Silverphin
Chairman of the 'Owned! Awards' Commitee
Here our three truths that one should always remember.
Truth #1: When conjuring up Plan A, make sure it is a plan of the highest quality.
Truth #2: After conjuring up Plan A, make sure you create plan B aftwerwards.
Truth #3: When conjuring Plan B, make sure it is at least half as good as Plan A.
These truths can be applied to any team sport. The Miami Heat, despite having a starting lineup that consists of Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'neal, Udonis Haslem, Jason Williams, and Antoine Walker, would not have been sucessful without Gary Payton, James Posey, and especially Alonzo Mourning. The 2003 Florida Marlins, or any other championship MLB team, wouldn't of won a championship without a deep bullpen and quite a few closers.
And we all know, these truths can be applied directly to football as well. In this game, second and third stringers can make or break a team.
In 2002, when Jay Fiedler went down, Ray Lucas stepped in. Our season went to hell afterwards.
Two years later, in our disaster of a season, Zach Thomas was injured in the game versus the Seahawks. When Derrick Pope stepped in, and totally owned Shaun Alexander.
See the difference?
There are even more examples about how badly depth is needed.
In 2001, when Edgerrin James was injured and out for the last 15 games of the season, The Colts inserted Dominic Rhodes. Now, to be fair, the Colts did have receivers in Harrison and Wayne and a versatile Tight End in Marcus Pollard. But Rhodes was able to rush for 1104 yards on an impressive 4.7 yards per carry.
In 2005, Ahman Green of the Packers went down as well. That's when Samkon Gado stepped in, putting up great numbers as well.
However, the prime example was the 1972 season. When Bob Griese went down in the fifth game of the season, Earl Morral finished off the rest of the schedule.
Now we are on the verge of the 2006 National Football League Season. Right now, we still have some questions. But some of the positions we do not have to worry about due to some of our back-ups.
Best Back-ups
1. David Bowens, DE/OLB - Let me say this right now: David Bowens wasn't dropped to second string because he's not good enough to be started. David Bowens was dropped to second string because A) the style of defense changed and B) he was the only player from last year who could fill Jason Taylor's shoes if anything happened without changing the game plan. And despite him being seond string, he was able to amass 24 Total Tackles (21 Solo), 7 Sacks, 4 Pass Deflections, 1 Forced Fumble, and 1 Kick Return for 5 yards (don't ask).
2. Yeremiah Bell, S - This guy, in my opinion, will be a starter one day. He's great in coverage, pass rush, and run support. Every year, he stepped up his game, and is willing to learn new techniques, even saying in a short interview that he learned how to force a fumble while sacking a quarterback from Jason Taylor.
3. Derrick Pope, LB - I'm not going to lie to you. In 2004, pre-Seahawks game, I wrote him off as a Wannstedt bust. But after the Seahawks game, I came away from the television with a newfound respect. In the Bills game this year, he was quite solid. Unfortunately, he was out-shined... correction... out-shadowed by our first half secondary performance.
Honorable mentions: DT Manuel Wright, DT Jeff Zgonina.
Questions
1. Can Joey Harrington be a reliable back-up?
I'm not trying to jinx anyone. But the fact of the matter is, the number 2 quarterback spot is probably the best back up spot there is. Now, provided, Joey Harrington does have the tools, but we can't blame his misfortunes totally on the Detroit front office (though we can blame the F.O. for a good chunk). Right now, he is neck and neck with Cleo Lemon, though, to be fair, Cleo had more time in the system. Let's see how training camp goes.
2. Do we have enough heat at the Strongside Linebacker position to take some heat off of Taylor?
It's hard to say. Sedrick Hodge is good at coverage. Keith Newman is a beast in the pass rush, and Donne Spragan, while a balance between the two, has a Stanford Education and obviously something that impressed Dom Capers. If we keep seven linebackers, then Ben Ishola is a tweener that could definitely fill in that thrid DE/OLB spot after David Bowens if Jason Berryman isn't signed. (It was reported that Ben Ishola is now the understudy of Jason Taylor and David Bowens).
However this may not be enough. None of these linebackers are a sure thing to be an impact.
3. Is Wade Smith a suitable enough to back up Rex Hadnot at center?
Wade Smith is not a good left tackle. Not even decent. However, he must of done something to warrant a move to center. Unfortunately, he broke his arm during camp before we can even do during the pre-season, forcing the acquisition of Alonzo Ephraim off of the Eagle's practice squad. After he was left unsigned, we acquired two centers. Unfortunately, they were waived after mini-camp.
Training camp is not only for determining the starters. It is also for rooting out the quality depth from the camp fodder. Let's sit back and enjoy camp. And this year, just like previous years, we'll see the miracle of depth.
