Madden ‘08 Is Here!

From Visual Review 

Well, the day many of us have been waiting for has arrived – today officially marks the release of Madden ’08! Yes, we know we’re dorks for mentioning it here, but most NFL fans love this game. In fact, many people buy a game console strictly for this game.  

 As most of you probably already know, Vince Young graces the cover of this year’s Madden. This means his career is over. Ever since Eddie George was bestowed with the honor of first being on the game’s cover, there’s been talk of a Madden curse. I’m not superstitious, now, but it is odd that so many players have gotten injured the year they were on the cover or who were never the same afterwards. George, Ray Lewis, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb and Shaun Alexander all had poor years, were injured or were never the same. Maybe they just get big heads about it, I don’t know. 

 Anyhow, the reason for this post is to tell you about the game. The graphics are unreal – you can see the sweat on Vince Young’s perfectly imaged face. Everything looks nearly real, and it’s a visual pleasure to play it.   On 360, at least, the game feels much faster. The hit stick is much more reactive than the ’07 game, which is great, because new features include gang tackling and mid-air collisions, which make the hit stick even more fun. One cool feature I really enjoyed was the Player Weapon system, which shows a player’s strengths, such as big hitters and quick runners. It allows you to know exactly what you can do with certain players, and how to best utilize them.  

The game play is much more fluid, allowing better coverage, easier audibles and better overall control over what is happening. The familiar Superstar and Franchise modes are all there, with a little tweaking that creates some more depth.   All in all, this is definitely a much better game than ’07, which often felt clunky and awkward to me. There were too many holes in the game that created unrealistic gameplay and stretches of monotony in-game. This year’s version seems slimmed down and very efficient. A definite winner for EA Sports!

Madden NFL 08 – 360
Madden NFL 08 – PS3
Xbox 360 Console Includes 20GB Hard Drive (with HDMI)

Larry Johnson Holdout: Chiefs Close to a Deal

 By: Seth 

I’ll be honest with you: I’m not a fan of holdouts. They help nobody, in the long run, and are usually ridiculous. I hate hearing of players holding out because they’re tired of their $4 Million a year contract. Most of us are lucky to make 1% of that in a year.   

 But, there are also times that I can understand it. If Asante Samuel were still under contract for around $900,000 a year, I could understand him being upset at the team not wanting to pay him more (I don’t understand him holding out because he got Franchised, though). I’m still undecided about Larry Johnson’s holdout, though. What is he making? $1.9 Million a year? For a back of his caliber, that’s paltry. Lesser backs make much more. And, he doesn’t have the benefit of a lot of guaranteed money at the contract’s inception to gloss that number over. So I see where he is coming from, I’m just a little burned by the fact he’s missing camp and possibly hurting his team’s chances of performing in the season.   

 This may all be over soon, however, because it’s being reported that he and the Chiefs are close on a new contract. For the sake of the team’s year, you have to hope they are.  What do you fans think? Is it right for Larry Johnson, or any player, to holdout?

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Miami Coaches Worried About Trent Green?

The Miami Herald today reported that the Dolphins are beginning to rethink their quarterback issues – at least for the next few pre-season games. It was reported that Cam Cameron was expected to start Cleo Lemon in at least one of the games, but now the staff is making different plans. It went on to point out that this is a pretty clear sign that the coaches are worried about Green’s timing with the receivers.

 Is this really unexpected? Trent Green has been with the team barely a month, and hasn’t really gotten the chance to have a great report with the receivers around him yet. Many quarterbacks try to work with their new receivers throughout the off-season, some calling their team mates in as early as March for extra time practicing.  

While this is certainly an issue to keep an eye on, don’t read too much into Green’s troubles. Given time and practice, everything should be fine in Miami by opening day.

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Bucs Report: Ken Darby

 By: Keats

 I watched a few good games over the weekend, but I wanted to talk a little about what I saw from Ken Darby in the Bucs-Patriots matchup Friday night. I’ll be honest, he’s a guy that I’ve been rooting for ever since his sophomore year at ‘Bama. I just happened to this kid playing his heart out and thought, “Now this is what a running back needs to be.” I’ve never seen anyone outplay him, and he makes every effort to finish his runs out strong. He’s not terribly big, and he’s really only got modest speed, but he brings a nice change of pace to the game with his quick running style.

