Life In The DPC!

Despite graduating from a college that is the only state in the union that has legalized gambling on football I have a suspect track record on handicapping. One could assume that after many years of sub par picks I would stop embarrassing myself but I am married to the sea and like usual I will go down like the Edmund Fitzgerald.

With that said, here are my Week 4 Picks.

• Cleveland and Cincinnati: The Battle For Ohio ends with a Bengals victory. The Bengals showed some improvement in an overtime loss against the Giants and should be able to get their first win against the equally hapless Browns.
• Minnesota at Tennessee: The Titans are on a roll and have found that QB’s with a history of hurling racial epitaphs and drinking issues are better than their counterparts that could be suicidal. I am going with the Titans in this one.
• Denver at Kansas City: The Chiefs may be the worse team in the NFL and the Broncos are the flavor of the month after a pair of close (possibly lucky) wins so I got to pick the Broncos.
• San Francisco at New Orleans: I am a northern California guy but I hate the 49ers and in an effort of absolute disclosure I feel the need to convey that. Anywho, I am picking the Saints.
• Arizona at NYJets : I like the Cardinals but I have almost no faith in them when they’re on the road or squaring off against a legit team. Those two factors combine for a Jets win.
• Green Bay at Tampa Bay: I guess the Packers were right about Aaron Rodgers. I was never a big Brett Favre guy. Mainly because he played for the Chicago Bears arch rival and also because he was a media darling for his child like enthusiasm on the field. I’d be hella stoked too if I could constantly make mistakes at work and never lose my job. Green Bat wins on the road.
• Atlanta at Carolina: Despite some early success this is a rebuilding year for Atlanta and I think the Panthers are legit. Carolina will run over the divisional foe.
• Houston at Jacksonville: A smarter man than myself maintained that when most things are equal in a game take the home team. I will heed that advice.
• San Diego at Oakland: I like the direction the Raiders are headed, except for the treatment of Coach Kiffin, but the Chargers will march into Oakland and become Raider Haters.
• Buffalo at St. Louis: The Rams are winless and the franchise is spiraling towards mutiny. That’s a bad combo to take on the streaking Bills.
• Washington at Dallas:The Cowboys are the trendy pick to win the Super Bowl. I don’t agree but their definitely better than Washington.
• Philadelphia at Chicago: To show that I am serious about this recent batch of picks I am not picking the Bears to win regardless of who they’re playing. I am ashamed of myself but I am picking the Eagles.
• Baltimore at Pittsburgh: Simply put I am going with Pittsburgh. Simply put because I asked a friend of mine who he thought would win.

News of Matt Leinart losing his starting quarterback job to Kurt Warner have been greatly exaggerated.

“Contrary to everything (reported), nothing has changed,” Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “We have not made a decision. We have not named Kurt the starting quarterback.”

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, citing unnamed sources, reported on Monday that the Cardinals we’re naming Warner their starting quarterback.  Leinart went 4 for 12 with 3 interceptions in last Sunday’s exhibition against the Oakland Raiders.

Going into the 2008 season it was widely assumed that the starting job was Leinart’s to lose. Unfortunately his less than stellar play, along with the ageless play of the former Super Bowl MVP Warner, have many scribes staing that the NFC West is not the PAC 10 and maybe he is not suited rise to the dizzying highs in the NFL.

DavidPatrickCastro.com is pro Leinart endeavor and still feels that he will suceed in the NFL. Other pundits have begun to right him off  but the former Heisman winner will ultimately play up to his potential and lead the Cardinals.

The Chicago Bears announced that Kyle Orton will be their starting quarterback over their incumbent  Rex Grossman.  Orton went 2-1 last season while subbing for the injured Grossman during the last three games of the season.

“In the end it comes down to a gut feeling that you have,” head coach Lovie Smith said. “And I feel good about Kyle leading our team.”

Orton has amassed a record of 12-6 as a starter and Grossman is 19-11 while at the helm of the Bears.
                      Games  Rating  Att.  Comp.  PCT.  Yards  Y/G    Y/A    TD    INT
Rex Grossman       32      70.9   489   900      54.3    5907 184.6    6.6       31     33
Kyle Orton             18     62.2    233   448      52.0    2347 130.4    5.2       12     15

Despite leading the Bears to the Super Bowl I, like many pundits, have never fully embraced Grossman and to this Bears’ fan they seemed to succeed despite his maverick style. I waste a lot of time watching football and one of my casual   observations is to watch how the players interact with one another on the sidelines during the game. For the most part Grossman never talked to anyone but the occasional coach and this was usually for some form of admonishment.

