By D'Arcy Maine, NFL Draft Bible Columnist
With Sunday rapidly approaching, and the hype-machine in full-effect, the “Duel in Dallas” looks to be the marquee game of the year pitting the undefeated Patriots against the undefeated Cowboys.
The game, which many are predicting to be eventual Superbowl match-up, looks to be a battle of the offenses with two dynamo quarterbacks leading the way.
The Patriots began the season with high expectations and have surpassed them all. The superstar receiving corps led by Randy Moss has proven to be exactly what Tom Brady needed this season. Brady leads the league with a 74.1 completion percentage and has thrown for 16 touchdown passes on the season.
However, Cowboys Head Coach Wade Phillips is familiar with Brady as the former defensive coordinator for the Chargers and managed to force three interceptions last season during their playoff meeting. Rivers will look to reduce the lengthy amount of pass protection Brady has become accustomed to and create pressure on the thriving quarterback.
Last week Moss faced double coverage by the Browns and Phillips is considering tripling coverage on the receiver. Cleveland was able to contain Moss with such methodology; however, the Patriots are so deep that this just creates other opportunities for the remaining receivers. The Dallas defense will have their biggest test of the year with the Pats.
While Brady is the established quarterback, Tony Romo is the emerging star and his mobility makes him a dangerous threat. The uncharacteristically silent Terrell Owens should be Romo’s primary target as they seek to show the world that they are not the second string QB-WR combination.
Owens is like a magnet, on and off the field, whether it be for the football or for controversy, and some big plays will be in his hands, literally. And, after last week’s near-loss to the Bills, look for Romo, Owens and the ‘Boys to come out strong with something to prove.
Dallas leads the league in total offense with 429.6 yards per game and will put on a show in front of a home crowd. But New England is second in the league in total defense and will be ready to stop virtually anything that comes their way. Romo struggled against a weak Buffalo defense and the Patriots are known to capitalize on any weakness a team may have. If they can rattle Romo with an early interception, Dallas will have to recover mentally quickly before the game gets out of their grasp. Romo proved his resilience last season with his three most impressive performances coming off of major losses so the young quarterback should come out with a fearless gunslinger mentality.
The battle for supreme #81 status should be a show to remember between Moss and Owens. Moss is having a phenomenal year with 551 receiving yards and a league-high seven touchdowns. Owens has 387 receiving yards and three touchdowns but will be looking for redemption after a couple of key missed catches last week.
Anything is possible in this game but I predict the Patriots will come out looking dominant and gain a quick lead, however, look for a major second half comeback by the Cowboys and a decisive fourth quarter showdown. The Patriots will come out on a top but it won’t be pretty and it certainly will be telling.
Getcha popcorn ready.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
THE KICKING TEE
By The Grazianimal
Dallas is 5 and 0 after squeaking past Buffalo on Monday night. I have never seen a team so successful while almost ignoring what I see as their best offensive player, Marion Barber. In the second half of the Buffalo game Barber looked like Brian Westbrook minus the pulled everything. He has regularly looked like a superior player compared with Julius Jones who has continued to get equal playing time. It almost bit them in the [butt] on Monday. Why? He is on the team. Play him. We will see how much time Dallas wastes playing patty-cake this week with New England on the docket.
Much as I wished it, the Jets could not really play with the landlords in East Rutherford last Sunday. Chad again threw a late game INT ending any chance of an upset. He has looked terrible this year. The arm strength issue is front and center. Chad can’t exploit his receivers (who are way above average) and that gums it up for Tom Jones who has yet to have a really great game. The cheers that met Kellen Clemens on his way into the game three weeks back don’t seem so insensitive at 1 and 4. With a playoff berth becoming a super long shot Mangini should be looking at the post Chad era. Atlanta, San Fran, even Miami could use a stop gap game manager like Pennington. 4th rounder? Maybe from Miami, but Mangini should pull the trigger on almost anything if he can move forward.
The Redskins ruin Farve’s little fairy tale this week in Green Bay. Yeah, I told Al Saunders what was up and the offense responded to my written lashing with their best game in who knows how long. The Redskins had been sucking longer then a 3 dollar whore with a fifty in her fist. This game is a big referendum on the young season. Green Bay is good and will be looking to rebound after that fold job against Chicago. The Skins will need to exploit the return of Santana Moss with Randle-El aching. Jason Campbell made a move last week to be more then that guy that looks like the dude from ER. Morency helps a question mark backfield in Green Bay as long as he is on the field. This one should go down to the wire with the announcers raving about Brett right up until that pick off with 0:42 seconds left.
Dallas.
Man I hate the Giants. They should have lost last week, but…crap. On Monday with all the hullabaloo and so forth watch them take a Falcons team for granted and get bit. This one should not even be close, but the line is only 3 and a half. Why? Because of that big Atlanta home field advantage? This might be their only big crowd for a while. Harrington? Can you believe this guy is about to lose his job to Byron Leftwich of all people? You think that they would prize a little stability, Harrington has not been horrible. Leftwich on the other hand got fired for some reason. Whatever, should be a baseball game on somewhere.
Just to kick the Yankees while they blame Joe Torre for their inability to get it up. The way Boston is playing, these are the worst Yankee teams ever. NY dominated for 90 years. Where is that Pinstripe pride? Not that Joe doesn’t deserve it, but fire the whole crowd. Cashman should be first in line. Shake it the hell up already.
Thank God Vinny is back. Better to lose with him then that light weight Carr. Vinny should be at least good for a few highlight reel shots downfield to Steve Smith. That was all that Delhomme was getting done lately. Carr just sucks.
Enough of this already. Is it 1:00 yet?
grazianimal@columnist.com
Dallas is 5 and 0 after squeaking past Buffalo on Monday night. I have never seen a team so successful while almost ignoring what I see as their best offensive player, Marion Barber. In the second half of the Buffalo game Barber looked like Brian Westbrook minus the pulled everything. He has regularly looked like a superior player compared with Julius Jones who has continued to get equal playing time. It almost bit them in the [butt] on Monday. Why? He is on the team. Play him. We will see how much time Dallas wastes playing patty-cake this week with New England on the docket.
