The NFL opened its doors, school is in session

The NFL is in full swing!  NFL Kickoff weekend is like the first day of school.  New coaches, new players, new stadiums lead fans to get new TVs, grills, NFL game packages and of course gear.  This is all necessary to start the school year.  Ask any kid; you can’t go back to school without new supplies and new gear!

The two things that always made me anxious about the first day of school were the unknown and a new beginning.  I did not know what to expect from my new teacher.  Older students may have told me about the teacher, but I had not experienced his or her class myself.   Week 1 in the NFL is the same way.  It is the only week that teams prepare for without regular season game tapes of their opponents.  Sure they read about training camp and watch some preseason games, but teams will not truly know what the other teams are made of until the first game of the regular season.

So how was the first day of school?  Let’s take a look.

Welcome Back Carroll - Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks Head Coach, enthusiastically returned to a NFL sideline after coaching the University of Southern California Trojans for 9 seasons.  He was welcomed back with smiles and the smiles got bigger after Seattle trampled on the 49ers 31 – 6.

Unfair Detention – The Detroit Lions loss to the Chicago Bears 19 – 14 at home.  Many blame this on Calvin Johnson’s “touchdown” being ruled incomplete.  For the record, according to NFL Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 1 it was incomplete.  The rule states:

Going to the ground. If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.

The rule may need to be changed, but as Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz said, “He didn’t finish with the football.”  I really respect Coach Schwartz not blaming this loss on one call or one play.  Four quarters of football were played and the loss does not simply rest on a play that happened in the last 31 seconds of the game.  Going forward, the problem for the Lions is that their starting quarterback, Matthew Stafford, suffered a shoulder injury and may be out 4 – 6 weeks.  Just when I had them winning 4 games this year. 

Needed more summer school – The Redskins beat rival, Dallas Cowboys at home 13 – 7, but it was not because they did anything great.  Redskins quarterback, Donovan McNabb, showed hints that he can still compete at an elite level with nice completions to Santana Moss and one run of 17 yards.  However, the offensive line did not protect well and the defense was lackluster.  On the other side of the ball, the Cowboys offense just couldn’t connect and the defense seemed confused.  Both teams need some work.  It was a disappointing matchup that was supposed to be a battle between archenemies.

Bullies not so scary after all – With thousands of microphones around to catch every word that Cincinnati wide receivers, Ochocinco and T.O. say; I was expecting the dynamic duo to be a threat and… catch a lot more balls.  Despite both receivers reaching milestones, Ochocinco surpassed 10,000 passing yards and T.O. topped 15,000, the offense did not live up to the hype.

Teachers Pet – Over the weekend, Tom Brady, became the highest paid player in the NFL.  The $72 million contract makes the two-time Super Bowl MVP a Patriot for four more years.  New England Head Coach Bill Belichick summed up his feelings on the contract extension by saying, “There’s no other quarterback I’d rather have.”  Yesterday, Brady displayed why.  He had 258 yards, completed over 71% of his passes, did not throw an interception and led the Patriots to a 38 - 24 win over Cincinnati.

After school – Tonight Monday Night Football (MNF) starts the regular season with a double header.  The Baltimore Ravens head to the New Meadowlands Stadium to face the New York Jets at 7 p.m. EST and the Kansas City Chiefs will open its doors to the San Diego Chargers at 10:15 p.m. EST.  My thoughts?  The Jets and Ravens both have strong defenses and new additions to their offense, but I’m giving the edge to the Jets.  As for Kansas and San Diego, there is no competition.  Even without LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers will win in Arrowhead Stadium.

College men - The ACC had a bad weekend because their four ranked teams (Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech and last season’s conference champ, Georgia Tech) lost to nonconference opponents.  Miami is the only school that remains in the ranking at #17.  The Big 10 is shining.  Penn State #22 loss to Alabama, but the conferences other three ranked teams (Ohio State #2, Iowa #9 and Wisconsin #12) all pulled out victories.  Michigan entered the top 25 at #20 (AP) and #22 (USA Today) after beating Notre Dame. 

Ciao! 

Heels & Helmets

A.D. the best in the NFL, but not in fantasy football

The key to drafting running backs and wide receivers for your fantasy football team is not how good they are as individual players.  This is important, but the most essential component is the type of offense they are in.  Does the offense have a stronger running game or passing game?  It will not suit your fantasy team well if you draft the strongest running back in the league who racked up the most rushing yards, if he now has an offensive coordinator who wants to pass more.

Today let’s look at some options at the running back position.

2011 Super Bowl players - Reggie Bush (New Orleans Saints); Pierre Thomas (New Orleans Saints) and Joseph Addai (Indianapolis Colts) are all good running backs in the middle of their careers.  Bush has been average because of knee injuries the last couple of seasons, but it appears as if he has completely rehabilitated his knee and will show "Who Dat" fans just how good he is.  Addai on the other hand, suffered a concussion during preseason.  It is not certain whether or not he will be ready for the start of the season.  All of these players are on “pass happy” teams.  But with Drew Brees and Peyton Manning as QBs any team would be.

Newbies – C.J. Spiller out of Clemson was selected #9 (the first running back) by the Buffalo Bills.  The other rookie running backs drafted in the first round were Ryan Matthews (#12 to San Diego Chargers) and Jahvid Best (#30 to Detroit Lions). 

Matthews has ran the ball (carries) most of the time for the Chargers during the preseason and reminds people of his great predecessor, LaDainian Tomlinson.  One problem is that he does not have much experience catching short passes which the Chargers use often.

