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.
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.
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
JC Takes the B of the E Award from Romo
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
Lucky Throwbacks?
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.
Oh So Sweet Eagle Throwback Unis
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?
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.comand 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 whatever mistakes might have been made. The Cowboys have many, many weapons at their disposal and will be extremely dangerous down the stretch. If only they can win a playoff game.
Ronnie Brown’s five-touchdown extravaganza against the reigning AFC Champion New England Patriots was not only simply electrifying for any fan of the game, but it was also stunning in that it was achieved in a game that nobody outside of about 53 buff-looking guys in Miami (led by a certain Mr. Joseph Porter) expected the Dolphins to win. In addition, Brown’s performance was so incredible that it was literally immediately a facet of football historical lore in the sense that no man in the NFL has run for four touchdowns and thrown for another since 1923!
Here in the Boston area in the days preceding the game, all that was to be heard on sports talk radio was the uproar about Joey Porter’s comments about Patriots’ second fiddle QB Matt Cassel: “If it’s not Tom Brady it shouldn’t be that hard.” Further, Porter promised that the Dolphins would throw everything they had at the Pats, saying, “We need something big to happen for us now.” Given Porter’s propensity for yapping, who knew just how prescient his words would be? Rodney Harrison’s response to Porter’s trash-talking contained simple sportsman eloquence:
“The great thing about football, the great thing about sports, is that you get an opportunity to prove it…It doesn’t matter what I say, what he says, or anyone else in this league says. You have an opportunity to prove it, and just prove it on Sunday. Talk is talk. Just prove it.” — Patriots Safety Rodney Harrison
And prove it they did. The Dolphins simply didn’t win the ballgame. They completely dominated the Patriots in every single facet of the game. Porter backed up his trash talk with three sacks, and oh, by the way, ‘Fins running back made the Patriots D look a little foolish in their inability to defend against what was essentially a college option running attack.
The biggest thing to take out of Sunday’s contest between these two AFC East rivals is the simple fact that on any given Sunday, simply anything can happen in the NFL. No game is a gimme. Now, the next question is, are either of these teams legit? We will answer that question next week when we analyze the status of each team with the first quarter of the 2008 NFL season in the books.
Patriots-Dolphins highlights below…
“Greatest Show on Turf (Version 2.0)” Skinned in D.C.
I like that Kurt Warner is having a bit of a renaissance in Arizona with his freak-diculous corps of wide receivers, but I think that he will be forever challenged by the institutional underachievementthat plagues the Arizona Cardinals franchise. This underachievement was in full throttle when Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt, down by a touchdown with under two minutes to go in the fourth quarter, decides to punt it away to the Redskins instead of going for it on 4th and 4. Cowardly play calling that results in a big “L” at the end of the day.
The Redskins put together a fabulous opening drive and managed the game decently in the second half to hold onto the win. QB Jason Campbell is developing nicely and is finally utitilizing the talented Santana Moss like Mark Brunell did back in 2005. The Redskins will face the “for real” test next week against the Cowboys in Dallas, a game that I think might actually be broadcast in my area.
If the game does come on TV up here in New England, I will face a dilemma. I haven’t been keeping actual statistics or anything, but it feels as though when I watch Redskins games live on TV, they lose, but when I go about my business on Sundays and pay no attention to the scoreboard, the ‘Skins seem to win…Redskins-Cardinals highlights below…
Porous Denver D Holds Off Saints Counterattack
I mention this game because I like the New Orleans Saints and deem them to be one of the most talented worst teams in the NFL. (I can claim the Saints because I was once a Lousiana state resident, paying state taxes there for about 6 years). The Saints prove that it takes more than a top-10 QB, and sick multi-talented RB, and an offensive minded young coach to win ball games consistently. The Saints have been an almost team for the past three years or so and make me wonder how much they can hold out on the precipice of greatness before collapsing from a lack of confidence. I wish these guys the best and hope that they can make something of the rest of their season from here on out. And don’t look now, but the NFC South is suddenly one of the tougher Divisions in football.
Cutler and the Broncos continue to impress, save their defense. They are currently on pace to challenge the 2007 Patriots offensive statistical dominance. Lucky them, we still won’t know if they’re ”for real” or not until after the first quarter of the season is complete because they have Kansas City on their schedule next.
