JonCJG
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 2,175
- Reaction score
- 162
PFT PIC OF THE DAY
Cadillac Williams studies for final exams at Auburn.
http://www.profootballtalk.com/photo.htm
POSTED 11:52 p.m. EDT, July 17, 2006
PFT PRESEASON POWER RANKINGS: NO. 16
With 16 teams in the books, at least every division -- except one -- has had at least one team on our list of the bottom half of the NFL franchises. Most have had at least two.
To date, only the NFC East has been spared. And we think it's high time to add one of the division's quartet of teams.
After all, one of them is going to finish in last place. So at least one of them, no matter how strong the division is, won't make it to the postseason.
But which?
Eeny. Meany. Miney. . . .
Philly.
The Philadelphia Eagles.
The best news? Terrell Owens is gone. The worst news? Terrell Owens is gone.
Even though he was a complete and total turd, Owens gave the Eagles something they didn't have before he arrived, and don't have in his absence: A receiver who can get behind coverage so consistently that he draws at least two defenders virtually all of the time.
Of course, there are only a handful of such guys in the NFL. Randy Moss. T.O. Steve Smith. Sanata Moss. Chad Johnson. Torry Holt, maybe.
With Owens, the Eagles were the conference's class, even when he was a pain in the ***. Without him, the best they can hope for to be is the same team that lost three straight NFC title games.
But we're far from certain that the team can get back to where they were pre-T.O. The division is significantly better than it was when the Eagles ruled the roost, quarterback Donovan McNabb is coming off of an injury-plagued season, and the natives are getting pretty damned restless.
As to McNabb, there's a broader question. Can he get past the whole Owens thing? At times, McNabb has seemed abnormally obsessed with T.O., referring at one point to Owens' treatment of him as "black-on-black crime."
Owens has stoked the fires lately with new book, which dumps even more on McNabb. For example, Sal Paolantonio of ESPN recently addressed whether McNabb is the person who, according to the T.O. tome, killed a possible return by Owens after the feces hit the fan.
So how will McNabb respond to T.O.'s presence within the same division? Though surely McNabb will seem at ease as he offers up a humorous quote or two about the situation, only Donovan knows whether the extra tension resulting from Owens playing for the Cowboys will mess with the veteran quarterback's head, which according to T.O. is something that happens in big games.
Elsewhere on offense, the team isn't much different than it was in 2005. The biggest news is that the crappy backup quarterback (Mike McMahon) has been replaced by an equally crappy backup quarterback (Jeff Garcia). Competent but not spectacular, the Eagles' offense is capable of scoring enough points to win games, but won't blow anyone away.
The defense might actually be a little bit better than it was in 2005, thanks to to arrival of defensive end Darren Howard, a solid complement to Jevon Kearse. But the key will be the middle of the defensive line, and the team still hasn't found a replacement for Corey Simon. Whether rookie Brodrick Bunkley can make an impact as a rookie will go a long way toward determining the total quality of the squad.
So even though the Super Bowl window has slid shut, the Eagles might get back to the top of the conference before too long. Of the other three NFC East teams, our guess is that two of them will do a backslide within two years. The Eagles are the best suited of the bunch to continue to be competitive well into the future.
For now, though, the reality is that the other teams in the division are too good and too much happened to the team within the past year to permit a quick turnaround.
Next, the fantasy grades.
Quarterback: Donovan McNabb's only season with a passer rating higher than 86.0 was 2004, when it rocketed to 104.7. Coincidence? Or could it be that 2004 was the only year in which McNabb had a receiver like Owens on the field -- and didn't have a piece of intestine poking through the flesh in the vicinity of "Little D"? This year, we assume that everything, um, down there is in proper working order. But Owens is gone, and so is much of McNabb's mojo. He gets a C.
Running back: Brian Westbrook is overrated as a running back, but a solid all-around contributor. He racked up more than 1,200 combined rushing and receiving yards in 12 games last year, and nine touchdowns. We like what he brings to the table, but he's not a top-tier guy. He gets a B-.
Wide receiver: Reggie Brown will be counted on to fill the void as the team's No. 1 wideout. He'll get plenty of passes thrown his way. What he does with them remains to be seen. For now, he gets a B- for potential -- and because there really isn't anyone else on the team who can make much of a difference at the position.
Tight end: L.J. Smith quietly had a solid season in 2005, catching 61 passes for 682 yards. On a team devoid of high-end receivers, he might be a good second-tier tight end option. B-.
Defense: Ranked No. 23 statistically in 2005, the Philly defensewasn't as solid as it's been in the past. Let someone else draft them higher than they merit based on reputation.
Kicker: David Akers' production slid in 2005 due to injury and some uncharacteristic accuracy issues. Coupled with the loss of Owens on offense, we'd look elsewhere at this position.
POSTED 7:45 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 8:18 p.m. EDT, July 17, 2006
PORTER WON'T BE A LEADER (HE WAS ONE?)
