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16 Oct 2006
Audibles at the Line: Week 6
Each Sunday, the FO staff sends around e-mails to each other, both during and after the games. It lets us share ideas for columns and comments, and get an idea of how teams that we can’t watch are playing. Be aware that the material in this roundtable might seem a bit disjointed and un-edited. It also might still show up later in the week in other columns, or in comments in PFP 2007. Games are chosen based on our own personal viewing preferences, and are going to reflect the teams we support and the cities where we live.
Great Moments in Sunday Ticket Bar History
Aaron Schatz: I have to start Audibles this week with a small story about the day Ian Dembsky and I had at Rock Bottom in Braintree, MA. My goal for the day was to see the Saints and the Rams, to figure out whether those teams were really as good as their records. Ian wanted to see his beloved Bucs try to get off the schneid. So we get to the bar and every television is playing Tennessee-Washington. We go up to the bar and ask, and they show us the list of what games they are showing. Eight televisions, and the list has a total of three early games: Philadelphia-New Orleans, Tennessee-Washington, and Buffalo-Detroit. Buffalo-Detroit??? Yes, it turns out they have only three satellite dishes, and according to the staff, "we received a lot of calls from Mug Club members requesting Buffalo-Detroit." After 20 minutes of arguing and the staff trying to figure out how to work the television remote controls, we finally talked them into changing one of the Buffalo-Detroit televisions to Giants-Atlanta on local broadcast. I don't think we're going back there again.
By the way, a grand total of one guy showed up specifically to watch Buffalo-Detroit. He showed up in the middle of the second quarter in a Willis McGahee jersey. We feel that Detroit's win was karmic justice. Plus, the other CBS games ended early enough that Ian got to see Tampa score the go-ahead touchdown in "bonus coverage," so we were happy.
Oh, and apparently the batteries in the remote control for the television switched to local broadcast died during the afternoon, so when we hit the late games, we watched San Francisco-San Diego, Kansas City-Pittsburgh, and The Cosby Show, until they finally went out and bought batteries so they could switch that television to Jets-Miami at halftime.
New York Giants 27 at Atlanta Falcons 14
Bill Barnwell: Pretty much awful execution by both offenses so far -- the Falcons offensive line is no match for the Giants defensive line on running plays. Daryl Johnston actually made a good point talking about how Strahan is underrated as a run stopper, which is what separates him from the Freeney types.
Kareem McKenzie has been getting abused by John Abraham. Abraham sacked Manning and forced a fumble on the Giants' two-minute drive, which would've killed the drive if it wasn't for Tiki Barber tiptoeing through the Falcons defense on a screen for 25 yards, which would've kept the drive going if it wasn't for an unnecessary hold by Chris Snee making the play come back. Ugh.
Has anyone ever been able to figure out why they don't just put Tony Siragusa in the broadcast booth? Does he have a push-to-talk mic? He also said he wore a L.T. jersey growing up in New Jersey. Siragusa's all of eight years younger than Taylor himself.
Mike Tanier: Falcons-Giants was my over-the-shoulder game at the bar this week. Every time I turned around, the Giants had the ball, even when the Falcons led. Factor in the long TD by Dunn, and I know without going to the Gamebook that the Falcons were lousy on third downs and had several three-and-out drives.
Bill Barnwell: We're in the second half now and the defenses have seemingly given up on tackling, taking good routes to the ballcarrier, or really anything beyond looking silly. That is, except for Patrick Kerney on screen plays. Jim Mora threw the red flag for the worst of all possible challenges -- the ballcarrier-stepped-out-at-the-one-foot-line challenge, which even if successful means the other team still has first and goal from the one inch line, and you've wasted a challenge.
Does Eli Manning practice throwing the ball three inches over Plaxico Burress' fingertips? He has to. No one can be that good at it.
Is there any sort of fake LaVar Arrington won't fall for? Do his teammates laugh each week when Arrington comes to practice and shows off the watches he bought on Canal Street, or do they just accept it at this point? How much money has he sent to Nigeria? This has to be an unreported story.
I love him, but Jared Lorenzen still looks like he won a contest to stand on an NFL sideline each game.
Keith Brooking's had a pretty poor game -- he hasn't been shedding blockers and he's been no match inside for Shockey. Atlanta's played really well against tight ends so far this season, but they were awful last year and I'm inclined to think they haven't improved that much from what I've seen today. Right as I type that, Shockey strolls over the middle, catches a pass from Manning, and falls backwards into the end zone for the game-ending touchdown. Falcons could've won this game if their defense had shown up for the second half -- Kerney coming out with a hamstring injury really hurt them.
Aaron Schatz: The comments Ian and I were making to each other during this game were exactly the same as what Bill wrote. I wonder what percentage of Plaxico Burress jump balls are not actually supposed to be jump balls? I mean, when a guy has to leap a foot in the air to catch the pass on a 12-yard curl route, the quarterback has some problems.
As much as Kareem McKenzie was being abused, I also thought that Wayne Gandy had some major problems with the Giants pass rush. There were a couple plays where guys would come on either side of him and he'd sort of stand around wondering why he forgot to block one of them.
For those who didn't see this game, there was a hilarious mishap on the shotgun option. I guess that there were some crossed signals on the audible, but Vick tried to hand it to Dunn, but I guess Dunn thought it was a play-fake and Vick ended up dropping the ball on the ground. Sam Madison picked it up. I guess between that and an earlier interception off a tipped pass, Madison could pretend for a week that he was still a Pro Bowl player and not a toasty-good has been.
Does anyone know why:
1) The Giants were doing fake basketball jump shots after sacking Michael Vick?
2) FOX kept showing a big picture of swimming fish superimposed on the Atlanta jumbotron -- then showed the fish superimposed on the Atlanta skyline while going to commercial at one point?
Ian Dembsky: On Michael Vick's touchdown run, the key block that allowed him to score was thrown by Warrick Dunn 20 yards downfield. Is there anyone who does not like Warrick Dunn?
Seattle Seahawks 30 at St. Louis Rams 28
Doug Farrar: Seattle's defense is playing tremendously soft against the Rams. This is much more a defense you'd see from Ray Rhodes, the current consultant and former coordinator, than the creative line stunts and twists exhibited by current coordinator John Marshall last season. Especially in the postseason, the Seahawks would get pressure with four and allow the linebackers to hit the zones, with movement on the snap up front. I don't know what the problem is -- they didn't lose a Steve Hutchinson on THAT side of the line. Same personnel, much less spice. When they finally do get to Bulger, Ken Hamlin pushes off on him as he gets up, and the Rams get a 15-yard freebie.
On offense ... well, let's put it this way. There is 9:19 left in the second quarter as I write this, and the Seahawks have rushed for -1 yards. The offensive line is a shell of what it used to be.
An interesting second-quarter twist to that defensive strategy is that Bryce Fisher sacked Bulger twice with Seattle only rushing three. The first time, he bull-rushed Orlando Pace into Bulger. Second time, he just blew right by him.
Seattle's first third-quarter drive stalled, and Josh Brown's subsequent field goal attempt hit the left AND right uprights before falling in front of the goalposts, no good.
Sometimes, it's just not your day.
...and sometimes you go and win anyway.
Boy, has this been a tale of two halves. The Seahawks came out looking like the team that got skunked by Chicago two weeks ago, turned the tempo around, and wound up resembling a slightly less fundamentally sound version of the defending NFC champs.
