Shakedownsports.com

Lamont Jordan is Back On SportsCenter

Do you realize that the Browns and the Raiders played this week, and people were interested in the game. And not just the actual game, people were interested in the lead-up to the game. People talked about who would win. People cared. All of this was almost unthinkable three weeks ago. Congratulations Oakland and Cleveland, you are both relevant to the NFL again. People believe you could have an effect on the post-season.

They Love to Beat That D.C. Traffic

I had the pleasure of attending Sunday’s Redskins Giants game at FedEx Field. When the Skins were forced to punt with under three minutes left in the game, fans started making a beeline for the exits. It wouldn’t surprise me if 5,000 people missed the end of the game. It’s one thing to not care about the team. It’s another to risk not knowing how many free Papa John’s toppings the Redskins touchdown output has netted you.

Bonehead Moves of the Week

Jason Campbell/Redskins coaching staff

The Redskins got too spike-happy on their last drive. First, Jason Campbell fumbled a snap, setting up 2nd and 13 at the Giants 21 yard line with 1:20 left on the clock. The Redskins needed a first down and had plenty of time, but instead of taking an extra five seconds and running a play, Campbell inexplicably spiked the ball to stop the clock.

Fortunately for Campbell, on the next play he completed a pass to Antwan Randle El who took it to the 1 yard-line. There was still a minute on the clock, plenty of time for the Redskins to run four plays. Again, Campbell inexplicably spiked the ball instead of taking five extra seconds and running an actual play. That left the Redskins with only three plays instead of four. They really wish they had that fourth play now.

(By the way, I don’t think Gibbs was wrong to put Ladell Betts in for the final plays. As someone who’s spent my whole life being forced to endure every single Redskins game, I can honestly tell you that Betts is much better at the goal line. He was more likely to score and much more likely to not get dropped for a big loss. Betts is the Skins Marion Barber. Portis is Julius Jones)

Mike McCarthy

Fourth and goal from the 1 yard-line….and the Packers come out in the shotgun. No further explanation is necessary.

Mike Shanahan

Trailing by 6 with four minutes left in the game Shanahan elected to go for on 4th and 5 from his own 9 yard-line. Now you will not find a bigger proponent of going for it on 4th down than me, but this move was inexplicable. It’s a move Shanahan could have made if he trailed by 3, 4, or 5 points, because a Jacksonville field goal wouldn’t have ended the game. By going for it when he trailed by six Shanahan effectively put the outcome of the entire game on that one play. Good luck with all that Jay Cutler.

Gary Kubiak

Kubiak elected to punt with his offense facing 4th and 7 from the Colts 38 with three minutes left in the first half. When you’re playing a team as explosive as the Colts you just can’t give up the ball unless you absolutely have to. What made the decision even worse was that there was so little time left in the half. That means if the Texans had turned it over on downs Peyton Manning wouldn’t have had a lot of time to work with, and conversely, if the Texans got the ball back after punting, they wouldn’t have had much time to score.

Shrewd Moves of the Week

Ken Whisenhunt

The Cardinals coach showed some real cojones when he pulled Matt Leinart for Kurt Warner. Not many coaches would even consider benching their young stud quarterback for an aging turnover prone backup because the backup is a better fit for a specific situation in a specific game. Whisenhunt not only considered it, he did it, and the decision nearly paved the way for the Cardinals to pull off the upset.

Bullshit Game Changing Penalties of the Week

Bullshit Penalty #1–Sorry Jason Taylor, when they throw a fade and you grab the cornerback and push him out of the way, that’s a penalty on you. Erick Coleman got called for pass interference because he grabbed Taylor as Taylor was grabbing him and pushing him to the ground.

Bullshit Penalty #2–The Ravens got in position for their game winning field goal thanks to a bullshit unnecessary roughness penalty on Adrian Wilson. On the play Wilson actually turned his body to hit Todd Heap with his shoulder and not his helmet. Apparently the officials didn’t see it that way.

Bullshit Penalty #3–Plaxico Burress scored the game winning touchdown on a nifty catch and run, but the only reason he was still on the field was a bullshit call. Two plays earlier the Giants faced 3rd and 7 from the Washington 41. Eli Manning tried to hit Burress on a deep square in, but Shawn Springs read it well. Spring jumped the route and in the course of breaking up the pass he made some minor contact with Burress. The contact drew a flag. It was the type of borderline call that should go the defender’s way as a reward for reading and reacting to the play correctly. Regrettably, that’s not how it was called.

Best Use of a 2008 7th round Pick—Pittsburgh Steelers

A week before the season the Steelers acquired Allen Rossum from the Falcons for a late round draft pick in 2008. So far it’s working out. On Sunday, after the Steelers fell behind for the first time this season, Rossum ran Joe Nedney’s kick back for a touchdown to quash the 49ers short-lived dream.

The Ship is Sinking…

Alex Smith

Smith is a lot better than he used to be. He’s learned how to avoid interceptions and sacks. That’s a good thing. Still, he just doesn’t look like he reads the defense well enough to be great NFL quarterback. A guy like Peyton Manning knows where all 22 people on the field will be two seconds after the snap. That’s how he can instantly fire the ball to his 3rd or 4th receiver. Smith is the opposite. He knows where his primary target is, but if that receiver is covered he has trouble finding anybody other than the checkdown guy. That’s why half his passes are 1-yard dump-off’s to running backs or throwaways out of bounds. It just seems like now his ceiling is to be Jeff Garcia or Jake Plummer, not Steve Young.

Stat O’ the Week

1 That’s the number of teams who opened the season with three straight wins against 2006 playoff teams. That team is the Green Bay Packers.

European Football Goal of the Week

Danko Lazovic of PSV Eindhoven vs. CSKA Moscow

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