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Comments September 22, 2009
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1/3
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Giants
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2-0
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The Giants picked off Romo 3 times, returning two for scores, but only credited with one.
Steve Smith and Mario Manningham
each had 10 catches. The receiving duo combined for 284 yards and two scores.
The Giants did surrender 251 yards rushing to Dallas, but still
came away with a key
road victory in the division.
Tuck questionable for next week.
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2/5
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Vikings
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2-0
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Favre set a career best for completion percentage in a game at just over 85% (putting previous dome woes to rest)
as the Vikings came back from 10 points down in Detroit to win by 14.
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3/6
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Colts
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2-0
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Dallas Clark erupted for 183 yards on 7 catches as the Colts stole a game
in Miami in which they allowed 239 yards rushing and
possessed the ball for under 1/4 of the game.
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4/1
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Steelers
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1-1
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Back in week 1 the Steelers benefited when Tennessee’s Rob Bironas
failed to come through in the kicking game… This week Jeff Reed was unable to
make good on two key field goal attempts and the Steelers dropped one in Chicago.
One would think the Steelers
take this game if Troy Polamalu was in the lineup…
On another note, Chicago was our money line underdog of the week.
It paid +$125…
This is also an interesting time in the season for power rankings.
We look at more than just the last two games played.
I’m sure most of the country will have Baltimore ranked ahead of Pittsburgh
on account of the whopping (2-0) to (1-1) record differential, lol.
But we look further back than just the last two games.
Pittsburgh beat Baltimore 3 times last season. And while we
project the Ravens to finish with a better record than the Steelers
this season, it’s still too early to drop the Steelers simply on the basis of a couple
of missed field goals.
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5/7
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Ravens
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2-0
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The Ravens gave up 436 yards passing to Philip Rivers. But
for the second game in a row
McGahee reached the end zone twice. And
Flacco continued his solid play.
And with the game on the line, Ray Lewis stopped Darren Sproles on 4th and 2
as the Ravens held on for
the win at San Diego.
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6/2
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Eagles
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1-1
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Without McNabb
the Eagles were tied with New Orleans 10-10 with under 1 minute left in the first half.
Then the wheels fell off the cart.
Brees and crew torched the Eagles for 38 more points.
Kolb threw for a massive 391 yards, but he was intercepted 3 times.
No way McNabb turns it over like that against the Saints’ defense.
Westbrook, Samuel, and Jackson left with injuries.
Philadelphia’s normally strong defensive unit gets some time to bounce back from this performance
with Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Oakland, and Washington on deck.
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7/4
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Patriots
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1-1
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The Patriots committed 11 penalties. And
Brady’s timing was off, hurried all day by the Jets’ persistent pass rush.
The result was a 7 point road loss to the Jets in a rare game in which New England failed
to reach the end zone.
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8/9
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Falcons
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2-0
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The Falcons survived at home against Carolina, improving to
(2-0) with a couple of home wins. Up next a road trip to New England as Matt Ryan returns
to Massachusetts.
Peria Jerry our for the year with a left knee injury.
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9/16
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Jets
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2-0
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Despite being held to 57 yards of offense in the first half,
the Jets were able to top the Patriots at home thanks to phenomenal
defensive play, keeping the Patriots out of the end zone.
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10/18
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Saints
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2-0
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It all came together for the Saints in Philadelphia as New Orleans earned a legitimizing
road victory facing off against one of the top defenses in the league.
Of course the Eagles were without McNabb, and there’s no way he throws all those
interceptions that Kolb threw.
But the Saints do appear to be taking that next step.
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11/11
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Cowboys
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1-1
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Romo was intercepted 3 times by the Giants, with one “officially’ returned for a touchdown.
The supposedly improved Dallas secondary allowed both Steve Smith and Mario Manningham to catch
10 passes each for a total of 284 yards and two TD’s…
This versus a Giants’ squad supposedly devoid of a legit WR1.
On the plus side, the Cowboys rushed for 251 yards.
The Cowboys almost won this game, which is decent sign considering
how many things went wrong.
Barber and Ware left with injuries.
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12/15
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Bears
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1-1
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The Bears evened their record with an upset of the defending champs at home. Surely this game would have been much tougher to win if
Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu had been in the lineup.
Of course the Bears were without Urlacher…
Chicago was our money line underdog of the week. But they paid just +$125. The oddsmakers must have seen this one coming.
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13/12
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Bills
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1-1
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The Bills evened up their record with a victory at home over the Buccaneers.
Fred Jackson was stellar again, which should be no surprise to Bills’
fans who remember
week 17
last season, not to mention last Monday night.
But we’re not raising them in the rankings for this. We raised them enough
for their close loss to the Patriots. If they beat the Saints next weekend, up they’ll go.
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14/8
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Titans
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0-2
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The Titans rushed for over 240 yards at home (197 from Chris Johnson), but still lost the game. There seemed to be a lot of that
going around in week 2. Bottom line, Shaub and Johnson were too much for the Titans’ defense to handle this week.
