Yayo's Take: NFL Week 1 Observations
Posted by J. Yayo Hernandez on 09.13.2006
Four quarterback controversies and are the Patriots done? Click here to find out.
Welcome to Yayo's Take. I am former 411Sports stalwart J. "Yayo" Hernandez making a comeback of Rockyesque proportions! Okay, maybe that was a little too much hyperbole. Each week I hope to address some of the hot button topics in the NFL that the experts, pundits and those other people that don't write for 411Mania talk about. Hopefully you will learn something reading my column, namely that *I* and no one else knows it all (not even Clarissa) and can't lose (please step aside Jay-Z and Parker Lewis). With that on to the show...
1. Is it time to bench Bledsoe?
Some pundits are already calling for the head of Drew Bledsoe in Dallas based on their recent loss to a very solid Jacksonville Jaguars team. As a long time detractor of Bledsoe's its going to be hard for me to say this… but the man does not deserve to be benched. Drew Bledsoe's line for the game was 16 of 33 for 246 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Now looking at this anyone could draw the conclusion that Bledsoe had a bad game and it may be time to start the Tony Romo experiment. But it's what you don't see here that validates Bledsoe's performance. Bledsoe had a touchdown called back due to an offensive pass interference call against Jason Whitten. That drive then ended with a missed field goal. The Dallas rushing attack didn't do much, pumping out a measly 3.5 yards per carry. The Cowboys only had five runs that went more then four yards (Julius Jones 23 yard touchdown in the 1st, and a 17 and two eight yard runs in the third. Marion Barber also had an eight yard run in the third quarter). Last year Bledsoe had a 60% completion rating with a 83.7 quarterback rating and over 3,500 yards. I guarantee you that he can put up those same numbers if he is given a chance and Jones can average closer to the four yards per carry of last year. And I have no doubt in my mind that putting in Tony Romo would only hurt the offense and possibly exacerbate T.O. into acting up.
2. Should the Chiefs trade for a replacement for Trent Green?
Kansas City Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson described Trent Green's injury as "a very severe concussion," and said he had no reason to think it would be career-ending. He reiterated that the Chiefs had no plans to bring in another quarterback and that they hoped they'd get Green back shortly after the bye week. But is a recently concussed Trent Green the best choice for the Chiefs? Many quarterbacks have succumbed to post-concussion syndrome and I'm sure Chiefs fans don't want to see Damon Huard for the balance of 2006. More importantly with a depleted offensive line after losing tackles John Welbourn and Willie Roaf is it a good idea to even have Green back there? With the Chiefs eyeing a week four return for Green and the trade deadline being week six, the Chiefs shouldn't take the chance of Green re-injuring himself and having Huard lead the offense. As we speak Billy Volek is being shopped by Tennessee and a litany of quarterbacks are floating in the waters of free agency. If the Chiefs aren't careful they may end up with a team that can't play defense or score.
3. Is New England finally out of ammunition?
Football fans everywhere have to admire the continuity of the Patriots dominance in the NFL over the last few years. A 58-22 record since 2001 with Super Bowl wins three of the last five years. But like with any good thing, it must come to an end. After losing offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel last season the Patriots slipped to a 10-6 record but still won the AFC East. This past off-season they lost another defensive coordinator, Eric Mangini, wide receiver David Givens, DE/LB Willie McGinest and K Adam Vinatieri. Then this past week they traded away another starting receiver Deion Branch (in 53 games (42 starts) for the Patriots, Branch caught 213 passes for 2,744 yards and 14 touchdowns during his four-year stint. The two-time Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl XXXIX MVP had 41 receptions for 619 yards, including two touchdowns, in eight career playoff games) whom the Seahawks traded for. They say that as long as Tom Brady is upright that the offense is solid. That may be a nice saying but Brady was only 11 of 23 for 163 yards for two touchdowns and 1 interception. It was the exceptional running of Laurence Maroney (5 yards per carry) and Corey Dillon (4.6 yards per carry) that won the Patriots this game. If the Patriots continue to establish the run they are still the pick out of the AFC East but won't reach the elite level they held the last few years. The defections of Givens and especially Branch will hurt a Patriots offense that likes to put the game in Tom Brady's hands. It's not enough to stop them as they will operate out of more two tight end sets to involve Ben Watson and Daniel Graham to offset that loss, but it will affect their ability to stretch the field on a consistent basis. On defense the Patriots refusal to address their secondary problems and plugging in an aging (and injury prone) Junior Seau will lead to losses that in the past the Pats have won.
4. Is Favre as bad as the experts say?
Favre is another quarterback being judged on Sportscenter clips and not the actual game. One play into the second half, he was 6-for-6 for 94 yards and trying to lead his team back from a 16-0 deficit. At the end of three quarters he was 11-for-16 (143 yards) and now leading his team back from a 19-0 deficit. To this point the running game had been effectively neutralized (Ahman Green had 14 carries for 53 yards for a 3.8 yards per carry average) and Favre decided to try and be a gunslinger. It's at this point that the clips for the week got queued up and Favre went 4-for-13 with 2 interceptions the rest of the way. His stats leading into the fourth quarter isn't that of a washed up quarterback with no reason to continue playing. Against one of the best defenses in the NFL the Packers were unable to convert early third and short situations in the game and were forced to play catch up. Against lesser defenses the Packers may win some games, but with a tough schedule look for Favre to tarnish his legacy even more trying to win some games.
5. Is it Vince Young's time already?
Coach Jeff Fisher has stated that Kerry Collins will be the starting quarterback this Sunday when the Titans visit the San Diego Chargers this week and beyond. In the Jets game Collins was 17-of-38 passing for 223 yards, two interceptions and a quarterback rating of just 41.9. The game was one of the few that Tennessee thought it could win during this year of rebuilding. But if the Titans are truly in a rebuilding process why sit your biggest building block? Vince Young ran the offense for one series going three of four for 27 yards and an interception. The Titans have a solid offensive line and no hopes of playoff glory for the foreseeable future. In Dallas' cases the Cowboys have aspirations that Tony Romo can't live up to. In places like Green Bay and Tennessee the teams should have cut the dead weight and let the talent they drafted over the last few years begin gaining crucial on the job experience. Despite Collins being 10-of-19 for 134 yards in the fourth quarter and leading two touchdown drives the Titans still lost. And had they won this will still be a 5-11 season with another draft to look forward too. So Coach Fisher do your fans a favor, start Young and show them some of the excitement they pay to see. There will be ugly losses. But there will also be hope, and nothing will keep the fans coming like the prospect of Vince Young leading Tennessee into the future.
