By Zack Cimini

It happens every five years or so, but this year has been more evident then ever. The young quarterbacks are taking over in the NFL, and they?ve done it quickly. It goes to show how coaching is improving, because player development is vastly improving from year to year. The quarterbacks coaches are really working hard on getting their young quarterbacks to understand the game, and make sure their mechanics are down.

Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, David Carr, Ben Roeslinberger, Carson Palmer, Drew Brees, Michael Vick, Josh McCown, and Joey Harrington are all great young quarterbacks that have their teams headed in the right direction. In fact besides Palmer, all of the other quarterbacks have their teams in position to contend for a division title.

Out of all the young quarterbacks though, Leftwich has been the most impressive. The passes he has been able to make and the way he reads defenses is astonishing. Last week during their win over the Colts the announcers were ecstatic over the type of plays he was making. He doesn?t even have a great receiving corp, which is led by aged veteran Jimmy Smith. Leftwich has grown each and every week with the Jaguars close victories. The rest of the AFC should be scared, including the Patriots if they have to face this team in the playoffs.

It?s sad to say if Tommy Maddox wouldn?t have got hurt that the Steelers would probably be a .500 team. Maddox is an average quarterback at best, that was hurting the Steelers like Miami?s quarterbacks do with turnovers. Roeslinberger has stepped in and snatched the job like a hungry backup should. This is a rookie though, and could be the new reason why Bill Cowher may want to be a Steeler head coach for life. Have you ever thought that Don Shula was ready to retire in the mid 80?s or go onto another team, and then Dan Marino came along and changed his thoughts quickly? That?s the type of career Ben is headed onto having, because no one in the history of the NFL has started off a rookie year like him.

The New York Giants and San Diego Chargers may look back on the last draft, and kill themselves. They both drafted quarterbacks, and right now it is looking like a bonehead decision. But of course they?ll tell you that they drafted for the future, and didn?t want their young prospects to start this year. Drew Brees showed enough in the past that he is a capable franchise player, and now he has proved it. No one thought the Chargers would do this well, and his maturity is one of the major reasons. In New York we all know what is going on with Kurt Warner, and you have to feel great for the former MVP.

Joey Harrington and Mike Vick came into the league with high expectations, but it?s often hard to live up to that hype. Vick has been doing it since day one, but Harrington had a rough start with a weak supporting cast. Now he has one of the best receivers in the league, and maybe another if Charles Rogers can be healthy for a season. Regardless the Lions weren?t supposed to be able to compete with the Vikings and Packers this year. They?ve done more than compete, and should vie for a playoff spot if they stay focused.

By Zack Cimini

Mike Shanahan has the Denver Broncos atop the AFC West and in a good shot to run away with the title. In fact it wouldn?t be a surprise to see them claim the title as early as week fourteen. Shanahan?s legacy as a coach is starting to become great, as there hasn?t been a coach as successful with running backs in league history. How does he do it?

The number one key is that Shanahan has maintained a strong offensive line his whole career. That is always the main priority for an offense is to build off of where you hike the football. If you don?t have a time to pass or holes to run through than how are you going to score points? There are too many teams in the league that focus on signing wide receivers and other position players, and forget about the offensive line. You could have all of the high paid dollar players on your team, but if he takes a beating he is going to get hurt. Just look at the successful teams in the league right now. Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New England, the Jets, etc, all have great offensive lines that make their offenses run flawless.

Curtis Martin may have worked hard in the off season, but have you seen the holes he has to run through. It seems like he is never touched until five to ten yards down the field. Anyone can resurrect his career with a line like that. People wonder why a player like Emmitt Smith still has gas left in his tank, when most backs fade out after six to seven years. The reason is because of the offensive line he had in his hey days with Dallas. He probably got an extra five years added to his career because of the spectacular blocking he had.

In the last five years Shanahan has had backs like Terrell Davis, Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, and now his backs this year. After their career years (except Davis), instead of paying that player top flight dollars he lets them go. Analysts couldn?t figure it out, and expected it to back fire this year. They only had Quentin Griffith who was considered a smallish scatback, and a cast away running back from Detroit that couldn?t even beat out James Stewart a few years ago in Reuben Droughns.

Griffin quieted doubters early on in the year by having a couple of monster games, but it didn?t take long for defenses to figure him out. He started fumbling the football, and once that started he was no longer aggressive at attacking the hole. He would dance behind the backfield and get cut for losses, which means that he isn?t ready to be a full time starter. Shanahan recognized that and decided to give Reuben Droughns a shot, because he has shown promise. Droughns is a straight ahead bruising back that can take on opposing defenses up the middle. In the last two weeks he has had monster games, and has led to Denver being able to control the clock. It has also freed up Jake Plummer and the passing game which has especially paid off for Ashley Lelie. Lelie is quietly becoming one of the best wide receivers in the league, and is definitely a top ten prospect now.

After looking like the Broncos would have a shaky running game, it is now set with two different styles. There is a back that can attack and wear down the defense, and than another that can come in and break one long. It?s the true definition of thunder and lightning, in which the Giants never fulfilled with Ron Dayne. The AFC is loaded with talent, but right now the Broncos are playing the best football right behind New England.

