The 5 Step Drop 10.18.07: NFL Regular Season Week 7
Posted by Javier Zuniga on 10.18.2007
Where Have All the Quarterbacks Gone? A look at the sorry state of signal callers in the NFL this year, plus a HUGE AFC South showdown between the Colts and the Jags, the Raiders get some love (sort of) and the rest of the best match-ups this week in the NFL!!
Welcome to this week's edition of The 5 Step Drop.
After last week's big preview of the Pats/Cowboys showdown, I got a ton of feedback. Everywhere I went people wanted to talk to me. They said, "Hey, you're that guy who writes The 5 Step Drop for 411mania. Sure, you're good looking and rich and women throw themselves at your feet, but you went 2-3 in your picks last week."
Well, those stalker fans are right. I AM good looking and rich. Women DO throw themselves at my feet like I've got the last pair of fishnets at Oscar De La Hoya's house. And I was 2-3 last week in my picks. But hey, at least I picked the two most interesting games correctly.
Also, there seemed to be quite a few of you Patriots and Raiders fans who were upset with some of my comments. Well, I have this to say to you guys:
To you Patriots fans: So what if I mentioned how your team was a complete joke for 40 years, your Coach is a pervert, your QB is a roving misogynist, and your star WR is one of the worst people in al of sports, maybe all the world. I picked you guys to win. What more do you want?
To you Raiders fans: Thank you. I learned something. Who knew the prison system allowed so many people to access the internet?
The other big story of the weekend was seeing the Tennessee Titans get beaten in Tampa Bay as Vince Young left the game with a strained quad. It was exactly the kind of close, tough, one-big-play-could-break-it-open game Young has won for the Titans many times in his short pro career. But once you saw Kerry Collins come in and wing it around the field about as accurately as a hobo peeing off a moving train, you knew the Titans were cooked.
Which brings us to the bigger story (maybe the biggest non-Patriots story of the NFL season): WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE NFL QUARTERBACK??
Am I wrong here, or don't the so-called experts spends hours and hours every year telling us about all these ‘franchise QBs' who get drafted? So what happened to them? Do you realize that if Vince Young misses a start due to his injury, and Joey Harrington finally loses his starting job to Byron Leftwich in Atlanta, that more than half the teams in the NFL will have made changes to their quarterback position at some point this season due to injury or poor performance. MORE THAN HALF.
Last week, such household names like Trent Edwards, Cleo Lemons, Gus Frerotte, and Brian Griese were under center for NFL teams. Cleveland might have actually saved its season (and coach Romeo Crennel's job) by switching to Derek Anderson. But pre-season playoff hopefuls like St. Louis, San Francisco, and Baltimore have been ravaged by their injuries at the QB spot.
And while that seems tough, the Carolina Panthers have had to make changes to their quarterback position due to injury not once, but twice!!! Former Super Bowl sensation Jake Delhomme is done for the year and former #1 Draft Pick David Carr is banged up and hasn't looked that impressive when healthy. So, since the Panthers apparently couldn't lure the Crypt Keeper out of retirement, they instead signed Vinny Testaverde. Vinny is 6thtall-time in the NFL in yardage and first in chest hair. But he's also 43. And yet he still managed to lead his team to victory.
Of course they were playing the Arizona Cardinals who had also lost BOTH their top two QBs to injury and were depending on former Louisiana Tech ‘legend' Tim Rattay.
So fans, enjoy watching guys like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Tony Romo, and the immortal Brett Favre do what they do best. Because the way things are going, and with the lack of talented QBs fulfilling their potential, the traditional face-off between two superstar quarterbacks will be few and far between. Montana vs. Marino? No chance. Aikman vs. Young? Uh uh. Brady vs. Manning? Not even close. Hell, we'll be happy to see Rivers vs. Croyle.
If you understand this diagram, you watch too much football. You need to get out more.
Let's get to the big games of the week.
Monday, October 22, Indianapolis Colts (5-0) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (4-1): This is a HUGE game for the Jags. It's the biggest Monday Night game in team history. And it's arguably the biggest game for this franchise since the Mark Brunnell led Jags team upset a 13-3 Denver team to go to the AFC Title Game.
For the last three seasons we've been hearing how big and physical this Jaguars team is. Now it finally looks like it's paying off.
They are the #4 team in the NFL in rushing. They are second in yard per attempt. That's an offensive line that's doing its job. And their defense, led by the best front four in football, is second in the league in points allowed. In a nutshell, they beat people up. And QB David Garrard, while not putting up spectacular numbers, has been efficient and accurate and knows how to make plays. He has also been very careful with the ball; Garrard has only one fumble all year and no interceptions. He is playing exactly the way you would want someone to play who has a great running game and a dependable defense.
So with all this going for them, the Jags have won four straight and now play host to the Indianapolis Colts: Super Bowl Champions and FOUR TIME, FOUR TIME, FOUR TIME, FOUR TIME defending AFC South winners.
That's where the problems start. Indy is also tough and physical. The Jags are bigger, but Indy has been nearly as effective on the ground (5th in the NFL) and surprisingly effective on defense. They will also be healthy coming off a bye: Pro Bowlers WR Marvin Harrison, RB Joseph Addai, and S Bob Sanders make their return after missing their win over Tampa Bay. And oh yeah….they have that Peyton Manning guy, too. Not only is he going to end his career as arguably the greatest QB in NFL history, he takes time out of his day to help out the youth of America. Like this:
You kids all want to come live with me in my mansion?
