5 Questions Part 2

Mike Whitney answers Mike Odom

1. Disregarding production, who is the most talented RB duo in the NFL?
I’m going to go with the duo out of Carolina, and just this year, not last. They have emerged into a force. Both backs were highly touted coming out of college and both backs took until their second seasons to get fully acclimated to the speed of the NFL. But to put two fast players, one very elusive, and one a beast, is tremendous for any team. They have excelled hurt, and they have been phenomenal enough to get Delhomme productive again by getting him matchups. My condolences to the injured LenDale White and Chris Johnson, as well as Bradshaw and Jacobs.

2. Who is the most overrated player in the NFL?
I feel like I’m attacking him but I still might say Reggie Bush. I might say Vince Young as well. However, I think I’m going to go with Roy Williams. He’s had the biggest body of work out of all of them. I’m talking about the receiver. He was the 7th pick in the 2004 draft. 6 TDs a year average for his first 5 years. Follow that up with a high of 8. He’s only had one 1,000 season. He never reached more than 82 catches in a season. And it’s not because he was on the Lions because Calvin Johnson did that on a worse team. He’s on pace for 700 yards this year on a pretty decent Dallas team. The reason that makes him overrated is the fact people always made excuses for him in Detroit. People ignored his crazy prophecies about winning and he never delivered when he said he would. He was traded for a 1st, 3rd, and 6th, and then was awarded a top receiver contract. He was never worth that, and even though it was Jerry Jones who gave him it, it’s still overrated. The runner-up for this category would be DeAngelo Hall.

3. Which of these 5 teams is most likely to have a winning season first? (Lions, Rams, Chiefs, Raiders, Browns)
I’m going to go with the Rams. They are in the weakest division in terms of depth. They have one of the top 5 running backs, hell top 10 players in the league in Stephen Jackson. They are also coached very well on the defensive side. Those 2 things alone should be enough. If they can get a decent signal caller, you could put them ready to go. I’m not even saying the QB has to be a star, just a game manager will do. The Lions would be second. Stafford, Kevin Smith, Calvin Johnson, and Brandon Pettrigrew are for real. So is Louis Delmas on the defensive side. However, they still need help on their line bad. And besides Delmas, they have no defense. The Browns put up 37 on them. Enough said. However, Schwartz was a great choice for coach. It’s just too heavy in their division to give them a shot. Just wait another year and Warner retires, where will the Cardinals be?

4. If Orton was healthy enough to play, why didn't he start?
I think after a 3 game losing streak, you try to see what other options you have. This was a tryout in disguise and Chris Simms failed. He showed no poise. It wasn’t even his stats. McDaniels didn’t get the jumpstart he needed from Simms. It may not even have been for Simms to take Orton’s job. I think McDaniels wanted Simms to excel to PUSH Orton to do better. Maybe he thought he was getting too complacent. It’s much easier for him to do that with Moreno, mixing Buckhalter in and out, but you can’t do that with quarterbacks. You also can’t do that without a veteran quarterback. Maybe if McDaniels tossed in a Doug Flutie or Jeff Garcia, it would have been a different story. Speaking of which, why isn’t Garcia taking this team to the playoffs?

5. Bigger bust, Darrius Heyward-Bey or Vernon Gholston?
Both careers too short to tell. Gholston would be my choice. He can do it all himself. Heyward-Bey has to rely on consistency from his quarterback. We can revisit this in 2-3 years, but until then, lets wish them both well, and know that Gholston has far less chance at saving himself, as DHB at least has the speed to do something.