SAINTS LOOK READY, VIKES HAVE A FIRE SALE & I'LL ANSWER A FEW EMAILS
If you caught any of the Saints-Raiders game tonight, you saw a New Orleans team that looks ready right now. Drew Brees picked the Raiders apart & his backup, Chase Daniel gouged the Oakland defense for 191-yards & 2 scores. In three drives, Brees took the Saints to 2 touchdowns & a field goal. The Saints are loaded with skill position talent, look for a big season out of 2nd year tight end Jimmy Graham. I loved their 1st round pick, 2009 Heisman winner Mark Ingram, who showed tonight he will be a major contributor this season. I see the Saints winning the NFC South & going deep into the playoffs.
New Orleans kicker Garrett Hartley injured his hip in tonight's game, forcing the Saints to go for 2-point conversions twice. How bad is Hartley? I don't know, but what about Jeff Wolfert who was cut Sunday by Cleveland? He was 2 for 2 on extra points & 2 for 2 on field goals, 43 & 46 yard 3-pointers. Just a thought.
The Raiders have issues, I know they're a popular pick by a lot of pundits to vie for a wildcard spot, but I just don't see it. Oakland had two great defenders, DT Richard Seymour & CB Nnamdi Asomugha, who left in free agency. The Raiders lost their leading receiver from last season, tight end Zach Miller, he left in free agency & their best blocking offensive lineman, guard Robert Gallery, also left in free agency. The Raiders signed TE Kevin Boss, he's a decent tight end, an excellent blocker but he won't catch 60-70 passes like Miller. If you saw the Raider CB's tonight, you saw they were constantly out of position. Asomugha will be missed. If you watched Saints defensive tackle Shaun Rogers flatten QB Kyle Bollar, you'd know Oakland will miss Gallery. Rookie RB Taiwan Jones displayed some jets, his acceleration is amazing but how many carries will he get as the third back behind Darren McFadden & Michael Bush? The Raiders could very well lead the league in rushing, they have the horses, but eventually they'll have to throw the ball & their pass blocking is scary plus Raider receivers haven't proven themselves to be reliable.
One great Raider mistake, Jamarcus Russell, the #1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, was in court Friday, tax court that is. JaMarcus neglected to pay his California income taxes for a couple of years, some $233,000 worth. The judge frowned upon this oversight & Russell made reparations. His Golden State home, worth $2.4 million, is near foreclosure. This guy received some $31 million from the Raiders over a 3-year period, if he really is broke, he's dumber than I thought. I think it's more of a case of he just didn't want to pay his taxes or his mortgage since he no longer lived in California. Regardless the state & his mortgage holder want their money.
I forgot to mention last Thursday, the Eagles Mike Patterson had returned to the lineup & played against Cleveland. Patterson suffered a seizure on the practice field three weeks ago but was given a clean bill of health by team doctors. He returned in style, a tackle, tackle for loss, 1 sack & a QB hit. Very important for Philly to get Patterson back in their defensive front.
Bronco middle linebacker, D.J. Williams suffered a dislocated elbow Saturday night against Seattle. He will miss 3-4 weeks. Big loss, he's been Denver's leading tackler the past two seasons. Man, the description of that injury makes me shudder, how about you?
Arizona cornerback Greg Toler sustained an ugly looking knee injury last night in the Cards game with San Diego. Number one draft pick Patrick Peterson replaced him & Phillip Rivers went after him right away. He settled down after a while & even returned a Rivers pass for a 34-yard touchdown. Losing Toler will undoubtedly hurt Arizona, but Peterson was drafted to become a starter, it just appears to be sooner rather than later.
Think this economy isn't affecting ticket sales? The Vikings will slash ticket prices for seats in the upper deck for their first two homes games. Minnesota is offering seats at a 50% reduction for the home opener against the Lions & a week later versus Tampa Bay. The move is a smart economic move for the Vikes. To avoid a blackout, they'd have to pay 34-cents on the dollar for enough tickets to exceed the blackout minimum. By selling the tickets for 50% off, the fans pay for the seats & the Vikings actually make a little on the transaction. The one sticking problem could be with fans already in these sections who paid full pop for their tickets. Nobody said it would be easy, but blackouts cause fans to lose faith in the home team.
Jerry corrected me, Seattle's Doug Baldwin returned a kickoff 105-yards the other night. I said his was the only 50+ yard return since the new kickoff rule went into effect. I was wrong, Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown ran one back Saturday night 51-yards. Thanks Jerry, I stand corrected.
Don says the tag "elite quarterback" is thrown about a lot, but what does it mean & who do I consider an elite quarterback? Here's how I see the quarterback question.
Elite
Tom Brady-Peyton Manning-Drew Brees-Ben Rothlisberger-Phillip Rivers-Aaron Rodgers in no particular order.
