Only in the NFL

The unexpected happens in the NFL, especially in December.  Teams headed to the playoffs lose to horrible teams.  Rookies step up.  Good teams look vulnerable.  It all makes the end of the season very interesting.   Yesterday was filled with some great matchups!  

Favorites from NFL Week 15

Detroit Lions got their fourth win of this season and their first win on the road since 2007.  With a record of 3 – 10, the Lions went down to Florida and beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a playoff contender, 23 – 20 in overtime.  They did this with their third string quarterback, Drew Stanton.  Lions fan should be excited about where they will be next year with a healthy Matthew Stafford.

New York Jets bounced back after losing two games in a row and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 22 -17.  Pittsburgh attempted a come back, but it was unsuccessful.  After being humiliated by the New England Patriots and Miami Heat, the Jets got their first win in December and held on to the Wild-Card playoff spot.

Baltimore Ravens beat the New Orleans Saints, 30 -24 at home.  The defending Super Bowl champs had not lost a game since October.   Baltimore’s offense and defense was on point.  Ray Rice led the offense with 153 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while the defense limited the Saints to just 27 rushing yards.  Both teams are fighting to keep a Wild-Card playoff spot.

Redskins fans had been boasting a better record and a victory over their division rival, Dallas Cowboys.  All of that is over now.  While the Redskins experimented with benching quarterback, Donovan McNabb for Rex Grossman, the Cowboys are ending strong.  Dallas led the entire game.  Washington fought back but missed a field goal to tie the game.  Dallas won, 33 – 30.  The Cowboys and Redskins are tied for third place in the NFC East at 5-9.

While Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Washington failed at coming back, but quarterback Michael Vick and the Eagles got it done.  Philadelphia was trailing the New York Giants by 14 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter.  Vick passed, ran and scored a touchdown to get the Eagles 28 points in the final quarter of the game!  This is why he is leading Pro Bowl voting.  Philadelphia won, 38 – 31.

Rookie Debut

Quarterback Tim Tebow made his first start in the NFL.  He had 138 passing yards, 78 rushing yards and a touchdown.  It was a good start to his NFL career, but not enough for the Denver Broncos to beat the Oakland Raiders.  The Raiders won, 39 -23.

Are you ready for some football?

Tonight MNF is going to cold Minnesota, but not to the Metrodome.  The Chicago Bears will play the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium, home of the University of Minnesota football team.  This is the result of Metrodome collapsing last Sunday.  Officials ruled that it could not be repaired in time, the Bears petitioned the NFL to disallow the game at TCF Bank, but the show is going on.  Outside of the Brett Favre drama, this game is centered on Chicago keeping its playoffs hopes alive.  Right now Chicago is leading the NFC North, 9-4; but the Green Bay Packers are right behind them.  They meet for the final game of the season.  I think that Chicago will keep it together, while the Vikings still figure out who they are after a crazy season.  MNF kicks off at 8:30 pm on ESPN.

Ciao! 

Heels & Helmets®

New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens at the top of the class

I can’t believe it.  The first quarter of the 2010 NFL Season is just about over.  You know what that means.  Quarter exams.  In Week 4 in the NFL, some teams passed their exams, some barely survived and others failed miserably. 

Top of the class.

The New York Jets are leading their division and LaDainian Tomlinson (LT) is running like he is in his twenties.  Buffalo did not have a chance against them yesterday.  The Jets won easily 38-14.  The Baltimore Ravens defense rallied and gave the Pittsburgh Steelers their first loss of the season.  Ray Lewis had an interception late in the game that sealed the Ravens 17-14 victory.  The Steelers were without their starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, but defense wins championships.

Just passing.

