NFL WEEK 8, WHAT I SAW
Sunday was full of surprises, here's some of what I saw.
It doesn't shock me the Rams finally won, it's how they did it & who they beat.
The Rams were certainly overdue for a win. Standing at 0-6, you knew they were better than they'd shown so far. But playing without starting quarterback Sam Bradford & hosting the New Orleans Saints, well let's just say I expected their first win to come somewhere down the line, not today. But win they did & it wasn't some fluke, they pushed the Saints around, beating them physically all afternoon. It was good to see Steven Jackson running with authority, he had 159-yards & two scores. Backup QB A.J. Feeley was just good enough to get the job done, altho to be fair, his receivers dropped 4 passes that I saw. His his longest completion was just 17-yards. The other half of the Rams 31-21 win was defensive end Chris Long. Howie's boy had his best day as a pro with 3 tackles, 3 sacks, a pass batted down & 3 more quarterback knock downs. Saints QB Drew Brees was pressured all day & he threw 2 picks, 1 returned for a TD. The Rams also held New Orleans to only 56-yards rushing. St. Louis played with wreckless abandon, like I said, they pushed the Saints around. It was nice to see.
Whew! That was close. Part I
It took the homestanding New York Giants 54-minutes to finally take the lead over the winless Miami Dolphins, but a 25-yard pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz got it done & the G-Men prevailed 20-17 to maintain their 2-game lead on everybody else in the NFC East. The Chiefs are in for a battle next Sunday, it was obvious with their effort, Miami is sick of losing. Jeez, there was even a Reggie Bush sighting, 15 carries for 103-yards. The Giants played turnover-free football for the first time this season.
Whew! That was close. Part II
Arizona had the Ravens down 24-6 at half, but they imploded & with 00:03 left, PK Billy Cundiff kicked a 25-yard field goal to give Baltimore the win, 30-27. The Ravens had double the total yards but 2 Joe Flacco turnovers in the 2nd quarter sandwiched around an 82-yard punt return TD by rookie Patrick Peterson allowed Arizona to score three touchdowns in less than 5-minutes. The game was pretty ugly, both quarterbacks were dreadful, there were 23 penalties for 191-yards & the action became chippy in the 2nd half, pushing & shoving after every play. The Ravens played 2 games in 6 days & neither was remotely impressive, now they get their rematch with Pittsburgh next Sunday.
I'm guessing the Tim Tebow hype & debate will die down now.
Good Lord he was awful in the Broncos 45-10 loss to Detroit. He looked worse than his first 55-minutes last Sunday in Miami. Three fumbles, one run back for a touchdown, an interception that was run back 100-yards for a touchdown, seven sacks that were mostly on him for holding the ball far too long & his inability to hit open receivers. Sometimes his throws weren't even in the same county. It was brutal. But the Lions got back on track after losing the two previous weeks. Matthew Stafford was excellent throwing 3 TD passes & committing no turnovers. As long as Denver starts Tebow, I sincerely doubt they'll beat anyone the rest of the season.
Man I hate the Cowboys. Man I hate the Eagles.
These two Jekyll & Hyde football teams have mystified me all season long. I'm never right predicting their games, make that 3-11. Philly destroyed Dallas tonight 34-7 & it wasn't even that close. Every time I looked up, the Eagles had the ball. I wasn't wrong in that assumption, the Eagles dominated time of possession 42 minutes to just 18 for Dallas. Michael Vick was back on track with a 21 of 28 passing performance. But the big news was RB LeSean McCoy, who ran for 185-yards & 2 scores. Dallas was outgained 495-267 & managed only 12 first downs. The Eagles looked like the team many thought they'd be back in August, finally they put four quarters of football together on both sides of the ball. Until Tony Romo & WR Laurent Robinson hooked up for a 70-yard 4th quarter score, Dallas had just 147-total yards. Dez Bryant & Miles Austin were held to 55-yards receiving between them. Which was the real team? Hell I don't know, I'll pick both wrong again next week.
The Jags reverted back to a hapless 2-6 team.
The Houston Texans don't scare me, but they did just enough to beat Jacksonville 24-14. Jags' QB Blaine Gabbert was terrible, completing just one-third of his passes on the way to a 97-yard passing day. Their Monday Night win over the Ravens was a mirage, if they played another ten games, Baltimore would win them all IMO. The AFC South & West are similar in that neither division will produce a playoff win.
Gailey's Bills continue to win, so they gotta be real right?
They're tied for first with 5-2 New England & a game ahead of the Jets. They shutout the fading Washington Redskins 23-0 in Toronto. They held the Skins to just 178-total yards, 26 on the ground. More impressive was the 9 quarterback sacks & 14 QB knock downs. Washington is missing 4 offensive starters, but QB John Back was running for his life all day. Buffalo hosts the Jets next week, a win puts them 2-up on New York & strengthens their own playoff chances.
Right now Cincy's first two draft picks are shining brighter than any other young combo in the league.
WR A.J. Green & QB Andy Dalton have been sensational in Cincinnati's 5-2 start. With their remaining schedule, the Bengals could earn a wildcard spot. They defeated Seattle 34-12. Dalton zipped a pass to Green in the second quarter that travel about 50-yards in the air, right on the money & Green made a great over his shoulder grab in the endzone. This will become a very dangerous combination. With multiple first round draft picks in 2012-13, compliments of Oakland, this could be a very good team quickly.
Steelers senior citizen defense rises to the occasion beating the Pats.
Already missing DE Aaron Smith, defensive player of the year OLB James Harrison & ILB James Farrior, OLB Lamar Woodley, their leading sacker, went down with a hamstring unjury in the 2nd half. But it didn't phase Pittsburgh, they totally shutdown the Patriots for the about 50-minutes of their game at Heinz Field. The Pats had less than 150-total yards thru 3 quarters. The Steelers had double the total yardage & they held New England to just 43-yards rushing. Two flaws reared their ugly heads in this game. The Patriots can't mount any kind of a consistent pass rush, even against the Steelers patchwork line. The other issue is they don't have a receiver with deep speed, nobody to force safeties Troy Polamalu & Ryan Clark to stay away from the line of scrimmage. Both are ferocious against the run & having them constantly walking up on the line seconds before the snap is a huge advantage. Welker, Ochocinco & Branch don't scare anybody & it also clogs up the route trees for TE's Rob Gronkowski & Aaron Hernandez. This was a problem before the draft & the free agency period that wasn't addressed by Bill Belichick & it could very well be their Achilles heel come playoff time.
Harbaugh's Niners goes to 6-1 playing boring, but sound, football.
The surprise of the year, Jim Harbaugh's San Francisco Forty-Niners, beat Cleveland 20-10 in what could only be called a boring game. Frank Gore toted the rock for 134-yards while the Peyton Hillis-less Browns were held to 66 on the ground. Niner QB Alex Smith once again played just good enough to get the win. It's hard to see how good this team really is. Thanksgiving night the Niners play brother John's Ravens in Baltimore. Really looking forward to that matchup.
Ponder gets his first win as a starter, beating Cam & the Panthers 24-21.
Rookie QB Cam Newton threw 3 touchdowns 4 of his 6 runs went for first downs, but his two fumbles were costly in their loss to Minnesota. Christian Ponder got his 1st win with an 18 of 28 for 236-yards performance. Percy Harvin & Adrian Peterson each scored on short runs & Ponder threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Peterson. With four 1st round quarterbacks starting right now, only Blaine Gabbert isn't making an impact with his team.
Top five performances today, players or coaches.
1. Andy Reid--improved to 12-0 after the bye since becoming the Eagles head coach. His team looked terrific, like we thought they would two months ago. But can they sustain tonight's effort?
2. Dick LeBeau--Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator, even without three starters, completely stifled the New England Patriots. If you saw the game, you'd know what I'm talking about, New England looked worse than they did against the Jets in the playoffs last January.
3. Chris Long--Rams defensive end had 3 tackles, 3 sacks, batted down a pass & had 3 other QB knock downs as the previously winless Rams whipped up on the New Orleans Saints 31-21.
