After the New England Patriots lost 28-13 to the Baltimore Ravens in the 2013 AFC Championship,
Kurt Warner sent this text message to New England quarterback Tom
Brady: "Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you
win more than anybody else." This quote is cited in a Seth Wickersham
article the 5/13/2013 issue of ESPN the Magazine. Wickersham
described what that brief message meant to Brady: "It touched Brady not
because Warner called him the best. No, it meant a
lot because in a bottom-line profession someone recognized the virtue in
striving, even if it's a consolation prize."
In sports--and in life--it is not always possible to control outcomes,
no matter how dedicated, determined and talented that you are. The
challenge and the opportunity is to always do your best;
a person who can honestly say that he has fully committed his mind,
body and soul to excellence is a champion even on the days when the
scoreboard says that he has been vanquished.
Showing posts with label Kurt Warner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kurt Warner. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Brenda Warner's Inspiring Message to Kurt Warner
NFL Network's series of one hour profiles titled "A Football Life" provides a riveting look at some of pro football's most accomplished and revered figures, including Bill Belichick, Al Davis, Mike Ditka, Tom Landry and Walter Payton. The episode about Kurt Warner detailed Warner's amazing football journey from the minor leagues to Super Bowl champion and his equally amazing journey to become a husband/stepfather/father after marrying the former Brenda Carney Meoni and adopting her two children--including son Zach, who sustained a traumatic head injury as an infant that left him blind and brain damaged.
During a rough patch late in Warner's NFL career, Brenda wrote Kurt a letter in Zach's voice. The Warners shared the text of that letter with "A Football Life":
Remember me when you want to give up.
Remember I didn't...
Remember me when you think life is hard.
Remember my life is...
Remember me when you want to hurry through life.
Remember me...slow down.
Love, Zach
During a rough patch late in Warner's NFL career, Brenda wrote Kurt a letter in Zach's voice. The Warners shared the text of that letter with "A Football Life":
Remember me when you want to give up.
Remember I didn't...
Remember me when you think life is hard.
Remember my life is...
Remember me when you want to hurry through life.
Remember me...slow down.
Love, Zach
Sunday, February 1, 2009
One for the Ages and a Sixth for the Trophy Case: Pittsburgh Outlasts Arizona in a Classic Super Bowl
In one of the most dramatic Super Bowls ever, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23, claiming their second title in four years and sixth Super Bowl win overall, breaking the record that the franchise shared with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. Santonio Holmes caught the game winning touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger with just :35 remaining, balletically tapping both of his feet inbounds while reaching full extension to snare the ball as it sailed just over the outreached hands of three defensive players. Just moments earlier, it seemed as though the Cardinals had the game won after Kurt Warner completed a 64 yard touchdown bomb to Larry Fitzgerald. Warner finished with 31 completions in 43 attempts for 377 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, compiling the second most yards in Super Bowl history; he now owns the top three single game yardage performances in Super Bowl history but is only 1-2 in those contests, with those two defeats coming in the final seconds by a combined seven points.
Roethlisberger completed 21 of 30 passes for 256 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He only had two yards on four rushing attempts but his ability to move around in the pocket and buy time proved to be critical throughout the game, particularly on the game-winning drive. Holmes led both teams with nine receptions for 131 yards and was awarded the Super Bowl MVP but ESPN's Steve Young insisted that Roethlisberger should have won the MVP, declaring, "The Steelers are beat--dead beat--unless Ben Roethlisberger makes about seven or eight improvisational plays at the end of that game on that critical drive and he was the MVP in my mind because of what he did right there. It was like what Dr. Seuss said--he grew three sizes right in front of my eyes...He made play after play after play and without that they are beat." Holmes made some huge plays but I have to agree with Young, who I consider to be the best football analyst on TV; if Roethlisberger does not scramble around, elude the pass rush and then make some tremendous throws, Holmes would have never even had the opportunity to make those plays. The Steelers franchise is justifiably renowned for their punishing running game and hard hitting defense, so it is somewhat ironic that three of their six Super Bowl MVPs have been wide receivers (Lynn Swann and Hines Ward are the other two).
The Cardinals got off to a very slow start and were fortunate to only be trailing 10-0 early in the second quarter; the Steelers seemed to have scored a touchdown on a short run by Roethlisberger to cap off the opening drive of the game but the Cardinals challenged the call and the officials ruled that Roethlisberger had been stopped just shy of the goal line. Pittsburgh Coach Mike Tomlin elected to kick the chip shot field goal instead of going for it on fourth and one, a conservative call but certainly an understandable choice. The Cardinals only managed one first down on their first possession before having to punt the ball and this time the Steelers drove 69 yards for a touchdown. Warner finally got Arizona on the board by engineering a nine play, 83 yard touchdown drive to cut the lead to 10-7. After Roethlisberger threw an interception deep in his own territory late in the first half, the Cardinals were poised to at least tie the game and possibly take the lead. Instead, on first and goal from the one yard line Warner was intercepted by Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison. Holmes' late TD catch will forever be remembered as the signature moment of this game but the biggest play overall was undoubtedly Harrison's 100 yard interception return for a touchdown as time expired in the first half; that was a 14 point swing in a game that was not decided until the final seconds. With all of the talk about what constitutes a Hall of Fame career, that play is a tribute to why Pittsburgh assistant coach Dick LeBeau should be inducted: LeBeau designed the zone blitz that the Steelers have perfected and it was a classic zone blitz call that fooled Warner, as Harrison faked like he was going to rush the passer before dropping back into coverage.
The Cardinals did not score in the third quarter but held the Steelers to three points, meaning that Arizona would need to make the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history to win the game. After the teams traded punts, the Cardinals went to a no huddle offense for the first time in the game and put together an eight play, 87 yard touchdown drive in just 3:57, passing on every down, including a one yard jump ball to Fitzgerald for the score. The teams again traded punts but the Cardinals were able to pin the Steelers in at the one yard line, which led to a safety after the Steelers were called for a holding penalty in the end zone, making the score 20-16 Pittsburgh.
After the free kick, Arizona took over at the 36 yard line. Warner threw an incomplete pass on first down but on second down he hit Fitzgerald on a short slant over the middle and, much like Jerry Rice used to do, Fitzgerald outran everyone to the endzone. The Steelers held Fitzgerald in check for most of the game but he finished with seven receptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns. The Cardinals now led 23-20 with just 2:37 remaining. That set up the heroics by Roethlisberger and Holmes, who had four receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown on the final drive.
Prior to this game there was talk about how a victory could put the final touches on Warner's Hall of Fame resume, although I think that the two regular season MVPs, one Super Bowl MVP and top five career passer rating that Warner already had make a pretty compelling case on his behalf; Warner certainly played well--though the big first half interception was costly--and he put together what could have been the game-winning drive but--as Young stated so strongly--Roethlisberger is really the player who added to his legacy. Roethlisberger is now the second youngest quarterback to win two Super Bowls and, considering that he has a young coach and a strong defense, it is entirely possible that he could match Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana's record of four Super Bowl victories.
Roethlisberger completed 21 of 30 passes for 256 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He only had two yards on four rushing attempts but his ability to move around in the pocket and buy time proved to be critical throughout the game, particularly on the game-winning drive. Holmes led both teams with nine receptions for 131 yards and was awarded the Super Bowl MVP but ESPN's Steve Young insisted that Roethlisberger should have won the MVP, declaring, "The Steelers are beat--dead beat--unless Ben Roethlisberger makes about seven or eight improvisational plays at the end of that game on that critical drive and he was the MVP in my mind because of what he did right there. It was like what Dr. Seuss said--he grew three sizes right in front of my eyes...He made play after play after play and without that they are beat." Holmes made some huge plays but I have to agree with Young, who I consider to be the best football analyst on TV; if Roethlisberger does not scramble around, elude the pass rush and then make some tremendous throws, Holmes would have never even had the opportunity to make those plays. The Steelers franchise is justifiably renowned for their punishing running game and hard hitting defense, so it is somewhat ironic that three of their six Super Bowl MVPs have been wide receivers (Lynn Swann and Hines Ward are the other two).
The Cardinals got off to a very slow start and were fortunate to only be trailing 10-0 early in the second quarter; the Steelers seemed to have scored a touchdown on a short run by Roethlisberger to cap off the opening drive of the game but the Cardinals challenged the call and the officials ruled that Roethlisberger had been stopped just shy of the goal line. Pittsburgh Coach Mike Tomlin elected to kick the chip shot field goal instead of going for it on fourth and one, a conservative call but certainly an understandable choice. The Cardinals only managed one first down on their first possession before having to punt the ball and this time the Steelers drove 69 yards for a touchdown. Warner finally got Arizona on the board by engineering a nine play, 83 yard touchdown drive to cut the lead to 10-7. After Roethlisberger threw an interception deep in his own territory late in the first half, the Cardinals were poised to at least tie the game and possibly take the lead. Instead, on first and goal from the one yard line Warner was intercepted by Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison. Holmes' late TD catch will forever be remembered as the signature moment of this game but the biggest play overall was undoubtedly Harrison's 100 yard interception return for a touchdown as time expired in the first half; that was a 14 point swing in a game that was not decided until the final seconds. With all of the talk about what constitutes a Hall of Fame career, that play is a tribute to why Pittsburgh assistant coach Dick LeBeau should be inducted: LeBeau designed the zone blitz that the Steelers have perfected and it was a classic zone blitz call that fooled Warner, as Harrison faked like he was going to rush the passer before dropping back into coverage.
The Cardinals did not score in the third quarter but held the Steelers to three points, meaning that Arizona would need to make the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history to win the game. After the teams traded punts, the Cardinals went to a no huddle offense for the first time in the game and put together an eight play, 87 yard touchdown drive in just 3:57, passing on every down, including a one yard jump ball to Fitzgerald for the score. The teams again traded punts but the Cardinals were able to pin the Steelers in at the one yard line, which led to a safety after the Steelers were called for a holding penalty in the end zone, making the score 20-16 Pittsburgh.
After the free kick, Arizona took over at the 36 yard line. Warner threw an incomplete pass on first down but on second down he hit Fitzgerald on a short slant over the middle and, much like Jerry Rice used to do, Fitzgerald outran everyone to the endzone. The Steelers held Fitzgerald in check for most of the game but he finished with seven receptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns. The Cardinals now led 23-20 with just 2:37 remaining. That set up the heroics by Roethlisberger and Holmes, who had four receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown on the final drive.
