Monday Night Football Quick Hits: Wacky Night in New Orleans Edition

Reggie Bush's record setting night was not enough for the New Orleans Saints, who dropped a 30-27 decision to the Minnesota Vikings after Ryan Longwell made a 30 yard field goal with just 13 seconds left. Bush became just the 12th player in NFL history to return two punts for touchdowns in the same game. He also set franchise records for single game punt return yardage (176), career punt return touchdowns (four) and single season punt return touchdowns (three, with 11 games still remaining in the season). ESPN employed an MPH graphic that indicated that Bush reached a peak speed of over 22 MPH during one of his returns, which is remarkable, especially considering that he was wearing a helmet and pads. Adrian Peterson gained just 32 yards on 21 rushes for the Vikings but Gus Frerotte had a solid game (19-36, 222 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions) and Minnesota forced four turnovers in addition to scoring a touchdown on Antoine Winfield's 59 yard return of a blocked Martin Gramatica field goal in the first half. Gramatica also missed a field goal with 2:04 left in the fourth quarter that could have put New Orleans up 30-27; instead, the Vikings drove downfield, bled the clock down and won despite being outgained from scrimmage by 105 yards (375-270).

ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said that this performance was Bush's "A Star is Born" moment but that is just another example of hype gone wild. The last player to have two punt returns for a touchdown in one game was Detroit's Eddie Drummond in 2004. Last I checked, Drummond is not a star and is probably not even as well known as Mr. Drummond from "Diff'rent Strokes." You simply don't become a star in the NFL merely by returning punts for touchdowns; you can become a phenomenon for a brief time like Dante Hall used to be or like Devin Hester is now but even if you are a great punt returner you are likely going to have fewer than 10 TD returns in your whole career. Gale Sayers was a great punt and kick returner but he earned his stardom because he was also perhaps the most electrifying running back in the NFL during his brief, injury-filled Hall of Fame career; Sayers had two career punt return TDs and six career kickoff return TDs while playing four full seasons and parts of three other seasons. Bush has yet to prove to be a great--or even significantly above average--NFL running back. He rushed 12 times for 29 yards against Minnesota. Bush is a prolific receiver in terms of number of catches--he already has 199 receptions in just 33 career games--but he is not a highly productive receiver in terms of yardage or touchdowns; he has averaged 7.4 yards per reception in his career and caught six touchdown passes. He had seven receptions for 64 yards and no touchdowns on Monday night. The most apt comparison to Bush right now is probably Eric Metcalf, who made three Pro Bowls during his 13 year career. Metcalf never became a great running back but he caught 541 passes for 5572 yards (10.3 avg.) and 31 touchdowns; he also had 10 punt return touchdowns and two kickoff return touchdowns. Metcalf holds the NFL career record for punt return TDs, ranks fourth in career punt return yards (3453), 12th in career kickoff return yards (5813) and 12th in career all purpose yards (17,230). Metcalf was a very good NFL player but he was not a star--certainly not a star in the breathless way that Kornheiser means, someone who is one of the elite players in the entire league. Metcalf was a very valuable special teams performer who was also a productive receiver. If Bush continues to do well as a returner and increases his yards per reception average then he can reach the same level that Metcalf did.

During Monday Night Countdown it was great to see the footage from this weekend when the San Francisco 49ers retired Steve Young's number eight. Stuart Scott asked Young what stood out most for him from the ceremony and Young singled out two things: (1) It means a lot to him that his number is right next to Bill Walsh's name on the Ring of Honor, because Walsh believed in Young when many people didn't, told Young that the West Coast Offense was tailor-made for him encouraged him to go out and perform at a high level; (2) Young's children are not old enough to remember his playing career but now they are old enough to have some understanding of what he did, so this ceremony was an opportunity for him to share some aspects of his career with them.

