A LOT OF BORING & POORLY PLAYED FOOTBALL THIS WEEKEND, TELL ME WHERE I'M GOING WRONG
It was a boring football weekend filled with a lot of poor play. In the BCS Top-15, with the exception of Utah beating Air Force by 5, Mizzou & Michigan State getting pummeled, Alabama, LSU & Wisconsin didn't play & the remaining 9 won handily. There was no overtime(OK in the Fla-Ga game, I'll give you that), no cliff-hangers, no furious 4th quarter comebacks, just a lot of poor officiating, blowouts & turnovers. Sunday, the poor play, bad officiating, horrible strategy & more turnovers were all over the league. With the 6 bye teams sitting out this weekend, only two matchups featured 2 winning teams, GB-Jets & Pitt-Saints. I was so tired last night, I just couldn't write this post, please forgive me, I'll get the Sunday wrap up done on Sunday night next week. Some observations from what I saw:
In the Packers-Jets game, how this Jets team came out of their bye week so flat makes me question how well managed this team really is. They were terribly flat before the bye in Denver & thanks to a pass interference call in the closing moments, they left Denver with a win. On a blustery day weather-wise, why was Mark Sanchez asked to throw 38-times? He completed only 16 attempts & in fairness, his receivers didn't help at all. They dropped too many passes, had balls ripped out of the hands & ran half-ass routes. The 1st quarter fake punt on 4th & 18 wasn't a good decision, it led to a Packer field goal. Holding Green Bay to 9-points should be a winner. Being shutout at home is just plain embarrassing. I did love the two guys dressed exactly like Rex Ryan for Halloween, they were a hoot.
The Raiders won their 2nd game in a row for the first time in two years. Kansas City had better be prepared for stopping the run, Oakland is 2nd in the league running the ball, KC is 1st. The Raiders are getting sacks in bunches too, forcing QB's to get rid of the ball quickly. All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomughu injured his right ankle in the 3rd quarter & never returned to the field. The 4-4 Raiders have hung in despite playing 3 different quarterbacks over the course of 8-games. The Chargers are going to have a very difficult time climbing over two divisional opponents with their poor start. Since Kansas City's next two games are against their most hated rivals, Oakland & Denver, I have no doubt the Chiefs will be emotionally ready for both.
The Saints' win last night over the Steelers was impressive, they were in trouble several times during this game & despite having no(30 yards qualifies) running game, they were able to come away with a 20-10 win. Drew Brees was brilliant in the second half completing 20 of 22 for 191-yards & two touchdowns. The Heath Miller fumble was huge in the win as well, it was like watching the Saint defense of a year ago when they created turnover after turnover.
Once again Vince Young wasn't able to finish a game. He tweaked his previously injured ankle & Kerry Collins had to come off the bench in the 4th quarter. Young had the Titans down just 2 after throwing an 81-yard touchdown to Nate Washington with 11-minutes remaining. Chris Johnson wasn't a factor with only 59-yards & he dropped a sure 1st down throw on 4th down at the Charger 15, with 35-seconds left. The Titans also lost their biggest receiving threat when Kenny Britt heard his hamstring "pop" in the first quarter. Britt has scored 6 touchdowns in the last three games. He might be out for sometime.
Josh Freeman has come a long way since his last year at Kansas State. In just 16 starts, he has Raheem Morris' Buccaneers tied for first with a 5-2 record. They travel north to Atlanta this Sunday to decide who will reside alone in 1st place. Freeman has a new best friend, an effective running game led by former bad-boy, LeGarrette Blount. The undrafted rookie ran for 122-yards on just 22 carries & scored a pair of touchdowns in Tampa's 38-35 win at Arizona. That the Cards were even in the game was nothing short of miraculous. Their QB play is pathetic, if you watch Max Hall & Derek Anderson, it makes you wonder just how awful Mayy Leinart really must be to lose his job to this pair.
If you were unfortunate enough to see any or all of the Jag-Cowboy game, sorry. The Jags, beaten soundly by Kansas City 42-20 the week before, looked like Super Bowl contenders as they sliced & diced up the Cowboys, 35-17. The Cowboys mailed it in, they couldn't care less. Everyone from Jerry Jones down to the last guy on the practice squad ought to be ashamed of the effort this team is expending every Sunday. The Bills, 0-7, without any "superstar" talent, would hammer the Cowboys. They care, they compete, ask anybody, ask Baltimore or Kansas City. Dallas' huge payroll, huge expectations & huge egos couldn't beat Buffalo 2 out of 10 times right now.
