Alex Smith, Kirk Cousins under ‘Monday Night Football’ spotlight

By Brent Musburger Special to the Review-Journal

7 years ago

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith plays against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith passes against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Sep 24, 2017; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) drops back to pass against the Oakland Raiders during the second half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Sep 24, 2017; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) attempts a pass against the Oakland Raiders during the first half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) passes the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders in Landover, Md., Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) passes the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders in Landover, Md., Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith throws a pass during an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith plays against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Where is Howard Cosell when we need him?

It used to be that “Monday Night Football” on ABC was must-see TV. The schedule was written to make those matchups superb.

But that’s the distant past.

The best matchups now generally fall to NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” But this week, the shoulder injury to Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and the failure of the Seahawks’ banged-up offensive line makes for a mediocre matchup between Indianapolis and Seattle.

So the best game this week winds up on ESPN on Monday night. The 3-0 Chiefs are giving six points at home to the 2-1 Redskins, with the total 49½.

Neither Alex Smith nor Kirk Cousins captures the public’s imagination, but they are in the top five of the NFL’s passer ratings this season. The big reason Smith is No. 1 is that he has not thrown an interception in 84 attempts. Cousins is No. 5, with one interception in 97 attempts.

Former NFL coach and good friend Dick Vermeil told me that he looked at two key stats for quarterbacks — yards per attempt and completion percentage, especially the first one. The Rams’ Jared Goff leads the league with 10.1 yards per attempt, with Smith fourth at 9.2 and Cousins sixth at 8.1. Smith is first in completion percentage at 77.4, with Cousins eighth at 68.0.

So how is it that Vermeil came to rely on these particular numbers? A stats guru named Bud Goode convinced him in 1969 when Vermeil was the NFL’s first special teams coach working for the Los Angeles Rams under George Allen.

I got to know the Allen family pretty well back then, including the little boy who used to run around with his dad. You know him now as Bruce Allen, president of the Redskins. The same Redskins that have Cousins running the offense.

And running the offense — being a leader — is critical. Former Giants coach Jim Fassel, who lives in Henderson near our VSiN studio, dropped by this week. He got his job being a quarterback guru, and he told me about how he recruited Kerry Collins, whose drinking trouble had most of the NFL staying away from him.

“I set him up,” Jim said. “I told him, ‘Do not, do not, do not come in here and make excuses.’ I gave him every opportunity to blame somebody else. And he didn’t blame anybody but himself. That’s when I said we’ve got ourselves a quarterback.”

That was in 1999. A year later, Collins was the unquestioned leader in the locker room, and he and Fassel got the Giants to the Super Bowl.

Now Cousins and Smith are in position to lead their locker rooms — and get their teams into the playoffs.

Baseball playoffs set to begin

For the second consecutive year, a favorite is trying to end a historically long drought when the baseball playoffs begin next week. This time it’s the Cleveland Indians — at 69 years and counting.

As we look at betting the postseason, the fun comes in trying to guess managers’ pitching strategies. Like in Boston (who comes after Chris Sale?) and Washington (who comes after Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg?) Left-handers will provide the answers.

In Boston, it looks as if David Price won’t be facing questions about his poor record as an October starter, because manager John Farrell is leaning toward bringing him out of the bullpen. That means the Game 2 starter against Houston might be Drew Pomeranz, who is having a career year in his first full season with Boston. But Red Sox fans haven’t forgotten that he came in as a reliever and gave up the home run to Coco Crisp that punctuated Cleveland’s sweep of a division series last fall.

As for Washington manager Dusty Baker, he figures to go with Gio Gonzalez when the Nationals visit Wrigley Field for Game 3 against the Cubs. With a career-low ERA, Gonzalez is having his best season since he won 21 games in 2012. But he has made four playoff starts and has four no-decisions.

There’s little room for error in these five-game series.

Brent Musburger’s betting column appears Saturday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. His show on the Vegas Stats & Information Network can be heard on SiriusXM 204 and livestreamed at reviewjournal.com/vegas-stats-information-network.