Time to Calm Down on the Jim Irsay Comments

The Jim Irsay and Peyton Manning controversy is...an interesting one. While I think fundamentally, Irsay should have kept his mouth shut, I don't think he had any malicious intentions in what he was saying about Peyton, and I certainly don't think there is any reason for him to have any ill-will towards Peyton- he wanted Peyton to leave so he could draft Luck!

The media reaction and the reactions of people like Bill Polian and Todd Helton has certainly fanned the flames, but there is no surprise that the non-reaction from Peyton should help in cooling things down before Friday.

Ultimately, let's just hope the pre-game ceremony and night itself is positive and Peyton is honored in the why he should be. And then I hope he beats the Colts and goes on to have the record-setting season he is on track for. A guy like him needs- and should have a second Super Bowl ring. I hope he gets it this year, otherwise it will be tough. That defense needs to tighten up to help him do it, though.

On a side note- looking forward to seeing what Case Keenum can do in the NFL for the Texans. That should be a fun watch. Hopefully he gets a few games to figure it out. Fun player.

Mario Williams turns in record-breaking performance

Perhaps reports of Mario Williams' demise were greatly exaggerated?

Yesterday, Mario Williams came out of nowhere for the Buffalo Bills and recorded 4.5 sacks, setting a Buffalo Bills record. That's right, more single game sacks than Hall of Famer Bruce Smith ever had. Smith recorded a high of 4 in 1994. 

Williams, in the second year of a a six-year deal that could be worth up to $100 million (50 million guaranteed), struggled early last season, recording only 4.5 sacks over the first eight games. He ended with 10.5, and has carried over the late season momentum with strong play over the first two games for Buffalo. There were reports Williams played injured in 2012, but did manage to appear in all 16 games. A feat becoming less and less common in the NFL.

Williams may never be worth the money the Bills sunk into him, but if he can continue to rush the QB in the manner he did on Sunday against Carolina, the rest of the Bills talented line that includes Kyle Williams and Marcel Dareus, will receive less attention and be more effective in their own pass rush, but also in stopping the run.

Following his Sunday performance, Williams leads the NFL in sacks and will be tasked with chasing down another speedy QB in Geno Smith in Week 3.

There was only one good fit for Tim Tebow in the NFL, and that's where he landed

There was one team that could sign Tim Tebow and avoid the drama. There was one team that could sign Tim Tebow and not have questions about the quarterback controversy. There was one team that could sign Tim Tebow and had a coach that could keep the media from turning every press conference into a circus. There was one team that could sign Tim Tebow and not have it define their season. All of those teams are actually just one team: the New England Patriots. And yesterday, they signed Tim Tebow.

I, like many, had just figured at this point, Tim Tebow was not going to be signing with an NFL team. I just didn't see any way around it. His presence on the Jets (through no fault of his own) was absolutely toxic. And the way the Jets handled him and the entire situation made them the laughing stock of the NFL. Despite what the Broncos were able to accomplish with him running the offense, it had become clear to most that his throwing capabilities were not at an NFL (or maybe even CFL) caliber.

But now he lands with New England, a team that has taken chances on players such as Chad Johnson and Albert Haynewsworth. While Tebow is nothing like those two in that he always works hard and is a team/locker room guy, he does bring a massive media following just like Haynesworth and Johnson. Those two did not work out in New England, but why does Tebow have a chance to be different? Versaility. While the Pats said yesterday he would be a 3rd quarterback, the fact remains Tebow seems to have the ability to be productive in a variety of roles. The Pats have previously brought in guys like Wes Welker  Julian Edelman, Kevin Faulk and Danny Woodhead and turned them into multi-purpose players that have seen time on offense in both the backfield and at wide receiver, on defense, and in special teams. Tebow possesses a skill set to act in some of those capacities as well. And rather than have him ride the bench all year behind Tom Brady and Ryan Mallett, one would think he would see time in some of those roles.

