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2009 NFL First round draft order: 1. Detroit Matt Stafford QB, Georgia
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Ain't nobody gonna beat dem Saints Not this year anyway's. With all this talk about global warming it is hard for me to imagine hell freezing over, but if the Ain't's, I mean the Saints won the Super Bowl then what's next. This for a team that did not even win a playoff game until a few years ago. New Orleans has had a football team since 1967 and their fans have been some of the best and, well, loyal in the history of professional football. Yes these fans who made the team more famous for wearing bags over their heads during the rough stretches then for the teams play on the field and have been with the Saints through thick and thin. The days of the Superdome being a hellish refugee for tens of thousands of people after hurricane Katrina are long gone and the team victory will give the people of New Orleans something to feel good about and that is the best way to help an area get back on it's feet. What a game. Both teams lived up to their top rankings. Defense does indeed win championships. That theory was put to the test two weeks ago in the Conference Championships when the teams with the better defense both lost. The New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings had better years on D then the Colts or the Saints, but it did not matter as the better overall team won the game. New Orleans should that their D was as good as anybodies in the game by doing something no other team could do all season to Peyton Manning and the Colts. Shut them down in the second half. Indy has had their problems in the first half of games this season, but the second half has been a different story. The Colts took a 10-0 first quarter lead behind a Matt Stover 38-yard field goal and a Peyton Manning to Pierre Garcon 19-yard touchdown pass. It looked like the Colts might rout New Orleans, but the Saints defense took over after that and held the Colts to a third quarter Joseph Addai touchdown run. That did put the Colts back in the lead at 17-13 with just over six minutes left in the 3rd. Garrett Hartley answered back with his Super Bowl record third field goal of more then 40-yards. This time his 47-yarder made it 17-16 Colts. It stayed that way until the 4th quarter with Drew Brees got the Saints the lead before New Orleans defense put the game away with a pick six. Tracey Porter stepped in front of a Manning pass intended for Reggie Wayne and took it to the house 74-yards away for the game and Super Bowl clinching play with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter. After the Colts jumped out to that 10-0 lead New Orleans out scored them 31-7 the last three quarters. To their credit Indy still had their chance to win the game. The Colts were driving to try and tie the score when Porter got busy with his pick six. All there is now to do is see how long the party will last in New Orleans. With Mardi Gras coming up in a few weeks I am sure this will be one year that few down in the Big easy who were a witness to the Saints winning the Super Bowl will ever forget.
It's going down in the Big easy There have been many parties in New Orleans. Just hearing the name makes people who have never been there think of a party. Well there has never been a party like the one that is still going on down in New Orleans. The Saints made it all happen with more then a little help from a Minnesota Viking team that played great defense but their D could not overcome all the turnovers Minnesota's offense coughed up. Minnesota's defense did every thing they could to keep the team in the game. They gave up under three hundred yards of offense to one of the most high powered offensive team in the history of the NFL, but five turnovers did them in. Minnesota's defense played so well that New Orleans still needed overtime to get it down. The Saints won the toss in OT and went right to work. The Vikings D did not go out like punks and they forced a 4th and 1 at the Minnesota 40-yard line. New Orleans head coach Sean Payton made the call of his life and choose to go for it instead of giving back to a Minnesota offense that was having it's way with the Saints D. Tailback Pierre Thomas leaped over the line and was popped by a Minnesota linebacker and almost fumbled the ball, but he held on. First and ten New Orleans. four plays later Garrett Hartley lined up for the biggest 40-yard field goal in the history of the state of Louisiana. The second year kicker drilled the kick to set off a party that took three or four days to stop. The Vikings offense have themselves to blame for this one. Time after time they kicked themselves in the butt. Minnesota out gained the Saints by over two hundred yards (475 to 257). Drew Brees made the most of his 197-yards passing while Brett Farve threw away his 310-yards. Brees threw three TD's in the game. Farve, on the other hand, had just on TD and two picks. The final one cost the Vikings a shot at getting to the Super Bowl at the end of Regulation. The Vikings were driving at the Saints 41-yard line when it happened. Brett Farve rolled out to his right and saw a little open field and Sidney Rice crossing over the middle. Instead of taking about five to ten yards and getting out of bounds, Farve fired a strike towards the middle of the field. Tracy Porter said 'thank you very much' as he stepped in front of the pass and picked it off to save the game for New Orleans. Once again Farve throws an interception that ends his teams season, a few plays away from a Super Bowl. Three years ago it was Farve who served one up late in the NFC Championship game against a Giants team that went on to spoil the New England Patriots perfect season. Now the