December
21, 2004: NFL Week 15 Commentary and Analysis
By Ahchie
Use Your Strengths
Donovan
McNabb and Michael Vick need to run more. Even though Vick has a chance to
be the first ever 1,000 yard rushing quarterback, he could be running even
more, with plays designed to get him in the open field. McNabb has a lot of
success running, but usually only does it as a last resort. When quarterbacks
run a lot, they are criticized for not being pure quarterbacks that can’t
stand in the pocket and pick apart defenses. But why ignore obvious strengths
to try to prove you can be that perfect pocket quarterback? If your skills
allow you to break out with big runs, then you should make that part of your
game. There are many times when a quarterback will be in the pocket with plenty
of time and nowhere to throw it. In those instances they have the time because
the defense is sending fewer players to rush the quarterback and instead are
focused on covering the receivers. The quarterback will drift forward out
of the pocket and all of a sudden have wide-open running lanes. This seems
like the perfect time to run, but usually the quarterback continues to look
for a receiver and ends up either throwing it away or gets sacked for a short
loss. When they do run, they usually end up with a first down and more.
Sunday, McNabb did not start running in these situations until there was only about four and a half minutes remaining in the game. With Terrell Owens out and Todd Pinkston too afraid of getting hit, McNabb finally realized he would have to do it himself. On that game winning drive that began with six minutes left, McNabb rushed two times for a total of 31 yards. For the game, McNabb had four rushes for 29 yards. Had McNabb played the entire game embracing his running strengths, he would have completely changed how the game played out, perhaps making it an easy victory for Philadelphia, instead of a tight game.
On
Atlanta’s fourth quarter drive that began at the 3:37 mark, Vick ran
twice for a total of 24 yards and the touchdown that forced overtime. For
the game, Vick had eight rushes for 68 yards. While 68 yards is impressive,
had they tried to get Vick more chances to run, instead of trying to prove
he can be a pocket quarterback, he could easily have rushed for over a hundred
yards. It should be noted that while the BMTG often finds fault with Joe Theismann,
he was right on in his analysis of Vick. Throughout the game he continuously
stated that Vick needs to run more and the offensive coordinator needs to
incorporate his running ability into the game plan more. It was also apparent
that Theismann and Maguire were in awe of Vick’s throwing arm, saying
that Vick could tear various body parts off with his bullet passes. Specifically,
they mentioned the head, shoulder, and hand as the body parts most likely
to be torn off.
Useless Stat
Philadelphia has had a run of 10 plus yards in the last 108 games, which is
a record. The BMTG notes that, despite that remarkable stretch, the Eagles
have not been to the Super Bowl since 1981, a stretch of 366 games, not counting
the playoffs.
They Have Nothing to Lose
The
most repeated phrase heard during the San Diego – Cleveland game was,
“They have nothing to lose.” The meaning is that Cleveland is
out of the playoff picture and so could take risks they otherwise might not
take, like going for it on fourth down when a punt might be called. Cleveland’s
new found freedom from playing it safe changed nothing as they were shut out
and lost 21 to 0.
NFC West
Due to uninspired play and a lack of desire, the NFC West should have their
playoff spot taken away and given to a more deserving AFC team.
Goal Line Rushing
During
their game against San Francisco, Washington faced first and goal situations
a total of three times. All three times, Clinton Portis rushed on first and
second down, Ramsey passed on third down, and Chandler kicked a field goal
on fourth down. The three field goals were for 25, 20, and 26 yards. Portis
had six rushes for a total of 10 yards.
Miami also had three first and goal situations in their game against the Patriots. Those three situations resulted in a total of three rushes for four yards and three touchdowns.
What Game Are You Watching, Moose?
It is the second quarter and Philadelphia leads Dallas six to nothing. Dallas
forces a fumble at the Philadelphia 26-yard line. Moose Johnston says Dallas
needs to capitalize and score a touchdown to keep pace with the Eagles and
noted, “three points here does not help the Cowboys, in my opinion.”
The Cowboys did capitalize and scored a touchdown, but the analysis by Moose
is still flawed. Second quarter, down by six, and three points won’t
help? That just does not make sense.
Houston Texans vs. Chicago Cubs
For
the first time in history, the NFL featured a game between a professional
football team and a professional baseball team. Knowing their season was a
lost cause, the Bears decided to go with a marketing gimmick and invite the
Cubs to take their place. In the end the Texans scored 24 points, while the
Cubs managed 5 runs.
False Starts
Does it seem like there is an excessive amount of false start penalties this
year? Every week there are numerous plays that are whistled dead before they
even begin. Usually you can blame a false start on crowd noise making it difficult
for a visiting team, but the BMTG has found that the false starts are happening
any time against either team, whether the crowd is making noise or not.
Questions for Mike Martz
Mike Martz is becoming legendary for his tendency to make horrible calls.
Each week we will pose a new question to Martz. At the end of the season we
will compile his errors into an open letter.
This week's question:
Things are so bad in St. Louis that the BMTG feels it is not necessary to pile on this week, unless Brother Nature has something compelling to ask the coach.
Fantasy Notes
Brother Nature notched an impressive 2,439 points this week. But
then take a look at his trades and think what might have been. Trading Kerry
Collins for Byron Leftwich cost him 377 points (Collins had 614, Leftwich
had 237). Trading Nate Burleson for Randy Moss cost him 126 points (Burleson
398, Moss 272). And trading the Jacksonville defense for the St. Louis defense
cost him 250 points (Jacksonville 285, St. Louis 35). The total loss from
the three trades is 753 points. The 3,192 points he could have had if he had
made no trades would have been a single week season high.
After week 12, we noted that BMTG #1 was catching up to Brother Nature and that it would be interesting to see how well BNature managed BMTG #1 in his upcoming four week stint. Over the last three weeks, Brother Nature has stretched his lead over BMTG #1 from 827 points to 3,134 points. In the three weeks prior to Brother Nature’s management, BMTG #1 had averaged 2,419.7 points per week. In the three weeks under BNature’s management, BMTG #1 has only averaged 1,587.7 points per week – a difference of 832 points per week. During that same three-week stretch of managing BMTG #1, Brother Nature’s own team has averaged 2,356.7 points per week.
Antonio
Gates had one catch and 206 smallworld points. The one completion was a 71-yard
touchdown catch.
Eli Manning and Peyton Manning came up with matching 279 smallworld point totals this week.