COLLEGE FOOTBALL KICKS OFF, BRADFORD LOOKS GOOD AGAIN, A FEW INJUIRES & A CHIEFS' RECAP
It was a good night in the TV bunker, five screens ablaze with Hi-Def football telecasts, college football is back. Hey, the Chiefs even won, first preseason victory in over two years, but I'll get to them later. I've been watching the USC-Hawaii game since it kicked off & despite a rash of injuries, the Rainbow Warriors haven't buckled under a Trojan landslide. One thing I don't get about Lane Kiffin is his preoccupation with 2-point conversions. He started going for them after their first touchdown & he's attempted one after every score but one. I don't get it & with Mark Jones & Bob Davies doing the game for ESPN, I'll never know. This pair is truly awful, Linda was mocking me the minute their mugs appeared on the screen. USC's Matt Barkley, their sophomore QB, has been nothing short of brilliant but the Trojan defense hasn't shown much, they will struggle against the better PAC-10 teams.
The Pitt-Utah game on Versus was entertaining, it went to overtime before Utah prevailed 27-24 over the 15th ranked Panthers. It was sloppy with 23 penalties, 5 turnovers & a blocked punt, but the Utes & their raucous fans pulled it out despite all the mistakes. For those of you who wager on sporting events, remember this stat, Utah has not lost a Thursday game since Thanksgiving Day 1954. The Utes also have an 18-game home winning streak. I know there's no video resolution better than 1080P, but the picture on Versus tonight was the finest Hi-Def picture I've ever seen.
Alabama was informed tonight they will be without All-American defensive tackle Marcel Dareus for the first two games this season. Dareus was implicated in the now infamous Miami party that drew some of college football's elite, most of it paid for by professional agents. The NCAA told Dareus he was also to repay nearly $1,800 in hotel & limo tabs he incurred on this trip. Previously it was paid for by a parasite agent. What saved Dareus, was he didn't lie to the NCAA investigators, otherwise he would have probably lost the remainder of his eligibility.
Sam Bradford played only one series tonight in the Rams' win over Baltimore, but he made the most of it. He completed 6 of 6 for 68 yards, a touchdown & no picks. Bradford finished the preseason with 33 of 55 for 338 yards, 3 touchdowns & zero interceptions. If the Rams can keep this kid upright & healthy, he's looking more & more like the franchise quarterback the folks in St. Louis had dreamed of.
The Steelers had their options at quarterback clarified tonight & it wasn't necessarily a good thing. With starter Ben Roethlisberger looking at a minimum 4-game suspension, it was thought Pittsburgh would start veteran Byron Leftwich or 2nd year man Dennis Dixon & they would most likely release 14-year veteran Charlie Batch. Tonight Leftwich injured his MCL & even if it's not season-ending, he won't be able to play for several weeks, which means Dixon will start & Batch will stay on the roster as his backup. If Batch is on the opening day roster, his entire 2010 salary is guaranteed, something Pittsburgh was looking to avoid.
Oakland's Michael Bush broke his thumb last week & it required surgery. He will miss 3-4 weeks making 2008 #3 overall pick, Darren McFadden, the starter. He's been a major disappointment since he was drafted. Not only has he failed to produce decent numbers, he doesn't play hurt & he's hurt a lot. Nothing serious that would keep most backs from playing every Sunday, just a little too much for him. The Browns Montario Hardesty had missed much of Cleveland's camp & preseason with knee issues. He finally got to play tonight & after carry number 7, he came up lame, knee issues again.
Rex Ryan told his Jets before their kickoff tonight in Philadelphia "you want to make this team tonight? Don't put the ball on the ground, don't do it." The Jets went out & fumbled 4 times, losing 3 of them. Rookie Joe McKnight, who has suffered thru a miserable training camp, was one of the offenders, putting one on the ground that was returned for a 64-yard touchdown by Eagle's safety Kurt Coleman.
As this USC-Hawaii games come to a close, it should be pointed out the Rainbow Warriors are playing with their 3rd string center & 3rd string quarterback & they have shredded the vaunted Monte Kiffin-coached Trojan defense for 600+ yards. There's 4-minutes left to play & they've scored 36 points. This Trojan secondary has been exposed as slow, poor tackling & easily fooled. With all the excellent quarterbacks in the PAC-10, Lane Kiffin's first season at USC might be a long one.
