What We Learned on Monday: Still No News in Arizona

The second week of the 2010 preseason was wrapped up on Monday night as the Tennessee Titans completely shut down the Arizona Cardinals, 24-10.

Things were looking good on Jeff Fisher's side of the field, with Vince Young, Chris Johnson & Co. looking good early on. Not to mention solid special teams play from everyone.

But, on the other side of the field Arizona's head coach Ken Whisenhunt was left scratching his head. One things is for sure after tonight's matchup: Ken still has no idea who his quarterback will be come week one of the regular season.

Both Matt Leinart--the favorite to win the job--and Derek Anderson put up acceptable statlines, but neither really grabbed anyone's attention. Mistake-free football was played, but there were several relatively easy plays that should've been made, passes that should've been completed. Only they weren't.

Leinart looked shaky under Tennessee's pressure, and although he threw for 105 yards, Anderson missed some open receivers as well.

Let's just say that this is anyone's job for the taking, and we may not know the starter until a few days before the game. In my opinion, I think Leinart, in the end, will be given the starting job based simply on the fact that he's been waiting his turn for four years.

But, with limited receivers to his disposal and lack of accuracy under pressure, Derek Anderson will take over the starting role halfway through the season. The former Pro Bowl quarterback has a stronger throwing arm and has a much easier time shaking off defenders. Plus if I was Whisenhunt I would feel more comfortable having a proven winner (led Cleveland with a 10-6 record in '07; fell just short of playoffs) under center, rather than a career-long benchwarmer.

In reality, it really doesn't look like we learned much after Monday's game, did we? Well, other than the fact that Chris Johnson isn't messing around, and will do everything he can to break 2,000 again this season.

Photo credit: (AP Photo/Frederick Breedon)

Haynesworth Saga: Shanahan Fires Back

More drama in D.C., and yes, it also happens to involve the most expensive defensive tackle in league history: Albert 'not-worth-the-money' Haynesworth.

Not only has Big Al complained about the Skins' new 3-4 scheme, but now he has also been complaining after the Redskins "downplayed" Haynesworth's apparent headaches this past week. We later found out he has been diagnosed with a condition which causes muscle deterioration.

After missing several days of practice last week, head coach Mike Shanahan described it to the press as 'headaches.' But, again, it was later discovered to be much worse than that.

I can certainly see why Haynesworth was so upset with Shanahan and the Washington staff, downplaying his condition the way they did, but they were unaware and, frankly, tired of his excuses. Personally, I'm happy that Shanahan finally lashed back and set Albert straight.

Mike told Fanhouse.com that Haynesworth will not be playing without practicing again. He has gotten away with it in the past, but Shanahan is sending him a message by saying it "wont happen again under this regime."

Finally we get to see a coach publicly rip a player like this. This needed to happen, and it needed to happen to Haynesworth.

Obviously this time Haynesworth has a legitimate argument against the Redskins, but this may have been the final straw. Especially after he publicly stated that he is going to sit out next offseason's workouts, as well.

If I'm Washington, I'm doing everything I can to get Haynesworth out of town. Perhaps Dan Snyder should just sell the team, that may turn this franchise around quicker than anything else.

Photo credit: (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Seattle's Mike Williams Looking to Make a Case for Comeback Player of the Year in 2010

An article written by Jim Trotter in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated on how former first round pick Mike Williams is attempting to turn around his disappointing NFL career in Seattle's camp this season.

The former Detroit Lion, Oakland Raider and Tennessee Titan has been out of the league since 2007 but signed with Seattle in April, which has reunited him with his college coach at USC, Pete Carroll.

The 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft (Detroit Lions) has caught just 44 passes for 539 yards and two touchdowns in 30 career games (only seven starts).

Williams, though he admitted he has been a bit rusty in camp thus far, made a great play on his lone catch in last night's preseason game against his former team Tennessee. Williams turned a short catch in to a 51-yard touchdown.

Just before Williams was released by Tennessee in 2007, he reportedly weighed 270 pounds but is now back down to 235-240 and looking better than ever.

Recapping Thursday's Action

Last night there were six teams in action to kick off week one of the NFL preseason.

To some fans preseason doesn't mean anything and they may not enjoy it because they don't know who most of the players are. But to me, preseason is much more than that.

