Peter King on the NEP and Matt Cassel

[Patsfanin Philly]

I believe that you are thinking of Stephen King, the novelist, not Peter King, the columnist.

One writes horror, the other horribly........

 

[primetime]

[*]Earlier in the conversation, he mentioned the fact that the Cowboys' backup situation--Brad Johnson (3 yr/$7.5M) and Brooks Bollinger (yeah, that Brooks Bollinger)--is an absolute disaster, and that a lot of analysts don't expect Johnson to finish the DAL-NYG game.

This bothers me. Brad Johnson played very well for the Vikings last year, and has won a Super Bowl in his career as a game manager (but not a superstar). Blaming the Cowboys problems on Brad Johnson is ludicrous. Romo was not looking particularly good this year (and I think he's one of the best QBs in the league, as evidenced by last year), and Bollinger can only be worse. The problem with this team is their ego problem - a problem that's always been endemic with the Cowboys, but now more than ever. Owens wants the ball, Barber wants the ball, Crayton wants the ball, Witten wants the ball, Jones wants the ball; hey, let's add Roy Williams to the mix! Their defense isn't very strong - I couldn't name a single linebacker of theirs off-hand, their defensive line is sub-par, and their secondary is overrated (Pacman is done, Terrence Newman isn't bad, no depth at corner at all, Roy Williams was terrible, who are their other safeties?). To say nothing of their abysmal coach who has on many occasions displayed his absolute incompetence, yet still somehow gets hired anyhow. Hey, he has the same last name as a good coach, am I right?

It wouldn't surprise me if they lost by 40 points to the Giants this weekend. And I also don't think such a loss would have anything to do with Brad Johnson (nor Eli Manning, for that matter). Rather, team mentality and the quality of their defenses and especially coaching will be the deciding factor. I believe this unlike the media who, speechless with how the Cowboys could do so poorly even without Romo (while the Patriots stay steady with a far less accomplished QB), refuse to believe that the Cowboys aren't Super Bowl contenders in an NFC East loaded with talent.

 

[Deus Irae]

This bothers me. Brad Johnson played very well for the Vikings last year, and has won a Super Bowl in his career as a game manager (but not a superstar). Blaming the Cowboys problems on Brad Johnson is ludicrous. Romo was not looking particularly good this year (and I think he's one of the best QBs in the league, as evidenced by last year), and Bollinger can only be worse. The problem with this team is their ego problem - a problem that's always been endemic with the Cowboys, but now more than ever. Owens wants the ball, Barber wants the ball, Crayton wants the ball, Witten wants the ball, Jones wants the ball; hey, let's add Roy Williams to the mix! Their defense isn't very strong - I couldn't name a single linebacker of theirs off-hand, their defensive line is sub-par, and their secondary is overrated (Pacman is done, Terrence Newman isn't bad, no depth at corner at all, Roy Williams was terrible, who are their other safeties?). To say nothing of their abysmal coach who has on many occasions displayed his absolute incompetence, yet still somehow gets hired anyhow. Hey, he has the same last name as a good coach, am I right?

It wouldn't surprise me if they lost by 40 points to the Giants this weekend. And I also don't think such a loss would have anything to do with Brad Johnson (nor Eli Manning, for that matter). Rather, team mentality and the quality of their defenses and especially coaching will be the deciding factor. I believe this unlike the media who, speechless with how the Cowboys could do so poorly even without Romo (while the Patriots stay steady with a far less accomplished QB), refuse to believe that the Cowboys aren't Super Bowl contenders in an NFC East loaded with talent.

Brad Johnson played for the Cowboys last season, and he threw a grand total of 11 passes.

The year prior, he had a passer rating of 72.0, with 9 touchdowns and 15 interceptions when playing for the Vikings.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Brad Johnson played for the Cowboys last season, and he threw a grand total of 11 passes.

The year prior, he had a passer rating of 72.0, with 9 touchdowns and 15 interceptions when playing for the Vikings.

And, so far in 2008, he's 36 for 67, for 356 yards, 2 TDs, and 3 INTs.

 

[BritPat]

I agree with King about the Chargers. It is shocking how bad that defense is which is basically the same unit that they had last year minus Merriman. Studs like Jamal Williams, Shaun Phillips, Luis Castillio, and Antonio Cromartie have gone to be mediocre to average with one player lost. They can't stop anyone from scoring. Did teams really gear that much of their offense gameplans to deal with Merriman?

The Chargers are going to be in a quandry in a couple of years. It was assumed that the Chargers were not going to resign Merriman. But they may have to if he means so much for their defense.

