John Doe
07-31-2006, 05:32 PM
Whitner may not start right away if he loses too many more training camp sessions. But, what about the man who would replace him? Here are some links to "The Hogs.net" (a Redskin fan site) that traces Matt Bowen's history with Washington backwards through time.
Keep him away from JP!
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:date Year="2006" Day="10" Month="3">03/10/06</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=665 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=665)<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
Matt Bowen also found himself looking for work Friday, as his run in <st1:State><st1:place>Washington</st1:place></st1:State> also came to an end. Perhaps the most predictable move due to Bowen's lack of contributions lately, the backup safety translated into a cool $2 million cap savings. Known more perhaps for the hit that he put on Trung Canidate in a preseason scrimmage than anything else, Bowo just never seemed to find a niche in the Gibbs' plan. While injuries also played a part in this cut, the Redskins have been really banged up in the secondary for the last two seasons and Bowen just never grabbed that opportunity by the horns. Still young, and very cerebral, there's likely some football left in the young man yet.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2005" Day="15" Month="10">10/15/05</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=337 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=337)<o:p></o:p>
While being helped off the field during the first quarter of Sunday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, Redskins safety Matt Bowen was hoping his right knee was not too severely damaged. His hopes didn’t come true. Bowen was diagnosed with a tear of his right anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, which will require season-ending surgery. He was placed on inured reserve on Tuesday.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2005" Day="25" Month="8">08/25/05</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=517 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=517)<o:p></o:p>
Matt Bowen has also impressed me. Not any particular play but just his overall motor. The guy never stops. He puts his all in to each and every down at practice and it has to be infectious to his teammates. After all, we all saw what happened to Trung Canidate when he WASN'T practicing with the intensity that Bowo was. He's actually practicing on the second unit and Ryan Clark is with the first unit, but I'm not sure it will stay that way. It seems to be spurning Bowen on as well.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2005" Day="1" Month="8">08/01/05</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=514 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=514)<o:p></o:p>
Big Hit Bowo: Matt Bowen made a bone-crushing hit on Chris Cooley in the end zone of today's practice. Of course, Cooley hopped up, slapped his hands together and lamented about the dropped ball, but there is no denying that the cause of the dropped pass was all Bowen. Based on the start he had last season, Bowen's return in the secondary could make for some exciting football.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2005" Day="20" Month="6">06/20/05</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=498 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=498)<o:p></o:p>
THN: How did Mini-Camp go for you?
BOWEN: Good, the off-season is so important for veterans. You always have to work on your craft and improve your technique and this is the time to do it. When training camp comes around you’re not working on technique anymore, your getting ready for games. You’re getting ready to prepare for scouting reports for teams. This time of year is critical in the overall ability of you as a player.
THN: On Friday Jon Jansen talked about not feeling all the way back until he put on the pads and get his first contact. Do you feel the same way?
BOWEN: Yea, you run around in shorts and a helmet, it looks nice and sounds nice, but when you put your pads on that what makes a football player, what what we do in the games. Basketball players don’t play a game without the ball. Obviously, when the pads go on, that’s the physical aspect of the game. Coming off an injury, that’s key because I haven’t been hit for a long time, since October. You need that for your confidence that your knee is alright, you need that as a player.
THN: Was there anything that you picked up mentally about the game, since you were out of it physically?
BOWEN: There were a lot of positives, first you have to accept the injury, you have to move on, and it’s part of this league. I learned a lot from Coach Jackson and Coach Williams. I study the game more; I made third down reports for the DB’s every week, by doing that it helped me realize that I wasn’t seeing everything. When I studied the game, it was almost like a game in itself, the game inside the game, it was great.
THN: Yesterday Coach Williams talked about the process that the Redskins have for an injured player to get back on to the field, he called it the best he’s been associated with in his coaching career. He said you weren’t due back until today, but that you haven’t missed any time this off-season. What do you attribute your early return to?
BOWEN: Like I said, accepting the injury and moving on. Working hard with the great training staff we have. Everyone has been real supportive and it just happened a little quicker than we thought it would. It feels good to be back.
THN: Thanks Matt, good luck this season.
