The Arizona Cardinals seize control of the NFC West and other NFL thoughts

(1) The NFC West race is starting to look an awful lot like 2008. The Rams are an abject disaster. They have lost 17 games in a row, which is the sixth longest streak in NFL history. They are certainly strong contenders to become the second team in two seasons to go the entire season without a victory. The Seahawks are only slightly better. After getting pasted by the Cardinals in week six, the Hawks have to find ways to regroup after the bye week with an offensive line that resembles a train wreck and a defense that continues to vex fans with their enigmatic play. Just a notch ahead of the Seahawks is the San Francisco 49ers, who continue to play mediocre football despite their hot start to the season. They have lost three out of the last four games and now face serious quarterback questions after starter Shaun Hill was pulled in the second half in favor of Alex Smith.

With the rest of the division floundering, the Arizona Cardinals have risen up once again to take control of the NFC West. They started the season very slowly, but they have since rolled off three consecutive wins to surge to the top of the division. Surprisingly, the Cardinals’ success has been based on their ability to win away from University of Phoenix Stadium. They have debunked the West Coast Team failing on the East Coast theory by winning all three of their East Coast road trips. Their most impressive win of the season came this week as they traveled to the Meadowlands and thoroughly dominated the New York Giants. Their victory was even more impressive when you consider that the Cardinals had only won twice in their previous 17 trips to the swamps of New Jersey. It was also shocking how they completely confused the New York Giants, who many considered one of the leading teams in the NFC.

Their victory over the Giants was all about defense for the Cardinals, which is as weird to say as claiming that Seattle is all about sunshine. Arizona’s front seven disrupted the timing of the Giants’ offense all night long and their secondary made huge play after huge play to thwart New York’s attempt at a comeback. The Cardinals only had three sacks for the game, but they kept Eli Manning guessing, which led to several bad decisions and rushed throws from the Giants quarterback. The confusion that the Cardinals created in the mind of the Giants’ signal caller greatly contributed to New York’s awful performance on third down. New York only converted four out of 15 third down opportunities, which limited their ability to keep momentum on their side. In addition, the Cardinals ability to mask their true defensive intentions baited Manning into three interceptions, which was the sixth time in his career that he had thrown at least three picks in a game. His third and final interception was perhaps the worst as he tried to squeeze the football into an extremely tight window despite the fact that Antrel Rolle was in perfect position to make a play. The big play from Rolle sealed the deal for the Cardinals and guaranteed that they would win back-to-back road games for the first time since 2001. The big win pushed the Cardinals into first place all by themselves. The Cardinals should get used to the view from the top because I think it is all but written that Arizona will repeat as NFC West champions.

(2) I think that the Pittsburgh Steelers are the most dangerous two-loss team in the NFL, but they still have some questions to answer. In typical Steelers fashion, they rode their talented defense to a big win against the previously undefeated Minnesota Vikings, but the rest of their effort was anything but vintage Pittsburgh football. The Steelers formula since the days of Chuck Noll was to play a tough, hard-nosed style that featured a dominant defense and a punishing running game. The defense certainly had its dominating moments but the offense was pretty pathetic. They only scored 13 offensive points and only had three drives of any consequence all day long. Overall, they punted six times and had four three-and-out drives. Their offensive inconsistency was directly related to their inability to convert third down opportunities. As a result, the Steelers only ran 49 plays compared to 78 plays for Minnesota and only controlled the clock for just over 23 minutes compared to the nearly 37 minutes of time of possession for the Vikings. Their offense resembled a traffic jam on the Pennsylvania Turnpike as they would move a few feet forward only to stall for long periods of time. Not even Ben Roethlisberger could save the day as he produced his worst performance of the season, including only 55 yards passing in the second half. The Steelers were very fortunate to win this game because their offense left their defense on the field entirely too long.

Thankfully, the Steelers defense made enough big plays to thwart the Vikings comeback at every turn. The first big sequence came late in the third quarter when the Vikings came up empty on three consecutive plays from the one-yard line. With their chances to score on a fourth attempt about as slim as winning Powerball, the Vikings wisely took the sure three points. It is important to note that the Vikings appeared to out-think themselves by only giving the ball to Adrian Peterson once in the three plays from the one-yard line. Nevertheless, the goal-line stand was the biggest statement in the game up to that point. The goal line concession was the beginning of the end for the Vikings. The Steelers defense, re-energized by holding the Vikings out of the end zone, dominated the fourth quarter with two humongous plays that sealed the victory. Midway through the fourth, the Vikings were driving until Brad Keisel strip-sacked Brett Favre and LaMarr Woodley scooped up the football and rambled 77 yards for a touchdown. Percy Harvin returned the subsequent kick-off for a touchdown, but the Steelers defense smelled blood in the water. I’m a firm believer that big plays come in bunches and the Steelers proved my theory correct. The Vikings were driving again for at least a tying field goal until Favre’s dump-off pass to Chester Taylor bounced off his hands and into the arms of Keyaron Fox, who rumbled 82 yards for a touchdown. With one long return, the defense had outscored their offensive counterparts and carried the Steelers to victory.