Prior to this game there was talk about how a victory could put the final touches on Warner's Hall of Fame resume, although I think that the two regular season MVPs, one Super Bowl MVP and top five career passer rating that Warner already had make a pretty compelling case on his behalf; Warner certainly played well--though the big first half interception was costly--and he put together what could have been the game-winning drive but--as Young stated so strongly--Roethlisberger is really the player who added to his legacy. Roethlisberger is now the second youngest quarterback to win two Super Bowls and, considering that he has a young coach and a strong defense, it is entirely possible that he could match Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana's record of four Super Bowl victories.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Super Bowl XLIII Preview
Super Bowl XLIII matches a Pittsburgh Steelers franchise with perhaps the NFL's top Super Bowl pedigree (six appearances, five wins, first team to win four Super Bowls) against an Arizona Cardinals franchise that has migrated from Chicago to St. Louis to Arizona but has not captured an NFL championship since 1947. If History and Tradition could put on jerseys and shoulder pads they clearly would be wearing Steelers black and gold but I keep thinking of the old cliche about "throwing out the numbers when these two teams meet"--not because the Steelers and Cardinals play each other that often but because a lot of the names and numbers that are mentioned regarding this matchup are out of date or just irrelevant.
As Rick Pitino might say, Jack Lambert is not walking through that door; Terry Bradshaw is not walking through that door. The Steelers' glorious Super Bowl history will not mean a thing once the game begins--nor will Arizona's mediocre regular season record or the embarrassing losses that the Cardinals suffered down the stretch; those setbacks feel like they happened even longer ago than when Lambert and Bradshaw were winning Super Bowls.
Super Bowl XLIII will be decided based on some intriguing player and coaching matchups. I think that the most important matchup will be Arizona's offense versus Pittsburgh's defense; one of those two units will set the tone for this game. The first inclination may be to assume that Pittsburgh's league-leading defense has the edge but Arizona poses some problems that the Steelers did not have to deal with in their playoff wins over San Diego and Baltimore. Everyone is talking about Larry Fitzgerald and rightfully so: he has already set an NFL postseason record with 419 receiving yards, gaining at least 100 yards in each of Arizona's three playoff victories. Kurt Warner was outstanding in the regular season and he has been even better in the playoffs. He and Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger each have already won a Super Bowl ring but while Roethlisberger went along for the ride when Pittsburgh won Super Bowl XL, Warner ranks first and second on the single game Super Bowl passing yardage list, throwing for 414 yards in St. Louis' 23-16 win versus Tennessee in Super Bowl XXXIV and compiling 365 yards in St. Louis' 20-17 loss versus New England in Super Bowl XXXVI. The most surprising statistic is that Edgerrin James leads all postseason rushers this season with 203 yards. James provides some much needed balance to Arizona's offensive attack and if he can crank out 75-80 yards on 18-20 carries then the Steelers are going to have their hands full dealing with him while also trying to not get burned by Warner and Arizona's dynamic passing game.
Pittsburgh's offense did not look very potent after Hines Ward was knocked out of the AFC Championship Game with a knee injury. No matter what anyone says, the kind of ligament damage that he suffered requires at least 4-6 weeks to heal, so he will not even be close to 100% in the Super Bowl. Could he still have a big impact? Sure; Jerry Rice had a tremendous performance in Super Bowl XXIX despite playing with a separated shoulder. However, the likelihood is that Ward will be hindered and this may enable Arizona to get away with single covering him, freeing up a defender to play against Pittsburgh's running game. In the days before last year's Super Bowl, Tom Brady was hobbling around in a walking boot while proclaiming that he would be fine during the game--but he was uncharacteristically unable to sidestep the pass rush as the perfect Patriots' season went down the tubes, so Ward can say whatever he wants but his injury may very well have cost the Steelers a potential championship.
The coaching matchup is very interesting. Arizona Coach Ken Whisenhunt and his offensive line coach Russ Grimm were assistant coaches on Bill Cowher's staff when the Steelers won Super Bowl XL. When Cowher retired they were both passed over in favor of Mike Tomlin, who has done a wonderful job as the Steelers Coach. If anyone knows not only what Roethlisberger is thinking but also how to attack Dick LeBeau's defense, it would be Whisenhunt and Grimm, two guys who worked with Roethlisberger on a daily basis while practicing against LeBeau's defense. I think that Jon Gruden's familiarity with the tendencies of his old Oakland team played a big role in Tampa Bay's triumph over the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII; Whisenhunt and Grimm may very well pull off a similar number against their old team.
This is truly a difficult game to handicap. I expect it to be close and I certainly could make a case that Pittsburgh will shut down Arizona's running game, harass Warner into some costly interceptions and win a low scoring game--but if Arizona does not turn the ball over and provide Pittsburgh with easy points then it will be difficult for the Steelers to score enough to win this game. Maybe this is just wishful thinking from an admitted Cleveland Browns fan but after considering all of the matchups, I think that Arizona will win Super Bowl XLIII, 30-24.
As Rick Pitino might say, Jack Lambert is not walking through that door; Terry Bradshaw is not walking through that door. The Steelers' glorious Super Bowl history will not mean a thing once the game begins--nor will Arizona's mediocre regular season record or the embarrassing losses that the Cardinals suffered down the stretch; those setbacks feel like they happened even longer ago than when Lambert and Bradshaw were winning Super Bowls.
Super Bowl XLIII will be decided based on some intriguing player and coaching matchups. I think that the most important matchup will be Arizona's offense versus Pittsburgh's defense; one of those two units will set the tone for this game. The first inclination may be to assume that Pittsburgh's league-leading defense has the edge but Arizona poses some problems that the Steelers did not have to deal with in their playoff wins over San Diego and Baltimore. Everyone is talking about Larry Fitzgerald and rightfully so: he has already set an NFL postseason record with 419 receiving yards, gaining at least 100 yards in each of Arizona's three playoff victories. Kurt Warner was outstanding in the regular season and he has been even better in the playoffs. He and Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger each have already won a Super Bowl ring but while Roethlisberger went along for the ride when Pittsburgh won Super Bowl XL, Warner ranks first and second on the single game Super Bowl passing yardage list, throwing for 414 yards in St. Louis' 23-16 win versus Tennessee in Super Bowl XXXIV and compiling 365 yards in St. Louis' 20-17 loss versus New England in Super Bowl XXXVI. The most surprising statistic is that Edgerrin James leads all postseason rushers this season with 203 yards. James provides some much needed balance to Arizona's offensive attack and if he can crank out 75-80 yards on 18-20 carries then the Steelers are going to have their hands full dealing with him while also trying to not get burned by Warner and Arizona's dynamic passing game.
Pittsburgh's offense did not look very potent after Hines Ward was knocked out of the AFC Championship Game with a knee injury. No matter what anyone says, the kind of ligament damage that he suffered requires at least 4-6 weeks to heal, so he will not even be close to 100% in the Super Bowl. Could he still have a big impact? Sure; Jerry Rice had a tremendous performance in Super Bowl XXIX despite playing with a separated shoulder. However, the likelihood is that Ward will be hindered and this may enable Arizona to get away with single covering him, freeing up a defender to play against Pittsburgh's running game. In the days before last year's Super Bowl, Tom Brady was hobbling around in a walking boot while proclaiming that he would be fine during the game--but he was uncharacteristically unable to sidestep the pass rush as the perfect Patriots' season went down the tubes, so Ward can say whatever he wants but his injury may very well have cost the Steelers a potential championship.
The coaching matchup is very interesting. Arizona Coach Ken Whisenhunt and his offensive line coach Russ Grimm were assistant coaches on Bill Cowher's staff when the Steelers won Super Bowl XL. When Cowher retired they were both passed over in favor of Mike Tomlin, who has done a wonderful job as the Steelers Coach. If anyone knows not only what Roethlisberger is thinking but also how to attack Dick LeBeau's defense, it would be Whisenhunt and Grimm, two guys who worked with Roethlisberger on a daily basis while practicing against LeBeau's defense. I think that Jon Gruden's familiarity with the tendencies of his old Oakland team played a big role in Tampa Bay's triumph over the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII; Whisenhunt and Grimm may very well pull off a similar number against their old team.
This is truly a difficult game to handicap. I expect it to be close and I certainly could make a case that Pittsburgh will shut down Arizona's running game, harass Warner into some costly interceptions and win a low scoring game--but if Arizona does not turn the ball over and provide Pittsburgh with easy points then it will be difficult for the Steelers to score enough to win this game. Maybe this is just wishful thinking from an admitted Cleveland Browns fan but after considering all of the matchups, I think that Arizona will win Super Bowl XLIII, 30-24.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Midnight Has Not Yet Struck for Cinderella Cardinals
Kurt Warner completed 21 of 28 passes for 279 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a nearly perfect 145.7 passer rating while leading his Arizona Cardinals to a 32-25 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. The Cardinals built a 24-6 halftime lead but had to come from behind after the Eagles scored 19 unanswered points. Warner responded by directing a 14 play, 72 yard fourth quarter touchdown drive that chewed up 7:52 on the clock. As announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman suggested, if Warner had not already assembled a Hall of Fame worthy resume then that one drive may very well have sealed the deal. The Eagles got the ball back with 2:53 left in regulation but Donovan McNabb completed just 3 of his next 8 passes--Philadelphia threw the ball on every single play--and the Eagles turned the ball over on downs. Arizona could not quite run out the clock but managed to pin the Eagles deep in their territory with just :09 left.
McNabb completed 28 of 47 passes for 375 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and a 97.4 passer rating. He has been a very good player for a number of years and it is obviously difficult to look at those numbers and then blame him for this loss--but this game is a microcosm of the way McNabb tends to perform in big games. McNabb was horrible in the first half as Arizona built what seemed to be a nearly insurmountable advantage but then, like a streak shooter in basketball, he got hot and put up points in bunches while Philadelphia's defense stymied Warner and the Cardinals. However, when push came to shove, Warner made the plays that gave his team a huge cushion and when his team trailed for the first time he promptly led the Cardinals down the field for the game-winning score. In my preview post I not only almost exactly nailed the score of the game (31-20 Arizona was my prediction), I concluded, "I expect Warner to outduel McNabb much like he did seven years ago" (when Warner's Rams beat McNabb's Eagles in the NFC Championship Game).
Is the "real" McNabb the one who helped his team make a gallant comeback? Or is the "real" McNabb the one who threw several inaccurate passes as his team quickly fell behind and then finished the game by again throwing several inaccurate passes? McNabb deserves credit for leading the Eagles to five NFC Championship Games but he has earned only one victory in that round. He seems destined to be remembered as a player who was very good but not quite good enough to carry a team to a championship.
As for Warner, he has been the lead actor in a similar drama before; a decade ago he helped to transform the St. Louis Rams overnight from a sad sack franchise into Super Bowl champions. Now he has guided the Cardinals--who have not won a championship in six decades--to the franchise's first ever Super Bowl appearance. Warner improved to 3-0 in NFC Championship Game play and he owns one of the top five career playoff passer ratings in NFL history.
The Cardinals are just the second team from a non-strike year to advance to the Super Bowl despite winning fewer than 10 regular season games. They looked dead in the water after losing four games in a five game stretch late in the season--giving up 37, 48, 35 and 47 points in those defeats--but they have scored at least 30 points in each of their three playoff games while holding their opponents to 24 points or less.
