Category Archives: 2011 NFL Regular Season

NFL Week 14 AFC North: De Ja Vu All Over Again

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The Steeler defense that is defying father time and has vaulted back to #1 in all of Pro Football.

As this wacky NFL season has had ups and downs and surprise first place teams, the AFC North is taking on an all too familiar theme. It’s come down to the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers as it has much of the last decade. Yet just as we described in our Pre-Season spectacular, this is the last year these two teams will be head and shoulders above their division brethren.

On Thursday night, NFL network is going to showcase one of the league’s best defensive players in D’Quell Jackson, who in our estimation is the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. Right now he’s tied for second in tackles with 112, with 2.5 sacks, 4 passes defensed an interception and 2 fumble recoveries. Of the top 5 tacklers in the NFL this year he has more than 15 more solo tackles than the others, showcasing he is the initial defender to the ball. Oh we forgot to tell you, he plays for the Cleveland Browns. He is the anchor of the league’s #8 defense. What would he be doing had the Browns been able to field a healthy Peyton Hillis and were able to get adequate quarterbacking from Colt McCoy?? If next year the Browns can get an Andrew Luck, or Kellen Moore, or Baylor’s Robert Griffin III this could be a turnaround team for 2012.

As for now they’re still looking up at the neighborhood bully from Pittsburgh. After losing to the Texans, the Steelers have won 7 of their last 8 including a 25-17 win over AFC East leader New England. Unlike the beginning of the season where they had lost to teams with winning records, they also bested Cincinnati twice to take the division lead. The Ravens are ahead of them on a tie breaker but face it, as we head through the money games of November, the Steelers defense has come to life and the last two games didn’t allow 10 points in either contest. Experts, including our CEO, are waiting for this elder defense to age. Yet as we go to press guess who is back at the top spot with the league’s #1 defense. Yet lets take a look at the standings

AFC NORTH W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF PF PA DIFF STRK
Baltimore 9 3 0 .750 6-0-0 3-3-0 4-0-0 6-2-0 296 192 +104 Won 3
Pittsburgh 9 3 0 .750 5-1-0 4-2-0 2-2-0 7-3-0 268 195 +73 Won 3
Cincinnati 7 5 0 .583 3-2-0 4-3-0 2-3-0 6-4-0 266 250 +16 Lost 1
Cleveland 4 8 0 .333 3-4-0 1-4-0 0-3-0 3-6-0 175 240 -65 Lost 2

The Steelers host Cleveland this Thursday Night in what should be a good defensive struggle. If you expect Pittsburgh to run over the Browns you will be shocked to see Jackson #52 making life miserable for Rashard Mendenhall. Truth be told the Steelers are a passing team. Granted they use the run to set up the pass however more and more they rely on Ben Roethlisberger to make a play on 3rd down to sustain drives. Mendenhall has rushed for 634 yards and 8 TDs and isn’t among the league’s elite in terms of rushing output. Right now they have to ride the wildcard that is Big Ben. He’s on pace to finish with 25TDs and 4,328 yards and only 13 interceptions. His frantic helter skelter comebacks are rarely artistic but they’re more successful than not. Normally there should be an air of worry with the Steelers leading tacklers being Palamalu and Ryan Clark, but that has more to do with they have started every game. Where James Farrior, James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, and Larry Foote have each missed at least two games due to injury. They are coming back healthy for the playoffs and that is scary for most teams.

The Raven defense recorded a team record 9 sacks against the 49ers on Thanksgiving night.

The Ravens have the tie breaker having swept their nemesis in Pittsburgh, yet have 4 interesting games coming up. All season long this team has played up to and beat top competition, then down to and lost to lowly teams like Jacksonville and Seattle. Joe Flacco has been playing better as of late and has matured from that last second touchdown throw in the Steelers game. Coach Harbaugh hopes that is all behind them with the Colts, Chargers, Bengals, and Browns lining up to play spoiler. The Ravens have maintained a menacing defense, currently ranked 3rd overall, without the services of Ray Lewis. In their last two games without Lewis they have given up only 170 yards to the 49ers, and 233 yards to the Browns respectively. On offense Ray Rice is about to cross the 1,000 yard threshold with 926 yards and 9 TDs, yet it’s Ricky Williams who seems to have fresh legs and is rejuvenated in Baltimore.