I’m not going to say that the Steelers defense was their normally dominant selves, but they certainly made all the big plays. In reality, Brett Favre carved them up for most of the game as he completed 34 passes to 10 different receivers. The Vikings moved between the 20’s at will but came up short where it counted, in the red zone. Minnesota only scored a touchdown in one red zone opportunity despite the fact that they penetrated the Steelers’ 20-yard line on five different occasions. The Steelers have all the parts to be a dominating unit, but they were the definition of bend but don’t break on Sunday. Honestly, I believe that the Vikings were the better team but they never were able to make a play when it counted most. On the other hand, the Steelers made them all.

(3) I’m the first one to bash anything and everything related to the Dallas Cowboys, so I think it is only fair that I give credit where credit is due. After a schizophrenic start to the season, the Cowboys have won two games in a row and they beat their first opponent with a winning record on Sunday. In my opinion, it was their most impressive victory in quite awhile, not only because of their opponent but because of the completeness of their effort. They outplayed the Falcons in all three components of the game and they were sound in both their offensive and defensive play-calling.

First of all, the Cowboys produced their most complete performance of the season. They have produced gaudier numbers, but when you frame this performance in the context of their opponent it shines brighter than any other. They achieved balance on offense with 29 passing attempts and 28 rushing attempts. I have noted on previous occasions that the Cowboys too often fall in love with allowing Tony Romo to throw the ball too much. I think they are a much more potent offense when they genuinely commit to running the football. In this game, they spread 28 carries across three running backs and averaged a competent 4.1 yards per carry. Their running game does not need to be dominant for the Cowboys to be successful, but it does have to present a legitimate threat. As a result, Tony Romo was extremely accurate (21-29) and made none of his customary mistakes during big games. It seems to me that Romo has made the personal decision to throw the ball to the open receiver rather than worry about spreading the ball around based on experience or salary. This strategy is yielding huge results as the Romo to Miles Austin connection is the most dynamic duo in the NFL the last three weeks. If the Cowboys can resist reverting to their old habits, I firmly believe they will be one of the most dynamic offensive units in the second half of the season.

Secondly, their defense finally started being the disruptive force that everyone expected at the beginning of the season. They bottled up Michael Turner, limiting him to only 50 yards on 18 carries. They also made life very difficult for Matt Ryan as they caused him to throw two interceptions and forced a fumble as well. The Cowboys held the Falcons to less than 300 yards of total offense because they were more physical at the point of attack and they made Ryan feel extremely uncomfortable in the pocket. The man leading the charge was DeMarcus Ware, who broke out of a season-long slump to register two sacks. The questions about Ware had been growing and growing as he had played most of the season as a not-so-innocent bystander. He went a long way to silencing his critics with his disruptive performance. The Cowboys certainly have the defensive talent to be one of the best units in the NFL, but their problem has always been their inability to match their effort level to their prodigious talent.

The Cowboys are going to be extremely hard to beat if they can replicate their performance against the Falcons in the coming weeks. In addition to their stellar offensive and defensive production, the Cowboys put the cherry on top of a huge victory with a 73-yard punt return from Patrick Crayton that effectively put the game out of reach. The Cowboys should feel good about this victory. It was their first win against a quality opponent and it has created a little momentum that they should be able to carry forward. The risk for Dallas is that they allow Romo to reprise his gun-slinging persona and forget that they have one of the most talented stables of running backs in the NFL.

(4) The Saints’ come-from-behind victory over the Miami Dolphins is further evidence why they are the best team in the NFC and arguably the best team in the NFL. Good teams find ways to win when the odds are stacked against them. They played a horrific first half and trailed by 21 points before rallying to a 12-point victory. They became the first team in 2009 to overcome such a large deficit and win the game. It was the first time since 1987 that a team trailed by at least 21 points before winning the game by at least 12 points (New Orleans beat San Diego 41-24 after trailing 24-3). The Saints demonstrated the grittiness, resilience and determination of a champion. Their offense proved that no lead is safe and their defense stepped up again and made huge plays.