In the Super Bowl, Arizona's flashy, pass-oriented offense will provide a stark contrast with Pittsburgh's physical, pounding style but before too much is made of those differences it is worth remembering that during the playoffs the Cardinals have shown that they can play good, hard physical defense while the Steelers have demonstrated big play capability with their passing game. Other subplots include the duel between graybeard Warner and young gun Ben Roethlisberger--each of whom has already led a team to a Super Bowl title--and the coaching matchup between Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin and Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt, a former Steelers assistant coach who the Steelers passed over in favor of hiring Tomlin.
McNabb completed 28 of 47 passes for 375 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and a 97.4 passer rating. He has been a very good player for a number of years and it is obviously difficult to look at those numbers and then blame him for this loss--but this game is a microcosm of the way McNabb tends to perform in big games. McNabb was horrible in the first half as Arizona built what seemed to be a nearly insurmountable advantage but then, like a streak shooter in basketball, he got hot and put up points in bunches while Philadelphia's defense stymied Warner and the Cardinals. However, when push came to shove, Warner made the plays that gave his team a huge cushion and when his team trailed for the first time he promptly led the Cardinals down the field for the game-winning score. In my preview post I not only almost exactly nailed the score of the game (31-20 Arizona was my prediction), I concluded, "I expect Warner to outduel McNabb much like he did seven years ago" (when Warner's Rams beat McNabb's Eagles in the NFC Championship Game).
Is the "real" McNabb the one who helped his team make a gallant comeback? Or is the "real" McNabb the one who threw several inaccurate passes as his team quickly fell behind and then finished the game by again throwing several inaccurate passes? McNabb deserves credit for leading the Eagles to five NFC Championship Games but he has earned only one victory in that round. He seems destined to be remembered as a player who was very good but not quite good enough to carry a team to a championship.
As for Warner, he has been the lead actor in a similar drama before; a decade ago he helped to transform the St. Louis Rams overnight from a sad sack franchise into Super Bowl champions. Now he has guided the Cardinals--who have not won a championship in six decades--to the franchise's first ever Super Bowl appearance. Warner improved to 3-0 in NFC Championship Game play and he owns one of the top five career playoff passer ratings in NFL history.
The Cardinals are just the second team from a non-strike year to advance to the Super Bowl despite winning fewer than 10 regular season games. They looked dead in the water after losing four games in a five game stretch late in the season--giving up 37, 48, 35 and 47 points in those defeats--but they have scored at least 30 points in each of their three playoff games while holding their opponents to 24 points or less.
In the Super Bowl, Arizona's flashy, pass-oriented offense will provide a stark contrast with Pittsburgh's physical, pounding style but before too much is made of those differences it is worth remembering that during the playoffs the Cardinals have shown that they can play good, hard physical defense while the Steelers have demonstrated big play capability with their passing game. Other subplots include the duel between graybeard Warner and young gun Ben Roethlisberger--each of whom has already led a team to a Super Bowl title--and the coaching matchup between Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin and Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt, a former Steelers assistant coach who the Steelers passed over in favor of hiring Tomlin.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Monday Night Football Quick Hits: Kurt Warner for MVP Edition
Kurt Warner went 32-42 for 328 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions as the Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers 29-24. The 49ers jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead after Allen Rossum returned the opening kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown; the Cardinals trailed the rest of the way until Warner connected on a four yard TD pass to Anquan Boldin with just 4:16 remaining in the game for what proved to be the decisive score. Both teams made numerous errors in the fourth quarter and the outcome was not determined until the Cardinals stopped Michael Robinson on third and goal from the two yard line as time ran out. As usual, ESPN's Steve Young summarized things best: "For a while I thought whoever screwed up last would lose the football game...It was exciting but rather inept football."
This game contained many interesting storylines/subplots above and beyond being a matchup of division rivals:
1) A young Arizona team emerging as a viable playoff contender under the leadership of graybeard--literally, before he wisely shaved off his facial hair--quarterback Kurt Warner.
2) In contrast to the quarterback position--where Warner won the job from the presumed heir apparent Matt Leinart--at running back the Cardinals have turned to youngster Tim Hightower, apparently signaling the beginning of the end of the career of Edgerrin James.
3) Mike Singletary's vocal attempts to whip his 49ers into being some semblance of a competitive team.
The 6-3 Cardinals now enjoy a four game lead in the anemic NFC West, with the 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams tied for second (or last, depending on how you look at it) at 2-7. The Cardinals have improved on both sides of the ball but Warner is clearly leading the way by playing at an MVP caliber level; in fact, as the Monday Night Countdown crew discussed, if Warner had not already done enough to merit consideration as a Hall of Famer he is putting the finishing touches on his Canton resume with his performance this season. Warner ranks first in the NFL with a 106.4 passer rating, which would be the 12th best single season rating of all-time if he can maintain it (his 109.2 rating in 1999 is tied for the seventh best all-time). Warner ranks second behind only Steve Young in career passer rating and he has now thrown for at least 300 yards in 45.1% of his career games (46 out of 102), by far the highest such percentage (with a minimum of 100 games) in NFL history (Hall of Famer Dan Fouts is a distant second at 28%). Warner already owns two regular season MVPs (1999, 2001), one Super Bowl ring (1999) and one Super Bowl MVP (1999) in two Super Bowl appearances. Tom Jackson rightly noted that there are already quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame who did not achieve all of those things. Warner ranks first all-time in passing yards per game, second in completion percentage and fifth in yards per attempt, a statistic that many people consider to be the most important measure of a quarterback's effectiveness. Frankly, I think that Warner has already done enough to be a Hall of Famer but this season he seems intent on removing any possible doubt from the equation.
Only a few months ago, Warner was considering retirement but when the Cardinals told him that he would be given a legitimate shot to win the starting job from Matt Leinart he jumped at the opportunity and ran with it. Warner told Young after the game that the NFL is not always fair, that a lot of political things go into decisions about who plays and that it frustrated him to sit on the bench last year when he knew that he was good enough to start. The 37 year old Warner is proving that age is just a number, not something that should define or limit a person's opportunities, and it is wonderful and fun to watch him be a full time quarterback again. As Ron Jaworski said during the game, the most important aspect of being a good quarterback is accuracy and Warner is one of the most accurate passers ever.
It is ironic that at the same time that Warner's star is ascending again four-time Pro Bowl running back Edgerrin James--the leading active rusher and the 13th leading rusher of all-time--has been replaced as Arizona's starter by rookie Tim Hightower. When running backs lose it they often lose it quickly and they rarely get it back. James averaged at least 4.1 yards per attempt in six of his first seven seasons but in 2006 and 2007 he averaged 3.4 and 3.8 yards per attempt respectively with a long gain of just 27 yards; this season he is averaging 3.5 yards per attempt with a long gain of 16 yards. Meanwhile, Hightower had 109 yards on 22 carries in his first start, a 34-13 win at St. Louis last week, but he only rushed for 25 yards on 11 carries versus San Francisco. Warner said that he knows exactly how James feels but that James is continuing to be a great teammate and a great presence in the locker room.
During the game, Tony Kornheiser mentioned that Singletary views the locker room as almost a sacred place, takes a "paternal" interest in his players and views the team as a family unit. Kornheiser asked if players will buy into Singletary's approach in an era of high salaries and free agency. Anyone who understands human psychology and what it takes to be a good head coach realizes that this is a naive question: no matter what is at stake financially, most people want--no, crave--to be part of something bigger than themselves, something that they find to be intensely meaningful. Good players will embrace the changes that Singletary is making in the culture surrounding the 49ers and the bad players who don't will be promptly shipped out. Singletary and the 49ers' management have to use the second half of this season to find out which players they can build around and which players are not skilled enough and/or not focused enough to be part of a winning program.
As the 49ers tried to come from behind in the waning moments, Kornheiser attempted to make the outcome of this game into some kind of referendum on Singletary's chances to be the long term answer at head coach--but that is preposterous. This is only Singletary's second game as head coach and it would be asinine to make such a huge, franchise transforming decision on the basis of one game, win or lose. Singletary should be judged on the body of his work throughout the remainder of the season and he should have the opportunity to discuss with management his vision of how to turn the team around.
Singletary's passion and dedication are evident and admirable but by the same token he has to be held accountable to do his job effectively just as much as he rightly holds the players accountable to do their jobs. Young mentioned that Singletary must improve at game management, particularly clock management. Young also noted that the 49ers put inexperienced quarterback Shaun Hill in some precarious situations on several occasions with questionable play calling--and the final play call, running Michael Robinson up the middle with the game on the line, simply made no sense. After the game, Singletary said that offensive coordinator Mike Martz thought that there would be a "cavity" through which Robinson could run but the only "cavity" concerning that play is the hole in the head of anyone who thought (1) this would work and (2) it was the best possible call in that situation. Why not use Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore? Why not roll Hill out with a pass/run option? Whether or not Martz made the Robinson call, ultimately it is Singletary's responsibility to know his personnel and to veto calls that make no sense. I suspect that if Singletary is retained as the head coach he probably will want to hire a different offensive coordinator, one whose mindset more closely matches his own. That is not to say that Martz is a bad coach but Singletary seems to have a different philosophy than Martz does and for a team to be successful the coaching staff needs to have the same ideas about how to play the game.
Singletary certainly seems to understand both what he needs to do and the standard to which the players must hold themselves accountable: he candidly admitted that the 49ers' late game clock management was poor and when someone asked him if he was "happy" that the players displayed energy and intensity he scofffingly replied that happy is not the right word--he expects his players to have energy and be intense and he believes he should be sent home if it ever gets to the point that they don't display those qualities. Singletary is a rookie head coach who will make some mistakes but he is also a breath of fresh air because of his passion and candor, so I hope that he will be provided a full and fair opportunity to build a team in his image.
Here are some notes/comments about Sunday's action:
*The Browns lost to the Broncos 34-30 on Thursday, blowing a two touchdown second half lead at home for the second consecutive game. Cleveland's defense seemed to have improved early in the season but now it is an unmitigated disaster area, giving up 564 yards versus Denver; that is the third worst total in the 803 game NFL history of the franchise, dating back to 1950 when the Browns were one of three All-America Football Conference (AAFC) teams that joined the more established league. The Browns have surrendered 993 yards in the past two games, the most that the team has ever allowed in consecutive contests--and considering how bad the Browns were right after they returned in 1999 that is really saying something.
Running back Jamal Lewis, who played for Baltimore's Super Bowl championship team in 2000, is disgusted by the attitude of some of his Cleveland teammates: "This is the NFL, you can't call it quits until the game is over. But it looks to me like some people called it quits before that. Denver was down, but they didn't call it quits. They kept their heads up and they finished. We didn't do that two weeks in a row--at home. Some people need to check their egos at the door and find some heart to come out here and play hard. This is a man's game. The way we went out there and played two weeks in a row, finishing the same kind of way, it's not there. I think there are some men around here that need to check their selves, straight up. That's it. Honestly, I've never seen anything like it ever in my life as long as I've been playing. I'm not cut from this kind of cloth. I play physical football, and I come out here and give it my all. I give it my all all week. To come out and be up by whatever--this is the NFL. You can't call it quits until the game is over."