The stat that jumps out is Baltimore is 6-1 against teams with winning records. If they run the table in these last four games you’d have to say they are a shoo in for the AFC Championship game. With Ray Lewis healthy for the playoffs what do you think?? Could the Ravens best a Steelers team for a third time if they met in the playoffs?? Interesting questions that we’ll have to wait for an answer.

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Week 12 Thanksgiving Edition III: Sibling Rivalry

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Look up sibling rivalry in a 2011 NFL dictionary and you would find these two teams at the top of the list. Fro the first time ….what?? No we’re talking about playing rough and tumble smash mouth football, supplemented by stout defense not brother coaches. Come on they won’t take the field. Now where were we… The surprising 9-1 San Francisco 49ers have run up a gaudy record while playing physical lights out football and are on the verge of tying the 1988 Buffalo Bills as the earliest division winner in NFL history. Standing in their way is the team that has made playing football in a traditional sense a way of life: The Baltimore Ravens. Since the 2000 season the Ravens have been the vanguard of playing football from a defense first perspective. Presently the Ravens sit 7-3 and atop the AFC North as we head toward the stretch run. So who will win tonight’s game??

As we take a look at the 49ers the first thing that pops out is how strong they’re running the football. Right now they are averaging 4.3 yards per carry led by Frank Gore who’s averaging 4.6. In his 9 starts he has slashed his way to 870 yards and 5 of the 49ers 9 rushing touchdowns. Beneficiary to all of this running are both quarterback Alex Smith and a rested defense. Do you realize the 49er defense hasn’t given up a rushing touchdown all year and are #1 against the run?? Alex Smith is enjoying his best season ever with 13TDs to only 4 interceptions. He looks much more sure of himself and that has to attributed to former quarterback Jim Harbaugh. The Niners are waiting for Michael Crabtree to break out also. Aside from TE Vernon Davis there really isn’t a home run hitter on the team that defenses fear.

However when it comes to games like this and of this magnitude, the Baltimore Ravens are ready. When they see a game against a fellow heavyweight coming they rarely lose. Before we get into the players performance…do you realize the Baltimore Ravens are 5-1 against teams with winning records?? Where San Francisco fields the 8th best defense in pro football, Baltimore fields it’s 4th best. With Ray Lewis status still unknown it’s hard to pick against this defense. They performed well in his absence in the 31-24 lead to take the division lead away from Cincinnati last weekend. The pass rush, which at one time was just Terrell Suggs (6 sacks), has been supplemented by young rushers in Paul Kruger (4.5 sacks) and Pernell McPhee with 4. In fact there is a tie between 3 teams with 31 sacks and it’s the Ravens who are 4th in all of the NFL with 29 sacks. Yet oddly enough the Ravens are -2 in the turnover ratio over the last seven weeks. They rarely force turnovers against teams they don’t know well.

So it comes down to which quarterback will be able to get their passing games off the ground. At a loud outdoor palace we have a hard time seeing Alex Smith bringing his “A” game with him. In his 6 years, this is really the biggest game he’s played and he hasn’t had to face fire breathing defenses out in the NFC West. With a pedestrian set of receivers the Ravens should be able to handle TE Vernon Davis. By the third quarter the Ravens on pass defense will have 9-10 men within 20 yards of the line of scrimmage since they can’t get deep. Consequently Torrey Smith (29 rec. / 590 yds / 5TDs), Anquan Boldin (44 rec. / 684yds /3 TDs) are both headed to 1,000 yard seasons. Ravens wide receivers?? Seriously quit laughing.