That leaves us with the Chiefs. They won, but what did we learn? I think you can see who is solidly on the final roster for the most part. Oh there's 4 or 5 spots still in doubt to me & I think they'll bring in 1 or 2 guys cut by other teams, but after tonight most of this team is pretty apparent. Once again, Matt Cassel failed to impress anybody, he just doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, throwing interceptions against your opponents 2nd stringers week after week isn't good. I thought Charlie Weis called a good game, running a lot of misdirection allowing people to get open without throwing the ball very far downfield. The crossing pattern that sprung Dwayne Bowe for a 30-yard gain is what I'm talking about. It should be noted Bowe didn't drop a pass in 4 games. Swinging the ball to Charles tonight & McCluster in previous games, puts your playmakers on the perimeter where they have a chance to produce big plays. Moeaki even caught a pass tonight. Cassel needs all the help he can get, the line has to keep him clean, the receivers have to catch the ball & the running game has to produce in be amongst the league's top-10. I think that could actually happen, Charles & McCluster can gain big chunks of yards while Thomas Jones & even Jackie Battle can get the tougher inside yardage.
Defensively, the Packers had their way with the Chiefs pass defense for most of the night & considering our starters were in the game into the 2nd quarter, that's not good news. I liked the sack Demorrio Williams got lining up on the edge & blowing past the left tackle. Now can he do that during the regular season? I will also give credit to defensive coordinator Romeo Crennell, his schemes are better, his linebackers are making more tackles & his secondary has a chance to be very good as soon as 2011. Eric Berry & Kendrick Lewis close on the ball very quickly & they don't miss tackles. Other than the lack of an effective pass rush, last season's awful play at safety was a major factor in the defense's ineffectiveness. I'm still not sold on the defensive line's ability to swallow up blockers, freeing the linebackers to fly around making plays, just don't see it. I'm still not sold on those linebackers being able to fly around consistently making plays either. Show me, I want to see it.
Javier Arenas looks to be the type of game-changer Kansas City needs. He changes field position, making Cassel's offense play on a shorter field. He will eventually score on a punt return or returning a kickoff, he has those skills. We have a superior punter in Colquitt & if Ryan Succop can stay off the uprights, he can be a dependable placekicker.
I desperately want to be wrong about our Chiefs. ESPN The Magazine, in their NFL preview, picked the Chiefs to win the AFC West with a 9-7 record, honest they did. But there are plenty of other periodicals picking them third or even fourth in the division. I think they're better than Denver, decidedly better. I'm having a tough time getting a fix on the Raiders, but they're the Raiders, so at worst, Kansas City splits with them. So if they can squeeze out a split with San Diego, they just might win 8-9 games, I sure hope so. After the final roster is announced & the full extent of two injuries, Hali & O'Callaghan, is known, I'll make my final prediction on the AFC West.
The Pitt-Utah game on Versus was entertaining, it went to overtime before Utah prevailed 27-24 over the 15th ranked Panthers. It was sloppy with 23 penalties, 5 turnovers & a blocked punt, but the Utes & their raucous fans pulled it out despite all the mistakes. For those of you who wager on sporting events, remember this stat, Utah has not lost a Thursday game since Thanksgiving Day 1954. The Utes also have an 18-game home winning streak. I know there's no video resolution better than 1080P, but the picture on Versus tonight was the finest Hi-Def picture I've ever seen.
Alabama was informed tonight they will be without All-American defensive tackle Marcel Dareus for the first two games this season. Dareus was implicated in the now infamous Miami party that drew some of college football's elite, most of it paid for by professional agents. The NCAA told Dareus he was also to repay nearly $1,800 in hotel & limo tabs he incurred on this trip. Previously it was paid for by a parasite agent. What saved Dareus, was he didn't lie to the NCAA investigators, otherwise he would have probably lost the remainder of his eligibility.
Sam Bradford played only one series tonight in the Rams' win over Baltimore, but he made the most of it. He completed 6 of 6 for 68 yards, a touchdown & no picks. Bradford finished the preseason with 33 of 55 for 338 yards, 3 touchdowns & zero interceptions. If the Rams can keep this kid upright & healthy, he's looking more & more like the franchise quarterback the folks in St. Louis had dreamed of.
The Steelers had their options at quarterback clarified tonight & it wasn't necessarily a good thing. With starter Ben Roethlisberger looking at a minimum 4-game suspension, it was thought Pittsburgh would start veteran Byron Leftwich or 2nd year man Dennis Dixon & they would most likely release 14-year veteran Charlie Batch. Tonight Leftwich injured his MCL & even if it's not season-ending, he won't be able to play for several weeks, which means Dixon will start & Batch will stay on the roster as his backup. If Batch is on the opening day roster, his entire 2010 salary is guaranteed, something Pittsburgh was looking to avoid.
