Monthly Archives: September 2009

Monday Morning Quarterback

Week 2 is almost in the books with just the Monday Night game left and what a week it was.  The Cowboys opened up their brand new stadium, the Jets and Pats squared off, and Ochocinco did the Lambeau Leap!  What else can you ask for?

After another week we start to draw some more conclusions and see that week one doesn’t mean everything (Bears) but we still have to wait another week or two before we’re sure of what we see.  With that said here are my thoughts and ramblings on week 2 of the NFL.

Before I start I want to mention that I started off writing about the Jets Pats game but there was so much to write I ended up writing a whole article about which you can see here.  So I won’t mention the game in this article so don’t be alarmed when you don’t see anything about it.

Giants ruin Cowboy Stadium Opening

A last second field goal spoiled the opening of the Cowboys new stadium giving the Giants a 33-31 win.  The Cowboys have now closed Texas Stadium with a loss and opened Cowboys Stadium with one.

The Cowboys christened their new stadium with a loss last night.

Eli worth the Contract

We saw last night why the Giants payed Eli Manning all that money.  He looked phenomenal as he shredded the Cowboys secondary all night.  By the way, who needs Plaxico?  Steve Smith and Mario Manningham each caught 10 passes and looked like go to receivers for Manning.

Can Romo Win the big one?

Last night’s game was just another one of many disappointing performances by Romo in a big game.  Granted it was only week 2 but it was a statement game for Romo.  He looked dreadful and those interceptions were terrible.  It does say a lot about the Cowboys that they did manage to almost win the game despite of his performance.  I still like Tony Romo as a quarterback just not sure if he’s ever gonna win a Super Bowl. 

Sanchez and the Jets beat the Brady and the Pats

The J-E-T-S do it again!

The Jets, behind Mark Sanchez, upset the Patriots  after upsetting the Texans last week.  The Jets simply outplayed the Pats and perhaps we are witnessing a changing of the guard in the AFC East although it is still a bit premature.  For the second straight week the Pats played a close game but Brady couldn’t deliver the magic this week.

Brady was harrassed by the Jets all day long and could never get into a rhythm.

The Jets harassed him all game long making him uncomfortable in the pocket and forcing early and errant throws.  Although they didn’t sack him the constant pressure lead to a 49% completion percentage for Brady.  Now compare this game to the last time the Pats lost with Brady at quarterback, the Super Bowl, and you see the same thing.  If you pressure Brady he’s not the same quarterback.  He didn’t look it in the Super Bowl and didn’t yesterday as well.

It’s clear the Pats defense isn’t the same as well.  Guys like Harrison, Bruschi, and Vrabel they could have done without because their play was declining but they really miss Jerod Mayo and Richard Seymour.  Everyone was praising the Pats for the Seymour trade but it hasn’t looked so smart so far.  In the future it may pay off but the Pats are feeling his loss right now.  They felt comfortable getting rid of guys like Vrabel and Bruschi because of young studs of Mayo but his injury has put their depth to the test and they could use their veteran experience.

You have to give credit to Rex Ryan and the defense.  Ryan out schemed the Pats and the defensive payed phenomenal.  Ryan talked a big game in off season and leading up to the game but he backed it up and you got to love that.  Through the first two games of the year they have not allowed an offensive touchdown.  Pretty darn impressive considering they have played two of the top offenses in the league in Houston and New England.  Kris Jenkins is clogging up the middle allowing David Harris and Bart Scott to roam free and make plays.

Chad Ochocinco does the Lambeau Leap

Well, Ochocinco lived up his word and actually did the Lambeau Leap.  It was very planned out too.  He found three Bengals fans in the front row and went to them.  Good move and he also checked with the ref on the flag so he didn’t look like an idiot.

Bet of the Week: Week 2

I started off the season on fire nailing all of my picks including my upset pick (Jets).  Let’s see if the streak continues heading into week 2.

Week 2

1. Green Bay Packers (-9) vs. Cincinnati Bengals

I’m going with the Packers in the suicide this week and I also think they can cover.  Dom Capers 3-4 defense looked terrific last week especially that secondary.

The defense also get first round pick B.J. Raji back from injury this week and he will help the run defense with his big frame clogging the middle.  The Bengals offense struggled mightily against the Broncos defense, who also run a 3-4, last week and now runs into a much better defense.  It will be another long day for Carson Palmer.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars (+3) vs. Arizona Cardinals

The Jags played the Colts tough on the road last week and if not for a failed two point conversion they might be 1-0.  They did that with poor play from David Garrard who gets a much easier matchup this week with the Cardinals secondary.

