Bos-Wash Corridor

Favre, Damon & Clemens

When Brett Favre goes to Lambeau Field tomorrow, it will be a situation utterly unprecedented in the history of American professional sports. This is the first time I can ever think of where you have an athlete, still in the prime of his career, who is inextricably identified with a team, returning to his old haunting grounds with an archrival. Even in the age of free agency, where we've become accustomed to the idea that everything is strictly business, this is extreme. But Red Sox fans can come as close as anyone to identifying with what Packer fans are feeling right now. We saw both Roger Clemens and Johnny Damon return to Fenway Park in a Yankee uniform.

From 1986-96, Roger Clemens defined the Boston Red Sox. This was still when loving the Red Sox was in its developing phase for me. I liked the Sox, and as a God-fearing American, wanted them to finally win the World Series, but they weren't my favorite team. But affection was building with each passing year and Clemens was my favorite player in baseball. When I finally came out of the closet and accepted baptism into Red Sox Nation in the winter of 1996, it was devastating to see him leave for Toronto. When he eventually ended up with the Yanks, won two World Series (1999-2000) and announced his first retirement in 2003, Sox fans gave him a standing ovation when he departed the mound in September '03 in what looked to be his final start in Fenway (he would return for a start in the ALCS that season). By the time he came back again in 2007, the bloom was off the rose and we were all a little cynical about him.

Johnny Damon left after the 2005 season and went directly to New York, spurning Boston for an extra year on the contract and a few extra million. Upon his return the following May, there was a little bit of applause, but mostly boos. A harsh homecoming for the man whose long hair and rock-star persona was part of defining the "Idiots", and whose grand slam in Game 7 of the '04 ALCS remains one of the team's great moments in history.

I was doing a now-defunct strictly Red Sox blog in 2006, and I advocated giving Damon a hand when he returned. He gave the Sox fair effort throughout the term of his contract and played hurt in the final year, when a lot of players might have saved themselves for impending free agency. I do understand, however, the logic of fans who booed him. Once you cross certain lines it's tough to go back.

I'm from Wisconsin originally and Favre is a divisive issue. I'm on his side. But I hope even those that aren't will recognize what he meant to the state and the Green Bay Packers while he was there. This is a team that was a laughingstock before he got there and they were the NFL's winningest team when he was at the helm. And while Aaron Rodgers has played well in his stead, let's candidly note that the Packers have yet to prove they can win without Favre. And no reasonable person could deny that Favre gave his team everything he had while he was there and under contract. I hope he gets a standing ovation when he comes out of the tunnel tomorrow.

There's no reason to expect that reaction, in fact I'm convinced it will be otherwise. And no one can really claim to understand the conflicting emotions true Packer fans (of which I am obviously not one, as this blog indicates) in this situation. I won't sit on judgement of Packerland if they boo him. But they might want to remember all the good times #4 gave them for 16 long seasons.

NFC Showdowns

This week is one of the best days of the NFL season thus far, and not just because we won't have to endure a Redskins defeat. Three big games will shape the division races in the NFC...

Giants-Eagles (1 ET, Fox)
This is the kickoff to what has to be the biggest day in the history of Philadelphia sports, and surely the bloodiest, by the time you have this game and then the World Series right next door to each other. The Giants' poor showing in New Orleans two weeks ago could be overlooked, but the non-performance--especially by Eli Manning--last Sunday night against Arizona is more problematic. Without a real big play threat on the outside, Manning can't keep making mistakes. New York needs to be efficient with the football. The Eagles have offensive problems of their own, having been unable to mount a consistent attack on Monday against the 'Skins, and relied mostly on a couple big plays and our geneorisity. This is a very even matchup between two teams that are operating at playoff level, but not Super Bowl level. I still like New York to win the division, but homefield tips this one Philly's way.

