Insider | Notes
As regular readers of this column know, I am a big believer in the passing game, often paying homage to the Air Coryell days and Dan Marino spirals.
That is why I am praising the league's decision this week to make illegal contact and pass interference penalties points of emphasis for officials in 2004.
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| Lax calling of the rules made playoff heroes of DBs such as Ty Law.(AP) |
The defensive purists will say it's not fair, that the defensive backs and linebackers are already at a disadvantage since the receivers know where they are going and the defender does not. But permitting muggings in the secondary takes away what most fans want to see, which is big plays, points and pretty long balls down the field.
What the Patriots corners did in the AFC Championship Game to the Colts receivers might have earned five to 15 if it were committed outside the white lines. That's how much of an assault it was that day, and they weren't called for one penalty. Ricky Manning of Carolina did much the same to the Eagles receivers, although it certainly wasn't quite the same task of stopping Marvin Harrison.
The competition committee, which pushed to make these muggings more of a point of emphasis, said the move was not made based on one game or the playoffs, where there seemed to be a no-kill, no-foul mentality.
Instead, the move was made because passing yards as a whole were down to the lowest numbers in 11 years, with teams averaging 200.4 yards per game.
"The rule against illegal contact has been on the books for years," said Colts president Bill Polian, a member of the competition committee who pushed to make the change. "It just needs to be followed. The 'point of emphasis' is to make it clear that the rule is there for a reason, to open up the passing game."
Too many defenses have been getting away with bumping receivers off their routes or bumping them past the 5-yard free area. That has led to complaints from teams like the Colts, who say it gives the defense an unfair advantage.
Teams like Indianapolis and St. Louis, which throw the ball down the field, will benefit from the officials making this a point of emphasis. Miami and New England, teams that usually play a lot of physical coverage in the secondary, will be hurt by the change.
Teams with offensive firepower in the passing game will love more calls, while teams with defensive backgrounds will hate it.
"It's difficult for me having a defensive background," said Falcons coach Jim Mora. "We've got the ability offensively to be pretty good so these rules sound a little better to me this year than they might've last year [when he was defensive coordinator in S.F.]. I called (offensive coordinator) Greg (Knapp) last night and said, 'Hey, this is great. They're really going to enforce the 5-yard rule.' And last year I was saying, 'Push it to the limit. If you can hit 'em 8 yards down the field, and they're not going to call it, do it.' I like this rule a little better than I thought."
Saints coach Jim Haslett doesn't think the change will have that much of an impact past the preseason.
"I think they're going to emphasize it in the preseason," Haslett said. "I think once the corners get used to it, I think you'll be OK. It's just like when they emphasized off-sides on kickoffs. You used to be able to have one foot over the line on kickoffs. Then they called it like six or seven times in the preseason, and coaches emphasized it, and the players honed in on it and you didn't see it called anymore. Teams didn't cross the line."
If it's called tight in the regular season, leading to the secondary having to play a lot more loosely, it could make for more teams getting the ball down the field, which is a good thing.
Now to open up things even more for the passing game, the NFL needs to outlaw something else at its May meetings: the bastardized forms of the West Coast offense, featuring sideline throws of 4 yards on third-and-10.
Haven't we had enough of these short-passing games?
Bombs away.
Around the league
- It might be wise to keep NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Vikings owner Red McCombs apart for a while. It seems McCombs was involved in a weird scene the first day of the league meetings this week during Tagliabue's opening briefing. As part of that briefing, the league traditionally shows a 15-minute highlight video that features some of the best plays from the previous season. On this video, the last play was the spectacular touchdown catch made by Nathan Poole of the Cardinals on the last play of the last game to beat the Vikings, keeping them out of the playoffs. That set off McCombs. As Tagliabue walked to the front of the room, McCombs was loudly screaming at him that the receiver had just one foot down. Some league officials thought it would pass with time, but it got worse as McCombs continued to badger the commissioner in what one team's official said was "one of the strangest things I've seen." Tagliabue, for his part, didn't get pulled into a verbal sparring match with McCombs, preferring to take the high road. Some who witnessed it said Tagliabue was clearly biting his tongue as he went about his business. Too bad these types of things aren't part of the NFL Network's coverage of the league meetings. They'd do wonders for the ratings.
