Chad's no cream puff. Wonder why Chad Johnson was doing the chicken dance after his touchdown
against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday? The day before,
Johnson, was the latest in a long list of celebrities who
have led the annual World's Largest Chicken Dance (see
video, right) at Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati, which is reportedly
the largest Oktoberfest outside of Europe. In honor of
Johnson's off-the-field dance, Cincinnati-based Servatii
Pastry Shop created the "Chad Johnson 'He's No Cream Puff'
Cream Puffs." Just in case you were wondering.
From genius to choker in one short quarter.
If the Philadelphia Eagles are looking for someone to blame
for their collapse and overtime loss to the New York Giants
on Sunday, they should look no further than head coach Andy
Reid and his offensive play-calling. In the first half, the
Eagles offense executed 29 passing plays and 14 running
plays. They had the Giants' defense spinning, as Donovan
McNabb put up over 250 yards passing in the first half. They
built a big 17-point lead after their first drive to start
the third quarter, and then they made the cardinal sin: They
played "prevent," for all intents and purposes. In the
second half, they ran the ball four more times than they
passed the ball. This was against a Giants run defense that
held the Indianapolis Colts to just 55 rushing yards the
week before.
Reid said
after the game that the responsibility for the loss falls on
his shoulders, and he's absolutely right.
What parity?
Interestingly, 12 teams are still undefeated after two
weeks. At the same time the last two years, it was only
seven; that number has never been more than 11 (1998) until
this year; since the league moved to 32 teams in 2002, that
number had never been higher than 8.
Two games up in the NFC South. Do
not adjust your monitors, folks. The New Orleans Saints and
the Atlanta Falcons are both two games up on the Carolina
Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I'm sure most people are
saying, "It won't last." I beg to differ. While the Saints,
admittedly, have gotten to play two teams that don't look
very good, they've also played two road games and come away
with wins both times. That's a big deal. According to most,
they were supposed to be one of the worst teams in the
league; yet they've won both road games convincingly,
outscoring the Green Bay Packers in the last three quarters
of that game, 34-14. What's crazy is that they're doing it
without really utilizing rookie running back Reggie Bush to
his fullest.
The Atlanta
Falcons are in the driver's seat, beating the Panthers and
Bucs by a combined score of 34-0. It was impressive to watch
them put up 254 rushing yards against the Panthers; but on
Sunday, they made that number look elementary, racking up
306 yards on the ground. They're winning games the
old-fashioned way: with defense and a punishing running
game. That is a deadly combination.
'West Coast' Offense. Another team
that was supposed to be the laughing-stock of the NFL was
the San Francisco 49ers. To be sure, the season is young and
there's still time for them to be the cellar-dwellers most
have come to expect. But, for now, the Niners are sporting
one of the most prolific offenses in the league, presently
rated sixth.
In Frank Gore, they have a go-to running back
who is averaging over 4.7 yards per carry after and almost
12 yards per reception; quarterback Alex Smith is eighth in
the league for passing yards with 521; and journeyman
receiver Antonio Bryant has averaged over 30 yards per
reception for his first eight catches. Not bad for a team
that ranked dead last in total offense last season.
The Pats
don't look like the Pats. Is there reason for concern in
Foxboro? I'd say yes. The reason isn't Tom Brady's play, or
the lack of protection the offensive line is sometimes
giving him, or the lack of turnovers (1 in two games) that
they're getting; it's the lack of focus the team is showing.
The defining moment came on Jets receiver Jerricho
Cotchery's 71-yard touchdown. It looked like he was tackled
at around midfield, but neither his knee nor hip nor elbow
had hit the ground. The Patriots defense stopped pursuing
him, but he astutely got up and kept running. No whistle had
blown, so why did the Pats defense stop? Because they're
playing like they've won three of the last five Super Bowls,
and there isn't a heck of a lot of urgency in them in
September.
While part
of me is surprised that coach Bill Belichick doesn't have
them playing better, I also look back to their first Super
Bowl season when they started sluggishly. Can they turn that
around in time for January? Luckily, with the rest of the
division not looking so hot, that's probably how long
they'll have before they need to turn it on.
The
Belichick of the Midwest. Doing his best Bill Belichick
impression this season is Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad
Childress. His Vikings have started the season with two wins
against teams that were supposed to contend for the Super
Bowl - Carolina and the Washington Redskins. His team hasn't
beaten up on either team, and that's what I like: The
Vikings have two three-point wins, one in overtime, that
have tested the mettle of his players and coaching staff.
I love what
he's doing with the running game: pounding, pounding,
pounding; and when they only get 4 yards on three carries,
pounding some more. It has really opened up the passing game
for Brad Johnson, whose completion percentage is right now
the worst he's ever had for a season. The Vikings and the
Chicago Bears will be in a fight for the division crowd into
December.