I know San Francisco quarterback Troy Smith is small, but he looked absolutely tiny as he led the Niners to a 24-16 win over in merry old England. The former Heisman winner is about 5' 10", but something about the lighting at Wembley Stadium or the unusually high grass made Smith look about 5' 6". He was able to lead the Niners to 21-fourth quarter points & their 2nd win of the year beating the broncos 24-16.
The Detroit fans ought to be getting excited about the football team. The last four 1st round draft picks came up large yesterday as they beat the Washington Redskins 37-25. Calvin Johnson caught 3-TD passes thrown by 2009's 1st round draft pick, Matthew Stafford, who threw a 4th touchdown to Brandon Pettigrew, also an '09 1st rounder. The 2010 1st round selection, Ndamakong Suh, recorded 6 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 more sacks & returned a fumble 17-yards for a touchdown. So far, Suh has had as big an impact in the NFL as he did in college. In the same game, Mike Shanahan pulled Donovan McNabb in the final 2-minutes of the game. McNabb wasn't playing well, but is Rex Grossman who you really want on the field, running the 2-minute offense? Like Rodney Harrison said last night on the NBC pre-game show, "I wouldn't put Rex Grossman in a 2-minute offense in a high school game." Kind of says it all huh?
Sam Bradford continues to improve & it's obvious to all, he is the future for the St. Louis Rams. Bradford threw two more touchdown passes yesterday in the Rams' 20-10 win over Carolina. How about 25 of 32, is that accurate enough for you?
In Peter King's NFL Power rankings, he has 11 AFC teams in the top 15. That's about right, the NFC is way down in 2010. Another interesting note, the World Series was roughed up by college football Saturday night & again last night by the Pittsburgh-New Orleans game on NBC.
Wow, the rumor mill is really cranked up right now on Randy Moss & the speculation of where he'll land next. ESPN's Adam Schefter is saying Dallas or Kansas City(please no!). Pro Football Talk is saying Miami would claim him just to keep him from going back to New England. New England? Is there any way he is wanted back in Foxboro after they sent him to Minnesota for a 3rd round draft pick? You claim Randy, you owe him $376,000 per game this season. You also have to consider whatever harmony you already have in your locker room. Randy Moss is supremely talented but comes with the biggest "Buyer Beware" stcker, he is ultra-high maintenance. Buyer beware for sure.
In the Packers-Jets game, how this Jets team came out of their bye week so flat makes me question how well managed this team really is. They were terribly flat before the bye in Denver & thanks to a pass interference call in the closing moments, they left Denver with a win. On a blustery day weather-wise, why was Mark Sanchez asked to throw 38-times? He completed only 16 attempts & in fairness, his receivers didn't help at all. They dropped too many passes, had balls ripped out of the hands & ran half-ass routes. The 1st quarter fake punt on 4th & 18 wasn't a good decision, it led to a Packer field goal. Holding Green Bay to 9-points should be a winner. Being shutout at home is just plain embarrassing. I did love the two guys dressed exactly like Rex Ryan for Halloween, they were a hoot.
The Raiders won their 2nd game in a row for the first time in two years. Kansas City had better be prepared for stopping the run, Oakland is 2nd in the league running the ball, KC is 1st. The Raiders are getting sacks in bunches too, forcing QB's to get rid of the ball quickly. All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomughu injured his right ankle in the 3rd quarter & never returned to the field. The 4-4 Raiders have hung in despite playing 3 different quarterbacks over the course of 8-games. The Chargers are going to have a very difficult time climbing over two divisional opponents with their poor start. Since Kansas City's next two games are against their most hated rivals, Oakland & Denver, I have no doubt the Chiefs will be emotionally ready for both.
The Saints' win last night over the Steelers was impressive, they were in trouble several times during this game & despite having no(30 yards qualifies) running game, they were able to come away with a 20-10 win. Drew Brees was brilliant in the second half completing 20 of 22 for 191-yards & two touchdowns. The Heath Miller fumble was huge in the win as well, it was like watching the Saint defense of a year ago when they created turnover after turnover.
