Steelers Report Card/Week 2: Champs Must Face Bear Facts

Here’s what I got out of the Steelers’ 17-14 defeat on Sunday afternoon:

1. There are good losses and not-so-good losses. And then there is the kind that the Steelers had against a very beatable Chicago Bears team.

If you’re the defending Super Bowl champions, then this shouldn’t happen.

Except for the absence of safety Troy Polamalu—and granted, that was a large exception—the Steelers had everything in their favor here. They had nine days to prepare for the game, while the Bears had played the previous Sunday night.

The Bears were without linebacker Brian Urlacher, arguably their best defensive player; their secondary and offensive line were train wrecks; and their quarterback had come off the worst performance of his career.

Too bad the Steelers considered a rare trip to Chicago to be a weekend vacation, not a business trip.

2. What should concern head coach Mike Tomlin more than anything is the lack of a killer instinct. The visitors had the Bears down for the count in the first period, which they absolutely dominated, but…

Here, I’ll let former Arizona Cardinals boss Dennis Green ‘splain it: We let them off the hook!

If was almost as though the Steelers said, “Hey, don’t you know that you’re supposed to roll over? We’re the world champs, remember?”

See, that’s precisely why opponents won’t play dead against them. The sooner that the Steelers realize it, the better they will be for it.

3. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why Bruce Arians didn’t pack the no-huddle offense for the trip. If the offensive coordinator had watched film of the Bears’ game against the Buffalo Bills in the preseason, then he would have known that Chicago had no answer for it.

Meanwhile, the Steelers’ offense has totaled four measly touchdowns in eight-plus periods this season. Dude, shouldn’t an offense that has Santonio Holmes, Heath Miller, Mewelde Moore, Willie Parker, Ben Roethlisberger, and Hines Ward be better than that?

4. Hey, at least we know how important wide receiver Limas Sweed is to the offense.

OK, maybe not.

5. As long as Polamalu is out of the line-up, Tyrone Carter might as well wear a different colored jersey and be done with it. The Bears targeted the back-up safety throughout the game, although I was surprised they didn’t throw deep more often against an ordinary pass rush.

Far worse, Carter refused to leave the field after he sustained a thigh injury in the fourth quarter. Moments later, rookie Johnny Knox smoked him on a quick slant for six points. That’s a horrible match-up when the guy is healthy, for crysakes.

6. Placekicker Jeff Reed comes off as a tough guy, especially when it comes to towel dispensers, but I wonder how his soon-to-be-free-agent status will impact his performance this season.

In the fourth quarter, Reed gagged on two makeable field goals with the game on the line. One week earlier, he tied the score with a line drive that could have been blocked easily. He was no bargain in the preseason, either.

Now connect the dots.

7. If Holmes wants to be known as an elite receiver in the league—and he has the physical tools to be all of that—then he can’t drop passes regardless of the weather conditions.

When a potential six points slipped through his wide-open arms late in the game, a voice inside my head screamed, “That’s not how you be great!”

8. Parker actually had some daylight on occasion, but he still didn’t look right to me. He doesn’t have his burst of old and runs a bit limp-legged at times.

Whether it’s a hamstring problem or something worse than that, neither he nor the Steelers are sayin’, but it needs to be fixed and fixed soon. Otherwise, give the ball to Rashard Mendenhall and find out if he’s a keeper or not.

9. Here’s the good news: The offense may have found a run play that it can depend on for a change. With left guard Chris Komoeatu as the lead blocker, it picked up consistent yardage on traps at the right side, where tackle Willie Colon and guard Trai Essex sealed the hole effectively.

10. If punter Daniel Sepulveda needs an agent, then I’m available.

 

The Grades:

 

Offense regulars

 

WR Hines Ward: B

          Weekly grades: B/B

          Season average: B

 

LT Max Starks: F

          Weekly grades: B/F

          Season average: D+/C-

 

LG Chris Komoeatu: B

          Weekly grades: D/B

          Season average: C

 

C Justin Hartwig: C

          Weekly grades: F/C

          Season average: D

 

RG Trai Essex: B

          Weekly grades: C/B

          Season average: C+/B-

 

RT Willie Colon: B

          Weekly grades: D/B

          Season average: C

 

TE Heath Miller: B

          Weekly grades: A/B

          Season average: B+/A-

 

WR Santonio Holmes: D

          Weekly grades: A/D

          Season average:  C+/B-

 

QB Ben Roethlisberger: B

          Weekly grades: A/B

          Season average: B+/A-

 

RB Willie Parker: B

          Weekly grades: D/B

          Season average: C

 

