NFL Week Four: Panthers, Falcons stay atop NFC South

Every Monday morning, Section 215’s Akiem Bailum gives an in-depth and unfiltered look at all of the latest sports news in The Monday Morning Realist. You can follow Akiem on Twitter @AkiemBailum.

Who wants to be a potentially fired coach?

Oct 4, 2015; London, United Kingdom; Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin (left) and New York Jets coach Todd Bowles before Game 12 of the NFL International Series at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

For those who have read my NFL Monday Morning Realists over the years, my feelings on the NFL playing games in London has been well-documented. For those that may not know—allow me to give you a bit of a refresher.

A waste of time.

I have tried and tried and tried to comprehend why the NFL continuously believes that the UK is the next great frontier for the league (other than the obvious which has everything to do with British pounds & Euros).

Other than that…it continues to be a travel and logistical nightmare that Roger Goodell continues to play game after game after game across the pond.

This year, the league decided to send the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins over to Wembley Stadium. This game was scheduled to air at 9:30 a.m. eastern time (both New York and Miami are in the Eastern Time Zone, by the way).

They’re now doing about two or three of these games every single year. All of this if, of course, a precursor to a grand NFL dream of placing a franchise in London.

The amount of things that are wrong with such a thing are beyond obvious. Firstly, what division will they play in? The fact that a franchise in London will be a logistical and television nightmare.

Plus, soccer is the national sport of the UK, so wouldn’t Wembley Stadium be better put to good use if those dates used for NFL football were actually for…you know…Premier League “Futbol”?

And, I hate to keep on having to bring up the failed experiment that was NFL Europa, but it was a failed experiment and there is a reason as to why NFL Europa is no longer in existence today.

Plus, travel will be even more of a nightmare for players and media covering the team than it was for the Montreal Expos who had to play half of their games in their last years in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Also, how will radio and television rights be handled? Exactly. No way to determine.

But the NFL is only thinking about one thing—money.

And it looks like the Miami Dolphins could be on the verge of cutting some of their fat if they end up firing their coach—Joe Philbin.

No one outside of a 40 mile radius of Downtown Miami predicted the Dolphins to contend for a Super Bowl or even to win the AFC East. The New England Patriots won that division on opening week. But they were picked to potentially contend for a wild card berth of the AFC.

If this season is any indication so far, the Fins won’t be competing for anything any time soon and the only reason to even go to Dolphins games is because of their cheerleaders.

At one point in this game, the Jets (not exactly the NFL’s version of the San Antonio Spurs) were leading the Miami Dolphins by a score of 27-7 in the fourth quarter behind Ryan Fitzpatrick (who ended up with 218 yards, one touchdown, one interception and 16/29) and Chris Ivory (29 carries, 166 yards, one touchdown). Brandon Marshall also had a huge game with seven receptions and 128 yards).

Ryan Tannehill—19/44, 198 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, sacked three times. Jarvis Landry—only two carries for 29 yards. Kenny Stills—five receptions for 81 yards and one touchdown.
And if Philbin were to be fired by the Dolphins, it would be a culmination of just how much continues to go wrong for the Miami franchise. But Philbin should be lucky it took him this long for the Fins to finally give him the pink slip (given that he is indeed given the pink slip).

Philbin should have lost his job during the Richie Incognito/Jon Jerry/Jonathan Martin/Mike Pouncey bullying debacle. That was a locker room culture indicative of how so many others in the NFL probably are and was a sign of just how the coach had a grand total of zero control in that locker room.

Philbin was the luckiest man in the world that he didn’t lose his job after that “lack of institutional control” to steal a much-repeated NCAA phrase. But if he is indeed toast after this, where is the head count on how many Dolphins fans prefer that he get left in the waiting area at London’s Heathrow Airport.

He’ll have plenty of games to watch next weekend job or no job. The Dolphins are on a bye in Week 5. So are the Jets.

Final Score: Jets 27, Dolphins 14

Quinn Magic

Oct 4, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman (24) runs after a catch in the second quarter of their game against the Houston Texans at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons won 48-21. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Whatever one wants to call it…there’s obviously something different about this Atlanta Falcons team.