While a guy like Orton was interacting with his teammates and for the most part he seemed at ease with his peers and they liked being around him. It is the opinion of this scribe that players are more inclined to perform and stick their necks out for a guy they like. Grossman always seemed to be isolated on the sidelines and this may have led to him being a distant leader on the field. A lieutenant needs the respect of his men and the Bears finally realized that Orton has it.

Former University of Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan continues to show that he belongs in the NFL and after three preseasas on games the Heisman finalist has gone 17/23 with 239 passing yards, 3 touchdown passes and no interceptions. At this point Brennan is likely the third string quarterback for Washington but has shown some flashes of belonging in the NFL.

Former University of Hawaii standout Colt Brennan threw two touchdown passes and finished 9 for 10 for 123 yards in his pro debut. I guess a preseason game against the Colts’ third string defense counts as a pro debut but those misgivings aside Brennan proved that he can make all the reads and throws necessary to be an NFL quarterback.

“More than his throws, what I was pleased with is how he was looking to the right guy when he was backpedaling,” said Washington head coach Jim Zorn, a former NFL quarterback. “He knew the plays, knew the routes. He should feel very good about his performance.”

Last nights performance was nice but Matt Leinart’s former back up (Mater Dei High School) will need many more strong performances before he can begin to shed the system quarterback label. On a national stage last night Brennan did prove that his side arm delivery could lead him to being more than a WAC oddity that shined bright when no one was watching. Mahalo, Colt.

Madden NFL 2009 will be released on August 12th, 2009 with former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre on the cover. At the time of release Favre was retired and became the first non active cover boy in the history of the vidoe game franchise. Until recent developments it would also seem that Favre was going to be the first player to avoid the Madden Curse.

Prior to 1999, every annual installment of the Madden NFL series primarily featured John MaddenElectronic Arts selected Garrison Hearst to appear on the cover, and has since featured one of the league’s top players on every annual installment.^[5] Since then, certain players have experienced a decline in performance, usually due to an injury. For example, quarterback Michael Vick appeared on the cover of on its cover. In 1999, Madden 2004, and suffered a leg injury that sidelined him for most of the 2004 season.^[5] In a similar example, running back Shaun Alexander, then the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player , was featured on the cover of Madden NFL 2007, and sustained a foot injury that caused him to miss six starts.^[6] As a result, Alexander’s rushing statistics were substantially less than those from the previous season.^[6] - Wilikpedia.org

Of course Favre is likely to come out of retirement and any NFL franchise should be reticent to trade for the future Hall of Famer due to his inclusion on the cover of the latest version of Madden. I am not saying he will get injured, his 253 consecutive starts point to the contrary, but he could under perform like many of his Madden cover boys predecessors.

Madden cover curses aside history is not on the side of Favre. There is also a nasty precedent of aging quarterbacks hanging on too long and playing for different teams at the end of their careers( i.e. Joe Namath, Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana). Of course Montana played fairly well for Kansas City but he was never the same quarterback and this is the likely scenario for Favre.

Yes, I realize that the NFL Draft was on April 26th but I recently moved back to Phoenix and I am finally getting my affairs in order. With that said, here is The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of The 2008 NFL Draft. Also please keep in mind that I watched the NFL Draft at University of Phoenix Stadium, home of your Arizona Cardinals, at their Draft Party. I often thought that I should focus my attention on more pressing issues, like the Election, but I wasted my afternoon with my Cardinals brethren (A surprising amount, truth be told. I often thought I had no life but they were also holding an RC Plane show at the stadium too, so I feel a bit better about DPC. Not much but a little bit better)

The Good:

Atlanta Falcons: They’re doing their best to put the Michael Vick fiasco behind them and regain some of their fans back and the additions of Matt Ryan and Sam Baker are a good start. I am not overly sold on Matt Ryan but if I was a Falcons fan I’d be stoked by the simple fact that Joey Harrington isn’t my best quarterback option.

Oakland Raiders: They’re using the same template as the 2007 Minnesota Vikings (i.e. a lack of a passing game can be overshadowed by an abundance of talented running backs). I don’t think Darren McFadden will be as dominant as Adrian Peterson but he will definitely come up large. Al Davis also took a gamble on a pair of physically gifted wide receivers ( Chaz Schilens and Arman Shields) to maintain the perceived threat of the Vertical Stretch.

