posted by Belson | 1:43 PM
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