National Football Post Diner News

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7      Oct 2008

QUOTE :  “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis’. One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger-but recognize the opportunity”  John F. Kennedy

FROM BRETT MARTEL OF THE AP… Not that the Minnesota Vikings will complain about being the latest to play a supporting role in the Saints’ stranger-than-fiction, four-decade history of bizarre and dramatic losses. Even Reggie Bush’s record-tying two punt returns for touchdowns couldn’t make up for New Orleans’ numerous blunders in a 30-27 loss to Minnesota on Monday night. The Saints’ second failed field goal attempt of the game — the first was blocked and returned 59 yards for a touchdown — allowed the Vikings to drive for Ryan Longwell’s game-winning 30-yard field goal with 13 seconds left. “It’s probably one of the weirdest games I’ve ever been involved in,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. “Just the way this thing kind of went back and forth. I’m trying to digest it all right now and in the end it’s a loss. “That’s extremely disappointing, especially when once again we have a chance to win it at the end.” Even some of the Vikings’ mistakes somehow worked in their favor. Bernard Berrian caught the game-tying touchdown pass with 7:10 to play after running the wrong route and nearly colliding with intended receiver Aundrae Allison. When Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway yanked Bush’s face mask, the officials didn’t call a penalty, but Bush fumbled, stalling a promising New Orleans drive. It all made for a thrilling contest and a satisfying win for the Vikings (2-3), who desperately needed one. “This is as good a win as it gets,” Vikings coach Brad Childress said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been involved in one that went that way.”

The fact that this game was so close after the amount of mistakes made by the Saints is just amazing.  The Saints had 4 turnovers in the game (2 fumbles lost, 2 interceptions) and a blocked FG.  The Vikings scored 17 points off those miscues.  New Orleans 4 turnovers are tied for the 3^rd most committed by the Saints under Sean Payton (since 2006). The Saints 11 penalties are the 2^nd most committed under Sean Payton (since 2006). And we all know a missed field goal is a turnover, so the Saints technically had five of them.  New Orleans has a very good offense and they seem like that can move the ball at will sometimes, but there are too many mistakes that seem to slow them down.  The Saints are the ones that are beating the Saints, not the opponents.  And watching Drew Brees play is just fun to do.  He has tremendous command of the offense and his accuracy and ability to put the ball in the right spots time after time is really amazing.  The Vikings are a disaster in the kicking game and they don’t look like that can make plays covering.  If they don’t get that phase fixed and improved, it will be hard to consistently win games.  I thought that Ed Hochuli and his crew had a bad night, missing a key call and not being in control of the game.  This is not to excuse the mistakes of the Saints, but it seemed all night that New Orleans was fighting multiple opponents.  And for the last time, the Saints need a power back badly.  Bush is a playmaker, not a running back. 

FROM ADAM TEICHER OF THE KANSAS CITY STAR…Brodie Croyle will get another chance to make the Chiefs his team in their next game on Oct. 19 against Tennessee at Arrowhead Stadium. Coach Herm Edwards confirmed Croyle will make his return as the starting quarterback then. It could be Croyle’s final chance if he can’t stay healthy. As much as anything in a season turned rotten beyond anyone’s imagination, the Chiefs need some stability at quarterback. If Croyle can’t provide it, the Chiefs will find someone in the offseason who they believe can. So Croyle on Monday didn’t need anyone to tell him how much he needs to avoid injury, for his sake as well as that of his team  “It’s vital,” he said. “The quarterback has to be out there, has to play. I haven’t been there. Obviously, when I get back, it’s vital for me to stay healthy and vital for me to try to find a way to help this team win.” “You can’t put it all on him, though,” Edwards said. “We feel he can do some things for us, and it’s good to have him back. They’ve got to put some of it on themselves, though. They can’t just expect him to ride in on a white horse. We’re hoping he can stay healthy and help us win some games. He’s capable of doing that.”

