Pitching Is Not Quarterbacking

Cliff Lee did a masterful job in game 1 of the World Series, stumping the New York Yankees for his Philadelphia Phillies. That said, just a reminder that pitching a baseball and throwing a football are two very different things. Remember that pitchers do not want the hitters to hit the ball. QB's want the ball to be easy to catch for their receivers. Pitchers want the ball to dip, dive, curve, rise and even slurve--whatever that is.
There are similarities in the hips for balance, but as you can see by Cliff Lee's follow-through posture, throwing down off a mound is not how a finished pass in football should look. He is completely bent at the waist, with his head near the ground. A QB's head should not go in front of his front foot at all and he wants to thrust his front hip out to the target (kind of like a golfer turns and thrusts his hips down the fairway).

Buccaneers Going to Rookie at QB

The Bucs moved up in the draft to take Kansas State junior Josh Freeman. Now the Bucs have moved up his development timetable as well, making him the starting QB for their next game November 8th against the Green Bay Packers. The winless Buccaneers haven't had any offensive firepower this season after firing their offensive coordinator with 10 days to go before the season opener. The started the season with the slow-footed and slow-releasing Byron Leftwich at the helm, but after 3 poor losses, switched to second year pro Josh Johnson. Johnson showed flashes of athleticism, but lack of judgement and accuracy that is so common in young QB's. Now they turn to the biggest QB in the league, who owns good mechanics, but lacks a sense of urgency in his drops and time to finding a receiver. The lack of ingenuity in Tampa's offensive play-calling, will surely doom the beginning of this youngster as well.
At the same time that the Buccaneers make a switch to a rookie, the Carolina Panthers decide to stick with the aging Jake Delhomme, who has struggled with accuracy this year worse than any rookie I've ever seen. His struggles date back to last season's disappointing finish and have continued to plague what was thought of as a very talented and strong football team. Problem for Carolina is they really don't have a better option to bring off the bench. The Bucs look to the future while the Panthers don't seem to have one, even though they have won a game this year and the Bucs have yet to do so.

Brett Favre Still NFL's Biggest Story

I thought and wished Brett Favre would have retired when he still looked this photo, wearing the colors of the Green Bay Packers, but after all the drama, who could have imagined that he would still be the #1 storyline week in and week out for the NFL?
Whether it is playing against his former team and setting a record for beating every team in the entire league or going back to Lambeau this week, he has made big play after big play to lead his team from behind to win game after game.
I'm big enough to admit, even though I wished he had retired close to the top of his game around 2006, with the rest of the Vikings around him, at 40 years old, he still seems near that pinnacle. And even if it isn't at HIS best, it is still better than almost everyone else's best and just may be what the Vikings needed to get to the promised land (Moses was 80 when he led the Israelites out of Egypt and to the promised land. Yes, I know Moses led them in the desert for 40 years and never actually got into the promised land, but I couldn't help the reference, because Favre usually looks like he is closer to 80 than 40).

Brees Leading Saints To Promised Land

The San Diego Chargers drafted Phillip Rivers after deciding that their previously drafted QB Drew Brees wasn't going to take them where they wanted to go. Brees didn't play that poorly, but Marty Schottenheimer was under pressure to win the big one and the Chargers as a team just weren't ready.
I think the trade to the New Orleans Saints was good for both teams, although the Chargers are probably doing a little more looking in the rear-view mirror than the Saints. Coming off the devastation of Hurricane Katrina a few years ago, Brees has embraced the area and vice-versa, as the Saints have become the best team in football.
While the Saints have been a potent offense for a couple of years with their big, talented receiving corps and as they have learned to use Reggie Bush more effectively, the defense has stepped up and made this a formidable match on both sides of the ball.
Drew Brees may not be an intimidating figure in person, he is the leader that the Saints have been looking for for many years.

Gators' Tebow Puts Game On His Back Like Usual

The Florida Gators had more than they could handle today from the upstart Arkansas Razorbacks, but when it came to crunch time in The Swamp, UF and Urban Meyer put it on the back of their star Tim Tebow. With his 77 yard TD pass, he passed Danny Wuerffel as the All-Time TD record holder with 123 (passing and rushing).
And, as is almost always the case, he did not disappoint. He hasn't been quite the same player since returning for his second game since his concussion at Kentucky, but his quick pass fakes were enough to find big enough holes to pick up chunks of yardage. He also had a key completion to senior wide receiver Riley Cooper, who has been "money" for the Gators all season.
This had "Old Miss" from last year written all over it, but the Razorbacks kicker missed two field goals on the day, with the final miss keeping them from taking the lead with just over 3 minutes to play.
Tim Tebow may lack throwing skills to make it at the next level, but his collegiate abilities are unmatched.

