Holiday Gut Reactions Tell Us Nothing About the N.F.L.

What the N.F.L., and its fans, could use while Santa Claus is readying his sleigh is a little selective hearing.

It’s fun, I suppose, to justify heat-of-the-moment reactions with vigor and debates around the fireplace, but where does a sloppy Week 15 for the league’s elite leave us?

In the same place we have been for weeks.

Alright, alright, the gritty Jacksonville Jaguars took Manning and his boys to the wire on Thursday night before succumbing to the aura of Manning and allowing Indianapolis to escape Florida with perfection still intact.

The New Orleans Saints, meanwhile, couldn’t hold off a desperate Dallas team Saturday evening, and their pursuit of an undefeated season lost its way in the bayou.

What did the “crushing” loss do to the Saints? Well, they will still be the NFC’s top seed, they will still have home field throughout the play-offs, and they will still boast one of football’s most potent offenses when they begin a Super Bowl run in January. You’re right, poor Saints.

That’s four weeks in a row now that Tony Romo hasn’t thrown an interception as the 9-5 Cowboys are one game behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East and look primed to secure a wild card berth. Round of applause for Tony, everyone.

We can all agree on something, here. If there is ever a team that looks like it is counting the days until the play-offs begin, it is the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings couldn’t hang with the Carolina Panthers Sunday evening, and didn’t even appear to care. This has to count for something, right? Maybe, maybe not.

But that’s the point of all of this. On a slow Monday in the sports world, there will be a slew of pundits drawing irrational conclusions from one weekend of football, conclusions that don’t necessarily foreshadow what we will see in January or February.

Since there’s no new Tiger Woods angle to explore, must we declare champions and losers when in the N.F.L. is largely divided at this point in the season? Is that the theme of the holiday season?

Lets breathe a little.

I’m not saying what we witnessed over the past four days is utterly irrelevant. But, honestly, did we learn anything?

I’m not going to take a machete to the Colts’ defense when Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis were held out for exclusive downs only. The two best players on Indy’s D didn’t even need to wash their threads after the game. Take out two premier pass rushers and enter an opposing All-World running back like Maurice Jones-Drew and, yeah, there is going to be a few hiccups.

In other words, the lapse was to be expected. I’m not going to overly fault the Colts for not matching Jacksonville’s intensity when that Thursday night game on the N.F.L. Network was the Jaguars’ season. For the first time this season, the Jags sold out their stadium and they had the attention of the nation as they tried to knock off an undefeated beast. The Colts have bigger plans.

It was a great game and a valiant effort. But Manning did his MVP thing, the defense put just enough pressure on Garrard to force him to sail some critical fourth-quarter throws, and the Colts gave the finger to their critics saying, “Come talk to us after the AFC Championship.”

I wasn’t surprised by the Saints tumble, actually. The city of New Orleans was giddy over the thought of perfection, and it’s a story that would have been magnificent to watch unfold. But the Saints have been vulnerable for a while. The loss to Dallas came after struggling to beat Washington and Atlanta in the previous two weeks.

In fact, the only “easy” wins for the Saints since October came in Week 11, with a dismantling of Tampa Bay, and Week 12, with a route of New England. Other than that, the Big Easy has been nothing but easy.

And let’s face it. The Cowboys had to win Saturday night’s game. Nobody doubts the talent of Dallas, so is it really a shocker that a talented team showed up with a ferocious pass rush and played a December game like they actually cared? Not really.

The Saints can now set their sights on winning a title for the city of New Orleans, something that would be much more satisfying than pulling a New England and choking away the final game of the year.

What’s a perfect regular season with no ring to show for it? Point is, the Saints are no different today than they were Friday. Brees will still take a blowtorch to your bare back in the play-offs if you let him.

Teams get better over time. People change over time. Life is gradual, and rarely does such metamorphism occur immediately.

Why do we typically order the same sandwich when we walk into Subway? Why do our mornings usually unfold the same way (coffee, newspaper, etc.)? Why do we do anything the same way repeatedly? Because there is a certain level of familiarity and comfort that accompanies the way our brains are wired.

Sure, I may have eaten meatball subs for the last three years and then decided to switch to the healthier turkey sub, but the conscious change takes time. If I’m a meatball guy on Monday, odds are I’m not going to be a strictly turkey guy when I wake on Tuesday. Ain’t happening. I’m going to slip a meatball sub into my month every once in a while.

