SB Nation - Tony Romo

Has Panthers Delhomme Made Final Start of 2009?

Jaxon — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:00:23 -0000

by Chuck Burton - AP

3 days ago: Carolina Panthers' Matt Moore (3) prepares throw a pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009. Moore was a winner in his first start of the season for the Panthers, and likely will remain Carolina's quarterback for another week. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

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Does anyone else find it slightly incredulous that Panthers coach John Fox calls Jake Delhomme day-to-day following a fracture of his middle finger on his throwing hand? That easily sounds like a three or even four week healing process. I'm pretty sure it took Tony Romo three to four weeks to recover from a similar injury last season. Four weeks until being able to throw without pain sounds reasonable and besides, why would you want to rush back a QB with 18 INT's in 11 games? Wouldn't you want to make sure Delhomme's finger is a 100% before risking another loss at this point?

So if we assume Delhomme is out four weeks then why not just sit him the final two? If in these next two games Matt Moore leads the Panthers back to .500 at 7-7 they are suddenly back in the wildcard hunt. Removing Moore from the line up after resurrecting the season against teams like the Patriots and Vikings would certainly put Fox in the hot seat if Delhomme tanked...again.

If the Panthers instead lose the next two games the season is dead and so again I ask why start Delhomme. Let him go ahead and start his planning for next season. With his contract the Panthers will at the very least have him back in camp and competing.

If the Panthers do lose and Matt Moore fails to impress then why not give AJ Feeley a shot? I'll stop there and not suggest we elevate Hunter Cantwell as tempting as that sounds. Fans pay good money to see these games and they should see the best the Panthers have on the roster. The Panthers know ultimately that need to keep a competitive team on the field to keep the wine and cheese crowd happy. Besides, even if Moore tanks you can hardly fault Fox for sticking with the kid, he obviously doesn't better options.

If the Panther are eliminated from playoff contention then I say it's time to figure out if our future starting QB is already on the roster. I would really applaud John Fox if just went ahead and told Moore he going to start at least two more games. See how the kid responds to the pressure. I will agree that Moore wasn't overly impressive in his start against the Bucs. Mediocre stats but I thought he made some good decisions under pressure, made some crisp throws and good rid of the ball quickly. Again, not an overly impressive performance but a solid (and winning helps). Honestly if there is one characteristic that has impressed me the most it was his poise. Moore doesn't appear to get rattled in the pocket, sheds hits, and appears focused on the at all times. That said, here's three things I would like to see Moore improve on in his next start.

Let's start with his pocket awareness. The Patriots will certainly bring pressure to rattle the youngster and the Panthers offense line hasn't exactly been a fortress. I'm looking to see if he can sense the pressure and move around in the pocket a little to buy him that extra second he needs.
Let's see if he takes more shots down field. The Patriots Achilles heel on offense is its secondary. WR Steve Smith will certainly want to build a rapport with Moore and there is no better way to do that then connect for a couple big plays. Remember Smith's miraculous catch in the freezing cold last season in Green Bay? Smith would love nothing more than to do that in Foxboro under similar conditions.
Finally let's see if the kid uses his wheels this week. It seems there is always at least one point in every game when a QB is better served to run for the that 3^rd down conversation if they could only see it. Moore has run the ball very little in his short career but that needs to change. If I'm going to invest in a young QB then I need a guy who can also pull the ball down and run three yards for that first down if the opportunity is there. We have all seen the danger of having a statue for a QB in the pocket. The pass rushers start running to a spot and it's only a matter of time before that ball gets knocked out.

Now that the Panther defense is playing better this team can keep itself in games to the end if it will only protect the ball on offense. Putting any QB coming off an injury to his throwing hand back into the starting line-up prematurely is a recipe for disaster, much less one having a season such as Delhomme's. Sticking with Moore for the remainder of the season only makes sense no matter the win-loss record. Only then will the Panthers be able to properly formulate an offseason plan for the QB position, something many fans on this site wished had happened last offseason...

I can't end on such a stale note. There STILL remains that last glimmer of hope that these Panthers with their young, fearless leader somehow infiltrates the Patriots, conquers the Vikings, squashes the Giants and excommunicates the Saints. If that miraculous scenario should happen then how excited would we be? Just think about that for a moment......I can't even go there. Positive vibe gone...

Poll

Should Panthers QB Jake Delhomme get another start in the 2009 season?

Coach Joe DeCamillis is Cool with Romo Holding

Aaron Novinger — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:34:28 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Anything else I can do to help, Coach?

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Yes, Tony Romo's old-but-new job as holder is the talk of the town. Special team's coach, Joe DeCamillis, is impressed not only that Romo volunteered for the position, but also at how "smooth" a holder the quarterback actually is.

DeCamillis, who didn't have a lot of options outside of McBriar, was impressed that Romo was willing to offer his services.

"To me, that just shows what a competitor he is and how much he wants to help our team win," said DeCamillis. "He had a bad experience, and he really wants to help us out and help us win games. That's a real pro."

More after the jump.

Todd Archer reports that Romo and Coach Joe D talked about his potentially taking over holding duties on the plane ride home from the Giants' game.

DeCamillis said he studied all of Romo's holds in the 2006 season before they worked on it Wednesday.

"He's very natural with his hands and he's an upright target, so [snapper L.P. Ladouceur] can look back and there's a big target to hit," DeCamillis said.

"He's very smooth and to be honest with you it doesn't shock me one bit but it really was his idea. It wasn't my idea. We talked about it but this shows me what a competitor he is and how much he wants to help the team win because he had a bad experience and he really wants to help us out. That's a real pro to me. That's a huge boost, in my opinion, of him not that he needed one but he got one from me."

Hat tip to Fernie67 for the link.

In injury news today, FS Ken Hamlin (ankle), and TE Martellus Bennett (concussion) were held out of practice again. Both are still looking doubtful for Sunday's game.

The good news is that FB Deon Anderson did return, though he was wearing a sleeve on his knee. His return will be important for the Cowboys' heavy packages if Bennett does not go.

One other injury note: Terence Newman's knee checked out.

CB Terence Newman underwent an MRI for an undisclosed knee injury he sustained in the 31-24 loss to the Giants. The test came back negative as no structural damage was found. Newman practiced Wednesday and should be ready to play on Sunday against the Chargers.

In Coach Phillips' presser today, he was adament that rookie TE John Phillips will be ready for an increased role. The mood surrounding Bennett's concussion lightened when Coach was asked about if he had seen a specialist yet.

"Oh, he's already done that," Phillips said. "Of course, we kid him obviously...the old joke, you know. X-rayed his head and they didn't find anything."

Judging by the laughter in the room and the smile on Phillips' face, Bennett's absence this week seems precautionary and in line with the league's trend of protecting concussed players from returning too soon.

Speaking of Coach Phillips, not all Cowboys' fans love him, but the players do - even those who play for the Chargers.

Phillips, the San Diego defensive coordinator before taking the Cowboys job in 2007, is getting nothing but love and respect from his former players.

"I love Wade. Love and respect," said Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, who echoed sentiments of a number of his teammates to the media earlier this week.

Bengals Banter: Should the Bengals go pass happy against the Vikings?

Kirkendall — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:17:42 -0000

Should the Bengals attack the Vikings through the air this weekend? It's not exactly a state secret that the Cincinnati Bengals decided to follow the same model that two successful AFC North teams have used in their own respective successes. Effective rushing offense. Strong defense. So when the Bengals rush the football more than they ever have on a Marvin Lewis team, is the question about balance all that necessary? Then again, what do you mean by balance? Do you mean yardage? Do you mean play calling?

The Bengals offense has rushed the football 51.2% of the time, while passing 49.7% of their 793 offensive snaps. Though, I feel you while your argument starts simmering about predictability. This isn't a Bob Bratkowski bash-fest.

But my primary question is, what philosophy is working best this year? The combined winning percentage of the top ten teams that have passed the most through 12 games this year, is 0.675 (81-39). The combined winning percentage of the top ten teams that have rushed the football the most this year is 0.625 (75-45).

The next question. With Cincinnati heading to the comforts of a warm dome in Minnesota, should the Bengals go from a rush-heavy offense to a pass-happy offense? The Vikings have one of the best tackle combinations in the league, which limits opposing offenses to 84.2 yards rushing per game -- third in the NFL -- with only three touchdowns rushing allowed all season. On the other hand, the Vikings are middle of the pack against the pass. They're passing defense ranks 21st, allowing 18 touchdowns this season with an opposing quarterback rating of 91.2. But they also sport the league's best pass rush, sacking the quarterback 40 times this season.

So if you're the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive coordinator? Would you game plan a passing attack? Keep the status quo and pound the football until the Viking stop you? Or would you do your best to have a balanced attack?

