SB Nation - Devin Thomas

Cowboys @ Redskins Injury Update

Aaron Novinger — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:07:22 -0000

More photos » by Sharon Ellman - AP

Martellus Bennett has missed the last two games, but will be ready to roll into FedEx Field to battle the Redskins.

Fortunately, the Cowboys will have TE Martellus Bennett back because Deon Anderson has been out this week with strep throat. Bennett's presence allows the team to use John Phillips at fullback.

Tight end Martellus Bennett (concussion), safety Ken Hamlin (ankle), cornerback Terence Newman (knee), safety Gerald Sensabaugh (thumb) and linebacker DeMarcus Ware (wrist/neck) took part in a full practice.

Make the jump for the rest of the injury report.

RT Marc Colombo and SS Pat Watkins must be super fast healers. It's possible both could be available for the Week 17 game vs. Philly.

Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips hasn't ruled out starting right tackle Marc Colombo (ankle/leg) or safety Pat Watkins (knee) for the Jan. 3 finale against the Eagles.

"It's going to be close," Phillips said.

Here's how the Redskins' injury report shapes up:

Devin Thomas, WR - No Practice (Ankle)

Andre Carter, DE - Limited Practice (Biceps)

Cornelius Griffin, DT - Limited Practice (Shoulder)

Anthony Montgomery, DT - Limited Practice (Hip)

Stephon Heyer, OT - Full Practice (Knee)

DeAngelo Hall, CB - Full Practice (Knee)

QB Jason Campbell has a left shoulder stinger but will start.

Enough of this injury stuff. Time to get down to serious business. The Cowboys and Redskins are bitter rivals; yet, the question remains: Which team has the hotter cheerleaders?

Pro Bowl voting has come to an end for the fans. DeMarcus Ware received the most votes for OLBs, which is great. The other Cowboys didn't fare too well, though. Here's how they finished.

Sam Hurd finished second at the special teams position with 132,137 votes.

Miles Austin finished third at wide receiver with 454,616 votes. Fullback Deon Anderson (91,472) also finished third at his spot.

Tight end Jason Witten (334,105), center Andre Gurode (206,802), left tackle Flozell Adams (180,818) and punter Mat McBriar (118,945) finished fourth in at their respective positions.

Strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh (91,268), free safety Ken Hamlin (64,476) and inside linebacker Keith Brooking (105,269) finished fifth at their respective positions.

The players and coaches finish their voting this week. Teams will be announced on Tuesday.

BBV chats with 'Hogs Haven'

Ed Valentine — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:12:52 -0000

via i.cdn.turner.com

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The NFC East rival Washington Redskins are up first in what is now a three-week season of must victories for our New York Giants. With that in mind, I chatted Wednesday with Kevin from our Redskins blog, 'Hogs Haven.'

Kevin: First, I've read all your previous chats about Osi, Tuck, the problems w/ the secondary..so I'll link those...the injuries to the secondary have been tough w/ moving players around...my question is... the Giants defense is 9th best in yards against, but 5th worst in points against...why is that? Bad offensive turnovers?

Ed: Has nothing to do with the offense. The offense has been terrific. It has to do with not being able to make a play when they need one. Blowing assignments that lead to big plays, not being able to get a run stop when they have to. Oh, and the fact that the kicking game/coverage teams have been awful. So, it always seems like a short field.

Kevin: Did you agree with Coughlin's decision to keep Sheridan? I read that Kiwanuka said there were "communication" problems which he described as "getting calls and understanding what you’re supposed to be doing."

Ed: Yes, I did. Switching coordinators right now is pointless, really. Can't change the whole system or staff right now. Sheridan is not without fault, and if the season goes up in flames he won't be back. But, a lot of this is on the players. A lot of guys have not lived up to their names and blown assignments, linemen getting ridden off the ball and poor tackling are on the players. Not the coordinator. So, plenty of blame to go around.

Kevin: Not to mention his secondary is depleted...Corey Webster and Aaron Ross both got banged up...you heard if they're going to play?

Ed: Webster is day to day. Ross is fine, and he has been playing at safety, and playing pretty well for being new to it, for several weeks now.

Kevin: Right tackle Kareem McKenzie is out and William Beatty the rookie is in. Is there a big drop-off there and should the Skins overload that side? Robert Gallery was out last week for OAK and the Skins made the Raiders pay dearly.

Ed: I'm sure the Redskins will try to work Beatty over. But, Giants fans are actually happy about this. Beatty, a second-round pick, is a player. McKenzie is a fading veteran and the job should belong to Beatty next season, anyway. The kid is going to be good, and we want to see him on the field.

Kevin: Hard to believe the Giants are ranked 23rd in +/- turnovers at -4...what's your prediction for Monday?

Ed: Well, I'd like to say we'll kick your butt all over the field and make you wish ... well, you get the point. But, I have no idea. Will the Giants team that played its guts out the last two weeks show up? Will the team that gave zero effort against Denver show up? Will they continue to make stupid mistakes on defense and special teams? I don't know. This team should be much better than it is. But it isn't getting the job done. I just know we need to win.

Kevin: OK, last question, back in May when we chatted, I asked you if you had any concerns w/ the new WR core...

you thought you'd be OK if Mario stepped up and Ramses Barden came on...Nicks is a stud like we thought...how would you rate the WRs now? What happened to Ramses?

Ed: The wide receivers, believe it or not, are actually a strong suit on this team. Our Steve Smith is the best Steve Smith in the league. He has already broken the team's single-season reception record, and might get to 100+. He is uncoverable (think Wes Welker) on short to intermediate stuff. Nicks, like you said, is total stud. Love the kid. Mario Manningham is frustratingly inconsistent. He is a game-breaker with the ball in his hands, but his route-running needs work and he drops too many balls. Barden is a mystery. In camp I thought he would be a star, but he has only been active for a couple of games. The Giants say they would like to activate him, but he is a liability on special teams and the 4th or 5th WR has to be on the coverage teams. I think Ramses will get his full opportunity next season to surpass Domenik Hixon and maybe even Manningham. I can't wait to see what he does with it.

Ed: The Redskins have played much better in recent weeks. They looked like a train-wreck early on. What has changed?

Kevin: You got a couple hours? Well, the offense has played better with the Shermans (Lewis and Smith) calling the plays. Cerrato stripped Jim Zorn of the duties before the BYE. The offensive line has been swiss cheese to say the least, and then during half-time of the ATL game, Off line coach Joe Bugel ripped the team a new one and they have played better. The addition of LT Levi Jones is a big key as well. He's gone against the best the last several weeks and kept Jason's back clear accept for a handful of times at most. Devin Thomas & Fred Davis have finally come on as well.

Ed: You guys have to play both the Giants and Cowboys in the last three weeks. Obviously, you can have a big impact on the playoff race. You find that position kind of enjoyable?

Kevin: I'm just happy they're competitive at all. It's pathetic that we have to root for someone else's playoffs run...but keeping Dallas out will surely rise a smile out of me.

Ed: I'd like it if you did that, too. OK. Who will be the coach next season?

Kevin: Shanahan is my guess. VInny Cerrato and him are already buddies, so it makes sense (in Snyder's and Cerrato's delusional minds). It's frustrating...just as the Skins are showing continuity, they blow it up again and bring in a new coach.

Ed: Speaking [of] continuity, is Jason Campbell the long-term answer at QB? Or, is he playing out the string just like Jim Zorn?

Kevin: Well, the long term plan SHOULD be draft Oline in the first 2 rounds next year...let Campbell run that offense next year .. then draft a QB to groom behind a top line....BUT...Campbell is as good as gone. Snyder and Cerrato have already flown to watch Colt and Clausen practice. It's maddening. JC has taken some BRUTAL hits this year. Like Stafford, whoever they draft will get hurt.

Ed: OK. So, who is making the playoffs? Giants or Cowboys?

Kevin: I didn't like the Cowboys at the beginning of the year. I'm still amazed their record is as good as it is. Giants.

Ed: Last question. It's my signature one, and I have to ask because my guys at BBV always kill me when I don't. At this point, which Giants player would you most like to put in a Redskins' uniform?

Kevin: its a great question .. I want Mara as my owner. I might even consider Plax as owner.

(E-mail Ed at bigblueview@gmail.com)

Saints @ Redskins: Prediction Results and Voting

Saintsational — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:00:19 -0000

Before we get to the prediction results from the most recent Saints game against the Falcons this Sunday, we need to vote for last weeks winner from the Washington game. So here they are.

Nobody got all three of their predictions right and we didn't have anyone correctly guess the score so it looks like it might come down to score predictions.

Begin voting now. Prediction results and voting for Sunday's game will be later today.