- Speaking of owners with a few too many things to say, Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga was getting plenty of heat in South Florida this week after several comments seemed to rile up the fans. One thing that had fans firing away was Huizenga's quote that coach Dave Wannstedt wasn't to blame for the Dolphins failure to make the playoffs, but rather kicker Olindo Mare should get some of the blame for missing key kicks. Then Huizenga said something to the effect that Wannstedt was well aware of his desire for the offense to be more aggressive, a claim Wannstedt denied in the Miami Herald. The day of the story with the denial, Hueizenga called into a Miami sports talk show and disputed the notion that he said he had a formal meeting with Wannstedt to discuss the offense. He did say he discussed being more aggressive with Wannstedt on several occasions. Huizenga owns the team, so he can say what he wants. But making outlandish statements in the press -- he even hinted that he hopes new quarterback A.J. Feeley can be another Dan Marino -- doesn't help the Dolphins' cause. Huizenga's popularity meter in South Florida isn't too high right now. The pressure to get to the playoffs seems like it's already starting to take a toll on this franchise after not getting there since the 2001 season.
- The consensus at this week's owners meetings was that USC receiver Mike Williams is falling like a rock off a roof. Will he fall out of the first round? No. But don't expect to see him in the top 10, either. Williams will work out for scouts April 8, but that is too late for a lot of teams, many of whom have already started stacking their draft board. In addition, Williams recently weighed 245 pounds and the talk is he won't run better than a 4.7. Even if he does better that, there are some off-the-field concerns. Williams has been getting so-so reviews from the USC staff regarding his off-field behavior. It seems the USC team as a whole missed 13 workouts last year, and Williams missed more than eight of them. On one occasion, according to a league source, he told coach Pete Carroll that he had to do some homework and then Carroll saw him playing basketball in the gym. Williams also is said to have trouble catching passes on the right side of the formation, since he is left-handed. He excels catching balls on the left side, but the right side proved troubling, according to the one team official. Williams and Maurice Clarett are both awaiting the outcome of the NFL's appeal to the court ruling they could be eligible for this draft. If that is overturned, then they may be in football purgatory since they both have signed with an agent. Next stop? Oh, Canada. Don't be shocked to see Williams fall to late in the first round.
- The Packers are hoping to land former Cleveland quarterback Tim Couch as a backup to Brett Favre, and quite possibly to be the guy who will someday take over for him. They are considering trading for him, but there is a chance they can wait until the Browns release him on June 1. Couch is a better player than he's being given credit for, and spending a couple of years learning behind Favre would be a good thing for him. "Obviously, being forced into duty at age 21 is a difficult experience," said Packers coach Mike Sherman. "I'm not so sure it was the best thing for him at the time. I think he had one of the toughest situations a quarterback can have. I understand the situation he was under early on in his career. I think he has a good arm. He's a good person. My conversation with him, I think he'd fit in with our team, if it went that far. But we're a long ways away. With the agent and the money, the whole thing has to align right and when you're dealing with as many parties as we're dealing with, that's not always easy."
- One of the better quotes from the two coaches breakfasts at this week's meetings came from Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden when talking about the return of Joe Gibbs to Washington. "He's like Mick Jagger," said Gruden. "He hasn't been on tour a lot lately, but he comes back and he rocks the house and does a hell of a job."
- Tampa Bay is taking a lot of heat for signing Darrell Russell, who has been labeled a "bad guy" by some personnel people. Russell has had past troubles with the law, that have since been resolved, but he has also been suspended a year for violating the league's substance-abuse program. Then last year he was signed by the Redskins, vowed to be a changed man, and wasn't. "That can't happen here," said Gruden. "Once again, I don't want a guy coming to work the first day, talking about the anvil hitting you in the head now. We're going to support the guy, we're going to help the guy. I've heard a lot of stories about the discipline in Washington. Maybe he wasn't the only guy, I don't know. All I know is he ain't going to be late here. He's going to work hard and play to his ability level and if he's good enough, he's going to play for us. If not, he won't. And that doesn't just entail what he does on the field, but off it as well. We don't have a lot of rules here. Use common sense. Don't be late and don't be overweight. That's been explained clearly." Simple, but somehow Russell always seems to make it so complicated. If he can dedicate himself to the task, a big if, this could be a good signing for the Bucs. If not, they will be forced to play Chartric Darby at defensive tackle next to Anthony McFarland. Darby isn't big enough to handle the pounding inside.
