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Week five is complete and the trend continues: the haves keep on having, while the have-nots keep sliding further into the abyss. It’s hard to remember a time when there were so many flat-out bad teams throughout the league as each week brings more point spreads which resemble those of a mismatched college game. Clearly the “spread the wealth” mandate has failed to reach the NFL as well as the general public. But there is much to rejoice in, so let’s get to it.
 What can one say about the Giants 44-7 cakewalk over the hapless Raiders? The first couple of things that come to mind are: it wasn’t as close as the score would indicate…that JaMarcus Russell is actually Ryan Leaf in disguise…and how did the Raiders actually win a game this season? The Giants did whatever they wanted to against Oakland in what amounted to nothing more than a scrimmage for them. Yes, it’s nice to win, but the last couple of games have hardly fine-tuned the Giants—it won’t always be easy, especially when they travel to the BIG Easy next weekend to take on the unbeaten Saints.
Eli Manning (did anyone really think he’d fail to start?) got his work in, going 8-10 for 173 yards with a pair of touchdowns. That adds up to a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3, and Manning was just getting started. He had his pick of receivers to throw to, every one of them wide open on almost every play. When they weren’t wide open, Manning threw perfect passes and in the process showed that his heel was just fine. But why risk it? Why take the chance that he might aggravate the injury against a minor league team? Once Big Blue hit 28 points, Tom Coughlin realized there was no way his team could lose that game. The Giants could have left the field and Russell wouldn’t have been able to put 28 points up.
Ahmad Bradshaw ran 11 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns, causing many Giant fans to wonder, ‘Is he now the number one back?’ Bradshaw ran all over the field, while Brandon Jacobs struggled all day. For the season—Bradshaw: 58 carries for 375 yards, Jacobs: 100 carries for 355 yards. That’s a large enough sampling for me to make the following statement: Bradshaw needs the ball more. It doesn’t matter who the “starter” is, but Bradshaw has simply been more effective than the big man and although I’m sure he wouldn’t average 6.5 yards per tote if he had 20 carries a game, I need to see what he can do with 18-20 carries a week instead of 11-14. Give the man a play raise.
The receiving corps kept their momentum going, welcoming rookie Hakeem Nicks (four catches for 49 yards and a TD) back into the fold full-time. Between Nicks, the REAL Steve Smith, and Super Mario Manningham, the Giants front office has justified their “failure” to give up players and picks for the number-one receiver everyone thought they needed to compete. The passing offense is currently ranked 10th in the league and has ten passing TDs and only two interceptions. Oh, and the offensive line has allowed a mere three sacks. Only Atlanta and Indianapolis have allowed fewer (two) and Atlanta has played only four games and Indy has Peyton Manning. What more could be expected from the Giants’ aerial attack?
Defensively, I can’t get that excited over the past two weeks. Those weren’t real tests and I’m concerned that no matter how much the Saints’ potency is pounded into their heads by the coaching staff, the Giants will come out a bit sluggish against New Orleans. Big Blue have yielded only 14 points and 211 yards of offense per game this season, but do not be fooled—they’ve played five teams that haven’t lit it up offensively to say the least in Washington (27th), Dallas (11th), Tampa (29th), Kansas City (24th), and Oakland (31st). Now they’ll have their first major test—the juggernaut Saints offense, ranked number one with a bullet. Weaknesses are easily masked against the minnows of the NFL…time will tell if the defense can hold its own against Brees and Co. Get ready for a week filled with “Battle of the Undefeateds!” hype…
As for the Jets, they received their second consecutive dose of reality against the Miami Dolphins. Just as a defense prepares for an offense, so too did the Dolphins offense prepare for the vaunted Jets defense. It was an entertaining game filled with gadget plays, fake punts, and a fourth quarter scoring bonanza that kept everyone glued to their sets. The Dolphins emerged victorious, 31-27, and closed the gap between themselves and the two division leaders to one game. The game reminded me of the Floyd Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez fight. Mayweather would hit Marquez repeatedly, but when Marquez tried to counter, Mayweather simply side-stepped him. It got to the point where everyone watching knew what was going to happen—Mayweather was going to win because he hit Marquez and was able to avoid being hit himself. Money Mayweather had a pretty good fighter on his heels all night and despite the fact that Marquez—a very intelligent fighter—knew what was going on, he was powerless to stop it. And so it was with the Jets against the Wildcat.
 Don’t misunderstand—the Dolphins ran for 151 yards on 36 carries, a 4.2 per carry average. That’s good, but not great…it wasn’t even as much as the Jets averaged per carry (4.6), but the WAY the Fish ran the ball made all the difference. The Wildcat, much as I dislike it, kept the Jets defense off-balance throughout the game and allowed newbie Chad Henne to; as Jets linebacker Calvin Pace put it, “look like Dan Marino”. Henne went 20-26 for 241 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s a QB rating of 130.4. To put that rating in perspective, the best rating performance this season against the Jets before last night was Drew Brees’ 78.9, which is average at best. Keeping a blitz-happy defense guessing isn’t easy, but the Dolphins were prepared and set the tone on their opening drive.
