“The common denominator was me being in both places, but I will let you make that assessment,”

-T.O.

This monday night division rivals Philadelphia Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys on the national stage. This week 2 game could very easily influence the teams success in the rest of the season, the NFC East is one of the most competitive divisons in football and every division victory is going to effect the post season. A loss in this game will only make a team 1-1, but don’t overlook the importance of this matchup.

It’s only friday and some fireworks are already sparking. Outspoken Terrell Owens has made comments regarding the former relationship between himself and Eagles quarterback D-McNabb. Terrell just cant seem to drop this subject every time they mention his name. Some verbal shots were taken at Donovan that seem to be a bit selfish and uncalled for.

“I will say that Donovan made me a better receiver in Philadelphia, but I think Donovan would have a hard time admitting I made him a better quarterback,”

-T.O.

Since leaving getting kicked out of Philly, Owens has flourished in Dallas with Tony Romo and was actually able to get along with the quarterback for more than new year. I give Terrell credit for admitting that Donovan made him better, but I have difficulty understanding why Donovan wouldn’t say the same. The statistics prove that they were nasty together…

In 2004, Donovan had his best statistical season, while T.O. had 77 receptions for 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns in 14 games. Fortunately T.O. got injured and we never had to see Andy Reid in those tights.

In Week 1, T.O. had 5 catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Donovan had 361 passing yards and 3 touchdowns in week 1 against the Rams.

“I remember being in that stadium and hearing them chanting my name, and that couldn’t bode well for Donovan.”

-T.O.

Does Philadelphia miss T.O.? The success the 2 had together is undeniable…. But we will never know what they COULD have been together.

Positions we take a look into:

-Quarterback (Basically, the team that if there #1 goes down… They have a #2 that can start in the NFL)

-Running Back (Find the team with the BEST 1 – 2 punch)

-Wide Receiver (Finding the best #1 and #2 receiver duo in the league)

-Corner Back (Which 2 give offensive coordinators the biggest scare?)

-Tight End (Uh, Tight End Duo’s?)

-Safety (The 2 who terrorize opposing receivers across the middle)

-Linebacker Corps (Which 3 or 4 LB’s give the offense the toughest time?)

-Defensive End (2 Pass Rushing, Run Stopping Machines)

-Defensive Tackle (The best 2 DT’s of any team) note: we had some trouble because some of the best DT’s are in a 3-4 defense…

Quarterback

Winner: St. Louis Rams – Marc Bulger + Trent Green

After a tough debate, the Bleeping Idiots team came to decide on the St. Louis Rams as the best quarterback duo in the NFL. Our decision was decided on the fact that we feel that both of these quarterbacks have the ability to start in the NFL and win games on their shoulders.

I would say that Health is the biggest reason that we had a hard time deciding which team to go with. However, the Health issue aside, Marc Bulger has proven that he can be one of the better QBs in the league, and Trent Green has also proven that he can keep up with some of the best in the league. If it wasn’t for his most recent injuries, Trent Green would still be starting somewhere. I feel confident that if Marc Bulger goes down this year, the Rams would not miss a stride by having Trent Green take over.

Washington Redskins - Jason Campbell + Todd Collins

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Jeff Garcia + Luke McCown(or Brian Griese)

Arizona Cardinals - Kurt Warner + Matt Leinart

Seattle Seahawks - Matt Hasselbeck + Seneca Wallace

Dallas Cowboys – Tony Romo + Brad Johnson

Running Back

Winner: Minnesota Vikings - Adrian Peterson + Chester Taylor

Our decision we made here was clear, the Vikings 1 – 2 punch of AP and Chester Taylor. As we saw last year, on AP’s “down days”, Chester picked up the slack effortlessly.

The work horse of the Vikings, Peterson, rushed for 1,341 yards for 12 touchdowns and a 5.6 yards per carry average. Last Year Chester rushed for 844 yards and 7 touchdowns with a whopping average of 5.4 yards per carry. These 2 running backs combined gave many defensive quarterbacks nightmares prior to gameday.

There are many good RB duos in the league these days and it was hard to pick the Vikings over such teams as the Jags and Redskins. However, the vote was unanimous, and there is no denying that the Vikings have the best backfield.

Jacksonville – Fred Taylor + Maurice Jones-Drew

San Diego Chargers - Ladainian Tomlinson + Darren Sproles

Washington Redskins – Clinton Portis + Ladell Betts

New Orleans Saints - Reggie Bush + Deuce Mcallister

Atlanta Falcons - Michael Turner + Jerious Norwood

Miami Dolphins - Ronnie Brown + Ricky Williams

Wide Receiver

Winner: Arizona Cardinals - Anquan Boldin + Larry Fitzgerald

Another fairly easy decision among the team at Bleeping Idiots… Fitzgerald had 100 receptions for 1,409 yards while Anquan had 71 catches for 853 yards and 9 TD’s. These 2 receivers reak havoc among secondaries. Don’t plan on bringing 8 into the box against this duo, they will have a field day.