Although Lewis' terminology may not have been quite correct--it would be more precise to say that the Browns lost focus, rather than to say that a team that was leading "quit"--but his overall message is right on point and a most telling indictment of a team that had several Pro Bowlers last season but lacks mental toughness and discipline. I'd go into battle with Lewis, Josh Cribbs, Joe Thomas and a few others but there are too many Cleveland players who clearly do not prepare properly during the week or focus on the task at hand during games.
The headline story for the Browns prior to the Denver game was about Brady Quinn replacing Derek Anderson as the starting quarterback. Quinn played well (23-35, 239 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions) but from a team standpoint there was no difference: with Anderson at quarterback the previous week versus Baltimore, the Browns built a big lead and lost; with Quinn at the controls the Browns did exactly the same thing. In other words, quarterback is not the central problem for the Browns. I think that the Browns can win with either quarterback but it has also become sadly apparent that they can lose with either quarterback. One obvious difference with Quinn at the helm is that the Browns looked a bit crisper, committing fewer false start penalties and seeming to be more organized. The NFL Network's Deion Sanders said that the Browns used a simplified game plan that enabled Quinn to be effective and that it also helped Quinn to play against Denver's weak defense, so the jury is still out until Quinn plays well against some tougher teams. Marshall Faulk wondered aloud why the Browns did not come up with a similar game plan to help Anderson shine--and that is a very good question, because Anderson definitely has the skills to be a very good quarterback. Barring injury, Quinn will almost certainly be the starter the rest of the way and Anderson will most likely be traded in the offseason--but I have the feeling that if Anderson lands on the right team, which is to say a team with a competent coaching staff, he will become a very productive quarterback. I have visions of him coming back to Cleveland wearing a different uniform and throwing for 350 yards and four touchdowns as his new team stomps the Browns.
The Browns' organization is flawed from the top down and until that is straightened out the team will not be successful. Bill Walsh used to always say that it should only take a well run team three years to become competitive. The Browns returned to the NFL in 1999 and have made the playoffs one time. During that period they have never been competitive for a sustained stretch--there was a one and done 9-7 playoff year in 2002 followed by four losing seasons and then a 10-6 campaign last year followed by this season's 3-6 showing. That is pathetic and inexcusable decade and reflects poorly on the ownership: the Lerner family has yet to hire the proper football decision makers capable of building a winning team.
*During Sunday evening's SportsCenter, John Saunders said that after Tom Brady suffered his season-ending injury in week one, "Most people thought that New England's season went down with him," adding that "nobody" thought that Matt Cassel--who Cris Carter keeps referring to as a "high school quarterback"--could competently take his place. Saunders needs to spend more time at BEST, because I have repeatedly said that with Cassel at the helm the Patriots can still be a dangerous playoff team, a point that I emphasized in my recap of New England's 41-7 victory over Denver and in last week's Monday Night Football Quick Hits, when I noted the similarities between Cassel's production so far and Brady's statistics right after he took over for the injured Drew Bledsoe in 2001:
Cassel cannot match the record breaking standard that Brady set last year but it is useful to remember that in Brady's first year as a starter--when, like Cassel, he was an inexperienced player stepping in for an injured veteran--Brady was not Brady either or at least he was not the Brady of recent vintage: the Patriots closed the 2001 season with six straight victories en route to winning the Super Bowl but in those six games Brady had just six touchdowns and five interceptions, compiling a passer rating below 64 in three of those contests (his passer rating overall that season was 86.5); during the three game playoff run Brady had one touchdown pass and one interception, accumulating passer ratings of 86.2, 84.3 and then 70.4 in the Super Bowl. I'm not saying that the Patriots are going to win the Super Bowl this year--but given Bill Belichick's track record it would be foolish to totally dismiss their chances.
Some people speculate about what Belichick's career won-loss record would have been like without Tom Brady but it is just as valid to ask what Brady's career would have been like without Belichick; Belichick did an outstanding job of coaching Brady and bringing him along from being a backup quarterback to a solid starter to a Pro Bowler to an MVP. It is obviously far too soon to say what kind of player Cassel will ultimately become but any objective person can clearly see that Belichick and his staff have done an excellent job of coaching Cassel.
The Patriots will face the New York Jets on Thursday night with first place in the AFC East on the line. The Jets demolished St. Louis 47-3 on Sunday but their defense--and St. Louis miscues--set up a lot of those scores. Brett Favre threw for just 167 yards and one touchdown, though he did complete an outstanding 14 of his 19 attempts. Favre has put up decent statistics in his first year in New York but his replacement in Green Bay--Aaron Rodgers--and the quarterback that the Jets sent to Miami--Chad Pennington--are both having better seasons than Favre is. Pennington has rallied the 1-15 Dolphins to a 5-4 record, placing them just one game behind the Patriots and the Jets. While it is true that Green Bay has slid from 13-3 last year to 4-5 this season, that has much more to do with their leaky defense than with the quarterback change: Favre had a 95.7 passer rating last season, while Rodgers has a 93.3 passer rating this season. Favre's rating as a Jet this year is 89.8 and he leads the NFL in interceptions with 12, while Rodgers only has five interceptions.
Look for Favre to toss three interceptions versus New England as the Patriots beat the Jets to take over clear first place in the AFC East. The Jets have a better record than I expected them to have at this point but 6-3 could become 6-6 very quickly: after traveling to New England the Jets visit Tennessee and then face a Denver team that is fighting to stay on top in the AFC West.
This game contained many interesting storylines/subplots above and beyond being a matchup of division rivals:
1) A young Arizona team emerging as a viable playoff contender under the leadership of graybeard--literally, before he wisely shaved off his facial hair--quarterback Kurt Warner.
2) In contrast to the quarterback position--where Warner won the job from the presumed heir apparent Matt Leinart--at running back the Cardinals have turned to youngster Tim Hightower, apparently signaling the beginning of the end of the career of Edgerrin James.
3) Mike Singletary's vocal attempts to whip his 49ers into being some semblance of a competitive team.
The 6-3 Cardinals now enjoy a four game lead in the anemic NFC West, with the 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams tied for second (or last, depending on how you look at it) at 2-7. The Cardinals have improved on both sides of the ball but Warner is clearly leading the way by playing at an MVP caliber level; in fact, as the Monday Night Countdown crew discussed, if Warner had not already done enough to merit consideration as a Hall of Famer he is putting the finishing touches on his Canton resume with his performance this season. Warner ranks first in the NFL with a 106.4 passer rating, which would be the 12th best single season rating of all-time if he can maintain it (his 109.2 rating in 1999 is tied for the seventh best all-time). Warner ranks second behind only Steve Young in career passer rating and he has now thrown for at least 300 yards in 45.1% of his career games (46 out of 102), by far the highest such percentage (with a minimum of 100 games) in NFL history (Hall of Famer Dan Fouts is a distant second at 28%). Warner already owns two regular season MVPs (1999, 2001), one Super Bowl ring (1999) and one Super Bowl MVP (1999) in two Super Bowl appearances. Tom Jackson rightly noted that there are already quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame who did not achieve all of those things. Warner ranks first all-time in passing yards per game, second in completion percentage and fifth in yards per attempt, a statistic that many people consider to be the most important measure of a quarterback's effectiveness. Frankly, I think that Warner has already done enough to be a Hall of Famer but this season he seems intent on removing any possible doubt from the equation.
Only a few months ago, Warner was considering retirement but when the Cardinals told him that he would be given a legitimate shot to win the starting job from Matt Leinart he jumped at the opportunity and ran with it. Warner told Young after the game that the NFL is not always fair, that a lot of political things go into decisions about who plays and that it frustrated him to sit on the bench last year when he knew that he was good enough to start. The 37 year old Warner is proving that age is just a number, not something that should define or limit a person's opportunities, and it is wonderful and fun to watch him be a full time quarterback again. As Ron Jaworski said during the game, the most important aspect of being a good quarterback is accuracy and Warner is one of the most accurate passers ever.
It is ironic that at the same time that Warner's star is ascending again four-time Pro Bowl running back Edgerrin James--the leading active rusher and the 13th leading rusher of all-time--has been replaced as Arizona's starter by rookie Tim Hightower. When running backs lose it they often lose it quickly and they rarely get it back. James averaged at least 4.1 yards per attempt in six of his first seven seasons but in 2006 and 2007 he averaged 3.4 and 3.8 yards per attempt respectively with a long gain of just 27 yards; this season he is averaging 3.5 yards per attempt with a long gain of 16 yards. Meanwhile, Hightower had 109 yards on 22 carries in his first start, a 34-13 win at St. Louis last week, but he only rushed for 25 yards on 11 carries versus San Francisco. Warner said that he knows exactly how James feels but that James is continuing to be a great teammate and a great presence in the locker room.
During the game, Tony Kornheiser mentioned that Singletary views the locker room as almost a sacred place, takes a "paternal" interest in his players and views the team as a family unit. Kornheiser asked if players will buy into Singletary's approach in an era of high salaries and free agency. Anyone who understands human psychology and what it takes to be a good head coach realizes that this is a naive question: no matter what is at stake financially, most people want--no, crave--to be part of something bigger than themselves, something that they find to be intensely meaningful. Good players will embrace the changes that Singletary is making in the culture surrounding the 49ers and the bad players who don't will be promptly shipped out. Singletary and the 49ers' management have to use the second half of this season to find out which players they can build around and which players are not skilled enough and/or not focused enough to be part of a winning program.
As the 49ers tried to come from behind in the waning moments, Kornheiser attempted to make the outcome of this game into some kind of referendum on Singletary's chances to be the long term answer at head coach--but that is preposterous. This is only Singletary's second game as head coach and it would be asinine to make such a huge, franchise transforming decision on the basis of one game, win or lose. Singletary should be judged on the body of his work throughout the remainder of the season and he should have the opportunity to discuss with management his vision of how to turn the team around.
Singletary's passion and dedication are evident and admirable but by the same token he has to be held accountable to do his job effectively just as much as he rightly holds the players accountable to do their jobs. Young mentioned that Singletary must improve at game management, particularly clock management. Young also noted that the 49ers put inexperienced quarterback Shaun Hill in some precarious situations on several occasions with questionable play calling--and the final play call, running Michael Robinson up the middle with the game on the line, simply made no sense. After the game, Singletary said that offensive coordinator Mike Martz thought that there would be a "cavity" through which Robinson could run but the only "cavity" concerning that play is the hole in the head of anyone who thought (1) this would work and (2) it was the best possible call in that situation. Why not use Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore? Why not roll Hill out with a pass/run option? Whether or not Martz made the Robinson call, ultimately it is Singletary's responsibility to know his personnel and to veto calls that make no sense. I suspect that if Singletary is retained as the head coach he probably will want to hire a different offensive coordinator, one whose mindset more closely matches his own. That is not to say that Martz is a bad coach but Singletary seems to have a different philosophy than Martz does and for a team to be successful the coaching staff needs to have the same ideas about how to play the game.
