Tony La Russa and NFL Quarterbacks..."C'mon Man"
A lot of "Holy Crap" and "C'mon Man" performances for Week 7 in the NFL. We got everything from Tim Tebow, poor quarterback play across the league, and what to think about the Colts/Saints game that wasn't as close as the final score indicated.
Also, a special a moment that you will never again see in a baseball game, yet alone game five of the World Series. A moment worthy of a "C'mon Man."
"HOLY CRAP" PERFORMERS
RB Arian Foster, Texans: Foster ran wild against Tennessee, rushing for 115-yds and 2 TD on 25 carries, and he also caught 5 balls for 119-yds and a TD. The Texans put up 518-yards of offense and won 41-7.
WR Calvin "Megatron" Johnson, Lions: 5 rec for 115-yds and a league leading 10th TD catch of the year for Calvin on Sunday, but the Lions lost their second straight game.
RB Michael Turner, Falcons: 27 carries for 122-yds from Turner helped Atlanta knock off Detroit.
WR Plaxico Burress, Jets: Burress had his best game since returning from his prison sentence with 4 receptions for 25-yds and 3 TD in the Jets 27-21 win over San Diego.
QB Tim Tebow, Broncos, final 6+ minutes: Tebow gets a "Holy Crap" for the last six minutes or so of the Broncos/Dolphins game, because the first 54 minutes were terrible. With his team down 15 points late in the fourth quarter, Tebow led the Broncos to their first touchdown of the game with 2:34 to go.
Denver then recovered the onside kick and Tebow led the Broncos down the field again on a 10 play, 57-yard drive, ending with a touchdown pass to Daniel Fells. Tebow ran in for the two-point conversion, tying the game at 15 with 17 second to go. The Denver defense forced and recovered a Matt Moore fumble in overtime and kicker Matt Prater hit a 52-yard field goal to give the Broncos their second win of the season.
According to Sports Illustrated's Jim Trotter, @SI_JimTrotter, in the first 54 minutes against the Dolphins Tebow was abysmal, see "C'mon Man" below. However, the final five minutes of the game plus overtime - 9/13, 121-yds, 2 TD, 2-pt conversion and a QB rating of 138.1 - were much better. Tebow got Denver the win, which is all that matters, but there is a lot of room for improvement.
RB Matt Forte, Bears: Another great game from Forte - 25 car, 145-yds, TD - who is having an MVP caliber season. Forte is only making $600,000 this year, and he wants a big contract extension from the Bears, and he will get one if he continues to put up these kind of numbers.
QB Cam Newton and WR Steve Smith, Panthers: Carolina is getting a lot better and they already have as many wins this season, as they had all last season with their victory over Washington on Sunday. Cam Newton - 18/23, 256-yds, TD; 10 car, 59-yds, TD - and WR Steve Smith - 7 receptions for 143-yds - just continue to impress.
QB Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers: 26/39, 361-yds, 3 TD. Big Ben and the Steelers are heating up after a rough start to the season.
QB Aaron Rodgers, Packers: Another outstanding performance from Rodgers. 24/30, 335-yds, 3 TD and the Packers remain undefeated heading into their bye week. WR Greg Jennings had another good game with 7 receptions for 147-yds and a TD.
RB Adrian Peterson, Vikings: 24 carries for 175-yds and TD helped keep the Vikings in the game Sunday against the Packers, but Peterson had no help from his defense.
K Josh Scobee, Jaguars: 4/4 on field goals including kicks from 22, 51 and 54 (twice) in Jacksonville's 12-7 upset of Baltimore.
RB DeMarco Murray, Cowboys: Boy oh Boy did the rookie out of Oklahoma impress football fans on Sunday. Murray had 25 carries for a Cowboys franchise record 253-yds, including a 91-yard TD run against the Rams. Murray, not all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith, now has the record for most rushing yards in a game while wearing a Dallas Cowboys uniform. "Holy Crap," and it almost was the most impressive performance of the week, but then the Saints took the field Sunday night.
"Holy Crap" Performance of the Week
QB Drew Bress and the New Orleans Saints offense: It was like a college football game or better yet a video game. The Saints put up 557-yards of offense Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts in what can only be described as a beat down. QB Drew Brees had more touchdown passes than he had incompletions -31/35, 325-yds and 5 TD - the Saints rushed for 236-yards, they had no turnovers while forcing three Indianapolis turnovers. New Orleans committed only one penalty for 10-yards, the Saints were 6-8 on third down and they had 36 first downs. Not to mention they won an NFL game 62-7. Damn.
