Category Archives: Monday Morning Hangover

NFL Week 7 Monday Morning Quarterback

A rather strange week in the NFL.  There were a few close games but the real stat is that there were 6 games decided by 28 points or more.  That was the first time it happened since 1970.  This year more also has three unbeatens at this point in the season  (Saints, Colts, Broncos), the first time it has happened in NFL history.  Now onto my thoughts on week in football.

Defense Huge in Pittsburgh

The game of the week lived up to the hype as we rewarded with a great game to watch.  The game was close in the fourth quarter and the Steelers defense took over scoring  defensive touchdowns of 77 and 82 yards, reminiscent of James Harrison’s return in the Super Bowl.  The Steelers have now won 4 in a row after starting out the season 1-2.

The Vikings meanwhile, shouldn’t be too upset about the loss.  The secondary, without Antoine Winfield, played well and Sidney Rice looks like the real deal at receiver.  But I have to question the Vikings play calling.  They passed the ball 51 times to only 23 runs.  When you have Adrian Peterson at running back and your passing almost twice as much as your running your not going to win many games.

Saints Comeback

With the Saints down 24-3 late in the first half it looked like they were headed toward their first loss of season.  Then Drew Brees lead a furious comeback and showed why the Saints are one of the best teams in football.  Once again Darren Sharper came up huge with another pick six and is only one behind Rod Woodson for the all time record.

For the Dolphins the Wildcat was great but again it can’t win them the game.  This loss was similar to the Colts loss in week 2 where they simply couldn’t the Colts quick strike offense.  They need to get some impact receivers to help out Chad Henne.   Ted Gin Jr has not looked thepart and had a couple of key drops on Sunday.

Giants in Trouble

After getting embarrassed in New Orleans last week the Giants failed to rebound against the Cardinals.  They have now lost two in a row after starting the season 5-0.  Looking back on their schedule their only quality win is over the Cowboys so maybe their not as good as we all think.  Eli Manning and the receivers really struggled.  Eli threw as many picks (3) as he had the entire season and Mario Manningham continued to drop passes.  Do the Giants miss Plaxico Burress?

The Cardinals are starting to look like the team that went to the Super Bowl last year.  Their run defense is the best in the league and their pass defense which struggled early in the season has been fantastic the past two weeks.  It wasn’t a typical Cardinal win though.  They didn’t air it out as much as normal and instead ran the ball fairly well.  Beanie Wells looked good and should be in line for more touches going forward.

QBs Benched

Both JaMarcus Russell and Shaun Hill rode the pine on Sunday.  For Russell it was about time.  His three turnovers in the first quarter against the Jets were terrible and this wans’t even his worst showing of the season.  But Bruce Gradkowski didn’t do much to make this a controversy.  It appears that Russell will reclaim his starting gig this week .

The other quarterback benching went a little different.  During halftime Shaun Hill was benched in favor of former first overall pick, Alex Smith.  With the 49ers trailing 21-0 Smith led a remarkable comeback that came up just short as th 49ers lost by three.  He threw for over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns, all to Vernon Davis.   His play will give Mike Singletary a lot to think about this week.  I think Singletary rides the hot hand and goes with Alex Smith.

Game Balls

1. Miles Austin

After setting Cowboys records in his first game as a starter Miles Austin came to play again on Sunday finishing with 6 catches for 172 yards and two scores.  He, not Roy Williams, who finished with one catch,  is looking like the number one receiver the Cowboys desperately need.  He has given the Cowboys a spark and has them sitting nicely at 4-2.

2. Cedric Benson

This was a revenge game for Benson, who was cut by the Bears after being drafted 4th overall in 2005.  He put in a workmanlike effort rushing 37 times for 189 yards and a score.  Even with the Bengals up 45-10 late, Benson stayed in and finished off the Bears running with power and determination.

Lame Ducks

1. Josh Johnson, JaMarcus Russell, Jake Delhomme

The quarterback trio combined for nine turnovers on Sunday, all in losing efforts.  At least Johnson looks to be benched and the other other two are in very hot water. 