Much as I wished it, the Jets could not really play with the landlords in East Rutherford last Sunday. Chad again threw a late game INT ending any chance of an upset. He has looked terrible this year. The arm strength issue is front and center. Chad can’t exploit his receivers (who are way above average) and that gums it up for Tom Jones who has yet to have a really great game. The cheers that met Kellen Clemens on his way into the game three weeks back don’t seem so insensitive at 1 and 4. With a playoff berth becoming a super long shot Mangini should be looking at the post Chad era. Atlanta, San Fran, even Miami could use a stop gap game manager like Pennington. 4th rounder? Maybe from Miami, but Mangini should pull the trigger on almost anything if he can move forward.
The Redskins ruin Farve’s little fairy tale this week in Green Bay. Yeah, I told Al Saunders what was up and the offense responded to my written lashing with their best game in who knows how long. The Redskins had been sucking longer then a 3 dollar whore with a fifty in her fist. This game is a big referendum on the young season. Green Bay is good and will be looking to rebound after that fold job against Chicago. The Skins will need to exploit the return of Santana Moss with Randle-El aching. Jason Campbell made a move last week to be more then that guy that looks like the dude from ER. Morency helps a question mark backfield in Green Bay as long as he is on the field. This one should go down to the wire with the announcers raving about Brett right up until that pick off with 0:42 seconds left.
Dallas.
Man I hate the Giants. They should have lost last week, but…crap. On Monday with all the hullabaloo and so forth watch them take a Falcons team for granted and get bit. This one should not even be close, but the line is only 3 and a half. Why? Because of that big Atlanta home field advantage? This might be their only big crowd for a while. Harrington? Can you believe this guy is about to lose his job to Byron Leftwich of all people? You think that they would prize a little stability, Harrington has not been horrible. Leftwich on the other hand got fired for some reason. Whatever, should be a baseball game on somewhere.
Just to kick the Yankees while they blame Joe Torre for their inability to get it up. The way Boston is playing, these are the worst Yankee teams ever. NY dominated for 90 years. Where is that Pinstripe pride? Not that Joe doesn’t deserve it, but fire the whole crowd. Cashman should be first in line. Shake it the hell up already.
Thank God Vinny is back. Better to lose with him then that light weight Carr. Vinny should be at least good for a few highlight reel shots downfield to Steve Smith. That was all that Delhomme was getting done lately. Carr just sucks.
Enough of this already. Is it 1:00 yet?
grazianimal@columnist.com
Friday, October 12, 2007
THE GRID: VOL. VIII
The Carolina Panthers are asleep at the helm and someone needs to shock them from their slumber if they hope to return to the promise land. You see a 3-2 record and wonder why fans and management should be nervous with an above .500 record in the ever-fluctuating NFC. The Saints, Eagles and Rams are having down years and parity is rippling through this Conference every weekend. The roster on this team boasts two of the premier offensive and defensive players in the league along with a supporting cast of members that remain from the 2003 NFC Champions team. The organization ousted the predictable Offensive Coordinator, Dan Henning this past off season and ushered in a more varied style of play with the hiring of Offensive Coordinator Jeff Davidson. Experts predicted Carolina to battle for supremacy in the NFC this season, however if a fire isn’t ignited under this team soon, the Panthers could spend another winter scratching their heads as to what went wrong.
When you envision the Panthers, flashes of Steve Smith, Julius Peppers and Jake Delhomme come to mind. These three players are the catalyst to this teams’ success but there are several other players on this team that can help Carolina to victory. The coaching staff has always believed in the cornerstones to winning in this league – a solid running attack, a stout defense and contributions from special teams. If these three areas are the building blocks to this teams’ success, then why is their running game, defense and special teams so weak this year? Could it be player personnel? Maybe the coaching staff is to blame?
Well, let’s start with the running game. Gone are the days of Stephen Davis and the bulldozing style that he brought to the table. Currently, Carolina is en vogue with today’s NFL and utilizes the running back-by-committee approach. The tandem of veteran DeShaun Foster and sophomore DeAngelo Williams have not excelled yet the way many thought they should. Foster has battled some injury woes and fumbling problems over the past three seasons and could never emerge as a dominating number one back. The former UCLA Bruin is capable of stiff-arming and rumbling over the century mark in yards one week, and then has a deflating game the following week without even sniffing the end zone. DeAngelo Williams was arguably the second best back on many teams’ draft boards coming into the 2006 NFL Draft. He fell into the laps of the Panthers and is a perfect scat back to spell Foster. Williams is small, but elusive. He has great hands out of the back field and was productive at Memphis. He, like Foster, is erratic and not having much success translating his college consistency to the NFL yet. Once these two backs figure out the formula to sustaining consistency, this running game will regain its elite status in the league.
Defensively this team has a roster chocked full of talent. Julius Peppers is one of the most feared defensive linemen in the league and is a spectacular athlete. Opposite Peppers at the other defensive end spot is the veteran Michael Rucker. Rucker is more in the Shawn Ellis mold and disrupts the play at the point of attack. Age and injury is catching up to the ex-Cornhusker, but offensive coordinators can’t forget about him. In the middle is the enigmatic defensive tackle Kris Jenkins. The former University of Maryland standout is a bevy of humanity and commands double teams. Jenkins’ work ethic is the question mark and he has been rumored as a problem in the locker room as well. The linebackers, when healthy are fast and hit hard. Dan Morgan is the leader, but concussions and lower body injuries have hampered the ex-Miami Hurricane from being on the field. The Panthers have outside linebackers that are young, athletic and down shy away from contact. Thomas Davis and rookie Jon Beason are the future for Carolina at this position. The secondary contains a trio of talented yet underachieving cornerbacks. Ken Lucas, Chris Gamble and Richard Marshall are capable of containing the best the league has to offer offensively. Lucas and Gamble are both All-Pro corners and Marshall is a solid nickel back. That being said, these corners are also guilty of giving too much cushion to receivers and at times look confused in coverage. The safety spots have been a glaring weakness for years and the retirement of Mike Minter during the preseason only made the situation more blurry. This team would be wise to invest an early draft pick or key in on this position in free agency.
