411's NFL Round Up 10.28.08: Week 8 Edition

Posted by Emmett Wilks on 10.28.2008

We are offically halfway through the 2008 NFL Season. But the great football weekend ends with ugly steroid allegations, and a coaching blow-up that has to be seen to be believed. This, plus news and notes from around the NFL in this edition of NFL Round Up!

Well, as I type this, I am preparing for an event I have been waiting for my entire life. A Philadelphia team, the Phillies namely, are one win away from a world championship. By the time most of you read this post, you will know the outcome. I will hold all opinions, analysis, and assessment on this matter, which I have been waiting my WHOLE LIFE for, until its conclusion has been reached. But, we have a great deal of football to go over, so, onto the Round Up!


QUICK NOTES

The new steroid allegations against the NFL players are not going to have a happy ending. 8 players, including Vikings DT's Kevin and Pat Williams (not related), Saints DE Will Smith and Saints RB Deuce McAllister, have been cited in the report. The allegations suggest that the players were taking a dietary weight-loss supplement that is a masking agent for steroids. Fox 31 TV in Denver reported last week that players had tested positive for Bumetanide, a pill that decreases the amount of water retained in the body by increasing urination. It causes the kidneys to get rid of unneeded water and salt from the body into the urine. If true, this could open an ugly door into the NFL, where drug testing is strictly enforced, but not impossible to escape. I will reserve judgment on stories still in their infancy, but rest assured, the no nonsense commissioner Roger Goodell does not want any kind of baseball steroid hoopla entering the NFL right now.

Jason Campbell, the Redskins starting QB, has thrown 1725 yards on 230 attempts this year (152 completions) and ZERO interceptions. This is perhaps the most mind-boggling stat I have seen in years. A starting quarterback who has not thrown a pick in the first half of the SEASON. I can't pull that feat off on easy in Madden football. The 6-2 Redskins are certainly a viable playoff team this season, and Campbell is a major reason for that, but a stat like this is a once in every decade kind of start for a season.


Campbell has started 8 NFL games in 2008 without throwing an interception

Sometimes I just don't get players. Clinton Portis, whose 941 rushing yards this year has made him an MVP candidate, got into a arguement with coach Jim Zorn when he checked himself back into the game, without telling the coach. Zorn, in turn, had some of his play calls out of whack when new personnel that he didn't know about were in the game. This lead to a very visible and heated reprimand from Zorn to Portis on the sidelines after the drive. Portis should just know better. He claims he would check himself in and out when Joe Gibbs was running the show, but Zorn is not Gibbs sir. He is his own man with his own rules. A situation like this is very frustrating and annoying that a great team player like Portis would forget that.

The NFL must be happier with this years trip to London than last year. Firstly, offense ruled the day. Last years game between New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins featured just 23 points combined a little in terms of big plays. That game was an ugly, wet, and sloppy by both teams. This year however, was the high flying, high scoring affair the NFL wants to export. 860 yards of offense, 69 points, and some of the games brightest stars (LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees) having big games.

Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel is claiming he read Eli Mannings lips for a play-call, which ended with Giants running back Brandon Jacobs being stuffed on the 1. This is just classic Eli here. While he very well may be the MVP of the league, the guy is still good for many more "aww shucks" moments in the rest of his career.

Dallas coach Wade Phillips is apparently not satisfied with the play of current starting QB Brad Johnson. Dallas' offense gained just 172 yards in their 13-9 victory. The other QB option would be journeyman Brooks Bollinger, who was picked up after Minnesota cut him to close the preseason. With Romo hopefully just two weeks away, such a change may not be the best move for Phillips. With the Cowboys teetering on a playoff birth right now, every single game matters. For my money, Johnson is still the guy. He doesn't turn the ball over often, and while he may not be a big yardage guy, he will manage a game for you. This is a luxury that many other NFL teams don't have; a veteran back-up for situations like this. Bollinger will likely get some snaps if there is any indication that Johnson won't get it done, but I still see a Brad Johnson start.


