Will The Real New England Patriots Please Stand Up?

My Daily WTF came to an abrupt but not so mourned end when I began to run out of things to scream at.

Last Sunday, I screamed “WTF” at my TV enough times to make up for more than a month without my daily series.

I need a heavy dose of zithromax just to kill the infection in my ear from hearing the same rehashed conversations over whether Belichick’s infamous decision to try to convert a 4th-and-2 on the Patriots 29 yard line while up by 6 points with 2:08 left in the game.

Talk about a dead horse topic, this one was simply D.O.A.

Should he have or shouldn’t he have, isn’t the question here. Belichick’s philosophy of always moving on to the next thing didn’t work quite as well last week, when he was constantly being reminded of his decision and asked about it.

I could have dealt with the discussions for one week. People play Monday morning quarterback every week, so I could have dealt with that. Even after Tuesday, I didn’t quite feel like I wanted to remove my ears in spite of the sound or to forcibly remove my eyeballs while watching ESPN.

I should have known this was coming. With ESPN’s limitless selections of topics in sports, they’ve decided to ride this one like a rocket to space. They’ve gone so heavily with that decision, in fact, that they’ve even brought in rocket scientists to mathematically determine whether Belichick made the right decision.

The discussion ran on so long, it became evident that analysts had forgotten about a huge game against the division rival New York Jets later on in the week, who were only two games behind New England with plenty of football left to play. They’d already lost to the Jets once this season, and I’ve never counted them out of the game at all.

Of course, we all know that wasn’t the case , as Mark Sanchez hardly even gave his team a chance with rookie mistakes abound.

The Patriots defense shut Sanchez down for most of the game, only allowing one touchdown pass against four interceptions and a lost fumble on a strip sack.

So it’s clear that this is a tale of two teams: the good Patriots, and the dominant Patriots.

The good Patriots compete with tough teams, in games that end up being nail biters most of the time.

This “good” team is the one we saw against the Ravens, the Broncos, and the Colts. They do just enough to win, which is sometimes good enough and sometimes not. The good Patriots won’t make it past the wild card round of the playoffs.

The “dominant” team is the one we’ve seen against the Buccaneers, Titans, and Jets. They need to play their dominant style football against more competitive teams.

At this point, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Patriots finished 2-2 in November. Looking toward their upcoming game against the Saints, it’s tough to say where the Patriots defensive backs are at this point. They slouched in the second half two weeks ago, but dominated all 60 minutes against the Jets.

The Patriots will need to do what they’ve done every season under Bill Belichick—play their best football in December and January. The question is, can these Patriots answer the call and be dominant?

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Bengals-Steelers: A Step Outside the Box

Not very often do I write coverage on games that don’t involve the New England Patriots.

The implications of this game, I felt, were big enough to warrant a step outside the Northeastern box I’ve resided in for so long.

Well…Heinz Field is still in the Northeast. So maybe this isn’t a step too far outside the box.

This game wasn’t much of a step outside the box, either.

The Bengals have won a lot of low-scoring games this season, and they did so again today.

One step outside the box, though, was Pittsburgh’s offense, which scored 27 or more points in its past five contests; they produced only four field goals today.

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, who has thrown a touchdown pass in every game this season, failed to do so today. The Steelers have become a passing team this season, but that seems to be what doomed them today.

Roethlisberger is one of the most “outside the box” quarterbacks, excelling when he is on the run. He is still sacked too often in key spots.

On three red-zone possessions, the Steelers failed to produce a touchdown. He was sacked two times on plays from inside the 10. One of those sacks was a drive-killer on 3rd-and-8.

Carson Palmer took a step outside the box by also failing to throw a touchdown pass, but his efficiency was on par with his season numbers; he completed exactly 60 percent of his passes.

Contrary to Roethlisberger’s four sacks resulting in 28 yards lost, Palmer was only sacked twice for 21 yards.

After being swept by the Bengals for the first time since 1998, it may be time for Pittsburgh to return to its run-heavy days.

It’s still unclear whether Roethlisberger can carry an offense on his arm alone, as he’s always had top-notch run support until this season.

Mike Ditka said it best on NFL Sunday Countdown when he mentioned that the Bengals spent all off-season building their team to beat the Steelers.

They wanted to take a step outside the box with an aggressive, hard-nosed team that played physically on defense as opposed to the paper-tiger defensive units the Bengals have fielded as of late. 

The Bengals pulled off the season sweep of the Steelers by beating them at their own game.

With the result of today’s game, it’s tough to say whether it would benefit the Steelers more to go back to thinking inside the box, figuratively and literally.

Would they be better off going back to pounding the ball down the defense’s throat in the running game? Or should they think outside the box with the aerial assault and hope that things continue to develop?

All season long, the Bengals have succeeded by proving all their doubters wrong. It appears the Bengals have taken a step outside the box, no longer the victim of total domination at the hands of their black-and-gold rivals, and appear to be on their way to a huge step outside the box for Marvin Lewis…a winning record.

Only time will tell if this is a step outside the box, or merely a quick escape from it.

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Patriots On a Roll: Aerial Assault Overwhelms Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins have been a thorn in Bill Belichick’s side since he first arrived in New England. He is only 10-8 against the turquoise and orange Florida fish, and five of his 10 division losses since 2002 have come at the hands of Miami.

Miami’s Wildcat offense, which was averaging a piddly 1.7 yards per play over the past three games, finally found stride against New England on several big plays. On Miami’s three scoring drives, they seemed to move the ball at will. Pat White gashed the Patriots for a 33-yard gain on his first snap of the game. Following this, he led the offense with several plays out of the Wildcat, including a 15-yard pitch to Ricky Williams.

The Dolphins have the winning formula against teams that rely on their quarterback. They’ve been able to win the time of possession battle, and did so again today, albeit by a slim margin of four minutes.

They soaked up a ton of game clock on their third quarter opening drive, a whopping 10:09 to be exact. Running back Ronnie Brown tossed a touchdown to tight end Joey Haynos in the third quarter, and Dan Carpenter kicked the go-ahead PAT.

But the Patriots answered back just over 90 seconds later with a long catch-and-run by Randy Moss, who stiff armed and stumbled his way free from rookie cornerback Vontae Davis for the score.

Thus is the juxtaposition that has plagued the Dolphins all season: soaking up the clock on offense, but unable to make a stop on defense.

Their defense is stout against the run, ranking fifth overall in yards per game, but allows the seventh most points of any team and ranks in the bottom half for passing yards and total yards allowed per game.

Dan Dierdorf, for all of his witless statements, said it best when he mentioned that the Dolphins severely lack an explosive pass attack. Although Ted Ginn, Jr. and Davone Bess are two of the fastest receivers in the league, they drop a lot of catchable balls and run a lot of short routes.

To sum it up, Tom Brady had 13.3 average yards per completion, whereas Chad Henne had 11.5. And today was one of the Dolphins’ better days, statistically speaking, in the passing game. It may not be fair to compare Henne to Brady (though, interestingly, both played at Michigan), but even still, the Dolphins are ranked almost dead last in yards per passing attempt.

They rank fourth in rushing yards per game, and fourth worst in passing yards per game. They’re averaging under six yards per passing attempt and their opponents are averaging over eight. In today’s NFL, a non-existent passing game simply will not suffice, and can’t win ball games.

The Patriots, meanwhile, are finally hitting stride on offense. Although they “only” put up 27 points this week, which pales in comparison to the 59 against the Titans or 35 against the Buccaneers, the Dolphins always play the Patriots close, and they’ve also been much more competitive than either of those winless-at-the-time teams.

Brady threw one touchdown and one interception in today’s win, and completed over 67 percent of his passes. He’s been on a roll over the past few weeks, and though he didn’t provide one of his more spectacular performances, he reached 300 yards passing for the fourth time this season. While it’s hardly on pace with his 2007 MVP campaign, one can hardly be disappointed with his performance following reconstructive knee surgery.

How I, or anyone else, expected him to immediately begin turning in numbers reminiscent of that season is a wonder. Perhaps it was an empty hope? Regardless, New England is back in winning form after starting 3-2 and being dubbed “past their window of success.”

For a difficult month of November, where they face two undefeated teams, two of the best offenses in the league and the No. 2-ranked defense, a win is an excellent start. With their offense finally finding stride, the Patriots are primed to maintain momentum in November.

