Week 7 Ramblings of Rosstradamus

Yeah, yeah—we all know Tom Brady had a perfect QB rating against the hapless Dolphins. 21-25 for 354 and 6 TDs, and he could have done twice that if he wanted to. But here's my question: why doesn't someone knock him on his ass? If you're the Dolphins, what do you have to lose? I'm not advocating injuring a player, but come on Miami—send 11 guys if you have to! Give Brady something to think about. Brady sits back there, week after week, with all the time in the world. This just in—he'll shred you if you let him! When Dallas put some sustained pressure on him, they had success. To allow Brady to have a clean uniform is insane. What more has to happen for opposing defenses to realize—you MUST pressure this guy! If you get burned, so what—you're going to get torched anyway—you might as well do something which gives you chance. When opposing players are gushing over Brady, as Zach Thomas was when he said following Brady's dissection of his Dolphins, “He's looking awesome...” Well, yeah Zach, he IS looking awesome. Thanks to you and your lousy defensive effort and your team playing as scared as a 3rd base coach for the Indians. Can you imagine someone on the Pats saying another player “looked awesome” after that guy embarrassed his team? I can't. Would someone…anyone--PLEASE. Send the house on Brady until you hit him a couple of times...and while you're at it, hit the receivers too. This is exactly the same situation the rest of the league has faced (and continues to face) with the Colts. Except for the Jags, no one seems to get it. Ironically, the Pats were the last team to understand this “necessity for punishment” when they beat the Rams in the Super Bowl. This is football—you've gotta let the opposition know you mean business. If you get a penalty or two, so be it. I'm sick of watching the Patriots and Colts run wild like a flag football team. Someone needs to instill the fear in them! And fast.

The New York football Giants are 5-2. They throttled the Niners, but come on…it’s not even a fair match-up, so bad is the San Francisco offense. This after they started off 0-2 and everyone was abandoning ship, demanding that Coughlin be fired immediately. However, when new coordinators take over, there is always an adjustment period…sometimes it takes several games. In this case, it took Steve Spagnuolo less than that to get his Giants defense together. Now, they are a formidable unit, wreaking havoc, crushing QBs and taking the pressure off of the offense. They’ve given up 149 points, and 70 of those were in the first 2 games! That means over the next five games, they’ve given up only 79 points, or almost 16 a game. Not bad. They also lead the league in sacks with 27 and anyone who saw Osi Umenyiora’s sack, strip, and dash to the end zone knows—they can turn a game on its head at any time. They’re fun to watch, and I haven’t been able to say that about the Giants defense in a long time. Listen, I know they’re not the 85 Bears, but considering the crap they’ve had in the secondary and the lack of QB pressure we’ve been forced to endure while watching (insert inept DB’s name here) get burned with regularity, it’s a marked improvement. Eli is gaining confidence by the game, the running game has three contributors, Burress and Toomer are rocking out…I’m enjoying the ride while it lasts. Speaking of rides, I’ll be taking one to London to watch Big Blue in action as they take on the minor league Miami Dolphins this Sunday. It’ll be interesting to see how the English react. I know some of them watch “American” football, but to attend a game with 80,000 of them…it should be interesting to say the least. The Giants should win this game and move to 6-2 going into their bye week. Guess who comes to the Meadowlands after the bye? The Cowboys, who have been yapping all season and who are getting all the “Easy path to the Super Bowl” talk from the pundits who see them as being in a league of their own in the NFC. Please. Romo and Co. are more than beatable, in fact—if the Giants lose that game, I’d be surprised. Bring it on Dallas…