"C'MON MAN" PERFORMANCES
Tennessee Titans: It's bad enough when you lose to division rival Houston 41-7, but when you give up 518-yards of offense, while only gaining 148-yards of your own, you know it has been a bad day. QB Matt Hasselbeck was 14/30 for 104-yds, and he threw two interceptions, with one of them being returned for a touchdown. RB Chris Johnson's disappointing season also continued with him gaining just 18-yards on 10 carries.
Seattle/Cleveland Game: One word can describe this game, brutal. Three fumbles, two interceptions, 15 penalties for 116-yards and a final score of 6-3. Awful. This was the only one o'clock game on in the Cincinnati area after CBS television affiliate Local 12 got the CBS game changed to the Kansas City/Oakland game. The possibility of Carson Palmer playing for Oakland seem intriguing for Cincinnati fans, but the bad thing was, the Seahawks/Browns game on FOX was now the only game on local television.
This game was so bad, that I volunteered to help my dad cut the grass. I even volunteered to go up on the roof to look at the gutter, because that seemed like more fun than watching the Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns play football. Seattle had just 137-yards of offense, they controlled the ball for only 17 minutes, which resulted in just three points. They even had a punt return by Leon Washington called back because of a very questionable block in the back. Bottom-line, one of the worst games I have seen in a long time and don't expect to see either of these teams come playoff time.
QB Tim Tebow, Broncos, in the first 54 minutes of the game: 4/14, 40-yds, 0 TD, QB rating of 39.6, but at least it ended well for Tebow and the Broncos. However, he can't continue to start games off like that or his time as a starting quarterback in the NFL will be very short.
QB Philip Rivers, Chargers: It's been a very disappointing start to the season for Philip Rivers. Rivers was 16/32 for 179-yds, a TD and 2 INT and he led one of the worst two-minute drills you will ever see to end the game. The Chargers may be 4-2, but Rivers has thrown for only 1,715-yards and he has more interceptions with nine, than he has touchdowns with seven.
QB Josh Freeman, Buccaneers: I cannot figure the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out. One week they get steamrolled by San Francisco, then the next week they beat New Orleans. So, you think they are turning it around, but then they go lose to Chicago in London. QB Josh Freeman was terrible - 29/51, 264-yds, 2 TD, 4 INT - and with all the other NFC South teams winning, Tampa is now a game back of New Orleans and is tied with Atlanta for second in the division.
"C'mon Man" Performances of the Week
QB Carson Palmer and QB Kyle Boller, Raiders: To say it was a tough day for Raiders quarterbacks on Sunday, would be an understatement. Kyle Boller started the game and threw three interceptions, including a 59-yard pick six to safety Kendrick Lewis. Head coach Hue Jackson removed Boller, finally, and put in newly acquired Carson Palmer to start the second half.
Palmer did not do much better. Carson was just 8/21 for 116-yds and he also threw three interceptions. One of those was returned 58-yards by Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers for a touchdown, something Cincinnati fans were very much accustom to seeing over the years. To the delight of many Bengals fans, Palmer had a QB rating of only 17.3 and the Raiders were shutout 28-0.
Indianapolis Colts: Curtis Painter had a bad day - 9/17, 67-yds, INT, fumble lost, QB rating 38.1, but not as bad as the day the defense was about to have. When you give up 557-yards of offense, 62 points, and lose an NFL game by 55, that's a bad day. The Colts were flat out embarrassed on national television by New Orleans Sunday night and even with Peyton Manning, the Colts don't win this football game. The season cannot come to an end soon enough for Indianapolis.
Could Andrew Luck be backing up Peyton Manning to start 2012? To be continued...
Baltimore Ravens offense: It was an ugly Monday night in Jacksonville for the Baltimore Ravens offense. The offense failed to put up any points in the first 58 minutes of the game, and 146-yards of offense against a Jaguars team that came into the game 1-5 is pitiful. QB Joe Flacco - 21/38, 137-yds, TD, INT - struggled big time, but his offensive coordinator didn't help matters.
