Point 1: Brett Favre isn't ready for the regular season.
As I saw and heard comments this week about how good Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre
looked against the Houston Texans on Monday night, I couldn't help but wonder
what game those people had watched.
For the record, I'm not a Favre basher. In fact, I've taken shots from fans for
previously writing about how much I enjoy watching him play, how he should
continue to play for as long as he wants to and for anyone who's willing to pay
him.
But I didn't watch the game with a Brett Favre Fan Club membership card
clutched in my hands. And he simply wasn't impressive. At times, he looked stiff
while running play action or attempting to hand off on a stretch play. He was
slow to react to blitz situations, taking two sacks and throwing off balance on
a couple of other occasions. And he even looked a bit befuddled as he
struggled to find an open receiver on a few plays.
Roughly two weeks after signing with the Vikings, Favre is understandably still a work in progress.
AP Photo/Hannah Foslien |
Some of you are probably astonished over how I could be so critical of a quarterback
who completed 13 of 18 throws for 142 yards and a touchdown. After all, those
look like pretty good numbers for a guy who played a little less than three
quarters.
But I took a closer look at Favre's 18 throws that counted in the outcome of
the game. He actually threw a few more than that, but they were nullified by
Minnesota penalties.
Six of his 13 completions were screen passes behind the line of scrimmage.
Two other screen attempts fell incomplete, including one that
was batted away by Texans defensive end Connor Barwin--while Favre was operating
out of the shotgun.
Four completions were just little dump passes that were caught between three
to six yards from the line of scrimmage. So that means that to complete 10 of
his 13 passes, Favre didn't have to throw the ball further than six yards from
the line of scrimmage.
That's a pretty good gig for a starting quarterback who is drawing a paycheck
like Favre's if you can get it.
His three remaining completions were caught just 11 to 12 yards downfield. So
by the end of the night, by my count, Favre only pushed the ball upfield 53
yards. His receivers tacked on 89 "passing yards" for him after the
catch. All three of his pass attempts longer than 15 yards were incomplete, with
only one touching the fingertips of the intended receiver.
You think Favre didn't notice that he wasn't in an NFL-ready groove yet? Then
explain why he lobbied to get back into the game for another possession after
being scheduled to only play in the first half.
Honestly, Favre should ask to play for a full half in Minnesota's final preseason game. Although that
final preseason matchup is usually reserved for backups, Favre needs more game
reps. And there's nothing wrong with that. He's only been a member of the team for
about 12 days, so give the guy some time to get in sync with his receivers and
a little more live action under his belt. He still has his confident field
presence and is a great leader. He's a smart, gutsy quarterback who will get on
track and will soon start looking like the Brett Favre who was among the top ten
quarterbacks in the league up until his injury started nagging at him last
season..
But in the meantime, let's all be more honest about his progress and his
performance and take off the nostalgia goggles.
Point 2: Reggie Wayne is the league's ironman among starting wide
receivers.
Reggie Wayne has started every game since Week 17 of the 2002 season.
Rick Stewart/Getty Images |
While wide receivers around the league have increasingly projected themselves
as self-centered, underpaid or unappreciated, most aren't durable or
talented enough to put together a long string of consecutive NFL starts.
But Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne is a clear exception.
The ninth-year pro enters the season with 97 consecutive starts and
118 consecutive game appearances. Both marks are tops among NFL receivers. And
if for any reason you still aren't impressed, let this fact sink in--the
second-best consecutive starts streak by an active wide receiver is just 42, by
Buffalo's Lee Evans. That's well less than half of Wayne's streak.
The last time Wayne wasn't a member of the starting lineup for a regular
season game was Week 16 of the 2002 season, his second year in the league while
he was still competing for a starter's role. Last year, the former first-round pick caught 82 passes for 1,145 yards and
six touchdowns. In 2007, he caught 104 passes and led the league with 1,510
receiving yards.
Point 3: The Detroit Lions have made some significant strides in
protecting the quarterback.
While most people are focusing on the quarterback battle in Detroit, they may
have overlooked that the team's passers are
benefiting from a significant offseason improvement on the offensive line.
Last year, the Lions were
31st in sacks allowed, surrendering a sack on 10.2 percent of their pass attempts.
After three preseason games, the offensive line has allowed just three sacks,
dropping that rate to just 2.7 percent. And that's the third-best mark in the
league.
If they can keep that up during the regular season, that's going to have a
significant impact on the Lions' passing game, no matter who gets the starter's
job.
Point 4: The Jaguars added a sixth-round pick to their current draft class
at the expense of the Cleveland Browns.
Rookie Don Carey thought he'd be playing in Cleveland for a long time.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images |
When the Browns placed sixth-round draft pick Don Carey on the waived/injured
list, they expected him to clear waivers. And so did Carey.
Shortly after the news hit that the rookie cornerback was being waived, we
exchanged text messages. He stated in his reply that the team would be moving
him to their injured reserve list after he cleared waivers, and he expected to
be with the Browns for a long time.
But Jacksonville had noticed the talent and speed of the four-year starter
out of Norfolk State, so when he unexpectedly showed up on the waiver wire, they
put in a claim. And then they did exactly what Cleveland should have done--they
held him on their roster until Tuesday of this week, when rosters had to be
reduced to 75 players. Once teams complete their first waive of cuts, they're
allowed to put non-vested veterans--those players with less than four years of
service--on injured reserve without exposing them to the waiver wire.
So Jacksonville got Cleveland's sixth-round draft pick without having to
provide any compensation to the Browns. Carey will be able to spend this season
learning the team's defensive and special teams schemes so that he can hit the
ground running in 2010 as a member of the Jaguars secondary.
That's a smart and sweet deal for the Jaguars.
Point 5: The Broncos have really bungled the Brandon Marshall situation.
Back in mid-June, I wrote "The
New Marshall Plan: Trade Him" and pointed out that for the good of the
team, Denver needed to get rid of the talented, but immature, wide receiver.
Many others in the media were saying that trading Marshall--after the team had
already shipped quarterback Jay Cutler to Chicago--would send a message to the
rest of the roster that you could simply bully your way out of Denver whenever
you were ready to leave.
Brandon Marshall's problems were strictly off the field issues until recently.
AP Photo/David Zalubowski |
I said it then, and I'll say it again. That's nonsense. That stance is only
useful in trying to prove a point. It doesn't make good business sense.
Try to approach the decision like a business owner, not with your emotions.
Back in June, Denver had much more to lose than to gain by holding onto
Marshall. And now, after trying to show Marshall who's the boss, they are
experiencing that reality. The team had to suspend the temperamental receiver
for the balance of the preseason for his disruptive attitude and actions during
team activities.
Despite Marshall's numerous brushes with the law over the past three years,
there were teams who would have provided Denver with great value for a receiver
with Marshall's talent back in June. Up until the last couple of weeks, Marshall
has been a model teammate on the field. But now, after watching the man-child
throw mini-tantrums during practice, a few of those teams probably won't enter
the bidding. And the remaining teams who may be willing to take the risk of
adding Marshall to their roster now have the bargaining edge in trade
negotiations. After all, they'll be making offers to remove a problem child from
Denver's house who has transcended from an off-the-field to an on-the-field
distraction.
At the moment, all Denver has done is given Marshall a reprieve from the
doldrums of preseason practices while pulling a few dollars out of his fat
wallet that he won't miss. My guess is that's a pretty good tradeoff in his mind
right now.
And while the Broncos have to publicly state they aren't going to trade
him--in hopes of drawing a stronger offer from other clubs--you have to believe
that at this point they'll jump at a fair offer so that they can move on and rid
the team of the distraction of even talking about him once the season begins.
While teams like the Ravens are still in need of a top receiver, I'd be
surprised to see head coach John Harbaugh welcoming a malcontent like Marshall
to his team. The Jets, Titans, Lions and Rams are teams that I think could be
willing to roll the dice a bit and enter the bidding.
Point 6: Titans rookie Jason McCourty has shown that he can be special.
Former Rutgers CB Jason McCourty has been a standout performer on special teams for the Titans.
AP Photo/Chris O'Meara |
Every year at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine, draft prospects tell me
that they know they need to make an impact on special teams to improve their
odds of making a 53-man roster.
Well, former Rutgers cornerback Jason McCourty is walking the talk in
Tennessee.
The rookie cornerback leads the NFL in special teams coverage tackles with
six solo tackles and two assists in four preseason games. According to the NFL's
count, no other player in the league--veteran or rookie--has notched more than
four solo tackles as teams head into their final week of preseason action.
McCourty picked off a pass during the team's opener against the Bills in the
Hall of Fame game and has logged a total of nine solo tackles, two assists and a
tackle for a loss during four preseason games. He's also defended a pair of passes and
averaged 16 yards per kickoff return on three attempts.
The Titans still haven't
decided who will return kickoffs for them, and McCourty is scheduled to get some
more opportunities to prove that he can be that player when Tennessee faces the
Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.
Although he's buried a bit on the team's depth chart at cornerback, the
sixth-round pick has shown that he can make plays on special teams--and that should help
his chances immensely as the Titans trim their roster this weekend.
Point 7: Rookie James Davis could eventually force
veteran running back Jamal Lewis into a backup role in Cleveland.
Some analysts and fans were surprised that the Cleveland Browns didn't use
their first pick in the draft to claim their running back of the future. After
all, Jamal Lewis is entering his 10th NFL season as a 30-year old rusher who has
only exceeded a 3.6 yards-per-carry mark once in the last four years. But the
Browns selected former California center Alex Mack, who will play a key role in
opening holes for whoever the team lines up at the running back position over
the next few years.
Rookie James Davis has averaged 7.8 yards per carry during the preseason.
AP Photo/Mark Duncan |
While Jerome Harrison, a former fifth-round pick by the Browns, was expected
to push Lewis for the featured-back role in Cleveland this year, a new candidate
has surfaced--former Clemson running back James Davis, who wasn't added to the
team's roster until the sixth-round of this year's NFL Draft.
Lewis is off to a slow start, averaging just 2.6 yards per carry on 24
attempts during the preseason. And while Davis' 7.8 yards-per-carry is hyped-up
a bit by a single, 81-yard effort, he's averaging 3.8 yards per attempt on his
other 18 runs. He's also caught seven passes for 44 yards.
That said, Harrison, a fourth-year player out of Washington State, was
drawing rave reviews from new head coach Eric Mangini prior to the running back
being hampered for the past few weeks by an undisclosed leg injury. But it
doesn't appear to have dampened Mangini's enthusiasm.
"He did a lot of positive things on the field," the Browns head
coach said recently about Harrison. "And he's still doing a lot of
positive things, in terms of his classroom work and staying up with the
information."
No matter which quarterback is named the starter in Cleveland following the
final preseason game next week, he's going to need a strong running game to help
establish some balance in the Browns' offensive attack. And another
3.6-yards-per-carry season--or worse--from Lewis isn't going to cut it. So
expect Harrison and Davis to get some opportunities to show if they can run past
the veteran on the depth chart as the season progresses.
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A member of the Pro Football Writers of America, Ed Thompson's player interviews and NFL features are published across the Scout.com network and at FOXSports.com.