Clawesome, or Clawful?

Jimmy Clausen declaring for the University of Notre Dame, April 22 2006 (Picture reproduced from www.collegefootballblog.org under Fair Use)

Sharp Dressed Man

Coming out of High School, Jimmy Clausen was ranked the #1 prospect in the country by Rivals.com.  When he declared for Notre Dame on national TV, he arrived at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana, in a white stretch Hummer limousine, wearing a tux.  Even aged 18, one thing was obvious; one thing Clausen did not lack was confidence.

Fast forward a little while to early 2010.  Draftniks everywhere were debating which QB would or should be on the way to St. Louis with the #1 pick - Clausen or Sam Bradford.  Clausen came from a pro-style offense and had shone, with an incredible 7-1 TD-INT ratio his senior year, but questions lingered about his character.  Bradford had been touted to be the #1 pick in 2009 had he declared for the draft.  He chose instead to return to Oklahoma for his senior year, and was promptly injured just minutes into the season opener, missing the entire year.  He had always looked solid on the field, but the team around him was incredible, the Sooners having one of the strongest overall teams in college football.  Clausen also had a talented supporting cast, including now-Seattle Seahawk Golden Tate, and Michael Floyd, who will enter this year's draft.  However, Clausen had never had all of his talented weapons available to him at any one time - Floyd especially has a bad injury history, which is still causing his stock to slip as this year wears on.

So the debate was on, Clausen or Bradford?  Your humble author sat squarely on the Clausen side of the fence - season-ending shoulder injuries such as the one Bradford suffered just couldn't be good news, and Clausen appeared the most pro-ready college QB in years, while Bradford came out of the spread system, which has rarely been a recipe for NFL QBs.  However, as April 22nd neared, it became apparent that, for whatever reason, Steve Spagnuolo's Rams were going to take Bradford.  Still, surely Clausen would find a home at another QB-light team?

The Browns took CB Joe Haden.  The 49ers stood by Alex Smith (whoops).  The Broncos moved up to take Tim Tebow - Clausen would now only be the third QB off the board.  The Vikings traded out of the first round for Detroit to take RB Jahvid Best.  And then round 1 was over.  Jimmy Clausen still had no home.  But surely the Vikings would see the need for a long-term Favre replacement... wouldn't they?

With the 48th pick of the 2010 NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers selected Jimmy Clausen, Quarterback, Notre Dame.

Clausen has struggled in his rookie year for Carolina (Picture reproduced from ffchamps.com under Fair Use)

The Chance of a Lifetime(?)

It was one of the more intriguing situations coming out of the draft.  Carolina had just allowed Jake Delhomme to walk, and previous backup Matt Moore, so impressive whenever he had deputised for the mistake-prone veteran, only had one year remaining on his deal.  The stage seemed set for Clausen to spend a year understudying Moore, and then take over as franchise QB for the 2011 season.  But some things still felt odd.  For instance, in the sixth round, Carolina also picked Cincinnati QB Tony Pike.  How much trust was Coach John Fox really putting in his new man?

Coach Fox was known to only have a year left on his own deal, and rumoured to be on the hot seat if the Panthers had anything other than a stellar season, especially with rumours that Bill Cowher would like to take on a coaching role closer to home.  And, very early in the season, it became apparent that this wasn't going to happen.  In the fourth quarter of the Panthers' week 2 contest against Tampa Bay, a floundering, fumbling Matt Moore, who had looked out of sorts in the season opener against the Giants, was benched in favour of Clausen, in hopes that he would inspire a comeback.  He did not.

Poor play over the following three games, for which Clausen was named starter, led Moore to be re-instated for the game against the 49ers in week 7.  But in week 9, Moore suffered a shoulder injury, and was forced onto Injured Reserve.  Then, Clausen got hurt in week 10, being replaced by journeyman Brian St. Pierre for week 11.  Coach Fox has since reinstated the now-healthy Clausen as starter for tomorrow's game against the Browns (who, in an interesting twist, will start Jake Delhomme against his former team with the impressive Colt McCoy hurt).  But already, with Coach Fox and QB Moore almost certain to be out of a job at the end of the year, and the Clausen-led Panthers at 1-9 and seemingly destined for the #1 pick, people are starting to wonder whether the Panthers' future coach will be forced to plump for Andrew Luck, consigning Clausen to a long list of QB draft busts.

