Weekend Wrapup : NFL Week 4
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by Crixtopher
Its official, one quarter of the 2007 NFL season is in the books, and I'm satisfactorily exhausted. Here is my quick take and reflections on this weekend's results.
Something is not quite right in Denver, or Philadelphia for that matter. Maybe it just seems like somethings amiss because we are accustomed to seeing them win. Donovan McNabb sacked 12 times in one game? That has to be the first time that has happened.
Believe it or not the Browns are 2-2 after convincingly defeating the Ravens who were never in it. This is not a very good Ravens team.
Matt Schaub is clearly missing Andre Johnson as the promising Texans dropped their second straight. The Falcons' rookie head coach Bobby Petrino got his first NFL win, and fittingly it was his diverse play calling that should get the credit. I always thought of him as the Belichick of the college ranks, as he'll swing from a 4-WR set to a traditional I-formation from down to down, with everything in between, keeping defenses on their heels. Joey Harrington is playing well.
Trent Edwards, new starting QB for the Buffalo Bills. I don't expect it to come so easy for him in reality, as Dick Jauron is a traditional coach who will most likely play it conservatively and take the "lets see how things pan out" with J.P. Losman angle. If I'm head coach, that was as convincing a start for a rookie QB as any I've seen in awhile. Edwards had a mere 6 incompletions out of 28 attempts, but most importantly was perfectly on target with his completions and was calm in the pocket. Most importantly he led this team, not just to their first win but on actual scoring drives with smart decisions. Looks like Bill Walsh was right about this kid from Stanford.
Do you realize that the Rams offense did not generate a point yesterday vs Dallas? The meager 7 points came from a Dante Hall punt return. When you start the season playing miserably and there is no improvement by the fourth week, that's a formula for a long season for these Rams.
The dump-Rex Grossman bandwagon had so much momentum that the reality, that is Brian Griese's lack of success in the league, got drowned out, until yesterday. That was a bitter pill for Bears fans to swallow. Yet again though it is never just one player or one coach's fault. Leading up to last year's Super bowl, I had yet to be impressed with Cedric Benson. In fact I believed that the only reason he was in the mix was b/c he was drafted #1. Had he been a late round draftee, my bet and belief is that Adrian Peterson (now known as the other A.P.) would have gotten that role as Thomas Jones' backup. A.P. has heart. He is slow for a RB, but he will run over your a$%. He is a lot like Marcel Shipp of the Cardinals, underrated and underutilized. That said, Benson never wowed me and then to leave the Super Bowl game with an injury like he did, he didn't seem to fight to get back onto the field in maybe the biggest game of his life. That's all I needed to know. Letting Thomas Jones go is where the Bears offensive problems started. TJ carried that offense last year and never for one minute did I believe Benson could fill his shoes. I say bring on A.P., an undrafted hard nosed player from Ga Southern.
I was pulling for Duante Culpepper and was glad to see him shine against his old team. Don't write this off as a one week occurrence though, I would not be shocked to see Culpepper and the Raiders contend for a playoff spot. Their defense is slowly working out the kinks, and I think if they continue to improve, they have a lot of other elements in place. As much as I would like a full recovery for Lamont Jordan for my fantasy squad, Dominic Rhodes is coming back after his 4-game suspension and is a more than adequate RB alongside Justin Fargas and if he plays this year, rookie Michael Bush (currently on the PUP list). I'm not sure what run blocking schemes Lane Kiffin is using, but they worked for Reggie Bush and Lendale White at USC and apparently they work for the Raiders.
Sidney Rice is another rookie WR blossoming, but unfortunately he plays in the Vikings offense. I had them pegged for an upset win over the Pack but they didn't give The Adrian Peterson the ball enough to pull it off.
Tampa Bay's defense and Jeff Garcia are playing great football right now, I envisioned Bucs fans calling for Jon Gruden's head by Week 4 but I stand corrected.
San Francisco has a ton of promise. Two big limitations right now are injuries on defense and no offense. Vernon Davis is out, while he is, get the ball to Arnaz Battle, he is a poor man's Anquan Boldin. If you don't get the ball down the field to your best playmakers (forget about Darrell 'dropsy' Jackson please), then stud Frank Gore will be less effective, and you will lose games.
Can we give it up for the Arizona Cardinals? Truth of the matter is, even after they shut down one of the highest caliber offenses in the NFL and handed the previously unbeaten Steelers their first loss, they will still not get the respect around the league until they put together a whole season playing this well. This might be the season. As Jim Mora, Sr declared, they out-physicalled the physical Steelers and won the battle in the trenches. That was a gritty, hard fought victory and an important step since they found a way to close out the game, and finish.
