WHACKO FOR FLACCO, THE "SANCHIZE" BLOWS UP & SAINTS DOMINATE
I have been "Whacko for Flacco" since his senior year at Delaware. His improvement from his rookie season last year is unreal. This guy is going to be an elite quarterback in this league. The only thing that will keep Flacco & Ray Rice out of a Super Bowl is the question of rebuilding their defense. Rebuilding the Baltimore defense? Ever think you'd hear that? It's true. LB Bart Scott is gone with former D-Coordinator, Rex Ryan, to the Jets, cornerback Chris McAllister is gone, Ray Lewis isn't as quick as he used to be. He's just as smart, intense & tough as he's always been, he just can't get everywhere he needs to be in time anymore. They also need another pass rushing OLB to bookend with Terrell Suggs. Ed Reed, Suggs & Lewis don't make as many plays as they used to because their supporting cast isn't nearly as strong. They've given up back-to-back 100-yard rushing games to Cedric Benson & Adrian Peterson. Brett Favre shredded their defense for 278 yards & 3 touchdowns. If coach Brad Childress hadn't become so conservative in the 4th quarter, they might have had 2 more touchdowns instead of field goals. He's lucky the Ravens missed a 44-yard field goal as time expired. They should have lost. I didn't understand his thinking, Favre threw 3 touchdowns in the red zone. When they got down there twice in the 4th quarter, he was obviously playing for a field goal. His defense was getting picked to pieces without all-pro cornerback Antoine Winfield, who was injured in the 1st half. Flacco & Rice were truly in the zone, the Vikings had no answer for stopping them. I kept telling Linda the Vikes were going to blow the game being so conservative. They were lucky they had Brett Favre to bail them out with a spectacular 58-yard completion to Sidney Rice & they were lucky minutes later when Steve Hauschka missed the field goal.
After the Ravens-Vikings game rookie tackle, Michael Oher, was asked how he thought he fared against Jared Allen. I must say I'm a big fan of Oher, his life story is being made into a movie, he's come such a long way in his life, he is very inspiring. Oher said after the game "I did O.K., in fact I pretty much shut him out in the 2nd half. He's pretty good, but nothing exceptional, I thought for the $100 million he makes, he'd be better." I have to say I was shocked at this quote, he's a smart young man. Allen had only one sack, but he forced a fumble, hit Flacco 2 other times, had 7 tackles, 2 behind the line of scrimmage. Oher had a back or tight end helping him for at least half the snaps & he had 2 or 3 false start penalties. Yes, for his first start against a player like Allen, he did O.K. The comment about Allen's $100 million dollar contract was way off, it's less than $70 million & if Michael wants respect from his peers, minimizing their accomplishments isn't the way to do it. Allen is the premiere defensive end in the league, period. He's averaged 15 sacks a season the last 3 years & he has 8.5 this year, also leading the league. Allen's motor runs non-stop & he is just as much a leader as Favre on that team. Oher could very well become an all-pro caliber tackle, but he needs to learn when to talk & when to keep his mouth shut.
Some serious injuries occurred yesterday unfortunately. New York Jet nose tackle Kris Jenkins sustained what Rex Ryan called "a serious knee injury" against the Bills. Cincinnati took a double hit on their defensive line losing sack leader Antwan Odom with a ruptured Achilles tendon. D-tackle Domata Peko injured his knee & an MRI today may show he too, will be lost for the season. Seattle middle linebacker, Lofa Tatupu will go on I.R. for the season after suffering a torn pectoral muscle yesterday in the Seahawks loss to Arizona. Seattle has suffered so many serious injuries, they may be out of contention in just a few weeks. Buffalo QB Trent Edwards was injured yesterday in what appeared to be a lot worse than it was. He was on his knees & got bent backwards by 2 New York Jet defenders. He sustained a concussion & his status for next weeks game in Carolina is unknown at this time.
Question, how can a team run for over 300 yards & hold your opponent to 13 points in regulation in a home game & lose? It's really quite simple, commit 14 penalties & throw 6 interceptions. Mark "the Sanchize" Sanchez threw 5 picks in yesterday's overtime loss to Buffalo. Running back Thomas Jones ran for 210 yards & his backup, Leon Washington, chipped in 99 more. Sanchez was 10 of 30 for 119 yards on a very windy & cold Meadowlands field. I said way back when, Sanchez had never played in cold weather or in a stadium that can be so windy at times. It showed yesterday, many of his passes weren't even close. He only hooked up with Braylon Edwards 3 times & TE Dustin Keller didn't catch a ball. Sanchez looked like a whipped puppy dog on the sideline. His body language was not that of a leader. People got way too excited about this kid who only started 16 games in college. With a running game like they had yesterday, there's no excuse for losing.
