NFL RECAP – WEEK THREE
STATE OF THE GAME
Somebody had to make the
ultimate sacrifice, and it appears that somebody is Green Bay. It took an officiating apocalypse on prime
time national television for the NFL brains to apparently conclude enough is
enough. As I get ready to post it seems
likely that the return of the regular referees is on track for this Sunday’s
games.
Let’s hope so. I don’t take this stuff too seriously, but I
hate to be lied to and treated like I am stupid. That is what the commissioner and his minions
have been doing the last month by steadfastly telling us the replacement refs
were doing fine.
The refs were doing the best
they can, so I direct my ire at the league.
The NFL leadership has an incredibly popular and valuable asset that is
the NFL brand. Yet they acted foolishly
in putting that brand at risk over a relatively small amount of dollars. They disrespected the players and the fans
that create that value. The decision to
roll the dice with the replacement refs was like putting 85 octane in a
Bentley. Don’t fault the gas. Fault the cheapskates that asked it to do
something beyond its capabilities.
I think the NFL was close to
a tipping point on this one. Sure, we
all might have watched in morbid fascination for another week or two, to see
how bad it could get – like watching Rick Perry at a debate. But the fans won’t play the fool
forever. Heck, even the politicians
agreed the NFL was becoming a farce.
So, with optimism that we
will soon have the regular refs back, let’s look back and remember our times
together with their replacements (Can’t you just hear Streisand’s The Way We Were in the background?).
5-10 MUSINGS FROM THE GAMES
MY OWN JINX??
It is only two weeks, but I
may have started my own jinx. My week
one MVP, Mark Sanchez, was 10/27 for 138 yards with 1 TD and 0 INT in week
two. My week two MVP, Sam Bradford, was
18/35 for 150 yards with 0 TD and 2 INT in week three.
Sure, these are two non elite
guys (that was generous) going against good defenses (Pittsburgh and Chicago,
respectively). Still, I wouldn’t mind
getting into the JINX game with Sports Illustrated and Madden
HEIDI RETURNS
The Titans and Lions burned
up the scoreboard Sunday with Tennessee prevailing 44-41 in Overtime. The Lions scored 14 points in the final 18
seconds, with Titus Young catching the tying TD on a Hail Mary pass on the last
play of regulation. Many Direct TV
Sunday Ticket customers missed the play because Direct TV was busy switching to
a commercial as the ball was in the air.
Some people called this
“Heidi II” in reference to a 1968 Jets/Raiders game when NBC switched to the children’s movie with a minute to play and the Jets leading a thrilling contest
32-29 (I know it sounds like a made up story, but a game in 1968 between the
Jets and the Raiders really could be exciting).
The Raiders score two late TDs and win 43-32. The adult viewers were not pleased.
I FOUGHT THE LAW AND THE LAW WON
I have watched TONS of
football in my life. I have never seen a
series of calls like those that went against Green Bay on Monday night. Let’s recap the events that followed the
Packers taking a 12-7 lead.
1)
Green Bay
intercepts a pass deep in Hawk territory.
A Packer score here is almost certain and would likely ice the game. The
Hawk offense did not have a first down in the second half to this point. Hold the presses. The refs flag a Packer
defender for diving at a quarterback running out of the pocket.
2)
The refs call
back-to-back holding calls on Seattle and the drive looks to be stalled. I don’t like make-up calls, but it felt like
justice was being served.
3)
Oops, no
justice. The refs give the Hawks a first
down on a 30- yard interference call against Packer defender Sam Shields. Curious because Viking receiver Simeon Rice
mugged him on the play. Seahawks
ultimately turn the ball over on downs.
Green Bay punts back to Seattle with less than a minute to play.
4)
Seattle wideout Golden
Tate blatantly shoves Shields in the back to gain position to catch the game’s
last pass. Somehow the refs miss
this. No worries because the Packers
intercept the pass.
5)
Wait, time to
worry because the refs inexplicably rule simultaneous position and give Seattle
a touchdown.
6)
Thank goodness it
is a scoring play that will be automatically reviewed and rightfully
overturned, right? Wrong. The refs do not change the call and the
Packers become very public robbery victims.
