Alex Smith and Carson Palmer and How They Will Impact Their New Teams

This offseason we saw two struggling franchises land quality veteran quarterbacks, Alex Smith was traded from the Raiders to the Cardinals and Alex Smith went from the 49ers to the Chiefs.  They both improve their new teams QB situations, and last year both the Cardinals and 49ers had pathetic QB play.

Alex Smith makes the Chiefs a playoff team (of course Andy Reid now being the coach helps as well), he brings leadership, has dealt with much adversity and most importantly is a smart decision maker which is something that Matt Cassell and Brad Quinn lacked last season.  Alex also has playoff experience making his pairing with Andy Reid that much easier, Smith is the perfect fit for this team, they have a strong run game, and that is what Smith needs.  The 2011 and 2012 seasons were Smith’s best in the NFL, in a total of 26 regular season games his passing numbers are: 30 touchdowns to 10 interceptions and 4,881 yards. 

Last season the Chiefs ranked dead last in the NFL in passing yards with 2,713 yards and had 8 touchdowns to 20 interceptions, clearly Smith makes this team better and those numbers WILL improve for the Chiefs this season.  I think Alex Smith will lead this team to the playoffs and maybe a AFC West crown because the Broncos team keeps having its injuries piling up.

Carson Palmer adds stability to the Cardinals quarterback situation which was despicable last year, they had four starting QBs and they totaled for the following statistics: 11 touchdowns, 21 interceptions and 3,005 passing yards.  With four quarterbacks starting that only makes these numbers worse, I remember 

watching their games and just was in awe of how pathetic their QB play was.  Carson Palmer had 4,018 passing yards which ranked 10^th in the NFL and had 22 touchdowns to 14 interceptions as well, these numbers are much better than those of the Cardinals last season, and he did it without a true number one receiver.

He now has Larry Fitzgerald catching his passes and also a stout defense to help him out as well, this is the kind of team Palmer fits on perfectly.  He had his best years when Chad Johnson was a top receiver when they were both in Cincinnati so I can only imagine what he and Fitzgerald can do together.  This team will probably be 7-9 or 8-8 because of how difficult the division is and also because the Cardinals still need to figure out a solid run game to help make the team better (they ranked last in the 2012 season in running). 

I think both of these QBs will have a tremendous impact on their respective teams 

My Thoughts on Rex Ryan's Comments on Geno Smith's "Brutal Practice"

Sitting here this morning watching First Take on ESPN2 I watched and listened to Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless make remarks on Rex Ryan’s Geno Smith and his “brutal” play in practice yesterday.  Both Smith and Bayless said that Rex was out of bounds with his remarks, and I agree with everything they said.  Here are my thoughts on the situation…

Rex Ryan has no reason to say what he did about Geno Smith whatsoever, it was a practice and it was AFTER Geno hurt his ankle in the preseason game. Sorry Rex there is no excuse for that at all, and he needs to not be so public with these words or at least tone it down.  Geno Smith is a rookie on a team that has had offensive issues, turnovers are inevitable and he was very good about protecting the ball up until yesterday, which to me sounds like the ankle has a lot to do with it.  Geno wanted to practice, that to me speaks more volume than the turnovers do, I think Geno should be commended on his heart for wanting to go out and prove himself rather than sit.

Perhaps what bothers me more than that is that we never saw Rex talk about Sanchez this way at all, not even last year when Mark was benched due to his less than stellar play, instead Rex has been overprotective of him.  It is rather hypocritical that Rex would publicly go off on Geno but keep quiet on Sanchez, I think it partially has to do with the fact that Rex Ryan had the Jets trade up in 2009 to the 5^th overall pick to draft Sanchez.  I cannot blame him for wanting to protect himself from that pick (which was way too high for Sanchez), but to act the way he does protecting Sanchez and then making the harsh comments on Geno is not the way a coach should act.  If Rex is trying to toughen Geno up which is what Bayless had mentioned could be a possibility, but again where were these words from the first day Sanchez walked in the door?

