The Tiger Report: 10/24/11

Monday, October 24, 2011

Raiders fans need to relax

Carson Palmer was put in Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs after Kyle Boller looked like, well...Kyle Boller. Palmer went on to throw three interceptions, feeding his critics even more to complain about.

Now, let's all take a step back and realistically look at what happened. Palmer was traded on Tuesday of this past week. He was in practice for a few days with the team, and wasn't even sure if he would play on Sunday. He was thrown in the game early in the third quarter. Imagine a coach telling you, "Hey go get you some," after not playing for months, having no preseason or training camp, and practicing for a couple of days with a brand new team. Sounds fun right?

Everyone is so quick to slander Palmer. I loved looking at Twitter and seeing all the nasty tweets people were spewing out. "Carson Palmer sucks, Palmer is the worst ever, I can't believe our season is over," those were a few I recall, all from completely reasonable fans.

If you honestly believe this is the Carson Palmer we will see all season, then you might want to give football a rest. Yes, his performance was pretty sub-par. No one wants to see a player they just traded for throw more interceptions than draft picks they received for him. Consider all of the factors, though, before you disown Oakland.

Darren McFadden only had two carries against the Chiefs. He got hurt, left the game and didn't return. So now you have a second-string running back to complement your rusty quarterback, what a great combination.

I'm not here to say Palmer will lead this team from the doldrums of Sunday to the promise land. That he will dismantle all opponents with his passing game and win nine Super Bowls. I'm just saying give him a few more weeks. The Raiders have a bye in Week 8, then take on the Broncos in Week 9. I expect Palmer to be in better form against Denver. If he throws three picks in his next couple games, fine, you can panic then. But let's relax everyone...for now at least.

Redskins confirm Tim Higtower will miss the rest of the season

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on October 24, 2011, 4:36 PM EDT

Washington’s worst fears were realized Monday when the team learned running back Tim Hightower will miss the season with a torn ACL.

Hightower was the team’s starter on Sunday, his fifth start of the season. He led the team with 321 rushing yards on the year.

Ryan Torain and Roy Helu split the work after Hightower left, a plan that figures to continue against the Bills this week.

The Redskins are not a deep team. With Santana Moss also out, in addition to a couple of starting offensive lineman, Washington’s shaky bench will be tested in the coming weeks.

Suh: "Do I need Rodney White's respect? No."

Posted by Michael David Smith on October 24, 2011, 4:30 PM EDT

Falcons receiver Roddy White said after Sunday’s game in Detroit that he lost respect for Lions defensive tackleNdamukong Suh because Suh taunted an injured Matt Ryan.

Suh said today that he doesn’t particularly care if White respects him.

“Do I need Rodney White’s respect? No. Leave it at that,” Suh said.

Yes, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Suh called Roddy White “Rodney.” I’m not sure if Suh misspoke, if he doesn’t know White’s actual first name, or if he wanted to take a subtle dig at White by pretending not to know White’s actual first name. But it’s funny in any event.

Regarding the allegations that he and teammate Cliff Avril taunted Ryan, Suh pointed out the same thing that Lions coach Jim Schwartz pointed out today: Ryan was surrounded by the Falcons’ medical staff and out of earshot of any alleged trash talk while he was down on the field.

“I’m not even near their quarterback so how am I going to trash talk somebody that has a medical staff that’s all around him?” Suh said.

Suh also accused the Falcons’ offensive line of dirty play and said it was fitting that Falcons offensive lineman Will Svitek was the one who hurt Ryan by accidentally stepping on his foot.

“To me it’s karma,” Suh said. “For all the bad stuff they’ve done in the past, their offensive lineman hurt their own quarterback. So I’ll leave it at that.”

So as far as Suh is concerned, that ends this week’s round of accusations that he’s a dirty player. But with the Lions in Denver next week, we can expect a whole new round of controversy if Suh takes a shot at Tim Tebow.

Cowher looking for the right opportunity, not price

Posted by Mike Florio on October 24, 2011, 1:31 PM EDT

Premiere Of Warner Bros. "The Hangover Part II" - Arrivals

Getty Images

When Bill Cowher left the Steelers after the 2006 season, it was believed that he called it quits because he knew that he’d never make in Pittsburgh the kind of top-of-market money that guys like Mike Holmgren, whom Cowher beat in Super Bowl XL, was receiving. And so the thinking was that, after making TV money for a few years at CBS, Cowher would return to the NFL, get paid top dollar, and make back all the money he would have made with the Steelers, and then some.

