When the body says " time's up "

When the body says " time's up "

As Colts fans wait and hope with all their mind power that their hall of fame quarterback can come back from a second neck surgery in 15 months, it has me wondering how hard it must be for a player to listen to their body when it's says it's time to go home. Payton Manning is going to go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game of NFL football, but now in the twilight of his career his body is telling him it's time I don't think I can do this anymore.

As we have seen with other great great player in the NFL knowing when to listen to your body can be a hard thing to do. I remember watching Joe Namath and Johnny Unitas at the end of their careers barely able to walk as their body's had been telling them for years to hang it up. On the other side of the coin I watched Troy Aikman, Steve Young, and Sterling Sharpe listen to their body's and as hard as it was walked away from the game they loved.

The game of NFL football and the Indianapolis Colts need Manning to come back and play at the high level we have come to expect from him. My only hope is that his mind is not cashing a check his body can't handle. If there's a lesson to be learn from this listening to your body, you need go back to Brett Favre last season in Minnesota.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Green Bay need's to run to a championship.

Green Bay need's to run to a championship.

The Super Bowl champ's Green Bay Packers go into the 2011 season with the same questions as 2010. Can the offensive line keep super bowl MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers from getting killed and can they mount a good enough running attack to stop that happening.So far this preseason that does not look to be the case. Everyone in the NFL know's they have the best passing attack in football, however without some kind of balance on the ground game side of the ball Rodgers could spend more time on the ground than his running-backs.

The biggest problem the Packers have is knowing the have 6 games this season going against division rivals who know how to get after the quarterback. With only one preseason game left and knowing starters will not play more the one or two series in the game; coach Mike McCarthy and his staff need's to find answers to a problem that could derail they're chances of repeating in 2011. A running game can go a long way in helping to solve theses problems.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Elway should do the humane thing and move Tebow

Elway should do the humane thing and move Tebow

Now that the cat is out of the bag and we finally see Tim Tebow may never be an NFL ready quarterback John Elway should do his team a huge favor and move Tebow. It's always hard to say I made a mistake, however GM John Elway and Coach John Fox can take solace in knowing it wasn't their mistake. It's hard to believe that less than five weeks ago there was so much love for Tebow that starting quarterback Kyle Orton was on the trading block. This may go down as the best trade never made in this team's history.

There's a lot of talk that Tebow is being single out because of his religious believes, that's hogwash Reggie White one of the best D-linemen to ever play NFL football was a very religious man and no one cared, The plain fact is Tim Tebow is not a very good quarterback at this time no matter how much Denver fans might want him to be. The Denver Broncos have a two time super bowl winning hall of frame quarterback as their GM. If John Elway thought for a minuet that Tebow had that ( it factor ) knowing he would get a pass from Bronco fans for a season or two while coach John Fox develop this young quarterback in my opinion it's a no brainer.

Tim Tebow is not the first great college football player who's game did not translate to the NFL. ( Ron Dyane, Wisconsin, Matt Lienart, USC, ) both great college players who could not take their game's to the next level. Nobody saying Tebow is not a great guy, a very hard worker, or a great teammate, however that mean nothing if you are not able to perform on the field. John Elway and Bronco's coach John Fox have a chance to not compound a problem they had nothing to do with by just finding a way to part-ways with Tim Tebow.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Don't be fooled by what you see ( this! ) preseason.

Don't be fooled by what you see ( this! ) preseason.

It's very easy to get caught up in all the preseason hype of rookie play in the NFL. I have one thing to say to fans around the NFL don't get fooled by what you think you see in theses preseason games, because they are just that preseason games. Without the benefit of offseason workouts and mini camp GM's and coaches will be force to use preseason game to evaluate rookies and free agents on the fly. So understand as this preseason go's on that the players theses rookies are going against will not be on teams rosters when the season start.

Let me know which rookies from this year draft you think will make an impact this coming season.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Year Of The Coach And Quarterback

Year Of The Coach And Quarterback

If there was ever a season for coach and quarterback to be on the same page the 2011 season in the NFL just may got down as the year of the coach and quarterback. With no OTA's, rookies camps, and very little time to impalement a game plan for this coming season, coaches around the NFL will have to put a lot of pressure on their QB,s to carry the load to avoid disaster to an already team crippling off season.

