Whenever you survey the NFL landscape you are sure of one thing - you can never be sure of anything in the NFL. Teams win convincingly on the road, yet lose humbly at home the next. Injuries burden teams with insurmountable odds, heroes turn into villains from one week to the next. Myself and other bloggers like picking the game results, no-one can ever be perfect as more than likely you will cock up somewhere, I myself went close to perfect but for two games.
I picked the Jags to win in Cleveland, alas Blaine Gabbert could not convert four opportunities from within the five yard line to get the go-ahead touchdown; and the Vikings could not make up the half-time deficit though their future looks good as they played incredibly well -making that comeback without the influential Adrian Petersen.
Elsewhere, teams roll on though nothing is certain. The Packers had their closest game of the season since playing the Saints in week 1 with the Bucs young team coming close to the upset, always staying tight and even intercepting Aaron Rodgers, though 35-26 was probably a fair result.
The Giants lost their second straight game this time in a divisonal match-up versus the Eagles who oddly won without Michael Vick under centre, this time Vince Young putting together a winning drive that gave the 17-10 victory in the MetLife stadium. This was an ugly game, and could be a costly defeat for the Giants who now look like not being a 2 seed cos of the consistent Packers and 49ers, if they win the NFC East they will be a 4 seed cos the Saints will probably be ahead of them.
The most action packed game was Detroit v Carolina which ended 49-35 to the Lions though they were way behind at the half, yet the Lions who are slow starters in every game came alive behind Matthew Stafford's 5 TDs and they were helped by Cam Newton's 4 picks. The Lions play the Packers this Thursday on Thanksgiving, the Lions have a chance but they need to start early otherwise they will find it harder to overcome such a deficit against the Superbowl Champions.
The Cowboys are building momentum and it continued as they overcame a resilient Redskins 27-24 in Overtime in Washington, Romo connected well with Jason Witten for a huge TD and thanks to the Giants loss they are tied atop the division.
The Bengals suffered another defeat to a division rival as they went down to Baltimore 31-24 on the road, although they have winnable games remaining on the schedule (Redskins, Rams, Browns) so they can still grab a wildcard spot and with Andy Dalton playing some good football (24-45, 373), one pass to Andre Caldwell (49yds) was inch perfect as the receiver caught it in stride and sauntered into the endzoen. The Ravens remain unbeaten at home, yet they need to sort out their road form as there three costly defeats (Jags, Seahawks, Tennessee) have all been on the road.
Chicago stayed in the hunt for a wildcard spot by defeating the Chargers 31-20 at home, yet it came at a price as Jay Cutler has reportedly suffered a fractured right thumb (his throwing hand) which rules him out for the remainder of the regular season. Whilst Matt Forte has been getting the numbers and spotlight in a contract year, lately Cutler's impressive leadership and being able to stay upright has dictated the outcome of the games like the dominant win over Detroit last week. Yet without him, the Bears will struggle down the stretch although four winnable games against west opponents (@ Raiders, Chiefs, @ Broncos, Seattle ) are not now and they finish with a brutal road double at Green Bay and Minnesota - from 7-3 to 10-6 might be good enough but if the Lions keep winning it might not be, depending on the Falcons, Giants, Cowboys.
Kudos to the Dolphins in my pick of the weekend as they destroyed the sinking Bills 35-8 at a near empty home stadium. Miami became the first team in NFL history to start 0-7 and then win their next three games, standing at 3-7 they are now a team full of confidence, Matt Moore not making mistakes and they are getting results off of turnovers. And to think Tony Sparano (head coach) would not have made the bye week after a 0-4 start to comeback and get this sort of result. There last six games are at Dallas, Oakland, Eagles, @ Buffalo, @New England, ending with Jets at home, the playoffs may be out of reach but each team they play has those postseason ambitions so they can certainly influence the playoff standings and seedings.
I am liking the 49ers but they were lucky they were only playing the Arizona Cardinals who completely stunk after winning in Philadelphia last week. In the first half, Alex Smith marched his offense down the field yet they only held a 9-0 lead at the half as they could not convert redzone possession, David Akers could even afford to miss two attempts. Better teams would not give you so many chances, so something to keep in mind. San Fran have a short week travelling to Baltimore as brothers go head-to-head but I feel the 49ers may come up short here.
Tonight the Patriots are at home to the Chiefs who have lost Matt Cassel for the season, expect a big win for the Patriots and a great opportunity for a young defence to get some consistency and force some turnovers.
I hope for a big win, but as week 11 like every other week shows Bo Diddley was right,'you never can tell'
Showing posts with label Jay Cutler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jay Cutler. Show all posts
Monday, 21 November 2011
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
NFL -Week 9 review
Week 9 was a thrilling one for the NFL, lots of high scoring, some great divisional storylines and some great road wins for a few teams who were not fancied by many pundits.
Lets start off with the Monday night match up, where Chicago rode into Philadelphia and in a stellar fourth quarter comeback, behind the gun arm of Jay Cutler the Eagles had their wings clipped again. The Bears scored 10 unanswered points in the final quarter, as the Bears defence matched up against the running part of Michael Vick's game, Vick was unable to extend plays and when he had to hurry and chase the game after the Bears took the lead, the Eagles could not make a hit. The Bears won 30-24, going to 5-3 still in the hunt behind the perfect Packers (8-0) and the Lions (6-2), in the NFC North. It sets up a tantalising week 10 matchup as the Lions visit the Bears in a match full of wildcard ramifications. As for the Eagles they are 3-5, and behind the better Giants - still they have a chance of getting the wildcard but they cannot afford another loss this week or for the next three games I would suggest. The hype team has met the hyperbole, and the Bears supplied the pin to pop the hot air balloon of hype.
The Sunday night matchup was the week 1 rematch between AFC North rivals Steelers and Ravens. In Week 1, Baltimore convincingly beat up Pittsburgh. Since then, the Ravens have stumbled and stuttered, whilst the Steelers have returned to form culminating with the impressive defeat of the Patriots last week. Many predicted that the Steelers would do much of the same, keep Flacco off the field and keep Rice quiet on the run; get a lead and make Flacco make mistakes.
The Ravens though came up big as Flacco led a 92 yard drive in the closing minutes connecting with Tommie Smith in the endzone for the go-ahead lead as the Ravens became triumphant 23-20 owning a season sweep over their rivals and becoming 6-2 ahead of the Steelers 6-3 and sharing a tie with the Bengals(6-2)
Those Bengals again won, although this time it was Andy Dalton and not the vaunted D as the rookie threw for 3TDs this weeks as they beat the Titans (4-4) 24-17.
The Giants rode into Foxboro and upset the Patriots 24-20, in a mad last quarter were 31 points were scored, Eli Manning led a final second TD drive for his 5th final quarter comeback win of the season. Four turnovers by the Patriots did not help matters, nor the still struggling defence that could not get a stop on Manning's vital drive also the lack of a down the field receiving target (like Moss) means defences know Brady will look for Welker or Branch underneath. Brady still threw for 342 yards (3TD) which means you will always be in the game, but the over-reliance on him is coming back to haunt the Patriots. The Patriots are suddenly sliding and have lost two games back-to-back for the first time in five years, and first loss at home for 20 regular season games. They need to run the ball more and not rely so much on a Brady that will soon have another bad day like he did at Buffalo.
Kudos though for the Giants who are quitely going about their business and now 6-2 leading the NFC East and coupled with the Eagles loss they now have a two game lead over the Cowboys (4-4) who the Giants will not fear. The Giants are legit and will want to be avoided in the NFC playoffs.
And next for the Patriots is away at the Jets (5-3), who were victorious at Buffalo (5-3) as the Jets defence forced 3 turnovers for a 27-11 win which included near 38mins of ball possession for Sanchez who was 20-28 and 230 yards. The Bills needed to win to be considered legit, but unfortunately the Jets are just turning the corner.
Other notes:
Tim Tebow led the Broncos to their 2nd win out of 3 beating the Raiders on the road 38-24, a mixture of playcalling and solid showing by a returning Willis McGahee (20 carries, 163yds, 2TDs) and the inspiration of Tebow who threw better and ran well, whilst the Raiders look lost all of a sudden.
The Packers march on continuing their undefeated season thus far, beating the Chargers 45-38 in a shootout between Aaron Rodgers (247yds, 4TDs) and Philip Rivers (385yds, 4TDs); but slowly there are questions arising with the Packers pass defense but for two more interceptions by Rivers the sorry Chargers might have won this game. Instead the Packers are perfect whilst SD are 4-4 in a division they should be walking.
The Suck for Luck sweepstakes are over, the Dolphins won their first game of the season 31-3 over the Chiefs on the road aswell. The Colts remain winless losing to a professional Falcons unit 31-7, they have winnable games remaining on the schedule but the Dolphins have also, yet the question about Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck on the same roster can be asked.
The Saints got revenge for their loss to Tampa by defeating them 27-16 in the Superdome, Josh Freeman outthrew Drew Brees but the utilisation of the rush attack and his arm led to a vital victory, the Saints are 6-3, the Bucs 4-4 and falling out of the NFC wildcard picture.
The 49ers rise to 7-1 and their schedule looks handsome now. They did the job against the tough Redskins (3-5), with defence coming to the fore. Alex Smith is managing the offence making few mistakes (17-24, 200yds, 1TD) and is helped by another 100+ rushing display from Frank Gore in a 17-11 win.
More storylines to come and we still have 8 weeks left of the season. Here are my playoff picks at the moment in seeding order:
AFC -Ravens, Texans, Jets, Chargers; Patriots, Steelers
NFC - Packers, 49ers, Giants, Saints; Falcons, Lions
Big picks I know as teams like Bills, Bengals, Eagles and Cowboys may miss out. But the season is still only halfway done, and I am never fully right.
Lets start off with the Monday night match up, where Chicago rode into Philadelphia and in a stellar fourth quarter comeback, behind the gun arm of Jay Cutler the Eagles had their wings clipped again. The Bears scored 10 unanswered points in the final quarter, as the Bears defence matched up against the running part of Michael Vick's game, Vick was unable to extend plays and when he had to hurry and chase the game after the Bears took the lead, the Eagles could not make a hit. The Bears won 30-24, going to 5-3 still in the hunt behind the perfect Packers (8-0) and the Lions (6-2), in the NFC North. It sets up a tantalising week 10 matchup as the Lions visit the Bears in a match full of wildcard ramifications. As for the Eagles they are 3-5, and behind the better Giants - still they have a chance of getting the wildcard but they cannot afford another loss this week or for the next three games I would suggest. The hype team has met the hyperbole, and the Bears supplied the pin to pop the hot air balloon of hype.
The Sunday night matchup was the week 1 rematch between AFC North rivals Steelers and Ravens. In Week 1, Baltimore convincingly beat up Pittsburgh. Since then, the Ravens have stumbled and stuttered, whilst the Steelers have returned to form culminating with the impressive defeat of the Patriots last week. Many predicted that the Steelers would do much of the same, keep Flacco off the field and keep Rice quiet on the run; get a lead and make Flacco make mistakes.
The Ravens though came up big as Flacco led a 92 yard drive in the closing minutes connecting with Tommie Smith in the endzone for the go-ahead lead as the Ravens became triumphant 23-20 owning a season sweep over their rivals and becoming 6-2 ahead of the Steelers 6-3 and sharing a tie with the Bengals(6-2)
Those Bengals again won, although this time it was Andy Dalton and not the vaunted D as the rookie threw for 3TDs this weeks as they beat the Titans (4-4) 24-17.
The Giants rode into Foxboro and upset the Patriots 24-20, in a mad last quarter were 31 points were scored, Eli Manning led a final second TD drive for his 5th final quarter comeback win of the season. Four turnovers by the Patriots did not help matters, nor the still struggling defence that could not get a stop on Manning's vital drive also the lack of a down the field receiving target (like Moss) means defences know Brady will look for Welker or Branch underneath. Brady still threw for 342 yards (3TD) which means you will always be in the game, but the over-reliance on him is coming back to haunt the Patriots. The Patriots are suddenly sliding and have lost two games back-to-back for the first time in five years, and first loss at home for 20 regular season games. They need to run the ball more and not rely so much on a Brady that will soon have another bad day like he did at Buffalo.
Kudos though for the Giants who are quitely going about their business and now 6-2 leading the NFC East and coupled with the Eagles loss they now have a two game lead over the Cowboys (4-4) who the Giants will not fear. The Giants are legit and will want to be avoided in the NFC playoffs.
And next for the Patriots is away at the Jets (5-3), who were victorious at Buffalo (5-3) as the Jets defence forced 3 turnovers for a 27-11 win which included near 38mins of ball possession for Sanchez who was 20-28 and 230 yards. The Bills needed to win to be considered legit, but unfortunately the Jets are just turning the corner.
Other notes:
Tim Tebow led the Broncos to their 2nd win out of 3 beating the Raiders on the road 38-24, a mixture of playcalling and solid showing by a returning Willis McGahee (20 carries, 163yds, 2TDs) and the inspiration of Tebow who threw better and ran well, whilst the Raiders look lost all of a sudden.
The Packers march on continuing their undefeated season thus far, beating the Chargers 45-38 in a shootout between Aaron Rodgers (247yds, 4TDs) and Philip Rivers (385yds, 4TDs); but slowly there are questions arising with the Packers pass defense but for two more interceptions by Rivers the sorry Chargers might have won this game. Instead the Packers are perfect whilst SD are 4-4 in a division they should be walking.
The Suck for Luck sweepstakes are over, the Dolphins won their first game of the season 31-3 over the Chiefs on the road aswell. The Colts remain winless losing to a professional Falcons unit 31-7, they have winnable games remaining on the schedule but the Dolphins have also, yet the question about Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck on the same roster can be asked.
The Saints got revenge for their loss to Tampa by defeating them 27-16 in the Superdome, Josh Freeman outthrew Drew Brees but the utilisation of the rush attack and his arm led to a vital victory, the Saints are 6-3, the Bucs 4-4 and falling out of the NFC wildcard picture.
The 49ers rise to 7-1 and their schedule looks handsome now. They did the job against the tough Redskins (3-5), with defence coming to the fore. Alex Smith is managing the offence making few mistakes (17-24, 200yds, 1TD) and is helped by another 100+ rushing display from Frank Gore in a 17-11 win.
More storylines to come and we still have 8 weeks left of the season. Here are my playoff picks at the moment in seeding order:
AFC -Ravens, Texans, Jets, Chargers; Patriots, Steelers
NFC - Packers, 49ers, Giants, Saints; Falcons, Lions
Big picks I know as teams like Bills, Bengals, Eagles and Cowboys may miss out. But the season is still only halfway done, and I am never fully right.
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