National Football Post Tavern Talk

GAME NOTES WEEK ONE....

No team does a better job of utilizing and developing talent than the Patriots.  When you look at players that leave their team and go on, they don’t seem to have the same impact as they do for the Pats.  Eugene Wilson and Roosevelt Colvin did not even make a team this summer after leaving the Pats.  I suspect the Pats will do what they have to do to give themselves the best chance to win the game and develop a different style of offense around his new cast of players.  They still have great skill players and will need to find the right way to utilize them. 

Last year they had Spygate to rally the team, now they have to rally the team around Tom Brady's injury.  The Patriots need a cause to keep this team together and as difficult as it will be without Brady, this staff — and most specifically Bill Belichick — will find ways to put his team in position to win games. 

MAJOR INJURIES IN WEEK ONE…

Tom Brady                                QB                   NE          Knee, out for year

Vince Young                             QB                   TEN         Knee, pending MRI

Matt Hasselbeck                       QB                   SEA         Back??

Brodie Croyle                            QB                   KC           Shoulder

Alex Smith                                QB                   SF           Shoulder

Maurice Morris                          RB                    SEA         Knee

Joseph Addai                            RB                    IND          Head

Drew Bennett                            WR                   STL          Knee

Dante Stallworth                        WR                   CLE          Pulls

COACH OF THE WEEK....  John Harbaugh

I thought he did what all good head coaches have to do, give his team the best chance to win.  It might not be flashy and it might not be pretty to watch, but the Ravens used all their resources to win a game. 

YOU HAVE TO WONDER....  Detroit Lions

They have one guy who can beat them and they let him run for over 200 yards and allowed the one dimensional Atlanta Falcons win a game with a rookie quarterback.  So much for winning with running the ball and improving your run defense.

STATS TO THINK ABOUT....  

Tampa-style Defenses Allowed the Following:

1.     Bears gained 139 yards rushing against the Colts

2.     Falcons gained 318 yards rushing

3.     Tampa allowed Drew Brees to throw for 343 yards. 

Other Stats:

1.     The Rams didn’t make a single first down all day on third down.  0 FOR 11!

2.     Carson Palmer had 25 pass attempts and could only get 99 yards.  Their offense stinks right now, and has stunk all preseason.  All off-season everyone talked about improving their defesne, but their offense concerned me the most.  Only 2 for 15 on third down.  They have a lot of work to do.

3.     Brodie Croyle's longest pass play of the preseason was 24 yards.  Yesterday he had a  20-yard play.  He cannot make big plays passing.  Worse, the Chiefs are very slow on offense. 

4.     Roscoe Parrish had six punt returns for 123 yards and a touchdown.  Why would you kick it to him that many times? 

5.     Reggie Bush made me eat my words yesterday.  He made big plays running and catching.  In fact, he had long plays of 42 receiving and 26 rushing, which were better than ANYTHING he did all of last season. 

6.     Jeff Garcia's 5.39 average yards per passing attempt yesterday is not going to get it done.  The Bucs have to find a passing game down the field.

7.     LaDainian Tomlinson's longest run was for 14 yards yesterday.  Carolina contained him in the game.  The key to slowing him down is not allowing a big run.

8.     Philip Rivers had a 125 quarterback rating and the Chargers lose?  Their defense was suspect yesterday.  Jamal Williams did not play all the time and Shawne Merriman was not bringing pressure off the edge.  The Panthers ran for almost five yards a carry on 29 attempts and made plays in the passing game without a legitimate wide receiver on the field.

9.     If the 49ers want to improve their passing game they need to protect much better than they did yesterday.  They allowed four sacks in a limited amount of time on the field.  Travis Laboy had two of them against first-rounder Joe Staley.  Calling 24 pass plays and getting sacked four times is not a good ratio. 

10.  The Steelers got five sacks on a team that was near the bottom of the NFL in 2007 allowing only 22 for the season.  Matt Schaub will not be healthy if the Texans don’t protect better. 

MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS....

The Jets ran the ball much better than I ever thought they could in the game.  They found a way to take some of the pressure off their passing game.  Thomas Jones showed more speed and explosion than he had in some time. 

Leon Washington made a difference.  The more he gets the ball, the better chance they have to go for a big play.  The Jets need to be on the lookout for backs, losing either Jones or Washington will lead to a meltdown of this offense.  

Miami had their fifth starting quarterback in the last five years and I suspect that next year, with Chad Henne, it will be six for six. 

Miami will work out every wide receiver in the world this week and it would not surprise me if they signed Terry Glenn or even Koren Robinson.  They have no playmakers on the outside and Ted Ginn looks lost running routes.  He is moving very quickly into the Sparano/Parcells dog house. 

The Jets better work out kickers this week and might want to carry one on their practice squad as they evaluate the status and the health of Mike Nugent.  Nugent has been shaky to say the least and does not seem to have confidence right now.

If a team wants to beat the Jets' defense, they are going to have to spread them out from base personnel and force their backers to play in space.  With Kris Jenkins dominating the middle of the line, running the ball inside will be a challenge all season. 

Rookie corner Dwight Lowery of the Jets played great.  Along with Darrelle Revis, the two of them made play after play.   

One thing was clear to me from watching yesterday's games: starting QBs who missed significant time in preseason practices and games had a tough time getting in synch with their offenses.  Peyton Manning's missed practices affected his play and Matt Hasselbeck missing time this summer affected his play.  It will be interesting to see how Matt’s back fares this week. 

Arizona gained an extra possession in the second half with the onside kick.  It was a smart move that put them in position to win the game.  The extra plays helped tire out the 49er defense.

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