What was the most notable development coming out of Week 11? Was it on Thursday night, when the Brett Favre-led New York Jets took the lead in the AFC East with a monster win over their arch rival New England Patriots? Or how about the much heralded Return of the Savior in Dallas that netted the Cowboys a much-needed victory over their arch rivals, my boys, the Washington Redskins, in the NFC East? Could it be the New York Giants displaying utter dominance over the heretofore vaunted Baltimore Ravens and their top-ranked rush defense? What about he inconsistent Bengals continuing to supply close games against the NFC East, this time battling to a tie against the Philadelphia Eagles? How about the Packers and Colts getting their mojo back with big division wins and the new-look Miami Dolphins on a four-game winning streak and currently tied for second place in the AFC East? Or finally, the NFC North embodying the epitome of mediocrity with three .500 teams tied for first place!?

MiMM NFL Player of the Week: This week the award goes out to Jeff Garcia, the 38 years young quarterback of the surging Tamba Bay Bucs. The Monkey and I are impressed with this guys’ tenacity, guts, improvisation, and play-making ability. Perhaps the most under-rated QB in the league, he has the ability to wield late-season magic that is so integral to teams on the hunt for the playoffs. Two years ago he stepped into the starting slot in Philly when McNabb was down with an injury, rallying his team for the playoffs and proving that he still has a lot of gas in his tank. What is so special about this guy is the dedication and commitment he displays in his level of fitness and vitality. Obviously this guy is doing all he can in the offseason and otherwise to maintain his edge in a young man’s game. The idea that he is two years away from forty years old and playing with this much spring to his step is an indication of the personal pride and self-confidence that he must carry off the field. While not necessarily lighting up the board in terms of stats, he gets the award this week for a big time performance forged out of sheer will power, persistence, and razor-sharp focus to overcome the Monkey Mind telling him he’s too old to compete against a tough Minnesota defense.

MiMM Football Question of the Week: Who’s Better, the Giants or the Titans? With the Giants standing tall at 9-1 and the Titans checking in as the league’s only undefeated team, the big debate on all of the sports talk shows and radio is determining which team is superior. In our rankings system, the Monkey and I only compare teams within the same conference, as that’s all that matters when it comes time to figure out who will be facing off against one another in the Superbowl. So in that case, they can both be #1 in their respective conference and the debate pretty much ends there.

But if you want to dig deeper and really try to determine which team is superior outside of simply waiting for them to meet on the fields of friendly strife come early February, then you have to consider each of their wins (and the Giants’ single loss) in the context of one another’s schedule. Right now it seems like the prevailing opinion is that the Giants are the better team, despite their one loss, which is kind of funny when you think about it, that right now in the NFL for many pundits perfect isn’t good enough, as long as perfection is measured by the win-loss result at the end of each game. Many critics of the Titans aren’t excited about their passing game, and many have written QB Kerry Collins off as a “game-manager” as opposed to a play-maker. Clearly the Giants’ running game is sexier than the Titans’, and everybody seems to be enamored with the Bull in a China shop qualities of Brandon Jacobs, a special back to be sure. Of course one can’t ignore the fact that the Giants exist in the country’s largest media market, so certainly they get much more attention than the Titans. More peope have watched the Giants in action, so it’s natural for pundits and fans alike to rank superior the team they’ve seen more often.

But intangibles aside, let’s look for a moment at the results of each of these team’s schedules:

Giants Titans
W: 16-7 Washingtion (6-4) W: 17-10 Jacksonville (4-6)
W: 41-13 St. Louis (2-8) W: 24-7 Cincinnati (1-8)
W: 26-23 OT Cincinnati (1-8) W: 31-12 Houston (3-7)
W: 44-6 Seattle (2-8) W: 30-17 Minnesota (5-5)
L: 14-35 Cleveland (4-6) W: 13-10 Baltimore (6-4)
W: 29-17 San Fran (3-7) W: 34-10 KC (1-9)
W: 21-14 Pittsburgh (7-3) W: 31-21 Colts (6-4)
W: 35-14 Dallas (6-4) W: 19-16 Green Bay (5-5)
W: 36-31 Philly (5-4-1) W: 21-14 Chicago (5-5)
W: 30-10 Baltimore (6-4) W: 24-14 Jacksonville (4-6)

9-1: 292-170 (41-48-1) 10-0: 244-131 (40-49)

On the bottom line above you will see their record, points for vs. points against, and the final number in paranthesis indicates the combined records of their opponents, in order to measure “strength of schedule.” I threw out the losses from their opponents that the Giants or Titans inflicted themselves, so as to not penalize them for beating the teams.

As you can see, the Titans obviously have the edge in terms of their record alone and the quality of their opponents is virtually equal. The Titans have allowed fewer points but the Giants have scored more points. In terms of mutual opponents, the Giants struggled against the Bengals, whom the Titans beat pretty soundly. However, the Giants defeated the Ravens by a much wider margin than the Titans did.

In order to measure these factors, let’s assign points for each factor:

Win-loss record: 2 points

Points scored: 1 point

Points allowed: 1 point

Strength of schedule: 1 point

Mutual opponents: 1 point

I am giving win-loss record additional value because obviously at the end of the day, if these two teams were to ever meet to decide superiority, the only thing that really matters is getting that W.

Under the MiMM Compu-Human Superiority Determining System:

The Titans earn: 5 points

The Giants earn: 3 points

So according to the Monkey and Me, the Titans are the superior team.

However, if these two teams were to meet in the Superbowl, we’re predicting a final score (after four quarters) of Giants 21, Titans 21. Huh?

Well, we didn’t just pull those numbers out of a hat, now. We took the total points scored by each team and added that to the total points allowed by the opposing team. We then divided by 2 to get the mean of the total points scored by one team’s offense as compared to the other team’s defense. We then divided by 10 (the total number of games) to get a predicted point total for a face-to-face matchup. The final result for the Giants was 21.15, while the final result for the Titans was 20.7 points. Since there are obviously no fractions of points in actual football, we were forced to round up or down accordingly, netting a tie. This would lead to OT in a potential Superbowl. (Now wouldn’t that be cool?) Since the Giants technically outscored the Titans using our system by .45 points, we would have to give them the win in OT by the smallest possible margin, which in our estimation would be a field goal (as it would be virtually impossible for the Giants to score a safety in OT). Thus, the final score in a potential Giants-Titans Superbowl would be Giants, 24-21 (OT)…

But the Titans are still a better team. Right now.

Will have fun with this again at the end of the season if these teams are both able to continue their winning ways.