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New England Patriots Restoring Confidence, One Game At A Time

After a stretch in their first three games where they couldn’t seem to pull away from their opponents, the New England Patriots have returned to their 2007 ways, putting up points in bunches on everyone in their path.

The New England Patriots rocked the Tennessee Titans 59-0 in one of the biggest blowouts in NFL history, in the snowy mess of New England’s home Gillette Stadium.

Then, New England proved they can dominate in olde England, too. They laid the smack down on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the tune of 35-7 at Wembley Stadium.

We have seen the full spectrum of what to expect from the Patriots this season already, and we’re only in Week Seven; close games, blowouts, high-scoring shoot-outs, and low-scoring defensive struggles.

We’ve seen this not only in how they win or lose, but also in terms of the team’s play. The offensive line looked deteriorated and old in the early portion of the season, but they have done remarkably well keeping Brady upright and free from pressure over the past few weeks.

The running game has only showed flashes of brilliance over the season, but hasn’t been given much of a chance to shine behind the gun-slinging offensive gameplan the Pats have employed.

From Tom Brady in his rusty first few weeks to the 2007 record-setting pace he’s been on over the past two games, the Patriots have seemed to follow the lead of their king, the most crucial piece to the puzzle.

When the Patriots were handed their Week Two loss by the Jets, it seemed that this team could be in disarray and in need of an overhaul. This was thought to be especially true in the trenches, where they could neither protect Brady from pressure nor create any pressure on defense.

These past two weeks, their offense has been firing on all cylinders and is finally getting the ball rolling. They’ve been deploying multiple formations to frustrate their opponents (as if lining up across from Tom Brady isn’t frustrating enough).

From empty backfields to two tight ends and everything in between, the Patriots have seemingly been playing offense on a whim…and it’s working.

We must bear in mind, though, that the Patriots’ season has already been somewhat of an anomaly.

Not only did they face undefeated teams in their first five games, but they then had the pleasure of facing winless teams in their last two.

The two games against the Titans and the Bucs have helped get the Patriots moving in the right direction headed into their bye week, and they’re finally on a roll on offense.

414 yards of offense this week. 619 yards of offense last week.

Granted, they’ve faced two winless teams over the past two weeks, but 94 points in two games while only giving up seven is an accomplishment no matter who you’re facing.

And speaking of the seven points allowed, how about the defense? Five interceptions and four forced fumbles in the past two games is pretty remarkable, especially when only giving up two interceptions to the opposition.

Their defensive line may not be producing the sack totals that are synonymous with the stoutest units in the league, but they are finally pressuring the passer into poor, early decisions.

One admirable trait of the defense is the ability of the youth to step in and produce. Jerod Mayo has proven this year and last that he is a force on the defense and can be a leader just like his predecessor, Tedy Bruschi.

Brandon Meriweather is developing into one of the more notable safeties in the league. It’s not unrealistic to think that he will soon be mentioned in the same breath as guys like Bob Sanders, guys who lead with their nonstop motor.

The team was in need of a boost in confidence after a mediocre start to the season, and that’s exactly what they got (with the help of some inept franchises).

With four difficult games coming up (MIA, @IND, NYJ, @NO), they will need to be spectacular on both sides of the ball to come up with wins.

If these two weeks prior to the bye were a warm-up for the Patriots, then the four weeks afterward can be a harsh realization for the rest of the league that the Pats are as good as advertised.

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The Daily WTF: Richard Seymour Said What?

In one of the many blockbuster moves this offseason, and just days before the regular season opener against the Buffalo Bills, the New England Patriots traded their star defensive end Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders for a first-round selection in the 2011 NFL Draft.

The move was highly criticized by fans on both ends of the deal.

Fans in New England felt they were getting rid of an excellent player who had been a key component to the organization for almost a decade.

Fans in Oakland didn’t want to see their future mortgaged on the faith of a defensive lineman whom many have speculated is in the twilight of his career.

As it turns out, Seymour has played extremely well, even though his defense hasn’t. He’s registered 23 tackles and four sacks in only six games, with a pass defended and a forced fumble.

Despite his efforts, the Raiders’ defense ranks in the bottom half in every statistical category, including 16th against the pass and a miserable 28th against the run.