Saints will get a chance to stop on of the greatest season's in NFL history. The Colts could have ended the season 16-0. Indy pulled most of their starters in the third quarter of a 15-10 game against the Jets in week 15, not wanting Peyton Manning to take any un necessary hits from a Jets defense that led the league in fewest point given up in 2009. With nothing to save themselves for in the AFC Championship game the Colts came from behind to beat the up and coming Jets and their rookie QB Mark Sanchez 30-17. After a scoreless first quarter the Jets got the ball rolling by jumping out to a 17-6 lead in the second quarter before a Manning to Austin Collie 16-yard touchdown pass with 1:13 left in the first half made it 17-13 Jets at the half. That drive answered a Jets field goal and it showed the Colts they could beat New York. The Jets had their number at first. It was a case of good defense trying to beat a good offense, which is the way it is supposed to work. Not when you have a quarterback like Manning. Peyton went on to saw the Jets up in the second half with two more touchdown passes and he finished with 377-yard passing in the game. The Colts defense turned the trick on New York offense, shutting them out in the second half. Indy's D has been under rated all season and they could be the difference in the Super Bowl against the Saints who had trouble against Minnesota's D. Look for the Colts to come out on top and win their second Super Bowl in four year. Manning is too good and New Orleans offense, despite it's big play capabilities has been shut down at times this year.
The big boys are up next in round two of the 2010 NFL Playoffs The teams with the four best records in the NFL New Orleans, Indy, Minnesota and San Diego have all reaped the reward of having a good regular season. One week off to heal up and get back some of the fresh feeling they had at the beginning of the season.
They are good for a reason and after watching the first round of the 2010 NFL Playoffs I know each team will be ready to play. Nobody wants to go out like the New England Patriots. They gave up a 83-yard touchdown run to Baltimore's Ray Rice on the first play of the game and it just got worse from there. The Ravens went on to score 24pts in the first quarter and the game was over. New England looked bad and what was left of the crowd was either Baltimore fans or they were booing Tom Brady and the rest of the team. Minnesota gets a Dallas squad that could be playing the best defense in the NFL right now. I know they will get a vote from the Philadelphia Eagles whom the Cowboys spent the last two weeks thrashing. Week 17 of the NFL season saw the Eagles and Cowboys play for the division title. 24-0 Dallas. It was the second shutout in a row for the Cowboys. That set up a rematch with the Eagles in Dallas for the wildcard round of the 2010 NFL Playoffs and it was more of the same. This time Dallas pounded Philly 34-14. Michael Vick tied the game at seven in the second quarter with an Eagles playoff record 76-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin. It was all Dallas after that. The Cowboys scored the games next 27-pts. The last 20 of the first half and their only points in the second half, a third quarter 73-yard touchdown gaunt by Felix Jones. Brett Farve will have to be one his game if the Vikings are to score some points against the Dallas D. The Colts will now get down to the business at hand. Trying to win a Super Bowl. They gave up on a chance for a perfect season in a week 16 loss to the New York Jets and finished the season 15-1. They would have been just the third team in NFL history to win all their games in one season after the 2007 New England Patriots and 1972 Miami Dolphins. I guess Indy head coach Jim Caldwell realized that more teams have won Super Bowls with losses then teams with perfect records. Caldwell did set a record for wins by a head coach by a rookie head coach. The Colts showed no rust the next week when they had no problems in a regular season ending win. Now the best offense in the game will get tested by one of the best defense's in Baltimore. Peyton Manning is playing the best football of his life right now and he is ready for what ever anybody has to offer. Look for the Colts to move in the playoffs with a home win against the Ravens. The Colts will not make the silly mistakes New England made last week and the Ravens will have to earn what they get against the Colts. The New orleans saints have been all over the place this season. They started the season by throwing their way into the history books with nine touchdown passes in the first two weeks. It looked like a 6,000-yards 55-touchdown year for starting quarterback Drew Brees. the next two games saw the Saints not get a touchdown pass but get two blowout wins never the less and they were on their way to a 13-0 start and the top seed in the 2010 NFC Playoffs. Now those same Saints have lost three games in a row to finish the season 13-3 and they must get things rolling against a Arizona team that just got through putting up 51pts in a 51-45 win over the Green Bay Packers in the Wildcard round of the NFC Playoffs. The Saints might not want to get into a scoring battle with Arizona. The Saints have not scored more then 17pts during their three game losing streak. This coming after scoring less then 26pts just once this season. Which New Orleans team will show up. The one that scores like they are on a video game or the one that barley beat the lowly St. Louis Rams and Washington Redskins. The Saints have had the benefit of a pretty soft schedule. New Orleans played only four teams that ended the season with a winning record. They did finish 3-1 in those games, but the game they lost, 24-17 to Dallas, started this current three game losing streak.
The Jets were left for dead by their coach Rex Ryan after they lost 10-7 to Atlanta Dec. 20th. Their were three games left in the season and every thong had to go right in order for the Jets to make it in. Well every thing did go the Jets way and they rode the steady play of their rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez to a first round playoff win over the Bengal's. Sanchez is the third rookie QB to lead his team to a playoff game in the last two years. Sanchez will have to play like a vet if he is to lead the Jets past a San Diego team that has won their past 11-games. Starting quarterback Phillips Rivers had his best season to date, passing for a career best 4,254-yards with 28-touchdowns and just nine interceptions. Tailback LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for just over 700-yards but he did score 12-touchdowns and he looks fresh for the post season and San Diego's defense has big play capabilities. The Jets do boost the NFL's stingiest defense. New York gives up a league low 14pts a game and the Jets have not given up more then 15pts in any game since losing 31-14 at New England eight games ago Nov. 22nd.
NFL season heats up as playoffs near It has been quite a season so far in the NFL. Drew brees got things rolling with nine touchdowns passes in the New Orleans Saints first two games (a NFL record) and the Saints have not looked back. The Saints and Indianapolis Colts are the last two unbeaten teams left in the NFL. Both have ridden the play of the two best quarterbacks in the NFL, Brees and the Colts QB Peyton Manning. They are playing like Super Bowl contenders. New Orleans had a little trouble with the woeful St. Louis Rams two weeks ago beating them 28-23 behind two touchdowns from Reggie Bush. The Saints breezed by the New England Patriots last Monday night 38-17 in perhaps New Orleans best played game of the season. The Colts, on the other hand have been here before. In fact Indy has won 20-regular season games in a row, just one short of the NFL record held by the team the Colts beat a few weeks ago, the New England Patriots. The last time Indy lost during the regular season was Oct. 17th. against 2008 when they lost to Tennessee. As fate would have it that is who the Colts take on this Sunday. Tennessee has been reborn since Vince Young was reinserted into starting line at the quarterback position and opening day starter Kerry Collins was benched after a 0-6 start to the 2009 season. All Young has done is go 5-0 since his return to the starting line up and the Titans are right back in the thick of the wildcard race to make the playoffs this year.
Two teams stand alone at the midway point of the 2009 NFL season Just New Orleans and Indianapolis remain un-beaten this year. Both are 8-0 and have three game leads in their division. New Orleans has continued to take that next step you need to take if you are going to play for a Super Bowl. Yes it is very early, look how long Peyton Manning needed to get over that hump, but the Saints have been impressive in most of their wins. New Orleans have the highest scoring offense in the NFL (303pts), but they have given up only 174pts (seventh best in the NFL). Brees became only the second quarterback to throw for more then 5,000-yards last season, but the Saints missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record. Do they have a defense to go with that passing attack ?. Brees has made everybody forget about tailback Reggie Bush and the happiest person just might be Reggie. Without the spot light on him can has been able to relax and just go out and play football. Having a quarterback like Brees slinging the ball around it has opened up room to run for Bush and the running game. Reggie has only 277-yards (55-carries), third on the team but he has scored five TD's rushing and one receiving. Bush has 29-catches for 207-yards and he is becoming the dual threat he was drafted to be. He can do this because the Saints have a one two punch at the tailback position with Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell. Thomas leads the team in rushing with 492-yards and Bell has chipped in with 439-yards. The Saints are fifth in the league in rushing with 1,360 to go along with the passing of Brees Their rushing defense is another story. They rank in the bottom half of the league in yards given up (20th, 1,038-yards) and 12-rushing touchdowns. That is just two less then the Oakland Raiders who have given up a NFL high 14-rushing touchdowns so far this season. Indy got lucky to stay un beaten when they beat New England 35-34 win over New England Sunday night with the help of a coaching blunder by Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Instead of punting on fourth down up by six points late in the game from your own 28, Belichick rolls the dice and goes for it on 4 & 2 with 2:08 left in the game. A short pass from quarterback Tom Brady to running back Kevin Fault was only good for a yard and a half, Colts ball. A punt might not have mattered. Indy had ran through New England the last three times they had the ball, scoring touchdowns to close what was a 31-14 game to 34-28 at the two minute warning. Patriots teams of the past would have put the Colts away. It would not have even come down to the 4th and two. It did, the Colts stopped them and Manning coo lead Indy to the game winning touchdown, a one yard pass to Reggie Wayne with 13-seconds left in the game. Peyton Manning has been on point this season. He leads the NFL in passing yards (2,872) and touchdown passes (20). He has made Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark into the best one two combo in the NFL. The Colts can attack you from all different angles. Wayne in second in the NFL in yards (879) to Randy Moss (891), but tied for first in touchdowns with Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald (8). Clark is not very far behind in production. He is 3rd in the NFL with 64-receptions, second in the NFL with seven touchdowns and fifth in receiving yards (768). Manning has plenty of options when he drops back to pass.
Denver stays un beaten, Indy and Philly roll You can add one more team to the list of teams beaten by the Denver Bronco's. New England became the latest victim after Denver won in overtime 20-17. The Bronco's had to pick themselves up off the ground to do it.
Starting quarterback Kyle Ortman had the best day of his career with 330-yards passing and two touchdowns, both to wide receiver Brandon Marshall. The last one came with just over five minutes left in the game to tie the score at 17. There are now five teams still unbeaten in the NFL. The New York Giants, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New Orleans and Denver are still perfect. Everybody has been on the Denver Bronco's watch for two weeks now. Surely Denver who not get past the big bad Cowboy's, but when they did a few eye brows were raised. Now that they beat New England, coming back know less, people have to give them their respect. Their 32-year old rookie coach Josh McDaniels can and has handled the pressure of life in the NFL as a head coach. With the sorry state of the AFC West, only the San Diego Chargers will finish above .500, Denver should be a lock to make the post season. Somebody almost always falls after getting off to a fast start in the NFL. Out of the last five undefeated teams, four are considered serious Super Bowl contenders. Minnesota, with the one two combo of tailback Adrian Peterson and quarterback Brett Farve have a great defense on their side to make a deep run in the playoffs. The New York Giants have a great system with two backs and an all pro quarterback in Eli Manning. They pounded in the Oakland Raider's 44-7 in what looked like a pre season game. Manning came into the game with a hurt heel and he left it after playing less then a half. His line, 8 of 10, 173-yards and two touchdowns. Eli's second touchdown, a 9-yard toss to Hakim Nick's made it 28-0 Giants with 12:37 left in the first half. Game over. New York looks good and if they can keep getting a good effort from their defense the Giants have shot at something special this year. They play the New Orleans Saints next week in a match up of two of the NFC's elite teams. The Saints started out like they would score 50-points a game. Starting quarterback Drew Brees had the best start to a season in history. He threw a total of nine touchdowns in wins over Detroit (6 TD's) and Philly (3 TD's) to start the season. What makes the Saints so dangerous is that Brees does not have a touchdown in the two games since they beat the Eagles, both Saints wins.
