Week 10 NFL Gameday News and Notes:
Check out this week's play-by-play NFL news and commentary.
On TV this week in Los Angeles: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans at Chicago Bears for the early game. Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers for the later game.
And of course, New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles for Sunday Night football.
Plus whatever other tidbits I can pick up. Refresh often if you want to read along:
9:57: The 4-4 Packers take the field in Minnesota to face the 4-4 Vikings. Both teams trail the 5-3 Bears in the NFC North. The Bears are taking on the undefeated Titans this week, meaning the winner of this game could be tied for first in the division by the end of the day.
The Vikings have been strong defending the run, but struggle against the pass, and with Jared Allen doubtful for this game they may be out-of-luck this week against the Packers.
But there is hope. The Packers are ranked 28th against the run. Adrian Peterson should be able to get going on the ground this week and can keep them close.
10:04: Driver takes a handoff and is stopped at the line, but he struggles for more yards and ends up losing three. When will players learn to bite the bullet when they're completely swarmed?
10:05: Vikings defense looking strong so far. Return the kick to the packers 40. Here comes Gus Frerotte. The Vikings can win this game if they pound it with the running backs and Frerotte can protect the ball. Chester Taylor with a good shoestring catch. First down.
10:12: Adrian Peterson is running like a man possessed. He is an outstanding player. Touchdown Vikings! 3-yard pass, Frerotte to Rice. I was surprised to see the vikings attempt so many passes on the first series, but it worked well for them. I expect to see a heavy dose of Peterson and Taylor at some point this game.
10:16: Miami, New England and the Jets have also jumped out to early leads over their opponents. AFC East is looking sharp early this week.
10:18: Update from the Bears game, it's looking tense. Finnegan and Booker get into a shoving match after an incomplete pass. The Bears respond with a touchdown pass. Grossman to Forte.
10:20: Atlanta also jumping ahead early. A lot of teams are coming out clicking in the first quarter. It's about time.
10:22: Frerotte throws an interception! The Vikings are playing great defense, and can win this game, unless Frerotte turns the ball over. He's not off to a good start. I'm surprised that the Vikings are still throwing so often. I guess they're saving their backs for ball control later in the game.
10:25: Damn, Ryan Grant with a bigtime run against the league's number two run defense. This game is going to be interesting.
10:26: Green Bay game: The ball is stripped! Why do players insist on fighting for those meaningless extra yards? The Pack was lucky to come up with the ball. Green Bay is passing the ball very well so far.
10:29: Points off turnovers are huge in this league. The Vikings were in the perfect position to extend their lead to 10 or even 14, but one interception turned everything around. The Packers moved the ball quickly down the field and Ryan Grant punched it in. Tie game.
10:34: The Vikings come back out running the ball. They seem a bit more reluctant putting the ball in the air. Peterson runs for a first on first, but then he's bottled up. A false start pushes the Vikings to 3 and 13. Wow, Frerotte rockets a ball way downfield. Illegal Contact penalty on the Packers gives the Vikings another chance.
New Gameplan: You guys don't need a play-by-play, you can get that on NFL.com, so I'm only going to concentrate on analysis. I'll give you my two cents, for what it's worth.
10:52: Rodgers loses the ball and it bounces into the end zone. He snags it and tosses it out of towards a receiver. The reds called an illegal forward pass (I think they meant intentional grounding) and a safety. It was a close call. You could make an argument that there was a receiver in the area. I bet if it was Brett Favre they probably wouldn't have called anything. That's kind of sad.
11:11: The Jets are really pouring it on against St. Louis, 27-0 in the first half. Are the poor Rams ever going to catch a break? Oh, that's right, they demolished Dallas. And they beat Washington.
11:11: There was a scary injury in the Green Bay/Minnesota game. Vikings return man Gordon was injured returning a punt. Joe Buck said Fox was not going to replay the injury, so it must have been pretty greusome. They actually did replay it once (before Buck made his announcement) and I didn't notice anything, but I wasn't really paying close attention.
