Is Tim Tebow 100% responsible for his terrible performance, or are there other bigger factors to account for? (i.e., the play calling, the porous o-line etc. etc.).–Justin, Quad Cities
Good question. No quarterback – neither Joe Montana nor Joe Schmo – is ever entirely to blame (or entirely to credit) for the performance of the offense. Not for nothing does everyone say it starts upfront. Tebow has been under a lot of pressure, which is only exacerbated by the fact that he is indecisive and tends to hold the ball too long and that even when he is prepared to throw, his long throwing motion means it takes him an extra split-second to get the ball out. And it certainly doesn’t help Tebow that the Broncos traded their most reliable receiver – Brandon Lloyd – right before Tebow got his first start this season. So, this is certainly not the most favorable situation for any quarterback, least of all one who has a big learning curve of his own to master. The Broncos tried to put in more Tebow-suited plays last week (playing out of the shotgun, some read-option like he ran at Florida), but it’s not that easy to have the entire offense switch mid-season to a different offensive style. It means different blocking assignments for the linemen, different runs for the running backs, perhaps different routes for the receivers. And in the middle of the season? Again, you can’t blame Tebow for how difficult all of that is. He has plenty of his own things to overcome – most important his accuracy (which is related to inconsistent footwork) and his reading of defenses — and certainly his performances have not been encouraging so far. But it’s been only two games and plenty of other things have to improve to make this offense work – not just Tebow.
Mike Wallace has been impressing Steeler Nation this year. Great fun to watch him outrun his coverage on deep throws — except against the Patriots, where he caught seven short passes instead. Was that a function of the Patriots’ defense or the Steelers’ game plan? Will other teams be able to keep him from the deep ball going forward?–Saltwater, Durham, N.C.
Wallace’s role last Sunday was a function of how the Steelers chose to attack the Patriots and what the Patriots were determined to take away. Early, the Patriots wanted to take away the deep ball. Fine. The Steelers instead carved up the middle of the field (remember pass after pass to Heath Miller?), going on long, time-consuming drives that kept the Patriots’ offense off the field. As impressive as those quick, deep strikes to Wallace are, that wouldn’t have keep Tom Brady on the bench enough. Can other teams keep Wallace in front of them? Sure. If they are also willing to leave huge voids in the middle of the field like the Patriots did. The really jarring part of the game to me was that the Patriots got the Steelers in third and long repeatedly (nine times by my count) and the Steelers converted repeatedly (five times). If other defenses – like, say, the Ravens this Sunday — can get off the field on third down, you’d like their odds a lot better.
(Interesting note: to simulate Wallace’s speed in practice last week, the Patriots had the scout team player who was mimicking Wallace line up two yards offside.)
How impressed should we be with this year’s rookie quarterbacks (especially Cam Newton, Andy Dalton and Christian Ponder)? It’s tempting to make historical comparisons, but unlike their predecessors, these players have been running pro-style offenses since college. Of course, last year’s rookies had similar college training and arguably haven’t done as well. Is this year’s class truly special?–Peter G., Minneapolis
Pretty impressed, especially considering they had no mini-camps, OTAs, meetings, film sessions, etc. until training camps opened in late July. It’s hard to say last year’s rookies didn’t do as well – Sam Bradford was pretty great as a rookie (a change to a new offense and injuries galore don’t help this year) and I think everyone can safely agree that Tebow was drafted higher than he should have been. But back to this year – it’s inarguable that Cam Newton is special. He’s an elite player and his work with Chris Weinke during the lockout clearly got him up to speed on the playbook much more than anyone expected. Coaches raved about his work ethic as soon as he got to camp and that is showing. He terrifies defenses not just with his rocket of an arm, but his ability to run (also, he is huge – I didn’t realize that until I stood next to him a few days before the draft). Dalton is benefitting from having quick chemistry with A.J. Green but his stat line (nine TDs and seven INTs) is more typical of what you’d expect from a rookie. And we have too small a sample size on Ponder. But generally, we’re seeing more rookies make quicker impacts because college football now looks more like pro football. Nobody runs the wishbone anymore and then has to make the change to the pro style – that’s why we’re seeing more rookies starting right away.
Looking at the Colts’ collapse, does it mean that Peyton Manning was even more central to this team’s success than anyone knew? Other quarterback-dependent teams have not had the same drastic drop-off when they lost their starter for the year (e.g. the Patriots in 2008). The Colts were in the Super Bowl in 2009, then barely lost to the Jets in the playoffs last year. They’ve done well, even with major contributors injured, as long as they had Manning. Are they really this bad without him?–XA, Michigan
Short answer: yes. I wrote about this last Sunday – I think we may have underestimated how critical Manning was, which is saying something considering he’s a four time league M.V.P. No team is as dependent on the quarterback as the Colts were on Manning, though. All of their other personnel decisions were made to build the team around him. There was little running game, the offensive line was built mostly for pass protection not run-blocking, the defense was built small and fast to rush the passer, because it assumed the Colts would usually be playing with a lead – because Manning would get it – and they paid almost no attention to having a backup ready to go because Manning was an ironman. It’s a recipe for collapse if you then lose the one player you simply can’t lose.
