I don't know why, but I tend to like QBs with strong arms more than those without. I guess I'm a sucker for a frozen rope from 30 yards (still can't get over that Stafford throw). And I say this knowing full well that arm strength is not the most important attribute for a QB. Accuracy, knowledge and instincts are much more important. And while people like Ron Jaworski will attempt to degrade arm strength completely, it of course does matter. A weak arm handicaps your offense, limiting the amount of field available for your passing game. And there are throws that need to be made that require zip. A weak throw across the middle between two defenders will get picked. So don't tell me it doesn't matter. But of course a strong arm that continually throws the ball in the dirt (I'm looking at you McNabb) isn't of much use either.
I like Carson Palmer more than I probably should. His performance in the Orange Bowl against Iowa sold me. I went into that game looking for weaknesses in his game, knowing full well he would be a high draft pick. I couldn't find many. His performance was great, and his skills looked top notch. He's had some really good seasons in the NFL, and if Kimo von Wilkes Booth, I mean von Olhoffen hadn't taken him out of that Bengals-Steelers playoff game, who knows how much differently his career could have gone. It's a shame he has to play for that horrid franchise. They just today signed Andre Smith to a contract. What was the point of that holdout? Couldn't they have just signed him a month ago and gotten him into the starting lineup as soon as possible? I have a feeling Palmer's career is mostly going to go to waste. Which is a shame because he's good enough to lead a Super Bowl team.
I like Tony Romo, even though he makes decisions with the football that should make me hate him. But I like the risks he's willing to take. I've had enough game managers in the mold of Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer to last me a lifetime. And I like his rapport with Jason Witten. Those two play as if they were separated at birth.
I never liked Jay Cutler until people started bad-mouthing him. Maybe he's a petulant child, maybe he isn't, I don't know. All I know is he has a great arm and he makes the Bears more dangerous than they've been in my lifetime. And I think his departure makes the Broncos much worse.
I liked Brady Quinn at Notre Dame so much that I'm actually kind of dreading the Vikings having to potentially beat him up on week 1. The guy gave me some great memories. In 2005 he led what should have been the game winning TD drive against USC in what I like to call the college football game of the century. He led a game winning drive in the final game against Stanford that put Notre Dame in the BCS. He led an unlikely comeback against Michigan St. in 2006 that pretty much sealed the fate of Spartans' head coach John L. Smith (sorry Big Ten). Notre Dame hadn't had a passing game in years until Quinn came along. I really hope he wins the Browns' starting QB job, but that would make for an awkward week 1; the Browns would have a QB I love while the Vikings would have a QB I hate. It almost makes me wish we could go back in time and have the Vikings draft Quinn #7 overall in 2007. Sure they took Adrian Peterson instead, and he's great, but do you see the bind I'm in here? I've hated the Vikings QB once before (Brad Johnson in 2006) and I don't want to do it again.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Minnesota Viking football
I don't know why, but the Vikings' history has been that of good offense/bad defense or bad offense/good defense. The 1970s Vikings came the closest to being good on both sides of the ball, and during the regular season they certainly were. But the Vikings went to 4 Super Bowls and never scored more than 14 points in any of them. The '80s featured a Doleman-Millard-Browner led defense and Wade Wilson on offense. The '90s were Carter-Moss-Smith-random QB and some subpar defenses. The early part of this decade was Moss and Culpepper scoring a lot of points, and some awful defenses. Then Moss and Culpepper were traded, offense naturally went south, and of course did so just as the defense was getting good again. So do the Vikings finally have good units on both sides of the ball?
I am a big disbeliever in Brett Favre. I will freely admit I'm biased here, but the man has done nothing to change my mind. He's old, his arm was dead at the end of last year, and he didn't play very well last year. Give me a reason to get excited here. And if he struggles like I imagine he will, the Vikings will once again come up short on offense while fielding a really good defense.
The tools are in place for the Vikings to go to the Super Bowl. The defense is top notch. I've always wanted a dominate defensive line, and the Vikings have it. The linebackers are rock solid, with the always underrated E.J. Henderson returning at middle linebacker. The secondary is a bit more questionable, with Cedric Griffin being a pretty average player and 2nd year player Tyrell Johnson taking over at strong safety. But Antoine Winfield is a really good player, and I've liked Madieu Williams since his Bengals days. Combine these guys with the Vikings' defensive line, and it all works out pretty well.