Carolina have hobbled to a 1-9 start in 2010, the worst record in the NFL (Picture reproduced from technorati.com under Fair Use)

Oh, Carolina

But, in truth, Clausen simply hasn't stood a chance.  The ‘09 Panthers who went 8-8 did so behind a strong running game.  In 2010, this has been nowhere to be seen.  DeAngelo Williams, the nominal feature back, is on IR and has been out since hurting his foot in week 7.  Even before then, his production was nowhere near his usual high standards.  Jonathan Stewart, nominal backup, has also spent a considerable amount of time on the sidelines this year, and hasn't shown his usual near unstoppable power running ability during his limited action.  As a result, Carolina have been reduced at times to third-string runner and kick returner Mike Goodson - an unheralded back, who while talented, is no replacement for the thunder-and-lightning tandem of Stewart and Williams.  But then, even in the season opener against the Giants, Coach Fox seemed intent on using Goodson in 3rd down situations, and for most of the second quarter - it was almost as though nobody had reminded him that pre-season was over.

On top of this, Coach Fox's job has been hanging by a thread seemingly ever since the Panthers' slow start to the 09 season where Delhomme threw 18 picks through 8 games.  And if it wasn't certain before the season, it is now - he won't be Carolina's coach in 2011, and as a result, his total lack of care about his team's performance is showing.  No players seem to want to play for him, least of all star wideout Steve Smith, the perpetual sole reliable weapon for Panthers QBs over the past few years, who has played hurt, but seems disgruntled at the lack of success this year.

But perhaps the most telling problem this year has been the offensive line.  Franchise LT Jeff Otah underwent supposedly minor surgery on his knee in the offseason, expecting to sit out a few weeks and return to the line-up.  However, Otah has since ended up on IR, and his absence has had a profound effect on the team.  The O-Line can't keep their QB upright, hence so many injuries, and aren't opening any holes for the running game, forcing (Clausen/Pike/St. Pierre/possibly you next week) to have to try and throw for the game with no protection, and no weapons.  Carolina picked up three wideouts in the draft - Brandon LaFell and Armanti Edwards in the 4th round, and David Gettis in the 6th.  Of the three, only Gettis has really stepped up to the plate, playing the go-to-guy that Smith so often is.  LaFell has shown hands of stone and no route-running ability, and seems destined to be out of the league in a few years.  And college QB Edwards has seen very little playing time.  Indeed, at one point, the Panthers were forced to use him as their emergency 3rd QB, and he has even been taking snaps at QB in practise.  On top of this, tight ends Greg Barnidge, Jeff King and Dante Rosario are not the sort of names that strike fear into the hearts of defenses, and you only have to look at Mark Sanchez and Dustin Keller, Josh Freeman and Kellen Winslow Jr., or Colt McCoy and Ben Watson, to see how valuable a decent receiving option at TE is to a raw quarterback.

Sam Bradford has been impressive for the resurgent Rams (Picture reproduced from www.bleacherreport.net under Fair Use)

What a Difference a Day Makes

The contrast in fortunes between Bradford and Clausen are clear.  While Clausen has struggled, Bradford has thrived in St. Louis, and it's no coincidence that second-round pick Rodger Saffold has earned rave reviews for his play at LT.  Bradford's offensive line have played superbly, and Bradford has rarely been put under huge pressure, allowing him to impress even with an unheralded receiving corps that first lost Donnie Avery, then relied on journeyman Mark Clayton, and is now led by Danny Amendola of all people.  Equally, the dominant running and electric pass-catching ability of Steven Jackson can only be helping his cause, and rookie TE Michael Ho'omanawanu'i (or Illinois Mike to those who don't fancy attempting to pronounce his brilliant surname) is improving week on week.  In short, everything that went wrong for Clausen has been going right for Bradford.