4. Fred Jackson--Buffalo running back had 194-yards rushing & receiving as the Bills skunked the Redskins 23-0. Jackson has been effective running & receiving all season.
5. LeSean McCoy--Eagles running back ran for 185-yards & two touchdowns as Philly hammered Dallas 34-7. The Cowboys were leading the league with just 69-yards rushing per game until tonight when McCoy went off leading his team to a 239-yard rushing performance.
Bottom five performances, coaches or players.
1. Chris Johnson--even against defenseless Indianapolis, the former 2,000-yard rusher could only muster 34-yards on 14 carries. C.J. held out for a new deal, which the Titans gave him & he's done nothing but stink up the Tennessee backfield since.
2. Rob Ryan--Cowboys' defensive coordinator saw his highly rated group humiliated by the Eagles. Like his brother, I think he's overrated.
3. Jason Garrett--Cowboys offensive coordinator & head coach presided over tonight's slaughter in Philly. For all the commotion to oust Wade Phillips last season, does anyone see a major upswing in Dallas' performance? I don't.
4. Tim Tebow--was awful, I detailed how awful already. I have nothing against Tebow, but people who know little about football ought to leave personnel decisions to those who do it for a living. Tebow is not an NFL starting quarterback. Good kid, honest, hard-working with a lot of integrity & a burning desire to win, but he's not very talented or skilled for his position.
5. Olindo Mare--Panthers' placekicker blew a 31-yard field goal attempt with no time left on the clock. Carolina was down 3-points at the time. Cam Newton led the Panthers downfield & turned it over to Mare for what should have been the game-tying field goal.
Injury news for tonight's big game at Arrowhead.
The Chargers will be without starting linebacker & leading tackler Shaun Phillips. Backup running back Michale Tolbert, San Diego's short-yardage specialist, won't dress for the game either. Left guard Kris Dielman will miss at least this week & next with recurring concussion symptoms. No word yet on left tackle Marcus McNeill & WR Malcolm Floyd.
It doesn't shock me the Rams finally won, it's how they did it & who they beat.
The Rams were certainly overdue for a win. Standing at 0-6, you knew they were better than they'd shown so far. But playing without starting quarterback Sam Bradford & hosting the New Orleans Saints, well let's just say I expected their first win to come somewhere down the line, not today. But win they did & it wasn't some fluke, they pushed the Saints around, beating them physically all afternoon. It was good to see Steven Jackson running with authority, he had 159-yards & two scores. Backup QB A.J. Feeley was just good enough to get the job done, altho to be fair, his receivers dropped 4 passes that I saw. His his longest completion was just 17-yards. The other half of the Rams 31-21 win was defensive end Chris Long. Howie's boy had his best day as a pro with 3 tackles, 3 sacks, a pass batted down & 3 more quarterback knock downs. Saints QB Drew Brees was pressured all day & he threw 2 picks, 1 returned for a TD. The Rams also held New Orleans to only 56-yards rushing. St. Louis played with wreckless abandon, like I said, they pushed the Saints around. It was nice to see.
Whew! That was close. Part I
It took the homestanding New York Giants 54-minutes to finally take the lead over the winless Miami Dolphins, but a 25-yard pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz got it done & the G-Men prevailed 20-17 to maintain their 2-game lead on everybody else in the NFC East. The Chiefs are in for a battle next Sunday, it was obvious with their effort, Miami is sick of losing. Jeez, there was even a Reggie Bush sighting, 15 carries for 103-yards. The Giants played turnover-free football for the first time this season.
Whew! That was close. Part II
Arizona had the Ravens down 24-6 at half, but they imploded & with 00:03 left, PK Billy Cundiff kicked a 25-yard field goal to give Baltimore the win, 30-27. The Ravens had double the total yards but 2 Joe Flacco turnovers in the 2nd quarter sandwiched around an 82-yard punt return TD by rookie Patrick Peterson allowed Arizona to score three touchdowns in less than 5-minutes. The game was pretty ugly, both quarterbacks were dreadful, there were 23 penalties for 191-yards & the action became chippy in the 2nd half, pushing & shoving after every play. The Ravens played 2 games in 6 days & neither was remotely impressive, now they get their rematch with Pittsburgh next Sunday.