Now, onto the recaps…

G-Men Gain Ground Against Ravens: In a game that pitched an unstoppable force against an immovable wall, the Giants’ Ground Game was too much for the top-ranked Baltimore rush defense. The Giants are not only proving themselves to be the top team in the NFC and possibly a more complete team than the undefeated Tennesse Titans, but they are also stacking up wins in such a compelling, dominating fashion, that it’s difficult to imagine anybody stopping them come January. This team is perfectly poised for the playoffs due to three attributes:

1) Their phenomenal defense. The old adage, “defense wins championships” doesn’t just sound definitive, it is. But defense alone won’t do it.

2) A ground game is essential for championship football, due to two factors: the often poor weather conditions that teams must play in during the playoffs, and the fact that defending the run can be damaging and fatiguing and more difficult to accomplish towards the end of a physically grueling season.

3) Big play ability from the QB and receiving corps. What makes the Giants so special is the fact that they are clearly multi-dimensional. Eli and Plaxico or TE Boss can come up with big passing plays, especially once they’ve established the ground game utilizing their many-headed hydra beast of Bradshaw, Ward, and Jacobs.

Giants-Ravens highlights below:

Jet Favre on Path to Fulfill Master Plan Against New England

The NFL Network came up with a doozy Thursday night, pitching the surging Jets against the back-to-earth Patriots in a game that would decide first place in the AFC East. Of course Brett Favre was brought to New York specifically to engineer a playoff run immediately and that’s exactly what he’s doing by securing first place in a huge win over a rival that has caused problems for the Jets for many years. Now at 7-3, the Jets are tied for the second-best record in the AFC, are a legitimate playoff contender, and will get to prove just how dominant their new look combo of run-pass efficiency in a HUGE game against the Titans next week in Nashville. Personally, I’d like to see them take the field in their New York Titans persona, in the first-ever Titans-Titans NFL matchup.

New England fans should take heart in Matt Cassel’s phenomenal performance during the loss to the Jets. He threw for 400 yards and was a coin-toss away from pulling off a big comeback while heading into overtime. The Monkey and I argued for hours on whether or not to award Tom Brady’s replacement with the sought-after MiMM NFL Player of the Week Award, but ultimately decided against it, reserving that honor for players who not only display an ability to quiet the Monkey, but also help their teams achieve victory in the process. The fight for dominance is certainly not over now that the Jets are on top, however. Week 12 features ENORMOUS games for three teams in that Division, with the aforementioned Jets taking on the Titans and the Patriots and Dolphins squaring off an big rematch that may also decide the current leader of the Division. It’s mind-boggling to think that if the Jets succumb to the undefeated Titans and the Patriots make it two losses in a row, the new-look Wildcat Miami Dolphins would be sitting pretty sharing a space with the Jets on top of this interesting Division at 7-4 (I guess technically the Jets would be ahead, due to a head-to-head tie-breaker, but you get my point).

Jets-Patriots highlights below (set to a catchy beat)…

Marion Barber Steps All Over Skins

The last time these two teams met, Marion Barber only carried the ball 8 times and the ‘Skins got the win. This time, the Cowboys prevailed, but not necessarily due to the play of returning starter Tony Romo at the quarterback position. With the Skins leading narrowly at halftime, the Cowboys took control of the game in the second half and did so on the back of Mr. Nasty himself, Marion Barber III. The Redskins defense played admirably for most of the game, as they did against Pittsburgh, in this, the third-straight nationally-television prime time dismantling of the Skins. The D.C. D and special teams did all they could to keep their team in the game outside of scoring points directly. The offense, despite decent field position and many opportunities could not move the ball effectively outside of the initial drive of the game, which yielded a touchdown.

I am not sure the biggest problem the Redskins face is at the QB position. Campbell looked flustered and hurried on Sunday Night because he was under relentless and incessant pressure, thanks to his sieve-like offensive line. His O-line needs to learn how to block in a hurry or what was looking like a dream debut season for Rookie Head Coach Jim Zorn will result in a terrible nightmare for the players and fans who thought this might be the year that the ball club finally turned its fortunes around after a promising 6-2 start. Next week they match up against Zorn and Shaun Alexander’s old team in Seattle, a locale that has provided plenty of heartbreak for the Skins in two anemic playoff appearances over the last three years. While Zorn and Alexander I am sure would like nothing more than to stick it to their old team, Seattle, with their season in complete disarray, might relish the idea of spoiling the Skins playoff hopes. This is a huge game for the Redskins to get their groove back and may very well decide the fate of the remainder of their campaign. The ‘Boys, on the otherhand, get to host the 49ers and Seahawks over the next two weeks and could very easily emerge at 8-4 for their game against Pittsburgh. Marion Barber is playing championship football. Let’s see if the rest of the ‘Boys will too.

Monkey Watch: Week 12

The most compelling matchups in Week 12 for us begin with the Jets-Titans game. With the Jets attempting to prove that they not only deserve to be atop the AFC East, but also in the conversation as one of the top teams in the entire AFC, they will have no better stage to make their case than against the 10-0 Tennesse Titans.

I am also excited about the rematch between the Dolphins and the Patriots. This AFC rivalry is meaningful again and there is no doubt the Pats would like nothing more than to put their early season embarrassing outing to rest for good. Both teams have improved since the first affair and football fans eagerly await what new tricks either team will have in store for one another.

Finally, I am intrigued by the Giants-Cards scrum in the desert. Certainly Kurt Warner would love to beat the team that kicked him to the curb a few years back and the Giants defense, returning to the scene of their epic trouncing of the Patriots in last year’s Superbowl, are eager to prove that they are all that against the Greatest Show on Turf Version 2.0.

Until then…

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“Midway Point” team rankings coming after Week 10? No recap following Week 9? What’s going on here at Monkeyinmymind.com? The only answer I can say in reply is that I guess the Presidential Election took the MiMM offices by storm and no one on the staff was able to focus on much else besides the historic nature of the Election. Our apologies.

That being said, here’s the MiMM NFL Player of the Week, Week 9: Byron Leftwich. To come in the game under the lights of Monday Night, before a national audience, in the backyard of his hometown, on the eve of a historic election, against a red-hot team, with not only the game hanging in the balance but also the fate of the next leader of the free world depending upon a Steeler victory, Byron Leftwich, banished former Jags QB and DC area local phenom took the bull by the horns, dispelled his demons and any loud clamoring by the Monkey Mind and grabbed the throats of the Washington Redskins secondary and never let go. One of his finest, most measured professional performances, Byron Leftwich showed again why he has impressed so many during moments of the quarterbacking career. Great game, great mental perseverance.

MiMM NFL Player of the Week, Week 10: Anquan Boldin.

This man demonstrated phenomenal toughness by coming back to the field so quickly after getting his clock cleaned against the New York Titans. Face surgery, screws and plates installed, and he’s able to come back and perform at a Pro Bowl level. Monday night he overcame the Monkey Mind and was a man unleashed: 7 grabs, 92 yards, and two TD’s.

