The Football Diner Big Top 5
Assessing the Trends: The Only Sheriff In Town
by Jody Jamieson
31/10/2007
 
We all know the guys who are doing the business this season. Brady, Moss and Vrabel in New England. Romo, Owens and Witten in Dallas. Manning, Wayne and Sanders in Indianapolis. Burress, Umenyiora and Strahan in New York. All these teams have in common the fact that they are shoe-ins for play-off berths as things stand. But what of those individuals who're playing just as well, even if no-one else on their roster is? Even the teams who are going nowhere this season still have a guy who is giving their fans something to smile about in the face of adversity. This weeks Top Fives will focus on those guys who are getting it done on teams under .500.
 
5. Brian Griese, Chicago Bears QB
With 9 TD's and 10 INT's since he took over from Rex Grossman, Griese might be a surprise inclusion in the list. I really didn't believe that Griese was the guy to take over and was in by default as Grossman was so dreadful this year, but Griese is slowly making a believer of me. Sure, he has to do better on turnovers, but over the course of a game he is really doing a great job in taking the Bears down the field. With 282 yards per game since taking over, I think he's done a terrific job. That 97 yard drive against the Eagles was a heartbreaker for Philly fans, but was the drive of the season thus far. At 3-5, the Bears are going to struggle, but if they had gone 2-6? Forget about it. He seems to have brought back the sense of trust that Grossman just didn't have. Chicago still don't have a very good running game, which can make the passing game that bit harder to execute. I really feel the touchdown to turnover ratio really doesn't tell the full story for Griese, who in my opinion has done an excellent job since replacing the hapless Grossman.
 
4. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles HB
The 3-4 Eagles have been the biggest Jekyll and Hyde teams in the league. You know what you're getting with most teams in the league, but no-one quite knows what Philly team will show up on any given Sunday. One guy who has been consistent every time he's taken the field in '07 is number 36. Brian Westbrook is having an excellent year with 536 rushing yards and 345 receiving yards despite missing most of the second half agaainst Detroit with an injury and then sitting out the Giants game as a result. With the defense giving up very little, it's been up to the offense to go out and win games, and the D has never given the offense too much to do, giving up no more than 21 points in a game. The inconsistency that has plagued most of the offense can be pointed at Westbrook. Against the Redskins and the Bears when the offense was largely disappointing, Westbrook did a good job in both games. Even against the Jets while Westbrook didn't get into the endzone, he still racked up over 100 yards rushing. If he stays fit, then the Eagles may still have a chance of making the post season.
 
3. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings HB
It's easy to forget that despite all the talk about Peterson and what he's been doing this year, that the team is currently 2-5 and playing pretty poorly. If the Bears had contained Peterson a couple of weeks ago instead of letting his run all over them they would be 1-6. Peterson pretty much won that game on his own. Tavaris Jackson has done very little positive, and it says a lot that the Vikes look more likely to score points in the air when Kelly Holcomb is in the game. I think it's a good learning curve for Peterson, who is having to earn everything in the NFL thus far and is doing an excellent job, leading the league with 740 rushing yards on the ground. It's a little early to say he could be an all time NFL great, but comparisons with Eric Dickerson and Bo Jackson in their rookie years are a great compliment to a guy who is the front runner for rookie of the year. Quite how good Peterson could be we just don't know, but he's made a great start on a poor team, and continues to perform, even if few around him are doing the same. His game against Chicago may go down as one of the best performances ever by a rookie.
 
2. Ronnie Brown, Miami Dolphins HB
It's such a pity that Brown went down with a season ending knee injury, as he was the one bright light in an absolutely horrible season in Miami. Jesse Chapman did OK in London, but it's not disrespectful to say that he'll struggle to do match the production of Ronnie Brown. Miami are without doubt looking to 2008 after trading Chris Chambers to San Diego for draft picks, and with an 0-8 record it's little wonder. Brown was putting up crazy yards on a struggling team with an incredible 991 all-purpose yards in 7 games before his injury against the Patriots. His physical downhill running coupled with a quick change of direction in traffic has been about the only good thing to watch about the Fins. Brown kept Miami in the hunt a few times this season, scoring 3 touchdowns as they threatened to come back and beat the Jets in the Meadowlands early on in the season. Again it was to no avail as the Dolphins had allowed NY to get too far ahead, which has really been the story of the year. No other team has scored 3 touchdowns in one half against the Pats this year. But when you're 42-7 down at the half it's fair to say it's not going to be worth much at the end of the day. Hopefully the injury won't be serious enough to limit Ronnie Brown's preparation for 2008.
 
1. T.J. Houshmanzadeh, Cincinnati Bengals WR
With Chris Henry suspended, and the running game not always doing it's job, there's now a sense of inevitability that when the Bengals score a touchdown, it's a Carson Palmer throw to T.J. Houshmanzadeh. It's been a spectacular season for T.J. who has really stepped up as everyone else seems to be struggling. The defense has had major injury problems, so it's difficult to be totally harsh about them, but what has gone wrong on offense? Even without Henry, that receiving corps should still be one of the most feared in the league. With Palmer struggling a little with interceptions it's been a constant struggle. It has passed almost under the radar that Chad Johnson is second in the league in receiving yards, as he has only gone into the endzone three times. And with his recent behaviour threatening to undermine the Bengals, it has taken it's toll on a team which has had enough strife with so many injuries on defense. Houshmanzadeh however, is one of the few guys who can hold his head high as he has contributed every Sunday, and has totalled 629 receiving yards with 9 touchdowns and leads the league with 58 catches on the year thus far. Bengals sit 2-5 and are going nowhere.
 
Interesting Fact
What do Peyton Manning and Eli Manning have in common? Besides the obvious! A few people might know that Todd Helton, who played in the World Series for the Colorado Rockies, played as Peyton's backup at Tennessee. But did you know that Seth Smith, Helton's Rockies teammate, was back-up to Eli Manning at Ole Miss? Well now you do. Maybe Jim Sorgi and Jared Lorentzen should enter the 2008 MLB draft. They may get more playing time.
 
And Finally...
So it may not have been a great game. In fact it was perhaps one of the worst games I've seen all season. Despite all that however, there's no getting away from how huge the Wembley game was for football in this country. A lot seems to have been made of the fans booing the Giants for taking knees at the end of the game, but I think some people are taking that situation far too seriously. Our fans finally got a regular season game and wanted to see it played to an absolute finish. Besides, I'm sure the booing was a little tongue in cheek. I felt the fans were excellent though and as an American might say, "made the right noises at the right times." I have no doubt that the NFL will be back in the UK sooner rather than later. It was a special occasion regardless of the rain and the game itself.