GOING 10 Yards: 10 Random Thoughts from Week 8

By Jeremy Schloss

Follow Him on Twitter

1. Bravo Stephen Tulloch. Tebowing after sacking the man himself was hilarious. It’s amazing how quickly this phenomenon has taken off. Never understood the planking thing so this is a welcome change. BTW, If Tim Tebow does it, is it considering Tebowing? Isn’t it just kneeling for him? Anyway, I’d like to see him embrace it and actually upload a photo of himself doing it on the website. I would dislike him a tad less if he did that… ____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. In the Steelers/Pats game this week, Lamar Woodley received a lot of screen time. Anyone else notice the size of his arms? I never really paid much attention but the guy is an absolute beast. He is like one of those 19 year old NBA draft prospects that Jay Bilas loves because of his insane “wingspan”. Except Woodley also happens to have tree trunks where his arms should be. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

3. And then there were two. Rams unofficially out of the Andrew Luck sweep steaks. (Rest a littler easier Sam Bradford). Thanks mainly in part to a huge let down by the Saints. Take away that last meaningless drive by Brees and he was horrible against the worst defense in the league for 3 and a half quarters. How is that, the Saints encore performance after dismantling the Colts a week earlier? The game did serve as a nice reminder to football fans that Steven Jackson is a still one of the better running backs in the game. I feel like he gets lost in the shuffle playing in St. Louis sometimes…I still recall the 2004 draft where the Cowboys desperately needed a running back and Jackson was falling to them. But instead of drafting him they traded their pick to Buffalo who selected J.P. Losman (great job as usual Bills). Two picks later the Rams snatched up the ultra productive Jackson. I remember screaming at the TV a few times after that. Dallas ended up selecting (and settling in my opinion) with Julius Jones in the 2nd round. He was good for like 5 minutes. Reason #435 it’s awesome being a Cowboys fan since the big 3 left. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

4. You know what I always found humorous, when an offensive lineman moves and the entire defensive line just starts yelling and pointing at him. It’s like a grown up version of taddle tale. If I was a D-lineman, I would do that on every play. Would have to work some of the time wouldn’t it? Even if it didn’t, the offensive lineman would certainly be distracted and unhinged by it. What’s stopping a team like the Colts from trying this at some point??

____________________________________________________________________________________________

5. And the tough season for Phil Rivers continues… Monday night’s fumble hopefully serves as his low point for Chargers fans. Ironically his worst season comes during Eli’s best season. I still think SD fans would take Rivers and his bad ass tude’ over wimpy Eli if they had to do the trade over, but the gap is closing by the week here. Chargers go on so many late seasons runs; it seems we all just collectively expect things to get better. One of these years that has to change doesn’t it? Why can’t the warm weather Chargers play better in the higher temperatures anyway? They are the opposite of every other warm weather city team. Maybe they should move the team to Alaska…

____________________________________________________________________________________________

6. I’m totally guessing here, but I imagine the Redskins will be in the market for a quarterback come draft time. Getting shutout to a porous Buffalo defense is horrendous. John Beck doesn’t seem to be the answer anymore than Rex Grossman was. I’d say the legacy of Mike Shannahan is taking a bit of a hit here. One has to wonder if Jon Elway was his ticket to success and really hid his coaching deficiencies all of these years. And what happened to Shanny turning every running back into a pro bowler? Last I checked, Tim Hightower, Ryan Torain, and Roy Helu aren’t putting to much fear in opposing defenses. Maybe the newly signed Tashard Choice can bring back the Shanny RB magic. Would be a nice kick in the nuts for Dallas fans. (If our nuts aren’t sore enough from Sunday’s debacle, speaking of that…)

____________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Why on earth did the Eagles finally resemble the “Dream Team” on Sunday night football against the Cowboys? First off, can we officially remove that label? Its belongs to Jordan, Barkley, Robinson, and company. Copy-catting nicknames is pretty lame. That’s why I no longer refer to myself as “The Great One’ after realizing Gretsky had that moniker first. As for the game itself, I got to enjoy about 2 minutes worth of it. Dallas seems to do this every season for their “biggest game” of the year so it was nothing new. By the 2nd quarter, after I had reluctantly changed out of my Michael Irvin jersey and into my Dallas Super Bowl t-shirt, I was already numb to it. A favorable schedule the rest of the way keeps me sucked into the season, but a loss to Seattle might finally put the nail in the Cowboy coffin. Side note on the game, anyone else get sick of the announcers talking about the #1 run offense going against the #1 run defense. They said it about as many times as Cowboys 3 and outs. We got it; the Eagles can run the ball and the Cowboys “used” to be able to stop the run. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

