NFL Season 2010. 'Bout GOD DAMNED TIME!

[Tsyroc]

Since when is a 6'4"/228# QB "small"?

I was thinking more of how he looks thin and has kind of pipe cleaner type arms compared to the appearance of the rest of the players. It's not just him though. There are a lot of quarterbacks who, when compared to their team mates, look like they hardly ever hit the weight room. I'm just surprised that they don't get hurt more than they actually do.

[GuppyShark]

I'm watching Eagles @ Packers and I agree, these throwback greens look a lot better than the old one.

Then I see Michael Vick run for a first down and realise why I like these uniforms.

They look like the Saskatchewan Roughriders

[Darth Fanboy]

Tsyroc though we do have to admit that this is a day and age where Quarterbacks get more protection than those dumbass eggs you had to take home in a basket and make sure they don't get crunched because it was supposed to be your "baby".

[Havok]

Vick will be in by mid season.

Oops! My bad. Mid first game.

I'm so glad to see that Alex Smith has really matured since last year. He only threw two picks (one of which was his fault), but two more of his throws could easily have been intercepted where a Seattle DB dropped the ball. He also left at least two TD's on the field when he missed wide-open throws that would have scored, including one on a fourth-down play early in the game that would've completely changed the complexion of the game. Looks like we're in for another season without the playoffs.

Why do we always see things differently when watching the same game?

On the pics, both have been confirmed to be Crabtree's fault. The first one, obvious. The second, he was supposed to run a curl and ran an out.

Also, the pass to Norris should have been caught. Norris turned around way too soon. Again, not Smith's fault.

Also the refs killed that first TD to Morgan. The down the sideline replay shows that after his foot touched in bounds, the calf of the same leg also touched in bounds, which by rule, equals a second foot. I don't know why that replay was only shown once. If you watched the Raiders preseason games (stop laughing), you will note that they made the exact same call on a TD pass in the endzone.

And please. There are ALWAYS one or two passes in EVERY game that a defensive player should have caught. That is why they play defense and it isn't even worth noting.

Seriously, stop fixating on Smith. Where was Davis? Where was Crabtree? Where was Gore and the offensive line? Where was the pass blocking? Where was the good playcalling from the end of last year? How about Clements stops trying to jump routes and get smoked? How about he stops influencing the younger corners to do the same? How about the team as a whole doesn't listen to the hype and think the playoffs are going to be handed to them on a silver platter this year?

This team came out and played great for about 22 minutes and just figured the rest of the game would be a cake walk. This was far more than an 'OMG Smith sucks!' loss.

[Captain Kruger]

34 years as a Cowboys fan and I've never been more disgusted by a game. Alex Barron needs to be ass-raped by an overlength cat-of-nine-tails lined with razor blade fragments and once that's pulled out, shove partially torn packets of salt up his ass.

Oh...and Jason Garrett blows. I'll probably be saying that every week. Might as well sig it.

[Havok]

Little extreme for a holding call that otherwise would have allowed your QB to be blown up.

Betting Matthew Stafford wouldn't have minded a little of that Alex Barron action against Peppers.

Yes, Garrett blows.

[Captain Kruger]

Little extreme for a holding call that otherwise would have allowed your QB to be blown up.

Betting Matthew Stafford wouldn't have minded a little of that Alex Barron action against Peppers.

Yes, Garrett blows.

True, Orakpo's foot probably would've been in Romo's ass, but barring missed-time injuries, that's a small price to pay for winning a division game in heroic fashion. Barron is the most penalized player in the NFL and he's not even a fucking starter. I doubt he would have to be in game-on-the-line mentality to throw a choke hold like that.

Poor Stafford. Peppers is a beast from the depths I wouldn't wish on anybody. But Stafford didn't get fucked nearly as hard as Calvin Johnson did. That was worse than the Tuck Rule.

[Elfdart]

Typical Cowboy fan: You're just hankerin' to see the #2 QB out there -admit it!

If Barron hadn't put Orakpo in that choke-hold, Tony Romo would have ended up like a drunk tourist in Pamplona.

I suspect after what Peppers did to Stafford last week, the Cowboys will double-team him all game and take their chances with the rest of the Bears' defense.

[Medic]

*sigh*.... Get this, I got Jahvid Best in my fantasy league... warming the bench. (between his relative puny yardage -- yes he had 2 TD's last week -- and facing a good Philly defense which really was holding Green Bay to little yardage until they got tired due to offensive lack of production, and his 'toe' ailment, I got scared and went with the healthy back)

Meanwhile, Jerome Harrison is returning kicks, running the ball AND catching it to little effect. Through one half, there's a 27 point gap between them. edit: and, he fumbled and lost!

FUCK THE BROWNS - NEVER AGAIN. edit: I haven't seen a Browns televised game, but either they're not blocking or Harrison was just a late season flash-in-the-pan last year against defenses not playing for a playoff spot or resting.

