- In my one win over Jason this weekend, Houston gave up ten points to Cincinnati about halfway through the 2nd quarter and busted them in the fucking mouth from that point on, giving up no points afterwards. The road rookie QB faltered while the home rookie QB shined, but it wasn't just because one was at home. T.J. Yates, the Texans' QB, had much better protection than Cincy's Andy Dalton, and he had a much more productive running game to keep the opposing defense occupied. Andre Johnson's still a tad off, but he made some big catches anyway for Houston, including a wide-open TD. If he only needed one game to shake off the rust, then Baltimore's got a big problem, because it appears that RB Arian Foster and the zone blocking scheme will be fully loaded and ready to go. Can the Texans D come up with big plays as well against the Ravens? It was the pressure and some athletic plays from the front four, especially DE J.J. Watt, that smothered the Bengals late in the 2nd quarter and all of the 2nd half. I don't expect Baltimore to let Houston push their offense around like that, but the Ravens and Texans may wind up playing a very close game, and anything can happen in those kind of contests.
- In New Orleans, both the Lions and Saints played the 1st half somewhat conservatively. You got the feeling that both teams could start launching bombs down the field anytime they wanted. And both teams still put up points even though they were clearly feeling each other out. Yes, the 2nd-quarter Drew Brees fumble should have been a Detroit TD because the refs blew the play dead prematurely, but I felt that once Detroit had to punt to end that drive, they let the opportunity slip away. They moved the ball on New Orleans rather easily up to that point, and then they have to kick it away after a midfield turnover?? Big mistake. Maybe Detroit thought that being in the lead at halftime was victory enough and that they can always go toe-to-toe and score-to-score with the Saints in the 2nd half. We saw how that shit turned out. Bombs away, long passes to wide open receivers, big plays made everywhere, and Detroit kept up for a while, but ultimately fell short. NO extended drives on 4th down because they knew they could get any yardage they needed. Detroit felt the pressure and QB Matthew Stafford threw the rock to the other team, and there went their chances of winning, and eventually, the cover. If the game was going to come down to which QB fucked up in the 2nd half, then Brees and the Saints were a lock all the way. The Lions should have stepped on their throats early so that it wouldn't have to come down to that.
- I won't say that Atlanta not rushing the ball with Michael Turner led to their ass-whupping in New Jersey, but 15 carries for 41 yards is not exactly committing to the run. And look at what happened when the Falcons had to throw--no respect for the run game, all-out pass rush, no time for Matty Ice to do anything. Not to mention, Matt Ryan has no fucking idea how to execute a QB sneak. He failed twice to gain the half-yard needed on 4th down to extend drives. I got the Giants scoring 24 right, but Atlanta fell just short of my prediction of 26. All they were missing was that 2nd digit! And whoa, where's that run game for New York been all year? We do know that the G-Men ranked dead fucking last in rushing this season, but I guess when it's playoff time, Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs get healthy and motivated. Or maybe the Falcons' front 7 is soft as Charmin. The score was 10-2 when the 2nd Ryan failed sneak occurred, so they were still in the game. But you can see the Atlanta defense get gassed and deflated. That combo of their own impotent offense and talented opponents on offense melted the Falcons D like butter on hot asphalt. So much for that next step in Atlanta's growth. Maybe if they played Tampa Bay or Jacksonville in the playoffs...
- Wow. That's all I could say after the Steelers-Broncos tilt, that and "Oh my God!" I'm guessing my Tweet after this game wasn't very original, but here it is--"Headline tomorrow: 'HOLY SHIT!!!' #tebow" The game's easy to break down, but very dense because so many things happened that switched momentum from one side to the next. Denver came out running their offense as crappy as ever in the 1st quarter, while Pittsburgh ran a conservative game plan, limiting QB Ben Roethlisberger's risk of being drilled with running and quick passing. This gave the Steelers a 6-0 lead because they weren't letting Big Ben go for big plays. Then Tim Tebow's light switch got flipped on--maybe coaches cussing him out, maybe teammates, who knows--and as the 2nd quarter began, he just started unleashing huge throws downfield, lighting up the Steelers secondary for major yardage. It's as if he just realized that this is how football is played in today's NFL. Could he and coach John Fox have been doing the rope-a-dope and lulling Pittsburgh to sleep on purpose the whole time? Nah, Tebow's not bright enough. So Denver goes from down 6-0 to up 20-6 in one quarter, resulting in Big Ben having to open himself up to big hits in order to make big plays as the Steelers have to play catch-up. They got much help from RB Isaac Redman, who had a nice game subbing for Rashard Mendenhall. And lo and behold, Pittsburgh comes all the way back to tie the game up. Denver could have put it away in regulation if RB Willis McGahee doesn't fumble during a drive that would have given the Broncos a two-possession lead, or if CB Champ Bailey doesn't drop an end-zone INT during Pitt's game-tying drive. And Pittsburgh could have stolen it on the last play of regulation if Ben gets rid of the ball on a Hail Mary, but he held on too long and took the sack. Yes, this is exactly why I said the Steelers wouldn't win the title. Ben Roethlisberger held on to the fucking football too long AGAIN. Then OT started, Tebow hits Demaryius Thomas, 80 yards, TD, and the crowd goes wild. So we wipe all Steelers thoughts from our minds because they're gone. The next question is: Can Denver pull this shit again at New England? Well, it's the league's worst defense, so yeah, why not? But who knows if Tebow's mentally up for it again? Can someone drill it into his head that this is the only way to win games against good teams, not with that read option bullshit? Can the coaching staff help him figure it out? Can New England stop a nosebleed? We'll all find out Saturday night. Can't wait!
Dre--91.1 + 4 = 95.1 pts; Jay--101.6 + 6 = 107.6 pts
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