Edwards Struggles Continue
I've written in previous blogs about how overrated I think Trent Edwards is. He's been killing the Bills with turnovers the past few weeks. Tonight he had three ints in the first quarter! First pick was tipped at the line of scrimmage, but the other two were horrible passes.
They showed a clip of Edwards getting pounded to the turf in week 5 vs the Cardinals, and Tony Kornheiser asked Ron Jaworski if he thought perhaps Edwards was still suffering from a concussion. Jaws is a great colour commentator, but he is not a doctor, so of course he said no. I am surprised however that Jaws did not allude to the possibility that Edwards could be a little gun shy after taking the hit and may not be stepping up in the pocket and stepping into his throws like he was in the first few weeks. Instead he said that Edwards is just going thru the normal up and downs that QB's go through in their career. Sounded like an easy way out to me. Edwards is really struggling and he's killing the Bill's playoff chances. The problem is the backup QB is J.P Losman, so it's Edwards or bust for the Bills.
GO BROWNS
If you're a fan of any other team in the AFC east, the Colts, or the Ravens, you need to cheer hard for the Browns. One more loss for Buffalo, and barring a miracle run, they would be finished. One less team in that crazy wildcard chase is better for everybody...except the Bills of course.
Sens/Rangers
I've been saying on my radio shows that I find the Boston Bruins to be the most boring team to watch in the NHL. I've now seen enough of the Ottawa Senators to declare the Sens as the least exciting team to watch in the NHL. They have exciting players. They just do not play with alot of energy and they take too many nights off. Worse, they seem to drag down their opposing team into listless play as well. Painful to watch.
Browns up 13-0! Bills are lucky to only be down by 13, they have played awful so far.
Wide Right 2008
Remember 20 years ago when the Bills season ended in the Super Bowl on a missed field goal by Scott Norwood that sailed wide right. Well, 20 years later the Bills super bowl aspirations come to an end in week 11 with another missed field goal....ironically wide right.
The Bills had a chance to keep their slim playoff hopes alive after the offence drove to the 30 yard line setting up Rian Lindell with an opportunity to be the hero, but his 47 yard attempt missed and the Bills lost 29-27. The Bills move to 5-5, losers of 4 straight, and will have to pull off a minor miracle to pass all three teams ahead of them in the AFC East, let alone get back in the wildcard race. They`ll have to win at least 5 of thier last 6 just to have a chance, and 1 more loss to an AFC east team would definitely be the final nail in the coffin.
The Browns got a 56 yard boot by Phil Dawson to give them their 4th victory of the year. The Browns still have faint playoff hopes, but would need to win the remainder of their games and alot of help from other teams.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Football Frenzy, Nov.16
Today is one of those perfect sundays that you only get a few times a year. The weather outside is nasty, and there is a full day of big football games on TV. Laval/Calgary, the Huskies and Western, Giants/Ravens, Steelers/ Chargers, a nightcap featuring Dallas/Washington. Crazy. There's even a Raptors game at 2:00!
I'm settling in to watch Laval and Calgary. I was going to write about how Calgary did not have a chance in this game but Laval beat me to the punch. Laval took the opening kickoff and 3 plays later scored a touchdown.
As always, Laval is scary good. They are a permanent fixure atop the rankings each year and they dominate the best conference in the country. It's enough that they are talented and well coached, but they also have 16000 fans cheering them on at the stadium.
It's fun to see Blake Nill on the sidelines of a big game again, but his youthful team is in way over thier heads. I'll be shocked if Calgary stays within 10 points.
Sidenote, if you ever get a chance to see a game at Laval, take it. It's a blast. The atmosphere is awesome. Thousands of red shirted fans walking around with Budweiser 4 packs in their hands. It's a great experience. Laval just made it 14-0 five minutes into the first quarter. Wow.
When I spoke with Huskies Head Coach Steve Summarah on Operation Wakeup last week, I asked him if the Atlantic and Quebec conferences have talked about making sure that there is a SMU/Laval game every year. It's such a great rivalry, and it's good for both conferences.
