$.01-- I have seen the best team in the AFC, and that team is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their strong victory over the Patriots illustrates that the road to the AFC title looks to go through Pittsburgh, never an easy place to play. The Steel Curtain defense did what they’ve never done before, slowing down Tom Brady and making him look very ordinary. They did so by breaking character and playing lots of press man coverage, something Dick Lebeau’s defenses do about as often as most Americans eat rabbit.
Brady and the Patriots clearly didn’t expect that the Steelers would be able to do that effectively for an entire game. Wes Welker looked positively perplexed by having Ike Taylor shadowing him all over the field and linebackers disrupting passing routes. But some of the credit for how well the Pittsburgh defense played goes to the Pittsburgh offense, which soundly bought into the mantra that the best way to not lose to Tom Brady is to keep the ball out of his hands.
I love the Steelers offensive game plan in this one. They chewed up almost 40 minutes with a series of short and intermediate passes interspersed with just enough runs to keep the defense honest. Roethlisberger got rid of the ball quickly, using nine different receivers and uncharacteristically not going deep even when flustered from the pocket. It was brilliant. The Patriots kept a safety shading burner Mike Wallace all afternoon, worried that the best deep threat in the league would toast their iffy corners. Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians took full advantage and devised a game plan that sent a flood of receivers into that safety void. This is a new look that will keep opposing defensive coordinators guessing, and that makes the Steelers all the more dangerous. It also helps out the beleaguered offensive line, which still surrendered five sacks to a Pats defense that has struggled to get consistent pressure all season. Roethlisberger looked very comfortable with this new wrinkle, showing he can be a rhythm passer when he has to be. That is a very dangerous development for the rest of the AFC.
$.02-- Pittsburgh had better remain sharp, because the Cincinnati Bengals are not showing any signs of going away. Winners of four in a row, the 5-2 Bengals escaped Seattle with a 34-12 win that was much closer than the score would indicate. Where the Steelers are loaded with veterans and copious amounts of playoff experience, the Bengals are led by an emerging group of young players that are learning how to win together.
The rookie QB/WR combination of Andy Dalton and AJ Green is outstanding already. Dalton might not have the rocket arm or incredible athleticism, but he is already doing many of the little things that great quarterbacks do. I love his preternatural poise in the pocket and how he keeps his eyes down the field when faced with a rush. Dalton does a great job of throwing the ball where only his receivers can get it, witness the TD throw to Jerome Simpson. He also knows how to hold the safety with his eyes, which led to the TD bomb to Green, who is as impressive as any rookie receiver in recent memory. Of course there are still some rookie moments, and Seattle isn’t exactly a great defense. But with the strength of the supporting cast--nice to see LT Andrew Whitworth finally getting some national love--this offense is only going to get better. Remember the Bengals were missing stud tight end Jermaine Gresham and starting RB Cedric Benson in this one.
The AFC Wild Card race is pretty crowded, but the Bengals are poised to make their own destiny. They play division rivals Pittsburgh and Baltimore, both of whom are tied with Cincy with just two losses, twice apiece. But even losing all four won’t necessarily bury the Bengals. They will be favorites in every other game and draw the only real threat, Houston, at home. Because this Bengals team has a different feel to it, no malcontents dominating the locker room, no unreliable quarterback, no blunder-plagued defense, I think this team is going to make the finale at home against the Ravens a battle for a Wild Card spot. Raise your hand if you thought that last August…
$.03-- The Philadelphia Eagles are waking up, and the other NFC contenders are sleeping a little less easily. Their dominating performance Sunday night in killing the Cowboys is precisely the kind of statement win the Eagles needed to make, not just to get the pundits off their back but to prove to one another that they can be great.
The first play of the game I watched was Dez Bryant bobbling a throw right into Nnamdi Asomugha’s opportunistic arms. Philadelphia was already up 14-0 and I should have stopped watching right then. The next two Philly drives devoured all but three minutes of the second quarter as Michael Vick sliced and diced the Dallas defense with a pair of long, methodical scoring drives that effectively ended the game at halftime. This was the Eagles offense at its best, with LeSean McCoy darting around defenders and Vick efficiently using Brent Celek and Jason Avant in completing 21 of 28 for an impressive 10 yards per attempt. More importantly, Vick took care of the ball; this was just the third game in his Eagles career where he didn’t throw an interception or lose a fumble, a feat he accomplished despite being sacked four times.
Cowboys fans have to be in disbelief at how poorly the offense performed. The Eagles defense has struggled all season to contain the run and prevent the big play, but they continually stymied the high powered Dallas attack. It started on first down, where Tony Romo was 3-for-12 for 22 yards and got sacked twice and only one DeMarco Murray run gained more than four yards. Dallas was constantly facing second and long, which allowed the defense to focus on deeper coverage and effectively blanked the down the field attack. It also freed up Jason Babin and Trent Cole to rush the quarterback with abandon, which kept Romo running for his life most of the night.
I’m still not ready to anoint the Eagles as a legit contender, but this is the kind of game everyone envisioned they would play with all those prominent acquisitions. Just as importantly, this game buries the Cowboys at 3-4 but also behind a tiebreaker with the Eagles. With the Giants playing as well as they are, the rest of the NFC East is praying for a Wild Card. Philly is still a game behind Atlanta, Chicago, and Tampa Bay and 3 behind Detroit, but at least the light at the end of their tunnel is no longer a freight train barreling down the tracks.
$.04-- Miami remains winless after a spirited effort came up just short against the Giants. The G-Men looked a little rusty coming off the bye, but Eli Manning made enough plays and the defensive line rose up just in the nick of time. It was barely enough to overcome some truly ponderous play calling by Tom Coughlin, who was outcoached by Tony “I’m already fired but they haven’t told me to leave yet” Sparano in this one.
The Giants took the lead with just under six minutes remaining and then their offense did everything it could to let the Dolphins back in. After the Giants defense sacked Moore twice and forced a quick 3-and-out, the Giants begin to milk the clock by having Eli Manning throwing two quick incompletions and a short dumpoff. Total time of possession: 34 seconds, with Miami burning one timeout. Fortunately the defense bailed Coughlin out, as the next Miami drive featured two more sacks of Matt Moore and a Corey Webster INT on 3rd and 30. New York was not at its best, particularly defensively most of the day, but that was still better than Miami playing arguably its best game of the season.
This keeps the Dolphins on the short list to get the #1 overall pick and messianic Stanford QB Andrew Luck. Sparano won’t be the guy coaching Luck in Miami, but I place a great deal of the blame on the man who brought Sparano to the Dolphins and stocked the roster with the groceries of his choosing. That would be Bill Parcells, the most overrated coaching entity in team sports history. His ineptitude in putting this stinking pile of rotten fish rivals Matt Millen’s culpability in producing the NFL’s only 0-16 season thus far.
The laundry list of Parcells gaffes is too long to cover in depth here. Here’s the Cliff Notes version:
-- Alienates team leader and community icon Jason Taylor, and dumps team leader Zach Thomas. Their void has never been replaced.
-- Signing has-beens Trent Green, Daunte Culpepper and Chad Pennington to be the franchise quarterbacks, while also drafting Chad Henne and Pat White in consecutive 2nd rounds.
-- Making rushed judgments on guys like Erik Walden and Anthony Armstrong, while staying loyal to relative stiffs Philip Merling and Patrick Turner
-- Franchised decidedly average DT Paul Soliai, who plays about 50% of the defensive snaps
-- Constantly churning over the coaching staff, demanding full loyalty even though The Tuna will fire someone for looking at him wrong
-- Launching himself with a gilded parachute to the safety and glamour of television, where all his negatives are blatantly ignored and his accomplishments over-embellished
Putting it all on Parcells is way too easy and inaccurate, but if you are pointing fingers at why Miami is so terrible, Parcells should probably get your middle one.
$.05-- The other team competing with the Dolphins for that #1 overall pick are the Indianapolis Colts, also 0-7 and also in need of coaching and culture changes. Indianapolis is starting players that will likely never pull another NFL paycheck after this season thanks to an unbelievable number of injuries. This goes far beyond Peyton Manning and his neck surgeries. Three regular starters along the offensive line were out, most of their starting secondary is on IR, and their Thursday injury report had more names on it than not.
