Is JaMarcus Russell Inaccurate or Are the Oakland Receivers Too Fast?

Here is a question that has made me wonder.

Obviously, I cannot speculate from first-hand experience, but it seems to me that Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell has accuracy problems when he throws at faster receivers.

When he throws at tight-end Zach Miller, he seems to catch everything.  Miller fell to the second round of the 2007 Draft because of a slow time in the 40 at only 4.72.

Meanwhile, Russell would connect with Dwayne Bowe at LSU, who ran a 4.49 at the Combine.

Compare that to the 40s for Johnnie Lee Higgins, Louis Murphy, and Darrius Heyward-Bey, and you’ll see that Russell appears to be more comfortable with slower receivers.  Heyward-Bey clocked-in around a 4.28, Higgins at around 4.35, and Murphy at about 4.3.

Chaz Schilens, considered Russell’s go-to receiver of the future, clocked-in around 4.4.

Does the speed of a receiver necessarily have an effect on the quarterback’s accuracy?

If so, would that mean that the receivers should slow down, or does Russell just need to compensate for it?

I would much rather hear answers to those questions than the speculation that Russell won’t succeed, or speculation about what the Raiders could have been with Jeff Garcia.

JaMarcus Russell is the quarterback for the Oakland Raiders, so rather than sabotage his confidence with asinine speculation, I think we need to develop real questions that can dig to the bottom of his accuracy problem.

Rather than declare, “He’s inaccurate,” ask “Why has Russell been inaccurate?”

Had the Raiders merely sustained a few drives against San Diego, surely they would have had more points, but instead the Raiders had several three and outs in the third quarter due to incomplete passes.

On the positive side, Russell appeared more poised in the pocket and rarely ran. Russell was sacked only once against San Diego, and that came near the end of the game.

The unspoken stereotype has been that black quarterbacks are “running quarterbacks” or “run-around” quarterbacks as some writers have said, and that poise in the pocket is a sign of, ‘maturity.’

I think we have seen that maturity from Russell, but when he throws at the speedy receivers, he has trouble.

Perhaps then, the receivers can take a word of advice, as the song once said, “Slow down, you move too fast.”

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NFC Team-by-Team: Notes, Targets, and Looks

Each week I will be looking over each team and pointing out noticeable trends that can help you dominate your fantasy league.

Links to both the full article and remaining NFC teams can be found below.

 

Philadelphia Eagles

Donovan McNabb is likely out this week, which means the job belongs to Kevin Kolb…for now. Jeff Garcia was signed to be the backup and Michael Vick is due back from suspension in Week Three.

It’s hard to get a true idea of what the split in carries will be between Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy, because McCoy got a ton of carries once the Eagles pulled away from Carolina on Sunday. The split was 13:9 (4:3 in targets) in favor of Westbrook, but expect that gap to be wider this weekend.

DeSean Jackson (seven) and Brent Celek (seven) both saw a bunch of targets, well more than third place Kevin Curtis (four). Hank Baskett was cut, which means Reggie Brown or Brandon Gibson will be active in Week Two.

 

New York Giants

The split in carries was 16-12 in favor of Brandon Jacobs over Ahmad Bradshaw. Jacobs surprisingly was more involved in the passing game, hauling in two balls, while Bradshaw caught three.

The receiving situation is slightly clearer. Steve Smith was the main man with eight targets/six catches. Kevin Boss, Mario Manningham, Domenik Hixon, and Hakeem Nicks each had three or four targets. With Nicks out for a few weeks, Ramses Barden or Sinorice Moss will see work.

 

Dallas Cowboys

The running back split showed Marion Barber leading the way with two-thirds of the carries. He had 14, while Felix Jones (six) and Tashard Choice (two) did the rest. No targets for Barber or Jones.

Roy Williams (seven), Jason Witten (seven), and Patrick Crayton (six) were not surprises at the top of the target list.

 

Washington Redskins

Ladell Betts didn’t steal much of the spotlight from Clinton Portis. The carry split favored Portis 16:2.

Antwaan Randle El was demoted to the slot role this season, but led the team in targets with nine. He caught seven of them for 98 yards. Still, Santana Moss should be the top fantasy option here despite only two catches on five targets. Malcolm Kelly, the new No. 2 WR, caught his only target for a short gain.

Chris Cooley caught seven of his eight targets. That production will continue all year.

 

Chicago Bears

It was a rough outing for Matt Forte, who failed to record a catch on just one target. Owners, especially those in PPR leagues, should be concerned about that as a lot of Forte’s value in 2008 came from the fact that he caught 63 balls. Forte did carry the ball 25 times, compared to just three for backup Garrett Wolfe.

Earl Bennett had a whopping 13 targets and caught seven of them. He is certainly a player to target right now. Devin Hester caught all four of his targets. Cutler looked to the tight end 10 times: Greg Olsen (six times), Desmond Clark (four times).

Could rookie Johnny Knox make an impact this year? He was also targeted four times and was the team’s third option at WR.

 

Detroit Lions

Kevin Smith struggled to 20 rush yards on 15 carries, but scored on the ground and recorded 52 receiving yards on seven catches (nine targets). If the rookie Matt Stafford continues to play it safe and dump the ball off to Smith, he will be fantasy gold.

Andre Brown (one) and Terrelle Smith (two) had the team’s only other RB carries.

Calvin Johnson was targeted 13 times, but caught just three for 90 yards. Bryant Johnson had eight thrown his way.

There was not much love for the tight end, as Casey Fitzsimmons (one) and Will Heller (two) accounted for the only three targets.

 

Green Bay Packers

Ryan Grant is the man for the carries (16:3), but DeShawn Wynn was targeted four times, compared to just once for Grant.

Greg Jennings (eight) and Donald Driver (seven) saw the most targets as expected. Jordy Nelson (two targets) and James Jones (one) failed to catch a ball. Donald Lee caught all three of his targets, but for only eight yards.

Sleeper candidate Jermichael Finley caught just one ball.

…

Read Full Article

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Come To Think of It: Exploring the Walter Payton Statue Controversy

Joseph Stalin once said, “The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.”

