Ernie Hudson is one of my favorite actors. Whether it was his role on the show Oz or his performance as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters movies Ernie always delivers. Watching the NFL this weekend reminded me of line from a Hudson movie. That is just how twisted my mind is. The line is from the movie, The Substitute, which stars Tom Berenger as a mercenary who takes a substituting job in a Miami public school to stop a drug ring that involves a group of students led by....you guessed it Marc Anthony who now is a part owner of the Dolphins. Forgive the digression, but when Berenger first enters the school he meets Hudson, who plays the principal, and learns how he keeps the students in line. "Power perceived is power achieved." Well that might work when you are fighting an inner city high school drug ring, but in the NFL perception does nothing to help you win football games. After those teams which did not get their bye week are a quadrant through the season, the reality is either far worse or far better than it was laid out for them before the season began.
Titans 0-4
Remember the Titans? The ones that have made the playoffs the last two years and won the AFC South last year. Despite losing Albert Haynesworth and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz the Titans were expected to keep up their winning ways but their 37-17 blowout at the hands of the Jaguars has them winless and facing 4-0 Indy this Sunday night. The Titans lead the league in scoring defense last year but aside from their opening week loss 13-10 to Pittsburgh they have not been able to stop teams from getting into the endzone. With 3 losses already in the division it is likely the Titans will not be in contention for the AFC South this year and if they continue to play like this they will not even make it to .500.
Broncos 4-0
Well well well everybody was just so quick to put down the Broncos and how Josh McDaniels had not control over the team and what a joke Kyle Orton is your quarterback. Ok, I was one of them. I thought the Broncos would be a laughing stock this year and while they may not go wire to wire into the playoffs, they have shut a lot of people up. Granted, two of their games have been against Oakland and Cleveland but a win in this league is a win. The Broncos toppled the Cowboys at home 17-10. The Neckbeard Kyle Orton is just being himself out there, not too spectacular but not turning the ball over. Did you know that Orton is 17-2 as a starter when he plays at home? He has not thrown a pick yet this season, although he has come close. Brandon Marshall has put his temper tantrum and slipping on McDonalds wrappers behind him. The defense is allowing 6.5 points per game. A lot of credit should go to defensive coordinator Mike Nolan forgetting the defense to play like it is. Credit all around to the Broncos who have to be feeling pretty good looking at the way the rest of their division is playing. Many thought San Diego was the easy pick for this division but it turns out the perception might be wrong.
Rams 0-4
One situation where a team was perceived to have no power and turned out to be true was in St. Louis. The Rams are bad, so bad the winless predictions are starting to come in. In 4 games the Rams have scored 24 points and have been shutout twice. They lost to the 49ers 35-0 in San Fran and looked horrible doing it. With Bulger hurt(again) Kyle Boller barely made it over 100 yards passing. The Rams play Detroit November 1 in what might be their most winnable game. We are far cry from "Ram It".
Random Thoughts
-I know this issue has been beat to death in Carolina but let's compare Jared Allen and Julius Peppers for a moment.
Allen has 18 total tackles, 6.5 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles so far this year.
Peppers has 9 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble in 3 games.
-Catfish made a great point last night: What if the Chargers had had the stones to let LT go and keep Michael Turner? That being said the Chargers offense is not necessarily the problem. Shawn Merriman's stats so far this season: 8 tackles, 0 sacks, 0 everything else.
-I completely understand Ray Lewis being upset over the roughing the passer calls in the game against New England. However, I am not going to shed too many tears. The Patriots got a roughing call of their own and if Clayton had not dropped that 4th and 3 pass who knows what would have happened. There are three certainties in life; death, taxes, and bad officiating. All that being said I do not blame Brady for his initial reaction to the way Suggs came flying in. If you had a repaired knee you would be a little skiddish as well.
