All I can say is, you have got to be kidding me!?!?! This was a fun week to watch these games, but the outcomes were terrible for my picks. Let's see what happened.
Chicago @ Atlanta - Wow! Matt Ryan looked like a seasoned vet. Yes, it was a home game, but the Bears defense was supposed to shock and awe the rookie. Ryan made every throw conceivable and helped put his team in position to win the game with 1 second left on the clock. There is life in Atlanta after Mike Vick. The owner may need to understand what the right
football calls are, but other than that, this was a good week to be a Falcon. Inquisitive Mind 0-1 for the week.
Baltimore @ Indianapolis - It's about time. The Colts took it to the Ravens and put up some big numbers. This is the best that I have seen Manning play this season and I look for more of this. He's finally knocked the rust off of his game, despite having
two knee operations this off season. Inquisitive Mind 1-1 for the week.
Detroit @ Minnesota - This game was a lot closer than I thought it would be. AP got his 100+ yards, but the Detroit defense was able to stifle the Vikings for most of the day. I don't know what to say about Detroit except that they let this one get away. They went in to Minny and should have come out with a win, but that's not how the cookie crumbled. Inquisitive Mind 2-1 for the week.
Oakland @ New Orleans - Drew Brees continued his wonderful season by going over the 300 yard mark yet again. The Raiders seemed outmatched from the beginning and this one got away from them early. I thought the Saints could have put up another 14 points. Inquisitive Mind 3-1 for the week.
Cincinnati @ New York Jets - The Jets won their statement game. They were coming off the bye and had to win against a dangerous (not so much with Carson Palmer holding a clip board) Bengals team. The Jets have put themselves in position to make some noise in the AFC. Thomas Jones had a monster game with 3 TDs. If they keep this up, everyone will forget that the Jets mortgaged their future to get Brett Favre. Inquisitive Mind 4-1 for the week.
Carolina @ Tampa Bay - I said that points would be at a premium in this game, but didn't realize that the Bucs would be paying for premium. The Bucs blasted the Panthers and it all came down to defense. The Bucs defense has 3 picks, a blocked kick, and a TD. That made things much easier for Jeff Garcia and the Bucs offense to put up 27 points. Inquisitive Mind 4-2 for the week.
St. Louis @ Washington - Just as we thought things were getting better in DC, the Rams come in and win against the Redskins.
I said that this should have been a game where the Skins dominate from the beginning or they're in trouble. The Rams played their best game of the season and snuck a win out. This should bring all of the doubters back to DC. Inquisitive Mind 4-3 for the week.
Miami @ Houston - Finally, thanks to Matt Schaub, I picked against the Dolphins and won. Ronnie Brown should definitely get some MVP votes this year for him single handily keeping the Dolphins relevant. Andre Johnson made spectacular catch after catch to help the Texans earn this win. Inquisitive Mind 5-3 for the week.
Jacksonville @ Denver -
I said that David Garrard had to lead this team to victory and he did. Yes, he did get some help from Maurice Jones-Drew (125 yards rushing), but Garrard was the reason they beat Denver. He made all of the right decisions and their defense continued to play strong. Denver is slowly going in the wrong direction and they need to turn it around quick before all of their hopes are shot for the season. Inquisitive Mind 6-3 for the week.
Dallas @ Arizona - This had to be the stunner of the week. Not only do the Cowboys lose, but they lose Romo for 4 weeks, Felix Jones with a partially torn hammy for an undisclosed time frame, and punter Mat McBriar for the year after fracturing his right foot. The Cowboys played well the first 3 games of the season and had many thinking Superbowl, but now a dark cloud is looming over Dallas with a tough road to hoe. Brad Johnson is now the starter and he better hope that offensive line can protect him better than they did Romo. Inquisitive Mind 6-4 for the week.
Philadelphia @ San Francisco - Donovan McNabb looked great again while throwing for 280 yards. The 49ers looked over matched by the Philly defense and this game became a blow out because of turnovers. Just when I count out the Eagles, they play like this. Inquisitive Mind 7-4 for the week.
Green Bay @ Seattle - Good all around team effort on the side of the Packers. Aaron Rodgers played well (208 yards and 2 TDs), Ryan Grant played well (although 33 carries for 90 yards won't help his health), and the Green Bay defense shut down a hampered Seahawks team.
Who picked Seattle to go to the Superbowl? Inquisitive Mind 8-4 for the week.