The Altanta Falcons barely beat the winless San Francisco 49ers, 16 -14.  The Washington Redskins won yesterday 17-12 against the Philadelphia Eagles (making Donovan McNabb’s return to Philadelphia pretty sweet), but the Eagles were without their new savior, Michael Vick.  The victory does not elevate them because they are in a division in which every team has loss twice.  The New Orleans Saints offense is struggling.  Luckily, they brought back 46 year old, John Carney, who made 3 field goals that put them 16 -14 over the Carolina Panthers.

Failing.

The Indianapolis Colts are not playing to their potential and have a disappointing record of 2-2.  The Chicago Bears only managed a field goal in a loss to the New York Giants.  The Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Carolina and San Francisco are looking forward to their first win of the season.

Incomplete.

Shockingly, Kansas City Chiefs is the only undefeated team left in the league.  Like the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they had a bye in Week 4.  These teams will finish up their first quarter next week.  If the Chiefs pull out a victory over Indiana, teams will start to take them seriously.

New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins play tonight on Monday Night Football.  Both teams have former Michigan quarterbacks as starters.  Tom Brady (Patriots) may teach the younger Chad Henne (Dolphins) a few things, but I don’t think that the Patriots defense will stop Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown or Brandon Marshall.  I’m going with Miami to win and take second place in the AFC East.

In college football, Oregon moved to #3 in the rankings.  Boise State is still undefeated, but they already had a week off so they are only 4-0.  Even with an unblemished record, we may see Boise State move down again.  They do not have a challenging schedule.  So, if a team like Auburn or Nebraska beats a ranked opponent it will look more impressive than Boise pounding on San Jose State.

Alabama #1 dominated Florida #14 (they moved down from #7).  A week after they almost suffered a loss to Arkansas, the Crimson Tide rolled over the Gators and held them to just 6 points.   They only have 3 more ranked opponents on their schedule, Auburn #8, LSU #12 and South Carolina #19.  After this weekend’s game against South Carolina, they will not face any tough competition until November.

Ohio State #2 and Terrelle Pryor are still leading the Big Ten, but they made Buckeye fans worry on Saturday.  Although they won, they struggled against an unranked Illinois team.  Considering that Alabama crushed a top 10 team, it’s surprising to me that the Buckeyes still received a first place vote in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls.  

In other areas of the Big Ten, star quarterback, Denard Robinson, saved Michigan #18.  His 277 passing yards and 217 rushing yards are the reasons Michigan is still undefeated.  Michigan State #17 upset Wisconsin #20 adding more intensity to their match up against Michigan on Saturday.  The rivals will enter Michigan Stadium without a loss and battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy.  Paul has been away from Michigan for a couple of years.  After Saturday, he’ll back in his plush arrangements in Ann Arbor.  Am I biased? Of course.  Go Blue!

Ciao! 

Heels & Helmets

The NFL opened its doors, school is in session

The NFL is in full swing!  NFL Kickoff weekend is like the first day of school.  New coaches, new players, new stadiums lead fans to get new TVs, grills, NFL game packages and of course gear.  This is all necessary to start the school year.  Ask any kid; you can’t go back to school without new supplies and new gear!

The two things that always made me anxious about the first day of school were the unknown and a new beginning.  I did not know what to expect from my new teacher.  Older students may have told me about the teacher, but I had not experienced his or her class myself.   Week 1 in the NFL is the same way.  It is the only week that teams prepare for without regular season game tapes of their opponents.  Sure they read about training camp and watch some preseason games, but teams will not truly know what the other teams are made of until the first game of the regular season.

So how was the first day of school?  Let’s take a look.

Welcome Back Carroll - Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks Head Coach, enthusiastically returned to a NFL sideline after coaching the University of Southern California Trojans for 9 seasons.  He was welcomed back with smiles and the smiles got bigger after Seattle trampled on the 49ers 31 – 6.

Unfair Detention – The Detroit Lions loss to the Chicago Bears 19 – 14 at home.  Many blame this on Calvin Johnson’s “touchdown” being ruled incomplete.  For the record, according to NFL Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 1 it was incomplete.  The rule states:

Going to the ground. If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.

