Week 3 Thoughts

Due to my inability to consume liquor in a normal fashion, I was in the fetal position on my couch with a hangover belonging in the annals of grown man stupidity, so I was unable to go to the Rover and check out the non-local games this weekend. I employed the gulp-and-refill-my-cup immediately method of vodka-sprite imbibing on Saturday evening, as opposed to the civilized sip and wait to see the effects technique used by most upright walking humans over the age of 17. These are the 4 games I watched this weekend.

Jets defeat Dolphins: The Jets were in control of this game throughout, especially in the second half when Thomas Jones and the gelling-nicely Jet offensive line took over. The Jets are a very effective play action offense and that begins with the running game and O-line. The offense looked sharp when they needed to and it is nice to see Jones running with authority even when the gain is minimal. Pennington made a couple of nice touch passes near the end zone and was effective even though the final numbers are far from gaudy. The defense played well until the final 6 minutes. Take away a few Ronnie Brown gashes through the line and I think this was a solid effort.. Leon Washington is a nice replacement for the injured All-Pro return man Justin Miller. He was untouched on his TD return, but his speed and running back instincts should make him a viable return man. Miami got a world-class day from Ronnie Brown and some production from Chris Chambers, but there is little they have to offer as a team and are now in the lead for the First Overall Pick Sweepstakes with an 0-3 record.

Giants defeat Redskins: Not many people felt that the Giants were going to win this game and I was one of them. They played a great second half on both sides of the ball, making the big plays when needed. I have a beef with the Redskin play-calling in the second half. Every 1st down the Skins ran the ball. New York knew they were going to run and so they were ready. I do not have the stats in front of me, but I bet the Redskin average on 1st down in the second half was less than 3 yards. Also, on the last series when the Redskins were driving for the tying TD, why was Portis on the sidelines? I know Ledelle Betts is a good runner, but he is not as talented as Clinton Portis. I also did not like the time management. The first snap was botched and I am really not sure if Cambell intended to spike, but after the recovery, there was a good minute or so on the clock so why spike the ball to stop the clock forcing 3rd and goal? They could have huddled for twenty seconds, called a roll out and leave it up to Campbell to make a decision to go for the endzone or throw the ball away. Also after the 3rd down run, the Skins hurried up to the line for a quick 4th down snap. Gibbs could have been in his ear on the second down spike and the 4th down play to control his QB, guiding him and calming him down.

Cowboys defeat Bears: The Cowboys can stake claim to best team in the NFC right now. Their defense has yet to be effective against a good offense. They were torched by the Giants Week 1, handled the punchless Miami offense in Week 2 and then did a good job against a bad Bear offense this weekend. Marion Barber is a tough runner to bring down and could start seeing the majority of carries. Romo is looking very sharp and he has two quality All Pro weapons to throw to in Owens and Witten. If Patrick Crayton can get over his mental problem of saying “don’t drop it, don’t drop it, don’t drop it” when the ball is coming his way, the Cowboys will be even more potent. I am glad Lovie Smith declared Brian Griese the starter for Week 4. It may not be all Grossman’s fault on offense, especially with Benson and the WRs playing hot potato with the football, but a change is needed.

Titans defeat Saints: Every time I watch the Titans play, I jump deeper into their bandwagon. Please get Young a stud WR to rely on. Jones is ok and Moulds is way past his prime. The Titan defense has looked solid the first 3 weeks. The Saints are in bad shape at 0-3 and McCallister out for the remainder of the season. One thing I would implore Saint management to work on is getting Bush to make the correct reads at the line of scrimmage when running between the tackles. He seems to lack vision in seeing the cutback lane to move north-south when the designed running lane has been compromised, relying on his speed to try and get to the outside most times. I am sure he has been able to outrun most defenses since Pop Warner, but he is not going to outrun the defense at this level.