Week 4 Re-Cap

I didn't do Week 4 picks, but by God, I'm doing a re-cap. I have to do something with this blog, for crying out loud.

Giants over Chiefs, 27-16
I don't know much about what happened in this game, other than that it was another precision kill by the Giants, and Eli has plantar fasciitis. Oh, and the Chiefs stink.

Bengals over Browns, 23-20
The Browns are terrible, but I'm not going to downplay the significance of a division road victory, especially for a team like the Bengals, who were such garbage the last two seasons. The Browns showed life in this game, and the Bengals responded, and for all the world, it looked like the better team won the game. That's a quality victory.

Texans over Raiders, 29-6
This was just one of several dismal blow-outs on Sunday. In every case, the better team won, which is a nice change from weeks and seasons past. Steve Slaton had a nice game, but the Texans hardly looked like world-beaters. And I feel this has to be said, by anyone commenting on this game: Jamarcus Russell is one of the worst players to start at quarterback in NFL history.

Bears over Lions, 48-24
The Lions are on the way. They really are. They were quite frisky in the first half of this one, until their brutally bad defense finally collapsed down the stretch. At least they made the Bears work for a bit. And it was nice to see Matt Forte break out a little bit, even if he looked slower than Clinton Portis on a few runs.

Colts over Seahawks, 34-17
Seneca Wallace is really a fascinating back-up quarterback. He's exactly good enough to keep a good team winning, and exactly not good enough to keep a bad team competitive. He will move the chains, even against solid defenses, but he'll miss just enough and leave just enough big plays on the table. The Seahawks are a bad team. If they were a good team, they could win with Seneca Wallace. They're a bad team, so they can't even compete with him.

As for the Colts, this was another efficient stomping. Good job.

Jaguars over Titans, 37-17
Beyond even a shadow of doubt, this was the weekend's biggest surprise. The Jaguars didn't just pound the shit out of the Titans in Jacksonville, they were clearly the better team. The Titans never, at any point, had any response whatsoever to Jacksonville's offense, and that's a problem, because Jacksonville doesn't have much of an offense, at all. It could not be more plain that several of Tennessee's secondary players are not up to the task of defending without the pass rush previously provided by Albert Haynesworth. David Garrard completed at least one pass to 8 different receivers, and at least 3 passes to 6. And we're not talking about a Titans' defense that can't generate any pass rush, here; they sacked Garrard twice and generally forced him to move around in and out of the pocket. The Titans can't cover.

And offensively, they just don't have it. Chris Johnson is their only weapon, and he can't do it all alone. Kerry Collins is a caretaker, he's not winning games for this team, not when they need to put up consistent points.

Patriots over Ravens, 27-21
This was a great game. It's worth noting that the Ravens probably should have won, and that would have been one hell of a statement in the AFC. I still think they're the second best team in football. Mark Clayton had a boner of a fourth quarter, otherwise the Ravens are 4-0 today with road wins over San Diego and New England.

And on the other side of that, this was a good win for the Patriots. They're obviously no longer the juggernaut of 2007, so they'll need to win a few games like this to win their division and have a chance at one of the top spots in the AFC. They just need to carry over their offensive execution from this game into the upcoming weeks.

Redskins over Bucs, 16-13
Perhaps the most entertaining of all the incredibly ugly games played in the last few seasons. Did either team do anything to suggest that they can play like a real NFL team? Nope. In fact, both teams looked like disorganized crap almost all afternoon. But somehow, it made for a really exciting viewing experience.

A few things were discouraging about the Redskins:

1. Early on, the offensive line was absolutely terrible, and you know why? They couldn't stop a bull-rush for crap. On the sack that led to a fumble on their opening drive, Stephon Heyer was unprepared for a bull-rush, and was pushed right back into Jason Campbell's face. As the game wore on, Tampa's defenders wore down and couldn't bring themselves to bull-rush Washington's tackles, and so the pass-rush improved. Anybody else think every team left on Washington's schedule sat up a little when they saw those first few passing plays?

2. Jason Campbell has got to do a few things better. First, he's got to step up in the pocket faster. He takes forever to step up into the pocket. There's no other way to say it. He stays too long at the end of his drop before he starts moving forward. Second, he's got to stop pumping and moving the ball when his first receiver isn't open. It slows down his progressions and it delays the release of the ball to his secondary receivers. Third, he needs to learn to sense pressure earlier in his drop and get the ball out more quickly when it's coming. Sometimes, you don't need to get to the back of your drop, set, step forward, and then throw. Sometimes, you know the pressure's coming, where it's coming from, and where your hot read is, and you just fire the ball out from whatever strange arm angle is available. Jason, you've got a cannon arm, use it! The best thing he did all game was come forward in the pocket, not set his feet, and fire a touchdown strike to Chris Cooley.

