A word on Tim Tebow

For basically the last three weeks, the subject of Tim Tebow has constantly been popping up across the mainstream media and the Internet. There are lots of reasons for this, but no doubt prime among which is the fact that controversy gets people talking. It makes your website stand out on Google searches and gets people to click on your website and come take a look. Page views go up, thus potentially so does advertising revenue.

But lately it's been getting ridiculous. For those of you who - like me - drop in on ProFootballTalk.com each day to browse the headlines, you'll have noticed that Tim Tebow seems to crop up on a practically daily basis. I wouldn't mind so much to be honest if it wasn't for the fact that Mike Florio spends most of the time that he devotes to the subject of Tim Tebow - like a lot of people in the media - talking out of his fucking arse.

The common thread at the minute appears to be that Tim can't throw. This has been brought up in God only knows how many articles and TV segments, and frankly it's starting to piss me off. It's as if last season didn't happen, that Tebow never went onto the field and never threw a pass. We're told by many "expert" sources that Tebow doesn't have the correct throwing action to be an NFL quarterback. Or that he isn't accurate enough. Or that he doesn't know how to throw NFL passes full stop.

So here's what I did. I went to YouTube and I typed in "Tim Tebow Denver Broncos". I found the first video I could that had clips of him from last season playing with the Broncos and I present this video to you now.






Now you tell me. Watch the video again and tell me whether you can see any completed passes? I can. Presumably you can to. I dunno though. Apparently he can't throw these kind of passes. He's unable to. Well, at least that's what all the QB experts on the TV and Internet keep telling people.

See I'm confused. I don't know what to think anymore. My eyes, they're telling me that I can see Tim Tebow making passes. Short passes, off play action. Screen passes. I can see intermediate level passes. I can see deep passes. Well, at least I think I can. That's what my brain is telling me that my eyes can see. But apparently not.

See when I go over to ProFootballTalk.com they keep telling me that Tebow sucks. They keep pointing me towards articles by respected people in the football world who tell their audiences that "Tim Tebow can't make NFL throws" etc.

So who do I believe? The experts? Or my own eyes?

Funnily enough, I've become very attached to my eyes over the years. They're not 100% trustworthy, but more often than not they are. And no matter how many times I watch the video above, it appears to show Tim Tebow playing for an NFL team, running an NFL offense, throwing NFL passes, against NFL defenses.

So frankly I'd like to invite Mike Florio, his bitch Rosenwhateverhisnameis and every other person who insists that Tebow can't make NFL passes to just sit back, relax, and drink a nice big cup of shut the fuck up. In fact, I'll even give you something to watch while you have your drink.

Because the other big knock on Tebow has always been his throwing motion. Apparently, so I'm told by experts, having such an elongated throwing motion, where the ball dips low before being brought back up over the shoulder, should not work. In fact, we're confidently told that it will not work. Ever. Never has, never will. Least not in the NFL.

Defenses are too quick, too smart. NFL defenders will see the arm motion and break on the ball with time to spare, providing it isn't ripped from Tebows arm for the 40th time that game before he can throw it.

Well... I'm calling Bullshit on this.

Not least because of the simple fact that everyone who has ever spoken on this subject has constantly affirmed that Tebow should adapt his motion to be more like Dan Marino's, which is considered to be a cleaner, more precise motion, with less wasted downward movement.

And while that sounds great in principle, the simple fact is it's complete bollocks of the highest order. Dan Mario's throwing motion was as cack handed and elongated as Tim Tebows. How do I know this? Because unlike BSPN and the army of sycophants who are all looking for a job on their news desk, I actually bothered to go back and have a look.

Yes that's right; research.

I understand that in the world of modern sensationalist journalism such a word as "research" is often considered up there right alongside "integrity" as words that should be kept quiet, locked up in an underground vault somewhere never to be seen or heard from again. But I happen to find research can be quite useful. It has a tendency to help prevent one from talking out of ones arse, though this is a general rule not a precise one, as I've personally proven in the case of Mark Herzlich and others.

So again I'm going to furnish you with a YouTube video for your perusal. This is of Dan Marino, Quarterback, Miami Dolphins. What in particular I'd like you to notice is that fact that Marino had a penchant for holding the ball down near his back hip, one handed no less, which then required the ball to be brought up from this low position to behind the shoulder, and then forward. Literally the only difference between Marino and Tebow is that Marino took a slightly less curved path and he moved his arm at lightning speed.

