Coach Killers: Week 9 Edition

SRW · Nov 4, 2007

Coach Killers, Week 9: What Would Purple Jesus Do?

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.

Chargers Defense
Heading into this game, San Diego's defense ranked 17th against the run, and Minnesota's offense was 8th. That'll likely change. The 2008 Rookie of the Year (they might as well hand out the award), Adrian Peterson, rushed for 296 yards on 30 carries. Two. Nine. Six. He also scored three touchdowns, and nine of his carries went for more than 10 yards. I believe that's called dominating an opponent.

Before Purple Jesus happened, the Chargers had only allowed one rusher to break the century mark -- the Chiefs' Larry Johnson went for 123 in Week 4. And the best back in the league? He gained just 40 yards on 16 carries. One Chargers defender did have a good day, though. Too bad it happened on special teams.

David Carr, Panthers

Carr is in an unenviable position. He's unwanted in Carolina (after being unwanted his last few seasons in Houston), almost lost his job to a 43-year-old dude with a jheri curl, and, obviously, isn't very good at what he does. That makes Panthers fans very unhappy. Just ask FanHouse's Dave Warner:
Seriously, I haven't seen a sorrier excuse for an NFL quarterback since Aaron Brooks was throwing passes backwards in New Orleans. Mister Mittens has all the playmaking ability of ... well, me. And I couldn't throw a spiral until my junior year in college, when a lesbian friend of mine showed me how.
I wonder if Warner's lesbian friend can make her way to the Panthers' practice facility.

While we wait for word on that, Carr finished 15 of 27 for 107 yards in a loss to the Titans. That works out to a sparkling 4.0 yards per attempt. That and a Zack Morris hairstyle will get you the backup job to Vinny Testaverde as soon as his agita clears up. Maybe Steve Smith should be yelling at Carr to watch more film. Can't hurt.

Quinn Gray, Jaguars
Gray was only making his second career start against the Saints on Sunday, and he did throw for 354 yards. But on the the first drive of the second half, he tossed a pick-six to New Orleans cornerback Mike McKenzie, and Jacksonville was never able to get back in the game.

Gray also threw an interception on the penultimate play of the game, deep in Saints territory, but unless touchdowns are worth 15 points inside of two minutes and somebody forgot to tell me, it was meaningless. If there's any good news, Reggie Williams scored, which happens slightly more frequently than a Matt Jones reception.

Also, division leading Indianapolis lost to New England, so Jacksonville didn't lose any ground in the AFC South. Unfortunately, the Titans won, so there are now two teams between the Jags and a playoff spot.

Jets Defense
After singling out Darrelle Revis and Abram Elam last week, I didn't have the heart to name names this week. It hardly seems fair when the entire unit stinks. Coming into this game, the Jets were one of the worst rushing teams in the NFL, and that held true against the Redskins, an outfit that "featured" the 26th-ranked rushing offense.

New York's defense was in such a giving mood, that Clinton Portis earned his first 100-yard rushing game of the season, and the 'Skins finished the day with 296 rushing yards. On the upside, the Jets will have the bye week to figure out how they'll lose rest of their games. And, finally, nobody can pin this one on Chad Pennington. Small mercies.

Broncos Offense
Nope, that's not a misprint. Sure, the Broncos traveled to Detroit and got smoked 44-7, but it wasn't all on the defense. It's worth mentioning that quarterback Jay Cutler left the game with a leg injury so that explains the Patrick Ramsey sighting. In retrospect, the Broncos might've been better off running the single wing with Selvin Young and just taking their chances.

Ramsey finished 29 of 46 for 262 yards with a score and a pick. And to be honest, he played about as well as you'd expect him to play. Which is to say: below average. The Broncos fumbled four times, including a Ramsey sack that resulted in a DeWayne White three-yard rumble for six.

FanHouse's Tom Mantzouranis sums it all up nicely:
There is no excuse for Denver to lose the way they lost today, scoring one meaningless touchdown right before the last two-minute warning to spoil the Lions' shutout bid. Injuries to Cutler and John Lynch only mean so much, it certainly doesn't excuse a 44-0 crushing made only slightly better thanks to a garbage-time prevent defense. Just an embarrassing display by the Broncos.
Silver lining: the Broncos are still better than the Raiders.
Click to expand...

American Football Psycho · Nov 5, 2007

The biggest coach killer is a the lack of defense. If you have a decent defense at least you can stay in the game.

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Coach Killers: Week 9 Edition

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American Football Psycho American Football Psycho

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Coach Killers: Week 9 Edition

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