Weekly Scout’s Take: November 11th Edition


It’s funny, even when the Dallas Cowboys are doing horrible and shouldn’t be the main face of the media, they somehow find a way to drop a bombshell to bring the cameras back to big D.

The first victim in the coaching group of 2010 has been claimed and why it actually worked out better for Wade Phillips than if he waited until the end of the season.  Also, another player is quietly making a big case for Comeback Player of the year.  We have a potential AFC matchup we could see again in the playoffs plus I give you my top 10 power rankings for the midseason.  We got a lot to share in this week’s edition, so I hope you have a few minutes.

**Poor Wade.  I know I’m probably one of the only people in the football world that actually feels for this guy.  When you look at him, how can you not feel bad?  He’s like the grandfather that every kid looks forward to going to see for Christmas break.  His calm demeanor and almost Dungy-like refusal to get angry and loud makes you feel like Jerry Jones fired Santa Claus from the Dallas coaching job.

As sad as it is though, it was a necessary sacrifice with this team.  This Cowboys team had quit on Wade and it was showing with a glaring passion in the visit to Green Bay.  I can’t tell you how shocking it was to see Dallas DB Mike Jenkins and S Gerald Sensebaugh both give less-than-a-lazy effort to prevent Greg Jennings from scoring to keep the game somewhat in reach.  Sensebaugh at least made contact so he won’t get the total blame, but getting a piggyback ride into the end zone doesn’t necessarily exempt him from horrible play. 

Jenkins flat out quit on the play.  When he was approaching Jennings at the 1-2 yard line and had a chance to stop the play from going in and he just stops and puts his hands up, that was a glaring sign that this team doesn’t care. 

When I saw that play, I almost thought that Jenkins should have joined Wade at the unemployment line.  That was unbelievably obvious and even the NBC announcement team pointed it out on live TV. 

You can’t do that at all, no way, no questions.  Even if they were down, what Jenkins did was a slap in the face to every other player on that field that actually still cared about whether they won or lost.  If you have 52 guys playing at 100% and 1 guy only giving a half-assed attempt, then you’re better off playing understaffed than with him.  As you can see, keeping someone who doesn’t care on the field is an advantage for your opponents.

But enough about Jenkins’ play which Jim Mora Jr. called “high treason”, let’s look at this from another angle. 

Jerry wanted to see what potentially would happen if offensive coordinator/asst. head coach Jason Garrett was given the reigns to run it fully, and now he’s got his 8 game audition to prove that he’s the right man for the job.  From what he’s started so far, he seems to be preaching the right things and bringing the hardnosed, no excuses temperament that this team of personalities needs. 

The Cowboys first practice under Garrett had them running at full speed, in pads, and jogging in between plays.  He wanted to simulate game speed and maintain the hustle in practice to make sure there wasn’t going to be anything missed in translation when it comes to game day.  Unfortunately for Garrett and company, they have a very large problem looming for them on Sunday in the form of the division-leading New York Giants.  Best of luck Jason, you guys will need it.

As for Wade, this is the first time he’s ever been fired in the middle of a season.  While it really sounds like it looks bad, it actually might have helped his stock.  Wade is a great coordinator and he’s considered one of the top minds on the 3-4 defense.

Wade probably won’t get another head coaching gig.  While he was actually quite successful in Dallas, he’s still got a losing record when it counts: in the playoffs.  However, Wade can come in and shape up a defense in a year or two.   He’s proven in his abilities in Atlanta, San Diego, and Dallas with good success in all of his stops defensively. 

This will give him time to let the rest of the season take the eyes off his firing, giving him time to relax and watch the rest of this season unfold while he can start regrouping for his next job interview.  With so many teams needing a truly good defense, Wade still will be a great coordinator and a welcome addition to many teams.  I won’t be surprised to see him hired by a team as early as March.

**In my last edition, I gave my two top contenders for the Comeback Player of the Year award.  After watching some more film this week, I think there’s another player who’s very quietly sticking his nose in the mix and will give voters a tough time when awards are handed out. 

What makes it even worse is he’s performing at a high level and his team is a lowly 2-6 and look to be virtually out of the playoff race.

Everyone had considered this guy’s career done and said he should have stepped away from the game last year.  On top of that, half of the “experts” said he’d never return to a potential Pro-Bowl level of play and that he’s on the downside of his career.

Figured it out yet?

I’ll give you one last hint.  He’s the leading member of the Dynamic Duo, although Robin hasn’t been seen at all really this year.

And yes, that’s correct.  I’m talking about Terrell Owens. 

T.O. has amassed a whopping 770 yards with 7 TD’s in the first half of the season.  Based off what he’s trended so far, T.O.’s on pace to finish out the season with over 1400 yards and 13 TD’s. 

To give you an idea of what that measures up to in respect of his career, T.O. hasn’t been close to 1400 yards since 2007 in Dallas, and prior to that in 2001 with San Francisco.  Just to add the icing on this cake we’re building, he had 15 TD’s in 2007 and was considered of the top 3 best WR’s in the game during that season. 

While Chad Ochocinco hasn’t been really found at all this season and seems to be on pace for one of his worst seasons of his career, T.O.’s playing with a new found level of play.

When he signed his contract with Cincy initially, there were escalator clauses for him to earn an extra two million for earning certain yardage and touchdown marks.  When it was initially set, T.O. even said they were fictious goals and he wasn’t going to hit them. 

Now it looks like he’s set to clear them and some breathing room by season’s end.

With the fact that he only signed a 1-year contract with Cincinnati and him proving he’s still got plenty of fight left in his tank, he’s setting himself up to get another healthy 1-2 year contract out of another team looking for that deep threat target. 

