A word on Tim Tebow

For basically the last three weeks, the subject of Tim Tebow has constantly been popping up across the mainstream media and the Internet. There are lots of reasons for this, but no doubt prime among which is the fact that controversy gets people talking. It makes your website stand out on Google searches and gets people to click on your website and come take a look. Page views go up, thus potentially so does advertising revenue.

But lately it's been getting ridiculous. For those of you who - like me - drop in on ProFootballTalk.com each day to browse the headlines, you'll have noticed that Tim Tebow seems to crop up on a practically daily basis. I wouldn't mind so much to be honest if it wasn't for the fact that Mike Florio spends most of the time that he devotes to the subject of Tim Tebow - like a lot of people in the media - talking out of his fucking arse.

The common thread at the minute appears to be that Tim can't throw. This has been brought up in God only knows how many articles and TV segments, and frankly it's starting to piss me off. It's as if last season didn't happen, that Tebow never went onto the field and never threw a pass. We're told by many "expert" sources that Tebow doesn't have the correct throwing action to be an NFL quarterback. Or that he isn't accurate enough. Or that he doesn't know how to throw NFL passes full stop.

So here's what I did. I went to YouTube and I typed in "Tim Tebow Denver Broncos". I found the first video I could that had clips of him from last season playing with the Broncos and I present this video to you now.






Now you tell me. Watch the video again and tell me whether you can see any completed passes? I can. Presumably you can to. I dunno though. Apparently he can't throw these kind of passes. He's unable to. Well, at least that's what all the QB experts on the TV and Internet keep telling people.

See I'm confused. I don't know what to think anymore. My eyes, they're telling me that I can see Tim Tebow making passes. Short passes, off play action. Screen passes. I can see intermediate level passes. I can see deep passes. Well, at least I think I can. That's what my brain is telling me that my eyes can see. But apparently not.

See when I go over to ProFootballTalk.com they keep telling me that Tebow sucks. They keep pointing me towards articles by respected people in the football world who tell their audiences that "Tim Tebow can't make NFL throws" etc.

So who do I believe? The experts? Or my own eyes?

Funnily enough, I've become very attached to my eyes over the years. They're not 100% trustworthy, but more often than not they are. And no matter how many times I watch the video above, it appears to show Tim Tebow playing for an NFL team, running an NFL offense, throwing NFL passes, against NFL defenses.

So frankly I'd like to invite Mike Florio, his bitch Rosenwhateverhisnameis and every other person who insists that Tebow can't make NFL passes to just sit back, relax, and drink a nice big cup of shut the fuck up. In fact, I'll even give you something to watch while you have your drink.

Because the other big knock on Tebow has always been his throwing motion. Apparently, so I'm told by experts, having such an elongated throwing motion, where the ball dips low before being brought back up over the shoulder, should not work. In fact, we're confidently told that it will not work. Ever. Never has, never will. Least not in the NFL.

Defenses are too quick, too smart. NFL defenders will see the arm motion and break on the ball with time to spare, providing it isn't ripped from Tebows arm for the 40th time that game before he can throw it.

Well... I'm calling Bullshit on this.

Not least because of the simple fact that everyone who has ever spoken on this subject has constantly affirmed that Tebow should adapt his motion to be more like Dan Marino's, which is considered to be a cleaner, more precise motion, with less wasted downward movement.

And while that sounds great in principle, the simple fact is it's complete bollocks of the highest order. Dan Mario's throwing motion was as cack handed and elongated as Tim Tebows. How do I know this? Because unlike BSPN and the army of sycophants who are all looking for a job on their news desk, I actually bothered to go back and have a look.

Yes that's right; research.

I understand that in the world of modern sensationalist journalism such a word as "research" is often considered up there right alongside "integrity" as words that should be kept quiet, locked up in an underground vault somewhere never to be seen or heard from again. But I happen to find research can be quite useful. It has a tendency to help prevent one from talking out of ones arse, though this is a general rule not a precise one, as I've personally proven in the case of Mark Herzlich and others.

So again I'm going to furnish you with a YouTube video for your perusal. This is of Dan Marino, Quarterback, Miami Dolphins. What in particular I'd like you to notice is that fact that Marino had a penchant for holding the ball down near his back hip, one handed no less, which then required the ball to be brought up from this low position to behind the shoulder, and then forward. Literally the only difference between Marino and Tebow is that Marino took a slightly less curved path and he moved his arm at lightning speed.

The fact remains though, his motion was not the paragon of muscular efficiency and technical artistry that it is often made out to be. He was just bloody quick. Here's the proof;






And you know what? I'm in the mood for showing off. Taking the piss as it were. So I'm going to throw in another video just for good measure. This time we're going to look at Joe Montana, one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Of course my opinion on Montana has nothing to do with being a 49ers fan...

Anyway. The purpose of this next video is to demonstrate that even a slightly elongated motion can produce results. It may not be the picture perfect throwing motion desired by modern analysts, but it just plain worked. Adhering to Bill Walsh's often repeated mantras of 1) making sure the tip of the ball doesn't dip below the waist and that 2) the ball is released above the shoulder, Joe Montana went on to have a mildly successful career.

Well, who doesn't have four Super Bowl rings these days?

I should also point out that Montana, like Marino, and so far like Tebow, managed to avoid the issue of the constant strips which we were assured by experts, and continue to be assured by them, would be the every other play consequence of a dipping throwing motion.

I'm particularly keen on this video because Montana's motion is a bit more akin to Tebow's than Marino's was. The path of travel of the football is a much closer match, as was the speed at which Montana used to throw. Here it is, with some great slow mo action to help you make a comparison.






Now adding all this up, does this mean Tebow will be the next Montana or Marino? Well frankly it's a little early to tell. All I'm trying to do here is to disprove the current hypothesis expounded by seemingly everyone that can get themselves close enough to a keyboard or a microphone; that Tim Tebow can't throw NFL passes and that his throwing motion is inadequate for the NFL.

There is obviously more to quarterbacking than throwing passes. Tebow will have to master the mental aspects as well, from learning plays, protections and reads, to developing the requisite skills of leadership and the command of the huddle, to name but a few.

I personally believe that in time, and if given a proper shot, he will. I'd love it even more if that team were the San Francisco 49ers whom I follow so dearly and regularly shout at so profanely. Most of all though I just want Tebow to get his chance. He seems like a great kid who has come under a lot of unnecessary scrutiny since leaving college, and I simply can't wait to see the day when he makes a rather large amount of people choke on their fucking words.

Go on Tim. I'm a Tebowliever!! As are many others. You can do this.

2011 NFL Pre-season week 2 (part 2)

Okey dokey, that's week 2 done of the pre-season so let's have a look at all the games from Friday onwards;

Starting with Washington @ Indianapolis and oh my god! The Colts without Manning are like the final double episode of the TV detective series "Monk" - fucking horrible (I loved that show, but thought the ending was a pile of shit. I'm still bitter about it).

John Beck basically wrapped up the Redskins QB situation with 14/17 for 140 yards, but don't get too excited Redskins fans. The running game did most of the damage and that was against a Colts run defense that was frankly hideous. Tim Hightower carried 6 times for 70 yards and a TD. The big winner though was rookie running back Roy Helu, who lived up to my expectations with 14 carries for 101 yards. Rookie receiver Leonard Hankerson did the same, with 3 catches for 46 yards. The Redskins defense came up with three sacks, including one for rookie Ryan Kerrigan.

The Colts.... sucked. Curtis Painter completed just 5/10 for a whole 40 yards. Dan Orlovsky was 7/17 for 67 yards and an interception. For all the credit that Polian and son get for building that team in Indy, they seem to be extremely lax about the subject of finding a replacement QB. The Colts D produced some sacks, with rookie Drake Nevis getting a half, and the sole solo sack going to rookie John Chick (don't look at me, never heard of him). Rookie LB Adrian Moten had a pick. Told you he wouldn't be a bad undrafted linebacker.

On to Kansas @ Baltimore. I see Todd Haley still isn't interested in his potentially league leading running game. Ah well, screw you Todd. Just glad I'm not a Chiefs fan. None of his quarterbacks managed to complete more than 8 passes, which is a little gutting because I had high hopes for Ricky Stanzi, who threw just 6/12 for 58 yards and an interception. The one bright note for the Chiefs was rookie OLB Justin Houston. I saw him as a potentially very good pass rusher and he showed why with two sacks.

For Baltimore, nice to see that Joe Flacco's dropback footwork still looks as smooth and fluid as a wheelchair being pushed down a flight of stairs. He ended the game 12/24 for 124 yards. And I still don't understand why people compare him to Matt Ryan. There is a hell of a difference between the two. The Ravens ground game did better, producing 4 touchdowns. The defense also came up trumps with 5 sacks, plus an interception for rookie corner Josh Victorian, who I didn't even realise had come out of college. Keep an eye on this former Louisiana Tech kid, trust me.

Next game and Detroit @ Cleveland for shoot out time! Colt McCoy, who was on my watch list last year, put up 10/18 for 96 yards and 3 touchdowns. Pretty impressive for a kid who most people had written off before he was even drafted. The Lions shared their time about a bit more, with Stafford seeing 6/10 for 85 yards and a TD, then Drew Stanton dealt the killing blows late with 6/8 for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns. Defensively it was all about rookies forcing fumbles, with Rob Callaway and Ricardo Silva doing the honors for Detroit, and Jabaal Sheard for the Browns.

Oh no, next on the list is Carolina @ Miami. The battle for whose quarterback can suck the most continues. For the Panthers, Newton tried his hardest with 7/14 for just 66 yards. Clausen was 9/15 for 69 yards. But Chad Henne actually began to show why, to be honest, he's not all that bad. 15/24 for 194 yards.

