I’d like to take the following few words to make this announcement on behalf of the Monday Football Column.  Congratulations to 2 of the 3 men whom I vowed not to talk about this week, for putting on fantastic performances in Week 10.  It’s those types of games that define not only who you are, but why the hype surrounds you.  For 1-of-those-2, you played well enough that your head coach said he wants to see you play not only next year, but the following year as well.  I don’t think it’s a coincidence the media is in love with you (regardless of how good you are).  After all, your initials could be identified as Best Friend, which is how everyone in the media views you, anyway. 

As for #3 on the Week 10 Don’t Mention List, you also proved why all the hype surrounds you, it’s just that the process you go about to garner the hype is a bit different.  It takes a special type of player to go from bad passer to MVP candidate to inefficient quarterback responsible for 2 upset losses to the Browns and Lions – all in the span of 6 weeks.  You are the Mike Tice of quarterbacks, and for that you should be commended.

-- Pat Imig

11/13/06
9:21 AM (CST)

2nd and 4,543
<1> Speaking of upsets, of the 15 games played yesterday, 6 of them resulted in a win by the team with the worse record (Steelers, Packers, Texans, Browns, Dolphins, Jets) with 4 other games ending in deficits of 4 points or less (Raiders, Rams, Titans, Bills).  Not to mention, the 49ers pulled off the victory in Detroit against the favored Lions.  It’s another reminder just how fragile each week in the NFL is.  If you need more evidence, you look no further than the Cardinals, who were oh so close to pulling the upset against the Cowboys (if you go back and look at the Cardinals’ schedule, you’ll see that had they scored 18 more points yesterday and not folded against the Rams and Bears and avoided the blow out against the Raiders, they’d be 5-4 right now).  So really, the Cowboys win yesterday was a mild upset.  All this considered, 12 of 15 games were upsets. 

<2> Speaking of the Lions, they didn’t quite come through on Roy Williams’ prediction to run the table and go 9-0 starting in Week 9.  The loss to San Francisco was a minor setback, a pothole on the road to perfection, if you will.  Just like coming close to scoring 40 points, Detroit was really close to going 9-0.  But fear not because there’s still hope for the Lions to go 9-0.  All Williams and the Lions need to do is go 7-0 the rest of the way and sneak into the clouded NFC playoff picture as a Wild Card or Division winner, then advance to the NFC championship game.  At that point, they’ll take their chances, and honestly, who doesn’t like their chances in the NFC title game?

<3> Speaking of Roy Williams, he described the devastating loss to the 49ers as a product of looking ahead and overlooking Mike Nolan’s team.  “I think we were flat.  I don’t know that we were into this ballgame,” said he.  If you’re wondering who is responsible for Williams’ false confidence and full on delusion, you need look no further than his offensive coordinator.  There is no other explanation for the level of delusion Roy is suffering.  Mike Martz is Roy’s proud papa, feeding his sound bites to Roy on a daily basis. 

Whatever the case, things haven’t been this entertaining in Detroit since the Marty Mornhinweg era.

<4> Speaking of Marty Mornhinweg, he’s a coach for the Philadelphia Eagles.  Before Week 10, I was a believer that the 4-4 Eagles would rise up and reach the playoffs one way or another.  After yesterday’s thrashing of the Redskins, I’m no longer one of those believers.  (What?  That doesn’t make sense.  Please explain…)  That’s because Andy Reid handed over playcalling duties to Marty Mornhinweg, he of the “I’ll take the wind instead of the ball in overtime” fame and he of the get so mad at his team he drives off on his Harley in the middle of practice fame. 

Scary times in Philadelphia.

<5> Speaking of scary times, the 2nd Joe Gibbs era in Washington is on life support.  In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Gibbs retired in January – and hired an assistant to handle the press conference.  Oh, and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams should be ashamed of himself.  The guy gets a huge fat contract as a result of a great defense for one year, and now the Skins are one of the worst defenses in the league.  They give up too many big plays and lack the discipline to execute.  Williams is just another example of the stereotypical athlete who becomes lazy when he gets a big contract.

<6> Speaking of discipline, Brad Childress was crowned the King of Discipline early in the season by some national media folk, for reasons unbeknownst to those of us with a functioning cranium.  Childress’ discipline is really paying off, as the Vikings have lost 3 in a row and now sit tied with Green Bay for a share of 2nd place in the NFC North.  Also, the Vikings rank 2nd in penalties in the NFL, with 67 - an average of 7.5 per game.  In Sunday’s loss to the Packers, the Vikings were spot on, giving away 7 penalties.  The steady diet of consistency is surely a sign of overall team discipline.  Kudos to Brad Childress.

<7> Speaking of giving away, David Garrard threw 4 interceptions Sunday, helping the Jaguars accomplish the rare feat of being swept by the Texans for the season.  Of the Texans’ 21 franchise victories, 6 of them have come courtesy of Jacksonville.  The fifth of those six victories was a result of Byron Leftwich playing when he was injured - at least, according to Jack Del Rio.  The 6th one could be placed on the shoulders of David Garrard as his poor performance will certainly be enough for another quarterback change, and another historic media flip flop  The likelihood of “Leftwich should be the starter” chatter is a strong 80% chance. 

I’m not so sure Garrard is to blame for yesterday’s loss though, considering 2 of the 4 interceptions were the result of Matt Jones dropping perfect passes.  Garrard also suffered from an Ernest Wilford drop that would likely have gone for a touchdown.  It’s a case of things not being as they seem, much like Fred Taylor guaranteeing a victory prior to Week 10.

<8> Speaking of historic flip flops, Rex Grossman’s performance in New York was opposite of the normal Grossman showing.  After a shaky 1st half, Grossman had himself a dandy second half, throwing touchdowns to Mushin Muhammad and Desmond Clark.  Also noteworthy, Devin Hester entered the NFL record books by taking a missed field goal 108 yards for a touchdown.  It was very similar to Nathan Vasher’s touchdown last year.  That’s why I say the 2006 Bears remind me a lot of the 2005 Bears.

<9> Speaking of teams who remind me of past teams, the Dolphins pulled an upset for the second consecutive week, downing the Chiefs by a field goal.  After starting out 1-6, the Dolphins stand at 3-6 with 7 games remaining.  It’s a lot like last year, when the ‘Fins started out 3-7, only to finish the season with 6 straight wins.  If Miami can lose next week, they’ll be on their way to repeating the same thing, which is why they remind me a lot of the 2005 Dolphins.

<4,543> Speaking of repeating the same thing, Philip Rivers has consistently repeated his coming out party from 2 months ago against the Steelers.  He’s only started 9 games in his career and yet he’s playing like a Pro Bowl quarterback.  It’s the longest coming out party in the history of football.  At this point, Rivers might as well grace the cover of Sports Illustrated with the words, “I’m gay.”

2-Hand Touch Football

Mobile JSF Conversation
I’ve been talking to Peter King, and one of things he told me was that he just got off the phone with Tony Romo and one of the things Romo told King was that he had been talking to Bill Parcells and Parcells told him he had been talking to his wife and one of the things she said was that she was very happy with Dallas’ performance in Arizona.

The Monday Football Column is written by Pat Imig.  He's been talking to himself a lot lately.  Email him @ patrick@joesportsfan.com