The rule may need to be changed, but as Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz said, “He didn’t finish with the football.”  I really respect Coach Schwartz not blaming this loss on one call or one play.  Four quarters of football were played and the loss does not simply rest on a play that happened in the last 31 seconds of the game.  Going forward, the problem for the Lions is that their starting quarterback, Matthew Stafford, suffered a shoulder injury and may be out 4 – 6 weeks.  Just when I had them winning 4 games this year. 

Needed more summer school – The Redskins beat rival, Dallas Cowboys at home 13 – 7, but it was not because they did anything great.  Redskins quarterback, Donovan McNabb, showed hints that he can still compete at an elite level with nice completions to Santana Moss and one run of 17 yards.  However, the offensive line did not protect well and the defense was lackluster.  On the other side of the ball, the Cowboys offense just couldn’t connect and the defense seemed confused.  Both teams need some work.  It was a disappointing matchup that was supposed to be a battle between archenemies.

Bullies not so scary after all – With thousands of microphones around to catch every word that Cincinnati wide receivers, Ochocinco and T.O. say; I was expecting the dynamic duo to be a threat and… catch a lot more balls.  Despite both receivers reaching milestones, Ochocinco surpassed 10,000 passing yards and T.O. topped 15,000, the offense did not live up to the hype.

Teachers Pet – Over the weekend, Tom Brady, became the highest paid player in the NFL.  The $72 million contract makes the two-time Super Bowl MVP a Patriot for four more years.  New England Head Coach Bill Belichick summed up his feelings on the contract extension by saying, “There’s no other quarterback I’d rather have.”  Yesterday, Brady displayed why.  He had 258 yards, completed over 71% of his passes, did not throw an interception and led the Patriots to a 38 - 24 win over Cincinnati.

After school – Tonight Monday Night Football (MNF) starts the regular season with a double header.  The Baltimore Ravens head to the New Meadowlands Stadium to face the New York Jets at 7 p.m. EST and the Kansas City Chiefs will open its doors to the San Diego Chargers at 10:15 p.m. EST.  My thoughts?  The Jets and Ravens both have strong defenses and new additions to their offense, but I’m giving the edge to the Jets.  As for Kansas and San Diego, there is no competition.  Even without LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers will win in Arrowhead Stadium.

College men - The ACC had a bad weekend because their four ranked teams (Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech and last season’s conference champ, Georgia Tech) lost to nonconference opponents.  Miami is the only school that remains in the ranking at #17.  The Big 10 is shining.  Penn State #22 loss to Alabama, but the conferences other three ranked teams (Ohio State #2, Iowa #9 and Wisconsin #12) all pulled out victories.  Michigan entered the top 25 at #20 (AP) and #22 (USA Today) after beating Notre Dame. 

Ciao! 

Heels & Helmets

“The Answer” for T.O.

Terrell Owens (T.O.) is a free agent still looking for a job in the NFL.  The 6-Time Pro Bowler known for his “excessive celebrations” is watching everyone else start training camp while he tries to get a NFL contract.  One of his most memorable celebrations happened during a Monday Night Football game when he was with the San Francisco 49ers.  After a 61-yard touchdown pass, he pointed to his wristband with the words, “The Answer” inscribed on it.  He did it because, in his own words, “I am the answer.”  Seven years later and after stops with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills, T.O. is trying to get “an answer” to join someone’s locker room.

I have “the answer” for T.O.

T.O. is without a job because of his unrealistic view of his value, not his skill set.  Despite what people say about his last season with the Bills, he still had over 800 receiving yards, which could help several teams.  However, this does not put him in the category of the top 10 receivers who acquired over 1150 yards last season.  Hines Ward and Randy Moss both have just two years less experience than Owens and they earned 1167 and 1264 yards respectively.  They are “the answers.”