RB Mewelde Moore: C

          Weekly grades: B/C

          Season average: C+/B-

 

Defense regulars

 

LE Aaron Smith: B

          Weekly grades: A/B

          Season average: B+/A-

 

NT Casey Hampton: B

          Weekly grades: B/B

          Season average: B

 

RE Brett Keisel: B

Weekly grades: A/B

          Season average: B+/A-

 

LOLB Lamarr Woodley: C

          Weekly grades: D/C

          Season average: D+/C-

 

LILB James Farrior: A

          Weekly grades: B/A

Season average: B+/A-

 

RILB Keyaron Fox: B

          Weekly grades: B/B

          Season average: B

 

RILB Lawrence Timmons: B

          Weekly grades: DNP/B

          Season average: B

 

ROLB James Harrison: B

          Weekly grades: A/B

          Season average: B+/A-

 

LCB William Gay: C

          Weekly grades: C/C

          Season average: C

 

RCB Ike Taylor: B

          Weekly grades: C/B

          Season average: C+/B-

 

SS Tyrone Carter: D

          Weekly grades: C/D

          Season average: D-/C+

 

SS Troy Polamalu: DNP

          Weekly grades: A/DNP/

          Season average: A

 

FS Ryan Clark: B

          Weekly grades: B/B

Season average: B

 

Special teams regulars

 

PK Jeff Reed: F

          Weekly grades: B/F

          Season average: D+/C-

 

P Daniel Sepulveda: A

          Weekly grades: A/A

          Season average: A

 

KR Stefan Logan: D

          Weekly grades: B/D

          Season average: C

 

PR Stefan Logan: C

          Weekly grades: C/C

          Season average: C

 

Coaches

 

HC Mike Tomlin: C

          Weekly grades: B/C

          Season average: C+/B-

 

OC Bruce Arians: C

          Weekly grades: C/C

          Season average: C

 

DC Dick LeBeau: B

          Weekly grades: A/B

          Season average: B+/A-

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Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets Beat Brady and the Pats

The J-E-T-S do it again!

The Jets, behind Mark Sanchez, upset the Patriots on Sunday after upsetting the Texans last week. The Jets simply outplayed the Pats and perhaps we are witnessing a changing of the guard in the AFC East, although that is still a bit premature. 

For the second straight week the Pats played a close game but Brady couldn’t deliver the magic this week.

The Jets harassed him all game long making him uncomfortable in the pocket and forcing early and errant throws. Although they didn’t sack him, the constant pressure lead to a 49 percent completion rate for Brady. 

Now compare this game to the last time the Pats lost with Brady at quarterback, the Super Bowl in February 2008, and you see the same thing: If you pressure Brady he’s not the same quarterback. He didn’t look it in the Super Bowl and didn’t yesterday, either.

It’s clear the Pats’ defense isn’t the same as well. Guys like Harrison, Bruschi, and Vrabel were expendable because their play was declining, but New England really miss es Jerod Mayo and Richard Seymour. 

Most people praised the Pats for the Seymour trade, but it hasn’t looked so smart so far.  In the future it may pay off but the Pats are feeling his loss right now. 

They felt comfortable getting rid of guys like Vrabel and Bruschi because of young studs like Mayo, but his injury has put their depth to the test and they could use some veteran experience.

You have to give credit to Rex Ryan and the Jets’ defense. Ryan out-schemed the Pats and the defense played phenomenal. Ryan talked a big game in off-season and leading up to the game, but he backed it up and you got to love that. 

Through the first two games of the year they have not allowed an offensive touchdown. Pretty darn impressive considering they have played two of the top offenses in the league in Houston and New England. 

Kris Jenkins is clogging up the middle allowing David Harris and Bart Scott to roam free and make plays.

The other stud on the defense in cornerback Darrelle Revis. Revis shadowed Moss all day and held him in check, only allowing him four catches for 24 yards while intercepting a Brady pass. 

This comes one week after holding Andre Johnson to four catches and 35 yards. Those are two of the top three receivers in the league and combined Revis held them to eight catches for 59 yards. 

Compare that to what Johnson and Moss have done in their other games this year: 22 catches for 290 yards. Flat out: Revis is the best corner in the game. 

He’s better than Nnamdi Asomugha, better than Charles Woodson—you get the point.  He is a true shutdown corner and as good as Champ Bailey was a few years back.

You also have to give a lot of credit to Mark Sanchez. The rookie quarterback has come in with tons of pressure and an insane amount of media hype and all he’s done is exceed those expectations. 

