Posts tagged ‘nfl recap’
NFL Weekly Recap: Week 7 Quick Hits
Here’s a thing or two I observed about each game played in Week 7, from Redzone or Rewind, in my 10+ hours of watching football.
Seattle at San Francisco
- The 49ers officially have the best OL in the league. In the second half they took it to Seattle with old fashioned smashmouth football.
- Behind that OL, it seems Coach Harbaugh is losing trust in his QB, Alex Smith. Not only has Colin Kaepernick been working into the mix but the playcalling has gotten very conservative, especially on 3rd down.
Washington at NY Giants
- Alfred Morris is as strong as an Ox, best story no one is talking about.
- Cruz is only making $540,000 this season but is worth a ton more than that.
Arizona at Minnesota
- Skelton likely cost his team the game with turnovers and bad decisions. Coach Whiz didn’t help the cause either.
- Harrison Smith and Letroy Guion are becoming the next generation of stars on that defense. Unfortunately, their schedule gets much tougher the rest of the way.
Dallas at Carolina
- Dallas should rely on their defense to win games. It’s that good. Their OL is that bad, especially with Costa going down. Also, Romo and Dez are that inconsistent.
- Carolina needs to cut the bull and run a real, even basic offense. They are stunting the growth of their franchise QB.
New Orleans at Tampa Bay
- Neither team can stop a nose bleed.
- Brees on pace to break his own yardage record.
- Freeman finally trusts Jackson and Clark might finally get some play, hay.
Green Bay at St. Louis
- Discount double Champ is back … Rodgers!!
- Woodson injury is tough break for a weak defense already, more shootouts.
- StL fought admirably and the defense is much improved despite giving up 30.
Baltimore at Houston
- Flacco still not the same on road. More fizzle than sizzle for damaged D.
- Houston took care of business early. Still not convinced they have a killer instinct though.
Cleveland at Indianapolis
- Weeden continues to impress by throwing in the face of pressure. Their defense much improved, too.
- Luck shut down in the second half.
Tennessee at Buffalo
- That Bills D was rebuilt to bust. Sorry B-Lo.
- For the second straight week I was very impressed with the Titans OL.
NY Jets at New England
- Remarkable performance by Jets who were down their best CB, WR, DT, and RB for a while to the Pats on the road. Woulda, coulda, shoulda won.
- Belichick is mixing and matching his secondary to find that perfect combination. I guess he realized you don’t get anything for going 16-0.
Jacksonville at Oakland
- Just when Gabbert looks OK, he gets injured….still, never liked him.
- Palmer have some gas left in the can.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
- Might as well call Big Ben the mayor of Cincinnati…at least one night a year.
- Bengals blew it by choosing BGE over Michael Bush. They should try to get SJax cheap.
Detroit at Chicago
- The Lions haven’t played a good game probably over a year. Stafford’s mechanics are a mess and for some reason won’t throw an elevated pass to Megatron.
- Chicago has the best defense in the league and they play a lot of zone. But not your father’s bland cover-2. They’re multiple.
(Please, comment with what you saw or learned.)
NFL Recap: 10 Things to Takeaway from Week 14 of the 2011 season
1. The Texans are in the playoffs and if they started today would be the number one seed. They’ve done it with good defense (dramatically improved pass D) and a top running game which features one of the best OLs and RBs. Moving forward with a rookie quarterback certainly limits their upside, against the likes of Baltimore, as the weaknesses was exposed yesterday vs Cincy who’s secondary is depleated but he found his rythm late. But don’t count them out, as they never gave up and won the game in dramatic fashion.
2. The Cowboys collapsed again….it’s the same old song in Big D. One of the worst secondaries in the league was exposed once again, making for their 4th ugly loss this year and truly putting their back against the wall. Even uglier going forward is that DeMarco Murray has a broken ankle and is likely done.
3. The Packers probably will misee Jennings if out for a period of time…the extent of the injury is unknown but this team thrives on their depth and rookie Randall Cobb will be the one asked to step up as well as Jones. But, Jones is the #1 and lines up everywhere….Nelson is the speed guy, but Rodgers should miss his comfort-zone #1.
4. Tebow-ed! This guy simply plays like a beast in the 4th quarter. He moves fast, throws more accurately, and wins games in crunch time. What’s not to like? Denver now a full game up on Oakland and 2 up on SD. The defense with Von Elvis was disruptive and kept the game close.
5. After laying a total egg in the first half @Carolina (down 23-7), Atlanta rallied on the road thanks to Julio Jones and 4 TDs by Ryan. Important win for a team who will be going on the road wildcard weekend. Team has to mature and open things up if they are gonna take the next step, Ryan just not great throwing deep ball. Surprised Turner didn’t run this matchup to the ground (only 180 yards, 0 TDs in last 3) and how poorly Cam Newton played in the second half (2 picks).