On third-and-19 from the St. Louis 34 on the first play of the fourth quarter, Seattle had Deion Branch lined up right wide against Tye Hill, the rookie CB, who hasn't been having his best day, with no safety help. The play called is Maurice Morris up the middle for three yards and a field goal. The Seahawks really need to substitute a second head coach on every third and long -- Holmgren always calls those damned running plays.
Aaaaaaand ... Seattle takes the lead for the first time in the game after Kevin Curtis fumbles the kickoff return and Hasselbeck goes to Branch in the end zone two plays later. I need a beer.
Five of Seattle's six sacks came with three ends/tackles on the line -- two with Julian Peterson as a rushing end, and three without. When Orlando Pace goes to Canton, they're not going to run films of this game. Bryce Fisher has been overpowering him. The defense, so cautious in the first half, is playing up a bit more now.
Seattle's 17 unanswered points in the second half were assisted greatly by two pass interference penalties on St. Louis in the third quarter -- one on Travis Fisher and one on Hill. Bulger's first pick of the year was due to Lofa Tatupu's most unheralded ability -- the ability to back into coverage against elite receivers. The pass was meant for Torry Holt. Maurice Morris' subsequent fumble was St. Louis' sixth red zone takeaway this season, most in the NFL.
Michael Boulware covered Holt on that late TD as well as anyone can. Holt just adjusted, made what he thought was the catch, handled the bobble, and finally caught the ball going away. Just an amazing play. I know Steve Smith had an incredible day for Carolina, but I don't know if it would be possible for him to do anything that impressive. Might be the play of the year so far.
Seattle had an offensive penalty with four seconds left, but it was illegal formation -- no 10-second runoff on that particular foul. Josh Brown hit the 54-yard field goal to give the Seahawks the 30-28 nail biter, because Ed Hochuli knew a rule that I'd bet half the officials in the NFL would have blown.
Aaron Schatz: Clutch performance is a cruel mistress.
Bill Barnwell: Special thanks to Torry Holt's play of the year for ensuring that the Scramble Lock of the Week won't be Sex Panther-related. Grumble grumble grumble...
Ned Macey: Sports Illustrated had a player pool of who was the top wide receiver in football, and Holt was in the equivalent of "others receiving votes." What a joke. He's a great receiver. Great hands, great routes. He abused the Seahawks throughout the game. He's on his way to his seventh straight 1,300-yard season.
This was the first game of the season where the opposition has really gotten a lot of pressure on Bulger, and he still likes to hold the ball a bit much.
The Rams defensive success is a fraud based on an inordinate amount of turnovers forced. Leonard Little gets pressure, and Witherspoon makes the occasional big play, but they give up a lot in the passing game. Admirable performance against Seattle up front, but every team that has played Seattle has felt their defensive line did a good job.
Aaron Schatz: Speaking of Seattle, I'm eating delicious new Chunky BBQ Burger Soup for dinner. Later tonight, Ricky Manning is coming over so I can throw him some ridiculous interceptions.
Doug Farrar: Don't forget to shave your head!
Mike Tanier: Wait a minute, I thought that was a reference to Manning picking off McNabb in the 2003 playoffs. Does Manning abuse all the soup guys?
Doug Farrar: Hmmm ... has FO discovered another trend?
Tennessee Titans 25 at Washington Redskins 22
Bill Barnwell: Don Criqui is abysmal. And it's not as if Steve Beuerlein was saving him. He seriously wasn't even forming coherent sentences.
Jeff Fisher was celebrating this win like it was the Music City Miracle. Small victories...
Mike Tanier: Vince Young kept getting hammered in this game, and he kept getting up. I guess he's smart enough to know that he doesn't want Kerry Collins to get another shot at starting.
I'm still amazed at how much the Redskins rely on those little flat passes to Santana Moss, plus all of the screens and draws. They really look like they are outsmarting themselves at times. On one play, they tried to set up this complicated double-screen to Clinton Portis: Mark Brunell turned and faked to Moss to the right, dropped further, tossed to Portis. Chris Hope, a Titans safety, read the play from the snap and tackled Portis for a seven-yard loss or so. It's rare to see a receiver working the middle of the field; everything is flats, flats, flats, then the bomb.
Overall, the Redskins looked mediocre on both sides of the ball and had a big special teams gaffe. And they are relatively healthy right now. What if they suffer some injuries? I can't see how they would move the ball without Moss as a receiver and a decoy/threat.
Ryan Wilson: The Redskins were without both DTs, today but I can't imagine a scenario where I would expect the defense to ever give up 194 rushing yards. And to the Titans no less. Carlos Rogers continues to stink, and for all that Sean Taylor doesn’t, he struggles in coverage.
Pac-Man Jones continues to play well, and he did a solid job on Moss when Washington wasn't running some variation of the slip screen or end around. I have no idea what Brunell was doing on the final interception of the game. The Skins had over a minute on the clock and on the very first play he throws a Hail Mary that's intercepted at the 50. Huh? Obviously, Washington needs more high-priced coaches.
Aaron Schatz: Vince Young had a throw on a second-down pass to Ben Troupe in the fourth quarter that was so hard Troupe couldn't handle it. That's one of those things young quarterbacks really need to learn in the NFL: touch. You don't have to throw everything as hard as possible.
Philadelphia Eagles 24 at New Orleans Saints 27
Mike Tanier: A very frustrating game. The Eagles kept launching bombs, and most of the throws were dropped by receivers or a little too long or were broken up at the last minute. The muffed punt with two minutes to go in the half completely changed the complexion of this game. Ryan Moats (who bumped into Dexter Wynn) makes too many mental errors, and it seemed like Wynn could never find the ball against the dome roof. I want Reno Mahe back!
Gotta give the Saints credit. Their offensive line is better than anyone expected, and their linebacking corps is not as bad as it looked like it would be at the start of camp. Scott Fujita and that Shanle kid did a great job sniffing out screens, which took away a big part of the Eagles gameplan. The Saints real weakness is their secondary, and while I'm impressed with what they've done this year, I think it will be hard for them to keep protecting their safeties and their non-McKenzie cornerbacks (and McKenzie isn't that great).
Maybe a reader can help: The Saints ran a triple stack formation today, with 3 receivers lined up directly behind each other. It's a common formation at lower levels of competition that is now seen a lot in I-A college football. That's the first time I spotted it in the NFL. Are any teams using it frequently?
Ned Macey: Somewhere along the way, the Eagles removed all 10-to-25 yard passes from their playbook. They have the screen, the short cross, and the McNabb-hold-the-ball-a-long-time-and-throw bombs. That being said, they were the better team after the first quarter. Credit to New Orleans for getting their act together to drive down for the game-winning field goal.
I must say I'm impressed watching longtime FO-punching bag Deuce McAllister. He runs hard and aggressively. The list of reasons for New Orleans' turnaround has about 10 items on it before "Reggie Bush" appears. I think all the efforts to "get him the ball" are holding the offense back. Joe Horn, by the way, looked like his old self today.
Michael David Smith: Although a blitz forced him to throw his first interception in a few games, Drew Brees was great at avoiding Philly's pass rush, and an assist has to go to Reggie Bush. No, Bush wasn't picking up the blitzes, but the threat of Brees dumping off short passes to Bush had Philly's linebackers staying at home more than they usually do. Bush is a good rookie wide receiver who lines up in the backfield a lot and might become a good running back some day, too.