 How did he fare on Friday? 15 carries, 84 yards. He added one reception for 13 yards. Not bad for the 246^th pick in the draft, huh? Granted, this was against players who are not starters, but it’s nice to see a guy make the most out of his touches. Does this mean he’ll supplant Cadillac? Not hardly, but we could see him challenging Earnest Graham for the #2 position. Don’t be surprised if you see Darby running with the second team on more plays during the next few preseason games.

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And… We’re Back!

So, we’re back again after a long hiatus. Where have we been? Well, sometimes stuff happens that gets you sidetracked. That’s all I can really say. But, we’re back and more focused than before, so we will hopefully be able to provide more opinion and talking points for all of our readers.

 We will say that a few things have changed. For one, we’re going to offer more opinions and let you all sound off more. There are only a few writers here, and it’s not like we’re a big blog, but we’re going to try to get a couple of regular pieces up every week. We’re also soon going to open it up to you fans, but you’ll see what we mean later.

 Anyhow, we hope you enjoy the columns and thoughts.

Culpepper Looking to the Future

Most of us have heard the news coming out of Miami over the past few days: Daunte Culpepper will soon be released or traded. With Trent Green coming onto the scene, a new John Beck and Cleo Lemon still in the ranks, it’s not a surprise to hear that this is happening. There’s been speculation for months that the Dolphins would soon be making a move on deciding Daunte’s future with the club. The only issue now is exactly how he will leave the team. Dolphins’ management wants compensation for him, of course. But Culpepper’s $5.5 million salary this year is going to make a trade difficult to pull off. There are teams out there with the cap room, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that many teams aren’t looking to trade for a quarterback with the baggage Culpepper is carrying. He’s only played 11 games in the past two seasons, and most teams are still scared to death about his knee injury. But, there are several teams, most notably Jacksonville, that have clearly stated their interest. One problem with a trade that many teams are looking at is that it will force them to take on the remainder of Culpepper’s contract. Most aren’t willing to do that for a quarterback that has a lingering injury. While it’s plausible that Culpepper would rework his contract and play for less, it would be far easier for teams to hold off and wait for Miami to dump him, then sign him to a smaller contract. Getting cut might actually work out for Daunte better than getting traded. For one, he’ll get to choose which team he goes to. Remember, he’s only 30 and has shown in the past that he can play. He is, of course, a project in that nobody knows how he’ll react and play after his knee fully heels. There’s also the possibility that his knee never will heal. But teams would be more willing to take a chance on a guy at $2.5 million a year than at $5.5 million. Culpepper could well take that lower amount from the highest bidder or team that he likes, play a year, and turn it into more. After all, any team that picks him up would be getting what was once a franchise quarterback. Culpepper is a career 64.2% passer with 137 to 89 interceptions. He’s thrown for over 21,000 yards and has a 90.8 passer rating. Can he still put up numbers like that? Nobody knows. But teams would be more to find out if the price was lower. The only other problem facing Miami and Culpepper is that there’s not too large a market for quarterbacks right now. Most teams have a clear starter or a young guy waiting in the wings. Bringing in Culpepper would either destabilize the current situation or be a waste of time, money and a roster spot. Teams that may have been interested (think Cleveland, Houston, Carolina, Detroit, Arizona, NY Jets, Buffalo) have all either brought in young quarterbacks with bright futures or have them on their roster. So, where will he land? I won’t even begin to say where. As mentioned, there have been reports that Jacksonville has contacted Miami. Rumor has it that Tampa might be interested because they could afford to let him rest again this year if need be. Chicago has been brought up, but I would think it’s a long shot right now. Had this deal happened pre-draft, there may have been more, but the team’s and player’s options are now pretty limited. Wherever he lands, though, he’ll get the opportunity he wants: To prove that he can still play.

Ramblings From a Broncos Fan

By Brian Bowling 

Well, it looks like Denver is at it again, picking up Sam Adams in the free agent market. A runstopper like this man can only help the D in the long run. I mean, he’s huge and stops up any gap around. Add in names like DJ Williams, Ian Gold and our #1 draft pick Jarvis Moss and what are teams going to do? They won’t be able to pass with our two all-pro corners blanketing receivers and picking off passes! It’s only going to free up John Lynch to have a free for all on anybody that comes his way. Poor quarterbacks! And this is why San Diego will have such a hard time in the West – they won’t be able to do anything. In my opinion, the Chargers will be a Wild Card team at best and Denver will own them.  