The Panthers contribution to the game basically ended there, but the Dolphins had a little more left to give. Rookie Daniel Thomas put in 12 carries for 52 yards and a TD. The big surprise though was Reggie Bush, who carried 8 times for 48 yards and had 2 catches for a further 33, kind of showing some of the potential that was expected of him a long time ago.

Arizona @ Green Bay next. Kevin Kolb was ok for the Cardinals at quarterback, but Richard Bartel got the biggest look, with 13/19 for 169 yards, a TD and an INT. On the opposite side though the Packers quarterbacks were showing Arizona how it's done. Rodgers was 9/12 for 97 yards and a TD. Matt Flynn was 5/6 for 141 yards and a TD, and Graham Harrell ended 7/9 for 81 yards and a TD.

After his 97 yard scamper from a Matt Flynn pass, rookie wide receiver Chastin West finished with 5 catches for 134 yards and a TD in perhaps the most impressive solo display of the evening. Team wise it was probably the Cardinals D, who actually managed to generate some pressure including four sacks.

Atlanta @ Jacksonville for our next game and rookie QB Blaine Gabbert was the focus of a lot of attention, both from the Jaguars and the media. He finished the game 11/23 for just 96 yards and yet surprisingly nobody seems to be calling for his head yet. Funny, because if Tim Tebow did the same then people would be lapping it up and talking about how he's not NFL ready etc. But then of course, that would mean the media was wrong to rate Gabbert so highly so I can't see them doing anything like that soon.

One point that did amuse me was ProFootballTalk's seemingly surprised assessment that "Gabbert often felt pressure that wasn't there. He was hurt by drops, but generally showed poor pocket presence and shaky accuracy". Well no shit Sherlock, I pointed this out in March and then did a more detailed post on Gabbert in May. And made precisely the points that are only being brought up now. (for the record from the May post, Jeff VanCamp is still a free agent, so somebody sign him please *cough* 49ers. And the reason nobody was talking about Kellen Moore is because he was going back for his senior year. Whoops).

Anyway, David Garrard managed 7/12 for 99 yards and a pick during his time. The big surprise was Luke McCown, unless of course you already thought he was good. But there you go. He finished 8/9 for 86 yards and a TD. At this point I should probably point out that there was another team in the game, that being the Atlanta Falcons. QB Matt Ryan went 7/15 for 116 yards and a TD, while veteran back up Chris Redman (probably one of the better back ups out there) went 10/14 for 76 yards. Third year Falcons receiver Harry Douglas also impressed with 2 catches for 87 yards and a TD.

On defense the Falcons had three sacks, including a half sack for the outstanding 4th year defensive end Kroy Biermann who shared it with 2nd year linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (from last years rookie watch list. Not sure if I'm going to do another one this year. Maybe. Any how, need to get out of brackets and back to the point). Corner Brent Grimes grabbed another pick, though I'm not sure how since he was nowhere near the intended receiver, which probably says more about David Garrards deep ball accuracy than anything else. The Jags D literally contributed nothing of note.

Onwards and slightly westwards then, for New Orleans @ Houston. For the Saints, Drew Brees was 7/14 for 109 yards and his spell saw a spectacular break down in the protection that led to him taking a heavy hit and fumbling in the red zone. Don't ask me why I take so much joy from that. I'm probably just a shit human being.

Chase Daniel came out best in the Saints back up battle, with 6/14 for 127 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. On the other side Matt Schaub recovered from his shaky start to the preseason, ending with 12/16 for 163 yards. Matt Leinart did the opposite, building on his good start with a more traditional Matt Leinart performance; 8/18 for 69 yards. It matters little though.

The star of the day was the Texans running game, which has come alive since the arrival of Arian Foster last year. And the fact that the Texans actually give it a proper chance these days (just wait, they'll soon dump it once the season gets going). Foster had 5 carries for 47 yards and 2 TDs, while Ben Tate turned in 9 carries for 95 yards and another TD. Andre Johnson was also on fine form, with 4 catches for 100 yards.

The Texans D also played its part, having been revitalised under Wade Phillips (never thought I'd say that). The highlight was outside linebacker Brooks Reed, with 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Now the question is how smug am I right now? Smug enough to say "I fucking called it!". Yeah, you know I am.

Next we head right over to the west. Literally all the way to the West Coast for the Raiders @ 49ers. Which is the last time we'll see these two rivals play in the pre-season thanks to a bunch of cocks who shot two men outside the stadium. Might I suggest in future just sealing the entrances a bit better and checking everyone on the way in for weapons for the entire duration of the game etc, as they did at Wembley last year?

On the subject of cocks, Al Davis waved his undead hand during yesterdays supplemental draft and ordained that Terrelle Pryor shall be a Raider. That wouldn't have anything to do with his 4.34 40-yard dash (in shorts) now would it? Even more surprising is their plan to keep him as a quarterback. Good luck with that Al.

Right, anyway, the game. There's a reason I've been trying to put off talking about my 49ers, and that's basically because we weren't very good. Luckily enough though, the Raiders obliged us by being even worse. It's going to be a lonnnnng season for both teams. Jason Campbell finished 5/7 for 74 yards for the Raiders. And that was the best of their bunch. Kyle Boller was 6/11 for 56 yards and a pick, while Trent Edwards watched that performance in awe.... then threw a pick himself.

The 49ers - not to be outdone - rolled out Alex Smith, who went 8/13 for 126 yards and a pick. Colin Kaepernick was 6/8 for 52 yards. Still better than punter Andy Lee, who botched the hold on a field goal, tried to improvise... and threw a pick.

About the only good thing to actually come out of this game was 49ers rookie running back Kendall Hunter who had 9 carries for 105 yards and a TD. Oh and Darius Heyward Bey had two catches for the Raiders, for 40 yards. In fact, for such a shit game I wrote a surprisingly large amount of text.

Heading way back east we come to Tennessee @ St. Louis. You know I'd probably get more pageviews if I actually used the teams descriptive names. Ah well. Matt Hasselbeck looked pretty good for the Titans, leaving the game 7/9 for 74 yards after he took a nasty looking bump on his leg. Jake Locker came in and ended 8/18 for 82 yards and a pick. The Titans run game looked better though, with rookie Jamie Harper going for 83 yards and a TD off 11 carries. Stafon Johnson (one of the "missing" watch listers from last year) also had 11 carries and ended with 68 yards.

I know this is a bit of a quick tangent but this is precisely the reason why I wouldn't pay Chris Johnson anything more than a reasonably modest salary. The offensive line does most of the work for running backs and I think the Titans are in a position where they could replace Johnson. Would their backs be quite as explosive as him? No. But with the extra cap space you could start building a team by buying in some of the players who are a little harder to get hold of than running backs.

Back to the game and Sam Bradford was struggling a little for the Rams, with 8/15 for 138 yards, a TD and an INT. Rookie Thaddeus Lewis did well with 8/10 for 74 yards. A.J. Feely wasn't bad either, 5/9 for 44 yards and a TD.

On defense not a whole lot happened, though it was funny to see the Titans generate 3 sacks, but none from their D-line. Could be a rough year in Tennessee.

On to Buffalo @ Denver and it's the joys of the Tim Tebow merry go round. Except it isn't, because he only threw two passes right at the end of the game. Afterwards the mainstream media was adamant that Kyle Orton has secured his place at the top of the Broncos depth chart with that performance, to which I would respond with the simple question; "And precisely who of sound mind and body thought that he was anything but that?". But then I guess that's what the media does best, trying to create controversy where there is none.

Orton was 10/13 for 135 yards and a TD. Next was Brady Quinn who went 10/16 for 130 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. I thought NFL.com's headline was quite amusing though, running with "Quinn out duels Tebow as Broncos bump off Bills". How do you consider it a duel when one quarterback had the opportunity to throw 16 passes and the other had just two attempts? Words don't really do the stupidity of it justice.

But I digress. For the Bills, Ryan Fitzpatrick was 6/16 for 44 yards and an interception. Tyler Thigpen managed 11/20 for 118 yards and a TD. And even Brad Smith got in on the action, with 4/4 for 34 yards. On the ground the only real standout was Broncos running back Willis McGahee who did what Willis McGahee does, scoring two touchdowns; one on the ground and the other from a pass.

On defense, rookie Bills linebacker Robert Eddins had a sack, as did rookie D-Tackle Marcell Dareus. For the Bronocs, LB Von Miller had a sack. What impressed me the most about this though was the technique he showed. My knock on him so far has been his technique being a little unrefined, but with that sack he showed signs that he's been working hard in camp to improve his pass rushing skills, which paid off. Now if only NFL.com would a) allow videos to be embedded to other pages and b) stop only making highlight reels of Cam Newton (I'm serious) and start actually putting together "defense highlights" etc, then I'd be able to show you what I mean. As it is we'll just have to move on.

To.... Minnesota @ Seattle. What's that Seattle? Your quarterback situation sucks? Welcome to the NFC West party my friends (excluding the Rams). Newly acquired Tavaris Jackson took to the field and put up 11/21 for 75 yards and an interception. The interception made me laugh in particular, because if he just turned his head a few degrees to the right he would have seen a completely free receiver, as opposed to the double covered one that he tried to throw to. Charlie Whitehurst finished 14/19 for 97 yards and a TD. Rookie Josh Portis turned in an eye catching(ly shit) 2/9 for 13 yards (On a brighter note he lead his team in rushing with 4 carries for 46 yards).