BOWEN: Thanks.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
09/13//04 http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=310 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=310)<o:p></o:p>
Matt Bowen looked like an all pro in his first start at his natural free safety position. Hopefully now fans will stop talking about the stupid incident at Training Camp in 2003 between Bowo and now departed Trung Canidate. Bowen registered 8 tackles, and also had two sacks on corner blitzes. One of the sacks popped the ball out of Brad Johnson's hands and put points on the board for <st1:State><st1:place>Washington</st1:place></st1:State>, as they were able to turn it into a field goal. Lavar Arrington also had an excellent game with 6 tackles and a sack. Other honorable mentions go to Renaldo Wynn who pressured more from the LDE spot than he ever has, and to Cornelius Griffin who was solid in the middle. This defense was 'questionable' going into the season due to the 'lack of' defensive line, but they answered the call Sunday, and they answered it well.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2004" Day="12" Month="9">09/12/04</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=309 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=309)<o:p></o:p>
Safety Matt Bowen not only played his best game as a Redskin, he was the best Redskin on the field. Williams must have seen something in Bowo that he really liked in the pre-season, because he was moving him around and putting him in a position to make impact plays all day. And Bowen did just that. He registered 8 tackles and 2 huge sacks, including one that forced a fumble from Brad Johnson and resulted in a subsequent Redskin field goal. A few of those tackles were on special teams as Redskin fans watched #41 show up all over the field.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2004" Day="23" Month="6">06/23/04</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=275 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=275)<o:p></o:p>
Last year Matt Bowen started for the first time in his career as free safety for all 16 games. A player with big-hit potential and excellent speed, Bowen numbers for 2003 were fairly impressive with in 94 tackles, 3interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. Bowen made mistakes, however, and was often times was seen last year taking bad angles on plays leading to lard gains by the opposing team.
One word can explain why Bowen's performance last year was less than stellar: "coaching"....or, to put it more correctly, "lack thereof".
<o:p></o:p>
Bowen is still a young player with a huge amount of potential. It will be up to the coaches to bring out the best in this player. With the signing of FS Sean Taylor, Matt Bowen will move back to his more natural position of strong safety. With one year of full-time experience under his belt and with the dramatic improvement in coaching on this team, look for Matt Bowen to have a break out year (if there can be one for a strong safety) for the Skins in 2004.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2004" Day="2" Month="3">03/02/04</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=243 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=243)<o:p></o:p>
Bowen was taken by the St. Louis Rams in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft out of <st1:State><st1:place>Iowa</st1:place></st1:State>. He started at strong safety twice and played in all 16 games. He also had 12 tackles against the Chargers that year. He signed with the Packers in 2001 and spent two seasons under the radar in <st1:City><st1:place>Green Bay</st1:place></st1:City> but Vinny Cerrato and the Redskins coaching staff definitely had their sights set on him. Matt was signed to an offer sheet by the Redskins in March. The Packers had a week to match the contract the Redskins offered him but declined to do so. Bowen was highly touted by Redskins front office for his awareness and hard hitting ability.
That hard hitting was already on display on the Redskins third day of training camp last summer. His former Ram teammate Trung Canidate was running to the outside of the field when Bowen came in full force and knocks Canidate into midair. But Bowen was stone-like, looking down at Canidate. He quickly looked up and just walked away from the stunned back without saying a word… like it never happened. That immediately got Bowen national attention and the attention of Redskin fans not too familiar with him or his talents.
