Jeff Backus Not Winning Anybody over with Hustle Points

There are many reasons for Lions fans to dislike Jeff Backus.

He seems like a nice enough guy, and I’m sure he is. You never see him get into trouble, and he has quietly been a Detroit Lions starter for almost a decade now.

But he gives up a lot of sacks, and tends to personify the entire Matt Millen era by being his very first ever draft pick.

It’s not his fault, but it’s the truth. He has worked to overcome that by starting every game since his draft date.

But last week against the Vikings, he made no friends and impressed no fans with his now-infamous “phantom block” play.

In case you missed it, in the first play of the second half, Backus allowed Vikings pass rusher Jared Allen to go by untouched, making a beeline for quarterback Matthew Stafford. Seemingly, he was waiting for some other, invisible man to block.

After a cartoonish scene in which Allen crunched Stafford from his blind side, leaving the ball suspended in midair for a moment where Stafford was holding it, the ball fell as a fumble at Backus’ feet.

Despite the mantra given to all lineman in a fumble situation, “fall on the ball,” Backus decided staring at it was sufficient, while Brandon Pettigrew came across from the other side of the line to recover the fumble.

It was as if Backus was unaware the second half had started.  Or that he didn’t care.

Regardless of the reason, it was decidedly the worst hustle play anybody watching the game has ever seen.

Yes, sometimes wide receivers take a play or two off, maybe they don’t run their routes very hard. Maybe a running back runs out of bounds to avoid a hit, rather than trying to cut it back upfield.

But when you make lots of money to play the left tackle position in the NFL, you cannot take plays off. Not like that. And even guys who do take plays off would still fall on a fumble that landed right in front of them. So he thought it was an incomplete pass? That’s fine, but if the whistle doesn’t blow, you fall on the ball, period.

According to Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com, the bizarre sack is not Backus’ fault, but Jerome Felton’s. Felton slipped up the middle on the play, hesitated, then ran toward the sideline in a pass pattern.

I can see how that would be if he missed his assignment, but if you’re coaching a team, why would you put your young fullback on one of the league’s top pass rushers, while your big-money left tackle stands and watches?

There was no blitz on the way, and no extra rusher for Backus to block. Even if Felton drew the assignment of blocking Allen, that still doesn’t excuse Backus for not diving on the fumble.

Now, this one play is not really indicative of the way Backus’ career has gone, or even his game against the Vikings. But nobody in Detroit is a big Backus fan already, because he doesn’t play very well, but nobody seems willing to replace him.

There are lots of players who become fan favorites despite a low skill level, though. Know how they do it? Hustle and effort.

Baseball players who run hard on pop-ups and grounders; basketball players who hustle back to get on defense every play; quarterbacks who dive for a first down instead of sliding a yard short—these are the guys fans like to see.

Backus’ own fellow lineman Dominic Raiola is one of those guys. What Raiola lacks in size he makes up for in attitude, heart, and hustle, and even though he’s too small to be effective against stronger defensive tackles, he leaves everything on the field every game.

If Backus played like that, he would be a much better player, and fans would be a little more willing to keep him around.

But he’s not, and if he was trying to create the illusion that he was, he ruined his chance last Sunday.

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Devin Hester Making a Strong Case for No. 1 Receiver Status

It was a simple catch for Devin Hester to make, but critical.

With two minutes remaining in a 14-14 fourth quarter tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bears are facing a 3rd-and-4 from the Pittsburgh 39-yard line.  

With one more first down, the Bears will have the ability to pound the football in the middle of the field, run the clock, and put the game on the foot of Robbie Gould, one of the most accurate and clutch field goal kickers in the game. 

The Bears start out in a trips bunch formation to the left with Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, and Greg Olsen in tight to the left with Matt Forte in the backfield and Johnny Knox all alone split wide right.

Olsen shifts into the backfield, ostensibly becoming a fullback, and Jay Cutler hikes the ball into a play action fake to Forte.  

The Steelers bring pressure from the right side as James Harrison, the 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, breaks right to cover Olsen coming out of the backfield. Bennett streaks up five yards and then out and up 10 yards in a flag route, leaving Hester underneath to take advantage of an outmatched Steelers linebacker for a quick five-yard in.

