Even in defeat, 49ers prove their worth

by Andy | Sep 27, 2009 | NFL Random Thoughts

When the San Francisco 49ers return home from their game this afternoon the record books will show that they lost to Minnesota. Sportscenter will highlight the last second Brett Favre-to-Greg Lewis heroics that kept the Vikings undefeated.

But make no mistake about it – the 49ers represented well in Minneapolis this afternoon and they’ve got me convinced they are the best team in the NFC West.

With 59:58 of time elapsed, the 49ers had gone into a hostile environment and held the Vikings, capitalizing on a blocked field goal return right before halftime and dominating the second half of play. Furthermore, they did so minus their superstar, Frank Gore.

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Three AFC powers struggling on defense

by Andy | Sep 21, 2009 | NFL Random Thoughts

When the season started many pundits expected New England to regain supremacy in the AFC with the return of Tom Brady. Others figured the return to health of Shawne Merriman and LaDainian Tomlinson would give San Diego a shot at finally breaking through. Still more observers figured Peyton Manning would lead Indianapolis back to Super Bowl glory.

Early on these predictions don’t look good.

New England held New York to 16 points Sunday but couldn’t score against the improving Jets’ defense. And last week Fred Jackson and the Bills ran all over New England, controlling most everything about the game except the final score.

As the fourth quarter of tonight’s Monday nighter begins the Indianapolis defense has been on the field for about 80 of the game’s 45 minutes so far. Why? Because Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown are running over, around, above and under the Colts. Indy has long been undersized on the defensive line, but this performance is among the worst this team has put forth in years.

Both teams also look old and tired – especially New England, where several defensive leaders have retired or left. The trade of Richard Seymour will pay off in the long run but it added a hole to a defense that reportedly was already looking for a pass rush in the preseason.

And Baltimore and Oakland have both run the ball well against San Diego, with the Ravens pulling off a win when Ray Lewis stopped Darren Sproles on a questionable call at the end of the game.

So who looks good so far?
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Best football Oakland has seen in awhile

by Andy | Sep 14, 2009 | NFL Random Thoughts

This site has been outspoken in its ridicule of the Oakland Raiders and many of the personnel moves the team has made over the last couple years. I’ll stand by that criticism and add that I think their trading a first round pick for Richard Seymour didn’t make any sense for the long-term.

It just doesn’t make sense for a team that is a couple years away from being a contender to trade away first round picks for high-priced veterans who are pushing 30 years old. That most likely will be a top 10 or 12 pick they gave up for the former Patriot.

That said, after taking a few days off before reporting to play for the Raiders, Seymour is playing inspired football tonight against San Diego and it seems to be firing up the rest of what otherwise would be an undermanned team against San Diego.

Seymour hasn’t recorded a sack and hasn’t been credited with a lot of tackles, but he’s been lining up all over the defensive line, getting penetration, causing havoc and generally frustrating Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.

It’s rubbing off, as well. Tommy Kelly, often criticized for lazy play after signing the big extension last offseason, has been just as active as Seymour. Gerard Warren has been in the mix several times as well. The Raiders’ defensive line is so controlling the game that three San Diego offensive linemen – Marcus McNeill, Louis Vasquez and Nick Hardwick – have left with injuries and their replacements have been called for at least two penalties.

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Bills O-Line overhaul conflicts with offseason push for T.O.

by Andy | Sep 8, 2009 | NFL Random Thoughts

When the Buffalo Bills released Langston Walker Tuesday it completed a wholesale shakeup of what had been a reasonably experienced, albeit less than stellar offensive line.

Last year, Walker started at right tackle. He was attempting to move to left tackle to replace Jason Peters, who moved onto Philadelphia during the offseason.

Also gone off of the 2008 line are left guard Derrick Dockery and center Melvin Fowler. Those four have been replaced by rookie guards Eric Wood and Andy Levitre, second-year left tackle Demetrius Bell, and center Geoff Hangartner, who arrives from Carolina where he started 27 games.

The one holdover, Brad Butler, moves from right guard to right tackle.

Other than Jason Peters, the 2008 line was filled with decent to solid but definitely unspectacular players. Melvin Fowler has been a fill-in player for three teams now, starting for a year in Minnesota before joining Buffalo and starting his career in Cleveland. Guys like Fowler, however, are guys coaches are always looking to replace.

Dockery had joined Buffalo under a seven-year deal in 2007 but he, as well as the rest of the line, struggled in 2008. He was cut and then rejoined his previous employer in Washington.

In all likelihood, the 2009 line has more upside than the 2008 one did. Wood and Levitre were high draft picks this year and Bell is in his second year with the team. In the long run guys like Marshawn Lynch  and Trent Edwards will probably benefit from the changes.

But what confuses me about the wholesale changes upfront is that management during the offseason treated 2009 as though the Bills were planning to make a run. You don’t add Terrell Owens to the fold when you’re planning to rebuild.  And that’s understandable, to some degree, because the offense has other offensive weapons in Lee Evans, Fred Jackson and Marshawn.

So the idea of starting three offensive linemen who have yet to ever start a game in the NFL, while perhaps good for the future, seems awfully darn risky in 2009.

Owens has always done a great job in his first year with his new teams before becoming a cancer toward his quarterbacks. If Edwards spends the bulk of his time on his back this season I don’t think it’s going to take a full season before Owens starts burning bridges in Buffalo/Toronto.

And Edwards hasn’t exactly been a Pro Bowler during his first two years with the team. He improved last year but still threw for just 2,699 yards and 11 touchdowns. His quarterback rating was 85.4 but he’s had injury and consistency problems. Throw him behind an inexperienced offensive line and who knows what will happen.

So while some of these moves probably do make sense in the long run, it’s going to take some time for these guys to meld into a unit. As such, you might see some improvement toward the end of the season.

But early on I would expect to see some struggles. It’ll be interesting to see how T.O. reacts to this situation. In fact, while offensive line play rarely makes for sexy headlines, I’d say the ancillary sideshows this overhaul could cause makes Buffalo one of the league’s more interesting teams to watch in 2009.