THOUGHTS ON A FEW PLAYERS, BY FAST EDDIE (Aug 26)Add yourself to The HERD's Official Roster (guestbook), if you think you are man enough!
The HERD's ULTIMATE link page-add your favorite here!
Over the course
of a regular season game I think you'll see Roland more involved in the passing game. You
have to remember that in the pre-season games the starters have played at most a quarter
and a half, and in Chicago the emphasis was on Marshall Faulk and the wide receivers as it
probably should have been. The tight end is also involved in a lot of complex shifts and
movement in Mike Martz's offense, but they are probably making a conscious attempt to keep
it pretty vanilla for the preseason as they should. I don't expect to see the whole
package until opening day.
As a blocker in the running game, Roland appears to me to have struggled at times in camp
and you can't expect him to be Ernie Conwell here (few are), but I thought he did a pretty
solid job in the last game.
Roland is a hard worker with all the athletic tools you could look for in a tight end and
I expect to see steady improvement in all phases of his game as the season wears on and he
becomes more experienced at the pro level and more comfortable in Martz' offense. They say
tight end is the 2nd hardest position to play in this offense behind quarterback because
of the dual roles as offensive lineman and receiver, so it's not really fair to expect a
2nd year player to reach his potential at this position immediately, anymore than you
could expect Kurt Warner to be as efficient right now as Trent Green.
Fred Miller
I think he's already playing the position better than Wayne Gandy
played it last year. He gets much more push in the running game and he's not the liability
in the passing game that he's been made out to be. For the record he gave up one sack
Saturday night not two. Bryan Robinson's sack came on a Dline stunt and he was Timmerman's
responsibility. Miller was locked up well with the DT (#70). I think Fred did some good
things as well, you see him getting downfield in the running game alot more than you ever
saw Wayne Gandy.
I think he's a work in progress having made the shift back to tackle, but I like where
he's at.
Tony Horne
Tony Horne has amazed me. The guy was not among the top 7 or 8
receivers in camp last year and he's like a whole new player this year. He's actually a
better receiver than kick returner. Keep your eye on Mac Cody, he's my guy:)
Kurt Warner
Warner should be fine. I see the Browns just picked up Jamie Martin
and I still wish the Rams had done so at the start of camp. Then we'd have a nice little
battle to watch.
London Fletcher
I hope London Fletcher makes the most of his start this Saturday and
absolutely tears up San Diego, so we can forget this merry go round at MLB and get London
ready to play. Yes, I think he's in 3rd right now, but no-one else has torn it up in the
games, so a big performance by London like he gave in that whiner game last year and he
could be the guy. I know the coaches love him.
Charlie Clemons
Clemons hasn't really shined above the other two in games, the
references to his hitting was normally made to his running in a little higher gear than
everyone else in practice. It's a good quality to have in a player that they practice at
the speed that they play, but at least for the couple of weeks of camp, Clemons exceeded
that quality a bit. He was laying some cheap shots that were uncalled for on his own
teammates and that's why he got into it with Greg Hill.
I think all three of these guys have some good qualities and some things they need to work
on. I'm just ready for one of them to step up their game and win the job and none of them
have yet. That's what I'm hoping Fletch does this weekend, because you can't help but root
for the guy.
Finally, the game. Don't sell the Chargers short... they have a solid running game in
Means and Fletcher. That should be interesting to watch. It also should be interesting to
see how Faulk does against last year's #1 rush defense.