- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
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1. I don’t know about you but am I the only one thoroughly confused by this current NFL: season. Not only addled by our own feast or famine home team, but the rest of the league as well. Every week this season has seen week to week COMPLETE reversals like the Colts beating the Ravens by 20+ then losing by over 20 the very next week to a team like the Green Bay. And its not like this example is the exception, Every week we see 3 or four games like this.
So what does this tell us. Well it should be telling us that for all the HYPE we hear from all the experts, the REALITY is…and has ALWAYS BEEN, that the talent gap between the best teams in the league and the worst teams is amazingly NARROW. Just because a team might not have “name” players, doesn’t mean that the guys who are out there AREN’T world class athletes being coached by the best minds in the football world.
I guess we have always known that the old adage or “On any given Sunday…” wasn’t just talk, but THIS season should be the one that CEMENTS it into our DNA.
2. That being said, 2 weeks ago the Rams were odds on favorites to be looking at the #1 pick in the 2009 draft. Now under a consistently underrated coaching job by Jim Hasslett, the Rams have won 2 in a row including a shocking blow out of the consistently UNDER ACHIEVING Dallas Cowboys They are next on the plate for the injury riddled local eleven, so what are we to think…Feast….or Famine?????
3. For the past couple of weeks ago I have commented on Matt Cassell’s lack of any pocket presence. Well, despite 3 TD’s, no picks, or fumbles, and a passer rating WELL over 100, I still register the same complaint. IMHO at least 3 of the sacks were due to his inability to move in the pocket and throw the ball in rhythm,
If he was n’t a QB who has had only 5 full games of live action in the last 8+ years, I would have to write him off as another in a long line of QBs who have come into the NFL with all the PHYSICAL gifts, but have failed at the MENTAL part of the game. Quite frankly its just too early to classify or even prorate the future abilities of Matt Cassel. I don’t think even a full year will tell the FINAL story.
4. As far as the negatives go, my biggest complaint is that he rarely seems to throw the ball in rhythm. By “rhythm” I mean the kind of pass where he takes a 3-5 step drop and the ball comes out when he plants his back foot on the 5th step. Too often, especially when he throws down field, there is that half a count to a count delay in his release.. He is also very slow to get to his second choice, if his first look is covered. The #3 or #4 guy is simply out of the picture right now. Obviously this could be a lack of game experience. But it exists, and as a fan, I’m not looking for an instant turn around, but rather a consistent observable line of IMPROVEMENT over the last 10 games of the season.
5. Bottom line he HAS to show that he can get better at “feeling the pressure, and developing a quicker release. Over the 2nd half of the season we need to get a lot better at throwing the ball DOWNFIELD in the 15-20 yd areas. BTW- to his credit a number of sacks have occurred because he has stubbornly refused to take even minor risks with TOs
6. I guess like pitching you can never have too many RBs. It has to be the definition of IRONY that a team that has for years prospered with only 3 RBs on the roster can’t seem to keep a RB on the field after starting the season with FIVE. Now a mere 7 weeks into the season the Pats are down to having their primary RB being an UDFA, PS player whose most noteworthy accomplishment is having FOUR names. To his credit while, Ben Jarvis Green Ellis (BJGE) didn’t impress Monday he didn’t suck either. But I guess it only goes to show you how fickle fate is with depth.
7. What a shame to have Sammy Ellis break his personal best IN A HALF, then get injured. What was so impressive about his game was the number of people he made MISS tackles. I haven’t seen that side of his game before. Here’s hoping that he or Jordan will be ready for the Rams
8.JMHO, but that was a DISGRACEFUL performance by the Broncos on Monday. Not only were they beaten on the field, but they were INCREDIBLY sloppy. I know that Shanahan has the 2nd best coaching rep in the league, but that team he put out there on Monday looked like it WASN’T coached the week before.
9. Really sorry that that Rodney Harrison has to lose ANOTHER season to injury. Clearly no one loved to play the game more, worked harder to get ready to play, and then see it all go south because of misplaced foot. That has to be hugely FRUSTRATING.