Best is fast.  I’m just curious about his durability.  He only carried the ball one time last Saturday against Cleveland because he felt “tight.”  Time will tell if this actually means that he has a minor injury.  The Lions have not had a solid consistent performer in the backfield (behind the quarterback) since Barry Sanders left.  If Best remains healthy, he could be the starting running back in Motown. 

So far in the preseason, C.J. has lived up to the hype about the speed he displayed in college and at this year’s combine.  The down side for C.J. is his small stature.  In college a running back can get away with being quick and small.  Not in the NFL.  The defense is comprised of BIG, grown men.  They will catch him.  And, it will hurt. 

Seniors – LaDainian Tomlinson (New York Jets) and Ricky Williams (Miami Dolphins) are both in their early thirties.  This gives their respective offenses experience.  L.T. is getting settled with his new team.  During the preseason he has had long carries of 40 plus yards demonstrating that he still has the ability to be a weapon on offense. 

Ricky is risky.  At 34, his body is not as worn out as other 34 year olds.  Between retirement and suspensions, he has not played as much as his counterparts who have been in the NFL for 10 seasons.  He rushed for over 1,000 yards last season.  You just don’t know if Ricky will abruptly retire and start a holistic medicine practice.

Great Ones - Chris Johnson (Tennesse Titans) and Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings) are the leagues best at the moment.  They both are good runners, can catch short passes and understand their offenses.  Johnson had the most rushing yards last season.  He beat A.D. by almost 700 yards.  This isn’t solely because of A.D.’s production and fumbles.  The Titans ran the ball a lot.  It is Johnson’s offense.  A.D. is on Brett Favre’s offense.   No one expected Favre or the Viking’s to have the passing game that they had last year.   With Favre returning to Minnesota, I expect that the Vikings will continue to go to the air.  As a result, I am putting Chris above A.D.

Tomorrow we will look at wide receivers.

Heels & Helmets Fantasy Football League Draft on September 6 online at noon!  Who will you pick?

Ciao! 

Heels & Helmets

2011 Super Bowl Champs...

The New York Jets.

OK, I normally don’t do this.  Actually until last week, it was totally against my rules.  I think it is crazy to start talking about the Super Bowl in the spring.  Training camp hasn’t started, rosters are not confirmed; I mean T.O. still does not have a home this year.  So it doesn’t make any sense at all!  However, I was called out and in my excitement went against my own rules.

I entered Oprah’s contest to have a show on her network, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).  The show idea I presented was a sports show (what else?) for women.  Similar to the way we enlighten all of you on what’s going on in football, the program would cover sports topics and educate women on all sports.  For my video audition, I illustrated a few of the segments that would take place when we discuss football.  One is “Hail Mary.”  During this portion of the show, “my friend,” Mary, will ask for an explanation of the game or game prediction.  So, my real friend producing my audition acting as “Mary” asked, “Who do you think will win the Super Bowl next year?”  Instead of using the time to explain my rule and share the top teams that I think will be contenders as of that day, I made a prediction. 

The New York Jets.

The Jets did have a very good season last year.   They made it all the way to the AFC Championship with a rookie quarterback.  They added a veteran running back, LaDainian Tomlinson, and a top wide receiver, Santonio Holmes (he’s a Buckeye, but I give credit when it is due) to their roster.  I am excited about what they will accomplish this fall, but it is June!  I am not supposed to discuss Super Bowl predictions before training camp, confirmed rosters and the dreadful word… injuries.  Yet, I did.  So, I am going for the Jets.

Let’s Go J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets, Jets!

See everything that I had to say about the New York Jets winning it all next year and while you are there vote for me and tell everyone you know to do the same thing!

http://myown.oprah.com/audition/index.html?request=search&q=Shavannia

Ciao!

Heels &  Helmets

Change IS Coming

There are tons of changes going on in the world of football.  Jake Delhomme is changing his jersey to the Cleveland Browns.  Tim Tebow is changing his throwing motion.  LaDainian Tomlinson is changing is home to the New York Jets.  And most newsworthy, Calvin Coolidge High School changed football coaches and she is ready for the job.  Yes, ladies SHE!  Coolidge’s new head coach for its varsity football team is Ms. Natalie Randolph. 

So what do all of these changes mean?  Let me tell you what I think. 

The Cleveland Browns have struggled at the quarterback position.   Jake is the second quarterback that the Browns have secured in one week.  (They also acquired Seneca Wallace from Seattle.)   His two-year deal allows Cleveland to have a veteran lead their offense while developing a young quarterback for the future.  I think we'll see them pick up another quarterback during the NFL Draft.

Tim Tebow is a serious athlete and competitor.  He is trying to do everything in his power to silence all of the naysayers and get drafted in the first round as a quarterback.  You have to love his work ethic.

The New York Jets were pretty close to reaching the Super Bowl this year.   They are pleased with the development of their rookie quarterback, Mark Sanchez, and wanted to have a strong backfield support him.  However, they did not want to pay Thomas Jones’ roster bonus.  Acquiring a veteran like LaDainian Tomlinson gives them another powerful running back in their rotation.  Unlike a rookie, LaDainian will be able to go out on the field and be active immediately.

Coach Randolph leading the Coolidge Colts is simply groundbreaking.  I’m looking forward to seeing what she does with the team.  Yes, ladies change is coming.  Congratulations Coach Randolph! 

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets