Five Quick Hits
* Every division in the NFC is wide open. The Lions won't win the North, the Rams are out in the West, and Atlanta's in trouble for the South, but everyone else has to believe they can get a division title.
* The Eagles need to improve their defense against screen passes. You can't just bring the house every time without guarding against that.
* Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform at halftime of Super Bowl XLIII. They should perform at halftime of every Super Bowl.
* Top five teams in point differential: Tennessee (+56), Buffalo (+46), Giants (+40), Philadelphia (+36), and Dallas (+31). It's an NFC East world, but don't sleep on the Titans.
* Bottom six teams in point differential: St. Louis (-104), Detroit (-54), Houston (-43), Cincinnati (-35), Cleveland and Kansas City (tied at -32).
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Sunday night's Bears/Eagles game was, in my mind, defined by two fourth downs for Philadelphia's offense. One, of course, came at the end of the game, when the Bears came up with that magnificent stop. It was a great defensive play by Chicago, but I don't understand Philadelphia's uninspired play-call. They even took a timeout immediately beforehand. Did the Eagles really need extra time to decide to run the same play they had used on first and third down? Or did they just want to waste a timeout they might need later?
Fans often second-guess coaches when they go for it on fourth down and fail. But we should also second-guess coaches who don't go for it when they should, and that was the case for Philadelphia in the middle of the second quarter. The game was tied, 14-14, and the Eagles had 4th-and-1 at Chicago's 32-yard line. Andy Reid opted to try a 50-yard-field goal, which missed and set up a Chicago touchdown. A 50-yard field goal at Soldier Field is no chip shot, and Philadelphia's chances of picking up that one yard had to be just as good as its chances of nailing the kick. If they get the first down, the Eagles probably either score a touchdown or get close enough to make an easier field goal, and the whole rest of the game looks a little different. Caution is not always a virtue. To beat good teams or win close games, you need to take some chances, and on Sunday night, Reid never did that.
All that is before we even get to Reid's shyness with his challenge flag, but let's move on to the power rankings. Brackets show last week's rank. I messed around with the order of 4th-8th about a million times; those teams are awfully close.
1. Dallas Cowboys [1] — We all know that Jason Garrett is an offensive genius, and that Wade Phillips, who is 16-4 as coach of the Cowboys, should be fired so that Garrett doesn't maybe go somewhere else. So how come Garrett didn't realize that his running backs probably should have gotten more than 8 carries on Sunday?
2. Tennessee Titans [4] — Still winning with defense — they basically beat Minnesota on turnovers — but they're also getting what they need from Kerry Collins, and you can't bench a quarterback who's winning. As Deion Sanders put it, Vince Young may still be the future of the franchise, but Collins is the present.
3. New York Giants [3] — This week, on CBS's pregame show, Dan Marino said that Eli Manning was the league's best QB right now. Eli was great in last year's postseason, but that is ludicrous. Eli is the fourth-best QB in his own division right now, to say nothing of the whole NFL. A lot of quarterbacks could look good behind that offensive line, and Manning still struggles with his consistency.
4. Washington Redskins [10] — I hate prevent defense. For most of the game, Washington's defense really contained the Cowboys' attack, allowing just 197 yards and a 4.5 average per play. But on the final drives of the first and second halves, the defense switched to a three-man line, laid back in coverage, and got killed. On those two drives — which accounted for 3:33 of a 60-minute game — Washington allowed 147 yards and a 10.5 average per play. If the defense you normally use has been working, don't switch to something else at the most critical moments of a game.
5. San Diego Chargers [8] — Which 2-2 team is closer to 4-0, the Chargers or the Bears? San Diego lost on a last-second touchdown in Week 1 and a bad call in Week 2. The Bears lost on a fourth-quarter comeback in Week 2 and a stupid penalty in Week 3. I'll say San Diego, but I'm concerned about this defense. The Chargers aren't putting teams away the way they should be. The good news is that the offensive line is getting healthy.
