MARSHALL SUSPENDED, 'DO OVER' IN BIG D & USC KARMA
Even a confirmed Bronco hater like myself would have to tip their cap to the move Denver management made this morning by suspending PITA(pain in the ass) wide receiver, Brandon Marshall. In the just concluded press conference, coach Josh McDaniel, frankly, looked pissed off(sorry Mom). He said Marshall's actions during Wednesday's practice brought it all to a head & the organization & the team was behind the move. I told you last night this is a move that needed to be made or McDaniel was running the risk of losing his locker room. When McDaniel said "the team believes we can win with or without him", that shows what little respect Marshall's teammates have for him at the present time. Marshall will be suspended until September 6th, without pay, then be eligible to come back to the team. Marshall had better take this time to re-evaluate his behavior & commitment to this team. The Broncos could suspend him for 4 more games without pay for conduct detrimental to the team & further suspend him as long as they want, with pay. These moves would be similar to the ones used in Keyshawn Johnson & T.O.'s suspensions.
I watched the replay of the Jaguars & Eagles late last night & I had quite a few thoughts about what went on, both inside & outside Franklin Financial Field. The onslaught of angry animal activists never materialized. By several reports, there were 3 women holding a banner protesting Vick's reinstatement, that's all. The NAACP President of Philadelphia, J. Wyatt Mondenshire, who promised a big turnout to support Michael Vick, yielded 12 people. Mondenshire blamed all of the anti-Vick sentiment on "racism". What anti-Vick sentiment? Three ladies with a 6-foot banner? As Vick entered the field to take his first snap, I cranked the volume way up & I couldn't detect a single boo. There were much stronger reactions to his reinstatement & the Eagles signing than anything from last night's game. I think as time wore on, cooler heads prevailed. Things I saw as far as football goes were many, I'll give a few brief comments on each.
1. If the Chiefs want a 4th round puck for Tyler Thigpen, the Jags ought to give it up. Their O-line is a mess that won't be fixed anytime soon. Their starting QB, David Garrard, took hit after hit & had to sit for a series because of a neck stinger. Garrard is hardly an all-star, but the drop off to the 2nd teamer, Todd Bauman, is really dramatic. The Eagles didn't play any of their starting LB's & still the Jag O-line couldn't get any kind of a push on running plays.
2. I didn't like Jeremy Maclin's body language after he took a shot in the 3rd quarter. When he returned a kick & a punt afterward, he looked very tentative, unlike what I'm used to seeing. This is a tough game played by very tough men, if Maclin expects to excel at this level, he better toughen up.
3. I thought Sean McDermott's defensive game plan & play calling was superb, he coached like a true Jim Johnson disciple.
4. Philly's backup QB, Kevin Kolb might find himself behind Michael Vick if he doesn't quit making such awful decisions as the one that cost his team a safety with an intentional grounding call in the end zone. Seems like every time I see Kolb play, he does something a QB just can't do at this level.
5. If you thought Herm Edwards was a lousy coach & an even worse studio analyst for ESPN, you haven't really gotten the full Herm Edwards experience without listening to him ramble on incoherently during the Eagles local TV broadcast. Wow, he is really, truly awful. I'm sure he's a nice guy, a good husband & father, but he should count his lucky stars the Kansas City Chiefs are still paying him a couple of million dollars a year, because I think his broadcasting career will be short-lived.
6. As for Vick, everything was scripted, he only played a few snaps, but he didn't look overwhelmed. He looked like he belonged on the field. Andy Reid will have to be careful not to upset Donovan McNabb's rhythm by running Vick in & out of the game, moving McNabb to WR or even to the sideline. This is McNabb's team.
The NFL has made a terrible decision in the "Jones Mahal" punts-hitting the-video-boards controversy. The league has decided a "do over" will fix the situation. This decision is wrong on so many levels & if you disagree with me, feel free to tell me why I'm wrong. The ruling states any ball hitting the video boards, support structure or guy wires, is immediately a dead ball. Ball will be placed at the original line of scrimmage, the clock will be reset to the time before the 1st punt was kicked & only personal fouls will be enforced from the original punting down, minor penalties, like offside, will be forgiven. So what's my beef with this ruling?
