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Worst Attempt at a Successful Two-Minute Drill

Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers

This year Brett Favre is once again a stud, and his more conservative decision making is a big reason the Packers are in first place. But during the final two minutes when the Packers needed Favre to take some chances, the Brett Favre of old was nowhere to be found.

The Packers took over with two minutes left and two timeouts—plenty of time for them to go the 70+ yards they needed. But when the Bears dropped back in their cover 2 and only gave Favre short 8-10 yard crossing routes, Favre was happy to take them. In a way, this is exactly what the Bears wanted. The short completions drained the clock and after four straight 8-yard gains took the ball to the Bears 42, there were just 18 seconds left. Only four plays and already there wasn’t enough time left for Favre to sustain a promising assault on the Bears endzone.

What the Packers needed was for Favre to take some chances threading the zone downfield. Their needed the gunslinger. Instead, by taking only what the Bears gave him, Favre didn’t get his team down the field fast enough and they essentially ran out of time. Next time the Packers are in that kind of situation coach Mike McCarthy had better let Brett Favre know he should take some chances.

The Ship is Sinking—Reggie Bush

I have an announcement to make. I’m officially ready to write off Reggie Bush ever becoming a dominant NFL runner. I’ve also got the reason why—Bush just doesn’t break any tackles.

Bush’s greatest skill as a running back is his ability to make remarkable cuts at full speed. When Bush got into 1-on-1 situations in college, his was so good he could make defenders completely whiff and then scamper down the field for a touchdown. Bush’s problem is that in the NFL the defenders are just a little bit better. Instead of completely missing Bush, they often get an arm or a shoulder on him. The great NFL running backs break through these tackles or fight off the defenders for 5 or 10 more yards. Bush usually goes down right away. (By the way, these 1-on-1 situations happen a lot more than you think—almost every time a running back bursts through a hole he will in effect be 1-on-1 with a linebacker or safety.) I’m not saying Bush has to be like Tecmo Bowl Christian Okoye, but he has to be better at running through contact.

So there you have it. I’ve finally identified the problem with Reggie Bush. It’s quite simple really. He just can’t shake of contact well enough. He’s like the anti-Maurice Jones-Drew. It may not be apparent on every play, but it’s enough to drop his yards per carry from 4.5 to 3.5.

Don’t Miss…

–Travis Johnson’s tirade about Trent Green taking a shot at his knee.

–The Falcons’ perfectly designed fake punt. (around the :55 mark)

–Mike Sellers. Mike Sellers. Mike Sellers. Kennoy Kennedy. Mike Sellers!!!!

–Braylon Edwards’ one handed grab. (around the 3:15 mark)

–Vernon Davis referring to himself in the 3rd person as he bashes the 49ers offense and talks about how he would have single-handedly won the game.

–The Houston Chronicle story about Kris Brown taking a painkilling shot in his left foot at halftime, then going out and kicking the game winning 57-yard field goal.

Travis Johnson Has Cojones

I’m not going to judge Travis Johnson and say whether was right or wrong to criticize Trent Green’s low block. The guy had somebody do something that could have jeopardized his career, and he was angry about it. What I will say is that Johnson should be allowed to vent his frustration without the team making him apologize. Call me insensitive, but Trent Green’s condition after the play (as bad as it was) shouldn’t affect what Johnson can say about him. Just because Green is a victim it doesn’t mean he’s not also a culprit. And here’s the most important part, If Green had thrown an interception and Johnson (or even a much smaller cornerback) has blocked him like that they would have been crucified. Absolutely crucified.

Although it looked bad, you can understand why Johnson went over to yell at Green after the play. In that instant he was fuming over Green’s block, and the fact that Green was severely injured couldn’t have possibly crossed Johnson’s mind. When Johnson spoke about it after the game, I think he just wanted to make it perfectly clear that he wasn’t absolving Green for the block. And he certainly made it clear.

If anything, this should be a warning sign regarding the NFL’s policy to disregard the safety of defenseless receivers and lineman while at the same time making sure to not let anybody lay a hand on the quarterback. With his tirade Johnson was just venting years of built up frustration over how the game is called.

Finally, shame on the Texans PR people for trying to stop Johnson mid-interview and later forcing him to go back to the media and give a blatantly insincere apology. I don’t blame Johnson for looking like he was being forced to apologize for making fun of his little brother. Stuff like this is the reason Gilbert Arenas is one of only four athletes who actually says what’s on their mind.

