Offensive Problems: Aaron Maybin Is the First Step To the Solution

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

QUESTION:

How could a defensive player be a solution to the offense’s problem?

ANSWER:

The Bills defensive player would have to contribute towards keeping the opposing offense off the field and off the scoreboard. 

CONCLUSION:

The Bills starting defense held Pittsburgh to 10 points in one half of football. Trent Edwards gave them another seven. 

How ironic that is. Have you ever given your seven game? A J.P. Losman seven game? Is Edwards turning into flash in the pan? He showed signs as a rookie than faltered as a second-year man down the stretch and now he is showing a horrible grasp for pressure and poorly anticipates throws. 

So…

17-0. That’s the final score of Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo. For the second time in a row Buffalo showed that they can’t score on offense, they can’t sustain offensive drives, they can’t put consistent pressure on opposing QB’s, and their pass defense looked putrid.

It starts with Trent Edwards. He played bad, so bad that the coaching staff should honestly be considering Fitzpatrick as the starter.

Edwards would not pull the trigger for anything. He targeted Lee Evans once and Josh Reed once and guess what? Neither one of these guys were expecting the pass. Neither guy caught a pass.

Are these guys confused? It doesn’t seem like these players are in sync. The receivers are acting like they are decoys. They never seem to be expecting the ball to be thrown their way. Bills fans don’t expect Josh Reed to be in Buffalo after this year.

Don’t count on Edwards as your starting QB after this year either. Maybe he could develop into to a spot starter, but he sure as hell didn’t look like a starter.

If the season goes up in flames, look for Buffalo to look for their QB in next years draft. Jevan Snead, anybody?

Alright forget that for now. Terrell Owens won’t be thrilled if Edwards continues to play timid football. What will that do for Buffalo? Nothing. T.O. will walk out the door after this season and everybody who bought 81 will feel shortchanged. 

Okay, okay, maybe that is a little harsh. Or maybe it isn’t. What are these preseason games really about? I would hope not a total embarrassment. You would think after 13 years Buffalo would find and answer at QB, but so far no good.

So let’s get to the bright spot. Aaron Maybin showed up big. There has been plenty of debate as to what he could do for the team and many people were saying he was undersized and weak. First game in and he got himself a sack. 

He hustles. You can tell he wants it. He has a lot to learn about the pro game, but he seems to have the determination that you need to succeed. He was double covered on quite a few plays, but he somehow found ways to put some pressure on the QB. He seemed to be the only one, too.

Problem is Buffalo needs more than just Maybin on that defensive line. Where was Chris Kelsay, or Ryan Denney? This was a starter’s games. They sure didn’t look like starters. 

Marcus Stroud sat as did Aaron Schobel, so it’s hard to gauge what this defense can really do. The Bills are still lacking a true dominant force in the middle of the defensive line and they should be thinking about getting replacements for the aforementioned Kelsay and Denney next year.

Honestly nobody really looked like a star in this game, at least not on Buffalo’s squad. Nobody besides Maybin really stood out. Jairus Byrd was okay. Marcus Buggs was making a case for himself as backup MLB.

Little known Marcus Smith totaled four tackles in the game. That was a tie for first with Chris Ellis on the D-Line. John McCargo burst through the line a couple times but was unable to come up with any tackles. He may find himself getting cut.

The secondary was getting burned. Reggie Corner was abused. Hines Ward schooled him so bad. There is a reason that he had seven tackles in the game. McKelvin wasn’t outstanding either. 

As usual Donte Whitner was everywhere. He really flies to the football. This is no joke. He usually takes the correct angles to the ball carrier as well. Anybody calling Donte Whitner a bust is fooling themselves. 

Outside of Paul Posluszny the only guy I trust to make a tackle on the entire Bills defense is Whitner. Kawika Mitchell is a solid tackler, but he has been known to take bad angles at times. 

Final assessment: The Bills just aren’t physical enough. Instead of letting the defense dictate what you do, make the defense react to what your offense is bringing. That’s what the offense needs.

