Book Reviews by Elizabeth A. White

OK, we all knew that the Oakland Raiders were seriously bad, but holy cow!!! Have you ever seen a team self-destruct as badly as the Raiders did on Sunday??? The horrific stats:

• -2 yards offense at the half
• 77 total yards for the game (team’s lowest since 1961)
• 3 first downs… in the entire game
• Held the ball for less than a quarter!!
• JaMarcus Russell was sacked 4 times & fumbled twice
• JaMarcus Russell was 6/19 for a grand total of 10 net yards… and an interception
• Great big goose egg on the score board

It’s enough to make Tom “The Cable Guy” Cable, 1-3 since taking over head coaching duties, apply for a real cable job! That sound you hear? Lane Kiffin laughing his butt off.

In late breaking Raiders news, after only 8 games the Raiders have decided to release CB DeAngelo Hall in order to rid themselves of his $70 million contract (though they will still have salary cap repercussions). In a note of supreme irony, Hall, who was a member of the Atlanta Falcons last year, was cut by the Raiders a mere 3 days after they were thoroughly thrashed by…. the Falcons! Look for more cuts and fire-sales by the Raiders in the next week or so. Why? Why not. It’s the Raiders.

Thriller In Tennessee

Once again it wasn’t pretty, with the Titans D carrying the day: two stops on 4th down attempts, twice making the Packers settle for a field goal despite driving to inside the Titans’ 15, an interception in the end zone by Chris Hope (who had 2 last week on MNF against Indy), and a forced fumble on Aaron Rodgers by Albert Haynesworth & Jacob Ford.

The game also included a missed 47 yard field goal by All-Pro kicker Rob Bironas at the end of regulation, good luck on a coin flip to get the ball first in OT, and then redemption for Bironas from 41 yards, but in the end the Titans beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday to remain the only undefeated team in the NFL, running their record to 8-0. GO TITANS!

Contenders…

Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens have run their record to a very quiet 5-3, which puts them only 1 game behind the Steelers in the AFC North. The Ravens have always been known for their defense, but rookie QB Joe Flacco has shown steady improvement over the first half of the season, giving the Ravens a legitimate offensive presence. Flacco has thrown for 620 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs during the Ravens current 3 game winning streak. Pittsburgh better not take their foot off the gas because objects in the rear view are closer than they appear.

Tampa Bay – The NASCAR division continues to be brutal, and the Bucs desperately needed their gutty OT win against Kansas City to raise their record to 6-3 and keep pace with the Panthers in the NFC North standings. The Bucs, who are 4-0 at home this season, have a bye this week, host inconsistent Minnesota in week 11, then go to Detroit in week 12, which sets the stage for the Bucs to be 8-3 come the season’s three-quarter mark.

Atlanta Falcons – Speaking of the NASCAR division, Atlanta’s complete beatdown of the Raiders brought the Falcons’ record to 5-3 to help them stay in the hunt for a legitimate shot at a wild card, if not the division, when all is said and done. Matt Ryan continues to play beyond his years (it’s easy to forget he’s a rookie!) and is clearly making quite a case for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors (798 yards and 5 TDs in his last 3 games alone).

…or Pretenders

Dallas Cowboys – Their 5-4 record puts them last in the cutthroat NFC East, they’ve lost 3 of their last 4, and if the season ended today they wouldn’t even be in the playoffs. Fed up with the poor play of backup QB Brad Johnson, Wade Phillips put 3rd stringer Brooks Bollinger into the game on Sunday, whereupon he promptly threw an interception on his very first pass. Add to that four turnovers and 9 penalties and it all added up to a miserable 35-14 thumping at the hands of the G-Men… the bye week couldn’t have come soon enough for the Cowboys.

