What have we learned - Week 7
I was unable to post this yesterday because the wound was still too raw. I wore black and cried most of the day. But I've recovered, so let's check out what we learned this past weekend.
First, a few observations. If Donna Shalala had any stones whatsoever, she would cancel the rest of the University of Miami's football season, fire Larry Coker, and start over next season. She didn't do that, obviously, because big-time colleges (yes, I count Penn State among them) have no integrity when it comes to money.
Speaking of having no integrity, some Florida State boosters want Bobby Bowden to resign. There's only one word for people like that: idiots. I don't like Bowden because he's ahead of Paterno in wins and I think during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when FSU was on top of the polls, they were wildly overrated, but the fact remains, boosters: you wouldn't have a football program if not for Bowden. People make the same claim about Paterno, but Penn State had a decent program before he got there. Florida State didn't start playing football until 1946. I want Bowden to quit so Paterno can overtake his win total, but he should be able to stay as long as he wants.
It appears that Shawne Merriman will be suspended for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. Someone on ESPN yesterday said that it's wrong, but he understands the mentality of someone trying to get as much money as they can right now because of the short shelf life of an NFL player. That makes sense until you think about the fact that some of these guys get 5-10 million dollar signing bonuses, which is simply a check in that amount made out to them. I don't know what Shawne Merriman's financial situation is, but he can't live pretty comfortably for a while on NFL money if he is forced out of the game because of injuries? That's ridiculous.
As for the games ... well, Philadelphia has now lost three games this season - all on the last play of the game. Jesus, that sucks. They screwed up at the end of both halves. In the first half, there were nine seconds left and they had the ball at the Tampa 6-yard line (maybe the 8) with no timeouts. McNabb inexplicably threw a pass to L. J. Smith at about the 3, where he was tackled. No touchdown, and no field goal, in a game they lost by two. At the end of the game, Brian Westbrook scored with 33 seconds left, leaving just enough time for Tampa to move into position for a 62-yard field goal. I mentioned this when the Jets scored against the Colts - shouldn't these guys think about scoring too quickly? Westbrook actually stopped at about the two and danced into the end zone. There was no Tampa player within 30 yards of him. Couldn't he have just turned around at the goal line, watched the defenders come toward him, and then, when they got close, stepped across the line? It wouldn't have been showboating (well, maybe a little), it just would have taken time off the clock. I don't think it would be a delay-of-game penalty. That being said, people are blaming the defense for not stopping Tampa on that last drive. Listen, the defense screwed up a few times, I'll admit. They also held the Buccaneers to 9 points. That should be good enough to win the game. The Eagles were the first team in NFL history to have over 500 yards of offense and not give up an offensive touchdown and lose. Good job! They need to stop playing in Florida. The last three times they've played there McNabb has thrown up. Charming.
I was so vexed by the Eagles game that I barely watched anything else, so the rest of what we have learned will be short. Also, Krys was out all morning and I was dealing with the children, so instead of flipping around the channels, I just kept it on the game. Sorry!
If I were a betting man, I would have bet everything I own on the Raiders to win against the Cardinals. There was no way Arizona was going to win that game. I keep thinking I should write a letter to Bill Bidwill offering to coach the Cardinals for the rest of the season for half of what Denny Green gets paid (which is still more than I've ever made in my life). I can't do any worse than he can, right?
I didn't watch any of the Detroit-New Jersey game. A couple of mediocre teams going at it!
Joey Harrington had an interception returned for a touchdown against Green Bay, but I really wish the NFL would have statistics for different kinds of INTs. The ball was right in Randy McMichael's hands and he let it bounce off of them into Charles Woodson's mitts. That's on McMichael. The NFL should have three INT categories: the fault of the QB (McNabb's were all his fault); the fault of the wide receivers (when a ball they should catch bounces off their hands); and Hail Mary INTs, which don't matter. The latter two categories hurt quarterbacks, and they shouldn't.
Instead of suffering through the Eagles game, I should have watched Pittsburgh-Atlanta. Everyone is jumping back on the Vick bandwagon after he threw 4 touchdown passes. Yes, that's very nice. He threw three of them to his tight end, however, and that's pretty much the only person he ever looks for. Also, let's see him play this way consistently - even two weeks in a row would be nice. Still, a fun game for the Falcons. These two teams played to the last tie in the NFL, and this time they went to overtime. Another tie would have be neat.
Hey, weren't the Jaguars good at one point? I was kind of hoping they would win the game, because they come to Philadelphia next week and they are now desperate for a win. Of course, so are the Eagles. Should be fun.
New England-Buffalo is another game I completely missed. Is it possible for anyone in that division to give the Patriots a teeny-tiny run for their money? Sheesh.
A pretty good win for Cincinnati, considering how they had been playing and how Carolina had been playing. This is another game I saw very little of, but I liked the deep throw on 4th-and-1 from Carson Palmer. Even if it hadn't worked, it's still a good call. Fortune favors the bold! Of course, that philosophy failed the Panthers at the end of the game, when they had a shot at a pretty easy field goal. Jake Delhomme threw it into the end zone where it was intercepted. I don't mind the call, but the throw was awful, and the intended receiver was NOT Steve Smith. If you're going to throw a pass in that situation, you need to find Smith or throw it away. Silly.
More proof that the NFL makes no sense: San Diego at 4-1 and with a monster defense goes into Kansas City at 2-3 coming off a 45-7 loss to the Steelers, and the Chiefs pull out the win. It really shouldn't have come down to a last-second field goal, either, but the Chiefs blitzed themselves into bad situations. What a weird league.
Should the NFL consider kicking the Browns out of the pro ranks? I think Romeo Crennel could probably do some good things in Cleveland, but I fear that he won't be around much longer, which is a shame. Teams could learn from Pittsburgh, where they've had two (2) head coaches since 1969. Unbelievable. The ownership of the Browns should give Crennel at least two more years. Meanwhile, the Broncos continue to be impenetrable on defense. Wow. Next week Indianapolis visits Denver. That should be a fun game!
I haven't heard the consensus about whether the hit on Matt Hasselbeck was dirty or not - it didn't look dirty to me, but what the hell do I know? Everyone claimed the Seahawks would escape the "Super Bowl Loser" curse, but they are finding out, like the Eagles last year, that it's tough to win when all your good players get injured. Of course, they still play in a crappy division (despite the Rams' play this season), so they might still win it. But can you really be confident with Seneca Wallace running the offense?
I liked the Washington strategy yesterday - get to Peyton Manning. Yes, he burns teams for big plays, but they pounded him, and kept him in check for a while. I'm watching the situation in Washington with no small amount of glee, because I do not like the team and think Daniel Snyder is a horrible owner. Good job, guys! Meanwhile, the Colts continue to look good, but they have become like the Yankees - the regular season doesn't matter even a little bit. Call me in January!
I was kind of hoping that the Cowboys won last night, even though I despise them. My thinking was that it would have been better for the Eagles, because they already beat Dallas and lost to New Jersey. But it's still cool to see the Cowboys slowly implode, and it was very sweet to watch Terrell Owens drop a fourth down pass when he was wide freakin' open. Good stuff. As for the Giants, they are probably going to win the division unless Philadelphia figures out how to play 60 instead of 55 minutes of football, but Eli Manning continues to struggle. I'm sorry, but it's true. He completed 12 passes last night, less than 50% of his throws, and had the one nice touchdown pass to Burress on the first drive and that was it. Yes, he's making important throws when he has to, but I wonder if he can keep that up. The Giants get Tampa this week. How much you want to bet Ronde Freakin' Barber doesn't get two gift-wrapped touchdowns? Yes, I'm still grumpy.
The NFL continues to be wacky, which is why we love it. I wonder, if you go back through the history of the league, how many 36-22 final scores there have been. Not a lot, I would bet. Yet we had that score on back-to-back days. Kind of cool.
Next week: will I be gnashing my teeth and rending my garments yet again? Only time will tell!
First, a few observations. If Donna Shalala had any stones whatsoever, she would cancel the rest of the University of Miami's football season, fire Larry Coker, and start over next season. She didn't do that, obviously, because big-time colleges (yes, I count Penn State among them) have no integrity when it comes to money.
Speaking of having no integrity, some Florida State boosters want Bobby Bowden to resign. There's only one word for people like that: idiots. I don't like Bowden because he's ahead of Paterno in wins and I think during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when FSU was on top of the polls, they were wildly overrated, but the fact remains, boosters: you wouldn't have a football program if not for Bowden. People make the same claim about Paterno, but Penn State had a decent program before he got there. Florida State didn't start playing football until 1946. I want Bowden to quit so Paterno can overtake his win total, but he should be able to stay as long as he wants.
It appears that Shawne Merriman will be suspended for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. Someone on ESPN yesterday said that it's wrong, but he understands the mentality of someone trying to get as much money as they can right now because of the short shelf life of an NFL player. That makes sense until you think about the fact that some of these guys get 5-10 million dollar signing bonuses, which is simply a check in that amount made out to them. I don't know what Shawne Merriman's financial situation is, but he can't live pretty comfortably for a while on NFL money if he is forced out of the game because of injuries? That's ridiculous.
As for the games ... well, Philadelphia has now lost three games this season - all on the last play of the game. Jesus, that sucks. They screwed up at the end of both halves. In the first half, there were nine seconds left and they had the ball at the Tampa 6-yard line (maybe the 8) with no timeouts. McNabb inexplicably threw a pass to L. J. Smith at about the 3, where he was tackled. No touchdown, and no field goal, in a game they lost by two. At the end of the game, Brian Westbrook scored with 33 seconds left, leaving just enough time for Tampa to move into position for a 62-yard field goal. I mentioned this when the Jets scored against the Colts - shouldn't these guys think about scoring too quickly? Westbrook actually stopped at about the two and danced into the end zone. There was no Tampa player within 30 yards of him. Couldn't he have just turned around at the goal line, watched the defenders come toward him, and then, when they got close, stepped across the line? It wouldn't have been showboating (well, maybe a little), it just would have taken time off the clock. I don't think it would be a delay-of-game penalty. That being said, people are blaming the defense for not stopping Tampa on that last drive. Listen, the defense screwed up a few times, I'll admit. They also held the Buccaneers to 9 points. That should be good enough to win the game. The Eagles were the first team in NFL history to have over 500 yards of offense and not give up an offensive touchdown and lose. Good job! They need to stop playing in Florida. The last three times they've played there McNabb has thrown up. Charming.
I was so vexed by the Eagles game that I barely watched anything else, so the rest of what we have learned will be short. Also, Krys was out all morning and I was dealing with the children, so instead of flipping around the channels, I just kept it on the game. Sorry!
If I were a betting man, I would have bet everything I own on the Raiders to win against the Cardinals. There was no way Arizona was going to win that game. I keep thinking I should write a letter to Bill Bidwill offering to coach the Cardinals for the rest of the season for half of what Denny Green gets paid (which is still more than I've ever made in my life). I can't do any worse than he can, right?
I didn't watch any of the Detroit-New Jersey game. A couple of mediocre teams going at it!
Joey Harrington had an interception returned for a touchdown against Green Bay, but I really wish the NFL would have statistics for different kinds of INTs. The ball was right in Randy McMichael's hands and he let it bounce off of them into Charles Woodson's mitts. That's on McMichael. The NFL should have three INT categories: the fault of the QB (McNabb's were all his fault); the fault of the wide receivers (when a ball they should catch bounces off their hands); and Hail Mary INTs, which don't matter. The latter two categories hurt quarterbacks, and they shouldn't.
Instead of suffering through the Eagles game, I should have watched Pittsburgh-Atlanta. Everyone is jumping back on the Vick bandwagon after he threw 4 touchdown passes. Yes, that's very nice. He threw three of them to his tight end, however, and that's pretty much the only person he ever looks for. Also, let's see him play this way consistently - even two weeks in a row would be nice. Still, a fun game for the Falcons. These two teams played to the last tie in the NFL, and this time they went to overtime. Another tie would have be neat.
Hey, weren't the Jaguars good at one point? I was kind of hoping they would win the game, because they come to Philadelphia next week and they are now desperate for a win. Of course, so are the Eagles. Should be fun.
New England-Buffalo is another game I completely missed. Is it possible for anyone in that division to give the Patriots a teeny-tiny run for their money? Sheesh.
A pretty good win for Cincinnati, considering how they had been playing and how Carolina had been playing. This is another game I saw very little of, but I liked the deep throw on 4th-and-1 from Carson Palmer. Even if it hadn't worked, it's still a good call. Fortune favors the bold! Of course, that philosophy failed the Panthers at the end of the game, when they had a shot at a pretty easy field goal. Jake Delhomme threw it into the end zone where it was intercepted. I don't mind the call, but the throw was awful, and the intended receiver was NOT Steve Smith. If you're going to throw a pass in that situation, you need to find Smith or throw it away. Silly.