Defensively Buffalo needs to tighten up in the trenches and jam the receivers and then maybe you bring a ball game.

 

Come To Think Of It: Bears Matt Forte May Benefit Most From Jay Cutler

There has been much talk in Chicago Bears camp about how the acquisition of strong-armed Jay Cutler will make the receivers better. And how players such as tight end Greg Olsen and wide receiver Earl Bennett will benefit most from Cutler’s arrival.

While all that may be true, I say that the guy who will benefit the most from the Bears having a real, honest-to-goodness QB may be running back Matt Forte.

Sure, the fact that Cutler played college ball with Bennett, who couldn’t even get on the field as a rookie last season, is sure to help Earl become more of a factor for the Bears this coming season.

And yes, Cutler has seemed to develop a friendship and connection with Olson that may result in Cutler looking his way more often than Kyle Orton did last year.

But you cannot ignore the impact of a solid QB to a running game in the NFL. While it’s a bit of a “chicken or the egg” kind of argument, let’s face it, you can’t stack the box against a QB that can beat you with his arm.

Look at Brett Favre with the Jets last season. His arrival resulted in former Bear Thomas Jones having his best season in the NFL. His 1,312 yards was just slightly lower than the 1,335 yards he gained with the Bears in 2005, and his 13 touchdowns easily eclipsed his career high (and were 12 more than he had his previous year!). Plus, Jones had a higher rushing average and more total yards that he did in 2005.

Look, with Orton as the Bears QB, teams could cheat the safety up and put more men on the line, basically daring the Bears former QB to throw the ball. But with Cutler, team defenses will have to respect his arm.

And this should help the running game. If future Hall of Famer Orlando Pace has anything left in the tank, and 2008’s high draft pick Chris Williams is healthy and productive, the line improvements and the addition of Cutler should combine for a big year for the second-year rusher from Tulane.

And hey, it’s not like Forte didn’t have a fine season as a rookie in 2008. He led the Bears in receptions with 63, and he had 1,238 yards and eight touchdowns.

Forte seemed to tire at times last year, so the addition of Cutler should decrease his workload, another positive. His 316 rushing attempts ranked fourth in the NFL last season.

Jay Cutler has had such a positive impression in Chicago that it’s hard to pinpoint where his impact his most likely to be felt. He has excited the fans, and increased the expectations for the Bears, which is a good thing.

Meanwhile, Matt Forte is licking his chops, come to think of it.

The Top 10 NFL Players Who Need to Prove Themselves in 2009

While the NBA and MLB continue to give guys second chances and contracts based on one good season, the NFL doesn’t quite run its show that way. In the NFL, its either you make an impact, or take a seat. Some guys, especially draft picks who have yet to live up to their draft hype, have to show their respected franchises that they are worthy of playing. Because if not, they will be either riding the pine, or on the streets come next off-season.
www.NFLHouse.com

Begin Slideshow

Mark Sanchez and Jets Show Poise In Win Over Giants

JETS 27, GIANTS 25

Oh, what a night!

Sure it was preseason, but don’t tell that to the New York Jets, who put on one heck of a show in their annual end of summer clash with the New York Giants.

Coming into the game, the Jets needed to give Mark Sanchez some much needed reps, and in return, receive some positive results after last week’s debacle in Baltimore; positive results are exactly what they got and more.

Unlike last week when Sanchez looked lost in the world of Ray Lewis and the blitz-happy Baltimore Ravens defense, Sanchez withstood the blitz tonight from the Giants and delivered a veteran-like performance, going 13-for-20 for 149 yards and a touchdown. 

In the second quarter, with the Giants on top 13-7, the Jets had the ball at their own 38 yard line facing a second and 10. Sanchez rolled to his left, avoided the pass rush and drilled the football to a wide open Chansi Stuckey for a 29-yard gain to the Giants 31 yard line.

Two plays, later, Sanchez rolled right into the blitz; with Osi Umineyoria and Fred Robbins bearing down on Sanchez, the rookie heaved the ball down the sideline to Stuckey, who made the catch, re-established himself inbounds, and dashed into the end zone to give the Jets a 14-13 lead.

Most of time it is ill advised for a quarterback to heave the ball up under such pressure, but the play displayed two things: 1) Sanchez has enough poise to make a quick read and decision on a broken play, and 2) his accuracy is really good. It takes a very strong arm to get rid of a football accurately under such duress, and Sanchez passed the test with flying colors.

From there Sanchez seemed to be in a groove. Standing in the pocket, Sanchez delivered a couple of strikes; one, a nine-yard pass to Jerricho Cotchery to move the chains.

Later, Sanchez delievered a laser to Cotchery in the end zone that hit the receiver in the numbers while he was double covered. Cotchery dropped the touchdown, but the message that Sanchez and Jets wanted to send was load and clear. 

Defensively, the Jets got stronger as the night wore on.

Even though they never sacked quarterback Eli Manning, they put so much pressure on his receivers in tight bump-and-run coverage that it probably contributed to the series of drops and overthrows for the Giants offense all night.

The Jets new 46 Defense was so fast to the football on many different occasions that it was hard for any Giants offensive player to make adjustments in space, as they were tackled as soon as the football got to him.

As for the Giants, they continued to struggle offensively. Eli Manning continues to have timing issues with his receivers; it doesn’t help build chemistry either when just about everyone in a blue jersey is dropping the football.

Late in the first quarter, Steve Smith was wide open down the middle of the field, Manning hit him in stride. It would have been an easy 85-yard touchdown pass, but Smith dropped the football once it landed in his hands.

Next, Manning’s pass was tipped and bobbled by Dominik Hixon, instead landing in the hands of Jets linebacker David Harris to set up the Jets first scoring drive of the evening.

Overall Manning was 9-for-21 for 92 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The stats lie because a lot of Manning’s incompletions were not his fault.

Defensively, the Giants got some pressure on Sanchez, but without Chris Canty, Antonio Pierce, Michael Boley, and Jay Alford, the Giants pass rush seemed to miss something.

Also, it appeared that the Jets took full advantage of the absence of corner back Aaron Ross, as Jet receivers were open all night long to make one big play after another.

The only positive the Giants could take out of the night was the play of David Carr and Hakeem Nicks. Even though it was against the Jets second string defense, the pair almost brought the Giants back from a 20-13 deficit to win the game.

Carr’s 22 yard pass to Nicks in the corner of the end zone brought Big Blue to within 20-19. Later, Carr connected with Nicks, again, on a 71-yard touchdown down the sideline to cut the Jets lead to 27-25. The Giants failed to convert on two different two-point conversion plays costing them the ball game.

WHAT THE JETS CAN TAKE FROM THIS WIN: Their offense may be better than advertised. With Sanchez’s ability to scramble, combined with the speed of the Jets receivers, the Jets could create many matchup problems for opposing defenses.

A deceptive offense is very hard to scheme for, and if an opposing defense has trouble discerning when Sanchez is going to get rid of the football, it will likely leave a man wide open for Sanchez to connect with, like it did tonight with Stuckey. Speed kills, especially in the NFL.

That being said, the Jets have to remember that they faced a beat up Giants defense. In a couple of weeks the bullets will be flying for real at Sanchez, so how he adjusts to the speed of a regular season game, and how he readjusts to the adjustments different teams will make in defending him and the Jets offense will go a long way in telling the tale about this rookie quarterback.

The big conundrum for the Jets: penalties. They committed 12 penalties in this game, 10 of which came in the first half.

The Jets had a lot of stupid penalties that killed them tonight. For example, deep in their own territory on a third and five, Sanchez dumped the ball off to Leon Washington, who dashed for the first down, but guard Brandon Moore was called for a 10-yard holding penalty, killing the drive.

