I recently started working in the "entertainment industry" which sounds funny... but that's how we're labeled. Heh. Anyway, it leaves me with much more material to write about on this blog so stick around, it's going to be awesome. Or, you know, not. But still.
What an awesome game.
First, let me just say Mike Shanahan has stones of steel. After watching Jay Cutler throw an earlier pass backwards, Shanahan puts the game in his young QB's hands. Cutler is officially the best QB from that draft class (especially given Vince Young's emotional problems and Matt Leinarts, well, failures). Going for the 2 point win rather than the 1 point tie is something that, in Cleveland, would end in tragedy. But the Donkey's got the score and sent the Chargers to 0-2. Rough.
However, a less exciting finish came in Cleveland. And I tell you what, 10 losses in a row is a bit much, especially when we had this game. It was ours. Our defense performed miles above their expectations, holding the Steelers to 10 points. The D-line contained Willie Parker until the final play (It took him the entire game to finally reach 100 yards, which is an A+ performance by our D-line) and Big Ben was roughed up on a couple times. However, the Browns didn't win, we lost, again. 10-6, and there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. Phil Savage, Romeo Crennel and Derek Anderson are all in the Dog House right now, and if they don't win the next two games, they will be on the block. Yes, they took us to 10 wins last season, but 10 wins last season means nothing at 0-2.
The game started well, holding the Steelers locked down in the first quarter. A bad play call gave the Steelers an interception, which set up their touchdown for a 7-0 lead. It was ok, because we managed to control the clock and get the ball back with enough time to make a drive... except that we don't and instead let the clock run down and go into the clubhouse. But thats ok, we come out and control the field and force the Steelers to punt. Our weak secondary and missing Safety (Mike Adams over the injured Sean Jones) gave up a deep pass to Santonio Holmes, letting the Steelers take a 10-0 lead. Finally the Browns take over with a solid drive, getting down the field and putting up a field goal for a 10-3 defecit. And then, Mike Adams gives up another deep pass to Hines Ward, wonderful.
What We Learned...
So the season is
underway, the first game has been played and the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants
are now in the driver’s seat for NFC East supremacy. And with the first game over, we have finally
learned something about the two teams who were on the field, and here’s what I
think we saw last night.
The New York Giants
Eli manning does not look like a Super Bowl MVP. Last night, outside of a good first drive, Manning was shaken. He threw bullets into bad coverage, he bounced around a bit too much and was too light on his feat. Too many of his passes should have been intercepted, and those big plays he did make (The two deep passes to Plaxico Burress and the run for a TD) were mainly due to poor play by the Redskins' corners. Against the Eagles and Cowboys, I certainly wouldn't expect those big plays to occur. Fred Smoot biting on Play Action and letting Burress bounce around with that ball cost the Redskins this game. We know, put pressure on Eli and if your secondary can maintain any kind of zone, and Manning is an INT machine waiting to happen.
The Defense: Its hard to say this isn't a good defense. In fact, I think despite the loss of Osi this team is a very
good defense. However, these injuries have taken the elite Giants defense and made it beatable. If the Redskins O-line gets its head out of the dirt and begins playing like it should, suddenly they move the ball regularly and get some first downs. Even with an ugly O-line, Clinton Portis at times looked unstoppable running around back there. While the Giants D-line looked like a top 10 line, it didn't look like a top 5 one. Mathias Kiwanuka going down at the end of the game is a bad, bad sign. If he is ok, then the defense stays top 10. If he isn't ok, this defense is going to bottom out. Against the O-lines in Philadelphia and Dallas, this D-line may not look as hot. Its obvious that this is not the D-line that rattled Tom Brady.
Brandon Jacobs: Well, its clear to me that Brandon Jacobs is a starter in this league full time. At 5.5 ypc, with over
100 yards on the dirt, Jacobs proved he can move the ball. He was able to bruise through the Redskins D-line and just drag people forward for first downs. The hit he laid on Laron Landry was brutal, and he never slowed down. My game ball goes to Jacobs, who not only moved the offense early, but also let the Giants run out the clock when Eli Manning struggled. Now, obviously some of his success was thanks to a very good run-blocking O-line (See Derrick Ward's 4.3 ypc), but Jacobs' ability to hit the hole and break a tackle using pure strength is very impressive to me. Provided he stays healthy, he will have 1300 yards.