Looks like I was right in last week’s recap about Vikings QB Tavaris Jackson heading to the pine, but I jumped the gun a little on Raiders Coach Lane Kiffin getting yanked sometime during Week 3.
A “for real” test for the Washington Redskins in one of the most storied rivalries in professional sports as the ‘Skins take on the Cowboys in Dallas. In order for the Redskins to win, they must play Sean Taylor football. The Dallas D showed some holes against Philadelphia, but the ‘Skins will have to play a perfect game to compete with the NFC’s best team.
San Diego forgets about 0-2 with a big win against Oakland.
Arizona picks apart the Jets secondary in NJ, but Favre competes in a shootout. Cards prevail.
NOTE FROM MONKEYINMYMIND: As of September 29th 2008, I have officially recanted some of the comments made in this post, including the main idea that NFL Kickers are not football players. Click here to read more about this update.
When I was a kid, we played a lot of backyard football, sometimes even with full pads, and one of my favorite backyard football rules that our neighborhood put into play concerned touchdowns and extra points. We decided that the player who scores the touchdown would be responsible for kicking the extra point (PAT) on the following play. If that person was unable to kick, then his team would be forced to instead go for two. This added an extra layer of excitement and uncertainty surrounding extra points, especially if a team happened to field a player who could actually kick.
Several decades later, I am reminded of that old backyard rule with all of the hoopla surrounding Denver Broncos Coach Mike Shanahan’s decision to go for two and the win in the final seconds of their game against San Diego in Week 2, rather than settling for a one-point PAT to tie it and hoping for a positive spin on the coin toss in overtime. Gregg Easterbrook, who writes the TMQ column for ESPN Page 2 every week of the football season, has been a long-time proponent of the two-point conversion, arguing that its statistical success rate, coupled with the benefit of doubling a team’s potential points after touchdown, make it an option that should be utitilized more frequently.
Skin Patrol, who runs the popular Washington Redskins blog Hogs Haven, has gone even further in this rather detailed post, in which he posits that not only should coaches attempt two-point conversions more often, but that they should simply go for two ALL THE TIME, using a formula based on success rates for each type of conversion attempt, specifically:
Premise 1: More points is better in the NFL.
Premise 2: The odds of successfully converting a 2PC are higher than 50% and success leads to two points.
Premise 3: The odds of successfully converting an XP are between 96% and 100% and success leads to one point.
Conclusion: Teams should (generally) go for a 2PC after scoring touchdowns.
Premise 2 and Premise 3 are actually interpretations of empirical data that certainly can be questioned, although some truths here: XP conversion rate cannot be above 100%. Assuming for the sake of argument that I am correct, that 2PC success rate is above 50%, say, 52%, and XP conversion rate is no higher than 98% (although the reasoning works at 100%) consider:
Each XP attempt is worth 1 x .98 = .98 points.
Each 2PC attempt is worth 1 x .52 = 1.04 points.
In other words, according to this argument, simply attempting a two-point conversion is a wise decision as over time, each attempt will net an additional .06 points. Since more points are, well, more points, coaches would be negligent to not attempt 2PC’s all the time.
This sounds great, but let’s see how that would manifest using some real numbers. In 2007, the Washington Redskins finished 9-7 and made the playoffs. During that season they scored a total of 34 touchdowns. If they had only kicked PAT’s throughout the entire season, they would have ended up with approximately 33 extra points. If they had instead gone for two every single time they scored a touchdown, using the statistical success rate of above of 2PC’s, they would have scored at total of 35 extra points, or two extra points over the course of an entire season by going for two instead of kicking! Hardly a sexy amount of points we’re talking here, and hardly compelling enough for most coaches to open themselves up to ridicule for opting against taking easy points with the PAT.
In addition, these statistics don’t reflect game-to-game situations. In other words, even though going for two might net an additional two points over the course of the season, success in the NFL isn’t measured by a team’s season point total. Instead it is measured by the point total in each game, so having to settle for only six points per touchdown half the time may result in additional losses over the course of the season.
So what’s my point?
