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Took long enough, didn't it? With yesterday's 38-28 win over the Green Bay Packers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers become the last of the winless teams to get their first win of the season. I really thought that either the Bucs or the St. Louis Rams were going to go 0-16, but luckily for everyone who watches the NFL that wasn't the case. No one, especially the NFL, wants to see another team go winless. It's got to be embarrassing for the league that the Detroit Lions went 0-16 last season, so having another team a year later do the same thing would terrible; however, having five 1-7 teams at Week 9 isn't much better. I would say the Cleveland Browns would have the best chance at 0-16, but they somehow beat the Buffalo Bills 6-3 despite Derek Anderson passing for a mere 23 yards on 2-17 passing. I still can't figure that one out.
The Buccaneers' first win comes at the expense of a Green Bay team that hasn't been doing well as of late. They've had two big losses to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings and this loss to the Bucs AT HOME has to compound matters. Aaron Rodgers has been sacked a league-high 37 times (after 6 more yesterday) and GM Ted Thompson is feeling heat from everyone after trading Favre two years ago only to have him join the Vikings, lead them to a 7-1 start, and trounce Green Bay twice. And those aren't the only two problems. The defense, which allowed Josh Freeman to pass for 205 yards and 3 touchdowns, hasn't been getting the job done either. Green Bay is 4-4 and there's still some football to be played, but it's not looking good.
Upon further review, the Packers-Bucs game was at Tampa Bay, not Green Bay
Coach Smith vs. DeAngelo Hall
During yesterday's game between the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins, Falcons quarterback was hit by Redskins safety LaRon Landry out of bounds after a scramble for a first down. Naturally, the Falcons were not pleased with this, just as anyone other team would be in this case. On a replay, Atlanta coach Mike Smith is seen releasing a stream of profanity and throwing his headset, but that was the extent of it...until DeAngelo Hall got involved.
Deangelo Hall, who wasn't even involved in the play, was the one who started the scrum on the sideline. Usually, players will get in the guy's face who hit their player. Typically, no punches are thrown, just some shoving and jawing. But in this case it was a player who wasn't involved getting into a scuffle along with a head coach. And now Hall says he's going to file a complaint against Mike Smith for his involvement in the altercation. You know, since DeAngelo Hall is such an upstanding player and can't stand it when people misbehave like that. Except he's not. As such, he doesn't have a case against Smith. Watch the video; Matt Ryan and LaRon Landry are back on the field when Hall starts fighting with the Falcons' players. There's no reason for him to be over there other than to get Landry away from Atlanta's bench. The problem is that Landry wasn't over there; he stood up and walked back on the field without any problems. It looks to me like Hall went out of his way to cause trouble against a former team.
Falcons bench incident draws review
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In Week Nine of the NFL season, we saw the Colts answer a big test (at what cost?) and the inclination to refuse the Bengals' legitimacy.
We can now safely say that Ted Thompson really needs to go. Can San Diego make a run at Denver still? Finally, the NFC East becomes intriguing by the minute.
Yes, the Colts are 8-0 as they answered a big test, which just about secures the division at this point. But why is Peyton Manning throwing the ball 40 times in one half? Manning, 26-of-40 for 242 yards in the first two quarters, is throwing too much. Granted, he finished the game with just 10 more (50), but Manning is 33-years-old. His career mark for pass attempts is 591, which he set back in 2002. This year, he is on pace to attempt 626 passes. That’s a high number of passes for an entire game, let alone the first half. The Colts have got to find a running game somehow, and they have got to find it quickly...
