I present to you my fifth regular season letter of the 2008 season.  I appreciate feedback of things that I failed to mention, but please don't get upset if I don't list something about your favorite player or team.  I could do a newsletter for just one team.  Trying to mention every team or player in one newsletter would be impossibility.  I hereby present to you a recap of the opening weekend in the NFL.

Standings

AFC East                               NFC East

1. Buffalo (4-1)                    1. New York Giants (4-0)

2. New England (3-1)        2. Washington (4-1)

3. NY Jets (2-2)                   3. Dallas (4-1)

4. Miami (2-2)                      4. Philadelphia (2-3)

 

AFC South                            NFC South

1. Tennessee (5-0)            1. Carolina (4-1)

2. Indianapolis (2-2)          2. Tampa Bay (3-2)

3. Jacksonville (2-3)           3. Atlanta (3-2)

4. Houston (0-4)                  4. New Orleans (2-3)

 

AFC North                            NFC North

1.Pittsburgh (4-1)              1.Chicago (3-2)

2. Baltimore (2-2)              2. Green Bay (2-3)

3.Cleveland (1-3)              3. Minnesota (2-3)

4.Cincinnati (0-5)             4. Detroit (0-4)

 

AFC West                          NFC West

1. Denver (4-1)                 1. Arizona (3-2)

2. San Diego (2-3)           2. San Francisco (2-3)

3. Oakland (1-3)               3. Seattle (1-3)

4. Kansas City (1-4)         4. St Louis (0-4)

MVP of the Week: Some of the best performances this week were by players that played on losing teams.  Aaron Rodgers gave a very solid performance, despite the fact his shoulder was injured.  He had 313 yards passing, 3 touchdowns, and 1 pick.  His solid performance kept a Packer team whose defense is quickly headed on a downward spiral due to injuries and poor play.  While his interception was critical it was an otherwise great performance.  Same with Reggie Bush.  His team played horrible in the first half and trailed 20-10, but Bush had two returns for touchdowns that put the Saints up 27-20.  That has only happened 12 times in NFL history.  He almost broke a 3rd return, but was tripped up.   However, the Saints surrendered 10 points and missed a field goal to give the Vikings the lead.

The winning teams had some players do big things as well.  Clinton Portis and Roddy White had huge days.  Portis had 29 carries for 145 yards and 1 touchdown in the Redskins 23-17 win over the Redskins.  White had 8 catches for 132 yards and 1 touchdown in the Falcons 27-24 win at Green Bay. 

Loser of the Week: I would have to say the Seattle Seahawks organization.  The battle cry was that with Branch and Engram back the Hawks would get their swagger back.  Granted, the Giants weren’t going to make that easy.  The Hawks were the underdog.  But to lose 44-6 with Plaxico Burress suspended is inexcusable.  Sage Rosenfels also has to be a candidate for this award with his Superman dive that resulted in a fumble returned for a touchdown with just 3:36 left in the game.  That was the big turning point for the Colts who overcame a 27-10 4th quarter deficit and turned it into a 31-27 win.  Finally Adrien Peterson played on a team that won this week, but his weak effort cannot be ignored.  The Vikings will not make the playoffs if he continues to post 21 attempts for 32 yards and zero touchdowns.  He hasn’t had a 100-yard game since Week 2.
  
Game of the Week: There were quite a few exciting games this week.  I already touched on the Packers and Falcons and the Eagles and Redskins.    But the best game was probably the Jaguars hosting the Steelers on Sunday Night.  The Jaguars trailed the Steelers 20-14, when Marcedes Lewis scored a touchdown to put the Jags up 21-20.  The Steelers would take the lead for good 26-21 with 1:53 left in the 4th quarter on a 8 yard touchdown pass from Big Ben to Ward.  The two-point conversion would fail, but the 5-point margin would prove to be the difference in the game.  Another very close game between two former AFC Central Rivals that met in both the 2007 regular season and playoffs. 

The Bay of Pigs: When you get two defenses like the Ravens and Titans together you know there aren’t going to be a lot of points to begin with.  You also know the Ravens and Titans aren’t going to score a lot of points, even if they are playing bad defenses.  What we got was a 13-10, which took a turn for the Titans on an 11-yard pass from Collins to Crumpler with 1:56 left in the game. Good if you like defense, but not good for the offensive explosion. 

The Mike Martz Award (Stupidity in Action): I got a few coaches to complain about.  Brad Childress may have won his game, but he made a very questionable decision.  I have never seen a coach that settles for the field goal with 1:30 left in the first half and deep in Saints territory.  That was amazing to me and speaks for itself.  When you have a team down 17-10, go for the two touchdown lead.  Yes they won, but those passed up points could have proven costly in a 30-27 win that was decided in the last :30 seconds of the game. 

Then you have Norv Turner.  It wasn’t a particular decision he made.  But, someone needs to explain to me why in a game that you lose only 17-10 that LT has only 12 carries for 35 yards and the Chargers only run the ball 19 times.  This was not a game that got away from the Chargers early and they had to play catch up.  This was a game the Chargers were in until the end.  They trailed 17-3 at the half and pulled to within 7 points with 3:13 left in the 3rd quarter.

In Norv’s defense the Dolphins had the ball 37:00 minutes in this game.  However, if the Chargers would have run the ball more they might have converted some first downs.  If you can’t run it to him throw it to him out of the backfield.  5 catches for 22 yards isn’t a lot either.

LT is too important of a player to see the ball only 17 times, especially against the Dolphins.  No matter how you look at it; a defense that let the Dolphins hold onto the ball for 37:00 minutes or an offense that gave LT the rock only 17 times, the Chargers blew it and are in a 2-3 hole for the second straight year.   Turner seems to be all too good at getting off to a slow start. 

Finally, there is Andy Reid.  For the second straight week he decided to not pass the ball at the goaline in the 4th quarter and for the second straight week the Eagles came up short.  I still don’t understand why they don’t let McNabb do something with his feet or arm down there.   You think you would want to win or lose with the face of your organization.  I’m not saying pass it 4 times, but to not put it in the air once is very strange.

Injury Report: The most significant injury of the week was Brian Westbrook breaking two ribs.  His status for next week is up in the air.

The quarterbacks had a rough week.  Trent Edwards had a nasty concussion and will hopefully be ready for the Bills next game in a couple weeks.  Brian Griese suffered a shoulder and elbow injury and his status is up in the air for next week.  Aaron Rodgers is probable for next week, even though he seemed to be in pain much of the game against the Falcons.  His shoulder will continue to be an issue, especially if he keeps getting hit.  Matt Schaub should be back in the lineup after a virus forced him to miss Sunday’s game.    

A couple big AFC West targets could be out.  Tony Scheffler is being looked at for a sports hernia and could miss a lot of time.  Chris Chambers is unlikely to face the Patriots with an ankle injury.

On defense, Aaron Schobel is nursing a sprained foot and hopes to be back after the bye week. 

Tracy Porter dislocated his wrist and is out indefinitely.  It is expected he will be placed on IR.  That is a blow to a Saints defense that has not played well this year.   

Overall Impressions of Week 1:

1) Two unbeaten’s left  – In addition to this newsletter I’m writing an additional article for the NFL Blogger Competition.  Therefore, I didn't do as many impressions for the week, as I wanted to concentrate on doing that piece well.  This week’s piece talks about the last two unbeaten teams in the NFL; the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans.  Click here if you want to check out that article. 

2)  People need to stop criticizing Dallas - Every week it seems to be a new problem.  Tony Romo isn’t doing this right.  TO is complaining about this.  Dallas isn’t tough enough.  They are underachieving.  They won’t win a playoff game for the first time since 1996. 

Trust me, I have no love for the Dallas Cowboys.  Having been a NFL fan since 1989 that has rooted for the Packers for a number of years I don’t exactly have a soft spot in my heart for the Cowboys.  But this team is 4-1 on the year.  In their last 22 games they are 17-5.  They had a 2 point loss to the Redskins this year, a 4 point loss to the Giants in the Divisional Round, a 21 point loss to the Redskins on the last game of the season, a 4 point loss to the Eagles, and a 21 point loss to the Patriots.  Two of those losses were to teams in last years Super Bowl and 4 of the 5 losses were 2007 playoff teams. 

I have been critical of the Cowboys for a lot of things.  I didn’t think Phillips handled the bye week very well heading into the Giants playoff game.  I didn’t think Romo did either.  TO is always good for a distraction.  They have taken some chances on some questionable players, such as Adam Jones and Tank Johnson.  That is all fair. 

