In the wake of the their 29-24 win over the 49ers on Monday night, Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic writes that these aren’t the same old Cardinals.
The Same Old Cardinals wouldn’t have displayed fourth-quarter poise despite stretches of erratic defensive play. And then just like that, linebacker Karlos Dansby kept the Cardinals alive with an interception that gave his team the ball at the 49ers’ 5-yard line with 5:06 remaining.
Are you kidding me?
The Same Old Cardinals wouldn’t have scored two plays later, on a 4-yard pass to Anquan Boldin.
Don’t dismiss this victory because the 49ers came into the game with a 2-6 record. They have shortcomings, but they also have taken on the personality of their high-energy coach, Mike Singletary. They’re nothing if not gritty. Their quarterback change, from J.T. O’Sullivan to Shaun Hill, too, has served them well.
I wouldn’t go as far as to dismiss the victory and I get Boivin’s point, but the 49ers essentially handed the Cards a win. Hill’s underhand throw to Adrian Wilson was boneheaded and the decision to rush a handoff at the goal line instead of spiking the ball with four seconds remaining was ridiculous. Hill should have downed the ball and got a better play call in because he had time.
San Fran gave ‘Zona a win by turning the ball over and mishandling the goal line situation at the end. Yes the Cardinals can score, but I don’t see them getting out of the first round of the playoffs with that defense. Not only that, but they won’t be prepared to face the best of the NFC East or South by beating up on the lousy teams in their division all year.
How bad does a team have to be if the opposing quarterback can go 7 of 27 for 72 yards, throw four interceptions and still win?
That opposing quarterback was Jake Delhomme in the Panthers’ 17-6 win over the Raiders on Sunday. He was worst than the numbers indicate, but while Oakland moved the ball decently, they couldn’t put it in the end zone. They did rush for 147 yards, but Andrew Walter threw two interceptions and Da Raiders turned the ball over a total of three times.
Of course, Walter’s 143 passing yards were still better than JaMarcus Russell’s high of 31 passing yards in last Sunday’s loss against the Falcons. While Walter was far from even below average, he probably was more productive than Russell (who dressed, but sat out due to an injury) would have been.
This could very well be the worst Raiders team in the history of the franchise and Al Davis has nobody to blame but himself. Davis wanted to have his thumb on Lane Kiffin when he was head coach and when Lane didn’t abide, Al saw to it that he was replaced. Well as it turns out, the Raiders were actually still playing hard under Kiffin because they saw direction. There is no direction under interim head coach Tom Cable (not all his fault) and the players are quitting.
Davis won’t, but he needs to step aside. He needs to get a strong front office person in charge to do all the day-to-day operations or else the Raiders will sink further and further into oblivion. Al thinks that flashy draft picks and high priced free agents are what build a winning football team and he’s sadly mistaken.
Somewhere Lane Kiffin smiles and laughs from afar.
You never want games to come down to instant replay decisions, but unfortunately it’s unavoidable in the NFL. And hey, at least the NFL has instant replay to insure that the correct calls are made.
The Giants got the benefit of two back-to-back challenges in their 36-31 win over the Eagles on Sunday night. The first was when Eli Manning appeared to have crossed the line of scrimmage on an attempted pass on a 3rd and 10 from the Philadelphia 20 yard line early in the third quarter. Manning completed the pass for a first down, but the refs had ruled he had crossed the line of scrimmage, which led to a loss of down. But Tom Coughlin wisely challenged the play and the call was reversed because replay (kind of sort of) showed that Manning’s right heel was still behind the line of scrimmage.
The Giants were awarded a first down and after a dropped touchdown reception by Kevin Boss, Brandon Jacobs scored on a three-yard touchdown run. Of course Jacobs fumbled, but refs said he had broken the plane. Andy Reid challenged, but replay showed that the ball did (kind of sort of) crossed the end zone while Jacobs still had the ball. With the touchdown, New York took a 27-24 lead and never trailed from that point.
The calls were close, but it appeared that the refs got them both right. Regardless, both of these teams are better than what they showed Sunday night. They each combined for four turnovers and while Donovan McNabb threw three touchdown passes, he wasn’t particularly sharp. Of course the Giants had a lot to do with that, taking away Philly’s running game and forcing McNabb to throw into tight passing windows.