Vikings-Packers (4:15 ET, Fox)
Brett Favre looked great in his first showdown with his old team on October 5. But this one's tougher. Not only is this is a series where the home team has a huge edge, even by NFL standards, but the emotion and distractions will be there much stronger for Brett this time around. On the flip side, there was more pressure on Favre and the Vikes to defend their homefield in that first game. Now the pressure is squarely on the shoulders of Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers. They are only one game back in the loss column right now, so this is a huge game even minus the homecoming story. Pass protection remains an issue in Packerland, even with easy wins over Detroit and Cleveland the last two weeks--they gave up five sacks to the Lions, a Redskin-esque display of pass blocking. What's going to happen now that Jared Allen is in the house? The betting here is that the Viking defense plays well, but is let down by their quarterback, too anxious to make big plays and instead making mistakes. The Packers win a close one (FYI--lest this prediction be taken as anti-Favre, I've always sided with the QB in this drama and am strongly pulling for him on Sunday. But the man is human).

Falcons-Saints (MNF, 8:30 ET, ESPN)
Great game from the NFC South, although it would be better if it were in Atlanta. I like the Falcons and think they're on their way to the playoffs again. But asking them to win on the road against Drew Brees is a little much. I look for Gregg Williams' defense to create enough problems to force Matt Ryan into turnovers and Brees to put up more than enough points to keep New Orleans unbeaten.

Game 2 Recap

Game 2 felt like watching the first one, only in reverse. You had one extraordinary pitching performance, with A.J. Burnett, standing in the place of Cliff Lee. You had another one that was very good in of its own right, as Pedro threw an excellent game. Just like C.C. Sabathia the previous night, you could quibble here or there with sharpness, but the final result was everything their team could have expected, given the stakes, the offensive muscle of the opponent and the hitter-friendly venue. Each case was the winning team having a starter who was just a little bit better.

But there was one key difference and that was the bullpen. Unlike the Yankee bullpen in Game 1, who led the Phils pull away, the Philadelphia relief corps sucked it up, kept it a 3-1 game and eventually got the tying runs on base in the 8th with Chase Utley and Ryan Howard due up.
The incomparable Mariano still put it away, but if this bullpen differential holds up, that will swing at least one game before the Series is over, and in an area New York was presumed to have an advantage, including in this space.

Rivera got out of the eighth-inning jam by getting Utley to ground into a double play. Replays showed Utley beat the ball to the bag, but Tim McCarver argued it didn't matter, because Phils manager Charlie Manuel should have had the runners going on the full count to keep out of the double-play situation. To be fair to McCarver, he said it before the pitch was thrown, so this was a first-guess, not a second-guess. But the decision was hardly as obvious as the Fox analyst made it out to be. Start the runners and you risk a strike-out, throw-out double play. Maybe a soft liner or short fly ball that turns into a guy getting doubled off. Sending the runners was hardly the no-lose situation it was made it out to be. By
keeping them at home, Manuel ensured that only a double play ball would prevent Ryan Howard from getting a crack at tying the game or putting his team in front. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened, but Manuel's decision hardly flew in the face of percentages. Either move was going to be a bit of a gamble. I'd have done what Manuel did, and would do it all over again if the situation re-presented itself.

Overall, the Phillies have to like where they're at. They got a split in Yankee Stadium. The pressure now shifts to them, as they must take two of three, in the Saturday-Sunday-Monday run in Philly, but they did what they needed to in the opening stanza. I also thought Philadelphia played better in defeat last night than the Yankees played in Game 1. Jimmy Rollins' walk off of Rivera in the 8th to get the last rally started was a case in point. Rollins had an outstanding at-bat, battling and fouling off pitches, before finally getting the
base on balls. I thought the Phils had a lot of good at-bats last night but were beaten by great pitching. Whereas, other than Jeter, and Matsui last night, I haven't seen the same from the Yanks. Can that change? Absolutely. But if Philadelphia can keep playing like this, they'll win.

