Week 8 Monday Afternoon TPS Report
Oct 29th 2007ericjhoroTPS Report & NFL
Don’t Miss…
…Cedric Benson’s anger about all the criticism he’s getting. How angry is he? Here’s how he responded to people saying he needs more of a burst: “Do I need to run with more of a burst? No. And [expletive] them.”
…The story behind the opening kickoff of the second half in the Vikings-Eagles game. In case you missed it, here’s what happened according to the NFL.com play-by-play. “D.Akers kicks 69 yards from PHI 30 to MIN 1. 28-A.Peterson ran ob at MIN 1 for no gain.” Sounds a little strange, right? Apparently Brad Childress spends too much time working on inducing illegal procedure penalties on kickoffs, and not enough time on pass defense.
…The pure joy that’s overcoming J.P. Losman and Lee Evans now that they can play catch again. Here are some words from Losman: “Lee and I have a certain type of chemistry, a certain type of togetherness. It’s very, very special, especially when it happens with Lee. We’re pretty darn close, probably as close as players get in this league with each other. So it’s extra special that he helped me out on that play.” It sounds to me like they might be more than just teammates.
…The 49ers offensive coordinator feeling bad for his players. If that sounds a little strange to you….well…it is strange. It’s also definitely not a good sign for the Niners.
…The Texans’ analysis of their botched punt (:35 mark)—It features Matt Turk attempting to explain how he ran three yards past the ball, thereby allowing Antonio Cromartie to recover it for a Chargers touchdown.
…Donovan McNabb wanting to run the ball for the first time in a year.
…Lovie Smith being coy about Brian Urlacher’s bad back.
…Mike Williams getting a moment to shine…and not doing it. Somewhere Matt Millen pinches himself to make sure he’s not dreaming.
…Fred Taylor’s career. It’s been a pretty good one.
…A possible return to the NFL for Jeremy Bloom.
We Missed the Arsenal-Liverpool Match For That?
They finally did it. They played an NFL game in Europe. Now Roger Goodell can go back to wrapping quarterbacks in bubble paper and bribing strip clubs not to admit NFL players.
The commish can take pleasure in the fact that overall the game was a success. It sold out and the excited fans were too ignorant to recognize the NFL had given them a subpar product. On the other hand, it was clear the game lacked a real NFL crowd. On key third downs the stadium was eerily silent. On questionable penalty calls there was no booing. That had to be weird for the players.
I guess the whole concept of fans being able to change the outcome of the game is an American thing. During European soccer games fans sing and chant with little correlation to what’s happening on the field of play. But in America fans cheer with two strikes, they yell when somebody’s at the free throw line, and they make as much noise as possible on third down. They think they can affect what happens. That cocky, self-importance from the fans was missing in London. So while the game was a success and future European get togethers are already being planned, it was nothing like a real NFL game.
Bonehead Moves of the Week
Eric Mangini
I’m still astounded that a Bill Belichick disciple could botch the end of a game so badly. Trailing 6-3 Chad Pennington drove the Jets into Bills territory and they eventually ended up with 4th and 3 at the Bills 41-yard line with 6 minutes left in the game. Mangini decided to punt. I understand that the Jets defense had been playing great, but you absolutely have to go for it there. Get a first down on the play and you’re in position to kick the game tying field goal. That’s the #1 thing to be concerned about, not field position or giving the Bills a chance to make it 9-3. You cannot give up a chance to tie the game by punting from the 41. If you have that much confidence in your defense then even if you miss on 4th down they should be able to get the ball back. The Jets did eventually get the ball back….trailing 13-3.
Marvin Lewis
The Bengals trailed 14-3 and had 4th and 1 at the Steelers 2-yard line late in the first half. The Bengals defense hadn’t been playing well and going for it was a no-brainer. Instead, Lewis kicked a field goal. The three points brought the Bengals within one score, but by kicking off they gave the Steelers 30 yards of field position. Ben Roethlisberger proceeded to run a perfect two minute drill and Willie Parker’s touchdown just before halftime gave the Steelers a 21-6 lead at the break.
Shrewd Moves of the Week
Jack Del Rio
Quinn Gray was terrible last week. There’s no debating that. This week Jack Del Rio decided he wouldn’t let Gray lose the game for him, and so the Jaguars came out running the ball. The ran the ball on their first 14 plays, the 15th was a screen pass, and the 16th was a touchdown run that gave the Jags a 7-3. Eventually Gray settled down a bit and in the 4th quarter he even hit a few key passes on the Jaguars’ game winning touchdown drive. Still, the reason Jacksonville was even in the game at that point was Del Rio’s decision to win strictly with defense and the running game.
Dick Jauron & Steve Fairchild
When protecting a lead late in the 4th quarter teams almost never take a shot down the field. Usually they’re content to bleed the clock running the ball even though the other team is playing 10 men in the box. The Bills coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for taking a shot down the field while clinging to a 6-3 lead. Sure, there was double coverage and the pass could have been intercepted, but usually the coverage will not be nearly that good. As it turned out, Lee Evans made a play and the decision to go deep sealed the win.
Scrounging for Signs of Patriots Weakness Can Be Difficult
During the first few weeks of the season, when Randy Moss was catching copious amounts of touchdown passes, Moss seemed to always be wide open and roaming free behind the defense. That hasn’t really been the case the last few weeks. Against the Dolphins both of Moss’ long touchdown catches came against double coverage on plays that easily could have been interceptions. Against the Redskins Moss’ touchdown came with the help on an obvious (but uncalled) push off, and his 35-yard fourth quarter reception came against triple coverage. Right now Moss and Brady are making the plays, but at some point (possibly against better ballhawking defensive backs) those throws might start turning into interceptions. Tom Brady better be careful.
Republican Politicians Could Be Brawling
Prior to the Chargers-Texans kickoff Arnold Schwarzenegger thanked the California firefighters and called them the “greatest, bravest, and most experienced firefighters in the world.” Rudy Giuliani might beg to differ about that. He seems pretty fond of the New York City firefighters.
Stat O’ the Week
4. The number of wins the Patriots and Colts have over NFC teams with winning records. It’s also the number of wins the entire NFC has over AFC teams with winning records. (Green Bay over San Diego, Chicago over Kansas City, Tampa Bay over Tennessee, and Arizona over Pittsburgh.)
European Football Goal of the Week
Manchester United’s Nani vs. Middlesbrough
Also See…
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