The Colts might have lost their head coach (Tony Dungy) but they still have Peyton Manning playing quarterback and he is at his audible calling best, leading his team to a 4-0 record. Manning has not missed a beat with longtime split end Marvin Harrison gone. He has made a star out of rookie wide receiver Austin Collie as other teams double team Reggie Wayne on the other side. Manning has been in control of things all season, throwing for more then 300-yards in all four games. He is the only quarterback in the NFL to do that this season. The Colts defense has been holding up their end of the bargain. Indy has allowed 71-points this year. That is 49-less then the next best defense in their division, the AFC South. 2-3 Houston has only given up 120, but they did get to play the Oakland Raiders so that point total could be higher. The Colts seem to always start off the season six or seven and 0. They have a Super Bowl under their belt and they are looking to add another Lombardi trophy to their display case. The Cincinnati Bengals are starting to make a little noise of their own. Cincinnati improved to 4-1 after knocking off Baltimore 17-14 Sunday in an early season AFC North tilt. The Bengal's are a tipped passed, turned into along touchdown with seconds to play away from being 5-0. Week one saw the Bengals lose to Denver 12-7 when Bronco wide receiver Brandon Stokely caught a tipped pass by Cincinnati's Leon Hall and raced 87-yards for the game winning touchdown with 11-seconds left in the game. It was the kind of play that can put a team into a funk for weeks. Not these Bengal's. They got right back at it to win four in a row. They have done it against some pretty good teams. Pittsburgh and Baltimore (3-2) and Green Bay (2-2) and all felt the bite of the Bengals. Cincinnati has swept the AFC North the first go around, adding a victory against the woeful Cleveland Browns. Quarterback Carson Palmer has looked good under center having thrown for more then 1,100-yards in five games. Palmer needs to do a better job of taking care of the football. Palmer has seven touchdown passes, but he has also thrown six interceptions. Running back Cedric Bensen has had a solid start to the 2009 season. Benson has carried the ball 111-times for 487-yards and three touchdowns. He has rushed the ball at a 4.7 per carry clip. That kind of average takes a lot of pressure off the quarterback who is put in second and third and short a lot. Philly welcomed back quarterback Donovan McNabb who missed the past several weeks with a broken rib suffered in the Eagles first game of the season, a win over Carolina. McNabb returned and threw for 264-yards and three TD's in the Eagles easy win over Tampa Bay Sunday.
2009 NFL SEASON OFF AND RUNNING After three weeks of the 2009 NFL season teams are starting to find out about themselves. Can they stop the run. Are they moving the ball on offense. Their are still seven teams who have not lost a game this season. The only division leader that is not 3-0 is San Francisco (2-1) out in the NFC West. San Francisco seemed like they would stay unbeaten until some late magic by Brett Farve and his Minnesota Vikings. The two biggest surprises among the still undefeated has to be Denver and the New York Jets. Denver has a new rookie head coach in Josh Mcdaniels and the Jets have a rookie starting quarterback in Mark Sanchez. The Bronco's have been doing it with defense. Through three games Denver has only given up just 16pts. They are first in the NFL in points given up but their schedule is about to get a little tougher then Oakland, Cleveland and Cincinnati. The Bronco's host Dallas and New England before hitting the road to play at San Diego in their next three games.
Sanchez ranks a modest 21st in passing (202-yards per game) but more importantly Mark takes care of the ball. He has thrown four touchdowns to just two interceptions in three games. New York is in first place a game ahead of 2-1 New England. Three division winners from last year have yet to win a game this year. Carolina, Tennessee and Miami all won their division's in 2008, but 2009 has not been kind to any of them. All three teams have been let down by their defense. Only the woeful Cleveland Browns have given up more points (95) then Carolina. The Panthers have long been one of the top defense teams in the NFL, but with quarterback Jake Delhomme leading the league with seven interceptions, the defense has had their collective backs against the wall all season. Delhomme was sacked three times and he threw two more interceptions in the Panthers 21-7 loss at Dallas on Monday Night Football. Carolina is not running the ball nor is wide receiver Steve Smith getting the ball down the field. Tailback Deangelo Williams led the NFL in rushing last year, but through three games he ranks just 25th (180-yards) and two TD's. The best Steve Smith now plays for the Giants. Carolina's Smith is 22nd in the NFL in receiving (190-yards) and he has not seen the end zone in 2009. Tennessee's defense has not been great either. They are minus 21 in points having scored just 58 while giving up 71.The Titans were the last team in 2008 to lose and just one year from starting the season 11-0 they could be the last team to win a game. To make matters worse starting quarterback Kerry Collins must be making the coaching staff re-think putting Vince Young back in as the starting quarterback. Collins has thrown four interceptions (4th worse in the NFL). Miami ran wild on their way to an 11-5 record and a AFC East title in 2008. Their innovative offense, the Wildcat, has not produced the same results as they did last season. The offense has been adopted by just about every team in the NFL in some form, but it is not working for Miami. To make matters worse their quarterback Chad Pennington was thrown to the ground in and he dislocated his right shoulder in Miami's 23-13 loss to San Diego. Pennington is lost for the season and Chad Henne will get his first career start when the Dolphins take the field against Buffalo next Sunday. That might help because the Dolphins are 30th in the NFL in passing (155-yards per game) this season. Only 0-3 Cleveland and 1-2 Oakland are worse. Miami does run the ball well. They are third in the NFL, but you have to throw the ball down field to win in the NFL. The Wildcat will help you run the ball, you can only win with the Wildcat if you have a player who can run and throw the ball. Philly is hoping Michael Vick can get up to speed by the time the playoffs roll around. He looked rusty when he got in the Eagles win over Kansas City. It was Vick's first regular season action in over two years and Mike Vick saw just how fast the game really is and two years away from that speed takes a little time to get used to. The fact that Vick has not pushed his body the way he did before he went to jail until now has made him a step slow. You need that live action rush for your body to stay at the level Vick was before his sentence. Good thing for the Eagles they did not need Vick to be up to speed right now. With McNabb out a couple more weeks with his broken rib Kevin Kolb has stepped in and been great throwing the ball down the field. Kolb threw for 391-yards in a 48-22 loss to New Orleans. He had 327-yards in a 34-14 win over Kansas City. 3-0 New Orleans picked off Kolb 3 times in their win while 0-3 KC did not get anywhere near Kolb in the Eagles win. Next up for Philly is a bye before taking on Tampa Bay and Oakland their next two games. Look for Mike Vick to get plenty of action against them.