Later, when Scott shifted gears and talked about today's quarterbacks, saying that there are "some great signal callers in this league," Young replied, "There are a few," adding that New Orleans' Drew Brees is "in the 'A' group because he's decided to make it his craft, his profession. He's got into the depths of the playbook and he understands the little, tiny things. Watch him tonight: he is great at being able to just make a little flick of the shoulders to move linebackers and open up lanes for the tight ends. He is ahead of the game. Most quarterbacks who leave the huddle in the NFL, they have the play in their mind, the motion and then they are going to watch the defense and react. Drew actually starts to dictate terms, like Peyton Manning, like Tom Brady. They dictate to defenses and they go after parts of the defense. You'll see that today. He is one of the best in the NFL today, no question." Young is an outstanding analyst because he does not buy into hype and because he explains specifically what a player does well or does not do well. He often speaks of quarterbacking as a "craft" and that is certainly the approach that he took toward the position when he played in the NFL. He respects and understands the nature of this craft and that is why he not only played so well but why he can explain the game with such clarity and depth. Brees, completed 26 of 46 passes for 330 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Even though his second interception was a Hail Mary fling on New Orleans' final offensive play, Brees was not as crisp or accurate as he had been in the first four games of the season. Obviously, it does not help matters that Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey are out of action due to injury. Still, Young said that this performance did not change his opinion that Brees is one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL. Young cited several plays in which Brees made subtle shoulder, head and pump fakes that very few QBs can do. He noted that Brees can make full field reads that most QBs cannot make and that many coaches will not even let their QBs try to make.

The Vikings entered this season with high expectations but, like the Saints, they are only 2-3 and just hanging around the outskirts of playoff contention. They had hoped that Tarvaris Jackson would be their quarterback of the future but after starting the season 0-2 Coach Brad Childress benched him in favor of Frerotte. Although Frerotte has led the team to a 2-1 mark as a starter, his statistics are only marginally better than Jackson's. Since it looks like both Wild Card teams will come out of the NFC East, the Vikings and Saints each will likely have to win their divisions to make the playoffs; the Vikings are tied with Green Bay and one game behind the Chicago Bears right now in the NFC North, while the Saints are in last place in the NFC South, two games behind the Carolina Panthers.

Here are some notes/comments about Sunday's action:

Early in the Indianapolis-Houston game, Dan Dierdorf said, "Anybody who says modern NFL players don't need training camp doesn't know what they're talking about. Even Peyton Manning needed it." So why do Tom Jackson and Cris Carter keep insisting that the time that Brett Favre missed before signing with the Jets doesn't matter? I realize that Favre had a great game last week and that he currently leads the NFL in passer rating but the Jets' two wins--and Favre's two best performances--came against teams that did not make the playoffs last year, though Miami and Arizona certainly seem to have improved this season. Versus New England and San Diego, Favre had four touchdowns and three interceptions in two losses and it was obvious that the Jets were using a limited playbook because Favre does not yet know the whole offensive system and is not completely on the same page with his receivers. Two weeks ago, Steve Young said that it could take until week 10 before Favre really knows the Jets' system and that assessment seems a lot more realistic than what Jackson and Carter have been saying.

Indianapolis' come from behind 31-27 win--during which the Colts scored 21 points in just 2:10 in the fourth quarter--brings to mind an idea that Dick Vermeil expressed a long time ago: late in the game when everything is on the line you simply cannot make a critical mistake that wipes out everything good that you did earlier. That is what losing players and losing teams do and in order to become a winning player or a winning team it is essential to get out of that habit. This requires concentration, focus and discipline. The Texans dominated for most of the game and led 27-10 with fewer than five minutes remaining but there is a reason that their organization has never experienced sustained success. Backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels--who started in place of the ill Matt Schaub--played very well for most of the game but in crunch time he simply did not understand what he needed to do to give his team the best chance to win. In chess, strong players know that when you have an advantage you "play against your opponent's play"; in other words, instead of trying to capture every last pawn on the board, you determine what your opponent's most dangerous piece is and you make sure that he cannot harm you with it. Similarly, the Texans did not need to score any more points or to make any heroic plays; they needed to protect the ball, run the clock down, punt if necessary and make the Colts have to traverse a long field just to score one time. Instead, Rosenfels tried to take on half of the Colts' defense during a wild, leaping scramble, was stripped of the ball and Gary Brackett returned the resulting fumble 68 yards for a touchdown. Rosenfels compounded this error with another fumble that put the Colts in easy scoring range and before you knew it the Texans lost the game.

