Be sure to watch the NFL Network tonight from 6-7:30 eastern, where I will be discussing, amongst other things, tonight’s big NFC West matchup.
MAJOR INJURIES
RUNNING BACKS
Mike Karney, New Orleans Saints - knee -
Ahmard Hall, Tennessee Titans - concussion -
Leonard Weaver, Seattle Seahawks - ribs -
WIDE RECEIVERS
Mike Furrey, Detroit Lions - concussion -
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Willie Anderson, Baltimore Ravens - undisclosed -
Jake Grove, Oakland Raiders - leg -
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Dewayne White, Detroit Lions - calf -
LINEBACKERS
Donnie Edwards, Kansas City Chiefs - knee -
Jared DeVries, Detroit Lions - hand -
Nick Barnett, Green Bay Packers - knee -
Adalius Thomas, New England Patriots - arm -
DEFENSIVE BACKS
C.J. Wallace, Seattle Seahawks - hamstring - Status unknown
Charles Gordon, Minnesota Vikings - ankle - Likely will miss rest of the season
Mike McKenzie, New Orleans Saints - knee - Likely out for the season
I’M BUYING A ROUND FOR THE HEAD COACH OF THE WEEK…
JOHN HARBAUGH BALTIMORE RAVENS
He has done a remarkable job of transforming a team that was so one sided in their foundation. Now they can run the ball, they can play tight, low scoring games, and have shown they can score lots of points. He has done all this with a rookie quarterback and many missing pieces. His accomplishments after nine games prove the NFL is all about leadership and getting the most out of your players, not what scheme you can run.
I’M BUYING A ROUND FOR AN ASSISTANT COACH OF THE WEEK…
JOSH MCDANIEL NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
I attended the Buffalo/New England game and was really impressed in watching the New England sideline work the game, particularly Josh McDaniel. He has clearly gained the confidence of head coach Bill Belichick, as he is busy running the defense and making adjustments. McDaniel calls the game. McDaniel has a quiet confidence on the sideline and his ability to improve the play of Matt Cassel is really impressive. Belichick is one of the best listeners I have ever worked for---as long as you have researched and prepared your answers. From my viewpoint, McDaniel has gained the complete trust of Belichick. No one can deny the play of Cassel and the way he has been coached. Many teams need a coach with his kind of talent.
KARAOKE TIME… WHAT HAPPENED?
GIANTS VS THE NFC EAST THIS SEASON
vs WAS vs DAL at PHI
Rush Att. 32 34 45
Rush Yds 154 200<< 219<<
Yds per Rush 4.8 5.9 4.9
Rush TD 1 2 2
>>200+ rush yards in consecutive games for first time since 1986
RAVENS FOURTH QUARTER LAST 2 GAMES
at CLE at HOU
Points 17 22
Points Allowed 0 0
Takeaways 1 2
Pts off Turnovers 7 14
PETERSON VS THE PACKERS OFFENSE ON SUNDAY
Peterson GB Offense
Rush Yds 192<< 74
Total Yards 225 184
Yds per Touch 6.8 3.8
TD 1 1
Longest Play 29 19
>>100+ rush yds in 3 of 4 career games vs Packers
Best W-L Through First 9 Team Games
FIRST-ROUND ROOKIE QBs
W-L
ATL '08 Matt Ryan 6-3
BAL '08 Joe Flacco 6-3
BAL '03 Kyle Boller 5-4
SEA '93 Rick Mirer 4-5
NE '71 Jim Plunkett 4-5
>>Since 1970
YOU HAVE TO WONDER…HOW ABOUT THESE STATS…
1. The Titans were held to 20 rushing yards on 29 attempts (0.7 yards per rush). Their 20 rushing yards is the 3rd fewest in franchise history (fewest ever in a win) and the fewest by the Titans/Oilers since rushing for 19 yards in 1965 against San Diego.
2. The Giants have won 6 of their last 7 games against the Eagles, including 4 straight at Philly. New York has rushed for 200+ yards in back-to-back games for first time since 1986. It's their 4th game with 200+ rushing yards this season. Brandon Jacobs: 2nd straight 100-yd game, 4th this season and 9th of his career. The Giants are 8-1 when Jacobs rushes for 100+ yards.
3. Tyler Thigpen: career-high 3 TDs; has thrown 124 consecutive passes without an INT
4. The Raiders lost despite having more yards, first downs, takeaways, and a 37:02-22:58 edge in time of possession.
5. Cassel has been sacked just once in his last 2 games (was sacked 28 times in first 7 games).
6. The Lions have lost 10 straight dating back to last season. They're 0-9 for first time since 2001, when they started 0-12.