That desire to levitate to an area of comfort isn’t much different with athletes and teams. Until we have weeks and weeks of evidence to prove the contrary, Romo is still a shaky quarterback when it comes to December and play-off time. Nothing against Romo. Just prove it.

My guess is that the Cowboys can’t come out with that same energy and tenacity every week for the rest of the year. It’s not in their blood. I hope I’m wrong because the Cowboys are a team that is talented enough to win the Super Bowl, but you are what you are after 15 Weeks. The only thing that can change is momentum, “hot” streaks, and the like.

On the other hand, the Saints, Vikings and Colts aren’t less dangerous today. I’m still convinced the Saints and Colts are the best teams in their respective conferences. The Vikings can still bully a team in their dome, and all three teams have quarterbacks that have played at a ridiculously high level the entire year.

Speculate if you wish while you wrap Christmas gifts, but pump the brakes a little on all the definitive reactions after this weekend.

Meatball guys are still meatball guys, and the N.F.L. is still the same league it was last week.

You can reach Teddy Mitrosilis at tm4000@yahoo.com.

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Minnesota Has Favre Fever, But Adrian Peterson Still Vikings’ Backbone

Another Sunday in Minneapolis, another dreamland victory for the Minnesota Vikings. So life goes nowadays for the Vikes, led by a magical man who refuses to fade.

After Sunday’s 36-10 thrashing of the Chicago Bears, the Vikings are slowly building momentum to January and are making their case to be called the NFC’s best team. I know, the boys in the bayou have the most explosive offense in the NFL to go along with that sparkling 10-0 record, but take one peek north and you may find the surest brand of football today.

It never was supposed to be like this. Tavaris Jackson was supposed to be the guy under center, Adrian Peterson was supposed to handle an unprecedented amount of carries, and the Vikings were supposed to be clawing with the Bears and Green Bay Packers over the NFC North title.

What a difference a little persistence makes. When Vikings head coach Brad Childress refused to give up on bringing Favre to Minnesota until the day he picked him up from the airport, fate changed in the land of the lakes. Favre threw for 392 yards (10 shy of his career high) and three touchdowns Sunday adding to his MVP season, and further caressed the hearts of Vikings lifers.

No longer do you think Minneapolis and immediately begin pondering the possibilities of an afternoon spent in Mall of America. No longer do you think Metrodome and begin plugging your ears to escape the deafening sound of the blaring horns that accompany autumns spent inside one of the country’s loudest stadiums.

We think about Minnesota, we think about the Vikings, and now we think about how Favre has transformed a team with talent into a team with conviction. By simply donning a purple No. 4, Favre gave this city and this franchise hope. By merely stepping on the field, he gave this team leadership and confidence. That’s what a Hall of Fame presence will do.

Problem is, that nostalgia only lasts so long if it isn’t compounded with something of substance. Hype fades faster than morning dew if it isn’t worked with and molded into production. This party train that is steamrolling through Minnesota would have been off the tracks weeks ago if the New York Jets version of Favre showed up to complement the game’s best running back and a championship-caliber defense.

With the comfort of some new Wranglers and the blessing Dr. James Andrews put on his right arm, Favre is playing the best football of his career. With Sunday’s performance, Favre eclipsed the 2,850-yard mark for the season while sporting a 24/3 TD/INT ratio. Completing just about 70 percent of his passes for the 10-1 Vikes, Favre is grabbing all the headlines. The resurgence is well underway, or some say.

Lets not make any mistake about it. The Vikings wouldn’t be half the team they are today without Brett Favre. They wouldn’t be looking like legitimate Super Bowl contenders without the ol’ gunslinger whizzing passes around the field while maximizing the talents around him, such as targets Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin. And I wonder if the defense would be as good as they are if they knew they had to hold the opponent to two scores in order to win a game. With Favre, mental burdens have been purged.

There is no doubt Favre is the MVP of the Vikings and could even make a strong case for being the MVP of the league. But there’s one thing we must not forget. While Favre directs this magnificent orchestra of speed and power, it is Adrian Peterson that makes it possible.

Nobody needs to be reminded of the wizardry of Peterson. His fluorescent purple Nikes can be seen slashing and dashing across the turf on his way to another six points often. But it is in times like these, with heightened celebrity and attention flocking to the organization, when we say hell with the foundation.

If Favre is the slick speedboat gliding across the lake in sheer beauty, Peterson is the relentless engine that keeps on churning water underneath the surface without poking up for some sun.

