AFC North Training Camp Update

Article by Gordon Dedman

 

Pittsburgh Steelers

I’m not a great believer in taking the results of Preseason games on face value. They do serve a purpose and Quarterback Landry Jones is certainly taking full advantage of the additional reps is having with the Steelers.

Because of their Hall of Fame game, Pittsburgh will be playing five exhibition games and with an injury to their backup, Jones has taken over for most of the offensive snaps and it is paying off.

 

Last Preseason, Jones had 84 reps. So far this year, he has taken 134 and if it wasn’t for a few dropped passes, he would be shining brightly. Landry has made his mark in competing with backup Bruce Gradkowski who has now been taken off PUP (physically unable to perform.)

Jones said he is enjoying improved decision making because of the extra reps.

Cleveland Browns

The Quarterback challenge was reduced when the Browns lost Connor Shaw for the season after surgery on an injured right thumb. Head Coach Mike Pettine feels their three remaining quarterbacks are adequate for the season.

Pettine must have thought last season’s Manziel circus was behind him. Thursday night’s game against the Bills changed that. It was Johnny Manziel who earned the headlines with his contribution climaxed by a 21-yard touchdown pass that put his team ahead before they lost 10-11.

It wouldn’t be the Browns if there weren’t any distractions and they have lost a player with a four games suspension for failing the NFL’s PED policy. Maybe Ryan Seymour wasn’t going to be a starter, but additional challenges like this don’t make for a good camp.

The Browns’ surprise package, as mentioned in the last update, Terrelle Pryor (quarterback turned wide receiver) appeared to be making a good impression until an injury restricted his participation.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals backup quarterback AJ McCarron was out for nine days after suffering an injury to his rib cage. Drafted in 2014, McCarron missed the whole of last season with a shoulder injury. Now back taking snaps, McCarron is determined to make his NFL debut this Monday in Tampa “no matter what.”

 

Baltimore Ravens

Tight End Dennis Pitta will begin the 2015 season on the PUP list, meaning the veteran will not be eligible to play until week 7 at the earliest. Pitta was returning from his second hip replacement in as many years and has only started four games in that period.

Undrafted safety Nick Perry is making an impression. “He’s going to be one of those free-agent guys that are going to have a future in this league,” Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees observed.

 

AFC South's Big Questions

Article by Jonathan Cumbleton

The NFL's pre season takes off throughout the weekend. There are questions about every team in the AFC South as the Texans, Titans and Jaguars try to make the playoffs whilst the Colts try to maintain their position as the team to beat in the division. I've picked the most obvious ones for each team.

Jaguars

Where does their running game come from? Dernard Robinson flashed talent in his first year as a full time running back and scampered for 582 yards, Toby Gerhart was hailed as a huge addition but struggled to a 3.2 yard average; the second leading rusher on the team was rookie QB Blake Bortles. It wasn't an enviable situation and as a result the team drafted T.J. Yeldon from Alabama in the second round (Yeldon has officially been ruled out of the team's first pre-season game) . Someone needs to take the lead, this applies to the O line too, who were abysmal in 2014!

 

 

Who steps up in the pass rush? Dante Fowler was being counted on to boost the Jaguars pass rush but is injured for the year. Sen'Derrick Marks is slowly recovering from a knee injury suffered late last year. Although the Jaguars combined for 45 sacks last year there were numerous missed opportunities and the team needs to hit their mark more frequently.

Colts

Can Gore bring back the running game? The Trent Richardson reclamation was an unmitigated disaster as he averaged 3.3 yards on 159 carries and Ahmad Bradshaw was the main running threat. Gore continues to defy his years and will look to boost the number one offence in the league further.

How much difference can the old hands make? Frank Gore, Trent Cole, Andre Johnson and even Todd Heremans have joined the Colts in the offseason in a quest for a Super Bowl ring. Gore looks to be a huge upgrade over Richardson and Andre Johnson is still one of the better receivers and should be an upgrade over Reggie Wayne.

Texans

Will they cope with the loss of Arian Foster? The oft injured workhorse back of the Texans has become something of a liability having missed significant time in four of his six seasons. His reputation wasn't helped when he went down early in camp and is expected to be out for the year. Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes and Chris Polk will look to pick up the slack.

Is the quarterback situation resolved or a black hole for another year? Ryan Fitzpatrick (now the quarterback of the New York Jets after Geno Smith had his jaw broken) was not the answer last year, nor was Ryan Mallet. How did the Texans improve? They grabbed Brian Hoyer who was not the answer at the Browns last year. There's every chance that last year's draft pick Tom Savage outplays both the veterans when they play the 49ers. 