Sunday's Undercard

The Redskins are off this week, and most of the big games are on the NFC. We'll look at those tomorrow, but there's a pretty good undercard too. 'Skins fans in the D.C. area who want to see a good one can travel an hour north to Baltimore, where undefeated Denver will be in town. Both are coming off bye weeks. The Ravens can still be a Super Bowl team, but they absolutely must find a way to win this one. They suffered three straight heartbreaking defeats to contenders, all on plays that should have gone the other way. They fell in New England when Mark Clayton dropped a fourth-down pass inside the 10 that hit him in the face mask. They coughed up a game-winning TD pass to Cincinnati in the closing seconds. And they lost at Minnesota when a 42-yard field goal was shanked at the gun, an inexcusable miss at the NFL level in dome conditions. So this is a rare case
of a .500 team able to make a real run, but desperate for a win before we get to the midseason mark.

Baltimore will have to step it up defensively. They've given up an average of 28 points a game against New England, Minnesota and San Diego, the latter being a Week 2 win. They've done a complete reversal from last year when they were built on D, running the ball and letting Joe Flacco manage the game. Now, with old defensive coordinator Rex Ryan in New York, along with a couple players, they are relying on Flacco to carry them. He's responded to the pressure and outplayed both Brady and Favre and had his team in position to win both games. Denver is doing it the Raven way of '08 this time around, playing good defense, pressuing the quarterback and getting efficient work from Kyle Orton. But the win streak comes to an end on Sunday and Baltimore keeps themselves afloat at home.

A couple other modestly interesting games to watch will be
when Miami plays the Jets on the road, in a rematch of their Monday Night game a few weeks ago. The Dolphins need to win to stay in contention, but I don't think it happens here. And Houston goes up to Buffalo. The Texans are hanging around, and this is the kind of game a team like that often finds a way to lose and drive its fans crazy. But it doesn't happen here, and the Houston dream lives a little while longer.

Tomorrow we'll look at the three big ones--Giants-Eagles, Vikes-Packers and Falcons-Saints on Monday night.

Game 1 Recap

It was late in the game, and I found myself increasingly frustrated with a constant theme of Fox's analysis last night when Joe Buck finally saved the day. He pointed out that it's a mark of how dominant C.C. Sabathia has been through the AL playoffs that we're (Buck & McCarver) talking about him not being sharp tonight. Indeed, Sabathia was brilliant last night, going seven innings and giving up only two solo home runs to Chase Utley. On any other night, this would have cemented his developing legend. Instead, Cliff Lee was beyond brilliant and into some superhuman world, completely dismantling the Yankee attack. All credit to Lee and let's be reasonable about just how good C.C. was really supposed to be. One thing that's readily apparent in this Series--and unsurprisingly so--is that if the Yanks are going to win this Series, they are going to have to truly beat the Phils. New York has let the Twins and Angels make their own mistakes to this point, but Philly is not intimidated. If the 2008 World Series rings, Jimmy Rollins' audacious prediction of a five-game triumph--"six if we're feeling gracious"--didn't make that clear, Lee's nonchalant basket catch of a popup in the sixth with an almost disinterested look, send a loud message that this is not a team feeling any undue pressure. They play loose and cocky. The Red Sox beat the Yanks in '04 because they had guys like Manny & Millar who didn't get overly wound up. Philadelphia's got that too. It doesn't mean they'll win this thing, but they aren't going to tighten up either. The Yankees will, appropriately enough, have to play their best baseball to win this championship. On a final note, there's not much to second-guess about Joe Girardi's pitching decisions last night. But I do wonder his hangup with Damaso Marte is. Why does this obvious mediocrity keep getting the call in key situations, like the eighth inning of last night when he gave up the crucial two-out, two-run single to Raul Ibanez that broke the game open? I know Marte is a lefty, but he's getting the ball in some very crucial situations when Phil Coke would be available as a lefty or you could go to Joba Chamberlain, who might also be mediocre, but has something resembling an upside. Game 2 goes tonight, 8 ET on Fox.