Special teams are crucial because it dictates field position. A solid return and coverage team allows your team good starting position on offense and helps your defense by burying opposing teams at their end of the field. Carolina’s return game is ranked dead last in the league. John Kasay, the only holdover from the Panthers inaugural 1995 season, has been solid kicking field goals, but that’s the only bright spot. The return team has muffed kicks leading to touchdowns and the coverage team has given up a touchdown as well.
The old adage is that success and failure start at the top. John Fox is a brilliant defensive mind. Since his arrival in Charlotte, Fox has put a quality team on the field. The coordinators have been both great and lousy. Most recently, the coaching staff has been under-utilizing the players given to them. Players like Julius Peppers and Steve Smith need to have their potential maximized and that is just not being done. Current Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio is the former defensive coordinator for the Panthers. When he left for Jacksonville, Mike Trgovac was promoted to coordinator. Since his promotion, the defense has been less than spectacular. The aggressive snarling turnover-forcing defense that Del Rio implemented has been on hiatus since his departure. Trgovac was given the keys to a Ferrari, but is driving it like a minivan. The bend-but-don’t-break style that once handicapped the Panthers pre-Del Rio has reared its ugly head again. Turnovers are at a minimum and there is minimal pressure on the quarterback. The defense is weak in zone coverage and opposing offensive coordinators are exposing it every week.
Offensively, the passing game is almost non-existent. This is not just because Delhomme went down with a season-ending injury. Steve Smith is the focal point for opposing defensive coordinators and they are shading him and stacking seven in the box forcing the quarterback to beat the defense with another weapon. One of the other receivers needs to step up. Drew Carter is actually faster than Smith and is 6’4”, but can’t seem to grasp the concept of continuity. Keary Colbert is a great route runner and has the potential to be a great complimentary receiver for Smith, but can’t get open nor hold onto the ball. Jeff Davidson brought in a new zone blocking scheme and actually uses the tight end in his offense. The latter characteristic is a bright spot for Panther fans that are used to the tight end being non-existent and merely a blocker. The former trait is taking some getting used to by the offensive linemen. This benefits the backs because it allows them to use their speed and size to their advantage and get to the outside, rather than banging it between the tackles.
Several teams in the league would be alright with a 3-2 record through five games, but this team should not be one of them. Aspirations of post-season play were abound in Charlotte, but if they don’t get back to basics and make some changes on the fly, things could get darker before they get brighter. It will be interesting to see if there is fight left in this cat or if it bows to adversity.
When you envision the Panthers, flashes of Steve Smith, Julius Peppers and Jake Delhomme come to mind. These three players are the catalyst to this teams’ success but there are several other players on this team that can help Carolina to victory. The coaching staff has always believed in the cornerstones to winning in this league – a solid running attack, a stout defense and contributions from special teams. If these three areas are the building blocks to this teams’ success, then why is their running game, defense and special teams so weak this year? Could it be player personnel? Maybe the coaching staff is to blame?
Well, let’s start with the running game. Gone are the days of Stephen Davis and the bulldozing style that he brought to the table. Currently, Carolina is en vogue with today’s NFL and utilizes the running back-by-committee approach. The tandem of veteran DeShaun Foster and sophomore DeAngelo Williams have not excelled yet the way many thought they should. Foster has battled some injury woes and fumbling problems over the past three seasons and could never emerge as a dominating number one back. The former UCLA Bruin is capable of stiff-arming and rumbling over the century mark in yards one week, and then has a deflating game the following week without even sniffing the end zone. DeAngelo Williams was arguably the second best back on many teams’ draft boards coming into the 2006 NFL Draft. He fell into the laps of the Panthers and is a perfect scat back to spell Foster. Williams is small, but elusive. He has great hands out of the back field and was productive at Memphis. He, like Foster, is erratic and not having much success translating his college consistency to the NFL yet. Once these two backs figure out the formula to sustaining consistency, this running game will regain its elite status in the league.
Defensively this team has a roster chocked full of talent. Julius Peppers is one of the most feared defensive linemen in the league and is a spectacular athlete. Opposite Peppers at the other defensive end spot is the veteran Michael Rucker. Rucker is more in the Shawn Ellis mold and disrupts the play at the point of attack. Age and injury is catching up to the ex-Cornhusker, but offensive coordinators can’t forget about him. In the middle is the enigmatic defensive tackle Kris Jenkins. The former University of Maryland standout is a bevy of humanity and commands double teams. Jenkins’ work ethic is the question mark and he has been rumored as a problem in the locker room as well. The linebackers, when healthy are fast and hit hard. Dan Morgan is the leader, but concussions and lower body injuries have hampered the ex-Miami Hurricane from being on the field. The Panthers have outside linebackers that are young, athletic and down shy away from contact. Thomas Davis and rookie Jon Beason are the future for Carolina at this position. The secondary contains a trio of talented yet underachieving cornerbacks. Ken Lucas, Chris Gamble and Richard Marshall are capable of containing the best the league has to offer offensively. Lucas and Gamble are both All-Pro corners and Marshall is a solid nickel back. That being said, these corners are also guilty of giving too much cushion to receivers and at times look confused in coverage. The safety spots have been a glaring weakness for years and the retirement of Mike Minter during the preseason only made the situation more blurry. This team would be wise to invest an early draft pick or key in on this position in free agency.
Special teams are crucial because it dictates field position. A solid return and coverage team allows your team good starting position on offense and helps your defense by burying opposing teams at their end of the field. Carolina’s return game is ranked dead last in the league. John Kasay, the only holdover from the Panthers inaugural 1995 season, has been solid kicking field goals, but that’s the only bright spot. The return team has muffed kicks leading to touchdowns and the coverage team has given up a touchdown as well.
The old adage is that success and failure start at the top. John Fox is a brilliant defensive mind. Since his arrival in Charlotte, Fox has put a quality team on the field. The coordinators have been both great and lousy. Most recently, the coaching staff has been under-utilizing the players given to them. Players like Julius Peppers and Steve Smith need to have their potential maximized and that is just not being done. Current Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio is the former defensive coordinator for the Panthers. When he left for Jacksonville, Mike Trgovac was promoted to coordinator. Since his promotion, the defense has been less than spectacular. The aggressive snarling turnover-forcing defense that Del Rio implemented has been on hiatus since his departure. Trgovac was given the keys to a Ferrari, but is driving it like a minivan. The bend-but-don’t-break style that once handicapped the Panthers pre-Del Rio has reared its ugly head again. Turnovers are at a minimum and there is minimal pressure on the quarterback. The defense is weak in zone coverage and opposing offensive coordinators are exposing it every week.
Offensively, the passing game is almost non-existent. This is not just because Delhomme went down with a season-ending injury. Steve Smith is the focal point for opposing defensive coordinators and they are shading him and stacking seven in the box forcing the quarterback to beat the defense with another weapon. One of the other receivers needs to step up. Drew Carter is actually faster than Smith and is 6’4”, but can’t seem to grasp the concept of continuity. Keary Colbert is a great route runner and has the potential to be a great complimentary receiver for Smith, but can’t get open nor hold onto the ball. Jeff Davidson brought in a new zone blocking scheme and actually uses the tight end in his offense. The latter characteristic is a bright spot for Panther fans that are used to the tight end being non-existent and merely a blocker. The former trait is taking some getting used to by the offensive linemen. This benefits the backs because it allows them to use their speed and size to their advantage and get to the outside, rather than banging it between the tackles.
Several teams in the league would be alright with a 3-2 record through five games, but this team should not be one of them. Aspirations of post-season play were abound in Charlotte, but if they don’t get back to basics and make some changes on the fly, things could get darker before they get brighter. It will be interesting to see if there is fight left in this cat or if it bows to adversity.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
THE RAMBLINGS OF ROSSTRADAMUS
The Giants beat the Jets 35-24 at the sun-soaked Meadowlands this past Sunday, and although I left the stadium thinking the Giants might not be so terrible, there were no such doubts concerning the Jets. They stink on ice. Consider this: Eli Manning had a whopping three completions in the first half, none to WRs. One to someone named Michael Matthews (yeah, who?) for 6 yards, one to Derrick Ward for a four-yard loss, and one to Jeremy Shockey for a 20-yard gain. That’s it--22 yards of passing in the first half. Still, I never thought the Giants would lose. Brandon Jacobs returned for the Giants…and then the Jets returned his first quarter fumble for a TD to open the scoring. “Here—take 7 points!” Certainly, it wasn’t a fun experience…not what you expect on a harmless 3rd and 1… Still, I never thought the Giants would lose. After a Jets dink and dunk, “drive” which resulted in a missed Mike “They’d cut me if they weren’t so embarrassed they wasted a 2nd round pick on me” Nugent field goal, the Giants ran the ball down the field, scoring on a Derrick Ward eight-yard run. After some more offensive futility by both teams, the Jets scored on a Brad Smith reception with 33 seconds left in the half. Still, I never thought the Giants would lose. Following another mediocre Giants kick return (will they EVER have a game-breaker back there?) the Giants decided to go into the locker room down only a TD. And by “down only a TD” I mean “inexplicably decided to throw a short pass over the middle which, even if it was completed, served NO purpose.” Was this Manning’s fault? Was it Coughlin’s? YES! If you’re going to call a play with that little time left perhaps, I dunno, THROW THE BALL DOWN THE FIELD!? My friend sitting next to me insists Coughlin called the “safe” pass play because if he’d done what he wanted to and kneeled on the ball, the crowd would have booed. I don’t know if I agree with that, but when the Jets kicked a FG to go in at halftime up 10, I was pissed at the sloppiness and cavalier attitude displayed by the men in blue. Could they think, after one decent win, that they could just walk out there and win without playing solid football? They were down 10 points and playing like crap. Still, I never thought the Giants would lose. Why? Because all the Jets can do is move down the field 3 yards at a time and when you do that, your margin for error is very, very small. There’s no threat of any big play being broken, because there are no game-breakers on that team. You cannot win in the NFL without a player who instills fear in the opposition. Thomas Jones is, and always will be, a three-yards-a-carry back. Chad Pennington cannot throw a long pass and the medium range passes he throws, while accurate, are in the air for too long, allowing defenders to race to the ball. There was no pressure on Pennington all day—the Giants had one sack—yet he threw three AWFUL interceptions. With those two as the primary offensive players, there is no way the Jets can compete with decent teams. The second half began with the Giants running the ball at will, pulling to within three on a Brandon Jacobs 19-yard plough. Here we go…now the defense will get a stop, we’ll get the ball back…oh…what’s that--a Leon Washington kickoff return for a TD to restore the Jets 10-point lead? Wow. 90% of the time, when something like this happens, the team giving up the TD loses focus, the fans start preparing for the worst… Still, I never thought the Giants would lose. When Shockey hauled in a 13-yard TD pass to once again cut the margin to three, the whole stadium knew it was only a matter of time before the Giants took over; and that’s not to say the Giants are some wonderful team…they’re clearly not. It’s only to say that the Jets are a bad football team with no direction and no identity on either side of the ball. It’s too bad, really, that Mangini refuses to see this. If he did, he’d surely get Leon Washington more involved with the offense and would immediately bench Chad Pennington in favor of Kellen Clemens. Do I know that Clemens will be The Answer? Of course not…But I know that Pennington is not the quarterback the Jets think he is. He will not ever become that QB and the Jets will never be anything beyond ordinary with him at the helm. What exactly is Mangini waiting for? Subpar play from a weak-armed QB + Obviously not making the playoffs + Younger QB waiting in the wings with a much better arm = No-brainer. Anyway, after the Jets tried to dink and dunk their way down the field, Aaron Ross picked off a Pennington toss, Plaxico Burress stiff armed…no, that doesn’t do it justice… Burress BITCH ARMED Andre Dyson, and the Giants were in the lead for good despite their shoddy play. Ross sealed the win with his 2nd interception of a Pennington helium balloon, but come on…were the Jets going to score again anyway? “We just fell apart there at the end” said Pennington. Who’s “WE” Chad? Do you have a mouse in your pocket? When you throw five yard passes all the way down the field, you have to throw more passes than a team that throws for a variety of yardages…Add to that the fact that the Jets run the ball for two yards a carry, and there’s simply too much that can go wrong with all of those pass attempts. And it HAS gone very wrong for the Jets. Next up, the angry Eagles and I’m telling you Jets fans now—it will be Pennington’s last game as the starter. Get ready for Kellen Clemens the rest of the way.
This week’s rant on officiating focuses on the “force out” rule. College has simplified this rule—if you don’t land with a foot in bounds, it’s an incomplete pass. End of story. In the NFL, for some reason, the idiots who run things have decided against using the college rule. Instead, they’ve decided to let yet one more thing be decided by the officials and their judgment. Why? Why let judgment decide when you can avoid it? This is one thing that can be taken away from the officials—if you land out of bounds because you’re forced out, that should be a good defensive play. It shouldn’t be a decision for a ref to make. When judgment calls can be eradicated, they should be. These refs cannot get calls right, hell, they cannot even get REPLAY calls right…so WHY LET THEM HAVE ONE MORE THING TO SCREW UP when you can easily make the rule read, “If both feet do not land in bounds, regardless of the cause, the pass is incomplete.” Done. Easy. Clear. No need for time wasting conferences to discuss the physics of force and how it applies to the sideline catch. No need for officials to make ridiculous decisions like the ones made against Plaxico Burress and Terrell Owens this past week. Hmmm--two guys with bad reputations had judgment calls go against them…interesting. Ridiculous! Officials have a hard enough time dealing with the games—take one thing out of their hands. I’m begging you NFL!! BEGGING!
Around the league…The Steelers proved they are a legit third entry in the AFC Championship sweepstakes. The crush job they put on Seattle was a thorough one—the Pittsburgh D held Seattle to 144 yards of offense. Shaun Alexander had 11 carries for 25 yards. That’s a loooong way from the MVP season of a couple of years ago, isn’t it? The Steelers offense kept the ball for over 40 minutes, executing several long drives, including one for over 10 minutes which resulted in a TD. Did I mention the Steelers did this without Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes, their two starting receivers? And did I mention they did this without safety Troy Polamalu and nose tackle Casey Hampton on defense? Well…they did. Seattle proves time and time again that they’re soft, allowing themselves to be pushed around the field. Those who picked them to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl must now realize that this team doesn’t possess the toughness to reach the heights.
In the nation’s capital, the Redskins throttled the Lions, 34-3. Jason Campbell continues to improve, making smart decisions. His numbers: 23-29 for 248 yard, 2 TDs and more importantly, no interceptions. He achieved these numbers without Santana Moss, who was injured, and his ability to take what was given to him has the ‘Skins sitting at 3-1, well on their way to securing a playoff birth. When you see Mike Sellers stampede over Kenoy Kennedy, and then see the Redskins react to it as a team—I think something is going on in Washington. Some are surprised by their defensive resurgence, but if you think about it, a couple of seasons ago they were an up-and-coming unit…then last season, injuries decimated them. They are still an injury or two away from being below average defensively, but for now, they’re looking like a defense that can make some plays in January.
The Texans beat the pathetic Dolphins 22-19, and they did so on the foot of Kris Brown, who kicked three field goals of over 50 yards. Brown also had an injection at halftime, so now he’s a gamer too. Yay kickers! Once upon a time, kicking a 50-yarder was a big deal. Now, it seems to be easy. Better conditioning? Juiced footballs? Who knows? Anyway, Trent Green was knocked unconscious when he tried to block Travis Johnson of the Texans at the knees. True, Green’s block was legal AND a cheap shot—sweeping the knee, to use the Karate Kid vernacular, is not cool. I don’t care if you’re a QB—that’s a career-ending injury waiting to happen. That being said, for Johnson to dance over a CLEARLY unconscious Green, then after the game say “(bleep) Trent Green!” is embarrassing to the league and something should be done about it. The penalty Johnson got for taunting an unconscious and clearly seriously injured player—15 yards…the same as the penalty for an excessive TD celebration. Yeah, the NFL has its priorities straight.
I’ve been on the Jacksonville bandwagon since preseason, and I ain’t getting off now. The Jags won in KC—not easy to do even if Herm Edwards is the coach—and they did it playing Jags’ football. David Garrard played a steady game, Maurice Jones-Drew finally got the running game in gear, and the Jags’ D smothered Larry Johnson to the tune of 9 carries for 12 yards. The Chiefs broke the shutout with no time left on the clock and now Brodie Croyle will take over at QB with Damon Huard injured. Now Herm has the “But we were breaking in a new QB!” excuse for his team’s soon-to-be bad season. The 3-1 Jags will host the Texans this week before hosting Indianapolis Monday night in week 7. Could this be the dreaded “trap game” for the Jags? We shall see.
Ya know that “Messin’ with Sasquatch” ad, the one where the two guys pull over to give Sasquatch a ride, then pull away when he approaches the car, apologizing…then sucker the big guy again? That was the Patriots game against the Browns. The Pats race out to a 20-0 lead…then the Browns cut it to 20-10…only to see the Pats make it 27-10 before putting the icing on the cake (and covering the spread) with a last minute defensive score. Brady had 3 TDs again—it’s almost boring to him! It’s as if he said, “Let me see if I can throw 3 TDs to someone other than Moss today!” You think the Pats will have any trouble getting pumped up for their trip to Dallas this weekend? Cleveland played hard…but they can’t hang with the best. They have some weapons on offense, but YIKES—that defense! You can’t allow over 150 yards per game on the ground and expect results.
Cool story in Carolina. David Carr led the Panthers to a last-second victory over the winless Saints…after being nearly broken in half and having to get shot up at halftime. This came, in almost storybook fashion, days after Panthers’ defensive tackle Kris Jenkins called out his teammates, saying they had no heart among other things…Well now, Carr’s inspiring performance has galvanized the Panthers—leading Jenkins to say, “We’re a family, man…” Nothing brings a team together more than overcoming emotional adversity…except winning. If Carr continues to be upright (protected) and Steve Smith and he develop a chemistry as they seemed to be doing on Sunday…this team will win the NFC South by several games. As for the Saints…the brown bags may return—this is a terrible football team, with a QB playing the worst football of his career. I’m starting to think that last season the rest of the NFL let the Saints win. Either that, or some sort of Voodoo charm crap allowed them to make the NFC title game last season. There’s no other explanation!
Baltimore beat San Francisco 9-7. That’s five more words than this display of offensive offenses deserves. If the Ravens are simply going to have their offense play ultra-conservative football to allow their defense to produce points and field position…why not just have McNair kneel on the ball three times, punt and let the defense take over? Seriously! Enough of this game.