Titans

Is Marcus Mariota as good as billed? He's been nearly flawless in training camp and the Titans have reportedly put several of Oregon's plays into the offence to help his transition into the pro game. Harry Douglas has already gone on record to say what makes Mariota so impressive “The intangibles that he has. Not many people in this world have the skill set that he has. He's athletic as can be. I watch him in the weight room when he's squatting, he squats heavy weight, he cleans heavy weight. He can make every throw that an NFL quarterback has to make. He can throw on the run. He's smart, knows defences and he's a gamer. He's a player.”

 

 

Does the addition to the young offensive line, coupled with the off season work, allow for a running game to flourish in Tennessee? Stop me if you can see a theme developing but the Titans struggled to rush the ball in 2014. Second round pick Bishop Sankey was not the saviour many expected and only managed 569 yards on 152 carries and the team grabbed David Cobb late in the draft. The addition of third round pick, Jeremiah Poutasi, a guard in college who'll play at RT, and Byron Bell from Carolina may help.

Of course there are many more questions about each of the teams here. For example can Jedavon Clowney return to the player that made him the number one overall pick? Can Blake Bortles build on an unspectacular rookie season that started well but floundered? And how much impact does promising but raw Titans wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham have in 2015?

 

 

 

Jerome Bettis - A great player enters the Hall of Fame

Article and Photos by Gordon Dedman

 

Jerome Bettis began life in the depressing streets of a declining city. Bettis was born in Detroit, a city that it sank into a miserable abyss and enter bankruptcy while he rose above it all to have a successful football career finishing the NFL’s sixth all-time rushing leader.

His early life was so tough that Bettis has admitted to selling crack cocaine with his brother to support his mother and father who “were working their butts off,” but struggling to make ends meet.

His brother John introduced him to football and which he started at High School, but Bettis credits the free football camp put on each summer by ex-Buffalo Bills Reggie McKenzie for changing his life. McKenzie, who started his camp in 1974, used football as the vehicle to teach life skills while stressing academic achievement and self-esteem.

 

It was at those camps that Bettis learned the values he put into his life; determination, belief in himself and caring for the community.

The Detroit Free Press rated Bettis the top player in the state when he left high school to take up a scholarship to Notre Dame where he played under Lou Holtz. During his second year he he set the Notre Dame touchdown record at 20; 16 rushing and 4 receiving.

Jerome Bettis was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the 1993 draft. During his rookie season he finished second in the NFL rushing leaders after gaining 1,429 yards. Included in that total were his first career 100-yard and 200-yard rushing games, both of which came against the New Orleans Saints. His 212-yard day that season was a career-high.

At the time he was only the eighth rookie in NFL history to rush for 200 yards in a game. His output that year marked the first of eight 1,000-yard seasons in his first nine years. His second season, he rushed for 1,025 yards and took another trip to the Pro Bowl.

His third season saw him slump to 637 yards, but he was slowed by injury and was trying to run behind a patchwork line. His attitude was questioned. “I felt like I was banging my head against a wall figuratively and literally,” he said at the time. “I was going through some rough times. I knew there were going to be problems. I knew I was a better player than that, knew I could still play. Fortunately, I was traded.”

In Pittsburgh, with doubts surrounding the availability of running back Bam Morris after he was arrested for a marijuana offense, the Steelers found themselves in the summer of ‘96 looking for a replacement. At the same time, the Rams saw their future in drafting Lawrence Phillips to lead their offense and even moved up to select him.

The Steelers saw the potential with Bettis fitting into their smash mouth style football their fans just love, so on draft day a deal was done that took Bettis three hundred miles east.

Slotting into the Steelers offense that first season saw him back to his powerful style of pounding out the yards. His 1,421 yards rushing saw him return to the Pro Bowl, but this time in the red of an AFC shirt.

 

He proceeded to build a solid career with Bill Cowher and the Steelers. He had six straight 1000+ yards seasons in his first nine seasons helping the team to three AFC Championships.

Three times he came away a loser and with the final defeat in 2004 he thought long and hard about putting his weary bones through another season. In a recent conference call, Bettis explained how close he came to retiring at that point.

“I was very close to retiring. In fact I talked to the team and told the team that I was retiring. I was pretty much done, but in the twelfth hour I was convinced to come back and give it one more shot and boy I’m glad I did because that was the year we won.”

I was lucky to attend my second Super Bowl in Detroit to see Jerome Bettis win his championship. It certainly meant everything to him, especially playing in his home city.

Bettis observed, “Had I not won (Super Bowl XL), I would have been one of those guys… he’s really good, “but”. You always have that “but” there. He was a great player, but he never won a championship. To be able to win a championship, it takes that “but” away and all you focus on is he was a great player.”

And a great player Bettis was. He overcame adversity and the plight of asthma to become a superstar in the world’s most competitive sport. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame by his brother. It will be a family affair and with Steeler Nation in attendance, it will be a sea of black and gold in appreciation of the outstanding service he gave to the Steelers.