A week three loss is just as bad as a week fifteen loss when it comes to determining who makes or misses the playoffs. It is not hard to imagine the series of botched calls preventing the now 1-2 Packers from making the playoffs. If they do make the playoffs, this loss will almost certainly cost them from a seeding standpoint.
The league asks its coaches
to toe the party line. That is not easy
to do when the incompetency level impacts who wins and loses. Hard to fault all the coaches who wanted some
quality time with officials this weekend.
FEAR THE BIRDS
The Falcons and the Cardinals
pulled off the most impressive wins of the week. The Falcons traveled across the country to
San Diego and opened up a big can of you know what. Matt Ryan was efficient in a dominating win. He now has 8 TDs and just 1 INT on the
year. Let’s crown Atlanta champions of
the AFC west already as they have vanquished KC, Denver, and now the Chargers
in the season’s first three weeks.
In the desert the Cardinals
took the hurt to the Eagles. This game
was 24-0 at halftime when the Cardinals put it on cruise. The Cards were the third team to batter
Michael Vick. He did not turn it over,
but was very erratic. Kevin Kolb
outplayed his old teammate. With a
little quality QB play, the ceiling could be high for the Cardinals. Did I just say that? Maybe I am high.
NOW THIS IS DESPERATE
I thought the Saints needed
to start fast to set the tone in light of bounty gate and all the associated
disruptions. I thought that they had
enough veteran leadership to come out of the first three weeks no worse than
2-1 given the opponents (Home – Redskins, Chiefs/ Road ---Panthers). I was wrong.
The Saints were again generous on defense giving up 500 yards to that
offensive machine from Kansas City. More
telling is that the offense was unable to do enough to close out the game on
Sunday. Kansas City rallied and the New
Orleans offense never countered.
Instead, Brees added to the mess with a key sack/safety late in the 4th
quarter.
The Saints go to Lambeau next
week to play the Packers. Hard to
imagine, but either both teams will be 1-3 a quarter into the season or the 0-4
Saints can start planning for next year.
WEEKLY AWARDS
MVP
There were many great
performances this week. I narrowed my
list to:
§ Justin Houston of the Chiefs who played a huge
defensive game against the Saints including three sacks, one for a safety.
§ The B&B Boys (Barden and Brown) for the
Giants. They stepped in for injured
teammates and each gained over 100 yards as the Giants killed the Panthers.
§ Matt Ryan and another typically solid 300 yard outing.
§ Jamaal Charles and his 233 rushing yards against the
Saints.
§ Jake Locker threw for 378 yards against the Lions in
one of the day’s more entertaining games.
Then I read about Tory Smith
playing for the Ravens after learning of the death of his younger brother. He scored two touchdowns and had 127
receiving yards on six catches as the Ravens defeated the Patriots in another
classic. He gets my MVP this week.
EL BUSTO
This was an easy call for me
this week. Cam Newton fell flat in his
prime time debut against the Giants. Not
only was he ineffective most of the night, he showboated after scoring a
meaningless touchdown. Not the presence
you want from your leader on the field.
His team captain also called him out for his behavior.
SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE
How could I pick anybody but
the officiating crew at the Packers/Seahawks game? It was a thrill a minute
trying to guess what the next prank on the Packers would be. I was glued to my seat. I thought after all these years of watching
football the zebras could never surprise me.
I was wrong.
TREASURE
There were some very
entertaining games that deserve mention: Raiders/Steelers, Titans/Lions,
Redskins/Bengals. However, I like to
find a meaningful good game if I can.
The Patriot/Raven grudge match was compelling. Flacco and Brady were both masterful. Harbaugh and the Hoodie. Wes Welker playing instead of whining. Tory
Smith’s heroics. And yes, a little end
of game controversy, though I don’t fault the refs on the field goal call. Nor
do I think Big Bill was too out of line in his end of game pursuit of a
discussion. Ravens/Patriots take the
prize.
TRASH
The Bears and Rams edge out
the Bucs and Cowboys. Lackluster QB play
from Bradford and Cutler. No threat of
excitement at any time. I would have
hated to pay to go see that stinker. At
least the Bucs and Cowboys was close
and boring.
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