By Zack Cimini

Coming into the 2004 season, the Green Bay Packers were thought of as an easy lock for the playoffs and potential Super Bowl contenders. The reason why is because they?re always guaranteed to win almost every game at home. Their home field advantage at Lambeau field has helped them win seven or eight games automatically. Who can forget every time the Buccaneers were to play Green Bay announcers would bring up the fact the Tampa Bay can?t win in any weather below thirty-two degrees? Maybe that?s part of the reason why Green Bay is struggling at home. Did they have too many home games for the fall? Nobody really knows but if they don?t go on a quick winning streak, it?s going to get ugly.

Green Bay doesn?t have the reasons that a team like Miami does. They brought back the same group of players, and have one of the most prolific passers in NFL history. Mike McKenzie sure didn?t help things by holding out until week two. The defense has struggled on all levels, especially in the running game. They have already allowed Thomas Jones, Tiki Barber, and Chris Brown to have career days against them. That?s what it all boils down to. When your defense can?t hold an opposing offense statistically than you?re going to lose, because obviously that means the opposing team is controlling the ball with the running game.

Ahman Green proved from the last three seasons that he is a top five running back. But this year he hasn?t been able to get on track, mostly because of his fumbling problems. He already has four this year, and has had some costly ones. One that comes to mind was against Chicago when he fumbled near the goal line, and Mike Brown ran it 95 yards for a touchdown. That just can?t happen on a regular basis for an All-Pro player like Green. That was the biggest reason why Mike Holmgren traded Green to the Packers, and now it?s finally showing. Brett Favre has also had some turnover problems of his own, having already thrown six interceptions. That is usual for Favre though who has always taken lots of risks in games.

The Packers season is far from over, as their schedule is favorable. They have Detroit, Dallas, and Washington before their bye week. If I was Mike Sherman I?d be telling my team that we absolutely need to win these three games. Then they could go into their bye week at .500, and come out of it starting on a clean slate. They would have eight games left, and if they win six of them they?re pretty much guaranteed to make the playoffs.

Another thing Green Bay can?t do is look ahead, because their schedule gets extremely tough after the bye week. You always hate to see great quarterbacks go out like this, but I don?t know if Brett Favre has another year in him. He has been contemplating retirement for a few seasons now, and it appears this team won?t be a potential Super Bowl team for some time now. So why continue to play and put more of a beating to your body? He has the consecutive starts record, and he has already won a Super Bowl. He has fulfilled the expectations that every starting quarterback in the league has tried to do.

By Zack Cimini

Not even a little over a month has past by since Ricky Williams shocked the NFL and the Miami Dolphins by retiring. Since then, Miami has gone 0-4 and only scored two offensive touchdowns. They?ve bounced back and forth between Jay Fiedler and AJ Feeley, and Leonard Henry who was the Dolphins fourth string running back in minicamp has been their best back. All of this could have been reverse if Williams could have enjoyed his escapades in the off-season. But he thinks he is better than everyone else, and now has decided his fun and games is over with. Who does he think he is, on being able to put the NFL around his own schedule? O, I want to come back and play now that we are already four games deep into the season. If I was Miami I wouldn?t even grant him a trade, just because of what he put Miami through.

The impact Williams had on Miami?s offense is undeniable. If he were in Miami?s lineup this year they would easily be 3-1, if not 4-0. Just take a look at their losses so far this season. All of them have been close, and that has been without any offense. In fact, in every game Miami?s quarterbacks have thrown a touchdown to the opposing team. You have to give Miami?s defense a lot of credit for not folding on this offense. It might start happening soon though, if the offense can?t manage to protect the football a little better.

Williams?s latest press release said that he has found the passion for football once again. How much bull can a player tell the media? It is obvious that the only reason he retired was to avoid his name being publicized for failing another drug test and facing a suspension. Now that he feels he can pass a drug test, he is trying to get back in the league for the money. On top of that he owes the Dolphins 8.6 million for not fulfilling his contract. So he is in a deep money hole and needs to come back to the NFL.

Miami?s team has had mixed reactions for Williams coming back. I don?t know how that is possible when here is a guy that screwed your team over completely. They had to waste a draft pick to get Lamar Gordon, and they can?t decide on anything offensively. There is no question Miami was never prepared for Williams if he would have got hurt. It?s poor execution on Miami?s coaching staff, because you?re always supposed to have reliable starting backups at every position.

So what does Miami do with Ricky Williams? They are going to obviously have to end up trading him, but the value they?re going to get will be downgraded. Miami will hurt either way on this decision. Hopefully they don?t get ripped off to bad that they at least get a second round pick for him. Williams is still young, and will more than likely go on to another team and have solid years ahead of him. But whatever team he goes on, there always has to be something in the back of your head on him being a quitter. Is he going to give 100 percent during a season when the team all of the sudden has a three game slide, or is out of playoff contention?

Of course there is always the thing on giving a player a second chance. Maybe Williams will go out there and have extra motivation to show that he cares a lot about the NFL. A year off in the NFL will add tremendous rejuvenation to a running back, that was already healthy from the get go. Miami didn?t make the playoffs last season, and their last game was in late December. So that means when Williams comes back he?ll have been tackle free for a year and nine months. So this whole stunt could end up paying off on Williams?s behalf on extending his career. He should have rookie legs when he comes back and the mindset of a wily veteran.