10/22/04
- Jaguars running back Fred Taylor has been held under 100 yards rushing for
sixth consecutive games, making this the longest such drought
in his seven-year career.
- Speaking of streaks, when Titans right guard Benji Olson
missed last Sunday's game against the Texans because of a groin
strain it ended his consecutive streak start at 85 games.
- Look for opposition defenses to scrutinize the second half
game tape of the Eagles win over the Panthers. After watching
Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens chew up his pass defense
in the first half for 123 yards on four receptions, Panthers
coach John Fox's adjustments held Owens without a reception
in the second half. Not only that, the Eagles managed just 93
net yards in the second half, all of which, of course, led Owens
to complain that he was underutilized in the final two quarters.
- Keeping with Owens, his 100-yard game against the Panthers was his third
such game in a row, making him the first Eagles receiver to
do so since Mike Quick in 1985.
- Despite Rams coach Mike Martz's assertions during the preseason
that the team would be fine at right tackle with Grant Williams
replacing the injured Kyle Turley, Williams has struggled mightily
this season. He has given up two sacks in each of the team's
last two games against less than Pro Bowl quality defensive
ends (Chike Okafor and Greg Spires). Throw in the three sacks
he allowed to Charles Grant of the Saints and Williams has already
given up multiple sacks in three of the Rams six games this
season.
- Keeping with the Rams, the team hadn't allowed a kick-off
return of longer than 27 yards since their season opener against
the Cardinals. However, with special teams standout Trev Faulk
out on Monday night against Tampa Bay, the Bucs back-up return
man Torrie Cox, subbing for Frank Murphy, had four such returns,
and averaged 38 yards on his four returns.
- Proving once again that it never pays to cross paths with
him, Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer will start rookie 3rd
round pick Nick Hardwick at center over Jason Ball this Sunday
against Carolina. Hardwick had missed the last two games after
undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery so Schottenheimer reasoned
that a player should never lose his job to injury. We might
add, that is especially so when his back-up, although a former
starter, missed time due to a contract holdout.
- Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio proved his defensive acumen again
this past week by moving outside linebacker Greg Favors to defensive
end because of the team's injury problems at the position. Favors
responded with a sack, two passes defensed and four tackles
while lining up against Chiefs left tackle Willie Roaf.. Credit
Favors for not going into a funk after losing his starting linebacker
spot to rookie 2nd round pick Daryl Smith during the preseason.
- Although there's a lot of hoopla over this Sunday's game
between the Jets and the Patriots, and rightfully so considering
first place in the AFC East is on the line, a closer look reveals
this game may not end up being the weekend's best match-up.
Unless you've been under a rock for the last year and a half,
you know about the Patriots 20-game winning streak. What you
might not know is combined record of the five teams the Jets
have beaten is only 6-22. Considering the Jets didn't blow any
of those teams out, this stat is definitely relevant.
- The Dolphins continue to be underwhelmed by the play of 1st
round pick Vernon Carey. After subbing for the injured John
St. Clair over the last two games, Carey will move back to the
bench this week when the veteran journeyman returns from ankle
and knee injuries.
- Keeping with the Dolphins, the team's defense ranks 3rd in
the league, which doesn't mean much when the offense ranks 31st
and has contributed only four touchdowns all season. Throw in
the four touchdowns the offense has given up and that works
out to zero net touchdowns.
- The Cowboys are obviously struggling with their rushing offense
and passing defense, but the deficiencies wouldn't be so noticeable
had the team performed better in the fourth quarter of their
games this season. After Pittsburgh's fourth quarter comeback
on Sunday, the Cowboys have now been outscored 45-9 in the fourth
quarter of their games.
- The Titans have to be concerned about the play of starting
cornerback Andre Dyson. After recording a career-high four interceptions
in 2003, the team felt Dyson was ready to solidify his role
as a solid number two cornerback starting opposite Samari Rolle.
However, the 2001 2nd round pick has regressed this season and
is now a constant target for opposing offenses, having given
up big plays in almost every game this season.
