Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.
Anthony Smith, Steelers
Didn't see that coming, did you? First, let me say that I don't have any real problems with Smith, a second-year safety used primarily as a backup until starter Ryan Clark went on injured reserve earlier this season, smacking his gums during the week. It's football; guys yell and scream and run into each other for a living.
The problem, however, is that Smith single-handedly torpedoed Pittsburgh's already-slim chances with what can kindly be described as "his play." Early in the second quarter with the Pats leading 7-3, Smith bit on a play-action pass that resulted in 63-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss.
And on New England's first drive of the second half, they ran the same play that the Steelers used to break the Bengals' back in the 2005 wild-card game: wide receiver throwback, quarterback hits the deep post. But instead of Antwaan Randle El, Ben Roethlisberger and Cedrick Wilson, it was Moss, Tom Brady, and Jabar Gaffney. The guy responsible for not letting Gaffney get behind the defense? Yep, Mr. Smith.
Sorry, No Photos
That touchdown totally changed the momentum in the game; all that was left to be decided was by how much the Pats would win. Ended being 21 points.
Jason Hanson, Lions
Hanson is one of the most consistent kickers in the NFL, but the 16-year veteran honked a 35-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter with the Lions leading 27-21. Predictably, Detroit would end up losing by one point, thanks to a last second Tony Romo-to-Jason Witten touchdown pass. And the legend grows... No, not Romo's ascent into the top-5 NFL quarterbacks conversation, but Matt Millen's ability to keep his job in the face of gross negligence.
It's also worth pointing out that in addition to Hanson's miscue, the Lions had a chance to win it on the Cowboys' last drive. Defensive end Jared DeVries forced a Romo fumble, Detroit had a chance to recover ... only to watch Dallas offensive lineman Kyle Kosier fall on the ball. Seven plays later, Witten scores. And Millen's streak lives.
Titans Defense
Was there a more demoralizing loss this weekend? The Titans were in control of this game for, oh, 59 minutes, and then, out of nowhere, a one-legged Philip Rivers hobbles the San Diego offense down the field before finding tight end Antonio Gates in the end zone to tie the score with 17 seconds on the clock.
Then in overtime, LaDainian Tomlinson took over, scoring on a 16-yard run as Stephen Tullock and Michael Griffin whiffed on tackles. And that was that. Not only did the Titans lose, but they pretty much, ahem, guaranteed they would be sitting at home come playoff time.
By the way, Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch dominated for most of the day, blowing up the line of scrimmage and harassing Rivers. Unfortunately, when it mattered most, Rivers somehow found a way to get the ball in the end zone. Think about that: Tennessee, one of the league's best defenses, was bested by Norvell Turner. That's going to require some therapy.
49ers Offense
Trent Dilfer's day got off to a crappy start, and then it got worse. On the second play of the game, Dilfer was intercepted by defensive tackle Kevin Williams ... who promptly took it to the house, pick-six. That's called a tone-setter.
At the end of the first half, Dilfer suffered a head injury and didn't come back. Yep, with Alex Smith on the shelf, that meant it was Shaun Hill time. To his credit, Hill did complete 22 of 28 passes, but also tossed a pick to the other Vikings defensive linemen, Pat Williams. That has to be some kind of record.
And while Tarvaris Jackson looks more like Fran Tarkenton -- sans mop top -- every week, and the Vikings' running game is, well, the Vikings running game, the 49ers' offense continues to regress. Obviously, the quarterback situation is partially to blame, but Frank Gore has also had a forgettable season, and we're still waiting on Vernon Davis to do anything.
Eric Mangini, Jets
Jeebus. Mangini is making it really hard to continue to call him Mangenius. The Jets are a three-win team and the head coach channeled his inner Herm Edwards in Sunday's loss to the Browns. I'll defer to FanHouse's Josh Alper for the details: On fourth and 10 from the Browns 20 with just under two minutes to play ... the score was 17-12 [Browns] and the [Jets] had all of their time outs left when Eric Mangini sent Mike Nugent in to kick a 37-yard field goal. That set up an onside kick, something the Jets had pulled off moments earlier to set up the field goal, but Joe Jurevicius recovered the kick and returned it into Jets territory. When Jamal Lewis scampered 31 yards for a touchdown three plays later the game was over.Come again? A field goal, down by five with less than two minutes to go? Really? I think I just put my finger on why New York has lost 10 times this season. On the upside, Mangini kicked another field goal with 37 seconds to go and trailing by nine points. I guess he liked his chances of recovering a third consecutive onside attempt. Amazingly, it didn't work out.
Next up: the PatriotGate Payback Game. I'll conservatively set the line at +75 for the Jets.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-10-2007 @ 4:02AM
David said...
WAAAHHH !!! IT'S NOT FAIR !!! IT'S AGAINST THE RULES FOR TOM BRADY TO THROW ACCURATELY !!! IT'S AGAINST THE RULES FOR RANDY MOSS TO CATCH PASSES IN THE END ZONE !!! THE PATRIOTS ARE SUPPOSED TO STAND BY AND LET THE OTHER TEAM SCORE !!! THE PATRIOTS ARE CHEATING !!! WAAAHHH !!!
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 7:20AM
Leo Martin said...
Where oh where have the copper fans gone??
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 8:00AM
hussain said...
When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use or tags.
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 8:00AM
hussain said...
hey
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 2:00PM
JSAYSOPRO said...
DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THAT THE PATRIOTS CHEATED. WE REMEMBER EVERYTHING A BLACK MAN SAYS, BUT WE DON'T SEE NOTHING WHITE PEOPLE, DO OR SAY. BRADY THROWS HAIL MARY TYPE PASSES RANDY MOSS MAKES CATCHES NO ONE ELSE WOULD MAKE ON 2 OR 3 DEFENDERS AND WHITE AMERICA SAYS BRADY IS "THE GREATEST EVER." "HE'S THE MVP OF 2007". YOU PEOPLE KILL ME. AND NO I'M NO STEELER FAN. WHITE FOLK NEED TO KNOW WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND. I CAN'T WAIT. I HOPE I SEE LIVE TO SEE IT.
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 3:15PM
kevin said...
This year Brady is the best QB in foot ball.With what numbers he puting up black or white and he is still the best this year.
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 3:50PM
nunya said...
For Brady it's his OFF. line that's creating plays for him. Let's not forget their the REAL reason for their success. I'll hand them that much. IF it happens, I'd like a rematch for my Cowboys. I'm hoping for it. GO COWBOYS!!!
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 4:10PM
frank said...
its finally out in the open . i been reading into manginini for 2 years and hes' so obvious about overcoaching , outcoaching himself and making the DUMBEST calls . i can think of 10 things , but yesterdays game really boggles my mind . too bad the GM isnt much smarter . its like having Dumb & Dumber . Cowher , we got a bunch of young talent here starving for good old football smarts . just a X-Mas wish .
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 5:18PM
Patti said...
DAVID- THE PATRIOTS AREN'T CHEATING, GET OVER IT.
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 5:44PM
David said...
I was being sarcastic, Patti.
Besides, I heard that the Ravens fans were yelling, "CHEATERS! CHEATERS!" at the Patriots. Yeah, right. Kyle Boller throws a dumb pick, so I guess that means the Patriots are "cheating."
Hey, JSAYSOPRO, name ONE TIME when the Patriots "cheated."
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 6:11PM
pat-man said...
Ahhhh another typical day in the East, more bad weather, Bush's approval rating is down, and the Steelers lose again on the road..is it possible your not as good as you think? The only thing better than seeing shittsburhg get beat on national television is seeing them get beat like a step kid on national television. Hey Anrthony Smith....heres a guarantee, you will have 49 other teammates whoop your ass in the locker room!
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 10:11PM
KBUNK said...
I don't know if anyone has heard,but the Patriots have been caught cheating.After the game yesterday Anthony Smith complained to the NFL and on further review there is a problem with what they do to the field conditions.You see they put too much Moss in the end zone....For the love of god 19 times this must stop!!!! LMAO....GET A GRIP WITH THIS CHEATING CRAP.The pats are guilty of doing on the side line what it is legal to do in the coaches booth.
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 10:56PM
marie said...
the patriots are the most calmest and most respecful team any won could every watch.the coach also knows what has to be done and gets it done and the team all respect him very much.tom brady is not selfish and always compliments the whole team all the time and thats called tema work it takes more then one to get the job done
Reply
12-11-2007 @ 7:33AM
ned freeman said...
listen patriot haters, maybe you are too young to remember back in the day when the pats sucked and teams like the niners and cowboys and all those dominating teams of the 70s and 80s ran up the score on the lowly patriots, we did not whine when we were on the bottom, we just got better and delt with it.
GO FOR IT PATRIOT NATION, KEEP KICKING ARSE !!!
MAINE PAT FAN
Reply
12-11-2007 @ 10:28AM
Lori said...
KBUNK: Too much Moss in the end zone, LMAO. I'll be using that one.
Reply
12-11-2007 @ 1:16PM
GGeorge said...
To nunya, i cant begin to tell ya how much the Patriots and all there fans are pulling for the Cowboys to make it to the Super Bowl so we can burry the X AMERICAS TEAM FOR GOOD. Sory Cowboys this is 2007. "NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AMERICAS TEAM"
Reply
12-11-2007 @ 10:22PM
marie said...
i think many fans and teams are very jealous of the patriots team,because they have a a very hard working coach and a very hard working team so every one including teams and coaches need to get a grip on the games look at the number one team right now PATRIOTS yes coaches even though your teams loses every coach always discusses they bad thing they did give them some positive things and this might make a big difference and i think thats what the coach from the patriots does all the time and thats why the patriots are doing so well thats my opinion
Reply
12-12-2007 @ 6:52AM
Remy said...
Tha patriots*got fined for something,If you think the NFL destroyed those tapes within 24 hours of recieving them because patriots* were not guilty.Think again,What they did could undermine what has become a very,very popular sport in America.And an even bigger Business.Every time you stand up for the patriots*,You in fact stand behind an unethical franchise that speaks out of both sides of its mouth.
Reply
12-12-2007 @ 7:19PM
pookiemang69 said...
I quote "We taped the game, is what we taped, and we taped end-zone copy of the game, and we tape a double end zone, which is standard operating procedure for us" this should shut up you "NO ONE TAPES GAMES IDIOTS" And second.
Mangini maintained the Jets did nothing wrong, and had filmed at New England during the regular season without incident. OK so they filmed during regular season then .....The Jets were caught videotaping at Gillette Stadium last season and the Patriots had that New York employee removed from the area, according to published reports Wednesday. Jets coach Eric Mangini said his team received permission to film behind both end zones during the playoff game in January. Then the next year spygate HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Reply