QUOTE: “From the errors of others, a wise man corrects his own.” -- Syrus
What a weekend in the NFL. Some of the games that were billed as potentially great turned out to be over quickly. Meanwhile, many of the bad teams played extremely hard and eventually found ways to break into the win column.
So much for the dominance of the NFC East. Every team except the Cowboys, who didn’t play, lost. The biggest surprise was the Raiders beating the high-flying Eagles in a game in which Andy Reid again mismanaged things down the stretch (much more about this on Tuesday; I love the emails I’ve already received on this subject). His work Sunday in Oakland might have secured him the title of worst game manager ever to win 100 NFL games.
APMight Baltimore's Antwan Barnes be a fit in Philadelphia?
Trade talks
Tuesday is the trading deadline, but I’m not optimistic there will be many deals. The Browns can’t trade Josh Cribbs (I hear they won’t), but will try to move outside backer/defensive end Kamerion Wimbley, who missed Sunday’s game against the Steelers with the flu. The Ravens will move rush end Antwan Barnes, who might draw some interest from the Eagles. And Jags outside linebacker Quentin Groves is being shopped at a reduced price, in large part because he missed team curfew in Seattle. Mike Sims-Walker also missed curfew, but he’s too vital to the Jags and is one of their best players.
If I were working in the NFL today, I might want to call the Titans since it looks like they might be offering all their players in a fire sale.
Game thoughts
Here are some more postgame thoughts:
1. Mark Sanchez is once again a rookie — and a rookie playing badly right now. The wind in the Meadowlands is something he’s going to have to deal with, and he must learn from his play Sunday. Rex Ryan almost pulled him, but I’m sure he thought, “What could Kellen Clemens do to help us win?”
Mark Sanchez
This season
1st 3 Games Last 3 Games
W-L 3-0 0-3
Comp Pct. 59.0 45.0
Pass YPG 202.0 143.0
TD-INT 4-2 1-8
Passer Rating 87.7 26.5
APLife has not been easy the last three games for Mark Sanchez.
2. Do you think Ryan likes to keep timeouts in his pocket for after the game? This is the second week in a row he’s done this, but he might want to reconsider his thinking. He needs to go back through the game and make mental notes of when he should have called timeouts.
3. How bad are the Bills on offense when they get six turnovers and only score 16 points in almost five quarters?
4. I know this, having watched the Browns-Steelers game live: Whatever they’re paying Eric Mangini, they should pay that same amount to Joshua Cribbs. Cribbs does more to help the Browns win than Mangini. He covers kicks, he returns kicks and he runs the offense. What does he have to do to prove he’s their best asset? The Browns have no offense without Cribbs. He’s my new favorite player — a modern day Jim Thorpe.
5. Nice win by the Raiders, but I wonder why the Eagles never doubled tight end Zach Miller on any play. He’s their only playmaker in the passing game, and to lose when Miller makes plays is really bad on the part of the Eagles’ defensive staff. It’s not a disgrace to lose to the Raiders, but the way the Eagles played was a disgrace.
APMichael Vick continues to be under utilized by Andy Reid.
6. The way that game was going, I’m wondering what kind of game it will take for Andy Reid to use Michael Vick. It seemed like a perfect time to get Vick involved to keep the pressure off the passer and force the Raiders to defend and control the pocket. This Vick move by the Eagles keeps getting more and more bizarre.
7. The Redskins amaze me with their thought process. Their front office thinks the problem is the play calling. Get a clue — your team lacks talent. I wish GM Vinny Cerrato would try and call plays with that offensive line trying to block. It’s a lack of players, not the plays.
8. ‘Skins head coach Jim Zorn might be gone this week, but the problems won’t leave when he walks out the door. Whenever the front office decides the time is right to fire Zorn, the next day the spotlight will be turned squarely on them. The lack of talent on this team is hard to ignore — even DeAngelo Hall knows it.
