Andy Richardson
A quick whirl around the league at the highlights and lowlights of the games I paid the most attention to on Sunday…
Browns-Ravens: I could easily write the entire column about just this game, if not just the last 5 minutes or so of it. If you missed it, and have the chance to see it later this week on NFL Network, I highly recommend it. Old Ravens like Jamal Lewis almost going for 100 yards and a TD against his former team on their home field? Old Browns (original Browns) like Matt Stover making a clutch field goal to (momentarily) defeat his old team? (Although since Stover wasn’t actually traded or released but in fact just moved to Baltimore with the Browns, would he actually be beating himself – cosmic suicide, if you will? (Yes, I’m a comic fan.) New stars like Derek Anderson beating the team that waived him while they muddle along with Steve McNair and Kyle Boller? And just plain stars like Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow making big plays down the stretch? A great football game.
It all came down to two plays at the end of regulation; one which will be forgotten, the other talked about all week (if not longer). On the first, with 11 seconds left and Cleveland down 3 points, Anderson – with Raven tacklers hanging off him like remora fish – completed an amazing 18-yard pass to Edwards that he somehow came up with in a sea of defenders. Without that play, the next one doesn’t happen: Phil Dawson coming up short on a 51-yard field goal that hit off both an upright and the crossbar. But wait: after a few minutes, with Browns milling about the field in dejection, Ravens heading for the locker room in elation, the officials huddle and determine it was not, in fact, short, having struck off the crossbar on the other side of the uprights before bouncing back into the end zone. Field goal is good, team goes to overtime, and (predictably) the Browns win.
I consider myself a knowledgeable fan, but I actually had no idea whether the kick, even though it had clearly gone through the uprights before bouncing out, was good or not. I didn’t know the rule. I’m not entirely sure whether all of the refs knew it either. What was clear was that they were going to review it by replay – and it’s not a reviewable play – before that was stopped, but clearly something was said that convinced the officials to rule the kick good. Conspiracy theories will no doubt abound in Baltimore this week (and let’s face it, the plucky Browns are a much better story this year than the badly flawed Ravens), but the call, at least, was correct.
The best thing about this game – aside from seeing amazing plays made by Anderson, Edwards, and Winslow (a remarkable leaping grab to set up the game-winning field goal), and even a pair of defensive touchdowns – was the chance to see something you’ve never seen before. A field goal that wasn’t, then was, and not knowing whether it was a heartbreaking loss for one team, or a chance to play on. Too often we watch games and get exactly what we expect. That’s what makes it even better on those rare occasions when we don’t.
Panthers-Packers: This game was pretty much as expected, so I won’t dwell on it too much. It’s pretty impressive, though, that Vinny Testaverde, at 44 years old, can still play as well as he can. Sure, he turned it over three times, but he was doing that when he was in his 20s. And 30s. In fact, with Steve Smith sidelined (and looking like the Michelin Man in a huge jacket), Testaverde might actually have been the best active Panther. It wasn’t Drew Carter, who had one of those nice games that a Panthers wide receiver not named Steve Smith seems to come up with every five games or so. It definitely wasn’t DeShaun Foster, who continues to put up mediocre stats for this mediocre team each week. It’s Testaverde, and facing the Saints next week? He might actually rate a start in many fantasy leagues.
As for the Packers, a while back I did a Factoid noting how Greg Jennings doesn’t get any red-zone looks. That’s not the case anymore. At this point, if you have Driver and Jennings, you probably have to start Jennings, who’s not catching as many passes but is doing a lot more with them – 1 TD per every 4 receptions on the season, 7 scores (in just eight games) overall. The Packers are spreading it around too much to make any of these wideouts sure things, but it’s hard to argue with Jennings’ scoring ability right now.
Steelers-Jets: This was one of those Any Given Sunday games that pretty much kills all hope that anyone is going to beat the Patriots this season. The Cowboys and Colts both lost at home, although at least the Colts can argue they were beat up and “should” have won, or will win next time. If the Steelers can lay an egg against a team as moribund as the Jets, though, there’s little chance they’re good enough to win in Foxboro. Although, Any Given Sunday….
As for the Jets, they won, so it’s hard to criticize them too greatly. And Kellen Clemens looked pretty good out there; he can play. But in the waning moments, when the Jets had to settle for a tying field goal, they called end-zone plays for wide receiver Brad Smith (who played quarterback in college) not once, but twice. One was a perfect lob by Clemens that clanged off Smith’s hands. Sometimes it just seems coaches are a little too smart for their own good.
Rams-49ers: The less said about this one the better, but two things. 1. Darrell Jackson dropped what would have been a game-tying touchdown pass from Trent Dilfer. I know he’s been hurt, but what happened to this guy? 2. There aren’t many times when you’ll bet on the Rams defense. But when Trent Dilfer needs to lead the 49ers offense 90 yards in the final 2 minutes against them? That’s one of them. (Although it was exciting there for a moment.)
Patriots-Bills: I usually enjoy watching the Sunday night game, but Ye Gods. Unless you’re a Patriots fan, or are one of those wackos who enjoys seeing excellence stomp all over the very notion of “parity,” what fun is there in watching the Patriots right now? As I write this, it’s 56-10, and Randy Moss has made catching 4 TDs look even easier than Terrell Owens did a few hours ago. Tom Brady doesn’t get hit, the Bills can’t cover anybody (NOBODY, apparently, can cover Moss). And now NBC is talking about Marshawn Lynch being sidelined, and he’s a great young player and all, but I kind of don’t think the game would be going much better with him in there.
The best I can take from this game is that it’s a lot of fun watching the Bills’ return men, Terrence McGee and Roscoe Parrish. Those guys are good. And it’s a good thing, since McGee has been awfully busy returning kickoffs after Patriots touchdowns. In the case of Parrish, I’m talking about his 47-yard TD reception, plus previous memories of him returning punts, since we’re midway through the fourth quarter and the Patriots haven’t actually punted. There’s there punter on the sidelines warming up. As Newman might say, Hi-larious.
And then a bunch of random stuff from channel surfing from game to game...
A tale of two rookies: In Detroit, Calvin Johnson making a great TD grab between two defenders on what was basically a jump ball in the end zone. In Green Bay, Dwayne Jarrett having a should-have-been TD stripped away from him by Al Harris.
Up and down Arizona secondary: I watched them let T.J. Houshmandzadeh catch an easy touchdown and said, wow, those guys aren’t any good. Then Antrel Rolle had 2 interception return touchdowns – and a third called back by penalty.
Bizarre penalties: A roughing the passer call at the end of Giants-Lions. An intentional grounding call against Derek Anderson where he was actually trying to throw a screen pass as he was clobbered.
Last but not least, if the highlight of the day wasn’t the ending of that Browns-Ravens game – and how many Ravens fans do you think left the stadium thinking they’d just seen their team win, only to find out later that they’d actually lost? – it might have come in the Bears-Seahawks game. Devin Hester fields a kickoff, darts past a few defenders, and appears to have an angle to the sideline. Suddenly, from out of nowhere comes a tackler: Seahawks kicker Josh Brown, who slams into Hester. He stands up and exults like Tom Hanks after building his fire in Cast Away, or perhaps like an ancient gladiator who’s just felled his opponent.
Yeah, I love this game.
Andy watches as many games as he can each Sunday. If you do the same, feel free to add your own observations from the previous day’s games below.
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