National Football Post Tavern Talk

MONDAY’S TAVERN TALK…

*Be Sure to watch the NFL Network tonight, where I will be on from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. 

MAJOR INJURIES

RUNNING BACKS Ladell Betts, Washington Redskins - undisclosed -  Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants - knee - Earnest Graham, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - leg -

WIDE RECEIVERS Antwaan Randle El, Washington Redskins - ankle, foot - Antonio Chatman, Cincinnati Bengals - neck -

TIGHT ENDS Mark Campbell, New Orleans Saints - knee -

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN Richie Incognito, St. Louis Rams - undisclosed - Orlando Pace, St. Louis Rams - knee - Andrew Whitworth, Cincinnati Bengals - ankle - Mike Wahle, Seattle Seahawks - shoulder -

DEFENSIVE BACKS Aaron Ross, New York Giants - calf - Ron Bartell, St. Louis Rams - undisclosed - Chinedum Ndukwe, Cincinnati Bengals - undisclosed - Marcus Trufant, Seattle Seahawks - concussion -

I’M BUYING A ROUND FOR THE HEAD COACH OF THE WEEK…

MIKE SHANAHAN                     DENVER BRONCOS

Winning his second road game and now having a commanding two game lead in the AFC West is a tribute to his coaching.  And being the first team to defeat the upstart Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome was very impressive.  His defense is bad, but somehow they found a way to slow down the run and keep the game from getting away from them.  The Broncos have some major flaws as a team, but that does not prevent Shanahan from having his team prepared and ready to play each week. Fighting through all the injuries this year has been a challenge, but his team has really responded on the road with two very impressive wins. 

I’M BUYING A ROUND FOR AN ASSISTANT COACH OF THE WEEK…

MIKE ZIMMER                          CINCINNATI BENGALS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR

I know a tie is like kissing your sister, but this was an impressive outing for the Bengals defense.  Zimmer knows how to play and attack the Philadelphia Eagle offense and he was able to force four turnovers and put his team in position to win the game.  The Bengals played their hearts out.  They may not be talented, but they played hard and ruined the seasons for the Birds.  You have to admire coaches that can get their teams to play hard each week when there is nothing to play for and the Bengals defense plays hard each week--just ask the Eagles. 

KARAOKE TIME…  WHAT HAPPENED? 

Ravens Rush Defense THIS SEASON

                                    1st 9 Gms         Sunday

Rush YPG                          65.4                 207<<

Yds per Rush                      2.9                   6.3

Rush TD                              1                       2

Rushes of 10+ Yds            12                       5

>>3rd most ever allowed by Ravens

Peyton Manning by Month THIS SEASON

                        Sept.       Oct.       Nov.

W-L                  1-2          2-2        3-0

TD                    3              7           7

INT                    4              5           0

Passer Rating   73.1         84.0      104.0

YOU HAVE TO WONDER…HOW ABOUT THESE STATS…

1. The Texans have lost 3 straight and are 0-5 on road this season (lost 8 straight road games; 4-17 on road under Gary Kubiak since 2006).  The Colts scored 24 of their 33 points in the 2nd half.  In their 2 wins over the Texans this season, Indy has scored 45 of their 64 points in the 2nd half.
2. The Packers lead the NFL with 9 return TDs (6 INTs, 2 punts, 1 fumble) this season (franchise record).  The Packers rushed for 200 yards (most allowed by Bears since 2004).  Aaron Rodgers was not sacked once yesterday after being sacked 8 times in his previous 2 games.
3. The Raiders have 2 offensive TDs in 6 games under Tom Cable.  Oakland was just 2-11 on 3rd down (they are 7-50 on 3rd down in last 4 games).  The Raiders allowed 6 sacks (ties season high) and they've allowed 29 sacks in last 7 games.
4. The Saints get their first road win of the season (1-4 on road) yesterday.  New Orleans scored 30+ points for the 5th time this season.  The Saints have won 4 straight games following a loss. 
5. T.J. Houshmandzadeh: 13th career 100-yd game (2nd this season).  T.J.’s 12 receptions tied his career high and his 149 receiving yards was the 2nd most in his career. Chad Johnson: held under 60 receiving yards in all 10 games this season (longest season-opening drought for Johnson since 2001 rookie season).  Johnson has had only 1 game this season where he had more receptions than Houshmandzadeh.
6. Broncos rookie Spencer Larsen started the game at both fullback and middle linebacker.  He is the first player in franchise history to start on both offense and defense in the same game.  Larsen is the fourth NFL player since 1990 to start on both offense and defense in the same game (last player to do so was Baltimore's Orlando Brown who started at both right tackle and defensive tackle against the Raiders (Dec. 14, 2003).  Peyton Hillis became the 10th rookie to start at least 1 game at running back under Mike Shanahan.
7. The 49ers 35 points in the first half were the most first half points by San Francisco since Oct. 18, 1992, when they scored 42 points against the Falcons.  San Francisco snaps a 6-game losing streak.  Frank Gore: 15th career 100-yd game (3rd this season); 6th career game with 2 rushing TDs.
8. San Francisco scored 5 consecutive touchdowns in the first half and scored 21 points off of three Rams turnovers.  The Rams have lost 4 straight by a combined score of 139-48
9. Warner: 47th career 300-yd game (4th straight 300-yd game, 6th this season).  Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald had 23 of Arizona's 32 receptions for 337 of their 395 receiving yards.  It's the 8th time that Boldin and Fitzgerald have both had at least 100 receiving yards (2nd most since 1960 behind only Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell, who had 9).
10. The Titans outscored the Jaguars 21-0 in the 2nd half.  Tennessee has outscored opponents 130-54 in the 2nd half this season.  The Titans defense had 4 sacks (4th time this season they've had at least 4 sacks).

