I think most of the credit should go to the Browns. Their O-Line is pass protecting really well and Anderson is using that time to step up and throw perfect strikes every time. He’s looking really sharp. Not sure what the deal is with Edwards’ drops and all those false starts though. Very sloppy, this game could be a real blowout.
T.A.I.N.T. for the Brownies, maybe that whole Eli vs. Peyton thing needs to be reconsidered. I think Kornheiser was right pointing out that Eli seemed to be forcing the ball to Plax and it seems to have really screwed up the rhythm of the offense. Especially since Plax seems to be out of sync with his reads and routes.
Back in New York?
My problem isn’t so much that it’s unsportsmanlike, it’s just gamesmanship and that’s cool with me. My problem is that it just seems like a really silly plan. Basically you are giving the FG unit a free dry run at kicking the field goal. The kicker gets to test out his trajectory and aim, the blockers get a look at your kick block scheme, your edge rushers use up some of their burst. If you were asked to do something you’d want a practice shot first right? Whether it’s kicking a FG or tossing a wad of paper into a trash basket, you are going to get a little bit of an advantage by having a free trial first.
It’s for this reason that the fad is going the way of the dodo before too long. At some point any coach who does it is going to be the object of ridicule when the novelty of it wears off and the reality sets in.
The whatnow?
I understand the logic, it’s just horrible logic. Back when teams kicked from the 35 yard line it made marginally more sense because touchbacks were very common, but nowadays kickers are much less likely to get the ball into the endzone. Teams letting it roll in the hopes that it’ll bounce true are taking a big gamble. Since the clock doesn’t start until the ball is touched a smart return team is going to field a squib and get out of bounds or down the ball as fast as possible, typically you’d only burn a few seconds at most. That’s a really bad trade-off when you are giving up 20-25 yards in exchange for maybe 5 seconds. Making the offense complete 2 passes instead of 1 uses more time than that squib would.
I think this is crap. A defense should be able to prevent that 26 yard pass to a sideline but the implication that it’s a no-brainer is wrong. In a given game you see several plays where a defense knows exactly what the offense is going to try and do and NFL offenses are still able to execute. You might even argue that a situation like in the Bears game are more difficult because you have to defend so much area. The Falcons had probably 30 yards of sidelines on each half of the field and they still have to defend the deep middle to prevent a TD. You see good offenses complete plays like that in the 2 minute drill all the time. That’s why you kick it away and make them do it twice instead of once.
It is the coaches fault for asking their place kicker to do something he’s not used to doing. Kickers screw up squib kicks all the time. Kickers screw up directional kicks all the time too. You are better off putting the burden on your coverage unit to do what they are best practiced at instead of asking your kicker to do something he may only be asked to do once or twice a season. Teams go entire seasons without giving up a return for a TD, they are really damn rare. QBs complete 25 yard sideline passes at the end of game every single week. Sure, the defense should have been able to better cover that but Lovie did everything he could to give the rookie the opportunity to burn him.
Squib kicks are just like the prevent defense. Drastically altering what you do in the final minutes out of fear will lose you games because you are trying to do something you don’t practice every day. Football is about field position. Why would you surrender it at the most critical time?
Was it just me or did it look like they moved the ball 140 yards on that second touchdown drive?
First down, false start. First down, false start. First down, delay of game. First down, holding.
I swear there were 10 offensive penalties on that one drive.
5 penalties for 30 yards, of which 5 were offset by a penalty on Justin Tuck. Since they started from their own 13, that means they had 117 yards of offense on that drive. :eek:
Nice to see Houston finally pull out a win.
Then I had to watch that disaster of a game between the Pats and the Chargers.
The Pats just could never pull it together. By the end of the game, they were just phoning it in at best.
What a great week to root for the underdog. Yes, it was nice to see the Texans pull out a win, what with the late loss two weeks ago and then suffering through Rosenfels gift to the Colts. The Rams, wow, wish I could have seen that one, same with the Jags over Denver.
But the Giants butt whippin’, heh, that was simply priceless.
Can we really call Houston an underdog? They won 8 games last season, and fielded pretty much the same team this year. Miami won 1.
At 0-4 and on the verge of losing whatever confidence they might once have had and going against a resurgent Pat-beating Dolphins, yeah, I’m callin’ 'em dogs. They weren’t just playing against the Dolphins but against giving up on the season out of despair as well. I like Kubiak, GM Smith and owner McNair so it was really good to see them have a bit of success after a somewhat painful drought.