Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1151 of 1503)

      Broncos edge Saints in shootout

      September 21, 2008 /

      Brandon MarshallThe red-hot Broncos earned their third win of the year, edging out the New Orleans Saints in a wild 34-32 shootout in Denver on Sunday. Saints’ kicker Martin Gramatica missed a 43-yard field goal that would have given New Orleans a 35-34 lead late in the fourth quarter.

      Both quarterbacks put on an aerial show, with Drew Brees throwing for 421 yards and a touchdown and Jay Cutler finishing with 264 yards and two scores. Reggie Bush had another monster game, catching 11 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 73 yards and a score. And Denver WR Brandon Marshall was sick again, hauling in six passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. (How do you not triple cover that guy if you’re a defensive coordinator? He’s phenomenal.)

      The Broncos look great. Their defense hasn’t played as well as people expected them to, but Cutler and the offense is playing with a ton of confidence and they’re shredding defenses through the air. They play at Kansas City next week, then return home to play Tampa and Jacksonville in Weeks 5 and 6. It’ll be interesting to see how good Denver’s offense can be against two of the better defenses in the league.

      I really thought the Saints could be potential Super Bowl contenders this year and they still might be. But after all of the offseason additions, the defense still looks shaky. New Orleans still has issues in the secondary and especially in getting off the field on third downs. When your offense puts up 20-plus points a week, you should win more games than you lose.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Campbell sharp as Redskins top Cardinals 24-17

      September 21, 2008 /

      After dropping their opener to the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins have rebounded over the past two weeks. The Skins notched their second game of the year, beating the Arizona Cardinals 24-17 on Sunday.

      It was over when…
      Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell made a play-fake and completed a 26-yard pass on second-and-7 with just under 2 minutes remaining in the game. The first down enabled Washington to go into the victory formation and kill the rest of the clock.

      Game ball
      Campbell was sharp for the second straight week as he made several clutch third-down throws, tossed two touchdowns and also showed impressive scrambling ability, twice extending drives by rushing for a first down. He finished 22-of-30 through the air for 193 yards and added 26 on the ground.

      Key stat
      As is often the case in close games, the difference proved to be turnovers. The Redskins had two takeaways, while the Cardinals failed to force a single turnover. Washington scored 10 points off of its
      takeaways.

      Noteworthy
      Santana Moss became the first Redskins receiver to catch a touchdown in six consecutive games going back to Bobby Mitchell in 1961. … Each team had a long touchdown taken away by penalty. The Cardinals were called for delay of game on what appeared to be a first-quarter touchdown on fourth-and-1, and the Redskins were called for unnecessary roughness on what seemed to be a 68-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. … Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald has three 100-yard receiving games in his last four outings stretching back to last season. … Each team had a receiver complete a pass. Arizona’s Jerheme Urban had an 18-yard completion and Washington’s Antwaan Randle El tossed an 11-yarder.

      After their loss to New York, it looked like it would take an entire season for QB Jason Campbell and the Redskins to learn Jim Zorn’s West Coast Offense. But they’ve turned things around since and actually look pretty sharp. Washington was supposed to be the worst of the NFC East, but in New Orleans and Arizona, they’ve beaten two decent teams in back to back weeks now.

      After beating the 49ers and Dolphins, this was the Cards first real test of the season. They didn’t fail by any means, but the defense didn’t play as well Sunday as it did in their previous weeks. But the encouraging thing is that the Kurt Warner (192 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and the offense looks pretty sharp in the early going and the NFC West can be had.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Titans fluster Matt Schaub, hammer Texans

      September 21, 2008 /

      The Tennessee Titans won their third straight game after beating the Houston Texans 31-12. Houston QB Matt Schaub had a rough day, throwing for only 188 yards and three interceptions.

      It was over when…
      Titans CB Cortland Finnegan squashed any hopes of a late Texans comeback by intercepting Matt Schaub on Tennessee’s 1-yard line and returning it a franchise record 99 yards for a touchdown. The score gave the Titans a 31-12 lead with 1:17 remaining. The pick was Finnegan’s fourth of the season.

      Game ball
      Titans running back LenDale White scored two touchdowns. … On defense, safety Michael Griffin intercepted Schaub twice.

