Bleacher Report - Articles by C Douglas Baker

2009 NFL Season: Week 12

C Douglas Baker — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:39:55 -0500

My comments on Thanksgiving Day games can be found here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/298164-2009-nfl-season-week-12-thanksgiving-day-special

GAMES I WATCHED

New Orleans Saints over New England Patriots, 38-17

This was the marquee matchup of the weekend and it didn’t live up to its hype. The Saints spanked the Patriots like an unwanted step child.

The shellacking the Patriots took at the hands of the Saints was a nasty reality check for New England Patriots fans. We must face the fact the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, and even the Indianapolis Colts, are the elite teams in the league this year. We are a notch below, along with a handful of other teams, peeking our head over the windowsill wondering how we got left out the party.

I’ll dispense with comments on the Saints in this game by simply saying they are a great team. Drew Brees is absolutely phenomenal and had an unbelievable performance. And defensive coordinator Greg Williams had a brilliant game plan and has really turned this defense around. I’ve been utterly impressed with the Saints all year long and suffering through this game left me even more impressed. I expect to see a Saints versus Vikings matchup in the NFC Championship Game. And if it turns out anything like the wild game they had in the regular season last year, it should be wildly entertaining.

Now on to the Patriots and what to make of the fiasco we witnessed on Monday night.

Let’s start with the offensive, the most fixable problem we face the rest of the season and into the playoffs, which we should reach. The offense has become utterly predictable.

The Saints simply dropped numerous players in coverage and took away the short passing game and Wes Welker, and mostly blanketed Randy Moss. They were able to get decent pressure on Brady, especially in the second half, with only a four man rush.

This was partially because of injuries on our offensive line, which hopefully will get back in shape by seasons’ end. But the Patriots’ offense appears pretty easy to scheme against these days.

We abandon the run way too soon and in the second half, like last week against the Jets, it was bombs away with nobody to throw the ball to. We need to at least mix up our plays a bit throughout the game and come up with less predictable or more creative schemes to get receivers open.

That’s not to say the offense is bad.

We scored 17 points against the Saints and really should have had more but for a few errant throws and interceptions by Brady. But nevertheless, we need to address this. Charlie Weis anyone?

Our defense right now is in a complete rebuilding mode. Most of our starting defensive backs are young players or recent starters and it shows. They have been frequently out of place and burned all year by most teams we’ve faced.

We have just gotten by with it, for the most part, because the offense has been putting up enough points to cover for them. The lousy play by the defensive backs was painfully evident on numerous blown coverages against the Saints. They should be embarrassed.

I hope they are.

Adding to our woes on defense we cannot get a pass rush or pressure the quarterback. Drew Brees had enough time in the pocket to eat a steak dinner and down a few drinks, much less throw the ball to his outstanding corps of receivers. What happened to Adalius Thomas? He has completely disappeared as a playmaker on this defense.

Overall the defense played like it was on a 0-16 team, not a championship caliber team. Now people don’t need to wonder why Bill Belichick went for it on fourth and two to try to preserve the game against the Colts two weeks ago, after Manning torched the defense for two long drives in no time. A punt might have been giving the game away.

The defense, as noted earlier, is in a rebuilding phase and I suspect it will take some time for it to come around. Unfortunately, it won’t likely be anytime soon, and not in time for a significant playoff run.

MVP: Drew Brees, QB

Philadelphia Eagles over Washington Redskins, 27-24

I will say this about the Redskins, all these new players finding themselves in starting roles are playing very hard and being competitive. Even though the Redskins are losing some close games, at least they don’t look as pathetic as they did earlier in the season.

They actually look like they belong in the NFL these days. The oft maligned Jason Campbell played reasonably well other than his two interceptions to Asante Samuel.

This was a game that the Redskins could have won but the Eagles just simply pulled it out at the end. Despite a talented group of receivers, the Eagles seem to greatly miss Brian Westbrook in the lineup. They just aren’t the same. And putting Michael Vick in to run plays seemed mostly counterproductive. It slowed the momentum of the offense.

Hats off to London Fletcher, the Redskins’ middle linebacker. He has been playing All Pro caliber defense all year long, as has Eagles’ defense end Trent Cole.

Finally, while his statistics don’t pop off the page, my MVP goes to Eagles’ wide receiver Jason Avant, whose two big catches in the fourth quarter jumpstarted the offense and the Eagles to their tying touchdown.

MVP: Jason Avant, WR

Minnesota Vikings over Chicago Bears, 36-10

I really felt this game was over before it really started. It turned out pretty much exactly as I expected it to. The Bears defense has not been great this year and the offense, especially Jay Cutler, has been subpar. But really, it’s the Bears offensive line that has been atrocious.

I assume that Orlando Pace was sitting on the sideline in the second half because he was benched for poor play. I feel really badly for Pace in some ways. In his prime he was an outstanding left tackle. But injuries and time spent in the NFL getting pounded on every week has clearly made him past his prime. For his sake I hope to see him retire this year. It’s time.

Meanwhile, Cutler threw his obligatory two interceptions during the game and his receivers did nothing to help him. And what happened to Matt Forte?

The Bears are in big, big trouble going forward. They gave up a boatload of draft picks for Jay Cutler and are in such desperate need of help in so many areas that it may be years before we see this team win again, especially if the Cutler we see now is what we can expect in the future.

Brett Favre had another excellent day, and rookie wide receiver Percy Harvin lit up the field with six catches for 101 yards and touchdown.

MVP: Brett Favre, QB

Baltimore Ravens over Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-17 OT

Baltimore eked out a win against the Steelers and finally won a close game. They keep their slim playoff hopes alive. But Ravens fans shouldn’t get too excited.

There is no reason that the Ravens should have had to go into overtime when the Steelers were starting a third string quarterback. They continue to play down to the level of their competition.

That’s not to say that second year quarterback Dennis Dixon from the University of Oregon had a bad game. He actually played quite well. While the Steelers obviously altered their game plan a bit for him, he did throw the ball, and mostly well, throughout the game.

He also made a few nice plays with his legs. I think he has some potential. I felt sorry for him when he threw and interception in overtime that set up the Ravens for the win, but that’s how it goes.

The Ravens offense struggled a bit with the Steelers defense, but who doesn’t. I would say that Michael Oher and Jarred Gaither had a tough time against the Steelers linebackers, but who doesn’t?

For the most part they played really well, but there were stretches of time where I they were getting beat. And if Michael Oher, both last week and this week sure looks like he is moving before the ball is snapped on almost every play, but I guess he’s not since the officials aren’t calling it.

Overall this was a very interesting game given the circumstances. I’m not surprised the Ravens won, I’m just surprised they found it so difficult to do so.

MVP: Ray Rice, RB

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS

If I did a power ranking, the New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings, and Indianapolis Colts would be the top three teams, in that order. There are several teams just below them.

Brett Favre, Drew Brees, and Vince Young had outstanding performances. Vince Young? He’s won five straight games as the starter for the Titans and has looked really good doing it. I wonder if he is going to make me eat my words that he will never be a good starting quarterback in the NFL?

I don’t recall the last highly touted wide receiver out of Florida that wasn’t a bust in the NFL. I’m sure someone will tell me who it is. But Percy Harvin is certainly breaking that streak.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive Player: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints

Defensive Player: Charles Woodson, CB, Green Bay Packers

Offensive Lineman: Ryan Clady, T, Denver Broncos

Special Teams: LaRod Stephens-Howling, KR, Arizona Cardinals

Rookie of the Week: Percy Harvin, WR, Minnesota Vikings

Posted in AFC East, Bill Belichick, National Football League, New England Patriots, NFL, Sports Tagged: AFC East, Baltimore Ravens, Bill Belichick, Chicago Bears, National Football League, New England Patriots, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Sports, Washington Redskins

2009 NFL Season: Week 12 Thanksgiving Day Special

C Douglas Baker — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:19:50 -0500

Introduction

After the New York Giants went 5-0, many pundits had them ranked as the best team in the NFL in their power rankings. I said then that they were at best a mediocre team. I may not always be right, but I was right about that.

The traditional football games on Thanksgiving Day featured two matchups that really were not that compelling to the average football fan. The still lowly Detroit Lions hosted the solid but struggling Green Bay Packers, while the Dallas Cowboys hosted the usually pathetic Oakland Raiders.

Most thought the games would be blowouts and they certainly lived up to the tripe. Green Bay had no trouble rolling over Detroit, and Oakland proved to be no match for Dallas.

Many have wondered if the Detroit Lions should no longer be hosting a nationally televised game on Thanksgiving given their long-standing lack of quality teams. A Thanksgiving Day matchup should be a marquee game between two quality teams, right?

I disagree though. The Detroit Lions have been hosting a Thanksgiving Day game since 1934. That’s 75 years of tradition for the Lions, sometimes a good team, lately not, hosting a game on this holiday.

The National Football League is built on tradition and after 75 years I don’t see a reason to break that tradition now. Despite not being a great team now, presumably the Lions will be relevant again.

And for me, watching any professional football game is enjoyable. I always know I’ll see the Lions host somebody on this day and I look forward to it every year.

Green Bay Packers over Detroit Lions, 34-12

As expected this game was not even close. After Green Bay fumbled the opening kickoff leading to a quick Detroit touchdown, the game was basically over. Detroit’s offense never did much else, while Matthew Stafford threw four picks.

Green Bay played an all around solid game, with Donald Driver catching seven passes for 142 yards and a touchdown. This included a 68 yard grab in the first quarter to set up Green Bay’s first touchdown. Cornerback Charles Woodson had his second sterling game with two interceptions, one that he returned for a touchdown in garbage time.

I’m not sure why the Lions started rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford who played with a separated left shoulder. I think he has the potential to be the franchise quarterback for the Lions and it just doesn’t seem worth risking further damage to his shoulder at this point in the season.

This game turned out pretty much as expected. It was a good game for Green Bay to get back to winning and try to jumpstart an attempt to make the playoffs as Wild Card team. They have a long way to go for that.

MVP: Donald Driver, WR

Dallas Cowboys over Oakland Raiders, 24-7

The NFC East used to be considered the toughest division in the NFL.

Not anymore.

Right now the storied franchise of the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Philadelphia Eagles are middle-of-the-road teams, at best. The Washington Redskins are abysmal and shouldn’t even be in the conversation.

The race for the NFC East is going down the stretch and Dallas needs to keep winning with the Giants and Eagles right in the mix. Pundits have even taken to calling Tony Romo not just an average quarterback, but a bad one. He deserves it given the way he has played this year.

In this game Dallas had no trouble putting the Raiders away. Romo had a very good outing and wide receiver Miles Austin was again fantastic. He had seven catches for 145 yards and touchdown to lead the Dallas Cowboys offense.

On the other side of the ball, the Raiders started fourth-year quarterback Bruce Gradkowski over the bust of a No. 1 overall draft pick JaMarcus Russell.

Gradkowski, frankly, is never going to be a particularly good NFL quarterback, but he is gutsy and had didn’t play that badly against the Cowboys. The Raiders were just simply overmatched.

Dallas, like Green Bay, really needed an easy win and to get their offense rolling after a very pedestrian performance against the Redskins last week.

MVP: Miles Austin, WR

Denver Broncos over New York Giants, 26-6

This was the marquee matchup of the day which most thought we be a closely contested ball game. Both teams have been struggling a great deal the past month, with the Broncos losing four-straight games and the Giants losing the last five out of six.

Too bad it was on the NFL Network. Many football fans, as a result, didn’t have access to the game.

It was an interesting game but not much was missed.

I actually thought the Giants would win this game but they never bothered to show up.

They were pathetic.

The Giants, on their second offensive snap of the game, had to call a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty. They followed this up with a minus-two yard run by Brandon Jacobs. That basically set the tone for the game as the Giants offense seemed to have stayed in New York.

I watched Brandon Jacobs very closely in this game because he has been struggling of late.

What I noticed was disturbing.

Even when he got into a good hole he didn’t have the same burst of speed and power to make a good gain like he has in the past. I don’t know if it’s because he has been injured a bit or some other ailment, but he definitely is not the same runner he has been in the past.

There were holes that he got to that Chris Johnson or Adrian Peterson, or last years Brandon Jacobs for that matter, would have turned into a long gain. Something is missing or has gone awry there.

Meanwhile a lot has been said of the struggles of the Giants offensive line. They played reasonably well at all times, more so on running plays. The announcers kept saying they were getting beat physically but they most looked confused by the Broncos tricky defensive alignments than they were physically dominated.

But the Broncos defense played extremely well. Elvis Dumervil had two sacks and a forced fumble, safety Brian Dawkins was a menace all over the field, and the Denver secondary, led by Champ Bailey, blanketed the Giants’ receivers.

In fact the quarterback pressures could often be attributed to superior defensive back play more so than the defensive line dominating the line of scrimmage. But it was a very well played game by the Denver defense all around.

The Giants defense didn’t play terribly but again, they weren’t beaten physically as much as the Broncos just outplayed them.

Case in point, if you watched Giants’ defensive end Osi Umenyiora against the Broncos' left tackle, Ryan Clady, he often got good penetration and sometimes pressure on Kyle Orton. But he was completely shut out of the game.

Meanwhile Denver’s rookie running back Knowshon Moreno played very well with a shifty, slithery style of running that netted yards when most backs would have been shut down.

I have seen Denver play several times this year and I have not seen these moves by Moreno before. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t watching him at his best or that he has been injured, but now I see why people are so excited about this guy.

He has a unique running style that avoids big contact and can make the most out of small openings. And, of course, wide receiver Brandon Marshall was making some sick one handed catches.

But frankly, at the end of the day I am not sure whether Denver looked so good because the Giants were just plain awful, or if they have come out of their funk. They certainly looked much better than they have the past few times I’ve seen them.

I do know one thing, however. The Giants appear to be on the way down and out. See ya!

The MVP could really go to Dumervil, Dawkins, or Bailey. I am going with Champ Bailey because I thought it was the Denver pass coverage that was the key to their success on defense.

MVP: Champ Bailey, CB

2009 NFL Season: Week 11

C Douglas Baker — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:00:56 -0500

OBSERVATIONS

The theme of this week was clearly upsets, with the biggest being the Oakland Raiders knocking off the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Just missed upsets were Washington versus Dallas (go figure; Washington is a lousy offensive team) and the Ravens versus the Colts, as the Ravens just shot themselves in the foot, three times.

Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans has taken over Adrian Peterson’s spot as my top running back in the league and gets serious consideration for league MVP. Without his unbelievable running talent, the Titans are still winless.

Matthew Stafford coming into the game after separating his shoulder and throwing the winning touchdown pass was one of the gutsiest things I have seen in a long time. Wow.

If I were doing NFL Power Rankings, my top team very well might be the Minnesota Vikings, even though the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts are undefeated. The Vikings have a much better defense than either of those two teams and an almost equally potent offense.

Denver continues to fold.

GAMES I WATCHED

New England Patriots over New York Jets, 31-14

This was an extremely important win for the Patriots given we lost last week to the Colts and face the undefeated New Orleans Saints next Monday night. It certainly helps our chances for a second seed in the playoffs with the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers both losing this week.

Clearly the Patriots are a better team now than they were when they faced the Jets the second week of the season. The first half featured more running and short screens to slow down the blitz, and the offensive line played much better than the last time these teams met.

The Jets, frankly, don’t seem as good as they were earlier in the season. Mark Sanchez is now playing like the rookie he is, looking confused and befuddled at times.

Don’t get that comment wrong, however. I think he will be a solid NFL quarterback with experience. Even Joe Flacco (Ravens) and Matt Ryan (Falcons), who set somewhat of a standard last year for rookie quarterbacks, are struggling a bit in their second seasons. But the Patriots are on the rise, and the Jets are falling off the map.

The Patriots dominated this game from start to finish. Other than a blocked punt that netted the Jets an easy touchdown, the Patriots had the Jets’ number all day long.

The offense seemed to go into a bombs away mode in the second half and got away from running the ball and the short passing game, which resulted in having a tougher time with the blitz, and our offense didn’t do much in the second half. But neither did the Jets.

Patriots cornerback Leigh Bodden came away with three interceptions, one which he returned for the first touchdown of the game. But Wes Welker had a monster game with 15 catches for 192 yards.

The Patriots better stick with the run and short passing game longer next week against the New Orleans Saints if they hope to win.

MVP: Wes Welker, WR

Miami Dolphins over Carolina Panthers, 24-17

Even without Ronnie Brown running the Wildcat offense, I thought the Dolphins could beat the inconsistent Panthers with their solid running game. While they didn’t run the Wildcat nearly as often, they did hand the ball off to Ricky Williams, who stepped up with 119 yards rushing and two touchdowns, which included a nifty 46-yard scoring run to put the game away in the fourth quarter.

Both of these teams played decent games, but Carolina is a team that befuddles me. They have great running backs, a top-flight receiver in Steve Smith, and a rather solid defense, mostly. But they are a mediocre to poor team at best. Oh yeah, they also have Jake Delhomme at quarterback, so never mind. It all makes sense now.

For Miami, they are going to be in a real struggle to make the playoffs. It’s late in the season, so maybe Williams can handle the extra workload, but he does not run the Wildcat as well as Brown, and they have a very pedestrian, non-threatening passing game. Most teams should just stack up against the run, and they should be able to mostly hold the Dolphins down.

You have to give Miami credit for playing hard and making their offense work this week though. Let’s see if they can keep it up.

MVP: Ricky Williams, RB

Indianapolis Colts over Baltimore Ravens, 17-15

What is wrong with the Baltimore Ravens? They have a very good football team but just cannot close the show. They had three excellent opportunities to win this game but blew all three of them. Really, the Ravens should be sick about this loss. They could have easily won this game.

They did get rid of their lousy kicker, who kept missing easy field goals. Their new kicker, Billy Cundiff, made some of the field goals he hit a bit heart-stopping but missed one wildly. But his miss appeared to be the fault of the snapper or holder because the ball was clearly held at an odd angle. Missed field goal, lose by two points. Bang!