Owens and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, are trying to negotiate a deal as if T.O. is “the answer” that a team can count on to put up 1300 yards plus in one season.  To get T.O. on a team, they will have to lower their salary demands and expectations that he be the #1 receiver.  Teams are not going to pay $5 million for a 36 year-old veteran to come off the bench and jeopardize the game with a 15-yard penalty for “excessive celebration.”  This is not “the answer.”

Secondly, T.O. has to understand his role as a veteran.  Teams pay veterans not just for what they do on the field, but the leadership that they provide in the locker room.  T.O. has a reputation for being disruptive in the locker room and blasting teammates to the media.  He called Jeff Garcia a homosexual, implied that Donovan McNabb was lazy, and said that Tony Romo was distracted by his girlfriend.  This would be tolerated if he was going to bring in 1400 receiving yards, but owners do not want to deal with a cancerous player in the locker room for half of that production.  That’s not “the answer” to building camaraderie on the team. 

T.O. will get a job because he is still a decent receiver.  He works hard and keeps himself in great shape.  Mike Brown, the owner of the Cincinnati Bengals has left the door open for him to join his good friend, Chad Ochocino, in “The Nasty Nati.”  If he does not reach an agreement with the Bengals, we will see T.O. sign with a contract after training camp with a team who is desperate to fill in the gap for an injured player or rookie who needs more time to develop.   Either way, it will not be on his terms.

T.O. is no longer “the answer.”  He is an option.

Ciao!

Heels &  Helmets

Not So Fast On Draft Picks, Vets Are Still Being Traded

The 2010 NFL Draft is a little over a week away, but I can’t get to my first round picks just yet.  Trading season is not over and I think that we might see a couple of moves before the draft that would totally ruin any mock draft.  (Forgive me, my NCAA Men’s Final Four bracket was busted after the first weekend, so I am being a little cautious.)  Now, let’s look at a surprise that could happen among the vets before we start welcoming people to the NFL.

The St. Louis Rams will be on the clock first next week to select the No. 1 Pick of the 2010 NFL Draft.  Clearly, they need a quarterback.  This year’s draft class has several quarterbacks, but none of them are superstars that are ready to take a snap in the NFL and lead their team.  Sam Bradford is the top prospect at this position.  His performance was limited last season because of a shoulder injury.  He could not participate in the NFL Combine, but after his pro day, comparisons to Dallas Cowboys’ Hall of Famer, Troy Aikman, began.   So, it is widely believed that the Rams will get their future quarterback with the No. 1 Pick.

I think that the Rams could shock everyone and acquire Jason Campbell from the Washington Redskins. With McNabb now dressed in burgundy and gold, it is obvious who will start at quarterback in Washington and trading Jason is almost guaranteed.  Jason is not among the elite quarterbacks in the league.  After 5 seasons, it seems as if he is still timid and has not developed into a leader.  In fairness the guy has had to learn a million offensive systems in his short career.  OK, not a million, but if he could have played in the same system for a few years, I think that his development would have been better. 

Comparisons to great people, do not always translate to great performances.  Jason has struggled, but he knows what it feels like to be a quarterback in the NFL.  He has experienced a snap, a blitz and could start for the Rams immediately.  This move allows St. Louis to fill the quarterback position with a veteran, spend less money on a young quarterback later in the draft who can spend a couple of years learning and get another pick or two.  Plus, it will open the door for them to add a skilled player to their defense and use the No. 1 Pick next week’s draft to select …

I’ll tell you next week.

Ciao!

Heels &  Helmets

 

Not Sure Why, But McNabb is A Redskin

Donovan McNabb is trading in philly steaks for crabcakes.  He is leaving “Liberty City” for the “Capital City.”  He is hanging up his green and white jersey for a burgundy and gold one, but he is not leaving the NFC East.  Yes, it’s imminent; the 6- time Pro Bowler is now a Washington Redskin.

