Dolphins players call for better practices

Published: September 20th, 2011 | Tags: Jason Taylor, Bill Belichick, Daniel Thomas, Miami Dolphins, Tony Sparano, Yeremiah Bell

After spending last season with the Jets, Jason Taylor‘s seen how a division power prepares for games and believes the Dolphins aren’t doing enough to change the scenery of the AFC East.

Despite a coaching staff perched on a white-hot seat, it took prodding from the 37-year-old defensive end to initiate a change in the winless team’s intensity level during practice. Now in his third stint with Miami, Taylor gathered teammates around him after Sunday’s 23-13 loss to the Texans and vowed to set a new tone before their meeting with the Browns.

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Taylor’s teammates believe the call to arms was long overdue.

“We have to start practicing like it’s the game,” defensive co-captain Yeremiah Bell told The Miami Herald. “We have to do that because, so far, we’ve been playing a lot like we practice.”

Even rookie running back Daniel Thomas has seen issues with how the team’s prepared this season: “We have a lot of mental mistakes in practice, and sometimes it carries on into the game so that’s something we have to work on.”

“It’s going to be a lot more intense this week,” Bell said. “Everybody realizes our game needs to go up a level. Everybody understands that because what we’re doing is not getting it done so far.”

If you’re a fan of the Miami Dolphins, at the very least you’d relish some assurance that your team — if not as talented as the Jets and Pats (and perhaps the upstart Bills) — is not being outworked. The Patriot Way is not a complete mystery to Tony Sparano, considering he and Bill Belichick are both apples off the Bill Parcells tree. When players go public with their displeasure around game preparation, it’s a sign they’ve taken matters — and their careers — into their own hands.

Dolphins coaches are on the spot to re-organize and right a ship that looks ready to crumble in coastal waters if change does not come quick.

– Marc Sessler

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Suggs: Brees is better than Brady, Manning

Published: December 16th, 2010 | Tags: Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady

Fairly or not, the debate over who is the NFL’s best quarterback generally focuses on two names: Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

Drew Brees usually follows somewhere after that.

But for Ravens OLB Terrell Suggs, those names are listed out of order. In the great quarterback debate, Suggs believes Brees is the one at the top of the list.

“Well, in my eyes he’s better,” Suggs said when asked if Brees presents the same challenges as Brady and Manning, according to The Baltimore Sun. “Maybe it could be my personal vendetta against the other guys, but he’s definitely one of the premier quarterbacks in this league, and he’s got the numbers to prove it. And not only that, he’s got the hardware to prove it.”

Suggs suggests his personal bias, which could very well stem from his trash talk with Brady via the media earlier this season.

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Post Mortem: Brady is better fantasy QB than Peyton

The Patriots have finally stopped scoring on the Jets, so let’s put Week 13 under the microscope.

Fantasy superstar

We’ve all known for years that Patriots Tom Brady was a better real quarterback than the Colts’ Peyton Manning. But right now, probably for the first time since 2007, Brady is the better fantasy option, too. It’s one thing to praise Brady after he destroys the Lions. However, his performance against the once vaunted Jets defense was rather impressive. To bring in some real football knowledge, the Patriots have beaten the Steelers, Colts and Jets in rather impressive fashion. Unless you have Packers QB Aaron Rodgers or Eagles QB Michael Vick, you need to have Brady in your lineup regardless of the matchup.

Yeah, that goes for me, too.

Rule change that needs to happen

Nearly every league does negative points for interceptions. But how about negative six points for every interception that is returned for a touchdown? Imagine how much worse Manning would be if that rule existed on Sunday. If only I knew somebody in the NFL fantasy department who could make that happen …

Why did you even put on your shoulder pads?

Hey, rookie RB Ryan Mathews was healthy and did not play at all in Week 13. Well, if you want to look at the bright side, you probably will have no problem getting Mathews in your draft next year.

Fool’s gold

Is anybody else buying Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch right now? Me either.

He’s not a machine

The world seems different when Browns RB Peyton Hillis does not score a touchdown. But don’t worry, you big lug, nobody can stay mad at you.

Best player nobody was playing

Lions QB Drew Stanton outscored Manning, Chargers QB Philip Rivers and Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger. Not sure if he was the better dancer, though.