I'm guessing the Tim Tebow hype & debate will die down now.
Good Lord he was awful in the Broncos 45-10 loss to Detroit. He looked worse than his first 55-minutes last Sunday in Miami. Three fumbles, one run back for a touchdown, an interception that was run back 100-yards for a touchdown, seven sacks that were mostly on him for holding the ball far too long & his inability to hit open receivers. Sometimes his throws weren't even in the same county. It was brutal. But the Lions got back on track after losing the two previous weeks. Matthew Stafford was excellent throwing 3 TD passes & committing no turnovers. As long as Denver starts Tebow, I sincerely doubt they'll beat anyone the rest of the season.
Man I hate the Cowboys. Man I hate the Eagles.
These two Jekyll & Hyde football teams have mystified me all season long. I'm never right predicting their games, make that 3-11. Philly destroyed Dallas tonight 34-7 & it wasn't even that close. Every time I looked up, the Eagles had the ball. I wasn't wrong in that assumption, the Eagles dominated time of possession 42 minutes to just 18 for Dallas. Michael Vick was back on track with a 21 of 28 passing performance. But the big news was RB LeSean McCoy, who ran for 185-yards & 2 scores. Dallas was outgained 495-267 & managed only 12 first downs. The Eagles looked like the team many thought they'd be back in August, finally they put four quarters of football together on both sides of the ball. Until Tony Romo & WR Laurent Robinson hooked up for a 70-yard 4th quarter score, Dallas had just 147-total yards. Dez Bryant & Miles Austin were held to 55-yards receiving between them. Which was the real team? Hell I don't know, I'll pick both wrong again next week.
The Jags reverted back to a hapless 2-6 team.
The Houston Texans don't scare me, but they did just enough to beat Jacksonville 24-14. Jags' QB Blaine Gabbert was terrible, completing just one-third of his passes on the way to a 97-yard passing day. Their Monday Night win over the Ravens was a mirage, if they played another ten games, Baltimore would win them all IMO. The AFC South & West are similar in that neither division will produce a playoff win.
Gailey's Bills continue to win, so they gotta be real right?
They're tied for first with 5-2 New England & a game ahead of the Jets. They shutout the fading Washington Redskins 23-0 in Toronto. They held the Skins to just 178-total yards, 26 on the ground. More impressive was the 9 quarterback sacks & 14 QB knock downs. Washington is missing 4 offensive starters, but QB John Back was running for his life all day. Buffalo hosts the Jets next week, a win puts them 2-up on New York & strengthens their own playoff chances.
Right now Cincy's first two draft picks are shining brighter than any other young combo in the league.
WR A.J. Green & QB Andy Dalton have been sensational in Cincinnati's 5-2 start. With their remaining schedule, the Bengals could earn a wildcard spot. They defeated Seattle 34-12. Dalton zipped a pass to Green in the second quarter that travel about 50-yards in the air, right on the money & Green made a great over his shoulder grab in the endzone. This will become a very dangerous combination. With multiple first round draft picks in 2012-13, compliments of Oakland, this could be a very good team quickly.
Steelers senior citizen defense rises to the occasion beating the Pats.
Already missing DE Aaron Smith, defensive player of the year OLB James Harrison & ILB James Farrior, OLB Lamar Woodley, their leading sacker, went down with a hamstring unjury in the 2nd half. But it didn't phase Pittsburgh, they totally shutdown the Patriots for the about 50-minutes of their game at Heinz Field. The Pats had less than 150-total yards thru 3 quarters. The Steelers had double the total yardage & they held New England to just 43-yards rushing. Two flaws reared their ugly heads in this game. The Patriots can't mount any kind of a consistent pass rush, even against the Steelers patchwork line. The other issue is they don't have a receiver with deep speed, nobody to force safeties Troy Polamalu & Ryan Clark to stay away from the line of scrimmage. Both are ferocious against the run & having them constantly walking up on the line seconds before the snap is a huge advantage. Welker, Ochocinco & Branch don't scare anybody & it also clogs up the route trees for TE's Rob Gronkowski & Aaron Hernandez. This was a problem before the draft & the free agency period that wasn't addressed by Bill Belichick & it could very well be their Achilles heel come playoff time.
