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The makings of a two-headed monster

September 20, 2007 at 7:27 pm | In Bruce Aryans, Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Steelers, Tight End | Leave a Comment

During this year’s draft, I was a bit puzzled when the Steelers selected Matt Spaeth in the third round of the draft. They all ready had a very good starter in Heath Miller, who doesn’t get much respect in the league, but has made a number of big plays in his young career. It made more sense once it was known that Aryans, the Steelers offensive coordinator, planned on using a lot of two tight end sets. Historically, the tight end in Pittsburgh has been a glorified tackle, used more as a blocker then as a pass catcher. But with the change in offensive philosophy, beginning two years ago and evolving further with Aryans, the tight end is becoming an important position. After two games, it is crystal clear why they drafted Spaeth. He makes for a big target at 6’7”, has great hands and has a knack for getting open in the endzone. Currently the Steelers have two former Mackey winners – an award given to the best tight end in college football – and as these two continue to develop, they could become the best tight end tandem in the NFL. And combining them with Hines Ward and the Steelers young receiving corps, it gives Big Ben plenty of passing options.

Have the Redskins finally turned the corner?

September 20, 2007 at 7:12 pm | In Jason Campbell, LaRon Landry, NFL, Redskins, Rocky McIntosh, Washington Redskins | Leave a Comment

For the second straight game the Redskins have been able to win a close one. What appears to be most impressive is that they have done this while loosing two of their starting offensive linemen, while remaining very productive on offense. The fact that Campbell did not get killed against the typically tough Eagles’ blitz is a testament to how well the backups turned starters played. The coaching staff, showing their trust in Wade and Fabini, continued to let Campbell take shots deep. Maybe even more impressive than that is the strength of Campell’s arm. We often here about a quarterback with a strong arm – particularly leading up to the draft – but seeing how far Campbell throw the ball on a number of occasions and how effortlessly it came out is truly impressive. Once he learns some touch he will be incredible.

On the negative side, the defense which played well overall gave up a little too much yardage to Westbrook. In their defense, Westbrook had an incredible game – no doubt in part because he was playing in front of his home town fans – for much of the game his quickness seemed to be on a different level. On a number of occasions, he made some of the quickest Skins defenders grasping at the air. But, as the Monday Night Crew pointed out, it will be interesting to see if he can hold up under that type of workload for a full season.

It was also a little disappointing that the stone hands in the Redskins defensive backfield is a little contagious right now. Once they get better at catching the ball, or getting more take-a-ways in general, that defense has the opportunity to be special. One has to love the young core of the defense with nearly all of them making big plays when it counted most, accented by the big hit that Landry made on 4^th down to end a potential game tying drive by the Eagles.

Prior to the season, a number of local sports media were talking about how bad the Skins “could be” this season. Based on last season, and some of the questions with the team that did not appear to be answered, it is not hard to understand why they would believe that. It is a long season, and a number of teams have started undefeated only to crash and burn later in the season. None of us knows how this season will finish for he Skins, but through 2 games they have been entertaining to watch and have provided us fans with reasons to be optimistic.

Redskins Recap: Redskins 16 Dolphins 13

September 9, 2007 at 10:21 pm | In Antwaan Randle El, Chris Samuels, Clinton Portis, Fred Smoot, Jason Campbell, Ladell Betts, NFL, Pete Kendall, Redskins, Santana Moss, Shawn Springs, Stephon Heyer, Washington Redskins | Leave a Comment

How much we take from the Skins game today is a bit unclear. What’s most important is that they won a very hard fought game against a team with a very good defense – at least based on past performance – and an offense that has the potential to be better than last year. One game does not give a good indication of how a team will play over an entire season, but there were plenty of encouraging signs. Here were a few things that I was impressed with:

Jason Campbell through a bad interception at the beginning of the game (and two overall), came back to make some big completions in a very tight game.
It was refreshing to see the Skins throw the ball down the field, which will continue to make things easier for the running game, and vice versa. How nice it is to have a QB who can actually throw it further than 7 yards.
Samuels played very well considering that he did not play during the pre-season. He and Kendall look like they are going to prove to be a great combination on the left side of the line.
Stephon Heyer continues to prove critics wrong. Called in to play due to Jansen’s possible season-ending injury and switching back to his natural RT position, the UFA played a great game. While it has been pointed out that some (unnamed) scouts believe that he is not yet ready for the NFL, in a game in which the final score counted, he played well enough not to stand out. If you have watched enough football and/or played it you know that an offensive lineman normally only stands out when they give up a negative play.
It appears that Clinton did not need to play in the pre-season after all! And with him and Betts combining for over 140 yards rushing that production will only make Campbell’s job throwing the ball that much easier.
And while the defense gave up a little more yards then they would have probably liked, given that they were put in some short-field situations, they actually continued the type of play that they have demonstrated during the pre-season. They gave up some yards in the passing game, but were able to hold the Dolphins to 13 points.

