Brett Farve: He misses Sterling Sharpe

I've said this countless times drunk, but just in case you missed it:

Brett Farve is one of the greatest QBs in NFL history despite the fact that he hasn't had a great WR to throw to since Sterling Sharpe.

You might say, "What about that dickhead who now plays for the Raiders? You know, the guy who got his ass kicked in Vegas or whatever." Yeah, you mean Javon Walker. That guy is junk. BP, for those who know him, once tried to convince me that Javon Walker was the greatest WR in the league. This was about the time the Broncos picked him up. He really panned out, didn't he? Just because there are a lot of great WRs in the league with head problems doesn't mean a guy with head problems is a great WR.

Other WRs who would be GREAT number two guys on most teams:

Donald Driver (he even sounds like a number 2 WR)
Greg Jennings (he might become a good one....hasn't yet)
Lavernious Coles (if he wasn't undersized, a poor blocker, and lazy....he would be....decent)

So, yeah, no good WRs for the Farve.

Top Twelve

Every year NFL fans like to sit around and speculate about who will win the Superbowl. Occassionally they will even make a chart that details who will make the playoffs, win the championship games, etc.

I'm beginning to think that a better question (at the start of the season) is, "What art the 12 best teams in the league?" Forget about division, conference, schedule...yadda, yadda, yadda. Just ask yourself who are the 12 best. Here's my list (in no order, because order doesn't matter at the moment):

New England Patriots
Indianapolis Colts
Pittsburgh Steelers
Jacksonville Jaguars
Dallas Cowboys
Minnesota Vikings
Green Bay Packers
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Seattle Seahawks
San Diego Chargers
Tennessee Titans

Okay, so that is my top twelve. Now next question, "Who just missed your top twelve?" Here's mine:

Philadelphia Eagles
Cleveland Browns
New York Jets
New York Giants

Alright, now we have a list. This list is helpful, I think, in several ways. First, it helps you identify surprise teams. A surprise team shouldn't make either list (the twelve or the "just outs"). Of course, you could use one of the "just outs" as a surprise Super Bowl team. It would be a surprise if the Eagles, Browns, Jets, or Giants (yes I said it) made the Super Bowl. The latter because they have basically lost their defensive line (which won them the Super Bowl last year). But it wouldn't be a surprise if they made the playoffs. So, NFL Live commentators need to stop saying that the Browns and Jets could be suprise playoff teams. Unlikely playoff teams...sure...but not a surprise.

JJ's surprise playoff teams: Buffalo Bills or Oakland Raiders (seriously).
JJ's surprise Super Bowl team: Philadelphia Eagles.

Second, the list is a nice way to see potential log jams. The Colts, Jaguars, and Titans all made my top twelve. Yeah, that is a log jam (something we noticed last year). And it clearly makes the AFC South the deepest conference in the NFL (even though the Texans are there and they are among the suckiest-suck in the league). Also, the AFC West is just garbage. Garbage I say. Hence my Oakland pick (see above).

Third, it appears that the NFL is built on defense at the moment. Most of those teams are known for their defense...with a few exceptions (i.e., Colts).

Anyway, that is my top 12.

What to make of the Baltimore Ravens?

I've been reading Vic Carucci lately. He recently wrote a thought-provoking article about the Baltimore Ravens.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story;jsessionid=2F24F3CBA1AC9535C2DEFAC38262C1A6?id=09000d5d80855b93&template=with-video&confirm=true

His article got me thinking, "What sort of team will the Ravens be next season?"

I have to ponder this a bit more, but I wanted to toss this out for discussion. If you have any thoughts, let me know. I'll be posting mine soon enough.

Benson gets cut

The Bears released RB Cedric Benson recently because he keeps driving drunk.

I completely understand letting him go. Benson is an idiot.

But take note:

The Bears are hoping that their kick returner will develop into a starting wide receiver.

The Bears have a wicked QB battle heading into training camp: Rex Grossman vs. Kyle Orton.

The Bears are trying to decide which RB to start: J. Mckie, L. Polite, A. Peterson (not the one you are thinking of), or G. Wolfe.

Are you laughing yet?

