What about Bob?

We seemed to have surfed a wave into the Cowboys' fans blogosphere with our previous post about Terrell Owens complaining again.

So now that there are a few more details about T.O. complaining about the Cowboys' offense trickling out, let's try again!

How 'bout them Cowboys?!?!?

It appears our man Owens was involved in a post-game discussion with his man Tony Romo after the loss to the Redskins on Sunday.

Of course, Cowboys fans chided us for our East Coast bias when we posted our previous entry suggesting that T.O. might be about to burst. But if you're reading us again, please remember, your favorite receiver has somewhat of a well-chronicled history of not getting along so well with his quarterbacks and his coaches. If you Google "Terrell Owens" and "quarterback" and "coach" and "problems," you should come up with a few entries. A few million entries, that is.

... of course, none of this has anything to do with Jessica Simpson, other than the fact that she is Romo's girlfriend, and her name seems to attract more page views than most pure sports blogs ordinarily do.

Yesterday Scott Linehan. Today Lane Kiffin.

For what it's worth, this is the first time that two coaches have been fired in the same season before the fifth game.

Coles simply gave Berger the nickname "Little Media Man" during Berger's days as Newsday's Jets beat reporter.

But Berger has since moved on to cover hoops, and he made big news yesterday when Knicks embattled star Stephon Marbury gave the little man a hug for all to see. Stephon expressed outrage that LMM would rip him so forcefully in a recent column, and then said he would pray for him. He followed that up with the most uncomfortable public hug in the history of professional sports.

It made the back page of today's Newsday!!

Evidently, the hug didn't work, because Berger poured it on in today's column.

I think we need I505 to jot down some random thoughts on this one. And if anyone else cares to chime in, have at it.

1. Giants (3-0) (2): Well, that didn’t last long. Cowboys had top spot before losing at home to vastly improved Redskins, so Giants re-claim Power Rankings throne for the week.

2. Titans (4-0) (6): This team is really, really good. Especially on defense. Especially in the running game. They had no problem swatting away the Vikings at home. No rest for the weary, though. At Baltimore on Sunday.

3. Redskins (3-1) (11): Wins over the Saints and Cardinals at home? Fine. The Redskins are improved. A win over the Cowboys on the road? Whoa. The Redskins are now a factor.

4. Cowboys (3-1) (1): Pokes lose at home, the defense looks ordinary for a second straight week, and T.O. says he wants the ball more. Uh-oh.

5. Bills (4-0) (4): Bills need second-half comeback against awful Rams, but hold serve to go 4-0 for the first time in 16 years.

6. Steelers (3-1) (5): Ben Roethlisberger flipped out on his teammates in the locker room at halftime, and Steelers respond with huge, yet costly, win over Ravens in OT. RB Rashard Mendenhall done for the year. Willie Parker still has knee problems. Is Shaun Alexander a possibility?

7. Eagles (2-2) (3): Donovan McNabb was in the lineup, but Brian Westbrook wasn’t, and that seemed to be all the difference against the Bears. That and two missed field goals by David Akers, who simply can’t be counted on from beyond 40 yards. Westbrook should be back for Sunday’s huge NFC East home game against the Redskins.

8. Panthers (3-1) (9): Panthers make quick work of Falcons, as Steve Smith contributes in a big way for the first time since coming off a suspension.

9. Buccaneers (3-1) (12): What an emotional game for Matt Bryant, who kicks three field goals – including the eventual game-winner – just four days after his 3-month old son died. How did the guy do it?

10. Broncos (3-1) (7): We told you last week that having no defense would eventually catch up. It did. Broncos were pushed around by Larry Johnson’s Chiefs to fall out of the unbeaten ranks.

Continue reading "Power rankings: Redskins, Titans surge;" »

The Jets should feel good about their bounce-back win over the Cardinals yesterday ... but ... the defensive collapse the last two weeks is reason for concern.

The defense was horrendous against the Chargers last Monday night, and in the second half against the Cardinals yesterday, they were equally pathetic. A 34-0 lead at halftime suddenly turned into a game when the Jets gave up 21 unanswered points to allow the Cardinals to make a game of it.

Had it not been for Brett Favre's record-setting performance with six touchdown passes, who knows how it would have turned out.

The Jets' defense has really been a problem all season, allowing 116 points through just four games. That's more than every team except the Broncos (117) and the Rams (147).

Work to be done during the bye week? You bet.

Read Boland's stuff to get the details of how Eric Mangini plans to shore up the defense ... oh, wait, coaches don't give details on that sort of stuff. But read Boland anyway.

... but I won't believe it until I see him back in the lineup and back throwing passes with the kind of effortless motion that has been his trademark.

Palmer was held out of yesterday's game against the Browns with what was termed "an inflamed" elbow.

In quarterback-speak, that is not good. I'm hoping it's not more serious than that.

Yes, for the zillionth time in his career, Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens has voiced a complaint about not being more involved in the offense.

This, in spite of the fact he figured on 20 of the Cowboys' 58 offensive plays they ran against the Redskins yesterday. He was thrown to 18 times and had two rushing attempts for 11 yards.
He finished with seven catches for 71 yards, including a touchdown.

Asked if he got the ball enough in the Cowboys' loss, Owens said: "I would say no. I'm a competitor, and I want the ball. Everybody recognized that I wasn't really getting the ball in the first half. I'm pretty sure everybody watching the game recognized it, people in the stands recognized it. I think my team recognized it. I didn't quit. I kept fighting and trying to keep running my routes and trying to get open."

