Week 16 was an unqualified success. 10-4-1. Very satisfying. Cumulative stands at a very nice 94-78-3.
The miserable performance the Giants threw in totally messed up my weekly 4 best bets. Oh, and a popular theory says the Giants biggest problem is attitude. I say that's nonsense. Their biggest problem is they play confused. Especially on defense. It's so obvious. The only game the defense held up on was the Skins game. They're pretty stoppable. If I were the new Skins head of operations, I'd seriously consider a new quarterback. Really.
And now Osi says he's on the way out. Why IS that exactly? All I know is that the Giants used to have a defense, have almost always had a good defense, and I can't really get used to this bunch. It's the coverage, stupid, and the pass rush, that just isn't there. Seems Antonio Pierce could have made a big difference. But maybe not.
My comment on the Jets for that selection (over the Colts) was "who knows who'll play for Indi ?".........Manning was pissed, it was great, heh-heh.
I thought the big radio guy went too tough on the Jets for defending their victory. I mean, they won. What would you have said if they had STILL lost? Let's face it, these Jets will say stupid things because....well, they're a long way from diplomatic, and it doesn't take much success to go to their heads. But they're a tough bunch on defense. Would you rather have them talk about execution? (finger down throat)
The Jets are having a party at Giants Stadium at halftime. I have a feeling the Bengals will do all they can to put a damper on proceedings. That doesn't mean the Jets will necessarily fold either. It's just that it might be a very tough game. I may even eschew NFL Redzone to watch the WHOLE thing. After all, fantasy season is over for me. (I did take third though, woohoo!)
The tough thing is watching the Jets offense. It can be a painful thing. And I'd hope they let Sanchez loose a little throughout the game, I think they'll need his arm against the Bengals. The kid throws a nice pass, epecially when he's on the run. Seems like caging a tiger to put these shackles on him. Yeah, I know, he turns it over but still.....he's not friggin' Craig Morton, ya know?
But Week 17 is dominated by the Cowboys-Eagles game. It's got everything...tradition? You bet. Exciting players? Yeah, well, I've shown two of them up top there. Jason Avant isn't even DeSean Jackson or Jeremy Maclin, two even more spectacular receivers. He made a really nice catch at the goal line on what looked like a deflection against the poor Broncos, and then later on Asante Samuel just did what he does best....intercept the ball and get it going the other way.
Anyway, my point is you've got these wacky young guys and Number 5 going against a none-too-brash Tony Romo, that gigantic offensive line and Jersey's own Miles Austin. Then there's Marion Barber and geez, Jerry Jones too. What a friggin' circus it could be!
Anyway, let me extend my current winning pct to the final week.
For your Week 17 consideration:
Favorite Spread Underdog 4 Best My Pick Reason
MIN 9 Nyg * MIN It's all over...even the shoutin'
NYJ 10 Cin Cin Ocho Cinco's playing...why not the others?
BUF 5 Ind Ind Difficult to pick Bills under any circumstances
CAR 5 NO CAR Panthers gone wild. last two
CLE 1 Jac Cle Browns favored again! Keep Mangini?
DAL 3 Phi Phi Eagles are better...for NFC East title and poss 2 seed
Chi 3 DET * Chi Did ya see da Bears-Vikings game?
Hou 8 1/2 NE Hou Another one-hand clapping affair
Pit 3 MIA Pit Both have chances..Steelers have the goods
49ers 7 STL * 49ers First time non-losing since 2002, for big Mike S.
Atl 3 TB Atl Falcons have the QB
ARI 3 Pack ARI this is the first of two meetings
DEN 13 1/2 Chiefs * DEN Broncs hope Bengals beat Jets
Bal 11 OAK OAK At home with nothin' to lose and 13 1/2
SD 4 Was SD Who knows how bad Skins are
The best bets for Week 17:
Vikings – Must get well for playoffs, tough loss to Bears....Favre against that horrible Giants secondary. Peterson against that deflated D.
Bears– Bears showed a lot against the Vikings as for potential, the Lions don't have much to motivate them.
Broncos – after tough Eagles loss, they'll run the Chiefs wild. They have a decent shot at playoffs.
Niners – I really think the Niners players will take advantage of a losing team as tribute to Singletary. A win and they'll have the best Niners record since 2002. Optimism will abound in the city by the bay.
That's it. HAPPY NEW YEAR !!
P.S. Okay, Mets fans, we have Jason Bay at long last. Let's see ...that lineup....1.Reyes, 2.Castillo?, 3.Beltran, 4.Bay, 5.Wright,6.Delgado7.Francoeur 8.B. Molina?9. Pitcher
Then....starters the same for now....Santana, Maine, Pelfrey, Perez, Niese, Parnel...........,then Kelvim Escobar and Ryota Igarashi added to relief corps....hmm.
Prices will be coming down, folks...
J -E -T - S...........
Showing posts with label Eagles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eagles. Show all posts
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Colts-Saints by any Measure
It’s amazing that after all these weeks, we still don’t really know which teams are the best. The quality of teams is entirely dependent upon injuries and current form, so the “best” becomes a moving target. Some teams come on at the end, as the Giants did in 2007. The Cowboys, if they can keep it up for another couple of weeks, may be that team this year, as unlikely as that may seem.
But, in the NFC, there’s slim pickin’s. The Saints proved their vulnerability to the Cowboys. The Vikings were shellacked by the now 6-8 Panthers. The Eagles beat a pretty good Niners team and the Giants pasted the Skins. But it would be hard to rate any of the NFC teams with the AFC Colts or Chargers. The closest candidate might be the Eagles.
Week 15 was a horror for some of those NFC teams, and myself for that matter. Nothing figured. If a monkey made my weekly picks, he would’ve killed me.
Minnesota was vastly disappointing. I know this because my best early-year fantasy pickup was Sidney Rice. His QB, Favre, had no time at all. Period. And the great Adrian Peterson did nothing against the now 6-8 Panthers, who proved their inconsistency once again, in a good way.
The Saints looked awful but that might have been the Cowboys doing. Drew Brees had no time to throw. DeMarcus Ware was everywhere. Brees, my fantasy QB, had his first truly bad performance. But if anybody ever had an excuse, it was Mr. Brees. The Cowboys were gangbusters.
The Eagles played a nice game vs. Mike Singletary’s 49ers, and in so doing, to my mind climbed up a few notches. Much as baseball pitchers can have quality starts, teams can have quality wins…good offense, defense and special teams. And it was their 5th win in a row.
The Packers have a great aerial attack and they showed that once again against the Steelers. But their defense leaves a whole lot to be desired, so they lost to Big Ben and the Steelers in the final seconds….just a horrible loss.
While I’m happy the Giants did play better, can they do it two weeks in a row against those same Panthers that kicked butt against Minnesota? While the Skins win proves they can perform with their backs against the wall against a team in turmoil (bye bye Coach Zorn), can they show up again this Sunday?
