Five Quick Hits
* Did you watch the Thursday night game? Cris Collinsworth really, really hates Kellen Winslow, Jr.
* It's often said that the officials could call holding on every play if they wanted to. The officials in the Packers/Vikings game did want to.
* I don't fault Herm Edwards for trying a two-point conversion instead of playing for overtime. He was missing more than half of his defensive starters to injury by then. Almost 50% of two-point conversions succeed, and his chances of winning in overtime were probably under 50%.
* I am not impressed with Tim Hightower. He couldn't find a hole at a golf course.
* Kurt Warner, though, was fantastic on Monday night. He belongs in any serious MVP discussion.
***
The Pittsburgh Steelers could be 9-0 without Ben Roethlisberger.
Big Ben is third in the NFL in sacks (28), trails only Brett Favre in interceptions (11), and ranks 25th in passer rating (76.1), behind (seriously) Tyler Thigpen and Dan Orlovsky. And he's getting worse. In the last three weeks, Roethlisberger has 1 TD and 8 interceptions, with a passer rating of 38.2.
Pittsburgh is 6-3 this season. In each of the three losses, Big Ben has made crucial, game-changing mistakes.
* Week 3, at Eagles: 13-25, 131 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT. Roethlisberger took 8 sacks, committed 3 turnovers, and got a safety for intentional grounding in the end zone. A lot of the pressure was his offensive line's fault, but Ben made plenty of mistakes on his own.
* Week 8, vs. Giants: 13-29, 189 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT. The worst game I've ever seen him play. Repeatedly ate sacks (5 for 35 yards) in key situations, converted 1/10 third downs, and tossed 4 picks.
* Week 10, vs. Colts: 30-42, 284 yds, 0 TD, 3 INT. In his own words, "You'll never hear me say 'I' anything, but I lost this game. I let the guys down on offense and defense."
All three of those were close games, and in all of them, even slightly better quarterback play could have been the difference. The Steelers have a capable backup in Byron Leftwich. In fact, the offense looked a lot better last week when Leftwich came in for an injured Roethlisberger. If you want to go back a little further, in 2006, the offense looked significantly better with Charlie Batch than it did with Big Ben. This offense has a lot of weapons, and the team doesn't need a great QB in order to be successful. I mean, they're 6-3 with a guy who's been less efficient than Dan Orlovsky.
If Ben isn't 100%, he shouldn't be playing. I'm going to hand this off to Deion Sanders; forgive the grammar: "He gotta sit down. One thing to be tough, another thing to be smart. Don't hurt your team." Even if Roethlisberger isn't hurt, give him a week off. Tell the media he's injured and just needs a week to get right, let Leftwich play, and bring Big Ben back for the Week 12 home game against Cincinnati. I am becoming genuinely concerned for Roethlisberger's career. He needs to stop proving that he's tough — no one doubts that — and start proving that he's smart.
As we get to the power rankings, brackets indicate last week's rank.
1. Tennessee Titans [1] — In Week 10, they had more points than rushing yards. Should Kerry Collins go to the Pro Bowl? He's been the best in the league at avoiding negative plays: his 4 sacks and 3 interceptions are both league-best among starting QBs. Collins has proved he can make plays when his team needs them, leading clutch drives against Indianapolis and Green Bay, and almost single-handedly hanging three touchdowns on the Bears. And he's doing this with one of the worst receiving corps in the NFL. Are there really three other AFC quarterbacks who are more deserving?
2. New York Giants [2] — I really liked their playcalling on Sunday night. Forty-five running plays and 32 passes. The Giants controlled time of possession for 39 minutes, almost twice as long as Philadelphia. If Brandon Jacobs is averaging 6 yards per carry, keep giving him the ball.
3. Carolina Panthers [4] — Their matchup against Oakland was the ugliest offensive game of the 2008 season. Jake Delhomme had 7 completions and 4 interceptions. It is remarkable that a team can win when its QB only has three more completions to his own team than the opponent. DeAngelo Williams and the defense bailed him out. Julius Peppers (3 sacks, 2 FF) and Jon Beason (15 tackles) have earned very serious Pro Bowl consideration.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers [3] — Here's what Joe Buck said on Sunday: "I don't know any fan base that travels better than the Green Bay Packers." I guess Buck has never seen the Terrible Towels waving in an enemy stadium. If you'd like to leave a comment for Mr. Buck, this is his page at FOX Sports.