What isn’t fair is saying that a 4-1 team has no backbone and isn’t tough enough to win the NFC East.  They won the NFC East last year.  They have been one of the top 5 regular season teams in football since Romo took over as the starter.  While it is frustrating that the Cowboys haven’t won a playoff game since 1996 most of these coaches and players are only responsible for the last playoff loss and in some cases the last two playoff games.  That’s it. 

To make a mountain out of TO wanting the ball more, the Redskins winning a 2 point game, or them not playing well in the 2nd half against the Bengals is trying to take anthills and make them in to mountains.  Dallas is a very good team that will win a lot of football games this season.  They should not be expected to go 15-1 or 16-0 and be criticized if they don’t win every game by 21 points.  If they lose in the playoffs again this year then the criticism will be warranted.  For now it is a lot to do about nothing.
     
3)  People need to keep criticizing Cincinnati - This team on the other hand is fair game.  At 0-5 they are among the worst teams in the NFL.  Only the Texans, Rams, and Lions have zero wins.  The Bengals can take solace in the fact that even though they are the only 5 loss team in the NFL they also have the best point differential among the winless teams at -41. 

This is not a case of me jumping on late.  I said the Bengals should have fired Lewis after last season.  I said this is one of the worst run organizations in football.  I said that even though they had Palmer, Ocho, and TJ they wouldn’t win more than 5 games.  I didn’t think Lewis could get them to play together.   I may have overestimated them. 

Lewis is not entirely responsible for the mess that is going on there.  Credit the Brown family for 20 years of below average football.  No one has been able to win their and Lewis did lead the team to a division title back in 2005.  I believe he can coach and he should get another chance as a NFL head coach.  While he made some mistakes in Cincinnati, he also did some good things to help turn this around.  People are actually surprised the Bengals aren’t competitive.  That didn’t happen for quite a while before he got there. 

That doesn’t change the fact of how terrible he has done since 2006.  The team doesn’t appear to play hard like they used to and they seem to be more worried about TD celebrations, name changes, contracts, parole hearings, and other things that are not factors that lead to winning football games.  Seeing the Bengals will not be getting a new owner anytime soon they need to get a new coach, clean house, and start over.      

4)  What you did last week doesn’t mean anything this week - We’ve all heard the conversation.  Team A beat Team B by 14 points.  Team B beat Team C by 21 points.  Therefore, Team A should beat Team C by a large margin.  If team C can’t beat team B, how are they going to compete with Team A? 

That theory has always been a disappointment.  If you are ever going to pick games, don’t do that.  Observe: 

(1-2) NY Jets host Arizona Cardinals (2-1) - Brett Favre throws 6 touchdown passes as the Jets win 56-35. 

(4-0) Bills visit Arizona Cardinals (2-2) - One week after surrendering 56 points and 6 touchdown passes to a struggling Jets team you would think the Cardinals would be dead in the desert to an unbeaten Buffalo squad that was playing better than anyone in the AFC East.  The Bills got taken for a 41-17 victory.

Here is how I see it.  The Jets beat the Cardinals by 21 points.  The Cardinals beat the Bills by 24 points.  I am seeing a 70-24 type of score when the Jets play the Bills later this season.  Call Vegas and put it in the books.    I’m taking the over.  

A Look Ahead:

Street Cred’s 2008 record: 48-25

1) Baltimore (2-2) at Indianapolis (2-2): This is a big early season game.  Both teams have teams in front of them in their division that are off to good starts.  The Titans are 5-0 and the Steelers are 4-1. Both teams have very difficult schedules and cannot afford to lose ground this early in the season.  I always love these great individual matchups.  Ray Lewis calling out defensive signals vs. Peyton Manning screaming out signals at the line.  The Colts have had the better of this matchup in recent years, including the 2006 Divisional Round Game and 2007 Regular Season Game.  I don’t look for a blowout, but I do look for Indy to win this game.  Winner: Indianapolis

2) Carolina (4-1) at Tampa Bay (3-2): Division games are always big and Carolina gets a chance to do two things.  They can take a two game lead over a tough division opponent and win a divisional game on the road.  I like how Carolina has rebounded from a couple average seasons and they should be in the thick of this divisional race.  Stewart and Williams are a great running back duo and Delhomme looks to be holding up.  These teams seem to go back and forth and you could go either way with this game.  I’m going to go with Carolina, mainly because I think they can establish the run in Tampa Bay and the Buccaneers have some injury issues with Griese at quarterback.  Garcia is a good player, but I think they have a lot of offensive issues at the moment to beat a team that is playing as well as Carolina.  Winner: Carolina  

3) Dallas (4-1) at Arizona (3-2): The Cardinals have been a difficult team to pick in recent weeks.  They have 31-0 and 41-17 wins over Miami and Buffalo.  However, they lost to the Jets 56-35.  To me this game is about the Dallas offense.  Arizona will move the ball through the air and I think Fitzgerald has a big day.  The problem is that I don’t see Arizona having enough answers for Romo, Barber, TO, and Witten.  I like both teams to put up points, but I like Dallas to score a bunch of them as they pull away in the 2nd half.  Winner: Dallas 

4) Green Bay (2-3) at Seattle (1-3): These are two teams that are in desperate need of a win. The Hawks only claim to fame this year is beating the Rams.  They have looked awful in their losses to Buffalo and New York.  Seattle plays much better at home than on the road.  They are 0-2 on the road and been outscored by 62 points.  At home they are 1-1 and their sole loss was in OT to the 49ers.  Neither team has been doing anything to warrant being picked to win a game.  I like Seattle, because Julius Jones is running well, the Packers can’t stop the run, and that should help Hasselbeck get back on track.  Rodgers and the offense will play well, but not well enough to pick up a road win.  Winner: Seattle 

5) New England (3-1) at San Diego (2-3): This was supposed to be an early season matchup that determined home field advantage in the AFC.  Brady injured his knee in Week 1, San Diego is off to their typical Turner slow start, and instead it is just another game on the schedule.  I don’t know why I’m picking them, but I like the Chargers.  I think the Miami game was a product of Miami rising to the moment and San Diego looking past the Patriots.  While New England bounced back nicely to beat the 49ers, I think LT could have a big game if Turner would ever give him the ball enough and if the defense could stop anyone. It’s a toss up to me and that means I pick the home team.  Winner: San Diego

and the rest…

6) Chicago (3-2) at Atlanta (3-2): Atlanta has been a nice surprise, but I don’t think Ryan and Turner will have big days against this defense.  If they can’t do that they can’t win.  Orton has been playing well as of late and I look for him to turn in another good performance.  Winner: Chicago 

7) Detroit (0-4) at Minnesota (2-3): There are certain teams that have been crossed off my list and I will no longer pick them to win games.  Detroit is one of them.  Peterson will go off in this game and take out the last 3 weeks of frustration against a very poor Detroit run defense.  Detroit loses big.  Winner: Minnesota 

8) Oakland (1-3) at New Orleans (2-3): Saints have started slow for the second straight year, but this is the type of team they need to come into the Big Easy this week.  I like the Saints to continue to make Al Davis miserable.  Winner: New Orleans 

9) Cincinnati (0-5) at New York Jets (2-2): I actually think Cincinnati will put up a few points in this game as the Jets have not been stopping the pass very well.  I also think Favre, Jones, Coles, and company have big games and the Jets win another high scoring game.  Winner: New York Jets 

10) St Louis (0-4) at Washington (4-1): St Louis is in my Detroit category.  They need to show me something before I pick them.  I wouldn’t dare pick them to win a road game, much less against a Washington team that has been clicking for the last month.  Portis has a huge day.  Winner: Washington 

11) Miami (2-2) at Houston (0-4): I like what Miami is doing, but I think its time for them to take a step back.  The Texans have been close the last couple weeks and I like them to win this game.  Slaton has been running well, Johnson finally scored a touchdown, and I have a feeling Houston pulls this out.  Winner: Houston 

12) Jacksonville (2-3) at Denver (4-1): This is a tough game to pick.  I like MJD and Taylor to have their way with a Denver defense that is just not getting the job done.  Granted they played better against Tampa Bay, but they need to show that week in and week out.  Jacksonville is the type of physical team that gives them problems.  Winner: Jacksonville 

13) Philadelphia (2-3) at San Francisco (2-3):  Both teams need this game.  The winner gets back to .500.  The loser is 2-4.  That said, Philly needs this game worse.  They have a 4-0 Giants team, 4-1 Dallas team, and 4-1 Redskins team above them in the division.  The can’t afford to fall 3 games back this early.  San Fran could go 8-8 and be in contention for this division.  Philadelphia has the better team and I look for them to rebound.  Expect a nice game out of the defense and McNabb to have a nice day as well.  Winner: Philadelphia 

14) New York Giants (4-0) at Cleveland (0-4) - I am looking for another 44-6 win by the Giants. Okay, maybe not that bad but I don’t think this game will be all that close.   Anderson will throw picks and the Giants running game will play big.  Winner: New York Giants
 
Byes: Buffalo, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Tennessee

That’s all for this week.  Enjoy the opening week of football and I look forward to reading your comments this week.

