Some observations from Week 16

One of these days I'll actually post my article about the three step drop. By the time I do, the damn play will have been banned from football, along with all forms of contact in football.

Anyway, the reason for the delay is because I want to pick up a couple of the main points coming out of the weekends games and I guess I might generally just run down some of the games, as and when things come to mind of interest. There are two main issues that I want to address though.

The first is to do with the Eagles and their defensive coordinator position currently held by Juan Castillo, the former offensive line coach. Basically with Steve Spagnuolo of the Rams likely to get the chop at the end of the season, many people are lining him up to replace Castillo as the Eagles Defensive coordinator for next year.

And I simply want to ask; why? In fact, let me ask you another question, just out of interest; Which team leads the NFL in sacks right now?

Answer; the Philadelphia Eagles.

See while everyone has been busy lately criticising Castillo for his schemes, people seem to have over looked the fact that the Eagles are actually one of the better defenses out there. They're not perfect, not by any means, but they're pretty good. They'll need some tweaking in the off season; getting the coverages sorted out to make the best use of the available talent, as well as sitting down with that young linebacker corps and watching some film to explain to them better about run fits etc. But otherwise that's not a bad defense and it can only get better in the off season with the right work.

The problem with the Eagles is not their defense. The problem with the Eagles is their offense.

Simply put, it sucks. And has sucked for most of 2011. The Eagles are practically in a league of their own when it comes to getting down into the red zone and then not producing a score. They are brilliant for 80 yards as they rip great chunks out of people in the open field, then they clam up (and stink it up) in those last 20 yards.

Juan Castillo is not the man to blame for the Eagles woes, it's Andy Reid. He's the guy that has at his disposal LeSean McCoy, Ronnine Brown, Mike Vick, Vince Young, DeSean Jackson, Riley Cooper, Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant, Brent Celek and Jason Peters, to name just a few. That's an offense that a heck of a lot of teams in the NFL would kill for. And yet that is also an offense that has struggled to put points on the board when it mattered most, not to mention the hoard of turnovers they've given up.

All this finger waving at Castillo is pure bullshit. It's a distraction from the real issue here, which is that Andy Reid is struggling to get to his side of the "Dream Team" working the way it should. While the Panthers and Broncos have adjusted their respective offenses to accommodate the running abilities of their quarterbacks, what have the Eagles done? What adjustments have they made to get the most out of Vick?

And what about LeSean McCoy? McCoy is the second leading rusher in the league by yards. He leads the league in touchdowns with 17, which is three more than Cam Newton and five more than the closest running back (Marshawn Lynch). He leads the league in runs of 20+ yards with 14. And perhaps most tellingly, he leads the league in rushes for a first down, with 84, which is sixteen more than the next player on the list, Maurice Jones-Drew.

Yet he only averages 18 carries a game?

You have without doubt one of the most explosive players in the entire NFL on your team, yet you feed him the ball less than the 49ers feed Gore, or the Falcons feed Michael Turner. An especially odd decision given how much trouble the Eagles have had in the red zone.

All this means that I can't take criticism and talk of Juan Castillo being fired seriously. I don't mean that he wont get fired, just that I don't think he should. Considering this is his first season as a defensive coordinator I think he's done really well so far and again, I think an off season of work and preparation by the Eagles could yield some great results.

The question is whether the Eagles offense can lift its game next season and start to actually make that defensive work count for something. The Eagles have the personnel to make a Super Bowl run, I think everyone agrees on that. But until Andy Reid stops making excuses - and people stop making excuses for Andy Reid - then this same old sorry, tired Eagles saga will just repeat itself again season after season.

Now I'm going to take an interlude in my ramblings before I get to the second major issue I wanted to address, and talk about the Panthers. Mainly to give them a lot of credit for their 48-16 win against the Buccaneers.

All thoughts about the Buccaneers horrible run defense aside, I was impressed by the Panthers actually making use of running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, who I've long pronounced to be the best running back tandem in the NFL. Long time readers will be aware that this has been a hobby horse of mine for a while, bemoaning the John Fox/Jake Delhomme era because of the absolute abandonment of an otherwise excellent running game.