Aaron Schatz: Unfortunately, when you are in a bar, you can't sit with your DVR and rewind and watch things in slow motion. Can anyone explain just what defense the Eagles were trying to play on the long Joe Horn touchdown to tie the game late, and how exactly did they screw it up?
Mike Tanier: The Eagles were in Cover-2 on that bomb to Horn. Sheppard reacted to the motion of a receiver in front of him and did not get back to his drop point. Horn started a corner route and then came back to the post. Michael Lewis tripped all over himself trying to turn around. If you are keeping score, the bomb to Terry Glenn last week was a Cover-2 and Horn's first touchdown was against a Cover-2. And all 3 times, Lewis was the deep safety. I think opponents have found a weakness.
Aaron Schatz: I really came away from this impressed with the Saints. They were pressuring McNabb, and their own offensive line was doing a very good job of preventing pressure on Brees -- not a perfect job, but considering how strong a pass rush the Eagles bring, a very good job.
Brian Westbrook, like Warrick Dunn, is pretty good at pushing for extra yards up the middle. Why is Andy Reid so afraid to just let the guy run sometimes?
I wrote in my preview of this game that Deuce McAllister is having a big comeback season. "Someone," a frequently critical commenter, wrote in the discussion thread: "McAllister is a painfully mediocre back according to FO and some posters here. What's he coming back to?" The answer is that he's coming back FROM a big injury TO being a better running back than he was before. This is a different guy than the pre-injury McAllister. He's running forward with more authority instead of junking and looking for the hole that will bring him the big play. He's far more consistent, with more 5-7 yard runs that keep drives going and put the team into good passing situations instead of third-and-long. Some of it is the offensive line improvement, but Bush can't get any yards behind this line because he's not this kind of runner.
By the way, Edgerrin James underwent the exact same transformation when he came back from his ACL injury. The difference is that James was great as a boom-and-bust back, and great as a consistent back. McAllister was mediocre as a boom-and-bust back, and very good as a consistent back.
I still think the Eagles are the better team on a neutral field, but the Saints are definitely not a fluke and are going to be in the hunt all year.
Buffalo Bills 17 at Detroit Lions 20
Michael David Smith: The Lions actually looked like a competent NFL team today. Hard to believe. I think Kevin Jones might finally be figuring out that the way to gain yards is to run hard as soon as you get the ball, not to dance around in the backfield and hope you get an engraved invitation to run through the defense. Still, this isn't a very talented team. It's not even the high-profile first-round busts: A team that has drafted at the top of the second, third, and fourth rounds for five straight years should have better young depth all over the field than the Lions do.
Houston Texas 6 at Dallas Cowboys 34
Michael David Smith: Speaking of teams that draft high and don't have enough to show for it, the Texans are no better than they were last year. Andre Johnson is a stud, and the rest of the team is a mess.
Mike Tanier: This game was 6-3 Texans at half. In fact, all four NFC East teams were trailing for about a half hour or so, then all four came back to at least tie the game.
Drew Bledsoe looked really, really bad in the first half. The whole Cowboys offense looked flat. In the end, T.O. got his touchdowns and the game was a rout, but I can't imagine what the halftime mood was in the locker room.
Will Carroll: Nearly the entire Texans team is banged up after today's game, especially on defense. Is there any way to know if specific teams actually do end up beating the hell out of their opponents so much that the team is reduced the next week? A Physicality Factor?
Miami Dolphins 17 at New York Jets 20
Bill Barnwell: Jim Nantz talks about "Little Wes Welker" like he just got called up from sprint football or something.
The Dolphins would repeatedly spend time in the first half running at the perimeter of the Jets defense with goofy toss plays and reverses when the Jets weakness, all season, has been straight up the middle. That's poor preparation or an utter lack of confidence in your interior OL.
A Jets offensive series, chosen at random: busted draw with Barlow on first down, instant throw to a split-out Barlow called at the line for five yards, bizarre Arena-esque screen to Tim Dwight that astronauts could've seen developing from space for a loss of seven yards. Just goofy.
Drew Coleman tries to make the big hit on Chris Chambers and, despite a six-yard running start, bounces right off of Chambers. Oops.
Joey Harrington kills a drive with an unfathomably bad throw to Victor Hobson.
An unusually intelligent point from Phil Simms: he actually talks about how great Miami's corners have been against opposition wide receivers and he's half right -- they're fourth against #1 WRs through five weeks, 31st against #2's. Unfortunately for Simms, he makes up for it with a hilarious moment a few minutes later when, in the middle of praising Ben Graham, he talks about Graham's years spent kicking for the Chargers and then stops in mid-sentence. You know, because all those Australian kickers are the same.
Speaking of Ben Graham, I continue to believe that the Jets don't deserve him. He boots a 67-yard punt that's nullified because the first Jet (of eight surrounding it) to touch the ball had been out of bounds. The next punt ends up spotting the Dolphins 46 yards of field position. Hooray Jets.
Nick Saban throwing out the Challenge flag while the announcers talk about how he's going to lose the challenge is eerily like someone calling an all-in bet on TV when they're drawing dead.
The Jets continue to employ Brad Smith in the Mike Vrabel "I am never a decoy" role.
This game really came down to whoever could screw up coaching the least. On one hand, Eric Mangini was constantly leaving his defensive backs in matchups against Derek Hagan, Randy McMichael, and Wes Welker (who made a gorgeous diving catch) that they couldn't handle just so he could double Chris Chambers, and when those DBs started giving six-yard cushions, the Dolphins moved down the field pretty much impeded for three consecutive drives. Unfortunately, Nick Saban managed to out-uncoach Mangini. On third-and-2 with 45 seconds left from the Jets 33, he decided to throw instead of running the ball, despite having a timeout to spare -- an incompletion meant Olindo Mare had to kick a 50-yard field goal, which he then dutifully missed to give the Jets the win. It was Herm Edwards-esque.
By the way, the Jets managed to keep Ronnie Brown under 6 yards per carry today. Pretty good day for them.
Pennington really stares down Coles when he wants to throw the slant to him. When he sails the throw a little, like he did today deep in his own territory, a sure-handed DB's going to read it and return it for six. Unfortunately, the Dolphins don't have a sure-handed DB.
Does Hank Poteat rent the same apartment every time the Patriots signed him? We really need to do a feature on his conversations with Belichick and Pioli.
Mike Tanier: Wow, the Dolphins sure are a mutt team this year. Glad we called for a bad year from them in PFP.
Michael David Smith: Laveranues Coles is really good. Early this season I thought Pennington was having a renaissance, but now I think it's more that any quarterback can look good when he has Coles to throw to. I can't think of anyone with his pure speed who also runs such good routes.
Aaron Schatz: The Jets didn't just throw on third-and-2, they threw long. REALLY long. If you're going to try to switch things up by throwing on third-and-2 while you are trying to run out the clock, at least throw a high-percentage pass that will likely end with a tackle in bounds.
As far as the Dolphins being a mutt team, PFP didn't call for a bad year, it just called for an 8-8 year instead of a Super Bowl year like many were predicting.
Kansas City Chiefs 7 at Pittsburgh Steelers 45
Mike Tanier: I usually root for the Chiefs in the AFC, but I am enjoying this beat down. This job has got me rooting against all of the "sky is falling" rhetoric that you hear every time a good team loses.
