First!

Has the whole world gone crazy? Who is that team represented by the fourth best QB of the week? I just don't understand.

I was going to say Tampa Bay. I think every mediocre veteran QBs career has to go through Tampa at some point.

Allow me to nominate the Eddie Kennison note for Comment of the Year.

Looks like Chad Johnson is going to have to give someone a "yes" on his famed checklist.

These rankings don't respect Denver enough.

Seriously Aaron, you need a better picture in there. Fast.

(Ben Roethlisberger, by the way, is number one in value per play, but he throws the ball half as much as everyone else.)

Uhm yeah. So? Doesn't the fact that he throws less, make it more impressive?

It might make it more impressive (or it might just mean he is benefitting from not having to carry his team like some people have to). I does mean he is providing less value to his team.

Theo -

No, it certainly does not. If he were first in TOTAL value while throwing half as much, then that would be a hell of a lot more impressive, sure. As it is, he's very effective but he's doing a lot less to help his team win than other top QBs.

Mybe your confusion arises from the fact that when Aaron says "value per play" he means "value per passing play".

Holy cow! DPAR says Favre played the 15th-best game by a qb this past week and was better than a whole bunch of qbs with at least 1 td and no picks. That ones a little surprising.

Where's Cody!!???

I'm sure it was just a typo, but the Denver-Philly score was 49-21, not 48-21 :o

Steven Jackson is third in receiving DPAR. Seems odd considering that the knock on him coming out of college was that he was a poor receiver out of the backfield. I'm guessing his #3 ranking is more a reflection of everyone else's suckiness than his greatness as a receiver. Or is SJ a better receiver than everyone thought?

The strength of the Lion's defense is one thing you don't hear much about with their offensive struggles. All those first-rounders on offense and it is the defense that keeps the team in games. 2nd in passing defense? Amazing. Really, if the offense was anywhere near worth what they are paying all of those first rounders then this would be a pretty good team.

Not only does Burress lead the league in offensive PI penalties with 4, he also leads the league in uncalled offensive PI penalties with 97. Tony Gonzalez is a distant second, with a mere 52.

I’m guessing his #3 ranking is more a reflection of everyone else’s suckiness than his greatness as a receiver. Or is SJ a better receiver than everyone thought?
A little of both. The number of truly good receiving backs is not huge, and Saint Louis has a pretty good offensive scheme for involving the RB in the passing game. (Unless a player is simply incapable of learning, he will improve through practice, and the Rams have their backs practice catching passes.)

Aaron-

"Defense" is not a verb. For shame.

Re 11: I was a bit surprised by that too, but then I looked and saw that Favre completed 75% of his passes.

As hard as that game was for me to watch as a Packers fan, i had to give the Cincy defense credit. They caught EVERYTHING. I mean you had CBs and safeties laying out for WR quality grabs, along with a couple of tipped passes that were gobbled up.

Love the Kennison comment.

Hamster wheel, Aaron, hamster wheel. Brooks will be right back starting for the Saints next year.

Although I guess the question could have been, where will the Saints be playing next year?

"Jacksonville Jaguars WR Ernest Wilford will see more action during Week 9, according to head coach Jack Del Rio."

That's from Yahoo Sports. Maybe Del Rio is finally getting it.

It may be correct, but it still makes me cringe to read it ... I'd prefer "defend against him" or something like that ...

This is definitely an alternate universe. When you can legitimately write this sentence about Sunday's game, anything can happen: "The fine performance by the Bears' rookie QB was more impressive considering that it came against the Lions' stout pass defense."

Dictionary.com has just lost a lot of my respect. And that means something, because I have it as a quick-link on my browser.

Wow. 2 former Purdue QB's in the top 5 this week. At least the season isn't a complete washout. Oh wait...it still is. (For those of you who like to gamble, please note that Purdue is 0-8 ATS this year.)

That Steve Smith line is insane. 11 receptions in 11 attempts?! Divine.

SJM, I guess that you don't respect Webster, either.

As long as you respect Rodney Harrison, you should be good, though.

Holy cow! DPAR says Favre played the 15th-best game by a qb this past week and was better than a whole bunch of qbs with at least 1 td and no picks. That ones a little surprising.

Favre gets a boost from a perfect pass to the fan and the highest passing DPAR ever from 9 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

Aaron, since you list a total DPAR for quarterbacks in the Quick Reads column, it would be nice to see a total DPAR listed in the Quarterbacks stat page as well. I know for most QBs, adding their Rush DPAR to their Pass DPAR doesn't change their value all too much. Just a suggestion however.

The Oxford English Dictionary has listings for "defense" as a verb going back to 1400. It is almost invariably used as "defensed." Yes, it's listed as "obs.," but that status never stopped a great writer like Wallace Stevens, so why should it stop Aaron Schatz?

Bonus usage note: "Wert thou defenced with circular fire..yet I should Neglect the danger."----The 1620s equivalent of "I wouldn't brake for you if I saw you crossing the street."

Let's remember that most dictionaries--the OED included--are descriptive in nature. They don't tell you how to use a word, just how it has been used. Now they'll have to update that obsolete for Aaron...

Back to the lexicographic--er, football--discussion.

Dammit Jerry! I was all over that OED post.

Tom! Jerry! Stop fighting.

That's right. Much of the linguistic field would say that even if there were no precedent for "defensed," the regular usage of it would make it cromulent. Cromulency, they say, is determined on the street, not by professors. I, for one, feel embiggened by that view.

Wow, Jerry. Wallace Stevens, the OED and the Simpsons, all in one thread. I thought the Talmud reference was cool, but you have outdone even that. Nice work!

I like the use of "defense" as a verb in football parlance. The alternative would be to say a CB "defends" a WR, which sounds like he's standing up for the WR's rights. Of course, you could say "defends against", as in "Duane Starks doesn't seem to be able to defend against any wide recievers", but why use two words when you can use one. "Duane Starks couldn't defense a WR if the game dependended on it".

Starks. Defense. No.

I don't understand all of this discussion about "defensed." Passes defensed is a very common defensive statistic, ususally abbreviated PD.

How about "Duane Starks couldn't cover a WR ..."?

I don't believe in making a word fit my context (with respect to the NFL making it a category, not Aaron in this case); Passes Broken Up would be the phrase I'd use. If you insist on two words, I'd say Passes Deflected.

This is fun ... I suspect that not only are there few football sites where you can discuss the English language, on most of the other sites, there probably aren't many people who are equipped to do so.

Wait...wasnt it a double reverse defence?

Called "Double Reverse Technique". If do right, no can defense.