On a similar note, I’ve read a lot of the flak Seth Mills has been getting about his Pre-Season Power Rankings and his follow-up post about why the Chargers were ranked where they were. I have to say that he was accurate with their ranking. I mean, you have to be open minded and not let your love for your team get in the way. Case in point, Seth is a Tampa fan. Where did he rank his team? #20. I don’t know about you, but that’s a pretty fair ranking to me. He didn’t let his being a fan of them cloud his mind. Does that mean I agree with all of the rankings? Of course not, but I’m not going to say he wasn’t being fair. So stop crying over an opinion, people. After all, I haven’t heard any other fans from teams crying foul…

Why the Chargers’ New System Matters

 By Seth Mills  I’m really writing this post as a direct response to the flood of opinions San Diego fans threw at me about my ranking of
San Diego in last week’s Pre-Season Power Rankings. Most of the static came about their new coaching staff and supposed “new systems.” Read a few of the comments from that post and you’ll see what I mean. I’ve heard everything about how the new defensive coordinator is one of the best and how Norv invented the system back in 2001. I’ve read countless articles on it, and listen intently when Peter king (whom I respect very much) says he’s not concerned for the same reasons you
San Diego fans are telling me I’m an idiot. The problem, you see, is that I’m not buying it.  

 I’m not the only one saying this. I’m not flying in the face of conventional wisdom or standing by myself. Many other feel the same way I do. It’s true about the offensive system basically being created by Turner when he was there years ago. Yes, it was handed down to Cam Cameron. But there’s a lot more to it than that.   First of all,
Cam and Marty tweaked the system. Anybody who doesn’t think that is a fool – I have no problem saying that. They tweaked the plays, they tweaked the terminology and they tweaked everything. A huge thing? Probably not. But how many plays last year and the year before were from
Cam and Marty’s mind, not Turner’s? How many plays that worked or didn’t work for Norv did the opposite for
Cam and Marty? It happened, folks. And anybody who thinks that Turner won’t go in there and either tweak or completely realign the system to fit his needs is, again, fooling themselves. It’s been six seasons since his system was put in place there, and even if it were remotely the same, you can’t expect him to have keep it the same from his end. Think his offenses in Miami, Oakland and
San Francisco were exactly the same? Come on, that’s ridiculous. The offense will change, case closed. 

 Another point is that play calling can be a huge part of the team’s fortunes over a season.
Cam and Marty worked on that together, I can assure you, and both are gone. Nobody in the league will tell you differently when I say that whoever is calling the plays in San Diego come this fall, Turner or Shelmon, they will not call things the same way the previous regime did. If
San Diego wanted to keep things going the way they were, they would have kept Martyball. He was fired because they wanted a different playing style, folks. Turner is not Schottenheimer. Shelmon is not Cameron.  As for the defense, much of the same can be said. Cottrell runs his own system and will change or tweak things. I know his record, and all of his defenses have been top notch. He has the players and the ability, but how will it come together? He was out of coaching in 2006, will that matter? Will he get plays in that make a difference? Will he use the players they should be used? All of these answers may be positive, but we don’t know because we have nothing to go on. That’s what happens when staffs adjust. And that leads to the last point. 

 How will players and the rest of the staff react to new leaders? Turner may rub somebody the wrong way. Shelmon may get under somebody else’s skin. Cotrell may ask too much of a player. How will the locker room react when these little items occur? Like it or not, Turner, Shelmon and Cotrell all have different personalities than those before them. I mean, they may get on each others nerves, let alone the team. The ability for the team to smoothly operate has been altered, and we can’t yet say that it will run in the same way. Even if they had all worked together before, there’s nothing to say that the juxtaposition of their roles will allow them to work that way again.   People need to realize that this isn’t a tiny adjustment to the team. This is a major tear in the fabric of what the team was. Thought processes, philosophies and egos have changed. It’s very possible that the fortunes of the team may change as well. And before you go tearing into that comment, realize that it may change for the better… 

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Can Oakland Be Competitive This Season?

