As another week of surprising upsets and huge second half comebacks is in the books, it’s hard to believe we’re already a quarter of the way through the season. There are certainly some interesting story lines developing across the league.
The “Dream Team” is left to wonder what is going wrong, while Detroit is off to their best start in recent memory. After adding some much needed leadership to their franchises, San Francisco and Tennessee are off to surprising 3-1 starts. But before we head into the 2nd quarter of the season, let’s recap all the action from week four.
Hasselback Proves He isn’t Washed Up Quite Yet
Just a couple of months ago, there was a frenzy in free agency as the lockout ended and teams rushed to stockpile talent on their rosters. No team made a bigger splash in free agency than the Philadelphia Eagles, as they spent over $100 million in an effort to build a team that was nearly guaranteed to make the playoffs. Amid all the big signings, one move got relatively little attention in the media, as a washed up quarterback left one struggling team to join another team in the middle of a rebuilding project. So how is it that this move is likely to go down as the best move of the 2011 offseason?
When Matt Hasselbeck signed with Tennessee, the expectations were pretty low. Statistically, he was coming off a terrible season in Seattle. He threw only twelve touchdowns and a whopping seventeen interceptions, leaving many to assume that his days as an effective quarterback were over. The velocity on his throws was gone, and it had been five years since he had averaged seven yards or better per throw.
Going from Seattle to Tennessee should have been a challenge for Hasselbeck. It’s difficult for a quarterback to make a seamless transition from one team to another in a regular offseason, and it figured to be doubly difficult in the lockout shortened offseason. The most likely scenario for Hasselbeck seemed to be that he would make a few starts at the beginning of the year until the Titans’ rookie quarterback Jake Locker was ready to start.
No one expected Hasselbeck to start the season with three 300 yard games in a row, or to throw eight touchdowns in 4 games, or to average over eight yards per pass in his first four games. But he’s done that and more. He’s shown a remarkable understanding of the playbook, showing his young wide receivers where to line up numerous times. He and his wide receivers have shown few instances where they weren’t on the same page.
Perhaps more impressive is how he’s elevated the level at which his teammates are playing. Kenny Britt (prior to his injury), Nate Washington, and Lavelle Hawkins are all off to the best starts of their careers. Washington’s start has been particularly impressive: he has 23 catches for 320 yards. For comparison’s sake, Detroit’s Calvin Johnson has caught 24 passes 321 yards. Washington has been wildly inconsistent throughout his career, but Hasselbeck has consistently looked to him when the Titans need a big play.
Hasselbeck’s passer rating is currently 104.7, good for 4th in the league. He’s been able to be successful in spite of an anemic running game and a season ending injury to Britt. Last year’s version of Hasselbeck wouldn’t have been able to come close to this level of production. What’s been the difference?
In 2010, Seattle’s offensive line wasn’t able to get Hasselbeck enough time to throw the ball accurately. He was only sacked around twice a game, but he was hurried often and it affected his game. He made it no secret that he came to Tennessee in large part because of the Titans’ offensive line, and through four games it seems as though he made the right decision. He’s only been sacked four times, and on most throws he has what feels like hours to throw. The extra second or two Hasselbeck has had to throw has allowed his receivers extra time to work. It’s been tough for the opposing team’s secondary to compensate, and it’s resulted in Hasselbeck completing over 66% of his passes.
For all of Hasselbeck’s statistical contributions to Tennessee, his most important contribution to the team is one that can’t be quantified. It’s been thought among many that follow the Titans that biggest void for the team wasn’t in talent, but leadership. There has been no true leader at the quarterback spot since Steve McNair’s departure in 2006. The drama with Vince Young, Kerry Collins, and Jeff Fisher left the team divided over the position that is supposed to unite a team the most.
That void is now filled thanks to Hasselbeck. On the field, he has kept his offense lined up correctly. He’s lobbied hard with officials on behalf of his team mates, and he hasn’t been afraid to give receivers an earful if they run the wrong route. Off the field, he’s been a model leader, and most importantly, he’s been an invaluable tutor to the Titans’ quarterback of the future Jake Locker.
It will be hard for the Titans to continue to maintain their current spot atop the AFC South with the loss of Britt for the season. But Hasselbeck has made this team fun to watch, and Tennessee has a legitimate shot at being competitive for the rest of the season. That’s something that Titans fans haven’t been able to watch in awhile, and they will surely enjoy it.
Surprise of the Week
San Francisco’s rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh faced a big challenge heading into week 4. Following a cross country trip to beat Cincinnati in week 3, the 49ers would have to make another trip to play Philadelphia this week. His solution was an interesting one: stay in Ohio for the week, and have something of a mid season training camp in Youngstown.