Cutler rolls slightly to the left and throws it down and in to Hester for the first down.

It’s an unremarkable play only made remarkable by the situation and by the fact that Hester has now made his second clutch third down conversion of the fourth quarter.

The greater significance only comes in the context of looking at Hester’s output thus far into an early season: eight receptions, 111 yards, one touchdown.  

Nothing really jumps off the page as being truly remarkable until you realize that seven of his first eight receptions have either been for a first down or a touchdown.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is the epitome of clutch production.

Lost in Cutler’s horrid first outing and the emergence of Knox as a legitimate receiving threat is this—Devin Hester is quietly putting together one of the most productive seasons of any receiver in the NFL.

After a shaky preseason in which he often looked out of place and out of sync with Cutler, he has since emerged looking like, well…the only starting Bears receiver with NFL game experience.

He’s made all the catches: back shoulder leaping grabs for first downs with defenders draped on him, quick hits to the flats in space to put patented moves on solo defenders for extra yards and first downs, straight line fly patterns for touchdowns by simply out-running cornerbacks and safeties—it’s all been on display.

And he hasn’t even had his “breakout” game yet.

The knock on Hester this offseason was that he needs to show the league that he is an every down wide receiver—a go-to guy in clutch situations who can not only run faster than everyone, but can also grasp the subtlety of the playbook by finding empty areas in zone coverage or by simply beating man to man coverage and making the tough catch when yards are needed.

More importantly, he needs to gain the trust of Jay Cutler to do those things.

Judging from his lights out production in the first two games of the season and the fact that the Bears coaching staff called a play for him in the most critical moment with the game on the line, you can tell that trust is emerging from not only his quarterback, but from the entire organization as well.

It’s just the beginning of the year, and it’s impossible to divine the myriad twists and turns of an often confounding NFL season. Plenty of questions will remain for Hester and the Bears until Cutler and he are able to combine for a statement performance that any NFL observer can look at and without hesitation say, “Devin Hester has arrived.”

Until then, Hester is quietly emerging as the textbook definition of a No. 1 receiver.

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Shonn Greene Being Held on the Back Burner

This article also appeared at: www.ganggreennation.com

A few people have been in touch about Shonn Greene and asking when we might see him on the field. Rex Ryan was asked this during his press conference this week and didn’t commit to a timetable on Shonn getting some touches with the Jets

“We’re just trying to win and if that means Shonn is in the game running the ball for us, great,” Ryan said. “But the good thing about this is we are in the win business. If that means we are going to put another defensive player up in his place or in somebody else’s place, so be it.”

Nobody was more delighted with the pick of Greene than I was, after watching him in college a little, reading about him pre and post draft, as well as seeing just what kind of player and man he was, I was sure this was the right move for the Jets.

Unfortunately, we were unable to see much of the obvious potential that Shonn possesses, as he was bugged with a nagging rib injury during the preseason, which may have been a contributing factor to him sitting out opening week in Houston.

After the Jets moved up to draft Greene, many analysts questioned how useful he could be as a every-down back, with his lack of receiving skills out of the backfield. Well, everything that I have heard from Rex Ryan and the coaching staff this preseason seems to suggest that he is doing just fine in this area and is already making some vast improvements.

Rex decided to go with the extra defensive lineman in Week one which was the sensible choice with Ellis being suspended and the fact that Greene had missed a lot of time towards the end of the preseason with a rib injury. However, he dressed for week two although he never got a touch.

Thomas Jones is likely gone after this season, so Shonn is definitely the future of this organization, however I feel that he needs to get some touches if we want him to take on a extended work load next season.

I have a feeling that we may well see him sooner rather than later, maybe not much this week, the Titans are good against the run and poor against the pass, expect to see a lot of play action and a lot of Leon, however sooner or later he will get his chance. I’m confident that a year or two from now.

When discussing Shonn, we will talk about him sitting out the first two games and finally getting his chance and being able to use the phrase:

“The rest is history.”

