One of the main reasons for the greatness of spectacle that is the National Football League is in the simple fact that the entire season is played, essentially, on 17 days. While other sports’ seasons play out as one long 6-month marathon, the NFL season seems to just be an aggregation of 16 three-hour wind sprints over the course of 17 weeks. And, this simple difference accentuates interest in the NFL because every week is so incredibly important that aside from “gameday,” even us fans need 4-5 days leading up to an NFL game to prepare ourselves for the upcoming game, and 2-3 days to digest what happened. While the daily storylines in other sports often seem incredibly over-dramatized, considering the level of true impact on a season that one game actually has, daily storylines in the NFL cannot possibly be so because each game can be (and often is) season-changing. So, for each week (or each week that I get a chance), I want to run down some of the storylines that caught my interest from the week that was around the league – obviously, with some always welcome Eagle-centricism thrown in from time to time.
It was Unsurprising that the Unsurprising Good Outweighed the Unsurprising Bad
Why not start with our Birds (and a very confusing heading…)? This team is stacked – there is no question about that. However, if there were concerns (which there always are in the NFL), those concerns had to be about the linebackers (and run-stopping ability) and the offensive line. Sunday’s game with the Rams (which I actually thought the Birds would lose) showed that we were all right in worrying about those two things. The Rams ran all over the Eagles D and did so mostly after losing their bellcow back, Steven Jackson. If you’re one of those people that went into the game terrified of Casey Matthews & Company in the middle of the field, you certainly didn’t find any relief on Sunday. On the other side of the ball, the big question was the offensive line. While “short-armed” Todd Herramans played really well in his first game at right tackle, the O-line gave all its doubters more ammo and more reason for concern about the health of our small, sometimes reckless superstar quarterback. However, all of these “warts” were totally overshadowed (as many people believed they would be) by the fact that this team is absolutely loaded to the gills with talent all over the field on both sides of the ball. Michael Vick was dynamic; DeSean Jackson was uncoverable; the three-headed monster at secondary looked extraordinary, despite an uncharacteristic pass interference penalty on the Great Nnamdi; and, the reworked D-line got into the Rams backfield time and time again. While the Birds didn’t exactly beat the best the league has to offer on Sunday, they did win a game on the road against a well-coached and up-and-coming team. Not that this comes as a surprise, but I think one of the things to watch for most this season is the Eagles performance in the first quarter. This defense is completely built for playing with a lead. When they can turn their ears back and rush the QB, relying on a ridiculous secondary to make plays, they are going to be nightmare to attack. But, we are still unsure whether or not this team is (or even will be) able to dig in and make a stop against a smashmouth rushing offense working on grinding the clock to protect a lead.
The Sunday Night Game: Two Polar Opposite QBs Doing What They Each Do Best
One thing struck me as I watched the Cowboys-Jets Sunday night game. Despite having a similar flair for attracting the off-the-field media attention, Tony Romo and Mark Sanchez are pretty much polar opposites of each other as quarterbacks. Before I really thought about it, I viewed Romo as a terrific quarterback who gets a bad rap. On the flip side, I definitely saw Mark Sanchez as adequate, at best, and as receiving far too much attention for his on-the-field performance. But, I figured out Sunday night that that assessment really goes against pretty much everything I believe in when it comes to sports. Despite the pretty face and the GC photoshoots, everything that Sanchez does on the field is ugly. Romo, on the other hand, calmly escapes pressure and throws beautiful balls up and down the field to a variety of different receivers. However, while Sanchez could throw five straight bad balls, he always steps up in the under durress on third-and-nine type situations. What does Romo do in the fourth quarter of close games? He fumbles snaps and throws ghastly INTs. Magnify the moment with the playoffs, and you have even more evidence of this. Sanchez wins ugly; Romo loses pretty. Gimme the former to play on my team.
How Scary Good Did They Look?
I know this was almost a week ago now, but if you’re the fan of an NFC team that played on Sunday, how scared are you of the two quarterbacks that opened the season back on Thursday in Lambeau Field? Rodgers and Brees made running an NFL offense look trivial. Honestly, I started to think to myself “wow, did the lockout just kill all defensive tactics?” But, no, probably not. These guys are just that good.
Not to be Outdone
So Rodgers and Brees were terrific, right? And, we heard about if for four days, right? Well, there is one guy that is actually terrific – Tom Terrific – and he kind of made a statement last night shutting up those that actually had the audacity to think that someone else in the league may have caught him. Nope, the throne is still yours, Mr. Brady, I never doubted it.
Am I the Only One That Think Shanahan Knows What He’s Doing?
I clearly am not a fan of the Washington Redskins. In fact, I hate everything about them with a passion. But, I have been a pretty big Shanahan defender since he got there (about everything except the Haynesworth debacle, but that’s another story). And, I defended his choice of quarterbacks. I believe that the job of a professional athlete is to win ballgames. And, as pretty much anyone will confess, the quarterback of a football team has more to do with a team’s season-long success than any other position in sports (considering that a starting pitcher, who admittedly may affect individual games more, only pitches 1 out of every 5 games). So, why do we all love guys like Matt Schaub and Daunte Culpepper, but can’t stand the Vince Youngs and Rex Grossmans of the world? I don’t get it. Grossman is 31-17 as a starting quarterback, including a Super Bowl run. And, it’s not like he has been throwing to Andre Johnson, Cris Carter, or Randy Moss in any of his various stops (you know, other than the 1 game he started as Schaub’s backup last year). I’m not saying the Skins are headed to the Super Bowl, but Shanahan may not be the grumpy old man he was made out to be last year.
Let’s Slow Down a Little Here
Yes, Cam Newton just broke the rookie debut passing record held by Peyton Manning. And, I recognize that no one in their right mind is honestly comparing him to the great Peyton. And, yes, Cam looked pretty darn good (and poised) on Sunday. But, let’s not get crazy here. He did it against the Arizona Cardinals defense that lost their best d-back this offseason. And, they didn’t even win the game. Let’s hold off judgement a little bit on Cam’s Canton induction.