In the fourth quarter the Ravens had the ball first and goal from the one-yard line and could not score a touchdown and had to settle for a field goal. 4th-and-1 from the one, with an excellent offensive line and three outstanding running backs, against a defense that does not play that well against the run, and you can’t get the touchdown? Another blown chance to get some points and win the game. BANG BANG!

Then Flacco, again in the fourth quarter, when the Ravens were near field goal range and could have won the game, throws a stupid interception. BANG BANG BANG!

Finally, with 28 seconds left and a Colts punt, the wickedly talented Ed Reed idiotically tries to lateral the ball near midfield and fumbles. Game over. Even with no timeouts and 28 seconds left, the offense had a slight chance to get a few plays off and possibly kick a game-winning field goal.

The Colts are a good team, obviously, at 10-0, but they escaped once again by the skin of their teeth, and the Ravens let another winnable game pass them by. The Ravens are still in the playoff hunt at 5-5, but they should be better.

A final note: Where did Tom Santi, the tight end for the Colts, come from? The second-year player from Virginia saw his first action, and the poor fellow made the biggest plays in the first half but took a beating for it. Even though he fumbled once, he was jacked up by Ray Lewis and Ed Reed at the same time! Welcome to the NFL [expletives deleted]! I’ll give him a pass on that one and give him my MVP award.

MVP: Tom Santi, TE

Philadelphia Eagles over Chicago Bears, 24-20

The Eagles had a nicely balanced attack against the Bears, with rookie LeSean McCoy picking up 99 rushing yards and DeSean Jackson racking up 107 yards receiving, including a 48-yard touchdown. What is up with all these XxSeans? With Dallas and the Giants joining the Eagles in mediocrity, the Eagles are in good position to once again steal the NFC East crown.

Meanwhile, Jay Cutler looks just flat-out awful. I really don’t like Cutler after all the bad-mouthing he did in Denver and his generally sulky attitude. But frankly, I am starting to feel a little sorry for him.

His mechanics are just atrocious. He constantly throws off his back foot and really is just arming the ball down the field without stepping into his throws. As a result he is very inaccurate, especially on the deep passes. Plus, he is skittish in the pocket and makes poor decisions.

Right now he is a poor, not average, but poor quarterback, and his body language doesn’t look good at all.

The Bears better get Cutler straightened out, or they are in for not only a long season, but possibly a long period of losing football.

MVP: DeSean Jackson, WR

Tennessee Titans over Houston Texans, 20-17

The Tennessee Titans do not look like the same football team that lay down against the New England Patriots. They have won four straight on the legs of Chris Johnson and with Vince Young leading them at quarterback.

In addition to Johnson running the ball extremely well, I love what the coaching staff is doing with Young. They are calling plays and letting him play to his strength.

It has already been much discussed that Young is not a great pocket passer. In this game they rolled him out often and let him make plays with both his arm and his legs. They really are playing to his strengths.

While I still don’t think Young will ever be a great NFL quarterback, with a solid running game and the receivers finally stepping up and making plays, Young can be very effective the way the Titans are running their offense. That extra dimension of Young making big plays running makes the Titans offense that much more dangerous. With four straight wins, this team has new life.

On the flip side, and I know I’ve said this a hundred times about every team that is talented but not playing up to the level of their talent, I don’t know what to make the of the Houston Texans. Solid quarterback, decent running backs, great receiver, and a lot of talent on defense, but they just can’t seem to get everything together to string together some wins.

Finally, I know Chris Johnson is the MVP of this team, and he ran for a league-high 151 yards against the Texans. But I am giving my MVP award to Rob Bironas. He hit a 50-yard field goal and a game-winning 53-yard field goal, while Texan kicker Kris Brown missed his chance.

I have seen too many games where the kicker has missed makeable field goals that cost their team the game. Bironas came through with two very tough, long kicks to win the game.

MVP: Rob Bironas, K

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive Player: Wes Welker, WR, New England Patriots

Defensive Player: Leigh Bodden, CB, New England Patriots

Offensive Lineman: Jared Gaither, T, Baltimore Ravens

Special Teams: Rob Bironas, K, Tennessee Titans

Rookie of the Week: Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions

NFL Week 12 Picks: From New England Patriots Fans' Perspective

C Douglas Baker — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:31:41 -0500

I can’t believe it’s week 12 already!

This week you have two prognosticators, yours truly, C Douglas Baker , and EA ,

Mr. TR is on the PUP list this week with an ailment. His wife says he’s on the PUP list every week but that’s another story. JUST KIDDING!!! Sorry TR, I couldn’t resist. Get well soon.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and good luck to your favorite team (unless it’s the Saints, Colts, Steelers, Bengals, Chargers, Broncos…).

Now on with the show.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Green Bay @ Detroit

EA: As an Aaron Rodgers fantasy owner, I am going to have A LOT to be thankful about on this turkey day. Sit back, put your feet up, and get ready to see the Pack dominate.

DB: Poor Green Bay has been hit with the injury bug again with cornerback Al Harris out for the season, as well as lineman Aaron Kampman. Nevertheless, I think they have enough offense to beat the lowly Lions on Turkey Day. Green Bay.

Oakland @ Dallas

EA: Dallas. Not even close.

DB: Oakland pulled off an upset last week, but I don’t think they will do it against the Cowboys, even though the Boys have been playing rather mediocre of late. Dallas.

New York Giants @ Denver

EA: Of course they put the interesting game on NFL Network, so I won't get to watch this one for myself, but I think Denver may get a long-needed win to try and stay afloat in the standings.

DB: This is a tough game given that both teams have been on a downward slide lately. Even though Denver is at home, with Orton ailing I think the Giants will take this one. New York Giants.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Miami @ Buffalo

EA: With Ronnie Brown out, Ricky Williams is going to continue to show that he is still top tier talent, going all over this porous Buffalo defense.

DB: I don’t think Ricky Williams can carry the full load the rest of the season given he’s not used to doing so, but he will on Sunday. Miami.

Indianapolis @ Houston

EA: Unfortunately, Indy is going to keep up their winning ways against Houston, but I'm still holding out hope.

DB: Houston had a great opportunity to pull off a win Monday night and didn’t do it against a suddenly relevant Tennessee team. Houston has the ability to put up points against the Colts defense. I want to pick the upset here really bad. Maybe it is wishful thinking, but I’m going to do it. Houston.

Cleveland @ Cincinnati

EA: Cincinnati will win without any competition at all.

DB: No contest. Cincinnati.

Carolina @ New York Jets

EA: Carolina may put up a good fight, but I expect the Jets to come away with the win.

DB: Carolina is so inconsistent, but so are the Jets. This is another game that is hard to pick but I will take the Jets because they have a great corner that can compete with Steve Smith and the Jets, while weaker in the middle without Kris Jenkins, have enough to slow down the Panther running game. It should be a close contest though. New York Jets.

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta

EA: Now that they don't have such a grueling road schedule to worry about, Atlanta will get back on the right track with an easy win over Tampa.

DB: Despite their recent woes, I see no reason for Atlanta to have any trouble against Tampa Bay. Atlanta.

Washington @ Philadelphia

EA: Philly. What more needs to be said?

DB: Washington is woeful, woeful, woeful. Bye Jim Zorn, bye Jason Campbell, bye Clinton Portis. Philadelphia.

Seattle @ St. Louis.

EA: With Donnie Avery looking good, and Stephen Jackson running like it's stolen, I actually think St. Louis comes away with the win on their home field.

DB: With Bulger out and Kyle Boller in, I have to go with Seattle. Seattle.

Kansas City @ San Diego

EA: I am immensely proud of the Chiefs for what they did against the Steelers last week, but lightning doesn't strike twice. Give me the Bolts.

DB: San Diego is on a roll and will likely roll all over the poor Chiefs. San Diego.

Jacksonville @ San Francisco

EA: San Francisco, but it will probably be really close.

DB: This is a tough call. Two mediocre teams. It really depends on which teams show up. I am taking the home team. San Francisco.

Chicago @ Minnesota

EA: Chicago hasn't been very impressive this year, Brett Favre should enjoy lighting up a soft Bears' secondary in front of the fickle Metrodome fans.

DB: Jared Allen will eat Orlando Pace for lunch. I wonder how many times Cutler will get sacked and how many interceptions he will throw? This is likely to be a huge blowout for the Vikings. Minnesota.

Arizona @ Tennessee

EA: I'll take Arizona only if Kurt Warner is good to go. It's going to be a very long day if they have to endure a Matt Leinart start, long enough to give the Titans a window of opportunity.

DB: Upset alert!!! Arizona, on the road, with a dinged up Warner. Tennessee is actually playing like a real football team lately. I think they take the Cardinals down at home. Tennessee.

Pittsburgh @ Baltimore

EA: The second most interesting game of the weekend, and I know I've been picking them to win pretty much all year, incorrectly, but I'm still going with the Ravens. Let's see if they prove me right for once.

DB: This will be a fun game to watch. The Ravens have been just ever so close to winning more games and just can’t close the show. But this week I am picking them to win, again. Baltimore.

Monday, November 30, 2009

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS @ NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

EA: This game is going to be so much more than anticipated. This game wasn't expected to be very significant coming into the season, but at this point, this looks like it could shape up to be the best, most interesting, and very much so the most significant game of the year. I could go as far as to call it a Super Bowl preview. These two teams are among the best in football, and you all know who I WANT to win, but out of superstition I will abstain from picking a winner on this one at this point in time.

DB: Wow, what a match-up. This could be a barn burner where the last team that has the ball wins. Or it could be a blow out by either team. The Patriots have a lot of weaknesses on defense but so do the Saints. And just think, two Parcells guys, Belichick and Sean Payton matching wits. I think New England is going to do what it failed to do against the Colts and knock the Saints off their perch. New England.

NFL Football Season: Week 10

C Douglas Baker — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:05:09 -0500

OBSERVATIONS

I turned on the NFL Channel when I got home from work and they were getting ready to show New England’s 35-34 loss to the Indianapolis Colts as an “instant classic.”

I wanted to puke.

Does that mean I am going to be subjected to highlights of this game the rest of the season, and possibly in perpetuity, like I am Super Bowl XLII highlights?

So the NFL wants to extend the regular season to 18 games?

Just off the top of my head I can name several marquee players this week that were injured: Cedric Benson, Brian Westbrook, Troy Polamalu, Kyle Orton, Terrell Suggs, Joshua Cribbs, Michael Turner, and Ronnie Brown. I may be forgetting a few, but you get the picture.

Last week I said was that a crash I was hearing, the Denver Broncos coming down to earth? This week I really did hear a crash as they lost to the Washington Redskins. Granted Washington probably played its best game of the season, but Denver has lost three in a row.

Meanwhile San Diego is on the rise. Their game this weekend will be an important one for both teams.

While Denver is looking like pretenders, the Cincinnati Bengals look like contenders. They have swept Pittsburgh and control the AFC North.

Speaking of Cincinnati, doesn’t it just figure they would sign Larry Johnson ? He fits right in.

Finally, what is up with the Dallas Cowboys ? The entire NFC East is a mess. They were horrible against the Packers.

And Aaron Rodgers , whom I like a lot, needs to get rid of the ball faster. He is taking a beating but against the Cowboys he could have avoided some of the hits.

Brady Quinn looks like a bust. Alex Smith already was one.

Finally, I am crushed that Ronnie Brown is out for the season with a foot injury.

I don’t like the Dolphins and would just as soon see them go 0-16, but I love great football players and what Brown was doing this year running the Wildcat formation was phenomenal.

Now, the AFC East has lost two great,admirabale running backs: Leon Washington and Ronnie Brown.

No, I’m not like the Jets fans, who cheered over Brady’s injury last year and crowed that they were the new team in the AFC East. I have more class than that.

GAMES I WATCHED:

Indianapolis Colts over New England Patriots, 35-34

I wrote my comments on this already, you can see it here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/292566-bill-belichick-is-afraid-of-peyton-manning

The synopsis, the Patriots have a lot of positives to take away from the game. They basically gave the game away, and I’m not just talking about Bill Belichick’s now infamous call on 4^th and two from their own 28 at the end of the game.

I just hope they can rebound and beat the New York Jets this weekend. I don’t want to go into a tailspin. I think they will beat the Jets, and can beat the Saints.

Indianapolis at 9-0 and a relatively easy schedule could run the table and go 16-0. But I don’t think they will.

MVP: Reggie Wayne, WR

San Francisco 49′ers over Chicago Bears, 10-6

Oh my, two bottom feeders rolling around in the muck.

Jay Cutler looked awful with five interceptions. Granted some of them were partially the fault of his receivers but this was really a joke.

Cutler, "the–big–bad–I–am–going–to–be– the–leader–of–the–team–I’m–the–next–coming–of–John Elway–I–am–going–to–have–input–into–the–53–man–roster."

I love seeing this whiny brat, wannabe John Elway get his comeuppance. He looks awful, his team looks awful, and the Bears got what they paid for.

San Francisco’s offense didn’t look much better.

Four interceptions (not counting the one late in the game) and you only score 10 points? Even a mediocre offense would have blown the Bears out of this game and made it a laugher.

I’m sorry but Alex Smith just does not look like the quarterback of the future to me. The quarterback position on this team needs to be addressed.

What the 49ers do have is heart, Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, and a solid defense. I think Mike Singletary is taking this team in the right direction.

MVP: Frank Gore, RB

Cincinnati Bengals over Pittsburgh Steelers, 18-12

The Cincinnati Bengals have swept the Pittsburgh Steelers and have proven to be a real contender in the AFC. Their defense continues to play extremely well and I am very, very impressed with their offensive line.

They have one of the best offensive lines in the league. And while the offense did not score a lot of points, they did enough to win and they basically controlled this game for the most part.

Pittsburgh is a great team as well but they certainly are not the same team without Troy Polamalu in the lineup. While Pittsburgh is on my list of teams I least want to see win, I hope Polamalu recovers. I love watching this guy play.

Rookie running back and kick returner Bernard Scott had a superman game, running a kickoff for a touchdown and filling in for the injured Cedric Benson.

MVP: Bernard Scott, RB/KR

Green Bay Packers over Dallas Cowboys, 17-7

Dallas is a hard to team to figure out, as is Tony Romo. Sometimes they look like an upper echelon team and sometimes they look like the Cleveland Browns in a different uniform.

This week they were atrocious and so was Tony Romo. A lot of that can be laid at the feet of an offensive line that looked over-matched by the Green Bay Packers.

Charles Woodson, Green Bay’s veteran cornerback had a career day with two forced fumbles, a sack, and an interception.

He was all over the field.

It helped that the Packers defensive line was able to penetration the Dallas backfield.

A shout–out should go to Packer defensive tackle, Johnny Jolly, who disrupted numerous plays.

Dallas lost their left tackle Mark Colombo during the game, which is scary given that they are weak at the tackle position.

Flozell Adams is a joke. And that was part of Dallas’ problem.

Meanwhile, I thought Green Bay’s offensive line played better than they usually do, but Rodgers was not helping them much by holding onto the ball too long and taking hits. He needs to get out of that habit, fast.

I love seeing Dallas lose so this was a fun game to watch.

MVP: Charles Woodson, CB

Baltimore Ravens over Cleveland Browns, 16-0

Cleveland looked pathetic and inept in this game. Eric Mangenius sure made this team look better this year, didn’t he?

That was one of the worst displays of professional football I have seen since, well, the Tennessee Titans laid down against the Patriots earlier this year.

Brady Quinn is really starting to look like a bust. He played horribly, as did his receivers, and the entire offense.

But, Baltimore had no business looking as awful as they did either. The score was 0-0 at halftime.

Baltimore, despite having three good running backs, even and excellent one in Ray Rice, had no business looking this bad and out of sync. They played down to the level of competition.

An announcer said it best, that the best unit on this night was the Browns defensive line. They dominated the action.

I feel bad for not giving Shaun Rodgers a shout–out on my Midseason Pro Bowl team. When he gets going he is almost unblockable.

This game was badly marred by Brady Quinn’s low block on Terrell Suggs that will knock him out of action for an undetermined amount of time. And then Joshua Cribbs got jacked–up and hospitalized on the last play of the game that certainly looked like a cheap shot by Suggs’ backup, Dwan Edwards.

Both teams say the cheap shots weren’t intentional. I guess I will take their word for it.

This was a forgettable game, otherwise.

MVP: Ray Rice, RB

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Offensive Player: Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans (232 total yards rushing and receiving)

Defensive Player: Charles Woodson, CB, Green Bay Packers

Offensive Lineman: Sebastian Vollmer, T, New England Patriots

Special Teams: Bernard Scott, KR/RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Rookie of the Week: Bernard Scott, KR/RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Bill Belichick Is Afraid of Peyton Manning

C Douglas Baker — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:35:47 -0500

The New England Patriot’s 35-34 loss to the Indianapolis Colts Sunday night was one of the most frustrating, infuriating, painful losses I can remember for a regular season game in a long, long time. I know I more or less said something similar after last year’s loss to the Colts, but this is worse because we squandered a mostly wonderful game by Tom Brady and the offense.

Frankly, I am still so sick about losing this game I’m not really sure where to start in trying to discuss it. It really all came down to one play and one coaching decision at the end of the game. But before getting into what will go down as one of most infamous coaching decisions in NFL regular season history, let’s look at the positives for the Patriots. That might make me feel a little better, but I doubt it.

First, Tom Brady had an outstanding game. He actually outplayed Peyton Manning and is really starting to look like the Tom Brady of 2007. His pass to Kevin Faulk on the fourth and two at the end of the game was perfect and should have resulted in a first down (and some would argue it did, the officials just didn’t see it that way). Randy Moss and Wes Welker had outstanding games as well.

Second, the offensive line did an excellent job of protecting Brady most of the night. Sebastian Vollmer, the backup rookie left tackle, did a very good job of controlling the pass rushing machine, Dwight Freeney, most of the night. Nick Kaczur, the right tackle, struggled a bit with Robert Mathis but he played well enough for the most part.

