I never understood how coaches especially in college always talk about needing to get their type of players for their system. I always thought coaching was taking the talent you had at hand at making it work. If a guy’s a scrambler then call the roll outs for him. If he has a big arm then let him take the shots down the field with speed burners with hands like glue who can run underneath the passes.

I think the rise of the spread offenses in college are really hindering QB development for the pro prospects because instead of teaching these guys the nuances of the game the coaches are letting them fall back on their talent. That’s good for that level but if a guy is going to make a living doing that then more emphasis needs to be placed on what can make them successful on the next level.

Just my two but good discussion…

With Merriman out for the Chargers and the uncertianty of the Colts and the Jaguars unable to take that next step into Super Bowl contenders it is Pittaburgh to lose with the Jets if Farve can stay healthy and those additons come through they can be a dark horse in the AFC unless the Pats get Daunte and then all bets are off and they are the class of the AFC and league.

I couldn’t agree more with your assessment of Zorn and Campbell. JC has a huge arm and he’s accurate. He should be attacking teams deep down the field. The short passing game was best suited to Zorn because he had a pop gun when he played. He and Largent simply played underneath defenses for years. It’s one reason why those Seattle teams were never much better than Pennington’s Jets.

Those teams never scared anyone and they never beat anyone. The Redskins will be heading down the same path. Al Saunders ran a more complicated offense than Zorn, but it was not intended to stretch the field either. What, exactly, is the point of having Santana Moss and Randle-El on the roster if you’re only going to through underneath?

Shouldn’t they simply cut James Thrash and go down to the post office in DC to see if someone else can fill that roster spot? Devin Thomas is supposed to have some serious wheels. With these 3 step drops and dinks and dunks, we’ll never know. Chris Cooley is wasting away.

This team could be explosive. They really need to play three wide – with Cooley and spread the field to create more running lanes for Portis. It’s only Campbell’s second full season as a starter…his next game will be his 15th. It’s too early to close the book, but Zorn is going to have to take more chances. 4.93 yds per attempt is abysmal.

Another thing is a majority of the Offensive Coordinators are white. Instead of trying to adjust for the black qb’s talents, and letting them be comfortable, they seem to want to turn them into pocket passers. This is compounded by many black qb’s themselves who don’t want to be seen as a running, i.e. “black” qb and will do everything possible to stay in the pocket. It didn’t hurt Fran Tarkenton’s or Steve Young’s careers that they were running qb’s. News flash to Jason Campbell and Vince Young, you’re both black qb’s, and no matter what you do, you’re not going to change the press’s opinion’s, so stop trying to please them. At least Andy Reid allowed Donovan to run early in his career, and now Donovan has evolved into one of the best passers period in the NFL and can still use his legs.

T3, Inkognegro -
I’m cautiously optimistic about this season for the Steelers. The big questions still remain about the toughness of the schedule and durability of some of the players. I think they’ll win the AFC North again and make the playoffs. Beyond that, though, I have no idea. There’s still the glaring weakness of their secondary, which is hidden most weeks by the pass rush. But, the pass rush tends to break down later in the year, and for the playoffs. Then, who will be the third receiver behind Hines and Holmes? And of course, can the offensive line do as good as job as they did against the Texans? If not, Ben and Willie are going to struggle against better teams.

I think that was exactly my point. The cart cannot be placed ahead of the horse.

For now…Cleveland.

You know I’m deep, deep down with Pittsburgh, but I don’t think we have the best team in the league. It’s just too early. I want to see how we play against power teams that can run and throw the ball. The Texans, for all their young talent, simply don’t have the linemen to have an effective run game against the Steelers.

The fact that Brady is out — AND — that Belichick won’t be able to pull any of the many videos he had of the Steelers (I believe it was something like 5 of makes me feel better. Still, I’m concerned about the durability of Willie Parker, Aaron Smith, Polamalu and others. The loss of those two players sealed our fate against Jacksonville.

If our guys are healthy – I fully agree that we can beat everyone in the league, but our schedule is murderous. We did catch a break by getting some of our tougher games at home. Mid-winter…look out. Steelers play Giants, Redskins, Colts, Chargers, Bengals, Patriots, Cowboys, Ravens, Titans and Browns…DAMN!!!

Those will be 10 brutal games against teams that either know them very well or have performed at a high level for years. If they get through this Murderer’s Row of games with a 7-3 record, they’ll be fine. As it stands, their next four games are against the Browns, Eagles, Ravens and Jaguars. The schedule is simply brutal. They could win every game and lose every game.

Brotha Harvey thats the question and the answer. Also these dudes don’t even have the same OC for more then a year or 2.

As far as the raiders they waited till the team got out of hand to even open up the offense. These young brothas are playing with a hand tied behind their back. Lets not forget that most these black QBs don’t even have WRs.

My, my, my, how quickly the worm turns don’t it? VY may not have noticed Black QB’s are treated differently last year when he said McNabb was on his own with his HBO comments but he’s going to learn this year and it’s already starting early. Fisher couldn’t find his prize buck because he left the plantation without a pass so he had to get the paterollers to ride out and get him. Get frickin’ real. Now a guy can’t even turn off his phone and chill out? Guess not if the NFL shield is stamped on his behind. Looks like Cuban may have another QB for the UFL in another few years.

After watching the Raiders get run through by the Broncos last night, I have to ask this question and there’s no way to sugarcoat it. What the heck is up with the play of young Black QB’s today in the NFL? It’s a race-centered loaded question I know but why does it seem like these guys aren’t making the transition as smoothly as their other peers or even as other Black QB’s back in the day? Is it coaching in college? Are the coaches in the pros just keeping these guys reined in too tight? What?

Jason Campbell is a down the field passer so why was Zorn calling such a conservative game this past Thursday? Vince Young and JaMarcus Russell are physical specimens yet they now look as imposing as punters on the field. No one knows what the hell Tavaris Jackson can do because Childress only opens up the passing game when AD and Chet Taylor flame out in the running game. David Garrard has arguably the most weapons at his disposal of any QB, black or white, but every Jags game is a defensive grinder. In the immortal words of Lombardi, “What the hell is going on here?”

Couldn’t agree more Eric.

Oh and Davidmac go crawl under a rock. Uncle Ruckus Jr.

That’s it.

Instead of getting these brothas help, they’d rather them run around and excite the fan base. When they ultimately don’t win (and I don’t mean just win like everyone else can, I mean the SB), the base turns on them.

It’s ridiculous.