Week Seven: You've Got To Be Kidding Me
You have to feel bad for Bret Favre. Every week he gives it his all, and his team seems to always fold. The enormous weight of collapsing has to be taking its toll on Favre. His priceless expression as Paul Edinger nailed a 56 yard field goal, sealed his disgust of what has been a nightmare season. The superstar athletes around him keep dropping. As Ahman Greens season has been declared over and Robert Fergusons knee will likely keep him out for an extended time. Out of all NFL players Brett Favre deserves to throw his arms in the air, and yell, Youve Got To Be Kidding Me.
Quarterbacks
Michael Vick
Call it what you want, but his arm is going to be the Falcons downfall in the playoffs. Grabbing close games doesnt happen in the playoffs if you have a one dimensional quarterback. The Jets were able to slow Vick down after the first quarter from scrambling. The medicine that has helped the Falcons all the time has been Warrick Dunns success to offset defenses from gearing down on Vick from the edges. He is truly the secret MVP of their team.
Josh McCown
He lucked out with the defensive support he received. They setup the majority of the Cardinals points, and made up for a horrible day from McCown. McCown only had one solid throw the entire game, and that was the game stretching touchdown throw to Larry Fitzgerald. Besides that McCown missed several open receivers (including twice with receivers in the end zone), and got a gift when a Tennessee linebacker dropped an interception that would have surely been returned for a touchdown. Dennis Green knows that McCown doesnt deserved to be yanked yet. Another performance like Sundays though, and Green will have no choice but to give Warner his job back.
Drew Bledsoe
What was Bledsoe thinking? The drizzle of rain and slight fog couldnt have caused that bad of a clouded vision to throw a misguided pass to Seattle. Boneheaded plays like that havent happened in a long time under circumstances like that. A performance like Bledsoes on Sunday could start a string of bad performances his way. Luckily he gets to play the Cardinals this week.
Running Backs
Ladainian Tomlinson
A bad game is inevitable, but the Chargers could have used something from him to break open the game against the Eagles. Credit the Eagles defense though for playing terrific. Often times when an all pro player like Tomlinson struggles, the finger is pointed on the individual. The good thing for Tomlinson is that he should never set a career low for rushing ever again.
Shaun Alexander
He piles up the yardage and touchdowns big time against average defenses. For some reason though he has never been able to show that ability against solid defenses. Dallas attacked him on every play and made Alexander look like a slow cautious back. Before any team decides to fork the mega contract to Alexander, they better look at the scale of yardage and touchdowns Alexander gets against the weaker defenses.
Brian Westbrook
Demanding a new contract can cause two things. A new contract from great play or the delay of an offer from poor play. Westbrook hasnt been nearly as dominant as he thinks he is worth, and needs to step it up. His digression in play is why the Eagles are a shaky team right now. Shaky enough that they might not be able to compete with their division rivals in the Cowboys, Redskins, and Giants.
Wide Receivers
Anquan Boldin
It wasnt his fault, but fantasy owners dont care about that. McCown had a poor day and that affects great receivers. It was the first time in his short career that Boldin went without a catch. Expect a new streak to start, and not end for a long time.
Jerry Porter
He cant even outperform Moss on a day where Moss played in a handful of snaps. Out of all athletes to sign a big contract, Porter looks to be taking the least advantage of a new deal. He dropped a touchdown on a bomb from Collins. Even though he was drilled on the play, there was no excuse. There have been receivers that have been hurt in mid air that catch passes like that. Doug Gabriel is the better receiver now, and may be for next season as well.
Shaun McDonald
It was his chance to shine without Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt playing. He failed to show he can be a dependable starter, as Kevin Curtis stole the show once again. McDonald has the talent to turn from a special teams returnee into a regular starter. Squandering chances like Sunday wont help though.