The fact remains though, his motion was not the paragon of muscular efficiency and technical artistry that it is often made out to be. He was just bloody quick. Here's the proof;






And you know what? I'm in the mood for showing off. Taking the piss as it were. So I'm going to throw in another video just for good measure. This time we're going to look at Joe Montana, one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Of course my opinion on Montana has nothing to do with being a 49ers fan...

Anyway. The purpose of this next video is to demonstrate that even a slightly elongated motion can produce results. It may not be the picture perfect throwing motion desired by modern analysts, but it just plain worked. Adhering to Bill Walsh's often repeated mantras of 1) making sure the tip of the ball doesn't dip below the waist and that 2) the ball is released above the shoulder, Joe Montana went on to have a mildly successful career.

Well, who doesn't have four Super Bowl rings these days?

I should also point out that Montana, like Marino, and so far like Tebow, managed to avoid the issue of the constant strips which we were assured by experts, and continue to be assured by them, would be the every other play consequence of a dipping throwing motion.

I'm particularly keen on this video because Montana's motion is a bit more akin to Tebow's than Marino's was. The path of travel of the football is a much closer match, as was the speed at which Montana used to throw. Here it is, with some great slow mo action to help you make a comparison.






Now adding all this up, does this mean Tebow will be the next Montana or Marino? Well frankly it's a little early to tell. All I'm trying to do here is to disprove the current hypothesis expounded by seemingly everyone that can get themselves close enough to a keyboard or a microphone; that Tim Tebow can't throw NFL passes and that his throwing motion is inadequate for the NFL.

There is obviously more to quarterbacking than throwing passes. Tebow will have to master the mental aspects as well, from learning plays, protections and reads, to developing the requisite skills of leadership and the command of the huddle, to name but a few.

I personally believe that in time, and if given a proper shot, he will. I'd love it even more if that team were the San Francisco 49ers whom I follow so dearly and regularly shout at so profanely. Most of all though I just want Tebow to get his chance. He seems like a great kid who has come under a lot of unnecessary scrutiny since leaving college, and I simply can't wait to see the day when he makes a rather large amount of people choke on their fucking words.

Go on Tim. I'm a Tebowliever!! As are many others. You can do this.

2011 NFL Pre-season week 2 (part 2)

Okey dokey, that's week 2 done of the pre-season so let's have a look at all the games from Friday onwards;

Starting with Washington @ Indianapolis and oh my god! The Colts without Manning are like the final double episode of the TV detective series "Monk" - fucking horrible (I loved that show, but thought the ending was a pile of shit. I'm still bitter about it).

John Beck basically wrapped up the Redskins QB situation with 14/17 for 140 yards, but don't get too excited Redskins fans. The running game did most of the damage and that was against a Colts run defense that was frankly hideous. Tim Hightower carried 6 times for 70 yards and a TD. The big winner though was rookie running back Roy Helu, who lived up to my expectations with 14 carries for 101 yards. Rookie receiver Leonard Hankerson did the same, with 3 catches for 46 yards. The Redskins defense came up with three sacks, including one for rookie Ryan Kerrigan.

The Colts.... sucked. Curtis Painter completed just 5/10 for a whole 40 yards. Dan Orlovsky was 7/17 for 67 yards and an interception. For all the credit that Polian and son get for building that team in Indy, they seem to be extremely lax about the subject of finding a replacement QB. The Colts D produced some sacks, with rookie Drake Nevis getting a half, and the sole solo sack going to rookie John Chick (don't look at me, never heard of him). Rookie LB Adrian Moten had a pick. Told you he wouldn't be a bad undrafted linebacker.

On to Kansas @ Baltimore. I see Todd Haley still isn't interested in his potentially league leading running game. Ah well, screw you Todd. Just glad I'm not a Chiefs fan. None of his quarterbacks managed to complete more than 8 passes, which is a little gutting because I had high hopes for Ricky Stanzi, who threw just 6/12 for 58 yards and an interception. The one bright note for the Chiefs was rookie OLB Justin Houston. I saw him as a potentially very good pass rusher and he showed why with two sacks.