Singletary certainly seems to understand both what he needs to do and the standard to which the players must hold themselves accountable: he candidly admitted that the 49ers' late game clock management was poor and when someone asked him if he was "happy" that the players displayed energy and intensity he scofffingly replied that happy is not the right word--he expects his players to have energy and be intense and he believes he should be sent home if it ever gets to the point that they don't display those qualities. Singletary is a rookie head coach who will make some mistakes but he is also a breath of fresh air because of his passion and candor, so I hope that he will be provided a full and fair opportunity to build a team in his image.
Here are some notes/comments about Sunday's action:
*The Browns lost to the Broncos 34-30 on Thursday, blowing a two touchdown second half lead at home for the second consecutive game. Cleveland's defense seemed to have improved early in the season but now it is an unmitigated disaster area, giving up 564 yards versus Denver; that is the third worst total in the 803 game NFL history of the franchise, dating back to 1950 when the Browns were one of three All-America Football Conference (AAFC) teams that joined the more established league. The Browns have surrendered 993 yards in the past two games, the most that the team has ever allowed in consecutive contests--and considering how bad the Browns were right after they returned in 1999 that is really saying something.
Running back Jamal Lewis, who played for Baltimore's Super Bowl championship team in 2000, is disgusted by the attitude of some of his Cleveland teammates: "This is the NFL, you can't call it quits until the game is over. But it looks to me like some people called it quits before that. Denver was down, but they didn't call it quits. They kept their heads up and they finished. We didn't do that two weeks in a row--at home. Some people need to check their egos at the door and find some heart to come out here and play hard. This is a man's game. The way we went out there and played two weeks in a row, finishing the same kind of way, it's not there. I think there are some men around here that need to check their selves, straight up. That's it. Honestly, I've never seen anything like it ever in my life as long as I've been playing. I'm not cut from this kind of cloth. I play physical football, and I come out here and give it my all. I give it my all all week. To come out and be up by whatever--this is the NFL. You can't call it quits until the game is over."
Although Lewis' terminology may not have been quite correct--it would be more precise to say that the Browns lost focus, rather than to say that a team that was leading "quit"--but his overall message is right on point and a most telling indictment of a team that had several Pro Bowlers last season but lacks mental toughness and discipline. I'd go into battle with Lewis, Josh Cribbs, Joe Thomas and a few others but there are too many Cleveland players who clearly do not prepare properly during the week or focus on the task at hand during games.
The headline story for the Browns prior to the Denver game was about Brady Quinn replacing Derek Anderson as the starting quarterback. Quinn played well (23-35, 239 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions) but from a team standpoint there was no difference: with Anderson at quarterback the previous week versus Baltimore, the Browns built a big lead and lost; with Quinn at the controls the Browns did exactly the same thing. In other words, quarterback is not the central problem for the Browns. I think that the Browns can win with either quarterback but it has also become sadly apparent that they can lose with either quarterback. One obvious difference with Quinn at the helm is that the Browns looked a bit crisper, committing fewer false start penalties and seeming to be more organized. The NFL Network's Deion Sanders said that the Browns used a simplified game plan that enabled Quinn to be effective and that it also helped Quinn to play against Denver's weak defense, so the jury is still out until Quinn plays well against some tougher teams. Marshall Faulk wondered aloud why the Browns did not come up with a similar game plan to help Anderson shine--and that is a very good question, because Anderson definitely has the skills to be a very good quarterback. Barring injury, Quinn will almost certainly be the starter the rest of the way and Anderson will most likely be traded in the offseason--but I have the feeling that if Anderson lands on the right team, which is to say a team with a competent coaching staff, he will become a very productive quarterback. I have visions of him coming back to Cleveland wearing a different uniform and throwing for 350 yards and four touchdowns as his new team stomps the Browns.
The Browns' organization is flawed from the top down and until that is straightened out the team will not be successful. Bill Walsh used to always say that it should only take a well run team three years to become competitive. The Browns returned to the NFL in 1999 and have made the playoffs one time. During that period they have never been competitive for a sustained stretch--there was a one and done 9-7 playoff year in 2002 followed by four losing seasons and then a 10-6 campaign last year followed by this season's 3-6 showing. That is pathetic and inexcusable decade and reflects poorly on the ownership: the Lerner family has yet to hire the proper football decision makers capable of building a winning team.
*During Sunday evening's SportsCenter, John Saunders said that after Tom Brady suffered his season-ending injury in week one, "Most people thought that New England's season went down with him," adding that "nobody" thought that Matt Cassel--who Cris Carter keeps referring to as a "high school quarterback"--could competently take his place. Saunders needs to spend more time at BEST, because I have repeatedly said that with Cassel at the helm the Patriots can still be a dangerous playoff team, a point that I emphasized in my recap of New England's 41-7 victory over Denver and in last week's Monday Night Football Quick Hits, when I noted the similarities between Cassel's production so far and Brady's statistics right after he took over for the injured Drew Bledsoe in 2001:
Cassel cannot match the record breaking standard that Brady set last year but it is useful to remember that in Brady's first year as a starter--when, like Cassel, he was an inexperienced player stepping in for an injured veteran--Brady was not Brady either or at least he was not the Brady of recent vintage: the Patriots closed the 2001 season with six straight victories en route to winning the Super Bowl but in those six games Brady had just six touchdowns and five interceptions, compiling a passer rating below 64 in three of those contests (his passer rating overall that season was 86.5); during the three game playoff run Brady had one touchdown pass and one interception, accumulating passer ratings of 86.2, 84.3 and then 70.4 in the Super Bowl. I'm not saying that the Patriots are going to win the Super Bowl this year--but given Bill Belichick's track record it would be foolish to totally dismiss their chances.
Some people speculate about what Belichick's career won-loss record would have been like without Tom Brady but it is just as valid to ask what Brady's career would have been like without Belichick; Belichick did an outstanding job of coaching Brady and bringing him along from being a backup quarterback to a solid starter to a Pro Bowler to an MVP. It is obviously far too soon to say what kind of player Cassel will ultimately become but any objective person can clearly see that Belichick and his staff have done an excellent job of coaching Cassel.
The Patriots will face the New York Jets on Thursday night with first place in the AFC East on the line. The Jets demolished St. Louis 47-3 on Sunday but their defense--and St. Louis miscues--set up a lot of those scores. Brett Favre threw for just 167 yards and one touchdown, though he did complete an outstanding 14 of his 19 attempts. Favre has put up decent statistics in his first year in New York but his replacement in Green Bay--Aaron Rodgers--and the quarterback that the Jets sent to Miami--Chad Pennington--are both having better seasons than Favre is. Pennington has rallied the 1-15 Dolphins to a 5-4 record, placing them just one game behind the Patriots and the Jets. While it is true that Green Bay has slid from 13-3 last year to 4-5 this season, that has much more to do with their leaky defense than with the quarterback change: Favre had a 95.7 passer rating last season, while Rodgers has a 93.3 passer rating this season. Favre's rating as a Jet this year is 89.8 and he leads the NFL in interceptions with 12, while Rodgers only has five interceptions.
Look for Favre to toss three interceptions versus New England as the Patriots beat the Jets to take over clear first place in the AFC East. The Jets have a better record than I expected them to have at this point but 6-3 could become 6-6 very quickly: after traveling to New England the Jets visit Tennessee and then face a Denver team that is fighting to stay on top in the AFC West.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Monday Night Football Quick Hits: "Who Can Make a Play? I Can!" Edition
Marion "the Barbarian" Barber rushed 18 times for 63 yards and one touchdown and caught four passes for 51 yards and one touchdown as the Dallas Cowboys won a dramatic 41-37 shootout over the Philadelphia Eagles. Barber's one yard touchdown run with 4:35 left in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winning points. Tony Romo went 21-30 for 312 yards and three touchdowns but he had a costly first half fumble in his own endzone that resulted in an Eagles touchdown. Romo also threw an interception that led to an Eagles touchdown drive. Donovan McNabb went 25-37 for 281 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions but he made two fourth quarter errors that seriously hurt the Eagles: a fumble on a bizarre double pump attempted hand off to Brian Westbrook at the Dallas 33 with the Eagles up 37-34 with just 8:59 left in the game and an overthrow of a 3rd and eight pass to a wide open Westbrook with 3:30 left and the Cowboys up 41-37. The first mistake led to Dallas' winning touchdown drive and the second mistake ended the Eagles' best chance to retake the lead (they got the ball back one more time deep in their territory but never got past midfield).
Terrell Owens finished with three catches for 89 yards, including two touchdowns. He had all of his production in the first half but he still had a major impact on the game in the second half, as ESPN's Steve Young--one of the best football analysts on television--noted after the game: "TO makes the big plays early, he gets open and I think he forces the whole defense to move in his direction. Great offenses in this league really have that second or third receiver, like Dallas Clark in Indianapolis. Jason Witten is a guy who gets open a ton of times (for Dallas)." As ESPN showed the highlights of Owens' two touchdowns, Young added, "These are the kinds of plays that open ballgames, these big touchdowns that affect the defense the rest of the game. When you get by the goal line, it's tough to score in the NFL. Well, let's put 10 guys on one side and TO on the other side. Did you see what happened the second time they ran that play? TO could do anything he wanted and they had to foul him (a pass interference call against Asante Samuel) to get to the one. That's the kind of player you need, supported by other great players, like Jason Witten." After that pass interference play moved the ball to the one yard line, Barber scored what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. Emmitt Smith also noted that after Owens' two scores the Eagles were forced to double-team him, which created opportunities for Witten (seven receptions, 110 yards) and Barber. If you don't like Young's technical explanation of Owens' value, then you can always fall back on one of Owens' catch phrases from back in his 49ers' days: "Who can make a play? I can!"
With the Eagles leading 3-0, Owens opened the scoring for the Cowboys with a 72 yard touchdown reception, moving past Cris Carter into second place on the NFL's career touchdown receptions list (131). As Mike Tirico pointed out, Owens trails Jerry Rice by 66 touchdowns, so if Owens stays healthy it is not impossible for him to break the all-time record. Of course, maintaining a high level of production in one's mid to late 30s is very difficult for any player, let alone a wide receiver, which is what makes Rice's mark so incredible; I think that 197 will remain the target for quite some time and that Owens will not match it, but he may put the second place number all but out of reach for anyone who comes after him.
At one point early in the second quarter, Owens had 85 yards from scrimmage and the remaining Cowboys had -1 yard from scrimmage. After several fine runs by Barber put the Cowboys in scoring position, Owens scored Dallas' second offensive touchdown of the game on a nice four yard slant, putting the Cowboys up 21-20, enabling them to retake the lead after Romo's fumble on the previous possession. Owens is now second in NFL history with 30 2+ touchdown games; naturally, Rice (44) holds that record, too. Since Romo became Dallas' starting quarterback, he and Owens have hooked up for more touchdowns (28) than any other NFL tandem. That litany of records surprised Tony Kornheiser, who candidly admitted that he did not realize that Owens is that good. See how much you can learn if you actually watch the games and read the game notes instead of being obsessed with covering off field nonsense? Kornheiser said that controversy has "masked how good Owens really is" but who is responsible for that? Yes, Owens has exercised poor judgment in certain situations but I seem to recall Kornheiser and his Pardon the Interruption partner Mike Wilbon repeatedly praising Chad Johnson as some kind of lovable, harmless entertainer while at the same time relentlessly bashing Owens; those storylines reflect their biases, not any objective reality. If Kornheiser does not know that Owens is one of the greatest receivers ever he has no one to blame but himself.
