National Football Post Diner News

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 Nov 2008

QUOTE:   “This is our time — to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can!” ~ Barack Obama

FROM ARNIE STAPLETON OF AP… It appears the former Arizona State star, who drew comparisons to Terrell Davis before breaking his left elbow in training camp, will get the bulk of carries when the Denver Broncos play at Cleveland tonight. Torain rushed three times for a yard in his NFL debut last week against Miami, when the Broncos lost starter Michael Pittman (spinal cord) and Andre Hall (hand) to season-ending injuries.  Selvin Young has been sidelined since suffering a groin injury against Tampa Bay on Oct. 5, and he hasn’t been able to participate in a full practice since. Coach Mike Shanahan said Young will suit up tonight for pregame warm-ups to see whether he can play. Same with tight end Tony Scheffler, who strained his groin on the same day Young did. ”We’ll get a chance to see them before the game and if there’s no setback, then they’ll be ready to go,” Shanahan said after Wednesday’s light workout. ”They haven’t been able to go full speed, but we’ve got another day of recovery or a little over a day, so hopefully they’re both ready to go.” That uncertainty points to limited action, if any, against the Browns for Young and Scheffler. Torain, who slipped to the fifth round in the NFL Draft after missing the last half of his senior season in college with a broken toe, is expecting his first significant action of his pro career. ”This is huge,” he said. ”This is huge for me to show how hard I’ve worked with studying film and running plays and just being out there to help the team win.”

Everyone in the Denver organization is excited for Ryan Torain to play and play well, as they need a back to take some of the pressure off of quarterback Jay Cutler.  Torain was just not ready last week, not in terms of his elbow, but more of adapting to the speed of the game.  Having not been able to play in the preseason, he needs a little time to become acclimated to the speed of real NFL games.  The concern here is the signal for the Browns may be when Hillis is in the game.  He is the better pass protector and when Torain is in the game, he will be the runner.  Torain will need some time to get adjusted to the protections, as they happen very quickly on the field.  If Young can play, he is very solid in protections and will be able to handle that role.  But if Young cannot play, then the Broncos will have to sub to get their protections handled against the 3-4 defense of the Browns.  It will take some time for Torain to get going, and this week is the perfect game for him to get up to speed. 

FROM JEFF SCHUDEL OF THE NEWS HERALD… Browns coach Romeo Crennel said he benched Anderson because of inconsistent play over the first half of the season. “Brady Quinn is untested and he’s young, but we all think he’s going to be a fine quarterback,” Mariucci said Tuesday during a teleconference. “I’m curious about the timing in a short week, but I’m anxious to see him play. He’s not playing against Pittsburgh or Baltimore. He’s playing against a team he can move the ball and have some success against. “Denver is trying to find their way. They’re without running backs and they have to throw the ball on every down. They aren’t all that good on defense, either, so this might be a time to play Brady Quinn at home.” Bright stadium lights and a national television audience are not likely to muss Quinn’s hair. He is used to the attention from his days at Notre Dame. During four seasons with the Fighting Irish, he broke 36 school records and won 29 games while throwing 95 touchdown passes. He threw 37 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions as a senior. When he got the news on Monday he would be starting against the Broncos, he called Charlie Weis, his coach at Notre Dame, to give him the news. Weis used the opportunity to start coaching him again. “Everybody is giving me advice,” Quinn said with a laugh. “Even my mom and my dog.”

I expect the Browns to use more boot legs, more roll outs and more controlled passing to help adapt Quinn to the offense and the speed of the game.  Quinn will not be fooled by the Broncos schemes. Because of their limitations regarding talent, the Broncos cannot be creative.  They have to double Edwards and help Dre Bly on every down, making these two critical factors the key indicators for Quinn during his pre snap read.  Plus, the Broncos have to be able to play 8 in the box to play the run, and this will limit the coverages.  When you have problems like the Broncos, all you do is enhance my “Curly” Theory.  I love the 3 Stooges and one scene in particular reminds me of NFL teams.  When Curly is in the middle of a lake in a little boat, he sees that the boat has a little hole.  So being very creative and adaptive, Curly decides to drill ANOTHER hole to let the water from the original hole drain.  So, the moral of the story is you can fix one problem while opening another-hence the 20O8 Denver Broncos defense. 

FROM VITO STELLINO OF THE FLORIDA TIMES UNION… Del Rio sent linebacker Mike Peterson home before practice, switched the lockers of several players and apparently told them to knock off the loud music in the locker room. The Peterson banishment might not have been connected to the other two moves, but Del Rio didn’t reveal the reason for the action in a short statement the team issued. “Mike Peterson was sent home today and did not practice. We’re working through this process, seeking an appropriate conclusion,” Del Rio said, without adding whether Peterson will rejoin the team today. Even before this incident, Peterson, the team’s leading tackler, was widely viewed to be in his last season with the Jaguars. He’s in the last year of the six-year deal he signed in 2003, and the Jaguars haven’t renewed his contract. Peterson has made it obvious he’s unhappy about his contract status, but he seemed to be determined to do his talking on the field rather than going public with his frustration. He is such a popular player in the locker room that when Del Rio named five captains and didn’t include Peterson, the players voted him as the sixth captain. Del Rio met with members of the team’s leadership council coming off the field after the morning workout, presumably to inform them of the Peterson decision.

