Gentleman Let the Season Begin

I had to post this increadible article by Vic Carucci, an editor for NFL

It is only one mans observations and opinions , but they are educated and to the point.

Please enjoy this article as I did when I was reading it and most of all enjoy, support, and love teh game of football.

OPENING DRIVE

(Sept. 5, 2006) — One man’s predictions for the 2006 season:

Super Bowl winner: Carolina. The Panthers look to have the makings of the NFL’s most dominant defense, especially up front. They have the league’s best receiver and most explosive offensive player in Steve Smith. They have a solid quarterback in Jake Delhomme, who knows his way to the Super Bowl. They have superb coaching from John Fox and his staff. And they have extraordinary depth at key spots.

Offensive MVP: Peyton Manning, quarterback, Indianapolis. As I said before the 2005 season, pick a quarterbacking skill, and Manning performs it better than anyone playing the position today and a healthy number of quarterbacks in the history of the game. He will again put up amazing numbers, but will they finally help produce a championship?

Defensive MVP: Brian Urlacher, linebacker, Chicago. He remains one of the most amazing players in the game. Urlacher’s staggering combination of immense size (6-foot-4 and 248 pounds), speed and athleticism allow him to do everything a defender has to do — and much more. He is the catalyst of one of the best defenses in the league.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Reggie Bush, running back, New Orleans. An obvious, easy choice. He has shown in the preseason that he can be every bit the game-breaking runner in the NFL that he was at USC. The complementary backfield presence of the more powerful Deuce McAllister should also help Bush excel.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Kamerion Wimbley, linebacker, Cleveland. He shows natural play-making skills that should only be enhanced by working in the Browns’ 3-4 scheme and by the tutelage of veteran teammate and fellow linebacker Willie McGinest.

Comeback Player of the Year: Carson Palmer, quarterback, Cincinnati. There are other strong quarterbacking candidates for this category in Daunte Culpepper (Miami), Drew Brees (New Orleans), and Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh). But Palmer is the choice because he has defied steeper odds by being ready to start on opening day and looking as if he will again have a mammoth season. Palmer also should again be in the running for Offensive MVP.

Coach of the Year: Andy Reid, Philadelphia. There are other strong possibilities for this one as well, including Baltimore’s Brian Billick, Kansas City’s Herm Edwards, and a few first-year coaches — Minnesota’s Brad Childress, Detroit’s Rod Marinelli and St. Louis’ Scott Linehan. But with his steady hand and offensive wizardry, Reid should be able to lead a healthier Eagle team back into serious postseason contention.

Executive of the Year: Ozzie Newsome, Baltimore. Picking up quarterback Steve McNair from Tennessee was the crowning jewel of an impressive offseason that should allow the Ravens to stay in the thick of the race in a very difficult division. Scott Pioli (New England), Ernie Accorsi (New York Giants), Rich McKay (Atlanta) and Marty Hurney (Carolina) are likely to be in the hunt for this honor as well.

Highest-impact Free Agent/Trade Acquisition: Daunte Culpepper, quarterback, Minnesota to Miami. Quarterback Steve McNair (Tennessee to Baltimore), running back Edgerrin James (Indianapolis to Arizona) and placekicker Adam Vinatieri (New England to Indianapolis) received plenty of consideration, but Culpepper seems to have the greatest potential to take his new team the farthest.

