Pigskin and Pine Tar

The Patriots could fall into the same trap as the Colts. Over the past decade, the AFC rivals have been remarkably similar. Great QB, veteran possesion receiver, running backs that are mediocre and take a back role. The Colts are so horrible this year because, with all those late first round picks thanks to winning seasons by Manning, they could never stockpile more star talent. I see the Patriots falling in the same trap. They lost Brady two seasons ago, but Matt Cassel was still a very good quarterback who earned himself a starting job in Kansas City with that performance. They also had Randy Moss, the best wide receiver in football, and a decent defense. I believe Brian Hoyer and  Ryan Mallet are far superior to Curtis Painter and Dan Orlosvky. No personal knock on either of them, as the both had the talent to make it to the NFL, but it wouldn’t take much to be better than those two. But still, Deion Branch is old, Wes Welker would fall into the same trap as Reggie Wayne, a great receiver with a horrid quarterback dragging him down. Shane Vereen has great potential, but Danny Woodhead, Kevin Faulk, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis (despite his awesome name) are worse or equal to Joseph Addai, Donald Brown, and Delone Carter. In baseball, the superpowers fall and rise, but mostly wax and wane slowly, so you don’t notice it at first. Look at the Astros. They went to the World Series in ’05, but 6 years later they have the worst record in the league. But in Football, seemingly indestructable monoliths have their legs cut out from underneath them and perpetual cellar-dwellars can be transformed with 1 great Quarterback coming in on a 1st round pick or a great coach inspiring the players and righting the ship. I mean, how could the Colts stink? They have the best Quarterback in the game, a certain Hall of Famer who is one of the greatest of all time and has the record for most MVP awards! Oh, wait. He’s hurt. The Colts just fell off a cliff, and the 49ers have risen to the second best record in the league. people said, How are they going to win with Alex Smith? He’s a bust! Frank Gore’s injury prone, and their only decent player is Patrick Willis! But now? With Jim Harbaugh? Smith’s efficient, he’s one of the TOP 10 passers in the NFC, Frank Gore is great, and Navorro Bowman (who no one had heard about before this season) is almost as good as Willis. The Pats are 8-3, maybe the best team in the AFC, and all because of one man: Tom Brady. The Colts may have saved their hide by expsoing them to what happens when you lose your Hall of Fame QB. It’s not pretty.

The way teams like the Raiders and Niners dug themselves into holes, 4 and 6 years ago, was a common mistake. They stunk, to begin. So, they went with the obvious solution: Draft a franchise QB. But I don’t think that’s the way to do it. There will be more franchise QBs down the road, so just wait. Build a good team first. With a good, or even decent team, the fans are okay with the future superstar sitting on the bench as he learns the playbook at his own pace.  Draft some good wide receivers, so that when your quarterback is ready, he has some dependable, experienced wideouts to throw to. Also, build a good defense so that he doesn’t have pressure to put up monster numbers. The titans are executing this perfectly. They have Jake Locker, the 8th overall pick this year, playing behind a solid veteran, Matt Hasselback. Aaron Rodgers is now the best QB in the nation after learning behind Brett Favre. I already mentioned this in the blog post about Ponder, but Chris Johnson can also help out Locker. When he is ready to take the reins, two or three years down the road, he’ll already have the ingredients for a great team, and that is a recipe for sucess. Already, this year, yesterday, when Hasselback sprained his elbow, Locker came in and was sucessful. Even with Vince Young, the 3rd overall pick in 2006, a rookie Pro Bowler, is now a backup in Philedalphia. He got pushed into a starting role (Because Billy Volek was definatley not the answer), and was reasonably sucessful, but down the road, with the Titans lack of star power, they flopped. Now, they’re getting it right on the second try.

Here you go, Matt.

Offense
Quarterback: Mark Sanchez is a good young QB, inconsistent but still learning. This season and last he’s made huge strides from his rookie year. I wouldn’t trust Sanchez completely but he has led them to 2 NFC Championship Games, so he can get the job done. Mark Brunell is a experienced backup who Jets fans can rest assured will not make any rookie mistakes.

Running Back: LaDanian Tomlinson had a sort of revival year last year, but he has been hurt and ineffective for most of this season. Shonn Greene is a solid young tailback, and good insurance for the aging Tomlinson.

Receiving Corps: I haven’t seen Plaxico Burress do anything extraordinary, but he did have that nice 3-TD game. Santonio Holmes is another good option, and Dustin Keller has been great, though I believe he recently suffered a concussion. They are all good options for Sanchez to throw to, but no one has really stepped up as a true No. 1 receiver.

Defense
D-line/ Linebackers: It’s a solid, if not spectacular, group that does an alright job but lacks an identity. They get the job done though, and that’s what it’s all about.

Secondary: It’s all about DARELLE REVIS. Hands down best corner in the league. Teams with just one dominant receiver in trouble because they’re about to get shut down by Revis Island. There are not many teams in the NFL with 2 consistent Pro-Bowl receivers. Thanks to one man, the secondary is one of the best in the league.

Next Game:
Broncos on Thursday Night football. Sorry Matt, but I like the Broncos in this one. Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins will shut down the passing game, and LT is injured so they will have to rely on Shonn Greene. I think the way to stop the Tebow Option is to plant a QB spy. That’s how the Titans contained Cam Newton. However, Revis’s impact will be lessened by the fact that the Brincos only throw the ball about 3 times a half. That combined with a Peyton one week Painter the next Sanchez and as unorthodox as it might be, Tebow’s 3-1 record including a win against a tough Raiders pass rush. Good luck Jets, but I like Broncos

Never has there been so many good college quarterbacks in the NCAA just waiting to go to the NFL next year. Obviously there’s Andrew Luck, the projected #1 overall pick, but you also have Michigans’s Denard Robinson, USC’s Matt Barkley, Oklahoma’s Landry Jones, who throws for monster yardage, the mobile Darron Thomas, Boise State’s experienced Kellen Moore, and Brandon Weeden, the 27 year old seinor. And the NFL is hurting for quarterbacks.Seattle, Miami, Washington, Arizona, and potentially the Cowboys if Tony Romo leaves all hunting for quarterbacks. The 2012 draft class will have a strange mix of classic gunslingers like Luck and Jones, and speedy hybrids like Darron Thomas. I am not usually a huge college football fan, but these exciting young QBs have my attention. Which will be more successful in the pros? Luck is a given, but what about Thomas versus Jones? Power, deep bombs and risky shots downfield, or Speed, escaping and manuvering to move the chains? I’m not saying there won’t be other young, explosive players in the first round. Trent Richardson will most likely go early, and LaMicheal James will almost certainly be a big star. But the 2011 season will be a spotlight for these quarterbacks, their audition for NFL teams and fans, as we watch to see who we want for our team next June.