One of the big problems when you change schemes is making sure the older players can fit and adapt to the new one being installed.  Even though there are some similarities to the Mike Smith defense and the Gregg Williams defense, there are some fundamental differences.  And those differences start at middle linebacker, which may be the root of this problem.  Peterson is a vet and might be asked to play in a different style and way then would best highlight his game as he enters a contract year.  And this riff is not going well as both parties are not producing.  The hardest thing to handle in the NFL is success.  It is hard to work once you have had some success and lose a little of your edge.  As coaches, you tend to be more careful and more cautious with the team in wanting to prevent injuries, that you lose some of the team’s edge.  And for me, when I watch the Jags in spite of the injuries, I see a team that is not able to handle success well on all levels. 

FROM GARY MYERS OF THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS… “People probably thought that Dallas was the best team in the division when they beat us,” McNabb said. “It’s a long season. It’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon. You have to pace yourself, continue to get stronger as the race continues on, and that’s something we are doing at this particular point. If we go out and beat the Giants, do we go down as the best team in the division? I’m sure you guys would probably say no. May the best team win.”

I think McNabb is not only a great player, but he also understands the whole NFL season.  The teams that win are the teams that improve as the year goes along.  Those are the same teams that can handle success and overcome failures.  And the good teams work on fundamentals and not new plays each week.  The scheme teams I refer to all the time are teams that put in 20 new plays each week offensively and defensively.  They are teams that don’t have a foundation, they just try and install what worked the week before.  In the NFL, they are referred to as Copycat Coordinators.  And that is because they are scheme driven.  The Eagles used the bye week to thier full advantage and they know what they need to do to beat the Giants.  My concern with the Birds would be, “are they physical enough to handle the power and size of the Giants?”  Their offensive line allowed McNabb to get hit often in Seattle and that is one area where I see the Birds having a hard time overcoming.  

FROM MONTE POOLE OF THE CONTRA COSTA TIMES… Which leaves his ex-teammates wondering why the organization’s increasingly erratic leader, Al Davis, traded two draft choices for Hall, then signed him to a seven-year, $70 million deal. Hall gets at least $8 million, for eight games. If he was a poor fit, as coach Tom Cable indicated, it’s an example of mismanagement. If Hall was whacked prematurely, as The Hostage believes, it’s another impulsive move by the boss, another example of Al having lost his aim yet still eager to grab his pistol and pull the trigger in search of a “solution.” That Hall is a skilled athlete and capable of improving was of no consequence. “I couldn’t make any sense of it,” Asomugha says. “He had eight games to prove himself. I don’t think that was enough.” The Hostage is addressing the Hall matter, but his comments are broader than that. They address the general disease within the Raiders.”I don’t agree with what happened,” Asomugha says. “I don’t agree with what’s going on. But I’m just a player. So I can’t speak on it. I don’t make the decisions. All I can do is play. But I don’t agree with what happened at all.” The Hostage toils in a place where the sense of insecurity is spreading. That’s OK, given the team’s performance. But the randomness of Hall’s firing is symptomatic of an organization spun off its axis.

I feel very bad for Nnamdi.  He is a great player, and an even better person.  He has class and wants to do everything it takes to win.  When he was being moved around early in his career and being played out of position, he did not bitch, he just kept working.  Someone wanted to make him a safety even after we drafted him to be a press corner.  His future of winning is doomed in Oakland, while his financial future is bright.    He is never going to escape the Hotel and I know he really wants to go to some place normal.  Can you imagine how he feels after what he has watched?  No one can talk to him and give him confidence that things will turn and this recent move makes the Cable guy look like what he really is, a pawn in the overall scheme.  He is not the Head Coach–he is just executing the master plan coming from “Someone” in the building, who in reality has NO plan at all.  And each day, I sit down in front of the computer and I tell myself I am not going to write or even discuss the Hotel.  But then I read this and have to do it.  Enough for me, I am on a Raider diet, good or bad.  This is the last I waste my time on them because in reality, they are irrelevant. 

JOHN CRUMPACKER OF THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONCILE… Along with that, Singletary also singled out rookie Chilo Rachal as someone he thought could provide a more physical presence on the offensive line. Rachal is a 6-foot-4, 315-pound guard-tackle drafted in the second round by the 49ers out of USC, the 39th player picked overall. On what amounted to a bonus day of practice Tuesday in which several regulars were rested, Rachal got his most extensive work of the season. He’s not expected to play much, if at all, Monday night in Arizona, but Singletary wants to accelerate the 22-year-old’s progress at guard and tackle. “He’s working hard. He wants to play,” Singletary said. “I know he wants to play. He’s just working his tail off to try to get a shot.” Singletary pulled Rachal aside toward the end of practice and spent a few minutes talking with him in what looked like a personal mentoring session. “What I did was I kept him from cramping up,” the coach said, chuckling. “Bending over - you don’t want to do that when you’re tired. You’ll start locking up.”