Granted today they were playing the Houston Texans—again—a team that (outside J. J. Watt) sometimes appears as if they should be playing on Saturdays instead of Sundays.

The first three games the Falcons have played resulted in offensive outputs of 26 points (win over the Eagles (26-24)), 24 points (24-20 win over Giants) and 39 (39-28 win over Cowboys).

Meaning an early theme to the season so far the Atlanta Falcons—is that they know how to beat up on the NFC East (which has not been a tall task this season given how those teams have played (and how injury plagued its prospective top team is).

After all, the Falcons were down 14-0 to a Brandon Weeden/Joseph Randle-led Dallas team and still managed to come back to score 39 of the game’s final 53 points en route to their third victory.

Meanwhile—the Houston Texans, outside of J. J. Watt are…the Houston Texans. The very same team that over the offseason decided to part ways with Andre Johnson, who will probably be one of the first (if not the first) entrant into the Hall of Fame to wear Texans colors.

He has struggled so far with Indy to be fair.

Also, at one point, the Texans ended up using both Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett in the starting position at quarterback. There’s an old saying that when you have two quarterbacks, you really have no quarterback. That has been true with the Texans for a while.

Dare I say, the Texans are starting to become the new Chicago Bears—only with even less of a defense (outside of Watt) than even the Bears have.

The final score of this one turned out to be Falcons 48, Texans 21, but given how the meaningful points of this game (i.e. the first three quarters were), it really was more like 68-14.

All three of the Texans’ scores ended up coming in the fourth quarter—after the Falcons had built a 48-0 lead and Atlanta looked as if they were playing the University of Houston Cougars or the Rice Owls instead of the Houston Texans.

Matt Ryan was on once again—leading his team with 256 passing yards on 19/27 passing and one touchdown. Even though Devonta Freeman didn’t put up huge numbers yards-wise on the ground, he did end up with three touchdowns on 14 carries and 68 yards. We may be through a fourth of the NFL season, but some are already starting to associate ATL’s freeman with three other letters (M-V-P).

Freeman also also caught five receptions for 81 yards, so yeah, he’s got a very good MVP candidacy.

Freeman is making life very cozy as well for fantasy owners. Not so much for any Houston Texan (except for maybe receiver DeAndre Hopkins who caught nine passes for 157 yards. Hoyer: 17/30 for 232 yards and a pair of TDs while Mallett (who of course entered the game after the Texans’ chances of winning this game became minute) was only 12/27 for 150 yards.

Houston’s leading rusher was Chris Polk. Chris Polk only had 27 rushing yards on three carries.

At least the Texans can take solace in the fact that they aren’t the worst major pro or college football team in the Lone Star State. That honor may very well belong to the University of Texas Longhorns football team who were throttled 50-7 by TCU.

If either the Texans (or UT) want to watch how football is supposed to be played, they can watch the Falcons next week at home against the Washington Redskins. Let’s not be surprised if Dan Quinn and his team get into the win column again next week given what they already have done to their last three NFC East foes.

Oh, wait, the Texans are coming off a short week next week. They have to play the Colts on Thursday Night Football? Gotcha.

Final: Falcons 48, Texans 21

Representing the Carolinas

Oct 4, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. (19) and quarterback Cam Newton (1) celebrates after a touchdown in the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. The Carolina Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37-23. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

The Carolina Panthers: another team in the NFC (which is better than the AFC at this point by the way) that can fly under the radar sometimes because they share the same division as the Cowboys, Packers, and Seahawks.

But a 3-0 start in the NFL is a 3-0 start in the NFL. And on week 4, those very Panthers had an opportunity to make it 4-0 against their division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

One of the things to remember with the Panthers is how much Ron Rivera puts emphasis on defense. Luke Kuechly, one of the league’s premier defensive players, recently went down with an injury. What did they do in response—they did a deal to acquire Jared Allen.

This sounds like a team that is going for it this year. This sounds like a team that knows that it can be playing February football in San Francisco this year.

