Monday Night Thoughts

Some thoughts from Monday Night Football...

1. I wish T.O. hadn’t been playing last night-sometimes, you just need a break from the guy. That said, he wasn’t the most loathsome player on the field Monday night-I’d take him over Jeremy Shockey, certainly, and probably Eli Manning. And yet, Eli and Shockey were playing the Cowboys. Can you root for both teams to lose?

2. Tiki Barber’s played for New York his whole career, but he’s still underrated. You should watch him while you still can. I’m serious. I can’t quite say why, but I got a feeling watching the game last night that this could be Barber’s last season in the NFL. I haven’t spoken to any Giants, but it just seems right. Call it a hunch.

3. Eli Manning’s first-quarter bomb to Plexiglass Burress was both a wonderful throw and a fantastic catch. When the younger Manning is making smart decisions with the ball, it can be a thing of beauty. When he’s rifling it at a triple-covered Amani Toomer, as he did later in the quarter, then not so much. Manning also got so claustrophobic under one first-half rush that he put his head down and ran over to a defensive linemen, who promptly sacked him. I’m not even kidding-on the replay, he puts his head down like he’s about to get hit, but realizes he sort of quit on the play early, so he steps forward into the guy’s arms. You don’t believe me, do you? It happened!

4. I sort of feel for Drew Bledsoe, who’s obviously good enough to start in the NFL but is just as clearly not a great passer. I was happy for him when he ran in that QB sneak in the second quarter. That said...I could not have been less surprised than I was when he threw the pick on second-and-goal near the end of the half. I’d hate to be average at a job like NFL quarterback. Yeah, the money’s great, but the American public has (fairly or not) equated Drew Bledsoe with sucking pretty much for the last decade or so.

5. All the fans in Dallas rooting for Tony Romo, well, they got what you wanted. Romo was pretty solid, by the numbers anyway-more than two hundred yards in a half and two scores. Except he threw three picks, including one that went ninety-six yards for a score. (So, in other words, he ended up making the same throw that got Bledsoe benched.) Not to beat this into the ground, but I bring this up amidst reports that the Broncos are considering a change at QB. (Mike Shanahan said Jake Plummer will start this week.)

If the team does bench Plummer, what happens if Cutler isn’t any better? Plummer has experience, and I’d feel better watching a struggling Plummer than a struggling Cutler, if that makes any sense. But our offense has been inconsistent all year long. I don’t feel like they’ve been truly terrible, though, and I keep expecting us to break it open. Maybe I’m blind. But once Cutler takes the field, all his potential disappears, and it comes down to what he can do right now. If we do make a change, I just hope we're sure.

And continuing highlights from our series, Proud Moments in Cleveland Browns History. Today’s episode: Sunday, October 22, 2006:

1. The Browns, just barely in Broncos territory, have a fourth-and-short in the first quarter and elect to go for it. Charlie Frye takes the snap, rolls to the left, and gets sacked. Now, the play call was stupid, and he didn’t have a ton of time, but he could have gotten rid of the ball. What are you going to do, throw a pick? Granted, you don’t want to give up a long return, but considering all the Broncos were in his face, they couldn’t have blocked for the interceptor or anything. Just chuck it, man.

2. On first-and-goal early in the third, Plummer lofts a pass to rookie receiver Brandon Marshall in the end zone. The pass falls incomplete. On the way back to the huddle, Cleveland defensive back Ralph Brown glares at Marshall and appears to be jawing at him, as well. Fun fact about Brown: he attended the University of Nebraska. How do I know? On the next play, Brown gave up a touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall.