Kaspers Korner

The Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Wisenhunt has named Kurt Warner the starter for the opening of the regular season, thus signaling the end possibly for quarterback Matt Leinart’s career.  The move could eventually get Wisenhunt shown the door.

Leinart had a horrible performance in a preseason game against the Oakland Raiders throwing for three interceptions.

According to the East Valley Tribune quarterback Kurt Warner had this to said of Leinart’s performance, “He just wasn’t feeling it.  We all have those nights.”

That is exactly the thing with Leinart.  Wisenhunt has been yanking him out every time he has a bad outing, or starts a game off bad.

Simply, Leinart has never had a fair shake with the Cardinals.  How can a  quarterback succeed if every time something is going wrong he is not given a chance to work through it.

In the end Leinart will move on to another team, and most likely will succeed there.  No quarterback even the likes of a young Tom Brady or Peyton Manning could survive under Wisenhunt.

The new field turf was suppose to a huge improvement over the old artificial turf.  With New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, tearing his ACL after getting his cleats stuck in the turf, people’s thinking might all change on that.

Already, this year there has been so many knee injuries that one has to question it now.  Even to the likes of superstars now.

I actually have experience with artificial turf.  In my senior year of high school we were able to use the old football stadium for the State University of New York at Buffalo Bulls. 

The old astro turf was essentially plastic carpet.  Which, felt like falling oon concrete.  That would also give cuts constantly to players that are not prepared for it.

The same goes for the new field turf.  It does not matter that it is made with rubber.  It is turf, and there is simply no give in it like grass.

Umenyiora’s injury brings to light that no matter how advanced technology gets there is simply no replacement for mother nature.

Simply, with out Umenyiora the Giants defensive end Justin Tuck will have to pick up the slack.  As well as the Giants offense.

If they do not, then the Giants will find themselves golfing earlier than expected.

San Francisco 49er’s head coach Mike Nolan announced recently that quarterback JT O’Sullivan is going to be the starter for the opening of the season.  O’Sullivan winning the job could be the first smart thing that Nolan has done.

From the start of Smith’s career Nolan screwed it up.  No quarterback should ever reach the field of play in his rookie season, unless injuries force him to be on there.  However, Smith started nine games as a rookie, beacause the team was pathetic.

On top of that Smith has had constant change at the offensive coordinator position.  In his four years of playing football Smith has had four different offensive coordinators.

No matter how good the talent is constantly changing the systems will only lead to failure.

The reason being that players need time, and practice, at getting good at an offensive system.  There are things like timing, terminology, and other little things that quarterbacks have to learn to be succesfull within a system.

On top of that Smith was set up to fail from the start. 

O’Sullivan has one clear advantage over Smith, and that is he was in current offensive coordinator Mike Martz system last year with the Detroit Lions.

The only way that brining in O’Sullivan, and then relegating Smith to the bench, is if they intend to give Smith a year of learning in Martz’s new system.

That is the smartest thing that Nolan could have done.  The reason being is that Martz was the offensive coordinator for the Saint Louis Rams in the greatest show on turf era at the turn of the century.

Martz’s offense is really complex, and simply making Smith the starter would have been detrimental to him again. 

Just maybe Smith will now be able to take a step back, breathe, and just start over. 

For if he does not turn things around he could surpass former San Diego Charger’s quarterback Ryan Leaf as the biggest bust of all time.

With the Hunters Hope radiothon going on thursday and friday on WGR 550 in Buffalo, NY many former Bills great interviewed.  After an interview I finally got sick of hearing the word loyalty.

Many people cite that the Buffalo Bills took a chance on left tackle Jason Peters, and signed him to a long term deal in the summer of 2006 after starting all 16 games in 2005.

However, people forget one thing, and that is the Bills did the same exact thing Peters has been doing.

The Bills threw loyalty out the window as they took a regular season game away from loyal Bills fans in Western New York.  The reason being that they were not making enough of a profit.

So, why should anyone show loyalty to the Bills after what they did?

People forget that children, and adults, will do the same thing that a peer does.   As the saying goes treat people the way you want to be treated.

Teams for years have been saying that fans do not matter as much as the almighty dollar.

For many years, and still going on today, teams that did not get a new stadium moved.

That was clear after former Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore after unable to get a new stadium.

Also, the Saint Louis Rams, and Oakland Raiders,  left Los Angeles after unable to get a new stadium.

To this day there are currently many teams that are threatening to leave their city if they are unable to get a new stadium.   That includes, the San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, and the Saint Louis Rams again. 

Again, why should player be loyal to owners, after they cannot even be loyal to their own fans?

Linebacker Shawn Merriman was suspended four games in 2006 for using steroids.  Now, it looks like taking those was not a good idea.

The one side effect from steroids is that long term after you stop using them your body starts to break down.  That is due in part the body stops making testosterone to repair muscles, and the rest of the body, since there is so much of it in the system.

Merriman had cartilage in his knee repaired in March be renowned surgeon  Dr. James Andrews. 

Since, training camp has opened Merriman has been experiencing knee pain throughout camp.

According to Pro Football Talk.com the rumour is that he could be done. This is after playing only three seasons in the league.

With Merriman having this much trouble, and being so young, one can only conclude that the recent knee problem is due to steroid use.

Merriman is in the last year of his contract, and was in negotiations with management, but those ae obviously on hold now.

If his career is cut short, due to his problems with his knee, there is only one person to blame for it.

Himself.

In sad news NFLPA Executive Director Gene Upshaw died wednesday nite of Pancreatic cancer, after falling ill last sunday, August 17th, due to it.  Having experienced cancer within my own family it is clear that Upshaw’s ego did himself in.

My heart, and condolences goes out to the Upshaw family.  However, someone neeeds to look at this objectively. 

In most cases of cancer if it is caught early there is a good chance that you can survive.  However, there are those that think, “I am completely fine so there is no need to see a doctor.” 

The following excerpt is from the website WebMD.com.

If there are no symptoms, what can a person do to catch this cancer before it spreads?

“Go for a yearly physical exam and evaluate anything that is out of the ordinary. Tell your doctor if you have unexplained pain in your abdomen, jaundice, or darkening of the urine. Also tell your doctor if pancreatic cancer runs in your family.”

In Upshaw’s case it was neither of this.  With a simple physical a doctor would have noticed that there was something wrong. 

Cancer metastisizes in the certain organ until it reaches a point that it is large enough, and then spreads to neighboring organs.  If Pancreatic cancer is caught early enougn your chances of surviving five years goes up 33 percent.

A simple check of the adominal cavity that comes within a physical would have at least give Upshaw’s children more time to spend with their father.  However, they will not get that, because he could not check his ego at the door.

So, what is in store for the future?   The NFLPA knew that they had the best chance of getting the most with Upshaw.  Onwers knew that with Upshaw doing the talking they were in for a fight, because Upshaw is stubborn, and sticks to his guns.

Now, long time NFLPA General Counsel Richard Berthelsen will take over as Interim Executive Director.  Lets face it eventhough Berthelsen has been around a long time he is no Upshaw, and the owners know that.

So, be prepared NFLPA you are about to get fleeced.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning had a infected Bursa Sac removed a little more than a month ago.  With its removal Manning could face his career being shortend, due to it.

As Si.com’s Peter King pointed out in his Monday Morning quarterback column the Bursa Sac lubricates the knee joint.  Now, with it gone the knee will face bones going up against each other.

That is not good at all.  What it means is that the knee will deteriorate faster than what is normally expected.  Also, there is going to be a boat load of pain that Manning will have to face. 

So, what it means is that Manning will even be less mobile now.  That means Manning will face more hits, and possible injuries.  Thus, shortening his career.