Personally, I don’t think so. They’ll have to show me.
The Cards kept the lowly Lions in the game till the very end. The Cards will drive you crazy…totally schizo for two years running, but they did do just enough to hold on. And you get the feeling that they’re always a little better than your eyes are telling you.
So, if I had to rate the NFC right now, it’d be Saints, Eagles, Cards, Cowboys, Vikings and Packers. Sorry Giants, you just missed my cut, and you’ll probably miss the actual playoffs cut too. It’s interesting to note that the QB’s involved are Brees, McNabb, Warner, Romo, Favre and Aaron Rodgers, quite the respectable group.
In the AFC, the Colts beat the Jags but sure gave up a lot of points in doing so. The Pats just did what was absolutely necessary against the Bills. Then there are the Bengals and the Chargers, but not in that order.
The Bengals had a lot to play for but the Chargers didn’t let the Bengals take it away from them sheerly on intensity. That’s really saying a lot. Phillip Rivers did his weekly thing with Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates and their defense did just enough.
There are really only four legitimate AFC playoff teams. The rest are pretenders, the strongest being the Ravens, but all are moderately to seriously flawed. But, with feet held to the fire (I’d feel sorry for the fire), the best AFC teams are the Colts (big surprise), Chargers, Patriots and Bengals; then there are a host of “coulda-beens” headed by Baltimore, and then the Broncos, but Pittsburgh and five other teams are 7-7, and still eligible.
Even the Jets are still in the hunt.
Incidentally, the four best AFC teams are qb’d by Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Tom Brady and Carson Palmer. The Ravens, led by Jersey Joe Flacco and the Broncos, led by Kyle Orton, would seem to be a step behind but the Steelers, should they make the dance are lead be Big Ben Roethlisberger.
The others don’t deserve mentioning, though some might make a case for the Texans’ Matt Schaub. I wouldn’t.
I like using the differential between points scored and points against as a measuring stick . In the AFC, the Colts have the best differential at 146. Second best is, a surprise, the Ravens, at 125, then the Pats at 121. Every other differential is ridiculously small by comparison.
In the NFC, the Saints differential is 185! The Vikings have a 127. Pack 100 and the Eagles a very nice 113. The Cards, on the other hand, have only a 55. If you’re curious, the Giants have a 44, the Cowboys 70. I won’t bore you with the rest.
They say defenses win championships. In the AFC, the Ravens, of course, have a great defense, which contributes mightily to their point differential. They have fewer points (225) scored against them than any other team except the Jets, who lead at 221. But they’ve scored only 282.
In the NFC, the best pure PA stat belongs to the Cowboys, at 250. The next best defense as measured by PA belongs to the 49ers, a non-contender. The other NFC teams really aren’t that great defensively, including the Saints at 298. The Giants have a horrible 342, hardly the stuff of contenders.
Then there’s that axiom “You are what your record says you are”. The Colts are 14-0. The Saints are 13-1. It would seem pretty clear by that measure.
But, in the NFC, there’s slim pickin’s. The Saints proved their vulnerability to the Cowboys. The Vikings were shellacked by the now 6-8 Panthers. The Eagles beat a pretty good Niners team and the Giants pasted the Skins. But it would be hard to rate any of the NFC teams with the AFC Colts or Chargers. The closest candidate might be the Eagles.
Week 15 was a horror for some of those NFC teams, and myself for that matter. Nothing figured. If a monkey made my weekly picks, he would’ve killed me.
Minnesota was vastly disappointing. I know this because my best early-year fantasy pickup was Sidney Rice. His QB, Favre, had no time at all. Period. And the great Adrian Peterson did nothing against the now 6-8 Panthers, who proved their inconsistency once again, in a good way.
The Saints looked awful but that might have been the Cowboys doing. Drew Brees had no time to throw. DeMarcus Ware was everywhere. Brees, my fantasy QB, had his first truly bad performance. But if anybody ever had an excuse, it was Mr. Brees. The Cowboys were gangbusters.
The Eagles played a nice game vs. Mike Singletary’s 49ers, and in so doing, to my mind climbed up a few notches. Much as baseball pitchers can have quality starts, teams can have quality wins…good offense, defense and special teams. And it was their 5th win in a row.
The Packers have a great aerial attack and they showed that once again against the Steelers. But their defense leaves a whole lot to be desired, so they lost to Big Ben and the Steelers in the final seconds….just a horrible loss.
While I’m happy the Giants did play better, can they do it two weeks in a row against those same Panthers that kicked butt against Minnesota? While the Skins win proves they can perform with their backs against the wall against a team in turmoil (bye bye Coach Zorn), can they show up again this Sunday?
Personally, I don’t think so. They’ll have to show me.
The Cards kept the lowly Lions in the game till the very end. The Cards will drive you crazy…totally schizo for two years running, but they did do just enough to hold on. And you get the feeling that they’re always a little better than your eyes are telling you.
So, if I had to rate the NFC right now, it’d be Saints, Eagles, Cards, Cowboys, Vikings and Packers. Sorry Giants, you just missed my cut, and you’ll probably miss the actual playoffs cut too. It’s interesting to note that the QB’s involved are Brees, McNabb, Warner, Romo, Favre and Aaron Rodgers, quite the respectable group.
In the AFC, the Colts beat the Jags but sure gave up a lot of points in doing so. The Pats just did what was absolutely necessary against the Bills. Then there are the Bengals and the Chargers, but not in that order.
The Bengals had a lot to play for but the Chargers didn’t let the Bengals take it away from them sheerly on intensity. That’s really saying a lot. Phillip Rivers did his weekly thing with Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates and their defense did just enough.
There are really only four legitimate AFC playoff teams. The rest are pretenders, the strongest being the Ravens, but all are moderately to seriously flawed. But, with feet held to the fire (I’d feel sorry for the fire), the best AFC teams are the Colts (big surprise), Chargers, Patriots and Bengals; then there are a host of “coulda-beens” headed by Baltimore, and then the Broncos, but Pittsburgh and five other teams are 7-7, and still eligible.
Even the Jets are still in the hunt.
Incidentally, the four best AFC teams are qb’d by Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Tom Brady and Carson Palmer. The Ravens, led by Jersey Joe Flacco and the Broncos, led by Kyle Orton, would seem to be a step behind but the Steelers, should they make the dance are lead be Big Ben Roethlisberger.
The others don’t deserve mentioning, though some might make a case for the Texans’ Matt Schaub. I wouldn’t.
I like using the differential between points scored and points against as a measuring stick . In the AFC, the Colts have the best differential at 146. Second best is, a surprise, the Ravens, at 125, then the Pats at 121. Every other differential is ridiculously small by comparison.
In the NFC, the Saints differential is 185! The Vikings have a 127. Pack 100 and the Eagles a very nice 113. The Cards, on the other hand, have only a 55. If you’re curious, the Giants have a 44, the Cowboys 70. I won’t bore you with the rest.
