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Week 8: Extra points...and Opinions
Monday, October 30, 2006
By Tovash Hatcher
Since it's Halloween week, I have the scariest movie title..."The NFL just keeps getting better and better" (insert your own scream). If your Halloween night is a little less scary than normal, it's probably because witches, evil clowns, Jason, Freddy, Myers, and the other guys will be tuned in to the NFL waiting for next week's NFL action. Heck, even the ghosts, ghouls, and goblins will find themselves preparing for Halloween night by tuning in to the Monday night games pairing the Patriots and Vikings. Everyone is doing their part in keeping the professional game of football at the top of the watching list. I'm pretty sure that the man upstairs even puts off performing miracles for at least 4 quarters on Sundays.
I even blame the NFL for overshadowing this country's pastime...baseball. Did you know that there was a world champion that was crowned in the form of the St. Louis Cardinals? Congrats to Tony La Russa and the rest of the Cardinals for winning the 2006 title. But for some reason, I think the sports audience forgot to tune in to see it. I hold the NFL responsible for that too.
I was one to tune in on Sunday when I saw a guy in a Michael Vick costume pick apart the Bengals secondary like a fat man dissecting a turkey leg. Oh wait, that was Michael Vick? This just in, Michael Vick is now a precision pocket passer. Sarcasm is hard to interpret in print but that last sentence was totally just that. Michael Vick has been getting better behind center for the Falcons and it's beginning to be a little frightening to opposing teams. With 7 touchdown passes in the last 3 games, Vick is back to being that dangerous QB from Virginia Tech. Yesterday Vick and the Falcons took on the interception happy Bengals defense. Vick's numbers were pro-bowl like. He threw for 20/28 for 291 yards and those 3 TD passes. And for those of you who are still non-believers, he's done this against quality opponents in the tough AFC. If I can recall the Steelers are still the champs and the Bengals are teetering on the edge of greatness. Ok, enough with the Vick love because other superstars also played in yesterday's game as well. The Bengals have a wide receiver that somehow loves media attention. During the week, Chad Johnson changed his name to; get ready for this...Ocho Cinco?? What the hell? He made a prediction that he was going to run circles around Falcons' corner DeAngelo Hall. He predicted that he would end up scoring two TDs. Although he did get to paydirt once, Hall and the Falcons left Ohio with a 29-27 victory.
Let's do a quick tongue-twister. Try saying "unpredictable NFL" five times straight. Tough to do? It's tough for me to even think that analysts and experts can make their weekly picks with confidence. Some results of Sunday's action will haunt your soul and send chills down your spine. The next two games will shed some light on this theory of mine.
1) The Eagles were finally able to get some home cooking on Sunday. After laying a goose egg on the road, the Philly fans at Lincoln Financial were ready to cheer their team on to victory...so it seemed. Without starting QB Byron Leftwich the Jags seemed to be destined to fall to the Eagles. Not so fast my feathered friends. The Jaguars' defense looked like the same Jags defense that ran thru Dallas and Pittsburgh to open the season. All of a sudden Donovan McNabb and the Eagles resemble a team that could be on the ropes for the season. Jacksonville scored early and often. They scored first by punching the ball in on a 15-yard TD scamper by Fred Taylor. That proved to be plenty since Mr. McNabb could not put together a good performance against the Jags to save his life. He was only able to throw for 18/34 with 161 yards. The Eagles were only able to get 2 field goals for the entire game. They fall to the Jaguars at home by the score of 13-6 and fall to third in the NFC East with a 4-4 record.
2) The World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers got to experience the "black hole" that is known as Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland as the Raiders played host. One word describes the way Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger...horrible. I'm telling you now, the man should be benched. If I'm Bill Cowher I'd bench Roethlisberger ASAP! Whenever a guy suffers a concussion the week before, I think it's his call on whether he should be playing or not. But when is enough, enough? The Raiders took back 2 interceptions for TDs, one which was for 100 yards by Raiders' CB Chris Carr. Roethlisberger was able to muster up one TD pass to Willie Parker. Who would have thought that by the end of Week 8, the Steelers and the Raiders would be deadlocked with a 2-5 record? One more thing, don't think that Oakland came out and dominated the Steelers with potent offense. Andrew Walter the Raiders' QB threw for a laughable 51 yards on 5/14 passing. It's ridiculous that the World Champs are playing this way. Pretty soon Steelers faithful will be calling for the head on the head coach which by the way, is the longest tenured coach in the NFL. Things will be quite interesting in the next couple of weeks in Steelers nation. The Raiders topped the Steelers 20-13 on their way to a 2-game winning streak.
And did the ghost of Troy Aikman return in the form of Tony Romo? After losing an embarrassing game to the New York Giants on Monday night, the Cowboys found themselves with a new starting QB and more problems. On Sunday night in front of the nation again the Cowboys went into Carolina to face the Panthers. For the 98% of you that began to count the Cowboys out for the season, you didn't know of the secret weapon that Jerry Jones had in store huh? Last night I watched a brand new Cowboy offense, special teams, and defense. Hell, even the head coach looked to be brand new. With the proverbial passing of the torch from Bledsoe to Romo, many critics believed that Tony Romo would not be the longtime answer for Dallas. Romo temporarily silenced all skeptics by throwing 24/36 for 270 yards with 1 TD and one INT. Here in Dallas everyone is going wild for Romo and the new found offense. One thing that I do like about Romo is this; he throws the ball to pro-bowl receivers!! Owens, Witten, and Terry Glenn got a good workout on the Panthers defense by coming up with grab after grab. The offensive line seemed to be rejuvenated also by not allowing the above average Panthers defense. The nation's favorite receiver, Terrell Owens, had 9 grabs that went for 107 yards. Julius Jones and Marion Barber helped keep the offense balanced by combining for over 150 yards on the ground. The Panthers didn't help their cause either. Dropped passes haunted receivers and turnovers were constant. All-world receiver Steve Smith was kept in check by Cowboys defensive back Terrance Newman. Dallas rallied in the 4th quarter to score 25 points and running away from Carolina with the final of 35-14. Head coach Bill Parcells told the media in the post game press conference that he actually enjoyed the game. Just 6 short days ago Parcells was "embarrassed" to even put that team out on the field.
Coaching legend Vince Lombardi once said that "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing". I guess winning does cure everything huh?
I'm Tovash Hatcher
5:49 PM
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