The Bad:

Any Quarterback that DPC thought would be good: Andre Woodson was once considered a top flight prospect and fell to the sixth round (NY Giants), John David Booty 5th round (Minnesota Vikings) and of course Colt Brennan (Washington in the sixth round). Brennan’s fall from grace wasn’t surprising due to his performance at the Cotton Bowl and showing under weight and dismally performing at the Senior Bowl. Woodson surprised me. Maybe because I thought he would be picked up by the third round after a productive career at Kentucky. Booty was hard to predict because he played in pro style offense but was considered to a second day pick, which he was, and just lacking in positive NFL qualities. I am not sure what he is lacking because he had a good career at USC, of course he wasn’t Carson Palmer or Matt Leinart, which likely explains a lot about his public perception.

The Ugly:

Chicago Bears: Mainly for avoiding that whole lack of a quarterback issue. I know it is getting redundant to harp on the Bears for their lack of a tip/top QB but one has to wonder if GM Jerry Angelo is risking his career with an abnormal infatuation with Rex Grossman? That and apparently drafting a running back, Matt Forte, has driven Cedric Benson off the deep end or at least off their roster. Which could be a blessing in disguise since the former first round draft pick has proven to be the anti-Walter Payton (or is that Bizarro Payton?)

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart has been admonished by head coach Whisenhunt for his party boy lifestyle. Apparently his beer bonging skills aren’t respected by the Cardinals.

“I reiterated to him the type of behavior that we expect at all times from our players,” coach Whisenhunt said. “He understands that as well as the level of scrutiny that he’s under because of who he is. It’s being handled internally.”

I don’t fault Leinart for a bit of decadence because he has had a batch of bad luck. Last June he was ordered to pay $15,000 a month in child support and he played in only five games last season due to a broken collarbone.

1) The Raiders should avoid trading their 2nd round pick to Atlanta for DeAngelo Hall. There is little doubt that Hall is supremely talented and would be an asset to a less than stellar Oakland defense but did he ever live up to his potential? It is the opinion of this scribe that the Raiders would be better suited to go after Pacman Jones. Also Pacman wouldn’t cost $70,000,000 over 7 years like Hall.

2) The 49ers are reaching with their recent free agent signing of Bryant Johnson. If you can’t become a tip/top receiver under Dennis Green in all likelihood you never will. But he is an upgrade over most of the wideout talent in San Francisco. On a related note I think the signing of Isaac Bruce was a good idea. He’s a Martz guy and will ideally bring some maturity and poise to a young 49er squad.

3) Ezra Butler, of University of Nevada fame, will be a solid pro.

• NFL Czar, Roger Goodell, refuses to reinstate Pacman Jones before the 2008 season begins. This seems to be a bit of hypocrisy by the NFL because Jones’ suspension was for the 2007 season and they’re also infringing on his ability to seek another employer. It stands to reason that the Titans are not interested in Jones and it is time for both sides to move on and start over. Pacman is a commodity, a shut down corner and an upper echelon returner all rolled into one, and though a few teams will be turned off by his record off the field many will acknowledge that he has paid his debt to society and tender him an offer (or the Titans for his rights)
• Colt Brennan has transformed from Mid Major superman into a second day pick. Bucky Brooks, of Sportsillustrated.com, has Brennan ranked as the 9th best QB in the draft. Well, at least he beat out Dennis Dixon. All joking aside, I think Brennan is definitely worth a 3rd round or later pick from a team that is willing to give him time to develop. Best case scenario: a career like Jake Plummer. Of course he could easily find himself dominating the Arena Football League in a few years. Scouting QB’s is an inexact science and as is similar to the Jeanne Dixon effect.
• Joe Flacco is the next Kyle Boller.
• John David Booty will exceed his draft status and will find niche as another USC alum. More Matt Cassel than Carson Palmer but still in the NFL.
• Chicago Bears’ GM, Jerry Angelo, is evil by making minimal attempts to keep everyone’s favorite Fresno State Bulldog Bernard Berrian and by likely keeping Rex Grossman. Of course if Rex is at the helm of the Bears next season there is no point in keeping talented wide receivers. At this point I’d consider David Carr an upgrade. Plus the idea of a Kyle Orton and Carr quarterback controversy boggles the mind.