MIMM Midway Point Team Rankings, National Football Conference

1. New York Giants (8-1) - 1st QTR Rank: 1 (holding). It is difficult to imagine how this team will be overtaken in the NFC and/or beaten in a potential repeat Superbowl appearance. Their defense superior, runnning game nearly unstoppable, and their receiving corps among the best. The two things that matter most in championship football: running and defense, are their strongest suits. The way to beat the Giants is to force Eli into making mistakes and poor decisions. Fortunately for his team, Eli has an incredible ability to shake off poor play or unlucky turns.

2. Carolina Panthers (7-2) - 1st QTR Rank: 4 (+2). Every good team plays a bad game. Better than good teams still manage to win bad games. Take Jake’s stat line in the match against the pathetic Raiders: 7 for 27 for 57 yards and 4 INT’s. I was tempted to drop the Panthers below the idle ‘Skins but will give them a pass for managing to overcome their absolutely horrible performance, and instead judge them on their total body of work for the season.

3. Washington Redskins (6-3) - 1st QTR Rank: 2 (-1). The ‘Skins lose their #2 spot in the Conference by virtue of their well-dressed no-show against the Steelers on Election Eve. By losing to Pittsburgh, the Redskins proved that they are merely a good team and will need to find consistency in their game if they want to make the playoffs and win a postseason game. Clinton Portis was a non-factor against the Steel Curtain and now may even be hurt. And is no longer the NFL’s leading rusher, thanks to AP. Winning against Dallas will be a huge statement for this team and is absolutely essential to stay competitive in the NFC East.

4. Philadelphia Eagles (5-4) - 1st QTR Rank: 8 (+4). The Birds had done nothing but win since our last rankings, until Sunday night. They are currently winless in their Division so their only hope to nab a Wildcard slot is to win out in the East. Good luck.

5. Arizona (6-3) - 1st QTR Rank: 7 (+2). Going for their first win on Monday Night in 23 years, the Cardinals faced a “statement game” in their matchup against the 49ers. On top of the Division, all they had to do was beat a bad team and prove to the league that they are legit. Unfortunately, San Fransisco is also playing in a “statement game” with less to lose and every intangible to gain. Overconfidence is the worst disease of the athletic competition.

6. Chicago Bears (5-4) - 1st QTR Rank: 5 (-1). I’m keeping this club in the top echelon of the NFC thanks to their gutsy defensive performance against the undefeated Titans. We all know that this team lives and dies with their defense, but who would have predicted that they would have held the ground-gnashing Titans to just 20 rushing yards. Rex Grossman played poorly and if Orton were at the wheel, they might have handed the Titans their first defeat.

7. Tampa Bay (6-3) - 1st QTR Rank: 6 (-1). I don’t know what to make of this team, other than to acknowledge their defense and gutsy play by Jeff Garcia. Recordwise, their Division is nearly as strong as the East, but we think that’s a lot of smoke and mirrors.

8. Dallas Cowboys (5-4) - 1st QTR Rank: 3 (-5). Here’s what I said last time around about this team:

…the Cowboys biggest adversary might be themselves and the lofty expectations they have collectively set for their organization. They are in desperate need of leadership and focus.…I am not convinced that this team is built for success in the playoffs, and despite their enormous talent, may end up at home in January once again.

9. Atlanta Falcons (6-3) - 1st QTR Rank: 11 (+2). Atlanta’s a team I kept an eye on last time and am so inspired by their turn-around this year. Matt Ryan’s QB play is absolutely extraordinary for a rookie, which helps me to better understand how and why Boston College played so well last year. I am not sure if this team is completely legit, as I believe this is a weak Division, but wouldn’t it be crazy if they managed to make the playoffs? Their next 3 games will determine thier legitimacy, with tilts against the very beatable Broncos and Chargers and NFC South-leading Panthers.

10. Minnesota Vikings (5-4) - 1st QTR Rank: 9 (-1). Defense and a ground game win championships and this team is very much alive in the hunt for the NFC North title. With Rex Grossman at the helm, they might have a chance at catching up to the Bears. Circle your calendars for their November 30th rematch against Chicago.

11. Green Bay Packers (4-5) - 1st QTR Rank: 12 (+1). In order for me to be accurate in my prediction that the Pack will end up 6-10 for the year, their going to have to wrap up their season at 2-5, which is not likely with matchups against the weakened AFC South and deceptively mediocre NFC South. Probably 8-8.

12. New Orleans Saints (4-5) - 1st QTR Rank: 10 (-2). I don’t know what to say about these guys, other than they seem to have the most overrated QB in the league.

13. San Francisco (2-7) - 1st QTR Rank: 13 (holding). I like their fire and intensity with Singletary running the show. It will be an interesting experiment to see if old school can be new school. But we’ll have to wait until 2009 because their season ended with a “moral victory” in Phoenix on Monday night.

14. St. Louis Rams (2-7) - 1st QTR Rank: 15 (+1). A midseason surge saved them from complete and utter infamy, and strangely enough, with the poor competition in the NFC West surrounding them, they are still mathematically in the race for the Division title.

15. Seattle Seahawks (2-7) - 1st QTR Rank: 14 (-1). Matt Hasselbeck will be back under center in Week 11 against NFC West leading Arizona. Maybe he’ll even be able to upset the Skins in Week 12, like he has in their last two playoff games against each other.

16. Detroit Lions (0-9) - 1st QTR Rank: 16 (holding). So glad to see them donned in throwback gear in Week 10, but disappointed that the throwback mojo was nonexistent, even with Mr. Culpepper in the game. This team needs to hit the reset button.

MIMM Midway Point Rankings, American Football Conference

1. Tennessee Titans (9-0) - 1st QTR Rank: 1 (holding). Here’s the thing. Anybody who says this team can’t go undefeated, or worse yet, shouldn’t go undefeated is not firmly in touch with reality. Granted, they have Pittsburgh and Indy on their remaining schedule. Pittsburgh is at home so that leaves Indy on December 28th as their toughest remaining game. Question is, will they be playing for “anything” then?

2. Pittsburgh (6-3) - 1st QTR Rank: 2 (holding). If I were a Steelers fan, I would be reassured to know that Byron Leftwich is on the bench behind banged up Ben. That being said, their remaining schedule is killer with upcoming games against San Diego, New England, Dallas, Baltimore, and Tennessee. Yikes.

3. New York Jets (6-3) - 1st QTR Rank: 6 (+3). Still on track to finish 11-5, this team has still not convinced the Monkey and me that they are legit. Wildly inconsistent and capable of looking awful, we will know a lot more about this team after they face off against the Patriots on Thursday on the NFL Network. It’s hard to believe that the AFC East is still completely wide open.

4. Baltimore (6-3) - 1st QTR Rank: 10 (+6!). Here’s what I said last time about these guys:

Defense wins championships but Joe Flacco is no Trent Dilfer.

