Sep 27 2011

Redskins vs. Cowboys Game Recap: Romo Rises to the Occasion

Despite all of the injuries that the Dallas Cowboys were faced with, they found a way to win.

Their win may not have been very impressive, but their QB was…for his long-awaited leadership.

Dallas QB Tony Romo has temporarily silenced all of his naysayers (including myself) in regards to his inability to lead his team. His display in week 2 could have been considered a farce, but after a passionate Monday Night performance against the Washington Redskins he has shown that he can be a courageous leader.

Romo had no TDs against the Redskins, but he was able to march his team within field goal range six times with a broken rib to top the Redskins by two points. K Dan Bailey scored each of the Cowboys’ 18 points, but Romo was the hero.

One of the major, although unusual, issues that the Cowboys were forced to overcome were the botched snaps by C Phil Costa. Something was obviously occurring during the second half to cause this problem and Romo’s frustrations was quite clear as he walked to the sideline pointing to his head and saying to Costa, “Think, think.”

The Cowboys were also playing through several injuries. TE Jason Witten (bruised ribs), RB Felix Jones (dislocated shoulder), and WR Dez Bryant (bruised thigh) were among the injured who played. WR Miles Austin (hamstring) was out against the Redskins, making Romo’s job that much more difficult as evidence by his frustration in having to tell WR Kevin Olgeltree where to line up and where he should have been for his route assignment after an incompletion that could have led to only Dallas’ only TD of the game.

Redskins’ CB DeAngelo Hall proved to be rather ineffective against the Cowboys even after his wide spread announcement last week detailing that he would “put his helmet on whatever’s hurt.” Hall had a costly facemask penalty

Despite all of the injuries that the Dallas Cowboys were faced with, they found a way to win.

Their win may not have been very impressive, but their QB was…for his long-awaited leadership.

Dallas QB Tony Romo has temporarily silenced all of his naysayers (including myself) in regards to his inability to lead his team. His display in week 2 could have been considered a farce, but after a passionate Monday Night performance against the Washington Redskins he has shown that he can be a courageous leader.

Romo had no TDs against the Redskins, but he was able to march his team within field goal range six times with a broken rib to top the Redskins by two points. K Dan Bailey scored each of the Cowboys’ 18 points, but Romo was the hero.

One of the major, although unusual, issues that the Cowboys were forced to overcome were the botched snaps by C Phil Costa. Something was obviously occurring during the second half to cause this problem and Romo’s frustrations was quite clear as he walked to the sideline pointing to his head and saying to Costa, “Think, think.”

The Cowboys were also playing through several injuries. TE Jason Witten (bruised ribs), RB Felix Jones (dislocated shoulder), and WR Dez Bryant (bruised thigh) were among the injured who played. WR Miles Austin (hamstring) was out against the Redskins, making Romo’s job that much more difficult as evidence by his frustration in having to tell WR Kevin Olgeltree where to line up and where he should have been for his route assignment after an incompletion that could have led to only Dallas’ only TD of the game.

Redskins’ CB DeAngelo Hall proved to be rather ineffective against the Cowboys even after his wide spread announcement last week detailing that he would “put his helmet on whatever’s hurt.” Hall had a costly facemask penalty that gave the Cowboys 15 extra yards in addition to the 30 yards gained by Bryant.

The Redskins took a major risk when they decided to continuously blitz the ‘Boys. Two straight all out blitzes with nine defenders stacked in the box proved to be the nail in the coffin for the ‘Skins. With a second down, the ‘Skins stacked the box for the all out blitz that forced an incompletion for Romo, but afterwards during third down and another all out blitz with nine in the box yet again and Bryant in one-on-one coverage, Romo completed his longest pass of the season to Bryant.

Outside of the mistakes made by the defense of the Redskins, QB Rex Grossman showed his “true” colors. Everyone has wondered when the Grossman of past would appear and during the fourth quarter he showed up in a major way.

Not only was Grossman sacked three times during this game, but he fumbled (forced by LB Anthony Spencer) with 28 seconds remaining. LB Spencer Lee proved to be a defensive presence all night against the Redskins and he recovered the fumble to secure the victory over the Redskins.

While Romo found a way in which to rise to the occasion, while Grossman found a way to flop. Romo has statistically been an elite QB, but has left far too many doubts in the minds of all watching. After his gutsy performance in week 2 and his passionate execution in week 3, Romo may be on the verge of ushering in a new era.

that gave the Cowboys 15 extra yards in addition to the 30 yards gained by Bryant.

