Week 6 — Mon Oct 13 13:56:11 PDT 2008
From: JeffTo: mnf@doobie.com
Subject: It's Monday...
...and did you see the end of that game?
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this was the week of the last-second win. There were no fewer than five games that went down to the wire (some more excitingly than most).
The most unexpected ending of the week has got to be from the Arizona/Dallas game. The game started with Cardinals' RB J.J. Arrington, receiving the opening kickoff at the seven yard line, and returning it for a touchdown. Throughout the rest of the game, the teams traded touchdowns and punts, eventually arriving at a 24-14 Cardinals lead, with 3:20 to go. At the 2:00 minute warning, Dallas scored a touchdown, making it a three point game. The defense held, and the Cowboys got the ball back with a little less than a minute to go. Six plays and three penalties later, Nick Folk just barely makes a 52 yard field goal to tie the game.
Overtime started normally enough. Dallas won the coin toss and got the ball first. In the first play of overtime, Tony Romo is sacked, fumbling the ball in the process (though he recovered it at the 15 yard line). Two incomplete passes later (both aimed at T.O.), and it was time to punt. Things were looking good for the Cardinals. Their offense was about to get the ball, probably somewhere near the 40 yard line... they'd only have to move about 25 yards to realistically set up a field goal and win. But the special-teams squad had an idea that sounded even better. Instead of setting up a return, they stacked the left side of the line of scrimmage... and came on through to block the kick, retrieve the loose ball in the end zone, and win the game 30-24. Arizona climbs to 4-2, and remains on top of the NFC West. Dallas falls to 4-2 and goes to St. Louis next week. It's worth noting that Dallas QB Tony Romo will be out four to six weeks with a broken finger, presumably sustained in that sack.
The St. Louis Rams are no longer winless. This week, they went to Washington and shocked the Redskins 19-17, in a game where the 'skins were 14 point favorites. This game also involved a last-second field goal. The Redskins should've had this game, easily – The Rams seemed to try to hand it to them over and over again... starting with a fumble on the 4 yard line on the second play of the game, and continuing all the way through to the 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty that turned an easy game-winning field goal into a 45 yarder. Rams kicker Josh Brown made the kick and won the game, but imagine the outcry if he'd missed. So, what happened to the Redskins? Turnovers. While Jason Cambell still hasn't thrown an interception this year, the team can no longer claim to have no offensive turnovers. This week, they coughed the ball over three times (on four fumbles). You can't win football games (even against the Rams) when you do that. The 'skins fall to 4-2 and head for Cleveland. The Rams are 1-5 and host Dallas.
Someone in the Houston Texans organization had money on the game this week... that's the best way to explain this last-second ending. The Texans and the Dolphins had played quite a game of football (complete with yet another touchdown play based on the 'fins so-called “Wildcat” formation.). With 1:45, the Dolphins scored a touchtown to go up by five points, but the Texans got the ball back. Houston QB Matt Schaub kept trying to punch the ball through the defense, and somehow a Miami safety or cornerback would smack the ball away each time. Finally, on a fourth-and-ten play late in the game, Andre Johnson made a crazy catch at the 41 yard line... immediately followed up by a thirty yard pass to Kevin Walter, and the Texans were suddenly 11 yards away from victory. Just before the clock ran out, Schaub ran the ball from the shotgun formation, and scored the touchdown. So, with three seconds left, the Texans were up by a point, before the point-after-touchdown. However, instead of kicking the extra point, Houston decided to try to cover the spread with a two point conversion. They failed, and the game ended 29-28, Houston. The no-longer-winless Texans climb to 1-4 and go to Detroit (who fell to 0-5 this week). The Dolphins are 2-3 and host Baltimore.
