411's NFL Round Up 10.21.08: Week 7 Edition

Posted by Emmett Wilks on 10.21.2008

The Cowboys aren't panicing, but should they be? Plus, more headcoaches are unemployeed and new teams are beginning to rise. All this plus news and notes from around the NFL in this week's edition of NFL Round Up!

Hello to one and all, and welcome to the Round Up. I return to you a newly married man, as my wife Ashley and I tied the knot in Disney World last Saturday. We then trekked across country to honeymoon in Las Vegas, which as a first time visitor was all it had been cracked up to be. So I guess I enter this week with a newfound sense of optimism and happiness. Which is very important, because that gives me the strength to ignore the people who keep telling me that I am ignoring certain teams (Panthers anyone) who I wrote on just one week prior! But seriously, I love my readers and really appreciate most all the comments, so when you think I am acting like a nonsensical, illogical, and ignorant jackass, just let me know.
I would also be remise if I did not mention that last week's honeymoon proved even more exciting when I was able to see the Philadelphia Phillies win the NL Pennant. Folks outside of the Philly area just cannot comprehend (with the exception of Cleveland ), just how frustrating pro sports have been in the city. Having now gone TWENTY-FIVE years without a title in any sport, I feel the city that I hold my loyalty to deserves to win one. But I am very fearful of the young upstart Tampa Bay Rays, so I will enter this World Series with a far more quite optimism than normal. But this is a football column so, onto the Round Up!

INJURY REPORT

Brodie Croyle is officially done for the season with the Chiefs. The opening day starter at QB had missed time due to a separated shoulder, but after just 14 plays in Sunday's game against the Titans, Croyle strained his knee and will be sidelined for the rest of the season. I have never been a big Croyle guy and just don't see how he can lead the Chiefs out of the funk they have gotten themselves into the last few seasons. Already having fielded three starting QB's this season. It remains unclear what the Chiefs will do from here, likely bringing in another QB to take the place. Doesn't matter really. The Chiefs are destined for a top 5 pick in the 2009 Draft, which they could perhaps finally find the real "QB of the future" they had hoped Croyle to be.

While Tom Brady will always command the headlines with his injury, the Pats were dealt another big blow with the loss of Laurence Maroney due to a busted shoulder. New England is known for being very cryptic with their player injuries, so what exactly is wrong with Maroney is not fully known, but the Pats still have lost another potential playmaker. Maroney has not been a major factor by any stretch, gaining just 93 yards on 26 carries for the three games he's appeared in this season. But the potential of a healthy Marnoey late in the year would have been a big boost to a Pats team that is still riding the fine line between contender and pretender.

QUICK NOTES

So much for the 2008 Cowboys and 2007 Patriots comparisons huh. After falling last week

Jerry Jones, Cowboys owner/president/GM, made the right decision to stress that current head coach Wade Phillips' job is not in jeopardy. Jones was in fact emphatic in his defense of the Cowboys coach, whose team just lost their 3 game in the last 4 weeks. Despite what in happening in St. Louis, and what oftentimes occurs in baseball or basketball, mid-season coaching changes do not have a long and positive history in the NFL. Few even really occur anymore. Football today is so complex and intricate that you cannot expect a team to adopt an entirely new outlook or scheme midseason and expect it to turn the entire year around. Phillips has a very difficult job in front of him with the loss of Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo and safety Roy Williams. The omnipresent scepter of unemployment is not necessarily the best motivational tool for all people. The Cowboys have problems for sure, as everyone is so observantly pointing out. But they are all fixable, and Jones is not falling into, George Steinbrenner-esque, knee jerk reactions just yet.


Cowboys coach Wade Phillips remains off the hot seat for now.

But speaking of mid-season releases, the 49ers are apparently planning to fire head coach Mike Nolan by as early as Tuesday. Nolan, who came in with 2005 with along with QB Alex Smith to revitalize the San Francisco has fallen mightily under the pressure. In his first three seasons, the Niners garnered records of 4-12, 7-9, and 5-11, and are just 2-5 this year. Nolan, who was given GM control when he entered in '05, had every opportunity to make a good run of it. But the Smith pick was a killer, as the former Utah QB is looking to rank among the all-time greatest draft busts ever. While other moves were very good (drafting Patrick Willis and Frank Gore, and the free agent signing of Nate Clemens) the wins were just not coming. Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary will likely be taking over, a position he has been waiting for a long time.