In the States, each conference has a revolving schedule fortmat, but they make sure that big rivals plays each other every year, i.e. Ohio State vs Michigan in the Big 10. If the Atlantic/Quebec interlock is going to survive, they can't have Laval and SMU go a couple of years without playing each other. It's not alot of fun for anyone watching Laval beat SMU's weak sisters of the AUS by 50 points in Quebec City every year. Laval is literally scoring a touchdown with every paragraph I write. 21-0 halfway thru first quarter!
On another note, CFL/CIS officials, and TSN/The Score executives really dopped the ball on their scheduling this weekend. The CFL had thier games on Saturday, which was smart. However, the CIS games on Sunday, vs. the NFL! Not smart.
If all parties would have come together and created a full day of canadian football, ideally on Saturday, they would have had something very special. All of the games should have been played yesterday, and here's what the schedule could have looked like.
1:00- Calgary vs Laval
4:00-SMU vs Western
7:00- Edmonton vs Montreal
10:00-BC vs Calgary
That would have been a fun day for canadian football fans.
Huskies/Western
17-12 for Western at this point. The Huskies are getting screwed on goal line plays. Western has scored two touchdowns on controversial calls. The first it appeared that the Western player fumbled just before crossing the goal line. On the seond, it looked like the Mustang runner was stopped shy or just at the goal line. It appears the refs have a quick trigger on the touchdown call. Give Western credit. they are moving the ball and making plays. It's a great game so far. If you're watching the Steelers and Chargers, stop. Watch the Huskies game.
Fishing for the Playoffs
The Dolphins improbable march to the playoffs continued today with an ugly win at home vs the horrible Raiders.
They needed a last second field goal to win 17-15. Sometimes a win is a win. Miami now has 6 of them and are set up nicely for a huge divisional game at home vs the Patriots.Miami blew out New England in week 3 when they unveiled their daunted "Wildcat" offence which has since become the darling of the league.
The Pats are 4-3 since that defeat while the fish have gone 5 and 2. Miami has benefitted from the very easy schedule as a result of going 1-15 last year.
The game vs the Patriots will be huge for both teams as the hunt for a wildcard spot is really heating up with the Colts getting back to their old selves.
The Dolphins have the easiest schedule of all playoff contending teams, includingg a home game vs San Fran, and road games vs. KC and St.Louis. Those 3 teams have a combined record of 6 and 24.
Colts are Back in the Mix
Three weeks ago the Colts were 3-4 and two of their wins were on miracle comebacks vs the Vikings and Texans. They beat the Patriots to get their confidence back. Beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh to get their swagger back. Today they took care of business at home vs the Texans, and now they are back in the AFC playoff chase.
The Colts survived a rash of devestating injuries and a brutal 9 game stretch of tough opponents and are now healthy, 6-4, and have several easy games ahead. They have games vs Cincinatti, Cleveland, and Detroit. Assuming they can sweep those three teams, they'll only need to win one of their remaining games vs Jacksonville, San Diego, and undefeated Tennessee. The Titans game could be especially intriging as it is the last game of the year. The Titans may still be in the hunt for an undefeated season and the Colts may need the win to get a Wildcard spot.
Speaking of Tennessee, they are now 10-0. The remainder of their schedule is as follows;
vs NYJ
at Detroit
vs Cleveland
at Houston
vs Pittsburgh
at Indianapolis
If they can beat the Jets, who are starting to look very tough, they should have clear sailing to 14-0. Then in tough vs Pittsburgh and at the Colts. Should get interesting.
Big D is Back!
Think Tony Romo isn't important to the Cowboys. They were on the verge of self destruction while Romo was injured. Now their on the cusp of beating the Skins in Washington. The next two weeks they play San Fran and Seattle, so they should be 8-4 heading into a brutal stretch run where they play the Giants, Steelers, Ravens, and Eagles! Yikes!
I'm settling in to watch Laval and Calgary. I was going to write about how Calgary did not have a chance in this game but Laval beat me to the punch. Laval took the opening kickoff and 3 plays later scored a touchdown.
As always, Laval is scary good. They are a permanent fixure atop the rankings each year and they dominate the best conference in the country. It's enough that they are talented and well coached, but they also have 16000 fans cheering them on at the stadium.
It's fun to see Blake Nill on the sidelines of a big game again, but his youthful team is in way over thier heads. I'll be shocked if Calgary stays within 10 points.
