Dropping Tomlinson and Sproles: Are the Bolts Dolts?

by | Mar 1, 2010 | 2010 NFL Free Agency, NFL Draft, NFL Random Thoughts

In the weeks following their shocking exit from the AFC playoffs the San Diego Chargers have announced plans to release LaDainian Tomlinson and not to tender Darren Sproles.

The first announcement didn’t surprise me. After seven fantastic seasons Tomlinson has struggled with injuries and performance the last two years, finishing 2009 with the lowest number of carries and yards-per-carry averages of his career.

The Sproles announcement, on the other hand, I found just short of stunning. First off, the guy has been a fireplug when he’s had the opportunity to play regularly, including the January 2009 playoff game where he had more than 300 all-purpose yards in the Chargers’ overtime win over Indianapolis.
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Despite alleged progress, Tebow won’t throw at Combine

by | Feb 22, 2010 | NFL Draft, NFL Random Thoughts

It didn’t take an expert watching Tim Tebow play quarterback for Florida over the last four years to see that he was a great college player and a good and decent human being. It also didn’t take a genius to guess that he’d have trouble translating his ample skills to the National Football League, at least if he wanted to continue playing quarterback.

While he was a great scrambler and he could buy enough time in college where his long windup didn’t hurt him he wasn’t going to get away with windmilling his throws playing against elite competition every week.

Those beliefs seemed to be confirmed when Tebow went to the Senior Bowl and promptly struggled – not only with his throwing but with taking snaps from center.

Give Tebow credit for paying attention. In a recent story published at Bleacher Report he indicates a realization that he’s got shortcomings and that he is and plans to continue working on them.

That same story, however, indicates that he won’t throw at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Huh?

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Manning legacy not lost on these eyes

by | Feb 19, 2010 | NFL History, NFL Random Thoughts, Super Bowl

We’re closing in on two weeks since the Saints beat the Colts in the Super Bowl and my body is slowly adjusting to the next six months without football.

One of the things I keep reading in the days since what I thought was a pretty exciting game between two very good teams and two great quarterbacks is that the interception Peyton Manning threw on his way to the game-tying touchdown drive somehow cheapens his legacy as a star quarterback.

I’ll grant you, Manning has, at times, struggled in big games. But to say throwing a pick-six against New Orleans somehow detracts from him being one of the top quarterbacks of all-time is ridiculous.

First of all, this wasn’t an all-time great Colts team all season long. Sure, they were 14-0 before the coaches pulled the starters against New York. But Indianapolis won eight games by one score or less. Other than a four game stretch of dominance from their third game to their sixth game, when they won games by 21, 17, 22 and 36 points, the Colts generally played competitive games this year. This was a very, very good team, but any belief that this was a dominant bunch was misguided.

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Brees MVP moves him closer to HOF

by | Feb 8, 2010 | Hall of Fame, NFL Random Thoughts, Super Bowl

Drew Brees, not Peyton Manning, displayed the poise and leadership of a Super Bowl champion Sunday night in Miami, leading his New Orleans Saints to their first Vince Lombardi trophy.

Brees completed 32 of 39 for 288 yards and two scores, winning the MVP trophy in the meantime.

His career is far from over and he’s got a lot more history to write in the years ahead. But I asked the question two weeks ago – will Drew Brees make the Hall of Fame? His last four seasons have certainly been trending in that direction.

Super Bowl performances like the show he put on tonight certainly won’t hurt his cause. Sure, it took Tracy Porter’s pick of Manning late in the game to seal the deal. And Sean Payton’s onside kick was a gutty call. But Brees’ performance was nearly flawless. My guess is he leads the Saints to many more playoff victories over the next few years as well.

If he does it’d be hard to keep him out of Canton in a decade, give or take a year or two.

Sunday to be Super for Colts or Saints?

by | Feb 7, 2010 | NFL Gambling, NFL Picks

I don’t know if it means I know something or if it was a case of the blind squirrel finding a nut, but I nailed the conference championships, picking the Colts to beat the Jets both straight up and against the spread while guessing the Vikings would beat the spread but lose a close one to New Orleans. That puts me at 7-3 straight up and 6-4 against Vegas lines for the playoffs. And so on to the Super Bowl.

Straight up: Colts
Spread: Saints +5

The Super Bowl presents another intriguing match-up between two high-powered offenses going against defenses that have been vulnerable at times this season.

Among the most interesting aspects of this tilt will be the quarterback duel between Peyton Manning and Drew Brees – a match-up that brings back memories of Staubach vs Bradshaw or Montana vs Elway. With Dwight Freeney injured and either out or playing at less than full strength and the Saints sporting a very good offensive line, I expect Brees to have plenty of time to throw. The same should be true of Manning, who is rarely sacked.

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