Having said all that, I’m shocked that they are winless right now. When it was clear Manning probably wouldn’t play this season, my guess was they would win maybe four or five games. They have talent on the team – Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney, Dallas Clark, Reggie Wayne. Those are players that any other team would be delighted to have on their rosters. I am stunned at how other parts of the team now seem to be regressing. Manning wasn’t playing defense or special teams – it’s not him who is out there missing tackles and botching punt coverage. Chris Polian, the Colts’ general manager, told me something early this season that really rings true: a player of Manning’s caliber covers up a lot of sins on the roster. Now we know just how bad those sins are.
Also, what’s the point of forcing linemen to wear microphones?–Justin, Quad Cities
Linemen are asked to wear microphones to enhance the sound for television broadcasts. It used to be that the member of the officiating crew who lined up right in the middle of the defense would pick up those sounds. But when he was moved to behind the offense for his own safety, that sound was lost – and networks wanted it back because they believe it enhances the viewing experience. In the ultra-paranoid world of the N.F.L., some people wonder if opposing coaches can tape the broadcasts and pick up and decipher play calls and blocking calls. But the networks pay a lot of money for rights to broadcast those games and they will figure out a way to get their sound.
Based on what you know now, which two teams are probable participants in the Super Bowl next year?–Mark Sanford, Orinda, Calif.
Thanks for giving me a chance to revise my Super Bowl picks. I think I went with Saints vs. Patriots in the season preview. That doesn’t look like the worst pick right now, although the Packers would look a lot better (I picked them to win last year, did I mention that?). Repeating at the Super Bowl is hard, and the Packers’ defense hasn’t been as formidable in the first half this season as it was last season. But I would not pick against Aaron Rodgers right now, no matter who he is facing. He is the best quarterback in the league and the Packers are the best team and there is not a close second. The Patriots’ struggling defense makes me nervous but since there is no dominant team in the A.F.C. right now, I’m not sure they can’t at least get to the Super Bowl anyway. It will just depend on who they face in the playoffs. If it’s a team with a super-elite quarterback (Steelers), the Patriots could go out early because their pass defense is a mess.The Steelers looked pretty good last Sunday and they certainly reinserted themselves into the post-season conversation. But until somebody in the A.F.C. separates themselves clearly from the pack, I wouldn’t know who to change my pick to. So to answer your question, I’d probably just stick with my preseason pick until further notice. But ask me again in a few weeks and I might feel differently.
Are the Bills for real?–Jonathan, New Jersey
Yes, I think they are (caveat: if Ryan Fitzpatrick is healthy). Again, there is no dominant A.F.C. team and with the Patriots and Jets looking vulnerable there is plenty of room for the Bills to slip in there and at least get into wild card position. They already have a victory in hand over the Patriots and they get the Jets at home this Sunday. A victory would put the Bills in a very nice spot at the midway point.
Re: Sam Borden on the yo-yoing of Ryan Perrilloux, does this ever work out well for the player? Obviously at $5,700 per week it is cheap insurance for the team. But are there example of players who have gone through this in recent years and then caught on to be regular team members?
This sounds a lot like the pro football version of the Rudy Ruettiger story at Notre Dame, but probably without as happy an ending.–Leonard, New York City
James Harrison spent plenty of time on practice squads and was let go by Baltimore before finally sticking with the Steelers. It’s turned out really nicely for him and the Steelers. It is certainly an unusual way to get to be a defensive player of the year, but it can be done.
What will it take for the Jets to move past Brian Schottenheimer? Predictably, the Jets offense will bomb this week. Will that finally prove enough? Why does an underachiever have such a hold on this organization?–kman, New York City
This question comes up at least every other week. You have to remember, Schottenheimer is calling things that he and Rex Ryan feel comfortable doing with Mark Sanchez. Does that mean they don’t have confidence in the quarterback? Perhaps. Should they have more? Maybe. I don’t know what will happen this season. But you have to think that if they fail to make the playoffs – with Sanchez not showing any appreciable signs of improvement in his third season – Ryan might consider making a change. But Ryan knows more about what Sanchez is capable of than the rest of us and he might know that Schottenheimer is being hamstrung by Sanchez as much as Sanchez is being hamstrung by Schottenheimer. One other thing: the offensive line is not as good this season as it has been in the past and the running game is clearly not the force it was or that the Ground and Pound philosophy demands. That doesn’t help a quarterback or offensive coordinator either.
How well do the Bengals match up against the Steelers and the Ravens, division rivals they have yet to play this year?–Mordecai, Brooklyn, N.Y.
What the Bengals do best is play defense, particularly against the run (they are ranked second in rushing yards allowed defense). That should be a bigger problem for the Ravens, who – if they’re playing smart – rely on Ray Rice more than the Steelers do on Rashard Mendenhall, especially because of Joe Flacco’s inconsistent performances lately. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton has had a nice season so far but welcome, rookie, to two terrifying defenses in the Steelers and the Ravens. If the Steelers can befuddle Tom Brady and take Wes Welker out of his game, they can surely handle Dalton and A.J. Green. And the Ravens merely have the top-ranked defense in the league and simply crush quarterbacks – they have 25 sacks, second in the league. The Steelers play the Bengals next Sunday in Cincinnati and then the Bengals go to Baltimore the following week. That stretch will give us a much better idea of how the Bengals stack up. But long-term, Dalton and Green give them plenty of hope for the future.
