Texans need Foster healthy in order to be successful

By: Michael Tellier

The Houston Texans suffered a minor setback on Tuesday, May 28.  Well let’s hope it’s only a minor setback.  The Texans star running back Arian Foster was taken off of the field during organized practice activities with a calf injury.

The injury will most likely not keep Foster out for long, but if it does the Texans would be losing arguably their most efficient offensive weapon.  Foster led the NFL last season with 351 carries, and had 1,424 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.  

I would have to say that the injury won’t keep Foster out for long, but I can assure you that the Texans organization will take every precautionary measure to see that he is ready to go for pre-season.  Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson also said that he thinks the injury is “nothing serious.”

Texan fans will need to keep their fingers crossed, and hope for a speedy recovery, because one thing is for sure, if Foster is unable to play than the Texans could be in serious trouble.

Dustin Keller will not fit in at Miami

By: Michael Tellier

 The Miami Dolphins made some big moves in the offseason, on both defense and offense. As a Miami Dolphins fan myself I was thrilled with some of the acquisitions and trades that they made.  Getting rid of TE Anthony Fasano and picking up Dustin Keller was not one of them.

Fasano has proven time and again that he is a valuable and reliable weapon on offense.  He has great hands, can shake tackles and he can block.  He was also one of the most underused offensive weapons for the Dolphins which I could never understand.  The Dolphins decided to get rid of him after they acquired Keller from the Jets on the fourth day of the free agency period.  Now it’s not that I don’t think Keller could help them, but I don’t think he’s the TE that Fasano is by any means. 

Keller is also coming off the 2012 season where he was sidelined for a huge portion of the season and recorded a career-low 28 catches for New York.  The Dolphins had a guy that they could count on before on third down and short.   After getting rid of Fasano and picking up Keller I believe they lost that.

Mark Sanchez needs to be replaced

By: Michael Tellier

Sources have said that the QB battle in New York between Mark Sanchez and rookie Geno Smith could be over before training camp begins. 

To me the decision comes down to one factor; does Smith have potential?  Because if he shows potential and makes good decisions during practice, I say why not go with Smith.  The Jets really don’t have anything to lose in my opinion for this upcoming season.  Their team has been gutted, and Sanchez has proven that he isn’t the QB that will lead the Jets to a championship.

Now I know a lot of Jets fans out their will disagree with this, but if the Jets are going to gut their team anyway, why not go with Smith at QB.  The Jets should have been starting Tim Tebow the last four of five games of last season, because they had nothing to lose. They weren’t going to make the playoffs, they were losing every game, and Sanchez just wasn’t getting the job done.  But for some odd reason the coaching staff still felt that Sanchez gave the Jets the best chance of winning.  Well they were wrong.  I’m not saying that I think Tebow is a good QB, or that he would have been the answer to all the Jets problems, but I will say that the guy has a no quit attitude, and he finds ways to win games.

To me the decision is simple.  Take a chance on Smith.  Or go with Sanchez, and watch him lose game after game.

Kolb is not the Bills future franchise QB

By: Michael Tellier

After releasing quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, fans of the Buffalo Bills were overjoyed with the addition of Kevin Kolb.  However, I had my doubts from the start about Kolb, and after the Bills drafted EJ Manuel 16^th overall, it confirms what I thought from the beginning.  Kolb is not the future of the Bills.

Being a small market team, the Bills do not have the money to pay an elite QB to come play for them.  Their only option was to draft one, and even though I think that Kolb is a good QB, I don’t think he is future franchise QB of the Bills.

I do think that if he stays healthy through the pre-season, Kolb will be the starter for the Bills this coming season.  Kolb can work with Manuel, and help him become an NFL quarterback, and after the Bills fail to make the playoffs this coming season, Manuel will become the starter.

The Bills have made it a habit of picking up QB’s that fans think will be the saving grace of their team, but time and time again this has proven false.  Not so long ago I myself herd Bills fans saying how happy they were to see that Fitzpatrick would be replacing Trent Edwards, and now Bills fans want nothing to do with him.

I think that if Kolb is named the team’s starting QB this year, he will at best lead the Bills to an 8-8 season, which would be a step up from last season.  However, how much has Buffalo spent on their defense, and look at the amount of talent they have on offense with Steve Johnson, Fred Jackson, C.J. Spiller and Scott Chandler.  I mean don’t get me wrong there are several teams in the NFL who have much more talent on their team, but I think the Bills have enough talent to be doing much better than what they have done in recent years.

NFL needs to rethink fine policies

By: Michael Tellier

The NFL needs to rethink what constitutes a fine.  Running back Frank Gore of the San Francisco 49ers was fined $10,500 last season for wearing his socks to low during a playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons. Now I understand that maybe Gore’s socks were not up to par with the leagues mandated uniform policy, but this high of a fine is just ridicules.

Not only does the league need to reevaluate what constitutes a fine, but also the severity of the fines.  During the Patriots playoff game with the Baltimore Ravens last season Tom Brady slid on the ground with his cleat pointed up at safety Ed Reed’s knee.  Brady was later fined $10,000 for the dangerous slide.  It could just be me, but isn’t purposely endangering the health of another NFL player a little more serious than wearing your socks to low during a game.  It sounds like a no brainer to me.

Buffalo Bills Wide receiver Stevie Johnson is another example of someone who should have been dealt with more seriously.  In a recent tweet, Johnson joked that N. Korea should bomb Foxboro.  Not long after that tweet the Boston Marathon bombing happened.  Now I’m not saying that Johnson’s tweet had anything to do with the location of the bombing or the bombing itself.  But I am saying that as a professional athlete he needs to choose his words more carefully.  Death is not something to joke about. 

I’m not sure if Johnson was fined for his tweet, but if he was, I sure hope he was fined more than someone who wore his socks to low during a game.  And if he wasn’t fined, than the NFL needs to seriously reevaluate the way they think.