6. Buffalo Bills [9] — They're 4-0, but I want to see them beat a good team before they hit the top five. I know they beat Jacksonville, and that's a pretty good team, but their other wins weren't terribly impressive, and games against Oakland and St. Louis were closer than they probably should have been.
7. Philadelphia Eagles [2] — Would they have lost if Brian Westbrook played? I don't think so, and if Westbrook were healthy, they'd be ranked higher than this. Eagles fans are going to have a love/hate relationship with DeSean Jackson this year. He's an explosive player, and he's clearly opened up their offense, but he's also made some huge mistakes.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers [6] — Beat a pretty good Ravens team on Monday night, but they have some problems. Their top two running backs are injured, and now offensive lineman Kendall Simmons is out for the season. The Steelers' interior offensive line is a mess, and they're having a lot of trouble running up the middle and dealing with inside pressure from defenses.
9. Carolina Panthers [13] — The team looks very good right now, with wins over the Chargers and Bears, and they really controlled the Falcons this week, shutting down Atlanta's offense and shredding the Falcons with Jake Delhomme's passing attack, one week after I complained that "Carolina's passing game has really not been productive."
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [16] — Three wins in a row after their Week 1 defeat in New Orleans. They beat Green Bay with special teams and defense after Brian Griese threw 3 interceptions for the second week in a row. Despite not playing in Week 1, Griese is tied for most picks in the NFL.
11. Chicago Bears [17] — The Kyle Orton of 2008 looks like a totally different player than the Kyle Orton of 2005. He needs some more help, though, from his offensive tackles and tight ends. Too much pressure is coming from outside.
12. Jacksonville Jaguars [12] — David Garrard had his first good game of the season, and it was really good: rushing and passing TDs, 277 combined yards, and a 103.1 passer rating. The running backs, however, continued to struggle, combining for just 57 yards and a 3.4 average against Houston's 27th-ranked run defense.
13. Denver Broncos [7] — I worry that Jay Cutler may be forcing the ball to Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal. Against Kansas City, it seemed like Cutler kept getting into trouble trying to go to Marshall. It would probably help if the offense had more balance; I'd like to see Denver run the ball more often.
14. Green Bay Packers [5] — Injuries are starting to look like a really big problem. The defensive backfield is really banged up, and now there are questions about Aaron Rodgers' shoulder. There's no QB depth, and it looks like the Packers are doomed without Rodgers, but even with him, there's plenty to worry about. Donald Driver, who has four straight 1,000-yard seasons, has been invisible this year. The rushing game hasn't gotten going. They're also committing way too many penalties, including four against Tampa that gave the Bucs first downs.
15. Minnesota Vikings [11] — Has any team played a harder schedule? They lost at Green Bay and Tennessee, with home games against the Panthers and Colts. Unfortunately, it doesn't get much easier.
16. New Orleans Saints [18] — The defense, despite being terrible, sacked J.T. O'Sullivan six times. Add another bazillion-yard passing day from Drew Brees, and the triumphant return of Deuce McAllister, and you have a recipe for success. The Saints match up pretty well with Minnesota, their Week 5 opponent, and should expect to win.
17. Baltimore Ravens [19] — The Steelers used a lot of extra blockers in the second half, but I was surprised that the Ravens didn't blitz more. The Eagles won last week because they never let Ben Roethlisberger get comfortable, and Baltimore let him get comfortable. Three sacks is usually pretty good, but with Pittsburgh's protection problems and Baltimore's defensive reputation, it's disappointing.
18. Indianapolis Colts [14] — Look like a middle-of-the-pack team so far, squeaking by Minnesota, and losing to Chicago and Jacksonville. The team is banged up, so maybe they just needed some time to recover, and they'll be better coming off their bye.
19. Arizona Cardinals [15] — I do this column on Monday nights, and in my Week 3 Arizona summary, when I wrote, "Pass defense does look like an area of concern," that was before I knew Pro Bowlers Bert Berry and Adrian Wilson weren't going to play against the Jets. They need those guys back, or everyone's going to throw 6 TDs against them. Well, maybe not 6, but it won't be pretty. On the bright side, they're not going to have 8 turnovers every week.
