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The official NFL thread

LeafNation said:
And leafman101, back to the game on opening day.. Let's talk matchups. The matchup that I am very concerned about is our OLB on your TE matchup.. I really like Keller a player and he is definitely fast. I think Keller has the potential of having a good game in his NFL debut.. Miami is going to somehow have to mask a coverage to contain him.. I know all about Coles and Cotchery, but I really like our new secondary coach as he is well respected in the business (MUCH better than the guy we had last season).. Keller does scare me though.

Let me ask, does Keller look like he is going to start ?
I know he has been on two tight end sets
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Yeah, thats defiantly something the Jets haven't had in a long time. I'm not sure if he'll start, but he'll definately play a lot. Especially considering how Farve likes to use his tight ends.

But yeah, he definitely could pose some pretty big match up problems. Most linebackers flat out can't cover him. So if you put a safety on him, well then you are leaving Coles or Cotchery in man on man. Which at this point, maybe later in the season depending on how Keller progresses, you don't want.

He's not a great blocker though, so they probably will use a lot of two TE sets, with Franks in there.

He received his first TD, on a pass from Farve. it was also Farve's first TD as a Jet. During the game Farve said to him he thought about giving Keller the ball, but he actually wanted to keep it. Then after the game Farve handed him the ball signed and said "Congratulations on your first TD."

Not relevant. Just a good story.
 
MyNameIsJonas said:
you a Jason Allen fan there Nation?.....i for one am unimpressed
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Allen looked great in the last 6 or 7 games of the season last year. And good against NE in the 2nd game vs them.. He has had a good camp, and was all over the ball the last couple of pre-games.

Here's what Sparano said about Jason Allen when asked yesterday-

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/football/pro/dolphins/sfl-tonyqa092608,0,3817497.story

(On Jason Allen's mental approach to the game) – "I've been really impressed with Jason Allen. I'm not telling you any secrets now, you guys were there, you've seen it. In the game the other night, Jason Allen played in the dime package, he played in base as a safety and he also played as a corner during the course of that game. That sounds easier then it is. That's really difficult. I think Jason has done a nice job that way. The defense, in what we do that way has been a little bit easier for those safeties as a whole, not just Jason, but the safeties as a whole. I think Jason's done a really nice job working at it. He spent a lot of time with Todd Bowles."
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And here's a recent story about him-

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/football/pro/dolphins/sfl-flspdolphins14sbaug14,0,600554.story

Jason Allen making strides just in the nick of time

The 2006 first-round pick was sparingly used in the first seven games, but when injuries ravaged the safety position, his coaches were forced to put the No. 16 pick out on the field. And, to their surprise, he blossomed.

Allen contributed 66 tackles, a forced fumble and led the team with three interceptions during his nine starts.

"I see a lot of change in Jason. From now to when he first came here you can definitely see the confidence," said Yeremiah Bell, Allen's strong safety counterpart. "His confidence level has shot up and his play on the field has reflected that."

When the new coaching staff came, Allen knew he'd have to prove himself all over again, and this time around he's done it with ease. His practice play has been consistent enough to have him lock down the opening-day starting free safety spot if he stays healthy.

Allen credits his experiences last year, and his understanding of the Dolphins' new scheme, for his drastic improvement.

"It's like going from the hardest math class you can imagine to basic algebra. It's easier by far," Allen said of the new defense, which numerous players describe as player-friendly. "Algebra isn't the easiest math, but it's not calculus."

Instead of having to make numerous presnap reads, checks and audibles like last season, the Dolphins' new secondary typically makes one presnap adjustment, and challenges opposing offenses to react to what they're doing.

Allen openly admits that style of play suits him best because it's the processing that slows down his natural reaction to what's happening on the field.

"It just gives you an opportunity to go out and play, and not think. When you go on the field and start thinking, it slows you down," Allen said. "With how fast things happen on Sundays you can't go out there thinking. You have to react."

Defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni and secondary coach Todd Bowles have a saying they constantly hammer to the players: "Know, and know you know."

Allen's taken that slogan to heart.

Considering how productive he was on the field against the Buccaneers, Sparano said he wishes he'd had played the former Tennessee Volunteer more than he did. He plans to correct that oversight against Jacksonville.