Bengals should have an indoor facility. There's some raising the issue that the Cincinnati Bengals are unnecessarily traveling to Mason during inclement weather to practice indoors. Joe Reedy writes, "It also throws another unnecessary wrinkle into the preparation for Sunday's contest at 10-2 Minnesota. Instead of having the extra time to watch film or refine game plans to face Brett Favre and company, the team spent at least 90 minutes going to and from Mason."

You mean to tell me that the only place that the Bengals can practice indoors in the entire Cincinnati region is all the way in Mason -- like we're taking a bus ride to Rhode Island?

Paul Daugherty wrote, "The Bengals had to practice in Mason, because they dont have a bubble. You know M. Lewis was steamed about that. The public will not tax itself to pay for it, and you can bet The Family isn't likely to open its vault. The Men lose an hour and a half every time they have to get on the bus. The Family's business is football. Not winning football. Never forget that."

Palmer says: "It’s a pain. It’s a drag, but it is what it is," quarterback Carson Palmer said. "Just sitting on the freeway for 45 minutes or an hour – we’ve actually sat on the busses for a couple hours one year because of the snow. It’s the situation we’re in."

I have no doubt that the Bengals SHOULD have an indoor facility for days like today and for preparation in games that will be played indoors. I don't know a single person that doesn't support the Bengals building an indoor facility. Really, there's no better way of saying it then the Bengals should have one.

But god forbid that people have to travel 25 minutes during inclement weather on the highway which has been totally clear during our snowy days this week. I'll play my little violin mp3 during my 40 minute one-way commute. And considering I have no reason to believe that the Bengals are spending their entire waking hours watching film, I'm sure the commute to and from Mason is easily packed into their working day.

But in the end, yes, the Bengals need to join the ranks of other teams with an indoor facility. It just makes too much sense.

Moving on...

Did you know that Carson Palmer is the best passer in the NFL on third and long? It's true. Of the 52 pass attempts he's made on third and longer-then-eight, Palmer has recorded 25 first down passes. That's nine percentage points over second place Tony Romo.

James Walker asks the question, are the Bengals elite? Scouts Inc.'s Matt Williamson doesn't think so. Why?

Williamson believes the Bengals have several holes that could be costly when they meet elite competition down the stretch. The two most glaring weaknesses Williamson points to are the Bengals' lack of depth at cornerback and their unwillingness to throw deep on offense.

We meant to do this earlier in the week. WhoDeyFans is having a gathering at Bar 71 this weekend for the Viking and Bengals game to "partake in dollar beers, cheap wings and great burgers". All Bengals fans are welcome.

Chad: "They’ll keep jacking up the fines, I’ll keep jacking up the celebrations." Should there be a worry that the NFL could suspend Chad if they finally discover that fines haven't really ever worked?

Domata Peko: "I’ll be fine. I’m feeling good. I wish I could have played these two games (against the Vikings and Chargers). These are big games, with the big running backs they have."

John Thornton weighs in on the rotating right tackle, saying "the Bengals should settle in on a guy and roll with it."

Reader smoormaniddy points out Sports Illustrated's Ross Tucker's piece about how the Bengals used the practice squad.

What you didn't know is that three of the linemen who have started at least five games up front for the Bengals are veterans of the practice squad, including two who have spent multiple seasons on what used to be referred to as the taxi squad. Center Kyle Cook, left guard Nate Livings and right tackle Dennis Roland have earned their playing time the hard way and they play like it.

Mike Zimmer on Bengals rookies: "I’ve played a lot of rookies before, but never this many on a team that was good."

Notes from first post...

Listed below is the top ten quarterbacks ranked by passing attempts and their team's record.

Quarterback	Attempts	Rating	Team	Record
Peyton Manning	460	101.9	Colts	12-0
Tom Brady	458	96.9	Patriots	7-5
Matt Schaub	434	97.2	Texans	5-7
Jay Cutler	421	75.3	Bears	5-7
Aaron Rodgers	420	103.3	Packers	8-4
Tony Romo	414	96.3	Cowboys	8-4
Joe Flacco	406	84.6	Ravens	6-6
Kurt Warner	404	97.0	Cardinals	8-4
Brett Favre	403	108.5	Vikings	10-2
Drew Brees	392	111.3	Saints	12-0
				81-39

Rushing offenses

Teams	Attempts	Yards	Record
New York Jets	432	2,023	6-6
Cincinnati Bengals	406	1,607	9-3
Miami Dolphins	398	1,805	6-6
Carolina Panthers	378	1,823	5-7
New Orleans Saints	374	1,711	12-0
Tennessee Titans	372	1,989	5-7
Minnesota Vikings	351	1,483	10-2
New York Giants	351	1,495	7-5
Denver Broncos	342	1,507	8-4
Jacksonville Jaguars	339	1,356	7-5
			75-45

Cowboys Injury Update...and is Romo the New Holder?

Aaron Novinger — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:03:07 -0000

Wednesday's practice showcased quite the surprise on special teams. Don't look now, but Tony Romo could be the Cowboys' new holder come Sunday.

Hat tip to what_the_crap for the FanPost.

From Nick Eatman:

Although head coach Wade Phillips joked that it would be a "game-time decision" to have Romo take over the duties, he all but pegged the quarterback for his new role.

"We let him hold today quite a bit to see how he did," Phillips said. "And (special teams coach Joe DeCamillis) was very impressed. We felt like he would be. Tony is a pretty good holder."

Make the jump for Wednesday's injury update.

The Dallas injury list has grown with the addition of TE Martellus Bennett's concussion suffered in the Giants' game, and both FB Deon Anderson and CB Terence Newman have soreness in their knees.

FS Ken Hamlin also did not practice today because of his high ankle sprain, which makes it doubtful he will return in time to take on the Chargers.

From the ESPNDallas blog:

As for the injuries, Phillips didn't think safety Ken Hamlin (ankle) would return for Sunday's game against the Chargers. Fullback Deon Anderson (knee) could practice tomorrow.

As for backup tight end Martellus Bennett (concussion), things are little uncertain, though Phillips was hopeful the second-year man from Texas A&M might practice.

But, Bennett was having some physical problems. He hurt a shin in the Giants game, and then suffered a concussion somehow.

"He came in and said he was kinda foggy and his eyes hurting," Phillips said.

Cowboys Fans: The Annoying Optimists

aramnath — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:36:55 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

These guys are among the reasons why Cowboys can really get under your skin. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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I hate the Cowboys. As a Bills fan that grew up watching two Super Bowl beat downs at the hands of Big D it's hard to not to hate them. Not only that, but growing up an hour north of New York City, I grew up on a steady diet of Giants and Jets games. I was too young to even remember that the Giants beat us in a Super Bowl and with the Jets being a division rival I developed a strong affinity to the Giants as my second favorite team.

Side Note: I was 3 when they lost to the Giants so I have no recollection of that Super Bowl, but during the losses to the Cowboys I was 5 and 6. I became a Bills fan because I felt bad for them that they got beaten so badly both times by Dallas.

Neither my support for the Bills or the Giants however is the reason why I get such pleasure out of rooting for the Cowboys' misfortune. What really gets me going on that account is the way Cowboys fans just have a way of exaggerating anything and everything related to their team.

Tony Romo is an all-time great. The Cowboys are going to win the Super Bowl this year. Every year we have to hear some bullshit excuses when your team fails to live up to your bloated expectations. This is then followed up with the usual talk about how next year is going to be different, which it hasn't been for 14 years now.

Romo is an above average quarterback. Forget top-5 in the league, the guy is the third best quarterback in his division behind Eli Manning and Donovan McNabb.

You're team is not a Super Bowl contender and hasn't been since your last playoff win in 1996, so don't act like the Cowboys are the shit. If they make it to the playoffs this year, which would be surprising, don't make the mistake of hyping them up as some kind of dark horse. When you have the same exact players and Wade Phillips as your head coach for three years, without adding much significant talent, the results are not going to change.

Also, please stop talking about the tradition that is the Dallas Cowboys. You're starting sound like an NFL version of Notre Dame fans. Nobody cares anymore that you won three Super Bowls in the early 90's and we really don't want to hear about those unforgettable teams from the 70's.

I know how it is to support a perpetually underwhelming team with the fan allegiances. So for your own sake, just stop being shocked by your team's continued failure, because nobody else is.