11:28: Apparently Jared Allen is playing, as he takes Aaron Rodgers down for the second safety of the game.
11:58: Nice move by Chester Taylor on a 47-yard TD reception. He caught the ball running an out to the side line and quickly changed direction, cutting inside the Green Bay linebacker. After that it was a race to the corner of the end zone. Chester Taylor is the game's leading receiver with 3 catches for 73 yards.
12:13: Questionable late-hit call against the Packers here on a punt return. The Vikings man was heading for the sidelines when the Packers player dove for a tackle. They ended up colliding on the sidelines. I don't know about this call, it may have been late but it wasn't malicious.
12:16: Green Bay Pick Six! Why are the Vikes still throwing the ball? That's Frerotte's third interception and this one was returned for a TD. The Vikings looked like they were dominating and suddenly Green Bay is right back in it. When do you switch to your ball control offense and try to run down the clock?
All 17 of the Packers points have come off turnovers in this game. The Vikings would have this game in the bag if not for Frerotte's interceptions.
12:22: Will Blackmon with an outstanding punt return touchdown! All of a sudden Green Bay is on top. The Vikings defense is dominating the Green Bay offense, but thanks to turnovers and one punt return it's a whole different ball game. This game is certainly not boring.
The Titans are protecting a two TD lead over the bears in the 4th quarter, so the winner of this Minnesota/Green Bay game very likely may have a share in the NFC North lead.
12:38: Aaron Rodgers gets pounded tossing the ball. He did a good job standing in there and making a nice pass. Nice catch by the receiver too, even though he was just out of bounds. That was half-an-inch away from being a completion.
12:42: Adrian Peterson is good. Real good. He starts left and runs into a wall. He cuts it back right, catches a block or two and all of a sudden he's gone off for 25 yards.
1:04: My girlfriend made me replace the turn signals in her car. I missed a Green Bay Field Goal. Minnesota's not out of this game yet. Bernard Berrian doesn't have a catch yet. He's killing my fantasy team. (Especially because I made the mistake of starting him over Eddie Royal.)
1:07: Adrian Peterson, 29 yard touchdown. Why did the Vikes ever throw the ball? The Packers are not good enough to stop this guy. Minnesota should have pounded him away from the beginning. 30 carries for 192 yards? Are you kidding me?
The Packers are challenging (they have to at this point) but I don't know if there's enough to overturn the play. In the end it might hurt the Packers if it is overturned. The vikings have the opportunity to milk the clock some more and leave Green Bay no chance to come back.
1:11: Play stands. Touchdown. Can Aaron Rodgers orchestrate a win?
1:19: Green Bay kick no good. Brad Childress gets his first win against Green Bay as a head coach. The vikings improve to 5-4 and a tie with the bears for first place in the NFC North. Game over.
2:01: Tyler Thigpen is looking good so far in the game. I recently ranked the Chiefs' QBs at the bottom of the league, but Thigpen's play to this point is making me think twice. I'm not ready to shoot them up the rankings, but they may move up a notch or two. Thigpen might be a quality starter for this team for a little while.
2:26: Rivers throws a costly interception, negating a possible field goal. It's always sad to see a team leave points on the field like that. Tyler Thigpen is still playing excellent football. I really do regret ranking the Chiefs last. San Diego's pass defense has been horrendous this year, but Thigpen is playing better than any San Francisco, Oaklan, or Detroit quarterback has this season.
3:23: Rivers throws another interception. He needs to protect the ball better, as this has been an issue plaguing him all season long. The Chargers are losing games because L.T. can't get things going on the ground and Rivers throws costly interceptions from scoring positions.
3:43: Chargers cruise the length of the field and score. Good drive. I knew they'd be able to put it together. (Even though I was calling for an upset in my halftime report.)
4:13: Tyler Thigpen has been sensational, but if the Chiefs end up losing this game he will regret overthrowing an open man in the end zone with 40-odd seconds left.
Although, the Chiefs just got bailed out by a pass interference call. This game is getting exciting. (And yes, I will eat Crow if the Chiefs don't pull off the upset.)
4:19: This loss is all on Herm Edwards. You take a risk when you go for a 2PC for the win instead of kicking the field for the tie. If it works (like when Denver beat San Diego earlier this season) the coach is praised. If it fails (like today) then the coach is reviled.
For the record, I would have gone for the tie and taken my chances in OT. The Chiefs barely got the ball into the end zone after getting a first and goal at the one. The chances of punching it in twice in a row were slim-to-none. They had much better chances in OT.
Showing posts with label Green Bay Packers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Green Bay Packers. Show all posts
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Ranking Every NFL Team’s QB situation at Midseason: 6-15
Ranking Every NFL Team’s QB situation at Midseason: 6-15
The middle class of the league, teams with good-to-adequate QB situations. Many of the teams on the list have a stud QB, but a very shallow bench, or several competent players, but no franchise standouts:
6. Indianapolis: Peyton Manning has been the best quarterback of the last decade, though he has struggled of late. He’s still putting up decent stats and is on his way to have another 4,000 yard, 20-touchdown season. The more time he has to heal from off-season knee surgery, the better he is going to play. The Colts are struggling on offense and defense this season, but with Manning behind center they’re a threat to win any game and can still reach the playoffs.
Sorgi is in his 5th season as Manning’s backup. He has almost no game experience, playing mostly in mop-up duty. It’s hard to gauge how effective Sorgi would be if Manning went down, but if Dungy or the Front Office had any doubts they would have attempted to draft or sign a suitable replacement at some point in these last five years.
7. Washington: Jason Campbell has been a pleasant surprise in Washington this season. 1,960 yards and 8 touchdowns are fairly pedestrian, but he has done a great job protecting the football. He didn’t throw an interception until week 9. Clinton Portis is running well enough to win games by himself, and Campbell is doing enough not to lose.
Todd Collins is everything you could hope for in a backup quarterback. He’s efficient, he doesn’t make mistakes and he doesn’t turn the ball over. The ‘Skins would still be contenders with him behind center. Colt Brennan is the third stringer out of Hawaii. If there’s one thing they like to do at Hawaii it’s throw the football, so he should have a lot of practice. The NFL is a whole different ball game, though and he may struggle to adapt.
8. Green Bay: How many people in Green Bay are counting their blessings Brett Favre isn’t starting for their team anymore? Aaron Rodgers is playing very well this year, to the tune of 13 TDs and nearly 2,000 yards and his team is still competing for their division. Rodgers was rewarded recently with a new long-term contract and few in Green Bay seem to miss that Favre guy. Rodgers is likely to only get better as he learns the subtleties of the game that only experience can bring.
The trouble with the Pack is their weak bench. They have 2 rookies - Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn - as their reserves. Aaron Rodgers has been battling minor injuries much of the season, if he goes down for good this team is going to slip fast. The lack of a quality backup is why the Packers have landed lower on the list.
9. Denver: Jay Cutler started the season as the league’s hottest quarterback. Unfortunately he’s really fallen off a bit recently, with 6 interceptions in the last 3 games. (I’m writing this before the Thursday night game against Cleveland.) Jay Cutler is a good player with a good group of receivers, but he’s been forced to compensate for the poor play of the defense and running game.
Patrick Ramsey disappointed early in his career as a starter and has spent the last few seasons bouncing around as a backup. He will never light it up, but he has the potential to win games if called upon. (At least as many games as one can win without a defense or a running game.)
10. Carolina: Jake Delhomme’s stats this season are fairly average, but you can’t argue with the success the Panthers have had so far. When Delhomme plays well, the Panthers win. When he struggles, they lose. He has thrown 3 picks and 0 TDs in 2 losses this season.
Matt Moore is Carolina’s #2. His numbers from last season are very unimpressive, but he apparently did enough to prove to John Fox and the Front Office that they no longer needed David Carr. Josh Mccown is their #3. He has started here and there, but has only thrown more touchdowns than interceptions once in seven seasons (2004, 11 TDs/10 INTs). He is a last resort.
11. Dallas: Tony Romo has produced top-tier stats through the first six weeks of the season, before missing the next three contests with an injured pinky finger. Romo comes from the Brett Favre school of quarterbacking. Meaning, when in doubt run around for a while before throwing the ball into the air and praying your man comes down with it. Some sports commentators call this “Backyard” or “Playground” football. I mostly call it lucky. When it works, it works well. When it fails, it fails miserably (Like the 0 TD, 3 INT game against Philly last season). Romo has had the benefit of throwing the ball to T.O. and Jason Whitten and facing defenses that cram eight men into the box to stop Marion Barber.
Dallas would be higher up this list if it weren’t for their dismal bench. If Brad Johnson is the answer I cringe to think of what the question might be. Johnson is 40-years-old and has done nothing in the last 5 seasons to prove he is even a worthy third-stringer. It’s a miracle he was only sacked eight times and threw five interceptions. Brooks Bollinger inherited a sinking ship at the end of last week and tried his best to survive till the bye. The ‘Boys are facing an uphill climb to the playoffs and won’t make it if Romo isn’t their starter.
12. Chicago: After several seasons of searching the Bears have finally discovered a quarterback, and he happened to already be on their roster. Orton’s stats aren’t eye-popping, but with a sometimes stout defense and rookie Matt Forte’s moving the chains they don’t need to be. I thought Orton did a decent job his rookie season when he was forced into a starting role, and he’s performing even more efficiently now, guiding his team to the top of their division.
Then there’s Rex Grossman. There really is something to this Good Rex/Bad Rex comparison. In the beginning of the 2006 season it seemed like Grossman-to-Berrian was going to be the Manning-to-Harrison of the modern future. He’s fallen on hard times since then. Grossman was less-than-stellar after replacing an injured Orton last week and needs to pick things up if Orton misses significant time.
13. Atlanta: Matt Ryan is the first good quarterback Atlanta has seen in a long time. Say what you will about Michael Vick, but he was woefully deficient throwing the football. How he’s still worshipped in Atlanta is beyond me. Ryan has been a steadying force for a franchise in tumult. If he continues with his impressive play and the Falcons catch a few lucky breaks he might continue the streak of teams rising from the bottom to win the NFC south.
Chris Redman backs Ryan. He is a capable veteran player who started 4 games last season and played well. With a strong running game fueled by Turner Redman would have the opportunity to win games should Ryan go down. D.J. Shockley is a complete unknown, having never thrown a pass during a regular season NFL game.
14. New York Jets: Brett Favre will go down as one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game. And he probably should have stayed retired. His stats are decent, he has thrown 15 touchdowns this season, but the 12 interceptions take a bit of the luster off a number like that. Favre - like Romo, whom I mentioned earlier - likes to throw the ball into the air and let his receivers make plays. Some people call him a “gunslinger,” I just call him careless. When his receivers make the catch it looks good. “I meant to do that.” When the defense comes down with it, ”Whoops.” Favre is capable of mounting near-impossible comebacks, but he is also capable of single-handedly losing a game with mistakes and miscues.
The Jets’ bench is unimpressive. Kellen Clemens is their #2. He has more than twice as many interceptions as touchdowns in his career, but he has been in the offense for three years and has won games before with this team. Brett Ratliff and Erik Ainge have a combined 0 NFL pass attempts.
15. Miami: Chad Pennington is a clear upgrade over what Miami was planning to have this season. He came to Miami to do what he does best, play with accuracy (67.4%) and good decision-making (only 4 INTs). Intelligent play, plus a 50-yard touchdown reception here and there has made him – in my humble opinion - the best starting QB in the AFC East. Pennington, plus aggressive, outside-the-box coaching and a powerful running game have kept the ‘Fins in the playoff hunt thus far.
