The Pre-Season Blues

By Justin Dombrowski, Contributing Writer

Yes, yes. I’ve heard all about the recent win with Cleveland over Green Bay. I’ve heard about the win with Pittsburgh over Detroit (Am I really surprised here? Um. No.) And of course we have Washington’s romp over Buffalo and New Orleans beating Super Bowl Champs, the New Orleans Saints. So what are my thoughts on this? Oh the sweet gentle thoughts that flow through my mind when I think about it.

I’m just kidding. Let’s recap the top 6 games of the beginning 2010 NFL Football Season (Ahem..PRE-SEASON) with a few updates on the games that have transpired.

New Orleans 24 – New England 27

This little pretty game itself has been getting a lot of attention from sports fans and commentators all across the states. It’s kind of funny, because, everyone’s freaking out. “OH MY GOD THE SAINTS LOST?!” and a title I heard at the neighboring Wal-Mart the other day; “The Patriots are back! THEY ARE BACK!”

Seriously? You’ve got to be kidding me. Pre-Season is a frustration for me, just like it is for others I imagine. Of course we’re all excited. This pre-season reminds me of the party you went to as a kid where caffeine was FORBODEN. BUT, some little kid decides he’s going to get everyone caffeine….and you know what? EVERYBODY GOES NUTS. Next thing you know your house is on fire and the little ones are in the back yard chanting “Koombyah” to Hannah Montana and Justin Bieber.

New Orleans.

Yes, I know New Orleans gave up some big plays as well as an important 28 yard field goal. But also, I will say that this game was rough for New Orleans with the loss of RB Lynell Hamilton (tore his right anterior cruciate ligament, and will most likely be out for the season) and punter Thomas Misread who hurt his left shoulder. During the ’09 season, Hamilton only posted 2 touchdowns, and averaged 3.6 yards, so don’t worry Saints, I think this boo-boo won’t prevent you from riding the bicycle.

The Saints mainly looked also very disorganized and sloppy too. Much like that one kid who tries to skate on the ice to impress the hot cheerleader, but just biffs on his first take. And as for Drew Brees (Who in my opinion was fantastic last Super Bowl) lacked quite a bit. But it’s alright. It’s pre-season. And I don’t think that with posting 9 completions out of 13 attempts, for 55 yards, that it’ll hurt this franchise’s hopes to return to Dallas for the Super Bowl in ’11.

New England.

Those words make me cringe. Now you New England fans may be a little “mad” at me, but it’s ok, in my book every team has their negatives and positives. I pretty much take out frustration and disbelief on almost everyone who deserves it. And everyone of course was introduced to Tom Brady again. But Brady wasn’t much of a spectacular sight, only throwing for 5 out of 8 passes, posting 67 yards.

But this is a team who has racked up 01’, 03’, and 04’ with Super Bowl Championships, only to be beaten in 2008 by the New York Giants. This match-up was not only one of the best I’ve ever witnessed in Super Bowl history, but it was great to see the upset that left Belichick waking off the field before the end of the game looking like he was about to cry. And of course also this team is coming off of a loss to the Baltimore Ravens with Brady throwing 3 interceptions which resulted in his first home career loss, and the first loss at home by a New England quarterback since 1978. Ouch that had to hurt?

And lastly of course Wes Welker was still sidelined, who has made an amazing recovery since his torn ACL . But all reports indicate that Welker will be healthy for the Sept. 13th opener against T.O., Ocho-Cinco and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cleveland 27 – Green Bay 24

What? I’m speechless. Much like, well I really don’t know. This has left me totally speechless in the sense (And folks this is a bigger speechless than the two times I heard about the future arrival of my two children)

Cleveland

I bet somewhere, somehow, THOUSANDS of Cleveland fans are rejoicing…over a pre-season game. But guys it’s not time to smile and be thankful yet. If this was regular season, I’d be sold. But..Um..It’s not. Out of his fresh exit from Carolina (Who seems to be one of the worst teams this season) Jake Delhomme seemed to click IMMEDIATELY with Cleveland’s offense. For once receivers were moving the ball down the field. Gone were the countless interceptions by Derek Anderson, and the high over passes by Brady Quinn, and a solid offense for the season of 2010 was born. Passing 6 out of 7 passes for just 66 yards was quite impressive indeed.

