Vick vs. Manning might have some bite
Star QBs likely to get real PT in Tokyo exhibition
By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/28/05
FLOWERY BRANCH ? Pro Bowl quarterbacks Michael Vick and Peyton Manning might actually break a sweat in the Aug. 6 Falcons-Colts preseason opener in Tokyo if their coaches can negotiate the right deal.
"Between us, we'll kind of manage it so the people will get to see those guys play," Falcons coach Jim Mora said. "I'm sure that [Colts coach] Tony [Dungy] and I, as we talk, we'll come to some sort of arrangement in terms of when a guy like Peyton or Mike is in the game, are we going to blitz? Are you going to bring everybody or are we just going to play some football?
"What we really want is to see Peyton Manning and Michael Vick playing in the regular season. We also want Peyton Manning to make some throws down the field and Mike Vick run around and making some throws. So if you pull off the blitzing a little bit, you're going to showcase them a little bit."
The emphasis was on "a little bit."
Most Falcons veterans will be used sparingly in the early preseason, Mora said. Vick ? who took just 27 snaps all last preseason, and just three in the exhibition opener against Baltimore ? said it's the proper course of action.
"What if I go in and something happens?" Vick said about playing more than a handful of snaps in Tokyo. "What good does that do? Does the game count? It's all good but that game doesn't count on our record. I'm going to give it 100 percent, but I'm not going to go all out like I always do in the regular season. You've got to be smart."
Though this 12th American Bowl is a goodwill game between the NFL and its fans in the Far East, it's not a celebrity showcase for the league. The NFL has not mandated that the Falcons play its top-tier players against the Colts, a Falcons official said. A message left with the NFL was not returned.
Mora said there hasn't been any discussion among the coaching staff about how players will be used in the preseason, other than players fighting for positions and roster spots or those needing some experience will get most of the action. He did indicate he probably would follow last season's strategy of limiting Vick, though.
"Coming off the ankle [injury], everyone wanted to know how much we were going to play Mike in the preseason," Mora said about last preseason. "We weren't going to win that one. If we didn't play him enough and he started slowly, then we mismanaged him. If we played him too much and he got hurt, we mismanaged him. I felt all along we were doing the right thing. He got off to a good start and we got off to a good start.
"This staff has enough experience to know how much our guys need to be ready for the opening game of the season."
By getting selected to play in the American Bowl, the Falcons will have five preseason games instead of the normal four. The added exhibition game actually is a good thing, Mora said, because there will be more game situations on which to evaluate players, particularly late-round defensive draft picks Chauncey Davis, Michael Boley and Darrell Shropshire, who have stood out early in training camp.
"We get to evaluate guys in a game atmosphere," Mora said. "We don't have a lot more practices [with the extra week] and when do you really evaluate how a guy plays. It's got to be in a game."
.................................................................
Please someone pick out some good information out of that crazy talk by coachs on this game
in Tokyo Japan.
Its hard to believe that anyone would bet on a exhibition game, but it takes all kinds.
Now with that being said I am considering slamming it down on this game.
And I mean hard !
KOD
Star QBs likely to get real PT in Tokyo exhibition
By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/28/05
FLOWERY BRANCH ? Pro Bowl quarterbacks Michael Vick and Peyton Manning might actually break a sweat in the Aug. 6 Falcons-Colts preseason opener in Tokyo if their coaches can negotiate the right deal.
"Between us, we'll kind of manage it so the people will get to see those guys play," Falcons coach Jim Mora said. "I'm sure that [Colts coach] Tony [Dungy] and I, as we talk, we'll come to some sort of arrangement in terms of when a guy like Peyton or Mike is in the game, are we going to blitz? Are you going to bring everybody or are we just going to play some football?
"What we really want is to see Peyton Manning and Michael Vick playing in the regular season. We also want Peyton Manning to make some throws down the field and Mike Vick run around and making some throws. So if you pull off the blitzing a little bit, you're going to showcase them a little bit."
The emphasis was on "a little bit."
Most Falcons veterans will be used sparingly in the early preseason, Mora said. Vick ? who took just 27 snaps all last preseason, and just three in the exhibition opener against Baltimore ? said it's the proper course of action.
"What if I go in and something happens?" Vick said about playing more than a handful of snaps in Tokyo. "What good does that do? Does the game count? It's all good but that game doesn't count on our record. I'm going to give it 100 percent, but I'm not going to go all out like I always do in the regular season. You've got to be smart."
Though this 12th American Bowl is a goodwill game between the NFL and its fans in the Far East, it's not a celebrity showcase for the league. The NFL has not mandated that the Falcons play its top-tier players against the Colts, a Falcons official said. A message left with the NFL was not returned.
Mora said there hasn't been any discussion among the coaching staff about how players will be used in the preseason, other than players fighting for positions and roster spots or those needing some experience will get most of the action. He did indicate he probably would follow last season's strategy of limiting Vick, though.
"Coming off the ankle [injury], everyone wanted to know how much we were going to play Mike in the preseason," Mora said about last preseason. "We weren't going to win that one. If we didn't play him enough and he started slowly, then we mismanaged him. If we played him too much and he got hurt, we mismanaged him. I felt all along we were doing the right thing. He got off to a good start and we got off to a good start.
"This staff has enough experience to know how much our guys need to be ready for the opening game of the season."
By getting selected to play in the American Bowl, the Falcons will have five preseason games instead of the normal four. The added exhibition game actually is a good thing, Mora said, because there will be more game situations on which to evaluate players, particularly late-round defensive draft picks Chauncey Davis, Michael Boley and Darrell Shropshire, who have stood out early in training camp.
"We get to evaluate guys in a game atmosphere," Mora said. "We don't have a lot more practices [with the extra week] and when do you really evaluate how a guy plays. It's got to be in a game."
.................................................................
Please someone pick out some good information out of that crazy talk by coachs on this game
in Tokyo Japan.
Its hard to believe that anyone would bet on a exhibition game, but it takes all kinds.
Now with that being said I am considering slamming it down on this game.
And I mean hard !
KOD