The Redskins took a major risk when they decided to continuously blitz the ‘Boys. Two straight all out blitzes with nine defenders stacked in the box proved to be the nail in the coffin for the ‘Skins. With a second down, the ‘Skins stacked the box for the all out blitz that forced an incompletion for Romo, but afterwards during third down and another all out blitz with nine in the box yet again and Bryant in one-on-one coverage, Romo completed his longest pass of the season to Bryant.

Outside of the mistakes made by the defense of the Redskins, QB Rex Grossman showed his “true” colors. Everyone has wondered when the Grossman of past would appear and during the fourth quarter he showed up in a major way.

Not only was Grossman sacked three times during this game, but he fumbled (forced by LB Anthony Spencer) with 28 seconds remaining. LB Spencer Lee proved to be a defensive presence all night against the Redskins and he recovered the fumble to secure the victory over the Redskins.

While Romo found a way in which to rise to the occasion, while Grossman found a way to flop. Romo has statistically been an elite QB, but has left far too many doubts in the minds of all watching. After his gutsy performance in week 2 and his passionate execution in week 3, Romo may be on the verge of ushering in a new era.

Sep 21 2011

Jaguars Still In Search of Their Guy: Blaine Gabbert Will Start

After years of searching for a franchise QB, it appears as if the Jacksonville Jaguars are going with their 10th overall pick, Blaine Gabbert.

The Jaguars named QB Luke McCown as the starter after releasing David Garrard. McCown threw 4 interceptions in a loss to the New York Jets.

On Wednesday morning, Del Rio reportedly called both McCown and Gabbert into his office in order to notify both players of the change.

Gabbert struggled during the preseason, but played well (although briefly) during the fourth quarter against the Jets.

Del Rio likely realizes that his time as the head coach of the organization is limited and has been making some aggressive moves in order to improve the team and retain his job.

The Jaguars originally noted that they wanted to give Gabbert more time to become acclimated to their system because of the lack of mini camps, OTAs, etc. Apparently Del Rio’s time has almost run out and Gabbert will have to step in for the organization in their week 3 appearance against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers which should be an interesting game of rookie QBs.

Sep 21 2011

Are Players FAKING Injuries? The Rams Seem To Believe So

The St. Louis Rams are making the claim that the New York Giants were faking injuries during Monday night’s game.

According to ESPN.com, the Rams believe that the Giants were faking injuries in order to disrupt their no-huddle offense.

Rams’ QB Sam Bradford noted that, “Someone said, ‘Someone go down, someone go down,’ so someone just went down and grabbed a cramp.”

The NFL will not punish players for “faking” injuries unless a player admits that he faked an injury; which is unrealistic. The official rule book makes mention that the Competition Committee doesn’t approve of the feigning of injuries and that coaches are “urged to cooperate is discouraging this practice.”

The Rams are bringing the issue to the attention of the league, but the question is brought up as to whether or not the faking of injuries is a regular occurrence.

During Sunday’s game of the San Diego Chargers vs. the New England Patriots, Patriots QB Tom Brady was noticeably upset about the Chargers’ defense appearing to slow their no-huddle offense because of injury timeouts.

With more and more teams utilizing hurry up or no-huddle offenses, the NFL may be forced to find a way to ensure that the integrity of the game does not boil down to an injury timeout.

This can seem impossible, but the NFL has made such attempts years ago by taking away timeouts due to injuries in the final two minutes of either half. This has been the only way in which to truly make the game fair.

While the league is concerned with the safety of players, the fairness and integrity of the game is just as important.

Sep 6 2011

Jacksonville Jaguars Release David Garrard

Jack Del Rio has persisted throughout the off-season that QB David Garrard will be the starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Apparently, the organization has decided to move on from their inconsistent QB; something that I have said should occur since the start of the 2009 season.

QB Luke McCown has been named the starter for now, having outplayed both Garrard and Blaine Gabbert during the preseason.

David Garrard was given the largest contract in Jaguar history and became the starter for 2009 after never having played an entire season in the NFL as a starter.

He was obviously as inconsistent then as he is now.

Del Rio is another weak link on the team and to adamantly stand by two QBs who were never franchise type QBs and for him to consistently play a role poor drafts, the team is still lacking leadership.