This team looks decent, and may reach the playoffs, but this is not the Super Bowl team... yet.
The Washington Redskins
Jason Campbell is, unfortunately, under more pressure than he deserves. He is a WCO QB who hasn't had the opportunity to play in the WCO in the NFL but for one game against the defending Super Bowl champions. Campbell looked slow and a little lost early, especially after getting sacked on his first drop back. Campbell looked better than Eli, and would have looked amazing if his receivers had performed like Plaxico Burress did. Moss was slow, and dropped obvious passes. No one could get open outside of 5-6 yard dump offs until the Giants went into prevent defense. The WCO relies on passing to your receivers right before they get open, and its obvious that Campbell doesn't have faith in his receivers to get open and get to the ball. If Campbell can build that confidence, he will have a great season, if he doesn't, expect a long year Redskins.
Jason Taylor is a very good pass rusher, but man Jamal Lewis is going to eat him up. Taylor has a lot of speed left
(And so does Andre Carter, who managed to run down Jacobs from behind on a busted run up the middle, I was very impressed). Now, we don't know how much of this was thanks to his injury, but its clear Taylor alone does not make this D-line a Giant-like rush force. Jacobs was able to move behind the guards and run for 100+ yards, Taylor is in no small part responsible for that. He could not get power up the middle and was only able to make plays by unleashing his speed on the outside. If he can't improve, this team will be in deep, deep trouble on the running game. With games against the AFC North (Jamal Lewis, Willis McGahee, Willie Parker) and the NFC West (Frank Gore, Steven Jackson), it will be a long year if they can't shape it up.
The Secondaries on both side of the ball looked bad. Santana Moss was slow, he was stone-handed, he wasn't able
to break free for big gains and outside of that really awesome catch on his back, I was unimpressed. Where was Randel El? Where were the rookies? Where was Chris Cooley? This team needed to get open on 3rd down and failed to do it, and couldn't get more than 5-6 yards on 3rd+long. There were some issues with the play calling as it is obvious that Jim Zorn is a rookie head coach. Draw plays on 3rd and long, runs up the middle on 2nd down when there isn't any hole to run through, it was mysterious and problematic. Meanwhile the defensive secondary was unable to make the plays it needed to, especially when Eli tossed it right into the hands of the DB's. Both groups need to step it up if this team plans on wininng more than 4 games this season. The Redskins have a lot of potential, that much is clear, but if Jim Zorn can't unleash it, things could get ugly.
Non-Game Note: Adam Schefter is a great choice for a sidelines reporter, he knows the game and he knows the players and staff. He has quickly become my favorite and most trusted of NFL reporters.
Now, into the Game:
First Half
-Colts come out with an onside kick, im not sure why it
seems kind of like a bizarre decision so early in the pre-season. Regardless it doesn’t work and Chris Horton
makes a great play on the loose ball.
Now Jason Campbell gets great field position to start the drive.
-Quick shot out to Cooley on a 1 TE, 3 WR set with a
back. Nice throw, Campbell
was lightning off the ball and read the defense pre-snap perfectly. Excellent job by Campbell
and a very WCO type of play call as only the 5 O-linemen remained to block.
-First run of the game, why isn’t it Betts on the
field? Cartwright makes the Colts d look
disorganized and a two TE set lets the Redskins put a lot of meat on the
field. Perfectly timed and performed run
by Cartwright for a first.
-3 Wide, 2 backs, no extra blockers but non are needed deep
to Randel El who just slipped through the zone for a big time touchdown in the
left corner of the endzone, excellently thrown for the go ahead score.
-Decent kick coverage by the Skins, keeps the return
minimal, to the 20.
-Great run defense by Springs, came out of nowhere to put
the shoulder into Addai, excellent stop.
-A reminder why Addai is a big time thread, takes a dumpoff
from Sorgi and breaks past and ugly low tackle by Smoot, just leapt over the
corner for the first down and then some.
-Ugly Sorgi pass way too high, but Clark
has the hands and brings it in for a nice gain.
Clark is a very good TE, isn’t suffering from the
loss of Hartstock.
-Woof, big hit by Reed Doughty but the big TE (I believe
Robinson) held on to it despite the pass being really high, Sorgi’s second
sailer.