So there you have it…we pick the RAVENS in this one. We’re not entirely sold on Joe Flacco, but with a last second touchdown throw to beat arch rival Pittsburgh, he can prove himself further with another big win. As for Alex Smith, he better pray that Frank Gore and the running game can get underway or he’ll be running for his life.  Keep in mind the Ravens are the 5th best in defense against the run. Michael Crabtree you’re up!! Time to be the receiver that held out for all that money when you came in. If you’re going to do it, it had better be tonight. Just don’t think the Ravens pass rush will allow Smith time to find him.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Enjoy the games, good food, and remember to share the article…will ya’??

 

NFL Week 12 Thanksgiving Edition II: Leon Lett Bowl

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Murray breaks a 95 yarder a few weeks back.

Now how many of you saw the Miami Dolphins vs the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving and had flashbacks to the famous Thanksgiving game in 1993?? It hit me immediately and I know NFL.com had a vote to redeem Leon on their site with a snickers campaign. While that is a fun look at a past encounter between these two teams, it was nowhere near as surprising as to wake up Monday morning with Dallas first in the NFC East. Are you kidding me?? Cowboy fans were ready to hang Tony Romo in effigy and still are dissatisfied with his performance.  The Eagles shocked the Giants in the New Meadowlands on Sunday night to quiet Cowboy detractors.

However when you look at this team something is missing. You want to call this an elite team yet you can’t because they don’t pass the eyeball test. Yes even though they are 6-4 and have won 4 of their last 5 games. First you have the 4th quarter interceptions that have caused every Cowboy fan concern. Deion Sanders, and Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson to name a few, have been critical of throws that were not only poor in judgment but should have been thrown away. It cost the Cowboys games against the Jets and the Lions directly yet his numbers aren’t all that bad. For the year Romo has completed 64.5% of his passes for exactly 2800 yards, 19TDs and only 7 interceptions. Its just when the interceptions come in the fourth quarter or rather being thrown right at Darelle Revis, huh Hollywood. Alright we’ll leave it alone but he is well on his way to throwing for nearly 5,000 yards as we explained he would do in our PreSeason spectacular. https://taylorblitztimes.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/2011-dallas-cowboys-preview/ Passing records will fall in Dallas as they are more of a pure pas.sing team than a pure running team.

Of course there has been a few strides in the running game with DeMarco Murray for the last 4 games he’s started. Get this?? Of the 747 yards he’s rushed for he’s only made it into the endzone twice. As a team the Cowboys have only rushed for 4 touchdowns in ten games which isn’t acceptable. Sure Murray has run with a little thunder as of late but he really is a 3rd down back in the Steve Sewell mode for the 80’s Broncos. He along with Felix Jones should be breaking touchdowns yet can’t finish off big plays. These are the reasons Cowboy fans don’t trust their team, even with a surprise vault into 1st place in the NFC East.  How will they fare tomorrow??

After 7 straight losses and looking as though there was no life left in them, the Miami Dolphins have awakened. It’s not that they have won a few games, they have played with a reckless abandon as though the game means something to them. Do you realize the Dolphins in this 3-0 rebound has held each team to under 10 points and two of those three to under 247 yards total for the game?? This is the same team that gave up 517 passing yards to Tom Brady in week 1?? Well last week they shut down Buffalo’s Ryan Fitzpatrick to the tune of 2 sacks while intercepting him twice. However it is also due to committing to the run. In the last two games they have averaged 32 rushes to rest their defense and the game against Kansas City had 24.

Reggie Bush

The other factor for this resurgence is Matt Moore. He’s outperformed Chad Henne and not turned the ball over as much. Do you realize that in the four games Moore has played he’s thrown 5 ints to Henne’s 4 although he’s thrown 75 more passes?? This has translated to his throwing 7 TDs to Henne’s 4 and the impetus for the 3 game winning streak. Look they’re not beating themselves like when Henne was in there. In their first 7 games, this Dolphins team was -8 in the turnover department as compared to being +2 in the last 3 games. This team would play well, fall behind from a careless turnover and press to get back into the game and turn it over some more.  Now the punt is they’re friend and playing a ball control game. In fact Reggie Bush has a chance quietly to rush for 1,000 yards this season.