Both receivers are superb route runners with excellent hands. Fitzgerald is taller and has an uncanny leaping ability to make difficult catches. Boldin is shorter but solid as a rock and is absolutely a beast to try to bring down after the catch. Now if they only had an elite QB throwing to them….

Detroit Lions - Roy Williams + Calvin Johnson

Green Bay Packers - Greg Jennings + Donald Driver

Indianapolis Colts - Reggie Wayne + Marvin Harrison

Cincinnati Bengals - Chad Johnson + TJ Houshmanzadeh

New England Patriots - Randy Moss + Wes Welker

Tight End

Winner: Tennessee Titans – Alge Crumpler + Bo Scaife

Now a Tight end Duo may seem to be a bit of a stretch, but with offensive coordinators doing whatever they can to confuse the defenses and create mismatches, a second tight end who can block and make plays when the ball is in the air is sometimes just what every offense could be looking for.

New York Jets - Chris Baker + Dustin Keller

Cleveland Browns - Kellen Winslow + Martin Rucker

Chicago Bears - Desmond Clark + Greg Olson

Washington Redskins - Chris Cooley + Fred Davis

New Orleans Saints - Jeremy Shockey + Mark Campbell

Corner Back

Winner: San Diego Chargers - Quintin Jammer + Antonio Cromartie

After a long heated debate, the Chargers took this one, and they really only won by a small margin when our football specialists put it to a vote. But the fact is, both Cromartie and Jammer are incredible man coverage corners as well as being absolute ball hawks. Because of their abilities to not only play the pass but also the run, the Chargers get this seasons award for best corner back duo

This was a hard decision…We all liked different teams. I mean Denver is excellent and has probably the best CB in the league in Bailey. We did not pick the Packers CB duo mostly because of their age. I feel like Denver comes in a VERY close second, and then the Raiders…However, Jammer is such a big physical CB that he is able to shut down opposing WRs with his strength. Cromartie has shown that he is a playmaker with excellent speed.

Oakland Raiders – Deangelo Hall + Nnamdi Asomugha

Baltimore Ravens - Samari Rolle + Chris McAlister

Denver Broncos - Dre Bly + Champ Bailey

Dallas Cowboys - Terrence Newman +Adam “Pac Man” Jones

Philadelphia Eagles - Asante Samuel + (Sheldon Brown or Lito Sheppard)

Green Bay Packers - Charles Woodson + Al Harris

Carolina Panthers - Ken Lucas + Chris Gamble

Safety

Winner: Indianapolis Colts - Bob Sanders + Antonie Bethea

This one was another close one, it was a tie between the Vikings and the Colts but due to the Injury to Madieu Williams the Colts ended up taking this one by default. Not to say however that they do not deserve it, these two safeties are young and stellar athletes, so i would not be surprised to see them take this title for years to come.

The vote was split on this one, but majority ruled in this case. Personally I think that the Colts safeties get more credit than they are due because of the fact that their offense usually jumps out to give the team a significant lead, and the Defense sits back in their zone defense the rest of the game. Reason’s aside, the Colts are the best duo at safety.

Buffalo Bills - Donte Whitner + Ko Simpson

Cleveland Browns - Sean Jones + Brodney Pool

Baltimore Ravens - Ed Reed + Dwayne Landry

Oakland Raiders - Gibril Wilson + Michael Huff

Minnesota Vikings – Darren Sharper + Madieu Williams

Linebacker

Winner: San Diego Chargers - Shawne Merriman + Matt Wilhelm + Stephen Cooper + Shaun Phillips

The chargers have now officially taken their second award, and with good reason too. Last season Merriman registered 68 tackles with 12.5 of the being sacks. Team that up with Phillips 8.5 sacks and Coopers 108 tackles and you got a squad of LB’s that every team will fear.

