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.

The New Steve Smith

The New York Giant’s Steve Smith continued his abuse on opposing secondaries hauling in 11 passes for 131 yards and a score.  Through four games he leads the league in catches (34), yards (411), and touchdowns (4).  With teams focusing in on stopping the Giants running game Eli Manning and Smith are making them pay for it, and in a big way.  It might be time to start referring to him as Steve Smith and the Panther’s Steve Smith, as the other Steve Smith, through no fault of his own however just a combination of the emergence of Smith and the awful play of Delhomme.

Redskins Win, Barely

The Redskins had to overcome a 10 point half time deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, arguably the worst team in football.   Campbell turned the ball over three times in the first half but played came out in the second half and played an inspired half of football.  He said after the game that at halftime he felt Jim Zorn’s job was in his hands , which he was right about, and he couldn’t let him down.  So Zorn and Campbell are safe for another week but have we ever seen a worse 2-2 team in the history of the NFL.

Romo Feeling the Heat

Another ugly start for Romo, who now has failed to pass for a touchdown in two straight games.  After what looked like a promising start to the season for Romo against the Bucs, he has looked like a different quarterback.  It’s clear that Romo misses T.O., and vice versa.  I think the Cowboy have figured out now Roy Williams isn’t a number one receiver, and it baffles me why they ever did in the first place.  Without a number one receiver defenses can double Jason Witten which cripples the Cowboys offense.  Luckily, they play Kansas City this week.

Now onto this week’s awards:

Game Balls

1. Peyton Manning

Manning may be having his best season to date so far and was stellar against the Seahawks.  He led the Colts to touchdowns on four out of their first five drives and passed for over 350 yards on the day.  Even while breaking in new receivers such as Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie one thing is certain; Peyton Manning is not slowing down.

2. Darren Sharper

The veteran safety picked off two Mark Sanchez passes as the Saints took down the previously unbeaten Jets.  He took his first pick 99 yards to the house to give the Saints a 10-0 lead and his second pick sealed the win.

3. The Pittsburgh Steelers O-Line

This is the type of performance the Steelers need out of their o-line.   They opened up holes all night and allowed Rashard Mendenhall to run for 165 yards and two touchdowns.

Lame Ducks (this will now be known as the JaMarcus Russell award from now on)

1. Mark Sacnhez

Sorry Mark but you didn’t deliver the good this weeks.  You showed poor decision making and stared down receivers far too often.  He’ll learn though, and hopefully won’t be back in this section.

2. Trent Edwards

Things are not going well in Buffalo.  Edwards was dreadful on Sunday throwing three picks, one of which was returned to the house.   The Bills were embarrassed by the Dolphins on Sunday.

3. Mark Clayton

Clayton had a decent stats day catching 5 for 45 but that doesn’t tell the story.  On a fourth down with under 2 minutes left Flacco threw for Clayton inside the Pats 10 yard line but the pass bounced off his shoulder pads.  He did the blame after the game but every receiver learns from a young age to catch the ball with your hands.

That does it for Week 4.  There’s Monday night Football tonight and i heard it’s a pretty good match up.