Adrian Peterson goes postal, the Eagles cash it in, Peyton let's the Pats off the hook, the Lions torch the best passing defense in football. That and more in this week's Tuesday Morning Crackback.New England Patriots 24,
This was a great game. The entire game watching the Patriots offense, you could sense their frustration, yet at the same time you knew at some point they were going to explode. The Colts knew this also and after coming away from two early red zone drives with only 3 points, that sixth sense that most hardcore football fans have, had to be going haywire. Especially if you want the entire Pats roster to become lepers and lose all of their games for the next 20 years like I do.
Up 20-10, the Colts found a way to give this one back. However, we did learn from this game one crucial lesson. After Brady was sacked and threw two picks, the first thought that came to my mind was a crucial lesson learned from my childhood movie obsession; “You see. He’s not a machine. He’s a man!” (Special prize to the person who can tell me where that came from.)
On top of that, the Colts defense played valiantly until the 4th quarter. They provided the rest of the league with the formula to beat the Pats, ball control offense, solid pass rush. The problem is 99% of NFL teams lack the ingredients to recreate this formula.
The next time these teams meet it may be in the AFC championship game. This may be the last opportunity for goodness to prevail in the face of evil.
Of course no big Eagles game passes without a live blog. There is also an evil version of the live blog written by Jermaine Gibson.
This game was probably the biggest surprise of the week.
Imagine what Dre Bly has to be thinking. Given, he was traded and did not sign as a free agent with the Broncos, but he had to think when the trade was made that he’d be in a much better situation. Instead we get priceless quotes from him like, “we’re not a very good football team right now.” You don’t say?
Another surprising game as Adrian Peterson broke the NFL Record for rushing yards in a game with 296 yards. I just want the camera man to focus in on Adrian Peterson’s face during his next long run. It is not possible for a man to run that hard and that fast unless he is either 1) crying and screaming out loud or 2) running from a dog. I’m convinced that if we get a peak at AD during one of those runs, there are tears streaming down both cheeks. With his childhood experiences, who knows what he is running from and what is going through his mind as defenders are eating his dust.
Peterson has been receiving a lot of praise for his spectacular rookie season up to this point. I still think he needs to prove his durability over the long haul before we formally crown him. I will say however that he probably changes direction from east/west to north/south faster than any running back I’ve ever seen. Once he finds that hole, he shoots through like a bullet and by the time the defense reacts, their reading his name on the back of his jersey.
Even LT had to find this guy at the end of the game to shake his hand.
Drew Brees turned in his second huge performance in a row with 445 yards and 3 TDs, while the Jags proved once again that they struggle playing from behind. Colston was the primary beneficiary of Drew Brees’ reinvigoration and Reggie Bush continues to be a great third down back.
If you’re a favorite and you’re playing the Bills, you better have your stuff together. The Bills will not only push you to the brink, but if you’re not careful you’ll leave with your tail between your legs.
Without Chad Johnson the Bengals’ offense was anemic, but the real problem continues to be the Bengals defense or lack thereof. They gave up 153 rushing yards to Marshawn Lynch and 165 receiving yards to Lee Evans. If you’re game planning against the Bills the two names at the top of your list should be Lee Evans and Marshawn Lynch. Either the Bengals ran out of chalk for the big board or their defensive game plan was, “we’ll let Evans and Lynch get theirs but we’re not going to let anyone else beat us.”
Unfortunately these two are good enough to beat the Bengals by themselves.
Yes Vince Young wins football games. I tried to avoid this comparison for as long as possible, but you can’t pass for 110 yards and 2 picks and hand the ball off this many times and avoid it. Vince Young is turning into Michael Vick.
He hasn’t passed for more than 200 yards in a game this season. He’s got 3 TDs through 7 games and 8 INTs. His running ability keeps defenses on the alert and he’s backed by a solid defense and running game. Worst of all, when he’s playing as bad as he’s playing right now, it is absolutely unbearable to watch his team play the kings of boredom the Carolina Panthers.