He is playing like a seasoned veteran right now. After a first half which only saw him throw for 15 yards, he came out and threw for 148 and a score and could have had another if Chansi Stuckey had not tripped in the end zone. 

But there was one play that really impressed me by Sanchez. On a 3rd-and-3 with 2:35 remaining the Jets ran a pass trying to ice the game and Sanchez rolled right.

He didn’t see much at first and could have forced the ball in there, but decided against it and took a sack. You don’t normally see rookie quarterbacks make that decision but Sanchez has the mind of a veteran and took the sack, which kept the clock running and the ball in the Jets’ hands.

The final series for the Pats really showed why I like Rex Ryan so much. The Pats completed their first pass for 18 yards to get to the Jets’ 28 and at that point, I’m sure all Jets like myself were expecting a classic Brady drive to send it into overtime, with the Jets changing their strategy to a prevent defense. 

Instead, they stuck with what had worked for them the entire game, sending five and six and, on the final fourth down play, they sent seven at Brady leaving only four in coverage. 

If Eric Mangini were still coach there is no doubt in my mind that he would have played a prevent defense and the Pats would have scored. If you don’t believe me that’s exactly what he did last year against the Pats which led to a last second touchdown, forcing overtime, when luckily the Jets pulled out the win.

That’s the difference between Rex Ryan and Eric Mangini. I feel bad for you Cleveland, I really do.

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Chicago Bears Preview Week Three: Bears (1-1) at Seahawks (1-1)

Two 1-1 teams clash at Qwest Field. Chasing 2-0 teams in their division (Minnesota and San Francisco) and tied with 1-1 opponents (Green Bay and Arizona), this matchup could be a very telling game for these two teams and how the rest of their season will end up.

Chicago didn’t leave Soldier Field after upsetting Pittsburgh 17-14 without scares though; right end and the stalwart of the Bears defensive line, Alex Brown, sprained an ankle after notching two sacks and providing the pressure on Steeler’s QB Ben Roethlisberger on his sole interception.

Brown was the Bears best defensive lineman last season, and has two sacks on the season providing pressure on opposing quarterbacks. However, coach Lovie Smith remains adamant that Brown should

However, injuries may be the breaking point for both teams. Star linebacker Brian Urlacher was obviously injured Week 1 for the Bears, but free agent acquisition Pisa Tinoisamoa was also injured against Green Bay and missed Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh.

Chicago didn’t leave Soldier Field after upsetting Pittsburgh 17-14 without scares though; right end and the stalwart of the Bears defensive line, Alex Brown, sprained an ankle after notching two sacks and providing the pressure on Steeler’s QB Ben Roethlisberger on his sole interception.

Brown was the Bears’ best defensive lineman last season, and has two sacks on the season providing pressure on opposing quarterbacks. However, coach Lovie Smith remains adamant that Brown should be prepped for the Bears quest to Qwest. The Bears better hope he is, as the Seahawks offensive line hhas been ravaged by injuries this season.

Seahawk’s fantastic left tackle Walter Jones has missed the first two weeks of the regular season so far, and his replacement in Sean Locklear also has an ankle injury.

If the Seahawks are starting former Dolphin and Texan, third-string offensive tackle Brandon Frye, then even a limping Alex Brown should be able to provide pressure. With all the injuries to the Seahawks line, it’s no wonder that quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, one of the league’s most underrated quarterbacks, suffered a fractured rib and might miss this week’s upcoming game.

If Matt Hasselbeck does miss this game, the team will turn to backup Seneca Wallace. Last year the Seahawks went 3-5 under Wallace’s hand last season when he started at quarterback, and will likely have similar struggles if Wallace starts again, although he does have more weapons this year.

The Seahawks defense is also facing injuries at the middle linebacker position, with star Lofa Tatupu facing a hamstring injury. With the Seahawks recently giving up over 200 yards to running back Frank Gore without Tatupu, running back Matt Forte, who’s off to an extremely slow start, could break out of his shell and break 100 yards for the first time this season.

Conditional Prediction (Seahawks without Tatupu/Hasselbeck): Bears 21, Seahawks 17

Qwest Field is one of the loudest and toughest fields to play at, but the Seahawks without Matt Hasselbeck and Lofa Tatupu are a completely different group, meaning that a Bears team coming off a huge win over the Super Bowl champion Steelers should be able to take a win.

Conditional Prediction (Seahawks with Tatupu/Hasselbeck): Seahawks 23, Bears 20

Hasselbeck is the key to this team’s success; whenever he’s been out for the Seahawks in the past they’ve struggled. If both are playing, the Seahawks should play considerably better football on both sides of the ball, although it should still be close.