For Baltimore, nice to see that Joe Flacco's dropback footwork still looks as smooth and fluid as a wheelchair being pushed down a flight of stairs. He ended the game 12/24 for 124 yards. And I still don't understand why people compare him to Matt Ryan. There is a hell of a difference between the two. The Ravens ground game did better, producing 4 touchdowns. The defense also came up trumps with 5 sacks, plus an interception for rookie corner Josh Victorian, who I didn't even realise had come out of college. Keep an eye on this former Louisiana Tech kid, trust me.

Next game and Detroit @ Cleveland for shoot out time! Colt McCoy, who was on my watch list last year, put up 10/18 for 96 yards and 3 touchdowns. Pretty impressive for a kid who most people had written off before he was even drafted. The Lions shared their time about a bit more, with Stafford seeing 6/10 for 85 yards and a TD, then Drew Stanton dealt the killing blows late with 6/8 for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns. Defensively it was all about rookies forcing fumbles, with Rob Callaway and Ricardo Silva doing the honors for Detroit, and Jabaal Sheard for the Browns.

Oh no, next on the list is Carolina @ Miami. The battle for whose quarterback can suck the most continues. For the Panthers, Newton tried his hardest with 7/14 for just 66 yards. Clausen was 9/15 for 69 yards. But Chad Henne actually began to show why, to be honest, he's not all that bad. 15/24 for 194 yards.

The Panthers contribution to the game basically ended there, but the Dolphins had a little more left to give. Rookie Daniel Thomas put in 12 carries for 52 yards and a TD. The big surprise though was Reggie Bush, who carried 8 times for 48 yards and had 2 catches for a further 33, kind of showing some of the potential that was expected of him a long time ago.

Arizona @ Green Bay next. Kevin Kolb was ok for the Cardinals at quarterback, but Richard Bartel got the biggest look, with 13/19 for 169 yards, a TD and an INT. On the opposite side though the Packers quarterbacks were showing Arizona how it's done. Rodgers was 9/12 for 97 yards and a TD. Matt Flynn was 5/6 for 141 yards and a TD, and Graham Harrell ended 7/9 for 81 yards and a TD.

After his 97 yard scamper from a Matt Flynn pass, rookie wide receiver Chastin West finished with 5 catches for 134 yards and a TD in perhaps the most impressive solo display of the evening. Team wise it was probably the Cardinals D, who actually managed to generate some pressure including four sacks.

Atlanta @ Jacksonville for our next game and rookie QB Blaine Gabbert was the focus of a lot of attention, both from the Jaguars and the media. He finished the game 11/23 for just 96 yards and yet surprisingly nobody seems to be calling for his head yet. Funny, because if Tim Tebow did the same then people would be lapping it up and talking about how he's not NFL ready etc. But then of course, that would mean the media was wrong to rate Gabbert so highly so I can't see them doing anything like that soon.

One point that did amuse me was ProFootballTalk's seemingly surprised assessment that "Gabbert often felt pressure that wasn't there. He was hurt by drops, but generally showed poor pocket presence and shaky accuracy". Well no shit Sherlock, I pointed this out in March and then did a more detailed post on Gabbert in May. And made precisely the points that are only being brought up now. (for the record from the May post, Jeff VanCamp is still a free agent, so somebody sign him please *cough* 49ers. And the reason nobody was talking about Kellen Moore is because he was going back for his senior year. Whoops).

Anyway, David Garrard managed 7/12 for 99 yards and a pick during his time. The big surprise was Luke McCown, unless of course you already thought he was good. But there you go. He finished 8/9 for 86 yards and a TD. At this point I should probably point out that there was another team in the game, that being the Atlanta Falcons. QB Matt Ryan went 7/15 for 116 yards and a TD, while veteran back up Chris Redman (probably one of the better back ups out there) went 10/14 for 76 yards. Third year Falcons receiver Harry Douglas also impressed with 2 catches for 87 yards and a TD.

On defense the Falcons had three sacks, including a half sack for the outstanding 4th year defensive end Kroy Biermann who shared it with 2nd year linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (from last years rookie watch list. Not sure if I'm going to do another one this year. Maybe. Any how, need to get out of brackets and back to the point). Corner Brent Grimes grabbed another pick, though I'm not sure how since he was nowhere near the intended receiver, which probably says more about David Garrards deep ball accuracy than anything else. The Jags D literally contributed nothing of note.