A fellow Patriot fan suggested that maybe Matt Light, or normal left tackle who usually struggles mightily against Freeney, starts at right tackle when he is healthy and Kaczur rides the pine. That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

Finally, the young, inexperienced defense didn’t play as poorly as the score might look. While they didn’t look like the ‘85 Bears, they were able to stop the Colts often enough for us to win the game and forced a couple of turnovers. They played well enough to win, but didn’t.

For the most part this game went the way I expected it to if the Patriots were going to pull off a win – the offense scoring a lot of points and the defense doing just enough to hold off the Colts’ prolific offense. The Patriots had a 17 point lead in the fourth quarter but I knew it wasn’t over. I was nervous, and had every reason to be as it turned out.

This is a game the Patriots had no business losing and it mostly comes down to Bill Belichick squandering all our time outs and his decision to go for it on fourth down and two yards to go from our own 28 yard line while protecting a 34-28 lead with 2:08 left in the fourth quarter. This was an all in gamble by Belichick.

Make the first down and the game is basically over as the Patriots could have taken nearly all the time off the clock. Don’t make the first down and you give Peyton Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, the ball at the New England 28 yard line with plenty of time left on the clock.

As most NFL fans know by now, the Patriots didn’t make the first down (or so the officials say) and Manning threw a winning touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne with almost no time left on the clock. Game over.

And one other thing to note before discussing Belichick’s gamble on fourth down, the Laurence Maroney fumble in the end zone also was a game deciding play. Instead of scorning a touchdown we gave the ball back to the Colts on the 20 yard line. While the Colts went three and out and we did score a touchdown on our next possession, it still costs us seven points and possibly the game.

Had he scored and the Colts went three and out, we would have ended up with decent field position and likely a field goal or even another touchdown, putting the game out of reach. Turnovers kill and that was a killer. Couple that with the squandered time outs and the fourth quarter was an absolute disaster for the Patriots.

Bill Belichck’s Fourth Down Gamble

What to make of Belichick’s decision to go for it on fourth down deep in our own territory when he could have punted the ball and made Manning and the Colts march 70 yards for a winning touchdown? (Note most football pundits agree that the most likely result of a Patriots punt would have been the Colts with the ball at around their own 30 yard line). I have seen two schools of thought on this.

Belichick is an Idiot and Didn’t Give His Team a Chance to Win.

Most analysts basically called it a “blunder.” The usually politic Tony Dungy more or less called it “stupid.” Most others are also saying that Belichick’s decision showed arrogance, a lack of respect for the defense, and it was simply a really, really bad coaching decision.

Arrogance is the funniest and silliest adjective to describe Belichick’s decision. Arrogance? Do you believe it is arrogant that the coach wanted to put the game in the hands of his offense and Tom Brady instead of the hands of Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne? Instead of arrogance it showed respect, or even fear, of Peyton Manning.

I am also sick of hearing that Belichick had no confidence in his defense. I don’t think that is the case at all. The defense is young, the Patriots have numerous injuries on their defensive line meaning defenders were playing more snaps, they lost their best pass rusher early in the game, Tully Banta-Cain, they were tired, and the Colts clearly had the momentum on offense.

Two consecutive nearly 80 yard drives, and quick ones at that, certainly factored into the decision.

It’s not that Belichick had no confidence in his defense.

He is scared of Peyton Manning.

Belichick’s calculation was that Peyton Manning was more likely to score a touchdown, regardless of where he got the ball on the field than the chances were of not making the first down on fourth and two. Again, not because he has no confidence in the defense, but he’s afraid of Peyton Manning. Which leads me to the second school of thought.

Belichick is a Genius and it Just Didn’t Work Out

Maybe Belichick is right. Had the Patriots punted the Colts very well may have taken the ball 70 or so yards and scored a winning touchdown. This Web site argues that Belichick made the right decision to go for it on fourth down based on statistics of NFL teams .

The basic argument is given the probability of making it on fourth down versus the probability that the Colts would score a winning touchdown if the Patriots punted the ball, Belichick made the right decision and gave his team the best chance to win. And the greater the probability you think Manning would drive the Colts for the winning score, the more the decision to go for it on fourth down makes sense.

I thought when we did not get a first down on third down that the Colts would probably win because we would punt the ball and eat a Manning touchdown in the face. But I also thought our defense could summon up one more stand against the Colts.

But wait! There is no Ty Law, Asante Samuel, Tedy Bruschi, Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel, Rodney Harrison, Willie McGinnest. We have rookie defensive backs and newcomers learning the system. Let me rethink that.

So Doug, What Do You Think About the Call?

My first and immediate reaction can be summed up better by one of my fellow Patriots fans. Here I quote one of them after the game:

…I don’t know what the odds are that he makes that play on fourth down…? But let’s say it’s 50-50 or let’s even say he would make it two out of three times…I understand Bill’s concern about kicking and giving the ball back to Peyton with 2:00 left on the clock…the problem I have with the call is that it seems like he gambled the whole game on that one play.

He’s the genius, but I don’t get it…if he gambles and they make the play, Patriots win, game over, I get that, but it’s all based on a huge all-in gamble. If they kick it, at least Peyton has to go the length of the field, or most of the length. Obviously, it’s Peyton Manning, and there is a decent chance he marches down and wins the game anyway, but at least you have several chances to stop them.

By risking the fourth down where they were on the field, you know that if you don’t make the play, game over, there is essentially a 100 percent chance that we lose by giving one of the greatest QBs of all time the ball back on a short field. It was gambling pure and simple to me. I wish we had taken our chances with our defense. Easy to say in hindsight, but that’s how I feel.

I was very emotional and upset with Belichick for going for it after the game. After further reflection, intellectually, I think he made the right call. I am convinced by the statistics and probabilities that Bill Belichick, by going for it on fourth down and two from their own 28 yard line, gave my team their best chance to win the game. I see the math and I’ve seen Peyton Manning win games like this against better defenses on more than one occasion. If we had made the first down we wouldn’t even be talking about it.

And while I have not read the study on fourth down conversions that argues that coaches should be much more aggressive in going for it, I am aware of it, and Bill Belichick has studied it (see David Halberstam’s biography of Bill Belichick). He’s made this decision before and been rewarded for it far more often than not, just not on such a big stage.

So the bottom line is I think Belichick made the right call.

But the emotional part of me thinks he should have punted the ball. At least then you could say he gave his defense a chance to win the game. Had the Patriots punted the ball and the Colts drove for the winning score I would find it much easier to swallow than for Belichick to give the game away on a fourth down gamble.

And while the defense was very tired and the Colts did have the momentum, the defense had shown they could stop the Colts. Why not give them the chance to try to do it?

But Bill Belichick is smarter than to let emotions rule his on field decisions. He made the right call. It just didn’t work out.

2009 NFL Football Season: Week Nine

C Douglas Baker — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:29:37 -0500

Week Nine turned into a disaster for three teams, while other teams keep rolling along.

How did Green Bay manage to lose to Tampa Bay , who got their first win on Sunday?

The Packer defense has just collapsed, and the offensive line simply can’t protect Aaron Rodgers. Maybe the emotional letdown of losing to the Vikings twice and being three games back in the division with no realistic shot at the division title did them in—or maybe their defense just blows.

But even at 4-4, a wild card spot is still a realistic goal.

Congratulations to Tampa Bay and rookie quarterback Josh Freeman on the Bucs’ first win of the season. Freeman may not have looked like the next coming of Tom Brady, but he has to get Rookie of the Week honors for leading his team to a win in his first start.

After a big win against Denver last week, the Baltimore Ravens have lost to Cincinnati for the second time this year. While stranger things have happened, their shot at the division title is greatly diminished. They are now a struggling team that needs to string some wins together to stay in the hunt.

The New York Giants after a 5-0 start have lost four straight. Like I’ve been saying all along, they are an average team, and they now look like it. After losing in the last seconds to the Chargers, this is a team that needs to find itself.

The Tennessee Titans have won two in a row on the back of running back Chris Johnson. What happened to the 49ers and their fine start to the season?

New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith has had two big games in a row. He might be making a run for my end of season All-Pro Team. I’m sure he’s motivated by being left off my Midseason All-Pro Team.

I’ve heard talk that the Patriots might be interested in signing Larry Johnson . I hope we don’t get that desperate. This guy is a punk.

GAMES I WATCHED

New England Patriots over Miami Dolphins, 27-17 (NFL Replay)

This was a critically important win for the New England Patriots, who face the Colts, Jets, and Saints the next three weeks, a real murderers’ row.

They handed Miami their first division loss and are now two games up on the Jets. The next few weeks are critical for the Patriots as they face two of the best teams in the league and their archrival New York Jets, who shut Brady and his bunch down in their first meeting this season.

The Patriots defense bent a bit but did just enough to keep Miami from rolling all over them and really held them in check in the fourth quarter.

Randy Moss’s two huge plays, a one-handed grab at the one-yard line and 71-yard catch and run for a touchdown, show he’s still got it.

MVP: Randy Moss, WR

Cincinnati Bengals over Baltimore Ravens, 17-7

In many ways, this game was not as close as the score might indicate. Cincinnati dominated both lines of scrimmage throughout the game, and Baltimore never really threatened them. This is the second time I have seen the Bengals' offensive line absolutely dominate an opponent.

The Ravens clearly missed Haloti Ngata, who sat out with an ankle injury, as their defensive line was constantly knocked off the ball, rendering Ray Lewis and the rest of the linebackers less effective. These two teams played a few weeks ago with a similar result, although Cincinnati had to pull it out at the very end, so maybe he would not have made that much of a difference.

I hear a lot of people questioning whether Cincinnati is for real. They lost on a fluke play to Denver or they would be 6-1 after a mediocre outing against Houston. Seeing how well their offensive line has been playing and their consistency on defense, I think Cincinnati is definitely an upper echelon team.

They will have a big test next week against division foe Pittsburgh.

Cedric Benson should thank his offensive line for another fine outing, rushing for 117 tough yards.

MVP: Cedric Benson, RB

San Diego Chargers over New York Giants, 21-20

The Giants really let one slip away here, allowing the Chargers to put together an 80-yard last minute drive to win the game. They have now lost four games in a row and don’t look very good on offense or defense.

Eli Manning is struggling, but frankly I don’t think it’s entirely his fault. After a good start to the season, neither Steve Smith nor Mario Manningham is doing much to help him out. Even the offensive line, one of the best in the league, struggled against the Chargers. They allowed Shawne Merriman to look like he was back on steroids and actually a good football player.

The Giants secondary has always been a weak spot, but they were often protected by the ferocious pass rush of the Giants’ front seven. But against the Chargers, they just simply were not getting it done for the most part.

The Giants are a mediocre team, and they lost to another mediocre team. While neither team is a bottom-feeder, they don’t like they are going anywhere in this season either.

The star of the day was wide receiver Vincent Jackson and his two touchdown grabs. He is starting to emerge as one of the elite receivers in the league.

Now that the Chargers have cut Chris Chambers, Malcolm Floyd needs to step up. He did nothing this game. Meanwhile, Chambers had a good day with his new team, the Kansas City Chiefs.

MVP: Vincent Jackson, WR

Dallas Cowboys over Philadelphia Eagles, 20-16

This game actually turned out more or less the way I expected it, with the Cowboys winning a close game. Neither team looked like a world-beater, but the Dallas offensive line, other than Flozell Adams, played a very solid game. They were able to move the ball enough to squeak out a win.

Leonard Davis played particularly well at left guard, where most of the running attack seemed to be focused.

Donovan McNabb loves to throw the ball into the ground. What is up with that? He seems to be getting less and less accurate with his passes every time I see him play. But of course, the Dallas defense mugged him all night long.

The entire defense played well, but my hats are off to SS Gerald Sensabaugh, who was a disruptive force in the game and had an interception. Defensive tackle Jay Ratliff also had an excellent game with two sacks.

The Eagles were not able to generate many big plays, and the offensive line wasn’t much help to Donovan and the backs.

One always wonders about how valuable a single player is to a team, but the Eagles certainly do look a lot different without Brian Westbrook in the lineup. Even when he doesn’t get as many touches in a game, the team seems to play better with him in there.

Dallas now has a solid grip on the top spot in the NFC East title race. While it’s not a death grip, this win leaves them sitting pretty.

MVP: Gerald Sensabaugh, SS

New Orleans Saints over Carolina Panthers, 30-20 (DVR)

I’m not sure why everyone is making a big deal out of the Saints’ “comeback” against the Panthers. They were never down by more than 14 points. For an offensive this explosive, that is nothing.

The bottom line is the Saints have proven to be a winning team, and winning teams find a way to win. The Panthers have proven to be a losing team, and losing teams find a way to lose.

The Panthers got their 14-point lead aided by a couple of turnovers (and a big play). The Saints were down 17-6 after the first half as a result.

But the tell-all of the game and the difference between the two teams can be seen in the first two possessions of the second half.

The Saints get the ball in the second half and march to a touchdown to bring the game to 17-13.

Carolina gets the ball and marches down to within the five-yard line. They should score a touchdown, right?

Instead they have confusion at the line of scrimmage and call a timeout.

AFTER the timeout, they run a horrible play that results in an easy sack for the Saints. Within the five-yard line, the sack results in a field goal instead of a touchdown, 20-13, game over as the Saints go on with a few big plays to spank the lesser team.

Saints winners. Carolina losers.

Despite the big three plays by Drew Brees to three different receivers, he had some turnovers, so my MVP is DE Will Smith.

MVP: Will Smith, DE

Pittsburgh Steelers over Denver Broncos, 28-10

Is that crash I’m hearing the Denver Broncos coming back down to earth? After a 6-0 start, they have back-to-back losses.

Well, let’s not beat up on Denver too bad. This game, like Denver’s loss last week, was a pretty hard struggle until the fourth quarter. The Denver defense played well, but they, not the Steelers playing in altitude in an away game, are the unit that seemed to fold a bit in the fourth quarter.

Of course, the Steelers kept pounding the rock at them. Rashard Mendenhall seems to have established himself as the starting running back in Pittsburgh. With Willie Parker dinged up, Mendenhall ground out 155 yards to win the game.

And okay, Big Ben had a nice game, but I’m sick of hearing “elite” and “Hall of Fame” next to his name.

Yes, he’s having a great year and had two Super Bowl wins—but did you know that Big Ben has the lowest QB rating of any Super Bowl-winning QB ever? And that he won their first Super Bowl despite his poor play (and Seattle fans would say plenty of help from the atrocious referees)? And that he wasn’t the best player on the field in their second Super Bowl win?

Okay, I really do love Big Ben, but he is no Dan Marino. Or is he?

MVP: Rashard Mendenhall, RB

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive Player: Kurt Warner, QB, Arizona Cardinals

Defensive Player: Gerald Sensabaugh, SS, Dallas Cowboys

Offensive Lineman: Leonard Davis, G, Dallas Cowboys

Special Teams: Dustin Colquitt, P, Kansas City Chiefs

Rookie of the Week: Josh Freeman, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Doug Baker's 2009 NFL Midseason Awards

C Douglas Baker — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:45:45 -0500

Now it’s time for me to present my 2009 NFL Midseason Awards. I am sure every player has been anxiously waiting to see if they end up on my list and where.

Begin Slideshow

Doug Baker's 2009 Midseason NFL All Pro Team: Defense

C Douglas Baker — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:19:02 -0500

It’s the middle of the 2009 NFL football season and time to make my mid-season NFL All Pro selection. As always, some players on this list might not make the cut by the end of the season, and some players who have been injured and did not make it this time around may end up on the team at the end of the year (like Troy Polamalu).

The top players on the list are the starters and the second players are backups.

2009 ALL PRO TEAM DEFENSE

DE: Jared Allen, Minnesota Vikings

DE: Julius Peppers, Carolina Panthers

DE: Aaron Schobel, Buffalo Bills

DE: Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis Colts

Jared Allen is the most dominant defensive player in the league today. He has owned the line scrimmage and is part of the reason why the Minnesota Vikings defense is so good. He is the type of defensive player than can dominate a game on his own.

After Allen I actually found it hard to pick other defensive linemen in general. I have heard much talk about the so called down year Julius Peppers is having but I don’t see it. He’s still one of the elite defensive ends in the league.

I have also been very impressed every time I have seen Aaron Schobel play. He always seems to be in the thick of things, disrupting the offense.

Finally, I really hate to put Dwight Freeney on this squad because he is awful against the run. But he is a pass rushing machine and in a league dominated by the pass, he’s a great asset.

DT: Haloti Ngata, Baltimore Ravens

DT: Casey Hampton, Pittsburgh Steelers

DT: Kevin Williams, Minnesota Vikings

DT: Chris Hovan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Haloti Ngata has really come into his own as a defensive tackle and is the best player at this position in 2009. He does tire a bit at the end of games, but don’t all defensive tackles? He has helped keep the Ravens linebackers clean and able to light people up.

Casey Hampton is the best nose guard in the league this year and really clogs up the middle of the line while the voracious Pittsburgh linebackers chew up running backs and receivers.

Minnesota has a great defensive line with Kevin and Pat Williams. Both are deserving of a spot on this team but I am going with Kevin. He seems quicker to get penetration and tougher to move off the line of scrimmage.

Finally, every time I have seen Tampa Bay get spanked this year one defensive player stands out, and that is Chris Hovan. It’s not his fault the defense is so lame this year.

And for my fellow Patriots fans who wonder why Vince Wilfork isn’t on the team? He’s not been nearly as impressive in the 4-3 and gets pushed off the line of scrimmage more easily, not that he still isn’t a great defensive tackle.

And the $100 million man Haynesworth? Hurt, less effective, and whining. Figures.

LB: Elvis Dumervil, Denver Broncos

LB: James Harrison, Pittsburgh Steelers

LB: Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens

LB: Curtis Lofton, Atlanta Falcons

LB: Dhani Jones, Cincinnati Bengals

LB: Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49′ers

LB: London Fletcher, Washington Redskins

LB: Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens

For linebackers I pick a starting unit of four and a back up unit of four, regardless of whether they play inside or outside.

