Week 10 Review

I thought I would review this week’s games before the Monday Night game since if the Browns win then I’ll need a whole post just to slag off the Ravens.

Let’s start with the big game of the week, Colts v Patriots.
Say what you want about Bill Belichick but I truly admire his call on fourth down this weekend.  He realised that going against a Colts offence with Manning in sink meant he had to keep the ball for as long as possible and make teh colts use their last timeout.  His paly call was even good since if Faulk had gotten control of the ball we would be discussing what a great coach Belichick is rather than so called experts saying what a fool he his.  I love the fact that former players and coaches who haven’t won nearly as much as the Pats or Belichick are slagging him off, it just goes to show that the jealous green eye monster still survives in America.  The only problem I have with his call is it has distracted people from talking about the best game for ages in the NFL.  Both Brady and Manning were on fire, Wayne and Moss showed why they are two of the best WRs in the game and Mathis looked like a stud DE in the 4th quarter.

The next biggets game of the weekend was the Bengals v Steelers.
Again this was a good game to watch with two excellent defences playing against one another.  A close game with only one TD showed yet again why special teams are one of the key components to a great team in the NFL.  The Bengals should know lock up the division in a couple of weeks and allow themselves to get key players healthy.  Must say I’m not so sure about them sigining Larry Johnson but we’ll wait and see before passing judgement.

The last game I watched this weekend was the Cowboys at the Packers.
Was this game the start of Tony Romo blowing up again or was it just his wide receiving corp showing their true colours.  People in Dallas must surely be pissed off with Roy Williams, he just isn’t that good and is showing it far too often this season.  Miles Austin also disappeared off the radar this week but I’ll cut him some slack since it is only his 3rd NFL start.  Great job by the Packers D to keep them in the game and what a lovely interception from Woodson on the goaline.

In other games this week, Washington shocked Denver and the boat looks very shaky in Denver especially with the Chargers beating the Eagles.  Finally another big loss for the Falcons and they need to get it sorted soon or their playoff dream is over.

NFL Week 10 Preview

Here are the rest of predictions after I managed to get Thursday’s nights score wrong.

Falcons to beat the Panthers
Atlanta should have enough offensive power to beat the Panthers.

Dolphins to beat the Buccaneers
Yes Tampa Bay won last week but let’s face it they are playing a far better team than the Redskins this week.

Vikings to beat the Lions
Again not the most difficult selection ever.

Jets to beat the Jaguars
The Jags have been playing better the last couple of weeks but the Jets should win this coming out of the bye week.

Bengals to beat the Steelers
The Bengals have played well versus their divisional rivals and I think they win again.

Saints to beat the Rams
Please no one expects the Rams to win their second game of the season here.

Titans to beat the Bills
The Titans have been playing much better these last few weeks and should chalk up another win here.

Broncos to beat the Redskins
Can’t see the Redskins winning this game though it might be fairly close.

Chiefs to beat the Raiders
Oakland are just terrible at the moment and so I fancy the Chiefs to get their second win.

Cardinals to beat the Seahawks
Arizona to get a win at home for a change.

Cowboys to beat the Packers
This could be a closer game than many are expecting.

Chargers to beat the Eagles
Should the Chargers win this game then the Cowboys should send the team a big case of bubbly since they will have pretty much helped them to the divisional title.

Colts to beat the Patriots
This will be a great game or at least I am hoping it will be a great game.  I’m sure it will be close but I fancy Manning to win it this time.

Ravens to beat the Browns
This could be one of the worse Monday Night games ever.  Really if Flacco and co don’t win this then they are done for the season.

What we learnt in the NFL during week 8

The Saints and the Colts are still winning games even without playing all that well for the whole game.  This is a good thing if you are a fan of these teams but not so good for teams in their conference.  Have to say I would personally like this to be the Super Bowl since it would be a great game with two great QBs.  The Colts have to stop a high scoring offence next week when they play the Texans but I would think Manning and the Colts are confident about winning here.