It was nice then to see it revived on Saturday. It also points to what is - in my opinion - one of the funniest things about the Cam Newton story. When Cam throws the ball a lot he invariably racks up the yards, rushes for a score, does his stupid Superman celebration... and then the Panthers still end up losing the game. On the other hand when the Panthers manage the game better and lean on their rushing attack, they often end up winning, and doing so comfortably.

C'est la vie, as they often say in France (along with "We Surrender!!").

I was also excited about the 49ers win over the Seahawks, although there was a slight downer in that they gave up their first rushing touchdown of the season. Naturally people have been hailing Jim Harbaugh again, as they have been all season long, but forgive me if I don't hang a poster of the guy on the wall just yet.

See I'm a 49ers fan and as a result I've endured misery for years now. I'm delighted that finally the 49ers are winning games and going back to the playoffs, even doing so in style. However I don't see what Jim Harbaugh has to do with it. Harbaugh is an offensive coach, not a defensive coach. And this 49ers offense has been almost as bad as those that preceded it. Alright, so maybe they haven't turned the ball over as much this year, and maybe there hasn't been as many sacks this year, but fundamentally the offense still sucks balls.

On the other hand I still don't hear anyone talking about Vic Fangio. Without looking at Wikipedia, can you even tell me who Vic Fangio is? If you didn't know already then you've probably guessed that Fangio is the defensive coordinator of the 49ers. It's this man and his defensive staff who should be getting the plaudits, along with whoever the specific people were that drafted or approved the signing of Justin Smith, Aldon Smith, Issac Sopoaga, Ray McDonald, Navorro Bowman, Ahmad Brooks, Patrick Willis, Parys Haralson, Chris Culliver and Carlos Rogers, to name just a few.

I don't blame Harbaugh, there's not really a lot he can do about it. He doesn't write the articles in the press or force people to talk about him on sports radio. I just think it's unfair that he's getting all the credit for something that essentially happens on the opposite side of the ball. That's not to say that he doesn't have some influence on it - I'd be shocked if he didn't - but most of the donkey work throughout the year will have been done by Fangio and his staff, work for which they are not getting their dues.

Vic, in the incredibly unlikely event that you're reading this, I thank you and your staff on behalf of 49ers fans everywhere.

Also congratulations to Drew Brees who has now surpassed Dan Marino for the single season passing yardage record. I'm undecided yet as to whether this should be considered more or less of an achievement than when Marino set the record. Not that it really matters that much, either way it's still a heck of a thing to have done.

The question is whether or not you think that it's easier to break the record now because teams throw the ball more than they did back then, or whether you think that it's precisely because teams throw it more now - which means that defenses are built to stop the pass - that makes Brees's achievement superior. An interesting debate to have over a pint I think.

One quarterback who wasn't setting any records though was Tim Tebow. I'd be gutted to see Tebow and the Broncos stumble at such a late stage, but it was inevitable that he was going to have a shitty game at one point. No fourth quarter heroics this time. Just four fourth quarter picks.

It should be noted that once again the Broncos receivers continued to demonstrate why there will be little demand for their services in the offseason, dropping passes like the ball was smeared in shit. Of course as always that doesn't fit the main press narrative, so we very rarely get even an acknowledgement of that fact. The Broncos defense also struggled for a change, which means the Broncos season now comes down to the final game against the Chiefs; win and they're in the playoffs. Or they can lose, and if the Chargers beat the Raiders then they're still in, but that's playing it risky.

Right, finally back on track and the other thing that I originally wanted to talk about, which was Joe Webb and the Vikings.

One play after Adrian Peterson suffered a sick looking injury to his knee (he could be doubtful even for week one of the 2012 season), quarterback Christian Ponder suffered a concussion and was eventually yanked from the game. In his place came Joe Webb. Webb went on to throw for two touchdowns and run in another with his feet. After the game the press went wild. Everywhere you look now, people are calling for Joe Webb to be the starter next year. My advice? Just hold the fuck up a second. Let's just recap Webb's numbers from Saturday's game shall we?