I know he’s a leader. I have been one of the biggest Vince Young supporters since day one. The Titans win games with him in the lineup. But in the last 4 games, Vince Young has just over 400 yards passing 0 TDs and 6 INTs. On top of that he has only one rushing TD and just over 70 yards rushing. So you have to ask are the Titans winning because of him or in spite of him at this point?
The 49ers offense is woefully inept. It is so bad, you really can’t make a fair evaluation of the defense based on how long they stay on the field. Frank Gore missed this game and Alex Smith continued his up and down play going 17/38 for 149 yards and 3 INTs. Smith was “outplayed” by Joey Harrington who turned in a better than average performance by his standards going 14/25 for 138 yards 0 TDs and 1 INT. (When that is better than average by your standards, there is a problem)
Once a proud franchise, the 49ers are struggling to put the puzzle pieces together again to be competitive. If this is the track that all once successful franchises must follow, then I can’t wait for the Patriots to return to this phase.
I’m still not convinced the Packers are as good as their record indicates, but they keep winning. Their defense is tough and Favre is having a terrific season.
The real achievement from this game is that the Chiefs are .500 halfway through the season. After watching Hard Knocks, I don’t think there was a person alive who thought they’d win 6 games this year.
Kudos to Herm Edwards for holding this stinker together.
You really can’t talk about this game without talking about Clinton Portis. The Skins clawed back from a 14 point deficit, largely due to Portis’ 36 carries for 196 yards. The Redskins’ passing game still operates with the efficiency of a used car and I’m having trouble determining whether to blame Gibbs or Campbell for its futility.
Either way, it’s a good win for the Skins considering how bleak the forecast was for a while.
I don’t know why, but I am really disappointed in the Cardinals. Every year is hyped up to be their breakthrough year and every year, they fall into the same rut. There is absolutely not reason they should ever be held to 10 points in a game with their talent on offense.
The problem unfortunately still lies with the Quarterback situation. Even after drafting Leinart, this is still a problem area. Anytime your starting QB is splitting time with the Kurt Warner, you’re basically acknowledging he’s not the answer. Now that Leinart is hurt, you’ve got Warner playing full-time and how does he return the favor?
10/30 172 yards, 2 INTs.
Yes at times their offensive line couldn’t block my former pee wee football team’s D Line.
Fitzgerald had one of the funniest plays of the season on a breakaway run which should have been a touchdown. Fitzgerald apparently was the only player running on a slanted football field and ran out of bounds while running down the sideline. Could Fitz use an alignment or maybe the field crew was paid off by the Bucs to paint crooked sidelines.
No one thought
I don’t know what Jamal Lewis deserves but he deserves something for the work he put in this weekend. 20 carries for 37 yards means you ran a lot and got the heck knocked out of you by big meat eating defensive linemen the entire game. He’s probably laying somewhere with 10 ice bags and some Icey Hot pads as we speak. He did however, score 4 TDs, so whatever he’s doing, he’s doing it with a smile on his face.
Sage Rosenfels, the two time Hot Potato award winner, led the Texans to this victory over a Raiders team that just can’t get right. Ron Dayne punished a Raiders defense that was deemed to be the strength of the team this year for 122 yards in a throwback Badger-like performance.
And why aren’t the Raiders playing Jamarcus Russell? He can’t be learning anything but bad habits sitting behind Culpepper and McCown holding a clipboard on the sideline. Do you really want role models like McCown and Culpepper teaching him how to fumble snaps and throw into triple coverage? Play the guy as its not like throwing him to the wolves next year is going to put him in a better situation after learning from bums like these guys.
Both of the Ravens starting CBs sat this game out and it showed as Big Ben decided to tackle some personal passing records. He threw for a career high 5 TDs in only 16 attempts and threatened to add a sixth.
Steve McNair was unable to move the Ravens offense consistently. (What a surprise) I know this has probably been said many times, but Brian Billick has been given almost a decade use his brilliant offensive mind to develop an offense for his Ravens teams with Ray Lewis spearheading the defense. He comes up with an innovative gameplan year in and year out. Run on 1st down. Run on 2nd down. Pass on third down. Punt. Mike Martz should be jealous.