Manning could easily walk away right now, and nobody will blame him.  He has a Superbowl Ring already, and with the health of many former football players in their 40’s and 50’s deteriorating faster than a normal person.  One has to start wondering how long can a person play without cutting their life expectancy in half.

All eyes will be on Manning if he is going to start the regular season or not.  After all it is basically just around the corner.

Buffalo Bills Cheif Operating Officer Russ Brandon has apparently taken a hard line stance in the Jason Peters holdout saga.  One that could eventually cost the Bills a shot at the playoffs.

According to Tim Graham of ESPN, the Bills might not be that bad without Peters in their lineup. 

Talk about stupid things the Bills have done over the years, but for them to think that is so far the mother of all stupid things to come out of one Bills drive.

The reason is that it is the preseason, and defenses have not put a specific game plan together against the Bills.  All teams at this point are trying different things to see what plays they execute well, and what they do not.

Blitzing teams will have a feild day against the Bills. 

First, the Bills were not very good against the run.  They will load up the line of scrimmage, and take the run away from the Bills.

Then when the Bills are in long distance third down situations they will tee off on the right side of the offensive line, which is the weaker side of the line.

Even if the Bills use max protection that will not be enough at times.  Current starting right tackle Kirk Chambers is not good enough, and will be chewed up, and spitted out by other teams at times.

Now, with the quarterback Trent Edwards suffering a thigh contusion it is more important than ever to get good pass protection for him. 

Edwards fully healthy is a pocket passing quarterback, and very rarely scrambles.  The way he avoids the rush is the same way as most pocket passers do, and that is move up in the pocket.

However, at first when he returns from the injury Edwards might not have his full mobility.  This meaning that Edwards might not be as fast moving up in the pockey as he usually is, which will allow more hits, and a greater possibility for injury.

If I am Brandon I get off my high horse, and get a contract done, because if the Bills are in the playoff hunt in the middle of the season, and lose Edwards for a significant amount of time, Bills fans will be asking for his head on a silver platter. 

The Kansas City Cheifs are in the beginning of a rebuilding process.  How long they are in that process depends on how third year quarterback Brodie Croyle turns out.

Croyle was dubbed as franchise quarterback of the future.  However, that can change very quickly this year if he plays horrible.

Every quarterback in their first couple of years have games where they stink it up, and throw for under 100 yards total.  What you want to see that over time those type of games start to fade away.

However, things have gotten off to a rough start.  Croyle has completed 13 of 23 passes for 120 passing yards and no touchdowns in the preseason so far.

On the positive side the Cheifs running game has been explosive, as there are huge holes for running back Larry Johnson to run  through, according to the Kansas City Star.

So, that means that the Cheifs will have its chances.  It is up to Croyle to make the best of it.

The Dallas Cowboys were the first team to give Wade Phillips another shot at head coaching, since he was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills at the turn of the century.  Just in his second year with the team the same problem is rearing its head in Dallas just as in Buffalo.

Many Buffalonians will never forget the “Music City Miracle.”  Especially, after the Titans went all the way to the Super Bowl that year.

The thing is that Phillips does not give the special team unit enough time to practice.  According to WGR 550’s Paul Hamilton in Buffalo, NY, “Phillips was never there when the special teams practiced, and gave it very little time to do so.”

So, when looking in a Dallas Morning News article there it was again special teams getting slammed for bad performances.  What a surprise.  NOT!!!!!!

Do not worry Cowboy fans Wade will find a way to screw things up, and then get fired at the end of the year.  Thus, allowing offensive coordinator Jason Garrett to move up to head coach.

Also, in other Cowboy news Pro Football Talk.com is reporting that the Cowboys are interested in Miami Dolphin quarterback John Beck for a late round pick.  That is a shrewd move by Jones.

Beck was a rookie quarterback on a team that was a disaster.  To get someone with the talent of Beck for a late round pick is a steal. 

Mainly, it would allow the Cowboy’s offense not to miss a beat, and continue to perform at a high level if Beck were to pan out.