World Series Preview

We haven’t seen a good World Series since 2003, when the Marlins beat the Yankees in six games behind a 23-year old that Red Sox Nation has come to know and love—Josh Beckett. We haven’t seen a seven-game set since 2002, when the Angels staged an epic rally from 5-0 down in the eighth in Game 6 and forced a decisive game, which they won and deprived San Francisco of their first title since the Giants moved west. The lack of competitiveness in the Fall Classic has likely been lost on Sox fans—since two of the last five have ended in sweeps for us, it has a way of obscuring just how dull the game’s climactic event has been for fans without a vested rooting interest. The Phillies and the Yankees start up tonight and it has all the potential to be another great one. But so did Red Sox-Cards in 2004, so did Tigers-Cards in 2006 and so did Rays-Phils in 2008. Will this be another clunker or will it live up to its promise?

Issue A at the top of my mind is the depth of the Phillies’ pitching staff. Cliff Lee has been nothing short of outstanding, exactly what Philly was hoping for when they acquired him from Cleveland in midseason (though please note that for every Lee that was added at the trade deadline there are also pickups like Jarrod Washburn and Aubrey Huff that were complete busts and cost the acquiring team dearly in prospects). Lee has given the Phils a distinct advantage in their series’ with Colorado and Los Angeles. He had a big edge over pitchers like Clayton Kershaw and Aaron Cook that he squared off with in openers through the NL playoffs. As good as Lee might be, he doesn’t give that same edge against the Yankees—in fact, he’s the underdog against former Indian teammate C.C. Sabathia tonight. (A side note—what a miserable day for the city of Cleveland. The Cavs lost at home last night to the Celtics to start the NBA season, they have to watch their two former aces pitch elsewhere in the World Series tonight and the Browns are still the Browns.) If we conclude that Sabathia and Lee are a wash that means the series will be decided elsewhere. While there is not a huge difference elsewhere, digging deeper doesn’t look good to those of us fervently rooting against the Pinstripes.

Cole Hamels has yet to pitch a really good game in this postseason. He struggled in the opener of the NLDS against Colorado. He struggled in two starts in the NLCS against Los Angeles. He was able to hang in well enough for his team to win two of those three games, but that won’t work against the Yankees. Hamels needs to find the form he showcased last October in winning MVP of both the LCS & World Series. He did not exactly get a vote of confidence from his manager when Charlie Manuel opted for Pedro Martinez in Game 2. New York goes to A.J. Burnett, who can be shaky, but has also only pitched one bad inning through the American League playoffs—a four-run first against the Angels in Game 5. Further down the line, the Yanks have the reliable Andy Pettite. In looking at the top three starters, the Yanks get an edge, if albeit not a huge one.

Philadelphia might pick up an advantage in Game 4. The Yanks are very unreliable at this spot, with the enigmatic Joba Chamberlain. For Philly, Joe Blanton is not an ace and doesn’t have Chamberlain’s capacity to dominate, but he’s also not as prone to self-destruction. Here’s where the pitching decisions of Joe Girardi, a topic there’s been no shortage of commentary on already, will come into play. In the ALCS, the Yanks opted to go with Sabathia on three days rest. But that was a relatively cost-free decision. Because the LCS has an extra day off during the middle three games, they could have brought him back for a Game 7 on full rest. That extra day doesn’t exist in the World Series. If Girardi wants to use Sabathia in a seventh game, he’ll have to do back-to-back starts on three days’ rest. My guess is that C.C. will do just that, but it has to be considered at least a little bit of an edge to Philly to get a shot at the ace at what may be less than his best.

The bullpen is the issue I’ve harped on about Philadelphia from the start of the postseason and so far they’ve proved me wrong. Brad Lidge found his old form and has again turned into a reliable closer. When he’s at his best, he can match zeroes with Mariano, and if this is a tightly played Series, there will come a time when he’ll have to do that. Brian Fuentes couldn’t for LAA, and it’s what cost the Angels Game 2, a circumstance that was predicted in this space. New York gets another slight edge in the setup crew, although this is close enough that anything could happen in a short series, particularly given that Yankee setup men haven’t been shutdown so far in this postseason.