Doug Farrar: In the PIT-KC game, I'm torn between wanting to applaud Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt for a great gameplan and feeling the need to throw up at the sight of this Kansas City defense. Terrible coverage, arm tackles all over the place ... either there's something wrong with the way my laptop is displaying FO stats, or the sixth-ranked defense in overall DVOA and DAVE is having an uncharacteristic run of pure badness.
I also need a clarification on something - on Troy Polamalu's third-quarter INT, Larry Johnson dragged Polamalu down by his hair and got a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Isn't the hair fair game? Is that considered a "safety rule", or is that no different than dragging a player down by the arm?
Aaron Schatz: I would like to thank the Kansas City Chiefs for getting pummeled today, thus fixing DVOA's "early-season blowouts skew the numbers" problem. After this week, their rating will drop down to where we all expect them to be. None of us thought they were really a top five team and I straight out said that in the commentary two weeks ago, which our critics of course totally ignored.
This is the same thing that happened to both Washington and Chicago last year -- a huge blowout win followed very soon afterwards by a huge blowout loss. Remember: Just as Kansas City is not as good as they looked against San Francisco, they are also not as bad as they looked today.
I thought that Joey Harrington had shaved and cut his hair when he got the starting job, but it turns out I was mistaken -- CBS is just using Brodie Croyle's photo instead of Harrington's by accident.
And yes, the penalty on Larry Johnson for pulling down Troy Polamalu by the hair was total, complete bullshit. The rule is that the hair is part of the body, simple and plan. With all the guys running around the league with dreadlocks these days, I can't believe the refs still don't know the actual NFL rules.
Ryan Wilson: Yeah, the Steelers blew the doors off the Chiefs, but Santonio Holmes muffed a punt and fumbled another, and Willie Parker fumbled twice. Teams usually don't win games when that happens. And oh yeah, Jeff Reed missed a 28-yard field goal attempt. My wife actually remarked that the commentators weren't bad, and I noted that when one team is crushing another team and it's late in the fourth quarter, it's kinda hard to be really annoying. That said, I've never had any issues with Gumbel and Dierdorf. Well, at least not Good Gumbel.
Credit to both Mike T. and Aaron for predicting Big Ben would bounce back because, frankly, I wasn't so sure. Of course, he didn't have to make any super tough throws today, but at least he was accurate, didn't force much, and checked down to his RBs/TEs.
Concerning the Polamalu penalty: the hair is a completely legal means for taking down a player, but the refs called unsportsmanlike conduct on LJ for flipping Polamalu's hair after the tackle and both players were off the ground. Ridiculous, I know. Like I told my wife: either put it in a bun or cut it if you don't want people doing that to you.
Aaron Schatz: Did they say that during the game itself, or in explanations afterward? That sounds like a real CYA explanation for a bad call.
Ryan Wilson: Luckily, I don't think that play changed the outcome.
Carolina Panthers 23 at Baltimore Ravens 21
Will Carroll: McNair got the snot knocked out of him, almost literally. You can see that he was holding his hand up to his face as he woozily walked off the field. Sometimes, guys will get hit hard enough to make things in the sinuses move around. Lesson to players? Blow your nose good before the game.
Michael David Smith: The Panthers were a lot better on third downs today than they have been this year. Getting Steve Smith back to 100 percent health has totally opened up their offense. And after today, I think a whole lot of teams are going to follow Carolina's lead and target Samari Rolle. He really struggled.
Aaron Schatz: Remember after two weeks how everybody was freaking out about how Carolina was in tons of trouble and how could we have all picked them for the Super Bowl, and Baltimore's defense was as strong as ever and Steve McNair made them a leading Super Bowl contender? Yeah, both teams now have the exact same 4-2 record. Patience, football fans, patience.
Oakland Raiders 3 at Denver Broncos 13
Aaron Schatz: This is the second straight week that I've noticed this from the Broncos, but I'm noticing it more all over the league. Is it me, or are teams having serious problems of fundamentals on screen plays? Denver keeps throwing it over to Tatum Bell, but the offensive linemen have not gotten there yet, or there are two defensive linemen between the blockers and the receiver, and the quarterback never should have thrown the ball seeing that. I think I saw Chris Hope blow up one of these screens with no blockers today in the TEN-WAS game, if I'm not mistaken. For crying out loud, practice the screens so the blockers are BLOCKING for the receiver.
Mike Tanier: Defensive linemen seem to get better and better every year on screens. They read them and stop the pass rush, or they tangle up the offensive linemen longer so they cannot get out to block.
Doug Farrar: It's funny -- I grew up in Denver, and I've lived in Seattle since 1985. I have spent most of my life in an AFC West city, and I have lived around "Raider-haters" from my earliest childhood. All I can feel now is pity. Were the NFL ever to take a team into receivership, this might be the one.
Coming This Week:
Any Given Sunday: Buccaneers over Bengals
Every Play Counts: Julius Peppers
Wait - isn't the Rock Bottom in Braintree right next to a giant MALL? They couldn't walk the 100 feet over to the mall to get a set of batteries?
Does anyone know why:
1) The Giants were doing fake basketball jump shots after sacking Michael Vick?
2) FOX kept showing a big picture of swimming fish superimposed on the Atlanta jumbotron — then showed the fish superimposed on the Atlanta skyline while going to commercial at one point?
1) No clue, but they were doing it last week as well.
2) I didn't see that part of the game, but Atlanta just built a new aquarium (practically the only improvement to downtown since the 1996 Olympics), so maybe that had something to do with it.
The LJ penalty wasn't for the tackle, but for the fact that he didn't let go of the hair after Polamalu was down, and if you watch the end of the play again you see Johnson clearly pull on Polamalus hair as Johnson gets up after the play is over.....plus Johnson said after the game that he "punched Ike Taylor" after the play in the ensuing slap fest.
plus Johnson said after the game that he "punched Ike Taylor" after the play in the ensuing slap fest.
Completely offtopic, but did any one else read that as "punched like Ike Turner"? Perhaps I just need coffee...
Next time you're in Braintree, give me a call. I live about 3 miles from Rock Bottom, and my wife loves the pretzels there.
1, 2 - Strahan made some post-game comment after the Redskins game about how "we be fighting, rolling along, and balling" or something retarded like that. It's clearly a group thing, as virtually every single defender has been doing it...you do a cross-over dribble, then do a fake fade-away jump shot. It's retarded, but if that's what it takes to make the Giants D-line actually have a decent pass rush, I'm all for it. If they continue winning, I'm sure we'll find out which moron started the same chant, how it was when they were 1-2, post-Seahawk debacle, and how that dance made the entire defense develop amazing chemistry.
...and if I actually read the article before commenting, I would know that meeting at that restaurant is right out for you.
Umenyiora did a layup yesterday. Everyone else on the line was apparently doing it until last week and then Strahan joined in when he got his first sack -- they explained it on the broadcast this week but I think I was busy drawing the Eli Manning Incomplete Passing Tree.
On the other hand, if the Giants defenders were to make the 'Form Blazing Sword!' motion after a big tackle, that would just be awesome.
I continue to be amused (and a bit alarmed) by the fact that Eli has been God-awful on passes 1-10 in games, and a stud thereafter.
Through yesterday, his stats are 27 of 50 (54%) for 344 yards (6.88 per attempt), with 1 TD and 5 Ints, and just 24% 1st Down % in his first 10 passes of any game.
