On the menu: On paper, a match up of two top flight offenses featuring gunslinging quarterbacks Tony Romo and Jay Cutler – only these are two units still trying to find their feet after shaky pre seasons. Dallas showed little offensive punch in August and will be looking forward to the return of exciting rookie Dez Bryant opposite last year’s breakout receiver Miles Austin to kickstart the scoring. In Chicago, new offensive maestro Mike Martz believes Cutler can enjoy his finest season yet in charge of his quick strike offense, but the Bears’ attack looked anything but fierce leading into the season. Running back Matt Forte must return to rookie form if the Bears are to survive the Cowboys’ potent pass rush led by LB DeMarcus Ware and emerging Anthony Spencer. Likewise, Romo must be protected from new Bear DE Julius Peppers if he is to find his receivers and TE Jason Witten downfield.
Check, please: Cowboys. The Cowboys have too much talent at the skill positions and in its stout front seven for Chicago. Cutler could throw mutliple interceptions if forced to start pressing late in the game.
After spending several months on the proverbial football scrapheap, Terrell Owens finally found a team on Tuesday, inking a one year $2m contract with the current AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals.
Whilst the Bengals have clearly recognised, after they spluttered towards the finishing line last December (following a very strong and impressive start which saw them sweep through the rest of their division) and were stopped in their tracks by the Jets that they needed to do more, the approach they’ve taken reminds me of a previous approach they took.
Added to a locker room overshadowed by the ego that is Chad Ocho-Cinco-Johnson, they have now added probably the only player who can out-rival Johnson for the esteem in which they hold themselves. Don’t get me wrong. I remain a massive Owens fan. He still achieved 829 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2009. Granted, that is way down on what we might normally expect from him. But Owens was playing in Buffalo, who had anything but an impressive quarterback and offensive line. Those are still respectable figures. He’ll keep himself in shape and will produce, probably as a number 2.
Johnson and Owens might need individual planets for their own egos but added to the mix (alongside the likes of Tank Johnson) is the ominous figure of Adam Pacman Jones, the one-man crime spree who the Bengals have been taken in by. This creates one major powder keg in the Bengals locker room.
Considering the Bengals have been here before with bad boy characters, I find it strange that they’ve gone back to re-visit this. Granted, the Cedric Benson experience seems to have paid off, although last time I checked he was still in bother for supposedly lamping someone in Austin in June. Last time this did not play out very well for the franchise where they ended up a comedy by-word for misdemeanours.
Owens and Johnson don’t get into trouble off the field but when you’ve added Adam Jones you can rest assured that sooner rather than later that will arise. So alongside wondering if some players on your team are going to wind up in bother off the field, you’ve also got to handle two ego’s wanting the ball all the time. There are only so many balls to go around and when you combine Owens with Johnson with Antonio Bryant, first rounder Jermaine Gresham and young guns like Andre Caldwell and Jordan Shipley, I can only see problems arising.
They might be loved up at present, but with all this Batman and Robin talk between the two, its clear that already both instantly consider themselves the senior player in the partnership – the #1 receiver. Balancing this in the locker room and on the sidelines with everything else is a big challenge for the Bengals this season. Will they kick on and improve on last year or will there be an implosion as all these combustible characters collide?
Who can say? All I think we can safely assume is that Carson Palmer will probably have a few more grey hairs come January than he did before Tuesday.
I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but the Dallas Cowboys’ rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant has been causing quite the stir early on in training camp. Bryant, who endured a pretty tough run-up to the draft (highlighted by the now infamous and frankly, disgraceful questioning approach of Jeff Ireland of the Miami Dolphins) fell all the way down to the 24th pick in the draft despite being regarded as a top ten and even, top five, talent. All the questions were about his attitude – we heard it all - he was perpetually late; he was lazy, prone to lapses in concentration and so on.
Despite this, it was Jerry Jones (unsurprisingly perhaps) who fell in love with Bryant and couldn’t ring the Patriots quick enough to jump up four spots to take him. Eager to please, Bryant and his agent – the often maligned Eugene Parker, acquiesced and sent a clear statement of intent by being the first 1st round pick to sign his contract so he could get into camp from day one. And in actual fact, it was 45 minutes earlier than camp started when Bryant appeared. In a clear statement of intent to his doubters he ran routes with rookie QBs before the rest of the team joined him. And when they did… well, Bryant stood out as the pick of all the players, making catch after catch.
Granted, its flag football in summer but all the attributes he possesses were all on display. Speed, agility, a prodigious leap and hands that seem to make every catch look effortless. The fans adore him already and based on his reaction after the first day of practice as he ran towards them before spending 30 minute signing autographs and posing for photo’s, he’s a bit fond of them too. A similarly very impressive second day and talk was already afoot of how long it would be before he was a starter, how many TDs would he get this year and which Hall of Famer should he compared to? All of this is of course more than a bit premature because as good as Bryant looks to the casual fan’s eye, he is still learning and is coming off missing virtually a full year of football.
Fast forward another day and again Bryant is the story. Except this time it’s for refusing to carry the pads of veteran wide receiver (and general flop) Roy Williams. According to Bryant, he’s not here for anything other than playing football. According to Williams, whilst it’s “not a big deal”, this is part and parcel of being a rookie in the NFL. After all, Bill Parcells used to command rookies to fetch him water during breaks. Of course, this becomes big news instantly because its Bryant v Williams which is already brewing into becoming a battle for starting opposite Miles Austin.
Bryant didn’t particularly help his cause on Monday by racing off the field (first, incidentally) and refusing to talk to the assembled press. And suddenly this is now a major issue.
So what does all this mean? Well, the pads issue is far from ideal. I’ll leave aside whether hazing/rookie induction or whatever you want to call it should be a part of the NFL for another time. Whether Bryant didn’t know the protocol or whether he doesn’t want to appear weak in front of the guy we all know he’s eventually going to replace or whether there is more to it than any of us know, we just don’t know. But it does appear now that the training camp battle between Bryant and Williams is now definitely on, based on the first four days in the AlamoDome.
Dez took on Michael Irvin’s famous #88 jersey and it seems he’s taken on Irvin’s mantle to create headlines no matter what he does.
So a year after the hottest free agent in town got his huge contract from the Washington Redskins, Albert Haynesworth is arguably the NFL’s number one malcontent at the minute.
Albert has clearly decided that he has no interest in the new regime in Washington. Unhappy at being asked to play in a 3-4, he’s made no secret of his disdain either at being asked to line up at nose tackle or along the line at the defensive end position.
You would think that, considering he was a part of a team that was outright pathetic in its march towards the mighty record of 4-12, he would realise that a two-time Superbowl winning coach would want to turn this team around and would want to play a part in this.
But no. Albert has decided to stay away from the team so far this off-season, putting his own personal preference above that of the team that had already paid him $32m of the guaranteed $41m they promised him when they gave him that whopping $100m contract on day one of last year’s free agency period.
His play after getting this contract was, as those who remember his activities in Tennessee, very similar. He didn’t perform particularly well, ended up being sent home from practice and then proceeded to criticise his defensive coordinator Greg Blache. Now he has a new defensive coordinator in Jim Haslett, you’d think he’d give him a chance considering he’s not Blache? Well, clearly not.
I expect he’ll roll up to the mandatory camps scheduled for June simply because, as we’ve learnt before with Albert, money is all-important and he won’t want to part with any of it through fines. But considering he wants to be traded clearly and wants to get a big contract with it, this behaviour is hardly helping. The Skins couldn’t even shift him on before the draft or at the draft weekend, so how is this helping?
Its time for him to remove his head from his own backside and work with his teammates and new coaches. Then maybe they’ll have more regard to listen to what Albert wants, as his childish spoilt brat antics clearly aren’t working.