1. An official will have to watch the ball to be sure it has cleared the video boards before returning his eyes to the field of play. He may miss more than just a penalty diverting his eyes upward for 2-3 seconds.
2. The gunners(the guys who streak downfield to cover the punt) will be winded, while the punt returner stands perfectly still after seeing the punt hit the board. Advantage; return team, big advantage on the "do over" play.
3. You've created a rule that is relevant in only one stadium of 31. Nowhere else will this rule apply. Can you say Wrigley Field? The Ivy on the outfield walls there is part of baseball's tradition. A video board superstructure is hardly part of the NFL's tradition. The board could be raised 15-20 feet & the problem could be solved. For sometime, many around the league believe there are a handful of owners who get preferential treatment & this decision just reinforces that belief. This decision just chips away at the integrity of the league, it may seem small to you, but little chips mount up over the years, changing the game for the worse. This isn't the last time this board will create a controversy, I can almost guarantee it.
Jerry Jones said this morning on a Dallas radio show that WR Roy Williams sustained a bruised shoulder & tho he can't play tomorrow, "we'll get him back real soon I believe". What kind of shape he'll be in at that point or how far off his timing with QB Tony Romo will be is unknown. I think the Cowboys better be able to run the ball early on in the season because if I'm defending the Dallas offense, I'm all over TE Jason Witten.
I told you fantasy football owners out there to keep an eye on Bengal WR Chris Henry. The Chris Henry who has been arrested 5 or 6 times & suspended 3 times, that Chris Henry. Well late last season, when he was given what was explained as "his last chance", Henry responded with hard work & clean livin'. His off-season was the same & he came to camp in the best shape he's ever been in since coming out of West Virginia 5 years ago. Last night he caught his third touchdown of the preseason, a 54-yarder. If Henry has turned his life around, he could be a monster. He's as tall as Randy Moss, he's nearly as fast as Randy Moss & tho I think comparing them favorably is a stretch, he does have a lot of natural talent to go with his size & speed. I doubt he will get as many passes thrown his way as Chad Ochocinco, but he could be a steal for your 4th receiver.
Bengal RB Cedric Benson continues to disappoint in camp & in preseason games. The Bengals thought he would become the workhorse he was envisioned as coming out of Texas as the 5th overall pick in 2005. DUI issues & just-plain-playing-lousy issues got him released in Chicago. I doubt Marvin Lewis is going to give Benson much of a chance beyond 1 or 2 games if this downward trend in his performance continues.
Pete Carroll named his starting quarterback last night & to just about everyone's total surprise, it's true freshman Matt Barkley. Carroll also stated this isn't a 1 or 2 game trial, "he's our starting quarterback".I told you 2-3 weeks ago I thought Carroll had flirted with disaster by stating at the PAC-10 media day "I just don't see an end to the top-5 run we're on, no end in sight". I mentioned the Trojans graduated 6 of their front 7 on defense to the NFL. I mentioned they lost their starting QB to the NFL, so the guys Carroll had to replace weren't just warm bodies, they were exceptional college football players good enough to all be taken in the top 4 rounds of the NFL draft. I know the big programs like USC, Florida, Oklahoma & Texas just 'reload' & keep on winning. That's what they used to say about Florida State, Miami & Michigan right? How are those programs right now? It can happen so quickly. I thought at the time, Carroll was tempting Karma, thumbing his nose at fate. Since his statement, he's lost key two starters to injury, had a QB controversy & saw his 2004 national championship trophy fall apart in it's glass case. Has Carroll entered the "Twilight Zone" or do I simply have a twisted imagination? We'll see very soon when USC travels to Ohio State & their true freshman QB gets to experience playing in the Big Horseshoe & their 90,000 'out for revenge' supporters.