Early in the season, nobody expected Favre to play at this level, and therefore teams stacked the box against the Vikings, essentially saying, “Beat us, old man.” And he did. The game plan was to take away the Vikings greatest threat, Peterson, and force relatively unknown receiving targets to elevate their games. And they have.

While defenses are beginning to adjust—i.e. remain confused on how to attack the Vikings—Peterson is quietly putting together one of his finest seasons yet. He passed the 1,000-yard rushing mark during Sunday’s game, and already has rushed for two more touchdowns this season than he did in all of 2008. Peterson is on the cusp of averaging five yards per carry, right on par with last year’s rate.

Peterson has doubled his 125 receiving yards from a year ago, averaging almost nine yards per catch. The two-time Pro Bowler has done all of this while seeing his carries decline about two per game compared to last season. Childress would be smart to continue to ease the workload on Peterson as Minnesota wraps up the division and sets its sights on the playoffs.

A fresh Peterson in January means the opportunity to utterly obliterate opposing defenses, and the continued presence of Peterson allows Favre to succeed and remain healthy. Favre deserves credit for allowing the Vikings to back off Peterson slightly, but without “All Day,” would Favre even be standing heading into Week 13? It’s a question worth asking.

This story has grown almost too good to be true. Favre wasn’t supposed to come back at all, but when he did, it was clear he was as motivated as ever (for some possible reasons that could be painted in green and yellow). Favre wanted to make this thing work more than anybody, and he’s succeeding in style. Favre has almost become young again in the process.

And while I join many of you and dream up possible fairytale endings to this season—my favorite is a Vikings-Colts Super Bowl with a Favre-Manning showdown for the ages—remember one thing. While Favre dances up and down after scores, enjoying what has been his finest season, it’s the guy lining up in the backfield that keeps this dream alive.

Favre may hold the key to the city, but Peterson still holds the key to the title.

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The NFC East Can’t Be This Fraudulent, Can It?

 

For a division that perennially defines tough, power football, this year’s version of the NFC East is softer than a feather pillow.

With the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, and Philadelphia Eagles all playing like they’d rather auction off their potential playoff berth on eBay, there’s no other way to say it.

Maybe we’ve become spoiled with a division that typically gives us three solid football teams that grind each other into pulp well into December before sending at least one legit Super Bowl contender into the playoffs.

But count all of that as irrelevant now.

As we set our sights and stomachs on Thanksgiving, we don’t know what we have in the NFC other than the fact that the New Orleans Saints, at 9-0, are assembling their outfit for their looming date with perfection, and the Minnesota Vikings don’t appear to be going away anytime soon.

The Cowboys woke up Sunday leading the East at 6-2, and drawing rave reviews from the masses after going into Philly last week and beating the Eagles.

We thought Tony Romo was finally starting to become the type of quarterback that is capable of leading a Super Bowl contender. He is done with his former costly error-ridden ways, isn’t he?

Miles Austin had emerged as a quality go-to target for Romo, and helped the Cowboys move into the top-10 in passing in the NFL.

Marion Barber is still a tough load to bring down, Jason Witten creates mismatches at tight end, and the Dallas defense uses a daunting pass rush to rank seventh in total defense.

All of that was last week.

Once Dallas walked into Lambeau Field to play the Packers Sunday, they were a different team.

The ‘Boys couldn’t run the football. Multiple drives were mitigated by costly holding penalties. When Romo had his chance to pick up the offense, to show that he is indeed for real and determined to leap to the next level of efficient quarterback play, he got choked up. With a 78.0 passer rating, consider the opportunity to make a statement missed.

A touchdown pass to Roy Williams in the final minute was the only thing that kept Dallas from being shutout, but the 17-7 Green Bay victory had already been sealed.

When the game hung in the balance, Romo did what he has become known for. He turned the ball over.

Romo tried to force a throw—not surprising given that Dallas couldn’t muster anything on offense through the first three quarters—Charles Woodson picked Romo off in the end zone and the cheeseheads celebrated.

This was a chance for Dallas to build on their momentum, take a tiny bit of control over the division, and begin formulating a game plan for the Redskins. But a loss to a Green Bay team that can’t protect their quarterback and failed to beat the 1-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week puts Dallas right back on the bottom of the trust totem pole.

Next week’s game against Washington—which beat the Broncos Sunday, but is nothing more than a spoiler in their own division—would have been a lock if the Cowboys handled their business at Green Bay.