While that may be true to some, Soldier Field was erected, in part, so that the memory of those men and women who fought for our country and shed their blood and their lives would have a place to be remembered.

It is with this thought in mind that the Chicago park district and some military veterans oppose the attempts by the “Friends of Walter Payton” committee to have a statue in his honor out in front of Solider Field.

The bronze statue, being constructed in Wasilla, AK, with a foundry in Utah, will be slightly larger than 6’0″ tall and life size. The base will be about five to six feet tall. The sculptor is Stan Watts, who specializes in life-size bronzes.

While it’s the home of the Chicago Bears, Soldier Field serves as a memorial to American soldiers who died in wars.

If one is to put up a statue of a football player, it is argued, then where are the statues of the real heroes, the fallen war soldiers?

It was media mogul Ted Turner who said, “Sports is like a war without the killing.” But does such sentiment demean the memory of those who defended their country so bravely?

Look, this isn’t a debate over whether Payton deserves a statue in this town. Of course he does. There is a statue for Michael Jordan and Ernie Banks. Heck, there are even statues for Irv Kupcinet, Harry Caray and Jack Brickhouse, among others.

Rather, this argument centers around the placement of the statue.

Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune reports that, “According to a Payton family spokeswoman, park district officials explained that Soldier Field and the area surrounding it is to be preserved strictly as a memorial to war veterans. There also is concern a Payton statue outside of Soldier Field might diminish the stature of other former Bears Hall of Famers.”

That last part is interesting. For while Payton was certainly one of the greatest players of all time, there have been plenty of Hall of Fame Chicago Bears and none of them have a statue.

The last time I checked, there were no statues for “Da Coach” Mike Ditka, Bill George, Red Grange, Bronco Nagurski, Sid Luckman, Dick Butkus, or Gale Sayers, among other Bear greats.

Several years ago, however, the Bears unveiled a 26.5-foot tall granite sculpture, depicting a timeline describing Halas’ contribution to professional football and the history of the Bears. It is located inside Soldier Field’s Bear Den, in the west concourse.

Walter Payton, who set the record for career rushing yards before he retired, a mark since broken, died on Nov. 1, 1999, from complications of liver cancer.

I don’t believe that many people would have a problem with a statue in Payton’s honor. According to the Tribune report, the park district offered to have the statue placed in any other Chicago park.  But Connie Payton, wife of the late great Bear running back, hopes a compromise can be reached.

To me, all of this discussion is trumped by the fact that the Bears decided to put a space ship atop of the stadium in 2003. If Soldier Field is such a legendary memorial, why were they allowed to do that?

So go ahead and place that statue there, I say. Walter was not only a great football player, he was a warrior. Not to be confused, in any way, with those who fought in wars, but a warrior nonetheless.

Yes, sports is just sports while war is truly life and death. But the lines of distinction have been blurred before, come to think of it.

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Week 1 Review: Miami Dolphins at Atlanta Falcons

The smoke has cleared, the lines were drawn and the Atlanta Falcons came out victorious. After receiving much critique in the preseason the Falcons defense stepped it up and had a perfomance to remember.

The first Falcons 2009 Free Agent aquisition, Mike Peterson, put his stamp on a defense that hasn’t had a true WLB (Weakside Linebacker) since Cornelius Bennett. He had a key forced fumble on TE Anthony Fasano in the 2nd quarter that halted a Miami drive that was moving into Falcons territory.

He followed that by reading QB Chad Pennington and picking off a pass in stride which ultimately led to an Atlanta touchdown. In total, he posted 2 forced fumbles (Lofton was given one of them), 1 INT and 7 tackles. He should be up for Defensive Player of the Week after that performance.

“I was just playing my responsibility,” Peterson said of the forced fumble play. “Coaches draw it up and expect us to make the play and that was what I was able to do.”

Welcome words to a team that needed that extra spark from the defensive unit. But the story doesn’t end there. After a field goal miss by kicker Jason Elam on the first drive of the day, the defense took the field and immediately set the tone.

After linebackers Curtis Lofton and Stephen Nicholas forced a 3rd and 5 on Miami 37 yard line, 2nd year defensive end Kroy Biermann led the charge. Biermann came around Penningtons blind side and forced a fumble recovered by DT Jonathan Babineaux.

“I wanted to fly around, make some plays, I wanted to help the team win.” said Biermann after the game. “I felt like I did an okay job out there today.”  

You had a great game kid. Keep it up.

INTERESTING STAT

For the first time in ages, the Falcons linebackers led the team in tackles. Lofton (11), Peterson (7) and Nicholas (7). In contrast, the Dolphins secondary led their team in tackles.

WHAT ABOUT THE OFFENSE

The Miami Dolphins stacked the line of scrimmage to stop running back Michael Turner. Their game plan was obvious. So, the Falcons had to rely on the arm of quarterback Matt Ryan.

Ryan came out flat. I’m not sure if it was a little rust or perhaps the flu bug he had earlier in the week, but he was just not looking his typical form. By the 2nd quarter he appeared to shake off the jitters and connected on 4 passes of 10 yards or longer in route to a TD pass to Ovie Mughelli. One was a fingertip grab by Tony Gonzalez that left everyone scratching their heads as to how he does it.

It wasn’t until the end of the 3rd quarter that Matt Ryan found his new favorite toy Tony Gonzalez for their first TD of many to come. Following a Mike Peterson interception returned to the Miami 20 yard line, Ryan audibled and found Gonzalez in the flat.

“I saw it coming, and Matt saw it coming because he yelled `Cover Zero.” Gonzalez said of the touchdown.  “I just broke it outside like I’m supposed to.'”

Humble words from a 33-year-old man that juked cornerback Will Allen for a 20 yard score. He was the Falcons leading receiver with 73 yards and that hard earned touchdown. Expect this ‘bromance’ to continue as the weeks go by.

GOAT OF THE WEEK

Dolphins 2nd year standout OT Jake Long was abused all day. Not only by All-Pro defensive end John Abraham (2 sacks) but 2nd year Montana native Kroy Biermann (2 sacks). On one play Abraham timed the snap count perfect and ran completely over Long. All Long could do was grab the jersey of Abraham as he ran over him but it wasn’t enough. The sack was made and the holding call was declined.