And as much as the media wants to build up Jameis Winston as a great rookie quarterback, the numbers are showing that the transition to the NFL isn’t as smooth as one would think.

Also—beating the Buccaneers would come with an added sense of nostalgia for the Panthers. Ron Rivera was the Bears defensive coordinator under Lovie Smith when they were in Chicago and coached the former Monsters of the Midway to the Super Bowl in the 2006-07 season.

The Bears ultimately lost that Super Bowl to the Indianapolis Colts by a final of 29-17 (Peyton Manning’s only Super Bowl victory to this point).

But while the Panthers were on the road at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, the Carolinas themselves were pelted by bad storms.

If anyone kept their eyes peeled on all of the mid-week drama, much of it revolved around the weather. Many along the East Coast were worried about what Hurricane Joaquin would do to the Mid-Atlantic or Northeastern corridors of the country. Eventually, Joaquin drifted out into the Atlantic, doing no damage to the Northeast.

In fact, it sparked rumours that the Eagles game against the Redskins would either be cancelled or moved to Detroit. That worked out pretty well for the Redskins, not so much for the Eagles.

But a horrific flood ended up waterlogging much of South Carolina, particularly its two biggest cities in Columbia and Charleston. Television stations in Charleston and Columbia even pre-empted NFL coverage to deliver round-the-clock news about what was happening with the storm as well as with recovery efforts.

So while the Carolinas were getting drenched, Carolina’s Panthers provided a dash of positive news for their region—increasing their record to 4-0 and staying pace with the Atlanta Falcons (who also improved to 4-0).

Cam Newton didn’t need to have on his Superman cape as he does most weeks. That honor this week belonged to Josh Norman who came up with two interceptions of “Famous Jameis” and one of those—he took to the house.

Four of Winston’s passes ended up being completed to Panthers defenders anyway with the other two going to Thomas Davis and Kurt Coleman.

Newton did go 11/22 for 124 yards and two touchdown passes—both of whom were thrown to Ted Ginn, Jr. for his only two receptions of the game.

Newton (as he is on most weeks) was also their leading rusher as he also carried the ball 12 times for 51 yards. Brenton Bersin was Carolina’s leading receiver as he caught four passes for 54 yards.

Winston threw for 287 yards on 26/43 passing with two touchdowns, and four interceptions. Doug Martin scored one touchdown as well but notched 106 yards on 20 carries. Vincent Jackson (a name I still remember as a San Diego Charger) caught ten passes for 147 yards and one of the passing TDs of Winston.

Needless to say, the Panthers made Carolina proud.

Realists, I think we can honestly say that the top half of the NFC South is starting to get really really really really really really good.

With a fourth of the season played, is it safe to say the southern portion of the I-85 corridor could be represented by two teams in the playoffs?

Only one of those teams will be playing as Carolina will be on a bye week next week. Maybe the sun will shine better on the Bucs next week as they stay at home to face the Jacksonville Jaguars.
May the (better) Florida team win.

Final: Panthers 37, Buccaneers 23

No Luck…not a Hassel

Oct 4, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (8) throws a pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Sometimes, there is a reason why the Colts have a horseshoe as their logo. It is supposed to be a symbol of luck (no pun to their franchise quarterback Andrew Luck).

Last week was a definite demonstration of just why the Colts have that horseshoe on the side of their heads.

It appeared for sure that the Colts would start the season 0-3 and would lose a game on the road to the Tennessee Titans—a team that as of late they have had little problems with going back to the Peyton Manning era in Indiana.

Ultimately Luck and the Colts did rally to defeat the Titans 35-33 for their first win of the season and putting to the backburner (for the time being) the concerns regarding head coach Chuck Pagano’s job and any potential rift there may be between the general manager and Pagano.

I guess, so much for know-it-all writers like myself who use this time of the year to write that the Indianapolis Colts have already clinched the AFC South with no issues.

Nothing is certain in this very National Football League, and as much as we may predict, scrutinize and analyze, we always have to take into consideration the likelihood of injuries in this very dangerous sport.

