Bearcats Win Wild Finish Against Pitt

Heralded quarterback Tony Pike threw three interceptions on the day, but equaled that number with touchdowns and saved the his best for last. With 33 seconds left in the game and moments after Pittsburgh's QB Stall had given the Panthers the lead, Pike threw a perfect fade down the right sideline for the game-winning score 45-44.
The win caps a great comeback for Pike, who missed 3 games earlier in the season with a non-throwing arm injury and gives the Bearcats their first 12-0 season, setting them up for a BCS bowl bid.

Pitt's QB Leading Panthers Success

ESPN The Mag has a small profile on what has helped QB Bill Stull take command of his team's 8-1 season. First year offensive coordinator/QB Coach Frank Cignetti and offensive assistant Scott Turner quickly realized he had throwing talent and began working on other important pieces of quarterbacking that he needed to improve. "The coach had Stull work on pocket presence, especially footwork: "How does he respond to edge pressure? Inside pressure? On sliding his feet, but also remembering to keep his hands firm with the football?"
The story goes on to talk about knowing his specific reads and knowing his specific keys. This way he plays with better confidence in his decision making. Having coaches that design plays to give the QB that confidence is also key to your team's success.

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).

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.

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.

B.J. Daniels Era Starts Right at FSU

Matt Grothe's record setting career ended last Saturday for the University of South Florida and the mantle was passed to redshirt freshman B.J. Daniels today. His first start came at Florida State this afternoon and looks like he will someday be the record setting QB from USF.
Daniels looks to be faster, quicker and a better overall passer than Grothe. He ended the day only 8 of 22, but he is a do everything player and will surely take USF to even greater heights than they have before.
Florida State was its own worst enemy, turning the ball over a number of times, but USF made plays and beat the Seminoles today. It was no accident. The Bulls and Head Coach Jim Leavitt continue to dominate competition outside of the Big East and are now 4-0 this season. The challenge, as it has been every year, is to make it happen in conference play. With B.J. Daniels at the helm, that should be fun to watch.

Matthew Stafford Gets Starting Nod

You know what they call a 4th round pick with 1 TD and 4 interceptions (30-55 completions/attempts) in preseason? Unemployed.
You know what they call you if you are the first pick in the NFL draft with the same stats? Starter!
Matthew Stafford was just named the Detroit Lions' starting QB for the 2009 season. This really comes as no surprise as Daunte Culpepper didn't make much difference in last year's march to the record books (0-16). And with the economy, etc. of Michigan, the Lions need some new blood in the lineup to get some new blood in the seats come the regular season.
I expect Stafford to be a pretty solid player and maybe one day a star, but it is funny how players earn their playing time sometimes based solely on their draft status, even though the coaches will always sell the concept of "whatever gives us the best chance of winning".

It's Not Rocket Science

It has been said since football was invented that "it's not rocket science." Now the NFL and college football is certainly proving that with Brett Favre's recent signing to the Minnesota Vikings and instant move to the starting lineup. Also, Greg Paulus' switch from basketball to football and ascent to the top of the depth chart for Syracuse.
Now, two NFL teams have canned their offensive coordinators in the final week of the preseason. Chan Gailey and Jeff Jagodzinski (Chiefs and Buccaneers OC's respectively) have been shown the door. In the case of the Chiefs, first time head coach Todd Hailey will call the plays and in Tampa, Greg Olsen (former QB coach) will now take over play-calling duties.
It's amazing how interchangeable these parts are for these teams. I'm not sure of the contract status of Gailey, but it is being reported that the Bucs will owe Jagodzinski about a million bucks. Where do I get in line for that gig?
So the old adage must be true, it's not rocket science. Now we will see what the on-field results for those offenses are in a little more than a week.

