Another week in the NFL passes and another week results in some players having a bad day at the office.
Who is going to make this week's “Had a Bad Day” team? How many of these players are having more bad days than good? Everybody is about to become consumed with Pro Bowl fever, but there are plenty of upgrades to be had on rosters across the league by monitoring those players underperforming too.
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Quarterback — Kerry Collins, Tennessee (-1.9)
If we're all being honest, Collins has had his time in the NFL and while he is still capable of dragging up his experience for a game or two, he's also just as likely to show why he is a backup player at this point. Sub-50 percent completion rate was the latter.
Running Back — Jahvid Best, Detroit (-2.2)
This award could have gone to a couple of players but it's worth looking at Best, as plenty are blaming his struggles on the Lions' O-line. Best struggled in the run game and the passing game, dropping a ball intended for him. If you're going to get the ball in space, you have to hand on to it.
Fullback — Ahmard Hall, Tennessee (-3.6)
Two-thirds of the Titans' backfield makes this team in Week 10 (I'm sure you could have all guessed which third would avoid it). Hall had another poor blocking performance, and really doesn't help at the point of attack this season, serving more to clog up running lanes than to clear anybody out of them.
Tight End — Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta (-4.4)
Proving that even greatness can have a bad day, Gonzalez makes this team largely by virtue of an extremely poor day run blocking for the Falcons against a stout Ravens D. Tony has never been known for his blocking, but he is capable of a much better performance than he showed in this game.
Wide Receiver — Brandon James, Indianapolis (-3.5)
Who? Proving that there is a limit to the depth that the Colts and Peyton Manning can reach and get production from, James dropped a pair of passes and only caught four of the eight passes thrown in his direction. Those aren't numbers that'll win Manning's confidence.
Wide Receiver — Chansi Stuckey, Cleveland (-2.3)
Stuckey makes this list largely for a single play, but what a play. In overtime against the Jets, the Browns were rolling and close to field-goal range. Instead of going out of bounds, Stuckey chose to spin inside looking for more yards, and lost the ball to the Jets with a fumble. Those are game-deciding plays, and you can't make mistakes like that.
Left Tackle — Renardo Foster, St Louis (-7.1)
If you're wondering just how good Roger Saffold is, the look at his backup in this game was enough to make you ignore the question as just not important — the important thing is that he plays. Foster gave up a hit and eight pressures on Bradford, despite keeping a clean sheet when it comes to sacks, once again showing that there is a lot more to playing tackle than sack statistics.
Left Guard — Nate Livings, Cincinnati (-3.0)
Livings had some competition for this spot, but he has to be mentioned because there would appear to be a ready-made replacement sitting on the Bengals bench in the form of Evan Mathis. Mathis outperformed Livings when they split time last year, and with Livings consistently underperforming this season, we're wondering why there has been no change.
Center — Olin Kreutz, Chicago (-3.7)
As you might expect, Kreutz struggled against the Vikings' interior duo of Williamses, and his score Thursday night against the Dolphins wasn't any better (-3.9). That's a pair of very poor days for Kreutz, and makes him as much of a liability as anybody on the Bears' O-line at the moment.
Right Guard – Jeff Linkenbach, Indianapolis (-6.9)
Another player showing the lack of depth in some places across the league, Linkenbach struggled badly in both the run game and in pass protection, accounting for a hit and three pressures on Manning in the game.
Right Tackle — Anthony Davis, San Francisco (-5.9)
Davis has struggled a lot this season, and this game was no different. He was responsible for a sack, a hit, and two more pressures on the day, and his run blocking was even worse. The Niners seem to have struck gold with one of their rookie O-linemen in Mike Iupati, but they need more from Davis.
4-3 Defensive Front
Defensive End — Antonio Smith, Houston (-4.9)
It seems a touch harsh to put Smith here as he did generate some good pressure on the passer this week, but his performance was so bad against the run (-5.8) that he makes the team anyway. Smith is a better player than that, and he can't allow performances like this to become a regular thing.
Defensive Tackle —Tyson Alualu, Jacksonville (-2.2)
For a player who looked like a rookie of the year candidate for much of the season, this was a very bad day against Houston. Alualu was held without a single pressure and missed as many tackles (one) as he made solo.
Defensive Tackle — Kelly Gregg, Baltimore (-2.2)
Gregg has to make this team simply because his poor grade came nearly entirely against the run, which is his area of strength. Gregg was unable to anchor against the Falcons and Ravens fans will be hoping this really was just a bad day at the office for a player that has been among the best in the NFL against the run for years now.
