Shallow thoughts from NFL Week 10...
The Bears are the best team in the NFC. But what does that even mean?
Steve McNair for NFL MVP ain't so crazy. (OK: How about AFC MVP?)
9-0 two years in a row says more about the state of the NFL than the Colts.
"WTF?!" of the Week: Falcons and Vick.
When all the excitement of a Packers win is "Brett Favre didn't throw any INTs!" you know his era is long over.
Who else started David Garrard? Ugh.
Is it so crazy to say that, at 3-6, the Dolphins are the most dangerous Wild Card contender in the AFC?
How many NFL coaches can say they own Bill Belichick's ass? Add Eric Mangini to the club.
Gore in '06! If the Chargers win "2nd Half Performance of the Year," does Frank Gore win "1st Half Performance of the Year" for rushing for 148 yards?
As it turns out, yes, the Redskins DO stink. (Portis out for the year? Things CAN get worse.)
Was that the real Steelers or was that the real Saints?
Who else has no faith in the Broncos as Super Bowl contenders?
I guess Seahawks K Josh Brown owns the Rams even more than Mangini owns Belichick.
Wait: Or is that Tony Romo for NFL MVP? (How about NFC MVP?)
MNF: Bruce Gradkowski in primetime on national TV. You cannot help but feel the excitement.
-- D.S.
Posts
52 comments:
Shallow analysis: Lions suck.
Random fantasy thought of the day:
Mike Vick only steps up his game vs. the supposed "quality" teams.
He demolished Cincy & Pittsburgh (neither of which really has a good pass defense, even though all the "experts" keep telling us they're playoff contenders).
He got his lunch handed to him by Detroit & Cleveland, neither team all that good, and both with bottom-10 ranked defenses.
Is this a case of Vick only performing when he has to?
Or am I just bitter because I sat him for the first two and played him for the second two?
Do you even watch the games, dude? Romo looked like a MVP against the Cards? Tell him to try looking good against a half-way decent team, or maybe the Redskins, before we start thinking about that. I wonder what all those leinert slurpers who were proclaiming him a top-10 QB after they blew it against the bears are thinking about him now.
Crazy week around the NFL. The 6th seed in the AFC is up for grabs, with the Jags, chefs, and jets sitting at 5-4, the bengals at 4-5, and a bunch of teams sitting at 3-6 must be saying to themselves, just two games back with 7 to go, and it ain't like those teams ahead of us are world-beaters...
man-oh-man, do the gints look sloppy; top 4 in the NFC: Bears, Saints, Iggles, Seahawks. Would be nice to see Brett Favre make one last run at a play-off spot; I know we're all sick of him by now, but there are few compelling story-lines in the NFC right now.
where is flex scheduling for tonight's game? ugh.
Pats Coach Bill = Overrated Cunt
1. Is this the third-fourth-fifth? annual "Mikchael Vick looked like he had turned a corner, only to regress" celebration?
2. Has Tony Romo stolen Tom Brady's mojo as the Bledsoe replacement? The true power is applied to the Bledsoe-replacer. JP Losman looked okay while Bledsoe was still there, but then once Drew left the Bills, Losman didn't have the power source any more to draw from, and has sucked since. This needs further analysis, not by me though.
3. I was on the Dolphins for this game all along. It's always good to be right, but I'm equally sided with "of COURSE I knew that pick would work" and "how the HELL did that go wrong?", and I'm staring at another .500 week if I screw up tonight's game.
Here's a question I have that the media hasn't discussed (and probably won't). How the hell did the Colts almost lose to the lowly Buffalo Bills who didn't even have Willis McGahee playing! Anthony freaking Thomas rushes for over 100 yards? Even though the Colts are undefeated, I still have my doubts when they play games like this.
Imagine LDT or LJ facing this Colts team. How many yards they could pile up. Watch out for when the Eagles play the Colts in a few weeks. Westbrook, McNabb, and Co. should have a sick offensive game.
(I'm not hatin' on the Colts, their offense is beyond nasty, but I'm just saying)
How many NFL coaches can say they own Bill Belichick's ass? Add Eric Mangini to the club.
Umm, he's 1-1 vs BB. Curious to hear who else is in that "club."
MVP is between Manning and LDT and nobody else.
Re: Ravens-Titans
So much for VY "knowing how to win"? (Too bad it won't shut up all the VY lovers down here.)
Re: Chargers-Bengals
Wait, I think someone just scored again. (Was the O/U line Ocho-Cinco?)