We've seen highly-rated QB prospects have their confidence destroyed by a draft day slide before.  Clausen's Notre Dame predecessor, Brady Quinn, spectacularly failed in Cleveland and is now riding the pine behind pedestrian Kyle Orton and raw Tim Tebow in Denver.  How different things could have been, had Clausen wound up going at #1 as I, for one, believe he should have.  I'm not for a moment suggesting that he would have simply lit up the league the way Bradford is doing - I clearly underestimated him and am now eating humble pie.  But I very much doubt we'd be seeing him posting an average passer rating in the 40s, as we are now, either.

Could Georgia receiver A.J. Green be the answer Jimmy Clausen needs in Carolina?  (Picture reproduced from www.orlandosentinel.com under Fair Use)

Decision Time

So what next for Clausen?  It looks as though he will be the starter, barring any more dreadful coaching by Fox, through the end of the season.  But if he plays badly, the clamour for Luck may be too much for any new head coach to resist.  Assuming, however, that Clausen does retain his starting job going into next year, what can Carolina do to help him succeed where he has struggled this year?

Clearly, the first thing they need to do is get DeAngelo Williams re-signed.  His contract expires at the end of the year, and the Panthers' all-time leading rusher is too valuable to allow to leave.  But what about the draft?  Sadly, with the first pick, unless they plump for DE Da'Quan Bowers, there is no player they can pick who will fill a need and not be a reach.  A.J. Green is a standout WR prospect - the best to come out of college since Calvin "Megatron" Johnson - and would make great sense in a "Buffalo" sort of pick range if Carolina can sell them on Andrew Luck. Then, the offensive line becomes the priority.  But one thing is for sure - if Carolina can't make these moves, Clausen is set for another tough year in 2011.  At this point, perhaps the best thing for him would for him to be cut, and to start over as a third-stringer somewhere where he might have a shot at succeeding.

Fine and Dandy?

 Jets CBs Darrelle Revis (#24) and Drew Coleman (#30) (Picture reproduced from www.zimbio.com under Fair Use)

Flag Football

Towards the end of the first half of the Thanksgiving late game, with the Cincinnati Bengals driving to attempt to take the lead, Carson Palmer rolled out right.  With nobody open, veteran wideout Terrell Owens came back from the back of the endzone towards the goal-line, still followed by Darrelle Revis.  Palmer tossed it to Owens, off whose hands the ball ricocheted due to the attentions of Revis, the pass falling incomplete.  A split-second after the ball hit Owens, so did dime corner Drew Coleman, with a solid shoulder-to-shoulder hit.  Nothing exceptional.

Seemingly twenty seconds later, with the Bengals setting up for 3rd-and-10, a flag comes in, and Coleman is called for an "illegal hit to a defenceless receiver".  Personal foul, half the distance to the goal, automatic first down.  Two plays later, Palmer found rookie wide-out Jordan Shipley to put the Bengals up 7-3 at the half. 

James Harrison destroys Browns WR Mohamed Massaquoi in Week 6.  Harrison was later fined $75000 for this hit and another on Josh Cribbs in the same game. (Picture reproduced from www.widgetsports.com under Fair Use)

Hit Where It Hurts?

This is merely the latest in a long line of controversies surrounding what hits are and aren't legal in the NFL.  Fines have been thrown around like confetti this season, often on contentious and arguably-innocuous plays.  Steelers linebacker James Harrison threatened retirement after being fined an unprecedented $75000 for two supposedly dangerous hits against the Cleveland Browns in week six; hits that some current and former players argued were either legal or borderline, despite the fact that they led to concussions for WRs Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi.  Just this week, Titans LB Will Witherspoon was fined $40000 for a single (if inadvertent) helmet-to-helmet shot on Donovan McNabb.

Obviously, in the context of the growing evidence of long-term brain issues caused by sports concussions, it is of paramount importance that the NFL and its commissioner Roger Goodell look out for the safety of the players who make the league what it is, especially with the topic of an extended 18-game regular season on the agenda.  However, Richard Seymour was fined just $25000 for slamming Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger to the ground and cold-cocking him in the jaw, so the punishment doesn't always seem proportionate to the crime, a fact pointed out by Witherspoon.  And when clearly-legal hits such as Coleman's on Owens are drawing game-altering penalty flags (The Jets went on to win 26-10), we really have to take a look at the direction in which the game is heading.

