Reading Between The Lines
Some quotes tell you everything you really need to know...
“He doesn’t always finish the routes out the way you want and he’s not always the first guy in line to listen, but he has always produced,” 49ers VP of Player Personnel Scott McCloughan, referring to Darrell Jackson (Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports).
Translation: He’s a dog.
It’s never a good thing when the guy who traded for you is crapping all over your practice habits, especially after a career that, while somewhat productive, has also done its Vaudevillian best to leave the audience wanting more. Count on Jackson continuing to break the hearts of Niner fans and fantasy football freaks again this season.
“It may be a coin flip before the game to decide. However, they are both going to play in the game,” Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel, when asked whether Derek Anderson or Charlie Frye would start against KC this weekend (Tom Coyne, AP).
Translation: Both of these guys are only keeping the chair warm for the bonus baby until he gets signed, and then the kid is on the field as soon as he knows more than three plays.
How much lovelier can life get in Cleveland? They get a mammoth tackle in the three-hole during the draft, and then God smiles on them and lets Brady Quinn free-fall faster than Janet’s boob during her “wardrobe malfunction.” His agent doesn’t seem to understand that Quinn, drafted at #22 overall, just ain’t gonna get #3 chedda because, well, he was drafted at #22 overall. There’s a reason guys fall in the draft: it’s called a serious lack of faith. Between Joe Thomas and the 22-hole, 18 teams (in particular, the QB-starved Dolphins at #9) felt like there were other guys on the board that either fit perceived needs better or would be better pros. Nowhere was Quinn’s talent more thoroughly evaluated than on Draft Day, which looked like it was scripted by the Jigsaw Killer for Quinn’s benefit. Sure, Quinn still looks like a better option than either Frye or Anderson, but he’d really better be the second coming of Otto Graham after all this.
“We feel sure that he just has back spasms, but we don’t want to take any chances. There’s no alarm, but we wanted to make sure,” Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, on Terrell Owens missing practice (Stephen Hawkins, AP).
Translation: the preseason is meaningless for veterans. When it’s real game time, T.O. will be lined up wide to the right, as he should be.
Anyone remember how much preseason practice Owens missed last season? Anyone remember him riding the stationary bike so much that he even broke out a yellow Tour De Farce jersey mocking how much time he’d logged in the saddle? Anyone else remember the numbers he put up after such a poorly-practiced preseason? They go something like this: 16 games, 85 receptions, 1180 receiving yards, 13 TDs.
“I think that they’re growing together. I think that some of the blitz pick-ups, some of the stunts, as far as the communication and trust in what you see, we’ve still got a ways to go with that,” Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt, on his maligned O-line (Andrew Bagnato, AP).
Translation: it’s never a good thing when your best offensive lineman is wearing a headset and not a helmet.
I don’t care how much wisdom new O-line coach Russ Grimm passes on to those guys in Arizona, unless he’s suiting up and bringing Joe Jacoby, Mark May, Jeff Bostic, and Raleigh McKenzie with him, the current Cardinals offending line still won’t block anything more than a stiff breeze.
“Coach Herm Edwards said Sunday that (Michael) Bennett ‘has had a pretty good training camp,’” (Rotowire.com).
Translation: Larry Johnson gets paid or the Chefs go for the Herschel Walker Lottery when they trade him.
If you were Herm Edwards and you had perpetually-underwhelming Michael Bennett and rookie Kolby Smith to choose from, you’d give Johnson the rock 800 times if you had that many plays...and you’d be right to do so. Anyone else think Damon Huard is for real, or that Brodie Croyle is going to do anything but stink out loud as a rookie? Carl Peterson wants to play hardball with the franchise, but the truth is that Johnson is Option A and there really is no Option B.
...and I'm OUT like Michael Strahan...
“He doesn’t always finish the routes out the way you want and he’s not always the first guy in line to listen, but he has always produced,” 49ers VP of Player Personnel Scott McCloughan, referring to Darrell Jackson (Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports).
Translation: He’s a dog.
It’s never a good thing when the guy who traded for you is crapping all over your practice habits, especially after a career that, while somewhat productive, has also done its Vaudevillian best to leave the audience wanting more. Count on Jackson continuing to break the hearts of Niner fans and fantasy football freaks again this season.
“It may be a coin flip before the game to decide. However, they are both going to play in the game,” Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel, when asked whether Derek Anderson or Charlie Frye would start against KC this weekend (Tom Coyne, AP).
Translation: Both of these guys are only keeping the chair warm for the bonus baby until he gets signed, and then the kid is on the field as soon as he knows more than three plays.
How much lovelier can life get in Cleveland? They get a mammoth tackle in the three-hole during the draft, and then God smiles on them and lets Brady Quinn free-fall faster than Janet’s boob during her “wardrobe malfunction.” His agent doesn’t seem to understand that Quinn, drafted at #22 overall, just ain’t gonna get #3 chedda because, well, he was drafted at #22 overall. There’s a reason guys fall in the draft: it’s called a serious lack of faith. Between Joe Thomas and the 22-hole, 18 teams (in particular, the QB-starved Dolphins at #9) felt like there were other guys on the board that either fit perceived needs better or would be better pros. Nowhere was Quinn’s talent more thoroughly evaluated than on Draft Day, which looked like it was scripted by the Jigsaw Killer for Quinn’s benefit. Sure, Quinn still looks like a better option than either Frye or Anderson, but he’d really better be the second coming of Otto Graham after all this.
“We feel sure that he just has back spasms, but we don’t want to take any chances. There’s no alarm, but we wanted to make sure,” Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, on Terrell Owens missing practice (Stephen Hawkins, AP).
Translation: the preseason is meaningless for veterans. When it’s real game time, T.O. will be lined up wide to the right, as he should be.
Anyone remember how much preseason practice Owens missed last season? Anyone remember him riding the stationary bike so much that he even broke out a yellow Tour De Farce jersey mocking how much time he’d logged in the saddle? Anyone else remember the numbers he put up after such a poorly-practiced preseason? They go something like this: 16 games, 85 receptions, 1180 receiving yards, 13 TDs.
“I think that they’re growing together. I think that some of the blitz pick-ups, some of the stunts, as far as the communication and trust in what you see, we’ve still got a ways to go with that,” Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt, on his maligned O-line (Andrew Bagnato, AP).
Translation: it’s never a good thing when your best offensive lineman is wearing a headset and not a helmet.
I don’t care how much wisdom new O-line coach Russ Grimm passes on to those guys in Arizona, unless he’s suiting up and bringing Joe Jacoby, Mark May, Jeff Bostic, and Raleigh McKenzie with him, the current Cardinals offending line still won’t block anything more than a stiff breeze.
“Coach Herm Edwards said Sunday that (Michael) Bennett ‘has had a pretty good training camp,’” (Rotowire.com).
Translation: Larry Johnson gets paid or the Chefs go for the Herschel Walker Lottery when they trade him.
If you were Herm Edwards and you had perpetually-underwhelming Michael Bennett and rookie Kolby Smith to choose from, you’d give Johnson the rock 800 times if you had that many plays...and you’d be right to do so. Anyone else think Damon Huard is for real, or that Brodie Croyle is going to do anything but stink out loud as a rookie? Carl Peterson wants to play hardball with the franchise, but the truth is that Johnson is Option A and there really is no Option B.
...and I'm OUT like Michael Strahan...
Labels: Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, Darrell Jackson, Larry Johnson, NFL, Terrell Owens
posted by van walker | 6:16 AM
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