9. I know Clinton Portis had a huge run, but between him and Chiefs runner Larry Johnson, I’m not sure either will be starting in the NFL next year. Both looked bad to me again.
10. The Titans need to start over — literally. They need to go back to training camp and forget the first six games and start preparing for next season. It keeps going from bad to worse each week. It’s time for Vince Young to start at quarterback, and it’s time to cut bait with all the veterans who don’t play well.
APTom Brady and the Pats' offense certainly regained some confidence after yesterday's win.
11. Is Tom Brady back or are the Titans just that bad? I think that was the kind of game the Patriots’ offensive players needed to regain their confidence.
12. The Bengals had a tough emotional week and a very tough opponent to play in the Houston Texans. Losing Antwan Odom was a killer, and the Bengals don’t have the kind of depth as a football team to overcome such losses. Houston is a bad matchup for the Bengals, and give Matt “I Love Me Some Texans” Bowen credit -- his team finally learned how to play gap-control eight-man-front football.
13. How many more times do we have to watch Tony Gonzalez catch touchdown passes in the red zone when he’s never jammed at the line of scrimmage? When you allow Gonzalez to have a free release, especially in the red zone, you’re asking for trouble. How hard can it be to double him all the time down there?
14. Teams keep forcing Brett Favre to make throws, and he’s responded much better than I could have imagined. He made all the throws and made them at clutch times. The Ravens have been living on the edge all year with their corners, and every time they play a good passing team, unless the rush is dominating, they’re going to have to win with their offense.
15. The Giants walked into a hornet’s nest, and the Saints proved once again they’re for real. These Saints are going to be good all year and might have a bump in the road, but when you watch them play, their execution is what stands out above and beyond everything. Unlike the Redskins, they have players making plays. They’re a talented team, and Sean Payton is a great coach, but their success lies in their execution.
Follow me on Twitter: michaelombardi
Mr. Lombardi, I am interested in hearing your thoughts on Childress calling three runs after the long completion to Sidney Rice at the end of the game. I agreed with the decision, felt they had to take the timeouts and 2 min warning away to give their D a better shot. Also with the best RB in the game and one of the best lines 3 running plays is not necessarily conceding too a field goal. Thanks for all the great insight and analysis.
Hats off to the Saints, they played great yesterday. My question deals with the Giants and their secondary. What do they have to do to help out CC Brown? He has looked horrible all year, including preseason. Losing Kenny Phillips was a major blow, and it hurts even worse with their lack of safety depth. I don't think the corners played all that poorly, NO was attacking the middle of the field where the safeties patrolled. Obvously a
Mike, Al Davis is known for handcuffing his defensive coaches when it comes to blitzing and playing zone. Well yesterday they blitzed like crazy and played a lot of zone, with great results.
Any insights?
When is Mike Tannenbaum going to realize that the main problem with the Jets offense isnt the lack of a WR or additional playmakers, it is with the offensive coordinator. 318 yards rushing, with a rookie QB who has hardly ever played in cold weather, on a rainy day, with 2 WR inactive, and he has him throwing 29 times, throwing even after he as thrown multiple INT's?
How does Schottenheimer still have a job? He has already proven he cannot develop talent. Clemens has regressed in 4 years in this system and he was pretty well though of coming out in the draft. He is totally ignoring the weapons that he has, Keller is a ghost in this offense now. He is going to turn Sanchez into a basket case before the end of this year. He constantly screws up the flow of the offense with all these BS gadget plays. THEY RAN FOR 318 YARDS AND LOST YESTERDAY....The Jets have not had a decent offense since Henning and Parcells. They will never get to the next level with Schottenhiemer as the OC. They need to do something before they set this franchise back another 10 years by destroying another top draft pick.
I like how a guy who helped run the Raiders into the ground can be so critical.
Maybe Vinny Cerrato can write for the National Football Post next year.