Now? It’s a trap game, as the Redskins gained some confidence and the wrath of Jerry Jones will be a bit hotter this week.

The Eagles entered Week 10 in second place in the NFC East at 5-3, but you may as well roll dice to determine how they are going to perform from week to week. After beginning the season 4-1 with their only loss coming against the Saints, the Eagles were a popular pick to play deep into January.

Donovan McNabb was back after suffering a cracked rib against Carolina in the season-opener, Brian Westbrook was as healthy as he will ever be, and rookie Jeremy Maclin joined DeSean Jackson to form one of the most potent receiving duos in the league.

Things were looking up for Philly, and any preconceived notions that Michael Vick would be a distraction were proven to be false.

Then came a 13-9 loss to the Oakland Raiders.

Banging on the Eagles after losing to the Raiders is a waste of time. The game was so bad we didn’t need to drill it any deeper; we got the picture. I even wrote it off as a fluke.

And I felt good about that proclamation after the Eagles beat the Redskins the following week and then turned the G-Men into a laundry basket of grass stains and blue welts. The 40-17 shellacking dropped on New York signified Philly’s arrival as NFC heavy hitters.

After the aforementioned loss to Dallas, the Eagles met the Chargers in San Diego this Sunday, and Philip Rivers out-dueled an NFC QB for the second week in a row.

San Diego was favored in the game, and now appears to be gearing up to snatch the AFC West title from Denver, but these spurts of mediocrity don’t blanket championship teams.

Philly has scored the fourth most points in the NFL, and that is without a major contribution from Westbrook. They have a top-10 defense. They should be better than this.

The Giants, enjoying a timely Week 10 bye, are like a drunk man stumbling down Broadway. Sway right, sway left, purge ahead, trip.

New York gets immediate respect because they have a quality coach who is coarser than sand paper, a quarterback in Eli Manning that has already won a Super Bowl, and a defense that lives to draw blood. But perhaps it’s time we scale back that instant respect.

The Giants looked good through the first five weeks of the season, posting a 5-1 record as Manning broke in new receivers such as Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks to help Steve Smith make up for the loss of Plaxico Burress. The problem is, four of those victories came against Washington, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Oakland.

That was the cream puff part of the schedule.

Enter New Orleans, Arizona, Philly, and San Diego, and the Giants have lost four in a row. I assume that New York will come out rejuvenated against Atlanta next week, but assumptions are precisely what got us here in the first place.

The NFC East has far too much talent to play like the NFC West, but at some point we need to see it.

At some point we need to see the Giants get back to pounding the football and winning close games (Bengals, anyone?).

At some point we need to see Romo spend more time in the end zone than eating sod.

At some point we need to see the Eagles open up their offense and utilize the speed they have.

If not, it’s going to be Favre and Brees gliding to the NFC Championship Game and playing for the right to face the AFC’s best in Miami come February.

That would be a phenomenal show, but it will leave us all wondering what could have been.

You can reach Teddy Mitrosilis at tm4000@yahoo.com.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

New England Patriots Deserve Benefit of Doubt for Now

 

Ever since Mark Sanchez dinked and dunked New England to death and Rex Ryan’s infectious defense dared Tom Brady to beat the Jets through the air last weekend, we have heard it all. We’ve heard all of the reasons why the Patriots aren’t that good and aren’t nearly the team they were expected to be.

Brady isn’t confident in his knee that was shredded like a pound of hamburger before being rebuilt; the receivers don’t have their timing with Brady; the Pats were so worried about whether or not their all-world quarterback would return to form that they neglected their running game; losing linebacker Jerod Mayo for the next month cripples a defense that is already soft and can’t defend the run; and for good measure, Brady this and Brady that…

The ironic thing about all of this is that those claims are true. Those are all legitimate concerns for a Patriots team that doesn’t really look like they know what to do when they take the field.

The difference is that the way New England has looked so far in this short season shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody. If the expectations for this team are those of the 2007 squad, well then everything this season is going to be a disappointment. But given what has happened over the last year to this franchise, New England deserves at least this week against the Falcons before we all start doing cannon bombs off the bandwagon.

The Patriots were stifled on the opening night of their season against the Buffalo Bills, until Brady went, well, Brady on us and found Benjamin Watson twice in the end zone before I could run to the fridge and back. Did they look impressive? No. Buffalo was tough and New England’s defense relaxed.