Even tho Green Bay shootout the Lions, 26-0, things didn't go so great. The Lions sacked QB Aaron Rogers 5 times & hit him another 6 times. The Packer offensive line has been pathetic in pass protection this season & yesterday was no exception. Left tackle Chad Clifton returned from missing 2 games to injury. He re-injured his ankle, no word on how long he'll be out this time.
Another QB under fire yesterday was the Eagles' Donovan McNabb. He was sacked 6 times in their loss to the Raiders & hurried almost every single time he dropped back, causing him to miss open receivers. Their 46-pass, 14-run balance on offense made no sense to me. Jeez the Phillies scored more than the Eagles did yesterday.
Thank goodness Tampa can't stop the run, that allowed Carolina to get their 2nd win of the season, 28-21. DeAngelo Williams ran for 152 yards & his backup, Jonathan Stewart tacked on 110. It's a good thing because QB Jake Delhomme(Cajun for turnover) stunk up the place again with 65 yards passing & 2 interceptions.
The New Orleans Saints played as near a perfect game yesterday as a team could play against another playoff contender. They demolished the Giants 48-27 & it wasn't as close as the score. Seven different players scored for New Orleans. Drew Brees was scary good & coach Sean Peyton, the offensive playcaller, was just as good. The job the New Orleans offensive line did on a defensive front 7, thought to be the best
in the league, was nothing short of amazing. The G-Men never touched Brees. On the other side of the ball, the Saints harassed Eli Manning from the start. Are the Saints this good? I want to see more, but they're pretty damn good. Are the Giants this bad? Certainly not, they will still win the NFC East. But they lost Kareem McKenzie yesterday to injury which will end their offensive line's 38-consecutive game streak on the O-line.
The difference Tony Gonzalez has made in the Atlanta Falcons' offense is huge. He has given them someone they can count on every down, every game, every week.
Big game this weekend? How about Minnesota at Pittsburgh? Atlanta at Dallas could be huge for both, Atlanta wins, they become serious contenders & if Dallas loses, people will start thinking about next year with a new coach. New Orleans at Miami should be interesting, the Dolphins had a week off to watch the Saints impressive win yesterday & the Saints will have to cram for their "Wildcat" exam. Chicago at Cincinnati could become an elimination game, lose & you go to the bottom of the playoff contender list.
I told you Saturday night I had been on a ridiculous run winning all 3 games I bet Saturday, running my season record to 18-6. I also said I was waiting for "the other shoe to drop". It fell to earth yesterday with a bang. I lost all 3 games yesterday. I knew I was going to lose my -3 bet on the Vikings when Brad Childress went into a shell, playing for field goals instead of the touchdowns he needed to secure a victory. I knew I was going to lose the Jets -9 1/2 when just before half, leading by 10, they threw away great field position at the Buffalo 28 & didn't even get a field goal attempt. In the Giants game, I wasn't worried when it was 20-10 Saints, I knew the Giants don't rattle. But when we got to 27-10, I knew that one was going down the toilet as well. I lost $8 worth of vig, so I can live with it. The 3 1/2 spread on tonight's game between Denver & San Diego, is the right line. I like the Chargers but not at that number, so I'll be an interested spectator, that's all.
After the Ravens-Vikings game rookie tackle, Michael Oher, was asked how he thought he fared against Jared Allen. I must say I'm a big fan of Oher, his life story is being made into a movie, he's come such a long way in his life, he is very inspiring. Oher said after the game "I did O.K., in fact I pretty much shut him out in the 2nd half. He's pretty good, but nothing exceptional, I thought for the $100 million he makes, he'd be better." I have to say I was shocked at this quote, he's a smart young man. Allen had only one sack, but he forced a fumble, hit Flacco 2 other times, had 7 tackles, 2 behind the line of scrimmage. Oher had a back or tight end helping him for at least half the snaps & he had 2 or 3 false start penalties. Yes, for his first start against a player like Allen, he did O.K. The comment about Allen's $100 million dollar contract was way off, it's less than $70 million & if Michael wants respect from his peers, minimizing their accomplishments isn't the way to do it. Allen is the premiere defensive end in the league, period. He's averaged 15 sacks a season the last 3 years & he has 8.5 this year, also leading the league. Allen's motor runs non-stop & he is just as much a leader as Favre on that team. Oher could very well become an all-pro caliber tackle, but he needs to learn when to talk & when to keep his mouth shut.