With the NFL being a quarterback driven league, the teams with the best coach-quarterback combinations will be the ones to survive what is sure to be one of the most talk about season in NFL history.

Give me your top five coach- quarterback combinations in the NFL.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

The most interesting NFL season in some time.

The most interesting NFL season in some time.

There are so many story lines going into this coming NFL season, can the Philadelphia Eagles live up to the super bowl hype? Will the super bowl champs Green Bay Packers be focus enough to make another run at a title? Can any rookie from this year's draft class make an impact this season without offseason work? Has coach Bill Belichick bite off more than can chew with the trades for Chad Ochcocico and Albert Haynesworth? But the most compelling story this NFL season will be the season itself. How can NFL owners after imposing a 5 month lockout of it's players expect their coaches to put a good product on the field?

Give me some of the thing you will be looking for this coming season.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Buyers beware

Buyers beware

The Philadelphia Eagles went shopping this free agent season and on paper looked to have come home with some of the best deals ever. With the signings of ( Nnamdi Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins, Ronnie Brown, Jason Babin, and trouble quarterback Vince Young ) the Eagles went from a team favor to win their division to a seat at the big boys table as one of favorite to win this year's super bowl. Andy Reid and his coaching staff has been given an early Christmas present and for all Eagles fans everywhere let's hope when this grift is open it's not a box of coal.

If sports has taught us anything it's taught us what a team looks like on paper mean's nothing when it come wins and losses. NFL football unlike baseball and basketball is all about timing and chemistry, In my opinion you can't buy a championship in the NFL. With that being said the Eagles picked up some very nice pisces to add to an already good team. But with addition come subtraction, two of the Eagles star players ( DeSean Jackson and Asante Samuel ) are now very unhappy how will that affect team chemistry? Also with very little time to blend all this talent with their returning playoff team, coach Reid and his coaching staff may find timing is not on their side this coming season.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Five coaches who might not make it through the 2011 season

Five coaches who might not make it through the 2011 season

One might think The NFL lockout will force GM's around the league to take a more patient approach with coaches this upcoming 2011 season. With no ability to have contact with players this offseason, no rookies camps and very little time to game plan for this coming season. If there was ever a time for coaches to get a pass, this in my opinion would be the season coaches should feel secure in knowing their jobs are safe. However as we learn through out this offseason NFL football is big business so here is my list of five coaches on the hot seat going in to the 2011 NFL season.

Lovie Smith Chicago Bears
Andy Reid Philadelphia Eagles
Marvin Lewis Cincinnati Bengals
Gary Kubiak Houston Texans
Tony Sparano Miami Dolphins

These five coaches fair or not are sitting in the hot seat this coming season. Fans in Chicago are wondering out loud why Lovie got a new contract after the whole NFC championship meltdown. There's is no room for failure here, so if the Bears get off to a slow start a new contract might not save Lovie's job. In Philadelphia Andy Reid put his-self in the hot seat with the Kevin Kolb situation, and now that they have gone all in with their free agent signings there is no grace period for Reid. If the Eagles by the halfway point of the season are sitting at 500 Philly fans will be calling for Reid's head and they just might get it.

Why Marvin Lewis is still coaching in the NFL blow me away. This is a coach who has had no control of his team in years. Even knowing this team is in a rebuilding mode, Cincinnati fans may start calling for a new head coach to go along with it's group of talented players from this year's draft. In Houston Gary Kubiak has come to a make or break point of his head coaching career. Coming to the Texans in 2006 as one of the most sought after assistant coaches in some time, Kubiak has not live up to the billing with 9&7 being his best season and no playoff appearances a bad start to this season could bring early changes in Houston. There's very little I can say about Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano that has not already been said, Lame duck coach with a lame team to coach. If he make it through the season it would be a miracle. It's hard taking control of a team knowing ownership try everything they could not to bring you back. Miami is a hot mess and Dolphin's fans can't fire their team owner, however they may be the first fan base to see their coach fire this coming season.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com