 Here’s a loaded question: Now that they’ve gotten their quarterback of the future, can the Raiders be competitive this season? Even if you’re a Raiders fan, you have to wonder if the answer can be yes. After all, here’s a team that went 2-14 last year, 1-11 in the conference. Their anemic offense scored a league low 168 points – barely 10 per game. They have a rookie coach, 32-years young. Might as well chalk the season up to rebuilding, right? Not so fast. 

 If you take a close look at the Raiders, you will see that they really aren’t that far away from being competitive (remember, competitive and a winning team are two different things). Centered around this argument is their defense. Ranked number 2 in the league last year, there’s really not a lot of reason to think they couldn’t do it again. The key cogs to last year’s success return, and depth has been added via free agency and the draft. Threats abound in the secondary, and line is solid. The linebacking corps is made up of unheralded players, but they get the job done. This isn’t to say that
Oakland will win or even make the Super Bowl this year, but seven of the last ten winners were built around defense.  

 As for the offense, this is probably where their season hangs. This unit cannot score 168 points again. In fact, they won’t get it done if they score anything under 300 points, and I’d say their magic number is 19 a game. That’s not a difficult number to achieve. Dominic Rhodes was signed to inject the team with enthusiasm as much as to help LaMont
Jordan carry the ball. Randy Moss was traded to clear up locker room issues, and that means everyone will benefit. The quarterback can now rely on their receivers to actually run for the ball, and there should be a clear number one receiver. Joey Porter is happy and Ron Curry should step into the #2 position. Behind him there is Doug Gabriel and Mike Williams, who they received in a trade with
Detroit. Aside from the aforementioned
Rhodes, Justin Griffith comes in to help pave the way, and Michael Bush was drafted for depth. The Tight End position needed some major help, so
Oakland picked up Zach Miller in the second round. Considered by some to be a better pick than Greg Olsen, Miller provides better blocking and better hands while still posing a reasonable deep threat.  

 But now we come to the real issues behind the inability to produce much last season: Quarterback and offensive line. Don’t expect JaMarcus Russell to start anytime soon this season. Josh McCown will be the starter opening day, and should carry that moniker for the brunt of the season. MCCown is a career 58% completion signal caller with a 72.1 rating. He has 25 touchdowns compared to 29 interceptions. Those numbers aren’t really that bad considering the teams he played on. He’ll arguably have a much better supporting cast in Oakland than he ever did in Arizona and
Detroit. He has starting experience and showed leadership ability when in that role. His only problems are going to come from the people directly in front of him, because the line was pathetic last year.

Robert
Gallery might be move from left tackle to guard to help with that issue. Efforts were made through free agency and the draft to shore up the area, but Jeremy Newberry and Mario Williams may not be much of an upgrade. Even with all the talent surrounding them, if the offensive line and quarterback can’t get it done, all the talent in the world won’t help. 

 This is especially true when playing in the AFC West. With six total games against Denver, San Diego and
Kansas City, you can’t expect a lot from the Raiders as far as the win column goes. Other games are easier, with Detroit, Cleveland and
Houston at home. Away games include Tennessee, Minnesota and
Green Bay. However, their schedule also includes Indy, Chicago, Jacksonville and
Miami. Can this team gat in a winning season with this schedule? Probably not. But a 6-10 season isn’t out of the question. And for the Raiders, a four game improvement from last year has to be considered a victory.  

 They have the talent to do it, and they can easily be competitive against a good portion of their opponents (even Jacksonville,
Miami and KC). If they respond to the prodding of their young coach and the offense can get a few points, they should be able to keep games interesting.  

10 Rookies That Could Make An Impact

Admit it folks, we all love speculation. If we didn’t, you wouldn’t be reading this right now. Sure, you may be telling yourself that you’re here only out of curiosity, but that curiosity is piqued because of the conjecture. Who’s team looks strongest? Who’s going to the Super Bowl? How will Player A do this season? We all do it. That being said, here are some opinions on another question we all tend to ask ourselves: Which rookies will have the greatest impact on their teams this year? The list isn’t in any particular order, so don’t blast us on where the players sit.

