New York Giants: Do I Hear Trade Talks?…. Again

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Hakeem Nicks went down with an injury in the first game of the season and is now out for two to three weeks. Do the Giants need something more to keep them as one of the best teams in the NFC? All throughout the off season there were talks of trading for Brandon Marshall or Anquan Boldin, and these trades talks may still be lingering.

Even without Nicks the Giants still have a solid receiving corps consisting of Mario Manningham, Steve Smith, Ramses Barden, Sinorice Moss,  Domenik  Hixon, and Derek Hagan. Yet this core is inexperienced and still has fans thinking, do we need an experienced, star receiver to lead this corps?

The Giants could be entering trade talks with either the Denver Broncos for Brandon Marshall or the Arizona Cardinals for Anquan Boldin. Either of these players would be extremely helpful and a great acquisition for the Giants.

Trading for either one of these players would cost the Giants a lot, most likely in draft picks. Anquan Boldin would probably be the better fit for the Giants because he knows how to be a team player, and he has more experience winning in the league. On the other hand Marshall is probably an all around better player, but he can bring a team down. He is looking a lot like the next T.O.

The likeliness that either of these teams is willing to trade these players is very little. As the days go by it becomes more and more unlikely and the price will continue to rise. If either of the deals is going to happen they would have to happen soon or else it would hurt the Giants, who do not want to have to work a receiver into their system any later than that.

Neither the Boldin nor the Marshall trades are likely to happen, although the trades would help the Giants along in their quest for a second Super Bowl in two years.  The Giants are likely to stick with the receivers they have and wait for Nicks to come back to have a complete unit.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Oakland Raiders’ Injured: Progress Report

Its no secret that injuries are a part of every team.

Here’s a look at the Raiders injuries and what they mean coming into week two.

 

Khalif Barnes—Doubtful (Ankle)

He has been allowed to resume practice but is still unlikely to play in the game. As of now he is set to backup Mario Henderson. If he continues to refuse to play the right, barring injury, he won’t see the field much. Barnes also plays the extra TE in goal line situations and his return could boost the goal line and short yardage production.

 

Johnnie Lee Higgins—Questionable (Shoulder)

He sprained an AC joint in his shoulder after an impressive hit by a Charger safety Monday night. He underwent an MRI and the severity of the injury won’t be known until tonight.

 

Javon Walker—Questionable (Knee)

Walker believes he is healthy and ready to go. Tom Cable and the training staff have said otherwise…Very puzzling. Does this suggest Cable has lack of faith in the reciever or is just being over cautious. There is also talk of Walker retuning punts.

 

Nick Miller—Doubtful (Ankle)

What was first though to be shin splints turned out to be a broken bone just above his ankle. Miller hopes he won’t be placed on IR but it is a possibility as the injury often takes 4-6 weeks to recover from. Miller and Higgins are both important parts of the return game.

 

Justin Fargas—Probable (Hamstring)

His status according to Raiders.com is still listed as questionable. But the site is known for its slow updates and still says it is only week one. Justin Fargas is most likely to suit up for Sunday’s game, if only to receive limited reps. It would be a mistake to play him if he isn’t fully recovered.

 

Chaz Schilens—Out (Foot)

He has been cleared to begin running again. Though a return Sunday morning is improbable it is not impossible with a week three return against the Broncos more likely.

Jason Horton—IR (Foot)

Mike Hawkins—IR (Undisclosed)

For the most part these injuries are minor but may still slow the Raiders offense a little.

With two other capable backs (maybe even three including Louis Rankin) there is no need to rush Justin Fargas to the field. He shouldn’t return until he is fully recovered. I’m sure a good deal of Raider fans didn’t miss him last week.

The return game is hampered by injury. With Nick Miller out fourth string running back, Louis Rankin, took over kick returns. In Higgins absence, Hiram Eugene has taken over punt return duties and reports say it isn’t pretty.

Maybe the Raiders should look into bringing back return specialist Justin Miller. As far as I know he is still teamless. Or just throw McFadden back there on punt returns, he did it in college.