The Giants and the Jets both have problems at the moment and need a nice solid win versus someone to steady the ship.  In the case of the Giants not to sure when this will happen since I can see the Chargers coming out throwing next week.

Steven Jackson finally got the reward his good play deserves when the Rams managed to beat the Lions.  This result shows how much both teams still have to go but everyone knew this was going to be a rebuilding season for both teams.

Finally the worst team in the league at the moment is the Browns and at the moment I just can’t see how they are going to win a game.  Seriously at the moment they would be as well as playing Cribbs at QB since both Quinn and Anderson just aren’t performing.   Never mind maybe the bye week will solve all their problems but somehow I doubt it.

Next week I am looking forward to seeing the Texans at the Colts and the Cowboys at the Eagles.  Although in a personal note I’m hoping the Redskins won’t be quite as bad after the bye week.

NFL Power Rankings Week 7

1. Colts – Yes it was only the Rams but they are still winning easily and Peyton Manning is still MVP favourite.
2. Saints – A good win versus the Dolphins and even more impressive since Drew Brees had a bad game.
3. Broncos – In the top three even though they had a bye week, helped that other teams round them lost.  Big game versus the Ravens this weekend.
4. Vikings – This team should not be throwing the ball 51 times when they have the running game they do.  AP must be annoyed with the play calling.
5. Bengals – Great performance from Carson Palmer and I bet Cedric Benson has a smile on his face this week.
6. Patriots – Blow away the Bucs in London but no real surprise there.  Have a bye week to get players healthy.  Secondary looked better this week.
7. Steelers – Getting back to the form they showed last year.  Big Ben and Troy are showing they are the real leaders on this team.
8. Giants – Eli Manning and the offence looked ordinary versus the Cardinals and the secondary looked almost as bad as it did the week before versus the Saints.  Look for Philly to throw the ball lots this weekend.
9. Cowboys – Have they finally found a replacement for TO in Austin?  No matter if they have or haven’t the production from Williams is disappointing.
10. Cardinals – Warner and the offence are moving the ball well and having a running game, which is improving, will help.
11. Falcons – Bad lose to the Cowboys but what must be more worrying is the performance of Michael Turner.
12. Packers – Finally the offence line is getting better and this can only be good news for Aaron Rodgers.  Massive game for Green Bay this weekend versus the Vikings.  A must win if they want to win the division.
13. Eagles – Winning against the Redskins isn’t that good but at least they won and stay close to the Cowboys and the Giants.
14. Texans – Finally the team managed to decent performances in a row.  Although they nearly blow a 21 point lead to Alex Smith and Vernon Davies.
15. Jets – Great performance from the running game meant Sanchez could have a hot dog on the sideline.
16. Ravens – This team needs a win this weekend versus the unbeaten Broncos.
17. Bears – 3 loses away from Solider Field shows that this team is far from the finished article.  Jay Cutler needs to start performing better.
18. Chargers – Rivers is playing far better than anyone else on this team (Jackson is nearly there too) and he needs help fast if this team is to make the play offs.
19. 49ers – Switching back to Alex Smith is properly a good thing in the long run for Alex Smith since it will either get him a new deal or a move to another team.  Not sure what it does for the 49ers since they have already given up on him many times before.
20. Bills – Must wish they could play teams like the Panthers and the Browns every week.
21. Dolphins – Yet another game they managed to lose even though they dominated stats.  Just shows what an elite QB does for your team.
22. Jaguars – Surely they will beat the helpless Titans this week.
23. Seahawks – They need to become more consistent and also need to keep the QB on his feet.
24. Panthers – This team might finally be giving up Jake Delhomme.
25. Raiders – How can you beat the Eagles one week and then get hammered by the Jets the following week.
26. Redskins – This team just doesn’t look like winning a game again.
27. Lions – Good chance for win number 2 versus the Rams.
28. Chiefs – Larry Johnson is obliviously trying to get himself out of Kansas after his Twitter moment.
29. Browns – It is always good when you don’t play a QB because he will cost you too much money.  Looks like teams were right to pass on Quinn on the draft after all.
30. Titans – Are meant to be making personnel chances, now everyone is just waiting to see how is playing QB.
31. Buccaneers – Look like they are going to give Josh Freeman his chance at QB during the second half of the season.  Never going to be a good season when you have 3 starting QBs.
32. Rams – What can you say about this team anymore?  One thing for sure Steven Jackson is a quality player on a rubbish team.

