StingerNLG
10-08-2007, 11:34 PM
Having a cold absolutely sucks. I have been under the weather since Friday, and it's been complicated with a band gig on Saturday in Great Falls, VA and band practice on Sunday right in the middle of the damn game. And although I didn't miss much, I at least DVR'd it so I could finish it when I got home.
Around the league we go!
- How did the Cowboys win tonight? But more importantly, the Bills put up 24 points on the 4-0 Cowboys. The Cowboys led for all of 2 seconds in the entire game! The Bills aren't a "gimme" team. Two defensive returns for touchdowns, kids. And we play them right before the bye.
- Let's play "If I knew then what I know now". It's one of my favorite games. Ok, I'll start. If I knew then what I know now, I would have been all for taking a serious shot at landing Randy Moss. I would have traded the potential for him to be a smartass with his ability to jump over 100% of the cornerbacks in the league, and still be able to outrun about 75% of them. Don't get me wrong, Tom Brady throwing the ball to him hasn't hurt. But wow.
- Speaking of Tom Brady. 74.1% passing. 16 TD's, 2 INT's. 19 passes over 20 yards. Passer rating of 128.7. The only person with a better passing competion than Tom Brady is LaDainian Tomlinson; who's 1 for 1. Look over this stat line one more time. If Tom Brady breaks his leg walking out of his front door one day and misses the rest of the season, the Patriots might be DONE. And something like that will be how it happens, because he'll never get hurt behind that OL of his.
- 41 to 3??? Are you kidding me? No, that wasn't the VA Tech/Clemson game score. At least Clemson scored 13 points. No, I'm talking about the Chargers and Broncos. And in case you missed the game, Denver scored the 3 points. 41-3. Erf. And we play the Chargers. Remember, the Broncos have Champ Bailey and Dre Bly. We don't even know if Samari Rolle will be playing by then.
- And finally, the Saints are done. 0-4 ain't getting you to the playoffs. I still also think the Bears are done despite Sunday's dramatic win over the Packers. In my Ny-Quill induced stooper, I turned the game off and fell asleep right after the Bears tied the game.
- While I'm at it you can cross off the Bengals, the Jets, and maybe still the Chargers from the playoffs. I will be surprised if they make it. Especially with some surprise teams out there that MIGHT shock people this year. The Texans are 3-2. The Titans are 3-1. For that matter, NO TEAM in the AFC South has a losing record yet. I'm just saying.
Ok, onto the Ravens:
- Let me start with some good stuff this time. Massive props to the offensive line Sunday. Yeah, I know it's the 49'ers. But think about the guys that ended up in the game. Gaither, Brown, Chester, Grubbs, Yanda. And for all of them having to step in and play under these circumstances and be able to protect the QB like they have all year, they stepped up! Adam Terry included. I hope he gets healthy soon too, because he will be one of the anchors of the line for our future. And I'm more ok with that this year than last. Now, I want to see how this OL works against the Steelers, and the Patriots, and the Colts. But I am not as worried about the offensive line as I have been in years past.
- Thumbs up to the defense for stepping up to the plate and getting some of their groove back. Call it what you want, an easy game, or a tool up for the coming weeks. I know the 49'ers had no offense Sunday, well except they were the only team to score a touchdown Sunday but I am not to my angry Stinger part yet, but the defense had to stop a very good Frank Gore. And they did. And that touchdown was just a good hard throw, because McAlister had good coverage on his man and just couldn't get the hand swat in time. Filmstudy is going to do a much much better job than me with analyzing the defense. But it did look to me like they buckled down and started playing straight-up no-trick defense. They swarmed to the ball, and finally picked up some non-corner sacks. Now, show me against the Rams and the Bills and I'll breathe easier about post-bye games.
- If Matt Stover breaks HIS leg walking out his front door, we are absolutely screwed. He is the greatest player in Baltimore Raven's history. He should be in the Ring of Honor right now, and he's still playing!! That's all I need to say.
Update: Good night New York Yankees. The party is over. Cleveland wins. Good night Joe Torre. You managed your last game in Pinstripes. Oh, and I wouldn't answer your phone for a couple of weeks Brian Cashman. I don't know that your job is safe either.
And on MNF the Cowboys almost tied the game! Romo led the team to a touchdown, but couldn't convert the 2 points and it's now 24-23 Buffalo!
- Ok, so now I have to talk about it. As it was said by the baseball announcer (who played Squiggy in Laverne and Shirley) in "A League of Their Own", I have seen enough to know I've seen too much. I watched Steve McNair try to run for a first down in open space, and not able to accellerate to the marker and get tackled well short. Then I watched him throw a pass that was batted straight up in the air, and almost picked off right in front of him. The problem was that while McNair's arm motion looked like a full pass, the ball seemed to come out of his hand like it was a nerf ball. Then I watched a ball sail over D-Will's head in the endzone. And while McNair completed 29 passes, he was once again overthrowing receivers and checking down almost without even waiting to see if his main guys were even open! I don't know what is wrong with McNair right now. Is it his groin? Is his groin causing him mental breakdowns as well? Whatever it is, it's time for him to sit. It just is. I just don't think he's got it right now. And I am not sure if he's got it at all anymore. You CAN NOT take away what McNair has done in his career. And I won't do it either. But he isn't that guy anymore.
And ok, I know Boller still scares some of you. Fine. But take your pick. See if he has improved enough to give you hope for the future against the Rams and the Bills and then have a hopefully fully healthy McNair for the stretch run? Or do you want to risk someone sacking McNair one time and losing him for 6-8 weeks? Many people, even those who hated Boller in the past are starting to see the improvement in him. And as I continue to say, credit Steve McNair's being here for that. And now we have an opportunity to take some time to see if that's real. If we don't, I am not sure we're going to survive after the bye. Billick and the team needs to do the right thing.
- Now, there is one thing that clouds the offensive woes that I can't figure out. I just can't figure out why we can't throw the ball more than 5 yards. Seriously. Can McNair simply not get the ball down there? Can the receivers not get down there in time? Or have we finally seen that Billick has zero confidence in either? I have a couple questions. Why did we waste a 1st round pick on Mark Clayton to be a possession receiver? Why did we draft Demetrius Williams again? So that all three of our receivers can run 5-7 yard zone patterns?
Let me put it this way. Yamon Figurs came in for a play on offense. He caught a HITCH PASS BEHIND THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE! It was listed as a BACKWARDS PASS for -1 YARDS!! Now let me get this straight. Figurs was the fastest guy at the entire combine. Ran the 40 in 4.29. Was considered one of the Big 12’s top deep threats. A backwards pass for -1 yards.
I am not a big "Brian Billick sucks, he has to go" kind of guy. I never really have been. But when I continue to see this 9 years after he gets here, I start to wonder if the problem really does stem from the source. We've been promised a more prolific offense now for years. The QB is the problem, so we draft, draft, and then replace the QB. The OL was a problem. But now we've gotten younger and more athletic, and they are protecting the QB. The coordinators were the problem, so they fired Cavanaugh and Fassel, and made sure Newheisel was basically give an empty title. We upgraded the receivers. And yet we just won a game 9-7, and the team that was missing it's left tackle, tight end, and starting 1st overall pick QB scored the only touchdown of the game. And we had to once again settle for 3 field goals.
Update: I can't believe the Cowboys pulled the game out! 25-24, and it was a wild WILD ending. How the Bills lost that game is beyond me! How do you force 5 turnovers and still lose???
- Ok, my final thought for the night. This is not the week for me to hear "A win is a win". Let me tell you how many points the teams we are about to play scored this week:
St. Louis: 31
Buffalo: 24
Pittsburgh: 21 (and shut out the Seahawks without their all-pro safety)
And that doesn't even factor in us playing the Patriots, Colts, Browns again, Bengals again, and Pittsburgh a second time. If we can't score more than 9 points and get a touchdown against the lowly 49'ers, who's expecting us to score anything on these other teams?
Can anyone honestly tell me we'll be fine against these teams? That we'll be able to play dink-and-dunk-and-FG against the Patriots or Steelers? What happens when a good team stops Willis McGahee and forces us to beat them in the air?
I'm sorry guys, but while I want to breathe easy and say we're 3-2 and that's ok, it's not for me. I have legitimate fears about coming out of bye 5-2 at best (and even that isn't a given), and then having a tough time getting to the playoffs after that. Something NEEDS to change on this offense or we're not going anywhere this week.