-And just as soon as Doughty makes a big hit, he barfs one
up whiffing on a tackle of Clark (playing as slot
receiver) and streaking for the first down.
-#98 what a sack! He
absolutely abused the left side of the line as Robinson failed to pick up the
pressure and the DE crushed Sorgi.
-Rhodes is back, big run up the
middle.
-Another TE dump pass, and man what a failed blitz by the
Skins. But with that much time on that
much pressure, how did Sorgi not find someone down the field for the
completion? Was the coverage just that
good?
-Big hit by Washington’s
#62 on a run up the middle.
-This soft coverage on the TE’s by the Skins is killing me,
and them. Another pass to Clark
lets them get more yardage.
-Run outside by Rhodes for a big
gain, well done.
-Smoot had the ball in his hands but let it drop, a pressure
forced mistake as #98 was getting to Sorgi and forced him to take a risk into
the endzone, still no passes to the starting receivers.
-Finally good coverage on Clark, sets
up the FG.
-Another series of bad tackles by the Indy D, another big
run by Cartwright, good job.
-Quick out to Moss, nice pass and catch for a first down.
-Beautifully sold Play Action pass, deep pass through a
window, the safeties bought it and couldn’t readjust in time to stop the pass,
great play by Mr. Campbell.
-And immediately following it, a blown PA pass lets Brock
get in for the sack as Campbell
fell back a little too far on the drop back and got outside his tackles. The tackles are not athletic enough to
protect that far back, and the WCO doesn’t allow for too many extra blockers.
-Short run up the middle, nothing special but decent
blocking by the O-line
-Soft coverage on the receivers, but Campbell plays smart and
doesn’t risk a deep turnover instead settling on the short pass which doesn’t
convert for a first, this was the right decision.
-Great play action by Gray, bullet to another TE.
-Rhodes continues to pound the rock,
he should never have left Indy.
-The FB fell down on this play, just tripped over his own
feet. Ugly, but Rhodes gets some yards
anyway.
-Beautiful sailing pass to Quin Gray, even better catch by
Pierre Garcon.
-Pass blocked on the line, the #98 is doing well for
himself. (EDIT: #98 is Rob Jackson out of Kansas
State)
-A pass into heavy coverage, a poor decision but Gray looked
excellent in the pocket.
-Excellent run by Gray on the outside, and good O-line
awareness to give him room to run for the first down.
-Pitch outside takes advantage of soft coverage, lets the
back get a few yards before going down.
-Pressure up the middle absolutely shuts down the run. Excellent defensive play call.
-Nice catch by Gonzo and a decent run, even better hit by
the corner knocks him out of bounds, great job by Leigh Torrence #29 for the
Skins on the coverage.
-Bad pass, falling back and throws off his back foot by
Gray, incomplete TO on downs.
-Todd Collins in, he does not look comfortable in the
pocket.
-Nice run by Cartwright, he is taking advantage of his
playing time. Trade bate?
-Quick out to Yoder, the guy is absolutely massive!
-Play Action off to Yoder, well called play, but Collins
still looks shakey.
-False Start on a full back?
Never should happen.
-Solid run up the middle, this is becoming a theme here.
-Collins, bounced around, didn’t take a shot on the pass and
instead eats it and tried to put a bullet into tight coverage even as the
pocket closed on him. Next time, move
when the pocket collapses!
-Deep punt, lots of hangtime and an excellent stop.
-Up the gut, zero yards.
-An over throw on the rollout, however Gray looked good on
the roll. I like his poise.
-Well, Jamie Richards just blew that play, snap way over the
head of Gray out of bounds for a safety.
Bad way to audition for a job.
-Run up the guy, decent run again.
-Poor pass by Collins, poor catch by the receiver
incomplete.
-Short run, and it doesn’t matter because of a chop block
penalty.
-Collins struggles to get out of the pocket again, and this
time they get him for a sack, punt time. Collins is looking ugly out there.
-Great return- holding cancels it.
-Nice deep pass to Garcon, second time I’ve written his name
that’s a good sign for him to be 4th on the depth chart
-Excellent roll out, Gray looks great on his feet, solid pass
into the endzone, touchdown for the Colts.
-Great coverage by the Colts, stopped the return in its
tracks again. Looks like an improved
special teams by Indy after all these years of struggling.
