Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.
James Butler, Giants You know, I was a little hard on Manning the Younger last night. I accused him of playing great football for 30 minutes, and then turning into an interception-throwing pumpkin, while the Patriots did what they do: mount a second-half comeback and win in handsome Tom Brady fashion.
But after some soul-searching, I've come to the realization that the Patriots-Giants game didn't turn on Manning's fourth-quarter pick, but on what transpired three plays prior. You can see the birds-eye view here, but all you need to know is this: safety James Butler must've blacked out because when the cameras finally caught up with him, he was about 15 yards behind Randy Moss. Moss was making his way to the end zone after hauling in a 65-yard bomb from Brady.
That was the game-changer. To that point, the Giants' offense was moving the ball without much trouble, and the defense was like Plexiglas Burress: bend but don't break.
On the bright side, Manning played probably his best game as a professional, and the timing couldn't be better. Sorry, No Photos
Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.
Jon Ryan, Packers Here's all you need to know about the Packers second-year punter: Green Bay attempted to punt six times, and Ryan got off three of them. And one of the successful boots went nine yards. Nine. In chronological order, here's how Ryan's Chicago Adventure unfolded:
* Fumbled snap * Blocked punt * 47-yard punt * 9-yard punt * Blocked punt (returned for TD) * 39-yard punt
It's worth pointing out that the wind chill was -1 in Chicago Sunday, and Packers quarterback Brett Favre didn't exactly help things; he tossed two interceptions, one a pick-six. The loss gives the Cowboys homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, which might be fine with Favre, who described the conditions in Chicago as the worst he's seen in 17 seasons.
Silver lining for Ryan: he manged to successfully hold for kicker Mason Crosby on the Packers' lone extra-point attempt. So there's that. Sorry, No Photos
Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.
Matt Stover, Ravens It's sorta unfair to put the Ravens latest loss -- that's eight straight now -- on the team's only scoring threat. But Stover, one of the league's most consistent kickers, honked a 44-yard field-goal attempt in overtime. And three plays later, this happened.
For the Dolphins, they win their first game since Week 14 of the 2006 season and now everybody knows the name Greg Camarillo. The Ravens are now the biggest laughingstock in the NFL, and Brian Billick -- who may not be a great coach, but is apparently great at talking himself into at least one more year on the job -- would be just as effective if he stayed in the locker room and did crossword puzzles for three hours on game days.
Next up for Miami: they head to New England to try to extend their one-game winning streak -- and to give the crotchety old guys something to live for -- while Baltimore continues its quest for a top-5 pick in next April's draft. So far, so good on that front. Sorry, No Photos
Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business. Anthony Smith, Steelers Didn't see that coming, did you? First, let me say that I don't have any real problems with Smith, a second-year safety used primarily as a backup until starter Ryan Clark went on injured reserve earlier this season, smacking his gums during the week. It's football; guys yell and scream and run into each other for a living.
The problem, however, is that Smith single-handedly torpedoed Pittsburgh's already-slim chances with what can kindly be described as "his play." Early in the second quarter with the Pats leading 7-3, Smith bit on a play-action pass that resulted in 63-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss.
And on New England's first drive of the second half, they ran the same play that the Steelers used to break the Bengals' back in the 2005 wild-card game: wide receiver throwback, quarterback hits the deep post. But instead of Antwaan Randle El, Ben Roethlisberger and Cedrick Wilson, it was Moss, Tom Brady, and Jabar Gaffney. The guy responsible for not letting Gaffney get behind the defense? Yep, Mr. Smith. Sorry, No Photos
Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.
A.J. Feeley, Eagles Well, so much for a quarterback controversy in Philadelphia. After one of the most impressive performances of the season last Sunday night, Eagles backup A.J. Feeley followed that up with what we've come to expect from A.J. Feeley: noodle-armed underthrows, poor decision making, and a bunch of passes to the other team. Check, check ... and check.
For the second straight week, Feeley threw a pick on the Eagles' first possession, but luckily, Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu didn't return it for six. That would be the highlight of Feeley's day.