3. Malcolm Kelly is not playing like a real number two receiver, not at all. On the first pick, he ran his route too deep and didn't have a clue how the defense was set up. He should have been shallow of the linebacker. It wasn't a great throw, but by running it deeper than it needed to be, he gave the corner a chance to break and allowed the linebacker to squeeze the passing lane, which led to a more difficult throw for his quarterback. On the second pick, he just failed. For two seasons now, I've been moaning about Washington's lack of tall, long, athletic, playmaking receivers who could go up and fight for a ball in one on one coverage. Kelly had one on one coverage with a cornerback, and had a 50-50 ball thrown his way. He put no pressure whatsoever on Talib, and then misplayed the ball in the air. The thing is, that's the ball you want if you're Malcolm Kelly; a fade route up the sidelines in one on one coverage. Just make a play! Randy Moss has made his entire career out of those balls.
I think the Redskins need to find a way to get him involved and in a rhythm earlier in the game. There's a way to do it without disturbing the flow of the offense. I'd like to see them run a bubble screen to him in the first quarter against Carolina, the kind of play where he can use his size and strength to get a few yards and get dirty.

On the other hand, I was encouraged quite a bit by a few things I saw from the ol' Skynards:

1. The pass rush was much, much better than it's been in two years. I know Tampa's offensive line isn't blowing anybody's hair back, but the Skins sacked Josh Johnson three times, and if his name is Jake Delhomme (for instance), that number could have easily been 6. He escaped any number of sure sacks with his agility and speed. If the Redskins can consistently generate that kind of pressure this season, a lot of pocket passers are going to get pounded, and I can't wait.

2. Campbell bounced back with a vengeance after his atrocious first half. He plays so, so much better after he gets the hell out of the pocket and makes a play with his legs. It loosens him up and makes him feel strong out there, like he's contributing. If I'm Jim Zorn (or Sherman Lewis, even), I'm dialing up an early quarterback draw in every game left on the schedule. The fact is, Jason Campbell is not the most confident quarterback in the NFL, not at all. I agree with Coach Zorn that he needs rhythm to get going, and I think a fast way to get him into the flow of the game is to get him to make a play with his legs. People may not know this about him, but he's a good athlete, he can run. He's like an elephant; he may start slow, but once he gets going, he's a bit of a load.

3. Not only did the Redskins really pick up their run blocking down the stretch, but Clinton Portis actually tried something different from his usual stumble-into-the-hole-and-crawl-for-4-yards move; he made some cuts and then actually tried staying on his feet for a few seconds. Portis has almost nothing left in terms of speed, but he's patient and crafty, and if he runs with that much determination the rest of the way, they'll have a much more balanced offense.

I'm going to pick Carolina over the Skins on Sunday, but I had a lot of fun watching this game and was pleased with the result.

Saints over Jets, 24-10
Hey, good win for the Saints. They did it with defense this time. And somehow, Darren Sharper remains one of the NFL's most dangerous (and underrated) defensive backs.

Dolphins over Bills, 38-10
The Bills are garbage. They play like crap, and they routinely find ways to lose as brutally as possible to their division foes.

49ers over Rams, 35-0
I couldn't be happier that the 49ers are not on Washington's schedule in 2009.

Broncos over Cowboys, 17-10
I would not have picked the Broncos to win this game, even if the Cowboys had played without 2 of their starting offensive linemen. I was shocked, shocked(!) to watch this unfold. The Cowboys are so eerily similar to the Redskins right now, it's almost uncomfortable to watch. They have the ability to look good all over the field, and yet in none of the ways that actually matter to winning a football game. They have the ability to put up decent stats, yet they can't translate those stats into winning football. They stall for odd reasons offensively, and their playcalling is puzzling at best for long stretches of every game. They seem to be trying to do something other than score points on offense, usually because of the way they call plays, and it has the frustrating effect of leaving them screwed on pretty much all meaningful downs. Have you ever noticed that about the Redskins? They seem to have good plays to pick up a first down on, umm, first down, and good plays to pick up a first down on second down, but no good plays for third down, and no good redzone plays. The Cowboys are kinda the same; they've got lots of good looking plays, especially in their passing game, but they always seem to stall out on an important third down right when they're getting some momentum, and it's usually because they ran an awkward, badly timed, puzzling play on third and medium.

Good teams have good plays for important downs. Lousy teams have lots of good plays, but nothing especially good for those important downs. Remember how the Super Bowl Broncos of John Elway and Mike Shanahan beat the Sprint Right Option to death on third down and around the goalline? Ever notice how the 07 Patriots always hurried to the line on short yardage downs and either hit the quick inside hitch to Welker or had Brady just plunge forward on a silent count? When you're good, all you really need to work on are those important plays, because the rest of your offense is already solid. The Cowboys don't seem like they're there yet, probably because they spent an entire offseason trying to figure out if Tony Romo could be a top-tier quarterback without Terrell Owens.

Steelers over Chargers, 38-28
I am happy with this result.

Vikings over Packers, 30-23
Less so with this one. Brett Favre played an exceptional game, in the truest sense of the word.

That's it for the re-cap. I'll have some picks up in time for the 1pm games. Keep watching, y'all!

Peace.