Harrison's (#92) hit on Cribbs (Picture reproduced from fox8.com under Fair Use)

Constistent Performance

The fact is, the modern game of American Football is played at such high speed that inevitably, even with the best of intentions, accidents and illegal/dangerous hits are going to happen.  Take, for example, the Harrison hit on Cribbs.  Harrison is coming in low to try and take Cribbs out as he hits a hole, leading with the shoulder as he should.  Cribbs lowers his head as he comes through the gap, and Harrison absolutely clatters into the receiver's helmet with both his shoulder and head.  However, what is Harrison supposed to do differently?  He is paid to stop offense.  To tackle the ball-carrier.  How can he stop that sort of contact when he's playing full-speed, all-out - how can he do his job if he's not allowed to do his job?

The answer is common sense.  You will always see cases (Seymour's punch on Roethlisberger, the hits by Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather and Falcons DB Dunta Robinson (Robinson himself was concussed in his hit) which drew $50000 fines in week 6 alongside Harrison's) where the hit was deliberately designed to hurt and be dangerous, and in obvious contravention of the rules.  There is no doubt that these cases have to be clamped down on, and hard.  Whether we do this via bigger and bigger fines, I don't know - top NFL defenders can easily earn $5m+ (Albert Haynesworth, I'm looking at you), so the money really isn't so great a deterrent; more of a symbolic gesture by the NFL.  Perhaps we should impose suspensions.  But the greatest need was summed up by Steelers SS Troy Polamalu.

 Just another play for Troy "The Tasmanian Devil" Polamalu (Picture reproduced from www.darlenegardner.com under Fair Use)

An Appealing Proposition

Polamalu, one of the hardest hitters and wildest players in the league, has suggested an appeals committee of current and former players be handed the job of reviewing retroactive punishments for these cases.  Their playing experience, he contends, puts them in a better poisition than the current 4-man executive panel to know whether the hit was deliberately dangerous or just unfortunate, and would make it so that any player wishing to dispute a fine would be able to go to a panel other than Mr Goodell and his 3 cohorts, who would have imposed the original punishment.

This writer agrees wholeheartedly with Polamalu.  Greater stability will not only give the players the confidence to play the game in the manner we love to see, it will equally stabilise the refereeing corps, hopefully avoiding ludicrous personal foul penalties such as the one on Coleman that cost the Jets points last night.  Here's hoping that common sense prevails.

New York Jets - Superbowl Contenders?

 (Pic reproduced from ctnews.com blogs under Fair Use)

Where There's A Will

Down 27-23 against Houston with the ball and 50 seconds remaining, only two factors prevented this viewer from sympathising with the home fans who began to leave their seats at the Meadowlands to commence the trip home;

1)  They were playing the Texans

2)  They are the New York Jets

There is no overstating how rotten the Texans have been when defending a lead this year (fluke or not, they still allowed that TD from David Garrard to Mike Thomas with the last play of regulation in Jacksonville last week), and they rank dead last in seemingly every defensive category, a far cry from last season where Brian Cushing was named Defensive ROY and Mario Williams was showing why he was the right pick in 2006.  But put the Jets up against even an elite defensive team like Pittsburgh, and you'd still feel like Gang Green would have a shot.

To put it in simple terms - if this year, Houston have been finding ways to lose, then the Jets have been finding ways to win.

 Rex Ryan as DC for the Ravens (Pic from NY Daily News reproduced under Fair Use)

 Rex Everything

Rex Ryan and his crew certainly raised eyebrows this offseason, not least for their bravado on "Hard Knocks", NFL Network's fly-on-the-wall documentary series following one NFL team each year through the offseason and training camp.  Foul-mouthed tirades and bombastic predictions of a Superbowl tilt led many (including yours truly) to enquire;

"Has any 9-7 team ever talked so much smack?"