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Start of the Week
One player that received the hype, but not the production, is 49ers WR Michael Crabtree. This is mostly due to a lengthy holdout that kept him away from the team for the first five weeks of the season. Since then Crabtree has worked out with the team, has been named the starter and has been learning more packages to play in weekly. Two weeks ago, Crabtree had five receptions for 56 yards, and last week he had six receptions for 81 yards. Even in seasonal leagues, Crabtree has fantasy value and this week he is going to deliver it. Crabtree is the best wide receiver on the 49ers team who will play the Tennessee Titans at home. Whether you look at the last three weeks, five weeks or entire season, the Titans have been the worst team in allowing fantasy points to wide receivers. Crabtree is very likely to put up 100 yards receiving and a touchdown. Start him this week. If he is still a free agent in your fantasy league, then snatch him up.... Full article >>>{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Week 8 featured outstanding waiver wire pickups including WR Michael Crabtree ( six receptions for 86 yards) and WR Hakeem Nicks ( four receptions for 53 yards ), with Week 9 approaching, here are the next future stars.
Quarterbacks:
Vince Young - Titans: Did you know that he has a record of 19-11 as a starting quarterback? Well, on Sunday he proved he still has game. He threw for 125 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 30 yards on 12 carries.
The Tennessee Titans will travel to San Francisco who has the 26th worst pass defense and it was learned today that starting cornerback Nate Clements will be out up to six weeks. The 49ers have surrendered nine touchdowns through the air, so look for Young to capitalize on Sunday...
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Each week, we dive into the stat sheets to see which weekly performers fantasy owners should applaud and which fantasy owners should write off as frauds. You can read our full applaud or a fraud listing for this week at www.footballrelativity.com. In this post, we'll focus on high picks from this season's fantasy drafts.
Running Backs
Matt Forte, Bears – Forte has been the most disappointing fantasy first-round pick this season, but he came back with a big game against the Browns this week. But don’t let that performance of two touchdowns and 121 yards from scrimmage serve as a panacea. Forte’s two best games of the season have happened against the Browns and Lions, which is not a good sign against real-live NFL teams. Forte is not worth dropping (as one person in a small league I play in did), but be careful about starting him on a weekly basis. And because he’s not a shoo-in starter, we have to give him a thumbs-down right now. Verdict: A fraud
Jonathan Stewart, Panthers - Stewart has had a good season from a yards-per-carry basis this year, but he has rarely found the end zone. That changed at Arizona this week as he had two touchdowns along with his 87 yards on 17 carries. While you can’t count on Stewart scoring twice every week, Sunday’s line is a reminder that Stewart is still a pretty good flex option most weeks. Verdict: Applaud
You can read more about running backs Jamal Lewis, Leonard Weaver, and Ryan Moats at www.footballrelativity.com.
Wide Receivers
Greg Jennings, Packers – Jennings has been a big-time fantasy disappointment this year, but he did bounce back against his former teammate Brett Favre’s Vikings Sunday with eight catches for 88 yards and a touchdown. Jennings isn’t the top-8 fantasy wideout that he was drafted to be, but he is a top 20 wideout still, and that makes him a weekly starter. For that, we’ll clap. Verdict: Applaud
Terrell Owens, Bills - Owens scored just his second touchdown of the season Sunday on a 29-yard run. That’s a boon to anyone who is still starting Owens, but the bottom line is that no one should still be putting T.O. in their lineup on a weekly basis. If this blip on the scoring radar helps you get a little more in a deal for Owens, do it, because he’s not a starter moving forward. Verdict: A fraud
You can read more about wide receivers Percy Harvin, Keenan Burton, and Mike Thomas at www.footballrelativity.com
Tight Ends
Dustin Keller, Jets – Keller has had a bit of a disappointing season, but he broke out against the Dolphins with eight catches for 76 yards and a touchdown this Sunday. Keller is on bye this weekend, and he’s still going to be up and down, but this game gives hope that he has some more fantasy production left in his season. Verdict: Applaud
You can read more about tight ends Spencer Havner and Kevin Boss at www.footballrelativity.com
You can read more about quarterbacks Marc Bulger, Matthew Stafford, and Vince Young at www.footballrelativity.com.
