SANCHEZ & BARKLEY ACCLAIMED AS THE BEST EVER & TWO MNF THRILLERS
Mark Sanchez & Matt Barkley have played exactly one real game with their new teams. One game & Sanchez is touted to be as good or better than Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco. Matt Barkley was mentioned as a Heisman candidate NOW or very soon, all after just one game. Mind you, I have no ax to grind with either guy, I had Ohio State +7, so I was happy with a 5-point loss. As I made my 60-80 stops on the internet today, I was floored by the number of writers, not bloggers mind you, who are ready to christen these two quarterbacks. I watched every play of the USC-Ohio State game & I'll admit he showed great poise under very difficult circumstances. But he had Joe McKnight to hand the ball to, he had a great offensive line in front of him & he had an opposing coach who was content to let him sit in the pocket & pick his defense apart. No need to blitz, he's a freshman. Barkley's debut was impressive but he's not ready to compete for the Heisman quite yet O.K.? If he takes the Trojans to an undefeated season this year we'll talk, otherwise the Tebows & the McCoys have first shot. I didn't see much of the Jets-Texans game for multiple reasons, one, there were other games I found more appealing, I didn't have a wager on it & thanks to my friends at DirecTV, I was down a screen in the media room. I did see extensive highlights & like USC, Sanchez had a great running game he could rely on, how about 190 yards? Like USC, the Jets have an exceptional offensive line. Like USC, Sanchez faced off with a very over rated quarterback who barely showed up for the game. I'm not saying Sanchez won't be a great quarterback one day, but let him play a few games before he's compared favorably with Elway, Montana, Manning & Brady. I honestly saw pieces that compared him with those QB's. I'm constantly amazed at how little credit Ben Roethlisberger gets for the success of the Steelers. He doesn't have a good running game, doesn't have a good offensive line & he plays against great coaches nearly every week. Yet, like on opening night, Roethlisberger goes 16 of 18 for over 180 yards in the last 20 minutes of regulation & overtime. He's not pretty, he just wins. Let's be frank here, if you had a playoff caliber team right now, would you take Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers, Big Ben or would you take Mark Sanchez after just one game? Hype, hype, hype.
I didn't expect to see much in the way of competitive football Monday evening, but we were more than happy to watch two thrillers. Just a few thoughts about both games. After the first Brady-to-Watson touchdown pass, why oh why did Leodis McKelvin bring the kickoff out of the endzone? McKelvin was the leagues 3rd leading kickoff return man last season, so it's not like he's never done it before. The Bills O-line, much maligned right here on these pages, played well until the Pats took the lead & then it failed miserably. T.O. caught but 2 passes, I think he was only thrown to 4 times, so after the game he was out of the locker room with no comment. New England should thank their lucky stars, but for the Bills, this was a very tough loss to swallow. Fortunately, Tampa opens the Bills home season Sunday. Beware Patriots, you have to figure a way to beat the chosen one, Mark Sanchez.
The Raiders looked nothing like the team we watched last year & in the preseason. QB JaMarcus Russell still didn't impress me despite hitting two long bombs. His pocket awareness is very poor & he seems to have trouble throwing most out routes with accuracy. Their running game was there, just like it was last year at Arrowhead, when they ran over, around & thru the Chiefs for 300 yards. Their O-line played well until the 4th quarter. They committed their share of penalties too. Richard Seymour made a big difference on defense. They moved him around & he was very effective stopping the run as well as pushing the pocket into Phillip Rivers. After listening the entire off season to LaDanian Tomlinson complain about the lack of respect the team & the media had given him, why was he on the sidelines during their winning drive? Darren Sproules did all the heavy lifting, thanks L.T. The Chargers sustained several injuries along their offensive line & that resulted in penalties, missed assignments & poor pass protection. San Diego squares off with Baltimore next Sunday, a tough opponent without your O-line starters. The Raiders come to K.C. this Sunday & someone will be 0-2. If the Raiders play like they did on Monday night, it won't be them.
I didn't expect to see much in the way of competitive football Monday evening, but we were more than happy to watch two thrillers. Just a few thoughts about both games. After the first Brady-to-Watson touchdown pass, why oh why did Leodis McKelvin bring the kickoff out of the endzone? McKelvin was the leagues 3rd leading kickoff return man last season, so it's not like he's never done it before. The Bills O-line, much maligned right here on these pages, played well until the Pats took the lead & then it failed miserably. T.O. caught but 2 passes, I think he was only thrown to 4 times, so after the game he was out of the locker room with no comment. New England should thank their lucky stars, but for the Bills, this was a very tough loss to swallow. Fortunately, Tampa opens the Bills home season Sunday. Beware Patriots, you have to figure a way to beat the chosen one, Mark Sanchez.
The Raiders looked nothing like the team we watched last year & in the preseason. QB JaMarcus Russell still didn't impress me despite hitting two long bombs. His pocket awareness is very poor & he seems to have trouble throwing most out routes with accuracy. Their running game was there, just like it was last year at Arrowhead, when they ran over, around & thru the Chiefs for 300 yards. Their O-line played well until the 4th quarter. They committed their share of penalties too. Richard Seymour made a big difference on defense. They moved him around & he was very effective stopping the run as well as pushing the pocket into Phillip Rivers. After listening the entire off season to LaDanian Tomlinson complain about the lack of respect the team & the media had given him, why was he on the sidelines during their winning drive? Darren Sproules did all the heavy lifting, thanks L.T. The Chargers sustained several injuries along their offensive line & that resulted in penalties, missed assignments & poor pass protection. San Diego squares off with Baltimore next Sunday, a tough opponent without your O-line starters. The Raiders come to K.C. this Sunday & someone will be 0-2. If the Raiders play like they did on Monday night, it won't be them.
Comments