John Madden

Each week John Madden answers readers questions. To ask Coach a question, e-mail him at:

Coach, what are your thoughts on Matt Ryan? Is there a rookie quarterback that you remember performing so well so early?
Darryl from Georgia
  
Madden: I am sure that there has been but Matt Ryan has been very impressive, Darryl.  I remember when Peyton Manning started… Terry Bradshaw and Donovan McNabb started at the halfway point.  They all had bumps in the road and the thing that has impressed me about Matt Ryan, and I am sure he is having some bumps, but for a rookie he has really kept them to a minimum.

Coach, how much of an impact will Tony Romo's injury have on the Cowboys. Who gets affected the most?
Billy from New Jersey

Madden: Billy, any time you lose your starting quarterback, and this is assuming Tony Romo is out, it is going to have a big impact because it is the passing game and the NFL is a quarterback league.  The other thing is the team is built for that quarterback.  You look at the Cowboys and they are built for Tony Romo being able to throw the ball deep to Terrell Owens and getting the ball to Jason Witten and running with Marion Barber. That is kind of how they are built and then you go with Brad Johnson. He is more of a short passer, throw to backs more and those kinds of things.  You not only lose Tony Romo but you lose pretty important parts of what you do.  Now you have to go into a game knowing you are not going to score as many points so the running game is going to be bigger and now it’s without Felix Jones as well. 

You lose your starting quarterback and it is not only the back-up quarterback that has to step up but the other surrounding parts have to step up too.  Obviously they are not going to score as many points so their defense has to not allow as many points.

Coach, I have heard that a developing quarterback needs 2 to 3 years to become a solid NFL caliber player; is JaMarcus Russell on that same time line? If not, how do you see his personal timeline?
Andrew from Biloxi, MS

Madden: Andrew, the reason he is not is because of different coaches and different offenses.  It kind of happened to Jason Campbell in Washington too but it is one thing learning an offense and then it is another learning it and becoming comfortable in it.  That is where JaMarcus Russell knows the plays and he knows what they are doing. He’s just not comfortable yet. His timeline, again because of the coaching changes and personnel changes, is probably a little longer. Maybe it is not three years; maybe it is more like five or six years.

Coach, the NFC South seems wide open right now. Do you think Drew Brees can lead the Saints to the postseason and beyond?
Gregg from Louisiana

Madden: Yeah, Gregg, in fact I said that after last Sunday night’s game, we were talking about that division and I look at the Saints and they look like the most explosive team.  I think Drew Brees is playing quarterback as well as anyone in the National Football League right now.  They got Marques Colston back, they have Reggie Bush doing big things, their defense is improved and playing better and that is a big thing.  When I look at the Saints I think two things; Drew Brees and the way he is playing and that their defense is better.

Coach, do you think Cleveland's win over the Giants will jumpstart their season and is Derek Anderson back to the QB he was last year?
Fred from Ohio

Madden: Fred, I wouldn't say he is back to where he was last year but I would say he is starting to get back.  Watching the Browns on Monday night against the Giants, that is kind of the Cleveland Browns that we thought we were going to see this year.  We did them earlier in the year against Pittsburgh and they didn't look anything like they did a year ago and they didn't look anything like they did Monday night.  Now they proved they can do it and they proved that they can play like that and now it is going to be how they take that down the road.  That is one game and now what do they do with it?  If they go on and reel off six or seven straight or five out of six, then it is a good thing. If they go back to the way they were playing before they played the Giants, that is not a good thing.