November 16, 2005: NFL
Commentary, Week 10
By White Russian
San Francisco at Chicago
First
half passing stats - San Francisco: 0 for 2, Chicago 4 for 8, 45 yards. San
Francisco’s Cody Pickett finished the game 1 for 13, including an interception.
The wind was a huge factor in the game, especially when it came to kicking
(see Vasher’s 108 yard return for touchdown off a missed field goal),
but that did not explain why first and goal was such a struggle. San Francisco
faced 1st and goal three times and did not score a touchdown, instead kicking
a field goal each time. Chicago faced 1st and goal twice and did manage to
score a touchdown, but threw an interception the other time. Chicago also
faced a 1st and 10 at the 13 that ended with a botched field goal attempt
and a turnover on downs.
Questionable Analysis
The
Situation: Minnesota ball, 15 seconds left in the game against the Giants,
no timeouts, tie game, in range for a 47 yard field goal attempt, 3rd down.
Minnesota throws an incomplete sideline pass around the 10 yard line, bringing
up 4th down and bringing out the field goal unit. The announcer (look up color
man) says that play, to throw on 3rd down, makes no sense and that they should
have kicked on 3rd down. He said, in several different ways, that there is
no reason to run a play, noting that if the pass is complete and the receiver
is tackled in bounds, the clock would run out. While it is true that time
would run out if the player is tackled in bounds, the point the announcer
misses is that Minnesota knows this and that is the reason the pass was to
the sidelines. There are very clear reasons for attempting a sideline pass
in this situation. The big reason is that a 47 yard field goal is not a given
– if you can get closer, then why not take one shot for a higher percentage
kick? Minnesota’s kicker, Edinger, had already missed two field goals
on that end of the field earlier in the game. Minnesota’s quarterback,
Brad Johnson, is experienced enough to handle the situation. A sideline pass
in this case is a safe play, knowing that you don’t have to force it
if there is nothing there. If you have a reasonable opportunity to turn a
47 yard attempt into a 27 yard attempt for a kicker who is struggling, you
would be silly to not take the chance.
The Great Reuben Droughns
Cleveland
running back Reuben Droughns ran for tough yards against Pittsburgh, often
gaining yards when the play looked like it would be a loss. But his running
on Sunday night did not match the level of praise heaped on him by the Sunday
Night Football crew, who could not stop raving about him.
Mike Patrick said about Reuben, “Not all that big, not all that fast, but nobody, nobody runs harder.” After the sideline reporter gave a report about how much Jim Brown loved Reuben’s game, Mike Patrick noted, “Reuben Droughns is so much fun to be around. He’s got a great personality, a great laugh, rushed for over 1,200 yards a year ago in Denver.”
Paul Maguire also spoke highly of Droughns, saying, “When you have a runner like Reuben Droughns, you can do anything you want to do as a quarterback, any kind of a fake you make, any kind of play action pass, any time you want to sit back in the pocket they have to respect Reuben Droughns first. And until they slow him down or stop him, Trent Dilfer is going to have a field day.”
Based on such high praise, you would think that Cleveland tore up the Pittsburgh defense. You would think that Droughns ran for 200 yards and Trent Dilfer looked like Peyton Manning. The actual stats: Droughns ran for 56 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries (3.3 average per carry) and caught 4 passes for 67 yards. Dilfer's "field day" was throwing for 253 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.
More Sunday Quotes:
“I
love the hair flowing behind him as he’s chasing somebody down –
that – he really looks neat.”
Mike Patrick, about Pittsburgh’s Polamalu
“This is where you really see how good Trent Dilfer is – the
way he manages the game, the way he’ll manage the clock.”
Joe Theissman, at the beginning of a late
first half drive by Cleveland. The next two plays were incompletion, then
interception.
Fantasy Notes
This was Sandman’s week to catch up to the White Russian. While Sandman’s
Colts were playing the highly disappointing Texans, the White Russian’s
Bengals and Chargers were on a bye week. Behind big games by the Colts players,
as well as Shaun Alexander, Sandman closed the gap from 1,376.4 to 368.9.
Steamboy continued his egregious ways, continuing to playing injured and bye week players. His Egregious Errors total now stands at 7. His top 3 running backs were all out with injuries and his 3 replacement runners contributed zero points.
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