They say defenses win championships. In the AFC, the Ravens, of course, have a great defense, which contributes mightily to their point differential. They have fewer points (225) scored against them than any other team except the Jets, who lead at 221. But they’ve scored only 282.
In the NFC, the best pure PA stat belongs to the Cowboys, at 250. The next best defense as measured by PA belongs to the 49ers, a non-contender. The other NFC teams really aren’t that great defensively, including the Saints at 298. The Giants have a horrible 342, hardly the stuff of contenders.
Then there’s that axiom “You are what your record says you are”. The Colts are 14-0. The Saints are 13-1. It would seem pretty clear by that measure.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Who Cares About Pennsylvania Anyway ?
I did it again. In my last article, I spent paragraph after paragraph espousing the good points of the Arizona Cardinals, the defense especially, as everybody knew their offense was incredible. And then I picked the Eagles to win. What a dummy!
My premise was flawed. It was that McNabb would get the time to throw to his myriad of receivers, as he did against seemingly everybody else. And, if he didn’t get the time, he’d run away. I also thought the Eagles secondary was too good; would never allow Fitzgerald and Boldin to beat them.
So, for 3 weeks running now, I’ve been right on the OTHER game but wrong on the Cards. It goes against my nature to get behind a team that totally quit for much of the second half of the season, a team that let the Patriots tar and feather them on a day I had no alternative game to watch, a team that totally ruined one whole Sunday in my life.
With all of that though, the Eagles could have won the game. I guess if Kevin Curtis could catch everything thrown his way, or if guys like Avant and Baskett could get open a little more often, they’d all be making a lot more money. The Eagles SHOULD have scored more points. But, in the end, of course, it was the Eagles defense that lost the game, or, conversely, the Arizona offense that ultimately won the game.
In the end, the Eagles just had to stop the Cards to go to the Super Bowl. They could not. They couldn’t stop Warner and they couldn’t stop the run in the two chances they had in that Cards final drive to stop them. On third and two, they stopped Hightower for just one, but on 4th and 1, they gave up six yards. Then, on a 3rd and 1 later in the drive, they let Hightower get the corner for another first down. They let Hightower kill them on that drive, as the big Cards bruiser caught the 8-yard TD pass for the clincher.
I say “clincher” but, even at that point in the game, the Eagles could have come back. That they didn’t wasn’t McNabb’s fault. Curtis’s drop of still another pass he should have had on 4th down sealed the Eagles fate.
So much for an all-Pennsylvania final. And so much for my handicapping. I have to admit it was a great game; you couldn’t ask for more. And who cares about Pennsylvania anyway?
The Steelers game went pretty much according to form. In the end, it was just too much Polamalu, too much Steelers defense, and too much of Big Ben. Roethlisberger showed why he was a Number 1 pick, consistently buying time by scrambling and finding open receivers downfield.
Polamalu’s INT was really the game-breaker though. Until then, the Ravens still had a hell of a shot. Flacco threw one more INT later on, when he was forced to pass, but, in my eyes, Flacco was pretty damned good yesterday. If he had some receivers like Santonio Holmes, he would have looked even better.
So much for the Championship Games. Now we can look forward to two full weeks of hoopla, hoopla that I studiously ignore year after year. Besides, there are some big things happening in Jets-land, and pitchers and catchers report to spring training in about a month.
The Jets just selected Rex Ryan as their next head coach. If anybody can put a charge into that moribund Jets defense, it’s Rex Ryan. I have no idea what he’ll be able to pull off on the other side of the ball, but, at the very least, maybe he’ll be able to rein in crazy Schottenheimer and his totally inaccurate old-man of a quarterback.
And, if Favre won’t be coming back (please God), Jets fans will probably be in for some crazy games in the short term, until the management can decide on somebody else. If the Jets could pick up a breakaway threat at wide receiver, things might even start to look rosy, or rosier anyway. Oh, and did I mention that Tom Brady will be back next year?
Best for Jets fans though, is not having to watch Eric Mangini process his way through another press conference. We might just even see a little emotion when his team throws in a clinker or two, or three, as they did this year. Maybe he’ll even do a Singletary and pull his pants down!
The Giants, though, they finally lost Spagnolo. That will be a big hit on the defense, especially if the new guy brings in a totally different scheme. I’m hoping they keep the same scheme. It sure seems to work, and it’ll work all that much better when Osi Umenyiora returns. (This just in-the Giants are promoting Bill Sheridan from within-YAY!!)
What a crazy year though! Miami and Chad Pennington come back from the dead. Two rookie quarterbacks, Flacco and Matt Ryan, lead their teams to the playoffs. Arizona and their chronically inept owners are going to the Super Bowl. Tony Dungy quits, Chucky gets fired down in Tampa. And what about that crazy Wildcat offense!
Pretty soon, we may even be able to turn our thoughts to the basketball season. Not that the NY pro teams are doing anything noteworthy yet, but D’Antoni gives the fans at least some hope and Brook Lopez, the Nets rookie center, is starting to show why he was a Number 1 pick.
In college basketball, there won’t be much going on locally. Seton Hall is getting killed in the very tough Big East and Rutgers, while showing a lot of fight, can’t really be expected to do a lot. Even the Rutgers women’s team is having a tough time in the early going.
Thank God for baseball and the Mets! Francisco Rodriguez, J.J. Putz, a real live relief staff – prospects for a NY World Series.
My premise was flawed. It was that McNabb would get the time to throw to his myriad of receivers, as he did against seemingly everybody else. And, if he didn’t get the time, he’d run away. I also thought the Eagles secondary was too good; would never allow Fitzgerald and Boldin to beat them.
So, for 3 weeks running now, I’ve been right on the OTHER game but wrong on the Cards. It goes against my nature to get behind a team that totally quit for much of the second half of the season, a team that let the Patriots tar and feather them on a day I had no alternative game to watch, a team that totally ruined one whole Sunday in my life.
With all of that though, the Eagles could have won the game. I guess if Kevin Curtis could catch everything thrown his way, or if guys like Avant and Baskett could get open a little more often, they’d all be making a lot more money. The Eagles SHOULD have scored more points. But, in the end, of course, it was the Eagles defense that lost the game, or, conversely, the Arizona offense that ultimately won the game.
In the end, the Eagles just had to stop the Cards to go to the Super Bowl. They could not. They couldn’t stop Warner and they couldn’t stop the run in the two chances they had in that Cards final drive to stop them. On third and two, they stopped Hightower for just one, but on 4th and 1, they gave up six yards. Then, on a 3rd and 1 later in the drive, they let Hightower get the corner for another first down. They let Hightower kill them on that drive, as the big Cards bruiser caught the 8-yard TD pass for the clincher.
I say “clincher” but, even at that point in the game, the Eagles could have come back. That they didn’t wasn’t McNabb’s fault. Curtis’s drop of still another pass he should have had on 4th down sealed the Eagles fate.