5. Philadelphia Eagles [5] — I counted nine blitzes against the Giants. Those nine plays resulted in two completions, six incompletions, and an interception. You beat the Giants by getting Eli Manning to make mistakes, not by rushing three and dropping people into coverage. It looked to me like the Eagles' coaching staff was playing not to lose.
6. Arizona Cardinals [6] — Ken Whisenhunt has no killer instinct. Up five with 2:12 to play, Arizona had second-and-two and San Francisco was out of timeouts. Pick up a first down and the game is over. The Cardinals ran twice in a row for -3 yards and the 49ers got the ball back in Arizona territory with over 1:00 to play. Warner completed 76% of his passes on Monday night, and the defense was expecting runs. If Arizona had passed on either play, they probably would have gotten a first down and run out the clock. But Whis bet on his defense instead of his passing game, and almost lost because of it. Show some guts, Whis. That's a cowardly way to coach.
7. Atlanta Falcons [11] — Four wins in their last five, and they're still getting better. The Falcons are playing very smart football. They are one of the least-penalized teams in the league (under five per game) and they're protecting the football (+4 in turnovers). If I had to pick right now, I think Mike Smith would be my Coach of the Year and Matt Ryan would be my Offensive Rookie of the Year.
8. Washington Redskins [7] — They rank 26th in scoring. Jason Campbell has undeniably improved, but suggestions that he's suddenly a Pro Bowler or an MVP candidate are laughable. The defense is the strength of this team. London Fletcher remains the leader of the unit, but strong safety Chris Horton should play in the Pro Bowl and win Defensive Rookie of the Year.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [10] — The defense has come on in the last month, carrying the team through some struggles on offense. Tampa hasn't allowed any opponent to score 30 points this season. I'm not sure what to make of this, but the most points they've given up was to Kansas City in Week 9.
10. Baltimore Ravens [12] — Joe Flacco's first five games: 169 ypg, 1 TD, 7 INT, 60.6 rating. Flacco during the team's current four-game win streak: 201 ypg, 6 TD, 0 INT, 107.5 rating. Just as important as what Flacco is doing, though, is what he's not doing: throwing a lot. On Sunday, the Ravens had eight first downs passing, but they had 14 running. That's the way this team wants to play.
11. Indianapolis Colts [13] — Two straight wins against 6-3 opponents, and they're the last team to beat Baltimore. The rest of their schedule looks forgiving, so if the Colts can keep playing like this, they should have a good shot at a wild card. The only remaining game against a team with a winning record is Week 17 against Tennessee.
12. Green Bay Packers [8] — Worst game of Aaron Rodgers' pro career. Constant pressure will do that, but what an ugly performance from Rodgers. Meanwhile, his coach, Mike McCarthy, made a replay challenge as bad as I have ever seen. The play stood, which cost the Packers a crucial timeout, but they might have been even worse off if the play had been overturned, which would have given Minnesota first-and-goal at the one-yard-line. The Packers hadn't stopped Adrian Peterson all day, so they were just looking at more time off the clock before he scored.
13. Chicago Bears [14] — I feel bad about beating up on Rex Grossman, but this isn't going to be the same team until Kyle Orton is healthy. I will give credit to Chicago's defense: they went up against Tennessee and completely shut down the running game, which I'm sure was their game plan — make Kerry Collins beat them with his arm. Unfortunately for Chicago, that's exactly what Collins did.
14. Miami Dolphins [15] — Ricky Williams is still awfully fast. This guy was drafted the same year as Donovan McNabb, Daunte Culpepper, and Edgerrin James, all of whom have noticeably lost some speed. Williams looked great on a 51-yard touchdown run this week. James hasn't had a run that long since his rookie season.
15. New England Patriots [17] — Controlled the game against Buffalo, with a 15-minute advantage in time of possession. The offense is starting to find a rhythm with Matt Cassel and BenJarvus Green-Ellis. In the fourth quarter, New England had a 19-play, nine-minute touchdown drive to seal the game. The defense has been playing well for the last month, holding four straight opponents under 20 points.
16. New York Jets [21] — Last season, Thomas Jones averaged 3.6 yards per carry and scored one rushing touchdown. Halfway through the 2008 season, his average is 4.7 and he has 8 rushing TDs. This offseason, the Jets added two all-pro blockers: guard Alan Faneca and fullback Tony Richardson. They also got RT Damien Woody, a former Pro Bowler with New England. There's been a lot of publicity for Brett Favre and Kris Jenkins, but don't forget these guys.