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Chicago Bears Getting All The Breaks?

After making a huge splash in the off-season by trading for quarterback Jay Cutler, could it be the injury bug that most helps the Chicago Bears compete in the NFC North this year?

Yes, injuries have taken superstar middle linebacker Brian Urlacher off the field for the rest of the season, as well as Pisa Tinoisamoa until November, but injuries have taken a significant toll on Bears’ opponents early this season, as well.

Heading into Week Two, the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers were without star safety Troy Polamalu. The Bears were able to put together a game plan to take advantage of Pittsburgh’s disadvantage, and Cutler threw the Bears to a thrilling victory.

Now the Bears’ Week Three opponent is likely to be without one of its key players as well.

Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck cracked ribs in the team’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

The loss of Hasselbeck, coupled with the Bears’ improved pass rush early this season, could spell trouble for Jim Mora Jr.’s offense. Seneca Wallace is a veteran of the league, and is certainly more mobile than Hasselbeck, but is not as accomplished in the passing game.

The Bears play the win-less Detroit Lions in Week Four before their bye week. Though they are still healthy, at the rate Bears’ opponents are going, it would be wise to keep an ambulance handy for the Lions game this weekend.

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Eli Manning Continues to Thrive When Lights Are Brightest

For the second time since Super Bowl XLII, the Giants offense was placed in a do or die situation. Go down the field and victory shall be yours. Relinquish the ball on downs, and watch that “W” slip out of the palms of your hands, and be replaced with a less appetizing “L.”

 

As long as Eli Manning has been at the helm, the latter has been as commonplace as a quiet day out of Jets camp. Even when Manning was struggling to establish himself, the youngest Manning had been shockingly calm when the stakes were highest.

 

Although the final tally culminated in 33 points for the road team at the Jones Mahal, the offense had been erratic for most of the game. Manning will be the first to admit that there were poor decisions and equally deplorable throws that flared up throughout the game.

 

Gift-wrapping a present for Spencer that was just out of his grasp. An overthrow of a wide-open Steve Smith after evading pressure, and an under throw of him on a critical third down at midfield.

 

Manning’s same eyebrow raising throws and goofy twitch were just as prominent on Sunday night as they had been during his roller-coaster ride that spanned his first three seasons.

 

But amidst all the fanfare and sideshows that transpired in a semi-circus like fashion, Manning proved once again to a record-breaking audience (on both television and literal setting), what the Giants have known for a while now: The guy will lead you to victory.

 

The drive immediately paralleled to Big Ben’s ominous beginning of his Super Bowl drive with a questionable holding call on Rich Seubert.

 

On second and 18, Manning displayed the poise that is starting to define him. With pressure coming from his blind side, Manning calmly slid to his right and set up a manageable third down with a completion to Derek Hagan. He converted, as he did in his next opportunity. Manning threw the ball over the middle of the field with precision en route to setting up Lawrence Tynes’ game winning 37-yard field goal.

 

Michael Strahan summed it up best in a 140-word characterization of Manning on twitter: “Eli is [playing like a champion] too. Looks like a schoolboy but playing like a man.”

 

As recently as a month ago, Peter King and an array of scouts league wide analyzed aspects of the game that were considered essential for a great quarterback to have. Manning did not make his way on the top five for any of these lists.

 

Nothing Manning will ever do will catch your eye.

 

He’s not dropping in passes over triple coverage for touchdowns like his 2004 classmate Phillip Rivers did on Sunday. He may not be the secondary torching in-your-face leader that many were expecting when the Giants mortgaged their future on his shoulder. He may not rack up Pro Bowls and annually lead the league in major passing categories. He won’t be the first name to pop in your head when you plot a list of the league’s best quarterback.

 

Oh well, I guess 28-9 and a Lombardi in the last two seasons will just have to suffice.

 

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The New York Giants Had a Great Win, But…

“That’s when (Eli’s) the best,” said Pierce. “When we go no-huddle or up-tempo, you don’t want it in the hands of nobody else but No. 10. He finds a way.”

I thought I’d start this article with that quote, because it summarizes last night’s game pretty well. Eli, once again, found a way, and clinched the 19th fourth-quarter comeback of his career.

He was the leader all Giants fans expect him to be, hung in there down the stretch, and came back home with a win. His numbers also prove his mettle, 25-of-38 for 330 yards. Two TDs and, something very important, no INTs.

Other players to be given due credit are WRs Steve Smith and Mario Manningham, who both looked like studs yesterday, picking their coverage apart, and combining for 20 catches and 284 receiving yards.