For a good portion of the past week, many members of the media have tried to manufacture a Terrell Owens controversy out of thin air, using out of context quotes and amateur psychoanalyzing. Prior to Dallas' 31-22 win versus Cincinnati, Dallas owner Jerry Jones tried to settle things down by saying of Owens, "He's a terrific playmaker and we want to get him the ball. We'll overly try to get him the ball. There's no question about that. We should. It ought to open things up for other places on the offense." Naturally, those logical comments made several of the people on the set of ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown apoplectic. "Let's keep this simple," Tom Jackson said. "They are at a tipping point and here's what it is. Are you going to continue to force the ball to Terrell Owens and exclude people like Felix Jones and give Marion Barber eight carries in a game that you lost when you've been running the ball as well as you have? I'll say this: what else was Jerry Jones going to say? Was he going to say, 'No, we're not going to throw the ball to him as much'? Because he knows what the reaction would have been. Again, I've read the book, I've seen the ending and so has Jerry Jones."

Next, Keyshawn Johnson--author of Just Give Me the Damn Ball!--told the lovely fairy tale of how he used to be a selfish player before he saw the light and then won a Super Bowl; the fairy tale is not that he used to be selfish but rather that he became unselfish--the season after his Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl he was the third leading receiver on the squad when they deactivated him for the remainder of the season due to conduct detrimental to the team. Johnson was never as good of a player as Owens and he was more disruptive than Owens has ever been. As I wrote last week, "Based on skill set and attitude, Johnson is quite possibly the last person on Earth who should ever open his mouth to comment about Owens' abilities, work ethic or commitment to winning."

Mike Ditka and Cris Carter were more restrained in their comments. Ditka simply noted that for some reason many wide receivers seem to think that they are open on every play and they also have an aversion to blocking (of course, the latter criticism certainly does not apply to Owens, as we have clearly seen on several occasions just this season). Carter said that he thinks that Dallas quarterback Tony Romo is too smart to fall into this, whatever that means.

Owens is one of the best wide receivers of all-time and a first ballot Hall of Famer, so it is a shame that so many people who should know better spend so much time speaking negatively about him. Much to the dismay of Owens' critics, he did not do anything disruptive on Sunday and in fact played an important role in Dallas' victory. Owens finished with two receptions for 67 yards--including a very important second half 57 yard touchdown--and one rush for eight yards. Although Owens had a quiet first half statistically, he made his presence felt because the Bengals had to account for him defensively. CBS' Phil Simms used the telestrator to demonstrate how Tony Romo's four yeard TD pass to Jason Witten was set up by Owens, who started out in the backfield and then ran a pattern in the right flat, attracting multiple defenders, creating a gap for Witten.

Owens became just the eighth player in NFL history to catch 900 passes and the third fastest to reach that milestone (178 games). He also moved into a fourth place tie with Marshall Faulk on the career touchdowns scored list (136).

The Cowboys jumped out to a 17-0 lead and seemed to be well on their way to routing the Bengals but turnovers--including a fumble and an interception by Romo--helped Cincinnati to get back into the game. With Dallas clinging to a 17-16 lead, the Cowboys recovered a Chris Perry fumble and that is when Owens made his big TD reception, outrunning the entire Bengals secondary after he caught the ball over the middle. The Bengals answered with a Palmer touchdown pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh but their two point conversion attempt failed and the Cowboys sewed up the win with a clock chewing drive that culminated in a touchdown reception by Patrick Crayton after the ball sailed right through Miles Austin's hands.