So it came as a shock when ESPN reported Thursday morning that Seymour predicted a playoff appearance for his currently 2-4 Oakland Raiders.

The Raiders look up at the 6-0 Denver Broncos and the 2-3 San Diego Chargers in their division, along with a host of other teams throughout the AFC that appear primed to make a run at the two Wild Card spots.

Despite the controversy, Tom Cable fully supports his players talking with that kind of confidence. He knows it’s good to have that type of confidence in the team, saying, “You’re not going to get anywhere until you start to believe in where you’re going.”

Cable went on to say, “It’s good to stick your neck out a little bit, but know with that comes the responsibility of backing it up.”

 

“The Daily WTF” Goes To…

ESPN for making something out of nothing. As it’s their job, they will always report anything a player says, and as they must run sports programming 24-7, they will talk about it endlessly regardless of its actual relevance.

Seymour is just trying to get his team to play with some confidence. They need it after being called out so many times over the past few months for a lack of heart. Antonio Pierce even said playing against them was like playing a scrimmage game.

It seems out of the ordinary for Seymour, because it’s something he never had to do in New England—the team already played with so much confidence. When a team has that, good things follow.

This isn’t the type of prediction that teams are going to put up as “bulletin board material” either, because it doesn’t call out any specific team or player.

Sure, it may mean the team has to perform exceptionally well this Sunday. In the end, though, the only person this prediction affects is Seymour because ultimately, he’ll be the one who either looks like a zero or a hero.

He’s playing the best of any player on the defense, so excuse him if he has a little confidence. This is what Seymour was brought in to do—bring veteran leadership to a defense that severely lacked in that category.

After playing under Bill Belichick for eight years, Seymour knows a thing or two about making that type of prediction: at the end of the day, it means nothing. It only matters what you do on the field.

He’s hoping that his prediction will mean nothing in a good way.

 

Sources:

Contra Costa Times

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The Daily WTF: Michael Crabtree Holdout Ends

 

Michael Crabtree was a diva before he ever set foot on an NFL playing field.

The story begins on Apr. 21, 2009. The Oakland Raiders are selecting seventh overall in the first round. Desperately in need of a wide receiver, everyone and their brother who had a big board assumed that Crabtree was the consensus pick at that spot.

Instead, Al Davis went with yet another 40-yard wonder by the name of Darrius Heyward-Bey in lieu of Crabtree failing to clock a time on the heralded dash. Crabtree was picked three spots later by the San Francisco 49ers, and so began a saga of drama.

Feeling he was more talented than the receiver taken before him, Crabtree felt he should be paid like the pick he should have been. The 49ers saw things differently; they felt that he very well may have been a top-five talent, but they had the privilege of selecting him later than that, and therefore wanted to pay him like the pick he actually was.

Crabtree, having never done anything on an NFL field, already felt he had the right to get paid more than someone who was taken before him. With that kind of elitist attitude, it’s easy to wonder which of the 32 teams would actually take a chance on him had he actually gone through with his re-entry into the 2010 NFL Draft?

My question is: how long will he last under Mike Singletary? The NFL legend coaches with the same hard-working, selfless mindset that helped him find a place in Canton, OH.

In any case, it doesn’t seem as though Crabtree fits that mold. Hopefully for everyone in the 49ers’ organization, his concern with off-field matters, including money and his image, won’t get in the way of him becoming the gritty, grind-it-out contender Singletary has asked his players to be.

 

The Daily WTF goes to…

Eugene Parker, for allowing this to go on as long as it did.

At any time in the process, Parker could have stepped in and, for the betterment of his client’s career, told him to sign the contract and get on the field to start earning more money for a possible re-negotiation down the road.

What a novel concept: a rookie actually earning the money that is being given to them? None other than Clinton Portis would know of that, who was drafted in the second round and used himself as a battering ram into a bigger contract.

Crabtree was essentially Parker’s pawn for testing forbidden waters. Parker was trying to violate an unwritten rule on the draft order and how it determines contracts.

Had Parker been able to pull this off, he would have been a king

Instead, he’s just a nail, and MC Hammer is…well, the hammer that struck the deal.