Ya know when you get invited to a party and even though you don’t want to go, you have to? And ya know the feeling you get when for some reason, someone informs you that you don’t have to go? You’re psyched that you don’t have to go, but you can’t let anyone know—you say, “Ohhhh! That’s a shame. I was really looking forward to going!” THAT is how the Arizona Cardinals coaching staff, and possibly players, felt when they discovered Matt Leinart would be missing some serious time with his broken collarbone. They have to be elated that the overrated Leinart is now out of the picture and that the more productive Kurt Warner is running the team. The Cards won on the road. True, it was against the shambolic Rams, but it’s still a win for a team that has struggled to win, especially away from the desert. They did it with a defensive score—a 68-yard pick six by Roderick Hood. Thanks Gus Frerotte. He puts the “rot” in Frerotte. Where are the Rams going? Ugh, what a disaster. At least Steven Jackson returns…sometime. Why even bother? Put him on IR and save those carries for a time when the team gets competitive. Seriously—there are only so many carries in each RBs tank—why waste Jackson’s in a 3-13 season if you don’t have to?
Indianapolis just continues their romp through the NFL, but for some reason the Patriots get all the press. Why? The Colts won the Super Bowl last season. They are unbeaten this season and have been just as impressive as New England—without the cheating! Perhaps it’s the East Coast bias. Whatever it is, I’m certain the Colts are thankful for it. Who needs unnecessary attention when you’re trying to repeat? Harrison and Addai are out? No problem: enter Anthony Gonzalez and Kenton Keith. The two unknowns led the Colts to a 33-14 waltz over the Bucs in Indy. See, that’s the great thing about being on the Colts…when stars on offense get hurt, everyone else gets excited because now THEY can step up and be the recipient of a Manning TD pass, or a TD run. There’s so much wealth to go around when Peyton Manning is running things--guys like Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne become the main players, subbing for Harrison and Addai, and the unknowns get their chance to score fantasy points galore…and they always do when Manning has the ball, which he did for 38 minutes of the game last Sunday. Tampa? They look to be a .500 team. Ho hum.
There was some crazy, ass-kicking football played in Denver. But it wasn’t played by the Broncos, it was played by the once-dormant Chargers. The volcano of San Diego erupted, taking out all of its angst on the literally defenseless Broncos at Invesco. Philip Rivers rushed for a TD to give the Bolts a 7-0 lead, and before the overrated Jay Cutler could even step on the field, it was 14-0 as the Chargers forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Sure, Cutler would still have time to throw one of his trademark interceptions en route to yet another floundering performance, but essentially the game was over right there. The Broncos defense is being exposed—San Diego has 214 yards rushing, and 484 total yards. What’s worse, now Champ Bailey is injured and may miss some games. Not what the doctor ordered for a D that is giving up 187 yards a game on the ground. Ugh. Orange Crush they ain’t. Perhaps Fanta. LaDanian Tomlinson says this was the football we should expect from here on out from the Chargers. Hey Tomlinson…how about you stop talking, just for one week? You whined when the Pats beat you, you had something to say about the Pats “cheating” yet failed to mention that YOUR OWN TEAMMATE, Shawne Merriman, got suspended for cheating, you literally cried after a loss a couple of weeks ago, now this smack after a win …it’s enough out of you. You are averaging 3.4 yards a carry and less than 66 yards a game. I know you’re a stud, but seriously…be quiet.
It always pissed me off as a kid when the villains on Batman (the TV Show…yes, I’m old) would set up these elaborate ways to kill the Caped Crusader, then leave before they saw him actually killed. Why not either shoot him right then, or at least stay to watch his demise!? Well, Green Bay played the role of the Joker this past Sunday. How they will rue the day you let the Bears get off the mat. If ever you needed proof that turnovers will murder a win, there was the Packers/Bears game Sunday night. James Jones fumbled inside the 20-yard line after making a catch. The Packers were up 7-0 at the time, and were clearly going to score before Jones coughed it up. He would fumble again later…two fumbles by a WR in the same game? Someone check his bank account. The Packers blew the Bears off the field in the fist half, but the turnovers kept the Bears hanging in the game. Then came the Brett Favre interception we’ve all come to know—a simply ridiculous pass, thrown right to Brian Urlacher, who up to that point had been invisible in the game. That ill-advised pass may end up resurrecting the Bears’ season as they, to their credit, capitalized on the Packers five turnovers as best they could, winning 27-20 on a Brian Griese TD pass to Desmond Clark with a couple of minutes left. The Bears won despite being outgained 439-285, and despite Cedric Benson once again coming up quite soft. He complains that he wants the ball full time, then goes out and rushes 27 times for 64 yards. Come on. The guy’s a disaster. The Bears have Minnesota this coming week, and will level their record. The Packers will be kicking themselves for their performance.
And finally, we have the Cowboys. Buffalo—I have some advice for you. Leave. Just let that team move to Portland, or somewhere else far away from you. They’re cursed…destined to break hearts and lose games. Tony Romo throws 5 interceptions—two that were returned for TDs—and fumbled once…and the Bills ran a kick back for a TD…and still managed to piss the game away with insane play calls and the failure to recover an onside kick. Trent Edwards, who was doing a fine job of not losing the game, threw a pass from the Dallas 11 with 6 minutes left and the Bills up 7 points. All the Bills need there is a field goal! They’d be up 10 with 5 minutes left! Why even call a pass play with a rookie QB making his 2nd start? Why give him the chance to screw up and make a rookie mistake? Of course, he throws the interception and although Dallas didn’t score on that possession, the fact that the Bills DIDN’T score allowed Dallas to stay within striking distance. The Cowboys drove down the field, scored a TD with 20 seconds left but failed to convert the 2-point play. So they were down 2 with 20 seconds left—time for the onside kick. Success! But still, the Cowboys had the ball on their own 42 with no timeouts left. They made it look easy, using the sideline which Buffalo didn’t defend for some reason. Ponderous. Now Dallas takes some momentum and the whole, “We played terribly but still won!” attitude into next week against the Pats. As for Buffalo—from Norwood to this onside kick…let the team go, in fact, hire the moving vans yourselves.