Anyone with a brain knows Snyder is the issue in DC, not Zorn - though Zorn isn't endearing himself either. Too bad Snyder doesn't realize this.
Since the Eagles don't seem to have any plan concerning Vick, I wonder if the only reason they signed him was to keep him away from someone else. Maybe the goal was to keep him away from Dallas or Washington?
after watching the Ravens this season, im convinced Mattison is not suited to call plays to fit this defense yet. Losing Scott was big, but the glaring weakness is at corner. Also, Dwan Landry is absoloutley nowhere to be found in games. They need to put in Zbikowski or Nakumura. Foxworth and Washington are not capable of handling bigger recievers and its starting to show pretty quick. I hope they make a trade for a DB soon. The schedule looks A LOT tougher now knowing that the deep ball is to be had against the Ravens.
Im officially starting the Jason Campbell-to-Tennessee hype. They need a QB who is mobile enough to move around, good at playaction, and who can throw the deep ball. campbell is a game manager who can win in this league with talent around him.
I like how Mr. Lombardi considers Hines Ward a marginal player, while Lee Evans gets rave reviews.
I believe I heard somewhere that Ward now leads the NFL in receiving yards, but I'll have to verify that
to continue...Obviously a pass rush would help, but we can't expect Tuck, Umenyiora and Co. to sack the QB every time. Is his veteran leadership so great that they don't even want to test one of the guys on the practice squad, Sha'reff Rashad comes to mind, who has some athletic ability and maybe can make a play? On such a veteran team, with Johnson making the alignment calls anyway, let's play the guy who's athletic and live with a mistake here and there rather than the guy who knows where to be but can't get there or do anything if he is.
Mr Lombardi, is Mark Sanchez's arm strong enough for the NJ winds? If not, did the Jets make a mistake in drafting him?
As you like to say, weather plays a factor on how one should build his team.
The Titans tried to move everybody this past week. The game showed it, when people find out they aren't in the plans for the future, they give up. The game showed it, people are trying to stay healthy enough to get their switch to another team.
New England still lacks defensive speed and I thought Vince would give them trouble since he can get some yards that aren't drawn in the game plan. The wideout play for the Titans is terrible, I'd get Sweed and hook him up with Young once again, what is there to lose at this point when you are winless?
Thanks for keeping the focus on the Redskins' fundamental problem - its owner. It was mindnumbingly frustrating to watch Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison say on NBC last night that they had plenty of talent but lousy coaching -- it's the sort of thing that lightens the pressure on Snyder to diagnose the real problem (him) and fix it (hire a proven coach/gm tandem and give them two-three years). In the interest of the league, it'd be smart leadership for Roger Goodell to find an owner who first tried to micromanage, failed, learned, and then did the right thing - and have that owner talk to Snyder. Having a pathetically overpaid, underperforming team in the Nation's capital does not help the NFL's profile with politicians, and the NFL has significant interests in Congress.
Now that Brady seems to be back on his game, I'm looking forward to seeing what New England does for the rest of the season. Except for 2007, Patriots teams always seem to get better as the season goes forward, and the play of their younger players yesterday has to be encouraging for them as well as what they did with the long ball. It's also interesting that their two losses came against teams with truly detailed information about their system - they probably should have won both games anyway, but it seemed pretty clear during the games that this inside info was a significant benefit to both the Jets and Broncos.
Micheal ,did you see that pass interferance call against Standord Routt,he returned the play for a TD,which would of put the Raiders up by 11,the sports writers are all talking about 2 missed FG by Philly,if the refs would of made the right call the Raiders could of won BIG!!!!!!
Hey Mike, what is Coach Belichick's stance on blowing out teams? It's something funny, I just can't remember the official quote. Isn't it something like: "it's their job to stop us..." Remind us if you have a chance. Thanks.
So glad I stumbled over this site. Thanks @QBKilla
The Jets defense has declined since the return of a supended player. Their scheme is getting quick counted out of some items, but Ryan sends so many people they still end making some plays.