I heard Colts President Bill Polian on Sirius NFL Radio last week and I was very impressed with his frank assessment of his team. I agree that in the context of the situation, Curtis Painter has played pretty well at quarterback given how few practice reps he got sitting behind Manning. But I completely disagree with his vehement defense of Jim Caldwell. Yes, the Colts are playing with solid effort; I have not seen one guy that has visibly quit or stopped going after it. Yet other coaches have demonstrated the ability to adapt the game plan to the talent at hand, and also to develop or “coach up” the downtrodden. Todd Haley in Kansas City is a great example, as was Steve Spagnuolo in St. Louis on this given Sunday.
Caldwell has not shown one iota of ability to do either of those. The young players are simply not getting any better, repeating mistakes they made weeks ago with no apparent recourse or negative reinforcement from the sidelines. Philip Wheeler darts inside the edge and tries to undercut the outside run in the same completely ineffective and unprofessional manner that he has for his entire career. Where is the coaching? Their young safeties continue to lurch forward at the start of every play even though they lack the speed and range to provide deep help unless they are backing up at the snap. These are coachable miscues that I can see clearly while watching 6 other games at the same time, let alone breaking down coaching tape. How does Caldwell not see these things, or worse, not fix them? These are the sort of inadequacies that doomed Mike Singletary to being a terrible NFL coach, but at least Singletary was animated and passionate when dealing with the players. Caldwell perennially wears the face of a man about to nod off during a long sermon. This team needs inspiration and passion, not a coach that believes he is watching a silent movie.
$.06-- What was probably the most entertaining of the early slate of games took place between 1-5 Minnesota and 2-5 Carolina, both of which started rookie quarterbacks. Minnesota ultimately prevailed when Panthers kicker Olindo Mare choked on a 31-yard potential game-tying field goal in the final minute.
It’s unfortunate that this game will be remembered for that, because what I saw in Charlotte were some of the best players in the game playing at the peak of their abilities. You wouldn’t expect that from two teams that are now both 2-6, but those records belie the elite talent on both rosters. Jared Allen chalked up another sack, his 12th, forced and recovered a fumble, defended a pass, and ran down 5 tackles. Adrian Peterson ran for 86 yards and one of the most manly touchdowns you’ll ever see, plus he added 76 yards and another touchdown receiving. Cam Newton electrified with a QB rating of 117.6, throwing three touchdowns, zero interceptions, and running for 88 more yards. Steve Smith hauled in seven passes for 100 yards and broke at least one tackle on just about every reception, and he added a 12-yard carry and a vicious downfield block on a Jonathan Stewart run.
These are not very good overall teams, but because of the legit stars on both rosters they are both very dangerous teams going forward. I like the fact that both of these teams have exciting playmakers to build around, and both will likely earn top 10 draft picks to help augment the roster. Cam Newton might be the best rookie QB ever, while Adrian Peterson remains the best running back in the NFL today. Fans can stay excited about their teams because of that, something that gives a leg up as they struggle forward in the midst of a down season.
$.07-- One of the prevailing sentiments in the NFL this year is that the league has become passing centric on offense, and that the running offense is not that important anymore. In some cases that is true, but in watching the Sunday action some teams demonstrated that establishing the run early is still a tried and true path to victory.
Houston didn’t even run the ball all that effectively, but pounding Arian Foster 33 times for 112 yards compensated enough on a day where Matt Schaub was not at his best. St. Louis stunned New Orleans by ramming Stephen Jackson right down their throats. The Saints never showed any propensity for stopping him, and that game plan allowed backup AJ Feeley to play with confidence and a lead. San Francisco ran Frank Gore 31 times for 134 yards in dashing past Cleveland. LeSean McCoy thrashed the Cowboys for 93 yards in the first half (Vick chipped in 55 of his own) and made Rob Ryan’s defense look downright weak. Buffalo gashed Washington with heavy doses of Fred Jackson, which dramatically shortened the game and allowed the defense to pitch a shutout.
I strongly believe that an underappreciated benefit of running the ball early is what it does for the offensive line. Those big guys up front love to fire out and attack the defense, and running the ball gets them fired up and full of piss and vinegar. That breeds confidence and wears down the defensive line. When the offense mixes in the play action, the tired defenders aren’t as quick to react and the field opens up. Houston and Buffalo worked this to perfection in their wins on Sunday. Remember all this the next time you hear the deafening chatter that the pass sets up the run in the modern NFL; it’s simply not true.
