As we approach the third full week of preseason games, here are some quick observations from this NFL summer:
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Best of the preseason
Serious concern about Grossman
I think the Chicago Bears should be worried about Rex Grossman.
I think they should be worried that he is trying too hard to end his bumbling ways. I don't think they should be worried to the point of going with a different starting quarterback, namely Brian Griese, for the regular season. But I also don't think Grossman's multiple turnovers against the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 20 should be dismissed as a function of preseason rust. He looked nervous. He looked jumpy. He looked uncomfortable.
In short, Grossman looked like someone who seemed far too concerned with giving a performance that would somehow make amends for all of his struggles before and during Super Bowl XLI.
Botched snaps are fundamental errors that a quarterback with Grossman's experience should not be making, even in a game that doesn't count. His interception was ugly, but less disturbing than his repeatedly mishandling the ball. Coaches have a hard time accepting that from a third-string quarterback, let alone the starter. The head-shaking and unhappy looks on the faces of Bears coaches that ESPN's cameras caught spoke volumes.
Now, it is up to those coaches to communicate the following message to Grossman: Calm down!
Desperately seeking a QB
The Atlanta Falcons desperately need a new quarterback.
I have little faith that Joey Harrington is the answer as a replacement for Michael Vick. Frankly, there might not be any answer available as teams alleviate their rosters of excess quarterback baggage or put quarterbacks on the trading block.
Speculation that the Falcons might work a deal with the Washington Redskins for Mark Brunell is intriguing, but the Falcons shouldn't expect to get him cheaply. Given their ever-growing quarterback quandary (D.J. Shockley's season-ending knee injury made a bad situation worse), it shapes up as a seller's market. Still, if the Falcons can land a quarterback of Brunell's experience, with the added bonus of having worked with Bobby Petrino when the Atlanta coach was an assistant in Jacksonville, they should push the threshold of what they'd be willing to pay as far as they can.
Eagles' regrettable decision
The Philadelphia Eagles could very well regret saying goodbye to one of their foremost heart-and-soul players, Jeremiah Trotter.
Perhaps the 30-year-old middle linebacker did lose a step, as the Eagles concluded, but he more than made up for it with his smarts, savvy and leadership. He was a guiding light for the defense and for the team as whole. And few Eagles players connected better with Philadelphia's hard-core fan base.
Nevertheless, Andy Reid is paid to look beyond all of that. His assessment of Trotter's value to the team doesn't end with the 113 tackles he made in 2006. Reid's No. 1 responsibility is to make certain the Eagles have the best players at every position, and I am not about to argue with his judgment (as well as that of the team's other decision-makers) that they are better off with second-year man Omar Gaither in the middle. Gaither is quicker and a better athlete. He will have some missteps, because of his youth, but he also has the speed to recover. And he will learn plenty from the likes of Takeo Spikes and other veterans.
If there was a lingering concern about the Eagles' chances to be a Super Bowl contender, it was the fact that they were getting fairly long in the tooth in their projected starting lineup. As painful as it might have been, releasing Trotter helps address that.
Don't be surprised if Trotter winds up as a two-down linebacker for another team, maybe the Carolina Panthers.
Quinn not THAT impressive
Let's not get carried away with Brady Quinn's stellar debut for the Cleveland Browns against the Detroit Lions. It came in the fourth quarter, against a bunch of defenders who soon will be working in other occupations that don't involve wearing helmets and shoulder pads.
That is not to say I wasn't impressed. Quinn showed the poise and good decision-making that made him such an outstanding quarterback for Notre Dame. He looked so smooth that there were times when it seemed as if he were still running Charlie Weis' offense, with Weis still talking to him in his helmet between each play.
The downside of his performance is that so many of the Browns faithful have already concluded that he should be the starter on opening day. Given the hype over Quinn and how bad Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson have alternately looked this summer, that's understandable. But it still seems that the best approach for Quinn and the Browns would be to ease him into the starting job. He needs to watch and learn from the sidelines as teams roll out their complex blitz packages and coverages that he did not see from the Lions and won't see for the balance of his preseason action.
No enthusiasm for Russell
I'm getting the distinct feeling that the Oakland Raiders have lost their enthusiasm for signing JaMarcus Russell.
Maybe there is something to the growing league-wide buzz that Al Davis was less than thrilled with what Russell showed during offseason workouts, and that he is convinced his team would be better off with Josh McCown or Daunte Culpepper running the show this season -- and maybe beyond.
I still think Russell is tremendously talented and that it would be a shame for him to give up the chance to play this season and re-enter the draft in 2008. But it is becoming easier to see this thing playing out that way.
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