NFL Notes, Week 8

(Nov 2)

A six-pack of observations from the weekend, outside of the Yankees' triumph in Philly. Notice the absence of a Brett Favre mention; I'm sick of hearing about nothing but him.

1. It's been a hard season being a Titans' fan. I've been calling for Vince Young for three weeks. Jeff Fisher has been reasonably reluctant to take out Kerry Collins because rightfully so, the defense is what the first 6 games. But this offense gets so stagnant; they scored only 9 points the last two games and opposing teams stack the defense against Chris Johnson. Vince Young brings that spark; he's a wild card. He won't throw the ball downfield, but he can pass for a first down, run for a first down, and keep the defense anxious. Of course, Chris Johnson provided the long ball so VY doesn't have to be Tom Brady. Hate him all you want, he's 19-11 as a starter, winning 6 of his last 7.

2. The Dolphins/Jets 3rd quarter was one of the most entertaining that I've ever seen. I changed the channel from the Giants implosion in hopes to see the Wildcat in action. It didn't work; the Jets stifled it it cold for the first three quarters. But in that 3rd quarter Ted Ginn was unreal. He danced around evading tackles like Barry Sanders. You would think that the Jets would try to correct the coverage after getting burned the first time. But along with those two big endzone-to-endzone returns, there was also Jason Taylor running a sack-fumble into the endzone, Mark Sanchez running into the endzone like Houdini and Braylon Edwards making a great goal line catch. It's amazing that the Dolphins got out-gained almost 4-1 and still won. And hey, the Jets botched three 2-pt conversion attempts. Kick the PATs and they can kick the field goal at the end to win.

3. I cannot figure out the Arizona Cardinals. I have incorrectly picked them every week. They are 4-3; 3-0 on the road and 1-3 at home. Jake Delhomme was wearing Kurt Warner's jersey and had his regular 6 turnover game (oh wait.....) Like the Giants a couple weeks ago, the #1 ranked defense against the run got lit up by the two-headed attack of DeAngelo and Jonathan Stewart. I cannot figure out this team. The one thing it does show me is how special Tom Brady is; the Pats don't use their ground game much either but still win big.

4. I thought the Lions had turned a corner and were on the upswing and then they get beat by a Rams team that looked like the worst group of players ever assembled together. Just to make it worse, it was a home game for Detroit. The good news is they should be better with Calvin Johnson. Only one more shot at win #2 with the Cleveland Clowns coming to town in 3 weeks, but clearly homefield is no advantage here.

5. Sad times for the New York Football Giants. Facing a team that got beat by the Raiders and outgained by the Redskins, sans-Westbrook this looked like a road W for the GMen. Instead it was another blowout. Eli is awful; I thought Bad Eli of 2006-first half of 2007 was dead and gone but he has made an ugly awakening. Brandon Jacobs looks like he's out of gas. As for the defense: Philly has one guy you have to look out for, DeSean Jackson, and somehow the Giants left him WIDE OPEN at the end of the first half. Okay, apparently they have other people to look for too, like a backup running back and a fullback with 4 carries on the season. A couple weeks ago I was going to write a piece on how great this franchise is and how they overcome losses (Tiki, Shockey, Strahan, Osi, Plaxico, Spagnolo) but they have serious issues on defense right now (and in the quarterback). When all is said and done, and they get past this funk their in, I still think the Giants are the best team in the NFC East, poised to go the farthest in the postseason.

6. However, now that Tony Romo is throwing to a guy named Miles, the Cowboys are looking good!