20. New England Patriots [21] — They had a lot of work to do during the bye week. So far this season, the defense looks old, the offensive line looks weak, Matt Cassel looks like a poor imitation of Tom Brady, and Randy Moss looks likes he's trying when he feels like it. I don't think it's a given that they'll beat the 49ers next week.
21. New York Jets [23] — Those New York Titans throwback jerseys are the ugliest things I have seen in my entire life. Also, who had 91 points as the over/under for their game against Arizona? The Jets scored 34 points in the second quarter alone. The record for a single quarter is 41, by the Packers in 1945 and the Rams in 1950.
22. San Francisco 49ers [20] — Pass protection is a glaring problem. O'Sullivan has been sacked 19 times, easily the most in the league. Also, can someone get Chris Berman to stop talking about happy hour when he mentions O'Sullivan? Did I miss where it's okay to be prejudiced toward Irish people?
23. Seattle Seahawks [22] — The bye came at a good time, and the NFC West is still very much in reach. Neither the Cardinals nor the Niners looks like a serious contender this season, so if the Seahawks can be above-average for the rest of the season, they'll probably win the division. I don't think we'll know until Week 17: Seattle at Arizona, winner goes to the playoffs.
24. Cleveland Browns [24] — Finally won a game, but they weren't terribly impressive about it, and Derek Anderson did not play well. The Browns won by abusing Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was subbing for an injured Carson Palmer. They sacked Fitzpatrick three times and he was good for four turnovers. At least the Browns know they won't go 0-16.
25. Houston Texans [25] — After an 0-3 start, it would certainly be reasonable to move them down, but taking the Jaguars to overtime is no joke, and their offense showed some real life. They're also the only team that hasn't had a home game yet.
26. Atlanta Falcons [26] — They can beat bad teams, but the Falcons have yet to stay competitive against good teams; Carolina and Tampa both beat them 24-9. Matt Ryan was awful on Sunday, throwing 41 passes for only 158 yards. It's also apparent that they need to work on pass defense.
27. Miami Dolphins [27] — People keep using the term "single wing" to refer to the offense Miami showed against the Patriots last week. The single wing is a specific offensive set, introduced more than 100 years ago by Pop Warner. It used an unbalanced line, multiple lead blockers, and no wide receivers. What Miami did bears a lot more similarity to the 2007 Arkansas Razorbacks than the 1907 Carlisle Indians.
28. Oakland Raiders [28] — Someone needs to tell this team that the game lasts four quarters, not three. The Raiders have actually been competitive in those first three quarters, outscoring opponents 44-37. In the fourth quarter, though, they've been outscored 64-34, losing each of their last two games after entering the final period with a lead.
29. Kansas City Chiefs [30] — Damon Huard is 10-10 as starting QB in Kansas City. That might not sound terribly impressive, but during that time, the team is 4-12 when he doesn't start. He's not Joe Montana, but at least he gives the Chiefs a chance to win.
30. Cincinnati Bengals [29] — Palmer's injury is just one more problem for a team that had plenty to begin with. On the bright side, there's no need to rush him back into action, because I'm pretty sure they're not beating Dallas next week, regardless of who plays quarterback.
31. Detroit Lions [31] — Sometimes I imagine that NFL coaches and executives read my column. Several of my suggestions last week were actually heeded, including benching Tyler Thigpen and firing Matt Millen. I know those were hardly unique sentiments, but it's not like I write, "Fire Matt Millen" every week. I think the timing is pretty impressive. No need to thank me, Lion fans — I consider it a public service.
32. St. Louis Rams [32] — Played their best defensive game of the season against Buffalo, and Steven Jackson finally had a breakout performance. It wasn't enough to save Scott Linehan's job, and now defensive coordinator Jim Haslett takes over as interim head coach. Yes, the same Jim Haslett whose defense is ranked 31st in yards and 32nd in points allowed. You know a team is desperate when they think that's an improvement.
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