Bowen had a good and very productive season despite the lack of hard hits previously displayed in training camp and with <st1:City><st1:place>Green Bay</st1:place></st1:City>. Bowen was fifth on the team with 94 tackles and was tied second on the team with 3 interceptions. The downside Bowen brought to D.C. was his lack of quality coverage skills and it showed. Safties are not meant to cover but are also not allowed to let receivers get by which is what Bowen did a few times. Nevertheless, his first season with the Redskins was successful but look for Bowen to have less tackles in 2004 with an improved pass rushing defensive on the way via free agency.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2003" Day="1" Month="8">08/01/03</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=174 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=174)<o:p></o:p>
Matt Bowen struck again. He destroyed Patrick Johnson who appeared to be slightly shaken up on the play. While I'm sure that the media will find the bad in it, I've been watching Bowen almost exclusively when I'm watching the defense, and there was absolutely no intent. It looked to me like an accidental collision, but Bowen is a rock and definitely got the better of Patrick. Bowen just stood there while PJ tried to remember if he had picked up milk this morning. Lavar Arrington was jacked about it though, and whether the coaches liked it or not, #41 is endearing himself to both the fans and to the other members of the defense. When it's Tiki Barber getting scraped up from a Bowen smack... I'm sure all will be forgiven.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2003" Day="31" Month="7">07/31/03</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=173 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=173)<o:p></o:p>
On the next play, only a great read by Bowen prevented Ramsey from making another good completion. Matt also ran down Kenny Watson from behind again today. You're going to love this guy... when's the last time we had a good safety? He's fast, he's cerebral, and more importanly, he's got that eye of the tiger that you love to see in the secondary. When Bowen was at <st1:State><st1:place>Iowa</st1:place></st1:State>, he wrote in the Daily Iowan that, 'Every time you lose, a piece of you dies. And you can never get it back.' Impressively... he practices the exact same way.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2003" Day="30" Month="7">07/30/03</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=171 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=171)<o:p></o:p>
It was a very vocal afternoon with lots of cheering and jeering in the stands. By far the biggest reaction came when Matt Bowen rocked Trung Canidate. Canidate had busted a run and was running up the sideline. He lowered his head to take on Bowen and got just smoked. Both were fine, but the crowd went nuts. Bowen has really impressed me with his speed already, so to see him make that kind of hit was just gravy. I think that we have found a real diamond in the rough here, though only game action will reveal how he'll fit in as a starter.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2003" Day="30" Month="7">07/30/03</st1:date> <o:p></o:p>
Matt Bowen continues to impress me with his speed and determination. He nearly tracked down Kenny Watson from behind today when everyone would have given up without a thought. That kind of work ethic will have him in great shape for the season and we're going to be 1/2 way there at safety. Unfortunately, I'm not sold on the other half. Interestingly, the first defense has consisted of a safety tandem of Bowens and Terrell while I have been here, not the Bowen and Ohalete combo that I as expecting.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2003" Day="28" Month="7">07/28/03</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=167 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=167)<o:p></o:p>
I watched newcomer Matt Bowen for a while, and he has really good speed for a safety. He looked confident out there too, not like some of the rookie newcomers who really looked quite lost at times this morning.
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2003" Day="28" Month="7">07/28/03</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=168 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=168)<o:p></o:p>
Matt Bowen showed amazing speed and technique running down Jacobs from seemingly a long way back and by taking a great angle. It would have been really easy for Bowen to give up on the play but he hustled Jacobs down.
Keep him away from JP!
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:date Year="2006" Day="10" Month="3">03/10/06</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=665 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=665)<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
Matt Bowen also found himself looking for work Friday, as his run in <st1:State><st1:place>Washington</st1:place></st1:State> also came to an end. Perhaps the most predictable move due to Bowen's lack of contributions lately, the backup safety translated into a cool $2 million cap savings. Known more perhaps for the hit that he put on Trung Canidate in a preseason scrimmage than anything else, Bowo just never seemed to find a niche in the Gibbs' plan. While injuries also played a part in this cut, the Redskins have been really banged up in the secondary for the last two seasons and Bowen just never grabbed that opportunity by the horns. Still young, and very cerebral, there's likely some football left in the young man yet.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2005" Day="15" Month="10">10/15/05</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=337 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=337)<o:p></o:p>
While being helped off the field during the first quarter of Sunday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, Redskins safety Matt Bowen was hoping his right knee was not too severely damaged. His hopes didn’t come true. Bowen was diagnosed with a tear of his right anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, which will require season-ending surgery. He was placed on inured reserve on Tuesday.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2005" Day="25" Month="8">08/25/05</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=517 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=517)<o:p></o:p>
Matt Bowen has also impressed me. Not any particular play but just his overall motor. The guy never stops. He puts his all in to each and every down at practice and it has to be infectious to his teammates. After all, we all saw what happened to Trung Canidate when he WASN'T practicing with the intensity that Bowo was. He's actually practicing on the second unit and Ryan Clark is with the first unit, but I'm not sure it will stay that way. It seems to be spurning Bowen on as well.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2005" Day="1" Month="8">08/01/05</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=514 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=514)<o:p></o:p>
Big Hit Bowo: Matt Bowen made a bone-crushing hit on Chris Cooley in the end zone of today's practice. Of course, Cooley hopped up, slapped his hands together and lamented about the dropped ball, but there is no denying that the cause of the dropped pass was all Bowen. Based on the start he had last season, Bowen's return in the secondary could make for some exciting football.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2005" Day="20" Month="6">06/20/05</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=498 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=498)<o:p></o:p>
THN: How did Mini-Camp go for you?