Sidenote, if you ever get a chance to see a game at Laval, take it. It's a blast. The atmosphere is awesome. Thousands of red shirted fans walking around with Budweiser 4 packs in their hands. It's a great experience. Laval just made it 14-0 five minutes into the first quarter. Wow.
When I spoke with Huskies Head Coach Steve Summarah on Operation Wakeup last week, I asked him if the Atlantic and Quebec conferences have talked about making sure that there is a SMU/Laval game every year. It's such a great rivalry, and it's good for both conferences.
In the States, each conference has a revolving schedule fortmat, but they make sure that big rivals plays each other every year, i.e. Ohio State vs Michigan in the Big 10. If the Atlantic/Quebec interlock is going to survive, they can't have Laval and SMU go a couple of years without playing each other. It's not alot of fun for anyone watching Laval beat SMU's weak sisters of the AUS by 50 points in Quebec City every year. Laval is literally scoring a touchdown with every paragraph I write. 21-0 halfway thru first quarter!
On another note, CFL/CIS officials, and TSN/The Score executives really dopped the ball on their scheduling this weekend. The CFL had thier games on Saturday, which was smart. However, the CIS games on Sunday, vs. the NFL! Not smart.
If all parties would have come together and created a full day of canadian football, ideally on Saturday, they would have had something very special. All of the games should have been played yesterday, and here's what the schedule could have looked like.
1:00- Calgary vs Laval
4:00-SMU vs Western
7:00- Edmonton vs Montreal
10:00-BC vs Calgary
That would have been a fun day for canadian football fans.
Huskies/Western
17-12 for Western at this point. The Huskies are getting screwed on goal line plays. Western has scored two touchdowns on controversial calls. The first it appeared that the Western player fumbled just before crossing the goal line. On the seond, it looked like the Mustang runner was stopped shy or just at the goal line. It appears the refs have a quick trigger on the touchdown call. Give Western credit. they are moving the ball and making plays. It's a great game so far. If you're watching the Steelers and Chargers, stop. Watch the Huskies game.
Fishing for the Playoffs
The Dolphins improbable march to the playoffs continued today with an ugly win at home vs the horrible Raiders.
They needed a last second field goal to win 17-15. Sometimes a win is a win. Miami now has 6 of them and are set up nicely for a huge divisional game at home vs the Patriots.Miami blew out New England in week 3 when they unveiled their daunted "Wildcat" offence which has since become the darling of the league.
The Pats are 4-3 since that defeat while the fish have gone 5 and 2. Miami has benefitted from the very easy schedule as a result of going 1-15 last year.
The game vs the Patriots will be huge for both teams as the hunt for a wildcard spot is really heating up with the Colts getting back to their old selves.
The Dolphins have the easiest schedule of all playoff contending teams, includingg a home game vs San Fran, and road games vs. KC and St.Louis. Those 3 teams have a combined record of 6 and 24.
Colts are Back in the Mix
Three weeks ago the Colts were 3-4 and two of their wins were on miracle comebacks vs the Vikings and Texans. They beat the Patriots to get their confidence back. Beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh to get their swagger back. Today they took care of business at home vs the Texans, and now they are back in the AFC playoff chase.
The Colts survived a rash of devestating injuries and a brutal 9 game stretch of tough opponents and are now healthy, 6-4, and have several easy games ahead. They have games vs Cincinatti, Cleveland, and Detroit. Assuming they can sweep those three teams, they'll only need to win one of their remaining games vs Jacksonville, San Diego, and undefeated Tennessee. The Titans game could be especially intriging as it is the last game of the year. The Titans may still be in the hunt for an undefeated season and the Colts may need the win to get a Wildcard spot.
Speaking of Tennessee, they are now 10-0. The remainder of their schedule is as follows;
vs NYJ
at Detroit
vs Cleveland
at Houston
vs Pittsburgh
at Indianapolis
If they can beat the Jets, who are starting to look very tough, they should have clear sailing to 14-0. Then in tough vs Pittsburgh and at the Colts. Should get interesting.
Big D is Back!