Tuesday, October 6
Week 4 NFL De-Cleeting
Tuesday, September 30
NFL Week 4: De-Cleeting: Hold Fast
The first fourth of the season is finished for most teams and finding a foothold has been folly for some, fun for others. The number of undefeated teams has dwindled to 3, and they are Buffalo, Tennessee and the New York Giants. As opposed to last year, it looks as though parity will rule in the league, although this year there are plenty of good teams that will battle it out for the last playoff spots 1 through 6. This may well be a battle of attrition where the teams that weather the storm are left standing at the end. Continue on for a look at what was seen this week in the NFL.
A man must admit when he was wrong (NYJ 56, ARI 35)
In my picks for week 4, I proclaimed that Favre was looking old and that the Cardinals secondary would be able to make some plays. This should provide sufficient evidence as to why I do not gamble on sports. Favre had a career day and the Kurt Warner from the evil dimension appeared and turned the ball over 5 times.
Steve Smith has a very special present for Ken Lucas (CAR 24, ATL 9)
No, it wasn’t a right cross it was a football after Smith scored his first TD of the year. I don’t know how Lucas felt about the gift, but I think he may just want to forget about the incident and move on, but the most important thing is that the Panthers played well. Muhsin Muhammed and Smith combined for over 230 yards in the win and the team did not turn the ball over. The bad news for the Panthers was that both of their tackles, Jordan Gross and Jeff Otah were taken off the field. The Falcons are still at 2-2 though and Matt Ryan has delivered so far, mostly because he has had no great expectations to live up to.
Titans are playing Jeff Fisher football (TEN 30, MIN 17)
There is no denying that the coach, offense, and team overall feel more comfortable with Kerry Collins at quarterback. Vince Young will be best served at studying the games and getting himself rehabilitated and ready to step-in should anything happen to Collins. Fisher has the defense in Nashville back to dominating, and Collins is spreading the ball around along with the thunder and lightning (obligatory) of LenDale White and Chris Johnson. Fisher rarely gets the recognition he deserves but year after year he makes it work with the Titans. This year he has the talent to take the team into the playoffs and get a home game this year and possibly a first-round bye.
The Bills are 4-0, do not adjust your corneas (BUF 31, STL 14)
Against our trusty NFL barometer the Bills struggled until late when they returned an INT and made some late scores. Scott Linehan got the axe at 2 a.m. and Jim Haslett will take over the duties in Saint Louis after a week in which there was mutiny afoot in the locker room from Marc Bulger and others. Buffalo has now become one of the top teams in the AFC, but the heads better stay on straight because although they are good, they are not dominating and must play focused in each week to keep up the momentum.
The honeymoon is over (TB 30, GB 21)
Rodgers got picked three times and hurt his shoulder late in the game. Tampa has yet to be spectacular but the NFC South will not be a beauty contest by any stretch. Griese has established himself as the starter after some less than stellar starts. If Rodgers misses Green Bay’s game this week against the Falcons, the Favre-lovers will be all over the fact that he didn’t last 4 games in the consecutive starts streak. The good news for the Packers is that they are still tied for the division lead at 2-2.
If you’re surprised by T.O.’s whining, you may also be shocked to learn the country is in a financial crisis (WSH 26, DAL 24)
Jim Zorn has every right to tell the media and fans to shove it after going into Texas Stadium and beating the Cowboys. The Redskins are now 3-1 and Jason Campbell looks every bit the pro quarterback. The Dallas play calling was a bit heavy on the passing, not heavy enough for Owens who was shedding no tears for Romo like he was after the last Cowboys’ loss. It’s one thing if the defense takes Marion Barber and Felix Jones out of the game, but simply not putting the ball in their hands is another. This game exposes where Dallas is vulnerable; when a talented team comes in with a solid game plan combined the Cowboys making bad decisions.
15 seconds of dumb play cost Ravens the game (PIT 23, BAL 20 OT)
In a hard hitting game, the Ravens executed their game plan perfectly until they played bad on defense for one drive, committed a dumb personal foul, and gave up a big play. They then fumbled the ball to Pittsburgh for a TD. That’s the danger when you play that style, if you have a few lapses in focus, the cost is magnified. Can Big Ben really take this kind of punishment all year?