Ok guys, your turn. Take it away!!
Around the league we go!
- How did the Cowboys win tonight? But more importantly, the Bills put up 24 points on the 4-0 Cowboys. The Cowboys led for all of 2 seconds in the entire game! The Bills aren't a "gimme" team. Two defensive returns for touchdowns, kids. And we play them right before the bye.
- Let's play "If I knew then what I know now". It's one of my favorite games. Ok, I'll start. If I knew then what I know now, I would have been all for taking a serious shot at landing Randy Moss. I would have traded the potential for him to be a smartass with his ability to jump over 100% of the cornerbacks in the league, and still be able to outrun about 75% of them. Don't get me wrong, Tom Brady throwing the ball to him hasn't hurt. But wow.
- Speaking of Tom Brady. 74.1% passing. 16 TD's, 2 INT's. 19 passes over 20 yards. Passer rating of 128.7. The only person with a better passing competion than Tom Brady is LaDainian Tomlinson; who's 1 for 1. Look over this stat line one more time. If Tom Brady breaks his leg walking out of his front door one day and misses the rest of the season, the Patriots might be DONE. And something like that will be how it happens, because he'll never get hurt behind that OL of his.
- 41 to 3??? Are you kidding me? No, that wasn't the VA Tech/Clemson game score. At least Clemson scored 13 points. No, I'm talking about the Chargers and Broncos. And in case you missed the game, Denver scored the 3 points. 41-3. Erf. And we play the Chargers. Remember, the Broncos have Champ Bailey and Dre Bly. We don't even know if Samari Rolle will be playing by then.
- And finally, the Saints are done. 0-4 ain't getting you to the playoffs. I still also think the Bears are done despite Sunday's dramatic win over the Packers. In my Ny-Quill induced stooper, I turned the game off and fell asleep right after the Bears tied the game.
- While I'm at it you can cross off the Bengals, the Jets, and maybe still the Chargers from the playoffs. I will be surprised if they make it. Especially with some surprise teams out there that MIGHT shock people this year. The Texans are 3-2. The Titans are 3-1. For that matter, NO TEAM in the AFC South has a losing record yet. I'm just saying.
Ok, onto the Ravens:
- Let me start with some good stuff this time. Massive props to the offensive line Sunday. Yeah, I know it's the 49'ers. But think about the guys that ended up in the game. Gaither, Brown, Chester, Grubbs, Yanda. And for all of them having to step in and play under these circumstances and be able to protect the QB like they have all year, they stepped up! Adam Terry included. I hope he gets healthy soon too, because he will be one of the anchors of the line for our future. And I'm more ok with that this year than last. Now, I want to see how this OL works against the Steelers, and the Patriots, and the Colts. But I am not as worried about the offensive line as I have been in years past.
- Thumbs up to the defense for stepping up to the plate and getting some of their groove back. Call it what you want, an easy game, or a tool up for the coming weeks. I know the 49'ers had no offense Sunday, well except they were the only team to score a touchdown Sunday but I am not to my angry Stinger part yet, but the defense had to stop a very good Frank Gore. And they did. And that touchdown was just a good hard throw, because McAlister had good coverage on his man and just couldn't get the hand swat in time. Filmstudy is going to do a much much better job than me with analyzing the defense. But it did look to me like they buckled down and started playing straight-up no-trick defense. They swarmed to the ball, and finally picked up some non-corner sacks. Now, show me against the Rams and the Bills and I'll breathe easier about post-bye games.
- If Matt Stover breaks HIS leg walking out his front door, we are absolutely screwed. He is the greatest player in Baltimore Raven's history. He should be in the Ring of Honor right now, and he's still playing!! That's all I need to say.
Update: Good night New York Yankees. The party is over. Cleveland wins. Good night Joe Torre. You managed your last game in Pinstripes. Oh, and I wouldn't answer your phone for a couple of weeks Brian Cashman. I don't know that your job is safe either.
And on MNF the Cowboys almost tied the game! Romo led the team to a touchdown, but couldn't convert the 2 points and it's now 24-23 Buffalo!