SO FAR OUT OF THE RACE, THEY ACTUALLY THINK THEY ARE WINNING...

This Sunday was position Sunday in the NFL, with several teams clearly showing their true colors and declaring who they are and who they are not.  The Eagles and the Jags ended their seasons with their losses on Sunday.  While they are mathematically still in the race, their teams look far from the playoff caliber teams on 2008. 

RAMBLING THOUGHTS

1. Jim Fassel I know you are desperate, and as Bruce Springsteen once said, "sometimes I cannot tell my courage from my desperation,” but this letter is an act of desperation.  If you enter the Hotel begging for a room, you will be destroyed before the maids come and clean the bath rooms.  This is not the right direction for you career.  You need to keep coaching, but you don't need to have your life ruined.  And besides, no one can win there. 
2. I heard last week from someone VERY RELIABLE that the owner of the Hotel was spending more time trying to keep Lane Kiffin from getting the Tennessee job than he was working on his team.  He was having everyone he knows calling to influence the good folks at Tennessee.  Now THAT is messed up. 
3. Pittsburgh's James Harrison, Troy Polamula, Big Ben and Hines Ward stepped up big time in the game and played their hearts out.  The interception by Polamula was one of the best plays I have ever seen. 
4. Chad Pennington is just a winner.  He might not look pretty throwing the ball and there are times that the ball never seems like it will get their fast enough, but it does.  He is the perfect person for the Dolphins as they install their new program. 
5. The Colts are coming and Peyton Manning is starting to get his lower body in shape and drive the ball.  They are going to be force down the stretch. 
6. Great win for Dallas last night.  Many players have told me that the last week in Big D was a circus like atmosphere, as there is always something going on for promotions of the new stadium during the practice.  The focus is never just about the game, it's about the selling of the game. 
7. It is important for Sean Payton to lay down the law on Jeremy Shockey.  He cannot let a player he endorsed for a trade tear up his locker room or his authority on the field.  Every player is looking at how he handles this situation. 
8. Justin Durant, the linebacker from Jacksonville, was just sensational yesterday.  He was able to make plays on all levels and was a force on the field.  The Jags clearly had a bad offseason when it came down to personnel decisions and have a very divided locker room that needs to be unified. 
9. I feel bad for Jim Hasslet and the Rams.  Once he lost the option of coming back based on wins, it seems like the team went south on him.  The Rams are one of the most dysfunctional front offices in the NFL. 
10. The TIE in Cincinnati was like a loss to the Eagles, and no matter how Andy Reid tries to spin this one, it is going to be an interesting offseason in Philadelphia.   Trading out of the first round two years in a row tells the fans you are a talented team, not a 500 team. 

LET’S HAVE A TOAST TODAY

Marc Trestman, the former offensive coordinator of the Oakland Raiders, took a head coaching job in the CFL and has his team playing for the Grey Cup this weekend.  Good luck Marc and it is good to follow the advice of Bill Walsh when he would tell everyone who wanted to be a head coach, to take a head job on any level.  Only way you can learn to be a head coach is to be a head coach.  Check out this video of Marc.   

HEY BARTENDER, WHAT’S ON TAP TONIGHT?          

Browns (3-6) @ Bills (5-4)

1.   The Browns have lost 2 straight and 3 of their last 4 games.  Brady Quinn will make his first career start on the road, after making his starting debut last Thursday night when he completed 65.7 percent of his attempts for 239 yards and 2 touchdowns.

2.   Cleveland rushed for a season-high 160 yards in week 10 against Denver (after averaging 77.5 in the previous 2 games).

3.   The Browns rushing attack has averaged 99.3 YPG on the road this season. The Bills are 10-5 since 2006 when holding an opponent to fewer than 100 rushing yards.

4.   The Bills have lost 3 straight and 4 of their last 5 games.  After throwing just two picks in the Bills’ first 6 games, Trent Edwards has thrown 5 in his last three outings, as well as being sacked 9 times during that span.

5.   When Edwards posts a passer rating above 80.0 (min. 20 pass att.) the Bills are 8-0.

6.   Marshawn Lynch has yet to have a 100-yd game this season and has been held to 62 yards in the last 2 games.

7.   The Bills have averaged 90.0 rush YPG (28th in NFL).  Lee Evans’ 18.9 yards per reception leads the AFC.

8.   DE Aaron Schobel has missed the last 4 games. In the 5 games with Schobel, the Bills tallied 10 sacks. Without Schobel, Buffalo has just four in 4 games.

Bills Offensive Line

THIS SEASON

                                    First 7 gms                       Last 2 gms

Rush YPG                         102.9                                45.0

Rush TD                               8                                      0

Sacks allowed PG              2.57 (18)                           3.5 (7)

Opp. YPG                           329.3                              290.4

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