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The NFL Report: Week 4
Posted by Dr. Tom on Sep 26, 2003, 14:21
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THE NFL REPORT: WEEK 4
Six undefeated teams remain after the third week of action, and at least that many teams have more losses than they were expecting right now. Whether because of an underwhelming offense (Oakland) or a porous defense (Cleveland), teams that are 1-3 now find themselves in a period of self-evaluation. It�s easy to start winning and overcome that start. But what if they lose? How easy is it to overcome 1-3, essentially wasting the first quarter of a short season?
This is why I love the NFL, friends: every game means something. Each team only gets to play 16 of them, so they have to make every single one count. Looking past an opponent one week can mean a surprise loss that finds a team playing air hockey instead of football come January. Three-game losing streaks are common in baseball and easy to overcome; in the NFL, a three-game losing streak is crippling, and very probably ends a team�s chances of making the playoffs.
The end of this week will mark the quarter-pole of the season. The contenders will have separated themselves from the pretenders, and the glut of 2-2 teams will still be able to convince themselves they have a shot, as long as they play better football.
Week 3: A Look Back
RAVENS~! 24, San Diego 10. A week after setting the single-game rushing record, JAMAL~! managed a paltry, meager 132 yards. Kyle Boller is looking more sure of himself each game under center. While he only threw for 98 yards, he showed more poise in the pocket than he had in the other two games. Boller also made some very good throws, including a great 25-yard TD strike to TE Todd Heap.
The Ravens� defense did some bending in this one, but they never broke. Drew Brees racked up some impressive yardage in the air, but three of his passes ended up in the wrong team�s hands. Playmaker Ed Reed had another interception, and narrowly missed getting a second. If you haven�t heard that name yet, get used to it: Reed has mad skills in the secondary, and should have a very good career. LaDainian Tomlinson managed to put up 100 yards on the Ravens� D, but it was all for naught.
Pittsburgh 17, Cincinnati 10. Another week, another �moral victory� for the Bengals. I�m sure Marvin Lewis would trade them for one real win, but he definitely has his team moving in the right direction. Holding the Pittsburgh offense to 17 points is something Lewis can use to motivate his charges the rest of the season � at least until the play Pittsburgh again. Amos Zereoue and Jerome Bettis combined for a very potent ground game, pounding the ball at the Bengal and allowing Pittsburgh to gain a huge advantage in time of possession.
Tennessee 27, New Orleans 12. The Saints looked so flat, I almost thought it was December for a moment. Tennessee continues to be an underestimated team (including by yours truly), and they continue to play solid, smash-mouth football. Eddie George made an unexpected return to the land of 100-yard rushers, and bionic QB Steve McNair played thru injuries for the 200th time in his career. There�s not much more that can be said about McNair, except that if he maintains his level of play for a few more years, he should be a good candidate for Canton.
Seattle 24, St. Louis 23. Two of the league�s premier offenses clashed, and Marc Bulger couldn�t save the Rams from 14 fourth-quarter Seahawk points. Marshall Faulk broke his hand in this game, and while Lamar Gordon is a capable replacement, it�s just one more cylinder The Greatest Show On Turf of a few years ago is missing. Matt Hasselbeck threw two TDs in the fourth quarter to his two favorite targets, Darrell Jackson and Koren Robinson, and Seattle rushed the ball more efficiently than the Rams. The Seahawks look pretty dashed good at 3-0.
NY Giants 24, Washington 21. The Giants had 21 points at halftime, then held on after the break, weathering the Redskins� second-half surge. Patrick Ramsey continues to impress, passing for 348 yards. The Giants used 126 yards from Tiki Barber to control the clock, though, and the Redskins failed to help themselves by passing the ball far too often in Giants� territory, despite the fact they averaged over 5.5 yards per run on their 24 attempts. Steve Spurrier has yet to learn the �pass for show, run for dough� lesson that his colleagues have. A few more games like this should hammer it home.
Arizona 20, Green Bay 13. Brett Favre finally had a good game this season, but it wasn�t enough to beat the worst team in the freaking league. Favre did throw a costly pick late in the game, when the Pack was driving for the tie, but the fact is that Green Bay flat-out got beaten by the league�s westernmost doormat. Jeff Blake matched Favre throw for throw, and the Cardinals got half their expected victory total for the year against a most unexpected opponent.
Cleveland 13, The City 12. Think the Browns wanted to stop the run this week? One week after being humiliated by JAMAL~!, the Browns held the tandem of Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow to a combined 32 yards on 16 carries. Were I Dennis Erickson, though, I would have continued to pound the ball at them, especially with the larger Barlow. The 49ers, though, settled for a bunch of field goals, allowing the Browns to rack up all their points in the fourth quarter. Kelly Holcomb finally had a game to justify his starting job, and the Browns have to feel better about their rushing defense after this one.