Chicago Bears - Brian Urlacher + Lance Briggs + Hunter Hillenmeyer

Pittsburgh Steelers - Lamar Woodley + James Harrison + James Farrior + Larry Foote

New York Jets - Calvin Pace + Eric Barton + David Harris + Vernon Gholston

Dallas Cowboys - Greg Ellis + Bradie James + Zach Thomas + DeMarcus Ware

Baltimore Ravens - Ray Lewis + Terrell Suggs + Bart Scott

Defensive End

Winner: Green Bay Packers - Aaron Kampman + Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila

I feel like this one was another tough call, and with DE it is so hard to really narrow down who the best is because of the different breeds of DE’s these days. Nowadays you have the 4-3 DE who is usually pretty good against the run, but specializes in getting after that passer. Then you have the 3-4 end who I feel is really more of a tackle than an end. So with this years award for best DE duo, we decided to give it to a team who has the total package and thus the Green Bay packers will win the best DE combo for totally a combo of 21.5 sacks along with a combined 90 tackles and three forced fumbles.

Seattle Seahawks - Patrick Kerney + Darryl Tapp

New York Giants - Osi Umenyiora + Justin Tuck

Indianapolis Colts – Dwight Freeney + Robert Mathis

New Orleans Saints - Charles Grant + Will Smith

Chicago Bears - Adewale Ogunleye + Mark Anderson + Alex Brown

Defensive Tackle

Winner: Minnesota Vikings - Kevin Williams + Pat Williams

The decision for defensive tackle duo’s was not even questioned. These 2 leaders of the defensive line led the league in rush defense. We could not find any team that could compare with this duo to even make us think twice about them. The 6-3 317 and 6-5 311 run stopping machines clog up just about everything….

Basically…the Vikings had the best Run Defense in the league, that right there speaks volumes about the Interior defensive linemen. These two are beasts and just eat up space in the middle…hard to argue with that.

Pittsburgh Steelers - Casey Hampton + Chris Hoke

Jacksonville Jaguars – John Henderson + Rob Meier

Houston Texans - Travis Johnson + Amobi Okoye

Yes the unthinkable has happened, We have successfully replaced Reno Mahe!

The Eagles have successfully replaced their Kick Returner and Punt Returner Positions. For a while with Lorenzo Booker as the predicted KR, it looked like Reno was gonna be getting a phone call. Former Cal superstar punt returner Desean Jackson officially has gotten his “Devin Hester” on when nearly returning one to the house early in the game that got called back by a penalty and returning one for 76 yards with no time remaining in the first half. Prior to Jackson’s punt return, Quintin Demps took a Kick Return for 101 yards after trucking the kicker and out running John Lynch.

It looks like the Eagles may have drafted two rookies that might make an immediate impact for once. They have given us hope that we have not seen since Brian Mitchell and Westbrook back there for punts.

Former Raider and Jet – Lamont Jordan signed with the New England Patriots today. One day after release by the Raiders. After failed attempts to trade Lamont, the Raiders released him. Last year with the Raiders, Lamont had 796 yards from scrimmage off of 172 touches. Lamont has averaged 3.8 YPC in the past 3 seasons, but has not turned out to be the star the Raiders had hoped he would be. Lamont’s best season came in 2005 as he rushed for 1,025 yards while catching 70 balls for 563 yards.

It is obvious the potential is there for Lamont, he is a much harder runner then the stats show. But, It will be interested to see how he fits in with the high powered offense of New England. Lamont will be competing with Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris for touches this year. Do not expect much out of Lamont Jordan this year, but if any injuries occur in the NE backfield don’t be to suprised if he makes some big plays.

In the rest of the NFL:

The Kansas City Chiefs locked up LSU rookie Glenn Dorsey to a 5 year deal for a wopping $51 million. Asante Samuel had to be removed form Eagles training camp today after a minor hamstring pull. Terry Glenn has been released by the Cowboys(retirement?). Stephen Jackson was not present today at Rams TC after contract disputes for his last year on contract.

The first drill of the day was just a simple receiver drills and running back catching drills. Donovan worked with the running backs in the flats while Feeley and Kolb were strictly throwing to the receivers on quick outs. Nothing to special happened during this drill. The drill then went into skeleton offense, where the crowd really started to get into it. Shouting “Show Me the Money” when Westbrook got his first touch of the day, and “Andy your looking good” in regards to Andy Reid’s shapely curves. During this drill, young receiver Jamal Jones seemed to get a bulk of the attention; dropping 3 passes within 30 minutes, the crowd really got onto him. After each pass he dropped, Reid pulled out his red pen and wrote into his little notepad (I wonder what that means… )

Soon after Skeleton Offense, the secondary came over with the new addition Asante Samuel(who limped off the field later in the day), and frustrated Lito Sheppard. This seemed to be the highlight of the day as we had the opportunity to watch  1 on 1’s. The 2 largest cheers came from Brian Dawkins; the first time, he tried to jam at the line as the receiver swam by him. Dawkins had a speedy recovery and quickly jumped the route and nearly picked it off. The second major cheer from the crowd came when Dawk lined up against speedster DeSean Jackson. Jackson straight up out ran Dawkins by making 2 cuts to the inside and leaving him in the dust.

