Donovan McNabb simply had another one of those games where he never settled in and found a rhythm and there were some bad throws and dropped passes that did them in on offense.

Leonard Weaver is averaging over six yards per carry in the Eagles last two games why is he not getting the ball on every short yardage running play?  I don’t get why they are slamming LeSean McCoy up the middle or running QB sneaks when Weaver is almost guaranteed to get that one yard you need for the first down.  It is as if they over thought it and decided that would be what the Cowboys were expecting them to do.

Given how well McCoy seems to be coming along as the season progresses it would not shock me to see him as the starting running back next season.  The only thing that really bugs me about McCoy is how loosely he seems to carry the ball.

I am not sure what the story is, but, where was DeSean Jackson?  The Eagles never looked to take any shots down the field with him and going against Terrence Newman you almost have to given his history of committing drawing flags for pass interference.

Jeremy Maclin really seems to have blossomed since being inserted into the starting lineup.  He seems to get better with each passing week.

The Eagles need to go ahead and send Moise Fokou back to the practice squad or special teams or wherever they got him from.  He was downright brutal and looked like he had not even been practicing at linebacker last week leading up to the game.  Are there really no other veteran linebackers they could bring in on the cheap out there?

Jason Babin is all of a sudden an emerging pass rusher for the Eagles with 2.5 sacks in the last three games.

The Steelers and the Colts stand out to me as the teams to beat in the AFC right now.  I like the Broncos defensively but I am not sure they have enough on offense to come out of the AFC this year.  It looks as though Kyle Orton is beginning to remember he is only Kyle Orton and is starting to make mistakes he was not making the first six games of the year.

The Steelers seem to be getting it together now that Willie Parker has been discarded for Rashard Mendenhall.  Did I acutally hear John Gruden claim the Steelers were missing Willie Parker last night?  He does now Willie was suited up to play last night right?

Parker’s days in Pittsburgh are probably over after this season.  Mendenhall and Mewelde Moore seem to be the top dogs in the Pittsburgh backfield right now.

I wonder how many Titans fans are wondering what if Vince Young had been inserted into the lineup earlier than he had been.  To be honest I doubt they beat the Pats or the Colts with Young at the helm but maybe they beat the Jags if Young is in there instead of Kerry Collins.

Granted, Young is not setting the league on fire with his passing numbers but he is 2-0 and is not turning the ball over as much as Collins was.

You can have Adrian Peterson, I’ll take Chris Johnson.  Johnson is putting up the numbers Peterson was supposed to and is on pace for 1900+ yards and averaging 6.7 yards per carry.  Chris Johnson is the best player in the league right now hands-down.

The Forty Niners have all of a sudden fallen apart haven’t they.  They seem to have finally realized they do not quite have the talent to be a playoff team just yet.  Alex Smith may be on his way back to the bench after turning the ball over four times in a seven point loss to the Titans Sunday.

After catching a pair of touchdown passes Sunday it would appear that Jason Hill has supplanted Isaac Bruce on the Niners depth chart.

Other than the 3 touchdowns Josh Freeman put up the numbers I figured he would completing just 45.7% of his passes for just 205 yards Sunday.  The only revelation was him throwing 3 touchdowns instead of three picks.

I am wondering why I keep hearing about Ryan Grant being on the outs in Green Bay.  He is averaging 4.2 yards per carry and is on pace for 1,242 yards this season and is ninth in the league in rushing.  Those are pretty good numbers considering he is running behind a beat up line this year.

Randy Moss and Tom Brady seem to be back on the same page again with Moss scoring four touchdowns and averaging 18.2 yards per catch over the last three games.

The Cardinals are such a hard team to figure this year.  They are 1-3 at home including losses to the Panthers and Niners and are 4-0 on the road with wins at Chicago and the Giants.  The Cards are in control in the NFC West and are going to be a dangerous team come the playoffs due them being able to score a lot of points and win on the road.

The Saints defense is vulnerable to teams that can run the ball, the problem is that most teams who are running the ball well in the NFC are having issues at quarterback right now.

Is Matt Forte the next in a long line of one-year wonders at running back in Chicago?  I bet they now wish they had never run Thomas Jones out of town.

Boy the Giants season is just slip-sliding away from them right now.

Shawne Merriman seems to be getting his mojo back with a pair of sacks in each of his last two games.

This game was actually close until the Cowboys scored late in the first to take a 21-10 lead into the locker room.  Dallas then took control of the game in the second half holding Seattle to 82 yards and forcing punts on its first five possessions of the second half.

The Seahawks continue to struggle running the ball posting just 79 yards on 22 carries while Dallas muddled its way to just 113 yards on 29 carries.   Ultimately, this game came down to the Cowboys defense setting the offense up with good field position and the Seahawks offense not being able to consistently move the ball in the second half.  Neither team’s offense was terribly crisp in this one.

The Seahawks are decimated by injury and missing key players like Lofa Tatupu and Walter Jones on both sides of the ball.  There is not a lot of hope on the horizon for fans of the ‘Hawks.

The Cowboys seem to be getting their act together with wins at home against the Falcons and Seahawks.  However, I am still not sold on the legitimacy of this team.  The Falcons are good but are still not a good road team and still tend to lose spotlight games on the road and the Cowboys have not played particularly well on the road this year.  This weekend’s game in Philadelphia will go a long way in showing us just how good this Dallas team is.

Philadelphia’s defense is simply flying to the ball the last two weeks making big plays and forcing turnovers to setup scoring opportunities for Donovan McNabb and the offense.  Romo is still struggling with his accuracy completing less than 60% of his passes for the third time in four games.  The primary reason his inaccuracy has not hurt the Cowboys lately is due to the fact the Cowboys have been matched up against teams that do not get after the quarterback nor force many turnovers.

The Eagles defense has more interceptions (14) than the Cowboys last three opponents, Seattle (5), Atlanta (5), and Kansas City (3), combined.  In addition to being second in the league in interceptions the Eagles trail only the Minnesota Vikings with 23 sacks.  The Eagles get after the quarterback and facing this defense will be a good litmus test for where Romo and the passing game is at right now.  The Eagles have excelled at forcing opposing quarterbacks into making throws before they are ready and preying on their inaccuracy to force turnovers.

This weekend’s match up with the Eagles could go a long way in deciding supremacy in the NFC East.  If the Eagles win they will own victories against all three of their NFC East foes and control their own destiny in terms of winning the division.  The Cowboys need this game to stay in the race and prove to themselves that they can run with the big dogs in the NFC.

News and Notes

Romo has thrown 8 touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last three games.  He has also completed less than 60% of his pass attempts in five of the Cowboys seven games this season.

Marion Barber is still struggling to get going in the running game rushing for 3.8 yards or fewer per carry for the fourth straight game.  He scored his first touchdown since week four on Sunday.

Miles Austin scored for the third straight game for the Cowboys but failed to hit the 100 yard mark for the first time in three games.

After being held without a sack the first four games of the year DeMarcus Ware notched a sack for the third straight game giving him five on the year.

Roy Williams scored his first touchdown since week one.

Seattle linebacker David Hawthorne recorded the first two sacks of his career Sunday and has four tackles for loss over the last two weeks.

Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia offense rebounded from a sub par effort against Washington on Monday to route the reeling Giants.  The Eagles blitzed the Giants early on scoring a pair of touchdowns in the first four minutes of the game to build a 13-point lead and never look back.

Leonard Weaver rumbled 41 yards on a draw play to score the game’s first touchdown just 1:34 into the game.  The Giants ran just two plays on offense before Asante Samuels picked off an Eli Manning pass setting up a three-play 10-yard drive that culminated in a 17-yard touchdown strike to tight end Brent Celek.

McNabb completed 17 of 23 passes and threw three touchdowns to three different players and the ground game rolled up 180 yards and a pair of scores against a beleaguered Giants defense.

The Eagles have excelled at converting big plays into points all season long and Sunday was no different.  The Eagles converted three Giants turnovers into 17 points and had scoring plays of 41, 54, and 66 yards.  DeSean Jackson added a 54-yard touchdown catch while LeSean McCoy chipped in a 66-yard scamper in addition to Weaver’s touchdown run.  Jackson has scored a league high of six touchdowns of 50 yards or more this season.

While the Eagles offense was firing on all cylinders the Giants offense never got out of the garage as the Giants feel behind 30-7 by the half and managed just 17 points for the entire game.  Manning struggled to complete 50% of his passes for the second straight week hitting just 20 of 39 passes and throwing a pair of interceptions.  The Giants did manage to run for 141 yards but it meant little as Philadelphia’s secondary excelled at keeping the Giants receivers in check all afternoon.

The Eagles appear to have righted the ship after an embarrassing loss in Oakland two weeks ago.  The defense has been setting offense up with turnovers ending up with good field position making it easy for the Eagles to score and as long as McNabb gets enough protection to sit in the pocket he is going to find Jackson and Jeremy Maclin when they run open down the field.  It also gives the team an opportunity to utilize tight end Brent Celek more in pass routes.  When McNabb has time to throw and the line is opening holes in the running game the Eagles are one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the league.

After sprinting out to a 5-0 start this season the Giants appear to have hit a wall all of a sudden in losing their last three games.  Manning has gone in the tank completing just 49.7% of his passes and throwing 6 picks during the current losing streak.  The Giants are currently playing without starting safety Kenny Phillips or corner back Aaron Ross and the Saints exposed the secondary a couple of weeks ago.  The Giants defense has allowed 112 points and 8 touchdown passes over the last three weeks.  The Giants need to figure things out quickly as the Eagles and Cowboys have now sprinted past them in the standings to claim the top two spots atop the NFC East.

In watching the Giants today they have several issues to address to get things turned around.  First, and foremost, they need to get Manning back on track.  After throwing 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions the first five weeks of the season Manning has thrown just 3 touchdowns and 6 interceptions the last three weeks.

The special teams have not played well of late allowing two returns of 30 yards or more today with Ellis Hobbs taking a kick back 39 yards and Jackson getting a 30 yard punt return that almost went for a touchdown.  Meanwhile they averaged just 22.9 yards per kick return and Domenik Hixon inexplicably fumbled the ball on a return with little contact.

The offensive line just does not seem as crisp as it was last season.  Folks keep asking what is wrong with Brandon Jacobs this year and a lot of him struggling has to do with the line not opening holes for him the way it did last year.  Jacobs is getting hit a lot more in the backfield  this year than he was a year ago.  He has not been able to get to the second level before contact the way he did last year.  Jacobs is tough to bring down for linebackers and defensive backs but is much easier to bring down when a defensive lineman is able to knock him off stride and slow him down.

The defensive line is not generating the heat that it did last year either further exposing a secondary already weakened by injury.  Osi Umenyiora still looks a bit tentative out there as he works his way back from a knee injury while Justin Tuck is playing with a bum shoulder.  Starting defensive tackle Chris Cantyhas not played since week one due to a calf injury.

This week’s win sets up a showdown at Lincoln Financial for supremacy of the NFC East next Sunday night while the Giants look to right the ship when the Chargers come to town next weekend.

News, Notes, and Observations

McNabb has not thrown an interception since week one versus the Panthers.  He has also thrown at least one pass of 50 or more yards in each of his last four games.

Hakeem Nicks was held out of the end zone for the first time in five games for the Giants.

Weaver’s 41 yard touchdown run was the longest run of his career.

McCoy’s 66-yard run was the longest of his career.

Asante Samuel has picked off a pass in three of his last four games for Philadelphia and has five for the season.

Philadelphia’s Jason Babin recorded a sack for the second straight game.

Philadelphia’s  Trent Cole was held sackless for the first time this season.

On several different levels this had to be the most confounding game of the week.  The Panthers outgained the Bills 425 yards to 167 and allowed only 9 first downs and the Bills converted just 3 of 14 third downs.  Carolina’s defense played well enough to win the game, yet, they somehow managed to blow this game.

This one starts and ends with Jake Delhomme and inexplicable play-calling.  Delhomme had another disaster of a game throwing three interceptions that led to two short toucdhown drives for the Bills.  Buffalo two touchdowns on drives that consisted of seven and 27 yards.

As much as everyone wants to hang this one on Delhomme the bigger issue is the play-calling in this game.  The Bills are coming off a game where they allowed 318 rushing yards and 8.0 yards per carry against the Jets last weekend.  As a team the Bills were allowing 181 yards per game coming into Sunday, they had allowed over 200 yards in three games this year, and had given up 961 yards on the ground over their previous four games.

One wonders if there is anyone in Charlotte who can defend the fact that the Panthers ran the ball only 25 times and dropped back to pass 46 times.  Given that Delhomme is a train wreck this season and how awful the Bills are at stopping the run should those numbers not be reversed?  One could almost understand the disparity if the Bills were up two or three touchdowns at the half and you needed to throw the ball to get back in the game.  But, the reality is this was a 7-2 game going into the third quarter.

The kicker is the Bills went up 14-2 after Delhomme threw an interception that set the Bills up on the Panthers’ 27-yard line.  What is worse the interception came on a 2nd and six play.  The interception Delhomme threw to set up the Bills’ first touchdown came on a first down.

It would be one thing if the Bills were simply shutting down the Panthers rushing attack Sunday forcing them to throw the ball, but, that simply was not the case either.  DeAngelo Williams averaged 5.6 yards per carry and the team averaged 4.6 per attempt for the game.  If just boggles the mind how John Fox’s game plan did not revolve around running the ball until the Bills stopped them and only throwing when needing to.  If I did not know any better I would think Fox is now trying to get himself fired.  That is the only sane explanation one can come up with as to why the Panthers were making an effort to establish the passing attack with the game still on the line.  Or, does Fox still think this is pre-season?  It would not be hard to make that mistake since the team seems to be unaware the regular season has even started.

News, Notes, and Observations

Trent Edwards has already been ruled out of this weekend’s game against the Texans as he recovers from the concussion he suffered against the Jets.  That means Ryan Fitzpatrick gets the nod again which cannot have Bills fans terribly excited.  Then again Edwards was not exactly getting it done out there either.

There has been wide speculation since Sunday that Fox is considering benching Delhomme in favor of Matt Moore.  Either way the season is over for the Panthers and Forty Niners fans are ecstatic knowing they have the Panthers first round pick in April.

Buffalo rookie corner back Jairus Byrd picked off a pair of passes for the second straight week giving him five total on the season.  Byrd has interceptions in the three straight games for the Bills and is building a strong case for defensive rookie of the year.

Since being called out by Jon Beason on a local radio show Julius Peppers has notched sacks in three straight games giving him five over that span.

Lee Evans caught a touchdown pass for the second straight game and had season highs of 5 catches and 75 yards.

DeAngelo Williams scored for the second straight week.

Tight end Gary Barnidge had career highs with 3 catches for 77 yards for Carolina.

This week’s Monday Night game quickly became the DeSean Jackson and Will Witherspoon as they led the Eagles to a comfortable ten point win in Washington.  Jackson took an end around on the fourth play from scrimmage 69 yards to the house to put the Eagles up early.  Trade deadline acquisition made his presence felt early corralling a tipped Jason Campbell pass at the nine yard line taking it in for a touchdown, and stripping Jason Campbell of the ball on the ensuing possession setting up a field goal to give the Eagles a 17-0 lead.

Donovan McNabb delivered the death blow hitting a streaking Jackson on a 57-yard touchdown pass with just under 2:00 to play in the first half putting the Eagles up 27-7 effectively putting the game out of reach.

Except for the big plays of DeSean Jackson the offense was not particularly sharp for the Eagles.  The offensive line was not opening holes for Brian Westbrook or LeSean McCoy and McNabb was rarely given enough time to set up and take shots down the field.  Even when he did have time McNabb’s throws seemed to be coming up short all night long.  The play-calling also seemed to be lacking in some imagination as the Eagles continually ran screens and runs off tackle with little success.  The offense generated just 262 yards of offense and was just 4 for 15 on 3rd down conversions, and it seemed as though they were continually trying to convert on 3rd and long due to bad penalties and not being able to effectively run the ball.

The team’s saving grace on offense was the fact that the ‘Skins did not have anyone on defense who could keep up with Jackson when he got into the open field.  Without Jackson’s big plays the Eagles might not win that game and definitely would have had to scrap in the second half for the win.

Fortunately, for the Eagles, the defense got little resistance from an inept Redskins offense and made plays all night long to keep the game out of reach for Washington.  Witherspoon led a defensive assault that sacked Washington quarterback Jason Campbell six times and forced four Redskins’ turnovers.

Campbell never really found a rhythm in the pocket and was constantly moving around trying to find passing lanes to deliver his passes.  Campbell completed 29 of 43 passes but a lot of that came in the second half when the Eagles were playing looser defensively just looking to take time off the clock late in the game.  The Redskins ran just 33 plays for just 137 yards in the first half.

Ultimately the Redskins simply looked lost out there Monday Night.  They had the look of a team who has already packed it in for the year.  They look leaderless, clueless, and heartless which is not a good combination in the NFL.

The Eagles have the Giants coming up on the schedule this weekend and they have a ton of work to do on the offensive line if they want to win this game.  Reid’s teams generally play well against the Giants, and the Giants are reeling a bit, but, Philadelphia’s offensive line did not play well last night.  McNabb was constantly facing pressure and McCoy was getting hit in the backfield before he ever got a chance to find and hit the hole at the line.  Todd Herremans and Jamaal Jackson struggled all night long to keep Albert Haynesworth out of the backfield.

The offensive line was supposed to be re-made and much improved this year but it still seems to be struggling to come together due to several starters missing significant chunks of time during training camp and the pre-season games.  Fortunately, for the Eagles, the Giants front four has been struggling to generate a consistent pass rush this season but how long is that going to last?

McNabb also needs to get his accuracy back in check.  He threw too many passes at the feet of his receivers last night.  Even on the big play he hit Jackson was under-thrown.  Going up against an ailing, struggling Giants secondary this weekend should present them with some opportunities to take some shots down field to Jackson and Jeremy Maclin.

With Eli Manning being bruised and battered Philadelphia should be able to win this game as long as they can pressure Manning into rushing his throws and give McNabb time to take shots down the field to his big play receivers.

News, Notes, and Observations

Brian Westbrook left the game in the first quarter with a concussion after taking knee to the head/neck area.  He was able to walk out on his own power and was back on the sideline for the second half of the game and it is not thought to be too serious.

Chris Cooley was carted off the field early in the game and reportedly suffered a broken ankle, and is out indefinitely.  This is a huge blow to a floundering Redskins team.  Cooley is arguably their best player right now and is an offensive leader of sorts.  I would be surprised if he plays again this year given the state the team is liable to be in by the time he is actually healthy enough to play.

Fred Davis had a career night in place of the injured Cooley posting career highs with 8 catches, 78 yards, and scoring his first career touchdown.

After last night’s heroics DeSean Jackson leads the league with six plays from scrimmage of 40 yards or more including five catches and one running play.  He also has an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown on his resume this season as well.  Jackson has turned in a at least one big play in five of the Eagles six games and has scored in four out of six games.  The Eagles are 3-1 in games where Jackson scores a touchdown this season.

Trent Cole recorded his first two sack game of the season and has recorded at least half-a-sack in every game for the Eagles this season.

Andre Carter notched a sack for the third straight game and has 5.5 sacks over the past three games for the ‘Skins.

Albert Haynesworth recorded a sack for the second straight game and wreaked havoc all night long.

Brian Orakpo was held sackless for the first time in five games.

Devin Thomas had a career night for him scoring his first career touchdown, posting a career high of 45 yards, and matching his career best of 3 catches.

Brent Celek had a season low output of three catches and eight yards.

Akeem Jordan had a season high of 10 tackles for the Eagles Monday night.

Broderick Bunkley had his first sack of the season in addition to a tackle-for-loss against the Redskins.

This was another tale of two halves as the Texans ran out to a 21-0 halftime lead only to see the Niners battle back outscoring the Texans 21-3 in the second half.  Matt Schaub completed 20 of 30 passes for a pair of touchdowns and Steve Slaton scored two touchdowns of his own in leading the Texans to their second straight win and third in four games.  The big story coming out of this game, however, is Alex Smith.

The much-maligned Smith whose career in San Francisco was considered all but over after losing the starting job to Shaun Hill came off the bench in the second half to throw three touchdown passes in leading the Niners back to within three points in the second half.  Smith completed 15 of 22 passes for 206 yards throwing the ball as well as he ever has during his career and looked every bit the quarterback who was the top pick in the draft five years ago.  As a result it looks as though Hill’s days as the starter may be over as Smith has been named the starting quarterback for next Sunday’s game against Indianapolis.