So far this season, the linebacker that has had the most impact on his team is Elvis Dumervil of the Denver Broncos. He has an AFC high ten sacks and plays well against the run and pass. He seems to be playing better in the 3-4 brought in by Josh McDaniels.

James Harrison leads a Pittsburgh linebacker crew that wreaks pure havoc on opposing offenses. Last year’s Defensive Player of the Year is a force to be reckoned with again.

How does Ray Lewis, as old as he is, still play at such a high level? It’s no hyperbole to say that Ray Lewis is a first ballot Hall of Fame linebacker. He remains the leader of one of the best defenses in the league.

Finally, second year player Curtis Lofton of the Atlanta Falcons rounds out the starting lineup. He is the defensive leader of a young Falcons unit and the NFL’s leading tackler.

And the best of the rest—Dhani Jones is a key cog in a much improved Cincinnati defensive. Having lost a would-have-been All-Pro in Antwan Odom for the season, he has stepped up his game to keep the pace going for this team.

Patrick Willis for the past three years has been one of the best middle linebackers in the league. Mike Singletary must love this guy.

The Washington Redskins are in disarray but London Fletcher remains a steadfast, sturdy, hard tackling inside linebacker on a defense that remains sturdy but tends to give up big plays. He’s had little help from Mr. $100 Million Man Albert Haynesworth.

Finally, he of the drooping, slobbering lower lip, Terrell Suggs, continues to wreak havoc and cause disarray for opposing offenses. He can often be seen in the backfield around the ball with his lip hanging to the ground spewing venom at his opponents.

SS: Brian Dawkins, Denver Broncos

SS: Adrian Wilson, Arizona Cardinals

Troy Polamalu is the best strong safety in the league and had one of the most dominant games I have seen from a strong safety in the first game of the season. But he was injured and out of action too many games to make the midseason team.

Instead, I am going with Brian Dawkins. He has brought a level of leadership and swagger to the Denver defense that it did not have last year and it’s no wonder they are playing as well as they are. I am sure the Eagles badly miss his presence on their squad.

Adrian Wilson had a great season last year and has been a strong defensive presence for a few seasons. He helps anchor an improved Cardinals defense.

FS: Darren Sharper, New Orleans Saints

FS: Ed Reed, Baltimore Ravens

Darren Sharper came to the Saints this year from the Minnesota Vikings as a candidate for defensive player of the year honors. He is has been grabbing interceptions, making big tackles, and leading the resurgent New Orleans Saints defense.

Ed Reed simply remains one of the most dangerous defensive players in the league. He still has the ability to dominate a game. He has a nose for the ball and if he grabs an interception, he is always a threat to take it all the way.

CB: Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders

CB: Darrelle Revis, New York Jets

CB: Antoine Winfield, Minnesota Vikings

CB: Terence Newman, Dallas Cowboys

I know he has been burned a few times this year but Nnamdi Asomugha is still the best cornerback in the league. He does it all in coverage and he’s not afraid to tackle.

The young Darrelle Revis made a name for himself smack talking about covering Randy Moss and then backing it up on the field. He’s had more than a solid season and has emerged as one of the best cornerbacks in the league.

I love the way the smallish Antoine Winfield plays football. He’s not even 200 pounds but will come up and lay a big hit on running backs much bigger than he is. Deion Sanders used to run away from people coming at him.

The last spot was a tough one but Terence Newman has laid some smack downs on receivers this year and is very consistent in his coverage.

P: Shane Lechler, Oakland Raiders

Why do the worst teams always have the best punters? I guess because they get plenty of chance to practice their craft.

Special Teamer: Melvin Bullitt, Indianapolis Colts

I just love how Bullitt will blow you up if he gets a good shot at you.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER: Jared Allen, DE, Minnesota Vikings

Right now Jared Allen is the most dominant defensive player in the league. It’s scary how there is so much talent on this team and they have Jared Allen, too?

DEFENSIVE ROOKIE: Jairus Byrd, S, Buffalo Bills

With hats off to Brian Cushing, the USC linebacker now with the Houston Texans, who is having a fine year, this young rookie from Oregon has been awesome the last few weeks.

Doug Baker's 2009 Midseason NFL All Pro Team: Offense

C Douglas Baker — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:19:02 -0500

It’s the middle of the 2009 NFL football season and time to make my midseason NFL All Pro selection. As always, some players on this list might not make the cut by the end of the season, and some players who have been injured and did not make it this time around may end up on the team at the end of the year.

The top players on the list are the starters and the second players are backups.

2009 All Pro Team Offense

QB: Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts

QB: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

With all due respect to Drew Brees, Peyton Manning has been playing otherworldly this year and has been the best offensive player through the first half of the season. I have seen some pretty amazing performances by Manning but nothing that tops the 27 points the Colts put up against Miami while only possessing the ball for 14 minutes.

Drew Brees of course has also had a superlative year in one of the most talent rich and versatile offenses in the league.

No wonder the Colts and Saints are undefeated.

RB: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

RB: Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans

Adrian Peterson doesn’t have to take the entire offense on his shoulders anymore and it’s paying dividends for the Minnesota Vikings. Many defensive players have said Peterson is the most violent runner in football. His vision, patience, power, and will to win are impressive.

Chris Johnson is having no sophomore slump at the running back position, despite playing on one of the worst teams in the league. He leads the league in rushing after Week Eight and put up 228 yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is probably the fastest running back in the league and is always a threat to break off a long run.

FB: Le’Ron McClain, Baltimore Ravens

FB: Leonard Weaver, Philadelphia Eagles

Le’Ron McClain also plays a lot of tailback but he is listed as a fullback and often plays in that spot as well. He is the most versatile fullback running, catching, and blocking.

Leonard Weaver is also a talented fullback and even had a huge running game against the New York Giants.

WR: Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts

WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

WR: Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons

WR: Marques Colston, New Orleans Saints

You cannot evaluate wide receivers just by their statistics. Players like Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald are constantly double teamed or bumped at the line of scrimmage but they open the offense up because of their great skills. These players are always a threat to take it all the way. And then you have players like Wes Welker who make a lot of tough catches over the middle, rack up a lot of receptions, but don’t have gaudy stats in terms of yards per catch. These players are vitally important in today’s NFL.

So far this year I’ve been most impressed with Reggie Wayne and Larry Fitzgerald. They are the two best receivers in the league and their understated, team first, quiet excellence makes them even more likeable as players.

The next echelon of receivers was really tough to choose but I’m going with Roddy White and Marques Colston.

Roddy White has just been phenomenal the last few weeks and has really come into his own as a big play threat for the Atlanta Falcons. His play is even more impressive considering he does not have a very good receiver on other side of the field that anybody is threatened by (although Atlanta does have a solid running game).

Marques Colston does have a cadre of receivers that Brees can get the ball to otherwise he may be putting up gaudy stats. Colston is a big, fast receiver with great body control and, maybe more importantly, great hands.

Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers and Andre Johnson of the Houston Texans no doubt feel snubbed by not making the cut. These are both outstanding receivers and no doubt deserve a mention.

TE: Dallas Clark, Indianapolis Colts

TE: Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons

Dallas Clark has been outstanding in the receiving area this year and continues to be one of Peyton Manning’s favorite targets. He is one of a handful of tight ends that can stretch the field and is a threat for a big play at any point in the game.

Tony Gonzalez has also played very well although his statistics don’t stack up to a few other tight ends. But he is a key cog in the Atlanta offense. What is most impressive about Gonzalez is he is still a great blocker both on running downs and down the field for his fellow receivers.

There are a number of good tight ends this year. Owen Daniels of the Houston Texans (who is out for the year with an ACL injury), Brent Celek of the Philadelphia Eagles, Jeremy Shockey of the New Orleans Saints, Vernon Davis of the San Francisco 49′ers, Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys, and Heath Miller of the Pittsburgh Steelers all deserve mentions.

C: Jake Grove, Miami Dolphins

C: Matt Birk, Baltimore Ravens

It’s kind of interesting when I see players that have been in the league for a while that I don’t know much about put on such consistently impressive performances. Jake Grove, the Miami Dolphins center, is one of those players. The interior of the Miami Dolphins offensive line has played extremely well this year, and it starts at the center position with Jake Grove.

Matt Birk has been one of the best centers for years and continues to be so.

Jeff Saturday of the Indianapolis Colts, Nick Mangold of the New York Jets, Kevin Mawae of the Tennessee Titans, and Justin Hartwig of the Pittsburgh Steelers were also considered.

G: Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota Vikings

G: Carl Nicks, New Orleans Saints

G: Chris Snee, New York Giants

G: Alan Faneca, New York Jets

Offensive linemen are always tough to pick but I watch, on average, about four to five games every week and I pay more attention to the offensive line than anything else. Dominant offensive lines, whether for a pass or run oriented team, are the key to winning in the NFL. A good offensive line will make your offense go, and a bad one will make it fall apart, regardless of who the quarterback or running backs happen to be.

This year I have been very impressed with two guards. Steve Hutchinson has been a mainstay on All Pro teams the past several years and this year should be no different. He is an exceptional guard in both the running and passing game and one of the best pulling guards in the league, along with Chris Snee.

Carl Nicks of the New Orleans Saints has also been very impressive. The Saints lost their All Pro left tackle, Jamaal Brown, for the season so he has to help out on that side of the line. In the games I’ve seen he’s usually dominating his opponent. The only time I have seen him beat is on poor blocking schemes by the offensive line.

Chris Snee also remains one of the best guards in the league, and may be the most athletic. The quickness with which he pulls out on running plays is impressive.

Finally, Alan Faneca of the New York Jets remains one of the best at his position.

T: Ryan Clady, Denver Broncos

T: Willie Colon, Pittsburgh Steelers

T: Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns

T: Bryant McKinnie, Minnesota Vikings

I have seen more horrible play from the tackle position this year than I can remember in the past. What happened to those dominant left tackles like Jonathan Ogden and Walter Jones (who is on injured reserve and will likely retire)? There really aren’t any this year. The closest is second year tackle Ryan Clady of the Denver Broncos who is shaping up to be the next Ogden or Jones. I have also been impressed with Willie Colon of the Pittsburgh Steelers this year.

Joe Thomas is another young buck but on a bad team. It’s a shame because he is also one of the best tackles in the league.

Bryant McKinnie is an older, reliable veteran and plays well every year, but this is the first year he’s been on my All Pro Team.

While I don’t think he is near All Pro level yet, I have been very impressed with the Baltimore Ravens rookie tackle Michael Oher.

Instead of giving kudos to other good tackles I am going to call out some jokers who I’ve seen have horrible games:

Mike Gandy, Arizona Cardinals. Gandy has been pretty sorry the few times I have seen him this year.

Orlando Pace, Chicago Bears. Pace used to be one of the best in the league but injuries and age have clearly hampered him. He should have retired.

Flozell Adams, Dallas Cowboys. Adams racks up a lot of penalties and tries to get by with holding and other dirty tactics.

Stephon Heyer, Washington Redskins. Heyer is a pretty good run blocker to too slow off the snap to be effective as a pass blocker. He usually gets schooled, even by middle of the road defensive ends. It’s surprising a guy this huge is such a poor left tackle.

Jeff Baker, Atlanta Falcons. I actually think he is pretty decent most of the time, and he’s only in his second year, but he got punked by Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints and struggles at times.

K: Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots

K: Ryan Longwell, Minnesota Vikings

Like last year, no kicker really stands out or had a seminal game that puts them at the top of the pecking order. Gostkowski of the Patriots and Longwell of the Vikings have been the most consistent.

Sebastian Janikowski of the Oakland Raiders is 12-12 in field goals this year, but he has far fewer attempts than many other kickers on better teams.

Kick Returner: Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings

There have been some great performances this year from Eddie Royal, Johnny Knox, Darren Sproles, and the injured Leon Washington, but I have been most impressed with the consistency of Percy Harvin.

Offensive Player: Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis Colts

With all due respect to Adrian Peterson and Drew Brees, Peyton Manning is playing the best football I’ve seen this year. He has been phenomenal and has not missed a beat. Being a New England Patriots fan, it makes me feel a little queasy and ill.

Offensive Rookie: Mark Sanchez, QB, New York Jets

Sanchez has not put up the kind of performance Matt Ryan of Atlanta and Joe Flacco of Baltimore did last year as rookie quarterbacks, but he’s mostly played well, for a rookie, and is the best rookie performer on offense so far this year.

2009 NFL Football Season: Week Eight

C Douglas Baker — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:21:14 -0500

Week 8 turned out to be a very interesting week even though the New England Patriots were on a bye. Before delving into the games I watched, I will throw out some random thoughts on this week’s NFL action.

• The Arizona Cardinals remain an enigma. They had a nice win over the struggling New York Giants but laid an egg against the lousy Carolina Panthers.

It looks like Arizona fans are in for another topsy-turvy season from a mostly inconsistent team. I would be shocked if they repeat their great playoff run of last year.

• The New Orleans Saints are for real, for real! They have the most dynamic offense in the league and their defense is much improved. New Orleans and the Minnesota Vikings are clearly the class of the NFC, and if the season ended today, you would have to put those two teams in the NFC championship game. Frankly, I’m not sure who would win.

• Speaking of the Vikings, poor Aaron Rodgers. I think he is clearly one of the best quarterbacks in the league on a mediocre team. The injuries to his offensive line have him running for his life, but he still performs well. If he played for the Vikings, he’d be doing the same thing Brett Favre is doing.

• The AFC East is shaping up to be extremely interesting. The Jets, after a hot start, have fallen back to reality and the middle of the pack. The Miami Dolphins run the ball down everyone’s throat, but their defense gives up enough big plays so it doesn’t matter.

And the Patriots, while leading the division, are still not the beast they have been in the past with a young defense and an offense that only gets truly in sync against bottom feeders like the Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This race is going to the wire, and I hope we (Patriots) come out on top.

• Ted Ginn Jr. is a bust. I don’t care if he had two kickoff returns for touchdowns, as a top 10 pick in the NFL draft he will probably be relegated mostly to special teams for much of his career. He and Desmond Howard can share the honor.

• I have called the New York Giants mediocre since the beginning of the season when everyone had them ranked as the best team in the NFL. I guess I was right.

• The Dallas Cowboys are hot right now, thanks to Miles Austin and Tony Romo playing better. I wonder when they will revert back to their choking ways? I don’t think the Philadelphia Eagles are as good as people think they are after the last two weeks, but Sunday’s matchup between these two teams will be telling.

• The Tennessee Titans finally got a win against another sorry team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the St. Louis Rams finally got a win over the sorry Detroit Lions. Both Chris Johnson and Steven Jackson are having solid seasons despite playing on awful teams. I wonder when Tampa Bay will win one?

• The San Diego Chargers are hot! NOT! Just because they won big two weeks in a row against pathetic teams, Chargers fans shouldn’t get their hopes up. When they play someone their own size they will fold again, as usual.

Now on the games!

GAMES I WATCHED

Baltimore Ravens 30, Denver Broncos 7

The Ravens were desperate for a win after three straight losses to very good teams (including the surprising Bengals) and they played like it.

This was mostly a defensive struggle until the fourth quarter when it appeared to me the Denver defense became fatigued and gave up two drives for touchdowns.

Ladarius Webb’s kickoff return for a touchdown on the first play of the second half really pumped up the Ravens and their home crowd. Playing with a 13-0 lead really helped the Ravens, who are still primarily a running team with a great defense.

One thing that really baffles me is why pundits and talking heads were playing up the lopsided score as if this were some type of comeuppance for Denver.

It wasn’t as if Denver didn’t look competitive in this game. In fact, through three quarters, Denver played hard and well. It’s just that the Ravens defense made Kyle Orton look like, well, Kyle Orton.

The Ravens set the tone for the game early on defense with a huge sack and turnover on Orton and some hard-hitting, bone-rattling tackles. Denver just ran into a hyped-up defense playing at home and got shut down.

Has anyone noticed how good the Ravens really are? They lost to New England in a very close game. Then they lost to one of the top five teams in the league, the Minnesota Vikings, in a game they could have won on a make-able missed field goal.

And then they lost to a much-improved Cincinnati Bengals team in the last minutes of the game.

With their balanced running attack, good quarterback, and still very excellent defense, the Ravens could make another deep run in the playoffs. The only thing they lack is a big-time, big play-making receiver.

Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton are decent receivers but they don’t scare anybody. Mark Clayton should have developed into that big time receiver the Ravens need to get over the hump, but he hasn’t.

I think Denver will very likely lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers this week and really come down to earth with two losses in a row. But I think they are for real and will be a team to be reckoned with come playoff time.

Overall, I thought the defense was the key to the Ravens win and the leader Ray Lewis deserves the MVP.

MVP: Ray Lewis, LB

Minnesota Vikings 38, Green Bay Packers 26

Frankly, this game did not look much different than the last game a few weeks ago where Minnesota beat Green Bay. The bottom line is Minnesota simply has a more all-around talented team.

They have Adrian Peterson, across the board they have better receivers, they have a better offensive line, and a much better defense. They don’t necessarily have a better quarterback. But they do now at least have a quarterback.

All the hype, of course, was around Brett Favre returning to Lambeau Field where his legend was made and beating his old team on their (and his old) home turf. But when the game started, it simply looked like the last game.

Aaron Rodgers played well but the Packers simply don’t have the overall talent level of the Vikings. Until they do, or the Vikings are back to a Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels type quarterback, the Packers will be one step back from pack in the NFC North.

MVP: Brett Favre, QB

New Orleans Saints 35, Atlanta Falcons 27

This was a wildly entertaining Monday Night game with big running plays, big passing plays, turnovers, and scores on turnovers.

The New Orleans Saints built a big 28-14 halftime lead, but the Falcons showed a lot of poise and class in coming back in the second half and making a game of it.

Matt Ryan chunked up two big interceptions (three if you include the desperation heave at the end of the game), one which was returned for a touchdown. But he showed plenty of mettle in leading his team back and making a game of it.

All around this was two very talented offensive teams duking it out. The key difference was the Saints just have a wee bit more talent on offense.