If that’s what Cowher was thinking then, it’s not what he’s thinking now. Peter King of Sports Illustrated pointed out during Sunday’s broadcast of Football Night in America that Cowher’s top priority is to go to a situation in which he thinks he’ll win.

Of course, there’s a chance Cowher gets paid and wins. But winning is the more important factor, as it probably should be. Too many Super Bowl-winning coaches have undermined their legacies via NFL second acts that didn’t work out. None has won a Super Bowl with a subsequent team. (Holmgren came the closest.)

Cowher could be the first to do it. And it sounds like he’ll only return to a situation in which he believes he will.

And that makes the franchise that secures the rights to Andrew Luck the most likely to be able to lure Cowher back to coaching in 2012.

Chris Cook remains in jail

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on October 24, 2011, 12:50 PM EDT

Vikings cornerback Chris Cook remains in jail Monday after a court appearance was delayed.

Cook has been in jail since Saturday morning at 4 a.m. Authorities have until Tuesday to charge Cook or they must release him, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Cook was arrested for domestic assault.

Cook was only a few blocks away from the Metrodome Sunday while his teammates lost a close game to the Packers. It’s uncertain if the Vikings will let him play this week once he presumably gets out of jail.

10/24 Monday morning one liners

Posted by Josh Alper on October 24, 2011, 8:45 AM EDT

Jets' Burress catches his third touchdown reception of the day in front of Chargers' Cason in their National Football League game in East Rutherford

Reuters

The Bills are going to keep playing C.J. Spiller at wide receiver.

If the season ended today, the Dolphins would be in position to draft Andrew Luck.

Patriots LB Brandon Spikes has given himself more reasons to celebrate of late.

The flu wasn’t going to be enough to keep Jets RBLaDainian Tomlinson from playing against his former team.

The Ravens still get fired up to play on Monday Night Football.

The six biggest plays and six biggest surprises of the first six Bengals games.

Browns RB Montario Hardesty didn’t bust too many big runs, but he got praised for battling by coach Pat Shurmur.

CB Ike Taylor didn’t have a very good day covering Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald during the Steelers’ 32-20 victory.

Staying aggressive on offense paid off for the Texans on Sunday.

The good things Colts RB Delone Carter accomplished aren’t enough to eliminate the negatives of an awful Sunday night.

Jaguars G.M. Gene Smith doesn’t feel like his team is too far from getting on track.

The Titans defense found itself in the wrong alignments often in their loss to the Texans.

Broncos K Matt Prater experienced valleys — two missed field goals — before the peaks of a successful onside kick and overtime field goal.

Todd Haley’s beard keeps growing because the Chiefs keep winning.

Ugly as Sunday was for the Raiders, they ended it with proof that Carson Palmerwas their quarterback.

Chargers CB Antoine Cason had a terrible time trying to cover Jets WR Plaxico Burress.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wisely passed on making any comparisons between rookie RB DeMarco Murray and Emmitt Smith after Murray’s big game.

The Giants like what they’ve seen from rookie LB Jacquian Williams.

Has the Eagles’ rivalry with the Cowboys lost its luster?

Said Redskins coach Mike Shanahan of QB John Beck, “First time out, he’s always going to have some growing pains, that’s the nature of the business. But I think you can see his athleticism, his quick release. Seemed like he kept his poise in there throughout the game.”

Four interceptions were a key part of the Bears’ victory in London.

Missed tackles and penalties were too big a part of the Lions’ defensive effort.

Two interceptions were part of another big game for Packers CB Charles Woodson.

Vikings DE Jared Allen took little solace from adding two sacks to his impressive total in Sunday’s loss.

Said Falcons DE John Abraham of the defense’s job against Lions QB Matthew Stafford, “We made him a little jittery. We made him throw it a little sooner than maybe he wanted.”

Panthers T Jordan Gross fired up his team with a pregame speech before they beat the Redskins.

The Saints defense got some of the takeaways they had been missing this season.

Injuries in the backfield forced the Buccaneers to put the ball up more than expected.

Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic thinks the Cardinals are waving a white flag.

Rams DE Chris Long called his team’s performance on Sunday “pretty embarrassing.”

Is this a replay of 1981 for the 49ers?

Said Seahawks DT Red Bryant after his fourth quarter ejection, “Under no circumstances is that acceptable. And me being a leader on this team, I’ve got to know better. No matter what.”

Are changes coming in Indianapolis?

Posted by Mike Florio on October 24, 2011, 10:14 AM EDT

Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell reacts to a call during their NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa

Reuters

With the Colts suffering a 62-7 shellacking in the Superdome, questions have surfaced and/or intensified regarding the future of the organization. The fine folks at StampedeBlue.com summarize the status of a sorry situation for a franchise that entered 2011 with realistic hopes of becoming the first team to play the Super Bowl in its home stadium.

For starters, center Jeff Saturday said after the game that the Colts were “out-coached,” a direct slap at head coach Jim Caldwell, a man whom we had believed to be safe given the Peyton Manning injury but who instead seems to be in serious trouble of being bounced after the season.

The question becomes how high up the ladder the transition would go. Unthinkable as it seems, StampedeBlue.com thinks that owner Jim Irsay (who apologized to fans on Twitter after last night’s debacle, saying “solutions in progress but complex in nature”) could decide to part ways with the Polians, a father-son front-office team that has ruled the roost for a long time in Indy.

In the interim, the question becomes whether Irsay will embrace the free-fall to the bottom of the league, in the hopes of landing the heir to the Peyton Manning franchise quarterback throne, Andrew Luck. Then the question becomes whether Irsay will feel compelled to make significant changes contemporaneously with the arrival of Luck, who could do to Jim Irsay what the last great Stanford quarterback did to Robert Irsay in 1983.

And then the question becomes whether a new regime would prefer a Manning-to-Luck handoff or whether the new regime would prefer to save the $28 million Manning is due to be paid in early March and move on.

Regardless, for a consistently elite team over the past decade, a disastrous 2011 season could spark the kind of overhaul that disastrous seasons often do.

Hue Jackson takes issue with Todd Haley at post game handshake

Posted by Josh Alper on October 24, 2011, 9:06 AM EDT

Oakland Raiders head coach Hue Jackson reacts after the Raiders are called for a foul during his NFL football game against the Kanas City Chiefs in Oakland

Reuters

It wasn’t quite Jim Schwartz vs. Jim Harbaugh, but Hue Jackson and Todd Haley had a little friction during their postgame handshake on Sunday.

The two men shook hands after the Chiefs thrashed the Raiders 28-0, but Jackson then appeared to have more to say to Haley while wagging a finger in his direction. Haley did not return fire and walked away while Jackson was still letting loose. A member of the Raiders staff stepped between them just to be on the safe side and there was no further interaction between the two men.

Jackson wasn’t sharing his beef with the media after the game.

“That’s between me and him,” Jackson said. “We get to play them again. We’ll go to Kansas City here at some point down the road.”

There was no shortage of things that might have set off a confrontation. It was a pretty chippy game, starting with some woofing between the teams during pregame warmups. Tamba Hali hit Carson Palmer low on Palmer’s first play of the game, drawing a flag, and cornerback Travis Daniels was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct as well. The Raiders picked up a couple of personal fouls of their own on the final Chiefs drive of the game. That drive featured Matt Casselthrowing into the end zone on the first play after the two minute warning even though the Chiefs were up 28-0.

On top of all that, Haley has never been accused of being a particularly warm and fuzzy (even with his winning streak beard) character. He’s had issues with Josh McDaniels and John Harbaugh in the past, although he was the aggressor in each of those cases and Jackson seemed like the aggrieved party on Sunday.

With things getting tight in the AFC West, this just adds another layer of fun to the rematch between the teams.

Avril denies dirty play and provides video clip to prove it

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on October 24, 2011, 9:09 AM EDT

Getty Images

It was an eventful Sunday for Ndamukong Suh. After a quiet start to the season, he racked up 5 tackles and a sack against Atlanta.

He got away with a post-play shove, and then was accused by the Falcons after the game fortaunting Matt Ryan when Ryan was hurt. Falcons players also said defensive end Cliff Avril kicked Matt Ryan’s feet when Ryan was hurt and yelled at him.

Avril responded on Twitter.

“Come on, I’m not in the business of hurting not one guy on the field,” Avril wrote. “I would never taunt anyone on an injury . . . But if we want to talk about dirty players look at the film and see who prides themselves on being durty.”

Avril then produced a clip that showed Ryan getting hurt, with nothing of note happening after the play.

There is room for both sides to be right here. Both the Falcons offensive line and the Lions defensive line are known for playing on the edge. It’s not a surprise they didn’t get along too well Sunday.

Florio and Rodney Harrison of Football Night in America discussed whether the Lions are dirty in their 1-on-1 segment this week.

Breaking down Tim Tebow's first start

Article first published as Breaking Down Tim Tebow's First Start on Technorati.

