Category: NFL (Page 611 of 1282)

      Packers find their running game in win over horrendous Browns

      October 25, 2009 /

      For the second consecutive week, the Packers whipped a bad opponent as they routed the Browns 31-3 on Sunday. Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes in the win, including a 45-yarder to Spencer Havner, a 71-yarder to Donald Driver and a 5-yarder to James Jones.

      But the story for the Packers was their running game, as they totaled 202 yards on the ground. Ryan Grant rushed for 148 yards on 27 carries and Brandon Jackson chipped in 31 rushing yards on nine carries. The Packers’ O-line is still incredibly banged up and vulnerable, but if they can run the ball every week as well as they did today, then they won’t have to worry about teams pinning their ears back to get after Rodgers.

      The Packers are starting to build confidence. Granted, they’re building confidence against the trash of the NFL, but they’re building confidence nonetheless. They still haven’t beaten a team with a winning record (they beat the Bears, but that was in the opener), but they’re crushing bad teams.

      And make no mistake about it – the Browns are a bad football team. In fact, they’re one of the most offensively inept teams I’ve ever wasted time watching. Nobody kills a potential scoring drive like Derek Anderson and unless Josh Cribbs scores on a kick return or in the Wildcat, the Browns don’t score period.

      Eric Mangini has a lot of work to do to getting this Cleveland team to respectable. I know at times the Browns have been competitive this season, but they were a total disaster today.

      NFL

      Turnovers doom Vikings in loss to Steelers

      October 25, 2009 /

      With their 27-17 win on Sunday, pundits are going to talk about how the Steelers made a statement against a good team. But there’s a strong argument that the good team the Steelers beat actually beat themselves.

      The Vikings turned the ball over twice with less than seven minutes remaining, both of which resulted in defensive touchdowns for Pittsburgh. Brett Favre had a hand in both of the turnovers, as he was stripped once (which was returned by LaMarr Woodley for a 77-yard touchdown) and intercepted once (which was returned by Keyaron Fox for an 82-yard touchdown). In fairness to Favre, the interception ricocheted off Chester Taylor’s hands, but he was also a tad quick throwing the ball while setting up the screen.

      Some may view Minnesota’s two turnovers as Pittsburgh’s defense making things happen. But the reality is that the fumble and interception were gifts by Favre and the Vikings, who were in scoring range both times. Minnesota had a chance to come away with a victory and wound up serving up a win for the Steelers.

      That’s not to say that the Steelers didn’t earn the win, because they did. They held Adrian Peterson to only 69 yards on 18 carries and deserve credit for not only forcing two key turnovers, but also turning them into immediate points. But this was hardly a statement win. Not only did the Vikings turn the ball over twice late in the game, but they also committed 11 penalties (the Steelers only had three) and found ways to shoot themselves in the foot multiple times.

      NFL

      Alex Smith gets second life in San Francisco

      October 25, 2009 /

      The 49ers didn’t get a win in Houston on Sunday, but they may have found their new quarterback in a familiar face.

      It appears that the stagnant play of Shaun Hill is finally over, as former first overall pick Alex Smith started the second half of the Niners’ 24-21 loss to the Texans in Week 7. Hill was just 6-of-11 passing for 45 yards in the first half and a very Shaun Hill-like 6.1 YPA. Smith came in and immediately sparked San Fran’s offense, marching them down the field and capping the drive off with a 29-yard touchdown pass to tight end Vernon Davis. Smith then found Davis twice in the fourth quarter, including on a 23-yard score that cut the Texans’ lead down to 24-21 with less four minutes remaining.

      The 49ers want to be a team that dominates opponents on the ground, which is fine. But with Hill, they couldn’t move the ball vertically through the air and teams like the Falcons and Texans took advantage of that the past three weeks. At some point, Mike Singletary and Jimmy Raye had to realize that their offensive approach wasn’t going to work as long as Hill was under center.

      Smith might not have won the starting job in preseason, but he took it today. Will he be the key to getting the Niners to the playoffs? Maybe not, but at least he can complete passes further than 6.1 yards. It’s also nice to see that he developed a great connection with Davis, another one of San Fran’s former top 10 picks.

      For the Texans, this was a nice win because they haven’t been very consistent this season. They’ve now won back-to-back games for the first time this year and their defense is starting to play better. Matt Schaub (20 for 30, 264 yards, 2 TDs) was excellent once again and tight end Owen Daniels (7 receptions, 123 yards, 1 TD) was damn near unstoppable today.

      If Houston can continue to play well defensively, the Texans will make a playoff push in the second half.

      NFL

      NFL Week 7 ROY Power Rankings

      October 25, 2009 /

      A tougher award to measure, as no one has really stepped up to be among the NFL’s stat leaders. Well, unless you consider LB James Laurinaitis from Ohio State.

      1. James Laurinaitis, St. Louis Rams—45 tackles to date and had another interception against the Jaguars last Sunday. This kid is playing lights out and you have to believe he’s been invited to Steve Spagnuolo’s house for Thanksgiving.

      2. Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos—He didn’t do much against the Chargers, but he didn’t really have to with the Eddie Royal kick return show.

      3. Hakeem Nicks, New York Giants—It was in garbage time mostly, but Nicks racked up 114 yards and a TD against the Saints, fitting in like a veteran on a team that desperately needed receiver help going into 2009.

      4. Michael Oher, Baltimore Ravens—It’s hard to measure O-linemen, but after a nice job against Antwan Odom, Oher got into a pissing match with Jared Allen last Sunday. He gets props just for that.

      5. Ryan Succop, Kansas City Chiefs—Even if he hasn’t had many chances, Succop has only missed one field goal, that from beyond 50.

      Honorable mention: Matthew Stafford, Lions

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, NFL

      NFL Week 7 COY Power Rankings

      October 25, 2009 /

      Okay, so we can finally separate Josh McDaniels and Marvin Lewis after the former beat San Diego to reach 6-0 and the latter lost a tough home game to Houston. Here is our current power rankings for NFL Coach of the Year:

      1. Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos—Seriously, 6-0? The schedule keeps getting tougher, but it doesn’t seem to faze this team or their confident coach. Dude is a mini-Belichick, the first “offspring” to be worthy of that title.

      2. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints—After beating the Giants to reach 5-0, we can start talking about the very real likelihood of the Saints reaching the Super Bowl for the first time, and this guy is a big reason why. It’s still amazing that he managed to pay his defensive coordinator a quarter mil of his own cash to lure him, but it seems to have been worth it.

      3. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts—Just like his QB, you can’t fault Caldwell for the bye week.

      4. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings—Now 6-0, there should be no question that Childress did himself and the city of Minnesota a huge favor bringing back #4. He sure wasn’t going to be 6-0 with Tarvaris Jackson, was he?

      5. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons—A tough win against the Bears, and this team is not fading any time soon. Really, the Falcons and Saints are two of the best teams in the NFC and it should be interesting when they meet.

      Honorable mention: Tom Coughlin, Giants; Bill Belichick, Patriots; Marvin Lewis, Bengals

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, NFL

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