So the Bengals, who have taken over the mantle as the rehabilitation centre of the NFL have taken in another waif and stray in the form of one man (‘always kind of near enough to a to make you think he’s involved’) crime spree Adam Don’t Call Me PacMan Jones.
Even if we ignore the obvious about him, one question has to be asked. What do they believe he will add? I’ve written before that Jones’ time in Dallas was a complete washout serving only to hinder the development of Mike Jenkins as a starter and create a lot of unwanted attention for the franchise when he started a fight with the very bodyguard the team hired to keep him out of trouble. On the field he added nothing and we are now a full season (real time 18 months) on from that. This is a guy who has barely played football in getting on for four years.
To coin a well-worn phrase in Britain, he could start a fight in an empty room.
Now, to give Jones his due, I’ve not seen any evidence of any bother he’s been in since the Cowboys did the wise thing and dumped him, and it certainly lends credibility to the argument that a lot of the trouble around NFL players finds them rather than vice versa. But with such a proven track record in being a magnet for these troubles why on earth would they bring him back into a city where they, like it or not, have struggled to keep control over their players in the past? Not to mention someone who seems to attract bother like Flozell Adams does penalties.
Marvin Lewis and the organisation might see themselves as the role models for rehabilitation (thankfully, I think even Jerry Jones has realised it doesn’t lead to success) but I look at it from the other stand point. How many Bengals players in recent years have been in trouble with the law for one thing or another (or several)? Too many to name here. But it tells me that Cincinnati is one place where they can’t keep out of trouble.
Having this toerag in town is a recipe for disaster.
A few years ago a trade swapping Alex Barron and Bobby Carpenter might have made big news. Not any more. A week or so after the swap was first mooted, we finally saw these two underachievers swap home towns early this week.
This could work out well for both. Both clearly have talent. Carpenter probably suffered due to really being a 4-3 linebacker expected to fit into a 3-4 scheme. Which always begged the question of why (beyond coaching his father) Bill Parcells felt the need to draft him? In St Louis, Carpenter is pretty much guaranteed a starting place alongside another former Ohio State Buckeye, James Laurinatius and despite being on a poorer team; he should fit in well and begin to work away the tag of bust.
To his credit, unlike Carpenter with his pitiful three starts, Barron has over seventy starts in the NFL to his name. He clearly knows how to play the game. I guess the only (rather obvious) problem is that he fluctuates wildly in performance and seems to struggle to apply himself at times. He ended up being benched halfway through last season. But for the Cowboys who have seemingly lacked depth on the offensive line since the dawning of time Barron offers, at 28 youth and some flexibility behind an ageing offensive line with the exception of Doug Free, unproven but pencilled in to protect Tony Romo’s blindside come September.
So, the Cowboys get the heir apparent to Flozell Adams in terms of penalties condeded, although Barron seems to mix his up a bit more between holding and false starts whereas Flozell cornered the false start market for many years. And the Rams upgrade their linebacking corps with a young player with not many miles on his body and, at the very least with better knowledge of defensive schemes than he would have before.
As a bit of fun I’ve decided to blog about some of the student-athletes in college football who are relatives of famous NFL players. We will look at where they got recruited and how they are playing. This is by no means all the athletes with famous relatives, just a select few of interest.
QB Dylan Favre (Nephew of Brett Favre) – Mississippi State Bulldogs
Favre is a true freshman who broke Mississippi state records during his high school career. In his senior high school year alone he accounted for 81 touchdowns, (63 passing, and 18 rushing) whilst compiling over 5000 yards through the air and over 1000 yards on the ground. So he was highly recruited and all set to be a college superstar then? Well, no actually – Favre is only 5ft 11″, hence why despite his domination, he was not a highly touted recruit and only one ‘Big Six’ team (Mississippi State) offered him. Still, in joining Dan Mullen, a top offensive coach, Favre should have every chance of becoming a good starting QB for the Bulldogs sometime in the next four or five years.