With 9 minutes left in the third quarter, it appeared that the interesting call may not have been the right one. San Francisco found themselves trailing the Eagles 23-3, with Michael Vick putting on an incredible show. Maybe the 49ers had just run out of gas at the end of their week long stay on the East coast. No one had really expected San Francisco to beat the Eagles in Philadelphia, and going 1-1 on the road trip certainly wouldn’t be the end of the road.
It would have been understandable if the team had rolled over accepted defeat. For a team that has been mired in mediocrity for quite some time, it was probably what most people watching expected them to do. But Harbaugh is not a coach known for backing down or giving up. The 49ers showed in the second half Sunday that they have been quick to take on the character of their head coach.
The 49ers went into to the game with a game plan of running ball and stopping the run. That allowed Vick to have his way passing the ball (he had 491 total yards), and left San Francisco’s offense unable to muster much of a scoring threat in the first half. Harbaugh could have panicked and changed his game plan when things went wrong, but he didn’t.
It was a gamble. But by sticking by his guns and staying in two tight end formations, Harbaugh kept Philadelphia’s pass rush at bay. Alex Smith made plays through the air when he needed to, and the 49ers were able to ride a banged up Frank Gore to a huge win. As David Akers’s game winning extra point sailed through the uprights, the message was clear: these are not the 49ers we’ve grown to know. They are going to fight for 60 minutes, and they are not going to allow the opposing team to impose their game plan on them. There will be no panic this year in San Francisco.
You can’t say the same for the Philadelphia Eagles. If there wasn’t enough pressure on the Eagles before what was a disastrous collapse on Sunday, there will be now. Juan Castillo, their defensive coordinator, is the guy catching the most flak in Philly. He has an all star cast in the secondary, but the defense has still been largely ineffective at stopping much of anything. The run defense in particular has been awful. After allowing Gore to run for 127 yards on a bum ankle, they now rank 30th in the league in rushing defense.
Castillo seems to be the fall guy here, but is that fair? In my opinion, I think you have to look at the man who promoted an offensive line coach to defensive coordinator.
That wasn’t the only questionable decision Andy Reid has made lately, either. LeSean McCoy got a measly nine carries in a game where the Eagles led for almost the entirety. In a season where the Eagles held nothing back in free agency, he decided they would settle with a rookie kicker. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, that’s a huge gamble, and it hurt them on Sunday as Alex Henery missed two short field goals.
Reid is one of most well respected coaches in the NFL, and calling for his firing after four games is certainly premature. But it’s clear if this season continues the way it’s started for the Eagles, he’s going to have many tough questions to answer this offseason.
Rookie Watch
One of the most often used clichés in the NFL is that it takes three years for a wide receiver to really get a feel for how to play at the highest level. If that’s true, AJ Green and Julio Jones may just be two of the best receivers in the game come 2013.
For Atlanta, Julio Jones has lived up to expectations. He had his best outing yet in Seattle on Sunday, catching eleven passes for 127 yards. He has yet to get into the end zone, but with the amount of targets he’s getting, a trip to the end zone can’t be too far away. It remains to be seen if the Falcons’ trading up to grab Jones in the draft will make the team as a whole better long term, but you can’t be disappointed in the early returns.
AJ Green has fewer chances than Jones had, playing in a much more conservative offense for the Bengals. Still, he’s shown flashes of being very, very good. He’s proven himself to be a big play threat for Cincinatti. On Sunday he turned only four catches into 118 yards, including a long play of 58 yards. Rookie QB Andy Dalton would be well suited to look Green’s way more than he is currently.
Fantasy Notes 
If you were like most fantasy players that spent a draft pick on Ryan Matthews last year, you probably stayed far, far away from him this year. And that was for good reason: Mike Tolbert dominated carries, and Matthews struggled to make anything happen with the looks he did get. If you drafted Tolbert this year however (like I did), you’ve found yourself in the same situation as 2010, but with the roles reversed.
Matthews is currently averaging nearly five yards per carry and almost 15 per catch. As long as he continues to put up those types of numbers, he’s going to get the bulk of the chances in San Diego. If you have Tolbert, he might be worth hanging on to in case Matthews goes down (and he’s been known to have injury issues). Don’t allow your expectations to get too high, however. If you can drop Tolbert for a better back up running back, like Kendall Hunter, do it.
If you’re someone who depends heavily on Andre Johnson, you had to fear the worst when you saw him go down with the dreaded non-contact injury Sunday. While it sounds like it’s a hamstring issue and not a knee, I can’t say the prognosis has sounded too promising so far. It’s likely he’ll miss some time and it takes a very long time to bounce back from hamstring injuries, so you’re going to want to look around for wide receiver help. I wouldn’t recommend looking to the Texans for a replacement. I think they will rely on Arian Foster to make up for the loss of Johnson. My number one target would be Victor Cruz of the Giants. He’s had two solid weeks in a row, and it appears that he’s building some good chemistry with Eli Manning.
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