We don’t really know who was pulling the strings in terms of why this deal took so long to get made. Was Parker out to make a name for himself as one of the greatest agents ever? Or was Crabtree really that conceited about his own value?

That’s why it’s hard to dole out only one WTF today. Either Crabtree or Parker could have ended the holdout at any point by simply thinking about the long-term effect this could have on Crabtree’s career (as first-round holdouts have historically struggled).

The holdout didn’t have a single positive outcome for Crabtree. After missing all of training camp as well as the first four weeks of the season, it will take a lot of hard work to get Crabtree up to speed.

Furthermore, he ended up signing a contract that probably looks almost identical to the one that was presented to him after the draft. Now, all he has to show for it is a lot of rust.

I’m sure Crabtree hopes to land in Canton, just like his coach, at some point. Letting his play do the talking instead of his agent will help in that matter.

WTF, Parker and Crabtree?

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The Daily WTF: Michael Crabtree Holdout Ends

 

Michael Crabtree was a diva before he ever set foot on an NFL playing field.

The story begins on Apr. 21, 2009. The Oakland Raiders are selecting seventh overall in the first round. Desperately in need of a wide receiver, everyone and their brother who had a big board assumed that Crabtree was the consensus pick at that spot.

Instead, Al Davis went with yet another 40-yard wonder by the name of Darrius Heyward-Bey in lieu of Crabtree failing to clock a time on the heralded dash. Crabtree was picked three spots later by the San Francisco 49ers, and so began a saga of drama.

Feeling he was more talented than the receiver taken before him, Crabtree felt he should be paid like the pick he should have been. The 49ers saw things differently; they felt that he very well may have been a top-five talent, but they had the privilege of selecting him later than that, and therefore wanted to pay him like the pick he actually was.

Crabtree, having never done anything on an NFL field, already felt he had the right to get paid more than someone who was taken before him. With that kind of elitist attitude, it’s easy to wonder which of the 32 teams would actually take a chance on him had he actually gone through with his re-entry into the 2010 NFL Draft?

My question is: how long will he last under Mike Singletary? The NFL legend coaches with the same hard-working, selfless mindset that helped him find a place in Canton, OH.

In any case, it doesn’t seem as though Crabtree fits that mold. Hopefully for everyone in the 49ers’ organization, his concern with off-field matters, including money and his image, won’t get in the way of him becoming the gritty, grind-it-out contender Singletary has asked his players to be.

 

The Daily WTF goes to…

Eugene Parker, for allowing this to go on as long as it did.

At any time in the process, Parker could have stepped in and, for the betterment of his client’s career, told him to sign the contract and get on the field to start earning more money for a possible re-negotiation down the road.

What a novel concept: a rookie actually earning the money that is being given to them? None other than Clinton Portis would know of that, who was drafted in the second round and used himself as a battering ram into a bigger contract.

Crabtree was essentially Parker’s pawn for testing forbidden waters. Parker was trying to violate an unwritten rule on the draft order and how it determines contracts.

Had Parker been able to pull this off, he would have been a king

Instead, he’s just a nail, and MC Hammer is…well, the hammer that struck the deal.

We don’t really know who was pulling the strings in terms of why this deal took so long to get made. Was Parker out to make a name for himself as one of the greatest agents ever? Or was Crabtree really that conceited about his own value?

That’s why it’s hard to dole out only one WTF today. Either Crabtree or Parker could have ended the holdout at any point by simply thinking about the long-term effect this could have on Crabtree’s career (as first-round holdouts have historically struggled).

The holdout didn’t have a single positive outcome for Crabtree. After missing all of training camp as well as the first four weeks of the season, it will take a lot of hard work to get Crabtree up to speed.

Furthermore, he ended up signing a contract that probably looks almost identical to the one that was presented to him after the draft. Now, all he has to show for it is a lot of rust.

I’m sure Crabtree hopes to land in Canton, just like his coach, at some point. Letting his play do the talking instead of his agent will help in that matter.

WTF, Parker and Crabtree?

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The Daily WTF: Edwards Explodes on Givens; LeBron Responds

Braylon Edwards spent a lot of last season dropping passes.

Looks like he’s found something new to drop: people.