My point is that this whole conversation should be moot, and I’ll explain that by asking a question: why is it that NFL teams have at least two skilled kickers on their roster? Why is it that of the 53 valuable slots available to field a competitive football club, teams fill up two of these slots with people who are not even football players?! That’s right, I’m talking about that fact that teams field kickers and punters. Why is it that one guy can’t do both jobs? Sure, you might tell me that there are many nuances to each skill, that one requires strength and speed and the other requires accuracy and uh, quickness. Whatever. I don’t care. Something tells me that if you pay a gentleman $500,000 per year to kick and punt that somehow he’ll manage.
And the teams will manage too. Perhaps they will send in the punting team less often on fourth and short, knowing that their kicker is really only good at nailing field goals and isn’t terribly accurate when it comes to downing punts within the opponents’ 10 yard line. The fact remains is that these individuals aren’t football players at all, they are merely skilled specialists who enter the field of play from time to time, praying that they don’t get hit.
Need proof that punters and kickers aren’t players? Watch below…
So in essence, my proposal is this: allow only one punter/kicker per team. They will be called on only to kick field goals and punts, not extra points. When a team scores a touchdown, the touchdown-scoring player is responsible for attempting the extra point kick. Alternatively, the team can opt to go for two if they know their guy can’t kick. This rule change would make the games much more fluid, uncertain, and dynamic, resulting in a new level of excitement, as nearly every touchdown would come with it an opportunity to score a “touchdown” again. It would also result in a new level of sophistication when it comes to play calling, clock management, game strategy, and play design, as coaches would be forced to come up with new and different schemes to score in goalline situations.
A Compromise
If my proposal above is too radical, an alternative proposal would be for teams to retain kickers and punters, but force them to really earn their pay as skilled technicians in the following way: when teams score touchdowns, the kicker must line up to kick the field goal from the spot on the field where the touchdown-scoring player entered the endzone. In other words, if the player entered the endzone from the center of the field, the kicker would get to kick basically straight on. However, if the player entered the endzone by way of the corner pylons, the kicker would have to line up just inside the sideline to score his measly one point. That might make coaches open things up and go for two a little more often, wouldn’t it?
So how about it, NFL owners?
In off-season before the 2009 season, the NFL owners will meet with the competition committee to discuss any possible rule changes. I suggest they scrap any ideas about extending the regular season to 17 or 18 games and instead institute a rule that will return the NFL to its scrappy toughguy roots.
Santana Moss, Monkeyinmymind NFL Player of the Week
Ah…Week 2 of the NFL. Between fixing the wireless card on my computer and rummaging through my basement in preparation for our pending move to our new home, I managed to sneak a few minutes of the Giants-Rams game, as well as the Vikings-Colts matchup. The first halves of both of these games were underwhelming, and for just a minute I got the sense that the Giants might be a tad overrated after barely beating an anemic Redskins attack, with victorious Giants QB Eli Manning posting a sub-mediocre 61.1 quarterback rating in that first game. As a matter of fact, the most exciting part of the Giants first half was catching interstitial highlights of Aaron Rodgers building up a 21-0 first half lead against the forever hapless Detroit Lions.
Nonetheless, it wasn’t terribly shocking that the Giants ultimately ran away with the game against the Rams, 41-13, but what was shocking was the fact that the Lions not only engineered a phenomenal comeback to go ahead 25-24 with just 7:41 remaining in the fourth quarter, but also squandered that lead and got thoroughly torpedoed in the process, thanks to a Packers field goal, rushing TD, and two Jon Kitna interceptions being returned touchdowns, all within about three minutes.
So far the young Jedi is a game up his on his former mentor Brett Favre. Are the Monkey and I wrong our my prediction that the Rodgers-led Pack will go 6-10? Not officially. Yet.
Beast of the East
In the NFL’s toughest division, the Cowboys and Eagles squared off in a much-hyped Monday Night showdown that failed to disappoint. With their insane shoot-out win over the high-flying Philly Eagles in the books, the Dallas Cowboys are the inaugural recipients of The Monkeyinmymind Beast of the East Award for their demonstrated dominance of the East Coast football clubs.
This game had it all: sick, back to back long bombs by both Romo and McNabb, bone-headed plays by highlight reel-seeking rookies, a Romo fumble for the ages, hard-headed running by Barber and Westbrook, record-setting TD tosses by D McNabb (surpassing Ron “Packers Dynasty” Jaworski’s record for Eagles touchdown passes), defensive & special teams touchdowns, Donovan McNabb looking like his younger self, running up and down the field requiring three or four Dallas defenders to pull him to the turf, all in one of the highest scoring Monday Night games ever.
