podunker
Footballguy
A look in the rear view mirror at the teams and players in the pre-season action I have seen in the last two days.
QB’s
1. Delhomme looked good, and should be a QB1 in most leagues.
2. Rivers reminded me a lot of Palmer last year. He has a great arm and seemed to play with a lot of poise. I don’t think SD will miss a beat with him at QB
3. McNabb is back to his old form. Seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder wanting to prove he can be good without TO.
4. Vick looked a lot more comfortable in the offense than last year. I think the injury to Crumpler will force him to use his WR’s a lot in the preseason. Maybe he will become more confident in their abilities. He can still burn you with his legs.
5. Pennington surprised me with his arm strength on the short passes. He has adequate enough strength for the ball control offense the Jets run. He showed good accuracy. He will be the starter for the Jets for now, but Clemens looks like the future QB. I played with no fear out there. Reminded me of a young Favre.
6. Frye is not ready for prime time. The Browns better get a vet QB in camp or they are in for a long season.
7. Losman is the best QB in Buffalo, but with their offensive line it really won’t matter who is back there, they are going to get killed. Losman can move and run, and he’ll be doing a lot of that this year.
8. Carr looked very good in his new offense, they will be much improved under Kubiak.
9. I’m giving Grossman and A. Smith another game to redeem themselves (Grossman) or take a step backwards (Smith). I didn’t see them play just the highlights. Smith obviously looked much better in the highlights than last year. Do you ever wonder why Griese can never stay with a team as their starter? He started in Denver, but got let go, same thing in Tampa. I would be interested in the real reasons he leaves town.
10. Delhomme and Rivers look like a great 1 and 2 combo this year. I also like the fact that they have very good defenses to help them get the ball back in their hands on offense. You won’t have to pay too much for them on draft day.
11. Cutler looked like he was a veteran out there. He and Clemens were the best rookie QB’s I saw.
12. Warner looked good, it was clear that Denny wasn’t about to lose their first game in their new stadium by how long he kept his starters in.
13. Poor Favre, that Chargers defense looked tuff.
14. One final thought on Peyton Manning. I think he will come much closer to his 2004 stats then his 2005 stats with this team. He is going to have to throw the ball to win games this year. I wouldn’t hesitate to take him with all the RB’s available later in the draft.
RB’s
1. The Texans not taking Bush is going to go down in NFL history as the biggest flub up in draft history. How could they be so stupid? Casserly deserved to get fired if he did. Their owner needs his head examined. I know its just preseason, but Bush is going to be the next Marshall Faulk. Kubiak should have thrown a fit with them on this to get him. He is a legit first round pick in point per reception leagues, I can see him getting 125 to 150 total yards a game. Will he hit the rookie wall? Maybe.
2. Maroney looked very good also. He and Dillon will make NE running game formidable. I also think it will hurt Brady Value, and thus he is going way too high in drafts.
3. Chris Brown is a steal this year. He looked great. He reminds me a lot of Eric Dickerson. So does Foster for that matter. Both have upright running styles like him. I’m not buying the Lendale White hype. Foster looked good also.
4. I’m staying away form McGahee again this year. Their line sucks.
5. GB better hope Green comes back healthy, could be another long year in Packer land.
6. Ronnie Brown is a stud- big, fast, powerful. Reminds me of LJ, who also looked like a beast, and S. Jackson, who also looked good.
7. Old Fred Taylor showed he still has some speed. For some reason Jacksonville just scares me when it comes to fantasy players. Is Leftwich really better than Garrard?
8. I’m going to give Edge a pass on lack of playing time.
9. Don’t sleep on Wali Lundy, he looked good. With Davis not being able to stay healthy, he could be golden later in the draft.
10. Addai looked like a rookie in his first game. No way can him and Rhodes replace Edge.
11. Dunn looked as quick and fast as ever, way underrated back.
12. For some reason, I’m just not sold on Julius Jones.
13. Kevin Jones looked much improved over last year.
Other thoughts, Carolina and San Deigo Defenses looked great. I still can’t believe Tony Dungy on side kicked right out of the shoot against the Rams. I bet you Haslett and Linehan were pissed. Denver rookie TE Scheffler looked good. I don’t see Steve Smith having near the year as last year, with all the talent they have now.