Re: Bears-Giants
You think the next time Chicago drops a guy back to field a long FG attempt someone will notice? Fool me once...
big.aaron -- was that really necessary?
@ worldwide reader:
"MVP is between Manning and LDT and nobody else."
Sorry, I cannot even have the MVP conversation without adding Drew Brees' name to the list. New Orleans is essentially fielding the same team as last year, but with a competent QB and an "out-of-the-blue" rookie WR. Brees probably wouldn't win over Manning or Tomlinson, but he needs to be included.
Hey, at least I'm not agreeing with Michael Irvin's MVP pick of Steve Smith...
Dan,
All the excitement was not "Favre didn't throw an INT". Favre played a good game - very good decisions all around. All the excitement came from Donal Driver's 191 yards receiving and that sick lateral from Greg Jennings that Driver took another 30 yards. Do you ever watch the game, or just figure out the comment that belittles Favre (and the Packers) the most?
At 4-5, with a young team that shows improvement weekly, the Packers have a shot at a playoff spot. They've got some tough games coming up, but I think their growth will convince Favre to come back for another year. Too bad that means another year of Dan's Favre-bashing...
Since when is being 1-1 against someone considered owning them?
kmv9 said...
Here's a question I have that the media hasn't discussed (and probably won't). How the hell did the Colts almost lose to the lowly Buffalo Bills who didn't even have Willis McGahee playing!
I watched the game, the Colts were never in danger of losing that game. Dick Jauron was so thoroughly outcoached it was ridiculous. The Colts simply played a vanilla game and ran the ball right down the bills throats and thus the close score. Even if the bills' kicker makes it the colts were in field goal position at the end of the game and simply kneeled on it after chewing up the last 6 minutes of the game. Manning would have taken it in for a TD if he needed to.
Dungy has outcoached every coach they've played against this year, which is definitely a switch from prior years and bodes well for the playoffs. He even owned Beli-dick in the patriots game.
As far as the Eagles running on the colts, that's hilarious, Andy Reid hates running the ball, he'll go pass-wacky and lose as usual.
Kevin, it's going to get worse for Dan and his pointless Brett-bashing. PK reported at halftime last night that McCarthy wants Brett to play through 2008.
Considering the play of some of the other QBs in the league, not a bad idea.
Steve, FWIW, Andy isn't calling the plays anymore, he handed it off to Marty as of yesterdays game, the one where they ran the ball more than threw it. It would be a long shot for the Eagles to beat the Colts in 2 weeks, but not as long a shot as most people think. The Eagles D should be good enough to hold Indy's O a little at least, and the Eagles O should score 21+
I agree with chrth, after last season I started the year agreeing with Dan regarding Favre, but he's been playing better this year so the Favre-bashing is getting lame. How about bashing Brady and his 5 interceptions the last 2 games along with 2 losses instead?
Listening to WEEI today... Richard Seymour had been teasing a "big announcement" for about two weeks during his weekly interview on the mid-day show.
The announcement came today - he gave out a personal cell phone number for anybody, repeat: anybody, to call. He said that he will answer it if he is able to, and speak directly to the fans.
Now, after yesterday's loss to the Jets, (during which Richard was essentially benched in the second half, calling it "coach's decision") Seymour was vocal, saying the Pats were "outplayed, and outcoached". Considering the standard military regime and media/fan disconnect that Bill Belichick preaches, this "big announcement" from Seymour reeks of him trying his hardest to break from the team. Considering that he is one of the top 3 D-Lineman in the AFC, if not the NFL, this concerns me greatly.
Thoughts?
(By the way - the cell# is legit... Yes, it's currently stored in my phone under "93".)
So...Frank Gore, Shaun Alexander, Clinton Portis and Willis McGahee are injured. Cadillac, Lamont Jordan, Edgerin James and Ronnie Brown are all horrible(Ronnie brown IS except for yesterday). Rudi Johnson hasnt been all the spectaclar either. So basically 8 of the top 12 picks in this years draft in EVERYONE's fantasy team is a BUST...or close to it.
Big Aaron - That comment was not neccessary and so untrue. How can a 3 time super bowl winning head coach be overrated.
Dan if mangini was 2-0 against the patriots and not 1-1 then I would say that he owns the patriots come on stop being so instant history
Not if you took LT with your No. 1 pick it isnt...
How about "Worst Active #1 Overall Pick"? Alex Smith's last two games, 105 yds and 136 yds passing with no TDs! But, the 49ers win two-in-a-row. I think, Gore is the stud to that offense. Granted, they played duds, too.
