Nothing like having the Denver Broncos and maligned QB Tim Tebow on your schedule after a couple of losses. A solid victory against a bad team heading into a bye is a sure way to restore confidence, which the Detroit Lions needed after dropping their last two games, evening out to a 5-2 record heading into Sunday. There was so much good about the Lions in Denver. Defense, offense, special teams; it all clicked. And WR Calvin Johnson is looking pretty much unstoppable.
As far as the Denver offensive situation goes, I didn't see anything this week to make me change my mind on Tim Tebow. The guy was a pretty good college quarterback, and he became something of an American hero as a result, but the brutal fact of the matter is that Tebow is not a good NFL quarterback and will not be a good NFL quarterback. His mechanics are terrible, his arm strength is...well, not strong, and his vision leaves something to be desired, based on the number of open receivers he missed. Then there are the thirteen sacks in two weeks as starter. None of this is anywhere approaching good. Josh McDaniels really did a Matt Millen-style job on Denver by trading up for this guy. Time to go back to back-up Kyle Orton – or insert third-stringer Brady Quinn – to ride out the season and look at drafting a signal caller like Landry Jones or Brandon Weeden for next year. Beating Miami is one thing; beating a really good football team is something else and on Sunday, Tebow showed he couldn't get it done. It’s sad, sure, but it’s also the truth. Good luck against the Raiders, Timmy!
The seesaw NFC East takes another lurching turn, with Philadelphia getting closer to .500 with a solid victory against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, watched by more than twenty million across America on NBC. This is definitely the craziest division in football, especially given that the hapless Redskins led it for a number of weeks and are now imploding. The Giants have the best record at the moment, but they have a horror run to the finish, including games vs. New England, Green Bay, Dallas, Philadelphia and San Francisco, among others. It’s feasible that the Eagles come back and win the division, though I wouldn't put my house on it. The way things have gone thus far, you figure there’s still some twists to come.
Good for the Pittsburgh Steelers, finally getting a win vs. New England. Tom Brady was 6-1 all-time vs. the Steelers, but on Sunday, that big bad defense that seems to go missing routinely when it’s facing Brady and the Pats, turned up and played good, solid, assignment football. They spent plenty of time up in Brady’s face, and he looked noticeably rattled. It was his worst statistical game of the season, and having a defense that was picked apart by QB Ben Roethlisberger didn't help, either. Watch out AFC, the Steelers are suddenly roaring back into contention.
I am surely not the only one confused by the New Orleans Saints. They put up 62 points last week against Indianapolis – and looked really good in the process – and, this week, against the previously winless St Louis Rams, who were without their starting QB/growing superstar Sam Bradford, they laid an absolute egg, getting battered around by backup quarterback A.J. Feeley and RB Steven Jackson, who went wild on the ground. I know the NFL is a ‘here and now’ league, but that was just crazy.
There’s trouble brewing out west for the San Diego Chargers, who looked far from their normal AFC contender selves on Monday night against Kansas City in a game that didn't exactly reach great heights. The big story, for mine, is that QB Philip Rivers, once mentioned as an elite quarterback in the NFL, is having a horrible season. Two INTs and no TDs in the OT loss to the Chiefs, and it’s really a continuation of a sub-par effort all year. With Green Bay up next, it seems that life will only get worse for the Chargers. Although, based on New Orleans this week compared to last, anything’s possible.
Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore on Sunday night. In week one, the Ravens absolutely smashed the Steelers, so the revenge angle is there. And even if it wasn't, this is one of the great rivalries in the game, played ferociously between two teams who, traditionally, don't like each other very much. The Ravens need to rediscover the offense they’ve lost, squeaking home last vs. Arizona, and Pittsburgh, buoyed by their effort against Brady and the Pats, might not give them a chance. It’s one of the games I look forward to every year, bring it on!
As far as the Denver offensive situation goes, I didn't see anything this week to make me change my mind on Tim Tebow. The guy was a pretty good college quarterback, and he became something of an American hero as a result, but the brutal fact of the matter is that Tebow is not a good NFL quarterback and will not be a good NFL quarterback. His mechanics are terrible, his arm strength is...well, not strong, and his vision leaves something to be desired, based on the number of open receivers he missed. Then there are the thirteen sacks in two weeks as starter. None of this is anywhere approaching good. Josh McDaniels really did a Matt Millen-style job on Denver by trading up for this guy. Time to go back to back-up Kyle Orton – or insert third-stringer Brady Quinn – to ride out the season and look at drafting a signal caller like Landry Jones or Brandon Weeden for next year. Beating Miami is one thing; beating a really good football team is something else and on Sunday, Tebow showed he couldn't get it done. It’s sad, sure, but it’s also the truth. Good luck against the Raiders, Timmy!
The seesaw NFC East takes another lurching turn, with Philadelphia getting closer to .500 with a solid victory against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, watched by more than twenty million across America on NBC. This is definitely the craziest division in football, especially given that the hapless Redskins led it for a number of weeks and are now imploding. The Giants have the best record at the moment, but they have a horror run to the finish, including games vs. New England, Green Bay, Dallas, Philadelphia and San Francisco, among others. It’s feasible that the Eagles come back and win the division, though I wouldn't put my house on it. The way things have gone thus far, you figure there’s still some twists to come.
Good for the Pittsburgh Steelers, finally getting a win vs. New England. Tom Brady was 6-1 all-time vs. the Steelers, but on Sunday, that big bad defense that seems to go missing routinely when it’s facing Brady and the Pats, turned up and played good, solid, assignment football. They spent plenty of time up in Brady’s face, and he looked noticeably rattled. It was his worst statistical game of the season, and having a defense that was picked apart by QB Ben Roethlisberger didn't help, either. Watch out AFC, the Steelers are suddenly roaring back into contention.
I am surely not the only one confused by the New Orleans Saints. They put up 62 points last week against Indianapolis – and looked really good in the process – and, this week, against the previously winless St Louis Rams, who were without their starting QB/growing superstar Sam Bradford, they laid an absolute egg, getting battered around by backup quarterback A.J. Feeley and RB Steven Jackson, who went wild on the ground. I know the NFL is a ‘here and now’ league, but that was just crazy.
There’s trouble brewing out west for the San Diego Chargers, who looked far from their normal AFC contender selves on Monday night against Kansas City in a game that didn't exactly reach great heights. The big story, for mine, is that QB Philip Rivers, once mentioned as an elite quarterback in the NFL, is having a horrible season. Two INTs and no TDs in the OT loss to the Chiefs, and it’s really a continuation of a sub-par effort all year. With Green Bay up next, it seems that life will only get worse for the Chargers. Although, based on New Orleans this week compared to last, anything’s possible.
Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore on Sunday night. In week one, the Ravens absolutely smashed the Steelers, so the revenge angle is there. And even if it wasn't, this is one of the great rivalries in the game, played ferociously between two teams who, traditionally, don't like each other very much. The Ravens need to rediscover the offense they’ve lost, squeaking home last vs. Arizona, and Pittsburgh, buoyed by their effort against Brady and the Pats, might not give them a chance. It’s one of the games I look forward to every year, bring it on!
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