So much for an all-Pennsylvania final. And so much for my handicapping. I have to admit it was a great game; you couldn’t ask for more. And who cares about Pennsylvania anyway?
The Steelers game went pretty much according to form. In the end, it was just too much Polamalu, too much Steelers defense, and too much of Big Ben. Roethlisberger showed why he was a Number 1 pick, consistently buying time by scrambling and finding open receivers downfield.
Polamalu’s INT was really the game-breaker though. Until then, the Ravens still had a hell of a shot. Flacco threw one more INT later on, when he was forced to pass, but, in my eyes, Flacco was pretty damned good yesterday. If he had some receivers like Santonio Holmes, he would have looked even better.
So much for the Championship Games. Now we can look forward to two full weeks of hoopla, hoopla that I studiously ignore year after year. Besides, there are some big things happening in Jets-land, and pitchers and catchers report to spring training in about a month.
The Jets just selected Rex Ryan as their next head coach. If anybody can put a charge into that moribund Jets defense, it’s Rex Ryan. I have no idea what he’ll be able to pull off on the other side of the ball, but, at the very least, maybe he’ll be able to rein in crazy Schottenheimer and his totally inaccurate old-man of a quarterback.
And, if Favre won’t be coming back (please God), Jets fans will probably be in for some crazy games in the short term, until the management can decide on somebody else. If the Jets could pick up a breakaway threat at wide receiver, things might even start to look rosy, or rosier anyway. Oh, and did I mention that Tom Brady will be back next year?
Best for Jets fans though, is not having to watch Eric Mangini process his way through another press conference. We might just even see a little emotion when his team throws in a clinker or two, or three, as they did this year. Maybe he’ll even do a Singletary and pull his pants down!
The Giants, though, they finally lost Spagnolo. That will be a big hit on the defense, especially if the new guy brings in a totally different scheme. I’m hoping they keep the same scheme. It sure seems to work, and it’ll work all that much better when Osi Umenyiora returns. (This just in-the Giants are promoting Bill Sheridan from within-YAY!!)
What a crazy year though! Miami and Chad Pennington come back from the dead. Two rookie quarterbacks, Flacco and Matt Ryan, lead their teams to the playoffs. Arizona and their chronically inept owners are going to the Super Bowl. Tony Dungy quits, Chucky gets fired down in Tampa. And what about that crazy Wildcat offense!
Pretty soon, we may even be able to turn our thoughts to the basketball season. Not that the NY pro teams are doing anything noteworthy yet, but D’Antoni gives the fans at least some hope and Brook Lopez, the Nets rookie center, is starting to show why he was a Number 1 pick.
In college basketball, there won’t be much going on locally. Seton Hall is getting killed in the very tough Big East and Rutgers, while showing a lot of fight, can’t really be expected to do a lot. Even the Rutgers women’s team is having a tough time in the early going.
Thank God for baseball and the Mets! Francisco Rodriguez, J.J. Putz, a real live relief staff – prospects for a NY World Series.
Friday, January 16, 2009
A Pennsylvania Weekend
On a day like today when it’s about 5 degrees in New Jersey, it’s hard to believe they’re still playing football in the NFL. Both Conference Championship Games will be played on Sunday, of course, and if I had my druthers (I usually don’t), I’d be headed to Phoenix.
It’ll be nice in Phoenix, of course. The Sunday forecast is sunny with temperatures ranging from 44 to 77 degrees. That probably favors Arizona, although it’s hard to imagine that good weather would hurt the guys used to playing in bad. The Eagles are favored by 2 ½ in Vegas at the moment and the over/under stands at a whopping 50 ½. Although I’m not betting, based on this data, the score figures to be sumthin’ like 26-24 Philadelphia.
I’m not going to make the same mistake 3 times in a row. I had bet against Phoenix in both Weeks 1 and 2 of the playoffs and of course lost twice. Not only did I lose but the second game was over early as the Cards absolutely pounded Carolina, making Jake Delhomme look ridiculous while scoring again and again in the first quarter and half.
And Carolina’s game plan, if you could call it that, was stupid! Really, there’s no better way to characterize it. They seemed to be covering Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona’s absolutely stellar wide receiver, with one man (when he was covered at all) all afternoon. On the other side of the ball, they tried to play catch up way too early, passing instead of running, and just played right into the Cards’ hands when Delhomme did his best impersonation of the worst quarterback to ever play the game.
Their first playoff game win, against Atlanta, was more indicative of their team performance. And yet, even in that game, Michael Turner, Atlanta’s ballyhooed running back, looked as if he could never get started, and wound up going east and west all day.
Still though, they did stop the run even if Atlanta looked remarkably bad in their execution of it. They only won by a score of 30-24 in that one and the usual suspects were instrumental in the win, Warner and Fitzgerald and Boldin, but there were also at least some vestiges of a running game with Edgerrin James, and even more surprising was their game toughness, as they forced their way ahead in the third and fourth quarters, scoring on a fumble recovery and runback from Antrel Rolle and then sacking Matt Ryan for a safety.
Toughness was the last thing anyone ever could have expected from the same team that basically just lay down on national TV versus the Pats (the snow angel game). Even in their last game of the year, while they picked up their level of play to beat Seattle, it wasn’t really extraordinary.
Philadelphia, though, knows what to expect. They’ve seen that defensive front, and have already expressed an admiration for Antonio Smith and his friends. When you really take a look at that defense, it’s got some real talent.
Their leading tackler by far is relatively unsung linebacker Karlos Danby while they get pressure on the QB from both linemen and linebackers. The secondary is strong too, and Antrel Rolle seems especially to have come alive in these playoff games. But they’re all playing well, Rogers-Cromartie and Adrian Wilson and Antonio Smith.
Knowing what to expect might be half the battle. The Cards surprised Atlanta and the Panthers too. I don’t think they’ll surprise Philly’s gigantic offensive line, especially in the passing game. McNabb will find targets among his ample bevy of receivers while their running game and junk dumpoffs to Westbrook will continue to work. Arizona will stop the run, but unless they can get to McNabb, it’ll be a long afternoon for the Cards defense.
The Eagles secondary is a good one, featuring Asante Samuel and the headstrong Brian Dawkins, and I’d expect them to have some success, but not as much as in their first game, won by the Eagles 48-20. In that game, the Cards had already wrapped the division. That makes a huge difference.
Expect a slugfest, but Eagles pressure on Warner will make the difference. I don’t believe the Cards will be able to pressure McNabb. He’ll still put up 3TD’s and figure another 2 or 3 field goals from Akers. That’s 30. Even if the Cards play better than they did the first time, I can’t see them being very efficient with Eagles in Warner’s face all day.
It’ll be close, but I’d expect Philly to pull ahead and then shutdown a closing Arizona flurry to make things respectable. The Eagles have taken the measure of Minnesota and the G-Men to get this far, a tougher road than Atlanta/Carolina and they won’t play second-fiddle to the upstart Cards. Make it 30-26 in the Eagles favor. For you gamblers, that’s the Eagles and the “over.”