Watching this game was like looking over the shoulders of a couple of pimple-faced kids duking it out on Madden ‘09, only infinitely more entertaining. One of the best moments of the evening was actually after the final seconds had expired when Tony Romo, after being asked what was going through his head after he managed to cough up a potentially costly fumble, said: “I suck.” I love how this guy shakes off poor play or mistakes and just “rubs some dirt on it” and gets back in there. I shudder to think that my Skins have to take on both these teams in back-to-back weekends: Sept. 28th in Dallas and Oct. 5th in Philly. As if contending with Romo, Barber, and Owens weren’t enough, now Donavan McNabb seems to be on the verge of a career-defining season…Who will be Beast of the East then?
Skins Come Marchin’ Back
I “watched” most of this game on my computer, using ESPN’s Gamecast, but nearly gave up hope when I saw the Redskins fall behind 24-15 midway through the fourth quarter. Is it possible that QB Jason Campbell is finally getting a little of his swagger back now that he’s running an offense similar to that employed by his undefeated Auburn Tigers? It’s too early to tell, but he’ll have an opportunity to showcase his newfound confidence against the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday.
Redskins-Saints Highlights below…
Man in the High Cassel Isn’t Favre (with Apologies to Phillip K. Dick)
Has the Favre honeymoon in New Jersey already come to a close? With Tom Brady out and a quarterback whose last start was at Chatsworth High School (of which actors Kevin Spacey, Val Kilmer, and Kirk Cameron are fellow alums), the New England Patriots suddenly looked vulnerable and represented a possible bonus “W” on the Jets’ schedule. Unfortunately for Jet Favre, the “bend but don’t break” Patriots D a laBelichick Superbowl-Winning Season One showed up, helping the Pats put together a scrappy win. If you live where I live (in the heart of New England) you’d think that Cassel was the second coming of TB, going by the gushing response of the talking head homers on my local sports talk radio station (WEEI AM 850). Granted, Cassel gets his first win as a starter but the game ball should go to the defense for making Jet Favre look as old as he really is.
Patriots-Jets Highlights below…
Cutler Cuts Out Chargers’ Hearts
I wonder what the Tuesday Morning Quarterback himself, Gregg Easterbrook, will say about Denver Head Coach Mike Shanahan’s decision to go for two and the win instead of the PAT and overtime after engineering a referee-aided comeback on top of the Chargers’ miraculous comeback? TMQ, a Shanahan hater, will probably say that Shanahan finally put his ego aside and read his column, heeding the call for less “fraidy-cat” play calling, but I think that he knew that his team was playing in the favor of the Football Gods and that victory would be his, if only he were to reach out and grab it. And grab it he did. Not since the NFL re-adopted the use of the two-point conversion in 1994 and one time in 2005 when the Tampa Bay Bucs stuck a dagger in the heart of my Redskins in 2005 have I witnessed a team potentially risk everything to go for a win instead of the “safe” tie and ensuing overtime.
I'd hate to be this guy right about now...
Truth be told, overtime is hardly a gimme, and more a function of a totally random coin toss than anything else (I am personally a supporter of the NFL adopting college football’s overtime rules requiring teams to each get a chance to score from their opponents’ 25 yard line). So in a way, the only thing courageous about Shanahan’s call was his recognition that his team had squandered a huge lead, been the beneficiary of two horrible officiating calls, and might not have a chance against the surging Chargers and Darren Sproles, who had already scored two unbelievable long touchdowns.
Broncos-Chargers Highlights below…
Week 2 Monkey’s Eye View:
Watch out for Tavaris Jackson’s benching, Lane Kiffin’s firing, and for the San Diego Chargers to take on their first “must-win” of the season. Until next week…
Can I tell you a secret? The Monkey and I were secretly hoping for the Minnesota Vikings to defeat the Packers purely out of unwarranted dislike for new Green Bay starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Why do I not care for this young lad, considering he and I have never met and he has done no personal harm to me that I am currently aware of? The answer to that question might not matter, if I only I recognize that this manner of thought (wishing for another being’s failure) isn’t doing much to make the world a better place. Only now, after an entire summer of me and my Monkey holding Rodgers and the Packers in a bad light ever since theBrett Favre Saga, can I freely redirect my NFL-loving energy and interest in a positive direction for the remainder of the 2008 season.