-Good pressure on the run stopped it for a short gain, well
done by the Colts backups.
-Collins pass, way, way too low. But Fred Davis made it into something useful.
-Half back just sort of falls down for 7 yards, but for all
that gain after the contact it was a solid run.
-A bullet to Yoder, Collins needs to step up and test the
corners.
-Another run up the middle, huge hole made by the Redskins
right guard, well done.
-Another solid run, broken and bad tackles
-Collins on the check down, decent decision, almost no gain.
-Collins struggles in pocket again, fumbles! Poor pass protection, but even poorer pocket
awareness.
-One more run, sets up for FG which of course goes wide no
good.
-A bullet into coverage by Gray, nice little gain and a good
job holding on to the ball.
-Bad pass, incomplete.
-Another ugly pass incomplete, and a deep deep pass on a
roll out by Gray good job moving around the pocket again. Sets up another FG
~~~
2nd Half
-Screen run outside, nice gain by the Colts. Screens seem pretty popular in this game
-Good pass by Gray, but WR not able to bring it down,
incomplete.
-Huge run by Hart, right up the middle. Guy has burning
speed- Pollack @ RG led the way- took two defense on the snap and opened a huge
hole which Hart hit.
-Another solid run by Hart, and another run, Helmet
off! Wow this guy has legs that just
don’t stop moving.
-Great blitz pickup by the Offense, Hart lays a hit on
someone, but Gray makes a bad pass incomplete
-Tony Richard- holding penalty, guy is not helping his case.
-Busted play, Hart at fault? Ball just bounced off the hands
of Hart, bad play, but even worse because of holding.
-Another decent Hart run, but Gray too quick on the next
pass, settle for FG.
-Here comes Brennan, sets up a nice screen to Mason nice
little gain.
-Run play blown up in the backfield, bad play call great
defensive effort.
-Lots of air under the pass, but timed perfectly to the
receiver who had a good 3 steps on his corner.
An excellently timed pass but he did sort of stare the guy down.
-Timeout used? Why rookie mistake me thinks
-Nice roll out by Brennan, proving he has some mobility,
perfect touch on that short pass to Davis
for a decent gain.
-Back just plowed over the linebackers, excellent run for
that first down.
-Brennan tries to find some room, but like Collins can’t get
out of the pocket in time to avoid struggles by the tackles, sack.
-Deep, deep perfect pass right into the hands of #80 Maurice
Mann. Perfect, perfect pass. But it helps that Mann got wide open.
-Courtney Roby, huge speed on that return, great job blazing
through to the wedge.
-Overthrow by Lorenz
-Solid run by Chad Simpson, decent job for a solid gain.
-Great block by one of the receiver, springs Lorenz for a
excellent scamper for first down. Look at the big boy run!
-Chris Horton, sack!
Wow, guy has now made two huge plays.
-Deep pass, too much coverage, incomplete.
-Decent run up the middle.
-Holding, a 10 yard loss after a mediocre run up the middle.
-Deep pass, just too much however by Brennan. He had to get it over the mid zone but put
too much on it for the receiver on the sidelines. Probably not a great decision by Brennan.
-Very good rocket on that pass, right through the window for
a big first down.
-Dump off to the HB on the screen, decent gain.
-Brennan tosses a duck, ugly pass but it doesn’t count because
of offsides.
-Play Action pass to the HB, well done, solid gain.
-Poor run off the draw from the shotgun, not a fan of that
call.
-Cartwright another solid gain, slipped through the tackles
for a very hard fought first down.
-Very nice short pass over the middle.
-Bad decision by the HB running side to side rather than up
the middle. Can’t get the first down
despite being a short yardage situation. Poor decision
-Great run off the left side on 3rd down, good
job getting into the first down.
-Marcus Mason smart move to make a man miss and to pick up a
few short yards
-Another decent run by Mason
-Very good dodge in the pocket to sneak away from the
pressure. Excellent job rolling out and
laser into the hands of Mason! Smart
decision by Brennan not to try and run beyond the line of scrimmage and a solid
job by Mason to get open in the endzone.
Mason was open earlier, but I think Brennan was under too much pressure
to see him.
-PA to Garcon, guy is doing an excellent job this game.
-Rocket by Lorenz to Garcon
-Pump fake to the HB, that and a quick move into the pocket
helped Lorenz find the receiver, solid gain.
