Saturday's classics
There was so much high drama yesterday, I don't know where to start.
How about with the QBs. Four young guns. Four great performances. Matt Hasselbeck had the best game of the lot, but came away with the loss thanks to dropped passes that have afflicted Seattle for two years; Hasselbeck didn't throw a bad pass all day, finishing 27-for-43 for 341 yards and two TDs (the INT came early on a drop by Darrell Jackson). Marc Bulger (18-32-313) made big plays all day, especially early with his wonderful downfield passing and then became very efficient in thwarting the Seattle blitz on the final drive. Drew Brees rallied his Chargers in the fourth quarter and completed over 70 percent of his passes for 319 yards. And Chad Pennington rebounded from a poor, injury-related stretch with a vintage 2002 performance that was highlighted by a perfect 60-yards-in-the-air strike to a streaking Santana Moss.
Hasselbeck and Brees deserved better fates. But Seattle was severely handicapped by the arm injury that limited Shaun Alexander, who was pencilled in for 150 yards (less than he averaged against St. Louis in the prior two matchups). And Brees was done in in large part by his coach, Marty Schottenheimer.
What was Marty thinking running 15 yards on to the field to argue a non-call (that replays proved was the right call)? After the game, he intimated that the refs blew it and said his punter told him he was roughed. You have to take what your players say with a grain of salt. You have coaches in the booth with TV monitors. Use them.
I'm not going to get on Marty for the mild Chargers attack the first three quarters. Tomlinson got plenty of carries (more than his performance deserved, actually) and the Jets were doing a very good job bracketing Antonio Gates. But I hated the decision to play for a 40-yard field goal in overtime. Yes, it's a rookie kicker and that's a factor. But I hate this decision in general. If you're looking at a 48-yard field goal, you want another first down, right? And now how many times would a missed 48-yarder been good from 40? Usually, based on my unscientific, anectodal observation, those few yards don't make the difference. I don't think you play for the field goal until you're at the 15. The Jets got it right later in overtime.
I'm a Jets fan, as many of your know. I make no secret about it. But I watched the final moments of regulation unfold with a bizarre detachment. That was not the case 17 years ago, when Mark Gastineau cost the Jets a road playoff win against Marty Schottenheimer with an roughing call that absolutely paled in stupidity to Eric Barton's forearm shiver. But the Jets got a second life after giving one to the Chargers and Pennington took advantage. And the Barton penalty gives new meaning to the term "second life," as the Jets had completed one of the great goal-line stands in NFL history.
Pennington has taken a lot of hits but he's now got the pelt of a road playoff win to nail to his wall. His career passing rating is well over 90. He would have thrown 25 TD passes this year had he not gotten hurt. As we said earlier in the week, the long-term view of Pennington as a player who couldn't win was a talk-radio creation that should embarrass all New York sports fans (who should be more sophisticated).
What about the two road teams winning on Saturday? What about momentum being exposed as a fraud, at least in the night game (not only how the Jets and Chargers came into the game but even momentum within the game). What about the Jets playing with 10-men on the field two plays in a row and then the Chargers giving up the ball by playing 12 later on?
(To my colleagues in the press box, who wouldn't beleive me three weeks ago when I insisted that the Jets had 10-men on the field against New England: I told you so.)
I don't like the overtime rules. A better system would be to do away with the kickoff and let the teams auction off the yard line on which the offense will start. Once it gets low enough for one to agree to give up the ball, you spot it there and away we go. Of course, this will never happen because coaches hate making any more high-stakes decisions that are so open to second guessing.
Back to the Rams, first 8-8 team to win a post-season game. Martz goes through timeouts like I go through Dunkin' Munchkins as he tries to implement his 200-play passing attack. But he's been to a Super Bowl and playoffs in four of five years, so you have to give him credit. This is an unconventional team helmed by an unconventional guy who really is a bit of a genius. If the Rams get a break today from the Vikings, who can send St. Louis to the turf and dome in Atlanta with a victory over Green Bay, they can easily advance another round.
Something that I didn't know: The Rams will play in their 28th postseason game next weekend, the most in NFL history (one more than Dallas).