I present to you my fourth regular season letter of the 2008 season.  I appreciate feedback of things that I failed to mention, but please don't get upset if I don't list something about your favorite player or team.  I could do a newsletter for just one team.  Trying to mention every team or player in one newsletter would be impossibility.  I hereby present to you a recap of the opening weekend in the NFL. 

Standings

AFC East                                                                        NFC East

1. Buffalo (4-0)                                                            1. New York Giants (3-0)

2. New England (2-1)                                                2. Washington (3-1)

3. NY Jets (2-2)                                                          3. Dallas (3-1)

4. Miami (1-2)                                                             4. Philadelphia (2-2)

 

AFC South                                                                  NFC South

1. Tennessee (4-0)                                                    1. Carolina (3-1)           

2. Jacksonville (2-2)                                                   2. Tampa Bay (3-1)

3. Indianapolis (1-2)                                                   3. New Orleans (2-2)

4. Houston (0-3)                                                          4. Atlanta (2-2)

 

AFC North                                                                    NFC North

1.Pittsburgh (3-1)                                                        1.Green Bay (2-2)           

2. Baltimore (2-1)                                                        2.Chicago (2-2)

3.Cleveland (1-3)                                                        3. Minnesota (1-3)

4.Cincinnati (0-4)                                                         4. Detroit (0-3)

 

 AFC West                                                                    NFC West

1. Denver (3-1)                                                            1. Arizona (2-2)           

2. San Diego (2-2)                                                      2. San Francisco (2-2)

3. Oakland (1-3)                                                          3. Seattle (1-2)

4. Kansas City (1-3)                                                   4. St Louis (0-4)

MVP of the Week:  When you’ve played as well and as long as Brett Favre has it becomes quite a challenge to do something you have never done before.  Brett Favre managed to do that by having his first 6-touchdown pass game of his career.  He was 24 for 34 with 289 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 1 pick.  At running back Larry Johnson had 28 carries for 198 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns as the Chiefs got their first win of the year.  At receiver it is hard not to go with Coles who had 8 catches for 105 yards and 3 first half touchdowns. Muhsin Muhammad had a great game too with 8 catches for 147 yards and 1 touchdown.  

Loser of the Week: Ryan Grant and Donald Driver were very disappointing in the Packers loss.  Driver had 1 catch for 8 yards.  Grant had 15 carries for 20 yards.  The Packers need to get more out of their skill players not named Jennings if they want to win tough games.  Kurt Warner is a surprising name to put on the list.  He was 40 for 57 with 472 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Those are usually numbers that make the MVP of the Week.  Problem is he had 3 fumbles lost and 3 interceptions.  That is very poor for a veteran and former MVP.  Finally, Marion Barber has to do better than 8 carries for 26 yards.  He needs more touches and he needs to be more productive with the touches he got.   Whenever Dallas gets away from running Barber, there offense suffers.  They need to learn lessons from the Giants playoff loss, not repeat them.    

Game of the Week: There were a lot of good games this week.  Washington and Dallas played a fantastic game.  Washington had a 20-17 lead in the 4th quarter.  They added a field goal with 10:48 left in the game.  On their next drive they proceeded to take a 6-minute plus drive for another field goal with 3:22.  That drive not only exhausted precious time, but also all of Dallas’s timeouts.  Dallas then scored a touchdown with 1:42 left in the game, but did not recover the onside kick.  Honorable mention to the Jacksonville and Houston contest, which was won by a Scobee field goal in overtime. Another Honorable mention to the Monday Night Game, which Pittsburgh won over Baltimore in OT.   

The Bay of Pigs:  It would have to be that Cleveland and Cincinnati game.  It improved in the 4th quarter to finish 20-12 with Cleveland winning the game.  However, Cleveland trailed 6-3 at the end of three quarters.  Part of the problem was Carson Palmer being injured.  That prevented Cincinnati from effectively passing the ball.  This is a tough group to justify.  These teams are still a long way from being competitive.   

The Mike Martz Award (Stupidity in Action): The worse game time decision I saw was Andy Reid’s decision to run the ball 4 straight times at the Chicago defense at their goal line trailing 24-20.  You would think McNabb on play action or at least one pass would have made sense.  Instead they turned the ball over on downs, couldn’t stop the Bears to get the ball back with meaningful time, and cost themselves a better chance to win the game.  The Eagles are not a smash mouth power running team and the Bears are great at stopping that.  Why he didn’t even pass it once is beyond me.   

The second decision I would question had nothing to do with the games.  Why did Arizona choose to stay East?  It seemed like a solid decision at the time.  The Cardinals stayed on the East Coast to prevent having to travel from Washington to Arizona, back to Arizona, and back to New York.  Instead of looking like they prepared for the game they looked like they took a vacation.  They had 34 points scored on them in the 2nd quarter and trailed 34-0 at the half.  Looking back, you have to wonder if the decision to stay east was worth taking a team out of their normal preparation routine.  Based on this poor performance I would say it wasn’t.   

Injury Report: There were a couple scary injuries this week.  Boldin took a vicious hit from Eric Smith in the final minutes of the Jets & Cardinals game.  He appears to be fine and his status is up in the air for next week.   

Andre Frazier was carted off the field on the opening kickoff of the Monday Night Game.  The severity of his spine injury was not known at the time I typed my letter.   

Aaron Rodgers injured his shoulder against the Buccaneers.  It is a shoulder sprain and not a separated shoulder as initially feared.  His status is questionable for next week.   

The Texans lost starting safety C. C. Brown with a broken arm for the season.  That is a big blow to a secondary already playing without Robinson.   

Finally, the Steelers are losing running backs fast.  Parker is out already with a sprained knee. Rashard Mendenhall fractured his shoulder in the Monday Night game and will be placed on IR.

Overall Impressions of Week 1:

1) Brett Favre’s big day – What do you say about a guy who you think has done everything there is to do in the NFL, yet goes out and accomplishes a career first?  Favre had thrown for 5 touchdowns with Green Bay 3 times.  The most recent was a September 27, 1998 game at Carolina.  In fact, the last time he threw 4 touchdown passes was a Monday Night Game against Carolina in October of the 2005 season.  So to say that 6 touchdown passes was a surprise would be an understatement.   

Favre had a number of things going for him.  The Arizona defense was very unimpressive.  There were a lot of plays with Jet receivers wide open.  The Cardinals turned the ball over 7 times.  That will help the offense’s cause.  Finally, he was sharp and put some perfectly thrown balls in tough places.  Other than a terrible first quarter interception he was on the money.  When you combine the three you get 6- touchdown passes.   

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment with this.   Last year McNabb had 381 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 56-21 victory over Detroit.  Detroit finished the season as 31st ranked passing yard defense and touchdown passes allowed.  Philly never played a game like that again.  They scored over 30 points only two more times that year.  The Eagles finished the season with the 17th ranked scoring offense.  McNabb would have 15 touchdowns in his other 13 starts.   

Favre had the right attitude after the game.  He was happy about the win, excited about the accomplishment, but also realized it was only one game.  He said its too early to book playoff or Super Bowl tickets.  He’s been through enough battles to realize that it only gets harder.  That is why you want a guy like that on your team.  He never gets too high with the highs or too low with the lows.  He keeps good and bad games in perspective.  He will help keep this team grounded and working toward getting better on offense.  

Still, many people were beginning to question whether he could still play or whether he made the right decision to comeback.  What this performance does do is validate that he can still play quarterback in the NFL at a high level.   The Oak Grove High School quarterback will not have to worry about Favre coming back to Mississippi midseason to take his job back.   

Every time people start asking those questions is when Favre comes up with some of his best performances.  It was nice to see an athlete who has had such a difficult off-season have another performance for the ages.   

2) Washington’s Upset of Dallas – Washington is a team that has showed me a lot in the early part of the season.  They were probably the worst looking offense in the NFL after the first week of the season in which they scored 7 points on the Giants.  They have responded by scoring 26.3 points per game in their 3 game winning streak.   

