QUOTE: “Success in life is a matter not so much of talent and not so much of opportunity but rather of concentration and perseverance. The man who succeeds above his fellow man is the man who early in life clearly decides his objective, and towards that objective he directs all of his powers.” -- Vince Lombardi, Dayton, Ohio (July 11, 1970)
APVince Lombardi passed away at just 57 years of age.
Today marks the 39th anniversary of the death of Vince Lombardi at age 57. His life ended much too soon, but his words, his wisdom and most of all his spirit still live on. The quote above was taken from his last speech, given to a business group in Dayton. Today we honor his legacy and the enormous value his presence added to the NFL.
Thirteen games are on tap tonight in the NFL, and the clocks in those games will be running down quickly. The main concern is to get the games over as quickly as possible since most veteran players have the night off.
Brandon Marshall to the Jets?
I’ve read many versions of this story, but from the people I’ve talked to with knowledge of the situation, the Broncos really don’t want to trade Brandon Marshall. And for me, if the Jets make this trade, they will destroy their locker room. Aside from Marshall’s off-the-field behavior, this move would destroy the Jets’ team chemistry, not from a character standpoint but more from a monetary standpoint. Rewarding a player who has been an overt ass by giving him what he wants sends a horrible message to the other players in the locker room.
As my man Matt “I love me some Houston Texans” Bowen wrote Wednesday, until they take care of disgruntled running back Leon Washington, it would be difficult to satisfy Marshall. The Marshall saga in Denver is all about money -- do not lose sight of the main root of the problem. And since the Jets have been on a little austerity program – at least that’s what they’re telling Leon’s representatives -- it doesn’t seem they can afford both Marshall and Washington. I know that most fans think the Jets have huge sums of money, but before making that assumption, you might want to ask how many season seats they’ve sold for next year in their new stadium.
Backup QBs
I was talking to someone in the league Wednesday, and neither of us has ever seen so many teams in the NFL searching for answers at backup quarterback. As Mike Smith, the head coach of the Falcons, said about the quality of depth at quarterback, “There are not 32 good starting quarterbacks in the league let alone backups.” The decline in the talent level of backups has left many teams with huge voids. Even drafting quarterbacks early to develop them as backups has not solved the problem. Just ask the Packers.
APIf Tarvaris Jackson isn't in Minnesota's future, will he land a backup gig in a new city?
Where have all the backup quarterbacks gone? In the past, backups were former starters who had lost some of their skills but could manage a game and potentially start for a period of time, although not over the entire season. Now, that kind of player is called a franchise savior and comes out of retirement – twice. We won’t go there, I promise.
But really, where have they gone? Joey Harrington is a player who comes to mind, but he’s in New Orleans, and I’m sure if a team made any kind of decent offer, the Saints would move him. Tarvaris Jackson can be had for a song from the Vikings and probably will be released, but how does he help a team now? He will not know the offense unless he’s traded to a team that runs the west coast offense, so if a team that doesn’t run that offense takes him, he won’t be very effective the first month of the season.
Here’s a list of backup quarterbacks I’ve heard are on the market:
PLAYER - TEAM - TRADE VALUE
Joey Harrington - New Orleans - Late-round conditional
A.J. Feeley - Philadelphia - Too many teams remember what happened in Miami, so his value is not as great; late pick at best
Tyler Thigpen - Kansas City - Not on market now that Cassel is injured
Tarvaris Jackson - Minnesota - Late conditional pick
Jeff Garcia - Oakland - With Charlie Frye and Bruce Gradkowski, the Raiders will entertain an offer
Luke McCown - Tampa - Anything, as they want to dump his salary
The next two days are going to be very interesting. I’m headed to L.A. today to join NFL Network’s Total Access and cover the moves each team makes Friday and Saturday. No Tavern today, but the Diner will be in its usual spot Friday.
Helping youth football
A great event is happening Friday morning in Brooklyn, N.Y. American Youth Football will distribute cleats at 9:30 a.m. on the football field at Poly Prep Country Day School, 9216 Seventh Ave., Brooklyn. Young players from around the league will be on hand to accept the donation. The most recent recipient of AYF’s giving back initiatives, the Big Apple Conference, has 6,000 participants throughout New York's boroughs. For more information, contact Jessica Abramovich, American Youth Football, (305) 851-2938.
Follow me on Twitter: michaelombardi
Mike, what are the chances that the Packers go after Tavaris Jackson? I think it would actually be a good move. He's got valuable starting experience, but not the coaching needed to thrive. I think he could improve greatly under McCarthy's tutelage. I'd feel better with him at number two than with a banged up Flynn or healthy Brohm.
The Jets have to take their time building a team.
Ryan has yet to coach a game as a head coach so he should not savage his future for an obnoxious me me me not overly bright wide out.
Who wants Marshall with a rookie QB and in the media spotlight?
Save the draft picks, develop the young QB and RB, build the vicious defense, and patiently pick a few quality players.
Unless, of course, the Broncos take LB Vern Gholston in an even up swap....