I don’t want to make light of this, but the Chiefs are doing the Titans a favor starting Brodie Croyle.  Croyle does not have the ability to make plays down the field.  He does not show the ability to drive the ball and those two areas are critical in dealing with the Titans defense.  The Chiefs will struggle to handle the defensive front of the Titans and I suspect that Croyle will be running for his life most of the game.  The quicker the Chiefs realize that Croyle does not offer them a long range answer at quarterback, the quicker they will be able to turn their franchise around.  Self evaluation is key and what game has Herman watched on Croyle where he has shown any ability to make plays? 

FROM THE AP… Detroit was routed by the Chicago Bears 34-7 in its first game of the post-Millen era. The latest defeat did nothing to change Marinelli’s determined message at his weekly news conference. “I won’t change,” he said. “I believe everything I’m doing in the game of football and how it’s being taught. I have 100 percent belief in it. “Is it getting done yet? No. Am I going to go to work? Yes.” The third-year coach said he spoke to William Clay Ford before Sunday’s game, but Marinelli didn’t know when he would speak with the team owner again.
Marinelli said he wouldn’t argue with Ford if he chose to fire him. “I respect authority, which a lot of times that doesn’t happen in this country,” said Marinelli, a Vietnam veteran. “I look at authority and I take my marching orders from there.” The Lions insist they’re still following Marinelli’s lead. “He’s a great coach,” receiver Mike Furrey said. “He’s so fundamentally sound, teaching guys what to do. “There’s just something going on right now — I don’t know if it’s football-related — it’s so weird. I can’t even explain it.” Some statistics do a pretty good job of showing why the Lions have started so poorly. They’ve fallen behind by a combined score of 94-3 to start their first four games, leading to a dubious team record. The Lions have lost by a combined 81 points, breaking their record for point differential through four games, according to STATS. Detroit’s teams in 1948, 1942, 2001 and 1946 were outscored by anywhere from 80 to 64 points in their first four games, and none of those teams finished with more than two wins. Opponents have combined for a 122.1 quarterback rating against the Lions, who allowed every quarterback to be more effective than one of the league’s stars: New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre leads the NFL with a 110.8 rating. Detroit is the only team in the NFL without a point in the first quarter or an interception at any point of a game.

I love Rod Marinelli as a person, but his biggest problem as a coach is he loves his players.  He cannot be objective with his evaluation of his players and he takes effort over talent.  He acts like he is in the Army with these guys and is loyal to them in spite of the fact that they don’t have the talent to win games for him.  He is too loyal and does not show the willingness to make moves and be objective with the evaluations.  He needs a GM who will pick the players and control the roster.  Once Rod is in control of the roster he thinks with his heart and not his eyes.  He makes choices based on the wrong criteria.  Loyalty and effort are important, but the NFL is a talent based league and when you are as bad as the Lions have been, it is because of the talent. 

FROM LES BOWEN OF THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS… Since DeSean Jackson broke off his route and Donovan McNabb threw that pick in Chicago, McNabb doesn’t seem to “see” Jackson as well as he did previously, and the Birds’ offense is much poorer for it.

* If the strength of your offensive line is supposed to be its size and muscle, why does nearly every running play have to be an end-around or a fake end-around? Just wondering.

* The Eagles’ goal-line failure in Chicago had something to do with Matt Schobel and Brent Celek both missing blocks. There was considerable thought that had L.J. Smith been there, things would have been different. Except on Sunday, down at the goal line against the Redskins, Smith lined up on the wrong side and then blocked the guy Tra Thomas seemed to be trying to block, letting defensive end Andre Carter come in free against a surprised Dan Klecko, stacking up Brian Westbrook behind Klecko. Klecko was looking for his assigned blocking target, which seemed to be London Fletcher, when Carter blew him up. So, tight-end play is not the Birds’ strong suit so far this season. See the “Obscure Stat” for more on that.