*CSC Member*	*Predictions*	*Analysis*
GobBluth	Brees throws 2+ TDs Colston and Meachem 1+ TDs each Saints D has a TD	Yes Yes No *Score Prediction: Saints 45-17*
nanvinnie	1) Shockey 1+ TD 2) Defense 2+ TOs 3) Payton No Challenges	No Yes Yes *Score Prediction:* Saints 41-13
whodatone	1. Brees with at least two TD passes. 2. Shockey gets at least one TD. 3. Sharper has no Int.	Yes No Yes *Score Prediction:* Saints 31-27
arcuate	Saints outgain Redskins in rushing yards. Meachem scores at least one TD. Saints D makes 2+ turnovers.	No Yes Yes *Score Prediction:* Saints 35-6
Cajun in CA	1. Skins score 1st. 2. Saints have only 1 turnover. 3. Brees gets to watch the end of the game from the bench.	Yes Yes No *Score Prediction:* Saints 31-9
Nate W	1) Redskins rush for under 100 yards 2) Saints 2 or more sacks 3) Devin Thomas 5 or more catches	Yes No Yes *Score Prediction:* Saints 31-6
cck781	1. Brees 2+ td passes but under 300 yds. passing 2. PT and Bell both score a TD 3. Defense 3+ turnovers	No No No
saints-nation	1. Saints score first 2. Saints up by double digits at halftime 3. Pierre Thomas with at least 100yds rushing and at least 1 TD	No No No
Alex Saints	Colston gets in the endzone David Thomas gets his 2nd TD Brees QB rating 30+ pts higher than Campbells	Yes No No
xen-cuts	1. Brees has 3x+ TDs 2. Meach has 1x TD 3. Shockey has 1x TD	No Yes No
MtnExile	1. The Saints have no problem running on the Redskins, getting over 100 yards. 2. Drew has an off day, throwing for only 2 TDs and an interception. 3. Darren Sharper returns an INT for a TD.	No Yes No
andyp111	Drew Brees has 3TDs Reggie Bush has a rushing and recieving TD Saints are +3 in the turnover battle	No No Yes
sernycrusher	1. pt bruiser goes over 100 yards 2. shockey get a td 3. harper leads team in tackles	No No No
Ponysaints	1. Brees has at least 2 TD’s. 2. PT gets at least 2 TD’s. 3. Brunell gets to play in the 4th Qtr.	Yes No No
CoastRebel	1. Brees 2 TDs+ 2. Saints D 2 INTs+ 3. Kickoff/punt return for a TD	Yes No No
lonBlitz	1. Brees with 1 TD 2. Bell with two rushing TDs 3. Sharper with 1 INT	No No No
viper4dx	1.Brees 2 TD,1 INT 200+ yards 2. Saints total 150+ yards rushing,2 TD 3. Saints D wins TO battle,also scores on Pick 6.	Yes No No
Steve the fan	1. Roby has a kick return TD. 2. Dave Thomas gets a TD. 3. Jenkins has an INT.	No No No
TigerPaw	1. Brees gets picked twice 2. Campbell gets sacked at least 3 times 3. Saints rushing game held below 100 yards	No No Yes
satchmo26	1. Carney misses a FG attempt, which causes Who Dat Nation to lose all confidence in him and demand Hartley. 2. Brees throws for less than 300 yards and less than 2 TDs, mostly because he won’t have to. 3. Saints D scores on a turnover.	No No No
mississippisaintsfan	1.We have our first shut out of the year 2.Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell both score on runs 3.No missed field goals by our kicker this week (which ever one gets the nod)	No No No
FLDune Patrol	1. Washington sacks Brees 3+ 2. Shockey has TD 3. Sharper gets interception and yardage record	No No No
Ace Venom	1) We shut out the Redskins 2) Carney misses a field goal attempt. 3) Brees completes two TD passes	No No Yes
bondcrash	1) Hartley is the only active kicker for the game 2) We punt 4+ times 3) Pierre Thomas has 100+ alll purpose yards	Yes No No
saint-sly	Brees gets 3+ TD passes Colston gets 2 TD’s Smith gets 2 sacks	No No No
bowlbound09	Brees 2+td’s, 1 INT Campbell 1+td’s, 2 INT Pierre Thomas will have big game	Yes No No
Grok Rocker	1. Brees has 3+ TD’s 2. Pierre Thomas has 75+yards and 1+ TD 3. 20th player gets a TD to get closer to NFL record	No No No
themarsist	1. Sharper gets a pick 6 2. Mike Bell has 100+ yards and TD 3. Brees throws two TDs	No No Yes
saintfever09	1. Jason Campbell throws 2+ picks. 2. Brees has 300+ yards and 3+ touchdowns. 3. Will Smith will have at least 1 sack	No No No
Baggs5	1. Brees doesn’t play all 4 quarters 2. Both teams have a special teams return of over 30 yards 3. Saints defense records at least 3 sacks	No Yes No
Ron the fan	1- Drew at least 3 TD.s 2-Pierre gets in on the act this week with 2 TD performance. 3-Shockey gets back in pay dirt with a TD.	No No No
FuSoYa	Brees is sacked at least twice New Orleans wins the TO battle, but has offensive TO’s of their own(at least one) A Washington TD results from a starting field position on NO side.	No Yes No
saintsbrasil	Jason Campbell has 2 + ints Will smith has 2+ sacks Colston scores 2 tds	No No No
GSO Saints Fan	1) Brees: 4 TD, 0 INT 2) PT: 2 TD, 100+ yards rushing 3) Saints D scores another TD	No No No
saintsfan77	brees throws 2 tds thomas scores 2 rushing tds smith and hargrove each have at least one sack	Yes No No
SaintBevo	Saints D has at least 4 take-aways Brian Orakpo has at least on sack of Brees Pierre Thomas has at least 90 total yards and at least 1 TD	No No No
carolinasaintsfan	1. Colston has at least one TD. 2. S. Ellis get a fumble recovery, but holds on to this one. 3. Saints D. Ends have at least two sacks collectively.	Yes No No
sainteric	1. Saints hold Redskins under 100 yards rushing 2. Saints get 3 sacks 3. Saints rush for over 150 yards	Yes No No
darshiva420	180 or more yards rushing Shockey gets threes tds 2 defensive tds	No No No
daisy117	1. Brees throws 2+ TDs 2. Pierre Thomas has 100+ YFS 3. Brees has 0 INTs	Yes No No
benm316	1. Drew throws for at least 250 yards 2. Saints D gets 4 turnovers 3. Redskins convert on less than 50% of their third downs	Yes No No
bmi601	1. Saints defense gets a pick 6 2. Jason Campell gets sacked and fumbles 3. Redskins offense held to under 300 yards total	No No No
Philinwood	- Close game ( within 10 points) until mid- late 3rd qtr - Jason Campbell has 60 + rushing yds - Our special teams clearly outplay their special teams	No No No
BlackandGold4ever	1) Brees throws for 300+ yards, 3+ TD’s 2) Defense scores 1+ TD’s 3) Campbell is sacked at least 4 times	No No No
skinnykinney	1. Brees 3+ TDs and 250+ yards 2. Saints D gets 2+ turnovers 3. Our running game gets 120+ yards total and at least 1 TD.	No Yes No
Boo.	1. Brees 2 TDs of 40+ yards 2. Skins win T.O.P battle 3. Orakpo sack+forced fumble	Yes No No
PilneyPark	1. Saints 150+ yards total rushing 2. Saints force 2+ fumbles 3. Brees pulled before end of game	No Yes No
jray2000	1. Bush, Bell, and Thomas each get over 50 yards from scrimage 2. Saints DEF: 5 or more sacks 3. A Saints TE will score a TD	No No No
SaintsFanInIraq	1 – Sharper gets a Pick 6 2 – Jenkins and/or McKenzie gets a pick 6 3 – at least 4 offensive TD’s	No No No
jimfrotch	1. Saints win T.O. ratio 2. 20th player will score a TD for Saints this year (19 through week 11) 3. Brees throws under 300 yards	Yes No No
hakimdropstheball	1. Saints rush for at least 175 yards. 2. Saints win by at least 15 points. 3. Saints D get at least two turnovers against the Skins.	No No Yes
SaintsFanMD	1. Saints rush for more than 150 total yards. 2. Brees passes for more than 200 yards. 3. Saints D gets at least 2 turnovers and 1 pick 6.	No Yes No
coldpizza	1. Drew Brees will pass for less than 300 yards. 2. At least one tight end from each team will score a TD. 3. The Saints will fly home Sunday evening as 2009 NFC South champs.	No No Yes
RumDunnitt	1. Sean Payton gives game-ball to Greg Williams. Greg Williams wants a shut-out 2. Darren Sharper sets NFL record for INT. return yardage. 3. The Ellis Pressley D-Line makes Jason Campbell "All Shook Up" when they beat him like a "Hound Dawg" on their "JailHouse Rock". I suggest he not step on their "Gold Suede Shoes", because they will not "Love Him Tender"!	No No No
Deckape 69	Saints rush for over 150 yards Saints return a punt for a TD Brees throws 3 TD	No No No
HansDat	1) Bush 1 punt ret TD 2) Bush 1 short yardage rush TD 3) Bush 1 rec TD	No No No
saint boss hog	1.pierre thomas will rush for 75+ yards and a td. 2.saints defense gets a td 3.meachem gets atleast 1 td	No No Yes
Tigernut	1. 4 or more TD’s for Brees 2. 2 or more INT’s 3. Saints wear gold pants.	No No Yes
OldFartFan	water boy fills can’s with hot chocolate. Sharper + McKenzie wrestle INT into end zone each player receives half touch down. Sedrick Ellis recover’s fumble entire Saint’s defence dog pile’s Big E .	No No No
metryman	1. Brees 250+ yds.and 2 Td’s 2. Saints D 3 sacks and +2 TO’s 3. Lucky Pierre 100 total yds. and +1 Td	Yes No No
Scott2417	Saints defense scores 2 times Shockey 100+ yds. TD Brees 350+ yds. 2 TD passing, 1 TD rushing	No No No
jeremysherwin	Brees 3 TD Thomas 2 TD Defense gets 2+ turovers	No No Yes
Joseph William Stern	Saints score greater than 9 points in the first quarter. Redskins commit greater than three turnovers. There are exactly three video challenges in the game	No Yes No
simone219	1.Saints rush for ove 200 yards 2.Meachum catches 1+tochdowns 3.Our defense has 3+ turnovers	No Yes No
jgshocker22	1) brees will throw for 250+ yards, at least one TD and the redskins will no longer have the #1 pass D 2) Saints will get at least 1 INT and at least 2 sacks 3) Saints rush for 100+ yards	Yes No No
janepriceestrada	1. Brunell plays at least one snap. 2. Bell leads team in rushing, +80 yards. 3. Carney misses something prompting Payton to take him out back and toss him in the Potomac.	No No No
Malsby	1. Colston catches at least 1 TD 2. Brees throws for less than 300 yards 3. Redskins rush for at least 100 yards	Yes No No
DrWhoDat	1. Saints D scores a TD 2. Redskins will not score in 4th quarter 3. Saints rush for 150yds	No No No
Monkey Poop Battle	Saints defense records 6+ sacks Saints defense recovers at least two fumbles Pierre Thomas scored at least one TD.	No No No
Just 'Nother Day	1. Shockey scores two touchdowns. 2. Brees scores one rushing touchdown. 3. Bush scores two touchdowns.	No No No
redneckfan	Sharper has pick and sets NFL int. return record Brees throws for 3+ TD’s Saints combined rushing 150+ yards	No No No
WhoDat_OH	1) D/ST force 3+ Skins fumbles 2) At least 3 different Saints score TD 3) Skins do not score in second half	No No No
gavin31785	1. Saints get 3+ sacks 2. Saints have more rushing attempts than pass attempts 3. Saints get 1+ interceptions	No No Yes
Nez	PT has 100 yd day Colston 2 tds Drew throws for 200yds 3 tds	No No No

Poll

Who has last weeks most accurate predictions?

Washington Redskins Defeat Oakland Raiders In Front of Hundreds Of Oakland Fans

Sugar — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:24:40 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

Jim Zorn laughs after hearing Sherman Lewis tell the one about a priest, a rabbi, and Vinny Cerrato walking into a bar over his headset.

Browse more photos »

Okay, so it may have been more than a few hundred, but at one point on the national feed I could hear individual people clapping. Before the game you knew it was two teams playing for nothing. By the end of the game it was clear one team was acting like a group playing for nothing and the other was playing the part of a group trying to keep the party going. This Redskins team has found something to be sure. When I watch these guys I think, "Wow...this looks like an actual NFL team...this looks like teams around the league that know what they're doing."

We can spend all day kicking each other in the nuts wondering where this level of play has been all year. It is an exercise in futility, though. Here are a few thoughts on that subject:

1) We were still employing this new offensive system with players Zorn inherited from an old regime with a different philosophy.Is there really anything to this? I spent some time yesterday at Comcast Studios and kicked the idea around with those folks and one thing we talked about specifically was the fact that we are getting it done now with guys who were brought in since Zorn arrived and not prior to his arrival. (FYI--this means Vinny gets some credit which kills me.) This is not to suggest that Clinton Portis, Mike Sellers, Chris Cooley, Chris Samuels, Randy Thomas, Ladell Betts, or even Jon Jansen are or were guys incapable of thriving in Zorn's offense. I think what it means is that all these guys coming on and contributing now have been brought up in this new system over the last two years--Devin Thomas, Fred Davis, Malcolm Kelly....well, it would be hard/unfair to put guys like Mike Williams, Quinton Ganther, Levi Jones, and even Derrick Dockery in here, but the idea is that our lineup now is full of guys brought in to support the new ideology. Time for all of us to put on our cups, because Cerrato is most likely sticking around to work our nuts like a collective group of heavy bags.

2) Sherman Lewis is having a very positive impact.I am done with trying to read into what his level of involvement during the week means and whether or not he can be effective as a coach if he only speaks to Jason Campbell via candy-gram. The numbers tell us that since Sherman Lewis came on board, we have done better. Period. I still think you don't assume Zorn is useless in all of this. He is the quarterbacks guru and our quarterback is playing great, so he deserves credit. I don't believe for a second that he isn't partly responsible for this turn-around.

3) Hiring Zorn, implementing his offense and drafting players to fit it was sold to us as a 2-3 year investment. We are right in the meat of that investment and it appears we are getting some returns. I find it troubling to think that things are going according to (their) plan and they are considering starting over.

The game yesterday to me came down to two players. If you saw me on Comcast's Post Game Live (video to come), you would have seen me:

A) give it to Chick Hernandez a little about his earring; and

B) talk about Brian Orakpo and Jason Campbell.

Ganther, Davis, Carter, Landry...they all contributed, but I thought that it was fitting to highlight our best offensive player and our best defensive player and then underline the lunacy regarding the potential for JC to be somewhere else next season.

Orakpo was a beast. He personally accounted for somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-75 negative yards for the Raiders. Four sacks did not even tell the story of his day...how crazy is that?

Campbell was once again on fire. He threw the ball so accurately on the run yesterday (for the most part), I wondered aloud why they didn't purposely move him around more often (picture Mark Rypien rolling and throwing bombs.)

In the comments today, I thought we would try something a little different. I will start a few comment threads with some questions and everyone is encouraged to ask their own questions raising separate issues. Let's all pull together to gain some "public" opinion on these topics so we can determine the direction of the posts this week.

Team Stat Comparison

1st Downs	21	15
Passing 1st downs	11	11
Rushing 1st downs	7	3
1st downs from Penalties	3	1
3rd down efficiency	5-12	4-15
4th down efficiency	0-0	1-3
Total Plays	58	66
Total Yards	295	227
Passing	195	162
Comp-Att	16-28	20-34
Yards per pass	7.0	4.8
Rushing	100	65
Rushing Attempts	27	24
Yards per rush	3.7	2.7
Red Zone (Made-Att)	4-4	1-2
Penalties	7-45	14-118
Turnovers	1	1
Fumbles lost	1	0
Interceptions thrown	0	1
Defensive / Special Teams TDs	0	0
Possession	27:53	32:07

Oakland Raiders Postgame Recap: Redskins 34, Raiders 13

Rated-R Superstar — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:32:23 -0000

Bruce Gradkowski tried to get his third win as a starter in the silver and black. [via cdn2.sbnation.com]

Fresh off of a win on the road as 15-point underdogs, the Oakland Raiders (4-8) took on the Washington Redskins (3-9) as underdogs once again. Trying to stay hot behind quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, the Raiders entered today's game 2-1 when he starts with wins over the Bengals and Steelers. Unfortunately, the game was blacked out locally. Banged up, Chris Cooley and Clinton Portis were among the many Redskins out for today's game. Dive in to see how the Raiders fared with the Redskins on a gloomy day at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. A bit of rain was in the air for this one.

Darren McFadden had a nice first quarter catching the ball. [via cdn1.sbnation.com]

First Quarter: A pathetic return by Gary Russell of 11 huge yards gave us the ball first. He did, however, make the only key play of the series before a sack by LaRon Landry forced the Raiders to punt the ball to the Redskins. Darren McFadden carried it twice on the opening series and basically went nowhere. Anyway, a 68-yard boot by Shane Lechler set up Washington at their own 20 for their opening drive. A five-yard run by Quinton Ganther was the only real positive play on the series. A sack by Trevor Scott, who has been on fire, and an incomplete pass by Jason Campbell forced a Hunter Smith punt. Johnnie Lee Higgins, who had some room on the return, managed to return it to his own 39 yard line. After Bruce Gradkowski hit Higgins for a nine-yard pass, Justin Fargas fumbled; however, Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot had one foot out of bounds on the recovery. It remained Oakland ball. Gradkowski then hit Zach Miller on a big play, but an offensive pass interference on Chaz Schilens brought it back almost to the original line of scrimmage of the drive. A timeout followed it up. The Raiders couldn't really amount anything after that. Another sack doomed a second consecutive drive and it was Lechler time again. A fair catch was called by Antwaan Randle El and the Redskins had it at their own 22. The defense made some nice plays, specifically Kirk Morrison and Chris Johnson, and a three-and-out forced the Redskins to punt. A big play opened up the next drive for the Raiders, as Gradkowski hit Darren McFadden on a slant for 43 huge yards. Unable to muster anything after that, a field goal by Sebastian Janikowski gave the Raiders a 3-0 lead with just over four minutes still to play in the opening quarter. Faced with a third down, Jason Campbell swung it out to Quinton Ganther on the left side. Busting through, Ganther picked up huge yardage to put Washington into not only Oakland territory, but also field goal range. Once again, the Redskins converted on third down. On the very next play, Fred Davis was hit for a touchdown. After whistled for a 15-yard penalty, the Redskins had to kick from their own 15. A 41-yard return by Gary Russell gave Oakland the ball at midfield. An acrobatic grab by McFadden at the 24 yard line capped a seemingly long first quarter.

