Hit the showers, Justin Smith! (The 49ers have about eight guys named Smith. It's nuts.) And the 49ers miss him already — the Chargers are strolling down the field. Think they missed Vincent Jackson all season? The sequence where the field goal came off the board because of a leverage penalty, then Alex Smith's touchdown was overturned by replay, then the 49ers got stuffed on fourth and goal is pretty much their year in three minutes. Vincent Jackson cannot be stopped. There's another one. Then the zip camera randomly slides into the shot. Thanks for that. crosses off... NOBODY. Have you SEEN the 2010 NFC West? It's probably the best chance to save the WAC at this point. (Chargers 34, 49ers 7)
Signal Finder: PHI @ NYG, JAX @ IND, NYJ @ PIT
It's early, but you can see the pattern starting to develop: the Giants are going to run up the middle and throw at Patterson to the exclusion of almost anything else. On the other side, the Eagles can't get anything done — Vick's getting beaten around like in their first meeting and they haven't run effectively enough to keep the Giants' front four honest. I mean, this is just Playcalling 101. Pound the middle, use play action, attack the weak spots on the outside. Basic stuff. Like that with Manningham again. It should be noted that while it doesn't look like it today, the Giants will miss Steve Smith down the stretch, as he had assumed Amani Toomer's old role of being their most reliable receiver. Down two touchdowns and with the ball deep in your own end with under 40 seconds left — I think you just go into halftime and lick your wounds. Oh boy. That's about the last thing the Eagles wanted. Now they've got more wounds to lick. You wonder why they're running the ball trailing by 17 points and it's because it's working and they just need to get something to work offensively to loosen the defense up and get some big plays. Well that's something. A blown coverage, obviously, but the Eagles will take it all day every day at this stage. If they can find points on this drive, we might have something. The ground caused that ball to come out and Jackson was touched. This'll get overturned for sure. Wait, what? Where was the... what?!? Are we really going to spend all week talking about how Andy didn't throw a challenge flag? Even Mike Peireira doesn't get it. Well, game over. At least Vick's figured out that he can run away from the Giants' blitzes. Thanks for letting Celek run free like a wild horse in the meadow and making this somewhat respectable. THAT WAS THE GREATEST ONSIDE KICK OF ALL TIME. It went straight up. Nobody EVER does that! The Giants looked utterly astounded, and how do you not see that coming? Now I'm not sure the Giants have figured out that Vick's figured out that he can run away from their blitzes. Touchdown. It can't happen, can it? I mean, stranger things have, but... I'm surprised to see that the Giants only have 85 rushing yards — it feels like they've been running it down the Eagles' throats all day long, but now the offense can't stay on the field. And Vick gets away again. We're tied! How are we tied?! Maclin did the same thing Manningham did on his second touchdown — used a spin move to freeze the defender and took off. What's going mostly unnoticed is that the Eagles' defense has also tightened up in a big way in the second half. Who called a pass play there? The only good thing about Eli taking a sack is that it doesn't stop the clock. That's not a good snap. That's kind of a crappy kick. Jackson muffs it and then picks it up? I'm not sure how smart that is.
THAT.
DID.
NOT.
JUST.
HAPPEN.
That's Eagles-Giants for you. MIRACLE AT THE MEADOWLANDS 4. The biggest shock for me is that Tom Coughlin wasn't in a straightjacket at the postgame press conference. (Eagles 38, Giants 31)
What I don't understand is why the Redskins didn't just go straight to John Beck — there's six years or so of tape on Rex Grossman. It's not like nobody knows who and what he is. The Redskins' offense is in park, and other than that odd decision to go for it on fourth and goal from the 1, the Cowboys are doing whatever they feel like. PROTECT THE FOOTBALL. The Redskins' tight end coverage looks like the Eagles'. Oh, right, David Buehler is the Cowboys' kicker. Actual AP Line: "Apparently, (Jerry Jones) forgot how lousy his defense is." And Rex is about to show him. Seriously, this feels like the best game he's ever had. You'd think a defense with as many first-round picks on it as the Cowboys have on theirs would be, y'know, better. And to hit the two-point conversions twice? I feel like I've seen this happen somewhere else. What's sad is that Buehler barely made that. Oh, look, Rex Grossman committed a boneheaded turnover at a crucial moment. That's never happened before. (Cowboys 33, Redskins 30)
Do the Colts have Dominic Rhodes encased in one of those "In Case Of Emergency, Break Glass" cabinets? Is that how that works? Somebody help me out. The upshot here is that the Jaguars can end a lifetime of abject misery in Indianapolis with a win today. Hey, an Austin Collie sighting. Peyton seems to have his mojo back. He looks composed and self-assured. If the Jags are doubling Wayne, they should probably stop because Collie just burned them again. Did that punt return look entirely too easy to anyone else? Wait, what? Oh, the Colts are saying that Thomas signaled for a fair catch. Well let's take a look at this. You know what? His arm's not above his head. It's a bit shady, but it looks legal. Oh, no, not Collie again. The ovation he got after standing up on his own may end up being bigger than the one at the end of the game if the Colts win. First drive of the second half, down four, 4th and 1 from your own 39 and you go for it? When did Bill Belichick get the Jaguars' head coaching job? Donald Brown lives! That might be the Colts' longest run from scrimmage in about two months. You know whose name we haven't heard much today is Maurice Jones-Drew, and that's why the Jaguars are in this predicament. That said, having gotten to see the Jags a few times this year, I think they've finally found some guys at WR who can give them what they haven't had since Jimmy Smith's heyday. And not long after the best onside kick ever comes the worst onside kick ever. The Jaguars and Texans both learned this year that if they ever want AFC South supremacy, beating the Colts once isn't enough. They're going to have to bury them. (Or wait for Peyton Manning to retire.) The Jaguars had their shot and couldn't do it. (Colts 34, Jaguars 24)
Maybe the Dolphins should move to Los Angeles. Or at least threaten to. Good God. (Bills 17, Dolphins 14)
INCLEMENT WEATHER. I guess since the Jets' offense can't score any points, the special teams decided to get something done. Kind of a fitful start on both sides after that. Ah, nothing like a 96-yard drive to work out the kinks. FAKE SPIKE! If that had worked, Jets fans everywhere would have started jumping off rooftops. Tied at the half? That seems right considering what's gone down so far. These first two drives we've had about six different players report as eligible receivers. I seem to be a sucker for a flawlessly executed play-action bootleg — the Lions ran the same play against the Jets and it was pitch-perfect. At some point the Jets are going to throw No. 75 the ball and hijinks will ensue. That safety shouldn't have happened. Rule No. 1 of play calling in your own end zone: Everything goes straight forward. Moore got caught trying to make a move and that's a game-changer. How'd they let Ben break containment so easily? Wow, 29 yards on a third and 24? If the Jets blow this, that could be it for this year. I'm sure ideally, Sanders and Spaeth would not have ended up in the exact same spot, and one of them would have caught the pass. One more shot for the Steelers... and no. Could've used Holmes there. FYI, that was the Jets' first-ever win in Pennsylvania. (Jets 22, Steelers 17)
Tim Tebow might make it. He might not. But it won't be for lack of trying. (Raiders 39, Broncos 23)
I have to think that Matt Flynn will at least be helped by a full week of prep. I would never let the Patriots go on offense first. OH! Never mind then. Of course, this also means nobody else can do that until 2013 at the earliest. Clearly, Flynn was helped by a full week of prep. I really do hate the squib kick. LOOK AT THE BIG MAN RUN! How about the stiff-arm? This was almost the greatest thing in the history of things. Al Michaels: "Hey, Dan! What's your career highlight?" Then at the end of the replay, Brady's running onto the field and he has this look in his eyes like "Did I just SEE that?" You know what this feels like? The Eagles-Patriots Sunday night game in 2007 when A.J. Feeley started for McNabb in Foxborough in a driving snowstorm and almost pulled it out against a Patriots team that was on absolute fire. Except I don't believe the Eagles ever led in that game. That week of prep only helps you so much in a pressure situation like a two-minute drill to pull off a major upset in a game everyone's watching. For years I've advocated having two plays called and ready in spots like this. This is why, right here. Gates: "Not only did Matt Flynn graduate from LSU, but he apparently also graduated from the Les Miles School of Clock Management." (Patriots 31, Packers 27)
HE'S GONNA PLAY! BRETT FAVRE IS GONNA PLAY! Nyssa: "He's, like, a machine." I can only assume they figured the cold would numb any pain he has. No AP? That's an equally stunning development. Ouch. And Favre didn't get up or even move right away. The field is so hard that's gotta be like getting slammed down onto a road. Well, if this is it, at least his last play won't be an interception. So we're gonna see Joe Webb after all. And then we're gonna see Devin Hester do that thing he does. A better kick might have helped. I doubt this is the "train wreck" that Vikings punter Chris Kluwe was predicting. And here's his contribution — the one time he doesn't punt out of bounds, Hester brings it back. And he'd been doing so well. crosses off Brett Favre (Bears 40, Vikings 14)
RANKINGS
TOP 4:
1. New England (12-2) — I still fear their defense will let them down in a big spot at some point
2. Atlanta (12-2) — Showdown with Saints biggest game ever?
3. Pittsburgh (10-4) — Shake it off
4. Philadelphia (10-4) — It's all gravy until the playoffs now
BOTTOM 4:
29. Cincinnati (3-11) — My advice to Carson would be to not use T.O.'s real estate agent
30. Arizona (4-10) — Might as well have put Red Skelton back there for all the good it did
31. Denver (3-11) — Fortunately, Tebow got out of Oakland alive
32. Carolina (2-12) — Job preservation, Jimmy Clausen style
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