Meow Mix: Zero, One, Infinity and the Detroit Lions

Guillaume de L’Hospital, the great 17th century French Mathematician, wrote the first book of differential calculus and is largely credited with the invention of “L’Hospital’s rule” an expression that allows for the solving of limits of indeterminate form.

What does this have to do with the Detroit Lions?

Well the numbers of “indeterminate form” that L’Hospital was considering, involved fractions in which zero and infinity were either divided by themselves or each other.

For example, how can you rate the improvement of a team that won zero games last season?

As anything times zero is also zero we can’t rightly say that the Lions are twice as good as they were last year because twice as good as zero is still zero.

This is where our old friend L’Hospital comes into play.

In the same sense that zero is the complete absence of anything (in this case wins) infinity represents the other end of that spectrum, a number of largeness beyond reckoning.

It would therefore take a number of this size to transform zero into any real integer such as one, the number the Lions posted with their first win in nearly two calendar years Sunday afternoon vs. the Washington Redskins.

We can now say that the Lions are therefore infinitely better than they were last year, and thus can lay claim to the title, “most improved NFL team of all time.”

Only a team that has spent a winless season can even fathom this type of turnaround.

A team that won a single game in a given year and then 16 the next, would only be 16 times better (from a record standpoint) and thus couldn’t even come close to the infinite improvement of the Lions.

In a game that wasn’t exactly the prettiest ever played, the Lions somehow held on and experienced the phenomenon that mathematicians, religious scholars, and general ponderers have considered for millennia.

The creation of something from nothing.

Early in the game, the Lions looked sharp with rookie Matthew Stafford hooking up with Bryant Johnson for a touchdown strike that capped off an impressive 99-yard drive.

This was set up by a goal line stand turned in by a ramped up defense that played remarkably well throughout the entire game.

When the field was segmented vertically, with clear throwing lanes, Stafford was accurate and threw darts, showing the strong arm that made him the No. 1 pick.

He still struggled however when the field set up horizontally and required him to put some air under the ball or drop it in between zones. 

Nonetheless, the kid clearly looked the best we’ve seen so far, and with 21-of-36 passing for 241 yards one TD and zero interceptions, I’d say that he might be on his way to some good things for the Lions.

Add a solid rushing effort from Kevin Smith, who broke 100 yards before injuring his shoulder in the second half, and inspired play by the aforementioned defense, and the Lions looked like a team headed in the right direction.

Granted, the Redskins looked absolutely terrible, such that no matter how many times the Lions tried to lose the game the Skins gave it right back to them, but at this point, a win’s a win and Lions fans everywhere should be rejoicing.

Just too bad that not many of them actually went to the game.

In front of the smallest crowd to witness a Lions game in 20 years, the team battled, put pressure on Jason Campbell, bottled up Clinton Portis, and made some timely plays in the secondary.

And though the Lions have a long way to go, as this was a game they probably should’ve won by a good bit more, I’ve got nothing but smiles to offer any of you.

The Lions win!

I’ll say that again because it felt so good.

The Lions win!

It seems like anything is possible.

Super Bowl, Baby!

Er…maybe not.

Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.  Great minds like L’Hospital were only considering the conundrum of infinity, whereas Lions fans have been considering an even more bewildering enigma for far too long.

But here’s what I know.

From zero came one.

And if it took infinity to get there, then another one, two, or ten can’t be that far behind.

Can they?

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QB Circus Is Back In Town, Ravens Rip Browns 34-3

Browns Backers,  

sorry – ” wretched, poor, useless, or pitiful ”  

Bradford, Tebow or McCoy?

If you just got through watching the 34-3 massacre in Baltimore, you cannot help but wonder. Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson looked and played like Dumb and Dumber. They simply are not cutting it.

With four interceptions tossed by both of them it would not surprise me to see third-stringer, Brett Ratliff play. The Browns are now officially the new Detroit Lions of 2009.  

Once again, the Browns were completely blown out in front of our very eyes. It’s getting to the point where fans will no longer care, or they will walk away from this sad excuse for a team.

The Browns are the poster boy for confusion and dysfunction, and when Quinn was yanked for the equally inept and anemic Derek Anderson, it was all over.

