CHIPZ SAYZ… MATT CASSEL HAS GONE AWOL!!

CHIPZ SAYZ… MATT CASSEL HAS GONE AWOL! On December 8th, 2008, Patriot’s Quarterback Matt Cassel’s father was found dead in San Bernardino, California. Cassel left the Patriots soon afterwards to return home with family. It is unclear whether or not he will come back to play during this Sunday’s game at Oakland.

The New England Patriots are in a three way tie in the AFC East. This coming Sunday’s game at Oakland will be a decisive game in determining who will take the lead in the AFC East and with a possibility that Matt Cassel will not return by this Sunday’s game will hurt this franchise in any hope of winning the Superbowl or even getting into the playoffs. We must also include key defensive player Tedy Bruschi who is likely to be out for the remainder of the season as a result of a knee injury will hinder the Patriots in being a successful team.

I, CHIPZ, have my own conclusions and conspiracies. Is Coach Belichick hiding something from us? Yes, I understand that Matt Cassel has a duty to go home to be with family and sort out any personal issues, but lets look at the big picture; as a player, when you sign those contacts, you also sign away that luxury. Look at past NFL history. Quarterback Brett Favre’s father died the day of his game and yet he was still on that field even with fans believing he wouldn’t show up. I believe that Matt Cassel simply packed his bags and walked out knowing that he might not return. It explains why Coach Belichick has no definite answer to whether Cassel will be back by this Sunday’s game or not. I personally don’t think we will see Matt Cassel return for the remainder of the 2008 season. Which leaves us with backup quarterback Kevin O’Connell who has only completed three passes during this entire season. However, I do believe that Kevin O’Connell was a great quarterback at San Diego State with a career 7,689 passing yards, 46 touchdowns, and a completion rating of 57.7%. The statistics aren’t up to par as some of his co NFL quarterback draftees, but the San Diego State Aztecs had a horrible offensive line and mediocre wide receivers. A collapsing offensive line isn’t something that is new to quarterback Kevin O’Connell and I will call it now, if he has the chance to start for the Patriots this weekend against the Oakland Raiders, the Patriots will win. Matt Cassel’s stock has just bottomed out!

CHIPZ SAYS, “Buckle up boys, we’re going into the PLAYOFFS!”

     After being away for the past 2 weeks doing extensive research all paid for by Sportsroids.com to better your fantasy football knowledge, I’ve only came up with one solution – INCONSISTENCIES!!! Okay, I lied about getting paid to do extensive research. However, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that we’re seeing a lot of inconsistencies with our players and we don’t know who to start anymore. So here’s the problem that I will answer in this article; who should we start?

     Play the game smart. Now is not the time to look for sleeper picks unless your starter is hurt. Wide Receiver Hines Ward of the Pittsburgh Steelers is an example of a very inconsistent starter. If you have him, you cannot risk not starting him in week 13 even though he did terrible in week 12. Quarterback Brady Quinn of the Cleveland Browns is another inconsistent starter. He did great in week 11, but had to leave after the first half in week 12 to let Quarterback Derek Anderson in to possibly spark any hope in coming back. The only difference between Brady Quinn and Hines Ward is, don’t not start Brady Quinn. Look for another quarterback asap. Quarterback Matt Cassel of the New England Patriots is an awesome quarterback and I’ve always believed he’d produce and he is. If he hasn’t been picked, pick him up NOW and start him if you are having quarterback problems.

 

     Running Back Reggie Bush of the New Orleans Saints is a keeper but I wouldn’t start him in week 13. Right now, Running Back Pierre Thomas of the New Orleans Saints is looking pretty good especially with week 12’s game ending with 87 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers. The Saints might let him get a few more carries over Reggie Bush if they let him play in week 14 to allow Bush to get the rest he needs. Wait for week 14 or 15 before you start Bush again. If you’re having problems with your running back position and you need to make the playoffs, you might want to consider dropping Reggie Bush. Look for Kevin Faulk of the New England Patriots, Mewelde Moore of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Peyton Hillis of the Denver Broncos if they haven’t been picked up.