Chad Henne and John Beck aren’t NFL caliber QBs at this point in their careers. If Pennington goes down the ‘Fins playoff hopes fall with him. They also keep Miami from besting the NYJ in my rankings.
*Note: This list has been very difficult to compile. Many of the rankings may be - to a minor extent - arbitrary. You could make a case for many teams being much higher, or lower. I would like to hear everyone's input.
The middle class of the league, teams with good-to-adequate QB situations. Many of the teams on the list have a stud QB, but a very shallow bench, or several competent players, but no franchise standouts:
6. Indianapolis: Peyton Manning has been the best quarterback of the last decade, though he has struggled of late. He’s still putting up decent stats and is on his way to have another 4,000 yard, 20-touchdown season. The more time he has to heal from off-season knee surgery, the better he is going to play. The Colts are struggling on offense and defense this season, but with Manning behind center they’re a threat to win any game and can still reach the playoffs.
Sorgi is in his 5th season as Manning’s backup. He has almost no game experience, playing mostly in mop-up duty. It’s hard to gauge how effective Sorgi would be if Manning went down, but if Dungy or the Front Office had any doubts they would have attempted to draft or sign a suitable replacement at some point in these last five years.
7. Washington: Jason Campbell has been a pleasant surprise in Washington this season. 1,960 yards and 8 touchdowns are fairly pedestrian, but he has done a great job protecting the football. He didn’t throw an interception until week 9. Clinton Portis is running well enough to win games by himself, and Campbell is doing enough not to lose.
Todd Collins is everything you could hope for in a backup quarterback. He’s efficient, he doesn’t make mistakes and he doesn’t turn the ball over. The ‘Skins would still be contenders with him behind center. Colt Brennan is the third stringer out of Hawaii. If there’s one thing they like to do at Hawaii it’s throw the football, so he should have a lot of practice. The NFL is a whole different ball game, though and he may struggle to adapt.
8. Green Bay: How many people in Green Bay are counting their blessings Brett Favre isn’t starting for their team anymore? Aaron Rodgers is playing very well this year, to the tune of 13 TDs and nearly 2,000 yards and his team is still competing for their division. Rodgers was rewarded recently with a new long-term contract and few in Green Bay seem to miss that Favre guy. Rodgers is likely to only get better as he learns the subtleties of the game that only experience can bring.
The trouble with the Pack is their weak bench. They have 2 rookies - Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn - as their reserves. Aaron Rodgers has been battling minor injuries much of the season, if he goes down for good this team is going to slip fast. The lack of a quality backup is why the Packers have landed lower on the list.
9. Denver: Jay Cutler started the season as the league’s hottest quarterback. Unfortunately he’s really fallen off a bit recently, with 6 interceptions in the last 3 games. (I’m writing this before the Thursday night game against Cleveland.) Jay Cutler is a good player with a good group of receivers, but he’s been forced to compensate for the poor play of the defense and running game.
Patrick Ramsey disappointed early in his career as a starter and has spent the last few seasons bouncing around as a backup. He will never light it up, but he has the potential to win games if called upon. (At least as many games as one can win without a defense or a running game.)
10. Carolina: Jake Delhomme’s stats this season are fairly average, but you can’t argue with the success the Panthers have had so far. When Delhomme plays well, the Panthers win. When he struggles, they lose. He has thrown 3 picks and 0 TDs in 2 losses this season.
Matt Moore is Carolina’s #2. His numbers from last season are very unimpressive, but he apparently did enough to prove to John Fox and the Front Office that they no longer needed David Carr. Josh Mccown is their #3. He has started here and there, but has only thrown more touchdowns than interceptions once in seven seasons (2004, 11 TDs/10 INTs). He is a last resort.
