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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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Week 8 AFC North: Protecting the NFL Republic

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Bengals defense has been beastly the first half of the ’11 season.

With all this talk of wide open offenses in the NFL this year, there is a division where a more traditional game favors the defensive side of the football. The AFC North. Going into yesterday’s games, this division’s four teams ranked 1, 2, 3, & 4 in total defense. Surprisingly it was the Cincinnati Bengals who has led for most of the year before being overtaken by the Ravens. Baltimore luckily had a chance to pad their stats on Monday Night playing an inept Jacksonville team in a 12-7 upset loss.

Each team has the old mantra of running tough, milking the clock, and supplement that with timely passing. Yet the main ingredient is defense, defense, defense. For it was the swarming defense of  the Cincinnati Bengals that knocked the offensive minded Buffalo Bills from the ranks of the unbeaten earlier this year 23-20. This was one week after coming out on the short end of a 13-8 alley fight with the 49ers.

These are your Cincinnati Bengals. One year removed from a season that saw Pri-Madonnas Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco fail as Batman and Robin. Watched their franchise quarterback in Carson Palmer threaten to retire over returning to the team. No problem, Bengals draft TCU’s Andy Dalton and fed Cedric Benson the football. Such thinking has been rewarded with 458 yards and 2 TDs despite the fact he sat out yesterday’s 34-12 beat down of Seattle. Dalton has endured a rookie season baptism by fire where he’s finished the first half of the season with 1,479 yards, 9 TDs and 7 interceptions. He is this year’s Mark Sanchez where he’s not being asked to do to much, rely on his running game and his defense. After a 5-2 start, it’s safe to say that Marvin Lewis and his Bengals have an old tried and true winning NFL formula working for them.

As for the defense, Geno Atkins leads the way with 3 sacks with Jonathon Fanene following with 3. Safety Reggie Nelson leads the way with 45 tackles with Ray Maualuga cleaning up with a hard hitting 38. Were you looking for extremely high numbers?? Sorry you don’t understand the formula. Run the football and minimize how much your defense has to play. Been a staple for over 93 years in the NFL. Lets take a look at the standings as well.

AFC NORTH W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF PF PA DIFF STRK
Pittsburgh 6 2 0 .750 4-0-0 2-2-0 0-1-0 4-2-0 176 139 +37 Won 4
Cincinnati 5 2 0 .714 2-1-0 3-1-0 1-0-0 4-1-0 171 123 +48 Won 4
Baltimore 5 2 0 .714 4-0-0 1-2-0 1-0-0 3-2-0 185 110 +75 Won 1
Cleveland 3 4 0 .429 2-2-0 1-2-0 0-1-0 2-3-0 107 140 -33 Lost 1

Returning to the leader board after 4 straight wins are the defending AFC Champion Steelers who has seen it’s defense surrender more yards than in year’s past. In 2010 the Steelers were tremendous holding opponents to 62.5 yards per game rushing. This year they have had some struggles yet have bounced back to a respectable 8th allowing 99.1 and this week they get James Harrison back from injury. With a rubber match head knocker this week against division rival Baltimore, all hands need to be on deck. However it was the Ravens that bludgeoned the Steelers with 170 yards rushing in week one. In Harrison’s absence, LaMarr Woodley has picked up the slack and leads the team with 9 sacks. Two of which came in last week’s 25-17 win over decade long nemesis Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Woodley sacks rookie Blaine Gabbert

Yet there are points for concern. Do you realize the win over New England represents their only win over a winning team this season?? Also for all the hard hitting the Steelers have been known for they have only forced 3 turnovers and 2 of those are interceptions. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit/2011.htm Right now their leading tacklers are safeties Ryan Clark (50) and Troy Palamalu (48) which shows teams are moving the Steelers off the line of scrimmage. Truth be told they have an easy schedule that may be masking the real Steelers. Right now Pittsburgh is #2 overall in defense yet if you take out the win over New England, their wins come over the Colts (30th in offense), Seattle (31st), Tennessee (25th), Jacksonville (32nd or last), and Arizona (20th).

