Every team now has 9 games in the books. New England finally had a bye and therefore is not the story of the week. Indy looked to have a combination of injuries and a hangover from the New England loss. They dropped their second straight game. Dallas and Green Bay kept rolling and are 8-1. St Louis finally got in the win column. Meanwhile Miami limped to 0-9. If I didn't mention your favorite player or team, it isn't because I didn't watch the game or research the game. It's because it would be impossible to mention every player or game in one newsletter. Please don't get upset if I don't list something about your favorite player or team. Simply mention it in the comments section, and I will try to address it. I hereby present to you a recap of the tenth week in the National Football League.
Standings
AFC East NFC East 1.New England (9-0) 1.Dallas (8-1) 2.Buffalo (5-4) 2.NY Giants (6-3) 3.NY Jets (1-8) 3.Washington (5-4) 4. Miami (0-9) 4.Philadelphia (4-5)
AFC South NFC South 1.Indianapolis (7-2) 1. Tampa Bay (5-4) 2. Tennessee (6-3) 2. Carolina (4-5) 3. Jacksonville (6-3) 3. New Orleans (4-5) 4. Houston (4-5) 4. Atlanta (3-6)
AFC North NFC North 1.Pittsburgh (7-2) 1.Green Bay (8-1) 2..Cleveland (5-4) 2.Detroit (6-3) 3.Baltimore (4-5) 3. Chicago (4-5) 4.Cincinnati (3-6) 4.Minnesota (3-6)
AFC West NFC West 1. San Diego (5-4) 1. Seattle (5-4) 2. Devner (4-5) 2. Arizona (4-5) 3. Kansas City (4-5) 3. San Francisco (2-7) 4. Oakland (2-7) 4. St Louis (1-8)
MVP of the Week: Lots of great performances. It is hard not to start with the Philly duo of Westbrook and McNabb. Westbrook had 183 rushing and receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. McNabb passed for 251 yards and 4 touchdowns. Brett Favre had a league leading 351 yards passing and 3 touchdowns against 0 picks. At 38 years old he is leading the league in passing yards. Unlikely candidate Darren Sproles had a punt return and kick return for a touchdown. Finally Shayne Graham had 7 field goals, none of which were longer than 35 yards.
Game of the Week: I would go with a tie between two games. The Eagles and Washington played a back and forth match which ended with Philadelphia Eagles winning 33-25. The Eagles scored 2 touchdowns in 0:58 to take the lead in the game with 2:18 left in the game. The victory kept any playoff hopes the Eagles had alive. Playoff teams can not go 0-4 in the division. The other game would be the Browns at the Steelers. The Browns took a 21-9 halftime lead. The Steelers stormed back and took the lead in the fourth quarter by the score of 31-28. The Browns had a chance to tie with a 52 yard field goal to close the game that was a few yards too short. The Steelers used that win to go 4-0 in the division and take a 2 game lead over the Browns. It also vaulted them into the #2 seed in the AFC.
Loser of the Weak: The Vikings and the 49ers. Both teams were shutout by a combined 55-0 by the Packers and Seahawks. The Saints who wasted an opportunity to tie idle Tampa Bay and dropped a game to the winless Rams. The Saints trailed 34-7 in the 4th quarter before losing 37-29. Peyton Manning deserves mention for throwing a Colts record 6 picks in the loss to San Diego. While the weather conditions were not desirable, the Colts are injured, and despite all the first half issues he still had the Colts in position to win the game; there was still no excuse for that type of performance. Other quarterbacks have faced similar situations and not played that poorly. Finally Jon Kitna deserves mention for his 4 turnovers in the Lions loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
The Bay of Pigs: Chicago at Oakland and Indy at San Diego. I had the honor of watching Oakland and Chicago play to a 6-3 score late in the 4th quarter while the Cowboys and Giants were playing a great contest. Thank you Chicago for giving me such a worthy consolation prize. Indy and San Diego combined for 9 turnovers and two chip shot missed field goals to produce and exciting game that was exciting because of the numerous miscues and blunders by both teams.
