YOUTH IS SERVED

Two QBs drafted in the first round this year, Matt Ryan of the Falcons and Joe Flacco of the Ravens, have impressed me. The most essential quality to be a successful NFL QB today is decisiveness…the ability to read defenses clearly and the confidence to pull the trigger with anticipation. If a QB can’t pass that test, his other positive qualities won’t matter.  

Being a quarterback in the NFL is like being a fighter pilot. For a fighter pilot inside the cockpit, hesitation is not an option. The same is true for quarterbacks in the pocket. For that reason, defensive coordinators salivate when they get to play a rookie QB. My second start in the NFL came in 1991 for the Lions against the Buccaneers. Their defensive coordinator was Floyd Peters, who coached an attacking style of defense. But for me, he unloaded every blitz he’d ever dreamed of. I remember seeing at least six or seven different blitz schemes in the first two series. It seemed like there were 13 or 14 defenders out there.

As a young QB, when you encounter rapid fire coming at you in ways you haven’t seen before, hesitation is inevitable.  Managing that uncertainty until the confidence comes is part of the growth process for any young QB.  But so far, Ryan and Flacco have looked poised beyond their years.

Flacco has taken the giant step from the University of Delaware to the NFL in unflappable stride. I’ve seen him coolly stand in the face of the blitz, knowing where his hot receiver is and calmly throwing him the ball.

And Ryan’s decisiveness showed on his first pass of the year against the Lions when he was patient enough to keep the safety in the middle of the field with his eyes during the drop and throw a precisely anticipated dart to Michael Jenkins on a skinny post for a 62-yard touchdown. It was the kind of throw you can’t make without supreme confidence and anticipation…something not usually seen on a rookie QB’s first career pass.

Sure they’re both going to stub their toes a lot this year. There are very tough schedules ahead for both.  But so far, they’ve passed every test.

SIGNING CEDRIC

How can an organization with a black eye from past player misconduct issues acquire Cedric Benson?

It just goes to show that Marvin Lewis is not the one calling the shots in the Cincinnati Bengals organization.

All coaches know the significance of establishing and maintaining player discipline. Lack of discipline will shred any sense of team in a locker room. Without it, all you have is a group of individuals that get dressed in the same room. But a true team plays for each other.

When the Bengals played the Ravens in Week 1, there was little team spirit demonstrated by Cincinnati. The defense provided little resistance to the Ravens ballcarriers, who easily broke half-hearted tackles on their way to the end zone.

I couldn’t imagine Bill Parcells, Tom Coughlin, or Bill Belichick welcoming more of this type of character into the locker room. To bring a player with questionable character issues, like Cedric Benson, to a team full of questionable characters in mid-year—keeping in mind Benson’s total lack of on-field production when he was with the Bears—seems ludicrous.

There’s no way Marvin has ever been given the power to discipline players like he should. If he had, stronger messages would have been delivered long ago.

In Cinci, since there is no upper management over the head coach, the ownership is clearly at fault here.

TAKING ON T.O.

Terrell Owens is once again taking his frustrations with others to the media.

This time, his QB (Tony Romo) and play-caller (Jason Garrett) aren’t getting him the ball enough.

Not that he has ever been one to take accountability for his part in a team’s loss.

But rather than just assume that T.O. is the dominant receiver he once was, because he says he is, let’s look at one of the possible reasons that he’s not getting the ball more.

The reality is that, in his 13^th year at age 36, his skills are on the decline. In Owens’ second year in the NFL, the 49ers released Jerry Rice and built their passing game around Owens. His rare combination of strength, speed, and determination couldn’t be matched by any cornerback in the league. But as I watched him last week vs. the Redskins, throughout the first half he was blanketed by the Washington corners, Fred Smoot and Carlos Rogers. Neither has ever been an All-Pro.

And these were 1-on-1 situations, not double coverage like Deion Sanders explained away after the game on NFL Network.

Contrary to Owens’ complaints after the game, Romo was looking his way early, but T.O. just wasn’t getting open. The bottom line is that he wasn’t able to create separation.

In the second half, the Cowboys moved T.O. around with motion and formation changes and he was able to find some open holes in the defense. But 1-on-1, he does not look like the dominant player he was a few years ago.  

The interesting thing from here will be how Jerry Jones and the Cowboys handle T.O. if he continues to complain and continues to show that he is no longer a dominant receiver.

DAVID GARRARD: MR. CLUTCH

David Garrard has made the transition from game manager last year to clutch QB.

Last year, the Jags’ running game was 2^nd in the NFL. This year, it has dropped to 12th. That means that in 2007, Garrard simply had to not lose games for the Jags to be successful, and in 12 starts last year he put together two game-winning drives.

But without the dominant running game, Garrard will have to pick up more of the slack this season. After only four games he’s already put together two game-winning drives, in back-to-back weeks, and has completed 67% of his passes.

Two weeks ago in Indy, Garrard helped the Jags salvage their season by engineering a last-minute drive resulting in a Josh Scobee field goal that saved them from an 0-3 start and potentially being removed from the playoff picture.

This past week vs. the Texans he did it again, not only with his arm but with his legs.

The Jags now have something few teams have…a QB who comes through in the clutch. And any team that plays like it is never out of a game is a dangerous team. That’s what the Jags have become.

Former Bears and Lions quarterback Erik Kramer writes a regular blog for playerpress.com at www.erikkramerpass.com.