NFL Week 7 Predictions

Green Bay to beat Cleveland

The Packers have no offensive line but the Browns are just rubbish.  Rodgers to have a big game and the Packers to win easily.

Houston to beat San Francisco

The Texans normally have one good week followed by one bad week.  Surely they can manage two decent weeks in a row.

San Diego to beat Kansas Chief

Two bad teams and two teams I couldn’t care less about.  Chargers to win since they have slightly more talent but would prefer the Chiefs to win.

Indianapolis to beat St Louis

The Colts and Manning will be healthy after a bye week and will be looking forward to playing this Rams team.  Look for the Colts to get ahead early and let the defence attack Bulger.

New England to beat Tampa Bay

The London game and I fancy the Patriots to win by a mile.  Not sure this game will do much to increase the popularity of the NFL in Europe.

Pittsburgh to beat Minnesota

This could be the game of the week with two good teams who both need to win.  The Steelers need it slightly more than the Vikings so I’ll pick them.

Carolina to beat Buffalo

These are two bad teams so I’ll pick the home team.

Oakland to beat New York Jets

I have no idea why I am picking Oakland here but something tells me they will win again this week.

Cincinnati to beat Chicago

The Bengals had a poor game last week so look for them to bounce back this week.  The Bears are a strange team but this will be a tough road trip for them.

Atlanta to beat Dallas

This Dallas team simply isn’t that good and only a fairly easy schedule has made them look good.  Atlanta will look to score quickly and then let Abraham attack Romo.

New Orleans to beat Miami

Drew Brees and co had a great game last week and I can’t see Miami stopping them this week.  If nothing else the Dolphins will run lots of wildcat this week.  Look out for Sharper to be ball hawking the young QB.

New York Giants to beat Arizona

This could be a high scoring game since both teams have great offences.  The Giants in particular have a suspect secondary and so look for Warner to throw lots.

Philadelphia to beat Washington

If the Eagles can’t beat this Washington team then you can officially end any chance they have of getting into the play-offs let alone getting to the Super Bowl.  They also need a big comeback after last weeks shocking lose.

NFL Power Rankings after week 6

1. Saints

They look scary on offence with so many weapons and nowadays they have a decent defence with Sharper looking like he will intercept a ball almost every game.  Remind me alot of the Colts on their Super Bowl run.

2. Colts

Manning looks good, Wayne looks good and they have a nice 1-2 running game with Addai and Brown.  Also helps the rest of the division is pants at the moment.

3. Vikings

Nothing seems wrong with this team and they would be 1 or 2 on my list is because Brett Favre has blown up late in the season for the last two years.  This team needs home field advantage in the play offs since Favre doesn’t like the cold weather.

4. Broncos

They are unbeaten, they look good on defence and Orton is winning games without doing anything fancy.  They also have a easy division and should have the division wrapped up pretty soon.

5. Giants

Yes they got spanked by the Saints but they have a banged up secondary and no every team has Drew Brees at QB.  Need to get more pressure from there front 4 so they don’t need to blitz so much.  The next 3 weeks will show for sure if they are a Super Bowl contender or not.

6. Falcons

A big win versus the Bears shows that Matt Ryan can take this team a long way.  Having Tony Gonzalez in the red zone helps alot too.

7. Patriots

Tom Brady and the offence had fun versus the Titans and now they must show they can do this week in and week out.

8. Bengals

Losing to the up and down Texans this week have seriously hurt this teams reputation and losing Odom for the season will hurt them more.

9. Steelers

They have started winning again, Mendanhall is running the ball well and Big Ben is putting up career numbers plus Troy is back on the defence.