As I've repeatedly indicated in this space, I grew up reading great articles by Kornheiser in magazines like Inside Sports back when Kornheiser was a great journalist who wrote insightful, in depth pieces. He is also capable of writing entertainment columns that are laugh out loud funny but the combination of his irreverent humor with his sports coverage often rubs me the wrong way now; I miss the Kornheiser I grew up with but I suppose that ESPN provides him several million reasons to prefer what he is doing now (not for nothing was the title of one of his books--a hilarious read, by the way--Back for More Cash).
After Owens' first half aerial heroics, Barber and Witten did serious work in the second half; Barber pounded the Eagles with tough runs and some timely receptions out of the backfield, while Witten found plenty of room to roam in the middle as Owens occupied two defensive players on the edge.
Despite the late mistakes, McNabb looked better than he has looked in quite some time. He broke tackles, made good reads and was very accurate with his throws. As Young said after the game, McNabb seems to have moved back into the elite category of NFL quarterbacks. Stuart Scott did a voiceover for a graphic that showed that McNabb has been an excellent September quarterback for the past several years, so we'll wait and see if McNabb stays healthy and productive for the entire season.
Here are some notes/comments about Sunday's action:
While some "experts" predicted doom and gloom for the New England Patriots sans 2007 NFL MVP Tom Brady, Matt Cassel played very solidly (13-23, 165 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions) as the Patriots beat the New York Jets 19-10 to improve to 2-0 and extend their NFL record regular season winning streak to 21. In his first home game as a Jet, Brett Favre went 18-26 for 181 yards and a touchdown but he threw a costly third quarter interception in his own territory that Cassel and the Patriots quickly converted into New England's only touchdown to give the Patriots a 13-3 lead. If Favre continues to throw the ball up for grabs against good teams, his interception totals are going to go up and his passer rating is going to go down. It is early, but based on what they have shown so far there is no objective reason to believe that the Jets are going to be a playoff team this year, let alone a Super Bowl contender; they squeaked by a weak Miami team and trailed almost the entire game against a New England team that some people thought would be vulnerable without Brady.
Of course, you cannot mention Favre without also talking about his Green Bay replacement, Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay is 2-0 now after a 48-25 victory over Detroit in which Rodgers went 24-38 for 328 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating for that game was 117.0, even better than the 115.5 he posted in week one. Rodgers ranks sixth in the NFL in passer rating (117.8), while Favre is eighth (104.1). Obviously, there is a long way to go in this season but Rodgers seems to have the necessary tools to be a very good NFL quarterback, so it is understandable why Green Bay's management elected to stop riding the Favre "I'm retiring/I'm not retiring" carousel. Prior to week one, ESPN's Tom Jackson and Cris Carter seemed to almost gleefully predict doom for Rodgers but, to his credit, Jackson has now completely changed his tune. During the "Whiteboard Breakdown" segment on Monday Night Countdown, Jackson said that after two games Rodgers has been the best player in the league and he called Rodgers "a naturally gifted passer."
The most exciting game of week two took place in Denver, where Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler (36-50, 350 yards, four touchdowns, one interception) and Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers (21-33, 377 yards, three touchdowns, one interception) engaged in an old fashioned, AFL-style shootout as their teams combined to produced 942 yards of offense. Denver made the winning score with just :24 left as Cutler hooked up with Eddie Royal for a four yard touchdown pass and then Denver Coach Mike Shanahan boldly went for the two point conversion, which also turned out to be a Cutler-Royal connection. NFL coaches usually go the safe route in that situation; this is just the third time that a team has won a game with a two point conversion since the NFL instituted the two point play in 1994.
Unfortunately, the ending of this game was marred by a bad call by Ed Hochuli, the usually reliable referee who has become famous for his prodigious "guns" and detailed explanations of calls. Two plays prior to the final touchdown, Cutler rolled out to pass but lost control of the ball. It was pretty obvious that he fumbled but Hochuli blew his whistle and ruled that this was an incomplete pass, nullifying San Diego's recovery. Once Hochuli realized that he had made a mistake there was nothing he could do because the play is dead as soon as he blows his whistle, as Hochuli explained after the game: "All we can do to fix it is put the ball at the spot that it hit the ground, which is why we moved it back to the 10-yard line and the down counts and it becomes third down."
Stat of the Week: Kurt Warner had more touchdown passes in the second half of last season (21) than any other NFL quarterback. In case you're wondering, 2007 league leader Tom Brady had 20 of his NFL single season record 50 in the second half of the season. Throwing a lot of touchdowns is nothing new for Warner; his 41 touchdowns in 1999 ranked third on the NFL single season list at that time and that is still the fifth highest single season total in NFL history.
This season, Warner is picking up right where he left off last year: after completing 19 of 30 passes for 197 yards and one touchdown in Arizona's 23-13 week one victory over San Francisco, he compiled a perfect passer rating (158.3) in Arizona's 31-10 destruction of Miami, completing 19 of 24 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns. This is the third time that Warner had a perfect rating in a game, tying Peyton Manning's NFL record. Warner started the game 9-9 for 221 yards.
Terrell Owens finished with three catches for 89 yards, including two touchdowns. He had all of his production in the first half but he still had a major impact on the game in the second half, as ESPN's Steve Young--one of the best football analysts on television--noted after the game: "TO makes the big plays early, he gets open and I think he forces the whole defense to move in his direction. Great offenses in this league really have that second or third receiver, like Dallas Clark in Indianapolis. Jason Witten is a guy who gets open a ton of times (for Dallas)." As ESPN showed the highlights of Owens' two touchdowns, Young added, "These are the kinds of plays that open ballgames, these big touchdowns that affect the defense the rest of the game. When you get by the goal line, it's tough to score in the NFL. Well, let's put 10 guys on one side and TO on the other side. Did you see what happened the second time they ran that play? TO could do anything he wanted and they had to foul him (a pass interference call against Asante Samuel) to get to the one. That's the kind of player you need, supported by other great players, like Jason Witten." After that pass interference play moved the ball to the one yard line, Barber scored what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. Emmitt Smith also noted that after Owens' two scores the Eagles were forced to double-team him, which created opportunities for Witten (seven receptions, 110 yards) and Barber. If you don't like Young's technical explanation of Owens' value, then you can always fall back on one of Owens' catch phrases from back in his 49ers' days: "Who can make a play? I can!"
With the Eagles leading 3-0, Owens opened the scoring for the Cowboys with a 72 yard touchdown reception, moving past Cris Carter into second place on the NFL's career touchdown receptions list (131). As Mike Tirico pointed out, Owens trails Jerry Rice by 66 touchdowns, so if Owens stays healthy it is not impossible for him to break the all-time record. Of course, maintaining a high level of production in one's mid to late 30s is very difficult for any player, let alone a wide receiver, which is what makes Rice's mark so incredible; I think that 197 will remain the target for quite some time and that Owens will not match it, but he may put the second place number all but out of reach for anyone who comes after him.
At one point early in the second quarter, Owens had 85 yards from scrimmage and the remaining Cowboys had -1 yard from scrimmage. After several fine runs by Barber put the Cowboys in scoring position, Owens scored Dallas' second offensive touchdown of the game on a nice four yard slant, putting the Cowboys up 21-20, enabling them to retake the lead after Romo's fumble on the previous possession. Owens is now second in NFL history with 30 2+ touchdown games; naturally, Rice (44) holds that record, too. Since Romo became Dallas' starting quarterback, he and Owens have hooked up for more touchdowns (28) than any other NFL tandem. That litany of records surprised Tony Kornheiser, who candidly admitted that he did not realize that Owens is that good. See how much you can learn if you actually watch the games and read the game notes instead of being obsessed with covering off field nonsense? Kornheiser said that controversy has "masked how good Owens really is" but who is responsible for that? Yes, Owens has exercised poor judgment in certain situations but I seem to recall Kornheiser and his Pardon the Interruption partner Mike Wilbon repeatedly praising Chad Johnson as some kind of lovable, harmless entertainer while at the same time relentlessly bashing Owens; those storylines reflect their biases, not any objective reality. If Kornheiser does not know that Owens is one of the greatest receivers ever he has no one to blame but himself.
As I've repeatedly indicated in this space, I grew up reading great articles by Kornheiser in magazines like Inside Sports back when Kornheiser was a great journalist who wrote insightful, in depth pieces. He is also capable of writing entertainment columns that are laugh out loud funny but the combination of his irreverent humor with his sports coverage often rubs me the wrong way now; I miss the Kornheiser I grew up with but I suppose that ESPN provides him several million reasons to prefer what he is doing now (not for nothing was the title of one of his books--a hilarious read, by the way--Back for More Cash).
After Owens' first half aerial heroics, Barber and Witten did serious work in the second half; Barber pounded the Eagles with tough runs and some timely receptions out of the backfield, while Witten found plenty of room to roam in the middle as Owens occupied two defensive players on the edge.
Despite the late mistakes, McNabb looked better than he has looked in quite some time. He broke tackles, made good reads and was very accurate with his throws. As Young said after the game, McNabb seems to have moved back into the elite category of NFL quarterbacks. Stuart Scott did a voiceover for a graphic that showed that McNabb has been an excellent September quarterback for the past several years, so we'll wait and see if McNabb stays healthy and productive for the entire season.
Here are some notes/comments about Sunday's action:
While some "experts" predicted doom and gloom for the New England Patriots sans 2007 NFL MVP Tom Brady, Matt Cassel played very solidly (13-23, 165 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions) as the Patriots beat the New York Jets 19-10 to improve to 2-0 and extend their NFL record regular season winning streak to 21. In his first home game as a Jet, Brett Favre went 18-26 for 181 yards and a touchdown but he threw a costly third quarter interception in his own territory that Cassel and the Patriots quickly converted into New England's only touchdown to give the Patriots a 13-3 lead. If Favre continues to throw the ball up for grabs against good teams, his interception totals are going to go up and his passer rating is going to go down. It is early, but based on what they have shown so far there is no objective reason to believe that the Jets are going to be a playoff team this year, let alone a Super Bowl contender; they squeaked by a weak Miami team and trailed almost the entire game against a New England team that some people thought would be vulnerable without Brady.
