Double Coverage: Week 3

1. Youth League Restrictions




Michelle:

Though we primarily cover the NFL on this blog, it is at its heart about football generally, and the first topic I'd like to discuss today is this article I read earlier about the Arkansas Wilson Intermediate Football League imposing a scoring restriction, named the "Madre Hill rule," on 11-year-old Demias Jimerson. Apparently, the running back's scoring was getting so out of hand that the other kids on the field were beginning to lose interest. WIFL Commissioner Terri Bryant said that "Jimerson is going to score almost every time he touches the ball."

The article does note that Jimerson knows when he reaches the 7th Grade, no more restrictions will be applicable. But I don't quite see the difference that being in 7th Grade or 6th Grade makes in terms of the eligibilty of restrictions. The whole concept of holding a talented player back doesn't sit well with me. Instead of trying to punish the kid at the front of the group, why don't they encourage the kids at the back to catch up? He should be an inspiration and a drive to work harder, not held back so that he doesn't disengage the other children.

Especially in a sport as competitive as football, slowing kids down for exceptional talent will do nothing but harm them in the long run. When he's trying to get a scholarship and then trying to get drafted, he's going to be up against other exceptional players who were never held back. And the message it sends to the other kids -- basically, "we are doing this to help you because otherwise you wouldn't be able to play at his level." It's just a bad situation, all around.


Lucas:

This seems to me like a misguided attempt at fairness. The thought that holding back one kid in order to keep the other kids "involved" in the game seems ludicrous to me. I agree with Michelle that the idea of holding one talented child back and not giving him every opportunity to play and stretch his abilities is absurd. I would think that, as a coach, I would encourage my players to have the opposite approach: don't just wait for the point in the game where this kid isn't playing anymore - instead, use it as an opportunity to challenge the defense and give them a real test. Don't shortchange one kid because the rest can't keep up. Use it as a learning tool, a chance to see that these are the types of players you'll see later on in your football careers. Sometimes, you meet a guy you just can't stop. But that doesn't mean the league should institute a rule that prevents them from trying every chance they get.

Sure, the rule has several provisions built in, such as his touchdowns don't count only if he's scored three times in the game already and his team is ahead by 14 or more. But no such rule is in effect in high school, college, or the NFL. Why should an intermediate youth league build up kids' expectations to believe that such a rule will always be there to help them out? If the kid has scored on you three times already and the team is up by more than 14 points, the damage is done. Most likely, you're gonna lose. In making this rule, though, the league gives Jimerson all of the power. They have played him up to be supernatural, some sort of unstoppable football god. Instead, they should give Jimerson every attempt to hone his skills, and the defense every opportunity to prove they can stop him. Even if he has already gashed them more than anyone else.


2. Are refs actually not doing enough to protect Vick?

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Michelle:

Well, Vick has since apologized for his comments, saying that he has nothing but "respect for the referees and their decisions" and we won't hear him "complain about it no more." I'm still struggling between whether his comments were appropriate and useful, or just another example of what former ref Mike Pereira has said about the Eagles: they complain more than any other team.

Lucas doesn't necessarily agree from me that Vick's comments stem from some sort of insecurity about his character or belief that people are more prone to discriminate against him. That's not the exact claim I'm making, per se, but I think inherent in Vick's claims is an assertion that refs are more fair to other QBs than to him, and therefore, some sort of unequal treatment accusation. In that respect, I think Vick needs to let his time on the field do his speaking, and stop getting himself into more trouble with his unchecked tongue. I do believe that Vick's comments are taken more seriously than other QB's. Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. among others, have made some incendiary comments lately, but the press just loves to jump all over Vick.

In terms of Vick's actual claim: that he isn't getting enough calls from the refs, I disagree with what Andy Reid said, which is that the refs can't treat Vick like a running back when he runs with the ball. Actually -- that's exactly what they can do, and mobile QBs like Vick, Roethlisberger, and Rodgers take the chance of whenever they run getting hit by defenders as hard as they'd like, except of course if they slide. If Vick doesn't want to slide, he has to accept that he's going to get more hits. That's just the way it is.

Ultimately, I think this whole issue has spawned a bigger problem that Pereira identified. Now, if Vick gets more calls the refs are going to look as though they were "bullied" into giving them, and if he doesn't, the complaints are going to continue. Ultimately, he needs to be aware of when he's playing like a QB and when he's playing like an RB and expect the flags to fly accordingly.