Quinn would finish 6-for-8 for 34 yards and one INT.  

Derek Anderson didn’t do much better in relieving Quinn by tossing three INT and just missing a fourth pick.

The Browns have completely fumbled away this season and may have set themselves back ANOTHER five years in their handling of the QB spot.  

This team cannot score, pass, or defend. Cribbs is a marked man, Edwards is getting double-teamed, and the defense gets run over and treated like a construction cone.

The sad and cold realty is that yanking Quinn, who was not helped at all by his offensive line or Daboll’s play-calling, for an even less effective Derek Anderson doesn’t make the offensive issues go away. This can only damage the team’s fragile chemistry and defeated locker room.  

The sooner the Browns find a QB and stick with him, the better they will be. They will not have to worry about hoping to score a TD, or have unwanted headlines such as fining one of your own players $1,701 for not paying the hotel bill for a $3 bottle of water.   

I’ve never been a fan in the hiring of Mangini from the start. I have also always felt that Lerner is a clueless and soccer-loving owner. Both of them dropped the ball in not naming a starter during training camp. Instead they put this team and its fickle and impatient, yet passionate fan base thru the wringer with their incompetence and lack of football savvy.    

The Browns still have the Bengals and Steelers twice and a potentially embarrassing Monday night game with the Ravens up in Cleveland.

Unfortunately, this season is already lost before it began. This will be another sad year for the Cleveland Browns.

Later,

Dawgfather

 

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Toothless Chargers Side Step The Miami Dolphins

On Sunday, the San Diego Chargers Philip Rivers’ 40 yard bombs turned the Miami Dolphins’ “Wildcat Offense” into the “Fraidey Cat.”

After Dolphin’s quarterback Chad Pennington jammed his throwing shoulder in the second half, the Chargers were all but assured a win. Forced to pass in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins were exposed as a team that is no threat to pass – especially when Chad Pennington is not in the game.

In regards to the running game, the Chargers repeatedly let Miami off the hook with runs by Sproles up the middle.

Folks, those plays aren’t going anywhere and everybody knows it.

The Chargers are lucky that the Dolphins’ made the following mistakes:

1. Ronnie Brown and Chad Pennington bungled a snap at the Chargers’ one yard line, and the Chargers fans gleefully watched the ball bounce (along with a Dolphins offensive lineman) out of the back of the end zone.
2. The Dolphins tried to get too cute by trying to throw on their second drive of the game; first of the second quarter, and promptly got stuffed. The Chargers defense was never going to stop the Wildcat rushing attack.
3. Will Allen made a couple of mental errors. The biggest bungle was the pass interference on Bolt wide receiver, Vincent Jackson, on third down. The penalty allowed San Diego to continue their drive that ended in a field goal and a ten point fourth quarter lead with backup quarterback Chad Henne in the game.
4. Later on in the same drive, Jason Taylor just missed snagging an interception that would have likely resulted in a touchdown. That was less a mistake, and more just missing a Hall of Fame caliber play from Taylor.
5. Henne’s fourth quarter interception, which was returned by Eric Weddle for his first NFL touchdown.                                                                                                              

Throughout the game, Norv Turner’s play calling was atrocious. Predictably, the Chargers started their first drive with a run right up the middle for no gain.

This season, the red zone has been a nightmare for the Chargers, as they made it to the Dolphins 20 yard line five times, and just came away with one touchdown.

That’s horrible.

Finally, Rivers finally took matters into his own hands and ran one in for a touchdown from the five yard line.

One thing’s for sure, for next week’s prime-time game in Pittsburgh, you can expect the Chargers to fill the air with football’s.

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Steelers Shoot Themselves In the Foot, Fall to Bengals

For the second week in a row, the Pittsburgh Steelers started the game on fire; for the second week in a row, they shoot themselves in the foot, and lose in the final seconds of the game.

There are many people you can put the blame on this week, but the main culprit are the coaches.

For the second week in a row, Bruce Arians insisted on running the ball. Even though the Steelers were relatively successful, 103 yards on 28 carries, forcing a running game has cost the Steelers another victory.

