As I sat there watching the Eagles go right down the field on their opening drive, my phone rang. It was, of course, my mother. She made one of her startlingly observant statements about the Giants being terrible and I calmly said, “It’s still early.” Forget the fact that I was correct…the more important thing here is that I actually thought it. Usually I’m the first to dismiss the Giants, one of the first to condemn their performances…but these days, I am having a problem focusing my (ahem) giant Giants negativity. It doesn’t come as…as naturally as it used to. I don’t know where or when this something-like-faith in the Giants came from, and quite frankly I don’t want to know. The G-Men gutted out another win on the road—they’ve won six in a row in their travels—and now sit at 9-4, almost certainly headed to the playoffs. I have been a non-believer for months—thinking that they were getting lucky, or…something. But I’ve now realized several things: 1) the rest of the NFL is not very good. Really—who is so great? The Pats and Colts…and that’s it. The Giants won’t have to face them until the Super Bowl. The drop-off from those two is cast…and everyone in the NFC is beatable. Would I expect the Giants to win in Dallas or Green Bay? No. But I wouldn’t be shocked. Other than that, they will beat whomever they face in the playoffs, especially if it’s the over-hyped Vikings. 2) The Giants defense is actually playing very well as a unit. They lead the league in sacks and that stat matters…a lot. Getting pressure on the QB is what wins games on defense, and the Giants excel in that department. Go look at the bottom of the “sacks” list. You’ll see teams like Cincinnati, Oakland, Carolina, Atlanta, New Orleans, the Jets…see a pattern? Sure, they give up too many big plays in the secondary but when you combine the Giants’ ability to get to the QB with the fact that the Giants are yielding less than 100 yards a game on the ground…and you have yourself a defense you can win playoff games with. As for this week’s win, a few things of note…Pierce and Burress deserve major props for playing injured and producing. Everyone is quick to give Burress a hard time—where are they now when they should be praising him? Let me get this right—the Eagles are up 7-0, they went right down the field in their first drive…the Giants have gone three and out twice to start the game…you have a second and six from the Giants’ 43…you’re almost to FG range at least…and you decide, despite the ease with which you’ve moved the ball, to have a WR throw a pass on a trick play? It didn’t work, the next pass was incomplete and you’re forced to punt. The Giants took the next possession, went down to the one and got right back into the flow of the game. Why Andy Reid felt the need to get cute when his offense was fine is beyond me. When something is working, why screw with it? Add to that McNabb’s 3rd down plays: on third and seven, a six-yard pass…on third and 10, a scramble for two…on third and nine, a scramble for five…and finally, on fourth and six, an incomplete pass that McNabb wanted pass interference on…and he should have gotten the call, but ya know what? Maybe when the refs saw that he threw that fourth and six pass only four yards, they decided the borderline call wasn’t worth making. Too many times the Eagles’ offense, and McNabb in particular, failed to recognize the game situation—you don’t throw a pass for four yards on third and eight. This Eagles team, as we’ve come to know it, has ceased to exist. I only wonder who will be running it next season. On the Giants side, I really can’t complain about Eli Manning…yes, he overthrew a ton of passes—most notably to Shockey in the end zone, but he produced when it was necessary and kept his game mistake-free. He threw incompletions instead of interceptions. Manning hit Burress for big plays and if not for Brandon Jacobs fumbling 10 times, the game wouldn’t have been in doubt as late as it was. To me, two of the most important attributes of a running back are durability and reliability, and Jacobs is seemingly always hurt, and can’t hold on to the ball…what good are his 20-yard rambles if they are punctuated by turnovers? I’m starting to look at running backs that will be available in the off-season, which the Giants need to do as well, if Jacobs’ fumbles continue. But again—this is a 9-4 team! I didn’t think they’d win this many games, and now I’m thinking they’re going to be a tough out in the playoffs…winning on the road will turn your mind around. At lunch today, my friend and fellow Giants fan Dave said, “Dude, the Giants suck…” I responded by asking him, “Why? They’re 9-4 and a lock for the playoffs!” He thought about it for a second and came back with, “Well, Dallas beat them badly…” Yeah, the Giants lost twice to Dallas, and would probably lose again if they played this week. But Dave needs to realize: there’s a long way between “Losing to Dallas” and “Sucking” and the Giants are much closer to the good side of that chasm. I’m washing my hands of the negativity—bring on the playoffs and whatever comes with them!