Another guy having a difficult time is new Tennessee coach, Lane Kiffin. He's been reprimanded by the SEC several times already, had 11 players quit the program, fought for 2 players academic eligibility & now he's lost his starting center. Josh McNeil underwent arthroscopic knee surgery yesterday to diagnose his continuing knee pain. McNeil has started 35-consecutive games for the Vols.
Montez Billings, senior wide receiver for the Auburn Tigers, has been suspended for the first four regular season games for academic issues. Billings is the lone returning receiver with any game experience to speak of, the rest of the roster has a total of 15 receptions between them. Auburn had so many offensive issues last season they went thru 2 offensive coordinators & head coach Tommy Tuberville was fired as well. This is a key loss for Auburn as they needed the first 4 games to establish their new offense before heading into conference play. The Tigers play West Virginia September 19th, a game that just got a lot tougher to win.
Quentin Castille, formerly of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, has landed on his feet in Louisiana at Northwestern State. The 235-pound running back quickly signed with a Division 1-AA school so he could play this season. He's already in shape, just needs to move to another state, get enrolled, get acclimated to his new campus, learn his new coaches' names, meet his new teammates & learn a completely different playbook. If I made it sound like it's hard to do, it is. Sitting out a year makes all the difference, but when big-program kids get dismissed & jump to Div. 1-AA in hopes of not missing a game, they often fail. They fall back into the behavior that got them dismissed from that big program in the first place. One that comes to mind recently as last week is Ryan Perrilloux. As a high school senior, Perrilloux & Mark Sanchez were rated as the best prospects in the nation. Perrilloux finally decided to attend LSU & his roller coaster ride in Baton Rouge began. He'd get in trouble, get suspended, get reinstated, play a great game in relief of one of the Tiger starters, then get in trouble again. This went on for 3 years & finally Les Miles dismissed Perrilloux from the program. He signed immediately with Jacksonville State & was to become their starting quarterback for the upcoming season. Ten days ago, Perrilloux was dismissed from Jacksonville State for "violation of team rules". This happens a lot because in the smaller schools, they simply don't have the coaching staff, graduate assistants & tutors to babysit a kid with disciplinary issues. It's very sad, guys like Perrilloux wasting so much talent & opportunity for an education, I hope Castille was paying attention.
Today's real name of the day; Rantavious Wooten, wide receiver, Georgia.
What I want to see in Saturday's Chiefs' game & more, later tonight.
I watched the replay of the Jaguars & Eagles late last night & I had quite a few thoughts about what went on, both inside & outside Franklin Financial Field. The onslaught of angry animal activists never materialized. By several reports, there were 3 women holding a banner protesting Vick's reinstatement, that's all. The NAACP President of Philadelphia, J. Wyatt Mondenshire, who promised a big turnout to support Michael Vick, yielded 12 people. Mondenshire blamed all of the anti-Vick sentiment on "racism". What anti-Vick sentiment? Three ladies with a 6-foot banner? As Vick entered the field to take his first snap, I cranked the volume way up & I couldn't detect a single boo. There were much stronger reactions to his reinstatement & the Eagles signing than anything from last night's game. I think as time wore on, cooler heads prevailed. Things I saw as far as football goes were many, I'll give a few brief comments on each.
1. If the Chiefs want a 4th round puck for Tyler Thigpen, the Jags ought to give it up. Their O-line is a mess that won't be fixed anytime soon. Their starting QB, David Garrard, took hit after hit & had to sit for a series because of a neck stinger. Garrard is hardly an all-star, but the drop off to the 2nd teamer, Todd Bauman, is really dramatic. The Eagles didn't play any of their starting LB's & still the Jag O-line couldn't get any kind of a push on running plays.
2. I didn't like Jeremy Maclin's body language after he took a shot in the 3rd quarter. When he returned a kick & a punt afterward, he looked very tentative, unlike what I'm used to seeing. This is a tough game played by very tough men, if Maclin expects to excel at this level, he better toughen up.