P.S. I actually like Garrett Wolfe as a third down back. He was a nice pick-up out of Northern Illinois University a season ago. But he doesn't have the size to be an every down back.

Finally an Article about Derrick Brooks

Here is a nice article about Derrick Brooks.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=yasinskas_pat&id=3434965&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1

I confess that I've long been a fan of Brooks. It's good that Pat Yasinskas finally wrote something about him.

FYI: Here is Brooks personal website. That is the kind of football geek I am.

http://www.hit55.net/

Why Charles Haley is in the Top Ten

I know you've been thinking about it. Some of you have even emailed me in disgust. One email came in at 2 am.

What is keeping you up nights?

Charles Haley.

Or, more correctly, the fact that Charles Haley is on my "Ten Greatest NFL Players of All Time" list.

I'm sure some of you are cussing at this very moment.

But, before you ask for my head on a platter, I want you to consider Mr. Haley's case.

Charles Haley was born in Lynchburg, VA in 1964. He went on to play defensive end/linebacker at James Madison University. He was drafted by the 49ers in 1986 and played for that organization until he was traded to the Cowboys in 1992. He played for Dallas until his retirement (due to injury) in 1996. He came out of retirement for a few games in 1998 and 1999 (playing for the 49ers), but his injuries limited him to relief play. So, long story short, Haley only played 10 NFL seasons. Not a bad career, but significantly shorter than some of his contemporaries (e.g., Strahan played 15 seasons).

Concessions:

(1) Haley's career is hard to decipher because he had injury problems. Some of this had to do with his "hybrid" playing style. Haley was not big enough to play DE in the NFL and not "thick" enough to play LB. As a result, he had to rely on speed and skill to be effective. And that takes a toll on the body. But..on the positive side...Haley was one of the first hybrid DE/LBs that managed to be successful in the NFL as an every down player. In fact, it is no longer unusual to see hybrids like Haley (look at Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and New England).

(2) Haley played for great teams. The 80s 49ers and the 90s Cowboys are two dynasties. That's the luck of the draw. Someone needs to hug Howie Long. And Junior Seau. Poor guys.

(3) Haley was only named to two All-Pro teams (1990 and 1994). However, he was a hybrid playing in an era of football when hybrids weren't respected at all. So, Haley was often ignored at both the DE and LB position...as he wasn't an exemplar of either.

(4) He hasn't been voted into the Hall of Fame yet (although he hasn't been eligible that long). However, shortly before his death, Bill Walsh made a passionate case for Haley being inducted. And he will be. He will be. (I sound like Yoda)

The case:

(1) Charles Haley is the only player in the history of the NFL to win 5 Super Bowls. Yeah, he played for two great frachises. Yeah, that is a team trophy. Yeah, that is a stat (and I said stats alone weren't enough). But 5 Super Bowls is 5 Super Bowls. And he won 2 with one team and 3 with another (i.e., consistency across teams). He's a bit like Robert Horry in this regard (Horry has won 8 NBA Championships with 3 different teams).

And there is something about winning again and again that denotes greatness. I mean, yes, Charles Haley was kind of a jerk-off. I know that. Everyone knows that. And, yes, there are several other DEs and LBs that put up more impressive stats. For example, Derrick Thomas was a superior player. Hell, Thomas had 7 sacks in a single game (in a losing effort against future hall of famer Dave Krieg and the Seattle Seahawks). But Thomas couldn't bring home the championship. Does that mean Thomas wasn't a great player? No. However, I think it is unfair to fault Haley simply because his individual stats aren't equal to those of other guys. We always say "winning before stats."

Well, Haley won.

A crapload.

(2) He was the best defensive player for all three Cowboys Super Bowl teams. He was the first or second best defensive player on both 49ers Super Bowl teams (a case can be made for Ronnie Lott). They say defenses win championships. Well, the 49ers and Cowboys won championships. And Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, and Emmit Smith didn't play defense (and several of those guys are on the top 10 list anyway).

(3) In 10 seasons, he had 100.5 sacks. Only 22 players have achieved this feat.

(4) He was named to 5 pro-bowls....impressive given injury and his hybrid nature.

Does Charles Haley have to be in the top 10? I think it is fair to say "no." But I also think it is fair to say that he is underrated. And that he deserves consideration.