10. Packers

There are alot of teams at 3-2 in the NFL and this is probably the one I personally wouldn’t want to be facing.  They have the potential to put up big numbers on offence and a defence that can cause some damage.

11. Cardinals

Arizona are starting to function on offence and because of their division they have a chance of getting in the play offs again with a .500 record.

12. Bears

Surely fans must be asking why they wasted so many picks on Cutler when Orton is winning with a Broncos team that doesn’t seem that much better on paper.  I think that if this team fails to make the play offs this year Lovie Smith is gone.

13. Ravens

They looked good the first 3 weeks and average the last 3 weeks.  Maybe they should have kept Stover has the kicker.  Defence needs to start playing better.

14. Eagles

One week they are destroying teams and next week they are losing to the Raiders.  This lose could come back to haunt them.

15. Cowboys

Romo needs to be more consistent and the defence needs to start making plays.

16. 49ers

Still not sure Shaun Hill is the answer at QB.  The team needed the bye week after being ripped a new one by Atlanta the other week.

17. Texans

So inconsistent it is unbelievable!  Great catch by Daniels this week though.

18. Jets

Sanchez is turing the ball over far too much for this team to win.  They are based on the old Ravens which is a strong defence and a QB who protects the ball.  They lose either of these things and they aren’t going to win games.

19. Jaguars

So inconsistent it is unbelievable!  Maurice Drew-Jones rushed well this week but will he do next week?

20. Dolphins

Henne played well versus the Jets but asking him to play like that all season may be asking too much.  Expect lots of Wildcat for the remainder of the season.

21. Chargers

Rivers and Merriman spend far too much time mouthing off at opponents rather than focusing on their own play.  Norv Turner can’t last another year in San Diego.

22. Seahawks

Just have too many holes at the moment to win on a consistent basis.

23. Bills

Trent Edwards getting hurt won’t help this team.  Actually surprised how bad this team have been this season.  Yet another coach that must go at the end of the season.

24. Panthers

Too tough a division for a team that is plainly not playing that well.

25. Raiders

Nice win this week but who really cares about this team anymore.

26. Redskins

Zorn is gone soon and so this team needs to find a head coach who is going to stay in place for 3 or more years and make a difference.  They will draft a QB with next years first round pick.

27. Lions

Out of all the teams in with only 1 win this season this is the only one that looks like it has some talent on its roster.

28. Chiefs

Yes they beat the Redskins but this isn’t something to brag about these days.

29. Browns

Cleveland don’t look any better under Mangini.

30. Titans

Jeff Fisher is too good a coach for this team to keep playing this badly.

31. Rams

They had a chance to win on Sunday bit blow it, story of their season so far.

32. Buccaneers

Man this team down right stinks.  The Pats will look forward to playing them next week in London.

My thoughts about Week 5 in the NFL

Week 5 showed some interesting things in the NFL starting with the Bengals proving they are for real after beating the much fancied Ravens in Baltimore.  Yes they needed help from Ray Lewis but yet again Carson Palmer showed he is still a quality QB.  Cincinnati are one miracle play away from being perfect.

Though speaking of the week 1 loss to the Broncos brings us nicely onto Denver.  This team was written off at the start of the season but McDaniels, Orton and a quality defence has shown that this team has a good chance of making the playoffs.  Orton hasn’t done anything pretty but he hasn’t done anything wrong either.

Week 5 also showed that the NFC East is between 2 teams Philly and NY since both the Redskins and the Cowboys really are just not that good.  Although the Cowboys won they only beat the Chiefs and Washington, in fact let’s not even go there since it just upsets me.

Buffalo and Cleveland could just be the two worse teams to have played in the NFL and to say that the game on Sunday was dreadful would be an understatement.  6 – 3?  I have been to higher scoring football games (that is proper football!)

The Colts and the Giants both look good and I expect that you properly won’t get very good odds for a Manning bowl in Miami at the end of the season.  Both the Manning brothers are also clear MVP leaders along with Jared Allan of the Vikings.

