SKINS LOSE A PAIR TO SUSPENSION, HEISMAN FINALISTS ANNOUNCED & A DUCK DISMISSED
Very quietly on Saturday the NFL suspended two members of the Washington Redskins, both starters, for repeated drug violations. Tight end Fred Davis & left tackle Trent Williams will miss four games for failing multiple drug tests this year. Very nice.
The San Diego Chargers broke a 6-game losing streak with a 38-14 win at Jacksonville on Monday Night Football. Phillip Rivers threw two quick touchdown passes in the last 1:26 of the first half to put the Chargers in front to stay. I said last season I thought Blaine Gabbert should stay in school for his senior year, after watching him play the past four weeks, I know I was right. His pocket presence is pretty shaky at times. It reminds me of his game against Ndamukong Suh in 2009, which was the first time I'd seen Gabbert flustered or rattled. He shows that from time to time as an NFL rookie. Yes, the O-line is porous, his receivers often aren't on the same page, they struggle to get separation & don't consistently catch the ball. Gabbert has Maurice Jones-Drew & that's about it. As long as the supporting cast is below average, he's going to have trouble developing into a reliable NFL QB. Comparing him to other rookie QB's isn't fair. Andy Dalton has rookie sensation A.J. Green plus a handful of quality NFL receivers. Cam Newton has 4-time Pro Bowl WR Steve Smith plus 2 very productive TE's. Minnesota's Christian Ponder has Visanthe Shiancoe & Percy Harvin. Tennessee's Jake Locker & Frisco's Colin Kaepernick have played very little. Take away the supporting casts of these rookies & their varying levels of success could be entirely different.
On Monday the NFL announced their selection for Super Bowl halftime entertainment. It's Madonna. Oh boy.
Carl Pelini, older brother of Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini & the Huskers defensive coordinator, is moving on to a head coaching position of his own. Pelini will takeover the position at Florida Atlantic University(FAU) of the Sun Belt Conference. Howard Schnellenberger had been the Owls head coach for the past 11-years, but the 77-year old has decided it's time to retire. This will mark Pelini's debut as a head coach at the college level.
On Saturday night I gave my thoughts on the Heisman Trophy candidates & who I thought would be the finalists as well as the winner. I chose Robert Griffin III as the winner & Stanford QB Andrew Luck, Wisconsin RB Montee Ball, Alabama RB Trent Richardson & LSU CB/PR Tyrann Mathieau as the other four finalists. The Heisman Trust announced the five finalists who will be in New York for the award ceremony this Saturday. It was the five I predicted. We'll see how well my predicted order of finish is this Saturday.
SMSGT Flores pointed out Virginia Tech failed to beat a single top-25 ranked team this season. He's right, I forgot to mention that. For those who have criticized my rant on the bowl selection process, if you surf the internet you'll find I'm not alone. In fact, the sentiment against the Sugar Bowl committee is universal outside the state of Virginia, no one likes it. I write my weekend posts without reading anyone else' opinion, it is on Monday I will see how far off I am in terms of the national media. Like I said, I'm not alone. The BCS rematch isn't popular, the Sugar Bowl, Holiday Bowl & UCLA's inclusion with a losing record while Western Kentucky, at 7-5, were shutout of their first ever bowl bid.
Ram quarterbacks are dropping fast. After starter Sam Bradford aggravated his high ankle sprain last Thursday, he wasn't able to play yesterday in St. Louis' 26-0 loss at San Francisco. Then late in the game, backup A.J. Feeley broke the index finger on his throwing hand. He will be out this Monday, so if Bradford's ankle isn't improved enough to play against Seattle on Monday night, Tom Brandstater, a 2nd year man from Fresno State, will be the starter. At this point I doubt it will make any difference.
Michael Vick will return to full reps in practice & will start this Sunday at Miami. The way the Phins are playing, Vick's return certainly won't be an easy one.
Todd Haley gushed over rookie Justin Houston's performance in Chicago during his Monday press conference. He said that after watching the game video, Houston's play was even better than he thought after the game. He praised Romeo Crennell's patience with Houston, incorporating him into the defensive gameplan little by little so he wasn't overwhelmed. Haley said he expects Houston to finish the season strong & with the off-season work he didn't receive because of the lockout, Houston should be up to speed by the start of training camp next July. As I've said, he can be the bookend to Tamba Hali as a pass rusher. One more item Haley mentioned. he said Brian Urlacher shook his hand after the game & said "that #56 on your team is a helluva linebacker." High praise for DJ, but he has played at such a high level this season & it's nice to hear another All-Pro at his position recognize him.
Oregon head coach said in a statement Monday All-PAC-12 cornerback & punt returner Cliff Harris was dismissed from the Ducks program. Harris was dismissed for the patented "violations of team policy & rules." What Harris was dismissed for was a straw that broke the camel's back. The uber-talented Harris just couldn't stay out of trouble during his stay in Eugene, pot, driving 118-MPH in a rental car secured for him by an athletic department secretary(who lost her job), a one-game suspension earlier this year for an undisclosed infraction before whatever it was that tipped Kelly into this action. Harris was a junior, so he can file for the NFL next month & enter the process of the combine & draft. If any of Harris' antics don't raise the proper red flags.....you were warned.........repeatedly.
