Week 6
10/14/05
- With San Diego's Drew Brees questionable for this week's game against
the Raiders because of a calf injury, there's a slim chance Philip Rivers
may get his first career start. No word yet on what happened to that other
San Diego quarterback, David Rivers. (Thanks to all those who let me know
about this rather egregious oversight in last week's column.)
- What a pathetic temper tantrum this week by Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Apparently upset the league did not reprimand the Falcons for listing
quarterback Michael Vick as probable on last week's initial injury report,
Belichick listed 15 players as probable for this week's game against the
Broncos. Belichick doesn't list an injured player as probable very often
so it's fairly clear he's sending a message to the league. There's two ways
to look at this. One, the league should have reprimanded the Falcons for
something Belichick is often accused of - manipulating the injury report to
his team's advantage. Two, Belichick is furious that he was beat at his own
game and had a little fit about it. It says here, Belichick doesn't like
getting beat at his own game.
- Dolphins coach Nick Saban is obviously a Belichick protégé in that both
coaches are extremely secretive, won't allow their assistants to talk to the
media and fudge the injury report. So, it should come as no surprise that
Saban didn't want any of his players talking to the media about running back
Ricky Williams' weight. Word is Williams entered training camp 40 pounds
under his former playing weight of 240 pounds but was on a program to gain
weight during his five week hiatus from the team, the result of his drug
suspension and the team's bye week. However, fullback Heath Evans spilled
the beans on Williams weight (225 pounds). The secretive Saban has informed
the media that he plans to use Williams and 1st round pick Ronnie Brown in
the backfield at the same time, most likely with Brown lining up at fullback,
which means there's almost no chance of this happening.
- Upset over starting free safety Michael Hawthorne's numerous blown
assignments that resulted in big plays for the opposition offense, the Rams
released Hawthorne this week and announced Mike Furrey will replace him in
the starting line-up. The Rams opponent this week is none other than the
Indianapolis Colts. This off-season, the Rams signed Hawthorne and former
Cardinal Michael Stone, both converted cornerbacks, to compete for the starting
free safety position, drafted safeties O.J. Atogwe and Jerome Carter in the
3rd and 4th rounds of this year's draft and moved Furrey, a former Arena
League star at wide receiver, to safety. Stone was released prior to the
start of the season, Hawthorne was obviously a bust and now, instead of moving
one of the rookies into the starting line-up, the team decides to start Furrey.
Look for the Colts to test Furrey early and often in this week's game and it's
almost a certainty they will have great success catching him out of position.
- One other note on this - Stone wasn't good enough to crack the Rams roster
despite their pathetic lack of talent in the defensive backfield and practically
useless special teams, but he is good enough to crack the roster of the Super
Bowl Champion Patriots, who picked him up after the Rams let him go.
- With T.J. Housmandzadeh out of the line-up last week with a bruised right
hand, the Jaguars double-teamed fellow wideout Chad Johnson on most plays. Look
for Titans coach Jeff Fisher to employ the same strategy when the teams meet
this Sunday. It will be interesting to see Johnson's reaction to seeing constant
double-teams because he's almost certainly to be of the opinion that quarterback
Carson Palmer should look for him if he's double-teamed or not. This situation
could explode because Johnson has many of his cousin Keyshawn Johnson's
qualities, in case you haven't noticed.
- Much has been made of the fact Bills kicker Rian Lindell is below 60%
when attempting field goals of 40 yards or longer. However, Lindell came
through with a 47-yarder with 4:35 left to beat the Dolphins this week. Note
to the Bills - it's cold in Buffalo and you need a kicker with a strong leg,
say like Jason Elam or Adam Vinatieri.
- Ah, the curse of the Lions. The first team to use three consecutive 1st
round picks on wide receivers, the team seemed to be well-stocked at the
position heading into the season with Roy Williams, Charles Rogers and Mike
Williams supplemented by veteran Kevin Johnson and return specialist Eddie
Drummond. Now, with Roy Williams and Drummond out with injuries, Rogers
suspended and Mike Williams expected to play despite having a sore back and
slight hamstring pull, the team is entertaining thoughts of using cornerbacks
R.W. McQuarters and Dre' Bly at wide receiver. Here's what this means: there's
a chance that during this week's game against the Panthers, we could see a
situation where quarterback Joey Harrington is looking downfield for McQuarters
or Bly. Now there's a recipe for success.
