What got in to the D-Ends?

The Chiefs spent their two highest picks in this year’s draft on Defensive Ends.  With the third over-all pick the Chiefs took Tyson Jackson and with their next pick in the third round they took Alex Magee of Purdue.  Since the season began Chiefs fans have struggled to remember who the Chiefs took.  Neither Jackson nor Magee was doing much on the field to remind them.

While neither one managed to record a sack, Sunday was the best game of the year for both.  Magee pressured the quarterback twice, and Jackson led the team with seven tackles. 

The question is why it took so long to see something from them.  Either they are just now starting to get the hang of the NFL, or the coaching staff is finally starting to figure out how to use them.  Either way there needs to be more games like Sunday to make the 2009 draft a good one.

Power of the Quarterback

Has anyone noticed who the top teams in the NFL are?  The Colts and Saints are the only two teams left without a loss, the Vikings have only dropped one game, and the Steelers and Patriots look like they are rounding into post-season shape.  What do these five teams have in common?  They all are getting great play from the quarterback.

Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Ben Roethlisberger, and Tom Brady are five of the six highest rated QB’s in the league.  The game is even more about the quarterback today than it was years ago.

These five QB’s have played in nine Super Bowls and won seven.  Brees is the only one that hasn’t made it to the big game.  Roethlisberger and Manning have won three of the last four Super Bowls.

While these five teams are good teams all around, there is no doubting the quarterback play is what is putting them over the top right now.  If the Chiefs are to be one of these teams in the future, they are going to have to get that kind of play from their QB.  Right now Matt Cassel is the 24^th ranked QB in the league.  That has to improve… and no doubt the team around him has to improve to make it happen.

Vick is not the “Wildcat”

When the Eagles signed Michael Vick people said he was perfect for the new “Wildcat” offenses that were popping up all over the league.  So far Vick has passed for six yards on six attempts and ran for 27 yards on 12 attempts.  That is an average of 1.8 yards per play.  So what is wrong?

Michael Vick is not perfect for the Wildcat.  The Wildcat thrives in Miami because Ronnie Brown takes the snap.  Brown is a 230-plus pound running back that is capable of running tough between the tackles.  He doesn’t stop and start but fires into the hole and runs through arm tackles.  Vick on the other hand stops and goes, looking to avoid all contact.  That just isn’t how you run the ball between the tackles.

This is a classic example of the difference between running the ball in space and running it at the line of scrimmage.  Just because a QB can take off when pressured and pick up the first down does not mean he can play running back.  Vick is showing why almost every college QB that changes positions going into the NFL becomes a wide receiver and not a running back.  QB’s are used to playing in space and not make moves in traffic.