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Redskins awaken Is the balance of power about to shift in the NFC East?
All the way from Helena, Mont., comes a question about the Redskins that I've been hearing a lot from Snyderites and fearful NFC East fans in New York and Philadelphia: What is the world has gotten into the Redskins? Specifically, here is Jim Nolan's question: What in the world can account for the Redskins' turnaround? In four of their
first five games they played as badly as any team I've ever seen, at any level.
In the past three they've looked like world-beaters. How can a team look so
different so quickly?
Jim, what has happened in Washington, I believe, is threefold: 1. The Redskins can run. If you look at their first five games, you see a team that went away from its running game -- the best part of the team right now, obviously -- too soon. When your most dangerous weapon is Stephen Davis and he's touching the ball on only 25 percent of the offensive snaps, you're doing a terrible job of play-calling and game-planning. Now, over the 'Skins' three-game winning streak, Davis is averaging 27 rushes a game. Just think, If he doesn't fumble late in the Monday nighter with the Cowboys, Washington would be 4-4 right now--with a legitimate NFC East title shot entering the second half of the season. 2. The hubbub over Marty Schottenheimer is dying down. Say one thing about Schottenheimer: He's a my-way-or-the-highway type. I talked to Darrell Green when this team was 0-4 and he told me: "It's a shame we're just getting to know Marty now. This should have happened in training camp, or before. He's really a good guy." Maybe that's a lesson to one-way disciplinarians: Get to know your veterans. Communicate with them. Tell them exactly what your plans are. There's no way Daniel Snyder wants to pay off more than $7 million in future guaranteed money to Schottenheimer by firing him after one season. So if the revival continues, Schottenheimer stays -- with the younger players like LaVar Arrington buying into his style. 3. They're starting to get production out of defensive vets we weren't sure had much left. Bruce Smith had a couple of sacks Sunday. Marco Coleman played like his old self. The only guy on the defense who's really underachieving right now is Champ Bailey, who's just not the same player as he was a year ago. The rest of the unit, including future star Arrington when he isn't hurt, is starting to play the way it should have in September. The Steelers had a chance to draft Drew Brees this past April. Instead, Bill
Cowher elected to stay with his prodigal son, Kordell Stewart. They should have
drafted Brees and let him train as the backup this season. What this offense
needs is a consistent, accurate passer to spur the development of young,
athletic wideouts like Plaxico Burress, Troy Edwards and Hines Ward. Stewart has
no touch on his passes and no pocket presence. His passes often result in
circus-type receptions. Meanwhile, Brees has the potential to be another Brian
Griese: an accurate, calm leader. Cowher made a huge error and cost the Steelers
a legitimate chance for a Super Bowl. They have all the other ingredients, a
running game, great defense and good special teams. How do you see Cowher's
unflinching support of the erratic Stewart?
Joe, I went to NFL Films this week to watch coaches' video on a few teams. And I'll tell you this: You might have been right about Kordell Stewart after a month of this season, but you're not right now. He's played beautifully recently, particularly the past two weeks. Throwing for 237 yards against the Ravens is no easy feat. His touch, his pocket presence, his confidence, his arm are all big-league. The Steelers can go very, very far with this man. I am starting to doubt the Ravens' defense, but few others appear to be.
When Brett Favre torched them, the credit, as it should have been, was given to
Favre. Then Jacksonville moved the ball easily on them, and Sunday Pittsburgh
took them up and down the field while Baltimore's offense was outplayed by the
Steelers' defense. Can a reputation from a year ago really gloss over their
recent mediocre performance?
Good points. In watching the aforementioned Ravens-Steelers, I saw a couple of things that really bothered me from Baltimore's standpoint: Ray Lewis is getting neutralized, for one thing. On consecutive plays, he was man-blocked out of plays by Rich Tylski, Alan Faneca and Jerome Bettis; not exactly a murderer's row of blockers there. The NFL Films folks who watch him every week told me he has been wholly ineffective the past three weeks. Also, the corners are getting beat more than last year, particularly Duane Starks. If I'm the Ravens, I'd be worried that a defense, under pressure to carry me through the absence of a dominating running game, is playing well but not Super. I live on Long Island and I'm sorry that I didn't get to read your work
while you were at Newsday (I'm only 18). I'm attending MIT right now
and by the time I finish here, I hope I can be half the writer that you are. On
to football: What do you think is going on with the Giants? I don't get many
Giants games up here in Cambridge so I haven't seen them too often. I just see
the scores and they are as inconsistent as the dining hall food.
Thanks for the nice words. Newsday was great. Still is. Re: the Giants, here's my theory: They've always been able to get a running game going and win when they weren't great in many other facets of the game. This year I swear Ron Dayne's nickname is Second-and-Nine. Maybe things will change now with a healthy Tiki Barber coming back, but they've had far too many negative carries to take the pressure off Kerry Collins in the passing game. I think, too, that the bum shoulder of Keith Hamilton has really hurt their interior defense. Hamilton was as valuable to the Giants' D last year as Michael Strahan and his recent absence has exposed the Giants' weak depth at tackle. Hamilton is coming back this week, but you wonder how effective he'll be. Peter, isn't about time that wide receivers in the NFL stop all these
schoolboy antics after making a catch for a first down? These guys get paid a
lot of money to make catches and move the chains. Why do they taunt defenses and
insult our intelligence? The crowds cheer for first downs anyway. It all appears
so self serving and childish. Can't the NFL do something about
it?