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Reed Hoffmann - AP

4 days ago: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle (12) has a pass attempt blocked by Denver Broncos tight end Richard Quinn (81) during a fake punt attempt at the start of the second half of their game, giving the Broncos the ball deep in Chiefs territory in their NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

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Happy Tuesday, friends, and welcome to another edition of ST&NO. After being sick last week, and running an abbreviated version on Wednesday, I am back in full effect this week. I feel kind of like Stringer Bell in season 2 of The Wire, when Avon Barksdale was locked up, and their supplier cut them off. Stringer said he needed to put out a smoker to hold the towers, and I feel like a smoker is similarly needed this week with ST&NO. After all, I can't really do what Stringer actually did, when he couldn't get his raw dope, and change the name. Nobody is going to read a column called Death Grip, you know? (Really, I don't know what kind of drug addict would buy dope called Death Grip, but that's neither here nor there.) Anyway, here comes the high test stuff, with the same name as always. So fill up your coffee, get comfortable, and let's get right to it. Ready.... BEGIN!!!

1. You have to like how the Broncos looked Sunday, even in spite of 3 turnovers by Kyle Orton. They once again beat down a bad team, which is what good teams have to do. They shot a hole in the terribly inane thinking that they couldn't win in Kansas City in December, and they strengthened their hold on the 5th seed in the playoffs. Helping matters, the Steelers and Ravens both lost to fall to 6-6, so their two competitors who beat them head-to-head lost some ground. I fully expect Jacksonville to choke, and I am starting to think that Miami is going to sneak into the 6th spot, actually.

In any case, the Broncos are in a pretty good place right now. Peter King declared them to be toast two weeks ago, done, kaput. On Monday, he called them a psycho team, and ranked them 10th in the Fool 15. I am still feeling good about this Indianapolis game, and I am sure that the Broncos match up pretty well with the Colts. Coverage is the only way to beat them, and the Broncos are back to covering as well as anybody. I fully expect the Broncos to run for 150 yards against the Colts too, if they can keep the score within striking distance.

It's a good Tuesday to be a Broncos fan. Our team is in in the midst of a season which we can only consider to be a success up until this point. They've come together as a team, learned how to win close games against good teams, learned how to blow out bad teams, and figured out their brand new schemes. They've seemingly bought into one of the main Patriots mantras, that Durability is more important than Ability. Everybody is working hard to Do Their Job. This is when it's good to be a fan of a team, and when it's good to be a fan of a team, it's great to be alive.

2. Information From My Eyes - Denver at Kansas City

a. Kyle Orton had a C+ game, but I felt like all three turnovers he committed were a result of him being somewhat greedy. He's supposed to be the guy who checks it down when nothing is there, isn't he? I hope that film provides a good reminder for him to do so.

b. Knowshon Moreno improves every week, and he's really looking decisive lately. You can tell that he has had a big dose of Bobby Turner's foot in his backside this year. For a pick I didn't love when it was made, I have really come to be happy with Knowshon.

c. I was pretty worried during Kansas City's 20 play first quarter drive, because the tackling and gap discipline looked pretty bad. The Broncos sure stiffened by the goal line, though, and they set the tone for the rest of the game's defensive performance.

d. I meant to talk about setting the edge last week, but I forgot to. My brother Chris felt that Matt Millen made too much of the concept during the Broncos-Giants game, but I disagree, because it's all-important to the way the Broncos run the ball, and the way they defend against the run. The Broncos have been fanstastic in their own running game with setting the edge the past two games, led by Daniel Graham. He is getting out and winning his battles outside, and giving the runners a sealed edge to run inside of. Many of Correll Buckhalter's big runs on Sunday came just inside of Graham.

On defense, the idea is the same, but the defender wants to push the edge man back into the inside, and close off the outside lane. Mario Haggan has been doing this as well as any LB in the NFL this season. He has really found his niche as a physical, upfield run player. Ryan McBean makes a lot of plays in this way, as well.

Winning the physical battles at the edge is the key to everything for the Broncos, and they lost those battles during the losing streak. Since they've gotten back to winning, it's been no accident that they're winning at the edge on both sides of the ball.

e. The kick return where Eddie Royal faked a reverse to Brandon Marshall was interesting. I expect to see them actually hand that off one of these weeks.

f. Alphonso Smith needs to knock off the sucker penalties.

g. Spencer Larsen is an appreciably better blocker than Peyton Hillis. He just thumps guys, and it goes well with the work that Graham and Richard Quinn are doing at TE.

h. Tony Scheffler had a huge 3^rd down drop in 2^nd Quarter, and it was exactly the kind of play that has prevented the Broncos from being an elite offense. You have to make plays when they are available to be made. At least Scheffler blasted the return man on the ensuing punt.

i. Tamba Hali is a good fit for the 3-4, as I have been saying since the preseason. He's aggressive, quick, strong, and as a lifelong down DE, he has very good technique. The first sack he got on Ryan Clady was all technique. The Broncos did take advantage of Hali's aggressiveness on both TD passes, though, and also on the 49 yard bubble screen that Brandon Marshall had.

j. I saw where somebody said we should thank Phildelphia for Brian Dawkins and Correll Buckhalter. Miami is due a thank you card for Andre Goodman and Renaldo Hill, as well. If Goodman were just a little better tackler, I'd be even happier, but everybody should have noticed by now that the ball just seems to find its way into his hands.

k. Matt Prater has developed into one of the best kickers in the NFL. It's time we all realize that, and appreciate his work.

l. My biggest problem with Mitch Berger is that he takes too long to get the ball off. He had yet another seeing-eye punt on Sunday, which inexplicably missed a dead-to-rights block. Upgrading the punter position has to be a huge priority in the offseason.

m. It was great to see Peyton Hillis running the ball again, and he reminded the world that he can do some damage with it. Hopefully, the performance will get him some snaps on offense, because he clearly has something to contribute.

n. I really like Darcel McBath as a matchup safety. He is always around the ball when he is on the field, and I think his pick was a triumph of player evaluation. Draftniks considered him a reach, but he was hard to spot on some abysmal Texas Tech defensive units. He clearly has the goods, though; it jumps off the screen at you.

3. Information From My Eyes - Other games

a. I watched most of the San Francisco-Seattle game, and you know that means I will have some Alex Smith thoughts. He played great on Sunday, and did everything the team needed from him to win, short of missing one open receiver on a deep out in the 4^th quarter. It was the first 300 yard passing game of his career, and it should have been a lot more. His teammates dropped at least 9 passes in the game, including 3 TDs, by Delanie Walker, Vernon Davis, and Michael Crabtree.

b. Speaking of Smith, I meant to clear up an uttlerly stupid comment made by the always-brilliant Solomon Wilcots during last week's game. The head cold I was feeling made me forget to mention it, I guess. Wilcots noticed that the 49ers were (smartly) using Smith in the shotgun very frequently, and he said (I'm paraphrasing) that Smith was very comfortable, because he had used the exact same offense throughout college.

That's very interesting, Saruman, except, he didn't. This gets to my constant annoyance about the term "Spread Offense." There is no one monolithic spread offense. There are college teams which do some similar things formationally, with a lot of WRs, and many plays with the QB taking snaps from the shotgun, but the actual plays vary greatly. The 49ers aren't doing anything that is much like the Urban Meyer offense he played in at Utah. There are no option plays, and no shovel passes. The pass routes are actually tending to be much more horizontal and timed than the stuff he did in college.

A bunch of WRs and a shotgun setup does not mean you're playing a "spread offense," and saying that you're playing a "spread offense" doesn't mean the same thing from one place to the next. Smith is most comfortable in his footwork and reads from the shotgun, and he has time to get the ball out before he gets crushed behind the Niners terrible O-line. Smith has been sacked only once in the last 2 games. My only concern is that they've abandoned the run too much, and need to stick to it much more.

c. I remember thinking that Seattle looked pretty good against the Broncos in the preseason, but as I watched the game today, I was thinking that I really don't like the way their team is constructed. They have 3 terribly overpaid guys at WR (Deion Branch, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Nate Burleson), and not much talent at RB or on the offensive line. The only players I really like at all on their defense are Brandon Mebane and Aaron Curry. They have a lot of money invested in Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill at LB, but I think both guys are just solid players (Tatupu is currently hurt, obviously.) I think they ought to go to a 3-4, if they can get a good NT in the offseason. (A few should be available.) The guy they have, Colin Cole, is more of a backup caliber guy. They could stand up Patrick Kerney, and use Curry in a blitzing role, which he is best suited for. Of course, their secondary will still be lousy, unless they address it.

d. Chad Henne looked really good on Sunday. I had the Miami-New England game on the smaller TV, during the Broncos game, and just about every time I looked over, he was making a play for his team. If he keeps it up, he'll be able to easily afford tattoo removal before too long.

e. ST&NO favorite Sean Smith had an interesting game on Sunday. He gave up an 81 yard TD to Sam Aiken on a play where he had perfect bump and run coverage but didn't find the ball in the air, and fell down trying. Later, he got beaten by Aiken on a double move, and Tom Brady overthrew him by about a foot. He got beat on a perfectly covered play, and got lucky on a busted coverage play. Such is the nature of being a CB playing a lot of man-to-man. By the way, Smith continues to look like he'll have a long career as one of the best man coverage players in the NFL.

f. I really liked what the Giants did on defense Sunday against Dallas, and I picked them based upon some moves I heard about during the week. For one thing, they moved a good CB, Aaron Ross, to FS, and benched the abysmal C.C. Brown. For another, they took a big-name guy, Osi Umenyiora, out of the starting lineup, and replaced him with Mathias Kiwanuka. Osi struggles against the run, and the Broncos continually ran at him on Thanksgiving night. The Giants correctly identified their top priority as containing the Dallas running game, and made the move to the stouter Kiwanuka.