Turns out the Monkey was totally accurate on that call. Joe might be that missing piece of the puzzle the Ravens have been looking for ever since they arrived in Baltimore. Right now they are playing out of their minds and December 14th against Pittsburgh is looking to be a season-defining game.

5. Miami (5-4) - 1st QTR Rank: 3 (-2). Who would have thought back in 2007 that the Miami Dolphins would completely revolutionize offensive play-calling throughout the entire league in 2008? After shocking the world and New England back in Week 3, the Fins are not in the midst of proving that their unconventional offensive attack is no fluke. Over the next three weeks they play Oakland, St. Louis, and New England and highly-anticipated rematch. If they can beat two subpar teams and compete with the Pats they will establish their legitimacy. And think about this - it is totally possible that they could actual win the AFC East. Last time we said:

New Prediction Alert: The ‘Fins miss the playoffs but finish at 8-8.

I will see that precdiction and raise it to 9-7.

6. New England (6-3) - 1st QTR Rank: 5 (-1). Despite living in New England, I would like nothing more than for these guys to drop one to Favre and the Pack this Thursday. They are more likeable this year now that they are mere mortals again, but I can’t help but think that these guys will pay for their hubris of running up the score against my ‘Skins and others in 2007 with losing the AFC East.

7. Indianapolis (5-4) - 1st QTR Rank: 8 (+1). This team is always dangerous with Manning at the helm but will likely stay at home for the postseason. If fact, you can take that to the bank as the Monkey’s Latest NFL Prediction.

8. Buffalo Bills (5-4) - 1st QTR Rank: 7 (-1). After a three game losing streak, the Bills have NFL schedulers to thank for giving them beatable Cleveland, KC, and San Fran over the next three weeks, with two of those games at home in chilly weather, to their advantage. Look for them to right their ship over the next month, but don’t look for these guys in the playoffs.

9. Denver (5-4) - 1st QTR Rank: 3 (-6!). THere’s what the Monkey said last time in the rankings:

The Broncos are 2-1 in the weak AFC West and will likely make the playoffs, but I am not at all sold on this team. I don’t like their defense and I’m still not convinced that Jay Cutler has the poise to win in the playoffs.

10. Houston (3-6) - 1st QTR Rank: 14 (+4). Despite good looking uniforms and a glitzy stadium, the Texans have embraced a legacy of losing and don’t appear to be turning that around before the end of the season.

11. Cleveland (3-5) - 1st QTR Rank: 13 (+2). I never would have imagined that Quinn would have played as well as he did against the Broncos last Thursday, and without Kellen WInslow’s bonehead play, likely would have notched a W in his first NFL start. With just a single game to judge his future, Quinn’s future looks bright, but we’ll have to wait until 2009 before his play means anything.

12. Jacksonville (4-5) - 1st QTR Rank: 9 (-3). Inexplicably poor play this season from a team that has nearly always been at least respectable.

13. San Diego (4-5) - 1st QTR Rank: 11 (-2). Nearly losing to lowly Kansas City, the Chargers do only one thing for me: make me question why Norv Turner keeps getting hired. He’s never been a winner, with a career sub .500 winning percentage. Where would the Chargers be today if Marty Schott were still the man?

14. Oakland (2-7) - 1st QTR Rank: 12 (-2). You are battling karma when you manage to pull off 4 picks, limit the other team to 57 yards passing and still lose.

15. Cincinnati (1-8) - 1st QTR Rank: 15 (holding). No comment.

16. Kansas City (1-8) - 1st QTR Rank: 16 (holding). Herm Edwards made the right call going for two to win the game in the closing seconds against San Diego. With their season essentially over, KC had nothing to lose with the move and it’s unfortunate they weren’t able to capitalize on momentum versus the Chargers like the Broncos did against the same team back in Week Two.

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As soon as I saw the first shot of Clinton Portis jogging down the passageway leading from the locker room to the field during the opening moments of ESPN’s broadcast of the 2008 Election Eve Monday Night Football showdown between the 5-2 Pittsburgh Steelers and the 6-2 Washington Redskins, I knew something wasn’t quite right. How did I know this?

Clinton’s burgundy jersey.

Knowing that the Skins not only almost always wear white jerseys at home, but also during their recent playoff runs have usually complimented those white jerseys with matching white pants, a combo I’m not too in love with but tolerate due to the winning that usually goes along with the ensemble, the fact that Mr. Portis was seemingly out of uniform gave me a moment of pause. Then the camera pulled out to a wider shot and revealed something I’ve never witnessed once during a lifetime of being a Redskins fan: the monochrome look: burgundy-on-burgundy.

As much as I liked the all-burgundy look, I was concerned about why freshman Head Coach Jim Zorn and the boys would want to tempt fate on a national stage for one of their biggest games of the season. A couple seasons back, the Skins found their winning ways with the all-white getup, so I had to question if now was the time to try anything different. Such is the nature of superstitions in sports. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and that goes for uniforms, daily habits, shaving, and whatever else the Monkey Mind wishes to associate with success.

In the case of my beloved ‘Skins, there is no doubt in my mind that the players associate white-on-white with winning. Burgundy-on-burgundy, while cool, is an unknown, and perhaps the preseason would have been a better time to fiddle with things like uniforms, especially in the case of the Redskins, who have been none too successful wearing any uniforms other than their plain old regular boring outfits that they’ve been sporting since the early ’80’s. The last time they wore throwback unis, they suffered a horrible defeat at the hands of the soon to be Superbowl Champion New York Giants at Fedex. The only other time in recent memory that I recall the ‘Skins wearing alternate or throwback digs was during the Steve Spurrier era, and we all know how that went. Now that Skins lose again in alternate threads who knows how long it will be before management decides to change their outdated look?

Will the “Redskins Rule” Continue to Hold in ‘08?

My diatribe on unis out of the way, there is another huge sports superstition still surrounding this game that has nothing to do with textiles, and that is the fabled “Redskins Rule.”

Discovered by Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau in 2000 (and slightly amended in 2004) the Redskins Rule has accurrately predicted the outcome of 17 straight Presidential elections, dating back to 1940 (before which the Redskins were not called the Redskins, nor based in DC) which is either an eerie unexplainable connection between sports and politics or an oddly random occurrence that is at least mildly interesting.

The Redskins Rule states:

If the Redskins win their final home game preceding the US Presidential Election, then the Party of the winner of the previous election’s popular vote will win the current year’s Presidential election.”

To put that into context of the Monday night contest, since the GOP won the popular vote in 2004, if the Redskins were to beat the Steelers, the Republicans would win the election in 2008. What a way to conflict a fan if the fan has an interest in politics.