Sure enough, the Jets entered the season as the team everyone wanted to fail, Ryan's brash personality rubbing neutrals the wrong way, and their season-opening 10-9 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens at the Meadowlands had the haters licking their lips at the prospect of Gang Green's impending downfall.  However, skip forward 10 weeks, and you'll see that Mark Sanchez and company sit atop the AFC East (and, indeed, the AFC itself) with an 8-2 record, a shutout loss to Green Bay off their bye week the only blemish on their record.  3-0 in their division, and 5-0 on the road (2-0 division), there can now be little question that this Jets unit is for real.

Santonio Holmes takes it to the house against Cleveland in Week 10 (picture reproduced from www.sportsfanlive.com under Fair Use)

Rough Diamonds

One contributing factor to the Jets' success that has been largely ignored is their excellent off-season acquisitions, although even then, eyebrows were raised over certain deals.  For instance, Jason Taylor, released by Miami aged 36, was picked up quickly and has played well, contributing a team-high 4 sacks and 2 forced fumbles through 10 games.  Or, how about Santonio Holmes?  The MVP of Superbowl XLIII joined the Jets for a mere 6th-round pick from Pittsburgh, albeit carrying a 4-game ban after falling foul of the League's substance abuse policy.  Still the same football player, though, and through his 6 games, Holmes has an impressive 27 catches for 447 yards and 3 TDs, including last-gasp game-winners the last two weeks.  Cornerback Antonio Cromartie came in from San Diego saddled with character and coverage concerns, but has shown none of the lax tendencies he was known for, even outshining the incredible Darrelle Revis on occasion.

But the biggest surprise of all has been LaDainian Tomlinson, who looked to be finished in San Diego after two mediocre seasons.  The future Hall-of-Famer was expected to back up Shonn Greene, the sophomore halfback who was so impressive in their playoff run last year.  Not so.  After a couple of uninspiring and fumble-prone performances in the first two games, Greene was benched and Tomlinson made the feature back.  He has 692 rushing yards and 5 TDs at 4.5 YPC to date, putting him on pace for 1100 for the year, and has caught more balls than any other Jet (43 for 315 yds).  Not only that, but in the 6 games leading up to Gang Green's bye-week, he was the leading rusher for both teams in every single one.  Not bad for a guy who was considered "done" just 4 months ago.

Sanchez hits early-season BFF Dustin Keller (pic reproduced from www.newyorkjets.com under Fair Use)

Smooth Sailing?

That's not to say that the Jets are home and hosed.  Barring a total collapse, they should be a lock for the post-season, but the Patriots share top spot in the division and conference at 8-2 (behind due to a worse divisional record) and will be out to avenge their week 2 loss when they host the Jets on the first Monday Night Football of December.  On top of this, the running game that was so impressive before the bye has petered out somewhat, Tomlinson looking less dangerous and losing an increasing number of carries to the young stud Greene.  And as this team found out last year, making the playoffs is one thing; getting to the big show quite another.

However, thanks in no small part to Coach Ryan and his outspoken off-season media tactics, the Jets are playing with true fighting spirit;  a never-say-die attitude that demonstrates their determination to prove the doubters wrong.  Throughout the middle part of last season, then-rookie QB Mark Sanchez, dubbed the "Sanchise" during a roaring start which quickly fizzled away, struggled mightily, at times looking lost and nothing like an NFL-standard QB.  Ryan changed tactics, and turned Sanchez into a game manager, playing around a monstrous running game led by the now-departed Thomas Jones and, latterly, Greene, protecting the youngster from having to go out and win games himself.

The first six quarters of this season seemed to point to little improvement for Sanchez, as he looked woefully out of place against Baltimore and New England.  And then, all of a sudden, it clicked.  Ryan was still trying to protect his sophomore QB, but decided instead to open up the playbook and let Sanchez stretch the field.  It worked.  On course for 3700 passing yards and 25 TDs, Sanchez is clearly the real deal.  Third-year tight end Dustin Keller stepped up admirably to become Sanchez's go-to-guy during Holmes' absence at the start of the season, and this all epitomises the attitude Ryan has gone out of his way to instill in this team.

So when Sanchez found Holmes in the back-left corner of the end-zone with 23 seconds left this past Sunday, the only people surprised were the fans who left early, when they checked out the box score on arriving home.