Michael Vick’s past still haunting him

The NFL Network has been counting down the Top 100 players of the NFL 2010 Season voted by current players.  Yesterday, they revealed the 20^th player down to the 11^th player.  I was amazed to see Michael Vick at #20.  Number 20 is not justified for a guy who was not supposed to start and ended up not only starting, but also carrying his team to the playoffs. 

I’m not disturbed by Vick’s placement among his counterparts at the quarterback position.  Landing at #20 puts him in the Top 5 among quarterbacks.  Aaron Rodgers is#11.  Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning are sure to be unveiled in the Top 10.  All of these guys are Super Bowl champions.  For some reason even though football is a team sport, a player’s skill level gains more respect with a championship.  So, it is to be expected that they would rank higher than Vick.

What is alarming to me is that when you take the quarterbacks out, there are 15 other players who are ranked higher than Michael Vick.  I have respect for all positions, but it isn’t a secret that the NFL is a quarterback driven league.  So how does a defensive end on a team that is ranked #23 in total defense rank higher than Michael Vick?  DeMarcus Ware is a beast.  He had 80 sacks, but the Dallas Cowboys didn’t even make the playoffs. 

I believe the ghost of Michael Vick’s past reared his head once again.  It is the reason that after a remarkable season he was not the league’s MVP, was runner up in the Madden 2011 cover contest and is now #20 on the NFL’s Top 100.   Michael Vick saved his team.  The same can’t be said for many of the guys in front of him.

The final 10 players will be presented on Sunday on the NFL Network at 8 p.m.  EST. Who do you think will be #1?

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

Time to go quarterback shopping?

I read something yesterday that reminded me that Brett Favre was 35 years old when the Green Bay Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers in the 2005 NFL Draft.  At that point Brett was still “the man.”  He had just completed a season in which he threw for over 4,000 yards and led the Packers offense to the fifth ranked team in the lead.  The defense was bad (23^rd in the league); so, a lot of fans were disappointed to see Green Bay used their 24^th pick on a quarterback.  Well, that quarterback did not play during the entire time Brett Favre remained in Green Bay.  He was learning and developing into a NFL quarterback.  Two years after he finally played his first NFL game, he led the Packers to a Super Bowl Championship and earned Super Bowl MVP honors.

This led me to think about the top two “young” starting quarterbacks of the last decade.  Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are 33 and 35 respectively; both are not showing any signs of slowing down.  However, time flies.  For the last couple of years we have heard a lot about the “old” 40 year old Brett Favre.  It makes it difficult to believe that he was the same age as Peyton when Green Bay started preparing for his replacement.

I think that there is something truly valuable about having a new team member learn under one of the best at their job.  This training helps the new team member and organization succeed. 

Should the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts follow Green Bay’s lead and begin preparing for their next quarterback? 

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

Vince Lombardi is back at home!

The Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLV and are taking the trophy named after their legendary coach, Vince Lombardi, back to Green Bay.  Congratulations to the Packers organization and the game’s MVP Aaron Rodgers!

This game held true to the saying that defense wins championships and offense sells tickets.  In my opinion, the Packers’ underrated defense fueled the team’s victory.  They dominated the first half of the game.  They kept Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers’ offense off the field and limited them to just a field goal.  As a result, the Packers were up 21 – 3 at half-time.

During the second half of the game, the Steelers fought hard to come back.  By the fourth quarter, they were within a field goal.  With the score, 28 - 25, the Packers offense could not get a touchdown, so they settled for a field goal.  The Steelers had a little over 2 minutes to get a touchdown and extra point to win the game.  The Packers defense stopped them and the game was over.

Green Bay’s defense rocked!  Yet, the MVP honors went to an offensive player.

I am not taking anything away from the brilliant game that Aaron Rodgers had.  He threw for over 300 yards and had 3 touchdown passes.  However, two of those touchdowns were the result of a turnover.  Jarrett Bush’s interception and Clay Matthew’s forced fumble that was recovered by Desmond Bishop led to touchdowns.  This does not include the interception that Nick Collins returned for a touchdown. 

In addition to this, their leader and veteran cornerback, Charles Woodson, was on the sideline for the second half of the game.  Woodson broke his left collarbone in the 2^nd quarter.  Green Bay’s Defensive Coordinator, Dom Capers, had to make adjustments and use a couple of backup players to fill this huge vacancy.  Jarrett Bush and Pat Lee stepped up and covered the position usually handled by a 7-time Pro Bowl player.  Despite the challenges, this defense got it done.  Therefore, because of their tenacity and big stops, the 2^nd Heels & Helmets® Super Bowl REAL GAME CHANGER AWARD goes to the Packers Defense.  Congratulations!

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

Super Bowl XLV: When the Packers are on Offense

Super Bowl XLV is going to feature two of the most storied franchises in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Their passion, tradition and success make them icons in the world of football.  Their city nicknames tell it all.  Pittsburgh is the “City of Champions” and Green Bay is “Titletown, USA.”  The Steelers have won the most Super Bowls with six.  While, the Packers only have half as many Super Bowl wins, they have the most NFL championships with 12.  The trophy given to the winner of the Super Bowl is named in honor of Green Bay’s greatest coach.  It is the Vince Lombardi Trophy.  See, the history of greatness runs deep in both franchises. 

