Week 9 Monday Afternoon TPS Report
Nov 5th 2007ericjhoroTPS Report & NFL
Don’t Miss…
…The real key to the Packers victory over the Chiefs—Aaron Rodgers and his functioning headset.
…The real key to the Saints turning their season around—not eating cheese.
…Shaun Rogers’ stiff arm (2:35 mark) on Selvin Young at the end of his interception return. It was like a giant throwing down a little kid.
…CBS taking the blame for the Colts’ mysterious crowd noise sounds.
…The Chiefs defense in disbelief that Brett Favre kept shredding them. Jarrad Page’s take? “He made some good pump fakes.”
…All the help Adrian Peterson had yesterday.
…Priest Holmes is about the be the center of a lot of media attention.
…The Vikings fake toss/reverse kickoff return (:30 mark). Is there some reason teams don’t try this kind of thing more often? It almost always works.
…TwoFalcons veterans got ready for this week by going far away from the team both mentally and physically. Jimmy Carter later cheered them on.
Jason Elam Owes Antonio Cromartie Big Time
When Jeff Reed attempted a 65-yard field two weeks ago in Denver it may have been the last time Jason Elam’s 63-yard field goal record will ever be in jeopardy (well, maybe except for Sebastian Janikowski). Antonio Cromartie (and Ed Reed before him) have made it clear that it’s too risky to attempt a field goal that could come up short—those kicks are just too easy to return for touchdowns. The kicking team has 11 guys on the field who run like Bengie Molina and none of them are prepared to chase around a frenetic defensive back. If you look at the video of Cromartie’s return all of the Vikings lineman are just standing around and one of them even has his hands raised in an “it’s good” sign. Uh, it’s definitely not good. Unless 60-yarders start becoming routine, Elam’s record is going to be safe for a long time.
Another Bill Belichick Lesson on How to Be Bland, Insincere, and Hackneyed
Here is what the Patriots coach had to say after his team’s win:
“It was a real good win for our football team. I was really proud of the way the guys played. We played 60 minutes, which you have to do against the Colts. They’re tough. They make you work for everything. But I thought our guys stepped up and made some big plays, especially in the second half and 4th quarter when we needed to, and all the credit has got to go to the players. They worked hard for this one—had a good week of practice, and they played hard today, and just made a few more plays than the Colts did.”
Say it’s a good win–check. Say you’re proud of your team—check. Use the phrase “60 minutes”—check. Give credit to your opponent—check. Mention “big plays”–check. Give credit to your players—check. Talk about how practicing hard is important—check. The only thing Belichick forgot was to mention how “all 53 guys on the roster” contributed to the win.
Shrewd Moves of the Week
Mike Holmgren
It didn’t work out, but Holmgren made the right decision when he went for it on 4th and 1 from the Browns 44-yard line early in overtime. A first down likely would have given Josh Brown a chance to win the game, and the way the Seahawks defense was playing they probably wouldn’t have stopped the Browns even if they pinned them deep. Holmgren might face some criticism for the move, but going for it was the smart and aggressive thing to do.
Joe Gibbs
I didn’t even know Gibbs knew what onside kicks were, but his decision to try one while trailing 17-6 was quite shrewd. After an easy recovery the Redskins went down the field and added another field goal.
By the way, on the onside kick the Jets carelessly had the usual alignment of five players standing at the 45-yard line. With mid-game onside kicks now en vogue in the NFL shouldn’t teams be making a bigger effort to defend them? Would it really hurt their kick returns that much to bump their front line up the 40-yard line or add a 6th or 7th guy? There is not good risk-benefit analysis going on.
Bonehead Moves of the Week
Tony Dungy
There wasn’t one specific bad decision Dungy made, but right from the start he seemed to be playing not to lose (by settling for field goals) instead of playing to win (by going for touchdowns). On the Colts 2nd drive they had 3rd and goal from the Pats 3-yard line. They should have ran the ball up the middle with the intention of running it again on 4th down—the Colts expected a shootout and they needed 7. Instead, Manning threw an incomplete pass and the Colts settled for a field goal.
Then on their next drive the Colts had first and goal from the 6-yard line. Dungy and Manning should have been thinking about four straight runs for a touchdown. Instead Manning threw an incompletion on first down and the Colts ended up settling for another short field goal.
Dick Jauron
Don’t kick field goals on 4th and short in the red zone!! It’s that simple. The Bills had 4th and 1 from the Cincy 11-yard line and Jauron sent out the field goal team. He ended up with three points instead of seven, and the Bills gave up 19 yard of field position when the Bengals got the ball at the 30 after the ensuing kickoff.
Nonsensical Penalty of the Week
Late in the first half Packers defensive back Atari Bigby was flagged for a very questionable pass interference call in the back of the endzone. On the play Chiefs receiver Samie Parker actually caught the ball…a good two yards out of the back of the endzone (and the interference didn’t affect Parker not being in bounds). Now here’s my question—doesn’t the fact that Parker caught the ball out of bounds mean that the pass was uncatchable? Parker physically caught it, but the pass was still incomplete. Is that not concrete evidence the ball was uncatchable?
Intentionally Taking Penalties is Bad
A few weeks ago I vowed to call out any coach who intentionally takes a delay of game penalty in order to “give their punter more room” for a pooch punt. (This is idiotic because the key to downing the ball inside the five isn’t the punt, it’s getting your gunners down the field—and being closer to the endzone is generally better for that.) Along those lines, I’d like to point my finger at Joe Gibbs for taking a delay of game penalty at the Jets 42. Derrick Frost proceeded to shank a 27-yard punt, giving the Jets the ball at the 20-yard line. Eric Mangini tipped his cap and said “thanks for the five yards.”
It’s an Eagles Celebration!!
I don’t know who’s in charge of the Lincoln Field pyrotechnics, but it might have been a good idea for them to hold off on the fireworks when the Eagles scored their final touchdown. Not only did cutting the Cowboys lead to 38-17 seem like an inopportune time to celebrate, but because there were only about 70 people left in the stadium the fireworks were extremely (and hilariously) loud. I know that fireworks prices are enticingly low these days, but next time the Eagles might just want save them for another week.
Stat O’ the Week
22. The number of kickoffs that have been returned for touchdowns this season. That’s a lot.
European Football Goal of the Week
Seydou Keita gives Sevilla the lead in Saturday’s win over Real Madrid
Also See…
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