Prior to 2004, the Redskins Rule read simply that if the Redskins win, the incumbent Party wins the election and if they lose, the challenging Party wins. Case in point, while I was in Cincinnatti for a Bush campaign event I was covering for my documentary Swing State Ohio in 2004, I found myself in a sports bar rooting against my Redskins who faced the Green Bay Packers at home just days before the election, in order to ensure a Kerry victory. My team lost but that dissatisfaction was enlivened by the prospect of Kerry winning the election a few days later. When Kerry lost, many thought that for once in over 60 years the rule had proven false. But Hirdt had another look at the data and realized that the connection between the fate of the Skins and the election was not quite as direct, hence his refinement of the rule to take into account the popular vote from the previous election, as stated above.

So I will accept this loss at the hands of a quality opponent like the Steelers because Redskins Rule will undoubtedly prove true yet again in 2008.

And maybe, just maybe, whoever made the decision to scrap the sure-win white-on-white for monochrome burgundy is an Obama supporter and was doing all he could to ensure a Democratic win, outside of attempting to convince players of possibly many political stripes to throw the game for the good of the country.

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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):

3rd down efficiency	5-11	2-12
4th down efficiency	0-0	2-3
Total Yards	439	274
Passing	304	217
Comp-Att	23-28	21-35
Yards per pass	10.9	6.2
Rushing	135	57
Rushing Attempts	33	15
Yards per rush	4.1	3.8
Penalties	8-67	7-51
Turnovers	1	0
Fumbles lost	1	0
Interceptions thrown	0	0
Possession	35:45	24:15

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!

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While the Monkey and I were able to catch a few games this weekend, unfortunately we were mostly primarily involved in a huge move from our condo to a new house and are unable to provide a full recap of all the excitement in Week 6. What a sad thing that is, given the incredible finishes and upheavals that occurred over the weekend.

So sadly, this Recap is extremely brief and we’ll just mention a few things:

MMIM Player of the Week: Derek Anderson, QB, Cleveland Browns. Here’s a guy who walked into Monday’s showdown in Cleveland against the champs as the lowest-ranked starting quarterback in the NFL. Coming off a breakout Pro-Bowl season in ‘07, many saw the Browns as preseason contenders and were surprised to see them put together a disappointing 1-3 start coming into the game against the Giants, with their only win coming against the hapless Bengals. Anderson, fully aware that Superstar Backup Brady Quinn was just a froghair away from being named the starter if the season didn’t turn around in a hurry, had his back against the wall and performed remarkably against the league’s best defense. Here’s to Derek Anderson for not allowing the Monkey in his Mind to convince him that he was unable to live up to the high hopes going into the season, and for perhaps turning around his franchise’s entire season with a heroic performance on Monday night.

Throwback Attack:

A few weeks ago, I commented that teams playing in throwback uni’s tended to win. Well, that trend continued over the weekend with San Diego, the New York “Titans”, and the Cleveland Browns all wearing throwback threads and winning! Now, if only the Redskins will follow suit!.

That being said, the only other thing I have time to comment on is something I saw during one of the games on Sunday, and that is the LEAVE NOTHING Nike campaign commercial featuring Ladanian Tomlinson and Troy Polamalu. Simply one of the greatest commercials ever made, even better than Miami Vice creator Michael Mann’s previous campaign featuring Steven Jackson and Shawn Merriman. Watch below.

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Another fantastic weekend in the NFL, culminating in a stranger-than-fiction Monday Night affair down in the Big Easy.  I have to say, as there is no doubt that there is some odd mojo (or voodoo) floating through the consciousness of New Orleans, it is not surprising that their football club often has to contend with unusually strange ways to be defeated.  Monday Night’s game couldn’t have been weirder, especially with Reggie Bush’s two punts returned for touchdowns, with a third TD just a lost-footing stumble out of his reach. 

To be honest, I drifted off to sleep in the final few minutes of the game and was shocked this morning when I learned that the Saints had actually lost.  There is a lot to like about both of these teams, with their talent, cool uniforms, and rather humble collective demeanor, so it was hard to root for either team in particular.  This was one of those matchups in which a true football fan just hoped for a competitive and exciting affair and I don’t think these teams disappointed with their topsy-turvy back and forth contest last night.  While Reggie Bush’s talent gets most of the headlines, his professionalism and humility are two of his strongest attributes.  I hope that both of these teams find success down the road.  Oddly enough, the NFC South has suddenly become a powerhouse Division, with every team save the Saints enjoying a winning record (including the Falcons!) so the Saints will certainly have their work cut out for them as they attempt to make a playoff run.

With that game out the way, we’ll get to the meat of this post, the First Official MIMM NFL Rankings of the season.  While many sports news sites and opinion pages rank-order the teams on a weekly basis, a la college football’s arcane ranking system, here at MIMM we will only issue our rankings three times: at the conclusion of the first quarter of the season, the midway point, and on the outset of the fourth quarter of the season.  Final rankings will only include playoff teams, as where the Rams or Chiefs, for example, stack up after Week 17 is essentially irrelevant.

The other thing to note about what makes the MIMM Rankings different is that these rankings are broken down by Conference.  Why?  Well, as it may be fun to see where one’s favorite team stacks up across the board, the only thing that really matters as far as the playoffs are concerned is how that team compares against other teams in its Conference and Division.  Only six teams from each Conference will make the playoffs, so for obvious reasons, a team’s sole goal should be to end up among the top six teams in their Conference or they’re staying home in ‘09, regardless of whether or not they have a better record than a team in the opposing Conference.

So without further ado:

MIMM First Quarter NFL Rankings, National Conference:

1.  New York Giants (4-0) - The only undefeated team in the NFC, the Giants displayed their dominance of the Conference by absolutely decimating Seattle at home, even without the help of unrepentant suspended wide receiver Plaxico Burress.  Eli is playing like the other Manning circa 2006, but with less fanfare.  So far these guys are the team to beat and will likely be 6-0 by the time they face the Steelers on October 26th.

2. Washington Redskins (4-1) -  The ‘Skins have to occupy the second spot in the Conference, by virtue of their head-to-head victory over one of the other 4-1 teams in the Conference.  Like the Giants, they too are on a 4-0 run and only seem to be getting better with each victory.  Fortunately for them, it seems as though the toughest part of the schedule is behind them, coming out of their road Division games 2-1 and heading into a stretch against the Rams, the Browns, and the Lions.  Their only risk is overconfidence in these upcoming “should-win” games.

3.  Dallas Cowboys (4-1) - The highest-scoring team in the NFL, the Cowboys biggest adversary might be themselves and the lofty expectations they have collectively set for their organization.  They are in desperate need of leadership and focus.  Evidence of this was on display in their near-miss against the Bengals, who, for an 0-5 team, took the Champs to overtime and nearly toppled the ‘Boys as well.  I am not convinced that this team is built for success in the playoffs, and despite their enormous talent, may end up at home in January once again.

4.  Carolina Panthers (4-1) - I haven’t seen any of their games live, but the Panthers have great talent at the QB and WR position and are extremely well coached.

5.  Chicago Bears (3-2) - Who would have thought that Kyle Orton would be playing like he has, putting up gaudy numbers and leading this team to three tough victories?  As the old adage goes, “defense wins championships,” this team will be extraordinarily difficult to beat in the playoffs.  Their losses are a fluky one to Carolina and another at the hands of an inspired Brian Griese doing the comeback tour.  I think they are aberrations, which will be put behind them as they streak ahead towards the halfway point in the season.  Look for them to be coming in strong for the November 9th matchup against the Tennessee Titans.

6.  Tampa Bay (3-2) - While the Bucs technically wouldn’t qualify for the playoffs if they were to be held today, I think that ultimately their defense makes them a superior team than the Greatest Show of Turf Version 2.0.  I am still unconvinced that the Cards can overcome their habitual losing ways, even with proven winner Kurt Warner at the helm, who by the way, seems to be losing a bit of his mental edge after being shell-shocked by the Anquan Boldin injury against the Jets.  As much as I like Warner, I think the Bucs may have more going for them on the other side of the ball.

7.  Arizona (3-2) - With Kurt Warner at QB, the ‘Cards are fun to watch this year.  Their only hope of reaching the playoffs is to maintain control of the bottom-feeding NFC West, a task they should be up to.  They have a huge test this week at home against Dallas and again the next weekend versus Carolina.  They also have to face the Giants and the ‘Hawks at home so their schedule isn’t exactly easy.  The good news is that the rest of their Division also has the Cowboys and the Giants on their schedule so as long as they can stay on top of their Division games, they have a good chance returning to the playoffs for the first time in ten years.  With Warner chucking the ball, I like their chances.  Plus, it would be a neat way for him to end his career after this season, bringing respectability back to tattered franchise.

8.  Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) - The reason the Eagles top the other 2-3 teams is because they beat the Steelers and went toe-to-toe against the NFC-leading Cowboys and Skins.  Considering they are currently at the bottom of the tough NFC East, their chances of making the playoffs are dwindling with each passing week.

9.  Minnesota Vikings (2-3) - I never understood the preseason Superbowl hype surrounding this team, especially considering their quarterback situation.  Obviously Tavaris is no longer the man, but unfortunately Gus, for whom I first gained affection back when he pulled off the first win of the Redskins 1995 campaign as a backup to Congressman Heath Shuler (D-NC), isn’t the answer either.  He is a great backup but has been a backup for most of his career for a reason I am sure.

10.  New Orleans Saints (2-3) - Many deem the Saints the most underachieving team in the league. Like the Cardinals and the Lions, there is just something in their DNA that prevents them winning consistently.  They peaked at the 2006 NFC Championship Game and will likely miss the playoffs this season unless they simply decide to live up to their potential.

11.  Atlanta Falcons (2-3) - Wonderful story that this team, so devastated last year by the antics of Jim Petrino and the crimes of Mike Vick, is putting together a few wins, especially over a respectable opponent like the Green Bay Packers.  A hair below .500 should be considered a success for this team.

12.  Green Bay Packers (2-3) - As much as I love young Aaron’s grit, I think reality is setting in for him and Coach McCarthy.  It is highly likely that this team might not pull off a win until late November.  Prediction check-in:  so far it seems that my prediction of this team going 6-10 might have even been a bit generous.

13. San Francisco (2-3) - Gave the Pats a fight, but 2008 still isn’t their year.  

14.  Seattle Seahawks (1-3) - Amazing how far this team has fallen.  They should pull out a couple of home dates this season but will likely get smooshed by the NFC East.

15.  St. Louis Rams (0-4) - The only reason they’re on top of the Lions is due to their storied past. 

16.  Detroit Lions (0-4) - Forever stinky.  I suggest an off-season uniform change to address their woes.  Worked the ‘Hawks, the Bucs, and the Pats for a while.

MIMM First Quarter NFL Rankings, American Conference:

1.  Tennessee Titans (5-0) - The Titans have demonstrated their “for realness” with wins over solid teams like the Jags, the Vikes and the Ravens.  So far their defense has been superb, especially at creating turnovers.  Despite the weakness of the AFC this season, their toughest games should be against teams in their own Division, like the Colts, who they still haven’t played yet, and the Jags again later in the season.  They have a solid chance of extending this unbeaten streak for quite some time.

2.  Pittsburgh (4-1) - Big Ben has shown incredible toughness in his scrappy wins this season.  Their only loss so far this season came at the hands of the NFC East’s Eagles, but they have the rest of the East to contend with, along with a pretty tough schedule down the stretch.  

3.  Denver (4-1) - The Broncos are 2-1 in the weak AFC West and will likely make the playoffs, but I am not at all sold on this team.  I don’t like their defense and I’m still not convinced that Jay Cutler has the poise to win in the playoffs.

4.  Miami (2-2) - ESPN’s Power Rankings oddly has this team ranked behind both the Chargers and Patriots, although they have beaten them both, one pretty soundly (remember Ronnie Brown?).  They played extremely well against the Jets and easily could have won that game.  I like how Chad Pennington is managing games and obviously their running game is not only effectively, but also pretty groundbreaking in terms of changing the way offense is played in the NFL.  New Prediction Alert: The ‘Fins miss the playoffs but finish at 8-8.

5.  New England (3-1) - This team has struggled against poor opponents, yet I still haven’t seen enough to render a more profound judgement than that.

6.  New York Jets (2-2) - Earlier I predicted that the Jets would finish 11-5, so far I’ve seen nothing to change my mind on that.  Jet Favre will improve as the season progresses, provided he stays healthy, which unsurprisingly seems pretty likely given his resume.

7. Buffalo Bills (4-1) - The Bills have struggled against, and later beaten, some rather mediocre teams.

8.  Indianapolis (2-2) - Who would have thought that the Colts would be standing in the middle of the pack of the inferior AFC?

9.  Jacksonville (2-3) - Despite their record, this team still has a lot of fight in it and could easily make a run during the middle third of the season, especially with dates against both Ohio teams and the team from Michigan.

10.  Baltimore (2-2) - Defense wins championships but Joe Flacco is no Trent Dilfer.

11.  San Diego (2-3) - The New Orleans Saints of the AFC.

12.  Oakland (1-4) - With so many awful teams in the AFC, I’m shocked that there are actually teams that are worse than the Raiders.

13.  Cleveland (1-3) - Will Derek Anderson be traded to Minnesota before the deadline, ushering in the Brady Quinn era?  Probably not the best thing for Quinn’s development.

14.  Houston (0-4) - A legacy of losing for this franchise.  David Carr must be smiling riding the pine at 4-0 in New York.

15.  Cincinnati (0-5) - Even talent like Carson Palmer and Achtzig Funf can’t overcome institutional failure imprinted into this franchise’s DNA.

