Protecting The Shield - Week 4 Thoughts

Time for our look back at Week 4 in the NFL. After watching last night's game, I'm still a little noxious. You could actually predict when there was going to be a Favre cutaway, it was amazing. My God, I hope I never have to experience anything like that again... I think I'll put myself in a self-induced coma when the Lambeau rematch comes around November 1. Anyways, there actually was some other NFL action this week, so let's Protect the Shield!

Underrated Story Of The Week: The Dome Patrol Is Back

-The Saints defensive renaissance under Gregg Williams has been nothing short of remarkable. For this unit, which has been so bad in recent years, to suddenly vault into one of the very good defenses of the league is astounding. Even the most diehard Saints fans (taking a bow) didn't expect this much improvement in 2009. Credit Sean Payton for desperately wanting to bring in Williams to change the culture in NO and transform the defense into a legitimate unit. New additions Sharper and Greer in the secondary have both played extremely well. DE's Will Smith and Charles Grant have been rejuvenated. Heck, even perennial punching bag LB Scott Shanle is making plays.

The Saints D is now a pressuring unit wrecking havoc on offenses around the league (just ask Mark Sanchise, ugh, that's a pain to type) and causing turnovers at a rapid pace. While most of the media was brushing off Sanchez's first loss, (we can't expect a rookie QB to win every game, he's human but he's still good looking, yada yada yada) the Saints D made him look like David Carr, not Big Ben. That makes 2 straight weeks that the Saints D has won games in spite of their offense. A strange sight indeed. Drew Brees doesn't have to win games on his own anymore, which should scare the NFL. In the early 90's, defense dominated in the Superdome. Pro Bowlers like Jackson, Swilling, Mills, and Johnson terrorized defenses for some great Saints teams. After a long, long wait, the days of the Dome Patrol might be back in the Big Easy.

Overrated Story of The Week: The Ravens' Whining

-Wow, give Ray Lewis his bottle back! (Please, Lord, don't let Ray Lewis read this blog). So, a couple of bad calls don't go your way, overcome adversity Baltimore. When the refs give the Golden Boy a couple of cheap calls, hit him harder on the next play. That is the Baltimore Ravens way, is it not? Stop New England on a crucial 3rd or 4th down in the 4th quarter. Hit Randy Moss on one of those deep throws instead of letting him catch balls easily. Oh, and maybe Mark Clayton can catch that pass on 4th down instead of dropping the ball like it's got the H1N1 on it. Win the game on the field, and act don't cry when you blow the game down the stretch. If Baltimore shows that type of poor attitude in defeat, it makes me question their legitimacy as a contender.

3 Stars:

3rd Star: Brandon Marshall (WR-Broncos)

-Marshall makes the cut solely based on his outstanding TD reception in the final minutes against Dallas which proved to be a game-winner. It was a fantastic catch first off, and then was followed up by some of the best downfield running that you'll see this season. It seems like a long time ago when he was getting suspended and punting balls in practice. Funny how winning cures everything...

2nd Star: Peyton Manning (QB-Cols)

-353 yards and 2 TDs in a ho-hum day for Indy's orchestrator. Evidently, he can survive without Marvin Harrison throwing to guys named Collie and Garcon. Manning's brilliance can't be overstated. He's done this kind of thing all decade, and 350+ with multiple touchdowns are a common occurrence. If he doesn't have every single QB record when he hangs up the cleats, it'll be shocking.

1st Star: Darren Sharper (Saints-S)

-That certain #4 isn't the only old face in a new place making a big difference. In fact, 13 year vet Darren Sharper might be the best free agent signing this season. The stats say that he's Canton bound already, and he's putting up Defensive MVP numbers right now. His impact on the new-look Saints D has been immense. He now has 5 INT's in 4 games including two 95+ yard TDs. His 2 picks against rookie wunderkind Mark Sanchez turned the tide for New Orleans, especially the Pick 6 in the 2nd Quarter. Sharper's ability from the free safety position makes the Saints D what it is, and as a Saints fan it's amazing to watch him play week in and week out. Sharper is a consumate pro, an impact player, and a future Hall of Famer.

Fab 5:

1. New York Giants

2. New Orleans

3. Indianapolis

4. Minnesota

5. Denver

-A thought about our rankings: The G-Men will be hard to pass. The score against Kansas City was flattering to the Chiefs. With their great depth on D and WR's like Smith and Nicks stepping up, the Giants are darn good. The Saints and Colts rise up the charts with dominating wins. Minny and Denver round out the list as the remaining unbeatens, I'm just as surprised as you that Denver is 4-0, but give them credit for actually beating a decent team.