17. New Orleans Saints [9] — Their playoff hopes took a serious blow this week. They're now two games out in both the division and the wild card race. If every game was in New Orleans, they might be okay, but the Saints are 3-1 at home, 1-0 in London, and 0-4 on the road. Reggie Bush may return to the lineup in Week 11.
18. Minnesota Vikings [22] — Got a big win over the Packers, but they have a huge problem on special teams, particularly in their punt game, which has now allowed five TDs. The other looming problem is the potential suspension of Pro Bowl DTs Kevin Williams and Pat Williams. Minnesota's front four really dictated to Green Bay's offense on Sunday, and the Vikings can't afford to lose those guys.
19. Dallas Cowboys [19] — Both the NFC East (24-12) and the AFC East (22-14) have every team over .500. That's pretty amazing this late in the season. The Cowboys, Eagles, Bills, and Dolphins are all 5-4, and they're all tied for last in their respective divisions.
20. San Diego Chargers [20] — The biggest problems are on defense, but if you want one statistic to sum up why the Chargers are a .500 team instead of a contender this year, that statistic is rushing first downs. San Diego has just 38, fewer than anyone but the Lions. Two years ago, the Chargers ranked first in the NFL in that category. Last year, they were 12th. Now they're 31st.
21. Denver Broncos [25] — The offense is as good (2nd in NFL) as the defense is bad (29th). The Broncos give up 389 yards per game. If that average reaches 400, it will be the worst defense in 25 years.
22. Cleveland Browns [16] — Not closing out wins. In the last two weeks, they've been outscored 38-7 in the fourth quarter, giving up double-digit leads in both. Brady Quinn had an efficient game on Thursday, but he can't throw exclusively to Winslow. Quinn didn't throw more than 15 yards downfield in the whole game, and future opponents will take the underneath routes away from him if Quinn doesn't prove he can go long.
23. Buffalo Bills [18] — Clearly aren't as good as their 4-0 start suggested, but I don't think the Bills are as bad as their 1-4 record since. Those four losses all came against teams with winning records, and three of them were on the road. Two players who make a difference: QB Trent Edwards and DE Aaron Schobel. Edwards' three worst passer ratings of the season have all come in the last three games, and the team is 1-3 since Schobel's foot injury.
24. Jacksonville Jaguars [24] — Best defensive game of the season came without suspended captain Mike Peterson. It seems like most coaches who suspend star players have been successful this season. The Panthers went 2-0 without Steve Smith, the Giants won without Plaxico Burress, and now the Jags performed without Peterson. It's nice to see coaches enforce discipline without being punished for it.
25. Houston Texans [23] — Most points allowed in the AFC (254). The only opponents all year they've held below 28 points were the Lions and Bengals. Head coach Gary Kubiak called out his defense, but it takes a team effort to get to -12 in turnovers, the second-worst mark in the NFL.
26. Seattle Seahawks [27] — Five losses in their last six games, but they haven't been really humiliated in more than a month. That's better than you can say for any of the teams ranked below them.
27. San Francisco 49ers [29] — Started the season 2-1. Now they're 2-7. But I liked the offensive gameplan on Monday night, and despite some mistakes, Shaun Hill looked like the right choice at QB. Disciplined play and eliminating mistakes will continue to be Mike Singletary's challenge here. The 49ers had 10 penalties and three turnovers against Arizona.
28. Kansas City Chiefs [30] — Tyler Thigpen has played three good games in a row, and Tony Gonzalez, after a slow start, has exploded during that stretch: 23 receptions, 254 yards, 3 TD. Kansas City has lost its last three games by a combined eight points. If the ball starts bouncing their way, the Chiefs could start winning some games.
29. St. Louis Rams [26] — Outscored 81-16 the last two weeks. I like Steven Jackson, but he's not worth 30 points a game. I'm not sure what's wrong with Marc Bulger, but this is two bad seasons in a row. I think the Rams need to have a quarterback competition next year, and not just between Trent Green and Bulger.
30. Oakland Raiders [28] — Since Lane Kiffin was fired, they have scored 35 points, an average of seven per game. The next-worst scoring team in the NFL, Cincinnati, averages twice that.
31. Cincinnati Bengals [31] — Last in the NFL in yards per game and yards per play. This was a top-10 offense last season.
32. Detroit Lions [32] — It's time to start thinking about the possibility of 0-16. Their remaining opponents have a combined record of 40-23. Detroit can be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention this week. If the Lions lose, the Bears win, and the Bucs orFalcons win, it's official.
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