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 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 5 game here.

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What team is that with those brown and yellow uniforms?

Those are the Denver Broncos. The jerseys were part of a 50th anniversary celebration of the AFL. The Patriots also turned back the clock with their uniforms (notice the helmets with the old patriot ready to snap the football). I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again - I’m really liking these throwback uniforms being brought back this season.

Aside from the uniforms, this was a pretty interesting game. The Broncos beat the Patriots 20-17 in overtime. Rookie head coach Josh McDaniels beat his former head coach, Bill Belechick. Kyle Orton threw for 330 yards, compared to just 215 for Tom Brady. Plus, Denver improved to 5-0 (who would have predicted that?).

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The Dallas Cowboys had a scare in Kansas City. At halftime, they trailed the winless Chiefs 10-3, and they needed overtime to win the game, 26-20. The winning play was a 60-yard touchdown pass from Tony Romo to Miles Austin.

Never heard of Miles Austin? Me neither. But maybe we ought to pay attention to him. This week against Kansas City he caught 10 passes (2 for touchdowns) for 250 yards. That was the most receiving yards in a single game for the Cowboys in their history.

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In the Division:

Cincinnati and Baltimore met in an unlikely battle for first place in the AFC North. I say unlikely, not because of the Ravens, but because the Bengals came into this game tied for first place. But Cincinnati managed to win, with the help of three costly defensive penalties by the Ravens, on their final drive. That means the Cincinnati Bengals are all alone in first place. (Is this a weird season, or what?)

The Steelers traveled to Detroit and beat the Lions 28-20. Detroit has shown some more toughness the past couple weeks. They are not as easy of a win as they were last season. But Pittsburgh hung on to win, improving to 3-2 which ties them with Baltimore for second place

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Quick hits:

• After the Giants blew out the Raiders 44-7, you have to wonder - Are the Giants really this good, or are the Raiders really this bad? The answer is both. It could be worse, Browns fans. Just look at Oakland.
• Speaking of bad, the Tennessee Titans lost again, this week to the Colts 31-9. They are now 0-5 (a worse record than the Browns). Their season really is over. They might as well start planning for next year.
• Michael Vick completed his first pass of the season for the Eagles. He’s now 1 for 5 for a total of 1 yard this season. Oh yeah, Donovan McNabb returned from his broken rib injury and threw for 264 yards and 3 TD’s.

-dcf

These are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 3 game here.

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Eric Mangini’s former team, the New York Jets, improved to 3-0 after beating the Tennessee Titans 24-17.

According to ESPN, Rookie QB Mark Sanchez (the one the Browns could have taken in the draft, had they not traded down) became the first rookie QB to start and win his first three games.

Meanwhile, the Browns have Mangini yanking Brady Quinn out of the game after the first half in favor of a 3 interception performance by backup Derek Anderson. Just for fun, let’s compare the stats from these two QB’s:
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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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These are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 1 game here.

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Wow. NFL fans are never going to believe this one.

Brett Favre has come out of retirement and is the new starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. He made his debut in the season opener against Cleveland. Browns fans were privleged to see one of the all time great quarterbacks of all time lead his new team to victory.

Most NFL fans outside of Minnesota and Cleveland don’t know Favre is back. The media hasn’t said anything about it. It’s almost as if they don’t like Favre. Even after this game, no one is talking about his return. It is a pity that more people have not heard so that they can appreciate the latest unretirement and return of #4.

(One of the announcers of todays Browns/Vikings game actually did say that Favre was “one of the all time greatest quarterbacks of all time.”) (more…)

The big story to have come out of Ohio State’s season opener against Navy has nothing to do with the game. The talk has been about Buckeye QB Terrelle Pryor’s tribute to Michael Vick. (Under one eye, he had the name “Vick” written on the eye black.)

Since being released from prison for his role in a dogfighting operation, Vick has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and is waiting for his suspension to be over so he can play football in the NFL once again. The league has been criticized for reinstating him. The Eagles have been criticized for signing him. Now Pryor is under criticism for this show of support.

Many are quick to jump on Pryor for this. Now, I believe he should have run this idea by his coach before doing something that would generate this much controversy. And I believe he could have framed his response better when questioned about it (”Everyone kills people.”). But remember, he’s still just a sophomore in college, so it’s not surprising that he might do something unwise. It’s just that this caught national attention. I don’t believe the coaches will allow him to do something like this again.

But this post is not so much about Pryor’s lapse in judgment, but about the continued animosity people have toward Michael Vick. It has bothered me for a while and this episode with Pryor gives me an excuse to write about it.
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