He’s also proven that he can keep his mouth under control and focus on playing, which he’s been doing quite a good job of so far.  Considering the personalities on the Bengals, you’d figure that would be a ticking timebomb waiting to go off. 

I’m interested to see who gets this award, because I promise that Owens will not make it easy to vote him out. 

**With us just over the halfway point, let’s take a look at the top 10 teams right now that are poised to keep control over their own destiny as we approach the playoff run in December/January.

1. Baltimore Ravens – What was thought to be their biggest problem going into the season was their biggest strength:  Their pass defense.  With All-Pro S Ed Reed out for 6 weeks, teams wanted to test this secondary and they measured up to the challenge in overwhelming factor.  They can run the ball, pass the ball, play good defense, and the turnovers are starting to pile up with Reed back in that defensive backfield. 
2. New York Jets – This team is taking on Rex’s personality even further.  With the resurgence of Tomlinson and Sanchez maturing into his position another year, the Jets seem poised to make a deep playoff run.  They can run the ball better than last year, they’re playing equally good defense last year, but now they have a better passing attack than last year which could be the missing key to getting them into Dallas in February.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers – Can you put a value on how much Troy Polamalu means to this defense?  When he’s in the game and he’s healthy, this defense is aggressive and will pick you apart from all angles.  When he’s not there, it looks like this defense loses its teeth.  He was such a missed icon in last year’s collapse.  I do worry about the recent rash of injuries they incurred against Cincinnati however.  I’ll be interested to see if they can keep up the good running game with Max Starks gone and them running thin on linemen.
4. New York Giants – At the beginning of the season, this team looked lost.  All of the sudden, Osi found out how to rush the passer again and has been dominating at the line of scrimmage.  On top of that, Eli’s been having an amazing season, plus the emergence of Hakeem Nicks has been such a welcome addition since the loss of Plaxico Burress.  In a parity-mixed NFC, they’re playing great football at the right time.
5. Tennessee Titans – This no-name defense has been making noise week in and week out.  They’re doing everything well from stopping the run to containing the big plays.  Not to mention, they’ll now have a new addition in Randy Moss to help stretch defenses back, Chris Johnson will have a field day now that they can’t leave 8 men in the box.  They are hiding behind the scenes but can cause a heap of trouble down the stretch.
6. New England Patriots – A lot of people are really hot on the Patriots bandwagon, but I see them missing key cogs from that team coming back to haunt them in December.  Tom Brady is having a great season and is making amazing strides with nothing really to work with, but I think the lack of defensive veterans will come haunt them at the end of the season.  For right now, they’re doing all the right things so it’ll at least keep them competitive.
7. Indianapolis Colts – Peyton is making another strong case for MVP because he’s working with even less than what Tom Brady has.  The Colts have been decimated by injury and its slowly showing.  I have faith in Peyton and that’s the only reason why I still think they’ll remain in the top 10 but if injuries continue to pile up with this team, I am not sure they’ll be able to last.
8. Atlanta Falcons – This team is playing sound football.  I won’t say they do anything truly great, but they do everything well.  Matt Ryan’s developing into a much more poised QB which only can bode well for this young team.  With the combo of Snelling/Turner and hopefully if Roddy White can stay healthy, they can easily stay in the conversation in the NFC.
9. New Orleans Saints – I know I have them higher than most others, but I believe when Reggie comes back, this team’s diverse offense will start to shine again.  Their defense is starting to resemble that opportunistic defense that lifted them to their first Super Bowl trophy in franchise history, and with how mixed up the NFC is, I think they can stay in the hunt.

10.  Green Bay Packers – One staggering stat that scares me and should scare Green Bay fans when games are coming down in the thick of things.  Aaron Rodgers in games that are decided by 4 points or less: 1-11 (not including that Minnesota referee gaf, they could have been 1-12).  This team has lost so many people and you can’t credit Mike McCarthy for the job he’s done making it all work with so many people.  They have a great resolve but I worry that when games come down to the wire, will they be able to close the deal?

**I was 3 out of 4 last week on the picks, having more faith in Buffalo.  I think they’ll jump in the win column some time, I just thought that was the week.  Let’s take a look at what we got on the docket this week!

SCREAMERS!!!

Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore’s playing at the highest level in the NFL.  Atlanta is playing at one of the top levels in the NFC.  The Ravens can keep Turner in check and Haloti Ngata is an absolute terror in the center of the line.  With Reed in back and Roddy White banged up, I think this is going to play right into Baltimore’s hands.

Baltimore takes a big road win and enjoys a long weekend 21-16.

New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers

A possible preview matchup of the AFC playoffs.  New England is coming off an embarrassing loss by the Browns, while the Steelers barely scraped away with a win in Cincinnati.  Bill Belichick is not known for losing 2 weeks in a row, but I think this breaks the mold.  Pittsburgh’s defense is playing too good for these rookie TE’s and Ben Tate to overtake one of the hardest home-field advantages, although I see New England taking one to the house since Pittsburgh’s special teams is very questionable.

Pittsburgh holds the fort down at home 28-23.

Sleepers…

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa is playing at a rejuvenated level and coming off a close loss on the road at Atlanta.  Carolina in the meanwhile is on their backup QB and coming off a total blowout at home.  Carolina doesn’t exactly do anything good at all and seems to be competing for the top pick in the draft with Buffalo and Dallas.

Tampa runs out of gunpowder firing the cannons so much 35-10.

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos

Kansas City does 2 things really well:  Play solid defense and run the ball.  Denver does one thing “ok” and thats pass the ball.  Brandon Flowers will have a great game for Kansas City and the combo of Charles/Jones will run through Denver like a hot knife through butter.  This will be a one sided affair.

Kansas City axes the Broncos 34-7.