      Key stat
      Texans rookie running back Steve Slaton gained 104 yards on nine carries in the first half and just 12 yards on nine carries in the second half.

      Noteworthy
      Tennessee is 3-0 for the first time since 1999. … The Titans now have defeated the Texans seven consecutive times. … Schaub did not complete his first pass until 14:40 remained in the second quarter, throwing an interception and fumbling the ball in that span. He finished 17 of 37 for 117 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions and two fumbles.

      Rookie Steve Slaton had himself a day, rushing for 116 yards and a touchdown, but Schaub’s poor play negated it. The Texans drove inside the red zone three times down 24-12 in the fourth quarter and came away with zero points. Tennessee’s defense deserves a lot of credit for shutting Houston down several times at the goal line, but Schuab was absolutely brutal.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Vikings defense shuts down Panthers

      September 21, 2008 /

      The Minnesota Vikings used a solid defensive effort to earn their first win of the season, beating the Panthers 20-10.

      Minnesota VikingsIt was over when …
      Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme was sacked on fourth-and-27 with no timeouts left and the Panthers down by 10 late in the fourth quarter.

      Game ball
      Just before halftime, Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield blitzed untouched around the left side, sacked Delhomme, forced a fumble, picked up the ball and ran it back 19 yards for a touchdown that tied the score and turned the momentum of the game.

      Key stat
      Referees threw 21 flags through the course of the game, but Carolina’s gaffes were more costly. The noise in the Metrodome may have contributed to the Panthers’ delay-of-game penalty and six false starts. On defense, an illegal contact penalty in the fourth quarter extended a Vikings drive and kept Carolina’s offense on the sidelines.

      Noteworthy
      A timeout called by John Fox in the fourth quarter negated a blocked field goal by the Panthers. … In his first game back from a two-game suspension, Carolina receiver Steve Smith caught the first pass of the game but had just three more receptions the rest of the way to finish with four catches and 70 yards. … Gus Frerotte is 38-44-1 in his career as a starter.

      The Panthers just have to tip their hats to the Vikings secondary, which had been brutal coming into this game. Minnesota held Jake Delhomme to 191 yards and no touchdowns, and more importantly kept Steve Smith (4 catches, 70 yards) relativity quiet. Kind of strange that on a day where Adrian Peterson (17 carries, 77 yards) looks mortal, the Vikings get their first win of the season over a quality opponent. At least for one week, it looks like the move to Gus Frerotte (16 of 28, 204 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) at quarterback paid off for Brad Childress.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Griese burns former team as Bucs beat Bears 27-24 in OT

      September 21, 2008 /

      Brian GrieseFor the second week in a row, the Bears blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter of a game, losing to former quarterback Brian Griese and the Tampa Bay Bucs 27-24 in overtime.

      Down 24-14 midway through the fourth quarter, Griese, who attempted a staggering 67 passes by the way, led the Bucs to a 35-yard field goal with just over three minutes to play. Griese then threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jerramy Stevens with only seven seconds remaining to tie the game at 24 and send it to overtime.

      After the teams exchanged punts in OT, Tampa started on its 7-yard line. Griese then marched the Bucs all the way down to the Bears’ 3-yard line before Mark Bryant kicked the game-winning 21-yard field goal on second down.

      The Bears can spread the blame around evenly after this loss. After the Bucs kicked a field goal to cut the deficit to 24-17, Chicago took possession with just over three minutes to play in the fourth. But Kyle Orton and the offense couldn’t muster one first down and the Bears had to punt. Then the Chicago defense allowed Griese to march Tampa up the field for the game-tying score.

      The refs also blew one for the Bears, too. On Tampa’s eventual game-winning scoring drive in overtime, Chicago had the Bucs stopped after a failed 3rd and 9 from the 8-yard line. But CB Charles Tillman was flagged 15-yards for unnecessary roughness, allowing the Bucs to keep the ball. But replays showed Tampa guard Jeremy Trueblood hitting Bears’ DT Tommie Harris multiple times in the helmet. Tillman then came in and pushed Trueblood in retaliation.

      Tillman was still in the wrong. Everyone knows that the second guy will always get caught. But it was a game-changing moment and one the Bears never recovered from.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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