Time will tell how (or if) the Pats will use Tim Tebow. One thing we do know is if there is a right way, Bill Belichick will find it. And just like the Dolphins rued the day the let Welker move to New England, and just like the Jets have been knocked around by Danny Woodhead, the Jets and the AFC East could live to cringe as Tim Tebow sports the Patriots uniform.

Tebow may be gone, but the Jets' circus hasn't left town

Tim Tebow is gone. So this should be a much calmer off season, training camp and start of the 2013 season for the Jets, right? Wrong.

With the drafting of Geno Smith, and the tumultuous and inconsistent tenure from Mark Sanchez, the Jets are set-up for an on-going quarterback controversy that the NY media and ESPN are going to cover until none of us can stand it any longer.

The Jets roster now includes:

Geno Smith
Mark Sanchez
David Garrard
Matt Simms
Greg McElroy

With Garrard and Sanchez already having spent significant time as starting quarterbacks and McElroy receiving time with the starting job in 2012, the cupboard is full and an exciting young player like Smith will give fans a lot of reason to pressure the organization into giving him playing time.

Not only were the fans fed up with Mark Sanchez last year, so was Rex Ryan. So one would think he would be in an impossible position heading into 2013. But with Garrard's age and diminishing production, it is a very real possibility that Sanchez wins the starting job. This will create havoc. As the first sign of struggles comes, the fans are going to be calling for Smith, and the rabid New York media will be doing the same. By the way, how spot on was this NY Post cover from last season?:

The circus hasn't left town. And as long as Mark Sanchez is on that roster, it probably won't. 

Smith and Te'o Still Waiting

Update: It's now being reported that Geno is sticking around for round 2 of the draft. Going to be a long night if nobody takes him.

The two glaring omissions from the NFL Draft last night were certainly Manti Te'o and Geno Smith. Smith, once thought of as perhaps the top pick, was passed over by the entire league; most notably, the Buffalo Bills, who decided to draft Florida St. quarterback EJ Manuel. That selection also featured the storyline that new Bills coach Doug Marrone who came from Syracuse, passed on selecting his former QB, Ryan Nassib. While this was a disappointment and bad news for Nassib's draft stock, the fact Smith did not go on day one was among the bigger surprises.

Smith's fall out of round one created the frequent awkward situation of a player being stuck at the draft as they fall down the board. By the end of the night, Smith declined an interview with ESPN but told Suzy Kolber he would go home and not attend the remaining rounds of the draft.

It wasn't hard to see this coming. Many predicted that no quarterbacks would be taken in the first round and that was almost the case. I understand the desire to go to New York for all the draft festivities, but if Smith was so upset about not being drafted that he is going home rather than sticking it out, he probably should have considered this scenario before making the decision to go.

As for Te'o, the question immediately becomes, why wasn't he taken? My belief is that it was a combination of the publicity and baggage that comes from the craziness surrounding his fake girlfriend and his shortcomings at the combine. His slow 4.82 40-yard dash may have been the bigger turn off for teams despite what Teo's regular season performance at Notre Dame may have shown. Good move by Te'o not attending the draft.

Mario Williams will be a Huge Addition to the Bills' New 4-3 Defense

In 2011, the Buffalo Bills’ defense was abysmal. It ranked 28th out of 32 in stopping the run and 29th in sacking the quarterback. The 2011 Bills allowed their opponents to score 434 points, and rush for 4.9 yards per attempt. Rookie defensive tackle Marcel Dareus had a solid year, but did not have enough talent around him as Kyle Williams missed much of the year with an injury. The Bills’ offense averaging a paltry 10 points a game did not help either as Buffalo limped to a 6-10 record ahead of only the lowly Miami Dolphins in the AFC East. 

The Bills this year have changed their defense from the 3-4 to a 4-3. What’s going to help them even more than that is the Bills went out and made a rare splash in the free agent pool by signing one of the best players in the NFL, Mario Williams. In a move to shore up their weak front seven, the Bills inked Williams, who is arguably one of the five best defensive ends in the game. Williams is a rare “big-ticket” player for the Bills, who prefer to build their teams through the draft.

