Monday, November 11, 2013

What we saw and learned yesterday


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The Denver Broncos prevailed 28-20 in a game that boiled down to Peyton Manning vs. the Charger secondary and that worked out pretty much as one would expect.


That secondary is brutal. We're thinking Eric Weddle has attained Pro Bowl status only because he stands out as merely serviceable amongst the abjectly miserable play of his teammates on the backend of the Bolt defense.


One thing we do know about Peyton Manning watching him all these years and that is he does not like pressure in his face and the Charger defense was far too passive in the first half in not dialing up blitzes and thus exposing a secondary that cannot cover and cannot tackle.


The pass rush gained some traction in the second half but it was too little too late as the Chargers settling for field goals (one of which was missed) while the Broncos scored touchdowns in the first half proved too much for the Chargers' comeback bid to overcome in the second half.





Two teams at 6-3, one that we’re worried about and one that we are not. The Colts got crushed in St. Louis by the Rams, 38-8. Burn the game film. Throw it out. The NFL has become a match-up league and what was witnessed was a dominant Rams defensive front bullying a shaky Colt offensive line. Nothing more, nothing less. Andrew Luck remains one of the best QBs in the game and yesterday’s aberration does nothing to change that. Next.


The 6-3 Niners lost in ugly fashion to the resurgent Carolina Panthers yesterday afternoon out on the Coast. Check out some of these numbers for San Fran: Total net yards: 151. 3rd down efficiency: 2/13. Passing yards: 46. 46. Colin Kaepernick, one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the league today, was sacked six times. Despite the close score, 10-9, and taking into account the expectations for this team, this has to be one of the worst losses of the Jim Harbaugh era.


We won’t profess to know what’s going on with Kaepernick and that offense but they better get it figured out quickly, because… it is with great anticipation that we are looking forward to the Niners travelling to New Orleans to take on the red hot Saints and their greatly-improved defense under 1st-year defensive coordinator, Rob Ryan and which will be the featured afternoon game on Fox next Sunday.





Hey, Giants and Redskins fans, yes, the bad news is that you are both 3-6. The good news, of course, is that you are in the most hapless division in football where you are only one game back in the loss column from being tied for first place with the Cowboys and Eagles at 5-5.


And speaking of the Eagles…. Stat of the Week: The Eagles are 4-1 when running back LeSean McCoy gets 20 or more carries a game and obviously, 1-4 when he does not. C’mon, Coach Kelly, get Shady the rock.






There is no God:


The Ravens prevailed in OT against the Bengals, 20-17, after perfectly executing the Hail Mary at the end of regulation in yesterday’s game.









Oh, wait.

Baltimore defense, this is not the tip drill… you knock the ball down…. down…. down!

Those are the types of moments that most likely lop off years from NFL head coaches’ life expectancy.





Poor ol’ ESPN gets stuck with another turkey for Monday Night Football with Miam vs. Tampa Bay. We’re so over the Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin controversy but given there will be nothing happening on the field worth talking about, we fully expect the World Wide Leader to flog that mule for all it’s worth before, during and after tonight’s telecast.





Power rankings:


1. Seattle Seahawks

2. New Orleans Saints

3. Kansas City Chiefs

4. New England Patriots

5. Denver Broncos





Team we're putting on notice:

The Cincinnati Bengals. They’ve dropped two straight and are currently 6-4 and 1-1/2 games up in the very mediocre AFC North. They get a bye after travelling to Cleveland next week. These guys were one of our favorites to win the AFC Championship and though we aren’t jumping off the bandwagon it’s time put together a run. Recent history has told us that the Super Bowl champion is a hot team at the end of the regular season and the Bengals have a very manageable schedule over their last six games so it’s time to get things cranked up down the stretch.




That's all, gang. Thanks!











5 comments:

Maxed Out said...

The next 3 weeks find the Denver Donkeys playing a home and away against the Chefs, sandwiched around a trip to Tom Brady Stadium. Should be a very telling few weeks here in the AFC. While I'm not "giving up" on the Bungles, my money is on one of the afore-mentioned teams to take otherwise pedestrian division. I'm leaving out the Colts altogether at this point. With Wayne riding pine for the rest of the season I'm not confident in Luck's luck not running out.
As for the NFC, talk about a wide open division. Yes, the Niners look tame at best, but I'm not counting out a Harbaugh run team. All those guy know how to do is win. Well, when they're coaching, not necessarily playing. The Seadogs and Saints are machines, and the Panthers D is no freaking joke. If the Packers can find a way to split the 4 games that Rogers is going to miss they'll still be in the hunt for the North. Doesn't seem impossible, as 3 of their next 4 games are against the Giants, Vikes and Falcons. The Lions don't look as good as their record shows, in my opinion, and if the Bears keep playing Cutler, they'll keep losing. I'm not even going to address the NFC Least.

Max, out.

Maxed Out said...

Power Rankings:

1. Seadogs
2. Donkeys
3. Saints
4. Chefs
5. Panthers

K T Cat said...

You left out the best game of all - the Saints obliteration of the Cowgirls. That was scary.

Anonymous said...

any time the cowboys lose we all win.

B-Daddy said...

Agree with KT on the Saints win. However, I liked watching the 0-8 Buccaneers put on a spirited and enthusiastic performance to get their first win. It was inspiring to see a team with that bad of a record go out and give an all out effort.