The Cowboys are the first team to make a mistake today – they have decided to keep Wade Phillips on board for at least another year. I really don’t see that going well and think that they should have made a change, but what’s done is done. The Chargers really need to not make the same mistake – they must fire Norv Turner right away. Here are six good reasons why:
Five Thoughts about each of Sunday’s games:
Dallas (+2.5) at Minnesota
1. Is the Dallas defense for real? They have allowed just two touchdowns in the last 12 quarters, and have looked almost unbeatable, but that has come in two games against the obviously deeply flawed Eagles and a game at the terrible Redskins. This is a big step up in competition for them.
It’s early in the first set of Sunday games , and a lot of thoughts are running through my mind already:
1. What is the point of this farce in London? The field isn’t ideal, the crowd sounds like they are at a funeral, the broadcast doesn’t look or sound quite right, and the Bucs are pretty much the worst ambassadors for the league possible. Josh Johnson has thrown two interceptions already in the first quarter, and the game is already over. Of course, it was all but over before the kickoff. It can’t be long now until we see Josh Freeman start to play for the Bucs – it’s not like they have anything to play for, and Freeman can’t be much worse than the alternative.
1. Norv Turner should be fired now. With cause – willful and incomprehensible waste of talent.
2. The first thing the new coach should do is work on covering kick returns. It’s not even like Eddie Royal was an elite kick returner before today.
That was a crazy game to end a crazy sporting Monday. There is, like the first game, a whole lot to digest in that one. Here are a few of those things:
1. Oakland played very straight forward defense, but it was shockingly effective for much of the game – The Chargers are supposed to be a world class offense, but Oakland thoroughly outplayed them, and they did it without doing anything fancy. The defensive scheme really just looked like a basic preseason package, but they played it with intensity and burning desire, and San Diego couldn’t manage to overcome it to nearly the extent that they should have. Part of what helped the Raiders was Richard Seymour. He might not be happy to be in Oakland, but you’d never guess it by the way he played. He was a beast. The exception to that defensive strength, of course, was on the last drive when the Raiders played a tentative, pathetic prevent package when they badly needed to hold the Chargers.
1. New England Patriots – The Patriots are heavily favored to win it all – probably too favored. Still, they have as good a chance as anyone. If Brady is healthy, and it seems reasonable to assume that he will be, then he’ll be hungry to make up for lost time. He has all the tools he needs to do that – a good line to protect him, a strong wide receiver corps, perhaps the best running back battalion he has had in his time in New England, and so on. Defensively, the team is more than sound as well. On paper they are clearly the best team in the league, and they have the track record for living up to their potential.
The ending of the Pittsburgh – San Diego game has all sorts of bettors crying foul. The total was 40.5, so the under was secure as the score was 11-10 with seconds left. What wasn’t determined, though, was the spread. Pittsburgh was favored by 4.5, and about two-thirds of the money was bet on them. Needless to say, the sportsbooks would have much preferred a San Diego cover. Hence the conspiracy theories.
I don’t know about you, but I am itching for the football season to get here. Aching, really. NFL training camps get under way right away, so America’s favorite sport has been on my mind a lot lately. We’ll obviously spend a lot of time talking about the league in the weeks and months to come, but before we get into any specifics I just wanted to reflect on some of the general thoughts that are bouncing through my mind at this point.
Jacksonville – I like this team. A lot. Their division is a bit softer than it has been. Their offense is solid. Their defense is significantly upgraded. Every year there are a couple of teams that I either make or lose a fortune on. I strongly suspect that Jacksonville is one of those teams. They aren’t going to surprise anyone, and the public is going to be aware of them, but I still thin that they will play well enough to make some money.