Lucas:

This is one where you have to look at the stats. As I pointed out in my MVPs and LVPs post, the Eagles lead the NFC East in roughing the passer calls over the past two years. Former NFL vice president of officiating, Mike Pereira (an extremely outspoken Vick critic this week), pointed out that Vick ranks 9th on the list of NFL quarterbacks that drew the most roughing the passer penalties in the past 19 games, ahead of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, but behind such stellar quarterbacks as Jason Campbell, Colt McCoy, and Jay Cutler. Yes, it is tough to referee for a guy like Vick. He moves in and out of the pocket so much that it may be hard for officials to see if he is in front or behind the line of scrimmage, and guys are running after him so fast that it may be difficult for them to stop once he's thrown the ball. That doesn't excuse late hits, but if you look at the stats above, it seems like Vick has been getting plenty of calls in his favor. 

Honestly, Vick pointed out that, if you look at the game tape, he is on the ground after every play. But as I said before, I don't think that's the refs fault. For better protection, he needs to look to the weak Eagles offensive line. But I've already made my case for that. Realistically, all that Vick has done is make all referees who call future Eagles' games targets for criticism, as stated (correctly, I believe) by Pereira. If they call penalties against opposing defenses, it'll seem like Vick's comments forced their hand. If they don't call a lot, it'll seem like they're trying to punish Vick. It seems like a lose-lose situation. So Vick may have gotten what he wanted: referees will certainly pay closer attention to Eagles' games, though I'm not sure that it'll be for the right reasons.

MVPs and LVPs: Week 3

MVPs:

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Buffalo Bills (The entire team, special distinctions go to Ryan Fitzpatrick and the defense):

I said last week that it might be time to start thinking that these guys are for real. This week definitely asserts that. As a Patriots fan, this game was hard to swallow, and it will be a long time before I forgive Chad Ochocinco for dropping that likely TD pass late in the fourth quarter, but I have to hand it to the Bills, they looked really impressive. It takes a lot to come back from a 21-0 lead, especially against the Patriots, but Ryan Fitzpatrick did just that, throwing for 369 yards, 2 TDs, and 2 INTs to overtake and beat the Patriots 34-31, along with some phenomenal help from Fred Jackson, David Nelson, Stevie Johnson, and the rest of the Bills offense. It also takes a special defense to make Tom Brady look foolish, and the Bills picked him off 4 times, matching his total number of interceptions for the entire 2010 season (although much of that was Brady's fault). It was a well-played game by the Bills, who are now 3-0 and 1st in the AFC East, ahead of both the Patriots (2-1) and Jets (2-1), and was an exhilarating game to watch.


Torrey Smith (WR, Baltimore Ravens):

Another hard game to swallow for me, as Torrey Smith's amazing performance came at the expense of a 37-7 drubbing of the Rams. As a rookie, Torrey Smith had not made much of an impact as a member of the Ravens offense during the first two games of the season. In fact, before Sunday, he had never made a catch during a regular season game; Lee Evans had taken over the number two spot across from Anquan Boldin and occupied the speed receiver slot very nicely. Yesterday, though, Evans was inactive, and Smith made his presence known to the rest of the NFL. Smith caught 5 passes for 152 yards, the first three of which were all touchdown passes for 74, 41, and 18 yards, a total of 133 yards on TD passes alone. I liked Smith coming out of college, but never expected him to perform like this so early. I don't think the Ravens did either. If Smith can continue this kind of production, the Ravens may have found one of the most potent and explosive receivers in the NFL for years to come.


Darren McFadden (RB, Oakland Raiders):

I have to say, part of this comes from me having McFadden on my fantasy team. I was considering not playing him, since he was up against the Jets tough run-stopping defense, and playing Ahmad Bradshaw instead, as the Eagles defense seemed like a better matchup. I decided to play McFadden; in hindsight, I should have played both of them (and not Michael Turner instead of Bradshaw), but McFadden in particular had a beast of a day. He ran for 171 yards on 19 carries against the Jets defense for 2 TDs - that's an impressive day against any defense, but especially against one of the premier run defenses in the league. The Raiders won the game 34-24, but the real story here for me was McFadden. He currently leads the league in rushing yards with 393 after 3 games and has 84 yards receiving on 11 catches, and Mike Silver of Yahoo Sports makes a case that McFadden might be proving himself to be the best running back in the NFL not named Adrian Peterson. With the way other backs in the NFL are performing, it sure looks that way.