On the Vikings side, Donovan McNabb ended 6/8 for 81 yards. Rookie Christian Ponder was a disappointing 6/12 for 63 yards, while Joe Webb was 4/8 for 44 yards. Defensively the Vikings were a little drab, with the exception of rookie defensive back Marcus Sherels who had an interception (but also a fumble). The Seahawks D was just as boring.

Off to the East coast then and we find Cincinnati @ New York (Jets). The Andy Dalton show is the lead story, as he finished his part in the game 8/19 for 86 yards and 2 interceptions. He wasn't even the worst Bengals quarterback though. Bruce Gradkowski was 3/7 for 50 yards and an INT, while Dan LeFevour was 2/5 for 20 yards. Andrew Luck had better start paying attention, because this is likely where he's heading next year. Time to start scouting those receivers huh?

Mark Sanchez was... better? 12/20 for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns. Good, but still not where the Jets need him to be. Greg McElroy turned in a better show this time with 6/9 for 59 yards and a touchdown. The story of the day for the Jets though was Plaxico Burress, who had 3 catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. I didn't realise that guy was 34 now. Shit, getting old. Meanwhile Santonio Holmes continues to look like the best pick up the Jets have ever made, at least under Rex Ryan.

Back west now, and down south a little, which is not at all a euphemism for the standard of play in San Diego @ Dallas. Phillip Rivers was 8/11 for 92 yards and a TD. Bill Volek; 8/12 for 48 yards. Scott Tolzien; 4/5 for 12 yards and my question to you Scott is this; how do you throw 4 complete passes for just 12 yards? That should be impossible, or against the law or something.

The Cowboys though actually did ok. Tony Romo was 8/12 for 58 yards, a TD and an INT. Stephen McGee was 16/29 for 157 yards. John Kitna was perfect, going 1/1 for 2 yards. Ahhhh. Now I know how Tolzien did it.

On defense, 3rd year Chargers defensive tackle Vaughn Martin had a good game with 2 sacks, and rookie defensive tackle Corey Liuget had one as well. Eric Weddle continues to impress at safety with another interception. The Cowboys D produced two sacks, including guess who? DeMarcus Ware.

And finally, Monday Night Football with Chicago @ New York (Giants). Man, Chicago not looking good. Last year I felt they kind of lucked their way into the playoffs and it showed against the Giants. Their defense was gashed heavily by the Giants running game as Brandon Jacobs turned 6 carries into 48 yards and a TD, including one run where the Bears front just got ripped open right up the middle. Rookie Da'Rel Scott - who I once described as "slow in pads" - shut me up by burning off a 97 yard touchdown run, after almost tripping over in his own endzone.

Quarterback wise, Jay Cutler of the Bears finished 12/21 for 171 yards. Caleb Hanie then came in to finish the game with 17/28 for 166 yards and an interception. For the Giants, Eli Manning was 8/16 for 78 yards, while David Carr ended the night 9/11 for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns.

On defense, the Bears D produced literally nothing of note worthiness. For the Giants Mark Herzlich picked up an interception, which pleased a lot of people, not least me after I backtracked on my previous, slightly underwhelmed opinion of him. I was also pleased to see rookie linebacker Greg Jones get a punt block. Now please insert him into the defense proper for the final week of pre-season. Thank you Mr. Coughlin.

So that's that. Barring any major news stories, I'll be back Wednesday I think, to have a look ahead at some of the week 3 preseason games. Thanks for dropping by and don't forget to hit that Facebook-button-thing at the bottom to share this page with your friends.

Laters everyone.

All quiet

Eventually, possibly Monday Night, I will recap all of the Saturday/Sunday games. But right now I have enough time to watch and not a lot else, so patience is the order of the day.

2011 Pre-season; week 2 (Thursday)

So, two games from pre-season week 2 in the books. Let's have a look.

It started with the Patriots at the Buccaneers and boy did the Buccaneers get a wake up call. Their firsts versus the Patriots firsts resulted in a game that wasn't even close as the Pats put up 28 unanswered points as their offense cut through the Buc's D, while their defense poured all over the Buc's O-line. It was the footballing equivalent of a massacre.

Tom Brady finished 11/19 for 118 yards and 2 TD's, having a few miscues, but nothing serious. Chad Ochocinco got his first action in a Patriot's jersey, scoring a TD and taking a major hit along the way. Rookie QB Ryan Mallet was 9/14 for 71 yards and 1 interception. Naturally people were crying about the fact that he threw a pick, but shit, seriously? One pick and other than that he's looked very solid, certainly the best among this years crop of quarterbacks.

The Patriots running game got motoring again, largely due to the fact that the Buccaneers D-line was getting handled just as roughly as its offensive line. On defense, Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo had two sacks and looked every bit the lynch pin of that defense.

As for the Buccaneers, I think it's a case of try again next week? Josh Freeman went just 5/10 for 33 yards. Josh Johnson did slightly better, 6/17 for 105 yards and a pick. C'mon Johnson, you're better than this. Third year backup Rudy Carpenter was 6/10 for 68 yards.

But the Buc's have little to be pleased about. The simple fact is that they were man handled at every turn throughout the game by a clearly superior side. They may be "Youngry", but the young aspect definitely stands out more than the hungry part. Lots of coaching work to do in the coming season.

Next the Philadelphia "Dream Team" Eagles visited Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers and were in for something of a shock. Recently the Eagles players have been trying to play down the "Dream Team" moniker and Thursday night we perhaps found out why.

Mike Vick; 5/12 for 47 yards and 3 INT's. Wow. That was pretty bad. Part of the issue was - as you might expect - the Steelers pass rush. But a big chunk of it was just Vick making bad decisions (no jokes please). One of the interceptions was just ridiculous, as Vick tried to thread the needle between about five defenders. And that seemed to be the major problem. Instead of just occasionally eating a sack or throwing the ball away, Vick was determined to make plays happen that just weren't there.

Still, he got a sweet hit in after a pass was tipped and then picked off by Troy Polamalu. Not sure if Andy Reid will be quite as impressed.

His replacement was Vince Young, who went on to finish 5/8 for 34 yards and an interception. Finally the situation was partially rescued (albeit against the third string) by Mike Kafka, who threw 14/19 for 160 yards and 2 TD's. Running back Ronnie Brown got in on the action late and had some effect, as did rookie Dion Lewis (ahhh!) with 2 carries for 19 yards and 2 receptions for another 48.

On defense some new arrivals made their impact, with Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins and Anthony Hargrove all recording sacks, but outside of that the Eagles D didn't look all that impressive, being victimised by a succession of Steelers quarterbacks.

It started with Ben Roethlisberger, who went 8/12 for 125 yards and 2 TD's, while looking every bit like a hall of fame quarterback. Yeah. He just seems to have such a command of that offense, while bringing great strength and calm under pressure to the table as well. Next up was Byron Leftwich; 4/7 for 67 yards and a TD. Then Dennis Dixon; 8/11 for 90 yards.

Of note outside of the quarterback position for the Steelers was new receiver Jerricho Cotchery, who ended with 2 catches for 49 yards and a TD. On defense the Steelers actually produced just one sack, but the elusiveness of Michael Vick had much to do with that. The pressure was there and it forced mistakes, notable not least because of the defense's four interceptions total. Will Allen also produced a forced fumble.

Dream Team? More like "Dream On" at the minute, but its early days yet. I am wondering though, after my post the other day about the pressure that comes with the hype, will the Philadelphia media start to go rabid already? We'll see.

Right then, we'll round off this post by having a look ahead at the Friday night action.

Which begins with the Redskins at the Colts. The Curtis Painter saga continues! More of interest though will be the defense, which got over run by St. Louis of all people last week. If Manning doesn't come back 100% this year then the Colts will need a very strong showing from their defense just to make the playoffs. For the Redskins this is another chance to see where they stand with Rex Grossman and perhaps give that rushing attack a kick up the backside.

The Chiefs get a repeat of their playoff match up from last year, but this time they'll be on the road against the Ravens. I'm actually quite intrigued by this. I want to know whether Head Coach Todd Haley trusts his running game this time or whether he's going to stick with testing out his back up quarterback situation. The Ravens need to find their groove offensively and really give Joe Flacco a decent spell.

Detroit Lions at Cleveland Browns next, and two teams that had pretty good starts to the pre-season, offensively at least. Looking forward to seeing more Colt McCoy in action and also finding out whether Matthew Staffords resurgence in week 1 was just a fluke or if he's finally starting to build a sense of rhythm with his receivers.

The Cam Netwon show rolls into Miami as the Panthers face the Dolphins. This one is all about the quarterbacks, as Newton and Clausen battle for the starting role in Carolina, and Chad Henne tries to convince the Miami coaches he's the right man for the job this season.

The Cardinals get a trip to a slightly cooler Green Bay for their week 2 game. For Green Bay its about building on a pretty good showing by the first stringers last week while a lot of attention will be on Arizona in this one. More specifically, the mess that is otherwise known as their quarterback situation. It'll also provide a nice test for what is a defense in some disarray, having still not stopped the rot at the linebacker position from last season.

Finally, the Falcons nip across to Florida to take on Jacksonville. I'm interested to know just how tough that Falcons defense will be this year. Specifically I'm looking for sacks from the Falcons D-line. For the Jaguars all eyes will doubtless be on Blaine Gabbert, but a more important question in my book is how their revamped linebacking corps gets on.

See you tomorrow.

Pre-season week 1 and a look at Thursdays pre-season week 2

Right, I made it back eventually. The real world of work and all that. So, time to recap briefly the action from Saturday and Monday, then look ahead to some of this weeks games. Starting with....

