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.
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31 comments:
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?
where is flex scheduling for tonight's game? ugh.
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.
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...
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".)
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
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.
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.
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...
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.
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!
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?
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.
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.
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