The effect was that both guys played really well. Umenyiora was actually used quite a bit in coverage, and he did pretty well. He's really a lean, athletic guy, and he did well in that role. He also recovered a key fumble, and returned it for a bunch of yards. The Giants held the Cowboys to 45 yards rushing on 23 carries, and it's the primary reason they won the game.

g. Don't give too much credence to this "Tony Romo/Wade Phillips can't win in December" stuff. Romo, particularly, played pretty well Sunday, and the loss wasn't on him. It was on a few defensive breakdowns which led to big plays, and the aforementioned lack of an effective running game.

Remember the one about correlation not necessarily reflecting causality? There is a real danger to putting too much stock in facts which Peter King insists on incorrectly referring to as factoids. The December record for the Cowboys the past few years is a case in point. It doesn't necessarily foretell what will happen this year, and even if the Cowboys lose a bunch of games this month, it may have nothing to do with the month. Remember, a football game is an independent event, which is comprised of many individual independent events. What happened in the past is meaningless.

h. Another example of this foolishness with meaningless statistics, while we're at it, was any credence being put into the fact that the Broncos were 1-16 all-time in Kansas City, during the month of December. Where to begin with this?

Well, in the most obvious place, of considering the significance of recency. If no players or coaches (or even owners) remain from the time when a game was played, that game has no meaning. A game in 1972 was played between the Chiefs and the Broncos, but not THESE Chiefs and Broncos. A rational person realizes that that game may as well have been between any two teams.

Another idea I had about this, that I wanted to share, harkens back to my days as a Finance major at THE Cleveland State University. There was a required class, Financial Markets and Institutions, which was really a BS class. It was taught by a really overweight, smelly, tenured professor who breathed really heavily, and the dude didn't ever teach anything, ever.

The class met in a computer lab, and consisted of 4 group analysis projects. We were given a bunch of parameters of a hypothetical economic environment, and we had to choose the 3-year period of the last 30 years, which was most predictive of the behavior of whatever financial instrument we were analyzing. We then used data from that 3 year period to analyze and project the performance of that instrument, and built a 6 slide PowerPoint discussing quantitative and qualitative reasons for our analysis. That was a 4 credit class.

Anyway, I was thinking that a reasonable thing to do might be to look into whether there was ever a time in semi-recent history where the two teams profiled like these two do, AND they played a game at Arrowhead in December. I didn't find any instances where the Broncos were a playoff caliber team, the Chiefs were a complete doormat, and the schedule played out this way. You could say I was not surprised at all by Sunday's result.

i. Chris Johnson is very dangerous, but I am not one of these people who is jumping up to call him the best RB in the NFL. For one thing, I think he makes the Titans a finesse running team. They do a ton of zone blocking for him, and he runs to the edges all the time, but without the kind of one-cut decisiveness that Broncos runners have always been coached into employing. Really, Johnson is a bit over-patient, in my opinion, and it's his exceptional burst and speed that let him mostly get away with it. I also continue to have my doubts about Johnson's ability to handle the heavy workload he gets, over a number of years. The Titans would be smart to get a legitimate second guy to take one third of the carries, because they apparently don't think LenDale White is that guy.

j. The Titans blew one on Sunday, and the way they did makes me feel even better about the Broncos' prospects for winning in Indianapolis next week. At halftime, the Titans had 2 more yards, and 6 more minutes of time of possession than the Colts, and Indianapolis led 24-10. The Titans also had 2 turnovers. Nate Washington dropped a perfect deep ball. There were plays available to be made, and the Titans failed to make them.

k. I watched the Steelers debacle against the Raiders, and all I can pin their problems on is missing Troy Polamalu. I think their defensive play-calling is less aggressive without Polamalu, and they're letting QBs have more time to throw the ball than the Steelers are known for doing. Bruce Gradkowski had some real good chances to get the ball downfield at times. It just gets back to the concept of a defense needing all its parts to be effective.

l. This stuff about Gradkowski being the answer for the Raiders is silly. He's a solid backup, and a try-hard guy, but he's not a starter for a winning football team. He lacks accuracy and arm strength, isn't particularly mobile, and just looks kind of underwhelming when you watch him.

m. Everybody knows I am generally not the biggest D.J. Williams lover, and I am going to reveal a closely held secret today, since I wanted to make this a smoker. My main problem with D.J. always has been that he isn't Steven Jackson. Back in 2004, I was fired up for the Broncos to draft Jackson, and a lot of Mel Kipers thought they would. They had just traded Clinton Portis, and I wanted a new RB.

When the Broncos took D.J., I was mad, my brother Chris will tell you. No matter what he ever does, I may not get over it. Anyway, I believe that Jackson is having the best season of any RB in the NFL this season, if you consider his circumstances. He has no QB, no line, not much at WR, and he continues to produce at a very high level. He's still only 26 years old, and he continues to be a great player.

n. Cedric Benson was back to his workhorse ways this week, and Larry Johnson was back to sitting on the bench. I continue to be impressed with the run blocking of Bengals LT Andrew Whitworth. He was a star at LSU, and was believed to be more of a guard, which is why he went in the second round. He has been blowing guys off the ball, though, as a LT. He's been similar to Jake Long, but better this season.

o. Matthew Stafford is clearly a tremendously tough kid, because he's been getting killed every week for the Lions, and he keeps coming back. He has a ways to go from a decision-making perspective, but he has to have the respect of his teammates, and you can't minimize the importance of that to a QB.

p. A lot has been made of the Michael Vick sighting in Atlanta, but the truth of the story is that he played a lot of garbage snaps in a blowout. The best thing you can say about him is that he showed he still has good run skills, and decent throwing skills. He completed both of his throws, but the long ball was kind of a duck thrown into a crowd, where Reggie Brown made a play on the ball. I do think he's going to get a look in a place like Carolina, which has no prospect of drafting a QB early.

q. Some pundit in the ESPN-o-sphere was recently trying to hypopulate that the Falcons were better off with Chris Redman at QB than Matt Ryan. As much of a non-fan of Ryan as I am, that's stupid. There's a good reason Redman was out of the league for more than 3 years, and that it took nepotism from his college coach, Bobby Petrino, to bring him back. He's been solid in some of his appearances, but there's no team in the NFL right now, for whom he is an upgrade over their starter.

r. If you remember back to the 2008 Draft, no WR was selected in the first round, and the first one chosen was Donnie Avery by the Rams. All the draftniks called Devin Thomas the best prospect, and had him going in the first round, and he eventually went one pick after Avery, 34^th.

He's playing fantastic football lately, and his rise really kind of started in the Denver game. Thomas is showing the qualities of a number 1 WR, and whoever his coach is next year, he is really going to benefit from it. Having a big, physical outside player like Thomas opens up the field for a guy like Santana Moss. Washington's recent offensive improvement has a lot to do with the light bulb going on for Thomas.

s. Percy Harvin didn't actually play RB at the University of Florida, and as a UF alum, Cris Collinsworth should know that. Collinsworth was trying to say that Harvin never ran any routes in college, and that couldn't be further from the truth. He didn't exactly run a full tree, but he ran many crossing routes, slants, and go routes. He has incredible run skills for an outside player, but he's a natural WR, make no mistake about it.

t. I hadn't gotten a look at Kurt Warner's wife in awhile, and she seems to have really upgraded her hair-sylist over the years. Back when Kurt won a Super Bowl, she looked like the kind of mom I would see wearing mom jeans, dragging around a bunch of kids at Wal-Mart, if I shopped at Wal-Mart. It's okay to wear mom jeans and shop at Wal-Mart, lest I offend anybody who does, but it's different for the MVP's wife.

u. Do these Gap ads with dancing beautiful people doing cheerleader cadences and wearing plaid make anybody want to go buy plaid clothing? I am interested in marketing and advertising, so if you're a ST&NO reader who finds those ads effective, I'd appreciate you saying so in the comments. My hypothesis is that they don't work well for anybody who reads this column.

