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NFC Review by The Gaming Todays Ted Sevransky
NFC review
November 23, 2010 7:07 AM by Ted Sevransky
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to Teddy Covers’ unique look at the NFL. Teddy watches the games typing furiously on his laptop while giving you the key info that the box scores and game recaps simply don’t have. This week: NFC tidbits from Week 11.)
TAMPA BAY
This offense is really starting to pick up steam, much better at grinding out first downs now than a month or two ago. With seven rookies in the starting lineup, three skill position weapons really stand out as strong offensive contributors: RB Blount and WR’s Williams and Benn.
The most impressive thing about the win at San Francisco was the showing from their defense. Gashed by the run in virtually every game (allowing a 100-yard rusher in 6 of the last 7), this D dominated the line of scrimmage giving up very little on the ground. San Fran had been creating big plays out of its play action passing game. The Bucs eliminated the big plays from the Niners repertoire.
DALLAS
Brian McCann is a scary weapon for an undrafted rookie who was languishing on the practice squad a month ago. McCann had a 101 yard interception return against the Giants last week and had an electric kick return vs. Detroit, saved from a TD by a shoestring tackle. The Lions didn’t catch him the second time he broke free, returning a punt 97 yards to the house.
This defense is broken and it doesn’t look as if it’s going to get fixed anytime soon. Dallas forced only one ‘three-and-out’ against a two win team playing with a backup QB. There was no discernable pass rush without bringing blitzers and the secondary got burned in one-on-one coverage, negating their ability to blitz. The Lions ran nearly twice as many plays as the Cowboys in the first half.
ATLANTA
Not very sexy and no prime time TV game on a major network this year (sorry, a Thursday night game on the NFL Network doesn’t count). Still, they are remarkably efficient on offense taking a steady, conservative approach. The key to four straight wins, averaging more than 30 points per game has been the emergence of reliable downfield weapons on the other side from Roddy White.
Brian Finneran and Justin Peelle caught TD passes against St. Louis, while Michael Jenkins, Eric Weems and Tony Gonzalez also made their presence felt. Matty Ice is making great decisions against the blitz, getting the ball out of his hands quickly and accurately; exactly what you’d expect from a No. 1 overall draft pick.
A no huddle offense that’s not up tempo is making it difficult for opposing defenses to substitute effectively. The run/pass balance from this offense is particularly difficult to stop. The way Atlanta controlled the game at Cleveland in the second half makes me think its Super Bowl chances are very real.
SAN FRANCISCO
Troy Smith is never going to be a Pro Bowl QB and doesn’t look like a likely candidate to carry his team to the playoffs, but he has escape ability in the pocket. That being said, the former Heisman winner seemed to have no clue how to read an NFL defense with this dismal performance against the Bucs, one week after going 0-11 on third down against the Rams.
Without Joe Staley (broken leg) in the lineup, this OL got eaten up by a mediocre defense. When you can’t run against the NFL’s 31st ranked run D with Frank Gore between the tackles, it’s clearly an offensive line problem. San Fran almost seems to have a home field disadvantage — lethargic crowd, lethargic team.
CAROLINA
The offense was awful again against Baltimore — nine first downs, 1-13 on third downs, and two INT’s returned for TD’s. We can’t blame Brian St. Pierre entirely for this dreadful performance. Remember, the Panthers have scored 10 offensive touchdowns in 10 games in 2010.
The Panthers trailed in every game early and held without a first quarter TD. The top three running backs are all hurt and the offensive line is getting beaten badly on nearly every passing down. St. Pierre’s ascension from practice squad to the starting lineup had the feel of sabotage from a lame duck head coach.
ST. LOUIS
There are no kid gloves on rookie Sam Bradford at this stage of the season. We saw the Rams throwing out of their own end zone. We saw consistent, accurate downfield throws, not dinks and dunks. Bradford’s streak of 170 consecutive passes without an INT ended on a poor shovel pass in the fourth quarter, but any rookie that doesn’t throw a pick in nearly five full games is trustworthy.
I’m not sure this defense is capable of shutting down a strong balanced offense. Atlanta scored on four straight drives in the first half, and three out of four to end the game. With the offense showing far more quick strike potential now than a month ago, St. Louis could morph from a strong under team in the first half of the season to an over squad.
WASHINGTON
Donovan McNabb entered the game with 27 pass completions of 20 yards or longer this year, a perfectly reasonable number. He had 20+ yard completions to four different receivers at Tennessee. But his 10 TD’s for the season (one TD pass or less in nine of 10 starts) does not compare favorably with his 35 combined sacks and INT’s.
This is not the type of QB who merits a high dollar long term contract extension, particularly when we consider that the Redskins entered this game dead last in the NFL in third down conversion percentage. It’s funny how after signing the big contract, the coaching staff suddenly considered McNabb in shape enough to run the two minute offense today.
Even back at .500, the ‘Skins have a feel of an underachieving squad, not all that different from Mike Shanahan’s final years in Denver. And with injury woes galore – seven different starters limped off the field – they’ll be hard pressed to make a late season run at the playoffs.
SEATTLE
The Seahawks are really struggling to score TD’s in the red zone, settling for four more Olindo Mare field goals against New Orleans, one week after Mare connected five times against Arizona. But any questions about Matt Hasselbeck’s health or abilities were answered with a second straight 300 yard passing game.
This defense got picked apart all afternoon, unable to generate any pass rush (no sacks, one hit on Drew Brees). But even though Seattle got annihilated, I still feel that they are the best team in the NFC West. That being said, when the best team in the division has five losses all by more than two TD’s, it speaks volumes about how bad this division actually is.
