Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/don_banks/10/08/snap.judgments.rookies/
PHILADELPHIA -- And a good day for the NFL's class of 2006 was had by all. Did you notice? Rookies were all the rage in Week 5. To wit:
•Reggie Bush catches 11 passes and scores his first career touchdown on a game-winning 65-yard punt return with just over four minutes remaining in New Orleans' 24-21 comeback win over winless Tampa Bay. Bush went nearly untouched on his big play, probably making him feel like he was back in college.
• Matt Leinart tosses a pair of touchdown passes on his first five throws as an NFL starter in Arizona's 23-20 loss against Kansas City. Despite Leinart's boffo debut, his efforts failed to save the Cardinals' season -- and by extension, maybe, coach Dennis Green's job. The 1-4 Cardinals couldn't hold leads of 14-0 and 20-10, letting the Chiefs score the final 13 points of the game.
• Vince Young leads the woeful Titans to a shocking near-upset at Indy -- an 18½-point favorite in the eyes of Vegas -- scoring his first career touchdown on a 19-yard first-quarter run in the 14-13 Tennessee loss. OK, Young's 10-of-21 passing day for 63 yards was a pittance by NFL standards, but he also ran four times for 43 yards and the touchdown, and showed 50 percent improvement over his out-of-control outing last week against Dallas.
• Bruce Gradkowski gave Tampa Bay's beleaguered fan base some flicker of hope in the absence of Chris Simms, passing for 225 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first career start. The Bucs couldn't hold a fourth-quarter lead, but don't blame Gradkowski, a sixth-round pick out of Akron. He doesn't play on Tampa Bay's punt coverage team, which got burned by Bush's Dante Hall impersonation.
• Green Bay receiver Greg Jennings continued his strong first-year work, catching a game-high five passes for 105 yards, with a 46-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter of the Packers' 23-20 loss to the Rams. Jennings is suddenly Brett Favre's favorite receiver, with three touchdowns in the past four games, and 19 receptions for 359 yards in that span.
• Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-Drew racked up two more touchdowns in the Jags' 41-0 pasting of the visiting Jets, giving him four this season in five games. Jones-Drew had rushing scores of four and six yards.
• And Eagles rookie receiver Hank Baskett hauls in an 87-yard scoring bomb from Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia's much-ballyhooed grudge match with a team led by a certain ex-Eagles receiver. (Just wondering, but every time Baskett makes a grab, is it a Baskett catch?) Baskett, a collegiate free agent, in essence replaced Terrell Owens on Philly's roster. You can't make this stuff up, folks.
• You tell me, Joey Harrington or Daunte Culpepper in Miami? I know who I'd stick with if I were Nick Saban. Harrington didn't pull off the upset at New England, but with him in the pocket the Dolphins at least had a legitimate passing game for the first time since Week 1 at Pittsburgh. Harrington completed 26 of 41 passes for 232 yards, with two interceptions, but he took only one sack and moved the ball despite Miami's having little success running the ball against the Patriots (21 rushes for 62 yards).
• Speaking of Ronnie Brown, the Dolphins' second-year running back is averaging only 3.3 yards per rush behind a shaky offensive line. With 278 yards through five games, Brown is on pace for 890 yards this season, or 17 fewer than his rookie year. Brown had to carry 17 times to grind out 39 tough yards against New England.
PHILADELPHIA -- And a good day for the NFL's class of 2006 was had by all. Did you notice? Rookies were all the rage in Week 5. To wit:
•Reggie Bush catches 11 passes and scores his first career touchdown on a game-winning 65-yard punt return with just over four minutes remaining in New Orleans' 24-21 comeback win over winless Tampa Bay. Bush went nearly untouched on his big play, probably making him feel like he was back in college.
• Matt Leinart tosses a pair of touchdown passes on his first five throws as an NFL starter in Arizona's 23-20 loss against Kansas City. Despite Leinart's boffo debut, his efforts failed to save the Cardinals' season -- and by extension, maybe, coach Dennis Green's job. The 1-4 Cardinals couldn't hold leads of 14-0 and 20-10, letting the Chiefs score the final 13 points of the game.
• Vince Young leads the woeful Titans to a shocking near-upset at Indy -- an 18½-point favorite in the eyes of Vegas -- scoring his first career touchdown on a 19-yard first-quarter run in the 14-13 Tennessee loss. OK, Young's 10-of-21 passing day for 63 yards was a pittance by NFL standards, but he also ran four times for 43 yards and the touchdown, and showed 50 percent improvement over his out-of-control outing last week against Dallas.
• Bruce Gradkowski gave Tampa Bay's beleaguered fan base some flicker of hope in the absence of Chris Simms, passing for 225 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first career start. The Bucs couldn't hold a fourth-quarter lead, but don't blame Gradkowski, a sixth-round pick out of Akron. He doesn't play on Tampa Bay's punt coverage team, which got burned by Bush's Dante Hall impersonation.
• Green Bay receiver Greg Jennings continued his strong first-year work, catching a game-high five passes for 105 yards, with a 46-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter of the Packers' 23-20 loss to the Rams. Jennings is suddenly Brett Favre's favorite receiver, with three touchdowns in the past four games, and 19 receptions for 359 yards in that span.
• Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-Drew racked up two more touchdowns in the Jags' 41-0 pasting of the visiting Jets, giving him four this season in five games. Jones-Drew had rushing scores of four and six yards.
• And Eagles rookie receiver Hank Baskett hauls in an 87-yard scoring bomb from Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia's much-ballyhooed grudge match with a team led by a certain ex-Eagles receiver. (Just wondering, but every time Baskett makes a grab, is it a Baskett catch?) Baskett, a collegiate free agent, in essence replaced Terrell Owens on Philly's roster. You can't make this stuff up, folks.
• You tell me, Joey Harrington or Daunte Culpepper in Miami? I know who I'd stick with if I were Nick Saban. Harrington didn't pull off the upset at New England, but with him in the pocket the Dolphins at least had a legitimate passing game for the first time since Week 1 at Pittsburgh. Harrington completed 26 of 41 passes for 232 yards, with two interceptions, but he took only one sack and moved the ball despite Miami's having little success running the ball against the Patriots (21 rushes for 62 yards).
• Speaking of Ronnie Brown, the Dolphins' second-year running back is averaging only 3.3 yards per rush behind a shaky offensive line. With 278 yards through five games, Brown is on pace for 890 yards this season, or 17 fewer than his rookie year. Brown had to carry 17 times to grind out 39 tough yards against New England.