The first play Miami ran out of the Wildcat was a pass, and Ronnie Brown’s 21-yard completion to Anthony Fasano on the game’s third play was a stroke of genius. By passing out of that formation—something which they hadn’t done all season—the Dolphins immediately threw the Jets defense off-balance. Now New York had to be ready for a pass out of that formation for the rest of the game, and the attacking attitude of that defense was reduced to a “what are they going to do now?” mindset. The Jets were a half-second slower to react than they had been all season and that was enough for Miami to be effective offensively. Henne wasn’t sacked once and was barely touched all night. He can chalk that up to the hesitation caused by the Wildcat. Henne had time to show off his cannon-arm and his 53-yard touchdown strike to Ted Ginn, Jr. early in the fourth quarter was the culmination of Wildcatting New York for the three previous quarters. The deep ball was unexpected and again, that half-second of hesitation made all the difference.
However, even with all of the gadgetry, the Jets were leading 27-24 with just over five minutes left. That’s when Miami went on their impressive game-winning drive. After a direct snap to Ricky Williams—who was effective all night—the Dolphins brought Pat White out of storage to run the Wildcat. He handed off to Brown, then ran for a first down on a six-yard dash. With less than four minutes left in the game, the Jets were seeing a player that they didn’t expect to see in White, causing more defensive hesitation. White exited after his cameo and a few plays later, Miami was faced with a third and ten from the Jets 16. It was an obvious passing situation, something the Dolphins hadn’t faced much in the game, so the Jets must have been thinking, ‘Finally, we can tee off on this kid!’ But Miami was too clever, shifting the pocket for Henne, giving him time to fire a laser to Greg Camarillo for a 12-yard gain. That set up a first and goal from the Jets four-yard line and there was no way Miami was going to be kept out of the end zone.
We’ve learned that the New York offense is not yet good enough to cover for the defense. It wasn’t that the Jets played a poor game offensively—they were average all around, although it’s pretty clear that Braylon Edwards is going to fit in just fine—but the defense is what makes this team go, and Miami rendered it harmless by keeping it off-balance for 60 minutes. That was some good preparation by the Miami coaching staff and a disappointing performance by the Jets defense, a unit that couldn’t adjust during the game and seemed not-ready-for-primetime. I’d wager New York’s D will be more than ready to take on the anemic Buffalo offense this Sunday…but will Buffalo take a page from the Miami playbook and get the Wildbuff going? With that banged up offensive line and the futility of the Bills offense to this point, one would hope they’d do something different.
Around the League…
I mentioned last week that I liked what I was seeing from the Cincinnati Bengals. That “like” may just be turning into something…a bit more serious. Cincy beat Baltimore on the road with another last-minute scoring drive led by Carson Palmer. That gives the mighty Bengals a 4-1 record, the only loss coming on that Denver miracle pass in week one. Yes—the Cincinnati Bengals have won four in a row after suffering a devastating opening day loss. Palmer led his team on a 13-play, 80-yard drive with just over two minutes to go in the game, and did it against the Ravens defense on the road. Cincy has now defeated Green Bay on the road, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore on the road. Those are serious NFL scalps. With the defense finally playing well under Marvin Lewis, Palmer finally healthy, Cedric Benson running effectively and Chad Ochocinco playing with spirit and determination…dare I say the Bengals are for real? Perhaps…I have them down for nine wins right now—they’ll have to surprise us again to make the playoffs—but at the very least, it appears this franchise is heading in the right direction, and they’re doing so in an entertaining way.
Is everyone prepared to believe what they see, or are there still some of you that believe Denver isn’t good? The Broncos moved to 5-0 after defeating the New England Patriots 20-17 in overtime on Sunday. The three major reasons why Denver has come out of nowhere are all surprises: 1) The Defense. Denver was 30th in the league last season in overall defense and despite bringing in a new coach with a new system there really wasn’t much hope for major improvements on that side of the ball heading into the season. But there is now. Denver is first overall defensively, yielding just 8.6 points and 81 yards on the ground per game. Compare that to the 28 points and 146 yards rushing per game they leaked last season and it becomes clear why Josh McDaniels is coaching at the age of 33. And it’s not like they’ve played patsies—they’ve held Dallas, New England, and Cincinnati in check; this defense is no fluke. 2) Kyle Orton. I said on the air before week one that Orton would have numbers similar to those of Jay Cutler at the end of the season. I was laughed at. I’m not ready to laugh that last laugh yet, but it’s nice to know my confidence in McDaniels’ offensive know-how was not misguided. Orton has grasped the system with an iron fist, racking up numbers no one (least of all Chicagoans) thought him capable of. Through five games, he is averaging 247 yards a game passing, has a 97.1 quarterback rating, and a seven to one touchdown to interception ratio. 3) Brandon Marshall is back. The man has somehow completely transformed his attitude in record time and is once again using his frame and speed to find the end zone. This is a guy who was suspended just before the season started for making a mockery of practice and mouthing off repeatedly. He’s always been a sulker, a malcontent…and now he’s a good guy and a team player? What the what? McDaniels must have some serious sales moxie in order to get through to Marshall so quickly and the fact that he has done so has to give McDaniels some serious cred in the locker room; if he can get through to Marshall, he’s worth listening to if you’re a Bronco, isn’t he? Whatever the reason, the light has come on for the talented receiver and Bronco fans aren’t going to question why—they just want number 15 to keep scoring. Playing with passion, determination, and belief, Denver isn’t going away and at the end of the season in a close divisional race, who would you rather put your money on—McDaniels or Norv Turner? Believe what you see. Denver is for real.