QB Derek Carr (Brother of David Carr) – Fresno State Bulldogs
Carr is a true sophomore who is currently back-up to senior Ryan Colborn, although he nearly won the starting gig in his freshman year, and he could ultimately become starter this year if Colborn disappoints. Carr was a standout QB in Texas high school football, throwing for just under 7000 yards and 74 touchdowns in a 3 year career (although over half of his yardage and touchdowns came during his senior year, after switching high school). Carr possesses many of the same qualities as older brother, and former no.1 overall NFL Draft pick, David Carr did; although Derek is slightly taller. If he ends up performing during his junior and senior years for Fresno, he could work himself into being a draft pick too. Derek was a 3-star prospect coming out of high school.
WR Duron Carter (Son of Cris Carter) – Ohio State Buckeyes
Carter, a true sophomore, followed in his dad’s footsteps and chose to attend Ohio State. Carter reportedly has the top-level catching ability his father possessed, but is limited as a deep threat as he doesn’t possess true deep speed. He could be an effective redzone threat though. Carter saw time as a true freshman in 2009, catching passes in 6 games, ending with a stat-line of 13 receptions for 176 yards. His first, and so far only, college touchdown came against Purdue. Carter is behind Devier Posey and Dane Sanzenbacher on the depth chart so big numbers are not expected in the fall.
Another son of a famous NFL WR, Collinsworth, who will be a true freshman this fall, was fairly highly recruited, getting offers from Oregon, Stanford and Kentucky among others before deciding on Notre Dame. If Collinsworth is used on the offensive side of the ball, he will be amongst a deep, but unproven depth chart behind junior Michael Floyd. He could also end up being played at safety on the defensive side of the ball, as he was a decent 2-way player in high school, and as yet, no decision has been made on what is truly his best position. Also offers return ability on kick-offs and punts.
QB Nick Montana (Son of Joe Montana) – Washington Huskies
When you talk about NFL bloodlines, Montana couldn’t have much better as the son of a Hall of Fame NFL QB and 4-time Super Bowl winner. Montana was highly recruited out of top Californian high school program Oaks Christian, eventually choosing Washington over Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Stanford, Ohio State and more. A big catalyst for the decision was said to be head coach Steve Sarkisian, a top offensive coach who has turned Jake Locker into a star. Montana will have every chance to start early in his career (Locker graduates to the NFL after the 2010 season), and should have at least 3 years as the Washington QB to turn himself into a top NFL prospect.
So there you have it, 5 guys with NFL bloodlines who are in the college ranks. Of these guys, you have to think Nick Montana has the best shot of becoming a top draft pick under the tutelage of Sarkisian. It will be interesting to see how they progress in their college careers, and they are all players I will be keeping a lookout for!
Favre-Watch 2010 started up again after a few months of relative quiet.
Brett Favre informed ESPN that he would require surgery on his ankle in order to play at all in the 2010 season, causing the internet to nearly explode as every NFL journalist around rushed to post their most dramatic ‘The sky is falling!!!’ bulletin on what this could mean for the Minnesota Vikings going forward. Of course Favre then walks back the drama a bit by putting out his own statement pointing out that the surgery (is any of this sounding a touch like deja-vu yet?) would be minor, routine, and nothing he hasn’t gone through multiple times before already, and would not be a major factor in his decision to return or not in 2010.
At this stage everyone has just accepted the fact that Brett Favre will demand the attention of the national media at some stage of the off-season to satiate whatever pathological need for attention he has. We have all been told for years that “Brett Favre just loves football” every time the commentary for a game reaches a dry spell, but it’s plainly obvious that he also loves the spotlight, the attention, and the drama of having the NFL world hanging on his every move.
What is extremely disappointing is that despite this going on for years, every single member of the media, no matter how entrenched, feels compelled to throw their two-cents worth at the situation every time news ‘breaks’, just as it did this past week. Peter King, whilst going out of his way to say he was avoiding predictions regarding whether Favre would be back or not, decided it was important information that he learned from a player that Favre told that player shortly after the NFC Championship Game that he was “100% not coming back”.
