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Cyd Zeigler
Is there
still any doubt what the best team in the NFL is? The
Steelers and Eagles came damn close to losing to really bad
NFC teams. Meanwhile, the Patriots continue their march to
the Super Bowl with the most well-rounded team in the
League. (This genius observation was written before
the Patriots' collapse to the 2-11 Dolphins.)
Wow, it takes a lot of insight to become a
Fox NFL analyst. Just take a look at this genius observation
by Howie Long: “Carolina has to get by
Atlanta in this one to really have a shot at running the
table.” Duh! Running the table means you win the rest of
your games. It’s almost as good as the classic, “whoever
scores the most points will win the game,” that analysts
pull out of their asses from time to
time.
I also loved Long’s statement that, “No one
wants to play the Carolina Panthers right now.” Puh-lease.
They play in a lousy conference and won five straight games
against five straight teams who have losing records. Though
they played well against the Falcons, they lost (btw, the
Falcs swept them this season). I can think of about 10 teams
who wouldn’t mind playing the Panthers in the playoffs –
about eight of them are in the AFC.
Terry Bradshaw’s
weekly “Ten Yards with TB” features an NFL player being
asked to compare two different things and tell the audience
which one they prefer. This week’s Saturday installment
featured Washington Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington.
He was asked his preference of rap vs. rock, a good movie
vs. a good kiss (he picked the kiss) and dressing up or
dressing down. TB also asked him, simply, “Entrance or
exit?”
Arrington paused for a moment, then struggled
with an answer. “Definitely – uh - it’s always exit, man.
It’s never entrance. Never.”
I don’t get how Tennessee’s Billy
Volek and Drew Bennett are all of a sudden stars.
For three straight games now these two have gone off. How do
defenses not key on these two guys? I find it hard to
believe that they’re so good they can beat double-teams and
blitzes when perennial Pro Bowlers have trouble with them.
I’m probably interested in watching the production of these
two players in 2005 than any others.
The most shocking score of the weekend:
New Orleans 21, Tampa Bay 17. The Buccaneers had
turned around their disastrous season, had found their
quarterback, had a running game going and their defense was
playing relatively well. So, how did the Saints come along
and win one in Tampa? The Bucs just didn’t put them away
when they had the chance. Up 17-7 with the ball and five
minutes left, they ran the ball three times, hoping that
eating a couple minutes off the clock would be enough to
win. It wasn’t.
When will teams learn to not play the end of
a game to “not lose”? The Bucs just saw their great playoff
chances disappear. Coach Jon Gruden was on the hot
seat before – he really should be now.
If you didn’t see the end of the
Vikings-Lions game, buy the DVD when it comes out. Two
touchdowns in the last two minutes – and the game ending on
a botched PAT. The win probably put Minnesota in the
playoffs. And you know what? They could actually make it to
the NFC Championship. It’s what’s sick about that conference
this year. You think one of these 8-8 teams couldn’t go into
Atlanta and win one game? I love the Falcs’ chances to go to
the Super Bowl – but, they could just as easily get bounced
by the likes of the Vikes.
Don’t look now, but there is a changing of
the guard in the NFC West. The Arizona Cardinals
throttled the St. Louis Rams in the desert this
weekend, 31-7. Yes, Jamie Martin took most of the snaps for
the Rams, but still. Denny Green is a very good coach
and will have the Cards in the playoffs next year. Bet on it
now.
OK, now for my weekly “Mike Holmgren
is the worst coach in the NFL” tirade. Seattle Seahawks
coach Mike Holmgren is the worst coach in the NFL. Period.
With or without talent, he’s the worst. This week, in
addition to giving up the second most points the Jets have
scored all season, the play-calling was atrocious and, worse
than anything else, predictable. Yes, he was the victim of a
fumble by Shaun Alexander in the end zone. Fire Mike
Holmgren now. Period.
Interconference games this week: AFC 4, NFC
0.
Top five teams:
1) New England Patriots
– The dynasty continues to roll.
2) San Diego Chargers – I don’t care
that they lost three games two months ago. Right now,
they’re getting scary.
3) Pittsburgh Steelers
– They are shaky at quarterback, and that may come back to
haunt them against the better teams in January.
4) Philadelphia Eagles
– I just get the feeling they won’t be in the Super Bowl –
again.