Of course, you cannot mention Favre without also talking about his Green Bay replacement, Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay is 2-0 now after a 48-25 victory over Detroit in which Rodgers went 24-38 for 328 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating for that game was 117.0, even better than the 115.5 he posted in week one. Rodgers ranks sixth in the NFL in passer rating (117.8), while Favre is eighth (104.1). Obviously, there is a long way to go in this season but Rodgers seems to have the necessary tools to be a very good NFL quarterback, so it is understandable why Green Bay's management elected to stop riding the Favre "I'm retiring/I'm not retiring" carousel. Prior to week one, ESPN's Tom Jackson and Cris Carter seemed to almost gleefully predict doom for Rodgers but, to his credit, Jackson has now completely changed his tune. During the "Whiteboard Breakdown" segment on Monday Night Countdown, Jackson said that after two games Rodgers has been the best player in the league and he called Rodgers "a naturally gifted passer."
The most exciting game of week two took place in Denver, where Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler (36-50, 350 yards, four touchdowns, one interception) and Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers (21-33, 377 yards, three touchdowns, one interception) engaged in an old fashioned, AFL-style shootout as their teams combined to produced 942 yards of offense. Denver made the winning score with just :24 left as Cutler hooked up with Eddie Royal for a four yard touchdown pass and then Denver Coach Mike Shanahan boldly went for the two point conversion, which also turned out to be a Cutler-Royal connection. NFL coaches usually go the safe route in that situation; this is just the third time that a team has won a game with a two point conversion since the NFL instituted the two point play in 1994.
Unfortunately, the ending of this game was marred by a bad call by Ed Hochuli, the usually reliable referee who has become famous for his prodigious "guns" and detailed explanations of calls. Two plays prior to the final touchdown, Cutler rolled out to pass but lost control of the ball. It was pretty obvious that he fumbled but Hochuli blew his whistle and ruled that this was an incomplete pass, nullifying San Diego's recovery. Once Hochuli realized that he had made a mistake there was nothing he could do because the play is dead as soon as he blows his whistle, as Hochuli explained after the game: "All we can do to fix it is put the ball at the spot that it hit the ground, which is why we moved it back to the 10-yard line and the down counts and it becomes third down."
Stat of the Week: Kurt Warner had more touchdown passes in the second half of last season (21) than any other NFL quarterback. In case you're wondering, 2007 league leader Tom Brady had 20 of his NFL single season record 50 in the second half of the season. Throwing a lot of touchdowns is nothing new for Warner; his 41 touchdowns in 1999 ranked third on the NFL single season list at that time and that is still the fifth highest single season total in NFL history.
This season, Warner is picking up right where he left off last year: after completing 19 of 30 passes for 197 yards and one touchdown in Arizona's 23-13 week one victory over San Francisco, he compiled a perfect passer rating (158.3) in Arizona's 31-10 destruction of Miami, completing 19 of 24 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns. This is the third time that Warner had a perfect rating in a game, tying Peyton Manning's NFL record. Warner started the game 9-9 for 221 yards.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Two Minute Drill: Real Professional Football is Being Played in Cleveland!
The record book indicates that the Cleveland Browns returned to the NFL in 1999 but--except for a 9-7 blip in 2002--it could not really be truthfully said that professional football was being played in the city (at least not by the home team). That seems to have changed suddenly and dramatically this season.
After a 27-17 home win over Houston on Sunday, the Browns are 7-4, which is their best record at this stage of the season since 1994. This success has been largely built on the strength of a five game home winning streak, the team's best since 1994. Derek Anderson's 22 touchdown passes are the most by a Browns quarterback since Bernie Kosar also had 22 in 1987; Anderson has an excellent chance to break Brian Sipe's team record of 30, set in 1980 when Sipe won the NFL MVP.
This is a remarkable turnaround for a team that looked dead in the water after a 34-7 week one loss to Pittsburgh that was highlighted (lowlighted?) by the Browns committing four penalties on one play; that pitiful sequence and lopsided score epitomized how the Browns have usually performed since 1999 and strongly suggested that the rebuilding program being orchestrated by General Manager Phil Savage and Coach Romeo Crennel was going nowhere fast. That week one disaster convinced me that the Browns were not keeping pace with the three year time frame that Bill Walsh laid out for rebuilding a team but since then the Browns dumped Charlie Frye, installed Derek Anderson as the starting quarterback and have looked like a bona fide playoff team.
Two key differences between this year's squad and the previous teams are that the Browns now have Pro Bowl caliber players at several positions and have the depth to withstand injuries. Anderson, kick returner Joshua Cribbs, tight end Kellen Winslow, wide receiver Braylon Edwards and rookie offensive tackle Joe Thomas are all worthy of being Pro Bowlers; they may not all make it this year because established players from previously successful teams tend to receive such honors but the important point is that the Browns have drafted, acquired and developed several players who have top of the line talent. Running back Jamal Lewis may not consistently be playing at a Pro Bowl level but he is the best running back that the Browns have had in a long time; a strong running game is essential for any Cleveland team to do well, particularly as the weather turns cold. Lewis had 134 yards on 29 carries versus Houston, scoring one touchdown and helping the Browns to literally run out the clock at the end of the game. His eight rushing touchdowns are the most by a Brown since Kevin Mack had eight in 1991. Meanwhile, Anderson has the passing game clicking on all cylinders: Edwards has 11 touchdown receptions and is on course to break Gary Collins' franchise record of 13, set in 1963; Winslow tied Ozzie Newsome's franchise record with 89 receptions last season and with 62 receptions in 11 games he has a decent chance to become the first Brown to tally 90 receptions in a season. This is one of the best Browns' offenses ever and that is saying something considering the proud history of this franchise.
The defense is obviously still a work in progress but even on that side of the ball there are encouraging signs. Houston has displayed an explosive offense this season but the Browns held them to 17 points, probably the team's best overall defensive performance this season. The Browns did this without starting cornerback Eric Wright, who was replaced by nickel back Daven Holly, which forced rookie Brandon McDonald into service to fill Holly's normal role. McDonald's first career interception came in the second half and led to Lewis' touchdown, which gave the Browns a 27-10 lead and all but assured the victory. The Browns entered the game with the league's worst defense statistically but held the Texans to seven points and 106 yards in the second half.
This may sound like something that is insignificant, but the Browns looked different during their warmups. I went to the Browns' 19-14 opening day loss to New Orleans in 2006 and one of the things that bothered me most as a fan is how lackadaisical the team looked during warmups. Edwards dropped several passes during warmups and, sure enough, he dropped several passes during the game. I told several people after the game that I had a bad feeling about the season based on the lack of crispness and sharpness in the way that the team warmed up before the game and that assessment turned out to be correct. Things looked a lot different before the Houston game. Edwards caught a short pass and, like Jerry Rice used to do, he ran all the way to midfield (the Texans were practicing on the other side, so he could not run to the endzone); Rice, like the great ones in any sport or endeavor, took practice/preparation seriously and it is nice to see that Edwards apparently is now adapting this approach.
I will always root for the Browns, win or lose, but I really like this team. This is a fun team to watch; some of the previous squads did not prepare well or play hard and it was not much fun to watch them. Maybe this is the start of something special for the Browns and, if so, I could not be happier that my initial take on this year's team has turned out to be wrong.
Give Savage credit for his acquisitions and give Crennel credit for finally getting the Browns to look organized most of the time.
Here are some other NFL games that caught my eye this week:
***
We saw the best and worst of Kurt Warner in Arizona's 37-31 overtime loss to San Francisco on Sunday. The "best" is that Warner completed 34 of 48 passes for a career-high 484 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions despite playing with a torn ligament in his left (non-throwing) shoulder and a rib injury that he suffered during the third quarter. Warner's yardage is an NFL single-game high for this season and an all-time record for a San Francisco opponent. The "worst" is that the 49ers recovered a Warner fumble in the endzone to score the clinching touchdown in overtime.
Warner, a two-time NFL MVP (1999, 2001), is tied with Carson Palmer for seventh in passer rating this season (90.8) but ball security has often been a problem for him. According to Yahoo!Sports, Warner has lost 32 fumbles in 89 career games. This ratio is the worst one among the NFL's top quarterbacks (based on passer rating this season): the top ranked Tom Brady has lost 27 fumbles in 107 games; number two Ben Roethlisberger has lost eight fumbles in 52 games; number three Tony Romo has lost five fumbles in 43 games; number four David Garrard has lost five fumbles in 36 games; number five Brett Favre has lost 54 fumbles in 252 games; number six Jeff Garcia has lost 21 fumbles in 110 games; Palmer has lost 12 fumbles in 56 games.
Warner is a wonderfully gifted passer who generates a lot of offense but his turnovers also help the other team put points on the board.
***
The Philadelphia Eagles had an excellent game plan offensively and defensively. They executed it reasonably well. The New England Patriots were not as sharp as usual, yet they still won, 31-28. Even the greatest teams have at least one close call sooner or later; rather than a "blueprint" for how to beat New England this is more likely a wakeup call of sorts and may turn out to be the closest that the Patriots come to losing all year. You just know that Bill Belichick will be serving extra portions of "humble pie" this week and that his players will devour every crumb. That process actually seemed to begin during the game; New England adjusted to the pass rush pressure the Eagles brought by shelving the deep passing game to Randy Moss and utilizing Wes Welker on short, quick hitting pass patterns. Welker's 13 receptions tied for the second most ever by a New England player in one game. Tom Brady went 34-54 for 380 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. It was clearly his worst game of the year--and he still had a passer rating of 90.0, a number that would rank in the top ten for all NFL quarterbacks this season.
Donovan McNabb is supposedly the Eagles' franchise player and he certainly deserves credit for leading the team to four NFC Championship Game appearances and one Super Bowl. However, there are questions about his ability to perform in big games and there are also questions about how valuable he is at this stage of his career after sustaining so many injuries recently. The Eagles looked better last year with Jeff Garcia at quarterback than they did with McNabb calling the signals and they certainly did very well on Sunday with A.J. Feeley (27-42, 345 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions, 83.9 rating) at the helm. McNabb's rating this season is 87.3, slightly above his career average, but he has been all over the map, from a perfect 158.3 rating in a week three 56-21 rout of Detroit to a .4 rating (that is not a typo) in a 17-7 win over Miami. When Terrell Owens was an Eagle he raised some eyebrows by publicly questioning McNabb's performance down the stretch in the team's Super Bowl loss to New England; the media jumped all over Owens and McNabb called Owens' comments an example of "black on black crime"--but most of the other Eagles were conspicuously reluctant to come to McNabb's defense and some of them reportedly even privately agreed with what Owens said. Owens may have been wrong to say what he did but that does not mean that what he said was wrong.
***
The Pittsburgh Steelers maintained a one game lead over Cleveland in the AFC North by beating Miami on Monday in a 3-0 slopfest at Heinz Field. The lowest scoring game in the history of Monday Night Football was delayed due to lightning and probably should have been canceled due to deplorable field conditions. One punt hit the turf and came to a dead stop as literally half the ball sank into the soggy, muddy quagmire that resembled quicksand. The Steelers had their first scoreless first half at home in a regular season game since 1955. As a Browns fan I would have loved to see Pittsburgh lose but I disagree with any suggestion that the bad field conditions hurt Miami's chances of pulling off the upset; the winless Dolphins are clearly inferior to the Steelers, who spent much of the game operating in Miami territory but were unable to score until just seconds remained in the contest. Without the leveling effect provided by the muddy field, the Steelers--who have been dominant at home all season--would probably have won by three touchdowns. Ben Roethlisberger set a Steelers record for single game completion percentage, going 18-21 for 165 yards. His only serious mistake was a first quarter interception by ex-Steeler Joey Porter.