8. I’d like to officially welcome to the Shaun Alexander club Mr. Chris Johnson. If you couldn’t break out against the Colts run defense, not sure where it’s coming otherwise. 14 carries and a 2.4 ypa. Back-up Javon Ringer had the same amount of carries and almost doubled him in yards per, so you can’t blame the line anymore. Hopefully this will be the guy that changes how teams think when their starting RB holds out. Four large running back contracts were handed out starting with the end of last season. Jamal Charles – out for the year, D-Angelo Williams – taking back seat to a better Jonathan Stewart, Chris Johnson – I just suck now, and AP. A once in a generation runner like Peterson and I get it. He has rewarded the Vikings with being the NFL’s leading rusher this season. Everyone else? Teams are probably wishing they had the amnesty clause the NBA is discussing to rid their rosters of them. Owners will have to hike ticket prices to re-coup their losses. Thanks Chris Johnson.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Survivor Pick of the week: Chiefs over Fins in KC. Chiefs have won 4 in a row and the Dolphins are tanking the season away. They stayed with the G-men for a while but totally threw the game away in the 4th for the second straight week. KC has slowly emerged as a playoff contender despite the injuries to probably their two most dynamic players, Jamal Charles and Eric “Crunch” Berry. Coach Todd Haley has done a great job this season and needs to keep them focused as their 2nd half schedule gets a lot tougher. With the TE masquerading as a QB Tim Tebow coming into town 2 weeks from now, they can be looking at 6 straight wins and the playoffs in their sights.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Not sure I understand why the Raiders felt they had to sign TJ Houshmandzadeh this week. I’m sure he will come in and be great to make me eat my words, but if the guy had something left in the tank, why couldn’t he get a job this season until now? Pretty sure a team like the Rams could have used a legit threat before Brandon Lloyd got there. Oakland gave up the farm for Palmer, but seems they still think they owe him by bringing in his former favorite target. I can only see this hurting the development of the young receiving core of Heyward-Bey, Jacoby Ford, and Denarius Moore. Not sure why the Raiders think they can win this season with players that haven’t been great since 2007. Maybe Fred Taylor can come in and run the ball while McFadden heals? Alge Crumpler around to catch red zone passes?____________________________________________________________________________________________

The Extra Point: Why do I, along with everyone else, always wait till the last minute to get a Halloween costume? I promise myself every year I won’t and end up doing it anyway. Have you ever been to a costume store the week before? It’s Thunderdome. Even now, I totally know what I want to be next year but I’m sure I will wait till right before to start gathering the pieces. I’m clueless how to fix this problem. Any ideas please send my way…

Cash Rules Everything Around Chris

By Gayle Saunders
Follow Him on Twitter

NFL.com is reporting that Titans star back Chris Johnson is looking for another payday in 2011.

Can you blame him? If I was the ultra fast, ultra shifty, all world back named Chris Johnson, I would want one too. After all, what have we learned from this NFL off season folks? To quote the rap group Wutang Cash Rules Everything Around Me Every NFL player who has any business sense, now knows that this a business first, game second or is that the other way around. As a fan, we get that confused from time to time.

The Titans gave Johnson a bump in salary from $500,000 to $1.5 million, which the Titans knew would hold for a short period of time. When Johnson knows his payday in 2011 will only be $800,000 and guys like Adrian Petersen will make $7,720,000 it could be hard to sleep at night. Johnson averages more yards per carry, more yards per game, and already has more receptions for his career than Peterson, and has lost 8 less fumbles than Peterson.

Chris Johnson stats:3yrs, 925 car. for 4,598 yds, 34 TD’s, 5 ypc, 97.8 ypg, 6 fumbles lost, 137 rec. for 1008 yds. 4 TD’s.

Adrian Peterson stats:4yrs, 1198 car., 5,782 yds, 52 TD’s, 4.8 ypc, 94.8 ypg, 14 fumbles lost, 119 rec. for 1170, 2 TD’s.

If you needed another argument for a pay raise for Chris Johnson…even kicker Rob Bironas is slated to make 3 million in 2011.

The Titans know in 2011 they could be handing over the offense to rookie Jake Locker (Bringing Kerry Collins is imperative) The only way their offense finds stability is on the legs of Chris Johnson. Chris knows this, his agent knows this, the fans know this. With Vince Young out the door and drama with WR Kenny Britt brewing, Johnson could possibly be the only hero to save the day. The Titans cannot, and I repeat, cannot afford a hold out from CJ.