Observation Deck…
Five weeks down and it was interesting that…
Dallas beat Kansas City 26-20 in overtime, and you would have thought the Cowboys had won the Super Bowl the way they celebrated. Is that what it’s come to? A win against a winless team is cause for a party? I know they needed that win, but the mega-release of pressure shown after than game—a game which they would have lost to 90 percent of the league—wasn’t a good sign. This team is too tight, from the coach to the quarterback, and you cannot win over a long period of time when you’re playing tight. The Cowboys think a mid-October game against Kansas City is pressure? Wait until December, when the pressure is real…they’ll once again fold like a scared poker player. Dallas needs more guys like Miles Austin, who went OFF against KC. Austin played hard, broke tackles, and seized his opportunity with Roy “flop” Williams out of the lineup. If everyone on Dallas played with Austin’s energy and desire instead of believing the misguided hype about the team, they’d play to win as opposed to playing like they’re afraid to lose. I still can’t get over that celebration after the game.
San Francisco got a wake-up call, didn’t they? The Falcons thrashed the Niners 45-10 and Mike Singletary’s team was never in the game. The fans booed the defense as they left the field at halftime, and deservedly so. Atlanta racked up 477 yards of offense on the San Francisco defense, 210 of them by Roddy White alone. It was an embarrassing performance, capped off by Dre’ Bly’s laughable showboating of an interception when his Niners were down 35-10. Not only was his Deion Sanders imitation misplaced, he was caught from behind and fumbled the ball back to Atlanta. Much like the 49ers defense came into the game thinking they could stop anyone, so too did Bly assume his job was done before it actually was. That was one humbling experience for the 49ers, and with Matt Hasselbeck looking healthy (for now) and the Arizona offense kicking into gear, everyone who anointed San Francisco NFC West champs might want to settle down. We’ll see if the defense gets its act together after the bye week as the Niners must travel to Houston and Indianapolis in weeks seven and eight.
I’m tired of hearing all this talk about how teams “can’t” fire coaches in the middle of the season. Why not? I don’t expect a big-time coach to come in as a replacement mid-season, but that doesn’t mean a team can’t get rid of a coach mid-season. Oakland, Washington, and Buffalo—how much worse could an assistant be than Tom “Rocky” Cable, Jim Zorn, or Dick Jauron? You never know what Al Davis is going to do, but Zorn and Jauron are clearly done after this season—why not do it now? If you do, the players get a shock to the system and realize they need to essentially audition for their jobs both for the interim coach and whoever is going to be there next year. “Because that’s not the way it’s done” isn’t a legitimate excuse for inaction; fans are wising up, and recognize that coaching is more a part of a team’s success these days than it has been in the past. Fans all want hope and while Kansas City and St. Louis are winless, at least their fans can see some progress under new coaching regimes. The sooner the three teams mentioned above rid themselves of what are essentially lame ducks, the sooner the turnaround can begin.
The Colts rolled to 5-0, yet people still hate on Peyton Manning. It’s amazing that this guy hasn’t won over every NFL fan, but he hasn’t. Manning is one of those guys—and they exist in every sport—who fans just refuse to completely embrace. He’s hyped to the highest degree, but he deserves it. The man puts numbers up every week—five straight 300-yard games to start this season—and he’s won his Super Bowl. Yet I still hear people say, “Yeah, but…” when they talk about him every week. “Yeah, but” what? He’s not as flashy as you want him to be? He’s not as cool as Tom Brady? He’s not as blue collar as Ben Roethlisberger? Who cares? What more do you want from a quarterback? I’m not his biggest fan, but the facts are the facts. His records—and by that I mean his personal statistical records and his team’s win-loss records—speak for themselves. Before you say, “yeah, but…” go look up his numbers and compare them to those of any all-time great you want to. They measure up in every way. You’re not a numbers person? Fine. Watch the man play—I defy anyone to tell me Manning isn’t tough, gutsy, clever, intelligent, or a winner. Sure, he does too many commercials, comes across a bit too folksy at times, and doesn’t date Supermodels or ride motorcycles…but that doesn’t make his accomplishments any less great. Stop the hatin’ on Peyton.
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