$.08--5 NFL Quickies:
1. As bad as Rex Grossman can be, at least he understands that the point of his job is to throw the ball before the defense gets to him. John Beck has yet to learn that skill in his four NFL seasons. Nine sacks to the team with the worst sack percentage? That isn’t all on the O-line, no chance.
2. Welcome back to the NFL, Pacman Jones. In his first action in over a year since suffering a career-threatening neck injury, Jones looked like a big star in returning a punt 63 yards against Seattle. However, Jones injured his hamstring on the play and left the game.
3. There is much hullaballoo about the TD catch that wasn’t by Rob Gronkowski late in the PIT/NE game. But I think it was the correct call because when the process of the catch was completed, the ball was no longer in the end zone. I’ve never understood why that rule hasn’t been interpreted in that way on plays like that while they are so quick to overrule others. If that was indeed a touchdown catch, I can find you 10 others that have been disallowed that should be touchdowns.
4. Remember all the hype about the Patriots signing Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco? Through seven games, Haynesworth has three tackles and half a sack, while Ocho has nine receptions for 136 yards and no touchdowns. Neither guy is missed one iota by their old teammates, and neither has done anything remotely close to meriting the hype surrounding their signings.. which I told you was going to be the case.
5. The Houston Texans are set up for quite a run. Their upcoming schedule should allow them to run away with the AFC South. Road games at wobbly Tampa Bay and surging Cincinnati represent the only games where the Texans won’t be favored by at least 6 points. Controlling their own fate is something the Texans have never worn well before; let’s see if this is truly a different Houston team.
$.09--College/Draft quickies:
I spent a lot of time this past week looking at quarterbacks. I am not impressed with this potential class much at all. Look for a midseason Top 103 prospects later this week.
-- Landry Jones played a game where people are going to look at his record-setting numbers and come away impressed. And while the numbers looked good, I thought the Oklahoma QB hurt his stock with his performance against Kansas State. Oklahoma runs a very primitive spread offense; Jones looks at his pre-snap reads, makes a choice and goes with it on about 75% of their offensive plays. On the few occasions where K-State pressed tight or made a late coverage switch, Jones was chronically befuddled. When forced to count his reads past one, Landry Jones is not a very good quarterback. Several of his throws sailed high and wide, and some of the throws he completed were not pinpoint. To be fair it was breezy, but not every NFL team plays in a dome. Jones looks like what I call a “panic” thrower; he doesn’t have great anticipation but rather waits to see the receiver open and then tries to rifle it in. What makes it worse is he often stares down his target from the second he gets the shotgun snap. Even if it’s just a quick 2-yard pattern, he gives the defense time to react, something that burned him against Texas Tech a week ago. An NFL example of that kind of QB is Tarvaris Jackson. I like Jones’ mechanics of throwing and there is certainly a lot to work with here, but he will need some serious coaching and time before he is ready. And because he is likely to be a top 10 pick, he probably won’t get it.
-- If you are a subscriber to the “whatever Matt Millen thinks, run the other way” mindset regarding the draft, consider his quote on Landry Jones: “No question this kid is ready to go and thrive at the next level”. The last time Millen thought that about a quarterback he brought the Joey Harrington era upon Detroit.
-- Baylor QB Robert Griffin III has been rocketing up draftnik boards (mine included) but he had a day to forget against Oklahoma State, which is not exactly noted for its defense. Griffin made several uncharacteristic forced throws into coverage and appeared out of synch with his wideouts. What really concerned me was how poorly Griffin threw when the field was shortened. RG3 was frequently stymied in the end zone, unable to throw his receivers open in tight quarters. The pace of the offense also slowed and it seemed to mess with his control. Even so, like Jones he put up very big box score numbers and made several throws that reminded me why I like him very much at times. But translating hat he does well into an NFL offense will require some patience and creativity from whatever team drafts him, which seems like the middle of the first round at this early juncture.
--One under-the-radar QB that I like more and more with every viewing is Arizona State’s Brock Osweiler. He is giant at 6’7” and has a very accurate, concise delivery for such a tall guy. His field awareness and recognition of coverages continues to improve, and in the Colorado game he showed he can slide around to buy time. He is only a junior and I would strongly advise him to go back for another season, but I see him as a better NFL prospect than his vastly more celebrated in-state cohort, Nick Foles of Arizona.