Cam Cameron has been in the league a long time and he called one of the worst games offensively you will ever see. Ray Rice, one of the best running backs in the league, had only eight carries for 28-yds. Why would you not get the ball into the hands of your best playmaker more often? WR Anquan Boldin was targeted 12 times, but only came up with four receptions. He was having no success against cornerback Rashean Mathis, so move him to the slot or give it to him on a reverse, or something. Why Rice and Boldin only touched the ball 17 times combined is beyond me.
QB Play: Besides, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, New Orleans' Drew Brees, Houston's Matt Schaub, Dallas' Tony Romo and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger, the quarterback play this weekend was awful. Eight quarterbacks are already listed above in the "C'mon Man" category and that doesn't include these other fine performances from those playing most important position in football.
Charlie Whitehurst, Seahawks: 12/30, 97-yds, INT, fumble lost, QB rating 35.0. Ouch.
Colt McCoy, Browns: 20/35, 178-yds, INT, QB rating 59.0
A.J. Feeley, Rams: 20/33, 196-yds, INT, QB rating 64.7
Matt Ryan, Falcons: 20/34, 218-yds, TD, 2 INT, QB rating 63.1
Matt Stafford, Lions: 15/32, 183-yds, TD, QB rating 75.4
Jay Cutler, Bears: 17/32, 226-yds, TD, 2 INT, QB rating 60.2
Matt Cassel, Chiefs: 15/30, 161-yds, 2 INT, QB rating 38.3
Blaine Gabbert, Jaguars: 9/20. 93-yds, QB rating 59.0
Cardinals Bullpen Phone Confusion: Only Tony La Russa and the St. Louis Cardinals would blame a loss in game five of the World Series on a bullpen phone. In the eighth inning, La Russa called to the bullpen to get pitchers Mark Rzepczynski and Jason Motte up and loosening in the Cardinals pen. Problem was, bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist only heard Rzepczynski.
La Russa saw this and called back to the bullpen and told them to get Motte warmed up. Once again, Lilliquist didn't hear Motte and he got Lance Lynn up. So, Rzepczynski was left in the game because Motte was not ready, and he gave up a two-run double to Rangers catcher Mike Napoli. That gave Texas a 4-2 win and a 3-2 lead in the World Series.
Cincinnati Reds fans will agree with me when I say the Cardinals complain about a lot of things. From pitchers wearing wristbands, having pine tar on their cap, the mound not being level, playing in the rain, to not being able to see because of the smoke from fireworks after giving up a home run. Cough, couch, Chris Carpenter. Carpenter also cussed out Mike Napoli for no apparent reason after getting him to fly out with runners on. Show some class Chris.
But for Tony La Russa to say the Cardinals lost the game because of the bullpen phone..."C'mon Man."
Also, a special a moment that you will never again see in a baseball game, yet alone game five of the World Series. A moment worthy of a "C'mon Man."
"HOLY CRAP" PERFORMERS
RB Arian Foster, Texans: Foster ran wild against Tennessee, rushing for 115-yds and 2 TD on 25 carries, and he also caught 5 balls for 119-yds and a TD. The Texans put up 518-yards of offense and won 41-7.
WR Calvin "Megatron" Johnson, Lions: 5 rec for 115-yds and a league leading 10th TD catch of the year for Calvin on Sunday, but the Lions lost their second straight game.
RB Michael Turner, Falcons: 27 carries for 122-yds from Turner helped Atlanta knock off Detroit.
WR Plaxico Burress, Jets: Burress had his best game since returning from his prison sentence with 4 receptions for 25-yds and 3 TD in the Jets 27-21 win over San Diego.
QB Tim Tebow, Broncos, final 6+ minutes: Tebow gets a "Holy Crap" for the last six minutes or so of the Broncos/Dolphins game, because the first 54 minutes were terrible. With his team down 15 points late in the fourth quarter, Tebow led the Broncos to their first touchdown of the game with 2:34 to go.
Denver then recovered the onside kick and Tebow led the Broncos down the field again on a 10 play, 57-yard drive, ending with a touchdown pass to Daniel Fells. Tebow ran in for the two-point conversion, tying the game at 15 with 17 second to go. The Denver defense forced and recovered a Matt Moore fumble in overtime and kicker Matt Prater hit a 52-yard field goal to give the Broncos their second win of the season.
| After a horrific 54 minutes for Tebow and the Broncos on Sunday, but they became the first team since the 1970 merger to come back from a 15 point deficit that late in the 4th quarter. (The Denver Post/John Leyba) |
According to Sports Illustrated's Jim Trotter, @SI_JimTrotter, in the first 54 minutes against the Dolphins Tebow was abysmal, see "C'mon Man" below. However, the final five minutes of the game plus overtime - 9/13, 121-yds, 2 TD, 2-pt conversion and a QB rating of 138.1 - were much better. Tebow got Denver the win, which is all that matters, but there is a lot of room for improvement.
