Week 4: Quick Slants



Tony Romo was playing against someone who owned Tony Romo on their
fantasy team.  So he was actually pretty happy about those 5 interceptions...


So after Week 3 provided so many bizarre headlines and stories, Week 4 was relatively quiet.  The regular referees were back in action, I had a very good week in the picks department, and the Chargers won in a blowout.  Order has been restored in the universe.  Somehow I managed to get 12 out of 15 right in my picks, against the spread AND picking winners.  Picking against the spread is supposed to be much harder than picking winners, go figure.  Anyways.....

• 4th and 1, what to do?  Despite the Panthers looking pretty bad through the first three weeks, they looked like they were about to knock off the Falcons in Atlanta.  It came down to one of the classic "4th and 1 around midfield with under 2 minutes left" situations where you have to decide whether you punt it away or try to convert the 1st down to end the game.  Coach Ron Rivera decided to punt it away, and it certainly looked like a good call when Carolina was able to down the punt inside the Falcons' 5 yard line.  However, they failed to recognize that Roddy White (who was torching Carolina all game) would pull off a huge 50+ yard catch to launch the Falcons right back into position to win the game.  And they did.  Did Ron Rivera make the wrong call punting it away?  I don't think so, I think you have to trust your defense there.  But oh well, he'd be taking criticism either way if it didn't work out....



You know how I know Tebow is going to be a good QB? 
Because he's able to move giant tires around in the mountains shirtless



• Time for a QB change in New York!?!?!?!  Well I think just about everyone knew this was coming at some point, but it seems like it may be sooner rather than later.  Sanchez put up another gem this week (13 of 29 for 103 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 1 Fumble lost), and you start to wonder how long he can hold off the inevitable resurrection ....er, insertion of Tebow back into the starting QB role.  Sanchez is completing less than 50% of his passes, averaging just 200 yards passing per game, and has as many turnovers as touchdowns.  Oh and their one offensive playmaker, Santonio Holmes, went down with what looks to be a multiple-week injury.  So I think it's time to bring the circus to town.  You know Tebow is going to get a shot, why not get it over with now?  He's going to come in, make a few miraculous plays, but ultimately end up with the same or less amount of success as Sanchez.......But seriously, why is he moving giant tires around in the mountains and doing all of these magazine photoshoots? 

• Saints-Packers, always an instant classic.  Much like the 2011 season opener, this clash between New Orleans and Green Bay lived up to its expectations.  Two talented teams, explosive offenses, elite QB's....and it always seems to end in a nail-biter.  This one had some controversial calls including a pretty clear Darren Sproles fumble that wasn't called (Green Bay just can't catch a break from the refs, regular or replacements).  But the Pack managed to pull out the victory here, and the Saints fall to 0-4.  Just shocking to me that they are 0-4.  And it doesn't bode well for their playoff chances; only ONE team in NFL history has made the playoffs after starting 0-4.  (Any guesses on who that was?.....Yes, the 1992 San Diego Chargers!!!)

Why are you questioning my call Keith?  It ended up working...

• To ice, or not to ice?  It's become pretty standard to call a timeout and "ice" the kicker in key situations these days, but should coaches always do it?  To me, it makes sense when it's a short field goal because you force the kicker to think about it for awhile, let his nerves build.  But for a long one, I don't think you should.  The Giants were in position for a long game-winning field goal (56 yards?  I don't know, my blog can't afford a fact checker yet).  A timeout was called just as the ball was snapped, so the play did not count.  But the kicker got a free "warm-up" attempt, which he ended up kicking wide.  Now the kicker has time to adjust, straighten it out, and give it another go.  And his second kick: perfectly straight!  It ended up landing a few yards short, so the Eagles won anyway.  But seriously, if that second kick went through, I would place the blame squarely on Andy Reid for essentially giving the kicker a free practice kick.  I say that no coach should try to ice the other team's kicker when it's over 40 or 45 yards.  Are you listening to me Norv?  You'd better not blow a Chargers win for us like this....

Bring on Week 5!

-KJ