People are not giving the snap count enough time for Ryan to overload one way and bring the blitz from the other, or for late adjustments when he wants to send the DB as well. By doing that they are keeping the blocking rules on an area and getting an extra step to do something. The Jets corner play is phenominal to one side of the field for the most part, and they can wing around the other items giving him different support and looks, having their best corner
take up any slack.
Teams are still getting some of the extra yards on the quicker counts, and movement defenses end up lacking control of gaps if you get the snap or motion tricks down right. They want to stem and switch around, so can the offense, but the offense knows when the ball is snapped....
As for Sanchez, once he gets pick happy with them lacking wideouts you'd maybe consider a wildcat, only the wildcat needs extra wideouts to spread the defense out enough as most teams use it
The Jets high pick tight end is a problem, he can't block to break through wet paper at times and he got false starts when the team is in crucial running spots.
The Jets have some unique items on their team, they can be strengths in the right situation. If you cannot execute, these traits can be played against your range of play. Their great halfback is being limited with teams rolling cover on him, the tight end has got to pick up the slack. This would allow him to hold safeties to one area on vertical stems so those other skill players can make a play in space.
Sanchez had the right idea at times but could not get off the idea when the defense covered that option. Once he glanced a defender helping one route while looking the shotgun snap in, that player left to help the next progression on Edwards for the same play and a pick resulted. Subtle adjutsments ended up taking away his reads, other times he just made bad throws under pressure or his team mates lost the ball.
Considering the factors at play Ryan wanted to roll the dice until it struck paydirt, it might have been what Sanchez needed to turn it around. Seeing Washington run for seven yards a carry or more at times it seemed like they should stay with that, teams are finding front fits that give them a coverage zone around him on the screen game, there's still a run bubble to go at and take what is there. The screen triangle shadows the back, usually that includes a lineman and safety as extra help, they could actually crease the space in there on straight ahead runs.
So, I'd love to hear from all those Titans fans that absolutely killed me in the comments here during the offseason when I suggested that Kerry Collins was a mediocre quarterback and shouldn't be gifted the starting job in Tennessee, and that it would hurt the team if he was. I heard several claims that I was going to be proven wrong by this point of the season, that the Titans would win and Collins would use his magical "game manager" skills to keep the team humming along. Any of those fans willing to eat their crow now?
Game managers win games.
Jason Campbell is a LOSER.
He has always had a good defense on his side and he has failed no matter the scheme or coach.
Josh McDaniels said it all win he said he could win with Kyle Orton and not with Jason Campbell.
Seriously, Mr. Murder. After a 59-0 white-washing you are still ragging on the Patriots defense. They sure miss Seymour's speed. Minus 7 yards passing for an entire game. Sure it was impossible to throw in that weather but still.......................
The Titans should not fire Fisher unless they can bring in someone better. The only people who count as better are Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy. Maybe Mike Shannahan, but maybe not. I think its less likely that he lost the team and more likely that the combination of age and injuries to the defense have turned it into a sieve.
I am a Titans fan, but I don't put the blame on Fisher. It's obvious changes need to be made, the O-line looks older this year, the secondary is banged up and rookies are being plugged in and exposed. A lot of the team is either too young or too old. Chris Johnson and a couple of the young D-line men we have are the only real bright spots on the team at the moment. It's obvious that a lot of players aren't going to be back next season, so where do they go from here? Do they bring in veterans through free agency and trades, do they try to build through the draft? At this point a lot of the Titans future rests in the hands of the GM Reinfeldt (i think thats' how it's spelled). And i'm not sure if he's the guy to be able to make the right decisions with Bud Adams pulling an Al Davis and whispering in his ear.
Andy Reid reverted back to his pass-happy-to-a-fault ways and it cost them big time. What a debacle. Westbrook and McCoy should have combined for 35 carries, especially with the O-Line getting annihilated in pass protection. But no, Andy kept banging his head against the wall over and over and over and over again. Pathetic display. PATHETIC.