4/5 for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Yes, four of five. He threw five passes and now all of a sudden people are putting him up on a pedestal and talking about him like he's the greatest thing to happen to the Vikings since they dumped Brad Childress. All this despite the various warning signs around the league about this kind of thing, namely Caleb Haine, Matt Cassel and Kevin Kolb.

Those are three names that should remind people that sometimes things aren't always what they seem. Yes, sometimes players have great games, or at least very good games. But one or two good games does not suddenly anoint someone with starting quarterback traits. It's a good place to begin, but long term success is not guaranteed.

Now don't get me wrong, Webb is a good player and has done well in every appearance he's had off the bench and in pres-season in Minnesota. But people are talking about him like he's the instant answer to all of Minnesota's many woes, and I'm just a little amazed at how quickly people are prepared to give up on Ponder, a first round pick who has done pretty well in his first few showings.

There is still one game left this year and I suspect the Vikings will be unlikely to throw Ponder back into the fray just for that single meaningless game. That means Webb could get the chance to start an actual regular season game for a change. I'm willing to bet that it may not quite be the touchdown bonanza that people think it will, depending on what kind of team the Bears put out.

I'll just finish by reminding people that in his last five starts as quarterback (not including this week), Ponder has lead the Vikings offense to score an average of 23 points per game. When Ponder went down injured this week the game was tied at 10-10, so it wasn't like Joe Webb came on and turned around a lost game either. In an age of instant gratification I'm beginning to worry that everyone involved in the football world has lost their sense of perspective.

So that's Week 16 in the books. Pick wise I came in at 13-3 for week 16, taking my season tally to 159-84, which I've just discovered is better than any of the analysts at FoxSports.com (both for the week and the season) and only two behind Accuscore and Pigskin Pick'em (both of whom I beat for the week) with one garbage week left to go.

Tomorrow I expect to put up my article on the three step drop. Slightly ironic that a post about the quick passing game has taken so long to be released.

