NFL Week 6 Game Notes

Here are my thoughts on games I watched this weekend.


Eagles defeat Jets: The Jets had the ball, 3rd and 1 at the Eagle 3or 4 yard line, late in the 4th Q, needing a TD. Once again Mangini showed ZERO confidence in his running back and offensive line. Jones is having a monster day, running behind an offensive line playing very well, especially on the right side. Give it Jones until you get in the end-zone He went with a QB sneak that netted 4 inches. The Eagles knew that play was coming, the Jets already ran the sneak twice. Next play, spread set and an incompletion. Awful. I root for the Eagles and even I was pissed that Mangini/Schottenheimer called those plays. Pennington needs a seat so we can see what Clemens has. An outstanding finish is needed by the Jets to make the playoffs and the way Pennington is playing, all the INTs, it is not going to happen with Chad at helm. Also, Coles and Cotchery need someone that can get them the ball downfield without needing to rely on play-action. They are both playmakers that are being hindered by Pennington. The Eagles looked good yesterday, especially Westbrook. He is an extremely tough runner who is the MVP of the Eagle offense this year. McNabb will get better and have more confidence in his knee as the year progresses. The Eagles are a team that can get far into the playoffs. The NFC is wide open and they have playmakers on both sides of the ball.

Patriots defeat Cowboys: If you are reading this, I am sure you watched the game, so I won’t go into how great the Pats are. I will say that the Cowboys have yet to show any defensive ability against a good offense. The Giants moved the ball at will opening night and the Pats did whatever they wanted on Sunday. The other Cowboy opponents this season have been the offensively challenged Bears, Dolphins, Rams and Bills. Their offense is very good, but are going to need to step up defensively if they want to get the Super Bowl. I have a beef with Wade Phillips going for a FG at the 10 minute mark of the 4th Q when they were down 38-24. You are at the Pats 6 yard line, down by two TDs. Best case scenario is you get a TD and are now down by 7. One defensive stop and you can tie the game. Worst case scenario is that you do not get the TD, the Pats have the ball at the 6, and you are down two possessions. What does a FG here do? Assume you get the FG. Now you are down 11, still needing two more possessions. You need to stop the Pats, score a TD, then convert the 2 point conversion, kick off and stop Brady again, move the ball into FG range (assuming you get the 2pt conversion) and kick a FG. Brady already has 5 TDs in the game, moving the ball at will, and you think you are going to stop him not once, but twice. Give me a break. Phillips showed no balls and kicked the FG so he would not be second guessed. It was a bad call to go for the FG when they were down by 14 and if someone thinks differently, please explain why.

Bucs defeat Titans: These are two well coached teams that play very hard every week. Jeff Garcia was pressured many times this game, but always seemed to get away from trouble and make a play downfield. The Bucs are a team that will be vying for a playoff spot at the end of the year. A concern has to be the running game. Graham is in the NFL for a reason, but I do not see him as a featured back. Garcia has experience quarterbacking two pass first offenses with San Fran and Philly, so if the offensive philosophy becomes one dimensional, he has the experience and talent to do so. Let’s hope that Vince Young gets back on the field quick because the Titans will go no where with Kerry Collins at helm. One play sticks out in my head. While being sacked in the red-zone, he turned in the opposite direction from where they were driving and threw the ball down on the field. It was amazing, my description will not do the play justice and if I find a clip of it, I will put it on the site.

Baltimore beats St.Loius: Twice I turned to the TV carrying the game and thought, “the Rams are punting”, but it was actually ducks thrown up by Ferrotte that only looked like punts. The Ravens defense has played well the past two weeks, but it has been against the 49ers and Rams, two bad offenses. The Ravens defense gets to be bullies again this week against Buffalo, a game that they should win.

Chiefs beat Bengals: This game was on a corner TV because no body cared for it, so I really did not watch much of it. The Bengals are the leagues premier underachievers this year because they are healthy and losing.