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The 5 Most Important Players In Sunday’s Bears-Seahawks Matchup

With the Bears pulling off an extremely momentous victory over the Champion Pittsburgh Steelers last week, they will be looking to take their record to 2-1 this Sunday, against the Seattle Seahawks.

With an “easier” portion of their schedule on tap, the Bears need to keep the momentum moving in the positive direction by beating the teams that they should beat, and maybe pulling off an “upset” victory here and there.

With that in mind, I thought I’d detail the five most important players in Sunday’s game that will help determine whether or not the Bears can keep their winning ways alive.

Begin Slideshow

Miami Dolphins vs. San Diego Chargers Preview: West Coast Wildcat

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

LaDainian Tomlinson is in a walking boot, Philip Rivers was fined for taunting, and San Diego has serious shortcomings on defense. Oh how the Chargers long for the time when the unsubstantiated claims of a ditzy, C-list, mildly retarded reality star were their only worries.

“Well, it seems as though we’ve rid ourselves of one ‘wildcat,'” says Norv Turner, “just in time for another. That being the ‘wildcat’ offense made fashionable, and productive, by the Dolphins. The ‘wildcat’ is a lot like Philip Rivers—a ‘useful tool.'”

Miami learned a hard lesson last Monday against the Colts: that a three-to-one advantage on time of possession doesn’t always translate to victory. They also learned that blatant mismanagement of the clock often results in a futility.

“I’ve made a note of what I learned on Monday night,” says Tony Sparano, “especially the concept that it’s best to kill the clock when you have the lead, and not when trailing by four points.”

“Really, this is all my fault. When we spent an hour in practice on the two-minute drill, I didn’t expect my offense to apply that literally in a game.”

With a short week after a Monday night game, and a long plane trip across America, the Dolphins will be too darn spent to present any resistance to the Chargers, who are at home and desperate to validate those fools that picked them to win the Super Bowl.

Philip Rivers throws for 287 yards and 2 scores, and Shawne Merriman puts his hands on Chad Pennington, recording 2 sacks.

San Diego wins, 27-14.

Check out more game previews at www.sports-central.org

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Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans: A Prelude To 0-3?

Attention Jacksonville Jaguars fan base, or what is left of it. The Jaguars will be on television this week!

Seriously, the Jacksonville Jaguars are on the road again to take on the Houston Texans. Unlike the Jaguars, the Texans won last week while on the road against the Tennessee Titans. Frankly, I’m not confident that the Jaguars will do the same this week.

If the Jaguars are to win, they will have to move the ball on a rather porous Texans defense. To do so will keep the Texans offense off the field, and maybe Andre Johnson can catch hoagies instead of footballs.

The first area of focus is the Jaguars OL against the Texans DL. Mario Williams is arguably one of the best in the game at DE, and surely he’ll eat Eugene Monroe’s lunch. Tra Thomas better be ready to give Monroe some rest because its going to be a long afternoon.

Then there is Andre Johnson. He may be able to eat a hoagie during the game depending on how Mel Tucker decides to have him covered. Surely he will be double and possibly triple-teamed, but regardless he will get his catches and yards. Unless Derrick Harvey or Atiyyah Ellison puts pressure on Matt Schaub, the Jaguars may see another disaster, defensively this Sunday.

The Jaguars game plan will be simple; enter Maurice Jones-Drew and a minimum of 20 carries to eat game clock. Fortunately, the Texans run defense has played poorly giving up 215 yards per game, so we may see the Jaguars run game open up this week. It better because the Jaguars cannot afford to have the Texans on the field more than 30 minutes.

If the Texans turn the game into an aerial shootout, the Jaguars will be pressed to improve on their WR play. Torry Holt has shown glimpses of his past performances, and Mike Sims-Walker showed why the Jaguars coaching staff has been hopeful about his potential.

The Jaguars passing game has been abysmal. David Garrard has had more fumbles than TD passes, and he only has two TDs so far this season. If Dirk Koetter doesn’t find a way to open up the passing game and stretch the defense, we may see the Texans improve their run stopping abilities.

The Jaguars will keep it close, but I’m afraid the Texans will win this one by a field goal. I hope that the Jaguars at least show up and play with passion and determination.  Jacksonville cannot afford another lackluster effort this week.