Jacksonville Jaguars – Based on their solid performance the second half of last season and Wild Card win in the playoffs, the Jaguars were picked by many experts to make it to the AFC championship game this season. Injuries (especially along the offensive line), however, have crippled the Jags in the first half of the season and they’ve struggled to a 3-5 record. They’ve lost 3 of their last 4, the last coming in an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the previously winless Bengals, and seem to have lost their offensive identity; Garrard had 38 passing attempts compared to only 21 running plays. That’s not Jaguars football.

Denver Broncos – Another team earmarked for AFC greatness at the beginning of the season, the Broncos have ridden a 3 game losing skid to a 4-4 record. Since they’re in the same division with the pitiful Chiefs and Raiders and struggling Chargers 4-4 is good enough for 1st place in the division at the moment. Still, this team has seriously underperformed and has suffered key personnel losses of RBs Michael Pittman & Andre Hall, CB Champ Bailey, and OLBs D.J. Williams & Boss Bailey over the past 3 weeks.

Injuries, Benchings & Acquisitions

Kyle Orton – Orton was carted off the field Sunday with what was diagnosed as the dreaded high ankle sprain, initial reports saying he could be out for 4 weeks. Late news out of Chicago, however, has Orton saying he wants to play this week against the Titans.

Let’s see, the Titans are defensive BEASTS who make a habit of knocking QBs out of the game (Kyle might want to text Titans’ victims Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard & Gus Frerotte). Yeah, go ahead, start on Sunday with a bad ankle…. please!

Ben Roethlisberger – Big Ben aggravated a preexisting right shoulder injury on a QB sneak during Monday night’s game. The Steelers say any decision on Roethlisberger’s playing status will depend on the results of his MRI (still no word as of Wednesday), but considering how well Byron Leftwich played in relief I don’t see the need for them to rush Roethlisberger back if there’s any question about whether he’s 100%.

Matt Shaub – His injury seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle and been very underreported, but he was knocked out of the Texans’ game on Sunday and has been diagnosed with a torn MCL. He’ll be out for 2-4 weeks.

Derek Anderson – The Browns announced on Monday that Anderson would be benched for the Browns’ game against the Broncos on Thursday…. let the Brady Quinn era begin.

Daunte Culpepper – Culpepper had previously talked with the Chiefs about a possible QB position in Kansas City, but chose to sign a 2 year deal with the Lions instead… hey, why sign with a 1 win team when you can hop onboard the 0-8 Lions train and ride it to a perfect season!!

Quest For The “Perfect” Season

Bungles – Ok, I have to admit I had a bad feeling about this game coming in given T.J. Houshmandzadeh’s guarantee that the Bungles would win at least 1 game this season. Who’s-Your-Mamma and the Bengals made good on his promise, defeating the plummeting Jaguars 21-19. Sorry fans, but there will be no perfect season in Cincinnati this year.

Cowardly Lions – All my hopes now ride on the Lions for a perfect season. It doesn’t look promising however, as for the 3rd straight week the Lions played with actual effort (they knocked Chicago’s QB out of the game for goodness sake!!) and now have gone and signed a real QB in Daunte Culpepper (thank you for playing Dan “Safety Dance” Orlovsky, we have some lovely parting gifts for you).

Well there’s insult, and there’s injury. Then there’s what’s happened during the MNF game last night, where insult was added to injury for the Denver Broncos who were not only thoroughly manhandled by the Patriots in their 41-7 defeat, but also suffered several key injuries:

Jay Cutler went down on the very first play of the game after hitting his throwing hand on the helmet of a New England pass rusher. After missing a couple of series at the end of the first half, Cutler did return in the second half, though the index finger on his throwing hand seemed to bother him all evening and his passing was not nearly as sharp as is usually seen from Cutler.

Champ Bailey, who had held Randy Moss in check when he was in the game, went out with a groin pull / tear during the 2nd quarter. Bailey’s replacement was not able to keep up with Moss, who scored his two touchdowns after Bailey left the game. Bailey’s injury is expected to keep him out for at least 3 weeks.