Philadelphia is renowned for having an American League-style offense, with its adroit combination of power and patience. That’s a fair assessment and they can go toe-to-toe with the Pinstripes better than any other National League offense could. A careful perusal of the teams’ lineups shows this as roughly even, with an absolute key being Jimmy Rollins. He had a very poor season and if he plays to that level, the Phils are in trouble. If he does what Lidge has done thus far in the playoffs and finds his career form, then Philadelphia will have baserunners and will score runs. It’s also imperative that Phillie pitching keep Melky Cabrera off the bases and keep Nick Swisher in his slump. Those two lineup spots are the places where the Phils can make up for the edge that would otherwise go to New York, courtesy of A-Rod. Cabrera can be a pesky hitter, as he was against the Angels and it’s a huge problem if he turns the lineup over effectively.

Perhaps the biggest question comes down to the AL-NL exchange rate. The American League has significantly outperformed its counterpart in interleague play for several years now and by large margins. All of which suggests that the stats Philadelphia compiled against mostly inferior NL teams won’t hold up, any more than the WAC champ in college football would play up to its profile against the SEC champ. The Phillies overcame that problem in 2008, but that was against a young Rays team that was just happy to be there. Now they are facing a team with Series veterans like Jeter, Posada, Damon and Rivera, who can’t accept anything less than the ultimate prize. And the exchange rate isn’t just a theoretical question. It’s also a practical one. For four games, this Series will be played with a DH. New York has Hideki Matsui. NL teams aren’t going to pay a big salary to a ninth everyday player that can’t use unless they make the Series, and then only in games at the AL park.

What’s the bottom line? I see a Series similar to the ALCS. A lot of good games, perhaps fewer self-induced mistakes from the Phils, but one that ends with New York clinching in six games.

On a side note, think about Sunday in the city of Philadelphia. It starts at 1 ET, with the Eagles hosting the Giants for first place in the NFC East. Then it picks up at night when the Yanks are in town for Game 4. The football and baseball stadiums there are right next door to each other. With Philly & New York involved, what’s the over/under on number of people arrested for brawling? Or can Vegas even set a number high enough?

In closing, I’m thinking of the day that John F. Kennedy went to the Berlin Wall, during the height of the Cold War and said “Today, I am a Berliner.” Because today, we’re all Phillies fans.

AFC Overview

Picking up where I left off on the post below, here's a rundown on the AFC... AFC EAST It was a slow start out of the gate for New England, as they barely escaped a loss at home to Buffalo in their opener, and only a dropped pass saved them in a home game against Baltimore. But overall, the Patriots look like they are rounding into form and Brady's playing at a very high level again. The Jets, after a 3-0 start, came back to earth. Rex Ryan's team looks like one right on the cusp of the playoffs--they'll play some great games, some maddening ones and end up right on the edge of the postseason. As expected here, Miami has come down to earth. Buffalo is hanging around at 3-4, but nothing they have done outside of that opening Monday Night in Foxboro even suggests a winning season, much less a playoff one. The Patriots will run away with this division as expected. AFC NORTH This division race is one of the best in football. Cincinnati looks like a legitimate surprise team. After the loss to Houston a couple weeks ago, one wondered if they might lose the mojo. But they came back and took apart the Bears. Pittsburgh hasn't looked like a Super Bowl champ yet, but they have won four in a row and beat the Vikings last week, even if it took a deflected interception to do it. And Baltimore is much better than their 3-3 record shows. They lost in the closing moments three straight weeks to the Patriots, Bengals and Ravens, all on plays that should never have happened. If their spirit isn't broken, they are more than capable of a Super Bowl run. In Cleveland, Eric Mangini's performance suggests that Favre's problems with the Jets a year might not have been just a bum shoulder--he might have had a bum coach too. AFC SOUTH The main reason for preseason hesitation on Indianapolis was whether the coaching change to Jim Caldwell would disrupt the Colts just enough to make them lose their edge. Whatever happens the rest of the way, a 6-0 start pretty well sets that concern to rest. Indy's pretty well set the entire division to rest on top of it. They are three games ahead in the loss column and is either Houston or Jacksonville really going to catch them? The Jags seem to have stabilized after an early season that had them looking like one of the league's lost franchises. And the Texans following up their win over the Bengals with another tough one against the 49ers was impressive. This conference is tough at the top, but if you start looking for teams to fill the last wild-card berth you can find a lot of flaws, and if Houston can play defense they could sneak in. As for poor Tennessee, we hope the front office remembers all the good times Jeff Fischer has brought to this organization and doesn't run him out the door now that hard times are here. AFC WEST What else is there to say, but "Wow!" Think back to the first game of the season and Denver beating Cincinnati 12-7 on a miracle touchdown pass at the end of the game. Who didn't think it was just an ugly game between two lousy teams. Fair to say no one saw it as a game that would settle a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs (which it would if the season ended today). The Broncos are going to remember last season, when they needed one win in their last three and failed to get it, a true football reincarnation of the 2004 Yankees, albeit not quite as bad. But that team didn't play defense the way this one did, and you can't help but think that not only can Josh McDaniel coach, but maybe he was right about Cutler too, as this version of Denver isn't a turnover machine. San Diego is three games back and they've come on the last two seasons. But the further this team drifts from the Marty Schottenheimer era, the worse their tackling and fundamentals become. The Chargers miss tackles like no one else in the league. They still have talent and can't be counted out, but this is looking more like the Philip Rivers Show than a football team with each passing week. Oakland and Kansas City bring up the rear. MIDSEASON PROJECTIONS East: Patriots North: Steelers South: Colts West: Broncos Wild-Cards: Ravens & Chargers Conference Champ: Patriots Super Bowl: Patriots over Vikings. That was my story at the start of the season and I'm sticking to it.