Couldn't have said it better, Mark. I was telling someone this week that, in the dancing department, Terrell Owens looks like Elaine Benes. ( You remember Elaine, from Seinfeld, with her nightmarish dance steps, don't you?) Like Paul Brown used to say: Act like you've been there before. Has there ever been another team so adversely affected by an injury to a
wideout than this year's Denver Broncos? Doesn't the Broncos' offense suddenly
seem lost without Ed McCaffrey, especially on third downs? Or are there deeper
problems?
McCaffrey's absence was really felt against Oakland on Monday night. He always abuses Eric Allen, but without him, the butter-fingered Eddie Kennison didn't give the Raiders much reason to go away from doubling Rod Smith much of the night. But the other two problems here -- Griese's sore shoulder, which I think is a problem but not altogether debilitating, and the generous defense -- are hurting the Broncos, too. Denver needs a pass-rusher to scare foes. Have you ever seen such vicious, over-the-line, attempt-to-injure behavior
as we saw last weekend? Damien Robinson should be suspended for the rest of the
season. Steve Smith should be suspended for four games for stomping on the head
of Terry Cousin. And all this coming after all those "legal" cut
blocks from the week before. What can the NFL do to stop this spate of
violence?
Bravo! The NFL should suspend Damien Robinson. That was as brutal a play, with as obvious an intent to injure as I've seen in the league all year. The only way the NFL can really do something about this is to say to an offender like Robinson: You're gone for two weeks, and if you do it again, it's four weeks. Players aren't afraid of getting whacked a week's salary. They may not like it, but it's certainly no deterrent. First of all, Peter, I have the pleasure of hearing you on WEEI and I enjoy
your appearances a great deal. My question is this: The Patriots appear to be
perhaps the deepest in the NFL at QB. Which teams will make a serious trade bid
for either Drew Bledsoe or Tom Brady in the offseason (and I assume most bids
will be for Brady)?
Thanks. The guys at 'EEI are good because they know what they're talking about. The Patriots will trade Tom Brady over Bill Belichick's dead body, providing he keeps playing the way he has. Why should he? Brady has been one of the top five quarterbacks in the game over the last month, and that includes his fourth-quarter meltdown in Denver. As far as Bledsoe goes, and I don't want to cop-out on this, but I'm in the process right now of analyzing the contract he signed last spring and I don't know precisely what the salary-cap impact would be in 2002 if the Patriots were to trade him. I have a feeling, though, that Bledsoe is imminently tradeable but I need to ask the right people some salary-cap questions in the next few days. I'll be pretty sure of myself then and I'll make sure to write about this in my Monday Morning Quarterback column. Having read that Mike Holmgren is sticking with the worst-rated quarterback
in the NFL, I am starting to think he has a case of Numb Frontal Lobe! Paul
Allen should take out an ad in several papers nationwide, looking for a GM and a
quarterback. What are your thoughts this week since the Raiders are coming to
town?
I understand Matt Hasselbeck has played poorly. I understand he is making particularly poor decisions. Go back in time now ... Eight years ago and seven years ago. The Packers' coaching staff was in near-mutiny with Holmgren over his choice at quarterback. Assistants were pushing for Ty Detmer. Holmgren wanted to stay with Brett Favre. I am not saying Hasselbeck is Favre. I am also not saying that, after that awful showing at Washington, Holmgren should stick with Hasselbeck right now. What I am saying is the development of a quarterback is not an overnight thing. First a comment from your latest MMQB's
"10 Things ..." section. I know the baseball overlords want
incredible prime-time ratings, but why start the games at 8:30 p.m. ET? I live
on the West Coast and I feel for you East Coast sports fans. I would think a
happy medium can be struck to allow the East to see the end of the game while
allowing the West reasonable time to get home for the start of the game. What
about 6:30 p.m. ET starts for games in East Coast ballparks and 7:30 ET starts
for games in the West Coast ballparks? I think a cut in TV profits is
necessary, in the interests of allowing future baseball fans to witness an
amazing series. Back to football, what do you think of Drew Brees? As a
Chargers fan, I felt pretty comfortable watching him take over the offense in
the second half. A bit more of Doug Flutie's tutelage on game management and
Brees has the potential to be very good. With the production of LaDainian
Tomlinson, I have no regrets with the Chargers passing on Michael Vick.
You should be commissioner for a day -- the day baseball decides next year's World Series TV schedule. I love that plan. I really like what I saw of Brees Sunday. Cool, smooth, not rushed, made good decisions. That's what you want in a fourth-year quarterback and Brees has it as a rookie. Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL for the magazine
and appears each Sunday on CNN's NFL Preview. To send a question to his mailbag, which will next appear on Nov. 22, click here.
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