Sports Then and Now

Drew Brees didn't throw a touchdown against the Jets, but he did other things, including throwing this block on a Reggie Bush run.

It’s no wonder why Jet’s coach Rex Ryan told the media this past week he wished the Jets didn’t have to play the Saints. This was very out of character for the coach, who has told his team, and the world, that they would not bow down to anyone. I wonder what made him change his strategy this week?

Whatever it was it carried right down to his team. In a complete 180 degree reversal from the previous game against the Tennessee Titans, this time it was the Saints who jumped out in front early, and although the Jets valiantly tried to make a game of it coming within a touchdown early in the second half, it was the Saints who were the dominant team on both sides of the ball in a 24-10 victory.
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Matt Stafford passed for 205 yards and three interceptions in his debut for the Detroit Lions.

There was a time in the not so distant past when the biggest things a rookie NFL quarterback had to worry about on game day were wearing a cool baseball cap and keeping track of his clipboard.

Current rookies Matt Stafford and Mark Sanchez are just the latest reminder that times have certainly changed, at least for top draft picks.

Instead of carrying clipboards and wearing baseball caps, highly drafted rookie quarterbacks today don’t usually have to wait long before getting a chance to show their stuff.

In the last two seasons, four of the five quarterbacks taken in the first round started the opening game of their rookie season. Only Josh Freeman of Tampa Bay, who was the third quarterback for the Bucs in their 2009 opener against Dallas, wasn’t under center from the beginning of his career.
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