If his knee is as bad a mess as people are saying though, then it might make sense to cut him and draft a Selvie or an Orakpo. They are very good at identifying needs and drafting players capable of playing straight away.

This bothers me. Brad Johnson played very well for the Vikings last year, and has won a Super Bowl in his career as a game manager (but not a superstar). Blaming the Cowboys problems on Brad Johnson is ludicrous. Romo was not looking particularly good this year (and I think he's one of the best QBs in the league, as evidenced by last year), and Bollinger can only be worse. The problem with this team is their ego problem - a problem that's always been endemic with the Cowboys, but now more than ever. Owens wants the ball, Barber wants the ball, Crayton wants the ball, Witten wants the ball, Jones wants the ball; hey, let's add Roy Williams to the mix! Their defense isn't very strong - I couldn't name a single linebacker of theirs off-hand, their defensive line is sub-par, and their secondary is overrated (Pacman is done, Terrence Newman isn't bad, no depth at corner at all, Roy Williams was terrible, who are their other safeties?). To say nothing of their abysmal coach who has on many occasions displayed his absolute incompetence, yet still somehow gets hired anyhow. Hey, he has the same last name as a good coach, am I right?

It wouldn't surprise me if they lost by 40 points to the Giants this weekend. And I also don't think such a loss would have anything to do with Brad Johnson (nor Eli Manning, for that matter). Rather, team mentality and the quality of their defenses and especially coaching will be the deciding factor. I believe this unlike the media who, speechless with how the Cowboys could do so poorly even without Romo (while the Patriots stay steady with a far less accomplished QB), refuse to believe that the Cowboys aren't Super Bowl contenders in an NFC East loaded with talent.

Apart from two of the biggest names in the league in Zach Thomas and DeMarcus Ware you mean?

I disagree about the D-line as well, they look very much in the mould of the Chargers, i.e a one gap 3-4, but teams have seemingly been able to deal with the aggressiveness (in much the same way teams have held the Chargers at bay, although Ware has been a beast) and then attacked that terrible secondary.

It seems that the players believe the hype, and teams have gameplanned the D to death.

 

[primetime]

Apart from two of the biggest names in the league in Zach Thomas and DeMarcus Ware you mean?

Ware slipped my mind, though you're right insofar as he's quite good. Thomas is ancient.

 

[PatriotsReign]

He's not that bad. At least he's a HUGE Red Sox fan and season ticket holder.

I think you're confusing him with his cousin, Stephen King

 

[Ochmed Jones]

He was on the Michael Kay show yesterday, and had a few interesting comments to make:

• When Kay asked him who the top four teams in the league were, he obviously said TEN and NYG were the first two. He punted on the issue of who #3 and #4 were.
• He then said it wouldn't surprise him at all if the Pats were in the top four when the playoffs came.
• He further said that, in his mind, the story of the season has been not just TFB's injury, but the fact that Cassel has led this team to a 5-2 record.
• Earlier in the conversation, he mentioned the fact that the Cowboys' backup situation--Brad Johnson (3 yr/$7.5M) and Brooks Bollinger (yeah, that Brooks Bollinger)--is an absolute disaster, and that a lot of analysts don't expect Johnson to finish the DAL-NYG game.
• His final thought: who on earth would have thought that the Chargers might be hurt more by the loss of Merriman than the Patriots would by the loss of Brady?

Just think how good our defense could be if we had a monster pass rusher coming off the edge.
A 3-4 defense needs 1.) A great NT and 2.) A pass rushing demon off the edge.
We have done fairly well in the past with #2 by using McGinest, Colvin, and Vrabel to fill the role, but now that Vrabel is wearing down some, we need a true monster on the edge.

 

[spacecrime]

who on earth would have thought that the Chargers might be hurt more by the loss of Merriman than the Patriots would by the loss of Brady?

He lost me on that one. Cassel has done fine, he looks like an average NFL starting QB - especially as he gets a little more experience in the pocket. But when it comes to needing the big throw to win the big game, losing Brady may be the single biggest loss to injury in the history of the league.

How are the Pats doing this year without Brady? How 'bout the Chargers? Now, whose team has been hurt more by the loss of a key player?

So if Cassel is doing better that the average starting QB, when do we pay Cassel what an average starting QB makes?

 

[Deus Irae]

How are the Pats doing this year without Brady? How 'bout the Chargers? Now, whose team has been hurt more by the loss of a key player?

So if Cassel is doing better that the average starting QB, when do we pay Cassel what an average starting QB makes?

The first question is a bit unfair, because it's not just the loss of Merriman. It's also the disappointing season from LdT.