Jason Campbell has been terrific.  He has 6 touchdowns, 0 picks, 878 yards passing, and a 102.2 QB rating.  For a young quarterback learning a new system that is quite an accomplishment.   Santana Moss has been reborn with 27 catches for 421 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Portis is doing well in the running game.  He has 369 yards rushing, 4.3 yards per carry, and 3 rushing touchdowns.   

The Redskins are in a terribly tough spot.  The division is a combined 11-4, with three of the losses being division games.  3-1 would have them as the division favorite in the NFC North or West.  In the East they are a game out of last place. 8-8 or 9-7 could be good for last place in the NFC East this year.   

The schedule is about to take a turn for the better.  They play @ Philly, which is a tough game.  Then they host St Louis, Cleveland, and travel to Detroit.  They could easily be 6-2 at the half point of the season.   

They still have some tough games in the second half of the season.  They will play the division again.  They have Pittsburgh.  Winning at Dallas was a game that many didn’t expect them to get.  If they can beat Philly next week they will have gone 2-1 on the road in the division and be set up very well for the 2nd half of the season.   

3) Is the Gold Rush Back? – The phrase that pays for 49er fans is that the Gold Rush is Back.  At 2-2 the 49ers are tied for 1st place in the weak NFC West.  Do the 49er fans know something that we don’t know?   

I pegged the 49ers for 4-12 this year.  Seeing they have won 2 games already and have yet to play St Louis it seems apparent that they will surpass that.  JT O’Sullivan has played very well to start the year.  O’Sullivan has 68 completions in 111 attempts for 962 yards, 4 touchdowns, 3 picks, and a 90.0 QB rating.  That is a surprise to me, even with Mike Martz there.  Those are numbers the 49ers haven’t seen since the Jeff Garcia days.  Frank Gore has also started strong with 369 yards rushing through his first 4 games.   

The problem with the 49ers has surprisingly been their defense.  Those were thought to be the strengths of the team.   The defense ranks 21st in points per game allowed.  They rank 25th in total yards allowed, 22nd in pass yards allowed, and 23rd in rushing yards allowed.   

That is what costs them their games against the Cardinals and Saints.  Those offenses were able to put points up on the board.   Seattle also scored 30 points in their 33-30 OT loss to the 49ers.  Seattle had no receivers that game.  San Fran’s only impressive game was against Detroit.  Join the club.  Everyone looks impressive against Detroit.  

The 49ers are no longer the push over squad they have been known for the last 5 years.  Their offense has been consistently among the worst in the NFL.  Credit a lot of that to Alex Smith not being lost in a new system every year.  O’Sullivan was chosen for this job in large part on his previous experience in Martz’s scheme.  Since O’Sullivan has become the starter the team is moving the ball well and the offense as a whole is starting to hold up its end of the bargain.  The 49ers have spent a lot of free agent dollars and draft picks on upgrading the defense.  If that can come around they will win more games.   

If they were in the NFC East they would clearly be the last place club.  In the NFC West things are up for grabs.  The Rams are a lost cause.  The Seahawks may rebound if they can get some healthy receivers.  The Cardinals looked sharp in their first two games before losing the next two games.   

We’ll start to learn a little bit more about the 49ers over the next 4 weeks.  3 of their 4 games are at home.   They host New England and Philly, travel to New York Giants, and head home to play Seattle.  If they are still 4-4 or 5-3 after those 4 games I’ll start to have a little more faith.  While the 49ers will probably do no better than .500, that could still keep them in the division hunt for much of the season.  

4) The horrific St Louis Rams – St Louis continues to struggle beyond belief.  This has to be the worst defense in the NFL.  The record for points allowed in a single NFL season is 533 points, which was surrendered by the 2-14 Baltimore Colts back in 1981.  The Rams are on pace to allow 588 points in 2008.  If you go back to last year they have allowed 38.4 points per game in their last 7 games.  I have watched a lot of bad defensive football.  The 2005 Rams and 2001 Colts are the most recent bad defenses that come to mind.   The Dolphins were awful the first 8 games of the 2007 season.  However, if the Rams keep this up their 2008 unit will take the cake.  

That is what is so puzzling about the Bulger benching.  He plays on a team that is allowing 38.4 points per game in its last 7 games.  Jackson had 159 yards rushing in his first 3 games.  The offensive line has given up 13 sacks through the first 4 games.  What do you expect him to do?  Granted, 52 for 89 with 519 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 picks, and a 73.2 QB rating does not scream keep my job.  But that team is not losing because of Marc Bulger.  Joe Montana, John Elway, or Dan Marino in their prime couldn’t win with this team. 

Plus, why bring in Trent Green?  He’s a 15-year veteran that is 38 years old.  He hasn’t won a game since 2006.  Are you building for the future?  Bulger is 31-years old.  If you aren’t going to bring in a young guy to groom for the future keep Bulger in and let him work through this mess.   The team has no future with Green other than as a back up.   

Obviously management had some of the same concerns. Linehan became the first coaching casualty on Monday.   He has an 11-25 record in 2 & ¼ seasons.  The team is getting progressively worse.  The Rams can’t score points, can’t stop other teams from scoring, and are poorly prepared.  It is debatable whether everyone is playing hard. 

He had clearly lost the team.  Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett has been picked to turn this disaster around.  The offensive nucleus still has a few years left in it.  If the Rams can find someone that can bring talent into the organization and properly motivate and teach these guys the Rams could be competitive in a few years.  Right now all they are competing for is the first pick in the draft. 

5) Rodgers comes back to Earth – It’s funny how the message boards have shifted a little bit.  After the first 3 games the Packers had clearly made the better decision.  Rodgers had yet to throw a pick, Favre’s Jets were 1-2, and the Packers were in control of the weak NFC North.  Then Favre threw 6 touchdown passes and Rodgers suffered 3 picks and a shoulder injury.  Chicago wins to pull into a tie with the Pack at 2-2.  Suddenly, Ted Thompson is an ####.   

I am pulling for the Favre trade to work out for Favre and the Jets.  I though Packer management botched that and have addressed that on a number of occasions.  However, I’d be a hypocrite if I said that 2 games were too soon to tell, but 4 games the picture was clear.  It is very early.  Rodgers will play well again and Favre’s isn’t going to throw 6 touchdowns per week going forward.  

I’m not going to get into comparisons between the Jets and Packers.  They are irrelevant.  Here are 3 problems with Rodgers that I have seen early in the season.  

a) Way too many hits – Rodgers has taken 9 sacks, which is tied for 10th most in the NFL.  The problem is that Favre took only 15 sacks all of last year.  It’s not just the sacks he’s taking, but all the hits he’s taking.  I said that durability was going to be a major concern for him in the preseason and my fear has been realized 4 games into the season.  He has to do a better job of standing upright.

Not taking hits is a product of having a quick release, staying around the pocket, and familiarity with an offense.  While Rodgers is in his 3rd year in the system it is his first year playing in it.  If Rodgers can’t stop taking hits he will miss games later in the season.  The Packers can’t make the playoffs if he’s not in there.  Their backups have no meaningful NFL experience and are not ready for primetime.   

b) Too much short passing – Rodgers is averaging 7.6 yards per attempt, which ranks 9th in the NFL.  Many people would say this is an unfair criticism.  The problem is that in the all of the downfield passes are going to one player, Jennings.  The exception to that would be the Detroit game.  Again, everyone looks good against Detroit.   

The Packers are running the screens, slants, and dump plays. The only one getting any production is Jennings.  His 482 yards receiving accounts for 50.2 % of the Packers passing yards.  Driver is second on the team with 16 catches for 174 yards.  Jennings is averaging 19.3 yards per catch.   Everyone else is around 10-12 yards per catch.   

That is a deviation from last year.  Last year the Packers had 4 receivers at 575 yards or over and had 4 players over 12 yards per catch.  Most of the players were in the 12-15 yard per catch range.  No offense can consistently succeed relying on one weapon.  This offense has to get more than Jennings involved in the passing game, particularly downfield.  If they don’t they will continue to struggle.  

c) Horrible 3rd quarter adjustments – This is as much McCarthy’s fault as Rodgers.  They both have to adjust better to what the defense is doing coming out of the locker room.  Green Bay has scored 20 points in the 3rd quarter this year.  7 of those points were on a punt return.  Teams are seeing this short passing game and making adjustments at half time.  The Packers are running the same thing and their offense is bogging down.  

In fact, they haven’t been very good in the 4th quarter either.  Against Tampa Bay their only scoring was a Woodson touchdown.  Against Dallas they got 7 points on a QB sneak late in the game trailing 27-9.  Minnesota only allowed one offensive touchdown in the fourth quarter of that game.  That was generated on Grant’s only long run of the year.  Even against Detroit 14 of the 24 points 4th quarter points scored were defensive.   