3. I thought Sean McDermott's defensive game plan & play calling was superb, he coached like a true Jim Johnson disciple.
4. Philly's backup QB, Kevin Kolb might find himself behind Michael Vick if he doesn't quit making such awful decisions as the one that cost his team a safety with an intentional grounding call in the end zone. Seems like every time I see Kolb play, he does something a QB just can't do at this level.
5. If you thought Herm Edwards was a lousy coach & an even worse studio analyst for ESPN, you haven't really gotten the full Herm Edwards experience without listening to him ramble on incoherently during the Eagles local TV broadcast. Wow, he is really, truly awful. I'm sure he's a nice guy, a good husband & father, but he should count his lucky stars the Kansas City Chiefs are still paying him a couple of million dollars a year, because I think his broadcasting career will be short-lived.
6. As for Vick, everything was scripted, he only played a few snaps, but he didn't look overwhelmed. He looked like he belonged on the field. Andy Reid will have to be careful not to upset Donovan McNabb's rhythm by running Vick in & out of the game, moving McNabb to WR or even to the sideline. This is McNabb's team.
The NFL has made a terrible decision in the "Jones Mahal" punts-hitting the-video-boards controversy. The league has decided a "do over" will fix the situation. This decision is wrong on so many levels & if you disagree with me, feel free to tell me why I'm wrong. The ruling states any ball hitting the video boards, support structure or guy wires, is immediately a dead ball. Ball will be placed at the original line of scrimmage, the clock will be reset to the time before the 1st punt was kicked & only personal fouls will be enforced from the original punting down, minor penalties, like offside, will be forgiven. So what's my beef with this ruling?
1. An official will have to watch the ball to be sure it has cleared the video boards before returning his eyes to the field of play. He may miss more than just a penalty diverting his eyes upward for 2-3 seconds.
2. The gunners(the guys who streak downfield to cover the punt) will be winded, while the punt returner stands perfectly still after seeing the punt hit the board. Advantage; return team, big advantage on the "do over" play.
3. You've created a rule that is relevant in only one stadium of 31. Nowhere else will this rule apply. Can you say Wrigley Field? The Ivy on the outfield walls there is part of baseball's tradition. A video board superstructure is hardly part of the NFL's tradition. The board could be raised 15-20 feet & the problem could be solved. For sometime, many around the league believe there are a handful of owners who get preferential treatment & this decision just reinforces that belief. This decision just chips away at the integrity of the league, it may seem small to you, but little chips mount up over the years, changing the game for the worse. This isn't the last time this board will create a controversy, I can almost guarantee it.
Jerry Jones said this morning on a Dallas radio show that WR Roy Williams sustained a bruised shoulder & tho he can't play tomorrow, "we'll get him back real soon I believe". What kind of shape he'll be in at that point or how far off his timing with QB Tony Romo will be is unknown. I think the Cowboys better be able to run the ball early on in the season because if I'm defending the Dallas offense, I'm all over TE Jason Witten.
I told you fantasy football owners out there to keep an eye on Bengal WR Chris Henry. The Chris Henry who has been arrested 5 or 6 times & suspended 3 times, that Chris Henry. Well late last season, when he was given what was explained as "his last chance", Henry responded with hard work & clean livin'. His off-season was the same & he came to camp in the best shape he's ever been in since coming out of West Virginia 5 years ago. Last night he caught his third touchdown of the preseason, a 54-yarder. If Henry has turned his life around, he could be a monster. He's as tall as Randy Moss, he's nearly as fast as Randy Moss & tho I think comparing them favorably is a stretch, he does have a lot of natural talent to go with his size & speed. I doubt he will get as many passes thrown his way as Chad Ochocinco, but he could be a steal for your 4th receiver.
