By Paul Gotham
Saints and Vikings march on
Both New Orleans and Minnesota put their unbeaten records on the line yesterday. Both remained undefeated. The similarities end there.
The Saints rolled up 493 yards of total offense and left no doubt in trouncing the formerly undefeated New York Giants, 48-27. Brett Favre tossed three touchdowns, but it almost wasn’t enough as the Minnesota walked a thin line in defeating Baltimore, 33-31.
New Orleans took advantage of a home game after a bye week and fired on all cylinders. Seven different Saints marched into the end zone, Drew Brees threw four touchdowns giving him 101 with the Saints, and the New Orleans defense played stingy. Marques Colston (Hofstra) made 8 receptions for 166 yards including one touchdown.
Eli Manning completed just 14 passes while being intercepted once. The Giant offense lacked timing all day. That tends to happen when a team feasts on the likes of the Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, and Washington Redskins. New Orleans brought an entirely different pace than the aforementioned sisters of the poor.
New York hosts an Arizona team that resembled their Super Bowl participant selves in beating Seattle 27-3. New Orleans travels to Miami for an interesting date with wildcat offense of the Dolphins. Saint defense coordinator, Gregg Williams has developed schemes to disrupt passing attacks. Will the Saints figure out the rushing attack of the fish?
Six games played, and Brett Favre remains off the injury report. Whew! I am still reeling from Bill’s description of Favre’s pending downfall. Favre completed 21-29 for 278 yards along with a 58-yard strike to Sidney Rice to set up the eventual winning field goal. Minnesota unleashed a balanced attack. Are the Ravens still considered a vaunted defense? Adrian Peterson rushed for 143 yards. Despite the impressive numbers, Favre could only watch as Steve Hauschka’s field goal attempt sailed wide sealing the Minnesota victory.
The Vikes travel to Pittsburgh next week before heading to Green Bay – time to walk like men.
Not to be lost in the mix is the performance by Baltimore QB, Joe Flacco, who threw for 385 yards going 28 for 43.
Denver puts their unblemished record on the line tonight in San Diego. The Broncos have a bye next week before embarking on a gauntlet that will see rookie coach Josh McDaniels prepare his surprise crew for the Ravens, Steelers, Chargers, and Giants over five weeks.
Peyton Manning had the chance to rest his arm this week. Anyone want to take a guess as to Manning’s numbers next week in St. Louis? Wonder if he’ll get pulled at half if he hasn’t thrown for 300 yards.
Curse or Coincidence?
Not that I believe in voodoo or anything (or maybe I do since I am a Boston Red Sox fan), but it just seems very strange that the last time the Tennessee Titans won a game was …oh…let’s see…last year! And when I say last year, I don’t mean last season. I mean the last calendar year. Considering that the department stores are breaking out Christmas decorations, this streak of infamy is taking on a length of time.
Last December, the 21st to be exact, the Titans downed the Steelers, 31-14. That was the day LenDale White, Javon Kearse, and Keith Bulluck decided to do a little dance and make a little flub with ‘The Terrible Towel.’ The next week Tennessee lost 23-0, followed by a first-round playoff loss at home. The Titans are 0-6 this season. Which wouldn’t be so bad, except that they lost 59-0 yesterday. Is Jeff Fisher’s seat getting hot?
Oh yeah, in case you’re keeping track. Last week, the Lions’ mascot decided to stomp on the ‘Towel’ while the Lions were driving for a potential game-tying touchdown. You guessed it. The Lions didn’t tie the game, and this week they fell 26-0 to the Pack. Does Detroit need anymore misery?
One Step Up
…and two steps back. Mark Sanchez welcome to winter north of the Mason-Dixon line. Hey Kid! You’re not in SoCal anymore. We have varying weather conditions in these parts, and ya best get used to it.
Oh my, not sure if the Jets rookie “woke up this morning to a cold house,” but he sure has “been given some hard lessons lately.” Let’s put it this way – the Buffalo Bills defense had more catches yesterday than Terrell Owens. Munch on that one for a minute. T.O. made three catches yesterday. The Buffalo defense? They had six interceptions (five off Sanchez) as the Bills won in OT, 16-13. At times, the Jets rookie looked bothered by the wind in Giants Stadium. Oh boy, it’s gonna be a long season if that continues.
By the way, is there a new sheriff in Buffalo…uh…maybe deputy would be more appropriate…actually, sergeant sounds more fitting (no offense intended to those who wear the uniform)? Ryan Fitzpatrick came off the bench to replace the injured …what’s his name?…and threw for 116 yards. Not to mention a 40-yard attempt that was ruled incomplete…barely.
Got any NFL Splinters? Share them here.
Can the press stop annointing Mark Sanchez as the next Johnny Unitas? Over the last couple of weeks, Sanchez is starting to look like what he is- a rookie. He is going to be a good quarterback in the NFL, but like any rookie he is going to struggle. He is going to have to learn how to play in cold weather though. Sunday was apparently a shock to his system..