I am not shocked at this development as the Niners have now lost 3 of their last 4 games and Hill had led the offense to just ten points in his last six quarters under center.  Mike Singletary is seeing the season slowly slip away and he needs to do something to make the offense more dynamic when Frank Gore is not having his A-game.

The other major development in this game was Andre Johnson being taken to the hospital with an apparent chest injury.  He has since been released and it is being reported that Johnson has a bruised lung.  Fortunately for the Texans Owen Daniels stepped up and grabbed seven passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.

After starting the season 1-2 the Texans have climbed back into the playoff hunt with the Bills and Colts looming on the schedule prior to their bye in week 10.

News, Notes, and Observations

Vernon Davis set a career high with three touchdowns Sunday, his seven catches matched his career best, and his six touchdowns this season are a career high.

Schaub has completed at least 66.7% of his passes and thrown at least two touchdown passes in three straight games for the Texans.

Daniels 123 yards are a season high and he scored a touchdown for the second straight game.

Slaton scored two touchdowns in a game for the second time this season and has scored in three of the last four games for Houston.

Michael Crabtree caught 5 passes for 56 yards in his NFL debut Sunday.

Papa Halas must be rolling over in his grave after this embarrassment.  The Bears came to town as one point favorites and got flat out steam rolled by a Bengals squad looking to show that last week’s loss to the Texans is just a mere speed bump on the road to a playoff appearance in January.  The Bears were never really in this one as the Bengals opened up a 14-point first quarter and never looked back as they ran up 31 unanswered points until the Bears kicked a field goal to close out the first half.

Cedric Benson played like a man possessed out to show the Bears up for releasing him two summers ago.  Benson, the league’s leading rusher after Sunday, made the Bears defensive front look like a den of cubs with a career best day of 189 yards on 37 yards including a touchdown.

The Bengals simply dominated both sides of the ball forcing four Bears turnovers and holding them to just 279 yards of offense while riding the arm of Carson Palmer to five touchdown passes and 448 yards of offense.  On the heels of Benson’s career day Chad Ochocinco chipped in season highs of 10 catches, 118 yards, and his second two touchdown effort of the season.

One has to give Ochocinco credit this season.  He seems to finally get it and despite some of Palmer’s struggles in the early going and games where he has only seen the ball three or four times we have barely heard any complaining out of him.  Of course some of that probably has to do with the team being 5-2 right now.  But, even in watching Hard Knocks on HBO this summer he seemed a bit more mature, more like a team leader rather than the rabble-rouser he is constantly made out to be.

Adding fuel to the fire was Carson Palmer who had his most efficient passing game of the year completing 20 of 24 passes for five touchdowns.

The only real positives the Bears can take out of a game like this is Devin Hester caught 8 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.  Other than that there was little to be excited about for the Bears.  Jay Cutler threw three interceptions and Matt Forte was held to just 24 yards on six carries.

News, Notes, and Observations

The Bears defense has failed to record a sack in two straight games, both losses.

Ochocinco has had 100-yard games the past two weeks and has had at least 90 in three straight games.

Matt Forte failed to reach 30 yards rushing for the second straight game and third time this season.

Sunday was Hester’s first career 100-yard receiving game.  His 8 catches also mark a career high.

Laveranues Coles found the end zone for the second straight game.

In what ended up being a tale of two halves the Saints blitzed the Dolphins to the tune of 36-10 in the second half to rally from a three touchdown deficit to remain unbeaten.  Meanwhile the Dolphins are wondering what happened after looking as though they were cruising to their third straight win and staying in the mix in the AFC East.

The Dolphins were able to convert two first half turnovers by the Saints into 14 points as they ran out to a three touchdown lead early in the second quarter.  The Saints were held to just 10 points and 112 yards of offense by a stingy Dolphins defense.

Chad Henne completely fell apart in the second half of the game completing just 10 of 24 passes and throwing two interceptions after completing 8 of 12 passes in the first half.  The Saints returned those two interceptions for touchdowns as the offense found its rhythm rolling up 302 yards and 27 points during the comeback.

The Dolphins now stand at a crossroads of their season as they travel to the Jets for a re-match this weekend and then to New England the following week.  The ‘Phins can get back into the mix in the AFC East over the next two weeks or fall completely out of playoff contention with losses in those games.  The next two weeks will go a long in way in determining whether this is a six or seven win team or a 9 or 10 win team.

With the Vikings loss to the Steelers Sunday the Saints now control home field advantage in the NFC and the schedule sets up nicely for them to potentially run the table this season with no games in cold weather venues the rest of the season.

News, Notes, and Observations

Darren Sharper had his third interception return for touchdown and is on pace for 16 interceptions, 8 touchdowns, and 845 return yards.  He is averaging 52.8 yards per return this season.  He is also tied for second on the team with 3 touchdowns scored this year.

Drew Brees scored two rushing touchd0wns for the first time in his career Sunday.

Saints TE Jeremy Shockey caught 4 passes for 105 yards passing the 100-yard mark for the first time this season.

Ricky Williams had the second three touchdown performance of his career for the Dolphins Sunday.

Marques Colston scored a touchdown for the second straight game for the Saints.

Jason Taylor had a pair of sacks and forced two fumbles for the Dolphins.

Rookie wideout Brian Hartline had career highs of 3 catches and 94 yards Sunday for the Dolphins.

Saints DE Anthony Hargrove notched his first two sacks of the season Sunday.

A pesky Cardinals defense sacked Eli Manning three times and forced four Giants turnovers as the suddenly resurgent Arizona Cardinals beat the suddenly reeling New York Giants in the Meadowlands Sunday night.  The Cardinals have reeled off three wins in a row while the Giants have now dropped back-to-back games after starting the season 5-0.

Kurt Warner completed just 20 of 36 passes and the Cardinals managed just 72 yards on 22 carries as the Cardinals were able to take advantage of good field position due to turnovers and a bad night from Jeff Feagles, their three TD drives were 46, 55, and 20 yards, to knock off a struggling Giants team.

Meanwhile Manning’s play continues to deteriorate, as it typically does this time of year, as he completed only 19 of 37 passes and threw a season high three interceptions.  The Giants maintain Manning’s foot injury is fine but one has to wonder how healthy it really is given hwo poorly he has played the past two weeks.  Or, is it just him going in the tank as he typically does when the weather starts to turn in late October early November?  Manning is notoriously mediocre when it gets colder and the elements become more of a factor.

The Giants, who were once in command of the NFC East, now find themselves in a battle for division supremacy with the Cowboys moving to 4-2 and the Eagles potentially being 4-2 if they knock the Redskins off tonight.

The Cardinals were almost dead and buried after dropping two of their first three games as the Forty Niners ran out to a 3-0 start.  All of that has changed as the Niners have dropped three straight while the Cards have now surged to the top of the division on the crest of a three-game winning streak.  The Cards are now 1-2 at home and 3-0 on the road.