Marshall’s off-the-field problems seem to indicate he should be a pariah. But wasn’t the same true for Randy Moss? Maybe a change of scenery will do him some good? And wouldn't having a solid #1 WR be of help to Sanchez?
<><><>
Oh just to post a quick comment on yesterday’s post (which I found out this morning). Lombardi wrote “The Rams decided to clean house and get rid of the remaining players from their 2006 draft class.”
This should not be shocking to Lions fans. Detroit just cut CB Keith Smith yesterday, a member of their 2004 draft class. This may not sound noteworthy by itself, but it represents the fact that only one Lions player (Ernie Sims) from the 2002 - 2006 drafts is still on the team. That’s one of thirty nine players.
Possible reasons for a lack of quality QBs in the NFL.
1) Colleges that run systems incompatible with the NFL
2) Free agency - constantly changing personnel (receivers, backs, lineman)
3) Coaching changes - coaches never seem to stay in the same place very long (head coaches or assistant coaches)
4) Coaches abandoning QB development to get a new QB.
Mike, are yu saying the Jets have cap room to handle Marshall and Washington's renegotiations but just don't want to spend the money? No ownder they can't sell tickets. I htought teams cleared enough from the TV deal to cover their payroll?
Marshall caught >100 balls the last two years. I would think that kind of presence would help a rookie QB, not hurt him. It's not like the Jets aren't used to dealing with knuckleheaded jerkoffs. They were ok with Laverneaus Coles.
Tarvaris will be a good backup somewhere else...I'm trying to think what west coast teams are out there shopping...possibly Seattle, but Wallace has a similar skill set. I'm not sure whether St. Louis runs WC anymore, but they could use him. Is San Fran still WC? How about Denver? I think he'd work out well in Denver's system, but it would take him awhile to learn it.
In response to cheeseheadinphilly, no way in hell the Vikings trade him into the division for the same reason the Pack wouldn't trade Favre to Minny...makes no sense.
Mike, I still hate you for your lack of Vikings love, while Chilly may be a little square at times, he hasn't lost the locker room yet, and I think most of his problems stem from trying to make a starter out of Tarvaris. I mean, cut him some slack, he learned under another square name Andy Reid, who has done quite well in the league because he has a quarterback.
Yahoo Dave, What say you?
Tarvaris will be a good backup somewhere else...I'm trying to think what west coast teams are out there shopping...possibly Seattle, but Wallace has a similar skill set. I'm not sure whether St. Louis runs WC anymore, but they could use him. Is San Fran still WC? How about Denver? I think he'd work out well in Denver's system, but it would take him awhile to learn it.
In response to cheeseheadinphilly, no way in hell the Vikings trade him into the division for the same reason the Pack wouldn't trade Favre to Minny...makes no sense.
Mike, I still hate you for your lack of Vikings love, while Chilly may be a little square at times, he hasn't lost the locker room yet, and I think most of his problems stem from trying to make a starter out of Tarvaris. I mean, cut him some slack, he learned under another square name Andy Reid, who has done quite well in the league because he has a quarterback.
"while Chilly may be a little square at times, he hasn't lost the locker room yet"
And since the preseason isn't over yet, that means absolutely nothing.
Gotta love clueless hayseed Vikings fans.
it was fine for the patriots to take on Randy Moss after his terrible years at Oakland where he faked injuries and didnt give effort on the field on purpose...
but its not ok for the Jets to trade for Marshal...yeah right
to Lombrady everything that comes out of the patriots ass is white roses but everything the jets do is bad...
not to mention Lombardi keeps on saying that McDaniles will be a good coach , based on what? so far we know he his a terrible as a Manager, it doesnt matter who is right, a good coch woyld never let the situations with Cutler and Marshal get to where they are.
You do realize McCown is GUARANTEED 2.5 MIL, regardless of if he's on the team or not. To trade or cut him would be a 2.5 mil loss. He's also the best chance the Bucs have to win a few games, as Leftwich will be injured and out by week 3 and Freeman is light years away from being ready. This kid was average in the defensive challenged Big 12, he was actually rate in the bottom half of QB in the Big 12.
There’s nothing wrong with sniffing around Marshall- a GM should always be looking to upgrade his team, and if there is a talented player available, then you need to due the dilligence.
