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 Power Rankings Week 9

1. Colts – They keep winning even though they needed the help from Lady Luck
2. Saints – This team also keeps producing the goods.
3. Vikings – The bye week will have done this team the world of good.
4. Bengals – Huge game this weekend.
5. Steelers – See above
6. Patriots – Brady versus Manning is just going to be fun to watch.
7. Cowboys – Romo is showing some signs of actually be quite good.
8. Broncos – This team needs a win soon to stop the rot.
9. Cardinals – They keep showing that last years play off run away from home wasn’t just luck.
10. Falcons – Atlanta finally have the running game going.
11. Chargers – Rivers and co pulled the win out of the bag last week.
12. Eagles – McNabb and co need to start beating some decent teams and not just the poor ones.
13. Ravens – What has happened to this teams defence.
14. Texans – Houston were so unlucky to not win last weekend versus the Colts.
15. Jets – The defence needs to come off the bye week with all guns firing.
16. Giants – New York is slowly falling apart.
17. Packers – Massive lose to Tampa Bay pretty much ends all hope this team had of making the playoffs.
18. Dolphins – The wildcat nearly worked again versus the Pats but not quite.
19. Bears – How can this team win games by so many points then lose games by so many points?
20. Jaguars – Just keep giving the ball to MJD and then hit Sims-Walker on the play fake.
21. Panthers – This team just needs to run the ball more often.
22. 49ers – Has Crabtree ruined the 49ers chemistry?
23. Seahawks – I just can’t decide how good or bad this team is.
24. Titans – Tennessee has finally gotten the running game going and suddenly they are winning.
25. Bills – Will all this Vick talk distract the team?
26. Raiders – How will Oakland hurt itself his week?
27. Redskins – Washington isn’t far off being the worse team in the league.
28. Chiefs – If Kansas wants to be taken seriously they need to beat team like Jacksonville.
29. Rams – Steven Jackson is still the only plus point in this team.
30. Lions – They need to win a few more games this season to call it progress.
31. Buccaneers – Freeman is a huge plus point for this team and he may turn into this years Aaron Rodgers.
32. Browns – Do you get the feeling their will be a new coach next season.

Review of Sunday’s NFL

This Sunday showed why the Colts and the Saints are still the two teams to beat this season.  Both were in losing positions and both showed that they have the mental strength and luck (Colts in particular) to win games.  The Texans can take heart from the fact that they played the Colts close but yet again they managed to beat themselves instead of beating them.  The Saints on the other hand let the Panthers get a big lead early but pulled it back to win comfortably.

In other games the Cowboys defence finally decided to show up and this helped them beat a Eagles team that looked poor at times.  The NFC East is now the Cowboys to lose after the Giants managed to throw away yet another game this week, though I doubt many Chargers fans are complaining.

In the rest of the NFL Washington managed to lose again, Randy Moss and Tom Brady decided to start playing again and Tampa Bay finally managed to win a game.  Not seen any highlights of these games yet but well played to Josh Freeman for winning his first NFL game.  This game also pretty much ended the Packers season.

NFL Preview 9

Atlanta to beat Washington
No way this poor Redskins team manages to beat the Falcons especially after such a good performance from Atlanta on Monday night.

Arizona to beat Chicago
For some reason the Cardinals are a better away team than home team this season and so I am going to take them to pull off an upset over Chicago this weekend.

 Indianapolis to beat Houston
If the Texans want to be taken seriously this season then they must beat the Colts on Sunday. This will put them to wthin touching distance of Indianapolis and give them a great chance to at least get a wild card spot.

Cincinnati to beat Baltimore
Probably the toughest game to call this weekend and I fancy the Bengals for some reason. Baltimore will be looking for revenge after getting beaten in week 5 by the Bengals, so look for the defence to play hard especially Ray Lewis since it was his head hit that cost them the game the last time.

Jacksonville to beat Kansas City
There is always one game on that noone cares about and this is it. Jaguars to win if they give the ball to MJD more than 8 times in a game.

Green Bay to beat Tampa Bay
The Packers need a win here to keep on the heels of the Vikings and should manage it against one of the worst teams in the NFL.