This week’s rant on officiating focuses on the “force out” rule. College has simplified this rule—if you don’t land with a foot in bounds, it’s an incomplete pass. End of story. In the NFL, for some reason, the idiots who run things have decided against using the college rule. Instead, they’ve decided to let yet one more thing be decided by the officials and their judgment. Why? Why let judgment decide when you can avoid it? This is one thing that can be taken away from the officials—if you land out of bounds because you’re forced out, that should be a good defensive play. It shouldn’t be a decision for a ref to make. When judgment calls can be eradicated, they should be. These refs cannot get calls right, hell, they cannot even get REPLAY calls right…so WHY LET THEM HAVE ONE MORE THING TO SCREW UP when you can easily make the rule read, “If both feet do not land in bounds, regardless of the cause, the pass is incomplete.” Done. Easy. Clear. No need for time wasting conferences to discuss the physics of force and how it applies to the sideline catch. No need for officials to make ridiculous decisions like the ones made against Plaxico Burress and Terrell Owens this past week. Hmmm--two guys with bad reputations had judgment calls go against them…interesting. Ridiculous! Officials have a hard enough time dealing with the games—take one thing out of their hands. I’m begging you NFL!! BEGGING!
Around the league…The Steelers proved they are a legit third entry in the AFC Championship sweepstakes. The crush job they put on Seattle was a thorough one—the Pittsburgh D held Seattle to 144 yards of offense. Shaun Alexander had 11 carries for 25 yards. That’s a loooong way from the MVP season of a couple of years ago, isn’t it? The Steelers offense kept the ball for over 40 minutes, executing several long drives, including one for over 10 minutes which resulted in a TD. Did I mention the Steelers did this without Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes, their two starting receivers? And did I mention they did this without safety Troy Polamalu and nose tackle Casey Hampton on defense? Well…they did. Seattle proves time and time again that they’re soft, allowing themselves to be pushed around the field. Those who picked them to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl must now realize that this team doesn’t possess the toughness to reach the heights.
In the nation’s capital, the Redskins throttled the Lions, 34-3. Jason Campbell continues to improve, making smart decisions. His numbers: 23-29 for 248 yard, 2 TDs and more importantly, no interceptions. He achieved these numbers without Santana Moss, who was injured, and his ability to take what was given to him has the ‘Skins sitting at 3-1, well on their way to securing a playoff birth. When you see Mike Sellers stampede over Kenoy Kennedy, and then see the Redskins react to it as a team—I think something is going on in Washington. Some are surprised by their defensive resurgence, but if you think about it, a couple of seasons ago they were an up-and-coming unit…then last season, injuries decimated them. They are still an injury or two away from being below average defensively, but for now, they’re looking like a defense that can make some plays in January.
The Texans beat the pathetic Dolphins 22-19, and they did so on the foot of Kris Brown, who kicked three field goals of over 50 yards. Brown also had an injection at halftime, so now he’s a gamer too. Yay kickers! Once upon a time, kicking a 50-yarder was a big deal. Now, it seems to be easy. Better conditioning? Juiced footballs? Who knows? Anyway, Trent Green was knocked unconscious when he tried to block Travis Johnson of the Texans at the knees. True, Green’s block was legal AND a cheap shot—sweeping the knee, to use the Karate Kid vernacular, is not cool. I don’t care if you’re a QB—that’s a career-ending injury waiting to happen. That being said, for Johnson to dance over a CLEARLY unconscious Green, then after the game say “(bleep) Trent Green!” is embarrassing to the league and something should be done about it. The penalty Johnson got for taunting an unconscious and clearly seriously injured player—15 yards…the same as the penalty for an excessive TD celebration. Yeah, the NFL has its priorities straight.
I’ve been on the Jacksonville bandwagon since preseason, and I ain’t getting off now. The Jags won in KC—not easy to do even if Herm Edwards is the coach—and they did it playing Jags’ football. David Garrard played a steady game, Maurice Jones-Drew finally got the running game in gear, and the Jags’ D smothered Larry Johnson to the tune of 9 carries for 12 yards. The Chiefs broke the shutout with no time left on the clock and now Brodie Croyle will take over at QB with Damon Huard injured. Now Herm has the “But we were breaking in a new QB!” excuse for his team’s soon-to-be bad season. The 3-1 Jags will host the Texans this week before hosting Indianapolis Monday night in week 7. Could this be the dreaded “trap game” for the Jags? We shall see.
Ya know that “Messin’ with Sasquatch” ad, the one where the two guys pull over to give Sasquatch a ride, then pull away when he approaches the car, apologizing…then sucker the big guy again? That was the Patriots game against the Browns. The Pats race out to a 20-0 lead…then the Browns cut it to 20-10…only to see the Pats make it 27-10 before putting the icing on the cake (and covering the spread) with a last minute defensive score. Brady had 3 TDs again—it’s almost boring to him! It’s as if he said, “Let me see if I can throw 3 TDs to someone other than Moss today!” You think the Pats will have any trouble getting pumped up for their trip to Dallas this weekend? Cleveland played hard…but they can’t hang with the best. They have some weapons on offense, but YIKES—that defense! You can’t allow over 150 yards per game on the ground and expect results.
Cool story in Carolina. David Carr led the Panthers to a last-second victory over the winless Saints…after being nearly broken in half and having to get shot up at halftime. This came, in almost storybook fashion, days after Panthers’ defensive tackle Kris Jenkins called out his teammates, saying they had no heart among other things…Well now, Carr’s inspiring performance has galvanized the Panthers—leading Jenkins to say, “We’re a family, man…” Nothing brings a team together more than overcoming emotional adversity…except winning. If Carr continues to be upright (protected) and Steve Smith and he develop a chemistry as they seemed to be doing on Sunday…this team will win the NFC South by several games. As for the Saints…the brown bags may return—this is a terrible football team, with a QB playing the worst football of his career. I’m starting to think that last season the rest of the NFL let the Saints win. Either that, or some sort of Voodoo charm crap allowed them to make the NFC title game last season. There’s no other explanation!
Baltimore beat San Francisco 9-7. That’s five more words than this display of offensive offenses deserves. If the Ravens are simply going to have their offense play ultra-conservative football to allow their defense to produce points and field position…why not just have McNair kneel on the ball three times, punt and let the defense take over? Seriously! Enough of this game.