They're excited in Atlanta. This week, the Chicago Bears came to town, and after three uninspiring quarters, the Falcons and Bears conspired to deliver one of the most exciting fourth quarters in recent memory. With eight minutes or so left in the game and a 9 point Atlanta lead on the scoreboard, the Falcons defense stopped a third-and-goal and a fourth-and-goal play at the one yard line. A punt later, the Falcons held Chicago to a field goal, which cut the lead to six. On the ensuing kickoff, Atlanta ran the ball back to the Chicago 17. Amazingly, not only did the Bears defense hold them there, but Jason Elam missed the field goal attempt from the 23. This opened the door for Chicago, which moved the ball 77 yards in two minutes, taking a 1 point lead with 11 seconds to go. But it did not end there. On the ensuing squib kickoff, the Falcons' hands team was able to get the ball on the 44 (and stop the clock at :06). One beautiful pass later, Michael Jenkins steps out of bounds on the Chicago 30, giving kicker Jason Elam one last opportunity to save the game. This time, Elam comes through, booting a 48 yarder through the uprights, to win the game 22-20. Atlanta goes into their bye week 4-2, Chicago is 3-3 and hosts Minnesota. Remember when we thought this year was going to be a rebuilding year for the Falcons? They're in a three-way tie in the NFC South.
There was one more game this week that had a surprise ending in the closing seconds, though this one was really a matter of the officiating, rather than the players, that turned the game. I'm talking about the Detroit/Minnesota matchup. Down 10-9, with 2:22 to go, the nearly useless Vikings offense had the ball on their own 32 yard line. Veteran QB Gus Freotte chucked a 42 yard pass down the sideline towards Andre Allison. Allison didn't catch the ball, but one of the guys in the zebra suits decided that it was due to interference from Detroit's CB Leigh Bodden (though the replay revealed that any interference that occurred was psychic in nature – but non-reviewable). That penalty set up Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell, who kicked a 26 yard kick to win 12-10. Even in victory, the fans in Minnesota were chanting “Fire [head coach] Childress... Fire Childress.” They have a point. The Vikings go to 3-3, and spend next week in Chicago. The Lions are 0-5 and go to Houston.
Oh... and the most predictable moment in sports this week? The overwhelming boos that rained down on Sarah Palin when she took to the ice in Philadelphia to drop the ceremonial first puck before a Flyers preseason game. Before the game, she said that she was bringing along 7-year old daughter Piper, dressed in a Flyers' jersey, in the hopes of avoiding the embarrassment of being chased out of a swing state, because, in her words, “How dare they boo Piper?”.
This is the same Philadelphia that threw snowballs at Santa Claus, chucked D batteries at St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder J.D. Drew, booed Michael Irvin as he was wheeled off the field with a career-ending neck/spine injury, and used to have a fully-functional jail inside of their stadium on Sundays.
But, Ms. Palin, let me be the first to tell you that the citizens may not be above booing a 7 year old, that's not what happened on the ice. They weren't booing Piper, because she doesn't deserve it (we all know that the Palin daughters will have to live with plenty of baggage that they don't deserve, there's no need for Philly to add to it).
They were only booing you, and they didn't give you nearly as much as you deserve.
http://workbench.cadenhead.org/news/3433/sarah-palin-dare-they-boo-piper
Right, let's get back to football. Here we are in week six. It's time to start talking about which teams have realistic playoff hopes.
Obviously, the undefeated teams are in good shape: NY Giants at 4-0 and Tennessee at 5-0. Also looking good are the teams with strong records in weak divisions: Arizona at 4-2, Pittsburgh at 4-1.
And once you get beyond those (and the bottom-of-the barrel teams: 0-6 Bengals; 0-5 Detroit; 1-4 Houston, Oakland, K.C., Seattle, St. Louis; 1-3 Cleveland), you've got more or less a crapshoot. Check this out:
In the NFC South, the Buccaneers, Panthers and Falcons are all 4-2. The Saints are right behind at 3-3. Anything can happen here.
The Packers, Bears and Vikings are all 3-3 in the NFC North. Ignore the Lions.
The Cowboys and Redskins are both 4-2 in the very tough NFC East – behind the 4-0 Giants. The Eagles are 3-3. At least one of these teams will miss the playoffs this year. The team that misses is likely to have a much better record than at least one of the division leaders that gets in.
The 4-2 Cardinals are comfortably on top of the NFC West. The 49ers, at 2-4 are their closest competition... though 1-4 Seattle is likely a better team than their record suggests, they've got a long road ahead if they want to be playing in January. The 1-4 Rams are a far worse team than their record suggests.