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?archive=false&conference=null&role=TM&offensiveStatisticCategory=TOTAL_YARDS&defensiveStatisticCategory=null&season=2011&seasonType=REG&tabSeq=2&qualified=true&Submit=Go

Just think it’s these anemic offenses that have passed for 10 TDs and only 2 interceptions?? This team is still deficient at defending the pass as they were in last February’s Super Bowl. Right now they are winning on the arm of Ben Roethlisberger. His 365 yards and 2TDs were the difference in the Steelers win on Sunday. Rashard Mendenhall has been solid (421 yds /3 TDs) however it’s come down to one frantic 3rd down scramble & throw after another to sustain drives. Can this formula keep?? If they can win this week at home against Baltimore they can sustain that they are in fact still the team to beat in the AFC North. A loss here and indeed the Ravens will have swept their nemesis and dropped them to 1-3 against teams with winning records. Which will really raise serious doubts on their ability to make it back to the AFC Championship Game.

Ready to try and sweep the Steelers are the up and down Baltimore Ravens. How is it the Ravens lost to the 2-6 Jaguars just two weeks ago 12-7 and to the Titans earlier in the season 26-13?? This team needs to quit overlooking it’s lessor opposition. Joe Flacco is coming under all kinds of heat for not showing much improvement over these last few seasons. He checks the football down too much and isn’t running the total offense when it comes to taking to the air. Yet the NFL’s #1 defense has led them to a 3-1 record against team’s with winning records. Ray Lewis (who else) leads the way with 55 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and 1 interception. As a unit they have 17 sacks, 7 interceptions and 6 fumble recoveries. Again it is up to this unit to carry this team as far as it can go.

The Ravens offense is too reliant on Ray Rice. He’s been super productive out of the backfield with 489 yards rushing, 5 TDs and 33 receptions for 373 yards and 2 more touchdowns. However his playing style takes too many hits and he may wear down by season’s end with this his 3rd season with such a heavy workload. It’s imperative that Flacco make better use of his receivers aside from Anquan Boldin (34 rec. 539 yds 2TDs) and TE Ed Dickson. Flacco is too predictable when you show him zone he won’t throw to the second level and just dumps it to Rice. He will be the reason this team doesn’t make it to the Super Bowl. In his 4th season he should have shown the growth to master more of the offense and learn the nuances of the quarterback position. Will he throw to the second level against the Steelers this week??

Cleveland’s D’Qwell Jackson is having a Pro Bowl season

Rounding out this defensive group are the “No Name” Cleveland Browns who are in the midst of shaping the same gameplan around a young QB in Colt McCoy while pounding the opposition with Peyton Hillis. Yet this season Hillis (211 yards / 2TDs) has been nicked with an assortment of injuries and has shared time with Montario Hardesty (244 yards). The Browns have been playing close to the vest games all year thanks to a defense filled with No Names that have roped teams into defensive struggles. Last Sunday they were out in San Francisco in another slugfest where they lost a close one 20-10. The 49ers jumped to an early17-3 lead and were nearly shut out from that point on. Again this defense was let down by an offense that couldn’t get out of it’s own way being held to 66 yards rushing. In their defense they were down to a second string running back with both Hillis and Hardesty out with injuries.

So how are the Browns just 3-4?? They have been able to best the weak teams in defensive struggles and can’t get over the hump when they require more offense. Their 5th ranked defense has been led by D’Qwell Jackson, a fifth year linebacker out of Maryland, who is having the best season of any MLB /ILB. He’s corralled 64 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries and looks like a young Ray Lewis. In fact this team has 17 sacks while forcing 8 turnovers. Four linemen have multiple sacks so far this season, their first under defensive co-ordinator Dick Jauron. Their a hodge podge group of veteran free agents and a few unheard of stars like Jackson. If they can get through the next three games relatively healthy, five of their final 6 games are against defensive brethren in cold weather. Their defense can only carry them so far. Otherwise they stand a chance to make some serious noise in the division if they can get some offensive help. Will they get it??