Strong safety Kenny Philips also deserves an honorable mention, as he, playing near his best, flew all over the field to make two crucial interceptions, adding to his five tackles on the game.

Now, all that being said, we move on what really matters, and this means dissecting what went wrong.

On a first note, it is obvious that the problems scoring in the red zone are still present in the Giants offense. Eli was able to carry his team all across the field, but whenever he reached the red zone, the offense got stuck.

This is a major problem, and if the Giants are to continue winning games, it has to be solved at once. This problem actually brings us to another one, and this is an oldie.

The play calling was shaky. Don’t get me wrong, there were moments when I wanted to kiss Kevin Gilbride, and tell him he is a genius, but others I wanted to kill him.

Gilbride deserves a lot of credit for this suddenly successful passing game, as he designed a new system around his young receivers, but there are some plays where I just can’t understand him.

Like a sideline pass on a third-and-goal from the 12-yard line. Why not try and put it in the end zone?

Moving on, there is something that, albeit unexpected, might be turning into a bad pattern. For the second game in a row, the Giants were unable to establish a running game. The Dallas defense was all over Jacobs and Bradshaw, and Eli had to win the game with his arm once again.

While this problem seems to be temporary, because the Giants faced two consecutive division rivals, and both have good defenses who stacked the line, this cannot turn in to a current. Against Tampa, the Giants need to be able to run.

A problem that went unnoticed last night was Lawrence Tynes’ missed field goal. He did redeemed himself when it mattered the most, but it is simply unacceptable to miss a 29-yard field goal in a domed stadium.

For the last issue, I highlight the lack of a pass rush. The defensive line penciled as the best in the league was unable to sack Tony Romo, and, adding to that, Marion Barber and Felix Jones were able to run down their throats.

With the absence of Chris Canty up the middle, one can understand this a little, but to allow 251 rushing yards in one game is, to say the least, somewhat worrisome.

This front seven needs to bounce right back against the Buccaneers, or Cadillac Williams and former Giant Derrick Ward, who we all know so well, might have a rush feast next Sunday.

 

 

Also published at blognyg.com – The Official Home of Giants Fans

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Not Enough Sproles Magic Against the Baltimore Ravens for the San Diego Chargers

To win in this league a few things are clear; you have to be able to run the ball and stop the run. The San Diego Chargers weren’t able to do either in their home opener, losing 31-28 to the Baltimore Ravens despite huge days from Philip Rivers and Darren Sproles.

I was at the game and it was obvious, outside of Rivers and Sproles, the Chargers didn’t have much. So on a day when the Bolts lost the turnover battle and mustered only one sack they still were in a position to win the game on the Ravens’ 15-yard line with 37 seconds remaining in the game.

The 4th-and-2 call to run Sproles, who Ray Lewis destroyed in the backfield to end the game, was a bit of a headscratcher. Why try to run on the Ravens with the game on the line when your QB is having a career day? Yeah, bad idea.

Both fullback Jacob Hester and pulling guard Kris Dielman missed Lewis as he shot between back-up’s Scott Mruczkowski and Brandyn Dombrowski en route to blowing up Sproles.

I guess that one’s on Norv Turner. I think Rivers deserved to have that final play on him. Having only amassed 53-yards on the ground, at 2.5 yards per carry, it was clear the Chargers were going to go as far as Rivers could take them. 

Rivers knew it was on him and he responded, throwing for a career best 436 yards. He also had a career long 81-yard TD pass to Sproles on a flare out of the backfield. Vincent Jackson also had a huge day against smaller and slower Baltimore defenders racking up 141 yards on six catches and a TD. 

But ultimately, you can’t be that one dimensional. Additionally, the two interceptions thrown by Rivers proved costly. The first, by Dawan Landry, was a result of Ray Lewis pressure that forced Rivers into a seriously ill-advised throw. 

The second was a hot throw deep in Chargers territory that deflected off Chris Chambers into the arms of Antwan Barnes. The Ravens got points off that turnover too. 

Gates didn’t seem to be used enough, particularly deep in Ravens territory. He usually had a favorable match-up against a linebacker, corner or safety. And when Rivers looked his way other times in the game, Gates made the play.

Sproles, again, does it all but his 278 total yards weren’t enough this time. It was uncanny how he made play after play in all facets of the game. As I’ve said before, there is no way Sproles is going to be able to keep up this level of production without more rest. 

Without Jamal Williams the defense gave up 4.1 per rush for a total of 130 yards. At least it’s better than against the Raiders. That’s scary. Vaughn Martin, Andre Coleman, and Ogemdi Nwagbuo simply weren’t good enough. 

