The Scoop

By Dalton Del Don

It’s safe to say the Titans outplayed the Ravens on Saturday, nearly doubling their yardage output. However, penalties, a missed field goal, a Chris Johnson injury and most importantly, turnovers were too much to overcome. In a way, Tennessee was actually lucky, as only two of its five fumbles were recovered by Baltimore. While fumbling can often be a fluke event, that’s not the case with this ball hawking Ravens defense…It really shouldn’t be that difficult to call a delay of game. Still, Chris Johnson could have been called for a safety earlier, and the following play resulted in more than 10 yards anyway, so it’s hard to point to one (non) call as a reason for the Titans’ loss…Where did that come from, Justin Gage?…The drop off from Chris Johnson to LenDale White is about as wide as White’s waistline…Did anyone else see Kyle Vanden Bosch on the sideline toward the end of the game? Dude had to be wearing red contacts – looked like the devil.

I haven’t been more wrong about a game all season regarding the Panthers/Cardinals. Then again, I’m also unsure if I’ve ever seen a worse performance in a big situation than Jake Delhomme on Saturday night. What a nightmare. How did he commit six turnovers playing at home against a secondary that allowed an NFL-high 36 passing touchdowns this year? I defy someone to come up with a bigger choke job…John Fox was completely outcoached as well; it’s inexcusable to not have Steve Smith touch the ball until 45 minutes into the game. With no Anquan Boldin, might want to focus your defensive attention on that Larry Fitzgerald guy…Speaking of Fitzy, at this point, it’s hard not to argue he’s the best receiver in the game…I still say Carolina covers the spread six times if these teams played 10 games under the same circumstances…After Philly disposed of the Giants, my initial guess at the odds for the NFC Championship game was the Eagles -7. Turns out, I was way off. That -3 line seems so fishy, I might just be dumb enough to throw a bunch of money on the birds.

It’s funny to hear both coaching staffs openly talk about how much the Giants missed Plaxico Burress after Sunday’s game. Of course, it was mentioned plenty before the fact, but I’m willing to say that aspect was actually still underrated. Just changed the game planning altogether…To call the Eagles maddening would be an understatement. I jumped ship. I jumped back on. And after calling them a “top-3 team in football” they score three points against the Redskins. I jumped back off. At least I recommended betting on them to win the Super Bowl midseason to a buddy. Either way, this team is all about defense. Brian Westbrook is playing on one leg, Andy Reid is often clueless, and Donovan McNabb is shaky on the road. But it’s a championship quality defense…What was up with the coaches influencing the refs so much?…So let me get this straight, Joe Buck has an aneurism when Randy Moss FAKE moons the crowd, yet comes up with excuses when Donovan McNabb picks up the phone on the opposing team’s sideline after the game’s outcome has been decided? You tell em Troy Aikman!…Interesting how flippant Tom Coughlin was regarding the wind, considering he effectively chose not to have it at their backs for the fourth quarter…Coming from someone who backed New York, it’s clear the better team won Sunday. What was Coughlin thinking not going for that fourth and one with 1:40 left in the first half? One could argue that would have been wrong since they were later unsuccessful on two similar situations, but the key there isn’t just three points versus seven points (or none) – it’s also that a first down there runs time off the clock and Philly doesn’t get the ball back with an opportunity to score. Speaking of time management, it’s ironic an Andy Reid coached team scored the second most points in football in the final 2 minutes of the first half this season…Eli Manning wasn’t Jake Delhomme bad, but he wasn’t that far off really. What a horrible performance.

I love how the four losers from this week jumped out to a collective 24-0 lead in their respective games…Considering it’s now been labeled a “spinal cord concussion,” Ben Roethlisberger’s outing is even that much more impressive. The time off really helped his sore arm…Where did that come from Willie Parker?…Hard to believe there’s ever been a more lopsided quarter than the third was Sunday…It’s Legedu Naanee’s world, and the rest of us are just passing through…Will LaDainian Tomlinson be back in San Diego? It’s becoming increasingly less likely…Not that we should be surprised, but how can Norv Turner punt down 35-17 with 3:30 left? I mean, seriously. That’s a fireable offense if there ever was one. Grow a spine and give your team the best chance to win. Give me a break. Indefensible…I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a football player as fast as Darren Sproles. And to think, San Diego actually traded up in the third round of last year’s draft to select Jacob Hester to act as the backup running back. Talk about an inability to evaluate your own talent.

My Favorite Songs By These Respective Bands

1. Pearl Jam – “Black”
2. Smashing Pumpkins – “Disarm”
3. The White Stripes – “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground”
4. Beck – “Guess I’m Doin’ Fine”
5. Faith No More – “Midlife Crisis”