11 Random Observations:

1) So, do we really believe in Denver now? Or, maybe Dallas just isn't that good. I'm sorry, but watching that game on Sunday I didn't come away impressed with either team. A special play by Brandon Marshall was really the only redeeming factor.

2) So now Michael Crabtree is open to talking to the 49ers again? If he has any brain at all he'll sign whatever contract is offered to him. At this point, he won't contribute at all this season, but at least he'll get payed. If he goes back into next year's draft, would you want your team wasting a 1st Rounder on this guy? Please.

3) The "Battle" of Ohio actually turned into a contest which needed all but a few seconds of OT to finally decide it. If Cincy is going to play up and down to their competition, it could be a long, strange trip for Bengals fans this year.

4) Welcome back Matt Forte! You have been missed. Y2 will tell you that the entire running game was clicking on all cylinders for the first time this season in Chitown. Of course, 21 first half points to the Lions is never good, but the Bears keep roaring on offense.

5) Is it possible to fire Jim Zorn after a win? One hail mary pass from Campbell to Moss might have presented the Skins' head man with only a stay of execution instead of saving his job.

6) Rodney Harrison has to stop. There's a difference between being poignant and thought-provoking with your analysis, and then there's just trying to get attention. His skirt comment about Tom Brady was as big of an attention grab as I've ever seen from an analyst. Of course, he was "kidding", haha, oh those ex-Patriots, ha ha... his act is about as funny as The Cleveland Show. Some love Harrison as a fresh new face in the football media, I just wish he'd shut up.

7) On the other hand, ESPN did make two great hires in Matt Millen and Jon Gruden. These guys are fantastic in the booth and provide analysis without making themselves the story. Gruden has been a natural at MNF, and Millen should have never left the booth in the first place.

8) Our last media point can't be a pat on the back, right? Congrats to Rich Gannon for not knowing the rules of overtime! I'm with you Rich, leaving that time on the clock for a non-existent kick return after Sudden Death has been complete is bad clock management. At least Donovan McNabb should always have a post-playing career job waiting for him.

9) Rocky Top has hit rock bottom. What on earth happened to the Titans? A 13 win team has never looked this bad the following season. Getting blown out by the Jaguars?? An 0-4 start? That whole ballclub is in need of Vince Young's psychiatrist. At least they still aren't as bad as Tampa, St. Louis, and Cleveland, Kansas City, and Oakland. Wow, there are a lot of just awful, awful teams.

10) The Steelers and Chargers sit at 2-2 after Pittsburgh's win Sunday night. So, are either one any good, or will they continue to be mediocre? San Diego is now 2 games behind Denver for crying out loud. Their fates may lie with their running backs. If Rashard Mendenhall can learn plays, and LT gets healthy, both these teams should be ok in the long haul.

11) If I had to guesstimate the number of Favre shots, vignettes, stories, cutaways, name mentions, and songs of praise and worship in Monday's game it would be 578. And that was just in the first half...

What Happened In Week 4 That Will Change The Season: JaMarcus Russell Proves He Is An Epic Bust

-When the words Ryan Leaf are mentioned with your career path... that's not good. How bad are his numbers? He's owned by 6.8% of all players on ESPN.com. I'm no fantasy geek, but that means that 93.2% of people want nothing to do with him on their teams. Shoot, I'm sure that 6.7% of the people that do own him are either family or doing it by accident. His numbers against Houston scream epic fail: 12/33 128 yards, 0 TDs. Here's some more info on the shooting star that is JaMarcus Russell:

Season Stats: 43/108, 39.8 comp %, 506 yards, 1 TD, 4 INTs, 42.4 QB Rating

Career Stats: 51.1 comp %, 16 TDs, 16 INTs, 67.6 QB Rating

These numbers are just plain bad. They aren't Ryan Leaf bad, but Akili Smith has a higher career QB Rating right now. Let that sink in. Akili Smith is a better QB than JaMarcus Russell. In his third year, Russell and the Raiders have regressed. Oakland's decision to draft Russell over Adrian Peterson and other good pros may be one of the worst this decade. After his game against Houston, it's evident that only a turnaround of epic proportions can save Russell from being one of the biggest busts of all-time.

Join us next time as we'll feature our #1 Athlete of the Decade! Who could it be....