Tuesday FourCast: Week 11

This was a week of some crazy storylines in the NFL. Now while Scott Green’s horrendous call causing a $66 million swing in betting on the Steelers/Bolts game doesn’t quite match up to a worm-eating freak who carries a clock, this weekend still brought back my childhood (and subsequently, college-hood) memories of that great non-sport: Professional Wrestling.

1. Do You Smell What the Rock is Cooking?

The Sunday Night Football game on NBC brought us a crappy performance by the Cowpokes matched by an even crappier performance by the Portises, er, Redskins. For much of the first half of this yawn-fest, the Skins led 7-0. But Dallas , arguably, caught a break on what appeared to be a fantastic punt by Ryan Plackemeier. The ball nestled at the 1-yard line, and did not appear to be moving from that spot. Yet, out of nowhere, Rock Cartwright bolted onto the scene to down the ball. Unfortunately for the Redskins, the Rock’s overzealousness caused his “roody poo, candy ass” to be in contact with the goal line at the moment he downed the football, resulting in a touchback. Could Dallas have scored the equalizing TD on a 99-yard drive instead of an 80-yard drive? Possibly, but starting out of your own endzone is always a daunting task.

2. The Mega Powers

You know how the classic tag team match goes in pro wrestling. The match starts off fairly even, or possibly in favor of the good guys … but then the heels take control. The good guys start to get pummeled a little bit. For a few quarters of the Titans and Jags game on Sunday, Titans fans saw this playing out. The Jaguars were beating the undefeated Titans 14-3 at half time thanks to 2 MJD touchdowns. It looked as though the Jaguars had figured out that vaunted Tennessee defense. But Jack Del Rio’s boys forgot one thing … like true champions, Jeff Fisher and Kerry Collins say their prayers, eat their vitamins, and kick some ass! Collins came out after the break and threw 3 touchdown passes, and the Tennessee D stepped up, helping guide this season’s mega powers to a 24-14 win and a 10-0 record.

3. The Power of the Warrior!!!

Sometimes people will say something that will leave you scratching your head. That “something” could be a crazy white man, hopped up on steroids with paint on his face, saying “Dig your claws into my organs!! Stretch into my tendons!! Bury your angers into my bones, for the power of the Warrior will always prevaiilllll!!!” Or, it could be a 10-year veteran NFL quarterback saying that he didn’t know the NFL rulebook allowed for ties. Yes, I know a more renowned blog (*cough*PFT*cough*) has already beaten Donovan McNabb’s gaffe into submission … but I can’t let this go. It’s inexcusable for a veteran QB who has been to multiple Pro Bowls, to the Super Bowl, and eaten thousands of cans of Chunky’s Chicken Noodle Soup to be that dense as to the rules and regulations of his profession. Perhaps years of hearing nothing other than “throw the screen pass” from Andy Reid have had the same affect on McNabb’s brain than the ‘roids had on the Warrior’s grape-nuts.

4. This is Where the Power Lies ... Brotherrrrrrr!!!

Okay, okay. So the '49ers and Cardinals are not powerful groups (especially the '49ers), nor do they represent evil (except for the Bidwell's wallet). However, for thousands of Rams fans from the glory years of the late 1990's and early 2000's, three of the greatest heroes were Kurt Warner, Isaac Bruce and Mike Martz. They were three of the integral parts of the "Greatest Show on Turf." Now, in two of the past three weeks, these three have faced their former team, and have shattered the hearts of their ex-fans. In week 9, Kurt Warner took his Cards into St. Louis and dismantled his ex-team in front of the same fans who cheered him to two MVP awards. This past weekend, Bruce and Martz thrashed their ex-team ... at least they had the decency to do it in San Francisco. This trend of former beloved players returning to face against their old teams and old fans is nothing new ... but for that 16 year old kid, who 7 years ago screamed from the stands wearing a blue and gold #80 jersey, it will always hard to be difficult to cheer against his former idol ... even if that player is now on the dark side.

Tuesday FourCast: Week 8

1) No Need to Apologize
Titan fans can tell the NFL two words this week. While I won’t say em, DX made em quite popular. While Vince Young sits quietly on the sidelines, Tennessee is 7-0 and Kerry Collins is responsible for 6 of those wins. He isn’t Trent Dilfer of the 2000 Ravens. He helps win games. Disagree? Check the tape last night and be extra sure you check who his receivers are (or aren’t). Bo Scaife may make the Pro Bowl because the Titans don’t need Pro Bowl wideouts apparently. While the Titans will never get any respect, they may end up being the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays of the NFL this season. Of course when they do lose in the playoffs, every “expert” will say they saw it coming long ago. Then again, where were those “experts” who picked the Titans to be 7-0? Here's what matters:
A) They’ve beaten everyone in front of them, including AFC South stalwarts Indianapolis and Jacksonville.
B) Jeff Fisher is the best coach in the NFL. Imagine what he'd do with Peyton or Brady.
C) This is the best team in football right now. Deal with it.