[Medic]

Matthews fumbled again, hopefully he gets over that.
Also, he's out with a right ankle injury. He had to be helped off and was then carted off to the locker room... *sigh* Long day. Mike Tolbert looks great though.

[Medic]

What the fuck is happening in San Diego? Matthews: lost fumble. Gerrard: 3 pics. Rivers: 2 pics. Sims-Walker: lost fumble.

7 turnovers in the first 19 minutes of this game! edit: add a blocked punt against San Diego (David Binn is out for the 1st time in about 150 games)

[Elfdart]

What the fuck is happening in San Diego? Matthews: lost fumble. Gerrard: 3 pics. Rivers: 2 pics. Sims-Walker: lost fumble.

Antoine Cason sure as shit came to play: 2 picks, a forced fumble and more.

[Medic]

I fucking love Brandon Siler. The guy just makes plays. He's got a pick, forced one just now and his 59 is invariably near every backfield play against the run.

[Elfdart]

I fucking love Brandon Siler. The guy just makes plays. He's got a pick, forced one just now and his 59 is invariably near every backfield play against the run.

I want to know why he's not starting -he's the one who stuffed the Cowboys last year on that goal line stand.

[Guardsman Bass]

What the fuck happened in the Redskins-Texans game? When I went out about 20-30 minutes ago, the 'Skins were up 17 points, but still lost. Did they just decide to go home after reaching 27 points?

On the other hand, I was happy to see Miami topple the Vikings, and the Jets beat the Patriots.

[weemadando]

The best thing about this game? No matter who wins a Manning loses.

[The Spartan]

What the fuck happened in the Redskins-Texans game? When I went out about 20-30 minutes ago, the 'Skins were up 17 points, but still lost. Did they just decide to go home after reaching 27 points?

What happened is that the Texans finally decided to show up and play some fucking football in the fourth quarter. Then Kubiak, admittedly having been burned in the past, decides to punt the ball away in OT while inside his place kicker's range, the defense forces a punt* and we drive down field to set up an easy field goal.

Not the way I want to win, but, in the end, it's still a check in the 'W' column.

*Edit: not forces a punt, the D lucked out with a missed second field goal after the kicker made it just after a timeout was called.

[Master of Ossus]

Win or lose, the 49ers look to have taken some big strides today. They've made some horrific mistakes (all those stupid turnovers--Delanie Walker), but they've also done a LOT of good things. The offensive line has looked really solid and done very well with the run blocking, and of course they also have Frank Gore to kill LB's and DB's. Smith has also looked really good--this is the best game I've seen from him as a pro. If he plays like this the rest of the season, the 49ers have a QB.

The 49ers have legitimately outplayed the Saints, today.

[Patrick Degan]

I was almost going crazy the last two and a half minutes of that game.

[Raptor 597]

I was almost going crazy the last two and a half minutes of that game.

Yea you right, I done lost my mind and caught a heart attack. Though Drew did good in the clutch multiple times and put up; alot of the calls like the multiple time outs hinging on a 3rd and 2 and after Porter got the int, made me go WTF?? The 49ers played well, especially their defense but they made some stupid in crucial spots, my hear can't take another one like this.

[Elfdart]

I was almost going crazy the last two and a half minutes of that game.

When the Saints got stuffed and had to kick the field goal I had an "Oh Shit!" moment. The 49ers should have won the game, but too many bonehead mistakes...

Which reminds me, what's the problem with getting the play called on time? That killed two drives in just this game. The coach should give the QB a list of plays he wants called if the play is late coming from the sideline. Or let the QB call a play himself.

[starslayer]

Which reminds me, what's the problem with getting the play called on time?

Assuming Yahoo Sports is reliable on this, apparently Raye calls the plays from memory a lot of the time, and his memory of the exact play calls isn't the greatest. Last season, he would relay them to one of the assistants, who usually knew which play Raye was talking about, and he'd relay that to the QB. However, in the offseason, the QB coach got resentful of his diminished role in creating the game plan. This caused Singletary to have him be the relayer, but he's not on the same wavelength as Raye when it comes to the exact play call as written in the playbook. This causes problems. It's fucking stupid, and it needs to get resolved one way or another soon.

[Havok]

Win or lose, the 49ers look to have taken some big strides today. They've made some horrific mistakes (all those stupid turnovers--Delanie Walker), but they've also done a LOT of good things. The offensive line has looked really solid and done very well with the run blocking, and of course they also have Frank Gore to kill LB's and DB's. Smith has also looked really good--this is the best game I've seen from him as a pro. If he plays like this the rest of the season, the 49ers have a QB.

The 49ers have legitimately outplayed the Saints, today.

He has played like this before y'know. There is a reason he is still on the roster.

As for tonight's game, Smith was great. There was one questionable throw that Gore tipped and got intercepted, but other than that, Smith was money. It is amazing what happens when your line actually pass blocks and you get 100+ yard from your running back. Crabtree, Davis and Gore all showed up and he ran that two minute offense like it was his bitch.