Quarterbacks take center stage as the 2009 regular season approaches The Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles made the two biggest splashes during the off season by signing a pair of quarterbacks to help try and led them to a Super Bowl.
The Brett Farve saga took another twist when Farve retired and un retired two or three times before finally signing on the dotted line to play for the Minnesota Vikings for the next two years. It was a big risk for the Vikings who have been grooming now back up QB Tarvaris Jackson for a few years now to be a top flight starting quarterback in the NFL. Jackson Will now have to take a back seat to Farve for the next two years. Or will he. Saga Rosenfels is in the mix to be the backup, but the job is Jackson's to lose. He should start in the teams final pre season game against Dallas. There is also the health factor. After a 1 of 4 passing performance in Farve's first game under center for Minnesota, Brett said he might have cracked ribs. I am sure everybody involved with Minnesota, the team, their fans must have the same thought. What ? It did not seem like Farve was hurt during the game at all. He waited a couple of days before telling anybody, but looks just fine. Minnesota gave up 25-million to get Farve on the roster and him getting cracked ribs in his first game was not what anybody wanted to hear. Brett seems to be a fast healer. He was 13 of 18 for 142-yards passing and a TD against Houston. We will have to wait and see about his cracked ribs. If they really are then it does not look good for Farve making it through the whole season, let alone two. Getting Farve is a good move to get Minnesota's name in the news, but it could hurt them in the future if Farve does not do well. Other free agents will hold Brett's two year, 25-miilion dollar contract over their head. If Farve starts every game and stays as healthy as he is now the Vikings should make the playoffs and the gamble by the Vikings brass will have paid off. Farve start in the Vikings pre season game against Kansas City Just days after he signed with the team ended a summer long saga with Farve stating he did not want to play anymore. What Farve meant was he just did not want to go to training camp anymore. As soon as the team broke camp, Farve signed a contract. And the fact that he was able to start just two days later showed Brett knew what he was doing all along. He must have been given the play book to study by the team while they waited for Farve to make up his mind. The risk for the Vikings to give Farve their playbook was small considering the fact that Minnesota was Farve's only choice to play for and the Minnesota playbook who not fall into the wrong hands. Brett's stay with the New York Jets started out just fine, but when Farve got banged up the second half of the season the Jets team and fans quickly turned on the future Hall of Famer as the Jets limped to the end of a 9-7 season, missing the playoffs after starting the season 8-3. The Vikings do not want a repeat of last season for Farve. One thing the Vikings have that the Jets did not is protection for Farve in the form of a running game. They feature the top back in the game right now, Adrian Peterson. AP led the NFL in rushing last season with over 1,700-yards and he looks to be ready for another big season after breaking off a 75-yard touchdown run against Houston in pre season action last week. Farve needed to throw the ball to win in New York. That led to him hurting his shoulder midway through the season. Michael Vick is back in the NFL and the fans in Philly are dreaming about a Super Bowl title with the addition of Vick. He played a little in his first game out last week, going 4 of 4 passing while getting a little taste of the wildcat offense.