As I mentioned, the Saints played their worst half of football in the first half against the Dolphins. By the time they had picked up their second first down of the game, Miami led 24-3 and it looked like the Saints undefeated season would go down in flames. The Saints had turned the ball twice, missed a field goal and punted three times before cobbling together a 51-yard touchdown drive to end the half and begin the healing. It is important to note that they got a huge boost from a highly questionable timeout by Miami head coach Tony Sparano. With five seconds left in the half, an apparent 20-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Colston was reversed and the ball was placed at the ½ yard line. The Saints were prepared to kick a field goal until Sparano called an ill-fated timeout that allowed Drew Brees to lobby his head coach to go for the touchdown. With the extra time to think about it, Sean Payton sent his offense back onto the field and they subsequently scored the touchdown that would get them on the comeback trail. Coach Sparano tried to justify his decision by saying that he wanted to be in the “right personnel,” but it looks like a pretty boneheaded mistake to me. The bad decision looked like it wouldn’t cost the Dolphins as the Saints started the second half with two more turnovers, but the situation turned south for Miami shortly thereafter as the Saints scored 36 points in the second half, including outscoring the Dolphins 22-0 in the fourth quarter. Despite the four turnovers and five sacks allowed, the Saints won this game because they steadfastly refused to forgo offensive balance in their comeback effort. The Saints produced 414 total yards, which included 276 yards through the air and 138 on the ground. Most importantly, the Saints averaged over five yards per carry on 27 rushing attempts.

For all their offensive success, the Saints would not have won this game without big plays from their defense. In the first half, the Saints defense was unable to stem the tide due to the terrible field position that the offense put them in. None of the Dolphins’ four scoring drives in the first half were longer than 63 yards. The defense played respectively in the first half, only allowing 175 total yards to the Dolphins, but they didn’t have anything to show for their effort because Miami roared out to a 21-point lead. The defense only needed one minute in the second half to turn the tables. On the Dolphins’ third play of scrimmage, Darren Sharper gathered in a tipped Chad Henne pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. It was Sharper’s 11th interception return for a touchdown, which is one shy of the NFL record. After firing the opening salvo of the second half, the Saints played an inspired brand of defensive football holding the Dolphins to only 10 points and 154 total yards, forcing four punts and returning another interception for a touchdown.

The Dolphins should have won this game, but coughed up another victory because they were unable to make big plays or big stops when they were needed most. The Dolphins can look at their 2-4 record and justify that they should be 4-2. The Dolphins have played the Saints and the Colts and lost to them both when they had control of both games. Both defeats were epic in how they unraveled and the Dolphins will be kicking themselves for a long time for choking away certain victory. The loss to the Saints is fresh in our minds, but we need to remember that the Dolphins failed to beat the Colts despite possessing the ball for over 45 minutes, which was the greatest time of possession for a loser since the stat became official in 1977. The Dolphins might be the best 2-4 team in the NFL, but they are not a good team.

(5) Are the Houston Texans finally a playoff team? Are they finally who we expected them to be? After seven weeks, they are firmly in the middle of the playoff picture along with Pittsburgh (5-2) and New York (4-3). The Texans have been a sleeper pick for the last couple of seasons and have largely failed to live up to expectations. They still do not have a winning season in their history, but I think this is the year that they get to nine or ten victories and really make a legitimate push to the post-season. I’m basing my opinion entirely on the strength of an offense that is currently ranked 10th overall in the NFL. If they continue to stay healthy, they have the offensive weapons to go head-to-head with any defense in the league. Matt Schaub is one of the league leaders in touchdown passes and he is quickly making the case for his inclusion in the top ten signal callers in the NFL. His problem has always been injury not performance. If the Texans can keep him out of the training room, they are going to be a real threat to achieve their goals of a winning record and playoff appearance. In addition to Schaub, the Texans have dynamic playmakers at wide receiver (Andre Johnson), tight end (Owen Daniels) and running back (Steve Slaton). Both Daniels and Johnson are in the top ten for receiving yards and receptions. Along with Slaton’s ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, it all adds up to the 3rd ranked passing offense in the NFL.

In order for the Texans to make it to the second season, they are going to have to improve their running attack and bolster their defense. Principally, the Texans have to get back to running the football like they did in 2008. They finished 13th in the league in running the football and averaged over four yards per carry. Through seven weeks this season, the Texans are 30th in the NFL in yards per game (37 yards per game lower than 2008) and only average three yards per carry which is worst in the NFL. So far, the Texans have been able to overcome the lack of balance, but it will start to impact their performance as the pressure builds and opposing defenses make adjustments to take away Schaub and the passing attack. In addition to their running game, the Texans have to be more competent on defense. They are currently in the bottom half of the NFL in passing yards allowed per game and rushing yards allowed per game. Fortunately, they are trending in the right direction after two consecutive strong defensive performances against the Bengals and 49ers. They have limited Cedric Benson and Frank Gore in back-to-back weeks, which certainly has to give them confidence that they are capable of being a good defense. Keep in mind that Benson gashed the Ravens the week previous and the Bears the week after. The Texans have four nice pieces on defense with Mario Williams, Brian Cushing, DeMeco Ryans and Bernard Pollard. They need the rest of the unit to step up their level of play. If the Texans can continue their incremental improvement on the defensive side of the ball, they might make the playoffs regardless of what they do in the running game.