Onwards and slightly westwards then, for New Orleans @ Houston. For the Saints, Drew Brees was 7/14 for 109 yards and his spell saw a spectacular break down in the protection that led to him taking a heavy hit and fumbling in the red zone. Don't ask me why I take so much joy from that. I'm probably just a shit human being.

Chase Daniel came out best in the Saints back up battle, with 6/14 for 127 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. On the other side Matt Schaub recovered from his shaky start to the preseason, ending with 12/16 for 163 yards. Matt Leinart did the opposite, building on his good start with a more traditional Matt Leinart performance; 8/18 for 69 yards. It matters little though.

The star of the day was the Texans running game, which has come alive since the arrival of Arian Foster last year. And the fact that the Texans actually give it a proper chance these days (just wait, they'll soon dump it once the season gets going). Foster had 5 carries for 47 yards and 2 TDs, while Ben Tate turned in 9 carries for 95 yards and another TD. Andre Johnson was also on fine form, with 4 catches for 100 yards.

The Texans D also played its part, having been revitalised under Wade Phillips (never thought I'd say that). The highlight was outside linebacker Brooks Reed, with 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Now the question is how smug am I right now? Smug enough to say "I fucking called it!". Yeah, you know I am.

Next we head right over to the west. Literally all the way to the West Coast for the Raiders @ 49ers. Which is the last time we'll see these two rivals play in the pre-season thanks to a bunch of cocks who shot two men outside the stadium. Might I suggest in future just sealing the entrances a bit better and checking everyone on the way in for weapons for the entire duration of the game etc, as they did at Wembley last year?

On the subject of cocks, Al Davis waved his undead hand during yesterdays supplemental draft and ordained that Terrelle Pryor shall be a Raider. That wouldn't have anything to do with his 4.34 40-yard dash (in shorts) now would it? Even more surprising is their plan to keep him as a quarterback. Good luck with that Al.

Right, anyway, the game. There's a reason I've been trying to put off talking about my 49ers, and that's basically because we weren't very good. Luckily enough though, the Raiders obliged us by being even worse. It's going to be a lonnnnng season for both teams. Jason Campbell finished 5/7 for 74 yards for the Raiders. And that was the best of their bunch. Kyle Boller was 6/11 for 56 yards and a pick, while Trent Edwards watched that performance in awe.... then threw a pick himself.

The 49ers - not to be outdone - rolled out Alex Smith, who went 8/13 for 126 yards and a pick. Colin Kaepernick was 6/8 for 52 yards. Still better than punter Andy Lee, who botched the hold on a field goal, tried to improvise... and threw a pick.

About the only good thing to actually come out of this game was 49ers rookie running back Kendall Hunter who had 9 carries for 105 yards and a TD. Oh and Darius Heyward Bey had two catches for the Raiders, for 40 yards. In fact, for such a shit game I wrote a surprisingly large amount of text.

Heading way back east we come to Tennessee @ St. Louis. You know I'd probably get more pageviews if I actually used the teams descriptive names. Ah well. Matt Hasselbeck looked pretty good for the Titans, leaving the game 7/9 for 74 yards after he took a nasty looking bump on his leg. Jake Locker came in and ended 8/18 for 82 yards and a pick. The Titans run game looked better though, with rookie Jamie Harper going for 83 yards and a TD off 11 carries. Stafon Johnson (one of the "missing" watch listers from last year) also had 11 carries and ended with 68 yards.

I know this is a bit of a quick tangent but this is precisely the reason why I wouldn't pay Chris Johnson anything more than a reasonably modest salary. The offensive line does most of the work for running backs and I think the Titans are in a position where they could replace Johnson. Would their backs be quite as explosive as him? No. But with the extra cap space you could start building a team by buying in some of the players who are a little harder to get hold of than running backs.

Back to the game and Sam Bradford was struggling a little for the Rams, with 8/15 for 138 yards, a TD and an INT. Rookie Thaddeus Lewis did well with 8/10 for 74 yards. A.J. Feely wasn't bad either, 5/9 for 44 yards and a TD.