Think Tony Romo isn't important to the Cowboys. They were on the verge of self destruction while Romo was injured. Now their on the cusp of beating the Skins in Washington. The next two weeks they play San Fran and Seattle, so they should be 8-4 heading into a brutal stretch run where they play the Giants, Steelers, Ravens, and Eagles! Yikes!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Pats/Jets...Tech/Miami....Sens
Settling in for a thursday night of sports. Virginia Tech vs Miami on the Score. Solid ACC game, although ACC games can be pretty bad. Miami is much improved from recent years but still not a solid top 25 team. Tech is down this year. Good game to watch during commercials and halftime of the Pats/Jets.
Sens and Islanders on Sportsnet. Islanders are a bad hockey team and the Sens are just painful to watch some nights. They're just going through the motions. Showed absolutely no fight vs. the Canadiens.
Feature game is obviously the Pats vs Jets. I talked about this game on my Operation Wakeup show wed. morning on CKDU. Critical game for both teams as the AFC East is so tight this year. Plus, from a wildcard perspective, you have the Dolphins, Bills, Colts, Steelers, Ravens, Chargers, and Broncos to worry about. Each game is so important especially vs divisional opponents.
Pats have so many injuries but they just keep plugging guys in. Now they've lost Audalius Thomas the great linebacker to go along with Marvin Harrison. At running back, their top 3 guys are all hurt. Now they've got a rookie, Benjarvus Green-Ellis (great name) running the ball, and last week he put up 100 yards vs Buffalo.
The biggest injury has been losing Tom Brady, but now Matt Cassell is starting to win games for the Pats. He's completing 70 % of his passes and is starting to show some running prowess, running for a touchdown vs the Bills.
I've been reading that this game is why the Jets signed Brett Favre. That this game has to be his coming out game as a Jet. I think all he has to do is not turn the ball over. The Jets have to establish the run with Thomas Jones and set up play action for Favre to complete low risk passes. However, in order for the Jets to win, Favre will probably have to make 3 or 4 big plays. The type of plays that Chad Pennington was never able to make. But if the Jets have turnovers and penalties, they'll lose, becasue the Pats won't have either.
The game has a great deal of intrigue but I would'nt expect an exciting game. With the los of Brady, the Pats are back to beating teams slowly and gradually. The score will prob. be close but there not be alot of scoring and ball control will be the theme.
Senators score! Maybe they'll be just interested enough to beat a bad NYI team.
Guess I was wrong about the footbal game. Been pretty exciting. Great catches, a kickoff return for a touchdown, 3 or 4 big plays. Pats need to get Randy Moss involved. Where is Kevin Faulk? Cassell has a great security blanket in Wes Welker. There's Faulk, a gain of 20.
Senators should just be ashamed of themselves. Losing 3-1 to a bad Islanders team. The Sens were essentially on the power play the last 10 minutes of the game and couldn't score 1 goal! The fans were booing and rightfully so, absolutely disgusting.
What a game. First off, I think the Jets have the best receieving corps in the AFC east, maybe the entire conference. Not only are they fast with good hands, they're all tough as nails. Jones and Washington are tough too. Huge confidence boosting win for the Jets, and puts them in the driving spot to win the division with home games vs Buffalo and Miami left on their schedule.
Chris Collinsworth is a great colour commentatar, i just wish he would not use the tired expression "in space" so much. That has to be the most overused phrase is football this year. "Get him the ball in space!" Enough already.
Matt Cassell is on the cusp of being a pretty good QB, but until he learns how to throw the deep ball with accuracy he won't be great. But he can really run! He reminds me of a bigger Jeff Garcia right now.
Sens and Islanders on Sportsnet. Islanders are a bad hockey team and the Sens are just painful to watch some nights. They're just going through the motions. Showed absolutely no fight vs. the Canadiens.
Feature game is obviously the Pats vs Jets. I talked about this game on my Operation Wakeup show wed. morning on CKDU. Critical game for both teams as the AFC East is so tight this year. Plus, from a wildcard perspective, you have the Dolphins, Bills, Colts, Steelers, Ravens, Chargers, and Broncos to worry about. Each game is so important especially vs divisional opponents.
Pats have so many injuries but they just keep plugging guys in. Now they've lost Audalius Thomas the great linebacker to go along with Marvin Harrison. At running back, their top 3 guys are all hurt. Now they've got a rookie, Benjarvus Green-Ellis (great name) running the ball, and last week he put up 100 yards vs Buffalo.