I wonder why Singletary wants to play Rachal so quickly?  They fired their offensive line coach and now I am sure they want to get some of their draft picks more involved.  And the longer they don’t play any of the draft class of 2008, the more questions about the overall talent of the 49ers will be asked.  And in reality, based on how bad Seattle is, and how bad Seattle plays and how bad Seattle beat the 49ers, you have to ask the question, “how bad are the 49ERS?” 

FROM CARROLL ROGERS OF THE ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION… Instigator? Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who is leading the NFL in passing yards with 2,563. “He’s playing the best ball right now, I think, of any quarterback in the NFL,” Falcons strong safety Lawyer Milloy said. Brees has a myriad of targets to fire to deep. Devery Henderson has catches of 84 yards, 81, 54, 52 and 51 yards this season already. He’s an old Falcons nemesis who caught a 37-yard touchdown last year against Atlanta. There’s Marques Colston who is three games into his return from thumb surgery. He had a 49-yard catch and run in his second game back, the Saints’ game before their bye week against San Diego on Oct. 26. Tight ends Jeremy Shockey and Billy Miller both have catches of greater than 20 yards. And running back Reggie Bush has a 42-yard reception in his repertoire.

The best way and only way to slow down Drew Brees is to make him feel some pressure and hurry his throws.  John Abraham and the overall play of their physical defensive line is the best formula for dealing with this explosive offense.  The Falcons must have a loud stadium, use the snap count and get off the ball to control the line of scrimmage. 

FROM TOM KOLOWSKI OF DETROIT.COM… There was a report on ProFootballTalk.com earlier today that Lions QB Daunte Culpepper would earn a $1 million bonus this year if he participates in 5 percent of the snaps or if he or the team improves in one of several performance categories. However, a league source who has knowledge of Culpepper’s contract said that no such bonus exists. The source said that Culpepper received a signing bonus of $40,000 and his pro-rated salary this season would amount to $373,000. Neither Culpepper or the Lions would comment.

It would make no sense for the Lions to give away a million dollars, as they held all the leverage in the contract negotiations.  The Lions did promise to Culpepper he would play as soon as he is ready to play, and would give him every chance to prove that he is a starting quarterback in the NFL.  That promise alone was what Culpepper was looking for.  And by the way, after the season starts, any incentive that is tied to playing time is considered “likely to be earned”–no matter if it is tied to a qualifier or not. 

FROM KEVIN ACEE OF THE SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE… Philip Rivers leads the NFL in passer rating, touchdown passes and average gain per attempt.  “That’s why stats don’t tell you the whole story,” Rivers said. “While I’ve been playing good, these last two games there have been critical mistakes that essentially cost us.”  That’s a little harsh on the self-criticism, but it’s also the truth.  The Chargers quarterback is perhaps the only position player on the team who has lived up to (or surpassed) expectations. He might be the only Charger headed to the Pro Bowl. He is better than he’s ever been, by far.  And he is terribly disappointed in himself.  Fourth-quarter interceptions have eradicated possible comebacks the past two games, a span in which he completed 68 percent of his passes overall but left the field kicking himself.

The play of Rivers is why once the Chargers get their defense turned around (if they can get it turned around) will be the reason they win the AFC West.  Rivers is very much like Dre Brees.  He has played too well for his team to have a poor record.  I expect Rivers to continue to play well and to cut down on his mistakes because he is willing to admit his mistakes.  That admission is the key to self improvement. 

FROM SAL MAIORANA OF THE ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE… “Obviously we really like Derek,” said coach Dick Jauron. “We’ve waited a good while to get him back onto the field. We carried him the whole time through the rehab process, so it was good to see him participate. “I do think he’s going to get more comfortable out there playing, just because that was the first game where he got the ball. The combination of he and Derek Schouman and Robert, I think is pretty good. It gives us some flexibility. It gives us a chance to keep those guys pretty rested and fresh when they’re called upon.” Fine said he’s probably not going to draw any comparisons to the NFL’s elite receiving tight ends such as Antonio Gates, Jason Witten or Tony Gonzalez, but the Bills will never question his effort. “I’m not going to out-run anybody, any corners or safeties, it’s not something I ever have really done,” he said. “But I think I have good speed and whatever they ask me to do is what I’m going to do, and I’m going to do it the best I can and as hard as I can.”

The Bills need to find a way to get Marshawn Lynch going and use his overall skills as a power runner and power back to become the man.  He is the key during the second half of the season for the Bills and is the one player who, as the weather gets colder, can make a difference.