I am having a hard time listening to people say the Pats ran up the score on the Oilers.. errr..I mean the Titans. This is the NFL – people – get over it. The Pats have been out of synch most of the year and should be allowed to continue working on their offense. Brady and Co. was pulled from the game with about 10 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter. If Belichek had been in full “efff you” mode, we might have seen the first game to see 100 points scored by a team – kidding of course. Bottom line – you can’t expect a team to give up that early in the game. What were they supposed to do – run the ball on every down?
Actually, that wouldn’t have worked since Laurence Maroney ran for 143 yards.
Barring injuries – the Saints offense is going to be very difficult to stop. As Troy Aikman pointed out, Brees has about 7 receivers that he is comfortable throwing to. Toss in a strong running game and the Saints have multiple ways to beat you.
Speaking of Troy Aikman. I thought he aptly noted that the NFL is no longer about the running game. 10 years ago, if a QB threw for 300 yards, you figured that the team lost the game. This past weekend – 8 QBs threw for over 300 yards – and that was with Peyton Manning on a bye week. Of the 8 the Win/Loss record was 6-2. It is official – the NFL is a Quarterbacks league… which leads me to.
Alot of players – specifically defensive players have been talking about some of the roughing the passer calls. Did anyone see the hit on Trent Edwards. Calvin Pace just about ripped his head off. Considering that Ray Lewis got a roughing the passer call on Tom Brady for tapping him – how is that not a flagrant foul? I understand that you need to protect your bread and butter, but there has to be some consistency. C’mon Roger!!
Smitty
Solid take. I will be surprised if Goodell does not hit Pace with a fine. How was he NOT flagged on that play?
I suppose the Patriots could have patronized the Titans and used some form of a football 4 corner. 🙂 I didn’t get to see much of the Pats game. I know there was a lot of snow. Did Belichick go with the hoodie or the parka? 😉
The Saints really look like they’re on a mission. NYG will bounce back … that was a bit of an abberration against a really good team on the road. Vikings could easily have 2 losses … they’re no better than 3rd in “NFC Power Rankings”, IMO.
Bears gagged away their game in Atlanta. Cutler better start protecting the ball a little better and Lovie & Co need to find out how to score inside the 10 yard line.
I applaud the Pats for rolling it up on the Oilers/Titans … these “dog teams” need to get shocked back into playing hard all the time.
What’s up with Philly??? Lose to the lowly Raiders???
I STILL cannot believe Denver is undefeated, esp with Orton at QB and a 33 yr old kid at the helm. What a story this is turning out to be.
Wally
Solid take.
New Orleans looked unfrigginstoppable. The last time I saw that many weapons I was watching a documentary on the Taliban. And Williams is coaching that defense with a chip on his shoulder. He wants to prove the Redskins made a mistake not taking him.
Great special teams effort by Denver last night.
The Philly loss has to be the head-scratcher of the week.
Wally,
You’re right about the Vikings being no better than third, but they are entertaining to watch.
Wally, I agree with you. The part that seems to be the problem with Vikings and I am surprised at it – is their defense. What has been the best part of this team when Tavaris Jackson was at the helm, seems to be the weak link. When up 27-10 – a good defense would have squashed the Ravens’ comeback.
By the way.. would anyone care to guess what the Vikings’ record would be if Tavaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfeld were the starting QB. I would go as far as to say, 3-3.
As for Eagles. From what I have seen – it looks like the Eagles O-Line didn’t show up. Oakland sacked McNabb 6 times and the Eagles barely ran the ball. That plane ride back across the country had to be miserable. Any takers that Andy Reid said “okay when you get off the plane -suit up!! We are practicing!! ”
Oh yeah – Belichek wore the parka,.
By the way.. would anyone care to guess what the Vikings’ record would be if Tavaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfeld were the starting QB. I would go as far as to say, 3-3. Helmet Sticker!!!
I thought Belichick 😉 would be tough enough to wear the hoodie.
Helmet Sticker for:
The last time I saw that many weapons I was watching a documentary on the Taliban.
Nice 😉
How bad are things in Redskins country? Daniel Snyder is making Peter Angelos look like Branch Rickey..
He turned heads when he hired Jim Zorn who had been an Offensive Coordinator for only a year as head coach. Snyder completely overpaid for Albert Haynesworth and probably destroyed Jason Campbell’s ability to lead the offense when he tried to trade up for Mark Sanchez – and wasn’t shy about admitting it.
Now they are pulling Sherman Lewis out of retirement to call the offensive plays. He was calling bingo, now he his calling offensive plays for the Washington Redskins. Are you kidding me?
They lost to Detroit, barely beat Tampa Bay and lost to Kansas City. How do you think you are doing Daniel??
Wally,
Thanks for the helmet sticker. I might have to store that line for later use.