The Cardinals were really hurt last week by the injury to Anquan Boldin, which allowed the 49ers to double Larry Fitzgerald and forced Warner to dump the ball off to Tim Hightower.  Boldin hasn’t improved much and will be limited again hindering the Cardinals offense.  Another factor in Jacksonville’s favor; the Cardinals are a west coast team playing in a 1:00 p.m. game on the east coast.

3.  Houston Texans (+7) vs. Tennessee Titans

Both teams are coming off loses in week one and will be looking to notch their first of the year.  The Texans offense looked bad against the Jets but they can’t play any worse and will rebound this week as they get Kevin Walter back from injury.

These teams have played each other close in the past and the Texans even beat the Titans late last season.  Andre Johnson didn’t do much last week and is motivated to have a big game and he ripped the the Titans for over 200 yards last year.  The Texans may not win but they’ll keep it under 7.

Underdog Pick

1. New York Giants (+140) vs. Dallas Cowboys

The G-Men and Cowboys clash on Sunday Night football as the Cowboys open their new stadium.  Both teams are coming off wins in week one and the winner will take an early lead in the NFC East.

The Giants secondary is a lot better than leaky Bus one and they will not allow the Boys to beat them deep three times.  The key will be to get pressure on Romo and not allow him time in the pocket.  The Cowboys closed Texas Stadium with a loss and I expect them to open Cowboys Stadium with a loss as well.

Suicide Pick: Week 2

If you listened to me last week your still alive as is pretty much everyone as their were no big upsets in week one.  But look on the bright side, you used a team that you probably wouldn’t have used the rest of the season (Seahawks) and still have the great teams left (Pats, Chargers, and Saints).  Another bonus, you avoided a potential heart attack watching the Pats and Chargers barely coming away victorious.

Teams already used:

Week 1: Seattle Seahwaks: Win

Now onto week 2.  There are no lopsided games this week but there are still a few attractive options.

The pick for week 2 is the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers, coming of an impressive win over the Bears, get the Bengals in their home opener.  The Bengals are still reeling after losing to the Broncos on a hail mary and their consolation is to go into Lambeau Field and take on the Packers.  Not the easiest of tasks but hey, Chad Ochocinco (still can’t get used to typing that) has guaranteed a Lambeau Leap if he scores.

On a serious note the Packers defense looked like a completely different unit from last year against the Bears.  They got pressure, were swarming to the ball, and of course picked off Jay Cutler four times.  The Bengals n the other hand only managed to score only seven points against the Broncos defense!  Other than Brian Dawkins, who is past his prime, the Broncos don’t have another good starter on their defense.  And they scored all their points in the final minute.  So let’s get this straight; they scored only seven points against one of the worst defenses in the league and were shit out by them for 59 minutes.  Sounds like a mismatch to me.

Final Score: Green Bay 27 Cincinnati 10

NFL Quick Hits

Not much big news going on today in the NFL.  I turned on SportsCenter and heard T.O. was at it again but was extremely let down when I heard the comments.  He didn’t say much and ESPN is blowing it way out of proportion like usual.  With that, week 2 is fastly approaching and to keep you busy we have some great reads for you to check out:

Playoffs already? Check out the absurdly premature playoff picture.  (Shutdown Corner)

Speaking of playoffs, what are your teams odds of making them after week one? (Accusocre)

Don’t overreact to week one but there a few things to take away from it. (Yahoo! Sports)

Week 2 Previews and Predictions (NFL Touchdown)

Jets saftey Kerry Rhodes wants to embarrass the Patriots this week. (NY Daily News)

Chad Ochocinco has some plans for an end zone dance against the Packers this week.  (FanSided)

Buffalo fans not taking the loss to the Pats lightly.  (Buffalo Low Down)

Is fantasy football more popular than the NFL? (The League)

The 10 dumbest plays from the weekend.  (Favre Dollar Footlongs)

Mike Martz isn’t Jay Cutler’s biggest fan. (EDS Football)

The top 17 movie quarterbacks of all time. (FanSided)

Darius Heyward-Bey’s thoughts on his first game where he caught zero balls and dropeed two passes: “solid.” (SF Chronicle)

NFL Power Rankings: Week 2

One week down in the regular season and with that comes the first edition of our Power Rankings.  Pre-season rankings are useless and we won’t get a good idea about whose for real and not for a few weeks but in the meantime heres something to keep you entertained.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)- The world champs pulled out tight win over the Titans but will be tested now without Troy Polamalu for 3-6 weeks.

