The NFL legislates quarterback safety, but all the rules are geared toward opposing players being careful once they get within striking distance. It might be time to protect the quarterbacks from themselves.
In a meaningless third preseason game on Sunday, James Harrison picked up a loose ball and ran toward the end zone. Broncos QB Kyle Orton, who thought he'd try to tackle the Steelers' 245-pound outside linebacker, almost got hurt when Harrison lowered his shoulder pad and hit Orton on the back of his head and left shoulder. Orton escaped serious injury, but could have also been blown up by a blocker before Harrison had gotten to him.
It wasn't the first time this preseason that a starting quarterback has attempted such a boneheaded play. The Chargers' Philip Rivers made a touchdown-saving tackle on Cowboys safety Barry Church in Week 2 -- again, in a meaningless game. San Diego is lucky it has its Pro Bowl quarterback for Week 1 of the regular season.
Unless quarterbacks like Orton and Rivers are legislated out of tackling situations, they will continue their attempts to make plays on interceptions and fumble recoveries. It's time to take them out of the equation for their own good.
Who wants the ball in Pittsburgh?
The Steelers have to find a way to win games while Ben Roethlisberger serves his suspension. If one thing is clear after three preseason games, neither Byron Leftwich nor Dennis Dixon deserve to be named the starter.
Unless the Steelers want to sign a guy like Jeff Garcia, who would come in and take control of the huddle and possibly manage the team better than either guy on the roster, it might be time to be creative with the guys they have. As one defensive coordinator in the AFC said to me this week, "The Steelers would be a bigger problem if I thought they were playing both quarterbacks every week. I would need two sets of calls, and they could go with the hot hand in the second half."
Hurry up, stop the game from slowing down
The NFL has already decided its game umpires will return to their original spot near the middle linebacker for the last two minutes of the first and second halves of games. I have an idea that solves a problem that reared its face during the Colts-Packers preseason game on Thursday, when the umpire got in the way while heading to the backfield and wound up calling a penalty on Indianapolis. Anytime the umpire goes to spot the ball and the offense is already at the line of scrimmage attempting to use a no-huddle package, the umpire sets the ball and backs up into his old spot.
The Ravens, Bengals and Colts all used the no-huddle offense during Week 3 of the preseason, and they won't be alone using it in the regular season. During my recent training camp tour, most teams were working on a no-huddle package. There's no way officials should be slowing down a game or penalizing a team that wants to use a hurry-up offense.
The NFL wants to grow the game internationally, and I have spent enough time in Europe to know the No. 1 objection Europeans have with American football is the huddle and the stoppage of play. Make the modification before the regular season starts.
The worst cut of all
A few days before the most meaningless preseason game, every team has to cut five players that probably were going to keep important players off the field to reduce the risk of injury in the preseason finale. A better approach? Make all the cuts after the last preseason game and give every team a chance to protect the guys who already made the roster.
And who knows? One of those five players cut in getting to 75 might do something spectacular and make the roster or practice squad. This first wave of cuts need to go.
Finding truth in meaningless stats
There are some things you can take away from the preseason that are indicators of what might happen in the regular season. For instance:
» In three preseason games, the Chicago Bears have given up 16 sacks in 103 pass plays called. That works out to be one sack every 6.5 pass attempts. The Mike Martz system calls for lots of deep drops. Unless the protection drastically improves, it could be a very tough year for Jay Cutler.
» The Carolina Panthers, who let Julius Peppers go in free agency and have potentially six new starters on defense, have gotten after quarterbacks. The Panthers have 18 sacks by nine different players in the first three preseason games. During my camp visit in early August, it was clear they were going to find a way to rush the passer, and it looks like they are well on their way.
» With all the fanfare about Terrell Owens joining the Cincinnati Bengals and looking like a guy who will catch 75 passes this season and team up with Chad Ochocinco to be a "dynamic duo," as they like to call themselves, there is another story in Cincinnati. The Bengals have run the ball more than any team so far in the preseason (113 times for 4.1 yards per rush) and might present opponents lots of problems on the ground.
» The Cleveland Browns have one sack on defense in the preseason, and with the Ravens and Bengals ramping up their passing games, it could be hard to slow down the division opponents. If Roethlisberger's suspension is reduced to four games, that means his first game back will be against the Browns, and we should probably expect Big Ben to come out throwing.