Does this mean I suddenly join the Aaron Rodgers Fan Club Space Craft, piloted by none other than Chief Rodgers’ Enthusiast “Jaws” Jaworski? Does this mean that I no longer wish Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy realize the errors of his ways?
Read below to find out…
Giants Rattle Reeling Redskins
By now you probably know that I am partial to the WashingtonRedskins and was understandably pumped when the NFL decided to pair up the Skins with the Superbowl Champion New York Giants for 2008’s Thursday Night season opener. Living in New England, it’s a rare thing for me to get an opportunity to see my boys grid it out on the local TV up in the Boston area. The fact this was a nationally televised game made this evening a very special episode of Thursday Night Football in mine and the Monkey’s eyes. So special, that despite having to leave for a three-night trip to Las Vegas, Nevada for the ABC Show in support of our website, OrganicGreenMommy.com, I was glued to the TV instead of packing my bags and oh, by the way, preparing our home for an inspection after recently going into contract to sell.
Earlier in the evening, I foolishly misread kickoff time to be 8pm and found myself in my local Radio Shack buying gear for my video camera. Driving back to my house I flipped on the radio and learned that Redskins were already down by a score in the first quarter and were about to be down by more. By the time I finally found my way to the living room easy chair, the Giants had increased their lead again.
The Redskins offense literally did not show up at all in the first half of the game, flustered by the ferocious Giants D. Eli did a great job of connecting with his go-to receiver Plaxico Burress, especially in the first half, but did not put up a huge game statistically when all was said and done. Truth be told, Redskind Quarterback Jason Campbell finished with a better quarterback rating than victorious Eli Manning, registering a 81.2 rating, as compared to Eli’s 61.1 rating. If Eli does not run a clinic this weekend against the St. Louis Rams, I would be worried, were I a Giants fan.
The Redskins D turned up the heat a bit in the second half, shutting down the Giants completely. Only problem was the Redskins offense failed to make a first down in the third quarter and only found its rhythm once the game was out of reach. To make matters worse, freshman Head Coach Jim Zorn poorly handled his play selection and clock management.
They played with a glaring lack of urgency in the final drive of the game and must practice more situational play calling and game planning if he wishes to have any hope of delivering a plus .500 season. Truth be told, the Giants may even have more to worry about than the Redskins, considering their failure to truly capitalize on the Redskins’ ineptitude. After all, they kept the game mathematically within reach for the clearly out-matched Burgundy and Gold until the closing seconds.
Favre Magic Comes to Miami
I managed to see the fourth quarter of this game over lunch at the trade show in Las Vegas. When I caught a glimpse of the roughly two-dozen flat screen TV’s hanging over one of many food courts at the Las Vegas Convention Center, I was tickled to see Favre and the Jets clinging to a fourth quarter lead while discarded former Jet Chad Pennington finally got his groove on when it mattered most. Although I later learned that Pennington didn’t have the greatest game in the earlier quarters, I felt that he appeared confident and passed accurately, aided by his trademark gentle touch and smooth release.
New Favre teammate Darrelle Revis bailed out Brett with a last second end zone interception to seal the win, and I was actually torn by the result, quietly hoping the best for Pennington in his new role in Miami while simultaneously visualizing a Favre win in his first game with Gang Green.
Later, in my hotel room, I got to see Brett’s highlight reel, filling in some of the details from earlier in the game, including both of Favre’s ridiculous touchdown tosses. With the New England Patriots vulnerable now that 2007 MVP Tom Brady is out for the season, the New York Jets could easily capture the AFC East, securing a playoff spot for Favre and his new team.
In a previous post, I spoke of the Football Godsseeking to smite the Green Bay Packers with defeat this season, but now I realize the opening salvos of their master plan revealed: to pit Favre against his former team in the Superbowl, the only game this season that Favre could possibly exact “revenge” on the Packers. A Packers-Jets Superbowl is certainly unlikely, but not impossible. The Colts looked weak against the Bears on Sunday night, we already know about the challenges the Patriots could possibly face without Brady under center, and Chargers could again be on the verge of another colossal choke.
