Tag: Anthony Stalter (Page 42 of 133)

      Assessing blame for Tarvaris Jackson’s lack of development

      December 16, 2010 /
      GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 14: Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson #7 of the Minnesota Vikings runs with the ball during their NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on December 14, 2008 in Glendale, Arizona. The Vikings defeated the Cardinals 35-14. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

      To the 12 people that watched the Vikings-Giants game on Monday night, it was apparent that Tarvaris Jackson hasn’t grown as a quarterback. Granted, he hasn’t had much time to grow while watching Brett Favre play over the last two years, but he’s been in the league since 2006 and yet you would swear he’s still a rookie.

      The Vikings placed quarterback Jackson on injured reserve Thursday with turf toe, effectively ending his season and most likely his tenure in Minnesota. Brad Childress wanted a “diamond in the rough” when he selected Jackson with the last pick in the second round of the ‘06 NFL Draft and he got one in Jackson, although he never wound up polishing it.

      Part of the blame for that falls on Childress, who was too busy chasing Brett Favre on his ranch in Mississippi to develop the former small school product. Or maybe Childress knew that Jackson was a mistake and that’s why he took painstaking measures to ensure Lord Fave would grace Minnesota with his presence. Either way, somebody failed Jackson along the way.

      The former Alabama State product was projected to go in the later rounds of the ’06 draft but as we all know, projections mean very little. The truth is that other teams wanted Jackson that year too but the Vikings were the ones who got aggressive in the end. Hindsight is always 20/20 and while many people thought it was a reach to take Jackson in the second round, the bottom line is that Childress wasn’t the only one who saw a raw but talented athlete.

      The draft is littered with success stories about quarterbacks who weren’t taken in the top 10. Tom Brady is one – Drew Brees is another. Jackson didn’t play against top competition while at Alabama State but that’s not the only mark of a college quarterback. Given the right amount of time and coaching, there were plenty of people who thought they could turn Jackson into a bona fide NFL starter and Childress was one of them.

      Alas, it didn’t happen. Maybe Jackson just needs a change of scenery and a coach who won’t spend all of his time sucking face with a future Hall of Fame quarterback. Some players take a long time to develop and maybe that fits Jackson.

      Or maybe he’ll never develop. After all, the draft is littered with plenty of those cases, too.

      External Sports, NFL

      Inconsistency could eventually doom Chad Henne, Dolphins

      December 16, 2010 /
      EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - DECEMBER 12: Chad Henne of the Miami Dolphins drops back to pass against the New York Jets at New Meadowlands Stadium on December 12, 2010 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

      When taking their final three matchups into account, it’s not a stretch to think the 7-6 Dolphins can still make the playoffs. They host the Bills and Lions these next two weeks before traveling to New England to play a Patriots team that may be resting starters by that point.

      But the thought of everything resting on quarterback Chad Henne’s shoulders is enough to make some fans puke and others simply shrug their shoulders and say, “Hey, if he plays like he did against the Raiders then we still have a shot!”

      The only consistent part of Henne’s game right now is inconsistency. For every 307-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Raiders, there’s a 174-yard, three-interception game against the Browns. (Or worse, a 55-yard, 5-for-18 day against the Jets.)

      While some fans want him gone next year no matter how the 2010 season plays out, the numbers suggest that he hasn’t regressed like many think. He’s thrown one more interception through 12 games this year than he did in 14 last year, but he’s also thrown one more touchdown pass in two less games as well. His completion percentage is roughly the same (60.8 last year compared to 60.5 this year), but he’s also throwing for more yards-per-pass attempt (7.0 compared to 6.4 in ’09).

      According to Pro Football Reference.com, his passing touchdown percentage, sack percentage, passer rating, yards per attempt, net yards per attempt, adjusted yards per attempt and adjusted net yards per attempt are all higher than last year, too. So while it would appear as though the on field product has been worse, it’s actually been slightly better on a whole in most categories.

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      External Sports, NFL

      Something doesn’t add up in Sal Alosi “Tripgate” scandal

      December 15, 2010 /
      FOXBORO, MA - DECEMBER 06: Head coach Rex Ryan of the New York Jets talks to his players on the bench during the first quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 6, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Chris Chambers/Getty Images)

      The Jets are saying that Sal Alosi acted alone last Sunday when he instructed inactive players to line up along the sideline and form a human wall when Miami’s Nolan Carroll was running down field covering a punt. Alosi admitted that he acted alone as well.

      But something still doesn’t add up here. Why would Alosi, a strength and conditioning coach in charge of helping players avoid injuries on Sunday, be a ringleader of something like this? Where’s the benefit? Why would he risk his career to do something so stupid?

      Something tells me we’re not getting the whole truth here. The Jets say that Rex Ryan doesn’t coach his assistants to form human walls on the sidelines and maybe he doesn’t. But unless Alosi’s brain is the size of a walnut, I don’t see a strength and conditioning coach risking their job to do something like this.