For the rest of his attempts, he is 88 of 126 (70%) for 985 yards (7.82 per attempt), with 10 TDs and 2 Ints, and 44% 1st down %.
(For 1st down %, I did not use NFL.com's presentation which is percentage of completions which go for 1st downs, but instead calculated % of attempts that do. I did not get fancy and factor out TD passes, which ironically count against the %).
The sample size remains pretty small for the 1-10 grouping (just 50 attempts) so it might just be bad luck, but I can't help but wonder if "Easy Eli" has a bad case of being too excitable early on and needs to settle down. Or maybe he is either poorly prepared (by himself and/or the coaches) for the opponent, and then starts to figure out the coverages?
8 - I just want to see Fred Robbins do a fake dunk. Heck, Fred Robbins dancing in any way is funny to me.
It's only a matter of time before the offense starts doing this too.
#2: On your second comment, come on, you mean that you don't think that the re-opening and "revitalization" of Kenny's Alley in The Underground isn't a major improvement? I think that it's great that I can walk into a club without paying a cover and listen to dance music without being annoyed by, say, people. And your drinks come faster at the bar, too.
Panthers @ Ravens
That game had the Worst Play of the Week in it. Ravens score ANOTHER fluke TD to Clayton, bringing the score to 16-14. Kickoff to the Panthers with about 4:30 left.
Jake Delhomme takes the snap from their own 28, drops back, and hurls it deep to Steve Smith. Steve Smith is standing about 5 yards ahead of the defender trying to cover him, by himself, behind the ENTIRE Ravens D. Snags the ball, runs the rest of the 30 yards for the TD.
Did anyone think they'd see the day when Kyle Boller kept the team in the game and the Defense lost it?
I think San Fran used the triple stack against the Jets in 2004. It actually allowed them to jump out to a large lead (21-0, if I recall correctly). It only worked for a quarter, and the Jets came back to win.
"I also thought that Wayne Gandy had some major problems with the Giants pass rush."
It was a bad day for o-lineman named Gandy, Mike of the Bills got abused by James Hall, who apparently suddenly has blazing speed off the corner, several times. A couple of times he just went by Gandy with barely a brush, once causing a fumble. According to the local reporters, Marrinelli has been working with the d-line, along with Clothing Optional Joe Cullen.
I should have included what he did yesterday in my last comment.
First 10 passes-- 4 for 10 (40%) for 46 yards (4.6 per att), 0 TD, 2 INT, 20% 1st downs.
Thereafter-- 13 for 20 (65%) for 134 yards (6.7 per att), 2 TD, 0 Int, 40% 1st downs.
I think Strahan and Arrington need to get together with their defensiove metaphors. Couldn't they get two of the linemen to lift someone onto their shoulders, then have that person grab two other players by the legs, one on each side, and those two make jump shot motions with their super-gestalt-defender arms?
And yes, the penalty on Larry Johnson for pulling down Troy Polamalu by the hair was total, complete bullshit. The rule is that the hair is part of the body, simple and plan. With all the guys running around the league with dreadlocks these days, I can’t believe the refs still don’t know the actual NFL rules.
My understanding was, the penalty was not for the perfectly legal hair-tackle, but for LJ subsequently dragging Polamalu along the ground and pulling him back up by the hair.
I thought the unsportsmanlike on LJ was because he yanked polamalu's hair as he stood up after making the tackle. Same as with tackling by the arm--if you pulled someone down by their arm, then gave it an extra twist as you stood up that would be unsportsmanlike as well.
...and that's what I get for taking so long between typing the comment and finaaly hitting "Say It."
I blame that annoying consumer products pop-up ad.
13:
Actually, that had to be the Best Play of the Week and it wasn't Boller who kept the team in the game, rather it was Mark Clayton. Boller's passes were defended/tipped and it is ONLY because Clayton was able to get the tipped balls that the Ravens scored the 2 TD's. Freaky but true.
Gumbel and Dierdorf said that the LJ penalty was for "taunting." Now what it was that he did that was taunting, I don't know.
re 22: Yeah, but to Gumbel and Dierdorf actually know anything??
Aaron,
The Broncos have never screened that much since Installing the Zone Blocking scheme. Alex Gibbs hated that play, and Shanahan calls it very rarely if at all in games. I could be wrong, but the Broncos may have called more screens for Tatum Bell this year than all of last year.
The OL has not practiced or implemented it enough to seel it to a real defense outside of practice yet. The flare or circle routes seem to be much more effective for Denver's RB's.
My favorite Warrick Dunn block was one he threw against Gilbert Brown, back when Tampa was in the NFC Central. It looked like Brown expected to just steamroll over Dunn without resistance; he looked completely shocked when Dunn lowered his shoulder and drilled him right in the gut. My memory's a bit hazy, but I think Brown started to raise his arms to get into the passing lane, and was completely defenseless when Dunn hit him. He just sort of crumpled to the ground (landing on top of Dunn in the process).
Re #13,
Crushinator, I have to disagree. The Single Worst Play of the Week, was in the Eagles @ Saints game.
Jesus. The Eagles get a sack and a stop on 3rd & 10 in a tied game with 3 minutes left, and the Eagles D have 12 men on the field.
3:13 left in the 4th, game tied at 24-24.
The Saints have 3rd & 10 @ the Philly 35. Brees is in the shotgun and Philly blitz 6 (I think). Brees is sacked and now it's 4th & 17 on the Philly 42. New Orleans have to punt, and the Eagles get the ball with plenty of time drive for the winning score.
But wait, Philidelphia 12 MEN ON THE FIELD!!!!
So, instead of punting, the Saints convert the 3rd & 5 and the Eagles never get the ball back. That was the worst play of week.
Siragusa interviewed Strahan yesterday before the game. He said its from the Jim Jones song "We Fly High". We fly high, no lie, you know this... ballin'. Not sure if it makes sense or not, but its fun to watch.
Click my name for the video. Its about 20 seconds in.
Mike Tanier: I’m still amazed at how much the Redskins rely on those little flat passes to Santana Moss, plus all of the screens and draws. They really look like they are outsmarting themselves at times.
For five years of watching Saunders' play calls for the Chiefs I have compplained to my wife about this. There is a lot to like about al saunders as an OC but I've never believed in his "play-calling genius" that I've read about in the media from time to time.
One Redskin nailed it in this AM's Boswell column in the WashPost:
"As soon as we start establishing something, then we go and do some tricky-dicky stuff," said one veteran.
WAS, playing the 28th ranked rush defense by DVOA, ran 10 times and passed 10 times on 1st and 10 (not counting 2-min drills and Portis picking up a Brunell fumble and running it).
TEN, playing the 14th ranked rush D and protecting a rookie qb, rushed 18 times and passed 7 on 1-10 (again excluding 2 min drill and kneel down).
TEN was running Travis Henry, WAS, Clinton Portis.
Who had the better play-calling?
Ron Mexico (#22 )--
Gumbel and Dierdorf were guessing. The actual call the ref made (check the tape) was "unsportsmanlike conduct," which seems a fair description for pulling the guy around by his hair after the whistle.
Kachunk's description (#19 ) is best -- Johnson made a legal tackle, but didn't let go afterward.
The Giants had one of the best defensive performances I've seen for a team giving up 223 yards rushing. They gave up 149 of those yards on 4 carries, while only giving up 74 yards on the other 22 ATL attempts. Besides, at no point in the game did I think "the Giants can't stop the Falcons running game". The entire second half I thought the Falcons couldn't stop the Giants running game.
