THE RAMBLINGS OF ROSSTRADAMUS

Enter Rosstradamus-- The Newest Addition To Our Weekly All Pro Lineup Here At 4th & Goal. Check Back Every Tuesday As The Rosstradamous Brings To You Intrigue From Around The League.

Another week, another series of discoveries in the NFL. As far as the locals are concerned, we discovered the Giants CAN play defense. They manhandled Donovan McNabb and the Eagles offense–sacking him an NFL record-tying 12 times. It’s unreal when you think about it–the Giants defense had shown zero signs of this, and Philly was coming off an incredible offensive performance against Detroit. So how does this happen? Three things: 1) The Eagles offensive line. Talk about a train wreck–they gave up 12 sacks and didn’t adjust ONCE the entire game! Left tackle Winston Justice, filling in for William Thomas, was beaten repeatedly by Osi Umenyiora…yet Eagles coach Reid did absolutely nothing to help him. He could have given Justice help with a tight end, but he didn’t. He could have done a million things…but once again, Reid proved to be useless during a game when things don’t go his way. Perhaps if Umenyiora had registered 7 sacks, that would have been enough for Reid. 2) No Westbrook. The biggest winner in Sunday’s game? Not the Giants, not the other teams in the NFC East…it was Westbrook’s agent! Without the underrated RB, the Eagles couldn’t do anything to counter the Giants pressure up the middle. No screens, no flat passes…nothing. Westbrook’s quickness out of the backfield in the passing game, and his ability to get loose in the running game are all the Eagles have–without it, Kevin Curtis is just an average receiver, not the downfield threat he was against Detroit. Without Westbrook, the Eagles HAVE no other threats! Which brings us to #3) Donovan McNabb. He looked slow, was inaccurate, made poor decisions…in a word–OLD. I know it takes time to come back from an ACL injury, but when you’re in your 9th season…there’s a lot of tread gone from that tire. What happens when the Eagles go 7-9 this season? Do you bring Reid and McNabb back? I would get rid of Reid for sure–he’s had his chances and come up wanting every time. He’s coached his worst games in his biggest games and that’s not what you want from a coach. As for McNabb–the question Philly needs to ask is, “Have we seen the best of him?” Is McNabb on the downward side of his career? He’s 30, he’s been in the league a long time…is it time to clean house and start over in Philadelphia if the Eagles continue to flounder? I think there are more people saying “YES” this week than there were last week. This was a worse loss for the Eagles than it was a win for the Giants. Another great thing about it: the Eagles’ next game is at the Meadowlands against the Jets. You’d best believe the Jets will be sending pressure up the middle when their 1-4 asses try to get back into the playoff chase.

Yeah, I said 1-4, they’re losing to the Giants this week. Can anyone keep a straight face when they say the Jets will beat anyone? I mean, if you can’t beat Buffalo with all of their injuries–what are you saying to your fans other than, “We suck. Hard. Thoroughly. Completely.” The watched the immortal Trent Edwards go 22-28 in leading his team to victory. Sure Chad Pennington was 32-39, but could statistics lie any more than that? Pennington was ineffective; the Jets had ZERO points with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Pathetic. Pennington completed passes short of the first down, NEVER stretched the field, and threw terrible interceptions. The last, with the game on the line, illustrated his lollipop arm strength–the ball was in the air forever, allowing the Buffalo defender to pretty much call a fair catch under it. Look, there’s plenty of blame to go around for coach “Mangenius’” team–9 penalties, Thomas Jones rushed for only 35 yards on 12 carries, Mike Nugent continued to be a waste of a draft pick, missing another makable FG…This team is not a playoff team. Never was. They believed their own hype, believed an unproven coach was a God because he’s young and came from good stock, and believed in a QB who clearly isn’t as good as Jets fans thought he was. Just wait–when the Eagles are destroying the 1-4 Jets, the chants of “Kell-en, Kell-en!” will be heard in the Jets’ rented home. I mean, come on–BUFFALO??

Around the league: It looks like San Francisco is this year’s Arizona. You know, the team all of the “experts” told us would break through and make the playoffs. PLAYOFFS? How about getting a first down!!! Alex Smith is out with a shoulder injury, which means Trent Dilfer is getting playing time. Dilfer looked absolutely incompetent. I feel bad for Frank Gore, who is going to be gang tackled every time he gets the ball because who in their right mind cares what Trent Dilfer does with single coverage and no WRs?! Sure, Seattle looked good…but I think they’re soft and I think Shaun Alexander is miles away from his MVP season of 2005.

The Steelers stubbed their toes in Arizona, losing to their former coordinator and the two-headed QB of the Cards. The Steelers didn’t play that badly; they’ll be fine. Santonio Holmes continued his fine play in Hines Ward’s absense…As for the Cardinals, it was a quality win, but at what long term cost? This QB carousel is quickly becoming a joke. I know Wisenhunt and his staff didn’t draft Leinart to be the QB of the future, but he’s there. Either play him, or bench him. You can’t yo-yo a young quarterback, it’s insane. Kurt Warner comes in for several series and Leinart is wondering what the hell is going on. When Leinart IS in the game, he’s wondering “If I throw a bad pass, am I out for 2 series?” Leinart can’t even assess his own play during the game when he’s constantly being taken out and put back in, seemingly in an arbitrary manner. I’m not sure what the Cards hope to accomplish by this, but it won’t help ANYONE in the long term. Already, Leinart is losing confidence in himself and the coaches. That’s not a problem if he’s not going to be “the guy,” but if he is in the future plans of the organization, it’s going to be a HUGE problem if it continues.