Ya know when you get invited to a party and even though you don’t want to go, you have to? And ya know the feeling you get when for some reason, someone informs you that you don’t have to go? You’re psyched that you don’t have to go, but you can’t let anyone know—you say, “Ohhhh! That’s a shame. I was really looking forward to going!” THAT is how the Arizona Cardinals coaching staff, and possibly players, felt when they discovered Matt Leinart would be missing some serious time with his broken collarbone. They have to be elated that the overrated Leinart is now out of the picture and that the more productive Kurt Warner is running the team. The Cards won on the road. True, it was against the shambolic Rams, but it’s still a win for a team that has struggled to win, especially away from the desert. They did it with a defensive score—a 68-yard pick six by Roderick Hood. Thanks Gus Frerotte. He puts the “rot” in Frerotte. Where are the Rams going? Ugh, what a disaster. At least Steven Jackson returns…sometime. Why even bother? Put him on IR and save those carries for a time when the team gets competitive. Seriously—there are only so many carries in each RBs tank—why waste Jackson’s in a 3-13 season if you don’t have to?
Indianapolis just continues their romp through the NFL, but for some reason the Patriots get all the press. Why? The Colts won the Super Bowl last season. They are unbeaten this season and have been just as impressive as New England—without the cheating! Perhaps it’s the East Coast bias. Whatever it is, I’m certain the Colts are thankful for it. Who needs unnecessary attention when you’re trying to repeat? Harrison and Addai are out? No problem: enter Anthony Gonzalez and Kenton Keith. The two unknowns led the Colts to a 33-14 waltz over the Bucs in Indy. See, that’s the great thing about being on the Colts…when stars on offense get hurt, everyone else gets excited because now THEY can step up and be the recipient of a Manning TD pass, or a TD run. There’s so much wealth to go around when Peyton Manning is running things--guys like Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne become the main players, subbing for Harrison and Addai, and the unknowns get their chance to score fantasy points galore…and they always do when Manning has the ball, which he did for 38 minutes of the game last Sunday. Tampa? They look to be a .500 team. Ho hum.
There was some crazy, ass-kicking football played in Denver. But it wasn’t played by the Broncos, it was played by the once-dormant Chargers. The volcano of San Diego erupted, taking out all of its angst on the literally defenseless Broncos at Invesco. Philip Rivers rushed for a TD to give the Bolts a 7-0 lead, and before the overrated Jay Cutler could even step on the field, it was 14-0 as the Chargers forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Sure, Cutler would still have time to throw one of his trademark interceptions en route to yet another floundering performance, but essentially the game was over right there. The Broncos defense is being exposed—San Diego has 214 yards rushing, and 484 total yards. What’s worse, now Champ Bailey is injured and may miss some games. Not what the doctor ordered for a D that is giving up 187 yards a game on the ground. Ugh. Orange Crush they ain’t. Perhaps Fanta. LaDanian Tomlinson says this was the football we should expect from here on out from the Chargers. Hey Tomlinson…how about you stop talking, just for one week? You whined when the Pats beat you, you had something to say about the Pats “cheating” yet failed to mention that YOUR OWN TEAMMATE, Shawne Merriman, got suspended for cheating, you literally cried after a loss a couple of weeks ago, now this smack after a win …it’s enough out of you. You are averaging 3.4 yards a carry and less than 66 yards a game. I know you’re a stud, but seriously…be quiet.
It always pissed me off as a kid when the villains on Batman (the TV Show…yes, I’m old) would set up these elaborate ways to kill the Caped Crusader, then leave before they saw him actually killed. Why not either shoot him right then, or at least stay to watch his demise!? Well, Green Bay played the role of the Joker this past Sunday. How they will rue the day you let the Bears get off the mat. If ever you needed proof that turnovers will murder a win, there was the Packers/Bears game Sunday night. James Jones fumbled inside the 20-yard line after making a catch. The Packers were up 7-0 at the time, and were clearly going to score before Jones coughed it up. He would fumble again later…two fumbles by a WR in the same game? Someone check his bank account. The Packers blew the Bears off the field in the fist half, but the turnovers kept the Bears hanging in the game. Then came the Brett Favre interception we’ve all come to know—a simply ridiculous pass, thrown right to Brian Urlacher, who up to that point had been invisible in the game. That ill-advised pass may end up resurrecting the Bears’ season as they, to their credit, capitalized on the Packers five turnovers as best they could, winning 27-20 on a Brian Griese TD pass to Desmond Clark with a couple of minutes left. The Bears won despite being outgained 439-285, and despite Cedric Benson once again coming up quite soft. He complains that he wants the ball full time, then goes out and rushes 27 times for 64 yards. Come on. The guy’s a disaster. The Bears have Minnesota this coming week, and will level their record. The Packers will be kicking themselves for their performance.
And finally, we have the Cowboys. Buffalo—I have some advice for you. Leave. Just let that team move to Portland, or somewhere else far away from you. They’re cursed…destined to break hearts and lose games. Tony Romo throws 5 interceptions—two that were returned for TDs—and fumbled once…and the Bills ran a kick back for a TD…and still managed to piss the game away with insane play calls and the failure to recover an onside kick. Trent Edwards, who was doing a fine job of not losing the game, threw a pass from the Dallas 11 with 6 minutes left and the Bills up 7 points. All the Bills need there is a field goal! They’d be up 10 with 5 minutes left! Why even call a pass play with a rookie QB making his 2nd start? Why give him the chance to screw up and make a rookie mistake? Of course, he throws the interception and although Dallas didn’t score on that possession, the fact that the Bills DIDN’T score allowed Dallas to stay within striking distance. The Cowboys drove down the field, scored a TD with 20 seconds left but failed to convert the 2-point play. So they were down 2 with 20 seconds left—time for the onside kick. Success! But still, the Cowboys had the ball on their own 42 with no timeouts left. They made it look easy, using the sideline which Buffalo didn’t defend for some reason. Ponderous. Now Dallas takes some momentum and the whole, “We played terribly but still won!” attitude into next week against the Pats. As for Buffalo—from Norwood to this onside kick…let the team go, in fact, hire the moving vans yourselves.
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