I've just mentioned nine NFC teams. Assuming that the Giants and Cardinals get in, there are four other spots that those nine teams are looking at.
Over in the AFC, there are fewer teams that look competitive:
In the AFC South, things look good for the Titans with their 5-0 record, but on their heels are the 3-2 Colts, and perhaps the 3-3 Jaguars.
The AFC East shows a 4-1 Buffalo Bills at the top, but the Patriots and Jets are both 3-2. Look for this division to get more competitive in the upcoming weeks.
The AFC North is Pittsburgh's to lose. The Steelers are 4-1. The Ravens are 2-3, and practically an afterthought. These teams have the advantage of playing in the same division as the Bengals and the Browns.
The AFC West is going to go to either Denver(4-2) or San Diego(3-3), with the other team likely to be in good shape for a wild card.
So, assuming that Tennessee and Pittsburgh both get in, that leaves six teams (well, 8 if you count Baltimore and Jacksonville) fighting for four spaces. The best games over the next few weeks are likely to be games between teams who are both fighting for the same playoff berth... followed closely by games where a team needs a win to stay relevant.
Which almost brings us to tonight's game.
The Game:
Tonight the 4-0 New York Giants go to Cleveland to take on the 1-3 Browns on the Kentucky bluegrass of Cleveland Browns Stadium, provided by Cygnet Turf. The choice of natural grass, and the enormous size of the field points to one thing: Cleveland wants to attract World Cup soccer matches.
You may ask yourself, “Self? How do they grow real grass in Cleveland?” Well, the answer is a complicated series of warm water filled tubes, buried in the sand under the soil upon which the grass grows. It's not quite the hydroponic thing they've got going in Miami, but it's enough to keep the turf unfrozen, and the roots alive in a town that regularly sees sub-zero freezes.
As for the game... this one's a mismatch. The Giants are likely to be the best team in football right now, playing in what is undoubtedly the league's best division. The Browns are 1-3, after starting 0-3, and are coming off of a bye week. If they do not win tonight, Cleveland's hopes for a postseason appearance will slide from slim to none. They want to rip this win away from New York... we'll see whether their passion is any match for the Giants talent and level of play.
Curiously enough, some of this week's best games have been from mismatched teams. This one might be better than it looks at first glance. Or it might be a blowout. Either way, you'll have a good time.
The Line:
The Giants are favored by seven and a half. The over/under is 43.
Last week, the Smart Money went 0-2. It is now 6-4 for the season, which represents a 14.5% ROI. Over the same time, the increasingly volatile S&P 500 has gone down 21.5%. This week, the Smart Money takes the over, and likes the Giants... but not enough to take them, too.
It's also notable that last Monday's pair of straddles that set the 10/17 Dow over/under at 8500 briefly looked prophetic, until the US government came to its senses and started planning to actually take some ownership in banks, finally ending the farce that is conservative economic theory by admitting that completely unregulated free markets are a stupid idea in practice, and are far too important to trust to anyone who believes that a relationship with a dry cleaner is something that every adult worldwide already has, or needs, or even wants.
Naturally, the socialism-hating free-market-loving equities market responded with a big effing rally... but only once the EU signaled that they were aboard, too. Since we know that free-market capitalists look to Europe for validation of good fiscal policy, and place such importance on regularly scheduled G-7 meetings (like the one that happened on Saturday), this was met with... well, what? I guess watching heads explode on Wall Street is better than watching out for brokers falling from the sky, but seriously, people... Your way of doing business is wrong, shortsighted, and currently in the wrong hands. Some of you are going to be punished for it, but not nearly badly enough. Your best bet for karmic relief is to take this year's multi-million dollar bonus, and get the fuck out of the workforce and the way.
The Bar:
Brokers falling from the sky?
Not all the way out here.
This place has been there a while, but the recent addition of Nick (from Nick's Crispy Tacos) to the staff seems to have revitalized the joint, making it more than intriguing enough to make the journey.
Underdogs Sports bar and Grill
1824 Irving Street (near 19th Ave)
Within a block of the N. Also within a block of the 71, 71L, 16AX and 16BX busses.
The 16AX is especially good, as it doesn't stop between Turk/Van Ness and 19th/Lincoln
Kickoff is at 5:30. See you there?