The Good
Baltimore – At home against the Raiders, the Ravens ran up 192 yards rushing, 375 yards total and almost 36:30 of time of possession. Add to that holding the Raiders to an impotent 2 first downs and 35 yards of offense in the first half on the way to a 19-0 lead at intermission.and the story is pretty much told.
Cleveland – The Browns were better than the Jags on several big plays. On offense, 327 yards with only 15 first downs translates to some big plays. The Browns had 11 plays covering 10 yards or more, three on passes of 43, 51 and 53 yards. Despite surrendering 380 yards, the defense stopped the Jags on a 4th and one late in the second quarter, leading to a Browns FG prior to the break. Special teams blocked a potential game-tying FG and recovered a fumbled kickoff. The big plays turn a possible loss into a big road win and a slot on the Good.
Houston – It started with a punt return for a TD two minutes into the game. Combine that with 384 yards of offense, no turnovers, a 24 of 28 passing day for Schaub, over 35 minutes of possession and three takeaways on defense, one in the red zone and you have the recipe for a Good performance. The fact the opponents were the Bengals does not negate that.
New Orleans –The Saints racked up over 400 yards of offense in merry old England, the vast majority in the air. They exploded to 37-20 lead and then held on to fly home with a 5-point victory. The offense scored on six of its ten possessions (seven of ten if you count the intentional safety they took on their last drive). They might have done even more had San Diego not recovered an onside kick in the fourth quarter. Traveling to London and returning with a victory in fairly impressive form (on offense) earns a slot here, despite the fact they tried to give it back late.
New York Giants – This was not a thing of beauty, but you had to know that the Giants and Steelers would be a defensive struggle. Despite settling for three FGs and being stopped on the Steeler goal line in the first half, the Giants found themselves only down by a five entering the fourth quarter. With the Steelers driving on a critical fourth down, the Giants switched to Good the rest of the way and held the Steelers without a first down, outgained them 113-2, recorded two sacks, intercepted two passes (four total for the game), allowed only one completion in eight attempts and scored the final 12 points to walk away with a hard-fought road win. Getting out of Pittsburgh with a win in a defensive battle earns the Gents a spot in the Good.
Philadelphia – After a lackluster start and a second quarter wakeup call in the form of a 55 yard Ryan to White TD pass, the Eagles came to life in front of the home crowd. They rushed for 192 yards at a 6 yard a carry clip, passed for another 240 and grabbed three turnovers. Westbrook chipped in with 167 yards on 22 carries and TD runs of 16 and 39 yards. The result was a Good win against a scrappy Falcons team, putting the Eagles on the plus side of .500.
Tennessee – The fact the Titans logged a huge home win against Indy Monday night was probably enough to get them labeled Good. Add to their application that they were down by 8 late in the third and outscored the Colts 25-7 the rest of the way. In fact, after falling behind by 8, the Tacks ran off 33 plays for 159 yards, held the ball for almost 16 of the next 22:30 en route to those 25 points, held the Colts to 14 plays for 52 yards, stopped two fourth down attempts and intercepted a pass. By the time the Colts next sustained a drive the game was out of reach. A Good performance in a big game.
The Bad
Buffalo – The Bills played the Dolphins fairly evenly in Miami and led the Dolphins 16-10 late in the third. Over the course of the final 16:20, the Bills turned the ball over 4 times, fumbled once more but recovered for a safety and gave up 15 unanswered points to lose a winnable road game. A Bad finish that probably gave Bill fans haunting memories of past Super Bowls.
San Diego – Had the Chargers merely lost to the Saints in London by five points, it would not have been Bad. Sure, they gave up 409 yards, but they logged 451 of their own. Granted, 186 of them were after they fell behind 37-20 in the fourth quarter. Their two turnovers were costly, since one gave the Saints the ball on the Charger 25 and one came on a late march that could have tied the game. But what cemented their spot on the Bad was 14, count them, 14 penalties for 134 yards. In a point-a-minute game this is unrecoverable. They looked like a Norv Turner-coached team.