This MAY be the sign that Cleveland fans could be hoping for. If the Browns look ANYTHING like they did during this game, during regular season, you can guarantee that they’ll rack up enough games for a playoff run. In my opinion a Quarterback can either succeed or bomb. A Quarterback’s success is hindered or forwarded by his receivers. If they cannot connect, then there shall be trouble in paradise, if it’s the other way around, we’ll be riding the gravy train to heaven. Got it?

So under “new management” from Mike Holmgren, these Browns look like a much tougher and also should Delhomme fail at his starting position, fans must be somewhat content with Seneca Wallace as a backup, who also played quite well. Things COULD be looking up. But don’t break out the “Dawg pound” just yet. At least for now Browns fans still have that horrible win over Pittsburgh to throw in their face for now, right?

Green Bay

Aaron Rodgers. A Quarterback who is quickly stepping up his game and showcasing power that could lead Green Bay to a playoff appearance in the future at this rate. Rodgers was 12 for 13, reaching 159 yards and a touchdown was nearly perfect and flawless. This Green Bay offense is surely something of a sight to see and in my opinion is one of the top ten offenses in the NFL this current season.

Now of course there was the little shake up with Ryan Grant, but don’t worry folks he’s alright. Greg Jennings performed a quite good appearance, scoring a touchdown from Rodgers for a 25 yard pass.

Everything..EVERYTHING about this team still keeps them in the running for impression this season much like last season. After a small slump in the season last year. They exploded like dynamite and this is a team that I can only see going up, up, UP.

Minnesota 28 – St. Louis 7

Could the Vikings survive without Favre? It’s possible, I mean come on, they did alright for the most part. But then again, they went up against St. Louis…I don’t care if you complain because the Rams had “Bradford” SUCK IT UP.

Minnesota

If the Vikings proved one thing, it’s definitely that their defense is still easily one of the top 10 in the NFL this season (Offense is another story because you played the Rams for crying out loud. This is much like taking candy from a baby.) Sage Rosenfels played excellent, posting 23 completions out of 34 for 310 yards with 3 touchdowns. Should Favre not return, I think it’s alright to say that IF Rosenfels plays the same, that you should be alright this season. The offense ran all over St. Louis this game and it was easily seen that the Vikings were doing this with ease.

Sure the two big named receivers are out with injuries, but in the few weeks we shall see how the Vikings will handle themselves in the upcoming main season.

St. Louis

This is a team that has done HORRIBLE….HORRIBLE the past few seasons. A team that, past seasons, has ranked at the very bottom with Detroit and Oakland. Of course watching the game itself one could get the impression of no audience whatsoever in the crowds. Ticket sales are slumping of course for The Rams, and if their appearance in this game is the same come September for the 2010 season, you can take it to the bank that there won’t be much to watch here.

Sam Bradford. Listen folks. JUST BECAUSE….JUST BECAUSE you have a No.1 Pick to your team does NOT mean that you will just perk up and be one big BRIGHT ray of sunlight. Isn’t going to happen, Cupcake. Bradford entered the arena to a thunderous applause, only to get hammered and terrorized by the Vikings Defense during his time on the field, completing just half of his passes for 57. Now it’s the kid’s first game, I’ll give him that. But playing this way won’t cut it at all. And A.J. Feely was just as dismal and seemed rather shaky and nervous beyond belief.

Super Bowl run for the Rams this season? Not at this rate.

San Francisco 37 – Indianapolis 17

This game was just a LITTLE odd for me. I’m just kidding. It was rather somewhat painful for me to watch this because of a couple of reasons.

San Francisco

Alex Smith. WHAT? What was THAT?! 3 for 9 passes for 37 yards?! I feel like I’m on aderall for an over-reactive case of ADD folks. Alex Smith started to pull the team out of a slump after last season and now with the way he played in this past game it worried me. Not only was he not on key with his receivers but in most cases the receivers struggled with his passes, and it was only until Nate Davis and David Carr came in, did the Niner’s start to rack up the yardage against Indianapolis. If Smith is the “answer” for the Niner’s you fans might just want to sit down and put your head DOWN on then desk. You might need some tissues this season too.

Now of course we don’t have the famous starters Gore, Willis, or Crabtree for that matter and my rant may be premature, BUT, if Smith plays like this all season, you can expect the Niner’s to be at the bottom 5 teams this season along with Detroit (This is a given, isn’t it?) And I’m sorry but not even Westbrook (Who was one of McNabb’s go to targets while his tenure in Philly) won’t save the team. BUT, there was hope in this “pre-season” game for the Niner’s and it came in the form of Peyton Manning’s back up. Curtis Painter.