“I just kind of got into him good,” Abraham said. “I was able to hit him right in the middle, where we really want to hit people. I didn’t know I was going to hit him like that but it ended up looking good on tape.”

Indeed it did John. I have re-watched it many times now.

HIT OF THE WEEK

As beautiful as Abrahams sack was on Sunday the real hit of the game came courtesy of veteran DT Jonathan Babineaux. No disrespect to Mike Petersons fierce hit on Anthony Fasano to cause the fumble but on the 2nd play of the 3rd quarter RB Lousaka (Louis) Polite wasn’t treated politely. Babineaux came in unblocked and hit him for a 4 yard loss with a hit that echoed throughout the Georgia Dome. It set the tone for a dominating second half by the Falcons.

THE GOOD

Mike Peterson and the entire Falcons defense. Anytime your linebackers lead the team in tackles they are doing their jobs.

Tony Gonzalez debut in red and black. He led the team in catches and scored his first TD as a Falcon.

Eric Weems started the OTAs on the bubble with so much talent in the Falcons receiving corps. After the injury to Harry Douglas he stepped up his game and is now a solid starter at the return position. He had a couple of nice returns Sunday.

THE BAD

The Falcons running game. Michael Turner actually got free a couple of times in the 4th quarter, but overall he was shut down by the Dolphins 8 and 9 man fronts.

Matt Ryan had some real issues making accurate throws downfield. The short to intermediate stuff wasn’t bad but on the rare occasions that he went downfield he either overthrew the ball (he missed a wide open Norwood in the end zone) or underthrew it (missed a wide open White who beat double coverage).

THE UGLY

Right Guard Justin Blalock. He was abused by No. 97 Phillip Merling. Overall the offensive line has been dominant but Miami exposed the gap between center Todd McClure and guard Juston Blalock. I see a lot of film time for the left side of the Falcons offensive line. That does include 2nd year player Sam Baker. He held up pretty well in pass protection but could not manage to open holes for the running game.

NEXT OPPONENT

The Carolina Panthers will be coming to the Dome this Sunday. Look for my Pre-Game writeup coming soon!

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Fantasy Football: Week Two Sleepers at QB, RB, WR, TE, and D/ST

As I admitted to you yesterday in my Week Two Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em post, Week one was not my finest hour. There were a few hits, but more than a few misses, and I am determined to turn that around this week.

Luckily, I set the bar a little higher for myself with my Week one sleeper selections. I didn’t necessarily pick any superstars, but certainly some guys that could have helped you depending on your roster situation.

• Week one Sleeper hits: Brady Quinn (205 yards, TD, 12 pts.); Mike Bell (143 yards, 12 pts.); Isaac Bruce (4 rec, 74 yds, 8.2 pts)
• Week one Sleeper misses: Martellus Bennett (1 rec, 13 yds); New Orleans D (27 pts given up, 3 INTs, 6 pts)

The key thing to remember with sleepers, at least from my perspective, is that they shouldn’t matter all that much until the bye weeks or major injuries start to pile up. If you drafted well, you shouldn’t be doing too much trolling in the 50 percent-or-less owned pool of players unless you are in a very deep league.

It is still too early to tell if your highly drafted players are busts, most everyone is still healthy, and one week is not enough time to tell whether that potential diamond the rough will become a weekly starter.

Still, the earlier that you can identify and latch onto a player who was significantly undervalued on draft day, the better you will be moving forward.

So each of this week’s sleeper picks will be a combination of a) a guy that has a favorable Week two matchup; and b) a guy with the potential to be a weekly starter down the line should certain circumstances fall his way.

Let’s get right to ‘em.

Week 2 Sleeper Picks

Week 2 QB Sleeper Pick: Shaun Hill, San Francisco (vs Seattle)

I was high on Shaun Hill in the offseason and continue to be high on him after the 49ers QB ran his career record to 8-3 in Week one with an efficient (18-31) 209 passing yards and TD. Currently Hill is owned in 25 percent of Yahoo leagues, most likely as a result of the purported QB competition that took place in San Francisco during the offseason.

But with Mike Singletary as the coach, do you really think he was ever going to pass over a guy who has won that high a percentage of his starts?

Hill is not flashy, just effective, which makes him perfect for Singletary’s tastes. And what this means is that, barring injury, Shaun Hill should be starting 16 games this season.

For his career, Hill has a 90.4 QB rating and a 19-9 TD-INT ratio. The 49ers receivers are nothing special, but Hill has an experienced veteran target in Isaac Bruce and a young guy with upside in Josh Morgan. Hill also has a tight end with a lot of potential in Vernon Davis (who you will read more about later.)

Most importantly, Hill has Frank Gore behind him in the backfield.

Although Gore and the 49ers running game struggled in week one, he gives Hill a solid option to dump the ball off to. Gore caught three passes in Week one and took one of them in for a touchdown. He has 53 and 43 catches respectively over the past two seasons.

Here is one more reason to like Hill: the 49ers schedule down the stretch. In weeks 14-17, the 49ers play Arizona, at Philadelphia, Detroit, and at St. Louis. The Philly matchup is tough, but the other three defenses present opportunities for big games.

If you own Tom Brady or Drew Brees, you are probably thinking playoffs right now. What if those guys get hurt? It might not be a bad idea to have a QB on your team who won’t hurt you (a la Jake Delhomme, owned in 43 percent of leagues) and who could be poised for some big games down the stretch.

Week 2 projection for Shaun Hill: 210 yards passing, 1 TD

Other QB sleepers I like specifically in Week two: Jason Campbell, Washington (vs St. Louis, 41 percent owned); JaMarcus Russell, Oakland (at Kansas City, 11 percent owned.)

Week 2 RB Sleeper Pick: RB Correll Buckhalter, Denver Broncos (vs Cleveland)

If you want to know how bad Cleveland’s run defense is, I offer you the following two links:

• Adrian Peterson’s ridiculous Week 1 run
• Browns-Vikings preview

I basically called the Browns-Vikings game exactly as it went, and based much of that prediction on the Browns’ porous run D. Granted, the team looked better in the first half when they had A.P. and the Vikings pretty well bottled up, but Eric Mangini is working no miracles in Cleveland this year.