Calvin Johnson (WR, Detroit Lions):

Who would have thought that both the Bills and the Lions would be 3-0? I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but Detroit sure looked like a playoff-caliber team Sunday, coming back from a 20-0 deficit against the Vikings to win 26-23 in overtime. But the real player of the game was Johnson. He caught 7 passes for 108 yards and the only 2 TDs of the game for the Lions - he also caught a great catch that put the Lions in position to kick the game-winning field goal in OT. It seemed that whenever Matthew Stafford wasn't sure what to do, he would just throw it in Johnson's general direction and know that he would come down with a catch. It was a great win for the Lions, a horrible defeat for the Vikings (that's their third game in a row that they've lost after leading in the first half), and the Lions won for the first time in Minnesota since 1997.


LVPs:

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Minnesota Vikings (The entire team - no special distinctions):

It really makes one wonder when this statistic is thrown out: the Vikings have now become the fifth team in NFL history to blow three straight leads of 10 points or more. The only team to do it twice? The Minnesota Vikings. I thought the Vikings would be last in the NFC North this year, but this is sad. The Vikings are now 0-3, and there isn't much for them to do; a lot of people are pointing to the declining skills of Donovan McNabb as the cause, but even though he isn't looking good, there is plenty of blame to be placed on both sides of the ball. All they can really do now is pick themselves back up and hope that next week turns out better, because right now, things don't bode well for the rest of the Vikings' season.


Antonio Cromartie (CB, New York Jets):

I'm not saying the loss to the Raiders was Cromartie's fault. A lot of it had to do with the Raiders (especially McFadden) just playing really darn well. But after his monster game last week against the Jaguars, I had hoped the days of the bumblin'-stumblin' Cromartie were behind him. Instead, Cromartie was making mistakes all over the place - forcing penalties, flubbing kick returns, and just generally getting dominated by the Raiders. Darelle Revis is one of, if not THE, best corners in football, but a team is only as good as its weakest link. Cromartie needs to help support the Jets secondary (and especially Revis) by, at the very least, not making silly errors.


Tom Brady (QB, New England Patriots):

After two straight weeks on my MVP list, it's hard to put Brady here. But after his game against the Bills, it's hard not to. He threw 4 INTs, one of which was returned for a TD - that's equal to the total number of interceptions Brady threw throughout the entirety of last year (during the regular season). If you discount the interceptions, Brady had a good game (30 of 45 for 387 yards and 4 TDs). Much of the Bills' comeback win had to do with Buffalo playing great, but it's hard to believe that the Pats would have lost if it had not been for Brady's mistakes.


Philadelphia Eagles Offensive Line:

For a few seconds here, I'm gonna weigh in my thoughts on Michael Vick's comments about "being on the ground constantly." It was directed at officials (a quick tidbit: the Eagles have been the recipient of more roughing the passer penalties in the past two years than any other team in the NFC East - just sayin), but it also should be a shot at his offensive line. Despite their best efforts to upgrade, the O-line in Philly just looks shoddy and slow. They had four false starts in the last game alone, and have allowed Vick to be sacked 4 times in 3 games, not to mention all the times he's been hit after releasing the ball. They flailed in short yardage situations Sunday - when it's your job to move a defensive lineman just a yard off the ball so that the runner can get through, and you can't even do THAT, you have a serious problem. Vick has a right to be frustrated after getting a concussion, hurting his hand, and getting knocked down on almost every play. He's just pointing the finger at the wrong guys.

Gameday Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Tenders

One of my favorite things about fall and football is getting together with my boys and cooking them some outrageous food. I also like that football (along with holidays, good news, bad news, weekends, going to the movies...) gives me an excuse to make and then consume delicious food without penance. But Lucas and I are on our own this year, with the five suitemates we watched all the games with last year scattered across two continents. 


Thus, I'm going a little overboard to compensate. It's the right thing to do. 


First recipe up of the day is a must-have: buffalo chicken tenders.


A couple weekends ago, under the guise of being healthy, I tried to make baked buffalo chicken tenders with panko. Naturally, they just didn't do it for me. So I've gone back to my tried-and-true, lightly crispy, pan-fried tenders.