The receiver injuries hurt the passing game a lot. Higgins lead all Oakland receivers last year and Schilens was a beast in preseason. Having both of them available will make JaMarcus’ life a lot easier. Javon Walker? Well, he is a wildcard, I’m not completely buying into his miraculous recovery and return to form.

For now lets just hope for quick recoveries from all the injured Raiders.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Sanchez: Beat Brady and Earn Some Respect

Mark Sanchez did a great job going down to Houston and beating the Texans. His performance down south showed that he can play in the NFL. It proves that the Rex Ryan era as the Jets’ head coach has begun, and he is expecting only the best out of his players.

This week’s opponent is none other then the New England Patriots. Yes, the Patriots are coming off a short work week, but that is not going to stop Bill Belichick from having his team ready to go Sunday at the Meadowlands.

Division rivals are always some of the most intense games of the football season.   This could be a big statement early in the year made by Sanchez and the Jets.  The Patriots looked vulnerable in areas on Monday night, and if Sanchez is able to exploit them he could lead his team to victory.

This Jets defense will be put to a tough test against an outstanding New England offense. Tom Brady came through in the clutch when he was needed in the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills.

Tight end Ben Watson caught both touchdown passes that ended up giving them the lead for good. Consistent Wes Welker was all over the field, and he ended up totalling double digit receptions on the night.

Let’s not forget about Randy Moss and the game he had. Whenever a big catch was needed, Moss was called upon and answered. His presence on the field alone is going to be something the Jets make sure they take care of.

Ultimately, this game is going to fall in the hands of the young quarterback Mark Sanchez. The young man from USC has answered the call by starting for the New York Jets, and he has taken it in stride.

Sanchez may feel he still has a chip on his shoulder from the critics at Southern California. Even his coach, Pete Carroll, said he was not sure if Mark was ready for the transition to the next level.

The Jets have a new face of the franchise. They traded up in the draft to get this kid because he can play football. One way to get the respect he deserves would be to take down the Patriots at home this coming Sunday.

It is a tough task, but Sanchez has worked hard and diligently throughout the offseason. He has the weapons to win football games and potentially guide this team to the playoffs.

If Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are able to carry the load and provide a consistent running game, this team will be successful. Washington is a threat anywhere on the field. Jones is a power runner who, when he hits an open hole, is gone to the end-zone.

The right arm of Mark Sanchez delivered on almost every key third-down situation against the Texans. His weapons on the outside are Jerricho Cotchery and Chansi Stuckey. Both of these guys have speed and athleticism.

They may not get the deep ball every play, but as long as they move the chains it is perfectly fine. He also has a tight end by the name of Dustin Keller who can catch the ball over the middle and block down.

Beating Tom Brady in Week two of the NFL season would be an achievement that not many quarterbacks can do. It is only Brady’s second start since his knee injury, but he threw the ball well against the Bills and accumulated a ton of yards.

The Patriots are going to be ready to play: There is no doubt about it. With Mangini gone to Cleveland, there is still a whole lot in this rivalry.

New coach Rex Ryan has done his share of talking and now it is time for his team to answer the call. How the Jets perform against the AFC East favorite will give a strong indication to where their season is headed.

How Mark Sanchez plays on Sunday will have a lot to do with that. This is not college anymore, and let’s hope Mark realizes that. He has an opportunity to earn respect from everyone if he goes out, has a great game, and wins in front of the home crowd.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Seahawks Fans: Why Losing Leroy Hill Is Not So Bad

In the Seahawks 28-0 week one win against the St. Louis Rams, the Seahawks lost a key player on defense in Leroy Hill.

During the game, Hill came off late in the first quarter and came back late in the second quarter in street clothes.

At the time, it was reported as a “groin injury.” After the game, the Seahawks’ trainers had the opportunity to run all the tests on Hill, and they came to a consensus that Hill had a groin injury—possibly a tear.

Head coach Jim Mora Jr. reported yesterday that Hill will be out till week eight, after the Seahawks’ bye week in week seven.

Yes, losing a starting linebacker like Leroy Hill is a significant loss, but it’s not as bad as fans and everyone else is making it out to be.

The Seahawks have two outstanding backup linebackers in Will Herring (took the place of Hill in the Rams game) and David Hawthorne.

