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Comments September 16, 2008
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1/1
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Giants
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2-0
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The Giants continued their road warrior winning streak in St. Louis by
winning their NFL record 12th game in a row away from home.
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2/2
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Cowboys
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2-0
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Dallas came back to beat Philadelphia despite allowing 24 points in the second quarter– thanks
to solid performances from Romo, T.O, Witten, Barber and of course their O-line.
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3/3
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Patriots
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2-0
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New England reminded the league
they’re more than just Tom Brady… Their offensive line is solid, their defensive line
is solid, their receivers are great, their linebackers are
seasoned (in a good way), their coaching is top notch,
and Cassel did what he needed to do against the Jets– not turn the ball over.
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4/4
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Packers
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2-0
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In a week of aerial assaults, Rodgers hit Jennings 6 times for 167 yards
as the Packers improved to 2-0 without Favre.
The negatives– Ryan Grant hobbled, rushed 15 times for 20 yards,
and the Pack gave up 22 points to the Lions in the second half…
Of course Green Bay struck back by adding another 24 points of their own in the
4th quarter.
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5/5
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Chargers
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0-2
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Ah the Chargers. As the sorting hat in Harry Potter might say, “where to put you?” They could be great you know.
They’re (0-2), but they should be (1-1), maybe even (2-0).
In playing their first game without Merriman (out for the year), and with LT and Gates hobbled,
the Chargers had a victory taken away from them at Denver not by the Broncos,
but by a split second judgment call by one of the league’s top officials
that couldn’t be undone.
Like last season the Chargers are off to a slow start in the record
department. But it certainly doesn’t mean they’re not playoff caliber.
With this ranking we remind you that
power rankings aren’t standings, and standings aren’t power rankings.
*We’re getting some mail on this one 🙂 So we’ll throw in this– in
the Chargers’ last 10 regular season games and 3 playoff games from last season
(which they’re only two games removed from) they have 2 wins against the Colts, 2 wins
against the Titans, and a crushing win over the Broncos… Technically, it should
be 2 wins over the Broncos during this span…
A loss on the last play of the game to a rising Carolina team, and a
win taken away by a bad call at Denver, aren’t enough to
re-classify the Bolts out of the top ranked teams. Not yet anyway.
If they lose to the Jets next week, then we’ll start to take them down.
But right now by our ratings, they’re still top caliber. Just unlucky.
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6/7
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Colts
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1-1
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Ailing on offensive line and defensive line, Manning and the Colts
worked late game magic to avoid an (0-2) start; overcoming 160 yards
rushing by Peterson not to mention getting shutout in the first half.
It was a much needed road win against a quality team.
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7/6
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Titans
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2-0
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Young has issues to work out and we wish him the best. Collins is in at QB.
The Titans are (2-0) having run over the Bengals in Cincinnati,
while once again playing top notch defense…
Of course beating the Bengals isn’t exactly grounds for
rising in ranks. Certainly the Chargers or Colts could have done the same.
And it’s tough to rate the Titans ahead of the Colts or Chargers at this early juncture
considering San Diego beat them twice last year including in the playoffs
(although both games were extremely close).
Despite their records, these 3 teams are neck and neck.
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8/10
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Steelers
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2-0
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The Steelers notched a key division win at Cleveland
which could go a long way towards helping them take the North. It was a much needed victory
because something wicked this way comes in the form of the toughest schedule in the NFL.
Take a look
if you dare…
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9/9
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Vikings
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0-2
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“Sometimes when you win, you really lose, and sometimes when you lose, you really win,
and sometimes when you win or lose, you actually tie, and sometimes when you tie,
you actually win or lose.”
The Vikings fell to Indianapolis at home even though Peterson ran wild
and the defense shut out the Colts in the first half.
There are plenty of positives to take away.
The Vikes have to put their two losses into perspective.
Both came against top playoff teams from last season.
It’s not a season ender.
That happens if they look back, instead of looking
forward to all of the wins they should be able to put together
in the next 15 weeks. A quality loss if there ever was one.
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10/12
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Redskins
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1-1
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Washington mounted a 4th quarter comeback against the Saints in a game they probably
shouldn’t have trailed in. Overall the Redskins out-yarded New Orleans on offense
455 yards to 250 yards.
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11/15
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Panthers
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2-0
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The Panthers notched another come from behind win as the Carolina heat was too much
for the Bears to handle for 4 quarters. Of course if this game had been in a neutral
environment or in Chicago,
we’d probably be writing about a different outcome.
Of course Steve Smith wasn’t even on the field so maybe we’re a little strong with the above comment… At any rate, he
returns next week just in time for the Panthers to……..
see the Vikings get their first win?
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12/11
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Bears
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1-1
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The Bears couldn’t take the heat and fell in Carolina despite out-yarding the Panthers.
Chicago will host Tampa Bay in what’s sure to be billed as a defensive struggle amongst
teams looking to get above .500.
