NFL MUSINGS

By David Narushev, NFL Draft Bible

Expect Leon Washington and Thomas Jones to share more of the load than originally anticipated this season, especially since Jones pre-season injury will likely not have him at full speed by opening day. But even had Jones remained completely healthy, Washington would still have seen fair amount of touches per game. Eric Mangini isn’t the type of coach to overwork or underwork any of his players, instead he waits until the ideal game scenario arises and capitalizes accordingly with the right player in the right situation. Everything is tailored to maximize the strengths of the team, and nobody is asked to do more than they’re capable of. Seems obvious, but not every coach understands his team as well as a Mangini or Belichick (I’m looking at you Herm Edwards).

I’m not ready to go gaga over Vince Young yet. He had a nice rookie season (and was promptly overhyped to the moon), but his throwing mechanics still look like they need some fine tuning. He’s got this nasty habit of haphazardly whipping the ball out of his hand while releasing a pass, often getting a lot of air under it. This could lead to him becoming very interception-prone once the pocket starts to collapse or when throwing off balance, which he does far too often. Young’s arm strength and accuracy remain a question mark, and he certainly won’t be beating teams single-handedly with his legs, NFL defenses catch up to that and will develop schemes to contain him. I just don’t see him as a quarterback who can stand in the pocket and calmly pick a team apart; Young thrives on disorganized, sandlot football. I’m not saying he’ll be a bust or even that he’ll have a sophomore slump, but I see his career plateauing for a while as the league adapts to his game.

Anybody else miss the single bar facemask? I’m too young to remember the days when regular position players used to wear them, but they used to be a fixture on the helmets of the NFL’s scrawniest, goofiest looking kickers and punters until about 8-9 years ago. It was always funny watching them try to make a tackle during a long runback or muffed punt…or better yet, trying to advance the football on a botched field goal attempt. They’d either matador the ball carrier through, or give a halfhearted dive then get trampled by the thundering heard of players converging on them. It would make just about anyone long for their carefree days of intramural soccer in South Africa.

Tired of waiting around for the Arizona Cardinals to become the NFL’s hip new “surprise” team, it seems like all the experts have hitched their wagon to the San Francisco 49ers. Alex Smith doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence and an unreasonably abrasive (though dapper) head coach like Mike Nolan may alienate his team before they even get a taste of success. We may have to look elsewhere for Cinderella this year…Detroit perhaps? Kitna has shown he can be a good quarterback when not asked to do too much. They are deep at wide receiver and running back but still thin on the offensive and defensive lines. However, a quick examination of their schedule shows many of their opponents are even more flawed than they are. Don’t be shocked to see them pull out a nine win season as the Lions offense will just plain overwhelm some teams.

I have a hunch that we may not have seen the last of Bill Parcells on an NFL sideline. Sure he is 66 years old and probably overworked beyond belief, but as long as he can breathe, he can coach. And it’s absolutely unacceptable to him that Bill Belichick is walking around with more Super Bowl rings as a head coach. He has neither time nor patience to rebuild, but should there be a vacancy with a ready made team within the next four years, don’t be surprised to see Parcells jump at the opportunity for one more run at a title.

Though it may seem unrealistic at the moment, it’s my opinion that the Steelers will be Bill Cowher’s team again as soon as he’s ready to return from his mental health sabbatical. It could even occur by the 2009 season should Mike Tomlin fall flat on his face, which I don’t think will happen. It can’t be easy coaching in the Steel City, with the ghosts of Noll and Cowher constantly looking over your shoulder. Unreasonable expectations may doom Tomlin, as it almost doomed Cowher himself. A scenario may arise where if the Steelers brass doesn’t see Tomlin as the guy who can take them to the Super Bowl, and Cowher is entertaining offers from other teams, they might be tempted to go back to the sure thing instead of riding it out with Tomlin.

Be wary of both Jamal Lewis and Shaun Alexander. Alexander will be thirty at the start of the season, which is usually the end of the line for NFL backs. He’s lost a step, and was never that fast to begin with. Not a good sign, especially since he’s running behind an offensive line that is no longer among the NFL’s best. Lewis isn’t quite as old, but his poor yards per carry average the past two seasons may hint at there being too much tread gone from the tires. However, the Browns offensive line has improved on paper, and if they can finally get it together on the field then Lewis can probably squeeze out one more workhorse season.