With the exception of one time in the second half, the Steelers ran the ball on every first down. Cincinnati knew it was coming, and stopped them almost every time.

The Steelers receivers did not do much better with Hines Ward drawing two offensive pass interference penalties, Limas Sweed dropping a touchdown that hit him directly in the hands, and Santonio Holmes catching one pass for 18 yards. The only bright spot for the Steelers receiving corps, was rookie Mike Wallace, who had seven catches for 102 yards.

But as Bruce Arians is, it doesn’t matter what works because we only force a ground game that is obviously not working.

Let it be clear, that the days of the power running game are over.

As hard as that might be for some Steelers fans to swallow, we need to stop forcing  a ground game when we obviously have more success passing.

Arians has essentially handcuffed our Super Bowl QB with his play-calling. There was a reason that Bruce Arians was chased out of Cleveland, and he has brought the same problems to Pittsburgh.

Last year, the Steelers won in spite of Arians. This year, they have no chance, unless he throws away his “Coordinating for Dummies” book, and starts playing to the teams strengths.

Not to be left out, Dick LeBeau has to shoulder his share of the blame.

For the second week in a row, the Steelers linebackers were held out of the opposition’s back field, with only one sack, by James Farrior. Casey Hampton also had one, bringing the teams season total to five.

This type of play is absolutely unacceptable.

Last week, against the Bears, the Steelers beat them in every facet of the game, except the final score, when Jay Cutler threw a late touchdown pass, winning the game for the Bears.

This week, at the end of the game, the Bengals ran eight plays inside the red zone, in the final minute of the game, before Carson Palmer hit Andre Caldwell with :14 left in the game for the winning score.

For the second week in a row, the Steelers defense allowed the opposition to score at the end of the game, for the victory.

I believe that the reason for the lack of dominance is without Troy Polamalu, Dick LeBeau is afraid to run anything elaborate, for fear of getting beat deep.

There is no question that Troy Polamalu is an amazing player and he is missed on the field. But there were 10 other guys on the field with him that made the Steelers defense the best in the game last year.

Not only that, enough with the prevent, and the 10 yard cushions on every receiver on every play.

Last year, the Steelers were number one in the league against the pass. How do teams counter that? By running short crossing routes and slants. When the corners are playing 10 yards off the receiver, then the slants are a gimme every time.

Has anyone ever heard of bump and run? Every time Ike Taylor played on the line against Chad Ochocinco, he held him without a catch. On the next play, he lined up 10 yards back.

Dick LeBeau said in the off-season that he had new elaborate plays. They are not working.

Special teams coach Bob Ligashesky is not even void from criticism, allowing Chris Crocker to rush for 21 yards on a fake punt, with 1:32 left in the third quarter.

That is not to mention Jeff Reeds third missed field goal in the last seven days. This one, a 52 yard attempt, which should never have even been attempted.

But ultimately, all of this falls squarely on the shoulders of Mike Tomlin. It’s time to stop pretending that we are, what we are not.

In the last two weeks, Pittsburgh showed that they can score when they drop back and pass. Then, when they take the lead, they quit dancing with the girl that brung them there.

In the end though, what the Steelers need to learn, is how to have a killer instinct. They have to know how to punish the other team, and end the game early, instead of letting them hang around until the end.

Because every time they do, they shoot themselves in the foot.

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Redskins vs. Lions: So Many Things Wrong in Washington’s 19-14 Loss

The professional in me wanted to take a day to mull over one of the most embarrassing Redskins’ losses I have ever witnessed in my thirty years of watching the team play.

 

But the fan in me has had enough, and ultimately won out!

 

Not since the 38-9 thumping at the hands of the Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII has a Redskins’ loss been so difficult to watch.   There was so much more at stake in that Raiders loss, thus it will always remain No. 1.  But the performance I observed against Detroit today now ranks as the biggest stinker during the regular season.

 

Please, allow me to point the finger.  It wasn’t the quarterback, or the offensive line, the defense, or even the coaching staff.  This loss is on the entire organization!

 

From Dan Snyder all the way down, everyone is accountable! 

 

Opening the season with two “going through the motion” games, the Redskins would certainly turn things around against a team that had not won since 2007, right?