After the game, Tom Jackson said of Chad Johnson, "He's a good kid. A little mixed up, but a good kid." This is what I just don't get. I'm not saying that Johnson is a bad person, though I don't think that he is a good teammate--but why do Jackson and so many others look at Johnson as some kind of lovable eccentric but they speak of Owens as if he is the devil incarnate? During the game telecast, Phil Simms hit the nail on the head about Johnson when he said that teams reflect the attitude and mindset of their leaders and that Johnson and Houshmandzadeh both have to be aware that as team leaders their conduct sets the tone for everyone else. Simms mentioned that he discussed this before the game with Cincinnati Coach Marvin Lewis and that Lewis, while understandably careful about how he chose his words, agreed that Johnson and Houshmandzadeh must be mindful of how their actions affect the entire team--which is a diplomatic way of saying that they are not quite the leaders that Lewis wants them to be.

In his postgame standup, Owens did something great: he simply made a short statement and did not answer any questions, thus not providing anything for the media to misinterpret or take out of context; if the media is going to continue to distort his words and paint him as a bad guy then he should respond in exactly that fashion, fulfilling the bare minimum in terms of being available. For the record, here is what he said: "I'm going to make this short and sweet, man. I'm not going to answer too many questions but I've just been dealing with a lot of stuff. This was a great team win. We fought hard to get back in this ball game. There has been a lot of criticism that I have taken all week and it's more about me just giving God all the glory for the opportunities he gave me today. It was frustrating out there but I just kept with it and my teammates stuck with it. I'm about more than being number 81, it's about more than a star being on my helmet. God put me in this situation to let everybody know that I am a man of God no matter what criticisms I may take or that people may point at me. I'm standing here today just to profess my faith in God and the ability he gave me to show that on the football field today. God used me for his glory and reality is where glory resides and that's all I've got to say."

Quote of the Week, I: After Tony Kornheiser noted that Minnesota owner Zygi Wilf often listens to talk radio to get a sense of what people think about his team, Ron Jaworski declared, "Anyone who is going to make decisions based on talk radio should not be in the position of owning a team." Kornheiser responded, "Thank you. I do talk radio. So does Mike (Tirico)."

Quote of the Week, II: "Nothing sadder than a man who has lost his sole."--Greg Gumbel after Joseph Addai's shoe fell apart during Indianapolis' 31-27 win over Houston.

Monday Night Football Quick Hits: Opening Week Edition

Aaron Rodgers passed his first test with flying colors, achieving a gaudy 115.5 passer rating by completing 18 of 22 passes for 178 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions as his Green Bay Packers defeated their division rival Minnesota Vikings 24-19 in the first game of Green Bay's post-Brett Favre era. Favre lovers/Green Bay haters in the media will have to look long and hard to find something to criticize about Rodgers' performance. There is obviously a long way to go this season but now the whole nation has had an opportunity to see why the Packers were ready to hand over the reins to Rodgers.

There is beating a dead horse and then there is shooting the dead horse, kicking it 50 times, pistol whipping it and whacking it with a folding chair a la a pro wrestler; the latter is a good metaphor for Tony Kornheiser's commentary during the early portion of the Green Bay-Minnesota game, when every single thing that happened precipitated an overwrought comparison of Rodgers to Favre. After a series of penalties resulted in the Packers facing a first and 33, Kornheiser went too far even for his compliant booth mates Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski when he said that everyone will be watching this play to see if Rodgers can pull off the kind of magic that Favre does in such situations; Tirico and Jaworski calmly noted that teams do not routinely deal with that down and distance.

After Rodgers threw his first touchdown, Kornheiser suggested that the crowd was happy because Rodgers had made a Favre-like throw but Jaworski countered that the fans were merely celebrating the fact that their team scored: "You've got to let it go, Tony," he advised, before adding, "I'll go into the football. Aaron Rodgers did a great job with the play action. Korey Hall was about the fourth receiver in that progression. Great job in that regard by Rodgers." That in a nutshell is the problem with having someone like Kornheiser or Dennis Miller in the MNF booth: Jaworski virtually has to call a timeout to "go into the football"; Kornheiser and Miller are both intelligent and witty but they are not football analysts and their presence takes away air time from someone like Jaworski who can actually analyze and explain the game. I resent that ESPN thinks that it has to "add" something to the telecast in order to attract more viewers, whether that something is Kornheiser or the incessant parade of non-football related guests to the broadcast booth, a practice that mercifully is supposed to not take place as much this season. ESPN should just show the game, using their big budget to provide multiple camera angles and the best commentary from analysts who truly understand the intricacies of the sport; viewers who want to be "entertained" by something not related to sports have the option of switching to non-sports programming, while real sports fans do not appreciate such "extras."