QB’s
1. Delhomme looked good, and should be a QB1 in most leagues.
2. Rivers reminded me a lot of Palmer last year. He has a great arm and seemed to play with a lot of poise. I don’t think SD will miss a beat with him at QB
3. McNabb is back to his old form. Seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder wanting to prove he can be good without TO.
4. Vick looked a lot more comfortable in the offense than last year. I think the injury to Crumpler will force him to use his WR’s a lot in the preseason. Maybe he will become more confident in their abilities. He can still burn you with his legs.
5. Pennington surprised me with his arm strength on the short passes. He has adequate enough strength for the ball control offense the Jets run. He showed good accuracy. He will be the starter for the Jets for now, but Clemens looks like the future QB. I played with no fear out there. Reminded me of a young Favre.
6. Frye is not ready for prime time. The Browns better get a vet QB in camp or they are in for a long season.
7. Losman is the best QB in Buffalo, but with their offensive line it really won’t matter who is back there, they are going to get killed. Losman can move and run, and he’ll be doing a lot of that this year.
8. Carr looked very good in his new offense, they will be much improved under Kubiak.
9. I’m giving Grossman and A. Smith another game to redeem themselves (Grossman) or take a step backwards (Smith). I didn’t see them play just the highlights. Smith obviously looked much better in the highlights than last year. Do you ever wonder why Griese can never stay with a team as their starter? He started in Denver, but got let go, same thing in Tampa. I would be interested in the real reasons he leaves town.
10. Delhomme and Rivers look like a great 1 and 2 combo this year. I also like the fact that they have very good defenses to help them get the ball back in their hands on offense. You won’t have to pay too much for them on draft day.
11. Cutler looked like he was a veteran out there. He and Clemens were the best rookie QB’s I saw.
12. Warner looked good, it was clear that Denny wasn’t about to lose their first game in their new stadium by how long he kept his starters in.
13. Poor Favre, that Chargers defense looked tuff.
14. One final thought on Peyton Manning. I think he will come much closer to his 2004 stats then his 2005 stats with this team. He is going to have to throw the ball to win games this year. I wouldn’t hesitate to take him with all the RB’s available later in the draft.
RB’s
1. The Texans not taking Bush is going to go down in NFL history as the biggest flub up in draft history. How could they be so stupid? Casserly deserved to get fired if he did. Their owner needs his head examined. I know its just preseason, but Bush is going to be the next Marshall Faulk. Kubiak should have thrown a fit with them on this to get him. He is a legit first round pick in point per reception leagues, I can see him getting 125 to 150 total yards a game. Will he hit the rookie wall? Maybe.
2. Maroney looked very good also. He and Dillon will make NE running game formidable. I also think it will hurt Brady Value, and thus he is going way too high in drafts.
3. Chris Brown is a steal this year. He looked great. He reminds me a lot of Eric Dickerson. So does Foster for that matter. Both have upright running styles like him. I’m not buying the Lendale White hype. Foster looked good also.
4. I’m staying away form McGahee again this year. Their line sucks.
5. GB better hope Green comes back healthy, could be another long year in Packer land.
6. Ronnie Brown is a stud- big, fast, powerful. Reminds me of LJ, who also looked like a beast, and S. Jackson, who also looked good.
7. Old Fred Taylor showed he still has some speed. For some reason Jacksonville just scares me when it comes to fantasy players. Is Leftwich really better than Garrard?
8. I’m going to give Edge a pass on lack of playing time.
9. Don’t sleep on Wali Lundy, he looked good. With Davis not being able to stay healthy, he could be golden later in the draft.
10. Addai looked like a rookie in his first game. No way can him and Rhodes replace Edge.
11. Dunn looked as quick and fast as ever, way underrated back.
12. For some reason, I’m just not sold on Julius Jones.
13. Kevin Jones looked much improved over last year.
Other thoughts, Carolina and San Deigo Defenses looked great. I still can’t believe Tony Dungy on side kicked right out of the shoot against the Rams. I bet you Haslett and Linehan were pissed. Denver rookie TE Scheffler looked good. I don’t see Steve Smith having near the year as last year, with all the talent they have now.