RB Matt Forte, Bears: Another great game from Forte - 25 car, 145-yds, TD - who is having an MVP caliber season. Forte is only making $600,000 this year, and he wants a big contract extension from the Bears, and he will get one if he continues to put up these kind of numbers.
QB Cam Newton and WR Steve Smith, Panthers: Carolina is getting a lot better and they already have as many wins this season, as they had all last season with their victory over Washington on Sunday. Cam Newton - 18/23, 256-yds, TD; 10 car, 59-yds, TD - and WR Steve Smith - 7 receptions for 143-yds - just continue to impress.
QB Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers: 26/39, 361-yds, 3 TD. Big Ben and the Steelers are heating up after a rough start to the season.
QB Aaron Rodgers, Packers: Another outstanding performance from Rodgers. 24/30, 335-yds, 3 TD and the Packers remain undefeated heading into their bye week. WR Greg Jennings had another good game with 7 receptions for 147-yds and a TD.
RB Adrian Peterson, Vikings: 24 carries for 175-yds and TD helped keep the Vikings in the game Sunday against the Packers, but Peterson had no help from his defense.
K Josh Scobee, Jaguars: 4/4 on field goals including kicks from 22, 51 and 54 (twice) in Jacksonville's 12-7 upset of Baltimore.
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| Nobody could catch RB DeMarco Murray on Sunday. (Patrick T. Fallon/Dallas News) |
"Holy Crap" Performance of the Week
QB Drew Bress and the New Orleans Saints offense: It was like a college football game or better yet a video game. The Saints put up 557-yards of offense Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts in what can only be described as a beat down. QB Drew Brees had more touchdown passes than he had incompletions -31/35, 325-yds and 5 TD - the Saints rushed for 236-yards, they had no turnovers while forcing three Indianapolis turnovers. New Orleans committed only one penalty for 10-yards, the Saints were 6-8 on third down and they had 36 first downs. Not to mention they won an NFL game 62-7. Damn.
"C'MON MAN" PERFORMANCES
Tennessee Titans: It's bad enough when you lose to division rival Houston 41-7, but when you give up 518-yards of offense, while only gaining 148-yards of your own, you know it has been a bad day. QB Matt Hasselbeck was 14/30 for 104-yds, and he threw two interceptions, with one of them being returned for a touchdown. RB Chris Johnson's disappointing season also continued with him gaining just 18-yards on 10 carries.
Seattle/Cleveland Game: One word can describe this game, brutal. Three fumbles, two interceptions, 15 penalties for 116-yards and a final score of 6-3. Awful. This was the only one o'clock game on in the Cincinnati area after CBS television affiliate Local 12 got the CBS game changed to the Kansas City/Oakland game. The possibility of Carson Palmer playing for Oakland seem intriguing for Cincinnati fans, but the bad thing was, the Seahawks/Browns game on FOX was now the only game on local television.
This game was so bad, that I volunteered to help my dad cut the grass. I even volunteered to go up on the roof to look at the gutter, because that seemed like more fun than watching the Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns play football. Seattle had just 137-yards of offense, they controlled the ball for only 17 minutes, which resulted in just three points. They even had a punt return by Leon Washington called back because of a very questionable block in the back. Bottom-line, one of the worst games I have seen in a long time and don't expect to see either of these teams come playoff time.
QB Tim Tebow, Broncos, in the first 54 minutes of the game: 4/14, 40-yds, 0 TD, QB rating of 39.6, but at least it ended well for Tebow and the Broncos. However, he can't continue to start games off like that or his time as a starting quarterback in the NFL will be very short.
QB Philip Rivers, Chargers: It's been a very disappointing start to the season for Philip Rivers. Rivers was 16/32 for 179-yds, a TD and 2 INT and he led one of the worst two-minute drills you will ever see to end the game. The Chargers may be 4-2, but Rivers has thrown for only 1,715-yards and he has more interceptions with nine, than he has touchdowns with seven.