-Thrown too hard, unable to be caught thanks to solid
coverage by the ‘Skins
-Muffing a punt in the pre-season is a bad thing
-Skins come out running, surprise surprise. Though seeing this much running in the Zorn
system is a good thing, as Portis and Betts need to be a big part of this
offense
-Mason continues performing well.
-Brennan throws another ball too far, led Jason Goode the TE
too much and falls incomplete.
Cartwright up the middle, decent gain sets up the punt.
-Lorenz throws a duck.
Sailed too high, one of these is going to be picked off.
-Bullet connects, but too short for the first.
-Go for it on 4th down, but Lorenz is solid under
pressure for a first down
-Way overthrown again, too high too far.
-Pass on the run to Hall, good job by the receiver holding
on to it.
-Another great job by Chris Horton for the sack, guy has
earned a roster spot provided he can play special teams
-Duck passed deep, intercepted by Jamie Silva, I never liked
the guy in college but he got up underneath the bad pass.And a great job, cut
on the route and returned it all the way.
-Solid run, and another screen.
-Short pass, yards after carry gets the first down.
-Another solid run by Hart, great job.
-Deep pass, dropped by the receiver but the ball wasn’t
exactly wel thrown.
-Impressive catch by Hall, overthrown by Lorenz but brought
in good job.
-Another duck overthrown.
-Dump off to Hart who burns into the secondary, but soft
coverage to end the game so its not all that impressive ends game.
Redskins 30-16 Colts
Who Impressed Me:
---
Washington:
Colt Brennan- Looked very good, should become the #2 guy by the time the season starts. The WCO is perfect for his arm.
Rock Cartwright- Good job getting yardage on his play time. #3 running back though, he wont surpass either Betts or Portis.
DE Rob Jackson- Guy was a force on the right side of the D-line, if he continues to play this well he could be a backup to Taylor/Carter, guy got great leverage and really challenged the outside. Not sure about his pure speed.
CB Chris Horton- Never really saw him in coverage, but he did a great job on applying pressure on blitzes and on special teams. He will make the roster for the special teams contributions. I wonder, will they try him at safety?
Indianapolis:
Mike Hart- Solid runner, really kept his feet moving after the hit. That kind of runner will be very good in cold weather games (like games @ New England?)
Quinn Gray- Good at getting outside the pocket, very solid roll outs, kind of reminded me of a more athletic Jake Plummer. He will be the #2 guy by pre-season’s end.
Indy Corners- for an off-disregarded group these Corners really shut down the Washington receivers. The starting receivers only had 3 catches between the two of them, and the Randel El TD was just an excellent read of the zone coverage. Im not sure why they didn’t put a man on him but it might have been a blown cover.
Gijon Robinson- Caught everything that came his way, should be a decent backup and fall back target if a TE goes down. But he is just so big, I don’t know if he fits well into this offensive scheme.
Pierre Garcon: Excellent job overperforming when he was needed. I like this guy to be 4th on the depth chart at the end of the pre-season.
---
Guys I didn’t like:
~~~
Washington:
Todd Collins: Looked uncomfortable in the new system. He should go to St. Louis and stay in Saunder’s system, otherwise this guy doesn’t have much left I think.
Todd Yoder: Huge guy, but he has like no speed. In a WCO you want a TE who can get open quickly because he’s not going to block a lot, I don’t know where he fits in behind Cooley, Davis and Goode.
Backup OT’s: They struggled against the outside rush of the Colts, the pocket collapsed from the outside too often.
Indianapolis:
Jared Lorenzen and Jim Sorgi: Neither looked as comfortable in the offense as Quinn Gray. Lorenzen just sailed his passes and that is why he was picked off. Sorgi couldn’t find anyone open past 4 yards down the field.
The Left Side of the O-line: You should never get abused by a rookie 7th round draft pick like this left side did. Poor play.
DT’s- “Cartwright up the Middle” was written so often on my notes it was pathetic. If the Colts suffer any injuries on the front four, expect its run defense to plummet to 2005 numbers again.
When the Miami Dolphins signed Josh McCown to a 2 year 6.25 Million dollar contract I just about stood up and applauded. However applauding the Dolphins would get me weird looks from my friends and associates, so I passed. Much as I really liked Cleo Lemon and thought he should have been given a chance to lead this team for a season, I could think of no better replacement than Josh McCown. I know, you must be thinking that I'm crazy given that this is the same Josh McCown who couldn't win the starting job in Arizona and who played more receiver than QB in Oakland. But I really feel McCown is one of those QB's who will have a resurgence under a new regime in Miami. And here is why...
The evolution of Culpepper is more difficult to track. He did step up and have an amasing 2nd season, putting in 33 touchdowns and taking the Vikings to the NFC Championship (a feat not copied until Big Ben took the Steelers to a Super Bowl in his second season). Todd Bouman and Spergon Wynn were his backups, neither are players of any note today. But how much of Culpepper's success was thanks to Green, and how much of it was thanks to one of the best receiver duo's in NFL history with Chris Carter and Randy Moss? History would say Carter-Moss. But after 2001 Green was gone, and the team went on, but in Arizona the scene repeated itself.
In Arizona, Dave McGinnis (remember him?!) was fired and replaced with Green. McGinnis had played McCown
Best Pick: Chad Henne
Best Pick: Terrence Wheatley.
Best Pick: Vernon Gholston
The Buffalo Bills: The Bills first pick was Leonidas McKelvin, who many considered the top corner in the draft. The fact that he fell to 11 was pretty surprising, and Mckelvin could prove to be a major playmaker on defense and on special teams. James Hardy was my pick for the best receiver coming out, but now with numerous legal questions on his record, this may turn out to be a huge gamble and failure on the part of the Bills. If Chris Ellis can be trained up behind Aaron Schobel, he will be a great replacement in a few years (See Darryl Tapp in Seattle). Reggie Corner and Derek Finne were solid depth picks but will not be starters barring injury. Alvin Bowen is my big surprise sleeper pick going into 08-09. Im not a big Keith Ellison fan, and the depth behind he and Crowell are not great. Bowen will be a playmaker in years to come.
Best Pick: Alvin Bowen
Derek Anderson- 6'6'' 242. Positives: Strong arm, quick release. Negatives: Slow footwork, locks on to target
There you have it. The Ravens traded up to get back into the first to re-draft Derek Anderson. Ray Rice is going to be a playmaker, but if he see's much time in the next few seasons. He may end up being a guy who see's more time on his second team (maybe a Turner-type guy?) than his first. Gooden is a developmental linebacker, but Zbikowski will be a solid to excellent replacement for the safety position in the future. But this team needed help now, and I'm not sure they got it, especially with questionably athletic 4th and 5th round pickers.
Best Pick: Ray Rice
Best Pick: Rashard Mendenhall
Best Pick: Anthony Collins
Best Pick: Ahtyba Rubin
Best Pick: Kory Litchtensteiger
Best Pick: Brad Cottam
Best Pick: Chaz Schilens
Best Pick: Antoine Cason
Best Pick: Jason Jones
Best Pick: Marcus Howard
Best Pick: Derrick Harvey
Best Pick: Xavier Adibi
I took my mom on a date this morning. See, the original plan was to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I even made her watch Knocked Up last night so that she would (hopefully) fall in love with the characters; or at the very least be somewhat familiar with them.
I get up early this morning to go, because duh! AMC Theatre has $5.00 movies before noon, and I decide to look up what time the movie is playing. About that time I see 10,000 B.C. is showing as well and we had been wanting to see that.
Guess where we ended up? I guess it's okay, though. I mean, no matter how close my mom and I are, there's still a little part of me that would be weirded out staring at a giant penis in my face for half a movie.
So, we watched Steven Strait and swooned over him as the chivalrous male. <3 Can I just say now that I've loved him (aka had the hots for him) since Sky High? Moving on.
10,000 B.C. is about a prehistoric man walking to the "ends of the Earth" to save the woman he loves, and other members of his clan. Don't kid yourself, though, it's ALL about the girl.
It starts out really slow and I was kicking myself for not seeing Sarah Marshall but just then it picked up and I found that I actually cared whether or not D'Leh (Strait's character) succeeded. The acting was so-so. The accents were horrid in most cases. The action scenes were pretty good and the dynamics between the characters completely won me over.
Overall - 4 squees. I can't award anything less for a movie where all the guys spend their time shirtless. =)