"[He's] athletic, fast, and really pretty active in the back end," Sparano said. "He can do a lot of jobs back there
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With that said we have much better safety depth this year. Remember last year after Bell and a couple safeties went down. We had Worrell back there who opposing QB's just abused.. No worries about that this year.. I just hope Yeremiah Bell stays healthy, because this guy could get Pro Bowl mention if he can stay healthy for a season.. Bell and Allen have the potential to be a real good safety tandem
 
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Jonas, this was Sparano wired with a mic at an early practice in camp.. He tells Henne what he said was "stupid".. Calls Fasano slow saying "if you're slow you're slow".. He calls the team primadonnas. heh

http://www.nfl.com/videos?categoryId=nflNetwork

If the video doesn't play just click on the "Sparano Wired" link lower down the page.. That was very early in camp. He mentions it's their 12th practice. So with 2 a days going on early, it must have been their 6th day of practice a few weeks ago.
 
While some of that is true, teams also practice their blitzes...I have seen plenty of blitz packages from Tampa, Jacksonville and KC, often sending 6.. Plenty of stunts and twists thrown.. We have also blitzed quite a bit.. Now, of course co-ordinators won't throw the whole playbook out there, but it is good for an O-line to practice having 6 guys coming at them on a regular basis in games, and seeing how the rookies handle it, albeit "preseason" games..
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I know that there are blitzes shown...it helps with unit cohesion and such...but they (for the most part) are truly vanilla and aren't top notch complex blitzes that you see in regular season is all. For example, if you watch our preseason games from last year, our D looked good but not great. Nothing highly impressive was shown but we still managed to be the #1 defensive unit (all around) Vikes beat us in the Rush D I believe but OVERALL we were first combined. You would never have gathered that with the lackluster showing from preseason is all I'm getting at.:smile(21):

But blkngldbabe, since you're here. Some Steeler questions about your current team..

I read an article a little while ago talking about 3-4 ends. And it was amazing to me how the correlation of size = yards gained per run..

For instance, Your defensive end Keisel , is undersized for a 3-4 end at 280 pounds, he's one of the lightest in the league.. And he gave up a whopping 8 yards per rush with runs to his side. There was another light 3-4 defensive end in the NFL who was also in the top 2 for most yards given up to a side (can't remember his name at the moment).

It's just incredible how the larger the 3-4 ends were (in about the 300 to 310 pound range), the better they were against the run.. So , I wanted to ask you if you still have this guy Keisel, or have you replaced him with a larger 3-4 end?? BTW, I will try to find the article again.. I remember this article well and will try to find it again.. It had all the 3-4 right ends and left ends listed, and yards per carry average ran to their side all season long.. It was pretty informative and a good breakdown..
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To be fair, I see what you're pointing out with Brett but he wasn't used in a traditional 3-4 end usage. Check out this article.

Steelers Keisel loves new role as Rover

Steelers' Keisel loves new role as rover
STEELERS MINICAMP
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


John Heller, Post-Gazette
Brett Keisel loves his new position because it causes more problems for opposing offenses. .

Forget whether the Steelers will run a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense. Are NFL offenses ready for their 99 alignment?

It does not yet have a name, but 99 might be appropriate given the tasks the player wearing that jersey number will be asked to do in some new defenses.

Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau hopes that Brett Keisel can do for his front seven what strong safety Troy Polamalu does for his secondary -- a do-it-all from all over the field. Keisel still will be listed as the team's right defensive end on the depth chart, but in new defenses LeBeau introduced at the minicamps, he can wind up anywhere, before the snap and after it.

"He's just technically a roving linebacker is what he is," LeBeau said. "He's moving around, depending on where we put him and tell him where to end up. He won't always be just rushing as he is as a defensive lineman. We think he can cause some offenses some problems."

Think Mike Vrabel and former Raven Adalius Thomas of New England, or Junior Seau in his heyday. All three of them are linebackers. Keisel is a 6-foot-5, 285-pound end with a linebacker's mentality and athletic ability. He led all Steelers defenders with 23 quarterback pressures last season playing in a 3-4 scheme designed for the outside linebackers to pressure the quarterback. His 5.5 sacks ranked third on the team, 1.5 behind leader Joey Porter (who had 12 pressures).