Start by cutting some skinless, boneless chicken tenders up into small strips. Sometimes I do them popcorn-sized, but for today, we're doing strips.


In a small bowl, combine some flour (I use whole wheat ... it doesn't have any calories or carbs, didn't you know?), cornstarch, salt, pepper (lots of pepper), cayenne pepper, and if you have some on hand, paprika.


What you do next depends on a. your level of laziness, and b. how quickly kickoff is approaching. I can't tell you the amount of times I've burned myself, dropped pans of dip, burnt mac and cheese, and generally wreaked havoc in my kitchen because I was about to miss the opening kick. Don't be like me. Leave yourself plenty of time!


(It probably helps if you happen to like: cooking and are apathetic to: football, but I promise you, it just won't taste the same.)


So, you have one of two options: you can create an egg wash by mixing together a whole egg and about a tsp of water, and then brush this over the chicken before tossing it in the flour mixture. Sometimes I just throw the chicken in there, and the only real problem that creates is that when I put it in the skillet, a lot of the flour mixture tends to fall off. But having the oil get very hot (on low heat) helps, and the egg wash does too. I


Just do what feels right.


Take your egg-bath chicken or your naked chicken and toss in the flour mixture to coat thoroughly. Heat up about a 1/2 inch of oil (I use canola ... sometimes I use olive, and then I cry because I've just wasted approximately $3 worth of oil to make something that isn't even healthy anyway) over medium-low heat and let it get nice and hot. Toss in your chicken and cook until golden brown on all sides, and place in a bowl covered with aluminum foil to keep warm.


When the chicken's all done, take some Frank's Red Hot and drizzle it in the bowl. Then serve it up with some celery and blue cheese!


In other news:


1. Fox NFL Countdown universally selected Green Bay to take the Super Bowl, and Casey Matthews is getting his first moments of playtime. Today is a good day.


2. Lucas and I are watching Eagles @ Rams first today (followed by Steelers @ Ravens and Cowboys @ Jets), and while Lucas is sobbing tears of joy at seeing his boy Sam Bradford back in action and trying to put me in his Rams shirt, I'm urging Vick, my fantasy QB, to get me on the board. Whooops.....


3. Living on the west coast during football season is weird, ya'll. Eating buffalo chicken tenders at 11am seems extremely inappropriate... but it just feels so right.


-Michelle

Ridiculously Early Playoff Predictions: NFC Edition

 

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Starting in Week 8, I want to make weekly playoff predictions leading up to the postseason. But I wanted to start off now by sharing some thoughts before the season even starts. Here I'll list my thoughts on who'll win each division, play in the championship games, and eventually the Super Bowl teams and winner. Granted, there might be some bias involved here, but I'll try to let reason win out.


Let's start with the NFC:

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NFC East - Philadelphia Eagles


-This one may seem sort of obvious, and like I'm jumping on a bandwagon, but hear me out. Although I don't buy into the whole "dream team" label, the Eagles do seem to be the most talented team in the division, even though money and talent doesn't necessarily equal team chemistry and wins. Vick may not be as dominant as he was last year (coaches now have a full year of game tape to look at), and the offensive line definitely needs work, but the offense overall will still be explosive, and the defense will definitely be better than last year. I also don't see anyone else stepping up to beat them in the division. The Giants lost too many valuable components in free agency (not to mention their draft picks have been hit with the injury stick) to be a real threat, at least early on, and I don't see them making a big push late in the season to come out on top. Also, Eli Manning needs to get more consistent before I can even consider the Giants making a playoff run. The Cowboys will be better than last year (I possibly see them grabbing a wild card spot, although it's a long shot), but winning with a new coach and a new defensive scheme takes time. They lost the Nnamdi war to the Eagles, and too many valuable people to the cap (although dropping Roy Williams was probably the best decision they'll make all year). The Redskins are, well, the Redskins. The Grossman/Beck combo will not help their situation, and they'll be major competitors for the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. So, I see the Eagles coming out on top in the NFC East.