Miami 17, Buffalo 7. Miami is another team that doesn�t get the respect it should. Of course, an embarrassing first-week loss to Houston didn�t help matters, but it shouldn�t obscure the fact that the Dolphins are a very solid team. They feature the league�s top rusher last season on offense, a potent defense, and a QB whose greatest skill is that he doesn�t make game-losing mistakes. Ricky Williams ran the ball 42 times in this game, giving Miami an absurd 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession. When the Buffalo offense actually made it to the field, they failed to get much done against the fresh and ready Miami defense.
Denver 31, Oakland 10. The Raiders are really missing Jerry Porter right now. Their deep threat is gone, and since Jerry Rice and Tim Brown can�t beat defenders like they used to, it really inhibits the Raiders� passing game. Denver weathered an injury to Clinton Portis by plugging Mike Anderson into the halfback slot, and the results were hardly different. Jake Plummer enjoyed another good game under center for the Broncos, and Oakland�s defense continued to show its age. If things don�t turn around quickly for the Raiders, this could prove to be a very long season.
Games Not Worth Writing A Paragraph About
New England 23, NY Jets 16. The Patriots are suffering from an acute case of the injury bug.
Kansas City 42, Houston 14. PRIEST~! leads the Chiefs to another romp.
Tampa Bay 31, Atlanta 10. Michael Vick wouldn�t have made a difference in this one.
Minnesota 23, Detroit 13. Two teams moving in the right direction, but one has more talent.
Indianapolis 23, Jacksonville 13. And so ends the Mark Brunell era in Florida.
Dr. Tom�s Superstar of the Week
Ricky Williams. Getting 42 carries in a single game is an awful lot, but Williams took the ball each time and plowed into the Buffalo defense. He earned over 150 yards on the ground, and gave the Dolphins over 40:00 in time of possession, keeping Buffalo�s offense off the field for most of the game. Williams is leaner this year and a little quicker to hit the hole, but he�s just as strong and just as hard to bring down.
Dr. Tom�s Shithead of the Week
Mike Sherman. Your team lost to the Cardinals, Coach. Go pick some more fights with defensive tackles and maybe you�ll get some sense pounded back into you.
Pass For Show, Run For Dough
In today�s NFL, the passing game gets the bulk of the press and the SportsCenter highlights. The running game, however, is still more vital to continued success in the NFL. Teams must be able to run the ball effectively and stop their opponents from doing the same. A successful running game chews up the clock and wears down an opposing defense. During the season, I�m going to track three different categories regarding the running game.
# of teams with 20 or fewer attempts: 7
# of those teams that won: 1 (Cleveland)
# of teams with 30 or more attempts: 11
# of those teams that won: 10 (San Diego has the lone blemish here)
# of 100-yard rushers: 6
# of their teams that won: 4 (Fred Taylor and LaDainian Tomlinson shined in defeat)
News From Around the League
Stolen from ESPN and the AP, as always.
-- Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio has name rookie Byron Leftwich the starter for this week, and presumably the rest of the season. Former starter Mark Brunell injured his elbow on the artificial surface of the RCA Dome, and needed five stitches to close an open wound right on the joint. Leftwich has seen limited mo-up duty in two games so far, going 11-13 for 124 yards, with two TDs and no picks. He�ll get a test against Houston�s 3-4 scheme, but the first-round pick insists he�s ready. We�ll see.
-- PRIEST~! was held out of practice Thursday with a sore hip, the same one he had surgery on in the offseason. The Chiefs are downplaying any concerns they may have, and PRIEST~! will be listed as questionable on the injury report. It�s a certainty he�s going to play, but this could be something to watch over the course of the season, despite the Chiefs� alleged lack of concern.
-- Maurice Clarett, the suspended Ohio State RB who is suing the NFL over its policy of restricting draft status to players three years removed from high school, has gotten some political support. The Congressional Research Service, which is a non-partisan arm of the House of Representatives, has issued a five-page opinion that the NFL�s draft rule violates federal anti-trust law. How this will affect Clarett�s case is unknown, but it certainly has to make his side happy.
-- Jets owner Woody Johnson is suffering from delusions of grandeur. He believes his team has as much talent as any team in the league, and that the injury to starting QB Chad Pennington should not be used as an excuse. Johnson further cemented himself as a cretin by comparing the Jets� QB situation to the Patriots winning the 2001 Super Bowl with Tom Brady filling in for Drew Bledsoe. First of all, Vinny Testaverde is no Tom Brady; second, Chad Pennington is no Drew Bledsoe; and third, Jonny Unitas himself wouldn't lead this team to the Super Bowl. Coach Herman Edwards was irked by Johnson�s comments, and said he�s �going to keep doing things the same way he has, and if anybody doesn't like it, they can fire him.� Owners who flap their gums too often tend to do so with embarrassing results. Woody Johnson should learn that lesson and not piss off one of the better coaches in the league.
