What Andy Reid has done with the Philadelphia Eagles should give you an
appreciation for why former Green Bay Packers GM Ron Wolf sensed that Reid had the
potential to be the best head coach to emerge from Mike Holmgren's talented staff.
Mind you, that staff included Steve Mariucci, Jon Gruden and Mike Sherman,
among others.
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| Is Andy Reid the best head coach to emerge from Mike Holmgren's talented staff at Green Bay? |
It can be argued as to whether Reid is a cut above any of those guys -- they just
happen to all be leading their respective divisional races at this stage.
But Reid has been at his best since Donovan McNabb went down with a broken
ankle. A one-man team, everyone screamed, was about to take a dive.
Instead, we have seen the Eagles beat the 49ers with Koy Detmer at quarterback and the Rams
with A.J. Feeley (after Detmer went down with McNabb). Reid never blinked -- well, he might have winced when the doctors first broke the McNabb news to him -- and his team has risen to the occasion.
So maybe the Eagles are a one-man team, after all. Only Reid is the man.
Thus, you have my Super Bowl picks as we head into week 14: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Oakland Raiders. And I'm liking the Eagles a lot.
Here are my top-five (and them some) lists for Week 13:
Best Games
1. Chargers 30, Broncos 27 (OT) -- There was no way the Chargers would win
this game with a decimated offensive line and WR Curtis Conway out. They did, thanks
to LaDainian Tomlinson's big day on the ground.
2. Bills 38, Dolphins 21 -- A backdrop of snow squalls that certainly kept Granny
at home, and a bunch of big plays by star players like Drew Bledsoe, Eric Moulds and
Ricky Williams made this a must-see AFC East game.
3. Titans 32, Giants 29 (OT) -- Certainly, it was not a classic, but it was a classic
display of courage by Titans QB Steve McNair in leading Tennessee back from a 26-14 deficit.
4. Raiders 26, Jets 20 -- Honestly, I may have been more impressed by the Jets in
this defeat than in any of their recent victories. They hung in, but Rich Gannon never let up.
5a. Saints 23, Bucs 20 -- It was do-or-die for the Saints, who are now alive and
well in the NFC South as the Bucs and Falcons square off. Somebody give Bucs QB Brad
Johnson a medal for courage under fire.
5b. Eagles 10, Rams 3 -- Just an incomparable display of fury by Jim Johnson's
defensive unit that left Kurt Warner battered and bewildered.
5c. Falcons 30, Vikings 24 (OT) -- Can Michael Vick really just snap his fingers
and be in the end zone?
Best Performance: Quarterback
1. Steve McNair, Titans -- Let's give this guy his due. He didn't take a snap in
practice. He played with three or four injured body parts and he delivered a 30-of-43 for
334 yards, three-TD (plus 38 yards rushing) performance that sets up a big AFC South
game with the Colts.
2. Michael Vick, Falcons -- Can a football player really say, "I'm gonna win the
game ... NOW!" Vick did Sunday.
3. Drew Bledsoe, Bills -- Snow? What snow? Wind? What wind? With the Bills
down 14-3 and hope diminishing, he crushed the Dolphins with four TDs (three passing)
in a win that shook up the AFC East.
4. Rich Gannon, Raiders -- Ho-hum, another 300-yard night, his ninth in 12 games. What's amazing is that opposing defenses know the guy basically is not going to chuck over 15 yards and he still shreds 'em.
5a. Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks -- I almost get the impression that this guy might
be as good as Mike Holmgren originally thought. He also showed the heart of a
competitor in battling the 49ers to the end with a 427-yard, three-TD day.
5b. Kordell Stewart, Steelers -- Passing, he was good enough. But it was the 84
yards he scrambled for that showed he still has the play-making skills as the Steelers hung
on for a two-point win over the Jaguars.
5c. Chad Pennington, Jets -- True, he got his team into the end zone only twice,
but I thought he went toe-to-toe with Gannon, and he brought the Jets back when they could
have laid down.
Best Performance: Wide Receiver
1. Derrick Mason, Titans -- He put Giants CB Jason Sehorn one step closer to
retirement with a 12-catch, 116-yard day.
2. Eric Moulds, Bills -- Took that vaunted Dolphins secondary for 135 yards,
including a memorable 57-yarder for a TD.
3. Darrell Jackson, Seahawks -- Boy, is he back. He burned the 49ers for 114
yards on seven catches and two TDs.
4. Ed McCaffrey, Broncos -- Even though the Broncos lost, even though he did
not score, McCaffrey made some terrific catches (seven in all) for 126 yards vs. Chargers.
5. Tim Brown, Raiders -- Nine for 99 Monday night and 1,000 catches for a
career. How can you not salute him?
Best Performance: Running Back (2 x 5 = 10)
1. LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers -- The Broncos knew the Chargers were
stripped of basically nothing on offense but L.T. and he still hit him for 220 yards on 37
carries, three TDs and a big AFC West victory.
2. Ricky Williams, Dolphins -- So the question begs an answer: What does it
mean when Williams can run for 228 yards and two TDs in the snow, and the Dolphins
still lose?
