Week 15 Monday Afternoon TPS Report
Dec 17th 2007ericjhoroTPS Report & NFL
Eagles Beat Cowboys, Screw Redskins
The Eagles beat one division rival on Sunday, and with that victory came the bonus of screwing over another division rival. Because the Cowboys lost this week, their game against the Redskins on the last Sunday of the season will likely mean something. That should make the Redskins’ path to the post-season a whole lot tougher.
Bill Belichick Paranoia Moment O’ the Week
According to Tim MacMahon of the Dallas Morning News two guys on the Eagles sideline had the assigned task of holding up towels the hide the team’s defensive signals.
Stuff You Don’t Want to Miss…
–There’s a reason Brian Westbrook took a knee at the 1-yard line. That reason is Jon Runyan. Only an offensive lineman could instill that kind of unselfishness.
–The news continues to get worse for the Giants. On Sunday the ice and wind collapsed their practice bubble. That wind would then proceed to wreak havoc on anything and everything in Giants Stadium.
–How bad did the Chargers beat the Lions? They beat them so bad that with 6:40 still left in the game the Chargers public address announcer told fans to buy playoff tickets because the victory over the Lions ensured the Chargers a home playoff game. So much for waiting until the win was official. The PA announcer obviously had no confidence in Jon Kitna’s ability to orchestrate a 40 point comeback.
–The Jaguars had a secret weapon in the form of a former Steelers backup who they were mining for information.
–After the game Wade Phillips was being very coy about Tony Romo’s hand injury. Well, it’s either that or Phillips just isn’t a very smart man.
–Gillette Stadium was an absolute mess before the game. In order to clear the snow in the stands workers were using a trough to send it down to the field from 32 rows up.
–JaMarcus Russell and Peyton Manning had met before Sunday’s game. Apparently Russell used to attend Manning’s football camps. Who knew?
Despite Best Efforts, Mike Nolan Can’t Lose the Game
I still cannot get over Mike Nolan’s decision to go for it on 4th down with six minutes left in Saturday night’s game. It was hands down the worst coaching move in the NFL this season. There’s no defense for what Nolan did. If Joe Nedney had made the field goal (and he had made 27 straight from inside 50 yards) the game would have been over. It’s as simple as that. There wasn’t enough time left for the Bengals to get two scores. Going for it took a sure victory and turned it into a potential loss.
Now let’s assume going for it was the right play. Guess what? Nolan still handled the situation wrong. The 49ers had 3rd and 2. If you know you’re going for it on 4th down you should either throw it to the endzone (to take advantage of a short yardage defense) or run the ball (to potentially set up an easier 4th down if you don’t get it). Nolan did neither.
Falcons Clinch the 2008 NFC South Title
The Bucs clinched the NFC South on Sunday, making it the 5th consecutive year that the last place team in the division has finished first the following season. This year’s last place finisher will be none other than the Atlanta Falcons. Do you hear that Falcons? 2008 is your year. Sure, the whole worst-to-first thing is just an arbitrary statistic that means nothing, but at this point it’s the best thing the Falcons have going for them.
Andre Davis: Master Punt-Downer
Most of the time a punt returner signals for a fair catch inside his own 15-yard-line, the opponent’s gunners will stop and stand next to him, hoping for the muffed kick that never comes. As they stand waiting there, the returner lets the ball land 10 yards behind him and it harmlessly bounces into the endzone. Andre Davis does no such thing. He is a man who knows his way around a pooch punt. During the Texans first punt on Thursday night Davis ignored Broncos return man Dre Bly, ran right past him, and caught the ball on the fly at the 7-yard-line.
Dominic Rhodes Earns Some of That Dough
The Raiders gave Dominic Rhodes $7.5 million this off-season. Until this week that money had bought them a total of 24 rushing yards, 1 catch, and 1 substance abuse suspension. Rhodes didn’t quite put up Adrian Peterson numbers on Sunday, but he did nearly triple his production for the whole season by rushing for 41 yards and catching two passes. Now he’s only about 60 yards behind Josh McCown for 3rd place on the team in rushing.
Referee Call O’ the Week
Larry Nemmers (who was officiating the Cowboys-Eagles game) began his explanation of why a replay challenge was being upheld by saying “In the National Football League, a receiver must…” Thanks Larry. It’s good that you’re not getting confused by Canadian Football League rules.
Stat O’ the Week.
0.0 Chris Redman’s quarterback rating on Sunday. I sure hope D.J. Shockley’s knee is healing well.
European Goal O’ the Week
Fernando Torres’ killer crossover helps put Liverpool through to the Champions League round of 16
Also see…
1 Comment »
Chris on 19 Dec 2007 at 3:08 pm #
I had the over in the Cincy/SF game on Saturday night and I was cursing Nolan to high heaven. A FG and a meaningless TD by the Bengals would’ve given me the 43 points I needed to win (23-20) final.
(Obviously a tying TD by Cincy would’ve sent the game to OT, but the Bengals offense can only score when the other team isn’t trying.)