| Contributing editor Joel
Buchsbaum discusses what jumped out at him in the Thursday and Sunday games from Week 14. Detroit
vs. Minnesota: "Minnesota seemed to let up after Carter got the record, and
Culpepper looked like a young quarterback. For Detroit, they’re opportunistic, but
they’re not really talented on offense, especially with Germane Crowell out. And they
don’t have anyone who can break the game open with speed."
Arizona vs. Cincinnati: "A good win for the Bengals. Corey Dillon
is always the key to them winning. Disappointing loss for the Cardinals. This is the type
of game that to secure his job, Dave McGinnis really had to win."
Dallas vs. Tampa Bay: "Real disappointing game for the
Cowboys. It was almost like they didn’t show up, a lot of their guys. I think the
theme of the day may be: You had a lot of bad teams who anticipated bringing their coach
back, whose owners may have second thoughts because they played so badly today."
Denver vs. New Orleans: "Without a healthy Norman Hand (who was
hurt going into the game and got reinjured), the Saints’ run defense just totally
collapsed. They uncharacteristically missed a ton of tackles. And they completely gave up
on the running game, in part because all of their backs were hurt."
Miami vs. Buffalo: "Buffalo is just too beaten up. That’s
the problem. You just can’t lose your best defensive player and three other quality
starters on your defense, have three starters play hurt on defense and then lose your best
offensive lineman, John Fina, and expect to win."
New York Giants vs. Washington: "Terrific game for the
Giants’ defense, which totally shut the Redskins down until they put Jeff George in.
The Skins had zero running game."
Oakland vs. Pittsburgh: "Looked like the Kordell (Stewart) the
Steelers thought they had a few years ago when they gave him the big contract. That was a
huge difference for them: He moved around; he was using his legs. He wasn’t trying to
prove to people that he can be a drop-back quarterback in this league. He was playing off
his athleticism. Plus, Jerome Bettis had a big game. On the other hand, at the end of the
game, Rich Gannon looked like the old Rich Gannon, who a lot of people thought wasn’t
quite good enough."
Seattle vs. Atlanta: "Seattle was sharp, but Atlanta looked like
they just didn’t show up at all. It’s almost like the players took going with
the rookie quarterback as a sign that Dan Reeves just gave up on the season. I
shouldn’t say every player, but I mean there were a lot of cases where the effort was
lacking."
St. Louis vs. Carolina: "For the first time all year since he
came there, Bud Carson, instead of just helping, took over the play-calling, and the
defense was magnificent, especially in the first half, for the Rams. The first half Kevin
Carter had three sacks and looked like he was alive for the first time all year. Todd
Lyght had a big interception, and they were making plays, flying around. In the second
half, Kurt Warner’s rust, lack of timing and lack of arm strength from inactivity
became apparent, and he really struggled and gave the game away. In the first half, the
Rams had a nice running game going for a while, but in the second half, it seemed like
they went away from that. Plus, they had no help from two of their wide receivers.
Az-Zahir Hakim and Torry Holt played like their focus wasn’t on the game, and the
dropped passes and the fumbles by both were critical in the loss."
Tennessee vs. Philadelphia: "This was the type of game everyone
anticipated. It looked like Donovan McNabb had scored the winning touchdown, and then Al
Del Greco, who had been in a slump, had a phenomenal game. He made 5-of-5 (field goals),
including a 50-yarder to win the game. (And) it’s very difficult to kick in cold
weather."
San Francisco vs. San Diego: "The 49ers are starting to jell as a
football team. The Chargers hung pretty tough, for them, until desperation time when Ryan
Leaf threw four interceptions. But until that point, Leaf wasn’t doing a bad
job."
Cleveland vs. Jacksonville: "This is the type of game that I was
talking about earlier that could cost a head coach his job. Cleveland has stated
emphatically that Chris Palmer is going to be back, but with Spergon Wynn at quarterback,
it just looked like this team gave up."
Indianapolis vs. New York Jets: "In the first half, the Colts
just didn’t show up — the Jets totally dominated the game. In the second half,
they tried to make a valiant comeback, and then a fumble caused by their center thwarted
them. Manning’s two interceptions at the end were just desperation-type throws
because of the score, not poor judgment on his part. But I think a big thing was the Jets
totally bottled up the Colts’ running game, and (the Jets) got physical with them and
ran the ball really well. Curtis Martin had a phenomenal game. His cutback runs were
things of beauty."
Green Bay vs. Chicago: "This is the type of game I was talking
about (again). The Bears didn’t look like they quit entirely, but it looked like they
had a lot of players on the field that didn’t know what they were supposed to be
doing. The team looked like some of the players were unprepared — Dez White and Marty
Booker, more specifically, at times. And then they didn’t have the 11th guy on the
field with the kicking unit (on a field-goal attempt in the second half, which forced them
to burn a timeout). Shane Matthews just isn’t good enough as a quarterback. James
Allen is an OK back with a ton of heart, and you have to admire everything about him. But
he’s not a special back that teams have to account for. Marcus Robinson being out
really hurt the offense, and when the Packers come to play and seem to be hitting on all
cylinders, they’re a tough team. I can’t explain the Packers: They’re a
team that’s got to play their A-game now because of all the injuries to win, but
tonight they did play their A-game. When they play their A-game, and they’re never
really playing from behind, then it makes it so much easier for Brett Favre on offense,
because he’s not just a sitting duck back there. (Then) they always have the
run-throw threat. It’s a different game — he’s not in desperation and he
plays much more under control." |
