Hashmarks: Week 4 Review
Week 4 saw NFL teams begin resting in their bye weeks
. Minnesota, Kansas City, Dallas and Tampa Bay got an early off day and got to enjoy the NFL as fans of the sport. Desperate 0-3 teams looked to finally get a win and save their season. High-flying 3-0 teams looked to extend their early success. Of course, the storylines weren't limited to just those teams. Let's see what happened in a very eventful week 4:
Pittsburgh, Chicago fall
The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Bears were both off to surprising 3-0 starts, despite each team having a major problem on offense (Steelers down to their 4th QB, Bears with a terrible offensive line). Both problems finally caused the teams to lose on Sunday. Pittsburgh had a difficult task, facing their division foes the Baltimore Ravens. Although they were able to stay close and even take the lead in the 4th quarter, ultimately the Steelers' inability to generate offense caught up to them, as QB Joe Flacco threw a late TD to notch a 17-14 win. Steelers QB Charlie Batch threw for just 141 yards in a conservative offense, allowing the Ravens to stack the box against their running game. However, following the Steelers' bye next week they will get back QB Ben Roethlisberger from suspension, meaning their problems will be short-lived. The Bears' problems, however, may not go away any time soon. Their offensive line failed in spectacular fashion against the New York Giants, as they allowed a league-record 9 sacks in the first half en route to a 17-3 loss. QB Jay Cutler was hit so hard and so often that he left the game with a concussion at halftime. Things only got worse from there, as backup Todd Collins had to leave the game in the 4th quarter following a big hit from LB Michael Boley. The Bears were already being painted as a paper tiger due to the flimsy nature of their firstthree wins, and this loss will only fuel the flames. If they have to go with 3rd-string QB Caleb Hanie for an extended period, their season will be over. Incredibly, this leaves the Kansas City Chiefs, 4-12 last year, as the lone remaining undefeated team.
Philadelphia's QB triangle
Donovan McNabb was traded this offseason after 11 mostly successful years quarterbacking the Philadelphia Eagles. His unceremonious departure was even more stinging because the Eagles traded him to a division rival, the Washington Redskins, suggesting they didn't believe he was a threat. McNabb returned to Philadelphia in week 4, emerging to cheers from the normally hostile Philadelphia crowd as he led the Redskins against his former team. Cheers quickly turned to boos as McNabb engineeredthree scoring drives in the first half, earning his team a 17-0 lead they would never relinquish in a 17-12 victory. Adding insult to injury (or would it be the opposite in this case?), Eagles QB Michael Vick was knocked out in the 2nd quarter when he was sandwiched bytwo defenders on a running play. Initial reports say he has a rib injury, and Vick had to be replaced by Kevin Kolb, who opened the season as the starter. While Kolb wasn't a total disaster, his penchant for shorter, lower-risk completions hamstrung the Eagles' offense, and he played to a chorus of boos. With Vick expected to miss time with his injuries, Kolb will now have to try to run the offense behind a subpar offensive line that allowed many hits on the mobile Vick. McNabb, for his part, took the high road when asked about the Eagles after the game, though he reminded his teammates that "everyone makes mistakes."
Struggling Super Bowl participants
The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints both started 13-0 last season en route to their meeting in Super Bowl XLIV. It's a new season however, and neither team is looking particularly good at this juncture. The Saints are losing running backs left and right, and needed a late FG to hold off the winless Carolina Panthers, 16-14. Despite starting rookie QB Jimmy Clausen, the Panthers got TDs from both of their running backs to nearly pull off the upset. QB Drew Brees was accurate as expected, but his yardage was down as the defense forced him into shorter throws. With the offense looking nothing like the explosive unit of the past few seasons, Brees and the Saints will have to adjust themselves if they want to stay dominant. But at least they still won, unlike the Colts, who were upset by the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-28. Their defense was simply unable to slow down RB Maurice Jones-Drew, who ran for over 120 yards and scored 2 TDs. The offense had problems running the ball again, and key turnovers in the red zone kept the game close enough. Although it took a 59-yard FG by K Josh Scobee at the buzzer, the Jaguars probably saved the jobs of coach Jack Del Rio and QB David Garrard for at least another couple of weeks. The Colts are now in a very uncomfortable position, sitting at 2-2 withtwo divisional losses already this season.
The Offensive Rookie of the Year?
No one can say they truly feel sorry for St. Louis Rams QB Sam Bradford. He is getting paid a guaranteed$50 million to play football for a living. But many fans felt bad that he was going to a terrible Rams team that had just 1 win in 2009 and five wins in its past three seasons. Bradford, however, took it as a challenge, and incredibly has the Rams at 2-2 following a 20-3 win over the Seattle Seahawks. While Bradford hasn't been the explosive stat machine he was at Oklahoma (6 INTs infour games), he has quickly embraced the role of franchise QB. He is becoming more and more confident by the week, and is showing the ability to bounce back quickly from mistakes that he figures to make often in the early stages of his career. With two wins so far this season, the Rams are already ahead of last year's pace and should finish with their most wins since 2006. While there have been improvements on the defense, Bradford is the biggest reason for their early success, and he figures to only get better as he gains experience. Maybe the Rams didn't make such a bad pick after all.
Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it
The San Francisco 49ers have had their fair share of bad moments during their 0-3 start to their season. But this one may have pushed them over the edge into oblivion. Last year, in a game against the Atlanta Falcons, veteran CB Dre' Bly intercepted a pass from QB Matt Ryan. Running it back, he quickly began showboating in celebration, not realizing the impending danger posed by Falcons WR Roddy White. White easily caught up to Bly, punching the ball out for Atlanta to recover. The Falcons proceeded with their 45-10 win from there. On Sunday, the 49ers were up 14-13 against these same Falcons. Late in the game, the Falcons were driving for a game-winning FG when Ryan was intercepted, this time by veteran CB Nate Clements. With just over one minute left in the game, Clements simply had to go down and the Niners, barring a miracle, would win the game. Instead, he ran towards the end zone trying to score an unnecessary TD. Once again, Roddy White sprinted back and caught Clements. Once again, White punched the ball out of Clements' hands. Once again, the Falcons recovered. From there, they got back into FG range, and K Matt Bryant drilled a 46-yard FG to win the game, 16-14. Terrible mistakes like this are a big reason why the 49ers have lost their first 4 games, but in the weak NFC West division they still have a chance to get back into the playoff picture.
By: Rakibul IslamRead more sports articles at www.allmediany.com Hashmarks: Week 4 ReviewBy: Rose
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