The key in this game was that the Eagles couldn’t stop Jacobs and the rest of the Giants’ plethora of running backs. New York owned the line of scrimmage and have found an emerging red zone threat in tight end Kevin Boss, who is cheaper than Jeremy Shockey and less disruptive.
With the win, the Giants are now 7-1 in the division. But that NFC East is going to be a dogfight until the end.
It’s that old notion – go for two and make it, you’re a genius. Go for two and fail to convert, you’re a goat. Well, Kansas City head coach Herman Edwards will have to play goat this week as his decision to go for two late in the fourth quarter in San Diego on Sunday backfired as the Chargers beat the Chiefs 20-19.
It’s hard to criticize Edwards (or any head coach for that matter) who goes for two when his team is 1-8 and on the road. When the Chiefs scored to cut the deficit to 20-19 with only 29 seconds remaining in the game, they had stolen on the all momentum after driving 60 yards on 14 plays. Edwards figured that his best chance to win was right there at the goal line, instead of trying his luck in overtime. Again, at 1-8, screw it. Go for the win. Obviously it didn’t work out well for Herm, but I don’t blame him for the thought process.
Even though his team lost, what a game by quarterback Tyler Thigpen (27 for 41, 266 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs). Maybe he has a place in the league after all. It appears that KC has taken the training wheels off him the past couple weeks and have allowed him to throw downfield. He looked great Sunday, especially throwing to tight end Tony Gonzalez, who had a fantastic touchdown catch in this game that showed his immense concentration.
Speaking of which, the Chargers shouldn’t scare anyone. They’re pedestrian at best and their defense still has a ton of holes. Whichever team between them and Denver gets to nine wins this year will win the AFC West.
Two weeks ago the Indianapolis Colts were stomped by division rival Tennessee on Monday night and at 3-4, things looked rather bleak. But since then, the Colts have rattled off wins over two top teams in the AFC and all of a sudden the tide is turning for a franchise that everyone expects to be a lock every year for the postseason.
While it’s nice that Peyton Manning (21 of 40, 240 yards, 3 TDs) has shaken off some rust, the Colts can thank their defense for their back-to-back victories the past two weeks. Indy picked off Ben Roethlisberger three times on Sunday and held the Steelers to only 55 yards rushing. It’s absolutely amazing what Bob Sanders means to their defense and the play Melvin Bullitt made in the end zone at the end of the game was phenomenal.
At some point, the Colts are going to need to get their running game back on track because they’re not going to win many games when they only rush for only 62 yards. But there’s no question Indy is a dangerous team again and with Houston, San Diego, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Detroit coming up over the next month and a half, there’s no reason to think that they can’t go on a huge run.
Remember when Jim Haslett took over for Scott Linehan about a month ago and the Rams beat the Redskins in Washington and then crushed the Cowboys at home the very next week? Well, those wins are nothing but a distant memory.
The Jets hammered the Rams 47-3 at Giants Stadium on Sunday, but it wasn’t even that close. St. Louis trailed 40-0 at halftime, turned the ball over five times, managed only 200 total yards and were just 4 of 10 on third downs. Even when they marched into the red zone, they still couldn’t muster any points.
It was impressive how the Rams responded when Haslett was chosen as interim coach. They showed emotion, played inspired and actually resembled a football team. But their last two games have shown that the front office needs to completely blow this team up. They need a new quarterback because Marc Bulger has been a disaster and Trent Green should have retired two years ago. They need an offensive line. They need a secondary and they need a new direction.
As for the Jets, I know Brett Favre gets all the attention for the team’s turnaround this year but the defense deserves a ton of credit too. Eric Mangini has the defense playing more aggressively and unsung players like Abram Elam are stepping up big. If the Jets make the playoffs this year, Favre would have played a big part. But it’ll be the defense that will determine just how far they eventually go.
Stop hesitating and say it: The Atlanta Falcons are a playoff contender. Their 6-3 record isn’t a fluke. They’re that good.
Yes, three of their victories are against the Lions, Chiefs and Raiders. They’ve also gone into Lambeau and beaten the Packers, topped the Kyle Orton-led Bears and in their latest victory, crushed the Saints 34-20 on Sunday. (The only reason the score was that close is because New Orleans scored on a fluke “Hail Mary” pass as time expired.)