QB Josh Freeman, Buccaneers: I cannot figure the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out. One week they get steamrolled by San Francisco, then the next week they beat New Orleans. So, you think they are turning it around, but then they go lose to Chicago in London. QB Josh Freeman was terrible - 29/51, 264-yds, 2 TD, 4 INT - and with all the other NFC South teams winning, Tampa is now a game back of New Orleans and is tied with Atlanta for second in the division.
"C'mon Man" Performances of the Week
QB Carson Palmer and QB Kyle Boller, Raiders: To say it was a tough day for Raiders quarterbacks on Sunday, would be an understatement. Kyle Boller started the game and threw three interceptions, including a 59-yard pick six to safety Kendrick Lewis. Head coach Hue Jackson removed Boller, finally, and put in newly acquired Carson Palmer to start the second half.
Palmer did not do much better. Carson was just 8/21 for 116-yds and he also threw three interceptions. One of those was returned 58-yards by Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers for a touchdown, something Cincinnati fans were very much accustom to seeing over the years. To the delight of many Bengals fans, Palmer had a QB rating of only 17.3 and the Raiders were shutout 28-0.
| Not only were the Colts unwatchable Sunday in New Orleans, but they were flat out embarrassing on national television. (Matt Detrich/The Indianapolis Star) |
Could Andrew Luck be backing up Peyton Manning to start 2012? To be continued...
Baltimore Ravens offense: It was an ugly Monday night in Jacksonville for the Baltimore Ravens offense. The offense failed to put up any points in the first 58 minutes of the game, and 146-yards of offense against a Jaguars team that came into the game 1-5 is pitiful. QB Joe Flacco - 21/38, 137-yds, TD, INT - struggled big time, but his offensive coordinator didn't help matters.
Cam Cameron has been in the league a long time and he called one of the worst games offensively you will ever see. Ray Rice, one of the best running backs in the league, had only eight carries for 28-yds. Why would you not get the ball into the hands of your best playmaker more often? WR Anquan Boldin was targeted 12 times, but only came up with four receptions. He was having no success against cornerback Rashean Mathis, so move him to the slot or give it to him on a reverse, or something. Why Rice and Boldin only touched the ball 17 times combined is beyond me.
QB Play: Besides, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, New Orleans' Drew Brees, Houston's Matt Schaub, Dallas' Tony Romo and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger, the quarterback play this weekend was awful. Eight quarterbacks are already listed above in the "C'mon Man" category and that doesn't include these other fine performances from those playing most important position in football.
Charlie Whitehurst, Seahawks: 12/30, 97-yds, INT, fumble lost, QB rating 35.0. Ouch.
Colt McCoy, Browns: 20/35, 178-yds, INT, QB rating 59.0
A.J. Feeley, Rams: 20/33, 196-yds, INT, QB rating 64.7
Matt Ryan, Falcons: 20/34, 218-yds, TD, 2 INT, QB rating 63.1
Matt Stafford, Lions: 15/32, 183-yds, TD, QB rating 75.4
Jay Cutler, Bears: 17/32, 226-yds, TD, 2 INT, QB rating 60.2
Matt Cassel, Chiefs: 15/30, 161-yds, 2 INT, QB rating 38.3
Blaine Gabbert, Jaguars: 9/20. 93-yds, QB rating 59.0
Cardinals Bullpen Phone Confusion: Only Tony La Russa and the St. Louis Cardinals would blame a loss in game five of the World Series on a bullpen phone. In the eighth inning, La Russa called to the bullpen to get pitchers Mark Rzepczynski and Jason Motte up and loosening in the Cardinals pen. Problem was, bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist only heard Rzepczynski.
La Russa saw this and called back to the bullpen and told them to get Motte warmed up. Once again, Lilliquist didn't hear Motte and he got Lance Lynn up. So, Rzepczynski was left in the game because Motte was not ready, and he gave up a two-run double to Rangers catcher Mike Napoli. That gave Texas a 4-2 win and a 3-2 lead in the World Series.
Cincinnati Reds fans will agree with me when I say the Cardinals complain about a lot of things. From pitchers wearing wristbands, having pine tar on their cap, the mound not being level, playing in the rain, to not being able to see because of the smoke from fireworks after giving up a home run. Cough, couch, Chris Carpenter. Carpenter also cussed out Mike Napoli for no apparent reason after getting him to fly out with runners on. Show some class Chris.
But for Tony La Russa to say the Cardinals lost the game because of the bullpen phone..."C'mon Man."
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| Apparently not. |
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