Before I go on, lemme say this: I don't watch a lot of baseball, hence I didn't see the
disputed out from last night's NLCS. As a fellow official (I'm not an ump), I know how it feels to blow a call. All officials have at some point in time, and continue to do so. It must suck to do it in the playoffs, though. Hopefully he can shake it off and have a fine career, as he's doing something that I hope to do one day...become a sports official in the pros.
Now on to football.
- Injuries continue to plague the NFL, as two of the top QB's in the league went down. Michael Vick didn't play due to injuries sustained in the Vikings game last week, and Ben Rothlisberger went down with a hyperextended knee after a Chargers lineman popped Ben's shin with his helmet.
Vick's knee must be pretty serious, as he missed one of the Falcons' biggest games this year, and it resulted in a close loss to the defending world champions. A lot of people think Jim Mora pulled a "Bellichek"; letting the Patriots think Vick was going to play and plan their defensive scheme around him before downgrading him, which left the Patriots unprepared for Matt Schaub. If that was the case, then it worked, because Schaub had a pretty decent game: 18-34, 298, 3 touchdowns. Gee; when's the last time Vick put up passing numbers like that? And note: that was in a comeback effort. A pretty impressive one too.
Rothlisberger's knee, according to the Steelers,
isn't that bad. They're even claiming he could play on Sunday, but if I were them I wouldn't take that chance. I have two reasons: first, Jacksonville has a great front line that will put pressure on him from time to time, and the Jags did a great job covering the Cincinnati Bengals' young receivers. Second, it's better to let him rest and take a week off, because next week they are facing the Bengals in a game that could decide the AFC North. If you're going to come in with a disadvantage, it's better to do so against a non-divisional opponent and not risk your QB being put on the shelf longer than he should. Let Charlie Batch earn that minimum contract.
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Mike Tice and
Jim Haslett both should have been gone last year. Making excuses for them this year doesn't make up for their screwups in the past. It just makes the owners look stupid for not taking care of the situation before it got to this point. The same goes to Mike Martz, although I sincerely hope he does get better.
His health is more important than football.
Brian Billick, guess what? You're on the
hot seat too. And with the way the Steelers and Bengals are playing, you're not going to get off anytime soon.
I don't think I have to mention
Dom Capers, do I? I have some sympathy for him, because he was the Panthers' first coach. But damn, he's going to get
David Carr killed. How he's still walking upright is an amazing feat in and of itself. Dude's got guts, but I would have forced a trade or something. I can't stand for my QB to take shots on Madden.
- A word to Joe Gibbs: I know you're the grandfather of the NFL, and you have the Redskins ripe for a playoff bid this year. But cmon...either play
Arrington or cut him. The guy deserves another chance, and the Skins aren't helping themselves by keeping him on the sidelines.
Hell; the way the Panthers' D has been playing, we can surely use him.
- Speaking of the Panthers' D, it's amazing how things can change within a week. Chris Gamble was the big hero by batting down a Bret Favre pass during the Monday night game last week, and on Sunday he stunk up the field. It took Marlon McCree to save the Panthers this week, getting two picks off of deflections. One of those was in the endzone before halftime, which saved the Panthers from getting into a bigger deficit. McCree was a good pick up by the Panthers.
- Tampa Bay is in trouble. Their Cadillac is just coming
out of the shop, and they face a Dolphins team that will see the return of Ricky Williams to go along with Ronnie Brown. Cadillac hopes to play Sunday, and they will need him if they don't want to lose two straight.
- The Pats aren't out of the fire yet, as they have to travel to Mile High for arguably the Game of the Week. I would have bet during the preseason that Shanahan would be in the hot seat by this time. Now they have the second best record in the AFC. Not bad.
And if anyone hasn't noticed, that offensive line is gelling again for the Pats. Brady threw 350 on a decent Atlanta defense. G'luck Champ (Bailey, that is).
I'll have some more thoughts later in the week.