The Pittsburgh weather will be distinctly worse than Arizona’s, with light snow forecasted and temperatures ranging from 15 to 28 degrees. That won’t bother either team though and it’ll be another defensive gem. This is the third meeting between the two and the Steelers have won both. I expect them to have success a third time, as difficult as that may seem.
The Ravens won’t be able to run against that Steelers defense while I think Willie Parker will do some damage on the other end. The Ravens have come a long way with a rookie quarterback, and they’re bound for a letdown after their big wins over Miami and especially over Tennessee.
I think Roethlisberger will prove the difference between a veteran in a big game and a rookie. Joe Flacco has been great so far, and, as a Jersey guy, it’s hard not to root for him, but this will be his first Conference Championship game.
It’s the year of Pennsylvania. Expect the Steelers to emerge victorious once again over the Ravens by 23-13. (Pitt and “over”).
It’ll be nice in Phoenix, of course. The Sunday forecast is sunny with temperatures ranging from 44 to 77 degrees. That probably favors Arizona, although it’s hard to imagine that good weather would hurt the guys used to playing in bad. The Eagles are favored by 2 ½ in Vegas at the moment and the over/under stands at a whopping 50 ½. Although I’m not betting, based on this data, the score figures to be sumthin’ like 26-24 Philadelphia.
I’m not going to make the same mistake 3 times in a row. I had bet against Phoenix in both Weeks 1 and 2 of the playoffs and of course lost twice. Not only did I lose but the second game was over early as the Cards absolutely pounded Carolina, making Jake Delhomme look ridiculous while scoring again and again in the first quarter and half.
And Carolina’s game plan, if you could call it that, was stupid! Really, there’s no better way to characterize it. They seemed to be covering Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona’s absolutely stellar wide receiver, with one man (when he was covered at all) all afternoon. On the other side of the ball, they tried to play catch up way too early, passing instead of running, and just played right into the Cards’ hands when Delhomme did his best impersonation of the worst quarterback to ever play the game.
Their first playoff game win, against Atlanta, was more indicative of their team performance. And yet, even in that game, Michael Turner, Atlanta’s ballyhooed running back, looked as if he could never get started, and wound up going east and west all day.
Still though, they did stop the run even if Atlanta looked remarkably bad in their execution of it. They only won by a score of 30-24 in that one and the usual suspects were instrumental in the win, Warner and Fitzgerald and Boldin, but there were also at least some vestiges of a running game with Edgerrin James, and even more surprising was their game toughness, as they forced their way ahead in the third and fourth quarters, scoring on a fumble recovery and runback from Antrel Rolle and then sacking Matt Ryan for a safety.
Toughness was the last thing anyone ever could have expected from the same team that basically just lay down on national TV versus the Pats (the snow angel game). Even in their last game of the year, while they picked up their level of play to beat Seattle, it wasn’t really extraordinary.
Philadelphia, though, knows what to expect. They’ve seen that defensive front, and have already expressed an admiration for Antonio Smith and his friends. When you really take a look at that defense, it’s got some real talent.
Their leading tackler by far is relatively unsung linebacker Karlos Danby while they get pressure on the QB from both linemen and linebackers. The secondary is strong too, and Antrel Rolle seems especially to have come alive in these playoff games. But they’re all playing well, Rogers-Cromartie and Adrian Wilson and Antonio Smith.
Knowing what to expect might be half the battle. The Cards surprised Atlanta and the Panthers too. I don’t think they’ll surprise Philly’s gigantic offensive line, especially in the passing game. McNabb will find targets among his ample bevy of receivers while their running game and junk dumpoffs to Westbrook will continue to work. Arizona will stop the run, but unless they can get to McNabb, it’ll be a long afternoon for the Cards defense.
The Eagles secondary is a good one, featuring Asante Samuel and the headstrong Brian Dawkins, and I’d expect them to have some success, but not as much as in their first game, won by the Eagles 48-20. In that game, the Cards had already wrapped the division. That makes a huge difference.
Expect a slugfest, but Eagles pressure on Warner will make the difference. I don’t believe the Cards will be able to pressure McNabb. He’ll still put up 3TD’s and figure another 2 or 3 field goals from Akers. That’s 30. Even if the Cards play better than they did the first time, I can’t see them being very efficient with Eagles in Warner’s face all day.
It’ll be close, but I’d expect Philly to pull ahead and then shutdown a closing Arizona flurry to make things respectable. The Eagles have taken the measure of Minnesota and the G-Men to get this far, a tougher road than Atlanta/Carolina and they won’t play second-fiddle to the upstart Cards. Make it 30-26 in the Eagles favor. For you gamblers, that’s the Eagles and the “over.”
The Pittsburgh weather will be distinctly worse than Arizona’s, with light snow forecasted and temperatures ranging from 15 to 28 degrees. That won’t bother either team though and it’ll be another defensive gem. This is the third meeting between the two and the Steelers have won both. I expect them to have success a third time, as difficult as that may seem.
The Ravens won’t be able to run against that Steelers defense while I think Willie Parker will do some damage on the other end. The Ravens have come a long way with a rookie quarterback, and they’re bound for a letdown after their big wins over Miami and especially over Tennessee.
I think Roethlisberger will prove the difference between a veteran in a big game and a rookie. Joe Flacco has been great so far, and, as a Jersey guy, it’s hard not to root for him, but this will be his first Conference Championship game.
It’s the year of Pennsylvania. Expect the Steelers to emerge victorious once again over the Ravens by 23-13. (Pitt and “over”).
Sunday, January 11, 2009
No Tears for the Giants
Oh well, the Giants are gone. I’ll have to take my Giants stuff and turn the label down. But things went pretty much as I expected today at Giants Stadium. The offense is gone. Oh, there’s a big running back and a nice offensive line. But geez, the receivers aren’t open that much. Maybe that’s why the Eagles had all those guys stacked up at the line.
I can’t really get that upset about this. The Giants decided they really didn’t need Plaxico that badly. They saw their chance to save some money and took it, a calculated risk. So they lost on that one, but, what the heck, the Stadium’s still selling out (without cheerleaders) and they did get the number 1 seed. So they probably feel pretty good all in all. So why should I get upset.
I’ve been hearing already that the Eagles wanted it more, that from one of the Giants. So maybe it’s true. But I don’t think so. It was just the Eagles and the Giants before they had Plaxico, and before they had Strahan and Umenyiora. A nice little defense and a nice quarterback and some possession-type receivers to complement a massive ground attack.
But it’s not like the Eagles had to guess what was coming that often. It’s not like they had to worry that some really big guy with long arms who could catch a lot of passes with just one hand would streak down the sideline or across the middle. Those Eagles have some nice secondary people too, don’t they?