NFL Week 6 Monday Morning Quarterback

A wild week 6 in the NFL.  We had two big upsets, Raiders and Bills, and one huge shellacking by the Pats.  Now let’s get to my thoughts on the week in football.

A Giant Surprise

Another win for Brees and the Saints has them atop the NFC.

What was supposed to be the game of the week, and even the year, turned out to be a complete dud.  The Saints dominated the game in every facet and made the Giants look pedestrian.  The Giants couldn’t get any pressure on Brees and he made them pay carving them for 369 yards.  It’s clear now the Saints are the class of the NFC but the jury is still out on the Giants.

Vikings Living Large

A wild game in Minnesota that came down to the final seconds.  The Vikings looked like they had the game all but won but the Ravens came storming back in the fourth led by Ray Rice, who has been terrific this season.  The loss is the third straight for the Ravens who are now 3-3 after starting 3-0 but the good news is they have a bye this week to recoup.  The defense is not the same this year and looks old and misses Rex Ryan.  The Vikings while 6-0, have started to make a habit of blowing leads and it hasn’t backfired yet but if they keep it up it will catch up to them.

Tom Terrific

The breakout game everyone was waiting for from Tom Brady finally came Sunday.  Brady tore up the Titans, throwing 380 yards and 6 touchdowns in just over a half of play, in the 59-0 blowout.  I wouldn’t expect Brady to revert to his 2007 form though.  The Titans were without their top 3 cornerbacks and were starting young, inexperienced players.

The Titans were flat out embarrassed though.  They have clearly given up on the season and have quit on Jeff Fisher.  They have a number of flaws and several of the defensive stars, Keith Bullock, Jevon Kearse, and Kyle Vanden Bosch, are fading fast.  It’s been the same story for weeks in a row for the Titans.

Bengals Tamed

The Bengals came crashing back to earth and there were no fourth quarter heroics this week for the Bengals.  They were beaten bad in the trenches all day long.  To make matters worse they lost defensive end Antwan Odom, who had 8 sacks, for the season.  I’m also concerned about the offense.  Carson Palmer has gotten a free pass this season because of the comebacks but after looking at his stats he has only one more touchdown than interception and has a completion percentage under 60 percent.

Zorn Stripped

The Redskins were again embarrassed on Sunday and have now given the Lions, Panthers, and Chiefs their first wins of the season.  Zorn decided to bench Campbell in favor of 37 year old Todd Collins at halftime who was even worse than Campbell.

After the loss Zorn was forced to give up play calling duties in order to save his job for a few more weeks.  Newly hired offensive assistant Sherman Lewis, who has been out of the league since 2004, will take over play calling.  Zorn has been over his head since he took over the job, having never even been a coordinator in the league, and the Redskins should have realized that when they hired him.

Sanchize?  Can we take that back?

Oh what a difference a few weeks makes.  It only seemed like yesterday Sanchez was the toast of New York and now he’s the punching bag.  That’s what you get playing in New York; it’s a double-edged sword.  He was downright awful against the Bills but thankfully he gets the Raiders next week to rebound but that’s what he said a week ago about-facing the Bills.

Even more bad news for the Jets could come soon.  Pro Bowl nose tackle and heart of the defense, Kris Jenkins, left the game yesterday and Rex Ryan classified his injury as “probably severe.”  No Jenkins in the middle creates a huge gap in the middle of the Jets defense.

Game Balls

Jermon Bushrod

This could go to the entire Saints offensive line but especially Bushrod did a fantastic job keeping Osi Umenyiora in check, keeping Brees off his back and allowing him all day to throw in the pocket.

Sidney Rice

Rice caught 6 passes for a career high 176 yards in the win over Baltimore.  His biggest play was his 58-yard bomb form Brett Favre with the Vikings trailing late in the fourth which led to the game winning score.

Lame Ducks

Mark Sanchez

The rookie turned in a performance that was bad even by JaMarcus Russell and Derek Anderson standards.  His five interceptions crippled the Jets and leaves this team at a crossroads after such a promising start.