On defense not a whole lot happened, though it was funny to see the Titans generate 3 sacks, but none from their D-line. Could be a rough year in Tennessee.

On to Buffalo @ Denver and it's the joys of the Tim Tebow merry go round. Except it isn't, because he only threw two passes right at the end of the game. Afterwards the mainstream media was adamant that Kyle Orton has secured his place at the top of the Broncos depth chart with that performance, to which I would respond with the simple question; "And precisely who of sound mind and body thought that he was anything but that?". But then I guess that's what the media does best, trying to create controversy where there is none.

Orton was 10/13 for 135 yards and a TD. Next was Brady Quinn who went 10/16 for 130 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. I thought NFL.com's headline was quite amusing though, running with "Quinn out duels Tebow as Broncos bump off Bills". How do you consider it a duel when one quarterback had the opportunity to throw 16 passes and the other had just two attempts? Words don't really do the stupidity of it justice.

But I digress. For the Bills, Ryan Fitzpatrick was 6/16 for 44 yards and an interception. Tyler Thigpen managed 11/20 for 118 yards and a TD. And even Brad Smith got in on the action, with 4/4 for 34 yards. On the ground the only real standout was Broncos running back Willis McGahee who did what Willis McGahee does, scoring two touchdowns; one on the ground and the other from a pass.

On defense, rookie Bills linebacker Robert Eddins had a sack, as did rookie D-Tackle Marcell Dareus. For the Bronocs, LB Von Miller had a sack. What impressed me the most about this though was the technique he showed. My knock on him so far has been his technique being a little unrefined, but with that sack he showed signs that he's been working hard in camp to improve his pass rushing skills, which paid off. Now if only NFL.com would a) allow videos to be embedded to other pages and b) stop only making highlight reels of Cam Newton (I'm serious) and start actually putting together "defense highlights" etc, then I'd be able to show you what I mean. As it is we'll just have to move on.

To.... Minnesota @ Seattle. What's that Seattle? Your quarterback situation sucks? Welcome to the NFC West party my friends (excluding the Rams). Newly acquired Tavaris Jackson took to the field and put up 11/21 for 75 yards and an interception. The interception made me laugh in particular, because if he just turned his head a few degrees to the right he would have seen a completely free receiver, as opposed to the double covered one that he tried to throw to. Charlie Whitehurst finished 14/19 for 97 yards and a TD. Rookie Josh Portis turned in an eye catching(ly shit) 2/9 for 13 yards (On a brighter note he lead his team in rushing with 4 carries for 46 yards).

On the Vikings side, Donovan McNabb ended 6/8 for 81 yards. Rookie Christian Ponder was a disappointing 6/12 for 63 yards, while Joe Webb was 4/8 for 44 yards. Defensively the Vikings were a little drab, with the exception of rookie defensive back Marcus Sherels who had an interception (but also a fumble). The Seahawks D was just as boring.

Off to the East coast then and we find Cincinnati @ New York (Jets). The Andy Dalton show is the lead story, as he finished his part in the game 8/19 for 86 yards and 2 interceptions. He wasn't even the worst Bengals quarterback though. Bruce Gradkowski was 3/7 for 50 yards and an INT, while Dan LeFevour was 2/5 for 20 yards. Andrew Luck had better start paying attention, because this is likely where he's heading next year. Time to start scouting those receivers huh?

Mark Sanchez was... better? 12/20 for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns. Good, but still not where the Jets need him to be. Greg McElroy turned in a better show this time with 6/9 for 59 yards and a touchdown. The story of the day for the Jets though was Plaxico Burress, who had 3 catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. I didn't realise that guy was 34 now. Shit, getting old. Meanwhile Santonio Holmes continues to look like the best pick up the Jets have ever made, at least under Rex Ryan.

Back west now, and down south a little, which is not at all a euphemism for the standard of play in San Diego @ Dallas. Phillip Rivers was 8/11 for 92 yards and a TD. Bill Volek; 8/12 for 48 yards. Scott Tolzien; 4/5 for 12 yards and my question to you Scott is this; how do you throw 4 complete passes for just 12 yards? That should be impossible, or against the law or something.