Indianapolis

Now everyone’s bragging that Manning did “AMAZING!” and he was “OUTSTANDING!”. If you could see the look on my face right now it surely isn’t that of when man first discovered fire. It’s probably equivalent to the look of man finding fire and being disappointed that it BURNED WHEN YOU TOUCHED IT!

Manning, I say, is an almost there kind of guy. He’s made it to the big time. And because he’s posted some records here and there, he seems to have these slumps where he can’t pull it out for the team. When you see a quarterback who wins just one national championship and then he’s all over cereal boxes, and two years later he’s in a dream with you getting married at the little chapel in Vegas, then we have an issue. Now of course he’s had great moments, BUT, if he had one ANOTHER Super Bowl, THEN….AND ONLY THEN can you consider him Great!

NO EXCEPTIONS!

With the way syndicates and reporters are today, The Colts could lose EVERY. SINGLE. GAME, and you know what? He would still bring tears to joyful sports fans eyes. The meaning escapes me and I’ve run out of deodorant for this conversation.

Anyways, BACK on topic. Manning completed 8 out of 10 for 91 yards and was able to keep San Francisco down. And this was the ONLY time that Indianapolis was on top of the game. That is, until Curtis Painter enters the picture.

3 interceptions and 9 out of 19 for 64 yards? This fella shouldn’t even be allowed near a football, let alone speak it. He was a dismal failure against the Jets last December and he surely hasn’t improved much better. Indy fans, if this is the man to back up the Colts should Manning ever get injured, you might as well turn the tube off, and watch Steel Magnolias.

Denver 24 - Cincinnati 33

This game has been somewhat of the talk of where I work at between the sports fans. Some people contend that Cincinnati won’t be a contender for the Playoff run this season. Of course you’ve got T.O. and Ocho-Cinco now together on one team, AND there’s only ONE spot for a big mouth on the team. This should be exciting. Oh and it was Tim Tebow’s first NFL appearance too.

Cincinnati

This Ohio team started out much better this game than last week’s Hall of Fame appearance against Dallas. The offense was much smoother and more effective and another important factor helped them post points. Their quarterback had protection.

YAY!

I can sense the excitement from your fans. One thing is for sure is that when Carson Palmer is protected, and given ample time in, or out of the pocket, to go to work as they say. He can be damaging and effective. 12 out of 15 for 105 yards? Not too shabby. Oh and he got a touchdown too.

T.O. New guy on campus. And he got a touchdown. More than he ever caught in Buffalo. Ha. Funny isn’t it? I’m surprised he didn’t complain this time around that he didn’t have more time on the field but maybe he knows the smarts that this is just pre-season. Bottom line was that this game itself was exciting because you have two teams who are sure to be competitive next season. It’s also possible that Palmer could be one of the reasons that this team is holding together all this long.



Denver

Now it seemed Mid-Season last year, that the Bronco’s hit a bit of a slump and went down, down, DOWN. This appearance was nice to see Kyle Orton hit his receivers on key. Going 8 out of 13 for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns. Some might be a LITTLE harsh on Orton, but the key is that he’s still a good thing for the Broncos. But the question is IF he is going to do good this season, there’s no room for mistakes this season.

Tim Tebow. Little Tim, Little Tim. I still remember him crying last year. BUT of course this is one of the most talked events this year in football alongside Bradford, McNabb, and others. Tebow didn’t do too shabby (And with the Friar haircut finally cut. Thank God because you looked like you were ready to catch a bible. Not a football) making his NFL debut. He did much better than Sam Bradford quite actually, tying with Orton for completions gaining 105 yards. And should be a fun sight to see should he ever get a chance to start. Now here’s the funny thing. You remember Brady Quinn? Yep. He’s in Denver. Both Tebow and Quinn are competing for the backup to Orton spot and it doesn’t take a genius or a scientist, or a good football fan, to figure out who will probably get the backup position.

Quinn was disappointing, only forgoing 6 completions out of 16 passes. Something about this guy wanted me to give him another chance. I mean, come on, sure he was playing in Cleveland, I was thinking MAYBE that he was just in a wrong spot. WRONG! But we shall see.