| Authored by Jeff Risdon - 3rd September, 2009 - 9:53 am
 September is here, my favorite month of the year!
College football starts this week, with the NFL to follow with an appetizer next Thursday and a full slate on Sunday. If you want to join me for opening Sunday, I'll be at The Score in Grand Rapids enjoying a pig roast and some adult beverages. Come say hi -- I'll be the tall guy in a gray NFL t-shirt and an Ohio State hat.
$.01 -- Just when you thought the Raiders had monopolized the chaos in the AFC West, the Chiefs had to go and one-up their rivals once again. Less than two weeks before the opener, bombastic rookie head coach Todd Haley fires his offensive coordinator. While I cannot argue that Chan Gailey probably wasn't a good fit as the OC, to drop the axe now smacks of classlessness and desperation. I know it's not a popular take, but to me this further indicates just how over his head new general manager Scott Pioli is in Kansas City. From an iffy draft to a risky hire at head coach to signing Matt Cassel to a ridiculous extension before seeing what he can do, Pioli has not exactly bred confidence with his early performance. And the magic for which he's often credited in New England just took another hit when the Patriots released quarterback Kevin O'Connell, Pioli's third-round pick last year. What do the Patriots have to show for Pioli's 2006-2008 drafts beyond the first rounds? Two backup corners (Wilhite and Wheatley), a second string TE (Thomas), a nickel-package outside linebacker that has yet to play (Crable), and their kicker (Gostkowski) are the only Pats from those drafts. That's 5 contributors out of 23 total non-first round picks, a rate that is actually worse than Matt Millen over the same period. Just two of his eight picks from 2004 were still in the NFL by 2007. Sorry Chiefs fans, but it's going to get worse before it gets better.
$.02 -- There is something fishy going on in Detroit with their quarterback situation. The Lions announced Daunte Culpepper would miss time after cutting his foot on some carpet in his home, and then added that Drew Stanton was out indefinitely with a bum knee. Following that, the Lions claimed the aforementioned O'Connell and signed Brooks Bollinger, who just might be the worst NFL quarterback this side of Spurgeon Wynn. I get the fact they want to let Matt Stafford start right away and not sit behind Culpepper, but needing eight stitches from stubbing your toe on carpet?!? Even if the tack strip is exposed I have a hard time fathoming needing more than two stitches and a tetanus shot. I had a mole the size of a quarter removed recently and that only needed five stitches -- just how big is this guy's toe? I have no insider info that Culpepper's injury isn't legit, but I can't help but think of Jeff Kent "washing his truck" or Brandon Marshall slipping on a McDonald's wrapper. It just seems too contrived, too convenient. I do have some legitimately sourced information that the Lions are already actively shopping O'Connell, who was claimed by at least two other teams. The same inside-the-team source tells me Stanton is likely to go on the PUP list, but that Bollinger will be cut the second Stanton is back from surgery.
$.03 -- Speaking of quarterback derbies on the shores of Lake Erie, the Browns continue to string out the competition between Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn. But is there anyone really fooled by all this chicanery? It's blatantly obvious that Quinn will be the starter, and a recent Browns roster move reinforces that. Cleveland cut free agent corner Rod Hood (the Bears quickly signed him) after a mistake-filled preseason game against Tennessee, where Hood blew a coverage, whiffed on a tackle, and didn't exactly threaten Usain Bolt in running down a ball carrier. That intolerance for mistakes and breakdowns by coach Eric Mangini reflects what he wants, or more precisely in Anderson's case, what he doesn't want. Anderson might indeed be the better overall quarterback, but Quinn isn't going to make the game-altering gaffe that Anderson might. I thought Bernie Kosar summed it up nicely when he stated that Anderson is a better bet to win you any one game, but Quinn gives you a better chance over the course of a season. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of either guy, eh?
$.04 -- I can't help but laugh at the Bengals and their ongoing misfortune. They finally get first round pick Andre Smith signed and into camp, and less than two practices into his NFL career he suffers a stress fracture in his foot. Imagine that, a guy who slid in the draft because of maturity and conditioning issues shows up late and out of shape. Oh, and can someone please tell me how a 350+ pound guy can break a bone in his foot and only require 7-10 days off? Quarterback Carson Palmer is nursing a high ankle sprain that a little birdie tells me is a lot worse than they're letting on. They have zero chance of selling out their home opener, which means the local fans won't get to watch the game, which in turn diminishes the fire of fandom and impacts merchandise sales. There is just so much negative karma surrounding this organization. I genuinely feel sorry for guys like Marvin Lewis, Andrew Whitworth, and Domata Peko -- good people who are running out of cheeks to turn.