Could the Jets be a serious contender this season? No doubt about it.
Rodgers Quiets the Beast…For Now
Ron Jaworski could barely contain his enthusiasm for Rodgers’ performance on Monday Night against the Vikings. Despite some of the negative remarks I reserved for the Green Bay Packers over the summer, it’s difficult to argue that it’s not “so far, so good” for Aaron and the Packers with game one behind them.
(Note: When I went back and re-read my post predicting a 6-10 Packers finish, I realized that I am still technically, albeit somewhat, “accurate” in my overall opinion about the Pack’s chances this season, as I had noted that the Vikings would “likely sweep” the Packers in 2008. If the Vikes win the next one I won’t be entirely wrong in my prediction, with “likely” being the operative word. I will keep you up date on the accuracy of my prediction as the season progresses in this series.)
I gotta admit, Rodgers played virtually flawlessly for a “fourth year rookie,” and his supporting cast certainly stepped up to the plate in the victory too, as I now take a moment to apologize about mixing sport metaphors.
My earlier post also mentions that the Vikings last year were a quarterback away from being a playoff team, and unfortunately that still appears to remain the case. And yet, I’m starting to like Vikings QB Tarvaris Jackson. The guy gets no respect.Sometimes, when I watch young Action Jackson play, I squint my eyes, just enough to obscure his form but still see his jersey number 7, urging me to remember vanquished Falcon Mike Vick in his early days. Tavaris has excellent running skills and seems to be a smart football player. I think one of his greatest weaknesses, however, is his accuracy, as he made several decent reads yet failed to hook up with his receivers on numerous occasions.
I think he might have a future ahead of him, provided his coaches either:
1) give him the chance to continue to develop at the expense of losing some games here and there, or
2) utilize him according to his strengths, a la Bill Cowher’s deployment of Kordell Stewart back in 1995 for the Pittsburgh Steelers, when he lined up all over the field, including wide receiver. I’m not aware of Jackson’s catching abilities, but there is no doubt he can run. He has the potential to be Vick-like in his ability to run a run-oriented offense similar to the Atlanta Falcons’ ground-gnashing attack conceived by former Head Coach Jim Mora.
Raiders Look Silly in Broncos Slap-Around
This game kept me up until after midnight this past Monday night, despite the fact that after returning from my trip to Las Vegas I had just a single night at home before packing my bags again for a three-day trip to Rhode Island. These are two teams that for some reason I can conjure little concern for, other than noting my Aaron Rodgers-esque dislike of Jay Cutler, for no reason other than Head Coach Mike Shannahan’s decision to dump playoff quarterback Jake Plummer in exchange for Cutler during the 2006 season. I felt that Plummer took the fall for the Shannahan Regime after losing the 2005 Championship Game back in 2005, despite compiling one of the best seasons of his often controversial career. For this, I wanted to blame that genius Mike Shannahan for ending Plummer’s career. Suddenly I realized that in a way, I was also blaming Cutler himself for Plummer’s benching. More accurately, I was hoping for Shannahan to be wrong, and for Shannahan to be wrong, Cutler had to fail. In his textbook performance, Cutler, like Rodgers, silenced the Monkey in my mind that secretly hoped for their collective failure, in vain hopes of proving their coaches wrong to hand the reigns to these mostly unproven quarterbacks. The success that both of these quarterbacks achieved in Week One indicates that their coaches saw something excellent in practice when they made their move to promote the former bench-warmers to starters. For that, I’ll tip my hat to Coaches McCarthy and Shannahan for the time being.
On the other side of the Cutler Clinic were the hapless Oakland Raiders, looking like lost little children under seemingly juvenile second year Head Coach Lane Kiffin (aka Youngblood). Jamarcus Russell was unremarkable and top draft pick Darren McFadden a non-factor. I feel bad for those guys and don’t see much hope of improvement during this season. This AFC West matchup was a beatdown from jump, but another AFC West rival had better have taken notice of the Broncos, Cutler, and his high-flying rookie receiver Eddie Royal. The Chargers’ 2007 Division Championship will be sorely contested by the Broncos this season and I look forward to their Week Two matchup.
In the one preseason game that’s supposed to “matter,” Game Three, in which starters receive the most playing time, the Redskins got manhandled, abused, and embarrassed by their Mid-Atlantic rivals, the Carolina Panthers.