New England to beat Miami
I’m guessing we will get a lot of Wildcat in this game but look for Tom Brady to do his usual thing which is simply winning games.

New Orleans to beat Carolina
Yes the Panthers beat Arizona last week but this week they come up against a team that is managing to win in lots of different ways. The New Orleans defence will be looking to pick off Delhomme since he has had trouble looking after the ball this season.

Seattle to beat Detroit
This is probably another game that not many people are that bothered about. Seattle to win because they have a better QB.

Tennessee to beat San Francisco
They looked more like the Titans of last year on offence now all they need to do is sort out the defence. I still fancy the Titans to pull off another win and put the 49ers  season to bed. The 49ers have looked a lot worse since Crabtree got into the line up.

San Diego to beat New York
Rivers will be over the moon to be facing this Giants secondary. Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd should both have big games.

Dallas to beat Philadelphia
This game last year nearly cost Wade Phillips his job but things should go better this year. I actually hope the Eagles win this so going on my logic that means the Cowboys will win. Look for lots of points in this game.

Denver to beat Pittsburgh
Just for the record Clark should not play in this game for the Steelers, no way any game is more important than your health. A few soccer players over here in Britain have found this out the hard way. Onto the game I fancy the Broncos to get back to winning ways with a victory over a decent Steelers team.

NFL Power Rankings Week 8

Indianapolis Colts - This team just keeps playing well and winning soso not much more you can say about them.

New Orleans Saints - Another good victory against a divisional rival .  This team most be looking forward to their next three games and a chance to be 10-0.

Minnesota Vikings – Favre will be happy after beating the Packers in their won back yard but now they most keep winning.

Denver Broncos – The actual score line will hurt more than the lose but this team still have a chance to go 10-6 at least.

New England Patriots - It is a good bye week when your main rivals beat up each other and extend your divisional lead.

Cincinnati Bengals - This team is a real threat to someone in the playoffs if they can remain healthy.

Dallas Cowboys – HUGE game versus the Eagles next week.  Romo is looking better though but everyone remembers the last game in Philly.

Philadelphia Eagles – Just like the Cowboys this is a HUGE game since whoever wins it takes advantage in the NFC East with the Giants in freefall.

Pittsburgh Steelers – Slowing beginning to look like the Super Bowl champs.

Houston Texans - Made franchise history this week but if they want to show they can compete with the big boys they need to play beat the Colts on Sunday.

Baltimore Ravens - A good win over Denver last week but they need to start winning on a consistent basis.

New York Giants - Boy does this team need a bye week soon.  The Chargers will love playing against this dodgy defence.

Arizona Cardinals - For a change this team can’t win at home and are great away from home.  Bad defeat to the Panthers on Sunday.

Atlanta Falcons - Coming close to beating the Saints just isn’t good enough at the moment.

Chicago Bears - They need to start winning away from Solider Field.

Green Bay Packers – Their season is over if Rodgers keeps getting beat up like he did on Sunday.

San Diego Chargers - Rivers will be looking forward to the Giants on Sunday.

New York Jets – Why can’t they beat the Dolphins?

Miami Dolphins - Boy did Ted Ginn Jr look good running back kick offs.

Carolina Panthers – Finally the coaching staff remembered to run the football.

Jacksonville Jaguars – Just waiting on Jones-Drew to start complaining about never getting the ball.  come on guys he got over 150 yards on 8 touches and then you decide to let David Garrard win you the game.

San Francisco  49ers – Alex Smith looked good for two weeks running, now he only needs to win a game.

Buffalo Bills – This team needs to start producing results against dgood teams and not just the bad ones in the league.

Seattle Seahawks - Really just not playing all that well.

Washington Redskins - This is the only team that looks better when they aren’t playing.

Oakland Raiders - Still can’t believe they beat Philly this year.

Tennessee Titans - Could this be the start of a run  of results?

St Louis Rams - finally Steven Jackson got some reward for all his hard work.

Kansas City Chiefs – Need a win this weekend.

Detroit Lions – Losing to the Rams is a bad thing.

Cleveland Browns - They could well be the worse team in the NFL right now.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - This is one ugly football team.

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.