The Cam Cameron Award (Excellence in Coaching): Norv Turner proved to be a coaching icon on Sunday Night. First, what was he doing have Phillip Rivers throw a ball from the endzone with an 8 point lead early in the 4th quarter? The result was a fumble and 6 Indy points that put Indy right back into the ballgame. The next brilliant move was a challenge of a Reggie Wayne catch that was clearly a catch that cost San Diego a timeout and second challenge. Good thing Norv didn’t have any challenges left so that he couldn’t have an interception overturned when it really mattered. Tony Dungy deserves mention for wasting a timeout arguing a bad call by the officials. While I agreed with his frustration, you can’t assume you are going to make the field goal. That proved costly when the normally Automatic Adam missed a chip shot and he needed to stop the clock. Tony Dungy has an excellent track record of putting his team in a position to win the game. Dungy was the first to blame himself for that move and I respect that. The real reason for the loss was the missed field goal. Norv Turner continued to show why he is a great coordinator that should not be in charge of an NFL team. The Chargers come out too flat too often and he does not make decisions that consistently give his team a chance to win football games. He needed a missed chip shot to save him the shame of blowing a 23-0 lead.
Hospital Visit: Dwight Freeney was injured in the Chargers game and is expected to miss a few weeks. That prompted the signing of Simeon Rice off of the waiver wire. Adrian Peterson was the biggest injury to an offensive player. He has a torn ligament in his knee, but is being ruled out for the next game. His status for the rest of the season is uncertain. Buffalo’s RB #### sprained an ankle and is undergoing test. Brian Griese was hurt giving way to Rex Grossman for a second stint this year. Rex is expected to start. Steve McNair is complaining about a sore shoulder. He may be in danger of losing his job. Finally, Mike Shanahan suffered a serious concussion minutes before he said the following about Travis Henry, “"If I thought the test was positive, Travis would not be on our football team," I would have had more respect for Mike if he would have said Travis is still on our team because we are trying to save our pathetic start to the 07 season. How many times does Travis Henry have to “allegedly” test positive for smoking weed before Mike Shanahan admits what the rest of us already know; that Travis Henry is Ricky Williams in disguise? I think Mike Shanahan is a brilliant coach. But please stop insulting our intelligence, Mike.
Overall Impressions of the Week that Was:
1) Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants – That was a huge win for the Cowboys. Had the Cowboys lost that game, both teams would be 7-2, tiebreaker would have gone to the team that ended the season with a better divisional record, and the Packers would have the best record in the NFC by one game. By winning the game Dallas is 8-1. They are tied with Green Bay for best record in the NFC. The Giants are 6-3 and would need to win 3 more games than the Cowboys in the next 7 games to finish with a one game lead in the division. The Giants are basically relegated to fighting for the #1 wildcard and they can get a jump on that with a win in Detroit this weekend. If they drop that game, they are suddenly in a second half slump and fighting to get in the playoffs as the final wildcard. Sound familiar?
2) Cleveland, Detroit, and Washington all lose – I think you saw the difference between being a seasoned veteran team and being an upstart team. These teams all had a top 6 pick in the draft this season. Detroit and Washington were playing to keep pace with Green Bay and Detroit. Cleveland was playing to be tied with Pittsburgh. Detroit lost 31-21 in the Desert to a team they should have beaten. This loss will not help with the perception that Detroit cannot win road games. Cleveland has a 21-6 lead in Pittsburgh, but could not hold onto the victory. They lost 31-28. Washington allowed Philadelphia to score 14 points at the end of the game and steal a victory in Washington. What this shows is that while these teams are rapidly improving, they haven’t developed that killer instinct that you would like to see. All three of these teams will have plenty of opportunities to win big games for the rest of the season. All three will need to play better if they want to continue to be in the postseason discussion.
3) The Aints Came Marching in – Embarrassing. That is how I would describe that performance. New Orleans had a chance to tie idle Tampa Bay for the division lead. They had a chance to set themselves up nicely for their 3 consecutive division games that begin in a few weeks. Yet in the 4th quarter they found themselves down 34-7 to the winless St Louis Rams. I couldn’t believe what I was watching. While the Saints made the score respectable and actually had a small chance to tie the game should they have recovered an onside kick with about: 30 left in the game, the fact is that if they miss the playoffs at the end of the season, that will be the game they look back at that performance and shake their heads. For a team that was in the NFC Championship Game a season ago and put themselves in position to need every win they can get after a 0-4 start, that loss was unacceptable.