More proof that the NFL makes no sense: San Diego at 4-1 and with a monster defense goes into Kansas City at 2-3 coming off a 45-7 loss to the Steelers, and the Chiefs pull out the win. It really shouldn't have come down to a last-second field goal, either, but the Chiefs blitzed themselves into bad situations. What a weird league.
Should the NFL consider kicking the Browns out of the pro ranks? I think Romeo Crennel could probably do some good things in Cleveland, but I fear that he won't be around much longer, which is a shame. Teams could learn from Pittsburgh, where they've had two (2) head coaches since 1969. Unbelievable. The ownership of the Browns should give Crennel at least two more years. Meanwhile, the Broncos continue to be impenetrable on defense. Wow. Next week Indianapolis visits Denver. That should be a fun game!
I haven't heard the consensus about whether the hit on Matt Hasselbeck was dirty or not - it didn't look dirty to me, but what the hell do I know? Everyone claimed the Seahawks would escape the "Super Bowl Loser" curse, but they are finding out, like the Eagles last year, that it's tough to win when all your good players get injured. Of course, they still play in a crappy division (despite the Rams' play this season), so they might still win it. But can you really be confident with Seneca Wallace running the offense?
I liked the Washington strategy yesterday - get to Peyton Manning. Yes, he burns teams for big plays, but they pounded him, and kept him in check for a while. I'm watching the situation in Washington with no small amount of glee, because I do not like the team and think Daniel Snyder is a horrible owner. Good job, guys! Meanwhile, the Colts continue to look good, but they have become like the Yankees - the regular season doesn't matter even a little bit. Call me in January!
I was kind of hoping that the Cowboys won last night, even though I despise them. My thinking was that it would have been better for the Eagles, because they already beat Dallas and lost to New Jersey. But it's still cool to see the Cowboys slowly implode, and it was very sweet to watch Terrell Owens drop a fourth down pass when he was wide freakin' open. Good stuff. As for the Giants, they are probably going to win the division unless Philadelphia figures out how to play 60 instead of 55 minutes of football, but Eli Manning continues to struggle. I'm sorry, but it's true. He completed 12 passes last night, less than 50% of his throws, and had the one nice touchdown pass to Burress on the first drive and that was it. Yes, he's making important throws when he has to, but I wonder if he can keep that up. The Giants get Tampa this week. How much you want to bet Ronde Freakin' Barber doesn't get two gift-wrapped touchdowns? Yes, I'm still grumpy.
The NFL continues to be wacky, which is why we love it. I wonder, if you go back through the history of the league, how many 36-22 final scores there have been. Not a lot, I would bet. Yet we had that score on back-to-back days. Kind of cool.
Next week: will I be gnashing my teeth and rending my garments yet again? Only time will tell!
Labels: Sports, What have we learned
posted by Greg | 7:37 AM
4 Comments:
Saw no football, so thanks for the info
> Should the NFL consider kicking the Browns out of the pro ranks?
Wow, that seems a bit harsh. Especially as we've only fired one Head Coach in the last sixteen years.
Yeah, that was pretty mean. They should kick the Cardinals out before they get rid of the Browns! This year, however, it seems the Browns are regressing a bit. I hope it's just because Frye is learning and they don't panic and get rid of Crennel, because I think he can make it work there. We shall see.
One fired coach in 16 years? Really?
> One fired coach in 16 years? Really?
I had to Wikipedia it to be sure. Bud Carson got fired in 1990 (many Browns fans think wrongly) and then we had (disregarding stand-ins) Belichick who was fired by Modell after the team had shipped out to Baltimore. Chris Palmer got fired two seasons after our relaunch. Butch Jones walked after a panic attack - though I rather wish we had had the satisfaction of firing him.
Cleveland fans are going a bit funny at the moment though, but if we drive out Crennel then we're idiots. We've had a terribly tough start - we've lost to New Orleans, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Carolina and Denver, all of whom have at least four wins. It's just going to be a hard year, I'm afraid. Crennel's mistake was his strong backing for our OC, Maurice Carthon, who made some truly stupid calls and who jumped or was pushed this week.
I wouldn't kick out the Cardinals, though. No-one deserves it more than the Ravens.
Post a Comment
<< Home