Ted Ginn, Jr. – Despite the naysayers, Ginn does have a lot of potential for the Dolphins. Was he picked too high? Probably, but that all depends on your point of view towards what draft value really means. For
Miami, it meant getting a receiver with good hands, speed to stretch the field, separation ability, return skills and good upside. Ginn should at least step directly into the third receiver slot and give whoever it is that will be the Dolphins’ starting quarterback a nice target. Add a speedy Chris Chambers to the mix along with Marty Booker, and you have a dangerous receiving corps. Ginn may be most beneficial in the return game, though – especially because Welker is gone. Unlike Welker, Ginn is a threat to take it to the endzone every time he touches the ball.

Patrick Willis – There’s not much doubt that Willis will quickly be moved into the starting middle linebacker position for
San Francisco. Whether the 3-4 or 4-3 is being run, he should make an impact very quickly. His size, speed and skills will play a big part in the entire defensive scheme. And, with a weak defensive line in front of him, he should have plenty of opportunities to make big plays.

Reggie Nelson – If you got to catch any
Florida games last year, one thing that should have stood out was the play of Mr. Nelson. He was everywhere. The kid has sick skills and awareness, always seems to be in the right position and hits like a freight train. He might not be as fast as LaRon Landry, but he’s still pretty quick. Team him with Donavan Darius and you have a dangerous safety combination. He gets the nod here instead of Landry because
Jacksonville has a much better defense. His presence will help the secondary immensely and cause quarterbacks and receivers to think twice about bringing the ball his way.

Paul Posluszny – Posluszny will fill a serious gap right away for the
Buffalo defense. There’s not a whole lot of talent left on that side of the ball for the Bills – and, come to think of it, there’s not much on the other side, as well. But, Posluszny should have ample opportunity to use his amazing instincts for the good of the team. Even better for Buffalo is that Posluszny can play outside or inside, making it easy for the team to put them in the best position they feel his skill set excels in. Expect a lot of tackles from him this year.

Chris Henry –
Tennessee is obviously not happy with LenDale White right now, and his enormous weight gain over the off-season has caused a lot of concern. Regardless, Henry is impressing all the coaches and staff with his demeanor and skills. A shifty, fast back, he should see a lot of playing time this season – either to spell White or to handle the starting duties.

Sabby Piscitelli – This isn’t to say that the Bucs’ Gaines Adams won’t have an impact on the defensive side of the ball. It’s just to say that Sabby should have an even greater impact. There has been constant speculation (and from very credible sources) that the Bucs will experiment with moving Will Allen back to strong safety – his original position – and insert Piscitelli into the free safety void. If you’ve watched Piscitelli play, you’d understand why. Although not incredible fast, he plays all out, is smart, uses his body well and is rarely out of position. Oh, and he punishes anybody that comes his way.

Leon Hall –
Cincinnati has needed a quality corner for some time now. Hall fits the bill. With great speed and skills, he could prove to be a difference maker for the defense this season. He will have to handle being picked on early in the year by opposing quarterbacks, but he should be able to shrug off the extra attention and turn some big plays. Remember, it was Cincy’s propensity for getting beat deep that eventually doomed them last year. Hall could change that.

Calvin Johnson – Say what you want, but Johnson really could help out the Lions like no other rookie receiver. It’s hard to ignore that Roy Williams and Mike Furrey did as good a job as they could last year on their own, but Johnson could open up the passing attack even more. Expect him to line up as the number two receiver, shifting Furrey to number three (how often does the league’s second leading receiver get demoted?). This will let Martz to just about whatever he wants in the passing with three credible threats and a physical freak to worry about. Even if Johnson doesn’t have a huge numbers, pay attention to the numbers of those around him, who may benefit more from Johnson than he himself.

Anthony Gonzalez – Indy needed to fill Brandon Stokely’s void, and they came through with Gonzalez. The guy is smart, quick, has excellent hands and will do whatever you ask of him. He most likely won’t have the stats this year, but his influence on the passing game will assist Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne immensely.

Alan Branch – Branch could very quickly find himself supplanting Kendrick Clancy as
Arizona’s starting defensive tackle. Yes, people saying that Branch lacks durability and work ethic, but there’s no desiring the guy’s ability to play and his physical ability to play well at the NFL level. If he truly is an upgrade to Clancy, you could see one of the best interiors in the game with Darnell Dockett lined up beside him.

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