- Great move by Browns coach Butch Davis to trade his underachieving
wide receiver Quincy Morgan for Cowboys underachieving wide
receiver Antonio Bryant. Although each player was selected in
the 2nd round, each player had been a huge disappointment to
their teams. Considering Bryant had never been known to study
his playbook extensively in Dallas, don't look for him to contribute
much until later in the season, not that there's any guarantee
he'll produce then either. Chalk this trade up to each team
doing their best to hide their busted draft choices.
- Hard to believe but with their loss to the Redskins on Sunday,
the Bears have now lost three seasons in a row after their bye
week.
- After three games, Seattle's defense led the league, giving
up 4.3 points per game. Over the last four and a half quarters
against the Rams and Patriots, the defense has given up 53 points.
With defensive end Grant Wistrom expected to miss four to six
weeks with a left knee fracture, don't look for the Seattle
defense to come anywhere close to duplicating their performance
over the first three weeks of the season.
- With back-up defensive backs Willie Middlebrooks (hamstring)
and Lenny Walls (shoulder) doubtful for this week's game against
the Bengals, the Broncos will have to look to rookies Jeff Shoate
and Roc Alexander to fill in. However, this shouldn't be a major
factor considering Kelley Washington and T.J. Houshmandzadeh
have not adequately replaced Peter Warrick at wide receiver
for the Bengals.
- Redskins coach Joe Gibbs sent a message to his players this
week by releasing starting tight end Walter Rasby. Despite signing
a three-year, $2.7-million contract in the off-season, Rasby's
job apparently wasn't secure given his poor performance in run
blocking.
- Keeping with the Redskins, it can only be a matter of time
before Mark Brunell is replaced in the starting line-up by Patrick
Ramsey. In six games, Brunell has cracked 200 yards passing
only once and he has passed for only 178 yards over the last
two games. Although he has only thrown three interceptions,
he has fumbled six times and lost four. In addition, he isn't
helping the offensive line out because he appears to have lost
most of his ability and cannot escape the rush. Either coach
Gibbs doesn't want to admit his mistake in acquiring Brunell
(seven-year, $43.6-million contract that included an $8.6-million
signing bonus) or else Ramsey has looked very poor in practice.
- The Chiefs would like to replace cornerback Dexter McCleon
in the starting line-up after he was roasted last week against
the Jaguars (first by Jimmy Smith, then by Cortez Hankton).
However, the coaching staff has almost no confidence in 2003
3rd round pick Julian Battle or 2000 2nd round pick William
Bartee.
- So much for the Saints fixing their cornerback problems with
the acquisition of Mike McKenzie from the Packers. McKenzie
was benched for half the game against the Vikings before being
reinserted in the fourth quarter to replace the injured Ashley
Ambrose. With Ambrose out this week, the team has decided to
leave Fred Thomas as the third cornerback while elevating Fakhir
Brown into the starting line-up. Thomas becomes the second Saints
cornerback to fall deeply into coach Jim Haslett's doghouse
this year, following in the footsteps of off-season acquisition
Jason Craft who rarely sees the field other than on special
teams.
- The Cowboys hoped to have Darren Woodson back this week but
the veteran safety hasn't fully recovered from off-season back
surgery. Coach Bill Parcells would like Woodson back soon to
help stabilize a secondary that has performed poorly for much
of the season.
- With defensive tackle Fred Robbins questionable this week
with a shoulder injury, 2003 1st round pick William Joseph will
likely make his first career start. Although Joseph was beaten
out in training camp by Robbins and Norman Hand for the starting
positions, he has played well and has already duplicated his
rookie year statistics.
- Look for the Chiefs to further reduce wide receiver Dante
Hall's role in the team's offense now that Eddie Kennison has
returned to the starting line-up. With Kennison and Johnnie
Morton starting and 2nd year player Chris Horn showing some
potential as a third wideout, it's likely the team will reduce
Hall's workload in order to save his energy for the return game
where he has struggled in 2004.
|