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Texans’ Run Defense Key to Game against Jaguars

Two games in and the Texans are 1-1, although not in the manner most expected.

After falling in the opener against the Jets, the team fell behind early at Tennessee, but was able to rebound for a heart-attack inducing win.

Looking out a few weeks at the schedule, most Texans fans may have reason to be optimistic.

I, however, am more paranoid than most. 

My paranoia does not stem from the CIA and I don’t wear a tin foil hat, but years of being subjected to defenses designed by Richard Smith can make even the most hardened football fan nervous.

At the moment, the paranoia can be summed up with three letters: M, J, and D.

First off, let me say that the early returns on Frank Bush’s defense are FAR superior to those of Richard Smith.

Then again, that’s like being the valedictorian of summer school.

Rather than rely on generalizations, though, let’s look at the available data.

Through the first two games, the Texans have been a feast or famine run defense. They have had many nice stops behind the line of scrimmage or for no gain.

They’ve also given up four runs of over 30 yards.

In the first two games, the Texans main defensive goal was to stop the run and make the other team beat them with the pass. They often stacked eight or nine in the box and pursued hard to the ball.

In the Jets game this actually worked pretty well as through three quarters, the Jets had only four runs over four yards.

As the game progressed, however, the Jets broke two long ones: a 38-yard TD and a 39-yard run. On both of these, the Texans had nine in the box, so once Thomas Jones got past that, it was pretty much clear sailing.

The natural question at this point is, “How does Jones even get past the first level?”

There are three answers here. The first is that the aggressive ball pursuit has had a negative impact on gap discipline. Guys are running so hard to try to make a play, that they are getting out of position and making it a little easier to open holes.

The second reason is that our linebackers and safeties were not very successful in blitzing. When the team blitzed—be it a run blitz or pass blitz—they seemed to be running into blockers and the Jets were able to pick it up with relative ease.

The last reason is that because of the offense’s struggles to move the ball and the defense’s inability to get off the field on third down, these guys were just tired. The Jets had the ball for nearly 40 minutes and this may have contributed to the other two reasons mentioned.

Against Tennessee, the defense was much less successful against the run, and 60 percent of the runs went for four yards or longer. 

The primary culprits here were also over-pursuit and gap discipline.

On the first of Chris Johnson’s long runs, defensive end Connor Barwin ran hard outside, and was given only a slight nudge by tackle Michael Roos and was out of the play.  Roos was then able to run down-field and make another key block to spring Johnson.

On the long 91-yard run, a similar thing happened with Tim Bulman and again, there was a key down-field block.

Many of the other runs that went for 10 to 15 yards were also helped by a key downfield block or overpursuit by the Texans.

Now Maurice Jones-Drew comes to town.

Last year, the Texans largely held Jones-Drew in check as he ended up with rushing totals of 32 and 49 yards, but that was on seven and 12 rushes respectively. Now he’s the team’s feature back and figures to get more carries.

The Texans are likely to pursue a similar defensive strategy as we have seen so far this season and try to make David Garrard beat them.

If they can contain Maurice Jones-Drew, this strategy may pay off, but if the last two weeks are any indication of the Texans’ run defense, we may be in for another shootout.

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Buccaneers-Giants: Five Important Questions

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have stumbled out of the starting blocks this season. They’re 0-2 but Raheem Morris says not to panic, it’s time to keep believing in his young team. With that in mind, here are five major questions regarding this team as it goes through last-minute preparations for its Sunday home game against the powerful New York Giants:

 

Can the Defense Make a Stand?

The Bucs rank right at the bottom of the NFL in total defense. They’ve given up 30-plus points in each of their two opening losses. It is most important that they get off to a better start on Sunday. They cannot fall behind quickly. Per Morris: “We’re not that great of a come-from-behind offense.”

This defense missed 24 tackles last week. Horrible at best. Can they survive one of the better quarterbacks in the league—Eli Manning? Can they stop the Giants’ strong runner, ie: Brandon “The Beast” Jacobs?

 

Is This Gaines Adams’ Last Stand?