What that tells me is that the Packers are trying to run the ball and short pass the ball every play and that they think teams can’t stop that even if they know its coming.  The reason teams couldn’t stop that last year was because teams were scared to death of Favre throwing a 50-yard strike and were giving the underneath stuff.  Rodgers doesn’t have that type of credibility.  

As teams learn the Packers aren’t going downfield to anyone but Jennings they are adjusting.  McCarthy has to do a better job of adjusting to the defenses and call plays to counteract.  If quarterbacking in the NFL were just throwing 3 yards slants there would be more people doing well.  You can’t win with that conservative of an offense.  Ask Herm Edwards how that works.   

The good news for the Packers is that there are only 4 games that have passed and as long as Rodger’s shoulder is okay they can continue to improve in these areas.   Four games are too early to pass judgment, but it is early enough to make some observations.  From what I have seen so far reports of the Packers being better off without Favre were a little premature to say the least. 

A Look Ahead: 

Street Cred’s 2008 record:  37-22

1) Seattle (1-2) at New York Giants (3-0):  The Seahawks really need this game.  Branch and Engram appear to be back in the mix after missing the first 3 games with injuries.  Burress is suspended for this game, which is a big blow for the Giants offense.  If the game were in Seattle I might pick the Seahawks to steal a game here.  I think the Seahawks are not very tough on the road and I like the Giants defense right now.  I think Jacobs does just enough, Manning makes just enough plays, and the defense makes just enough stops to get a tough victory at home.  Winner: New York Giants  

2) Washington (3-1) at Philadelphia (2-2): This is another tough game to pick, due to the quality of both teams and the Westbrook injury.  In the two games where Brian Westbrook was healthy the Eagles scored 31 and 37points.  Since got injured they have scored 15 and 20 points.  His ankle is still bothering him and it is unknown whether he will play against Washington.  Westbrook is a special player that does so many things both running and receiving.  If he were 100% I would like Philly.  With as good as Washington is playing right now and how inconsistent the Philly defense has played I am going to go with Washington.  I look for Portis to have another nice day and for Campbell to continue his hot start.  Winner: Washington   

3) Tampa Bay (3-1) at Denver (3-1): This is one of the more interesting games of the week.  Tampa seems to find ways to hang in there and win games that they probably shouldn’t.  Denver is coming off a tough week in which they lost at Kansas City.  Denver has a great offense.  They are 2nd in points scored, 1st in yards gained, 1st in first downs gained, 2nd in passing yards, and 12th in rushing yards.  That’s a recipe for success.  The problem is that they don’t even have an average defense.  They are 31st in points allowed, yards allowed, and passing yards allowed.  They are 26th in rushing yards allowed.  The only defense that is worse is St Louis, which is 32nd in both points and yards allowed.  Cutler has thrown at least one pick in 3 straight games.  I think Tampa Bay has a recipe to win in Denver.  Graham is a physical back that can pound the Denver run defense, but they need to get better play out of Griese.  Griese has 6 picks in his last 2 games, has yet to complete 60% of his passes, and has a QB rating of 62.5.  I could go either way with this, so I went with the home team.  Denver always seems to play well at home.  While Graham will have a big day, I think Cutler makes more plays that Griese and the Broncos bounce back from a terrible performance in Kansas City.  Winner:  Denver  

4) Pittsburgh (3-1) at Jacksonville (2-2): Pittsburgh’s offense looks lost right now.  They have multiple running backs hurt right now.  Big Ben is taking a lot of sacks.  The defense is playing well, but they need to offense to step up to the plate.  The Steelers went 8 quarters between offensive touchdowns.  From Ward’s 2nd quarter touchdown against Cleveland to Holmes’s 3rd quarter touchdown against Baltimore; the Steelers have looked lost on offense.   Jacksonville hasn’t exactly blown the doors off the barn either, but they are getting more offensive production in the last few weeks.  I like the Jags to protect their home field and win a very physical game.  Winner: Jacksonville  

5) Minnesota (1-3) at New Orleans (2-2): New Orleans runs into trouble when they can’t get balance in their play calling.  That is true for a lot of teams, but it has been a glaring issue for the Saints.  Against San Fran they passed 35 times and ran 32 times.  Against Tampa Bay they passed the ball 32 times and rushed the ball 27 times.  Those two games resulted in wins.  On the flip side Against Washington they passed 33 times and ran the ball 19.  Against Denver they passed 48 times to 25 rushes.  The problem in this game is going to be that Minnesota stops the run so well that New Orleans is going to have to stay committed to running the ball like Fisher, Fox, and McCarthy did, even when it isn’t working.  I don’t think Sean Payton is patient enough to do that.  The other concern is that the Saints have the 22nd ranked run defense.  That bodes well for Adrian Peterson.  Brees will be able to put up some passing yards in this game, but I like the Vikings to go on the road and win this game.  Winner: Minnesota  

and the rest… 

6) Kansas City (1-3) at Carolina (3-1): I know Kansas City won their first game, but Carolina can actually stop the run and play defense.  Denver can’t.  I like the Panthers to prevail in this game and Kansas City’s offense to comeback to earth.  Winner:  Carolina  

7) Chicago (2-2) at Detroit (0-3):  Detroit has to show me something before I pick them to win.  I see Kitna throwing some picks, the Bears gaining some yards, and the Lions losing another game.  Winner: Chicago  

8) Atlanta (2-2) at Green Bay (2-2): It’s hard to pick this game when I don’t know if Rodgers is going to start.  The Pack can’t stop the run right now and Turner is off to a good start.  He leads the NFL in rushing yards.  If Rodgers can’t go the Falcons won’t have to worry about falling behind and can establish the run.  If Rodgers plays I think he makes enough plays to win the game.  If he doesn’t play the Pack will probably lose.  I say he toughs it out and makes the start.  I’m taking Green Bay, but I think it will be closer than people think.  Winner:  Green Bay  

9) San Diego (2-2) at Miami (1-2): Unless Ronnie Brown scores 5 more touchdowns I don’t see the Dolphins winning this game.  They will play competitive, but San Diego wins going away.  LT is heating up and should have a nice day.  Winner:  San Diego  

10) Tennessee (4-0) at Baltimore (2-1):  Baltimore is exceeding expectations.  The fact they took the Steelers to OT surprised me.  That said Tennessee is playing great football and Baltimore isn’t going to score a lot of points in this game either.  Winner: Tennessee  

11) Indianapolis (1-2) at Houston (0-3):  Houston has been a major disappointment to start the season.  I wasn’t thinking playoffs, but I expected them to show better.  Jacksonville was their first good game.   I like the Colts to get back to .500 this week.  The bye came at a great time for Indy with all their early season injuries.  Winner: Indianapolis  

12) Buffalo (4-0) at Arizona (2-2):  I think Arizona’s NY disaster was a blip.  They aren’t going to play that bad all year.  They aren’t going to turn the ball over 7 times.  They picked the wrong week to get sloppy with the ball against an offense that had a lot of prove.  Buffalo has been good early, but their opponents have a combined record of 4-10.  Oakland and St Louis are a mess, Seattle was really injured, and Jacksonville was a good win.  The line is even right now, and I would expect Buffalo to be favored by game time.  I think Arizona rebounds from that loss and upsets Buffalo.  Buffalo is playing on the road for a second straight week, which is a tough proposition in the NFL.  Winner: Arizona  

13) New England (2-1) at San Francisco (2-2) – You give the Hood 2 weeks to prepare and he usually comes through.  New England is 6-2 under Darth Hood coming off a bye.  The average score has been 26.9 to 11.9.  The only years the Patriots lost were 2002 and 2000.  Those happen to be the only two years the Patriots missed the playoffs.  I like the Patriots to bounce back in this game.  They’ve had 2 weeks to think about that Miami stomp down and San Fran isn’t tearing up the defensive side of the ball.  New England won’t score 49 points like we might have predicted at the beginning of the year, but they’ll score enough to win.  Winner: New England  

14) Cincinnati (0-4) at Dallas (3-1):  Palmer is still iffy and Dallas will be looking to take out the frustrations on somebody.  That lucky somebody is the 0-4 Bengals.  Dallas wins in a blowout.  Winner: Dallas  

Byes:  Cleveland, Oakland, New York Jets, and St. Louis

 

That’s all for this week.  Enjoy the opening week of football and I look forward to reading your comments this week.  