During the Packers' next possession, Kornheiser continued to assault the dead horse mercilessly: "I've mentioned this before, the great gamble here. Not to disparage Rodgers--because he's good--but he was given a 13-3 team, and so the question becomes is this the right year to hand a 13-3 team over to somebody with inexperience, because they are knocking on the Super Bowl door. That is the great question in all of this." Does this add anything to the broadcast? Wasn't all of that pretty obvious even before Kornheiser said it in various ways 50 times? After the camera panned to Packers GM Ted Thompson, Kornheiser continued, "He's the guy who did it--he and (Coach) Mike McCarthy. They made this decision. Brett Favre said that he wanted to come back and they finally said the train has moved out of the station. I question that, because that was in July. They hadn't even loaded up the train yet. There were no passengers on it--"

Jaworski, sounding as exasperated as I felt, finally interrupted to provide some perspective: "I know, but Tony you forget that Brett Favre retired. He quit playing football. What were they supposed to do? Wait for him to come back? You've got to move on." That is good advice for both the Packers and Kornheiser.

Favre's Sunday debut as a New York Jet was impressive (15-22, 194 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, 125.9 rating) but it is worth noting that he put up those numbers in a 20-14 win over a Miami team that went 1-15 last year. It was a quintessential Favre performance in every way: he showed off his arm strength, guts and gunslinger tendencies and he also put the ball up for grabs, most notably with his miracle touchdown pass to Chansi Stuckey, a desperation heave that should have been intercepted. Let's see what Favre and the Jets do against some better teams. The most remarkable thing about Favre is his astounding consecutive games streak; his durability is a product of conditioning, toughness and a little luck but I think that Favre also helps himself with his footwork. When he delivers a ball from a crowded pocket he often seems to throw off of his back foot, instead of planting his front foot like most quarterbacks and thus exposing himself to the type of devastating knee injury that Tom Brady just suffered. Throwing off your back foot is not something that coaches teach or that most quarterbacks can do efffectively on a consistent basis but--whether by plan or instinct--Favre seems to have a knack for avoiding the kill shots that have taken out so many quarterbacks.

ESPN's Tom Jackson and Cris Carter are a little too giddy in their predictions of how well Brett Favre will do in New York and how much pressure they think Aaron Rodgers is facing. This is understandable, because Jackson and Carter are former Pro Bowlers who surely identify more with Favre and his struggle with Green Bay management than they do with an unproven, career backup like Rodgers--but just because their take is understandable does not make it objective or correct. Favre is an old quarterback who has been an erratic postseason performer for years and who has annually been speaking about retiring. This summer he actually did retire and the Packers had a succession plan in place. When Favre later said that he could understand that Green Bay had moved on you either had to admire his boldness or wonder at how disconnected he is from reality. What did he expect Green Bay to do after he retired: fold the franchise? Of course they moved on, just like every other team in sports history has done after a great player retired. Jackson and Carter's commentary on this subject seems to be inspired more by bias than by an objective evaluation of Rodgers' skill set or a realistic appraisal of Green Bay's options after Favre flip-flopped; Green Bay management was correct to finally rid itself of the annual Favre retirement drama and to put Rodgers on the field full time before they have to decide whether or not to sign him to a long term deal.

As for the second Monday Night Football game--Denver's 41-14 rout of Oakland--suffice it to say that the Raiders should be sued for deceptive advertising if they don't scrap their "Commitment to Excellence" motto.

