Week 10 NFL thoughts...

[Senser81]

I'm reviving the tradition of weekly NFL thoughts...

Thoughts on NFL Week 10

*People talk about Matt Ryan, and he’s a good QB, but the key to Atlanta’s success IMO is Michael Turner. When he’s healthy, Atlanta wins. When he’s not 100%, they lose. Its as simple as that. I don’t think any of the other NFC contenders can match Atlanta’s running game.

*Minnesota’s loss to the Bears was inexcusable. The Bears shot the gaps and stopped Adrian Peterson early, so then Childress wrote him out of the game plan for the rest of the afternoon. The Vikings also stayed in their base defense and never really blitzed Cutler, which has been proven to work. Other than the pass to Harvin, the Bears pretty much controlled the game from start to finish.

*The Browns were a Chansi Stuckey fumble away from beating the Jets. Mark Sanchez still makes bad decisions, but he ended up winning (again). Hmm.

*I’ve always been a fan of Tyler Thigpen, and he looked worlds better than either Pennington or Henne. I think the Dolphins believe Ronnie Brown is still a playmaker, which he isn’t. The Dolphins need Thigpen’s mobility, and I hope he gets an opportunity to become their regular starter. Vince Young isn’t very good, in case you were still on the fence.

*I only saw the end of the Houston-Jacksonville game, but I think this is a case where ESPN cost the Texans a win. All the Texans DB had to do was intercept the ball and take a knee, but he did what Tom Jackson and Chris Berman preach (Knock it down), and proceeded to bat the ball at a Jags WR. I once lost the national title game in NCAA 2007 in the same manner.

*Todd Haley reminded me of the Sore/Lozerman presidential campaign. Your Chiefs aren’t THAT good, Matt Cassel is terrible, and you still have a few gaps to fill on defense. Stop acting surprised that you got your ass handed to you by Kyle Orton.

*Great work by the Giants. A week ago on Mike and Mike, they were discussing if the Giants were the best team in the NFL! HA!

*Ben Roethlisberger looked like he was stuck in mud for the entire first half of the Patriots game. The Patriots seem to always have Pittsburgh’s number, so I hope they don’t meet in the playoffs.

*The best game I saw this weekend was the Rams-49ers game. I don’t know if anyone else saw this game, but Troy Smith threw for 350 yards and a couple TDs, and probably had another 150 yards and 3 TDs called back due to holding penalties. It was impressive considering that Smith would scramble around, jump in the air, and heave the ball as far as he could. I don’t know why this was so effective, but it was.

 

[AJay]

*People talk about Matt Ryan, and he’s a good QB, but the key to Atlanta’s success IMO is Michael Turner. When he’s healthy, Atlanta wins. When he’s not 100%, they lose. Its as simple as that. I don’t think any of the other NFC contenders can match Atlanta’s running game.

Good summary, for the most part I agree. Of course not with the Sanchez statement but that's another thing.

I think the key to success for Atlanta is Matt Ryan and Roddy White. Not Michael Turner. Snelling proved he can be a servicable back up and can carry the load whenever Turner goes out. Matt Ryan is money in the dome and Roddy is his key guy.

Turner had a lowly 39 yards this Thursday. I know this because I'm a big Turner fan and have him on my fantasy squad. While Matt threw for 3 tds and 2 of them were to his main guy Roddy.

I really don't like stats when it comes to the NFL but Roddy White is first in the NFL in receptions, second in yards and fourth in touchdowns. You get to Matt Ryan and/or shut down Roddy White. You stop the Falcons offense.

 

[Point Blank]

This was the first game in a while Turner wasn't a factor but the offense still looked good. Usually it stalls some when Turner isn't having a good day. Glad they finally got over that.

 

[Raidersabc123]

Raiders going to 1st without even playing

 

[Bigpapa42]

*The best game I saw this weekend was the Rams-49ers game. I don’t know if anyone else saw this game, but Troy Smith threw for 350 yards and a couple TDs, and probably had another 150 yards and 3 TDs called back due to holding penalties. It was impressive considering that Smith would scramble around, jump in the air, and heave the ball as far as he could. I don’t know why this was so effective, but it was.

Nice write-up, Senser. As for Smith... well, Jeff Garcia made a career out of that approach.

 

[MrBill]

*Minnesota’s loss to the Bears was inexcusable. The Bears shot the gaps and stopped Adrian Peterson early, so then Childress wrote him out of the game plan for the rest of the afternoon. The Vikings also stayed in their base defense and never really blitzed Cutler, which has been proven to work. Other than the pass to Harvin, the Bears pretty much controlled the game from start to finish.

Agree with everything you said there. When Adrian Peterson is healthy and the best WR's you have on the field are Mr. Kendra and Greg Camarillo, why keep throwing the ball in wind gusts up to 30MPH?

Also couldn't figure out why the Vikings didn't go with longer cleats after halftime. Players were falling down all over the place :smh:

 

[Senser81]

Nice write-up, Senser. As for Smith... well, Jeff Garcia made a career out of that approach.

True. I've never been impressed by Troy Smith...his style is too helter-skelter for my taste...but it did get results in college and last week against the Rams.