The Browns will still be at least 20th or lower in rushing defense at season’s end.

Enter Correll Buckhalter (45 percent owned) and the Denver Broncos.

Now, we all know that Knowshon Moreno is the long-term answer in Denver. How soon he will start getting the bulk of the carries though, i’m not sure. Last week, Moreno got eight carries and went for 19 yards. He caught no passes. Buckhalter, on the hand, caught two passes to go along with his eight carries and 46 yards.

Clearly there is a timeshare going on in Denver.

With the Browns putting a surprising amount of pressure on now-statuesque Vikings QB Brett Favre, with a lot of it coming from blitzing safeties, Denver has to be concerned about its backs’ ability to pick up blitzers.

Because Buckhalter is the more experienced of the two, that should give him an edge over Moreno on 2nd-and-long and 3rd down situations.

He has never been a full-time player, but Buckhalter has always produced when given opportunities (4.5 yard career average, 26 catches in 2008.)

He will get few opportunities as sweet as this Sunday’s against the run defense of the Browns, and could have decent value as a bye week flex fill-in moving forward—especially in PPR leagues—even if Knowshon Moreno becomes the feature back on 1st and 2nd downs.

Week 2 projection for Correll Buckhalter: 65 yards rushing, 30 yard receiving, 1 TD

Other RB sleepers I like specifically in Week 2: Michael Bush, Oakland (at Kansas City, 37 percent owned); Ladell Betts, Washington (vs St. Louis, 14 percent owned)

Week 2 WR Sleeper Pick: Robert Meachem, New Orleans (@ Philadelphia)

All offseason we heard about how former first round pick Robert Meachem was finally ready to begin producing for the Saints after two lost seasons. If Week one is any indication, those reports may well prove true.

The Saints’ WR depth chart is interesting. The top two receivers, Marques Colston and Lance Moore, were drafted in the seventh round (Colston) and not drafted at all (Moore). Numbers three and four on the depth chart, however, were drafted in the second round (Devery Henderson) and the first (Meachem.)

So things are a little inverted in New Orleans.

Things are also extremely productive in New Orleans right now, and while Drew Brees won’t be throwing for six TDs every game, the Saints offense is showing every possible sign of being an unstoppable juggernaut in 2009.

Whether Meachem can overtake Colston or Moore in terms of targets is highly doubtful. Those two guys have a better rapport and more game history with Brees, and will most likely end the year with more catches, yards, and touchdowns than either Meachem or Henderson.

But—and it’s a big but—both Colston and Moore have been hurt within the past year. Colston missed time last year and Moore missed the bulk of the preseason. If either goes down, Meachem slides one step closer to getting starting-level WR targets. In New Orleans’ offense, this is a big deal, as Moore unexpectedly proved last year.

This week, Philadelphia will do a much better job of defending Brees than Detroit did. We know that. And in Asante Samual and Sheldon Brown, the Eagles have two pretty good starting corners on the outside. This could be a good game for the Saints’ other WRs, matched up on nickel corners and safeties, to get some increased targets.

And long-term, there are far worse futures buys than a talented former first round pick in his third season who plays in the NFL’s best offense and who also returns kicks.

Week two projection for Robert Meachem: 4 receptions, 71 yards, 1 TD

Other WR sleepers I like specifically in Week two: Antwaan Randle El, Washington (vs St. Louis, 23 percent owned); Michael Clayton, Tampa Bay (at Buffalo, 14 percent owned)

Week two TE Sleeper: Vernon Davis, San Francisco (vs Seattle)

Well, it looks like my work concerning Vernon Davis is not yet done, as Davis still is only owned in 45 percent of leagues. The former first round pick is starting to see more targets though, seven in Week one, and is now more able to turn those targets into production (5 receptions, 40 yards.)

The 49ers are a good team, play in a so-so division, and are devoid of big-time playmakers on the outside. They also have a good, efficient quarterback who will be able to help them keep the chains moving.

Add all of that up, then sprinkle in some of Davis’ immense physical talent and newfound maturity (he’s a captain), and everything appears to be in place for a breakout year from Davis.

This week, San Francisco plays Seattle. The Seahawks should be better this year, and are 1-0, but we really know nothing about them because they’ve only played St. Louis. And for goodness sakes, they gave up four catches and 44 yards to Randy McMichael. No, those aren’t great numbers, but…Randy McMichael?

Watch out, because this could be Vernon Davis’ breakout game and then you’ll all wish you’d listened to me when I told you to pick him up.

Week two projection for Vernon Davis: 6 receptions, 65 yards, 1 TD

Other TE sleepers I like specifically in Week two: Brent Celek, Philadelphia (vs New Orleans, 43 percent owned); Todd Heap, Baltimore (at San Diego, 38 percent owned.)

Week two D/ST Sleeper: Washington Redskins (vs St. Louis)

Well, that was easy. The Redskins have a very good defense, and it should only improve this season with Albert Haynesworth. This week they are playing the St. Louis Rams, a team with the worst offense in the NFL west of Cleveland.

Start the Redskins. You won’t be disappointed. (And if you are, it probably means that Jim Zorn is getting fired on Monday.)

Other D/ST sleepers I like specifically in Week two: Atlanta (vs Carolina, 27 percent owned)

Remember to use the comment section for any and all fantasy questions leading up to the start of games on Sunday. I’ll do my best to answer them promptly.

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Early Risers and Fallers Of the 2009 NFL Draft Class

After week one, there is not much to be said about this year’s crop of rookies.

Sad, but true.

There were a few who took advantage of their opportunities while others did not play up to their abilities. Instead of a top-5 list this week, I will list my top two rookies and top two disappointments.

 

Risers

Mark Sanchez, QB, Jets

Not enough can be said about this guy. He has the ability to win now. He led the Jets to a dominating performance over a team in Houston some were picking to make the playoffs this season.

Sanchez threw for a touchdown with only one interception. The Jets did not baby the rookie QB. Sanchez threw the ball 31 times for 272 yards. Sanchez is off to a good start in the NFL and a huge lead in The Hazean’s Fantasy Football Rookie of the Year contest.