3. Travis Henry, Bills -- He was an absolute man with a 35-carry day for 151
yards and one TD. Ask Dolphins MLB Zach Thomas how good he is.
4. Clinton Portis, Broncos -- If the Broncos had won this game, Portis' day (23
carries, 159 yards, two TDs) would have been celebrated.
5. Emmitt Smith, Cowboys -- That one (144 yards, 23 carries) was for the
Redskins' memories.
6. Dee Brown, Panthers -- DeShaun Foster, gone for the season. Lamar Smith,
take a leave of absence. Here was Brown, a second-year man from Syracuse, running for
127 yards to lead the Panthers to an improbable 13-6 win in Cleveland.
7. Garrison Hearst, 49ers -- So how many times have you counted Hearst out?
Sunday, he was still ticking for 124 yards on 31 carries and three TDs.
8. Priest Holmes, Chiefs -- Imagine what Holmes (16-for-113 rushing, two TDs,
3-for-56 receiving) could have done to Arizona if he had played the whole game?
9. Deuce McAllister, Saints -- He probably shouldn't have been on the field with
a high ankle sprain, but he gutted out 99 yards on 27 carries to lead the Saints over the
Bucs in a must-win game.
10. Jamal Lewis, Ravens -- It's easy to not pay attention to a Ravens-Bengals
match, but Lewis had another stellar day (22-for-121 yards).
Best Plays
1. Falcons QB Michael Vick's 46-yard scoring run that left everyone who saw it
breathless and left the Vikings strewn across the turf, wondering how the quarterback had
just vaporized them.
2. Ravens DB Chad Williams' 98-yard interception return for a TD with 19
seconds left in the first half. Just when the Bengals thought they had it all under control.
3. Titans QB Steve McNair's audible to a QB draw for a two-point conversion
that tied the Giants at 29 and sent the game into OT in a Tennessee win.
4. Packers WR Javon Walker's hustling sprint across the field to tackle
Roosevelt Williams of the Bears to prevent what would have been a key defensive TD.
5. Packers DL Rod Walker's cat-like grab of the football on Bears C Olin Kreutz's
snap on the GB 1 that turned into a fumble recovery for the Packers. And you wonder
why Dick Jauron couldn't sleep Sunday night?
Defensive Notables
1. The Eagles, led by Ndukwe Kalu's four sacks, harassed Rams QB Kurt Warner
with eight sacks and five turnovers.
2. Bucs DE Simeon Rice's record-setting performance against the Saints (three sacks, including a safety). It was his fifth consecutive game with two or more sacks (the record).
3. The Panthers' defense went into Cleveland, where the Browns had renewed
playoff hopes, and created five turnovers and kept Tim Couch & Co. out of the end zone.
4. Falcons OLB Sam Rogers had a one-hand sack of Vikings 265-pound QB
Daunte Culpepper in which Rogers reached over blocking back Moe Williams and
collared the QB. The Falcons recorded six sacks and 17 QB pressures, and LB Keith
Brooking blocked a Gary Anderson FG attempt that set up Vick's heroic's.
5. Bills DE Aaron Schobel sacked Dolphins QB Ray Lucas, forcing a fumble
with 49 seconds left in the first half. Chidi Ahanotu rumbled 17 yards with the fumble,
and four plays later Drew Bledsoe hit Peerless Price for a 17-14 halftime lead. A
momentum changer.
MVP Race Update (2 x 5 = 10)
1. Michael Vick, Falcons
2. Rich Gannon, Raiders
3. LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers
4. Brett Favre, Packers
5. Priest Holmes, Chiefs
6. Steve McNair, Titans
7. Ricky Williams, Dolphins
8. Simeon Rice, Bucs
9. Marvin Harrison, Colts
10. Deuce McAllister, Saints
Defensive MVP
1. Simeon Rice, Bucs
2. Warren Sapp, Bucs
3. Brian Dawkins, Eagles
4. Jason Taylor, Dolphins
5. Joey Porter, Steelers
Coach of the Year Update (2 x 5 = 10)
1. Marty Schottenheimer, Chargers
2. Dan Reeves, Falcons
3. Andy Reid, Eagles
4. Mike Sherman, Packers
5. Tony Dungy, Colts
6. Bill Callahan, Raiders
7. Jim Haslett, Saints
8. Jon Gruden, Bucs
9. Brian Billick, Ravens
10. Herm Edward, Jets
Best Games: Week 14
1. Falcons at Bucs -- Michael Vick says he's confident he will have his best game
against Tampa. What does that mean? A lot is riding on this one.
2. Raiders at Chargers -- As soon as you think Marty Schottenheimer has
stretched his team as far as he can, it goes a little farther. This one's for first place in the
AFC West.
3. Colts at Titans -- Another division (AFC South) on the line as Peyton Manning
returns to his college home of Tennessee.
4. Bills at Patriots -- Bledsoe Bowl II. Something tells me it won't be like the first
rout by the Pats.
5. Broncos at Jets -- The winner is alive, the loser may remember it as the one that
cost a playoff spot.