Offensively, the QB needs to bring it all together. The running game goes without saying. Peterson is the best runner in the league, and Chester Taylor could rush for 1200 yards if he got the carries. It's the passing game that has to improve. Points come out of the passing game, which explains how the Vikings can run the ball and stop the run, yet finish 8-8 and 10-6 the past two years. Berrian is the deep threat, Sidney Rice is a red zone target, Percey Harvin brings run-after-catch ability, and Bobby Wade can work the underneath routes and convert tough 3rd downs. Vishante Shiancoe had an underrated season at TE last year.
The pieces are all in place here. And the Vikings are wagering that a 40 year old QB who led the league in INTs thrown last year can bring it all together. I think it's a move that could potentially set the franchise back (what is the plan for after this year?), but hey what do I know? I never fetched coffee for Andy Reid while he called plays.
I am a big disbeliever in Brett Favre. I will freely admit I'm biased here, but the man has done nothing to change my mind. He's old, his arm was dead at the end of last year, and he didn't play very well last year. Give me a reason to get excited here. And if he struggles like I imagine he will, the Vikings will once again come up short on offense while fielding a really good defense.
The tools are in place for the Vikings to go to the Super Bowl. The defense is top notch. I've always wanted a dominate defensive line, and the Vikings have it. The linebackers are rock solid, with the always underrated E.J. Henderson returning at middle linebacker. The secondary is a bit more questionable, with Cedric Griffin being a pretty average player and 2nd year player Tyrell Johnson taking over at strong safety. But Antoine Winfield is a really good player, and I've liked Madieu Williams since his Bengals days. Combine these guys with the Vikings' defensive line, and it all works out pretty well.
Offensively, the QB needs to bring it all together. The running game goes without saying. Peterson is the best runner in the league, and Chester Taylor could rush for 1200 yards if he got the carries. It's the passing game that has to improve. Points come out of the passing game, which explains how the Vikings can run the ball and stop the run, yet finish 8-8 and 10-6 the past two years. Berrian is the deep threat, Sidney Rice is a red zone target, Percey Harvin brings run-after-catch ability, and Bobby Wade can work the underneath routes and convert tough 3rd downs. Vishante Shiancoe had an underrated season at TE last year.
The pieces are all in place here. And the Vikings are wagering that a 40 year old QB who led the league in INTs thrown last year can bring it all together. I think it's a move that could potentially set the franchise back (what is the plan for after this year?), but hey what do I know? I never fetched coffee for Andy Reid while he called plays.
Notre Dame football
As much as I know I'm setting myself up for failure this season, I'm quite excited about Notre Dame's prospects for this year. I have visions of a BCS bowl dancing in my head.
The obvious reason for this is the schedule. It used to be that Notre Dame would put a few tough opponents on their schedule besides the usual suspects (Michigan, Michigan St., Purdue, Stanford, USC, Boston College). I can remember home-and-homes with Tennessee and Georgia Tech. Now they play home-and-homes with Washington, and these aren't Steve Emtman's Huskies. I'm not even sure how many home-and-homes they can do with their currently scheduling philosophy of 7-4-1 (7 home games, 4 away, 1 neutral site). It all seems very cheap and unfair, but you know what? There are a lot of teams across the country who don't challenge themselves. Pac-10 teams do (you've got to respect USC for scheduling Texas a couple years ago and Ohio State these past two years) and that's about it. Besides, an easy schedule now could be a tough schedule tomorrow. I can remember 2005, Charlie Weis' first year, when Notre Dame was playing Pitt, Michigan, Purdue, Tennessee and it all seemed disastrous. All of those teams underachieved and the schedule actually played out very nicely. Still, I would be shocked if this schedule ends up being difficult.
But even moreso than the schedule, what really gets me excited is the talent on this roster. Am I overrating it? Probably, but hey that's what fans do. I may be in the minority but I like Jimmy Clausen a lot. I saw Brady Quinn play as a freshman and sophomore as well, and Clausen is better at this point than he was. Clausen has a great arm, and I love his targets. Golden Tate and Michael Floyd are dynamic receivers, and Kyle Rudolph should continue a nice string of Notre Dame TEs (Anthony Fasano and John Carlson, both NFL 2nd round picks).