News, Notes, and Observations

Manning has completed just 33 of 68 passes (48.5%) and has thrown four interceptions over the last two weeks.

Chris “Beanie” Wells ran for a career high of 67 yards and scored his first career touchdown Sunday.

Brandon Jacobs scored for just the second time this year.

Hakeem Nicks scored a touchdown for the fourth straight game and has had at least one catch of 54 or more yards in three of the last four games.

Arizona DT Alan Branch recorded the first two sacks of his career Sunday.

Cards’ defensive end Calais Campbell recorded a sack for the second straight game giving him 2.5 over the last two weeks.

On a day where defenses controlled the flow of the game it stands to reason that two fourth quarter returns for touchdowns led the Steelers to a hard fought victory.  LaMarr Woodley scooped up a Brett Favre fumble for a 77-yard touchdown with 6:23 remaining, and Keyaron Fox grabbed a tipped pass taking it 82 yards to the house to clinch the win with just a minute remaining.  This was the marquee game of the week and it did not fail to deliver in terms of being a hard fought battle with an exciting finish.

The game essentially boiled down to the Steelers defense making the big plays when it needed to and the Vikings constantly shooting themselves in the foot with bad turnovers.  The Steelers defense kept the pressure on Favre all day long and dialed up four sacks and converted its only two forced turnovers into returns for touchdowns.  Meanwhile the Vikings committed 11 penalties to the tune of 78 yards including four in one drive in the fourth quarter.

While Favre through for 334 yards the Steelers did a solid job of containing Adrian Peterson allowing him to pick up only 69 yards on 18 carries.  The Vikings struggled to handle the Steelers speed off the corners as James Harrison and LaMar Woodley were constantly applying pressure all day and helping to contain Peterson from getting to the outside.

James Farrior and James Harrison led the Steelers defensive charge.  Farrior paced the Steelers with 15 tackles including a sack while Harrison picked up a pair of sacks in addition to a tackle-for-loss.

What became readily apparent today during this game for the Vikings is they are going to struggle against quality opponents when Peterson is not running the ball effectively.  It is not because Favre can no longer do it, it just seems their receivers are just not at the level they need to be when teams do not have to load up to stop the run.  The Vikings have some good receivers but they do not have any great ones as of yet.  Sidney Rice is the closest thing they have but he is simply not there just yet.  It also does not help that teams do not respect guys like Percy Harvin or Bernard Berrian all that much.

One other thing that stood out to me in the fourth quarter of that game was how it seemed as though the Vikings gave up on the Steelers last touchdown return.  As Fox lumbered his way to an 82-yard interception return for a touchdown right tackle Phil Loadholt was the only member of the Vikings who made a real effort to run the guy down.  You mean to tell me Loadholt was the only guy who could run Fox down?  The outcome of the game was still in the balance at the time and the Vikings did not seem to care terribly much.  I guess they figured why bother since we are still 6-1 and have control of our division.  But, it could end up being the difference as to whether they play at home or on the road if it comes down to them and the Saints for the conference championship game.

A lot of folks want to point to Ben Roethlisberger’s success this year as a sign they are becoming more of a passing team than a running one.  Ultimately, though the running game is still the key to their offensive success.  In drives where the Steelers struggled to run the ball they struggled to move the ball period.  Roethlisberger never found a good rhythm Sunday as the running game sputtered at times.  In fact the Steelers offense, in general, struggles to score points when it struggles to run the ball.  The Steelers did manage to run for 100 yards Sunday, but they were never able to sustain the running game for long stretches of time.

As for the Steelers if they do not repeat this season it will be due to a mediocre offensive line and a secondary that does not tackle well.  Roethlisberger seemed to be rushing his throws a bit today and looking to throw the short routes due to Minnesota’s pass rush.  There were a lot of slipped tackles and yards after the catch for Vikings receivers.

News, Notes, and Observations

Brett Favre threw for 300 yards for the second time this season.  Sunday was the first time this year Favre failed to throw a touchdown.

Harrison recorded two sacks for the third time in three games and now has 8 on the season.

Fox made his first career interception count for his first career touchdown.  Fox was only in the game due to an apparent ankle injury that had knocked Lawrence Timmons out of the game in the fourth quarter.

Roethlisberger failed to throw for 200 yards for the first time this season.

Rashard Mendenhall was held out of the end zone for the first time since assuming the starting job.

Sidney Rice caught a career high 11 passes for 136 yards.  He also eclipsed 100 yards in receiving for the second straight week.

Mike Wallace caught three passes for 72 yards and found the end zone for the second time in three weeks.  Wallace has posted at least 50 yards receiving in four of his last five games.  He has also had at least one catch of 35 or more yards in four of those five games.

Heath Miller was held out of the end zone for the first time in four weeks but did manage to catch six passes on the day.

Hines Ward was held to a season low output of just three yards on one catch and failed to score for the first time in three weeks for the Steelers.

Sunday was the first time Farrior has recorded 10 tackles in a game this season.

Vikings rookie Asher Allen had a sack and forced a fumble in his first career game.

Eddie Royal returned both a punt and a kick for a touchdown to lift a struggling offense and Kyle Orton threw a pair of second half touchdown passes in leading the Broncos to their sixth consecutive win to start the season.  Denver’s defense was able to hold  the  high-scoring Charger offense to just 16 points allowing just a field goal in the second half.

Royal returned a kickoff 93 yards and a punt 71 yards accounting for Denver’s only two touchdowns in the first half keeping the Chargers from opening up a big lead at the half.

Orton turned in another efficient outing completing 20 of 29 passes for 229 yards in addition to his two touchdowns passes.

The much-maligned Chargers run defense stepped up its game Monday night holding Denver’s high-powered rushing attack to just 101 yards, almost 40 yards below its season average entering the game.

With the running game being held in check tight end Tony Scheffler stepped up catching six passes for a career high of 101 yards and scoring what would turn out to be the clinching touchdown for the Broncos.

Denver is clearly the team to beat in the AFC right now, but the road does not get any easier for the Broncos with games against the Ravens and Pittsburgh following this week’s bye.  However, the overall schedule sets up quite nicely for them and they should easily end up with 12 or 13 wins this season.

The Chargers on the other hand feature a team with what should be a lame duck coach, although the GM says he will not fire him regardless of how poorly the team finishes.  They also have huge questions on the offensive line, an aging star in LaDanian Tomlinson and a backup running back who cannot run between the tackles, and some serious depth issues on defense.  It seems like any time the Chargers suffer a significant injury on defense it falls to pieces.  Last year it was Shawne Merriman and this year it is the absence of beefy nose tackle Jamal Williams.

The Chargers are simply devolving which is what typically seems to happen to teams that are led by Norv Turner for than a season or two.  They seem to lose any toughness or edge they had prior to Norv showing up.  The offense is up to snuff but the defense has lost the edge it had when Marty Schottenheimer was running the show in San Diego.

News, Notes, and Observations

Elvis Dumervil recorded a pair of sacks for the Broncos giving him 10 for the season and putting him on pace to shatter the single season sack record.  Monday’s game was the fourth time this season Dumervil has recorded at least two sacks in a game.

