Before I get into the excitement that was Week 8, I need to take a few moments to tout the beauty that is the NFL Redzone. For a cost that is considerably less than NFL Ticket, you get to see what’s happening around the league without having to wait for studio updates or actually watching an entire 3 ½ hour game. In an era of free agency and fantasy football, the NFL Redzone gives football fans exactly what they’re looking for: updates on plays and players as opposed to watching games and teams they are not interested in. Call your cable provider and try out NFL Redzone for a month and see what you’ve been missing. Even if you don’t like it, I’m sure that you will spend more on coffee, lunch, or a movie next month with less bang for your buck. With that out of the way, onto Week 8!
While there are a plethora of storylines to choose from, you have to start with Washington.
10. Only in Washington. I’m not sure how Redskins fans do it year in and year out. It’s always something and yesterday, it was the coach. Mike Shanahan made a number of questionable decisions yesterday, including going for two instead of kicking the extra point or foolishly calling a pass play while leading Detroit by 5 points with less than 5 minutes to go in the game. However, those decisions pale in comparison to Shanahan’s decision to bench Donovan McNabb for Rex Grossman. Benching McNabb made absolutely no sense and his claim that Grossman had a better grasp of the 2 minute offense than McNabb was both lame and artificial. There is no team at any level that has a backup QB who can run the 2 minute drill better than the starter could. Questioning McNabb’s intelligence was a slap in the face to McNabb, the entire Redskins team and their fans. The offensive line played horribly yesterday and they deserved as much, if not all of the credit for McNabb’s bad game. But, there’s no need to second guess Shanahan’s decision as fate did that for us. On Grossman’s first play, he was hammered, fumbled the ball, and Detroit returned the fumble for a game-sealing touchdown. Did anybody else notice a quick smirk and nod of the head from McNabb, as if to say to Shanahan, “So, it’s my fault, right?”
9. Halloween was a fitting day to dance on graves. And there was no bigger dance floor than the grave of the Dallas Cowboys. Sure, at 1-6, they can run the table, go 10-6 and somehow sneak into the playoffs. That is, if they didn’t look like they flat out quit yesterday. There was no fight in this dog yesterday as Jacksonville dropped 35 on Big D. Play like that is usually the first sign that a team has quit on it’s head coach. I don’t know if Wade Philips makes it through the end of the year but if he can’t develop a defensive game plan to stop the Jaguars (he’s also the defensive coordinator) and he can’t rally the troops to win at home, I’m not sure what his value is to the team and more importantly, to Jerry Jones.
8. Oakland – no longer an easy win. Add Oakland to the growing list of teams that you can take off of the “easy wins” list. Tom Cable has infused his personality on this Raiders team and they have been playing lights out the last two weeks. Oakland follows a trouncing of the Broncos with a beat down of Seattle in the Black Hole. They are playing well defensively, running the ball effectively and Jason Campbell is not making too many mistakes. They have a huge match-up against Kansas City next week and with the Chiefs, Chargers and Raiders all winning yesterday, the race for the AFC West title is getting quite interesting.
7. Close is still only good in horseshoes. Buffalo played another gritty, grind it out game yesterday and came up short in overtime for the second straight week. Sure, the Bills left some plays on the field and this was a game that the Chiefs should have won. But Buffalo has played hard and you just know that they will win a few games this year and will make some noise next year. As for the late timeout taken by Kansas City coach Todd Haley to freeze Buffalo kicker Rian Lindell, it’s just bad sportsmanship. There's nothing shrewd or clever about waiting until a moment before the ball is snapped and the kicker goes through his motion.
6. The most exciting game yesterday had to be Tampa Bay/Arizona. If at the beginning of the season someone would have told you that by Week 8, Tampa Bay would have more wins (5) than more than ½ the league, you would tell them to put down the contraband and seek professional help. This young team has to be the surprise of the year and I look forward to seeing how they finish the 2nd half of the season. Josh Freeman is serviceable quarterback who doesn’t make mistakes with the ball. Cadillac Williams and LeGarrette Blount are a serious 1-2 punch and their defense is aggressive. As for Arizona, they are struggling. They have QB issues, defensive issues and possibly coaching issues. For those folks who during Arizona's Super Bowl run two years ago said that Larry Fitzgerald was the more important receiver, ask Anquan Boldin who’s putting up the better numbers now. Fitz should have done more to keep Boldin, especially with Kurt Warner retiring.
5. A tale of two halves. That’s what happened yesterday in Cincinnati. The Bengals, leading 14-12 at the half did not score a point in the 2nd half. How is that possible? Yes, TO dropped a sure touchdown. But the Bengals did not have a 100 yard receiver or rusher. They are not getting it done offensively and Marvin Lewis needs to think long and hard about how they can turn this thing around.
4. Those were interceptions? Because to me, those two Mark Sanchez interceptions looked more like catches, the receiver being down by contact and then having the ball taken away from them. Whether they were interceptions or not, the Jets didn’t look good coming off of their bye week. While the defense looked fairly sharp, perhaps Rex Ryan gave the team too much time off as the timing of the offense seemed to be off by a step or two. I fully expect the Jets to make the playoffs but with the Patriots stepping up their game and Miami just a game back, this was a game the Jets needed to win and should have won.
3. Norv Turner – safe for another week. After a much-needed win against the Titans, Turner is off of the hot seat, at least for this week. Granted, this was not a pretty or convincing win but a win is a win. The Chargers made plays when they had to and Philip Rivers is having a tremendous year. As for Tennessee, they played well but one has to question the bi-polar nature of this team. After winning three straight games and with a chance to have at least a share of the lead in the competitive AFC South, they came out flat and didn’t seem to have any urgency. Granted, they lost arguably their best receiver in Kenny Britt and Vince Young also left the game with an injury. Maybe Tennessee got caught thinking about their upcoming bye week instead of taking care of business.
2. The most competitive game was Pittsburgh/New Orleans. From the goal line stand by the Saints, to the rushing attack of the Steelers, this game was like watching a heavyweight slug fest, with each fighter taking the opponent’s best shot. The knockout blow came when Heath Miller fumbled, the Saints recovered and proceeded to put 6 on the board and separation between themselves and the Steelers. While this was an important game for both teams, it obviously meant more to the Saints who could not afford to fall any more games behind Tampa Bay and Atlanta.
1. The Twin Cities is now known as the Twin Divas. I don’t think that Minnesota has room for two divas and the Vikings record would indicate that there isn’t enough room for unnecessary drama. Let's begin with Favre. To his credit, the media has turned Favre into a diva but he has definitely given them reason to follow his every move. From retirement announcements, to missing the majority of training camp, to illicit text messages, to being carted off in diva fashion yesterday (when was the last time you saw an NFL player curled up in the fetal position as they were being carted off), Favre continues to intrigue the media. As for Moss, he had another quiet game yesterday and after the game, he allegedly waxed poetic about his fondness for Belichick and Brady and that he missed playing with them. There’s a lot of season left to be played but the Vikings appear to be a comedy of errors. However, before I lay everything at Favre’s feet, where is that vaunted Minnesota defense from last year? They’re not putting any pressure on the quarterback and teams are having a field day. Where’s Jared Allen and the Williams brothers? For a team that led the league in sacks last year, to only have 6 this year is abysmal and forces Favre to play more recklessly. Yes, he missed training camp and yes, Sidney Rice is out. We all know that if you force Favre to keep his team in the game, he’s going to take risks and that means turnovers.