No game-saving heroics from Colt Brennan on this one; just an ugly, lackluster, anemic performance from the offense and a porous showing by a defense that appears to be swiftly falling from grace from their Gregg Williams heyday.
I was a little worried during the 2008 Draft when Redskins management made their focus offensive skill players as opposed to finding standout offensive or defensive linemen in the draft’s opening rounds. Are we seeing a glimpse of this folly now during the preseason, or was this game an aberration, a case of over-confidence, exhaustion, or poor game-planning?
Whatever the case, the Redskins will need to get their act together in short order to avoid getting embarrassed in front of a national television audience against the Superbowl Champion New York Giants on September 4th. The G-men are looking pretty sharp right now, especially little Eli, despite the loss of Osi Umenyiora for the season.
We shall see, but the prospects for a bright season for the Washington Redskins suddenly grew dim in Carolina this past weekeend.
The Monkey and I contend that The Football Gods will smite the 2008 Green Bay Packers for their hubris, inflexibility, and short-sightedness. The idea that the Packers will be able to orchestrate a playoff push without a single quarterback on their roster with an NFL start gracing their resume is ludicrous. The Packers are the youngest team in the NFL and that youth and inexperience will prove to be a detriment as this upcoming season unfolds.
Head Coach Mike McCarthy is mostly unproven, compiling an 8-8 record in his rookie season with a future Hall of Fame quarterback at the helm. It is no coincidence that the Packers’ phenomenal run last year coincided with former QB Brett Favre’s third-best statistical season ever. The Packers’ success last year was tied directly to Favre’s success. In other words, without Brett under center, the Packers will likely perform at level somewhat below their 2006 campaign, as it is a football fact that a football team cannot succeed without a solid quarterback leading the way (the Trent Dilfer-led Baltimore Ravens being the notable exception). With a completely unproven fourth-year “rookie” running the show, Coach McCarthy will have to start all over.
I couldn’t help but chuckle the other night watching a few minutes of the Thursday ESPN telecast of the Cardinals-Saints preseason game. Loudmouth know-it-all former QB and self-professed gamefilm guru Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser engaged in a little verbal sparring over how the Packers will fare without Brett Favre, and listening to Jaworski’s arguments in favor of Aaron Rodgers revealed the borderline insanity that no doubt fueled the Packers organization’s decision-making process (and other who supported their move) over the last few weeks. Jaworski had to add such a litany of qualifiers in order to extol the virtues of his little man-crush Rodgers and Kornheiser took him to task on it.
Kornheiser maintained, as I do, that the focus should be to win now, not in the future, and Favre gave the Packers the best chance for that possibility. Jaworski ridiculously dismissed the “win now” argument, gushing in favor of the completely insane notion that the Packers were instead in the midst of “building a dynasty” on the shoulder pads of Mr. Aaron Rodgers. “Dynasty?” Kornheiser guffawed, to which Jaws went on to add caveat after caveat, like if this kid turns out to be good, and if he doesn’t get injured, and if the rest of the team performs, and if McCarthy’s gameplans turn out to be effective, blah, blah, blah.
Breaking Down The Packers’ 2008 Schedule
Thanks to “Jet” Favre, the Packers owned one of the best records in football in 2007, earning them a tougher schedule in 2008.
Fortunately they get to play the Lions and Bears twice every year, and I think they will probably split those four games. The Minnesota Vikings were extremely tough last year, depsite lackluster play at the QB position. I think the Vikes will likely sweep their games with the Packers this season.
The Cowboys, Colts, and Seahawks (playing at home) will all definitely beat the Packers this season, and the Bucs maybe, depending on what happens at the QB position. Down the stretch they also face tough games against the Panthers and at the Titans, Saints, and Jaguars. The Texans, whom the Pack contends with in Week 14, made some huge improvements last season and are no longer guaranteed W’s on anybody’s schedule.
Bottom line, this is no schedule for a young blood to be learning the ropes of the NFL. Aaron Rodgers will be tested frequently and early. If he thought it were a bad thing to have to play second fiddle one more year to Brett Favre now he will be under the microscope more than any other QB in the league, except perhaps the guy wearing number “4″ down in New Jersey.
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.