Moss, and many of his colleagues in the NFL, dropped way too many passes today. (It was amazing to see the number of dropped passes today. At times it was as if we were watching the first pre-season game.) The biggest drop was by the Smoot-mobile, who had nothing but open field in front of him near the end of regulation. Thankfully that drop did not come back to cost the team. Speaking of Smoot, while he had a fairly good overall game, I’m sure others were surprised that he started over Springs. Correct me if I am wrong, but Springs was clearly the starter following pre-season, but was only brought into the game during nickel situations???? What was this about?

Skins sign Randall Godfrey and release Lemar Marshall

August 21, 2007 at 4:54 pm | In Gregg Williams, H.B. Blades, Lemar Marshall, Marcus Washington, NFL, Randall Godfrey, Redskins, Washington Redskins | Leave a Comment

Sometimes an unforeseen circumstance can set a number of wheels in motion. I wonder if the signing of Randall Godfrey and the release of Lemar Marshall would have happened if Marcus Washington hadn’t been injured. I also wonder if this signing gives some indication to how highly they regard other individuals.

With Marcus being injured, potentially for a while, the Skins would benefit from someone experienced that could play both inside and outside LB. Enter Randall Godfrey who has played for Gregg Williams before – arguably played his best football under Gregg Williams. Godfrey has mostly played ILB but has shown the ability to play OLB as well. To make room for Godfrey, the Skins cut Marshall, which makes me believe that they made this move, in part because they feel comfortable with the progress that H.B. Blades has made during the pre-season. Plus once Washington is healthy you can also plug Godfrey in as a backup MLB.

Carol Maloney and Trevor Matich got carried away

August 20, 2007 at 9:12 pm | In Andy Pollen, Brett Keisel, Carol Maloney, Jason Campbell, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Redskins, Sportstalk980, Steelers, Stephon Heyer, Trevor Matich, Washington Redskins | 3 Comments

I was listening to the Feldman & Maloney show on Sportstalk980, when I heard some of the most ridiculous statements that I have heard in a very long time. First let me put out my disclaimer – I was born and raised a Steelers fan, but I have followed (and grown to love) the Redskins for the last 11 years. So I am pointing out that I have divided loyalties. It made watching the game on Saturday very difficult, I didn’t know who to cheer for. But I digress.

Carol Maloney said that she felt Brett Keisel’s hit on Jason Campbell was a cheap shot and he should have been ejected from the game. She went on to point out that she believed that it was Keisel’s, if not the Steelers, intention to hurt Campbell. I was amazed at what I was hearing. She continued by pointing out Kimo von Oelhoffen’s hit on Carson Palmer during the 2005 playoffs as proof that the Steelers have some sort of history with injuring opposing team’s Quarterbacks.

First let me point out that there is little that the two plays have in common except that both players (Kimo and Brett) have very high motors and play until the whistle is blown. When Kimo hit Palmer, he was being blocked just before he made contact with Palmer’s lower legs. Brett quickly got around Heyer but then stumbled in the backfield, lunged as he was going down and made contact with Campbell’s thigh. It was unfortunate that Jason got injured during the play, but it was not an intentional act. It was amazing how quiet FedEx Field got during the injury timeout. (BTW I and others could not believe that they never showed the replay on the stadium screens.)

But beyond Maloney’s rant – which she is entitled to – however misinformed it is. I was completely shocked that Trevor Matich, a former NFL player, would agree with her opinion. Trevor went on to state that Keisel was not stumbling, that he could have absolutely controlled his body – during flight – that he could have just put his arm out. I could not believe I was hearing a former NFL player. He then went on to say that if he were coaching the Redskins defense that he would have sent everyone after Rothlisberger. Since Campbell got injured, on a dirty play, then he would have made sure that Big Ben was sidelined for the rest of the year. The only person on the show who seemed to have a sensible opinion on the matter was Andy Pollen who was sitting in for Feldman.

Those of us who have watched football for any length of time and/or played it at any meaningful level know that it is a dangerous sport and that at any moment you can get injured. Thankfully it appears that Jason’s injury is not serious. My point to Maloney or Matich would have been – show me evidence that this was intentional? Furthermore, what would the Steelers have gotten out of this “intentional cheap shot?” What would they have to gain? The last I checked the Redskins are in the NFC and the Steelers play in the AFC. The Steelers would gain nothing from intentionally injuring Campbell. I could follow the logic IF it were the Cowboys and the Redskins in a pre-season game. Then you could make the argument that the Cowboys would gain something from Campbell being injured.

