DENVER STAYS UNBEATEN & WELCOME TO THE NFL MARK SANCHEZ
I'm writing this as the Steelers are demolishing San Diego 28-0. Fear not Pittsburgh fans, the last two Sunday's are not a sign of anything really serious, just a lack of focus in the 4th quarter. They'll be there come January.
I said Friday I'd give Denver their due if they beat the Cowboys, which they did, 17-10. Dallas jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the 1st quarter & that was the extent of their scoring. Romo looked bad, his protection was very inconsistent, he was sacked 5 times & his 67.1 passer rating says it all. Denver's diminutive pass rusher, Elvis Dumervil, registered his 6th & 7th sacks of the season. This 5'11", 260-pound demon turns the corner & blows by tackles with the best of them. Flozell Adams was plagued by Dumervil all day. The Bronco secondary played very well, especially in the second half. The Cowboys had 4 shots inside the 10-yard line in the last minute, but couldn't get the tying touchdown. Denver now faces New England, San Diego, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Washington, San Diego & the Giants consecutively. Indy & Philly also remain on the schedule. They might be able to win 6-7 games, but they'll certainly be more competitive than either Oakland or Kansas City.
Speaking of the Raiders, they stunk up the place again on Sunday, losing in Houston, 29-6. Oakland QB JaMarcus Russell had another stellar outing completing 12 of 33 for 128 yards & a passer rating of 48.5, which is putrid. The Raiders rushed for 45 yards, so they really had their offense clicking on all cylinders. How far is coach Tom Cable prepared to go with Russell? The guy is dreadful & his mechanics are so poor, he needs a lot more coaching & less game time until he improves to the point he's a true NFL QB.
All of a sudden the lack luster 4th quarter play from Pittsburgh has returned. They've turned a 4-touchdown yawner into a 35-28 barn burner with 4 minutes to play.
After watching the entire Tennessee-Jacksonville game, my question is: when does Jeff Fisher put the hook on Kerry Collins & go with Vince Young? I was a huge Vince Young fan while he was at Texas, but since he's shown so much immaturity with the Titans, not so much. But if you saw Collins' play yesterday, you'd ask the same question. Collins was terrible, he had so many passes knocked down at the line of scrimmage, he threw 2 picks, the Jags dropped 3 more. Tennessee can move the ball, they just can't score. Their defense has been even worse. Only one team in NFL history has started 0-4, then gone onto the playoffs. The Titans are there right now.
I think New England was beat if Baltimore's Mark Clayton hadn't dropped a pass at the Patriot 6 inside of a minute left in the game. The Ravens lost the game 27-21 & also lost their left tackle, Jared Gaither. He was carefully secured on a back board & placed in an ambulance. Word tonight from New England is Gaither has full motion in all of his extremities. Baltimore's RB Ray Rice is quickly developing into a factor back the Ravens can depend on. He averaged over 9 yards per carry today.
The Bears doubled up the Lions 48-24 & they did it with defense & special teams. All-world return man, Devin Hester was injured in the first half & didn't return. WR Johnny Knox filled in for Hester & ran the 2nd half kickoff back 102-yards. Three other return men recorded a 43-yard kickoff return, a 25-yard punt return & a 24-yard punt return. The Bears got 5 sacks, an interception & a recovered fumble. They were out gained by the Lions but made the most of their opportunities to run their record to 3-1.
In the ugliest game of the day, San Francisco whipped St. Louis 35-0. The Niners had but 228 yards of offense, but they covered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown & returned both an interception & a fumble for touchdowns. This game was really unwatchable.
With their overtime win today at Cleveland, the Cincinnati Bengals are just a fluke tipped pass away from being undefeated. They still have some rough spots, but they are much improved. Peyton Manning threw 3 more touchdown passes Sunday, tying him with Fran Tarkenton for third on the all-time list. Miami held Buffalo to 208 total yards, 46 yards rushing, while Ronnie Brown & Ricky Williams combined for 200 yards on the ground to rough up the Bills, 38-10. Bills QB Trent Edwards was picked off 3 times & sacked 6 times. I had the Dolphins +3 as the line had moved because of Chad Henne getting his first start at QB for Miami.
My other play was the Giants -9 playing our hapless Chiefs. Two winners today covered the 2 losers from Saturday, making me a slight winner.
Welcome to the NFL Mark Sanchez. The heralded rookie met his match in the New Orleans Superdome. It was loud & he was pretty bad. Sanchez, or "the Sanchise", as he is known, threw 3 picks, one returned 99-yards for a score, fumbled in the endzone, which was recovered for a touchdown, was sacked 4 times & hit 6 more. His passer rating was 27.0. All 4 sacks were recorded by Will Smith & Charles Grant, the two Saints reinstated in the StarCaps case. The Jet defense held the high powered Saint offense to 10 points, but they never hit or sacked Drew Brees & they couldn't stop New Orleans from running for over 150 yards. I think Sanchez will be a good one, but reality should set in after the ridiculous hype surrounding their 3-0 start.