5) New York Jets
– I think at home they’ll be tough to beat – problem is,
they’d probably have to visit all three of the top three
teams to go to the big dance. |
Jim Buzinski
How
shocking was the Miami Dolphins’ 29-28 Monday night
win against the defending champion New England Patriots?
-
The Patriots, normally a
well-disciplined team, blew an 11-point lead in the
final 2:07. It was the first time in 35 games they lost
after holding a double-digit lead.
-
Going into the game the Pats
were 12-1, the Dolphins 2-11. The nine-game difference
was the largest ever overcome by the team with the worst
record.
-
The Patriots’ Tom Brady
has won two Super Bowl MVP awards, but on Monday he was
the second-best quarterback on the field. That’s saying
something when the other QB is A.J. Feeley, who entered
the game with an anemic 56.3 rating and had thrown
almost twice as many interceptions than touchdowns. But
Brady threw four interceptions against the Dolphins,
including an amazingly dumb one where he threw it up as
he was being spun around and sacked; this pick led to
the Fins’ game-winning score.
--What does
it all mean for New England? It’s no time to panic,
but the Pats have allowed 57 points in their final two
games. Teams want to go into the playoffs playing their best
football, and New England is clearly not doing that. In
addition, the Pats’ hopes of getting playoff home-field is
all but gone. They still have solid Super Bowl hopes, but if
they fail to reach the big game this year, the first cracks
would have appeared on Monday night.
--Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy showed total
class at the end of his team's 20-10 win against the
Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night.
Colts
quarterback Peyton Manning had already thrown one
touchdown pass, giving him 47 for the season, just one
behind Dan Marino's record. Colts linebacker Cato
June then intercepted a pass and ran it back to the
Ravens' 4 with 59 seconds left.
The crowd (and the ESPN
audience) was in anticipation, wanting Manning to try and
tie the record. But Dungy ordered his quarterback to kneel
down twice; the crowd booed but it was nice that Manning
didn't make history in what would have been a cheap way.
"That's the right way to play," Manning said.
(Contrast this with Brett Favre falling down two
years ago and giving the Giants' Michael Strahan the
single-season sack record on the season's final day).
--It’s been
said before but needs to be said again: The NFC sucks.
Big time. The sixth playoff team in the conference is
guaranteed to be 8-8 or worse, and the winner of the West
could be Arizona at 7-9. This weekend the dominant AFC
(39-19) went 4-0 against the NFC, with three of the wins
coming on the road. One of the wins was warm weather
Jacksonville going up to frosty Green Bay and beating the
Packers, 28-25.
Predicting
the sixth NFC playoff team is not only futile but a waste of
time. Who cares? This team will be one and done in the
playoffs. If the 13-1 Philadelphia Eagles don’t make the
Super Bowl this year, they never will. The Eagles have
looked average the past two weeks and now have star receiver
Terrell Owens with a sprained ankle. In the AFC, the
Eagles would be 10-4 and fighting for a playoff spot, but in
the crappy NFC they’re royalty; not even the Iggles could
blow it this year.
--On the
other hand, the AFC’s Buffalo Bills are 8-6 (which
would clinch a playoff spot in the NFC) and have won eight
of their last 10. They are averaging more than 30 points a
game the past five weeks and have a Top 5 defense. They are
a team no one wants to face, but they will miss the playoffs
in the Jaguars win their next two games. Life is sometimes
unfair.
--One AFC
team that has struggled interconference are the Kansas
City Chiefs, who have gone 1-3, blowing fourth-quarter
leads to Carolina, Tampa Bay and New Orleans. The schizoid
Chiefs are 6-8 but have outscored their opponents by 54
points. They crushed Denver, 45-17, on Sunday, the fourth
time this year they’ve scored 45+ points.
--We love
watching Ed “Guns’ Hochuli, the buff, baritone-voiced
referee. He calls a great game and the announcers always
talk about his muscular arms. So it was a shame when Guns
was stuck calling the Green Bay game (temperature in single
digits) and had to wear long sleeves. It prompted this
exchange between CBS announcers Dick Enberg and
Dan Dierdorf:
Dierdorf:
“You know it’s cold when Ed is wearing long sleeves.”
Enberg: “You can’t see those triceps. Ed Hochuli
likes showing them.”
--More Ed.
Thanks to our friend Brent, who caught this exchange a week
ago between announcers Gus Johnson and Brent Jones:
Johnson: "We like to talk about Ed Hochuli guns"
Jones: "Look at the guns on the big official!"