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NFL Week 8 Predictions

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Ray Lewis

Don’t you just love football?? Here we are after a night of thrilling finishes to college football Saturday, heading into NFL’s week 8 with some pivotal match-ups. This week has most of the teams playing against unfamiliar cross conference opponents which should make for an interesting week. We expect some surprises but one thing we want to point out is after an 0-3 start, the Kansas City Chiefs play Monday Night against the San Diego Chargers with first place on the line. In our never ending comparisons we explained they could match the plight of the ’89 Steelers who lost their first two games by a combined 93-10, yet came back to make the playoffs. Well after being outscored 89-10 in their first two games, the Chiefs can be in first place before we hit November. Now that is a turnaround!! Lets get after the games…

Arizona Cardinals @ Baltimore Ravens: After that disaster Monday Night, Joe Flacco needs to make amends with the fans of Baltimore and his teammates. He has to play better and the Cardinals 26th ranked defense could be the tonic he needs. Meanwhile Anquan Boldin will want to win this one badly also against his former team. Ravens on the strength of their defense which overtook Cincinnati as the #1 unit in football.

Minnesota Vikings @ Carolina Panthers: The first foray into playing quarterback on the road in the NFL for Christian Ponder. Should be one where Carolina’s defense should rattle the rookie. Yet the Panther’s 29th against the run defense might get scorched by Adrian Peterson. Peterson comes in with 729 yards and 8 TDs and may need a herculian effort to pull this off. We have to go with the Panthers and Cam Newton at home…..barely

Jacksonville Jaguars @Houston Texans: The Texans are coming very close to giving away a season that shaped up to be a special one for them. Of course they couldn’t help the untimely injuries of Mario Williams and Andre Johnson but this team needs to get going. After last week’s 41-7 devestation of Tennessee, this is the game where they need to hammer home the point that they’re the AFC South’s best. All they have to do is stop Maurice Jones-Drew, who has run for 677 yards yet has those two Monday night fumbles dancing in his head. Texans will be going for the football. Rookie QB Blaine Gabbert in his first road start in the NFL shouldn’t be a factor. Texans going away.

Enigmatic Eli

Miami Dolphins @ New York Giants: Where do the Dolphins go after a mind numbing loss to the Broncos?? A mildly cold Gotham. Not good, especially with the psyche of having to relive Tebow’s comeback time after time on NFL Network and ESPN. If only they had quality running backs to exploit the Giants 27th against the run defense they would have a chance. Giants with Eli Manning passing on a suspect Dolphin defense will be enough.

New Orleans Saints @ St Louis Rams: This is going to be a glorified scrimmage for the Saints offense. After getting torched by DeMarco Murray for 253 yards on the ground, the Saints will be licking their chops to take the lead and hand it off to Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas. Right now the NFC’s #1 ranked offense is hot with Drew Brees ahead of his 5,000 yard season pace. Yikes!! Saints

Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans: After a 62-7 collapse on the road on Monday Night and now they travel to Tennessee?? Titans and Matt Hasselbeck should rebound. Paging Chris Johnson!! Paging Chris Johnson!! If you can’t get running here you may have to renegotiate your contract and give some money back.

Fred Jackson powers Buffalo’s offense

Washington Redskins @ Buffalo Bills: The “Land of the Misfit Toys” welcomes in a Redskin team that is coming back to Earth after a 2-0 start. They have gone 1-3 since then and lost RB Tim Hightower for the rest of the season and Rex Grossman has started to throw interceptions with 9. Wrong place, wrong time. The Bills enter the week with the most interceptions with 12 and 16 turnovers forced overall. It will be loud in Orchard Park and Grossman should throw some picks today. On the other hand, Fred Jackson is 6th in the NFL in rushing with 601 yards and 6TDs and should make it to 3rd today if he rushes for over 71 yards. The ink is just drying on Ryan Fitzpatrick’s new $59 million extension and he should be on his game after a bye. Buffalo wins over a sliding Redskin team.

Detroit Lions @ Denver Broncos: Want to hear something funny?? A few years removed from setting the record for the most consecutive losses in NFL history, the Lions find comfort away from home now. They are 3-0 at home and take on a Bronco team giddy over a come from behind win. There is a serious chance at an emotional letdown by the Broncos. Tebow will face a potent pass rush this week and if they minimize turnovers they have a chance at home. On defense they won’t have a good time covering Calvin “Megatron” Johnson who has 10 TDs already. Everyone is waiting for Detroit to wake up and be a bad team again…it’s not happening. Detroit on the throwing of a maturing Matthew Stafford (16TDs / 4 ints) will best the Broncos.