Sanchez has never had much competition until this season, meaning Rex should have been harder, and let’s be honest the likes of Kellen Clemens, Mark Brunell and Tim Tebow (however he is a great football player, just not at quarterback) are not in any way competition .  Now that he does have to truly worry about another QB on the roster Rex is back to the rescue yet again, this is just a summary of how the Ryan/Sanchez duo has worked over the last four seasons and now entering their fifth season together. 

In the end what was said cannot be changed or brought back, but Rex needs to treat both quarterbacks the same way to make this competition fair, you cannot go after one quarterback and not after the other.  If Rex 

Ryan should be speaking up the way he did yesterday it should have been on Sanchez’s pick six on the first drive of the Jets preseason game, and yes Sanchez bounced back and tossed a touchdown.  That does not change anything, Sanchez is so up and down that what happened in that game did not surprise me, but this kind of one-sided mindset needs to go, and Rex really might have shot himself in the foot on this one. 

He is coaching to keep his job, I am not a coach nor have I been one but common sense tells you that this is not going to help keep your job, it is as simple as that. 

My Top 3 Quarterback Battles this Season

These are the three Quarterback Battles that I think are the most interesting this season…

The Eagles have not been what everyone thought they would be the past two seasons, their record is 12-20 in that time frame (8-8 in the 2011 season and 4-12 in the 2012 season).  Michael Vick has not had a complete season as a starter as an Eagle due to injury, but this year has to change that he is fighting for his starting job and probably his NFL future.  I say that because if he does not make it on the Eagles he may not get a chance to start anywhere else, hard to say that but it is a realistic possibility.  Vick has looked strong in training camp as well as the first preseason game, he is the perfect QB for Chip Kelly’s fast paced offense.  He must keep up the good work otherwise Foles will get that starting spot, and that would probably mean the end of Vick in Philly.

The Bills situation is interesting because they signed often-injured Kevin Kolb to seemingly be the starter for the team but then they went and drafted EJ Manuel in the first round making him the first QB to be taken in the 2013 NFL draft.  Both QBs have a lot to offer this team, their playing styles are different but both can be successful for this team….

Kevin Kolb- Can get the ball out quick, giving the team some play making opportunities with the speed of both CJ Spiller and Stevie Johnson, they can run screen passes and crossing patterns to use the most of this skill set.

EJ Manuel- First round quarterback, he is a gifted QB, he can run, but that is not what he wants to do at the snap of the ball.  I think that the Bills can utilize this in play action situations and also run the ball very well in a pistol or shotgun spread/read option plays, Manuel can run as stated and has Spiller and Fred Jackson as his running backs.

I think Manuel gets this starting job because of his tremendous upside and also Kolb’s injury issues and also to help create a strong running game to control the clock in order to play keep away from the Patriots high flying offense and Miami’s new look offense.

The Jets have a situation that absolutely has to be solved before the start of the 2013 NFL season, and that is no joke.  The Jets have been 14-18 the past two seasons following back to back AFC Title Game appearances (8-8 2011 season and 6-10 2012 season), this is not what Rex Ryan nor the Jets organization were expecting following the 2009 and 2010 seasons.  Sanchez has had a league worst 52 turnovers over the last two seasons (26 turnovers each season) and is fighting to not just keep his job but also to be the starter in New York.  I think Geno Smith is the perfect talent to push him, he was a second round pick in this year’s draft and this was done by the new General Manager meaning that Sanchez’s time could be coming to an end very shortly.  In most case when GMs are fired and the organization is being changed the incumbent QB (if they are struggling) are going as well, and statistics show that Sanchez is struggling and regressing.

Here is what both QBs have to offer:

Mark Sanchez- Experience, he is now entering his fifth NFL season all with the Jets, and he has taken this team to the playoffs before.  Being a veteran he would probably have a better grip on what to expect in games as well.