I think Les Bowen of the Daily News is asking all the right questions here.  And if you have NO tight ends on the roster that can block, as the Eagles do, how can you run the ball behind them on the goal line?  I mean, the Eagles might have the rep for having a big and physical offensive line, but if you talk to anyone in the league that is not the consensus.  The Eagles don’t have power in their line.  They are a finesse group and add that fact to their tight ends that cannot block, and it makes it hard to run the ball inside.  They don’t have a power back (are you kidding me with Tony Hunt?) and when they don’t have Westbrook on the field, they are much easier to defend.  They got pushed around by the Skins line and the Skins did not even have Jason Taylor.  The Eagles are similar to the Saints in the sense they don’t have the power in the backfield and this is clear when Westbrook is not in the game.  I really feel they need to know who they are as a team and when they run the ball behind LJ Smith or Brent Celek, they are doing the defense a favor, as neither of them can control the edge of the defense or block a defensive lineman. 

FROM PETE DOUGHERTY OF THE GREEN BAY PRESS GAZETTE… The last three games, Dallas, Tampa Bay and Atlanta rushed for an average of 190 yards each against a beleaguered and short-handed Green Bay Packers defense.  No doubt Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren will watch those three straight Packers losses and plan on pounding that soft spot mercilessly this Sunday until the Packers do something to change his mind. Atlanta drove home those Packers shortcomings with six straight runs that wrapped up its 27-24 win at Lambeau Field this past Sunday. Falcons halfback Michael Turner first put the winning points on the board by carrying three straight times for 19 yards and a touchdown with 3:35 to play, then picked up the game-clinching first down with three straight runs in the final 1:55. The Packers still were a little shell-shocked the day after that losing that battle of power and will. “I look at the defense as the thermostat in a football game,” coach Mike McCarthy said Monday. “They need to keep the game in order, and it starts with stopping the run, and we’re not doing a very good job of it. (The players) know it, and we take the realistic approach. We’re going to coach them hard and grade the film, just like we always have, and we need to get it fixed.” However, juicing up their run defense got measurably harder last week with the loss of defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins for the season because of a pectoral injury. Jenkins might have been the Packers’ best defensive lineman the first 3½ games as a stout right end on running downs and the team’s best inside rusher on passing downs.

The Packers defense has allowed about 50 more yards than they did last season and with trading Corey Williams last year to Cleveland and now the injury to Cullen Jenkins, the Packers defensive line is not the same.  Justin Harrell is not playing and even IF he does get healthy, he won’t make a difference right now.  Without Jenkins, the Packers are very soft on the edge and cannot control the line of scrimmage.  And without a dominating pass rush and losing CB Al Harris, the Packers secondary is not the same.  The injuries have taken a toll on Green Bay and their lack of being able to dominate on the defensive line as they have in the past is what hurts the most. 

FROM ROY CUMMINGS OF THE TAMPA TRIBUNE… Bucs coach Jon Gruden has made 11 in-season starting quarterback changes since the start of the 2004 season. And with Brian Griese nursing a sore throwing arm, Garcia may be asked to walk through that revolving door yet again. Griese injured his throwing elbow and shoulder while taking a third-quarter hit from Champ Bailey in the Bucs’ loss at Denver on Sunday. He is questionable for this Sunday’s critical game against division-leading Carolina, but there may be more prompting his potential exit from the starting lineup than his sore arm.  Though he was interception-free for the first time in two weeks, Griese struggled to move the team on Sunday. He threw for just 88 yards while completing 13 of 19 passes and missed on one potentially game-changing play when he failed to connect on a long pass to a wide-open Jerramy Stevens.  “We missed some opportunities, yes,” Gruden said in reference to Sunday’s game. “We’ve missed some opportunities in the last couple of weeks.”