New England @ San Diego - Revenge is a dished best served cold. The Chargers finally beat the Patriots (although minus Tom Brady, how good could this feel) in a dominating performance by the Chargers team . Phillip Rivers led the Chargers with 306 yards passing and 3 TDs. The defense mad life tough for Matt Cassell. Who thought Matt Cassell was the answer for the Pats? Inquisitive Mind 9-4 for the week.
New York Giants @ Cleveland - Talk about upsets. I thought Dallas losing was bad, but the Browns manhandled the Giants. They controlled the trenches and allowed Derek Anderson to enjoy a relatively pain free evening. Anderson finally got his game back and threw for 310 yards and 2 TDs. The Browns defense came up big by getting 3 pics of Eli Manning, and one of those being the back breaker (returned for a TD). Just one question: Why didn't Brandon Jacobs get the ball more than 14 times? He was the one player that seemed to hurt the Browns. Derrick Ward got a 100+ yards, but Jacobs being on the field changed the defensive calls for the Browns. Inquisitive Mind 9-5 for the week.
Dallas Cowboys - It seems as though Pacman (isn't everyone back to calling him Pacman now since he effed up) Jones has been admitted into a Dallas area rehab center. I mentioned in a earlier post that Pacman on his own was a big mistake and then he went and had to get into it with his babysitter/personal security. As a part of the whole Pacman deal, word out of Dallas is that the officer that showed up to the hotel when the police were called, was very lenient with Pacman and not even putting his name in the report. It seems as though the officer arrived at the hotel prior to Pacman even getting there. If that doesn't sound strange enough, the report is without a lot of facts. So, the powers that be at the police department are investigating this incident from their side of the fence to find out what really happened. Somewhere Jerry Jones is on the phone with Dallas police trying to 'work this out'.
Tony Romo has been told by Da Man, Brett Favre, that he should suck it up and play this week. I can imagine Favre telling him, it's just a broken pinkie. You can't let that stop you. I'm an iron man, be like Brett. Romo practiced yesterday on the sidelines throwing passes and claimed he was ready to play.
Pittsburgh Steelers - Willie Parker has aggravated his tweaked left knee during practice on Monday by stepping in a hole on the practice field. How does this happen? Is there a head grounds man in Pittsburgh without a job today?
Philadelphia Eagles - Well it seems someone in the Eagles organization is reading my blog. The Eagles not only inquired about the services of Roy Williams before the Cowboys dumped a boatload of money in his pockets, but they also inquired about 'not as good as his father' Kellen Winslow from Cleveland. The Browns said 'no' and then went out and destroyed the New York Football Giants on Monday night. Winslow's backup, Eric Hieden was instrumental to the run game (something Winslow isn't) and caught several tough passes over the middle. Is it too late to get Andy Reid back on the phone about this deal?
Buffalo Bills - Indianapolis Colts - Buffalo Bills - The Bills and the Colts agreed to a deal that would send John McCargo to Indy for a draft pick (4th round pick). All was well until McCargo failed the physical, due to an injured back, nullifying this deal. What happens next is the big question since McCargo's defensive line coach has openly questioned McCargo's desire to play. That's a tough spot to be in.
Oakland Raiders (hopefully) - Tim Brown has pushed himself into the limelight as a possible candidate to assist the Raiders organization with getting back on top. Brown feels that he can help make some decisions on personnel, not a GM though, but more of a consultant. Normally I would disagree, but I like Tim Brown. Liked him as a player, but the best part is that he knows the game and can provide the leadership that the Raiders need. Maybe he can even convince the old man, Al Davis, to go and sit around a pool for a while.
Kansas City Chiefs - Is he or isn't he? The word out of KC is that Larry Johnson is going to be suspended (by the team) for their game this weekend. Supposedly the Chiefs tried to trade Johnson before Tuesday and he didn't react well when he found out about it. He did practice today and Herm Edwards will address the situation later today. This will be interesting. (JUST IN - LJ is out this weekend, he's been deactivated.)
Minnesota Vikings - Thomas Tapeh has been released from the Vikings. It seems as though Tapeh didn't tell the Vikings about a knee surgery (weeks before he signed) prior to signing with them this year. Tapeh had signed a multi-year deal with $1.2M guaranteed. Don't know why the Vikings are pissed, didn't he pass the physical? There's got to be more to this.
New York Jets - Who didn't expect this one? Brett Favre is on his on again, off again deal with retirement. Brett, it's only week 7 baby, you gotta suck it up (isn't that what he told Romo?). Hopefully this doesn't get turned into a full blown mess like it was in Green Bay. Some people (the real Cheeseheads that turned on Brett) are probably hoping that it does.