4) Steve McNair’s Future – He looks done. Since his Week 4 game in which he threw for 307 yards in a loss to Cleveland, he has missed 2 games. Since coming back from the injury he threw for 63 yards against Pittsburgh and 128 yards against the awful Cincinnati defense. It may be the worst consecutive game performance by a quarterback that I can remember. The Baltimore Sun is reporting that McNair has a sore shoulder. It just looks like his shoulder has failed him at this point. McNair had a very good career in Tennessee and was within a yard of tying the Super Bowl and going to OT against an all time great St Louis Rams team. He kept Tennessee competitive for years. Last year he breathed life into an offense that was at its end. At this point he either needs to sit down and get healthy, retire, or accept the fact that he is probably a back up QB at this point. He would be very valuable in that regard. He would be a great fit in Oakland, Denver, Kansas City, or a place with a young QB that needs a mentor. He could serve in that role in Baltimore. But he just doesn’t look capable of leading an NFL offense weak to week. It is more than just these last 2 games. He hasn’t looked good all season. While Brett Favre had a few down years while the talent was down around him, he never hit this low and you could tell he still had the arm strength to make throws. I can’t see where improving the offense is going to make that much of a difference. My hope is that McNair gets to leave the game on his own terms. He has been such a great ambassador for the game that he deserves the opportunity to do that.
5) The Indianapolis Colts or Pittsburgh Steelers Race for #2 – If the playoffs started today, Pittsburgh would be the #2 seed, as these two teams haven’t played each other and Pittsburgh has one loss in the conference vs. the two losses of the Colts. The Colts have some serious injury issues and are in a tougher division. The Steelers have already swept their toughest division rival in Cleveland. They have a big game looming with New England in a few weeks. Indy has two tough tames against Jacksonville and Tennessee, among others. I believe both of these teams will win the division. I still like Indy to get the #2 seed, provided they start getting healthy. I’m not going to change my preseason pick because of a bizarre game in San Diego. However, it is going to be a much contested race that will probably come down to the last couple weeks of the season. Indy can not afford to lose many more ball games if they want to stay in that race.
A Look Ahead: I went from a perfect 5-0 in week 9 to 3-2 on my picks in week 10. Indy and Jacksonville came back to haunt me. Here are my important games for next week. These are not necessarily the 5 best games, but the 5 games that I feel will be the most influential in shaping the various divisions:
1) New York Giants (6-3) at Detroit Lions (6-3) –Key game for two playoff contenders coming off losses. The winner will have the inside track to the #1 wildcard with Detroit still having Division Title hopes as they still have 2 games against Green Bay. The Loser will still be in decent shape for the wildcard, but will have stiff competition from Washington and a few 4-5 teams that still have a pulse. The key will be the Detroit secondary vs. Eli Manning. Eli Manning is still mistake prone and Detroit forces a lot of turnovers in Detroit. The other key will be the Giants secondary vs. the receivers from Detroit. I like how Detroit plays at home. I like Detroit in those two match ups. As a Packer fan, I would like to see Detroit lose as many games as possible. However, I think Detroit rebounds and improves to 7-3. Winner: Detroit
2) Chicago Bears (4-5) at Seattle (5-4) – This is basically an elimination game for Chicago. They are 3 games behind Detroit with no tiebreaker. They need to win this game and hope that Detroit beats New York. That would put the Bears a game behind the Giants with that matchups against the Giants and Redskins still on the horizon. If they lose they are mathematically in the playoff picture, but are basically putting themselves in position to have to win out to have a shot at making the playoffs. What a difference one game and a division make. Seattle is only 5-4, but a division leader via their NFC West division. I like Seattle. While I don’t think Seattle is fixed because of a 24-0 victory over San Jose St on Monday Night, the fact is the Bears don’t appear to be fixed when they are down 6-3 against Oakland. Seattle stops the run and I don’t have faith in Grossman or Griese to make enough throws to win. Winner: Seattle
3) San Diego Chargers (5-4) at Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3) – San Diego needs this game to show that they can string consecutive wins together against quality opponents. Jacksonville is getting Garrard back and needs this game to keep pace in a highly contested AFC South. I understand that San Diego gave up 296 yards to AD. That seems to be an aberration. Other than that game, San Diego has been strong against the run. What they have struggled with all season is stopping the pass. I don’t believe that Jacksonville has the passing offense to exploit that weakness. I’m going with San Diego in a close game. Winner: San Diego
4) Washington Redskins (5-4) at Dallas Cowboys (8-1) – This is pretty much the last game Dallas needs to win to seal the division. A win would guarantee that they have beaten every team in the division, would guarantee a 4 game lead over both Philly and Washington with only 6 games to play. A loss keeps the Giants, Redskins, and Eagles alive for another week. This is similar to the Chargers and Jacksonville. The way you exploit the Cowboys is passing the football down the field. That is Washington’s glaring weakness on offense. I look for Dallas to win this game and take firm control of the NFC East. Winner: Dallas
5) Cleveland Browns (5-4) at Baltimore Ravens (4-5) – Pittsburgh has basically sealed this division. This is a game to stay alive in the wildcard race. Baltimore can not afford to drop to 4-6 with San Diego, Indy, and New England on the horizon. Cleveland has an easier schedule but needs to show they can go on the road and win in a hostile environment. Cleveland is the better team and they should win this ball game. As Baltimore showed against Cincy, they don’t have the weapons to exploit a weak defense. Winner: Cleveland
That’s all for this week. This week in addition to my normal newsletter, I will look at the 7 myths of 2007. These are the 7 things that I am sick of the national media and fans spouting off as though it were truth. I look forward to hearing your comments on that topic as well.