The Cowboys though actually did ok. Tony Romo was 8/12 for 58 yards, a TD and an INT. Stephen McGee was 16/29 for 157 yards. John Kitna was perfect, going 1/1 for 2 yards. Ahhhh. Now I know how Tolzien did it.

On defense, 3rd year Chargers defensive tackle Vaughn Martin had a good game with 2 sacks, and rookie defensive tackle Corey Liuget had one as well. Eric Weddle continues to impress at safety with another interception. The Cowboys D produced two sacks, including guess who? DeMarcus Ware.

And finally, Monday Night Football with Chicago @ New York (Giants). Man, Chicago not looking good. Last year I felt they kind of lucked their way into the playoffs and it showed against the Giants. Their defense was gashed heavily by the Giants running game as Brandon Jacobs turned 6 carries into 48 yards and a TD, including one run where the Bears front just got ripped open right up the middle. Rookie Da'Rel Scott - who I once described as "slow in pads" - shut me up by burning off a 97 yard touchdown run, after almost tripping over in his own endzone.

Quarterback wise, Jay Cutler of the Bears finished 12/21 for 171 yards. Caleb Hanie then came in to finish the game with 17/28 for 166 yards and an interception. For the Giants, Eli Manning was 8/16 for 78 yards, while David Carr ended the night 9/11 for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns.

On defense, the Bears D produced literally nothing of note worthiness. For the Giants Mark Herzlich picked up an interception, which pleased a lot of people, not least me after I backtracked on my previous, slightly underwhelmed opinion of him. I was also pleased to see rookie linebacker Greg Jones get a punt block. Now please insert him into the defense proper for the final week of pre-season. Thank you Mr. Coughlin.

So that's that. Barring any major news stories, I'll be back Wednesday I think, to have a look ahead at some of the week 3 preseason games. Thanks for dropping by and don't forget to hit that Facebook-button-thing at the bottom to share this page with your friends.

Laters everyone.