7. The Jets scored 27 points off 5 Rams turnovers. New York has 17 takeaways in their 6 wins, 1 takeaway in their 3 losses.
8. Sage Rosenfels: lost 3 of last 4 starts (9 INT, 2 fumbles lost during span)
9. The Vikings defense had 2 safeties, both in first half. The last team to have 2 safeties in a game was the Bills on Nov. 16, 2003 against the Texans. The last time a team had two safeties in the first half was the 49ers on Sept. 8, 1996 against the Rams.
10. The Dolphins had 6 direct snap "wildcat" plays for 80 yards and 2 TDs (all runs).
RAMBLING THOUGHTS
1. Why do teams insist on attacking Cortland Finnegan? He is so good with the ball in the air and has long arms and great hands, he always seems to find a way to make a play. Teams need to attack Harper, not Finnegan.
2. The Eagles had no business having a chance to win that game last night, but they did and blew it. It might take some time to get over that game for the Birds, but thank god the Bengals come to town next.
3. The Panthers played one of their worst games of the year yesterday against the Raiders and still won. Now they have the Lions coming to town. Schedule does matter in the NFL.
4. By the way, what was Tom Cable trying a field goal for with very little time left in the game down by ten? From 60 yards nonetheless. Things continue to get stranger and stranger in Oakland.
5. The Saints lack of talent on theeir offensive line and defensive line really shows up when they play on the road. They cannot ever get control of the line of scrimmage.
6. The Colts defense is built for a lead and they showed that last night when they went up 24-20. What surprised me during that game was how the Colts got stronger as the game went along, while the Steelers wilted.
7. The Texans are a year away from being a legit team. They lack strength and power on both fronts.
8. Once the Patriots get one of their two bigger running backs back into the lineup, they will be even better on offense. Matt Cassel’s ability to run when the Bills were playing man under gave them trouble, and was a big difference in the game.
9. Mark Bradley, wide receiver of the Chiefs, had another impressive day. With Tyler Thigpen at quarterback, the Chiefs have slowly developed into a solid offense.
10. The Lions need to let quarterback Drew Stanton play and find out what he is really about as a player. Why mess with Culpepper? He is not the future or the present.
LET’S HAVE A TOAST TO KERRY COLLINS
Over the last two weeks, Collins has been asked to play a different role on offense for his team and has been able to come through with flying colors. Collins still has a big arm, can make all the throws and has found an offense that is perfectly suited for his skill set. Collins always was deadly throwing the ball down the field on the third level, and that skill level works well with the overall Titan offense.
HEY BARTENDER, WHAT’S ON TAP TONIGHT?
49ers (2-6) at Cardinals (5-3)
The 49ers have lost 5 straight games and have allowed at least 29 points in all 5 games; they’ve been outscored 164-94 in those 5 games (average loss of 14.0 ppg).
Shaun Hill gets the start for the 49ers – he is 2-0 as a starter…
Frank Gore has a rushing TD in 5 straight games against the Cardinals. In his last 2 games against Arizona, Gore has 365 scrimmage yards (212 rush, 153 receiving).
The Cardinals are 5-12-1 all-time on MNF and have lost 6 straight. Their last win on MNF was Nov. 4, 1985 against the Cowboys when they were still in St. Louis.
The Cardinals have won 3 of their last 4 games. Arizona is 3-0 at home this season and they’ve outscored opponents 102-51 in those three games (30+ points in all 3 games).
The Cardinals have scored 30+ in 5 straight home games. Arizona has won 9 of their last 11 at home, including 6 straight - The last time the Cardinals won seven consecutive home games was in 1925, when the Chicago Cardinals won nine straight.
Arizona has won 3 straight against their own division. The Cardinals are looking for their first four-game winning streak against their division for the first time since 1983-84, when they were a member of the NFC East.
Kurt Warner is 8-1 in his career against the 49ers with 318.8 passing YPG and 20 TDs in 9 career starts. Anquan Boldin has a receiving TD in 5 straight games (8 total).
Steve Breaston: 86.2 receiving YPG in his last 5 games.
Tim Hightower leads all NFL rookies with 7 rushing TDs. The Cardinals defense has a sack in 31 straight games – longest current streak in the NFL.
Mike,
I too am very impressed with the progress that Matt Cassell has made since the 2nd half of game #1.