16.  Kansas City (1-4) - Seems like a nice guy, but how does Herm Edwards continue to get work?

Week 5 MIMM Player of the Week: Reggie Bush.  The young man nearly ran back three punts for touchdowns, virtually single-handedly winning this game for his reeling team.  His performance on Monday night indicated an astonishing ability to shut down the Monkey in his Mind clamoring over the mistakes made by him and his team and focus solely on the task at hand: turning his touch of the football on three separate plays into something magical and awe-inspiring.

 

Storylines to Watch in Week 6:

• The Redhot-Skins have beaten some good teams, but now it’s time to beat up on some bad teams to prove that they are more than a fluke.
• The Saints are in dire need of a win.  Enter the Raiders.
• Miami looks to crack .500 in Houston.
• Giants will go 5-0 against Cleveland.
• Green Bay continues their losing skid in Seattle.

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With weekends like this, there is no wonder why the National Football League is America’s most popular sport. Consider these Week 4 highlights: Jet Favre throws six touchdown passes in a shootout against the Greatest Show on Turf (Version 2.0), tying Broadway Joe’s franchise record, the Tennesse Titans go 4-0 for the first time in franchise history, the Raiders choke on a 12-point fourth quarter lead, lowly KC pulls the reigns on the Bronco offense while torching their hollow D for 33 points and the win, a Ohio-based football team garners a win, the Eagles reveal a dent in the armor of the NFC East and lose their first game to a non-Division opponent in Chicago, and last but not least, rookie Head Coach Jim Zorn bucks history by beating the NFL’s top-ranked team in their own building (no previous Redskins Coach had been able to win in Dallas on their first attempt).

Monkey In My Mind NFL Player of the Week

Of course we’ll talk more about some of these headliners below, but first I wanted to take a moment to formalize my week-by-week award for the player who puts together a performance that is most indicative of mastering the monkey mind on the fields of friendly strife.

I hadn’t invented the award yet when I wrote the Week 1 Recap, but the Monkey has authorized me to retroactively deem Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers as the Week 1 MIMM NFL Player of the Week, for his ability to put the sideshow of the Brett Favre Saga behind him and pull out a huge opening day victory.

In Week 2, we saw Santana Moss walk away with the award and in Week 3, Ronnie Brown was the no-brainer selection.

WIth the selection of the winner for Week 4, however, for the first time since starting this blog will the Monkey and I have to issue an apology and a correction to a previous post. The post in question was an entry I made on September 20th entitled, “Kickers Are Not Football Players,” in which I essentially argued for the consolidation of the punting and kicking duties into one position. While I still don’t quite understand why there are two people on the squad to handle these rather similar functions, I now realize that my headline was a bit brash and possibly offensive to NFL kickers, who deserve a bit more respect than I had initially offered, especially in light of an incredible performance by a kicker this weekend, who is the recipient of this week’s Monkey In My Mind NFL Player of the Week Award: Tampa Bay Kicker Matt Bryant.

Tragically, Bryant lost his infant son eariler this week, yet still chose to suit up with his brethren and take the field against Rodgers and the Pack, a “Bay of Pigs” matchup a la the old NFC Central. The fact that Bryant was even able to step out onto the field, much less hammer home the game-winning field goal, along with several other scores earlier in the game, indicates incredible mental toughness, perseverence, leadership, and dedication to ideals above and beyond himself. In fact, Bryant’s performance - triumph amidst tradgedy - literally personifies the Overcoming of the Monkey Mind. In a way that is unfathomable to me as a father, Bryant was able to offer up his performance to his deceased son and his teammates in an inspiring and enlightening manner.

In addition, only now do I realize that my rail against kickers in that post was itself a manifestation of the Monkey Mind in action, similar to my previous free admission that I was harboring resentment towards Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler for the actions of their coaches and/or team management.

That being said, NFL Football Player Matt Bryant wins this week’s Monkey in My Mind Player of the Week Award.

On to this week’s games…

Skins Unseat Beasts of the East

In one of the most hotly anticipated games of the weekend, the Washington Redskins visited Texas Stadium for perhaps the last time to take on the undefeated, top-ranked and arch-rival Dallas Cowboys. The Redskins entered the contest on a two-game winning streak but the high-scoring Cowboys were the unanimous favorites. The Skins were seeking credibility and legitimacy, while the Cowboys were attempting to put their playoff miscues behind them and establish themselves as the leaders of the NFL elite, with the Patriots’ stranglehold on the league suddenly challenged.

The keys to the Redskins’ upset victory were multifold.

• Primarily, their recent success has come hand-in-hand with the marked improvement of QB Jason Campbell. The man hasn’t thrown an interception yet this year and has so far managed to put together a string of extremely efficient performances, quietly checking in as the #4 ranked Passer in the league. To put this accomplishment into perspective, every other quarterback ranked in the top 7 in the league in Passer Rating (Favre, Rivers, Brees, Warner, Romo, and Cutler, respectively) has four interceptions! each
• Secondly, the Redskins D, while allowing over 300 yards per game, has made stops and key turnovers when necessary. Rookie Chris Horton currently stands tied at #2 in the league with 3 interceptions. And, kudos toShawn Springs for making T.O. look like Brandon Lloyd.
• Thirdly, while now a West Coast Offense team, Rookie Head Coach Jim Zorn realizes that the Redskins will likely never stray too far from the rich tradition of power running. Clinton Portis is currently the #5 rusher in the league and has done so without a fumble. The Skins controlled the clock in this ball game through a perfect Yin Yang balance between passing to speedy receivers Santana Moss and Antwaan Randel El, and putting the ball game on the backs of the Redskins Rushing Corps.
• Finally, the previous point leads right into sound coaching. So far Zorn seems to be learning from his mistakes. All you can ever ask for in life is to improve everyday. The Skins are making strides each week and that kind of progress is hard to argue with. They will be facing a hungry Eagles ball club after their very tough loss to an extremely physical Bears Defense. If the Skins can manage back-to-back wins within their Division, the NFL’s toughest, they will suddenly find that they too are surprisingly among the NFL’s new elite.

And oh by the way, they win the right to call themselves Beasts of the East, a title to be challenged next week against Philly.

A word about the ‘Boys. They are a talented team. Among their talented athletes one stands out among the rest. His name is Marion Barber III. Do not forget about him. He had nine touches in that game. Inexcusable.

Skins-Boys Highlights below…

Touchdownapalooza in the Meadowlands

This week, two, count ‘em, TWO teams in the NFL named the Titans won their games. And if I were the person within the New York Jets organization responsible for choosing which uniforms the team wears on Sundays I would keep those ratty blue and gold unis within reach after the bye next week.