What a guy. The point is, when the game gets close, the Jags have a caretaker. The Colts have a difference maker. Colts wins But this is going to be a fun, hard-hitting game and it's the kind of game that a young team like the Jags will learn from as they fight for a play-off spot down the road.
Sunday, October 21, Kansas City Chiefs (3-3) @ Oakland Raiders (2-3): HOLY CRAP! Two weeks in a row featuring a Raiders preview? Hey, I'd love to trash the Plata y Negro some more but the truth is, they aren't that bad.
The defense has been solid for a while now. They are one of the NFL's best running teams. Against the Chargers, they played one of those typical Raiders games: they had a ton of penalties, gave up six sacks, and had three turnovers. But unlike most times, the Raiders were able to stay in the game and actually scored late to get to within seven points before a TD by LT put the game away. Daunte Culpepper made a huge mistake at the end of the first half, but he didn't look terrible, especially when you consider who he's throwing to [Note to CBS announcers: Jerry Porters is NOT a "superstar" wide receiver. No matter how many times you say it. The guy has had two decent seasons. The fact that he's making about $7.5 million this year to do nothing and yet the Raiders gave away Randy Moss for a 4th round pick while the Chargers just picked up Chris Chambers and gave up a second rounder sort of explains why the Raiders have been at the bottom of their division for so long. Yeesh.].
So, much like the Jags, this is another chance for the Raiders to prove they are going to make some noise this year. Especially in a weaker AFC West. But again, that's where the problems begin.
KC looked GOD AWFUL early. But they rallied to beat the Chargers, looked competitive against Jacksonville, and then dominated the Bengals. QB Damon Huard has specifically looked better of late (although that's not saying much against the ‘Nati) and he's done a good job getting the ball to All-Universe TE Tony Gonzalez and first-round steal Dwayne Bowe. The rushing game needs help. So Head Coach Herm Edwards has evidently decided to run Larry Johnson until he is literally torn in half, which is why he traded away back-up RB Michael Bennett this week. They can't stop the run, but the pass defense is surprisingly good with a couple of old guys that used to be good.
I want to like the Raiders here. And they probably should win. But I have a feeling about KC. Chiefs win. Huard is on a roll and the Oakland offense just doesn't have enough playmakers to get the duke here.
Sunday, October 21, Chicago Bears (2-4) @ Philadelphia Eagles (2-3): With the parity in the NFL it's really hard to say that a team is out of the play-off this early. Especially in the weaker NFC. Well, guess what: Whoever loses this game IS OUT OF THE PLAY-OFFS.
Da Bears did everything possible to win that game last week, except to actually play some defense. Honestly, it was the first game all year that Chicago could say they weren't hurt by their QB. They ran OK considering Minnesota is the league's best against the rush (yeah, who knew?). And Devin Hester is just ridiculous. But that defense sucks. Yes, it's a technical term. They are in the bottom 10 in every significant defensive category.
I don't think Philly is that good. Their two wins were against a bad Jets team last week and a Detroit team that is one of the few that is worse defensively than Da Bears. But Chicago hasn't stopped ANYBODY except for a KC team playing at its absolute worst.
Philly is going to win impressively. Which should make for great TV as all the NFL Live clowns hop on their band wagon and talk about a "veteran team that knows how to win. Grrr." And then the bottom will drop out. Look at that schedule. They might lose six or seven of their next eight. Nice run, Philly. Have fun rebuilding.
Sunday, October 21, Tennessee Titans (3-2) @ Houston Texans (3-3): I want to give a better preview here, because this really is a big match in terms of the division and play-off potential, but its Wednesday as I write this and no one has any idea if Vince Young will actually play. So here's what I'll do. Titans win. As long as VY plays. To make up for the lack of a real breakdown, here's Vince making NFL talking head Merril Hoge look like a complete buffoon with his performance during his rookie year.
Merril Hoge: There are no signs of [Vince Young] ever being a good quarterback in the National Football League. D'oh!
Sunday, October 21, Minnesota Vikings (2-3) @ Dallas Cowboys (5-1): Coming after their absolute shellacking at the hands of the Patriots, there's only thing I have to say about Dallas and their chances of beating the Vikings: somebody..anybody..hell, everybody tackle Adrian Peterson.
If they do, the Vikes don't offer much else offensively. The best they can hope out of QB Tavaris Jackson is that he not throws a pick. They are great against the rush, but the really isn't going to bother Dallas much.
The Cowboys really just have to find a way to shake off the mental hangover of the Patriots game and focus on the task at hand. They need to maintain their division lead. The Packers are somehow tied with them for the NFC's best record. And their next three games are against the rest of the NFC East: at Philly, at the Giants, and home against Washington. What started out like a Super season could go bad very fast if they struggle in the next month. They are however a very talented team. This should actually be an easy win for Dallas. Their strengths match-up with Minnesota's weakness.
But I repeat: somebody tackle Adrian Peterson.
That wraps up the previews for the week. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. This has been The 5 Step Drop…..GO DEEP!!!!!