Louis Murphy, WR, Raiders

Murphy caught four passes for 87 yards and one touchdown. If it was not for the referees’ questionable overturn of a touchdown in the second quarter, Murphy would have finished with two touchdowns.

Murphy was drafted out of Florida where he was used to catching passes, but he was not the wide receiver expected to spark the Raiders offense. Murphy seems to be a favorite target at wide receiver for quarterback JaMarcus Russell.

 

Fallers

Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells, RB, Cardinals

I thought coming into the season Wells would be a top candidate for rookie of the year even with his injury-prone reputation. He was given the opportunity to score in the redzone last Sunday and he was stuffed.

And with fellow tailback Tim Hightower failing to find any running room, Wells was given a chance to shine, and he did not.

If Wells continues to get stuffed in his goal line opportunities he will struggle to find playing time. The Cards seem to be a throw-first team and Hightower is an excellent receiving back, evident by his 12-catches-for-121-yards performance.

Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Raiders

Two Raiders are mentioned in this week’s Rookie Report. Too bad one of the mentions is not a good one.

Heyward-Bey was drafted in the top 10 of the 2009 NFL Draft to spark the Raiders’ offense. He was advertised as the fastest player in the draft. Instead of showing the Chargers what he can do, however, he let a fellow rookie wide receiver—and teammate—outshine him.

Heyward-Bey caught zero passes for zero yards and, obviously, zero touchdowns. Zero is not a number a top-10 draft pick should be posting. Luckily for Heyward-Bey he is still the second best wide receiver on the team and will get plenty of opportunities to redeem himself in the coming weeks.

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NFL Positives, Negatives, and Undecideds from Week One

It seems after week one, fans and analysts everywhere already know how the season will shake out. And while getting a chance to see a team actually play is a better indicator than the offseason workouts or the draft, there is a reason they play 16 games.

So, we’ll take a look at what week one really meant, and what it could mean for the overall season.

The Positives We Learned

Sanchez, Jets Defense Look Poised to be Playoff Contenders

Most people, especially me, thought it would take the rookie quarterback more than an offseason program to become a reasonable starter, but Sanchez looks every bit the part of a starter.

Some may argue that judging by the stats, Sanchez (18-for-31, 272 yards, one touchdown, one interception) had a better game than last year’s rookie darling Matt Ryan, who in his first game finished 9-for-13, for 169 yards and a score.

But what really stood out for me for Sanchez was his great movement in the pocket, his poise when making throws, and his uncanny, Pro Bowl-type third-down conversion ability.

Also, that Jets defense, with an immense amount of blitz packages really looks like they will dominate all season long.

Bart Scott flies all around the field, David Harris lays huge hit after huge hit, and Kris Jenkins was a mauler all game, and could be the best nose tackle in the league.

These Jets really have a chance to end the season 10-6, 11-5 and reach the playoffs.

 

Peterson and Vikings Defense Will Get Favre to Playoffs

I always felt that, even in the preseason, the Vikings were a lock to make the playoffs and possibly go deep (I picked them to play NE in the Super Bowl).

However, judging by the AP show of 186 yards and three scores as well as a pummeling defense that forced two turnovers, five sacks, and allowed only 268 yards of offense, these Vikings should start to become the favorites in the NFC from most people now.

Favre obviously doesn’t have to do much as he only went 14-for-21 for 110 yards and still won. 

 

Brees, Brady Already on Record Setting Pace

In the fantasy debate on who is the best quarterback, the question of Brees and Brady still is undecided. Brees finished his game against the Lions with 358 yards and six scores.

Not to be entirely outdone, Brady managed 378 yards on 39 completions (a Monday Night Football record) and two scores.

So far, Brees is out on top, but both players could be chasing Dan Marino (and Tom Brady’s) passing records.

The Negatives We Learned

Cutler and His Offense Worse Than Expected

The erratic Cutler was in for serious trouble when he went to Chicago. Cutler relies on his magnificent arm strength and gutsiness to both win games and make his receivers some money.

Guys like Brandon Marshall and Brandon Stokley were rather sure handed, and allowed Cutler to be a little off on his throws, while Eddie Royal is very hard to over-throw.

Now in Chicago, unproven receivers like Earl Bennet, Juaquin Iglesias, and Devin Hester aren’t sure handed, athletic guys who can bail Cutler out.

After a four-interception loss on Sunday Night, look for the Bears offense to give the ball even more to Matt Forte, and look for this Bears passing offense not to improve much throughout the year.

 

Jake Delhomme Has Become the Best Player for Opposing Defenses

Eleven. That’s how many giveaways Jake Delhomme has in his last two games. That’s nine interceptions and two lost fumbles—eleven reasons why defenses love to play against him.

For a guy who used to have the best quarterback rating in playoff history, the conservative, veteran quarterback has fallen off the deep end. And with Matt Moore and A.J. Feely the next best options, I don’t see the Delhomme era ending anytime soon—as long as he strays away from his five-and-a-half turnover per game average.

I’ll take the under against the Falcons next week, but not by much.

 

Cincy, Denver have Offenses Just as Bad as Their Defenses

Coming into the season, Denver had the worst team on paper, especially on defense, and the Bengals were still going to rely on their offense to win them games in shootout fashion.

So, with the Broncos likely not to average more than 14-16 points a game, Palmer, Ochocinco, and company could easily muster up 20 points, right? Wrong.

The Bengals managed to score one touchdown the whole game and ended up losing after the Broncos had a terrible pass bounce into the open and moving arms of Brandon Stokley, as he ran it in for the go ahead score.

With playmakers such as Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Chad Ochocinco, Lavernues Coles, and many others, the combined score of 19 points means that these offenses are even bad against the worst of the worst in defenses.

Still Undecided

The Eagles Haven’t Shown They’re Super Bowl Favorites

After being touted way too much in the preseason about being NFC title favorites, I’m not sold by week one.

I do like the Eagles to at least get to the NFC title game, but the Eagles didn’t over impress me with a week one romping. The defense look very good, abusing Delhomme into five turnovers.

However, the offense didn’t get a chance to show its deep play ability (outside of DeSean Jackson’s punt return), and McNabb is down yet again with an injury.