Matt Ryan (16 of 23, 248 yards, 2 TDs) has lifted the Falcons to contender-status, but it’s not just him. Michael Turner was a fantastic free agent signing. Jerious Norwood can take one to the house every time he touches the ball. Roddy White has developed into a true No. 1 receiver. Michael Jenkins is finally living up to his first round status. And the defense has been much, much better than people expected.
Speaking of the defense, they intercepted Drew Brees three times on Sunday and returned one of those picks for a touchdown. First-year head coach Mike Smith has completely turned Atlanta’s defense around and the players have bought into his philosophy of playing physical.
As for the Saints, little is going right for them. Injuries have started to mount and at 4-5, they’re two-three games behind every team in a stacked NFC South. Frustration is starting to boil over, too, as cameras caught Drew Brees screaming at Jeremy Shockey on the sidelines on Sunday. Not that Brees was out of line – Shockey looks like he’s already given up. He’s not as involved in the offense as he thought he would be and it looks like he’s not even running full routes any more. There’s no question that Billy Miller is the Saints’ best tight end right now.
These are two teams heading in vastly different directions.
Several pundits were talking a Bears’ upset of the Titans Sunday at Solider Field, but it wasn’t meant to be as Tennessee won 21-14 to stay undefeated on the season. With Rex Grossman starting for Chicago, are we surprised by the outcome?
Rex wasn’t horrible (he did complete 20 of 37 passes for 173 yards and a TD), but as been the case for much of his career, he once again failed to deliver in the clutch. When the Bears cut the Titans’ lead to 21-14 with just under three minutes remaining in the game, Grossman failed to even pick up a first down despite great field position and the game on the line. He telegraphed passes, he locked on to receivers and he couldn’t do anything on third downs.
But this loss wasn’t all Grossman’s fault. Don’t forget, the Titans’ defense is pretty good. Not only that, but Grossman doesn’t cover receivers, either. The Bears’ defense sold out to stop the run, which they did by holding the Titans to only 20 yards rushing, but they got zero pressure on Kerry Collins and he picked Chicago’s banged up secondary apart. Either way, the Bears need Kyle Orton back soon or else their playoff hopes don’t stand much of a chance. They’re fortunate to play in such a mediocre division.
Had the Titans not fumbled on the goal line in the first half, this could have been a blowout. Everyone is waiting for Tennessee to falter, but this truly is the best team in the NFL and despite being 9-0, they’re also underrated. No flash – all production.
There’s a reason why players play and coaches coach. While I marvel Adrian Peterson’s competitiveness and enthusiasm, the stunt he pulled in the fourth quarter of the Vikings’ 28-27 win over the Packers on Sunday was ridiculous.
With Green Bay up 24-21 and Minnesota facing a 4th and 1 from their own 41-yard line, Peterson started screaming at head coach Brad Childress to go for it. The spineless Childress obliged, Peterson wound up fumbling on the play and the Packers eventually turned the gift into a field goal to go up 27-21.
Granted, Peterson saved the game and perhaps Minnesota’s season when he busted off a 29-yard touchdown run with just over 2 minutes remaining to put the Vikes up 28-27, but he needs to leave the decisions up to Childress and Minnesota’s coaching staff. And Childress needs to grow a pair and tell Peterson that he makes the calls. Going for it in that situation with that much time on the clock was a bad decision. But Childress should be allowed to screw up without Peterson in his face.
On a lighter note, this was a massive win for the Vikes, who are now tied with the Bears atop the NFC North at 5-4. While they still look shaky at times, Minnesota is right back in it despite a slow start to the season.
Conversely, this loss really stings the Packers. Mason Crosby missed a 52-yard field goal that could have won the game in the end. They’re still 2-1 in the division, but next week is huge as they host the Bears.
Side Note: Will Blackmon’s 65-yard punt return for a touchdown was absolutely sick. Watch the highlights if you haven’t seen it already.
The Same Old Cardinals wouldn’t have displayed fourth-quarter poise despite stretches of erratic defensive play. And then just like that, linebacker Karlos Dansby kept the Cardinals alive with an interception that gave his team the ball at the 49ers’ 5-yard line with 5:06 remaining.