Well, maybe a lot more talent when you consider they have four solid receivers plus Jeremy Shockey and the Falcons have only one in Roddy White plus the still outstanding Tony Gonzalez.

For Atlanta this is not a game to hang their head over. Their defense is still solid and Roddy White has really come into his own, truly becoming the big-time receiver everybody has been waiting to see (which started last year).

Michael Turner also finally turned in a huge performance with his 151 rushing yards.

Michael Jenkins, on the other hand, is a joke. When are the Falcons going to part ways with this talented but ineffective receiver? He has become more a liability than any kind of receiving threat. He should be on the practice squad not the starting lineup.

While there are plenty of accolades to go around for both teams, I am giving my MVP to Saints defensive end Will Smith who schooled second year tackle Sam Baker, making him look like a punk who doesn’t belong on the field with the big boys.

MVP: Will Smith, DE

Player of the Week

Offensive Player: Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans, 228 yards rushing

Defensive Player: Jairus Byrd, FS, Buffalo Bills

Offensive Lineman : Steve Hutchinson, G, Minnesota Vikings

Special Teams: Ted Ginn, Jr., KR, Miami Dolphins

Rookie of the Week: Jairus Byrd, FS, Buffalo Bills

Titans running back Chris Johnson runs roughshod over the Jaguars.

Jim Zorn Should Resign

C Douglas Baker — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:08:28 -0400

The dysfunctional mess that is the 2009 Washington Redskins has been well documented in the Washington, D.C. press. And all the fingers are rightfully pointing to owner Dan Snyder and his right hand hatchet man Vinnie Cerrato. Snyder has made a laughingstock of the franchise by trying to buy a team every year. He has signed aging, big name free agents who never pan out, perennially drafted poorly while refusing to hire a football savvy general manager, and made numerous unseccesful coaching changes. There is no continuity in Washington.

And now this. Jim Zorn, who I do believe is in over his head as a head coach, has been utterly undermined and humiliated by Snyder and Cerrato. First, they brought in Sherman Lewis, who has been out of football for six years, as an “offensive consultant,” essentially saying they did not have confidence in Zorn in his role as offensive play caller.

Then, they strip Zorn of his play calling duties and hand it to Sherman Lewis, their handpicked so called offensive savior, not Zorn’s. This move completely undermined any credibility Zorn had with the players and makes him a lame duck head coach. Such a move ratcheted up the message that Snyder and Cerrato have no faith in Jim Zorn as a head coach, despite what they may say publically. And it is abundantly clear that Zorn, if he makes it through the season without being let go, will certainly not be back as the head coach of the Redskins next year.

Add to this the questionalbe words between Zorn and Cerrato in the press after the loss to the Eagles, with Cerrato saying the playing calling helped the offense, which is a total joke, and Zorn essentially saying the opposite. Zorn’s later statement that he actually interceded and called the play that lead to the Redskins last touchdown smacked a bit of insubordination, or at least a poke in the eye at Snyder and Cerrato. Zorn clearly could not be happy with the situation he finds himself in.

With that, the Redskins players, who already look anemic and at half speed on offense, have no real motivation to try to finish out the season playing hard. What for? The coach is neutered and no longer the leader of the team, and whatever new regime comes in next year will start refresh evaluating talent and reshaping the roster. The players are already squabbling among themselves, especially running back Clinton Portis, who seems to have something to whine about every year.

Jim Zorn should simply resign. He is the head coach in name only. He has been humiliated, demoted, and stripped of any leadership authority he had with the players. He would not be pulling a punk move like Bobby Petrino when he left the Atlanta Falcons in the lurch. He has very legitimate and clear reasons to resign – and that is the owner has clearly showed no confidence in him, he has been stripped of many of the decision making prerogatives of a head coach, and he clearly won’t be back next year.

The Redskins are in a bye week which would be the perfect time for Jim Zorn to step down and save face. He would be giving up a lot of money because Snyder wouldn’t have to pay him the rest of his contract. But would Zorn rather have the money or his dignity?

And he would not be quitting on the team. The team, both the players and management, have already quit on him.

Posted in National Football League, Sports, Washington Redskins Tagged: Dan Snyder, Jim Zorn, National Football League, NFL, Vinnie Cerrato, Washington Redskins

2009 NFL Review: Week 7

C Douglas Baker — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:30:11 -0400

GAMES I WATCHED

New England Patriots over Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 35-7

First let me talk about the Buccaneers because there really is not a lot I have to say about them. I have seen them twice this year and they are simply not a good team. They are clearly in a rebuilding phase and it will probably take a few years for them to either get a competitive team together or sink into a perennial bottom feeder. In this game, Tampa Bay was simply overmatched by a better team. I will say this about Tampa Bay, they played hard to the end, unlike the Titans last week, which is a good sign for this team.

It’s really hard to evaluate where the Patriots are after losing a close game to Denver and then blowing out two bad teams in back to back weeks. The Tennessee Titans just quit and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are just not that good. But the bottom line is the Patriots are good team, but not an elite team like the Saints, Colts, Vikings, Denver, and the Steelers. At the same time they did what they had to do to win against teams they should beat and didn’t play down to the level of the competition.

There were a lot of positives to take away from this game for Patriots fans, but some red flags as well. First, the offense played really well at times but in parts of the game they were really sloppy. Brady threw two interceptions, one in the end zone taking points off the board. And the left side of the offensive line with Logan Mankins and Sebastian Vollmer struggled at times with bad penalties. Vollmer actually played pretty well in place of the injured Matt Light at left tackle. In the third quarter he appeared to be injured and was called for holding a few times after that. Mankins had no excuse and just seemed to lose focus during parts of the second half. On the bright side rookie wide receiver Sam Aiken stepped up to the plate with a nice touchdown and Wes Welker was, well, Wes Welker, salting the game away in the second half with a series of catches that put the game away.

On defense, Brandon Meriweather had two interceptions, including a pick six at to put the first points on the board to open the game. But the Buccaneers, who are no offensive juggernaut, moved the ball very well at times, which is worrisome considering the prolific offenses New England will be facing after the upcoming bye week. I have also noticed that Vince Wilfork is not nearly the dominate force in the new 4-3 alignment as he was in the 3-4. It seems having to take on blockers from the side makes him a bit easier to move around and he simply isn’t as dominating he has been in the past. Don’t get me wrong, he is no slouch and is still a top flight defensive tackle, he just simply appears to be more effective in a 3-4. Solid tackling is also an issue for this team.

To quote another fanatic Patriots fan like myself, who summed up the game exactly the way I did:

Another feel good win. These bad teams make our defense look so good. I have to keep on reminding myself that our defense is defending against horrible offenses. I suspect that in reality, we are pretty good, but we’re not elite. We’re in that group right below the elite teams. If we make the playoffs, which I’m assuming we will somehow, we won’t be favored against Colt type teams, but we’ll be dangerous and if we peak at the right time and with a little luck, anything could happen.

And one last comment, while Brandon Meriweather had a great game with two interceptions and a touchdown, my MVP is going to Wes Welker, whose catches in the second half put the game away. He finished with 10 receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown.

MVP: Wes Welker, WR

Cincinnati Bengals over Chicago Bears, 45-10

The Bengals offensive line absolutely dominated the Bears defensive line. That, along with determined running by Cedric Benson, who netted 189 yards rushing, lead to a blow out win for the Bengals. The Bears, meanwhile, were awful on offensive and the whining Jay Cutler who thinks he’s the next coming of John Elway chucked up three interceptions, leading the Bears to a 3-3 record, mainly on the back of their defense. Kyle Orton anyone?

The Bengals look like a very solid team this year and I have no idea where this new and improved Cedric Benson has come from. In years past he has been an injury prone, contact adverse, bust of a top ten draft pick. He certainly wasn’t avoiding any contact in this game. While he had more than help from his dominate offensive line, he ran like a beast and over the Bears. The entire Bengals team, on both sides of the ball, played a physical, stellar game. The Bengals laid and egg against Houston last week, but they appear to be a team to be reckoned with this year. What a surprise.

Finally, while I know Carson Palmer played an outstanding game, the entire offense did, I am giving my MVP to Benson for his tough, determined running which was really what opened everything up for the Bengals.

MVP: Cedric Benson, RB

Arizona Cardinals over New York Giants, 24-17

I have to admit I am very surprised that the Cardinals came out of the Meadowlands with a win in this game. Last year they played so bad on the road and they have been very inconsistent this year in general. The defense made Eli Manning and the Giants receivers look bad, which isn’t always that hard to do. Eli is not the model of consistency at the quarterback position. Eli threw three interceptions and while I thought he played a poor game, his receivers were not helping him out much, getting pushed around by the Arizona cornerbacks and running poor routes.

Arizona’s defense really stepped up to the plate by stopping the running game and putting it on Eli Manning’s shoulders. Eli was not up to the challenge. As a female friend and fellow Patriots fan said of Eli: “He’s not his brother and never will be. If they ever played in the Super Bowl against each other, God forbid, Peyton will rip his heart out and show that he is, and always will be, the little brother.”

Ouch, tough words, but they ring true. It was the defense and a lucky play that won the playoff games and Super Bowl XLII. And now suddenly the running game even looks suspect.

On the other side of the coin, Kurt Warner managed to play pretty well despite that Wayne Gandy, his left tackle, couldn’t block my 88 year old grandmother. Warner has had ball security issues in the past and he was under a ton of pressure from the Giants defense the entire game. The Cardinals did establish a bit of a running game with Beanie Wells, but it was Warner that made the offense run, despite that he had to be a bit concerned about Gandy not protecting him well on the left side of the line.

At the end of the day, the Giants are the Giants. Some weeks they look great and others not so much. The Cardinals are the same way but more of a mystery to me. I don’t see them making the same kind of run they did last year, but they certainly are a dangerous offensive team when they get going and their defensive has improved. It will be interesting to see what they do the rest of the season.

This was a game ultimately won on the defensive side of the ball for the Cardinals. It’s hard to pick an MVP but I’m going with free safety Antrel Rolle who played a solid game and sealed the win with an interception.

MVP: Antrel Rolle, FS

Philadelphia Eagles over Washington Redskins, 27-17

The Redskins have not only proven themselves to be an awful team, they have become the laughingstock of the NFL. Yes, they have won two games against winless teams, but only barely. But other than the Tennessee Titans, they look to me to be the most anemic team in the league. At least the Lions, Rams, and Buccaneers try hard.

Jim Zorn should resign given that Redskins management has stripped him of his duties, humiliated him publicly by their actions, and have effectively neutered him as a head coach and a leader of the team. Dan Snyder is the worst owner in the NFL since Victor Kiam.

I am now convinced that Jason Campbell is not an NFL caliber quarterback that can lead a team to a championship. He has always been very spotty in his decision making and mechanics, but if anything he seems to have regressed. Even when he had time to throw the ball he was jittery in the pocket, had poor mechanics, and made poor decisions. The Redskins tried to replace him in the off season. I suspect they will try even harder at the end of this season.

The Eagles won this game more because of the ineptitude of the Redskins and on two big time offensive touchdowns by the speedy, dynamic DeSean Jackson. But the Eagles appear to be a rather mediocre team themselves. I think Donovan McNabb has left his best days behind him. He had some good throws and has a big arm, but he is very inconsistent and even more inaccurate with his throws than he has been in the past. How many times is going to throw the ball into the dirt to an open receiver this year?

And what is the fascination with Michael Vick in the “Wildcat”? This is another joke. It has yet to be effective.

The Eagles defense did play well but it’s hard to say whether that was because of the Redskins offensive line, which truly is offensive to football fans, or talent. I think the Eagles defense actually is for real and with enough big plays from the offensive should keep them in the hunt in the NFC East. But I don’t consider the Eagles a great team, but a mediocre one beating a bad one.

Dallas, Philadelphia, and the New York Giants will be battling it out the rest of the season for the NFC East crown. Dallas looks ascendant at the moment after last week’s game, but they too have been very inconsistent and vulnerable. The Giants have been considered by most the odds on favorite but even when they were undefeated I wasn’t seeing it. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out in the end.

MVP: DeSean Jackson, WR

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

Leon Washington: Leon Washington suffering a serious injury, breaking his fibula so bad the bone was sticking out, makes me feel really bad. Despite that he plays for the team I dislike the most, the New York Jets, he is a dynamic player on special teams, as a change of pace back alongside Thomas Jones, and he seems to be make excellent plays at the most critical moments. He has killed the Patriots in the past with his return yards and converting third downs to first downs on tough or difficult plays. I admire Leon Washington and regret his injury and hope he is able to come back.

Poor Offensive Tackle Play: And can’t recall seeing more poor performances by offensive tackles than I have seen this year. I’d like to call out some players for really poor play.

Wayne Gandy of the Cardinals has been awful every time I have seen him.

Stephon Heyer of the Washington Redskins, now playing left tackle, has also been a liability to the team. He is a good run blocker but not a good pass blocker. Ironically, he played better against the Eagles this week but Campbell did his offensive line no favors by stepping into the rush or playing poorly when he had plenty of time to throw.

Orlando Pace was just atrocious against the Bengals and has been in the few games I’ve seen the Bears play this year. It is shame because he was, at one time, one of the best tackles in the league. His injuries and age have clearly caught up with him.

Flozell Adams of the Dallas Cowboys is the most irritating tackle. He is not longer a great blocker and gets call for holds and false starts frequently. Of course his tripping of Justin Tuck is just an example of how he survives.

New Orleans Saints: This team is for real! I have them ranked as the number one team in the league right now. Can they go undefeated? I frankly don’t think they can but the moxie they showed in coming back against Miami is impressive and scary for the rest of the league.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive Player: Cedric Benson, RB, Cincinnati

Defensive Player: Antrel Rolle, FS, Arizona Cardinals

Offensive Lineman: Evan Mathis, G, Cincinnati Bengals

Special Teams: Percy Harvin, WR/KR, Minnesota Vikings

Rookie of the Week: Shonn Greene, RB, New York Jets

Posted in AFC East, National Football League, New England Patriots, Sports, Washington Redskins Tagged: AFC East, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, National Football League, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins

2009 NFL Football Season: Week Six

C Douglas Baker — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:13:23 -0400

This is coming really late this week because I was on vacation in Miami and Key West without a computer, but I am posting it anyway.

GAMES I WATCHED

New England Patriots over Tennessee Titans, 59-0

“This probably doesn’t mean anything in the long run but I will take the easy win.” – fellow Patriots fan.

Before getting too excited about the great performance the Patriots put on against Tennessee let me say that Tennessee was so bad that it was not really a true test for the Patriots. Brady looked like the Brady of old and maybe this is the kind of game he needed to get his football legs under him.

But Tennessee just simply seemed to fold. This was a great win for the Patriots, and with the Jets losing puts New England on top in the tough AFC East. I hope we can keep it going.

What has happened to the Tennessee Titans is really beyond me. Even with injuries and weak defensive backs, especially with Courtland Finnegan out, the team on the field just simply seemed to quit, again. I thought they quit against the Colts last week, and I definitely think they quit this week.

I thought Tennessee played an excellent game against Pittsburgh in the opening game of the season but lost in overtime. Since then, they have regressed to an absolute mess. And it’s not Kerry Collins’s fault. He played reasonably well in the first half. His woeful statistics were a result of numerous dropped balls by his receivers.

On the defensive side they simply didn’t compete. I am shocked by how far this team has fallen. A few losses at the start of the season and the team has simply folded. What is really shocking is that it is a Jeff Fisher coached team.

MVP: Tom Brady, QB

Minnesota Vikings over Baltimore Ravens, 33-31

This turned out to be a wildly entertaining game between two excellent teams. Baltimore got behind early but came storming back in the second half to almost win the game, but for a missed 44-yard field goal at the end of the game.

Minnesota played excellent on both sides of the ball for most of the game, especially Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, and Sydney Rice. Defensive end Jared Allen harassed Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco all day, but Joe stayed cooled and brought his team back in the second half.

The telling part of this game was the Minnesota defense collapsed a bit in the second half giving up big plays and scoring drives letting the Ravens back in the game. I don’t know if they got tired or the Ravens’ offense just started clicking, but it never should have been this close, as Baltimore was down 30-17 in the third quarter.

The Ravens have lost some real heartbreakers the last three weeks but they are an excellent team that should be around for the postseason. They competed hard throughout the game and came within a makeable field goal of pulling off the upset. Kudos to Flacco for being cool in the pocket and the entire team for competing hard for 60 minutes.

Adrian Peterson had 143 yards rushing but Favre was the key to the offensive attack in the passing game.

MVP: Brett Favre, QB

Atlanta Falcons over Chicago Bears, 21-14

To me the Falcons and the Bears look like two top-tier teams but not teams in the very top tier. This was a reasonably well played game by both teams but the Bears blew their chance at a win with a fumble on the goal line in the third quarter that the Falcons recovered.

Matt Ryan continues to play very well and Roddy White seems to be coming on, although he has been very inconsistent in the past. Tight end Tony Gonzalez has really added a new dimension to this team and it is great to see a mostly receiving tight end who can actually block as well. This is a team I expect to improve as the year goes on.

Meanwhile, I am not sure what to make of Jay Cutler. Talent wise, he should be one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but he’s not. He talks a big game about being a leader, but frankly I don’t always see that on the field.

And what happened to running back Matt Forte? The Bears have gotten little out of the running game this year and Cutler really needs the treat of the run to be more effective. The Bears are a puzzling team.

Atlanta defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux forced the fumble that held the Bears out of the end zone so I am going with him as MVP.

MVP: Jonathan Babineaux, DT

Denver Broncos over San Diego Chargers, 34-23

Denver is for real. They went in and handed their arch-rival San Diego Chargers a home loss in the division and are in the driver’s seat to win the AFC West. Kyle Orton may not be the flashiest quarterback in the league but he’s proven he is a winner. He is an accurate short to intermediate passer and the down field blocking for the receivers opens up nice holes. The running game is also starting to make progress.

The real star of the game though was Eddie Royal, who had a punt return and kickoff return for touchdowns that basically broke the back San Diego’s back, even though Darren Sproles also had a punt return for a touchdown. I believe that is the first time I have ever seen three kick returns for a touchdown in the same quarter.