Hey Cred! Good writeups. The NFC is shaping up to be pretty interesting, perhpas because of meiocrity, or should I say "parity" across the league.It helps to know which games matter for the division leads.
And I can't believe you know what you will write about in advance! Looking forward to your next post.~2cg
2CoastGal - Thanks for the post. Usually what happens is I hear something in a game or watch something on football show that catches my interest and becomes the story for the next week. Or in the instance where the Pats and Colts are playing it becomes a no brainer.
I don't think the problem is parity as much as the way the teams are distributed in the divisions. The NFC North and East have a winning percentage of .611 while the NFC South and West are at .389. That is eliminating teams like Chicago and Philly rather early in the game while leaving teams like Arizona and New Orleans in the hunt for division titles. While it's not fair, that's life in the NFL.
Hey Cred, I've never read your blog before and I was impressed. A very well written, unbiased analysis of the last week's games and the winners and losers. Thanks for recognizing the Steelers. Everyone is falling all over themselves to worship the Patriots and Colts that the Steelers get very little notice. That's OK, we'll sneak in under the radar like 2005. It may seem all but over for everyone but the Pats, but I remember a few recent seasons where the Steelers were like 15-1 and lost in the playoffs (to the Pats I think), two years ago everyone wanted to give the Superbowl to the Colts without even playing the games (the Steelers ended that dream). So they play the games for a reason. Things happen, injuries, bad calls, or just "on any given Sunday". Anyway, good job. I'll be checking in more often.
Excellent stuff once again. Glad to know that I don't need to catch a single NFL game and you will give me the entire rundown. Thank You. Keep up the incredible stuff. The whole Adrian Peterson thing is just sad. I hope the Vikes don't put him back on the field before he is ready. But, in the NFL, that is unlikely.
How about my Dolphins? Are they going to revert the entire 17 - 0 with an 0 - 16 season? After a loss to the Bills, it is starting to look more likely that they finish 0-fer, before the Pats even think of running the table. Wow, how bad is the management in Miami? I doubted their draft this year, and it is crystal clear to me they have no clue what they are doing. Ted Ginn? How many years/months does he have left in the league?
I was very surprised last night to hear ex-9er QB Steve Young state that he had selected Seattle as making it to the Superbowl this year and he hadn't changed his opinion. Personally, I thought it was about time Holmgren stopped beating a dead horse with the running game and let Hasselbeck fling the ball! Suddenly the few runs they did make gained yardage! A miracle!
Old School59 - Thank you for post. Look forward to reading your comments in the future. Steelers have a great team this year that knows they can win the Super Bowl. With Freeney going down, the Colts are starting to pile up too many injuries. I'm very interested in watching the game against the Patriots in a few weeks.
Nostradomus - Thank you. Always enjoy reading your comments. I think the Vikings will keep him on the bench until he 100% healthy. They have 0% chance of making the playoffs. They have been limiting his carries all season. While they shouldn't sit him if he is healthy to save a lost season, they definatley can not risk the future to win a meaningless game or two this season.
As for the Dolphins. I heard Vegas has them at a 16% chance of going imperfect. I think they probably win at least a game. However, you are right on about their draft this season and that organization being clueless.
Dwindy1 - Thank you. Good post. I think Steve Young snuck into a game this season and is still suffering from a concussion. First that comment about the Patriots running up the score (see 1994 49ers Falcons game and throwing his 6th TD in the 4th quarter of a blowout Super Bowl against the Chargers) and now this doozy.
How can (5-4) Seattle in the worst division in football be his pick to come out of the NFC? Last I checked they can't run the ball either. I keep hearing how the Packers can't do anything in the playoffs without a better running game. Packers have a better defense and better passing game than Seattle. Dallas is better in almost every phase and would be at least a 7-10 point favorite over the Hawks in Seattle. Playoff game would be at Dallas.
