Information From My Eyes

Happy Wednesday friends.  As I write this on Tuesday night, I am feeling a bit better, and expecting to be back in my office tomorrow.  Once again, I worked from home today, and started to feel better as the day went on.  I haven't sneezed in awhile, and even went to a Chamber of Commerce networking event for a little while earlier (which is hilarious, if you're familiar with my political leanings.)  

Anyway, I promised some content for today, and content you shall have.  First, I'll start with some thoughts and observations from the two games from Sunday.

1.  New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts 

a.  I lauded the Austin Collie pick when it happened last April, and he's made me (and Bill Polian) look smart.  He's very reliable, and I was almost shocked when he dropped the first pass thrown to him Sunday.  I think Collie's combination of fluidness and precision in his routes are already near the top of the NFL for slot receivers.  I think he's a more sturdily built, quicker version of Brandon Stokley, and I expect him to have an excellent and long career.

b.  Speaking of previously unheralded Colts WRs, how about Pierre Garcon?  He was fantastic Sunday, but I have to clear up an uncommon misconception about him.  Well, it's more like a misconception about his college.  Mount Union College is a perennial Division III powerhouse, and is located in Alliance, Ohio.  Alliance is about 20 miles east of Canton, and is notable for being the site of the historic wedding after-party where I picked up my first woman out of a bar, 2 weeks after getting legally divorced.  (She's a co-worker of the groom, and we ended up dating for a few months last summer; she's the one who broke up with me during halftime of the Hall of Fame game last August, freeing me up to write a lot of words for MHR.)

Anyway, Rich Eisen was saying on TV that Mount Union is in New Jersey, near the Jets facility.  Not so much, Rich.

c.  One more note on Colts WRs.  I don't think very much of Anthony Gonzalez.  I called him a below average starter last season on MHR, and raised the ire of BigBlueShoe at Stampede Blue about it.  (He's kind of argumentative, really.)  Thing is, I was right.  Garcon and Collie are both much, much better than Gonzalez.  I would be less than surprised if the Colts tried to get something for Gonzalez, even coming off an injury.  He's not that fast, nor precise a route runner, nor does he have great hands.  He's kind of like a 5th starter/long reliever in the National League.  I'd take a 5th rounder for him, if I were the Colts.

d.  Ross Tucker from SI.com observed on Twitter that Clint Session is a really good OLB.  It was nice to finally get some company on that bandwagon.  Session is as good a form tackler as you'll see in the NFL, and he hasn't achieved the fame he deserves yet.  I really like the way he diagnoses the run, and plays downhill with quickness.

e.  I wasn't exactly first to the party on liking David Harris of the Jets, but I am half tempted to call him the best player on the Jets defense.  I can't quite put him ahead of Darrelle Revis, but he's very close.  Harris is the best ILB I have seen in the NFL this season, and he's a healthy amount ahead of the second place guy, Patrick Willis.  Harris is outstanding on the blitz, with a sense of timing that can't be taught.

f.  Braylon Edwards is a frustrating guy to watch, because he has as much natural talent as any WR in the NFL. I'd put him right in the top echelon with Brandon Marshall, Andre Johnson, Terrell Owens, Steve Smith, and Lee Evans.  Edwards can be flawless on a play, like the 80 yard TD Sunday.  The route he ran was as good as you'll ever see against Cover-2, the catch was perfect, and he had the speed to get to the end zone.  Then, the next series, he's lolly-gagging in his routes, and not getting open.  Then he drops a pass on the next series.  Really?

The only thing I liked about any of Peter King's recent MMQB columns, was this quote last week from Braylon's dad Stanley, a former NFL player. 

"Am I worried about him getting a reputation for dropping the football? No. Because let's be honest -- he's earned it.''

You have to give him credit; he's right, and pretty courageous to call out his son like that.  Rob Ryan indicated that Edwards would be tendered at the highest level, which I am sure will be a significant pay cut for a guy who was the 3rd pick in the 2005 Draft.  It sucks for him, and for others, but that's the reality that players currently face.

g.  A lot of talk went to the possibility that Thomas Jones may be finished in New York, but I wouldn't let him get away so easily.  He can still get the job done, and he spent a whole season proving it.  I like Shonn Greene too, but I think Jones makes a great tandem partner with him.  He sure isn't done in the NFL, and if he is let go, I wonder if he'd like to check out Washington.  He'd be a very good fit for a zone scheme, and he is from Virginia.

h.  Big up Vernon Gholston, making a tackle on special teams Sunday.  I didn't even expect to see him active.  I'd be very surprised if he isn't cut this offseason, unless a significant portion of his 2010 salary is guaranteed.  A season with no cap is the time to get rid of your mistakes.

2.  Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints

a.  I guess all that stuff about the value of finishing the season hot is crap, huh?  The truth is, how you finish doesn't matter.  It's how you play in the playoffs that matters.  I'm sure we'll hear more of it next season, and into the future, because it gives certain media types something to talk about.  I'm the guy who doesn't waste time talking about nonsense like that, and they're the other guys.

b.   I really like the way the Saints have constructed their roster.  They have focused on acquiring quality at premium positions, and getting by with lower cost resources at more plentiful ones.  Their highly paid/drafted guys are their QB Drew Brees, CB Jabari Greer, their two DEs Will Smith and Charles Grant, DT Sedrick Ellis, LT Jammal Brown, CB Malcolm Jenkins, and RB Reggie Bush.  All but Bush play premium positions.  (WR Robert Meachem was the 27th pick in 2007, but at 5 years and 11 million, I wouldn't call him high cost.)