One thing I noticed in the game was how moronic Mike Singletary is as a head coach. RT Anthony Davis was going up 1-on-1 with Chris Long the entire game and getting beat every single play. Davis was holding Long on every single play, too, but the refs couldn't call it every time. As it stood, Davis himself wiped out 3 big pass plays at the end of the game. I couldn't believe that Singletary didn't have a TE chip Long or a RB help out...he just left Davis isolated on Long.

 

[Senser81]

Agree with everything you said there. When Adrian Peterson is healthy and the best WR's you have on the field are Mr. Kendra and Greg Camarillo, why keep throwing the ball in wind gusts up to 30MPH?

Also couldn't figure out why the Vikings didn't go with longer cleats after halftime. Players were falling down all over the place :smh:

Hmm...??

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

*Ben Roethlisberger looked like he was stuck in mud for the entire first half of the Patriots game. The Patriots seem to always have Pittsburgh’s number, so I hope they don’t meet in the playoffs.

I feel the Patriots are using some Madden card where the opposing teams AWR/SPD is knocked down 20%.

I dont like there talent but there coaching staff is always making the right calls. Other teams rarely seem settled.


* Is it just me or are alot of NFL games turning into NBA matchups. First half leads dont seem to mean much as 4th quarter rallies and pushing OT is common place.

*Dez Bryant was doing one hell of a Michael Irvin impression. *shocker* Garrett becomes HC all of a sudden Bryant and Jones get fed the ball. Miles Austin had 10+ catches first 3-4 games. Last memorable catch he had was the PI call against him on the 60 yarder.


P.S if its before noon on monday you have to label it *early bird edition*

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

BTW I always wondered what would happen if someone pulled the plug during an NFL night game....
Reports had people immediately reaching out for others or dropping to the ground.
Anyone that had night vision on must have gotten a good laugh at that.

 

[Senser81]

BTW I always wondered what would happen if someone pulled the plug during an NFL night game....
Reports had people immediately reaching out for others or dropping to the ground.
Anyone that had night vision on must have gotten a good laugh at that.

When Rush pulled the plug on VSN, I immediately reached out for my computer monitor then fell out of my chair.

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

When Rush pulled the plug on VSN, I immediately reached out for my computer monitor then fell out of my chair.

At least now we know your race.

 

[Blick]

*Todd Haley reminded me of the Sore/Lozerman presidential campaign. Your Chiefs aren’t THAT good, Matt Cassel is terrible, and you still have a few gaps to fill on defense. Stop acting surprised that you got your ass handed to you by Kyle Orton.

I think Haley was mad because McDaniels challenged a play that gave the Broncos a TD late when the call on the field was an incomplete pass and the Broncos were already up by a million points. It was kinda bush league.

I personally have no problem with Haley being a dick to a rival head coach. Analyzing the post-game handshakes between coaches is getting old.

 

[MrBill]

Can't believe I'm going to post this..

... but I can't shake the feeling that we've seen the last of Brett Favre.

I think it's all on the line for the Packers game this weekend. He's probably on the verge of throwing in the towel with Rice not playing last weekend when he looked great in practice all week and Berrian and Harvin both deciding they didn't feel like playing the rest of the game on Sunday.

If they come out and stink it up at home on Sunday, then I suspect the shoulder injury will suddenly require surgery and he'll go on IR the rest of the year.

 

[packersfan4eva]

1. Carson Palmer was shown up by Indy's secondary. He was making terrible throws left and right.

2. The Browns can be a good team. They went into overtime with the Jets, beat the Patriots, beat the Saints, and lost to the Buccaneers, the Chiefs, and the Ravens by a score or less.

3. Dallas's problem was coaching.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

One thing I noticed in the game was how moronic Mike Singletary is as a head coach. RT Anthony Davis was going up 1-on-1 with Chris Long the entire game and getting beat every single play. Davis was holding Long on every single play, too, but the refs couldn't call it every time. As it stood, Davis himself wiped out 3 big pass plays at the end of the game. I couldn't believe that Singletary didn't have a TE chip Long or a RB help out...he just left Davis isolated on Long.

Not only that, but the 49ers offensive gameplan was moronic, too. Every series was the same -- the Niners would get huge chunks of yards on the deep ball, get across the 50, and immeditely go into a shell and run the ball for no gain on first and second down. Then the Rams would sack Smith on third down. This happened on about 4 or 5 series in a row.

The 49ers offense consisted of 7 or 8 big plays, a bunch of runs that went nowhere, Smith getting sacked, and a half dozen more big plays called back by penalty. They went 0-11 on third down for the game and still won. Easily one of the most frustrating loses as a Rams fan i've seen in years.

 

[ralaw]

Its good seeing Vick get what he had back while seeming to be a better QB. Before his issues he was my favorite player to watch and he is again. Even as the Eagles were dismantling the Redskins I continued to watch in hopes to see what he would do next. I found myself being happy over Washington's 3 and outs. I just don't see anyone stopping this offense right now....maybe the Giants can slow him down next game. At this point Vick is dictating to the defense and it's amazing to watch.

 

[Hasselbeck]

* Mike Williams should be comeback player of the year, but Vick likely will win it soon.

That's basically all I have to add to Senser's quips.

 

[jms493]

* Mike Williams should be comeback player of the year, but Vick likely will win it soon.

That's basically all I have to add to Senser's quips.

comeback from "Jail" player of the year...new category.

 

[Senser81]

comeback from "Jail" player of the year...new category.

Yeah, it reminds me when Jason Giambi made a comeback from "steroids".