Very close, but not there yet
Michael Vick-Matt Ryan-Eli Manning-Tony Romo
Definite elite potential
Sam Bradford-Josh Freeman-Matthew Stafford
Dependable, but never elite
Kevin Kolb-Joe Flacco-Matt Schaub-Matt Cassel-Ryan Fitzpatrick-Mark Sanchez-Kyle Orton-Colt McCoy
Overrated
Jay Cutler(major skills but not a leader, a knucklehead)
No longer much of a threat
Donovan McNabb-Matt Hasselbeck
KCKrissy wants to know why people pile on Tim Tebow? It's strange isn't it, almost like they want him to fail. What did he ever do to elicit this kind of disrespect? It's also amazing to me why people get so invested in arguing over a backup quarterback. He's not going to dislodge Kyle Orton from the starting quarterback spot, so why all the ugliness? He doesn't deserve to start, he's not going to start, why is this an issue?
Hermstheworst wants to know who will be in the running for Stanford QB Andrew Luck? If the draft was held today, Luck would be the first player selected, not a doubt in my mind. He would've been selected ahead of Cam Newton in the past draft, also a no doubter. There's always some team that surprisingly falls completely flat. But as of today, I believe there are four teams that should be in the Luck Sweepstakes right to the end, Seattle, San Francisco, Miami & Cincinnati. I think you can rule out the Bengals after they made Andy Dalton their first pick in April's draft, but the other three have a decent shot at drafting Luck.
DonandStacy had two questions, they asked "what's the deal with Dexter McCluster, is a running back or a slot receiver?" When Kansas City signed Steve Breaston, McCluster became a full time running back. That's where he did all his damage at Ole Miss & I think it's his best position in the NFL. He knows how to get lost down field & if Matt Cassel can find him him, he can be a dangerous weapon. Their second question was "why can't the Chiefs stop the run?" It's quite simple, it starts up front. Their defensive line gets washed out, they aren't a factor. In the game the other night, they lost their gap responsibility & worse, their technique was really bad, they couldn't stay square to the line of scrimmage. Once a lineman gets turned, he loses both his power & balance & can be controlled. Dorsey & Jackson have been doing that during the preseason. Tackling, rather the lack of tackling, has been an issue as well.
JakesaHawk asked "how does a person with your very limited communication skills get their their own radio show?" They took pity on me & heard it would annoy you.
On that note, I'd like to remind you of tonight's big broadcast of "Richs Football Report on the Radio." We'll begin a little after 6PM tonight, I hope you'll give us a chance, maybe call in or submit a question or comment by email. That's KRMS 1150AM or 97.5FM here in Central Missouri or you can listen live on the internet with streaming audio. The site is www.krmsradio.com
New Orleans kicker Garrett Hartley injured his hip in tonight's game, forcing the Saints to go for 2-point conversions twice. How bad is Hartley? I don't know, but what about Jeff Wolfert who was cut Sunday by Cleveland? He was 2 for 2 on extra points & 2 for 2 on field goals, 43 & 46 yard 3-pointers. Just a thought.
The Raiders have issues, I know they're a popular pick by a lot of pundits to vie for a wildcard spot, but I just don't see it. Oakland had two great defenders, DT Richard Seymour & CB Nnamdi Asomugha, who left in free agency. The Raiders lost their leading receiver from last season, tight end Zach Miller, he left in free agency & their best blocking offensive lineman, guard Robert Gallery, also left in free agency. The Raiders signed TE Kevin Boss, he's a decent tight end, an excellent blocker but he won't catch 60-70 passes like Miller. If you saw the Raider CB's tonight, you saw they were constantly out of position. Asomugha will be missed. If you watched Saints defensive tackle Shaun Rogers flatten QB Kyle Bollar, you'd know Oakland will miss Gallery. Rookie RB Taiwan Jones displayed some jets, his acceleration is amazing but how many carries will he get as the third back behind Darren McFadden & Michael Bush? The Raiders could very well lead the league in rushing, they have the horses, but eventually they'll have to throw the ball & their pass blocking is scary plus Raider receivers haven't proven themselves to be reliable.
One great Raider mistake, Jamarcus Russell, the #1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, was in court Friday, tax court that is. JaMarcus neglected to pay his California income taxes for a couple of years, some $233,000 worth. The judge frowned upon this oversight & Russell made reparations. His Golden State home, worth $2.4 million, is near foreclosure. This guy received some $31 million from the Raiders over a 3-year period, if he really is broke, he's dumber than I thought. I think it's more of a case of he just didn't want to pay his taxes or his mortgage since he no longer lived in California. Regardless the state & his mortgage holder want their money.