-- Nine months after disappearing before the Super Bowl, Oakland center Barret Robbins has gotten his starting job back. Robbins, who missed the first three games of the season with a knee injury, replaces Matt Stinchcomb as the starter. The night before last year�s Super Bowl, Robbins sent his team into a panic by disappearing, only to be found in Mexico. Robbins was dismissed from the team, but was brought back after being diagnosed with alcoholism and �bipolar disorder.� He was elected to the Pro Bowl last season, but didn�t start for obvious reasons.
-- The QB controversy in Cleveland looks to be making a comeback. Injuries to Kelly Holcomb have led coach Butch Davis to name Tim Couch the starter for this week�s game against the Bengals. Holcomb suffered a hairline fracture of his right fibula in the first quarter of last week�s game against The City, then sprained his left ankle later in the game. Despite the injuries, Holcomb refused to come out of the game, and led the Browns to a victory.
-- Marshall Faulk, already sidelined with a broken hand, elected to have surgery Wednesday to repair torn cartilage in his right knee. Faulk will miss four to six weeks with his hand injury, and his knee is expected to be healed in three to four weeks. Lamar Gordon will fill in at RB while Faulk is hurt.
Rant of the Week
Maurice Clarett may be on to something: the NFL�s policy of forbidding draft entry to anyone not three years out of high school might be a hard sell in court. The NFL has a dubious record in the courtroom already, and now with words like �antitrust� and �monopoly� going around, that record could continue.
Clarett�s lawsuit claims that the NFL has �a monopoly over professional football in the United States.� With the number of college players accepting illegal payments for their play (including Clarett), that claim really isn�t accurate. Of course, the NBA, NHL, and Major Leage Baseball could easily be considered to be in similar positions. Those leagues all have minor-league systems which are still considered to be at the professional level, of course, but it�s obvious that a self-aggrandizing chap like Clarett isn�t concerned one whit about anything he perceives as minor-league.
Let�s also look at the real reason Clarett is brining this suit: his own stupidity and poor choices have left him suspended for the year in the college ranks. Clarett was found to have accepted thousands of dollars in extra benefits during Ohio State�s drive to the national title last year. The young man also finds himself in legal hot water, having been accused of inflating the value of items stolen out of a loaner car he was driving.
The lawsuit and the Clarett camp try to paint the running back as a martyr, but he�s nothing of the sort. He knew the risks involved when he accepted those illegal benefits, and he accepted them anyway. Martyrs are heroes who sacrificed themselves in the name of a just cause, not morons who broke the rules and landed their stupid selves in trouble because of it.
My hope is that Maurice Clarett loses his lawsuit against the NFL. I have no sympathy for him, since he put himself in this bad spot because of his own foolishness. Unfortunately, I have a feeling his suit will be successful, and he�ll be able to enter the draft. If that happens, he�ll be in for a rude awakening. He�ll be a boy in a league full of men, and a lot of those men will be angry that the boy had to go to court just to be on the same field with them. Clarett will certainly be a project for whichever team drafts him (and his lawsuit�s claim that he would have gone in the first round this year is laughable), since they�d basically be gambling on his potential in two or three years. That�s not a worthwhile risk for most teams.
Week 4 Picks To Click
Last Week: 9-5 (64.3%)
Season To Date: 29-17 (63%)
@ St. Louis 27, Arizona 17. The Rams don�t need Marshall Faulk for this one.
The City 23, @ Minnesota 20. The Vikings will fall from their perch.
@ Pittsburgh 24, Tennessee 18. This should be a very good, very physical battle.
New England 24, @ Washington 20. Steve Spurrier still has a lot to learn about the NFL.
Jacksonville 26, @ Houston 13. Leftwich will struggle at times, but will prevail.
Philadelphia 21, @ Buffalo 17. The Eagles had two weeks to cure what ails them.
Cincinnati 23, @ Cleveland 16. The Bengals finally get something to show for their efforts.
Kansas City 31, @ Baltimore 21. PRIEST~! goes one-up on JAMAL~!
@ Oakland 25, San Diego 21. The Raiders will right their struggling ship in a close one.
Dallas 21, @ NY Jets 14. Woody Johnson�s a fool, and Bill Parcells > Herman Edwards.
@ Carolina 17, Atlanta 13. A strong defense comes off a week of rest to not face Vick.
@ Denver 27, Detroit 20. Take the week off, Clinton; Mike Anderson can handle this one.
Indianapolis 30, @ New Orleans 23. The Colts have rediscovered Edgerrin James.
Green Bay 24, @ Chicago 12. Favre might be struggling, but he still owns Kordell.
(Bye week: Miami, NY Giants, Seattle, Tampa Bay)
Until next week, enjoy the games.
Dr. Tom Fowler
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