Just when fans were starting to get excited about the Houston Texans, they go out and lose to the Falcons. They made Joey Harrington look good! That fact alone is enough to make me watch the Texans bandwagon cruise by without getting on it. That and Ron Dayne getting quality playing time…How about those Cleveland Browns!? They beat the Ravens despite being outgained 418-303. Amazingly, the Browns didn’t allow a sack to the Ravens and forced Steve McNair to pass 53 times when they got out to a huge lead. This isn’t that much of a surprise–the Ravens need to start over at the QB position and until they do, they’ll be no more than a fringe player in the title chase. McNair is toast. Toast that gets hurt…if, um…toast could get hurt…In Miami, Ronnie Brown ran for 134 yards on just 15 carries, and the Dolphins lost. Daunte Culpepper ran for 3 scores and despite throwing only 12 passes, completed 2 of them for TDs as the Raiders, yes the Raiders, ended the day tied for first place in the supposedly tough AFC West. Think about it: The Chargers are a joke–Norv Turner is the main clown over there. All they do is rest on their past success–which isn’t even success–and get lapped in the final lap by the Chiefs. THE CHIEFS!! The SD defense yielded 390 yards of offense. At home to the Chiefs. They were outscored 14-0 in the 4th quarter. At home by the Chiefs. Talk about a lack of intensity–all of a sudden, the Chargers are a great RB, and a great TE…with nothing else. The same could be said about the Chiefs, and we all know how awful they are. San Diego is headed for a long season…But they can still easily win that division, because Denver is no better. After dashing out to a 10-point lead in Indy, the Broncos were given a lesson in efficient offense as the Colts turned it on, beating the Broncos by 18. The Colts exposed the Denver defense, scored TDs instead of settling for FGs when it mattered, and put the Broncos away in the 4th quarter. THAT is what a Championship team does at home–pay attention San Diego. Even though they were missing Marvin Harrison, it hardly mattered. Indy has so many weapons it’s almost unfair to opposing defenses.

Now for the three surprises: First, Green Bay. What is in the water in Titletown?! The Packers look like world-beaters at 4-0, dispatching the punchless Vikings in Minnesota 23-16. Brett Favre had yet another great performance–32-45 for 344 and two TDs. He threw passes to 10 receivers and when you think about the fact that the Pack has virtually NO running game, Favre and the Pack’s accomplishments become all the more impressive. 4-0, 3 games ahead of the Bears….but only one game ahead of the Lions, who at 3-1 still have me thinking they’re not necessarily for real. That Eagles debacle still resonates. However, they ARE 3-1 and as the Tuna once said, “You are what your record says you are.” They beat the Bears by scoring 34 points in the 4th quarter. Yeah–let that sink in. That amazing Bears defense: 34 points in the 4th quarter. Add to that 14 penalties by the Bears and a mere 69 yards rushing…and you get a collapse in Chicago. And Brian Griese was the answer, huh? If by “answer” you mean “guy who throws three horrendous picks–one for a TD the other way and two inside the Lions’ 10 yard line,” then yeah, he’s the friggin’ Oracle at Delphi! The Bears are through, the Lions are starting to turn it around–is it really that surprising in the parity-friendly NFL? Finally, and perhaps most surprising are the Tampa Bay Bucs. They’re 3-1 and their win in Carolina sums up how they’ve done it: 1 penalty, 42 carries for 189 yards, 34+ minutes of possession. Just when we were all ready to write off John Gruden, Chucky resurfaces! With Atlanta and New Orleans already finished and the Panthers without Jake Delhomme…it’s not only possible, but probable that Tampa is going to win that division. We’ll see what the Bucs are really made of as they travel to Indy this week. I think this game will be closer than many people think.

And finally, the two best teams BY FAR up to this point: the Pats and the Cowboys. New England and Dallas have essentially named their score in each game they’ve played. No Maroney for New England? Plug in Sammy Morris, who has a terrific game Monday night. Terrell Owens only catches 3 passes for 33 yards? Enter Patrick Crayton who goes for 189 and two TDs. These two teams are head and shoulders above the rest of the NFL and they’re doing it with OFFENSE. Randy Moss and Terrell Owens. I love it. Funny how guys go from being cancers to being All-Pros so quickly, isn’t it? With these Championship level teams, we shall see the mantra of “good defense beats good offense” proved INCORRECT. You must have an offense that can score. Period. If you don’t, your margin for error is too small. Ask the Bears, who rely of defensive scores and kick returns to win games for them. When they don’t get them, they lose and are ordinary. How far did the Ravens get last season with their defense? They almost beat the Colts, but couldn’t because they can’t score. At all. Next case. Until I see someone stop the Pats or Cowboys, I have no reason to think I’ll see anyone but them in the Super Bowl. Sure, the Colts have a terrific offense, but I don’t trust it outside, and lately, their defense looks like it did all of last season until the playoffs–very vulnerable. When I look at New England, I see no weakness. Plus, the Pats are getting Seymour and Harrison back! Only an injury to Brady can stop the Pats from winning a Super Bowl.

Got Beef? Take It Up With The Rosstradamous Himself: ross@nfldraftbible.com