Much like the Oakland Raiders once they lost JaMarcus Russell, they aren’t demoralizing themselves and have found a new spirit. One of the true reasons for the turnaround is they have vaulted from #31 in defense after two weeks to a respectable #16. Although they are still only 25th against the pass they are 7th against the run and 5th in rushing average allowed at just 3.4 yards per carry. Watch for #91 Cameron Wake to come off the corner and harass Tony Romo. Can they hold the Cowboys pass offense down enough to force Dallas to run the football on draws and bubble screens?

One thing that’s missing in this four game winning streak is the Cowboys defense has slid a little statistically. Going into week 8, this defense was #6 overall and #1 against the run and then came the 34-7 loss to the rival Philadelphia Eagles. Now they are ranked #11 overall and are 10th against the run. Right now they are being aided by a more stout running game as of late. They have forced 8 turnovers in the last three games and that opportunism was showcased in the 44-7 rout of Buffalo. Yet who is this team?? The one who clobbered Buffalo or was sodomized in Philadelphia??

Well this game will answer several questions and has two teams coming in on 3 game winning streaks. We don’t think the Dolphins DBs will be able to handle Jason Witten, Miles Austin and especially Dez Bryant. The Dolphins have some fire power but it’s going to be hard to slow DeMarcus Ware who has been terrorizing with 14 sacks so far. He should star in this game and sack Moore 3 times. Our crystal ball tells us Dallas wins a close game and Snickers will have a Leon Lett redemption commercial. He was just hungry and thought the football was a Snickers!! Honestly!!

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NFL Week 12 Thanksgiving Edition: Renewed Acquaintances

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Megatron emerges for battle

Just when you’ll start welcoming and hugging family members as the aroma of another Thanksgiving gathering warms you and yours, a football game will kick off in Detroit. This was one of the games the young Detroit Lions had circled from the beginning of the season. Who knew the defending Super Bowl Champion Packers would come in undefeated at 10-0?? With a win the Lions will send another message to the NFL that they are for real and will be a force that could make the NFC Championship Game. A loss will relegate them to maybe only going as far as the wildcard round. The 37-13 loss to the Bears coupled with one here would be a confidence zapper for a relatively young team. A win by the Packers and they are one step closer to immortality where they’re trying to finish the 2011 season undefeated. If they were to do this and repeat as Super Bowl champs, they would have a legitimate shot at being the greatest team in NFL history.

What has been lost amidst the hyseria of this game is what happened the last time these two teams played and what significance it held. A fired up Lions defense chased down (4 sacks) and knocked out Aaron Rodgers with a concussion while winning 7-3.  At the time of Rodgers flash knockout, he was 7 of 11 for 46 yards and an interception. He was having serious trouble locating receivers amidst silver helmets coming at him. Matt Flynn had to finish the game and fared no better. His stat-line was what you’d expect for a cold player coming off the bench going for 15 of 26 for 177 yards and another interception. The Lions were stymied by the NFL’s #2 ranked defense and hounded Drew Stanton to a sub par performance. The stat-line of 10 of 22 passes for 117 yards wasnt’ glowing yet he did throw a touchdown to TE Will Heller which provided the difference.

This was the last game the Packers lost with Aaron Rodgers as a starter. We know how he came back hot two weeks later and led the Packers to their 13th title. Yet there was a 3-10 football team that proved to themselves they could play with the best of their division and went on to win their final 3 games finishing with a 4 game winning streak. It was Detroit’s winning the next game 23-20 that kept a 10 win Tampa team out of last year’s playoffs. This was where the Detroit Lions as we now know them were born. Their confidence took off as they watched their division brother wreak havoc in last year’s playoffs, knowing they handled Green Bay better than everyone else that tried. Throw in the riches of the draft and the health and availability of Matthew Stafford and this team is NOT afraid of Green Bay.