Bradford Reinjured In Sooners' Loss to Longhorns

Texas outlasted Oklahoma 16-13 in a great gridiron battle, but lost Sam Bradford once again to the same shoulder injury that sidelined him in the first game of the season. This time tough, his is most likely gone for the season and possible forever.
He wouldn't and shouldn't have addressed the question, even though the question had to be asked, as to his future plans.
He did say that he believes God has a plan for this situation.

Red River Shootout Not About Trophy

Going into 2009, the Texas versus Oklahoma or better known as the "Bradford versus McCoy Bowl", would have been a great preview to the podium in December for the Heisman Trophy, but with Bradford's shoulder injury, it becomes a great football rivalry between two teams once again.

Dolphins Find Their QB's Of The Future On MNF

Mark Sanchez looked like he had put up yet another win in his early starting career for the New York Jets, but the Miami Dolphins countered with Chad Henne, Pat White and Ronnie Brown at QB and outdueled the Jets' QB for the division win on Monday Night Football.
Chad Henne looks to be the real deal as an every-down quarterback, sharp in the short, long and roll-out games. Pat White was brought in later in the game in the "Wildcat" and picked up a key first down. Ronnie Brown played his usual role in the backfield and got the game-winning TD run as well.
Unless Pat White wants to become a full-time starting QB after his rookie contract expires, the Dolphins may have found a winning formula at QB for the forseeable future.

Orton's Broncos Outlast Brady's Patriots

The Denver Broncos wore candycane-like socks to the battle, but the comic book looking football team took out the retroly-dressed New England Patriots 20-17 in overtime. It also gave Josh Daniels a win over his old boss Bill Belichik. It also kept the Broncos undefeated at 5-0 on the season and made the Patriots look mortal, dropping their overall record to 3-2.
Tom Brady was 7-0 in overtime games coming in, but Kyle Orton was able to notch the win in his column after a 35 of 48 for 330 yard performance, keeping the ball out of Brady's hands in the overtime session. He also had 2 TD's and an interception.

Heisman Winners Return Triumphantly

Sam Bradford has been out since the first game of the season. Tim Tebow didn't miss a game, but had the fortune of a bye to get his head straight after a devastating concussion two weeks beforehand.
Both of the former Heisman Trophy winners returned to the field of play on Saturday and their teams left the field winners! Oklahoma handed Baylor a 33-7 setback behind Bradford's 389 passing yards. Tebow's Florida Gators had the tough task of winning in Baton Rouge against the #4 rated LSU Tigers. It was a methodical game for the usually fast-paced Gators, but the top ranked team in the country will take the 10 point SEC road win and feel blessed to get out of there with a victory and a healthy Tim Tebow.
Both QB's were happy and humble in their triumphs.

Living Legend Leaves Marks on Packers

Love him or hate him, you must give it up to Brett Favre for his unbelievable performance on Monday Night Football. That was one of the most impressive throwing shows I've seen. Too bad for Aaron Rogers that it had to come at his expense, but even though Favre has had some up and down outings over the years, he has had a number of memorable games on the big stage and this was one heck of a show of his 40 year old arm.

Rumble in the Bubble--Favre vs. Rogers

What a Monday night draw. The Green Bay Packers took the bold step to go with Aaron Rogers and move on from the Favre era. Brett Favre comes back at the last minute this season and posts the most miraculous throw of his career to win the game right before meeting up the the team that he quarterbacked for 17 seasons. Wow!
Rogers is 8-11 as a starter, but I still believe they made the right choice at the right time. Favre had waffled so many times and guess what? A NFL team needs their QB to go through the offseason program with the team. Now you say, why, when the Vikings are off to this great start and Favre wasn't anywhere to be found? Let's just agree that Favre is simply different and a difference maker, but "teams" do need their field generals to be part of the team concept to be successful on the whole.
It should be a great showdown and I hope the Packers come out on top, not because I care, but to keep the Favre hype from becoming bigger than the Vikings as a team (oops, it already has) and because Rogers has said and done everything the right way following in Brett Favre's footsteps at Lambeau.

Pink is color of the day in NFL

Not every player got in on the act today, but you couldn't watch an NFL game without getting a large dose of pink, as the NFL celebrated breast cancer awareness.
Some teams are feeling like they need a little of the pink drink Peptobismol, after some great finishes left many with sick stomachs.
Others though were tickled pink with the outcome of their respective games. Brandon Marshall got away with a big tug on Terrance Newmann, which was just enough to pluck the ball above his head and make a great run after the catch for the go-ahead score and just enough to beat Tony Romo and the Cowboys even though they had a number of shots inside the 10 to win.
The Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers remain winless, but with closer outcomes. Josh Johnson almost won his first career start and Derek Anderson almost led the Browns on a big comeback over the Bengals, only to lose in overtime.
Great week so far for the pros, with a couple of good games left on the schedule. Looking forward to Monday Night Football and Brett Favre taking on the Green Bay Packers.