Michael Vick replaces Kevin Kolb the quarterback of the Eagles
If someone hands you an opportunity you take it and give it all you got. This is what Michael Vick must have thought after former quarterback Kolb was out for 6 quarters due to a concussion. During the time of his absence Vick filled his position and proved that he should become the new number 1. He threw for 175 yards and one touchdown and ran for 103 yards in a 27-20 season-opening loss to Green Bay. And to add onto that performance he had 284 yards passing and two TDs in a 35-32 win at Detroit on Sunday.
“When someone is playing at the level Michael Vick is playing, you have to give him an opportunity,” Reid said. “This isn’t about Kevin Kolb‘s play. You’re talking about Michael Vick as one the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now.”
Kolb missed the last six quarters because of a concussion, and Vick played well in his absence. Kolb was cleared to practice and was expected to run the first-team offense on Wednesday.
It has been a while since Vick started and watching the game from the sideline, as Kolb and McNabb played over him must have given him the extra push to exceed expectations over the last few weeks. “He’s back and maybe even a little better.” Reid believes this is the right decision, which is very necessary looking at all the publicity and questions this move had brought about.
Full article: ESPN.com
Haynesworth cannot pass his fitness test
Mike Shanahan thinks differently about his fitness test than the players, especially the defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth. The fitness test that seems to be impossible for him is two 300 yard shuttles that have to be run in 70 seconds and 73 seconds consecutively with 3.5 minutes rest in between. The challenging part to the test is that cones are placed 25 yards away from one another, which requires the players to change directions multiple times. For a big guy like Haynesworth this is more challenging than for a small person but Shanahan states that most people can do this run in their sleep.
By now, some coaches or organizations would have worked out some sort of a behind-the-scenes compromise in the name of team harmony and good publicity, especially with one measly second hanging in the balance. Not Mike Shanahan. The rules are the rules are the rules for the Redskins‘ new coach, no matter who the player is. “Either you play by the rules, you’re gone or you’ll get fined, one of the two,” fullback Mike Sellers said. “He’s a no-nonsense guy. A lot of the vets around here who are pretty much old-school guys appreciate it.”
No matter how hard this test is let us consider the facts. Haynesworth is a pro-athlete. Pro. This means that he gets paid for going out on the field to perform. It is his job. In the real world this failure to prepare or match the expectations of the job or the boss could easily lead to being fired from the job. Many athletes, especially college athletes of minor sports that go out and train every day without getting compensated by millions of dollars are able to get in shape and pass tests as they are required to. Luckily Shanahan, who will not allow Haynesworth to participate in practice unless he has passed his test, shares this attitude. Because let’s face it – there are millions of spectators out there that see football players such as Haynesworth as a role model and where would we be if our role models are let off the hook easier than we do?
Full article: NFL.com
Newman claims responsibility for Cowboy’s losses
Terence Newman, cornerback of the Cowboys says that their losing streak is not the coaches fault. He blames the upsets on his team and their performances in practice. He was the only one that took ownership of the unexpected negative start of the season but that also might have been because he missed the tackle that lead to the deciding touchdown vs the Bears.
On the other side of that story Bear’s quarterback, Jay Cutler, gets all the praise for pulling off a win over the Cowboys. But this performance was only a start for him – his team has high expectations.
If Cutler goes on to be everything the Bears thought he would be when they traded two first-round picks and a third-rounder to the Denver Broncos for him in 2008, his performance against the Cowboys should be remembered as the launching pad. Not only that, but if being tough is essential to winning over the hearts and minds of Bears fans, Cutler should be well on his way.
”This franchise is built on toughness and a gritty attitude,” defensive end Israel Idonije said. ”He’s the perfect fit.”
Full article: Chicago Sun-Times
Terence Newman claims responsibility for Cowboy’s performance
The Cowboys were expected to be one of the top teams in the nation. They were going to make it to the Superbowl, but what happened? One upset can always happen early on in the season but when there are two poor performances the hope or confidence in a team’s goals shrink. Cowboys versus Bears – a game, which we expected to go smoothly in favor to the Cowboys, went exactly the opposite way. Instead, the Cowboys had no answer to the Bears’ offense on Sunday. Every media outlet blames the coaches Phillips and Garret. Everyone looks at them for answers, which they seemingly cannot give, everyone except defensive back Terence Newman.
Newman states that the Cowboys did it to themselves. They do not give a hundred percent in practice and do not treat every moment on the field as an opportunity to improve and diminish their weaknesses. “I think that things kind of got let go in practice.. We have to make it a game situation in practice.. We got to do that as players and not worry about the coaches.” What is going to happen we don’t know but all eyes are on the team that has to turn it around now. Not tomorrow. Now.
“I think it is a crossroads right now,” Phillips said. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he’s trying to be patient, with Buehler (who also missed a 34-yarder in the opener) and everyone else.
“The best thing I can do right now is not knee-jerk,” he said. However, Jones added, “I’m mad, I’m upset, I’m very frustrated and extremely disappointed.”
Full Article: NBC Sports
Brett Favre wants to play on fractured ankle
The loss against the Green Bay Packers was not only tough because of a poor performance and result but also because of Brett Favre’s injury. Coming off the field after throwing multiple turnovers and losing to his former team the Packers 28-24, Brett Favre’s touch seemed to have disappeared. “It’s devastating, I don’t know how else to put it. I take a lot of pride and ownership in all phases of the game. You’ve got the ball in your hand, you hope to win those. You just feel like you let everybody down.”
Even though his performance can be blamed on personal issues and general fatigue his injury must have also played a major role. In the third quarter of the game he hurt his surgically repaired left ankle and we now know that it is more severe than expected as it is fractured. It is an avulsion fracture as well as a stress fracture but even though Favre is wearing an ankle boot he hasn’t been ruled out for Sunday’s game at the New England Patriots. He won’t need surgery, head coach Brad Childress said during his weekly news conference. Favre is hoping that everything will work out for him before Sunday’s match but he is not trying to get his expectations up too high. “I hope I use good judgment, so we’ll see. I’m no spring chicken anymore. I don’t heal as quickly. I know the heart’s in the right place, though. I know I left it on the field. It’s just disappointing that it didn’t work our way.”
Mcnabb benched at 1:50 but still No. 1 quarterback
“I felt with the time and no timeouts, he was the best chance to win in that scenario,” Shanahan explained. “Just knowing the terminology of what we’ve done, how we run it.” This was the comment by Washington Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan explaing why he replaced starting quarterback Donovan McNabb with backup Rex Grossman.
This move must have been a consequence of McNabbs intercepted pass with 4:40 minutes left in the game. At that point Washington was leading with 25-20 and looked pretty comfortable to take this one home. Alphonso Smith thought differently and took advantage of McNabbs fault at the Redskins 41 to set up the game-changing touchdown. Although McNabb was not willing to publicly question the choice of taking him off the field after his mistake he still was able to give an excuse for his play “My arm got hit, so I wasn’t able to follow through with the throw.” Following the game Shanahan stated that the subbing did not have an effect on his starting position as the quarterback; neither does McNabb. You just have to learn from it and move on,” McNabb said. “I did it then, and I’ll do it now.”