Denver is on top, I am not sure where San Diego is going to net out. Their defense is not that good and will likely cost them the playoffs if they don’t turn things around.

MVP: Eddie Royal, WR/KR

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive Player: Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

Defensive Player: Jared Allen, DE, Minnesota Vikings

Offensive Lineman : Logan Mankins, G, New England Patriots

Special Teams: Eddie Royal, WR/KR, Denver Broncos

Rookie of the Week: Brian Cushing, LB, Houston Texans

What's Wrong With Tom Brady?

C Douglas Baker — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:57:17 -0400

I have had so many people ask me what is wrong with the New England Patriots this year, and more pointedly, they ask me what is wrong with Tom Brady?

My answer? Look, Tom just came off of major reconstructive knee surgery. Yes, his throws are a bit inaccurate, he’s taking longer to make his reads, his mechanics are a bit off, and he’s out of sync with his receivers.

But what do you expect?

He’s been out of football for a year and is adjusting to wearing a knee brace and getting used to playing again!

Last year Peyton Manning missed all of training camp after a knee surgery. I would never call any knee surgery minor but it was to clear out an infection and it was not reconstructive knee surgery.

Manning played mediocre at best the first four to six games of the season then went on a tear through Colts' opponents that he still seems to be on today.

Carson Palmer played somewhat poorly the entire year after his ACL surgery.

Donovan McNabb played somewhat poorly after coming back from knee surgery and has been injury prone ever since.

Dante Culpepper never has really come back from his ACL injury.

Trent Green took at least a year or more to play well after his ACL injury.

That’s what is wrong with Tom Brady. And he is one of the hardest working, competitive players in the league. I think he will continue to progress and be the Tom Brady of old by the end of the season barring injury.

Let’s face it, the Patriots coaching staff isn’t helping him out any. They mostly refuse to establish a running game or throw screens to slow down a pass rush. And no quarterback, especially one coming back from an ACL injury, can thrive under constant pressure with not even a threat of a running game.

As the season goes on, the Patriots will hopefully try to establish the run and short passing game, and Brady and the offense will be just fine.

Dan Snyder, Vinnie Cerrato, Jim Zorn, and the Washington Redskins

C Douglas Baker — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:49:30 -0400

This was originally written on Feb. 22, 2008. The entire piece, originally published on my blog, still stands true today.

If I were a Washington Redskins fan I would be disheartened at the decision to hire Jim Zorn as the head coach of the Washington Redskins. When will Dan Snyder figure out that he needs to hire experienced, knowledgeable football people to make football related decisions?

Without going into the history of Snyder’s tenure as the Redskins owner, it’s pretty clear that he doesn’t really know what he is doing. The Redskins will be mired in mediocrity and be playoff has-beens until the Redskins get somebody in the front office who knows how to run and manage a professional football team.

Frankly I was shocked that Gregg Williams was not hired as the head coach. The media portrayed him as the head coach in waiting once Joe Gibbs retired and the players supported his promotion to head coach. After the interviewing process dragged on and on, it became pretty clear he was not going to get the job.

I can’t blame Snyder at all for not wanting to hand the head coaching reins to Williams. Williams was not a particularly successful head coach with the Buffalo Bills.

And then during the Redskins' game against the Buffalo Bills, after the unfortunate death of Sean Taylor, he left the free safety position empty on the first play of the game in tribute to Taylor. I thought that was a wonderful idea and a great move. It gave me goose bumps. But, bizarrely, he did not tell coach Gibbs he was going to do it. That immediately showed that first, Williams is an arrogant jerk, and secondly that Gibbs really didn’t have control over the team. Can you imagine any head coach in the National Football League not being informed by his staff of something so significant?

The actions I find very odd on Snyder’s part, is that after letting Williams go, he hired an offensive coordinator (Zorn), a defensive coordinator, and other coaches before hiring a head coach.

Right or wrong, that is just not how it is done in the National Football League. Head coaches like to hire and put together their own staff to ensure that their football and team building philosophies mesh. No aspiring head coach would ever want to go into a situation where the staff is pretty much already in place and they can’t put their stamp on the team.

Thus, Snyder was left with choosing between people who were desperate to get a head coaching job like Jim Fassel, or somebody like Zorn who was not even looking to be a head coach anywhere. By hiring a staff, Snyder was stuck with hiring lower echelon candidates. I was not surprised at all that Steve Spagnuolo, defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, declined the job.

And it’s not like Snyder has to fire his right hand man, Vinnie Cerrato to hire football people. Cerrato either doesn’t know what he is doing either, or he is just too afraid of Snyder to steer him in a different direction. Why not take the time to hire a head coach and then let the coach hire his staff?

Don’t get me wrong, I like Zorn and he could turn out to be a wonderful head coach, but how can you hire a head coach with little to no experience when your team is on the cusp of success. A coach whose only position has been as a quarterback coach, but has no play calling experience on either side of the ball, and no experience running a team?

The worst sign for me was when Zorn, at the press conference announcing his hiring, didn’t even know that the Redskins colors were burgundy and gold. That shows you that Zorn does not really understand the deep, historic mystique of this professional football franchise!

This hiring is not a good sign for the franchise, less because of Zorn, but more because Snyder continues to make decisions and run the team in a way that gets the least out of the talent on the field.

2009 NFL Football Season: Week Five

C Douglas Baker — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:55:34 -0400

GAMES I WATCHED

Denver Broncos over New England Patriots, 20-17 OT

This was a well-played game by both teams and Denver should have shaken off any doubters that they are as good as their 5-0 record. They have beaten both Dallas and New England at home in back-to-back weeks and looked good doing it.

This was a very disappointing regular season loss for Patriots fans (but every loss really is). How did the Patriots’ defense let Denver drive the ball 98 yards for a game-tying touchdown?! That is simply unacceptable.

I thought the game was wrapped up after we pinned Denver at their own two-yard line, thinking we’d eventually get the ball back in decent field position and do something with it. Instead it was a steady march down the field and a game-tying touchdown for the Broncos.

I never thought I’d say this but the difference in the game was Tom Brady’s inability to hit open receivers. Beside the obvious easy touchdown we should have had when Brady overthrew Moss near the end zone, he also missed some key throws in the second half that could have extended drives.

Brady is still way off on his accuracy and reads. In his postgame press conference Brady indicated he and Wes Welker weren’t always on the same page, which is not a good sign. I hope he has not hit an impasse and continues to improve as the season progresses. If he starts throwing the ball like the Brady of old, then watch out, because that’s what was missing from the offense on Sunday.

Other than the long drive for the game-tying touchdown and field goal in overtime, the young defense is playing reasonably well, but nobody will mistake then for the 1985 Bears or even the 2009 Ravens.

This is a unit that should also improve as the season progresses. But giving up a 98-yard drive to let the Broncos tie the game and gain momentum is simply not something good defenses do.

Denver, meanwhile, has proven that their 5-0 record is no chimera. They play well on both sides of the ball and have nicely balanced offense. Kyle Orton is the second coming of John Elway.

Just kidding! But Orton is making the throws he needs to make and keeps his errors to a minimum. In fact, as of now, he looks like a better quarterback than Tom Brady. I am impressed by this new Denver team.

I am hopeful that New England gets back on the winning track. The AFC is not going to be an easy conference to make the playoffs in this year.

MVP: Brandon Marshall, WR

Cincinnati Bengals over Baltimore Ravens, 17-14

The Bengals versus Ravens matchup was another excellent game between two playoff caliber teams, one a surprise in the Bengals, and one many think is a Super Bowl contender in the Baltimore Ravens.

Like the New England loss to Denver, this was a regular season loss that Ravens fans have to lament. Not only did they lose to a division rival at home, they lost on an 80-yard scoring drive in the last minutes of the game led by the Bengals’ Carson Palmer. This vaunted Ravens defense played very well most of the day, but gave up some yards on roughing penalties, and the Bengals usually took good advantage of it.

The most surprising thing about this game is that the Bengals and Ravens both played excellent football. This was not a case of the Ravens playing down to a perennially losing squad. This looked like two top-notch teams going at it. And but for a fluke play against Denver, the Bengals very well could be sitting on a 5-0 record today.

Two other notes, Palmer played with his non-throwing hand taped up after getting it stepped on in the second half but still had an outstanding game. And where did Bengal’s running back Cedric Benson, the would have been bust of a first round draft choice out of Texas, find his rhythm and toughness? Having seen him play poorly for the Bears I never thought I’d see Benson make anything of his career. He ran tough and hard against a stout Ravens defense, and set the tone for the game early. While Benson deserves a nod for MVP, Palmer led an 80-yard drive for a winning score so he gets my vote.

MVP: Carson Palmer, QB

Indianapolis Colts over Tennessee Titans, 31-9

Peyton Manning is playing as good as I have ever seen any quarterback play in my lifetime in these first five games. That may sound like hyperbole, but I am completely serious. The man is a machine. He completely picked apart the Titans and this really never was much of a contest.

What has happened to the Titans? I thought they played an excellent game against Pittsburgh to start off the season in a loss, but they can’t seem to win a game.

I hate to say this, but I felt the Titans basically gave up in the second half. Yes, I think they quit. Not a good sign for the Titans.

I really wanted the Titans to pull off the upset against the Colts, because they are a desperate team and desperate teams are dangerous. They play the Patriots next week. I hope they look just as bad as they did this week.

MVP: Peyton Manning, QB

Miami Dolphins over New York Jets, 31-27

After losing their first three games of the season, the Dolphins are now sitting at 2-3, just one game behind the New York Jets and New England Patriots for the AFC East division lead. The division could turn into a dogfight this year as the Patriots continue to struggle on offense and the Jets and Dolphins are playing even better than they did last year.

This was a very entertaining game which went back and forth several times. I really liked the Dolphins' offense game plan. Not only did they use the Wildcat and the running game to great effect in general, they ran screeners and up-the-gut runs to slow down the aggressive pass rush of the Jets. They did exactly what the Patriots did not do in their loss to the Jets a few weeks ago.

Ricky Williams’ 51-yard screen play was the perfect call for a blitzing Jets defense. Then later in the game when the Jets didn’t blitz, CB Darrelle Revis got burned by the speedy Ted Ginn, Jr. (who has not lived up to his first round draft pick status to this point).

The Dolphins' running game is scary to watch and should serve them well the rest of the season. Despite being 2-3 with an inexperienced QB, the Dolphins look to be in the mix this season. They won’t be an easy to team to beat.

MVP: Ronnie Brown, RB

Atlanta Falcons over San Francisco 49ers, 45-10

The San Francisco 49ers appeared to revert back to their old losing ways against the Falcons. I watched this game on tape and it was an ugly sight to behold, unless you’re a Falcons fans.

The first half was simply a mistake filled, sloppily played, embarrassing performance by the 49ers on both sides of the ball. Running back Glen Coffee looked like the rookie he is and didn’t seem to know what he was supposed to be doing out there. Quarterback Shaun Hill was ineffective. And the defense lost its composure.

Roddy White had a career day running all over the 49ers' secondary. In the second quarter he burned Nate Clements for a 90-yard touchdown reception after Clements went for the ball instead of the tackle.

Earlier, after a San Francisco timeout to calm the team down, he ran right through the defense for his first long touchdown grab of the day. His 210 receiving yards (on 8 receptions with 2 touchdowns) set the franchise record.

A perfect example of the 49ers' dysfunctional, childish mistakes was Dre Bly intercepting the ball in the third quarter and then having Matt Ryan catching him and knocking the ball out of his hands while he was celebrating. Foolish.

I can’t imagine practice is going to be very pleasant this week for the 49ers. If they keep playing like this, they are in for another miserable, losing season.

MVP: Roddy White, WR

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive Player: Miles Austin, WR, Dallas Cowboys (250 yards receiving sets franchise record)

Defensive Player: Ed Reed, FS, Baltimore Ravens

Offensive Lineman: Justin Smiley, G, Miami Dolphins

Special Teams: Sam Koch, P, Baltimore Ravens

Rookie of the Week: Jeremy Maclin, WR, Philadelphia Eagles (6 catches, 142 yards, two touchdowns)

2009 NFL Football Season: Week Four Observations

C Douglas Baker — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:25:05 -0400

OBSERVATIONS

Roughing the Passer Calls: Officials are calling roughing the passer calls closer than ever. The Ravens got tagged for one that was rather questionable against the Patriots, and later the Patriots got tagged for one that was an even worse call on what should have been a sack by the Patriots.

Over the first few games I’ve seen very, very touchy calls on roughing the passer. I can only say that at least they are being consistent about it, but I don’t like it.

DeMarcus Ware: What has happened to Dallas linebacker DeMarcus Ware? He is easily being handled by single tackles and is getting no pass rush.

Brett Favre: Favre really knows how to step it up on the biggest stage. Once again we witnessed an otherworldly performance by Favre against his old Green Bay Packer teammates. I just wonder if he can keep it up all year long.

With the best running back in the league, a good offensive line, and a stout defense, this team could be scary in the postseason. While I am a bit tired of the offseason Favre drama, he sure is fun to watch when he gets revved up.

Aaron Rodgers: And on the other side, Rodgers is clearly one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He was not protected very well against the Vikings, but still played well and put points on the board. If the Packers can get their offensive line woes straightened out, Rodgers will be phenomenal. If they don’t he won’t even be upright at the end of the season.

LaDainian Tomlinson: I was not one who subscribed to the idea that LaDainian was on his last legs. But is he?

Washington Redskins: The Redskins eeked out another close victory over a bad team. It will be interesting to see how many games they lose when they play their NFC East opponents. The offense is anemic and uninspired.

GAMES I WATCHED

New England Patriots over Baltimore Ravens, 27-21

First let me get this off my chest. I am sick and tired of hearing the Ravens and their fans whine about the officials every time they lose a game. This time they were whining about the roughing the passer call when Suggs brushed Brady’s knee, which eventually lead to a touchdown.

While I agree the call was close and probably not a good one, later in the game the Patriots sacked Flacco and got called for roughing the passer, which was an even more ridiculously bad call than the one on the Ravens. So at least the officials were calling it consistently.

The Ravens did not lose because of the officials they lost because they were outplayed.

This was a very hard fought game and had a playoff like atmosphere with two upper tier teams battling it out. The Patriots offense looks like it is starting to come together after looking mostly pedestrian the first three games of the season.

While they didn’t look like the Saints or Colts, at least Brady had a bit more rhythm and we ran the ball successfully. The one thing I still have a very hard time understanding is why the Patriots are not running more screens and draws to slow down the pass rush.

Other teams are using these staple plays to great effect, including the Ravens against us. The Patriots lived by the screen pass in their three Super Bowl runs. It would be nice to see it utilized more in 2009.

Also promising is the way the young defense is coming together and playing reasonably well. While nobody will mistake them for the Ravens or Vikings defenses, at least they are making plays and not getting completely outmatched. The big worry with the defense is the inability to get a decent pass rush going, although even here they were slightly improved against the Ravens.

Two interesting personnel notes. First, Laurence Maroney was booed by the fans. His dancing and prancing behind the line of scrimmage is getting annoying.

Maroney thrives in open space, but you can’t put Maroney in the game just on screens and halfback passes because you would end up tipping off defenses. But on short yardage situations he is the last person you want to see handling the ball in the backfield. I can’t imagine he will be a Patriot next year if he doesn’t improve, and I have seen nothing that would indicate he will.

More surprising is that Joey Galloway was inactive for the game and was not injured. He has not done much this year and it makes you wonder if he will be cut this year. That would be shame because he does seem to have some legs left and could be a valuable player down the stretch. Maybe this will be a wake up call for him.

This was a nice win for the Patriots. The Ravens are one of the best, most well rounded teams in the league and will certainly be around once the postseason rolls around. They are team that I could easily see making it to the Super Bowl this year.

Finally, while his stat line does not stand out, Sammy Morris made some key plays down the stretch. And it’s those little important plays that are often the difference between winning and losing.

MVP: Sammy Morris, RB

Denver Broncos over Dallas Cowboys, 17-10

What a difference a year makes. The Broncos defense last year was abysmal and this year looks like one of the best in the league.

The combination of new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and the addition of a leader like free safety Brian Dawkins has really turned the defense around. Dawkins was fired up and played extremely well against the floundering Cowboys.

And while Kyle Orton may not be the best quarterback in the league, he’s doing just enough, along with Brandon Marshall, to get the job done. While I have nothing against Kyle Orton, had Cutler still been in the fold this offense would be even better.

Denver’s 4-0 start and a win over a quality, if somewhat struggling Cowboys team, puts a stamp of legitimacy on their surprising 4-0 start.

The Cowboys, on the other hand, and Tony Romo in particular, appear to be in free fall. They have played terrible this season. Romo is inconsistent and makes poor decisions and Flozell Adams can only block people with dirty tactics. I think it’s about time for a one game suspension for Mr. Adams.

DeMarcus Ware and the Dallas defense can’t seem to get pressure on the quarterback. Maybe Terrible Terrell really wasn’t the entire problem in Dallas.

And what happened to Broncos wide receiver Eddie Royal?! After a promising rookie season, he has completely disappeared from the offense. Unfortunately he is on my fantasy football team and has done nothing for me.

For player of the game, I have to go with Brandon Marshall for his 91 yards receiving and outstanding touchdown. Brian Dawkins is a close second.

MVP: Brandon Marshall, WR

Pittsburgh Steelers over San Diego Chargers, 38-28

The Chargers are another team that came into the 2009 season looking like it had a real shot at a championship. Instead the team is floundering around on both sides of the ball.

For the Chargers injuries to their defensive line has simply decimated the unit. Teams are running all over them and simply dominating their defensive unit. And while their offense is good enough, it’s not so prolific as to make up for their lack of defense, especially with the time of possession is so heavily skewed in the opponents favor.

Rashard Mendenhall ran the ball hard, picking up 165 yards and two touchdowns, but I want to see him do that against a stouter defense. The Steelers offensive line thumped the Chargers, whose defense simply couldn’t get off the field. The Chargers had a nice comeback, but really didn’t come that close to winning the game.

