News, Notes & Rumors Week 2 of the preseason

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NOTE:  Next week I will discuss in some detail all the preseason game performances by the starters.

Injuries continued this week.  TE Dustin Keller MI tore all the ligaments in his knee and has a dislocated knee cap.  He is out for the season.  The Fish may trade for a starting quality TE.  But this injury will really hurt the development of QB Tannahill.

The Broncos lost 3 players Saturday against the Seahawks.  CB Champ Bailey left with a serious foot sprain, WR Wes Welker had an regular (not a high) ankle sprain and G Louis Vasquez had a knee injury.

The Browns lost 4 players to injury including OG Pinkston (high ankle sprain), RB Dion Lewis (broken leg),  and TE Barnidge (knee sprain).  In addition first round pick Barkevious Mingo suffered a bruised lung and spent 2 nights in the hospital.  He should be ready for the opener against the Dolphins.  The Jets lost LB Quinton Coples (ankle) and the Giants lost WR Victor Cruz (heal).

Bills QB E.J. Manuel has a knee issue and will not play the rest of the preseason.  He had a minor knee procedure on Sunday.  The bad news for QB Kevin Kolb … Read more at FryingPanSports

Thoughts about Black Monday in the NFL

Thoughts about Black Monday in the NFL

 

Browns:  The one gift I had to wait for was the firing of HC Pat Shurmur.  I am not a fan of former Bronco HC McDaniel but he would be better than Shurmur.  Of the coaches expected to be released my choice for the Browns would be Ken Whisenhunt.  He is a D guy but a good coach that made the best of the bad personnel decisions made by a poor GM.  My second choice would be Lovie Smith if he is let go.  Both have been to a Super Bowl and would run a tight ship without being a dictator.

 

I have mixed feelings about GM Tom Heckert being fired.  While he has by far done the best job of any GM the team has had since 1999 that is not a very high standard.

 

Cowboys:  They are out of the playoffs thanks to QB “Captain Collapse” (I want a copyright on that phrase) Tony Romo.  It will not cost his HC a job but this team has underperformed for years.  Maybe Jerry should think about firing his GM—himself.

 

Cardinals:  Ken Whisenhunt deserved better than he is going to … Read more at FryingPanSports

News, Notes and Rumors

By
Bill Smith

News:

The Eagles were one of my Golden 5 picks against the
Seahawks—to lose of course.  They did and
the team is in shambles.  With just 4
wins the entire organization is on the hot seat.  But right now it does not look like HC Reid
will lose his job.  However, he may opt
to quit to take one of the jobs that will be open.

The Bengals are not ready to challenge either the
Ravens or the Steelers yet.  But they are
much better and are the odds on favorite to take over when age finally takes
the other two down.

While the Colts have not yet won, they are not
giving up.  They scored 24 against the
Pats.  That is a good sign for them but a
very bad sign for the Pats D.  The Pats
cannot win in the playoffs with a pass D that bad.

The Tebow effect is alive and well.  He brought the team back against the Vikes to
win 35-32.  The Broncos may even make the
playoffs but the run first O will not go far against the top teams in the AFC.

The Cowgirls are struggling.  The loss to … Read more at FryingPanSports

Will this week be full of upsets in football?

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College games:

Louisiana Tech 20 @ #3 Boise St 49 – Boise looked just OK against a very out manned LTk team. The play of LTk did not do Boise any good convincing the pollsters or the computers they deserve to be higher.

#1 Auburn @ Mississippi – The Tigers shouldn’t have any trouble with Ole Miss but they probably will struggle early. Auburn plays great against really good teams but tends to play down to the level of the lesser SEC opponents. Auburn wins.

#2 Oregon @ USC – The Ducks looked really good against an up and down UCLA team. But this is USC and it is the closest thing the Trojans will get to a bowl game this year. The key will be how does USC handle a fast and nasty Duck D? The Oregon D holds its own but the USC D is not nearly what it has been in previous years. Oregon passes the test and wins.

#5 Michigan State @ #18 Iowa – The Hawkeyes looked like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football after the 1 point loss home against Wisconsin. The loss took them to the back of the Big 10 1 … Read more at FryingPanSports

Notes and thoughts on week 2 of the NFL preseason.

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AZ @ TN

This game was a “Tale of 2 QBs.” Titan QB Young and Card QB Leinart both must have good seasons to stay on their respective teams.

Young looked better in replacing QB Collins last year than ever before. However, he has to take another major step forward to become an NFL quality starter. He has reportedly worked hard to learn the O. His footwork seems better than in previous years. But still when is pressured, his improved mechanics break down. But he is still a remarkable athlete. If he ever gets “it” he can become an outstanding QB. He did make better reads than he did even last year.

RB Johnson is the best back in the game. The O line is capable of opening small holes and Johnson squeezes through them. He has outstanding speed and can break any catch or run for 6 points.

The Titan D was blitz crazy despite being in the preseason. The LBs were getting to the QB and the coverage for the most part was good. Anderson hit on one long play vs the blitz.

Leinart’s problem has been accuracy. He is not a blitz killer like Warner was and … Read more at FryingPanSports

The NFL turns it back on Ohio fans!

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Ohio in general and Central Ohio in particular are being cheated by the NFL schedulers. Only 4 states have 2 teams in the same conference. But the other 3 are separated by customs, distance and interests.

Oakland area NFL fans only see the Chargers as that team way down south that is a division rival.

And nobody really cares about scheduling conflicts of Buffalo (vs. the Jets) or Jacksonville (vs. the Dolphins). Both of those teams are likely to be moving soon due to lack of attendance.

But the Browns and the Bengals share a history that is unique in the league. The Browns and the Bengals were both started by Paul Brown. That has caused mixed loyalties all over the state. But the NFL does very little to use the schedule to allow fans of each team to see their clubs games.

This year for example 8 weeks of the 15 (17 weeks less the two games against each other) have direct conflicts. The league could easily have avoided 5 of the 8 by scheduling Fox games (those played at home against NFC teams) on separate weeks. Instead the league scheduled both teams to play on Fox at the … Read more at FryingPanSports