I sat and watched most of the 14 minute-plus overtime period between the Bengals and the Browns. I don’t know why. I guess I was looking for one of the two teams to show that they were interested in winning the game. It was one of those stretches when the field looked enormous and it simply seemed impossible that either team could score. I was almost right, if it wasn’t for Cleveland finally deciding to be crappy enough to go ahead and lose. One thing I will say though, is that Josh Cribbs is a flat-out monster. He’s gotten a lot bigger since his rookie season, and plain looks mean when he has the ball. He’s at least worth watching the highlights every week.
Speaking of crappy teams, the R*dsk*ns and the Bucs battled it out to see who could claim to be the crappiest team on the East Coast. Turns out it’s the Bucs. Though not for a lack of effort by Washington, who committed four turnovers and still won the game. ‘Sk*ns QB Jason Campbell was astoundingly bad, throwing 3 picks and losing a fumble, but still knifed through the (now officially garbage) defense of Tampa Bay to throw the winning TD pass. The two teams combined for a combined 6 of 27 on 3rd down, and a whopping 252 passing yards. Blecch.
Amazingly, neither of these teams are the worst in the league. That distinction belongs solely to the St. Louis Rams, who have lost 14 straight, and have been shutout twice in this young season, both times by teams in their own division. I need not say more of the St. Louis club, nor much of the teams that destroy them each week – although I must call attention to the disciplinary prowess of Mike Singletary’s 49ers, who only drew 3 flags all game and committed no turnovers while gut-stomping the Rams 35-0.
Dallas and Denver both looked inept, combining for 6 of 26 on 3rd down, as well as a combined 17 penalties for over 150 yards. Lucky for Denver, Tony Romo looked worse than anyone on the field. While his stats aren’t outrageously bad, his performance was unwatchable – unless you hate the Cowboys, which I do. Before WR Sam Hurd damn near bailed him out in the 4th quarter on a sissy little 7-yard outlet pass that Hurd took 53 yards inside the Denver 15, Romo had made every mistake possible: botched snaps, lost fumbles, his 8th-career pick in the red zone, leading his receivers into getting drilled by safeties (Roy Williams may be urinating blood after chasing a Romo misfire in the 4th quarter), and all-around poor decision making. Up until Hurd’s late catch-and-run, Romo had 36 yards passing in the 2nd half, and had been throwing terrible balls for several series in a row.
I thought that Dallas would expose Denver’s defense as a hoax, but it was Denver who exposed Romo’s Cowboys as garbage. Wait, hasn’t that happened already? On several occasions? Oh, I forgot – they’re the Cowboys. That means they’re still considered good until Bill Parcells says that they in fact suck.
OTHER CALLS I GOT WRONG:
Ravens at Patriots: A very well-played, hard-fought game until the last drive, when Baltimore WR Mark Clayton dropped two passes, one for a TD and one for a first down on 4th and 6, which ended the game. The latter was in his chest, but he couldn’t haul it in. Disappointing for a Ravens team who played well enough to beat the Patriots.
Jets at Saints: Okay, now I really mean it: I won’t be picking against the Saints again. Before you dismiss the Jets though, note that the NY defense did it’s part, holding New Orleans to less than 350 total yards and only 10 points. The Saint’s D made up for it, scoring two TD’s. Tough game for the adorable and charming Mark Sanchez (if you say his name out loud with emphasis on the ‘chez’, he sounds even more charming).
Bills at Dolphins: Backup Miami QB Chad Henne wasn’t required to do much, as the Dolphin twin RB’s Ronnie and Ricky piled up 200 yards and 3 TD’s. Buffalo QB Trent Edwards did his part too, throwing 3 picks. Dick Jauron’s clock is ticking in upstate New York.
Tennessee at Jacksonville: Wow, the Titans are about finished already, and it’s not even week 5. This slump is a mystery to me, and I can’t imagine how Titans coach Jeff Fisher feels. He has consistently fielded a tough, balanced, competitive team since he became head coach, and this thing has now spun out of control. The playoffs are out of the question, the Titans are now relegated to just trying to win a game.
BEARS HOMER SECTION
Another win, another grumpy homer. The Bears let Detroit rack up 21 points in the first half, and 3rd-and-long is again looking like a gimme against the Chicago defense. They give up two 3rd-and-5’s, two 3rd-and-6’s, as well as 3rd downs of 7, 9, and 10 yards, the last of which yielded a touchdown.
Yes, the Bears came on strong in the 2nd half, but how does Lovie Smith leave Zackary Bowman, a 2nd-year corner with about 5 games under his belt, one-on-one with Calvin Johnson for the entire first half? On the first play from scrimmage, Lovie brought the house and watched as rookie QB Matt Stafford calmly faced down the blitz and dropped the ball perfectly into Johnson’s basket for 45 yards. As if that wasn’t enough, Lovie then let Johnson continue to roam unchallenged for 123 first-half yards. Hey Mr. Smith – the Lions have one good receiver, how about you pay him the respect of a double team before he lights you up single-handedly?
On top of that, the Bears left the stadium limping. Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, and special-teams ace Adrian Peterson all were knocked to the sideline. Knox was dinged after he had an impressive 102-yard kickoff return for a score to open the 2nd half. Thank the Lord for the coming Bye Week, the Bears need it.
Some positives were there, like Adewale Ogunleye’s dominating performance, Matt Forte’s big day (although it was almost all on two runs), and a big-time turnaround in the 2nd half in all three phases of the game. Looking better, but I still think they’d get beat down by an elite team, one of which likely resides in the division. We’ll certainly know more about that after a highly-anticipated matchup tomorrow night.
contact email: nick.thomas@flyingpigskin.com