Adding to the Chargers misery, LaDainian Tomlinson is ailing and ineffective, and receiver Chris Chambers clearly has seen his best days. I am surprised he is even still in the starting lineup.

The Steelers have seemed to right their ship, at least for one game. Their defense has remained stout and when Troy Polamalu comes back they will be even better. The Steelers are still an elite team in the league.

MVP: Rashard Mendenhall, RB

Minnesota Vikings over Green Bay Packers, 30-23

There was a lot of hype surrounding this game with Brett Favre facing his old team for the first time. The game certainly lived up to its hype. It was a playoff atmosphere with a lot of hard hitting and great plays by both teams on both sides of the ball.

As fantastic as Favre played, it was really the Vikings defense that won the game. They forced some turnovers and Jared Allen’s 4.5 sacks and safety was the key difference in the game. But he did take advantage of the Packers’ playing their second string, and then third string left tackle because of an injury to Chad Clifton.

But let’s start with Brett Favre. As bored and annoyed as I am with the drama king’s offseason will he retire, won’t he retire routine, he is fun to watch play football.

He had just an amazing game. Amazing. And he had to be with the Packers’ defense mostly shutting down Adrian Peterson. Sometimes Favre is painful to watch, like when he throws multiple and sometimes dumb interceptions in the postseason. At other times he is simply awe-inspiring. In this game he was awe-inspiring.

And the Vikings defense really took advantage of the banged up Green Bay Packers’ offensive line. Jared Allen and the rest of the defense had eight sacks against Aaron Rodgers, including one for a safety. The Packers really need to straighten out their offensive line if they hope to have a decent season and a healthy Aaron Rodgers.

Another standout for the Vikings was Antoine Winfield. This undersized cornerback can really blast running backs and receivers. It’s refreshing to see cornerbacks that can, and will, hit like Winfield.

Aaron Rodgers had an absolutely amazing game himself, maybe even better than Brett Favre given that Brett had plenty of time in the pocket an Aaron had defenders in his face all day long. Other than a few miscues he handled the pressure and played very, very, well.

I was most impressed with his ability to keep his team moving in face of the fierce pass rush by the Vikings. And despite getting behind, the Packers never quit on either side of the ball and gave themselves a chance to win at the end. If the Packers give Rodgers more time to throw the ball, their offense will really start to click.

And while Green Bay’s defense was victimized by Favre, given the lack of a pass rush, I didn’t think they were absolutely terrible. They need to find a way to get more pressure on the quarterback to protect their defensive backs better. So far defensive guru Dom Capers schemes aren’t working well for the Packers. Aaron Kampman, their best pass rusher last year, dropping back into coverage just doesn’t make sense to me.

Overall this was an amazing game, and as much as it was Brett Favre’s night, it was the Vikings night too. Nobody needs to question why they so desperately courted Favre in the offseason. With the best running back in the league, a solid offensive line, speedy receivers, and a top five defense, they were close, but not close enough to being a Super Bowl contender last year.

With Brett Favre, they may be the best team in the league. Let’s face it, Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels were not the answer at quarterback. Brett Favre may well be.

MVP: Brett Favre, QB

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive Player: Brett Favre, QB, Minnesota Vikings

Defensive Player: Jared Allen, DE, Minnesota Vikings

Offensive Lineman: Willie Colon, RT, Pittsburgh Steelers

Special Teams: Johnny Knox, KR/WR, Chicago Bears

Rookie of the Week: Mohamed Massaquoi, WR, Cleveland

2009 NFL SEASON: INTRODUCTION AND WEEK 1

C Douglas Baker — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:41:41 -0400

INTRODUCTION

One of the more interesting things about Week 1 is that it really seemed like a typical middle of the season week to me. This, despite the hoopla of it being the opening week of the NFL season and Tom Brady’s return to regular season action. Week 1 featured a few upsets, a few surprisingly good performances by traditionally not so good teams, and unfortunately some big injuries to key players.

The most disheartening thing about Week 1 was significant injuries to key players, really just like last year. Out for the season is Brian Urlacher, the Bears’ middle linebacker and one of the best defensive players in the league. Out for a significant amount time are Troy Polamalu (SS, Steelers) and Patriots’ linebacker Jerrod Mayo, last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year.

While a little late to action here are my thoughts on Week 1 action.

GAMES I WATCHED

New England Patriots over Buffalo Bills 25-24

The Monday night opener between New England and Buffalo featured the return of Tom Brady after missing the entire last season with an ACL injury and a completely revamped defense. For the Bills the opening night looked to be the beginning of a potentially long and dreadful season with a very young offensive line, the firing of the offensive coordinator right before the season started, and Marshawn “Hit and Run” Lynch suspended for four games. I don’t think anybody picked the Bills to be in the game very long, much less lead for most of the game. But they played very well, but gave the game away on an unfortunate play by kick returner Leodis McKelvin.

The Patriots on both sides of the ball were shaky most of the game. Brady looked a little rusty in the first half but you could see his confidence and pocket presence grow during the second half, which really paid off when it counted in the fourth quarter. The biggest problem for the Patriots was both their offensive and defensive lines were beaten physically by the supposedly inferior Bills the entire game.

Defensively the Patriots are much younger, more immature, and sometimes completely out of sync. No longer on the team from last season’s opener include Rodney Harrison, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrable, Ellis Hobbs, and shockingly being traded to Oakland right before the season started, Richard Seymour.

The Patriots stayed mostly in a 4-3 alignment most of the game and reportedly plan to do so most of the year. This is huge change for the Patriots as coach Bill Belichick is one of the gurus of the 3-4 and true believer in the linebacker position. The defensive line, including Vince Wilfolk, were whipped by a offensive line called poor and young by most pundits. The Patriots clearly, and dearly seemed to miss Richard Seymour on the defensive line of scrimmage. He played like a beast and with chip on his shoulder starting for the Raiders in the following game. The Bills were able to move the ball too easily most of the game.

On the flip side the Patriots offense played reasonably well but not great until late in the second half. Brady throwing an interception for a touchdown did not help matters as the Bills had an 11 point lead with just over five minutes to play.

But then a little Brady magic and a little luck struck the Patriots. Brady played brilliantly in the last few minutes of the game moving the team down the field and hitting Watson for a touchdown (two point conversion failed) to bring the Patriots within five with just over two minutes to go.

Then dumbest play of the game happened. Instead of taking a knee in the end zone for a touchback, Bills kick returner Leodis McKelvin ran the ball out of the end zone, allowing New England to strip the ball away. A few minutes later Brady hits Watson for another touchdown, game over.

For the Bills this was a heartbreaking loss, but they can take pride and confidence in the way they played. The Bills certainly seem better than expected. But it is only the first week of the season. Hats off to Trent Edwards, Fred Jackson, and Aaron Schobel for excellent games.

Of other note, the referees called one egregiously bad roughing the passer call on the Patriots and one borderline one, which really helped the Bills.

Laurence Maroney still runs like his name should be Lauren. When the Patriots went for it on fourth and short early in the game I was shocked they gave it to Maroney, who of course didn’t stick his nose in the line of scrimmage and get the few yards needed.

MVP: Ben Watson, TE

Pittsburgh Steelers over Tennessee Titans, 13-10 (OT)

This was the most well played game all around I saw this weekend. Both teams on defense looked in midseason form, while the offenses did just enough to stay in the game. Not surprisingly the game was mostly a defensive struggle. Both of these teams should see the postseason. They certainly will if they play as well through the rest of the season.

Of course, it was not such a great game for Rob Bironas who missed a makeable field goal and had one blocked. These special teams gaffs basically are the reason the Titans lost in the mostly evenly played game.

Troy Polamalu was beast on defense until he got injured. It is a real shame to see such a great player end up out for several weeks. And Big Ben came through when it counted, as he did repeatedly last season. And the star of the show was Santonio Holmes with 131 yards receiving and a touchdown.

For Tennessee, despite the loss, should be heartened that Kerry Collins played a solid game. And while they did not get much of a running game going against probably the best defense in the league, they look poised for another solid season.

MVP: Santonio Holmes, WR

Baltimore Raves over Kansas City Chiefs, 38-24

Despite hanging close to the Ravens most of the game, the Kansas City Chiefs looked awful. A safety, a blocked punt for a touchdown, and an interception by Flacco that the Chiefs somehow turned into a touchdown kept the game close until the fourth quarter. Otherwise they were mostly dominated on both lines of scrimmage. And even though Chiefs defensive tackle Glen Dorsey was going up against one of the best centers in the league in Matt Birk, he was dominated and had never looked like the highly touted first round pick he is.

The Chiefs look to be in for a long, miserable season if they continue to play as poorly as they did against the Ravens.

On the flip side, the Ravens defense continues to look solid, but against a questionable opponent, and the offense looks even better than it did last year, although left tackle Jared Gaither struggled at times. The Ravens are another team that we will likely be seeing in the postseason.

Mark Clayton had a good game with 5 catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. The Ravens really need Clayton to step up this year to take it to the next level.

MVP: Mark Clayton, WR

New York Giants over Washington Redskins, 23-17

I really was not very impressed by either team in this game, but especially the Redskins. I am starting to wonder if Jim Zorn is really cut out to be a head coach in the NFL. The Redskins offense simply looked out of sync in parts of the game. Granted, wide receiver Santana Moss is getting a little older and has persistent hamstring injuries, and they really don’t have any other top notch receivers, but the play calling and execution on offense was off much of the game. Both defenses played reasonably well, and the Giants Osi Umenyiora’s fumble return for a touchdown sealed the game.

MVP: Osi Umenyiora, DE

Green Bay Packers over Chicago Bears, 21-15

I have to admit I loved watching Jay Cutler, who I no longer have an ounce of respect for, throw four interceptions. I wonder if that will shut him up? I doubt it. But he looked pretty awful in this game, and maybe a dose of humility will do him some good. He could end up being a great quarterback in the league because he has the gifts. But he could also end up being the next coming of Jeff George, a super talented quarterback with a bad attitude who led teams nowhere.

Now to the game. Both teams’ defense played quite well, until Brian Urlacher suffered a season ending wrist injury, then the Bears looked just a bit off kilter. The Bears still almost won the game except for a 50 yard touchdown pass by Aaron Rodgers to Greg Jennings with less than two minutes to play, which sealed the deal for the Packers.

MVP: Greg Jennings, WR

San Diego over Oakland, 24-20

Monday night featured two underdogs that nobody expected to be in the game by the fourth quarter that could’ve, should’ve, but didn’t win their games. Oakland’s offensive line played surprisingly well against the Chargers defensive line and really controlled the game. JaMarcus Russell will never be a great NFL quarterback, but with the use of multiple young running backs, the Raiders’ offense was able to control the game quite well. And then the fourth quarter came and little Darren Sproles spoiled show with some nifty play in the fourth quarter.

The Raiders defense played well too. It made me rather sick to the stomach to seem Richard Seymour in an Oakland Raiders jersey. He played like he had a chip on his shoulder and wreaked havoc on the Chargers most of the game. The Patriots could have certainly used his presence against the Bills.

Also of note, LaDanian Tomlinson hurt is ankle in the game and is out this week against the Ravens. Is age catching up with him?

MVP: Darren Sproles, RB

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive Player: Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings (sorry Drew Brees).

Defensive Player: Troy Polamalu, SS, Pittsburgh Steelers (while he was in he was the best defensive player I saw this week)

Offensive Lineman: Matt Birk, C, Baltimore Ravens

Special Teams: Darren Sproles, KR, San Diego

Rookie of the Week: Mark Sanchez, QB, New York Jets

Posted in AFC East, National Football League, New England Patriots, NFL, Sports Tagged: Buffalo Bills, Jim Zorn, New England Patriots, NFL, Washington Redskins

Manny Pacquiao Destroys Ricky Hatton, Floyd Mayweather Jr. Awaits

C Douglas Baker — Sun, 03 May 2009 01:45:05 -0400

Anyone who doesn’t think Manny Pacquiao is the pound for pound best fighter after knocking Ricky Hatton out stone cold in the second round must be delusional. Granted, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has come out of retirement to fight Juan Manuel Marquez in July, but he did retire. PacMan is the king in boxing at this moment.

Hatton came out and did all the things he could NOT do if he expected to win against Pacquiao. He put on the pressure early in the fight but over pursued Pacquiao putting himself in a terrible defensive position, while Pacquiao moved his head and avoided heavy shots.

I said after the first 30 seconds of round one that Ricky was not showing any of the boxing skills I thought he’d bring to the ring under the tutelage of Floyd Mayweather, Sr.

Two knockdowns later, I thought, well, maybe he’ll settle down in the second round and make a fight of it. Ironically, in some ways he did just that. While I thought Pacquiao was winning the second round rather easily, Hatton did do better in many respects, mostly in landing a few blows and avoiding a few.

But Pacquiao caught him with a perfect left hook on the button and as soon as it hit I said the fight is over. And it was.

My prediction was that Pacquiao would win in the later rounds on a technical knock out because of his speed and superior boxing skills. Speed kills and Pacquaio's speed killed Hatton. He simply didn’t have an answer for it as he got caught with shots he didn’t see and eventually succumbed to a perfect killer shot.

Hatton didn’t do himself any favors with an overly aggressive style that the best of best fighters like Pacquiao can dodge and take advantage of.

The worst thing I noticed about Hatton’s style in this fight was that he didn’t even given himself enough punching room to land shots in the first round, leaving himself open, allowing Pacquiao to put him on the canvas.

It’s too bad that Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. are not naturally at the same weight. And Mayweather, being the naturally bigger man, with as much speed and skill as Pacquiao, does not bode well for the PacMan in a fight against him.

But the fans, and more importantly the money, will be SCREAMING for a Pacquiao versus Mayweather fight if he gets past Marquez, which he should, in July.

There is not much more to say about the Pacquiao-Hatton fight. The next media storm will be about a Pacquiao-Maywether, Jr. fight which I, for one, will gladly pay to see.

New England Patriots Trade Down, Draft Defense Early

C Douglas Baker — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 21:08:04 -0400

It was funny watching the talking heads and reading blowhards talking about the Patriots trading into the top ten to get talent for a lot of money, and might be good NFL players, but overpaid ones.

The most ridiculous I saw was the idea the Patriots would trade up to get the pot head and head case Percy Harvin of Florida, a headache we don’t need. Another was the idea of picking up Michael Crabtree. But for top ten money? Not for us.

Now, picking up Tyson Jackson, DE from LSU, maybe.

But, Bill B and his brain trust, minus Scott Pioli traded down for more picks, future picks and went for defensive backs.

So far, I love what the Patriots have done in the draft. It is too bad that we are still struggling to shore up the defensive backfield, but that is life.

In the second round, we’ve now picked up Patrick Chung, the tough little safety from Oregon. I love the kid. I think he has a much better attitude and football smarts than Brandon Merriweather, who I think, if not a bust, a bit disappointing.

We picked up a back-up and maybe future starter at nose tackle with the OTHER defensive tackle from Boston College in Ron Brace.

And I love the pick of cornerback Darius Butler from Connecticut.

There will be a lot of competition in the defensive backfield next year with all these young defensive backs.

Eventually, I hope one will emerge as another top flight defender in the pass happy NFL.

Posted in National Football League

Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez Will be 2009's Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco

C Douglas Baker — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:57:40 -0400

Last year Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco had great seasons as rookie starters in the NFL. I was pretty high on both of these quarterbacks coming out of college, especially Ryan who I saw more of watching ACC football.

Both Stafford and Sanchez will no dobut be starters for their teams given the quarterback situation on both clubs.

I don’t think that either Stafford or Sanchez have the same chance to be a success. All things being equal I like both Ryan and Flacco better as NFL quarterbacks. Stafford goes to sorry team, although he should have Calvin Johnson to throw the ball to.

That does not bode well for a rookie starter. Sanchez goes to a team with better skill around him, but I am not convinced he is ready to step in and be more than an average NFL starter, or worse.

It will be interesting to see if they can duplicate the success of Ryan and Flacco. My money is against it.

Posted in National Football League Tagged: Detroit Lions, New York Jets, NFL Draft

Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton Preview and Prediction

C Douglas Baker — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:29:49 -0400

When Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton square off on May 2, boxing fans will be presented with two of the most exciting, pressure, action fighters in the sport today. If styles make fights, this could be a barn burner as both fighters usually come out at the opening bell swinging and don’t stop fighting until the fight is won or lost.

What Pacquiao Needs to Do to Win

Pacquiao has the better boxing skills of these two warriors, although his defense is often very suspect. The danger for Pacquiao will be if he starts trading with Hatton and gets caught with a big shot. If he does that, he may find himself in never never land sprawled out on the canvas.

Even though this fight is at 140 pounds, Ricky Hatton is the naturally bigger man. In fact, he appears to carry around a lot of weight when he’s not training for a fight. While Pacquiao fought De La Hoya at a higher weight and carried it well, and still demonstrated his punching power, Hatton is a rough customer at 140 pounds.

Ironically, what Pacquio needs to do to win this fight is use his superior speed and boxing skills to out quick Hatton but keep moving out of range and not let Hatton land any big shots.

While not normally his style, Pacquiao did a good job of this against Oscar De La Hoya, who he dominated. He needs to pull back on his urge to chase Hatton or get into an all out brawl with him or it could spell his doom.

So in a nutshell, Pacquiao needs to adjust his straight ahead fighting style to increase his chances of winning the fight.

What Hatton Needs to Do to Win

If Hatton doesn’t entice Pacquiao into a brawl this could be a long night for him. Pacquiao is faster and a better all around boxer, with punching power. But Hatton should be able to land some blows if they stand toe to toe and slug it out.

Hatton would be well served to try to cut off the ring and get Pacquiao cornered. Pacquiao didn’t fight that well off the ropes against the likes of Juan Manuel Marquez. But that’s going to be much easier said than done against the crafty Pacquiao.