NFL Does Unthinkable--Do Overs

The NFL is not the AFL-Arena Football League. The Arena League had fields that were not all the same. The Orlando Predators end zones were rounded off because the arena was too small and others were customized as well. The AFL is not around anymore, but with the new "do-over" rule for the new Cowboys stadium, the NFL is making itself out to be a second rate outfit.
The Dallas Cowboys built the most expensive and most outrageous stadium in world history, but missed the mark with where they placed the planet's largest HD video screen. Now if a punted ball bangs off the screen like it did in the inaugural game last week, the down will be replayed. That is unacceptable. Jerry Jones needs to fix the problem at whatever cost.
Living in Tampa, we are used to watching the Tampa Bay Rays bang balls off the catwalks above the playing field. There are special rules for each ring going out from the center of the dome. At a recent game that my family attended, a high pop fly above home plate hit the catwalk and veered into fair play where the pitcher lurched and made a great catch. He was lucky he didn't injure himself going after the foul ball. The umpires had to conference to determine if it was in foul territory when it clanged the ceiling. Tropicana Field was built before a baseball team was placed, but with the Cowboys, it was predetermined that there would be football played. Jerry, do what's right and move the scoreboard or make it smaller for the good of the game!

Brett Favre To Decide by Opening of Training Camp

Former NFL great Brett Favre will decide if he wants to become present NFL quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings by the time they open their training camp. How nice. Either the Vikings believe that they are an experienced QB away from the Super Bowl or they are so bad at quarterback right now that a one year window with Favre is worth playing around with, while not developing their current crop very much as they carry the clipboard this season.
Here's one thing in Favre's favor that neither he nor the Vikings seem to be realizing and you can see some of it in the photo with this article. Good mechanics. Brett doesn't want to come back unless he has that great arm strength that he has built a Hall of Fame career with, but little does he know that he may become the John Elway of this year. Elway threw the ball too hard for many years, but as he controlled himself a bit better after the age of 35, so too could Brett Favre if he isn't quite as confident in his arm strength. If he plays a little more controlled and within himself, Adrian Peterson and Favre could team up to make a run like Elway and Terrell Davis did to finish the 1990's of in grand fashion.
Brett doesn't need to have the strongest arm in the league, he needs to make the best decisions in the league because he has the most experience and that is what experience is supposed to do for you, give you better decision making skills, his arm will always be strong enough.

Steve McNair was a great quarterback

"Air" McNair. Who was this kid out of Alcorn State that nobody had seen play, but was dubbed with Jordan's nickname? Steve "Air" McNair came in third in the Heisman Trophy balloting his senior year, a tremendous feat in itself coming from Alcorn State and then topped that by becoming the third pick of the NFL draft.
He lived up to the billing as he became an all-star and MVP while leading his once downtrodden team to within a yard of a Super Bowl title. Randall Cunningham came before McNair as a very elusive QB in and out of the pocket, but didn't depend solely on his legs to win games. McNair was strongly built and tough in the pocket, much more like a Phil Simms, but with scrambling ability just short of Michael Vick. To me, he was a great blend of what is needed at QB today and tomorrow.
Steve McNair, a fantastic football player, was already missed on the field, retiring before last season and will be missed after his death as well.

Don't Compare Eras for QB's

My kids found a tub of old videos the other day with VHS tapes of my playing days. They haven't seen them and I hadn't seen them in a long time. As I train youth QB's day in and day out, I am very particular about their A, B, C's-Alignment, Balance, and Control (specific body parts). I teach throwing differently than the way I threw it then (I am looking for players to be much better than I ever was, but I never had anybody tell me how to improve the technical aspect of throwing).
As I train my sons to throw "perfectly", they were quick to point out the deficiencies in my motion (although many of my passes were beautifully perfect completions--I must point out).
So the 2009 version of Jeff Carlson's throwing motion is much better than the 1991 version on the videotape. As the tape went on, a receiver got pushed out of bounds about 10 yards down the field and my oldest said, "That's pass interference!!" I said, "Not back then". That made me think hard to the point of comparing QB's over the years, like Montana to Brady or Dan Fouts to Peyton Manning. Are today's QB's that much better prepared through programs like my "America's Best Quarterback" training or did the rule changes help open up the game like never before. The answer is yes to both. Players are better prepared and the rules make it that if you don't jam at the line, there is virtually no contact to wide receivers until they catch the ball. And defensive ends used to unleash on the QB's high, low or late. Now defensive ends have to think about a 15 yard penalty on every play that involves the QB.
I say all this to say that there is no way to compare QB's through different eras, especially by stats alone. I don't think QB's are "juicing" on steroids, but with all of the 4,000 and 5,000 yard passers these day, their statistics say they are playing in the "live ball" era.