I think that this is a great move for the Redskins, but I am really shocked that the Philadelphia Eagles allowed it to happen and Donovan wanted to go there.  The Redskins needed a quarterback and they run a west coast offense.  McNabb is like synonymous with west coast offense, so the Redskins have just improved their team.  However, their offensive line has struggled, so this addition does not make them Super Bowl contenders.  This is why I am surprised that a veteran quarterback entering his 12^th season with only one Super Bowl appearance, would go to a place that has one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL.   I thought that he would want to go to a team that was… let’s just say, a little closer to reaching the Super Bowl. 

What surprises me even more is Philadelphia letting him go to a divisional rival! They have to play the Redskins twice during the regular season and if both teams end up in the playoffs, they could meet each other for a third time.  All of these meetings could be vengeful.  I also think that they made a mistake trading a proven quarterback at this time, to pass the leadership to a quarterback that has only played in a couple of NFL games in 3 seasons.  At 33, McNabb is old in the NFL, but he is not ailing.  He is not as fast as he was when he left Syracuse, but he is still quick and does not have any problem throwing the ball.  He is only behind Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in most wins among active quarterbacks. 

The Redskins are definitely going to do better than 4 wins this season.  They solidified the key position of quarterback and are headed in the right direction.  Now to make the playoffs and go deep in the post season, they must make some major improvements to their offensive line.  McNabb is really good, but he cannot block or tackle for himself.  The game begins at the line of scrimmage and a team with an offensive line that is in the bottom four of the league is not going to hoist up the Lombardi Trophy.  Great move, Coach Shanahan, now compliment it with some good offensive tackles.

Ciao!

Heels &  Helmets

NFL Teams and Players Talk, But Nothing Is Imminent

The word of the week is imminent.  NFL teams are looking at free agents and assessing college players, but nothing is imminent.

Pacman Jones is trying to make his second comeback.  Excuse me, I meant Adam Jones.  (He has grown and matured, so he no longer wants to be referred to as Pacman.)  Jones is a great cornerback, but he has gotten into a lot of trouble off the field.  Although he was drafted in the first round of the 2005 Draft, he only has 2 1/2 years of experience playing in the NFL.  He was suspended the entire 2007 season.  The Dallas Cowboys gave him a second chance and acquired him for the 2008 season.  As a result of another suspension and an injury, he only played half of that season.  The Cowboys released him in February 2009 and he did not play at all last year.  Pacman (Adam) conducted a workout for NFL teams a week ago and proved that he can still play.  The Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers, have all expressed an interest in Jones.  The Lions were last in total defense last year, so they could use a talented cornerback.  It appears as if they have demonstrated the strongest interest, but a signed deal is not imminent. 

Rumors are continuing to spread about Donovan McNabb, a veteran quarterback in the last year of his contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.  He has spent his entire career so far with the Eagles and expressed that he would like to stay in Philly.  I am hearing that Buffalo, Minnesota and Oakland are possible new homes for McNabb.  If he does not stay in Philly, I could see him going to the Vikings.  He has been to the Super Bowl, but does not have a ring.  Minnesota was one game away from being the Champs and I think that this gives the edge to Minnesota.  The Vikings are probably waiting on Brett Favre to make a decision on returning on or not.  So they like McNabb, but a trade deal is not imminent.

Now there is something that is imminent – the new overtime rule for the playoffs.  Last week the owners voted 28-4 to change the rule.  The new rule ensures that both teams will have an opportunity to possess the ball once during overtime.  If the team that possesses the ball first scores a field goal on its initial possession, the other team will have the opportunity to possess the ball and attempt to score. If the team with the ball first scores a touchdown, the game is over.  Overtime will continue with additional 15-minute periods until a team scores and wins. 



The owners will vote on the location for Super Bowl 2014 at their meeting in May.  Miami, New York and Tampa Bay are in the running, but the announcement of the winner is not imminent.

Ciao!
Heels  & Helmets