NFL 2005 Pre-Season Discussion

[danielz_23]

Nice to see Louisville's Stefon Lefors (a new favourite), drafted by Carolina, registered a pair of TD's in their first preseason game. I've got him on my radar for the next few years.

Rod Gardner also grabbed a score... I think he should have an improved year, he has coped a lot of critisism in Washington but he cant throw the ball to himself... their passing game has been woeful for many years. I think he will benefit being in Carolina... perhaps taking up Muhammad's role... I dont know if anyone noticed but Carolina did light it up on offense last year... It went largely unnoticed.

Other observations;

Ahman Green still has the fumbles, didnt waste any time getting back into the swing of things.... and how about the Green Bay game on ESPN, I couldnt watch it all purely because of the a$%-kissing of Brett Favre... I respect and admire the guy but they went on and on and on! as they do every time they televise their games.... the rest of the players may as well not turn up!!

Culpepper hooked up with Burleson for a score... might see a bit of that?

Ricky Williams ran like a mad man in his second game... makes things interesting.

Joey Harrington 10/10 100yds... nice work under pressure.

Warner to Fitzgerald... a force to be reconed with?!

RB S.Jackson 7/47... quietly going under the radar of the Jone's, Bensons, Browns and Arringtons... and could have a huge season.

JP Losman - 11/19 & TD... 17yds rushing... might be handy and keep the defenses honest, hopefully opening it up for McGahee

 

[heardie]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

Kyle Boller...1st pass intercepted

My boys (da Raiders) went down, but nothing much to shout about in this one. The starts didn't get much time at all. Lamont Jordan could have a big season though. (4 rushes 28 yds regardless of what nfl.com says!)

Andrew Walter was a 3rd round rookie that the Raiders had as the #1 QB on thier charts (yes...above Smith and Rodgers). He was touted as a 1st rnd pick if he had come out after his junior season but injuries and poor form saw him drop. He had quite a game 13/24 for 131, but did throw 2 INTs (Perhaps he learnt that off Kerry Collins?)

 

[KingTredrea16]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

Eagles @ Steelers Tuesday night. A friend is going to tape the game for me .

 

[DonAce]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

Grossman is down, but i'm not sure how much it will affect the Bears, truth be told. A rock-solid defence and a run-first offence means you only need someone who can control the clock, make the odd pass and not cough it up, something the Steelers did especially well last season.

Now we just need to get Benson on board, my worries about drafting him magnify with each passing day.

Looks like Ogunleye might be back to his best, as well, 3 sacks in what amounts to about 2.5 quarters of football.

 

[FootyJunkie]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

Pre-season? Start the season now, 20 games, make these derby games count for something (San Fran v. Oakland, Dallas v. Houston, East Coast Eagles, they are flying high v. Pitt, the Florida tri-series: Miami, Tampa, Jax, Big Apple Derby: Jets n' Giants, Show me state: Chiefs v Rams)

 

[JeffDunne]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

Grossman is down, but i'm not sure how much it will affect the Bears, truth be told..

Are you serious?

I thought the Grossman pass to Muhammad in the first qtr against Miami was indicitive of what the Bears need to do to balance their run offense. Grossman can put the ball in the right spot and Muhammad's a smart receiver who can get free. They could be a dangerous combination.

Grossman is a talent IMO and it's a big loss.

 

[danielz_23]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

QB Wallace in Seattle is also an interesting prospect... he is one of those running QB's but he has shown he can pass... has been working on the punt return team, as the returner! interesting.

 

[DonAce]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

Are you serious?

I thought the Grossman pass to Muhammad in the first qtr against Miami was indicitive of what the Bears need to do to balance their run offense. Grossman can put the ball in the right spot and Muhammad's a smart receiver who can get free. They could be a dangerous combination.

Grossman is a talent IMO and it's a big loss.

Grossman is a good player, but his injury history shows him to be unlucky, if not fragile. Thankfully, the offence doesn’t live or die on his shoulders, as Chicago doesn’t exactly light up the scoreboard at the best of times. He's a big loss, sure, but not as big as if Peyton went down for the Colts.

If Benson ever gets into camp, then I’m confident that the offence will improve on last year (not hard, lets face it), regardless of Grossman. Terry Shea ran an offence that his personnel just couldn’t execute, but Ron Turner has shown before he can move the chains with just good, ordinary players.

I’m much happier with our situation at QB than I was when Grossman went down last year. Hutchison, Blake and Orton is much easier to stomach than Quinn and Krenzel. Hutchison is just bog standard, but I’d take that over last year’s circus, my only annoyance is that he holds the ball too long. If he starts all year you’d probably get 3000 yards with as many picks as scores, but with this defence, that’s probably enough. Orton has a gun of an arm, and was a Heisman chance early on, but injury and a few bad games dropped him to us, he was one of the bargains of the draft, but hopefully he doesn’t see a snap this year. Blake is solid insurance.

The offensive line last year was a revolving door, but now looks solid and has only given up one sack in the pre-season to date (guess which one). John Tait is the definition of solid at left tackle. Ruben Brown is on the decline, but can still play. Kreutz is Kreutz. Metcalf is ordinary, but is a monumental upgrade on Qasim Mitchell and Steve Edwards. Fred Miller is solid, as well. Garza is the depth, and he was starting for Atlanta last year. Tight end is the only position on the Bears offence that i’m completely unhappy with, they should have brought in a veteran, Clark just doesn’t cut it.

If Benson gets here, the backfield will consist of him, Jones and a solid fullback in Johnson. This unit will be the epitome of Bears football, Benson and Johnson can crash the lines, while Jones can zip up the outside.

