Brian
Westbrook—NFL’s Einstein
I can finally die in peace. After a season
of ranting
about playing smart, thinking about the end
game, etc., I can now say that Brian Westbrook has erased the
stereotype of the
dumb jock football player. In case you
didn’t see it, the Eagles were leading the Cowboys by 4 points with 2
minutes,
19 seconds left. They had the ball on
the Dallas 25 yard line.
On the
next play, Westbrook took the ball, broke outside and had an unimpeded
run
toward the endzone, but he stopped at the one yard line and downed the
ball. This gave them the ball at the 1
yard line with 2 minutes left. Since Dallas
had no more timeouts, they were then able to run out the clock. While this cost me a shot at this website’s
fantasy football title game (My team lost by 2 points), I love the fact
that
Westbrook had the presence of mind to stop and keep the ball away from
the Dallas
offense. Though Romo was having an off
night and was terrible that game, Westbrook may have recalled how Romo
led the
Cowboys back in a similar situation for a miracle victory against the
Bills. If he had scored the touchdown,
the Cowboys would have had an opportunity to score a quick touchdown,
get the
onside kick, and score another touchdown (or field goal if go for two
point
conversion on first touchdown). By
foregoing his touchdown, the Cowboys never saw the ball again. I read that Jon Runyan, his right tackle was
actually the one who told him to do it prior to the play.
Perhaps Runyan read my
article criticizing
Andy Reid for his play calling at the end of their game against the
Patriots,
which I felt lost that game. Hopefully,
other coaches and players will take note and play with their brains as
well as
their arms and legs. The games would be
much more fun to watch.
| Race to
the playoffs
With two
games left, all the divisions have been decided
except the AFC North. Here the Steelers
(9-5 overall, 7-4 vs AFC) are performing
an unusual late season fade. This may be
the difference between Mike Tomlin and Bill Cowher.
Under Cowher, the
Steelers almost always
finished strong heading into the playoffs. This
group under
Tomlin seems to be tiring toward the end of the season.
Perhaps this is simply
a function of the
tough competition they have faced recently or perhaps the Steelers are
simply
not as good as advertised, having built their reputation earlier this
season
against inferior competition. In any
case, this loss may actually have been a blessing.
The Steelers are now
the fourth seed and will
likely still win the AFC north. They
will probably get shots at redemption games against the Jaguars in Pittsburgh
and should they win that, against the Patriots in Foxboro.
|
|
The Jaguars
(10-4 overall, 7-3 vs AFC) now have the third
best record in the AFC, but because they play in the same division as
the
Colts, will go into the playoffs as the top wildcard and will not get a
home
game. They finish against Oakland
and Houston, so should be
able to
win out and maintain the top wildcard spot. The
other AFC wildcard will
go to Cleveland
(9-5 overall, 7-4 vs AFC, but with 2 losses to Pittsburgh)
who may be playing the best football in the AFC right now.
If Kellen Winslow had come
down inbounds on
that controversial call in Arizona,
Cleveland
would have won 5 in
row. Except for that initial loss to Pittsburgh
in the opening game of the season in which Charlie Frye was the
starting QB,
and the loss to the Patriots in which the Browns were the first team to
actually challenge the Patriots this season, Cleveland
has been in every game this season. They
will probably face San Diego
in the
wildcard round, and I would not be surprised if they beat them to face
the
Colts.
The Titans
(8-6 overall, 5-5 vs AFC) still have an outside
shot at the playoff, but they are a game behind both the Jaguars and
the Browns
with a tougher remaining schedule, so they will likely be on the
outside
looking in.
In the NFC,
all the divisions have been decided, with the
Giants and Vikings holding the top two wildcard spots respectively.
The Giants
(9-5 overall, 7-5 vs NFC), like the Steelers are
fading and face the Patriots in the last game of the season. If they lose to Buffalo
next week, they will be in serious jeopardy of losing their wildcard
spot. The Vikings, Saints,
and Redskins are breathing
down their necks,
so if you’re a Giants fan, you will be rooting against all those teams
this
week. Fortunately, the
Vikings will be playing the Redskins, so
one of those teams has to lose. It would
probably be best for the Giants if the Redskins lose to eliminate them
from the
playoff race altogether.
The Vikings
(8-6 overall, 6-5 vs NFC) hold the second
wildcard spot, but can be passed by the Redskins (7-7 overall, 5-5 vs
NFC) if
they lose to them this week.
The Saints
(7-7 overall, 6-4 vs NFC) do not control their
own destiny. They need to win, and hope
for help.
|