Some serious injuries occurred yesterday unfortunately. New York Jet nose tackle Kris Jenkins sustained what Rex Ryan called "a serious knee injury" against the Bills. Cincinnati took a double hit on their defensive line losing sack leader Antwan Odom with a ruptured Achilles tendon. D-tackle Domata Peko injured his knee & an MRI today may show he too, will be lost for the season. Seattle middle linebacker, Lofa Tatupu will go on I.R. for the season after suffering a torn pectoral muscle yesterday in the Seahawks loss to Arizona. Seattle has suffered so many serious injuries, they may be out of contention in just a few weeks. Buffalo QB Trent Edwards was injured yesterday in what appeared to be a lot worse than it was. He was on his knees & got bent backwards by 2 New York Jet defenders. He sustained a concussion & his status for next weeks game in Carolina is unknown at this time.
Question, how can a team run for over 300 yards & hold your opponent to 13 points in regulation in a home game & lose? It's really quite simple, commit 14 penalties & throw 6 interceptions. Mark "the Sanchize" Sanchez threw 5 picks in yesterday's overtime loss to Buffalo. Running back Thomas Jones ran for 210 yards & his backup, Leon Washington, chipped in 99 more. Sanchez was 10 of 30 for 119 yards on a very windy & cold Meadowlands field. I said way back when, Sanchez had never played in cold weather or in a stadium that can be so windy at times. It showed yesterday, many of his passes weren't even close. He only hooked up with Braylon Edwards 3 times & TE Dustin Keller didn't catch a ball. Sanchez looked like a whipped puppy dog on the sideline. His body language was not that of a leader. People got way too excited about this kid who only started 16 games in college. With a running game like they had yesterday, there's no excuse for losing.
Even tho Green Bay shootout the Lions, 26-0, things didn't go so great. The Lions sacked QB Aaron Rogers 5 times & hit him another 6 times. The Packer offensive line has been pathetic in pass protection this season & yesterday was no exception. Left tackle Chad Clifton returned from missing 2 games to injury. He re-injured his ankle, no word on how long he'll be out this time.
Another QB under fire yesterday was the Eagles' Donovan McNabb. He was sacked 6 times in their loss to the Raiders & hurried almost every single time he dropped back, causing him to miss open receivers. Their 46-pass, 14-run balance on offense made no sense to me. Jeez the Phillies scored more than the Eagles did yesterday.
Thank goodness Tampa can't stop the run, that allowed Carolina to get their 2nd win of the season, 28-21. DeAngelo Williams ran for 152 yards & his backup, Jonathan Stewart tacked on 110. It's a good thing because QB Jake Delhomme(Cajun for turnover) stunk up the place again with 65 yards passing & 2 interceptions.
The New Orleans Saints played as near a perfect game yesterday as a team could play against another playoff contender. They demolished the Giants 48-27 & it wasn't as close as the score. Seven different players scored for New Orleans. Drew Brees was scary good & coach Sean Peyton, the offensive playcaller, was just as good. The job the New Orleans offensive line did on a defensive front 7, thought to be the best
in the league, was nothing short of amazing. The G-Men never touched Brees. On the other side of the ball, the Saints harassed Eli Manning from the start. Are the Saints this good? I want to see more, but they're pretty damn good. Are the Giants this bad? Certainly not, they will still win the NFC East. But they lost Kareem McKenzie yesterday to injury which will end their offensive line's 38-consecutive game streak on the O-line.
The difference Tony Gonzalez has made in the Atlanta Falcons' offense is huge. He has given them someone they can count on every down, every game, every week.
Big game this weekend? How about Minnesota at Pittsburgh? Atlanta at Dallas could be huge for both, Atlanta wins, they become serious contenders & if Dallas loses, people will start thinking about next year with a new coach. New Orleans at Miami should be interesting, the Dolphins had a week off to watch the Saints impressive win yesterday & the Saints will have to cram for their "Wildcat" exam. Chicago at Cincinnati could become an elimination game, lose & you go to the bottom of the playoff contender list.
I told you Saturday night I had been on a ridiculous run winning all 3 games I bet Saturday, running my season record to 18-6. I also said I was waiting for "the other shoe to drop". It fell to earth yesterday with a bang. I lost all 3 games yesterday. I knew I was going to lose my -3 bet on the Vikings when Brad Childress went into a shell, playing for field goals instead of the touchdowns he needed to secure a victory. I knew I was going to lose the Jets -9 1/2 when just before half, leading by 10, they threw away great field position at the Buffalo 28 & didn't even get a field goal attempt. In the Giants game, I wasn't worried when it was 20-10 Saints, I knew the Giants don't rattle. But when we got to 27-10, I knew that one was going down the toilet as well. I lost $8 worth of vig, so I can live with it. The 3 1/2 spread on tonight's game between Denver & San Diego, is the right line. I like the Chargers but not at that number, so I'll be an interested spectator, that's all.
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