September 24, 2008 will be a day that goes down in Detroit Lions history. To the dismay of many Detroit Lion's fans the team decided to cut ties with their beloved President / GM, Matt Millen. His Lions have won only 31 games and lost 84 games. It was one of the most dismal runs in NFL history. Probably the only eras in recent NFL history that compares to it is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers losing 10 or more games every season from 1983 to 1994.  Cincinnati has also had a nice run with only two winning seasons of plus .500 ball since 1989.  What is amazing about this story is not that Matt Millen was fired, but that he wasn't fired three or four years ago.

Let's start with a couple points. Matt Millen was a fantastic football player. I think that gets lost with how bad he ran the Detroit front office. He was in the 2nd round (43rd overall pick) of the 1980 Draft by the Oakland Raiders. He came from Penn State, which has a solid reputation of producing smart linebackers; hence Penn State's nickname Linebacker U. He was a solid NFL middle linebacker for many years. The Raiders would win Super Bowls in 1980 and 1983. He would join the 49ers and win a ring there in 1989. He concluded his career with the 1991 Washington Redskins, although he was not active for the Super Bowl.

Matt Millen was never the center of his team’s defense. He made his only Pro Bowl in the 1988 season. He never was a feared sack artist. He never picked off a lot of footballs. He wasn't on the NFL's All 80's Decade Team. He is not a Hall of Famer. What he did contribute to the game is that he was a winner. Not many guys play on 4 Super Bowl teams. The 89 49ers and 91 Redskins are on many people’s list of top 10 all time NFL teams. He was that smart football player that every championship team needs.

That doesn't excuse the bad job he did as a GM in Detroit. However, I think his legacy of losing with the Lions has made us forget the winner that he was as a player. He was also an enjoyable broadcaster for Fox Sports prior to taking the Lion gig. It is my hope that he can get back into the booth, as he does deserve a second gig there.  I think a team would be crazy to give him a second shot as a GM.

The other thing we need to remember is that the Lions have been a laughing stock for years. That happened long before Millen got there. I think that is also forgotten by many of the younger fans, because of the Barry Sanders era. 

The Lions used to be a great football team. They won the 1935 NFL Championship. Then they had a very successful run in the 1950s. They beat the Cleveland Browns in the 1952, 1953, and 1957 NFL Championship Games and lost to them in the 1954 Championship. Bobby Layne was a very successful Hall of Fame quarterback. He is still the Detroit Lion's all time leading passer with 15,710 career passing yards. That tells you all you need to know about what happened next.

William Clay Ford, Sr. purchased the team in 1964. Since then the Lions have played 10 playoff games, 6 of those in the Barry Sanders era. They have won exactly one playoff game Ford’s tenure.  That was in 1991 when they lost to the eventual champion Washington Redskins. 

Let me be clear about something. Matt Millen did about as horrible of a job at running this team as a GM could do. However, he has only been there for 8 seasons. William Clay Ford, Sr. has owned the team since 1964. To blame Matt Millen for everything that has gone wrong in Detroit is to ignore the previous 36 years of incompetence. History says this team will never become a contender as long as the Ford family has a say in the day-to-day operations of this football team.

So, why did Matt Millen's tenure in Detroit start and end so badly? Here are the main reasons I could come up with.

1) Bad Ownership - I've talked about this already, but let's talk about it more. William Clay Ford, Sr. is one of the worst owners in the NFL. They don't spend a lot of money on players. Come to think of it, they don’t spend a lot of money on anything. They are more committed to the bottom line that putting a good product on the field. That is a tough situation for any GM to succeed under. Matt Millen would have been a lot better off with a different organization.  In a better environment he may have succeeded.  In a better situation he may not have made all the mistakes he made.  His successor will not have an easy job. Millen has left a bad team behind him and there is not good ownership in place that will make it easy to turn this product around.

2) Barry Sanders Retirement - It never helps when your 30-year old stud running back retires on the eve of training camp. The Lions actually did make the playoffs without Sanders in 1999, but lost in the wildcard round.  In 2000 they finished 9-7. However, by that time the talent base had fully eroded and the Lions were among the biggest messes in the NFL. That is when Millen was hired.  Had Sanders not retired so suddenly and Detroit had some time to plan their future without him, Millen may have stepped into a much better situation.

3) Bad coaching hires - It's okay to hire a rookie GM. It's okay to hire a rookie coach. To hire both is a recipe for disaster. Matt Millen would have been wise to hire an experienced Head Coach. He desperately needed someone that could have helped him with some of the important player personnel decisions, as he got up to speed with the NFL front offices. Instead, he hired Marty Mornhinweg, who is a fine offensive coordinator, but lacked previous experience as a head coach.

The result was a 5-27 record from 2001 and 2002. The Chiefs hired #### Vermeil in 2001. Marty Schottenheimer returned to the NFL with the Redskins. Either of those hires would have made more sense that an offensive coordinator taking his first head-coaching job. Either would have been available as the Lions fired Ross in the middle of the 2000 season.

Steve Mariucci looked to be a good hire, even if the Lions were fined $200,000 by the NFL for not interviewing a minority candidate. The Lions had run a West Coast Offense under Mornhinweg. Mariucci had experience in that system and had coaching experience with San Fran. He was a much better fit. The problem is that they didn't give him Steve Young or an effective Jeff Garcia. Mariucci was a good coach that stepped into the premier organization in football, San Francisco.  In signing with Detroit he signed with the worst.  Without a good front office getting him good players or an accurate QB that could make quick reads Mariucci was never put in a position to succeed. Joey Harrington failed in that system. They tried to bring in Jeff Garcia five years too late and that also failed. Garcia can play with good players, but he can't carry a NFL team. Mariucci was able to get them to 6-10, but was fired in the middle of his third year. 

 

Rod Marinelli has been brought in and he hired Mike Martz to run the offense. That idea was scrapped after two years. They just were never able to get a coach that could last for a couple years and build a consistent system. They never found someone that could put his stamp on the organization. Had Millen hired a good coach from the beginning it still might not have worked out, but the coaches that followed would at least have had a better foundation in place to succeed. By the time Mariucci arrived the broth was so spoiled that no one was going to win with that in a couple years.  

 

4) Bad Drafts - The list of bad picks is a long one. His first pick was Joey Harrington. That would prove to be a big mistake. Joey Harrington just always seemed a step behind the NFL game. He threw 17 touchdowns in 2003 and 19 in 2004, but never could keep his picks down or his completion percentage up. The worst pick had to be taking Charlie Rodgers instead of Andre Johnson in the 2003 draft. The Lions followed that up with Roy Williams in 2004, Mike Williams in 2005, and Calvin Johnson in 2007. Matt Millen's legacy in Detroit when it comes to the draft will be taking four receivers in the first round in five years. Not only were they in the first round, but they were also top 10 picks.  Rodgers and Johnson were both the 2nd picks in the entire draft.

It seemed like Millen was putting together a fantasy roster rather than a football team. It's fine and good to draft receivers, but you need an offensive line to block for a quarterback that can throw the ball. This is what surprised me about Millen. He was one of those guys that teams needed to win that didn't get the credit. Yet he was never able to identify and add those players to his own roster. The Lions talent always seemed to be better on paper than it did on the field as a unit. The Lions also have made a habit of finding immature players. A lot of that was because of the lack of paying attention to small details and getting smart veterans on the team that understood what it took to win in the NFL.  A lot of it is because players get frustrated with losing 10 games every year.  Even the most mature veteran would struggle to keep his sanity in Detroit.

5) Bad Luck - Even when he got it right he got it wrong. Many thought the Lions had hit a homerun in the 2004 NFL Draft. They drafted Roy Williams with the 7th pick. They took Kevin Jones with the 30th pick. Then they added Teddy Lehman in the 2nd round. Everyone gave Detroit an A for that draft. They figured the losing would finally turn itself around and this would be the draft that started the success. 

 

Williams was really the only player that worked in that draft. He made the Pro Bowl in 2006. He has started at least 12 games every year. He is still starting for the team. While he is not Randy Moss or TO he is certainly an above average starting wide receiver. Kevin Jones had a great rookie year with 1,133 yards and 5 touchdowns. He could never stay healthy after that. He's with the Bears. Lehman started 16 games his rookie year and looked to be a promising player. He battled injuries and was released, resigned, and released again.

Every successful team needs some luck. The 49ers got theirs in the 3rd round when they selected Montana. The Packers got that when they traded a first round pick to Atlanta for Favre. The Patriots got that in the 6th round with Brady. The Colts got that by picking Manning instead of Leaf. Those decisions didn't have to work out.   In all of those cases except for Manning the teams really didn’t even now what they had.  Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft was calling Tom Brady Kyle Brady during Tom’s rookie year.  Ha he known Brady would play in 4 Super Bowls and win 3 of them, I’m sure he would have taken the time to learn the guys first name.  There is no way those teams could have known their smart decision would pay off the way it did.