Scheffler hit the 100-yard mark for just the second time in his career.

LaDanian Tomlinson ran for a season high of 70 yards on 18 carries.

Orton threw two touchdown passes for the third straight game and has thrown just one interception on the season.

San Diego rookie Larry English recorded a sack for the second straight game.  He also had a career high of four tackles.

The Jaguars held off a pesky Rams team to win by a field goal in overtime.  The Jaguars overcame a fourth quarter Leonard Little interception return for a touchdown and rode the back of Maurice Jones-Drew and the leg of Josh Brown to victory.  Jones-Drew amassed 178 yards of offense and scored three touchdowns in leading the Jags to victory.

Quarterback David Garrard threw for a season high 335 yards while Mike Sims-Walker and Torry Holt each caught over 100 yards worth of passes in support of Jones-Drew’s big day.

Steven Jackson was the lone bright spot for a Rams offense that manufactured a meager 13 points posting 128 yards of total offense.  Marc Bulger hit Donnie Avery for the team’s only offensive touchdown.

Leonard Little was the defensive star of the game notching a sack and three passes defensed in addition to his interception return for a touchdown.

This was an ugly win for a Jaguars team that has now won 3 of 4 games to move to 3-3 and get back into the wild card race in the AFC.  The schedule sets up nicely for the Jags to separate themselves from a crowded wild card pool with games against the Titans, Chiefs, and Bills coming up in three of the next four games after this week’s bye.

News, Notes, and Observations

Garrard hit the 300-yard mark for the second time this season and the second time in three games.  The Jags are 2-0 when Garrard throws for 300 yards.

Maurice Jones-Drew’s 133 rushing yards are a season high and it marks the second time he has gone for 100 yards in a game this year.  It also marks the second time he has scored three touchdowns in a game.  Both time he has rushed for 100 yards he has scored three times and the Jags are 2-0 in those games.

Jackson’s 78 yards on six catches are both season highs.

Sims-Walker hit the 100-yard mark for the second time this season and has caught at least six passes for 80 yards in each of the four games he has appeared in this season.

Holt eclipsed the 100-yard barrier for for the first time this season and has 12 passes for 196 yards over the Jags last two contests.

Rookie wide out Mike Thomas had the best game of his rookie season posting career highs in catches (7) and receiving yards (52).

Little’s interception return for a touchdown was the first pick six of his career.

The Kansas City Chiefs beat the reeling Redskins in what ended up being a battle of attrition.  Neither team was able to accumulate more than 270 yards of offense or score a touchdown as the Chiefs notched their first win of the season while the ‘Skins fell to 2-4 dropping their second straight game.

Jason Campbell, Washington’s starting quarterback struggled to find a rhythm for the third straight game and was benched at the half in favor of veteran backup Todd Collins after completing 9 of 16 passes for 89 yards.  Collins did not fare any better completing just 6 of 14 pass attempts for 75 yards.  On the day Redskins’ QBs combined to complete 15 of 30 passes for 164 yards.  Kansas City’s Matt Cassel struggled as well completing just 17 of 32 passes for 186 yards.

On the surface it would appear that Clinton Portis had a strong game for the Redskins rushing for 109 yards on 15 carries until one considers that 78 of those came on one play.  Meanwhile Kansas City’s Larry Johnson muddled his way to 83 yards on 23 carries.

Kansas City wide receiver Dwayne Bowe was the lone offensive bright spot in this game catching 6 balls for 109 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball Washington’s Andre Carter’s 2 sacks led a pass rush that notched five sacks on the day for the Redskins.

Initial fall out of this game has Jim Zorn being stripped of his play-calling duties after another lack luster offensive performance by the Redskins.  Sherm Lewis has been dubbed the new play caller for the time being as Zorn’s days as head coach in D. C. are clearly numbered.  If Zorn could quit and still collect the remainder of his salary he probably would at this juncture.

News, Notes, and Observations

Carter has notched 4.5 sacks over the last two weeks for the ‘Skins.

Campbell failed to throw for 200 yards for the third straight game Sunday.

Cassel failed to complete at least 60% of his passes for the third straight game but on the positive side of things he has not thrown an interception in four straight games.

Johnson’s 83 yards are a season high for the beleaguered Chiefs back.

Portis hit the 100 yard mark for the first time this season Sunday.

Brian Orakpo registered a sack yesterday and has registered at least a partial sack in four straight games giving him 3.5 on the year.

Kansas City safety Jon McGraw recorded the first sack of his 8-year career.

Washington wide out Santana Moss has caught at least one pass for 42 or more yards in three of his last four games.

DeAngelo Williams led a resurgent ground attack to 267 yards and a victory over the winless Bucs.  Williams ran for a season high 152 yards and a pair of scores while his backfield-mate Johnathan Stewart chipped in a season high of his own with 110 yards and a touchdown.  Meanwhile the Bucs continue to struggle offensively under the leadership of second year quarterback Josh Johnson.

The Panthers appear to have finally realized that Williams and Stewart are their best offensive options right now considering that Jake Delhomme cannot seem to go a game without turning the ball over at least two or three times.  Delhomme attempted just 17 passes while handing it off 47 times Sunday.

Julius Peppers continued his resurgent play on defense registering two quarterback sacks for the second game in a row.

Tampa struggled offensively generating only 7 points and 245 yards of total offense.  Johnson continued his struggles completing only 11 of 17 passes for 147 yards and turning the ball over twice.  Cadillac Williams was the only real bright spot on offense for the Bucs rushing for 77 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

The Panthers have now won two in a row, but their resurgence could be short-lived as they start a stretch of games that includes, Arizona, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Miami in succession following this week’s game against the floundering Bills.

There does not seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel for the hapless Bucs who may be on the precipice of the Josh Freeman Era with another loss or two.  Given that Johnson is showing no real signs of improvement and Freeman is the future of the team it stands to reason that Freeman will get some starts down the stretch.  Look for Raheem Morris to potentially make the switch during the bye week following this week’s game against the Patriots.

News, Notes, and Observations

Delhomme has thrown at least two interceptions in three of the Panthers five games this season.  The Panthers are 2-1 in games where Delhomme throws for under 200 yards this year.

Williams and Stewart both hit the 100-yard mark for the first time this season.  Stewart scored a touchdown for the second straight game while Williams found the end zone for the first time in three games.

Steve Smith caught just one catch for four yards on Sunday and has yet to score a touchdown for the Panthers this season.

Sammie Stroughter’s 65 receiving yards for the Bucs were a career high and his 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was the first score of his career.

Tanard Jackson’s 26-yard interception return for a touchdown was the first of his career.

Ben Roethlisberger threw for a season high 417 yards including scoring strikes to Heath Miller and Hines Ward in leading the Steelers to their third straight victory moving them into a tie atop the AFC North with the 4-2 Bengals.  The Browns, on the other hand, continued their downward spiral after experiencing a bump in the road by beating the Bills last weekend.