-- In that Oklahoma game, I came away with a much more favorable impression of Sooners LB Ronnell Lewis. I had him mentally penciled in as a late 2nd/early 3rd rounder but Lewis was all over the field making plays with authority against Kansas State. Interestingly, during the week one of the message board faithful (Hi Mike!) asked me if Lewis can play OLB in a 3-4 in the NFL and I was hesitant because I hadn’t see the requisite burst and closing speed. But all that was on clear display in this game, and going forward I will look at him more in that vein.
-- Andrew Luck outdueled Matt Barkley in Stanford’s instant classic triple-overtime win over USC. Luck also showed why he is the vastly superior NFL prospect. Luck’s accuracy is much better, and some of the throws he made--notably the overtime TD pass to the sideline--are ones that most NFL quarterbacks cannot make. Barkley looked better than he did against Cal, but he still has sporadic accuracy and just doesn’t show the anticipation or trust in his arm with too many of his throws. Factor in Luck’s excellent mobility and it was very evident that I was watching a future NFL star and a future NFL backup.
-- Vanderbilt CB Casey Hayward had quite an interesting game against Arkansas. Several times in the game the cocksure Hayward displayed exceptional closing on the ball in the air and great athleticism to make plays. Alas, he dropped three pretty easy interceptions in a 5-pass series, two of which were surefire pick-sixes that would have given Vandy the upset win. And for every good play he made against the run or short pass, he had a terrible one. Hayward has tremendous anticipation and reacts quickly, skills which he showed in blowing up a screen and knifing through a poor block to bring down the ball carrier in the backfield. But in the open field he often takes poor angles to the ball, and he hits like a featherweight jabber in a league where even cruiserweight sluggers can struggle to make tackles. I see him as a middle-round pick for a base zone team that values plays on the ball. He is not dissimilar to Lions CB Chris Houston, who struggled (bombed?) early in Atlanta before finding a more conducive scheme in Detroit.
$.10-- Some random thoughts that crowded my head as I drove home Saturday night from watching the best Metallica tribute band in the nation, MTA, and the subsequent insomnia that resulted from having “Harvester of Sorrow” on loud repeat in my brain:
-- For as much crap as I give baseball for having an extraordinary long season, soccer is worse. The MLS started in February and they still haven’t completed the first round of their playoffs. Considering teams in Colorado, Philadelphia, New York, and Seattle are still in contention, getting the season over promptly might be a good idea with winter just around the corner.
-- The World Series was fantastic, probably the best I can remember since the ’91 series. So many intriguing story lines, so many commanding performances. It might just rekindle my lost passion for the sport. What made it better was no Boston, no New York, and no California teams.
-- I hate it when I take a position one day and find Skip Bayless adopting the same position on ESPN2’s First Take the next morning. If I am ever that irrationally annoying, just shoot me.
-- The funniest thing I’ve seen in weeks was a guy in full Gene Simmons KISS regalia Tebowing during the intro to “One” at the Metallica tribute show. Well played, sir!
-- this weekend was the first onset of “fall” weather here in Houston, and it made me really long for the wonderful change of seasons in my former homes in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic. There is no better time in northern Ohio or central Virginia than September and early October, with the leaves in full color mode and the crispness in the air.
-- I take my three-year-old daughter to preschool three days a week, and I’m one of about three men amongst the scores of women that take their kids to the school. It never ceases to amaze me how quick these women are to praise me for being involved in my daughter’s life and subsequently complain about their own husbands/baby daddies. Ladies, I don’t care, I don’t want to know and I will not accompany your gaggle for mid-morning margaritas and wine. Honestly guys, the secret lives of housewives would probably send you scurrying for the nearest divorce lawyer or therapist. It makes it real easy for me to return home to my man cave and watch football for four hours.
-- Enough of this constant conference shuffling in college football! I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: concoct four 20-team, football-only mega-conferences, remove them from the umbrella of the NCAA, and get on with deciding a true national champion.
-- I watched some of the Pan Am Games and if you like freakish athletes, check out Brazilian volleyball player Wallace Martins. He stands 6’8” but can jump high enough that he strikes the ball on his jump serve at 12’10” above the ground. He has allegedly touched 13’2” before. Take that, LeBron…Good job by Team USA to take a set from the Brazilian dream team.
Jeff Risdon/RealGM
Football Wiretap RSS Feed