Fred Davis found the end zone twice and celebrates with a teammate. [via cdn3.sbnation.com]

Second Quarter: Starting the second quarter, a stupid play call (a give to Gary Russell) cost the Raiders a yard. Zach Miller and Chaz Schilens each made grabs and the Raiders had a goal-to-go from the nine. After a miscue on the give to Justin Fargas, the Raiders hit Zach Miller on third down. He was short, however, but Tom Cable remained aggressive from last week. A fourth down carry and dive by Fargas gave the Raiders a touchdown as they had regained a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter. The rain got progressively worse at this point in the game, as noted by commentator Dick Stockton. Fred Davis, open in the secondary, caught a pass and it was for a good gain into Oakland territory. Back-to-back plays by the Raider defense stuffed Quinton Ganther in the backfield. Richard Seymour and Trevor Scott stopped the run and Kirk Morrison and Tommy Kelly blew the next play up on a screen in the backfield. Needing 12 yards on third down, an offsides penalty by Greg Ellis gave the Redskins five free yards. So, another offsides penalty hurt; however, it didn't hurt as much. Hiram Eugene made a great tackle on Randle El and Washington had to settle for a field goal. Graham Gano, just signed out of the UFL, connected on a 46-yard field goal. We were tied, 10-10, in a pretty evenly matched game with 7:27 left to go in the first half. After a three-and-out, a great 58-yard punt from Lechler set the Redskins up at their own 21. The Redskins didn't get far at all, and some good pressure by defensive linemen Matt Shaughnessy and Gerard Warren forced a punt. Jason Campbell was shaken up after the hit. A couple of stupid calls -- runs up the middle by McFadden and Russell -- brought up a long third down. Nearly intercepted by Reed Doughty on a pass intended for Oakland's Zach Miller, Doughy was flagged for illegal contact. It give the Raiders an automatic first down. On the very next play, an open Miller flat out dropped the ball. It was a good pass by Gradkowski, too, but Miller just let it slip through his hands. Welcome to the show Louis Murphy, as he pulled the Raiders to within two yards of the first down marker at the two-minute warning; however, on the next play, a catch of his was correctly called back on the booth review. The Raiders were forced to punt from midfield. A stupid penalty on the punt called against Hiram Eugene -- not stupid on Eugene's part but rather the referee's -- as Eugene was called for interference when he didn't even interfere. The bench was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty and so the Redskins had it at their own 40. Santana Moss made a 14-yard catch and the Redskins were threatening before the half. Next, a big play to Devin Thomas had Washington really in business. Two plays later, Fred Davis scored his second touchdown of the game to give Washington a 17-10 lead. (Damn, he's on my bench in a fantasy football league.) A holding penalty on the kickoff return set the Raiders up in bad position, and there was just seconds to go before halftime. A couple of runs by Gradkowski picked up some yards, but Oakland needed more with just 16 seconds to go without any timeouts remaining. Almost getting sack, Gradkowski flipped it out to Fargas in the flat and he ran out of bounds with less than 10 seconds to go. An incomplete pass on the next play basically made it impossible for a field goal try; however, Tom Cable decided to go for a field goal without running another play. A 66-yard field goal fell short, and Redskins safety Reed Doughty grabbed it and took off from his own end zone. Mario Henderson grabbed him and slammed Doughty to the ground to end the half. The Redskins had a 17-10 lead. For those of you keeping track, a total of 16 penalty flags were thrown. Yes, this was an ugly game.

After filling in for Bruce Gradkowski, JaMarcus Russell spent a ton of time on the ground. [via cdn1.sbnation.com]

Third Quarter: The Redskins started out with the ball at their own 30, and more importantly the lead. A pass interference committed by Tyvon Branch gave the Redskins a fresh set of downs. Michael Huff, who suffered a stinger in the first half, is still out with that injury and being replaced by Hiram Eugene. A couple of incomplete passes had Washington in a third and long situation. A rare blitz by the defense had Campbell sacked back at his own 26 by rookie safety Mike Mitchell. A punt followed that big play. The return by Higgins set the Raiders up in good field position, at their own 44. After going down with a knee injury just before the first half concluded, Gradkowski was out and unable to return. Yes, that means JaMarcus Russell was in -- and playing quarterback, too. Raiders fans everywhere are holding their respective breaths. Needing three years on third down, Russell called a timeout as Oakland was nearing field goal range. Still, they needed a first down if they even wanted to think about a pretty good try being at Washington's 38. A big play conversion to Higgins was followed up by a 10-yard loss on the sack. Ugh, Russell didn't get rid of the ball. Rookie Brian Orakpo brought him down. More stupid play-calling from Tom Cable, the reverse went nowhere. You've already called that play once, Tom. You can't fool the defense like that. An incomplete pass to Darren McFadden set up a 53-yard field goal try for Janikowski. Missing earlier from 66 yards out, this one was much more manageable and Sebastian knocked it through for his second of the day. The Washington lead was trimmed to 17-13 with just under nine minutes to play in the third quarter. The Raiders brought the heat some more on Campbell on the Redskins' next drive, as Stanford Routt nearly got to Campbell. By the way, Routt replaced by the injured Nnamdi Asomugha. Then, on second down, Matt Shaughnessy brought down Campbell for Oakland's third sack of the game. With the third down play coming up short, a good return by Higgins set up Russell and company in good field position just shy of midfield. A second down play resulting in a first down to Zach Miller had the Raiders in Washington territory; however, on the next play, McFadden slips on a run. He still managed to pick up six yards. A pitch that went backwards forced the Raiders to make a play on third down in order to keep the drive alive. Russell found Murphy and the Raiders moved the chains. It's a step forward and then a step backwards for Russell, apparently, as Andre Carter brings him down for a loss. A false start, which didn't occur under Gradkowski, moved the Raiders back five more yards. Another penalty and then another sack totally demolished the drive for the Raiders, and it became third down with 35 yards to go. Is anyone ready for Charlie Frye yet? The punt by Lechler hopped into the end zone, and Washington began their drive at their own 20 with the third quarter almost over with. Almost off of the field, Rock Cartwright made a play on third down for the Redskins and Washington's drive continued. A couple of runs by Quinton Ganther ended the third quarter. The Redskins had a 17-13 lead over three quarters.

Santana Moss and the Redskins ran away in the fourth quarter. [via cdn0.sbnation.com]

Fourth Quarter: Kicking off the fourth quarter was Washington in Oakland territory looking to add onto their four-point lead. Not surprisingly, the quarter begins with two penalties on the Raiders. Routt was called for pass interference -- which was a bad call as Santana Moss had slipped -- and then Howard was flagged for holding. A couple of plays later, the Oakland defense tried to get off the field with Washington tryign to convert a third down needing three yards. Of course, the Redskins picked up the first down with ease on a pass from Campbell to Malcolm Kelly. A touchdown basically kills any chance the Raiders have of winning this game, especially with Gradkowski shelved. An effective screen to Moss set up a touchdown run by Ganther, a Richmond native scoring the first time in his career, and Washington had taken a 24-13 lead with over 11 minutes to play in regulation. It was clearly a great drive by the Redskins. Chewing six minutes up and going 80 yards on 13 plays, you couldn't have asked for more if you were Jim Zorn. The Raiders had the ball back needing two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. In a shocking turn of events, Russell threw a pass that was picked off by LaRon Landry. Why am I still watching the game at this point? I don't know. Campbell to Moss goes for 30 yards, and the Redskins are a touchdown away from blowout city. Some plays later, Ganther's second touchdown of the day put Washington ahead by 31-13 score. Oh, yes, it was all over by then. Russell marched back out there and was sacked. We were all so very surprised. Luckily for us, Carter totally missed the fumble and Henderson pounced on it to keep possession. Blah, blah, blah, the Raiders had to punt without a first down gained; however, Randle El screwed up the punt return and dropped it. Tony Stewart fell on it and Oakland had the ball at midfield. On the very next play, Russell was sacked yet again and this time it was Lorenzo Alexander. That was the seventh sack of the game with five of them coming against Russell compared to only two when Gradkowski was in the game. God, this game couldn't end any sooner. I'll save the dramatics: Russell was sacked on fourth down. Getting Marcus Mason involved some in the fourth quarter, Washington marched down and kicked a field goal to extend their lead to 34-13. Terribly bad went to even worse as Zach Miller went down with an injury. After another useless drive that went nowhere led by the great JaMarcus Russell, the Redskins got the ball back and ran out the clock. Improving to 4-9 are the Redskins and falling to that same record are the Raiders by a 34-13 score.

Little Billy has some explaining to do. [via cdn2.sbnation.com]

The Report Card: I'll give grades to the pass offense, rush offense, pass defense, rush defense and special teams. Of course, you're welcome to give your own grades in the comments.

Pass Offense: D -- Obviously, things were going a lot smoother with Bruce Gradkowski back there instead of the totally inept and awful JaMarcus Russell. Still, we have to grade them both. Gradkowski was a little below average and Russell was awful, so I tried to find the middle ground.
Rush Offense: F -- The rushing offense was absolutely dreadful. On 24 carries, a 2.7 average just isn't going to cut it. Justin Fargas led the way with 21 yards and a touchdown, but that stuff is something that should be achieved in just one quarter and not one whole game.
Pass Defense: D+ -- Jason Campbell had almost a field day going 16-for-28 with 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. They brought some heat, so that was a good thing but just about the only good thing.
Rush Defense: C -- It was a very average performance by the rush defense with the Redskins averaging around four yards per carry with a couple of rushing touchdowns.
Special Teams: B- -- Janikowski's only miss came from 66 yards. Shane Lechler averaged almost 52 yards per punt. Johnnie Lee Higgins was okay returning punts while Gary Russell was nothing special returning kicks. Overall, it was pretty decent and I guess I couldn't complain about the way special teams played. The coverage wasn't all that bad itself.

My Thoughts and Tidbits: It's quite simple, really. Once JaMarcus Russell came in for the injured Bruce Gradkowski, it all went to hell. Trailing 17-10 at the half, this game was clearly within reach all the way. Charlie Frye should start next week should Gradkowski be unable to go. Next up, we have the Denver Broncos who are 8-5 and leading the Wild Card race in the AFC. This was really rough in the second half. Enjoy your Sunday evening, guys, and try to put this one behind us.

Poll

Weekly Recap Poll: Who was the Oakland Raiders player of the game?

Previewing the Enemy: Washington Redskins

Rated-R Superstar — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:39:28 -0000

It's a Super Bowl XVIII rematch! [via prod.static.raiders.clubs.nfl.com]

Alright, it's not quite a rematch from Super Bowl XVIII when the Raiders smashed the Redskins en route to their third Super Bowl title in franchise history. Nonetheless, this Sunday, the Oakland Raiders (4-8) will look to put together a winning streak as the Washington Redskins (3-9) will be coming to town. Don't let that 3-9 record fool you. This Washington team is better than their record and it clearly showed after taking Dallas, Philadelphia and New Orleans to the wire. They don't lay down and will play hard. With the team 2-1 with Bruce Gradkowski starting, the Raiders look to come away with another hard-earned victory as they did last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers as 15-point underdogs.

Let's take a look at their schedule and see how they've fared so far.

Week 1: @ New York Giants -- L, 17-23
Week 2: St. Louis Rams -- W, 9-7
Week 3: @ Detroit Lions -- L, 14-19
Week 4: Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- W, 16-13
Week 5: @ Carolina Panthers -- L, 17-20
Week 6: Kansas City Chiefs -- L, 6-14
Week 7: Philadelphia Eagles -- L, 17-27
Week 8: Bye Week
Week 9: @ Atlanta Falcons -- L, 17-31
Week 10: Denver Broncos -- W, 27-17
Week 11: @ Dallas Cowboys -- L, 6-7
Week 12: @ Philadelphia Eagles -- L, 24-27
Week 13: New Orleans Saints -- L, 30-33 (F/OT)

Well, this team is certainly interesting. Sitting at 3-9, this team could easily be 6-6 or even better. We will have to bring our "A" game, of course, if we want to secure a victory on our home field this Sunday.

Let's check out the Redskin offense first.

Pass Offense Rank: 220.2 yards/game; 18th in NFL
Rush Offense Rank: 101.0 yards/game; 22nd in NFL
Total Offense Rank: 321.2 yards/game; 21st in NFL
Scoring Offense Rank: 16.7 points/game; 26th in NFL

With stars Chris Cooley and Clinton Portis out, others must step up for the Redskins. [via cache.daylife.com]

If you recall, the Redskins offense was the subject of some controversy or what not concerning head coach Jim Zorn. Well, he gave up his play-calling duties to assistant Sherman Lewis. Since then, the offense has performed better. Who is the leader of this Redskins offense? I really don't know to be honest with you. Let's look a little bit into their personnel.

Jason Campbell, QB: Many people questioned Campbell's status as the quarterback this season. He was even benched in favor of veteran Todd Collins earlier. To me, Campbell is actually a pretty solid quarterback. He isn't going to set the world on fire or anything, but he can still hurt you. Campbell is completing 66 percent of his passes this season even if they are "dinks and dunks" most of the time. With 15 turnovers and 15 touchdown passes, Campbell's ratio isn't all that great. He has been sacked three or more times in five games. Obviously, getting some pressure on him would be nice.

Rock Cartwright, HB: Rock is solid, just like a rock. (Ha, get it?) If you want him to be the running back, he can. If you want him to be the fullback, he can. He'll even run back kicks and run down there on punt returns. He is a threat out of the backfield to catch passes. A somewhat physical runner, Cartwright doesn't really stand out in terms of either his speed or his strength. Cartwright has stepped up for the injured Clinton Portis (concussion), who just put on injured reserve. Also on injured reserve is Portis' backup Ladell Betts, so the Redskins are thin at running back.

Quinton Ganther, HB: Ganther, just in his second year out of Utah, is someone I just don't know too much about. Essentially moving up from fourth on the depth chart to splitting time with Cartwright, Ganther was mildly successful against the Saints last Sunday with 46 yards on just 8 carries. The week before that against the Eagles, Ganther had 32 yards on just 5 carries. We may see more of him against the Raiders with him averaging 5.8 yards per carry over the past few weeks.

Santana Moss, WR: The pint-sized and speedy Moss is Washington's leader in receptions (49), yards (642) and touchdowns (3). He is what you would call the team's go-to-guy, but really the Redskins have a lot of guys they go to. Still, Moss provides that veteran presence and can't be overlooked. Maybe this would be one of the few times where I wouldn't mind Nnamdi Asomugha moving around from receiver to receiver, which he will at least a little bit.

Wide receiver Devin Thomas had two touchdowns last week against the Saints. [via a.espncdn.com]

Devin Thomas, WR: The second-year receiver out of Michigan State, Thomas is a young man seemingly improving with each game of late. He has even been prominent in the kick return game of the past two weeks. Still, he has shined brightly in the passing game over the course of those two same weeks. After a decent game against the Eagles, he broke out for 7 receptions, 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns last week against the Saints.