One other thing, Assante Samuel is the absolute worst tackler in the league. Please remove him immediately from the Blue or Almost-Blue list.
I'm a Titans fan (and blogger) and I think Fisher has lost the team. His defensive coordinator should be fired immediately, and Mike Heimerdinger is not doing enough to help his team succeed on offense (i.e. get the ball in Chris Johnson's hands as often and as creatively as possible).
The Titans are undisciplined, and you never thought a Jeff Fisher-coached team would play so poorly, especially on defense.
I think if he doesn't start Vince Young and win at least six of the next 10 games, he will be fired. Owner Bud Adams has spoken... he's not happy with 0-6 and he wants VY to play.
C09F: I do think Jason Campbell is talented and is a misfit in Jim Zorn's offense, but the last thing Tennessee needs is another game manager. The Titans need a spark, and VY can give them a spark, warts and all.
To accuse Belichick of running it up is just moronic. The Titans quit in the 2nd quarter. What are you supposed to do, call the game? If they wanted to, the Pats could have broken the all time scoring record yesterday. Tennessee's lack of effort was a total embarassment to the league.
As for Snyder, it's mind boggling how a guy who's obviously smart enough to attain the wealth to buy an NFL franchise can be so pathetically stupid when it comes to operating his team. Hire and experienced GM who's had success in the league and get out of the way. And while you're at it, end this fetish you have about overpaying veterans. You build teams by finding UNDER VALUED players to fit your scheme....not the way you've been trying to do it -- and failing miserably -- for years now.
Yes, it's obvious the Redskins are not a good team, nor are the Titans. I wonder how the Eagles only manage to get the ball in Brian Westbrook's hands 15 times out of 60 plays against the Raiders. The Texans continue to perplex the masses and give credit to the Falcons. This is a legitimate team and they will push New Orleans in the NFC South. Hopefully, the Broncos go 6-0 tonight. Thanks, Lombardi!
VY is not the answer. Plain and simple. The Titans have seen a lot of VY. The last 10 games of this season won't reveal him to be anything more than he is, which is a gifted playmaker incapable of performing consistently on offense. His attitude hinders matters. I think they should play him because Kerry isn't in the future plans anyway, and there is a miniscule chance VY has changed.
Jason Campbell would be good but ONLY IF the Titans think they can have a top five defense again. If the defense projects to be more mediocre then they're going to need somebody better. Of course, you never want to have a just average quarterback but thats better than just bad. The problem is the defense is old and injured. The offensive line is good, the wides are gifted enough but a bit drop happy, we have a good TE waiting in the wings in cook, and the backfield is good. We need a solid QB, plain and simple, and the offensive coordinator needs to run a bit more. I agree with the criticism of Heimerdinger. But that's not a reason to fire him. If Fisher sits him down and the playcalling doesn't change then sure, fire him. We need a DE, an OLB, and one or two CB's. That turns the defense from bad to slightly above average, and its a deep draft.
Before you start calling for Fisher's head remember: as bad as this season is, can you BELIEVE we made the playoffs the year Cleveland spit the bit against Cincy? That was an amazing coaching job. VY, LenDale, and the clowniest offense around got in at 10-6.
"Jason Campbell would be good but ONLY IF the Titans think they can have a top five defense again."
The Skins have had a top five to top ten defense pretty much every year JC has been under center.
He's just not good.His QB rating is decent because he checks down and pads his stats, but he can't go downfield with any accuracy and doesn't see the field at all.
He's a backup at best.
The Titans halfback broke one big run in the first half, and a flag negated most of the gain....
@Richter - If you were here right now I'd do you. That's how impressed I, and everyone who reads this site, am with you and your preseason forecast of Kerry Collins' miserable year. I bet you are really good looking and make a lot of money too. What a dream..ah....
