September 20, 2004: NFL
Week 2 Commentary and Analysis
By Ahchie
Do the Hustle
New
Orleans won their game against the 49ers for one reason – in the second
half they decided to go after loose balls. Starting with Deuce McAllister’s
fumble and continuing throughout the first half, the Saints displayed about
as much energy as Throcksmorton playing wiffle ball after walking ten consecutive
batters. When McAllister fumbled, Aaron Brooks was in position to go for the
loose ball, but the San Francisco defender beat him to it when Brooks decided
to stand and watch. Two plays later, 49er quarterback Ken Dorsey fumbled and
it looked like the ball was going directly to a Saints defender. The Saints
player half-heartedly bent over to try to pick it up, but by then the 49ers
had rushed in and snatched up another loose ball.
Even
on plays that ultimately were called dead, the mighty 49ers hustled to each
and every loose ball in the first half. Dorsey almost fumbled when his arm
was going forward and San Francisco recovered the loose ball before the play
was ruled an incomplete pass. On a pass attempt to the Saints Ernie Conwell
that was ruled incomplete due to lack of possession, the play at first appeared
to be a catch and fumble, with San Francisco again recovering. On a New Orleans
punt, a Saints player interfered with the catch, resulting in another fumble.
San Francisco got to the loose ball and advanced it nine yards. The penalty
on the Saints was declined and the fumble recovery stood.
That’s five times in the first half when the ball was up for grabs. In each case the Saints had a legitimate shot at getting the ball, and in each case San Francisco out-hustled New Orleans and came up with the rock.
For the second half it appeared that the Saints switched uniforms with the 49ers, as all of the hustle suddenly belonged to New Orleans. In a span of about six minutes to close out the third quarter, Aaron Brooks fumbled twice and recovered his own fumble each time. In between Brooks’ miscues, San Francisco fumbled and New Orleans recovered. Brooks fumbled again in the fourth and that was also recovered by New Orleans.
The biggest fumble came with about three and half minutes remaining in the game, when the 49ers again let go of the ball and the Saints again hustled and recovered. New Orleans went on to score what would be the winning touchdown with one minute remaining.
Control Yourself
The excessive celebration rule, also known as the taunting rule,
has got to go. Curtis Conway of the 49ers caused his team to be penalized
15 yards because at the end of a particularly difficult catch he spun the
ball on the ground. It was a very nice spin, but the officials regarded that
as taunting the other team.
Since
when are the players so fragile that the game has to protect them from the
other side celebrating? This rule is born of the excessive celebrations from
past seasons, but as with other rules adjustments, it has been taken so far
that common sense is gone. In the NBA, after a brief run of hockey-style fights,
it was determined that if a player leaves the bench to join a fight, that
player is going to be automatically suspended, even if he had a legitimate
reason to join the melee and protect his own teammates. Imagine if you will
an NBA contest between the Heat and the Wizards. Shaquille O’Neil is
sitting on top of the entire Wizards starting five, while Brian Grant pummels
the players mercilessly. This is happening right in front of the Wizards bench.
Kwame Brown has to look on from the bench as Shaq rains down noxious flatulents
on the helpless Wizards. While Grant, Shaq, and the Wizards starting five
are facing possible suspensions, Brown and his fellow bench warmers face automatic
suspension if they leave the bench, even if they ultimately do nothing.
Celebrating has long been a part of the NFL. The rule ought to be removed. If the celebration causes delays, then the delay of game penalty should be invoked. It is tiresome to watch players celebrate every little play when they are really just doing what they are supposed to be doing, and some of the celebrations are annoying and silly, but this should be left to the players to police. Like the bean ball used by major league pitchers, if the other team does not like a particular celebration, punishment should be delivered during subsequent play.
Commentator Spotlight: Dan Dierdorf
Ever
since his “not too good, guys in the orange uniforms” quote during
Super Bowl 22, Dan Dierdorf has become a controversial figure among the BMTG
Big Four. Some feel he is harmless and like his sometimes insightful, sometimes
obvious commentary. Others feel he is a bit oafish and are unable to stomach
his colorful quotes. Sunday, Dierdorf added another quotable quote when he
said, “Very precise precision throwing by McNair.”
During much of the coverage of the Colts – Titans game, Dierdorf provided ample insight to the average fan, but he did have a Dierdorf moment that epitomizes the disdain held by some of the BMTG Big Four. Tennessee had burst through the line and tackled an Indianapolis player with a clear and devastating shot. Dierdorf’s analysis was that the Tennessee offensive line broke down. The first problem is that Indianapolis was on offense. Getting past that and understanding that he meant the Indianapolis offensive line broke down, the second problem is that this statement is far too obvious. If he is going to state something so obvious, he would be better served by spicing it up a bit and saying something like, “That Indy line must all be attending a rump meeting because there was no one around to stop the Titans. I tell you, Tennessee is getting down to biz-nasty.”
Dallas – Cleveland Thriller
While
Throcksmorton was thrilled to be able to watch this sleeper of a game and
Brother Nature was able to select something more resembling an actual NFL
match up, the rest of us were relegated to watching Keyshawn and waiting for
the updates to the real games. The only amusing segment was the interception
sequence where each quarterback decided they did not like their own receivers
and started playing catch with the other team.
Think Before You Speak
One
of the most overused phrases in sports is the old, “We just need to
get back to playing [insert team name] [insert sport].” The latest to
use this phrase is Jake Delhomme, who said, “We went back to playing
Panther football.” Obviously he is referring to the good defense, good
running game of last year’s Super Bowl loser, but is that one flash-in-the-pan
year enough to establish a standard known as “Panther football”?
Aren’t they better known for the previous years of less than mediocrity?
Teams do it in every sport. After losing a few games, you will commonly hear
someone like Vlade Divac say, “We just need to get back to playing Kings
basketball.” If they go back far enough, chances are they are playing
Kings basketball. These players would be much better served by saying something
like, “These last few games have been too Congoesque, we just have to
unleash some Cold Turkey and get past it so we can start winning again.”
Michael Irvin Update
There
was no evidence this week of any racial biases held by Michael Irvin and the
BMTG’s determination so far is that Irvin is not racist. However, Irvin
did make a knee-jerk assessment of the Carolina Panthers. He stated that before
the season started he felt the Panthers were ready for a great season and
admitted that he said so in the pregame last week, but after watching their
first game he is firm in his resolve that Carolina is done. He has written
them off for the season. Carolina then went on to beat Kansas City behind
DeShaun Foster’s 174 yards rushing, as Jake Delhomme got his team back
to playing Panther football.