This should be the most talented defense Charlie Weis has had. When Weis took over his stated goal was to improve team speed defensively, and he's succeeded. The secondary looks loaded, with Robert Blanton, Raeshon McNeil and Darrin Walls all capable of starting at corner, Harrison Smith and Kyle McCarthy starting at safety, and players like Sergio Brown and Gary Gray sitting on the bench but also capable of playing. Linebacker Brian Smith is my favorite player on this defense. He's a good player and by all accounts is the leader of the defense. The question mark here is the defensive line, where some highly-regarded prospects reside but not a lot of proven production. Kapron Lewis-Moore will be starting at DE, and I don't recall him playing at all on defense last year. Kerry Neal and Ian Williams haven't developed yet, and they'll be juniors. This is a bit of a question mark, but the talent should be there. These kids were highly regarded coming in.
The main question mark with this team is the offensive line. I would say running game, but I think the running backs are just fine. Armando Allen is the speed guy and Robert Hughes is the power back. This should work. So why hasn't it? Because the offensive line has underperformed. These players were also highly regarded coming into Notre Dame, but they haven't played up to it. Sam Young was the high school player of the year in the state of Florida when he was in high school. He beat out a guy, you may have heard of him, Tim Tebow, for that honor. Young has been a decent player but not great, and being decent qualifies him as the best, most accomplished lineman on the team. The interior blocking last year basically sucked, and the short yardage running sucked, but it looks like Charlie is making a change at center, sliding over Eric Olsen and benching Dan Wenger. I don't know if it was all Wenger's fault, but I do know nose tackles from Boston College and Syracuse dominated him. Sure, B.J. Raji was one of those players, but come on.
All of that said...I'm excited. I believe the running game will be better. I believe the defensive line will develop. I believe this passing game can be just as good as the Quinn-Samardzija-Stovall-Fasano days, which was the best passing game in school history. And this schedule is so manageable that quite frankly, I'd be disappointed in anything less than 10 wins. And I haven't said that often about Notre Dame football.
The obvious reason for this is the schedule. It used to be that Notre Dame would put a few tough opponents on their schedule besides the usual suspects (Michigan, Michigan St., Purdue, Stanford, USC, Boston College). I can remember home-and-homes with Tennessee and Georgia Tech. Now they play home-and-homes with Washington, and these aren't Steve Emtman's Huskies. I'm not even sure how many home-and-homes they can do with their currently scheduling philosophy of 7-4-1 (7 home games, 4 away, 1 neutral site). It all seems very cheap and unfair, but you know what? There are a lot of teams across the country who don't challenge themselves. Pac-10 teams do (you've got to respect USC for scheduling Texas a couple years ago and Ohio State these past two years) and that's about it. Besides, an easy schedule now could be a tough schedule tomorrow. I can remember 2005, Charlie Weis' first year, when Notre Dame was playing Pitt, Michigan, Purdue, Tennessee and it all seemed disastrous. All of those teams underachieved and the schedule actually played out very nicely. Still, I would be shocked if this schedule ends up being difficult.
But even moreso than the schedule, what really gets me excited is the talent on this roster. Am I overrating it? Probably, but hey that's what fans do. I may be in the minority but I like Jimmy Clausen a lot. I saw Brady Quinn play as a freshman and sophomore as well, and Clausen is better at this point than he was. Clausen has a great arm, and I love his targets. Golden Tate and Michael Floyd are dynamic receivers, and Kyle Rudolph should continue a nice string of Notre Dame TEs (Anthony Fasano and John Carlson, both NFL 2nd round picks).
This should be the most talented defense Charlie Weis has had. When Weis took over his stated goal was to improve team speed defensively, and he's succeeded. The secondary looks loaded, with Robert Blanton, Raeshon McNeil and Darrin Walls all capable of starting at corner, Harrison Smith and Kyle McCarthy starting at safety, and players like Sergio Brown and Gary Gray sitting on the bench but also capable of playing. Linebacker Brian Smith is my favorite player on this defense. He's a good player and by all accounts is the leader of the defense. The question mark here is the defensive line, where some highly-regarded prospects reside but not a lot of proven production. Kapron Lewis-Moore will be starting at DE, and I don't recall him playing at all on defense last year. Kerry Neal and Ian Williams haven't developed yet, and they'll be juniors. This is a bit of a question mark, but the talent should be there. These kids were highly regarded coming in.
The main question mark with this team is the offensive line. I would say running game, but I think the running backs are just fine. Armando Allen is the speed guy and Robert Hughes is the power back. This should work. So why hasn't it? Because the offensive line has underperformed. These players were also highly regarded coming into Notre Dame, but they haven't played up to it. Sam Young was the high school player of the year in the state of Florida when he was in high school. He beat out a guy, you may have heard of him, Tim Tebow, for that honor. Young has been a decent player but not great, and being decent qualifies him as the best, most accomplished lineman on the team. The interior blocking last year basically sucked, and the short yardage running sucked, but it looks like Charlie is making a change at center, sliding over Eric Olsen and benching Dan Wenger. I don't know if it was all Wenger's fault, but I do know nose tackles from Boston College and Syracuse dominated him. Sure, B.J. Raji was one of those players, but come on.
