The always-entertaining Cowboys cheerleaders may be the only thing we can count on this NFL season.
Halfway through the 2010 season and the only constant is the sheer unpredictability of what is taking place.
Even by his standards, what Randy Moss did Sunday afternoon was one of his all-time most bizarre post-game rants. Moss conducted his own interview with himself after the Vikings lost to the Patriots. In his rambling diatribe, Moss praised his old team, the Patriots, and slammed his coach's decision making. Now he's an ex-Viking.
One day after expressing his undying love for his former team, Brad Childress decided to release Moss. During his four game return to the Vikings, Moss caught 13 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Now we will wait to see what happens on the waiver wire. Since the Bills are 0-7, they will get the first crack at claiming Moss and picking up the remainder of his contract.
I texted a few NFL scouts and executives concerning the matter and their answers were about what you would expect. As one high-ranking executive in the NFC so eloquently put it when trying to explain the enigma that is Randy Moss, "He is what he is."
A former player texted me and referred to Moss as a "bitter pill" that no team will touch unless they're desperate. Make no mistake, though: there are desperate teams out there in the NFL right now. The biggest issue for any team that ends up claiming Moss off waivers is whether or not the coach can get Moss motivated to play to the level that everyone knows he is capable of.
Star of the week
Detroit's rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh gets a lot of votes for the way he played in the Lions' win over the Redskins. Suh had two sacks, two quarterback hits, five tackles and capped his incredible performance with a 17-yard touchdown off a fumble recovery. Lions coach Jim Schwartz is running out of superlatives to describe his young star. "He's playing outstanding football. He did well against the run. Obviously our pass rush was the difference maker for us." The scary thing about Suh is that he's only going to get better as he learns the finer points of playing defensive line in the NFL.
Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles not only made his coach Todd Haley happy, he made fantasy football players all across North America downright giddy in the Chiefs' over-time win over the Bills. Charles ran for 177 yards and racked up another 61 yards receiving. Charles now leads the NFL with an amazing 6.5 yards per carry average.
The ultimate winner of the star performance for Week 8 goes to Jaguars quarterback David Garrard. On the road, Garrard shredded the suddenly-hapless Cowboys defence for four touchdowns. Garrard only had four incomplete passes the entire game as he went 17-of-21 and ended up with a quarterback rating of 157.8.
Stiff of the week
I hate to use the word "quit" when talking about any team, but how else do you explain what is going on with the Cowboys defence lately?
In 2009, the Cowboys only allowed one quarterback to throw four touchdowns against them (Brett Favre, when the Vikings beat the Cowboys in the divisional playoffs). The Cowboys have now allowed two straight quarterbacks, Eli Manning and Garrard, to burn them with four touchdowns. The Cowboys defence features almost exactly the same personnel that led them to the NFC divisional playoffs and now we are to believe that they can't stop anyone all of a sudden?
After Garrard's four touchdown game, he had some harsh comments in regards to the Cowboys defence when he spoke to Peter King of Sports Illustrated: "It just looked like they weren't into the game like an NFL team should be." The biggest star of the Cowboys defence, DeMarcus Ware, had zero sacks, zero tackles and zero quarterback hits in the loss to the Jags. All of this forces reporters and fans to ask the ugly question: "Have the Cowboys quit on Wade Phillips?" While I am not a big Wade Phillips fan, it is the players that deserve the Stiff of the Week Award for the way they laid down against the Jaguars.
Team on the rise
You know who has emerged as one of the elite teams in the NFL? The New England Patriots. Bill Belichick has been coaching his ass off this year and he seems to be loving every second of it. Tom Brady has been good, but not out of this world great. The Patriots' much-maligned young secondary is beginning to come together and has turned into an asset for the defence. Even more impressive is the fact that the Patriots haven't missed a beat since dealing Randy Moss back to the Vikings.
The most impressive thing about the Patriots' win over the Vikings was the ease in which they ran the football. The man they call "The Law Firm" -- Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis -- ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Equally impressive was the play of rookie cornerback Devin McCourty. The first-year player out of Rutgers had an interception and was credited with three passes defended against the Vikings.
Speaking of first-year players, tight end Aaron Hernandez continues to impress. The rookie out of Florida leads the Patriots in receiving yardage (388) and has caught 78 per cent of the passes thrown his way from Brady.
What were they thinking?
If I were a Vikings fan, Brad Childress would make me pull my hair out and scream at the top of my lungs trying to understand his decision making. The Vikings and the Patriots are tied 7-7 in a physical game. The Patriots defence is playing a solid game. It is fourth and goal at the Patriots one yard line with less than two minutes to play in the first half. So why in the world would Childress not kick the easy field goal and go into the locker room with the lead? Of course, Chilly decides to go for it and the Patriots stuff Adrian Peterson for a two-yard loss. So instead of ending the half with some momentum, the Vikings watched the Patriots go into half time on a high after a goal-line stand.
