Catching Up

First Things First

My apologies for the lack of updates if there is anybody out there actually reading these posts and was waiting for the latest one.  I finally got the new Madden so all of my free time lately has been spent winning multiple Super Bowls with the Cardinals.  Whiz has gone and made it tough on us Cards fans in Madden this year.  Now we have to cut Leinart from the team, and DA only has a 67 ranking.  It's not easy, or that much fun getting to a Super Bowl in Madden with a QB that has a ranking of 67. 

There is a lot to cover since my last post. Here are a few things that I wanted to hit when they happened, but winning my 3 peating in Madden got in the way.   

Captains

A-Dub and Dock are the defensive captains and that just seems right.  It's nice to see Fitz grow into the leadership role on offense.  When he first came into the league he didn't do that.  He was more of a quiet guy in the background, but he has really grown into a leader in his time here.  I was surprised a little with the pick of Lyle to be the other captain.  That shows he must be really coming into his own.  Russ Grimm has seemed to love him since he got here, and if you're good in Russ' book you're good in mine.  Ben Graham and Jason Wright are great choices for special teams captains.  Graham is the best coffin corner punter in the league, and Wright is a workhorse all around. He even played a little fullback last year when we needed him too.  He may need to see some action carrying the ball if Timmy and Beanie continue to have fumbling problems. 

Rams Game Thoughts

We really should have beat the Rams by a lot more then we did.  We owned the trenches, and had a lot of opportunities on offense.  Our defense just kept making stop after stop.  We completely shut down Steven Jackson who is one of the better backs in the league.  That game gives me a lot of hope for the season, but it also terrifies me.  Our offense couldn't do anything, and that wasn't because of the Rams defense.  Everybody on this team is too good to let the quarterback cost us the division.  Our offensive line was opening huge holes.  LSH looked like a bad mother out there.  I want to see more of him.  We should have just kept giving him the ball and running behind Levi and Faneca.  That left side is pretty nasty on the run blocking. 

Quarterback Struggles

I have a lot of hope that DA can "get his mind right", but there is the chance he may not.  It was pretty frustrating watching an open Fitz have to dive all over the field to try to get to the ball.  I really hope it's just a lack of time together that caused it.  DA did make some pretty amazing throws in the game as well.  He has to get more consistent.  If he can't, something has to change.  Whiz is going to be left with 2 options.  The first option is he can go to the ABC studio and bring Kurt back to where he belongs.  I can picture Whiz walking on to the set like the ending of "An Officer and A Gentleman."  If you haven't seen it, its one hell of a movie and you should put it in your Netflix queue.  The other more realistic option is to go with the rookie.  I really hope DA gets it together and it doesn't come to that, but we can't watch the rest of this team dominate on Sundays and lose the game because the quarterback keeps throwing the ball in the dirt.  Whiz may have no choice but to go with the rookie, and I know he won't hesitate if he thinks it’s the right move. He’s the smart one though, not me, so I know he’ll make the right call at the right time.

 Game Balls From Sunday

• A-Dub gets the first game ball.  He was an absolute beast out there, and he deservedly won Defensive Player of the Week for it.  He dominated the game.  He blocked a field goal, got two picks, and a sack.  That is sick.  If he keeps dominating the way he did he should earn serious MVP consideration.  Mike Sando put him at 10 on his MVP watch, which is a pretty cool honor for a safety. 
• Stevie B gets the second game ball and it's a shame he can't get the first.  His fumble strip probably won us the game.  It was that big.  He just hustles, and as Money Mike said, "That's something backpack boys do.  They make big plays in big moments."  He also caught 7 balls for 132 yards.  If you forget Money Mike is the one who sacked Aaron Rodgers and caused the game winning fumble in the playoffs and a fellow backpack boy as Darren Urban wrote about here.
• Kerry Rhodes gets a game ball for that huge pick at the end of the game.  He ran out of steam in the return, but he took it back pretty far and made sure to hang on to the ball.  He looks like he is going to be one hell of an addition to the Bird Gang.  I think he is going to be an upgrade from Antrel in coverage. 
• Sendlein the new captain gets the next game ball for his hustle on that play.  He probably knew he couldn't catch him and make the tackle, but he still gave it his all and ended up being right there to grab the new fumble.
• LSH gets one for his little breakout game carrying the ball.  I hope to see more of him this year.  He's fast and elusive.  Barry Sanders was a little back too.  Now I'm not saying he's as good as Barry Sanders who was the greatest of my lifetime, but I am saying we don't have to limit his carries that much because he's small.  Barry was out there every down and he was great for a long time. 
• Calais gets the last game ball for his sack.  That got my fantasy team 2 points. 

That's all for now.

-Oz