Herring recorded two tackles in the Rams game after replacing Hill. Hawthorne had a killer hit on Rams quarterback Marc Bulger, who bounced right back up and had a few choice words for David.

Both players will be a great fit to replace Hill, and losing Hill also doesn’t look as bad because during the offseason the Seahawks let Hill go to free agency after they couldn’t agree before the draft.

Hill wound up signing a long-term contract after the draft, but the Seahawks were confident they could go on without Hill if needed.

Another bright spot in the loss of Hill is that Aaron Curry can get even more tackles now without having another top linebacker in Hill.

Curry will be key against Frank Gore and the 49ers this weekend.

Don’t look for the Seahawks to sign Derrick Brooks because he joined ESPN. The Seahawks don’t need to add a linebacker with the two backups they have.

It should be fun this weekend against San Francisco.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Dear Michael Crabtree: Shut Up and Play

Are we sure that President Obama’s recent comments about Kanye West were not directed at Michael Crabtree?

Crabtree, the 10th overall selection in the 2009 NFL Draft, has yet to sign with the San Francisco 49ers.

Normally I wouldn’t have a problem with that. But seeing as how it is Week Two in the NFL, I am a little agitated.

Crabtree, the two-time Biletnikoff award winner, is threatening to sit out the entire 2009 NFL season. If he were to do this, he would be eligible to re-enter the draft in 2010.

In my opinion there are two main reasons why Crabtree hasn’t signed: he wanted to be drafted higher, and he wants to be paid like a higher draft pick.

Well, Michael, the reality is this: You were the 10th pick in the draft.

Who is he going to blame for not being selected with the other nine picks? If he needs to blame somebody, blame the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland had the fifth and 21st picks in the draft. The team has a need for another receiver to compliment Braylon Edwards.

Instead, the Browns dealt the pick to the New York Jets, selected C Alex Mack with the 21st pick, and drafted WRs Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi with their next two picks.

Crabtree could blame the Seattle Seahawks for signing free-agent WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh during the offseason. Before the Seahawks signed T.J., ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. predicted Crabtree to be drafted fourth overall by Seattle. After Seattle signed Houshmandzadeh, Seattle felt they had more dire needs than a receiver and drafted LB Aaron Curry of Wake Forest.

He could blame the St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinatti Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, or Green Bay Packers, who all selected linemen instead of taking the talented Crabtree.

He could also blame the Oakland Raiders for selecting WR Darrius Heyward-Bey with the seventh overall pick in the draft.

That has to sting a bit. A two-time Biletnikoff, the only player to win the award twice, wasn’t even the first wideout drafted.

Crabtree must have grown weary sitting in the green room of Radio City Music Hall on Draft Day.

It could have been worse, though. He could have been Ben Roethlisberger, who had to sit backstage until he was selected with the 11th pick.

It could have been even worse. He could have been Aaron Rodgers, who some thought would be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. Rodgers fell to No. 24, and was the second quarterback taken.

The bottom line is this: Crabtree was the 10th overall pick. There is nothing he can do about it.

Or is there?

If Crabtree sits out the entire 2009-10 season, he would be eligible to re-enter the NFL Draft.

This would be one of the worst moves of his career.

I don’t know what Michael is thinking, but if he were to re-enter the draft, he would not be selected higher than ten. I would have him going much lower.

Much lower.

It doesn’t matter how talented a player is if their reputation is tarnished. Randy Moss was regarded as one of the most talented players in the 1998 NFL Draft. But off field and character issues led to many teams passing on Moss before he was selected 24th overall by the Minnesota Vikings.

Moss went on to win the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, hold the single-season touchdown reception record (23), and play for two teams that have set the NFL record for points scored in a season (Minnesota Vikings in 1998, New England Patriots in 2007).

Further hurting Crabtree, players who have taken a year off rarely have good careers.

Take QB Kelly Stouffer for instance. Stouffer held out the entire season after being selected sixth overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1987. He was traded to the Seattle Seahawks in 1988. Stouffer would have five injury-plagued seasons in Seattle, where he would throw seven touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and have a career passer rating of 54.4 while appearing in 22 games (he was the starter in eight of those games.)

