Displaced Cleveland Fan

These are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 15 game here.

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As long as it’s still the regular season, the Colts are the NFL’s best team.

Indianapolis beat Jacksonville in a wild Thursday night game, 35-31. The win is the Colts’ 23rd straight regular season win, an NFL record. The Jaguars gave them all they had. But in the end, the Colts were just the better team.

Peyton Manning threw for 308 yards and 4 touchdowns. Dallas Clark caught two TD passes. Reggie Wayne and Austin Collie had one each.

The Colts are now 14-0 and their remaining games are against the Jets and the Bills. Both are winnable games, if Indy wants to shoot for 16-0. They may choose to sit some of their key players in view of the playoffs though. They do have the #1 seed in the conference wrapped up. 16-0 means nothing without  a Super Bowl (just ask the Patriots).

So what should they do? Play the reserves, but play to win. After all, you never know when you might need them for real. Might as well try to win with them instead of kill time with them.

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These are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 13 game here.

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OK. Before any of you Patriots fans panic, your team is still in first place. But there is certainly cause for concern.

New England lost to Miami yesterday 22-21. This despite the fact that the Patriots were up 21-10 in the third quarter and the Dolphins were without their most dangerous offensive weapon — Ronnie Brown.

The Patriots were winning 21-19 when they punted the ball to Miami with under four minutes to play. All they needed was for the defense to make one more stop. Leading the Dolphins offense was second-year, backup to Chad Pennington quarterback Chad Henne. Surely New England would make this last stop and close out the game, right?

Wrong. Henne led the Dolphins 51 yards down the field in a drive that took just over a minute. It ended with a 41-yard field goal to put Miami on top 22-21. The Patriots tried to come back, but they couldn’t do it.

So now, while the Patriots are still in first place in the AFC East, they have fallen to 7-5, are only one game ahead of the Dolphins and Jets, and fell to 1-5 on the road this year. Of their remaining four games, it’s very possible they win three or four of them and get into the playoffs. But their failure to win games like this has got to worry New England fans.
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These are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 12 game here.

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I typically post these recaps early Monday morning, even though there is still a game yet to be played on Monday night. But this week, I wanted to wait because of the game - New Orleans vs. New England. The Saints were trying to stay perfect against an always tough Patriots team.

What did we learn from last night’s game? The Saints are legit.

If there was ever any doubt, even after winning their first ten games, it was erased after their eleventh. The Saints piled up 480 yards of offense. Much of that came off the arm of Drew Brees who was 18 for 23 (78.3%) for 371 yards and 5 touchdowns.

When you have a team that plays this well against another one of the league’s top teams, especially this late in the year, you have to be thinking about their Super Bowl chances. If this team stays healthy, watch out. They’ve got to be the favorites right now.
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These are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 11 game here.

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The old man’s still got it.

After deciding late in the off-season to return to football, Brett Favre joined the Vikings. No one knew if he could perform like he used to when he was with the Packers. The Vikings may have been a better team than the Jets. But Favre was also a year older. After ten games, we have seen what Favre can still do. The 40-year old quarterback has led his new team to a 9-1 record.

It’s not just the record. Favre is putting up MVP-type numbers. He came into this week averaging over 250 passing yards per game, a 68% completion rate, 17 touchdowns, and just 3 interceptions.

Yesterday against Seattle, he recorded the best completion percentage of his career - 88% on 22 for 25 passing. He threw for 213 yards and 4 touchdowns before being taken out of the game with a big lead. The Vikings beat the Seahawks 35-9.

The Vikings could have the division title wrapped up in a week or two. Then Favre will be in the playoffs trying to win another Super Bowl, this time with the Packers’ division rival.
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These are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 8 game here.

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Brett Favre was victorious in his highly anticipated return to Lambeau Field.

Favre’s 4 touchdown passes led the Vikings over the Packers 38-26. Minnesota is now 7-1 and has won both match-ups this season against Green Bay.

Losing like this has got to be tough to swallow for Packers fans who cheered for Favre during his 16 years as the starting quarterback in Green Bay. Surely there are many of them that are upset about the team getting rid of Favre a year and a half ago. But whether they see it now or not, the team made the right decision in choosing Aaron Rodgers over Favre for the 2008 season. Why? Two reasons:

1. Brett Favre is old. Sure, he’s still playing well. But how much longer can he continue? One or two more seasons, tops. Who knows, this season might really be his last. If the Packers still had Favre, Rodgers likely would be gone. After Favre finally really retires, what then?
2. Aaron Rodgers has proven he is a good quarterback, and he will only get better. In the loss to Minnesota, Rodgers threw for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns. After seven games thus far, he is averaging 284 yards per game, has thrown 14 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions. Compare that to Brett Favre’s 240 yards per game, 16 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. Rodgers is just about even with him.

So while it’s somewhat possible the Packers would be better this year with Favre, in the long term, they’ll be happy they have Rodgers under center.
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These are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 6 game here.

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In a snowy game with old school uniforms in Foxborough, the New England Patriots demolished the Tennessee Titans 59-0.

I don’t know what the bigger story is - how great the Patriots played, or how awful the Titans are.

First the Patriots (mostly Tom Brady) - They scored 35 points in the 2nd quarter to go into halftime leading 45-0. Tom Brady was 29 for 34 (85.3%) for 380 yards and 6(!) touchdowns. Even when he left the game, backup QB Brian Hoyer was 9 for 11 (81.8%) for 52 yards. Laurence Maroney rushed 16 times for 123 yards (7.7 average) and a touchdown.

For the Oilers Titans - Kerry Collins. 2 for 12 (16.7%) for -7 yards, 1 interception and a 4.9 QB rating. Seriously. They turned the ball over 5 times (3 fumbles, 2 interceptions). There were two positives though. First, they rushed for 193 yards. Not bad. Of course, that’s offset by the -7 yards passing. Second, the offensive line didn’t allow a sack. That’s good, right?
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These are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 2 game here.

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We had a wild one in Nashville.

The Tennessee Titans, hosting the Houston Texans, were looking to rebound at home against a supposedly inferior team after a loss last week to the Steelers. But the Texans played tough and stayed right with them all game.

This game was physical. Then it got intense. Then it got ugly. Jason Jones of the Titans was ejected for his part in a brawl on the sidelines in the 4th quarter. Watching this game, you knew something like that was going to happen. These teams kept getting closer and closer to a fight. It’s a good thing Albert Haynesworth doesn’t play for the Titans anymore, or else someone might have gotten some cleats across their face.

Finally, with less than 3 minutes to go, Houston pulled ahead on a field goal. On the next possession, Kerry Collins fumbled the ball back to the Texans who ran out the clock.

I don’t know if it’s the fact that I’m living in southern Kentucky just north of Nashville where most of the people claim the Titans as their team. But I really enjoy watching them lose. That may be awful of me, but it’s the truth.

Oh, and Houston QB Matt Schaub through for 357 yards and 4 touchdowns. What in the world?!
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