The receiving corps has been upgraded with Moose and Bradley, which is a much better duo than Terell/Wade. Moose is an extremely underrated reciever, and will catch balls thrown by anyone, though he's not going to put up numbers like last year, he's in Chicago, he will still be a good player for us. Bradley has shown in the pre-season that while he’s still raw, he can take one to the house if you let him. Also, if Benson ever gets into camp, don’t be surprised to see Thomas Jones line up in the slot on a lot of plays.

On the defence, Urlacher (Pro-bowler), Tillman (DROY), Brown (Pro-bowler), Ogunleye (Pro-bowler) and Azumah (Pro-bowler) are all returning from injury. It's only pre-season, but in the first quarters they’ve played, the first-team defence has looked mighty impressive, monstering Miami and holding their own against St Louie. This is a potential top 10 defensive unit, and as last year showed, it can score points, so all the offence needs to do is give them a breather and throw the odd score, and the Bears should be okay. But if we see countless three-and-outs, like last year, then it’ll be 5-11 again.

I’m not saying the Bears will win the division, but we should see an improvement over last year (not hard!). Considering Grossman, if they can go 8-8 I’ll be stoked. The Packers have lost considerable personnel, and their defence is a joke, but while Farve is there I won’t count them out. The Vikes look the goods with all their additions, but so did the Redskins not long ago, so who knows. The Lions are the Lions. The Vikings will probably take the North, but it will be an interesting year.

 

[DonAce]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

In other news, at half-time the Eagles are getting pantsed. 2 special team TDs and an interception return TD included in this. 28-10 at the half.

 

[JeffDunne]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

I certainly agree with most of that DonAce.

However, I reckon you're selling short the team and the impact Grossman could have.

I love the Bears 'D'. No I do, I'm serious. I'm a fanatical Saints fan, but I'll go out of my way to watch this defence play. Brown and Azumah two of my favourite players in the league.

I certainly agree with you also on the running game. One signature and they'll have as solid a core of backs as any in the league.

It's certainly an interesting division, but I really do believe Grossman (now he has a very smart receiver) could be the difference between winning this division and just being in it. Quinn and Krenzel were terrible, Hutchison I don't think is much better. Blake (now where have I seen him before?) will at least provide you an experienced starter. Orton probably the pick of the backups talent wise, but as raw as they come. I'd be surprised if Hutchison doesn't get pulled and replaced by Blake inside the first three games. Orton IMO would be a big mistake so early.

IMO, it's a pity that Grossman has gone down so early again. The Bears will still be solid, but I reckon he was the key between having a geniune conference shot or just making up the numbers.

 

[DonAce]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

Another thing working in our favour is the makeup of the Bears schedule. Early on it's fairly mushy, but the last 5 weeks or so are hell. If Grossman can rejoin a team that has at least held the fort against a fairly soft draw, then who knows what could happen later in the year. Ron Turner's system is plug and play, compared to the encyclopedia that Shea's players needed.

I'm not expecting a superbowl win, i'd honestly be rapt if the Bears could have a winning season for once. But whatever happens it should be a better year to simply watch the team play than last season. Watching Quinn and Krenzel dance around in the pocket, throwing airballs to David Terell and getting sacked 60 times, while watching a defence that resembled swiss cheese wasn't much fun.

I'm predicting 8-8, with an exciting young team that promises a fair bit in coming years, and who knows, if Rex can come back in any sort of form, then the playoffs might not be out of the question. I agree with you on Orton though, he's the most naturally talented out of the lot, and could be a sleeper to be our starter in coming years. Hutch is simply a stopgap, but in his four games last year (with the worst O in the league) he showed he can manage, with a simpler scheme, better line/recievers around him and a good running game, I don't think we'll see a repeat of Dr. Quinn, medicine woman.

 

[JeffDunne]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

I'm not expecting a superbowl win, i'd honestly be rapt if the Bears could have a winning season for once. But whatever happens it should be a better year to simply watch the team play than last season. Watching Quinn and Krenzel dance around in the pocket, throwing airballs to David Terell and getting sacked 60 times, while watching a defence that resembled swiss cheese wasn't much fun.

As a New Orleans fan - I know the feeling all too well.

You guys at least had the injury excuse last year. Injuries usually help our defence.

 

[Woodson]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

I wouldn't be surprised if we have a scorless draw in Week 1. Chicago @ Washington.

 

[fuey]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

I wouldn't be surprised if we have a scorless draw in Week 1. Chicago @ Washington.

And knowing my luck... it'll probably be the game on Fox...

My mates and I usually kick it off with Madden until the games start (the real games, not the Thursday night BS) at 3am or whatever.

Last year was the craptacular Washington Vs. Tampa Bay. Thought we were in for a good one when Portis breaks a 40 yarder on the first drive, and that was the only real highlight of the game.

Give us something exciting this year football gods!

 

[Woodson]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

Give us something exciting this year football gods!

You can BET on that !!

I'm sure the plot will thicken when $$$ gain is to be MADE or LOST when those freaky last minute plays turn results on thier heads. Love the expectation and brace myself for that next crucial BIG PLAY play !!

 

[heardie]

Re: Pre-Season Discussion

And knowing my luck... it'll probably be the game on Fox...

My mates and I usually kick it off with Madden until the games start (the real games, not the Thursday night BS) at 3am or whatever.

Last year was the craptacular Washington Vs. Tampa Bay. Thought we were in for a good one when Portis breaks a 40 yarder on the first drive, and that was the only real highlight of the game.

Give us something exciting this year football gods!

Kick off will be great this year, Patsies vs Raiders!

These games hold spite - revenge time baby!