Against The Grain -- Week 8

2009-11-02T17:03:29-05:00

2009-11-01T20:11:51-05:00

2009-11-02T17:03:29-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/557/7/thumb/Bolts.bmp 1748 CA

SafetyBlitz

Calabasas 5597

30 Yeah Philly's offense was so much better without Westbrook that they needed to rely on defense and special teams to beat the Skins. Next... 7503694

2009-11-02T15:49:30-05:00

100

Mongo 7

Montgomery Village 184990

29 Oh i know McNabb played in a dome at Syracuse but there were Northern road games. 7502252

2009-11-02T15:37:30-05:00

100

Mongo 7

Montgomery Village 184990

28 You gotta love Perloff, "When Philly visits the Meadowlands in the cold weather in Week 14, expect a different game" he makes it sound like Philly is in Florida...like McNabb played college ball in Balmy Syracuse, and 10 years in sultry Philly. I vote for Andy as the National D&D Master...he obviously never leaves his basement. 7502037

2009-11-02T15:24:07-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/557/7/thumb/Bolts.bmp 1748 CA

SafetyBlitz

Calabasas 5597

27 If Perloff says it, you can book it. Eagles will be division champs this season. 7501766

2009-11-01T21:16:06-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/799/830/thumb/The_Referee_by_emoxtears.jpg 2007

The (Un)Official

800490

Number 1's comment was much more insightful than any of Perloff's inanities.

5 Agreed. His assessment of Ted Ginn Jr. is just... what is he talking about? [i]"The Dolphins' Ted Ginn provided another example of why the NFL needs a rookie salary cap"[/i] Ted Ginn is a third year veteran, not a rookie. He was projected as a mid-late 1st round pick. The Dolphins reached and used their #9 overall pick on him. Fans, players and front offices expect high draft picks to perform at an elite level, regardless of salary compensation. Therefore the pressure placed on Ginn would still be there, salary cap or not. 7492141

2009-11-02T14:58:16-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/117/921/thumb/images_1_.jpg 80 PA

Gkope

PITTSBURGH 118221

Agreed. His assessment of Ted Ginn Jr. is just... what is he talking about?"The Dolphins' Ted Ginn provided another example of why the NFL needs a rookie salary cap"Ted Ginn is a third year veteran, not a rookie. He was projected as a mid-late 1st round pick. The Dolphins reached and used their #9 overall pick on him. Fans, players and front offices expect high draft picks to perform at an elite level, regardless of salary compensation. Therefore the pressure placed on Ginn would still be there, salary cap or not.

26 Agreed, the Ted Ginn Jr fallout has nothing to do with the salary cap, and everything to do with the Dolphins poor drafting per their slot selection. Ginn was not worth a pick that high? Does Perloff read what he writes before he posts, or is he that out of touch? Nevermind, I know the answer. 7501278

2009-11-02T14:48:57-05:00

Chazz L Camino

New Britain 121755

25 God, now I remember why I stopped reading this guy's column/blog. So the Eagles pound the ball down New York's throat and their defense creates turnovers and it's all 'fluky'?!? Did this ding-dong even watch any of the game. It was dominating! But then in the next paragraph we are to believe that even though the Eagles win was a fluke and even though the title of this article suggests the same they still have a better shot of winning the NFC East than Dallas, but not because of any real reasoning...just because. Nice journalism. How the eff do guys like this get these jobs?!? 7501135

2009-11-02T14:46:34-05:00

leroyquimby

New Milford 906832

24 Hey Andy, Where are you from? Englewood, NJ? Don't let those sour grapes ruin your objective writing style. 7501034

2009-11-02T14:42:43-05:00

Nedtaddei

Weehawken 906849

23 Wow! I am still stunned after this read. I am not real familiar with Perloff but he couldn't be further off base. (1) "The Giants couldn't turn to a running game they know can pound the Eagles into submission." Who have they pounded into submission lately? Jacobs looks like he is running in wet cement. It takes him an extra second or two to hit the hole - any hole. (2) A week ago, I would have agreed that the NFC East was a two horse race between Eagles and Giants. Not anymore. The Giants defense has problems EVERYWHERE! Their secondary yesterday actually made their much-maligned inept linebackers look pretty good by comparison. Not to mention the fact that their vaunted D-line can't get pressure on anyone as of late... I hate to admit it but this race will come down to the Eagles and Cowboys. (3) I agree on his assessment of Eli's wores. (4) This is the killer! "The Eagles offense actually might be better without Brian Westbrook". Perloff makes this statemnt and then proceeds to make an argument to the contrary. While they have in fact become overly reliant on Westbrook over the last couple of years, the newer weapons will only make Westbrook and the entire Eagles offense more dangerous and effective. It's not like Andy feels obligated to get him 25 touches a game. They are spreading the ball around well and force defenses to account for more than just Westbrook. A healthy Westbrook allows Reid to isolate Westbrook in more single coverage or better yet linebacker coverage. Ask Antonio Pierce how that has worked out the last few times the Giants have played the Eagles. Perloff really comes across as a Giants fan who sees the reality of his own declining fortunes right before his eyes but has to speak to the contrary only to convince himself otherwise. 7500970