Oakland's Michael Bush broke his thumb last week & it required surgery. He will miss 3-4 weeks making 2008 #3 overall pick, Darren McFadden, the starter. He's been a major disappointment since he was drafted. Not only has he failed to produce decent numbers, he doesn't play hurt & he's hurt a lot. Nothing serious that would keep most backs from playing every Sunday, just a little too much for him. The Browns Montario Hardesty had missed much of Cleveland's camp & preseason with knee issues. He finally got to play tonight & after carry number 7, he came up lame, knee issues again.
Rex Ryan told his Jets before their kickoff tonight in Philadelphia "you want to make this team tonight? Don't put the ball on the ground, don't do it." The Jets went out & fumbled 4 times, losing 3 of them. Rookie Joe McKnight, who has suffered thru a miserable training camp, was one of the offenders, putting one on the ground that was returned for a 64-yard touchdown by Eagle's safety Kurt Coleman.
As this USC-Hawaii games come to a close, it should be pointed out the Rainbow Warriors are playing with their 3rd string center & 3rd string quarterback & they have shredded the vaunted Monte Kiffin-coached Trojan defense for 600+ yards. There's 4-minutes left to play & they've scored 36 points. This Trojan secondary has been exposed as slow, poor tackling & easily fooled. With all the excellent quarterbacks in the PAC-10, Lane Kiffin's first season at USC might be a long one.
That leaves us with the Chiefs. They won, but what did we learn? I think you can see who is solidly on the final roster for the most part. Oh there's 4 or 5 spots still in doubt to me & I think they'll bring in 1 or 2 guys cut by other teams, but after tonight most of this team is pretty apparent. Once again, Matt Cassel failed to impress anybody, he just doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, throwing interceptions against your opponents 2nd stringers week after week isn't good. I thought Charlie Weis called a good game, running a lot of misdirection allowing people to get open without throwing the ball very far downfield. The crossing pattern that sprung Dwayne Bowe for a 30-yard gain is what I'm talking about. It should be noted Bowe didn't drop a pass in 4 games. Swinging the ball to Charles tonight & McCluster in previous games, puts your playmakers on the perimeter where they have a chance to produce big plays. Moeaki even caught a pass tonight. Cassel needs all the help he can get, the line has to keep him clean, the receivers have to catch the ball & the running game has to produce in be amongst the league's top-10. I think that could actually happen, Charles & McCluster can gain big chunks of yards while Thomas Jones & even Jackie Battle can get the tougher inside yardage.
Defensively, the Packers had their way with the Chiefs pass defense for most of the night & considering our starters were in the game into the 2nd quarter, that's not good news. I liked the sack Demorrio Williams got lining up on the edge & blowing past the left tackle. Now can he do that during the regular season? I will also give credit to defensive coordinator Romeo Crennell, his schemes are better, his linebackers are making more tackles & his secondary has a chance to be very good as soon as 2011. Eric Berry & Kendrick Lewis close on the ball very quickly & they don't miss tackles. Other than the lack of an effective pass rush, last season's awful play at safety was a major factor in the defense's ineffectiveness. I'm still not sold on the defensive line's ability to swallow up blockers, freeing the linebackers to fly around making plays, just don't see it. I'm still not sold on those linebackers being able to fly around consistently making plays either. Show me, I want to see it.
Javier Arenas looks to be the type of game-changer Kansas City needs. He changes field position, making Cassel's offense play on a shorter field. He will eventually score on a punt return or returning a kickoff, he has those skills. We have a superior punter in Colquitt & if Ryan Succop can stay off the uprights, he can be a dependable placekicker.
I desperately want to be wrong about our Chiefs. ESPN The Magazine, in their NFL preview, picked the Chiefs to win the AFC West with a 9-7 record, honest they did. But there are plenty of other periodicals picking them third or even fourth in the division. I think they're better than Denver, decidedly better. I'm having a tough time getting a fix on the Raiders, but they're the Raiders, so at worst, Kansas City splits with them. So if they can squeeze out a split with San Diego, they just might win 8-9 games, I sure hope so. After the final roster is announced & the full extent of two injuries, Hali & O'Callaghan, is known, I'll make my final prediction on the AFC West.
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