v. My other holiday season advertising analysis is as follows: I think the Best Buy caroling store clerks suck, but at least people who watch football tend to buy stuff at Best Buy. I bet they're trying to snag a wife or two with those ads. The Open Hearts collection at Kay Jewelers is of very little interest to the average male football fan, who tends not to care about Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman's mommy's trite advice. Kay ought to stick to their ads which say, "Your wife will give you some incremental action for a couple weeks, if you buy her a diamond. The bigger th diamond, the more action." It communicates the needed psychological message to men better. I do like the Go Forth Levi's ads, and I think they're very effective, vis-à-vis the football watching audience whom they're aired for.

w. The Cardinals are for real, again, and the main reason they are is that they have legitimate stars at every level of their defense. Darnell Dockett has been a star, and Calais Campbell is turning into one at DE. Karlos Dansby is terrific at LB, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Adrian Wilson are both big-time players too. The underrated guy who I like is Antrel Rolle. He was kind of a bust as a first round CB, but he's terrific as a matchup safety. He's very smart, and can match up man-to-man with inside WRs or TEs. He also has excellent ball skills. The Cardinals could beat any team in the NFL on a day where both their offense and defense are clicking, because their personnel is definitely good enough on both sides of the ball.

x. Watching the Packers version of the 3-4 Monday night, I was struck by the difference between what they're doing, and what the Broncos do. Denver's scheme is much more similar to what the Cardinals, Ravens, and Jets are doing, where the pass rush is fairly conservative, and setting the edge and keeping contain responsibilities is often the main concern. If you watch what the outside rushers do for the Broncos a lot of times, they're not coming full-steam at the QB. Elvis Dumervil, Robert Ayers, and Darrell Reid are often asked to do more wrestling with O-Linemen than they are asked to run around people.

The Packers play more like the Steelers, where they're speed rushing off the edge. The point I am getting to is that Clay Matthews is a great fit for what the Packers are asking him to do, where Ayers is more of a fit for the Broncos scheme, despite his lack of sacks. Ayers has just missed a lot of sacks, and with better technique, he'll get there. He's doing a lot more than running around people, though.

y. Jermichael Finley is enormously talented, and is really starting to come into his own for the Packers. You can see that Aaron Rodgers is really developing a lot of trust in him.

z. The Packers are really protecting Rodgers a lot better than they were in the early part of the season. I've been very critical of Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher both over the past two years, but they've been an upgrade over the bums they replaced. Tauscher even caught his first NFL pass on Monday night, off a deflection.

aa. Rodgers is really starting to remind me of Rich Gannon in his Raiders years. He's so calm, and he goes to the right place with the ball all the time, with accuracy. He's playing as well as any QB in the NFL this season if you consider what he is doing independently.

ab. Lardarius Webb is so dangerous returning kickoffs. The Ravens, again, found a gem in the Draft

ac. Everybody knows I am a Joe Flacco fan, but he needs to remember never to throw the ball late down the middle. The officials tried to give the Ravens the game with all those late pass interference penalties and Flacco blew the game with his late interceptions.

4. Most regulars know that I am a Florida Gators fan, so I was pretty disappointed in the result of the SEC Championship game. Alabama deserved to win, because they made every play that was available for them to make. Florida made plays with very few of their opportunities, and that's what happens.

Anyway, nobody can deny that that game was a bonanza of future NFL players. I wanted to share some thoughts on about 10 guys who I think could go in the first 2 rounds in April, from the two schools.

a. Carlos Dunlap DE Florida Top 5

Mel Kiper downgraded Dunlap to 14^th on his Big Board after his DUI, but that's not going to mean anything when he compares favorably to Mario Williams in testing and measurements. His college film is better too, and he can play in any type of front. He and Ndamukong Suh will be the first two defensive players drafted.

b. Joe Haden CB Florida Top 10

Haden is by far the best CB in the nation. His play was a lonely bright spot for Florida, as he shut down the extremely talented Julio Jones. Haden is fast, fluid, smart, strong, and he has excellent ball skills. He compares as a prospect to Darrelle Revis.

c. Terrence Cody NT Alabama Top 20

He's not fat anymore, and he's covering a lot more space laterally than he did a year ago. His athleticism really flashes for such a huge man, and his strength is terrific. He punked Florida into not even trying to run their dive series. I'm a big fan of this guy.

d. Brandon Spikes ILB Florida Top 20

Spikes is not an elite athlete, but he's an elite player. He's downhill all the time in the running game, and he strikes guys as hard as any college player you'll ever see. He's also as naturally gifted and instinctive in pass coverage as Ray Lewis, and he's a similar type of emotional leader. What intrigues me most at the NFL level with Spikes is his natural pass-rushing skills. He really can get after a QB. He'll only run a 4.65 or 4.7, but he'll be an every down player, and make a bunch of Pro Bowls, trust me.

e. Rolando McClain ILB Alabama Top 20

McClain is big, fast, and smart. He's a bit less of a playmaker than Spikes, and more of a cerebral guy than an emotional one. He'll be a very good 3-4 ILB for many years in the NFL.

f. Tim Tebow QB Florida Top 25

Scouts don't like him that much, but coaches love him. Mike Shanahan, Tony Dungy, and Bill Belichick are all on record as thinking he'll be a big-time QB in the NFL. I am pretty sure the Jaguars are going to take him in the first round if he's on the board. Even Florida Governor Charlie Crist (an FSU guy, actually) was in the media Monday calling for it to happen. There is no doubt in my mind that he can play at the NFL level, despite his divergence from norms. He's the second coming of Donovan McNabb to me.

g. Aaron Hernandez TE Florida First Round

Hernandez is a junior, and he's not a huge or great in-line blocker. He's a tremendously gifted receiver though, as good as any who has been draft-eligible in many years. He is extremely dangerous after the catch, which is rare for a guy his size (6-2, 250.)

h. Javier Arenas CB Alabama Second Round

I really like Arenas as a CB, but I love him as a return man. I think he projects as a solid #2 CB, and a Pro Bowl caliber special teams player. His short, stout build works against him as a CB, but for him as a ball carrier.

i. Riley Cooper WR Florida Second Round

Who? He's the tall white guy who has been wearing #11 the past two years. (He wore #86 the first two, when he was primarily a special teamer.) He's been called the fastest Gator in a 60 yard dash, and as Gary Danielson noted on Saturday, nobody seems to be able to cover him, especially when they try to press him. Cooper had his way with Arenas several times, and he dominated Patrick Robinson from Florida State the week before. He's 6-3, 215 pounds, and very strong, which he puts to use in beating press coverage, and he's a dominant blocker outside. He projects as an outside-the-numbers deep threat type, and special teams ace, and when he runs a 4.35 at the combine, he's going to shoot up boards. The only question is if he'd rather play baseball instead (he's part of the Rangers minor league system already.) I think his future is brighter in football.

j. Jermaine Cunningham DE-OLB Florida Second Round

Cunningham projects as a starter at the NFL level, probably as an OLB in a 30 front. He plays much bigger than his size, and takes on blocks well. He kind of reminds me of Mario Haggan, actually.

k. Mike Johnson G Alabama Second Round

This is the type of guy I'd like to see the Broncos take in the second round. He is a strong and experienced drive blocker.

You can add in a few more Gators too, who seem less likely to declare at this moment, if they do. The Pouncey twins, Mike and Maurkice, project as late first or second round picks as interior offensive linemen, and S Major Wright looks like a second rounder to me.

5. I meant to mention this last week too, and I wanted to make the point. Matt Millen was a terrible general manager, but he is an outstanding in-game color analyst. There is nobody on TV who adds more value to a fan's understanding of what is going on than Millen does.

During the Broncos-Giants game, he pointed out how Kyle Orton was calling out the Mike. The average fan doesn't know what a Mike is, so Millen mentioned that it generally means Middle Linebacker. He also went on to mention that the reason Orton is calling out a Mike is to communicate to the protection that that player is the fifth player to account for. A lot of times it was a defensive back, but Orton was communicating who he thought was the most likely fifth rusher.

After the Monday night game, he was talking about how the Packers have shored up their protection, particularly against the double A-gap blitzing that Baltimore loves to do. It's a little bit hard to separate the man from his art, but you have to. He's outstanding on TV, and should be listened to.

My friend Tony from Norwich sent me this link last week, where the Sporting News rated the best sportscasters. I found it interesting, so I thought I'd share it, since it's germane to this rant. I think they have some total losers on their list, primarily Al Michaels, Verne Lundquist, Dan Fouts, and Mike Patrick. Lundquist is the worst play-by-play man ever, if you ask me.

Just prior to the start of the SEC Championship Debacle, Verne was getting down to business. Paraphrasing, he said, "I don't know what Alabama is doing, but Javier Arenas isn't on the field to return this kick." As number 28 warmed up on the TV screen, waiting for the kick to arrive. I threw my Gator hat across the room, and Tweeted:

He misidentifies players constantly, and gets a lot of rules-related topics wrong too. Gary Danielson is excellent, but Verne is a 9,000 ton anchor dragging him down.