Kevin Colbert, the Steelers' director of football operations, said the defense did not put enough heat on quarterbacks last season, so using Keisel in this manner is a way to try to get more pressure, plus confuse the quarterback.

Keisel served as an emergency backup outside linebacker the past two years and can play there if they need him.

"He's shown us the athleticism that lets us know he can operate in space and yet present some pretty good problems size-wise up there at the line of scrimmage," LeBeau said. "We're going to try to take advantage of his particular talents there."

In the new defenses, Keisel can line up in a three-point stance at right end and, at the snap of the ball or just before it, jump up and rush from the left -- or middle -- or drop into coverage. He can stand up in his initial alignment anywhere along the front, then switch into something else.

"I love it," said Keisel, who cut his teeth on special teams before he became a full-time starter last season. "I think it just really causes the offense problems. They don't know if I'm rushing or if I'm dropping into coverage. They don't know where I'm rushing from. They don't know if I'm containing or coming up the middle. It causes a lot of problems for them.

"We'll do it out of the 3-4, do it out of the 4-3, we'll do it out of everything."

His teammates seem to love it as well.

"They just have him moving around, trying to get the offensive linemen to know where he's at all times," left outside linebacker Clark Haggans said. "Sometimes he's blitzing inside, sometimes he's coming off the edge."

Keisel said he takes his inspiration from Polamalu, who can cover an entire field even before the snap. Polamalu has lined up outside of left end and at the snap of the ball speed around right end to blitz.

"He comes up and acts like he's doing one thing and does the complete opposite," Keisel said. "He's the master at it, no question."

If Keisel can pull it off, it will give a new meaning to disguising defenses.

"When the defense is called, I know where I'm supposed to be at the finish at the snap of the ball," Keisel said. "We're just experimenting with some things right now and, hopefully, we'll run them right and we can use them."

LeBeau has used players in a similar way in the past, but never in his two tenures with the Steelers. He has to go back to the late 1980s, early '90s to a player named Skip McClendon with the Cincinnati Bengals, who was 6-6, 300. But McClendon only had eight sacks in his entire career.

Baltimore has done it a lot, although with Thomas gone to New England it might prevent the Ravens from effectively deploying those types of defenses.

"It's a lot of what Baltimore did last year, they caused offenses a lot of problems," Keisel said. "Hopefully, we can do the same thing."

secondly, how has Mendenhall looked ? Saw a couple highlights of him in preaseason, but sometimes that doesn't tell the whole story.. I loved him in college.. And finally, how is the replacement for Faneca looking on the O-line ?
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He's got the vision, which I LOVE. He can see the smallest sliver of light and squeeze through for a gain. He has the ability to see the holes that seem to elude Parker. Parker is the burner, but Mendy still has wheels and can break one through the tackles a bit better. Seemingly he has some decent hands as well and will pose some difficult decisions for opponents D's when we line up a two back set and have Holmes about to take the deep route. Hmmm...are they going to pass, screen or run? LOVE IT! He had two fumbles last game that were a tad disconcerting but one was stripped by an all Pro Tackle and the other was punched out. He got rookied is all, at least IMO. He needs some work on reacting and not thinking but that will come with playing time and adjusting to the speed of the Pro's.
 
blkngldbabe said:
I know that there are blitzes shown...it helps with unit cohesion and such...but they (for the most part) are truly vanilla and aren't top notch complex blitzes that you see in regular season is all. For example, if you watch our preseason games from last year, our D looked good but not great. Nothing highly impressive was shown but we still managed to be the #1 defensive unit (all around) Vikes beat us in the Rush D I believe but OVERALL we were first combined. You would never have gathered that with the lackluster showing from preseason is all I'm getting at.
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Like I said there, co-ordinators obviously don't throw the whole playbook out there for blitzes (IE- don't show their whole packages)... And really, I don't care what the Steelers did last preseason.. They were not a young team with a bunch of new starters on the D-line and O-line, and they were not coming off a 1-15 season with a brand new coaching staff... Miami has a young team and I was talking about the "basic push" the lines were showing in their preseason games against good starting lines on Tampa and Jacksonville.