NFC Overview

Last night's loss may have confirmed that the Redskins are now occupying a spot at the bottom of the NFC, along with the Buccaneers & Rams, whom are we winless, but we barely beat, and the Lions, whom we lost too. And the only real question right now is who the next coach is going to be and when he'll get here. But there's still a world in the NFL beyond our suffering one. Let's take a quick snapshot of the NFC and see how each division is shaping up... NFC EAST It's going to be a good race. The Giants, Cowboys and Eagles all have their strengths, and you can also poke a lot of holes in each one. Philly's key weakness has always been receiver and I really like DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin there as the new kids putting some fresh life into the offense. But that loss to the Raiders is the kind of ugly one that, even if it was just a fluke, is one that sits up on the board and haunts you all year long. New York, like the Eagles, is very well-coached, but here the problem of big plays is an issue. As is the fact that Eli Manning has never been an elite quarterback, in spite of a Super Bowl ring and that fact seems to become clearer every day. Dallas has the talent, but there's just no way a Wade Phillips team makes it through a season without a lack of discipline doing them in. At the start of the year, I gave the Giants a cautious edge on the Birds, with the Pokes coming in third. No reason to change now. NFC NORTH Speaking of no reasons to change a pick, my choice of Minnesota to reach the Super Bowl falls into that category. The Vikes have played great and Brett Favre has been even better than I expected. They still have some big games ahead--both matchups with the Bears and the ultimate showdown next week in Green Bay, but they are also done with the Steelers & Ravens, which is no small thing. One team not to sleep on is the Packers. Since playing poorly against Minnesota on October 5, they've had a bye week and then took advantage of playing the Lions and Browns to get their defense in order, allowing only a field goal in both games combined. Whether that will hold steady against a really good team remains to be seen, but being able to dominate a bad one does suggest a real contender. Chicago looks like they are well on the way to being a heartbreak team with Jay Cutler--good enough to have some great games and inspire fear in any opponent, but more than capable of the kind of turnover-ridden effort they turned in against Cincinnati. I had the Bears as a playoff team at the start of the year. Now I suspect they will be in the 8-9 win area and on the outside looking in. NFC SOUTH It's a two-horse race between New Orleans and Atlanta. I'm proud to say I liked the Saints at the start of the year, but in no way did I think they would be Super Bowl-caliber. But here they are, with Drew Brees firing away to what looks like an MVP campaign and sitting on a 7-0 mark. It's great to see Gregg Williams thriving down in the Bayou, running the defense, after getting spurned on the Redskins head coaching job two years ago. If New Orleans keeps this up, Williams will get another shot at a top job in a more functionable organization. Good for him, bad for us. I respect the Falcons and the way Matt Ryan is turning out. They are definitely wild-card caliber--but so are Philadelphia, Dallas, Green Bay and Chicago and only two of those teams can make it. Atlanta gets a crack at New Orleans this coming Monday to keep themselves in the division race and strengthen their wild-card chances. NFC WEST The Cardinals may have gone to the Super Bowl and may be coming off an impressive win over the Giants, but this is still football's most boring division. On the flip side, it's still the one most likely to produce a surprise. Arizona is in a little bit of a groove right now at 4-2, but the Seahawks are only a couple games. And the 49ers are at 3-3, but I am very disappointed in the way they have responded the last two weeks, suffering a 45-10 loss to Atlanta and then losing at Houston. San Francisco was that preseason oxymoron--a trendy dark horse, including in this space. They haven't been the same team since Favre ripped their heart out in the Metrodome. Fortunately, their division's weakness and their early head-to-head win in Arizona keep them in the mix. Here's another case where I'll stick with my preseason choice until they are out of it, or someone else really impresses. MIDSEASON PROJECTIONS East: Giants North: Vikings South: Saints West: 49ers Wildcards: Eagles & Falcons Conference Champ: Vikings AFC coming up next...