If there is one lesson everyone should have taken from the past few years of Favre-Watch it is that what Favre says in February means nothing. I’m sure that Favre has meant every decision and statement he has made in the past few years at that time of year, 100%, but every season, when July and August roles around, he thinks differently. The Vikings knew this, which is why they said they have no interest in pinning him down to a decision early in the process and they are happy to wait on him. The fans know it, which is why they’re lobbying for him to come back all off-season. Peter King knows it. But because Favre-Watch 2010 was kicked off this week with a non-story, he felt compelled to jump in with both feet and his own nugget of information that he knows full well means nothing.
There is nothing people can do about Brett Favre’s need for attention, but that does not excuse everybody pandering to it and jumping aboard every non-story that emerges like it’s the biggest story in football.
With the recent announcement of 2 new bowl games being added to the college football postseason schedule, and the loss of one other (the International Bowl folded), we will see 70 teams ‘go bowling’ at the end of the 2010 season.
Is this a radical change that will see swathes of teams finishing with records under .500 getting into Bowl games? Simply put, no. At the end of the 2009 season, 72 teams finished with records of 6-6 and above, of which 71 were eligible to play in a bowl game, (Kansas State had 2 wins against FCS competition whilst finishing 6-6, which made them ineligible). So using last seasons records, we would have covered the 70 teams required; of course there is no guarantee that will happen this year. How profound will the effect of this extra game be? I expect the effect to be negligible. We might see 6-6 teams with 2 wins over FCS competition being allowed to compete in bowls now (to prevent teams with losing records competing), which could lead to some of the Mid-Major conference schools scheduling 2 FCS opponents, in the hope of getting the other 4 wins required to potentially get to a bowl game. With these facts in mind, I think it unlikely that a 5-7 team will make a bowl game next year.
Whether a 5-7 team does make a bowl or not, I think this increase has highlighted how engorged the bowl season has become. We now send 70 of the 120 FBS schools (nearly 60%) to bowls, which are supposedly there to reward teams for having a successful season. That, in my opinion, is ridiculous and de-values the whole system. It is quite obvious this is not about rewarding the teams anymore; it is about making money for the bowl organisers.
Personally, I would be in favour of a move to cut the bowl season down to around 25 games; this would remove all teams that finished 6-6 from the equation, and would remove a fair few of the 7-5 teams too. It would leave the top 10 battling it out in the BCS games, with a further 40 teams (all with records of 7-5 or above) battling it out in the other bowls. This would actually reward teams with a winning season, not teams that just managed to scrape a .500 record – which is what the bowls should be all about in my opinion.
Unfortunately, with the NCAA as resistant to change as ever, it would never be in favour of the loss of income cutting loose the 10 other bowl games would incur; they would rather de-value the system and let in a 5-7 team, whilst continuing to collect the money. After all, college football is all about the money, and everyone but the student-athletes are on the make in this game.
49ers positions of need in order:
OT, OG, S, CB, LB, RB, QB.
It’s always tough to grade a draft properly until they’ve had 3 years in the NFL, but based on what the 49ers put together this weekend, here’s my take on how they scored. Round 1 Anthony Davis OT Rutgers
Mike Iupati OG – Idaho
The perfect Round in terms of filling 2 of our main areas of concern in the team.
Personally, I would have possibly gone elsewhere and not wanted to have moved up in this round for Davis, but 49ers got word that other teams were planning too and obviously did their homework on Bulaga and moved up for Davis who if as reported can sort out his motivational problems and keep control of his weight, could well pan out to be the best OT in this draft.
Davis is a real Singletary type character, he should really excel, particularly under OL coach Mike Solari.
Iupati has been a long time favourite of mine and absolutely dominated in his Bowl game. Potentially could also move outside later on but for now, should be a dominant force and help the 49ers move towards having one of the best O lines in the game and then maybe we can see how Alex can perform.