 

That’s how veteran teams loaded with Pro Bowl players respond, isn’t it?  They beat the teams they are supposed to beat and get on track.

 

After all, the Redskins have the $100 million man (Albert Haynesworth), Clinton Portis, Santana Moss, Chris Cooley, London Fletcher, Carlos Rogers, Chris Samuels, and Andre Carter.

 

And the Lions have…Calvin Johnson.

 

This is an organization-wide loss because:

 

On the offensive side of the ball, the entire team looked completely out of sync. 

 

Balls were snapped high from C Casey Rabach to QB Jason Campbell.  Campbell fumbled the ball on three occasions.  The line has splits on running plays like they are blocking for an extra point.  Portis is slowed by ankle spurs and runs more like a fullback.  The play calling is predictable in most cases, but at times you wonder what Zorn is thinking.   

 

On the defensive side of the ball, they failed to exploit their opponent’s weakness yet again. 

 

Defensive Coordinator Greg Blache said this week, “Why would we change what we do well?”  Maybe you should have thrown in a wrinkle or two since you were playing against a rookie quarterback.  Something like…oh, I don’t know…perhaps a few “all out” blitzes? 

 

And for the life of me, I have no idea why Blache keeps looping LB Brian Orakpo to the inside.  Line the man up on the outside and tell him to go sick the quarterback. 

 

As for the coaches, Jim Zorn needs to turn the play calling over to someone else.  He is the coach, and a young one at that.  He needs to learn to delegate and focus on coaching the team. 

 

Speaking of play calling, why would a coach script his first fifteen plays and announce that he does such?  Wouldn’t it be wise for opposing coaches to just mask their first fifteen defensive looks?  It just seems logical. 

 

Snyder is to blame probably more so than anyone.  For one, he hired Zorn in order to maintain ultimate control.  By hiring a quarterbacks coach who is in over his head, Snyder created a situation where Zorn has no choice but to lean on him.

 

In addition, Snyder has a history of paying an absurd amount of money to veteran players who convince themselves they are playing for the love of the game. 

 

In reality, and possibly subconsciously, these players play to stay healthy in an effort to retain their fat contracts.  They play hard, but not with the reckless abandon of an undrafted free agent playing to keep his job, doing whatever it takes to avoid returning home to work at the local grocery store.  

 

As long as Snyder retains Vinny Cerrato to perform GM duties, the organization will struggle.  Drafting only four offensive linemen—the backbone of any winning organization—in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft during a ten-year span is killing this team.

 

Cerrato also drafted two receivers and a tight end in the second round of the 2008 Draft, and the three of whom have contributed nothing so far.  They may one day, but the team was built to win now. 

 

It is going to be a long season for Redskins’ fans unless things turn around quickly. 

 

How do you fix an organization during the season?

 

Believe it or not, this team can still make a run.  There is a great deal of talent on this Redskins’ roster and they can win eight games in spite themselves.  But until the players (all of them) dig deep within themselves and play like there is no tomorrow, they will continue their losing ways.

 

This article was not meant to take anything away from the Lions’ victory today.  They played hard.  They played for their fans.  They played for their struggling city.  They all played like undrafted free agents, including rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford, the first pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.    

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Tennessee Titans Woes Continue As They Fall To The Jets, 24-17

At least they didn’t give up 300 passing yards.

That’s a small consolation for the Tennessee Titans, who fell to 0-3 after losing to the New York Jets 24-17 in a contest that started off badly and ended even worse.

Now in sole possession of last place in the AFC South- Tennessee faces the near impossible task of even making the playoffs- much less making a run at the Super Bowl.

Not at all what was expected from the Titans, who had pre-season aspirations of redeeming their truncated playoff run from the 2008 season.

Instead, the Titans are looking at a defensive backfield that is in disarray, a passing game that is falling off, and a supposed 1-2 punch in the running game that is turning out to be little more than a jab.

As good as Chris Johnson is, he can’t win games all by himself. Ask Barry Sanders, who he is beginning to resemble. As for LenDale, he looks like a one year wonder who should have just stayed on the Tequila.