2. New York Giants (1-0)- The score may not show it but the Giants dominated the Redskins on Sunday.  The receivers played well and that defense is scary.

3. Baltimore Ravens (1-0)- They did play the Chiefs but their offense especailly Joe Flacoo look much improved from last year.

4. Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)- Facing Drew Bress will be a lot harder than Jake Delhomme this week espcially without McNabb.

5. New England Patroits (1-0)- Squeaked out a win but you knew the whole time they were winning that game.

6. Minnesota Vikings (1-0)- A simple gameplan.  Give the ball to Adrian Peterson.

7. Atlanta Falcons (1-0)- Matty Ice showed no signs of a sophomore slump and Tony G looked great.

8. Green Bay Packers (1-0)- The defense looked a lot better but they still gave up 341 yards.

9. New Orleans Saints (1-0)- Drew Brees is looking like the MVP front runner and they get the Eagles without McNabb this week.

10. Indianapolis Colts (1-0)- It wasn’t pretty against the Jags but they came out on top.

Tuesday Evening Quarterback

Isn’t is great to have football back.  Sundays go from being the worst days of the week to the best.  It was a great opening week that had a little bit of everything.  It had upsets, comebacks, and improbable finishes.  Here’s to a great start to a hopefully even better season.  With all that said here are my thoughts and observations after week one.

Tom Brady is Back- Touchdown Tom showed no effects of his injury as was dominant in the Pats win leading a classic Brady comeback at the end of the game.  Brady didn’t go deep much but rather took what the defense was giving him and hit Moss and Welker underneath all game long.  We will not see a repeat of his 2007 numbers but there is no doubt about it that Brady is back.

…but Drew Brees is the best QB in the league- Brees continued his dominance by passing for 6 touchdowns and 358 yards.  He narrowly missed Dan Marino’s single season yardage record last year and will threaten the record again and could make a run at Brady’s touchdown record.  Brees was my preseason MVP pick and he looks every bit the part as of now.

L.T. is done as an elite back- The 30-year-old back has a few steps.  He couldn’t get much done against a poor run defense and lost snaps to Darren Sproles.  Sproles played on third downs and in the two minute drill and was on the field on the Chargers game winning drive and scored the touchdown.  He had a great run at the top but now in a full fledged committee with Sproles.

The Rams are terrible- I thought the Rams would be bad this season as I picked them to finish 4-12 bu they looked down right awful in week one.  They couldn’t generate anything on offense and I know I’ve said this many times before but I’ll say it again: Marc Bulger needs to go.  He has lost all confidence and is the worst starting quarterback in the NFL.  Jake Delhomme has something to say about that.

…and the Seahawks aren’t that good- Don’t go overreacting to their 28-0 defeat of the Rams.  As I previously stated the Rams are terrible.  Also Hasselbeck struggled early throwing two picks before settling into a groove.  I wouldn’t take too much from this victory.

Speaking of Washed Up Quarterbacks- Jake Delhomme has joined the club.  He was pitiful on Sunday and it was painful to watch him play.  He looked nervous and rattled out on the field.  In his last two starts he has thrown 9 interceptions in 51 passes as the Panthers have been outscored 71-23.  A.J. be ready. 

Don’t get to Excited about Vick- Although it seems unlikely at this point Donovan McNabb cold easily return in week three and all this Vick talk would be put to rest.  Even if he is out for a while Vick simply isn’t ready to start.  He looked like a man who hasn’t played football in two years in the preseason and needs more time.  Also Jeff Garcia has stepped in and for games before for Andy Reid and the Eagles so Reid certainly has confidence in him.

So much for Tony Gonzalez Blocking-  Gonzo looked every bit the number one target for Matt Ryan leading the team in receiving and scoring a touchdown.  With his addition to the offense the Falcons don’t look like a one year wonder while the team they played certainly had some issues.

What was up with Jake Long- The former number one pick and Pro Bowler from last year looked dreadful on Sunday.  He struggled a bit in the pre-season and allowed two sacks on Sunday and got embarrassed by John Abraham.  He also allowed a sack to back up Kroy Biermann and it doesn’t get easier as he faces Dwight Freeney and Shawne Merriman the next two weeks.

It’s not Sunny in Chicago- A week Chicago would like to forget as they lose to the arch rival Packers and lose defensive leader Brain Urlacher for the season.  To make matters worse golden boy Jay Cutler threw four picks in the loss.  But all is not lost.  It was only one week and despite the bad performance by Cutler they still had the lead with under two minutes left.

A.P. is to good- It’s not fair to the rest of the league.  This guy is a certifiable beast.  His touchdown run was simply unreal as he abused the Browns defenders.  He has a legitimate shot to reach 2,000 yards this season.

The Niners were impressive- They made Kurt Warner show his age as they harassed him all day and forced him to dump down and not go deep.  Shaun Hill lead an impressive game wining drive that took seven and a half minutes off the clock.

Broncos vs. Bengals- A game that had six points in the first 59 minutes goes on to have 13 in the final minute including the craziest play you’ll see all year.  Also with that win that brings Kyle Orton’s career record as a starter to 22-12.  The guy may do it ugly but he wins games.

The Ravens can play Offense too- They aired it out against the Chiefs as Flacco threw for a career high 307 yards on a career high 43 attempts.  It is clear that offensive coordinator Cam Cameron feels a lot more comfortable with Flacco this season.  Also it possible that the Ravens running game got better.  Ray Rice looked great showing quickness and impressive power for his 5’8 frame and Willis McGahee looked rejuvenated as he scored two touchdowns.

J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!- Marky Mark looked poised leading the Jets to an impressive win over the Texans.  Keep in mind this was the Texans and the real test will come in the next two weeks as the Jets face the Patriots and the Titans.  But the biggest story from this game was the Jets defense.  Rex Ryan brought his “organized chaos” to New York.  Darrelle Revis blanketed Andre Johnson all game long and the front seven pressured and hit Schaub while shutting down Steve Slaton.  David Harris looked especially good delivering big hit after big hit and him and Bart Scott are quite the tandem in the middle.  The Jets reward: Tom Brady and the Pats next week.

NFL Quick Hits

Well, the first Sunday of the season is in the books and boy was is great to have football back.  Plenty of story lines from week one but the one everyone will be talking about is Donvan McNabb and his ribs.  As of now Andy Reid hasn’t ruled him out for next week but he more than likely will miss the game.  Don’t expect Vick to b starting anytime soon as he is not ready as evidenced by his preseason showing.  Also not to be forgotten was the Broncos improbable win over the Bengals.

Now onto to today’s great reads:

• It only gets worse for the Bears who will now be without Brian Urlacher. (Chicago Tribune)

• Go beyond the box score of yesterdays games.  (Rotoworld)

• Chris Collinsworth is sorry about old video that popped up on the internet recently. (Deadspin)

• The always informative Peter King tackles week one and some of the impressive performances.  (MMQB)

• A great analysis on injuries and their impacts on their teams. (Football Outsiders)

• Who were the five least valuable players on Sunday? (Shutdown Corner)

• An informative and entertain week one recap. (The Big Lead)

• Joe Buck Live is coming back!  Unfortunately, Artie Lange won’t be. (Awful Announcing)

Bet of the Week: Week One

Week 1

1. Seattle Seahawks (-8.5) vs. St Louis Rams

As I have previously stated, the Seahawks are my suicide pick of the week and I like them big in this game.  The Seahawks were decimated by injuries last season and at at full strength for this season.

Hasselbeck had an injury plagued year last season and will revert to his old form.  The Rams were awful last year and haven’t done much to improve.  Remember Marc Bulger is still playing quarterback for them.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars (+7) vs. Indianapolis Colts

The Jags and Colts have been known to play tight games in the past and this one will be no different.  The Jags have a healthy o-line and will be much better than they were last season.

Also the Colts are in a transitional mode.  Tony Dungy is no longer running the show and it will be interesting to see how the Colts respond.  The Colts may win but it won’t be by much.

3. San Francisco 49ers (+6.5) vs. Arizona Cardinals

The Super Bowl losers are in for more than they can handle against the 49ers.  I really like the 49ers this year and how they play.  With Shaun Hill at the helm they should not turn the ball over as much too.

Warner and company will look to repeat their ‘08 numbers but it will be harder than expected.  Anquan Boldin is banged up and Warner is getting up there in age and extremely turnover prone.

Underdog Pick

1. New York Jets (+190) vs. Houston Texans

This one may be a bit biased since I am a Jets fan but I really like the Jets chances here.  I expect the Jets to play it somewhat conservative with Sanchez but they will air it out when they have to.

The Texans front seven is questionable at best and the Jets should be able to run the ball down their throats.  If Darrelle Revis can shut down Andre Johnson and with Kevin Walter most likely out the Texans potent offense will be held in check.

Final Score: Jets 20, Texans 10