Fire Roger Goodell

NOTE: This was first published on August 6, it was updated by early September, and has required another pertinent update at the end of October -


The suspension of Tom Brady took on a life of its own that the National Football League created, and the slamming of the league by Judge Richard Berman in overturning the suspension showed the league cannot escape without some fundamental change, for the campaign against Brady over the 2014 AFC Championship Game has revealed in graphic detail that there is no longer any justification for Roger Goodell to retain his job as NFL Commissioner.   Goodell has proven beyond any objective doubt that he is a failure and must be fired.

Why fire Goodell?  Let us count the ways -


Roger Goodell is maliciously ignorant of the game and of his job  - The transcript of the Brady appeal showed that the league was completely ignorant of the fact that footballs lose PSI naturally and it is just the latest example of how ignorant the Goodell-era NFL is about the game and of its own rulebook. That ignorance was first displayed in Spygate - as Scott Shaffer put it, "The media reports as if filming opposing coaches is a violation of NFL rules.   Roger Goodell shares this belief (and) based his punishment on it......However, the rules don't support this belief."   The start of Spygate was a 2006 memo sent to teams by Ray Anderson about sideline videotaping, a memo that misquoted the rules.   Goodell never tried to correct the error; instead he couldn't accept when Belichick schooled him on the rulebook and based punishment of Bill Belichick on cherry-picking the rulebook where Belichick applied the rule consistently.

Ignorance of the game continued with his punishment of the Saints over "Bountygate."   Goodell regarded player side bets for hits on opponents as some kind of rules violation,  and after a prolonged smear campaign and resultant legal fight (aided by the American Enterprise Institute's data disproving Goodell's premise of the Saints playing dirty) Goodell lost, and was publicly dressed down for his approach by former commissioner Paul Tagiabue.

The Brady transcript repeatedly shows Goodell being caught by surprise by new documents and generally being lazy and unprepared.

Goodell likes to talk unctuously about "the integrity of the game" - and has never offered any explanation why sideline videotaping somehow violates said integrity, or why a trumped-up allegation of football tampering somehow reflected a violation of the game's integrity.   It's because he has no clue about the integrity of the game.


Goodell refuses accountability, he strives to cover his own ass  -  The league falsifying the rulebook and then basing punishment on that falsified reading of the rulebook has become the pattern in Goodell's punishments.   As Matt Chatham and others have shown, Goodell has repeatedly changed the rules - or as Antonio Cromartie put it, made them up as he goes.  Often cited in media accounts was Article 46 of the CBA, except Goodell couldn't make it stick in his past punishments and failed to make it work against Brady  On Brady, Goodell made an issue of "non-cooperation" and treated it as though it were part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement - even though in fact it "didn't exist in the most current version of the CBA....(It was) introduced in the commissioner's panicky do-over rewriting of the league's personal conduct policy, released in December 2014."

Sally Jenkins noted that what makes Goodell's rulings so entertaining "is because he always doubles back."   When Ray Rice's initial suspension raised a media uproar - even though TMZ's infamous elevator video verified Rice's testimony to everyone - Goodell played CYA and smeared Rice to be a liar - and of course lost in court because of it.   Tom Brady's cellphone wasn't important until Goodell once again needed something to cover his ass.


Goodell is a liar on a continuing and colossal scale - Goodell lied to the Patriots - through David Gardi's January 19 letter, though Dean Blandino denials of his knowledge of the ordeal, and we suspect also directly to Robert Kraft during the May 2015 team owner meetings that saw Kraft accept Goodell's malicious punishments; when Goodell stabbed the Patriots in the back it led to Kraft's now-famous training camp missive about how he shouldn't have trusted the league - and has lied about the Patriots.   He lied about Brady "destroying his cellphone" and hid the fact Brady acknowledged changing his cellphones - because it was not relevant to anything.  Goodell lied about footballs being tampered with and lied about the nature of Tom Brady's correspondence with ball attendant John Jazstremski (Ted Wells shared in the lie; the two refused to face that text messages they wanted to believe proved tampering was occurring were irrelevant to the truth - and as Dan Wetzel shows, this belief is contradicted by Goodell's own ruling and the Wells Report). Goodell's side also admitted to Judge Richard Berman the league never had any actual evidence against Brady, showcasing Goodell's shaky grasp of truth, especially when Judge Berman showed how Goodell's "generally aware" indictment of Brady was in essence a sham.   In Spygate he lied about what the rulebook allows regarding sideline videotaping (and as noted above the league's memos falsified what the rulebook said).   He lied about the New Orleans Saints players in "Bountygate."   He lied about Ben Roethlisberger's rape accusation, which got him a four-game suspension in 2010 and was publicized by Sports Illustrated in a lengthy piece I suspect it regrets ever publishing.   There is also reason to believe Goodell is the source of the phony PSI story Chris Mortensen wrote after the AFC Championship Game - which would make him more of a liar in that he himself is the instigator of a smear campaign.

Bizarrely adding to the lie is Mortensen himself stood by the story on an August 27, 2015 interview on an Arizona radio show with Cardinals color analyst Ron Wolfley; Mortensen then added the whopper that the Krafts apologized to him, a claim immediately refuted first by the Dennis & Callahan Show on WEEI then by Jonathan Kraft himself before the Panthers preseason game; adding to the disinformation angle from the league, Mike Florio told WEEI that the league stonewalled his efforts to verify Mortensen's story and that it was part of an effort he called "a prosecution against the Patriots."

That prosecution took a lower turn at the end of October when the league shook down several Patriots employees while examining the visitors locker room for transmitting devices, an old hack accusation made against the Patriots with this specific one made by the Jets that has never been credible (opponent team security controls visitor locker rooms) and which turned up nothing but which raises the question of just how far the NFL will go in its prosecution against the Patriots.

Wetzel notes that players and teams need to be scared because the league has proven it cannot be trusted on anything regarding its conduct.   That the league office has been exposed as a liar engaged in a massive smear campaign against its best team - punishment of success on a vulgar scale - showcases that Roger Goodell must be fired.

Patriots Four-Time Champions

And thus the Superbowl proved once again that the game itself is better than the circus of cheesy entertainment around which swirls.   Katy Perry's halftime show was standard-issue Katy Perry - it was a lot of flash signifying nothing worth remembering.    The real stars of the Superbowl were the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, and the last eighteens seasons have seen the Superbowl finally become the competitive contest it was hoped to be when it began.   The blowouts certainly still exist (see Seattle's massacre of Peyton Manning) but they sandwich within exciting games such as this one.  

Some breakdowns worthy of the breakdown of Seahawks discipline at the end -


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Joe Montana can not compete with Tom Brady - Brady has the four titles, and he got them against superior competition than anything Joe Montana faced - Montana's winning touchdown against the Bengals certainly was amazing, but it was against a Bengals team that was abysmal.   Of Montana's four Superbowls, the only one that came against an opponent that actually showed some fight was the first one, against the Ken Anderson Bengals, and Anderson was not in the class of Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme, Eli Manning, or Russell Wilson.   I doubt Montana could have handled the Panthers had he played against them (Steve Young for one had a hard time against the Panthers as has the Niners organization in general).



Throw, Brady, throw - In 2006 at San Diego Brady became the first quarterback to win a regulation-length playoff game by throwing at least 50 passes; he's now done it several times, and seems to play better when he has to keep throwing.  



The Brady-Manning rivalry is over with Manning routed - While Tom Brady has four Superbowls and three game MVPs Peyton Manning saw his NINTH playoff one-and-out and thirteenth playoff loss, and his losses have come against ten different quarterbacks including Brady.   And the media's speculation about Manning's future is likely to rival media coverage of Brett Favre.   It boils down to that Peyton will never win another Superbowl and may finish with a lopsided losing playoff record.



The Patriots Way succeeds where Denver's imitation of the 1993 Oilers failed - An immortal piece of hindsight comedy is Bert Breer's interview on Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh's pregame show before New England's rout of the Bengals in Week Five - Breer talked about how the Patriots were not building their roster with any sense of urgency, while the Broncos were going all in for Peyton Manning.   John Elway's imitation of the 1993 Houston Oilers produced the same results - the Broncos were bounced in the first round just like the 1993 Oilers got bounced in the first round - and both with a playoff bye to work with.  



Russell Wilson is competing with Brady as the league's greatest playoff quarterback -  Even with the game-ending interception, Russell Wilson made gigantic plays in a playoff game and his playoff record is only getting better.   When it comes to big games, Russell Wilson is rivaling Brady as the game's greatest big-play big-game quarterback.




The Patriots defense failed yet again in a Superbowl, yet still made the play - It's a cliché - whenever the Patriots are in the Superbowl the defense fails in the fourth quarter.   The difference was this time the defense got stabbed through the heart to their one-yard line yet made the game-winning play.    Malcolm Butler made a play thanks to taking in coaching, and it reminds one of the uselessness of Ellis Hobbs, who seemed to ignore coaching and just freelance - it was why the Giants won the last Superbowl held in Glendale, AZ, because Hobbs had to make a game-winning play and because he's Ellis Hobbs, he failed.

It all showed once again that for all the effectiveness of defense it remains quarterbacking that wins.  



The Seahawks give a preview for Seattle's NHL team - It appears a certainty that a new NHL team will be based in Seattle down the road, and it was appropriate a hockey game broke out at the end of the Superbowl.   It also showcased how trying to be Oakland Raiders-style badasses isn't as effective as it looks - the Ravens play dirty football a la the Raiders and the Seahawks got away with several late hits all game before the game-ending brawl and ejection.