And then we have the Jets. What more can be said? They’re beating the Bengals 23-10 with 11 minutes to go in the third quarter. Here’s what followed: The Bengals score a TD to make it 23-17. The Jets go three and out. The Bengals score and take the lead, 24-23. Pennington fumbles. The Bengals score to make it 31-23. The Jets go three and out. The Bengals’ drive stalls and they punt back to the Jets. Pennington throws his patented interception which is returned for a TD. 38-23 Bengals—game, set, match. After the game, Mangini comes out and loses his cool, saying the play is unacceptable, the coaching is unacceptable…Hmmm. You’re 1-6 and NOW the play and coaching is unacceptable? Hey Mangenius—they shot Kennedy, did you hear? Good Lord. No wonder this guy is facing a mutiny—with players sniping about being used incorrectly, players aware that this team is going nowhere, questioning the coaching—where’s the leadership? Mangini has been trying to put round pegs in square holes, and he’s so arrogant and stubborn that it took him seven games to realize it. Now he’s got a team who doesn’t want to play for him, a QB controversy, and a defensive leader who is sick of the system…where’s the light at the end of the Lincoln tunnel? Enjoy the Mangini era Jets fans…and remember that you once called him “Mangenius”… and you were serious about it.

Shockingly, we received yet another snooze-fest involving the Baltimore Ravens. The Bills got a nice win over an allegedly good team, but they couldn't put it in the end zone, which seemed to be a league-wide theme on Sunday. Trent Edwards went 11-21 for 153 and an interception. How is that better than J.P. Losman? It isn't. Meanwhile, Kyle Boller's futility continued as he was 21-26 for 191 and a TD. That's 5.3 yards per attempt. That’s some unacceptable, dismal, losing play from a team with a supposed offensive genius as their head coach. Baltimore is unwatchable. Buffalo has no QB, which is a shame because Marshwan Lynch is a very good back. I feel for the talented Lee Evans, being wasted like that.

Detroit is 4-2 after beating Tampa Bay Sunday. Here are some numbers from that game: 45 passing attempts, 422 yards of offense. No, those weren't Detroit's numbers—they were Tampa's! Garcia was only able to generate 19 points despite all of those yards and a solid game out of RB Earnest Graham. Why? The up-until-this-game, turnover free QB fumbled a snap and a hand-off, both of which were recovered by Detroit. Yardage is meaningless if you can't convert it into points, especially against Detroit's defense! Tampa will regret this loss. As for the Lions, Kevin Jones looked good, which he will until he gets hurt again. How motivated will Tatum Bell be then? Not very, and it's a matter of when, not if with Jones. Kitna only threw for 147 yards, but Detroit played turnover-free football and had only 23 yards in penalties. Sound football can win—a surprise to the Lions who have now won more games than they did last season. They'll have confidence as they take on the resurgent Bears in Chicago next week.

Speaking of Chicago, they got a gutsy, season-saving win in Philadelphia as Brian Griese led a heroic 97 yard drive to deliver the crushing 19-16 loss to the Eagles. No timeouts. 1:52 on the clock. At home. That's what the Eagles had going for them in a game they needed to win to keep pace with the rest of the NFC East. And they blew it. But if you listen to Donovan McNabb, it's no big deal, “It's a position we're not used to, but nothing we can't pull ourselves out of.” Oh, really? When do you plan on doing this pulling? McNabb was 21-34 for 226 and a TD, but he, like so many QBs on Sunday, could not lead his team to the end zone. The Eagles had to settle for Akers FGs time and again, and they're now 2-4. If I'm an Eagles fan, I'd like to hear some sense of urgency, some sort of frustration from the guy who is the leader of the team. For McNabb to essentially say, “yeah, we're down, but it's no big deal.” is alarming. This is a team which put up 100 points against Detroit a few weeks ago and now can't find the end zone, and whose defense gave up an unspeakable drive to lose the game. Again I ask—at what point are Reid and McNabb held accountable? As for the Bears, they have Detroit at home, a bye, then they travel to Oakland. They should be staring at 5-4 which would put them in the thick of things. They have issues on both sides of the ball, most glaringly the continued ineptness of Cedric Benson, but don't count them out. Yet.

Seattle beat up on the Rams. Yay. Shaun Alexander is still 30, still gaining 3 yards a carry, and the Seahawks are still soft. They crushed the Rams—big deal. The Rams offensive line has more holes than the Yankees lineup will next season. The Hawks had seven sacks and yielded a mere 53 yards of rushing...but they had less than 300 yards of total offense against this winless team and they too kicked FGs instead of scoring Tds—at home! They're lucky they were playing a D-III team. The Seahawks have a bye, then play in Cleveland and host the 49ers. Let's see them win those two games. I don't think they will. Soft I tell you!