Where does this leave the Titans? A rock and a hard place. Look for the Titans to put together a two to three-year deal, with big time guaranteed money on the front end of the deal. There is no question in my mind that Chris Johnson is worth it, its time to pay the piper Titans. Dollar Dollar Bill ya’ll!

Chris Johnson owns the Jacksonville Jaguars

Chris Johnson 91-yard TD Run vs Texans

BREAKDOWN – AFC South

By Steve O’Reilly

For many years now the South has been under the rule of King Peyton Manning, he and his men have taken control of the Division in 2003 – 2007, the Titans took it in 2008, than the Colts again in 2009. That’s quite a while, but when you have great Wide Receivers, a great O-Line and a future Hall of Fame QB then you would expect nothing else. For the other teams, it’s really been a matter of how to knock them off their perch. The Texans have tried to build a team that can compete with them on an offensive level while the Titans are almost the exact opposite. Tennessee likes to control the game on the ground and play smart, ball control style offense that hopefully will keep Peyton on the sidelines. Jacksonville has tried to do with Defense and a solid running game as well. The problem is, no one has been able to do it yet, save the 08 Titans that went 13-3 and one game better than the Colts. So what does 2010 have in store for this Division? Standard operation perhaps but maybe not….let’s Breakdown the South!! Read more

HIT OF THE DAY: Chris Johnson vs Darren Sproles

Chargers QB Phil Rivers serves up his running back Darren Sproles on a platter for Oakland Raiders Safety Chris Johnson. I hope Rivers bought Sproles a rolex for this one!

Raiders Chris Johnson Destroys Darren Sproles

By Gayle Saunders
Follow Him on Twitter

Chargers QB Phil Rivers serves up his running back Darren Sproles on a platter for Oakland Raiders Safety Chris Johnson. I hope Rivers bought Sproles a rolex for this one!

When you have only so much time – Money Matters!

This article was written by Steven O’Reilly in coordination with Barry Bach, who contributed with the Players information and synopsis!

The average NFL career is 3.5 years according to the NFL Players Association. An interesting fact that we must consider when talking about players financial matters. Follow me for a minute as we look at things a little differently. Imagine for a moment that you have an opportunity, a window as it were to get into a Buffet full of wonderful food, top shelf entrees. To be sure, your entire life you’ve been starving. The work, effort and talent needed to get into this room is mind bogglingly difficult and the odds are that you have never personally known anyone that was ever in this buffet. While in the buffet there are obstacles that can be life altering. Things that can happen at any moment that can change your entire well being, so while there are lavish riches there are also terrible consequences that can be tragic and even paralyzing. The point here is, when you have the opportunity to get into this buffet you eat as much as you can, when you’re in this room of riches you capitalize as much and as quickly as possible! Why? Because tomorrow is never promised and in the NFL you are, as they say, “one play away”. Read more

2009 I’m a Beast – Chris Johnson

A man that carried the ball and his team, should have been the MVP but will have to settle for the record books and being the 2009 I’m a Beast winner! Chris Johnson has speed, burst and agility that now puts him on the elite level. It’s arguable who is better, Adrian Peterson or Chris Johnson but for our money we are taking CJ. He is a game changer who can take it to the house from anywhere on the field. He played for most of the year on a team that wasn’t a real passing threat until Vince Young came in later on and starting making things happen. That means for the most part he faced a Defense that was geared up to stopping him and they still couldn’t do it. Read more

The Next Generation of Superstars!

In this segment we will take a look at who we think will be the next superstar at each offensive skill position. The criteria is simple, the player has to be in the league for 2 years or less. As we know, learning to play the NFL game is difficult. Athletes who were able to do things in college are not able to do those same things in the pros. They have to master the little things, use proper technique, hard work and decipline to become a Superstar. Looking for all those qualities plus talent is a chore but here is what we came up with.