Welcome to the beginning of the Cowboys coming unglued. It probably won't happen all at once, but with a team of me-first guys - topped by Owens - it's bound to happen eventually.

On a personal note, I'd like to thank Mr. Owens for spouting off after the game. After all, it's the end of the month, we're always glad for more page views, and Owens is Google search engine magnet when it comes to getting hits. The only more effective way to draw page views for Cowboys' stuff is to mention Jessica Simpson ... and ... well ... we just did.

The Rams have the worst defense in the league, but defensive coordinator Jim Haslett will take over on an interim basis for Scott Linehan, who was fired after the Rams fell to 0-4.

I'd thought the team might give the gig to offensive coordinator Al Saunders, who also has head coaching experience. But Haslett has been a head coach more recently.

Besides, whoever got the job would simply be warming the seat for another head coach, because the Rams will look elsewhere once the season ends.

Hmm. There's an assistant in San Francisco who is doing some pretty good things with the 49ers' offense ... nah. The Rams have already been there, done that with Mike Martz.

Jet of the week: Um, is there really even a question about this? It’s Brett Favre, who threw a career-high six touchdown passes, including three to Laveranues Coles. Not even as a kid did Favre throw that many TD's. Clearly, this isn’t the Favre the Jets expected when they traded for him. This was even more than they could have expected. Bravo. (Word of caution from Favre himself: It's only one game.)

Offensive player of the week: Well, it’s Favre, of course, but we need to spread the wealth here, so we’ll go with Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, who rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns in Kansas City’s shocking 33-19 upset of the previously unbeaten Broncos.

Defensive player of the week: Derrick Brooks, OLB, Buccaneers. It’s been a while since we’ve seen the kind of dominating play from Brooks that we saw yesterday, but part of it is traceable to hamstring problems. He came up huge against the Packers, intercepting a pass and forcing a fumble that Jermaine Phillips returned for a TD in Tampa’s 30-21 win over the Packers.

Special teams player of the week: Matt Bryant, K, Buccaneers: Still mourning the loss of his 3-month-old son, who died four days earlier, Bryant kicked three field goals, including the eventual game-winner in the fourth quarter. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.

Upset of the week: Redskins 26, Cowboys 24. The feeling here was that Rock's Redskins were much improved, but not yet ready to keep up with the Cowboys just. Jason Campbell & Co. took care of that notion with a brilliant performance at Texas Stadium.

Coaching second-guess: Perhaps it’s piling on, because he’s out of a job. But did Scott Linehan think there was anything to be gained by going with Trent Green to jump-start the winless Rams? Or maybe Linehan simply hastened the inevitable. Rams were beaten by the Bills, and Linehan was shown the door after an 0-4 start.

Ironman Award: Deuce McAllister, RB, Saints. Playing on two reconstructed knees, McAllister’s power running game helped the Saints grind out a 31-17 win over the 49ers. Deuce ran for 73 yards on 20 carries and scored a fourth-quarter TD to help the Saints get to 2-2.

Have-to-start-somewhere award: This one goes to Boland’s Beloved Browns (BBB), who beat a Carson Palmer-less Bengals team 20-12 in Cincy. It wasn’t pretty, 1-3 sure beats 0-4. BBB QB Derek Anderson did just enough to win it, throwing a fourth-quarter TD pass to Braylon Edwards.

Fourth quarter collapse award: Actually, we’re not too sure anyone would want to win this dubious honor, but it goes to the Raiders, who went into the fourth quarter with a 15-3 lead over San Diego, but wound up surrendering 25 fourth-quarter points in a 28-18 loss. Does Al Davis finally pull the plug on Lane Kiffin?

Cheap shot award: Again, you don’t want to win this one, but it goes to Jets S Eric Smith, who launched head-first into Anquan Boldin in the fourth quarter of the Jets’ win over the Cardinals. The way we see it, the NFL should come down hard on Smith, who deserves at least a one-game suspension.

Back on track award: Steve Smith, WR, Panthers. Nearly two months after slugging teammate Ken Lucas in a training camp altercation, Smith had five catches for 96 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown, in a win over the Falcons.

Unsung hero: Smith teammate Muhsin Muhammad quietly produced eight catches for 147 yards, including a 36-yard TD.

Team defense award: Da Bears. They looked like the unit that led Chicago to the Super Bowl two years ago in holding off Philly in a huge NFC showdown last night at Soldier Field.

They’re-for-real award: The Bills are 4-0 for the first time in 16 years. In a division without Tom Brady to worry about, the AFC East is theirs for the taking.

There is really no other way to deal with his vicious hit on Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin in the final seconds of the Jets' win over Arizona.

As Boldin was leaping in mid-air to catch a would-be touchdown pass from Kurt Warner, Smith launched himself - helmet-first - into Boldin. The helmet-to-helmet contact caused both players to lay on the ground for several minutes, and Boldin was immobilized on a back board before being carted off the field.

Take a look at the hit yourself.

He is expected to be ok, and Smith left the stadium without receiving any additional medical attention.

I expect the NFL will act quickly and forcefully on this one, especially in light of commissioner Roger Goodell's memo to all teams reminding them of player safety and avoiding precisely this kind of cheap shot tackle.

Smith needs to sit for at least a game, and I would have no problem with two games. The hit reminded me of some of former Cardinals safety Chuck Cecil's unconscionable helmet-to-helmet hits several years ago. It's an unncessary and illegal tackling technique, and Goodell needs to make a very strong case here.

I expect he will.