Like everyone else, I have been caught up in Tebow Time. Like so many other football fans, I was excited about his first start of the year. I wanted to see what this second year quarterback could do with my own eyes. So I recorded the game and watched every offensive snap.

Early in the game John Fox dialed up one running play after another, limiting the passing game to occasional shots. When Fox did dial up passing plays, the pass protection often broke down and forced Tebow take off. Take off he did as he was able to rack up 65 yards on 8 carries, but no one cared about that. We already knew what he could do with his feet. Good thing that he can run though, because the protection was awful as he was sacked 7 times. While he did scramble well, he showed signs of maturity as he is keeping his eyes downfield. How was his passing though?

It took a while to get a decent sized sample to form an opinion of during the game, but eventually we did get to see good and bad from the young gun. The first thing I wanted to look at was his footwork but he was not getting many opportunities to plant and throw with timing. I can count on one hand how many times he was able to actually throw a timing route. Most of the plays in the passing game, good or bad, were where he scrambled to extend plays. This leads us to the next part of Tim’s game, his throwing motion.

Tim will probably always have that Rocky Balboa south paw wind up, but can he make it work in the NFL? That wind up leaves a few concerns at the NFL level. The first is does it make his delivery too slow? In the NFL 3 tenths of a second can be the difference between a touchdown and an interception, but despite his slow wind up he puts excellent velocity behind most of his throws. There was one three step drop where he planted and fired a rocket from the left hash to the far right sideline. It was a perfect strike to the slot receiver, and it was an excellent display of his ability to drop back and throw a dart with precise timing. If his wind up was a fatal flaw, that would have been the time for it to rear it’s ugly head.

The next concern about Tebow’s wind up is that it leads to poor ball security. I do think this is a legitimate concern but he does have pretty good pocket awareness. With that being said, he did put the ball on the ground today, but it was after he already left the pocket. Like any other quarterback he will get hit and fumble during the course of his career, but the mechanics of his delivery will make him more susceptible of strips in the pocket than some others because of the low looping motion. The final concern with his throwing motion is his accuracy

His accuracy was all over the place in this game, and the stat sheet made it look even worse with a 13 for 27 performance. He had two throws that could have easily been intercepted. Additionally he had Daniel Fells wide open on a deep out at the 50 yard line, and the ball sailed ten feet over his head. Tim did however play better than his 48.1% completion percentage would indicate. He had perfect throws that hit Eddie Royal, Demaryius Thomas, and Willis that were simply dropped. So I was trying to find out why his throws were so erratic, and it always seemed to come back to his footwork. When throwing the ball your feet should lead you to your target. In order to drive the ball with velocity and precision you must be able to step into the throws, or at least have your feet lined up with your shoulders. In this game there were many occasions where he twisted his torso away from his base, and it typically resulted in overthrows. Some of this will come with better protection and more experience. I think this is definitely correctable and that he will only get better.

My last observation about Tim Tebow is not about his physical ability. It isn’t about his passion for the game. It isn’t about the way the team responds to his leadership. It is about his football intelligence. In today’s game the Dolphins were able to catch him off guard at least three times with a blitz that he did not see during his pre-snap read. One was a corner blitz that should have blown up a running play in the back field. The other two were pass plays with a safety blitz in the A gap and a corner blitz off the blind side. He did not identify either of them before the snap, and both resulted in sacks. He seems to be an intelligent young man. More importantly he is willing to put in the work and study the film, so these are definitely correctable.

Overall I saw a lot of ugly football today from Tebow, but I think there was more good than bad. With him now getting the reps with the number ones we should see him get better each week. He will have time to develop timing with his receivers. His mechanics are not that pretty, but if he keeps his feet under him he can be accurate. I feel that we will get to see him progress and he will help them win a handful of games this year. The coaching staff needs to open up the offense to him more though and help him get that on field experience. the Broncos need to shore up the pass protection though, or no quarterback is going to be successful. That task will not get any easier as the Detroit Lions come to town this weekend.

10/24 Injury roundup

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on October 23, 2011, 10:13 PM EDT

We get all the big injury news in the rumor mill throughout the day. I try to collect the rest of the injuries we’ll be tracking every Sunday night in our injury roundup.

