Week Six Observations

1. Can we just ship New Orleans the NFC title right now? How can they be stopped? Their schedule has only 3-4 losable games. It’s hard to imagine them losing in the Dome, and they should get homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Even injuries likely won’t be too much of a problem – they have only one indispensable player.

2. But wait…here comes Miami and their great coaches off a bye week in a classic Trap Game.

3. Washington is coming off five straight games against the dregs of the league. They won two and lost three. The rest of their schedule: Philadelphia, BYE, @Atlanta, Denver, @Dallas, @Philadelphia, New Orleans, @Oakland, NY Giants, Dallas, @San Diego. Will the Skins win five games this season? They will be favored 0-2 times the rest of the way.

4. Carolina has not thrown a touchdown pass to a wide receiver this season.

5. Tampa Bay is 2/7 on field goals this season.

6. I used to think Minnesota's offense was poorly designed, but not anymore.

7. On the other hand, Minnesota's defense springs a lot of leaks. The back end of their defense isn't doing much.

8. Kansas City vs Washington was a very, very bad football game.

9. Larry Johnson's longest run of the season is fifteen yards.

10. Detroit fans should pray they never see Drew Stanton in a regular season game again.

11. Donald Driver must lead the league in "spectacular catches" over the last five years.

12. Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post pointed out this telling stat – ranking yards per pass attempt by team:

23. BUFFALO 5.1 2-4
24. DETROIT 5.0 1-5
25. ST LOUIS 5.0 0-6
26. TENNESSEE 5.0 0-6
27 SAN FRAN 5.0 3-2
28. TAMPA BAY 4.9 0-6
29. CAROLINA 4.9 2-4
30. KANSAS CITY 4.6 1-5
31. OAKLAND 4.5 2-4
32. CLEVELAND 4.1 1-5

13. The most boring subplot of the season: Michael Vick. If ever there was a time to use Vick, it was Sunday in that offensive apocalypse against the Raiders.

14. Would this play ever have happened if Brian Dawkins still played for the Eagles?



15. The Reid/McNabb Eagles have always had dumbfoundingly bad offensive games like they had Sunday against Oakland, games in which they just cannot figure anything out during the game and can't find a play to win a game against a bad opponent. It's maddening. Remember that they had a few of these games last season (Cincinnati, Washington) and should have missed the playoffs because of them.

16. Donovan "I didn't know NFL games could end in a tie" McNabb tried to call a timeout against the Raiders while the Eagles had none, resulting in a delay of
game penalty.

17. Basically nothing targeted at Jeremy Maclin Sunday was close to a completion.

18. Seriously, how bad is Tim Hightower? The Cards have to keep playing him because Beanie Wells fumbles and can't block.

19. The key difference between the Cardinals and Saints: Offensive tackles.

20. Gambling mistake of the week: Betting on a team starting a fourth-string left tackle. There has not been a poorer performance from an offensive line than Seattle's against Arizona.

21. Vince Young led the Titans with 0 passing yards. Kerry Collins had -7. Old men do not fare well in the snow.

22. I have come to despise LaDainian Tomlinson. I wish he would retire. Every week I think about flat-dropping his ass in fantasy. I hate watching him run. I hate the Chargers. My ten most hated players:

10. Marcedes Lewis
9. Kenneth Darby
8. Tim Hightower
7. Roy E. Williams
6. LaDainian Tomlinson
5. JaMarcus Russell
4. Marc Bulger
3. Brett Favre
2. Thomas Jones
1. Philip Rivers

23. Although Philip Rivers put up solid numbers against them (he puts up good numbers against everyone), you could see how effective Denver’s secondary is. You could see them making Rivers wait to throw the ball, allowing Dumervil & co. time to get to him. And you could really see how important Brian Dawkins is to that defense. The 36 year-old Dawkins is emerging as a Defensive MVP candidate.

24. Broncos owner Pat Bowlen comes off as a bit of a nincompoop in public appearances but he does seem to be one of the league’s better owners. Mike Shanahan had nothing but positive things to say after Bowlen let him go and Pat clearly found the right guy to replace Shanahan.

Defensive MVP of the week: David Harris, New York Jets
Offensive MVP of the week: Drew Brees, New Orleans
Defensive breakout player of the week: Jairus Byrd, Buffalo
Offensive breakout player of the week: Hakeem Nicks, New York Giants
Defensive coordinator of the week: Billy Davis, Arizona
Offensive coordinator of the week: Pete Carmichael Jr., New Orleans
Goat of the week: Mark Sanchez, New York Jets

Power Rankings:

Very Bad:

32. Cleveland (28)
31. Oakland (32)
30. Kansas City (27)
29. Tampa Bay (29)
28. Buffalo (30)
27. St. Louis (31)
26. Washington (26)
25. Tennessee (24)

Bad:

24. Carolina (25)
23. Detroit (23)
22. Jacksonville (22)

Not sure yet:

21. Seattle (19)
20. San Diego (16)
19. Houston (21)
18. New York Jets (11)
17. Arizona (20)
16. San Francisco (17)
15. Dallas (13)
14. Miami (18)

Good:

13. Green Bay (15)
12. Chicago (14)
11. Cincinnati (12)
10. Philadelphia (6)
9. Atlanta (10)

Very Good:

8. Baltimore (8)
7. Denver (9)
6. New England (7)
5. Minnesota (4)
4. Pittsburgh (5)
3. New York Giants (1)
2. New Orleans (3)
1. Indianapolis (2)