As part of Matich’s argument he points out that a penalty was called on the play for hitting the QB during a pass below the waist. A flag in and of itself does not make a play dirty. Hell, there are times when cheap shots are not caught by the refs by his line of logic does that mean those plays were legal? What I find interesting in the replay is that the flag does not actually come in to the picture until after Cooley has caught the pass, turned up field and gets tackled. Now, I am not pointing out that it wasn’t a penalty, by the letter of the rule it was. And on the replay I have you can not see where the Umpire is in relation to the play, so maybe he through it much earlier and it took a while for it to make it into view of the camera. But I am pointing out that it appeared as if it took him a while to decide that was a low tackle – but at least he did get the call right. But consider that it appeared that there was some indecision on the part of the Umpire but clearly he did not think that it was a dirty play or he would have ejected him from the game.

After watching the play in person and countless times on Tivo, I can only conclude that Maloney and Matich’s comments were completely baseless and a touch reckless. It is okay to be a bit upset with the fact that the starting Quarterback got injured during a meaningless game, but unless you have clear proof that someone intended to injury him, don’t go on record claiming that they did. I have seen plenty of cheap shots over the years, and I do not put that play in that category. Unfortunate yes, cheap shot no!

Will Vick get bit?

August 18, 2007 at 2:18 am | In Atlanta Falcons, Michael Vick, NFL | Leave a Comment

We are a country of dog lovers. Often times our local and national news give higher priority to stories of animal abuse then when people are being abused. That said, I hope other athletes are learning from Michael Vick’s experience. From what I can observe this was a guy who was living the life that most American males dream. He was a rich and famous NFL Quarterback, arguably one of the NFL’s most feared athletes. But he continued to make the same mistakes that a number of athletes have made, he attempted to live in two worlds simultaneously. On one hand, he did not want to appear as if he forgot where he came from, so he continued to associate with people that he grew up around. People that he new were leaving on the fringe, but he did not want to appear to sell out.

Whether he liked it or not, the moment he was drafted by the NFL his life changed. He became a millionaire NFL QB, which provides him with an incredible amount of financial opportunities, but also puts you under and awfully bright spotlight. As an athlete/entertainer people will watch and catalouge your every move. And while your celebrity can get you certain breaks, it also means that your missteps are very public.

I am not suggesting that a professional athlete should immediately turn his/her back on their friends and family once they become wealthy. In fact I believe that they are in a better position to help those that want to accomplish more in their lives. But, they should immediately distance themselves from those who are not doing anything productive with their lives. And they should surely avoid those that are doing things that are either clearly illegal or are involved in things that they wouldn’t want talked about on the national evening news.

Now, I don’t know all of the facts yet, but it is not looking good for Michael Vick. If found guilty he deserves to spend time in jail. The truly sad part is that he could have easily avoided this situation. He did not need to know whether dog fighting was illegal or not. At a minimum, he should have thought to himself – would I want reporters discussing this on ESPN? How would my sponsors react if they knew I was fighting dogs to the death? That as part of this “enterprise” dogs were being executed? Again, even if none of this was illegal (or reprehensible) he would have had to come to the conclusion that his sponsors or employer would not be happy with his participation in this enterprise.

Now, do not get me wrong I do not feel sorry for him in the least. He is an adult and me made some incredibly stupid (and criminal) decisions. He now needs to face the music. I do feel that it is sad when an individual has so much going for them and yet – because of decisions that they make or don’t make – they piss it all away.

Skins Defense: Titan post-game recap (pre-season)

August 13, 2007 at 10:37 pm | In Cornelius Griffin, Jason Campbell, Kedric Golston, LaRon Landry, London Fletcher, NFL, Redskins, Sean Taylor | Leave a Comment

While it is pre-season and you do not want to rush to any judgments, it is important to see how well individuals or portions of teams are playing. With that said, it was nice to see the Redskins defense playing as well as they did against the Titans. Now, this was a Titans offense without Vince Young, but let’s keep in mind that Kerry Collins is not that far removed from being a starter in the league.

Regardless, the defense, in one pre-season game, appeared to be playing closer to their level of 2 years ago. The combination of London Fletcher, Sean Taylor and LaRon Landry provide for a group of big hitters. While Sean had a fairly quite game, Fletcher and Landry both laid impressive hits on various Titans. Even more impressive than that, Fletcher proved to be in the middle of many tackles and demonstrated why the coaching staff went after him so hard in the off season. Another bright spot was Kedric Golston, who appears to be growing into the starting DT position opposite Cornelius Griffin.