6. I got a reader email which forced to be a little introspective last week, and I need to address something real quick, as a result of it. The reader didn't sign the message, but the crux of it was that he/she felt like I am really full of myself, and that that was "repugnant." (Repugnant was his/her actual word.)

I didn't thnk I would ever need to do this, but I am going to explain the central concept of ST&NO, so there's clarity among us all. The premise of this feature, for which I am sure I have written well over 100,000 words during the past year, is that insightful analysis can be, and should be, combined with humor, personality, and entertaining writing. Every week, that's what I try to bring to the table, and I work hard to make this a coherent, continuous, unified narrative, which everybody can feel like they're part of.

Now, I am definitely not known for false humility. What good does it do to pretend to lack self-awareness, for the comfort of insecure people? I know my work is very good, and if I didn't think it was, I think I'd be an A-clown to spend so much time on it. Everybody who does this has some ego about their work, believe me.

Believe it or not, watching 6 games on a Monday night, and then writing for 6 hours after that, after working all day, can get pretty boring and tiresome. It is work, just like what I do in my office all day. I choose to do this work because you, my readers, reaffirm that you want to read it every week. It's not worth the effort to just do it for myself.

Now, understand that I'm not going to change anything, really. Not being Joe Milquetoast is frankly a subtle part of the humor of ST&NO, and it's a true picture of who I am as a person. I'm not at all meek, and I'm not looking to inherit the Earth, or any other damn thing. I'm here to work hard and personally earn what I get. When I say I am a high-talent, high-work ethic accountant, it's because that is a demonstrable fact. You'll recall that I said it as part of a larger point about football and the media environment. I have thought all week about whether I am inappropriately arrogant, and I really think that the answer is no. I think I land in a reasonable place, really, given the givens. So, I am going to keep writing, I am going to keep doing work that I am proud of, and I am going to do it to add value for you, and for future readers who aren't even aware of ST&NO yet. I humbly thank you all for being my readers and commenters, and that was the type of humility that I do value; the genuine kind.

7. Retired for John Elway.

8. Okay, I need to end on a good note, and I am going to bed at 1 AM Cleveland time, on Tuesday morning, so I can think and dream on what that note should be. I'll be back in 5 1/2 hours to finish up, hopefully with a great idea. Ready..... STOP

Okay, I am back. Ready.... BEGIN!!! My alarm wakes me up to the local low-brow morning radio show, Rover's Morning Glory. Through my adventures with the snooze bar, I got to hear a lot of stilted Tiger Woods chatter, because apparently, his wife split, and he had some other blond woman over who left in an ambulance this morning.

He's being an idiot, from the sound of things. I don't know who is advising him; maybe T.O.'s publicist who said he had 25 million reasons to live? Tiger ought to just fess up for everything, like David Letterman. When you're in the mud, you might as well just get everything out there voluntarily, because there's no more incremental damage he could take. If you're Wee-Bey, and you're already going to prison for life for six murders, you might trade copping to a few more for a sandwich. The number ceases to matter, as long as it all comes out now.

Tiger's reputation is fried in this moment, so he might as well say, look, yes, I was out fooling around with a lot of other women. I am not even sure how many, but it was more than several. This is a flaw in my character which I am working hard to overcome. Elin and I appreciate you giving us the benefit of some privacy, as we work through a very hard time in each of our lives. (Then, you quit having women over for awhile, and even if you don't, you make sure none of them leave your house in an ambulance.)

By not deflating the story with an "it was a lot / I have a problem" blanket statement, Tiger is letting each new revelation, by each self-serving former mistress, hurt him individually. Duji, the radio chick, was saying there are 10 who have now been identified. That's really not that many, if you're just a regular guy who is serious about philandering. A very average man could do that in a couple months, pretty easily. If you're Tiger Woods, you could have 10 in about 3 days.

Remember the haters? Well, a lot of people love to hate Tiger. He's there with Roger Federer, Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, and Jeff Gordon in that way, as guys who are so talented, and so polished that relatively untalented and unpolished people are apt to hate them. (Gordon ought to have a Gillette commercial, too. I bet they figure people who like Gordon already use good shaving equipment.) It's really an ugly trait, to root for the failure of the most talented people, but a lot of people do it. Let's drag everybody down to our own level.

Tiger needs to go on Oprah or Letterman (probably Letterman is better, given the circumstances.) If he gets all the way clean, and then disappears off the public radar for a few months, this can be stopped pretty effectively. The TMZ's and their ilk will still try to keep it going, but it will fade pretty quickly when there is no new news. Letterman already isn't being actively cast as a philanderer. Tiger can come back in the spring, with a pre-packaged narrative about how these trying times have caused him to re-invest himself in his golf game, win a few tournaments (people will perceive him to have slipped, even though he was recently playing fine), and turn this into a redemption story. Americans love redemption stories, after all.

That's all I have for this week, friends. Have a great one, and as always, tell me what you think in the comments. ST&NO may be ending for now, but the discussion is just beginning.

Clausen enters NFL Draft; is he a fit in Buffalo?

Brian Galliford — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:30:18 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Browse more photos »

The Buffalo Bills are back to work on the practice field today, but with news scant and the team not very interesting to begin with, it's still, unfortunately, more intriguing to ponder future iterations of the Bills than the current outfit. Naturally, we're going to be taking a brief field trip from talking about the Bills this afternoon - these Bills, anyway - and instead focus on the bigger news of the day.

Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen has announced his intentions to enter the 2010 NFL Draft. [Mocking the Draft]

Playing quarterback for the New York Yankees of college football, Clausen is one of the most highly-debated prospects in the nation simply because of the golden helmet he wore at Notre Dame. The 6'3", 226-pound junior was college football's second-highest rated passer in 2009, and given the fact that his head coach, Charlie Weis, was recently fired by ND, his declaration for next April's draft is not anywhere near surprising.

The natural thought process for Bills fans at this point is something along the lines of, "Hey, Buffalo's quarterbacks stink, and a new regime will, of course, want a new quarterback. Is Jimmy Clausen the answer?" Time will tell, but fans shouldn't dismiss him as a potential remedy to the team's longest-standing personnel issue out of habit.

Clausen the player
Clausen, as mentioned, measures in at 6'3" and 226 pounds, but it wouldn't surprise me - nor Rumblings draft guru Der Jaeger - if he measured in shorter than that at next February's NFL Combine. He doesn't look too tall on film, though he's certainly tall enough where his height won't be a huge problem for him. He's packed on a lot of weight over the past three seasons at Notre Dame, and while he's still skinny, he's thick enough to absorb hits and stay strong in the pocket.

Clausen's arm isn't elite - you won't be wowed by the velocity on any of his throws - but it's strong enough where he can hurt a defense at all levels of the field. He's pretty accurate and is able to put a nice touch on short and immediate throws; he can squeeze the ball into a tight window, too. He's a playmaker with his arm, but he's very much a pocket quarterback; he's mobile enough to roll out and pick up the occasional first down on a scramble, but his legs are decidedly not a weapon for him.

Where Clausen has distinct advantages over many of the other quarterbacks that will be available next April is in the fact that he's played - and excelled - in a pro-style offense, and that he's an elite decision-maker. As a sophomore in 2008, Clausen completed 60% of his passes and had a 25-17 TD-INT ratio. Those numbers increased dramatically as a junior, when he completed 68% of his passes and had a 28-4 TD-INT ratio. As Mocking the Draft notes in the story linked above the fold, three of Clausen's four interceptions came on tipped passes. The kid didn't make many mistakes in his final year in college.

Clausen was 16-19 at Notre Dame. In his junior season, Notre Dame finished 6-6, but of those six losses, the Irish scored at least 21 points in all of them. Their two biggest losses on the season were 7-point losses to USC and Stanford. He struggled in three games, but still tossed four touchdowns in those games, and in a win at Purdue, he played through a tough injury to his foot. Clausen played with grit as a junior, getting banged up behind a rather mediocre offensive line, yet he still started every game and put up elite numbers.

The big questions surrounding Clausen
Clausen is consistent mechanically, but he's not perfect. He's got a bit of a windup, and he's kind of slow and almost lethargic in his drops - though the ball always comes out quickly. Again - he's not fleet of foot, and he'll need a little work in his drops, in my opinion. His tools are not elite, but they're very good - and in a quarterback draft class that has been slightly overrated, Clausen's well-rounded physical and scheme attributes will likely get him drafted a touch higher than his skill and potential probably dictate.