The Steelers offense continued to roll Sunday hitting the 27-point mark for the third game in a row after failing to do so in each of the team’s first three games.  In addition to Roethlisberger’s big day Ward’s 158 yards were a season high and Santonio Holmes chipped in 104 yards of his own.

The Browns offense contiues to flounder as it generated only seven points and Derek Anderson is still leaving Browns fans wondering why Brady Quinn was benched in favor of him.  Anderson completed just 9 of 24 passes for 122 yards, a touchdown, an interception, and coughed it up twice.  Anderson has been so bad that JaMarcus Russell has surpassed him in the quarterback ratings.

We already know the Browns are well on their way to getting one of the top two or three picks in next April’s draft, so the big question coming out of this game is are the Steelers on their way back to being one of the league’s elite teams or are they just getting fat against sub par competition that is the Chargers, Lions, and Browns?

Consider that the Steelers have lost the only two games they have played against opponents with winning records in the Bengals and Bears while the four teams they have beaten have won a combined 4 games amongst them.  With Minnesota coming to town this weekend and with a trip to Denver on the slate after the bye week, the next two games will tell us a lot about whether the Steelers are going to be around come January to defend their title or not.

News, Notes, and Observations

Roethlisberger hit the 300-yard mark for the third time this season and the Steelers are 3-0 when he throws for 300 yards and 1-2 when he does not.  He has also thrown at least two touchdowns in each of the last three games.  During the Steelers 3-game winning streak Roethlisberger has thrown 7 touchdowns and completed 73.4% of his pass attempts.  Sunday’s game was just the second time this year he did not complete at least 70% of his passes and broke a three game streak in which he had.

Anderson had completed just 11 of his last 41 passes and turned the ball over four times in the Browns last two games.

Ward hit the 100-yard mark for the second time in three games and the third time this season.  He also found the end zone for the second straight week.  He has failed to post at least 80 yards only once this year.  His eight catches were also a season high.

Rashard Mendenhall scored a touchdown for the third straight game and has rushed for at least 60 yards in each of his three starts.

Miller scored a touchdown for the third straight game and has hit pay dirt four times during the Steelers’ current winning streak.

Holmes hit the 100-yard mark for the first time this season since the season opener.

Willie Parker ran for 26 yards on 7 carries in his first game back since missing the last two with a toe injury.

Cleveland’s Mohamed Massaquoi caught five passes for 83 yards and has posted at least 80 receiving yards in two of the Browns last three games.

Pittsburgh linebacker Lawrence Timmons notched a pair of sacks and has recorded a sack in each of the last two games for the Steelers.

Aaron Rodgers threw for 358 yards and a pair of scores in leading the Packers to a 26 point route of the struggling Lions.  Rodgers hit on 29 of 37 passes while hitting little used James Jones and John Kuhn for the day’s only touchdowns.  Meanwhile Green Bay’s defense stepped up and shut down an impotent Lions offense playing without starting quarterback Matt Stafford and stud wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

Daunte Culpepper drew the start for the Lions completing just 6 of 14 passes and throwing an interception before being yanked in favor of Drew Stanton in the second half.  Stanton completed just five of 11 passes and threw a pair of interceptions as well.  Lions’ quarterbacks combined to complete just 11 of 25 passes for 71 yards and three interceptions on Sunday.

In addition to Rodgers’ big game Donald Driver caught seven passes for 107 yards in becoming the franchise’s career receiving leader.

Defensively the Packers allowed just 147 yards, forced three turnovers, and sacked the quarterback five times.  Rookie linebacker Clay Matthews had a career day notching two sacks, a tackle-for-loss, and a pass defensed in leading the defensive charge.

Conversely Green Bay is still struggling to protect the quarterback allowing five sacks to a Lions pass rush that had just 10 in its first five games.  Julian Peterson led the way with 2.5 sacks amongst his team leading 10 tackles on the day.

If the Packers have their eyes on winning a playoff spot this year they need to to do something about their porous offensive line before Rodgers gets killed out there.  Against most other teams in the league allowing five sacks and committing 13 penalties will get you a loss, they were fortunate enough to be going against a depleted Lions team that plays very little defense right now.

News, Notes, and Observations

Rodgers is throwing the ball as well as anyone in the league right now completing 74.3% of his passes and throwing for 742 yards in the Pack’s last two games.  Rodgers has also thrown two touchdowns passes in each of his last three games and his 384 yard performance against Minnesota and this week’s 358 yards are the two highest totals of his career.

Ryan Grant hit the 90-yard mark for the second time this season for the Packers.

Driver hit the 100-yard for the first time this season and his seven catches were also a season high.

Both of Kuhn’s receptions have resulted in Green Bay touchdowns this season.

Despite losing starting quarterback Trent Edwards to a concussion and allowing 318 rushing yards the scrappy Bills punked the heavily favored Jets in their back yard winning an overtime thriller at the Meadowlands Sunday.  Honestly, though, the Bills did not so much win the game as the Jets simply beat themselves by turning the ball over 6 times and committing 14 penalties.

Sunday’s game was easily the worst in Mark Sanchez’s young career.  The rookie quarterback, who seems to be regressing the past couple of weeks, fought the elements all game long in completing just 10 of 29 passes and throwing five interceptions.  Sanchez, the toast of the town three weeks ago, may be fighting for his job after three unimpressive outings that have seen him complete just 45% of his passes and throw 8 interceptions during the Jets three game losing streak.

Despite Sanchez’s ineptness Thomas Jones single handedly kept the Jets in the game rumbling for a franchise record 210 yards on 22 carries.  Not to be outdone Leon Washington chipped in 99 of his own yards on 15 carries.

The Bills basically won the game by winning the turnover battle as they did nothing distinguish themselves offensively in this game.  Ryan Fitzpatrick complete just 10 of 25 passes for 116 yards in relief of the injured Edwards.  Meanwhile Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch combined for just 113 yards on 34 carries.

In the end the key stat of this game was the Bills turning the ball over only two times while the Jets coughed it up six times.

Two things we learned about the Jets from this game are they are not quite as good as once thought.  They have now dropped three straight games including losses to Miami and Buffalo who are a combined 4-7 and held just one win when the Jets played them.

The second is that Mark Sanchez is not quite ready for prime time.  He started the season strongly but has gone in the tank against defenses that are not amongst the league’s elite.  He has thrown 10 interceptions on the year and is on pace to throw 27 picks and pass for just 2,760 yards.  With the Jets still in the thick of the playoff race one wonders how long head coach Rex Ryan will stick with Sanchez before going to Kellen Clemens.

News, Notes, and Observations

Thomas Jones hit the 100 yard mark for the second time this year and scored a touchdown for the third straight game giving him six in six games on the year.

Leon Washington’s 99 yards were a season high for him.

Rookie corner Jairus Byrd had the first two interception game of his career Sunday and has picked off three passes over the last two weeks for the Bills.

