National Football Post Tavern Talk

May we all have a toast of honor and appreciation here in the Tavern for our fellow Americans who lost their lives in 9/11.

1.    Miami claimed offensive tackle Kirk Barton off the Bears' roster today and they did not claim James Marten from the Cowboys.  Miami head coach Tony Sparano was with Dallas when they made Marten a third-round pick.  Choosing Barton over Marten is a clear indication that Sparano did not like Marten's development.  Either that or he did not like him coming out of college.  The Bears cut Barton to bring back Fred Miller, their old starting right tackle.  

2.   The Chris Baker signing by the Jets was not all that they have done.  The Jets were forced to redo the deal for Kenyon Coleman, their starting defensive tackle, in order to get more cap room for the season.  That is just amazing to me.  Teams that need cap room in this era of the cap are in for future trouble.  The Jets are win at all costs this year -— all costs.  If this team does well, they will all be back.  If the Jets don’t do well, guess what?  They will all still be back.  They are in cap hell based on the guarantees.

3.    While I was with the Raiders we coached the Senior Bowl in 2005.  I had high hopes for Courtney Roby, the wide receiver from Indiana.  Unfortunately, he has never looked the same since his knee injury and the Colts let him go today.  Clearly, I misjudged the talent level.

4.   The Rams cut running back Yvenson Bernard, from Oregon State, before they even went to camp and I thought he had good run skills.  He has some injury concerns, but as a runner he was quite effective for the Beavers.  Seattle signed him to their practice squad today.  I never give up if a team cuts a player.  I trust my evaluations, not another team's.

5.    After watching tape of the Saints-Bucs game I continue to be disappointed in Reggie Bush's pass blocking.  He’s still hard to handle outside, but when the game is on the line during the four-minute drill, the Saints will need a bigger back.  Bush was great, but the same old Bush to which we are accustomed showed up between the tackles.  

6.    One huge concern about starting the year 0-2 is that teams who do so have only a 13% chance of making the playoffs.  The Browns play the Steelers this weekend and another loss might be fatal, since both of their losses will have been home games.  It is one thing to lose two road games, but losing two at home is a devastating way to start the season.

7.    Speaking of being unfair, how about the schedule the league office gave the Bears?  Forcing them to have to start the year with two very difficult road games seems like an impossible challenge.  But IF the Bears can sneak out a win this Sunday they will have the look of a playoff team.  I always reached a point early in the season that when we played a game, I felt that if we won we would make the playoffs.  This could be that type of game for the Bears.

8.    I think Joey “The Tipper” Fortenbaugh might have mentioned this, but for all the people who had Tom Brady on their fantasy teams, you might want to grab Brian Griese.  Barring injury, he is going to play for awhile in Tampa.

9.    This is a huge statement game for the Bills.  If they can go down to Jacksonville and win, it will put the AFC on notice.  Right now, I think the Bills are the team that most threatens the Brady-less Pats.  Those special teams are just downright amazing.  Plus, adding linebacker Kawika Mitchell and defensive tackle Marcus Stroud makes them much more physical than a year ago.

10.  The San Francisco offensive line gave up four sacks and QB J.T. O’Sullivan was under great pressure from Arizona.  This week he will face a better defensive front and a much louder stadium.  The 49ers need to bring their "A" game or else this will be turnover city for them.

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