By TLarner
Prepare for the Week 9 matchups with news, injury reports, and predictions as we head into the second half of the 2010 season.
Monday Night’s Results
The Indianapolis Colts avenged their season opening loss to the Houston Texans with a 30-17 victory on Monday Night Football. Peyton Manning didn’t miss a beat, even though Joseph Addai and Dallas Clark were out. The Colts, now 5-2, hold a half game lead in the AFC South.
In the first quarter, Clark’s replacement Jacob Tamme caught a two-yard touchdown. The Colts took a 14-0 lead after a interception return for a touchdown by Kelvin Hayden. Reggie Wayne caught a touchdown pass in the third quarter, followed by a touchdown from Houston’s Matt Schaub to Andre Johnson. Houston entered the fourth quarter down 27-10, and was unable to overcome the deficit. Indy kicker Adam Vinatieri added his third field goal of the night after Texans’ star running back Arian Foster ran in on a six-yard score.
Manning finished with 268 yards and two touchdowns. Mike Hart ran for 84 yards on 12 carries. Pierre Garcon lead the team with seven catches for 78 yards. Defensive end Dwight Freeney had two sacks, and forced a fumble in his second to end Houston’s chances of scoring again. Schaub threw for 201 yards with one touchdown and one pick for Houston. Foster ran for 102 yards and a score, and had nine catches for 60 yards. Johnson had 106 receiving yards and a touchdown catch. Indianapolis possessed the ball for nearly 13 minutes longer than the Texans.
Titanic Move
Wide receiver Randy Moss was picked up by the Tennessee Titans off the waiver wire on Wednesday. The Titans were the only team to put a claim Moss. He should be ready for Tennessee’s game at Miami on November 14th after their bye this week. The Titans’ leading receiver, Kenny Britt, will miss six to eight weeks with a hamstring injury. Moss, who is now on this third team this season, was traded to Minnesota after a disappoint start to the season with New England. Then, after four games as a Viking, Coach Brad Childress released Moss. Minnesota’s Owner, Zygi Wolf, was reportedly very unhappy with how Childress handled the situation with Moss. Apparently, Childress had not informed Wolf of the decision to let Moss go. Wolf has met with many players on the Vikings to discuss the state of the team and their Coach.
Merriman Moves East
Linebacker Shawne Merriman was claimed by the Buffalo Bills earlier this week. Merriman was placed on injured reserve in San Diego, but was let go after he was deemed healthy. Buffalo, the only winless team in the NFL this year, can desperately used a pass rusher who fits the 3-4 scheme, which Merriman played as a Charger. He will begin practicing on Monday, but it is unknown if he will be able to play next week against Detroit. The once feared pass rusher recorded 39.5 sacks between 2005-’07, but in the last three years, which have been plagued by injury, he only has four sacks. Only 26, Buffalo hopes Merriman can remain healthy and improve a defense which is last in points allowed per game (30.1).
Injury Report
For the second consecutive year, Indianapolis receiver Anthony Gonzalez will end his season on injured reserve. Gonzalez has an injured left knee, which will make him the 12th player on the Colts’ reserve list. Running backs Joseph Addai and Mike Hart also did not travel with the team to Philadelphia.
The Green Bay Packers have activated safety Atari Bigby off the physically unable to perform list on Saturday. Bigby had ankle surgery during training camp, and is now available to play Sunday against Dallas.
The Oakland Raiders may be without corner Nnamdi Asomugha and tight end Zach Miller against the Chiefs. Asomugha is doubtful with a sprained ankle. Miller also listed as doubtful with an injured foot. Both will be a game-time decision.
Philadelphia receiver DeSean Jackson is back after suffering a concussion on a brutal hit by Atlanta corner Dunta Robinson on October 17th. Jackson expects to start and return punts. Michael Vick is back from injury and will start against the Colts. Left tackle Jason Peters and defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley also will return.
Carolina’s starting running back DeAngelo Williams will miss another game with a sprained left foot. He hasn’t practice since injuring his foot on October 24th against the 49ers. Jonathan Stewart will get his second consecutive start this week.
The Dallas Cowboys will have three starters back on the field this week against the Packers. Corner Terence Newman, linebacker Bradie James, and tackle Marc Colombo all practiced on Friday.
San Diego tight end Antonio Gates has not ruled himself out for this week’s game against Houston, although he is listed as doubtful. No player that the Chargers have listed as doubtful has played yet this year. However, Gates has not missed a game in eight seasons.
Game of the Week: Tampa Bay at Atlanta
First place in the NFC South is up for grabs in this week’s Game of the Week between the Buccaneers and the Falcons. Both teams are tied at 5-2 with a half game lead over the Saints, who are currently 5-3. The Buccaneers have won two straight over St. Louis and Arizona. The Falcons, coming off their bye week, last defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7.
In his second year, Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman has grown a lot. He has thrown for 1,533 yards, eight touchdowns, and only three interceptions. In the 10 games he played as a rookie, Freeman threw 18 interceptions. He has also rushed for 176 yards. The Buccaneers’ leading rusher is rookie LeGarrette Blount. The infamous Oregon Duck has taken over for Cadillac Williams, who has lacked production this year. Blount has 222 yards and three touchdown runs with a 5.2 yard per carry average. Williams has 212 yards on 84 carries, a mere 2.5 yard per carry average. The leading receiver for Tampa Bay is also a rookie. Mike Williams has 32 catches for 470 yards and four touchdowns. Tight end Kellen Winslow is second on the team with 306 receiving yards. Corner Aqib Talib is second in the NFL with five interceptions, including a 45-yard pick six against Arizona. With a win this weekend, Tampa Bay hopes to prove to all the doubters that they are a legitimate contender in the NFC.