What we learnt from Week 6 of the NFL

The New Orleans Saints and the Denver Broncos are Super Bowl contenders.  Noone will fancy playing either of these teams in the play offs especially if they get home field advantage.  Denver in January is not the place you want to go to unless it is for winter sports and the Superdome with a big crowd will also be a formidable place.  Both these posted big wins over teams everyone thought would be challenging for their divisions.

Washington and Tennessee have real big problems.  The Redskins have had the easiest schedule in the NFL and yet are still only 2 – 4, Jim Zorn is no longer play calling on the offensive side of the ball and let’s face it everyone thinks he will be sacked during the bye week.  The Titans on the other hand have a coach who the owner believes in and so there is unlikely to be any change at head coach but there might be change at a few other positions.  QB springs to mind since Kerry Collins isn’t lighting the heather on fire and they do have a high draft pick sitting on the bench in Vince Young.  I wouldn’t be surprised if either of these teams made a move for a QB during the off season.

Minnesota have everything working well and even have a little luck since they really should have lost the game on Sunday versus the Ravens.

The New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks have little chance of making the play offs if they continue to play at their present level.

Finally never has there been a season where so many teams know their season is over after 6 weeks.  Look for a lot of rookies to get some playing time over the next 11 weeks so that teams can make a decision about keeping them or by getting rid of them during the off season especially if there is an uncapped year.

NFL Week 6 Predictions

Cincinnati to beat Houston

The Texans are a strange team that can put up big numbers but at the same time can let the opposition have a good day.  The Bengals are good enough and confident enough to have a great day on offence and should get win number 5 here.

Green Bay to beat Detroit

The Packers O-line is terrible but yet Rodgers still manages to put up decent numbers.  This tells you that if the Packers can sort out the 0-line they can be challengers for the NFC North title.  After having a bye week look for them to better but not that much better.

Jacksonville to beat St Louis

The Jaguars have problems but then so do the Rams.  Jaguars are at home so they should win but only if they pound the ball with Maurice Jones-Drew.

Baltimore to beat Minnesota

Ray Lewis and the Ravens are hurting after a couple of big losses and ones they feel were down more to the officials than them (not sure I agree with them mind), so look for them to get a huge win in Minnesota.  AP will have a decent day but not sure he’ll break the 100 yard mark.  Also look for Favre to be under a lot of pressure.

New Orleans to beat New York

The Saints have had a bye week to get healthy and the one thing the Giants aren’t is healthy especially in the secondary.  Yes the back ups have played well but not sure how long that can last.  Look for Brees to throw is usual ton of balls and to put up big numbers again.

Pittsburgh to beat Cleveland

The Steelers are so hot and cold it is frightening but they are playing the Browns so they should win easily.  Big Ben and Mendanhall to both have big games.

Tampa Bay to beat Carolina

Yes the Panthers won last week but it was only against the Redskins.  Yes the Bucs can’t beat anyone but somehow I think this is their week to surprise everyone.

Washington to beat Kansas City

Surely my beloved Redskins can beat the Chiefs surely!  I’m going to say yes but don’t be shocked to see the Chiefs picking up their first win here.

Philadelphia to beat Oakland

The Raiders are glad that the Rams, Browns and Bills are in the league since it keeps attention away from them and just how bad they are.  Sorry to see Russell struggling so badly but then again he shouldn’t have been so greedy and ruined his rookie year.  Eagles will win be 30 this week.

Seattle to beat Arizona

Who knows who will win this game since both teams are hot and cold.  So going to pick the Seahawks since they are at home.

Tennessee to beat the Patriots

I think this is the shock of the week and it better be for Jeff Fishers sake or he is going to make a tough decision about the QB position really soon.  Patriots will lose 2 in a row for the first time in ages or at least it feels like ages.

New York to beat Buffalo

Does anyone think that the Bills will win this one?  Nope didn’t think so.  Easy win for the Jets.

Atlanta to beat Chicago

The Bears to lose a close one and this make the NFC North really interesting.  Plus this lose might get rid of the silly talk about Jay Cutler for MVP.  Falcons should continue on from were they left off last week.

Denver to beat San Diego

The Broncos to win again and this will surely annoy all the so-called experts who wrote they off during the off-season.  The Chargers continue to show that they talk a good game but more often than not fail to show up when really needed.

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.