Antwaan Randle El, WR: The ex-Steeler is still in Washington. Randle El, who is very durable having missed only one game in his eight-year career, he is a dependable target for Campbell despite only averaging 3.3 receptions per game. I believe this is more in part to the number of targets the Redskins like to use. The team isn't confined to both Moss and Rande El as you will see here in a minute in this preview.

Fred Davis, TE: After Campbell's favorite target Chris Cooley went down for the year, someone had to step up. Unknown at the time to Washington, it'd be his replacement. Fred Davis. Since October 26, Davis is averaging 7.5 catches and 45.7 yards with finding the end zone three times, including two times in his last three games. As most tight ends are, he is a threat in the red zone and Campbell has no problem looking his way.

Let's shift gears to the Redskin defense now.

Pass Defense Rank: 190.2 yards/game; 5th in NFL
Rush Defense Rank: 121.8 yards/game; 24th in NFL
Total Defense Rank: 312.0 yards/game; 9th in NFL
Scoring Defense Rank: 19.8 points/game; 14th in NFL

Linebacker London Fletcher leads Washington's better-than-you-think defense. [via cdn.bleacherreport.com]

Defensive coordinator Greg Blache and his Washington Redskins actually have a pretty solid group defensively operating out of the 4-3. You may not think so because of their 3-9 record, but I'm sure people don't think highly of our defense since we're just 4-8. Anyway, the Redskins are particularly strong against the pass. Safety Reed Doughty has quietly had a good year and young LaRon Landry is solid at his spot as well. A pretty solid group of cornerbacks are headed by veteran Fred Smoot, who is in his ninth year out of Mississippi State. The leader of the defense is the man in the middle, London Fletcher, who leads the team with 109 tackles. Brian Orakpo, the 13th overall pick in the 2009 draft, plays on the outside along with veteran Rocky McIntosh. Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth has been in and out of the lineup with injuries this season. He signed a monster contract in the offseason, but the Redskins' defense is only ranked 24th against the rush. His presence is desperately needed for Washington. Haynesworth is listed as questionable as of right now. At right defensive end, Andre Carter has nine sacks and deserves some Pro Bowl recognition for his great play. Again, this is a very solid defense and will do everything it can to keep their offense in this game late on the road.

Conclusion: The thing that sticks out defensively about the Redskins is their 24th-ranked rush defense. With Haynesworth questionable, he probably won't be playing on every down. Justin Fargas, Michael Bush and Darren McFadden should have success as long as head coach Tom Cable keeps giving them the rock. I believe of the first 28 plays against the Steelers, 18 of them were rushes. That is a similar ratio that I hope to see this week considering how strong Washington's pass defense is. Speaking of the pass, the breakout of Louis Murphy was something else, especially with Darrius Heyward-Bey out. It's nice to see someone step up at the receiver spot. Chaz Schilens even found the end zone for the first time in 2009 and Todd Watkins caught a key pass in the final drive. Johnnie Lee Higgins came through for us as well. Wide receivers against Pittsburgh caught 12 balls for 248 yards, both of which I'm sure were season-highs for our club. We're definitely going to need that against the Redskins' formidable pass defense against the previously mentioned Smoot and also Carlos Rogers and ex-Raider DeAngelo Hall. This may be a good test for Bruce Gradkowski as well, even though he did perform well against two really good defenses already in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. I think we're ready for this.

Feel free to leave your predictions or even your own thoughts and ideas about the Pittsburgh Steelers and how we can earn a win our fourth win of the season on Sunday.

*-All stats are through Tuesday, December 8, 2009.

Poll

Do you feel more confident in a win, less confident in a win or about the same in a win after reading this preview?

More confident

161 votes

Less confident

81 votes

About the same

128 votes

370 votes | Poll has closed

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Reed Hoffmann - AP

17 days ago: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle (12) has a pass attempt blocked by Denver Broncos tight end Richard Quinn (81) during a fake punt attempt at the start of the second half of their game, giving the Broncos the ball deep in Chiefs territory in their NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Browse more photos »

Happy Tuesday, friends, and welcome to another edition of ST&NO. After being sick last week, and running an abbreviated version on Wednesday, I am back in full effect this week. I feel kind of like Stringer Bell in season 2 of The Wire, when Avon Barksdale was locked up, and their supplier cut them off. Stringer said he needed to put out a smoker to hold the towers, and I feel like a smoker is similarly needed this week with ST&NO. After all, I can't really do what Stringer actually did, when he couldn't get his raw dope, and change the name. Nobody is going to read a column called Death Grip, you know? (Really, I don't know what kind of drug addict would buy dope called Death Grip, but that's neither here nor there.) Anyway, here comes the high test stuff, with the same name as always. So fill up your coffee, get comfortable, and let's get right to it. Ready.... BEGIN!!!

1. You have to like how the Broncos looked Sunday, even in spite of 3 turnovers by Kyle Orton. They once again beat down a bad team, which is what good teams have to do. They shot a hole in the terribly inane thinking that they couldn't win in Kansas City in December, and they strengthened their hold on the 5th seed in the playoffs. Helping matters, the Steelers and Ravens both lost to fall to 6-6, so their two competitors who beat them head-to-head lost some ground. I fully expect Jacksonville to choke, and I am starting to think that Miami is going to sneak into the 6th spot, actually.

In any case, the Broncos are in a pretty good place right now. Peter King declared them to be toast two weeks ago, done, kaput. On Monday, he called them a psycho team, and ranked them 10th in the Fool 15. I am still feeling good about this Indianapolis game, and I am sure that the Broncos match up pretty well with the Colts. Coverage is the only way to beat them, and the Broncos are back to covering as well as anybody. I fully expect the Broncos to run for 150 yards against the Colts too, if they can keep the score within striking distance.

It's a good Tuesday to be a Broncos fan. Our team is in in the midst of a season which we can only consider to be a success up until this point. They've come together as a team, learned how to win close games against good teams, learned how to blow out bad teams, and figured out their brand new schemes. They've seemingly bought into one of the main Patriots mantras, that Durability is more important than Ability. Everybody is working hard to Do Their Job. This is when it's good to be a fan of a team, and when it's good to be a fan of a team, it's great to be alive.

2. Information From My Eyes - Denver at Kansas City

a. Kyle Orton had a C+ game, but I felt like all three turnovers he committed were a result of him being somewhat greedy. He's supposed to be the guy who checks it down when nothing is there, isn't he? I hope that film provides a good reminder for him to do so.

b. Knowshon Moreno improves every week, and he's really looking decisive lately. You can tell that he has had a big dose of Bobby Turner's foot in his backside this year. For a pick I didn't love when it was made, I have really come to be happy with Knowshon.

c. I was pretty worried during Kansas City's 20 play first quarter drive, because the tackling and gap discipline looked pretty bad. The Broncos sure stiffened by the goal line, though, and they set the tone for the rest of the game's defensive performance.

d. I meant to talk about setting the edge last week, but I forgot to. My brother Chris felt that Matt Millen made too much of the concept during the Broncos-Giants game, but I disagree, because it's all-important to the way the Broncos run the ball, and the way they defend against the run. The Broncos have been fanstastic in their own running game with setting the edge the past two games, led by Daniel Graham. He is getting out and winning his battles outside, and giving the runners a sealed edge to run inside of. Many of Correll Buckhalter's big runs on Sunday came just inside of Graham.

On defense, the idea is the same, but the defender wants to push the edge man back into the inside, and close off the outside lane. Mario Haggan has been doing this as well as any LB in the NFL this season. He has really found his niche as a physical, upfield run player. Ryan McBean makes a lot of plays in this way, as well.

Winning the physical battles at the edge is the key to everything for the Broncos, and they lost those battles during the losing streak. Since they've gotten back to winning, it's been no accident that they're winning at the edge on both sides of the ball.

e. The kick return where Eddie Royal faked a reverse to Brandon Marshall was interesting. I expect to see them actually hand that off one of these weeks.

f. Alphonso Smith needs to knock off the sucker penalties.

g. Spencer Larsen is an appreciably better blocker than Peyton Hillis. He just thumps guys, and it goes well with the work that Graham and Richard Quinn are doing at TE.

h. Tony Scheffler had a huge 3^rd down drop in 2^nd Quarter, and it was exactly the kind of play that has prevented the Broncos from being an elite offense. You have to make plays when they are available to be made. At least Scheffler blasted the return man on the ensuing punt.

i. Tamba Hali is a good fit for the 3-4, as I have been saying since the preseason. He's aggressive, quick, strong, and as a lifelong down DE, he has very good technique. The first sack he got on Ryan Clady was all technique. The Broncos did take advantage of Hali's aggressiveness on both TD passes, though, and also on the 49 yard bubble screen that Brandon Marshall had.

j. I saw where somebody said we should thank Phildelphia for Brian Dawkins and Correll Buckhalter. Miami is due a thank you card for Andre Goodman and Renaldo Hill, as well. If Goodman were just a little better tackler, I'd be even happier, but everybody should have noticed by now that the ball just seems to find its way into his hands.

k. Matt Prater has developed into one of the best kickers in the NFL. It's time we all realize that, and appreciate his work.

l. My biggest problem with Mitch Berger is that he takes too long to get the ball off. He had yet another seeing-eye punt on Sunday, which inexplicably missed a dead-to-rights block. Upgrading the punter position has to be a huge priority in the offseason.

m. It was great to see Peyton Hillis running the ball again, and he reminded the world that he can do some damage with it. Hopefully, the performance will get him some snaps on offense, because he clearly has something to contribute.

n. I really like Darcel McBath as a matchup safety. He is always around the ball when he is on the field, and I think his pick was a triumph of player evaluation. Draftniks considered him a reach, but he was hard to spot on some abysmal Texas Tech defensive units. He clearly has the goods, though; it jumps off the screen at you.

3. Information From My Eyes - Other games

a. I watched most of the San Francisco-Seattle game, and you know that means I will have some Alex Smith thoughts. He played great on Sunday, and did everything the team needed from him to win, short of missing one open receiver on a deep out in the 4^th quarter. It was the first 300 yard passing game of his career, and it should have been a lot more. His teammates dropped at least 9 passes in the game, including 3 TDs, by Delanie Walker, Vernon Davis, and Michael Crabtree.

b. Speaking of Smith, I meant to clear up an uttlerly stupid comment made by the always-brilliant Solomon Wilcots during last week's game. The head cold I was feeling made me forget to mention it, I guess. Wilcots noticed that the 49ers were (smartly) using Smith in the shotgun very frequently, and he said (I'm paraphrasing) that Smith was very comfortable, because he had used the exact same offense throughout college.

That's very interesting, Saruman, except, he didn't. This gets to my constant annoyance about the term "Spread Offense." There is no one monolithic spread offense. There are college teams which do some similar things formationally, with a lot of WRs, and many plays with the QB taking snaps from the shotgun, but the actual plays vary greatly. The 49ers aren't doing anything that is much like the Urban Meyer offense he played in at Utah. There are no option plays, and no shovel passes. The pass routes are actually tending to be much more horizontal and timed than the stuff he did in college.

A bunch of WRs and a shotgun setup does not mean you're playing a "spread offense," and saying that you're playing a "spread offense" doesn't mean the same thing from one place to the next. Smith is most comfortable in his footwork and reads from the shotgun, and he has time to get the ball out before he gets crushed behind the Niners terrible O-line. Smith has been sacked only once in the last 2 games. My only concern is that they've abandoned the run too much, and need to stick to it much more.

c. I remember thinking that Seattle looked pretty good against the Broncos in the preseason, but as I watched the game today, I was thinking that I really don't like the way their team is constructed. They have 3 terribly overpaid guys at WR (Deion Branch, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Nate Burleson), and not much talent at RB or on the offensive line. The only players I really like at all on their defense are Brandon Mebane and Aaron Curry. They have a lot of money invested in Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill at LB, but I think both guys are just solid players (Tatupu is currently hurt, obviously.) I think they ought to go to a 3-4, if they can get a good NT in the offseason. (A few should be available.) The guy they have, Colin Cole, is more of a backup caliber guy. They could stand up Patrick Kerney, and use Curry in a blitzing role, which he is best suited for. Of course, their secondary will still be lousy, unless they address it.

d. Chad Henne looked really good on Sunday. I had the Miami-New England game on the smaller TV, during the Broncos game, and just about every time I looked over, he was making a play for his team. If he keeps it up, he'll be able to easily afford tattoo removal before too long.

e. ST&NO favorite Sean Smith had an interesting game on Sunday. He gave up an 81 yard TD to Sam Aiken on a play where he had perfect bump and run coverage but didn't find the ball in the air, and fell down trying. Later, he got beaten by Aiken on a double move, and Tom Brady overthrew him by about a foot. He got beat on a perfectly covered play, and got lucky on a busted coverage play. Such is the nature of being a CB playing a lot of man-to-man. By the way, Smith continues to look like he'll have a long career as one of the best man coverage players in the NFL.

f. I really liked what the Giants did on defense Sunday against Dallas, and I picked them based upon some moves I heard about during the week. For one thing, they moved a good CB, Aaron Ross, to FS, and benched the abysmal C.C. Brown. For another, they took a big-name guy, Osi Umenyiora, out of the starting lineup, and replaced him with Mathias Kiwanuka. Osi struggles against the run, and the Broncos continually ran at him on Thanksgiving night. The Giants correctly identified their top priority as containing the Dallas running game, and made the move to the stouter Kiwanuka.

The effect was that both guys played really well. Umenyiora was actually used quite a bit in coverage, and he did pretty well. He's really a lean, athletic guy, and he did well in that role. He also recovered a key fumble, and returned it for a bunch of yards. The Giants held the Cowboys to 45 yards rushing on 23 carries, and it's the primary reason they won the game.

g. Don't give too much credence to this "Tony Romo/Wade Phillips can't win in December" stuff. Romo, particularly, played pretty well Sunday, and the loss wasn't on him. It was on a few defensive breakdowns which led to big plays, and the aforementioned lack of an effective running game.