That was an unreal ending to the Houston/Tennessee game, which proved that neither of them should be taken seriously. I mean, really—the incompetence was startling. First of all, the Titans kicked eight field goals. How can you have THAT many chances to put the ball in the end zone and not do it? Oh...Kerry Collins was the QB? Never mind. Seriously, you'd think that they could get ONE TD out of those eight by accident! But that wasn't even close to the worst display by Tennessee: They gave up 29 points in the 4th quarter. To SAGE ROSENFELS! What? How does that happen to a team who considers itself a serious playoff team? Add to that, the fact that the Titans recovered an onside kick...TWICE! The first recovery was negated by a penalty, but they managed to do it again. To have a team recover two onside kicks against you like that? Sad. They're lucky they were playing Houston, who teased us by getting off to a 2-0 start. Since then, their only win was by a FG over Miami, and when they turn the ball over six times while running24 less plays than their opponent, you get the feeling they're the same old Texans.

Another onside kick was successful in Washington as the Cardinals almost pulled off an amazing win against the lackluster Redskins. This onside kick actually bounced after it traveled 10 yards and a Cardinal actually had to wait for the ball to travel the last couple of feet! Where were the Redskins players? The Cards then drove to the Skins' 37 yard line, setting up a Neil Rackers 55-yard attempt. Sure, it's far, but these days 55 yards is not a problem for any kicker other than Morten Anderson. The distance wasn't the problem for Rackers—the pressure was. Cardinals kickers don't face that many pressure kicks, but if you remember back to last season when the Bears had that otherworldly comeback against the Cards (the Dennis Green meltdown game), Rackers had a 41-yard attempt with less than a minute left to salvage the win for Arizona...but he missed it. He seems to be the Trevor Hoffman of kickers—he does great until it actually matters. The best you can say for the Skins is that they won despite playing terribly, but the game should have been an overtime battle. Rackers missed an extra point, making the score 14-6 instead of 14-7. When the Cards were down eight and scored, they had to go for two. They chose to have Anquan Boldin throw that pass, and the attempt was unsuccessful…a strange play call to say the least. These two point conversions have coaches confused. I'll get into that more in a minute.

Dallas returned a blocked FG for a TD in their 10-point win against the Vikings. Romo played well, Barber ran well...which enough when you're playing Tavaris Jackson. Come on Minnesota—enough already with this guy. He's terrible, and you're kidding yourselves. 6-19 for 72 yards against Dallas' pass defense? That's...that's...I don't have words for how bad that is. What are the coaches doing in Minnesota? Adding to the idiocy is Minnesota's decision to give Adrian Peterson only 12 carries. Are they worried about him getting hurt? No, they have him returning kicks. So why—why doesn't this guy get 25 carries in that game? Consider this—AD was rushing against a defense that was designed to stop him, a defense that KNEW the Vikings couldn't pass at all...and he still averaged over five yards a carry. Give the guy the friggin' ball. Idiots.

The same thing is happening in Atlanta with Jerious Norwood. The man is electric, but gets only six more carries than me for the Falcons. Why? Warrick Dunn had 13 carries and barely averaged 2 yards a carry! What the hell is Petrino doing? I know his “system” likes a big back, but dude—enough! Your team stinks offensively, why are you refusing to give the one difference-maker on your team the ball? I felt bad for Byron Leftwich—he played well, 15-23 for 145 and a TD, but got hurt and had to leave the game—but I can't feel bad for the Falcons, who apparently don't know their own personnel. Give Norwood the ball! Idiots. As for the Saints, they won and are now 2-4. Not out of it at all in the NFC. Brees and Bush had average games, but what happened to this dynamic offense? N’Awlins had 219 yards of total offense against Atlanta? What's wrong with this team? With San Francisco, St. Louis and Houston in three of their next four, they will have every chance to figure it out.

This game brings us to the rant of the week:

As if New Orleans didn’t have enough problems, they have a coach who, for all of his positive attributes, doesn’t know when to go for a two-point conversion. Here’s the scenario: New Orleans is down 16-14. They score a touchdown to go up 20-14 with the conversion to come. Sean Payton decides to go for two. Why? So you can go up six instead of five? The risk doesn’t justify the reward here. If you miss the conversion, you’re only up four and a subsequent Atlanta TD puts you down three—a FG only ties the game for you. If, on the other hand, you kick the PAT, you’re up five. If Atlanta scores, THEY have to make the conversion to go up three. If they miss, you’re within one and a FG WINS the game. If they make it, you’re down three. Wouldn’t you rather—in a world where Atlanta’s offense and your own offense can’t do anything—put the onus on THEM instead of yourself if you’re New Orleans? It’s a small detail, but I’ve seen plenty of examples of coaches going for two when they shouldn’t, not going for two when they should, and calling laughable plays for the conversions. The two-point conversion is a very important part of the NFL now and coaches seem to look at it as an annoyance; something that’s somehow beneath them. I’m not sure why, but between it and the onside kick, there are clearly are some details that need to be given attention. I know it’s not as “real” for a coach as creating a game plan, but when teams constantly screw up two-point conversions, timeouts, and onside kicks, one realizes that these seemingly meaningless details are very often what separates winning and losing in the morass of parity that is the NFL.

The Chiefs are in first place. I don't know what to say. They beat the Raiders in a yawner, and sit at 4-3. I can't see how. They beat San Diego and I can't see how. I'm willing to chalk this up to the Chargers being asleep at the wheel, but for the Chiefs to be over .500 after 7 games? I'm astounded. I still don't think they'll finish over .500 but even seven wins would be worthy of praise with those players and that coach. The Raiders took four steps backward in losing at home to hated KC—the Silver & Black’s ninth consecutive loss to the Chiefs and their hard-to-believe 17th straight loss to AFC West opposition. Wow. JaMarcus Russell, you'd better be for real.

Pittsburgh blew a chance to enter the AFC conversation by dropping a 31-28 decision to the desperate Broncos Sunday night. Ben Roethlisberger turned the ball over three times and the Steelers Defense couldn’t stop the Broncos when the game was on the line. Even before that last minute drive, the Steelers D was lacking. Pittsburgh came out and went right down the field to open the game—taking a 7-0 lead. Denver was instantly on the ropes—they’d lost three games in a row, Shanahan was hearing it…in fact, if it wasn’t for the Rockies taking over Denver, Shanahan and Cutler would have been on the hot seat. Anyway, if the Steelers can stop Denver there, I’m telling you—that game would have been a Pittsburgh blowout. Denver was reeling like Trevor Berbick against Mike Tyson…but the Steelers instead chose to roll out the red carpet for the Broncos, allowing Denver to waltz down the field and tie the score. The Bronc’s opening drive featured only one third down, and that was converted on a 15-yard TD pass by Jay Cutler. Again, in the 3rd quarter, Pittsburgh came out and scored to cut the Denver lead to 21-14…only to see the Broncos push the lead to 14 again with an eight-minute drive. So it was to no one’s surprise when Elam got his opportunity at game’s end. Pittsburgh can now join the rest of the AFC on line…waaaaay behind the elite two.

Indianapolis is getting sick of hearing about New England. Who can blame them? After all, it was Indy who won the Super Bowl last year, wasn’t it? They’re unbeaten, just like New England…and they blasted the very-good Jaguars last night. Sure, the Jags lost their starting QB, but come on—Indy was fired up and took care of business led, surprisingly, by their defense. How fast was Freeney on that safety? How psyched was Reggie Wayne to have all of Peyton Manning’s attention? He made several great catches and you can see, the Colts are on a mission now—a mission to show the NFL that it’s THEIR title. THEY are the defending champions who have had to sit and listen to Brady this, Moss that…they can say it doesn’t bother them, that they’re happy the focus (and pressure) is off of them…but I think that’s impossible. They’re human—it HAS to bother them on a competitive level. If you think for a second that they haven’t circled that game in two weeks, you’re kidding yourself. New England and Indianapolis better watch themselves this week—Washington and Carolina are capable of beating them—especially if they’re looking ahead. I can only imagine how many times we’re going to hear the expression “trap game” in the next 5 days.

Look for me in the stands in London, and enjoy the games this week!

R