NFL Preseason Report
2005
So far so good.
Knock on wood now, but there hasn't been a huge injury
to speak of outside of Bears Camp. Another year without
Rex Grossman has Chicago throwing fists and picking
up old school slingers like Jeff Blake. Mini camps across
the league have ended and NFL Football is as big as
it's ever been. The football buzz is back! The preseason
gives hope to all, with an apology to San Francisco
fans everywhere. Let the rebuild continue! Powerful
teams like the Eagles and Patriots have lost a little
sting with key player "injury problems" (TO's
junk strain) and missing linebackers. This hasn't caused
last years Super Bowlers to be left off the top of preseason
ranking lists, but don't ignore these early problems.
New hopefuls have shown some shine, even if it's been
a quarter or two at a time. This is the preseason, and
what we see should be taken with a grain of salt…
That's why I'm here. I'm here to separate the sea, sweat,
and crackers, those who will forever remain preseason
heroes from the possible playoff players, the rookies
with game from the same old newbie's. Let the games
begin as I let you in on what the preseason has whispered
in Lucky's ear.
Leave it to every single televised
NFL broadcast to give their two cents about Terrell
Owens. If I had a dime for every time I've heard some
telecaster say, "That's the half, and we haven't
said one word about TO yet…" Idiots! You know
TO loves that stuff. Owens is making the league the
next reality show, and every TV station seems to enjoy
helping him do so. Sick of this yet? Me too.
Tom Brady and Donovan McNabb each threw an interception
on their first throw of their respective games last
week. What does this mean? Nothing. This is just an
example of how meaningless and fickle the preseason
can be. McNabb and Brady will keep their respective
teams well within reach of the top spots in each division.
I think Corey Dillon, Edgerrin James, Ladainian Tomlinson,
and Shaun Alexander have combined for about 40 yards
in their first games of the year. In fact, it's all
but a guarantee that Ricky Williams has more yards than
those 4 combined. Another preseason note that lacks
importance? You betcha! Each of those 4 studs will be
well into 400 yards before Ricky is allowed a jersey
to wear on Sunday. But Ricky has looked pretty good
for a year off in Jamaica among other drug free countries.
Randy Moss changed teams and he's already talking about
the drug deals going down in his new home town. Oh,
wait, he's talking about the drug deals he's been a
part of… yeah, everyone was right, the silver and
black won't influence Randy at all. This is Al Davis'
kind of player.
Chad Pennington is the happiest man in the world. He's
got Laverneus Coles back running routs, and he hasn't
looked better since Coles bolted for Snyder's Redskin
money two seasons ago. Look for big years out of both
Chad and Coles as the Jets have shown immense improvement,
especially with the signing of the best corner in the
league, Ty Law.
Overrated? The Dolphins and Niners. Yes, each team has
barely been picked to win a handful of games a piece,
but from the seat in my living room, five combined seems
like a running prayer. The Niners haven't improved,
and they were terrible. And although the Dolphins offense
should get a bit of a boost with Ronnie Brown, Ricky
Williams, and a healthy David Boston, but they still
have either AJ Feely or Gus Ferrotte throwing the ball.
Niether plan to join Marino in Canton. Their defense
has lost key players from Marlon Greenwood to Patrick
Sertain to Sammy Knight and more… Who knows which
side of the ball will lose more games for the Fins.
I've recently made a bet with my good friend Zapper
McGrath on Ricky's role with the Dolphins his first
week back from suspension. Zap claims, on his heft roll
of cash, that Ricky will be starting his first game
back from suspension. There is no way Nick Saban starts
Ricky in his first game off of a drug suspension after
he abandoned every one of his teammates a year ago…
that said, there's no question in my mind Ricky will
be playing a significant role early and often for the
struggling Dolphins. That still leaves me with my buddies
money.
Whose starting at running back in Denver? Who knows?
I'd like to say Tatum Bell takes that job, but then
again, I might have invested in him on my fantasy team.
Either way, there will be a big rusher from Denver…
but who will it be?
Peerless Price might not make the team in Atlanta…
Let's say he gets cut… how many teams will be fighting
for the rights to sign Price? Does he end up in Philly?
Who takes a chance of the former Tennessee Vol? Price
still has the speed to help a team get to the next level,
don't bet him out of Atlanta. I wouldn't be surprised
if he's starting by week 3.
I've had a good friend in the hospital with knee problems
for the last week or so. He didn't have a room next
to Rex Grossman, but from the sounds of it, he'll be
up and around before Rex gets back on the field. Initially
said to be out up to three months, it's said that the
Bears are almost surely going to put Rex on IR for the
rest of the season. No one likes to see injuries, and
this is no exception, Rex's career continues to be limited
by freak accidents on the field. Good luck on a speedy
recovery Rex.
Is it possible that the Ravens have gotten better on
defense? It's not possible, it's a sure thing. A switch
to the 4-3 should have young players like T-Suggs dominating
the line, while Ray Lewis does what Ray does. The secondary
has gotten a huge boost with the return of Old Man Deion
and new signee Samarri Rolle, where the line backing
corps just jumped for joy when Peter Boulware resigned.
Look for the Ravens to be the most complete team in
football with Jamal Lewis looking to prove himself while
getting help in the passing game from rookie Mark Clayton
and former Titan Derrick Mason. This is Boller's last
chance to shine.
Like most other first string running backs, Priest Holmes
had a measly 4 carries in his first of four preseason
outings. Unlike other first string backs, Holmes rushed
for 40 yards. They say he's only 75%. He agrees with
them. He's still the best back in football.
How about the methodical movements of my favorite and
yours, Drew "Hit Me Here" Bledsoe. With a
couple sacks, and four separate occasions where he led
his offense to 3 and out performances, Drew ended his
first preseason game as the leader of Bill Parcell's
Cowboys. Could this get any better? As if I didn't enjoy
watching the Cowboys fail week after week last year,
now I get to see Drew Bledsoe lumber around like a fat
kid in quicksand for a good chunk of the season. This
could be another great year to bet against the 'Boys.
Here's to my payroll.
That's it for now, I'll have another article up soon,
so stay tuned for more preseason action.
Lucky Lester
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