Just as the Pittsburgh Steelers were without Ben Roethlisberger this past Thursday when they lost in stunning fashion at home to the Baltimore Ravens (and sent kicker Josh Scobee packing out of the Western Pennsylvania), Indy was also without its.

With Luck on the shelf due to a bum shoulder (for the first time in his career, by the way) this meant that Matt Hasselbeck was getting the start for the Colts against the Jacksonville Jaguars (another team that historically since the Manning days have given the Colts little to no issues).

Matt Hasselbeck—let’s put this in a little bit of perspective. This is a quarterback I remember who was the QB for the 2005-06 Seattle Seahawks team that went to the Super Bowl against the Steelers. It was a game which Seattle lost and Pittsburgh won and the 12s to this day believe that game in Detroit was stolen from them due to referee’s calls.

As we know, the Seahawks brought home a Super Bowl to Seattle eight years later in 2014 by pounding the Denver Broncos in New Jersey 43-8.

Again, this was anything but an offensively charged game, particularly in the second half. The Jaguars were leading at the half 13-10.

A team could not have a worse performance on offense in the second half than the Jacksonville Jaguars did. They punted on almost all of their offensive possessions (including overtime) except for two and both of those Blake Bortles-led drives were spoiled by missed field goals.

One note about Josh Scobee—he was the kicker in Jacksonville at one point in his career. Apparently, Scobee-it-is has made its way to Duval County.

Not that Indianapolis’ was much better…but at least they got a field goal!

And ultimately, it ended in Adam Vinatieri making history. With his field goals, he became the first player who scored 1,000 points with two teams (Colts and, of course, the Patriots whom he won three Super Bowls with).

With as many points as he has scored and the fact that his foot has won Super Bowls for teams, who cares if Vinatieri is a kicker. They should be working on his Hall of Fame bust as we speak.

Realists, find me a reason as to why he shouldn’t be in and “he’s a kicker” holds no water in this case.

How will a winning cause also be helped—when your quarterback completes 30 of his 47 passes for 282 yards and one touchdown throw as Matt Hasselbeck did. Again—this guy is 40 y.o. I can predict I probably will not be an NFL quarterback (or even a football quarterback at any level at 40 years old).

Frank Gore (Geez, Realists, could the 49ers use him at this point) rushed for 53 yards on 17 carries. Nine carries for 83 yards? That was Coby Fleener.

Blake Bortles (who everyone is still expecting he will develop into something great (?)) was 28/50 for 298 yards and one touchdown. T.J. Yeldon (and this may be the first time I have used his name in any of these Realists) rushed for 105 yards on 22 carries.

Allen Hurns also had himself a major game with 11 catches, 118 yards, and one touchdown.

It won’t be long though before the Colts’ cleats will meet turf (or whatever they have planned in Houston at NRG Stadium). Thursday Night Football features Indy and the Houston Texans in Space City USA.

Once again, may the better (not best—even though if you are asking the Miami Dolphins it may be best) Florida team win next week when the Jags meet the Bucs in Tampa/St. Pete.

Final: Colts 16, Jaguars 13

Spill-ing the Beans on Sunday Night

Oct 4, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints running back C.J. Spiller (28) carries the ball to score the game-winning 80-yard touchdown in overtime against the Dallas Cowboys at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints won 26-20. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

This Realist has included breakdowns of this past Sunday’s games involving the three other NFC South teams—so it is only fitting we finish it with one where an NFC South team is featured. That of course is the New Orleans Saints who were at home on Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys.

As can be stated by anyone stating the obvious, wins are becoming more and more important for teams like the Saints and Buccaneers to accomplish given that the Falcons and Panthers have come out strong to begin the 2015 season.

Those two aforementioned teams—undefeated. The Saints as of Sunday Oct. 4—winless. Zero for the season so far. Whether that is attributed to the Saints missing some of their previous offensive weapons from past years at this point is irrelevant. All that matters is that they have lost games while Atlanta and Carolina have been winning.

As we also know, this is also a case of NBC booking one matchup for Sunday Night without getting all that it bargained for on Sunday Night.