But the nation proclaimed Brady was back after proving to all of us why the man could retire today and head to the Hall of Fame. But, of course, the shine was wiped off after a visit to the Meadowlands left Pats fans perplexed. The glimpse of greatness that was Brady in the fourth quarter of the Buffalo game wasn’t nearly enough to knock the doubts out for a couple of weeks.

All right, fine. Give it one more week. Let’s see what the Patriots do this weekend at home against a Falcons team that plays to the soundtrack of T.I.’s “Swagger Like Us.” Sitting at 1-1, this could very well be a swing game for the Patriots’ season. Which way are they going to go?

The difference between 2-1 and 1-2 at this junction of the season isn’t enormous in the standings, but psychologically it’s big. It’s the difference between confidence and insecurity.

The undefeated Falcons rank 10th in the NFL in total offense, but they play bigger than that. They play in control and it all starts with their sensational second year QB, Matt Ryan.

Ryan currently ranks 16th in the league in passing, just ahead of Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, but it has been more than enough for Atlanta. Consider his 5-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and Ryan’s 108.5 QB rating is fourth among all passers (and less than two points behind Brett Favre, whose days consist of short slants and handoffs).

Falcons head coach Mike Smith has done a fabulous job putting Ryan in a position to succeed. Atlanta is riding Michael Turner as much as possible–he is tied for the most rushes in the NFL with 50–and tight end Tony Gonzalez has quickly become Ryan’s favorite target in the red zone.

Even though Atlanta lost defensive tackle Peria Jerry for the season with a left knee injury, they still boast a defense that is big up front, tough, and has underperformed. Heading to Foxborough is almost like a homecoming for Ryan, who played his college ball at Boston College. Will he be comfortable in Bill Belichick’s home? I doubt it, but it’s not exactly foreign turf to him, either.

As for the Patriots, they are dangerous because of all the things I said about the Falcons. They know that the Falcons are a very good team, one that has aspirations involving January football. If New England falls to 1-2 after this Sunday, they will have to grind out the next month.

The Pats’ next four games are against Baltimore, at Denver, against Tennessee, and at Tampa Bay. At worst, we would think that would be a 2-2 month for New England, which would put them at 3-4 (assuming a loss to Atlanta this week) and hanging out with the AFC’s bottom feeders.

All things considered, this is a statement game for Brady and for the Patriots. What are they? More importantly, who are they? We can crunch the numbers and pull up many reasons to convince us that the Pats aren’t working at the same speed or efficiency as in years past. But that’s unnecessary. We already know that by watching.

But Randy Moss still lines up out wide, and he is one of the most difficult covers in the league. Wes Welker, who didn’t play against the Jets, can slip comfortably back into the slot and use his slashing style to churn out crucial first downs.

Benjamin Watson isn’t your typical tight end. He is versatile and athletic enough to split out wide like a receiver, making him a mismatch against a linebacker or a corner.

Belichick could help Brady by giving more of the workload to Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris, but I don’t see Atlanta’s defense getting pummeled by the run. They may bend, but they won’t break. The knockout punch must come from Brady.

And that’s the point of all of this. There are reasons to be concerned, but when the crowd is on its feet bouncing and yelling with the kickoff, and the Patriots offense jogs onto the field, it’s still THAT guy under center.

I’m not saying the Patriots are going to win this week, and I’m not saying they are going to lose. It should be a fascinating game, one where New England, as 4.5-point favorites, could struggle to cover the spread.

But with three minutes to go, Patriots down one, and Brady with the ball, are you betting the house against him? Are you willing to unequivocally say that this offense just isn’t the same, that Brady just can’t find a rhythm with his receivers when it counts, that his knee just won’t let him do that? Are you comfortable with those words?

When Brady has three fingers that sparkle as much as that new stadium in Dallas, I can’t say that I am.

You can reach Teddy Mitrosilis at tm4000@yahoo.com.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Jets-Patriots Doesn’t Need Rex Ryan’s Words to Be Worthy

The first arrow launched at the behemoth of the East that is the New England Patriots came three months ago from a rookie head coach who hadn’t even blown his first whistle of fall training camp. Or something like that.

When Rex Ryan, the talkative fresh face of the New York Jets, went on the New York radio station WFAN in June to answer some questions about the upcoming season, he was honest, sincere, and brash. He wanted the people of the Big Apple to know that his boys weren’t going to be simply served up as clam chowder to their AFC East rivals.

