Can Matt Leinart lead the Arizona Cardinals back into the playoffs?

August 18th, 2010 admin

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The Arizona Cardinals have had one of the best offenses in the NFL over the last four years or so with future Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner under center and arguably one of the best wide receivers in the game in Larry Fitzgerald.

Even though the Arizona Cardinals were never been known as a good running team in the Kurt Warner era, it really didn’t matter as the five-time Pro Bowler was able to get this offense firing on all cylinders with the air attack and lead this team to two straight NFC West division titles (2008, 2009) and a Super Bowl appearance (2008).

It was a good run for the Cardinals in the twilight of Warner’s career, but now they have to move on as the two-time NFL MVP has decided to finally hang up his cleats and call it career. Now the franchise will look to their former first-round pick (10th overall, 2006 NFL Draft) in quarterback Matt Leinart.

Back in 2006, the Arizona Cardinals decided to use their 10th overall pick in the NFL Draft to pick up the former Heisman Trophy winner out of USC and when they selected Leinart, they selected what they thought would be the future face of the franchise, but after struggling early in his time as the starter, the Cardinals chose to bench Leinart in favor of Kurt Warner.

Obviously, Warner had much better success as the Arizona Cardinals starting quarterback and Matt Leinart could only watch and learn from the sideline from one of the best quarterbacks of all-time.

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Fortunately for Leinart, the Arizona Cardinals decided to hold onto their former first-round pick and didn’t make a move in the offseason to find a veteran quarterback to take over for Kurt Warner despite rumors of possibly bringing in Donovan McNabb via trade.

Even though most people are saying that the San Francisco 49ers will be the team to beat in the NFC West this season, the Arizona Cardinals is still a very talented team with a lot of promising young players to help this team continue on as one of the best teams in the NFC Conference.

Whether or not Matt Leinart can fill the shoes of an NFL legend remains to be seen, but he will still have some solid offensive weapons at his disposal with perennial Pro bowl wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and some up and coming wideouts like Steve Breaston and Early Doucet.

Along with having a promising young receiving corps led by Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals offense will also have two Pro Bowl caliber running backs coming out of the backfield in Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells.

Needless to say, if Leinart fails to come through this time around, it will all be on him as this team is set to make it back to the playoffs next season with some great offensive weapons.

If Leinart does struggle early in the season, the Cardinals will be prepared with veteran quarterback Derek Anderson waiting to get his shot on the Arizona sideline. Even though Anderson is a viable backup, I believe the former USC standout will be able to lead this team back to the playoffs, but unfortunately if they do reach the postseason, it will probably be through the NFC Wildcard in my opinion.

Are the Houston Texans playoff bound?

August 17th, 2010 admin

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Before last season, the Houston Texans had been nothing more than an easy win for their opponents as they were a team still trying to find their stride. Not only were their problems on the defensive side of the football the Texans, but the offense also struggled in all areas and seemingly had no hope for the future with only wide receiver Andre Johnson being a threat to opposing defenses.

Fortunately, things started to turn around last year as the Texans offense became amongst the best in the league led by quarterback Matt Schaub who consistently connected with perennial Pro Bowler Andre Johnson. The running game still has some work to do as the Texans can’t seem to find a running back that plays with any kind of consistency out of the backfield, but Steve Slaton could potentially have a breakout season if opposing defenses concentrate on stopping the potent air attack.

Last season the Houston Texans finally experienced some success as Matt Schaub became the league’s leader passer in terms of passing yards with 4,770. One of the main reasons for Schuab’s breakout year was Andre Johnson leading the league in receiving yards for the second straight season with 1,569 and the emergence of one of the best tight ends in the NFL in Owen Daniels.

Even though Daniels went down with a season ending injury (torn ACL) against the Buffalo Bills in week 8, the up and coming tight end’s contribution to the team was huge to say the least as he became Schaub’s favorite target behind Andre Johnson and finished the season with 519 yards and five touchdowns.

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Despite missing half the season, Daniels made a big impression on the Texans offense and could be the missing piece to the puzzle in Houston turning the corner this season and making it into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

With four straight wins to finish last season, the Houston Texans finally seem to come into their own as they were making a late push for the AFC Wildcard.

