Week 8 Wrap
Sunday of Discontent
Ben Roethlisberger threw four interceptions one week after he suffered a concussion.
I think every person has experienced a moment where they’ve been humiliated about something embarrassing. Of course, this does not include Joe Theismann, whom I’m convinced is robot programmed to contradict himself every five seconds.
One of my friends – I won’t mention his name, and you’ll understand why in second – ran out of the bathroom, pants down, at our swim club when he was 12 years old, because he thought he heard a ghost talking to him while he was doing his business. Meanwhile, my cousin had too much to drink at a family gathering, and consequently threw up all over herself in front of all of our relatives. One of my most embarrassing moments occurred during an eighth-grade talent show. I was suppose to sing a Beatles song with two of my friends. Unfortunately, not only did I forget half of the words to the song, my fly also happened to be down. So, I’m not really sure which aspect of my performance the audience laughed at.
Nearly everyone reading this doesn’t know a single person working for the Steelers’ organization personally, but we can all name an instance where every player on Pittsburgh’s roster was thoroughly humiliated. That happened to occur Sunday afternoon, 4:15 Eastern, 1:15 Pacific.
Any team that loses to the Raiders naturally deserves to feel disgraced. Oakland, after all, is one of the worst teams in NFL history. No one is really sure if its coach has a pulse. Its leader is an oft-disgruntled receiver who has a knack for walking off the field during the game, and running over police officers in his car. The team’s quarterback, Andrew Walter, has a name that would lead people to believe that he’s either an actor on a soap opera, or a run-in-the-mill porn star. Its owner, meanwhile, seems to be stuck in a time vortex, and probably thinks that the year is still 1976.
So, in case you weren’t sure, that’s why the entire Steelers organization should feel ashamed of itself, given that it just lost to the Raiders, 20-13, as a 9-point road favorite. And this wasn’t just an ordinary regular-season contest; Pittsburgh’s season was essentially on the line, given that this latest loss dropped them to 2-5. Let me put it this way: The Steelers need to finish 8-1 just to have a shot at the postseason, meaning that they have to beat Cincinnati, Denver, Carolina and Baltimore twice.
While everyone on Pittsburgh’s roster deserves a piece of the blame, the person who has to shoulder most of it is Bill Cowher, who stuck with Ben Roethlisberger too long, even though it was clearly evident that the third-year signal caller had not fully recovered from the concussion he suffered at Atlanta last week. Cowher should have yanked Roethlisberger after he threw two interceptions during his first three drives. Or maybe he should have made the switch when Andrew Walter had more passing yards (53) than Roethlisbeger (52) with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Charlie Batch couldn’t have possibly played worse.
Now, thanks to Cowher’s indecision, Pittsburgh has the same record as the Raiders, while analysts like Sterling Sharpe are opining that Batch is the future of the Steelers’ organization.
In other words, Pittsburgh basically ran out of the bathroom with its fly down and threw up on itself.
EXTRA POINTS
Arizona Cardinals: Is www.firedennisgreen.com up yet? If not, that’s because there aren’t too many Cardinal fans. Arizona has clearly quit on Dennis Green in the wake of its Monday night debacle against Chicago. Maybe if Green actually admitted he was at fault for his team’s collapse, and refrained from labeling his former offensive coordinator as a scapegoat, his squad would still be playing hard for him. I won’t be surprised if the Cardinals finish 1-15.
Atlanta Falcons: I’m not sure if Matt Schaub kidnaped Michael Vick, painted himself black and has replaced him as the starting quarterback on the field, or if Vick simply received good luck from the passing-yard fairy, but the Falcons are actually throwing the ball well for a change. Vick was prolific, going 20-of-28 for 291 yards and three touchdowns. Seriously, who is this guy and what has he done with the old Michael Vick?
Baltimore Ravens: Every week, I try to learn something so I can improve upon my predictions. From now on, I’m going to pay attention to teams in desperation mode that do something drastic. Coming off back-to-back losses, Brian Billick fired offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, alerting everyone that he was pushing the panic button. Baltimore’s recent futility had everyone – including myself – pointing out that Kyle Boller played better than Steve McNair against Carolina. In hindsight, there was no way the Ravens were losing to the Saints.
More Baltimore Ravens: Major props to the Ravens, who figured out how to shut down New Orleans’ two-headed running back monster. Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister combined for only 27 yards on 10 carries. Meanwhile, Bush caught four passes for just five yards.
Chicago Bears: In case you missed it, the Bears maintained a 41-0 lead against the 49ers on Sunday. I’m just disappointed Chicago didn’t run up the score. Why not win 82-0? They needed the margin of victory to secure first place in the BCS. See how stupid that system is?
Cleveland Browns: You know the thing I said about the Ravens and the panic button? The same applied to the Browns last week, who scored 20 points after firing their offensive coordinator.
Dallas Cowboys: Tony Romo, who wears No. 9, is the ninth starting quarterback for the Cowboys since Troy Aikman retired. But if he keeps playing like he did on Sunday night, there won’t be a 10th for a very long time. Romo threw for 270 yards and a touchdown, beating the Panthers, 35-14. More importantly, he has developed a rapport with Terrell Owens that Drew Bledsoe was never able to do. Romo just seems like he knows how to handle Owens; he throws him the ball often, and pumps up his ego.
Denver Broncos: If you watched the Denver-Indianapolis game on CBS, you saw the Broncos celebrate after Jason Elam’s game-tying field goal with 1:49 remaining in regulation. I have one question: Were they delirious? I thought it was fairly obvious that Peyton Manning would be able to orchestrate a decisive drive. I guess Denver just forgot how good he is.