Mike Vick will get a real chance to show what he can do in the Eagles last pre season game against the New York Jets. Vick might play some of the first half, but he should start and play a lot of the second half. The Eagles need Vick to be able to pass the ball in order for them to win. You have to run the ball to win, but passing is not far behind and Mike has always needed to improve his passing skills. The Eagles have added a lot of talent on offense and they might have the most team speed in the NFL this year. Starter Donovan McNabb has lot great under center in his limited action in the pre season so the Eagles are in good hands. As long as Mcnabb is healthy there should be no quarterback controversy. Mike Vick and McNabb have played in the same league for years, but it has been McNabb going deep into the playoffs year after year, not Vick. It looks like Donovan is poised to have one of the best seasons of his career. He knows the window to a Super Bowl title has not closed, but it is not far away. McNabb asking to get Vick on the team shows the he his a team player. McNabb is at the point in his career were he just wants a ring. he knows things happen and players get hurt during the season. If he misses any games, who better then Mike Vick to come in and kept it going. The Eagle could not have gotten a better backup QB then Vick in the draft or by trade. They have seen what former backup Kevin Kolb has done. He is decent, but he is no Mike Vick.
Questions to be answered as pre season gets underway San Francisco seems to have an idea on who their quarterback will be once the regular season starts. Shawn Hill started against Denver and despite playing only one series, his 2 for 2 night did nothing but help his cause to start once the games count in September.
Coming off surgery Smith was going to have a little rust when he first came in. Alex was also able to get some extra snaps thanks to the play of San Francisco's ball hawking defense.
Bronco's starter Kyle Orton went to the well once to often on the games opening drive and was picked off in the end zone by corner Nate Clemens. Orton had four completions to Clemens side during the drive. Clemens had four tackles on pass plays, not good for a cornerback who is taking down the man he is covering. Nate made up for it by picking off the first of three Orton interceptions. That put a smile on the face of head coach Mike Singletary. San Francisco somehow managed to get three picks without recording a sack in the game which took some of the shine out of Singletary's smile. You need to be able to pressure the quarterback to be successful in the NFL. Denver, on the other hand, sacked each 49er QB that played. Alex Smith got taken down twice, the first time a shower of boo's rained down form the crowd. Smith was 5 of 7 (33-yards) and a TD in the game. The running game showed signs of life. Rookie Glen Coffee rushed for 67-yards on on 10-carries and Kory Sheets broke loose for 51-yards on 10 carries. Oakland came into their pre season opener knowing who there quarterback will be come September, but just about every other position was up for grabs against Dallas. Oakland used their first round pick on Darrius Heyward-Bey, a wide receiver out of Maryland. He got the ball thrown to him a few times finishing with one catch good for eight yards. Darrius got deep a couple of times but he was well covered. One time Heyward-Bey had a chance to go up and get the ball, but instead he did not compete for the ball and the defensive back knocked it down. That is a part of catching the ball, going up and getting it at the highest point you can. JaMarcus Russell was decent, throwing for 50-yards with zero touchdowns or picks in his short time on the field. Russell started off 4 of five leading the Raiders to a 23-yard field goal. Oakland had a second and goal from the two wiped out because of a holding penalty. Oakland spent the rest of the game giving the ref's arms a pretty good workout, collecting 14-penalties for 107-yards.
It was the first pre season game and that goes on a lot this time of the year, but with the Raiders you never know. They have always been able to commit penalties with the best of them. Starting tailback Justin Fargas had just one carry for two yards. Darren McFadden got things pumped up with a forty yard dash in the second quarter. McFadden (4-carries, 63-yards) showed what kind of game breaker he can be on the 40-yard run. He should push Fargas for playing time this year if he can stay healthy. Back up quarterback Brad Gradkowski, a former starter in Cleveland, showed he is ready to play with a 9 of 16 night for 161-yards and a TD. Oakland has done well in the pre season the last couple of years but it has not lead to much success during the regular season so nobody is too giddy about the win. Oakland went out an added some experience in the defensive backfield by signing free agent Ricky Manning Jr. to compete for a job opposite Nnamdi Asomugha. Manning Jr. has started for Super Bowl teams (Carolina and Chicago) and he serves notice that something has got to give in the Raiders backfield. Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson did not make much of an impression on head coach Tom Cable against Dallas. Both gave up completions that looked a little to easy. The Philadelphia Eagles bit the bullet and added out casted quarterback Michael Vick to their roster. Vick seems to be a perfect fit for the Wildcat offense that took the league by storm last season. The Eagles fans have had a mixed reaction to the Vick signing. Some are happy and many appear to be mad about the convicted dog fighting getting paid by their beloved squad. Dog lovers across the country will now get the release they have been looking for and the Eagles will have to deal with the backlash Vick's signing has caused. Detroit broke out their prized quarterback in their 27-26 pre season opening game against Atlanta. Matthew Stafford was 7 of 14 for 114-yards, one touchdown and one interception. Stafford has a lot of work to do if he is going to help drag the Lions out of the 0-16 abyss of last season, the worst in NFL history. San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson is looking for a way to get back to the high level he was at a few years ago. In an attempt to jump start his season Tomlinson did something he has not done since 2005. Play in a preseason game. He has not wanted to get hurt or to have any nagging injuries heading into the season. Once the season started however, LT was a step behind everybody else and that will get you hurt as well. LT must have figured that getting into game shape is worth the risk of playing in the pre season, but don't look for him to play very much. LaDainian touched the ball four times rushing for ten yards.