Again, Jacksonville pushed around Miami in the preseason game" last year".. We have a whole new D-line this season, and 3 new starters on the O-line.. And what was noticeable, and what I look for, is the "push".. This years preseason game vs Jacksonville ( a team who has very physical and strong lines), was a totally different story. It was Miami pushing them around on the lines.

You may discount preseason games altogether.. But there are some basic things that can be taken when the starters for both teams play during the first 15 - 20 minutes of the games.. For instance-

The new guys on the left side of our line are known for being mobile (as well as the 2nd year center known for being very mobile, that's why he was drafted in the 2nd round last season).... What I saw is they seem to excel with the mobility of Long, Smiley and Satele in the running game. The ability to run some traps, sweeps and counters because those guys can move into position to get leverage and angle against the defenders, it really looks promising.. More promising than i have seen in several years.. Actually, it's been quite a while since I have seen the O-line do that so well-- preseason, regular season or otherwise.. So yes, certain things can be taken from preseason games when starters are in for both teams. that's all I'm sayin' ;)

And Mendenhall will be a good one for the Steelers. Thanks for that tidbit about the fumbles. Didn't know that. But I think he will be a good one with that talent level of his.. He and Parker should be a deadly duo in the backfield there in Pitt.... I remember watching the draft when he was picked and I was surprised you took a RB in the 1st round, I was thinking you were going to take someone for the DL or OL...... And with that Keisel move there, interesting, Miami is doing the same thing with Matt Roth, they have similar size and Roth has excelled at OLB thus far (albeit it's very early still).. Interesting as they are similar moves by both teams and they have have similar size (and 2 whiteboys, heh).. Roth was a DE as well and they have him moving around looking like a Rover at times this preseason...
 
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Faneca looked alot worse than he actually was last year because he had to take on two men more frequently than not. Sean Mahan could NOT cover assignments adequately on certain packages so Alan needed to shore it up, making his play look worse. Also Marvel Smith had a back ailment that plagued him all season and he eventually had surgery. Marvel was shoring up the left side pretty much on his own all the while disliking the new scheme. The whole line was out of synch as well as we got a brand new shiny O-line coach who was implementing a new style of play to a team that was generally let go to do what they wanted as long as they covered their man. Faneca WAS a disruption last year though. Disgruntled Faneca was miffed that after years of being the top paid Guard in the League...the Vikes went and blew that deal away to take Hutch from the Seahawks. He wanted to be top dog so he took his ball and went home. Hope he's happy with the Jets. I don't think his play has declined that much at all either, the Steelers actually almost met the offer made by the Jets but didnt' offer the same sized signing bonus and he wanted out because they didn't take care of it the year before and the whole Grimm leaving thing. I don't see a huge decline with THIS particular Steelers FA.

But

LeafNation said:
Why? because of pro bowls? Everybody knows pro bowls mostly go by reputation.. I can give you countless examples of players not deserving of a pro bowl selection. I wasn;t surprised that the steelers let him go.. I have heard quite a few steeler fans upset with his pass blocking recently over the last couple of years.

Hey , if he does well for you, great.. But there has been a good history of Steeler players who have went to other teams and busted.. As a matter of fact, it's a longtime joke with people who really follow football.

I just don't believe in the free agent strategy as band aid solutions.. I pointed out clearly how the Pats, Steelers and Colts won super bowls recently by going the way of the draft.. Snider in Washington is notorious for getting any older free agent he can find to plug holes on his team, and he has done it for many years. Well the skins haven't been to the super bowl under Snider.. I just find it to be a philosophy destined for failure.

If the Jets win the super bowl this year, then more power to you. And I will be the first on here, in this thread, to congratulate the Jets (as much as it would pain me to do so)
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With Faneca gone, Zierlein takes charge

By Mike Prisuta
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, July 31, 2008

It's not that Larry Zierlein received a promotion this offseason. His job title remains offensive line coach of the Steelers.

But with a year under his belt in that capacity and with Alan Faneca having sold his services to the New York Jets, Zierlein can actually coach the unit he oversees this season.

That's gotta help a team that surrendered 47 sacks a season ago.

