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Four Downs with Dang & Doc
by Brian Davis and Paul Hopkins
23/7/2009
This week, Dang and Doc look ahead to the opening of training camp next week by debating what Tarvaris Jackson ought to do when #4 arrives in Minnesota. Elsewhere, did the Chiefs overpay for Matt Cassell? Elsewhere, who has the best set of running backs in the league? And the guys close out by considering what Roger Goodell should do with the Michael Vick question.
 Tarvaris Jackson should seek a trade when Brett Favre lands in Minnesota.
 DANG FICTION ! – Where is he going to start elsewhere in the NFL? Most teams are almost set going into training camp next week, this late on in the off-season, teams don’t need further roster complications, especially at such a key position. Other than Minnesota it would seem! I certainly can’t see anybody giving up a second round draft pick for him now. Personally, I think the Vikings are being extremely short sighted in paying all their attention to Brett Favre when they have a perfectly capable quarterback on their roster already. Jackson’s benching last season was purely down to a boneheaded coaching decision, not down to the way that Jackson performed in either of those two games. When Jackson did make it back into the team when it was clear that Gus Frerotte was not much kop, he played some nice football, showed some nice skills and won football games. Childress needs to loosen the reigns, let Jackson show what he’s capable of and forget about this love affair with a Quarterback who lost all his dignity years ago. Patience is a virtue, if Childress learns this simple old adage very quickly; he might just see some nice production from Tarvaris. With Brett Favre, comes the whole media circus and pressure to perform in Minnesota straight away. With Jackson pulling the strings, the media frenzy will no doubt gather speed somewhere else, allowing Jackson to lead his team effectively towards post season. I don’t wish injury on anybody, but if Favre signs, I hope he goes down, the Vikes throw Jackson in, they make post season. Sadly, with every day that goes by, Favre in Minnesota seems to become a whole lot more real.
DOC FICTION ! It would be a knee-jerk reaction and one you would probably have some sympathy with if he did when the old man arrives. After all, he looks to have been consistently undermined this off-season, first by the Vikings trade for Sage Rosenfels and now by the Vikes public courting of Favre. It would be understandable for Jackson to question what future he has in Minnesota. He hasn’t stamped his authority on the team but you always got the feeling Childress was one play away from pulling the rug out from under him. But I wouldn’t. It’s a good set up in Minnesota and its far better than anywhere else he could land. Which leads onto the other question of where would Jackson go? There are a few teams out there where he might get a chance at starting but behind porous lines which wouldn’t do him any good. Far better to sit tight and wait for either #4 to break down physically or for him to flounce out of town in January, and then suddenly Jackson might be viewed in a better light by those Vikings fans that critique his performance.
 Matt Cassel’s $26m guaranteed proves that the Chiefs overpaid for their quarterback.
 DANG FACT ! – $26 million guaranteed to a guy who performed well behind one of the best offensive lines in the league, with one of the best receiving duos to throw to, in a system which was designed to look after him and who is no significant upgrade over Tyler Thigpen, who you already have on your roster, who performed very well last year then yes, it’s a massive overspend of money. If you look at the deal that got them Cassel in the first place they’ve now overpaid twice. Personally I think they should have stuck with Thigpen, used the second round pick on a defensive player. Vrabel has a year, two years left top’s, he isn’t going to offer them much in that time. If you consider that with pick 34 they could have taken James Laurinaitis or Rey Maualuga, who would have been able to perform at OLB, or orchestrated a trade back into Round 1 and made a move on Clay Matthews. I hope it works out for the Chiefs, but I really do feel they could have saved a fair chunk of cash by working with Thigpen and drafting a defensive player in Round 2.
DOC FICTION ! I was very tempted to sit on the fence with this one. After all, $26m is a lot of money for a quarterback I think is pretty run of the mill average, but then this is the NFL. Look at how much Matthew Stafford took as guaranteed money from the Detroit Lions and he has never even taken a snap in the NFL, and wasn’t all that wonderful at Georgia in my opinion. I’m in the camp that Cassel really benefited from having a genius Head Coach, a solid offensive line and two diverse high quality receivers, one of whom is destined for the Hall of Fame in Randy Moss. That all made him look better than he really is, and he really cashed in when his old boss Pioli came calling. It’s a lot of money to anyone, but at the end of the day, the Chiefs were happy to pay it. It’s more than better QB’s will be getting but then it’s a fair bit less than rookie QBs seem to get, so in the context of the NFL he isn’t being overpaid. I feel until a rookie salary cap comes in, this kind of anomalous position will always remain.