The time is now for new crop of NFL hopefuls Everybody that follows the NFL knows that Raiders owner Al Davis loves speed and that is what he got in the 6'2" Heyward-Bey who clocked the fastest 40yrd dash time in the rookie combines before this years draft. Oakland is hoping Heyward-Bey can form a bond with QB JaMarcus Russell and help improve Oakland's passing game. Darrius never had much of a quarterback at Maryland to throw him the ball and he was put in the backfield some his last year in college to get him the ball more. The biggest move of the day was made by the New York Jets. They traded five players to Cleveland moving up from the 17th pick to the fifth to select USC's Matt Sanchez. New York is hoping that Sanchez can lock down the quarterback position for the next ten years in the Big Apple. He will sell some tickets and who knows how long it will take him to catch up to the high level of play in the NFL. Rookie's QB's are getting better and better. Just look at the past few season's when it seems a trend was started with Ben Roethlisberger who played well for Pittsburgh as a rookie. Last year both Joe Flacco (Baltimore) and Matt Ryan (Atlanta) turned it out in their rookie seasons leading both teams to the playoffs. To say Jets fans would be happy with that would be one of the biggest understatements of 2009. The San Francisco 49ers are pleased as punch to land the talented Michael Crabtree with the tenth pick of the 2009 NFL Draft. Nobody in the organization thought Crabtree would still be around at number ten. The 49er's made perhaps the second fastest draft choice besides the Detroit Lions at number one of anybody in the draft. The stars seem to be aligning just right for San Francisco and their new permanent head coach Mike Singletary. Many teams were thrown off by what they perceived as an arrogant attitude by Crabtree, but coach Singletary feels that Crabtree is just confident and the right fit for his offense. The 49er's needed a deep threat and Crabtree could force other teams to respect the 49ers passing game and move a player or two out of the "box" and give Gore a little more room to run around. The Philadelphia Eagles addressed one of their biggest needs by drafting split end Jeremy Maclin out of Missouri with the 19pick of the 2009 draft. Philly has done a lot without much of a passing game. The one season QB Donovan McNabb had with a top flight receiver the eagles went to the Super Bowl. Of course I am taking about Terrell Owens and we all know how that turned out, but Maclin should provide the down the field presence the Eagles have been lacking. Philly did not stop there. The Eagles were pretty offensive in the 2009 draft, selecting running back LeSean McCoy out of Pittsburgh in the second round and tight end Cornelius Ingram out of Florida in the fifth round. The picks have put a smile on the face on McNabb and the new talent should be a breath of fresh air into the Eagles offense. Multi talented tailback Brain Westbrook can't keep up his past pace. McCoy looks to be the same sort of back Westbrook is. The question will be can McCoy hit the holes the right way in the NFL and take the punishment the league has to offer. Complete 2009 NFL Draft click here
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Just don't relax to much. It can be hard for a team to get out of a routine and then jump right back into the mix the next week. 
The San Diego Chargers might have been the hottest team at the end of the regular season. They get the New York Jets who advance with a 24-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wildcard round of the AFC Playoffs.
Down 17-10 with 9-minutes left in the game, Denver had a first and ten at their own two. 98-yard's later the game was tied and Denver's Matt Prater nailed a 44-yard field goal in overtime to give the Bronco's their first 5-0 start since 1998, the last of their two Super Bowl winning season's.
The Jets are playing well on defense as well. All eyes are on rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez. He is showing everybody why his college coach Pete Carroll was so mad when Sanchez announced he was turning pro with a year left to play at USC. 
Mike is probably the best suited quarterback in the NFL to run the wildcat, but that subjects your quarterback to a lot of punishment.