"Alan's gone ... Coach Zierlein is the boss now," offensive tackle Willie Colon said upon reporting to St. Vincent College this week.

story continues below



The obvious inference was that Coach Zierlein was not the boss a year ago, a chain-of-command interpretation shared by offensive tackle Max Starks and, apparently, many among the rest of those responsible for Ben Roethlisberger's protection.

"Alan was the most tenured guy in our organization, so naturally you looked to him," Starks said. "Larry even looked to him. It was one of those things where Coach Zierlein came in and he was more like a moderator and kind of an intermediary guy. Alan was the one that kind of guided everybody.

"Now, he's gone, and it's Larry's entire offensive line."

Colon said he wasn't attempting to portray Faneca as some sort of "pirate captain."

And Starks insisted Zierlein "automatically had our respect because he was our position coach."

But in terms of actual coaching as it related to terminology and technique, Faneca, Starks said, was "kind of adamant" about still doing things the way he'd been doing them.

The veterans, thus, spoke Faneca-ese. The younger linemen listened to Zierlein's lingo. Lost in the translations at times was clarity regarding who should be blocked and how.

Now, the O-line is finally speaking what Starks defined as a "universal language," one that has "unified" and "simplified" the approach up front.

"It has nothing to do with any individual," Zierlein said. "It has to do with continuity and time.

"Alan Faneca is 100 percent pro. He did nothing but play his butt off and study. He did everything right. I think the world of the guy. I've known him for years. I recruited him (to LSU).

"Alan was the leader of the offensive line. We had a transition. There's always a transition. All I know is we were third in the league in rushing last year, and we gave up less sacks than they did the year before (49), so it's not like everything just went (downhill)."

Perhaps not, but with Faneca gone, there's reason to believe that's an inevitability this season.

Zierlein believes otherwise, and was confident enough on Wednesday to declare his starting unit "pretty well set," other than the competition at center, which will be decided between Sean Mahan and Justin Hartwig during preseason games.

Colon's a believer, too. And now that the terminology has been solved, there's no fear of a car passing by five Steelers offensive linemen and being identified as "red" by three of them and as "blue" by the other two.

"We're all gonna say it's the same color," Colon said. "Hopefully, it doesn't hit us."

Mike Prisuta is a columnist for the Tribune-Review. He can be reached at [email protected] or 412-320-7923.
 
I was also surprised you took another skill position player in Limas Sweed in the 2nd round.. Didn't he get hurt ? How's Bruce Davis looking, the DE you took in the 3rd round ? He seems pretty undersized for a 3-4 defensive end listed at around 250.. He must be at LB? And the OT Hills in the 4th ? How's he doing ? I remember Miami was talking about him as a possible later round pick.
 
Our D-line depth frankly frightens me a bit. With A.Smith back healthy and Hampton in full form now I think our Starters are great on D, especially with the additions of Woodley to the lineup full time and working in Timmons (he'll be the starter by midseason I'm sure..he's a beast) It's the backups that I don't think are anything to count on at this moment.

O-line will be markedly improved for many reasons. I loved Big Red (Faneca) and we'll miss him, but Kemoeatu will be something to watch. Apparently he has quite the nasty demeanor and is a road grader. Big reach and a solid punch. He needs to work on his short setting though. It will come with some playing time as he really hasn't had alot of it being behind Alan. With Marvel Smith back to full health and not playing with immense pain (he had surgery to correct his ailing back earlier in the year) it will be like having a new player as apparently it has hampered him for a few years, last being the obvious worst. I have some concerns with Essex and Colon but I think we have enough weapons to work around a little bit of poor unit cohesion at first. They will be at the least adequate. They had a full year of SHort set practice and now know what the Coach Z is on about.

I was surprised we took Rashard but not upset. The way O-line was flying off the board it would have been a HUGE reach to go for the next available guard or tackle and a giant travesty to let a player of Mendenhall's ability slide past us because we were drafting for need and not BPA. Same thing goes for D-line. It wasn't as pressing of a concern IMO as the O-line this year. Does any FO in it's right mind draft a 3rd round pick in the first because they need O-line? No...but sadly things like this happen alot. Good thing, not to the Steelers. We've been fortunate to have players slide to us due to poor combines and injuries in the season before. Heath Miller, Mendy, Even Sweed. Ben slid to us because of the division he played in. How ridiculous is that? Have you seen the players drafted before him that year? Joke's on those teams for the most part. Some got what they needed but they were the exception and not the rule.