“I never came here to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings,” Ryan said on the air. “I came here to win. Let’s just put it that way…. And when they come here that second week of the season, we’ll see.”

Ryan set the tone for his team on that early summer day, a tone that he hopes will carry over to this Sunday when the two teams meet in the Meadowlands for the first time in the 2009 season.

Ryan’s words are being magnified this week, naturally, in an attempt to create some bulletin board material for Belichick and the Patriots. Belichick is the master of using press clippings as motivation for his staff and his players—except that those tactics don’t apply here.

No vendetta needs to be pulled out of Ryan’s words in order to crank up the intensity for this weekend’s game. This meeting already looks too good for that. If we need to rely on verbal sparring to get excited about this one, then we are missing something.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady delivered the final line on Wednesday when he spoke to the media. “Talk is cheap,” Brady said with a wry smile.

See, Brady is too smart for these mind games. The man has three Super Bowls while the Jets are mostly known for the rambunctious hecklers that don green and white regalia and fill Radio City Music Hall on draft day.

The Patriots have been to February and walked away sipping champagne. Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins said New York is going to play this game like it’s the Super Bowl, hoping that the elevated adrenaline will culminate in a Rex Ryan Gatorade bath come Sunday afternoon.

“They can treat it however they want to treat it,” said Brady. “We’re going to treat it like we treat every game, and we’re going to put everything we have into it. It’s not the Super Bowl…but it’s as important as they come, in terms of our division and what that means in our place in our division.”

You won’t see New England being more outspoken about this contest than they were for the Buffalo Bills in Monday night’s season opener because they know there is plenty to worry about on the field. There is plenty to enjoy on the field, and that is what has me giddy about this game.

We know the Pats can score with the best of them. Brady threw for 378 yards and two TDs in a 25-24 win over the Bills, with 141 of those yards finding the supple palms of Randy Moss. With Wes Welker in the slot and the versatile Benjamin Watson at tight end, Brady doesn’t lack targets.

But we also know there are some concerns. It took the Pats three-and-a-half quarters to break through against a Bills D that ranked 14th in the NFL last season in total defense. If it wasn’t for two lightning-quick Brady TDs to Watson in the final three minutes of the game against the Bills, New England would still be searching for its first win of the season.

Were those inefficiencies due to normal first-game inconsistencies? Were they due to the fact that Brady was playing his first regular season game since Bernard Pollard attacked his left knee like a barbecued rib in the first quarter of Week One last year? Probably both.

This week would be a fine time for the offense to get rolling early as they are facing a much tougher defense in the Jets. With Ryan coming over from Baltimore, New York will be a defensive-minded football team. Heck, they went into Houston last Sunday and completely shut down the dynamic duo that is Steve Slaton and Andre Johnson.

What should scare the Patriots is their defense, particularly against the run. New England ranked 15th in the league in run defense in ’08 before watching Fred Jackson rush for nearly four yards per carry in the season opener this year and soften up the D just enough for Trent Edwards to do enough to give the Bills a chance to win.

The Jets will feature Thomas Jones, a more physical runner who enjoyed two touchdowns to go along with 107 yards rushing against Houston. Was that game a fluke for Jones? He won’t play like that every week, but I don’t know if I would call it a fluke. We will find out right away as the Jets will probably look to pound the ball on the ground to take some pressure off Mark Sanchez.

Which brings us to the biggest question of all: How is the rookie passer going to fare in his first real “Welcome to the NFL” moment? Nobody thought Sanchez was going to lead the Jets to victory last week. Nobody. You just don’t bet the family farm on a QB making his first professional start on the road.

But Sanchez showed guts, guile, and confidence. His charisma that was so prevalent in his short time at the University of Southern California made the trip with him to Houston.

As tough as that task was, I am going to say that this week will be even tougher.

Sanchez will be playing his first home game in one of the world’s most energetic cities in front of a sold-out stadium of football fanatics. New Yorkers think Sanchez can stir up the ghost of Joe Namath.

There is going to be a lot of emotion in the building on Sunday, and I can only imagine Sanchez’s heart will want to burst through his jersey when he runs out of the tunnel at home for the first time. Thinking of that gives me chills.

But, oh, by the way…you are playing Tom Brady, one of the five to eight best quarterbacks ever. You are trying to get to where your rivals have already been. They’ve been there three times this decade. You aren’t lining up against physical therapy majors anymore. These are men paid to bring the Lombardi Trophy to a franchise that covets them.