The Peacock most likely wanted this game with the idea that the Cowboys would be fully healthy (i.e. they would have both Tony Romo and Dez Bryant playing in addition to everyone else on their team to wear one of those blue stars on the sides of their helmets.

That, of course, will not be happening after both sustained injuries. Those were injuries to a team picked by many to get to the Super Bowl—leaving the NFC East (for now) wide open.

It was a very welcome sight back for the Saints on their sideline after Drew Brees was returning to start after he sustained a shoulder injury.

But, if the first half was any indication—the Cowboys had a game plan coming into this one—blitz and try to rush Brees as much as possible with the likelihood that he would not be 100 percent despite being called onto for starting purposes.

It was only 10-7 in the Cowboys’ favor at the half—signing that the defenses were anyplace but Bourbon Street when preparing for this game.

The second half would start with the Cowboys only getting a three and out before New Orleans’ Zach Hocker and Dallas’ Dan Bailey would end up trading field goals. The Saints’ first one was four plays for five yards and a minute and 23 seconds.

The Cowboys’ drive that led to three points would last for a total of eight plays and 60 yards and would be for a total of 2:59.

Then, the Saints would respond with another long drive. This time New Orleans held on to the football for six minutes and 54 seconds as well as 13 plays and 69 yards. Despite running three plays within the Cowboys’ red zone and gaining six first downs overall, New Orleans had to settle for three, but it would be three that tied the game up at 13 apiece.

The Cowboys only gained one first down on the following drive before the Saints gained four on its. One of those first downs the Saints gained would be one on fourth down and one in Cowboys territory.

It paid off and so did the drive as a whole when Khiry Robinson made it a 20-13 game in New Orleans’ favor. It was originally a touchdown that was for Mark Ingram for nine yards before he was ruled down prior to crossing the plane of the goal line.

Dallas once again went three and out on another drive before the Saints got the ball again before eventually punting themselves. Weeden completed two passes of over 20 yards (24 to Terrance Williams on 2nd and 10 at the Cowboys’ 9 and 28 to Jason Witten to the Saints’ 39 on 1st and 10 from the Cowboys’ 33).

Five plays later on 4th and 7 from the Saints’ 17 with the game on the line, Weeden found a diving Williams in the end zone for a TD, tying the game at 20.

This game would go to overtime after a short drive that looked like it would result in a game-winning field goal before Hocker’s attempt was no good.

Until…the Saints won the overtime toss, and one pass to C.J. Spiller later, it was good as over as the Saints won their first game—one they couldn’t afford to lose given the NFC South.

That pass to Spiller from Brees also allowed Brees to join the 400 touchdown club. Other members of that club include Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, and Dan Marino. In other words, if you are an NFL quarterback that is a club you most definitely want to be a part of.

Brees—33/41, 359 yards, 2 TDs. Ingram—17 carries, 77 yards. Spiller: 5 receptions, 99 yards.

Weeden—16/26, 246 yards, 1 TD. Lance Dunbar—three carries, 54 yards. Brice Butler—1 catch, 67 yards.

This isn’t the best way for the Cowboys to go into next week…because even though they will be playing at home in Week 5, they get those worldbeaters from the Boston metro better known as the New England Patriots.

It is a pretty good way for the Saints to go into their Week 5 as they will be traveling to the Linc against the Eagles. Yeah…those Eagles.

Final Score: Saints 26, Cowboys 20

Other Games

Oct 4, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; A game ball with the NFL “A Crucial Catch” logo recognizing breast cancer awareness month rests on the field in the fourth quarter during the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. The Redskins won 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Baltimore Ravens defeat Pittsburgh Steelers 23-20

New York Giants defeat Buffalo Bills 24-10

Chicago Bears defeat Oakland Raiders 22-20

Cincinnati Bengals defeat Kansas City Chiefs 36-21

Washington Redskins defeat Philadelphia Eagles 23-20

San Diego Chargers defeat Cleveland Browns 30-27

St. Louis Rams defeat Arizona Cardinals 24-22

Denver Broncos defeat Minnesota Vikings 23-20

Green Bay Packers defeat San Francisco 49ers 17-3

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