October
11, 2004: NFL Week 5 Commentary and Analysis
By Ahchie
Definition of Undisciplined: Oakland Raiders
The
Oakland Raiders are the most undisciplined team in the NFL. One need look
no farther than yesterday's contest against the Indianapolis Colts for the
latest example. The Raiders started giving the game away early, on Indianapolis’
first drive, with two bad penalties, the first being a 15-yard face mask call
that gave the Colts prime field position. The second was a totally unnecessary
offsides on a third down play that gave the Colts a first down and kept the
drive going. After easily getting past an Oakland blitz on third and nine,
Indianapolis drove for a touchdown. On the other hand, Oakland’s first
drive featured Kerry Collins badly missing a wide open receiver that would
have been an easy score, then throwing an interception to a wide open Colts
defender. On Oakland’s second drive, Collins almost lost a fumble. Kerry
Collins and the Oakland offense is so bad that they made Houston’s defense
look good last week and Indy’s awful defense look good this week.
Another
first half example: Indianapolis has a fourth and one and is set to punt,
Oakland lines up in the neutral zone and gives the Colts a first down. On
the very next play, Peyton Manning throws for a 35 yard touchdown to a wide
open receiver. Even when Indianapolis was making questionable calls, Oakland
was playing such undisciplined football that it didn’t matter. Indianapolis
decided to challenge the call on an obvious incompletion in the end zone.
The player thought he caught it, but the coaches knew better. Still, for some
reason, Tony Dungy used his second and last challenge. Predictably, the incomplete
call was upheld and Indianapolis was left with no more challenges for the
game. But since the Raiders were the opponent, it didn’t matter, because
on the next play Oakland committed pass interference in the end zone, setting
up first and goal at the one. Two plays later, The Edge rolled in for a touchdown.
Things did not improve in the second half. Oakland had a 56-yard touchdown run called back because of a holding penalty. Later, Indianapolis was threatening again with a third and goal. Oakland once again made a mistake on third down, this time with a holding penalty that gave the Colts a fresh first and goal which led two plays later to another touchdown, while on the first play from scrimmage after the Indianapolis kickoff, Collins threw another interception. Late in the game, somehow down by only two touchdowns, Oakland had one last chance for a remarkable comeback. No worry for the Colts, as Collins threw his third interception of the day and the woeful Colts defense returned it for a touchdown as it seemed as though no one on the Raiders even wanted to attempt to tackle the returning defender.
The Colts did not have to perform exceptionally well in this game to cruise to an easy victory because Oakland made silly mistakes throughout the game. Key penalties on third and fourth downs combined with Collins’ sloppy play essentially gift wrapped this game for the Colts. The penalties weren’t just the standard penalties that every team has each and every week. These were penalties that did not have to happen. They were penalties that showed a lack of focus, a lack of commitment, and most glaringly, a lack of discipline.
The Future Colts
The
Houston Texans have built themselves to have the same success as the Colts
have had in recent years. In 1996, the Colts started their rebuilding process
with the 19th pick when they chose Marvin Harrison. Two years later, in 1998,
they added the key piece in Peyton Manning, followed the next season with
the number four pick, Edgerrin James. Throughout the process of building an
offense around their big three, the defense has consistently been behind and
has shown little improvement this season.
Houston
has followed the same model with results that are already being seen this
year. Just two years ago, the Texans took David Carr with the first pick of
the draft, then last year they completed their big three with the third and
fourth picks in Andre Johnson and Domanick Davis. As is the case with the
Colts, the Texans defense is behind in their development when compared to
the offense. The good news for the Texans is that they are on the road to
having a consistently high scoring offensive machine. The bad news for both
the Colts and the Texans is that it won't be enough to get to and win the
Super Bowl.
Commentator Spotlight: Joe Theismann
The
replay of the play that resulted in Joe Theismann’s broken leg is the
most often played replay of a leg break in the history of the NFL. Today,
Theismann works the Sunday night game each week. Only one example is needed
to demonstrate the insight Joe brings to the broadcast. That example, during
the Ravens – Redskins game, was Theismann’s analysis of Baltimore’s
convicted felon, Jamal Lewis. When talking about Lewis, Theismann said that
if he breaks through eight or nine guys, he is going to have a lot of room
to run. It is this type of brilliance you can expect to hear from Theismann
week after week.
Way To Go, Jamal!
