Brady Quinn Staying Hungry
The fact that Derek Anderson is the Browns’ starting quarterback going into this season hasn’t discouraged second-year backup Brady Quinn; it’s motivated him more than anything else. Quinn, known for his tireless workout routine in the weight room, has become an all-around workaholic. Quinn reportedly looked impressive in minicamp and routinely spends hours after practice refining his routes and working on throws.
Quinn is the kind of player that any team would want. His work ethic could be unparalleled from a physical standpoint the way Peyton Manning’s time spent watching tape is unmatched. Some first round picks would be sulking if they knew they weren’t going to be starting the season as the team’s signal caller, but Quinn just works harder and keeps his mouth shut. He accepts that Anderson had a great season last year and isn’t calling for his turn or demanding a trade. In this day and age where too many young athletes come into the league with a sense of entitlement, Quinn’s humble demeanor and dedication serve as a breath of fresh air. The Browns must have high hopes for this young man, and I must admit that I’ve been rooting for him ever since his well-documented draft day slide.
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Jets’ Quarterback Questions
The New York Jets have a major decision to make this preseason. Head coach Eric Mangini and his staff will have to decide who the team’s starting quarterback will be, Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens. Pennington is a seasoned veteran with several seasons as a starter under his belt. Clemens, the team’s second round pick in 2006, has little experience but has showed some promise.
I would go with Clemens. Pennington might give a better-rounded team a chance to win because he usually won’t do anything to lose the game, but he just doesn’t seem to have the ability to do that much to win games anymore. Pennington has never had great arm strength, but multiple arm surgeries have left him with little to no downfield ability to speak of. Clemens is still pretty raw and is by no means a proven signal caller, but I’d give him a go based solely on his physical advantages over Chad. It’s time for the Jets to see what they have in this kid and get a read on whether he’s their franchise quarterback of the future, or if that’s something they’re going to have to address. I don’t think, even with Pennington at the helm, that the Jets are a playoff team, so giving Clemens a shot this year would enable the Jets to get a better feel for where they’re headed as a franchise.
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Youngs Needs to Improve as a Passer
Vince Young led the Titans to the playoffs last season despite throwing 17 interceptions to only nine touchdown passes. That makes one wonder how good this team could be if Young was more efficient. With a new offensive coordinator, the Titans are hoping that Young can find some balance on the field. Young has provided the Titans with a lot of intangibles during his first two seasons with the team. Despite mediocre numbers, Young has stepped in as a leader from day one and multiple players on the team has said he’s just one of those guys that a team rallies around. His big play ability has also been an enormous asset, as we saw in his now famous game-winning rushing touchdown in overtime against the Texans.
Young, now entering his third season, needs to take the next step as a passer. His decision making needs to improve and he needs to dedicate much of his time to learning Mike Heimerdinger’s playbook. The Titans have a solid defense that will always keep them in games and if Young can make some strides and enable the offense to really get rolling this team could be a sleeper to do some real damage in the postseason.
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Bills Ready to Take the Next Step?
The Buffalo Bills have not made the playoffs since the 1999-2000 season when they were ousted by the Tennessee Titans and the Music City Miracle. Since then, each preseason you hear Bills fans talking about how this is the year they’re going to break through and return to the postseason. It hasn’t materialized yet, but the fans’ optimism may not be so unwarranted this year.
The Bills have a number of up and coming players that seem to be ready to take the next step as professionals. Their defense has been improving year to year and they have young playmakers like safety Donte Whitner and linebacker Paul Posluszny. The team also added defensive tackle Marcus Stroud, an absolute beast, and linebacker Kawika Mitchell through free agency as well as corner Leodis McKelvin via the draft. The defense will give the team a chance to win but I think a lot of the season rests on the shoulders of second-year quarterback Trent Edwards. Their young offensive core consists of Edwards, speedy receiver Lee Evans, second-year running back Marshawn and franchise tackle Jason Peters. Both Edwards and Lynch played exceptionally well for rookies last season and seem poised for even bigger years in 2008-2009. Edwards and Evans appear to be developing some good chemistry and with the addition of 6-5 receiver James Hardy (the Bills’ second round pick), Edwards should have a new red zone target as well. It will be interesting to see how the season plays out in Buffalo (and Toronto).
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This Year’s Ryan Grant
For the first six weeks of last season, the Packers had no running game to speak of. After long-time starter Ahman Green left via free agency for Houston, Green Bay relied heavily on rookie Brandon Jackson initially, but Jackson didn’t appear to be up to the task. It was when Ryan Grant was inserted into the lineup that the Packers’ offense really started to roll. In a little more than a half of a season, Grant rushed for 956 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
Are there any running backs poised for a breakout season this year? Two guys that come to my mind as potential breakout players both happen to be rookies, but neither a first-round pick. Chicago’s Matt Forte and Detroit’s Kevin Smith could have banner rookie seasons. Forte steps into the starting role thanks to Cedric Benson’s tendency to have run-ins with the law and is supremely talented. Smith joins a good Lions offense with an improving offensive line. Smith won’t have too much trouble stealing carries from Tatum Bell, especially since Kevin Jones is no longer on the roster. These are two guys who tore through the competition in their final collegiate seasons and I would watch out for both of them in the upcoming NFL season.
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Fantasy: QBs to Consider
Here are some quarterbacks that you can get in later rounds of your fantasy draft to look out for in the upcoming fantasy football season.
David Garrard – Jaguars: ESPN has Garrard ranked as the 14th best quarterback this season. I think this is way too low for him. Garrard’s numbers may not wow you at season’s end, but he’s consistent and reliable. The Jags ground game is fantastic so he should get a lot of opportunities to make plays through the air with some of his new wide receivers. He also is one of the swifter signal callers in the league and should gain some yardage on the ground as well.