Unfortunately, it was too little too late as the Houston Texans just missed the playoffs and the New York Jets and the Baltimore Ravens advanced to the postseason instead.

Even though Matt Schaub and company missed out on the playoffs, they have seemed to build a nice foundation over the past couple of seasons and have gotten closer and closer to the ultimate goal of becoming a playoff team in the always competitive AFC Conference.

They might still be a season or two away from making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, but they definitely seem to have the right pieces of the puzzle in place to compete for in the conference from here on out, but it doesn’t help that they play in the AFC South division with the up and coming Tennessee Titans and arguably the best team in the league in Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts.

So even though the Houston Texans could be playoff bound in the next couple of years, I not sure they have what it takes to get to the postseason, but they could end up surprising people if their offense continues to light up the scoreboard.

Indianapolis Colts want to make Peyton Manning the highest-paid player in the NFL

August 13th, 2010 admin

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There have been a lot of great quarterbacks to come and go in the NFL over the years, but few can be compared to the likes of Indianapolis Colts Peyton Manning.

No matter what changes the Colts may go through or what new players they might bring in from season to season, Peyton Manning always seems to turn this Indianapolis NFL franchise into a perennial Super Bowl title contender as he has the ability single-handedly control the fate of this team and steer them in the right direction.

With four NFL MVP awards to his credit and one Super Bowl title, Peyton Manning could retire tomorrow be considered one of the greatest quarterbacks ever play this game, but even though he’s not getting any younger, he is still arguably the best quarterback in the NFL today.

With that being said, the Indianapolis Colts are ready to make their superstar quarterback the highest-paid player in the NFL as they will do anything to avoid Manning becoming a free agent in the near future.

Ideally, the Indianapolis Colts would like to sign Peyton Manning to contract extension before the upcoming NFL season as they will make their quarterback confident in his future with the team and a very rich man.

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Unfortunately, Peyton Manning isn’t the only big-name quarterback that is due for a contract extension as Donovan McNabb (Washington Redskins), Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) and Tom Brady (New England Patriots) are also on the verge of signing lucrative contract extensions with their current teams.

With these three other prominent quarterbacks on the verge of signing a new deal with their teams, the Indianapolis Colts are stuck in somewhat of a dilemma as they want Manning to be the highest-paid player in the league, but might have to wait until McNabb, Brees and Brady sign their extensions to do so.

As it is with any other position on an NFL team, big-name players set the bar at which a contract can be negotiated the only other big-name player at the quarterback position and has signed contract recently has been St. Louis Rams rookie Sam Bradford.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ gunslinger and former Heisman trophy set a new rookie record for guaranteed money as he signed a contract worth $78 million dollars over six years with $50 million being guaranteed.

At the moment Bradford’s contract has set the bar with Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning waiting to see how their franchises can top this contract given to a rookie quarterback that has yet to play a single down in the NFL.

Even though no financial details have been given about a possible contract extension for Peyton Manning, the consensus is that it will be the biggest contract in NFL history in the range of $100+ with more than $50+ million guaranteed.

Unlike Sam Bradford, who could easily turn out to be a draft bust like Ryan Leaf or JaMarcus Russell in the near future, Peyton Manning is worth every penny and will be a solid investment for the Indianapolis Colts.

Are the Minnesota Vikings still a Super Bowl title contender without Brett Favre?

August 12th, 2010 admin

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Last season the Minnesota Vikings were arguably the best team in the NFC conference outside of the New Orleans Saints. The Vikings possessed the total package as they were a dominant team of both sides of the football with Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson running the offense and Jared Allen maintaining leads on defense.

Needless to say, the Vikings were a force to be reckoned with in the NFC Conference once again as they had yet to meet their equal until the NFC championship game against Drew Brees and company.

Even though the New Orleans Saints went on to the Super Bowl and won their first Super Bowl title in franchise history, it could be argued that the Minnesota Vikings were the better all around team and just lucked out in the NFC championship game.

The Minnesota Vikings have a better offense, better defense and better all around quarterback in Brett Favre, but they had to watch the Super Bowl from home as a costly interception by the Silver Fox in overtime turned out to be the deciding factor in the NFC championship game.

