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Monday Morning QB (cont.)

Posted: Monday December 4, 2006 8:59AM; Updated: Monday December 4, 2006 6:30PM
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Kansas City tight end Tony Gonzalez drags multiple Browns defenders for a big gain on Sunday. The Chiefs ended up losing 31-28.
Kansas City tight end Tony Gonzalez drags multiple Browns defenders for a big gain on Sunday. The Chiefs ended up losing 31-28.
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Peter King will answer your questions each week in Monday Morning Quarterback: Tuesday Edition.
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6. I think this is what I liked about Week 13:

a. Rookie Johnathan Joseph's play at cornerback for Cincinnati. He broke up four passes, and though his hands leave much to be desired, his quickness and gut instincts for the position are those of an NFL vet.

b. We laugh at Chad Johnson for his divaness, but he is one hell of a football player.

c. What a hit by Buffalo cornerback Nate Clements, upending a Chargers wideout with a first-quarter stick.

d. Tony Gonzalez, for dragging Browns tacklers eight yards on a Bavaroesque catch-and-run.

e. Tony Romo's 42-yard pass to Jason Witten to set up the winning Dallas field goal. A beautiful throw. Encapsulated everything Romo does well. Moved to the left to avoid pressure. Hustled out of the pocket, looking downfield all the while. Found Witten with a step on Will Demps. Delivered a perfect throw, in stride, with heat bearing down on him.

f. I don't know how you watch this game and not think Romo will be a great player for a while. I see no downside. None.

g. Matt Jones might not be a lost cause after all. Nice catch, nice job getting the feet inbounds at Miami on a touchdown throw from Garrard.

h. Rashean Mathis is very close to getting my other All-Pro vote at cornerback. (Champ Bailey's likely getting the first.)

i. Tennessee started 0-5. Titans are 5-2 since. "I love coaching this team,'' said Jeff Fisher, who is not going anywhere.

j. When the receivers catch and the running backs run, Mike Vick is a lot better, isn't he?

k. Edgerrin James ran for 115 (never thought I'd write that with him in the desert), but the Cards won because Matt Leinart was efficient and mistake-free. How the Lions and Raiders passed on Leinart I'll never figure out.

7. I think this is what I didn't like about Week 13:

a. You've got to make that deep-ball catch, Torry Holt.

b. Head-butting a Cowboy, Bob Whitfield? How long have you been in this league, 13 years or 13 minutes?

c. The Bucs are one lousy-looking football team.

d. You can disguise Green Bay's problems by saying Brett Favre is playing like he's 64 if you want. But you'd be delusional if you did. If they don't fix that defense, Bill Walsh could be the coach, Mike Holmgren the offensive coordinator and Joe Montana and Jerry Rice could be in their primes in green and gold, and the Packers would still be losing.

e. Anyone who's around Rex Grossman loves him, but he looks like a practice-squadder right now.

f. Watching the Chiefs hand one to the Browns in Cleveland, I found myself wondering: "Is Arrowhead too much of a cocoon for this team?''

g. David Carr still has too many rookie moments.

h. You can always count on Aaron Brooks for a minus-two touchdown-to-interception ratio in a meaningless game. Or a meaningful one, for that matter, though he hasn't played in one of those in years.

8. I think the absurdity of the Michael Strahan-Plaxico Burress controversy was not that Strahan lipped off at an ESPN reporter (not a smart thing; Kelly Naqi was simply doing her job) but this: Strahan spoke the truth, that Burress dogged it at Tennessee last week. Burress should have stood up Wednesday and said, "Strahan's right. Maybe he shouldn't have told the world that I dogged it, but I did dog it, and I deserve the criticism.'' Why is Burress getting a quasi-free pass here?

9. I think Arizona's the only sure-fire place for a coaching change, a month out from the coaching-firing season. Dennis Green will be replaced by the best available offensive mind, and Mike Martz and Steve Mariucci will likely be on the short list. You may not have noticed what Bill Belichick said about Martz, Detroit's offensive coordinator, the other day. But if I were the Bidwills, I'd pay attention to these words. "Every time the ball is snapped, there's pressure on the defense,'' Belichick said of Martz's offense. "First of all, they run every personnel group that there is. They run unbalanced line. They line up in spread formations and shift into tight formations. They line up in tight ones and motion and shift into spread ones. They attack vertically down the field.

"Down and distance, third-and-18, it doesn't bother them. Everybody else, and me, I shudder at the thought of being in third-and-18. Third-and-18, they throw 20-yard incuts and hit them. They don't care. They run a screen on the 3-yard line. They run a shovel pass down there inside the 10. They go empty. First-and-goal to go, they go empty backfield, line up in shotgun on the 1-yard line. You just don't know what you're going to get and you have to be ready for everything.

"The running game, they do run a lot of counter, misdirection plays which makes it really hard to key on. Draw plays out of two-tight-end formations where you think they're going to run it. They keep you off balance and they never run the same play twice. If they repeat a play, it's out of a different personnel group or a different formation that's disguised differently so you really can't key in on the play until after the ball is snapped. It doesn't matter whether it's on their 1-yard line, your 1-yard line, or the 50-yard line. Honest to God, you have to defend everything in the book.''

10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:

a. Jerome Bettis, our thoughts are with you. Met your Dad last season, and the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Gracious man, friendly, respectful and humble. You will continue to make your dad proud because you treat people the way you were taught to treat them.

b. Not sure I've ever seen a popular TV show that gets better at the top of its game the way I've seen House do it this season.

c. Hockey without high def is hockey on ABC in the 1960s. If you watched the NHL Game of the Week way back then, the way I did, you'll know what I mean.

d. Coffeenerdness: Komodo Dragon Blend is the best brewed coffee on earth right now. If you want to know what real coffee tastes like, have a cup of that at Starbucks.

e. I have no idea whatsoever why the Red Sox think paying $14 million a year to J.D. Drew is a good idea. I sure don't think so. Two years ago, I loved the personnel acumen of this team. And count me among those who will chip in for Manny Ramirez's plane ticket out of town. But I sure hope they know what they're doing up there, paying $51 million to have some nice lunches with Scott Boras and vastly overpaying a good but not great right fielder who gets hurt too much.

Who I Like Tonight, and I Mean Tony Kornheiser

We've all given up trying to predict the Panthers offense. I don't understand how, 10 games into the season, Jake Delhomme has 11 touchdown passes -- with Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson to throw to.

Still, I have less faith in the Philly offense.

Carolina 21, Philadelphia 10

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