It was poetic justice against Roger Goodell - Goodell lied about Spygate and his credibility appears to finally be coming under fire with the incompetence of the entire "Deflate-gate" scam, this despite the media's refusal to make clear the obvious - that there was no rule-breaking or even rule-bending by the Patriots.   So seeing him have to award the Lombardi Trophy to Belichick was even sweeter.



A harbinger for the Cardinals? - The last time Glendale, AZ hosted the Superbowl, the stadium's owner, the Cardinals, went to the Superbowl the following year - and this is no longer Bill Bidwell's team, it's instead a team that's good, though the issue of quarterback is as daunting now as it wound up being in 2014.



And thus does the National Football League wrap up its 2014 season; football junkies like myself will watch the Arena League and the Canadian League and enjoy it all as we count down to NFL training camps in the summer of 2015.

Patriots Get Smeared By Media Again

Suddenly the mantra that the New England Patriots are cheaters has become the Mainstream Sports Media's rallying cry yet again, this time on allegations made by an Indianapolis Colts TV reporter (from WTHR TV; the story was almost certainly leaked to WTHR by the Colts, with some scuttlebutt being Jim Irsay himself leaked the story) than the Patriots were caught deflating footballs in the AFC Championship Game, a 45-7 Patriots win in rain.   A D'Qwell Jackson interception of Brady ostensibly began the story.

Jackson, though, has denied his involvement, and a subsequent story that the Baltimore Ravens alerted the Colts to impropriety has also been disproved.  It is the first of the immediate problems with the story.   The league controls the footballs on gameday and between referees, security teams, and video cameras it is physically impossible to tamper with them.   Also, deflated footballs tend to be inferior in throwing, thus quarterbacks insist they be properly inflated (Aaron Rodgers' now-famous CBS interview in the 2014 season is an example); moreover the allegation that deflated footballs offer more grip is not plausible in game conditions.  

The atmospherics of footballs do change in game conditions, like NASCAR tires - David Pearson for one famously always told Glen and Leonard Wood, "blow the right rear up" to stagger the car and make it turn better; in the modern day of radial tires prerace underinflation is necessary to get pressures up to proper levels under racing conditions - and they are prepared for specific weather accordingly.

But it isn't stopping the media from fabricating a litany of cheating by the Patriots such as the four-lineman formation used against the Ravens.   Sports Illustrated wants to portray this as a circumvention of NFL rules because the Patriots ran a hurry-up offense with it.   It's no circumvention of anything.   SI also tries to claim Patriot ball boys spy on opponent locker rooms, except it physically can't be done; visitor team security controls visitor team locker rooms.   The story also dregs up Spygate, ignoring it was refuted by the fact of what the rulebook actually says, and even claims a gigantic television screen atop the CBS Scene somehow helps the Patriots sideline when it cannot be seen from inside the stadium.  Even worse, the piece claimed the NFL made rule changes in the wake of Brady's injury in 2008 - except the change in question happened in 2006 because of injury to Carson Palmer. 

The bottom line is there is no evidence of tampering - and on the contrary the actual evidence is indicative that no tampering happened.   The much-discussed Chris Mortenson report that eleven game balls were found underinflated loses credibility with each hour - according to Andy Hart the actual figure given was 0.2, not two - and following Belichick and Brady press conferences there clearly is some kind of disagreement between the Patriots and the league over what constitutes "underinflation."

The media's hatred of the Patriots is based on hatred of their "no-fun" approach to football.   They approach it as a machine-like endeavor instead of as a slapdash freelancing exercise.    Thus they lack the "fun" of other teams that don't win.  There is also the groupthink mentality permeating the media in general and the sports media in particular, where analysis counter to the established storyline has a habit of being suppressed - a saner media would have by now given substantial coverage of exculpatory information regarding the Patriots.

The entire episode yet again showcases the need for a substantial ideological change in the sports media (an example of such dissension can be found in this point-by-point examination of the Michael Rosenberg piece).   There is not supposed to be any groupthink, and objective benefit of the doubt is supposed to exist.   Sports Illustrated should be mocked and ridiculed for posting a dishonest story about the Patriots; instead the fact of the story being false is widely ignored.

The other angle is yet another reappraisal of Roger Goodell's competence as commissioner.   Adam Schefter has reported extreme difficulty at finding evidence, but the more plausible explanation is the league is trying to save face with an investigation it had no business undertaking.   It is indicative of Goodell that an investigation was launched at all and has floundered on its own lack of credibility.

Also warranting condemnation are the Indianapolis Colts, whose complaints initiated the controversy and which clearly had no justification for being made. 

The smearing has to stop.

Patriots Seahawks First Thoughts

The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will renew a unique rivalry in football circles when they face off in Superbowl XLIX.   It will be the seventeenth career meeting between the two clubs and the first in any kind of playoff context.   The rivalry is unique in NFL annals as the Patriots have faced the Seahawks when Seattle was in both NFL conferences - The Patriots were 6-7 against the Seahawks when Seattle was in the AFC West and is 2-1 since divisional realignment put the Seahawks into the NFC West.  

The two clubs have clashed in several memorable affairs - in 1980 Steve Grogan's Patriots won 37-31 after the game lead changed some five times; in 1984 Tony Eason got his first action in erasing a 23-0 Seahawks lead to win 38-23, the largest Patriots comeback win until 2013's thriller from down 24-0 to the Broncos.   Two years later the Seahawks won 38-31 by scoring on two blocked kicks.   The two clubs met twice in 1993 in the battle of that year's top two draft picks in Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer; the Seahawks clawed out wins in both meetings.   2012 saw a bitter 24-23 Seahawks win on a comeback by Russell Wilson in the first meeting between the Patriots and their former coach Pete Carroll. 

Some takes on the two clubs following their Conference Championships -

Andrew Luck continues to regress against the Patriots - Andrew Luck, the more he plays against the Patriots, the worse he seems to get.   He has ten interceptions in four career meetings with the Patriots and has a grand total of 72 points against them vs. nearly 200 scored against him by the Patriots.  


Curiously Brady struggles in the passing game against Chuck Pagano  - Though he had a solid day with three touchdowns, Tom Brady curiously has not been as prolific in his passing attack against Chuck Pagano's Colts than he did in years past.   The last three games have been defined by the running attack, notably Legarrette Blount's continuing rampage through the Indianapolis defense.

Wilson plays poorly but also plays clutch - A grossly underrated aspect of the Seahawks' win is the Packers' utter incompetence at situational football.  The fake field goal was one thing; the failure on the onside kick was worse.   Then there was Russell Wilson, who for the longest time looked completely in over his head, until the moment when he had to step up his game - and did just that.


Aaron Rodgers gets exposed as a fraud by the Seahawks yet again - This was worse than his other losses to Seattle, because Rodgers was able to jump the Packers to a 16-0 lead, yet at no point did he look in control of the game.   When the Seahawks scored on the fake field goal that was when the momentum turned decisively against the Packers.   Under Aaron Rodgers the Packers are entirely dependent on frontrunning; Rodgers is not capable of handling this kind of adversity - when he frontruns he looks great, but when he can't put a team away he falters and almost always loses.   With opportunities to stop the bleeding, Rodgers didn't do it.   He has now lost five of eleven career playoff games and the 2010 Superbowl looks more and more like the aberration of a career that may have plateaued years ago.


Seahawks barely escape the trap - The other shock was how poorly prepared the Seahawks were for the first half.   Inability to hold onto the ball, stupid penalties, and inability to generate any offense was mind-numbing and raised questions about what the heck the gameplan coming in was supposed to be.   The Seahawks also better know the Patriots have a far better offense than Aaron Rodgers can generate.



Those are the quick takes as we prepare for the two week long pregame shows on the Superbowl.

Patriots Ravens Playoff Postgame

Quote the Ravens never more.

The Patriots-Ravens rivalry has become a bona-fide star vehicle in NFL circles and the 35-31 Patriots comeback stands as one of the league's signature playoff thrillers (doubly amazing given the Wildcard round is the round that usually produces the crazy playoff games).   There is naturally much to break down in this game.   My own observations -


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Tom Brady yet again proves it's quarterbacking and not defense or the run game - Tom Brady got next to nothing in run support and his defense was all but useless for extremely long stretches; even when the defense stood its ground better in the second half the ease with which the Ravens moved the ball was akin to watching another former AFC Central team, the old Warren Moon Houston Oilers.   Brady was also in spots under outright siege from the Ravens defensive front.

But Brady is the best playoff quarterback in NFL history for a reason - he stepped up his game and as he did he made the rest of the team better; the offensive line got stronger as the game went on and the defense finally started making plays in the second half.  

Brady in 2006 against San Diego became the first quarterback (in 27 tries to that point) to win a regulation-length playoff game by throwing over 50 passes; he matched that feat against the Ravens.  He also broke Joe Montana's record for most touchdowns in playoff games.

Joe Cool and Tom Terrific can share a Papa Johns pizza while chatting up their playoff careers, since as the commercial notes Joe Montana shows up for the playoffs, Peyton.


When Brady engages more people in the offense, good things result - Attention was paid to how Rob Gronkowski would handle the Ravens defense, but in a sense the more dangerous tight end weapon was Michael Hoomanuwanui (four catches for 43 yards) while Danny Amendola, much criticized by some fans because of injuries, took over several drives.  In all Brady completed 15 passes for 182 yards to the usual suspects, Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, but for a change they were not the focal point of the offense, especially when Edelman caught Brady's lateral and unloaded the touchdown bomb to Amendola - #11 throwing to #80 is so Drew Bledsoe to Irving Fryar of them.