BOWEN: Good, the off-season is so important for veterans. You always have to work on your craft and improve your technique and this is the time to do it. When training camp comes around you’re not working on technique anymore, your getting ready for games. You’re getting ready to prepare for scouting reports for teams. This time of year is critical in the overall ability of you as a player.
THN: On Friday Jon Jansen talked about not feeling all the way back until he put on the pads and get his first contact. Do you feel the same way?
BOWEN: Yea, you run around in shorts and a helmet, it looks nice and sounds nice, but when you put your pads on that what makes a football player, what what we do in the games. Basketball players don’t play a game without the ball. Obviously, when the pads go on, that’s the physical aspect of the game. Coming off an injury, that’s key because I haven’t been hit for a long time, since October. You need that for your confidence that your knee is alright, you need that as a player.
THN: Was there anything that you picked up mentally about the game, since you were out of it physically?
BOWEN: There were a lot of positives, first you have to accept the injury, you have to move on, and it’s part of this league. I learned a lot from Coach Jackson and Coach Williams. I study the game more; I made third down reports for the DB’s every week, by doing that it helped me realize that I wasn’t seeing everything. When I studied the game, it was almost like a game in itself, the game inside the game, it was great.
THN: Yesterday Coach Williams talked about the process that the Redskins have for an injured player to get back on to the field, he called it the best he’s been associated with in his coaching career. He said you weren’t due back until today, but that you haven’t missed any time this off-season. What do you attribute your early return to?
BOWEN: Like I said, accepting the injury and moving on. Working hard with the great training staff we have. Everyone has been real supportive and it just happened a little quicker than we thought it would. It feels good to be back.
THN: Thanks Matt, good luck this season.
BOWEN: Thanks.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
09/13//04 http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=310 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=310)<o:p></o:p>
Matt Bowen looked like an all pro in his first start at his natural free safety position. Hopefully now fans will stop talking about the stupid incident at Training Camp in 2003 between Bowo and now departed Trung Canidate. Bowen registered 8 tackles, and also had two sacks on corner blitzes. One of the sacks popped the ball out of Brad Johnson's hands and put points on the board for <st1:State><st1:place>Washington</st1:place></st1:State>, as they were able to turn it into a field goal. Lavar Arrington also had an excellent game with 6 tackles and a sack. Other honorable mentions go to Renaldo Wynn who pressured more from the LDE spot than he ever has, and to Cornelius Griffin who was solid in the middle. This defense was 'questionable' going into the season due to the 'lack of' defensive line, but they answered the call Sunday, and they answered it well.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2004" Day="12" Month="9">09/12/04</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=309 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=309)<o:p></o:p>
Safety Matt Bowen not only played his best game as a Redskin, he was the best Redskin on the field. Williams must have seen something in Bowo that he really liked in the pre-season, because he was moving him around and putting him in a position to make impact plays all day. And Bowen did just that. He registered 8 tackles and 2 huge sacks, including one that forced a fumble from Brad Johnson and resulted in a subsequent Redskin field goal. A few of those tackles were on special teams as Redskin fans watched #41 show up all over the field.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2004" Day="23" Month="6">06/23/04</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=275 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=275)<o:p></o:p>
Last year Matt Bowen started for the first time in his career as free safety for all 16 games. A player with big-hit potential and excellent speed, Bowen numbers for 2003 were fairly impressive with in 94 tackles, 3interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. Bowen made mistakes, however, and was often times was seen last year taking bad angles on plays leading to lard gains by the opposing team.
One word can explain why Bowen's performance last year was less than stellar: "coaching"....or, to put it more correctly, "lack thereof".
<o:p></o:p>
Bowen is still a young player with a huge amount of potential. It will be up to the coaches to bring out the best in this player. With the signing of FS Sean Taylor, Matt Bowen will move back to his more natural position of strong safety. With one year of full-time experience under his belt and with the dramatic improvement in coaching on this team, look for Matt Bowen to have a break out year (if there can be one for a strong safety) for the Skins in 2004.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2004" Day="2" Month="3">03/02/04</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=243 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=243)<o:p></o:p>
Bowen was taken by the St. Louis Rams in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft out of <st1:State><st1:place>Iowa</st1:place></st1:State>. He started at strong safety twice and played in all 16 games. He also had 12 tackles against the Chargers that year. He signed with the Packers in 2001 and spent two seasons under the radar in <st1:City><st1:place>Green Bay</st1:place></st1:City> but Vinny Cerrato and the Redskins coaching staff definitely had their sights set on him. Matt was signed to an offer sheet by the Redskins in March. The Packers had a week to match the contract the Redskins offered him but declined to do so. Bowen was highly touted by Redskins front office for his awareness and hard hitting ability.