Nice choke job by the Jints last night. I am curious if anyone knows this; if Tiki wins the rushing title and ends up with 5 TDs will this be the lowest amount of TDs for a rushing champ ever?
The number of starters the giants were missing was ridiculous...I had a feeling the second half would be trouble considering they were basically starting a skeleton defense and had pretty much no second string to put in and give the starters a blow...i am guessing as soon as they get healthy you will see the defense of the first half for the entire game which will equate to good things for the g-men down the stretch.
three d-linemen
three linebackers
best corner
starting right guard
number one receiver
RB hurt his thumb (although it didn't really slow him down)
vs.
full strength bears
No wonder they didn't win.
That Richard Seymour bit is crazy!
About Favre: Favre used to be a combination of Manning and Elway. He used to be awesome.
But a 2 touchdown, no interception day against the MIGHTY 26th ranked passing defense (espn.com) of the Vikings? Not impressive.
GREAT COMPARISON OF THE DAY:
Against the Vikings Mighty Pass D:
Favre: 347 yds., 2 TD, 0 Ints. 100 rating (espn.com)
2005 salary:$9.5m, cap $10.1m (source: USA Today)
Losman: 224 yds., 1 TD, 0 Ints. 101.6 rating
2005 salary:$4.5m, cap $1.4m
Maybe it's just me, but maybe a small market team like GB could spend its money better. Like on Brees last year? Or on an unproven QB/RB for the future?
I'm not anti-Favre, and obviously, if the choice is Losman or Favre, I'd pick Favre.
Just not at these prices. How many more years will GB sacrifice its future for a lousy present? From where I sit, it looks like the difference between Favre and Losman is that the Bills have played NE twice and Chi once, and the Pack have yet to play NE and a second Chi game (which they will rest their players for, anyway).
Oh, and Favre is sacked a third of the time. Meaning a flaky second year QB with one full season of starts under his belt IS competitive with the greatest quarterback of all time.
I thought the G-men lost because they stayed up all night cheering for Rutgers!
Oh, and Favre is sacked a third of the time.
Uh...what? Favre wasn't sacked yesterday at all. And he's only been sacked 11 times in 9 games. That's fewer than most of the QBs in the league.
As for the money issue, as I've explained ad nauseum, the Packers are significantly under the Salary Cap. All trading Favre's contract for Losman's contract would do is get you more under the Salary Cap. Favre's contract has no negative impact on the Packers bottom line.
A player back in 1935 had 0 TDs while leading the league in rushing. Since the merger 5 has been the lowest. For a 1500 yard runner 7 is the lowest total.
Oh, forgot to add:
Losman has 30 sacks with 225 pass attempts.
Favre has 11 sacks with 352 pass attempts.
So Brett is dropping back to throw over 50% more than Losman, but has just over 1/3 the sacks.
In other words, next time make sure you know what you're talking about.
I hope the Colts go 16-0. They could be the first team to go perfect in the regular season and not make it to the Super Bowl.
And with the 1st pick in the 2007 NFL draft, the Arizona Cardinals select Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma...
With the second pick in the 2007 NFL draft, the Oakland Raiders select Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame...
The Redskins suck. I can't say this enough. I am so tired of Brunell...I love Joe Gibbs like a brother, but God freakin damnit...SWITCH QB'S!!! According to Ken Harvey's blog on the WP, he doesn't believe Gibbs will make the change. Uh, why not? Season is over, how are you not going to see what your first round pick can do? I don't get it.
I hate being a homer, but somebody asked. And while I don't consider 1-1 owning Bill Belicheck, Mike Shanahan has lost to him only once, i believe he's like 7-1 against him. That is owning.
A defense of Gibbs
Ok, I've said this before in the Packers situation, but it applies in the Redskins situation as well.
The coaches see QBs play constantly. All week long. Against NFL defenses (their own). That's how they make judgement calls, that's why they get paid.
No one said "Hey Titans, why are you benching Volek, you should see him start in regular season games first!" Putting a Jason Campbell or Aaron Rodgers into an NFL game doesn't give the coaches a better perspective on the player. It just gives the player more injuries and hits.
If the Redskins are convinced Campbell is their QB of the future, they don't need him to get the crap kicked out of him for the next seven weeks. And if they're not convinced, seeing him get the crap kicked out of him for seven weeks is not likely to change their minds.
In reality, the only ones who gain anything from seeing the backup QB play is the fans. And then you have the issue where the Skins don't want Campbell starting next year due to his play in practice, but what if the fans think he's good because he only through 2 INTs instead of 4? That undermines the coaching staff's decision-making ability, because now the GM/Coach feel public pressure to go down a road they might not want to go down.