The biggest injury has been losing Tom Brady, but now Matt Cassell is starting to win games for the Pats. He's completing 70 % of his passes and is starting to show some running prowess, running for a touchdown vs the Bills.
I've been reading that this game is why the Jets signed Brett Favre. That this game has to be his coming out game as a Jet. I think all he has to do is not turn the ball over. The Jets have to establish the run with Thomas Jones and set up play action for Favre to complete low risk passes. However, in order for the Jets to win, Favre will probably have to make 3 or 4 big plays. The type of plays that Chad Pennington was never able to make. But if the Jets have turnovers and penalties, they'll lose, becasue the Pats won't have either.
The game has a great deal of intrigue but I would'nt expect an exciting game. With the los of Brady, the Pats are back to beating teams slowly and gradually. The score will prob. be close but there not be alot of scoring and ball control will be the theme.
Senators score! Maybe they'll be just interested enough to beat a bad NYI team.
Guess I was wrong about the footbal game. Been pretty exciting. Great catches, a kickoff return for a touchdown, 3 or 4 big plays. Pats need to get Randy Moss involved. Where is Kevin Faulk? Cassell has a great security blanket in Wes Welker. There's Faulk, a gain of 20.
Senators should just be ashamed of themselves. Losing 3-1 to a bad Islanders team. The Sens were essentially on the power play the last 10 minutes of the game and couldn't score 1 goal! The fans were booing and rightfully so, absolutely disgusting.
What a game. First off, I think the Jets have the best receieving corps in the AFC east, maybe the entire conference. Not only are they fast with good hands, they're all tough as nails. Jones and Washington are tough too. Huge confidence boosting win for the Jets, and puts them in the driving spot to win the division with home games vs Buffalo and Miami left on their schedule.
Chris Collinsworth is a great colour commentatar, i just wish he would not use the tired expression "in space" so much. That has to be the most overused phrase is football this year. "Get him the ball in space!" Enough already.
Matt Cassell is on the cusp of being a pretty good QB, but until he learns how to throw the deep ball with accuracy he won't be great. But he can really run! He reminds me of a bigger Jeff Garcia right now.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Notes from NFL Sunday, Nov. 9.
It's sunday afternoon and there are 2 games available for those of us in the Halifax area who do not have a superfan NFL package or some type of digital cable that give 1000 channels. Currently, the Jets are blowing out the Rams 40-3, and the Bills and Patriots are matched up in a 13-3 barnburner. Some observations:
1) Why does everybody think Trent Edwards is a great QB. The analysts tell us how great he is and how he's an up and coming star. Everytime I watch him he is horrible. He's already thrown 2 interceptions today. Dick Jarron has to get him under control.
2) At least there is a Raptors game on to watch during commercials. Chris Bosh has really picked it up on defence. Being on that Olympic team with Coach K and Kobe obviously made an impression on him.
3) How big is that Colts/Steelers game today. Colts absolutely have to win to stay in wild card contention. Tough chore against the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
4) I can't remember an NFL season where there were critical games being played in early November. In the AFC, the entire East division, Ravens, Broncos, Chargers, Colts, Browns, and Jaguars are all battling for wildcard spots. In The NFC, the entire east division, Bears, Vikings, Packers, Buccaneers, Falcons, Saints, and Panthers are all battling. The NFL tries to have parity, they got it this year.
5) On my radio show on CKDU (Wednesdays at 8 am, 88.1, ckdu.ca) I talked about how the Patriots will still win 11-12 games this season without Tom Brady. They''ll simply do it the way they used too...ugly. Today's game vs Buffalo is a prime example.
6) Wonder why the Falcons are 6-3. It's not just Matt Ryan. The offensive line and Michael Turner are accounting for the league's best running attack. Today in a pivotal game with the Saints, Matt Ryan was not sacked once. The defence is pretty good too.
7) It was nearly deja vu all over again for the Chargers. Leading 20-13 with the Chiefs driving late, the Chargers fell victim to a horrible pass interference call giving KC the ball 0n the 1 yard line. The Chiefs got the touchdown, and then, just like the Broncos in week 2 vs San Diego, decided to go for 2 and the win. This time the Chargers defence stood pat and they won a critical game to keep them in the playoff chase. Pretty gutsy call by Herman Edwards. The only problem is that he's no Mike Shanahan. The Chargers are now 4-5 and need only to overtake the defenceless Denver Broncos at 5-4 to win the AFC West.