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15/22
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Texans
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1-1
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The Texans weren’t able to contain Chris Johnson. But the Titans weren’t able to contain
the duo of Matt Schaub and
Andre Johnson as the Texans earned a potentially season-making win at
division rival Tennessee… Of course this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a better team
than the Titans. But it does mean they have a leg up in an ultra early playoff picture.
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16/14
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Chargers
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1-1
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The Chargers comeback attempt came up short against Baltimore at home when
Ray Lewis stuffed Darren Sproles… With the game on the line, were you surprised to see the Chargers
run on 4th and 2 considering how inept their running game had been during game–
not to mention how potent their passing attack had been with Rivers throwing for 436 yards?
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17/19
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49ers
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2-0
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Gore rushed for over 200 yards as
San Francisco improved to (2-0) with their second division win in as many games,
topping the Seahawks at home.
As far as power rankings go, keep in mind the teams San Francisco beat (Cardinals and Seahawks)
have a combined regular season record of (15-21) over the past one season plus two games.
So we’re not going off the handle and putting the Niners in the top 10 like everybody else
is doing… Although we did pick the 49ers ATS these first two weeks
if that makes you feel any better about this week’s ranking.
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18/20
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Cardinals
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1-1
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Rolle returned a blocked field goal for a TD.
And in a week where completion percentages were through the roof,
Kurt Warner set a single game record of 92.3%,
completing 24 of 26 passes for
243 yards and 2 TD’s in a win at Jacksonville.
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19/10
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Packers
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1-1
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The Packers were shocked at Lambeau by the Cincinnati Bengals as
Antwan Odom who sacked Rodgers 5 times.
Do you think Green Bay’s 4th quarter comeback win over the Bears last week
made them think they didn’t need to show up versus the Bengals until the fourth quarter?
LT Chad Clifton out with a sprained right ankle.
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20/21
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Dolphins
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0-2
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Nothing stings like losing a game that shoulda, coulda, woulda been won.
Miami rushed for 239 yards at home versus the Colts and
possessed the ball for over 3/4 of the game,
but still managed to walk away with an “L”.
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21/13
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Panthers
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0-2
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Carolina fell in Atlanta as Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan completed over 77% of his passes.
A Hail Mary attempt came close, but no cigar. At (0-2) the Panthers are approaching
must win territory. Two NFC East opponenets are on deck;
@Dallas and home to Washington.
DT Louis Leonard is out indefinitely with a broken left ankle.
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22/26
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Broncos
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2-0
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The Broncos played good defense for the second straight game.
Elvis Dumervil sacked Brady Quinn 4 times. And on offense Knowshon Moreno got into the act,
rushing for 75 yards
as Denver took care of business at home against Cleveland.
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23/27
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Bengals
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1-1
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Antwan Odom sacked Aaron Rodgers 5 times, Benson rushed for 141 yards, and Palmer threw
3 TD passes as the Bengals upset the Packers in Green Bay.
The Bengals could be (2-0).
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24/17
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Redskins
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1-1
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The Redskins won the game, but failed to get into the end zone at home against the
Rams. It’s a bad omen for the rest of the season as Washington
is in a division with 3 teams having strong offenses and top notch defenses.
Time to stick a form in ’em? Will they have a new head coach next season?
RG Randy Thomas out for the season with a torn right triceps.
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25/24
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Raiders
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1-1
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Russell completed less than 30% of his passes in Kansas City, but the
Raiders emerged victorious as their defense yielded just 10 points to the Chiefs.
RG Robert Gallery out four to six weeks with a broken bone in his left leg.
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26/23
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Seahawks
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1-1
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Matt Hasselbeck suffered a broken rib and the Seahawks gave up 207 yards rushing
to Frank Gore in a loss at San Francisco.
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27/25
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Jaguars
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0-2
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The Jaguars couldn’t stop Kurt Warner from completing anything and everything,
and it resulted in a two TD home loss to the Cardinals.
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28/28
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Buccaneers
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0-2
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Tampa Bay couldn’t get their rushing game going in Buffalo.
One of Leftwich’s two interceptions was returned for a score,
and the Bills offensive attack was too balanced for the
Buccaneers to handle.
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29/29
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Browns
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0-2
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Brady Quinn was sacked by Elvis Dumervil 4 times, as the Browns could get nothing
going on offense at Denver in a 21 point loss.
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30/30
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Chiefs
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0-2
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Cassel and Bowe connected for a go ahead TD late in the fourth. But the KC defense
which had stymied the Raiders’ offense all day, failed to hold the lead.
Overall the Chiefs held the Raiders to under 175 net yards, but KC still walked away with a home loss.
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31/31
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Rams
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0-2
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Sure it’s another loss, but the Rams played solid red zone defense at Washington.
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32/32
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Lions
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0-2
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The Lions led Minnesota 10-0, then the wheels fell off the cart
and they lost by 14.
Detroit’s streak is alive, and Stafford also has a little streak going–
multiple interception games every outting as a pro. Okay it’s only been
two games, but it sticks out.
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