NFC North Prospects

Starting as ever in alphabetical order with.... Chicago Bears: I can't wait for the Bears to fall flat on their big, stupid faces. Potentially the worst team in the NFC North heading into 2010, somehow the Bears managed to conjure up the feigned reality that they're a good team and made it to the playoffs. In fact, it was worse. They beat the Seahawks (party time) to make it to the NFC Championship game. God I hate the Bears so much right now. Ok, ok, fair play to them. They beat those who were put in front of them and they turned a roster nightmare into a faint dream of glory. Credit to all involved. But now I want to see the wheels fall off the wagon and watch it go careening into a nearby valley, before exploding Hollywood style even though it's made of wood. Where was I going with that? I don't know, I just got carried awa with the thought of Jay Cutler on fire. So, free agency then. QB Caleb Haine is on the restricted list along with Devin aroma-sha-what's-his-name. Todd Collins is on the unrestricted list. That poses the tantalising question of whether Cutler will be the sole survivor at QB for the Bears in 2011. Lot of people talking about Haine's performance, so it wouldn't be a complete surprise if he was plucked from under their noses. Other than that, the Bears don't come off too badly from free agency at all. They keep pretty much all of their big name guys under contract. So yes, in other words the Bears roster will be as bad as it was last year!! (chortle, chortle). Honestly. People make a habit of being very middle of the road, non committal when talking about teams. Certainly the media has a vested interest in not hammering any one team too hard, lest they find themselves receiving a cool reception from said organisation in the future. But I'm a realist. The Bears suck. They are just horrible. I don't care if they made the NFC Championship game. They did it by beating the Seahawks. They should have lost to the Lions in the regular season, THE LIONS, but for the horror that is the "process of making the catch" rule. Luck plays its part in football, and the Bears rode theirs all the damn way. Picking 29th overall the Bears will be looking at their roster in horror. Outside of defensive linemen and maybe running back, they could use a brand new player at just about every position, including quarterback. Honestly, I really don't think people appreciate just how badly the Bears suck. As for 2011. Who knows? They should have sunk like a lead balloon in 2010, but somehow they didn't. Their luck may just extend to 2011. But at a guess I'd say they're about to take a tumble. I really hope so. I can't stand listening to people talking about them like they're the second coming of the '85 Bears. If their wagon doesn't ride off the cliff, I may just jump myself. Detroit Lions: Ahh the Lions. God bless them and their annual attempt to matter. Not win games. But just to matter, to make a show of things, just to prove that they're not a complete walk over. 2011 could be the year. I know, I know, I said the same thing about them at the start of the 2010 season. But this is different. Kind of. Another year in the system for the players. A core of rookies and veterans who have shown a lot of potential. And another round of draft picks to come. In free agency the Lions really wont miss out on much. DE Cliff Avril is up for restricted free agency, but other than that the Lions front office should be relatively happy with what they see. That means they can look forward to the draft, in which they pick 13th overall. Linebacker and secondary are likely to be the two main areas they go for, depending on what pick ups they make in free agency. If I remember correctly the free agent market for secondary guys is a little thin this year, so the draft will likely be the way forward. Luckily for the Lions, there are some attractive looking prospects on the board. So how does this translate into the win/loss column for the 2011 Lions? I think they'll do fine. The Bears will likely bomb out (I have my fingers crossed, trust me) and the Vikings are going back to the drawing board, so there is an opportunity to be had to pick up divisional wins. The Lions have a solid offense, it's just that D that needs a good kick up the arse. Green Bay Packers: They won the Super Bowl. Can't really say more about their 2010 season than that. More to the point, they did it well, with some great wins under adversity along the way. The fact that they were being ravaged by injury on a near constant basis says a lot about the strength and depth of this side. Free agency could be a problem though. Atari Bigby, Daryn Colledge, Mason Crosby (the kicker), Korey Hall, Brandon Jackson, Cullen Jenkins, James Jones and John Kuhn will all hit the market. That's a lot of very good (and in many cases under rated) players who could potentially be off for a big(ish) pay day somewhere else. Luckily for the Packers though, pretty much all of those positions are covered more than enough. That's just how good the Packers have been at drafting and playing the free agent market in recent years. If you want to talk dynasties for the 20-teens, Green Bay is looking like the most realistic candidate. And while they may be picking 32nd in the draft, that's of little concern. The Packers have two key advantages a) their excellent eye for talent and b) the fact that they have little need to reach out and grab anyone. They can just stock talent this year. It's an enviable position to be in. More to the point, 2011 could be even better than 2010 for the Packers. The chance is begging for them to storm a weakened division. They finally have the quality in depth to be able to pull off a 13 or 14 win season and still go on to win the big one again. Of course by saying all of this, I've naturally now doomed the Packers to fail this season. Bring on the 49ers then! (yeah, I'll go and put that one back in the dream box). Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings have a mysterious allure about them. Just like the Cowboys, you can't help but be sucked in by their story, watching and waiting for them to fail miserably and go ploughing head first into the turf. Much like they did in 2010! (boom, right there!). 2011 promises a repeat show. Leslie Frazier and his new Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers coach Mike Singletary (enjoy that one fellas) will be trying to pick up the pieces of the post Brett Favre era. It's also going to be the post Tavaris Jackson era. And the post Sidney Rice era. And the post Pat Williams era. And the post Ryan Longwell era. And the post Hank Baskett era (about which I'm sure the Vikings are gutted). Also on the way out (at least for now) is Ryan Cook, Ray Edwards (hot commodity in the making), Fred Evans, Ben Leber, Greg Lewis, Patrick Ramsey and Lito Sheppard. In short, the ship is sinking and these are the lucky ones who will get out before she cracks her back. Chad Greenway will, sadly for him at least, be sucked under the waves by the ship (interesting fact; this is actually a myth. Sinking ships don't suck people down from the surface. There you go). Greenway is set for a franchise tagging that will tie him down to the team for another year. That means he gets the joy of watching Joe Webb and Rhett Bomar battle it out for the starting QB spot. This is not helped by the lack of quality receivers. Percy Harvin will still be around, but Greg Camarillo and Bernard Berrian won't be striking fear into peoples hearts any time soon, though I do like Camarillo as a number 3 type guy playing underneath. The O-line will remain largely unchanged, but the Vikings D-line just got a lot skinnier, in more ways than one. The linebacking corps looks anaemic. At least the secondary isn't too bad. But this is definitely not going to be the year to take the Vikings D in fantasy football. Not even with the last pick. Just abstain from having a defense, you'll probably be better off. In the draft the Vikings pick at 12. The fact that they're picking before Detroit should serve to emphasise how dire their situation is. Defense will be the order of the day, but at some point they need a QB. Honestly though, I'm not sure there is anybody in the draft who is a standout, guaranteed starter, so taking a promising kid in the later rounds may be the best approach, then running with Webb and Bomar to give them a chance to prove their worth. Because (yeah I know) to be honest, I see 2011 as a year of rebuilding in Minnesota. Unless Leslie Frazier has the Lombardi touch, I really can't see him winning many games this year. As always in these situations, you just have to hope that a) he doesn't make things worse than they already are and b) people in Minnesota have a bit of patience. Things aren't going to get much better for the Vikings any time soon. Right then, that's your entire NFC preview for free agency and the draft. Well, in a way. Speaking of the latter, the combine kicks off tomorrow (technically today) and barring some kind of absurd miracle I will probably miss the vast majority of it. Which is a pain in the butt to say the least, as I sadly derive quite a bit of pleasure from watching the players perform the drills, complaining about the bench press, nodding approvingly at displays of good footwork, tutting discouragingly when a player messes up and screaming blue bloody murder at the monitor due to the NFL Networks arse about face coverage, which is usually about as well edited and smooth as a childs first home video. Ahh, those were the days.