They have lost defensive coordinators Mike Smith (current head coach of the Falcons) and Gregg Williams (DC of the Saints who won a Super Bowl his first season there), players such as Mike Peterson, John Henderson, Fred Taylor, Marcus Stroud…I won’t continue.

The point is that the franchise has been drowning for several years now and .500 seasons with a few playoff appearance here or there is not a cause for celebration in Jacksonville. Facing Manning and the Colts and Johnson and the Texans is never a simple task. The Colts typically win the division and it becomes  fight for a wildcard spot among the other three teams.

At least the Jaguars have taken the first of many bold moves to come (hopefully). Gabbert could easily be the QB of the future for the team and if he gets a new head coach next year, things could be looking up for Jacksonville.

Sep 5 2011

Jim Tressel Given a Six Game Suspension By Colts

Ohio State Buckeyes college football head coac...

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Ohio State’s former Head Coach, Jim Tressel, was hired by the Indianapolis Colts as a Gameday Consultant. Amid the ongoing situation with former Ohio State QB, Terrelle Pryor (currently a QB with the Raiders), the Colts’ organization chose to discuss actions that they should take with Tressel moving forward. The Colts released a statement today with President, Bill Polian, stating:

“At Coach Tressel’s suggestion, and with Mr. Irsay’s concurrence and support, we have decided to begin Coach Tressel’s employment effective with our seventh regular season game. We have informed the league office of our decision and expect that they will be supportive of it.

We are very happy Coach Tressel will be joining us.”

As Pryor and the Raiders continue his appeal of a five game suspension in the NFL carrying over from the suspension that he would have served had he not entered the NFL’s Supplemental Draft; Tressel opted to forgo criticism and apparently “set the example” by taking a six game suspension.

Tressel was to serve a five game suspension along with the other students who were determined to have received “improper benefits.” Now, he will begin analyzing video in week 7 of the NFL season to assist Colts’ Head Coach, Jim Caldwell, with determining questionable calls that should be challenged.

Sep 4 2011

Michael Vick: Confident or Cocky?

Most of us have heard the now infamous quote during an interview by Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports with Eagles QB, Michael Vick. For those who did not hear the quote or those who may need something to jog your memory, Vick told Silver:

“I’ve been hearing that for years. You can’t design a defense to stop me, especially not on this team. We have so many weapons, and some teams have tried to make that their primary focus. That’s when we run up the score.”

Essentially by making this statement, Vick gave defensive coordinators such as Gregg Williams, Dom Capers, Dick Lebeau, and Bill Belichick (also a HC) an indirect middle finger (that he’s been known to give to his own fans).

Having been a Vick supporter since his days at Virginia Tech, I found myself contemplating if his quote was simply confidence or arrogance.

Of course to play and be successful in the NFL, one must have confidence. Vick is no different. He has always shown his confidence, but within the past two years he has shown more humility than confidence. Do people expect him to continue to apologize for his mistake?

Probably…but it looks like more of the old Vick (as far as his confidence level is concerned) is returning. He has a right to be confident after the season that he had last year combined with the weapons that surround him currently. He knows that he is the starter and that he has earned every bit of his new contract. His confidence shows a belief in himself as well as a belief in the rest of the team. Some call it confidence, some may call it swagger.

On the flip side, with this latest quote, Vick’s confidence can easily be viewed as conceit, arrogance, or just plain cocky.

Of the DCs previously mentioned, two are in the NFC with Vick and the other two, Vick could easily see in Super Bowl XLVI (assuming the “Dream Team” makes it there). When you hear the names of those DCs, you expect a hard-hitting, blitz-filled, package disguising, dominating defense to touch the field. You also know that these DCs pride themselves on being prepared each week.

You can bet that these DCs have spent their extremely long off-season preparing for each offense that they will face and figuring out how to stop them…including game planning against the elusive Michael Vick.

For the defensive players who were already out to sack, intercept, or make a big hit on Vick if he attempted to gain yardage on the ground; they now have their extra boost of motivation.

Teams such as the Patriots are known for their quiet confidence. The press typically expects to hear that they only focus on the next game. Well, Andy Reid is not Belichick and Vick is not Tom Brady. Their styles could not be more polar opposites. It does not make either style right or wrong, they are simply…different.

I mention that to say this: It NEVER matters if you are confident or cocky if your walk can back up the talk.

This debate may linger on throughout the season, but ultimately the winner will only be determined at season’s end.