It seems to me that the kid has enough physical skills and mental capacity to play in the NFL, but he lacked enough playtime from college to now.
My question is this, are there many teams in the NFL that would have not only drafted this kid, but given him the kind of time it has taken for him to mature into a decent QB? I am not going to call him MVP, but, he has really grown this year and it seems that these days allowing a player to do this is rare. Is this an example of Belichick listening to not onlyhis his scouting staff, but also his coaching staff?
Also, do you believe that
"Van Halen is overated"?
With 13 seconds left, the Raiders needed a TD, 2pt conversion and a FG to tie the game at 17. They have two options....(1) kick the long (but possible)FG, on-side kick and hail mary TD (3 plays) or (2) hail mary TD, on-side kick, pass into FG range and kick the FG (4 plays). With 13 seconds left and no timeouts, Cable wisely chose the option with fewer required plays to tie the game.
It is also impressive that Josh Mcdaniels is only 32 years old (only 1 year older than Brady).
Him and Brady did a great job in 2006 also. Considering they had Reche Caldwell and Doug Gabriel at reciever and a really old Corey Dillon at RB and almost made it to the super bowl. That was probably more impressive than last year.
It was obvious what Cable was trying to do: give Panthers' bettors a heart attack!
Hope you enjoyed your visit to the Razor. I am enjoying how this new offense gets me home earlier.
And now Ty Law returns on Troy Brown night!
Thomas, as a Panthers' bettor, that whole game was making me physically ill. Going for three was the right call, though (See Steve's explaination above).
Might the Saints' line look better if they had someone who could both run between the tackles and have some explosion? Like the Cardinals are hoping to get from Tim Hightower?
The Giants have won 6 of their last 7 games against the Eagles, including 4 straight at Philly.
CORRECTION: The Eagles defeated the Giants at home in a playoff game in 2007. Tiki Barber's last game.
They also defeated the Giants in December 2006.
"Raiders best defensive effort all year. Four interceptions, 214 totals yards offense by the Panthers.... just saying."
Some Bay Area fans liked that much of what they saw.
Routt is an upgrade over Deangelo.
This as close as we can get to Hayes/Haynes, or Woodson/Allen. Nnamdi is a physical corner like Hayes was, Routt has speed to get on the ball like a pure cover corner.
Most of the Raiders most pressing needs would be answered if a name that has big football respect comes in, a Parcells type. I'm hearing it will be John Madden. There goes the extra LB the team needs, a value FA will arrive,there goes the extra OL the team needs, the big physical old school types of linemen on the interior.
Usually one WR and extra LB are big free agency positions of depth, there are a lot of values to pick from on mid level deals there.
That would mean the Raiders can look for WR and linemen. I'd prefer Ricky Jean Francois first, but I'm preferential to speed rushers who can also line up at defensive tackle. Then again, I wanted Justin Tuck when he was coming out of the draft, what would I know.
Mike,
Love your work, but the Steelers didn't wilt.........Roethlisberger did. Give Payton Manning two 30 yard fields and you're going to lose most the time.
Mike-
In your "first round rookie QBs" list, you forgot...
PITT '04 Roethlisberger 13-0
| powered by TheSeats.com |
No one knows the future, but one...
Unconventional thinking, plus...
Questions and thoughts about the...
Super Bowl thoughts: Freeney,...
Is Browns GM serious about Tebow?...
Nov 10, 2008
05:35 PM
Mike,
Interesting stuff on Josh McDaniels, one correction his last name is McDaniels not McDaniel: http://www.patriots.com/team/index.cfm?ac=coachbio&bio=24595
Also I'm interested to find out what the Pats do now with Adalius Thomas most likely gone for the year. Do they go to a 4-3, they do have enough talented DL to make the switch with Seymour, Wilfork, Warren, Green, Wright and Smith on the active roster. They would probably have to bring in another DL if they were to do that full time, maybe Adams from the PS? If they do stick with the 3-4 predominantly who do they move outside? I would leave Mayo, Guyton and Bruschi inside because they have developed a nice rotation there. The only possibilites outside on the roster are Vrabel and Woods so they would need depth. Maybe they sign Victor Hobson, whom they released in camp after the ILB experiment didn't work out with him. He has played most of his career outside and had some solid seasons with the NYJ's. I don't think Seau or Colvin are the answer. Your thoughts? Maybe they sign OLB Vince Redd from the PS, who flashed some pass rush skills in the preseason but who is extremely raw??