Lost in the past five weeks of worry and concern regarding the status of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is the fact that one of the highest-profile players on the team's defense still has a stick up his butt regarding his salary.
Linebacker Joey Porter, whose missed time during offseason workouts supposedly was linked to a knee injury, has made it known in recent weeks (a source with knowledge of the situation tells us) that without a contract extension Porter will merely play ball and not be a leader.
Porter? A leader? In what respect? How to be a loud mouth? How to properly wear sunglasses inside the White House?
How to get shot in the ***?
Even more than Charles Barkley wasn't a role model, Joey Porter isn't a leader. The ability (and willingness) to speak does not a leader make; leaders influence other players in positive, not negative, ways.
A real leader would never suggest that he's going to give a half-assed effort, either on the field or in the locker room, if unhappy with his contract. A real leader would either honor the deal that he signed or get the situation resolved.
Porter should realize that the Steelers don't extend contracts with more than a year remaining (except for mediocre quarterbacks coming off of uncharacteristically strong seasons). And he should understand that he's benefiting in large degree from a system that has manufactured a string of linebackers who, for the most part, coincidentally saw their effectiveness plummet after signing elsewhere. So he should let it go, especially for the coming year.
Still, Porter wants more than his $3.85 million salary in 2006 and $4 million salary in 2007.
Don't count on it happening, especially if his reaction to the team's resistance will be even more of the words and deeds which confirm that Porter's only positive non-football contribution to the franchise has been his overplayed "Who ride? We ride!" routine.
BEN DOESN'T LOOK RIGHT
Okay, we've now seen several images of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger since he took off the KISS makeup, and we're convinced that something is wrong with his right eye.
Apart from lingering blood in the white stuff next to the iris, his eyes don't line up like they used to. Though we're not opthamologists or optometrists -- and we haven't stayed in a Holiday Inn Express lately -- we've got a feeling that the ability to see a football field while wearing a helmet and standing in the middle of a swarm of large men with bad intentions might depend on whether the quarterback's eyes aren't messed up in some way.
Peripheral vision, in our view, is the key. If Big Ben has lost any of the peripheral vision in his right eye, that's a problem. Though for a right-handed quarterback the notion is that the left side is more critical because it's the "blind side," the last time we checked quarterbacks tend to look straight down the field when setting up to throw. In Roethlisberger's case, any inability to see what might be coming toward the side of the body in which the ball is held could be a big problem.
The official (and unofficial) story remains that no one knows whether, when, and how well Roethlisberger will be able to play. But even though Big Ben looks pretty good for a guy who left a face print on a windshield last month, we won't believe that he's in football shape until we see it with our own eyes.
http://www.profootballtalk.com/photo.htm
POSTED 11:52 p.m. EDT, July 17, 2006
PFT PRESEASON POWER RANKINGS: NO. 16
With 16 teams in the books, at least every division -- except one -- has had at least one team on our list of the bottom half of the NFL franchises. Most have had at least two.
To date, only the NFC East has been spared. And we think it's high time to add one of the division's quartet of teams.
After all, one of them is going to finish in last place. So at least one of them, no matter how strong the division is, won't make it to the postseason.
But which?
Eeny. Meany. Miney. . . .
Philly.
The Philadelphia Eagles.
The best news? Terrell Owens is gone. The worst news? Terrell Owens is gone.
Even though he was a complete and total turd, Owens gave the Eagles something they didn't have before he arrived, and don't have in his absence: A receiver who can get behind coverage so consistently that he draws at least two defenders virtually all of the time.
Of course, there are only a handful of such guys in the NFL. Randy Moss. T.O. Steve Smith. Sanata Moss. Chad Johnson. Torry Holt, maybe.
With Owens, the Eagles were the conference's class, even when he was a pain in the ***. Without him, the best they can hope for to be is the same team that lost three straight NFC title games.
But we're far from certain that the team can get back to where they were pre-T.O. The division is significantly better than it was when the Eagles ruled the roost, quarterback Donovan McNabb is coming off of an injury-plagued season, and the natives are getting pretty damned restless.
As to McNabb, there's a broader question. Can he get past the whole Owens thing? At times, McNabb has seemed abnormally obsessed with T.O., referring at one point to Owens' treatment of him as "black-on-black crime."
Owens has stoked the fires lately with new book, which dumps even more on McNabb. For example, Sal Paolantonio of ESPN recently addressed whether McNabb is the person who, according to the T.O. tome, killed a possible return by Owens after the feces hit the fan.
So how will McNabb respond to T.O.'s presence within the same division? Though surely McNabb will seem at ease as he offers up a humorous quote or two about the situation, only Donovan knows whether the extra tension resulting from Owens playing for the Cowboys will mess with the veteran quarterback's head, which according to T.O. is something that happens in big games.
Elsewhere on offense, the team isn't much different than it was in 2005. The biggest news is that the crappy backup quarterback (Mike McMahon) has been replaced by an equally crappy backup quarterback (Jeff Garcia). Competent but not spectacular, the Eagles' offense is capable of scoring enough points to win games, but won't blow anyone away.