I think the biggest disappointment of the year so far was that offensive guru Jon “Love you Bro” Gruden could not muster more than 13 points against the worse defense in the NFL.  I know Jon “Love you Bro” will be walking around the building saying he does not have any skill players–that his team has the worst group of wide outs in the league, that he does not have the people to score, but the reality is even the Chiefs scored on this poor Bronco defense.  I am sure as competitive as Jon “Love you Bro” is, he has to be embarrassed with this offensive output.  At some point the Bucs have to throw the ball down the field, and all the sideways offense is not going to produce points.  They looked very slow on offense and it seemed like it would take twenty plays to go 80 yards.  Last year they averaged over 7 yards per attempt and this year they are down to 5.5 per attempt.  They have to feel sick in Tampa losing to the Broncos when you hold their offense to just 16 points. 

FROM DANNY ONEIL OF THE SEATTLE TIMES… We didn’t play very well for whatever reason,” Holmgren said. “You scratch your head about it, but I’m not losing faith in them. “I’m a little ticked off we didn’t play better.” Holmgren met with the defensive coaching staff Monday and discussed everything from personnel to scheme, play selection to leadership. Holmgren said there may be lineup changes though he didn’t disclose what was being considered. He also said the game plan would be pared down. When asked what has happened to the defense, Holmgren listed three things.

• Big plays. Eli Manning completed five passes of more than 20 yards Sunday and Brandon Jacobs had two runs for more than 30 yards. Holmgren said the Giants scored three touchdowns on plays in which the Seahawks got caught blitzing. Reducing the number of big plays was a point of emphasis last season and the main reason Russell and Grant were signed. This season, the big plays have been a big problem.

“We’ve been in single coverage and we haven’t handled that very well,” Holmgren said.

• Waning pass rush. The Seahawks have 11 sacks this season, which ranks about the middle of the league, but even that total is deceiving. Eight of those sacks came in the game against San Francisco.

• Blitz execution. This ties into the waning pass rush, but Holmgren said specifically that there have been issues with the spacing of players when the team blitzes. Peterson is the only linebacker with a sack this season and none have come from the secondary. The fact that blitzes haven’t produced sacks put extra pressure on the secondary.

The Seattle defense and their team have been a major disappointment to me. They got manhandled in NY this past week, not in terms of schemes, but in terms of the Giants being more powerful and more physical.  The Seahawks have to rely on their quickness and athletic ability to make plays and when that does not happen, they are going to be in trouble.  When they play at home with the crowd noise they can gain the line of scrimmage and win with quickness. But when they don’t have the noise in their favor, they look very average.  Seattle needs to find answers this week as the NFC West is up for grabs. 

FROM SCOTT FOWLER OF THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER… “I would actually say that our defense is playing a little bit better than they did in 2003,” Muhsin Muhammad said after Sunday’s 34-0 win against Kansas City. Whoa! I guess it’s time to make a second reservation for Tampa, huh? The Panthers already will visit Tampa this weekend to play the Bucs on Sunday. The Super Bowl will return to the same stadium in 117 days. But it’s not easy to mimic magic. Just because Carolina finally has a running game and a superb defense again doesn’t mean the Panthers can walk the same postseason tightrope they did in 2003.  It is true, however, that this team more closely resembles what Carolina had in 2003 than any year since. Just take a look at some stats. In 2003, the Panthers ranked 16th in total offense, 15th in scoring and eighth in total defense. They began the season 5-0, helped by a last-second Jake Delhomme touchdown pass in Week 1.

The Panthers are back to being the Panthers.  They have won games in the past with their defensive front and now they are winning games with their front once again. Their linebackers are very fast and play downhill and this makes them very effective in zone coverage.  When you have linebackers as fast as the Panthers have and they can tackle as well, this allows you to play zone and force offensive teams to be consistent as they drive the ball down the field.  The Panthers after five weeks of the season look like the class of the NFC South to me. 

