One of the Top 10 posts on this blog in terms of visits is an article called, “Kickers Are Not Football Players,” in which my Monkey Mind basically questions whether or not kickers and punters are actually “real” football players and proposes a rule change that would make many of their services obsolete. Since writing that post, I officially recanted my tirade against kickers and punters, prompted to do so by Tampa Bay kicker Matt Bryant’s gutsy performance in Week 4 following the death of his son. Now, in Week 8, another performance by a kicking player, in this case a punter by the name of Sam Paulescu, picked up from Denver by the Cowboys, has cemented the realization that my assessment of the “football worth” of kickers and punters might have been a tad misguided. Paulescu delivered perhaps the biggest tackle of the game in Dallas, electrifying the crowd and energizing his teammates in an otherwise lackluster performance by the underachieving Cowboys. For his incredible hit and position-transcending play, Cowboys Punter Sam Paulescu is Week 8’s MIMM NFL Player of the Week.

A Thought About Week 7: Due to an exhausting move to a new home, I was unable to write my recap last week. That being said, the Monkey felt awful that we weren’t able to hand out our much-sought after and highly respected MIMM NFL Player of the Week Award, so we’ll take this opportunity to honor Rams RB Steven Jackson for the studly and overpowering clinic he ran in Big D last week in the mongo upset against the ‘Boys.

Titanic Win in Tennessee

ESPN Analyist Ron Jaworski continues to make ridiculous comments during Monday Night Football with boyish know-it-all glee. In a previous post I talked about his insane statement that Aaron Rodgers was part of an emerging “dynasty” in Green Bay. This week it was his chiding of fellow analyst and play-by-play guy Mike Tirico when Tennesse coach Jeff Fisher decided to go for two and attempt to tie the game at 14 points apiece in the second half. Leading up to the play he said it was “too early” to go for two. The Monkey and I are not sure what time on the clock has to do with attempting to bring the score even. Why would any coach intentionally decide to remain behind in points when the opportunity to even up the score exists. Being down by two is no different than being down by one, hence a “mandatory” two-point attempt instead of a PAT. Even after successfully converting the 2PT, Jaworski continued to criticize the call, saying: “I don’t agree with it, but it worked.” How can an football expert like Jaworski not agree with the notion of scoring more points, especially considering Tennessee’s rushing prowess?

As I write, I’m watching Peyton Manning’s postgame interview. He is handling the defeat well, despite his stat line showing two INT’s for the night. Important to note that both of his picks came off deflections or tipped passes, and not entirely horrible decisions on his part.

No doubt about it, this was a huge win for the Titans. I like Jeff Fisher and have always had a fondness for this franchise, mostly due to the heroics of Steve McNair. But I also must note that the season is hardly over for these guys. They have a tough schedule ahead of them, with Green Bay coming to town next week. In addition, it sure seemed like the MNF guys, after questioning the Titans’ legitimacy all game in terms of their relatively weak schedule so far, were at the conclusion of the contest practically annointing this team AFC Champs as opposed to helping the viewers put this latest win into perspective, in that played a good game against a mediocre 2008 Colt team. Great job, but they still have a lot to prove.

Steelers Winless Vs. NFC East…So Far

To me, the biggest news surrounding the result of this game is not little Eli rising to the challenge in big game after big game, or Plaxico Burress’ latest disciplinary infractions, or even Big Ben’s holding on to the ball for too long. Instead, in our view, the biggest thing to note about this game is that the “throwback magic” was oddly enough not in effect for Pittsburgh in this, the biggest game of the season so far for the Steelers. Next week against Washington on Monday Night will be their second-biggest game of the season. A loss in DC might indicate their success at 5-2 is mostly due to a relatively weak schedule in the first half of the season. A loss against the Skins will also make them 0-3 against the league’s best Division.

Steelers – Giants highlights below…

Skins-Cats: Is a W a W?

I mention this game partly because I am an “unrepentant” Redskins fan, but partly in response to some of my comments made above re: the Titans’ win against the Colts. While the Titans have certainly been winning in much more convincing fashion and obviously haven’t yet choked or registerd an “L,” the point remains the same: is a W always a W? In the case of the Skins, they have been squeaking by every opponent. Their latest win, against one of the NFL’s worst teams, came after trailing for much of the game and required a special teams explosion by Santana Moss to seal the deal. This was a blowout by Redskins standards and that’s pretty scary. Oddly enough, they compiled huge offensive stats over the Cats but trailed the Lions into the third quarter and only put up 18 offensive points. Look at these numbers (Skins on the left, Lions right):

Chalk the lack of scoring up to the one fumble and 67 yards worth of penalties, but the ‘Skins had better find a way to get into the endzone against the Steelers next Monday Night in DC.

Redskins – Lions highlights below…

Next week: Our Mid-Season Rankings!  Who is For Real, For Real!