Favre's Return to Titletown
Brett Favre was booed this past Sunday when he ran onto Lambeau field for the first time since leaving the Packers two years ago. The return of the 19-year Packer vet to his old stomping ground had been awaited since he signed with the division rival Minnesota Vikings this past off-season, and I think everybody was waiting to see the response that Favre would get on Sunday.
I must say that I wasn't surprised he got booed. Favre won 97 games with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, took the team to two Super Bowls, was selected for nine Pro Bowls and won the NFL's MVP award three times as a Packer - but none of that mattered the second that Favre signed with the Vikings.
I wonder what the fans response would have been had Favre taken the field at Lambeau last year as a New York Jet? I'll bet the welcome would not have been as hostile. The fact that the Vikings are a hated division rival (and currently leading the division), and that Favre chose to sign with them after yet again un-retiring this past summer, certainly chaps the Packers faithful. What else would you expect?
Still, I don't have any doubt that every Packers fans at that game is still appreciative and supportive of Favre for what he did with the Packers. I think the perfect outcome on Sunday for each Green Bay fan would have been an epic QB duel between Favre and current Packers QB Aaron Rogers, each countering the other's every TD pass until Rogers took the home team down the field in the final minutes to throw the eventual game winning TD pass as time expired, sending Favre back to Minnesota with a huge NFC North loss.
But that didn't happen and, after he threw for 244 yards and four TD's, I bet many Packers fans wished deep down Favre was still wearing the yellow and green. Let's face it, Green Bay fans are proud. They hold public stock in the franchise. They want Aaron Rogers to be superior alternative to Favre. That's understandable.
No matter how you look at it, it is simply amazing what Favre has been able to accomplish this season so far at the age of 40. What's even more impressive are his numbers versus his old team. In two games against the Green Bay Packers, Favre has completed 41 of 59 passes for 515 yards and 7 TD's without throwing an interception.
You couldn't have scripted Favre's return to Lambeau Field any better, and as a general football fan (as opposed to a Packers fan), it was simply a pleasure to watch.
Shrinking Giants
What has happened to the New York Giants? After starting the season 5-0, the Giants have now lost three in a row and are trailing in the NFC East race. I was talking with my old New York teammate Amani Toomer last week, and he and I agreed that the Giants look as if they've been exposed in recent weeks.
The NFL is a copycat league, and once a team finds a formula to beat you, other teams will try and simulate that formula again. It appears that the New Orleans Saints found a possible for the Giants answer three weeks ago, and we've now seen both the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles manipulate that plan in consecutive weeks.
When I've watched the Giants play over the past three weeks, a few things have stood out. Defensively, every team has loaded the box against the G-men, taking RB Brandon Jacobs out of the mix. If you look at Jacobs's numbers this season, they are way down from where he has been in years past. He is only averaging 3.9 yards per carry, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that he is running against more seven and eight man fronts this season.
Defences are comfortable forcing Eli Manning to beat them thru the air, with a very young and inexperienced (and well documented) wide receiving corps. There are no true burners on the outside for the Giants that strike fear into their opponents. The days of having Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey on the field at the same time are gone. Eli Manning has struggled in the past three weeks, throwing three TD's versus six interceptions.
And how about the Giants defence? What has happened to a superior pass rush that forces Pro Bowl QB's to look pedestrian? The Giants have registered only four sacks in the last three games, which is way below their standard.
There is already a lot of grumbling in the New York area regarding first year defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan. It appears right now as if the Giants are missing old D.C. Steve Spagnuolo, who left this past off season to take the head coaching job in St. Louis.
The Giants looked really good throughout the first 5 weeks, but look back now at who they played against. They opened the season against the Washington Redskins (now in last place in the division), before winning an impressive Sunday night game on the road at Dallas. The Giants then beat the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers before demolishing two lowly AFC West opponents in the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders. The Giants' first five opponents now have a combined record is 10-26! Now that they have begun to play superior competition, we are seeing a real difference in the Giants supposed dominance.
I mentioned earlier that the NFL is a copycat league. The Giants next face off against the dangerous Chargers at home, and it shouldn't surprise anyone if San Diego utilizes the same formula on defence that we've seen now in the past three weeks against the Giants.
