No Place Like Home? Ravens, Cardinals, Eagles Show Homefield Advantage Overrated

Home field has not been kind to its respective teams thus far; Tennessee, Carolina and New York all suffered embarrassing defeats at the hands of “lesser” foes.

Tennessee vs Baltimore:

Truthfully, of all the games that have been played this weekend, this is one game that many felt Baltimore had a chance to win. What I am sure they never counted on, though, is the Titans decision to help the Ravens in their quest. Thrice-THRICE, I say-the Titans had an opportunity to score negated by a turnover.

None more disgusting than the fumble by LenDale White, who was just in for Chris Johnson. Johnson, the lone bright light and TD in the entire game for the Titans. He who ran like the wind and, for the most part, made the Ravens defense look silly at times. He was the one positive that the Titans could take from this otherwise dismal offensive performance by Tennessee.

On the flip side, the Ravens played with patience. They didn’t have any really huge offensive plays to speak of, but they didn’t turn the ball over and they didn’t make the mental gaffes that Tennessee let itself fall victim to throughout the game.

Joe Flacco remained poised in the pocket and even though he really wasn’t all that impressive from a QB standpoint, he didn’t really have to be. He took what he could get and made one very nice throw to a wide open Mason for a big time score near the end of the first quarter. Beyond that, it was all about the Ravens defense.

Collins had his way with the ball. As long as the journeyman QB could stand statuesque in the pocket, he could pick apart that Ravens secondary all day long. However, any kind of pass rush was capable of breaking his rhythm and one of the biggest tide turners was an INT thrown by Collins to Samari Rolle on a wide open blitz by the Ravens defensive front.

Too bad ol’ Vince Young couldn’t have lent his legs to the elder statesman at that point, that play might have turned out a bit different.

In the end, I don’t know if the best team won, but the one with the most discipline certainly did. Tennessee now has an entire off-season to lick its wounds and try to figure out what the heck went wrong.

Arizona @ Carolina:

Apparently the Cardinals missed the league memo. They were supposed to lose this game. Carolina, 8-0 at home, was not only favored, but favored in a big way.

However, just as in the Baltimore/Tennessee game, no one counted on Carolina giving the game away on such a big platter. Jake Delhomme played like a concussed maniac, throwing 5 INT’s and fumbling once in the game.

Couple that with the fact that the defensive coordinator obviously told his backs to let Larry Fitzgerald have his way, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Further, the Arizona defense looked like they had the bye week. The safeties flooded the passing lanes and made Delhomme look like a deer in headlights whenever he cocked his arm back to throw the ball. By the time he threw his third INT, I began to wonder how bad the other QB’s on the bench really had to be if Jake was still their best option.

On the other hand, his counterpart on the opposite side of the field, looked like he was having a ball. I suppose anyone would if they could chuck it downfield to Larry Fitzgerald all night. Ol’ Larry only caught the ball 8 times, but he finished with 166 yards and a TD. Tim Hightower and Edgerrin James split the other two scores for the Cardinals. Kurt Warner finished with 220-yards, 2 TD’s and one INT.

Noticeably absent in this game was Julius Peppers, the uber defensive end with the freakish talent. He had a couple tackles but was not a factor in this game at all. I suppose the “Cardiac Cats” finally ran out of lives. One thing is for sure, Jake  Delhomme may need to rethink his future with the Panthers after last nights performance.

Eagles @ Giants:

Eli Manning looked awful in this one. He wasn’t efficient, confident or sure of any of his throws. Some might attribute that to the swirling winds, but when you take into account that McNabb still managed to make plays when it mattered, you have to let go of the excuses.

In a game where Brian Westbrook was a non-factor, the Eagles still managed to score 23-points on that cocky Giants defense as they marched right into New Jersey and shut those New York fans up.

It has to feel good to Donovan McNabb, who only a few weeks ago was hearing calls for his dismissal. He can thank the boys on defense for his good fortune as they forced the G-Men to turn the ball over 3 times and held big boy Brandon Jacobs to just 92-yards and no points on the board. Of course, he may also want to send John Carney, the Giants kicker, a thank you card. He missed two on the day, not that they would have made a difference, seeing as how Coach Coughlin handed over good field position twice on the day when he decided to go for it on fourth down. 

Perhaps the loss of Plaxico Burress loomed larger than anyone guessed it might have. Noticeably absent in this game was a big time receiver who could make a big time play. Either way, what was once a promising road to the Super Bowl, is now a season lost.

In the end, home field advantage has proved to be non-existent. Of course, it often has been. If that proves to be true, the Ravens are on their way to another Super Bowl appearance, and a win. We’ll see.