FROM JASON REID OF THE WASHINGTON POST… The conclusion: The Washington Redskins were the easy pick for last place in a division stocked with playmakers.  The Redskins themselves, though, found it necessary to reiterate one point. “We went to the playoffs last year,” wide receiver Santana Moss said yesterday in a tone that indicated he believes people forgot. “I mean, come on.”  Off to a 4-1 start that most of the league considers surprising, the Redskins are still reminding others of the four-game winning streak that capped off last season and put the team in the playoffs. With all the offseason tumult — Joe Gibbs’s sudden retirement, a lengthy coaching search that led to Jim Zorn — that salient fact was easy to forget. “That’s why we didn’t do a lot,” executive vice president for football operations Vinny Cerrato said.  They didn’t pursue a major free agent. Their most significant veteran addition came in the form of defensive end Jason Taylor, who was acquired in a trade with Miami only after defensive ends Phillip Daniels and Alex Buzbee went down with season-ending injuries on the first day of training camp.  The same team that finished 9-7 and lost a first-round playoff game at Seattle was left intact to come back and try to improve under a first-year head coach. An approach that might have seemed out of character is now being praised by the players.

I think what they have done with their defense especially in the secondary is amazing.  The Redskins defense this season has faced some of the top offensive teams in the league and held them to below their season averages…in nearly all those games, the Redskins’ opponents had their season low in yards and points against Washington

(Current Rank in parentheses)

Opponent         Total           Offense Yards vs WAS       Scoring Offense        Pts vs WAS

Eagles              342.6 (9^th)               254<<                             25.4 (10th)               17

Cowboys          416.0 (2^nd)               344<<                             30.0 (3^rd)                  24<<

Cardinals          377.8 (5^th)               313<<                              26.5 (10^th)                17<<

Saints               414.3 (3^rd)               250<<                             27.8 (5^th)                  24<<

Giants               400.3 (4^th)              354<<                              27.7 (6^th)                  16<<

<<Season lows in yards and points for opponents

These are amazing numbers and add in the fact they have not turned the ball over all year, and you have why they’ve been so dominating. 

FROM TODD ARCHER OF THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS… That is the price of expectations. “Man, I’ve never seen anything like it,” linebacker Bradie James said. “We come in here, and I guess everybody expects us to be some kind of superheroes, which in essence we kind of are, but man … I come in here on Monday, and I’m trying to enjoy my win, and people are, like, beating us up.  “So it’s really tough, man. Right now, we know with us having so many expectations the only people we can make happy are in this locker room, and that’s really it.” The players have developed a saying this season: Keep the main thing the main thing. In other words: win. “The thing is, a win is a win, which is good,” linebacker DeMarcus Ware said, “but you can’t be satisfied with the way that we won.”  As good as it has been so far, it could be better. •The Cowboys have four takeaways (one interception, three fumble recoveries), but they had 12 in their first five games last year (10 interceptions, two fumble recoveries). •The Cowboys have scored 151 points, most in the league, but they have allowed 111, the third-most by a team with a winning record. •Tony Romo has thrown 11 touchdown passes, tied for second in the NFL, but he has thrown an interception in eight straight games, the longest current streak in the NFL and the third-longest in Jerry Jones’ tenure as an owner. •Ware has five sacks, tied for fifth in the NFL, and has a sack in eight straight games, the third-longest streak in team history, but he did not get near Carson Palmer until the Bengals’ final drive. “We want to start putting whole games together,” defensive end Marcus Spears said. “We want to start playing from the first quarter to the fourth quarter at a high level and not having points in the game where things get away from us or we don’t do things correctly.”The Cowboys got their first interception of the season on the game’s first play.

The two areas I am worried about the Cowboys being able to win the NFC East are: their overall conditioning as a defensive team and their ability to cover.  And for all the talk and for all the expectations, until they accept that the Skins soundly beat them at home, they are not going to make the right improvements to close the gap.  The Skins play was not a fluke, it was real, it was sound and it was better than the Boys—right now.