tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401911.post2713817277190405358..comments2024-03-27T23:40:28.974-05:00Comments on Back Seat Drivers: Monday: Odds and Ends, NFL ExhibitionMighty Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14882592090231689509noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401911.post-70191998822383900772010-08-02T12:44:06.867-05:002010-08-02T12:44:06.867-05:00@MJ - 2) Whether Sanchez has a sophomore slump or ...@MJ - 2) Whether Sanchez has a sophomore slump or not is tough to predict. Clearly, he has all the weapons in the world.<br />A) I forgot about Chad Henne. He also gets Brandon Marshall on his team, so that should be an interesting team to watch, especially when they play the Pats and the jets.<br />B) I have no idea who will win the NFC West. I guess the 49ers because Mike Singletary is captain intensity?<br />D) I also dislike Tim Tebow and hope he proves to be a colossal failure. However, I will not root for his death, because that seems drastic.Gutsy Goldberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02430709156220475993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401911.post-76245680423347764942010-08-02T12:20:18.244-05:002010-08-02T12:20:18.244-05:00Good questions on the NFC West and if someone can ...Good questions on the NFC West and if someone can win it with less than 8 wins (maybe?). I'd say the Cards Leinart experiment could be interesting if your into that car wreck watching thing. <br /><br />Tim Tebow's wildcat offense might be the most used phrase in week 1. ughh. I think I just threw up a little...Mighty Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882592090231689509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401911.post-91741783662316649542010-08-02T11:52:44.772-05:002010-08-02T11:52:44.772-05:00As to items not covered, I'd add the following...As to items not covered, I'd add the following storylines:<br /><br />A) The Dolphins turning the future over to Chad Henne. Sure he played last year but this will be his first full year as a starter and, on paper, it looks like the toughest division in football.<br /><br />B) Which of those four horrible NFC West teams will win the division? The Cardinals got crushed in free agency, the Rams still seem like they're at least two years away from respectability, the 49ers have instability at the QB position and the Seahawks have a college coach and an old QB running the show with no talent at the offensive skill positions.<br /><br />C) Was last year the miracle season for Brett Favre and the Vikings? Will he finally show his age and break down this year?<br /><br />D) Will my prayers for Tim Tebow's untimely death on the football field finally be answered? I sure hope so because I can't think of a single NFL player I dislike more.MJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12775103534946881090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401911.post-55598770601621619592010-08-02T11:47:49.882-05:002010-08-02T11:47:49.882-05:001) I'll take the contrarian point of view on t...1) I'll take the contrarian point of view on the Bengals in two respects:<br /><br />First, I don't believe that two diva WR's will derail their season simply because T.O. is clearly now a year-by-year player whose contract status will be evaluated annually. As such, he can't afford to make the waves he made in San Francisco, Philadelphia or Dallas. That's not to say that he won't, merely to say that T.O. is an extremely intelligent individual and he knows that there aren't too many other teams out there in the NFL that will sign him if his production doesn't match his self-promotional tendencies.<br /><br />Second, the Bengals won the division because they ran the ball and played good defense. I don't see a reason to believe that the defense can't be as good as last year but I certainly don't expect the running game to be as effective. As a result, I can't imagine that the Bengals will be as efficient on offense as they were last year, Hall of Fame duo of WR's notwithstanding.<br /><br />2) The Jets are the NFL darlings right now and they boast two of the best homerun threat WR's in football (Santonio Holmes/Braylon Edwards). As long as those two guys and the Jets defense produces, Sanchez should be insulated from a sophomore slump. The offensive line improved its pass protection by cutting guard Alan Faneca. It remains to be seen if the Jets can run as well without Thomas Jones as the feature back but second year RB Shonn Greene had a tremendous rookie year.<br /><br />3) The Bears will stink, but not because of Mike Martz or Jay Cutler. Their offensive line is awful, they haven't had enough draft picks to rebuild their depth and their defense is relying on the boom-or-bust signing of the famously undermotivated Julius Peppers.<br /><br />4) Never count out Mike Shanahan. In a straight-up battle of wits, I'll take him over Reid every time. The Eagles are better on paper in 2010 but I'm not so sure the same will be true in 2012.<br /><br />5) Jake only has to be below-average for the move to pay off. As long as he's not the colossaly awful QB he's been over the past two years, the signing was fine. It wasn't a move I'd necessarily make but I see the logic in it.<br /><br />6) It's hard to totally blame Cassel for being a QB behind an awful pass-blocking line with no downfield threats to go to. The Chiefs should give Cassel at least two more years before they deem him a waste of space. In that time, they should go out and get him a WR or three.MJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12775103534946881090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401911.post-49161726922806824502010-08-02T11:21:59.953-05:002010-08-02T11:21:59.953-05:00I would have to say that there is not a Hard Knock...I would have to say that there is not a Hard Knocks curse because the Bungals were on Hard Knocks last year and they won their division. Perhaps it is the opposite.B. Hutchenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07302055365109504990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401911.post-58089693299698633642010-08-02T10:20:43.392-05:002010-08-02T10:20:43.392-05:001) TO is interesting because he's been either ...1) TO is interesting because he's been either injured or irrelevant in the last year. If he's healthy, maybe he does have one last semi-productive year in him? I'm more worried about the Bengals QB staying healthy.<br />2) I will make a separate blog-post about the "Hard Knocks" curse, or whether there even is a curse.<br />3) I'm excited to see Martz back out there, though all of his latest experiments (San Fran, Detroit) have failed<br />4) I expect Kolb to be better than McNabb, but it will be fun to watch for sure. Can't think of the last time such a high-profile QB was shipped to the team's biggest rival (outside of Favre, but that was his 2nd team after the fact).<br />5) I'm keeping my fingers crossed about Delhomme, but not expecting it to work out. I want to see Seneca Wallace. Seriously.<br />6) The KC Patriots should be interesting. But I'm not expecting much outside of the inevitability of Romeo and Weiss putting on some weight during the season.Gutsy Goldberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02430709156220475993noreply@blogger.com