Johnson: "It looks like Ed has been spending even
more time in the weight room. You better be careful in
criticizing the official because he'll come up and smack you
down!"
Jones: "I'm scared of Big Ed! I'm getting on the
plane out of here!"
--Goat of
the week is Detroit Lions long snapper Don Muhlbach.
His bad snap caused the Lions to miss an extra point with
eight seconds left that would have forced overtime against
the Minnesota Vikings. ''No one ever knows you until you
mess up,'' the rookie Muhlbach said. Countered Vikings
quarterback Daunte Culpepper: ''I feel bad for him,
but I feel good for us. ''
--Lions
coach Steve Mariucci called an awful game in the loss
to Minnesota. He routinely had the Lions throw on first
down, despite having rookie running back Kevin Jones,
who rushed for 150+ yards the past two games. On two of the
first-down passes, Joey Harrington threw interceptions after
the Lions defense had stopped the Vikings. The Lions missed
several chances to seize control of the game and were lucky
to make it as close as they did. I’m never sure why some
coaches try to get cute.
--The
Vikings and the Packers are each 8-6 and meet on Christmas
Eve with the winner capturing the NFC North
and a guaranteed home playoff game. Neither team is playing
well right now and the team that makes the least mistakes
will win (no duh).
--So much
for the Lambeau Mystique. With their loss to the
Jaguars, the Packers finished 4-4 at the Frozen Tundra. And
Favre lost for just the second time in 40 games at home with
the temperature 34 degrees or below.
--Weird
sight of the day was San Diego Chargers offensive
coordinator Cam Cameron on the sidelines wearing
sunglasses. In Cleveland. In a snowstorm. Hey dude, you’re
not in SoCal.
--Weird
stat of the day was that of San Diego quarterback Drew
Brees. He threw only six passes, completing four for 85
yards and a touchdown. It was by design—the Chargers were
dominating the Browns (they won 21-0) and the weather was
more conducive to throwing snowballs than passes.
--With
the win, the Chargers clinched the AFC West, a remarkable
turnaround for a team that finished 4-12 a year ago.
Marty Schottenheimer has to be coach of the year and
Brees comeback player.
--Buffalo
quarterback Drew Bledsoe is one of those players who
is timed by a sundial and not a stop watch. So it was
unusual for the Bills to call a quarterback draw. And even
more unusual for Bledsoe to gain eight yards. In showing the
play again, announced Ian Eagle quipped: “That was
not a slow-motion replay. That was real time.”
--Eagles
receiver Todd Pinkston has taken a lot of heat for
alleging “short-arming” on passes, pulling up short lest he
take a hard hit. He seemed to do it again on a play against
Dallas; deserved or not, Pinkston’s reputation will take a
hit as long as he seems to avoid them. It's the ultra-macho
nature of the game.
--On a
play against Jacksonville, Green Bay’s offensive line moved
early and a penalty was called. A disgusted quarterback
Brett Favre threw the ball back to an official, but the
ball conked the ref in the head and he tossed a flag on
Favre; the flag was picked up as the officials realized it
was an accident. Favre had the look of a kid who just broke
a neighbor’s window with a sandlot home run.
--The
cheap shot of the year occurred in Green Bay, when Jaguars
safety Donovin Darius clotheslined Packers receiver
Robert Ferguson, who had to be taken off on a
stretcher. Darius was kicked out of the game and should
expect a huge fine by the NFL.
--The
play of the weekend was Michael Vick's fourth-down
touchdown run that allowed the Atlanta Falcons to tie the
Carolina Panthers late and send the game into overtime,
where the Falcons pulled it out. Vick's one knee had to be 2
inches away from touching down at the 1-yard line.
My Top 5:
1. Pittsburgh: Still the only team to beat the Eagles
and one of two to drop the Patriots.
2. Philadelphia: The only
good thing about TO likely sitting the next two weeks is not
seeing Andy Reid in tights. Reid, the bear-like coach,
promised to wear tights if Owens caught 15 touchdown passes;
TO is stuck on 14.
3. Indianapolis: The
Colts surprisingly lead the league in takeaways.
4. San Diego: The
Chargers are solid in all phases of the game.
5. New England: The Pats
gets punished for losing to the woeful Dolphins. Even the
Cardinals beat the Dolphins. |
