Glaken
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Every week's different in NFL
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By Joe Theismann
ESPN Insider
Archive
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If this week taught us anything, it is that football is a week-to-week sport. Just look at the Philadelphia Eagles, who were coming off a big comeback win against the Kansas City Chiefs. Last week, the Eagles started off slow, but came back and got their offense going against an impressive Kansas City Chiefs defense.
This week, the Eagles started similarly slow, but weren't able to bounce back against the Dallas Cowboys' aggressive defense. The Eagles' offense looked out of sorts and never got going against the Cowboys. The running game never got going as Brian Westbrook was ineffective (six rushed for 12 yards) for the second consecutive week. Also, Donovan McNabb wasn't allowed to get going (13-26, 131 yards) as the Cowboys kept him off-guard with an impressive array of blitzes and zone coverages.
Luckily for the Eagles, they have a bye week which will give them an opportunity to fix the little things that are causing them to start so poorly. The biggest question is what to do with McNabb and his myriad injuries. It's obvious the injuries are hurting him quite a bit and limiting his ability to effectively play. He's not able to run as much and can't handle the big hits that come with the position. It might be time to put him on the shelf for a couple of weeks to heal and let Koy Detmer take over. Detmer has proven that he has the ability to take over this team for a few weeks at a time. He does a great job of managing the offense and reading defenses. He has great patience and works extremely well in Andy Reid's system. It might be time for Detmer to do this again because the Eagles need his playmaking ability.
Backups to the rescue
This seemed to be the week in which backup quarterbacks came to the rescue, as we saw the first starts of the season for Alex Smith, Vinny Testaverde and Kelly Holcomb. Let's talk a little bit about the two winners from that group (Testaverde and Holcomb) because they did very similar things.
Let's not get carried away with how amazing it is that Testaverde came from off an antique shelf to lead the New York Jets to victory on Sunday. He started for the Cowboys last season. Testaverde coming back isn't like me jumping into the fray after a few seasons; Testaverde still has a lively arm and is in a system he understands well.
He deserves credit for staying in shape and managing the game very well. He didn't make mistakes, and he let the Jets defense and running game keep him in the game.
Holcomb's first start was very similar as he replaced J.P. Losman who looked very lost as the starter because things didn't progress smoothly for him. Holcomb was a starter in Cleveland so the Bills knew they were getting someone who could manage the offense and had played well in the past. The Bills are very similar to the Jets -- both have an outstanding receiver and running back who can take pressure off the quarterback. If the quarterback doesn't mess it up, then they'll be OK.
Packers bounce back
Not many people guessed the Packers would be able to put 52 points on the board against any team in the league, but especially a New Orleans Saints team that was coming off an impressive win against the Bills. Of course, the only thing more amazing than the Packers putting up 52 points is that at 1-4, they are just a game and a half out of first place in their division.
This Packers team was obviously not as bad as their 0-4 start would have most people believe because they were trying to find their offensive identity after losing explosive wide receiver Javon Walker in Week 1 of the season.
After the loss of Walker, the entire offense seemed to stagnate as they kept looking to one another to fill the void left by Walker's absence. Last week against the Carolina Panthers, the Packers seemed to come alive in the second half as they almost pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind victory against an excellent defense. The major problem the Packers faced during that game was the plethora of dropped passes which is what stopped them from winning.
This week against the Saints, the Packers receivers held onto the ball and backup running back Najeh Davenport ran all over the Saints before leaving because of an ankle injury.
The Packers definitely got lucky, running into a Saints team that is essentially homeless as they played their fifth consecutive game in a different city and stadium. That's going to wear on them, especially in games in which the opposing team jumps out to an early lead and the Saints just don't have the energy to fight back. Joe Theismann, a Super Bowl-winning QB and former NFL MVP, is a regular contributor to Insider.
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<!-- end pagetitle --><!-- begin bylinebox -->
<!-- firstName = Joe --><!-- lastName = Theismann -->
By Joe Theismann
ESPN Insider
Archive
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<!-- end presby2 -->
<!-- end bylinebox -->
<!-- begin text11 div --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top><!-- begin leftcol --><!-- template inline -->
If this week taught us anything, it is that football is a week-to-week sport. Just look at the Philadelphia Eagles, who were coming off a big comeback win against the Kansas City Chiefs. Last week, the Eagles started off slow, but came back and got their offense going against an impressive Kansas City Chiefs defense.
This week, the Eagles started similarly slow, but weren't able to bounce back against the Dallas Cowboys' aggressive defense. The Eagles' offense looked out of sorts and never got going against the Cowboys. The running game never got going as Brian Westbrook was ineffective (six rushed for 12 yards) for the second consecutive week. Also, Donovan McNabb wasn't allowed to get going (13-26, 131 yards) as the Cowboys kept him off-guard with an impressive array of blitzes and zone coverages.
Luckily for the Eagles, they have a bye week which will give them an opportunity to fix the little things that are causing them to start so poorly. The biggest question is what to do with McNabb and his myriad injuries. It's obvious the injuries are hurting him quite a bit and limiting his ability to effectively play. He's not able to run as much and can't handle the big hits that come with the position. It might be time to put him on the shelf for a couple of weeks to heal and let Koy Detmer take over. Detmer has proven that he has the ability to take over this team for a few weeks at a time. He does a great job of managing the offense and reading defenses. He has great patience and works extremely well in Andy Reid's system. It might be time for Detmer to do this again because the Eagles need his playmaking ability.
Backups to the rescue
This seemed to be the week in which backup quarterbacks came to the rescue, as we saw the first starts of the season for Alex Smith, Vinny Testaverde and Kelly Holcomb. Let's talk a little bit about the two winners from that group (Testaverde and Holcomb) because they did very similar things.
Let's not get carried away with how amazing it is that Testaverde came from off an antique shelf to lead the New York Jets to victory on Sunday. He started for the Cowboys last season. Testaverde coming back isn't like me jumping into the fray after a few seasons; Testaverde still has a lively arm and is in a system he understands well.
He deserves credit for staying in shape and managing the game very well. He didn't make mistakes, and he let the Jets defense and running game keep him in the game.
Holcomb's first start was very similar as he replaced J.P. Losman who looked very lost as the starter because things didn't progress smoothly for him. Holcomb was a starter in Cleveland so the Bills knew they were getting someone who could manage the offense and had played well in the past. The Bills are very similar to the Jets -- both have an outstanding receiver and running back who can take pressure off the quarterback. If the quarterback doesn't mess it up, then they'll be OK.
Packers bounce back
Not many people guessed the Packers would be able to put 52 points on the board against any team in the league, but especially a New Orleans Saints team that was coming off an impressive win against the Bills. Of course, the only thing more amazing than the Packers putting up 52 points is that at 1-4, they are just a game and a half out of first place in their division.
This Packers team was obviously not as bad as their 0-4 start would have most people believe because they were trying to find their offensive identity after losing explosive wide receiver Javon Walker in Week 1 of the season.
After the loss of Walker, the entire offense seemed to stagnate as they kept looking to one another to fill the void left by Walker's absence. Last week against the Carolina Panthers, the Packers seemed to come alive in the second half as they almost pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind victory against an excellent defense. The major problem the Packers faced during that game was the plethora of dropped passes which is what stopped them from winning.
This week against the Saints, the Packers receivers held onto the ball and backup running back Najeh Davenport ran all over the Saints before leaving because of an ankle injury.
The Packers definitely got lucky, running into a Saints team that is essentially homeless as they played their fifth consecutive game in a different city and stadium. That's going to wear on them, especially in games in which the opposing team jumps out to an early lead and the Saints just don't have the energy to fight back. Joe Theismann, a Super Bowl-winning QB and former NFL MVP, is a regular contributor to Insider.
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