NFL Monday Morning Quarterback: Week 5

Week 5 is in the books, save for the Monday Night game, which should be a good one.  We had a little bit of everything in week 5: some blowouts, close games, and some upsets.  Now let’s get onto my thoughts on week 5.

How bout them 5-0 Broncos

The pupil take takes down the teacher, as the Broncos come from behind to shock the Patriots and move to 5-0.  Kyle Orton threw for over 300 yards and Brandon Marshall hauled in two touchdowns in the 20-17 win.

McDaniels was fired up after the big win.

They shut down Randy Moss, only yielding one catch to him.  Moss ended up with as many interceptions as catches.

The loss for Belichick dropped him to 8-7 against his former assistants, a shocking stat.

Orton, whose record  as a starter is now 26-12, looked like Brady out there engineering drives of 90 and 98 yards in the second half to spur the comeback.  The Broncos also finally got Eddie Royal involved this week as Royal finished with 10 catches after coming into the game with 8 on the season.

Josh McDaniels has shut up the critics, including myself, who chastised the young coach in the pre season and it’s clear he is a great coach and has this Broncos team as an AFC contender.  They have a huge game next week against San Diego on Monday, in which they can seize control of the division.

The Broncos are definitely serious contenders in the AFC but one still has to winder whether if they’d be the Super Bowl front runners if Jay Cutler was still in town?

Don’t forget about the Bungals

Who what have thought the week one showdown pitting Cincinnati and Denver could loom large in the AFC playoff picture?

With another win, the Bengals sit alone atop the AFC North with wins away wins over Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

The real key for the Bengals though, has been Cedric Benson.  The rejuvenated back has been the centerpiece of the Bengal’s offense and has transformed the Bengals into a run first team.  Carson Palmer hasn’t been asked been asked to do too much and the 120 yard performance of Benson snapped the Ravens 39 game streak of not allowing a 100 yard rusher.

They have now won three games in a row all by three points and all against divisional opponents.  While they stand at 4-1 I’m still not completely sold on the Bengals.  They got a couple favorable calls late in the Raven’s game that extended their drive and Shayne Graham missed the overtime winner against Cleveland.

Undefeateds Roll

The Giants, Colts, and Vikings all rolled to easy victories this week to improve to 5-0.

The Giants absolutely embarrassed the Raiders and had David Carr in before halftime. For the first time this season JaMarcus Russell had a completion percentage over 60%.

Peyton Manning continued his aerial assault of opposing defenses in the Colts romping of the now 0-5 Titans. The Titans are a mess right now and we finally had a Vince Young sighting!

The Vikings continued their dominance and Jared Allen wrecked havoc all day long for Kyle Boller.  Also Brett Favre starts 5-0 for the first time in his career.

Monday Morning Quarterback: Week 4

Can you believe we’re already 1/4 of the way through the season.  Teams are now starting to separate from the pack and were seeing who is for real and who isn’t. Let’s recap all the week 4 action.

The Saints D is Legit

The Saints made Sanchez uncomfortable all game long.

The Saints offense is great but the Saints defense is the reason they beat the Jets on Sunday.  The defense has been the Achilles Heel for the Saints for years but they have stepped up this year.  Darren Sharper has been a beast in the secondary, especially on Sunday, and the addition of Greg Williams as defensive coordinator can not be forgotten as well.  The Saints are for real and look like a contender come January.

Sanchez Less than Stellar

The Saints exposed Mark Sanchez for what he is, a rookie.  He did not look sharp yesterday, throwing three picks and losing yet another fumble.  Games like these are to be expected with a rookie quarterback.  He can’t play great every week.  One thing that has concerned me about Sanchez is his ball control.  Through three games he has fumbled five teams and has lost two of them.  It’s something Sanchez needs to work on before it becomes a big problem.

Pats are Back

It’s official the Pats are not done.  Back to back wins against two quality teams has cleared any doubt of a possible collapse.  The return of Wes Welker certainly helped Brady.  The Ravens could have easily won this game but they passed the ball 49 times compared to only 17 runs.  Flacco was good but Ray Rice ran for over 100 yards while only receiving 11 carries.  That’s not Raven football and they need to get back to running the football.