Childress fired

Brad Childress is gone. Vikings fans are probably rejoicing right about now at the news that Brad Childress has been fired as the Head Coach of the Minnesota Vikings. In the meantime Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier has been named interim Head Coach. As far as I'm aware, Jay Glazer of FOX sports was the first to break the news. So, what can Vikings fans expect now? Who knows. Hopefully two things will happen to make an immediate shake up; 1) Favre will be dumped and 2) Tavaris Jackson will be given a shot as the starting QB for the rest of the season, allowing the Vikings to assess whether they really want to stick with Jackson who has failed to cement himself as a consistent, quality quarterback. Something had to be done though. The Vikings have been horrible at times. They'll be hoping the winds of change can fix blow away some of the negativity in the locker room and help to unify the team. Now is Frazier the long term answer? I'm not sure. Don't forget that the Vikings defense hasn't exactly played it's part this season. Either way this will be a good audition for Frazier, who many believed was in the running to get a permanent HC shot somewhere else if the Vikings stuck with 'Chilly'. So, there we are. I'll be back either later today, maybe tomorrow to round up the weekends action. Till then, Have a great day everyone. (Just quickly, a little song in honor of Brad "Chilly" Childress)

The news in brief

Just quickly before I slink off to work, I wanna draw your attention to a segment from the NFL networks "Playbook" show, posted on NFL.com. In this segment the analysts (Sterling Sharpe, Mike Mayock and Solomon Wilcots) are drawing attention to the Saints use of the blitz particularly on third down. Personally I would echo and amplify some of the statements regarding the Steelers line blocking and communication. Because it looks hideous at times. But I'd also like to throw a bit of the blame on QB Ben Roethlisberger. Seeing some of the looks the Saints gave, a lot of time all the pressure was coming off the edge and to call the room up the middle a hole doesn't even do it justice. These are the kind of situations where I would be looking to my left and going "Holy sh!t, I forgot I had Rashard Mendenhall in the backfield. Dude, here's the ball." Now maybe there is a reason why he didn't check off. Maybe he doesn't have the freedom to do so, though I highly doubt that. Whatever that reason is I'd love to here it, because to me that read looks plain as day. --- In other news this week:

>>> Mike Shanahan has crticised Donovan McNabb for his lack of cardio conditioning, giving this as the explanation as to why he pulled McNabb in favour of Rex Grossman, along with a terminology aspect. Is anyone buying this? Let me know. One person who presumably is, is Terrell Owens, who took a chance on his TV show to have a swipe at McNabb and his fitness levels. So no change there then either. This is all going to end in tears. >>> Randy Moss has hit the waiver wire again. As Bill Belichick kicks back in his chair and laughs into his brandy at another great trade he just pulled off, questions are now flying over the future of Brad Childress and what actually caused the release of Moss. The fact that Moss complained about food at a restaurant doesn't seem a worthy offense, so I guess we'll have to wait and see for details about what is going on inside the Vikings organisation. I have visions of people throwing darts and not a lot else.

Have a great day everyone

Gathering Moss

Two things for today: -- Numero uno, the trade of Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings. This is classic Belichick. Despite being a member of the Bill Parcells coaching tree we also know that Belichick was a big fan of Bill Walsh and holds his book "Finding the Winning Edge" in high esteem. One of the points that always comes up when you do enough research on Walsh is the idea that's it better to replace a player a year too early than a year too late, predominantly because of the value that can still be obtained from letting a player go too early. Moss is a case in point. His contract is expiring. To release him into free agency is a waste. To retain him would cost money. Lots of it. By trading Moss now the Patriots have lost a great player for 2010 but gained an additional pick in the third round for 2011. And let's not forget how good Belichick can be at finding good, multi-year contributors in the middle rounds. Any argument that the Patriots have "given up" on their season (as suggested numerous times now on NFL network) is ludicrous. Young receiver Brandon Tate has great speed down the field, Julian Edelman is vastly under rated by many, they still have Wes Welker, and the combo of rookie tight ends Rob Gronkowski & Aaron Hernandez (both on my watch list) add a new level of depth to this offense. The Patriots will be fine if they can just sort out that defense. For the Vikings the trade makes some sense to. With Favre in it for probably his last year (but then, this is Favre...) the Vikings are all about winning now and if they plan on doing that, they need Moss to give them a consistent down field threat. The window is here for Minnesota. With the rest of the NFC in the state it's in currently, there is a very good chance that the runner up in the NFC North will finish with a good enough record to take one of the wild card slots. -- Next up I want to look at a segment from NFL networks "Playbook" show. The segment was posted on NFL.com but sadly the NFL seems intent on not allowing people to embed their videos, despite the fact that said videos often contain ads which they generate revenue from and of course it's free exposure for them. Bitching aside, here is the link to the video. The purpose of the clip is to demonstrate the athleticism and talent of Ravens NT Haloti Ngata, which it does. But what is more interesting to me is that the playbook crew overlooks some of the weaknesses of the Steelers O-line play that contributes. I've often found this a hard balancing act to play with; do you highlight the flaws in a play and put it all down to that, or do you highlight the strength of the person making the play? In this case I think it's a bit of both. The first part of the clip comes at about 1:12 or so and it's a zone/stretch run play to the left (from the Steelers perspective). Mayock points out Ngata (number 92) for our convenience. But although Ngata does make a great drive off the line to beat the Guard (to his left) and get into the backfield, the reality is that the play is made because the Center Maurkice Pouncey (starting over Ngata, or vice versa depending on your preference) fails to make the block. Instead of turning back on Ngata and working the double team on Ngata with the guard before "slipping" off to take LB Ray Lewis (number 52), the Center instead works all the way down the line and ends up effectively making a partial triple team on the next down linemen. This is either a result of poor play design, or more likely just Pouncey making a bad adjustment to the defensive front. Credit to Ngata for his powerful downhill assault, but it should have been stopped. The next play is at 1:29 and this is a bit more open as to whether the offense is at fault or whether Ngata just makes a stout defensive play. Again, it's probably a bit of both, but what concerns me most is the way the tight end and the right tackle (number 71, Flozell Adams) handle their block. It's clear from the front that they have Ngata and Lewis. They have to double Ngata then one of them - in this case the tight end - has to slip off and get Lewis. The trouble is that Adams heads inside on his first step, thus preventing him from getting proper position on Ngata. Ideally you'd want Adams to get up in Ngatas face head to head, then with the aid of the tight end they would turn Ngatas shoulders and butt out of the hole. As it is they can't turn him (indeed, to his credit Ngata turns Adams) as the tight end slips off to get Lewis. So it's kind of a 50/50, part bad blocking, part great D-line play. Any coaches reading this would be advised to get the clip and use it as an example to their O-line of the importance of the first step. The next play starts at around the 1:48 mark and again we find Steelers Center Maurkice Pouncey (number 53) head up with Ngata. Now again Ngata does show off his physical skills by throwing Pouncey to one side, then tossing aside Guard Doug Legursky, before finally tracking the play laterally with surprising agility for a man of his size. But here again I have to question the blocking by Pouncey. As a lineman you cant afford to give the opponent a two-way go. You have to commit to blocking him one way or the other. It's the responsibility of the back to read the block and then cut off it in the appropriate direction. Instead Pouncey kind of rides Ngatas shoulder wondering and waiting for him to make a move. You've either got to cross his face and keep him trapped inside or stay inside of him, let him run out and wait for the back to cut in; when he does (which he ended up doing) Ngata will turn to make the tackle (which he did) and then you're perfectly placed to drive into Ngata and seal him outside. The last play is just Ngata being a great athlete. He doesn't make the play but it's all kinds of fun to watch. So what do we learn from this? That the Steelers need some work on their O-line. That rookie Maurkice Pouncey is still a rookie. That sometimes you have to sit back and look at the whole picture to really understand what's going on. But importantly for me, if the Steelers can be as good as they are at running the football with O-line play like this, how much better could they be at it with a little extra work? Have a great day everyone.