- Ok, so now I have to talk about it. As it was said by the baseball announcer (who played Squiggy in Laverne and Shirley) in "A League of Their Own", I have seen enough to know I've seen too much. I watched Steve McNair try to run for a first down in open space, and not able to accellerate to the marker and get tackled well short. Then I watched him throw a pass that was batted straight up in the air, and almost picked off right in front of him. The problem was that while McNair's arm motion looked like a full pass, the ball seemed to come out of his hand like it was a nerf ball. Then I watched a ball sail over D-Will's head in the endzone. And while McNair completed 29 passes, he was once again overthrowing receivers and checking down almost without even waiting to see if his main guys were even open! I don't know what is wrong with McNair right now. Is it his groin? Is his groin causing him mental breakdowns as well? Whatever it is, it's time for him to sit. It just is. I just don't think he's got it right now. And I am not sure if he's got it at all anymore. You CAN NOT take away what McNair has done in his career. And I won't do it either. But he isn't that guy anymore.
And ok, I know Boller still scares some of you. Fine. But take your pick. See if he has improved enough to give you hope for the future against the Rams and the Bills and then have a hopefully fully healthy McNair for the stretch run? Or do you want to risk someone sacking McNair one time and losing him for 6-8 weeks? Many people, even those who hated Boller in the past are starting to see the improvement in him. And as I continue to say, credit Steve McNair's being here for that. And now we have an opportunity to take some time to see if that's real. If we don't, I am not sure we're going to survive after the bye. Billick and the team needs to do the right thing.
- Now, there is one thing that clouds the offensive woes that I can't figure out. I just can't figure out why we can't throw the ball more than 5 yards. Seriously. Can McNair simply not get the ball down there? Can the receivers not get down there in time? Or have we finally seen that Billick has zero confidence in either? I have a couple questions. Why did we waste a 1st round pick on Mark Clayton to be a possession receiver? Why did we draft Demetrius Williams again? So that all three of our receivers can run 5-7 yard zone patterns?
Let me put it this way. Yamon Figurs came in for a play on offense. He caught a HITCH PASS BEHIND THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE! It was listed as a BACKWARDS PASS for -1 YARDS!! Now let me get this straight. Figurs was the fastest guy at the entire combine. Ran the 40 in 4.29. Was considered one of the Big 12’s top deep threats. A backwards pass for -1 yards.
I am not a big "Brian Billick sucks, he has to go" kind of guy. I never really have been. But when I continue to see this 9 years after he gets here, I start to wonder if the problem really does stem from the source. We've been promised a more prolific offense now for years. The QB is the problem, so we draft, draft, and then replace the QB. The OL was a problem. But now we've gotten younger and more athletic, and they are protecting the QB. The coordinators were the problem, so they fired Cavanaugh and Fassel, and made sure Newheisel was basically give an empty title. We upgraded the receivers. And yet we just won a game 9-7, and the team that was missing it's left tackle, tight end, and starting 1st overall pick QB scored the only touchdown of the game. And we had to once again settle for 3 field goals.
Update: I can't believe the Cowboys pulled the game out! 25-24, and it was a wild WILD ending. How the Bills lost that game is beyond me! How do you force 5 turnovers and still lose???
- Ok, my final thought for the night. This is not the week for me to hear "A win is a win". Let me tell you how many points the teams we are about to play scored this week:
St. Louis: 31
Buffalo: 24
Pittsburgh: 21 (and shut out the Seahawks without their all-pro safety)
And that doesn't even factor in us playing the Patriots, Colts, Browns again, Bengals again, and Pittsburgh a second time. If we can't score more than 9 points and get a touchdown against the lowly 49'ers, who's expecting us to score anything on these other teams?
Can anyone honestly tell me we'll be fine against these teams? That we'll be able to play dink-and-dunk-and-FG against the Patriots or Steelers? What happens when a good team stops Willis McGahee and forces us to beat them in the air?
I'm sorry guys, but while I want to breathe easy and say we're 3-2 and that's ok, it's not for me. I have legitimate fears about coming out of bye 5-2 at best (and even that isn't a given), and then having a tough time getting to the playoffs after that. Something NEEDS to change on this offense or we're not going anywhere this week.
Ok guys, your turn. Take it away!!