There were too many runs where Willis McGahee or Ray Rice ripped off runs of ten yards at a time. I was surprised, given the depleted Chargers line, the Ravens didn’t run more.

There as also little pressure put on Raven’s QB Joe Flacco. Shawne Merriman didn’t have a sack but neither did any of the other Charger linebackers, who are counted on to get to the QB. Merriman has six tackles and no sacks in the first two weeks. Luis Castillo had a the only Chargers sack.

The one time Flacco was rushed by Merriman, he threw a hurried ball which was intercepted by Antoine Cason. This is how the Chargers must operate to be successful. But, in the end, Flacco was able to avoid pressure and manage the game effectively. 

There were also some significant breakdowns in the Chargers secondary. On Kelly Washington’s TD, everyone got fooled, but strong safety Steve Gregory was way out of position. Gregory also got worked by tight end Todd Heap for a TD. I thought Kevin Burnett was brought in to stop these tight ends.

The Chargers did a good job on third down with Baltimore only converting on 4-of-11. But alas when they got the ball back they weren’t scoring touchdowns. Nate Kaeding was 4-for-4 on field goals which was good I suppose. 

The Bolts were 0-for-5 in the red-zone. You don’t beat playoff caliber teams not converting near the goal line. Got to get touchdowns. Too many field goals. Jackson’s catch setting up a first-and-goal from the one-yard line but the Chargers had to settle for a field goal is example 1A.

Which brings me to the penalties. The Chargers committed 12 penalties, many on the offensive line, for 85 yards. That’s worse than last week against the Raiders. Not a good trend this early in the season.

But what it came down to, despite Norv’s bonehead call, was the Chargers inability to run the ball and stop the run. Without that, in this AFC, the Chargers are going to find it seriously difficult to get tot he promised land of the Super Bowl.  

Now, the Miami Dolphins come to San Diego for a game, which I believe will be blacked out, the Chargers must have to avoid the bad start they desperately wanted to avoid.

Having to go to Pittsburgh Week 4 will be no picnic, but if the Bolts can win next week they will be in a good position heading into the bye week in Week 5 at no worse than 2-2. 

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Cleveland Browns/Denver Broncos: Quitting Already

That game just sucked all the life out of the season for me.

 

                                                CUE ORCHESTRA

 

A man sits on his porch, enjoying a beautiful late summer day. The sun is shining, birds are singing and the man sits back with a comfortable sigh. Then some clouds roll in and a bird poops on his head.

 

Yep, that’s about how the day felt for me.

 

It was no surprise to me, given the way the offense played in the first half, that the defense would once again be physically exhausted by the end of the third quarter. What I didn’t expect was to see the team just flat out quit in the fourth quarter.

 

The Browns had no life on either side of the ball during the last quarter and, frankly, I’m a little upset about it. The 27-6 loss hurt.

 

Let’s start with the offense, which was putrid. I don’t know why, but Brady Quinn has played the first two games like someone just waiting to be benched. It seems to me that Quinn is afraid to make any mistakes, fearful that he’ll be benched immediately.

 

I know this can’t be coming from head coach Eric Mangini because, when asked, Mangini gave a flat denial that he even thought about inserting Derek Anderson. I speak a little Mangini, and flat denials translate pretty evenly into English.

 

Also, if you paid any kind of attention to the game, which, unfortunately, I did, you would’ve noticed the frequent camera cuts to Anderson every time Quinn ran off the field after a three-and-out.

 

Where was Anderson? Was he by the coaches, headset on, involving himself in the game?

 

Nope, Anderson was over in the corner doing his best “Nobody Loves Me!!” routine.

 

Besides, if you think Anderson is the answer to the problems on offense, please refrain from commenting. In fact, I don’t even want to know what the color of the sky is in your world.

 

Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s game plans so far this year have brought to mind two words: Boring and inept. I’m just not sure which way it’s leaning from week-to-week.

 

Quinn’s performance not withstanding, it would be nice to see Daboll call a play that actually moves the chains on third down. Better yet, how about throwing a pass into the end zone when you’re on the goal line?

 

All other things being equal, if I were the Browns owner, I would be bringing Daboll into my office this week and officially putting him on notice. The play calling wasn’t just bad, it hardly qualified as professional.

 

That’s also on Mangini. I said last week this is Mangini’s first real test as a head coach. Romeo Crennel refused to move on from offensive coordinator Maurice Cauthon, even though Cauthon was clearly in over his head. Mangini must not make the same mistake.

 

While it’s only two weeks in, Daboll has done nothing to dissuade me from my opinion that he may be in over his head.

