Weekly NFL Column 9/1/09 Edition

Weekly NFL Column  I asked a very good friend of mine to assess the performance of Drew Stanton and whether or not he is a NFL QB at a high level. Here is

Weekly NFL Column

 

• I asked a very good friend of mine to assess the performance of Drew Stanton and whether or not he is a NFL QB at a high level. Here is his response. “I think that in the right system Drew could excel. He won’t get the chance in Detroit because he struggled early and they moved on. He wouldn’t fit our system, but in the right one he may have some conditional draft value.”
• There is nothing short of anger around the NFL for Jerry Jones not having to move his scoreboard. One NFL person said it best, “There are very few teams that can do what they want, the Cowboys are one of them.”
• Ignore what you hear, the Broncos are shopping Marshall and the Bears would love him. I doubt they have the money to get him, but he will get traded.
• Osi Umenyiora walked out of practice mad at the DC. Coughlin won’t let this simmer for long. Osi is critical and according to players I know that know him, he isn’t a bad guy. Old school Coughlin would have ripped him, but he has evolved, and I really don’t think there is much here.
• How about the Chiefs making changes with the coaching staff already? If I am a Chiefs fan, that thrills me. I understand that this season is about learning what I have for the future and is shows that like his mentor Belichick, Pioli won’t let things go for the sake of politics. If it isn’t working, fix it.
• BTW Chiefs fans, you can thank the good Lord that Matt Cassel was only an MCL sprain. They put a lot into getting him for the future. He should be back for sure by week 2, but the best thought is the opener.
• Brian Hoyer keeps his mouth shut and studies hard with a super work ethic. Brian is getting close to realizing his dream of playing in the NFL. He has gotten this far and I admit I am rooting him on.
• The Patriots just cut another QB was to clear space to make a trade with Philly for A.J. Feeley. That isn’t bad news for Spartan Brian Hoyer, he’s still there. He isn’t ready yet to backup Brady, so they had to do something.
• Michael Crabtree, the holdout WR is absurd. Coach Mike Singletary is ready to move on and I wouldn’t be shocked if they simply pulled all offers off the table and let him go back into the draft costing him millions.
• I told the readers of the Phalanx when everyone was saying that Roy Williams broke his collarbone that he hadn’t. Roy is recovering and will be ready for week 1. He is fired up and ready for a big season. I doubt the Cowboys do a lot (look at the coach and blame Jerry) but I expect Roy to have a good season.
• The great Lawyer Milloy turned down the Lions. Of course it was over money, but if the Lions need a Milloy, you get the deal done. You don’t let him walk. I guess the more some things change, the more they stay the same.
• Mike Tomlin showed a lot of poise for being a relatively young coach. He and Tony Dungy are close and he really wanted Mike Vick on his roster. When the troubles of Big Ben surfaced he told his mentor no on Vick so as to not let anyone think he was less than behind Ben. That really meant a lot to Ben and his teammates and further cemented the close relationship that he has with what many feel is the closest team in football.
• Here was an interesting tid bit from a NFC high-ranking team employee that I got this week. “I have heard more in the last month that Urban Meyer could be a great coach in the NFL. I even have a friend who works for another team suggest their owner could try to lure Meyer to the NFL next year with the assurance that he could have total personnel control and pick his boy Tebow.”
• Forget the happy faces, the Eagles experiment with Vick isn’t going to end well. McNabb is a very sensitive guy and he isn’t pleased with the attention that Vick is getting according to a good source with the team.
• Gruden has been a great addition to the MNF booth. He adds a general disregard of who he offends and reminds a lot of people of a smarter Howard Cosell with the same tact or lack thereof.
• Will the T.O. experiment work in Buffalo? I highly doubt it, but a friend who works for the family that owns the Bills told me, “They don’t care. It sells tickets and that is the only way they are judging this.” Nice.