Much like Donovan McNabb lighting up the Detroit Lions last year for 4 TD’s and 56 points while wearing the “so ugly they’re bad-assed” Eagle throwback unis, Jet Favre lit up the Arizona Cardinals for 6 TD’s and 56 points while wearing the “so ugly they’re bad-assed” Jet (A.K.A. New York Titans) throwback unis. Oddly enough, the losing quarterbacks in both games (Warner against the Titans, Kitna against the Eagles) threw for over 400 yards each and couldn’t pull out a win. What’s especially notable about the New York win is the fact that the Cardinals committed seven turnovers! I’m not sure if I’ve witnessed that many turnovers in a game in my entire life (the NFL record is 12, tied by three teams in 1942, 1950, and 1965).

The Buffalo Bills wore their “Standing Buffalo” throwback unis earlier in the season and won, while the Pittsburgh Steelers wore their “Bizarro World” (yellow helmets, black jerseys with yellow numbers, & white pants) throwback unis against Baltimore Monday Night and won (also winning while wearing them twice last year, ironically against Buffalo and Baltimore).

I’m a huge fan of throwback unis and personally loved the Redskins yellow-helmeted “R” logo unis, which were designed by Vince Lombardi himself, and worn most recently in 2007 when the Skins suffered a horrific collapse against New York in Week 3 at home. I also love their “Arrow Head” throwbacks that I last saw worn during the Steve Spurrier days. As the Redskins were unsuccessful in most of these games, I doubt they’ll be going back to throwbacks any time soon. Lately they seem to be digging the all-white outfit, the uni they’ve worn during their two playoff runs (2005 and 2007) during the Joe Gibbs II Era.

Another great throwback fave of mine are the powder-blue digs of the San Diego Chargers, which should definitely see the light of day more often. Anyway, except in the case of the ‘Skins, throwbacks mean W’s, so my question is: Why don’t teams wear them more often?

Titans-Cardinals Highlights Below…

Steel Curtain Call for Ravens

“There is no personal foul on the play…only one member of the Steelers jumped into the stands” — NFL Referee, Ravens at Steelers, Sept. 29, 2008

This game was not pretty, but nothing in the AFC North is. The Steelers had a lot to prove after falling to the Eagles and failing to score a touchdown. Both defenses ran clinics against one another but ultimately, Rookie Ravens QB Joe Flacco was manhandled by the Steelers rush. Big Ben wasn’t getting many favors either, but his defense bailed him out with an interception returned for a TD exactly 15 seconds after ending the Steelers’ offensive (both senses of the word) TD drought.

Storylines to Watch in Week 5

With most teams having played a full quarter of their season, we’ll finally get a sense of who’s who and what’s what with our MIMM Quarterly NFL Rankings. And watch out for these key matchups:

• Miami will get a chance to prove whether or not their domination of New England was an aberration or the real thing when the Chargers come to town.
• Resurging Tampa Bay and their tough D will challenge Denver’s offense and we now know Griese and company can move that offense.
• Arizona doesn’t get any breaks after their resounding thumping at the hands of the Jets with the undefeated Buffalo Bills heading their way.
• Dallas takes on Cincy at home and they had better win, and win big, to silence the growing concerns about a lack of leadership surrounding the “T.O. Effect” on their franchise.
• Beast of the East is up for grabs in Philly.
• And the Giants get to prove if they are as good as many think they are with a home date against Seattle (with playing at home being the preferable way to take on the Seahawks, just as ask the Redskins).
• …And will the swarming Titans D keep Joe Flacco on his heals in Baltimore to assure continued, yet aesthetically ugly perfection (5-0) for Vince Young-less ball club?

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I can’t tell you how relieved the Monkey and I are that the big story this weekend is about a player’s performance on the field as opposed to an official’s miscall. 

We’ll talk about Brown’s feat and the greater meaning of the Pats-Fins matchup in a moment below, but first I wanted to share a few new developments in my personal NFL experience.

1) Since I am NFL Sunday Ticket-less, this weekend I again had to make due without watching my team, the Redskins, play live on television.  Last weekend I “watched” the game on ESPN.com’s Gamecast.  This weekend, I switched over to NFL.com and used their version of Gamecast.  The cool thing about NFL.com’s service is that they have a “Red Zone” feature in which live streaming audio is available of local radio announcers (you pick the team whose announcers you want to hear) calling the game whenever either team enters the red zone area on the field.  Pretty cool feature there in which I was able to listen live to a couple of Redskins touchdowns.  I couldn’t hear the one huge Kurt Warner bomb to Fitzgerald, as the play began outside of the red zone, but overall this service is a must-try for anyone who happens to be away from their favorite team but close to a computer on Sunday.

2) The other geeky thing I discovered this weekend was at nbcsports.com during the Sunday Night Football game between the Cowboys and the Packers.  They have an incredible service which allows you view the game in “enhanced” mode, which basically means that you can select different camera angles during the course of the game.  You have the broadcast view, the cable cam, the sideline cam, the endzone cam, and what they call the “star” cam, which usually stays close on marquee players like T.O. when the broadcast camera is on the quarterback (which, in this particular game, wasn’t too exciting as T.O. only caught two balls for 17 yards).  For the true NFL addict, one aspect of watching the game this way is pretty cool, in that the cameras stay live during broadcast commercials, so you get to see a lot of additional sideline footage and atmosphere that you wouldn’t normally see during a broadcast game.  In fact, this aspect really gives the viewer the feeling that they have some kind of exclusive sideline press pass.  Unfortunately, my wife wrestled my computer away from me midway through the game so I didn’t have the opportunity to completely geek out.

Chargers Highjack Jets

In a game I was very much looking forward to, the San Diego Chargers brutalized Brett Favre and the Jets.  And don’t get distracted by the 48-29 score, as two Jets touchdowns came late when the game was out of reach and another was produced by the defense.  In other words, Brett Favre has a long way to go towards being the savior so sorely needed in New Jersey.  He threw two awful interceptions, but also received very little help from his offensive line.

The Chargers, on the hand, should feel good about righting their ship, but I wouldn’t get too giddy if I were them.  The AFC East is a really weird division this season and it’s too early to tell who’s for real.  In other words, who knows what kind of team the Chargers just beat up on?  The Chargers’ secondary looked pretty ferocious tonight, but golly did Favre make a few bad throws…

‘Boys Burst Bubble of “A Rod” and Pack

I’m not going to make any definitive calls on any teams or players until the first quarter of the season is complete, but one thing’s for certain: Aaron “A Rod” Rodgers did not lose this game for the Packers.  He didn’t seem to make any big mistakes, and in fact, made some pretty amazing plays, including a very Favrian jumping throw over the middle to Jennings under major pressure.  He seems calm and confident in the pocket and somehow combines the wileyness of Brett Favre with the composure of Joe Montana.  Did I just say that? 

What I liked about Tony Romo’s performance was his ability to overcome a horrible endzone interception.  He has this lightness and looseness about him that seems to help him concentrate simply on the task at hand, and not on whate