Vikings @ Saints recap

Games done so it's time to wrap up the Vikings @ Saints: Vikings 9 @ Saints 14 -- Ya see, this is why I hate coaches like Brad Childress. You have a great running back in Adrian Peterson. 19 carries for 87 yards. Longest carry was 14 yards. He wasn't exactly ripping up the artificial turf at the Louisiana Superdome but at least he was plugging along nicely, as the title of my blog says "Keeping the Chains moving". So why, why in the name of god would you come out in the second half and barely let him touch the ball? Given that the Vikings were ahead and that even after Pierre Thomas scored, you still only had to make up 5 points, why would you completely abandon one of your best offensive assets in favour of throwing incompletions left, right and center (Favre finished 15/27 for 171 yards, a TD and an INT)? It just defies belief. Surely a drive that takes 11 plays or more and burns 6-7 minutes off the clock, but at the very least ends in a score or at least a potential score is better than throwing the ball 3 or 4 times ineffectually and then punting and letting the Saints run off the clock? It's like the Dolphins/Saints game from last year all over again, or the Panthers every damn week! Ah well. A few positives to take away would be that a) if the Vikings keep playing like this then the Packers are a lock for the division title and b) at least we have proof that the Saints aren't infallible as many people would have you believe they are. Brees finished 27/36 for 237 yards and a TD, but the Saints didn't look as crisp offensively as they did last season. Defensively the standouts were all Vikings. LB Chad Greenway recorded 9 tackles and 3 assists. LB E.J. Henderson recorded 8 tackles and one assist, and finally Antoine Winfield finished with 7 tackles and 2 assists. Overall a faltering, unsteady start from both teams that they will want to put behind them as quickly as possible. I'll be back tomorrow to start previewing the rest of the Week 1 action but until then, Have a great day everyone.

