Ten Things I Think About Football

Was gonna be ten. Actually just five.

1. The Redskins front office is completely dysfunctional. In the offseason, Coach/Team President Joe Gibbs declared Patrick Ramsey the starter, yet benched him after three series in favor of Mark Brunell. Ramsey didn't look particularly good, but this doesn't reflect well on the coach. If you had so little confidence in Ramsey that you'd bench him so quickly, then why offer him the starting job at all? Neither of these quarterbacks are any good. But things being equal, if Gibbs was going to give Ramsey a shot - he should have given him the shot he gave Brunell. The Brunell who pretty much destroyed Washington's season last year with his ineffectiveness.

2. Michigan is way overrated. Again.

3. I will need to see the Colts play against a legit NFL Offense before I decide whether or not their defense is for real. Ditto the Redskins. Ditto the Bears.

4. I have seen the future of the NFL Tight End position, and it's name is Vernon Davis (TE - Maryland). Davis, a junior, will be taken in the first round of the draft. Within five years, he will make the Pro Bowl. Maryland will only win five games this year, and his stats will probably not look earth shattering, but this is the future.

5. Michael Vick is the single most exciting football player I have ever seen. He's not nearly as accurate as he needs to be. But he wins games already, and he will improve. He's not the passer John Elway was, and maybe he never will be. But he does recall the old adage. Your best player should be playing QB, because you want that guy to touch the ball on every play. It's a rare quarterback that's so gifted a runner that NFL Coaches have to bring back QB Power Sweeps that haven't been run since the 1930s. He is not the runner that Barry Sanders is. But Barry Sanders didn't throw rope spirals fifty yards downfield.

Even if Vick never develops as the player he might yet be, watching him play is a joy.

Ten Things I Think About Football

Was gonna be ten. Actually just five.

1. The Redskins front office is completely dysfunctional. In the offseason, Coach/Team President Joe Gibbs declared Patrick Ramsey the starter, yet benched him after three series in favor of Mark Brunell. Ramsey didn't look particularly good, but this doesn't reflect well on the coach. If you had so little confidence in Ramsey that you'd bench him so quickly, then why offer him the starting job at all? Neither of these quarterbacks are any good. But things being equal, if Gibbs was going to give Ramsey a shot - he should have given him the shot he gave Brunell. The Brunell who pretty much destroyed Washington's season last year with his ineffectiveness.

2. Michigan is way overrated. Again.

3. I will need to see the Colts play against a legit NFL Offense before I decide whether or not their defense is for real. Ditto the Redskins. Ditto the Bears.

4. I have seen the future of the NFL Tight End position, and it's name is Vernon Davis (TE - Maryland). Davis, a junior, will be taken in the first round of the draft. Within five years, he will make the Pro Bowl. Maryland will only win five games this year, and his stats will probably not look earth shattering, but this is the future.

5. Michael Vick is the single most exciting football player I have ever seen. He's not nearly as accurate as he needs to be. But he wins games already, and he will improve. He's not the passer John Elway was, and maybe he never will be. But he does recall the old adage. Your best player should be playing QB, because you want that guy to touch the ball on every play. It's a rare quarterback that's so gifted a runner that NFL Coaches have to bring back QB Power Sweeps that haven't been run since the 1930s. He is not the runner that Barry Sanders is. But Barry Sanders didn't throw rope spirals fifty yards downfield.

Even if Vick never develops as the player he might yet be, watching him play is a joy.