Also, Lito Shepard was called for three pass interference calls, one of which cost the Jets 31 yards to help the Giants set up a cheap shot field goal to take a 10-7 lead in the first quarter. If the Jets don’t discipline themselves, they are going to penalize themselves into a loss at some point this year.

WHAT THE GIANTS CAN TAKE FROM THE LOSS: They need more work. A lot more work, especially in the passing game.

With the Redskins and Cowboys waiting to play the Giants in the near future, the Giants have got to get their receiver situation figured out. Unfortunately the Giants have run out of preseason games to fix this problem, since the starters won’t play the fourth preseason game against their Super Bowl XLII rival, the New England Patriots.

If Eli Manning cannot get on the same page with Hixon, Nicks and Smith, this Giants team is going to be in big trouble. Hakeem Nicks displayed his astute ability to become a game-breaking receiver with his two touchdowns late in the game, but, that was when Manning was out of the game. Continuity between Manning and Nicks will be key to this 2009 campaign.

Defensively, the Giants need everyone to get healthy in a hurry, especially at linebacker. The Giants can rush the passer better than any team in the league, but they need their backers and corners healthy and ready to go in order to cause turnovers, and break up any desperate passes from opposing quarterbacks.

With three preseason games now in the books, it is time to get ready for the regular season. Bring it on!

Hakeem Nicks’ Late-Game Heroics Aren’t Enough for a New York Giants Comeback

Following an embarrassing loss in Chicago, the New York Giants had a lot to improve on in their Week 3 matchup against the crosstown rival New York Jets.

One of those questions was what did the Giants get when they spent their first-round pick on Hakeem Nicks this past April?

And if Nicks’ performance Saturday night was any indication, the Giants may have gotten exactly what they were looking for: A solid replacement for Plaxico Burress.

Nicks started his night gaining 16 yards on a comeback route in the second quarter. He was then quiet until Big Blue’s second drive in the fourth quarter when he and backup quarterback David Carr hooked up for a 22-yard touchdown pass, laying out for a pass that went right over the defender.

On the team’s very next drive, Nicks found himself wide open and ran Carr’s pass in for a 71-yard touchdown.

Nicks would finish the game with six receptions for 144 yards and two touchdowns.

But it was a couple of failed two-point conversions that ultimately ruined the Giants’ chances to pick up their second win of the preseason.

Another area that had plagued Big Blue in the first two weeks of the preseason was the offensive line’s performance, but with all five starters playing together for the first time this preseason and a solid showing from the backups, Giants quarterbacks had very little pressure to worry about all game.

Carr was the leading passer, going 12-for-17 with 181 yards and two touchdowns.

Eli Manning’s numbers were less impressive—9-for-21 with 91 yards, a touchdown and an interception—but his receivers were dropping a lot of passes, one of which led to the aforementioned interception. He also overthrew his receivers six times.

Ahmad Bradshaw once again led the Giants with 47 yards on eight rushes, including a 27-yard rush to the left side. Brandon Jacobs saw limited time after taking a hit to the forearm from an opposing player’s helmet and finished with six carries for 24 yards.

Arguably, the game’s most exciting play came from the other New York quarterback: Mark Sanchez. On the Jets’ fifth drive of the game, Sanchez was being forced back by three Giant defenders and threw to a wide open Chansi Stuckey, who then broke several Giants’ tackles for the touchdown.

This is yet another problem the Giants have had this preseason—tackling.

The Giants have one last game Thursday in New England before opening up the season against Washington on Sept. 13.

Contract Close for Cincinnati Bengals’ Andre Smith?

Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that Andre Smith and the Bengals are 48 hours or less away from a contract agreement.

Chad Ochocinco is also reporting, via twitter, that the deal is done, but I trust Chad about as much as I trust Joe Isuzu.

Of course I hope that the NFL.com turned ESPN.com (cough-sellout-cough) writer is right about this one.

The biggest question mark with the Bengals is the offensive line and with Andre Smith signed there will be adequate depth to quell my concerns.

