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| Ashok Ayyar. 24th October, 2005 - 12:40 am
 Despite its prime-time billing, the NFL in recent years has, with remarkable accuracy, picked some of the worst possible match-ups for its Monday and Sunday night broadcasts.
Any neutral fan has to wonder, how did these teams get the national spotlight? Probably because nobody can really predict anymore who will be good, and who won?t.
Case in point: Sunday night?s humiliation of the Texans at Qwest Field in Seattle.
In watching them work Sunday night, I saw the Texans get plain schooled. Shaun Alexander got so many yards he handed the knife himself to backup RB Maurice Morris to stab him in the back. Recall that Shaun Alexander asked to be put on the injury report last year for ?back-stabbing wounds? when Coach Mike Holmgren didn?t give him the one extra carry he needed to win the NFL rushing crown.
Even Alexander had his fill, and so did Morris, for a combined Sunday feast of over three-hundred yards rushing.
To the issue of what the Texans are doing wrong, I have only one comment?everything. It starts with Dom Capers. He?s in the middle of a musical chairs lightning round, after a first quarter Sunday where he tried four different O-line combinations. Finding a group to set up Domanick Davis? running game has to be secondary at this point, because Capers needs a way to save David Carr from early retirement. Carr has been hammered from Day 1 in Houston, and it ain?t getting any better.
On defense, I saw a number of missed tackles, and pass coverage that was flagged time and time again. Matt Hasselback cruised to an efficient 14-20 night, though throwing his third interception of the season (pick him up you fantasy buffs!).
The defense allowed a franchise high 320 yards on the ground Sunday, and with starting linebacker Kailee Wong done for the season, things shouldn?t brighten up anytime soon.
The 0-5 Texans are the last winless team in the league, with division rival Indianapolis on deck. Are we staring at the next 0-16 team? I can?t bring myself to say that. The 2004 Texans were 7-9, just like the 2002 Panthers (who made the Super Bowl the year after), and seemed poised for a run at the 2005 playoffs.
But that?s really my point. The dynamic of the NFL has changed from the old dynasty modality of years past. It makes what the Patriots did all the more impressive. But now, even the Patriots are inexplicably stumbling after a championship campaign.
Primetime football?s new modus operandi should be ?expect the unexpected.? If you expect a good match up between elite teams, you might as turn it off after the first quarter; conversely, when the ugly teams come to play, you can expect a close one.
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From bad to worse: Texans linebacker Kailee Wong tore the patellar tendon in his right knee. He will be out for the season.
By Ashok Ayyar, ashok33@gmail.com |