      If Alosi did act alone, why haven’t the Jets fired him yet? I could see suspending and fining him if he had a brain fart and tripped Carroll in the spur of the moment. But if what the Jets are saying is true and Alosi actually masterminded this charade, then what’s the point in keeping him on staff? If Ryan doesn’t “coach that way” and neither do any of his top assistants (i.e. special teams coach Mike Westhoff), then why not drop this guy like a bad habit? I’m sure the New York freaking Jets can pick up the phone and have a new strength and conditioning coach hired in 25 minutes. So why retain Alosi?

      I’d be interested to see if they eventually fire him. I don’t want to see anyone lose their job but if Alosi is as dumb as he seems to be, then can him and get somebody who won’t embarrass the entire organization. It’s not like he made one mistake. A mistake would have been tripping Carroll because you got caught up in prank. But this was premeditated, which tells me either Alosi was instructed by a higher up to carry out this plan or he truly acted alone and therefore, shouldn’t keep his job. After all, I wouldn’t want my players being trained by someone as classless as this.

      External Sports, NFL

      Terrell Owens sounds off about Bengals’ front office, coaches

      December 15, 2010 /
      ATLANTA - OCTOBER 24: Terrell Owens of the Cincinnati Bengals against the Atlanta Falcons at Georgia Dome on October 24, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      What, did you really think T.O. would go through an entire 16-game losing season and not say a word?

      On the latest installment of the T.Ocho Show on Versus (side note: Does anyone watch that show? I can count on zero fingers how many people I know that do.), Ochocinco asked Owens why the Bengals are 2-11.

      Not surprisingly, T.O. had an answer.

      From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

      “I think there is underachieving you know from the top down,” Owens said. “You start off with the owner, you start off with the coaches and obviously we as players. We are a product of what the coaches are doing, are coaching us throughout the course of the week. Of course we have to go out there and play the game but in order for us to do what we’re allowed to do at the best of our ability the coaches have to put the players in the best position.”

      I’ve seen headlines that read, “T.O. blasts coaching staff,” in reference to the quotes above. But I’ve read what he said about four times now and honestly, I don’t think he’s specifically calling out his coaching staff. And in the grand spectrum of things, this is T.O. Lite in comparison to the stuff that usually comes out of his mouth.

      It’s not hard to figure out what’s going on with the Bengals. The entire franchise has had a losing mentality since the late 80s and while they’ve had moments over the past two decades (2004, 2009), they’ve largely been stuck in a massive rut. They thought they found a capable head coach in Marvin Lewis to turn things around and it looks like he isn’t the answer. They thought they found a capable quarterback in Carson Palmer to lift the franchise out of the doldrums and he hasn’t been the same since the hit he took in the ’04 playoffs.

      But it’s not just the head coach and it’s not just the quarterback – it’s a collection of things that have led the Bengals to this point. The players aren’t executing, the game plans that the coaches are putting together are failing miserably and the ownership doesn’t have a clue how to turn things around. And unfortunately for all parties involved, there seemingly are no answers and no solutions.

      Actually, there is one solution but Mike Brown has been unwilling to agree to it: they need to hire a general manager. Hire a good general manager (I’m sure the Patriots have one lying around in their film room), allow him to pick his head coach and then find a quarterback. Once those three things are in place, maybe the ball will get rolling forward for once instead of backwards onto the legions of fans that still mercifully support this team.

      I know it’s easier said than done, but at what point does Mike Brown punch a hole through his drawing board and start over?

      External Sports, NFL

      Despite largely being devoid of superstar talent, the Patriots continue to dominate thanks to Belichick

      December 14, 2010 /

      The more things change, the more they stay the same.

      Take the Patriots for example. They traded Randy Moss earlier this year and everyone thought their passing game would incinerate. “Who is going to stretch the field?” people asked. “Tom Brady doesn’t have anyone to throw to!” everyone quipped.

      But as usual, Bill Belichick was 34 steps ahead of everyone and already knew how the Pats would survive without Moss. He already knew that Brady had already completed 72.2% of his passes for 367 yards and five touchdowns out of the two-tight end set and that his offense would run smoothly as long as Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski continued to develop. Sure, the approach would change but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be effective.

      Belichick also knew what kind of connection Brady had with Deion Branch, which is why he traded for his former player (how is it that the Patriots always get the player they’re targeting in trade? It’s unbelievable.) to help cope with losing Moss. And how crazy is it that Branch has emerged as a playmaker again while Moss is now trapped in NFL obscurity?

      Actually, “crazy” isn’t the right word. Crazy would indicate that Belichick was fortunate that everything played out the way it did when he duped the Vikings into taking a useless Moss off his hands. But he wasn’t fortunate at all. He had a game plan and as usual, he executed it to perfection.

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      External Sports, NFL

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