Getting some interference

"So," I said to myself, "what can I write about today?" I considered taking the night off, being that I've practically posted daily articles for the last 13 months or so. But then I sat down, watched another segment of the NFL Networks "Playbook" show (a gold mine for the so-called 'all 22' film) and suddenly I was struck by a moment of inspiration. Allow me to explain. Many weeks ago I picked on the Colts because they were without doubt the most heinous criminals for committing "offensive pass interference". I say 'were' because I'm now fairly sure that the Patriots have not only surpassed them in this regard, but absolutely whopped their butts. The question however came up in the comments as to what exactly constitutes "offensive pass interference"? Well, as I'm led to believe it, the rule states that on a passing play, offensive players may not block a defensive player beyond the line of scrimmage until the intended receiver has caught the ball. And that's where my moment of inspiration came in. In the segment about the coming Week 17 clash between the Raiders and the Chiefs, Joe Theismann was showing some tape to highlight the play of Chiefs rookie tight end Tony Moeaki. What he did was to inadvertently drop into my lap a perfect example of what offensive pass interference or "pick" plays look like. The play in question superficially resembles a play that is popular in the college game, often referred to as a "mesh" play. In the images we're going to look at, the two middle receivers who crossover and "mesh" are doing so a little further down the field than the true college play, but the principle is very similar. At this juncture I should point out as usual that these images are screen captures from the NFL Networks "Playbook" show and that these images have not been edited in any way by myself. All graphics, symbols and any other stuff in the image was made and added to the film by the networks computer wizards. The original video can be found here. Right. We'll start with our first image (as is customary) which, thanks to the Playbook crew and my impeccable sense of timing with the Print Screen button, shows roughly how the two inside routes will crossover. The player in the lower circle is Tony Moeaki. The design of this little combo is simple; crossover in midfield, with the receiver who goes slightly deeper "picking" or "rubbing" the trail defender off of his team mate. You can already see in the image below that the path of the receiver going over the top will lead him to collide with the defender covering Moeaki. We shall call this receiver "the pick man" (how very inventive Chris): The next image is important but you're going to have look closely. Other than catching "the Pick Man" in a still shot that makes him look like he's half way through doing a rain dance, we don't appear to have gained a lot from this shot. But we have, trust me. What you need to look at is "Pick Man's" right foot which is, for all intents and purposes, on the 31 yard line. His left foot is in the air. It should be pointed out that he has already made his break to run across the field. Now compare and contrast the image above with the image below. We can see clearly that "Pick man" has stepped with his left foot all the way out to the 33 yard line. He basically took a leap two yards to his left. But why do this in the middle of your route? It makes no sense. You're sacrificing all that speed and separation you built up, just to take a step to the left? Why? The answer can be found in our last image. Look how much space has been opened up for Moeaki to make the clean catch. (For those that are wondering, the red glowing blob is the ball, and not a radioactive hotdog from the Broncos concession stands). The separation was a result of the deeper receiver "picking" or "rubbing" the defender off of Moeaki. Hopefully now when you watch the video you'll see what I mean. In fact, it's a very blatant side step designed to manufacture an open receiver. Now call me old fashioned, but I like to see people win fairly. I like to know that the game I'm watching is a contest between two teams that are giving it their all and who know the rules and will abide by them in the interest of a good, fair game. Instead what I'm seeing increasingly is a flexing of the rules, almost always favouring the offense. Now as I've said before, if the league doesn't mind this kind of offensive pass interference and wants this kind of thing to be legal then that's fine. But make it legal, in writing, in the rule book. But as things stand, this is just as illegal as a defensive back knocking over a receiver just as he's about to catch a pass 10 yards down field, before the ball even reaches him. Add this kind of thing (which it appears almost all teams are doing and getting away with now) to the new emphasis on defenseless receivers and then all the silly penalties for "roughing the passer" every time one gets tapped even slightly on the head, and what we have is an outright and irrefutable case that the NFL is legislating in favour of (or in this case failing to legislate against) the offenses of the league. The reasons might be many, but just taking a wild guess in the dark I would say it has a lot to do with making the game "more exciting", providing you enjoy watching basketball played on grass (or artificial turf), which I imagine the league is hoping will bump audiences and thus revenues. Call me cynical, because basically I am, but this to me is getting beyond a joke. As I see it, the fairness is being sapped from a game I love watching in favour of artificial offense and a desire for higher scoring games. Which sucks. P.S. Keep watching the 'Playbook' video past this incident, keeping an eye out for the segment where Brian Baldinger brings up the Chiefs defensive back field. It highlights rookies Eric Berry, Kendrick Lewis and Javier Arenas. Eric Berry was no surprise this season but the other two -- especially Lewis -- have been to most people, as Baldinger points out. I'd now just like to take this opportunity then to point you in the direction of my rookie watch list, where all 3 of those players have been sitting since before week 1. It's nice being right. Sometimes.

Week 15 picks (part1)