After
reaching a plea bargain on drug charges dating before his pro playing days,
Jamal Lewis was suspended for two games. Perhaps it was too late in the week
or perhaps it was to keep a big name in a nationally televised game, but for
some reason the suspension did not start immediately. Even though fantasy
owners would be upset if he did not play on Sunday night, it seems that if
someone is suspended, that suspension should take effect starting with the
next game, unless the player appeals it, which Lewis did not.
Added to this is that Ravens head coach Brian Billick named Lewis the captain for Sunday’s game to show the team’s support. Here we have another example of a player making mistakes in the past, battling drug problems, cleaning up and doing the right thing, then getting elevated because he turned it around. It is good to support him in his effort to overcome difficulties, but to elevate him to captain and to say what a great guy he is reminds the BMTG of how the San Francisco Giants brought reformed wife beaters onto the field at PacBell Park to reward them for not hitting their wives anymore. Yes, it is good they stopped hitting their wives, but why reward them by honoring them and putting them on the field with the players?
Great Defense or Horrible Offense?
Washington
and Baltimore were so bad on offense that neither team made more than one
first down on any single drive in the first half. Every drive was either three
and out, or one first down, then out. The first time Washington had a drive
that consisted of more than one first down came late in the third quarter.
On that drive, after the second first down, Mark Brunnel through an interception.
The drive by the Ravens after that interception was the first time of the
night that Baltimore was able to get more than one first down on a drive.
On that drive alone, Jamal Lewis ran for 51 yards and Baltimore kicked a field
goal for their only offensive scoring of the game.
To start the game, both teams combined to punt eight times on their first eight drives. In the first quarter, Baltimore got one first down on their four possessions and punted four times, while Washington had two first downs on their three possessions. And one of those first downs was a gift from the Ravens on a penalty. In the second quarter the Ravens managed a total of three first downs on their three possessions, but threw interceptions to end each one. Meanwhile, Washington got only one first down, yet came away with 10 points due to the great field position that came from the interceptions.
In the third quarter, Baltimore only had the ball long enough for a three and out possession and a possession at the end of the quarter that began with two first downs. And they scored 14 points. They were able to take the lead because Washington’s offense was even worse. A fumble returned for a touchdown and a punt returned for a touchdown accounted for Baltimore’s two touchdowns of the night. In the fourth quarter, the Ravens started to consistently get first downs as they exclusively ran the ball to run the clock out and Washington could not stop them, even though they knew Baltimore was not even going to attempt a pass play.
Miscellaneous Notes
The New England Patriots are wicked good.
Further evidence that New Orleans should move to Montreal and play baseball: they lost to Tampa Bay, a team that benched Brad Johnson in favor of rookie Chris Simms, who made his first start and then got injured, opening the door for the return of Brian Griese.
This week’s Tom Coughlin status: Genius. Status is very easy to determine. If the Giants win, he is a genius. If they lose, he is out of touch and is no longer fit to coach in the NFL.
Does Ray Lewis ever run out of things to say?
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:
Brother Nature was so giddy about the comeback victory for the Rams that he was unable to objectively criticize the coach. The one question he came up with was “Why didn’t you take one shot at the end zone at the end of regulation before kicking the tying field goal?”
Michael Irvin Update
Again, no signs of racism from Michael Irvin this week. Irvin did sound a
bit crazy, however, when he made the statement that, contrary to what everyone
in the world is saying, he would take Ricky Williams back as a teammate because
“it hurts more to be 0 and 4.”
Fantasy Notes
Jamal Lewis had a big second half in a game that he probably should
not have even played in due to his impending suspension. While he did not
score a touchdown, he managed to run for over 100 yards after a miserable
first half.
Tiki Barber continued to shine, while Throcksmorton continued to try to make the point that perhaps he should not make trades. Had he kept Barber instead of trading for Ahman Green, who goes tonight, he would have had Barber’s two week total of 926. Green, on the other hand managed 173 last week and faces Tennessee tonight.*
Brother Nature’s tight end troubles continued. He gave up on Manu, who finally caught the ball and scored a touchdown, good for 132 points, while his replacement, Doug Jolley, went for 26 points. Brother Nature's tight ends have combined for a grand total of 54 points through the first five weeks of the season. Daunte Culpepper had the single biggest game for any player last season or this season with his monster 728 point outing, but Brother Nature missed out on Minnesota’s running back, Mewelde Moore, the fourth stringer who stepped in for an impressive 381 points.
*Monday Note: Ahman Green managed 35 points in the Tennessee blowout, making Green's two week total 208.