Give Miami credit for fighting hard until the end. As ESPN's Steve Young noted, the Dolphins did not make many errors in terms of execution and played a lot better than one would expect from an 0-11 team. They have lost six games by three points or less but that will be little consolation if they end up becoming the first NFL team to go winless since the NFL expanded the schedule to 16 games in 1978. While the game was literally an eyesore, one of the highlights of any Monday Night Football game on ESPN is hearing Steve Young's pregame and postgame analysis. Young constantly provides interesting insights based on his experiences as a top quarterback and he steadfastly refuses to hype up players, teams or matchups that do not deserve it. After the Pittsburgh-Miami game he said simply that there was nothing that happened that was worth analyzing: the Steelers are the better team and they did just enough to win but due to the uniquely bad conditions this contest told us nothing about their ability to beat New England or Indianapolis, particularly on the road, which is the challenge that Pittsburgh will likely face in this year's playoffs. I always respected Young's approach to what he terms the "craft" of being an NFL quarterback and it is clear that he takes being an analyst just as seriously.
After a 27-17 home win over Houston on Sunday, the Browns are 7-4, which is their best record at this stage of the season since 1994. This success has been largely built on the strength of a five game home winning streak, the team's best since 1994. Derek Anderson's 22 touchdown passes are the most by a Browns quarterback since Bernie Kosar also had 22 in 1987; Anderson has an excellent chance to break Brian Sipe's team record of 30, set in 1980 when Sipe won the NFL MVP.
This is a remarkable turnaround for a team that looked dead in the water after a 34-7 week one loss to Pittsburgh that was highlighted (lowlighted?) by the Browns committing four penalties on one play; that pitiful sequence and lopsided score epitomized how the Browns have usually performed since 1999 and strongly suggested that the rebuilding program being orchestrated by General Manager Phil Savage and Coach Romeo Crennel was going nowhere fast. That week one disaster convinced me that the Browns were not keeping pace with the three year time frame that Bill Walsh laid out for rebuilding a team but since then the Browns dumped Charlie Frye, installed Derek Anderson as the starting quarterback and have looked like a bona fide playoff team.
Two key differences between this year's squad and the previous teams are that the Browns now have Pro Bowl caliber players at several positions and have the depth to withstand injuries. Anderson, kick returner Joshua Cribbs, tight end Kellen Winslow, wide receiver Braylon Edwards and rookie offensive tackle Joe Thomas are all worthy of being Pro Bowlers; they may not all make it this year because established players from previously successful teams tend to receive such honors but the important point is that the Browns have drafted, acquired and developed several players who have top of the line talent. Running back Jamal Lewis may not consistently be playing at a Pro Bowl level but he is the best running back that the Browns have had in a long time; a strong running game is essential for any Cleveland team to do well, particularly as the weather turns cold. Lewis had 134 yards on 29 carries versus Houston, scoring one touchdown and helping the Browns to literally run out the clock at the end of the game. His eight rushing touchdowns are the most by a Brown since Kevin Mack had eight in 1991. Meanwhile, Anderson has the passing game clicking on all cylinders: Edwards has 11 touchdown receptions and is on course to break Gary Collins' franchise record of 13, set in 1963; Winslow tied Ozzie Newsome's franchise record with 89 receptions last season and with 62 receptions in 11 games he has a decent chance to become the first Brown to tally 90 receptions in a season. This is one of the best Browns' offenses ever and that is saying something considering the proud history of this franchise.
The defense is obviously still a work in progress but even on that side of the ball there are encouraging signs. Houston has displayed an explosive offense this season but the Browns held them to 17 points, probably the team's best overall defensive performance this season. The Browns did this without starting cornerback Eric Wright, who was replaced by nickel back Daven Holly, which forced rookie Brandon McDonald into service to fill Holly's normal role. McDonald's first career interception came in the second half and led to Lewis' touchdown, which gave the Browns a 27-10 lead and all but assured the victory. The Browns entered the game with the league's worst defense statistically but held the Texans to seven points and 106 yards in the second half.
This may sound like something that is insignificant, but the Browns looked different during their warmups. I went to the Browns' 19-14 opening day loss to New Orleans in 2006 and one of the things that bothered me most as a fan is how lackadaisical the team looked during warmups. Edwards dropped several passes during warmups and, sure enough, he dropped several passes during the game. I told several people after the game that I had a bad feeling about the season based on the lack of crispness and sharpness in the way that the team warmed up before the game and that assessment turned out to be correct. Things looked a lot different before the Houston game. Edwards caught a short pass and, like Jerry Rice used to do, he ran all the way to midfield (the Texans were practicing on the other side, so he could not run to the endzone); Rice, like the great ones in any sport or endeavor, took practice/preparation seriously and it is nice to see that Edwards apparently is now adapting this approach.
I will always root for the Browns, win or lose, but I really like this team. This is a fun team to watch; some of the previous squads did not prepare well or play hard and it was not much fun to watch them. Maybe this is the start of something special for the Browns and, if so, I could not be happier that my initial take on this year's team has turned out to be wrong.
Give Savage credit for his acquisitions and give Crennel credit for finally getting the Browns to look organized most of the time.
Here are some other NFL games that caught my eye this week:
***
We saw the best and worst of Kurt Warner in Arizona's 37-31 overtime loss to San Francisco on Sunday. The "best" is that Warner completed 34 of 48 passes for a career-high 484 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions despite playing with a torn ligament in his left (non-throwing) shoulder and a rib injury that he suffered during the third quarter. Warner's yardage is an NFL single-game high for this season and an all-time record for a San Francisco opponent. The "worst" is that the 49ers recovered a Warner fumble in the endzone to score the clinching touchdown in overtime.
Warner, a two-time NFL MVP (1999, 2001), is tied with Carson Palmer for seventh in passer rating this season (90.8) but ball security has often been a problem for him. According to Yahoo!Sports, Warner has lost 32 fumbles in 89 career games. This ratio is the worst one among the NFL's top quarterbacks (based on passer rating this season): the top ranked Tom Brady has lost 27 fumbles in 107 games; number two Ben Roethlisberger has lost eight fumbles in 52 games; number three Tony Romo has lost five fumbles in 43 games; number four David Garrard has lost five fumbles in 36 games; number five Brett Favre has lost 54 fumbles in 252 games; number six Jeff Garcia has lost 21 fumbles in 110 games; Palmer has lost 12 fumbles in 56 games.
Warner is a wonderfully gifted passer who generates a lot of offense but his turnovers also help the other team put points on the board.
***
The Philadelphia Eagles had an excellent game plan offensively and defensively. They executed it reasonably well. The New England Patriots were not as sharp as usual, yet they still won, 31-28. Even the greatest teams have at least one close call sooner or later; rather than a "blueprint" for how to beat New England this is more likely a wakeup call of sorts and may turn out to be the closest that the Patriots come to losing all year. You just know that Bill Belichick will be serving extra portions of "humble pie" this week and that his players will devour every crumb. That process actually seemed to begin during the game; New England adjusted to the pass rush pressure the Eagles brought by shelving the deep passing game to Randy Moss and utilizing Wes Welker on short, quick hitting pass patterns. Welker's 13 receptions tied for the second most ever by a New England player in one game. Tom Brady went 34-54 for 380 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. It was clearly his worst game of the year--and he still had a passer rating of 90.0, a number that would rank in the top ten for all NFL quarterbacks this season.
Donovan McNabb is supposedly the Eagles' franchise player and he certainly deserves credit for leading the team to four NFC Championship Game appearances and one Super Bowl. However, there are questions about his ability to perform in big games and there are also questions about how valuable he is at this stage of his career after sustaining so many injuries recently. The Eagles looked better last year with Jeff Garcia at quarterback than they did with McNabb calling the signals and they certainly did very well on Sunday with A.J. Feeley (27-42, 345 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions, 83.9 rating) at the helm. McNabb's rating this season is 87.3, slightly above his career average, but he has been all over the map, from a perfect 158.3 rating in a week three 56-21 rout of Detroit to a .4 rating (that is not a typo) in a 17-7 win over Miami. When Terrell Owens was an Eagle he raised some eyebrows by publicly questioning McNabb's performance down the stretch in the team's Super Bowl loss to New England; the media jumped all over Owens and McNabb called Owens' comments an example of "black on black crime"--but most of the other Eagles were conspicuously reluctant to come to McNabb's defense and some of them reportedly even privately agreed with what Owens said. Owens may have been wrong to say what he did but that does not mean that what he said was wrong.
***
The Pittsburgh Steelers maintained a one game lead over Cleveland in the AFC North by beating Miami on Monday in a 3-0 slopfest at Heinz Field. The lowest scoring game in the history of Monday Night Football was delayed due to lightning and probably should have been canceled due to deplorable field conditions. One punt hit the turf and came to a dead stop as literally half the ball sank into the soggy, muddy quagmire that resembled quicksand. The Steelers had their first scoreless first half at home in a regular season game since 1955. As a Browns fan I would have loved to see Pittsburgh lose but I disagree with any suggestion that the bad field conditions hurt Miami's chances of pulling off the upset; the winless Dolphins are clearly inferior to the Steelers, who spent much of the game operating in Miami territory but were unable to score until just seconds remained in the contest. Without the leveling effect provided by the muddy field, the Steelers--who have been dominant at home all season--would probably have won by three touchdowns. Ben Roethlisberger set a Steelers record for single game completion percentage, going 18-21 for 165 yards. His only serious mistake was a first quarter interception by ex-Steeler Joey Porter.
Give Miami credit for fighting hard until the end. As ESPN's Steve Young noted, the Dolphins did not make many errors in terms of execution and played a lot better than one would expect from an 0-11 team. They have lost six games by three points or less but that will be little consolation if they end up becoming the first NFL team to go winless since the NFL expanded the schedule to 16 games in 1978. While the game was literally an eyesore, one of the highlights of any Monday Night Football game on ESPN is hearing Steve Young's pregame and postgame analysis. Young constantly provides interesting insights based on his experiences as a top quarterback and he steadfastly refuses to hype up players, teams or matchups that do not deserve it. After the Pittsburgh-Miami game he said simply that there was nothing that happened that was worth analyzing: the Steelers are the better team and they did just enough to win but due to the uniquely bad conditions this contest told us nothing about their ability to beat New England or Indianapolis, particularly on the road, which is the challenge that Pittsburgh will likely face in this year's playoffs. I always respected Young's approach to what he terms the "craft" of being an NFL quarterback and it is clear that he takes being an analyst just as seriously.
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