Disgruntled leader is oxymoron

How many disgruntled players have left their bad situation to prosper in a new one? There have been a few to be sure, Corey Dillon did OK in New England after splitting with the Bengals, but there are more Terrell Owens and Randy Moss' creating more trouble for the next club than fixing their own personal issues. However, those guys may be Prima Donnas, but they aren't quarterbacks. John Elway forced the Colts to trade him after drafting him and Eli Manning played the same hand 20 years later, but they didn't play for a club, get "disenfranchised" with the situation (coaching or otherwise) and then go somewhere else and flourish.
Jay Cutler is saying he had a conversation about keeping the offensive coaching staff intact with the Broncos' owner Pat Bowlen and Bowlen says it didn't happen. Regardless, now Cutler is a whiner to Denver fans that see him wanting out as soon as he doesn't like the team's moves to get better. Throwing for a lot of yards doesn't always mean that you or your team is any good. Bowlen likes success and is trying to improve the team. Did Cutler not like what Josh McDaniels and the Patriots offense has been doing the last few years? Give it a chance kid. Instead, you now just look like a baby that is taking his ball and going home--where home is, nobody knows at this point.
Please respond to this post if you can give me an example a QB demanding out of one city and doing well in another.

Warner back with Cards for 2 more years

Was there ever a doubt that Kurt Warner would eventually sign back up with the Arizona Cardinals? Sure he was upset about Todd Haley, his offensive coordinator, leaving. Sure he had to take an obligatory trip to San Fransisco to make the Cardinals get off their duffs and finalize the deal. But there was no chance in the heat of the Phoenix desert (almost as hot as you-know-where) that he was going to leave the offense that got him another appearance in the biggest show on earth in the waning years of his illustrious career.
To leave the Cardinals for the 49ers would have been worse than the immortal Joe Montana leaving late in his career for the Kansas City Chiefs. That didn't end well and neither would this, but there was no chance of that ever consummating. Great luck to a great QB. Let's see if the Cards can stay on top as they will be the hunted for the first time in franchise history.

Jay Cutlet Miffed at Trade Rumors

Denver Broncos Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler did not like the idea of being part of a trade deal, no he did not like it one bit. But, when you lead a team that is coached by a two-time Super Bowl winner and he gets shown the door, there might be some rumblings about who is the on-field leader as well.
Throw in the fact that the new head coach is the former New England Patriots offensive coordinator who just coached Matt Cassel into a franchise tag and there just might be some interest in continuing that relationship.
Now that the Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs consummated the trade that makes Cassel the new Chiefs QB, Jay Cutler continues as the Broncos signal caller for the time-being. And the time-being may be key as Cutler is upset enough at Broncos management to cut off communication with them, for the time-being anyway.
The rumor was that Cutler would be going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and that wouldn't have made Luke McCown very happy, as he was just told he would get a chance to win the starting position, but that would not have happened if the Cutler deal went through. McCown will have to wait it out as free agency continues, because if they were looking at that deal at the start of free agency, then there will be others considered as well.

ABQB of 2008 Traded to Kansas City

Matt Cassel was America's Best Quarterback in 2008 because he was called to lead the Patriots from the back-up position in the first quarter of the first game of the season and took them to an 11-5 record. Yes, they did not make the playoff, but Cassel had a number of outstanding performances along the way and not too many 1105 teams have missed the playoffs in NFL history.
The Patriots thought enough of his performance to put the "franchise" tag on him, guaranteeing him over $14 million next year. This caused wide discussion about having almost $30 million wrapped up in their two quarterbacks, but that is no longer an issue as the Kansas City Chiefs traded for Matt Cassel today. The new General Manager of the Chiefs, Scott Pioli (formerly of the Patriots) thought enough of his performance last season to stake his career on the move as well.
I don't think Cassel is just a system quarterback any more than Tom Brady is a system quarterback. His mechanics are clean like Brady's, which means he will be a consistent, accurate quarterback in any system.