This game showed how the Patriots do not miss Logan Mankins - Incredibly some local talk shows were resurrecting the trade of Mankins to Tampa Bay and how the Patriots may have made a colossal mistake doing so given the ostensible struggles of the offensive line late in the season.   Not having Mankins, though, exposed how much tougher the line now is - the line lost Bryan Stork yet as the game went on the line played better, to where it finally wore out the Ravens front; notable is the Patriots line held the Ravens' trash-talking resident fatass Terrell Suggs to half a sack and one overall tackle.  


For once the refs deserve some criticism - Normally I don't go after the refs for how they officiate a game, but the Ravens definitely benefitted from several dubious calls on the Patriots, notably the penalty where Steve Smith got away with a push-off while he drew a phantom holding call that wiped out a Patriots strip-sack of Flacco near the Ravens goalline.   The Ravens also were engaged in the kind of after-the-play cheapshottery that teams at least borderline dirty need to succeed.


The Ravens really are a dirty team - Bill Belichick normally does not bring up an opponent's tactics and when he does it's because there's usually something there.   The Ravens' employment of cut-blocking tactics has been controversial from the old Denver Broncos days, such as when Bryan Cox had his leg broken in 2001 in a game at Denver.   It showed again in numerous skirmishes on the field (including a reported confrontation after the game between Steve Smith and former Patriot and Panther Jermaine Wiggins), but it also showed in John Harbaugh's meltdown and inability to handle the Patriots' O-line combos in the second half - when bullies get exposed, they vent impotently; such was John Harbaugh.


This game also showcased anew Joe Flacco's flaw as a quarterback - There is certainly no question Joe Flacco has proven himself as a real playoff quarterback and overall a pretty good one, but this game also showed how dependent he is on pass interference penalties to move the offense.


Justin Forsett is a stark Raven beast - He busted out 129 rushing yards and some five yards per carry, doubly amazing given he got no help in the ground game from anyone else.


The Ravens are better on fourth down than third - The Ravens converted all three fourth-down plays, as opposed to being 1 for 9 on third down.


Was that Roger Goodell going Bill France Jr. on us? - Back in the day NASCAR president Bill France Jr. famously bought his hotdogs during Daytona races from the regular food stands alongside regular fans.  It was curious seeing NFL head honcho Roger Goodell shivering in the regular grandstands for this game.


Patriots win in an overlooked stat - The Patriots won the contest of average yards gained per offensive play - 6.4 YPP versus the Ravens' 5.9.



So the Patriots await the Indianapolis-Denver game while the Superbowl rematch with the Panthers will have to wait another year.

Some Thoughts On NFL 2014

The NFL's 2014 season has wrapped up and there's a lot to say about it.   Some thoughts as the playoffs count down -


The Return Of Parcellsball - To a striking extent what jumped out at me was how many teams took the ball out of their quarterbacks' hand and put it in the hands of the running game and the defense.   The most obvious examples were the Cowboys - whose defense was ostensibly awful in 2013 - and the Broncos.   A few years ago it seemed everyone was saying the league was all-passing all the time - it's not that way anymore; indeed what has come to the fore is that increased passing has opened up run games, to where Detroit's 2013 win over the Cowboys where Matthew Stafford threw for 488 yards yet the Lions still busted out over 140 (strikingly unnoticed) rushing yards may become the archtypal NFL game going forward.


There Was A Lot Of Scoring But Curiously Uncompetitive Games - 2014 didn't seem to have that much in the way of the kind of super-competitive games that would get the NFL Films Game Of The Week treatment.  Denver's 39-36 comeback over Miami, Miami's 37-35 win over the Vikings, and San Diego's amazing coemback win over the 49ers were perhaps the best games of the season.   The previous two years saw a sizeable number of such games - 2012 saw the amazing 41-34 Giants-Bucs shootout, Tennessee's 44-41 overtime heart attack game over the Lions and the Titans' 35-34 thriller over the Bills, the 38-31 Bengals win over the Redskins, the controversial 31-30 Ravens win over the Patriots, and numerous other amazing games.   2013 also saw a slew of genuinely great games - New England's comeback wins over New Orleans, Denver, and Houston, plus the astonishing finish against Cleveland, Houston's shocker over San Diego, the mind-blowing 51-48 Broncos win over the Cowboys, the Jets upset of the Falcons, the Green Bay-Minnesota tie, the Cardinals' 37-34 escape at Tennessee, the 41-38 San Diego win at Kansas City, and the history-making 45-44 Colts playoff win over Kansas City, to name several. 


Mind-blowingly Poor Coaching In Several Quarters - The excuses made for Rex Ryan have come fast and furious with the potential of his firing from the NY Jets, and the excuses really are not to be taken seriously.   The reality is that Ryan is not that good a coach - his preparation is chronically inadequate, attention to detail is slipshod, and his reputation as a players coach has meant what it has always meant - he doesn't instill adequate discipline in players.   His inability to develop quarterbacks first showed with Mark Sanchez and continued with Geno Smith and Michael Vick.  

That the Jets defeated the Miami Dolphins at the end of the season also bodes poorly for Dolphins coach Joe Philbin, who once again saw a capable team falter down the stretch.   One has to now wonder if Philbin really is in over his head as an NFL coach.

The collapse of the Falcons after 2012 has raised the spectre that Mike Smith will be replaced by Rex Ryan - that Smith has worn out his act in Atlanta seems clear enough.   We also got a poor first impression out of new Bucs coach Lovie Smith, who may have Jameis Winston as his starting quarterback in 2015.

But the worst of the lot is clearly Ken Whisenhunt, who took over a Tennessee Titans team that under Mike Munchak fought to the end of almost every game - this is what made 2013's frustration all the worse; it was a team of legitimate 12-4 caliber - and made that team into the worst in the league, a team that basically quit on the season.   The issue of quarterback was one Whisenhunt could never make better; whether he plays ever again is still a question but clearly Jake Locker showed more than what Charlie Whitehurst has, and while Zach Mettenberger showed some talent the rawness was also obvious and he never showed evidence of being able to stop bleeding, notably in the loss to the Steelers.


Burning Out And The Failure Of The Read-Option - That is the term that comes right to mind regarding the 49ers as Jim Harbaugh was subject to year-long controversy and quarterback Colin Kaepernick regressed quite graphically as the season went on, displaying no ability to process quarterbacking information and often panicking instead of facing adversity on the field head-on.   That Harbaugh was supposedly to be traded to the Browns was bizarre enough to open everyone's eyes and a sign there really was something wrong there.  

It should also be clear that read-option offenses cannot work in the NFL.   That the college game seems grossly inadequate at properly training quarterbacks is an issue the game needs to address.


The Decline Of Peyton Manning And The Collapse Of The AFC West - Once again arm strength showed noticeable deterioration as the season went on and the Broncos showed a struggle to put games away early and often, notably in nearly blowing it against Kansas City in Week Two.   That the Broncos grabbed a bye week after being humiliated by the Bengals came because of the collapse of the AFC West, which failed to produce a single win over the Broncos.  

San Diego's regression was all the more gnawing as Philip Rivers failed to pull one out of the hat, this after dominating Peyton Manning for a lengthy portion of his career.

Kansas City regressed from 11-5 to 9-7; though they had more wins over quality opponents (four) than in 2013 (just one) overall the Chiefs got worse instead of better, and the Alex Smith experiment has to end.


Contrary To Myth, Officiating Was Not A Serious Problem - Entering the season there was concern that the NFL would over-officiate games after showing signs of such in the preseason, notably the Eagles-Patriots game.   As the season got going, though, penalties did not show any sign of interfering with games; indeed what was striking was that penalties against offense seemed more frequent than normal and certainly was enough to dispel the myth that the league will not let teams play defense.


The Pipe Dream That Won't Go Away - Yes, the idea that Los Angeles should or will get an NFL team continued.   That the league will try to ram it down everyone's throats is obvious; that no one is biting is also obvious, with targeted teams refusing to leave their present homes (and NO sign their host cities will or even should ever let them leave), and no evidence there is any fanbase for a team in that city, one of the worst in the country between nitwit politicians and a population of transients, degenerates (see all the street gangers with Oakland Raiders gear), and indifference.  


The Media War Against Roger Goodell - The Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson domestic violence controversies saw a gigantic media crusade against Roger Goodell and served to mask the real problem that is the media's grotesque grandstanding on these issues.   Media coverage of Ray Rice was chronically inadequate, merely a regurgitation of anger instead of some actual analysis, which would have noticed that Goodell was actually correct in his initial punishment of Rice.   It remains absurd that seemingly no one in the Mainstream Sports Media ever dissents from the established myth created at the beginning of issues like this.


Finally, A Resurgance In The AFC East - Buffalo finished 9-7 and Miami 8-8, and for the first time since 2000 both teams won against the Patriots.   That it didn't matter is true enough - New England locked up the AFC's top seed and treated its last two games as semi-preseason games with experimentation on line combinations.   It nonetheless served as a legitimate step forward for the division, especially with Buffalo's resurgance after over a decade of irrelevance and a change of ownership a long time needed.  


And thus it is as the 2014 playoffs beckon.

NFL Top 10: Brady-Manning Games

The 2015 AFC playoffs are almost here and we may yet again see Tom Brady and Peyton Manning square off.   Given how much energy this rivalry has generated it ranks as something the league really has never seen before - a rivalry driven exclusively by the showdown of the two quarterbacks.   Team rivalries and coaching rivalries have been many a chapter in NFL history but this rivalry may top them all.   