Round 2
Taylor Mays SS USC
A real opinion splitter. 49ers fans seem to love him or hate him. If you listen to him speak his intently keen on proving many people wrong, if he’d come out of USC last year he’d have probably been a top 10 pick, to pick him up in the middle of R2 I think the 49ers have gotten themselves a huge bargain here and with a little coaching and understanding his role, not always going for the highlight reel hit we can coach him up to be a long term and big time player in the Bay. Ronnie Lott has spoke incredibly highly of Mays and if Lott thinks he’s the as good as he says, then that’s high enough praise for me to jump on board.
Could compete straight away for the start if Michael Lewis continues to struggle with concussions. 4.24 speed will go a long way probably, the most upside from any player drafted.
Round 3.
Novarro Bowman ILB Penn State
Will compete with Scott McKillop for the long term starter next to Patrick Willis, replacing Takeo Spikes. I have to admit to not knowing too much about Bowman, the pick caught me a little off guard, was expecting a DB if I’m being entirely honest. Should be immediately involved in Special Teams with McKillop and should be interesting to follow over the course of the season as to how we get him involved and whether we start to see Spikes coming out of the game at times.
Round 4.
Traded away to move up for Anthony Davis
Round 5.
Traded to Miami for Ted Ginn Jr
Instantly upgrades our KR game and gives us a speed guy to stretch the field. Can see him lining up opposite Crabtree at times with Morgan or Davis in the slot.
Round 6.
Anthony Dixon RB Mississippi State
Nate Byham TE Pittsburgh
Kyle Williams WR Arizona State
Dixon was a little surprising as I thought if we were going to go for a RB we might go for more of a scat/elusive guy, but then I thought back to last season where Kory Sheets was a UDFA and he didn’t get a sniff, ending up in Miami. Will compete and possibly overtake Coffee as Gore’s immediate backup being another strong downhill runner, a strong smash mouth running team.
Byham is the token late Round Blocking Tight End and Mayock rates him highly and ranks him the 2nd best blocking Tight End in this draft, hopefully he’ll be better than last years effort, Bear Pascoe.
Kyle Williams will probably compete with Ginn for KR duties and if he impresses enough he could push Hill and/or Jones down the roster on the receiving ranks, projects as a slot receiver.
Round 7.
Phillip Adams – CB – South Carolina State
Probably just a camp body. Would have preferred Syd’Quan Thompson from Cal, but that’s just me being a homer.
UDFA’s:
LeGarrette Blount – RB – Oregon. Before suspension this guy could have been a R1/R2 guy. Absolutely chuffed to bits we’ve got him here, Has a real chance to make the roster and I think it could spell the end for Norris and Robinson. Gore, Coffee Blount and Dixon with Robinson and Norris, there’s no way we carry 6 RB’s onto the roster. Bowman could replace Robinson as the Special Teams ace with Blount potentially moving towards a FB move to replace Moran Norris.
LeRoy Vann – KR – Florida A&M. 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco tweeted last night that he might already be our most dynamic return guy! Could split time with Ginn on Kick and Punt return duties. A very small guy but extremely elusive.
Chris Maragos – S – Wisconsin. PS material
Patrick Stoudamire – DB – W. Illinois. Camp fodder.
Jared Perry – WR – Missouri. Likely Camp fodder but comes from an explosive offense.
Scott Long – WR – Louisville. 4.46 40 interesting pickup but a likely PS member.
Derek Orman – DB – San Diego State – Camp fodder.
Jarrett Brown – QB – Western Virginia. Nice pickup, a body for camp and somebody to push Nate Davis along, has a big arm and good mobility.
Shay Hodge – WR – Ole Miss. I quite liked this guy in College, good size, speed and hands, will have his work cut out to make the roster but he has a good shot and is a strong candidate for the PS.
I was going to maybe harshly assess our draft as around a B to B+ mark, but with Blount, Vann and Hodge as UDFA’s I’m moving it up to an A-