But I think that people need to accurately evaluate not just the talent on the team but the talent in question. Marshall is a possession receiver. His raw numbers hide that because you don’t see the number of pass attempts it took to get him to those numbers. Yards per completion also hide it to a certain degree. Marshall was sixth or seventh in the league in yards per game, but if you look at the yards per attempt, there is a big gap between him and the guys ahead of him. Here’s a list:
Andre Johnson: 9.26
Calvin Johnson: 8.87
Greg Jennings: 9.22
Steve Smith: 11.01
Larry Fitzgerald: 9.29
Reggie Wayne: 8.80
Roddy White: 9.33
Randy Moss: 8.06 ** (This is with a backup quarterback all season- with Brady, he was at 9.33)
Laveranues Coles: 7.39
Jerricho Cotchery: 7.72
Brandon Marshall: 6.98
So on a per throw basis, not only was Marshall nowhere near as effective as the top receivers in the game, he wasn’t even as good as either starting receiver for the Jets last season. Does that mean that he’s less talented than Coles or Cotchery? No, not necessarily. After all, maybe he was drawing heavy coverage and was the focal point of the opposing defense’s game plan. But even so, you have to look at what the Jets want to do and then ask yourself if this move makes any sense. The Broncos had an elite quarterback and had to throw the ball 600+ times last year. Nearly one in three of those passes was directed at Marshall, and even then he only generated around 1250 yards. If the Jets are going to throw the ball 350-400 times, then exactly how much more effective is Marshall going to be than Jerricho Cotchery would be in that situation? Not enough.
You build a team with an end in mind, not just by running around thoughtlessly after players.
Think you got the Marshall trade wrong Mike. Marshall would make the Jets better and can probably be had at a discount, Denver's posturing and self-denial non-withstanding. A threat like him would go a long way towards developing a QB and helping to open up a running game that is sure to be plugged until someone is afraid of the passing attack. Marshall can make teams afraid.
There would be better situations for Marshall around the league, but it isn't like he'd be handed over to a coaching situation that would have no idea how to handle him. In addition he would sell tickets, which is something he'll probably never do in Denver again.
I agree Washington needs taken care of, maybe some of the tickets Marshall would help to sell could take care of that.
Harmony in the locker room is brought about by winning, period.
Just my 2 cents.
Once again, Lombardi,
When people run wild with any rumor, I always come to you for the truth, so once again thanks for your integrity! As for the lack of quarterback depth, I'm operating under the premise that Orton will be ready for the Broncos' opener until proven differently but if the Eagles release A.J. Feeley, I wouldn't mind picking him up. Tommy Brandstater will probably be a good NFL quarterback in years to come, but right now it's unfair to him to have those expectations thrust upon him. Other than Peyton Manning (whose stats were good, the Colts' record not so much), Dan Marino, Big Ben and incidentally, Kyle Orton in Chicago, have there been any rookies to really set the world on fire at quarterback? I'm much more content to take our time with Brandstater. Have a nice day!
Mike just wanted to say I had a great time on the live chat with Joe today. You guys have made me a smarter football guy and I can tell Im gonna dominate my fantasy leagues cause of all the incredible info you guys keep producing. Keep up the great work let me know if your ever in KC I'll show you what real BBQ tastes like
Um, is there a way that the Broncos can trade me to be a fan of another team? I'm disgruntled and want out. Maybe to the Bears or Pats?
Thurston - I'm also of the opinion that a lot of athletic QBs (Vick, VY, Early Steve Young) etc. are often ruined because they are never taught to be a passer. In HS and college, coaches aren't prepping players for the Pros (they shouldn't); they are trying to win games. That ruins a lot of guys for long term pro success. What if in HS, Vick was not taught to use his incredible speed, but to only use it to buy time to pass or get first downs when no other options existed? With his speed, he was faster than 98% of HS kids, so he could just outrun them. Same thing in college. By the time he hit ATL, .like VY in TN, it's too late. You have poor mechanics, you make poor decisions and your running is your first instinct.
Sorry Jamison:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=reilly_rick&id=4439324
I love Brandon Marshall's talent. He has all the tools to be a great franchise WR. But, with that talent has come a lot of off-field headaches. He has to show he can handle his affairs off the field before I would invest a ton of money into him. No doubt NYJ needs receiver help. Coles left to go to Cincy. They could use a talent like Brandon, but it would send a terrible message in the locker room. Why would NYJ invest huge money into a player that they could trade for and not for a player like Leon who has spent considerable time with the Jets? Also, I have not really heard much about Leon having behavioral issues like with Marshall.
I think Jackson is a great fit in GB(nice point cheesehead in philly).
Hey Mike,
Love the Vince Lombardi quote. I've only recently found this blog, but it has become a must-read for me every day. Keep up the great posts!
I would add to Thurston's list playing a young QB too soon. David Carr is the poster boy for that and the failure of the coaching staff to develop him. You would think as important as the QB position is that teams would focus on developing QBs much more than they do.
yeah - i can definitely see minnesota trading their starting quarterback from one year ago, one with a passer rating in the mid-90's and playoff experience, to their division rivals the green bay packers for a conditional draft pick. yeah, i can definitely see that.
sometimes i wonder if stupid is a virus.
| powered by TheSeats.com |
No one knows the future, but one...
Unconventional thinking, plus...
Questions and thoughts about the...
Super Bowl thoughts: Freeney,...
Is Browns GM serious about Tebow?...
Sep 03, 2009
10:43 AM
in assessing "blue" players, coaches and players, shouldn't there be a category for overall team depth, possibly to be judged on whether the reserves would start for another team? this would give a better handle on how good a team really is, as these are the players that typically win games, when the stars cancel out