Big Ben Adds Another Title to Resume

Great quarterbacks come in lots of shapes and sizes. Big Ben Roethlisberger comes by his name honestly. He is tough to bring down because he is so big and just agile enough to keep alive in the pocket to make plays out of nothing. He did that time and again last night in Tampa. Roethlisberger didn't win the MVP, which he deserved as much as Holmes, but he put himself into a very elite category with another Lombardi Trohpy in his case. He also put himself into Super Bowl lore with a two-minute drive that won the game!
Ben Roethlisberger fits in Pittsburgh better than any other QB fits the persona of his team's town, even better than Favre in Green Bay. Ben doesn't get it done in a pretty fashion, his blue collar style is the epitome of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The NFL Experience

As a current player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 1991, I remember the Super Bowl coming to Tampa in the midst of Desert Storm (the original Iraq war) under then president George H.W. Bush. Tampa Stadium was surrounded by chain-link fence as security precautions were ramped way up against terrorist threats and Whitney Houston sang the most memorable rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner”.

Fast forward to 2009 and the Super Bowl is back in Tampa, but the chain-link fence has shifted to the parking lot of Raymond James Stadium where “The NFL Experience” is now in its 18^th year. It is now an amazing extravaganza, growing bigger and better each and every year. In 2001, it was on the north end of the stadium's parking lot, but has grown in scale that it had to move to the south side to accommodate all the fun. The economy may be in the tank for everything known to man, but it hasn’t touched this experience. The price-point on entry isn’t stopping massive crowds from piling inside the chain-link fences that cover the entire south side parking lots of the stadium.

I took my two sons to the experience this past weekend, hooking up with a couple of other friends on the way in. We traversed the crowds at every feature and made our way into the most important portion of the attraction for the kids, The NFL Pro Shop, to get our commemorative Super Bowl mini footballs. We stood in line for a number of the football related simulations, only to have our young ones get bored each time and decide to move on over and over. What turned out to be the #1 attraction for our group of boys aging from 6-11 was a dirt area about 25 yards square, where they played their own pick-up game of football for the better part of 30 minutes. Yes, the NFL has a winner with the fans in The NFL Experience, but it is the love of playing THE GAME OF FOOTBALL in the dirt that makes it the real experience come to life!

P.S. Don’t make the mistake of buying footballs at The NFL Store. The footballs are half the price on the other side of the event at the football manufacturing display. And by the way, I now know that I am exactly the same speed as my 11 year old thanks to the "Under Armour Combine Experience" 40 yard dash event!

Signing Day Doesn't Mean Staying Day

I read an article in the St. Pete Times by John C. Cotey about high school players fulfilling their dreams of a college scholarship on national signing day, only to quit, transfer or flunk out the next year. The statistics are pretty staggering. Most of the kids that sign letters-of-intent don't make it to their degree and a big percentage don't make past their first year. Locally, Robert Marve was the Florida Player of the Year two years ago and now he is looking for a new school to take his QB services, after falling out of favor at the University of Miami.
I almost didn't make it past my freshman year at Weber State. Bobby Petrino (University of Arkansas Head Coach) almost single-handedly drove me back to a southern California junior college at the Christmas break. I may have been a little home sick, but it was my treatment on the football field that I felt was my biggest disappointment and biggest reason for checking out the local JC's back home.
After much thought and prayer, I decided to return, mostly so that I wouldn't burden my parents by coming back and the gamble that I could find the right fit in a new school that I could earn another scholarship the following year.
Thankfully Coach Petrino moved on to another school and I flourished under Dave Arslanian and Mike Price. I earned my degree and made my football dreams come true in the NFL as well.
So to all of you who are priveleged to sign your scholarship papers next week and consider transferring because things aren't going as planned, be careful, the grass isn't always greener elsewhere.

McNabb Gets Eagles to Another Championship Game

Can someone give Donovan McNabb some credit? He was written off as trade bait--we were talking about him coming to Tampa very recently--and now after knocking off the Giants, has his Philadelphia Eagles in another NFC title game. That's his fifth if anyone is counting. No one seems to put him in the elite QB category, but not many have led their teams to as much success. I think he just seems to have too much fun while playing and of course that lackadaisical look during the Super Bowl didn't help, but nonetheless he will have a pretty strong record of success when he wraps up his career and he's only 32 right now.
I would really like to wish McNabb luck this weekend, but I'm hoping Kurt Warner can lift his Cardinals to their first appearance in a Super Bowl in their team's history.