Diner Morning News: NFL Weekend Rewind

National Football Post

“The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong, it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.”—Douglas Adams, author, “Mostly Harmless”

Tonight, Week 1 of the preseason ends. So what have we learned? Have we learned anything about certain players, certain teams, or certain coaches?

Mondays mornings at the Diner are always the day we make a few observations.

Hard Knocks

Did anyone watch HBO’s “Hard Knocks” last week? If you did, you saw Roy Williams, the former Cowboy, get his butt kicked in the one-on-one drill. That made me feel stupid for thinking he might be able to play linebacker down in the box.

How can he be so non-physical? He’s bad on the third level, and he’s not physical in the box. So what do you have?

If you watched the show, you know that owner Mike Brown is in charge of that organization in terms of player personnel. He was running a meeting, and as they decided on the roster, Brown told the coaches what his decisions were. He owns the team, so he can do whatever he wants.

Often in these settings, the coaches tell the owner what he wants to hear, which does not help anyone. Brown is a very smart man who will listen, but he needs to have coaches speak their minds honestly in the room, not after they leave.

 

Other Notes

Garrett Hartley, the kicker for the Saints, tested positive for Adderall and will serve a four-game suspension when the regular season begins. That’s significant because he didn’t miss a kick all of last season.

Previously, when Martin Gramatica was with them, he missed three kicks in the 40-yard range and cost them the Broncos game. John Carney gives the Saints a reliable option this year.

Rex Grossman (hamstring) is out 4-5 weeks, which means he’s not going to be the No. 2 quarterback for the Texans. That role belongs to Dan Orlovsky.

The Texans—and our Matt Bowen—must hope Matt Schaub stays healthy. One way or another, one game will determine the AFC South, and if the backup loses that game, the Texans—and Bowen—will be devastated.

How can anyone in the Browns organization think those brown pants look good? Where’s the tradition? Where is the uniform that all of America has come to know? I hate when traditional uniforms are changed.

The drops are apparently continuing with Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards, who dropped a sure-fire touchdown this past weekend against the Packers.

Jets wide receiver David Clowney might be All-Preseason two years in a row. He needs to stay healthy so he can help the Jets’ very thin wide receiver corps.

Defensive tackle Roy Miller, the third-round pick of the Bucs, is really going to help their interior defense this year and is a perfect fit in the Jim Bates defense.

Do you think wide receiver/returner Julian Edelman, the Patriots’ seventh-round pick, turned some heads this weekend with his performance? Claiming anyone good from the Patriots off the waiver wire will be impossible as the Chiefs hold the third claim and will beat most teams to the player.

I’m second-guessing myself for not making defensive tackle Tony Brown of the Titans a blue-chip player (see the NFC East/North in today’s Tavern) last week. He’s very good, and I think the Titans are even better than a year ago.

The Packers’ second-round pick in 2008, quarterback Brian Brohm, needs to step up his game in the coming three weeks. His performance against the Browns was less than impressive.

Remember last year when Ryan Torain was going to be the Broncos’ next star runner? He was waived last week after being unable to stay healthy during his professional career. Durability is as an important as ability.

Mark Sanchez will be starting on opening day for the Jets, at least in my mind. Matt Stafford of the Lions looks like he will, too, although I’m not 100 percent certain about that one—yet.

Peyton Manning getting sacked three times in his brief stint in the Colts’ preseason opener is shocking. If it happens this week, it will be alarming.

Watching the games last weekend, I had a sense that more teams are playing them with a larger sense of purpose. Opening weekend is normally a relaxed setting, but this past weekend it seemed to have a slightly more intense feel. …

If Giants' wide receiver Ramses Barden can escape press coverage and make yards after the catch, this will make the Giants even more explosive on offense. The G-Men wide receivers must run well with the ball after the catch tonight.

 

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