Rodney was only here for parts of 6 years of the 15 he played in the league, but the leadership and attitude he brought to the game have made him a signature PATRIOT, so I think down the road his identity will be that of a Patriot rather than a Charger, and that his reputation might keep him out of the HOF in Canton, he will find a place in the one in Foxboro. Thanks for the memories, Rodney, you will always have a place in the hearts of the NE Patriots football fan
So what does this tell us. Well it should be telling us that for all the HYPE we hear from all the experts, the REALITY is…and has ALWAYS BEEN, that the talent gap between the best teams in the league and the worst teams is amazingly NARROW. Just because a team might not have “name” players, doesn’t mean that the guys who are out there AREN’T world class athletes being coached by the best minds in the football world.
I guess we have always known that the old adage or “On any given Sunday…” wasn’t just talk, but THIS season should be the one that CEMENTS it into our DNA.
2. That being said, 2 weeks ago the Rams were odds on favorites to be looking at the #1 pick in the 2009 draft. Now under a consistently underrated coaching job by Jim Hasslett, the Rams have won 2 in a row including a shocking blow out of the consistently UNDER ACHIEVING Dallas Cowboys They are next on the plate for the injury riddled local eleven, so what are we to think…Feast….or Famine?????
3. For the past couple of weeks ago I have commented on Matt Cassell’s lack of any pocket presence. Well, despite 3 TD’s, no picks, or fumbles, and a passer rating WELL over 100, I still register the same complaint. IMHO at least 3 of the sacks were due to his inability to move in the pocket and throw the ball in rhythm,
If he was n’t a QB who has had only 5 full games of live action in the last 8+ years, I would have to write him off as another in a long line of QBs who have come into the NFL with all the PHYSICAL gifts, but have failed at the MENTAL part of the game. Quite frankly its just too early to classify or even prorate the future abilities of Matt Cassel. I don’t think even a full year will tell the FINAL story.
4. As far as the negatives go, my biggest complaint is that he rarely seems to throw the ball in rhythm. By “rhythm” I mean the kind of pass where he takes a 3-5 step drop and the ball comes out when he plants his back foot on the 5th step. Too often, especially when he throws down field, there is that half a count to a count delay in his release.. He is also very slow to get to his second choice, if his first look is covered. The #3 or #4 guy is simply out of the picture right now. Obviously this could be a lack of game experience. But it exists, and as a fan, I’m not looking for an instant turn around, but rather a consistent observable line of IMPROVEMENT over the last 10 games of the season.
5. Bottom line he HAS to show that he can get better at “feeling the pressure, and developing a quicker release. Over the 2nd half of the season we need to get a lot better at throwing the ball DOWNFIELD in the 15-20 yd areas. BTW- to his credit a number of sacks have occurred because he has stubbornly refused to take even minor risks with TOs
6. I guess like pitching you can never have too many RBs. It has to be the definition of IRONY that a team that has for years prospered with only 3 RBs on the roster can’t seem to keep a RB on the field after starting the season with FIVE. Now a mere 7 weeks into the season the Pats are down to having their primary RB being an UDFA, PS player whose most noteworthy accomplishment is having FOUR names. To his credit while, Ben Jarvis Green Ellis (BJGE) didn’t impress Monday he didn’t suck either. But I guess it only goes to show you how fickle fate is with depth.
7. What a shame to have Sammy Ellis break his personal best IN A HALF, then get injured. What was so impressive about his game was the number of people he made MISS tackles. I haven’t seen that side of his game before. Here’s hoping that he or Jordan will be ready for the Rams
8.JMHO, but that was a DISGRACEFUL performance by the Broncos on Monday. Not only were they beaten on the field, but they were INCREDIBLY sloppy. I know that Shanahan has the 2nd best coaching rep in the league, but that team he put out there on Monday looked like it WASN’T coached the week before.
9. Really sorry that that Rodney Harrison has to lose ANOTHER season to injury. Clearly no one loved to play the game more, worked harder to get ready to play, and then see it all go south because of misplaced foot. That has to be hugely FRUSTRATING.
Rodney was only here for parts of 6 years of the 15 he played in the league, but the leadership and attitude he brought to the game have made him a signature PATRIOT, so I think down the road his identity will be that of a Patriot rather than a Charger, and that his reputation might keep him out of the HOF in Canton, he will find a place in the one in Foxboro. Thanks for the memories, Rodney, you will always have a place in the hearts of the NE Patriots football fan
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