One of them, a fella named Samuel, (you remember Asante, he used to be with the Pats and then went to the Eagles, he intercepted one on the Vikings last week for a touchdown?) intercepted a Manning fling in the first quarter and took it a very long way. Eli raced about five feet and waited for Samuel around the goal line. Not that I blame him, but that didn’t show that much intensity.
Intensity, just a hair short on intensity yesterday. The defense played great, all things considered, even without any vestige of the pass rush they had last year. But they couldn’t stop everything and it seemed as if they were on the field a lot. (Upon checking, the Eagles ran 68 plays to the Giants 61, the time of possession was about even).
I know most people probably support the Giants decision on Burress. A lot of people don’t like endzone celebrations either, or a guy making a snow angel in the endzone. They like discipline and respect for the game, and showing up ten minutes early all the time. All that stuff.
Of course it wasn’t all about the lack of a Plaxico. The Giants could’ve played better, and smarter, and made it closer at the end. If they did everything right, they may have pulled out the win, but I don’t think so. Derrick Ward could’ve caught a couple of passes and made me happy. There were a couple of misses in the field goal department, and I thought a little lack of intensity on those fourth down plays. Those were really killers.
The Giants were beautiful last year though, when they had all those guys, before Osi got hurt and Strahan retired and Plax shot himself in the butt. This year’s version couldn’t have played New England so tightly in the last week of the season, or beaten Tampa so easily. They never would have got by Dallas as that team did, which sent them off to frigid Green Bay and then on to beautiful Arizona.
So maybe it’s better that this team exited early. Why prolong the agony? Philly’s a better team right now, and I have to think they’ll beat Arizona next week. Whether they can beat either Pittsburgh or Baltimore is problematical, but they certainly show a lot of potential.
The Eagles passing game sure seems to have come a long way in a short period of time. Curtis and DeSean Jackson and Avant and Celek, and then Westbrook too. Lots of targets, much as the Giants seemed to have had last year. The Eagles did everything just right yesterday.
They have the secondary to match up with those Arizona receivers, the offensive line to deal with those tough defenses of whatever team emerges from the AFC, either Pittsburgh or Baltimore. They do all right against the run too. If they can handle that big horse, Jacobs, they might be able to handle Willie Parker or Willis McGahee, even if those two are a lot shiftier.
True fans will wonder about next year. Receivers just don’t grow on trees, and it takes a long time, usually, before they can become really effective in the passing game. Maybe they’ll trade for an established star as they did with Burress years ago. Or maybe Burress will remain with the club, who knows?
Of course the Giants have done quite well in the draft. Look for them to draft another defensive lineman or maybe a linebacker as a number 1. That’s if they don’t decide they need another running back. After all, earth, wind and fire didn’t exactly demolish the Eagles….just some earth and a little bit of wind.
The Giants were very respectable yesterday. That’s more that can be said about the Panthers, the #2 seed that lost to Arizona so easily, with a mad quarterback and two great running backs who never got used.
They looked better than San Diego did as well. The Chargers held the Steelers even for a while before the Steelers turned up the pressure. Of course, the Chargers had their excuse, too; no LaDainian was an awfully big handicap, even though little Darren Sproles did get into the endzone until after the issue had already been decided.
As for those people and radio voices who kept saying “The Giants are the better team so they should win”, what games have you been watching the last few weeks?
I can’t really get that upset about this. The Giants decided they really didn’t need Plaxico that badly. They saw their chance to save some money and took it, a calculated risk. So they lost on that one, but, what the heck, the Stadium’s still selling out (without cheerleaders) and they did get the number 1 seed. So they probably feel pretty good all in all. So why should I get upset.
I’ve been hearing already that the Eagles wanted it more, that from one of the Giants. So maybe it’s true. But I don’t think so. It was just the Eagles and the Giants before they had Plaxico, and before they had Strahan and Umenyiora. A nice little defense and a nice quarterback and some possession-type receivers to complement a massive ground attack.
But it’s not like the Eagles had to guess what was coming that often. It’s not like they had to worry that some really big guy with long arms who could catch a lot of passes with just one hand would streak down the sideline or across the middle. Those Eagles have some nice secondary people too, don’t they?
One of them, a fella named Samuel, (you remember Asante, he used to be with the Pats and then went to the Eagles, he intercepted one on the Vikings last week for a touchdown?) intercepted a Manning fling in the first quarter and took it a very long way. Eli raced about five feet and waited for Samuel around the goal line. Not that I blame him, but that didn’t show that much intensity.
Intensity, just a hair short on intensity yesterday. The defense played great, all things considered, even without any vestige of the pass rush they had last year. But they couldn’t stop everything and it seemed as if they were on the field a lot. (Upon checking, the Eagles ran 68 plays to the Giants 61, the time of possession was about even).
I know most people probably support the Giants decision on Burress. A lot of people don’t like endzone celebrations either, or a guy making a snow angel in the endzone. They like discipline and respect for the game, and showing up ten minutes early all the time. All that stuff.
Of course it wasn’t all about the lack of a Plaxico. The Giants could’ve played better, and smarter, and made it closer at the end. If they did everything right, they may have pulled out the win, but I don’t think so. Derrick Ward could’ve caught a couple of passes and made me happy. There were a couple of misses in the field goal department, and I thought a little lack of intensity on those fourth down plays. Those were really killers.
The Giants were beautiful last year though, when they had all those guys, before Osi got hurt and Strahan retired and Plax shot himself in the butt. This year’s version couldn’t have played New England so tightly in the last week of the season, or beaten Tampa so easily. They never would have got by Dallas as that team did, which sent them off to frigid Green Bay and then on to beautiful Arizona.
So maybe it’s better that this team exited early. Why prolong the agony? Philly’s a better team right now, and I have to think they’ll beat Arizona next week. Whether they can beat either Pittsburgh or Baltimore is problematical, but they certainly show a lot of potential.
The Eagles passing game sure seems to have come a long way in a short period of time. Curtis and DeSean Jackson and Avant and Celek, and then Westbrook too. Lots of targets, much as the Giants seemed to have had last year. The Eagles did everything just right yesterday.
They have the secondary to match up with those Arizona receivers, the offensive line to deal with those tough defenses of whatever team emerges from the AFC, either Pittsburgh or Baltimore. They do all right against the run too. If they can handle that big horse, Jacobs, they might be able to handle Willie Parker or Willis McGahee, even if those two are a lot shiftier.
True fans will wonder about next year. Receivers just don’t grow on trees, and it takes a long time, usually, before they can become really effective in the passing game. Maybe they’ll trade for an established star as they did with Burress years ago. Or maybe Burress will remain with the club, who knows?
Of course the Giants have done quite well in the draft. Look for them to draft another defensive lineman or maybe a linebacker as a number 1. That’s if they don’t decide they need another running back. After all, earth, wind and fire didn’t exactly demolish the Eagles….just some earth and a little bit of wind.
The Giants were very respectable yesterday. That’s more that can be said about the Panthers, the #2 seed that lost to Arizona so easily, with a mad quarterback and two great running backs who never got used.