8) After the Bills/Pats game mecifully came to an end, the Bills had found themselves the losers of three straight games...versus divisional opponents none the less. Dolphins, Jets, Patriots in three weeks. Not good. The Bills still have 1 game each vs AFC east teams and 4 relatively easy games vs Cleveland, KC, San Fran, and Denver. Trent Edwards has to stop turning the ball over.
9) After nine weeks did anybody think the Dolphins would have a better chance of making the playoffs than the Cowboys? At 5-4, the Fish still have the Raiders and Niners at home, and travel to KC and St.Louis.Those 4 teams have a combined record of 7 wins and 28 losses. That should give Miami 9 wins, which means each game vs the Jets, Bills, and Pats will be critical.
10) That Colts/Steelers game was awesome. The Steelers were lucky to nearly win it, I thought the Colts really outplayed them. Marvin Harrison is a shell of what he once was.
11) Settling in for the Giants/Eagles, Eli Manning just threw a horrible interception, setting the Eagles up first and goal.
1) Why does everybody think Trent Edwards is a great QB. The analysts tell us how great he is and how he's an up and coming star. Everytime I watch him he is horrible. He's already thrown 2 interceptions today. Dick Jarron has to get him under control.
2) At least there is a Raptors game on to watch during commercials. Chris Bosh has really picked it up on defence. Being on that Olympic team with Coach K and Kobe obviously made an impression on him.
3) How big is that Colts/Steelers game today. Colts absolutely have to win to stay in wild card contention. Tough chore against the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
4) I can't remember an NFL season where there were critical games being played in early November. In the AFC, the entire East division, Ravens, Broncos, Chargers, Colts, Browns, and Jaguars are all battling for wildcard spots. In The NFC, the entire east division, Bears, Vikings, Packers, Buccaneers, Falcons, Saints, and Panthers are all battling. The NFL tries to have parity, they got it this year.
5) On my radio show on CKDU (Wednesdays at 8 am, 88.1, ckdu.ca) I talked about how the Patriots will still win 11-12 games this season without Tom Brady. They''ll simply do it the way they used too...ugly. Today's game vs Buffalo is a prime example.
6) Wonder why the Falcons are 6-3. It's not just Matt Ryan. The offensive line and Michael Turner are accounting for the league's best running attack. Today in a pivotal game with the Saints, Matt Ryan was not sacked once. The defence is pretty good too.
7) It was nearly deja vu all over again for the Chargers. Leading 20-13 with the Chiefs driving late, the Chargers fell victim to a horrible pass interference call giving KC the ball 0n the 1 yard line. The Chiefs got the touchdown, and then, just like the Broncos in week 2 vs San Diego, decided to go for 2 and the win. This time the Chargers defence stood pat and they won a critical game to keep them in the playoff chase. Pretty gutsy call by Herman Edwards. The only problem is that he's no Mike Shanahan. The Chargers are now 4-5 and need only to overtake the defenceless Denver Broncos at 5-4 to win the AFC West.
8) After the Bills/Pats game mecifully came to an end, the Bills had found themselves the losers of three straight games...versus divisional opponents none the less. Dolphins, Jets, Patriots in three weeks. Not good. The Bills still have 1 game each vs AFC east teams and 4 relatively easy games vs Cleveland, KC, San Fran, and Denver. Trent Edwards has to stop turning the ball over.
9) After nine weeks did anybody think the Dolphins would have a better chance of making the playoffs than the Cowboys? At 5-4, the Fish still have the Raiders and Niners at home, and travel to KC and St.Louis.Those 4 teams have a combined record of 7 wins and 28 losses. That should give Miami 9 wins, which means each game vs the Jets, Bills, and Pats will be critical.
10) That Colts/Steelers game was awesome. The Steelers were lucky to nearly win it, I thought the Colts really outplayed them. Marvin Harrison is a shell of what he once was.
11) Settling in for the Giants/Eagles, Eli Manning just threw a horrible interception, setting the Eagles up first and goal.
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