 

 

 

 

     Running Back Tatum Bell of the Denver Broncos was expected by a lot of fantasy football owners as a potential sleeper pick but ended up as a fluke. I wouldn’t count on him for the rest of the season. Running Back Peyton Hillis will carry most of the rushes for Denver as long as he keeps doing what he has been doing for the past 2 weeks. In week 12, he carried 12 times for 74 yards with an average of 6 yards per carry.

     The Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Seattle Seahawks are a team you should stay away from. I wouldn’t start any of their players except for Tight End Kellen Winslow of the Cleveland Browns because they are struggling teams that aren’t going to produce for you. Quarterback Donovan Mcnabb of the Philadelphia Eagles is struggling right now and isn’t getting any support from his team, his coach, or his fans. Mentally, he will be down and until he can prove that he can come out of his slump, do not start him. A once first round draft pick, Running Back Brian Westbrook of the Philadelphia Eagles is also a player who you probably don’t want to start. He is still hurt and even though he’s playing through the pain, he obviously isn’t producing the stats he needs to for you to win. Look to sit him out for week 13.

     Look at your starters and keep them in unless you have the starters I’ve named in this article to bench. Remember, play the game smart and don’t risk anything yet. Your team is on the line and you NEED to make the playoffs! Leave comments and I’ll respond to them with any tips I can offer.

CHIPZ SAYZ… QUINN-TASTIC?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     CHIPZ sayz, “Quinn-tastic? or Quinn-untastic?” Brady Quinn of the Cleveland Browns was drafted after the 2006 Season from Notre Dame and was sat during the entire 2007 Season and half of the 2008 season. Did Head Coach Romeo Crennel make a bad decision in starting Quarterback Derek Anderson in the 2007 and 2008 Season? In my opinion, it was a very smart move. The future team of the Cleveland Browns was intended to have Brady Quinn as their leader… As their starting quarterback. So why now?

     I am a strong believer that starting a rookie quarterback is a very bad move. Quarterback Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans was believed to be the one that would lead his team to the Super Bowl; however, he miserably failed. Many people believe that a scrambling quarterback isn’t suitable in the NFL because everyones too fast and it just simply doesn’t work. Don’t blame it on that. Vince Young was just too young and didn’t know how to utilize his weapons to the highest potential. It’s like giving a 16 year old kid a Ferrari. You just don’t do that! Which is the reason why Quarterback Kerry Collins is having so much success. He has the experience and knows how to use his team.

     Quarterback Derek Anderson is a good backup quarterback but is not starting material. Benching Brady Quinn for a season and a half will just mature him and allow him to learn and completely understand the team’s offensive playbook. Head Coach Romeo Crennel probably intended to sit Brady Quinn for the entire 2008 season only to start him in the 2009 season; however, due to the fact that in the NFL, it’s all about instant gratification; therefore, Head Coach Romeo Crennel knew that his job was on the line and had to make a move. Is it too early to start Brady Quinn or are we quite possibly looking at another great quarterback? Only tonight’s game will tell.

     If you are a Fantasy Football Owner, I wouldn’t recommend starting Brady Quinn. He has only played one game in the 2007 season where he went 3 for 8 throwing for 45 yards which isn’t solid but it’s not enough to determine if he’ll do well for you as a Fantasy Football Owner. He’s going to have a tough road for him for the rest of the entire season because of their strong opponents they will be playing against for the remaining season. This is where the boys stand out amongst men! AND that’s how the fortune cookie crumbles!

Defense Wins Championships?

By Alex V

Defense Wins Championships or Great Quarterbacking?

One of the longest standing arguments in today’s NFL has been the viewpoint that it takes a strong defense to become a champion. Over the past few years teams like the Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers have been able to remain in at least competitive contention, if not championship contention, due to their outstandingly consistent play on defense. However, in this writer’s eyes, the most important factor in helping a team turn the corner from respectability to prominence has been the position of quarterback.