I was more impressed with the Vikings balanced attack, the Saints tremendous numbers, the Giants complete defense and offense, and the Falcons domination of the Dolphins. I still like the Eagles to go far this year, but pump the breaks on being Super Bowl participants for now.

 

Houston Can Still Be a 9-7 Team

I know the Texans looked awful against the Jets in week one. I watched that game in its entirety, and maybe I took a different message away from it than most.

The Jets defense was perfectly built to reek havoc on the Texans offense. The Jets have the best blitzing inside linebacker in the league, a load and talent of a nose tackle, and an experienced secondary.

Also, the Jets offense really was balanced and really exceeded expectations in consistency.

 

The Cowboys Still Have Questions on Defense

For a defense with arguably the best player in the league in DeMarcus Ware, I’m not sold on the Cowboys defense to be enough to get them to a Super Bowl—or even the playoffs for that matter.

Playing one of the worst offenses in the league in the Tampa Bay Bucs, they allowed over 150 yards rushing, allowed Byron Leftwich to get over 250 yards passing, and had ZERO sacks going against a very marginal offensive line.

The secondary didn’t look good at all, which was expected, but if the front seven can’t bring pressure, the Cowboys could see far too many shootouts than their offense can manage.

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NFL Week One Betting Recap: Injury Report

The first week of the 2009 NFL season is officially in the books, and it couldn’t have blown by quicker. The first game kicked off on Thursday night followed by a host of games on Sunday and a doubleheader on Monday night.

With some amazing finishes and spectacular plays already in the first week, this promises to be an unforgettable season. So what went down on the first weekend of NFL action?

Let’s take a look at the games.

 

Tennessee versus Pittsburgh

The first game of the week saw the Titans cover the spread by three-and-a-half points. The Steelers were favored by six-and-a-half points going into the season opener, and they only ended up winning by a field goal in overtime.

With a final score of 13-10, you know that this was a knockdown, drag-out game. It was sloppy the entire time with neither team establishing the run.

The Steelers nearly gave the game away with a Hines Ward fumble at the end of the game. However, in typical Steeler fashion, they got another chance to redeem themselves.

 

Miami versus Atlanta

The first game of the Tony Gonzalez era in the ATL was a success. He got involved early and often in the passing game as Matt Ryan found him for a touchdown.

The Falcons had no problem covering the spread in this one. A game that featured last season’s turnaround darlings saw that the Falcons are further along in the process.

 

Philadelphia versus Carolina

This was a really great game to be an Eagle fan. It saw the visiting Eagles come in and just destroy the supposedly strong Carolina Panthers.

The Eagles defense just embarrassed Jake Delhomme as he turned the ball over five times and got yanked out of the game.

While the Panthers lost a quarterback to bad play, the Eagles lost theirs to a broken rib. Donovan McNabb could be out for a few weeks now as a result.

Keep this in mind for your future bets.

 

Minnesota versus Cleveland

The first game of the Brett Favre experiment in Minny ended up as a smashing success. Favre did all right, but he was merely a spectator to the Adrian Peterson show most of the game.

If your fantasy team played against Peterson to open up the season, I’m sorry. He made the Cleveland defense look like a bunch of children trying to play flag football out there.

Minnesota covered the spread easily in this one.

 

Jacksonville versus Indianapolis

While Indianapolis won the game, the Jaguars pulled the upset according to the oddsmakers. They covered the spread by four-and-a-half points in a rough, low-scoring affair.

Peyton Manning hooked up with Reggie Wayne a few times, but they did lose No. 2 receiver Anthony Gonzalez for the next two to six weeks. Look out for this injury over the next month.

 

Dallas versus Tampa Bay

The post-T.O. era began in Dallas, and Tony Romo couldn’t have looked more comfortable. Maybe all of this “locker room cancer” thing has some merit.

The Boys were favored in this one, and they didn’t disappoint. They put up some monster yards and raised some questions about the Tampa Bay defense.

 

Washington versus New York

New York came out looking for a replacement for Plaxico Burress. They spread the ball around, played stellar defense, and ran the ball all game long.

They were favored by six and won by that margin for a push. The NFC East looks like it should be a strong division again this year.

 

Chicago versus Green Bay

Jay Cutler made his debut for the Bears, and the result couldn’t have been more terrible. He reminded Broncos fans how lucky they really were to get rid of him as he tossed four interceptions.

As a result of his ineptitude and the Green Bay defense, the Packers covered the spread.

 

Kansas City versus Baltimore

For a moment, this looked like it was going to be the biggest upset of the week. As 13-point underdogs, the Chiefs gave the Ravens all they could handle and almost pulled off the win.

They were tied with the Ravens at 24-24 with three minutes left in the game. Then the Ravens punched in two touchdowns to miraculously cover the spread.

Everyone who bet on the Ravens let out a collective sigh.

 

Denver versus Cincinnati

It took one of the flukiest, most miraculous plays in Broncos history to beat the hapless Cincinnati Bengals. Things are looking pretty grim in both Denver and Cincinnati.

The Kyle Orton-led Broncos had a lot of problems moving the ball against what should be a pretty bad defense.

However, they managed to pull off the upset thanks to that last second play.

 

New York Jets versus Houston

This was statistically the biggest upset of the week as the Texans were four-and-a-half point favorites and the Jets covered by 21-and-a-half points.

This was a shocker to a lot of people as many thought that the Texans would finally put it together this season.

Mark Sanchez started things off with a bang and a win in his first career game.

 

Detroit versus New Orleans

In a game that featured the worst defense in the league against the best offense, you got exactly what you expected. Drew Brees officially went off in this game to the tune of six touchdowns.

It didn’t appear that the Lions had grown very much in the offseason as they were up to their old tricks. Despite the 13-point spread, the Saints still covered it by four points.

 

San Francisco versus Arizona

The defending NFC Champs got thrown for a loop in their first game of the season. San Fran pulled off the upset in this one and covered the spread by nine points.

 

St. Louis versus Seattle

The Rams are still terrible and didn’t even manage to get on the scoreboard. The Seahawks covered easily.