 

The Browns did manage to get 11 first downs, but Denver got 25. That’s unacceptable. That goes beyond poor player performance. Garnering only 11 first downs is damning evidence that your offensive philosophy DOES NOT WORK.

 

Third down efficiency was laughable with the Browns going 3-14. Quinn hung in the pocket for more plays in an effort to silence the critics (including myself) who say he checks down too quickly.

 

However, Quinn then appeared to become paralyzed by indecision, something he showed no evidence of in his three games last year, and the offense shuffled off the field with nothing more than two field goals on the day.

 

I’m now concerned about Quinn, but again, Anderson was given far more chances to fail, so I see no reason to call for Quinn’s head yet. Quinn can throw downfield, but on the rare occasions he did, his accuracy was suspect.

 

Jamal Lewis fooled all of us real good last week by showing us some flashes of speed. But the real, 30-year-old Lewis landed in Denver on Sunday and proceeded to stutter step his way into collapsed holes and not make any substantial gains.

 

On the odd play when Lewis did gain more than a yard or two, I couldn’t help but look at the replay and say, “A faster running back would’ve gotten more yards than that.”

 

Braylon Edwards had a good game. Bravo, sir. If Edwards remembers what made everything work this game for the rest of the season, the Browns will be a better team for it.

 

Once again, it’s only been two weeks, but the right side of that offensive line is a sieve and I no longer see any reason why John St. Clair should be on this team. St. Clair has turned the false start into an art form.

 

The defense continued to show they are old and slow with Shaun Rogers being the only threat on the field. However, that defense looked like it just didn’t care anymore in the fourth quarter.

 

My feelings on St. Clair also extend to Hank Poteat. Just awful.

 

The Broncos gained a total of 449 yards on offense, and I’m surprised it wasn’t more. The defense was exposed on all its blitzes as not having the right personnel to get the job done as Kyle Orton was able to avoid the rush most of the time and complete his passes to the wide open receivers.

 

I do credit defensive coordinator Rob Ryan for at least trying, something I can’t say for Daboll.

 

Special teams played well and was the only area of the game the Browns beat the Broncos.

 

Draft Watch

 

I noted to anyone who would listen in April that passing on Rey Maualaga three times was a mistake.

 

On Sunday, one of our second round draft picks, Brian Robiskie, was not injured yet was put on the inactive list. Mangini obviously did this to send a message.

 

Meanwhile, Maualaga spent the day being a menace to the Green Bay Packers.

 

I’ll stop before I really get angry.

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New England Patriots: Where Has the Offense Gone?

After only scoring nine points, and zero touchdowns yesterday against the New York Jets, there is some cause for concern this morning among New England Patriots fans. 

Entering the year, even the most level-headed Pats fan could not help but dream back to the offense of 2007 and think with Tom Brady healthy and Randy Moss, offense should not be a concern for this year’s team.

As we have witnessed in the first two games, putting points on the board for this year’s team may not come as easy as most of us had hoped.  What might not be so obvious is this is a trend that didn’t begin yesterday in the Meadowlands, but perhaps finds its roots in the midst of New England’s 16-0 2007 regular season.

That season, both Brady and Moss etched their names in the record books, as did the New England offense; Brady with his 50 touchdown passes, Moss with his 23 touchdown receptions, and the Patriots with 589 points. The Brady-Moss duo was nothing short of dominant.

But, it appears teams began to figure out how to at least control the Brady-Moss tandem, and stop the big play, beginning in 2007.  Through the first 13 games of the Brady-Moss combination, New England averaged 38.7 points per game, with Moss averaging 97.2 receiving yards per game and catching 19 total touchdowns. 

In the eight games since, including the 2007 postseason and the first two weeks this year but not week one last year, the Patriots have averaged only 23.4 points, and Moss’s number dip to 61.0 yards per game and five touchdowns. 

In his first 13 games catching passes from Brady, Moss failed to get in the end zone just twice; in those eight games since, he hasn’t had a TD five times.

This decline with Moss’s big-play ability has coincided with the games in which New England has struggled the most to put points on the board.  In the 21 games with Brady and Moss playing together for New England, again discounting week one last year when Brady was injured, the four lowest scoring games for the Patriots have all occurred within these last eight games. 

Expanding that list a little, six of New England’s eight lowest point totals are within these last eight games, as are seven of ten. 

To put it more simply, the explosiveness we saw out of the New England offense through the first 13 games of the 2007 season is no longer there, and began to disappear long before failing to reach the end zone against the Jets, and even before Brady went down with a knee injury against the Chiefs in ’08.