For Hatton, this fight presents exactly the kind of boxing style he likes. Unlike Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who has great defensive skills and isn’t ashamed to run, stick, and move, Pacquiao is a pressure fighter who likes to be in his opponent’s face. Hatton is likely to punch him in the face if he does that.

The positive for Hatton in this fight is he doesn’t need to change his style much at all. It would serve him well to be a little bit more on the defense, but that won’t win him the fight. His best chance to win is to keep coming forward and applying the pressure. The more this fight is fought in a phone booth the better chance Hatton has to win.

Prediction

Both of these boxers now have outstanding trainers. It will be interesting to see what Floyd Mayweather, Sr. brings to the table in Hatton’s corner. But I think Pacquiao will be able to adjust as needed, and his speed and superior boxing skills will carry the day. I see a TKO for Pac Man in the late rounds.

But I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get knocked out either. That’s what makes this fight rather exciting.

What the Fight Means for Each Fighter’s Legacy

Win or lose, Manny Pacquiao’s legacy and global celebrity as one of the greatest pound for pound fighters in his era is cemented. He has an impressive list of defeated opponents including Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz (okay, not that impressive), and Oscar De La Hoya.

They don’t call him the Mexican killer for nothing. He can retire today and his celebrity and place in boxing history is cemented.

For Hatton, this fight means much, much more. The defining moment in his career was making Kostya Tszyu quit on his stool in their championship fight at 140 pounds in 2005. And while he did defeat Luis Collazo and Jose Luis Castillo, when he really stepped up in class against Floyd Mayweather, Jr., he was exposed.

To me, Hatton has not had enough defining wins in his career, like Pacquiao, to be remember as anything more that a tough, pretty good fighter. That is, unless he beats Pacquiao.

If he accomplishes that, then the conversation about Hatton’s legacy will take on an entirely different tone.

Josh McDaniels: Off on the Wrong Foot

C Douglas Baker — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:08:44 -0400

Now that Jay Cutler has been traded to the Chicago Bears for Kyle Orton, two first-round draft picks, and a third-round pick, the biggest drama of the offseason so far is over.

Regardless of whether you blame Jay Cuter for being immature and petulant (like I do), Josh McDaniels for a lack of communication, or spread the blame around equally, Josh McDaniels has had an inauspicious start to his head coaching career.

When Pat Bowlen fired Mike Shanahan and brought in Josh McDaniels, the Broncos, with Jay Cutler, were poised to continue to improve and make the playoffs. And the one key ingredient Denver had was an emerging elite quarterback in Jay Cutler.

There are too few really good quarterbacks in the National Football League today, and while still room for improvement, Cutler already was one and is possibly on his way to being even better.

The whole point of firing Mike Shanahan was to shake up the organization and bring some new thinking and new blood to the organization to get over the hump and into the playoffs now.

They were that close. Bowlen must be second guessing that move, and possibly even kicking himself, now. When he made this move, the furthest thing from his mind must have been that he would lose his franchise quarterback and wind up with mediocre talent instead.

While Denver got a great deal with some high draft picks and Kyle Orton, the bottom line is the Denver Broncos will not be a better team than they were last year.

Yes, Denver might make out nicely in the draft, and possibly even snag a potential franchise quarterback if they are really lucky, but chances are they are looking at a few years before they see how that pans out.

The Broncos could still sneak into the playoffs in the AFC West, but contenders they are not. And that was the whole point of Bowlen’s move.

I don’t mean to disrespect Kyle Orton at all. I like him and he is easy to root for. But frankly, I think he is an average quarterback, with enough smarts and moxie to be a decent starter. But he certainly does not have the arm or potential of Jay Cutler.

And Chris Simms has not played in a few years, and his abilities as a starting quarterback in the NFL were already being questioned before he suffered his spleen injury in Tampa Bay.

Only time will tell how this move will pan out. Maybe Denver will bring in some stellar players in the draft and wind up in the thick of the hunt a few years from now. If they don’t, Josh McDaniels’ first head coaching gig will likely be a short lived one.

"The Best Game Ever: Giants V. Colts, 1958" Book Review

C Douglas Baker — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:14:14 -0400

The Best Game Ever: Giants vs. Colts, 1958, and the Birth of the Modern NFL
By Mark Bowden

The Best Game Ever is a fairly good account of what is probably the most famous game in NFL history—the 1958 NFL Championship game where the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants 23-17 in the NFL’s first sudden death overtime game.

The game pitted some of the greatest players of all time against one another, such as Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry of the Colts and Frank Gifford and Sam Huff of the Giants.

It also sported three legendary coaches: Vince Lombardi on offense for the Giants, Tom Landry on defense for the Giants, and Weeb Ewbank, the head coach of Baltimore who went on to win another seminal NFL Championship when his New York Jets upset his former team, the Baltimore Colts, in Super Bowl III.

As most who follow football closely know, this game is considered the launching point of the modern NFL because it occurred in the early years of television and at least the last part of the game was seen by an estimated 30 million people. After this game, the popularity of professional football took off, particularly because the action is well suited for television viewing.

This book tells the story of the game mostly from the players’ perspective, focusing somewhat more on the Baltimore Colts, particularly Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry, who both had phenomenal performances in this game. But it also tells the story of other key players on both sides of the ball to greater or lesser degrees.

It does a less stellar job of building the drama of the game, maybe because we already know the outcome. But overall, it completely documents the game and the key turning points that lead to the eventual outcome.

These include Frank Gifford not making a first down on third and short that would have allowed the Giants to run out the clock to win the game, and the Unitas-to-Barry connection on an improvised play for a first down on the final drive in regulation to tie the game.

For a football fan, this is certainly an enjoyable book that provides some insight into the game and the players, particularly Raymond Berry, who gets the most coverage. While I wouldn’t classify this as The Best Football Book Ever, it is well done and worth reading.

The Best Game Ever: Giants vs. Colts, 1958, and the Birth of the Modern NFL

Tony Dungy: Quiet Strength

C Douglas Baker — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:27:27 -0400

Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life by Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker

Review by C. Douglas Baker

Tony Dungy is a rather unique and inspiring person. Tony Dungy has been in the National Football League as a coach for many years. As a head coach, he lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the brink of a championship before being let go. He finally got over the hump by winning Super Bowl XLI over the Chicago Bears behind Peyton Manning and the feisty play of strong safety Bob Sanders.

This memoir is about how Coach Dungy applies his Christian faith to not only his coaching in professional football, but to his life off the field as well. His approach to coaching football is certainly unique. He is no Bill Parcells, who often demeans his players, sometimes in public, to motivate them. He is also not the stereotypical coach who screams, yells, and cusses at his players when they make mistakes or in an attempt to fire them up or get the best out them. His style, by all accounts, is a quiet, understated approach that has certainly worked well for him.

Dungy rebuilt the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from a lousy team to a championship-caliber team, but could never quite get the wins in the playoffs to reach the Super Bowl. He was, most would say, unfairly fired by the Buccaneers as they seemed to feel he was not going to get them past the playoffs and to the Super Bowl. One year after he was let go by Tampa Bay, the team won Super Bowl XXXVII over the Oakland Raiders with Jon Gruden as head coach.

After being hired as head coach by the Indianapolis Colts, Dungy quietly built up the defensive side of the ball. The defensive unit had often let the team down and was clearly a weak link. While the Colts defense never became quite as good as his Buccaneers teams, it was just good enough to get a Super Bowl win.

Beyond talking about applying his faith to his role as head coach, Dungy talks about the importance of his family and his community and how he has striven to give all he can to each. And through this memoir, the reader learns a lot about Dungy's career in the NFL and his teams, so there is plenty of football talk in the book to please fans of the game. He also talks about how his faith helped him cope with the inexplicable suicide of his teenage son.

Overall, this is an excellent book if you are a fan of football or you just want to hear the story of a devoutly religious man and how he applies his faith to everyday life.

Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life

Must Have Resource For Washington Redskins Fans

C Douglas Baker — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:55:23 -0400

The Redskins Encyclopedia by Michael Richman

Review by C. Douglas Baker

The Redskins Encyclopedia is definitely a must have for Redskins fans. I am not even a Redskins fan and I found it thoroughly engaging and interesting, which is quite a feat for a text heavy encyclopedic history of a professional football team I don't even root for.

The bulk of the book is dedicated to a chronological history of the Washington Redskins' franchise from its origin in 1932 as the Boston Braves through 2006.

The book provides a review of each and every season in Redskins history, and what a history it has been. You have the 1940's with Slinging Sammy Baugh and a few World Championships. You get to relive the topsy-turvy 1970's under coach George Allen when the team lost Super Bowl VII to the undefeated Miami Dolphins.

You can recapture the glory years under Joe Gibbs and the heyday of the team in the 1980's, winning three Super Bowls. And then you can lament, if you are a Redskins fan, the post-Gibbs era and the recent return of Gibbs to save a franchise mired in mediocrity that persists today (and will like to continue to do so under the meddlesome owner Dan Snyder).

During the journey you will meet the great players and characters throughout Redskins history and get an excellent feel for the deep history and historical ebbs and flows of this long tenured franchise.

One of the nice touches of this work is that it breaks Redskins history into eras. Before each era the book provides introductory insights into the franchise and where it was at and where it was headed before delving into season by season reviews. This provides context and continuity.

It also uses text boxes to provide greater detail about seminal Redskins owners, executives, and players. The text boxes provide some excellent information while nicely breaking up the text, making it more reader friendly.

One section of the book consists of mini-biographies of all the great Washington Redskins players, coaches, owners, and executives in the history of the franchise. I thought I would skim through this section quickly but it captured my attention so much I read through the entire section.

The last part of the book provides what most encyclopedias are supposed to provide, all-time team results, records, and other various statistics about the team.

Overall I found this to be a very through and engaging treatment of the history of the Washington Redskins.

The Redskins Encyclopedia

The Modern Day History of the New England Patriots

C Douglas Baker — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:41:52 -0400

The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower
by Christopher Price

Review by C. Douglas Baker

This book lays out the reason the New England Patriots have been able to sustain a high level of excellence over the past seven years in an era of salary cap limitations that aggressively promotes parity.

Despite this, the Patriots have appeared in four of the last seven Super Bowls, winning three of them.

Last year they posted an 18-0 record before being defeated in Super Bowl XLII 17-14 by the New York Giants in a rather poorly played game on the Patriot's part.

How do they do it?

First, Robert Kraft is no longer the meddling owner he was when Bill Parcels was the head coach. He lets the football people make the football decisions, especially on personnel.

Second, Bill Belichick is clearly one of the smartest coaches when it comes to strategy (Super Bowl XLII being an exception).

But he too has learned from his mistakes as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. He treats his players a little differently and has more control over personnel, even though his media skills still lack something to be desired.

Third, Belichick doesn't try to do everything. It's impossible. While he has final say over all football related matters, he relies heavily on Scott Piloli, head of player personnel.

Piloli has been with Belichick for a long time and their scouting department turns up high character players who fit Belichick's system. Their drafts under Belichick have been very good, for the most part, which is critical for building a team.

Fourth, Belichick mostly lets the players police themselves.

The veterans on the team know what it takes to win championships and the team first philosophy that permeates the organization is not just lip service. The veteran players work to make sure everyone stays on this course.

Fifth, the Patriots adroitly manage the salary cap. Unlike a lot of teams they don't sell out by signing players to huge contracts and guaranteed money to make a one time championship run.

Doing this can hamstring a team for years as players with large signing bonuses counting against the salary cap for years, even if they are no longer productive or even on the team.

Furthermore, there is no sentimentality to their decisions.

They cut Lawyer Malloy, a mainstay at strong safety for several years and a favorite of fans, players, and coaches alike, because of a contract dispute where they felt the amount of money he wanted was not in the long-term interests of team.

And finally they have Tom Brady.

Successful teams must have a decent quarterback at the helm. Brady, a sixth round draft pick, has turned out to be one of the best quarterbacks of his generation. Having mostly a solid defense and Brady at the helm of the offense has been critical to the team's success.

Overall this book is reasonably well written and is an excellent modern day history of the New England Patriots franchise.

The first part of the book deals with pre-Kraft Patriots history. It was necessary to set up the rest of the book, but there is nothing particularly new here.

The rest of the book does a good job of laying out just why the Patriots have been successful over the past seven years.

That said this book needed a better copy editor. There are many places where conjunctions are missing, which is annoying to the reader.

In one chapter a quote by Belichick is repeated within a few paragraphs of each other. At times the author tells us something and then basically repeats the same information in different words, which is what happened with the redundant quote.

Nevertheless, this is a book that Patriots fans and football fans in general, should greatly enjoy.

The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School: The Forgotten College Football Team

C Douglas Baker — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:22:12 -0400

The Real All Americans: The Team That Changed a Game, a People, a Nation by Sally Jenkins

Review by C. Douglas Baker

This is absolutely one of the best sports history books I've ever read. Sally Jenkins tells the full history of the Carlisle Indian football team, truly an amazing part of football history.

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School was opened by Lt. Col. Richard Henry Pratt in 1879. Pratt had been the Superintendent of a prison for Indians incarcerated during the various outbreaks of violence on the plains where he taught Indians to read and write and believed they were every bit the equal of white men.

When Pratt opened the school, some of the students were sons of the very same men imprisoned by the U.S. government under Pratt.

In fact some of the students were essentially hostages of the U.S. government. Pratt believed that through education, discipline, and adoption of white man's ways, that Indians could fully succeed in the growing American nation.

While horribly paternalistic, it was enlightened for the times, as Pratt firmly believed Native Americans were every bit the equal of white men if given the chance to succeed.

Once the school opened some of the students became enamored of a new game evolving, American football, then dominated by the Ivy League schools, especially Yale and Harvard.

Pratt agreed to put together a team called the Carlisle Indians, and eventually hired Glen "Pop" Warner to be its head coach. The school opened its inaugural football season in 1895, when they went 4-4 despite being robbed by the referees in some games.

Given a very small recruiting pool and the violence of the game in that era, Pop Warner eventually made an undersized, and often undermanned team, competitive with the likes of the dominant Yale, Harvard, and Army teams of the era.

The team soon had one of the most famous athletes in American history, Jim Thorpe. Jenkins does an excellent job of providing a mini-biography of Thorpe in this book and what he meant to the school.

Thorpe was a somewhat eccentric, fun loving, even lazy character but his athletic prowess was amazing. Jenkins does a fantastic job of exploring Thorpe and the way Pop Warner got the best out of him, most of the time.

This book succeeds on many levels. First, it acts as a history of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and the regime of Pratt.

It fully places this amazing football team within the context of its times and what it meant for a team, all Native Americans, to be facing and competing equally with the scions of high society, and military teams, on the football field.

She also puts the football team into the context and mission of the school itself, which was to instill education and discipline among its students, and how the team gave the school an additional reason to be proud.

In fact, the team's successes, and even its character when being cheated against by referees, was proof of Pratt's philosophy and a showcasing of the proud, smart, solid character of its students.

Second, it acts as a biography, of sorts, of Glen "Pop" Warner and his unique coach-player relationship with the often recalcitrant Jim Thorpe. Warner was able to get the best out of Thorpe, and is the man who shepherded him to his gold medals in the Olympics.

Further, Jenkins brings out how Warner was an innovator in the game, loving trick plays, but also devising strategies to take advantage of the smaller but speedier Indian teams against larger foes in an era when smashing into the line of scrimmage and sheer brawn and violence were the norm.

Third, she brings the team and drama to life in some of its biggest accomplishments and its biggest games. Maybe the most storied game of the Carlisle Indian team was its defeat of Army in 1912, only 22 years removed from the Army massacre of Indians at Wounded Knee.

The Carlisle team featured Jim Thorpe, and the Army team included Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Indians won and had a great trick play. Read about it.

Finally, she follows the later careers of the players on this team. Some went on to serve in the U.S. military, including World War I. Others became successful in law or business.

Yet others went home and become militant agitators for Indian rights. Not something Pratt had in mind, but their independence and intelligence was also something instilled in them at Carlisle.

This is a fabulous, well researched, and well written history of a forgotten team. It is a piece of history that goes beyond sports and beyond football. I highly recommend it.

The Real All Americans: The Team That Changed a Game, a People, a Nation

A National Football League General Manger: The Ernie Accorsi Story

C Douglas Baker — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:00:14 -0400

The GM: The Inside Story of a Dream Job and the Nightmares that Go with It
by Tom Callahan

Review

Being the General Manger of a National Football League team has to be one of the most fascinating and unique jobs.

I suspect if you did a story on all 32 General Managers (some of which are also the head coach, some of which have a different title) you would end up with 32 fairly unique stories with similarity in themes.

This particular book focuses on Ernie Accorsi, retired General Manager of the New York Football Giants.

I love reading about professional football because it is fascinating, so I did really enjoy this book, for the most part, but frankly the book is somewhat of mess.

It seems the author had a lot of material and didn't quite know how to put it together.

This book really is a mini-mini biography of Ernie Accorsi and a recap of the New York Giants 2006 season.

The title is very misleading.

It is not about "the inside story of a dream job" because it really does not give us a lot of inside stories about being a GM.

There is really very little about the real nuts and bolts of being a GM, from player evaluation, hiring and firing head coaches, managing up (the owners) and managing down (coaches and players), trade and personnel strategy, and drafting strategy.

There is, of course, a little bit on these things, but nothing in-depth nor particularly enlightening.

It's simply a book about Accorsi and the Giants 2006 season.

The book is also somewhat disjointed, jumping around in time or topics without a nice, steady flow.

In fact, while the book follows the 2006 Giants season, the drama of it beyond players, coach, and Accorsi comments gets somewhat lost.

The good thing about this book is it is an inside story of the players and coaches and Accorsi, but nothing in the book is particularly revealing or surprising.

For football fans, however, it's always great to get the story straight from the people involved without the manipulations of the print and electronic media that try to make controversy where none exists.

But, in the end, I would have to rate this book as below average for its misleading title and somewhat disjointed organization.

And a note for the copy editor—John Hannah is a Hall-of-Fame guard of the New England Patriots, not a tackle.

The GM: The Inside Story of a Dream Job and the Nightmares that Go with It