WEEK 8 BREAKDOWN


Game of the Week


Browns 23 Jaguars 17

Was very close to going with the Saints-Chargers 37-32 shootout, but I am not really that big a fan of game that features zero secondary play. This was a huge win for the Browns, and yet another setback for the reeling Jaguars team. Both of these teams had a lot of expectations entering into the year, and this game illustrates that you can never make a good preseason prediction in the NFL. In what has become a shockingly balanced (I won't say weak) AFC this season, the Browns are just barely staying the fray. QB Derek Anderson, after hearing a chorus of boos the first few weeks of the season, has reestablished himself as the Browns starter. For the day, he completed 14 of 27 passes for 246 yards, 1 TD and no picks. And those 14 completions went to 8 different receivers. The Jags, well, let's say that the preseason hype has not come to fruition. With the well known injuries on the offensive line (three starters lost before week 3), the Jags running game has not been effective, and QB David Garrard has played well, but not well enough to carry the team. The Browns schedule does not look too bright for them. Dates with the Ravens, Broncos, Bills, Texans, Colts, and Titans line up their next six Sundays. That will be followed by a Monday night game against the Eagles. The rest of the season is a little better for the Jags. The Lions, Titans, Vikings, and Texans make up their next games, and 3-1 from that should be manageable. But the fact remains that this team, even in its three wins, has not come anywhere close to dominating a team yet. Detroit could hopefully change that, but losses like these will keep the Jags in the backseat for 2008.


PLAYER OF WEEK


The Eagles are light-years better when Westbrook is in the line-up

Brian Westbrook- A very tough decision this week, as several players really had standout out weeks. Will give it to my hometown boy this week, as Westbrook again demonstrated just how vitally important he is to the Eagles. For the day, the Philadelphia RB took 22 hand-offs to the tune of 167 yards and 2 TD's, and also grabbed 6 receptions for 42 yards. The Eagles, while still at the bottom of the NFC East standings, remain a competitive force in the NFC.

Runner Ups

Santana Moss- Another game, another huge effort from Moss, who grabbed 9 catches for 140 yards and a TD.

Drew Brees- Saints QB continues his march on the record book with 30-for-41, 339 yard, 3 TD day in a season saving win over the Chargers in Jolly Ol' England.

Chad Pennington- Jets fans are now asking themselves "Where was this Chad Pennington?" Tossed 22-for-30 to the tune of 314 yards and a TD in Miami 's win over the Bills.

Leon Washington- Washington had a career day with 274 total yards as he single made up for three Brett Favre picks to lead the Jets to 28-24 victory over the Chiefs.

BUST OF THE WEEK

JT O'Sullivan and Vernon Davis

O'Sullivan's time as a starter is seemingly nearing the end, after new coach Mike Singletary benched him after throwing his 11th interception of the season. He finished the game with 13-of-21 for 131 and a pick, doing very little to move the Niners offense. Davis, well, there is a lot to be desired about him...

BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THE WEEK

This may go down as the most talked about head coaching debut ever. New San Francisco 49er's interim head coach Mike Singletary felt he needed to make a statement for the team, and he certainly did. One of the five greatest linebackers to ever play the game, Singletary started making waves immediately, benching QB JT O'Sullivan and his league leading 11 interceptions. Singletary then sent starting tight end and former 6th overall pick Vernon Davis into the locker room prior to the end of the Niners 34-13 smackdown by the Seattle Seahawks. His decision, after Davis ' unnecessary roughness penalty, has sent shockwaves throughout the NFL. Few coaches could ever have had the audacity, and privileged position, to have made such an order to a player. Though Singletary has proven nothing as a head coach, his football pedigree, experience, and success lend him to a position of greater authority than perhaps any other first time head coach. Davis has been a perpetual disappointment since his arrival in the Bay Area back in 2005. I think Mike Ditka, Singletary's former coach with the Bears said it best, "if you want to change the culture, you have to change the culture." The Niners have been outright embarrassing now for years. There is a very talented contingent of players on that field, and they have constantly and repeatedly played well below ability. Singletary has one goal in mind, to win. This team has not done that at all, and Singletary wants to try something new. It is hard to imagine that players won't react to




LEAST SURPRISING DEVELOPMENT


2008 has perhaps been Bill Belichick's finest coaching season

The Patriots are 5-2 at the halfway point of the year. The collect breathe of New England was lost when quarterback Tom Brady went down with a knee injury in Week 1. For most fans and observers, the season was all but lost. But no one could tell that to the Patriots. After the injury, I was fairly confident that this Pats team would do just fine. They still had a very, very good defense, record setting receiver Randy Moss, a running back by committee attack, and a three time Super Bowl winning coach in Bill Bellichick. While this season is certainly not the same road traveled by the 2007 Patriots, this group remained pretty much in tact from the 18-1 squad. Even with a much tougher AFC East division this year, the Patriots have remained poised, effective, and opportunistic. This weeks comeback win against a suddenly surging Rams squad was further proof that this Pats team is not to be forgotten just because they lost their signal caller. A quarterback is far and away the most important player on an NFL team, but he is not the only player. This Pats squad, while rallying around new starter Matt Cassell is certainly demonstrating that.


That's all for today, but stay tuned Wednesday for the Mid-Season Awards. Have a good week.