Getting Serious in the NFL

It’s been one of those days here hard by the Short Hills Arboretum as chimney cleaners scurry in and out, up and down, all around la casa. Then the sofa we never needed arrived, the delivery people for it avoiding the chimney sweeps and their ladders by just inches. And all of that happened only after some tedious negotiation and Web searching made it all seem worthwhile.

So I’m already worn out but I did want to throw my two cents in for Rex Ryan, who had a darker day and week than I’ve had. Rex managed to leave ‘em laughin’ after firing his long-time friend and defensive line coach, parrying what had to be annoying questions as to his talented yet brash quarterback and all the time mindful that his audience knew full well that he had cried in front of his team in a post-game meeting, the game that all but broke the Jets’ backs in the AFC playoff picture.

Dick Vermeil made it okay, if not quite fashionable, to cry in front of your players. When you show somebody how much you care, you tend to make them care, and that can’t hurt results at all. Of course, Vermeil was also a hell of a football coach. And while we can’t be quite sure yet whether Ryan is or isn’t, we can be quite certain any failures won’t be because he doesn’t care.

The G-Men had their bye week and all you hear is how players are coming back from injury and hopes are higher for a playoff spot after losses by Dallas and Philadelphia. The Eagles especially will find some tough going without Brian Westbrook and the Boyz looked bad in their loss to the Packers. Roy Williams couldn’t make a big catch or three and the Pack must’ve found at least a partial answer for Miles Austin.

Atlanta lost too, I know, but I still can’t get too excited about the possibility of backing into the playoffs. I want to see them beat Atlanta this Sunday and then beat the Broncos on Thanksgiving. Then I’ll be happy. Let me see that big horse Jacobs finally start running over some people. Let me see Manning go back to Hakeem Nicks or Mario Manningham for some big gainers. Let me see a hurried opposing QB throw some picks. Then there might be some hope for a meaningful playoff game.

Serious teams replace their injured players before it’s too late to make any difference. The Bengals are a perfect example. Cedric Benson went down and they replaced him with Larry Johnson. When Kenny Phillips, the Giants starting safety, was lost for the season, the Giants did nothing. Only when C.C. Brown stunk the place out for two games did the G-Men decide to do anything. And Aaron Rouse may be the answer, but it may not be a strong affirmative one.

I was actually kind of dumbstruck to learn that C.C. Brown was never considered a coverage guy but that he could tackle. Hell, anybody can tackle. Those guys are all over the place. You expect a secondary player to be able to cover a wide receiver. If he can’t do that, he belongs on special teams….only.

That big hole the G-Men allowed to go unfilled for two weeks makes me wonder a bit about the seriousness of their intent. They’re playing the season to get by, to not look totally foolish out there on the field. But that attitude didn’t beat the Chargers, in the final analysis, and it may not be good enough to beat the Falcons or Broncos either.

The G-Men may have caught a break when Falcon RB Michael Turner went down with a high ankle sprain, though, and Jerious Norwood, his backup, is out too. The Giants may be able to throw some extra defensive backs (not that they have them) in there to stop Matt Ryan, as I don’t see the Falcons running a lot.

Then the Broncos’ Kyle Orton went down too in Week 10 and, while he may be the starter against them on Thanksgiving in Denver, he may be hampered some. And we all know what that seemed to do to Eli when he was hurt. Chris Simms would otherwise go for the Broncos and Mr. Simms hasn’t really been lighting it up.

Word in Denver is that even Orton couldn’t have had good numbers with their banged-up offensive line. Well, that’s a bit specious, I think, since Orton did throw two TD passes in the first quarter before he was hurt. But, in any event, with a banged-up Orton and a rusty Simms, the G-Men’s chances seem really good. Of course, they’ll still have the same defensive coordinator. (Just one more dig won’t hurt).

But do ya think Roddy White and Brandon Marshall might take advantage of that secondary, especially if there’s no pressure from the defensive front? I think so, no matter who’s at quarterback.

Okay, that’s enough about the local contingents. They’ve made their beds and they’ve been lying in them. And they didn’t add any support when the springs sort of fell apart. It’ll be hard to feel sorry for them when they find themselves sleeping on the floor, so to speak.

A couple of other NFL teams got serious this week. Buffalo’s head coach Dick Jauron won’t be circlin’ the wagons anymore and the Skins staff will have Sherm Lewis staring over their shoulders throughout. That’s in addition to the Jets parting ways with their defensive line coach. It’s a tough league and at least some teams are making tough choices.

The next tough choice might be made in Cleveland. Our own Eric Mangini (if he was ever truly one of us), has been hugely ineffective there and his GM has already bitten the dust. You know he’ll start getting very serious indeed (assuming he has ever been anything else.

Week 11 should start answering whether the Giants and Jets have been serious enough.