Not only does it mean the return of football, which also means we are that much closer to those lovely Sunday afternoons in the fall, but it also gives us fans a chance to spot out which teams have hidden talents on the bench. Which is always fun to do in my opinion.

The stars are certainly still the focal point, but it's nice to see those other guys get a chance.

The most exciting of the three games was between the defending champion Saints and Tom Brady's Patriots. New England and New Orleans both saw their backup quarterbacks have solid games. Patrick Ramsey (Saints) went 7/11 with 111 yards, the 24-year old Brian Hoyer (Patriots) went 8 of 13 for 106 yards. Neither threw any touchdown passes, but they did lead the team down the field a couple of times and stayed mistake-free, which is always something coaches love to see.

Coming off a season in which he started just five games (only 14 starts in four NFL seasons with New England), Laurence Maroney ran the ball well, gaining 30 yards and two TDs on eight carries.

Welker-esque Julian Edelman caught six passes for 90 yards while second-year receiver of the Saints, Adrian Arrington caught four passes which went for a total of 87 yards.

All in all, a great game to watch especially for the preseason. Very little mistakes committed on both sides of the field. Zero turnovers and a total nine penalties. Can't argue with that.

The other two games (Panthers@Ravens, Raiders@Cowboys) didn't quite matchup but it was hard-hitting football nevertheless.

In Dallas, Tony Romo's offense struggled throughout the game. Again, it's only preseason, but it's never good to see names such as Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice get gobbled up in the backfield by 2009's 29th ranked rushing defense. The Barber/Jones/Choice trio combined for 21 yards and zero TDs on 10 attempts. The leading rusher? Romo's backup Stephen McGee. Yes, a quarterback, who gained 15 yards on two scramble attempts.

The kicking game looked good as the 23-year old David Buehler went three for three, scoring all nine of Dallas' points.

Kyle Boller's 148 yards and one TD, journeyman RB Michael Bennett's 68 yards on the ground and Oakland's six sacks as a team led to a 17-9 victory over the 'Boys.

Rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen looked solid in his Carolina Panthers debut, with the only dark spot coming on an interception thrown to Baltimore's Tom Zbikowski. Flacco looked great, though newly acquired Ravens Anquan Boldin and Donte' Stallworth didn't have much of a chance to show off their skills, catching just one pass each. If Flacco's 120 yards on just eight completions are any indication, though, I doubt Baltimore will have much trouble getting by with the passing game this season.

Despite limited playing time from the first team defense, Baltimore sacked Carolina's quarterbacks seven times and forced two turnovers.

Six more teams (Bills@Redskins, Jaguars@Eagles, Chiefs@Falcons) will be facing off tonight as the rest of the 10 week one games will be played out from Saturday through Monday night.

Stay tuned for more preseason recaps/thoughts.

News and Notes from the First Football Game of the Season

With seven new players being inducted in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH on Saturday, and the 2010 preseason kicking off on Sunday, this weekend was a huge success for football fans everywhere.

You no longer have to watch countless hours of football on Hulu, or even resort to watching baseball games, to pass the time until the season kicks off in September: the preseason is here.

The Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals faced off in Canton's Fawcett Stadium for the annual "Hall of Fame Game."

The biggest headline was, of course, seeing Terrell Owens in a Bengals uniform for the first time. Not all that surprising, quarterback Carson Palmer seemed to be favoring Owens over Cincy's No. 1 wideout Chad Ochocinco.

Owens caught two passes in the first two series on offense, and was thrown to a couple of other times. Ochocinco didn't catch any passes in his only quarter of play. I doubt anyone really thought this was a big deal at all, because it really isn't. But if this is a sign of things to come then we may run in to some problems later on down the road.

Other news from Cincinnati is that Adam "Formerly Pacman" Jones played very well in his debut, making two tackles and playing solid coverage on the opposing receivers.

Despite seeing an impressive performance from rookie linebacker Brandon Sharpe (6-yard interception returned for a touchdown in fourth quarter), and the Cowboys' 16-7 victory, not all was well in Dallas. Second-year tight end John Phillips, who caught four passes for 60 yards in the game, suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his right knee.

Luckily, with that being the only big blow for Dallas, head coach Wade Phillips can be relatively happy with his team's performance. We all got to see impressive performances from Tashard Choice, Stephen McGee and the defensive reserves, who sacked the quarterback four times and intercepted three passes.

All in all, great first preseason performances from many guys looking to impress the coaches.