2009-11-02T13:41:25-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/994/61/thumb/Drew_Pearson.jpg 41 NM

daprophet

Tesuque 99760

22 If I didn't know better, I would swear Perloff goes out of his way to piss people off. Thanks for casting your aspersions on the Cowboys. If you don't like it Perloff, it must be good. 7499758

2009-11-02T13:00:36-05:00

ksrmk

Overland Park 906702

21 i posted the same message twice...guess i am the dope. 7498865

<div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/46461/donovan-mcnabb.jpg" alt="Donovan-mcnabb" width="300" height="400" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Donovan McNabb threw 3 TDs in Sunday's rout.</div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">AP</div> </div> A weekly NFL column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis. PHILADELPHIA - Thoughts from a baseball and football-crazy Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday... 1. Resist the temptation to label the Philadelphia Eagles the front-runner in the NFC East because of their 40-17 win over the Giants on Sunday. The final score does not indicate where these teams stand in comparison to one another. Philadelphia's big plays early put New York in a tough situation because the Giants couldn't turn to a running game they know can pound the Eagles into submission. While the Eagles deserve credit for executing on offense, their early scores felt fluky - a 41-yard TD scamper by fullback Leonard Weaver and a score set up by a bad Eli Manning interception. We know the Eagles can't count on getting those big plays every week - just look at their loss to the Raiders. When Philly visits the Meadowlands in the cold weather in Week 14, expect a different game. 2. Now that most of the NFC East teams have gotten through their preseason games against the Kansas City's and Tampa Bay's of the world, a bona fide three-way race is shaping up between Dallas, New York and Philadelphia. But before you get too fired up about the Cowboys -- who beat up the Seahawks on Sunday in Dallas -- look at the upcoming schedule. Let's see if that offense can keep rolling in trips to Philly, Green Bay, New York and New Orleans. That's not even taking into consideration Dallas' annual December swoon. Even though the Giants and Eagles still have plenty of flaws, one of the pair is in the best position to capture the division. 3. You want your quarterback to be steady and not too high after wins or too low after losses. That seems to be the common trait of great quarterbacks. But someone has to grab Eli Manning and shake some life into him right now. His postgame "Aw shucks, what are you gonna do?" press conference was way out of sync with his current slump and the Giants' three-game skid. After a brilliant start to the season, Manning is inexplicably sailing balls all over the place. Manning says it's not the foot injury. He could have ended up with two or three more picks on Sunday. And he can't point to running back Brandon Jacobs struggling or the absence of Plaxico Burress this time. Jacobs showed he can be effective and Burress wasn't catching balls that were thrown three feet over his head. Manning's quiet confidence has worked before, but he needs to try something new before this brief hiccup turns into a subpar season. 4. The Eagles offense actually might be better without Brian Westbrook, who was out with a concussion on Sunday. They had become too reliant on the shifty running back over the last couple of years, and now have a dangerous receiving corps for the first time since T.O. was in town back in 2004. Credit the Eagles for drafting well at receiver and tight end with DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Brent Celek. As their best offensive weapon, Westbrook, declines, they've become more of a headache for opposing defensive coordinators who have to account for the whole field. Jackson has six touchdowns for over 50 yards already this season and is developing into the NFL's premiere deep threat. Westbrook, meanwhile, could still help this team, although he seems to be headed into that post-30 running back slide. 5. Considering Darrius Heyward-Bey was the first receiver taken, this has been a surprisingly strong crop of wideouts. The 49ers' Michael Crabtree, who had six catches for 81 yards in a loss to the Colts, is contributing quickly after that long holdout. The Vikings' Percy Harvin was the key difference in a big divisional win over the Packers. First-rounders Jeremy Maclin, Hakeem Nicks and Kenny Britt look very promising, while later-round finds like Austin Collie, Mike Wallace and Johnny Knox could develop into stars. 6. The Dolphins' Ted Ginn provided another example of why the NFL needs a rookie salary cap by returning two kickoffs for touchdowns. If the Dolphins could have drafted him and not had to pay him like a star, every-down guy, he could have been a potent return threat and an occasional weapon in the passing game ... and we'd all be talking about how well Ginn has played. There's way too much pressure on teams to make something out of their high picks.  7. The Texans, who have won three in a row, face the Colts in two of their next three games. Any other season, and they'd lose both and fall out of playoff contention. This year is different for Houston, despite an injury to star tight end Owen Daniels. The Texans will win at least one of their showdowns against Indy and ride that momentum into the playoffs.  8. Good to see the old-fashioned animosity around the NFL this week. The Vikings-Packers, Jets-Dolphins, Eagles-Giants hatred, both on the field and in the stands, was refreshing. Rivalries have been en endangered species because of free agency and the league's stance against anything spontaneous. Bitterness can be good as long as it doesn't get violent. 9. The Brett Favre story may have obscured some of the problems in Green Bay. Someone has to take the heat for all the sacks. The offensive line isn't good, but coach Mike McCarthy didn't have a great game plan on Sunday. 10. The Vikings fans laugh now ... wait until Favre rolls into the Twin Cities in a Lions uniform two years from now.   84461 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/397/2/thumb/Perloff.jpg 554 NY

Andrew Perloff

New York 3992