New England Patriots @ Pittsburgh Steelers: Here is where the rubber meets the road gang. The #1 offense of the Patriots vs the #3 defense of the Steelers.  So defensive strength belongs to the Steelers right?? Until you inspect and see it’s the Steelers who are 12th at stopping the run to the Patriots ranked 8th. Tom Brady is 4-1 lifetime vs. the Steelers which includes two AFC Championship Games in 2001 and 2004. Somehow the Steelers have to get Mendenhall going early in this one. If the Steelers have to cover Brady’s receivers on a slippery snowy field, Wes Welker is going to have a field day. Roethlisberger may need to make some big plays in this game. Patriots win this one being a more complete team.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Seattle Seahawks:  Cedric Benson is suspended and the Bengals have only RB Bernard Scott to keep Seattle’s defense and crowd noise off of rookie QB Andy Dalton. However the game will turn on the Bengals #2 ranked defense which has forced 9 turnovers and has allowed only 1 team over 100 yards rushing the ball. Bengals

Cleveland Browns @ San Francisco 49ers: One of the surprise teams in the league is out by the bay this week. Yes the 49ers are 5-1 and were the toast of the town for two weeks. However the team I’m talking about is the 3-3 Cleveland Browns who are going into this game with the league’s 4th best defense in all of pro football. Peyton Hillis is sore and a game time decision. Everyone is expressing how poorly Colt McCoy is playing and he does need some improvement. However he has 8 TD throws along with SanFrancisco’s Alex Smith has the same amount of TD passes. This is an upset special… Browns in a tough one.

Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles: The Cowboys discovered a running game in DeMarco Murray last week with a team record 253 yards rushing against the Rams. Yet it was just that…against the Rams. So was it a coming out party or an aberration? For the first time in many weeks Tony Romo wasn’t asked to pass deep into the 4th quarter where he’s had his troubles. Coming into the game, the Dallas Cowboys come in with the #1 defense against the run and face the #1 rushing offense, so what gives?? Vick with a few scrambles should tire out the Cowboys defense and the safeties are still suspect and may allow DeSean Jackson to get deep. With their season on the line we think the Philadelphia Eagles will right the ship after lamenting their fate all through the bye week.  Jason Garrett has some questionable calls late in close games and will do it again tonight. Sorry Hollywood, Romo will throw a late pick.

AFL Lives On!!

Monday Night Kansas City Chiefs @ San Diego Chargers: The Chargers had the chance to reverse how others, namely the Taylor Blitz Times, views them as perennial underachievers last week and then went out and did so again. This time with the spotlight on them after Rex Ryan’s comments. They viewed that game as a big game and promptly laid an egg. The team that has gone through a crucible is the Kansas City Chiefs. This summer it was thought this was the best team in the AFC West. First came the 0-3 record, lost their 1,400 yard rusher in Jamaal Charles going down, then rededication and a 3 game winning streak has this team confident again. They have found a sound RB replacement in Battle. With a win they go from worst to first in only 4 games and will lead the AFC West again. Will they get it?? Yes on the strength of their ground game with Thomas Jones, Battle, and McCluster leading the way.

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Week 7 NFC North: Sobering Developments

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Every NFL season has it’s ups and downs. One month you’re a world beater and headed to the Super Bowl, once those other pesky ten games get out of the way. A month later you’re a team in search of a few answers on how to right the ship. Or in the case of the Chicago Bears, the mantra is to prove last year’s run to the NFC Championship wasn’t a fluke and they were / are worthy of primetime coverage. Last Sunday the Bears crossed the pond and held off an up and coming Tampa Bay team 24-18, for their 3rd win in 4 weeks.

Look no further than RB Matt Forte for their resurgence. Do you realize that in four weeks he’s run for 553 and 2 TDs and catapulted himself into one of the NFL’s rushing leaders with 672 yards?? He ranks third in rushing and with the Bears schedule becoming easier after this week’s bye, he could run the Bears right back into the playoff chase.  Has there been a running back this year who has played better than Forte?? we don’t think so. He also leads the team in receptions (39) and receiving yards (419) and if he keeps going may be up for NFL MVP consideration as well.

