 |
| NFL Columns |
|
| Search |
|
|
|
|
| Draft Sim ID |
|
| Evan Forsberg. 14th October, 2010 - 1:05 pm
 What I learned from Vikings at Jets on Monday Night Football:
1. There is no sense is making broad strokes about a players career status.
I don?t know what it is, but there is something in our human nature that finds sweeping generalizations comfortable. When it comes to determining a player?s capability rarely do we consider any of the surrounding factors. They either have it, or they don?t. They either lost a step, or they didn?t. ?Why did Team X pick up Player X? Didn?t they see his performance last year - he is done!?
Perhaps, we need life to be this simple even though, clearly, it?s not. Just ask LaDainian Tomlinson. Three years ago, this guy was donning the front of video game covers, magazines, and staring in sports commercials. After two years of suspect performance and injury, he had only two teams interested in him in the offseason.
Two.
One of the best running backs in the last decade or so, and only two teams were willing to kick the tires on LT. Fantasy draft pick number one, clearly he was no longer. And so the Chargers decided to get rid of him, and much of the country followed suit.
How?s that move looking now? Suddenly revitalized, LaDainian is looking like his old self, and everyone is wondering what exactly, the Chargers were thinking? Did LT suddenly find his youth? No. The basic fact is a player?s capabilities, on-field performance and career progression is also determined by the situation and environment that they train and play in. As ridiculous as it may sound, LaDainian simply needed a change. Different coaching, different philosophies, perhaps a different region of the country ? whatever it was, or, combination of things, has him back to performing the way we all remember, and Jets fans are collectively rejoicing over it. But it should be such a pleasant surprise?
No one thought Mike Vick would be able to recover from being out of the game for over two years, yet here is, performing as if he had never skipped a beat. Could the Vick experiment turned out horribly? Yes, on the wrong team he may have proven all the naysayers right. But he didn?t find the wrong team. He found the right team, and because of that (injuries aside), he is flourishing. A good situation with character dynamic, team chemistry and player support makes everything else you need to do that much easier, and because of that, players whose talent has seemingly disappeared, often reemerges. The fact is where you play counts.
2. Mark Sanchez is not a premier quarterback in this league yet.
Although the addition of Santonio Holmes is encouraging for the New York offense, as things currently stand, Mark Sanchez is still a year away from being a premier quarterback and difference maker in the NFL. We are watching Sanchez mature before our eyes. He has yet to throw an interception in league play and there have been flashes of brilliance in certain games, but he is still a little too inconsistent to be depended upon on in the biggest game(s) of the year.
However, let's give credit where credit is due: Sanchez has for the most part been able to make the big plays when he has too and he hasn't hindered the team with turnovers, but he isn't at the point where defenses are afraid of him. Until he is able to consistently make teams pay for not centering their defensive schemes around him, I don?t think the Jet?s are quite the super bowl contender, people are making them out to be. This isn't to say that Sanchez can't develop into a consistent offensive threat this year, and as Jets fan, I hope he does, but with 2/3rd's of the season remaining, that sort of progress isn?t a fair expectation for any fan to have on one player. Don?t get me wrong though ? he will be a force in this league sooner, rather then later.
3. Defense and taking care of the ball can atone for bad mistakes.
When the Jets found a way to screw up even the most remedial clock management practices with the two-minute warning, I knew it was going to be one of those losses that stay with you for a long time. When the Jets squandered five red zone opportunities, equating to only 15 points (5 field goals) I told my friends, that ?we didn?t deserve to win the game?. When teams can?t punch it in all night long, they typically lose. When teams are mismanaged during a critical phase of the game, they typically lose. But the Jets didn?t lose.
Their performance was as mediocre as it gets, and yet they still won. Why?
They won because good fundamentals count for something.
Taking care of the ball and not allowing turnovers while simultaneously inflicting your will on your opponents and forcing turnovers can and will mask an otherwise mediocre performance. Just imagine Minnesota was able to force just one turnover, that gives the Vikings just one more possession in the second half. Ask any Jets fan how comfortable they would feel about giving Favre one more chance to score? Now, imagine the Jet?s didn?t force any turnovers therefore forfeiting a lot of advantageous field position, and point scoring possessions? Suddenly, it?s a very different game and no one is claiming the Jets are one of the elite teams in the NFL.
Bottom line: holding on to the ball, and playing good defense is the best way to escape with a victory when other components of your strategy aren?t working. Just imagine what the 49ers record could be, if they held onto the ball every once and while.
4. The Vikings aren?t really that bad? are they?
For the Vikings, this game was the tale of the two halves. Did anyone else get the feeling that once Favre and the offense found a way to integrate Moss into the game, they were an entirely different team? When you have to cover both Randy Moss and Percy Harvin, inevitably something is going to open up for one of them. This is going to go a long way, in allowing Favre to play the type of game he likes to play, and with two legitimate threats going long, you have to imagine, he will be able to limit some of the more bonehead throws he makes when he is trying to force something. Forget what you saw in the first half. That was clearly a team trying to find itself. I suspect you will be seeing the second half Vikings for the rest of the season.
5. It all rests on Favre.
With all the drama surrounding Favre and his cell phone debauchery, no one is really talking about the real issue: his elbow. With newly acquired weapon Moss, the Vikings now need Favre more then ever, and they are only going to go as far as his elbow will take them. He was obviously in pain during the game, and he even referenced it being in the worst condition it has been in yet, during the post game presser. We are only 1/3rd into the season and the threat of Favre having to shut it down is already looming. Who is going to make the throws if he goes down? This is a serious problem, and it needs to be addressed.
Also compelling: with the talk of a possible suspension, with of all things, Brett Favre?s sexting be the demise of game starting streak?
What I am looking forward to learning next week:
- The only thing worse for 49er fans then going 0-6, is going 0-6 at the hands of the Raiders. With an already vocal and ever present demand for Mike Singletary to start David Carr, it's hard to imagine a tougher spot to be in, then where Alex Smith is at this moment.
- Normally Deion Branch would hardly be a consolation prize for any quarterback that just lost a receiver like Randy Moss, but the Patriots always seem to find a way. Remember, the Patriots and Branch won two Super Bowls together, including one cultivating in an MVP for Branch. Can Tom Brady make it work again?
- Battle of the underachievers: Dallas at Minnesota. Something has to give doesn't it? With everyone focusing on the addition of Moss, I am more interested in seeing how Harvin develops. Teams hell bent on making sure Moss doesn?t beat them, should be weary of how good Harvin really is; a big time receiver in the making.
|