A more recent example is WR Mike Williams. Williams, a star at USC, declared for the NFL draft at the end of his sophomore year, however there is a rule that a player must be three years removed from high school in order to be eligible. In Williams’ defense, at the time Ohio State RB Maurice Clarett was challenging the rule in court.

Williams hired an agent, which made him ineligible to return to USC for his junior season, and he sat out the entire year.

Despite all of this, Williams was selected 10th overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2004 NFL Draft.

Williams lasted only three seasons in the NFL, and is currently a free agent. His career numbers are 44 receptions for 539 yards and two touchdowns.

Even if Crabtree were to sit out the entire season, his draft rights would still be owned by the Niners until next year’s draft, which means he wouldn’t be able to practice (or talk to) any other teams or participate in the NFL Draft Combine.

Crabtree’s other issue is his paycheck. San Francisco offered Crabtree a five-year $16M contract.

The one problem?

The Oakland Raiders gave Darrius Hayward-Bey a five year, $25M deal.

A similar situation: Missouri Tigers pitcher Kyle Gibson was ranked among the top five players in the 2009 MLB Draft. But a stress fracture in his forearm helped him fall into the lap of the Minnesota Twins, who had the 22nd pick.

Gibson wasn’t signed until less than an hour before the deadline. His main reason? He wanted to be treated (and paid) like a top-10 pick.

Deion Sanders of the NFL Network reported that Crabtree isn’t scared to sit out the entire season because he isn’t in “dire need” of money.

If Crabtree isn’t in dire need of money, why is he holding out for a larger contract?

There is one thing Crabtree needs to do to start regaining his reputation: play.

Crabtree was the most dominant receiver in college football for two years. He has the opportunity to be mentioned in the same sentence as Jerry Rice and Dwight Clark and play in the hallowed red and gold. He has the opportunity to help save a once-heralded franchise.

But he is squandering his chances of heroism and stardom by sitting out.

If Crabtree doesn’t sign with the Niners soon, his career will be all but over.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Don’t Count Him Out Yet; DHB Silencing Doubters for Years

So who is Darrius Heyward-Bey anyway? He could be your cousin, your brother, or your best friend. He’s like any other person that has had goals and obstacles to overcome, like you or like me.

Similar to us all, he’s also had people tell him no, you can’t and you shouldn’t.

However, one of the greatest things about this Raider is his personal belief in himself, despite coaches or popular opinion. His rise to the NFL reflects his rise from HS through college in many ways.

We’ve all heard the saying, blessings come as disguises sometimes. For Darrius, it was incredible physical speed.

It virtually allowed DHB to pick and choose which scholarship type he wanted to accept, as he was an All-American in both football and track at Mcdonoug HS in Pomfret, MD.

Admittedly, football was not his first love, and something he had to get used to as he explained in an interview with Kevin Van Valkenburg of the Sun Reporter

“Usually, I was just out there running for my life,” Heyward-Bey said. “If I scored a touchdown, it was always out of fear of being tackled.”

He had aspirations of becoming a professional track runner, but ultimately, from the urging of friends and family, chose football.

From the day he accepted a scholarship from the University of Maryland, he was labeled a marked man. He was met with skepticism from players and fans that he could not translate track success into college football success at a major athletic program.

With that motivation, he went to work.

He set new records at Maryland for receptions, 138, third in school history, yards receiving, 2,089, second best in school history, and was All Atlantic Coast Conference twice.

After finishing his junior season as one of the most heralded wideouts in the ACC, he again had to face criticism, this time from the NFL media and Mel Kiper Jr., who routinely picked him as a bust and bad selection over the likes of Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin.

There are many knocks when it comes to Heyward-Bey as a true receiver. From “he doesnt have good hands” to his confusion in running accurate routes. This gives the media and those who doubt him fuel for the fire, but also makes watching him all the more exciting and interesting.

Be as it may, Heyward-Bey knows he will have to work hard to prove himself, referring to dropped passes and becoming a true catcher in the NFL

“They tell me all the time, ‘Forget about that one, move on to the next one,’ ”  “I’m just trying to work through the kinks. That’s football. It happens.”