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Despite being so close to the Super Bowl and Brett Favre not reaching his ultimate goal of winning one more ring before he finally hangs up the cleats, the Minnesota Vikings have great chances of a repeat performance next season if the 11-time Pro Bowler chooses to come back for more season under center.

Even though this would seem like a no-brainer that the future Hall of Fame quarterback would come back for one more season with a Super Bowl title contender, the infamously indecisive quarterback has still yet to make his decision on whether or not he wants to lace up his cleats for one more go around.

This is something that we should be used to by now as Favre has done this consistently over the past half decade or so, but after having arguably his best season of his career last year (4,202 yards, 33 TDs and seven interceptions) and being able to lead a team as talented as the Minnesota Vikings are right now, most people believed that his mind should already be made up.

Unfortunately, it is not and the Minnesota Vikings might very well have to go on without their superstar quarterback as he could officially call it quits. If three-time NFL MVP does decide to retire, the team will be handed over to backup quarterback Tavaris Jackson.

There is no doubt that Tavaris Jackson is a talented quarterback with the skills to become a Pro Bowl caliber QB in this league, but he is no Brett Favre and with Jackson behind center, the Vikings will go from a Super Bowl title contender to just another team fighting for a playoff spot in the NFC Conference.

The only thing that Jackson brings to the table that Favre doesn’t is speed and mobility. Tavaris Jackson is a quick QB that can make plays with his feet, but the very presence of Brett Favre keeps the opposing defense on its heels and completely opens up both the ground game and the passing game.

So in my opinion, if the Silver Fox officially retires, so do the chances of the Minnesota Vikings competing for a Super Bowl title next season as having Jackson as the starter is taking a step back for arguably one of the best teams in the league.

Detroit Lions agree to terms with Ndamukong Suh

August 11th, 2010 admin

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Ever since Barry Sanders, who is considered one the best running back in NFL history, decided to call it quits back in 1999, the Detroit Lions have been arguably the worst team in the league with little or no hope for the future.

No matter what moves this team has made over the past decade or so, the Lions have continued to lose every single season and seem permanently stuck in last place in one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL in the NFC North.

Competing with teams like the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers within their division every single season, Detroit has had a rough ride throughout the years has found it really difficult to find any momentum moving forward.

Fortunately, last season the Detroit Lions may have seen some light at the end of the tunnel as they drafted quarterback Matthew Stafford the number one overall pick in may have built a foundation on which they can improve upon with every passing season.

Along with one of the most promising quarterbacks in the league, the Lions also have arguably one of the best young receivers in Calvin Johnson. There is no doubt that these two will combine for one most lethal dynamic duos in the NFL, but becoming a playoff team might still be a few years away as they also have to address other needs for their struggling NFL franchise.

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One of those needs was improving their defense and they got a huge addition to defensive side of the football recently in the 2010 NFL Draft recently when they drafted arguably the best defensive player in the draft in Nebraska’s defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh with the second overall pick.

With the addition of Suh, the Detroit Lions will almost certainly be better on the defensive side of the football next season, but they still have a ways to go before they can be considered a force be reckoned with in the NFC Conference.

Even though big-name college football players that get drafted early in the top ten of the draft demand a lot of money when negotiating their rookie contracts, the Lions had no problems coming to terms with their defensive tackle as they agreed to a five-year deal worth $68 million dollars with $40 million guaranteed.

Now that the Detroit Lions have agreed to terms with their rookie, they can concentrate on next season and what they will need to do the other compete with the best the best in the NFC conference.

Despite almost certainly missing the playoffs once again next season, I believe the Detroit Lions might surprise some people as they could quickly turn into one of the most potent offenses in the NFL with Stafford behind center and Johnson downfield. They still have to improve out of the backfield with their running game, but that should materialize over time when the air attack becomes amongst the best in the league.

So even though Matthew Stafford and company will most likely finish in fourth place once again in the NFC North, they might give the kids the Chicago Bears a run for their money for third place and maybe even second place the Green Bay Packers struggle early in the season.

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