I could see picking the Hawks to beat the Giants or Lions in a first round playoff game. But winning the NFC??? Not seeing that one.
I loved Steve Young as a football player. As an analyst he has usually been good, but has said two things this season that have me shaking my head.
Young doesn't have Irvin to check him anymore when he says those outlandish things he tends to say like that Seattle thing and about Alex Smith being terrible.
Who else loved the hilarity of Me-shawn going off on SA being out for himself and the $$$$? Yep, Me-shawn never did any of that..............
Who liked Parcells jumping in and bailing his dumb #### out (he kinda knows about it)? His logic was a bit off though. I mean Antowain Smith wasn't exactly a great back for the Pats, at least not in 03, he was fairly mediocre.
Yes, Virginia. Alex Leaf IS that bad.
I'd say yes the Hawks in fact do have a pretty successful running game, but it's called short-outs and intermediate passes that work just like a successful running game does. Hasselbeck still isn't a great deep ball thrower, and does dumb stuff at times--like the Clements pick--which is why the Hawks really haven't been all that they can be (except for obviously 05)
Speaking of the overpaid-not-quite-yet-a-bust, he has no INTS against anybody outside of Hasselbeck. Sad thing is, you KNOW Marcus Trufant's agent is gonna go for mega-bucks in the offseason, which means he's probably gone. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, are Shawn Springs and Ken Lucas doing that much of note?
Can the NFC West really be that bad of a division when the Cardinals, although they're only 4-5, have wins at home over the Hawks and Steelers? Niners and Rams? The anointed SB champs have the Dolphins and the Jets in their div for christsakes! The AFC West and NFC South are at least as bad if not worse.
Datstar - Good point. I am so glad that Irvin is gone. I hate people that scream at me on TV. I have a volume button for a reason. The only thing is they replaced him with an even bigger mouth.
Handler - Here is the only thing I would say to that. If Seattle is a contender with a 21st ranked run offense, how is Green Bay not a contender with a better passing game and better defense. How is Dallas not a contender?
Seattle is going to be a divisional winner in a bad division. They can proably win a first round playoff game at home against Detroit, NYG, or Washington. However, I doubt they can go to GB or Dallas and put up a serious fight.
Good call on the Cowboys last week, Cred. I thought NY would run the ball better (they did except for horrible timing on penalties). Think Dallas did a good job to counter Giants pass rush by chipping their DEs, thus Witten didn't have a big day but was very valuable. TO was great when it mattered and Plexico Burress showed, once again - like in Pittsburgh, that he doesn't show up in the big game. Injuries are no longer an excuse with Plex, ask Steelers fans how often he had a bad hamstring, ankle or foot. He is a chronic injury and passive in the big game. We were both wrong on the Titans, but if they can't run the ball they really don't have a chance. I called the Cincy game over Baltimore, though.
I like the Jags this week because SD seems to have no offensive ryhtyhm. That is one area where the Jags can exploit them. They will keep the score down and win a battle of field position. Don't be surprised if the Ravens pull one out on Cleveland this week. The Browns played a great first half with the aid of a kick return and a Ben INT though it would have been a 1-4 point game after 2 quarters. Still think they have some growing up to do. The Ravens defense will force some turnovers this week, possibly at least one for a score. So if Kyle Boller can just move the chains and not flip field position this will be a close game. I'm thinking the Broncos are going to put 8 in the box on Monday night and dare Vince Young to beat them down field. If #### can play, like Denver to pull one out.
Last edited by moseby on November 15th at 9:16 AM.
"Here is the only thing I would say to that. If Seattle is a contender with a 21st ranked run offense, how is Green Bay not a contender with a better passing game and better defense. How is Dallas not a contender?"
All I really asked though was how the NFC West is that bad of a division when two of the worst teams in the NFL also reside in the same div as the SB favs.
As far as GB and Dal being contenders in the NFC, totally agreed.
I live in Chicago, but am originally from Wisconsin. I am a disgruntled Green Bay Packer fan that now loves the Jets. My favorite sports are Football, Basketball, and Baseball. Hockey and soccer are at the bottom of my list. I would rather watch the Spelling Bee than either of those sports. My favorite athletes of all time are Brett Favre and Michael Jordan. While I like debating many sports, NFL Football is by far my favorite topic to discuss.
In addition to this blog I am also a writer for the Fantasy Football Maniaxs. It is quite an honor to be writing with a group of knowledgeable football fanatics. The address is http://www.fa ntasyfootball maniaxs.com. I hope you enjoy the blog.