A full review of the Giants-Chiefs game by mid-day Monday.
I said Friday I'd give Denver their due if they beat the Cowboys, which they did, 17-10. Dallas jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the 1st quarter & that was the extent of their scoring. Romo looked bad, his protection was very inconsistent, he was sacked 5 times & his 67.1 passer rating says it all. Denver's diminutive pass rusher, Elvis Dumervil, registered his 6th & 7th sacks of the season. This 5'11", 260-pound demon turns the corner & blows by tackles with the best of them. Flozell Adams was plagued by Dumervil all day. The Bronco secondary played very well, especially in the second half. The Cowboys had 4 shots inside the 10-yard line in the last minute, but couldn't get the tying touchdown. Denver now faces New England, San Diego, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Washington, San Diego & the Giants consecutively. Indy & Philly also remain on the schedule. They might be able to win 6-7 games, but they'll certainly be more competitive than either Oakland or Kansas City.
Speaking of the Raiders, they stunk up the place again on Sunday, losing in Houston, 29-6. Oakland QB JaMarcus Russell had another stellar outing completing 12 of 33 for 128 yards & a passer rating of 48.5, which is putrid. The Raiders rushed for 45 yards, so they really had their offense clicking on all cylinders. How far is coach Tom Cable prepared to go with Russell? The guy is dreadful & his mechanics are so poor, he needs a lot more coaching & less game time until he improves to the point he's a true NFL QB.
All of a sudden the lack luster 4th quarter play from Pittsburgh has returned. They've turned a 4-touchdown yawner into a 35-28 barn burner with 4 minutes to play.
After watching the entire Tennessee-Jacksonville game, my question is: when does Jeff Fisher put the hook on Kerry Collins & go with Vince Young? I was a huge Vince Young fan while he was at Texas, but since he's shown so much immaturity with the Titans, not so much. But if you saw Collins' play yesterday, you'd ask the same question. Collins was terrible, he had so many passes knocked down at the line of scrimmage, he threw 2 picks, the Jags dropped 3 more. Tennessee can move the ball, they just can't score. Their defense has been even worse. Only one team in NFL history has started 0-4, then gone onto the playoffs. The Titans are there right now.
I think New England was beat if Baltimore's Mark Clayton hadn't dropped a pass at the Patriot 6 inside of a minute left in the game. The Ravens lost the game 27-21 & also lost their left tackle, Jared Gaither. He was carefully secured on a back board & placed in an ambulance. Word tonight from New England is Gaither has full motion in all of his extremities. Baltimore's RB Ray Rice is quickly developing into a factor back the Ravens can depend on. He averaged over 9 yards per carry today.
The Bears doubled up the Lions 48-24 & they did it with defense & special teams. All-world return man, Devin Hester was injured in the first half & didn't return. WR Johnny Knox filled in for Hester & ran the 2nd half kickoff back 102-yards. Three other return men recorded a 43-yard kickoff return, a 25-yard punt return & a 24-yard punt return. The Bears got 5 sacks, an interception & a recovered fumble. They were out gained by the Lions but made the most of their opportunities to run their record to 3-1.
In the ugliest game of the day, San Francisco whipped St. Louis 35-0. The Niners had but 228 yards of offense, but they covered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown & returned both an interception & a fumble for touchdowns. This game was really unwatchable.
With their overtime win today at Cleveland, the Cincinnati Bengals are just a fluke tipped pass away from being undefeated. They still have some rough spots, but they are much improved. Peyton Manning threw 3 more touchdown passes Sunday, tying him with Fran Tarkenton for third on the all-time list. Miami held Buffalo to 208 total yards, 46 yards rushing, while Ronnie Brown & Ricky Williams combined for 200 yards on the ground to rough up the Bills, 38-10. Bills QB Trent Edwards was picked off 3 times & sacked 6 times. I had the Dolphins +3 as the line had moved because of Chad Henne getting his first start at QB for Miami.
My other play was the Giants -9 playing our hapless Chiefs. Two winners today covered the 2 losers from Saturday, making me a slight winner.
Welcome to the NFL Mark Sanchez. The heralded rookie met his match in the New Orleans Superdome. It was loud & he was pretty bad. Sanchez, or "the Sanchise", as he is known, threw 3 picks, one returned 99-yards for a score, fumbled in the endzone, which was recovered for a touchdown, was sacked 4 times & hit 6 more. His passer rating was 27.0. All 4 sacks were recorded by Will Smith & Charles Grant, the two Saints reinstated in the StarCaps case. The Jet defense held the high powered Saint offense to 10 points, but they never hit or sacked Drew Brees & they couldn't stop New Orleans from running for over 150 yards. I think Sanchez will be a good one, but reality should set in after the ridiculous hype surrounding their 3-0 start.
A full review of the Giants-Chiefs game by mid-day Monday.
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