Green Bay visiting the Cleveland Browns. Aaron Rodgers looked comfortable and just getting back into the swing, as did Colt McCoy of the Browns (9/10, 135 yards, 1 TD). Packers back up Matt Flynn looked ok, 11/18 for 126 yards and a TD, but I was a little disappointed in youngster Graham Harrell, 11/22 for 100 yards. I thought he'd be a little more accurate than that.

Packers rookie receiver Randall Cobb (who I'm quite high on) did well, three catches for 60 yards. On the opposite side experienced tight end Ben Watson lead the Browns receivers with 2 catches for 56 yards. Packers rookie DB Josh Gordy impressed with a sack and an interception. Meanwhile the Browns D was looking good despite the loss of coordinator Rob Ryan, turning in 5 sacks between them.

Onto the Bills and Bears, and some good, some bad for both teams. For the Bills, Ryan Fitzpatrick looked ok if not stunning, but in general the Bills depth at quarterback looks a little suspect right now. Tyler Thigpen in particular didn't quite have the impact many in Buffalo were perhaps hoping for. For the Bears, the offensive line continues to worry, though rookie QB Nathan Enderle was a bright spot. I'm a big fan of Enderle and he had a reasonably good evening finishing 7/10 for 110 yards. His interception hit the receiver in the hands but was tipped and picked off, so that's not a huge issue.

On defence is where things really got lit up. Nine sacks for the Bills defense. Nine. I don't think they've ever produced that many sacks in their history. Of course the Bears pass protection had a lot to do with that. It appears that maybe the issue that Chicago thought it had solved last season has once again come back to bite them.

Next, Indianapolis travelled to St. Louis and boy did they miss Peyton Manning. If there was any issue with the Colts it is that they're very much a one man team; they live and die by the arm of Manning. Neither Curtis Painter nor Nate Davis (who was eventually released) did much, and even Dan Orlovsky, formerly of the Texans, looked rough.

The Rams on the other hand were quite impressive. Sam Bradford had an adequate start, and back up A.J. Feely threw 10/14 for 100 yards. The running backs for the Rams looked solid and a strong running game could really help Bradford in the year ahead. Rookie Tight End Lance Kendricks lived up to me hyping him before the draft with 5 catches for 47 yards and a TD. Receiver Danario Alexander (Undrafted last year, but on my watch list) had 3 catches for 43 yards.

On to... uhm, Minnesota at Tennessee. All eyes were really on the veteran and rookie quarterbacks, with the Vikings sporting Donovan McNabb and Christian Ponder to the Titans Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Locker. We'll start with McNabb and Ponder, who both looked ok without really amazing. Ponder was fairly efficient while McNabb stuck to the short and intermediate passes to get by. Hasselbeck on the other hand was near perfect in the few throws he made, while Jake Locker actually looked really impressive. 7/10 for 89 yards and a touchdown, he looked calm under pressure and his anticipation on his throws was pretty good.

Off to Carolina now, as the Panthers hosted the Giants and we finally got to see Cam Newton on the field. And here is what I love about the mainstream football covering media. People have been cooking up a storm in their pants about how good Newton looked, while simultaneously bashing the crap out of Tim Tebow.

Now excuse me, but I think you'll find Newton went 8/19 for 134 yards, which while not bad at all, was still much less efficient than Tebow's performance the other day. In fairness to Cam, he looked better throwing here than he did with Auburn and you can see he has raw potential as a passer and competitor. It's just a question of whether the Panthers can focus that potential and develop it in the coming years.

Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul was the other big winner in this game putting another two sacks in the books (sort of) and once again laughing in the face of people like me who said he wouldn't amount to much. Well done sir, you're converting me. Cunt.

Lastly then we have the Jets travelling to the Texans and to be honest, Matt Schaub looked a little rough. His timing was off with some of the receivers and he only completed 2/5 for 20 yards. Rookie T.J. Yates did a bit better, but the story of the evening was really Matt Leinart, who went 8/14 for 78 yards, a TD and an INT. Also in the spotlight was 2nd year Texans running back Chris Ogbonnaya who had 17 carries for just 37 yards and a TD, but also caught 6 passes for 67 yards and another TD. I was also pleased to see rookie Lester Jean have two catches for 53 yards. Keep an eye on Jean.

For the Jets, rookie QB Greg McElroy was given a hell of an outing, finishing the game 23/39 for 208 yards and a TD (he also fumbled the ball 3 times). But the biggest story on the Jets side was their offensive line. Vladimir Ducasse had to slot in at right tackle and man did he not look at home. New Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips brought the heat and the Texans finished with 7 sacks as the Jets struggled to keep their QB upright.

So that's all of the week one games covered. One thing I do want to bring up briefly and this stretched across all the games, was how much time teams spent in 3 and 4 wide receiver sets. This is something that has been popular in college football for a long time now and it seems that the "Spread Bug" is really beginning to kick in here in the NFL too. It'll be interesting to see if this lasts into the regular season as well.

Looking ahead, just two games for Thursday night.

It starts with the Patriots heading to Tampa, which is quite an interesting clash given their good starts to the season. In particular I'm looking forward to seeing more of Ryan Mallett and hopefully some more game time for Buc's corner Anthony Gaitor.

The second game sees the Eagles "Dream Team" visit the Steelers. This should be a good test for Philadelphia as we get to see how their offense stands up against one of the more fearsome pass rushes in the league, and how their newly kitted out defense copes with quite a versatile offense. Good stuff.

Pre-Season week 1

Ok so I said I would be back yesterday and I wasn't. Tough.

Anyway, we now have two days worth of white knuckle pre-season action (stop laughing) so let's have a quick look through the games so far.

It started with the Patriots hosting the Jaguars and man did Bill Belichick get a result. I'm not even talking about the 47-12 score. I'm talking about Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett both putting in good shifts at quarterback. My suspicion is that it's all part of Bills master plan to own every pick in the 2020 draft, by showing these two off now and seeing if anyone bites. The defense also threw up four sacks, which shows an early sign of improvement for the Pats up front.

For the Jags, it was nice to see Rashad Jennings pick up 28 yards on 6 carries but other than that, there really wasn't a lot happening on their side of the ball. Quarterback Todd Bouman made the case for his own retirement with 2/10 and an interception. We saw Blaine Gabbert for the first time on an NFL field, going 9/16 for 85 yards.

But the undoubted winners of the night where both in Patriot blue, and that was receiver Taylor Price and running back Stevan Ridley. Price caught 5 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown, while Ridley caught 7 for 47 yards and a TD, plus 16 carries on the ground for 64 yards and a further 2 touchdowns.

Next up we have the Ravens and the Eagles in Philadelphia, which resulted in a mixed night for some. Ravens rookie QB Tyrod Taylor threw 19/28 for 179 yards but also 2 interceptions, one to rookie safety Jaiquawn "Triple Word Score" Jarrett who I overlooked in the preview the other day. Also a stand out for me was the Eagles defense putting up 6 sacks, including two for defensive end Darryl Tapp.

Game 3 and Seattle came down to visit San Diego, walking away with the win but also a lot of questions. QB Tavaris Jackson didn't exactly look sharp, though Charlie Whitehurst did better. For the Chargers, Philip Rivers didn't see a huge amount of time but did look tight, throwing 5/6 for 87 yards and a TD, including a deep strike to Vincent Jackson. That partnership being ready on day one of the season will be a huge asset to the Chargers in 2011.

Then it was down to Dallas as the Cowboys welcomed the Broncos. Oh boy did it get fun for coach John Fox! Kyle Orton went 2/6 for 37 yards while back up Tim Tebow produced 6/7 for 91 yards. What made me laugh afterwards though were all the people clutching for reasons to bash Tebow. So he fumbled one snap. Yeah that's not good but it's a minor thing that will come in time. What I was more impressed with was his more compact throwing motion (in terms of time which is all that matters) and his demonstration of deep pass accuracy, something which supposedly he can't do. All in all, Tebow was reasonably impressive, for what it was at least.

Of course there were others involved in the game. Quarterback Brady Quinn completed 8/14 in his spell for 120 yards and a TD which is not bad against the third string. Also, corner Perrish Cox from last years watch list had an interception.

For the Cowboys, back up quarterback Stephen McGee went 14/24 for 208 yards, 3 TD's and 1 INT. Running back Felix Jones looked in good form with some nice running at times. Rookie receiver Dwayne Harris impressed the most, romping home with 5 catches for 127 yards and 2 TD's, including taking a dump off pass from the slot 74 yards up the field for a TD. I did say he'd make a good slot receiver with yards after the catch ability.

On to the next game and Oakland greeted Arizona. Not a huge amount to report really. 2nd year Cardinals QB Max Hall went 4/4 for 66 yards and a TD. John Skelton went 6/10 for 94 yards and a TD. On the Raiders side, both Jason Campbell and Kyle Boller did ok, but Trent Edwards got the most throws, turning in 10/19 for 140 yards and a TD. Rookie receiver Denarius Moore had three catches and finished with 37 yards, but the whole game was a little flat.

Moving to the later games we start with Atlanta hosting Miami. Frankly I'm a little stunned that Miami managed to win this given how bad they started. One thing I will do though is throw QB Chad Henne something of a bone. Already people are crying over the fact that he got picked twice, throwing an eventual 4/8 for 77 yards and a touchdown.

The first pick was largely an accident. The throw hit the target - literally - and bounced out of the receivers grasp and into the hands of defensive end John Abraham as he dropped into coverage during an unusual blitz. It was basically a stroke of bad luck. The second was just a lack of concentration. His receiver had corner Brent Grimes soundly beaten, but Henne tried to drop the ball into his receivers lap instead of making him go high for it. The result was a pass that was just about within Grimes's reach. That's an easy problem to solve (Maybe one day I'll write a post on quarterbacks and ball placement, which I consider to be one of their most important measurable traits).

New Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore faired a little better, ending the game 11/18 for 123 yards, 2 TD's and 1 INT. On the other side, Matt Ryan was looking slick, going 6/10 for 90 yards and a TD. The key though was just how smooth he looked with all his motions and how confident he was throwing the ball. Really very impressive.

On defense, Dolphins rookie defensive back Jimmy Wilson did well, tallying 5 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Second year linebacker A.J. Edds also did well, with 6 tackles and a sack. For the Falcons, rookie defensive end Cliff Matthews had 3 tackles and a sack while another rookie DE, Emmanuel Stephens, also had 3 tackles and a sack.

Next on the schedule was Cincinnati travelling to Detroit in a game which might bring equal amounts of hope and despair to Lions fans. Yes, they pounded a frankly terrible Bengals team into the floor. But the last time they looked this good in pre-season, the regular season ended very badly....

Fans might not be so worried this year though. Matthew Stafford looked like a seasoned veteran, making back shoulder fade throws all over the place and ended the game 6/7 for 71 yards and 2 TD's. All the Lions quarterbacks were pretty efficient, with Drew Stanton getting the most throwing practice going 7/15 for 110 yards.

The Bengals didn't fair quite as well. Rookie Andy Dalton threw a pick right out of the gate, then went 11/15 but for only 69 yards as he quickly reverted to a preference for short passing. The best performer on the ground for either team was Bengals running back Cedric Benson who turned 6 carries into 37 yards and possibly shining a light on the path that the Bengals might follow this year.

Just quickly I also want to pick up on the controversy surrounding Ndamukong Suh who is described in almost all media outlets as having "slammed" Andy Dalton to the ground with a "vicious" throw. Frankly I think people are taking the piss if that is what constitutes unneccesary roughness.

He didn't exactly hold Daltons hand and take him for a nice stroll in the countryside, but nor did it appear to be particularly malicious in any way and I'm a little annoyed that so much has been made about it. When I saw it, I didn't even blink. Certainly I didn't expect to see the morass of media out cry that there has been. Suh is building a reputation for being dirty, but I would suggest that much of that reputation is grossly over stated and manufactured by the press for the sole purpose of driving internet traffic.

In other words Florio, shut the fuck up and stop being a whiny little bitch.

Onto the next game and the Redskins hosted the Steelers for something of a forgettable night. Redskins QB Rex Grossman was probably the big winner, taking advantage of an injury to John Beck to impose himself as the Redskins most likely starting quarterback,  posting 19/26 for 207 yards and a TD. The biggest loser was probably Steelers QB Dennis Dixon, who finished 1/10 for 29 yards.

Meanwhile the Buccaneers went north and west to visit the Chiefs, coming away with quite a handy win. Josh Freeman went 9/13 for 73 yards, but also ran in a touchdown himself. My little favourite Josh Johnson continued to impress. He finished 7/12 for 108 yards and a TD, but also lead the team on the ground with 5 rushes for 57 yards. A piece of me is kinda hoping that the 49ers get a trade done, but we'll talk about that more later.

It was also a good day for rookie tight end Daniel Hardy who I have high hopes for, after he caught 2 passes for 37 yards. Then there was rookie corner Anthony Gaitor who I absolutely love, who got himself a sack, and then second year linebacker Dekoda Watson (who was on last years rookie watch list) got himself 1.5 sacks.

The Chiefs struggled mightily. Both Tyler Palko and Ricky Stanzi (who I had high hopes for) performed badly. Running back Thomas Jones demonstrated why he's still one of the best backs in football with a long scamper, but like the playoff game against the Ravens from last season, the Chiefs showed that they don't care a great deal for their running game.

And finally that brings us to the 49ers heading East to visit the Saints. *sigh*

God where do I start? Well it was set to be a tought night for the 49ers as Saints defensive co-ordinator Greg Williams brought the heat, with blitz after blitz. Now a lot of people have been complaining but taking a step back I have to say that I can understand Williams doing what he did. This is what his defense will most likely be doing all season long so it only makes sense for him and his players to practice now. He was just doing what any coach really should be doing.

The result was sacks a plenty. Six of them. Plus two interceptions. Alex Smith ended 2/7 for 10 yards, while rookie Colin Kaepernick, who I really am not confident about (trade for Josh Johnson time?), went 9/19 for 117 yards and 2 INT's. He did manage to run 6 times for a total of 47 yards, but he also fumbled the ball twice. At least the 49ers had a small bright spot on defense, holding Drew Brees of the Saints to 1/4 for 6 yards. First round rookie Aldon Smith also got himself a sack.

For the Saints offense, rookie running back Mark Ingram got himself a TD while back up QB Chase Daniel put up 13/21 for 129 yards in the air. Undrafted rookie Joseph Morgan also got on the scoreboard with an impressive 78 yard punt return for a TD.

And that my friends, is all for now. I'm already missing some of the rest of the action which I will recap possibly on Monday Night/Tuesday Morning, or possibly the day after. Till then, have a great weekend.

Eagles "Dream Team" and Tim Tebow

No, I'm not suggesting the Eagles trade for Tebow. These are two separate stories that I want to address. Normally I would give it some sort of comedic title (at least by my sense of humour) like, "Eagles prepare to shit on everyone from a great height" or "Eagles looking to soar to heaven... where they see seat with 'reserved for Tim Tebow' sign on it" etc.

But apparently that's not good for business. If you want to haul in the views you have to literally explain in the title what you're talking about and use words that people type into search engines. Boring but necessary it would seem. Ah well, let's get on with it.

So the Eagles "Dream Team" has expanded to include wide receiver Steve Smith. No, not that one. The one that used to play for the Giants. The one who now probably regrets pitching in to the LeSean McCoy/Osi Umenyiora off season spat by asking how many Super Bowl rings the Eagles had. Whoops!

Anyway, I'm now starting to get very interested in the Eagles for the simple reason that this season could have serious implications on the future of the NFL. Yes, the Eagles. See, there are two sides of the free agent debate.

One side believes that you can flash the cash in all directions and essentially buy the Super Bowl. The other side would point at teams like the Redskins in recent years and then laugh for probably a little longer than is actually necessary. The Eagles performance this year could go a long way to helping people take sides in the debate.

I'm fairly certain right now that the Eagles will make the playoffs and do pretty well overall in the regular season. I've seen this happen several times over here in English soccer with teams being bought out by billionaires who then stop at nothing to buy a championship. Even if they fall short of the ultimate goal, the sudden increase in talent level across the board usually has enough of an impact to overcome lesser opposition with ease.

The key will obviously be whether they make it to the big game and if they do, how will they fare?

My guess right now is not well. The reason I say this is because team cohesion is a big factor in teams winning titles, from what I've seen at least. The ability to get a group of players to come together and work for each other can make a big impact on the field. That is always the risk that you assume when you spend highly in free agency; you're bringing guys like Steve Smith into your locker room who just a few weeks ago were bashing your organisation.

Another problem that is common derives from simple numbers. There are only so many spots on the field at the start of the game. You can't start five wide receivers, and two running backs, and two tight ends all at the same time. Well, theoretically you can, but some of those guys are going to have to settle with being offensive linemen.

This creates friction. Lots of friction.

Egos clash as everyone believes that their talents should be highlighted. Just look at the corner situation with Asante Samuel, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha. Most are betting that if Samuel is still around in week 1, then Samuel and Asomugha will be starting. How is Rodgers-Cromartie, a talented corner who has seen plenty of action in his career so far, going to take to suddenly being an occasional nickel back?

It'll effect his career no doubt. Starting in Arizona DRC had the chance to show off his skills and build up his potential value for free agency. Now? He's going to spend a lot of time hidden away, either on the bench or covering the number 3 guy. How long before the quite murmurs behind closed doors become an angry rumble on Twitter?

The same applies to guys like receiver Jeremy Maclin. How long before he gets tired of Steve Smith taking his spot? Or maybe its the other way around? Maybe Smith gets annoyed that he used to be considered a top receiver in New York and now he's just an auxillary on the "Dream Team"?

Which brings us to probably the most difficult part of this process for the Eagles. However much Coach Andy Reid tries to play it down, the cat is out of the bag now. The Dream Team moniker is here to stay for 2011-12.

Given how rabid the sports press in Philadelphia has a reputation for being in general, how long before they start piling on the pressure now? And trust me, it wont just take a loss to get them going. Oh no! Teams with as much hype and expectation as the Eagles - and who have spent as much money - are held to a far more critical standard.

Take english soccer team Chelsea F.C. for example. A few years ago now they were bought by Russian billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich, who has spent over a half billion dollars purchasing players from around the world to play for his team (that's before you even start counting the enormous wages paid). As a result, the expectations on Chelsea are ridiculous. Beating a poor to intermediate quality team is not enough. Anything less than a severe thrashing is considered failure, not to mention the "win the title every season" type expectation with regards to the premier league.

This is the world that the Eagles have literally and unintentionally bought into. Forget about the Super Bowl. Forget about the playoffs. Forget about the NFC East divisional crown. The scrutiny of the Eagles begins in week 1 of the regular season at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. Anything short of trouncing the Rams (a team that will be very much considered the underdog) will result in backlash and speculation.

The sports pages in Philadelphia will be covered with headlines reading "IS THIS IT?!!" or words to that effect if the Eagles can only scrape a one or two score win. Already people will get nervous about why the Eagles aren't blowing other teams off the field with a shockwave of footballing brilliance. Eventually this will find its way into the locker room and manifest itself in finger pointing.