NFC NORTH W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF PF PA DIFF STRK
Green Bay 10 0 0 1.000 5-0-0 5-0-0 3-0-0 8-0-0 355 212 +143 Won 10
Detroit 7 3 0 .700 3-2-0 4-1-0 2-1-0 5-3-0 301 219 +82 Won 1
Chicago 7 3 0 .700 5-1-0 2-2-0 2-2-0 6-3-0 268 207 +61 Won 5
Minnesota 2 8 0 .200 1-4-0 1-4-0 0-4-0 2-5-0 200 271 -71 Lost 2

Rodgers about to fire a pass in last year's Super Bowl

However this won’t be an easy game for Detroit either. The Packers are on pace to score the second highest  point total in NFL history with 568. Aaron Rodgers hasn’t slowed down for anyone. Look at these stats!! Rodgers is 238 of 329 for a whopping 72.3 completion rate while throwing for 31 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions. Yikes!! He’s on pace to throw for 49.6 touchdowns, or in layman’s terms, tie Tom Brady’s all time record of 50. Each team is a pass first, run to keep them honest type offenses. The Packers rank  21st, while the Lions rank 22nd in rushing. For all of Rodgers prowess, Stafford’s growth this year has been immense. In his 10 games, he’s completed 61.3% of his passes for 25TDs and 10 interceptions. He’s on pace to throw for 40 touchdowns in his first full season! You have to be kidding me?!? Well we did say in our Pre Season Spectacular that his growth on the field was what the Lions needed from him this year. https://taylorblitztimes.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/2011-detroit-lions-preview/

Then we have former NFL Defensive Player of the Year in Charles Woodson going against Calvin “Megatron”Johnson. First we have Woodson, who has been everywhere this year with 45 tackles, 5 interceptions with 1 returned for a touchdown, 2 sacks and a fumble forced. Woodson’s Opimus Prime had better be ready for Megatron comes in with 59 receptions for 974 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Lions have spread the ball around more as of late but with the bright lights showing, Johnson is going to want the ball. This will be a tremendous battle. What could prove to be the shift in this Thanksgiving Day tilt is the fact that the Packers field the 30th ranked defense in all of pro football to Detroit’s being ranked 9th. Its imperative the Lions pass rush generates hits and sacks on Rodgers to knock him off his rhythm, they can’t afford to watch him stand in the pocket like the picture on the left. Of the Lions 27 sacks this season, 17.5 have come from the defensive line.

Prediction: The Detroit Lions will win this game. Emotion, crowd noise, and having more to prove will be the difference. The Packers are in the driver seat for the conference and the division and a loss won’t affect them. If there are no crazy bounces of the football we think the Lions in a fairly high scoring affair.  This game could be an all time classic!! Happy Thanksgiving

 

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The Tebow Quotient

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You could almost hear the television announcers last night on NFL Network: “If you’re just joining us Tim Tebow has a chance to do it again.” Invesco Field at Mile High sprung to life when the Broncos came onto the field with just over 5:50 to go. We don’t want to say the New York defense looked defeated as they took the field but they had somewhat of a demoralized pace and demeanor . You could see the look on their faces which seemed to say “How did we let ourselves get in this position?” Then Tebow went to work.

It is here where we’ll cite a previous article on the Tebow quotient. In our week 10 AFC West edition we said “The Broncos need to realize they have a running quarterback the size of a linebacker. They need to call plays that exploit his ability to turn football back into 11 on 11 on some running plays. He and Willis McGahee bludgeoned Oakland with over 100 yards each and the better he runs, the more defenses are going to remain honest in nickel and especially dime defense situations. Instead of 6th and 7th pass defenders back to cover receivers they have to keep them within 10 yards of the scrimmage line to deter him from running. Right now the Broncos have to come up with a hybrid version of the wildcat where the quarterback is as much a runner as a thrower. That simple. They have to go to the collegiate ranks and nab a quarterback friendly offensive co-ordinator to make this work.”