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NFC North: Green Bay Packers


-Again, kinda obvious. The Super Bowl champs have several key player returning from IR, and even though they didn't do much in free agency or the draft, they didn't need to. Talent-wise, they're the best team in the division, and in my opinion, Mike McCarthy is the best coach in the North. I think they'll improve from last year's regular season record and clinch the division. That being said, this could be a good year for sleeper Detriot, who will build off of last year's late season winning streak to place second in the division (as long as Matthew Stafford can stay healthy-admit it, if you saw him in the preseason, he looked pretty good), and will claim one of the two wild-card slots. The addition of Roy Williams to the Bears' offense will not, in my opinion, really help their passing game, and although their run defense is still terrifying, I think they'll fall to the third in the division this year. And the Vikings...they just need time. Sidney Rice's loss will cripple their long ball chances, and Donovan McNabb, even though he will play better than last year, won't be enough to raise the Vikings to the playoffs in a tough division.

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NFC South: New Orleans Saints


-This is a tough one. Right now, this could be my favorite division in the NFL. The Falcons are definitely a force to be reckoned with, especially with the additions of Julio Jones and Ray Edwards, and the Buccaneers are nothing to sneeze at either. They'll improve on their 10-6 record last season, but sadly, it won't be enough to get to the playoffs, again. The Panthers will improve slightly, as long as Cam Newton doesn't prove to be a bust; even though I'm not sold on him being a superstar (or even deserving of the number 1 pick in the draft), I think he'll be a solid improvement from Jimmy Clausen, as his mobility adds a whole new dimension to the offense. But this could definitely be the toughest division in the league, and the Panthers will repeat as the fourth place team in the South. I think it will come down to the Saints and Falcons, and with the improvements the Saints have made on both sides of the ball (upgrading the running game and the front four), they'll take the division, even if it only ends up being by 1 game. The Falcons will not be left out of the playoffs though - they'll get the other of the two wild card slots.

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NFC West: St. Louis Rams


-Now, full disclosure here: I'm a huge Rams fan. But before you come after me claiming bullshit (well, maybe you should), hear me out. Sam Bradford is the most stable QB in the division. The only person who comes close after that is Kevin Kolb, who still needs time after the shortened offseason to learn the Arizona offense. Although the offense does lack a true number 1 receiver, adding Mike Sims-Walker during the offseason was definitely an upgrade, and Lance Kendricks looks to be the big, pass-catching tight end the Rams need. The new offensive scheme under Josh McDaniels will help Bradford stretch the field, and Steven Jackson now has some much needed help in the backfield to keep him fresh. Plus, the defense only continues to get better under Steve Spagnuolo's watch, and the upgrades at OLB will help tremendously. Arizona's improved QB situation will help them get to second in the division, but the loss of rookie Ryan Williams will be felt in the running game, and the defense still has a few key areas to improve on. I just can't see the 49ers winning the division with Alex Smith as the starting QB, even if Jim Harbaugh has improved the passing game with a few good WR additions (namely Braylon Edwards), and they lost several key offensive line and defensive members in free agency. The same goes for the Seahawks - as much as I like the additions of Zach Miller, Sidney Rice, and Robert Gallery, I just can't see them going forward and winning with either Tavaris Jackson or Charlie Whitehurst under center. I see the Rams winning what could be an (unfortunately) close division, and although it may not be much, an 8 or 9 win season will be enough to clinch the mediocre NFC West and go to the playoffs.

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NFC Wild Cards: Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions

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NFC Championship Game: Saints vs. Packers


-Yes, I see tomorrow's opener as a preview for this year's NFC championship game. I'm not going to worry about predicting playoff seeding, but I see the Super Bowl champions from the past two years battling it out for the NFC crown. It may not be the most explosive or exciting picks, but these teams will be too good this year not to make it this far. The Packers will continue to roll through the regular season after dominating the last six games of last year's season, and the Saints, after last year's embarrassing loss to the Seahawks, will be fighting to prove all year long that they're still an elite team. Realistically, I could see either team winning this game, and wouldn't be surprised if I turned out to be wrong about the winner, but I've got to go with my gut here. It'll be Brees vs. Rodgers, and even though I think the Packers will win tonight's matchup, the retooled New Orleans defense and running game will prove too much for the pass-happy Packers (yes, I know Ryan Grant is back, and Starks was great in the postseason, but the Rodgers-Jennings-Driver-Nelson-Jones-Finley combination is the Packers' real weapon) and their shaky offensive line, and the Saints will go to their second Super Bowl in three years. And yes, Michelle is going to kill me for making this pick.


NFC Champions: New Orleans Saints


My Super Bowl pick will come with my AFC predictions. Stay tuned!


-Lucas