In the format of NFL NETWORK'S series NFL Top 10, we look back at the top ten games of the Brady-Manning rivalry -


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#10: THE 2001 DEBUT - Tom Brady had been a low-round draft pick who'd risen up the New England Patriots depth chart almost entirely unnoticed; in Week 3 of 2001 he took over as starter after the near-fatal chest injury absorbed by Drew Bledsoe.   The Indianapolis Colts were division rivals of the Patriots and Peyton Manning was in his fourth season; he had already won 28 games and made two ill-fated playoff trips; Manning's Colts had already crushed the New York Jets and Buffalo by a combined score of 87-50 entering this game.

It didn't matter.   Bryan Cox's savage hit on receiver Jerome Pathon surged throughout the Colts lineup and suddenly they were playing scared.   Otis Smith and Ty Law ran back Manning interceptions for touchdowns; trailing 23-7 the floor collapsed on the Colts in the fourth quarter as the Patriots nailed down 21 points for the ultimate 44-13 win.  Brady put up 168 passing yards in a modest start while five Patriots players combined for 177 rushing yards. 

A month later at the RCA Dome Brady unleashed a more aggressive quarterbacking attack; he threw three touchdowns while receiver David Patten threw a 60-yard bomb, caught a 91-score, and ran in a touchdown as the Patriots absorbed nearly 500 Indianapolis yards to win 38-17.   Peyton Manning managed only one touchdown as Colts GM Bill Polian was overheard in the press box demanding his players break bones of Patriots players.

It was just the beginning.


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#9: THE GOALLINE STAND, 2003 -  Entering Week 13 of the 2003 season the Colts had become a superpower in the race for the playoffs after exploding to a history-making comeback win over the Tampa Bay Bucs in Week 5; the Patriots were also in the race after a slugfest of a win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 5 (the Titans for their part were neck-and-neck with both at 9-2) and at the RCA Dome at the end of November the Patriots and Colts met for the first time since divisional realignment put the Colts into the now-second-year AFC South.  

It began as another Patriots rout; Tom Brady led three drives putting up 17 points.   The Colts scored 10 points before Bethel Johnson ran back a 92-yard kick at the end of the first half.   The game then changed after Brady led another touchdown drive for a 31-10 lead; two interceptions and three Manning touchdowns put the game 31-31; another monster Johnson kick return led to a Brady touchdown to Deion Branch; a Kevin Faulk fumble led to a Colts field goal, then in the final minutes a bad shank of a punt by Ken Walter put the ball around the 50 and Manning whipped the Colts to the Patriots 2, but there two runs and a forlorn toss led to a 4th and 1 run by Edgerrin James blown up for a loss of two yards and a 38-34 Patriots win.   Willie McGinest played a key role; "I saw (Manning) tap his butt" thus signalling a run play he helped blow up.  

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#8: VANDERJAGT'S GAFFE, 2004
- The NFL inaugurated Thursday Night Football in 2004 by scheduling the Colts at Foxboro in Week 1.   Manning led the Colts to a 17-13 halftime lead, but then Brady erupted to put the Patriots up 27-17; a late Colts touchdown was followed by a final drive, but on 3rd down McGinest sacked Manning, setting up a 48-yard field goal try by Mike Vanderjagt, who hadn't missed in over 40 consecutive tries and taunted the Patriots sideline by rubbing his fingers in a "money" gesture - except he wasn't money, shanking the kick for the 27-24 Patriots win.


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#7: THE PLAYOFFS, 2003 AND 2004 - The Colts won the AFC South title in 2003 and 2004 and faced the Patriots in snowy Foxboro both times.   In 2003 the Patriots edged the Titans 17-14 as Steve McNair, co-MVP with Manning that year, lived up to being MVP in a taut game where he barely came short on a pass to Drew Bennett.   Manning meanwhile had exploded to his first two playoff wins, but in the AFC Championship Game he was not in McNair's playoff class as he was intercepted four times.   The Patriots for their part didn't play particularly well, forced into five Adam Vinatieri field goals and eventually grinding out a 24-14 win and path to Superbowl XXXVIII against the upstart Carolina Panthers.

In 2004 Manning was back, but this time the Patriots unleashed a powerful run game led by Corey Dillon, the former Bengal.   Dillon and Kevin Faulk combined for 200 rushing yards and ate up so much clock it gave Manning indigestion; his endzone interception on the final play capped off a hideous playoff failure, 20-3, as Brady was on his way to another Superbowl.  



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#6: PEYTON'S BREAKTHROUGH, 2005 - 2005 was mainly a forgettable season for the Patriots as they limped into November 7's Monday Night Football match at 4-3 with the Colts at 7-0.   Brady managed three touchdowns but Manning was unstoppable rolling to 40 points and his first win over the Patriots since 2000, and first ever win at Foxboro.   This win signalled a permanent change in the rivalry, as Manning would never again be New England's patsy.


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#5: THE BATTLE OF UNBEATENS, 2007
-  Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, and Adalius Thomas were the key free agent pickups as the Patriots made the most determined run to a Superbowl ever seen, exploding to put up over 34 points per game.  The Patriots were 8-0 and the Colts 7-0 as they entered November at the RCA Dome.   The game became one of the highest-rated broadcasts in CBS history as Randy Moss caught a short touchdown but the Colts clawed to a 20-10 lead in the fourth quarter.   Down by two scores, Brady finally got his offense going on a 60-yard bomb to Moss to the Colts 3, and a third-down touchdown to Welker.   After forcing a Colts punt the Patriots raced to the go-ahead touchdown, on a pass to Moss, a 40-yard strike to Stallworth, and the touchdown to Kevin Faulk.   Manning was then strip-sacked by former RCA Dome popcorn vendor Roosevelt Colvin, a longtime nemesis of Manning from his Chicago Bears days.   Brady converted the needed first down and the Patriots had broken the Colts' unbeaten streak, 24-20.


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#4: FOURTH AND TWO, 2009
- The Colts were unbeaten on November 15, 2009 when they hosted the Patriots, and the game started as a Patriots runaway as Brady and Manning combined for four touchdowns and a 24-14 Patriots lead; a goalline fumble by embattled running back Laurence Maroney wiped out a third-quarter Patriots touchdown, and Moss' catch put the Pats up 31-14 entering the fourth quarter.   But Manning connected with Pierre Garcon and in the final three minutes the Patriots led 34-28 but were pinned at their own 28 needing two more yards; Bill Belichick went for the fourth down conversion and a pass to Kevin Faulk appeared to break the first down plane but was ruled short by referee Scott Green.   When Manning tossed the winning touchdown in the final seconds the media storm against Belichick was enormous like the league hadn't seen since 1995's fourth down failure by the Cowboys against the Eagles.  


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#3: MANNING'S INDIANAPOLIS SWAN SONG, 2010
- In 2010 the Colts traveled to Foxboro for the first time since 2006 and were 6-3 with the Patriots 7-2.   The Patriots had changed their offense with Randy Moss traded after Week 4 and Deion Branch returned after four seasons in Seattle; they had also drafted two boffo tight ends in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.   The game on November 21 began with the pattern that had developed from 2003 - once again the Patriots raced to a big lead, taking a 31-14 lead in the fourth quarter.   And once again Manning roared back, this time with two touchdowns to Blair White in the fourth.   Once again the Patriots couldn't put Manning away and Peyton had the ball in the final minutes driving remorselessly.

But this time a pass to the Patriots 6-yard line was intercepted by James Sanders, and the Patriots won 31-28.   The game began a three-game losing streak for the Colts, and amid a 38-35 overtime loss to the Cowboys radioman Bob Lamey was heard to blast Peyton's declining play.   Following a wildcard round bow-out to the NY Jets, neck surgery for Manning wound up ending his career at the Colts.  


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BEST OF THE REST: - After Manning left the Colts, Tom Brady faced heralded youngster Andrew Luck in 2012 and again in the 2013 playoffs; the results were disturbingly reminiscent of days of yore for the Colts; in 2012 two interceptions were turned into Patriots touchdowns and New England won 59-24.   In the 2013 playoffs LeGarrette Blount led an unprecedented Patriots rushing attack while Luck was intercepted four times in a 43-22 Patriots win.

Before Manning faced Brady, he squared off against Drew Bledsoe for three seasons.   In September 1999 at Foxboro Manning exploded to three touchdowns and an Edgerrin James rushing score, but Bledsoe erased Manning's 28-7 lead on three unanswered touchdowns (including the final two career scoring catches for tight end Ben Coates).   James' late fumble set up the winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri and the 31-28 Patriots win.  

Blowing a 21-point lead in Foxboro was a harbinger of another Manning disaster fourteen years later.......

#2: BRADY'S HISTORY-MAKING COMEBACK, 2013
- Manning was signed by the Denver Broncos in 2012 and led Denver to a 13-3 season.   In 2013 on Sunday Night Football the Patriots hosted the Broncos a year after defeating Manning 31-21 and now fresh off a controversial loss to the Carolina Panthers.   The first half was a disaster for the Patriots, as three fumbles and a failed fourth-down attempt led to a Von Miller touchdown, a Manning score, and a 24-0 Broncos lead.  