All of that said...I'm excited. I believe the running game will be better. I believe the defensive line will develop. I believe this passing game can be just as good as the Quinn-Samardzija-Stovall-Fasano days, which was the best passing game in school history. And this schedule is so manageable that quite frankly, I'd be disappointed in anything less than 10 wins. And I haven't said that often about Notre Dame football.
QB Battles
I'm currently watching a replay of the Browns-Titans preseason game on NFL Network, and I feel comfortable in saying the QB position is among the least of the Browns' concerns, even if they don't know who their starter is. Between Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson, I think they can get decent production out of the position. It's the rest of the team I worry about. Quinn's completed passes to Mike Furrey and Robert Royal. I didn't even know Furrey was still around, and Royal is the definition of a league-average TE. And where is the pass rush going to come from for this team? Kamerion Wimbley looked like a player at one point, but he's pretty well disappeared the past two years.
The 49ers continually put on the least inspiring QB competitions in the league. Last year it was J.T. O'Sullivan-Alex Smith-Shaun Hill. This year they eliminated O'Sullivan but not the yawn-inducing results of it all. Shaun Hill is going to be the starter this year, and he is without a doubt the least physically gifted starting QB in the league. His arm strength is more reminiscent of a flag football QB (bussssssss) than it is an NFL player.
The Buccaneers will be starting Byron Leftwich and his elongated release. There's no doubt Leftwich can throw the football, but he's slow in everything he does, from throwing the ball to moving in the pocket. And I'm pretty sure I saw him miss Kellen Winslow the other day by an embarrassing amount (I could not come up with a good metaphor there).
As much as I'd like to say Matt Stafford isn't any good (I like seeing Detroit down every year), I actually find him quite impressive. He threw a frozen rope to Calvin Johnson this weekend that almost made me fall out of my seat. And then he threw a similar pass later to Derrick Williams. I don't think Stafford is quite yet ready to play (he has 3 INTs this preseason), but his arm is top notch. Not just his arm strength but his accuray; these throws are hitting the receivers perfectly.
The 49ers continually put on the least inspiring QB competitions in the league. Last year it was J.T. O'Sullivan-Alex Smith-Shaun Hill. This year they eliminated O'Sullivan but not the yawn-inducing results of it all. Shaun Hill is going to be the starter this year, and he is without a doubt the least physically gifted starting QB in the league. His arm strength is more reminiscent of a flag football QB (bussssssss) than it is an NFL player.
The Buccaneers will be starting Byron Leftwich and his elongated release. There's no doubt Leftwich can throw the football, but he's slow in everything he does, from throwing the ball to moving in the pocket. And I'm pretty sure I saw him miss Kellen Winslow the other day by an embarrassing amount (I could not come up with a good metaphor there).
As much as I'd like to say Matt Stafford isn't any good (I like seeing Detroit down every year), I actually find him quite impressive. He threw a frozen rope to Calvin Johnson this weekend that almost made me fall out of my seat. And then he threw a similar pass later to Derrick Williams. I don't think Stafford is quite yet ready to play (he has 3 INTs this preseason), but his arm is top notch. Not just his arm strength but his accuray; these throws are hitting the receivers perfectly.
Reasons for this blog
I just want to get back into writing. This blog is solely for me, and there will be no rhyme or reason to it. I like football more than just about anything, so that's mostly what I'll be posting about. But I also like baseball, basketball, hockey, music, movies, TV and various other things. I love politics too but I refuse to post about that.
Mainly I'd just like to keep a collection of my thoughts, and then check back in 5 months to see what an idiot I was. The name of this blog is taken from a classic episode from "The Simpsons," my favorite television show of all-time. The episode is "Marge vs. the Monorail," which is probably not my favorite but it's certainly a classic and I wanted to pay homage to "The Simpsons" in some form.
Mainly I'd just like to keep a collection of my thoughts, and then check back in 5 months to see what an idiot I was. The name of this blog is taken from a classic episode from "The Simpsons," my favorite television show of all-time. The episode is "Marge vs. the Monorail," which is probably not my favorite but it's certainly a classic and I wanted to pay homage to "The Simpsons" in some form.
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