Green Bay Packers: In my most recent 2007 mock draft, I have the Packers taking California running back Marshawn Lynch No. 8 overall. I may have to rethink that selection; second-year back Vernand Morency rushed for 101 yards on only 11 carries, although it was against the Cardinals. Mike McCarthy should give Morency more opportunities to see if he can carry the load once Ahman Green moves on.
Jacksonville Jaguars: I don’t care if Byron Leftwich is healthy next week, because the Jaguars should go with David Garrard as their starting quarterback. Garrard threw for just 70 yards against the Eagles, but he gave Jacksonville more mobility than it had with Leftwich at the helm. Leftwich actually reminds me of a young version of Drew Bledsoe.
Kansas City Chiefs: I still can’t believe the fact that Damon Huard starting on Sunday instead of rookie Brodie Croyle meant so much to Kansas City’s success. Huard threw for 312 yards and a touchdown, which leads me to believe that Herman Edwards will stick with Huard, even when Trent Green is ready to play.
New Orleans Saints: Sean Payton has done a great job with the Saints this year, but I thought he made a terrible decision early in the third quarter. Down 28-7 to Baltimore, Payton elected to punt on fourth-and-one on his own 34. I know the Saints would have risked a lot by going for the first-down marker in their own territory, but what did they have to lose? If you’re trailing by more than 20 in the second half, you can’t afford to punt the ball on a fourth-and-short situation.
Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles trailed the Saints and Buccaneers by a combined score of 24-0 at halftime. I’m not sure what Donovan McNabb is eating for his pre-game meal, but he should pull a George Costanza and go for chicken salad on rye. Philadelphia trailed 7-0 at halftime, garnering 15 total yards in the first 20 minutes of the game. The Eagles’ first down came at the 8:52 mark of the second quarter.
More Philadelphia Eagles: Oh, by the way, the Eagles are done. Stuck with a 4-4 record, they still have to play Carolina and Atlanta at home, and Indianapolis, Dallas, Washington and the Giants on the road. Better luck in 2007.
San Francisco 49ers: San Francisco’s only chance of staying within striking distance of Chicago was limiting mistakes and containing the Bears’ offense. So much for that. The 49ers were down 10-0 before they even had the ball, thanks to a Maurice Hicks fumble on a kickoff return.
More San Francisco 49ers: If you’re down 41-0 in the fourth quarter, and you have a fourth-and-goal at the 5-yard line, would you kick a field goal? No, I didn’t think so. Apparently, Mike Nolan has a different philosophy, as he chose to attempt a 23-yard kick. Can anyone find the logic behind this move? I know Nolan didn’t want his team to get shut out, but a field goal was a cheap way out of it. Oh, by the way, San Francisco scored a touchdown about two minutes later.
Seattle Seahawks: Everyone knew the Seahawks were going to have trouble against the Chiefs, given they were without Matt Hasselbeck, Shaun Alexander and Steve Hutchinson. But what happened to their run defense? They surrendered a mind-boggling 155 rushing yards to Larry Johnson. I thought Seattle’s stop unit would step up and play hard in Hasselbeck’s absence, but I guess I was wrong.
St. Louis Rams: Congratulations to Isaac Bruce, who broke into the top ten in all-time receiving yardage during Sunday’s loss at San Diego. Bruce, who caught five passes for 105 yards, now has 12,771 career receiving yards.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: I don’t think the 40-mph wind at the Meadowlands agreed with Bruce Gradkowski, but I could be wrong. Gradkowski was just 20-of-48 for 139 yards and two fumbles. The silver lining for Jon Gruden and the rookie signal caller was that Chris Simms probably would have done worse.
Uncle Charley Casserly’s Draft Pick: No, I’m not making fun of Mario Williams – at least not this week. David Carr single-handedly ruined Houston’s chances of beating Tennessee, throwing one interception and fumbling twice. Sage Rosenfels replaced Carr, and looked much better than the former No. 1 overall pick, finishing with 186 yards and three touchdowns.
Ron Jaworski, Fantasy Whiz: One of Ron Jaworski’s “sit-ems” was Steve McNair. Really? Do you think any fantasy owner out there was sitting on his couch, palms sweating, waiting to see whether Jaws thought McNair should be a fantasy starter this week?
The Jerry Mondesire Excerpt of the Week: Jerry Mondesire is the president of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP. Last year, Mondesire criticized Donovan McNabb, calling him a “mediocre quarterback” and essentially an “Uncle Tom.” Mondesire came out of the woodwork last week, threatening to write about McNabb’s futility again. I thought I would help him out by releasing excerpts of his soon-to-be masterpiece: “Donovan McNabb lost today to Jacksonville. It looked like he was frustrated with the heavy winds at the Linc. A good quarterback, such as myself, wouldn’t have blamed the wind. I would have scrambled for five touchdowns – and thrown for five more. I’m awesome.”
Quote of the Week: “I don’t feel comfortable throwing four interceptions.” – Bill Cowher after his inexplicable 20-13 loss to Oakland. Ummm... was Bill hit in the head too many times during his football career? I hope he knows that he wasn’t the one who actually threw those four picks.
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2009 NFL Week 1 Review - Sept. 14
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Super Bowl XLIV Live Blog - Feb. 7
2008: Live 2008 NFL Draft Blog - April 26
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Super Bowl XLIII Live Blog
2007: NFL Draft: Day 1 Review Blog - April 28
Quarterback Rankings - June 25
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Chief Carl Has Lost a Step - Sept. 9
The NFL Cheated the Patriots - Sept. 16
NFL Week 3 Wrap-Up - Sept. 23
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2008 Championship Sunday Diary - Jan. 20
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