The Saints busted on Johnathan Sullivan in 2003, but have gotten good contributions out of every first round pick since then.  Hitting on those picks is a great way to get good, obviously.

c.  On the topic of Greer, he did a fantastic job on Vikings WR Sidney Rice Sunday.  Greer never really jumped out at me until this season, as he spent his first 4 seasons in Buffalo playing in sub packages and on special teams.  The Bills have a lot of talent at CB, but I have to wonder what they saw or didn't see in Greer to let him get away so easily.  Greer will certainly be matchup with Reggie Wayne in the Super Bowl, and that will be a key matchup for the Saints.

d.  I like how Tracy Porter has been playing for the Saints too, at the other CB spot.  He got the pick against Brett Favre to force overtime, but generally, I like how he has developed as a player.  Porter is a second round pick who has worked out very well for the Saints, which is just as important as first rounders panning out, given the relative monetary value assigned to both.

e.  How in the world can a team fumble six times in a game where weather is no factor?  There needs to be a coaching initiative throughout the Minnesota roster to teach these players to hold on to the football.  I can be coached, and it can be learned, and there is a long history of proof of both things.

f.  They get virtually no credit, but Vikings OLBs Chad Greenway and Ben Leber are both outstanding football players.  Because they aren't generally making a lot of sacks, 4-3 OLBs tend to go under the radar (except Derrick Brooks).  I really like how both Greenway and Leber can play really effectively going both forward and backward.  The overtime pass interference call on Leber was a horrible call too, by the way.  All of Twitter lit up with it, and it was unanimous; that ball was nowhere near catchable.

g.  Speaking of uncatchable balls, Drew Brees looked off Sunday.  He sailed a lot of throws, and there often wasn't a great reason to, from a pressure perspective.

h.  The Saints did a pretty nice job of protecting Brees.  He was sacked once, and hit 4 times according to ESPN, but he mostly was able to step up and throw the ball.

i.  On the flip side, the Saints made it their mission to hit Brett Favre repeatedly, and they did.  ESPN says they only hit Favre 6 times, and I think that's low by about half.  I will be curious to see how hard the Saints come after Peyton Manning.

j.  A really under-appreciated guy who makes big contributions every time I watch the Saints is KR Courtney Roby.  His 61 yard return to open the second half put the Saints in position to score quickly and take the lead at 21-14.  Between Roby, Pierre Thomas, and punter/kickoff specialist Thomas Morstead, the Saints have three major field position weapons.

3.  You know what annoys me the most about ESPN.com?  They have this Insider service that costs something like 40 bucks a year.  I am a subscriber, because I like some of the Draft coverage they do.  You also get ESPN the Magazine with it, which I usually throw straight in the trash.  Part of their Insider service is their Rumor Mill, which lately doesn't feature any rumors, just uneducated speculation.  

For example. they're lining up Donovan McNabb for a new home, despite Andy Reid's public comments that McNabb would be the Philadelphia QB next season.  They've got him going to the Vikings for a second round pick, if Brett Favre retires.  Minnesota would take that deal in a second, but why would Philadelphia do it?  McNabb just turned 33 years old, which is not old for a QB.  I think he could play another 5 years if he wants to.

But according to ESPN, he's soon to be a Viking, ostensibly so he can beat the Eagles in the playoffs, right?  It's much more likely that Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick are both gone this offseason, even though those make for less sexy stories.  Kolb is bound to be seen like the Texans saw Matt Schaub, and Vick is going to have suitors at the right price.  

ESPN doesn't need to make up rumors.  They can speculate, but they should package it as speculation, and not as rumors.  They have so many people thinking, talking, and writing about football that they almost single-handedly create the echo chamber that I work so hard to avoid.

4.  How dumb of a comment is this?

We got that nice shot of Eli Manning up in the suite level celebrating his brother's game-clinching touchdown pass to Dallas Clark. And I bet every Jets fan who saw it was ticked that Eli dared to root against a New York team.

I don't mean to unfairly disparage Don Banks, but really?  Does any Jets fan care what a Giants player does?  In my experience, Jets and Giants fans are very different kinds of people, and they don't even like each other that much.  I'm a Mets fan, (sigh) and we're way, way different from Yankees fans.  I completely ignored the World Series this year, because my two most hated teams (Yankees and Phillies) were in it.  It was like choosing between death by hammers or sex with Shauna.  (Don't ask.)  Does a Cubs fan root for the White Sox in the World Series?  No way.

So, it's clear that Banks (a New England guy who loves to love on Bill Belichick) completely misunderstands New York sports fans.  The more interesting question was who would Archie Manning root for, and he didn't equivocate in saying he'd be rooting for his son, and that despite his friendship with Sean Payton, it was understood that family came first.  Of course it does!!!!!  (I hate multiple exclamation points, but this is that obvious.)  Every Saints fan understands that Archie would be a Saints fan against anybody but one of his two sons.  If I had a son, and he played against the Broncos, I'd root for my son every time.

I actually thought this was one of Banks' least asinine columns, and then he went and said that at the end.  I'm trying not to personally disparage the guy, but c'mon, man.

I'm up to midnight again, and will try to be back with something new tomorrow.  I still haven't talked Pro Bowl, and I have some Senior Bowl video from NFL Network to review and talk about.  Have a great hump day, and let's get ready for some football.