To start our preview, we will examine the offense of the NFC Champion, the Green Bay Packers.  Green Bay’s offense is led by quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.  He has not been included in discussions about the league’s current top-tier quarterbacks like Michael Vick, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady.  After leading Green Bay to become the first 6^th seed playoff team in the NFC to reach the Super Bowl, he is showing why his name should be included in that conversation.  During the playoffs he had 790 passing yards and 6 touchdowns. 

The key to the Packers’ offense is Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings and James Starks.  They will need to balance their passing and running game and avoid turnovers.

Here is a look at all of the players that will most likely start on the Packers Offense next Sunday.  (Go back to our post on Offense Controls the Game to review the roles of each player.) 

Quarterback

Aaron Rodgers (#12) – Had a great playoff performance.  Known for his accuracy.  Led the league in passing yards and had the most rushing yards for a QB during the playoffs.

Center

Scott Wells (#63) – Strong and versatile.  Will need to be ready for Steelers defense blitzing.

Guards and Tackles – Block against a very tough, experienced Steelers defense.

 Daryn Colledge (#73, Left Guard) – Needs to hold off the Steelers to help the running game.

 Josh Sitton (#71, Right Guard) – Strength and speed make him the best offensive lineman on the team.

Chad Clifton (#76, Left Tackle) –  Must protect Aaron’s blindside.

Bryan Bulaga (#75, Right Tackle) – Rookie going against a top defense.

Wide Receivers

Donald Driver (#80) – Veteran option for Aaron.  Known as Mr. Reliable because of his consistency and number of starts in 12 seasons with one team.  This was his first season in six seasons accumulating less than 1,000 receiving yards.

Greg Jennings (#85) – Had his third straight season with more than 1,000 receiving yards and tied for the most touchdown catches at 12.  Led the league in passing yards during the playoffs.

Running Backs

James Starks (#44) – Rookie who led the league in rushing yards during the playoffs after getting his first start in the Wild-Card game against Philadelphia.

Quinn Johnson (#45) – Tough runner who can also block.  Not much experience, but he has not fumbled.

Tight End

 Andrew Quarless (#81) – Rookie who did not play in the first three games of the regular season.  Started because of injuries and proved that he could use his size to block.

Tomorrow we will look at the men planning to stop these guys – Pittsburgh Steelers Defense.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

Christmas weekend in the NFL

While Santa and his elves were making final preparations, packing up the sleigh, and blitzing around the globe to deliver gifts to good boys and girls, teams in the NFL were blocking, passing and blitzing to make this a Christmas to remember.  Some of them got nice gifts and others were left with a lump of coal.

NFL Week 16: The Gifts…

The New England Patriots blew out Buffalo 34 -3 and secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.  So, the AFC playoffs will go through Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.  Tom Brady continued to demonstrate why he is the highest paid player in the NFL.  He extended the NFL record to 8 consecutive games with two or more touchdown passes and no interceptions.  He has now thrown 319 passes without any interceptions.

The Lions went down to sunny Miami and won.  They came back from a deficit of 10 points and beat the Dolphins 34 – 27 on the road.  The victory gave the Lions their third win a row – something that they have not had since 2007.  Motown should be singing and dancing this holiday season.

At Soldier Field, Chicago got a quick 10-point lead against the New York Jets.  After a scoreless first quarter, the Jets’ offense came alive, scoring 24 points in the second quarter.  The lead did not last long.  After halftime, the Bears returned and took the lead again.  The Jets fought back but a Mark Sanchez interception sealed Chicago’s 38 – 34 victory.  The Jets still secured a playoff spot.  Thanks to a nice gift from the Washington Redskins.  Their victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars confirmed a Wild-Card playoff spot for the Jets.

The Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles also secured playoff spots over Christmas Weekend.

NFL Week 16: Lumps of Coal…

While Philadelphia is going to the playoffs because they clinched the NFC East division title, Mother Nature is not being nice to the Eagles.  Due to a blizzard in Philadelphia, they did not play the Minnesota Vikings yesterday.  The game will be played on Tuesday night.  This means that the Eagles will play three games in just 12 days. 

The New York Giants had six turnovers in their loss to the Green Bay Packers.  The defense allowed four touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers who just returned after suffering a concussion.  The Giants will have to put playoffs on their wish list for next Christmas.

San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Mike Singletary was fired last night.  After two disappointing seasons, the organization relieved him of his duties with just one game left to go.  I think that was more like a ton of coal.

Are you ready for some football?

Tonight MNF heads south to the Georgia Dome for its finale.  It is a divisional rivalry game between the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons.  Atlanta beat New Orleans earlier this year, so they are looking to win the series.  They are already in the playoffs, but they have not clinched the NFC South title.  At 12 – 2, with two games left, they could end the season tied with the Saints who are 10 – 4.  This is what makes this game a “must watch.”  A Saints victory would put them just one game behind the Falcons with the same conference record.  A Falcon victory tonight, would guarantee them the NFC South title and home-field advantage for the NFC playoffs.  Atlanta has not lost at home in over a year.  The Saints demonstrated that they could not handle a strong running game last week when Baltimore’s Ray Rice ran all over them.  Atlanta has someone stronger, running back Michael Turner.  He is ranked #5 this year in the league with over 1,250 rushing yards.  Two good teams, but the Saints defense will not be able to stop Atlanta passing and running.  I’m going with Atlanta tonight.

MNF kicks off at 8:30 pm on ESPN.  This week we are doing a special game watching party to support the Muskegon Rescue Mission.  Join us this week as we tackle homelessness in West Michigan the only way we know how – with fashion and football!

Ciao! 

Heels & Helmets®