Tavern Talk: Let's Buy A Round, NFL Edition

I’M BUYING A ROUND FOR THE HEAD COACH OF THE WEEK…

Mike Singletary, San Francisco

Mike Singletary led the 49ers to a win over the defending NFC West champs in the season opener.

Despite an offense that averaged less than one yard a carry, Singletary and the 49ers found a way to beat the Cardinals utilizing their defense and an excellent punter. The 49ers had only four penalties all game and were able to make plays in the passing game when they needed them.

Shaun Hill played well down the stretch, especially in the final scoring drive when he engineered a 15-play drive and converted on all four third-downs, the last one for the winning touchdown. It might not have been pretty, and I wonder if they can win this way all year, but Sunday it was very effective—and the 49ers’ defense is very physical.

 

I’M BUYING A ROUND FOR AN ASSISTANT COACH OF THE WEEK…

Sean McDermott, Philadelphia

After allowing an opening drive of 13 plays and six first downs for a score, the Eagles settled down on defense and the next five drives were a horror show for the Panthers: interception, fumble, punt, interception, punt. A total of 17 plays resulting in just one first down. Clearly, the Eagles’ defense made the right adjustments, and McDermott deserves the credit.

 

RAMBLING THOUGHTS

1. If the Bears’ defensive line plays like it did last night, this team is going to be very good all season. And the Packers’ defensive front was just as good and as fast. Both teams, in fact, looked much faster than last year. Watching the game, I was thinking, "how is Brett Favre going to run away from those guys?"

2. I know Jake Delhomme was bad, but who can make this offense more explosive? Take away Steve Smith and the Panthers don’t have a playmaker at tight end or wideout. They rely on the big play, and when the big play doesn’t happen, they struggle. Delhomme is never going to be a consistent passer. He just is not making the big play now, and the lack of a big play magnifies the deficiencies on offense. Nine of his last 46 pass attempts have been interceptions, including the playoffs

3. Losing Brian Urlacher will hurt the Bears, but what hurt them last night was losing both Pisa Tinoisamoa and Urlacher. If they can get Pisa back and their front can play with the same intensity as it did against the Packers, they’ll be able to overcome this injury. The Bears are not strictly a Tampa-2 defense; they’re an overload defense and love to attack. Because of this change, their lack of corners worries me more than losing Urlacher.

4. The Bucs might want to rethink their kicking situation as new kicker Mike Nugent missed two kicks Sunday, one blocked and one wide right from 46. The Bucs’ offensive line played well and had some chances in the game. With Derrick Ward, Cadillac Williams, Kellen Winslow and Antonio Bryant behind a good line, they’ll move the ball.

5. The Eagles have no choice but to bring back A.J. Feeley for the Saints game because they need someone who can operate the offense in the absence of Donovan McNabb, who might take longer than a week to heal. Broken ribs are not fun for quarterbacks. They just might have to part with one of those wide receivers who didn’t dress yesterday, Brandon Gibson or Reggie Brown.

6. The Colts losing Anthony Gonzalez may cause some to speculate that they might consider bringing back Marvin Harrison, but I strongly doubt it will happen. Pierre Garcon will have to step up his game.

7. I was thinking about Michael Crabtree during the 49ers game and wondering what he was thinking about his holdout. It still makes no sense. The season has started and he’s losing money off his game checks. It goes from dumb to dumber.

8. The state of Missouri is going to suffer this year from bad football. The Chiefs and the Rams are bad. The Chiefs have some talent in their defensive front but can’t rush the passer and don’t have a playmaker in the back end of their defense. On their first four possessions, they went three-and-out.

9. Carson Palmer doesn’t look the same as when he was throwing for 4,000 yards, and the problem might be that the offense looks the same. The Bengals have enough defense to be contenders, holding the Broncos to just 11 first downs. If they can get any offensive production the Bengals might have a chance, but it appears the league seems to have caught on to what they’re doing on offense.

10. Corey Webster had a great game for the Giants as he took Santana Moss right out of the game for the Giants. He played well and was a huge factor in the Giants’ big win. Had the Giants been able to convert a few 3rd-and-shorts or 4th-and-shorts, the score might not have been that close.

 

LET’S HAVE A TOAST TO…

Brandon Stokley of the Broncos for being in the right place at the right time—and then doing the smartest thing ever as he ran along the goal line to eat up more of the game clock. Don’t you love smart players who know the situation? Why was Roy Williams of the Bengals going for the big hit?

Follow me on Twitter: michaelombardi

The National Football Post is a unique and premier online source of quality and credible news, information and insight about all sides of football featuring professionals with experience in all facets of the NFL.