Over the past ten years alone, almost every Super Bowl champion has been led by a pro-bowl caliber, if not perennial pro-bowl quarterback. In most cases a good defense played a key role in each winner’s success, but on most of those teams, there was strong quarterback play involved as well.

During the 1998 season the Denver Broncos won the title with John Elway, and everyone knows how great he was. In 1999, the St. Louis Rams became league champions behind the light-out play of MVP quarterback Kurt Warner. Everybody will remember the Greatest Show on Turf as one of those teams that had such a great offense, they could overcome sub par-to-average defense to win games. In 2000, the Baltimore Ravens would make a name in history as one of those teams that could overcome average, but not great, offensive play with a tenacious defense that created turnovers and stymied opponents week in and week out with its defense.

Let’s use a paragraph too look a little deeper at those 2000 Ravens. That team’s defense was so good that it held three regular season opponents to seven points, their Super Bowl opponent to seven points (the New York Giants), one regular season opponent to three points, and three post-season opponents to three points (the Wild Card Denver Broncos and the AFC Championship host Oakland Raiders), and four regular season opponents to zero points. How often does a defense that strong come along? Not too often I would say. I gahter that that the 2000 Ravens and the 1985 Bears were two teams in NFL history that literally succeeded almost an entire season based solely on excellent defense.

In 2001, Tom Brady came along and got his first Super Bowl title when he drove his team downfield to kick a game-winning field goal. In 2002, another team with a great defense raised the Lombardi Trophy and this time it was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, Brad Johnson was Tampa’s quarterback that year and in 13 regular season games, finished the season with 22 touchdown passes against six interceptions, a 62.3% completion percentage, and a 92.9 Quarterback rating (the best of his career). The next two years would conclude with Tom Brady’s Patriots coming out on top, where-in 2003 Tom Brady led yet another drive downfield for a game-winning field goal, and in 2004 it was Brady and the Patriots who got the trophy.

In 2005 the surprise Pittsburgh Steelers came out on top. Even though it was the defense that showed up in the Super Bowl and not Ben Roethlisberger, it was Big Ben’s dazzling play in Cincinnati in the Wild Card round (14-19 passing for 74%, 208 yards, and 3 TDs), in Indianapolis in the Divisional Round (14-24 passing, 197 yards, and 2 TDs with one INT), and in Denver in the AFC Championship Game (21-29 passing, 275 yards, 2 passing TDs, and one rushing TD) that got them there. In this case it was strong defense and strong quarterback play that produced a champion.

In 2006 Peyton Manning and the strong play of the Colts’ defense won the title. Finally, last year, even though the Giants had a great pass-rushing defense while leading the league in sacks, nobody would have picked New York to come out on top if it hadn’t been for Eli Manning’s highly unexpected pro-bowl level of play throughout the post-season, including the Super Bowl.

I want everybody to take a long step back when they think that defense wins championships, because in all reality it takes a solid defense coupled by strong quarterback play to win a Super Bowl, with a few exceptions every now and then on both sides of the ball. So remember, a great defense will bring you respectability, but it takes a great quarterback to take a team to prominence!

Super Bowl Winner and Quarterback

1997 John Elway

1996 Brett Favre

1995 Troy Aikman

1994 Steve Young

1993 Troy Aikman

1992 Troy Aikman

1991 Mark Rypien

1990 Jeff Hostetler

1989 Joe Montana

1988 Joe Montana

1987 Doug Williams

1986 Phil Simms

1985 Jim McMahon

1984 Joe Montana

1983 Jim Plunkett

1982 Joe Theismann

1981 Joe Montana

1980 Jim Plunkett

1979 Terry Bradshaw

1978 Terry Bradshaw

1977 Roger Staubach

1976 Ken Stabler

1975 Terry Bradshaw

1974 Terry Bradshaw

1973 Bob Griese

1972 Bob Griese

1971 Roger Staubach

1970 Johnny Unitas

1969 Len Dawson

1968 Joe Namath

1967 Bart Starr

1966 Bart Starr