While everyone loves to criticize Eli Manning, I can't understand the Phillip Rivers lovefest. Are we really making judgements on a players after five weeks, including playing three of the worst teams in football?
Copying my comment from another thread:
I’m still not happy with the way the ‘Hawks have been playing, but I’m happy about the win in St. Louis. That’s always a tough one.
Seattle’s running game is adequate, at best, with Alexander out–still better than him playing on one foot, though. Having Stevens back next week (I’m assuming he’ll be back then, he was inactive today) should help the offense in the run and pass. But that Seattle secondary . . . yikes.
I might be in the minority here, but I don't think TDs on tipped balls are "flukes," or at least that if they are, there are all sorts of other plays in football that should be called flukes. Tipped balls are a part of the game (Fleming had an interesting article on this on ESPN this week). No, the score doesn't come in the way it is planned, but not everything that happens in a sport is based on what play is intended.
Alright, never mind, it is a fluke. Being a language nerd, I looked up fluke. According to answers.com, it is:
# A stroke of good luck.
# A chance occurrence; an accident.
Obviously then, a tipped ball TD is a fluke.
I guess my point is that all plays in sports are a combination of three factors: planning, skill, and luck. A fluke play just takes out the planning but still involves skill and luck.
Oh, and another note on SEA @ STL: Thank goodness Hercules Hochuli was the referee. At least half the officials in the NFL would have ended that game with a 10-second runoff.
a fluke is also a fish ....
(sorry ... I'm a word nerd too) :-)
so ... a tipped ball can also be a fish ...
I, too, came away impressed with the Saints. Peyton had more talent to work with than was originally understood by a lot of people, especially with Brees making a full recovery (which for me was the biggest issue), and his coaching style seems to have had immediate effects. This seems like the best organized Saints squad since Jim Mora Sr.'s good New Orleans teams.
On the other hand, Philly dropped a notch in my estimation. A good defense simply cannot allow the oppositon to control the ball in the fourth quarter of a close game in the manner the Eagles' defense did. Yeah, absent the muffed punt, the game is a lot different, but the fact is the Eagles had a touchdown lead in the 2nd half, allowed the tieing score, and then allowed the opposition to completely control the the 2nd half of the fourth quarter. Not a good day for Jim Johnson's crew.
Also, I know the game wasn't discussed above, but Mike Carey's abomination of a roughing the passer call, which turned the Bengals/Bucs contest, has to be nominated for the worst game-ruining call of the year. Inexcusable on every conceivable level, and if he isn't suspended, it's a shame. Dan Reeves was doing the Westwood Radio broadcast, and you could tell he's had some issues with Carey in the past; it was really refreshing to hear an analyst call out a referee not just for a bad call, but for being incomptent overall. I have no idea as to whether Reeves' asessment is accurate, but if a player can be called out for being consistently inadequate (which happens too infrequently in my opinion) then the same should be done for zebras.
A fluke is also the thing a whale has on its tail, instead of a fin.
Yeah, the whole Giants "jumpshot" sack celebration is inspired by that Jim Jones song. There was a video on Youtube earlier that had all their sack celebrations paired with the song, but I can't find it anymore.
BTW, how about having a defensive end who really was "ballin" do that celebration (aka Julius Peppers)? :D
32:
The tipped balls aren't a fluke. Clayton catching both of them for TD's IS!
But my main point was that the two TD's were not a result of Boyler's passing abilities but rather because of Clayton's fortuitous positioning and heads up play.
FWIW, I've watched Philip Rivers in 3 games now, and while it's helped that he's played the Raiders, San Francisco and Baltimore, I think he's the real deal. He has the touch on his passes that Vince Young apparently does not. He seems to make good decisions and has the presence to go through his reads instead of throwing it away(although he does not always step up in the pocket). He does not throw a great deep ball, but it's good enough. Perhaps he has weaknesses in his game that only becomes apparent when you break down the games on tape, but from watching him casually it looks like he is a real NFL QB.
And for all that talk last year about his odd delivery, I don't even think it's that weird. Maybe not quite textbook, but it's not holding him back any. Certainly not as weird as Vince Young's mechanics.
Alex Smith also looks way, way better than he did last year, although not as good as Rivers by any means.
On third-and-19 from the St. Louis 34 on the first play of the fourth quarter, Seattle had Deion Branch lined up right wide against Tye Hill, the rookie CB, who hasn’t been having his best day, with no safety help. The play called is Maurice Morris up the middle for three yards and a field goal. The Seahawks really need to substitute a second head coach on every third and long — Holmgren always calls those damned running plays. As much as I hate the Holmgren run on 3rtd and long, maybe the veteran QB should just audible.
One thing you have to remember that Alex Smith plays on 49ers, and he had to face San Diego's excellent defense. Also, the offensive line is mediocre and he doesn't have the best group of receivers.
Rivers is playing with a ton of talent and he faced the worst secondary in the league this weekend without its best cover corner. I bet if you swapped the two, Smith would look better than Rivers. As a Niners fan, I'm very pleased with Smith and the offense's progress this year, with the exception of the KC game.
#33 - But the question remains: how much is skill, and how much is luck? Tipped balls essentially fumbles - causing the tip involved a lot of skill, but recovering it is more about luck. Yes, it takes skill and effort to adjust to the ball in mid-air, but that is meaningful only if the ball happens to be tipped in that player's direction. Nobody controls the direction of the ball once it's tipped; the most common result is an incomplete pass. Whether it's caught for a reception vs. an INT is due almost entirely due to luck (with a slight edge favoring INTs - not due to skill, but to the simple fact that defenders generally outnumber receivers in the secondary).
The Clayton TDs were mostly luck, however I have to give him credit on the second one. The first pass was played perfectly by Chris Gamble who reached in and deflected the ball with his arm at the last second, but due to a stroke of luck the ball, which was only a couple yards from the back of the endzone, somehow managed to go straight up and come back down in bounds. Most deflections result in the ball traveling downfield some, but this one hung straight up in the air. Clayton just happened to be paying attention, but considering there were no Panthers in position to make the play it was probably going to be a touchdown regardless of who was running that route. Clayton did nothing spectacular except pay attention to where the ball went, and since he is a wide receiver he should be doing that anyway.
Now the second TD was part luck and part skill. You catch tipped passes from time-to-time, but catching a tipped pass and then cutting up the sidelines and running past 3 defenders is skill. He was lucky to catch them flat-footed while they were looking for the ball, but it was a great play getting to the endzone. That ball only went about 12 yards. He ran the other 50 himself.
All in all the Ravens were lucky to score any TDs at all. The pass to Todd Heap in the endzone was not a touchdown, but the officials incorrectly ruled it a force out so it could not be reviewed. That doesn't take away from what was an AMAZING catch by Heap, but he did not get his second foot in bounds and he was not forced out in any way.
Looking at Boller's numbers in the box score, between plays on TV, I was tricked into thinking he had quite a game (for him). Is there any way for DVOA to take into account two TDs and almost 82 yards of passing that could just as easily been ints? I buy that luck usually works itself out, but that is an awful lot of luck over a short span of time.
Has anyone ever been able to figure out why they don’t just put Tony Siragusa in the broadcast booth?For one thing, he might get stuck.