They looked better than San Diego did as well. The Chargers held the Steelers even for a while before the Steelers turned up the pressure. Of course, the Chargers had their excuse, too; no LaDainian was an awfully big handicap, even though little Darren Sproles did get into the endzone until after the issue had already been decided.
As for those people and radio voices who kept saying “The Giants are the better team so they should win”, what games have you been watching the last few weeks?
Monday, January 5, 2009
On Eagles, Giants and Johnsons
It’s really easy to hate the Eagles. No running game to speak of….there’s Brian Westbrook of course, but somehow he’s just not that inspirational. Yesterday, he scored on a screen, typical of the kind of garbage offense on which Westbrook and McNabb seem to thrive.
Their passing game looked a little better yesterday than I am used to seeing from them. DeSean Jackson was fun to watch and Kevin Curtis looked good too. McNabb was his old self, eluding a fierce rush more often than not and firing darts at the last moment to a bunch of receivers that had maybe a foot of separation from their defender.
Then there’s their vaunted defense, featuring cheap-shot artist Brian Dawkins. I’m sorry, I know he’s a great player but his hit on Adrian Peterson while he was down (some will say he was on his way down but Peterson was down) really ticked me off. Like the NBA, I guess, the longer you’ve been doing it, the better the calls.
Then there’s Andy Reid, the epitome of boring, that is, until you compare him to Brad Childress, the Vikings head coach. What a poor excuse for a head coach is Childress. I would have won that game as the head coach. I’ll just pick two situations in which Childress showed his lack of intellect, his utter lack of a feel for the game.
The first was his decision to refuse a holding penalty in the first quarter, thus leaving David Akers well within his field goal range and give the Eagles the lead. The lead is an important thing to have in any endeavor, of course, but in football, it’s especially nice. It changes the whole game a bit in favor of the guys with the lead.
Then in the second quarter, Adrian Peterson had just run on first down for six yards through that supposedly tough Eagles run defense. He came back to the huddle exuding confidence and ready for more pounding. You could see he was thinking it would be easy. But he would never get the opportunity.
Childress called a pass on 2nd and 4! With the best running back in football rearing to go, chomping at the bit for another chance. With an inexperienced QB in his first playoff game. The pass was incomplete, of course. Childress still had a chance on 3rd and 4 but he eschewed the run again for still another ill-advised pass.
But this one wasn’t just ill-advised, it was reckless, a pass to the flat. And, of course, Asante Samuel picked it off and ran for 40 yards or so and it was all over but the shoutin’. It was the key play of the game, changing the momentum and putting the offensively-challenged Birds into the end zone for the first time.
Peterson wouldn’t get that many more opportunities. Maybe it was because of Dawkins’s cheap shot on Peterson earlier. We certainly saw a lot of Chester Taylor yesterday, no slouch himself, but incapable of wreaking the havoc of a Peterson.
Oh well, it’s over. One more ridiculous coach and his team bites the dust, at home in front of all of its fans. The Vikings had the best offense, they had the best defense and they had the better team all around but they would go home with that empty feeling, wondering perhaps what could have happened if they had a real head coach on the sidelines.
I should probably be happy. The weaker team advanced, and as there’s still a chance for our G-Men, they’ll simply have to put a pounding on the Eagles rather than having to face the Vikings somewhere down the road. Of course, the Eagles don’t give games away, which might be a bit of a problem.
Why are all the tough guys in Philadelphia? There’s Dawkins, of course, but there was also Jimmy Rollins. And that pain in the butt at 2nd base. And that guy in the outfield who only hit against the Mets. And that other guy who only hit in the clutch.
Giants fans can only hope the G-Men will change up their defensive gameplan this time around. Otherwise, they’ll lose. The G-Men got just one sack vs. Philly in Week 14 and they lost 20-14. I’m hoping they have some stuff up their sleeves as they did against the Pats in the Super Bowl, after having lost to them in Week 17 of last year.
There were also some extenuating circumstances in that Week 14 game, the first after Plax’s suspension and after Antonio Pierce’s grilling by the police. But, more than that, Jacobs hurt his knee in the third quarter and didn’t return. And Hixon dropped a sure touchdown that hit him in the hands.
I wish I could feel better about this upcoming Eagles contest. You don’t feel the same magic with this Giants team as you did with last year’s team. There is no Osi and no Strahan. There is no Plaxico. Hixon is not Plax. And Sinorice Moss doesn’t adequately spell Hixon as a return man.
That doesn’t mean they can’t beat the Eagles but one can’t expect too much. They’ll be at home, but that doesn’t make me feel that much better. They’re just not as versatile as last year’s version that could run the ball, pass the ball and play great on specials too. This version seems more like Brandon Jacobs and a cloud of dust.
Meanwhile, the Jets coaching search allegedly continues and the list of potential candidates grows longer and longer. But it’s a sham, I think. The winner will be whoever Jets owner Woody Johnson likes, and his mouthpiece Mr. Tannenbaum. I can’t root for a team that, literally, thinks with its Johnson.
The whole process kinda reminds me of that old joke, the punchline of which is “the one with the big”, um, oh never mind. Oh well, Jets fans, “if it works out, it works out, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t”.
Their passing game looked a little better yesterday than I am used to seeing from them. DeSean Jackson was fun to watch and Kevin Curtis looked good too. McNabb was his old self, eluding a fierce rush more often than not and firing darts at the last moment to a bunch of receivers that had maybe a foot of separation from their defender.
Then there’s their vaunted defense, featuring cheap-shot artist Brian Dawkins. I’m sorry, I know he’s a great player but his hit on Adrian Peterson while he was down (some will say he was on his way down but Peterson was down) really ticked me off. Like the NBA, I guess, the longer you’ve been doing it, the better the calls.
Then there’s Andy Reid, the epitome of boring, that is, until you compare him to Brad Childress, the Vikings head coach. What a poor excuse for a head coach is Childress. I would have won that game as the head coach. I’ll just pick two situations in which Childress showed his lack of intellect, his utter lack of a feel for the game.
The first was his decision to refuse a holding penalty in the first quarter, thus leaving David Akers well within his field goal range and give the Eagles the lead. The lead is an important thing to have in any endeavor, of course, but in football, it’s especially nice. It changes the whole game a bit in favor of the guys with the lead.
Then in the second quarter, Adrian Peterson had just run on first down for six yards through that supposedly tough Eagles run defense. He came back to the huddle exuding confidence and ready for more pounding. You could see he was thinking it would be easy. But he would never get the opportunity.
Childress called a pass on 2nd and 4! With the best running back in football rearing to go, chomping at the bit for another chance. With an inexperienced QB in his first playoff game. The pass was incomplete, of course. Childress still had a chance on 3rd and 4 but he eschewed the run again for still another ill-advised pass.