Ryan Mouton had a horrible game, fumbling not one, but two kicks which resulted in Jets points.

As if the Titans aren’t already having trouble keeping opponents out of the end zone.

Even holding Mark Sanchez to less than 200 yards passing isn’t much to crow about; he still had two touchdown passes, and ran one in when the coverage was better than expected. His 171 yards eclipsed Collins’ output by one yard and a touchdown.

Even the Lions won this week, a situation I believe was called by yours truly in the weekly wrap up last week.

Tennessee’s next contest is against inter-division rival Jacksonville, who they trail by one game. There is absolutely no love lost between these two clubs, so the Titans need to expect that the Jaguars will come out swinging for the fences.

An 0-3 start makes their chances of reaching the playoffs nearly impossible. If they fall to 0-4, there will be no justification for post season talk in the Tennessee locker room. There will just be talk about next season.

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Former Knight Kevin Smith Enjoying Success In NFL

The UCF Knights are not a program avidly known for having lots of their players make it to the NFL; but they do have some stars around the league.

Daunte Culpepper, Brandon Marshall, and Asante Samuel are some of the better known Knights that have had successful careers in the NFL. 

And with the recent play of second year running back Kevin Smith, you might want to add the former UCF standout to that list.

Smith, who was drafted by the Detroit Lions with the first pick in the third round of the 2008 draft, has begun to make some noise in the pros.

Last year, Smith had a solid rookie campaign, leading the Lions in most rushing categories.

He posted 976 yards on 238 rushing attempts, to go along with eight rushing touchdowns to lead Detroit. His 976 yards were fourth in the league among rookie rushers and his eight TD runs were the third-highest mark by a rookie in Lions team history.

With his strong rookie campaign, Smith solidified himself as the Lions starting tailback and went into the 2009 season with high expectations. So far, the sophomore hasn’t disappointed.

In week one of the season, Smith had one rushing touchdown to go along with 52 receiving yards. Last week, he followed up his performance with an 83 yard rushing effort.

And earlier today, he stepped up his game even further when he rushed for 101 yards through just three quarters on 16 carries, before leaving the game with an injured shoulder. But, his performance helped the Lions snap a 19-game losing streak with a 19-14 victory over the Washington Redskins. Smith now has 204 rushing yards and one touchdown on the season.

While at UCF, Smith was a consensus All-American (first ever in UCF school history) and a Heisman Trophy contender. He brought the Knights to all new heights in his final year with the team, leading them to a Conference-USA championship and the school’s second ever bowl game.

During that same year, his junior campaign, he set multiple team and NCAA records. He posted an astonishing 2,567 rushing yards, just 62 yards shy of setting the NCAA season-rushing record set by Barry Sanders. He also had 29 rushing TD’s and 450 rushing attempts, which shattered the old NCAA record of 405.

To say the least, Kevin Smith is a UCF legend. He single- handedly put UCF’s name on the national radar with all the attention he garnered in 2007 and had the Knights ranked as high as No. 26 that year. So, to see a UCF great having success in the NFL is something that all UCF fans can appreciate.

As Smith continues to progress and mature, we can expect to see big things from him in the NFL. And with his recent strong performances, it’s only a matter of time before “24K” is making highlight reel plays again like UCF fans got accustomed to in his tenure at Central Florida.

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Ahmad and Giants Run Over Offensively Challenged Bucs 24-0

Earlier in the week, Coach Raheem Morris of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers said earlier in the week that the New York Giants were who they want to become. When Raheem’s master plan is finally executed, the team will look a lot like the Giants’ physical style of football.

New York showed Tampa Bay how far away they are by dominating both lines of scrimmage in a 24-0 whitewash of the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.

The Buccaneers offense couldn’t stay on the field and their defense couldn’t get off. That’s not a recipe for a good day against one of the best teams in the NFL.

While the defense had its issues, surrendering 226 yards on the ground to the duo of Ahmad Bradshaw and bruiser Brandon Jacobs, they did make some strides in the secondary, allowing only one big pass to Eli Manning and the Giants.

Manning had a rather pedestrian 161 yards, but did throw two touchdowns. New York was simply content to out physical the Buccaneers and it worked.