It looks like this years draft is chock full of goodness for the O-line and D-line positions so Yay us!
 
LeafNation said:
I was also surprised you took another skill position player in Limas Sweed in the 2nd round.. Didn't he get hurt ? How's Bruce Davis looking, the DE you took in the 3rd round ? He seems pretty undersized for a 3-4 defensive end listed at around 250.. He must be at LB? And the OT Hills in the 4th ? How's he doing ? I remember Miami was talking about him as a possible later round pick.
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Davis is a tweener for sure. He's been playing LB and needs to add weight for sure. He's smart though and is picking up the playbook well from what I've heard. Too bad he is raw and needs serious strength and conditioning work before he'll stick on a roster. Hills didn't really flash brightly either.

Limas Sweed is a great route runner and is the Tall WR that Ben has been lusting for. He needs concentration work. He's tough and isn't afraid to go over the middle...he has good speed and can make the tough catch but has come down with a serious case of the dropsies. He was coming off of a wrist injury that happened near the end of the season or in a big game (can't remember)

I know Ben had been bugging and as I mentioned about the O=line being gone (at least the ones on our board) we went with BPA. he had been projected to be a 1st rounder..so another gem that slid down due to injury. We had to take a chance as his intangeables seem great and he has the speed and size that we've been trying to add. Ward is currently the shortest WR on the roster as they have an average of 6'4 now. LOL!
 
blkngldbabe said:
Davis is a tweener for sure. He's been playing LB and needs to add weight for sure. He's smart though and is picking up the playbook well from what I've heard. Too bad he is raw and needs serious strength and conditioning work before he'll stick on a roster. Hills didn't really flash brightly either.
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Funny, just as you wrote that, I looked it up and Tomlin doesn't seem too happy with Davis-

http://rototimes.com/nfl/player/7283


Limas Sweed is a great route runner and is the Tall WR that Ben has been lusting for. He needs concentration work. He's tough and isn't afraid to go over the middle...he has good speed and can make the tough catch but has come down with a serious case of the dropsies. He was coming off of a wrist injury that happened near the end of the season or in a big game (can't remember)
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I wouldn't worry about it as WR's usually take 3 years to really show their stuff in the NFL.. While a few can come right out the gate and produce, they usually take a couple years to develop.

I know Ben had been bugging and as I mentioned about the O=line being gone (at least the ones on our board) we went with BPA. he had been projected to be a 1st rounder..so another gem that slid down due to injury. We had to take a chance as his intangeables seem great and he has the speed and size that we've been trying to add. Ward is currently the shortest WR on the roster as they have an average of 6'4 now. LOL!
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I know all about players dropping.. Philip Merling was projected to go in the top 15 by some (in that mock above you see him going at #17).. And some said he was the 2nd best run stopper in the entire draft.. He dropped because teams were scared of his sports hernia, but it has been fully healed.... When we picked him at 32, I was ecstatic.. The same for Henne.. He was projected to go by some in the late first round/early 2nd round.. He was a late riser being the MVP of the senior bowl for the North, and the MVP of the bowl game vs Florida.. The fact that we got him in the late 2nd at #57 was just amazing..

Just look at the Joe Flacco selection in the 1st round by Baltimore.. He is a QB project coming from a small school and has looked absolutely horrible in preseason and in practices.. Heck, Troy freakin Smith is way ahead of him on the depth chart - a 5th round selection last year by the Ravens..... Flacco will take 3 or 4 years to get it... Chad Henne is a much more polished QB and a lot more NFL ready playing 4 years at a big school like Michigan, and playing in a pro style offense throughout his entire college career. Drafting him where we did was a real value pick.. While some liked Brohm, who was picked right before Henne, I didn't.. Brohm is a west-coast style QB and would just never fit with our pro-style offense.. Hence the west-coast offense Green Bay Packers selecting Brohm.. While I did like Brohm some initially, after researching more he just wouldn't fit in with the offense we are going to run.

And of course, getting Donald Thomas in the 6th was just plain old blind robbery. The guy is looking like an All-Pro out there.