"We're not winning because you don't throw me the ball enough!"
"If you let me rush the passer more often coach, we'd get way more sacks!"
"We're not running the ball enough coach, you should let me carry it a few more times!"

If things don't go exactly according to the pre-season script, and given the volatility that we're accustomed to from professional sports players and the media who cover them, this has the potential to get real ugly, real quick. I personally expect the Eagles will win maybe 11-12 games, but something tells me that won't be enough to hold back the waves of criticism.

Don't forget, this is a city that ran quarterback Donovan McNabb out of town after he took them to 5 NFC Championship games (four consecutively) and one Super Bowl appearance!

This also leads us nicely to Tim Tebow, as we stick with the theme of high expectations.

Because (I know smartass) the hype around Tebow and his failure to win the starting job in Denver is getting bloody ridiculous. He's a kid. A young player learning the ropes. Alright, he got drafted in the first round. I get that. Yes, the Broncos gave up a lot to get him. I understand. But I don't care if he was drafted number one overall, the fact is he's still young.

This is what the draft is supposed to be about. Your supposed to pick up promising young players who you think have potential, then develop them over time. Look at Joe Montana for example. And no, I'm not saying the two are the same. But just look at Montana with the 49ers. Did he walk in and become number one right away? No he didn't. He was a project. Bill Walsh built him up, encouraged him, worked with him, taught him, developed him.

Eventually yes, he hit the field as the number one guy and barely looked back. Sort of. But the point is, it takes time to acclimate a rookie and bring them up to speed, to teach them the ways of the NFL. Tebow is doing that. He's learning. To expect him to supplant a good quarterback like Kyle Orton right away is stupid. And yeah, I think Orton is a good quarterback who doesn't get enough credit as it is.

So what if Orton is beating Tebow out? You should expect him to. That's why Orton is a starting quarterback in this league, while Alex Smith has to compete for his job every year. All I'm saying is that people need to give Tebow time. He has talent. Anyone that says he can't throw needs to go and check his old Florida tape, as well as his game time from last season.

Does he occasionally make mistakes? Yeah, surprise, surprise, he does. It's called being human. I don't care how often he goes to church and prays, he's still a human being and no amount of hyperbole will change that fact. Now, does Peyton Manning make mistakes? Yep. What about Drew Brees? Yep. Tom Brady? Yep. Philip Rivers? Yep. See where I'm going with this?

Tebow is a victim of his own success in college. Given that he dominated so many games in his career the expectations on him now are to rule the NFL single handed. Which is ridiculous. Is Tim Tebow failing in Denver as many people believe? No, I don't think he is.

I think what's happening is that like Philadelphia, people have annointed him with a title that is based on their own unrealistic assessment of the situation. They've allowed their own agendas, either positive or negative, to cloud the issue and now everyone is caught along for the ride.

Me personally? I think Tebow may see some intermitent action this year - mostly garbage time - depending on how things go. If things go bad offensively then expect people to call for a change, because apparently all you have to do these days is change the quarterback in order to kick start an offense. I think he'll learn from watching Orton and grow mentally as an NFL player. Give it another year or two and I think he could be a good, legitimate starter in the NFL.

Is he ever going to win a Super Bowl? Pff, how about you get your crystal ball out and tell me what teams he's going to play for during his career and what pieces will be around him? Then I'll tell you. Just look at Peyton Manning for example. He's probably the best pure quarterback in the league right now and yet he only has one ring.

All I'll say is that I think eventually Tebow will find a starting job and eventually I expect him to have some success. It's just a matter of the one thing that seemingly no football fan, football writer, coach, general manager or owner seems to possess anymore; patience!

Now if you're looking for a less hyped team that might just be in with a Super Bowl shout, look at New England. I know they're hardly a footballing minnow, but they're going largely under the radar right now and yet Coach Belichick is assembling quite a nice little team up there in Foxborough. You have been warned.

Which reminds me, ahhhhh football is back! Well. Kind of.

Pres-season begins today and as yet it's still unclear how teams are going to go about apportioning time to their players. We may get full games with starters at some point, but most likely it'll be your usual mish mash of starters playing halfs then coming out in favour of the younger/fringe type players.

New England will be entertaining Jacksonville which means we might get our first look at QB Ryan Mallett. I like Mallett and it'll be interesting to see whether many teams are left ruing the chance to pick him up in the draft. For Jacksonville I'm rooting for back up running back Rashad Jennings. C'mon kid, let 'em have it!

The "Dream Team" will get its first showing against Baltimore, something which I'm not entirely sure Andy Reid will be relishing. I'm particularly interested in rookie running back Dion Lewis and linebacker Casey Matthews for the Eagles. For the Ravens it has to be rookie corner Jimmy Smith (one of my favourite corners in the draft) followed by wide receiver Torrey Smith (one of my favourite receivers).

San Diego will play host to Seattle. I'm hoping to see rookie Chargers center Colin Baxter, mainly because I think he's awful and is going to get his quarterback killed. Defensive Linemen Corey Liuget is one to watch though, for good reasons. For Seattle, I like rookie tackle James Carpenter and guard John Moffitt. Moffitt especially so. In the secondary, corner Byron Maxwell has potential in time, and I absolutely love Mark LeGree. I hope he plays because I think he's gonna be great.

Dallas will welcome Denver for their first pre-season game. I literally have no interest in Dallas. None. Not a thing. Denver however throws up a few names. Tim Tebow of course. Rookie Tight end Virgil Green, Offensive Linemen (should be a guard) Orlando Franklin, pass rusher Jeremy Beal (watch out for this guy, might play outside linebacker, maybe defensive end. Should get sacks) and safety Rahim Moore. So just a few then.

Finally, Oakland are at home to Arizona (blurgh!). For Oakland rookie running back Taiwan Jones, wide receiver Denarius Moore and offensive guard Stefen Wisniewski (at least against the pass). For Arizona, all eyes will be on rookie corner Patrick Peterson. I'm interested in seeing him largely because I don't think he's going to be all that good, but we'll see. Other than Peterson, I'm looking at rookie running back Ryan Williams and linebacker Quan Sturdivant.

So that's that for today. I'll probably be back tomorrow depending on my work schedule, but until next time, have a great day.

Knox vs Williams

Earlier in the week I suggested that Roy Williams could basically walk onto the Bears team and be the number one receiver, the suggestion being as much an indictment of the Bears receiver corps as it was giving Williams credit. But I read on ProFootballTalk.com the other day that Williams is competing with Johnny Knox for a starting job.

Now for once PFT made a good point. It happens every now and again, when they're not busy trying to pretend that the players and DeMaurice Smith won the labor war. The point they made was that Knox was the best receiver on the Bears team last year, thus should not really have to compete for a spot.

And this is precisely the kind of thing that gets my back up. I don't claim to have been the worlds greatest football coach back when I was coaching for a period. I don't claim to be the most knowledgeable sports writer, if I even qualify as being one of those.

But I do, hereby, officially claim to be smarter than Lovie Smith, Mike Martz and the receivers coach in Chicago. In fact I could probably take someone who knows nothing about football and give them a quick 15 minute introduction into who the Bears receivers are, and they too would be able to make a smarter decision than the Bears currently are.

On what planet, in which fucking universe, are Devon Hester and Earl Bennett considered to be better than Johnny Knox? It's just a monumental amount of stupidity going into that decision. Knox has almost double the yards that Bennett does and Hester is nothing more than a special teams returner and the catcher of the odd screen pattern.

Say what you want about Roy Williams. If you want him to compete for a job, fine, do that. But against Hester, or Bennett. Not against Knox. That's just bloody ridiculous.

2011 NFL Free Agent signings

Soooo, part of having a blog is to actually, you know, write on it from time to time. As I've pointed out in previous posts the blog was really starting to drag, especially with the lockout in place and with other stuff to do it became a back seat issue. But I think I'm starting to get over that hump a little now. Free agency has seen a lot of movement and I'm starting to get excited again as the football season close in once more.

With that said, I'm going to have a quick look at some of the free agent signings etc that have taken place so far. This is not a comprehensive list, just some of the ones that more caught my attention. We'll do it alphabetically by city so we end up starting with Arizona;

Arizona Cardinals
Tight End, Jeff King -- previously of the Panthers, King isn't a huge name or anything, but he has a pretty safe pair of hands so I like this pick up,
Linebacker, Stewart Bradley -- formerly of the Eagles, Bradley I think is a nice addition to a linebacking that suffered a lot last year after some of the departures of its key members from 2009 through free agency and retirement.
Tight End, Todd Heap -- Ahhh! Previously of the Ravens, I have a lot of respect for Todd Heap. I'm actually a little surprised the Ravens let him go (though they have young tight ends from the 2010 draft) because Heap is still a great tight end. He may be getting a little old and yeah, he's not as fast as someone like Vernon Davis or even a Dallas Clark, but he has a lot left to give back to his team and that's a real plus for the Cardinals.

Atlanta Falcons
Defensive End, Ray Edwards -- From the Vikings, this is a great signing. That defensive line was looking dangerous last year and Edwards just makes that more so the case this season. He wasn't getting much press in Minnesota thanks to the presence of Jared Allen on the opposite end of the line, but now Edwards has the opportunity to make a name for himself. A five year year deal worth as much as $30 million isn't all that bad either, especially when only $11 million is guaranteed.

Baltimore Ravens
-- Have barely stirred and nothing to write home about.

