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Sorting the Sunday Pile, Week 15: Ed Werder Should Make Up Stuff About T.O. Every Week

Posted Dec 15, 2008 9:40AM By Ryan Wilson (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Cowboys, Giants, Ravens, Steelers, Texans, NFL Fans, NFL Referees

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Sorting the Sunday Pile looks back at the NFL weekend that was. It's also an unofficial Mittens blog.

I'm not a Cowboys fan. Far from it, in fact. Still, it's hard not to like Tony Romo. He's lovably goofy, which would make him something of a mascot if he wasn't such a good quarterback. But it's not his gutty performance against the Giants Sunday night in what can legitimately be described as a must-win game that merits a mention here, it's how he so deftly handles the incandescent media glare in his "aw shucks" Gomer Pyle sorta way. It's pretty amazing to watch, actually.

During Romo's postgame press conference following the Cowboys' 20-8 victory over the Giants, he made the point that unlike other sports, the NFL lends itself to all sorts of drama, most of it manufactured, because games only take place once every seven days or so. He was obviously referring to the Week of Ed Werder, which started with ESPN's resident Cowboys expert reporting that Terrell Owens was jealous of Romo's and Jason Witten's relationship (more on this in a sec).

And while media and fans spend the work week perpetuating storylines that may not exist in reality, players and coaches are preparing to play football. Basically, Romo said turmoil doesn't decide games -- preparation and execution does. It's a simple proposition but one that seldom gets mentioned. So not only is Romo one of the league's best quarterbacks, he's also a philosopher.

So about that Werder character. During an on-field postgame Q&A that included Witten, Owens and Romo standing shoulder to shoulder as Andrea Kremer lobbed predictable questions, the Cowboys quarterback offered this when asked about the turmoil. "... I really give credit ... this week to Wade Phillips, our coaching staff, and to T.O. and Jason for drumming this whole thing up just to take away from the pressure of the game. You know, I thought it was really intelligent of them and I'm proud of them. Good job."

After Witten explained how playing with Owens and Romo made his job much easier, Kremer asked T.O. for his thoughts: "I think it was a lack of unprofessionalism on Ed Werder's behalf, just to come up with some of that stuff. Honestly, I don't know where none of this stuff came from."

I'm pretty sure Owens meant "lack of professionalism," but I take his point: he hates Werder. (Get in line, dude.) But there's more. During his postgame presser, T.O. was asked if he, Witten and Romo were the new "triplets" given their sideline chat with Kremer. Owens' response, after a chuckle: "I don't know. What does Ed Werder say?"

The moral: unless you're Magnum, P.I., nobody trusts a guy with a mustache. Particularly if you look like Jim Dangle.


As for the game, the Cowboys' defense absolutely dominated, racking up eight sacks (three for DeMarcus Ware and two more for part-timer Greg Ellis) and two interceptions (both courtesy of Terence Newman). The Giants looked out of sorts all night, and I'm sure some of that had to do with injuries along the offensive line, but part of the blame has to fall to a Plax-less wide receivers corps.

It's easy to say New York will manage just fine without Burress (raises hand), but that's assuming the o-line is playing like a top-rated unit and the running game works. With Brandon Jacobs hobbled and the five fat guys charged with protecting Eli Manning playing like ... well, crap, losing Burress becomes a much bigger deal.

The Giants have now lost two straight and their stranglehold on the top seed in the conference and even the NFC East are now in doubt. Still, at 11-3, they're in great shape, and a win at home against the Panthers next week will go a long way in assuaging all the folks currently making their way up to the ledge. The Cowboys will host the Ravens on Saturday night in what could be the last game in Texas Stadium. If Dallas wins out, they're in the postseason, but it won't come easy.

Luckily, turmoil doesn't affect that bunch.

A Truly Worthy MVP Candidate

There's not one player running away with the Most Valuable Player award this season. The competition is so wide open, in fact, that 37-year-old Kurt Warner has been in the conversation for most of the year. That's pretty remarkable given that the Rams threw him on the scrap heap back in 2003 and he was benched for Eli Manning midway through '04. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is also in the running, and his 28-for-165 performance against the Cardinals on Sunday didn't hurt his candidacy.

But I'm not here to pimp the conventional names. Nope, instead I'm making the case for quite possibly the most explosive player in the game that most of us never see play: Texans wideout Andre Johnson. He caught 11 passes for 207 yards (a team record) in Houston's victory over Tennessee yesterday, and it was basically just another day at the office. For the year, Johnson has 103 catches for 1,408 yards, which is remarkable when you consider that he's the Texans' primary offensive weapon, and opponents game plan to stop him first and worry about the other 10 guys later.

I understand the argument that the MVP should go to a player on a winning team, but who's to say Houston doesn't win out and finish 9-7? They've won four in a row and beaten the Jaguars, Packers and Titans in consecutive weeks. They're not making the playoffs, but there's no way this team is 7-7 without Johnson. And truthfully, they may not be more than a three- or four-win outfit if he's not on the field. I think that makes him pretty valuable.

