Friday Chat Has Begun

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 7:55 am

All right everyone step up and let's have a little end of the work week chat -- you guys are still working, right?

What's on your mind today? Jamal Lewis? Those incredible three whole plays by Michael Vick last night? Or anything about the NFFC? I'm happy to talk about anything you guys want, so let's bring it on and have some fun this afternoon.

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 7:59 am

I'll start out by answering Dave's questions:

As far as the teams that look the most improved to me, I'd say the Jets (offensively with a healthy Pennington and the addition of McCareins); the Bills; I think Garcia will help the Browns' offense, the Lions should be stronger; the Redskins will be better if for no other reason than because Spurrier is gone; keep an eye on the Bears, who are getting better and the Falcons will be better with a healthy Vick.

Super Bowl prediction: Eagles over Colts.

JB · Post by JB » Fri Aug 13, 2004 8:06 am

The Bills? Really? Did Bledsoe have surgery to get rid of that "suckiness"?

JB · Post by JB » Fri Aug 13, 2004 8:10 am

My favorite Vick play from last night was that handoff to Dunn on 2nd down...no wait maybe it was the handoff to Dunn on 1st down, they were both so good I can't decide. :rolleyes:

chich · Post by **chich** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 8:13 am

Before the last two seasons, everything I read said that the Cardinals had a great offensive line which boded well for Jones and then Shipp/Smith. They all underperformed preseason expectations/estimates. This year I saw where SportingNews had Arizona's line ranked last in the league. Were the running backs poor performers the past two years or was it the line (or both)?
Along the same lines, everything I read says that the Chargers' line is terrible and has been for years. Is Tomlinson just that good or is the line not as bad as advertised? In most cases when runners have great seasons, they heap tons of praise on their line. Does LT?

JB · Post by JB » Fri Aug 13, 2004 8:13 am

Hey Tom,

Who's going to start for Atlanta at RB? I thought they were going to turn Dunn into a 3rd down back and give the ball to Duckett on 1st/2nd and goalline but yesterday they started Dunn and kept giving him the rock early.

JB · Post by JB » Fri Aug 13, 2004 8:20 am

Thomas Jones had a couple good runs last night but do you think he's overrated? I mean come on, the whole idea of trying to use him like Marshall Faulk is ridiculous. Jones hasn't done squat in the NFL and they never even tried to throw him the ball last night.

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 8:24 am

Originally posted by JB:
The Bills? Really? Did Bledsoe have surgery to get rid of that "suckiness"? I'm VERY leary of Bledsoe too, but honestly could he be any worse than he was last year? No really? OK, I'm trying convince myself.

Seriously, though, a healthy Moulds plus the addition of Lee Evans and a (possibly) healthy McGahee will make the offense better. How much better will ultimately depend on how Bledsoe plays in my opinion.

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 8:24 am

Originally posted by JB:
My favorite Vick play from last night was that handoff to Dunn on 2nd down...no wait maybe it was the handoff to Dunn on 1st down, they were both so good I can't decide. :rolleyes: That was a complete joke. I really think Mora made a serious mistake by even playing Vick. He clearly didn't want Vick on the field, so why put him out there and possibly put him at risk? Nothing irks me more than when I see coaches do stupid things and that was stupid.

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 8:26 am

Originally posted by chich:
Before the last two seasons, everything I read said that the Cardinals had a great offensive line which boded well for Jones and then Shipp/Smith. They all underperformed preseason expectations/estimates. This year I saw where SportingNews had Arizona's line ranked last in the league. Were the running backs poor performers the past two years or was it the line (or both)?

Both. The line wasn't very good and the RBs performed horribly. The Cardinals may be the worst team in football right now. If Denny Green does anything with that offense without Shipp and Boldin he should be coach of the year.

Along the same lines, everything I read says that the Chargers' line is terrible and has been for years. Is Tomlinson just that good or is the line not as bad as advertised? In most cases when runners have great seasons, they heap tons of praise on their line. Does LT? Tomlinson's a stud. He proved last year he can be amazing without hardly any talent around him. I see no reason to expect anything less this season.

[ August 13, 2004, 02:26 PM: Message edited by: Tom Kessenich ]