What is shocking is the Bears defense being ranked 24th in all of pro football. This week saw the Bears wave goodbye to S Chris Harris who started against the Bucs over at Wembley. Against the run they are a respectable 13th yet their pass defense has been awful of late ranking 27th. What is puzzling is the fact that the Bears are rushing the passer well. Led by Julius Peppers (4 sacks) there are at least four Bears with 3 sacks or more in just seven games. Lance Briggs was just named NFC Defensive Player of the Week and has 55 tackles. Urlacher is right behind him with 39 tackles and 3 interceptions. With all this pressure and solid linebacker play, what is going on in the secondary?? The play at nickleback and safety needs to be shored up. They have a bye week and then they face Philadelphia and the Michael Vick Experience. With so much attention on the World Champion Packers and the resurgent Lions, most experts don’t see this Bear team who quietly sits within striking distance of the division leaders.

 

NFC NORTH W L T PCT HOME ROAD DIV CONF PF PA DIFF STRK
Green Bay 7 0 0 1.000 3-0-0 4-0-0 2-0-0 6-0-0 230 141 +89 Won 7
Detroit 5 2 0 .714 2-2-0 3-0-0 2-0-0 4-2-0 194 137 +57 Lost 2
Chicago 4 3 0 .571 3-1-0 1-2-0 1-2-0 4-3-0 170 150 +20 Won 2
Minnesota 1 6 0 .143 1-3-0 0-3-0 0-3-0 1-4-0 148 178 -30 Lost 2

A little wind has been swept from the sails of the Detroit Lions amidst back to back losses to San Francisco and Atlanta until you realize 6 of the 7 teams they have played are .500 and above. The Falcons have won their division 2 of the last 3 years and fighting to keep pace with the Saints and Bucs (whom the Lions beat already). Their other loss came was against the NFC West leading San Francisco 49ers. Each can be attributed to facing Pro Bowl caliber running backs in Frank Gore (141 yds /1TD) two weeks ago and Michael Turner (122 yds) who ran effectively against them. In fact the Lions are 28th against the run and has only held 1 team under 100 yards rushing this season.

While the Lions have been a scoring machine the first 5 games they have been somewhat slowed in the last two. The missing punch out of the backfield in Mikel Leshoure, on injured reserve, is slowing this team down. Jahvid Best is filling the void as best he can but is a limited runner on 3rd and short. However the maturation of soon to be Pro Bowl quarterback Matthew Stafford (1,912 yards /16TDs & 4 int.) is right on schedule. Calvin “Megatron” Johnson’s touchdowns have slowed a bit (8 in 4 games v. 2 in last 3 games) yet he topped 100 yards receiving in each defeat. They just have to get past Denver and recharge their batteries in the following bye week.  To us, these games seemed to be growing pains for a young team yet they should be concerned about their run defense. Especially in a rematch with the Bears with Matt Forte’s recent rushing performance.

Sailing along are the World Champion Packers whose offense is one of the best in all of football. Aaron Rodgers is moving well in the pocket and distributing the football without taking sacks or hits like he did last season. Concerns about his concussion situation seems a thing of the past. The Packers are passing at will on opponents who can’t generate enough heat to get to Rodgers. How affective are the champs with the ball? Well their offense is ranked #3 overall with Rodgers unbelievable statistics. Rodgers has completed 71.5% of his passes for 2,372 yards, 20TDs to only 3 interceptions. Yikes!! It’s as though he’s playing Madden Football on rookie. Do you realize he’s on pace to throw for 5,421 yards with 45 TDs. That would destroy Dan Marino’s single season yardage mark if maintained and just off pace to break Brady’s all time touchdown record. Lethal.

Lets ask a question: What happened to this defense?? Green Bay has been giving up candy on defense this year to the tune of 391 yards  per game. Where last year the team was galvanized and held together by the leagues’s #2 ranked defense, this year’s edition is ranked 27th. Without a significant injury to the starting 11, you’d have to say it’s a terrible performance. In 7 games they have only held one team to 10 or less. They even gave up 27 points to an inept rival Viking team last week.

Eventually offensive juggernauts fall to a superior defense in postseason play. The Packers are walking a tightrope. They want to finish like last year’s team with a Super Bowl victory yet are playing defense like their 2009 edition that was knocked out in the wildcard round. It would be best for this team to get to some Oklahoma drills this off week. Their title defense will come down to their defense in the end and they definitely have to play better.

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