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13/20
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Broncos
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2-0
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The (1-1) Broncos, whoops, make that (2-0) Broncos have an incredible aerial attack…
Unlike another team that was unable to win at home this week (they’ll remain nameless in
this blurb), the Broncos were not afraid to attempt to score when the game was on the line!
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14/14
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Eagles
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1-1
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The Eagles turned a lot of heads in their Monday night loss at Dallas– hanging
24 points on the Cowboys in the second quarter. But in the end they couldn’t get enough
pressure on Romo.
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15/8
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Jets
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1-1
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As much pressure as New England had on them to win without Brady, the Jets
probably had even more pressure to not lose to Matt Cassel.
New York couldn’t get the job done, and with a trip to San Diego
on deck, they risk falling below .500.
However, with a favorable schedule the Jets should
have plenty of chances to notch wins.
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16/19
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Bills
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2-0
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Edwards was efficient as Buffalo came from behind to beat an ailing Jaguars team on the road. Installed as a large home
favorite against the Raiders in week 3 everything appears set up for the Bills to
make it to (3-0). A trip to St. Louis follows. Might the Bills start (4-0)?
It certainly looks like they have a chance.
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17/13
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Saints
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1-1
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The Saints’ defense couldn’t hold their 4th quarter lead in Washington.
Overall the Saints were
out-gained by the Redskins nearly 2:1.
Their defense has given up over 400 yards per game on average. And that’s the number to keep your eye on,
especially with their offense missing Colston.
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18/16
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Buccaneers
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1-1
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The Buccaneers got back to .500 as they had no trouble
notching a victory against the Falcons at home…
However, there’s no a lot of room to move up in the rankings this week.
In fact, there’s only room to move down… If they beat the Bears in
Chicago next week, up they’ll go. If they lose a close game, they probably
won’t drop.
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19/18
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Browns
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0-2
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One plus one is two… Two plus two is four… Three plus three is only six…
Three plus seven is ten… You go for the touchdown on 4th down because there is
no guarantee you’ll get another chance when the clock is that much against you.
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20/24
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Cardinals
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2-0
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The Cardinals improved to (2-0) with a thrashing of the Dolphins in the desert
as Warner, Boldin, and Fitz went wild.
Before projecting Arizona to make the playoffs, we want to see how they fair
in their next 5 games; at Washington, at NY Jets, versus Buffalo,
versus Dallas, and at Carolina… Not an easy road.
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21/17
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Jaguars
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0-2
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In past seasons the Jags’ defense would have had no problem
protecting the lead against the Bills or most any other team
with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game.
This year’s Jaguars allowed Buffalo two late scores.
No doubt Jacksonville is in trouble.
And in our opinion will have a very tough time
digging out of this hole.
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22/22
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Texans
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0-1
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Our best wishes go out to those affected by Ike. There’s so much in this world
that eclipses the importance placed on the game of football…
The Texans will try to get their first win next week when they visit
Tennessee.
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23/23
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Ravens
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1-0
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Due to Ike, the Ravens’ game against Houston will be made up in week 10.
Baltimore will host Cleveland in week 3, where the Ravens will attempt to get
two games above the .500 mark.
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24/27
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49ers
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1-1
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The 49ers’ offense broke out in Seattle as O’Sullivan passed for 321 yards in an overtime win
over the Seahawks.
Keep your eyes peeled on this shocking development.
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25/21
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Seahawks
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0-2
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Being depleted at wide receiver is excusable.
On the other hand, surrendering 321 yards passing the 49ers is an entirely different
animal.
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26/29
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Raiders
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1-1
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Out of chaos came order as the Raiders galloped their way to 300 yards rushing in a thumping of the
Chiefs in Kansas City.
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27/26
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Falcons
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1-1
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The Falcons couldn’t hang against the playoff caliber Bucs in Tampa Bay.
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28/25
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Chiefs
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0-2
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The Chiefs allowed 300 yards rushing to the Raiders while Larry Johnson
was held to just 22 yards rushing.
Enough said.
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29/28
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Dolphins
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0-2
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The Dolphins surrendered 361 yards passing to the Cardinals
as they were hung out to dry by Warner, Boldin, and Fitzgerald…
Rickey Williams and Ronnie Browns were each held under
3 yards per carry.
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30/30
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Bengals
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0-2
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The Bengals almost gave up 200 yards rushing for the second week in a row.
Meanwhile, they barely cracked 200 yards of total offense.
End result? A 17 point home loss to the Titans.
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31/31
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Lions
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0-2
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Last week the Lions couldn’t stop the run. This week Detroit couldn’t stop the pass as
Green Bay’s Rodgers completed 24 of 38 passes for 328 yards and 3 TD’s.
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32/32
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Rams
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0-2
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The Rams fell to two games below .500 as they allowed the Giants 441 offensive yards while
barely mustering 200 of their own.
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