Delanie Walker, Philip Adams and surprisingly, the Niner D, (in the last minute of the game) lost this game tonight. The Saints shouldn't have had more than one touchdown the way the Niners were holding onto the ball when they actually held onto the ball.

This game also confirms what I was saying about the Seahawks game (along with the piss poor way the Seahawks played this week), that it was a whole lot of over confidence and Pete Carroll rah rah kool-aid last week and nothing more.

Unfortunately, this game get chalked up in the same column as last year's Vikings game (Farve throwing the most miracle pass of his career to some nobody receiver to beat us) and the Colts game (The D completely shutting down Manning, and not getting the credit at all for giving the rest of the league the blueprint of how to do it the rest of the year, and getting beat by a halfback pass) in which we are just so close, literally one play away, from beating an established far better team to take that next step.

And is it just me, but if Ray McDonald hadn't of tipped that field goal, didn't it look like it's original trajectory was going to take it wide left?

And another thing... Frank Gore needs to tape his damn jersey. He got grabbed twice tonight and slowed up just enough to allow other tacklers to reach him when he would have been able to break for huge chunks of yardage if the first guy wasn't able to get a handful.

[FSTargetDrone]

Vick will be in by mid season.

Oops! My bad. Mid first game.

Right you are:

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Reid on Vick: 'This is what I think is right"

The national talking head network had it right, after all. Andy Reid has named Michael Vick the Eagles' starting quarterback.

"I took plenty of time to evaluate it and this is what I think is right," Reid said.

Reid told reporters at NovaCare that up til now, he had told us what he believed -- that Kolb would be the QB, but that Vick did "an exceptional job" the last two weeks. "It's my obligation to make the proper decision" Reid said.

Reid said it was his decision and that he has full backing of the front office on the move. He said he met with Kolb over the last two days and Kolb was the first to know about the move.

"Kevin Kolb would like to be the starting quarterback of this football team and I wouldn’t expect anything less," Reid said. "This is one of the most competitive kids I’ve been around. He wants to be out there and he wants to play and his day will come here.”

Vick has shown he can be a pocket passer, Reid said. "I didn't expect, obviously, the accelerated play of Michael Vick," Reid said, when he repeatedly insisted Kolb would be the Eagles' starter.

So far there have been no discussions on a contract extension for Vick, who becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

Reid said he "absolutely" felt the Eagles could win a Super Bowl with Vick and said Vick is possibly playing better than he ever has.

"One of the great things about America is you're given a second chance if you handle it the proper way," Reid said. "His teammates will stand up for Michael and so will I."

Reid said Kolb, scheduled to make $12.25 million guaranteed this season, has not asked for a trade. He also stressed that he sees a bright future for Kolb and called him a potentially "championship caliber" QB.

Earlier: The Eagles' signing of RB Joique Bell finally is official, and the roster move made to bring him aboard is a mild surprise. Hank Baskett, cut last year about this time just because Reggie Brown wouldn't have caused too big a cap hit, is gone now for other reasons, presumably because with rookie Riley Cooper in the fold, Hank is redundant.

Baskett, a wideout who arrived in a 2006 trade with Minnesota, is best known for being married to reality TV star and former Playmate Kendra Wilkinson.

Bell was was signed off the Bills' practice squad. The Eagles now have five running backs, if you include fullback Owen Schmitt, an unwieldy number, which is another reason the Baskett release seems odd.

Adding to the intrigue, the Eagles just released RB Martell Mallett from their practice squad -- not odd, given the number of RBs on the roster -- but they also released practice squad safety Chip Vaughn.

The felon is in for the foreseeable future.

[Elfdart]

Which reminds me, what's the problem with getting the play called on time?

Assuming Yahoo Sports is reliable on this, apparently Raye calls the plays from memory a lot of the time, and his memory of the exact play calls isn't the greatest. Last season, he would relay them to one of the assistants, who usually knew which play Raye was talking about, and he'd relay that to the QB. However, in the offseason, the QB coach got resentful of his diminished role in creating the game plan. This caused Singletary to have him be the relayer, but he's not on the same wavelength as Raye when it comes to the exact play call as written in the playbook. This causes problems. It's fucking stupid, and it needs to get resolved one way or another soon.

Simple solution: Jimmy Raye needs to be on the sidelines and the QB coach needs to go upstairs in the booth. Let him talk to the other offensive coaches -hell, give him a say in play-calling- but once it's called it needs to be out there immediately. Those delay penalties were as a bad as the fumbles.

Generally the person who sends the plays to the QB should be the best verbal communicator, whether he's the OC or another assistant or the HC or the backup QB. Don Coryell (speech impediment), Joe Gibbs (quiet) and Dick Vermiel (fits of crying) all used Jim Hanifan (the offensive line coach) to relay the offensive plays because he was the best speaker and like George Patton, gave his orders loud and dirty.



The 49ers need to have their best communicator telling Alex Smith the plays, or they should script their plays like Bill Walsh used to do.