Geno Smith- Strong arm and mobile, he is young and apart from the other day in practice he has reportedly looked sharp in camp.  His mobility could be a big help in the run game which is something that Rex Ryan loves to do, ground and pound.  

Is Donovan McNabb Hall of Fame Worthy?

When I heard the news of Donovan McNabb’s retirement I knew discussion over whether or not he is a hall of fame player, and I have been thinking of if he is or is not a hall of fame player, and now that I have put thought into it I have to say no he is not.  While I understand that he led the Eagles to 5 NFC Title games and a Super Bowl appearance and that his career numbers are great as well I cannot see him being in the hall of fame.  McNabb holds a 1-4 record in the NFC title game and he fell short against the Patriots in the Eagles loss in the Super Bowl, which included 3 interceptions and reports that he threw up towards the end of the game. 

McNabb had the talent to win super bowls including an elite defense, Brian Westbrook and for a little while Terrell Owens.  People like to think Owens ran himself out of town, and yes in a few ways he did, but McNabb liked him but claimed he does not get involved in other players situations but yet had sideline arguments with him.  Not once did I hear McNabb say he wanted to help Owens out but yet the one full season Owens was there was the only Super Bowl appearance for McNabb during his tenure with the Eagles.  Sure Owens is a loud mouth and a headache but McNabb should have done more to help keep him around, in my eyes McNabb was sensitive and also a weak leader at times because he would rather be what I call a “company man”.

After Owens departure the Eagles only made the NFC title game one more time and that was in the 2008 season, that is four seasons following the Super Bowl run, but again McNabb fell short as he always has in big spots in big games in the post season.  Then you look at his last playoff appearance with the Eagles, which was a loss to division rival Dallas led by quarterback Tony Romo (Romo’s only playoff win).  That was also McNabb’s last game in a Eagles jersey before he was sent off to the Redskins where he played horribly and was benched for Rex Grossman after he had a rough start and his final stats were 14 touchdowns to 15 interceptions.  To make matters worse for Donovan the Redskins tried out Jamarcus Russell that season after he was cut by the Oakland Raiders, I can’t think of how that could be any lower for McNabb that season.

His final season in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings was less than stellar as well, he played in 6 games only having 4 passing touchdowns and his velocity and accuracy seemed to be way down from his previous years.  He was then benched for rookie Christian Ponder, yet another blow on then dwindling career.  When you consider how his days in Philadelphia ended, how his career ended and how he could have done more to keep T.O. around to get more pieces to help win a title but did not it is hard to fathom him being a hall of famer.  If he does make it in it probably won’t be until 5 years of eligibility, but as Skip Bayless would say McNabb belongs in the “Hall of Very Good” and I think that is the best way to put it. 

A-Rod Suspension is not Only Deserving but a Must

Alex Rodriguez deserves a suspension for the remainder of this season and all of next season, there is no reason why he should not be suspended.  He has been lying to not only major league baseball but also the Yankees as well about being clean since he left the Rangers, some may think he is innocent but he has admitted to PED usage before and is on the Biogenesis list as well.  According to an article byTanya Bondurant on www.pinstripebible.com A-Rod has been tied to PEDs every year since 2009, the same season he admitted to using while he was on the Rangers.  So he has been lying now for 5 seasons, to me that is more deserving of a life time ban from the game but according to the news on his situation it does seem that he will be out of baseball until the close of this season and the entirety of the 2014 season totaling 214 games. That could end his career, I think it will be hard for him to come back because he will miss a large amount of games and if he continues to use he won’t be back and if he does not use he will not be the player he has been of late. 

The MLB is more than justified to suspend him because his lies and PED usage has harmed the image of Major League Baseball, and this will also hopefully end an era of tainted baseball.  Rodriguez has many opportunities to be honest about his use and now he is caught in a major lie, I don’t feel bad for him and really nobody should.  I also think that in the past baseball turned a blind eye to use of PEDs, this is probably an image thing for the game which is most likely why A-Rod will not be handed down a life-time ban.  Either way people look at the situation the suspension will be more than deserved.