Even when the Lions were praised by the football establishment, it ended up being the wrong decision. It got to the point where any decision the Lions made had to be wrong, because Matt Millen was making that decision. A lot of that falls on him, but even the best football minds need something to bounce their way. The Lions never even stumbled into anything good while Millen was there.

There are too many other problems to list. When you post a 31-84 record there is a lot of blame to go around. If the Lions are going to succeed they need to do three things:

1) Follow the Dolphins example - Hire someone like Bill Parcells to run the front office and start-cleaning house. The Fords need to keep their hands out of the football operations and defer to someone that has experience at being a winner. Marty Schottenheimer. #### Vermeil, or Bill Cowher would all be good choices for that job. Those are guys that have had success coaching in the NFL that would bring a wealth of knowledge to a front office. I’m not suggesting any of those guys would be interested in the job, but that is the type of qualifications I would be looking for.

2) Find a New Head Coach - Rod Marinelli is a good guy and a good football mind. He doesn't strike me as a great Head Coach. He is a lame duck coach at this point as the new GM is going to want to bring in his own guy.  A lot of the good hires in recent years have been coordinators. With an experienced GM running the show the Lions could afford to get a successful coordinator that they can build the team around. They don't need a retread that hasn't done anything in the NFL. Don't hire a Dennis Erickson type. If they wanted to go the experience route someone like Brian Billick might not be a bad choice. He's got a good reputation for motivating players and has a track record of winning games. He also has a Super Bowl ring. 

 

3) Find a quarterback - Bobby Layne is the all time leading passer for this team. He played in the 1950s. He has only 15,000 career passing yards. That is inexcusable in the modern day NFL.  The Lions have had some bad luck selecting quarterbacks. See Harrington and Ware. The Lions need to find someone that has an eye for the quarterback position and draft a top quarterback that they can build their team around. Any quarterback would love to play with the receivers they have.  Jon Kitna is a good QB that can play while they develop a younger guy. However, he is not a long-term answer. 

 

If they can start making some sound football decisions they could get this turned around. In the early 1970s no one thought the Steelers would emerge as a NFL dynasty. In the early 1980s no one saw the Bears, 49ers, Giants, or Redskins emerging as NFL powers. In 1991 no one thought the Packers would ever be respectable again. In the early 1990s no one thought the Tampa Bay Bucs could ever hoist a trophy.  We forget how low those franchises were when things suddenly changed.  It can change with a good hire, a great draft, or a Hall of Fame quarterback.

They key is that the Fords can't be making the important decisions. They need to hire a smart football guy, give him a blank check, and let him do his thing.  The Fords have a 40-year track record of getting it wrong. For the sake of Lions fans its time they get one right.

 

I present to you my third regular season letter of the 2008 season. Sorry it is up a little later in the day than normal. Time just wouldn't allow me to have it up sooner. I appreciate feedback of things that I failed to mention, but please don't get upset if I don't list something about your favorite player or team. I could do a newsletter for just one team. Trying to mention every team or player in one newsletter would be impossibility. I hereby present to you a recap of the opening weekend in the NFL.

Standings

AFC East                              NFC East

1. Buffalo (3-0)                    1. New York Giants (3-0)

2. New England (2-1)        2. Dallas (3-0)

3. NY Jets (1-2)                   3. Philadelphia (2-1)

4. Miami (1-2)                      4. Washington (2-1)

AFC South                           NFC South

1. Tennessee (3-0)            1. Carolina (2-1)

2. Jacksonville (1-2)           2. Tampa Bay (2-1)

3. Indianapolis (1-2)           3. Atlanta (2-1)

4. Houston (0-2)                  4. New Orleans (1-2)

AFC North                           NFC North

1. Baltimore (2-0)              1.Green Bay (2-1)

2. Pittsburgh (2-1)             2.Chicago (1-2)

3. Cincinnati (0-3)             3. Minnesota (1-2)

4.Cleveland (0-3)              4. Detroit (0-3)

AFC West                           NFC West

1. Denver (3-0)                  1. Arizona (2-1)

2. Oakland (1-2)                2. San Francisco (2-1)

3. San Diego (1-2)            3. Seattle (1-2)

4. Kansas City (0-3)         4. St Louis (0-3)

MVP of the Week: Ronnie Brown had a game for the ages. He had 17 carries for 113 yards, 4 rushing touchdowns, 1 catch for 9 yards, and 1 pass for 19 yards and a touchdown. No one in the NFL came close to having a game that good this week. Honorable mentions to Drew Brees and Brian Griese. Brees had 421 yards passing and 1 touchdown and Griese threw the ball 67 times for 407 yards in an OT victory over the Bears. Brandon Marshall led the receivers with 6 catches for 155 yards and 1 touchdown.

Loser of the Week: Braylon Edwards. How can a receiver with his talent have 8 catches for 73 yards and 0 touchdowns in three games this year? He had 3 catches for 27 yards and 0 touchdowns in the Browns loss to the Ravens. Matt Cassel and Randy Moss. Cassel had just 131 yards passing, 1 touchdown, and 1 pick. Randy Moss had 4 catches for 25 yards. This coming against a defense that had been beaten badly by Favre in Week 1 and was torched for a 158.3 rating by Kurt Warner. Finally, Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. Granted Houston has had some problems with Hurricane Ike that is not going to help them gain rhythm. I also understand the Titans have a very tough defense. But 17 for 37 with 188 yards, 0 touchdowns and 3 picks is not acceptable. Same with Johnson and his 4 catches for 29 yards.

Game of the Week: There were a lot of good games. Tampa Bay and Chicago went to OT with the Bucs winning. Bengals and NY Giants went to OT with the Giants prevailing. I would go with the game out in Denver. The Saints lost 34-32 to the Broncos. It went down to the final minutes with the Saints failing to convert for the tying 2-point conversion. Cutler had another huge day and Marshall was also tough. Brees had 421 yards passing. It was an exciting offensive fireworks type of game.

Bay of Pigs: Would have to be the Philly and Pittsburgh game. What was thought to be a candidate for Game of the Week was hurt by the fact that Westbrook, McNabb, and Big Ben all suffered injuries during the game that forced them to miss portions of the game. The result was a 15-6 final with the Eagles prevailing.

The Mike Martz Award (Stupidity in Action): This was a pretty easy decision this week. Mike Tomlin, do you understand game management? Last I checked 15-6 is a two-possession game. So why on 4th down and long in field goal range with a little over :30 seconds left in the game do you go for it? Kick the field goal and get the score to 15-9. Try the onside and go for the Hail Mary. Even had the Steelers converted and gone on to score a touchdown they probably would have ran out of time to set up a quality field goal. It was a poor decision by a good coach that hasn't made many mistakes in his young career.

Another poor coaching effort happened in Green Bay. The game was out of hand. It was 27-9 and the Cowboy's Barber fumbled the ball back to the Packers at the Packers 13-yard line. A comeback was unlikely with just 5:34 left in the game. If it was going to be possible it was going to be with deep passes down the field. So why call every 4 yard slant to the middle of the field and take 3:23 to score a meaningless touchdown with 2:11 left in the game. The Cowboys depleted the Pack's timeouts, gave them back the ball for some more short passes with under 2:00 minutes, and Dallas coasted to victory. I would have rather seen Rodgers throw the bomb and get picked trying to win the game that pad his stats for 100 yards in the 4th quarter.  I’m not accusing Rodgers of doing that.  He isn’t calling his own plays.  What I am saying is that McCarthry was way two conservative the entire game.  You have to go down the field, especially when you are down 27-9 with so little time left in the game.  

 

Injury Report: Lots of big injuries this week. Brian Westbrook is on crutches after suffering a high ankle sprain. His status for next week is in doubt.

Willie Parker and Casey Hampton will not play against the Ravens. Parker has a sprained knee and Hampton has a sprained groin.

Al Harris had the most serious injury of the week.  He has probably been lost for the season with a torn spleen.  That is a huge blow to the Green and Gold's defense.

Jeremy Shockey is going to be out 3-6 weeks with a sports hernia injury. That is not good for an offense that is already missing Colston.

Finally, Jason Taylor's streak of 132 games starting will come to an end next week against the Cowboys. He has a calf / leg injury.