$.05 -- Much ado has been made of the gorgeous but low-hanging HD scoreboard in the Cowboys new palatial stadium. It is fairly easily struck by punted balls, which leads to some interesting issues for the referees and the competition committee. I believe they erred in their solution of simply ruling the play dead and replaying the down. I think a better solution would be to place the ball at the 50 yard line on the change of possession. There is just too much risk for injury by replaying the punt -- already the statistically most dangerous play in football, and the players should rightly balk at the idea. I don't necessarily blame Jerry Jones for this one, but as the owner of the Cowboys the buck ultimately stops on his gilded desk. I suggest that if the issue isn't resolved before next season, the rule should change again to being a 15-yard penalty against the home team. Let's see how long it would take Jones to fix it then!
$.06 -- I'll begin this with a disclaimer that I'm a die-hard, lifelong Ohio State football fan. Recent allegations have emerged regarding the University of Michigan football team and violation of NCAA rules on practice time limits and supervision. Several former and current players have talked to a reporter, telling of practices far beyond allowable times and "voluntary" sessions that were really mandatory. There is a whole lot at play here, and I'm privy to more of it than most. My incredibly condensed opinion: the accusations are quite true, but certainly not unique to Michigan football; this further advances the growing sentiment that hiring Rich Rodriguez as coach just isn't worth the hassle, certainly not if they're sitting out bowl season again; the agendas of the ratting players and the reporter breaking the story should be made more public. And if you're looking for an upset special this weekend, the Wolverines are giving 12.5 points to a pretty good Western Michigan team that is starting future NFL quarterback Tim Hiller, while the hosts rotate between two freshmen making their debuts behind an offensive line that collectively is nearly 230 pounds lighter than last year's starting five.
$.07 -- Quick BCS Bowl predictions:
Orange: Virginia Tech vs. LSU
Sugar: Cincinnati vs. Notre Dame
Rose: California vs. Penn State
Fiesta: Boise State vs. Texas
BCS Title Game: Oklahoma vs. Florida
No, I did not forget USC or Ohio State. I think USC will lose to Cal and/or Oregon, Ohio State will stumble to Penn State and/or Illinois. With one guaranteed loss to the loser of their contest, that is certainly a BCS elimination game, but the winner must win their conference with just one loss and neither the Trojans nor Buckeyes are overwhelming enough to pull that off. Consider that between the two biggest NFL feeder programs, just one player (USC safety Taylor Mays) is likely to be drafted in the first two rounds next April.
$.08 -- Quick NFL "actual award" predictions:
MVP: Peyton Manning over Drew Brees
Coach of the Year: Mike McCarthy over Norv Turner
Offensive Player of the Year: Manning
Defensive Player of the Year: DeMarcus Ware over Ed Reed
Offensive Rookie: Percy Harvin over Matt Stafford
Defensive Rookie: Brian Orakpo over BJ Raji
Comeback Player: Tom Brady over Shawne Merriman
$.09 -- Non-football thought time. The Minnesota Timberwolves and their first first-round pick, point guard Ricky Rubio, failed to reach an agreement and the young Spaniard will remain in his home country for at least the next two years. Rubio is a flashy young prodigy with an exciting panache that tends to make people gloss over his major deficiencies. While Timberwolves fans are groaning over not getting him, they just might be better off in letting the over-hyped, fundamentally unsound, immature golden child grow up a little overseas. It's not like the team had a role for him anyways, not after drafting another (and superior) point guard with the very next pick. Rubio's people warned the Wolves not to draft him, but they couldn't resist. The Minnesota brass is trying to gussy up the pig they created by saying he'll be worth the wait, but I would go in a different direction: trade his rights to any team willing to give you more than a sack of balls for a player who is probably no more than 25% likely to ever start an NBA game.
$.10 -- Football Meteorology returns next week, as I try to build upon last season's 159-96-1 record for picking NFL games. But the college slate begins this week with a handful of compelling games sprinkled amongst the designated blowouts. The forecast for this weekend's games:
Oklahoma State 33, Georgia 24
Notre Dame 36, Nevada 31
Oklahoma 27, BYU 17
Virginia Tech 24, Alabama 10
Purdue 30, Toledo 20 -- picked only because I will be at the game for scouting purposes. And since neither team has much in the way of NFL talent, I'll spend most of the day gathering opinions on other, better regional talent.
-- Jeff Risdon is RealGM's senior football writer. He may be reached at Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com. |