Re: The Saints
It's amazing what happens when you replace a self-destructing QB and and idiot coach with a Pro-Bowl QB and a not-idiot coach... Their turnaround has nothing to do with Bush.
Re: Bengals game
I've heard aboout this but didn't see the game. How does one get a roughing the passer call on a sack? What happened on the play? I know about unnecessary roughness, which is called if the defender hits the head, or below the knees, or practically any part of the QB other than his left elbow during a full moon (unless of course, it's a Raider hitting Tom Brady), but how can it be roughing the passer if the QB still has the ball when he is tackled? Is he even a "passer" if he hasn't passed? To anyone who saw the game, was it an unclean hit that should have been called unnecessary roughness, and the ref just said the wrong thing, or was it a bad call?
Incidentally, did anyone else catch Marvin Lewis's post game quote? He supposedly made a comment about how he guessed defenders were just supposed to "cuddle the QB to the ground".
No comments from the NYG-ATL game about how Tiki Barber sure isn't showing any slow-down signs at age 31?
Stats through 6 weeks, only 5 games:
RUSHING
102 ATT, 533 YDS, 5.2 AVG
RECEIVING
22 REC, 190 YDS, 8.6 AVG
That's the lead of Quick Reads, actually. I'm writing it as we speak.
I think part of the reason the pre-season projections disliked the Saints so much was that they penalize teams who have new head coaches. However, maybe there needs to be some sort of modifier for when replacing your head coach is actually a significant upgrade.
I think the one thing that ticked me off most about Philly in the Saints game was Philly's insistence on going deep when they were about 10 yards away from field goal range. Twice. Some designed rollouts for McNabb would've been nice, too, especially given the pressure he had in the pocket. Or a draw or two!
I also want to know: Sean Payton, what in the hell were you thinking challenging that LJ Smith 29 yard reception? One replay should've been enough for you to see that it was nowhere near the ground.
If any Philly fans complain about the officiating, I'm going to hurt them. The officiating was bad, but equally bad on both sides. There was a blatantly missed OPI on Brown, that was rapidly followed by a missed DPI on Baskett, and I don't think that DPI on Bullocks should've been called, since pass interference ends when the ball is touched, and the ball was tipped. None of those calls would've affected the outcome, though.
Why were the Eagles playing with Lewis as deep safety again? Why?! Lewis can't cover deep. Dawkins can. Lewis hits hard near the line of scrimmage, which is great for breaking up passes to tight ends and running backs. For crying out loud, use the man correctly. They did for the majority of the past two games.
Thanks Aaron, you're the best!
However, maybe there needs to be some sort of modifier for when replacing your head coach is actually a significant upgrade.
There's no way to tell that objectively, and if you do it subjectively, you're just making stuff up.
Besides, I doubt the Saints improvement is all to do with the head coach. I think a significant amount has to do with a return to an actual normal football schedule and practicing.
There's an interesting question here: I wonder what New Orleans's 2006 projections would look like if you pretended the 2005 season never happened somehow. Basically, just take the 2004 Saints (the 8-8 2004 Saints, mind you) and apply the modifiers for the 2004/2005 offseason.
Plus, I think a lot had to do with the fact that Brees's shoulder was a big question mark, and hey, it still is. So far, so good, but it's still a question mark.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: The 2005-2006 New Orleans Saints are not a good team to use to test any projection method of any kind, unless future NFL teams are going to be kicked out of their home cities for entire years because of hurricanes on a regular basis.
I might hit Pat's idea for a blog post, though. That sounds interesting.
The Rams defense has a MAJOR weakness, pass defense. Their secondary consistently plays with their back to the ball. Seattle receivers were beating triple coverage on 3rd and long because the Ram defenders never turn their heads. That more than anything is why the Rams lost this game, even with a clutch 54 yd FG on a rule technicality.
And isn't Holt the best WR in football? He is the quickest to 10,000 yds in NFL history. That includes Rice, Moss, Alworth, and the clown.
As a Redskins fan and an LJ fantasy owner, I really wish Al Saunders had stayed in KC.
Re: 47
I didn't see it either, but from what I understand it probably should have been unnecessary roughness. The Cincy defender threw him to the ground, or drove him into the ground, or something to that effect.
Pat,
I know, I know. My comment about the coach was a little bit toungue in cheek. Since you can't really separate out the performance of a single player from the performance of his teammates, its probably nearly impossible to objectively separate the performance of the coach from the performance of the team. We subjectively know some coaches are bad, but I can't think of a way to objectively quantify it. I suppose you could look at things like win percentages on challenges, and percentage of correct strategic decisions based on some model like Bill Krasker's, but even that would only look at certain sub-skillsets of a coach, not his overall effectiveness (and that would be pre-supposing that a mathematical model was always more correct than a coach, in which case, what would be the point of even having a coach make decisions).
Also, you're right that there was no way of knowing if Payton would be any more effective. One thing to look at if it hasn't been (though I bet Aaron already did) is what is the variance on team performance with a new head coach. I would imagine that the projection system presumably downgrades a team with a new head coach because those teams have historically done worse the year following a coaching change. But how variable is that? Obviously, if you're replacing an accomplished coach who just retired with a first year coach, a dropoff makes sense, but what if you're replacing a coach you just fired that was just hands down awful? Wouldn't you expect some regression to the mean the other way? I wonder if the historical data Aaron looked at when comeing up with the coaching adjustment broke it down into WHY the coach was replaced?
pat: i've noticed that the eagles have been using a new nickel package where dawk will line up as the weak side LB with considine around the deep middle. I can understand why, but to be honest it's kinda frustrating seeing dawkins' coverage being limited from that position, and my faith in Lewis has been reserved ever since the '04 championship game. Do you have any observations about it?
[48]
Its nice .... on the surface ... but let's consider the context:
Here are the DVOA rush defense ranks of the teams Barber has faced (as of end of week 5)
IND: 30
PHI: 17
SEA: 15
WAS: 14
ATL: 16
So .... those rushing #s are nice ... but ...
#48: Tiki is phenomenal. To rush as many times as he has, especially over the last couple years, and still be in such great shape says something about his running style. And his fitness.
I know that returning from a vagabond year is the main factor in NO's improvement, but ask a simple, subjective question:
What would the Saints' record be if Aaron Brooks were the QB?
Of course I have no idea, but I THINK they would have lost to the Eagles, Bucs, and Packers.
I think in this case, replacing an inconsistent quarterback with a very good, smart, consistent quarterback is working wonders.
Holt is definitely top 5, and unlike other great receivers he has been top 5 for the last 7 years. The only other guy who can really say that is Marvin Harrison. Randy Moss has slid since being injured in '04 and other guys have come and gone, but Holt and Harrison have been rocks.
10,000 yards and 6 (going on 7) straight years topping 1300 yards. Throw in 1 Super Bowl ring and another appearance and Holt is pretty much a lock for the Hall of Fame. He also is one of those guys who could probably play till he's 40. He's like Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison in that respect. Good physical skills but even better technical skills, and those don't go away with age.
Diane, good point, especially with regard to Indy (which has an awful rush defense) and Atlanta. However, Philly, Seattle and Washington are all middle of the pack after playing Tiki, and would likely rank better had they not played Tiki already.
I spent last week arguing that as of right now, Moss has had a better career than Holt. HOWEVER, I believe that at the ends of their careers, Holt will have better numbers in every category, and as a whole will have had the better career. Moss is tailing off, whether I like it or not, and Holt has the consistency (like Harrison) to keep it up well into his 30s.