Being successful, following through with goals and achieving them, that’s called hard work.

Its one of the many things Darius Heyward Bey brings to this new Raiders team, and one of the reasons why management will bank on him having a career similar to that at Maryland.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

NFL Week One: The Ready and Not-so-Ready for Primetime QBs

FINALLY, we have the unimportant (except to the NFL owners’ pocketbooks) and unfulfilling “preseason” behind us and can move on to the Real Thing!

Welcome to the 2009 NFL version of madness, mayhem, maladies, misfires, missteps and the masterful.

We will take a look at the best …… and the worst of the QB performances of Week 1.

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Attack of the “We” People: What Did McKelvin’s Lawn Do To You?

I created a post at Starr*Rated a few months back and sent it to Bleacher Report, and it got very little attention either place. With the vandalism of Buffalo Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin’s lawn after his game-changing fumble Monday night, I need to revisit it.

I refer to people who identify a little too closely with their favorite teams as “we” people, after their annoying habit of lumping themselves in with the players as part of the organization. My personal philosophy states that if you use the terms “we,” “us,” or “our” when discussing your team, you need to be able to provide some video evidence that you were, in fact, on the field at some time. (As an active participant, not a streaker, you degenerates.)

Otherwise, you’re discounting your own opinion as hopelessly biased and made discussing sports with you completely worthless, since you’ve now made it personal. I am now afraid to tell you that your team sucks, for fear that you will turn and crack me in the teeth…or worse.

I have very little doubt that the people who painted the game’s final score on McKelvin’s lawn, along with what has been nebulously referred to as an “obscenity,” are the kind of people who take that kind of pathological interest in the results of the Bills’ games. Living and dying with your team’s wins and losses is much like fat, drunk, and stupid. Neither is much of a way to go through life, son.

And I use the term “living and dying” for a very good reason. I produced another piece a few weeks ago, attempting to illustrate why NFL players were in no hurry to challenge ye olde Seconde Amendmente. As far as these guys are concerned, they now need to be packing at all times. If people are going to start taking it to the next level and bringing it onto their front lawns while they’re on road trips, the players might just start having their wives packing, to boot.

Some have said that Bills linebacker Kawika Mitchell exacerbated the problem when he Tweeted this…

“Its def not a game to b playin. W/ all the safety issues n the NFL its not funny at all. We have Fam at our homes to protect. If u show ur face on my prop Ill make sure I do everythin to keep my Fam safe.”

…and this…

“So dont come around thinkin, oh we’ll just leave a message on his lawn or wall, b/c Im goin to take it as a threat. Its my job to protect my home as it is the job of all home owners.”

But I don’t view this as a threat so much as a reminder that paying your ticket price does not entitle you to complete dominion over these players and the rest of the team’s employees.

You want to show up to the stadium and boo McKelvin for putting the ball on the turf and costing “us” the game? Fine. Your ticket gives you that right.

You want to make a phone call the next morning and get bent with your local sports jock about how “we” had the Patriots on the ropes? No problem. The amendment right before #2 above grants you that privilege.

Showing up on another person’s property, however? That will get you shot, and justifiably so.

Visions of Sean Taylor still dance in players’ heads, and any unknown person on their property in the dead of night will be assumed to have bad intentions. The next step past vandalizing the lawn may be executing a player’s (or coach’s) dog.

I shouldn’t have to outline what would come after that.

I understand the frustration of watching a difficult loss. After all, I stayed up a little later than I should have just to watch the Bears forget how to cover Greg Jennings, then see Jay Cutler toss pick #4. The fan now has to take out mortgages at 18% to be able to afford a family trip to a game. Sometimes, it’s difficult to justify this loyalty, especially when the only reward teams offer in return is a ticket price increase (or a lawsuit, in the extreme cases).

Note that “game” is bolded above. When the columns are totaled, a game is what we’re talking about. Your team lost. Everyone’s team loses at some point. But it takes a special breed of jackhole to decide that he’s going to say it with Krylon all over a player’s lawn.