Assuming the deal is actually this close to being completed, it will be interesting to see which side compromised more to get Smith back in Cincinnati.

Regardless, the Bengals should have their 340-pound monstrosity of a run blocker in house and adapting to life in the NFL one shirtless 40-yard dash at a time.

UPDATE: Andre Smith’s agent, Alvin Keels, is denying the contract agreement on his twitter account. Will someone please tweet the tweeting tweet out of this tweeting contract?

Redskins August Roster Review: Part Three of Three

The 2009 Washington Redskins have broken training camp and have played half of their preseason slate. Thus far, the overall team reviews have been mixed. There have been encouraging signs on the defense, the offense has been inconsistent and the special teams have been consistently bad.

Completing the series, I will take a look at various Redskins who have stood out in their own way thus far: those that have been outstanding, those who need to step up their game and those who might be looking for work before Labor Day.

Today: the five Redskins who might be looking for work in a couple of weeks.

Begin Slideshow

Seahawks Saturday:Houshmandzadeh, Defense Lead Seahawks To 14-10 Win

Jim Mora Jr. is having the best start to his Seahawks head coaching tenure that he could want. Three up and three in the win column for the Seattle Seahawks in 2009.

Coming into the third preseason game for the Seahawks, Mora Jr. said that he would start all of his starters but would not say if they would start coming out in the second half.

He told his players to “play until we tell you to stop.” That’s exactly what happened in Kansas City.

The only starters to not play where LT Walter Jones, CB Marcus Trufant and C Chris Spencer.

Also not playing was the newest Seattle Seahawk Edgerrin James who sat because he did not have enough practice.

So let’s look at the game and see how it went.

First quarter:

KC- 28-yard interception return for a touchdown by Brandon Flowers

Second quarter:

SEA- Eight-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck to TJ Houshmandzadeh. Seven plays, 48 yards. 1:11 TOP.

Third quarter:

SEA- 28-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck to Carlson. Nine plays. 74 yards. 4:23 TOP.

Fourth quarter:

KC- 35-yard FG made by Ryan Succop.

Final score: SEA 14 KC 10

Well you can’t have a worse start to a game than Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck did.

Three plays into the game, the Seahawks’ quarterback threw an interception to KC Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers who return the pick 28 yards for a touchdown giving Kansas City the 7-0 lead.

Flowers later left the game with a shoulder injury.

Now for the majority of the game, it was missed chances which hurt them. 

The second drive for the Seahawks led to a missed field goal attempt by Olindo Mare. Two drives later, Mare missed another field goal, this time midway through the second quarter.

The Seahawks missed out on six points which at the time would have helped fuel the seemly dead offense.

However, late into the second quarter with a minute and change to go till half, one of the best two minute drill quarterbacks Matt Hasselbeck led the Seahawks down to the eight yard line.

The next play, Matt Hasselbeck hooked up with wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh on an eight yard touchdown strike to tie the game up at 7-7.

At half time the Seahawks defense had shown that they are the better side of the ball on this Seahawks team by forcing four three-and-outs and two missed field goals.

Now coming out in the second half the question was would Jim Mora put his first team offense out there? The response was a definite yes.

On the first drive in the second half, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck led the Seahawks offense down the field and finished it off with a 28-yard touchdown reception by tight end John Carlson to make it 14-7 early in the second half.

After that there was only a Kansas City Chiefs field goal and that finished it.

The Seahawks Jim Mora wanted to see how his team would respond to a hostile environment like Kansas City and see if they could do as well as they did at home as they could on the road.

Well it wasn’t the best showing, but the Seahawks still played great to be able to go to 3-0 under head coach Jim Mora Jr. and 3-0 in the preseason.

Now let’s take a look at some key players for the Seahawks in week three.

QB Matt Hasselbeck: 19-25, 216 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT and a 118 Qb rating.

WR TJ Houshmandzadeh: 5 receptions, 60 yards and 1 TD.

TE John Carlson: 5 receptions, 68 yards and 1 TD.

MLB Lofa Tatupu: 4 tackles

Tonight Hasselbeck really had the passing game going with John Carlson, TJ Houshmandzadeh and Nate Burleson.

The running game led by Julius Jones was the main reason why Hasselbeck was able to throw the ball around so well.

Jones and Justin Forsett have both done great under the new Zone Blocking Scheme as well as the young offensive line.

A lot of people where wondering how the offensive line would fair without Walter Jones, Mike Wahle and Chris Spencer.

Well they have responded well. Tonight the Seahawks offensive line allowed only two sacks the entire game.

Hasselbeck had plenty of time to find an open receiver and deliver the ball without pause.

On defense they really stepped up and did not allow one Kansas City touchdown. Larry Johnson only had 36 yards on the ground. The Seahawks have again started to take out quarterbacks this season.

Last week it was backup Broncos’ quarterback Chris Simms. This week it was Chiefs starting quarterback Matt Cassel who left in the third play after an apparent leg injury.

The Seahawks defense is finally stepping up and becoming their old form of 2005 and the offense is firing on all cylinders so far in the preseason.

The Seahawks have only allowed 37 points this preseason while putting up 57 points. That’s a number the Seahawks coaching staff will definitely take.

This week the Seahawks, along with every other team will have to make five cuts to trim down the roster.

It will be interesting to see who the five are.

Jeff Rowe, Olindo Mare, Tyler Roehl, Kevin Brown and Mike Hass would be my five.

Brady Quinn Scores a Decisive Round 4 Knockout in Browns’ Quarterback Race

Browns Backers: to make clear the outline or form of.     

Browns fans everywhere owe field judge Terry Brown a bottle of wine and a thank you for helping Derek Anderson trip over himself, and he wasn’t even on the field.

In fact, he was too far from the sideline and was flagged 15 yards.

With Quinn’s performance tonight, Anderson may not be on the Browns sideline in the near future.    

Let’s be clear here—Tennessee is not Detroit. And perhaps Anderson’s performance was a fraud, but tonight’s game offically clinched the starting job for Quinn, because he clearly displayed the qualities of an NFL starting quarterback.   

With both quarterbacks in a “dead heat” according to Mangini, both of them needed to play well. Quinn played like, and looked like, a starter against one of the more stout defenses in the league.  

The playcalling was a combination of aggressive and safe with spices of play-action thrown in, and to see a screen pass for the first time since 1993 was priceless. 

Quinn came out strong by marching the Browns down the field after trailing 7-3, and threw the first touchdown by either quarterback since last year. He basically sealed the deal for the starting quarterback spot.

He would go on to finish 8-of-15 with 130 yards passing and one touchdown in his four series. 

Anderson, on his behalf, played fairly well in a likely last-gasp attempt to either become or remain the starter. He took a sack, and he may have seen his last chance to win the competition go down hard like he did. 

Anderson finished 7-of-11 for 77 yards and led the Browns to one field goal on two possessions, including a would-be touchdown reception to wide receiver Braylon Edwards ruled out of bounds.   

In the three preseason games for the Browns, Anderson has completed 15 of 26 passes for 207 yards and two interceptions, while Quinn has completed 21 of 31 passes for 225 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception. 

Quinn threw the first touchdown pass, while Anderson led the first drive to a touchdown.

Tough choice?

Not really when you consider that Anderson still looks like he is trying to force throws into double coverage and is still telegraphing like he is Thomas Edison.

Any more questions about Quinn’s arm strength in my eyes are laid to rest and are now null and void, as he fired some nice passes to wide receivers Michael Furrey, Joshua Cribbs, and even running back Jamal Lewis on a nice 14-yard gallop.

I will even go as far as to say that Daboll will throw in some more agressive stuff in the regular season that will work towards Quinn’s stengths, with some safe high-percentage short to intermediate routes, as well as a some deep vertical strikes.