- The Broncos are offering cornerback Deltha O'Neal and their pick in the first round, the 24th overall, for a chance to move up in the draft. So far, there have been no takers. O'Neal, a first-round pick in 2001, has been a major bust, and was actually used some at receiver last year. The Broncos are said to be eyeing a defensive tackle if they do move up.
- The Patriots and Bills are both trying to trade up to get a big-play receiver. The Bills have the 13th pick, and would love to move up to possibly get a shot at one of the premier receivers in the draft, Roy Williams of Texas or Pitt's Larry Fitzgerald. New England, which has two first-round picks (21 and 32), is also looking to move up to possibly get one of those two. They have talked with Detroit about the sixth overall pick. Both teams need big-play receivers, so these discussions make a lot of sense.
- It's looking more and more like Rams quarterback Kurt Warner could be a June 1 casualty. That didn't appear to be the case a month or two ago, but now signs are pointing to Warner being released after June 1, a date that will help ease the cap hit. If restricted free agent Marc Bulger does not sign an offer sheet with another team that the Rams can't match, look for Warner to go. Bulger has until April 16 to sign with another team. If he left, the Rams would go with Warner and newly signed veteran Chris Chandler. They will also draft a quarterback, with Matt Schaub of Virginia one possibility in the third round since the Rams do no have a second-round pick.
- Now that Todd Steussie is in Tampa Bay, the Panthers are excited about seeing second-year player Jordan Gross move from right tackle to left tackle. "That was something we thought about a year ago when we drafted him," said Panthers coach John Fox. "You have to plan ahead. Moving him was something we knew was going to happen. We were basically getting a little bit older at that one spot and we decided to get a little bit younger."
- Vikings coach Mike Tice, a former offensive line coach, paid Tampa Bay line coach Bill Muir a high compliment. "I showed my players a tape of when he was with the Jets and my comment was that he was the most underrated line coach in the league," said Tice. "Now he's getting his just desserts. He's getting, as they say, paid." If Muir is really as good as they say, why did his line stink last year? Are the players that bad? With a revamped line in 2004, he will be facing the task of making chicken salad out of chicken dunk. The Bucs have added some linemen via free agency, but none would be termed above average, including Steussie. What they did get was guys such as Derrick Deese, who seem to be perfect for their style of blocking. If Muir can mesh this group together, then maybe he deserves all that due.
- The Patriots' move to sign Keith Traylor to replace Ted Washington was a good one. Traylor is a wide body who can stop the run. But don't think he's in the same class as Washington. He doesn't play the run that well. He was also bothered by injuries last year, playing 10 games. Looking at him now, all 350 pounds of him, it's hard to believe that Traylor came into the league as a linebacker.
- Bills coach Mike Mularkey said he plans to use Travis Henry and Willis McGahee in the same backfield some this season. Henry is penciled in as the starter, but McGahee looked good last week during the team's minicamp and he is a first-round pick who sat out last year recovering from ACL surgery. Henry has two years left on his contract, so perhaps the Bills are readying McGahee to take over after Henry leaves in 2006, unless, of course, he beats him out.
- The Texans have a good receiving group led by Andre Johnson, Jabbar Gaffney and Corey Bradford. But they are also excited about Derick Armstrong, who caught seven passes last year in eight games. Armstrong is a former CFL star. The Texans are hoping that tight end Bennie Joppru, who missed his rookie season last year with a groin injury, can become a pass-catching threat in the middle of the field to go with Billy Miller and blocking tight end Mark Bruener. Houston quarterback David Carr is going to have some nice skill people to work with again next year, and the Texans offense under Chris Palmer should be even better.