And one final thing about Favre (since I'm weak and can't resist).
Right now, Favre is in the top 10 for INT% in the league, tied 7th in fewest sacks, and leads the league in attempts. McCarthy has definitely implemented a dink-and-dunk offense, and so far it seems to be working better than what Sherman had last season.
@ chrth
Regarding backup QBs:
A lot of players, and QBs especially, have incentive clauses and/or escalators built in to their contracts.
Wouldn't surprise me one bit to know that a backup QB is being kept on the bench in a lost season because the team doesn't want (or can't afford) to pay him an extra $500k or something because he made four starts and hit his incentive clause for starting 1/4 of the season.
The NFL is a business, first and foremost. Sadly, that's the biggest realization I've come to as a lifelong Patriots fan watching them the past six years...
One thing that Favre has that the young GB team desperately needs is veteran leadership. How many players look up to him and see his toughness and desire to win, and emulate it?! Donald Driver said Favre told him day 1 to never let anyone know you're hurt. Now, 4 years later, Driver is an excellent WR (and the reason the Pack won). If he can do that with some of the other rookies (out of 17), or 1st or 2nd-year players, then he is easily worth the salary. Not that the salary is a problem for GB, as chrth pointed out earlier.
Tedy Bruschi earlier today in an interview:
"How do you end a losing streak? It's not hard - you just gotta win a game."
Captain Obvious strikes again. John Madden would be proud.
If Gibbs doesn't intend to be around long term, what incentive does he have to help develop a QB for the long term?
When are the hands on owners like Snyder and Jones going to just say fuck it and coach themselves. Snyder is about to run Gibbs out of town because he has no idea what the fuck he is doing when it comes to personel decisions. I am sure every Skins fan cannot wait for next year when he overpays for a free agent that adds absolutely nothing to the team. Randle El and Brandon Lloyd have paid huge dividends for them this year.
I have always thought that Jerry Jones wants to coach the Cowboys that can only explain Chan Gailey and Dave Campo. After Parcells leaves why not just become the Owner/GM/Coach and then we can bet on the date that he does on the sidelines from a heart attack.
Come on Dan, can you once give the Browns some love for their win over the Falcons. Sure the Falcons lost, but the Browns shut that offense down. Crennel had a great game plan against Vick that more teams should try.
Dan,
First and foremost, I'm not a Packers fan (I'm a Steelers fan which has been tough enough this year, but hey, no complaing. Remember 5 year grace period.) and have never had a rooting interest in the Brett Farve saga. However, your constant bashing and Farve's unbelievable consecutive start streak has brought me into #4's camp. I knew when he had a good game yesterday (and he has had a few of them this year) you would find some snide way to give him a backhanded compliment. Lo and behold, you didn't disappoint. I'm not sure what the dude has done to you but he is one helluva QB and a first ballot HOF. End of story. Maybe you would be better served (and your objectivity more respected) if when he has a good game you would acknowledge it and wait to take a swipe at him when he has a less than stellar outing.
Like you Dan, Farve didn't attend Florida, but I suspect if he did you would cut him a little more slack.
McCarthy has apparently said he wants him to play through 2008 so something tells me that he doesn't like what he sees in practice from Aaron R. Not to mention, I think he likes how Farve (13 Tds, 7 Ints)is handling his offense. What I guess I'm trying to say is that you can take shots at the guy all you want, but due to his performance it doesn't look like he is going anywhere. Oh well, there is always Matt Leinart and JJ Redick to pile on.
danthemanwise....I was just about to say something about no love for the Browns! Thanks!
They BEAT the Falcons. Stopped Vick. Held them on 3rd down countless times. The Falcons never led. No last second, game-winning field goals.
I bet against my hometown boys in my pool...tsk tsk. I was glad they won outright.
FIVE DAYS UNTIL THE GAME...
GO BUCKEYES!
Look, if you don't like BB I understand that. I can understand why you think he is an SOB. Let's be honest though, you can't argue with success, 3 Super Bowls. As far as Mangini owning him, like stated earlier it's 1-1 folks, looks more like a time share to me. Much to their credit, the Jets did play the better game and deserved to win.
Well, Favre's leadership can't be observed by me, that's for sure. He's way better than any random QB in that department, I'm sure. Too bad his leadership doesn't translate to winning more games or getting a better offense around him.
chrth: WE BOTH AGREE that Favre is sacked a third less than JP is.