Redskins Are Worse Than Anybody Imagined

Washington's playoff hopes are officially in the Thomas Crapper, but even if they weren't mathematically eliminated from January football, they should be for losing to the Bengals. If history is any guide, the final two weeks of the regular season will be about getting rid of the current head coach and finding a way to convince Bill Cowher to come to D.C. Look, it's hard to blame Jim Zorn for all of this; I mean, at some point, as the saying goes, coaches have to coach and players have to play. I haven't seen much of the latter out of the 'Skins in recent months.

That said, while I'm certain Zorn is thinking very important thoughts for three hours every Sunday, it sure as hell doesn't look like it. If anything, he's already mastered the Art Shell Face when he's not staring a hole through his play sheet as the action unfolds on the field. And I'm guessing that has a lot to do with the public perception that he's out of touch. Is that fair? No, no it's not. But ask T.O. and Romo about that.

Nobody cared what Zorn did on the sidelines when the Redskins were 6-2, but now that they've dropped five of six, quarterback Jason Campbell has struggled, and running back Clinton Portis has gone off script, everything means something, no matter how trivial it really is.

Ravens Fans Would Like "*" on Steelers' Victory

Here's a stat for you: in their last three games, the Steelers outscored the Ravens, Cowboys and Patriots 37-0 in fourth quarter. That's mind-blowing.

Sunday's come-from-behind victory over Baltimore wasn't without controversy, though. Trailing 9-6 late in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh drove 87 yards to the Ravens four-yard line. On third and goal, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger scrambled and found Santonio Holmes open in the end zone ... except the ruling on the field was that Holmes caught the ball falling out of the end zone into the field of play, fourth down and one inch. It was reviewed and overturned (watch the moving pictures here), which almost proved to be enough to put NBC's Keith Olbermann, Cris Collinsworth and Bob Costas into simultaneous cardiac arrest.

For what it's worth (and if you're a Ravens fan, I suspect not much), referee Walt Coleman provided this explanation after the game: "When he gained control of the ball, the ball was breaking the plane, and then he fell into the field of play. But to have a touchdown, all you have to have is a catch, which is the two feet down, possession and control of the ball breaking the plane."

And according to the Football Night in America crowd, NFL head of officials, Mike Pereira agreed with Coleman: there was indisputable evidence to overturn the call on the field. Ravens head coach Jim Harbaugh disagreed during his post-game comments, but Ray Lewis was very frank in his assessment of the situation: "That didn't win or lose the game for us."

And Roethlisberger, just happy to finally win a game in Baltimore, stuck to hyperbole as he made his way off the field, telling NFL Network's Scott Hanson: "We have the No. 1 defense in the world!"

Muffed Punts
Leftovers from Sunday's action...

... Dear Vernon Davis, Joey Porter wins. On the upside, you still rule at being ugly, so there's that.

... In a game filled with dumb plays, none was dumber than Santana Moss earning a 15-yard excessive celebration penalty. With the Redskins inexplicably trailing the Bengals 17-0 late in the first half, Santana caught a touchdown pass and proceeded to use his towel to clean his shoes. Apparently, the towel qualified as a prop, and 15 yards later, the 'Skins were kicking off from their own 15. Naturally, Shaun Suisham would promptly honk it out of bounds, and Cincy would begin their drive from Washington's 45. Brilliant, even if the Bengals didn't get any points out of it.

And then there was Chad Johnson, making a nifty first-down grab midway through the fourth quarter with Cincy leading 17-10. He stepped out of bounds on the Redskins sideline and his momentum carried him to the bench where Portis was sitting, no doubt working on his material for his weekly radio appearance on the John Thompson Show.

Mr. Ocho Cinco, good friend with Portis, jokingly tossed him the ball. That, folks, is taunting, at least according to the letter of the rules. Even if you like the guy you're allegedly taunting. I saw the play live and thought it was a bogus call, but why even take a chance if you're Chad Johnson? Oh, right, because you're Chad Johnson.

... Worst call of the weekend and it's not even close. I blame Norval Eugene because it seems like the right thing to do.

... Turk Schonert should be made to walk back to Buffalo after giving J.P. Losman the green light to actually attempt a pass with just over two minutes to go in the Jets game with the Bills leading. Losman rolled right, fumbled (of course he did), and the Jets scored the go-ahead touchdown. Un-flippin'-believable.

Post-Game Debaclings
Quotes that Emmitt Smith might like...

"This will be a fun game to sit down and watch on film."
- Falcons defensive end John Abraham, after registering his third three-sack game of the season. By the way, Bucs quarterback Brian Griese doesn't think it'll be all that fun.

I'm speechless. We're having a hard time beating some of the worst teams."
- Fullback Mike Sellers after the 'Skins lost to the one-win Bengals

"No one wants to be part of that. No one wants to have their name involved with that. It's tough to swallow, everybody says we stink. We don't have much debate with that."
- Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky on the team's date with infamy

"That's what we want to do for him: Keep winning games and try to bring him something special."
- Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers talking about owner Jerry Richardson, who is awaiting a heart transplant

"I just want to thank all my family and friends for all their support this week. It's been a tough week for me, obviously, and my family. The coaches, the players, Mr. Kraft, everybody has done such a great job of supporting me through this tough time and my family, as well. I just want to thank everybody for their messages and their condolences and we appreciate it as a family and I appreciate it as a person. That's really all I want to say about that, so thank you very much."
- Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel, who lost his father earlier this week, speaking after a four-touchdown performance against the Raiders

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