Tag: Dan Marino (Page 2 of 2)

      NFL Week 17 Quick Hit Thoughts: Lions 0-16, Brees falls short, Big Ben hurt

      December 28, 2008 /

      Detroit Lions– With their 31-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions wound up on the wrong side of history in 2008, finishing the season 0-16. No team in the NFL history has ever finished 0-16, but the good news for Lion fans is that owner William Clay Ford Sr. doesn’t plan on changing a thing about the organization. Yikes.

      – I feel bad for Drew Brees. He needed just 16 more passing yards in the Saints’ 33-31 loss to the Panthers on Sunday to eclipse Dan Marino’s record for most passing yards in a single-season. I’m a little surprised that with Carolina’s defenders playing so far back, that Brees didn’t just zing one over the middle for 10 or 12 yards and let one of his receivers pick up the rest of the yardage. But I admire Brees for slinging it down field in an attempt to try and win the game. (I think that’s what he was doing?)

      – In a nightmare situation for the Steelers in their 31-0 win over the hapless Cleveland Browns on Sunday, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was carted off the field after suffering a concussion late in the second quarter. Big Ben’s head slammed hard against the turf after he was crushed by two Brown defenders and it took the trainers nearly 15 minutes to attend to him. It’s unclear at this point the status of his health, although the Steelers do have a bye week before they host a playoff game.

      – I didn’t see much of the Ravens’ 27-7 win over the Jaguars, but I do know that Baltimore is one scary looking playoff team. Their defense will allow them to compete with anyone and Joe Flacco might be playing better than any rookie in the league – including Matt Ryan.

      – Peyton Manning went 7 for 7 for 95 yards and a touchdown in his final tune up before the playoffs. Whoever wins the AFC West between the Chargers and Broncos Sunday night should savor the moment because it’s going to be short-lived considering they’ll have to play Indy next weekend.

      – I can’t believe how far the Bears’ defense has fallen since Chicago’s appearance in the Super Bowl two years ago. I mean, the Texans did whatever they wanted to the Bears and Chicago’s secondary made Matt Schaub look like Joe Theismann.

      – According to the St. Petersburg Times, Buccaneers’ running back Cadillac Williams appears to have suffered a torn left patellar tendon in Tampa’s 31-24 loss to the Raiders. I don’t want to speculate before more information is released, but it’s a shame that such a promising career might be cut short.

      NFL

      Matt Ryan the greatest rookie quarterback ever?

      November 24, 2008 /

      Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that we are watching the greatest rookie quarterback to ever play in the NFL in the Falcons’ Matt Ryan.

      Matt RyanTom Brady threw three passes his rookie season; Brett Favre threw four. Bart Starr and Joe Montana each started one game as rookies. Troy Aikman had to be benched midway through, having gone 0-11 as a starter. Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions his first season. John Elway completed 47.5 percent of his rookie passes, Terry Bradshaw 38.1 percent.

      Joe Namath was 3-5-1 as a lavishly salaried — he was making $400,000 — rookie. Fran Tarkenton was 2-8 as a first-year starter; Johnny Unitas was 4-3, Bob Griese 3-7. Ben Roethlisberger was 13-0 as a rookie quarterback on a loaded Pittsburgh team but didn’t start until Week 3. Sammy Baugh made All-Pro as a rookie but threw six more interceptions than touchdown passes. Bob Waterfield was league MVP as a rookie but started only four games. (Doubtless he got bonus points for being married to Jane Russell.)

      Dan Marino is considered the gold standard of rookie quarterbacks, but his first start only came in Week 6, and he joined a team that had reached the Super Bowl the previous season. And now we consider Matt Ryan, who has started from Day 1 for a dilapidated team the Sporting News pegged to finish 1-15, who stands now as the chief reason the refurbished Falcons are 7-4.

      Ryan has been unbelievable, but I think we should wait until the end of the year before making claims that he’s the best rookie quarterback ever. What Big Ben did his rookie year was pretty astonishing, although Bradley’s point about him playing on an already stacked Steelers team is just. Still, Ryan still has five games left and if he leads the Falcons to the playoffs, then maybe we can talk about him being the greatest ever.

      That said, he is absolutely remarkable. Pundits figured the Falcons would win no more than two or three games not only because Ryan is a rookie, but also because the roster is devoid of overall talent. But with a little help from Michael Turner, John Abraham and Roddy White, Ryan has done some amazing things as a rookie. His poise, confidence and demeanor have been incredibly impressive and he looks like he has a bright future ahead of him.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Young QBs will determine success for NFL teams this season

      September 1, 2008 /

      With Week 1 of the NFL season looming, nine teams will start a quarterback with less than a full season under center.

      Teams are giving young quarterbacks less and less time to develop their skills. The NFL’s win-now environment has put pressure on inexperienced quarterbacks to play well immediately, with a short and steep learning curve to develop into a good starter. Large signing bonuses have caused owners to demand that their coaching staffs play the youngsters as soon as possible.

      The Minnesota Vikings are a potential Super Bowl contender, but their success will hinge on the quarterback play of Tarvaris Jackson, who has a total of 14 career starts in the NFL. The chances of him making a leap in production are slim – few young quarterbacks play consistently well week in and week out.

      One quarterback that will be under the league’s microscope this season is Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers held a clipboard for three seasons as the backup to Brett Favre. And after continuous reps in the offseason program, endless time in film sessions with the coaching staff, and simply watching one of the best to ever play the quarterback position, it is time for Rodgers to take the field. Save for Favre’s offseason antics, this is the right way for a young QB to develop.

      The opposite can be said for Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons, as management wants the future to begin as soon as possible. After the circus that was the 2007 season, starting with the Michael Vick arrest and culminating with Bobby Petrino’s midnight exit, the Falcons needed a new face of the franchise on the field as soon as possible. But Ryan’s entire professional career consists of training camp and two weeks of mini-camp, which means we are likely to see miscommunication and missed assignments from the QB position.

      It’s not often that young quarterbacks play Super Bowl-caliber ball. Dan Marino has the distinction of leading his team to a Super Bowl berth with the fewest starts (26) at the quarterback position, and Ben Roethlisberger is the youngest quarterback to actually win a Super Bowl (at the age of 23). But they are the exceptions and not the rule.

      Typically, a young quarterback is no longer allowed to develop, and if success isn’t immediate, he will be written off as a disappointment.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Football, General Sports, NFL, Television

      Best all-time franchise players for all 32 NFL teams

      August 18, 2008 /

      ESPN.com did a cool feature recently when they asked SportsNation to select an all-time player for each NFL team. Some players were obvious choices for teams, including Brett Favre for the Packers and Barry Sanders for the Lions, but there were some question picks, as well.

      The site added links to video of each player, as well as a chance to debate each choice.

      Here were some of the more obvious selections:

      49ers: Joe Montana, QB
      Packers: Brett Favre, QB
      Lions: Barry Sanders, RB
      Browns: Jim Brown, RB
      Dolphins: Dan Marino, QB
      Patriots: Tom Brady, QB
      Broncos: John Elway, QB
      Chargers: LaDainian Tomlinson, RB
      Colts: Peyton Manning, QB

      And some of the more questionable choices:

      Ravens: Matt Stover, K
      Saints: Bobby Hebert, QB

      As a colleague pointed out, it’s hard to argue with any of these picks because they were chosen by fans. But Matt Stover over Ray Lewis? Bobby Hebert over Archie Manning?

      Lewis has been the face of Baltimore’s franchise for almost a decade and Stover is a kicker (albeit a very good kicker) for Jonathan Ogden’s sake. And I know Hebert was a fan favorite that led the team to the playoffs in 1988, but if Manning had a better team around him, he might have led the Saints to their first ever Super Bowl. I thought Pat Swilling would have gotten more love, too. (Swilling only got 2.4% of votes.)

      Cool feature, though.

      General Sports, NFL

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