The Eagles tried valiantly but couldn't knock off the champ. They were able to move the ball on the Patriots, they stopped the Patriots juggernaut of an offense a few times, and they did it with A.J. Feeley at quarterback. But they still lost. But they put more of a scare into them than any other team, except for arguably the Colts. But given that the spread was 20 points higher for this game, I definitely give the Eagles a lot of credit for showing up. The question now is, did the Eagles expose a weakness in the Patriots, or did they just piss them off?
Why Can't You Be More Like Your Brother?
A question often asked of Master Bates certainly applies to Eli Manning. I went to this game with the Master (though we didn't sit together, or tailgate together) and Papa Poop, both of whom are Giants fans. Thank god I'm a Redskins fans because I might have thrown myself from the upper deck if I had been rooting for the Giants in this one. Eli Manning played about as bad as you can play, throwing 4 INTs all of which were turned into touchdowns, 3 right away, the other on the very next play. Taking that away and the long bomb to open the game the Giants defense played well, but Manning just killed them. But as bad as he was I don't think this is a permanent indictment of his skills. Even Peyton has games like this every once in a while. He needs to make his good games better and his bad games fewer but NFL QBs can't avoid throwing interceptions.
Back in the Endzone
After an 8 week absence, and a proclamation that he was done with endzone celebrations while the team was losing, Chad Johnson got back on the board in a big way. He had 12 catches for 103 and 3 TDs in a 35-6 win over the Titans. On the first touchdown he evidently though 3-7 was a good enough record to celebrate because he manned the TV camera.
After getting flagged for 15 yards for that one, Johnson toned it down for future celebrations, simply getting a hug from the mascot.
Game of the Week
Chicago Bears 37 Denver Broncos 34
An incredible back and forth affair that featured the greatness of Devin Hester (more on him later) and 3 touchdowns on 4 plays in 27 seconds. The game started slowly, even for Hester, who showed his hubris by trying to field a bouncing punt. He muffed it to set up a Broncos field goal. And when a Rex Grossman interception set up a Broncos touchdown, Bears fans must have felt like it was here we go again.
The Broncos had a 13-6 lead at halftime, but starting in the third quarter, business picked up.
Denver went three and out and punted to Hester who returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. After a couple turnovers and a couple three and outs Denver went on a long touchdown drive to retake the lead. Not For Long. Hester returned the kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown to tie the game again.
It prompted Dan Dierdorf (who was enjoyable during this game) to question Mike Shanahan's sanity for kicking to Hester. Dierdorf also commented that at the end of the run Hester was looking at himself on the scoreboard. Dierdorf said "that must be fun."
It was fun, but Not For Long. On the first play from scrimmage Jay Cutler threw a bomb to Brandon Marshall for a 68 yard touchdown to take a 27-20 lead. Four plays, 3 touchdowns, 27 seconds.
Denver took a 14 point lead at the beginning of the 4th quarter on an incredible catch by Tony Scheffler who outleaped two defenders then caught the ball in between his legs while he was on the ground.
But Chicago came back, scoring a touchdown after blocking a punt and then tying the game with 28 seconds left after Rex Grossman led a 65 yard drive.
The Bears got the ball to start overtime, and Grossman once again came through, completing a 39 yard pass to Desmond Clark, which set up the game-winning field goal.
Windy City Flyer
It can't be overstated how incredible Devin "Windy City Flyer" Hester is. In his brief career, encompassing 30 games (27 regular season, 3 playoff) he has 13 touchdowns. 6 punt returns, 4 kickoff returns, 1 receiving, 1 missed field and 1 kick return in the Super Bowl.
His 10 regular season return touchdowns put him 3 behind the all-time leader (Brian Mitchell), after only a season and a half.
Reggie Bush, whom you may remember was drafted #2 overall, has only 11 TDs in his career. And he's a running back.