Here are some notes/comments about Sunday's action:

1) The biggest story by far is Tom Brady's season-ending knee injury. Naturally, many people are predicting doom and gloom for the Patriots because New England will be without the services of the reigning MVP, a player who tossed an NFL record 50 touchdown passes last season. Obviously, it is not a good thing to lose the best player in the league but it is very premature to write off a team that went 16-0 last season and is currently riding an NFL record 20 game regular season winning streak. Keep in mind that when Brady became the starting quarterback for New England in 2001 he had virtually the same credentials--or lack thereof--that Matt Cassel currently has: Brady was a 24 year old, sixth round draft pick who had been as low as seventh on the depth chart in college, while Cassel is a 26 year old, seventh round draft pick who spent his college career as a backup to Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. Yes, that analogy crumbles a bit considering that Brady did achieve some success as a starter in college, while Cassel has not been a starter since high school, but it would be a mistake to underestimate the importance that coaching has played in the success that Brady and the Patriots have enjoyed. Brady was well prepared to step in and play because he was well coached and Cassel certainly looked well prepared as he compiled a 116.0 passer rating while completing 13 of 18 passes for 152 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions as New England beat Kansas City 17-10, scoring all 17 points after Brady got hurt. It is important to not just look at those numbers but also consider a couple of the throws that Cassel made, in particular his 51 yard completion to Randy Moss on a 3rd and 11 play from the New England one yard line and his 10 yard touchdown pass to Moss at the conclusion of that drive. The fact that Bill Belichick and the coaching staff trusted Cassel enough to have him throw a bomb out of the end zone--instead of doing a safe running play up the middle and punting the ball on fourth down--speaks volumes and the throw itself showcased that Cassel has a strong, accurate arm. The touchdown pass was also a very well thrown ball, placed where only Moss could catch it.

The bottom line is that Cassel has a good skill set, he has talented players around him and he is being coached by one of the greatest coaches ever. The critics are always looking for reasons/excuses to doubt the Patriots but the Patriots usually come through. Remember when Belichick released Lawyer Milloy prior to the 2003 season? Buffalo beat the Patriots 31-0 in week one and Tom Jackson declared that Belichick had lost the team because the players were so upset by how Belichick had treated Milloy--and then the Patriots made Jackson look foolish by winning 14 of their next 15 regular season games en route to their second Super Bowl victory. Sometimes when people pick against the Patriots I think that they are wishing more than they are analyzing.

2) In the August 25, 2008 issue of Sports Illustrated, Jim Trotter wrote about the real Chad Johnson, the Chad Johnson that "Ocho Cinco's" media friends usually whitewash before bashing Terrell Owens:

While football fans were watching Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson become a caricature of himself in the off-season, popping off repeatedly with demands to be traded--or, presumably, to be given a new contract--a small group of Bengals players turned their attention to coach Marvin Lewis. Almost from the moment Lewis took the Cincinnati coaching job in 2003, he assigned Chosen One status to Johnson. The former Oregon State standout could get away with anything. Walk out of a meeting without permission? Walk off the practice field and not return because the quarterback hadn't thrown enough passes his way? Put on a sideline skit after scoring a touchdown during a game? Johnson had done them all without significant consequences.

The Bengals looked terrible in their 17-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, producing just 154 yards of offense. "Ocho Psycho" had one reception for 22 yards. Considering that "Ocho Psycho's" teams have no record of postseason success while Owens has been a major contributor on playoff teams for three different franchises, it would be refreshing--yet unlikely--if the media would report the truth: "Ocho Psycho" is a major problem for the Bengals and a major contributor to the unprofessional attitude that has dogged the franchise for years. Most of the NFL's talented receivers are selfishly interested in their statistics but the great ones also want to contribute to a winning effort; "Ocho Psycho" gives every indication that he is primarily interested in his own numbers and his own drama as opposed to helping to build a winning team.

3) ESPN's virtual reality football field--featured on Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday NFL Countdown--is really cool; instead of having ex-players dressed in suits walking through plays, now Tom Jackson narrates the action as three dimensional versions of NFL players move up and down the field in very life-like fashion. Considering the enormous popularity of video games and fantasy sports, how long will it be before sports leagues are replaced by "leagues" of three dimensional, virtual reality players? Maybe that sounds crazy, but virtual reality players won't get season ending injuries or hold out for bigger contracts or get in trouble at three in the morning.