The other "what were they thinking" moment took place late in the Redskins' loss to the Lions. Redskins coach Mike Shanahan decided to pull Donovan McNabb and insert Rex Grossman into the game because he felt Sexy Rexy had a better grasp of their two minute offence. On Grossman's first play he was sacked, fumbled and watched Ndomoakung Suh rumble 17 yards for a touchdown.
My final "what were they thinking" moment involves Texans coach Gary Kubiak. Left tackle Duane Brown was being consistently beaten all night long by Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney. So with the Texans driving late in the game, there is poor Brown being left out on an island one-on-one with Freeney. The result was predictable: a strip sack by Freeney … Colts ball … game over. At that point in the game, why wouldn't Kubiak give Brown a little help with a tight end or a fullback?
The race for No. 1
The race for the No. 1 selection in the 2011 draft is really getting intense. You have the winless Bills, the hapless Panthers and the imploding Cowboys. But after watching the Broncos lose again, they deserve serious consideration in the race to be the worst. The Broncos are now 4-14 since beginning the 2009 season 6-0.
The Ronnie Lott Award
Out of all the big hits this past weekend, none were more impressive than when Patriots defensive tackle Myron Pryor crushed Vikings quarterback Bret Favre. Pryor, all 310 pounds of him, knocked Favre out of the game with a devastating, but clean, hit.
The Big Injury of the Week
After being sacked eight times in their loss to the Raiders, Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck suffered what is being called a mild concussion (if there is such a thing). Brett Favre's bloody chin made all the headlines after getting rocked by Myron Pryor. However 10 stitches in Favre's old chin isn't really a big deal.
Of a bigger concern to Brad Childress and the Vikings is the status of Percy Harvin's ankle. Harvin is undergoing further tests this week to determine the severity of his damaged ankle. With Moss gone, the Vikings can ill-afford to lose Harvin for any length of time.
The Unsung Hero Award
For the first time since 2006, the Jets were shutout at home. While household names like Charles Woodson and Clay Matthews had big games for the Packers defence, there was a relative no-name linebacker who also came up big. Desmond Bishop had 10 tackles and knocked down a pass as the Packers came up with a huge win and their first road shutout since 1991.
The all-time Unsung Hero Award, however, has to go to Saints cornerback Leigh Torrence. Playing in his 53rd career game, Torrence's first career interception sealed the deal in the Saints vital win over the Steelers Sunday night. In what looked like a scene from Rudy, Torrence intercepted a Ben Roethlisberger pass with 1:50 to go in the fourth quarter. Standing on the sidelines after the pick, Torrence was still tightly holding onto the ball, wearing an ear-to-ear grin. Even if you are not a Saints fan, it is hard not to be happy for a guy like Torrence enjoying his brief moment of fame.
The Rex Ryan Watch
I doubt old Rex was in the mood to eat any damn snacks after watching his team get shutout at home by the Packers. Coming off a bye week, Ryan was at a loss to explain how they were shutout at home. "When you lose, you can say what you want. We were fresher and healthier than we've ever been, we just never got it done." The Jets went for it on fourth down three times and three times they failed. Ryan deserves as much blame for the loss as any of his players. "I wish we could play it again, but there are no do-overs in this league." Mark Sanchez threw two interceptions in the loss. After playing mistake-free football the first quarter of the season, Sanchez has now thrown four picks in his last two games. Up next, Ryan and the Jets are in Detroit to take on an improving Lions team.
The Funniest Moment of the Week
The funniest moment has to be these two creative Jets fans (Photo 5) that came to the game Sunday at the Meadowlands dressed up as Rex Ryan for Halloween. Their costumes are very authentic, right down to his headset.
The Hot Cheerleader Award
The Dallas Cowboys are easily one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL. Thanks to girls like Kelsi, the Cowboys cheerleaders will always be one of the best on the planet and will never, ever disappoint us. .
What to watch next week
Because the game is being played at Rogers Centre in Toronto, the Bears-Bills game is one to keep an eye on. The biggest reason, of course, is to see if the Bills can finally get their first win. Another game of note is a good old-fashioned AFC West showdown with two old AFL rivals, the Chiefs and Raiders. Coming off a win over the Bengals, the Dolphins will face their third straight AFC North opponent when they take on the Ravens.
Assuming Wade Phillips is still coaching the team by then, the Sunday night game features the Cowboys going into Lambeau to take on a tough Packers team.