Harbaugh's Niners goes to 6-1 playing boring, but sound, football.
The surprise of the year, Jim Harbaugh's San Francisco Forty-Niners, beat Cleveland 20-10 in what could only be called a boring game. Frank Gore toted the rock for 134-yards while the Peyton Hillis-less Browns were held to 66 on the ground. Niner QB Alex Smith once again played just good enough to get the win. It's hard to see how good this team really is. Thanksgiving night the Niners play brother John's Ravens in Baltimore. Really looking forward to that matchup.
Ponder gets his first win as a starter, beating Cam & the Panthers 24-21.
Rookie QB Cam Newton threw 3 touchdowns 4 of his 6 runs went for first downs, but his two fumbles were costly in their loss to Minnesota. Christian Ponder got his 1st win with an 18 of 28 for 236-yards performance. Percy Harvin & Adrian Peterson each scored on short runs & Ponder threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Peterson. With four 1st round quarterbacks starting right now, only Blaine Gabbert isn't making an impact with his team.
Top five performances today, players or coaches.
1. Andy Reid--improved to 12-0 after the bye since becoming the Eagles head coach. His team looked terrific, like we thought they would two months ago. But can they sustain tonight's effort?
2. Dick LeBeau--Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator, even without three starters, completely stifled the New England Patriots. If you saw the game, you'd know what I'm talking about, New England looked worse than they did against the Jets in the playoffs last January.
3. Chris Long--Rams defensive end had 3 tackles, 3 sacks, batted down a pass & had 3 other QB knock downs as the previously winless Rams whipped up on the New Orleans Saints 31-21.
4. Fred Jackson--Buffalo running back had 194-yards rushing & receiving as the Bills skunked the Redskins 23-0. Jackson has been effective running & receiving all season.
5. LeSean McCoy--Eagles running back ran for 185-yards & two touchdowns as Philly hammered Dallas 34-7. The Cowboys were leading the league with just 69-yards rushing per game until tonight when McCoy went off leading his team to a 239-yard rushing performance.
Bottom five performances, coaches or players.
1. Chris Johnson--even against defenseless Indianapolis, the former 2,000-yard rusher could only muster 34-yards on 14 carries. C.J. held out for a new deal, which the Titans gave him & he's done nothing but stink up the Tennessee backfield since.
2. Rob Ryan--Cowboys' defensive coordinator saw his highly rated group humiliated by the Eagles. Like his brother, I think he's overrated.
3. Jason Garrett--Cowboys offensive coordinator & head coach presided over tonight's slaughter in Philly. For all the commotion to oust Wade Phillips last season, does anyone see a major upswing in Dallas' performance? I don't.
4. Tim Tebow--was awful, I detailed how awful already. I have nothing against Tebow, but people who know little about football ought to leave personnel decisions to those who do it for a living. Tebow is not an NFL starting quarterback. Good kid, honest, hard-working with a lot of integrity & a burning desire to win, but he's not very talented or skilled for his position.
5. Olindo Mare--Panthers' placekicker blew a 31-yard field goal attempt with no time left on the clock. Carolina was down 3-points at the time. Cam Newton led the Panthers downfield & turned it over to Mare for what should have been the game-tying field goal.
Injury news for tonight's big game at Arrowhead.
The Chargers will be without starting linebacker & leading tackler Shaun Phillips. Backup running back Michale Tolbert, San Diego's short-yardage specialist, won't dress for the game either. Left guard Kris Dielman will miss at least this week & next with recurring concussion symptoms. No word yet on left tackle Marcus McNeill & WR Malcolm Floyd.
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