Yes, Quinn can throw the ball deep. But as Kosar mentioned, he does a nice job of checking down to a safer play, which is what the Browns need.

If tonight’s game was truly a dress rehearsal, then it is safe to say that the Browns have shed their old beaten-up jacket for a sharp Armani suit.

Round 4 goes to Quinn with a knockout.

Now Anderson is done.

Oakland Raiders: JaMarcus Stepped His Game Up But Where’s Everybody Else?

After one horrible Raider game some fans are already calling for JaMarcus Russell’s head.

Why? Did they even watch the game? Did they see how Russell played?

For once we can say the QB is not the problem with the Raiders.

JaMarcus Russell’s performance was probably the only solid thing to come out of that game. Well I guess Desmond Bryant had a good game and we learned our safeties can tackle.

Why fix what’s not broken? It’s like drafting a running back in the first round when you already have a top ten rushing team.

Russell had a great game 12-for-18 for 153 yards. He even showed great mobility escaping the rush, scrambling right and threading the needle to hit Louis Murphy for a first down… Oh wait sorry… Ronald Curry. Louis Murphy dropped that one.

JaMarcus threw at least three catchable balls that were dropped by his recievers, and he threw at least one first down pass that was negated by a holding call.

Had the Raider receivers not had a case of the dropsies today Russell could easily have been 16-for-19 for over 200 yards.

Sure Russell was sacked but the defender got to him nearly untouched. That’s on the blocking not him. INTs can be put on Russell which he has zero of this preseason.

JaMarcus Russell stepped his game up when the Raiders brought in Jeff Garcia. Russell even held his own personal passing camp and personally paid for Raider receivers to come to his home town in Alabama to get some extra practice.

It is the rest of the team that needs to step up.

First, the running backs: Bush one atempt one yard. McFadden three atempts zero yards.

Yes our running game was horrible. I understand its preseason and the passing game is what needs the most work. But come on. McFadden and Bush combining for one yard on four carries and a fumble?

That is horrible playcalling so next I’m calling out Tom Cable and the coaching staff. I understand preseason doesn’t really matter but why go out there without a gameplan on either side of the ball. You also have to make the game watchable and at least act like you care about the outcome of the game. One carrie for Bush was ridiculous.

The QB was pressured too much and it seems the right side off the O-line sucks. Where was Cornell Green on that sack fumble? Green was on the ground after whiffing on a block.

Please, Khalif Barnes, get well soon.

If the last two games are any indication of how Cable will coach in the regular season then we can look forward to another top ten pick and another new coach next offseason.

The defense was also disgustingly bad. Nnamdi Asomugha was beat at least twice which is very rare. On one of those, had it not been for Michael Huff being in the right place at the right time, the play would have resulted in a TD.

Then theres Stanford Rout. I admittedly defended him after the Dallas game but I can’t any longer. The aposing QB once again singled this guy out not only completing passes to the man he was covering but also drawing back to back PI calls.

Our run-D also continued to suck as we gave up way to many be plays on the ground.

Out of the Front seven Bryant, Brown and Howard looked good, the rest not so much. We need to get more sacks and bring more pressure. In three weeks we have three sacks, two of which happen to be by DT Desmond Bryant.

Where’s this new pressure defense John Marshall promised us? And where are our pass-rushing D-ends Trevor Scott and Greg Ellis?

Pursuit and tackling of all our linebackers was almost disgraceful.

The middle of the field was easy pickings for Brees. I don’t know if it was the absence of Morrison or what. Lets hope when Mitchell gets to see the field he can bring some improvement.

I know its just preseason but I am now officially worried about the Chargers game.

« Previous Page — Next Page »

NFL Sport Channel Latest

• Just How Far Would You Go?
• Sorry Rex, But It Isn’t Happening
• Super Bowl Predictions: Five Stat-Free Reasons Why the Eagles Will Reach The Super Bowl
• Seahawks Attempt to Turn Corner With Heavy Pursuit of Pete Carroll
• Bill Cowher Unlikely to Coach in 2010