Boss Bailey also left the game last night, with a knee injury of undisclosed seriousness.

Michael Pittman, whose running style is punishing to begin with, was bounced around hard during the game, having to leave the field at one point looking very dazed and unsteady (concussion?), though he did return to the game.

And even though they came out of the game with a convincing, possibly season-righting win, the Patriots did not escape unscathed on the injury front either:

Rodney Harrison went down with what appeared to be a serious right knee injury during the second half last night. This is his second serious knee injury in the past 3 seasons, and given his status as a 15 year vet who wavered on whether to return this year, not only is this a season ending injury it may well be career ending. [Note: Latest news indicates it is actually a torn quad, but still season ending]

Sammy Morris, who absolutely lit up the Broncos D in the first half with 138 yards rushing and a TD, did not return after the half with a knee injury of undisclosed seriousness (speculation is a sprain).

Laurence Maroney, though not actually injured during the game, was put on season ending IR before the game started, making him a victim by association of the Monday Night Massacre.

Just to prove what a crazy, upside down world the NFL can be from week to week, I give you the Vikings @ Bears final score… 41-48. Are you kidding me?! In a game that most thought would probably end up with less than 30 points total given the Bears tough D and Vikings struggling offense, the shootout in Chicago ended up being by far the highest scoring and most entertaining game of the day! Bears QB Orton threw for 283 yards and 2 TDs, while Vikings QB Frerotte threw for 298 and 2 TDs as well. And in what sounds more like a college number, the teams combined for 766 yards of total offense! I smell replay on the NFL Network!!

Injuries & Suspensions

Kansas City Chiefs QBs will probably have nightmares about the Tennessee Titans for quite some time. After knocking out starting QB Brodie Croyle with a season ending knee injury, the Titans promptly knocked out backup QB Damon Huard with an injury to the thumb on his throwing hand. Third stringer Tyler Thigpen somehow managed to finish the game without injury.

Saints RB and NFL touchdown leader Reggie Bush is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with knee injury. Gets him out of that London trip though!

St. Louis RB Stephen Jackson left the resurgent Rams’ (upset?) win over the Cowboys in the 4th quarter with a bruised thigh and his status for next week’s game against the Patriots is unknown at this point.

The Cowboys’ saga continues. Not only did they lose for the second straight week, in stunningly bad fashion, but they’ve also lost safety Roy Williams for the season with broken forearm. Can it get any worse in “Big D”?

Jacksonville WR Matt Jones has entered a drug diversion program, and the Jags are anticipating that the NFL will suspend Jones for an undetermined amount of games relating to his drug arrest over the summer (even though charges have been dropped).

Kansas City RB Larry Johnson, who was suspended (ahem, deactivated) this weekend for violating team rules, may be looking at a formal NFL suspension relating to his arrest on allegations of a domestic violence incident. Just what the hapless Chefs need!

Bengals LB Keith Rivers suffered a season ending broken jaw on an absolutely vicious, de-cleating block by Steelers receiver Hines Ward, who obviously thinks he’s a linebacker and certainly plays like it!!

Contenders or Pretenders?

Tennessee Titans – Finally, finally, finally the Titans are getting the R-E-S-P-E-C-T they deserve! The NFL’s only remaining undefeated team, the Titans are rightfully ranked #1 in the 2008 NFL Power Rankings, their defense continues to play like the beasts they are, and the offense continues to improve each week, with RB Chris Johnson rushing for 168 yards / 1 TD and RB LenDale White rushing for 149 yards / 3 TDs this week. The Titans will get to showcase their bad selves on Monday Night Football next week against the struggling Indianapolis Colts…. buckle up Peyton!

Buffalo BIlls – The Bills bounced back from their first loss of the year by coming out of their bye week to beat the wildly inconsistent Chargers 23-14. Trent Edwards appeared to suffer no lingering affects from the concussion that knocked him out of the Bills’ game against Arizona in week 5, going 25 of 30 for 261 yards and a TD, leading the Bills to a 5-1 record overall, 2 games up on the Patriots at 3-0 in conference.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – All Jeff Garcia did was throw for 310 yards and a TD in his surgical dismantling of the Seahawks defense in the Buccaneers’ march to a division leading 5-2 record (5-1 in conference). That makes 2 games in a row Garcia has lead the Bucs to victory in since being reinstated as the starting QB. Think John “Chucky” Gruden is ready to admit he made a mistake benching Garcia?

Carolina Panthers – Nipping at the Bucs’ heels, the 5-2 Panthers (3-2 in conference) bounced back from their thumping last week (at the hands of the Buccaneers) to absolutely beat down the wayward Saints 30-7. Jake Delhomme continues to show there’s no rust on his throwing elbow, despite undergoing Tommy John surgery in the offseason, throwing for 195 yards and 2 TDs in the Panthers’ win.

Miami Dolphins – Notice I didn’t say Miami Wildcats this week? Yeah, the bloom may finally be off that rose, as the Dolphins ran into an angry Ravens team coming off an embarrassing 31-3 loss to Indy. The Ravens not only held the Dolphins’ offense in check, but managed to find their own to beat the Fins 27-13, dropping Miami to a decidedly division bottom 2-4 record.

New Orleans Saints – Why can’t the Saints win? Despite having one of the league leading QBs in Drew Brees (12 TDs, 2,224 yards), the Saints fell below .500 this week (3-4) with their loss to Carolina. And now they may be missing NFL touchdown leader Reggie Bush for up to a month? Things do not look good.

Kellen Winslow Watch

After missing last week’s game and spending 4 nights in a Cleveland hospital for “tests and evaluation” for an “undisclosed illness” Brown’s TE Kellen Winslow has finally revealed what has been ailing him… a staph infection (a potentially very serious condition if not properly diagnosed and treated). This is the second time Winslow has been diagnosed with a staph infection since he’s been with the Browns, and it is the sixth known case among Browns players in the past 5 years… perhaps they should upgrade their cleaning staff in the Cleveland locker room?

Quest For The “Perfect” Season

Though the Cincinnati Bungles and the Detroit Cowardly Lions both kept their quest for the perfect season alive this week I do have to admit I am concerned… both teams actually played like they wanted to win. Despite ultimately clenching another for the loss column, this play-to-win attitude could spell trouble for the long term outlook in both teams’ quest for the perfect season.

The Rams become the first team to fire their head coach this season, ousting Scott Linehan after the Rams lost their 4th straight game amid a questionable decision to bench starting QB Bulger, a move that was publicly questioned by several players, including star RB Stephen Jackson. Jim Haslett, former N.O. Saints head coach, has been named the interim coach.

Which brings us to the Lane Kiffin vigil in Oakland… is this the week he finally gets it? Or will crazy Al Davis continue to let Kiffin twist in the wind?

Which other coaches do you think are seriously on the hot seat this season? Herm Edwards in KC (1-3) perhaps? Romeo Crennel in Cleveland (1-3)? Marvin Lewis in Cincy (0-4)?

“Old Man” QBs

In Tennessee, “old man” Kerry Collins (who will be 36 in December) has led the Titans to the first 4-0 start in the team’s history, dating all the way back to their days as the Houston Oilers!

Arizona QB and fellow “old man” Kurt Warner (37 years old) racked up 472 yards passing on 57 attempts, with 2 TDs.

And last, but certainly not least, Brett Favre (39 on Oct. 10th) dusted off his rusty old arm and chucked a career high six touchdown passes… yes, SIX!! Holy cow! The NFL record for TD passes in a single game is only seven. Guess the old man has some magic left in that arm yet! Let’s hear it for the “Old Man QB” brigade!

Contenders or Pretenders?