SHORT YARDAGE

• I normally have low expectations from players who join NFL teams within a week or so of the start of the regular season. I assume, by their mere availability, they have minimal value or at least are flawed enough to be little more than stop-gap solutions. However, three recent trade acquisitions have caused me to revise my opinion. One is the Patriots’ getting receiver Doug Gabriel from the Oakland Raiders. He is a big (6-2, 215 pounds), fast playmaker, and a quick study who should have little problem rapidly developing a rapport with quarterback Tom Brady. The Patriots couldn’t have done much better for a replacement for Deion Branch, who looks to be holding out for the long haul. Philadelphia also landed a much-needed starting receiver from New Orleans in Donte’ Stallworth, who should give the Eagles offense some spark. Another impressive late pick-up was center Hank Fraley, who joined the Browns from the Eagles. The Browns’ attempts to find a quality center have turned into a series of nightmares, beginning with the season-ending knee injury to LeCharles Bentley on his first snap in training camp. Fraley brings experience, smarts and plenty of toughness to Cleveland’s offensive line.
• I’m going to agree with Herm Edwards that his Chiefs will show continual improvement throughout the regular season after struggling in the preseason. The Chiefs have far too many talented players on both sides of the ball to not make considerable progress once they begin playing games that count. Few teams in the league boast a stronger quarterback-running back-tight end trio in Trent Green, Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez. Their offensive line shouldn’t have too many problems overcoming the retirement of Willie Roaf. And there are outstanding playmakers on defense, led by linebacker Derrick Johnson.
• Javon Walker will do plenty to help the Denver Broncos have a more productive passing attack regardless of whether he catches the ball on inside or outside routes. But Walker is determined to make his greatest impact by catching the ball over the middle, which is where the Broncos sorely lacked production. By having a receiver he can trust to make the more difficult catches, Jake Plummer should be able to operate with greater confidence and efficiency in the pocket, which is exactly what the Broncos would prefer to see over too many times when he doesn’t see anything open in the middle and attempts to make plays on the run.
• The Cardinals aren’t carrying a blocking fullback on their roster, because it made no sense to do so. As coach Dennis Green pointed out, they primarily work from a three-receiver set, which makes sense given their considerable pass-catching talent and pass-happy offensive scheme. They also have a running back in James who operates best running wide and seeking an open crease to turn to on stretch plays. Obafemi Ayanbadejo, the Cardinals’ lone fullback, does his best work catching passes out of the backfield.
• Among the many intriguing player storylines throughout the league is that of Buffalo Bills running back Willis McGahee. He has seemingly done everything he needed to do to rebound from a disappointing 2005 season by dropping weight and being fairly well focused in training camp to learning the new scheme of new offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild. McGahee also has been saying the right things in terms of the enthusiasm he has expressed for playing a larger role in Buffalo’s offense. And if the Bills are to have a prayer of even being respectable, they desperately need McGahee to carry the brunt of the load and have the biggest season of his NFL career. He has a chance to get off to a strong start against a Patriots defense that could be missing some key players due to injury for the Bills’ Sept. 10 opener at Foxboro.
• The Tennessee Titans will be taking a massive gamble if, as is widely suspected, they go with Kerry Collins rather than Billy Volek as their starting quarterback for their season opener against the Jets. Although Collins has plenty of experience and gave the team some encouragement with his performance in the preseason finale against Green Bay, he still is trying to learn the Titans offense on the fly. He also is still in the process of getting a feel for all of his surrounding cast, which is a dangerous thing for a quarterback only days away from a regular-season start. Coach Jeff Fisher has only said that Vince Young will be his No. 2 quarterback and might play against the Jets, but if the Titans are forced to put the rookie on the field that soon, it will mean they have encountered big problems with their starter. And I’m not crazy about the idea of having Young subjected to his NFL lumps so soon.
• There’s an interesting passage in Lou Holtz’s new book, Wins, Loss, and Lessons, that offers a life lesson from his brief and unsuccessful stint as coach of the Jets in 1976. “For three decades, my short-lived tenure in the NFL has been a source of embarrassment for me, not because the Jets didn’t do very well under my leadership (they did not), but because making the jump to the NFL and then leaving the league were both decisions that were avoidable, because both grew out of a so-so commitment on my part,” Holtz writes. “Every athlete who has ever played for me has heard me preach against the pitfalls of entering anything halfway. In my mind, a half-hearted commitment is worse than no commitment at all.”

FIVE REASONS WHY…

…the Pittsburgh Steelers could still win their Sept. 7 opener against Miami without Ben Roethlisberger:

• Their defense will pose a tremendous challenge for Culpepper to solve and for Ronnie Brown to run through.
• Running back Willie Parker and Pittsburgh’s offensive line will be a formidable challenge for Miami’s defense.
• The coaching of Bill Cowher, and the rest of one of the best staffs in the NFL.
• Charlie Batch is smart enough to find weaknesses to exploit in Miami’s coverage and still has decent mobility.
• A stoked-up, prime-time crowd in Heinz Field.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

– New Jets coach Eric Mangini says he is using a running-back-by-committee approach, but something tells me Kevan Barlow is going to emerge as the team’s featured back well before midseason. 

 Ravens strong safety Ed Reed has said he is determined to be more of a playmaker after intercepting only one pass last season.

Ron Dayne should be a good fit in the Houston Texans backfield. He understands the zone-blocking running scheme that the Texans use because it is the same one used by his former team, the Broncos, and his battering-ram rushing style should nicely complement the speed of rookie starter Wali Lundy.

It’s hard being a running back in the AFC West if your name is not LaDainian Tomlinson or Larry Johnson. But Oakland’s LaMont Jordan is determined not to become a forgotten man, and he probably won’t, given that new Raiders coach Art Shell will likely pound the ball a whole lot this season.

 As one would expect, Colts coach Tony Dungy has a healthy attitude toward the fact his team will open on the road for the seventh consecutive season when it faces the Giants in the “Manning vs. Manning Bowl.” “We’ve been flipping that coin and trying to get it to come up heads,” Dungy said. “I guess it comes up tails every year, but in a lot of ways we like it that way. If you can go on the road and get that first win in a road game, which we’ve done quite a few times, then you feel like everything’s in your favor. You’ve got more home games left and you’ve got that road game under your belt.”