Bonehead Moves of the Week

John Fox

The coaching epidemic currently going around the NFL is an excess of trust in place kickers. With the game tied in the closing minute the Panthers had 1st and 10 and the Saints 35 with 21 seconds left. Because the Panthers had one timeout left they could use the whole field to try and pick up 10-15 more yards. Interestingly, John Fox decided a 52-yard field goal was an excellent proposition, and so instead of trying to get closer he just had quarterback David Carr move the ball to the center of the field.

Are you kidding me? He was content with a 52 yarder??!!! Think about this for second. In his career John Kasay is about 50% from beyond 50 yards. He hits around 80% of the time in between 30-49 yards. By not running a play that could have potentially gotten them closer, Fox made it 30% more likely the Panthers would not win in regulation. That means for Fox’s decision to be the correct one, he had to have thought that there was a 30% chance the Panthers would turn the ball over, take a sack, or commit a penalty. That’s absurd, especially considering that every Panther would be uber-careful on that play.

Fox’s decision was also classless. By doing what he did, he put all the potential blame on the shoulders of his kicker. If the Panthers had turned it over trying to get closer, Fox would have taken the blame. By playing it safe Fox stuck Kasay with a difficult kick and put him in position to take the blame if he missed. (And asking Kasay if he could make a 52-yarder and having Kasay say “yes” is not a legitimate reason for not trying to get closer.)

Mike Holmgren and Tom Coughlin

I’m a huge proponent of doing everything you can to try and score as many points as possible in the closing minute of the first half. Nothing makes me more angry than a coach who gets the ball back with a minute left and two timeouts and decides to take a knee. But both Tom Coughlin and Mike Holmgren were way to aggressive in the closing minute of the first half.

After their only lengthy drive of the game, the Seahawks had the ball on the Steelers 14-yard line with seven seconds left in the first half. Holmgren decided to run another play even though the offense was just too far away to take a shot at the endzone that wasn’t exceedingly risky. Additionally, there was the possibility that the play would take all seven seconds and the Seahawks would go into the half with nothing. Still, Holmgren let Hasselbeck drop back to pass and he fired an interception to Ike Taylor.

The Giants got the ball back at their own 21-yard line with 28 seconds left in the first half. Not only is that not really enough time to do anything, but Eli Manning has demonstrated in the past that he’s not good at protecting the ball in “must protect the ball situations.” On the first play Manning was picked off and the Jets tacked on three more points before halftime.

Intentionally Taking Penalties is Bad

Last week I vowed to call out all coaches who foolishly take delay of game penalties to give their punters more room for a pooch punt. For the second week in a row our winner is Jets coach Eric Mangini. On the Jets second drive of the game Mangini allowed his team to take a delay of game penalty that moved the ball from the Giants 49 to the Jets 46. One day giving away yards will come back to haunt him. I hope.

When is D.J. Shockley coming back?

I’ve been thinking it over, and I don’t think a player has ever done as many bad things in such a small amount of time as Byron Leftwich did on Sunday. Leftwich played three possessions. On the first, when the Falcons just needed a few yards to get into field goal range, Leftwich threw three straight incompletions and the Falcons punted from the Titans 35. A Vince Young interception gave Leftwich a chance at redemption, but he promptly gave the ball right back to the Titans with an interception of his own. Then a blocked punt eventually gave the Falcons 1st and goal from the 1. Somehow Leftwich managed to screw that up. First he fumbled an exchange with Warrick Dunn (only partially his fault). Then he overthrew a wide open receiver in the endzone. Finally, in his coup de grace, Leftwich took a sack on 4th and goal. It was a downright impressive performance.

Game Balls—Ike Taylor, Jason Campbell

Taylor made the highlight reel with his endzone interception of Matt Hasselbeck, but that was just the culmination of an outstanding first half. On two different occasions earlier in the game Hasselbeck threw deep to receivers who were being single covered by Taylor. Both times Taylor got inside position and nearly picked off the pass. Taylor’s shut down job was a big reason the Steelers walked away with a shutout.

Simply put, this was the best game I’ve ever seen Jason Campbell play (and I’ve been forced to watch all of Campbell’s games over the years). He showed an accurate touch for the first time all season and his pocket presence was outstanding. If only the Skins played the Lions every week.

Stat O’ the Week

14 and 2 The number of punts and 20+ yard gains, respectively, in the 49ers-Ravens game.

European Football Goal of the Week

Goran Pandev of Lazio vs. Real Madrid

Also see…

Week 1 TPS Report

Week 2 TPS Report

Week 3 TPS Report

Week 4 TPS Report

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