But facing cold winds Tom Brady put on a history-making performance, exploding to three touchdowns, a fourth touchdown drive, and a Stephen Gostkowski field goal, all aided as the Patriots defense bullied the Broncos into three fumbles and a Manning interception.   The Patriots led 31-24 before a late Manning touchdown tied the game.  In overtime (a first for the rivalry) the Patriots elected to defend the endzone where the winds were blowing toward the Broncos instead of take the initial possession, a decision that puzzled observors, but after an exchange of three punts the Patriots at the very least didn't look foolish; instead on their second punt former Patriot Wes Welker hesitated on the kick and the ball bounced off a teammate and was grabbed by the Patriots at the Broncos 12-yard line.   The Broncos called two timeouts and the two-minute warning for overtime passed before Gostkowski drilled the winning field goal, 34-31.   It was the largest comeback win in Patriots history, surpassing 1984's comeback win over the Seahawks down 23-0 to win 38-23.   It also cemented Brady's repuation as a superior cold-weather quarterback.  


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BEST OF THE REST: In 2014 Manning and Brady met for the sixteenth time and the Patriots authored their most lopsided win over Manning (43-21) since 2001. Brady threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns while Manning was intercepted twice and stopped on fourth down four times, three of them in the fourth quarter. 


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The Number One Brady-Manning Game Of All - THE 2006 AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - It will almost certainly be cited as the greatest by all retrospectives on their careers.   The showdown for Superbowl XLI was a shocker that still permeates both New England and Indianapolis.   The Colts had shot down the Chiefs and Ravens while the Patriots upended the Jets and Chargers for this meeting at the RCA Dome, and the Patriots once again raced to a big lead; when Asante Samuel intercepted Manning and scored, the Patriots led 21-3, but Manning exploded the Colts to tie the game.   After swapping touchdowns and field goals the Patriots led 34-31 but needing a goalline stand in the final minute, they didn't get it; after Joseph Addai's touchdown Brady was intercepted and the Colts had won 38-34, on their way to only the second Superbowl win in their history and first as an Indianapolis team.  


2013's AFC Championship Game turned out to be another Manning triumph, his eighth in 22 career games against the Patriots, and fifth in fifteen meetings with Tom Brady.   It was anything but an end; Brady and the Patriots authored their worst rout of Manning since 2001 in 2014's 43-21 slaughter at Foxboro; the win was another on Brady's path to his history-making Superbowl XLIX triumph.   The rivalry thus awaits the 2015 season at Mile High.

Week Nine's Annual Epic

Here were go again.   As we approach Brady Manning number sixteen, we look at this week's other games as well -


Panthers over Saints - Last week's New Orleans win was a needed win for the beleaguered Saints, but this week they go on the road to a more-desperate Panthers team that is still smarting to a bitter loss to the Seahawks.


Browns over Buccaneers - There seems no way the Bucs can seize any kind of momentum this season as they travel to a Browns team that has a lot of momentum going for it.


Bengals over Jaguars - The Bengals got back on track by sweeping the Ravens and now get a Jaguars team that's shown some fight but isn't in anyone's league.


Cardinals over Cowboys - The illusion of the almighty Cowboys got stomped, and a former NFC East opponent comes in with a bearing on the conference's #1 seed.


Eagles over Texans - The Texans have been playing better this year but face an Eagles squad smarting from a tough loss.


Chiefs over NY Jets - The Chiefs are in better shape that I thought they'd be at this point of the season and the Jets are in even worse shape than anyone could have imagined.


Chargers over Dolphins
- Miami has shown real improvement this year, but San Diego saw one get away from them and want to get back into the race.


Redskins over Vikings - Minnesota pulled off a shocker last week, but Washington's shocker carries more meaning entering this contest.


49ers over Rams - This is no lay-up pick, for the Niners have real internal issues and the Rams are starting to pick up some fight.

Patriots over Broncos - Amid all the varied analyses, one angle overlooked is that Denver has struggled to close out games - they outlasted Indianapolis, barely escaped Kansas City, barely escaped a very bad Jets squad, and even in scoring 35 against San Diego never looked in complete control of that game.   Moreover their vaunted defensive improvement has been a mere four points per game from 2013.  Meanwhile the Patriots are surging in scoring and in stopping opposing offenses - of 177 points allowed, 74 came in two games.   The issues of O-line and receivers have been rectified and the Patriots' revamped O-line has taken over the line of scrimmage.   The Patriots run defense has been bad (over 1,000 yards, 4.6 yards per carry allowed), but Denver has allowed more touchdowns on the ground (five) than the Patriots (four).   The Broncos on the ground have not been better either - 710 rushing yards to 845 for the Patriots.  


Seahawks over Raiders - The Seahawks enjoy for themselves the closest thing to a second bye week - a free shooting match against the hapless Raiders.


Ravens over Steelers
- The Steelers showcased a level of firepower we can't remember them ever showing before in the win over Indianapolis.   The Ravens, though, can match that firepower and need this win to keep pace in an increasingly torrid AFC North race.


Colts over NY Giants - The Colts come in smarting from the loss in Pittsburgh and get a mediocre Giants team to turn it around against.


We thus await the annual Brady Manning slugfest.

Talladega As Libertarian Metaphor

The GEICO 500 spared us footage of the lizard speaking in Cockney accent by British actor Jake Wood, and we saw some excellent racing, perhaps the best since the Firecracker 400 - hardly shocking given the two plate tracks produce the best racing in NASCAR.   But the Talladega weekend also showcased yet again the absurdity of the rules packages designed specifically for those tracks, and in so doing showcased anew the Libertarian metaphor.


Government meddling is the arch-enemy in the Libertarian analysis, and certainly the history of the world and mythologies constructed in favor of such failures as the New Deal consistently prove correct the mistrust of government that has made the Libertarian movement more popular.   What is witnessed year after year at Talladega and its sister track Daytona in the special rules packages NASCAR has imposed over the last decade and a half merely showcase the Libertarian metaphor at work in a racing context.  


Push-drafting is an old custom in NASCAR, and Richard Petty in the 1970s Dodge Charger days was the art's master.  It went away when the cars changed to "all that plastic" after running chrome bumpers, then NASCAR witnessed the return of push-drafting in the 2000-8 period, then saw the rise of outright two-car superdrafting in 2009 and 2010 - cars now pushed each other literally all the way around, and were passing entire fields of cars in one lap.   It then escalated to an entirely new level in 2011.   Brian France took a personal hatred of the pattern that year, especially after the finish of the 500-miler that October, and his subsequent rules packages were designed to quash it.    That it looked bizarre at first was obvious to all; that there were aspects of it to dislike was also true - specifically that the second-place car would push the leader out into the clear and just stay there instead of pass the leader - but the net result of quashing it cannot by any stretch be considered a better alternative to it.   For the big strength of the superdrafts remains it is the strongest power to pass racing has ever seen.  


Watching the 2014 running of the Diehard 500 and the 250-miler for the Trucks merely illustrated again how the racing at Talladega is very good but where meddling from up top has needlessly suppressed what makes the racing better.   Joe Nemechek and Matt Crafton got blackflagged for push-drafting in the Talladega Truck 250, this after NASCAR got egg on its face over not policing push-drafting in the Busch Series 250 at Daytona in July.   Nemechek salvaged a tenth place in that race and between the penalty and the grossly uneven level of passing in both races, it all showcased the fundamental pitfalls of NASCAR's ideology.


NASCAR for the last two-plus decades has added to its rulebook and the emphasis has had one overriding theme - giving the officiating tower or the inspection station (sometimes both) more control of the racing.   Having tight regulations that make sense is not a negative, the problem is more and more of these regulations don't make sense.   If NASCAR allowed push-drafting then the 38 lead changes in the Diehard 500 would have perhaps doubled, and allowed more drivers to storm back to the lead instead of be trapped out back; incentivizing going for the lead is the ultimate good in sports and the meddlesome nature of the sanctioning body needlessly suppresses that virtue. 


Would Brad Keselowski have still won the Diehard 500 even if push-drafting was not policed?   Perhaps - Keselowski's 2014 season has been strikingly uneven but his competitive fight is legitimate.   The racing as it was was very exciting - yet it should have been substantially more competitive.  


*****


Another striking blow to the race's competitive ferocity was the points-racing strategy used by several drivers, notably Jeff Gordon, who never contended and finished 26th.   While Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kasey Kahne needed to win and overall raced like it, Keselowski was the only other contender who did so.   Talladega being Talladega the points racing ethos was not as prevalent as it is at other tracks, but it existed nonetheless and shows that NASCAR's Chase format, regardless of changes made to ostensibly make winning more important, still cannot work - a points format that artificially eliminates drivers and does not provide the incentive to win that is advertised is a points format that fundamentally doesn't work.


NASCAR's next elimination round begins at Martinsville next week.   Racing being racing, it is competitively enjoyable, yet still needs a lesson in Libertarianism for NASCAR so that it can be a lot better.

Postscript on Patriots Thursday Night Grinder

The New England Patriots escaped the trap and put up their third straight win, edging the New York Jets 27-25 on a blocked field goal kick on the final play.   The Jets used to be known as the NY Titans, worth mentioning as this game resembled last week's Tennessee Titans win - also on a blocked field goal at the end - over the Jaguars.  

Some takeaways on this Patriots win over the Jets -


*****


Some are bitterly disappointed the Patriots could not rout the now 1-5 Jets the way San Diego did two weeks back, especially when Brady whipped the Patriots to the first touchdown with seemingly absurd ease.   The reality, though, is that the 49-19 Buttfumble win in 2012 has been the anomaly; the Patriots' last four home games against the Jets were wins by an average of just four points, and the point differential in the last three overall Patriot-Jet games - the season split last year plus this game -  is just plus-2 for the Patriots.  


Shoddy third down defense has been a curious commonality for Bill Belichick defenses throughout his tenure as Patriots coach - the Patriots' Superbowl successes came by overcoming shoddy third down defense.   Being beaten at the line on defense was a disturbing pattern during this game.  