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Broncos vs. Ravens
The Denver Broncos exceeded expectations this year by starting the season 6-0 coming into the game against the Baltimore Ravens. They began by beating the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns, and the Oakland Raiders, though everyone was skeptical at the time because these three teams are consistently at the bottom of the league. But then Denver continued the streak against the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, and San Diego Chargers. At that point, and especially after the win over New England, it became evident that Denver wasn't a fluke.
But how did they fare against the always great Baltimore defense? Not well. Baltimore put up 13 unanswered points over the first three quarters and then another 17 after the Broncos scored their only touchdown of the game close to halfway through the third. Kyle Orton had a solid game, passing for 152 yards on 23-37 passing and didn't turn it over, but the problem was the receivers' inability to get yards after the catch; the longest completion was 23 yards by Daniel Graham. Knowshon Moreno ran for a touchdown, but only had 39 yards rushing. In all, the Ravens defense gave up only 200 yards. On offense, Joe Flacco passed for 175 yards and a touchdown while Ray Rice rushed for 84 yards and another score in the 30-7 win.
The Big Game- Vikings vs. Packers 2
As was the case with their Week 4 game, a 30-23 win for Minnesota, the Vikings-Packers game was the main attraction of the weekend. This was Brett Favre's first visit to Lambeau Field, his home for 16 years. This was such a big deal that Fox had a "Brett Favre Cam" online. No, it wasn't as exciting as it sounds.
This game was very similar to the Week 4 prequel. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was again harassed by the Vikings defensive line-Jared Allen, Pat and Kevin Williams, and Ray Edwards-and was sacked 6 more times, which was frustrating to watch. All the sacks aren't his fault, but Rodgers tends to hold onto the ball too long even when his offensive line does give him time. After a slow start, he passed for 3 touchdowns (287 yards total) in the second half to make the game interesting, but it ultimately wasn't enough to overcome Minnesota's defense, Adrian Peterson's touchdown on 97 yards rushing, and Brett Favre's 4 touchdowns and 244 yards. The Vikings demonstrated once again that they are a complete team when it comes to passing, rushing, and defense, and came away with a big 38-26 win on the road.
Dolphins vs. Jets 2
This weekend featured another grudge match from an earlier game. In Week 5, the Miami Dolphins beat the New York Jets 31-27 after a lot of chatter between players and coaches alike in the off-season, the topic of which ranged from Rex Ryan's confident talk to Miami's Wildcat offense. In fact, the two teams continued to snipe at one another an entire week after their first game.
New York lost again, but the game played out a lot differently. This time, the defense was able to contain the rushing attack of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, allowing only 54 yards combined from the duo. QB Chad Henne had a touchdown pass, but threw for only 112 yards. For the Jets, Mark Sanchez shook off the effects from a couple of bad weeks and passed for 265 yards and 2 touchdowns (one to Dustin Keller and another to Braylon Edwards) and got help from Thomas Jones, who ran for 102 yards. So how did they lose? They got beat on special teams. Ted Ginn Jr. had 299 yards in kick returns and 2 touchdowns. If it wasn't for that pair of scores, New York wins this game. It also didn't Jason Taylor had a fumble recovery for a touchdown on defense in the 30-25 win.
Titans vs. Jaguars
This game was talked about a lot because it was Vince Young's first start of the season, taking over for Kerry Collins. To this point, the Titans were 0-6 and an embarrassment on every level. Yesterday they looked a lot more like the Titans we're used to.
Vince Young passed for 125 yards and a touchdown and NO INTERCEPTIONS. This was the first game of the season where the Titans didn't throw at least 1 interception. Chris Johnson continued his strong season with 228 rushing yards and 2 more touchdowns. The defense also intercepted David Garrard twice, but did allow Maurice Jones-Drew to run for 177 yards and 2 scores.
The other games- Colts 18, 49ers 14
- Panthers 34, Cardinals 21
- Chargers 24, Raiders 16
- Eagles 40, Giants 17
- Rams 17, Lions 10
- Cowboys 38, Seahawks 17
- Bears 30, Browns 6
- Houston 31, Buffalo 10
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