Tampa Bay – In Dallas, with Romo hurt and the Cowboys in disarray, the deck looked stacked. Add the fact that the defense gave up only 172 yards and we are left asking how the Bucs whiffed on this opportunity. It helps when you walk into halftime with only two FGs despite every first half drive ending in Cowboy territory and twice reaching the red zone. Giving up the game’s lone TD on the final first half play from scrimmage, coughing up a fumble on the second half kickoff and generally being about as efficient on offense as the Pentagon is at buying hammers helped define a Bad performance and a lost opportunity.
The Ugly
Cincinnati – Some weeks the Bengals are competitive but not good enough to win. This was not one of those weeks. The Bengals had given up enough points to lose two minutes into the game, but that punt return was just a prelude to an all around Ugly performance. Saying the Bengals are a mess is a gross understatement.
Oakland – Their first half all but cemented their spot here. Their credentials for the Ugly include taking a pair of first downs, 35 yards of offense, 13 yards passing and a 19-0 deficit into halftime. They were better in the second half, but the game was pretty much over by that time.
San Francisco – The 49ers look very good on the stat sheet of this game. Then you dig into the gory details. Before halftime the Niners turned the ball over inside the Seahawk 10 and again inside the Hawk 30. The latter was an interception returned for a TD. That is arguably a swing of 17 points. Combine that with 43 and 62 yard TD passes (mostly YAC) allowed by the defense and you have an Ugly effort.
Dishonorable Mention:
MLB – I know they wanted to try to get Game 5 in before the rain, and I don’t fault them for that. Once the monsoon started it was pretty much time to pack up and get out of there for the night. The worry about late October weather in Philly is certainly valid, but imagine the nightmare if the game and possibly the Series was decided on a play whose outcome was clearly dictated by conditions that would not be tolerated in any other baseball game at any level. Think guys, think!
The Good, The Bad And The Guy, Week 8
October 28, 2008 - 2:21 pm · 0 comments
by Zack Kelberman
in Community Commentary, Weekly Segments
The Good
Baltimore – At home against the Raiders, the Ravens ran up 192 yards rushing, 375 yards total and almost 36:30 of time of possession. Add to that holding the Raiders to an impotent 2 first downs and 35 yards of offense in the first half on the way to a 19-0 lead at intermission.and the story is pretty much told.
Cleveland – The Browns were better than the Jags on several big plays. On offense, 327 yards with only 15 first downs translates to some big plays. The Browns had 11 plays covering 10 yards or more, three on passes of 43, 51 and 53 yards. Despite surrendering 380 yards, the defense stopped the Jags on a 4th and one late in the second quarter, leading to a Browns FG prior to the break. Special teams blocked a potential game-tying FG and recovered a fumbled kickoff. The big plays turn a possible loss into a big road win and a slot on the Good.
Houston – It started with a punt return for a TD two minutes into the game. Combine that with 384 yards of offense, no turnovers, a 24 of 28 passing day for Schaub, over 35 minutes of possession and three takeaways on defense, one in the red zone and you have the recipe for a Good performance. The fact the opponents were the Bengals does not negate that.
New Orleans –The Saints racked up over 400 yards of offense in merry old England, the vast majority in the air. They exploded to 37-20 lead and then held on to fly home with a 5-point victory. The offense scored on six of its ten possessions (seven of ten if you count the intentional safety they took on their last drive). They might have done even more had San Diego not recovered an onside kick in the fourth quarter. Traveling to London and returning with a victory in fairly impressive form (on offense) earns a slot here, despite the fact they tried to give it back late.
New York Giants – This was not a thing of beauty, but you had to know that the Giants and Steelers would be a defensive struggle. Despite settling for three FGs and being stopped on the Steeler goal line in the first half, the Giants found themselves only down by a five entering the fourth quarter. With the Steelers driving on a critical fourth down, the Giants switched to Good the rest of the way and held the Steelers without a first down, outgained them 113-2, recorded two sacks, intercepted two passes (four total for the game), allowed only one completion in eight attempts and scored the final 12 points to walk away with a hard-fought road win. Getting out of Pittsburgh with a win in a defensive battle earns the Gents a spot in the Good.