The biggest Achilles’ heel for the Bucs defense in this one was their failures on third down. The G-men were 10 of 16 on the money down, with several conversions in longer than five yard situations.

However, this game rests on the Buccaneers offense which was horrible.

When you play four quarters and only amass 88 yards, five first downs, and are 0-for-9 on third down, that production is as ugly as the Seattle Seahawks neon green alternate jerseys. We could plant the old John McKay line about offensive execution here, but even that can’t describe how bad it was.

Folks, the Bucs didn’t get their first first down until the fourth quarter. The cannons hadn’t gone off since pre-game, and the ship only got one off late in the game, when backup quarterback Josh Johnson engineered a drive into the red zone against the Giants prevent defense.

It’s become quite obvious that without Jeff Faine at center, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cannot run the football. It will likely be another couple weeks before Faine can return, so don’t expect much from the Tampa Bay running game for a while.

Without a running game, it falls on Byron Leftwich to move the chains. He failed miserably on Sunday going 7 of 16 for 22 yds and an interception.

Could Josh Freeman possibly do worse? Could Josh Johnson? Johnson finished with 36 passing yards and had a run for 15 yards in one series. That’s more than the Leftwich led offense for three and half quarters.

Of course, fans will be calling for Johnson to start, but if the Bucs are going young, it’s not going to be with the young QB from San Diego.

Johnson was blitzed the first couple passes he faced and handled it well, finding his hot reads. You’d think he was the seasoned vet and Leftwich was the guy who never played in a regular season game in the NFL.

It’ll be interesting to see what coach Raheem Morris decides.

Meanwhile, the Bucs head to the nation’s capital to face an embarrassed Washington Redskins team that just lost to the Detroit Lions, snapping Detroit’s 19 game losing streak.

The Redskins are bound to be mad and if you have Clinton Portis on your fantasy team you may be very excited right now.

Don’t look now Buccaneers fans, but the Buccaneers now have the second longest losing streak in the NFL at seven games (the Rams lead the league with 13 straight defeats).

Are the Redskins the NFL’s version of the slump buster or will Raheem and the Bucs have to wait even longer to taste victory?

Should be an interesting week.

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The NFL Today: Week Three

• Michael Vick rejoins NFL today: Eagles’ QB, armed with Wildcat offense, to play for the first time since 2006.
• Saints’ QB Drew Brees is now the best QB of the NFL.
• Tom Brady still needs to shake off a little rust after being inured last year.
• Peyton Manning is still Peyton Manning, just nearing the end of his career.
• Tony Romo still cannot win the big game.
• Ben Roethlisberger can pump-fake while taking a hit.
• The Carolina Panthers obviously made a very big mistake this offseason when they signed quarterback Jake Delhomme to a five-year, $42.5 million contract extension.
• Despite the defeats, the Detroit Lions show small steps of improvement.
• Are the Cincinnati Bengals better than expected?
• Will the Atlanta Falcons “upset” the New England Patriots?
• Sunday night’s matchup with the Colts and the Cardinals may be an instant classic with the pair of QBs—Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning.
• Will my Carolina Panthers finally play with passion, urgency, and intensity in Dallas on Monday night?

Speaking of my Panthers, Carolina has begun the season at 0-2 and have a very difficult schedule the rest of the season. With road games at Dallas, Arizona, New Orleans, the New York Jets, the New England Patriots, and the New York Giants, this team could be on its way to a having a disastrous  season.

There are also some tough home games against Atlanta, Miami, Minnesota, and New Orleans. Too bad they traded away their 2010 first-round draft pick.

Yes, the Panthers traded their first-round pick in the 2010 draft in order to move up to select Florida State defensive end Everette Brown in 2009. Brown is a great draftee, but for a team in dire need of a play-maker QB, it was a very significant mistake. Think about the quarterbacks in the draft—Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, Jevan Snead, Jake Locker, and Tim Tebow

Maybe they will be able to trade DE Julius Peppers to get a first-round pick back.

If Carolina has a horrible season, I would expect John Fox to be fired, paving the way for Bill Cowher.

A horrendous 2-14 or 3-13 record in 2009 for Carolina is not out of the question. The Panthers should defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two wins.