But this one wasn’t just ill-advised, it was reckless, a pass to the flat. And, of course, Asante Samuel picked it off and ran for 40 yards or so and it was all over but the shoutin’. It was the key play of the game, changing the momentum and putting the offensively-challenged Birds into the end zone for the first time.
Peterson wouldn’t get that many more opportunities. Maybe it was because of Dawkins’s cheap shot on Peterson earlier. We certainly saw a lot of Chester Taylor yesterday, no slouch himself, but incapable of wreaking the havoc of a Peterson.
Oh well, it’s over. One more ridiculous coach and his team bites the dust, at home in front of all of its fans. The Vikings had the best offense, they had the best defense and they had the better team all around but they would go home with that empty feeling, wondering perhaps what could have happened if they had a real head coach on the sidelines.
I should probably be happy. The weaker team advanced, and as there’s still a chance for our G-Men, they’ll simply have to put a pounding on the Eagles rather than having to face the Vikings somewhere down the road. Of course, the Eagles don’t give games away, which might be a bit of a problem.
Why are all the tough guys in Philadelphia? There’s Dawkins, of course, but there was also Jimmy Rollins. And that pain in the butt at 2nd base. And that guy in the outfield who only hit against the Mets. And that other guy who only hit in the clutch.
Giants fans can only hope the G-Men will change up their defensive gameplan this time around. Otherwise, they’ll lose. The G-Men got just one sack vs. Philly in Week 14 and they lost 20-14. I’m hoping they have some stuff up their sleeves as they did against the Pats in the Super Bowl, after having lost to them in Week 17 of last year.
There were also some extenuating circumstances in that Week 14 game, the first after Plax’s suspension and after Antonio Pierce’s grilling by the police. But, more than that, Jacobs hurt his knee in the third quarter and didn’t return. And Hixon dropped a sure touchdown that hit him in the hands.
I wish I could feel better about this upcoming Eagles contest. You don’t feel the same magic with this Giants team as you did with last year’s team. There is no Osi and no Strahan. There is no Plaxico. Hixon is not Plax. And Sinorice Moss doesn’t adequately spell Hixon as a return man.
That doesn’t mean they can’t beat the Eagles but one can’t expect too much. They’ll be at home, but that doesn’t make me feel that much better. They’re just not as versatile as last year’s version that could run the ball, pass the ball and play great on specials too. This version seems more like Brandon Jacobs and a cloud of dust.
Meanwhile, the Jets coaching search allegedly continues and the list of potential candidates grows longer and longer. But it’s a sham, I think. The winner will be whoever Jets owner Woody Johnson likes, and his mouthpiece Mr. Tannenbaum. I can’t root for a team that, literally, thinks with its Johnson.
The whole process kinda reminds me of that old joke, the punchline of which is “the one with the big”, um, oh never mind. Oh well, Jets fans, “if it works out, it works out, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t”.
Monday, September 15, 2008
From Nine to Five
It was an old-fashioned shootout. Just as you'd want on Monday Night Football, there was Number 9, young Tony Romo firing bullets to the infamous T.O. But there was Number 5 Donovan McNabb on the other side, looking like the quarterback of yesteryear, finding his new favorite target, one DeSean Jackson.
Two great quarterbacks, massive offensive lines, inventive defenses, funny commentators, this game had it all. It had Romo showing his best and worst, opening with a 70-yard bomb to Owens but also fumbling in the end zone to give the Eagles a free touchdown.
It had McNabb, skillfully carving up the Boys defense, dumping off to Westbrook, shooting bullets right, left and center. The Cowboys emerged victorious by a 41-37 count, but there were several lead changes and the result was in doubt until the final whistle.
Both qb's are mobile, accurate and enjoy playing the game. What more could you want from a football game? Two offenses moving the ball down the field against tenacious defenses, two offensive lines neutralizing pass rushes and enabling their teams to run the ball. Close at the half and close at the end.
The Cowboys emerged with the win, of course, after a couple of tough possessions by the Birds, one that ended with an overthrown lob to Westbrook and one with the old hook and ladder. The real end for the Eagles, though, was Demarcus Ware's sack of a scrambling McNabb on 3rd down.
In the final analysis, though, the Cowboys had too many weapons for the Birds. While McNabb had the indefatigable Westbrook and the mercurial DeSean, Romo had Owens and Crayton, Barber and
The game also had more than its share of zaniness. DeSean Jackson almost lost his TD for tossing the ball away as he was crossing the goal line. Romo also had an interception that was the result of his trying to make something from nothing. As good as Romo was for most of the game, he could have been the goat after making two critical errors, both resulting in Philadelphia scores.
All this impressive football coming from the NFC East must give the Giants pause. It looks like it will be another tough season. As well as the Giants have played thus far, they’ll have to play even better to get by either of these two juggernauts. The Redskins will be no pushover the next time either, judging by their impressive victory over the Saints on Sunday.
Our G-Men looked solid in their opener against the Redskins, but it was tough after one game to gain much perspective, especially since the Skins looked pathetic at times. Their new coach, Jim Zorn, looked as if he was coaching his first game. And, although the Giants wound up with a clear victory over the Rams on Sunday, it was really a pretty close game for three quarters.
Let’s face it….the Giants can look pretty pedestrian at times. I suppose you could call it workmanlike. With Brandon Jacobs pounding the ball, the Giants bread and butter, it’s almost like an old
If it weren’t for Eli’s finding Plaxico and Amani early and often, it’d be easy to fall asleep. And, with Strahan gone and Umenyiora hurt, the defense isn’t quite as impressive as it had been at year’s end. In fact, the Giants didn’t start looking really impressive until they inserted the fellows who got them so far last year, Ahmad Bradshaw and Steve Smith.
Not that I’m complaining, but the Giants haven’t looked as good as the Eagles and Cowboys have so far. Of course, that could change really easily, especially with that offensive line. And Justin Tuck. But I do think that calling the Giants three running backs “earth, wind and fire” is a bit premature (and stupid).
I’ve been trying to ignore the Jets this year but it’s been awfully tough, what with all the nonsense surrounding Mr. Favre. In truth, I find it impossible to root for them anymore. Mangini really doesn’t send me. Neither does Tannenbaum. And I hope everybody noticed Mr. Favre made no difference whatsoever against the Pats on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers, Mr. Favre’s replacement at
Aside from the Giants, who I picked to win every playoff game last year, and the Super Bowl, this football year, for me, will be all about guys like Kurt Warner, who is easy to root for, throwing dart after dart to Fitzgerald and Boldin for
Then, of course, there are the new quarterbacks, not just Rodgers but also guys like Jerseyan Flacco for the Ravens, and B.C.’s own Matt Ryan, who impressed in his opener before somewhat of a relapse on Sunday when his running game abandoned him. And there’s Chad Henne in
Yeah, this year will be all about young quarterbacks, Cutler in
But, unless you count Eli, the finest young QB of them all may be Number 9 in Big D. And the finest veteran might be wearing Number 5 in Philly, making Eagles fly.
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