Cincinnati versus Dallas. The return of real football. REAL FOOTBALL!!! As always I will look at these games as an opportunity to see how some of my draft favorites are adapting to the NFL. On Cincinnati I'll be looking at... RB Bernard Scott DT Geno Atkins DT Pat Sims LB Michael Johnson CB Brandon Ghee However, Miami Dol-Fans may want to pay particular attention to guys like WR Jerome Simpson and WR Dezmon Briscoe (who was just trucked over by Brandon Ghee the other day). I am not certain that Miami's 5th WR is currently on the roster. So I would be looking for a guy that shouldn't get cut, but might end up cut because his team has a clog at the position. Cincinnati, has such a clog. They have OchoCinco, Terrell Owens, Antonio Bryant and Andre Caldwell. I think those guys are locks to be the top 4 players at the position. But they also have Jordan Shipley and the coaches are in love with him. This puts guys like Jerome Simpson, Matt Jones, Dezmon Briscoe and Maurice Purify on the outside looking in. Briscoe and Simpson may have return value. Simpson is an incredible physical athlete. On the Cowboys, I would be looking at... QB Stephen McGee RB Felix Jones LT Doug Free LB Jason Williams FS Akwasi Owusu-Ansah As for whether anyone on the Cowboys would be a guy Miami watches on the waiver wire...right now I'm actually going to say other than maybe Pat McQuistan (who probably gets kept anyway), no. I don't know that there's much meat left on the bone among guys that Parcells/Ireland have experience with in Dallas that they'd still be interested in having for Miami.
I haven't really been paying much attention to Pat Sims, but I know he got that one penalty and he's been playing a lot all game. I have been very impressed with Michael Johnson's transition to a 4-3 linebacker role which many people doubted he could play. He's one heck of a problem when he blitzes in and gets picked up by a running back, and when he gets picked up by an offensive tackle on the edge, it's still a fair matchup that he wins a lot. What is really impressive is that he's moving in space like a linebacker, keeping low pad level, keeping his feet under him and making reads. There was one read he made where he started in on a rush and sensed the running back coming out on a pattern behind him and so he aborted the rush and ran out in zone underneath the back and he shut down that option. He doesn't play with great leverage yet, you probably have seen him get knocked down once or twice in blocking, but he's coming along at a fantastic pace. And Geno Atkins, who already has a TFL in limited at bats...is just stellar. I would have drafted him MUCH higher, maybe on into the high 2nd round. Bernard Scott has been a little tentative and I think he had a fumble. Doug Free I was very impressed with at Left Tackle. He was one of my favorite tackles from his draft class. He is running away with that competition in Dallas. Stephen McGee I've only seen on the first series so far and I thought he looked really good throwing, aside from his sack. Felix Jones is Felix Jones, I don't really need to see him in a preseason game to know what he brings. Akwasi is injured unfortunately. I have yet to see Brandon Ghee and Jason Williams, but I look forward to it.