People have, in the past, questioned Clausen's maturity and mental fortitude. He grew up in California and had tremendous hype as a high school product, and while he struggled mentally early on because of this, he grew a bit as a leader in South Bend. Through tremendous adversity and ridiculous expectations, Clausen has flourished and, perhaps more importantly, gotten better each season. He's rallied the troops for some thrilling late-game performances - in both victory and defeat. His transition to the NFL might not be immediate, but given what he's already experienced, I find it highly unlikely that the NFL game will faze him.

You'll also hear plenty of arguments that Clausen worked in a system that accentuated quarterback stats, and that he was surrounded by top-flight talent. Both are true. Weis has always had productive quarterbacks, wherever he's been, and the likes of Golden Tate (who also announced his intentions to go pro today), Michael Floyd and tight end Kyle Rudolph gave Clausen tremendous skill positional assets to utilize. His numbers may have been inflated because of both factors, but the bottom line is that Clausen still had to make the throws, and more often than not, the ball was exactly where it needed to be.

I've heard the "Notre Dame quarterbacks bust, just look at Brady Quinn" argument too many times to adequately express my true level of frustration toward it. If a quarterback can play football, I don't care if he went to Notre Dame or if he went to South Central Montana State. Clausen has proven that he can play, and he's done it against pretty solid competition. That's all that should matter.

The bottom line on Clausen
I view Clausen as a fringe Top 10 talent that, ideally, would be picked somewhere between the first 10 and 20 picks in the draft. He's not an elite prospect, but he's good enough to build a franchise around. He's not a sure bet - very, very few prospects are, and none of them are quarterbacks - but there's definitely some energy to be excited about surrounding Clausen.

I question just how much distance he has to close between his current level of play and his true 'potential' as a prospect. That is, I'm not sure how much better he can get. That'll happen when you play nearly flawless football at Notre Dame. I think he can make slight gains in technique and obviously in experience, but I don't think he's capable of playing near-perfect football at the NFL level.

I worry a little bit about his willingness to lead, too. He's got kind of a Tony Romo vibe about him, in that when he's on, he's elite, and when he's not on, you question whether or not he's really the guy to head up your program. I'd be very hesitant to plug him in as a rookie starter - particularly in Buffalo - because if he took some early hits and lost confidence behind a porous offensive line, I'd have serious doubts as to whether he'd have the mental fortitude to get through the rough patch. If he starts off hot, however, I think he'd end up being fine, and more able to work through the low points of the game.

The bottom line is that the Buffalo Bills desperately need a franchise signal-caller. Jimmy Clausen is a franchise signal-caller. I'm not advocating that the Bills do whatever it takes to get him next April, but there's little doubt in my mind that he's capable of leading a consistent, productive NFL team down the line. It's way too early to draw lines in the sand, but Clausen is good enough - and the Bills will be picking high enough - that Clausen needs to be on your radar if he wasn't already.

New York Giants notes: Bill Sheridan, master motivator

Ed Valentine — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:00:33 -0000

You know all that stuff we have been saying about New York Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan not knowing how to motivate his troops? Forget it. At least for one week, anyway.

Check this out.

The Giants' embattled defensive coordinator, Bill Sheridan, tore a page from a 1,500-year-old script to try to inspire his beleaguered unit on the eve of the most important game of the season.

"Coach Sheridan read us an excerpt from the speech that Leonidas delivered to the troops before they went out (to battle)," said Giants nose tackle Barry Cofield. "It was eerie how much it applied to our situation and it was very inspirational."

Giants-Cowboys isn't exactly the Battle of Thermopylae, and Tony Romo isn't quite Xerxes, but desperate times calls for inspiration from an ancient Greek source. And if reading excerpts of a speech that King Leonidas delivered to the 300 Spartans under his command before they faced a Persian force of 80,000 is what it takes, then so be it.

"It was inspirational, to say the least," Cofield said. "(Sheridan) always pulls little things out like that but this was the best one ever."

This news, of course, sent me scurrying around the Inter-Google for Leonidas quotes. I have no idea what exact passage Sheridan read, but these are some of my favorites.

"This is where we fight! This is where they die!"
"The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle was over, that even a god-king can bleed."
"We Spartans have descended from Hercules himself. Taught never to retreat, never to surrender. Taught that death in the battlefield is the greatest glory he could achieve in his life."

OK, now I'm all pumped up. How about you?

Here are a few other Giants notes making the rounds this morning.

Brandon Jacobs turns game into win for Giants, but calls his leadership 'terrible'

"I think my ability to lead this team has been absolutely terrible. I have to pick myself up as the leader of this football team and take more responsibility on myself," Jacobs said following Big Blue's 31-24 victory over the Cowboys. "Vocally I felt like I wasn't where I was supposed to be, and guys weren't responding to me because I wasn't really trying that hard.

"I came into today's game, into this week, being more of a vocal leader and getting guys up on the offense and the defense ... the first half I did my best to keep our defense and our offense in it even though we were down 10-0. And we all came back."

Osi Umenyiora: 'Extremely painful' to not start in game against Cowboys

"It hurt for a little while," Umenyiora said in his first comments since his benching was publicly announced on Friday. "It was extremely painful, to be honest with you, because I am a man with tremendous pride."

Umenyiora said he is fine with staying in his current role and will do whatever the Giants want him to do. He also credited (ex-Giant Lavar) Arrington, who retired after barely surviving a motorcycle accident in 2007, with lifting his spirits on the morning of the game. "I realized I'm alive, I'm making a great living and I get to still go out there and play football," Umenyiora said. "Whatever they want me to do, I am going to go out there and do. I have no quarrels with anybody. Something obviously needed to be done. They made the change and we won the game. If we keep making changes like that and winning games every week, I'm 100% for it."

Tiki Barber greeted with boos, cheers from crowd at Giants game

"Whatever it is, it's appropriate," Barber said before walking out onto the field. "It's how the fans feel. I have been booed mercilessly in this stadium before. But also cheered heroically. I have appreciated both, because the fans always expected good from me."

(E-mail Ed at bigblueview@gmail.com)

'Kudos & Wet Willies:' Return of the Giants edition

Ed Valentine — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:23 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

New York Giants cornerback Kevin Dockery (35) and wide receiver Derek Hagan (80) congratulate wide receiver Domenik Hixon (87), left, after he ran a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009.

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Lots of praise to dole out on the morning after our New York Giants rescued their season Sunday with a 31-24 victory over the arch-rival Dallas Cowboys.

This was an inspiring victory that begged only one real question. Where has this kind of passionate, determined effort been for the past six weeks?

Anyway, I will never figure that one out. So, on with the 'Kudos & Wet Willies.'

'Kudos' to ...

Bill Sheridan: He has been getting killed around these parts for weeks as the defense under-performed. Today, the beleaguered defensive coordinator deserves some praise. We knew going into the game Sheridan was going to make lots of lineup changes. Well, he did and for the most part they worked beautifully. The Giants rotated a lot of people, and guys like Jonathan Goff, Clint Sintim and Mathias Kiwanuka all played well with increased time. Sheridan stacked the line of scrimmage and the Giants allowed Dallas just 45 rushing yards. Only two sacks of Romo on the day, but he was harassed and hit often as the Giants seemed to do a better job than they have all season of dialing up well-designed blitzes at good times. Maybe there is hope for Sheridan yet.
Kevin Gilbride: The other beleaguered coordinator also deserves some praise. Still only 13 carries for Jacobs, but Gilbride stuck with the run enough early on to open up some play-action stuff later on. On, and there were a few minor changes I a couple of run formations and personnel packages that helped the Giants pound out some tough yards when they needed them.
Brandon Jacobs: The longest play of his career -- a 74-yard touchdown -- came Sunday on a simple pass into the flat. Jacobs, incidentally gave a lot of credit to Darcy Johnson for his downfield blocking on the touchdown. Only 39 yards rushing on 13 carries for Jacobs, but he did run hard, dish out some punishment and barrel his way into the end zone in a goal-line situation.
Steve Smith: A typical six catches for Smith. A very un-typical 110 yards (18.3 yards per catch). Smith is a master at getting open and catching the ball, but those catches are usually followed by Smith immediately crumpling to the ground. Not Sunday. He had a 36-yard catch and run, mostly run, and a handful of other plays where he got big chunks or yardage after a catch. Since the Giants won, and we are giving Smith 'Kudos,' we won't talk about that ball he dropped in the end zone.
Aaron Rouse: Twelve tackles and a sack for the Green Bay reject. Rouse is looking more and more like another one of those brilliant in-season pickups by General Manager Jerry Reese. I don't know for sure what went wrong for Rouse in Green Bay, but he seems to be getting better and better as the weeks go by with the Giants. He was tremendous Sunday.
Domenik Hixon: We have been begging for a big special teams play for weeks, and Hixon finally delivered with a game-changing 79-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Terrell Thomas and C.C. Brown: I am putting these two guys together, and I am even amazing myself that I am including Brown. Even though Romo passed for 392 yards, I thought these two guys were fabulous, especially in run support. Thomas had 10 tackles, Brown had nine and there weren't any blown assignments.
Barry Cofield: We have been begging for a push from the middle of the defensive line, and Cofield provided it Sunday. Only three tackles, but a couple of those were for losses and Cofield was a disruptive presence in the middle for the entire game.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: There are several other guys who could be on this list. They include Mathias Kiwanuka (six tackles and a forced fumble), Ahmad Bradshaw (a couple of big runs after his first-half fumble), Goff (who held up just fine in the middle of the defense) and Michael Boley (11 tackles). Give Osi Umenyiora credit, too, for playing hard, coming up with a fumble recovery and not complaining to the press because he didn't start.