Buffalo Bills
Quarterback, Tyler Thigpen -- I really like Ryan Fitzpatrick and I presume the Bills do the same, so I can't see Thigpen getting into the team week 1. Thigpen is just a year younger than the 28 year old Fitzpatrick so it's not like they're laying the ground work for the future either, which is why I'm a little surprised about how excited people seem to be getting over Thigpen.
Linebacker, Nick Barnett -- This I can see better. Barnett is a veteran with a Super Bowl ring who I think can help this team as much away from the field as on it. Though I still think the Bills are worse off without Posluszny.
Wide Receiver, Brad Smith -- Now this is a little better. I think Smith is an interesting candidate when thrown into Wildcat/Single Wing formations, predominantly for his speed and because he can actually thrown, so he's more likely to make people respect the possibility of a pass. That speed I mentioned could be a real asset for the Bills in receiver mood, but I haven't seen enough of his actual route running, pass catching ability to comment on that. Might not be the super hit a lot of people think he will be.

Carolina Panthers
Tight End, Greg Olson -- I was worried about Carolina because they lost most of their tight ends to free agency but this more than makes up for it. I'm not sure if Chicago realises just how much they've let go by letting Olson get snapped up elsewhere. This will help Cam Newton. In general though it was who the Panthers resigned among their own current crop that was probably more important (DeAngelo Williams, Charles Johnson).

Chicago Bears
Wide Receiver, Roy Williams -- I know Williams has drawn a lot of criticism. But as with all things in sport you need to look under the surface to find the answers. Much of that criticism has to do with his status as a first round pick coupled with the Cowboys over paying to get him. None of that should detract from the fact that Williams is actually a good player. For a free agent he can offer a team a lot, and he certainly walks into Chicago and immediately becomes the number one guy. I'm sorry, but that's just a fact.
Wide Receiver, Sam Hurd -- Joining Williams is his other Cowboys team mate, Sam Hurd. I happen to be a bit of a Hurd fan. I know that seems silly because he doesn't catch many passes, but I think Hurd is more a victim of his environment, where he's been surrounded by great receivers, or at least receivers who attract more attention than he does. It's the same problem that Patrick Crayton had. And I think Hurd walks into Chicago and becomes the immediate legit number 2. As you can see, I don't really have a lot of respect for the Bears previous receiver corps.

Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback, Bruce Gradkowski -- This is the only one that really jumped out at me. I happen to like Gradkowski. Is he the saviour of the Bengals? Erm, no probably not. Will he be better than Carson Palmer? That's debatable. But I do think it was a good idea to pick up Gradkowski and at least give the Bengals the choice of which way to go with their quarterback situation this season.

Cleveland Browns
Running Back, Brandon Jackson -- Formerly of the Packers, I like this signing. This gives the Browns a bit of depth, alongside Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty. Jackson wasn't a bad running back, he just played for the Packers who, let's face it, aren't exactly a huge running team.

Dallas Cowboys
-- Nothing really of note. It was more about the players that they re-signed, like Marcus Spears, Doug Free and Terrence Newman.

Denver Broncos
Defensive Tackle, Ty Warren -- I'm a little surprised just how much money the Broncos parted with for Warren. $10 million over two years? Alright, so only about a quarter of that is guaranteed but I'd be interested to know what the performance based bonuses were. Not sure if he's going to pay back the love they've given him.
Tight End, Donte Rosario -- I have a soft spot for the former Panthers trio Rosario, Barnidge and King (I know Barnidge is staying). They soldiered on unappreciated while Steve Smith took all the headlines so it's more of a case of me wanting Rosario to do well than anything else. I think he will.
Running Back, Willis McGahee -- I still can't believe the Ravens let him go? McGahee is a quality back in my estimation, who along with Le'Ron McClain helped to take the load off of Ray Rice. Still, what's done is done and the Broncos have snapped themselves up a good back. Looking at their roster, McGahee may become a key player in their offense.

Detroit Lions
-- Again, the biggest signings they made were mostly resigning their own guys etc.

Green Bay Packers
-- Ditto the above

Houston Texans
Cornerback, Jonathan Joseph -- If there was one thing that the Texans needed to fix and needed to fix badly, it was their secondary. Joseph marks a hug step in the right direction for Gary Kubiaks side. Joseph is an above average corner with pretty good instincts and pretty good hands. I've said it before and I'll say it again; if the Texans O can repeat its previous excellent performances then that D only needs to get a little bit better. The combination of this signing along with a pretty good draft could help the Texans make the playoffs this year.

Indianapolis Colts
Defensive Tackle, Tommie Harris -- Interesting choice if I'm honest. Harris's sack tally has progressively declined as his career has worn on. Not sure what the Colts hope to get out of him and barring a sudden turn around in performance, I think the Colts will regret this signing. I'm surprised frankly, I thought they'd make more on an effort on to improve the defensive side of the team.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Safety, Dawan Landry -- Landry had a great 2009, at least by his normal standards, but 2010 was a bit of a let down. He got in plenty of tackles put didn't really have much of an impact beyond that. People are criticising the Ravens for letting him go but honestly I think they have better, younger options up their sleeve. I think the Jaguars might have been duped here.
Linebacker, Clint Session -- The Jaguars have forked out nearly $6 million a year (if all bonuses are met) for session, which I find quite laughable. No way would I pay Clint Session anywhere near that. Yes, he has done some good work for the Colts, but I emphasise the words "some" and "good". As opposed to "lots of" and "great". If I was a Jaguars fan, I'd be cringing at this signing. Really cringing hard.
Linebacker, Paul Poslusnzy -- The Session deal was big but the Posluszny deal is even bigger. I'm pretty stunned at just how much they paid him but actually I think Posluszny is good. He'll probably have difficulty living up to the high price tag but that's the Jaguars dumb fault. He's still a good player and more to the point, I think he has room for growth. We've only seen the start of this guy, trust me.

Kansas City Chiefs
Fullback, Le'Ron McClain -- As espoused earlier, I like McClain and I don't think he gets anywhere near the credit he deserves for what he did with the Ravens. In a league where fullbacks are falling out of favour, McClain is possibly one of the last of a dying breed. He should make a great lead blocker for Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles, giving the Chiefs a bit of punch in their running game. Hopefully he'll get the chance to carry more than he did in Baltimore.
Wide Receiver, Steve Breaston -- Ever since the magic of Kurt Warner was revived out on the desert, Breaston has thrived. He may not be the big, deep shot type of guy that will rack up the touchdowns, but then the Chiefs don't need that. They have Dwayne Bowe to fill that role. Breaston should make a great number two compliment.

Miami Dolphins
Running Back, Reggie Bush -- Ok, so this was a trade but its worth mentioning. Bush has put up some nice numbers considering his limited use, courtesy mainly of the expansive and high powered Saints offense. He's also shown in his time that he's not really much a utility back and to be honest I'd rather have Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Failing that, I'd still rather have someone else than Reggie Bush.
Quarterback, Matt Moore -- Tyler Thigpen replacement. This practically like for like, except I think Moore is a little younger. I'm sure Dolphins fans are hanging off their seats to watch him play. Or that might just be everyone waiting to rush to the bathroom to throw up. Or to hit twitter and complain that their team hasn't traded the world for Kyle Orton.
Linebacker, Kevin Burnett -- Now we're talking. Four years, $10 million guaranteed is not a lot for a player like Burnett. Really came into his own last season with six sacks and demonstrated his ability to play in space against the pass. Combine this with the likes of Koa Misi, Cameron Wake and Karlos Dansby, and the Dolphins have a solid linebacking corps in place for 2011.

Minnesota Vikings
-- Nothing really of note. I think I've already covered the McNabb deal.

New England Patriots
Wide Receiver, Chad Ochocinco -- I've already covered the whole Albert Haynesworth deal, so now it's just a case of addressing Chad. My, my, Bill Belichick is really going for it this year. First Haynesworth and now this? He's certainly not afraid to take on players with big egos and try to make gold out of shit. But maybe I'm being too hard on Chad. Fun fact; in the last 9 seasons, Chad has topped 1000+ yards seven times. He only really falls short of this number when he misses a few games through injury or suspension. But other than that, Chad is actually a much, much better receiver than people give him credit for. The genius of Belichick surfacing maybe?

New Orleans Saints
Running Back, Darren Sproles -- Sproles is an interesting proposition because his playing style is very similar to that of the outgoing Reggie Bush. Except he's cheaper (4 years/$14 million) and he can actually block. Other than that though, the Saints have basically grabbed the same type of player. It'll be interesting to see what Sean Payton has up his sleeve for Sproles (must avoid any jokes about pain killers).
Defensive Tackle, Aubrayo Franklin -- I love Aubrayo Franklin, because he somehow manages every season to dodge the award for most over rated player, which usually ends up going to Brian Urlacher. It should go to Franklin. He's previously been franchised, but god knows why. As a 49ers fan I can confidently tell you that watching Franklin requires you not to blink, because if you do then you may just miss the once in a season moment when he actually does something useful.

New York Giants
Tight End, Ben Patrick -- I'm going to throw some love out there for Ben Patrick. I like tight ends (that just sounded wrong) and Ben Patrick I think is a young player with a lot of potential to take on more of a load in the passing game than he did in Arizona. Still, I think if I was the Giants I would rather spend to bring back Kevin Boss, but there you go. Come to think of it, why hasn't Kevin Boss signed with anyone?

New York Jets
Wide Receiver, Plaxico Burress -- Blimey. Rex Ryan was scraping the barrel looking for a Braylon Edwards replacement. One year deal, $3 million. I guess that there isn't a huge amount that can go wrong with this and if it does, it matters little. It'll be interesting to see how much Burress has lost in his time in prison.