Finally week 5 showed that a lot of teams are still searching for an identity.  Take Jacksonville and Seattle for two good examples.  Either these teams are either good or rotten but they are hardly good or rotten two weeks in a row.  Look for the Jags to bounce back this week and play well and if you do fantasy football but little Jones-Drew in your team since he should see a lot of the ball versus St Louis.

Predictions for NFL week 5

Ravens to beat the Bengals

Baltimore is playing well but so are the Bengals but I just think the Ravens will have too much for them.  Look for the Ravens defence to play much better after last week.

Panthers to beat the Redskins

Is anyone interested in this game?  Really two bad teams and I fancy the Panthers to win because they are at home.

Bills to beat the Browns

The Browns can’t score on offence and to make things worse they have traded Edwards to the Jets.  Guess they have already written off the season.  The Bills aren’t much better but are at home at least.

Steelers to beat the Lions

Detroit has won one game this season but they aren’t going to get win number 2 this weekend.

Cowboys to beat the Chiefs

Chiefs need to get a win soon but I can’t see it happening this weekend versus the Cowboys.  Look for the Dallas defence to play well and for Romo to have a slightly better game than he has been having.  Though it is nice to see Romo getting found out for what he really is a decent QB rather than this superstar people were making him out to be.

Vikings to beat the Rams

Peterson to get over 200 yards? Wouldn’t put it past him or for Favre to have a big game.  The Rams are probably the worse team in the NFL at the moment.

Giants to beat the Raiders

Oakland just isn’t that good and won’t be when they have a thug has head coach or a nut job as an owner. Manning and the Giants look good and should make it 5 – 0.

Eagles to beat the Buccaneers

McNabb is back and they defence is playing well whereas noone is playing all that well for the Bucs.

49ers to beat the Falcons

San Fran is playing well and I thing they will have enough to beat the Falcons on Sunday.

Cardinals to beat the Texans

I can see both teams putting up a lot of points this weekend and also look for Fitzgerald and Johnson to have big games.  Fancy the Cardinals since they are home.

Broncos to beat the Patriots

Broncos are playing well which isn’t good news for all the McDaniels haters but something I’m personally not shocked about.  Orton is playing well enough to win games and the defence is finally showing how good it can be.

Jaguars to beat the Seahawks

Just not sure about this game since both teams aren’t that great but the Jags are slightly better.

Colts to beat the Titans

When you are winless the last team you want to play is the Colts on fire and Manning playing as well as he has for a few years.  Peyton is already MVP favourite and quite rightly since without this team would be average at best.

Jets to beat the Dolphins

Two young inexperience QBs in this game but the difference is Sanchez has a great defence to get him the ball back a lot.

MVP favourite

NFL Predictions week 12

Ravens to beat the Eagles – Philly lose this one and their season is all over.  The fans will boo McNabb and demand Reid out on talk radio but both of these guys will be around next year.

Bears to beat the Rams – Yes the Bears were shocking last week but this is the Rams they are playing.

Titans to beat the Jets – Jets better hope Favre gets out of here in once piece.

Dolphins to beat the Pats - just when Cassel looks good the Pats will lose another game and their playoff dream will also be over.

Browns to beat the Texans – Quinn is playing well and looking the part.

Bucs to beat the Lions - Bucs will easily win this one.

Jaguars to beat the Vikings – Vikings will somehow manage to lose this one but AP will probably still have a big day.

Bills to beat the Chiefs – This could a pretty tight game but I fancy the Bills.

Cowboys to beat the 49ers - Dallas to sneak a close one.

Broncos to beat the Raiders – How many people will even watch this game?  Really about 2.

Falcons to beat the Panthers – This could be a great match but I fancy the Falcons to sneak it.

Giants to beat the Cards – Yes Arizona is playing well but then so are those Giants

Redskins to beat the Seahawks – Seattle is so poor I have no idea who is even playing QB for them this week.

Colts to beat the Chargers – You can’t defend the pass and you face Manning then you have problems.  Though look for both QBs to have big numbers.

Packers to beat the Saints – Green Bay looked good last week and they will continue that into this week.