Why Bye Weeks Aren't Always Good
After starting the season 6-0, the AFC West leading Denver Broncos entered a bye week before facing the Baltimore Ravens on the road last Sunday. I'll bet they wish they were never given the time off! The Broncos looked sluggish all game long and were physically manhandled to the tune of 30-7.
The Broncos offence struggled mightily, crossing into Ravens territory only three times in the entire game. The surprising Broncos defence had it's own issues as well, as it was the first time all season long that the Broncos D allowed 100 yards rushing by an opponent (the Ravens had 125 yards on the ground).
I think that bye weeks are generally good for teams. Bye weeks allow for injured players to recover and become healthy again in preparation for the remainder of the regular season. Often times, though, we hear about how important the timing of bye weeks are for many teams. Some feel that Week 5 or Week 6 of the regular season is the perfect time because it splits the 20 game season up in half (if you include the four pre-season games that each team plays).
Different coaches have different schedules over the course of the bye week. Some allow players to stay home for a day or two at the beginning of the week, then have them return to practice for three days, and then give the players the weekend off.
There are some coaches that allow their players to go home for the entire week!
I was in Columbia, Missouri a few weeks back, and ran into New Orleans Saints rookie QB Chase Daniel. We had dinner together Wednesday night, and midway through our meal, it hit me that Chase wasn't in New Orleans practicing. When I asked him why, he told me that because they were undefeated, head coach Sean Payton had given them the entire week off! Obviously, the strategy worked for Saints, who beat the Falcons on Monday night.
I think one of the bigger downsides to bye weeks, however, is that players can sometimes quickly lose touch with the speed of the game and the physical intensity required to excel. The Broncos, for example, looked like they were one step slower than Baltimore and looked like they didn't come out of the gate swinging on Sunday. Rookie running back Knowshon Moreno fumbled a swing pass early in the game after taking a big hit from Ravens safety Ed Reed, and that play best summarized the lethargic nature of the Broncos all game.
It should be noted that the Ravens were coming off of a bye week as well, but they looked much more ready to play on Sunday. It was probably a lot easier for them to get motivated, playing an undefeated AFC team, while struggling to stay alive in a very competitive AFC North division. Give Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and the Ravens team leaders (Ray Lewis and Ed Reed) tons of credit for having their team ready to go out and compete at the highest level following their bye week.
Tough at the Top in the NFC East
A few weeks back, it looked as though the New York Giants were running away with the NFC East. Here we are at the midpoint of the regular season, though, and it's the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys tied atop the division, both sporting 5-2 records. These two teams will face off this upcoming weekend, in what promises to be a match up with both divisional and postseason ramifications.
The Cowboys have been re-energized after beginning the season 2-2. Dallas QB Tony Romo has been playing his best football in a long time, and he's done an outstanding job of taking care of the ball in recent weeks. Romo has not thrown an interception in the past three games now and only has one INT in his last five. Factor in the emergence of Austin Miles at WR and the Cowboys are rolling. Many people thought at the start of the season that this Cowboys bunch was one of the most physically talented teams in the NFL, and they've been showing it in recent weeks.
Philadelphia, on the other hand, has been heating up as well. After suffering an embarrassing loss three weeks ago to the Oakland Raiders, the Eagles are once again flying high, having won their last two games. Donovan McNabb has been criticized in weeks past for poor throwing accuracy, however, he was able to find his targets in a 40-17 rout of the New York Giants on Sunday.
Second-year wide receiver DeSean Jackson has also taken his game to the next level, and has proven he can be as big a home run threat as there is in the NFL. Jackson has had scored six TD's of 50 or more yards through their first seven games. That number already ties Jackson with Timmy Brown for the most in one season by an Eagle, and is only two off the NFL single-season mark set by Hall of Famer Crazy Legs Hirsch in 1951 and equaled by Devin Hester in 2007.
The Cowboys vs. Eagles matchups are always fun to watch, and always promise to be tough, physical games. If I had to pick, I would take the Eagles this week. While both teams are playing well, the Eagles just look like they have a lot of confidence right now, and McNabb picked the right time to get back on track throwing the football. The Eagles defense has continued to be dominant with new defensive coordinator calling the shots, and I think cornerback Asante Samuel is good enough to match up any of the Cowboys WR's in order to shut them down.
The country will be watching this upcoming Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly to see who takes a stranglehold on the NFC East division. This should be fun!