Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 595 of 1503)

      Is it now or never for Russell in Oakland?

      December 14, 2009 /

      With Bruce Gradkowski likely shelved for the rest of 2009 after spraining and partially tearing his MCL in the Raiders’ Week 14 loss to the Redskins, it could be do or die for former first overall pick JaMarcus Russell.

      Russell has been a bust virtually from the moment he arrived in Oakland. He has never grasped that in order to become a great player in the NFL, he has to work for it on and off the field. Thus far, he has tried to get by on only his God-given abilities, which clearly isn’t enough for him to succeed.

      Russell has major issues with his accuracy, his decision-making and his overall pocket awareness. He also has shown the inability to read a defense, to lead and to become a student of the game. The first three things can be taught, but the latter is on him.

      He likely has three games to prove himself to the Raiders, because the team will no doubt evaluate him to decide whether or not to cut their losses and move on the offseason. If he isn’t going to develop, it doesn’t make sense paying him all that money to watch Gradkowski on the sidelines.


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      Cowboys right on time with another December collapse

      December 13, 2009 /

      I know this is such a cliché, but I’m going to use it anyway, so eat it: There are three things we can count on in life: Death, taxes and the Cowboys collapsing in December under Wade Phillips.

      The Chargers won their eighth straight game on Sunday by knocking off the Cowboys, 20-17 in Week 14. Vincent Jackson turned in a banner performance by catching seven passes for 120 yards, which should appease fantasy football owners because he had just nine grabs for 147 yards in the previous four weeks.

      But getting back to Dallas, the ‘Boys have started off the month of December by dropping their first two games. They’re now 3-7 under Phillips, but it’s hardly fair to blame all of the Cowboys’ struggles in the fatal month on the head coach.

      In December and January, Tony Romo is 5-12 as a starter and the defense is allowing 25.1 points per game. So if owner Jerry Jones is getting an itchy firing finger again, he might want to clean house because it’s been a collection of things that have lead to the Cowboys’ woes in the final month of the season.

      Of course, Romo wasn’t that bad today. The Cowboys went run-heavy in the first half and he still managed to throw for 249 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. (Granted, he was helped by a last-second touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton.)

      That said, neither he nor the defense did enough to earn a win. There’s no shame in losing to a good Chargers team that can throw at will most Sundays. But the bottom line is that Dallas put together a lackluster effort at home in crunch time of the season. It doesn’t matter who’s most to blame – they just need to win.


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      Rookie Brian Orakpo is a beast

      December 13, 2009 /

      When the Redskins selected Brian Orakpo in the first round of April’s draft, they knew they were getting a player that could get after the quarterback. But they probably didn’t figure that they were getting a game-changer right off the bat.

      Thus far, the defensive rookie of the year candidate has 11 sacks on the year. On Sunday, he ranked up six tackles, four sacks and forced a fumble in the Redskins’ 34-13 stomping of the Raiders in Week 14.

      Orakpo has been outstanding in his first year, which is quite a testament to his abilities both as a player and as a student of the game because he had to learn how to learn the linebacker position this summer after playing end at Texas. It usually takes most rookies a season or two to adjust to a new position, but Orakpo has picked it up right away.

      He faces stiff competition in the Bills’ Jairus Byrd and the Texans’ Brian Cushing, but Orakpo has to be the leader of the defensive rookie of the year award. Who would have thought that Orakpo would have made a bigger impact this season for the Redskins than massive free agent acquisition Albert Haynesworth.


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      Andre Johnson deserves to play for a winner

      December 13, 2009 /

      Texans fans are going to read the title and want to dropkick me in the mouth. But let me clarify: I want the Texans to win. I want the Texans to win because they drafted Andre Johnson and both player and team deserve to win in this situation.

      That said, Johnson is a superfreak and if the Texans aren’t going to eventually win, I’d like to see the 28-year-old receiver play in a meaningful game once in my lifetime.

      Johnson racked up 193 yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches in Houston’s blowout 34-7 win over the hapless Seahawks in Week 14. The Texans did an outstanding job moving the wideout around so that Seattle couldn’t double-team him and the results were obviously outstanding. The only reason Johnson didn’t have 20 catches for 300 yards was because Houston was up so much in the second half that it didn’t need to put the ball in the air.

      There was an article in one of the recent ESPN The Magazines that stated Johnson could ask out of Houston if the Texans fail to make the playoffs this season. He doesn’t seem like the type to demand a trade, but losing has an affect on people so it’ll be an interesting story to follow in the offseason.

      Either way, this guy deserves to play in the postseason once in his career. Could you imagine what he would do in an offense like the Saints and the Colts? Granted, you could say that about any great receiver in the league but…ho…lee…crap. That would be fun to watch.

      NFL

      Are the Bengals too one-dimensional offensively?

      December 13, 2009 /

      The Bengals haven’t gotten as far as they have this season by accident. They’ve won nine games by not killing themselves with mistakes, by running the ball and by playing solid defensive.

      But are they relying too much on their running game?

      On Sunday in Minnesota, the Bengals attempted 24 runs and 28 passes. That’s a nice, balanced offensive approach but it got them nowhere in a 30-10 loss to the Vikings.

      Marvin Lewis had to have known that the Bengals weren’t going to line up and just run the ball at will against the stout Minnesota front four. Granted, Cincinnati did manage to gain 119 yards on the ground, but Carson Palmer threw for just 94 yards despite completing 15-of-25 pass attempts. The Bengals had zero vertical passing game whatsoever.

      Following the loss, Chad Ochocinco hit the nail on the end when he summed up his team’s offensive game plan coming into Sunday:

      “I am not sure if we were really focused on getting the passing game going today,” Ochocinco said. “I think what we wanted to do was establish the run like we have been doing all year. We wanted to pass, as needed.”

      The Bengals shouldn’t change their identify based on their opponent, but that doesn’t mean that they also shouldn’t make adjustments in order to win the game. Yes, they had some success running the football against the Vikings. But it was apparent that the running game alone wasn’t going to help them beat Minnesota and yet Lewis and his coaching staff never adjusted.

      The Bengals are a damn good team and they played a great opponent in a tough environment. But in order for them to become elite, they need to find a way to beat teams through the air or else they’re going to have a tough time advancing in the post season.

      NFL

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