New England used that “guarantee” by Pittsburgh’s Anthony Smith pretty well, I’d say. They throttled the Steelers, 34-13 and seemed to go out of their way to abuse Smith and stick it to the Steelers. Smith was victimized more than a few times and the Pats used a trick-play literally out of the Steelers’ playbook as part of their assault. Add to that a defense which refused to give up a point to the Steelers in the second half. You think the Pats and their coach didn’t care about the idiotic guarantee? Here’s what Belichick said after the game when talking about Smith, “We've played against a lot better safeties than him.” Coaches, especially this one, rarely say anything negative about an opposing player, so um…Note to all Pats’ opponents—shut up and worry about the game. If you’re playing New England, it’s hard enough to stay within three TDs as it is—why give them anything to seize upon? The bottom line is, this New England team is going 16-0 and if they lose in the playoffs, it’ll be a shock. We all know how great Brady and his band of weapons are, and we know how determined this team is…they will be tough to beat, but if you even want to consider beating them, you need to score at least 28 points; you’re not beating them 17-14. Any team that can’t score over 24 on a regular basis has NO CHANCE against them. So it’s the Jets, Miami, and the Giants left. I see no obstacles in that troika, not for a team who has won IN Dallas and Indianapolis. “But the Colts could have beaten New England” you say…well, they didn’t. THEY DIDN’T BEAT THEM!!! See, it matters whether you actually win—no one cares if you should have won. It’s like Floyd Mayweather—everyone’s always saying they “could have” and “should have” beaten him, but Pretty Boy is still without a loss. Champions, REAL champions, raise their game when the pressure is on. That’s why they will always be the best and why guys like McNabb, Jason Hanson, and Neil Rackers, and Trevor Hoffman, etc. will be good in May, but fold when it matters—they can’t all be champions.
The Jets made me think, and then they lost. Usually I only get the latter, so I thank them for my bonus. People are wondering what Eric Mangini was doing at the end of that game, and I (of all people) am here to tell them all—Mangini made three decisions; two of them were correct and one was questionable, but not necessarily wrong. In any event, those saying all three were blunders are quite simply idiots. First example: Down by five, with less than two minutes left and all three timeouts left, the Jets were faced with a fourth and 10 from the Browns’ 20. Coach Mangini opted for a field goal instead of trying his luck on fourth and 10. I wouldn’t have done that, but it’s not THAT crazy, not by Mangini’s standards. I would have gone for it—at worst you fail to make it, leave the Browns deep in their own territory, use your timeouts and get the ball back with 1:30 left and a chance to score the TD you need. Anyway, the Nugent field goal made it a two-point deficit. However, the next decision was questionable and is the only one which Mangini deserves to take some heat for…even still, I understand his thought process: With three timeouts, you’d figure Mangini would kick it deep and use them—after all, the Browns would surely run-run-run, and make sure the Jets used up their precious timeouts. Instead, Mangini opted for another onside kick! The Browns are trying to run the clock out—why give them the ball inside your own 40? Even if you stop them in three plays, they’re gonna punt and leave you with the whole field to traverse and no timeouts. If you kick it deep, they get the ball at the 20, run three plays and you get the ball 40 yards closer to where you need to be! Of course, when you allow Jamal Lewis to run for a 31-yard TD to make it a nine-point game with 1:22 left that point almost becomes moot…almost. But I see what he was thinking—we have a chance to get the ball back right away with the onside kick, Nugent had already kicked a perfect one, and even if you don’t recover it you still have three timeouts and if you hold them, you’ll get a chance. The third example, the one that makes me wonder about these “writers”. With 37 seconds left, and a first down on the Browns’ 17, Mangini RIGHTLY decided to kick the field goal. They had just gotten into FG range on a 32-yard Cotchery reception and the decision to kick the FG immediately was CORRECT. I’ve read at least five articles about how Mangini fell into the “Herm Edwards School of Time Management”. It makes me sick to read that…what would these idiots have Mangini do? The Jets are down NINE points with 37 seconds left! They need two scores. You want him to waste half of that time trying to score a TD? If he gets the TD with 15 seconds left, and it’s a big IF, then there’s no time to score even if you do recover the subsequent onside kick! By kicking it with 37 seconds left, he gave his team a chance to recover the kick with enough time left to throw a few passes. To ask questions about this is fine—but to say he was wrong to do it is silly. So the Browns' fight for the Wild Card continues and the Jets fight for a top draft pick continues. Browns/Bills!! Catch the spirit!
Hats off to the Redskins' Todd Collins. Yes, THAT Todd Collins. He went 15-20 for 224 and two TDs subbing for the injured Jason Campbell, and led the Skins to win over the reeling Bears. But that's not the impressive part...Collins hadn't thrown a TD pass in five years, and hadn't thrown a pass of any kind in THREE YEARS! Talk about coming in cold! The Skins are 6-7, only one game out of the Wild Card, AND they play the Vikings in two weeks. If the Skins can get past the Giants, that game will be a biggie in the Dome.
Speaking of improbable playoff teams, how about those Buffalo Bills? They dispatched Miami Jr. High 38-17 and clicked on all cylinders. I'm not sure how much you can praise the Bills for beating Miami, but the bottom line is they're 7-6 with an enormous game against Cleveland this weekend. Neither of these teams has displayed big game moxie in their history—will the ghost of Scott Norwood rear its wide-right head, or will Earnest Byner “drop” in to jinx the Browns?
Cincy Beat St. Louis. Yawn.
Green Bay thrashed the Raiders and Ryan Grant is fast becoming a running maniac! Next.
Dallas came from behind to defeat the Lions, who will not go 10-6. Jason Witten fumbled at the Detroit one-yard-line in what seemed like Dallas' last chance, but the Lions simply pissed the game away. Jason Hanson performed worse under pressure than the terrible band that bears his name. How do you miss a game-clinching 35-yard FG inside and call yourself a kicker? Pffft. What a joker. After the missed FG and the Witten fumble, the Lions killed three minutes, punting back to Dallas with 2:15 left. Tony Romo, who is making a habit out of these improbable comebacks, took the Cowboys 83 yards in less than two minutes and threw the game-winning TD to, you guessed it, Jason Witten. The terrific tight end had 15 catches for 138 yards and that TD. However, had the Cowboys lost, he'd have been the goat because of his uncharacteristic fumble. Witten and Marion Barber, III became the focal points of the Dallas offense because the Lions were determined to remove the TO threat and although the Lions were successful in shutting down TO, Witten and Barber gutted them—with this offense, it's pick your poison. Detorit had this game won so many times—the Hanson FG, the fumble by Romo that they had 10 chances to recover...but some teams are simply not winners, and some teams are...Buffalo learned from their meltdown to Dallas and have rebounded nicely. We'll see if Detroit has it in them.
There were a few too many non-competitive games this past week. I mentioned the Packers above, but the Vikings, Broncos, Colts, Seahawks, and Jaguars all destroyed their opposition. These lopsided match-ups may have been caused by the losing teams' realizations that their seasons were over. OK, the Raiders and Niners stink and are liable to be crushed on any week, but the Chiefs, Ravens, Cardinals, and Panthers woke up last week and realized they'd blown their seasons...and played like it. The Cardinals are the only one of this bunch that has even a chance to make the post-season, and even that's a stretch now. I think everyone expected the Ravens to come out and play poorly after their whine-fest against the Pats, especially with their two starting corners out injured, but when oh when is this team going to get a quarterback? How many times can you send Kyle Boller out there? The answer, I feel, is no more. Carolina is going to be playing under a different coach next season, and who knows what KC is doing—is Brody Croyle REALLY an NFL QB?