The defense might actually be a little bit better than it was in 2005, thanks to to arrival of defensive end Darren Howard, a solid complement to Jevon Kearse. But the key will be the middle of the defensive line, and the team still hasn't found a replacement for Corey Simon. Whether rookie Brodrick Bunkley can make an impact as a rookie will go a long way toward determining the total quality of the squad.
So even though the Super Bowl window has slid shut, the Eagles might get back to the top of the conference before too long. Of the other three NFC East teams, our guess is that two of them will do a backslide within two years. The Eagles are the best suited of the bunch to continue to be competitive well into the future.
For now, though, the reality is that the other teams in the division are too good and too much happened to the team within the past year to permit a quick turnaround.
Next, the fantasy grades.
Quarterback: Donovan McNabb's only season with a passer rating higher than 86.0 was 2004, when it rocketed to 104.7. Coincidence? Or could it be that 2004 was the only year in which McNabb had a receiver like Owens on the field -- and didn't have a piece of intestine poking through the flesh in the vicinity of "Little D"? This year, we assume that everything, um, down there is in proper working order. But Owens is gone, and so is much of McNabb's mojo. He gets a C.
Running back: Brian Westbrook is overrated as a running back, but a solid all-around contributor. He racked up more than 1,200 combined rushing and receiving yards in 12 games last year, and nine touchdowns. We like what he brings to the table, but he's not a top-tier guy. He gets a B-.
Wide receiver: Reggie Brown will be counted on to fill the void as the team's No. 1 wideout. He'll get plenty of passes thrown his way. What he does with them remains to be seen. For now, he gets a B- for potential -- and because there really isn't anyone else on the team who can make much of a difference at the position.
Tight end: L.J. Smith quietly had a solid season in 2005, catching 61 passes for 682 yards. On a team devoid of high-end receivers, he might be a good second-tier tight end option. B-.
Defense: Ranked No. 23 statistically in 2005, the Philly defensewasn't as solid as it's been in the past. Let someone else draft them higher than they merit based on reputation.
Kicker: David Akers' production slid in 2005 due to injury and some uncharacteristic accuracy issues. Coupled with the loss of Owens on offense, we'd look elsewhere at this position.
POSTED 7:45 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 8:18 p.m. EDT, July 17, 2006
PORTER WON'T BE A LEADER (HE WAS ONE?)
Lost in the past five weeks of worry and concern regarding the status of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is the fact that one of the highest-profile players on the team's defense still has a stick up his butt regarding his salary.
Linebacker Joey Porter, whose missed time during offseason workouts supposedly was linked to a knee injury, has made it known in recent weeks (a source with knowledge of the situation tells us) that without a contract extension Porter will merely play ball and not be a leader.
Porter? A leader? In what respect? How to be a loud mouth? How to properly wear sunglasses inside the White House?
How to get shot in the ***?
Even more than Charles Barkley wasn't a role model, Joey Porter isn't a leader. The ability (and willingness) to speak does not a leader make; leaders influence other players in positive, not negative, ways.
A real leader would never suggest that he's going to give a half-assed effort, either on the field or in the locker room, if unhappy with his contract. A real leader would either honor the deal that he signed or get the situation resolved.
Porter should realize that the Steelers don't extend contracts with more than a year remaining (except for mediocre quarterbacks coming off of uncharacteristically strong seasons). And he should understand that he's benefiting in large degree from a system that has manufactured a string of linebackers who, for the most part, coincidentally saw their effectiveness plummet after signing elsewhere. So he should let it go, especially for the coming year.
Still, Porter wants more than his $3.85 million salary in 2006 and $4 million salary in 2007.
Don't count on it happening, especially if his reaction to the team's resistance will be even more of the words and deeds which confirm that Porter's only positive non-football contribution to the franchise has been his overplayed "Who ride? We ride!" routine.
BEN DOESN'T LOOK RIGHT
Okay, we've now seen several images of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger since he took off the KISS makeup, and we're convinced that something is wrong with his right eye.
Apart from lingering blood in the white stuff next to the iris, his eyes don't line up like they used to. Though we're not opthamologists or optometrists -- and we haven't stayed in a Holiday Inn Express lately -- we've got a feeling that the ability to see a football field while wearing a helmet and standing in the middle of a swarm of large men with bad intentions might depend on whether the quarterback's eyes aren't messed up in some way.
Peripheral vision, in our view, is the key. If Big Ben has lost any of the peripheral vision in his right eye, that's a problem. Though for a right-handed quarterback the notion is that the left side is more critical because it's the "blind side," the last time we checked quarterbacks tend to look straight down the field when setting up to throw. In Roethlisberger's case, any inability to see what might be coming toward the side of the body in which the ball is held could be a big problem.
The official (and unofficial) story remains that no one knows whether, when, and how well Roethlisberger will be able to play. But even though Big Ben looks pretty good for a guy who left a face print on a windshield last month, we won't believe that he's in football shape until we see it with our own eyes.
:laugh1: 