Hard pressed to think that there was another team that was as happy with the timing of their bye week than the Philadelphia Eagles. Sitting a 3-3 right now, the bottom of the NFC East, the Eagles was licking the wounds of All-World running back Brian Westbrook (ribs, ankle, heck, a little of everything) and guard Shawn Andrews (back) could both return to starting lineup in week 8 against the Falcons. With the Giants sitting as the clear favorite right now, I still find it fair to say that this is a wide open division


I do not want to seem like a downer at all, because I do love Jeff Fischer, but I still find myself hard pressed to really believe that the Tennessee Titans are a true Super Bowl team. 6-0 to start the year (no way to argue with that), they have beaten just two quality opponents this season in Jacksonville and Baltimore (with rookie QB and all). The other wins came against the winless Bengals, 1-5 Chiefs, 2-4 Texans, and mega disappointment 3-4 Vikings. Again, I am not trying to be a downer, but this team will finally reveal itself in the next three weeks, with home games against the Colts, Packers, and a road trip to Chicago and a date with the resurgent Bears. Like most things this wacky season, I want to play a wait and see. We have an elite level defense, great special teams, and a head-scratching solid offense (come on folks, its Kerry FREAKIN Collins under center, did ANYONE expect that)!?


WEEK 7 BREAKDOWN

Game of the Week

Carolina Panthers 30 New Orleans Saints 7

Really wanted to go with the Bears-Vikings 48-41 shootout, but there was simply too much ugly football that happened, especially on special teams, that would make it the game of the week. But it's not always the most competitive games that are the most telling, as case in point this week. For the Panthers, they entered this game having suffered a pretty good smacking last week against the Bucs, 27-3. The Saints meanwhile had had their way with the Raiders in week 6, winning a 34-6 blowout. A very good indicator of a solid football teams can be summed up in one word; response. How do you follow up a win or bounce back from a loss is critical, especially in the ultra high parity world of the NFL. The Panthers made a strong, bold statement about their "too good to ignore" team with a 23 point win that wasn't as close as it sounds. QB Jake Delhomme was as efficient as he was poised, WR Steve Smith is regaining his elite level receiver status, and the running game continues to churn out good yardage. The Carolina fans have much to be happy about with this team. The Saints meanwhile, are just struggling to stay at .500. While Saints QB Drew Brees is chasing Dan Marino's single season passing record (you know you put up big yards when 231 yards through the air is a down day), the Saints defense is still suffering from the poor secondary play that has kept them down the past three seasons. And the cherry on it all. The suddenly awesome again (he was always a playmaker to me) Reggie Bush may be out for a month with a knee injury. This is a Saints team that just cannot catch a break.


The Panthers and Steve Smith (above) certainly need to be reckoned with

Player of the Week

Steven Jackson- A total no-brainer of a pick this week, as Jackson ran through, around, and over the Dallas Cowboys defense to the tune of 160 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jackson had been my preseason MVP pick. With the Rams have been embarrassed in their opening contests of the season, it'd be tough to see that coming to fruition. But make no mistake, Jackson was and is a big time running back, and a very talented Dallas team learned that the hard way on Sunday.

Runners Up-

Steve Smith- Carolina WR grabbed 6 passes for 122 yards and a TD and a 20 YPC average in the Panthers 30-7 drubbing of the Saints

Green Bay Packers defense- Packers dominated Peyton Manning like no one has done in years.

BUST OF THE WEEK

Dallas Cowboys rushing defense-

Utterly and completely smacked down by the Rams offensive line and running back Steven Jackson. Rush defense had been a question mark for them during preseason, and those fears came to full fruition with this trouncing. The Cowboys are still fixable, despite what the panic mongers are telling us all, but a performance like this cannot be tolerated again if they want to get back into the thick of things.


Face it, NO ONE thought the Rams would win back to back games against the NFC East, but they did

BIGGEST SUPRISE OF THE WEEK

The Rams make it two in a row!?

Through the first four weeks of the season, we had been discussing St. Louis as among one of the worst teams in league history. But after the firing of former head coach Scott Linehan for defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, the Rams have won back-to-back games against solid competition. Downing both the Redskins and Cowboys. The reinsertion of QB Marc Bulger helped re-spark the dormant offense, with running back Steven Jackson looking MVP like. The defense meanwhile, which was a complete joke to open the season, has surrendered just 15.5 points per average the last two games. Sorry, but nothing in me (or anyone) saw that one coming. Quite a surprise indeed.

LEAST SUPRISING THING OF THE WEEK

The Baltimore Ravens defense is keeping them alive.

Though not the same group that terrorized the NFL from 2000 to 2004, the Ravens defense still remains a force. Excluding the 31 point hiccup at the hands of the Colts in week 6, the Ravens defense has proven opportunistic, aggressive, and still among the elite. Led as always Ray Lewis, the Ravens are ranked 2nd in team defense and 1st against the run, allowing just 67.2 yards per game. Things have not been easy for this group. With a rookie head coach in John Harbaugh and a rookie QB in Joe Flacco, the growing pains from the offense have been apparent. But the Ravens, at 3-3, are still alive in the AFC, a testament to a defensive unit that has remained viable for almost a decade.

That's all for this week. See you next week for the Mid-season report.