Happy Holidays to everyone!
We got some early treats last week by some of the wildest finishes we’ll see in a long time. A holiday gift was given in Philadelphia and a bag of coal unloaded on New York. I want to shed some light on this “tight” MVP race that’s going on in the public’s eye. Plus, rookie steps in and gives one of the top teams a close scare just in time for the playoffs, and history is made in Minnesota and why the Vikings would be better off going back outdoors. Lets dive right in to our holiday edition of the Weekly Scout’s Take!
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They called it the Miracle at the New Meadowlands. I’d say thats rather fitting considering how drastic both teams turned around within an 8 minute span. The Giants, who were bullying Michael Vick all day and seemed to have a stranglehold on this game for 52 minutes, loosened the vice and made one critical mistake. You NEVER give Michael Vick room to run.
Vick accounted for 130 rushing yards in that game, over 90 of them coming in the final quarter of play. he also threw for over 200+ yards and took the Eagles from a 21 point deficit to tying the game up with just over a minute left to play. With the Eagles defense finally getting a couple much needed stops (added in with some poor protection on the Giants offensive line’s part), out steps rookie punter Matt Dodge to kick away the ball with :12 seconds left in the game. “Just kick the ball out of bounds. Don’t give em a chance to return it!” was what Tom Coughlin emphasized to Dodge as he took the field to try and kill the remaining time and send it into overtime.
As the long snapper sends a high snap back, Dodge makes a rookie mistake which will follow him in New York fans’ hearts for a long time.
He kicked it to Desean Jackson.
Jackson fumbles the ball, which might have been the best thing to happen for that kick return. As a bit of info for the general football fan, every player on Special Teams running down has their own “lane” to stay in. Think of the field like 10 bowling lanes. Everyone covers their one lane and make sure the runner doesn’t get past them. When the ball was fumbled, everyone left their lane and went straight for the ball. Then Jackson recovers it…
“1 missed tackle…”
“2 missed tackles…”
“Please someone tackle this guy…”
“Oh $#&*!!!!!!!!!!!!”
And this is what was going through Tom Coughlin’s head as he watched Jackson run through his Special Teams’ coverage like kids through halloween candy. All of the sudden, the only thing you can hear in New York is a pin drop and the Eagles’ bench going absolutely haywire as they pulled off one of the biggest comebacks in NFL history.
I’m not one who tries to get overly dramatic, but it was hard to not get caught up in what was going on. I was at an Uno’s Restaurant with my family and could hear the local Eagles fans starting to get louder and louder as Vick is leading this mastery on the field. I step into the bar area to see what is on the TV and I see the score “Eagles 24, Giants 31” and I signal to my uncle (a NY Jets/Giants fan) to come here because he might want to see this. As the score ties and the Giants last offensive drive stalls, I look over at my uncle and I can see a similar look on his face to the other few Giants fans in the room. They’d seen this before.
Even younger Giants fans have seen the original film of the “Miracle in the Meadowlands” where Herm Edwards and the rest of the Eagles Special Teams return a fumbled snap for a touchdown to beat the Giants in a wild comeback. Different players, different stadium, same result.
For the Eagles fans, how does this not become a springboard for a run in the playoffs? Most every Super Bowl winning team has to have skill and luck both play on their sides. Luck isn’t just about how the ball bounces, but luck includes avoiding injury, having some calls go your way, the wind guides the kick just the right way, you get the idea. Very few teams have made it on skill alone and that’s because they’ve been so dominant that you could see them holding the trophy up in week 10. The last time you got that idea about a team, they ran into a buzzsaw in the Super Bowl by the ironic name of Tom Coughlin and his New York Giants.
Eagles mania is running high in Philadelphia, as it should. This team is an offensive powerhouse. They’ve got great talent in running the ball, passing the ball, or both in the case of Michael Vick. I still personally think they have flaws defensively, but when you have the ability of hanging 40 points on an opponent a game, it’s hard not to be able to compensate for those flaws. The Eagles will be a tough out this year in the playoffs.
On a side note, wouldn’t it be a great storyline to see the NFC Title Game be Vick leading Philly against the Falcons in his old home, the Georgia Dome? If that doesn’t build theatrics, I don’t think anything else will.
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Since we’re on the subject of Vick, I just want my opinion in on this running MVP race right now. It seems to be the general public opinion that the only 2 people in the MVP race right now are Michael Vick of Philadelphia and Tom Brady of New England.
Don’t get me wrong, these are two guys playing at a ridiculous level right now and both are worthy of awards, but I think they’re both on pace for different awards. Look at their current stats:
Tom Brady (NE) – 299/449, 66.6 Comp. %, 31 TD’s, 4 INT’s, 109.9 QB Rating
Michael Vick (PHL) – 208/329, 63.2 Comp. %, 20 TD’s 5 INT’s, 103.6 QB Rating; 92 attempts for 613 yds rushing, 6.7 per carry, 8 TD’s
Tom is clearly the better pocket passer (shocker) but Vick provides the dual threat which makes him so hard to game plan for. Now let’s look at what I feel is the discerning factor between the two of them.
Against top 10 defenses this season:
Tom Brady faced 8 of the Top 10 Ranked Defenses so far this season. He’s put up a staggering 194/299, 64.8% Comp., 17 TD’s, 4 INT’s, 102.5 average rating.
Mike Vick faced 3 of the top 10 Ranked Defenses so far this season. He’s amassed 90/141, 6 TD’s, 2 INT’s, 94.1 Average Rating; 41 Rushes for 311 yards, 7.5 yards a carry.
Oh and just a couple other factors to think about.. The common opponents between Vick and Brady? Green Bay and Chicago. Both were losses for the Eagles. Brady defeated both of them. Tom lost 1 of those 9 games against those top 10 defenses. The 2 games that Vick won against a Top 10 defense was the same team, the New York Giants.
This isn’t to say Vick is bad by any means, I just don’t see him taking the MVP from Brady. Vick is a shoe-in for Comeback Player of the Year, no question. He’s been absolutely electric and that will be all they need to see to give him the award. I just can’t build a big enough argument as to why Vick should get the MVP over Brady.
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Reflecting back on Brady, he had quite a scare from a guy who’s last big game was played in the National Championship for LSU. Matt Flynn, the backup for Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, put on quite a performance for 59 minutes of the Sunday Night game against New England. Going between 3 lead changes and having a chance to steal the major upset in New England, Flynn had the New England defense on its heels for the majority of the game. With a surprising showing by the Green Bay run game, Flynn was able to stay cool under various pressure packages and made some smart decisions.
Granted, his final handling of the last 30 seconds of the game was very poor to say the least, but for a guy making his first ever regular season start on a national stage against an opponent like the Patriots, he didn’t look bad at all.
As for the Pats, it worked in their favor that they were able to escape with a win. I guarantee Bill Belichick was not handing out good graces after that game. That was the definition of a trap game and the Patriots barely escaped out of it.
I will give the Green Bay defense a large amount of credit, I believe they played a great game keeping Tom Brady and the rest of the offense on edge all night. The play of the game has to go to Dan Connolly, the Special Teams lineman who returned a kickoff 71 yards to essentially give the Patriots the score to put the game away.
Seeing a man of that size run, bounce out to the outside and even stiff-arm his way down the field was not only amazing, but almost comical too. I got the vision of a 18-Wheeler running through a compact car lot when I saw him pull that run off. He earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week awards for that, and he rightfully deserved it.
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Monday night, University of Minnesota Stadium, a brisk 19 degree game with a slush rain falling on them. A wild Minnesota Vikings crowd going nuts at experiencing the first outdoor Vikings game since 1981. The old Vikes fan who remember the days of Bud Grant and Fran Tarkenton, Jim Marshall, Alan Page and the Purple People Eaters of the 1970’s.
This was a special night for the Vikings fans.
With the collapse of the roof at the MetrodDome, the Vikings were forced to scramble and find a spot to play football. With the Golden Gophers Stadium available but completely buried from the same snowstorm that caused the damage to the MetroDome, it was a rush to get any available help to clear the stadium out in time to play a game.
Minnesota’s finest showed up and made it a memorable night. It was the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary for the Vikings and had some of the greatest Minnesota players in attendance, including the legendary Bud Grant himself. The town absolutely loved the feel again. There were chants that could be heard on TV from the fans: “NO MORE DOME! NO MORE DOME!”
Minnesota had such an advantage for homefield when the weather would hit. They were used to practicing and playing in this weather. They embraced the cold. It was their home and they loved it. Opposing players never wanted to come up there because they’d be counting down the minutes until they could get warm again. Its what made Minnesota a force to be reckoned with in the 70’s, and by the reaction of the people, it seems to be what’s missing in Minnesota.
The Wilfs and the Vikings Organization are already in a big squabble about trying to get a new stadium in Minneapolis to begin with. The city doesn’t want to pay the hefty cost to rebuild another stadium. The Vikings organization is already one of a few struggling franchises in the NFL. Maybe that was the taxpayers speaking out in support of an open air stadium?
I’m not sure what the resolution will be, but I do know this: That was the happiest crowd in Minneapolis that I’ve ever seen in a blow out home game. There’s still one more home game left and it doesn’t look like the MetroDome is anywhere near ready to house another game. Let’s see if the same showing comes out again, and if the fan support is as loving as it was that night in Minnesota.
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I think Deion “Primetime” Sanders said it best:
“Devin Hester is the best kick returner of all time. He’s even better than I am.”
During the blowout that occurred in Minnesota on Monday Night, a record in NFL History was broken.
Hester, who already owns the top 2 single season records for kick returns for TD’s, broke the All-Time Record from Freddy Mitchell with 14 kicks returned for TD’s. Hester, “The Windy City Flyer”, broke a record in 4 years which took Freddy Mitchell 14 years to do. Hester looks like he’s back to his dangerous self in the kick return game. Before it’s all said and done, Hester will own every record for return TDs in the books. He’s in his prime, he’s got a great special teams unit around him, and the minute he is given even 5 yards to start with, he’s a danger to score.
Primetime went on to say that he’s already a Hall of Famer, which has drawn some criticism from other analysts and experts in the field. If his career was to end today, I’m not sure that he’d be in the Hall, but he’d have a more than compelling argument as to why he should be there.
I think before it’s all said and done, he’ll make his name in Canton. It will be for his kick return abilities, but he’ll put numbers up that will take another 20 to 30 years or so to break. he’s done things in 4 years that guys were not able to do in a life time of football. He’s a special player, and the Bears know it.
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Well Thanks to Arizona dropping a duck at Carolina and the new Miracle at the Meadowlands, I’m coming off a .500 performance last week. We got some great playoff shaping football with all these games having one X Factor that can make or break the game. Here’s this weeks Screamers and Sleepers!
SCREAMERS!!!!
New York Jets at Chicago Bears
This is a defensive football fan’s wet dream. Two tough football teams, slugging it out, cold December weather, with both teams having a game changing defense. Both offenses have potential to be explosive but are inconsistent. I give the run game edge to New York because of the O-Line being 10 times better than Chicago’s. The X Factor in this game?
Devin Hester.
In a game where there can be a low score, if this man gets his hands on the ball or not, it will affect starting field position. That could be all the difference in this game between a punt and 3 points.
Chicago pulls off a tough earned Windy City Win at home 19-16.
New York Giants at Green Bay Packers
Another great defensive matchup, and what better place to play it but in Title Town. I think the offensive edge goes to Green Bay, especially if Aaron Rodgers is healthy. The run game edge has to goto New York, especially with Big Brandon Jacobs back to rumbling form. The X Factor here?
The Giants Pass Rush.
The O Line for the Packers is “ok” but they’ve been injured and plugging guys in left and right. This is a game you should hear the names Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck a lot. These guys will give Rodgers a hard time all day, and with these guys already responsible for knocking out 5 QBs this season, I won’t be surprised to hear #6 claimed on Sunday.
Giants keep their playoff lives alive 27-24.
Sleepers…
Dallas Cowboys at Arizona Cardinals
You could see the Cardinals mailing it in last week against the Panthers, who are the top runners for the #1 pick in the draft. Dallas is fighting for Jason Garrett’s job security, which looks like a lock assuming Dallas picks up a win in the desert. I don’t think this will be much of a game, especially with Demarcus Ware breathing down rookie QB John Skelton’s neck.
Dallas pulls off a pretty lopsided game in the desert 34-17.
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
After Green Bay’s rookie QB came into Gilette Stadium and gave the Patriots quite a scare, I don’t think Belichick was anywhere near pleased with the performance his team turned in on Sunday Night. They won’t be anywhere near as ill-prepared this week when a tough Buffalo team with nothing to play for but pride comes to town. Watch for New England to take the #1 seed in the AFC Playoff spot with a vengeance.
New England rolls on its way to a first round bye 41-17.
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