11. Dallas: Tony Romo has produced top-tier stats through the first six weeks of the season, before missing the next three contests with an injured pinky finger. Romo comes from the Brett Favre school of quarterbacking. Meaning, when in doubt run around for a while before throwing the ball into the air and praying your man comes down with it. Some sports commentators call this “Backyard” or “Playground” football. I mostly call it lucky. When it works, it works well. When it fails, it fails miserably (Like the 0 TD, 3 INT game against Philly last season). Romo has had the benefit of throwing the ball to T.O. and Jason Whitten and facing defenses that cram eight men into the box to stop Marion Barber.
Dallas would be higher up this list if it weren’t for their dismal bench. If Brad Johnson is the answer I cringe to think of what the question might be. Johnson is 40-years-old and has done nothing in the last 5 seasons to prove he is even a worthy third-stringer. It’s a miracle he was only sacked eight times and threw five interceptions. Brooks Bollinger inherited a sinking ship at the end of last week and tried his best to survive till the bye. The ‘Boys are facing an uphill climb to the playoffs and won’t make it if Romo isn’t their starter.
12. Chicago: After several seasons of searching the Bears have finally discovered a quarterback, and he happened to already be on their roster. Orton’s stats aren’t eye-popping, but with a sometimes stout defense and rookie Matt Forte’s moving the chains they don’t need to be. I thought Orton did a decent job his rookie season when he was forced into a starting role, and he’s performing even more efficiently now, guiding his team to the top of their division.
Then there’s Rex Grossman. There really is something to this Good Rex/Bad Rex comparison. In the beginning of the 2006 season it seemed like Grossman-to-Berrian was going to be the Manning-to-Harrison of the modern future. He’s fallen on hard times since then. Grossman was less-than-stellar after replacing an injured Orton last week and needs to pick things up if Orton misses significant time.
13. Atlanta: Matt Ryan is the first good quarterback Atlanta has seen in a long time. Say what you will about Michael Vick, but he was woefully deficient throwing the football. How he’s still worshipped in Atlanta is beyond me. Ryan has been a steadying force for a franchise in tumult. If he continues with his impressive play and the Falcons catch a few lucky breaks he might continue the streak of teams rising from the bottom to win the NFC south.
Chris Redman backs Ryan. He is a capable veteran player who started 4 games last season and played well. With a strong running game fueled by Turner Redman would have the opportunity to win games should Ryan go down. D.J. Shockley is a complete unknown, having never thrown a pass during a regular season NFL game.
14. New York Jets: Brett Favre will go down as one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game. And he probably should have stayed retired. His stats are decent, he has thrown 15 touchdowns this season, but the 12 interceptions take a bit of the luster off a number like that. Favre - like Romo, whom I mentioned earlier - likes to throw the ball into the air and let his receivers make plays. Some people call him a “gunslinger,” I just call him careless. When his receivers make the catch it looks good. “I meant to do that.” When the defense comes down with it, ”Whoops.” Favre is capable of mounting near-impossible comebacks, but he is also capable of single-handedly losing a game with mistakes and miscues.
The Jets’ bench is unimpressive. Kellen Clemens is their #2. He has more than twice as many interceptions as touchdowns in his career, but he has been in the offense for three years and has won games before with this team. Brett Ratliff and Erik Ainge have a combined 0 NFL pass attempts.
15. Miami: Chad Pennington is a clear upgrade over what Miami was planning to have this season. He came to Miami to do what he does best, play with accuracy (67.4%) and good decision-making (only 4 INTs). Intelligent play, plus a 50-yard touchdown reception here and there has made him – in my humble opinion - the best starting QB in the AFC East. Pennington, plus aggressive, outside-the-box coaching and a powerful running game have kept the ‘Fins in the playoff hunt thus far.
Chad Henne and John Beck aren’t NFL caliber QBs at this point in their careers. If Pennington goes down the ‘Fins playoff hopes fall with him. They also keep Miami from besting the NYJ in my rankings.
*Note: This list has been very difficult to compile. Many of the rankings may be - to a minor extent - arbitrary. You could make a case for many teams being much higher, or lower. I would like to hear everyone's input.
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