National Football Post Tavern Talk

THINGS I LEARNED TODAY

1. Watching the Saints and Cardinals game last night I was not overly impressed with Pierre Thomas. He did not show the leg drive and power that I was looking to see. I was not grading his production, but his skills. I think Aaron Stecker looked much better. The Saints have a couple of huge questions that remain to be answered: “Can their offensive line play well all year?” and “Do they have a big, physical running back on their roster?”

2. Conversely, I thought that running back Tim Hightower of the Cardinals ran hard and showed power and burst. I now understand why they cut Marcel Shipp so quickly.

3. If I were the Miami Dolphins I would call the Saints and check to see if Devery Henderson is available. He signed a one-year deal with the Saints this off-season and with the play of Robert Meacham last night Henderson might be expendable. The Saints have to get Meacham on the field.

4. Matt Leinart passed his first preseason test, and it was his easy one. He needed to play well and execute the offense. His accuracy was solid and he looked comfortable. He just needs to keep working hard and improving. But last night was not a real test. Tougher ones are yet to come….

5. David Clowney put on a show last night for his old teammate Brett Favre. The Jets stole Clowney off the Packers practice squad and he looks like he can flat out fly down the field. He will need to prove he can beat press coverage. Once he can do that, he will be helped by having Favre at quarterback.

6. Chad Pennington will get a very good deal as a free agent. He won’t make the $6 million he was due, but he may get close to $4 million this year. He has several teams bidding for him. At the end of the day, Miami seems like the best fit. I hear from very good sources that Pennington would love to go to Minnesota and that a number of Viking players would like to have him join the team. Strangely, there does not seem to be a high level of interest coming from the Vikings right now.

7. There are a ton of games this weekend. I will have more thoughts and comments. Stay tuned….