See if the Giants run the football at Gaines Adams. Morris may be just about fed up with this consistent underachiever. There have been hints that Adams could soon head for the bench and after that, could he be destined for deactivation at some point later in the season?

 

Can Byron Leftwich Survive the Punishment?

You have to give Bryon Leftwich a lot of credit. This guy is getting totally abused by opposing defensive lines. He has been bashed and battered in the pocket, still he stands and delivers. It’s a bad thing to ask him to throw the ball more than 50 times a game. “That is not Tampa Bay Buccaneer football,” Morris says.

The Giants have a very tough D-line. If the offensive line can’t perform better than it has, how long can Leftwich go before he really gets hurt? With all the chaos around him, we have to wonder if either Josh Freeman or Josh Johnson could survive this quarterbacking environment?

 

Will Key Injuries Continue to Cripple the Buccaneers?

It’s only game three and the Bucs have had a season worth of major injuries already. Center Jeff Faine, the key guy up front, is still out. Safety Jermaine Phillips is done for the year. Franchise tag receiver Antonio Bryant continues to limp around and who knows if and when he’ll play again.

Receiver Maurice Stovall has a knee problem. Defensive end Kyle Moore, who is likely to replace Adams at some point, had arthroscopic surgery this week and is out for a least a couple of weeks.

Cadillac Williams needs to avoid unnecessary contact if he wants to last a full season. Example: why put your head down and collide with a tackler and gain no extra yardage? Caddy is running hard but he also needs to protect himself better.

 

Is Mike Nugent Going to Be a Reliable Kicker? 

These larger margin defeats have allowed Mike Nugent to basically, well, hide! No one knows if this guy can do the job in a close game as the Bucs have not had a close game.

There is sentiment that Sunday’s game could actually turn out to be closer than anticipated. If the Bucs manage to get into a nail-biter, will Nugent be able to perform if called upon? No one knows.  

There you have it—some major food for thought while you eagerly wait for Sunday afternoon’s answers.

Morris wants everyone to “believe” in his young team.

Problem is that are still so very many questions besides these.

Sunday answers?

Stay tuned.

 

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Its Now Or St.Louis

So far the season has gone as expected, we all knew the Lions would most likely get killed by the Saints high powered offense but we actually held up better than Philly did.

Sure Mcnabb was hurt, BUT WERE THE LIONS! I think that trumps any silly rib injury. In week two we all knew we had a shot against the Vikings because have played them tough in our last few meetings as we did in this one, until the second half.

That brings us to week three where Matthew Stafford is going to have to step out of his role of rookie QB. He needs to step into the role of team doctor because Detroit fans want him to stop the bleeding and stop it now.

However nobody is doing Stafford any favors by giving the talented but underachieving Redskins bulletin board material. I know if I was Jim Zorn, the first thing I’d tell the team is that people in the media were picking the Detroit Lions to beat them, THE DETROIT LIONS!

Besides that I have fallen into this trap for the past two seasons, it appears as though we have a shot to beat the Skins but come game time it was all a dream. Third time is the charm? Lets hope so, as look at this matchup I can’t help but get really excited but not just because the way the Redskins have played recently, because they’re hurting in key positions.

Jason Campbell has been limited in practice because he sprained his foot against the Rams but said he will play againtst Detroit to the dismay of Washington fans everywhere who don’t even like him when he’s healthy.

Starting RG Randy Thomas was placed on injured reserve after arm surgery but trust me it gets better (for us anyway). The Skins don’t have a single backup lineman who played a down in the NFL last season.

Last but not least RB Clinton Portis has been limited in practice with an ankle injury. Thats not even taking into account the controversy with the Skins LB slamming the fans who have every right to boo since they’re “Mcdonalds” money pays his salary.

Lets not forget that the Skins are racist and excuse they’re racism by saying it will cost them too much money to change. They sound like a team who deserves to get beat by the Lions don’t you think?

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Miami at San Diego: Five Keys to a Chargers Victory

Like last week’s game, the Chargers face an AFC playoff team looking to establish themselves in the conference pecking order. Only this time, the ‘Bolts face a desperate Miami Dolphins team looking to get their first win.