Perhaps Carolina will outlast the Buffalo Bills too. That makes three wins. Thus, to even hold a 6-10 record, the team has to find three upset victories.

From 12-4 to 2-14, or 4-12, or whatever. The Bucs should prevent the Panthers from going from first to worst.

And Monday night versus Dallas at the new Cowboys Stadium in front of 105,000 fans? Tony Romo will have a big night and Jerry Jones will smile as he lands his first victory at his grand football palace.

Cowboys 31, Panthers 23, as Carolina falls to 0-3.

Technorati Tags: NFL,Carolina Panthers,Drew Brees,sports

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Do Da Dirty Bird: I Hope It’s Not Too Late for Us, Matt Ryan

I was almost done with last week’s ode to the Atlanta receivers when I realized I was only singing half the praises I should have been. I mean, who throws them the ball?

It’s sad that I’ve kept it inside for so long. Now is the time to profess my love for Matt Ryan.

Yes, the season is quite young, and more importantly, Ryan’s career is quite young. A lot was made about his performances in the five losses last year—he threw more than 30 times in those games and only those games and had three TD to four interceptions—but it is an undeniable fact that the Falcons have had success through the air with him at the quarterback position, and he is at least half of the reason why.

Several things about him stand out and point to him not crapping out, though. Most importantly, the dude’s cool; we call him “Ice.” He’s calm in the pocket, despite not having great scrambling ability, and absolutely does not get frazzled by a sack or a pick.

In the brief time that I’ve been part of the credentialed media and thereby privileged to listen to the young man at his postgame press conferences, he has come off to me as beyond his years and extremely intelligent, yet still friendly. He knows how to deal with us quote sharks, responding mostly in buzzword rhetoric, but I actually like him more for that.

He knows it’s lame and not exactly what we wanted to hear, but it keeps team chemistry intact and always leaves us with a positive, if ambiguous, vibe.

Last week, he took total responsibility for the INT he threw. Praised Marty Booker for running his route well and just admitted that he got the ball to the wrong guy. He also made fun of one of his passes when someone asked if it had gotten tipped:

“Nope. Just a duck.”

Awesome, hilarious, and a good sign that he takes things like that into perspective. By the way, that “duck” was caught for a Dirty Bird TD.

Looking at last season’s game-by-game stats, Ryan got better as the season went along. Looking at his numbers two games into 2009, it seems as though he’s going to cruise along at that improved level as the offense sorts the new catching options out. Sounds good; I’m pretty content with around 225 yards passing, a couple touchdowns, and a completion rate darn-near 70 percent.

The sophomore slump already seems laughable for some reason. After seeing this guy under the lights at the dome, checking down his options until he finds just the right one, and then seeing him before the mic, charming a roomful of press, I don’t see it happening. Not that he won’t have a bad game or two, but…is he really just a second-year player?

But I’m starting to regurgitate here, and that’s something I dislike on B/R as much as…you get the picture. Allow me to inject some analysis into this column by addressing my main concern for Matty: injuries.

Probably by typing it I’ve jinxed him. He’s done just fine so far, putting up with stingers and not getting in harms’ way. Protection must continue to improve, however, if he’s going to survive a Bears-Cowboys back-to-back with a Redskins clash and Giants contest in November. As I said, Ryan isn’t exactly known for his evasion.

But here I am coming back to the positive: “Not being known for his evasion” really isn’t a knock on a quarterback. It’s a plus to have the running skills of a Vick or the build of a JaMarcus Russell, not a necessity. What is necessary is to have the presence of mind to pick the correct target and get it to him with some zip.

Ryan does that. So as long as the O-line keeps him on his feet and Michael Turner keeps defenses semi-honest, why should Ice get any worse?

Why shouldn’t I go ahead and wax poetic on the man who might just be a franchise savior? Because it’s too “early“?

If you’d lived here in the Dirty, you’d know relief couldn’t come soon enough. Besides that, Matt’s one season of production and hot start to the new campaign are pretty much sufficient for the label.

So here it is, in document form, my expression of gratitude and affection for No. 2. It’s inexcusable it took me so long.

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