OFFENSE

QB – Matt Ryan – The Boston College QB came into the league like a house of fire. He was taken by the Atlanta Falcons 3rd overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. After a Rookie season that saw the Falcons go 11-5 that earned them a Wildcard birth, Matt Ryan seems poised to take the next level. He has the tools…accurate, strong arm, mobile, etc. The one thing that sticks out to me with Matt is his intellegence. On the famous “Wonderlic” exam, Matt scored a whopping 32 which tied Brian Brohm for the highest score for a QB that year. The one thing that impresses me the most when I watch Ryan is his presence. He knows what is going on. He is a master of film study, he understands defenses and what they are trying to do and he knows more importantly not to force the issue. Numerous times when Ryan has no play, instead of forcing a throw he simply throws it out of bounds. That avoids a sack, a turnover or possibly points for the other team. Paired with a young Roddy White and Michael Turner the Falcons have a nice nucleus to build off of and Matt Ryan is headed in the right the direction.
HONORABLE MENTIONS – Matt Stafford, Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez

RB – Chris Johnson – It’s easy to say that Chris Johnson is having his breakout season this year, in his 2nd year in the NFL. The young man out of East Carolina is straight up a baller. His 4.2 speed makes him a weapon to take it to the house on every play. He is a dual threat in the passing game as well having already had game with over 100 yards on the ground and over 100 yards in the air. Anytime that you can get a guy that you have to focus on corralling due to his speed that opens the door for other things to happen. The LB’s and Safeties will bite on Playaction everytime with Johnson in the backfield. In his rookie campaign in 2008, Johnson made the Pro Bowl after rushing for 1228 Yards in 15 games. So far in 2009, Chris has 1091 yards in only 9 games. With the type of speed and ability this young man has, a 2000 yard season is definitely not out of the question and it may come as soon as this year! The Titans are a good fit for Johnson as they like to run the football. Paired up with Lendale White, the Titans have a nice 1-2 punch with Johnson being the homerun threat. His future is probably the brightest out of everyone we mention today…he is that good!
HONORABLE MENTION – Knowshon Moreno,Ray Rice, LeSean McCoy,

WR – Percy Harvin – There is something about this young man that is special. He plays the game of football very hard. He is tough to bring down, he finishes out every play, he runs great routes and oh yeah…he can fly! Harvin was one of the most dangerous WR’s in college last year playing for the National Champion Florida Gators. Many people in the scouting industry were not 100% sold that Harvin would translate as a pure Wide Out in the NFL. Back in his collegiate days, he was lined up all over the place. He was a Running Back, a Wide Out and even a QB in the Wildcat. The one thing that everyone could agree on is that Harvin is dangerous with the ball in his hands. So far in his rookie campaign, Harvin has showed that he is very capable to play Receiver in the NFL. He has electric ability on Kick and Punt Returns and is 2nd in the NFL in All Purpose yards with 1357. He has 2 return TD’s but here is the stat that is the most eye popping – 19.7 yards per touch! Ranked number 1 in the NFL! That is Superstar material and if Harvin keeps workin hard and learning the nuances of the NFL, he will be the next big thing at WR!  HONORABLE MENTION – Desean Jackson, Eddie Royal, Michael Crabtree, Kenny Britt

TE – John Carlson – The Tight End out of Notre Dame has been catching our attention. He has the tools to be an impact player at the TE position. Carlson has caught 34 balls for 403 yards and 3 TD’s this year with the Hawks but it’s all the little things that he does well that have him poised for greatness.  He looks like a hybrid Wide Receiver, at 6-5 he offers a big target. He isn’t blazing fast, he ran a 4.85 at the combine nor is overly ellusive. He does however play smart football and he knows how to find the open spot in the zone and “sit down” in it and give the QB a big target to throw to. The Seahawks consistantly face bad weather and in those games a big Tight End offers a great weapon in the short passing game. He hasn’t scratched the surface yet as a big play TE like Vernon Davis or Antonio Gates have proven to be but his reliability should make him one of the best Tight Ends in the business as the years unwind.
HONORABLE MENTION – Brandon Pettigrew, Dustin Keller, Martellus Bennett,

Left Tackle – Ryan Clady – There are only a few Left Tackles with the skills that Ryan Clady has. His feet, his size and his strength set him apart from the rest. Clady went his entire rookie campaign without allowing a full sack. He went the first 4 games without allowing one this year as well and that was an NFL record. Clady has all the skills to be elite if he isn’t already. His quiet and humble demeanor are hardly what you would expect from a man who is 6-6 and 325 pounds. The Left Tackle position is one that is extremely important in the NFL as it protects the blind side of the QB, the Denver Broncos have a staple on their line that should be a rock for many years to come.  Any time a rookie Left Tackle can come into league and allow only .5 sacks in 20 games, he is special!
Honorable Mention – Jake Long, Michael Orr, Jason Smith

These players all have one main thing in common beside natural ability and that is work ethic. I have always maintained that in a pool of talented men it’s the ones who work the hardest that seperate themselves. If you want to be the best, you have to work harder than the rest! Check back with us as we will be doing “The Next Generation of Superstars” for the defensive players!