Worst player everybody was playing

For the second consecutive week, RB Chris Johnson was a no-show for the Titans and your fantasy team. Best part for me? Johnson’s demise meant my rival, Jimmy, will not make the fantasy playoffs this season.

Coaches, you cannot trust them

Saints coach Sean Payton told NFL Network’s Kara Henderson that he was going to get the ball to RB Reggie Bush early and often against the Bengals. Final tally: Bush had five rushing attempts and three receptions. Rookie RB Chris Ivory had 15 rushing attempts for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Why do coaches do this? Did Payton think that the coaches were watching NFL Network and they were going adjust their defensive game plan?

Payton has told reporters that he will continue to go to Ivory. Yeah, right. We’ve heard that one before. Sounds to me like some Super Bowl-winning coach is itching to get on ‘the list.’

You just made the list, buddy

Redskins WR Santana Moss is awful. He was outscored by WR Anthony Armstrong this week. You would have to be an ardent West Texas A&M fan to recognize Armstrong’s name. The whole Redskins offense is struggling. Wasn’t Mike Shanahan once an offensive guru? That seems so long ago.

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Kirwan: Haley should have known better

Published: November 15th, 2010 | | Tags: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Josh McDaniels, Todd Haley

NFL.com analyst Pat Kirwan easily could have let Chiefs coach Todd Haley off the hook when he was asked in his Monday chat about Haley’s reaction following Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Denver Broncos. The questioner, Tom from Scotland, likely didn’t know that Kirwan and Haley have been friends for nearly 20 years.

Still, Kirwan did not give the second-year coach a pass for refusing to shake hands with Denver coach Josh McDaniels after the 49-29 shellacking.

“Todd Haley was an intern when I was at the Jets,” Kirwan wrote. “He’s a fiery young guy who’s doing a terrific job coaching the team. But that was a tactical error and he will regret it — whether he says so or not.”

(In fact, he did say so a few hours after Kirwan’s chat – apologizing for his actions in a Monday press conference. “I let the emotions of the situation get to me too much,” Haley said.)

But Kirwan’s point had nothing to do with whether or not the Broncos should have had their starters going in the third quarter with such a big lead. It was all about setting a good example. “Josh won the game and deserved the handshake,” Kirwan noted. “There are high school coaches watching these games, and before long, they’ll be doing those things. A lot is at stake for Todd and he shouldn’t have done it.”

For the complete chat, click here.

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Can Cowboys get any better under Garrett?

Published: November 9th, 2010 | | Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Wade Phillips, Brian Baldinger, Jerry Jones, Jason Garrett, Rod Woodson, Mike Mayock, Charles Davis, Fran Charles, NFL Total Access

As you can imagine, the Cowboys are still the big talk inside the walls at NFL Network, one day after Jerry Jones dismissed Wade Phillips in favor of Jason Garrett on an interim basis for the rest of the season.

So what, exactly, you say is left to talk about the 1-7 Cowboys? The “NFL Total Access” crew brought out the four-box during the A-block (TV lingo for the top of the show) Tuesday to let Brian Baldinger, Mike Mayock, Charles Davis and Rod Woodson hash out this question: Are the Cowboys any better under Garrett?

Here’s a brief recap of their answers with host Fran Charles, and check out the video to the right for the full segment.

Baldinger: “I think the one thing he can do right now is up the tempo of this team. Make them play faster. They can think quicker, react quicker. All those things can benefit (everybody) right now. Maybe just a different voice in the locker room, maybe the message gets through just a little bit clearer.”

Mayock: “A percentage of players will play hard just because it’s in their DNA. Another percentage will play hard because they have to, because they’re borderline players. There is also a big percentage that don’t care anymore. They don’t want to get hurt, and they know they’re not going to the playoffs. Those are the guys that Garrett has to motivate. It’s a thankless job, and very few men have been able to accomplish it.”

Davis: “It will be interesting to watch, because we always talk about pride in the NFL. We haven’t seen as much of that from the Cowboys lately, as one would have thought. Will (the coaching staff) jump up their game right now for Garrett and try to secure their jobs for next year?”

Woodson: “The one thing you can do as a coach, and what Garrett has to do, is to change the laziness and complacency of this year’s football team. The way you do that is to hold them accountable. You don’t flick on a light switch during a game. It happens in practice. If he can do that, maybe he can get something out of them.”

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