Coach Killers: Week 10 Edition

SRW · Nov 11, 2007

Coach Killers, Week 10: Joe Gibbs Is Obviously a Masochist

Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.

Joe Gibbs, Redskins
Gibbs comes across as a swell guy, a grandfatherly type who says things like "dadgummit" or "horse feathers" when he's angry, and always carries Werther's in his pocket for wide-eyed young fans. It all seems very Rockwellian. Except that reality for the Washington Redskins is nothing like the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.

Gibbs, who came out of retirement in 2004 for a second run with the Redskins, has looked out of sorts and overmatched for most of the last four years. And Sunday's game against the Eagles was a microcosm of that. The Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl winner now spends his weekends watching the his players -- in horror, no doubt -- repeat mistakes they were making in preseason. In yesterday's 33-25 loss to Philadelphia, the 'Skins committed 11 penalties for 74 yards, and on four occasions, penalties resulted in Eagles' first downs.

And if it's not his players gaffing their way through games, it's his stable of assistant coaches. Leading 13-7 midway through the third quarter, Washington called its first timeout prior to kicking a field goal. The team used its second timeout with 9:55 to go in the fourth. And just over a minute later, the Redskins lost a challenge on a fumble recovery, spending their final timeout in the process. Gibbs probably could've used one -- or three -- of those during the final two minutes when the 'Skins had the ball down by just eight points.

It's all very weird and makes you wonder if this timeout rule is a new one; maybe teams had an unlimited ability to stop the clock in the '80s and early '90s. Or maybe the game has just passed Gibbs by.

Panthers Defense
Sure, the Panthers have had some bad luck this season; quarterback Jake Delhomme was lost for the year when his elbow just gave out. David Carr is a scourge you wouldn't wish on your most hated rival. And now the team's quarterback is a 44-year-old former stay-at-home dad. Still, despite all of this, Carolina could've moved into a tie for first place in the division with a win over the hapless Falcons.

Well, if Atlanta's first series was an omen, it was going to be a long day. The Falcons scored on an eight-play, 70-yard drive, exclamation-pointed with a 30-yard Warrick Dunn scamper (yeah, I thought Dunn retired two years ago too). That was the first time in 33 games the Falcons had scored on their first possession.

With the game tied 13-13 in the fourth quarter and just under two minutes to go, the Vinny Testaverdes promptly went three-and-out. Usually, Joey Harrington doesn't instill much fear in opposing defenses, but maybe that was the problem Sunday. Because with just 30 seconds to go, Harrington hit tight end Alge Crumpler in stride for a 30-yard touchdown. Game. Set. Match. Whatever.

So now, instead of being atop the division with the Bucs, the Panthers are 4-5, tied for second with the Saints, and show no real interest in football. Oh, this was also Carolina's sixth consecutive loss at home. That's what you like to see from a team aiming for the postseason ... an inability to win at home. Speaking of those Saints...

Drew Brees, Saints

First, a little perspective: in New Orleans' four losses to start the season, Brees threw one touchdown, nine picks, and sported a nifty passer rating of 57.4 (soon to be renamed the McNair line). In the last four games -- all Saints victories -- Brees has a 115.1 rating, 11 touchdowns and just a single interception. In some sense, he's probably unfairly singled out here. But he's also the quarterback; the buck stops under center.

First of all, New Orleans was playing the 0-8 Rams, a gimme division game if there ever was one. A win would put the Saints in first place, and it would be the first time in NFL history that a team had started the year 0-4 only to reel off five straight. Well, Brees' third pass of the game was a completion ... to the Rams' O.J. Atogwe, and it was pretty much downhill from there. That eventually resulted in the rarest of sights in St. Louis this year: a Steven Jackson touchdown.

Brees' second interception also resulted in points -- a field goal to give the Rams a 17-7 halftime lead. Brees lost a fumble for good measure. To be fair, though, the Saints did score 22 fourth-quarter points. That they needed to do that --- against the Rams -- is the bigger issue. Now the NFC South is a mess, with Tampa Bay one game up on Carolina and New Orleans. There's a good chance the winner of the division will have a losing record.

Damon Huard, Chiefs
The fact that the Chiefs have the league's worst offense tells you all you need to know about Huard's precarious hold on the starting quarterback job. Yes, he lost Larry Johnson, but let's be honest; LJ wasn't exactly lighting it up before he went down with the ankle injury. Huard would end the day 6 of 15 for 83 yards and two interceptions.

The first pick, thrown late in the first quarter, stalled a scoring drive ... or did it? Four plays later, the Chiefs' Bernard Pollard blocked a Todd Sauerbrun punt out of the end zone for a safety. KC 5, Denver 3. That the Chiefs have resorted to blocking punts as part of their offense explains why Brodie Croyle came into the game just after halftime. But before Herm made the move to the rookie, Huard threw another pick that led to seven Denver points, and also lost a fumble that Broncos linebacker Nate Webster took the the house. Wisely, Huard feigned injury on the play, giving way to Croyle.

Predictably, Croyle struggled, but at least he offers fans something Huard doesn't: hope. It's a start.

The Ravens Organization

Jeebus, where to start? How about a quote from that wise man, CBS color analyst, Randy Cross: "When the ol' negative snowball starts rollin' down that hill ... it really starts rollin' down that hill." Want more? How about this from FanHouser Josh Alper:
The Bengals, owners of a truly awful defense, damn near pitched a shutout against Billick's boys and won easily despite not scoring a touchdown. That's right, all 21 points came off the foot of Shayne Graham which means that the Ravens defense held Carson Palmer, T.J. Houshmanzadeh, Chad Johnson and the well-rested Chris Henry without a touchdown and still lost by 14 points!
And the words don't do the performance justice. I actually watched quarterback Steve McNair age in dog years during this game. By the end of the year, the Ravens will have to carbon date him to get an idea of how old he is.

How did this thing in Baltimore spiral out of control so quickly? No idea. Most of it falls to head coach Brian Billick since he's calling the shots. While we've waited for the Offensive Genius to thrill us with wonderfully brilliant schemes, the defense has aged, and the Ravens' Super Bowl window has officially closed. Oh, and Baltimore still needs a quarterback. Just a thought, but this time, if the organization is lucky enough to land a player like, oh, say, Derek Anderson ... don't cut him.
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