Once again Vince Young wasn't able to finish a game. He tweaked his previously injured ankle & Kerry Collins had to come off the bench in the 4th quarter. Young had the Titans down just 2 after throwing an 81-yard touchdown to Nate Washington with 11-minutes remaining. Chris Johnson wasn't a factor with only 59-yards & he dropped a sure 1st down throw on 4th down at the Charger 15, with 35-seconds left. The Titans also lost their biggest receiving threat when Kenny Britt heard his hamstring "pop" in the first quarter. Britt has scored 6 touchdowns in the last three games. He might be out for sometime.
Josh Freeman has come a long way since his last year at Kansas State. In just 16 starts, he has Raheem Morris' Buccaneers tied for first with a 5-2 record. They travel north to Atlanta this Sunday to decide who will reside alone in 1st place. Freeman has a new best friend, an effective running game led by former bad-boy, LeGarrette Blount. The undrafted rookie ran for 122-yards on just 22 carries & scored a pair of touchdowns in Tampa's 38-35 win at Arizona. That the Cards were even in the game was nothing short of miraculous. Their QB play is pathetic, if you watch Max Hall & Derek Anderson, it makes you wonder just how awful Mayy Leinart really must be to lose his job to this pair.
If you were unfortunate enough to see any or all of the Jag-Cowboy game, sorry. The Jags, beaten soundly by Kansas City 42-20 the week before, looked like Super Bowl contenders as they sliced & diced up the Cowboys, 35-17. The Cowboys mailed it in, they couldn't care less. Everyone from Jerry Jones down to the last guy on the practice squad ought to be ashamed of the effort this team is expending every Sunday. The Bills, 0-7, without any "superstar" talent, would hammer the Cowboys. They care, they compete, ask anybody, ask Baltimore or Kansas City. Dallas' huge payroll, huge expectations & huge egos couldn't beat Buffalo 2 out of 10 times right now.
I know San Francisco quarterback Troy Smith is small, but he looked absolutely tiny as he led the Niners to a 24-16 win over in merry old England. The former Heisman winner is about 5' 10", but something about the lighting at Wembley Stadium or the unusually high grass made Smith look about 5' 6". He was able to lead the Niners to 21-fourth quarter points & their 2nd win of the year beating the broncos 24-16.
The Detroit fans ought to be getting excited about the football team. The last four 1st round draft picks came up large yesterday as they beat the Washington Redskins 37-25. Calvin Johnson caught 3-TD passes thrown by 2009's 1st round draft pick, Matthew Stafford, who threw a 4th touchdown to Brandon Pettigrew, also an '09 1st rounder. The 2010 1st round selection, Ndamakong Suh, recorded 6 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 more sacks & returned a fumble 17-yards for a touchdown. So far, Suh has had as big an impact in the NFL as he did in college. In the same game, Mike Shanahan pulled Donovan McNabb in the final 2-minutes of the game. McNabb wasn't playing well, but is Rex Grossman who you really want on the field, running the 2-minute offense? Like Rodney Harrison said last night on the NBC pre-game show, "I wouldn't put Rex Grossman in a 2-minute offense in a high school game." Kind of says it all huh?
Sam Bradford continues to improve & it's obvious to all, he is the future for the St. Louis Rams. Bradford threw two more touchdown passes yesterday in the Rams' 20-10 win over Carolina. How about 25 of 32, is that accurate enough for you?
In Peter King's NFL Power rankings, he has 11 AFC teams in the top 15. That's about right, the NFC is way down in 2010. Another interesting note, the World Series was roughed up by college football Saturday night & again last night by the Pittsburgh-New Orleans game on NBC.
Wow, the rumor mill is really cranked up right now on Randy Moss & the speculation of where he'll land next. ESPN's Adam Schefter is saying Dallas or Kansas City(please no!). Pro Football Talk is saying Miami would claim him just to keep him from going back to New England. New England? Is there any way he is wanted back in Foxboro after they sent him to Minnesota for a 3rd round draft pick? You claim Randy, you owe him $376,000 per game this season. You also have to consider whatever harmony you already have in your locker room. Randy Moss is supremely talented but comes with the biggest "Buyer Beware" stcker, he is ultra-high maintenance. Buyer beware for sure.
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