I have a feeling Hester's return numbers will slow as fewer teams will be willing to challenge him. But his mere presence could be invaluable because the consistent field position benefits of teams kicking short or punting out of bounds to avoid Hester, may prove to be more beneficial to the Bears than the occassional touchdown return.
The Bears need to find a way to get Hester the ball more often on offense. A talent like this doesn't come along too often. We are witnessing something special.
This One Was Good Too
San Francisco 49ers 37 Arizona Cardinals 31
A fierce battle between Kurt Warner and Trent Dilfer. What year is this? Warner ended the first half by hooking up with Larry Fitzgerald on a 48 yard Hail Mary to give the Cardinals a 21-17 lead. The teams traded touchdowns until Neil Rackers nailed a 19 yard field goal with 2 seconds left to tie the game at 31. But before that Bryant Johnson almost won the game twice. First he was pushed out of bounds at 1 after a 30 yard catch, then on the next play the game winning TD was ripped from his hands.
After several scoreless possessions in overtime, Neil Rackers won the game for the Cardinals with a 27-yard field goal. But they didn't snap the ball in time so Rackers had to try again for 32 yards, and he missed.
The 49ers used a pass interference call to move the ball but then went backwards, and were forced to punt. But they pinned the Cardinals at the 3. On the next play Kurt Warner fumbled, as he's been known to do from time to time, and the 49ers recovered in the endzone for the victory.
On the Other Hand
The Steelers beat the Dolphins 3-0 on a rain-soaked Heinz Field. There was no scoring until the Steelers kicked a field goal with 17 seconds left. Because of 5 high school and college games the field was in no condition to be played on. It was resodded before the game and the new sod didn't drain or hold up. It was a complete mess, completely unplayable.
Two other notes: To save time because of the delay, the National Anthem was never sung. Ben Roethlisberger completed 18 of 21 passes. His 86% completion percentage is a new Steelers record.
A Brief Rant About the Redskins
You can't win in the NFL when you're minus 6 in turnovers. No one could hold onto the ball. The defense played great. The offense sucked. And once again Jason Campbell failed to make the big plays which are the difference between winning and losing.
Cheerleader of the Week
Lauren D from the San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush Squad
The 49ers have one of the worst cheerleading sites in the NFL, one picture per girl and very little personal information
But here's what we do know about Lauren D. She's a Sagittarius who loves hot fudge sundaes and mafia movies.
If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
New England Patriots 31 Dallas Cowboys 28
We will soon find out if Eagles drew up a blueprint or if they woke a sleeping giant. Plus the Cowboys will fight for their spot in this space Thursday against the Packers.
4 comments:
Actually, the Steelers score was 3-0. 13-10 would have been a godsend. Also, the irony of Tully Banta-Cain recovering the fumble in the endzone. In securing the 49ers win, the ex-Patriot hurt his old team by breaking a tie for 2nd worst team in the league. The Niners actually had the tiebreaker for the second pick in the draft, a pick that belongs to New England. As of now, New England would pick fourth.
What else we learned, is for the second year in a row, the Eagles appear to be better without McNabb than they are with him. First Jeff Garcia, now Feeley. Coincidence? I thnk not. Bye-bye Donovan. Better have mom make you some Chunky soup.
After watching the Bears game, it became apparent to me that Devin Hester must be one of the dumbest players in the NFL. After returning two TDs, the Bears brought Hester in on offense for a few plays, Hester had no idea what he was doing on the field. I don't know why I did not come to this realization before. Of course, we had seen Hester on a post pattern going deep but, his real value would be as the recipient of short route in the middle of the field. Obviously, a person so physically gifted (or talented) is someone who a coach would try to find every which way to have him in on every offensive play. The only conclusion is that he just simply cannot execute the plays. Executing plays is not exactly rocket science. He must just be too dumb. Before someone argues that perhaps he is not a good blocker, look at all the players who play on teams that are not good blockers- true Hester might not have the work ethic to become a good block- but lots of guys lack this and play.
Now AP gets to start!!!!
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