Overall Impressions of Week 1:

1) How about those Buffalo Bills – This was a team that I wasn't very high on to start the year. While I acknowledged they were 7-9 last year and in the playoff hunt until December I couldn't get away from the fact that they were 30th in points scored, 30th in yards gained, and 31st in yards allowed. I chalked up their 2007 season to playing the Dolphins twice and Jets twice. While I thought #### would be a special player, I wasn't sold on either of their quarterbacks or the defense.

Through he first three games of the season, I appear to have underestimated this group. They have been very impressive. They are 9th in points scored, 13th in yards gained, 6th in points allowed, and 6th in yards allowed. That is a major improvement over where they were in 2007.

#### and Jackson has been a nice combo. #### has 4 rushing touchdowns already. Lee Evans is having a much better start to the 2008 campaign. He has 244 yards receiving in his first three games. Considering it took him until Week 8 to eclipse that mark in 2007 I would say he is starting much better.

Marcus Stroud has really helped the interior of their offensive line. He has 2 sacks and has played a large role in the Bills strong defensive line play.  Most importantly, this team is learning to win. They only won by two points in Week 3 and four points in Week 2. Last year they find ways to lose those games. This year they are winning them.

The last time the Bills qualified for the playoffs was 1999. The last time they won a playoff game was December 30, 1995 when Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas led the Bills to a 37-22 win over Marino's Dolphins. Given that Brady is hurt for the year, the Jets are struggling adjusting to Favre, and the Bills have started strong; the Bills are in position to get back to the playoffs.  That is something they haven’t done with regularity since the 90s.

2) Tennessee and Minnesota succeed with Backup Quarterbacks – It's been interesting how a couple teams have made the decision to go with veteran journey man quarterbacks over young prospects. The Titans were forced to due to injury. Vince Young was hurt in the opener and could not play right now if the Titans wanted to. Jackson was benched after two bad losses.

In both of these cases it appears less is more. Let's start with the Titans. Kerry Collins isn't destroying opposing defenses like Tom Brady did in 2007. What he is doing is adding a vertical element to the passing offense without making big mistakes. He only threw 21 times against Cincy and 26 times against Houston. He has yet to have a 200-yard game. He has yet to throw for more than 1 touchdown pass. What he hasn't done is make the big turnover that has cost them the game. He is bringing leadership to the huddle. Fisher has already announced that as long as Collins continues to win that the Titans are not going back to Young this season. That seems hard to believe as Young was on the verge of stardom entering the 2007 season.

Then there is Jackson in Minnesota. Gus Ferrotte wasn't even planning on playing football in 2008. The last time he started more than 3 games was 2005 when he logged 15 starts for the Fins. Yet when Jackson contributed to a 0-2 start and had lost the confidence of the staff they turned to the veteran to give them some stability. The result was 16 for 28 for 204 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 pick. The Vikings earned their first victory of the season.

These teams are very similar. The Titans have a better defense than the Vikings, but the Vikings are still a very solid defensive unit. The Vikings have given up only 52 points, which ranks 8th in the NFL. The Vikings have a much more exciting back combination in Peterson and Taylor. White and Johnson are a poor man's version of that duo.

What neither team can afford is a complete inability to go down the field and costly mistakes that result in their defenses put in bad spot. While Jackson and Young are more mobile, have good arms, and upside; they don't put their teams in a position to win football games. While these two may eventually find their way, it doesn't look like it will be in 2008.

3) Indy’s slow start – You talk about a team destroyed by injuries. The Colts did not play T Tony Ugoh, G Mike Pollack, SS Bob Sanders, TE Jacob Tamme, WR Roy Hall, DT Daniel Muir, DE Curtis Johnson, and DE Marcus Howard in Week 3. Dallas Clark played and was hurt again. Center Jeff Saturday was active after missing the first two weeks.

The result is an offense that is ranked 24th in scoring and a defense that is ranked 20th in points allowed. The result is a 1-2 team that currently sits at 3rd place in the division. The last time the Colts started a season 1-2 was 1998 when the Colts started 1-8. Peyton Manning was only a rookie.

You can't have three offensive linemen and a starting tight end hurt and expect to run the ball. Addai has 43 rushes for 142 yards, 3.3 yards per carry, and 3 touchdowns. He can't go out in pass routes as much so he has only 4 catches for 26 yards. As a result the Colts are completely one-dimensional. They rank 2nd in pass attempts as opposed to 30th in rush attempts. Manning is on pace for 4,181 yards this season, but with only 16 touchdown passes and 21 picks. He is completing 59.1 % of his passes and has a rating of 73.1. This for a guy that has never had less than 26 touchdowns in his career, has a career QB rating of 94.2, hasn't had more than 15 interceptions since 2002, and has a career 64.1 completion percentage.

Peyton Manning has plenty of time to turn his season around. What this does show is what I tell people time and time again. Quarterbacks can carry teams in stretches. They can occasionally will a team to victory. But they can't be the team. Even someone as gifted as Peyton Manning needs his offensive line to block. He needs Addai to give the offense rushing balance. He needs more than Wayne, Harrison, and Gonzalez to catch the ball downfield. Receivers aren’t very effective without running games that keep safties and linebackers honest.  Dallas Clark is a big part of this offense. While Manning is still getting yards they aren't coming as efficiently as they normally do.

The other concern has to be Bob Sanders. The Colts weren't good at stopping the run with him in their first 2 games. In his first game out both MJD and Taylor rushed for over 100 yards. If teams can run the ball effectively, it will keep Manning on the bench and limit his opportunities even more.

Indy has to go back to the drawing board quickly. With the 2nd toughest schedule in the NFL this season (based on 07 record) they can't afford to keep losing games. They are already two games back in the division and have lost 2 games at home.  Their bye couldn’t come at a better time.

4) New England’s Streak Comes to an Alarming End – It's time to reflect on a regular season winning streak that will go down as one of the most impressive feats in NFL history. The last time the Patriots suffered a regular season loss was December 10, 2006 when they were shutout by the Miami Dolphins, 21-0. In those 21 games that passed they were simply amazing. They scored over 30 points 15 of those 21 games. They won 14 of those 21 games by more than 10 points.

It would have been interesting to see how long the streak could have lasted had Tom Brady not been injured. The Patriots offense has scored only 49 points, which is 25th in the NFL. They scored only 13 points against the Dolphins. They had 5 touchdowns in their first 5 possessions against the Dolphins last year.

The troubling part of Sunday's loss was not the offense. They were bad and deserve their share of blame for this loss. The troubling part was their defense. They gave up 38 points in that defeat. When you combine that with only 13 points scored it was the Patriots worst loss since they were defeated by the Atlanta Falcons 41-10 on Nov. 8, 1998, at New England. The Atlanta Falcons went on to lose to John Elway's Broncos in the Super Bowl that season.

What I couldn't believe is that one formation could give the Patriots that much grief. I understand that Ronnie Brown under center in the shotgun is surprising, but it shouldn't result in 4 touchdown runs and a touchdown pass.

The last time the Patriots lost 2 games in a row was Week 9 and 10 of the 2006 season when they lost to playoff teams Indy and the New York Jets. Next week they play the San Francisco 49ers in San Fran. Hopefully, Frank Gore doesn't line up in the shotgun; otherwise things might get pretty ugly.

5) Cleveland's Disappointing Start - Cleveland has to be the most disappointing team in the NFL this season. This is a team that won 10 games last year. The offense ranked 8th in scoring offense and 8th in yards gained. Anderson threw for 3,787 yards and 29 touchdowns. Lewis rushed for 1,304 yards and 9 touchdowns. Edwards had 80 catches for 1289 yards and 16 touchdowns. Through 3 games Anderson has 405 yards passing, 2 touchdowns, 5 picks, and a 43.5 QB rating. Edwards has 8 catches for 73 yards. Lewis has 156 yards rushing. 

This was supposed to be an emerging dominant offense. Instead, the Browns have just been offensive. 32nd in points scored with 26 points. That is an average of 8.7 points per game. 31st in yards gained. 30th in first downs. 29th in passing yards. 31st in yards per attempt. 30th in rushing yards. No rushing touchdowns. This offense resembles the 2006 Oakland Raiders. There is way too much talent on this team for them to be playing this poorly.

The result has been a 0-3 start in which they were outscored by 40 total points, which is 28th in the NFL. Some of this was predictable and some of this was not. The Browns played very well in the first 11 games of the 2007 season. From their Week 2 explosion against Cincy to Week 12 against Houston they averaged 30.8 points per game. From Week 13 to Week 17 they averaged 17.4. Anderson was not good to close the season. He had 7 touchdowns and 8 picks in his last 5 games. His highest rating in that stretch was an 83.3 against the Jets. Three of his five closing games saw him wit