Week Nine Musings: Quarterback Issues Abound

Quarterback issues abound in the NFL. The Chicago Bears were forced to take out Kyle Orton and the Houston Texans had to remove Matt Schaub from gun-slinging duties.

What's the punchline? Both Rex Grossman and Sage Rosenfels performed admirably.

Kyle Orton was one of, if not the only reason the Chicago Bears had a 4-3 record before this game with the Lions. He had a passer rating of 94.1, over 1,600 yards, and 10 touchdowns in seven games. He was the bearded quarterback of every Bears' fan dreams for two reasons: one, he was winning; two, he was protecting them from what they feared most: Rex Grossman.

Well, guess what? He's b-ACK!

Grossman did considerably worse than Orton but did what he needed in order for the Bears to get the win. Actually, the Chicago defense gets most of the credit, but Grossman threw and ran for two scores.

Prior to the injury to Schaub, the Texans weren't doing much of anything. They had only scored seven points (on an interception, of all things)  through the first half. When Schaub was pulled, he had a stat line of 11 of 16 for 139 yards and one interception.

In the second half of that Vikings-Texans game, Sage Rosenfels went 21 of 29 for 224 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He was the link that held the chain close. Without him, the Vikings would have torn ahead.

 

Two Heads Are Better Than One

Speaking of the Minnesota Vikings, Adrian Peterson had a great game. 139 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries is far from poor, but he can hardly receive all the credit. Behind every star is a supporting cast, and that couldn't be more true than when looking at the Vikings.

Chester Taylor is the unsung hero behind Adrian Peterson; the one who follows seven-yard runs with four-yard runs. When Peterson broke out for a 40-yard run against the Texans on Sunday, Taylor responded with a five-yard blast of his own. 

While Peterson is obviously the main Viking back getting all the praise, Taylor had a total of 38 yards on seven carries against the Texans.

That seems to be the way the NFL is heading. Many teams now have heeded this advice: Minnesota, Chicago, Jacksonville, NY Giants, and many more.

Unless you have two good, NFL-caliber running backs, you will not succeed in this league and will more than likely have a losing season.

Failed Mission of Desperation

At some point in every losing season, desperation goes to a whole new level. Players stop playing for money and start working hard instead for respect. There were three teams in particular on Sunday who set out with nothing to lose, yet all to gain.

The combined record of the Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, and Kansas City Chiefs before Sunday's action was 1-21. At halftime, these teams held a combined lead of 32 points; the bottom-dwellers of the NFL were all set to return to the path of mediocrity.

Maybe not.

While the Bengals barely held on for the victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Lions and Chiefs failed and fell to the hands of the Bucs and Bears. 

On a more positive note, though, Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh will not be forced to fulfill his pledge of walking from his house to the NFL Studios. Recently, Housh guaranteed that his team wouldn't finish without a win; and if they did he promised to trek the entire 25.4 miles.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions fell apart in the second halves of their respective games. The Chiefs lost to the leg of Matt Bryant in overtime, while the Lions lost to the arm and leg of Rex Grossman.

 

Saved By the Wife

New England Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork was under investigation for an alleged cheap shot hit on Broncos' quarterback Jay Cutler. Wilfork had already been fined $35,000 and was about to be suspended when the wife took matters into her own hands.

Bianca Wilfork provided a DVD that showed that Vince Wlifork may not have issued Cutler a head shot after all. The provided DVD, handed to Goodell by Bianca, showed Cutler playfully slapping Wilfork on the helmet after picking himself up.

This raises a question: Why would a tape simply showing  Cutler patting Wilfork's helmet after a play get Wilfork off the hook? What if Cutler is simply a real class act and was just being a nice guy? 

The thing that gets me, though, is that both Bianca and Vince Wilfork wrote a thank-you letter to Goodell after he said he would not suspend Wilfork. I know I wouldn't write a friendly note to the man who had just fined me $35,000.

Dallas Fall Guy

Brad Johnson took a lot of heat from his teammates this week for his recent poor play. They were practically begging for his removal in favor of Brooks Bollinger. First of all, what? You know a team has fallen when they are begging for Bollinger.

Secondly, I'm sure Terrell Owens was among those who wanted Johnson gone. During one play, when Johnson overthrew Owens, T.O thought it his duty to let his veteran quarterback know his err. And loudly.

I'm not a Johnson-supporter, don't get me wrong. There was one play in particular that was hideous. Owens was running a simple cross-pattern across the middle when Johnson threw him the ball. The throw was behind Owens, disabling him from running after the catch. He was turned around and eventually stripped of the ball. That was the first fumble Owens had lost since becoming a Cowboy—and it was hardly his fault.

Johnson was awful against the Giants on Sunday, but the "support" he got from his teammates was appalling.

One of the main reasons for the lack of Dallas success is the bad coaching of Wade Phillips. The image that he is most known for; the "Clueless Sideline Look", is becoming more and more prevalent these days. 

Of course, one could attribute the fall of the Cowboys on a game-by-game basis as well. For this most recent game against the Giants, Eli Manning had a large say in the outcome. He is removing himself from Peyton's shadow and becoming an NFL elite.

His passing numbers don't jump off the page, but the way he managed the game was fantastic. He threw 16 completions for 147 yards and three touchdowns, and his one interception was a miscommunication between him and Plaxico Burress (but, in all fairness, that particular pick was probably Eli's fault).

The thing Manning* did that impressed me the most was controlling the pace of game. Most of the snaps he took under center were with one or two seconds remaining on the play clock. Some may argue that this gives the defense an advantage because they can predict when the ball will snap, and they have a valid point.

However, Manning was mixing up his snap count and altering it throughout the game. This resulted in numerous offsides penalties on the Cowboys—which can and did have a huge impact on a game.

*Excuse me for pulling a Joe Posnanski right here but I feel the need for some sub-text. You'll notice how I referred to Eli Manning simply as "Manning." Although most probably didn't notice, that is one of the steps to sole fame, if you will. Like I said before, Eli is emerging from his big brother's shadow and is becoming his own "Manning." I just thought I'd point that out to those who missed it.

For the humiliation of myself, I wanted to take a look at how I did in predicted games this week, along with an excuse if I guessed wrong. Below are my picks, with regular font representing correct picks and underline representing wrong picks. (In case you don't believe me, these same picks are listed at the site where I am involved in a Pick 'Em Contest—and losing badly. Check them out if you must.)

NY Jets @ Buffalo - Buffalo
It's time I learn that the Bills are going in the wrong direction. I once had them pegged as one of the best, up-and-coming teams in the league, but they didn't look good against the Jets. To be fair, the Jets played a great football game. They were solid at all three aspects of the game and simply out-played the Bills.

Jacksonville @ Cincinnati - Jacksonville
I thought this was the second safest pick I could make this week, but again I was wrong. I really have no excuse other than that I failed to pick a real upset this week. Oh, well—I should have seen it coming.

• Baltimore @ Cleveland - Baltimore
• Houston @ Minnesota - Minnesota
• Detroit @ Chicago - Chicago
• Tampa Bay @ Kansas City - Tampa Bay
• Arizona @ St. Louis - Arizona
• Green Bay @ Tennessee - Tennessee
• Miami @ Denver - Miami
• Dallas @ NY Giants - NY Giants
• Philadelphia @ Seattle - Philadelphia
• Atlanta @ Oakland - Atlanta

This is written before the Sunday and Monday night games, but for the record, I am picking the Colts and Redskins, respectfully.

Now, for your viewing pleasure, here is my Top 10 through Sunday afternoon.

1. Tennessee Titans - Sure, they haven't played real tough teams yet, but I can't take them off until they lose.

2. NY Giants - The Giants are looking better and better every week. I really liked the way Manning played today, and the defense did a phenomenal job.

3. Carolina Panthers - Inactive this week.

4. Washington Redskins - We'll see how they do Monday night.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers - We'll see how they do Monday night.

6. New England Patriots - We'll see how they do Sunday night.

7. Atlanta Falcons - A surprise pick, I know, but Ryan and Turner are among the leagues' best.

8. Dallas Cowboys - Things will get better when Romo returns.

9. Philadelphia Eagles - A strong McNabb + a healthy Westbrook = a good Eagles team.

10. Baltimore Ravens - Joe Flacco is flying under the radar in the Rookie of the Year contest.

Just out: Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers