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Week 10 NFL Rundown
Mike Tanier
FootballOutsiders.com
Terrell Owens has become a role model. "These guys look to me for some guidance," he said of his Cowboys teammates on Sunday.
Owens is such a positive influence that Wade Phillips made him an honorary captain against the Eagles. Makes sense. Owens is dashing like Captain Kirk. He combines the heroics of Captain Horatio Hornblower with the sobriety of Captain Morgan. He's as easy to take seriously as Captain Crunch, and if he wins a Super Bowl for Jerry Jones, love will keep them together like the Captain and Tennille.
Owens looked like Captain Fantastic when he sailed the Cowboys through Philadelphia last week. But only a madman would try to cross the water with Owens at the rudder for too long. He's a seaman and a siren rolled into one. If the Giants have their way, they'll make Phillips, Owens and crew look like a Ship of Fools.
Games to watch
Cowboys at Giants: If your Giants optimism is tempered by their pre-bye pastry schedule, you aren't alone. Count defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo among the skeptics. "We'll have to find out where we are and I know the players feel that, too," Spagnuolo told the New York Post. "Let's face it, Dallas' offense certainly has to be at the top in almost every category, and what better way to find out."
The Cowboys torched the Giants for 478 yards and 45 points in the season opener. Tony Romo threw four touchdowns, and the Giants recorded just one sack. A few weeks later, the Giants defensive line started giving opposing quarterbacks the vice grip squeeze. But most of those quarterbacks had squeezable names like Lemon, Harrington and Dilfer. When the Giants played Whack-a-Mac with Donovan McNabb, the Eagles were missing left tackle William Thomas, among others. For the first time since September, the Giants' defense must prove itself against a bona fide quarterback, playing behind a healthy line, flanked by a full complement of skill position weapons.
The Giants scored 35 points in that Week 1 defeat, with Plaxico Burress burning the Cowboys deep and Eli Manning leading a series of second-half charges. If Manning can get hot and the Giants can force a Romo mistake or two, New York could win a shootout. But the Giants will need those turnovers. Despite scoring more than 30 points in four games, the Giants' offense is just average. They count on the defense to provide good field position and defensive scores. Spagnuolo's focus this week won't be to generate sacks, because Romo is hard to corral. He'll try to keep Romo in the pocket and make him throw into tight coverage.
The Cowboys have the edge, but the wind in the Meadowlands could be a factor. The Cowboys are more pass-dependent than the Giants, and the 25-mph gusts that blow through the stadium in November could limit the Romo aerial show. Take Dallas if the winds are light. If your cell phone blows away while you're checking the weather forecast, you should avoid making a play.
Eagles at Commanders: Look upon Andy Reid these days, and you'll see a man dragging a heavy anchor across a sandy beach at low tide. The expression "a man's home is his castle" doesn't imply that a home is a palace. It's a fortress, a place where a man should feel bulwarked against the anxieties of the outside world. When that fortress is compromised, when it becomes a battleground in its own right, then a man can find no peace, no comfort, no rest.
At Rundown and at Football Outsiders, we began the season wary of the "Reid is distracted by family problems" hypothesis. It was too pat an explanation for the Eagles' woes, too callous an assessment. Professionals compartmentalize their personal problems. But some issues cannot be peeled off and left in the office coat room. Reid's sons were sentenced to prison. His parenting — worse, his wife's parenting — was criticized, not by a talk-radio nincompoop, but by a county judge. Watch Reid's postgame press conference from Sunday night, and you'll hear his gravelly voice fading into a raspy whisper, his once-proud posture slumped in bone-weary resignation. Reid is caught in a withering crossfire between job and home. His problems are seeping onto the field, where the Eagles often look listless, unprepared, distracted.
There's hope that the Eagles will pull themselves together, close ranks, and win on Sunday. The Commanders won the Week 2 matchup 20-12, but the Eagles still have the talent to turn the tide and the motivation to put their humiliating Sunday night loss behind them. It's too late for them to make a run in the division, but it would be great to see Reid's fleeting, jowly smile again, a reminder that fans aren't the only people who need the momentary release and escape of a sports victory.