How about with the QBs. Four young guns. Four great performances. Matt Hasselbeck had the best game of the lot, but came away with the loss thanks to dropped passes that have afflicted Seattle for two years; Hasselbeck didn't throw a bad pass all day, finishing 27-for-43 for 341 yards and two TDs (the INT came early on a drop by Darrell Jackson). Marc Bulger (18-32-313) made big plays all day, especially early with his wonderful downfield passing and then became very efficient in thwarting the Seattle blitz on the final drive. Drew Brees rallied his Chargers in the fourth quarter and completed over 70 percent of his passes for 319 yards. And Chad Pennington rebounded from a poor, injury-related stretch with a vintage 2002 performance that was highlighted by a perfect 60-yards-in-the-air strike to a streaking Santana Moss.
Hasselbeck and Brees deserved better fates. But Seattle was severely handicapped by the arm injury that limited Shaun Alexander, who was pencilled in for 150 yards (less than he averaged against St. Louis in the prior two matchups). And Brees was done in in large part by his coach, Marty Schottenheimer.
What was Marty thinking running 15 yards on to the field to argue a non-call (that replays proved was the right call)? After the game, he intimated that the refs blew it and said his punter told him he was roughed. You have to take what your players say with a grain of salt. You have coaches in the booth with TV monitors. Use them.
I'm not going to get on Marty for the mild Chargers attack the first three quarters. Tomlinson got plenty of carries (more than his performance deserved, actually) and the Jets were doing a very good job bracketing Antonio Gates. But I hated the decision to play for a 40-yard field goal in overtime. Yes, it's a rookie kicker and that's a factor. But I hate this decision in general. If you're looking at a 48-yard field goal, you want another first down, right? And now how many times would a missed 48-yarder been good from 40? Usually, based on my unscientific, anectodal observation, those few yards don't make the difference. I don't think you play for the field goal until you're at the 15. The Jets got it right later in overtime.
I'm a Jets fan, as many of your know. I make no secret about it. But I watched the final moments of regulation unfold with a bizarre detachment. That was not the case 17 years ago, when Mark Gastineau cost the Jets a road playoff win against Marty Schottenheimer with an roughing call that absolutely paled in stupidity to Eric Barton's forearm shiver. But the Jets got a second life after giving one to the Chargers and Pennington took advantage. And the Barton penalty gives new meaning to the term "second life," as the Jets had completed one of the great goal-line stands in NFL history.
Pennington has taken a lot of hits but he's now got the pelt of a road playoff win to nail to his wall. His career passing rating is well over 90. He would have thrown 25 TD passes this year had he not gotten hurt. As we said earlier in the week, the long-term view of Pennington as a player who couldn't win was a talk-radio creation that should embarrass all New York sports fans (who should be more sophisticated).
What about the two road teams winning on Saturday? What about momentum being exposed as a fraud, at least in the night game (not only how the Jets and Chargers came into the game but even momentum within the game). What about the Jets playing with 10-men on the field two plays in a row and then the Chargers giving up the ball by playing 12 later on?
(To my colleagues in the press box, who wouldn't beleive me three weeks ago when I insisted that the Jets had 10-men on the field against New England: I told you so.)
I don't like the overtime rules. A better system would be to do away with the kickoff and let the teams auction off the yard line on which the offense will start. Once it gets low enough for one to agree to give up the ball, you spot it there and away we go. Of course, this will never happen because coaches hate making any more high-stakes decisions that are so open to second guessing.
Back to the Rams, first 8-8 team to win a post-season game. Martz goes through timeouts like I go through Dunkin' Munchkins as he tries to implement his 200-play passing attack. But he's been to a Super Bowl and playoffs in four of five years, so you have to give him credit. This is an unconventional team helmed by an unconventional guy who really is a bit of a genius. If the Rams get a break today from the Vikings, who can send St. Louis to the turf and dome in Atlanta with a victory over Green Bay, they can easily advance another round.
Something that I didn't know: The Rams will play in their 28th postseason game next weekend, the most in NFL history (one more than Dallas).
Entry #110528180392101473 posted by Catherine Salfino at 8:44 AM
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