| More NFL observations (1) | Monday, Nov 26, 2007 10:30 am |
Sort of continued from here.
- Jeremy Shockey isn't all that bad anymore. Last year, he was annoying and whiny. This year, he's the only player on the Giants who can catch a pass, and he's finally found a way to control his emotions.
- The Eagles will never be a good team as long as they have Donovan McNabb. In last night's game against the undefeated New England Patriots led by Tom "God" Brady, the Eagles pretty much won the game under the leadership of quarterback AJ Feeley. Though the score says they lost, it was close enough to call it a win, especially for a pretty bad team playing a really good team. But McNabb is expected to be ready to play next week, and he'll inevitably start the game, where he'll get sacked several times, throw a few interceptions, and re-injure himself. It feels like last year all over again: When you have a good quarterback (Feeley this year, Garcia last year), PLAY YOUR GOOD QUARTERBACK, don't play an aging, injured, has-been.
- Quarterbacks are forced to carry too much of the blame when their offense does poorly. The perfect example is Eli Manning. Everyone is so quick to criticize him, but what about the fact that the Giants' offense is tied for the 2nd most dropped passes? Sure, a bad pass can have both a bad passer and a bad receiver. But you only need to watch a Giants game for a few minutes to see a receiver drop a pass, whether it's thrown directly at his numbers or simply bounces off his hands.
On a slightly related point, I'm beginning to believe a quarterbacks success is indirectly proportional to their hair length. This isn't hard and fast of course...but J.P. Losman is starting to look better this year, and coincidentally, (or not), he is wearing his hair shorter. McNabb was good before he let the fro go. Compare the haircuts of Eli and Peyton. It's not long, but imagine if Eli got his hair cut as short as Peyton, how much better the Giants might be. The same can be said for unorthodox head gear. A quarterback who wears his hat backwards, is never going to be as good as one who wears it correctly. (See Rob Johnson vs. Doug Flutie).
Of course this new found truth is perpetuated by the years in which a good quarterback plays as the helmet often causes baldness...or is it that early baldness increases the skills of the quarterback?