Remember the one about correlation not necessarily reflecting causality? There is a real danger to putting too much stock in facts which Peter King insists on incorrectly referring to as factoids. The December record for the Cowboys the past few years is a case in point. It doesn't necessarily foretell what will happen this year, and even if the Cowboys lose a bunch of games this month, it may have nothing to do with the month. Remember, a football game is an independent event, which is comprised of many individual independent events. What happened in the past is meaningless.

h. Another example of this foolishness with meaningless statistics, while we're at it, was any credence being put into the fact that the Broncos were 1-16 all-time in Kansas City, during the month of December. Where to begin with this?

Well, in the most obvious place, of considering the significance of recency. If no players or coaches (or even owners) remain from the time when a game was played, that game has no meaning. A game in 1972 was played between the Chiefs and the Broncos, but not THESE Chiefs and Broncos. A rational person realizes that that game may as well have been between any two teams.

Another idea I had about this, that I wanted to share, harkens back to my days as a Finance major at THE Cleveland State University. There was a required class, Financial Markets and Institutions, which was really a BS class. It was taught by a really overweight, smelly, tenured professor who breathed really heavily, and the dude didn't ever teach anything, ever.

The class met in a computer lab, and consisted of 4 group analysis projects. We were given a bunch of parameters of a hypothetical economic environment, and we had to choose the 3-year period of the last 30 years, which was most predictive of the behavior of whatever financial instrument we were analyzing. We then used data from that 3 year period to analyze and project the performance of that instrument, and built a 6 slide PowerPoint discussing quantitative and qualitative reasons for our analysis. That was a 4 credit class.

Anyway, I was thinking that a reasonable thing to do might be to look into whether there was ever a time in semi-recent history where the two teams profiled like these two do, AND they played a game at Arrowhead in December. I didn't find any instances where the Broncos were a playoff caliber team, the Chiefs were a complete doormat, and the schedule played out this way. You could say I was not surprised at all by Sunday's result.

i. Chris Johnson is very dangerous, but I am not one of these people who is jumping up to call him the best RB in the NFL. For one thing, I think he makes the Titans a finesse running team. They do a ton of zone blocking for him, and he runs to the edges all the time, but without the kind of one-cut decisiveness that Broncos runners have always been coached into employing. Really, Johnson is a bit over-patient, in my opinion, and it's his exceptional burst and speed that let him mostly get away with it. I also continue to have my doubts about Johnson's ability to handle the heavy workload he gets, over a number of years. The Titans would be smart to get a legitimate second guy to take one third of the carries, because they apparently don't think LenDale White is that guy.

j. The Titans blew one on Sunday, and the way they did makes me feel even better about the Broncos' prospects for winning in Indianapolis next week. At halftime, the Titans had 2 more yards, and 6 more minutes of time of possession than the Colts, and Indianapolis led 24-10. The Titans also had 2 turnovers. Nate Washington dropped a perfect deep ball. There were plays available to be made, and the Titans failed to make them.

k. I watched the Steelers debacle against the Raiders, and all I can pin their problems on is missing Troy Polamalu. I think their defensive play-calling is less aggressive without Polamalu, and they're letting QBs have more time to throw the ball than the Steelers are known for doing. Bruce Gradkowski had some real good chances to get the ball downfield at times. It just gets back to the concept of a defense needing all its parts to be effective.

l. This stuff about Gradkowski being the answer for the Raiders is silly. He's a solid backup, and a try-hard guy, but he's not a starter for a winning football team. He lacks accuracy and arm strength, isn't particularly mobile, and just looks kind of underwhelming when you watch him.

m. Everybody knows I am generally not the biggest D.J. Williams lover, and I am going to reveal a closely held secret today, since I wanted to make this a smoker. My main problem with D.J. always has been that he isn't Steven Jackson. Back in 2004, I was fired up for the Broncos to draft Jackson, and a lot of Mel Kipers thought they would. They had just traded Clinton Portis, and I wanted a new RB.

When the Broncos took D.J., I was mad, my brother Chris will tell you. No matter what he ever does, I may not get over it. Anyway, I believe that Jackson is having the best season of any RB in the NFL this season, if you consider his circumstances. He has no QB, no line, not much at WR, and he continues to produce at a very high level. He's still only 26 years old, and he continues to be a great player.

n. Cedric Benson was back to his workhorse ways this week, and Larry Johnson was back to sitting on the bench. I continue to be impressed with the run blocking of Bengals LT Andrew Whitworth. He was a star at LSU, and was believed to be more of a guard, which is why he went in the second round. He has been blowing guys off the ball, though, as a LT. He's been similar to Jake Long, but better this season.

o. Matthew Stafford is clearly a tremendously tough kid, because he's been getting killed every week for the Lions, and he keeps coming back. He has a ways to go from a decision-making perspective, but he has to have the respect of his teammates, and you can't minimize the importance of that to a QB.

p. A lot has been made of the Michael Vick sighting in Atlanta, but the truth of the story is that he played a lot of garbage snaps in a blowout. The best thing you can say about him is that he showed he still has good run skills, and decent throwing skills. He completed both of his throws, but the long ball was kind of a duck thrown into a crowd, where Reggie Brown made a play on the ball. I do think he's going to get a look in a place like Carolina, which has no prospect of drafting a QB early.

q. Some pundit in the ESPN-o-sphere was recently trying to hypopulate that the Falcons were better off with Chris Redman at QB than Matt Ryan. As much of a non-fan of Ryan as I am, that's stupid. There's a good reason Redman was out of the league for more than 3 years, and that it took nepotism from his college coach, Bobby Petrino, to bring him back. He's been solid in some of his appearances, but there's no team in the NFL right now, for whom he is an upgrade over their starter.

r. If you remember back to the 2008 Draft, no WR was selected in the first round, and the first one chosen was Donnie Avery by the Rams. All the draftniks called Devin Thomas the best prospect, and had him going in the first round, and he eventually went one pick after Avery, 34^th.

He's playing fantastic football lately, and his rise really kind of started in the Denver game. Thomas is showing the qualities of a number 1 WR, and whoever his coach is next year, he is really going to benefit from it. Having a big, physical outside player like Thomas opens up the field for a guy like Santana Moss. Washington's recent offensive improvement has a lot to do with the light bulb going on for Thomas.

s. Percy Harvin didn't actually play RB at the University of Florida, and as a UF alum, Cris Collinsworth should know that. Collinsworth was trying to say that Harvin never ran any routes in college, and that couldn't be further from the truth. He didn't exactly run a full tree, but he ran many crossing routes, slants, and go routes. He has incredible run skills for an outside player, but he's a natural WR, make no mistake about it.

t. I hadn't gotten a look at Kurt Warner's wife in awhile, and she seems to have really upgraded her hair-sylist over the years. Back when Kurt won a Super Bowl, she looked like the kind of mom I would see wearing mom jeans, dragging around a bunch of kids at Wal-Mart, if I shopped at Wal-Mart. It's okay to wear mom jeans and shop at Wal-Mart, lest I offend anybody who does, but it's different for the MVP's wife.

u. Do these Gap ads with dancing beautiful people doing cheerleader cadences and wearing plaid make anybody want to go buy plaid clothing? I am interested in marketing and advertising, so if you're a ST&NO reader who finds those ads effective, I'd appreciate you saying so in the comments. My hypothesis is that they don't work well for anybody who reads this column.

v. My other holiday season advertising analysis is as follows: I think the Best Buy caroling store clerks suck, but at least people who watch football tend to buy stuff at Best Buy. I bet they're trying to snag a wife or two with those ads. The Open Hearts collection at Kay Jewelers is of very little interest to the average male football fan, who tends not to care about Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman's mommy's trite advice. Kay ought to stick to their ads which say, "Your wife will give you some incremental action for a couple weeks, if you buy her a diamond. The bigger th diamond, the more action." It communicates the needed psychological message to men better. I do like the Go Forth Levi's ads, and I think they're very effective, vis-à-vis the football watching audience whom they're aired for.

w. The Cardinals are for real, again, and the main reason they are is that they have legitimate stars at every level of their defense. Darnell Dockett has been a star, and Calais Campbell is turning into one at DE. Karlos Dansby is terrific at LB, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Adrian Wilson are both big-time players too. The underrated guy who I like is Antrel Rolle. He was kind of a bust as a first round CB, but he's terrific as a matchup safety. He's very smart, and can match up man-to-man with inside WRs or TEs. He also has excellent ball skills. The Cardinals could beat any team in the NFL on a day where both their offense and defense are clicking, because their personnel is definitely good enough on both sides of the ball.

x. Watching the Packers version of the 3-4 Monday night, I was struck by the difference between what they're doing, and what the Broncos do. Denver's scheme is much more similar to what the Cardinals, Ravens, and Jets are doing, where the pass rush is fairly conservative, and setting the edge and keeping contain responsibilities is often the main concern. If you watch what the outside rushers do for the Broncos a lot of times, they're not coming full-steam at the QB. Elvis Dumervil, Robert Ayers, and Darrell Reid are often asked to do more wrestling with O-Linemen than they are asked to run around people.

The Packers play more like the Steelers, where they're speed rushing off the edge. The point I am getting to is that Clay Matthews is a great fit for what the Packers are asking him to do, where Ayers is more of a fit for the Broncos scheme, despite his lack of sacks. Ayers has just missed a lot of sacks, and with better technique, he'll get there. He's doing a lot more than running around people, though.

y. Jermichael Finley is enormously talented, and is really starting to come into his own for the Packers. You can see that Aaron Rodgers is really developing a lot of trust in him.

z. The Packers are really protecting Rodgers a lot better than they were in the early part of the season. I've been very critical of Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher both over the past two years, but they've been an upgrade over the bums they replaced. Tauscher even caught his first NFL pass on Monday night, off a deflection.

aa. Rodgers is really starting to remind me of Rich Gannon in his Raiders years. He's so calm, and he goes to the right place with the ball all the time, with accuracy. He's playing as well as any QB in the NFL this season if you consider what he is doing independently.

ab. Lardarius Webb is so dangerous returning kickoffs. The Ravens, again, found a gem in the Draft

ac. Everybody knows I am a Joe Flacco fan, but he needs to remember never to throw the ball late down the middle. The officials tried to give the Ravens the game with all those late pass interference penalties and Flacco blew the game with his late interceptions.

4. Most regulars know that I am a Florida Gators fan, so I was pretty disappointed in the result of the SEC Championship game. Alabama deserved to win, because they made every play that was available for them to make. Florida made plays with very few of their opportunities, and that's what happens.

Anyway, nobody can deny that that game was a bonanza of future NFL players. I wanted to share some thoughts on about 10 guys who I think could go in the first 2 rounds in April, from the two schools.

a. Carlos Dunlap DE Florida Top 5

Mel Kiper downgraded Dunlap to 14^th on his Big Board after his DUI, but that's not going to mean anything when he compares favorably to Mario Williams in testing and measurements. His college film is better too, and he can play in any type of front. He and Ndamukong Suh will be the first two defensive players drafted.

b. Joe Haden CB Florida Top 10

Haden is by far the best CB in the nation. His play was a lonely bright spot for Florida, as he shut down the extremely talented Julio Jones. Haden is fast, fluid, smart, strong, and he has excellent ball skills. He compares as a prospect to Darrelle Revis.

c. Terrence Cody NT Alabama Top 20

He's not fat anymore, and he's covering a lot more space laterally than he did a year ago. His athleticism really flashes for such a huge man, and his strength is terrific. He punked Florida into not even trying to run their dive series. I'm a big fan of this guy.

d. Brandon Spikes ILB Florida Top 20

Spikes is not an elite athlete, but he's an elite player. He's downhill all the time in the running game, and he strikes guys as hard as any college player you'll ever see. He's also as naturally gifted and instinctive in pass coverage as Ray Lewis, and he's a similar type of emotional leader. What intrigues me most at the NFL level with Spikes is his natural pass-rushing skills. He really can get after a QB. He'll only run a 4.65 or 4.7, but he'll be an every down player, and make a bunch of Pro Bowls, trust me.

e. Rolando McClain ILB Alabama Top 20

McClain is big, fast, and smart. He's a bit less of a playmaker than Spikes, and more of a cerebral guy than an emotional one. He'll be a very good 3-4 ILB for many years in the NFL.

f. Tim Tebow QB Florida Top 25

Scouts don't like him that much, but coaches love him. Mike Shanahan, Tony Dungy, and Bill Belichick are all on record as thinking he'll be a big-time QB in the NFL. I am pretty sure the Jaguars are going to take him in the first round if he's on the board. Even Florida Governor Charlie Crist (an FSU guy, actually) was in the media Monday calling for it to happen. There is no doubt in my mind that he can play at the NFL level, despite his divergence from norms. He's the second coming of Donovan McNabb to me.

g. Aaron Hernandez TE Florida First Round

Hernandez is a junior, and he's not a huge or great in-line blocker. He's a tremendously gifted receiver though, as good as any who has been draft-eligible in many years. He is extremely dangerous after the catch, which is rare for a guy his size (6-2, 250.)

h. Javier Arenas CB Alabama Second Round

I really like Arenas as a CB, but I love him as a return man. I think he projects as a solid #2 CB, and a Pro Bowl caliber special teams player. His short, stout build works against him as a CB, but for him as a ball carrier.

i. Riley Cooper WR Florida Second Round

Who? He's the tall white guy who has been wearing #11 the past two years. (He wore #86 the first two, when he was primarily a special teamer.) He's been called the fastest Gator in a 60 yard dash, and as Gary Danielson noted on Saturday, nobody seems to be able to cover him, especially when they try to press him. Cooper had his way with Arenas several times, and he dominated Patrick Robinson from Florida State the week before. He's 6-3, 215 pounds, and very strong, which he puts to use in beating press coverage, and he's a dominant blocker outside. He projects as an outside-the-numbers deep threat type, and special teams ace, and when he runs a 4.35 at the combine, he's going to shoot up boards. The only question is if he'd rather play baseball instead (he's part of the Rangers minor league system already.) I think his future is brighter in football.

j. Jermaine Cunningham DE-OLB Florida Second Round

Cunningham projects as a starter at the NFL level, probably as an OLB in a 30 front. He plays much bigger than his size, and takes on blocks well. He kind of reminds me of Mario Haggan, actually.

k. Mike Johnson G Alabama Second Round

This is the type of guy I'd like to see the Broncos take in the second round. He is a strong and experienced drive blocker.