How ’bout them Cowboys?! No, seriously… how about them? Should the Redskins victory Sunday night in “Big D” be cause for concern? After all, the Cowboys were supposed to stroll to the Super Bowl this year, right? Not to mention, T.O. is getting grumpy (did you see that surly post-game interview?) and that’s not a good thing.

Similarly, has the Broncos “D” been exposed as a serious weakness? The hapless Chiefs (1-3) were able to put up 33 points on them, including a resurgent Larry Johnson rushing for 198 yards (yes 198!!!) and 2 TDs!! Concern in the Mile High city?

Are the glory days on the way back in Buffalo? The Bills have plugged along to a 4-0 start under the steady and developing hand of QB Trent Edwards and solid rushing of Marshawn Lynch. True, it was the Rams they beat this week, but 4-0 is still 4-0.

And speaking of 4-0…. has there ever been a team getting so little talk (ah-hem, R-E-S-P-E-C-T!) for a 4-0 team as the Tennessee Titans?!? All they have is the best defense in the league: #1 in interceptions; #1 in sacks; tied for #1 in turnover differential (+6); #3 in points allowed; #3 in total yards allowed. And offensively, don’t forget early Rookie of the Year contender RB Chris Johnson, who has rushed for 337 yards with a 5.0 per carry average and is quietly being compared by some to Adrian Peterson. Then there’s that “old man” Kerry Collins….

Injury Report

Two players taken off the field on stretchers this week with concerns over hits to the head / possible neck injuries. Arizona’s Anquan Boldin was absolutely smashed between two defenders while trying to catch a pass in the end zone late in the Jets / Cardinals game. Though he is reported to have movement in all extremities, there are questions about whether the hit by Jets defender Eric Smith was an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit. Thoughts?

Broncos WR Clifford Russell was also taken off on a stretcher after being hurt on special teams during kickoff coverage. A team spokesman reported that: “His condition seems to be resolving they are still doing some tests and we are hopeful that he will be coming back on the team plane with us. We are just not sure yet.”

Favre’s replacement in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers, was knocked around in the game against the Bucs, and had to leave the game late in the 4th with a sore (possibly separated) shoulder. An MRI and other tests today will nail down how badly it’s hurt, and the GB faithful are praying it isn’t serious.

From a post I made on another site September 24, 2008.

Lots going on this week in the NFL. Just to hit some highlights…

• Matt Millen FINALLY out as GM in Detroit
• Giants suspend Plaxico Burress 1 game for insubordination
• Rams bench Marc Bulger, will start Trent Green
• Eagles’ Brian Westbrook day-to-day with ankle “strain”
• Redskins’ Jason Taylor out Sunday against the Cowboys
• Brett Favre has sore ankle that is affecting his practice
• Steelers’ RB Willie Parker out Sunday against Ravens
• 49er Shawntae Spencer (CB) out for season with knee injury
• Green Bay Packer Al Harris (CB) out for season with torn spleen

IMO getting rid of Millen is LONG overdue, but is not going to do anything to help them this season. In fact, it will most likely take a couple of seasons to right that ship. But at least there’s finally hope in Detroit.

I find the move at QB in St. Louis both knee-jerk and scary. As pitiful as that team has been, to blame it on Bulger and bench him is ridiculous and completely reactionary; it’s a “high profile” move to try and look pro-active, though Bulger is the LEAST of that team’s problems. Last I checked Bulger wasn’t playing “D”, and the Rams defense is just getting ROLLED!

I also find the fact that Trent Green is being put back into a starting QB role scary given his recent history:

• carted off the field on stretcher in ‘06 while with Chiefs and out for 8 weeks with severe concussion

• carted off the field on stretcher in ‘07 while with Dolphins with season ending severe concussion

Even though he has been “cleared” to play, I personally think his continuing to do so is grossly irresponsible. And as bad as the Rams have been, I fear it is just a matter of “when” not “if” Green suffers another serious injury.