Let me say again that this was the first preseason game and I am not making any long-term predictions, but the defense collectively and some individuals showed that they may have returned to form. Now, once the offense gets on the same page – and begins keeping Campbell upright – there might be a reason for optimism this season.

Stephon Heyer: Titan pre-season game recap

August 13, 2007 at 10:08 pm | In NFL, Redskins, Stephon Heyer | Leave a Comment

It appeared that overall Stephon Heyer, an undrafted Rookie free agent tackle with the Redskins had a solid pre-season debut. Arguably one could say that he had a better debut with the Skins then his line mate Todd Wade. It would be very interesting to see how Coach Bugel graded each player, but through watching non-game tape Heyer appeared to have a solid game for a rookie making his first start in the NFL at left tackle.

Now while there were times in which backs and tight ends chipped to his side, overall he seemed to perform more than adequately. There were a couple of occasions that it was tough to tell if he blew an assignment, someone else blew their assignment, or the Titans defense just had the right blitz called at the correct time. On those two blitzes, it did not appear that he was out of place – blocking someone else’s man for instance. But, without knowing the exact call and who has what responsibility it is nearly impossible to assign blame – if there is any blame to assign.

In retrospect, it is easy to see why the coaches like this kid. If anything, I am surprised that no one took a shot on him late in the draft. There will be plenty of late round draft picks who will get cut over the next couple weeks, and here is a guy who will clearly make the active roster. It makes you wonder about what all of the teams in the NFL, including the Redskins, didn’t like about this guy to invest a 7^th round pick on him (at the least). If nothing else, his performance demonstrates that scouting is not an exact science – hell one of the Redskins greats Joe Jacoby was an undrafted free agent during a time when there were many more rounds in the draft. Now, I am not suggesting that Heyer will be a Jacoby, I am pointing out that scouts can and do miss a few talented people. And sometimes there are a few people whose drive is larger than their talent.

Cedrick Wilson: Just give me the damn ball

August 3, 2007 at 12:23 am | In Alan Faneca, Hines Ward, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers | Leave a Comment

Reportedly, Cedrick Wilson, a wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers is unhappy that he is not getting enough passes, even when he is open. So his reaction was to spike the ball and curse. Most who have played virtually any level of football know that this is not an uncommon issue. Most will tolerate the outbursts from a receiver with a more impressive resume. Don’t get me wrong, Cedrick has been a productive player since joining the Steelers but he is not their number 1 option in the passing game, hell he may be their third option at best, behind Hines Ward and Heath Miller. The fact of the matter is that he is probably rapidly slipping behind Santonio Holmes, Nate Washington and even possibly Willie Reid (if he stays healthy). I am all for a guy who is passionate about his work, but the public temper tantrums doesn’t generally get you the results that you desire. Unless, ultimately your goal is to find a new team to play for.

Now let me say a few words about Alan Faneca. First, you have been a great player for the Steelers and arguably you are one of the best offensive linemen in the game currently. There is no doubt that based on that you would deserve to be one of the highest paid. I also can understand your frustration with seeing less qualified players receive superior contracts.

But while being frustrated is clearly appropriate – the situation stinks. Allowing those frustrations to spill out in public helps no one. In virtually every profession there are some clear truths: we are all replaceable, there will always be a few people who are less talented that will be compensated higher than more talented individuals (it sucks but it is true), and when the frustrations spill out in public the relationship will end poorly.

So if you have truly decided to move on after this year, I like other Steelers fans will miss you. We have truly enjoyed watching you work. But in the interim, keep your mouth shut and play ball. Don’t allow your frustration to turn you into a cancer on the team. When you are asked questions about your contract… you don’t have to answer. Eventually people will stop asking, if you don’t answer. In the end, I hope that it works out; I would love for you to finish your career with the Steelers. But you and I know that the Steelers are not going to make a 31 year old guard the highest paid guard in the league – teams like Detroit and Buffalo do that crap.

Football is here!

July 29, 2007 at 8:32 pm | In Football, NFL, Redskins | Leave a Comment

Training camps are opening. It is a wonderful time of the year. Nearly every fan of an NFL team believes, rightfully so, that their team has a chance to make it deep into the playoffs. I tend to be very optimistic when it comes to my favorite team – which is why I do not gamble – I cannot separate my head from my heart when it comes to my favorite teams. As the heat and humidity kick up and the pads thump at training camp, I still am left with a troubling question. When will the Redskins finally wake up and hire a Football man (or woman) to run the team. Maybe after this season, Gibbs will move to the front office full time, but until he does every successful team has had a very competent person running the front office. But as this season gets underway, I will not let that get in the way of my enjoyment of the NFL (and football in general). It feels like it has been an eternity since the last snap. Welcome back, football.