Bengal RB Cedric Benson continues to disappoint in camp & in preseason games. The Bengals thought he would become the workhorse he was envisioned as coming out of Texas as the 5th overall pick in 2005. DUI issues & just-plain-playing-lousy issues got him released in Chicago. I doubt Marvin Lewis is going to give Benson much of a chance beyond 1 or 2 games if this downward trend in his performance continues.
Pete Carroll named his starting quarterback last night & to just about everyone's total surprise, it's true freshman Matt Barkley. Carroll also stated this isn't a 1 or 2 game trial, "he's our starting quarterback".I told you 2-3 weeks ago I thought Carroll had flirted with disaster by stating at the PAC-10 media day "I just don't see an end to the top-5 run we're on, no end in sight". I mentioned the Trojans graduated 6 of their front 7 on defense to the NFL. I mentioned they lost their starting QB to the NFL, so the guys Carroll had to replace weren't just warm bodies, they were exceptional college football players good enough to all be taken in the top 4 rounds of the NFL draft. I know the big programs like USC, Florida, Oklahoma & Texas just 'reload' & keep on winning. That's what they used to say about Florida State, Miami & Michigan right? How are those programs right now? It can happen so quickly. I thought at the time, Carroll was tempting Karma, thumbing his nose at fate. Since his statement, he's lost key two starters to injury, had a QB controversy & saw his 2004 national championship trophy fall apart in it's glass case. Has Carroll entered the "Twilight Zone" or do I simply have a twisted imagination? We'll see very soon when USC travels to Ohio State & their true freshman QB gets to experience playing in the Big Horseshoe & their 90,000 'out for revenge' supporters.
Another guy having a difficult time is new Tennessee coach, Lane Kiffin. He's been reprimanded by the SEC several times already, had 11 players quit the program, fought for 2 players academic eligibility & now he's lost his starting center. Josh McNeil underwent arthroscopic knee surgery yesterday to diagnose his continuing knee pain. McNeil has started 35-consecutive games for the Vols.
Montez Billings, senior wide receiver for the Auburn Tigers, has been suspended for the first four regular season games for academic issues. Billings is the lone returning receiver with any game experience to speak of, the rest of the roster has a total of 15 receptions between them. Auburn had so many offensive issues last season they went thru 2 offensive coordinators & head coach Tommy Tuberville was fired as well. This is a key loss for Auburn as they needed the first 4 games to establish their new offense before heading into conference play. The Tigers play West Virginia September 19th, a game that just got a lot tougher to win.
Quentin Castille, formerly of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, has landed on his feet in Louisiana at Northwestern State. The 235-pound running back quickly signed with a Division 1-AA school so he could play this season. He's already in shape, just needs to move to another state, get enrolled, get acclimated to his new campus, learn his new coaches' names, meet his new teammates & learn a completely different playbook. If I made it sound like it's hard to do, it is. Sitting out a year makes all the difference, but when big-program kids get dismissed & jump to Div. 1-AA in hopes of not missing a game, they often fail. They fall back into the behavior that got them dismissed from that big program in the first place. One that comes to mind recently as last week is Ryan Perrilloux. As a high school senior, Perrilloux & Mark Sanchez were rated as the best prospects in the nation. Perrilloux finally decided to attend LSU & his roller coaster ride in Baton Rouge began. He'd get in trouble, get suspended, get reinstated, play a great game in relief of one of the Tiger starters, then get in trouble again. This went on for 3 years & finally Les Miles dismissed Perrilloux from the program. He signed immediately with Jacksonville State & was to become their starting quarterback for the upcoming season. Ten days ago, Perrilloux was dismissed from Jacksonville State for "violation of team rules". This happens a lot because in the smaller schools, they simply don't have the coaching staff, graduate assistants & tutors to babysit a kid with disciplinary issues. It's very sad, guys like Perrilloux wasting so much talent & opportunity for an education, I hope Castille was paying attention.
Today's real name of the day; Rantavious Wooten, wide receiver, Georgia.
What I want to see in Saturday's Chiefs' game & more, later tonight.
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