I forgot to mention last Thursday, the Eagles Mike Patterson had returned to the lineup & played against Cleveland. Patterson suffered a seizure on the practice field three weeks ago but was given a clean bill of health by team doctors. He returned in style, a tackle, tackle for loss, 1 sack & a QB hit. Very important for Philly to get Patterson back in their defensive front.
Bronco middle linebacker, D.J. Williams suffered a dislocated elbow Saturday night against Seattle. He will miss 3-4 weeks. Big loss, he's been Denver's leading tackler the past two seasons. Man, the description of that injury makes me shudder, how about you?
Arizona cornerback Greg Toler sustained an ugly looking knee injury last night in the Cards game with San Diego. Number one draft pick Patrick Peterson replaced him & Phillip Rivers went after him right away. He settled down after a while & even returned a Rivers pass for a 34-yard touchdown. Losing Toler will undoubtedly hurt Arizona, but Peterson was drafted to become a starter, it just appears to be sooner rather than later.
Think this economy isn't affecting ticket sales? The Vikings will slash ticket prices for seats in the upper deck for their first two homes games. Minnesota is offering seats at a 50% reduction for the home opener against the Lions & a week later versus Tampa Bay. The move is a smart economic move for the Vikes. To avoid a blackout, they'd have to pay 34-cents on the dollar for enough tickets to exceed the blackout minimum. By selling the tickets for 50% off, the fans pay for the seats & the Vikings actually make a little on the transaction. The one sticking problem could be with fans already in these sections who paid full pop for their tickets. Nobody said it would be easy, but blackouts cause fans to lose faith in the home team.
Jerry corrected me, Seattle's Doug Baldwin returned a kickoff 105-yards the other night. I said his was the only 50+ yard return since the new kickoff rule went into effect. I was wrong, Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown ran one back Saturday night 51-yards. Thanks Jerry, I stand corrected.
Don says the tag "elite quarterback" is thrown about a lot, but what does it mean & who do I consider an elite quarterback? Here's how I see the quarterback question.
Elite
Tom Brady-Peyton Manning-Drew Brees-Ben Rothlisberger-Phillip Rivers-Aaron Rodgers in no particular order.
Very close, but not there yet
Michael Vick-Matt Ryan-Eli Manning-Tony Romo
Definite elite potential
Sam Bradford-Josh Freeman-Matthew Stafford
Dependable, but never elite
Kevin Kolb-Joe Flacco-Matt Schaub-Matt Cassel-Ryan Fitzpatrick-Mark Sanchez-Kyle Orton-Colt McCoy
Overrated
Jay Cutler(major skills but not a leader, a knucklehead)
No longer much of a threat
Donovan McNabb-Matt Hasselbeck
KCKrissy wants to know why people pile on Tim Tebow? It's strange isn't it, almost like they want him to fail. What did he ever do to elicit this kind of disrespect? It's also amazing to me why people get so invested in arguing over a backup quarterback. He's not going to dislodge Kyle Orton from the starting quarterback spot, so why all the ugliness? He doesn't deserve to start, he's not going to start, why is this an issue?
Hermstheworst wants to know who will be in the running for Stanford QB Andrew Luck? If the draft was held today, Luck would be the first player selected, not a doubt in my mind. He would've been selected ahead of Cam Newton in the past draft, also a no doubter. There's always some team that surprisingly falls completely flat. But as of today, I believe there are four teams that should be in the Luck Sweepstakes right to the end, Seattle, San Francisco, Miami & Cincinnati. I think you can rule out the Bengals after they made Andy Dalton their first pick in April's draft, but the other three have a decent shot at drafting Luck.
DonandStacy had two questions, they asked "what's the deal with Dexter McCluster, is a running back or a slot receiver?" When Kansas City signed Steve Breaston, McCluster became a full time running back. That's where he did all his damage at Ole Miss & I think it's his best position in the NFL. He knows how to get lost down field & if Matt Cassel can find him him, he can be a dangerous weapon. Their second question was "why can't the Chiefs stop the run?" It's quite simple, it starts up front. Their defensive line gets washed out, they aren't a factor. In the game the other night, they lost their gap responsibility & worse, their technique was really bad, they couldn't stay square to the line of scrimmage. Once a lineman gets turned, he loses both his power & balance & can be controlled. Dorsey & Jackson have been doing that during the preseason. Tackling, rather the lack of tackling, has been an issue as well.
JakesaHawk asked "how does a person with your very limited communication skills get their their own radio show?" They took pity on me & heard it would annoy you.
On that note, I'd like to remind you of tonight's big broadcast of "Richs Football Report on the Radio." We'll begin a little after 6PM tonight, I hope you'll give us a chance, maybe call in or submit a question or comment by email. That's KRMS 1150AM or 97.5FM here in Central Missouri or you can listen live on the internet with streaming audio. The site is www.krmsradio.com
Much better show, you might have something
Reply to this