Truth #1: When conjuring up Plan A, make sure it is a plan of the highest quality.
Truth #2: After conjuring up Plan A, make sure you create plan B aftwerwards.
Truth #3: When conjuring Plan B, make sure it is at least half as good as Plan A.
These truths can be applied to any team sport. The Miami Heat, despite having a starting lineup that consists of Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'neal, Udonis Haslem, Jason Williams, and Antoine Walker, would not have been sucessful without Gary Payton, James Posey, and especially Alonzo Mourning. The 2003 Florida Marlins, or any other championship MLB team, wouldn't of won a championship without a deep bullpen and quite a few closers.
And we all know, these truths can be applied directly to football as well. In this game, second and third stringers can make or break a team.
In 2002, when Jay Fiedler went down, Ray Lucas stepped in. Our season went to hell afterwards.
Two years later, in our disaster of a season, Zach Thomas was injured in the game versus the Seahawks. When Derrick Pope stepped in, and totally owned Shaun Alexander.
See the difference?
There are even more examples about how badly depth is needed.
In 2001, when Edgerrin James was injured and out for the last 15 games of the season, The Colts inserted Dominic Rhodes. Now, to be fair, the Colts did have receivers in Harrison and Wayne and a versatile Tight End in Marcus Pollard. But Rhodes was able to rush for 1104 yards on an impressive 4.7 yards per carry.
In 2005, Ahman Green of the Packers went down as well. That's when Samkon Gado stepped in, putting up great numbers as well.
However, the prime example was the 1972 season. When Bob Griese went down in the fifth game of the season, Earl Morral finished off the rest of the schedule.
Now we are on the verge of the 2006 National Football League Season. Right now, we still have some questions. But some of the positions we do not have to worry about due to some of our back-ups.
Best Back-ups
1. David Bowens, DE/OLB - Let me say this right now: David Bowens wasn't dropped to second string because he's not good enough to be started. David Bowens was dropped to second string because A) the style of defense changed and B) he was the only player from last year who could fill Jason Taylor's shoes if anything happened without changing the game plan. And despite him being seond string, he was able to amass 24 Total Tackles (21 Solo), 7 Sacks, 4 Pass Deflections, 1 Forced Fumble, and 1 Kick Return for 5 yards (don't ask).
2. Yeremiah Bell, S - This guy, in my opinion, will be a starter one day. He's great in coverage, pass rush, and run support. Every year, he stepped up his game, and is willing to learn new techniques, even saying in a short interview that he learned how to force a fumble while sacking a quarterback from Jason Taylor.
3. Derrick Pope, LB - I'm not going to lie to you. In 2004, pre-Seahawks game, I wrote him off as a Wannstedt bust. But after the Seahawks game, I came away from the television with a newfound respect. In the Bills game this year, he was quite solid. Unfortunately, he was out-shined... correction... out-shadowed by our first half secondary performance.
Honorable mentions: DT Manuel Wright, DT Jeff Zgonina.
Questions
1. Can Joey Harrington be a reliable back-up?
I'm not trying to jinx anyone. But the fact of the matter is, the number 2 quarterback spot is probably the best back up spot there is. Now, provided, Joey Harrington does have the tools, but we can't blame his misfortunes totally on the Detroit front office (though we can blame the F.O. for a good chunk). Right now, he is neck and neck with Cleo Lemon, though, to be fair, Cleo had more time in the system. Let's see how training camp goes.
2. Do we have enough heat at the Strongside Linebacker position to take some heat off of Taylor?
It's hard to say. Sedrick Hodge is good at coverage. Keith Newman is a beast in the pass rush, and Donne Spragan, while a balance between the two, has a Stanford Education and obviously something that impressed Dom Capers. If we keep seven linebackers, then Ben Ishola is a tweener that could definitely fill in that thrid DE/OLB spot after David Bowens if Jason Berryman isn't signed. (It was reported that Ben Ishola is now the understudy of Jason Taylor and David Bowens).
However this may not be enough. None of these linebackers are a sure thing to be an impact.
3. Is Wade Smith a suitable enough to back up Rex Hadnot at center?
Wade Smith is not a good left tackle. Not even decent. However, he must of done something to warrant a move to center. Unfortunately, he broke his arm during camp before we can even do during the pre-season, forcing the acquisition of Alonzo Ephraim off of the Eagle's practice squad. After he was left unsigned, we acquired two centers. Unfortunately, they were waived after mini-camp.
Training camp is not only for determining the starters. It is also for rooting out the quality depth from the camp fodder. Let's sit back and enjoy camp. And this year, just like previous years, we'll see the miracle of depth.