Everyone wants to win Superbowl championships in the NFL. And, in that regard, no one faired better than Charles Lewis Haley.

3 Misconceptions?

This article was written by an avid Unsportsmanlike reader as well as a long-time Steelers fan: Judd.

Enjoy!

There are many great sports writers working in the field today who challenge their readers with new ideas to make NFL fans look at the game in a different light. Unfortunately, sometimes a writer creates a piece which just leaves the reader scratching his head. Such is the case of the recent article by Michael Lombardi.

Found here. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/michael_lombardi/05/14/nfl.myths/index.html

In the article he looks at what he considers three misconceptions of NFL football announcers and attempts to show why the evidence runs contrary to popular belief. Pretty standard fair except in this case his three “myths” look to be far stronger than the evidence he puts against them. I’ll play Devil’s advocate.

Myth #1: Establishing the Run. Lombardi’s main point is that many successful teams start the game going pass heavy to establish a lead and then turn to the run in the second half to secure victory. Solid logic thus far. Unfortunately Michael also attempts to support this theory by using the 2007 Raiders and Vikings as example teams that prove establishing the run doesn’t make for a winning team. This is clearly flawed logic since neither of these teams could do anything last year other than run the ball. Neither has a proven quarterback under center and both struggled terribly in the passing game. Let’s get something straight. Establishing the run doesn’t mean “only running” it means using the run to set up the rest of the offense. In recent years Bill Cowher and Marty Shottenheimer are probably the most famous for using this approach and it gave their teams plenty of opportunities to win. At least so long as Shottenheimer avoided the playoffs and Cowher stayed away from AFC championship games. The reality of the situation is that an offense needs balance and it needs to keep the defense honest. Any team that gets too run heavy or too pass heavy will put up amazing stats but struggle to win the Super Bowl.

Myth #2: Shut-down corners are the key to good pass defense. While Lombardi’s evidence attacking Myth #1 was a bit twisted, his evidence here flies in the face of reason. His main point is that a strong pass rush is just as important as solid corners. A plausible theory until he falls back on bad evidence to support it. In this case he attacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson for their inability to cover the Giant receivers in last year's championship game. And this would be fine logic, if the defining plays for the Giants weren’t almost all made by the extremely tall and talented Plaxico Burress playing the game of his life. Woodson and Harris were usually in great position, but they simply could not out jump or out fight Plaxico for the ball. His argument also fails to account for the great corners of history like Deion Sanders or Rod Woodson who were such dynamic threats most quarterbacks would stop throwing in their direction. Finally it doesn’t even mention the many teams who might have superb defensive lines (i.e., Houston) but have difficulty stopping opponents passing due to below average coverage.

Myth 3: The turnover Battle is the key to football. And finally we get to a point in the article where the reader begins to wonder if Lombardi has momentarily lost all sense. His main point is that missed field goals should be counted as turnovers as they are crucial for field position. Um… Michael… we need to talk. By this logic any bad punt or kick off is a turnover. And even if that were so it would only emphasize how absolutely crucial turnovers are in big games. Plus this thinking leads to my award for the Worst Logic of 2008:

“The Giants entered the playoffs with a minus-9 ratio in turnover/takeaway. Making the playoffs would be impossible with such a ratio, let alone winning the Super Bowl. But the Giants' opponents missed eight field goals last year, and even though New York missed four of its own, taking account of that stat still reduced their overall total to a minus-5.”

This line is so contrary to recent history (i.e., what really, truly happened in 2007-08) that I’m almost struck mute. For starters the Giants were a below average team for half of last season, hence the horrendous turnover ratio. Fortunately, they improved drastically going into the playoffs and their defense played eight quarters of amazing football starting in the 4th quarter of the Dallas playoff game and ending with the 3rd quarter of the Super Bowl. The fact their opponents missed eight field goals throughout the season has absolutely nothing to do with their playoff run or their turnover ratio.

I can only assume Michael was watching different games than I was last year. For if 2007 taught me anything it was that being able to establish the run late in the season is enormous, having quality corners will give you a chance even against the best passing team and that a turnover can end not only a season but a career.

Myth’s Confirmed.