Normally I'm not a fan of establishing the run because I've seen too much football where too many downs are wasted by teams trying to run when it's not working.   The Jets were able to run surprisingly well, and I thought the Patriots might have tried running more than they did.


We're now seeing more and more teams attack Darrelle Revis differently - Revis' game is about locking onto a number-one receiver, yet in the first month of the season no opponent had a #1 receiver - and the Jets clearly had none here.   In the Bengals game Revis struggled when AJ Green stopped running routes - reading the routes beforehand is Revis' greatest strength, and it seemed to me Jets pass-catchers had their best success in similar fashion.  


Injury to Dan Connolly and rookie Bryan Stork shuffled the Patriots' offensive line again.   Rookie Jordan Devey has come under fire for poor plays this season.   Overall, though, the line played well, though mistakes still need to be cleaned up.


Danny Amendola has long been under fire for injuries and for Brady not throwing to him - but the fact is Amendola is a genuinely tough player who can take over drives.   His spectacular bail-out-Brady of a touchdown showed this again.  
It also showed that Brady will play poorly but he'll still play clutch.


The Jets players rallied to embattled coach Rex Ryan and much controversy has been expressed this week attacking Jets GM John Idzik and defending Ryan.   The problem, though, remains that Ryan is not a competent coach, and disciplinary issues on-field and poor overall coaching could be spotted here again.   The fact Ryan has failed to develop a good quarterback - while Bill Belichick helped unlock Brady's innate superstar talent, developed Matt Cassel into a capable quarterback, and may well have his star of the future in Jimmy Garoppolo - has been overlooked in the defenses offered of him.


Aaron Dobson was a healthy scratch again and some scuttlebutt I'm hearing is that Belichick is rifling shots across his bow via these benchings and Dobson has refused to notice - suggesting to me he may have an entitlement approach to his job in contrast to the hunger shown by Brian Tyms.  


After several weeks of one-sided football Thursday Night Football has now seen two suspenseful games in a row, an indication that time and patience will produce the kind of quality football people want out of these games.



The end result thus is New England's third win in a row as the rest of Week Seven awaits kickoff.

Week Seven Rolling The Dice

It's Week Seven in the NFL and some teams are rolling seven as others get snake eyes.   We make picks and offer some takes -


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Patriots over NY Jets - Joe Benigno went ballistic on WFAN after the Jets blew it against the Broncos.   In subsequent interviews Benigno blames the recent failures on new GM John Idzik Jr. (his dad Idzik Sr. was offensive coordinator for the Jets under Walt Michaels; according to Gerald Eskenazi he would call his players "Galumpkies"), but in reality the blame belongs on Rex Ryan.   He came in as a players coach and the inherent lack of discipline of players coaches has only gotten worse, graphically showcased by the botched timeout of coordinator Marty Morningwig in the Packers game.  Ryan's bluster is no longer working and we now understand why the Ravens wanted nothing to do with him when they were looking to replace Brian Billick after 2007.

As for the Patriots, despite the injuries of recent they appear to have solved their offensive line problems and their offense may now have the two bookend deep threats (in Brandon Lafell and Brian Tyms) it really hasn't had since the Moss-Stallworth-Gaffney period, this to go with a rejuvinated tight end attack with Gronkowski and Tim Wright.


Bills over Vikings - The Bills showed fight in Terry Pegula's first official game as Buffalo Bills owner, and they get a Vikings team that got waxed in Teddy Bridgewater's return under center.  


Ravens over Falcons - The Ravens so far are 1-2 against quality opponents but are fifth in scoring and third in fewest points allowed.   They get a Falcons team that's suddenly shown it isn't as good as advertised with nothing in the way of performance against any kind of decent opponent.


Browns over Jaguars - The Browns may have finally found the combination for which their former AFC Central stablemates are still searching.


Panthers over Packers - On paper this appears to be a mismatch in the Packers' favor, as the Panthers are 17th in scoring and 24th in points allowed.   But paper matches flame out faster - the Packers have feasted on mediocre teams and nearly blew it against the Dolphins last week while the Panthers have rebounded with a huge comeback over the Bears and the mind-blowing tie at Cincinnati.   Aaron Rodgers remains suspect as he's always been when the heat's on while Cam Newton has shown more in the way of clutchness.


Dolphins over Bears
- It's Jay Cutler and he can't sell anyone that he's all that good.   The win over the Falcons doesn't change what he is.   The Dolphins meanwhile appear to be starting to show credible improvement overall, though becoming a playoff contender remains a distant prospect.


Bengals over Colts - The Bengals answered the questions following the Sunday Night Slaughter in Foxboro by putting up 37 points against the Panthers; the gag job by kicker Mike Nugent doesn't change the Bengals staged a needed rebound.   They go to Indianapolis, a team they smashed last season and which is mediocre (again) on defense, but is nonetheless 4-2.


Lions over Saints - Surprisingly the Lions are subpar on offense but very good on defense, and the Saints have been shockingly bad on defense while Drew Brees hasn't been able to stop the bleeding of a 2-3 season so far.  


Seahawks over Rams - The home loss to the Cowboys should drive the Seahawks to take down a Rams team they've owned since the 2004 playoff loss.   The Seahawks are now in must-win territory with Arizona's surge and the 49ers' surge after a slow start.  


Titans over Redskins - The Titans got a needed win last week as their quarterback issue continues.   Charlie Whitehurst is not the long-term answer, but people are naturally frustrated Jake Locker's recovery from his thumb injury has been slower than desired.   I think Locker will be back sooner than what people presently expect.   The Titans meanwhile get a Redskins team that appears in disarray with poor play by Kirk Cousins and what may be struggle by coach Jay Gruden - the scuttlebutt I've heard is he's right now in over his head as an NFL head coach.


Chargers over Chiefs - The Chargers have surged in a big way while the Chiefs have struggled, having beaten only two quality teams (Philly and New England) since signing on Andy Reid.   Alex Smith also remains winless in his career against the Chargers.   Last year's games were epic, especially the Seyi Ajirotutu game in Kansas City, so it's reasonable to expect a points explosion here.


Cowboys over NY Giants - The Giants are 3-3 and go to Dallas where the Cowboys, to everyone's surprise, have surged into contention.   That offense that had surged in three games disappeared entirely last week and it faces a Cowboys squad that's scored at least 30 points in three of their last four contests.   Tony Romo and Eli Manning have five INTs apiece - a shocker for the normally-sloppy Romo.   The Giants run defense meanwhile allowed 698 yards so far while DeMarco Murray has put up more than that by himself.  


Cardinals over Raiders - The Raiders usually play the Chargers tough, so last week's game doesn't indicate some turnaround is beckoning - especially as the Silver And Hack face a surging Arizona team that got Carson Palmer back.


49ers over Broncos - This is where I got back out onto that limb.   The idea of Peyton Manning losing to Jim Harbaugh - his predecessor with the Colts - seems absurd.   But the Niners offense has begun picking up the last few games and the Niners are sixth in fewest points allowed.   The Broncos meanwhile have struggled to seal the deal late in games - outside of the Cardinals game the Broncos haven't been able to put teams away; they've just outlasted them, illustrated by the Aqib Talib pick six against the Jets.   The Broncos season also takes a turn for the worse after this game with a Thursday Nighter against San Diego and then the annual Brady-Manning Bowl at the Patriots.


Texans over Steelers - The Steelers are 3-3 as are the Texans, yet they couldn't be more different - the Texans are beginning to surge forward while the Steelers remain stuck in mediocrity and with more voices clamoring for the firing of coordinator Todd Haley.   The problems go beyond the infamously hotheaded Haley, though - the Steelers have not been able to build an offensive line and their defense has faltered; the draft magic of the past doesn't appear to be there now.  



And so it goes entering Talladega weekend.

Looking To The Diehard 500

NASCAR's Chase enters Talladega weekend and the prospect of better racing than what we've seen is a very good one.   There is also however the issue of what went down in the garage area after the National 500 between the Keselowski-Hamlin crash and subsequent brouhaha in the garage area.   There has already been quite the reaction to these incidents and Darrell Waltrip for one has expressed the hope that NASCAR doesn't fine any of the participants involved because it ostensibly brings some positive attention to the sport; Kevin Harvick said afterward that NASCAR "loves it."  

I don't.   And I'm not sure that many others do.

Keselowski has become a loose cannon this season, and the Winston 500 incident - downright Ernie Irvan-esque - merely hangs over his head entering the Diehard 500.   The others involved hardly qualify as professionals either, especially Denny Hamlin, a longstanding punk both on and off the track.  

It was just continuation of a long-standing and underappreciated problem in NASCAR - the fact so many of its stars are unprofessional.   Some weeks back the NY Times did a piece attacking NASCAR with one of the writers calling Tony Stewart "the sport's resident hothead."   More recently Good Morning America did a derisive and pathetically misleading account of the postrace brouhaha. That the piece made the incident out to be worse than it actually was is typical of Good Morning America and of ex-SportsCenter washout Robin Roberts, among the dumbest broadcasters the networks have seen in years.   Attacking Keselowski and company for acting in completely unprofessional manner is nonetheless legitimate.  

Unprofessionalism isn't exactly new in NASCAR - one need recall 1991 and the plethora of idiocy for much of that season between Ernie Irvan, Ricky Rudd, and others, notably at the Southeastern 500 at Bristol, the First Union 400 at North Wilkesboro, the Winston 500 at Talladega, and the Summer 500 at Pocono.   The shame of it is that season saw two outstanding races - the Michigan 400 won by Davey Allison and the Diehard 500 won by Earnhardt - that were for the most part cleanly contested.  