1. Texans safety Daniel Manning has a crack in his leg. He’ll undergo an MRI on Monday, but doctors have already told him he could be out anywhere from 4-10 weeks depending on the severity of the crack. Manning has helped solidify an improved Houston secondary.
“There’s still a chance he can be back this year,” coach Gary Kubiak said.
2. Kevin Boss suffered a concussion in the Raiders loss, according to NBC’s Alex Flanagan.
3. Titans receiver Damian Williams hit his head against the Texans and suffered headaches after the game. He may have a concussion.
4. Rams T Jason Smith has a strained neck and possible concussion according to the team.
5. Redskins linebacker London Fletcher left the game with a hamstring injury and did not return.
6. Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi sustained a concussion in Sunday’s win over the Seahawks.
7. Vikings wideout Percy Harvin left Sunday’s loss in the third quarter with a rib injury.
8. Titans linebacker Barrett Ruud left the team’s loss with a “burner.”

Chris Johnson refuses to accept responsibility for performance

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on October 23, 2011, 8:15 PM EDT

Titans' Johnson is tackled by Texans' Quin during first half of their NFL football game at LP Field in Nashville

Reuters

The Titans entered Sunday dead last in the NFL in rushing. That doesn’t figure to change after theirinept performance at home against the Texans.

Chris Johnson was held to 18 yards on 10 carries. His longest run was three yards. It got to the point where Titans fans booed Johnson and cheered when backup Javon Ringer entered the game. Ringer had a 25-yard run, but only three carries.

We’ve heard a lot of people blame the Titans offensive line, but Johnson isn’t running with the same aggression or explosion. Johnson, for one, says it’s not his fault.

“I wouldn’t say I am the issue. I’m very confident I’ve been doing the things .. I do. I can’t do nothing but keep working hard,” Johnson said after the game via Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.

Johnson came as close to blaming the offensive line as possible without saying it outright.

“If you are watching the game and you can’t tell what’s going on with the run game then I’d say u really don’t know football,” Johnson said.

Titans coach Mike Munchak said that fixing the run game was the team’s top priority during the bye week. Instead, the team is still searching for answers.

Johnson seems convinced that he’s not to blame.

Matthew Stafford to have MRI on knee and ankle

Posted by Mike Florio on October 23, 2011, 7:40 PM EDT

The Lions have lost two straight games after a 5-0 start. And now they have to worry about losing their starting quarterback.
Matthew Stafford suffered a right leg injury late in Sunday’s loss to the Falcons. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Stafford will have an MRI to examine whether and to what extent he has damage to both his knee and his ankle.
We’re told that Stafford is optimistic that he’ll be OK. ”It takes a tank to keep him out,” the source said.
Anyone who saw Stafford fight his way back onto the field in 2009 to throw the winning touchdown against the Browns knows that it may take more than a tank to keep him out.
The Lions head to Denver next weekend to face the Broncos and Tim Tebow.

Carson Palmer's debut didn't go so well

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on October 23, 2011, 7:30 PM EDT

Getty Images

Jason Campbell has never looked so good to Raiders fans.

After Kyle Boller threw three interceptions in the first half,Carson Palmer replaced him . . . and threw three interceptions of his own in the second half.

The Chiefs won 28-0 in Oakland Sunday in a game that changes the way we think about the AFC West race.

Suddenly, the Chiefs don’t look so out of it at 3-3. The Raiders, who have been as consistent as any team this year, suddenly looked like the Raiders of old at home. Oakland’s AFC West winning streak is over.

The Chiefs, led by two picks by Brandon Flowers, have played good defense the last three weeks to even their record. They have a big Monday night game against San Diego next week.

Palmer finished 8-of-21 for 116 yards and three interceptions. It’s not fair to judge Palmer after he’s only been with the team for half a week, but Oakland’s decision to play Palmer at all shows what a big game this was for Oakland.

Running back Darren McFadden left with a foot injury and never returned. He has a bye week to get healthy, but no player is more important to the Raiders than McFadden.

The complexion of the Raiders organization changed a lot Tuesday when they added Palmer. The complexion of the AFC West changed just as much after this humbling loss for Oakland.

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The Tiger Report

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Monday, October 24, 2011

Raiders fans need to relax

Redskins confirm Tim Higtower will miss the rest of the season

Suh: "Do I need Rodney White's respect? No."

Cowher looking for the right opportunity, not price

Chris Cook remains in jail

10/24 Monday morning one liners

Are changes coming in Indianapolis?

Hue Jackson takes issue with Todd Haley at post game handshake

Avril denies dirty play and provides video clip to prove it

Breaking down Tim Tebow's first start

10/24 Injury roundup

Chris Johnson refuses to accept responsibility for performance

Matthew Stafford to have MRI on knee and ankle

Carson Palmer's debut didn't go so well

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