NFL Power Rankings

1. Titans – Unbeaten and looking good in all departments.  Unusually Kerry Collins won them the game versus the Bears.
2. Giants – The lose to the Browns is the only reason they aren’t top of the power rankings.  Manning looks superb and so every department in the team.
3. Panthers – A team I haven’t seen much of this year but the defence and a strong running game covers up any mistakes Delhomme has.  Sunday was a classic example of this.
4. Pats – Even without Brady they look a good team and Cassel is looking better every week.
5. Falcons – Matt Ryan should have a good chance of being rookie of the year and the city has almost forgotten about Vick.
6. Redskins – This team needed a bye week after a tough lose to the Steelers.  Manning showed that the Steelers defence is beatable and also showed that even though Campbell has come a long way he still needs to get better.
7. Steelers – They look good one week and then the next Big Ben looks like a bomb scare.  Another game like that and the crowd will want Leftwich in.
8. Jets – A runaway victory over the Rams showed that they can take care of the poorer teams.  The game on Thursday versus the Pats will show just how goodthey are.
9. Buccaneers – They are having a decent season and are still not winning their division.  The return of Williams will help them.
10. Ravens – Flacco looks good and Ray Lewis will always get the defence playing well.  The games within the division will be more important than ever.
11. Cardinals – They had a great chance to show the world that they were a force to be reckoned with but they blew it with a narrow victory over the 49ers.  Though on a plus point the defence did stop them.
12. Bears – A tough lose to take versus the Titans especially since it was Kerry Collins beat them.  This team need Orton to be fit because Grossman won’t beat big teams.
13. Cowboys – They should be a lot healthier after the bye week but will it be enough to beat the Redskins?  Lose this game and they will struggle to make the play offs.
14. Colts – Big win on Sunday versus the Steelers but now they need to put in a run of results or their season is done.  They aren’t being helped by the fact that the AFC East is so strong this year.
15. Dolphins – The ‘Wildcat’ keeps working and even Ricky Williams is getting 100 yard days.  Must be the happiest Dolphins fans have been for a while.
16. Bills – 3 big loses in a row spells trouble for the Bills. At one stage they looked like they would run away with the AFC East now they might finish last.
17. Broncos – They spoiled Brady Quinn’s party but don’t kid yourself on this is still a team in trouble especially with no running backs.
18. Vikings – Huge win over the Packers in fact can’t say just how big a win it was.  AP is finally looking decent again and suddenly they are winning.  Still not sure they have a QB that can win games by himself.
19. Eagles – Another lose to divisional rivals and although they are 5-4 they will need a miracle to get out of this division.
20. Packers – A tough lose on Sunday and yet another injury to a defensive player, Barnett this time, means the Packers could have a long 7 weeks ahead of them.
21. Jaguars – They finally beat a team they should do but they still have lots of problems to fix.
22. Saints – Can’t defend the pass and so it means Drew Brees must win every game by himself.  He’s good but not sure he is that good since defences know the Saints running game won’t hurt them.
23. Chargers – Same as the Saints in that they can’t defend the pass and again not sure the offence can score enough points each week.  LT is turning into a huge disappoint this year.  Though the form of Turner in Atlanta probably isn’t helping.
24. Browns – Quinn looked solid so Derek Anderson should start looking for a new job.  Personally I would like to see him in Chicago or Minnesota since I think he would be a nice fit.
25. Texans – Sage Rosenfels isn’t the answer and so Schuab needs to get fit again soon.
26. Seahawks – Hasselbeck is coming back and that makes this team a lot better straight away.
27. 49ers – Tough lose on Monday night means they must pick themselves up for the coming games.  Still not sold on Hill at QB.
28. Raiders – They are really really really bad and pretty happy about that I am.  They’ll get another top 5 pick in next years draft to waste.
29. Rams – No Jackson means no victory it is that simple.
30. Chiefs – The QB situation looks better but that’s about all that looks good in Kansas.
31. Bengals – They need Palmer back in a hurry.
32. Lions – Seriously they could go 0-16.