‘Critics are just going to bash Tebow for backlash from the super favorable treatment he received in college. We legitimately thought of him as a tight end going into the draft. Yet when you see a pass play breakdown, he can bull his way to positive yards instead of throwing a pass that could be intercepted. Sure critics point to Kyle Orton’s superior passing percentage (58.7% -46.4%) yet this is the only showcase to Orton’s upside. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/2011.htm Yet when it comes to touchdown to interception ratio Tebow is killing Orton (6TDs /1 INT- 8TDs /7INTS) and Orton has thrown 58 more passes. Orton’s having thrown 6 more interceptions directly relate to Denver’s losing 23-20 to Oakland, the Titans 17-14, and the 29-24 loss to San Diego. Think about it, had they had the ball and possibly have scored 1 more time in each game, this team could be 6-2. The Tebow trade-off for rushing yards (277-17 for Orton) is well worth getting rid of the 6 extra turnovers. The difference is Tebow SHOULD improve passing the football vs this is it for Orton’s upside. Coach Fox, you’re just going to have to live with some offensive breakdowns from time to time, hell the Giants did that with Lawrence Taylor when he’d rush the passer instead of dropping like he should when he was young. This is where you have to close ranks as a team and move on. Yet you’re 2-1 with Tebow v. 1-4 with Orton. Alright make a case for why Orton should be elevated to starter again??”

Now the Broncos are 4-1 with Tim Tebow at the helm…

Was this or was this not the essence of Tebow ball last night. It was sloppy and haphazard yet when the game was on the line the Broncos did what they did best: Run with Tebow to force defenses to  play 11 on 11 and we clearly saw CB Darelle Revis NOT want to tackle the charging 245 lbs quarterback on one of his runs to the sideline. Then the final touchdown run illustrating how hard it is to defense this guy. If you’re going to run a man to man defense, the linemen and blitzers can’t allow the quarterback to take off with the football. No one will account for him. So once he broke past Jets safety Eric Smith, it was clear sailing to the endzone. Had the Jets been in a zone the defenders wouldn’t have had their backs to him when he took off running.  Yet this is nothing new…

Remember back in the 1987 season when defenses started to defend a young John Elway with spies?? These were normally reserve defensive backs that played 5 yards off the line of scrimmage and mirrored the quarterback once he stepped up and threatened to run they would come up as delayed blitzers. They did this with Randall Cunningham also yet I digress. We hear of all the pundits getting on Tebow’s passing ability but let’s not forget Roger “The Dodger” Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Kenny “The Snake” Stabler, Fran Tarkenton, and many of the greats had to rely on their running ability before they developed downfield throwing prowess. In the famous game with the “Immaculate Reception” before Franco Harris won the game, it was Kenny Stabler who scrambled 30 yards for a TD to give the Raiders a  7-6 lead. When the Cowboys won Super Bowl VI, Staubach wasn’t the full time starter until week 7. Even in the Super Bowl Staubach ran more times than he passed it in the first half (9 to 6).

Right now Tebow can get away with games where he just runs the football and should develop as a down field passer. Again Orton had far superior passing yards yet the Broncos were 1-4 with him passing. Looks like the Broncos will be playing “Wing-T” or “Wildcat” football for now.

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NFL Week 11 AFC East: As The World Turns

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Patriots rattle Mark Sanchez in the 2nd half

It is at this point that we want to say this has been the strangest season in NFL history. More ups and downs than a roller coaster at Cedar Point and more twists and turns than the end of a mystery novel. Every division in the NFL has several teams within striking distance of their individual races yet one has an all familiar shape to it. No, not the hoodie again?? Yes the hoodie again. Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots drew and quartered the New York Jets on Sunday night to regain control of the AFC East.

Sunday night’s tilt saw the Jets beaten at their own game. Usually the Jets play a ball control, close to the vest affair leaning on their defense. Then open up their attack in the second half. However Tom Brady and the Patriot offense beat them to it and pried open a 9-7 deficit and pulled away in a 37-16 laugher. The difference was Brady’s ability to make adjustments to how the Jets were defending them. With Darelle Revis hounding Wes Welker all night, Brady opted to throw to his tight ends. They combined for 12 receptions yet it was Rob Gronkowski’s 8 receptions for 113 yards and 2 TDs that was the difference. Ochocinco was brought out of witness protection for a 53 yarder to introduce another element to their attack.

Ninkovich's second interception of Sanchez was the icing on the cake.