Edwards was out late on Sunday night, after his team had just fallen to 0-4. Early Monday morning, he got into a skirmish with Edward Givens, a promoter in the Cleveland area.

Givens is a good friend of LeBron James, and the King was quick to counter with a jab of his own. He caught the attention of nearly every media outlet in the nation when he called Edwards’ violent actions “childish. My friend is 130 pounds.”

We need to look no further than the ever-reliable source of quotes and concrete information, Twitter, for a rebuttal from Edwards, where he says “I have no issue with LeBron. I respect and admire him.”

The league is looking into the matter and will hand down a decision on the matter when all the dust has settled.

 

The Daily WTF goes to…

Braylon Edwards. No surprise here.

Regardless of whether or not this story turns out to be 100 percent true, Edwards has been involved in many other off-field incidents in the past. Having paid a $150 fine and 30 hours of community service for driving 120 mph, it’s clear that Edwards doesn’t make the brightest decisions.

Throwing a punch is no different.

That’s where the line is crossed between acceptable and unacceptable. Ask anyone from Tom Cable to LeGarrette Blount about how one punch can give you as much bad publicity as, or even more than, Britney Spears.

He was even picking a fight with teammate Pat Sims during the game. Luckily for him, he must have learned from Steve Smith’s mistake that cost him a suspension a year ago.

To top it all off, Braylon Edwards is a 6’3”, 215 pound professional athlete, throwing a punch at a 5’7”, 130 pound poindexter. LeBron said it best when he pointed out that it’d be like “punching one of my kids.”

As for Edwards’ Tweet in response to LeBron, it’s too easy to say anything on Twitter, let alone to try and clear the air on “beef” between you and another Cleveland superstar.

WTF, Braylon?

Sources:

Examiner.com
ESPN.com
ESPN.com (2)

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The Daily WTF: Ravens Rip Refs

Shortly after the New England Patriots defeated the Baltimore Ravens 27-21 in Foxboro on Sunday, the game was already caked with controversy.

John Harbaugh and some of the Ravens defensive players began taking shots at the referees for a couple of poor roughing the passer calls, which saved New England drives.

The first call came when Haloti Ngata was right in the face of Tom Brady. He released the ball, and a split second later, Ngata’s hands made contact with Brady’s helmet. The yellow flag was quickly followed by raised hands in disgust along Baltimore’s bench.

John Harbaugh even drew a second penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, barking in the ref’s ear like an angered pitbull.

Later on, Terrell Suggs was trying to avoid hitting Brady, and in so doing dove to the ground toward Brady’s legs. After his shoulder pad grazed Brady’s right knee, the All-Pro quarterback pointed to his knee and asked the ref for a flag. The ref obliged and the 15-yard personal foul was called.

Ray Lewis is quoted as saying, “It is embarrassing to the game…Brady is good enough to make his own plays, let him make the play.”

After Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs’ roughing the passer call, former Patriots safety and NBC analyst Rodney Harrison “called out” his former teammate, saying with a grin that he should “take off the skirt and put on some slacks.”

The jabs at the refs went beyond the questionable calls, though.

In reference to a Willis McGahee run on fourth-and-one that was measured short of the first down marker, Ed Reed went as far as to say, “the spots were terrible.”

 

The Daily WTF goes to…

I can’t hand out just one of these today. There’s just too much “WTF” for one person.

Roger Goodell gets some of the heat here. Troy Polamalu is exactly right in his assessment from a year ago that the NFL is “becoming more and more flag football, two-hand touch,” even going so far as to say that the NFL is becoming like a “pansy game” and that the fines are more about money than player safety.

Ironically, he was fined for those remarks.

Let the guys play. It’s hard enough to reach the quarterback, having to constantly wonder whether you have to stop or if you have enough time to reach him without getting flagged makes players hesitant in their pass rush.

While I do agree with these and more comments about how the NFL is becoming soft, rules are rules for a reason. Tom Brady went down in week one last season because someone hit him low.

Obviously, he’s going to be looking for people doing it again. No one can really blame him for that.

The Ravens, however, took the weak way out. Instead of mentioning Mark Clayton’s drop on a fourth-quarter, fourth-down pass which hit him right between the “8” and “9”, they went right to digging into the refs for a couple of bad calls.