Take the Eagles.
Mike Tanier
FootballOutsiders.com
Terrell Owens has become a role model. "These guys look to me for some guidance," he said of his Cowboys teammates on Sunday.
Owens is such a positive influence that Wade Phillips made him an honorary captain against the Eagles. Makes sense. Owens is dashing like Captain Kirk. He combines the heroics of Captain Horatio Hornblower with the sobriety of Captain Morgan. He's as easy to take seriously as Captain Crunch, and if he wins a Super Bowl for Jerry Jones, love will keep them together like the Captain and Tennille.
Owens looked like Captain Fantastic when he sailed the Cowboys through Philadelphia last week. But only a madman would try to cross the water with Owens at the rudder for too long. He's a seaman and a siren rolled into one. If the Giants have their way, they'll make Phillips, Owens and crew look like a Ship of Fools.
Games to watch
Cowboys at Giants: If your Giants optimism is tempered by their pre-bye pastry schedule, you aren't alone. Count defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo among the skeptics. "We'll have to find out where we are and I know the players feel that, too," Spagnuolo told the New York Post. "Let's face it, Dallas' offense certainly has to be at the top in almost every category, and what better way to find out."
The Cowboys torched the Giants for 478 yards and 45 points in the season opener. Tony Romo threw four touchdowns, and the Giants recorded just one sack. A few weeks later, the Giants defensive line started giving opposing quarterbacks the vice grip squeeze. But most of those quarterbacks had squeezable names like Lemon, Harrington and Dilfer. When the Giants played Whack-a-Mac with Donovan McNabb, the Eagles were missing left tackle William Thomas, among others. For the first time since September, the Giants' defense must prove itself against a bona fide quarterback, playing behind a healthy line, flanked by a full complement of skill position weapons.
The Giants scored 35 points in that Week 1 defeat, with Plaxico Burress burning the Cowboys deep and Eli Manning leading a series of second-half charges. If Manning can get hot and the Giants can force a Romo mistake or two, New York could win a shootout. But the Giants will need those turnovers. Despite scoring more than 30 points in four games, the Giants' offense is just average. They count on the defense to provide good field position and defensive scores. Spagnuolo's focus this week won't be to generate sacks, because Romo is hard to corral. He'll try to keep Romo in the pocket and make him throw into tight coverage.
The Cowboys have the edge, but the wind in the Meadowlands could be a factor. The Cowboys are more pass-dependent than the Giants, and the 25-mph gusts that blow through the stadium in November could limit the Romo aerial show. Take Dallas if the winds are light. If your cell phone blows away while you're checking the weather forecast, you should avoid making a play.
Eagles at Commanders: Look upon Andy Reid these days, and you'll see a man dragging a heavy anchor across a sandy beach at low tide. The expression "a man's home is his castle" doesn't imply that a home is a palace. It's a fortress, a place where a man should feel bulwarked against the anxieties of the outside world. When that fortress is compromised, when it becomes a battleground in its own right, then a man can find no peace, no comfort, no rest.
At Rundown and at Football Outsiders, we began the season wary of the "Reid is distracted by family problems" hypothesis. It was too pat an explanation for the Eagles' woes, too callous an assessment. Professionals compartmentalize their personal problems. But some issues cannot be peeled off and left in the office coat room. Reid's sons were sentenced to prison. His parenting — worse, his wife's parenting — was criticized, not by a talk-radio nincompoop, but by a county judge. Watch Reid's postgame press conference from Sunday night, and you'll hear his gravelly voice fading into a raspy whisper, his once-proud posture slumped in bone-weary resignation. Reid is caught in a withering crossfire between job and home. His problems are seeping onto the field, where the Eagles often look listless, unprepared, distracted.
There's hope that the Eagles will pull themselves together, close ranks, and win on Sunday. The Commanders won the Week 2 matchup 20-12, but the Eagles still have the talent to turn the tide and the motivation to put their humiliating Sunday night loss behind them. It's too late for them to make a run in the division, but it would be great to see Reid's fleeting, jowly smile again, a reminder that fans aren't the only people who need the momentary release and escape of a sports victory.
Take the Eagles.