Wet Willies to ...

Corey Webster: Tony Romo threw three touchdown passes, and Webster was the defender on all three of them. Two of those were to Roy Williams, the type of tall, physical receivers who seems to give Webster trouble.
Chris Canty: Got a start at defensive tackle against his old team, and had no impact. In fact, the $42 million free agent did nothing. He didn't even get his name in the stat sheet.
Eli Manning: I really hate to give this one out, but I feel like I have to. Eli was just 11-for-25 for 241 yards. He threw two touchdown passes, but one was mostly due to Brandon Jacobs' tremendous individual effort and the other was a terrific catch by Hakeem Nicks on a ball Eli threw late. Manning threw a bad pick in the second half when he just tossed a ball up for grabs in the end zone, and badly missed a wide open Steve Smith on a deep ball in the fourth quarter. Not his worst game, especially since he was under duress much of the time, but he can play better.
Flozell Adams: Do I even have to talk about it? This guy is a moron who deserves a suspension. Enough said.

Final - 12.6.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Dallas Cowboys	0	10	7	7	24
New York Giants	0	14	7	10	31

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Run Aground: The Giants Beat the Cowboys With Big Plays, 31-24

Rafael Vela — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:10:56 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

Jason Witten had pretty stats. The Giants got the pretty win. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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Tony Romo started December '09 with a 112 QB rating game. He completed 75% of his passes for almost 400 yards. He made one dubious throw, and was bailed out by Jason Witten, who played volleyball over Giants CB Bruce Johnson for a big first half gain. His offense was 9 of 17 on 3rd down. They ran 31 more snaps than New York's offense.

Roy Williams quietly had his best game as a Cowboy, catching two touchdown passes and making big receptions over the middle. Jason Witten piled up his career high in yards, with156 on fourteen catches.

Yet, the Cowboys again began December with a loss, because the defense, which has carried the team thus far, giving up yards, but not points, gave up both by the bucket full Sunday evening. I warned last Sunday:

When you see the "Perils of December" stories, and some are already around, know that the quarterback may get the attention, but it's the defense which will either navigate the rocky waters at last, or wreck the Cowboys ship again.

-- Wade's Defense Will Guide the Cowboys December Ship, BTB, Nov. 29th

Wade's guys ran the ship onto a sandbar off the New Jersey coast. They showed the maddening '08 tendency to surrender points immediately after Dallas scores. They did so twice, each time with depressing speed. Dallas had dominated the first 27 minutes of play, and had taken a 10-0 lead after Williams caught a fade in the far right corner of the Meadowland's left end zone with 3:14 to play in the second quarter.

Eli Manning and his offense snatched one back in just four plays, going 74 yards in 1:28. Manning made two key throws, the first a dumpoff to Kevin Boss, while Bobby Carpenter was trying to wrestle the QB to the turf. Boss' sixteen yard romp moved New York past midfield for the first time. Two plays later, Manning zipped a pass past Terence Newman up the right sideline. Hakeem Nicks sidestepped the gambling Newman for the Giaints first score.

The second rapid collapse came late in the 3rd. Dallas had driven 58 yards in methodical fashion to take a 17-14 lead, but the defense gave it all back in one play. The Giants deployed in a two tight end set that had Kevin Boss tight left and their backup flexed wide left, where he drew Gerald Sensabaugh into space. The two receivers were split right.

New York sent Jacobs on a quick out to the left flat. He got behind Anthony Spencer and raced up the left sideline. Gerald Sensabaugh had a chance to bump Jacobs out of bounds at the Dallas 30, but went low on the runner, who hopped over him, and continued up the sideline for a score.

Nineteen seconds after Dallas had taken a lead, it trailed again.

The defense had company in the big negative play department. Marion Barber provided the lone Dallas turnover and it proved to be devastating. The Cowboys were moving to answer New York's first touchdown with a late scoring drive of their own. Felix Jones had returned the kickoff to his 35 and a Barber draw had given Dallas 2nd and one on its own 44 with 1:18 left.

Barber released a blitzing linebacker on the next play and caught a screen to Tony Romo's right. He motored past midfield but fumbled the ball. Osi Umenyiora picked up the ball and ran it to the Cowboys 28. As the had in September, the Giants moved 28 yards for a key score just before the half. Two Manning passes to Steve Smith moved the Giants to one, where Jacobs scored with just 19 seconds left in the half.

Dallas' special teams added to the misery, surrendering a 79 yard punt return just over five minutes into the final quarter. Mat McBriar punted 59 yards to Domenik Hixon, who floated to his left, then cutback sharply to his right, escaped Pat Watkins and a couple other Cowboys, then picked up a wall of blockers up the right sideline. His score pushed New York's lead to 31-17.

For the day, New York's four touchdown jolts took 1 minute and 28 seconds, 45 seconds, 19 seconds and 15 seconds off the clock, respectively.

That's no way to treat your offense.

Notes

-- How do we define Nick Folk? Critical? Mental? His yips are no longer a distraction. They are an official impediment to the season. Folk wasted an early 4th quarter drive, which included a dandy 3rd-and-14 conversion by Romo to Roy Williams, when he hooked a 42 yard attempt. Folk's head is not right, and his miss, which would have closed New York's lead to 21-20, messes with every Cowboys fan's brain.

-- Sophomore slumps: Martellus Bennett makes plays here and there. He had a big 18 yard gain off a Romo scramble in the 3rd quarter. His tendency to drop one easy one a game is starting to grate. Bennett scuttled the promising opening drive, which had marched 50 yards from the Dallas 18 to the New York 38, when he dropped a 3rd down Romo dart aimed right at his face.

Orlando Scandrick also needs to shake off the second year funk. He may have been running 1B to Mike Jenkins 1A in camp, but there's no comparison between them now. Jenkins had several breakups and picked off Eli Manning in the end zone early in the 3rd, when the Giants were threatening to expand their 14-10 lead.

Scandrick, on the other hand, had another miserable day on Steve Smith's rack. Scandrick excelled in the slot last season but has been a liability much of the time this year. He's got a ways to go to reach Terence Newman's standard in the slot. He's got a ways to go to approach Kenny Gant class.

-- Another breakout for the bookend: Anthony Spencer had a strong game and continues to make late season strides. He pressured Manning out of the pocket on several plays and forced at least three incompletions with his pressure. Teams are doubling Demarcus Ware and Spencer is making them pay a higher price every week. Dallas needs him to continue his push.

-- We saw today what the passing game is capable of, with decent protection: the starting wideouts and tight end snagged 30 balls for 320 yards.

-- The line, on the other hand, could not break lanes in a front which run blitzed heavily on early downs. Marion Barber's 8-yard run was Dallas' best of the day. This was an inversion of the first game, so Dallas went up top and found its yards in the middle of the field, against the Giants linebackers and safeties.

-- The defensive and special teams breakdowns overshadowed one of Dallas' most creative touchdowns. On a 2nd and goal in the 3rd, with Dallas at the Giants' five, trailing 14-10, Dallas lined up in a two tight end, two wideout set with Marion Barber in the backfield. Roy Williams was alone left, Jason Witten at tight end right, Martellus Bennett flexed into the right slot and Miles Austin split right.

Before the snap, Austin motioned into the backfield and lined up as an I-back behind Barber, who was just five yards behind Romo, in the fullback spot. At the snap Romo first faked a dive right to Barber, then faked a pitch left to Austin. The second fake yoked both Giants linebackers towards Austin and held the corner on that side. This allowed Williams to release into the middle of the end zone. Romo's superb fakes produced a wide throwing lane and he tossed to Williams for an easy score.

-- Hurry back, Ken Hamlin. Gerald Sensabaugh had to overcome a hold on Brandon Jacobs' touchdown reception, but neither he nor Alan Ball tackled well. Both were invisible on a series of short crosses by Steve Smith which converted 3rd-and-long situations.

Cowboys fans know that poor safety play hamstrung the defense in '06 and '08. This is no time for the problem to recur.