Mario Williams has a 6-year-long contract that is worth at the very least $50 million and at the most, upwards of $100 million. $50 million guaranteed is the most any defensive player has ever earned, but Williams is worth every penny. He is still only in his 20s, was a former No. 1 overall draft pick and is a freakish athlete. At the NFL scouting combine before the draft, Williams was measured at 6’6” and 297 pounds and ran a blistering 4.65 second 40-yard dash. He’s big, quick, relentless, and probably can’t wait to line up against the likes of Tim Tebow, Tom Brady and Ryan Tannehill six times a year.

Williams brings a legitimizing presence to the Bills. Also in the offseason, the Bills added former Bears and Patriots defensive end Mark Anderson to mix. Luckily for Anderson and the Bills, Williams is sure to draw at least two and as many as three blockers every snap. This will surely free up Marcel Dareus to get some one-on-one match-ups to rush the passer up the middle. Anderson is not a very good anchor against the run, but has a great speed rush and can work a few moves to turn the corner and terrorize opposing quarterbacks.

As good as Dareus was last season, and as good as Anderson could be in this defense, Mario Williams is the determining factor as to how well the front seven can perform this year. Williams sat out almost all of last season with a pectoral injury, so it will be interesting to see if he is 100% healthy. If he is, the rest of the AFC should be very worried. All the pieces are in place for the Bills’ to field a much more formidable defense this season. Middle linebacker Nick Barnett had a great season last year, Dareus made lots of strides in his rookie year and the Williams-Anderson tag-team will be a force to be reckoned with in the AFC East.

Saints Bounty Scandal

In early March, the NFL punished several New Orleans Saints coaches and players over what are known as “bounties.” Bounties are pledges to pay a certain amount of money to players who target and knock opposing players out of the game. The NFL alleged that the Saints had not only been offering bounties to their players, they had been doing so for years and been told to stop. Two questions stand out in response to the punishments: was there enough evidence to warrant punishment and were they too harsh?

The Saints lose their Defensive Coordinator, Gregg Williams, indefinitely. Their Head Coach, Sean Payton, and starting Linebacker, Jonathan Vilma, were both suspended for a year. The Saints selected Joe Vitt to serve as Interim Head Coach. He was suspended for six months for his alleged role in the scandal. A couple of other players were fined and suspended for shorter periods as well. Suspensions also mean that the players and coaches involved lose their salary for the length of the punishment. In Williams, Payton, and Vilma’s case, they lose their entire 2012 salaries.

These punishments are harsh, but is there evidence to support it? Williams was caught, on camera, giving a pre-game talk before a playoff game in which he mentioned several opposing players, ways to knock them out of the game, and said “the first one is on me” while rubbing his fingers in a way as to indicate he would pay. Payton, as the Head Coach, is ultimately responsible for all activities involving the team, and evidence shows he knew about these activities and that he knew the NFL was watching. Players had also been caught on film celebrating an opposing player being knocked out of a game, with a player (alleged to be Anthony Hargrove) shouting “give me my money.” 

The problem for the Saints is two-fold: 1) they knew they were being watched for these activities and continued to do them and 2) the NFL is facing serious medical and financial issues due to injuries, especially concussions. Bounties have been a part of the NFL game for decades. Buddy Ryan of the Eagles famously offered a bounty on Cowboy Kicker Tony Zendejas during the 1980s. The Saints did it at the worst possible time.

Are the punishments too harsh? For Payton and Williams, the answer is no. They not only decide on team strategy but who has a job as a player. The players fall in line with the coaches or they move on. Many of the players stated their surprise at Williams’ speech, but it was their job to follow orders. The defense was known, particularly in the 2010 NFC Championship Game, to hit a targeted player late, causing injury. This is the same game when the player was heard to reference his payment for the hit. The players knew better, but got sucked up into a culture that encouraged them to do this, and they have been appropriately punished for doing so.