The whole team came together shortly after a few other small drills and ran live. They started with the flee flicker(which they practiced at least 4 times during the morning) but it was quickly shut down and forced the untouchable Donovan to scramble. This seemed to be a majority of running plays, a few screen passes, and a reverse to Lorenzo Booker.

After the morning session, I went to go check the linebacker autograph booth for my lottery #. Only off by 60, oh well. I didn’t see Omar giving autographs any way. We then headed home after deciding to not hang around for the 2:15 session. Hopefully I plan on making one more trip to Lehigh to sit in on another practice.

Here is a list of players that impressed me and dissapointed me. For the most part this list does not include any of the teams stars. Donovan, Curtis, Westbrook, the starting secondary all had great mornings. Unfortunately, I did not get to concentrate on the lineman or linebackers much.

Who Impressed Me:

RB Lorenzo Booker – Will cause defenses confusion with a 2 back set of Booker and Westbrook.

RB Ryan Moats + RB Tony Hunt – Hunt had a huge crowd of Penn State fans, and Mighty Moats had a few nice little scurry’s.

WR DeSean Jackson – Lightning Quick

WR Greg Lewis – Had some quality grabs throughout the morning

TE Brent Celek – I believe he has great potential as a tight end, he made a few solid catches in the day

CB Therrian Fontenot – Very physical as a corner, looked tough

S J.R. Reed – Looked good out there as he received a pitch on an interception to take it to the house

S Brian Dawkins – He had more intensity from anybody on the field today, the crowd loves him.

Who Disappointed Me:

QB AJ Feeley and Kevin Kolb – neither quarterback had a good day as it seemed they were throwing away balls left and right.

WR Jamal Jones – At least 3 drops on the day. Major dissapointment, except I have never even heard of him before today…

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There have some astronomical changes over the past 2 days in the NFC East. Things are heating up for the Best Division in Football and just about underway. The division consists of the Washington Redskins, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys; 3 of which reached the playoffs while the Eagles had an 8-8 record missing the playoffs.

The Washington Redskins got a devastating injury to defensive end Philip Daniels for the season on Day 1 of practice; 5 Hours later Jason Taylor joins the team and agrees with a deal. How does this happen? Taylor has been on the market for months(kind of considering Parcells lied and said Taylor will be a Dolphin at the beginning of the season) and the Redskins go from a terrible injury to bringing in a former defensive MVP in just hours! This was an unbelievable move for the organization, and the team. Now on a side note for the Redskins, as I was driving to work listening to Mike-and-Mike in the morning, Mike Greenberg GUARANTEED that Favre will be playing in Washington by the start of the season. He said this is the most reasonable location for him and that the trade will happen. I personally agree with what he said 100%(although as an Eagles fan I would hate to see this happen), Todd Collins had a magical run last year but it won’t last forever. Brett is the perfect match for this team and would thrive with all the weapons. This was a great trade for the Dolphins, because it gives Parcells the opportunity to use these draft picks for the future and build the team HE wants, not what he gets. The Dolphins have no use for Taylor this season, nor next season. But in 3 years when Parcells has the team he wants, it will have been well worth this Dolphin drought.

In New York, the Giants have parted ways with big-mouth under-producing tight end Jeremy Shockey. The Giants recieved a second round and a fifth round draft pick(2009) in the trade of the “superstar”. I think this was a great move for the Giants, it is time to move on and start giving the rock to 6′6 – 253 Kevin Boss. The guy is a giant(no pun intended) and showed glimpses of the player they have in him last season. Do not get me wrong, Shockey has been a very good player for the Giants the past few seasons, but I felt he was being held back from his potential many times(maybe because of injuries, maybe the quarterback), but this move is a great move for both teams.

In Philly, things were quiet and then could suddenly turn bad after the past week. Philadelphia’s #1 best athlete Brian Westbrook want’s more money. PAY HIM. Brian is the 13th highest paid running back in the National Football League, and is #3 in stats. Brian has rightfully deserved a new contract and rightfully deserves to be paid top 5. Lito Sheppard signed Drew Rosenhaus, but they report that Lito WILL be playing this season and looking for a contract after this year) I will be happy with this, as long as there are no problems with him in the locker room(I don’t expect any). Lastly, we signed WR DeSean Jackson on a 4 year deal who is expected to compete for the #3 receiver and the primary return-man. Jackson has deadly speed and we expect him to turn some heads this year. I am not sure if he is faster then Reno Mahe though .

Things have been unusually quiet in Dallas lately, I guess Pacman(oops I mean Adam) has not gone to a Dallas stripclub yet.