Football thoughts from the weekend

Here are some football thoughts from the weekend.


Bears vs. Cardinals

Tommie Harris- The game got off to a great start when Tommie Harris decided he wanted to punch someone after a few plays into the game. What are you thinking? Many people are thinking how can a player be so riled up after four plays.  It is unbelievable how a player who signed a 4 year $40 million dollar contract extension in 2008 has gotten so bad. Harris has not been the same since he ruptured his hamstring in 2006 and it could be time to let him figure it out elsewhere. As Jeff Dickers just mentioned on ESPN 1000's Waddle and Silvy show, "Tommie Harris is a waste if time." The more Tommie Harris plays, I tend to agree with that though.

Defense- Just plain awful. Eleven guys off the street could have scored every time they touched the ball in the first half the way they played yesterday. It will be interesting to see how the team plays the rest of the season with a tough schedule. Giving up 182 rushing yards to the worst rushing team in the league is unacceptable. If the Bears defense does not get it together soon, they may not win another game.

Ken Wisenhunt- With 11:50 to go in the game and the Cards up 34-14, Wisenhunt put in back up qb Mattt Leinhart. Immediately, I wondered, Why is he in the game? Warner ate the Bears alive the whole game. Leinhart throws an interception and all of the sudden the Bears are back in the game. The Bears scored a touchdown on their drive to make it 34-21 and gained a lot of momentum in the game. If not for a Jay Cutler interception that gave the Cardinals a short field, it is not crazy to think the Bears could have won that game. The defense played better in the second half and the offense finally seemed to come to life. After the Leinhart interception and Bears td, Wisenhunt wisely put Warner back into the game. Wisenhunt is very lucky this strange decision did not come back to hurt him.

Chargers vs. Giants

After an interception by the Giants to the Chargers 4, it looked like the Giants had the game in hand. The Giants got called for offensive holding, and then ran two plays for short gains. The third play is the play in question. The Giants had 3rd and Goal from the Chargers 9 up 17-14, Tom Coughlin plays it safe, runs the ball out of shotgun. The Giants kick the field goal and go up 20-14. I understand the call. Coughlin thought his defense would shut down the Chargers, but why not go for the kill? Does Coughlin not trust Eli enough to make a throw in the red zone? Eli could have thrown an incomplete pass and the Chargers still could have driven down for the game winning touchdown. If the Giants score a td, game over.  The Giants have now lost four in a row and it should be interesting to see what NY Giants radio and fans are saying right now.

Eagles vs. Cowboys

To start these thoughts, we will have to go back a little in the game to explain this. The Eagles had 4th and 1 on the Cowboys and decide to go for it. Now, it looks like McNabb got the first down, but the refs  give the Eagles and McNabb a terrible spot. Andy Reid decides he is going to challenge the play. It is important to note that this is the Eagles second challenge and if they lost the challenge, also their last timeout would be gone. The challenge is upheld and the Eagles not only have no challenges, but also no timeouts. I do not blame the Eagles for going for it, but I do question them challenging a call that on replay looked inconclusive. Someone upstairs should have helped Andy Reid out and the Eagles probably  should not have challenged it. The Cowboys score of the next drive to go up 20-13. The Eagles are driving and get to the Cowboys 34 before they are stopped. The Eagles have 4th and 11 at the Cowboys 34, but Andy Reid decides to kick a field goal instead of going for it on fourth down. I agree with Chris Collinsworth, who said something to the effect of going for the field goal does not really change the fact the Eagles would still need a td.  Al Michaels then said the only thing that changed is if they get a td they would win. Having no timeouts, the Eagles should have been more inclined to go for it. The defense played relatively well, but it does not change the fact that the Cowboys could control the game. They did exactly that. The Cowboys got a couple of first downs and the game ended because the Eagles could not stop the clock. Who really knows what Andy Reid was thinking, but Eagles fans can not be happy with that call.

-Mike Moreau