The first interception set up a Shaun Alexander touchdown, which, these days, happens about as often as a Lions Super Bowl run. Pick No. 2 led to another Seattle touchdown. No. 3 killed an Eagles drive late in the third quarter with Philly trailing 28-24, and the final interception came with 23 seconds to go, Eagles still down by four.
Yeah, I think you could say this one's on Feeley. Sorry, No Photos
Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.
Herm Edwards, Chiefs Two weeks ago, Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs was highlighted in this space because of his inability manage timeouts and the clock. I have no recollection of Gibbs struggling with such problems during his first coaching run back in the '80s and '90s, but I'm convinced that Edwards is, by light years, the league's worst coach when it comes to making in-game decisions.
I don't make that accusation cavalierly, and with the full understanding that in addition to Gibbs, guys like Brian Billick, Marvin Lewis, Mike Holmgren and Norvell Turner make seemingly hair-brained decisions. But none can match Herm's lunacy.
The latest addition to Edwards' legacy came Sunday against AFC West rival, Oakland. With Kansas City trailing 20-17, less than five minutes to go in the game, and the ball on the Raiders' 27, Brodie Croyle completed a four-yard pass on 3rd and 5. Bring in the field goal team, right? Wrong. Sorry, No Photos
Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.
Philip Rivers, Chargers All together now: PHILIP RIVERS ... OVER-RATED! Since Marty Schottenheimer has been elevated to sainthood status (thanks, Norvell!), looking back at his time in San Diego, there's not much he did wrong. Sure, maybe he ran the ball too much, but, hey, the guy won, a concept foreign to Norv Turner.
Anyway, Schottenheimer seemed content to let Drew Brees run things in San Diego, but general manager A.J. Smith had other ideas. He traded 2004 first-overall pick Eli Manning to the Giants for Rivers, and after two years sittin' and learnin' behind Brees, Rivers was named the starter.
Rivers was pretty good last season; Brees was an MVP candidate. This year, Rivers is doing a fine Ryan Leaf* impression, and the 2007 Chargers look a lot like the 2000 team. Sorry, No Photos
Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.
Joe Gibbs, Redskins Gibbs comes across as a swell guy, a grandfatherly type who says things like "dadgummit" or "horse feathers" when he's angry, and always carries Werther's in his pocket for wide-eyed young fans. It all seems very Rockwellian. Except that reality for the Washington Redskins is nothing like the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.
Gibbs, who came out of retirement in 2004 for a second run with the Redskins, has looked out of sorts and overmatched for most of the last four years. And Sunday's game against the Eagles was a microcosm of that. The Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl winner now spends his weekends watching the his players -- in horror, no doubt -- repeat mistakes they were making in preseason. In yesterday's 33-25 loss to Philadelphia, the 'Skins committed 11 penalties for 74 yards, and on four occasions, penalties resulted in Eagles' first downs. Sorry, No Photos
Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.
Chargers Defense Heading into this game, San Diego's defense ranked 17th against the run, and Minnesota's offense was 8th. That'll likely change. The 2008 Rookie of the Year (they might as well hand out the award), Adrian Peterson, rushed for 296 yards on 30 carries. Two. Nine. Six. He also scored three touchdowns, and nine of his carries went for more than 10 yards. I believe that's called dominating an opponent.
Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.
Mike Williams, Raiders I'm starting to think Williams is the problem, not the teams he plays for. The former top-10 pick ate his way out of Detroit (and that's no easy task), landed in Oakland ... and he's still not very good. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper, who is holding down the job until Josh McCown can get healthy or JaMarcus Russell is ready to take over, had another uneven performance against Tennessee. He finished the day 15 of 32 for 167 yards and an interception.
But on the Raiders' last drive of the game, down by four points, Culpepper moved the ball to the Titans' 30-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-14, He hit Williams in stride -- 14 yards downfield -- only to watch Williams muff the pass. Two Vince Young kneel downs later, game over. For the year, Williams has played in five games, hauled in seven passes for 90 yards, and no touchdowns. You know, basically what Randy Moss does in an an average quarter of work.