The headline is Brett Favre saves the day, instead of the more proper Ravens kicker misses clutch kick to save the Vikings butts yet again.
So did the Rams still screw up by passing pn the great "Sanchise" or just maybe they know more than you on next years QB class all being more ready to play in the NFL than "Sanchise"
What is up with the Raiders Defense? They played zone, cover two, man to man, they had a blitz package and not only shut down the run but took the Eagles wide receivers out of the game and without Nnamdi playing for much of the game.
The D line were monsters sacking the Eagles 6 times and just missing what could have neen another 4 sacks. I like the new style of play because it gets the most out of all the young talent the Raiders have on that side of the ball and plays to their speed.
It is nice to see the offense for the other team not know what is coming for a change. The last time I saw this kind of play on defense for the Raiders was when Jon Gruden took his Raiders to Indy and had Payton Manning running in circles.
I hope the Raiders continue to mix it up on D, they can still play a bunch of man but mix it up and rock and confuse the other teams offense.
At least the beer goggles are off when it comes to the Jets and Ravens. I imagine some of the pundits are feeling a little queasy today; waking up to the reality that these beauties look a little different with out the kool-aid spiked with east-coast bias hype.
OK, I know Atlanta ended up winning, but was it not a mistake to call a pass play when Atlanta had the ball first-and-goal from the 5 w/ 3:10 left in the game? At the least make them take a TO if you don't score by running the ball on first down.
Chris
Oct 19, 2009
11:02 AM
"I like how a guy who helped run the Raiders into the ground can be so critical.
Maybe Vinny Cerrato can write for the National Football Post next year."
Soooooo, when did Al Davis start writing for the National Football Post? Jess askin'........
@Diana,
My guess on my Raidahs performance yesterday? The heat was on Cable from all sides, so, he said, "I'm gonna run a modern, sophisticated NFL defense and I've got the players to do it. To hades and back with Al Davis." And he was and is right. Oh, he caught flack from Davis today, regardless, but he figured he'd go out on his own terms. Kudos to him.
Mike Lombardi knows the scoop and teases us with pieces of Davis and his meddling in game plans, etc. Interesting thing that game as well as Nnamdi's quote this past week (paraphrasing) about there always being "something" (hint, hint) that distracts the entire team/staff from being able to focus on preparing and playing games. Yes, nothing like the franchise in Alameda.....
@ RHO1953
Bitter Packer Fan - table for one? Bitter Packer Fan - table for one please - your table is right over here.
One other thing, Asante Samuel is the absolute worst tackler in the league.
===
I was going to nominate DeAngelo Hall, but he doesn't really even try to tackle people. If only the NFL were two-hand touch, or maybe flag football.
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(Campbell)'s just not good. His QB rating is decent because he checks down and pads his stats, but he can't go downfield with any accuracy and doesn't see the field at all.
===
Amen to that. Plus he's hardly developed at all in 2 1/2 years. Still the same strengths and weaknesses. He can come in and not blow a game for you. Campbell is a good guy and he should have a long career as an NFL backup. But any team that thinks he's the answer isn't asking the right question.
Before anyone claims to have the "single worst tackler in NFL" on his team, would you mind to watch the Chiefs secondary against Dallas or Browns vs. Steelers yesterday? Then we could argue about bad tackling....
Aside from you missing the point totally, "Nancy", I think I'd need an unbelievable set of beer goggles to even consider that.
If teams keep forcing Favre to throw as much as he has been, he is going to wear out sooner than he usually does at the end of a season. Watch for Favre's game to go down the toilet come November. (Hmmm.. I think they play the Packers Nov. 1, right?)
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Oct 19, 2009
10:42 AM
I would be interested in hearing from Titan fans to see if they think Fisher has lost this team. If there was one major surprise this week for me, it's not the Titans losing but getting embarrassed like they did. I think Fisher is a very good coach, but his team is playing a lot like Shanahan's teams over his last two years. Maybe it's time to inject new blood into that franchise.