You can add in a few more Gators too, who seem less likely to declare at this moment, if they do. The Pouncey twins, Mike and Maurkice, project as late first or second round picks as interior offensive linemen, and S Major Wright looks like a second rounder to me.

5. I meant to mention this last week too, and I wanted to make the point. Matt Millen was a terrible general manager, but he is an outstanding in-game color analyst. There is nobody on TV who adds more value to a fan's understanding of what is going on than Millen does.

During the Broncos-Giants game, he pointed out how Kyle Orton was calling out the Mike. The average fan doesn't know what a Mike is, so Millen mentioned that it generally means Middle Linebacker. He also went on to mention that the reason Orton is calling out a Mike is to communicate to the protection that that player is the fifth player to account for. A lot of times it was a defensive back, but Orton was communicating who he thought was the most likely fifth rusher.

After the Monday night game, he was talking about how the Packers have shored up their protection, particularly against the double A-gap blitzing that Baltimore loves to do. It's a little bit hard to separate the man from his art, but you have to. He's outstanding on TV, and should be listened to.

My friend Tony from Norwich sent me this link last week, where the Sporting News rated the best sportscasters. I found it interesting, so I thought I'd share it, since it's germane to this rant. I think they have some total losers on their list, primarily Al Michaels, Verne Lundquist, Dan Fouts, and Mike Patrick. Lundquist is the worst play-by-play man ever, if you ask me.

Just prior to the start of the SEC Championship Debacle, Verne was getting down to business. Paraphrasing, he said, "I don't know what Alabama is doing, but Javier Arenas isn't on the field to return this kick." As number 28 warmed up on the TV screen, waiting for the kick to arrive. I threw my Gator hat across the room, and Tweeted:

He misidentifies players constantly, and gets a lot of rules-related topics wrong too. Gary Danielson is excellent, but Verne is a 9,000 ton anchor dragging him down.

6. I got a reader email which forced to be a little introspective last week, and I need to address something real quick, as a result of it. The reader didn't sign the message, but the crux of it was that he/she felt like I am really full of myself, and that that was "repugnant." (Repugnant was his/her actual word.)

I didn't thnk I would ever need to do this, but I am going to explain the central concept of ST&NO, so there's clarity among us all. The premise of this feature, for which I am sure I have written well over 100,000 words during the past year, is that insightful analysis can be, and should be, combined with humor, personality, and entertaining writing. Every week, that's what I try to bring to the table, and I work hard to make this a coherent, continuous, unified narrative, which everybody can feel like they're part of.

Now, I am definitely not known for false humility. What good does it do to pretend to lack self-awareness, for the comfort of insecure people? I know my work is very good, and if I didn't think it was, I think I'd be an A-clown to spend so much time on it. Everybody who does this has some ego about their work, believe me.

Believe it or not, watching 6 games on a Monday night, and then writing for 6 hours after that, after working all day, can get pretty boring and tiresome. It is work, just like what I do in my office all day. I choose to do this work because you, my readers, reaffirm that you want to read it every week. It's not worth the effort to just do it for myself.

Now, understand that I'm not going to change anything, really. Not being Joe Milquetoast is frankly a subtle part of the humor of ST&NO, and it's a true picture of who I am as a person. I'm not at all meek, and I'm not looking to inherit the Earth, or any other damn thing. I'm here to work hard and personally earn what I get. When I say I am a high-talent, high-work ethic accountant, it's because that is a demonstrable fact. You'll recall that I said it as part of a larger point about football and the media environment. I have thought all week about whether I am inappropriately arrogant, and I really think that the answer is no. I think I land in a reasonable place, really, given the givens. So, I am going to keep writing, I am going to keep doing work that I am proud of, and I am going to do it to add value for you, and for future readers who aren't even aware of ST&NO yet. I humbly thank you all for being my readers and commenters, and that was the type of humility that I do value; the genuine kind.

7. Retired for John Elway.

8. Okay, I need to end on a good note, and I am going to bed at 1 AM Cleveland time, on Tuesday morning, so I can think and dream on what that note should be. I'll be back in 5 1/2 hours to finish up, hopefully with a great idea. Ready..... STOP

Okay, I am back. Ready.... BEGIN!!! My alarm wakes me up to the local low-brow morning radio show, Rover's Morning Glory. Through my adventures with the snooze bar, I got to hear a lot of stilted Tiger Woods chatter, because apparently, his wife split, and he had some other blond woman over who left in an ambulance this morning.

He's being an idiot, from the sound of things. I don't know who is advising him; maybe T.O.'s publicist who said he had 25 million reasons to live? Tiger ought to just fess up for everything, like David Letterman. When you're in the mud, you might as well just get everything out there voluntarily, because there's no more incremental damage he could take. If you're Wee-Bey, and you're already going to prison for life for six murders, you might trade copping to a few more for a sandwich. The number ceases to matter, as long as it all comes out now.

Tiger's reputation is fried in this moment, so he might as well say, look, yes, I was out fooling around with a lot of other women. I am not even sure how many, but it was more than several. This is a flaw in my character which I am working hard to overcome. Elin and I appreciate you giving us the benefit of some privacy, as we work through a very hard time in each of our lives. (Then, you quit having women over for awhile, and even if you don't, you make sure none of them leave your house in an ambulance.)

By not deflating the story with an "it was a lot / I have a problem" blanket statement, Tiger is letting each new revelation, by each self-serving former mistress, hurt him individually. Duji, the radio chick, was saying there are 10 who have now been identified. That's really not that many, if you're just a regular guy who is serious about philandering. A very average man could do that in a couple months, pretty easily. If you're Tiger Woods, you could have 10 in about 3 days.

Remember the haters? Well, a lot of people love to hate Tiger. He's there with Roger Federer, Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, and Jeff Gordon in that way, as guys who are so talented, and so polished that relatively untalented and unpolished people are apt to hate them. (Gordon ought to have a Gillette commercial, too. I bet they figure people who like Gordon already use good shaving equipment.) It's really an ugly trait, to root for the failure of the most talented people, but a lot of people do it. Let's drag everybody down to our own level.

Tiger needs to go on Oprah or Letterman (probably Letterman is better, given the circumstances.) If he gets all the way clean, and then disappears off the public radar for a few months, this can be stopped pretty effectively. The TMZ's and their ilk will still try to keep it going, but it will fade pretty quickly when there is no new news. Letterman already isn't being actively cast as a philanderer. Tiger can come back in the spring, with a pre-packaged narrative about how these trying times have caused him to re-invest himself in his golf game, win a few tournaments (people will perceive him to have slipped, even though he was recently playing fine), and turn this into a redemption story. Americans love redemption stories, after all.

That's all I have for this week, friends. Have a great one, and as always, tell me what you think in the comments. ST&NO may be ending for now, but the discussion is just beginning.

Washington Redskins Offense Backs Into Hydrant, Then Tree, Found Bloodied and Unconscious On I-95

Sugar — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:04:38 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

Jason Campbell walks off the field after yet another close game against an NFC East opponent.

Browse more photos »

We actually didn't do that bad. Making Philly pay for the opening onside kick was amazing, especially considering it was the first opening drive touchdown we had scored since Week 3 in 2008 (Cardinals...thanks to Matt Terl for that nugget.)

The ability of this offense to convert 3rd downs in long yardage situations is simply intoxicating, but the sheer absurdity of how often we find ourselves in 3rd and long is beyond sobering. Despite the fact that this team actually sustained a few drives yesterday, the calling card of this offense continues to be inconsistency. From the play-calling down to the execution, the lack of an even-keeled smoothness is nowhere to be found. The last couple weeks we have been in games at the end against good teams, but have been unable to close them out. It makes for exciting football to watch, but the repeated heartbreak I feel each week is just miserable. We have proven over the last two seasons that we are incapable of overcoming errors. I understand and tend to agree with the argument that games are not won or lost on one or two plays. But then again, those two early interceptions thrown by JC proved to be too costly to overcome. Maybe the rule should be: "Good teams don't get beat by one bad play."

Throughout the game, I found myself falling head over heels for our defense over and over again. They succeeded yet again in shutting down a pretty good offense for most of the game. Our defensive line got pressure on McNabb and their ability to block and deflect balls at the line and during Donovan's throwing motion resulted in frustration as well as Justin Tryon's first interception. The one knock I guess that remains is...how do you REGULARLY let Desean Jackson go free down the field? How frustrating is it that when the camera shows McNabb loading up a big one, you just KNOW that Desean Jackson is all by himself somewhere, running to the end zone. Doesn't LaRon Landry line up like 30 yards off the ball? How does Jackson get deep on that? It just seems insane that we would say, "Let's make them beat us with the deep ball to Desean!" Because that's what they are good at! It's like leaving a bottle of booze, a camera and Lindsay Lohan alone in a room with...well, with anyone--100% chance of sex tape. London Fletcher put an end to Jackson's day thankfully, but the damage was done.

What was the best play you saw all day? I thought Campbell's scramble and throw to Devin Thomas for a clutch first down in the second half was very strong. I liked it probably just a hair more than his scramble and subsequent TD toss to Fred Davis. What stood out to you?

Even though we are proving ourselves incapable of beating good teams in close games, you don't see the team giving up down the stretch. (You won't hear me extolling the virtues of a moral victory though.) The season is a bust since the playoffs are out of the picture. But we have enough guys with plenty to play for in the weeks ahead. Campbell is playing for a career. Mason and Ganther are playing to get reps on film. Thomas, Kelly, and Davis are playing to secure their roles for next season. Our offensive line is playing...well at least some of them are playing to try and make the team next year. On defense, guys like Jarmon, Orakpo, Barnes and Tryon will continue to learn on the job in the hopes that we won't lose a step next season on defense. The disconnect here is that on the sidelines, I have no feel for what, if anything, coaches and play-callers are doing or even could do to save their jobs or build momentum to next season. The play-calling setup continues to be a mockery as well as fodder for every analyst discussing our team.

I can't let this recap go without a mention of the "settling for a field goal" decision we made late in the game. It was obvious to everyone that we were going for 3 on those last 3 downs before the field goal right? To me, watching Sherm Lewis pussyfoot in the red zone there was 10 times worse than not taking a shot last week against the Cowgirls at the end of the first half on 3rd down with 15 seconds left.

Team Stat Comparison

1st Downs	15	17
Passing 1st downs	11	9
Rushing 1st downs	4	8
1st downs from Penalties	0	0
3rd down efficiency	8-17	5-15
4th down efficiency	0-1	1-1
Total Plays	63	67
Total Yards	303	381
Passing	221	258
Comp-Att	22-37	21-36
Yards per pass	6.0	7.2
Rushing	82	123
Rushing Attempts	25	29
Yards per rush	3.3	4.2
Red Zone (Made-Att)	3-4	1-4
Penalties	7-39	7-60
Turnovers	2	1
Fumbles lost	0	0
Interceptions thrown	2	1
Defensive / Special Teams TDs	0	0
Possession	29:42	30:18

The VRR: Redskins (3-6) @ Cowboys (6-3)

Aaron Novinger — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:29:58 -0000

More photos » by Gerald Herbert - AP

Dallas defenders must try to limit Ladell Betts and the Washington offense.

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The Cowboys can accomplish quite alot in beating the Redskins. Most importantly, they can regain the momentum they lost up in Lambeau. They can also increase their division record to 2-1 and their conference record to 6-2, which could come in handly for tie-breaking purposes down the road.

And, by handing the Redskins their seventh loss on the season, they could pretty much force them to begin waving bye-bye to their playoff chances.

Much of the talk this week at Valley Ranch has centered on Big D's offensive lack of production last week. On the flip side, Washington's offense seemed to show some signs of life for one of the first times this season. At home against Denver, RB Ladell Betts and QB Jason Campbell each scored, WR Devin Thomas showed some play-making potential, and the special teams found success on a fake field goal.

More VRR after the jump.

Perhaps it's the Cowboys' defenders that need to come up big. Beating the Broncos 27-17 last week boosted the Redskins' confidence. Deflating it early could be key.

"Coming off last week's victory, we've definitely got confidence. It was a big confidence-builder for us," Rock Cartwright said.

"You've got to keep it rolling. That's the whole objective," receiver Devin Thomas said. "You can never give up on a season just because things have gone bad. We knew we were just one click away from hitting on all cylinders."

With a win in Dallas, the Redskins would be only two games out of the NFC East lead with six games to play, three against the other division teams - including the Cowboys at home two nights after Christmas. Dallas, whose 57 wins against Washington are more than against any other team, doesn't want things to get that close. The dismal day in Green Bay likely got the Cowboys' attention.

The Cowboys should expect to see a heavy dose of RB Ladell Betts with Clinton Portis (concussion) out.

Betts rushed for a season-high 114 yards on 26 carries in last Sunday’s 27-17 win over the Denver Broncos.

Asked how Portis's status impacts him, Betts replied: "You get to be the man on first, second and third down, because before that, it was pretty much only on third down. Now I know that I get to play a full game, so it’s a little bit different mindset."

And it won't change the offensive game plan vs. Dallas, Zorn added. "We didn't change the run game necessarily to accommodate Ladell," Zorn said. "We ran our stuff, and what he did was push up into the hole and fight for yardage."

The Dallas secondary may be a bit banged up, but Mike Jenkins and Alan Ball sound ready to go. Ball should also receive help from Gerald Sensabaugh.

Cowboys CB Mike Jenkins injured his bicep in the Packers contest. Coach Wade Phillips said Jenkins has looked well and even had a couple of interceptions off QB Jon Kitna in scout team practice.

With S Ken Hamlin (ankle) out of the lineup for the Cowboys the next several weeks, look for safeties Alan Ball and Gerald Sensabaugh to split the duties of lining up the defense. Coach Wade Phillips had high praise for the smarts of Sensabaugh and his ability to handle the job.

Ball talks about the difference between playing free safety and cornerback. Also, it looks as if rookie SS Mike Hamlin will see his first action this week since the preseason.

"At cornerback, you don’t have to talk a lot," Ball said. "At safety, you have to know a lot. You have to make a lot of adjustments, a lot of checks. So you have to know a lot more going in. That’s about what it is."

Ball has five tackles and a pass breakup on defense this season. He has 12 special teams tackles, but is expected to have his special-teams workload lightened this week.

