“I don’t know that everybody sees him as a quarterback,” Mora said in a pre-taped segment. “I spent three years with the guy, and the most consistent question I got was, ‘Does he have the skill set of an NFL quarterback or is he better suited to play another position?’”

Said ESPN’s Ed Werder in response, “But you always stated your belief that he was a quarterback, and could succeed at the position.”

Replied Mora, followed by a slight ish-eating grin: “Because he was my quarterback.”

I side with Mora. He’s right. That said, Mora is one of the dumbest head coaches I’ve ever seen, and that’s coming from someone who watches 16 Falcons’ games a year, plus the preseason and playoffs. He instilled Greg Knapp, arguably the worst offensive coordinator ever, as his offensive coordinator. He was known for being a guy that was a friend to the players, not a coach. Anyway… I don’t want to get off on too much of a rant. Michael Vick won’t be the QB of the Seahawks. Have fun with Mora, Seattle. You’ll never see a more loosely run team. Trust me.

[Pro Football Talk]

“He indicated that he’s tremendously remorseful about this, and now he wants to be an agent of change, to work to end dogfighting and to specifically get young kids to cease any involvement in these activities,” Pacelle said.

I’m going to assume what everyone’s assuming, and that’s that Mike is only doing this to better his chances at getting back in the NFL. That said, give the guy some credit for swallowing his pride and teaming up in an effort he more than likely couldn’t care less about.

Next thing on everyone’s mind: Where does he sign? The obvious choice is Oakland, because Batshit Crazy Al Davis runs the team, but they’ve got their quarterback (”JaMarcus Russell is a great quarterback — get over it!”). Other teams would be the Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49′ers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or, in something I consdier a long shot, the Tennessee Titans. The Falcons still have him under contract, and are currently asking for a 7th round draft pick in the year 2029.

[AJC]

It’s the last time we’ll be discussing the NFL until a Bengals player gets arrested in the offseason.

How’d your team do over the weekend? I’ve got lots of different opinions from lots of different people. Click here and you can see how Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline rates the picks; click here to see how Larry Weisman, writer for USA Today, breaks down all seven rounds. Clifton Brown, writer for Sporting News Today, has his take here; for Yahoo! Sports, go here.

I’d give you Todd McShay or Mel Kiper, Jr., but they’re douche bags and charge you $39.95 a year for their services — if I could charge everyone $39.95 to be completely wrong about how a player will turn out, I would. McShay isn’t that bad, but Kiper’s looked like a weatherman with some of his recent predictions.

Enjoy the grades. They mean nothing. At the end of the day, Calvin Johnson has to catch Matthew Stafford’s passes, and DHB wasn’t a stretch by Oakland until he officially busts in Oakland. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I’m counting down to September. Fall, you couldn’t get here soon enough.

1.) Carson Palmer: Good record. Hurt last year. Was a Pro Bowler. Really hasn’t been the same since he was knocked out of the playoff game against Pittsburgh.
7.) Byron Leftwich: He backed up Joey Harrington last year. I think that’s enough said.
19.) Kyle Boller: A kid I felt bad for. I always thought he’d be better, but the people in Baltimore expected him to be Joe Montana immediately. He got a tough break going to a team with very little offense.
22.) Rex Grossman: He went to a Super Bowl. Still…. he played behind Kyle Orton last year, and has been subject of many “benching” talks throughout the years.
88.) Dave Ragone: Who? The Big Lead says he’s doing a radio show with Scott Padgett now.
97.) Chris Simms: He’s probably got a good chance of being the starter this year in Denver. That said, his competition isn’t much.
110.) Senaca Wallace: He got some playing time last year with Hasselbeck hurt, but hasn’t done much through his career.

[The Big Lead]
[Six Years Later, The QB Class of 2003 Is Still Dreadful]

An interesting note: The Cardinals, who made the Super Bowl, have the 27th hardest schedule, or sixth easiest next year; the Minnesota Vikings, who won their division and played a first round playoff game at home, have the second easiest schedule. The Patriots, who missed the playoffs, have the third easiest schedule.

You can see all teams here. With the addition of Jay Cutler, and with the easiest schedule in the NFL, it looks as if the Bears might have an easy ride to the playoffs next year.

[ESPN]

That said, via The Big Lead, here’s some guys that impressed, and some guys that didn’t. A couple of notables on my end, from what I’ve seen on NFL Network:

Pat White, QB/WR: He ran an unofficial time of 4.49 in the 40, and then it was adjusted to a 4.55. He also jumped a solid nine feet in the broad jump, which is real important once you’re actually in the game. I know I often see guys stand in place, squat, and leap as far forward as possible. Like I said: Great gauge at talent.

Darius Heyward-Bey, WR: This guy was being talked about as a second rounder, but after running a 4.3 flat, he’s probably going to end up cracking the top 15. Michael Crabtree is still “the guy” when it comes to receivers, but Heyward-Bey is sure creeping up.

Derrick Anderson, WR: This is the guy that I think will be a solid NFL player — probably a good number two receiver — but his 4.58 40 will have schools not paying attention to whether or not he can run a route and catch the ball, and just say he’s too slow to play.

Beanie Wells, RB: I can’t tell if a 4.59 40 is good or bad for him. On one side, it’s slower than most strong safeties. But he’s 235 pounds, and at that size, how fast do you want him to run?

[The Big Lead]
Getting Listy With The Combine

Last Week: 7-6
On the Season: 115-100
Locks of the Week: 14-6

Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars (+6)
Baltimore Ravens @ Dallas Cowboys (-4)
Pittsburgh Steelers (-2) @ Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins (-4) @ KC Chiefs
Arizona Cardinals @ New England Patriots (-7)
Cincinnati Bengals (+3) @ Cleveland Browns
Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Redskins (+5)
SF 49′ers @ St. Louis Rams (+5.5)
Atlanta Falcons (+3) @ Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints (-7) @ Detroit Lions
Carolina Panthers @ New York Giants (-3)
New York Jets (-4) @ Seattle Seahawks
Houston Texans (-7) @ Oakland Raiders
Buffalo Bills @ Denver Broncos (-6.5)
San Diego Chargers @ Tampa Bay Bucs (-3)
Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears (-4)

To know who deserved to go at every position I’d have to be some kind of NFL machine. As much as I love the NFL, I couldn’t tell you if every guy picked deserved to be there or not. That said, here’s just a couple of snubs that jump out at me.

-John Abraham: He’s probably the biggest snub I see. The guy has 15.5 sacks and is the only reason Atlanta’s defense has been decent (if you look at that roster, their next best defensive player is Curtis Lofton, a rookie, or Lawyer Milloy, a 36 year-old). He had three sacks against the Bucs, and one of them came in overtime to help Matt Ryan and the offense get the ball in good field position to set up the winning field goal.

Brandon Jacobs: Maybe he doesn’t have the stats and yards of the other guys. But the Giants were 11-1 with that guy in the roster, and we all saw Sunday night what happens when that guy goes out. He’s the most important player to his team, and he’s the oil that helps run that offensive machine.

DeAngelo Williams: This one deserves an asterisk, because it’s not like you can take out AP, Michael Turner, or Clinton Portis. But the guy had a killer year.

Haloti Ngata: Big reason the Ravens D is back to being the Ravens D. He anchors that defensive line.

Brett Favre: This isn’t a snub. He actually made it in. How in the hell did Brett Favre make the Pro Bowl? This is another reason the NFL shouldn’t let fan votes. Every no-nothing football fan votes for Favre because they know him. Favre should give his ticket to Matt Cassel.

Calvin Johnson: He’s playing on the worst team maybe in the history of the league. He’s had four different starting quarterbacks. He’s still got 1,165 yards, 10 touchdowns, and is averaging 17.9 yards per catch. He’s Randy Moss, only there’s no players around him. A team would get a steal if they could somehow trade for this guy in the off-season.

It was a good week, and there’s a lot of questions left as to who will be playoff bound in 2008. Dallas and Tampa Bay have the edge in the NFC, with Atlanta and Philly a game and a game and a half behind, respectively.

In the AFC, the Jets, Pats and Dolphins all battle for the East. Indy leads the Wild Card, and the AFC West could very well come down to the last game of the season if San Diego wins and Denver loses next week.

Here’s my observations from Week 15:

• The Saints are out of playoff contention this year, but the last few games have them ready for next year. This team is finally learning they can run the ball and win.
• Huge win for the Falcons, keeping them alive in the playoff race. This team will be upset if they miss the playoffs, but at 9-5, they could lose their last two and still call this season a major success.
• The Redskins need to figure out that offense. Losing to Cincy is just inexcusable.
• Of the Dolphins’ last six games, only one team, the Pats, had a winning record. In that six game span, it was their only loss.
• If the Jets make the playoffs, they can send a nice thank you letter to JP Losman and the idiotic Bills coaching staff. Run the football, Dick.
• The Lions have two more games to try and take one. Calvin Johnson continues to perform even with a bad team around him.
• The Chargers finally had a close win go their way. They’ve been an absolute bust this year, but if they win and Denver loses, they’ll essentially have a one-game playoff in Week 17 when they head to Denver.
• Houston will be a very good team next year, but I’ve said that for the last three years.
• I’m hoping that performance the Vikings put on wasn’t any indication of what they’ll do to the Falcons on Sunday. Atlanta really needs to win this game.
• When I watch them, I don’t feel the Panthers are the best team in the NFC, but that might be hard to argue right now.
• The Ravens have a right to be pissed about how that game ended. If the call on the field put the ball at the one-inch line, what on that replay said otherwise?
• Other than a bad call, Pittsburgh won for one simple reason: The Ravens played prevent defense, when their blitzes messed Roethlisberger and Co. up all night. Stick to what’s working, Rex. Stick to what’s working.
• The Giants are in trouble. I said back at the beginning of the season that Brandon Jacobs is what makes this offense tick. He’s proving my point right now.
]]> http://www.bustedplay.com/nfl/week-15-nfl-observations/feed/ 0 http://www.bustedplay.com/nfl/2750/ http://www.bustedplay.com/nfl/2750/#comments Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:25:46 +0000 Dave http://www.bustedplay.com/?p=2750 Last Week: 11-5
On the Season: 108-94
Locks of the Week: 14-6

Sorry, guys, but this week won’t have any explanations. Time is short, but I’ll still give you my picks, and given my record and recent run (three of the last four weeks I’ve called 10 winners or more), that should be enough. Here we go.

New Orleans Saints @ Chicago Bears (-3)
Green Bay Packers @ Jacksonville Jaguars (+1.5)
Detroit Lions @ Indianapolis Colts (-17)
Washington Redskins @ Cincinnati Bengals (+7)
San Francisco 49′ers (+6.5) @ Miami Dolphins
Seattle Seahawks (-2.5) @ St. Louis Rams
Buffalo Bills @ NY Jets (-7.5)
Tennessee Titans (-3) @ Houston Texans
Pittsburgh Steelers (+2.5) @ Baltimore Ravens
Denver Broncos (+7.5) @ Carolina Panthers
San Diego Chargers @ KC Chiefs (+6)
Minnesota Vikings @ Arizona Cardinals (-3)
New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys (-3)
Cleveland Browns (+14) @ Philadelphia Eagles

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