Goodell-two-shoes

Just a few things to mull over this morning with your coffee: -- Randy Moss was claimed off of waivers by the Tennessee Titans. With their main receiver Kenny Britt done for possibly the rest of the regular season, Moss is an important addition. In fact, I think everyone wins here. Titans coach Jeff Fisher is not going to mess around and has dealt with more troublesome players than Moss in the past. The Titans get a great (and respected) deep ball threat to help alleviate pressure on their run game, which I'm sure Chris Johnson is delighted about. Moss should in turn enjoy his opportunities to go deep looking to get on the receiving end of play-action passes, as well as being a little more tucked away from the media. It looks very good on paper, but we'll have to wait till after the Titans bye week to find out how it all pans out. -- The other big name on the waiver wire was Shawne Merriman, who has now landed in Buffalo. And again, it's not a bad spot. The Bills defense -- in particular that front 7 -- needs all the help it can get. Pass rush has been a problem for the Bills this year and although Merrimans numbers have wained in recent years, a lot of that has to do with injuries. He's back now, healthy, and I think he can add a little bit of extra punch to that Bills defense. When you consider how well their offense has been playing lately, it would only take a small jump from the Bills defense to make a big difference in their wins column. Like 1. -- Finally, I've been wavering back and forth over ProFootballTalk.com in the last week or so. Spotted a bad article, then a very good one, and now.... another bad one. Mike Florio brought up an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that features Steelers safety Troy Polamalu speaking out against the new penalties and harsher enforcement of rules regarding hits on defenseless receivers. Polamalu seems to share much the same sentiments on the subject as I do (told you the guy was awesome); that big hits and physical contact are major reasons why a lot of people watch football. Troy then goes on to suggest that maybe Goodell shouldn't solely wield all the power that he does, and that maybe a series of checks and balances should be introduced into the system, much the same way as the US government operates (Executive branch; President. Legislative branch; Congress. Judicial Branch; Federal courts). What angers me (and presumably a lot of the people leaving comments on the article) is the way Florio dismisses this so off hand, as if people speaking their minds was somehow a ridiculous thing. To quote Florio: "Regardless of what Polamalu or any other Steelers player thinks, the reality is that they don't get to make the rules. Thus, objecting to the new approach to protecting defenseless receivers has the same benefit as objecting to a touchdown being worth six points." He continues: "The management and coaching staff of the Steelers are doing the team and the league no favors by fomenting this rebellion. We realize that the Steelers simply want to win games and that they've built a team premised on hitting opponents hard, but the franchise for which Mike Webster played should have greater sensitivity to the league's attempt to protect today's players from a similar consequence." So basically Florio seems to think people should just shut up and take it lying down? He also seems to be suggesting that Polamalu's sole interest is in winning games, not perhaps the enjoyment of the fans, as I understood his comments. As for not doing themselves any favours, conversely I think the Steelers are doing themselves the biggest favour possible. Unlike the commissioner or Mike Florio, they've caught the current pulse of the fans. Whether that's an honest attempt or a cynical attempt, the reality is that they're far more in touch with the people who pay high sums to watch the NFL than either Roger or Mike. And using Mike Webster in the argument? Not only does that smack a little of a cheap shot, but someone should also point out to Florio that Webster played Center. The big hoo-hah lately has been surrounding defenseless receivers. There's quite a difference between how those two types of players play and get hit. It just doesn't seem to make sense. I remember that Florio used to be just as cynical and cutting of Goodell as anybody at times. But now that he's creeping onto the mainstream TV with NBC, he's suddenly gone all Goodell-two-shoes..... Right, I have to get ready for work. Joy. Hopefully later or tomorrow, or at least sometime before the weekend, I'll go through the rookie watch list and we'll have a look at how they're all getting on. Till then, Have a great day everyone.

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.