I was trying to make the point that Losman gets pretty close to Favre's production even though his line is worse than Favre's. I don't think sacks are entirely the line's fault, but an old Favre is clearly playing behind a better line than most mediocre QBs would get.
And, as I pointed out earlier, his schedule has been pretty generous.
So your evidence improves my case. Favre isn't very good - don't quote things he used to do, or things he once accomplished.
He's a hall of famer and an amazing athlete. That doesn't mean he should be trotting out on that field when he's 75.
So the Packers have money, why aren't they spending it? Why didn't they get Drew Brees? Do they like losing? Couldn't they save EVEN MORE MONEY by trading Favre to the Raiders/ Dolphins/ Cardinals? Isn't it clear they're getting the same production they can get from basically any backup in the NFL?
Hind sight is 20/20 on Brees - he was a huge question mark going into the season, the Saints got lucky that his season ending shoulder surgery last year has limited his ability to perform. Why would the Packers go after Brees...thats like saying they should have gone after Kurt Warner five years ago - obviously everyone would have if they knew that he would materialize the way he did. Bottom line, Brees has nothing to do with Bret Favre and the Packers. Absurd comment.
Favre is doing a very good job this season with a mediocre team and to say his line is that good is ridiculous...its decent at best, the system in place is not to have him drop back and let the long ball dictate the game, it is for dink passes off three step drops. Thats why he isnt getting sacked alot. Get off Favre - he is in the top half of the league right now in terms of starting QBs and is top three all time QBs - if he wants to keep playing, especially the way he is currently performing (which is a pretty high level), the Packers are lucky to have him.
Isn't it clear they're getting the same production they can get from basically any backup in the NFL?
Uh ... you know, it ain't worth it. If you can't even bother to look at the stats at ESPN, there's no reason to for me to copy/paste.
Suffice to say, Favre right now is playing better than half the starters in this league. Whether some that are worse than him would play just as well or better on Packers, I can't answer. But the idea that he's dragging the team down is unsupported by reality.
As for the salary cap, why should the Packers use up the whole thing? The whole reason the O-Line (gradually improving, btw) was in shambles last year was because the team couldn't afford to sign either of their Pro Bowl guards because they were tight against it (and don't say Brett should've retired before the 2005 season; his 2004 numbers were almost as good as 1997--again, see ESPN). Why throw extra money around when they don't need to? I would think being cap-savvy is a good idea.
Basically, you have the impression that Brett should hang it up because he's been playing for so long, but you have no real justification.
it seems as though my rant was all for not as campbell gets the nod. this is long overdue as i do not subscribe to the theory that practice equates to reality in a game. especially when you're mostly running the scout team. it is just a completely different animal playing in an actual game. brunell is done, i don't see the purpose in running him out there. the redskins need to look to the future. trust me, i suffer thru every game, it can only get better.
here is the other thing i believe people are missing, at least in terms of the redskins. joe gibbs as said that jason campbell could be an effective nfl qb right now. ok, why isn't he playing? because joe is loyal and god knows brunell has not appeared effective. throws 5 yards to the sideline every time, or a screen, or to a rb in the flat. he's not getting it done. if the concern is risking injury, i mean this is football, you're going to get hit eventually, i just don't agree with that logic.
Signs I'm a Genious in Hiding: Two weeks ago, when everything was "Brady is awsome, Belichick is the smartest man in the NFL", I guffawed, and pointed out the Vikings pass D is non-existant.
Signs I'm an Idiot: Started Garrard. Benched Rivers.
Could you possibly hate the Northeast any more?
How about a little objectivity?
I hope the Colts go 16-0. They could be the first team to go perfect in the regular season and not make it to the Super Bowl.
Agree wholeheartedly. Since they made it past the Pats, I'd love for the '72 Dolphin champagne toast to end already.
So sick of hearing about them.
Peter King put the Dolphins at #15 in his "Fine Fifteen." DS calls them the most dangerous Wild Card team out there.
Huh? Pass the pipe. First off, I'm a lot more afraid of a 4-5 Cincy or a 5-4 Jacksonville or KC. But the thing is, Miami isn't even close to being the best 3-6 team in the league, much less the AFC.
Ask Indy, New England, Denver & San Diego who they do NOT want to see sneaking into the playoffs.
It's the Steelers, hands down. Despite losing their two best DBs a little over a quarter into the game, they still managed to win a tough one vs. the Saints. See what happens when Big Ben doesn't toss up 3-4 INTs a game?
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