In contrast Mark Sanchez didn’t pass the eyeball test all night. He looked uncomfortable and had to force several throws. Stat-wise his night wasn’t that dissimilar from Brady’s. He completed 6 fewer passes for 23 fewer yards (Brady 26/39, 329 yds v. Sanchez 20/39, 306 yds). Yet of those six, two were interceptions with one being the game clincher by Nickel backer Rob Ninkovich.

After Santonio Holmes the Jets didn’t have a speed outlet that scared the Patriot defense. Subsequently the coverage on the intermediate routes grew tighter and tighter and exposed the Jets offense. As we watched this performance, we saw the same thing the television audience saw. The Jets are a slow football team. Plaxico Burress doesn’t have a burst and is only good from in close. Who wouldn’t be at 6’5 catching over a 5’9 defensive back?? Yes he caught his touchdown from seven yards out but only caught 3 passes on the night for 32 yards. On two occasions he ran pedestrian slant routes that Patriots DBs were able to knock down. The tradeoff of Plaxico Burress for Bralyon Edwards has backfired and their receivers no longer have balance. Edwards could stretch the field more and ran better routes to bail out Sanchez on 3rd down. Had to say it…lets take a look at the standings

AFC EAST W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF PF PA DIFF STRK
New England 6 3 0 .667 3-1-0 3-2-0 3-1-0 5-2-0 259 200 +59 Won 1
NY Jets 5 4 0 .556 4-1-0 1-3-0 2-2-0 4-4-0 215 200 +15 Lost 1
Buffalo 5 4 0 .556 4-1-0 1-3-0 1-1-0 3-2-0 229 218 +11 Lost 2
Miami 2 7 0 .222 1-3-0 1-4-0 0-2-0 1-6-0 158 178 -20 Won 2

Ryan Fitzpatrick is hounded by the Dallas defense last Sunday in a 44-7 loss.

Now what the hell was that that happened in Dallas?? Fortunately our boss, who is a Bill’s fan, is off this week and it looks like his team took it off also. 44-7?? What had been lost in the Bills 4-0 start was the fact that their defense ranked near the bottom. They were opportunistic in those first weeks leading the league with 12 interceptions yet without those they can’t get the other offense off the field. Losing Shawne Merriman has robbed the Bills of pass rush prowess that’s desperately needed. Right now the Bills are ranked 29th on defense and are tied for 27th in sacks with a paltry 15. If you can’t force teams off the field the last thing the Bills can afford are turnovers. In their first 6 games, the Bills were in rhythm and only had 7 turnovers as they started 4-2. Their last 3 games, 2 of which were losses?? Nine turnovers while going 1-2 in those.  This has to stop for the Bills to right a season that looks like they’ve lost a handle on.

Fred Jackson carries several Cowboys defenders in Sunday's loss.

saving grace for the Bills is the play of Fred Jackson. The underappreciated back hit the Cowboys defense for 114 yards to bring his season total to 917 and 6 TDs. He has emerged as a dual threat with 392 yards on 34 receptions and should make the Pro Bowl. His continued performance is needed to help Ryan Fitzpatrick not face a pass rush that is getting to him more in these last four games. With their center Eric Wood sustaining injury the line isn’t as formidable and could see problems the rest of the way. The Bills can right the ship with a big win. Yet it looks like their meal ticket may come from the ground game as we head toward winter games and 3 of their next four on the road. At 5-4 they are in desperate need of a win to keep pundits and other teams from thinking the sand is out of their 2011 hourglass.

Well one further thing to note: The Taylor Blitz Times in it’s NFL Annual Preview picked the New England Patriots to face the New York Jets in the AFC Championship. Well after being swept by the Pats, the Jets are hanging by a thread with 4 conference losses. The Jets have to nearly run the table just to make the playoffs and they had better find some answers. After a season of antics from Rex Ryan, it’s time for his team to deliver on the field and grow into the unit they say they can be. It’s alright to talk and be verbose when your team is pulling out big wins.

Well if the Jets can’t right the ship, their season will be defined by their losses to the arch rival Patriots. So we know Rex Ryan said “I wasn’t brought in to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings”…well…we just received a fax and wanted to share it with you. We’re not exactly sure what it means…you tell us

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