 

The first week was full of surprises and some great games. For next week, be aware of the injuries to Donovan McNabb, Brian Urlacher, and Anthony Gonzalez. They are all impact players and should be considered before placing your bets.

The only thing we know for sure is that Week Two will be just as exciting as Week One.

 

Check out Vernon Croy’s Week Two NFL Picks as his run continues.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

San Diego Chargers-Oakland Raiders: Emotions Dominated, Not the Raiders

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You’re the typical myopic douche Charger fan. It was a good game, the Raiders clearly dominated most of the game and gave it away on stupid plays. Chargers played a smarter fourth quarter…but to say they dominated or to say it was the same as last year is just about as dumb as saying LT is still the best back in the league.

-Barnavicious X

Wow. Have you ever heard a big, tough Raider fan call someone a douche? You can skip ahead to 3:40 of the video for my lighthearted response to that.

Right away, you’ll see that Barney is putting words in my mouth, because this is what he is responding to:

The Raiders only dominated the first quarter and then couldn’t get it going after that. The Raiders had about 2/3 of their rushing yards in the first quarter.

San Diego evenly played (if not outplayed) the Raiders for the last three quarters – they certainly outscored the Raiders. 24-13…

The Oakland Raiders dominated one and a half quarters of play. No more.

The San Diego Chargers did not dominate the Raiders, nor did I say they did.

However, some people got caught up in the Raiders wave of emotion (Steve Young anybody?) and could not see that the Chargers were clearly out of their funk from the middle of the second quarter on.

I can not sit here and just bash Raider fans, because some Charger fans are guilty of getting too emotional (Nick Canepa anyone?) about the first quarter and a half as well.

Allow me to give you the history which led to my belief that the Chargers would likely win the game from about the middle of the second quarter on. 

Back in 1998 and 1999, the only thing holding the Raiders back from the AFC West title was the kicking game.

The Raiders drafted kicker Sebastian Janikowski in the first round and I applauded the pick. Then they drafted punter Shane Lechler in the fifth round, I said, “oh, these guys are serious.”

That is because Oakland was about to complete a team that would consistently win the field position battle and stop missing easy field goals to lose close games.

What was the result?

Oakland won the AFC West in 2000, 2001, and 2002, while ranking higher in points scored than yards gained two out of three of those seasons. The Raiders also finished in the top five in scoring all three years. This was a feat that had not been accomplished by the Raiders since 1983, and hasn’t been accomplished by them since.

The effectiveness of the great Raiders offense and aggressive defense was compounded by the fact that they usually would win the field position battle with Lechler and would usually capitalize on scoring opportunities with Janikowski.

The only thing derailing their dominance was the fact that they built their team with veterans who got old in a hurry.

A few years later the Chargers did the exact same thing by drafting kicker Nate Kaeding in the third round and stealing punter Mike Scifres in the fifth round.

The Chargers have since finished as a top five scoring team from 2004 through 2009 while winning the AFC West four times. The Chargers only ranked higher than tenth in yards gained once, easily leading the league in scoring in 2006.

Last season, the Chargers finished eleventh in yards gained, but second in points scored.

During the Bolts’ five year run of AFC West dominance they’ve scored 27.5 points per game, not by running up 400 yards of offense per game, but by playing on the other guy’s side of the field.

That the Chargers usually win, or at least don’t lose, the turnover battle doesn’t hurt their quest for field position dominance either.

In a nutshell, go back and look at the last six Charger/Colt match ups–of which the Chargers have one four. The Colts have a huge edge in yards gained, but have repeatedly lost the field position battle.

The history lesson is over.

By the middle of the second quarter, Oakland was no longer winning the field position battle. Their dominant running game was no longer getting anywhere near 8 yard per carry.

As soon as Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell started throwing the ball the Chargers picked it off, so the Raiders running game was their key to victory.

Oakland lost the keys at some point during the second quarter.

While Barnavicious X was on his 12th beer, listening to every other word out of Steve Young’s mouth and believing it; those in the know were watching the Raiders go 3-and-out three times in a row, thoroughly losing the field position battle in the process.

I don’t know that that Raiders crossed the 50 yard line more than two times through the entire second half, but the emotional inspiration of the Raiders kept the Raider Nation blinded by the ecstasy of seeing “the great” Philip Rivers rendered mostly ineffective through three quarters–same as last season.

Lipstick was promptly applied to the pig when Russell’s desperation heave on 4th-and-14 came from 57 yards away–on Oakland’s side of the field. That was an inspirational moment that may still lead to a magical season, but not at the Chargers’ expense.

JT the Brick always used the words “passion and energy” to describe the Raider Nation. That is true.

Friends it was obvious that the Raiders defense and the Raider Nation were emotionally dominant throughout the game. Fundamentally, however, the Chargers had the Raiders on their heels from the second quarter on and the “Nation” didn’t even realize it until there were just 18 seconds left in the game.

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Packers-Bears: Jersey Al “Looks at the Film”

Now that the euphoria over the Packers’ exciting win over the Bears has worn off, it’s time to take a closer look at this game.

Watching the game live is a great experience, but impressions we develop can be affected by many things. Your own emotions, announcer’s comments, too much beer—all of these can taint what you think you’re seeing.

As Mike McCarthy will tell you, he doesn’t know what the real story is until he “looks at the film.” So down to my man cave I went.

I fired up the DVR and the HDTV and spent some quality hours pressing the play, rewind, and slow-motion buttons on the remote.

After re-emerging, I have a question for you all and some observations.

 

Question

There was one huge play in this game that will be completely overlooked. Yet without this play, the Bears finish the game with 22 points. Can you think of what play I’m referring to?

The answer is at the end of this article.

The offensive line seemed a bit disjointed, a bit slow, and often indecisive. While all of the attention was rightly on Alan Barbre, the rest of the offensive line had a disappointing night.

Josh Sitton was probably the best of the bunch, but I spotted him making some bad choices on who to block. That’s what happened on the play where Sitton was penalized for holding.

He couldn’t decide which of two players to block and by the time he did, the defender was rushing past him. So Sitton did the only thing he could do in order to protect Rodgers—he held.