Miami features a running attack that will be a tough matchup for the San Diego defense. On offense, the Chargers will continue to rely on the NFL’s best passing game in the league at 330 yards per game.

Here’s a look at five keys to a Chargers victory and it all starts on defense.

Load up against the Wildcat

Nine, 10 in the box maybe? The ‘Fins average 164.5 yards per game on the ground, while the Chargers, 24th against the run, are giving up 139 yards per game. Miami is going to run the ball and the Chargers know it. 

Their Wildcat offense is averaging close to nine yards a play. These are crazy good numbers. San Diego saw it in Week Five last season and practiced against it in training camp so that should help.

Still, Ronnie Brown orchestrates the Wildcat beautifully with Rickey Williams and Patrick Cobbs taking hand-offs. 

Every layer of the defense will be under pressure to make tackles. They must also know their assignments and stay disciplined in their gaps.

Defensive end Luis Castillo must anchor a revamped defensive line that will feature a rotation of newly acquired Alphonso Boone, Travis Johnson, Jacques Cesaire, Ogemdi Nwagbuo and Vaughn Martin. 

How that group plays will go a long way in determining the outcome of the game.

Inside linebackers Kevin Burnett, Tim Dobbins and Stephen Cooper are going to have to play a very physical game against a mauling offensive line. The outside ‘backers will also need to be vigilant at keeping runners contained.

Safeties Clinton Hart, Steve Gregory and Eric Weddle will be the last line of defense. They will be depended on to wrap up ball carriers and make key tackles.

It will be interesting to see whether rookie safety Kevin Ellison, known as a big hitter, gets an opportunity to blow up any Miami backs.

If the defense can handle Miami’s ground game the Dolphins can’t control the clock on long possessions, keeping Philip Rivers and the offense off the field.  

Pressure the Quarterback

If you’re going to make Chad Pennington beat you, a good pass rush is needed. So far, San Diego’s rush has been lackluster to say the least. The Chargers are tied with a slew of teams for 24th in the NFL with a measly two sacks. Only three teams have taken the quarterback down less.

Having been sacked six times so far this season, it’s clear Pennington can be gotten to. 

Shawne Merriman didn’t practice Thursday due to a sore groin and simply hasn’t been the same player he was before the injury. It’s going to be a little while before he’s back to his “Lights Out” self so I would think Jyles Tucker and first-round pick Larry English should see time.

Convert in the Red Zone

You’ve got to get touchdowns in the red zone. Chargers are a horrific 1-8 in the red-zone this season. That’s too many field goals. 

Additionally, the defense has been bad in the red-zone giving up TDs on 6-8 possessions from the 20 yard line in. 

If Rivers and Co. can covert 50 percent of their red zone opportunities this game might be over by halftime. 

Look for the Big Play

The Chargers are made for the big play with Philip Rivers spraying balls all over the field to Vincent Jackson, Malcom Floyd, Antonio Gates and Darren Sproles.

As Manning showed, the Dolphins are susceptible to big plays. The Chargers must exploit this.

Chargers have 11 plays over 20 yards which ties them for the NFL lead. Additionally, the ‘Bolts have two plays over 40 yards which ties them for 3rd in the league. This is an explosive offense. 

Commit less than 10 Penalties

San Diego is worst in the league drawing 21 flags so far. The 145 yards is also an NFL worst. You can’t beat yourself and win in this league. The false starts, delay of games and offsides has to stop. 

Conversely, Miami has only committed eight penalties for 47 yards. 

Odd Bits and More

Again, the Chargers avoided the game being blacked out. It was lifted without the 24 hour extension. The Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions weren’t as fortunate and will have this week’s game blacked out. 

The current Las Vegas line has the Chargers by six while ESPN’s inline has the ‘Bolts by two. I’m thinkin’ they’ll cover easily. 

Next week’s game at Pittsburgh will be on NBC for Sunday Night Football.

The ‘Bolts’ next home game, Oct. 19 against the Denver Broncos, will be on Monday Night Football. Like the opening night game in Oakland, the Chargers and Broncos will wear throwbacks to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the AFL.

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