Impressive records. When I think about what team has
impressed me the most this season, two jump to mind: the San
Diego Chargers and the Baltimore Ravens. On second look,
though, the three opponents of these two teams are a
combined 0-6 (both have played the Raiders) and have scored
a combined 32 points in six games.
What is the
only 2-0 team to have handed their opponents their only
losses of the season? The New England Patriots, who have
beaten the Bills (beat the Dolphins) and the Jets (beat the
Titans).
My Top
Five on Monday morning (Yes, I know - they're all in the
AFC):
1)
Baltimore. Who cares that they've beaten two bad teams.
2) New
England. I've got to believe they'll come around.
3)
Pittsburgh. That win over the Dolphins looks less and
less impressive.
4)
Cincinnati. Carson Palmer was the big question mark; so
far, so good.
5) San
Diego. Now that their six-game preseason is over, we'll
see how they do against Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Birds go
to seed: Teams that have started 0-2 the past two
seasons have missed the playoffs, which made the New York
Giants 30-24 overtime win over the Philadelphia Eagles so
huge. The Giants were behind 24-7 in the fourth quarter and
looked ready to go 0-2 and fall two games behind the Eagles
in the division.
Then the
Eagles self-destructed with penalties and a key fumble,
allowing the Giants to forge a 24-24 tie at the end of
regulation. In overtime, Eli Manning hit Plaxico Burress on
a 31-yard touchdown on third down to cap an 85-play drive
and give the Giants a 30-24 win in the day's best game. As
Burress celebrated, he could be heard on Fox screaming twice
at the Philly fans: "Get that shit out of here!"
"I was
tired. I was telling myself one more play," Burress said
after. "There's no place better to get a win than
Philadelphia. It's more gratifying to get a win here than
anywhere else."
The Eagles
realized they blew a golden opportunity to put a huge dent
in the Giants' season. "After the first half, I never
thought in a million years those guys would come back and
beat us," Eagles middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter said.
"We have to take advantage of opportunities when we get a
team down. We have to put our foot on their throat."
SI Jinx:
Sports Illustrated picked the Miami Dolphins to play the
Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl. It still could happen,
but both teams are 0-2 and have looked shaky.
Panthers
blow it: Carolina lost in overtime to Minnesota, 16-13,
but should have won the game. They were dominating the game
and led 13-6 when they forced a Vikings punt with nine
minutes to go. The Panthers called a bizarre pass play off
of the punt return that resulted in a fumble and a Minnesota
recovery at the Carolina 21-yard line. It was a strange call
by Panthers coach John Fox, who is generally terrific in
game decisions. But he got too cute and it cost him and his
team. "I should've kept the ball," said return man Chris
Gamble, who threw the backwards pass that was recovered by
the Vikings.
Swings:
Atlanta and New Orleans are 2-0 in the NFC South, Carolina
and Tampa Bay are 0-2. In the NFC North, Chicago and
Minnesota are 2-0 and Detroit and Green Bay are 0-2. In key
Week 3 games, Atlanta plays New Orleans, while Chicago
travels to Minnesota.
How big in
the Atlanta-New Orleans game? It will be the first pro
football game played at the Superdome since Hurricane
Katrina hit more than a year ago. The NFL issued a media
credential to Al Jazeera, the Arab satellite network,
according to Sports Illustrated's and NBC's Peter King.
Passing
fancy: In Week 1, only three quarterbacks threw for more
than 300 yards. On Sunday, eight quarterbacks topped the
mark, led by Peyton Manning's 400 yards against Houston. \
Hot
player of the week: An oldie but goodie -- Dallas
quarterback Drew Bledsoe. At 34, Bledsoe gets better looking
with age and has the rep for being one of the nicest, most
intelligent athletes in the U.S. I've always been a big fan,
win or lose.
"Can I describe my coach in
a single sentence? Hmmm, it would have to be a compound
sentence. I guess." That was Bledsoe on NBC, asked about
Bill Parcells. My bet is that maybe two other quarterbacks
in the league would even know what a compound sentence is.
Charging
ahead: The San Diego Chargers have won their first two
games by a combined 67-7, but let's not give them a playoff
spot just yet. They've beaten Oakland and Tennessee, both
0-2 and two of the worst teams in the league. The Chargers
have a bye next week, then face a real test in Week 4 when
they travel to Baltimore. I do think new Chargers
quarterback Phillip Rivers is the real thing. He makes good
decisions, throws a nice pass and his teammates seem to
react well to him.
Duante's
inferno: Duante Culpepper showed a lot of guts to come
back from a devastating knee injury a year ago, but his on
the field performance in the first two games for Miami has
been awful. His stats Sunday in a 16-6 loss to Buffalo don't
look bad – 23 for 32 for 250 yards – but a lot of that came
in a last-ditch touchdown drive with Miami down 16-0. Before
that, he threw a terrible red zone interception and
generally looked befuddled. The Fins have to be thinking
about replacing him with Joey Harrington; at least the
cuteness quotient would be increased.
Culpepper
was dynamite in his tenure at Minnesota when he had Randy
Moss to throw to. Without Moss in 2005, Culpepper was shaky
prior to his knee injury. And he doesn't have Moss in Miami.
On the other hand, it's obvious that Moss misses Culpepper.
He is nothing more than an average receiver in Oakland (two
measly catches on Sunday) and is the kind of whiner and
complainer I would never want on my team.
No Florida sunshine:
Culpepper isn't the only Florida quarterback struggling.
Tampa Bay's Chris Simms has led his team to a total of three
points in two games. On Sunday, Simms threw for 313 yards,
but the big number was his three interceptions, one at the
Atlanta goal line.
Shank:
The New England Patriots let clutch kicker Adam
Vinatieri (two Super Bowl-winning kicks) go in the offseason
to Indianapolis. His replacement is a rookie, Stephen
Gostkowski, who had his first chance at a pressure kick
Sunday at the New York Jets. With the Pats leading 24-17 and
less than two minutes remaining, Gostkowski could have put
the game out of reach with a chip-shot 29-yard field goal.
But the kick was blocked and the Jets were still alive. New
England held on to win, but you can bet that every Pats fan
had the same reaction as one on a message board when the
kick was blocked – "unf***ing believable." In contrast,
Vinatieri is 7 for 7 on field goals for the Colts.
Cold
shoulder: New Jets coach Eric Mangini had been New
England's defensive coordinator under Bill Belichick, but
all reports say they have barely spoken since Mangini took
the job. Belichick locked Mangini out of his office after he
returned from his interview with the Jets this winter and
still has not retrieved all his stuff. After Sunday's game,
the two met at midfield and gave each other the kind of hand
shake one would give someone with pus oozing from their
hand. Belichick is the best coach in the NFL, but he does
follow the paranoid style of management, where assistants
and others are forbidden to speak publicly and those who
leave are given the cold shoulder.
TV talk:
I never thought I'd say that I miss ESPN's Chris Berman. He
is very overexposed, a sycophant and his schticht ("back,
back, back …") gets old. But he always was best doing the
NFL highlights show with Tom Jackson, which aired right
after the late afternoon Sunday games. NBC, though, now has
exclusive rights to highlights at that time, so the
Berman-Jackson show has been relegated to late night
segments during SportsCenter. NBC's highlights show skimps
on the highlights in favor of a lot of yakking among Bob
Costas, Chris Collinsworth, Jerome Bettis and Sterling
Sharpe. You don't get the same sense of a game as you did on
the old ESPN show. I like Costas and Collinsworth on HBO's
midweek "Inside the NFL," but on Sundays I want highlights
and more highlights, not uninteresting analysis.
Fox spends
the money to give us "environmental" shots of the city they
are broadcasting from, and we saw nice images of
Philadelphia. Fox, though, did not have a camera on the key
play of the Eagles-Giants game, a 15-yard personal foul on
the Eagles' Trent Cole with time running out in regulation.
It turned what would have been a 49-yard game-tying field
goal attempt by Jay Feeley into a 34-yarder. Viewers,
though, never saw what Cole did, but the Liberty Bell sure
looked nice.
When the Texans drafted N.C.
State defensive end Mario Williams first overall, bypassing
Reggie Bush, team owner Bob McNair said it was because his
team had to get some pass rush against Peyton Manning in
order to beat him and the AFC South-owning Colts.
So far, not so much. Manning
threw for 400 yards and was sacked just twice, and Williams
for the second week totaled two tackles with zero sacks.
From
Deadspin: Denver 9, Kansas City 6. This
wasn't football, this was a crime against football. I
shouldn't even mention it here. Three hours of straight
boredom. And since I don't want to talk about it, let me
just mention this: I have three QBs on my fantasy roster:
Chad Pennington, Rex Grossman, and Jake Plummer. I started
Plummer. (editor's note: Grossman threw for four TDs,
Pennington for 300+ yards and two TDs and Plummer for 0 TDs.)
Hot
player of the week: An oldie but goodie -- Dallas
quarterback Drew Bledsoe. At 34, Bledsoe gets better looking
with age and has the rep for being one of the nicest, most
intelligent athletes in the U.S. I've always been a big fan,
win or lose.