These are the people who make it personal. These are the people who make me sad to be a sports fan. And I’ll bet every damn one that overreacts this way refers to his team as “we.”

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Are Recent Cases Good Examples For Regulation of Supplement Industry?

As Peter Griffin would say, “What grinds my gears,” today is an industry of supplements and steroids (not the same, but similar) that has run wild with ridiculous promises.

This article is by no means a true essay, because I won’t use standard reference notation. Instead, I will simply say that I have gathered my information from a variety of news articles, John Basedow, and Vince DelMonte.

One example has been the ever annoying and incessant ads on MySpace, “I Got Ripped in 4 Weeks.”  These ads, like cigarette ads, target kids, teens, and adults to believe that you can look like some idiot that probably downed a dangerous cocktail of steroids and fat burners with no exercise involved.

The reality about many fitness magazines is this: Most fitness magazines are published by the same companies that sell supplements and other phony diets that are often only dangerous to your health and hard on your wallet. The publishers don’t profit from the magazines, they profit from the supplements and diets they sell by lying to you with ridiculous ads.

At one time, Hollywood made movies to make smoking look cool. Nowadays, many Hollywood movies do the same thing with steroids to make actors and actresses look, well, unnaturally better than they normally would.

The only difference is, they don’t commonly admit to using dangerous drugs like steroids. Surely, they do so under professional guidance, while audiences are led to strive for something that they really don’t have the means to achieve.

Technically, if you have enough money to buy prescriptions from an unscrupulous medical practitioner, then technically, you haven’t violated the law.

Take a look at Carrot Top and I will need not say more. He gives Insane Clown Posse a whole new meaning.

With that said, it didn’t violate the law to smoke in movies either, but it was still wrong because it promoted a dangerous substance.

However, shelves of many stores are now stocked with products that promise great results for people eager to believe that the product will work.  In fact, many so-called supplements are mixed with ground-up rocks.

In the NFL, players such as Kevin Williams and Pat Williams (no relation) have gone to court after they were suspended by the NFL for using an over the counter supplement, StarCaps, because it contained a substance banned by the NFL.

The Williams’ have argued that as members of the Minnesota Vikings that they are subject to the workplace laws of Minnesota, not the national office of the NFL.

This case then brings about interesting questions on the topic of not only state’s rights vs. the rights of a corporation, but also the issue that the supplement industry is widely unregulated and engages in what is tantamount to false advertising, not free speech.

Recently, Roger Goodell decided to not suspend Will Smith and Charles Grant of the Saints, along with former teammate Deuce McAlister for using an over the counter supplement that contained a banned substance.

I certainly appreciated Goodell’s statement that he was not prepared to suspend players for conduct similar to that of the Williamses, because of their legal case.

It is one thing for a company like the NFL to impose standards on what players can and cannot ingest, but the underlying problem is the lack of regulation in the supplement industry.

I or you probably cannot stop that industry, though I believe that a US government that has taken up the issue of health-care, should be more concerned with the issue of charlatan practitioners that are just legal drug-dealers that help enable a culture that creates a false image, leading people to take dangerous substances.

With that said, if there ever were an industry to tax for the purposes of a health-care program, it would be the supplement industry.

I generally dislike discussing my medical history because it sounds like complaining, but I think the experience I have had is an important one.

As someone who has suffered from breathing problems for most of his life, I led myself to try over the counter supplements and even protein shakes in order to assist with my metabolism. 

On top of it, after I had initially lost 40 lbs. between March of 2002 and November of 2003, I started experiencing night sweats that likely resulted from infections due to breathing problems.

After all, steroids were meant for people with breathing problems, and I was only taking an over the counter supplement.  What could go wrong?

I didn’t take anything illegal, yet the result was likely negative. I would eventually develop cataracts. The exact cause of which is uncertain, but I do believe that was the cause.

I’d rather not turn this into some long story, but frankly, I would like to see changes in the supplement industry and the culture created by it.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Cincinnati Bengals Working Out the Kinks

Last Sunday, Marvin Lewis and his coaches stood in front of a hulking object, covered in a tarp inside of Paul Brown Stadium. A crowd gathered around it and the tarp was removed. There stood the new Bengals machine of 2009, shiny and new, purring idly and waiting to operate. The coaches set it in motion and the machine went to work with only a few minor setbacks; coughing out an occasional plume of smoke on a penalty or losing a bolt on a dropped pass. 