Phillips said rookie safety Mike Hamlin and cornerback Orlando Scandrick will fill in on special teams. Mike Hamlin has not been active this season.

Ball and Doug Free will be replaced on special teams.

With Alan Ball starting at free safety, reserve cornerback Orlando Scandrick will likely become the ``gunner,'' with outside coverage on punt-coverage teams. In addition, offensive tackle Pat McQuistan is scheduled to be active for the first time this season and replace Doug Free as a wall blocker on kickoff returns.

DeMarcus Ware talks about how Washington's blocking schemes and Jason Campbell's mobility in the pocket make it difficult to get to him.

"To be honest, it’s really hard to get to him because they keep in extra guys," Ware said. "They might have some guys on the front line so they do a lot of split backs and a lot of protection schemes to keep the guys off Campbell to make sure he’s effective in the pass."

[snip]

"He’s a great pocket passer," said Ware, who has seven sacks, tied for 10th in the NFL. "He makes sure he has confidence in his line and the guys around him so he can step up in the pocket to make plays."

"When he extends, when he moves around, when he flinches the ball, it causes the secondary, the linebackers, to hesitate, to go, to move," Zorn said. "And then if he can pull it down and have time to hit somebody else, it is very hard. It is the most difficult thing in football because you got the coverage, and if you throw on rhythm, you think you can handle it. When that rhythm's broke and you have to cover long through the coverage that you had, it's hard. It's what makes those quarterbacks very difficult to defend and he's been good at it for a few years."

Brian Orakpo thinks the Packers mapped out a way to get to Romo.

"Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah," Orakpo told ESPN 103.3’s Galloway and Co. "They gave us a lot of good tips the way Green Bay was able to get after it with a lot of different looks. Best believe we’re going to go out there and try to perform some of those things and try to change it up a little bit and give Dallas a little different look."

[snip]

"It seemed like they didn’t know who to block," Orakpo said. "You see guys flying out of nowhere and hitting Romo from behind and forcing fumbles. I mean, they were all over the place. I guess what we’ve got to do is switch it up ourselves. We’ll see how the game plan is and what the calls will be called, but obviously, we got a lot of tips from that game."

Yes, they have Albert Haynesworth and London Fletcher, but the Redskins' run defense isn't all that.

The Redskins continue to struggle in run defense this season. The unit has yielded 100+ rushing yards in eight of nine games this season, including 120 yards in last Sunday’s win over Denver. Overall, the Redskins have allowed an average of 125.7 rushing yards per game, ranked 24th in the league. They have allowed 4.3 yards per carry, which is ranked 17th in the league.

Felix Jones pre-strained knee ligament, and Felix Jones post-strained knee ligament.

Before the injury, Jones had 21 carries for 212 yards (10.1 yards a carry). Since coming back after the bye week and wearing a knee brace, he has 23 carries for 92 yards.

The DallasNews guys talk to Bradie James and Roy Williams about the game.

The Redskins are looking forward to playing in Cowboys Stadium for the first time.

"That’s the first thing I thought about going to Dallas, ‘Man, I get a chance to play in the new stadium,’ Santana Moss said. "Just to see it--I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s all about. It looks nice on TV. You get mesmerized. "I remember seeing the first game there [on TV]--you had cheerleaders dancing on platforms. I was like, ‘Wow.’"

Rock Cartwright admits he plans to check out the video screen, hopefully after he makes a big play. "I’m really looking forward to seeing that screen," Rock Cartwright said. "I guess every seat in the house is a good seat. I’m sure I’ll take a look at it after I make a nice run, or so. But I won’t be focused on it too much. I’ll be focused on what’s happening on the field."

The series history between the two teams:

The Cowboys lead the all-time regular season series with Washington, 57-37-2, including an unconventional split of last year's home-and-home. The Redskins were 26-24 winners in their trip to Texas Stadium in Week 4, but dropped a 14-10 decision when the clubs met at FedEx Field in Week 11. The teams engaged in conventional home-and-home splits in both 2006 and 2007. Washington is 2-0 against Dallas in the postseason, winning in the 1972 and 1982 NFC Championship games.

Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips is 3-2 all-time against Washington, with one of those wins coming for his Bills team in 1999 at FedEx Field. The Redskins' Jim Zorn is 1-1 against both Phillips and the Cowboys as a head man.

Here is the NFL Game Center for the Redskins at Cowboys.

DeMarcus Ware had the privelege of meeting President Obama as they worked together on a PSA to promote the NFL's Play 60 campaign.

"I was like ‘Ohhhh my God,"’ when Obama came out in a Bears pullover, Ware said in a telephone interview. "It was me, Polamalu and Drew Brees there, so you know how we feel about the Chicago Bears. But he’s a big Chicago Bears fan. He greeted each one of us, and he knew everything about our teams."

Ware is Dallas’ representative for the Play 60 program, which began in 2007. The NFL estimates it has committed $200 million worth of programming, grants, and time for PSAs to the initiative.

"I think it’s really important," Ware said. "If the players are getting involved in it, Obama, a lot of important people getting involved in it, sometimes it encourages kids to get out and do those type of activities and show them just how important it is."

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:30:18 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

about 1 month ago: Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall is stopped by Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall during the third quarter of the NFL football game, Nov. 15, 2009 in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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Happy Tuesday, friends, and welcome to another edition of Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations. Here we are again, with another loss to contend with. This one is worse than the last two, because this one looked like a sure victory when we were marking off W's and L's on the schedule. Of course, if Kyle Orton didn't get hurt, it probably is a W, and the Broncos are still sitting on a 1-game lead over the Chargers. Since that's not the way it played out, we have to do the other thing.

We'll get into the details, from soup to chocolate cake, and make some sense of all this, because that's what we do here. We'll explore what happened, we'll find some things to feel positive about, and we'll have some fun. Out of the echo chamber, and into the fire, y'all. Ready..... BEGIN!!!!

1. There's a certain interconnectedness to a football game, and its outcome, among all phases of the game, and all 45 active players. I've talked about this many times before, and John Bena called the loss a team effort in his postgame writeup. I would call this a team effort whose final score is mostly attributable to the poor second half play of the offense, and mostly, of Chris Simms.

What I mean by that is this. Over the first 6 games of the season, the Broncos led the league in scoring defense. They were especially strong defensively in the second half of games. That trend has been turned on its head the last 3 weeks. The last two weeks, especially, I believe that the main reason why the defense struggled in the second half was that they were on the field for too many plays, due to the struggles of the offense. Each side of the ball needs to help the other. The Broncos have been getting shut down on offense, and worn down on defense, and it's been difficult to watch.

Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth were going on and on Sunday night about how the Colts led the NFL in scoring defense heading into this week. If you've watched the Colts, they don't even have a particularly good defense, if there is any chance you can run the ball against them. They have allowed so few points because they deliberately shorten the game when they're on offense, and because once they get a lead, the strength of their defense comes to the fore. They rush the passer well with four men, and drop 7 men into cover-2. If you stay out of situations that are favorable to Indianapolis, you can gash their defense.

This is what has been happening to the Broncos as well. Remember - in the first 6 games, the offense did its best work in the second half of games. They possessed the ball, they took their time, and they methodically controlled the games. When the defense was on the field, they were fresh, they substituted frequently, and they made plays to get off the field quickly.

Kyle Orton played great in the first half Sunday, just as he'd played very well in the first half of the Pittsburgh game, (outside the one interception). For all the hollering that went on about his lack of deep throwing, he threw a couple very nice deep balls for TDs to Brandon Marshall, and he just barely missed another to Eddie Royal. That opened the field vertically. He also did a very nice job on a few bootleg throws to Tony Scheffler, and a crossing pattern to Marshall. Those plays stretched the field horizontally.

The Broncos had Washington where they wanted them. Remember, they moved the ball on the possession where Correll Buckhalter fumbled, and they had the 17-play drive at the end of the first half, to take the 3-point lead. The Orton injury changed the entire complexion of the game. Simms simply couldn't complete a pass, and didn't seem to know where to go with the ball, and a lot of good work by Knowshon Moreno was wasted.

Most teams will struggle when they lose their starting QB. That's a function of the fact that there aren't 32 good QBs in the NFL, let alone 64 of them. I came into this game thinking that the Broncos are in good shape with Simms, if they needed to use him. I hope that he shows better if he has to play against San Diego, after a week of first-team reps. I still do tend to think that Simms can play.

You hate to have a game get away from you because your backup QB couldn't cut it. The only thing worse would be if two games got away for that reason. I expect that Josh McDaniels will have Simms ready to go next week, and that the gameplan will play to his strengths, if they need to use him.

You have to be careful not to let one game unduly affect an evaluation of a team. All the time, teams lay eggs in games, and lose (or nearly lose) to teams they should blow out. Look no further than New Orleans on Sunday, who seemingly tried to lose to St. Louis. Not to say that Dallas should have blown out Green Bay, but they shouldn't have gotten dominated like they did, either.

There's a lot of Chicken Little stuff going on here, and the one thing that will stop it is a victory against San Diego next week. Yes, I know that the Chargers are on a winning streak and the Broncos are on a losing streak. Remember when the Broncos had won 6 in a row, and the Ravens had lost 3 in a row? The Broncos can beat San Diego, which we know, because they already have this season. If they win that game, they'll re-take command of the division, with a one-game lead, and a sweeping of the head-to-head matchup.

2. In the big-time matchup of the week, the Colts got a win against the Patriots, and on Monday, Bill Belichick is being blamed by everybody who doesn't like him personally (AKA just about everyone). The fact is, Belichick has never curried favor with the media, and reporters tend to be critical of you every chance they get, if you don't pay them their due deference.

Joe Biden could tell you all about how that works. He never trusted the media after their treatment of the death of his first wife and daughter in 1972, and it always hurt him later, particularly in his two Presidential bids. John McCain and Barack Obama both have very deft touches with the media, and longstanding strategies of providing them a lot of access, and it was no accident that both were the nominees of their parties in 2008. If you're going to be a public figure, there's a clear benefit to cultivating relationships with reporters. The thing is, not everybody has the stomach for it, and Belichick is one of those guys who doesn't. Brett Favre benefits immensely from his relationship-building efforts, to the point of it being sickening most of the time. I heard somewhere recently that Favre spends hours with the TV guys on Saturday afternoons, as long as they want to hang out, and they really can't help but love on him.

Back to the lecture at hand, I would have done exactly the same thing as Belichick in that game situation, in going for it on 4th and 2 from his own 28. Why did he do it? Because he was pretty close to certain that he would lose the game if he punted, that's why.

Let's say you go by the book, and punt. Over all 2,293 punts in the NFL in 2008, the average net change in field position was 39.53 yards. The right call, if you ask Peter King, or others, was to punt, and give Manning the ball at his own 32, with about 2 minutes, and all 3 timeouts left. I say that that is choosing to lose the game in a way that will leave the coach blameless, as far as the idiot media is concerned. Well, he trusted his defense, and he played the percentages; it's not the coach's fault. Except he didn't play the percentages.

First of all, let's get this nonsense about trusting your defense dispensed with. You should always trust your defense. Former defensive players like Tedy Bruschi, Matt Bowen, and old friend Tom Jackson love this line of thinking, but it's utter horse (manure). You should only trust your defense if you think they are likely to make the stop, and win you the game. If you think they aren't, then it's a fool's errand to trust them. You say to them, hey, realistically, you guys probably weren't going to stop Peyton Manning, which really doesn't make you much different from any other team's defense. There is no room for blind machismo, or making a statement, or worrying about hurt feelings; this is about winning football games, nothing more.

I didn't spend a great deal of time on it, but I took a look at every game recap for the Colts since 2005. (I think 4 ½ seasons is a reasonable sample size.) Since then, including the postseason, Manning has had the ball late in the game, trailing, on 19 occasions which I counted. He came through to either tie or take the lead 15 times, which is a 79% success rate. (In 2007, he was 1-for-4, which was pretty aberrant for this sample. Two of those misses were against the strong 2007 Chargers, whom the Colts struggled to pass-protect against.)

Here's the deal. Statistically, you have a 60% chance of picking up 4th and 2, but that probability is almost certainly greater, due to the fact that you have an outstanding offense, and the Colts have an average-at-best defense. If I were Belichick, I would have put my conversion probability at 70% for that play. That same source says that an average team returning a punt, given those field position- and time parameters, scores 53% of the time. We already know Manning succeeds 79% of the time, because he's one of the greatest QBs ever.

You can choose to probably win, or you can choose to probably lose, in one moment. What do you choose?

Belichick chose to probably win, and came up on the side where the probable outcome wasn't the actual outcome. Serious poker players know exactly what I am talking about here. Sometimes, you play the hand correctly, and you go all-in with the best cards, but you lose anyway. It's a fact of life. You accept it, and you don't complain about it, because you know you made the right call, regardless of the outcome. The next time you're faced with the same situation, you do the same thing, again, because it was the right call.

When I got home Monday night, all I saw and heard was TV talking heads second-guessing the decision. Stuart Scott pretty much butchered the stats, but he actually cited our friends at AdvancedNFLStats.com. The shockingly anti-intellectual Steve Young promptly claimed that the stats aren't legitimate (except they are). We got to hear from Tedy Bruschi how he'd feel as a defensive player on the Patriots, as if that's germane to anything at all. Trent Dilfer's blood boils when he hears the "other side" of the argument, AKA the correct side. Blah, blah, blah. (Sorry, brief possession by an ex-wife-like-entity again.)

Just imagine the reaction if Kevin Faulk had made the 2 yards. The stories today would have been about the stones on Belichick, and how he is such a great coach to make a risky call. It would be like Mike Shanahan going for 2 in the Hochuli Game last season. (Shanahan correctly thought that was his best chance to win. He felt he had a better-than-50 percent chance of scoring the conversion, and he knew that he had a 50% chance of winning a coin toss, and about a 98% chance that the Chargers would score in overtime, if he lost the toss.)

I'm no great defender of Belichick, the man, but when he's right, he's right. If it's an average QB, and an average offense, you might punt in that situation, but against Manning, that's always going to be the wrong call on 4th and 2. Once again, Belichick is smarter than the average bear, and smarter than every member of the football MSM.

