Week 4 Notes

I left on Thursday last week to visit lovely Chicago and watch my alma mater stumble past the Fighting Illini. Got back late last night, and was having too much fun over the weekend to bother posting my picks. But here are my thoughts on the Week 4 results:

• What's up with the NFC East? - The Best Division in Football is a respectable 6-3 against non-division opponents this season. The catch? All six wins came against winless teams (Chiefs, Bucs, Panthers, and Rams) and one of the losses came against a team on a nineteen game losing streak! That puts the NFC East at 6-1 against horrible teams, 0-2 against good teams.
  
• Man up and go for it - The Saints went for fourth-and-goal from the one, failed, and two plays later scored on a sack-fumble. The Bengals went for it on fourth-and-11 in OT, instead of punting for the tie, and kicked the winning field goal a minute later. The Chargers punted on fourth-and-two with less than a minute to go in the first half, down 21 points, and went on to lose a close game.
  
• Alas, we hardly knew ye - I'm a big believer in coaching continuity, and allowing coaches several years to develop a winning program. But Dick Jauron looks clueless in Buffalo, and he needs to go. You give up 38 points to an 0-3 team starting a new QB in his first NFL game...there's no excuse for that. Eric Mangenius and Jim Zorn will be right behind him, on his way out the head coaching door. Wade Phillips deserves to go too, but he may end up staying by default. What good coach wants to work for Jerry Jones?
  
• Weapon X - Kudos to coaches McDanies and Nolan in Denver, who have found a way to keep Brian Dawkins on the field without him getting exposed in coverage. Some pretty good coaches on the Eagles couldn't figure out how to do it, and now he's making big plays for a 4-0 team halfway across the country.
  
• Hail to the Redskins - Have you ever seen a worse 2-2 team? This is a completely failed organization, from the owner to the coaches to the players themselves. Where are the bright spots, the developing young stars? If Dan Snyder really wants to win, he needs to hire a Bill Cowher/Mike Shanahan/John Gruden type and get out of the way for ten years. Let the new coach/GM clean house next season, and cut all the awful overpriced free agent signings during the uncapped year, then rebuild slowly through the draft. There's no quick fix for thie team.
  
• ILL...INI - Memorial Stadium in Champaign is one of the most cramped and poorly-designed stadiums I've ever seen, and I've been to the Vet. It took me 25 minutes to get to the bathroom and back during halftime. The Romans designed a better sports arena two milennia earlier.
  
• Sorry, Pat and Geno - I'm a Philly guy, but I'd trade a cheesesteak (provolone, with) for Giardonno's deep dish sausage pizza anytime. It's not even close. Another weekend food highlight: Crawfish Etoufee from Moe Joe's. Wash it down with a glass of Dead Guy Ale from the tap, and you've achieved the perfect meal.