re in too many long-yardage situations. Not good

For the rookie left tackle Terron Armstead of the New Orleans Saints, the worst is over. Now that he has a game of NFL experience in his back pocket, his next game against Tampa Bay will be remarkably easier . Two quarterback sacks allowed and two illegal procedure penalties - all in the first half - showed that the risk Sean Payton took to start a complete rookie left tackle (with no positional playing experience) was not worth the possible reward. And come Monday morning Armstead knows he can play NFL football as long as he improves day-by-day - and that is a controllable desire. Overall, Armstead did okay. Not good, not bad - just okay. But its a building block of game experience the coaches have on video to work with . Now they can identify strengths and weaknesses and mold the Armstead so he can compete with Charles Brown for left tackle in 2014. Theres a lot of money on the table for both players to make as both try to achieve an NFL career and not just an NFL experience. The next left tackle of success goes to Patriot Logan Mankins - who played the position effectively replacing Nate Solder efficiently. Mankins is an NFL ‘tough guy - in a league full of them. He did play the position at Fresno State during college, but that was eight years ago. His ability to switch positions and play well was a significant reason the Patriots beat the Ravens so easily 41-7. Who is the best in the business? Well, you have a few to pick from. Tyron Smith from Dallas is probably the youngest and the best, while Justin Pugh of the Giants is also on his way to a great career. Trent Williams is the best on a losing team along with Duane Brown for Houston. King Dunlap for San Diego is the biggest rejuvenation of a career and DJ Fluker was the best first round draft pick. Joe Staley receives the least publicity with Panther Jordon Gross and there are others out there. Best value for example is Jordan Mills - a fifth round draft pick who has started every game. But the best? Jason Peters in Philadelphia. Watching him against Chicago, I marvel at his skill. In Denver, Payton Manning has now thrown 51 touchdown passes . Impressive when you consider only 10 interceptions and how congested the field gets the closer you get to the goal line. Manning makes careers and makes other players millions. Before he came to Denver, Eric Decker was good but not great. Julius Thomas was ‘just another guy and Brock Osweilier is getting an education of a lifetime. In Philadelphia, its hard to explain how the Eagles can score 48 one week and then come back and score 54. Cris Collinsworth did bring up an excellent point saying that time is a determining factor . There is running an offense and mastering an offense and the Eagles are oh so close to mastering the Chip Kelly way of doing things with the ball. The NFC winner will be decided on Sunday. Dallas did beat the Eagles 17-3 back on Oct. 20, but it seems that outside of the Minnesota meltdown, the Eagles have improved much more than Dallas in every way. In Green Bay, the talk this week and all week will be Aaron Rodgers and the risk vs. reward. If hes cleared and ready, its worth taking any risk. The chance that he will re-injure the collarbone is very minimal. When Shea McClellin tackled him, Rodgers was running in space and if he plays he wont do that again. This is a tough decision for Green Bay on a number of levels and one of them is game practice and speed. With the new collective bargaining agreement, it is harder than ever to duplicate game conditions - especially in Week 17 when practice is more work than at any point of the season. Personally I would not even try it - if the Packers got in through a division win they could be one and done. In another week, it will be Black Monday - the day that coaches lose jobs in a 48-hour cycle. Decisions have to be made with the Jets, Houston, Tennessee, Oakland, Washington and Detroit. I think a mitigating factor has to be Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati and Ron Rivera in Carolina. Both have been very close to the unemployment line and both will win divisions this year. Detroit and Washington I think are inevitable and Houston too. But with all else, it may be best to stay the course and that includes Minnesota and Tampa Bay and Dallas. Finally, and this question always comes up this time of year - Do players or teams quit on coaches or on each other? I seriously doubt they do as just making a team has a level of difficulty that is surreal, so why would you jeopardize something that was so difficult to create in the first place? Some things are difficult to explain - Miami losing 19-0 in Buffalo or KC losing to Indianapolis 23-7 at Arrowhead. Those can be traced to mind set and preparation, but to ‘quit - I find hard to believe. Happy Holidays, everyone. Wholesale Ecco Shoes . - Their offence is underperforming. Ecco Shoes Sale Outlet . Portuguese sides Benfica and Porto also advanced to the last eight while Basel overcame an early red card to win 2-1 at Salzburg and progress from a last-16 second leg that was briefly suspended because of crowd trouble. Lyon, Valencia and AZ Alkmaar will also be in Fridays draw in Nyon, Switzerland, where the team to avoid will be Juventus -- even though the Italian champions made heavy work of their all-Italian last-16 match against Fiorentina. http://www.wholesaleecco.com/. Halladays resume as a Blue Jay is among the elite in the franchises 36-year history. Over 12 seasons in Toronto, he was named an All-Star six times. He had arguably the finest campaign of his career in 2003 when he posted a 22-7 record, a 3. Ecco Shoes Clearance Sale . All of 46 seconds into the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 victory over Alex Ovechkins struggling Washington Capitals, Crosby assisted on Chris Kunitzs goal. Discount Ecco Shoes Online .com) - The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies have finalized their agreed-upon trade that sends former National League MVP Jimmy Rollins to the West Coast for a pair of minor league pitching prospects.LANDOVER, Md. -- For his first preseason game as an NFL head coach, Jay Gruden said his goal was to "eliminate the chaos" on the sideline. Did he succeed? "It was chaotic more so for me than everybody else," the Washington Redskins coach said with a chuckle. "It was a little crazy just with all the headsets." Gruden only needed the offence pumped into his ears during his three years as an offensive co-ordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals. Now he was monitoring offence, defence and special teams and managing all the constituent parts. "Having 85 to 90 guys on the sideline," he said. "Its rough." History will record that Gruden managed his debut just fine. The Redskins beat the New England Patriots 23-6 Thursday night. "Unfortunately," he said, "it doesnt count." Robert Griffin III played only one series, and Tom Brady and most of the Patriots starters didnt play at all in a game that served mostly as an audition for players trying to move up the depth chart or simply make the roster. Griffin completed 2 of 4 passes for 9 yards, and Alfred Morris ran for 27 yards in an 11-play drive that ended with a 39-yard field goal from Kai Forbath. Forbath hit the right upright from 34 yards, but he was given a second chance because the Redskins were whistled for delay of game. "We came out and did what we wanted to do," Griffin said. "Got the 1s in and out, had an effective drive. Got some points, almost had a touchdown." That was enough Griffin for Gruden, who is in charge of reviving the Redskins -- and the franchise quarterback, in particular -- after last years 3-13 tension-filled season that got coach Mike Shanahan fired. Gruden, 47, looked boyish manning the sideline in a burgundy horizontal-striped team shirt, while New Englands Bill Belichick sported the more traditional Patriots short-sleeve blue -- it was too warm for his hoodie. Griffin, who didnt get to play in the preseason a year ago while rehabbing from major knee surgery, said Gruden was "funny" on the sideline -- an adjective most definitely not associated with Shanahan. "Hes not telling me knock-knock jokes as hes giving me plays," Griffin said, "But just on the sideline, youu kind of get to see how (the coaches) dialogue.dddddddddddd They have a good time on the sideline and thats good to see." The Patriots held sway earlier in the week when the teams held three days of joint practices at Washingtons training camp facility in Richmond, Virginia. The sessions showed the Redskins have a ways to go before they can match the polish and efficiency of a perennial Super Bowl contender. So Thursday turned into a well-deserved day off for all but nine of New Englands projected opening day starting 22, including Brady, top off-season acquisition Darrelle Revis, receivers Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman and linebacker Jerod Mayo. Tight end Rob Gronkowski also remains out as he recovers from knee surgery. The backups failed to do much to pick up the slack. Ryan Mallett started at quarterback and completed 5 of 12 passes for 55 yards. Second-round pick Jimmy Garoppolo played the second half and went 8 for 12 for 141 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown to Brian Tyms. "I didnt think really we did very many things the way we wanted to do them tonight," Belichick said. "We just werent very good in any phase of the game. We had the ball on the ground. Didnt play well enough on defence. Didnt move the ball, were in too many long-yardage situations. Not good enough in the kicking game. So just overall, weve got a lot of work to do." The Redskins prized free agent pickup, receiver DeSean Jackson, was also sidelined after hurting his left ankle during Wednesdays practice. Among others sitting out for Washington were receiver Pierre Garcon, safety Ryan Clark and safety Phillip Thomas -- all nursing hamstring injuries. Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy each threw touchdown passes for the Redskins, who have won seven consecutive preseason games. Last year they won more games in the preseason (four) than in the regular season (three). Cousins finished 9 for 13 for 103 yards. McCoy was 8 for 9 for 102 yards. Notes: Patriots second-year defensive tackle Chris Jones left with an ankle injury. ... Forbath, facing a challenge from draft pick Zach Hocker, was short on a 46-yard attempt and put a kickoff out of bounds, while Hocker made field goals from 27 and 39 yards. ' ' '