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Saints mount wild comeback, beat Dolphins

In one of the wildest games of the season, the Saints beat the Dolphins 46-34 on Sunday as Drew Brees completed 22-of-38 passes for 298 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for two scores as New Orleans outscored Miami 43-10 starting late in the second quarter.

The final score would suggest otherwise, but both defenses actually played well until the fourth quarter. Miami repeatedly harassed Brees while racking up five sacks and forcing three interceptions and two fumbles. At one point, the Dolphins led 24-3 but Sean Payton never abandoned the run and Brees slowly started to strike for big plays. He repeatedly attacked the middle of the field while finding Jeremy Shockey (four catches, 105 yards) for a couple of big plays in the second half.

For the third time this season, Darren Sharper intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. He now has five interceptions on the year and is making a case for being the best offseason acquisition in the NFL, which is amazing considering how several teams thought he was done at 33 years old.

The Dolphins learned a lot about themselves today. While they blew a 21-point second quarter lead, they are the only team that has put the Saints on their heels this season. They may have given the rest of the league a blueprint on how to slow the Saints down. (Or at least, slow the Saints down for two quarters.)

It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t find a way to pull out the win, but by no means are the Dolphins out of contention at 2-4. Chad Henne made a couple of mistakes today, but the youngster will learn and continue to develop.

Order restored: Jets crush Raiders

A week ago the Raiders beat the Eagles and I swear fire and brimstone started falling from the sky. Rivers and seas boiled. Forty years of darkness was upon us. Dogs and cats started living together. Mass hysteria. Earthquakes, volcanoes…

All right, enough Ghostbusters, although disagree with the greatness of that movie and I’ll punch you in your shin. Order was restored today in the NFL as the Jets hammered the Raiders 38-0 in Oakland. Rookie running back Shonn Greene exploded for 144 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, as Leon Washington suffered what could be a serious leg injury. If Washington misses significant time, the third-round pick out of Iowa will see more opportunities, which he certainly deserves after his performance today.

Mark Sanchez rebounded from his five-interception performance last week, as he completed nine of 15 pass attempts for 143 yards and a touchdown. Granted, Sanchez didn’t have to do much because the Jets’ built a 24-0 halftime lead thanks to their running game and multiple turnovers by the Raiders. But at least New York was able to shift the focus off its rookie QB for one week.

Speaking of those hapless, heartless Raiders, JaMarcus Russell looked putrid once again. He was pulled in the second quarter in favor of Bruce Gradkowski after he set the Jets up with their first score by fumbling close to his end zone on Oakland’s first possession. Russell also threw two interceptions and as expected, Gradkowski didn’t fair much better as he threw for only 97 yards and also lost a fumble.

So much for Oakland building off last week’s win over Philadelphia.

Cowboys make statement against Falcons

Imagine if the Cowboys played with as much confidence, emotion and focus as they did Sunday against the Falcons. Maybe they’d actually cash in on some of their potential and make the playoffs.

Fresh off its bye, Dallas smacked Atlanta 37-21 in Week 7, as Tony Romo completed 21 of 29 pass attempts for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Miles Austin had another huge day, hauling in six passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns, including scores of 59 and 22 yards.

Defensively, the Cowboys looked like they were playing with a chip on their shoulder. Matt Ryan hasn’t been touched all season, yet Dallas consistently crashed the pocket and racked up four sacks. They also intercepted Ryan twice and forced two fumbles, although one was recovered by Atlanta.

The Cowboys need to find a way to play with this kind of fire every week. They made a statement today against a good opponent, but it means nothing if they come out next Sunday and give a lackluster effort. When they play at a high level, they’re tough to beat. But they’ve had issues playing consistently week in and week out, so the jury is still out on whether or not they can do it after this win.

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Brady starting to look comfortable again

Forget who the Patriots’ opponents were – Tom Brady has looked great the past two weeks.

For the first five weeks of the 2009 season, Brady looked an awfully lot like a player that had major reconstructive surgery a year ago. He looked uncomfortable in the pocket, wasn’t accurate and was getting flustered by how he was playing.

But in New England’s 59-0 win over Tennessee and its 35-7 rout of Tampa Bay in London, England today, Brady looks like the old Tom Brady again. He has thrown nine touchdowns in his last two games but more importantly than the numbers, he finally looks comfortable again.

Earlier this season, Brady got into a bad habit of throwing off his back foot. But against the Bucs, he showed the ability to step into his throws and while he did throw two interceptions, he played with a ton of confidence and his receivers did an excellent job picking up yardage after the catch.

The Pats head into their bye in great shape at 5-2. They have an important stretch of games after their off week, including two against the Dolphins and one against the Colts, Jets and Saints. If Brady continues to play with confidence, the Pats will be dangerous in the second half.

La Russa re-ups with Cardinals, might bring in McGwire

La Russa

Tony La Russa will be back next year to manage the St. Louis Cardinals.

Per ESPN.com:

“I’m coming to an understanding of what I’m doing and intend to get it settled one way or the other shortly,” La Russa told the Post-Dispatch.

La Russa, who during the offseason lives in Alamo, Calif., east of Oakland, was scheduled to arrive in St. Louis for a Bruce Springsteen concert Sunday night.

The 65-year-old La Russa has been mulling his future since the NL Central champion Cardinals were swept in the division series by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Oct. 10. His two-year, $8.5 million contract expires at the end of the month.

La Russa is obviously one of the top managers in the game, so Cardinals fans should be more than pleased. Still, does the team really need to give Mark McGwire a job? The Cards have fired hitting coach Hal McRae and are considering McGwire as his replacement.

Why bring in McGwire? The team should just take tips from Albert Pujols.

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