The best result for NASCAR from the Diehard 500 - apart from an enormous number of lead changes, an expectation despite the sanctioning body's long-standing over-officiating of restrictor plate races - is a darkhorse stealing the win, especially if it's a driver who was in the Chase but already knocked out.


*****


A stunning graphic says it all about what the Chase format has done -

Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, and Denny Hamlin only have to finish between 15th and 24th to advance to NASCAR's next Chase round. 

Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano are unlikely to do much because they already advanced to the next elimination round, and it shows that NASCAR has merely created a new form of points racing instead of leaving drivers no alternative but to go for the win.   For all the hype that the Chase format's pressure is somehow reflected in the Charlotte mess, the reality is the opposite, and it shows anew the unworkability of a playoff format for racing.  


*****


The Truck Series returns as well and the over-officiating by NASCAR hurt the racing at Daytona, though it turned out exciting in any event; chances are it will lead to a lot of frustration at Talladega as well, as 2013's running was a truly amazing battle with nonstop push-drafting, something sorely missed in all the series right now.  

The Curb Motorsports and Thorson Toyotas appear to be the hot shoes for the Talladega 250, though Kyle Busch's machines are certainly proven products.   One does wonder why Milka "Milk Dud" Duno is entered, though.  

What Week Six Forecasts

Week Six of the NFL season awaits Monday Night Football and it has seen a plethora of eye-popping moments.   Eight takeaways from this week -


*****


The Patriots are not the fading dynasty - One of the Buffalo papers did a pregame piece suggesting the Patriots were a fading dynasty.   The Patriots instead showcased they're in a transition period where they keep winning.   Despite having to put struggling rookie Jordan Devey into the offensive line's lineup, the Patriots once again handled the Bills' much-hyped defensive line, while Tom Brady's deep bomb returned.   The first bomb was a touchdown for Brian Tyms, who'd been Jimmy Garoppolo's go-to guy in preseason and had shown more than enough to take him seriously - as well as indicate the offense is being built with Garoppolo down the road in mind as well as with Brady in mind.


The Steelers are becoming irrelevant in the AFC North - They're not the same old Browns, and the Steelers once again prove they're not the same Steelers, which means the AFC North is now a three-way race and the Steelers have fallen out of it.   The Browns are now making legitimate noise, the Ravens continue to showcase an explosiveness on offense not seen since Anthony Wright's late-2003 points eruption (scoring 31 or more points in four of Baltimore's last six games that year), and the Bengals get the tie to stop the bleeding of the massacre in Foxboro, though Mike Nugent's clutchness comes into question after his awful shank-job of a kick.  


The Cowboys - for now - look like the real deal - Beating the Seahawks in Seattle is the eye-opener of the weekend and DeMarco Murray is making a case for league MVP.   We shouldn't be fooled by this, though, given Tony Romo's inevitable display of ineptitude.   It's all made the NFC East a two-way fight between the Eagles and Cowboys, though the Giants may still get something going.


The Broncos are showing they can't seal the deal - The Broncos loafed on a lead against the NY Jets and needed a dumb throw by Geno Smith - turned into a pick six by Aqib Talib - to win 31-17, this after racing to a lead but not putting the Jets away.   It was the exact same pattern shown against the Colts and Chiefs, and it's cropped up again.   It bodes ill going forward with San Diego and New England - both surging - looming in a few weeks.


***


The Colts are still tops in the AFC South - They did, however, get a scare from a Houston team clawing its way back to competitive legitimacy.   Any threat from the Titans or Jaguars appears gone as the Jaguars still try to get a win while the Titans struggle through quarterback issues.


The NFC North stays mediocre - The Packers pulled off the win at Miami and had a fight on their hands to get it - even to using a fake spike throw in the final seconds.   The Lions meanwhile manhandled the slumping Vikings and the Bears got the win over a Falcons team that's not what we thought they were.   Nowhere do any of these teams exhibit the kind of muscle needed to take the next step.


The Panthers begin pulling away in the NFC South - The Bucs were ripped to shreds so fast the audience at Raymond James Stadium left by halftime and didn't come back.   The Falcons have begun to falter again, and the Saints go through their bye week wondering what happened to their season.   The Panthers got the ultimate head-scratcher of a tie game at Cincinnati, but a tie is better than a loss and it's helping them inch away in the division.


The Jets need to clean house - yet again - Rex Ryan has proven he should not have been hired to begin with as the Jets prove themselves dysfunctional and incapable of getting it right.   The attempt in some quarters to shift blame to John Idzik is pathetic because the collapse of the Jets was visible to all even when the Jets made the playoffs in Ryan's first two seasons - the lack of discipline, the fact the offense had to be dumbed down for Mark Sanchez, and the inability to take any next step.   It's the same old Jets, and that there is talk of drafting Jameis Winston because of the need for a Name shows people STILL won't get it.   The Jets need to build a program, they need to stop falling in love with Names, and they need to stop caring about what the back page says. 



So it goes as we await Monday Night's mayhem involving the NFC West.

Check Six In Week Six

The NFL enters Week Six and some nitty gritty is starting to be sorted out, and the coming fifteen games certainly can have a say in what gets sorted out going forward.   My picks have been quite bad of late, so we'll try again this week -


*****


Colts over Texans  - The Texans have already surpassed 2013's dismal record but face a Colts team rejuvinated after a slow start.   Arian Foster's recent bitching about Thursday Night games is the attitude of losers and the Texans aren't ready to take the next step yet.   Bill O'Brien nonetheless has them going forward.


Patriots over Bills - The Bills presently hold the tiebreaker in the AFC East and got a shocking win at Detroit with "new" quarterback Kyle Orton.   They've shown overall improvement but still haven't given reason to think they've begun planting a workable program.   The Patriots meanwhile proved a point to universal doubt last week and now look to build on it for what has been a rivalry chockablock with exciting games the last five years - though I'm not sold Kyle Orton can put up enough offense to make this game that good.


Ravens over Buccaneers - The Ravens got stepped on by a usual suspect in Indianapolis last week; they won't face as good a foe in the Bucs this week.   The Bucs nonetheless are showing legitimate fight.


Browns over Steelers - The Browns are doing some headhunting on defense and have one of the most amazing comeback wins they've ever seen to build on going forward.   The Steelers are no longer what they were and the Browns want to bleed them.


Panthers over Bengals - The Panthers have a pretty inspiring comeback win to their credit going into Cincinnati after embarrassing Jay Cutler's Bears last week.   The Bengals come off as awful a shellacking as seen in awhile (the irony is this week they get the runner-up from Superbowl XXXVIII) and while they're still a legitimate division contender they're facing a Panthers squad that's proving doubters wrong.


Broncos over NY Jets - Believe it or not the Broncos may not win the AFC West.   The Jets can certainly testify to Denver's #1 threat in the division, and they come home with the worst possible scenario going forward - their ostensible quarterback of the future looks to be a dead duck, plus the last time Rex Ryan did anything to handle Peyton Manning was 2010.


Lions over Vikings - Teddy Bridgewater may play this week against the Lions, who are coming off a bitter loss to a disgraced ex-coach and a washout of a starter.  If Bridgewater plays the Vikings may prove my pick wrong.


Packers over Dolphins - The Dolphins come off their post-London bye week in better shape than expected, with some fight shown from Ryan Tannehill.   The Packers appear to be the stronger team, particularly given they've scored 38 more points than Miami so far, but I can see a scenario where the Dolphins pull off the upset given the mediocrity of the NFC North in general and Aaron Rodgers in particular.


Titans over Jaguars - Right now I'm thinking Jake Locker plays, as his thumb injury from the Browns game (coming after whacking a Browns defender's helmet) appears to be in better shape than expected.   The issue with the Titans the last few weeks has been poor quarterback play - Locker went into the Browns game to prove a point and was doing so quite well and Charlie Whitehurst proved not to be the answer.   Defensively the Titans certainly have issues, especially against the run.   Overall, though, they're still a legitimately talented team.  The Jaguars come in with a worse defense and fewer points scored - and by the way they haven't won a game, even though I like the direction they're going in.


Chargers over Raiders - The story has come out that the NFL will deploy two teams into Los Angeles around 2015, this even as no new stadium has even begun legitimate planning or construction; the Chargers are ostensibly one of the teams to be deployed there, even though their audience is in San Diego and there isn't any plausibility that San Diego will let the team go.   The Raiders meanwhile appear to have a new stadium deal in the works.   It won't help them beat anyone right now.


Falcons over Bears - Neither team played like playoff contenders last week.  The difference here is the Falcons offense is still good and the Bears offense is mediocre.


Seahawks over Cowboys - The Cowboys are 4-1 right now and have already reached 800 rushing yards with five touchdowns.   But it's Tony Romo and it's a Seahawks team at home that is top five in offense, top nine in defense, and has stuffed the run all season.   Will the real Tony Romo please stand up where his career was first defined.


Cardinals over Redskins - Since the shootout loss at Philly the Redskins have plummeted with just 31 points scored the last two games and Kirk Cousins officially winless as a starter (the Jacksonville win is listed as belonging to Griffen III).   The Redskins blitz that led to a huge Marshawn Lynch catch and run near the end of Monday Night Football right now personifies the inability of the Skins to win.  