That hard hitting was already on display on the Redskins third day of training camp last summer. His former Ram teammate Trung Canidate was running to the outside of the field when Bowen came in full force and knocks Canidate into midair. But Bowen was stone-like, looking down at Canidate. He quickly looked up and just walked away from the stunned back without saying a word… like it never happened. That immediately got Bowen national attention and the attention of Redskin fans not too familiar with him or his talents.
Bowen had a good and very productive season despite the lack of hard hits previously displayed in training camp and with <st1:City><st1:place>Green Bay</st1:place></st1:City>. Bowen was fifth on the team with 94 tackles and was tied second on the team with 3 interceptions. The downside Bowen brought to D.C. was his lack of quality coverage skills and it showed. Safties are not meant to cover but are also not allowed to let receivers get by which is what Bowen did a few times. Nevertheless, his first season with the Redskins was successful but look for Bowen to have less tackles in 2004 with an improved pass rushing defensive on the way via free agency.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2003" Day="1" Month="8">08/01/03</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=174 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=174)<o:p></o:p>
Matt Bowen struck again. He destroyed Patrick Johnson who appeared to be slightly shaken up on the play. While I'm sure that the media will find the bad in it, I've been watching Bowen almost exclusively when I'm watching the defense, and there was absolutely no intent. It looked to me like an accidental collision, but Bowen is a rock and definitely got the better of Patrick. Bowen just stood there while PJ tried to remember if he had picked up milk this morning. Lavar Arrington was jacked about it though, and whether the coaches liked it or not, #41 is endearing himself to both the fans and to the other members of the defense. When it's Tiki Barber getting scraped up from a Bowen smack... I'm sure all will be forgiven.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2003" Day="31" Month="7">07/31/03</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=173 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=173)<o:p></o:p>
On the next play, only a great read by Bowen prevented Ramsey from making another good completion. Matt also ran down Kenny Watson from behind again today. You're going to love this guy... when's the last time we had a good safety? He's fast, he's cerebral, and more importanly, he's got that eye of the tiger that you love to see in the secondary. When Bowen was at <st1:State><st1:place>Iowa</st1:place></st1:State>, he wrote in the Daily Iowan that, 'Every time you lose, a piece of you dies. And you can never get it back.' Impressively... he practices the exact same way.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2003" Day="30" Month="7">07/30/03</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=171 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=171)<o:p></o:p>
It was a very vocal afternoon with lots of cheering and jeering in the stands. By far the biggest reaction came when Matt Bowen rocked Trung Canidate. Canidate had busted a run and was running up the sideline. He lowered his head to take on Bowen and got just smoked. Both were fine, but the crowd went nuts. Bowen has really impressed me with his speed already, so to see him make that kind of hit was just gravy. I think that we have found a real diamond in the rough here, though only game action will reveal how he'll fit in as a starter.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:date Year="2003" Day="30" Month="7">07/30/03</st1:date> <o:p></o:p>
Matt Bowen continues to impress me with his speed and determination. He nearly tracked down Kenny Watson from behind today when everyone would have given up without a thought. That kind of work ethic will have him in great shape for the season and we're going to be 1/2 way there at safety. Unfortunately, I'm not sold on the other half. Interestingly, the first defense has consisted of a safety tandem of Bowens and Terrell while I have been here, not the Bowen and Ohalete combo that I as expecting.<o:p></o:p>
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<st1:date Year="2003" Day="28" Month="7">07/28/03</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=167 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=167)<o:p></o:p>
I watched newcomer Matt Bowen for a while, and he has really good speed for a safety. He looked confident out there too, not like some of the rookie newcomers who really looked quite lost at times this morning.
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<st1:date Year="2003" Day="28" Month="7">07/28/03</st1:date> http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=168 (http://www.thehogs.net/content/story.php?id=168)<o:p></o:p>
Matt Bowen showed amazing speed and technique running down Jacobs from seemingly a long way back and by taking a great angle. It would have been really easy for Bowen to give up on the play but he hustled Jacobs down.