 The best running back stable in the NFL is…
 DANG DEANGELO WILLIAMS & JONATHAN STEWART (CAROLINA PANTHERS) – Deangelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart of the Carolina Panthers who are probably one of the often slightly overlooked pairs for the top duo, with many plumping for the Minnesota or New York Giants pairings (formerly trio), or Dallas trio when it comes to this style of question. Williams and Stewart are my personal favourite tandem though, enjoyable to watch, they always look capable of making a huge play at any given moment. They both had brilliant second halves of the season, both play hard, both get physical with defences but are equally as elusive, both will cause countless defences even more problems next season, especially if Stewart comes back at the start of the season fully fit. Williams does a fantastic job of scaring defences, softening them up, so much so, that it makes Stewart’s job even easier once he hits the field. Quite how Williams didn’t make the pro-bowl last year is beyond me. I question whether any of the voters that live outside of Charlotte actually saw the Panthers in 2008. With an average of 5.5 yards on more than 200 carries last season, he’s in good company, with that only being matched or bettered 11 times including twice by Barry Sanders and Jim Brown, once by Eric Dickerson. Add into the mix Fullback Brad Hoover who does an excellent job in lead blocking for these guys, making a lot of the big plays happen and you have the best all round backfield at this moment in time. If Carolina’s Offensive line can make the next step up after a reasonable year in 08, there’s no reason why these two won’t be the best performing duo in 2009.
DOC MARION BARBER, FELIX JONES, TASHARD CHOICE (DALLAS COWBOYS) No surprises from me here. This dynamic trio are as good as anything out there. You have the bruising pound and ground approach of Barber, the sheer electricity provided by Felix Jones whether he lines up at RB, in the slot, at wide receiver or even at the wildcat. We saw last season that you can hand him the ball and he can simply run around the edge, get one good block and be gone unstoppable. And then you have Tashard Choice. A sound pick in last year’s draft; on consecutive weeks (with no back-up) took on and got the better of some of the very best defences in the league the Steelers, the Giants and the Ravens. At very least you can have a rotation to keep them all healthy for the 4th quarter of games when I would hope the Cowboys go back to grinding teams down behind that big old nasty offensive line. However and as always with Dallas it’s a big however; whether Jason Garrett does enough to actually make these three look the part remains to be seen. I have big doubts over his intelligence most of the time but surely even he cant ignore what he has in the running back department? Used right, they can all have a major impact in trying to push the Cowboys into the post-season.
 Michael Vick should be reinstated into the league so he can participate in training camp.
 DANG FACT !: He’s served his time for the crimes he’s admitted to. He’s already served a two year suspension from the NFL, he’s remorseful. He wants to play football. Let him conditionally be reinstated to the NFL to attend camps and let us review the situation again after camp. When you consider that Dante Stallworth has already been in and out of prison for killing a person, (I’m not getting into a Dogs versus Humans debate) then Vick has done more than his fair share of time inside. It’s going to be tough for him to come back, so let him go off to training camp with a team, let’s see what he has to offer, he’s still young enough to perform at NFL level, but it will take time to re-adjust to it. Vick is a crowd puller. Vick is one of the most exciting players to watch on his day. The NFL really can’t afford to see him disappear off into the UFL. I believe Commissioner Goodell will make the correct decision and in 2009 we will see Michael Vick on the football field in some form. With the progression of the Wild Cat formation within the NFL, Vick fits perfectly into this role for somebody for the 09 season and that will be a nice transition for him back into the NFL to then go and find a starting role for the 2010 season.
DOC FACT ! For me, it’s as simple as this; the man has served his time and should now be free to pursue his career and try and re-build his life. Who is Roger Goodell to hinder his attempt to reintegrate himself back into society through punishing him even more, just to assert his authority? I know Roger wants to punish Vick through his randomly applied policies on behaviour, but the law of the land takes precedent over his desire to look like the tough guy. This isn’t a DUI we are talking about. Vick went on trial, was found guilty and paid the consequences. In the meantime he lost his fame, fortune and was disgraced. That doesn’t give the Commissioner the right to punish him again. Let him play, let him go to camp, and then reinstate him and let him join a team who are willing to give him a second chance. The talk about delaying it so that the start of camp or the start of the season is not all about Michael Vick is pointless. Whenever Vick comes back he will be the number one story, so bite the bullet and get it over with now Roger.
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