1 Dec 2008

QUOTE:  “Every production of genius must be the production of enthusiasm.”  Benjamin Disraeli

RANDOM GAME THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS...

1.     Weather was a great equalizer yesterday, especially on the East Coast.  Road teams were 10-2. 

2.     I love tradition more than anything and don't want to take away the Thanksgiving game from Detroit, but the Lions need to do something to improve or else lose that game.  That was embarrassing.  They are worse than some of the expansion teams I have seen.

3.     How many more road games are the Cardinals going to lose and still be considered a good playoff team?  They are benefiting from a very soft schedule and a very good passing offense. 

4.     I would expect the Giants to place Plaxico Burress on the NFI list, which means Non-Football Related Injury. By doing so, they would not have to pay him his base salary for the rest of the season and could go after his signing bonus. I suspect they have had enough of this circus called Plaxico.  The NFL Network’s Adam Schefter had the best line of all: "The Barney Fife of Hip Hop."  How dumb was that move by Plax?

5.     Besides Antonio Pierce, there was another player involved in the incident, but he did not go to the hospital. He went home.  Smart move.    

6.     Eli Manning played well yesterday, and one thing that was proven in the Redskins-Giants game was that the Skins’ corners could not cover the Giants’ wide outs.  DeAngelo Hall?  Please. 

7.     The Skins just cannot score enough points.  In the past four weeks, they’ve scored 7 (yesterday), 20, 10 and 6.  They are really struggling offensively and just are not able to generate big plays. 

8.     I feel bad for Romeo Crennel. He’s going to be evaluated the next four weeks and he loses his starting quarterback.  What amazes me is why the Browns need four weeks.  I suspect they know what kind of coach he is right now.

9.     Losing Gary Brackett will hurt the Colts, but this week they have the Bengals coming to town.  It helps to have a soft opponent as you sort out your talent. 

10.  Aaron Rodgers has played well, but he missed a moment yesterday to rally the fans and his teammates behind him with a come-from-behind win.  Instead, he threw an interception and left people wondering what could have been had Brett Favre still been there. 

11.  Pittsburgh is really playing well right now and doing a better job of protecting Big Ben. I never thought the Steelers could win on the road with Max Starks at left tackle, but they are.  Holding the Pats to one third-down conversion was just amazing.  When they play on a fast track, their defense is even faster. 

12.  The Patriots are not the same team on defense, and their lack of speed really is hurting them.  They will spend the whole off season repairing their defense.

13.  The Jets should not feel too badly about that game yesterday. The Broncos can throw the ball on anyone, and they attacked the Jets in the best fashion -- all nickel runs and no two-back sets. 

14.  The Jets’ Darrelle Revis is a Pro Bowl player for sure this season.  I rarely ever see a pass completed on him when he is locked on man to man. 

15.  Why do teams run trick plays against the Broncos?  All you have to do is run and execute your offense and it will work.  The Jets gave away points with some of their play calls.  Third and one pass, fourth and one another pass, with only one wide out in the route? 

16.  Did anyone see Jets first rounder Vernon Gholston running after Jay Cutler?  He looked like Herman Munster trying to turn and redirect. 

17.  Peyton Hillis reminds me of Jim Taylor of the Green Bay Packers.  He just moves the chains and is very strong.  He might not be a flashy runner, but he is a productive runner. 

18.  When the Saints got the ball back, I never thought Drew Brees would turn it over TWICE.   The Saints are just not good enough, and Brees might have cost himself the MVP with that performance. 

19.  The Bucs, particularly Jeff Garcia, are hard to watch on offense, but they are so good on defense. Garcia struggles to make plays and is so erratic in the pocket.

20.  It’s over for San Diego this year.   The Chargers just cannot get off the field on third down, and now that Rivers is not playing well, they are struggling on offense.  Forget about LT, Rivers needs to carry the team, and it is hard when you only have the ball on average for 28 minutes. 

21.  Did you notice last night how poorly Darren Sharper was tackling?  He gave the Bears their big plays with his angles and missed tackles. 

22.  Another week and the Raiders cannot get the ball to a wide receiver.  Whomever the next coach is, he needs to bring with him a pro passing game.  What was that call on the fake field goal? 

23.  The Chiefs played 15 rookies and first-year players and still won the game.  Great bounce back game for the Chiefs. 

24.  Minnesota is in the driver’s seat in the NFC North.  How come I don't feel good about that prediction? 

25.  The 49ers won a game with less than 200 yards of offense.  They are the first team to come from the west and win on the east.  Congratulations.