Redskins-Eagles Recap

The shift in play-calling responsibilities was the focus on the ESPN broadcast crew last night against the Eagles. Understandably so, although Iitdid get a little annoying when after every Redskin mistake--an all-too-large sampling--Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden insisted on pointing out--"that has nothing to do with the playcalling." Yes, we got the point after the first ten times guys. But all the mistakes did underscore why this whole idea of having Sherm Lewis is a completely ineffectual stunt. Not that Jim Zorn is the answer. Watching the Redskins it is just painfully obvious that this is an offense with no clear idea of what it's trying to do and we look pretty undisciplined and sloppy in doing it. Sitting around deciding whether to run the ball, throw a wide receiver screen or a slant on first down is just deciding how to position the deck chairs on the Titanic. Make some real changes, not just cosmetic ones, and then we can start to move forward. Jason Campbell continues to take the brunt of the heat, at least that which is not directed at the head coach, and it continues to be unfair. If you look at Campbell's stat line--29/43, 284, one interception and compare it to Donovan McNabb's--15/25, 156, zero picks, what's the real difference? Both were conservative, not a lot of yards after the catch and respectable percentage. The interception can be attributed to Campbell having to throw more times and do it in a game where everyone knew he had to throw. The key numbers are 62, 6 & 3. That's the number of rushing yards we had, the number of sacks we gave up and the number of fumbles we lost. Look, I'm not trying to argue that Campbell is a rising star and the foundation of a Super Bowl team. But he's not the problem. And this franchise has enough real problems to fix right now without chasing after phantom ones.

NFC East Gets Interesting

The NFC East race is getting interesting as the 'Skins get ready to take on the Eagles. Dallas looked like they were ready to fall behind the pack with some of their poor games early, but they stepped it up and won a big one at home against Atlanta yesterday. That's the kind of win that's going to loom large in the tiebreaker scenarios come December, as both will likely be jousting for one of the two wild-card spots. The Cowboy defense did a nice job keeping Matt Ryan under control and Tony Romo is really locking in with Austin Miles as his new favorite receiver. The 'Boys got further help in the overall NFC playoff picture when the Bears were humiliated in Cincinnati. And then Sunday night's game further tightened things up. Eli Manning turned in a very bad outing for New York, throwing three interceptions at home to the Cardinal defense. What kind of homefield advantage do the Giants have if their own quarterback has more trouble with Meadowlands conditions than anyone else? We got our answer last January--not much. Arizona won 24-17 and sent a message that they aren't going away easily. It also means Tom Coughlin's crew isn't ready to run away this division just yet. It can still get very interesting. And though it seems like very wishful thinking, it would be nice if the 'Skins could be a part of the interest. We'll find out tonight. Later this week, as the Redskins head into their bye week, we'll do a complete overview of the NFL and see how the races are shaping up.