 

After a few hours, the machine seemed to have completed its task—albeit without much grace or style—and the crowd seemed satisfied enough. But then, out of nowhere, the machine was struck by lightning and died; the crowd left disappointed and the coaches stormed back to the lab to work out the kinks.

 

But what are the kinks?

 

The defense looks fine; no problems there.  Carson Palmer had one bad throw in the third-quarter deep in his own territory which should have been picked off by a linebacker and returned to the house, but luckily was dropped instead. Outside of that pass, there were no glaring errors made on his part, so he doesn’t seem to be the problem. Special teams had a major gaffe made by a rookie punter, but that isn’t likely to keep happening. Penalties and drops are small annoyances that are easily fixed. So what’s really keeping this rocket-ship from blasting off?

 

Most fans will shout in a raspy, aggravated tone that it’s the play-calling.

 

Ah, the “Bratkowski sucks” mantra heard anywhere Bengal games are broadcast.  This year’s machine was promised to feature a new offensive playbook that would dazzle defenses and appease fans, yet the complaining started at halftime of the first game and the anger rose in the stands after watching too many first-down hand-offs. 

 

For the record, there need to be some first-down runs. Even the no-gainers up the middle are necessary to set up other plays in the same formation later in the game, and runs early in each half helps wear down the opposing defense. But it appears that Bob Bratkowski is still leaning on that lever a little too hard. 

 

The running game is least effective when the Bengals get stopped for a minimal gain on first down, then try again the next down (in fairness to Brat, some of that happens when Palmer audibles to a run, which rarely seems to work, but, I suppose, is better than an interception or sack). Either Brat or Marvin or both, make “manageable third-down scenarios” such a high priority within the sequence of play-calling that it seems to detract from the rhythm and strengths of the offense. If the Bengals were more willing to attack rather than chip away on second & longish, perhaps there would be less third downs to worry about in general.

 

Another priority within the Bengal playbook is the vertical passing game. Fans,  loudmouth receivers, and golden boy quarterbacks love it, but it’s a tough strength to gamble on. Denver eliminated the vertical passing game after Chris Henry’s 18-yard catch on the first drive. Brian Dawkins was rarely ever in the television screen before the ball was snapped. With the secondary dropping so far back, Palmer relied on his receivers gaining yards after the catch on shorter routes which they were able to do with some success. 

 

Bratkowski ran many play-action passes and Palmer wanted to air it out on a handful of them, but the Broncos insisted the Bengals beat them another way, so Palmer had to go with check-offs. I thought Carson looked good moving out of the pocket, throwing on the run and finding his safety valves when the deep routes were taken away. 

 

Offensive tackle Anthony Collins, was beat a few times on the outside speed rush and Cedric Benson completely wimped out on a chip block on Mario Haggan, but aside from that, the pass-protection was solid, which allowed Palmer to play sharper than I expected of him. In this instance, Bratkowski cannot be accused of refusing to take shots downfield; the defense simply wouldn’t allow it to happen.

 

It’s not a bad approach against this offense: take away the quick strike, allow a lot of short plays underneath and force the offense to trip over its own feet.  The Broncos almost threw a shutout with that game-plan and other teams without elite pass-rushers will probably try the same.  But that philosophy is a passive approach to defense, and the Bengals should learn to score points against it once they improve their concentration. 

 

For years the identity of the team was its explosive passing attack and once the league found out how to stop it, the Bengals were exposed as a team without much of a core. I see Marvin turning the Bengals into a smash-mouth team as an attempt to strengthen the machine’s foundation. 

 

After his centerpiece broke down and he was left with virtually nothing else to work with last season, I believe Marvin learned then that to be consistent in the NFL, a team needs to have more than one way to win games. Once he works out some of those kinks, I think we’ll see that happen this season.    

 

Mojokong—strangely enough, encouraged by what I’ve seen. 

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