Defensive End — Raheem Brock, Seattle (-3.1)
Although Chris Clemons has been playing great for the Seahawks, Brock was back to poor play in this game against the Cardinals. Brock wasn't able to generate much pressure, and he failed to make an impact against the run, either.
Outside Linebacker — Will Witherspoon, Tennessee (-4.0)
Witherspoon has been feast or famine this season in coverage — this game was definitely famine. He was thrown at only four times, but allowed three completions for 55 yards and a touchdown, as well as missing a pair of tackles.
Middle Linebacker — Jon Beason, Carolina (-3.2)
Beason's return to the middle after the injury of Dan Connor did not go smoothly this week. He may have only allowed two completions in coverage, but both of them were for touchdowns, and his ordinarily strong play against the run was also missing in action. Beason will expect better of himself, as we do, too.
Outside Linebacker — Paul Posluszny, Buffalo (-3.3)
All of Paul's negative grade came in coverage, and it's as if the Lions knew that, throwing into his coverage a massive 12 times. Posluszny allowed eight completions on those passes for 95 yards and a touchdown for a 118.4 QB rating for Matthew Stafford. Allowing 52 Yards after the catch also is not a good reflection on his coverage on the day.
3-4 Defensive Front
Defensive End — Igor Olshansky, Dallas (-3.3)
The Cowboys might have been back to their best against the Giants this week, but that doesn't include Olshansky, who was held without pressure and moved around in the run game. Dallas has backup D-linemen playing well, and more performances like this might lead to one of them jumping Olshansky on the depth chart.
Nose Tackle – Ahtyba Rubin, Cleveland (-4.4)
Rubin was a victim of a bad matchup this week. The ordinarily strong player ran into Nick Mangold playing at his best after struggling with a shoulder injury earlier this season. Rubin was one-on-one with Mangold for much of the game and just couldn't hold his ground before coming off his block. Luckily, most players he will face aren't Nick Mangold.
Defensive End — Glenn Dorsey, Kansas City (-3.1)
Dorsey's negative grade is all the more interesting because it came against the Broncos, who have been struggling badly on the O-line this year. Like Olshansky, Dorsey struggled to generate pressure in the passing game and was also ineffective stopping the run. Dorsey has shown ability at times for the Chiefs, but this wasn't one of those games.
Outside Linebacker — Calvin Pace, Cleveland (-5.3)
Pace managed to record a negative grade across the board against the Browns, getting himself a sack but failing to generate any more pressure beside it. He also found himself in coverage on a Josh Cribbs crossing pattern and did little other than shove the receiver as he ran past before gaining 37 yards.
Inside Linebacker — Jovan Belcher, Kansas City (-3.2)
The Chiefs are getting an excellent season from Derrick Johnson, but the same can't be said for Belcher, who makes an appearance in this team after allowing a pair of touchdowns against the Broncos as well as missing a pair of tackles on the day.
Inside Linebacker — Takeo Spikes, San Francisco (-1.4)
In truth, Spikes is more a victim of the numbers this week than the holder of a truly poor performance. His numbers were far from poor, and his grade isn't terrible, but he was badly beaten on a pass play to Steven Jackson that, on its own, probably lands him a spot on the team.
Outside Linebacker — Joey Porter, Arizona (-4.8)
Porter beats Lorenzo Alexander to a spot on the “Bad Day” team by virtue of the fact that Alexander's at least registered a pressure. Porter didn't record a single pressure and managed to miss a pair of tackles in the game. Between Porter and Clark Haggans, the Cardinals must be glad they can generate pressure with their down linemen.
Secondary
Cornerback — Rashean Mathis, Jacksonville (-4.0)
Four passes thrown at Mathis, four completions, with one of them a touchdown. Those are numbers that will get you a spot on this squad.
Safety — Kareem Moore, Washington (-3.2)
As you might expect given the torching of the Redskins' secondary, Moore didn't have a fine day in coverage, finding himself out of position and late to help on several passes.
Safety — Charles Godfrey, Carolina (-2.9)
Godfrey wasn't the primary coverage for a single pass for the Panthers this week, but his poor play against the run more than makes up for that. He missed a pair of tackles on the day and struggled to come up and stop plays close to the line of scrimmage.
Cornerback — Brian Williams, Atlanta (-2.6)
Williams was only thrown at once directly, but he amassed a -2.6 grade for coverage for his performance and the effect it had on throws into other people's coverage. He allowed the Ravens to make some plays that better positioning would have eliminated.
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