Titans are a different Team

The collapse in Nashville continues.  This team is a shell of the team it was last year.  The defensive has been horrid, in particular the secondary, which is now hampered by injuries.  New defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil is feeling the heat now.  He isn’t calling any blitzes, a stark comparison to former defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz.

Marshall came up big with his go ahead fourth quarter touchdown.

With the season now all but lost it is time to go to Vince Young.  I wrote about this in detail last week and a change needs to be made.  Jeff Fisher is still standing by Kerry Collins but with games coming up against the Colts and Patroits, a 0-6 start might do the trick.  The Titans need to find out what they have in Vince Young before this salary takes a big jump in the off season.

Are the Broncos for Real?

Even after starting 4-0 I still can’t tell if the Broncos are for real.  Their wins include Cincinnati on a fluke play, Cleveland, Oakland, and a suspect Cowboy team.  Whether or not they’re for real or not you can tell the Broncos players are buying into what Josh McDaniels is preaching.  Hey, even Brandon Marshall was all smiles after the game, embracing McDaniels with a big hug.  A lot of things seem to be forgotten when you win games. The real test come s in these next four weeks though as they face the Patriots, Chargers, Ravens, and Steelers, as tough a slate as you can ask for in the A.F.C.

Monday Morning Quarterback: Week 3

Another week down in the NFL and now we are starting to see what teams are for real and which ones aren’t.  September is ending and we are heading into October, the second month of the season.  It was eventful week with the Lions winning and some Brett Favre magic were only two highlights among the many.  Lets get into my thoughts on the week of play:

The Lions Win!

I'm going to Disney World!

It’s been 21 months since the Lions tasted victory but that is all forgotten- at least for now.  The monkey is finally off their back and they should be able to string together a few more wins this season.

Zorn on the Hot Seat

That seat just got a lot hotter after yesterday’s performance.  Owner Dan Snyder is known to be very impatient and I’m sure he’s on the brink right now.  A loss next week at home to Tampa Bay would probably do the trick.  Even if it doesn’t happen soon he’s all but certain to be out at the end of the season unless the Skins put together a playoff run.  He has probably gotten a bad shake but he knew what he was getting himself into when he took the job.

Favre Magic

On Sunday afternoon we saw vintage Favre on that final drive as he engineered an 80 yard drive in 87 seconds without any timeouts.  That’s one game so far that the Vikes would have not one with Tavaris or Sage at the helm.  Brett just had his ‘Viking Moment’ and gives the team a lot of momentum as the Vikings head into a huge Monday night clash against the Packers.

Vick is Back

1,001 days after playing his last regular season game Michael Vick returned to the playing field for a rather uneventful 11 plays.  I’ll some up his play in 11 words; He is simply not the best Wildcat quarterback on the team.  In fact, I’d rather have Westbrook, DeSean Jackson, and LeSean McCoy taking snaps in the Wildcat over Vick right now.  He has a long way to go but it was a start.

Relax Bill Simmons, the Patriots are fine

In his latest column Bill Simmons pretty much said even without directly saying it that he thought the Pats were in for a long season.  Well, after Sunday’s performance i wouldn’t write them off quite yet.  Without Wes Welker they defeated the Falcons, a NFC contender, in impressive fashion.  I think Belichick finally realized that you need to run the ball and he has a pretty good running back in Fred Taylor.  The running game brought some balance to the offense and kept the defense on the sidelines.  This may not be the Pats team of a few years back but they’re still a team to be reckon with.

Trouble in Pittsbugh?

Another last second loss for the Steelers and now they’re sitting at 1-2 and two games behind the first place Baltimore Ravens.  And if not for a couple of Rob Bironas missed field goals in the opener the defending champs would be sitting at 0-3.  One positive though, the running game looked a lot better this week.  Anything would have been better than the first two weeks but Willie Parker looked good, not great.  They still need last years first rounder, Rashard Mendenhall, to make an impact.  It’s clear though that this team really misses Troy Polamalu.  They haven’t forced a turnover in the two games without him and had two in the game where he played.  They have a big game against the Chargers this week as they try to avoid going 1-3.

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.