But I wouldn't worry about Sweed. He has some good WR's there in Pittsburgh to mentor him for a year or two before he's really ready and shows what he can do. And the Mendenhall/Parker combo in the backfield for the Steelers should drive defensive co-ordinators nuts for awhile.

You certainly made your offense more explosive.
 
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leafman101 said:
Yeah, thats defiantly something the Jets haven't had in a long time. I'm not sure if he'll start, but he'll definately play a lot. Especially considering how Farve likes to use his tight ends.

But yeah, he definitely could pose some pretty big match up problems. Most linebackers flat out can't cover him. So if you put a safety on him, well then you are leaving Coles or Cotchery in man on man. Which at this point, maybe later in the season depending on how Keller progresses, you don't want.

He's not a great blocker though, so they probably will use a lot of two TE sets, with Franks in there.

He received his first TD, on a pass from Farve. it was also Farve's first TD as a Jet. During the game Farve said to him he thought about giving Keller the ball, but he actually wanted to keep it. Then after the game Farve handed him the ball signed and said "Congratulations on your first TD."

Not relevant. Just a good story.
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The more I think about it, the more I think this game could be a shootout.. The players really love Pennington as their leader, and I am sure they will play balls out for him on opening day to exact revenge on his former team..

There has been some crazy games played on opening week with all the pent up emotions waiting for opening day..

I remember being at a classic game in Miami's season opener in 1994.. Marino and Bledsoe combined for almost 1000 yards passing in that game.. It was an old-fashioned gun slinging game.. Final score 39-35 Miami- And boy, WHAT a game to witness.. Here's a video showing the end of that contest-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ki0j3GL2cY

Now you may say that Penny may not have it to get a lot of yards, but remember his first 2 weeks of the 2006 season when Pennington had about 350 yards passing per game in the first 2 weeks of the season (or was it opening day and the 3rd week?).. Also Pennington knows every tendency of that Jets defense as he practiced against them every day for weeks during camp. And you know he will exploit everything he knows about that defense,..

And you just know his play action is one of the best out there.. But you can't execute play action unless you can run the ball. If Miami's new O-line in front of Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown can establish the run early, expect some play action passes sucking the LB's and safeties in..

I can also see Favre gun-slinging it that day if Miami has a problem bringing a pass rush.. I can also see Ginn taking one to the house as he has looked really good in camp and preseason... It could be a barn burner down there. It will be by far the most anticipated game of week 1 with all the story lines there.

I just have a feeling the Dolphins will come together and really try to win one for Pennington against his former team.. The players really seem to love that guy hearing what they say about him in interviews every day.. Coming off a 1-15 season, I think the team will be jacked up to turn things around on opening day wanting to surprise the world..
By the same token, I am sure the Jets will try to win it for Favre. But all the pressure is on the Jets coming down to win that game in that heat and humidity.. It should be a great game. Now as I say it could be a shootout, watch it end up being a defensive kind of game, LOL

PennySatele.jpg
 
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i will throw out some predictions

AFC - New England, Pittsburgh, Jacksonsville, San Diego, *Indianapolis, *NY Jets

*Wildcard

NFC - Dallas, Minnesota, New Orleans, Seattle, *NY Giants, *Carolina

*Wildcard

Superbowl: Jacksonville over New Orleans
 
I don't know about the Giants. With Umenyiora out for the year and Strahan turning them down, they will have no pass rush.

Adam Jones was reinstated for the Cowboys which is good news for the secondary. Cowboys are a little banged up on defence and the Oline but with their talent, they should win the division.

I am picking them to win the SB this year IF they can get the special teams to play better.
 
it'll be interesting to see how teams react to jacksonville this year. the jags and garrard won't be sneaking up on anybody, teams will be ready for them--their work is cut out for them. of cousre, if garrard turns out to be the real deal, which i think he is, they could challenge indy for the division title.
 
Jax is a truly physical specimen. I do think though that teams will be more ready for them this year. IF a team has any decent Rush Defense Jones-drew can be contained...or limited lets say. It's all a matter of who's physical enough to impose their will. I think a few teams may be able to hang with them. They do have a chance at the division for sure though. Colts could have a sloppy year if their O-line woes continue.
 
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