Posts Tagged ‘NFL Pre-Season’

New York Jets’ Danny Woodhead Proves He’s Got Game

He’s small, came out of Chadron State (where?) as an undrafted rookie, and hung around on New York’s roster last year after sustaining a knee injury.

Just another tiny guy coming out of nowhere, undoubtedly destined to fade out of the league before he ever actually gets in, right?

Almost.

You’d have to agree with all of Woodhead’s doubters about a few things. He’s only 5′8 and listed as around or under 200 pounds.

He’s never faced elite competition. And while his college numbers are earth-shattering, they don’t mean quite as much a they did a few years ago, now that he’s trying to prove he belongs with the big(ger) boys.

But all of that is moot now. Especially after Thursday night’s performance.

True, it’s only pre-season, and it was mostly against the second and third team defense, but if we’re being fair, it was still impressive.

Woodhead started off the night with a rush for -5 yards, added a few carries to get back over 0 yards, and then proceeded to blow everyone away.

With a 55-yard burst around the right tackle, Woodhead ran for a touchdown and made his name known, no longer just to the Jets’ community, but possibly to the entire NFL.

But he didn’t stop there.

He added another 44-yard run that set-up another touchdown, caught a 10-yard pass, and plunged into the end-zone for a three-yard score, furthering the belief that this little guy has enough speed, agility, and versatility to be effective in this league.

Enough about his school and competition.

Cincinnati Bengals’ Bernard Scott was a D-II back last year, yet he was a 6th round draft pick, and has somehow already locked up the back-up spot behind Cedric Benson.

Enough with his size.

Maurice Jones-Drew, Darren Sproles, Leon Washington (a Jets player, mind you), and Jerious Norwood are all almost the exact same size and weight.

They all have the same attributes. The difference? They all have certainty as members of an NFL roster, and even more, they all have huge roles in their respective offenses.

Don’t talk about speed.

A 55-yard touchdown isn’t easy to be had in this league. Neither is another 40+ yard run in the same game.

Woodhead’s 4.3 40 time adds to his excellent speed and athleticism, eliminating the final road-block in his quest for an NFL team to take notice.

Even his teammates know how talented he is. Jerricho Cotchery, Dustin Keller, and even head coach Rex Ryan have all backed him, applauded his athleticism and work ethic, and voiced their hopes that he’d make the team.

Cotchery even went as far as to say that, while everyone else was excited to see Michael Vick play extensively, he and his teammates couldn’t wait for the “Woodhead show”.

What a show it was.

But will it be the last time we see Woodhead run rampade in a Jets uniform? Or even the NFL?

Unfortunately, that’s a very real possibility.

But Woodhead remains humble, gives all the credit to his line and the rest of his offense, and just hopes that all of his efforts gain him a shot for a season to stick around and continue to prove he’s “got it”.

But if you’ve been watching him with an un-biased approach, you already know the answer to that question.

With Thomas Jones over 30, Leon Washington having contractual issues, and Shonn Greene not yet proving himself, it wouldn’t be a poor choice to keep an electric and hard-working player at the position.

The question is, which makes more sense?

Giving a dedicated, talented player a chance, or showing him the door?

Brett Favre Shakes Off The Rust in Vikings’ Win

While certain analysts and columnists are jumping all over Favre as “old and slow”, this writer saw something else on Monday night.

I saw a true gamer. Yes, he’s 39, going on 40, and probably isn’t as nimble as he once was.

But he’s still got it. Boy, does he ever. (Cue over-hyping and under-hyping here)

Still, Favre was an impressive 13-18 for 142 yards and a touchdown in just under three quarters, while leading the Vikings to 10 points, and also watching as Adrian Peterson scampered 80 yards for a score on the opening play.

Some nay-sayers are already nit-picking the future Hall of Famer’s prime-time performance, citing his two taken sacks in only 20 drop-backs, while offering the fact that he’s not athletic or quick enough to elude defenders.

Plain and simple, that’s a bunch of bull.

If these so-called “experts” actually were watching the tape, they’d see that both of the sacks Favre took had absolutely nothing to do with his athleticism or anything to do with his decision-making.

His first sack came on a blown blitz pick-up, as a Texan defender blew threw a gaping hole and crushed Favre, who had no chance to make a play.

The second sack was actually a result of Favre making a smart play, as a defender nicked the ball from behind while Favre was in his throwing motion, forcing Favre to tuck the ball down and take the sack, rather than force a bad throw or fumble the ball.

Add in Percy Harvin’s dropped touchdown pass (a beautiful pass by Favre), and some shady line-blocking, and Favre’s performance was actually borderline flawless.

The Favre-haters can keep jumping on the bandwagon all they want, but this small showing in pre-season action went a long way in assuring Minnesota fans everywhere that Favre brings more to the team than they originally thought.

Besides, with the way Adrian Peterson was playing on Monday, will it really matter if Favre isn’t his old vintage self?

In one over-used cliche’ expression: probably not.

On that same note, Favre wasn’t over or under-used, as Head Coach Brad Childress began with the run (which resulted in a touchdown on the first offensive play), and did a fine job of sprinkling Favre into the offense, rather than force the issue.

While it’s still extremely early (and just the pre-season), it’s clear Favre has at least shaken off the rust, and is already showing signs of making a significant impact for the Vikings.