After Arizona’s Matt Leinart was pulled from today’s game, the team rallied around quarterback Kurt Warner. The biggest question this brings up is whether the team will start Leinart or Warner next week against Pittsburgh. Again the team will be playing a tough defense and you have to wonder whether Whisenhunt will put in the quarterback that gives his team the best opportunity to win. If that’s Warner, which it probably is thanks to his experience, what about Leinart’s confidence? Never in his career has he really fought through adversity like this. It will be a very interesting storyline, no doubt.
I’m beginning to think Pittsburgh is the best team in the NFL. New coach Mike Tomlin has done a great job making sure his players do what they do best: smash-mouth gameplay. He’s focusing on the running game to set up Ben Roethlisberger and keep the game off his shoulders. And that defense is easily among the top 3 in the NFL this year. Another convincing win moves them to 3-0 and I see no reason they shouldn’t be in Super Bowl talks right now.
Where did last season’s MVP go? LaDainian Tomlinson has been contained by every defense he’s faced this season and that’s put a lot of pressure on Philip Rivers. His response hasn’t always been great and he’s looked flustered. The Chargers must establish the run game more effectively if they hope to make a run at the playoffs and beyond.
Speaking of that, did you see that Green Bay’s Brett Favre tied Dan Marino for most passing touchdowns over a career, 420? It actually seemed like Mike McCarthy was calling plays to make the record a reality this week (at home), calling passes (from shotgun?) at the goal line.
How are the Rams this bad with so much offensive talent? Marc Bulger threw 116 yards, 0 TDs, and 3 interceptions in a losing effort today while Steven Jackson managed 115 yards on 30 carries, but no scores. This offense should be putting up a ton of points, but instead they’ve scored only 32 points this season and they rank near the bottom of the league in every significant offensive category. No way this should be happening, but they’re 0-3 at this point and I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished 4th in the division.
In case you were worried Philadelphia was through, rest assured their offense is still there. 42 points in the first half against 2-0 upstart Detroit and the Eagles coasted to a victory while Brian Westbrook (221 yards from scrimmage, 3 TDs), Kevin Curtis (221 receiving yards, 3 TDs), and Donovan McNabb (381 yards passing, 4 touchdowns) split MVP.
Looks like Miami and Buffalo are just about done this season. Both sit at 0-3 and the latter was crushed today by division rival New England, 38-7. Meanwhile, the Jets are the only team that looks as if it can contend with New England, at least a little bit. It’s only unfortunate that everything the Patriots do from now on will need to be looked at in the same light as steroid use in baseball when a record is broken. Bill Belichick has marred not only his reputation, but that of the team. It’s not something anyone will be able to live down this season. Asterisk, anybody?
Hmmm… Denver’s renowned running game was nowhere to be found today when the Jaguars handled the Broncos, 23-14. Jay Cutler threw for 200+ yards again, but Travis Henry managed only 11 carries for 35 yards, though not entirely his fault. Mike Shanahan and the Broncos didn’t have control of the ball enough this game and the Jaguars controlled the tempo, holding the ball for nearly 40 minutes of play.
Speaking of that game, what happened to Maurice Jones-Drew?! He’s been a fantasy disappointment all season long and once again he did little in terms of production, only 37 yards on 15 carries. Heck, David Garrard out-rushed him with 52 yards on 12 carries.
The Cinderfella story had to end sometime, right? Matt Schaub and the Texans fell today to defending champs, Indianapolis, though not without a fight. In fact, Peyton Manning was held back… sort of. He threw for 273 yards and only one touchdown, though Joseph Addai made up for it with 2 on the ground. Schaub, meanwhile, had only 6 incompletions on the day, 2 of which were interceptions. Not that he and the Texans won’t make a run at the playoffs: they had a good game today, just not good enough. Schaub must limit his mistakes in the future.
Oh. My. God. The Oakland Raiders got their first win of the season today off a blocked field goal with 3 seconds left. Talk about pulling through when it matters. Also, quarterback controversy is brewing in Oakland, and both Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown played today. Each posted similar numbers, though McCown had a touchdown pass. Biggest surprise? No interceptions for the Raiders.
The Panthers just pulled out the win today over Atlanta, though it’s bittersweet. Jake Delhomme is apparently hurt and the Carolina defense was torn apart by Joey Harrington. The former Lion has been atrocious for the most part this season, but Bobby Petrino chose to put the ball in his hands all day long. And he responded well: 31/44 for 361 yards and 2 touchdown. Not that we’ll be seeing this Harrington all season long, but it’s nice to know he still exists if you’re a fan of Atlanta.
Welcome back Eli of old. Though he had a fairly decent game today, Eli Manning was also responsible for 3 turnovers (2 INT, 1 Fumble). Neither team looked good on offense, but New York did just enough to win. Most importantly, they just stopped the Redskins from punching it in from the 1 yard line. 3 downs, -2 yards gained (or lost). New York’s defense really pulled through today.
By the way, in case you haven’t taken a look at New England-Buffalo’s boxscore, here’s what you’ll see: 311 yards passing and 4 TDs for Tom Brady and 115 yards and 2 touchdowns for Randy Moss. Moss has 22 catches, 403 yards, and 5 touchdown receptions this season. Wow. I envy those who were able to draft this gem in the 3-4th rounds of their fantasy draft. Or any round.
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I wouldn’t say everything Belicheck has done should be starred up in the record books. It’s not nearly that bad. It’s widely acknowledged that many teams throughout the league do these things, only Mangina snitched out his old boss that paved the way for him to have a career in the NFL. If anything, I think he is the bad guy here. Theres an article about this in this weeks SI, but those are pretty much the sentiments of it.
If anything though I would say their past is more checkered than their future. They will no longer do these things, they’ve handed over their library, and they are just too good and talented to think that this is why they have been successful. It does raise interesting quesitons about Tom Brady’s rise to fame.
In a sense, I think you can look at the Belichick era the same way you look at Barry Bonds in the steroid era. The biggest difference, of course, is that Belichick has actually been proven guilty.
I too read that SI article (Peter King, right?), though I disagree. Bill Belichick just isn’t part of the NFL’s coaching fraternity. He’s an outsider. And to be honest, I’m surprised he wasn’t turned in sooner.
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