Tuesday news

-- "Lombardi Watch" continues agains in earnest with this latest gem from Michael Lombardi. Essentially Michael is trying to argue that in the process of running their two-minute drill at the end of the game the 49ers should have treid harder to use some of the clock. This suggestion is just perverse in the extreme and the perfect example of someone comfusing fan talk for journalism. In fact it's worse, because if you read the comments section you'll notice that most of the fans actually do understand the difficulty faced by the 49ers. The first question that we have to ask ourselves is that given the state of the 49ers offense lately, how likely was it for them to drive 82 yards in just 8 plays? Could they really have anticipated being that successful? The second major question we have to ask is thus; what is the primary motive during a 2 minute drill? The answer is of course to work your way downfield whilst using as little time as possible off the clock. The obvious goal that San Francisco had was to drive down the field and score a touchdown followed by a 2-point conversion. Not knowing beforehand how many passes they might throw incomplete or how many times they might get stuffed for a small gain, the 49ers rightly had to use as little clock as possible on the way. The goal of giving the ball back to New Orleans with little time left was secondary. It was an afterthought. To expect the players to turn their back on years of training and mental conditioning in the two minute drill in order to fit this one particular situation is ridiculous. It's the perfect example of why I started doing this blog, because of my frustration that paid football journalists always seem to have highly illogical answers smothered heavily in hindsight. I'm an unashamed (most of the time) 49ers fan, and even I can't find it in me to criticise the execution of that series. -- My thoughts pause on a more sombre note for the passing of Broncos WR Kenny McKinley in an apparent suicide. Unfortunately I'm not abreast of the latest details at the moment, but suffice to say that it's a very saddening incident. I wish his family, friends and team mates all the very best in the hard times facing them. -- Ok. Moving on to Philadelphia now and Head Coach Andy Reid has stated that Michael Vick will get the nod for this weeks game with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Having previously backed Kolb for the starting role, it's surprising to see such a U-turn. Not that Vick doesn't deserve the job. His play has been outstanding so far. A few tweaks here and there and the Eagles offense will be rolling along beautifuly. But you do have to wonder what's going through Kolbs mind right now as he sees the starting job that he thought he'd won disappear into the ether. Can Kolb overcome this latest barrier mentally and continue to focus on what he needs to get done as the back up QB? It'll be an interesting test for him and one that should only make him stronger... providing it doesn't break him. -- The Jets are staying classy this season, following up allegations of sexual harassment of a female reporter at their facility with Braylon Edwards getting arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Edwards reportedly tested in at twice the legal driving limit. It appears he'd been out celebrating the win over the Patriots with fellow players D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Vernon Gholston when they were stopped by police, initially for having overly tinted windows. Just have to laugh at this. Three millionaires and not enough between them for a cab? C'mon. The worst bit is that the NFLPA doesn't permit teams to deactivate, suspend or otherwise sanction players for DUI arrests as agreed in the CBA. This is nuts. What kind of message does this send to young players and fans? I'm increasingly beginning to hate the NFLPA more than I ever did the Panthers. Have a great day everyone.