2) Sometimes it isn’t the Coach
Marvin Lewis is stale in Cincy. Move on.
Mike Singletary was the right move on San Francisco. Praise on.
Rod Marinelli never had a chance in Detroit. Fire on.
Wade Phillips doesn’t do any damage being in Dallas right now. Stay on.
As for Norv Turner in San Diego. …
I use the “…” because I don’t know. It’s too easy to blame Norv for San Diego’s problems. Merriman’s injury has been catastrophic and a few other realities have come to play:
A) The Antonio Cromartie of last season wasn’t his true self.
B) Phillip Rivers and LT are great players, but they aren’t winners. Yeah, I said it.
C) Ted Cottrell is the most stagnant coordinator in football. The game has passed him by.

3) M-V-P for CP?
Each and every week we seem to have a “new” MVP to celebrate. Aaron Rogers, Trent Edwards, Eli Manning, Jay Cutler, and Steve Smith (of Carolina) have all gotten some pub in recent weeks. While I believe Andre Johnson of Houston is currently playing the best of anyone in football, Clinton “insert your favorite alter-ego” Portis would get my MVP vote. His rushing numbers are amazing and his team is an impressive 6-2. Don’t give me pining for 7-1 Skins fans, take your medicine and love it. CP has been shockingly durable, a redzone magnet, and has done all of this without a rush of over 35-yards. How? Confidence in his coach, his offensive line (Samuels is FINALLY playing Pro Bowl-caliber tackle), and a QB who doesn’t throw interceptions. While the Skins still don’t have the explosive offense their fans dream of, they’re a top NFC team because of three reasons:
A) Their QB doesn’t turn over the ball often.
B) Their defense holds opponents all over the field.
C) Their RB is the NFL MVP…thus far.

4) The Not-so-Golden Boy
It doesn’t take a Jim Rome – who only blasts people he can’t get on his show – or even an angry New Yorker to tell you what Peter King, Tony Kornheiser, and Mike Jaworski won’t tell you…Brett Favre has been very average this season. Jet fans booed the future Hall of Famer last Sunday. And for good reason. Favre makes 5-6 throws each and every week that are just waiting to be a pick-six. Sure he makes 5-6 throws only a handful of QBs ever could make; yet, is it beneficial in the end? The answer is still YES. The team still believes in his talent, his vision is still unparalleled, and you can’t forget that he is a proven winner. Just ask a few of the teams mentioned above how important that characteristic is. Nevertheless, let me get three points across:
A) The Jets may be the fourth best team in the AFC East.
B) Brett Favre didn’t win the game last week. Lav Coles making that impressive TD catch combined with a missed illegal contact penalty on Drew Coleman in the closing seconds did.
C) The Jets are technically tied, at 4-3, for the final wild-card spot.
Anything else is trivial at this point.

Live Blog for NFL Week 5

Updated at 155pm

• The Eagles are handling the Redskins early on. David Akers is the best player for the Redskins. Right as I say that, McNabb throws a bullet to Carlos Rogers, which was dropped.
• Queue the Vince Young watch. Two picks thus far from Kerry Collins who has gotten an inordinate amount of love from the media. For those just joining, many dubbed Collins a basketcase earlier in his career. This is not to say he's a great player to have in the locker room now.
• After falling behind by 10 points at Reliant Stadium, Houston knots it at 10.
• In Detroit, the Pop Warner defense is holding Matt Forte to 3.4 ypc and stopped the Bears on 4th and 1.
• So much for my upset pick today - Giants are up 17-3 against the Seahawks.

240pm

• After 14 quick points from the Eagles, the Redskins have fought back with three field goals. Did anyone start Shawn Suisham today?
• DeAngelo Williams with a career half against the Chiefs. Through a half and change, Williams has 127 yards and 3 TDs. Wild.
• Miami picked up where it left off two weeks ago. Two second-quarter TDs have the Dolphins up 17-3. The entire San Diego offense has been ineffective. This isn't the first time they've been down double digits this season.
• Houston has come back with fury, up 7 at the half. One bright spot for Indy - they have largely stopped the run. That said, they have probably overcompensated for its Achilles heel.
• Matt Ryan and Roddy White may very well be the next big play combo as Sum alluded to a few weeks back. Up 17-7 at Lambeau.
• I bet the baseball games will have more runs than the Titans/Ravens game has points. 3-3 at the half.
• How about Kyle Orton?!?!?!

325pm

• We'll just ignore the KC/CAR, CHI/DET and SEA/NYG because they are blowouts. Detroit offensive coordinator Jim Colletto said they would "open it up today". The only thing opened up in Detroit is a can of whoopass.
• The Redskins have totally stolen the momentum from the Eagles. It's only a 2-point game, but it could be much worse.
• Aaron Rodgers and Greg Jennings to tie the score at home against Atlanta at 17. This came after Matt Ryan threw a pick in the endzone. Ouch.
• Miami puts a temporary halt on San Diego's momentum and hang on to a touchdown advantage.
• Indianapolis is experiencing serious problems. Houston has rattled off 27 unanswered and have a comfortable 17-point lead. Did you imagine that the Colts would be 1-3? I sure didn't.

345pm

• After the Eagles earned some first downs, the Redskins told them who's boss in the redzone. Eagles held to a field goal. Philly fans boo. Jason Campbell has been nothing short of amazing since the first couple series. His progress since the Giants game describes why the NFL is so unpredictable (and great). College basketball is better though.
• Albert Haynesworth having trouble getting up ... this could be a case of Bad News Bears.
• Right when the Colts were on their way to 1-3, they score a TD on 4th down and force a fumble-six. 27-24. It was the second lost fumble for Sage Rosenfels, who has had an otherwise stellar day.
• Matt Ryan is on his way to earning his first away victory as an NFL quarterback. Michael Turner finds the endzone for the first time away from the friendly confines of the Georgia Dome.

400pm

• The Washington offensive line & Clinton Portis will be 4-1 after dominating the Eagles on both lines. On the decisive 4th and 1, the offensive line pushed forward and Portis fought tooth and nail. Realistically, the Redskins could be 7-1 before their matchup against Pittsburgh. On a personal note, with the Cubs choking and the Eagles losing at home to a divisional foe, it's equivalent to a kick in the groin followed by a facial cleat stomp.
• In Houston, Indianapolis completed a phenomenal comeback, scoring thrice in the final 8 minutes. Sage Rosenfels turned the ball over three times in the decisive period.
• Tennessee comes from behind to defeat Baltimore. The Ravens, though impressive, are now a realistic 2-2. Tennessee keeps rolling, but it's not pretty. Collins to Crumpler for the winning score - you'd think this game was played in 2003.

425pm

• After a disappointing defeat, the Lions are an underwhelming 0-4. Sources have confirmed that they are shopping an unhappy Roy Williams; however, their price tag has been too much (prior to getting the sack, Matt Millen offered Roy Williams to the Cowboys for DeMarcus Ware). Could teams like the Eagles, Chargers (Chris Chambers was carted off earlier today) and Bills be in the market for the talent yet oft-injured playmaker?
• Tampa Bay and Dallas up early on field goals.
• Matt Cassel and JT O'Sullivan have both thrown picks ... in the first five minutes.
• Marion Barber III has half as many touches as last game in the first five minutes ... four. And Felix Jones just surpassed his touches. TO must be stewing. Oh, that damn media stirring up non-existent stories in Dallas.
• Phil Simms is intolerable. I'd love an automatic function that mutes specific commentators. The smart money is on Clement muting Chris Berman.

745pm

• Despite winning today, Dallas is not who we thought they were after their win at Green Bay. Perhaps it's a case of having the target on their chest. I think it's a case of having a defense that's not hungry and an offense that has forgotten the killer instinct it had for most of last season.
• Trent Edwards was concussed early in the Bills' 41-17 loss at Arizona. This was the Jekyll & Hyde matchup of the week and Hyde kicked Jekyll's tookus. Kurt Warner put any potential quarterback controversy to rest with a solid performance. Steve Breaston deputized well in Anquan Boldin's absence.
• Brian Griese wasn't able to win (or finish the game due to a shoulder injury) against another former team. Why? The Denver defense - a contradiction in terms - showed up. Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall did not put up the fancy numbers, but they won the game. I am still trying to understand the 36 pass / 21 run play breakdown when the Broncos surrendered 6.3 yards per rush.
• New England dominated the time of possession (40 minutes) and wore down San Francisco. This limited the number of touches for Frank Gore and facilitated the style of football which made the Patriots who they are prior to 2007.