Eagles over NY Giants - The Eagles are 4-1 and lead the league in points scored, but surprisingly they're not stopping anyone. Eagles-Giants games have always been vicious affairs and the Eagles have consistently found a way to win.  The Giants nonetheless come in having won three straight and scored 105 points in those wins.  


49ers over Rams
- Anemic on both sides of the ball, the Rams slog forward having to play a quarterback who's in over his head.   They host a 49ers team where scuttlebutt about dysfunction with the coach and front office won't go away and where Colin Kaepernick hasn't yet shown the growth as a quarterback expected of him.  



So that's that heading for Week Six.

Week Five Postscript: In Foxboro Doomsday Can Wait

So the New England Patriots were dead, right?

Bill Belichick can't build quality rosters.   He can't draft good players.   He sells out the good players he does get.  He cheats everyone he does business with out of something.   And goddammit Tom Brady has had enough of it; his window requires the Patriots go all out to surround him with weapons. 

So Steve Young, Trent Dilfer, Tedy Bruschi, and the other media types now have egg of their face because they ripped the Patriots and their analysis was totally off-base (and Shalise Manza Young in particular gets exposed as a fraud for the phony Aaron Dobson story). It's what one gets for refusing to see the facts.

Quick takes come from Week Five -


The Patriots show that patience is a winning virtue - The 41-14 massacre in Kansas City was inaccurately seen by outsiders as a fatal blow, exposure of a weak organization incapable of recovery, requiring panic moves to stop the bleeding.   The Patriots naturally knew better.   They stuck with the program and the improvement in the offensive line that got curiously overlooked last week was out in force on Sunday night.  Tom Brady also corrected his failing of the season by engaging eight different receivers - Tim Wright and Rob Gronkowski exploded to 185 yards and two touchdown catches and Aaron Dobson, the source of the stupidity of Shalise Manza Young, had a 16-yard catch.  

The Patriots stuck with it and proved a point.


The AFC North is not as good as advertised - Cincy once again came up small in a big game while Baltimore once again failed against Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh clawed out a win but it was anything but a hopeful sign going forward.   The chatter about the weakness of the AFC East needs to reexamine some of the other divisions in the league.


The Titans face a bad first impression and a worse deja vu - People who want to rip Jake Locker as incapable of avoiding injury make the mistake of thinking players who get seriously injured a lot are in some way doing it to themselves.   The players who warrant criticism for injury are people like Tony Eason or the present-day Boston Red Sox who look for excuses not to return from injury.  Locker is not one of those people (neither is Danny Amendola for that matter) and it makes Tennessee's 29-28 implosion against the Browns all the more sickening.  Locker wanted to come out and prove a point after two poor performances on his part and was on his way to doing so before he whacked the helmet of a Browns defender (the Browns were doing some serious headhunting in this game) who was literally in his face.   Clearly this was a legitimate injury, where what got him benched for Charlie Whitehurst last week smelled of coach Ken Whisenhunt wanting an excuse to put in Whitehurst, who seems his guy where Locker is Mike Munchak's guy.  

What resulted against the Browns was the worst of everything - Whitehurst unleashed two excellent touchdowns for a 28-3 lead, then could do nothing to stop the bleeding as the Browns fought back with 26 unanswered points.   Making it worse for the Titans was the defense got an interception, at least one Brian Hoyer touchdown was a busted play and a desperation heave that worked, and all Whitehurst needed was converting a 4th and 1 late in the game.  

When we add it all up, Whitehurst played a lot better than he did against Indianapolis - yet did not do what was needed to actually win the game.   For the Titans it's a bad repeat of last year's collapse under Ryan Fitzpatrick and also continuation of a very bad first impression of Ken Whisenhunt as head coach.  Not only have the Titans suffered four straight losses, but the fight that was a hallmark of the team last year curiously hasn't resurfaced yet, and the Titans roster is as talented as any in the NFL.


The Bucs are better, but not a winner - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers showed fight and put up a lot of points in New Orleans, and in the process showed the Saints are not as good as a lot of people thought they were.   Even so the Bucs couldn't play enough to actually win the game - the sack for a safety was an especially bad sign.


The Jets are still the Jets - Not only did they get shut out 31-0 they benched Geno Smith and put in Michael Vick - and Vick immediately showed there's nothing left in the tank.   So the Jets have no quarterback - and this is why they're still the Jets.


Jay Cutler is still Jay Cutler - Jay Cutler raced the Bears to a 14-point lead - and threw a late interception.   It's what he is - a volume stats pig who cannot win when it matters.


The Chiefs crash to Earth while the Niners have life - Twenty years ago was the Montana-Young Bowl won by Joe Montana's Chiefs, and this time around the Niners were the team to win.  The win is doubly impressive given the scuttlebutt that continues to the effect that Jim Harbaugh's outfit is falling apart and Harbaugh himself is on the way out. 


Denver closes out a game - The Broncos had struggled early this season to close out games - this time they closed out the Cardinals and made a point to do so.


The NY Giants off and running - The "new" Giants offense can now be said to be clicking.


The Eagles keep winning despite struggle - The Eagles offense stalled badly in San Francisco and Philly had its hands full against an underpowered Rams team.


And so it goes awaiting Monday Night.

Week Five's Coming Chaos

It's been awhile since a Monday Night Football game's analysis has lasted as long as it has, but the Patriots loss to the Chiefs brought out a wave of angry analysis attacking Bill Belichick et al and a widespread sense of loss of faith in the organization, shown in a Shalise Manza Young report claiming receiver Aaron Dobson was benched for what amounted to insubordination - a piece immediately disputed not by the Patriots but by writer Steve Balestrieri; the Patriots themselves then made a point of rebutting the Manza Young piece - unusual of them but a telling act to making sure outside noise is dealt with.   The rebuttal then led to some media analysis that more properly reviewed Dobson, noting his continuing recovery from foot surgery.

It would seem Manza Young and others fooled themselves by making massive assumptions based on little information and assuming the worst about the team.

With all that, Thursday Night Football saw an ugly 42-10 Packers rout of the punchless (and all but quarterback-less) Vikings.   We nonetheless have more games to go this week - and yours truly hoping to rebound from a hideously bad week of picks -


*****


Lions over Bills - Kyle Orton has replaced E.J. Manuel and that's a dismal sign that the Bills are once again making a panic move instead of riding out the storm.   Manuel's play hasn't been all that good but Orton is no improvement.


Ravens over Colts - This is my first out-on-a-limb pick of the week, for the Colts have owned the Ravens since the Ravens started.   But the Ravens offense is looking potent and Andrew Luck has yet to have the winning effect against the Ravens that Peyton had.


Titans over Browns - Continuing out on that limb, the Titans come in 1-3 with a bad first impression of Ken Whisenhunt and after the ugly one-game Charlie Whitehurst experiment at Indianapolis.  They host a 1-2 Browns squad that's a lot better than that record.   Jake Locker will start against the Browns; that he played poorly in his two losses is obvious, but he also has shown he can improve.  


Panthers over Bears - Two 2-2 teams clash with both coming off awful losses.   Jay Cutler is a proven stats whore who doesn't win when it matters, so take Cam Newton here.


Jaguars over Steelers - This is an upset pick of mine, as the Jaguars are 0-4 yet have shown some improvement while the Steelers have shown once again to be the inconsistent flailer whose loss to an overrated Bucs team coupled with mediocre play over all is a bad sign going forward.


Saints over Buccaneers - The Bucs have shown improvement and the Saints are a baffling 1-3.   Drew Brees is the better quarterback by far here; go with him to start turning New Orleans' season around.


NY Giants over Falcons - The Falcons have faced two road games and have lost both by a combined score of 65-38.   It won't get better against a rested Giants squad that is now starting to get its new offense going - and big.


Eagles over Rams - The Eagles shockingly stumbled at San Francisco - I'm not seeing them doing that again against a Rams team looking more and more hopeless.


Texans over Cowboys - The Wade Phillips Oiler Bowl sees two surprisingly good squads.   Don't buy the hype for Tony Romo, though Houston's run defense hasn't been all that stout (allowing 5 yards per carry so far) and the ground game is where the Cowboys are right now hitting stride.


Cardinals over Broncos - Remember that limb above?  I'm back on it here.   The Cards offense hasn't put up volume stats but it has executed, while the defense is presently second in fewest points allowed.   The Broncos come in 2-1 and with a mediocre effort at closing out games, this despite the game-tying comeback against the Seahawks.  That it's Peyton Manning is the ace the Broncos hope to play.


Chiefs over 49ers - Don't believe that Colin Kaepernick or the Niners are on a rebound; they have shown some legitimate cracks to doubt they can carry through a run.   The Chiefs have rebounded from a poor start and are flying high.  


Chargers over NY Jets - The Jets have become the Jets again, while the Chargers have shown more firepower so far this year.


Patriots over Bengals - A lot of people have lost faith that the Patriots can rebound from last week, but the issues the Patriots have are correctable issues.  The slaughter of the defense last week may see some semblance of a continuation given how strong the Bengals offense has been, but the Patriots do get Brandon Browner back and given the shock of last week I'm doubting the defense will be caught as unawares as last week.   The offensive line (the universal discussion point entering last week's game) showed improvement despite the loss, as did Brady in terms of engaging more receivers into the offense.  That the Bengals beat the Patriots last time they met remains on everyone's mind in Foxboro - and should drive them not to allow a repeat.


Seahawks over Redskins - Last week's meltdown by Kirk Cousins was as surprising - and ugly - as we've seen in years.   The Seahawks continue to play at elite level, though I think Cousins and company put up more of a fight here given it's the defending champs coming to FedEx Field.



So we thus await Week Five.