6. Jake Locker and Joe Webb put up great efforts yesterday trying to bring their teams back from double digits. Locker was erratic with his usual accuracy issues, but also throw a strike to Washington on the money. Meanwhile, Ponder continued turning the ball over (where he left off last week) and this tendency to be careless is what made me rank him lower coming into the pros. Locker has looked like the stud athlete, we knew he was, in addition to shows the tools to be a franchise QB with more development. While Webb did his best Tebow, going over 100 yards rushing.
7. As I’ve been saying Arizona’s defense is playing really well, and in fact, they out-49er’ed San Francisco yesterday. They are now 6-7 after starting the year 1-6…incredible! Tebow’s Broncos have gone 7-1, but Skelton and the Cardinals have been impressive too…maybe now they’ll get some ink. And as if he needed, Larry reminded us all of his greatness with some nice catches especially the TD where he outmuscled a defender.
8. Pittsburgh has quieted their critics from NFL Network, etc. who said they were old and slow. They’ve been playing great defense lately and on the other side of the ball Redman looks like a little MJD. Ravens seem to have their number/matchups, while Pouncey and Big Ben are limping around.
9. Brady got in a shouting match with his OC. Welker+Gronk combined for 20 targets for 13 catches, 246 yards and 3 TDs. Imagine if they had an outside WR… Pressure building on the Patriots to win a playoff game?
10. The Jaguars won the battle of South Florida and it was ugly…as one might expect. 41 unanswered points for Jax! Who will be the next to win a playoff game? Jags got Gabbart and Bucs need to get past NO, ATL, and Car. Or the Dolphins?
NFL Recap: 32 Thoughts from Week 13
Eagles @ Seahawks
Seattle: Offensive line opened up Marshawn Lynch who has embraced his downhill physicality. Okung handled Cole before the injury.
Philadelphia: So many interceptions, in the redzone and at critical times throughout the season. Linebackers and safeties continue to struggle.
Falcons @ Texans
Atlanta: Completely shut down by Wade Phillips’ defense and blew an opportunity to make a statement. Still clearly behind NO, GB, and possibly SF.
Houston: Yates was given time to throw and played with NFL talent at UNC. Looked like enough to win the division.
Tennessee @ Buffalo
Titans: Chris Johnson has found his groove and is exploiting matchups, despite being sick all last week. Future is bright, but where do you draft him next?
Bills: Spiller had a really good game, getting tons of touches, but they were forced to throw in the 2H…very tight short routes, disturbingly short.
NYJ @ Washington
Jets: Avoided somewhat of a trap game, although it was close.
Redskins: Helu put up big numbers again, has had 57 carries the last two weeks. Moss should be featured with Davis out and has great matchups to help you win that championship.
Kansas City @ Chicago
Chiefs: Defense is playing at a very high level. Hail mary answered before the half allowed them to tee off and Justin Houston to get 3 sacks. Great first step is paying off.
Bears: No Forte, no Cutler…no chance.
Denver @ Minnesota
Broncos: The 4th quarter kid came through again….luckily for most of the game is was the defense which was the star as it has been throughout their run.
Vikings: Percy exploding with the proper amount of touches, truly an explosive player. Ponder has had success running but must learn to keep his eyes downfield.
Carolina @ Tampa Bay
Panthers: The running game is #1 and Cam is the ultimate finisher. Interested to see how this offense ends the season, whether they go a little more conventional or stick to the read-option.
Buccaneers: Shame Blount did not exploit a soft defense. Johnson forced to start and then play with an injured shoulder.
Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh
Bengals: Without their top two QBs and best pass rusher they were overwhelmed in a big game. But there will be many more big games in years to come.
Steelers: Statement game. Defense protecting its turf. Running game getting hot at the right time.
Baltimore @ Cleveland
Ravens: Gameplan was run, run, run … found success yet struggled to put away opponent away.
Browns: Down 14 with 3rd and 8 from your own territory and you throw a 2 yard route to the sideline? Colt can’t be “the guy”.
St. Louis @ San Francisco
Rams: Defense fought hard, but outmatched.
49ers: Made it look too easy, both blitzing and rushing.
Dallas @ Arizona
Cowboys struggled with this trip again, especially without a running game…the conservative Romo wasn’t enough.
Cardinals strangely have had their best plays this season while Kolb is running and about to go down.
Green Bay @ NYG
Packers were close to going to overtime, but moved the ball effortlessly. Exposed weaknesses in stopping the run…must get a lead on this team in the first half because once they are in rhythm…it’s over.
Giants: Nicks had a big game and Bradshaw showed strong in his return, but they’ve have to repeat it immediately in Dallas this week.
Detroit @ New Orleans
Lions continue to struggle in the first half and with Stafford’s accuracy. Smith getting lots of looks with Calvin doubled.
Saints: Ingram shouldered most of the loaded with 16 carries compared to 4 and 2 for his mates. Meanwhile, Moore continues to kill it at home as he has always done.
Raiders @ Miami
Dolphins continue to be hot, with their defense turning around a lost season and Moore rebounded from a rough start in NYJ.
Raiders missing Run DMC and Moore finally caught up to them, but their inability to stop the run isn’t going away…