Philadelphia – After a lackluster start and a second quarter wakeup call in the form of a 55 yard Ryan to White TD pass, the Eagles came to life in front of the home crowd. They rushed for 192 yards at a 6 yard a carry clip, passed for another 240 and grabbed three turnovers. Westbrook chipped in with 167 yards on 22 carries and TD runs of 16 and 39 yards. The result was a Good win against a scrappy Falcons team, putting the Eagles on the plus side of .500.
Tennessee – The fact the Titans logged a huge home win against Indy Monday night was probably enough to get them labeled Good. Add to their application that they were down by 8 late in the third and outscored the Colts 25-7 the rest of the way. In fact, after falling behind by 8, the Tacks ran off 33 plays for 159 yards, held the ball for almost 16 of the next 22:30 en route to those 25 points, held the Colts to 14 plays for 52 yards, stopped two fourth down attempts and intercepted a pass. By the time the Colts next sustained a drive the game was out of reach. A Good performance in a big game.
The Bad
Buffalo – The Bills played the Dolphins fairly evenly in Miami and led the Dolphins 16-10 late in the third. Over the course of the final 16:20, the Bills turned the ball over 4 times, fumbled once more but recovered for a safety and gave up 15 unanswered points to lose a winnable road game. A Bad finish that probably gave Bill fans haunting memories of past Super Bowls.
San Diego – Had the Chargers merely lost to the Saints in London by five points, it would not have been Bad. Sure, they gave up 409 yards, but they logged 451 of their own. Granted, 186 of them were after they fell behind 37-20 in the fourth quarter. Their two turnovers were costly, since one gave the Saints the ball on the Charger 25 and one came on a late march that could have tied the game. But what cemented their spot on the Bad was 14, count them, 14 penalties for 134 yards. In a point-a-minute game this is unrecoverable. They looked like a Norv Turner-coached team.
Tampa Bay – In Dallas, with Romo hurt and the Cowboys in disarray, the deck looked stacked. Add the fact that the defense gave up only 172 yards and we are left asking how the Bucs whiffed on this opportunity. It helps when you walk into halftime with only two FGs despite every first half drive ending in Cowboy territory and twice reaching the red zone. Giving up the game’s lone TD on the final first half play from scrimmage, coughing up a fumble on the second half kickoff and generally being about as efficient on offense as the Pentagon is at buying hammers helped define a Bad performance and a lost opportunity.
The Ugly
Cincinnati – Some weeks the Bengals are competitive but not good enough to win. This was not one of those weeks. The Bengals had given up enough points to lose two minutes into the game, but that punt return was just a prelude to an all around Ugly performance. Saying the Bengals are a mess is a gross understatement.
Oakland – Their first half all but cemented their spot here. Their credentials for the Ugly include taking a pair of first downs, 35 yards of offense, 13 yards passing and a 19-0 deficit into halftime. They were better in the second half, but the game was pretty much over by that time.
San Francisco – The 49ers look very good on the stat sheet of this game. Then you dig into the gory details. Before halftime the Niners turned the ball over inside the Seahawk 10 and again inside the Hawk 30. The latter was an interception returned for a TD. That is arguably a swing of 17 points. Combine that with 43 and 62 yard TD passes (mostly YAC) allowed by the defense and you have an Ugly effort.
Dishonorable Mention:
MLB – I know they wanted to try to get Game 5 in before the rain, and I don’t fault them for that. Once the monsoon started it was pretty much time to pack up and get out of there for the night. The worry about late October weather in Philly is certainly valid, but imagine the nightmare if the game and possibly the Series was decided on a play whose outcome was clearly dictated by conditions that would not be tolerated in any other baseball game at any level. Think guys, think!