So, what does all this mean?  Well for starters I think Patriots fans need to lower expectations a bit for what this team is capable of offensively.  Fans need to realize that the records set by New England in 2007 did not come easy and asking for the team to duplicate its feats is likely asking far too much. 

But, it also means the team itself may have to realize things have changed since those early days of ’07 and a more balanced offense may be what is called for to win.

The strength of this team on offense remains the passing game with Brady, Moss, and Wes Welker leading the way.  But, over these first two weeks, the passing game has dominated the play-calling at the severe expense of the running attack, to the tune of 100 pass attempts to just 43 rushes.

Because New England hasn’t even been a threat to run the ball these first two games, teams do not even have to concern themselves with stopping the rush.  This has to make New England easy to defend.  Sure, some of the low-rushing totals thus far are the fault of the running backs.  But, to a larger degree, the problem lies in the lack of repetitions they receive and also an offensive line that in a few key short-yardage situations thus far, has been out-muscled. 

I’d like to see New England adapt in these next few weeks to what has transpired on the field in weeks one and two—maybe lineup in a few more running formations, give backs Fred Taylor and Laurence Maroney an opportunity to get into any sort of rhythm.  And also, be able to attack through the air out of a running set, forcing teams to at least think for a split second about what is going on in the backfield. 

A more balanced offense would no doubt help the passing game as that split second a defender may take to think about the rush may be all it takes for Moss to get downfield and deliver one of those big plays we became accustomed to in 2007.

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NFC Power Rankings: Week 2

1. Giants (2-0) – They had trouble establishing and stopping the run, but they won a big game against a good team in a tough environment.  The receivers sure don’t look like a weakness to me. (Last Week: 1)

2. Falcons (2-0) – Tony Gonzalez to the Falcons is paying big dividends. Matt Ryan looks like a young Peyton Manning.  Believe the hype. (4)

3. Saints (2-0) – Drew Brees is looking like an early MVP candidate (not really going out on a limb there).  This offense, with everyone healthy, is the best in the league.   I’m a reluctant believer. (7)

4. Vikings (2-0) – Didn’t look good trailing 10-0 to the Lions, but they pulled away in the end.  I still want to see how Favre responds to a challenging defense, but it’s important to see that he can win a game when Adrian Peterson doesn’t go bonkers. (3)

5. Eagles (1-1) – This would have been a totally different game if McNabb were healthy. They were torched by the Saints offense, which seems to be a trend so far.  Still, I expected more from their defense. (2)

6. Cowboys (1-1) – They controlled the running game, but couldn’t get anything going through the air.  They struggled to stop Eli Manning when it mattered. (5)

7. Packers (1-1) – After last week’s defensive display against the Bears, their effort against the Bengals was a big let down.  Their passing offense should be fine, but how does Greg Jennings go without a reception? (6)

8. 49ers (2-0) – Frank Gore is one of the best, and when the offensive line is opening up holes for him like they did on Sunday (207 yards on 16 carries), the 49ers won’t have to rely on the passing game (which is definitely not a bad thing). (11)

9. Cardinals (1-1) – Kurt Warner had the most efficient game in NFL history (24/26).  As long as he stays healthy, their offense should roll. (12)

10. Bears (1-1) – Perhaps a season-saving win over the defending champion Steelers. Jay Cutler showed why he’s worth so many draft picks, converting twice on two big red zone touchdowns.  I’m still not sold on them without Brian Urlacher. (13)

11. Panthers (0-2) – After his last two games (25/41, 308, 1 TD, 1 INT), this should be considered an MVP-type performance by Jake Delhomme.  They kept it close against the Falcons, so I expect them to start winning some games. (8)

12. Seahawks (1-1) – Defense could do nothing to stop Frank Gore.  If Matt Hasselbeck is out for a while, it could mean another top ten pick for the Seahawks next April. (10)

13. Redskins (1-1) – Ugly performance against a bad Rams team.  They won, but I’ve become really concerned about this offense.  They could muster up only three field goals. (9)

14. Buccaneers (0-2) – It’s tough to win when your offensive line allows the QB to get hit this often, especially when he has to attempt 50 passes a game.  Byron Leftwich was hit 12 times this Sunday, but it probably felt like closer to 100 for him. (14)

15. Rams (0-2) – The Rams offense moved the ball inside the Redskins’ ten yard line three times, and came away with a total of seven points for the game.  That’s a bad team. (15)

16. Lions (0-2) – They played the Vikings tough, but they can’t afford to turn the ball over three times against a quality opponent.  Some promising young players give fans reason for hope. (16)

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