Oakland Raiders
-- Seriously, I'm not wasting time talking about Trent Edwards. No, I won't do it.

Philadelphia Eagles
Tight End, Donald Lee -- I did a post about the Eagles the other day, but since then they've been even more busy. Starting with Tight End Donald Lee who has slipped under the radar somewhat. Is he a breakout tight end who's going to tear the field to pieces? Erm, probably not if I'm honest. But he is a good player and he deserves his chance with the Eagles "Dream Team". He's a solid blocker and pass catcher.
Defensive Tackle, Anthony Hargrove -- Could be a bit hit and miss, but given the state of the Eagles interior line in recent years, the combination of Hargrove and Cullen Jenkins could change that. The Dream Team hype is looking more and more well founded with each passing day.
Running Back, Ronnie Brown -- Wow! Brown has undeniable talent and may indeed be one of the more under rated backs in the league. Forget the wildcat, Brown is a good back even in your standard set up. We saw last season just how much of an advantage it is to the Eagles running game to have a quarterback like Vick around, so maybe Ronnie Brown is in for a big season?

Pittsburgh Steelers
-- Pretty much all just resigns. Unless you want to talk about John Gilmore from the Buccaneers?

San Diego Chargers
-- Mostly just resigns.

San Francisco 49ers
Cornerback, Carlos Rogers -- The 49ers D has some things going in its favour. But cornerbacks are probably not one of them. They're still not. I mean this is it? With all the corners on offer, this is what we got? Shit.
Wide Receiver, Braylon Edwards -- Yay? The sad fact is that Edwards walks on to this 49ers team and he's automatically the number one guy. Only one 1000+ yard season out of seven. We could have got Chad Ochocinco!!

Seattle Scumbags
Wide Receiver, Sidney Rice -- You have to hand it to Seattle, they're not afraid to throw their cash about when they absolutely have to (cough* c'mon Jed *cough). As has been the case with bringing in Sidney Rice, which instantly expands their passing attack. This is a great move by Seattle and could reap big dividends.
Quaterback, Tarvaris Jackson -- Ok, so maybe I spoke to soon. If the shambles in Minnesota didn't prove the point then nothing will. Brad Childress gave Jackson every chance to succeed and he didn't, even with a great receiving corps and Adrian Peterson on his side. Good luck Scumbags.
Defensive Lineman, Alan Branch -- Hmmm, I'm a little undecided. Maybe the Seahawks were after inside information on the Cardinals D? Ok, I'm joking, but there is a question to be asked here. Branch is ok, but hardly jumps out as a big signing. I'm not sure as he's really worth $8 million over two seasons.
Tight End, Zach Miller -- This is much better. I almost feel sorry for Seahawks fans in a way, because the team has taken some big steps in the right direction by acquiring quality players in Miller and Sidney Rice. It's just a shame they don't have a quality player throwing them the ball.

St. Louis Rams
Running Back, Jerious Norwood -- I can dig this signing, mainly on the principal that it gives Steven Jackson a chance to have a break every now and then, instead of being flogged to death as he was previously. Norwood is a capable back who has had the chance to learn under Michael Turner.
Cornerback, Al Harris -- Beating the grave for another season, Al Harris brings experience to the Rams defense. Lots of experience (36). Will he be able to capture his old form for one last hurrah with a team that has a good shout at winning the NFC West championship this year? I'm not sure, but Harris is a significant upgrade. That probably says more about the Rams secondary though than it does about Al Harris.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
-- Boring. Almost entirely resigns.

Tennessee Titans
Quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck -- Hasselbeck gets a fair amount of stick, but honestly he's a lot better than anything the Titans have seen in years. He's better than anything that the Seahawks have left behind or have brought in to fill the gap. Frankly he's one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL, although I'm sure there will be people willing to dispute that. If you're a Titans fan though, I suggest you start smiling, even if it's only forced. Hasselbeck has the ability to take this offense to a level it hasn't achieved in years. He may just provide the sufficient degree of accuracy and consistency that this team needs to take some of the heat off of Chris Johnson.

Washington Redskins
Running back, Tim Hightower -- The Redskins haven't exactly been shy about spending this year. Hightower though came in a trade so that helps the bank balance a little. He's not a bad back. I'm not sure what the Redskins are hoping he will do, but setting the world alight probably isn't one of them.
Defensive End, Stephen Bowers -- Formerly of the Cowboys. Now be truthful, hands up if you knew who he was? No only keep your hand up if you can explain to me why the Redskins would pay him over $25 million across 5 years, with $12 million guaranteed? For what, 5.5 career sacks and 72 combined tackles over a 5 year career? Fucking Redskins, always good for a laugh.
Defensive Tackle, Barry Cofield -- Formerly of the Giants. Now this, this I can understand! Cofield equals a good defensive tackle. But still only got the same guaranteed money as Bowers? What? You're shitting me! At least his overall contract works out at about a half million dollars more per season. And yeah, I do legitimately like Cofield and think this was a good signing.
Cornerback, Josh Wilson -- For three years @ $6 million guaranteed and potentially $13 million overall, Wilson is not bad. Is he the answer to the Redskins prayers? ... No. But he is a step in the right direction and was much cheaper than some corners and by the general standard of the Redskins with their track record in free agency, this is pretty good.


Right, that's it. 32 teams done. Yeah there's probably been some deals done even as a type this but, frankly, fuck that. Go to NFL.com. Which actually brings up a good point. Last year I poured a lot of time into this blog and only at the end realised that much of it was kind of wasted.

For example, if you're a big enough football fan to read this blog, chances are you already use the TV and Internet to find out scores, watch games and highlights etc, and don't need me to do recaps. Comments, maybe. Opinions, maybe. Highlighting those unsung defensive heroes who get no love from the networks, maybe. But not scores or game recaps.

So that's where I'm headed this year, more towards opinion pieces etc and away from the stuff you could just get elsewhere. Not now though. It's 2:12 am, Sunday, here in England. I got up at 5:30 am, Saturday. I need sleep. Night, night.

The Eagle has landed

I touched on the magic movings of Andy Reid the other day, but since then he and the Eagles have been waving the free agency wand in earnest and the end result is already being referred to (perhaps a little presumptuously) as the "Dream Team". Now eventually this week I want to go through all the free agent signings and moves that have caught my eye, but for now I just want to zero in on the Eagles.

-- Nnamdi Asomugha
I couldn't help but laugh when I first found out about this. At the time the battle was supposedly between the Jets and the Texans and then I think it switched to the Jets and someone else whose name escapes me and it was being hailed in the press as a dead cert battle between those two teams. In the end all those dead cert bets failed to come in as the Eagles swooped (see what I did there?).

Honestly I'm a little at two minds about this. I'm one of those cynical bastards that believes the concept of "shut down corners" in the NFL is vastly over rated. If there's one thing I've noticed more than anything in the league, it's that most interceptions seem to be highly dependent on poor throws by quarterbacks. I would say in less than 25% of cases do interceptions seem to result from just a genuine great play by a defender.

So I'm a little sceptical how much of an impact Nnamdi will provide.  He's a good corner and he plays the run quite well, but notions that all of sudden it will prove impossible to pass on the Eagles look wildly optimistic to me. Still, broadly speaking the Eagles have upgraded.

-- Jason Babin
Now that's a sneaky little deal right there. If the Eagles were in a keen need of anything this off season then it was a more consistent pass rush. Babin should provide that. Last season was only the second time in his career that he started in a full 16 games, and he notched up 12.5 sacks in the process. You could accuse the Eagles of over paying for a one hit wonder but at just $5 million (roughly) for the coming season, and given the normal price for pass rushers, that's just a steal. No two ways about it.

-- Cullen Jenkins
I was wondering if the Eagles could top the two above. Then I read about Cullen Jenkins. He played 11 games last year, starting just 8. In that time he was able to clock 7 sacks and 5 assists. His production levels have been good throughout his career and to be frank, Jenkins could have been paid a lot more and still clocked in as being something of a bargain.

The Eagles needed help up the middle and Jenkins is it. He didn't get anywhere near the credit he deserved playing in Green Bay, largely due to the overall quality of that defensive group. But now Jenkins has the chance to show how much of an impact he can really make. Considering this will entail a shift from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3, where he will have more freedom to get into the backfield and get after the quarterback, it might be a good idea to back Jenkins for an increase in his sack tally.

-- Vince Young
This, bizarrely, is the one I'm most impressed with. It is a master stroke. If you can't already see the cycle repeating itself, then perhaps you need to pay more attention. Think about what Young is, what he represents. A talented college quarterback with lots of potential to do big things in the NFL. He can throw and he can run; boy can he run! But for a variety of reasons his talent has thus far not fully born fruit, despite the success that he has had with the Titans.

Now he finds himself on the bottom rung, taking a huge pay cut to come and play for the current beacon of hope, opportunity and redemption in the NFL, Andy Reid. Cue a season spent working hard, competing, learning etc. Maybe he'll get the chance to hit the field now and again, especially if the "dream team" lives up to the hype and rips great chunks out of people early on in games.

So they sign him to a better deal at some point this year and then start shopping him around. Eventually someone will bite; physically gifted, now seemingly more mature and experienced under Reids direction, and so on and so forth. Thus in return for a few million dollars and a bit of time and patience, Reid will end up crafting either a second round pick plus something lower, or a trade for a player he badly needs. It's pure genius.

Of course building teams has never been Andy Reids problem. It's been getting them to win big games on a consistent basis and finally take the Eagles to the promised land that has been his trouble. At the minute, this 2011 team is shaping up to be his best chance yet.