See, my friends? Nothing needs to be made out of Ryan’s choice of words three months ago. There’s plenty to be excited about, and it all will be settled on Sunday.

You can reach Teddy Mitrosilis at tm4000@yahoo.com.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Michael Vick Signs with Eagles, Chance for Redemption

Goodbye Kevin Kolb. Take a seat A.J. Feeley. And hello Michael Vick.

On Thursday evening during ESPN’s telecast of the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers, ESPN’s own Chris Mortensen sat in studio and reported that the Philadelphia Eagles have signed estranged quarterback Michael Vick to a two-year contract.

Vick will be able to attend camp to get in shape before participating in the final two-preseason games. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell still has to make a final ruling on Vick’s eligibility for the opening of the season, but that’s another matter.

Vick to Philly is surprising, but it’s not shocking. Donovan McNabb is obviously the alpha dog in Philadelphia, and that won’t be changing anytime soon. Andy Reid runs a fairly tight ship, is a great leader, and will be a good fit for a man whose transgressions have led to him becoming a national pariah.

Say what you want about Michael Vick, say what you want about how he should or should not be suspended, it doesn’t really matter. Everybody has their own opinion, but the only opinions that matter are those of the court system and Goodell. We have spent months berating Vick for his actions and holding him over a bonfire of scorn and spite.

But this is about Vick the football player, and it’s indeed time to move on. What are we going to see out of Vick? Who knows, all I know is that it will be exciting. We could sit here and list off all of this stats and breathtaking plays that happened seemingly a lifetime ago in Atlanta, but does any of that really matter today?

Vick hasn’t played football, and specifically NFL football, for some time, so as far as I’m concerned, this is a rebirth of his career. He’s probably not the same player, and he’s obviously not the same man. Life’s twists and turns will alter your persona in a hurry.

We will have to wait and see how much Vick is used in the Eagles offense, and how Reid fits him into the game plan. Are we going to see some Wildcat in Philly? We could only hope.

With Vick now coming to an established team like the Eagles, he won’t only be chowing down cheese steaks. Defenses could follow shortly thereafter his first lovely hometown treat.

If Vick is only used sparingly, those legs will be some of the freshest on the field, and he won’t have to drop back and throw the ball all that much. He could, but I would rather see him run.

Philly has all of a sudden become one of the most exciting teams in football. The St. Louis Rams were known as ‘The Greatest Show On Turf’ earlier this decade, and now the Eagles have a chance to take that label and give it an all new meaning.

If you are going to compete with the Eagles this season, you better be a disciplined defense, and you better be fast. Donovan McNabb seems to be as healthy as he has been in years, and some are expecting a resurgence in his game. If that’s the case and he stays healthy, we all know what type of dynamic threat he is at the QB position.

Brian Westbrook seems to be battling injuries every season—the tolls of a long, successful NFL career—but when he is healthy and on the field, he terrorizes defensive coordinators and fantasy owners weep tears of joy. If you own him, that is.

Second round draft pick LeSean McCoy, a running back out of Pittsburgh and Westbrook’s potential back up, has already labeled as guy with the same type of game as Westbrook. That’s to say explosive and versatile. If Westbrook needs a breather, expect McCoy to run loose.

And then there’s two doses of lighting out wide. DeSean Jackson, who had a phenomenal rookie season last year out of California, is a speed demon who is fearless and may bring more swagger to the field than any receiver in football, pound for pound. The Eagles just drafted his equal in Jeremy Maclin, 19^th overall out of Missouri, who can be a game-breaker.

Sure, the Eagles may need more team doctors than your average ER, but if they are at full strength, it will be tough to find good match ups against them. That will work nice when going against the defensive-minded New York Giants, and will give them plenty of options to go to when they finish the regular season at Dallas on January 3, 2010.

How will Vick fit in ? I think he will be fine. I don’t think he’s much of a risk, you just aren’t quite sure what you are going to get from him at first. But a city with a heartbeat like Philadelphia’s is exactly what Vick needs.

He needs to be in the thick of things, and he needs to be demanded. He needs discipline and he needs high expectations to live up to.

That will foster accountability and will stoke his inner fire and thirst to compete, which we know must be white-hot right now. If Vick embraces the team and plays like he is capable of, Philly fans are going to love him. Philadelphia wants hard workers and winners.

Michael Vick finally has his chance to clear his record and prove to the world that he is both.

You can reach Teddy Mitrosilis at tm4000@yahoo.com.

 

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