What's the "replace incompetant coach" factor going to be for the Raiders next season? I'd imagine it will be one of those "so out of line it breaks the model" situations.
pat: i’ve noticed that the eagles have been using a new nickel package where dawk will line up as the weak side LB with considine around the deep middle. I can understand why, but to be honest it’s kinda frustrating seeing dawkins’ coverage being limited from that position, and my faith in Lewis has been reserved ever since the ‘04 championship game. Do you have any observations about it?
Yes. It's bad. If anything, Lewis should be the one up in a linebacker spot. Dawkins is their best coverage safety. He's also probably better at Lewis in run support, but that's why Dawkins deserves to go into the Hall of Fame. But the margin there is much smaller. Lewis doesn't have the fluidity to be a coverage safety - he can't cut and turn as well as Dawkins can, for instance.
Problem here is I wouldn't know what to do. Considine could be better in coverage, but what're you going to do? Switch Considine and Lewis out when you want to go Cover 2? Yeah, that's not going to work - talk about telegraphing your intentions.
I'm starting to buy into the "maybe Philly should sign Troy Vincent" hype.
#60:
With the exception of Indy, those teams are all bunched in the middle, which means that you're getting about as fair and accurate a representation of opponent strength as you can. (With that one outlier, of course).
Also, keep in mind that it's early enough in the season such that each game still carries a lot of weight, and opponent adjustments are still minimal. Take Tiki away, and most of those defenses probably rise a few spots in the rankings.
The Saints O-line seems to get better at run-blocking every game. In their first game this year, they were doing OK run blocking on first downs, but were letting multiple defenders into the backfield on 3rd and short plays. They were even able to block for Bush on sweeps.
I still think you guys are underestimating how poor this line was in the running game the past few years. McAllister is now frequently able to avoid contact until he gets near the line of scrimmage. In years past, defensive players would regularly be able to reach him a yard or 2 into the backfield, which I figure cuts a running back's average by at least a yard.
51-- I have Payton's press conference on, and he just said he challenged it because he didn't have a good view when he first saw the replay, but he'll always be agressive with challenges.
Is there someone can explain to me why Ronnie Brown doesn't get more involved in the Harrington's passing game ? In the 4 Culpeppers games, Brown get 19 passes for 156 yards and only 1 pass for -3 yards in the first game of Harrington (he didn't pass at all to Brown against the Jets yesterday)...
The highlight of the week had to be Madden pointing out that the Raiders had played bad, but were still in the game at 13-3 with 5 minutes left and driving the ball. The next play Jordan promptly fumbles the ball.
Re:#29
I'm fairly certain that Gumbel and Dierdorf were informed by the sideline reporter or somebody that the call was for taunting. Yes, the referee said "Unsportsmanlike conduct" but the "U.C." was taunting.
I think.
About the Broncos-Raiders game, I also noticed the couple of strange screen passes in the first half. It was almost funny; the two blocking O-linesmen and Tatum all looked somewhat surprised, each time. I think what was happening was that Nalen et al. did a terrible job of selling a normal dropback. Plummer had a defensive linemen in his face almost immediately and had to deliver the pass way too early.
But I am now really worried. I was hoping that playing a not-very-good D would at last wake up the offense, but... Koobs must have been a bigger part of the Denver offense than anyone has heretofore realized, Shanahan included. Plummer has not looked confident all season, the 15 scripted plays are scaring nobody, and despite a pretty good running game and Javon looking like an amazing steal (especially for a 2nd round pick!), the offense is doing zilch.
Gerard Warren and the rest of the Broncos' D-line are probably looking forward to Cleveland, next week, but I just want the offense to score 20 points...
Speaking of the Cover-2, please play it against me in Madden 07. Of all the base Ds, it's the easiest to shred. The TE is usually WIDE WIDE open up the seam. Wideouts are wideopen on corner routes and streaks. It's not easy to hit people in the flats or on curls, but with a good QB the longer routes are money.
51– I have Payton’s press conference on, and he just said he challenged it because he didn’t have a good view when he first saw the replay, but he’ll always be agressive with challenges.
That's just stupid. He's at home - they're going to show a good replay. If he didn't have a good angle to see it, he should have coaches watching for it to see if it's a good idea.
Being aggressive with challenges is one thing, but when the official takes 10 seconds under the hood to realize that you're wrong, it was a mistake. Luckily, it ended up not hurting them.
Oh, and another thing. The Raiders are taking all the fun out of being a Bronco fan in the Shanahan era. :-(
I'll take the win, but that game just left me feeling kinda blah.
Will Carroll: Is there any way to know if specific teams actually do end up beating the hell out of their opponents so much that the team is reduced the next week? A Physicality Factor?
This reminds me of something from a few years back, right before the Patriots won their first Super Bowl. The Rams had played them and won earlier in the year. But during the media week more than one Ram commented on how even though they'd beaten the Pats earlier, that was by far the most physical team they had faced and the one that had left them collectively beat up. Which is why even though I was cheering for the Rams, I took the Patriots & the points.
But I think Will raises a good point, although I suppose it must vary in both directions - some teams are cream puffs and don't beat their opponents up very much at all. How hard would it be to look for this?
Re #72
You know, if the officials had just called LJ for three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, we'd be able to say with a reasonable degree of confidence that #1 was for keeping his hand on the air while getting up, #2 was getting in Polamalu's face and yelling at him after the play was over, #2a was on general principles for doing that in a game where his team was being blown out, and #3 was for punching Ike Taylor.
No, the penalty called on the Bengals was a horrid call under any reading of the rulebook. It was textbook example of a zebra going ridiculously outside a reasonable interpretation of the rules in order to protect the quarterback. The defensive lineman would have had to alter the laws of physics, or to decide to not tackle the qb, in order to avoid the penalty that was called. If that's a penalty, it's time to attach flags to the hips of qbs, and simply disallow the tackling of qbs altogether.
Again, I'm mightily surprised by how quickly Brees has recovered from what was reported to be a serious injury to his throwing shoulder.
In retrospect, it appears that Randy Moss decided to retire sometime last year, but decided to not tell the Raiders yet. If anybody unconditionally gives up a number one pick for him, to say nothing of a number one and a starter, they are crazy.
Oh, and this just in....Steve Smith is pretty good. Are the Panthers much better than 8-8 without him? Are they even 8-8 if Smith isn't playing?
#4 yes idid too lmao! I saw "punched like Ike Turner"...need to read more slowly
Before STL fans complain any more about losing the game "on a technicality". Lets establish that there would have been no huge mess spiking the ball if a STL player hadn't stole it away from ref and prevented him from spotting it for 3 secs or so, which in my opinion should itself have been a delay of game on the rams. I am no fan of SEA, but such unsportsmanlike conduct should be penalized. Hopefully the league will look at the play and point that out to the refs.
Kaveman, it really seems as if Shanahan's hatred for all things silver and black must be receding. He seemed content to win by about 10 points yesterday, against a completely outmanned and outcoached bunch, and the Bronco players seemed to adopt that attitude. In years past, I think Shanahan would have tried to really stomp his former employer, and perhaps the greatest insult to RaidahNation is that Shanahan couldn't even be bothered to coach hard against the Minions of Davis.
I actually have to give some credit to Ryan and the Raiders' defense; they haven't quit, unlike the Raiders offense.