The Bears defense easily won the line of scrimmage battle, consistently getting a strong push and moving the Packers’ OL back.

Of course, this resulted in few clear-cut holes for Ryan Grant to run through. Grant had to make a lot of yards on his own running through people, as he did on his touchdown run.

On that play, there was nowhere to go, as Urlacher stuffed his inside running lane, so Grant bounced it out around Chad Clifton and inside Donald Lee.

Two Bears defenders met him head on in the hole, but he refused to get pushed back and was able to fight through them for the TD.

Do not make the mistake of looking at Grant’s 68 yards rushing and saying he didn’t do well. Ryan Grant earned every yard he gained in that game.

I also don’t want to hear anyone say that Rodgers was “off his game.” Anytime a pass he threw was off the mark, it was due to heavy pressure. The long passes that came up short were due to Ogunleye being in his face and Rodgers not being able to step into the ball.

So please, no Rodgers criticisms this week.

As for the safety: Watching the game live, I thought that he could have gotten rid of the ball and I was critical of Rodgers. Playing it back multiple times and in slow motion, I can say I was clearly wrong.

Rodgers doesn’t even see the blitzer until he was a few short steps away. His best option was to try to get away. As he was doing that, the receivers were just starting to break off their routes and look back at Rodgers.

There was a split second where Rodgers might have been able to throw the ball safely in front of Jermichael Finley, but Daniel Manning hooked Rodgers’ right arm. Rodgers actually did a very smart thing, transferring the ball to his left hand to avoid Manning stripping the ball from him in the end zone.

As well as the Packers’ defense played, continuing their preseason turnover spree and playing with aggression, they did relinquish 352 yards of offense.

The problem of course was the big play. The Packers gave up six plays of 20 yards or more, all in the air.

On the plus side, the run defense was outstanding, holding the Bears to a 2.8 yard per carry average. Equally good was the third down defense, stopping the Bears on 11 of 15 third down attempts.

These were both big problems last year, so the marked improvement is more than welcome. But there’s still plenty to work on with the secondary and the big plays.

 

Defensive Line

Exactly when did Johnny Jolly become a defensive back? They dropped him in coverage a few times and then he sniffs out the screen and makes a diving one-handed interception (Tramon, were you paying attention?).

This is a different Jolly than the one we have known in the past. He was in for over 50 plays, along with Cullen Jenkins, and was still going strong at the end of the game.

The Packers played most of the first half in the nickel, with Jenkins and Jolly as the only two defensive linemen. The second half saw much more three-man fronts, with Pickett at nose tackle.

 

Linebackers

Brandon Chillar was outstanding. I’ve watched his sack now at least 20 times and I’m still amazed by the hurdle and how quickly after it he closed in on Cutler.

As for all you Hawk haters and Kampman disbelievers, you’ll have to find yourselves some new whipping boys (I believe Poppinga is available). Hawk finally played like a No. 5 draft pick. It seemed like he was involved in every play in some manner.

Whether it was standing up blockers, crashing through the line, pressuring Cutler on blitzes, covering tight ends, or running down Devin Hester on the sideline to stop a possible TD, he was everywhere. He played with aggression, smarts, and ability we haven’t seen before.

Mr. Invisible left a huge impression on this game, his best game as a pro that I’ve seen.

Aaron Kampman was, quite simply, Aaron Kampman. His coverage responsibilities were limited and any time he was asked to cover, the Packers were blitzing other players, making it difficult for Cutler to take advantage of the supposed mismatch of Kampman in coverage.

A perfect example would be Chillar’s sack. Kampman was back in coverage on that play.

He looked fine as a linebacker against the run, especially when the ball was run wide to his side, standing up blockers and slowing down Matt Forte until more help arrived.

He was used extensively in the pass rush and was in the Bears’ backfield all night. He mostly played like Aaron Kampman, just not from a three point stance.

I would complain about the penalties, but three of them (against Clifton, Matthews, and Harris) were just horrendous calls. The phantom illegal contact on Al Harris might be one of the worst I’ve seen in 40 years of watching football.

Having said that, it does still seem like the Packers draw penalties at the worst times—when the defense gets a big stop or the offense runs off a big play.

Perhaps the second most amazing play of the night was Bret Swain’s tackle on the fake punt. Swain is the outside end on the right side, down in a three point stance. He takes one step in like he’s rushing the passer, then stands up.

He immediately sees the fake, hustles down the line of scrimmage behind the scrum, and makes a textbook, wrap-your-arms, linebacker-like tackle just as the ball carrier was breaking through the hole.

If you look back at that play, you will see that there isn’t another Packer in sight. If Swain doesn’t make that tackle, we’re looking at a 30-yard gain and a back-breaking first down for the Bears.

As much as everyone loved Ruvell Martin, Swain has already paid dividends.

 

Best TV Announcer Moment of the Night

After the fake punt:

Al Michaels: “Lovie’s thrown the challenge flag.”

Collinsworth: “Maybe on his own call.”

Aaron Rodgers is much more Bart Starr than Brett Favre, and as much as I enjoyed watching Brett Favre, I think that’s a really good thing.

DeShawn Wynn couldn’t run the ball, couldn’t block anyone, and couldn’t catch a pass. Did I miss anything?

 

Answer

Charles Woodson on the Johnny Knox 68-yard pass. What? Have I lost my mind? No, not at all. If you have the ability to watch it again, you’ll see an amazing thing. You’ll see Charles Woodson, beaten badly by one of the fastest players in the NFL, refuse to give up.

He could easily have eased up and relinquished the touchdown. But he didn’t. By sheer will, he somehow caught up to Knox, dove, and got enough of Knox’s left leg to make him take a step out of bounds.

A sure touchdown and seven points were put on hold. A few plays later, Jolly intercepts a pass and the Bears get zero points when they should have had seven. When you win the game by six points, I’d say this was a key moment.

So blame Woodson all you want for getting beat, but also laud him for the amazing play he made to prevent the touchdown.

—————-

You can find more of Jersey Al Bracco’s articles on several sports websites: Jersey Al’s Blog, Packer Chatters , Packers Lounge, NFL Touchdown and of course,  Bleacher Report.

You can also follow Jersey Al on twitter.

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