The San Diego Chargers broke a 6-game losing streak with a 38-14 win at Jacksonville on Monday Night Football. Phillip Rivers threw two quick touchdown passes in the last 1:26 of the first half to put the Chargers in front to stay. I said last season I thought Blaine Gabbert should stay in school for his senior year, after watching him play the past four weeks, I know I was right. His pocket presence is pretty shaky at times. It reminds me of his game against Ndamukong Suh in 2009, which was the first time I'd seen Gabbert flustered or rattled. He shows that from time to time as an NFL rookie. Yes, the O-line is porous, his receivers often aren't on the same page, they struggle to get separation & don't consistently catch the ball. Gabbert has Maurice Jones-Drew & that's about it. As long as the supporting cast is below average, he's going to have trouble developing into a reliable NFL QB. Comparing him to other rookie QB's isn't fair. Andy Dalton has rookie sensation A.J. Green plus a handful of quality NFL receivers. Cam Newton has 4-time Pro Bowl WR Steve Smith plus 2 very productive TE's. Minnesota's Christian Ponder has Visanthe Shiancoe & Percy Harvin. Tennessee's Jake Locker & Frisco's Colin Kaepernick have played very little. Take away the supporting casts of these rookies & their varying levels of success could be entirely different.
On Monday the NFL announced their selection for Super Bowl halftime entertainment. It's Madonna. Oh boy.
Carl Pelini, older brother of Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini & the Huskers defensive coordinator, is moving on to a head coaching position of his own. Pelini will takeover the position at Florida Atlantic University(FAU) of the Sun Belt Conference. Howard Schnellenberger had been the Owls head coach for the past 11-years, but the 77-year old has decided it's time to retire. This will mark Pelini's debut as a head coach at the college level.
On Saturday night I gave my thoughts on the Heisman Trophy candidates & who I thought would be the finalists as well as the winner. I chose Robert Griffin III as the winner & Stanford QB Andrew Luck, Wisconsin RB Montee Ball, Alabama RB Trent Richardson & LSU CB/PR Tyrann Mathieau as the other four finalists. The Heisman Trust announced the five finalists who will be in New York for the award ceremony this Saturday. It was the five I predicted. We'll see how well my predicted order of finish is this Saturday.
SMSGT Flores pointed out Virginia Tech failed to beat a single top-25 ranked team this season. He's right, I forgot to mention that. For those who have criticized my rant on the bowl selection process, if you surf the internet you'll find I'm not alone. In fact, the sentiment against the Sugar Bowl committee is universal outside the state of Virginia, no one likes it. I write my weekend posts without reading anyone else' opinion, it is on Monday I will see how far off I am in terms of the national media. Like I said, I'm not alone. The BCS rematch isn't popular, the Sugar Bowl, Holiday Bowl & UCLA's inclusion with a losing record while Western Kentucky, at 7-5, were shutout of their first ever bowl bid.
Ram quarterbacks are dropping fast. After starter Sam Bradford aggravated his high ankle sprain last Thursday, he wasn't able to play yesterday in St. Louis' 26-0 loss at San Francisco. Then late in the game, backup A.J. Feeley broke the index finger on his throwing hand. He will be out this Monday, so if Bradford's ankle isn't improved enough to play against Seattle on Monday night, Tom Brandstater, a 2nd year man from Fresno State, will be the starter. At this point I doubt it will make any difference.
Michael Vick will return to full reps in practice & will start this Sunday at Miami. The way the Phins are playing, Vick's return certainly won't be an easy one.
Todd Haley gushed over rookie Justin Houston's performance in Chicago during his Monday press conference. He said that after watching the game video, Houston's play was even better than he thought after the game. He praised Romeo Crennell's patience with Houston, incorporating him into the defensive gameplan little by little so he wasn't overwhelmed. Haley said he expects Houston to finish the season strong & with the off-season work he didn't receive because of the lockout, Houston should be up to speed by the start of training camp next July. As I've said, he can be the bookend to Tamba Hali as a pass rusher. One more item Haley mentioned. he said Brian Urlacher shook his hand after the game & said "that #56 on your team is a helluva linebacker." High praise for DJ, but he has played at such a high level this season & it's nice to hear another All-Pro at his position recognize him.
Oregon head coach said in a statement Monday All-PAC-12 cornerback & punt returner Cliff Harris was dismissed from the Ducks program. Harris was dismissed for the patented "violations of team policy & rules." What Harris was dismissed for was a straw that broke the camel's back. The uber-talented Harris just couldn't stay out of trouble during his stay in Eugene, pot, driving 118-MPH in a rental car secured for him by an athletic department secretary(who lost her job), a one-game suspension earlier this year for an undisclosed infraction before whatever it was that tipped Kelly into this action. Harris was a junior, so he can file for the NFL next month & enter the process of the combine & draft. If any of Harris' antics don't raise the proper red flags.....you were warned.........repeatedly.
Hello Rich, was just wondering if I had won the correct pick for last nights game, I predicted Chargers 35, Jax 17. Didn't know if anyone had nailed it right on or closer than me. Thanks Rich and keep up the great work, I'll be talking to you Monday night.
Brandon
Reply to this
Brandon,
You won! Talk to you on Monday.
Reply to this
Awesome Rich, I was surprised how many people were picking Jax to win and I knew San Diego was due for a win and with the way Gabbert has been playing I figured it was time. Gabbert looked completely HORRIFIC on Monday night. I'm with you all the way that he should have stayed at MU. Anyhow, talk to you on Monday. Have a great weekend Rich.
Reply to this