3. Information From My Eyes - Broncos at Redskins

a. All four deep throws Orton made were good throws. Eddie Royal misjudged the one incompletion, and Brandon Marshall got out-fought by DeAngelo Hall on the second, but both were definitely well-thrown balls.

b. That fake field goal was a debacle, but I don't personally blame Mike Priefer. My goat on that play is Darrell Reid, who was telling Marcus Thomas to cover Mike Sellers, while he decided to contain the left edge of the offense, as the play flowed right. Alphonso Smith caught some initial blame, but I disagree there. He was in deep center field, and flowed with the play, like anybody would coach him to. Who knew Hunter Smith could throw back across the field?

c. Ryan Clady got beat badly once on Sunday. That doesn't happen often at all, obviously. That's the first sack he allowed that I would say was fully on him.

d. From the department of good news, Matt Prater doesn't seem to be having a second-half slump this season.

e. I was very impressed with Knowshon Moreno's vision and quickness on Sunday.

f. I've already made my evaluation of Mitch Berger, so everybody knows where I am at on that one. I saw somewhere where Frank Schwab, some beat reporter, speculated that Mitch Berger's 65-yard punt might save his job. If a kick that went about 42 yards in the air, and rolled 23 on the ground can do that, something absurd is going on.

g. I had a busy workday Monday, which set my schedule back, and is unfortunately going to preclude me from taking the time to do Between The Lines this week.

On watching the game a second time, though, it occurred to me that the bulk of Washington's success in running the ball was on zone-blocked plays. As I think about it, the Broncos haven't faced much of that this season at all; really just Oakland, who does it crappily. That's really something to work on, because the lateral movement seemed to unsettle the Broncos defensive line.

h. D.J. Williams got blocked a lot, and took a lot of bad angles. Again. This is getting to be an annoying habit.

i. Andra Davis continued to be a bright spot. He is a terrific blitzer and has a great sense of timing for delaying his rush. His missed tackle on that Devin Thomas catch and run in the 4th quarter was bad, but he otherwise graded out very well.

j. On a painful second pass watching the game, Chris Simms lacked timing with the receivers, as much as anything. Every throw was a little late. It seems like Orton may be able to play next Sunday, but if it's Simms, I hope a week's worth of reps will help him build some timing.

4. Information From My Eyes - Other Games:

a. I was really curious to see the Buffalo-Tennessee game, and I recorded the Short Cut overnight, and watched the game Monday evening. Why would I care about this game? Well, the two teams played in the Hall of Fame Game, way back when it was still warm in Cleveland, and my girlfriend at the time called at halftime to break up with me.

In that game, the Bills couldn't block Tennessee, and the Titans looked like a Super Bowl team. So, I wanted to watch Sunday's game, because I wanted a good sense of where these two teams are. Tennessee probably isn't going to make the playoffs, after starting 0-6, but they've righted their ship, and they'd be trouble if they did make it. Their defensive line is still nasty, and I continue to be impressed with the job William Hayes is doing in replacing Jevon Kearse.

b. On the other side, the Bills still are below average on their offensive line. Their two highly-drafted rookies, Eric Wood, and Andy Levitre, particularly struggled, as they both had in the preseason game. Levitre even ended up playing some LT, due to an injury, and he really struggled outside. Wood got pushed backwards consistently in the passing game, and he's been generally pretty good as a rookie. The Bills need to shore up their offensive line in the offseason, and I am sure their new head coach will make that a priority, if they hire a competent one.

c. I am ready to make a pronouncement. If Vince Young couldn't run, he'd be the second coming of Trent Dilfer. He really isn't much of a thrower of the ball, and he leaves too much air under his throws. You can get by with him in a run-heavy offense, which is what the Titans really are.

Because he can run, he adds a useful element, and the team is really dangerous on option plays, and QB runs. His running ability can dictate that teams play man-to-man defense, and keep a guy out of coverage to spy him. Really, the Titans are back to being the 10-6ish team they were in 2007. I think they'll ultimately decide to stick with Young for next season, and look to build up the interior of their offensive line, and their back 7 on defense.

d. It seems like forever ago, but I did watch the Chicago-San Francisco game intently last Thursday. I think my first thought that I'd like to share is that the Bears defense played like they had some pride. I think Tommie Harris playing well made a huge difference. He is really the key to their whole scheme. I ripped him, and them, last week, and I told the guy from WCG who took exception that I'd say when they played well on defense. They did.

e. I don't really feel like I should say anything about Jay Cutler, because this column aims to stay away from saying obvious things. I'll just say it must be nice to have so many apologists when you mess up. He's like the second coming of Ronald Reagan with how teflon he is.

(Tangential ST&NO story - Reagan is a member of my fraternity. When he died in June of 2004, I was a senior at CSU, and President of my chapter, and I was asked to go on local television, to talk about Reagan as a fraternity man. Our guys did a fundraiser, and jumped on a trampoline for 54 straight days in the 80s, to break a Guinness record, while Frater Ronnie was POTUS. He sent us a congratulatory letter, so I focused on that with the news chick, Angie Lau. I had nothing but nice things to say, as Ronnie was definitely a good fraternity man.)

f. Peter King is really proud of himself for naming San Francisco's Aubrayo Franklin a midseason All-Pro as a NT. When Franklin got that scoring-area INT early on last Thursday, I kind of groaned, because I knew there was going to be some crowing about it.

I never have felt like Franklin jumped out, so I watched him closely, and my review is mixed. He didn't play a lot of snaps, so I wonder about his conditioning. He did play pretty stout against the run at times, and I felt like he was a good player overall when he was on the field. I could easily name 10-12 interior defensive players who are better, though. I guess it's fun to have a guy who is your guy, though.

g. Is Marc Bulger a veteran QB? I have always thought he was, but his command of clock management seemed really bad on Sunday. The Rams had a pretty good shot to beat the Saints, and Bulger and his receivers blew it. Man, I can't tell you how much I would hate to be associated with that team, in any capacity. It's got to be so disheartening to have no talent, be almost completely uncompetitive, then have a chance to beat an undefeated team, and blow it. Can you imagine what it's like to be a fan of such a team?

h. Reggie Bush had a really big game for the Saints on Sunday, stepping up from his usual "highly-paid-decoy" role. It's interesting to speculate on how the Saints value him. Obviously, they don't think he's a full-time RB, but he's paid like he's Adrian Peterson. I'd be happy to have him as a swing player, between RB and WR, but he's a backup at both positions, and I'd only pay him backup money. We'll soon see what the Saints think, because if I recall correctly, his contract is pretty well back-loaded.

i. Josh Freeman continues to look like he's the real deal for the Buccaneers, and Raheem Morris continues to look like he's gotten his bearings as a Head Coach. Both did a nice job in Sunday's game, despite Miami's comeback victory.

j. Speaking of Miami, I want to address the "Wildcat." The Dolphins are the only team which has had a lot of success with it, and every time they have a game with limited success, somebody speculates that the "trend" has run its course.

The thing is, Miami doesn't treat it like a trend. They treat it as a key part of the way they play offense, which puts their best players on the field together. They are committed to it, and they will continue to run it. They trade the disadvantage of being formationally unlikely to throw for the advantage of having 2-3 players who are good ball-carriers, who might get the ball in the running game. Other teams are finding that the direct-snap game maybe doesn't work for them. For Miami, it will continue to be an important part of their gameplan.

k. Joey Porter has had a pretty sub-par year, and he was a healthy scratch on Sunday. That raised some eyebrows, and Tony Sparano wouldn't comment on it. It actually parallels Adalius Thomas basically being shut down by the Patriots. Both teams are showing that having a big name and a big salary doesn't guarantee playing time, if you aren't producing on the field. Expect both players to be released after the season.

l. Another game I decided to watch on Monday was Jacksonville at the Jets. The Jets miss Kris Jenkins terribly, and their defense is nowhere near as good as it was when he was healthy. They are having to scheme to stop the inside run, and to keep Bart Scott and David Harris clean, and these things used to just happen. I expect New England to blow them out this coming week.

m. I can see why people like Mark Sanchez, but I continue not to be a fan. He's well-coached, and he has excellent fundamentals. I just think he's very limited as a natural thrower of the ball. I consider him to be a poor man's Matt Ryan, which is another way of calling him a middle class man's Chad Pennington.

Sanchez plays in a windy place, which I have noted before, and that's going to always be an issue. Another issue is that the offensive scheme he is playing in is very vertical, and Sanchez is a poster boy for the West Coast Offense. Rex Ryan inherited Brian Schottenheimer as offensive coordinator, but I don't think Schottenheimer and Sanchez are a very good match. I have to wonder if the Jets don't make a change in the offseason, to bring in somebody to make the passing game's design more horizontal. Mike Shanahan could do wonders with Sanchez, although he won't be going to New York.

Really, as I think about it, if Sanchez and Jason Campbell could trade offensive coaching staffs, they'd probably both be much better off. Two owners traded teams once; why couldn't this happen?

n. There was a crazy sequence in the third quarter, where Sanchez threw an interception to Quentin Groves, then Maurice Jones-Drew fumbled at the goal line, and then Braylon Edwards fumbled at the end of a 41-yard catch. It was a whole lot of ugly going on at once, like the perennially sloppy tendencies of the Jaguars were rubbing off on the Jets.

o. Torry Holt was a great player for many years, despite playing for some obscure St. Louis teams. Really, you could make a case that he was a better player than a few Hall of Famers. (How about Art Monk, Steve Largent, and Lynn Swann to name a few?) I would go so far as to say that he was better than any WR the Broncos have had in my lifetime, a little ahead of Rod Smith.

My point in giving Holt credit, is that I have to say that I think he is getting pretty close to the end of the line. He has really struggled to get any separation, in the times I have watched him this season. He had two strong games, against St. Louis (bad defense) and Seattle (garbage time in a 41-0 game), but I haven't been impressed with his recent work.

p. I loved the call by the Jaguars to have Jones-Drew take a knee and run the clock out. His apology to his fantasy owners made me cringe, though. I may be 7-3 in the official MHR league, but fantasy football is at odds with my beliefs about football, and I have a hard time reconciling the two things.

q. I couldn't talk myself into watching the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh game. Sorry, I know it was a key game, but a game with zero offensive touchdowns offends my sensibilities. (Just in case you were wondering why I had nothing on this game.) I'm sure it was ugly, and I feel fine, personally, having seen the highlights. When I walk into a smelly restroom, I get out as quick as possible. No need to hang around for half an hour, to have a good idea what happened there.

r. Jake Delhomme had a dangerously solid game on Sunday. It was the type of fool's gold performance that makes the regime think they are okay with him as their QB, and really, Jake has been having those games his whole career. The Panthers are suddenly 4-5, and back in the picture for a Wild Card spot, but I really believe that they need a better QB if they ever want to really compete for a championship.

s. Matt Ryan struggled mightily again on Sunday, and his two interceptions were a lot of the reason the Falcons lost the game. His first INT, in the second quarter, led to a TD which set the Falcons behind 21-10. The one he threw in the 4th quarter was converted 3 plays later into the TD which put the game away for Carolina.

Don't get me wrong; Ryan is mostly a good QB, but he has definite limitations, which I have highlighted in the past. He really struggles to beat tight coverage, and he's seen a lot of it lately.

t. Speaking of Hall of Fame-caliber guys who look washed up, old friend Jason Elam seems to have really lost his fastball. He's now 9 for 14, and he's only 3 for 6 between 30 and 39 yards. I would be surprised if he kicks after this season.

u. I always thought Beanie Wells was soft when he was at Ohio State, and he didn't do a lot early this season to change my mind. Lately, though, he's shown a lot better, and he's a big reason why the Cardinals are 6-3, and squarely in control of the NFC West. I've also been more impressed with the play of RT Levi Brown than ever before. He's been blowing some people off the ball in the running game.

v. The Chargers have been really tough in the scoring area lately. Of course, the Eagles helped them out by not even trying to run the ball down there. You have to make the defense think that they have to defend everything, or else they are at a distinct advantage. Only getting field goals of 18, 25, and 25 yards on visits deep into San Diego territory was the difference in that game. A defense can get shredded, as the Chargers did, and if they toughen up in the scoring area, they make up for it. A lot of Donovan McNabb's 450 yards were low-quality.

w. The Chargers sure are paying Darren Sproles a lot of money not to participate very much on offense. He's a lot like Reggie Bush, in being a highly-paid decoy who is never going to be much more than what he is.

x. Hey, Adam Schefter. From a money guy, "large" means thousand. When you say "two hundred fifty thousand large," that means $250 Million. He said that on Monday Night Countdown (Served by Applebee's... really). People misspeak all the time; I just wanted to make sure he knows what "large" means. This is coming from a helpful place.

y. I have to hand it to the Browns. They played really well on defense Monday night. Their offense is just so terrible, that it's no use. Those defensive players are playing for jobs next year, whether it be in Cleveland under a new regime, or elsewhere. Guys who show some pride and effort on bad teams will have some good film for their agents to shop them with. Guys who pack it in will be out of the league, like so many guys who played defense in Denver last season.

z. I actually like to listen to MNF nowadays, as I finish ST&NO every week. The main reason is that I actually think that both Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden are value-adding to listen to. The guys at Mickey Mouse-land spent so many years looking for a good third man, with such horrible results, and they've finally found a good 3-man booth. I actually don't like Mike Tirico, who is good at basketball, but bad at football play-by-play (much like Joe Buck is great with baseball, and abysmal with football).

5. I know the Bengals have always been willing to take on troubled players, but it's hard to imagine what they are thinking in reportedly bringing in Larry Johnson. As LJ was to be the key RB on the Shallow Thoughts team in the official MHR Fantasy League, I can tell you that his performance has been garbage this season. Some of his bad performance can certainly be attributed to bad offensive line play in Kansas City, but Johnson is clearly lacking quickness to the hole, and the leg drive he had in his prime. I just don't see what value the Bengals are going to get out of him.

I've reached midnight, and unfortunately, I need to call it a night. My company is in the process of being acquired, which has caused me to be much busier than normal at this time of the month, and I have an early morning meeting Tuesday. I hope you enjoy this edition of ST&NO, and have a great week. I'll see you all again next Tuesday, hopefully with time to give you my normal output.