By Gayle Saunders
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Dwayne Bowe gets his juggle on with this ridiculous catch he made against the Colts! Big props for showing some serious concentration DB!

By Gayle Saunders
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Looks like 1st round stud reciever Jonathan Baldwin will not be ready to take the field when the season begins. After sporting a broken thumb for the last couple of weeks he’s had his right thumb wrapped heavily. At tuesdays practice Baldwin was on the side running routes by himself.

Baldwin will not play in Thursday’s last pre season game against the Super Bowl champion Green Bay packers. When the time comes, Baldwin will be able to work his way back into the lineup as Dwayne Bowe, Jerheme Urban and Steve Breaston, are the top three recievers who can hold down the fort. Look for Baldwin to make his mark by mid season.

By Gayle Saunders
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Looks like the dolphins are looking for veteran depth at the running back position to backup Reggie Bush and rookie Daniel Thomas,as they just added Larry Johnson to the mix for insurance.

The 31-year-old Johnson was drafted by the Chiefs in the first round of the 2003 draft, he had most of his success in Kansas City for seven seasons. His most successful years were in 2005-06 where he had consecutive 1,750-yard seasons and ran for a total of 37 touchdowns.

Dolphins announced their signing via Twitter Tuesday morning. Before bringing Larry Johnson in they worked out University of Miami Alum Clinton Portis, and Ex-Giant Tiki Barber. The Dolphins waived running back Kory Sheets, who did not play all season due to an Achilles tendon injury.

Last season wasn’t quite that impressive for Johnson only gaining 2 yards on five carries in two games he played. The Redskins released him in September. His career totals are solid as he’s rushed for 6,221 yards and 55 TDS. However, over the last three season he’s only played in 16 games.

By Gayle Saunders
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Ed Reeds game is timeless. The man is an absolute beast, and if you needed a little reminder like McCluster did on this play, never test a man in his durty thirties who still has something to prove!

By Steve O’Reilly

In 2003, when the NFL reviewed the way the Patriots mugged the Colts WR’s and others on their way to a SuperBowl ring there was some complaining and something had to be done. Many people within the industry feel that the rules changed in favor of offenses for a few reasons. One was the fore-mentioned Patriot Defense in the Championship game mugging the Colts and the other was the fact that Owners wanted to fill seats and the NFL agreed that nothing boosts your sports industry like scoring! So the league clamped down illegal contact and the “passing attacks” now rule the NFL roost. Just look at some of the recent Champions, you have one thing in common, either a great QB or a great Defense … but nothing about a great Running Back? Have the Brady’s, Rodger’s, Brees’s and Manning’s of the world replaced the Emmitt’s, Peyton’s, Davis’s and Allen’s of the Super Bowl world? Will we never see a great Running back hoisting up the trophy with this pants all dirty and barely hanging on reminiscent of when Otis Anderson hoisted the MVP trophy in Super Bowl XXV. It appears so, now the game is great passers and edge rushers who can bring them down. The key seems to be pairing them up like the Packers have done recently with Clay Matthews and Aaron Rodgers. Which leads me to the premise of this article, did the Packers prove that a great Running Back is not needed? Let’s take a look.

Digging into the records over the last 10 years and it was rather shocking. The percentages of run vs pass weren’t as far off as I’d thought they’d be. Teams still do the same amount of rushing to passing then before the 2004 Rule Change. In 2003, the league high in Rushing Attempts was 509 by Houston, followed by the Bears with 504. In that same year the Chiefs led the league in Pass Attempts with 616 followed by the Chargers with 607. In 2010 and in the supposed “passing league” the Bills led the NFL with 571 Rushing Attempts and the Broncos were second with 531. Let’s keep in mind that perhaps those teams needed to run more because of either bad weather conditions or bad Quarterback play. With 2010 being a possible “exception” year, I went back to 2009 and sure enough the Rushing Attempts were still higher than expected. The Raiders pounded it 548 and the Bills came in 535.

Chris Johnson offers a Homerun threat from anywhere on the field!

What about Passing Attempts? Have they increased or decreased over that same period? Not really any movement either way. In 2003 the Passing Attempt leaders were the New York Giants with 616 followed by the Rams at 600. All in all the numbers are about the same.

A while ago I did an article that showed all the teams that had a 1st Rd running back from 1990 to 2008. Of those teams, over 55% had a Running Back that was selected in the 1st Round. It leads to believe that having a dynamic runner is important to team success. However, the Green Bay Packers might be proving that the NFL is truly changing. All they did was lose their best rusher and then went out and beat the best Defense anyway! Speaking of winning with Defense…

The Steelers have always won with a stingy Defense and great Rushing Attack, but they seem to be an exception and not the rule. What about the New York Giants back in 2007 shutting down a high powered passing offense? Was that a case of Defense wins or a case of the Patriots being one dimensional, with no rushing attack vs a great front 4? Maybe the lack of a Running back in that situation hurt more than people think.

Either way you look at, there are more than one way to skin a cat, but it appears that the preferred method is by airing it out. The future will be interesting, lockout or not. Has the NFL changed for good or can you still win with old fashioned methods?

What’s the Skinny on the current state of the NFL rushing attacks? … still a valuable weapon but teams are proving you can win without one. Factor in the cost and propensity for high injury rates and we may see the last of the 1st Round running backs in the years to come and perhaps the recent draft fall of Mark Ingram is a tell tale sign. Teams now attack with multiple back sets and any way you look at it they love to air it out.

In my personal opinion, you Pass to move the ball but you need to run to win. Down in the Red Zone when windows get awfully tight it sure makes it easier on the Offense when you can hand it off and watch your Back wiggle in for 6!!

By Gayle Saunders
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If the NFL lockout goes longer than expected, the NFL’s second-leading rusher (1,467 yards) Jamaal Charles has new ideas of his own.

According to the Beaumont Enterprise, the Chiefs Running back has plans to revive his tack career and go pro. While at the University of Texas he put to the wayside a promising track career to do what he loves the most and that was to play football. At the moment, Charles has been at working out with the UT’s track team this offseason.

“All I’d have to do is get an offer by a team that could get me running track because, you know, football season, you don’t know how long it’s going to go with the lockout,” Charles said.
Jamaal Charles was a former All-American track standout in 100-meter, the 200 and 4×400-meter in college.

Charles has even brought up the idea of teaming up and competing with fellow NFL stars Titans Chris Johnson, Eagles Desean Jackson and Vikings Adrian Peterson in the Texas Relays this week.