What was seen as a potential AFC Championship preview when the schedules were first announced last spring turned into one of the most lopsided games in league history as the Patriots laid waste to the hapless, winless Titans Sunday.  The Pats ran out to an early 10-0 lead and then unleashed a fury of offense on the Titans blitzing them for 35 points in the second quarter.

This game featured Tom Brady completing 29 of 34 passes for 380 yards and six scores, including five in the second quarter.  It also featured Randy Moss finding the end zone three times and Wes Welker getting back in the groove with a pair of scores as well.

As awesome a performance as it was for the Patriots it was that pathetic for the Titans.  As a team the Titans completed just two of 14 passes for -7 yards and two interceptions making JaMarcus Russell jealous of their ineptitude.  Kerry Collins posted a 4.9 quarterback rating for the game.  Nate Washington caught one of the completions for -22 yards.  On top of that the Titans turned the ball over five times on the day.

The only positives Titans fans can take out of this game is Chris Johnson’s 128 yards led a Titans ground game that chewed up 193 yards and averaged 5.4 yards per carry.  Rookie Javon Ringer took advantage of a LenDale White injury to run for 47 yards on 7 carries and one begins to wonder if White’s days are numbered in Tennessee with his impending free agency and lack of production this season.

I previously thought that Titans’ coach Jeff Fisher’s job was safe but after Sunday’s debacle and Bud Adams making references to possibly making a change if things do not get better soon one wonders how safe Fisher really is.  In watching the game on Sunday it just looks as though he has lost this team and it is giving up on him.  Whether Adams is willing to give Fisher another shot at rebuilding the roster remains to be seen.  One thing is for sure and that is Chuck Cecil’s days as the defensive coordinator are likely numbered if not over coming out of the bye week.

One thing the Patriots have to be wary of after that game is whether or not their run defense is going to hold up for them to make a deep playoff run in January.  They have allowed over 100 yards rushing in four out of six games this season.

News, Notes, and Observations

Wes Welker’s 150 receiving yards Sunday mark a career high.

The Patriots are 2-0 when Brady throws for 300 or more yards this season and only 2-2 when he does not.

New England RB Laurence Maroney ran for 123 yards on 16 carries marking the first time he hit the 100 yard mark since week 16 of the 2007 season.

Tennessee back Chris Johnson hit the 100 yard mark for the second time this season and is averaging 6.3 yards per carry.

For the second time in three weeks the Saints were faced with playing an unbeaten squad and for the second time this year they came out on top thrashing the Giants by the tune of 48 to 27.   New Orleans got out to an early 14 point lead and never looked back.

The Giants came into this game sporting one of the top ranked defenses in the league while the Saints own the most high powered offense.  What we learned as a result of this game was the Giants defense held its lofty position due to playing the dregs of the league the first five weeks and not because it is actually that good.  Drew Brees showed what a good quarterback can do against a weakened Giants pass defense completing 23 of 30 passes for 369 yards and 4 scores.

Seven different Saints players ended up scoring touchdowns with Brees hitting Lance Moore, Jeremy Shockey, Robert Meachem, and Marques Colston for scoring strikes while Heath Evans, Pierre Thomas, and Reggie Bush all hit pay dirt via the ground.

New Orleans steamed-rolled the Giants defense for 493 yards with wide receiver Marques Colston leading the onslaught with 8 catches for 166 yards.

On the other side of the field Eli Manning, whom Tom Coughlin, reported was 90% struggled to find any kind of rhythm all day completing just 14 of 31 passes before being replaced by David Carr late in the game.

Defensively, the Giants have some real soul searching to do after this game as they have the pass-happy Arizona Cardinals next up on the schedule while the Saints travel to Miami to take on the suddenly resurgent Dolphins.

News, Notes, and Observations

Brees hit the 300 yard mark for the first time in three games and the third time overall this season.  He has also thrown three or more touchdown passes in three games this season.

Marques Colston eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the first time this season and the 160-yard mark for the third time in his career.

Manning has failed to hit the 200 yard mark in 3 of his last four outings.

Rookie wide out Hakeem Nicks continues to impress for the Giants finding the end zone for the third straight week while posting career highs with 5 catches and 114 yards.

The Ravens have gone from arguably being the best the AFC had to offer to struggling to keep their head above water in the matter of three weeks.  After opening the season with victories against the Chiefs, Chargers, and Browns the Ravens were being hyped as a potential threat to the Pittsburgh Steelers crown.  Since then they have lost three straight by a combined total of 11 points.

What is baffling is it is tough to point to one specific reason as to why the Ravens are suddenly struggling to win games.  They outgained the Patriots yet somehow managed to lose the game 27-21 because they struggled to put the ball in the end zone.  The offense could never get it going and was held to just 257 yards in a 17-14 loss to the Bengals.  Yesterday the defense just had no answer for Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre, while the offense managed to put 31 points on the board.

Theoretically it would be an easy problem to fix if the Ravens were losing for one or two specific reasons but it seems to be a different one each week.  Ultimately, one thing that seems to be coming to light is this Ravens’ defense is in decline and not nearly as dominant as it was two or three years ago.  It appears as though the free agent defections over the past few years are finally catching up with them and teams are now figuring out they can run the ball on the Ravens.

Conversely the Vikings are living up to the preseason hype sprinting out to a 6-0 record with Brett Favre at the helm.  Despite the unbeaten record one still wonders if the Vikings are for real.  Consider that their road games have consisted of trips to Clevleand, Detroit, and St. Louis who have exactly two wins between the three of them.  Also, consider the best teams they have faced this season are the Forty Niners, Packers, and Ravens who are now a combined 9-7.

The Vikings have yet to face a team that can really challenge them.  One thing that seems readily apparent is this defense does not seem to be all that it is cracked up to be.  The Cleveland Browns averaged 4.5 yards per rush against the Vikings and scored 13 points on them.  The Bengals are the only other team to allow more than 10 points to the Browns this year.  The only other team to allow the Forty Niners to score more than 24 points this season is the St. Louis Rams.  Consider that the only other teams to allow the Ravens to score 31 points this season are the Browns, Chiefs, and Chargers three of the lesser defenses in the league this year.

The Vikings are 6-0 but are they doing this with smoke and mirrors or are they going to be a legit contender that makes a serious post season run?  Or, are they going to be one-and-done again this season?

News, Notes, and Observations

Ravens QB Joe Flacco threw for a career high of 385 yards and a pair of scores.  On the year Flacco has 3 300-yard games and four multi-TD pass games.

Adrian Peterson ran for 143 yards hitting the 100-yard mark for the first time since week one.  He failed to score a touchdown for just the second time this season.

Brett Favre has completed at least 72% of his pass attempts in each of the Vikings last three games.

Ray Rice had 194 yards of offense including 77 rushing on 10 carries and 117 on 10 catches for the Ravens.  He also had the first two touchdown game of his career against the Vikings.

Sidney Rice posted career highs of six catches and 176 yards.

Visanthe Shiancoe scored a pair of touchdowns and has found the end zone in each of the last three games for Minnesota.