Kurt Warner – Cardinals: Warner likely will begin the season as a backup once again, but there’s a decent chance he is starting at some point. Matt Leinart has struggled since coming into the league and the Cards want to win now. Warner can still sling it around the field and Arizona had two of the best receivers in the league in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.
Joe Flacco – Ravens: Flacco is a sleeper. He’s a rookie going to a team that has never had a reputation for a strong offense, but Flacco could be ready to help end that trend in Baltimore. He’s a big guy who is probably the most NFL ready of any QBs taken in the draft. He could be worth using one of your last picks on.
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Bears Sign Harris to Record Deal
The Chicago Bears have inked defensive tackle Tommie Harris to a four-year deal worth $40 million, making Harris the highest paid player at the position in NFL history. Harris, Chicago’s first round pick in 2004 (14th overall), boasts an incredible combination of size, strength and speed and has been named to three Pro Bowls during his four-year career.
Some people will say that this is too big of a contract for an interior lineman who has never recorded double digit sacks in a season, but I’m here to tell you that this is not the case. Harris, in my opinion, is the best defensive tackle in the league and the best defensive player on his team. That’s right; he’s better than Brian Urlacher. The former Sooner is an absolute beast in the trenches. He is among the best at stuffing the run up the middle and is also a great pass rusher for an interior lineman. Harris also reads the snap count better than anyone in the NFL. I’ve seen him get into the backfield before the offensive linemen have even gotten out of their stances on consecutive plays. The guy just causes havoc. Sometimes it looks as if he knows exactly what the other team is going to do. I think Harris, if he stays healthy, has the potential to be a defensive player of the year and should help anchor a team that has always taken pride in its defense.
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Packers Interested in Taylor?
Reports have surfaced that the Green Bay Packers may be interested in acquiring defensive end Jason Taylor from the Miami Dolphins. Taylor has had a much publicized rocky start with the Dolphins’ new management, namely the team’s Vice President of Football Operations, Bill Parcells. A rumor has been floating around that shortly after Parcells was hired, Taylor showed up at the Dolphins’ facility looking to welcome the new VP and discuss the team’s plans for the season and the future. The story goes that Taylor encountered Parcells deep in a talent evaluation film session and when Taylor tried to get his attention Parcells blatantly ignored him. These events have not been confirmed, but I don’t think it would surprise anyone who knows Bill Parcells.
This is not to say that Parcells is not a good guy, but he’s an old school, no-nonsense type of guy and probably doesn’t like it when his defensive captain is off “Dancing with the Stars” in Los Angeles in the offseason. Regardless of what happened between Taylor and management and the status of their relationship, I think a deal to Green Bay would work from a football standpoint. The Packers are looking to win now, even without Brett Favre, and the Dolphins are in a rebuilding mode. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for a rebuilding team to hang on to a 33-year old defensive end who probably only has a few really good years left in him. Taylor could help the Packers in their attempt to seamlessly move from the Brett Favre era to the Aaron Rodgers era without missing the playoffs. It’s been reported that the Dolphins want a first or second round pick for Taylor, but if I’m Bill Parcells, I take a third and maybe a late-round pick and move on.
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Bucs Quarterbacks Aplenty
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have one less player to worry about in the overflowing well of quarterbacks on their roster. Six-year veteran Chris Simms, son of former NFL player Phil Simms, neglected to show at the Bucs first mandatory minicamp. Simms is one of five quarterbacks currently on the Bucs’ roster along with last year’s starter Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese, Luke McCown and rookie Josh Johnson. There is no way the Bucs will carry five quarterbacks during the regular season and it’s likely that two of the aforementioned players will be released or traded. Simms’ relationship with coach Jon Gruden has soured and could be the reason for his reluctance to attend minicamp.
I think the Bucs should keep Garcia, Griese and Johnson. Garcia should be the starter and Griese is a solid backup. Gruden’s rocky relationship with Simms should be enough to make the decision on him and while Luke McCown has showed some promise in his short career, I’d rather go with Johnson as my guy to develop. Johnson, a fifth-round pick, had a good collegiate career at San Diego and was the most athletic quarterback in this year’s draft. He’s definitely a project, but if he develops he could be a starter in the league, but more likely a solid backup. With Griese as the backup in case Garcia goes down in 2008, Tampa can afford to take a flier on their third string guy. Plus, you’d like to think the team drafted Johnson with the intent of keeping him.
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Spygate Squashed, Patriots Can Focus on Football
It looks like the tumultuous offseason for the New England Patriots is finally over. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., has ended his probe concerning the Spygate scandal in the NFL. So it’s back to football for the Pats. New England enters the 2008 NFL season as the favorite to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. The team that won all of their regular season games last season didn’t lose much in terms of personnel this offseason aside from the departure of all-world corner Asante Samuel. While Samuel’s departure will certainly hurt the Patriots, one must keep in mind that defense is Bill Belichick’s forte and he’s been able to do more with less on defense than any other coach in the league. Does the name Troy Brown ring a bell?
I don’t expect the Patriots to go 16-0 again, but I do expect a 13+ win season. They still have Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Laurence Maroney on offense and who is going to stop them? As far as I can tell, the only team that can challenge the Pats for AFC supremacy this year will be the Indianapolis Colts, who may have the only offense that can compare to that of the Patriots. I don’t agree with anything Bill Belechick did as far as the videotaping and I believe he did know it was against the rules no matter what he says, but you can’t deny that the man is a heck of a coach and, despite all the distractions this offseason, will have his team ready to play every Sunday.
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