Musings on the NFL: Week 4

The aftermath of Week 4 leaves two troubled head coaches finally without a job. Oakland's Lane Kiffin and St. Louis' Scott Linehan both got the axe early this week, one of them by phone. More on that Oakland debacle later. For the Rams, it was another blown halftime lead and the resulting 0-4 start that sealed their coach's fate. It's going to be interesting to see where these two guys land next in the coaching world. Kiffin especially is a guy who would seem desirable to a top-notch college program. He's young and driven and he has football royalty in his blood -- with his father, defensive guru Monte still employed by the Bucs.

Another story I've been interested in is over in Baltimore, where the Ravens dropped a tough one in overtime to the always-infuriating Pittsburgh Steelers. I wouldn't normally have an interest in Baltimore football, but I am a big Joe Flacco guy. And that's where he happened to end up in the draft.

I watched Flacco intently in college leading up to an appearance in the FCS Championship Game against my Appalachian State Mountaineers last year. The Fightin' Blue Hens of Delaware fell to the mighty Mountaineers, but Flacco was the stud of the game. He impressed me as a guy who had the total package for the position. He has a cannon for an arm, but the feel to put some air under the ball when he needs to. He is tall enough to stand in the pocket and see the field, but he has delicate, quick feet when he needs to escape. In that Championship Game in Chattanooga, Flacco was 23-48 for 334 yards and one touchdown. For the season, he threw for more than 4,200 yards and 23 touchdowns with only five picks. He also ran for four more TD's.

Some Flacco highlights from 2007:

In Sunday's game in the big leagues, Joe was 16-31 for 192 yards, closely paralleling Ben Roethlisberger's numbers on the other side of the ball. The rookie did have one big fumble on the first play of a drive though, and it was returned for a touchdown by LaMarr Woodley, giving the Steelers two scores in 14 seconds. With just that one gaff to his demerit, the team spoke highly of Flacco.

"He didn't get rattled," said wide receiver Derrick Mason. "He showed poise out there and that's all you can ask your young quarterback to do. That second half, they were throwing a lot of stuff at him. Through it all, he showed the poise of a veteran."

The QB summed things up nicely himself in his post-game interview: "I'm proud of the way we came back and tied the game up," said Flacco. "I thought we did a good job of weathering what they threw at us. But I've got to take care of the ball."

Joe Flacco will be a top five QB within the next three years, mark it down.

Another rookie that is making the Baltimore story more intriguing is their head coach, Jim Harbaugh. The ex-QB has his team playing rock solid football -- mostly because Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are still around. Those guys have barely lost a step in the last five years, and they have to be among the hardest-playing players in the league, game-in and game-out. Despite losing the lead and the game to the Steelers, the Ravens are off to a 2-1 start on the year on the backs of their defense. With Cleveland and Cincinnati in disrepair, it looks like it's going to be a two-horse race between Pittsburgh and Baltimore for the AFC North title. The Ravens will get a chance to avenge the loss on December 14th, at home in Baltimore.

Tidbits:

• Detroit, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Houston are all still looking for their first win this season. Somehow, my Miami Dolphins have already won one!
• Former Broncos running back Travis Henry was arrested this week, accused of distributing cocaine. The charges stem from a bad day in Montana on September 16th, where Henry and his buddy were pulled over with six pounds of ganja and three kilos of coke in the trunk. Oops. During his career, Henry was busted for smoking trees three times by NFL drug tests.
• Yesterday, Vince Young practiced for the first time since Septmber 7th, putting the Titans depth chart in question. Veteran Kerry Collins has the team off to the best start in franchise history, and Young may well be third right now behind Collins and Chris Simms.
• Perennial underachiever Joey Harrington was signed by the Saints on September 19th. Then released last week. Then re-acquired by the Saints yesterday. I'm sure he feels like a valued member of the organization. Of course... his perceived value does closely match his perceived contribution.
• Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin has a fractured sinus membrane as a result of the helmet-to-helmet hit from Jets' safety Eric Smith. Holy friggin' ouch. According to eMedicine, a high-impact sports injury is the second leading cause of this fracture. The first is a high-speed automobile accident. No concussion for Boldin though, and he's meeting with doctors to determine how long he'll take to heal.
• Brett Favre saved my life in fantasy football this week. His numbers: 24-34, 289 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT -- netting me 46.45 whopping points. Many thanks to Glenn for trading him to me midweek.