Antonio Gates and Philip Rivers both left the Chargers' contest against the Titans with injuries...but both returned to lead their team to a win and a crushing blow to the Titans. The Bolts have won three in a row and seven of nine (she was hot) while the Titans will be kicking themselves over this one. Tennessee led this smash-mouth contest 17-3 in the fourth quarter at home...and lost in overtime. Tomlinson and Rivers connected on a seven-yard TD to cut the deficit to seven, Tennessee attempted to run-run-run the clock out, they succeeded to a point. That point was a third and four, when Vince Young was faced with a third and four from the San Diego 46—convert it, and the game was virtually over. He couldn't, which was the story all day with Young, and pretty much his whole career. The Chargers took over with 2:24 left, trailing by seven and the game should have ended when Rivers' pass to Chris Chambers hit the ground...but good old instant replay showed nothing conclusive, and the 19-yard gain was allowed to stand. San Diego would, of course, score on that drive—a two-yard flip from Rivers to Gates. Overtime. The Chargers got the ball first, but their drive stalled at midfield. A great punt put the Titans at their own two and Jeff Fisher was justifiably fearful of throwing with the inaccurate Young...so they ran on first and second down. The Chargers knew they were going to run and when Young threw incomplete on third and seven, field position was on the Chargers' side. Taking control at the Tennessee 48, it took Rivers and the Bolts offense a mere six plays to score the winning TD in a game which saw the teams pass each other going in opposite directions. How the Titans are even in the playoff discussions with a QB who typically has the kind of game he did on Sunday--13-21 for 121, no Tds and two INTs—is a credit to the Titans' defense and running attack. However, that loss will sting for a long time—perhaps the whole off-season if they fail to make the playoffs. As for the Chargers, it was a terrific win and they appear to be peaking at the right time. Just out of curiosity—what would happen if TO got up from the bench and dissed Tony Romo the way Tomlinson did Rivers? Oh, what's that? You didn't even hear about the Tomlinson thing? Imagine that. Some players get a pass, but should Tomlinson? He whined like a child when the Pats beat them last season, whined about their cheating, and got off the bench when his QB came to sit next to him. A chink in the armor of Mr. Superstar? Perhaps...I'm only saying—some players get a pass.
The Texans continue to impress, beating the Bucs 28-14 behind the arm of journeyman Sage Rosenfels. Luke McCown played well again in Jeff Garcia's stead, but Tampa slipped to 8-5 and lost a game to the Saints this week. The Texans sit at 6-7 and have a difficult schedule to say the least with Indy and Jacksonville remaining. However—it is possible that both of those teams will be secure in their playoff slots when the Texans play them, so don't count the upstarts out. If they run the table and finish at 9-7 it will be a very successful season for the team from Houston. As for Tampa, they could afford to drop this out of conference game with patsies Atlanta, San Francisco and Carolina remaining on their schedule and a two game lead in the division. Garcia will return, and they will be a feisty bunch come round one.
Speaking of round one, can someone tell me why I should be THAT impressed with the Vikings? Sure, they've won four in a row and crushed the Giants, but look at who they beat other than the Giants: San Francisco, Detroit and Oakland. Wow. Very impressive. We all saw the gift-wrapped job the Giants did for them, and with all the hype Mimmy is getting—they're still only 7-6! You'd think they were 10-3 or something the way everyone is piling on the bandwagon! They may make the playoffs, but no team with Tavaris Jackson at QB is winning a playoff game. They can run and stop the run—great. But that isn't enough—you need to play on the road, and other than the Giants game, they've been woeful there. Chicago, Washington, at Denver is how their season finishes. They'd best win that Redskins game or all the hype will be for nothing.
The Saints finally look like the offensive juggernaut we all thought they were...and it happened with Reggie Bush sidelined. Hmmmm. Is anyone else ready to say the emperor has no clothes? For all the crap the Texans took for drafting Mario Williams, HE has 9.5 sacks this season—what has Reggie Bush done? Averaging 3.7 yards per carry, and an even more incredible 5.7 per reception, Bush has been dreadful. DREADFUL. Yet, no one says it. Why? Does the NFL not allow its broadcasts to tell the truth? There's no other reason—when a player comes into the league with this much fanfare, he's gotta take a hit when he, to say the least, under-performs! No? Apparently not. Speaking of under-performing, did you hear Arthur Blank's statement that Michael Vick should avoid eating “fried chicken” while incarcerated? Whoa. I was waiting for the Southwest “Wanna get away?” ad to come up on the screen after he said that! But no comment from anyone thus-far...but the simple allegation of a ref calling a player “boy” made headlines. I guess if you OWN the team, you can say what you want. I'm not saying Mr. Blank is a racist...I'm saying someone needs to make him clarify what he said. Why isn't he accountable? He's a friggin' OWNER! Not the best year for the Falcons, huh? Meanwhile, the Saints are creeping up on people...6-7 with three winnable games remaining. I'd like to see them finish 9-7, but I wouldn't like to face them in the playoffs with that passing attack.
And DOWN the stretch they come! December in the NFL...ya gotta love it!
R