Minnesota defeats Chicago: Really fun game to watch and how much can you say about Adrian Peterson, “Purple Jesus” according to a buddy of mine. On his 73 yard run, the way he waited for blocking after he got into the secondary, and then cut back against the defense, and then out-sprinted everyone was absolute beauty. That play exemplifies his talents, instincts and God-given ability. It is going to be fun watching him run for the next decade or so. Peterson even ran a kickoff back into Bear territory to help set up the winning FG. You put a QB on the Vikings and they have as good a shot as any to make a playoff push in the NFC. I liked the Bears to make it to the NFC championship game. The defense is going to have to play a lot better for them to even make the playoffs. Big game against Philly next week. A loss by either team and their playoff chances are in peril.
Cleveland defeats Miami: If Cleveland had a defense they could win the division. I was a big fan of Winslow coming into the year and he continues to be a mismatch against any team. Braylon Edwards has really stepped up. He always had talent, but I got the feeling about him that he never really cared about succeeding, making tough catches. That has certainly changed this year. I have seen him make more than a handful of really tough, over the middle grabs, while getting hit type of catches this season. It seems his swagger is more of a confidence in his ability than a “ I am going to show you up” attitude. Miami has traded Chambers to San Diego. I called for Miami to do this a few weeks back. Now if they can get a few more picks for Taylor and possibly Brown, they can really start to rebuild.

Green Bay defeats Washington: Jason Campbell has a good chemistry with his TE Cooley. If Moss and Randal-El can get in synch with Campbell the same way, this offense can be really strong. The Packers still don’t impress me, but they continue to win so what the heck do I know.

Jacksonville defeats Houston: Houston desperately needs Andre Johnson back. He makes the entire offense better. The turning point of this game came in the 1st Q. Houston was up 3-0 and on a crossing pass deep in Jax territory, Andre Davis caught the ball and looked to be going into the end zone. Instead of tucking the ball and driving for the score, he tried to get cute and extend the ball over the goal line. This was not necessary and he got stripped of the ball, the ball went through the end zone for Jax ball at the 20. I know it’s early but the play changed the game. Houston would have had momentum and a 10-0 lead. Real ballsy call by Jack Del Rio to onside kick after scoring a TD to go up 7-6 late in the 2nd Q. Jax converted a FG on the drive to make it 10-6 at half. The second half opened up with a 14 play 7 minute Jax drive. It was not good for Houston from that point on as Jax rolled the rest of the way.

Carolina defeats Arizona: VINNY!!!VINNY!!!VINNY!!! I had Zona in this one, but once Rattey had to come in for Zona, I knew it would be tough for them to win and wanted to see Vinny do well. Aside from the long ball to Smith late in the game, most of Vinny’s passes were short and conservative. I hope he does well for Carolina.

Chargers defeat Raiders: The addition of Chris Chambers is huge. Chambers is a freak physically, has great hands and will help open things up for Rivers and the Charger passing game. The offense will still, and should go through LT, but to have Chambers on the outside means that there will be fewer 8 man fronts and less double coverage of Gates. A fantastic move by the Chargers, any San Diego fan has to be real excited. Chambers also gets 2 weeks to learn the playbook before SD plays again after this week’s bye.

Giants defeat Atlanta: Did not watch the game

New Orleans defeats Seattle: Seattle looked soft on both sides of the ball and played this game with little emotion. They have the personnel to be better than a .500 team but seem to crumble at any real competition. Holmgren needs to start yelling at people and should start with Shaun Alexander and the offensive line. Reggie Bush looked like he was running hard between the tackles. He is an amazing athlete and by running tough between the tackles, he will break more and more long runs as the season progresses. A nine win season can get the Saints into the playoffs so they need to go 8 and 2 the rest of the way. Not impossible for a team with this much talent on offense. Will the defense play well enough to give New Orleans a shot at winning is a major question that will answer itself in the weeks ahead.