It was nice hearing former quarterbacks and current ESPN analysts Steve Young and Trent Dilfer finally discuss what the main problem is for the Philadelphia Eagles' offense this year. It hasn't been the coaching nor has it been the play of quarterback Michael Vick, although both have factored into the team's struggles. The main problem has been with the offensive line and that was illustrated more than ever last night, as Vick got sacked 7 times in the game and either pressured or knocked down several others. The Eagles now have four offensive lineman playing regularly that weren't there to start the season. This spells major problems. They may not be the most well-known or highest paid players on offense, but, and I've said this for years - the offensive linemen are the five most important players on offense. The offensive line is where everything starts. They're the guys that open holes for the running back to sneak through. Without that blocking, which has been largely absent this year in the Eagles' running game, yards are going to be hard to come by on the ground. Without solid pass protection, receivers won't have time to run their routes and get open, and the quarterback will have trouble squaring up and throwing an accurate pass, while getting bruised and battered along the way. This makes passing yards harder to come by and turnovers more frequent. A great offensive line can make average quarterbacks and running backs look great. When a line consistently gives a professional quarterback time to throw in the pocket, it doesn't matter if it's Dan Marino or Mark Sanchez, they're more than likely going to be efficient. Under head coach Mike Shanahan for all those years, it didn't matter who the Denver Broncos had at running back - he was guaranteed to rush for over 1,000 yards and several touchdowns. Why? The offensive line was one of the very best. During the '90s, the Dallas Cowboys were known for their star players, such as quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and wide receiver Michael Irvin. Where did it start? With that all-pro offensive line - one of the very best in the past 30 years, possibly ever. The Philadelphia Eagles have a lot of problems on offense, but as Steve Young and Trent Dilfer both correctly pointed out last night, it all starts with the play of their awful offensive line.
After its first week, I gave The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore a B+ grade. While I didn't think the show appeared to be perfect by any stretch of the imagination, I also liked the Daily Show meets Politically Incorrect vibe I got from it, and thought, with the proper adjustments, the show would indeed provide a great fill-in for The Colbert Report . In the show's succeeding weeks, however, I've been less impressed by it and think that if it doesn't make certain adjustments, it could be in jeopardy of losing many long-time viewers of the show's time slot. One major issue I think the show's had to this point is a lack of direction. It's been unable to decide whether it wants to be a comedy show with serious conversation sprinkled in or a serious show with comedy sprinkled in. It's almost as if the show's writers want to give The Nightly Show a Real Time with Bill Maher feel. The problem with that idea or format is the fact Real Time is an hour lon...
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