Vikings @ Saints

It's prediction time once again ahead of tomorrow nights game between the Vikings and Saints. Let's get straight to it: Vikings @ Saints -- We kick off the season with a repeat of last seasons NFC Championship game. But I don't expect a repeat of the result. Let's be absolutely clear about something; the Vikings turned the ball over 5 times and out gained the Saints offensively by about 200 yards. This is probably the main reason I dislike the Saints (Not hate...... Yet). It's not even their fault. You win a few games, no matter how many calls went your way or regardless of the reality of the games, and suddenly you're being crowned as the number one team in the league by the press. In the end the Saints came through in the big game itself, but to say that they were/are the best team in the NFL masks the fact that they finished bottom of their division the season before that and avoided defeat at the hands of the Redskins (THE REDSKINS) by virtue of a missed field goal It happens in knockout tournaments. You have a few good games, some things go your way and sometimes you just ride your luck to victory. I think this season we are going to see the Saints nose dive in truly fantastic fashion, making all the pre-season predictions of them as the number one team in the NFL look plain silly. It wont have anything to do with a "Super Bowl Hangover", but will have everything to do with the miracle that they even made it to the big game last year, let alone won it. And the nose dive begins this Thursday against the Vikings. Yes Favre is old. Yes Sidney Rice is injured. But yes, Bernard Berrian is a more than adequate back up. Yes Adrian Peterson can have a huge impact on a game. Yes, Toby Gerhart will be a more effective back up than even the excellent Chester Taylor. And yes, the Vikings still have a strong defense that forced numerous punts by the Saints just 7 or so months ago. Given that the Saints have gotten weaker in the off season and that Darren Sharper is unlikely to repeat his age defying interception tally, I can fully see the Vikings running over New Orleans tomorrow. It's going to be hum-dinger of a battle and the Saints are sure to come after Favre with everything they have, but I just don't think it'll be enough. Vikings win. I'll be back tomorrow to wrap it up the game, till then, Have a great day everyone.

0-6 to 10-6?

So, can the Tennessee Titans really claw their way back from an 0-6 start to a 10-6 finish? Let's have a look.... First off, look at the secondary. Chris Hope, Cortland Finnegan and Michael Griffin all went to the Pro Bowl last year. All are now fit and healthy, returning the Titans defense back to the dominant form it found last year. Next, check out the running back tandem. Chris Johnson and Lendale White are getting involved again. And by involved, I mean the coaches in Tennessee are once again realising that last year it was largely these two guys who carried their offense to the playoffs. Johnson in particular has come into his own. The guy showed in his rookie season that he had speed. Now that has been complemented with a season's worth of experience in the NFL and he looks like arguably the most dangerous back in the land. In the passing game, his quick feet, agility and body control make him a great underneath receiver. And normally when you're talking about a QB making checkdowns, everyone sees it in a derogatory light. When you're checking down to Chris Johnson however, it's seen in a whole new light. And no, we can't talk about the Titans without bringing up Vince Young. In college, Young drew national attention because of his athletic ability and his high passer rating, largely a result of keeping the ball safe and using his checkdown receivers (that's what they're there for after all). This guy can burn you through the air, or on the ground. And he is just about a perfect fit for the current Titans team. The key is, he doesn't take silly chances, he controls the ball, and gives his offense every opportunity to break out on a big play. Defenses are in bind. On a rushing play, you have to factor in the QB as a threat, something that defenses in this league are not used to doing. You're getting Option plays that NFL teams haven't seen before. When Young drops back to pass, someone has to spy on Young and make sure he doesn't break out of the pocket for a run. And all the while the Titans are playing keep away, holding the ball and burning the clock. Any turnover against the Titans now can be crippling. And finally, we have to look at their schedule. They play Houston on Monday which they should win. Then they have, in order; the Cardinals, the Colts, Rams, Dolphins, Chargers & Seahawks. There are potential banana skins in there, don't get me wrong. But the way the Titans are playing right now, they are a match for any of those teams. The Titans have pulled the winning formula out of the bag just at the crucial moment. Can they finish 10-6? I think they can. What's more, I think they can go all the way to the promised land and book a date in Miami against the NFC's Minnesota Vikings. But you know me, I don't crown Superbowl champions in November......