- At this point, it's not really fair to pick on the Texans for their abysmal
record in evaluating talent and managing the salary cap but you reap what you
sow. Cornerback Phillip Buchanon, acquired at a cost of 2nd and 3rd round draft
picks, has no interceptions and was removed from the starting line-up after
three games. $5-million a year (remember this figure) linebacker Morlon Greenwood
has no sacks, no interceptions, no forced fumbles and no fumble recoveries. He
wasn't known as a playmaker prior to this season and he hasn't become one. Defensive tackle Robaire Smith, signed as a free agent prior to the 2004 season for close to $5-million a season, has two sacks in 20 games for the team. Linebacker Jason Babin, picked in the 1st round of the 2004 draft, was benched after two games, although this became academic due to a shoulder injury. Despite all of the salary cap space and draft picks used to improve the defense, the team still lacks playmakers on this side of the ball as evidenced by their four sacks, no interceptions and one fumble recovery during the first four games of the season. Further evidence of this is that the team's offense hasn't started in opposition territory yet this season and only 11 of 40 possessions have started beyond the team's 30-yard line. On offense, the team hasn't been able to find a reliable left tackle or develop a wide receiver to play opposite Andre Johnson yet chose to cut pass catching tight end Billy Miller prior to the season.
- We're on a Texans rant, so let's continue. Having given up 27 sacks in four
games, the team has decided to undergo major re-construction on their offensive
line. Left tackle Victor Riley wasn't good enough to start there but will be
given a chance to unseat Todd Wade at right tackle. Wade is in his second season
with the team and is paid, you guessed it, $5-million a season on a five-year
deal (quick aside - if you're a free agent, go talk to the Texans because it's
almost a guarantee that they'll offer you $5-million a season). Center Steve
McKinney is being moved to left guard and will be replaced by rookie 5th round
pick Drew Hodgdon. Or maybe veteran retread Todd Washington. Chester Pitts is
moving from left guard to left tackle. Pitts may have been a decent left tackle
by now if the team had left him there to develop after starting him at left
tackle for every game of the 2002 and 2003 seasons. In case you're wondering,
the player who started at left tackle for the Texans in 2004, Seth Wand, is on
the team but not good enough to be part of the offensive line shuffle, which
should tell you starting him at left tackle last year instead of Pitts was a big
mistake. Right guard Zach Wiegert will retain his starting spot and it's looking
like he will be the only player on the entire line to start in the same position
for two games in a row, not exactly a trait common to effective offensive lines.
- It's well known that new coaches like to sweep out the old and bring in
the new to remove any chance of credit for a turnaround going to the previous
administration. And so it was that 49ers coach Mike Nolan chose to send Jamie
Winborn home prior to arranging for the player to be traded to the Jaguars.
Presto, the 49ers lose starting inside linebacker Jeff Ulbrich for the season
due to a ruptured left bicep. Now, instead of being able to plug Winborn, an
aggressive, athletic player with speed and strength, into the starting line-up,
the team is forced to start 2003 3rd round bust Saleem Rasheed. Rasheed is fast,
but lacks aggressiveness and size at 230 pounds.
- In the "wow, is this real and if so, why was nobody talking about it
category", we present you with Packers offensive tackle Mark Tauscher. Apparently,
Tauscher has not been flagged for holding since his, maybe, high school. He wasn't
flagged for holding during his stay at the University of Wisconsin or during his
first five years in the NFL. That run came to an end this Sunday when he was
flagged for holding against the Saints. Of course, he wasn't holding on the play,
it was rookie guard Will Whitticker. Let's hope Whitticker takes Tauscher out for
a nice dinner for ruining the veteran's rather incredible streak.
- Conspiracy theories coming from Chicago suggest the Bears are more than
happy to keep Thomas Jones on the sideline this week due to a knee injury because
it allows them to move Cedric Benson, the fourth overall selection in the draft,
into the starting line-up against the Vikings in a key divisional game. However,
there's no chance of this becoming a Wally Pipp moment for a number of reasons.
First, if Jones keeps up his present pace, there is no chance of him not being
in the Pro Bowl. He's clearly the team's best offensive player. Second, Benson
is averaging 2.7 yards per rush, has been ineffective in short yardage situations
and lost a key fumble in the fourth quarter of the team's loss to the Browns last
week. Third, the Bears are still in contention in the pathetic NFC North so t
here is no chance of head coach Lovie Smith sending a signal to the team's
veterans that he's thinking more about the future than this year by moving
Benson into the starting line-up. Tough break for Jones though because he will
miss an opportunity to go up against the Vikings, who own the NFL's worst
rushing defense.
|
