Preseason Thoughts and Tuna "In Their Own Words"

Little Lion Man – Mumford and Sons

Finally the season is here!!!  Between a hard drive crash and a hectic past month I haven't been able to jump on much so allow me to touch on a few things as well as give it my best shot at a 53.  Hope everyone's been well and you enjoyed the preseason.  This song has nothing to do with this article, there's no hidden message that ties in so just enjoy.  I'm sure many of you have heard it recently and I just can't get enough of it.  Beware of the F word, it's loud and clear more than a few times. 

Many are saying the starters shouldn't have played against the Cowboys, I think the staff was right.  Injury can occur anywhere, especially at practice which is what that game was.  They needed the work and Jake Long is fine.  Was I the only one saying to myself that he was fine because he didn't go straight to the locker?  Wasn't that obvious?  Wouldn't they get him looked at ASAP if it was more than bruise?  The media is really dying for some juice because it wasn't bad at all.

For some reason I thought the broadcast would improve with a certain HOF QB returning to the college booth this week but of course it still left plenty to be desired.  Not to speak badly of Bob or the rest of the broadcast but I heard them mess up too many names this preseason.  At times it seemed like they weren't even familiar with what was going on.  Too many hungry people out there that would kill for that job for them to make mistake after mistake.  I wish they would take a long look at every person they have working these games because I for one don't enjoy many.  One more thing about the broadcast.  Doesn't Kim Bokamper look out of place next to Sparano during field interviews?  Wouldn't be wise to bring in someone that doesn't need to bend down to get into the camera with Tony?  He makes Tony look like a very little man.

I'm happy with what I saw in the preseason.  This isn't going to come together overnight so the steps I saw us take were refreshing.  The offense looked fine considering they have no reason to show how they'll use Marshall or the Wildcat.  Once again something that I've seen concern about that isn't necessary.

Same deal on defense.  They aren't going to put Nolan's ways on display for preparation against us.  This team depends on the element of surprise so a bland preseason is exactly what the doctor ordered.  The players on defense have shown their athletic ability and they've been forced to prepare without the added dimension of the pressure.  They certainly weren't anywhere near perfect so far but what they did accomplish should be easier now since there was no pressure and what they failed should be corrected with the added pressure.  They made mental errors at times but I never really noticed a complete breakdown.  Add the pressure to this preparation and sprinkle in a lack of tape for others to prepare with and I'm excited.

Dan Carpenter and Brandon Fields have looked great and both look to be in the conversation as the best at their positions in the league.  They actually look tough from some angles.

Sad to see Cam go but it's hard not to be ecstatic that Moore, Turner and Wallace pushed him that hard.  I saw it coming months ago as well as the majority of you that voted in this poll back in February.

Something in Tony Sparano's column on the Fin's site really stood out to me.  For the past two years it's always been the key is winning the AFC East.  That's been the first goal, they've said it so much that I'm not going to even bother linking to any quotes.  Anyone that doesn't agree must have been living under a rock since the Tuna's arrival.  The new column sings a different tune to me.

Q. So what are your realistic hopes for this team in 2010?

TS: My realistic hope is that we go the playoffs and we give ourselves a chance to win a championship.

Previous if asked that question he likely would have said to win the AFC East and we'll go from there.  Not a big deal but it just seemed to me that maybe their strategy this year is more based on grabbing the Wildcard as well.  Strategy for building the roster and unleashing new aspects of our game plan throughout the season might have them thinking that they'll introduce it slowly like with the Wildcat in 2008.  Hopefully fast enough to get off to a good start but I don't think they'll risk this team stunting it's growth by showing too much.  They need that element of surprise and they need it the whole year which might cause us to begin focusing on the Wildcard as a way in.  I think we'll win the East and I'm sure I'm reading way to much into this but it did stand out to me.

Now lets have fun with the 53.  This is my opinion, I don't think it's far off from what anyone else is imagining aside from one thing that should stand out to most.

I spent more time dropping the kids off at the pool this morning than I did putting that together so before you tear it apart let's just see what happens tomorrow.  As you can see I think we're going to carry four QBs for the time being.  Allow me to explain.

Pat White has still not shown me that he needs to be cut.  I think the right move is to capitalize on the depth until someone comes calling for Thigpen.  Until then I think White should stay inactive on game days with Thigpen as the #2 until he's traded in order to possibly use him in the role White filled last year.  Someone will call for Thigpen and a player with his experience at his age can command a 3rd if we're lucky and a 4th if we're not unlucky.  During the season people pay for panic and Thigpen looks like the perfect bait.

Let White continue developing and hope staying inactive on game days gets him motivated.  At some point between now and week six he'll get to return to his spot from last year and that's when we'll truly be able to judge him.

Other than that I think it's fairly run of the mill.  I chopped Jason Allen.  Since Garner already got placed on IR I think it's a safe bet that Will Allen will be back soon.  Garner should have been back by week four or five so I would imagine they're confident Allen will return even sooner.

I think the acquisition of McQuistan really bailed us out on the line.  He seems to have the versatility that they desire and his experience with our staff should be a huge help early.

Many of the hard decisions I had to make with that roster came down to getting the cut player on the practice squad.  I just can't see getting Wallace back after waiving him so that's not a gamble I'd like to take.  He's looked solid and I'm happy to carry six WRs if that's where the talent is.

Same deal at middle linebacker.  I believe Johnson, McCoy, Spitler and Folsom are all eligible for the practice squad so I'll take my chances that one or two will be there when we need them.  Just a numbers game as long as they feel comfortable developing whomever makes it back to us.

We really are lucky to play the Bills the first week.  It's a great way to open the season and even with a conservative game plan we should be able to take care of business.

Now for those of you who've stuck around I hope you've enjoyed my preseason recap and I leave you with the best video I've watched in a couple months...In Their Own Words...Bill Parcells.  45 minutes of pure intensity.  It's basically a history of what this team is built on.