Would those bad calls have won or lost the game? No; even Ray Lewis admitted that. Perhaps converting on fourth-and-one earlier on would have helped win the game? Or maybe Mark Clayton making that catch?

The referees get the final WTF. They can’t seem to get it right with these calls. ESPN pointed out a missed call earlier in the same game, where Patriots defensive end Ty Warren took two large steps into a fierce tackle after Joe Flacco had already released the ball.

Brian Cushing laid a vicious blow to JaMarcus Russell’s head, clearly after the throw, which also went unflagged.

On WEEI radio this morning, Tom Brady remarked that those calls go both ways. He mentioned a couple of similar calls earlier on in the season that went against them (probably in reference to the Buffalo game).

There seems to be no measure of consistency with these rules, as with many others. Pass interference calls are too often missed and/or unclear. Some days, players can get away with a lot more than they can other days.

As evidenced this weekend, that can be said for plays, not just days.

WTF, guys?

 

Sources:

Patriots.com
ESPN.com
WEEI.com

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The Daily WTF: Jeff Garcia Rips Oakland Raiders

Quarterback Jeff Garcia put the Raiders on blast, aiming his cannon straight for the organization that elected to release him and start JaMarcus Russell.

He started by saying it’s unfortunate that “the entire work ethic and the entire goal of the team is really put upon one guy’s shoulders.”

He continued by adding that Russell may be more of a workout warrior than a battlefield leader, saying, “When you put him on the field in a one-on-one workout session, he’ll make every throw for you.”

When it comes to his leadership?

“That’s where maybe things aren’t where they need to be.”

Garcia could be perceived as bitter, but he’s been nothing short of a class act all the way throughout his career.

It’s likely that he’s incredibly torn up about not being the starting quarterback for the championship caliber Oakland Raiders </sarcasm>.

 

The Daily WTF goes to…

The Oakland Raiders, who haven’t known what they’re doing ever since they fired Jon Gruden.

Although he’s in the right, Garcia still gets a slap on the wrist for the way he talked about the Raiders’ roster, saying, “It was to a point where I felt like guys who walked through those doors that just were there to collect a check and not really interested in putting everything that they had within themselves on to the football field.”

What did the players on the team do to deserve those remarks?

Garcia has been a class act in the past, but I’m not sure what he was thinking by saying this. Maybe he’s right, but calling them out unprovoked is uncalled for.

He had every right to put the organization on blast. It could be argued that he had the right to call out JaMarcus Russell’s ineptitude as a quarterback after they chose him to be their starter while releasing a four-time Pro Bowl quarterback.

After all, Russell’s work ethic has often been questioned, and it’s fair to say that he can’t carry the team like a franchise quarterback should be able to.

Yes, JaMarcus Russell showed promise toward the end of last season, but he is still a young quarterback with a lot to learn. Garcia is exactly right in the indictment of the organization, for putting Russell on the spot at such a young age when it’s clear he’s not ready for it.

Garcia isn’t the only Raiders quarterback taking shots at 2007’s first overall draft pick, either; Rich Gannon said on his Sirius radio show that Russell doesn’t have the right mechanics in footwork, but also that he can’t read the NFL’s complex coverages.

Quarterbacks taken with the first overall selection have proven inefficient in reading coverages in the past, and Russell appears to be no different.

Although he had a strong showing at the end of the 2008 season, he did it against the Buccaneers (who went 0-4 in December) and the Texans (who had the 22nd ranked pass defense in 2008).

The Raiders had no idea what they were thinking releasing Garcia. It can obviously create a divide when there’s a quarterback competition, but he could have (and would have been open to) mentoring a young quarterback.

Could this have been the season for the Raiders to make a run at the Super Bowl? No.

Even with Garcia under center, they wouldn’t have made a run at the playoffs, but it’s quite obvious they have a better chance of winning games with Garcia over Russell. Winning breeds winning, especially in the NFL, where confidence, knowledge, and work ethic are so key. Garcia possesses all of those qualities, along with a heap of leadership.

“Maybe it’s because how things have been for a number of years now out there and they just don’t see the hope,” he said.

WTF, Raiders?

Sources:

The Clarion Ledger
ESPN.com

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

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