Atlanta currently ranks sixth in the league in yards per game (370.9). Quarterback Matt Ryan has thrown for 1,714 yards, 12 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Running back Michael Turner leads the Flacons with 587 yards on the ground, and three rushing touchdowns. Receiver Roddy White is having an outstanding year. He leads the NFL with 54 receptions, and is second in the league with 747 yards. White has caught five touchdowns so far this season. Future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez has 292 yards and three touchdown catches. Veteran defensive end John Abraham has a team high six sacks. Nine different defenders have recorded an interception, including a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown by defensive lineman Kroy Biermann.
Key Matchup: Josh Freeman vs. Atlanta’s Secondary
Josh Freeman has done an excellent job controlling the ball and not forcing turnovers this season. He has done a great job putting his team in position to win. Six of Freeman’s eight career wins have been fourth quarter comebacks. He threw a season-high 280 yards in a win against Cincinnati in Week 5. If Freeman can continue to make smart decisions, and find Williams and Winslow for touchdowns, he can prove to the league that the Buccaneers are one of, if not, the best team in the NFC.
In their last game against Cincinnati in Week 7, the Falcons’ defense gave up 412 yards and three touchdowns to Bengals’ QB Carson Palmer, his best outing of the year. Receiver Jordan Shipley had 131 yards, Chad Ochocinco had 108 yards, and Terrell Owens had 88 yards, and each caught a touchdown pass. Atlanta was lucky to hold onto the win, but proved they are vulnerable through the air. Atlanta’s rush defense in sixth in the NFL, only giving up 95.9 yards per game, so Blount may not be able to follow up his career performance from last week, forcing Tampa to go to the air.
Prediction
Against Pittsburgh and New Orleans, their two toughest opponents, Tampa Bay was outscored 69-19. The Buccaneers’ five victories have come against weaker teams (Cleveland, Carolina, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Arizona). While Freeman and his supporting cast has been playing well, I don’t think they have cemented themselves as a top team in the NFC. The Falcons have an explosive offense with the trio of Ryan, Turner, and White. These three may be too much for Tampa Bay to control. I expect the Falcons to become the sole leaders of the NFC South.
Best of the Rest: (Home team in italics)
New York Jets over Detroit
Houston over San Diego
New Orleans over Carolina
Buffalo over Chicago (Rodgers Centre, Toronto)
Minnesota over Arizona
New England over Cleveland
Baltimore over Miami
New York Giants over Seattle
Philadelphia over Indianapolis
Kansas City over Oakland
Green Bay over Dallas
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
Last week’s results: 5-8
Have NFL Splinters? Share them here.
T —
Thanks again for doing a great job and setting the table for today’s games. I mostly like your predictions (although I don’t “like” to see duh Bares losing to the Bills … but it will probably happen).
I have a few exceptions … I think the Lions will surprise the Jets and the Raiders will top the Chiefs. Oh … and Indy will beat the Eagles … they seem to have found a running game with Mike Hart.
You know when you’re on the second-to-last day of a great vacation and you become sad because you know it’s almost over and you don’t want to return to real life? That’s how I feel with the Lovie Smith, Brad Childress, Wade Phillips, Mike Singletary and Norv Turner Eras winding down these next nine weeks. I’m losing about 3,256 jokes and potshots for the 2011 season. Gone. Vanishing into thin air.
And yes, I know — we still have Andy Reid and Mike McCarthy, and there’s always a chance some NFL team will hire Les Miles this winter. (I just crossed my fingers so hard that they started bleeding.) But who will emerge as the next generation of coaches who stare helplessly out onto the field as games are collapsing, screw up their timeouts, blow road games against inferior teams, make indefensible play calls at the worst possible times, use their challenge flag like a 9-year-old trying to use a pair of nunchuks, and stare at the two-point conversion chart like it’s written in Sanskrit? Who’s on the horizon? Can we talk someone into hiring Art Shell again? Or even the immortal Bruce Coslet? I’m worried.
Well, Bill, we’ve got some new talent for you. Catch the Lions giveaway to the Jets today? I don’t even know who their coach is … All I know is that he gets this week’s Smelly Award. Yes, this award is named after Notre Dame coach Brian “Smelly” Kelly, who made one of the worst game-losing decisions most of us have ever witnessed last week vs Tulsa. Anyway, this week, the Smelly Award goes to the Detroit Lions coach who elected to pass on a 3rd and 6 from his 45 with a little over two mins left and the Lions clinging to a 3 point lead over NYJ. The Jets had no timeouts left. Run the ball, let 35 seconds run off the clock, then punt. Jets will then have only about 90 seconds to travel 65 yards. Run the freakin’ ball!!! Easy, right? Guess not. This moron decides to pass, it’s incomplete of course, and the clock stops!!! Well, the Jets needed every second they had to crawl into FG position and the rest is history as the Loins lost in OT. .
Can’t wait to see who wins next week’s Smelly Award. Lovie Smith is usually a candidate. Note: Houston Coach Gary Kubiak was a close second in this weeks voting. How many points can you just leave on the table, Gary??