Having taken the Jets, a team I almost always root against, in Survivor this week, it was curious, i.e., infuriating, seeing Darrelle Revis unable to cover Stevie Johnson. Johnson is shifty - he made a great move to score a touchdown against Corey Webster in the Giants matchup - but Revis has handled receivers from Wes Welker to Andre Johnson without a problem. Thankfully Johnson shot himself in the foot, so to speak, by dropping what would have been the game-winning touchdown - twice.
Matt Stafford's play on Thanksgiving made me thankful the Giants have Eli Manning instead. But Tony Romo made some sensational plays, escaping sure sacks in the second half against a game Dolphins defense. In fact, the level of play in the second half of that game seemed very high to me, not that it means anything going forward. Between Stafford, Sam Bradford, Matt Ryan (and of course JaMarcus Russell), a lot of recent No. 1 overall QBs haven't exactly set the world on fire.
After Roy Helu, Jr. torched the Seahawks' stout run defense, Mike Shanahan's decision to waste an extra game and a half with Ryan Torain is even more unconscionable. This was after Helu had already broken out against the one of the best defenses in the league in San Francisco. I get that Shanahan's won two Super Bowls, but at some point you need to get something right in this century.
It still boggles my mind that the Chargers were seven point favorites over the Broncos last week. Believe what you want about Tim Tebow - (many do) - but the Broncos with him under center have consistently made key plays down the stretch while the Chargers have pioneered ways to fall apart. In other words, for the Chargers to cover a seven-point spread, they'd have to outplay them by 30 or more. For those of you who think stats are better indicators of future performance than scouting reports, it's worth re-examining Tebow's body of work at Florida. (Hat tip: RotoWire reader TDavis3341).
This week's pre-game report from CBS about Ryan Mathews is a good illustration of how unreliable so much available information is. Apparently Dan Fouts spoke to Norv Turner the night before, and Norv told him Mathews would be limited with Mike Tolbert getting most of the work. Fouts passed this onto CBS, and everyone (including us) passed on the CBS info. But this information was "hearsay," i.e., it was based on what Fouts heard Turner say, and CBS didn't have occasion to cross examine Turner directly. In other words, there was no way for us to know whether it was an offhand remark by Turner, or a set-in-stone game plan. (Let's leave aside the question of whether Turner is even competent to execute any game plan at this point). It's much better when a beat writer reports on something directly observed, e.g., a player limping in warm-ups - at least we can know that he saw something and don't have to wonder if something was lost in translation. In this age of everyone running to Twitter to break news as quickly as possible, you have to be as discerning as possible about what information is reliable. The hearsay rule - designed for determining the admissibility of evidence in a court of law - is a decent guide.
Speaking of which, why wasn't Mathews on the field for the team's final two offensive snaps (Tolbert two runs for -3 yards, setting up a missed FG)?
Tom Brady passed for 361 yards (10.6 YPA) against the Eagles Sunday, but all his completions went to just four receivers (Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez).
That the Giants were still trying to establish the run down 18 with a few minutes to go in the fourth quarter is an indictment of their coaching staff. Never mind that they're the worst running team in the league and missing their best back - the game situation required urgency and passing, regardless. That Da' Rei Scott fumbled on the play was fitting.
I'm not against celebrating after a score, and I'm not overly sensitive to taunting at the pro level - after all, if you have a thin skin you probably shouldn't play tackle football in front of millions every week. But Brandon Jacobs going nuts after scoring to cut the deficit to 11 in a borderline must-win game for his slumping team is just embarrassing. You're not having a good year, and your team isn't playing well. STFU and encourage your abysmal defense to make a stop. It would be nice to see defensive coordinator Perry Fewell rush more than three on occasion, too. When Drew Brees has 10.0 YPA, 350 yards, 4 TDs and no picks through three quarters, you might want to switch it up.