It's that time again. Sunday picks part 1. New Orleans Saints @ Baltimore Ravens: Great. First game up and I'm stuck. Ultimately I have to pick one of these two teams, but the problem is that every time I pick against either team it comes back to bite me in the butt. So either way I'm bound to lose. I'm destined by the gods of football to be cursed to defeat. A bit like the Lions on the road. I have to pick somebody though and the teams don't make it easy. The Saints are slipping under the radar somewhat with the success of the Falcons being the main storyline in the NFC South. It looks like New Orleans is almost destined now to at least take a wild card spot. But they're far from perfect. Drew Brees is throwing touchdowns. But he's also throwing interceptions; more than usual. The rushing attack is back up and running, but it still struggles from time to time. The defense is creating turnovers, but not as frequently as it did last year. In essence, everything that went right for the Saints last year is sort of going right again this year. Baltimore is also having a mini-but-not-quite revival. Their defense is playing superbly. Terrell Suggs in particular is having a great year. But at times they struggle on the back end. It looks distinctly like Ed Reed might have lost a step. Couple that with an offense that seems to suffer from periodic bouts of poor execution in both pass protection and play-calling (especially late in games) and you have a recipe for a team that can win big games... and can just as easily shoot itself in the foot. Weighing all the factors into it, I think the Saints might just sneak this one. Their receivers against the Ravens secondary is a good match up. Their O-line is pretty stout and their defense shouldn't have to do anything spectacular against an offense that has no identity or consistency. Saints win. Arizona Cardinals @ Carolina Panthers: Oh my god. Someone is actually going to have to sit and watch this game. Poor sods. So the craptastic Cardinals travel to the equally craptastic Panthers to play a game that sadly could potentially kick start the 4-9 Cardinals into making a recovery and going on to win the NFC West. Only in the NFC West could this even be plausible. So who wins? (who cares?) God love them, because nobody else does, I think it may just be Carolina. I say this because personally I think both teams are horrible, but on balance the Panthers may just be a little less horrible. I trust their defense a little more than I trust the Cardinals. It's not like Carolina to do me any favours though, so this probably has "bad pick" written all over it. Ah well, screw it. Panthers win. Cleveland Browns @ Cincinnati Bengals: Colt McCoy returns to the starting line up as the Browns finally learn the lesson that everyone else did about a year ago; Jake Delhomme sucks. Luckily for the Browns, so do the Bengals. This game is more about pride than anything else, and you just get that sense that the Browns still have some pride left. That, and the fact that the Bengals suck. So, Browns win. Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys: Speaking of teams that suck... the Washington Redskins! (See that segue? Smooth as silk). We'll get into this more lately, but in summary the Redskins are currently in self destruct mode. The only possible explanation for what's happening in Washington is that they're in the market for a QB and want to pick as early as possible come next April. Because (I know! Grammar) this surely can't be a team that wants to win games. Otherwise they wouldn't have so horrendously botched their 2 minute drill at the end of the first half last week. They wouldn't have wasted the talents (and money) of Albert Haynesworth just so that Mike Shanahan could win the chest thumping competition. And they wouldn't have benched McNabb who, while having his occasional moments of pure mediocrity, has still been pretty good. We'll get into this deeper, later. For now, suffice to say that morale in Washington seems to be at an all time low. The quality of their play is at an all time low. And the quality of their coaching is at an all time low. The Cowboys should walk this. In theory. Cowboys win. Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts: Christ, am I really about to say this; The Jaguars are one win away from clinching the AFC South. There you go. I said it. One win away. All the Jaguars have to do is beat the Colts (easy as that) and they're playoff bound. Somehow. At the start of the season I would have given you 50-1 odds that the Jaguars would make the playoffs and I would have smiled as I gleefully took your money and stowed it away safe. Skip forward a few months and I would be anxiously biting my nails to the bone, praying that somehow Peyton Manning could perform a miracle. Of course there is currently nobody better to have on the football field when you need a miracle than Manning. Even short of a few key weapons, Manning is still lethal. Lost in the clamour to deride the Colts for their recent losing streak was the fact that Manning has still been throwing for a ridiculous number of yards. Take out his more recent interceptions and I remember someone working it out that Manning would be completing 80% of his passes, despite throwing in excess of 40 times per game. That's just crazy. Or lucky. Or very good. Or a combination of all those things. And as much as I like Maurice Jones-Drew (with the exception of his end zone celebrations) and as much as I like Rashad Jennings, having spent the best part of 12 months championing him, I still like the Colts more. Their defense may struggle to contain the run, but I think the Jaguars secondary is going to struggle even more to contain Manning and his hi-octane attack. Looks like I might be holding on to that bet money for a little longer. Colts win. Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins: Two teams. No more dreams. At least this year. So it comes down to divisional pride once more, and I'm not sure how much the Dolphins have left, because they just seem deflated lately. Whether it's the departure of Bill Parcells, their poor home record (1-5), the controversy at quarterback, or some other mysterious reason, the Dolphins appear to be in the mood to just pack up and go back into hibernation for the winter. Not so the Bills, who have fought tooth and nail this year since Ryan Fitzpatrick was installed as the starter. Shame that they're just not very good really. But a bad Bills team could just well be a match for a battered and broken Dolphins team. I'm reminded of one of my favourite coaching phrases that I unashamedly stole from a high school coach; "Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard." The Dolphins are probably slightly more talented, but the Bills look harder working. I've also noticed that this is the second season in a row that a Mike Nolan coached defense has flopped in the second half of the season. Bills win. Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Giants: The prime clash of the weekend goes down in the New Meadowlands as the Eagles visit the Giants for a game that could potentially decide the NFC East this season. The loser would still have a good crack at the playoffs through a wild card berth, but obviously both teams would be happier with the win and the prospect of automatic qualification. Which means all bets are off. Both teams are likely to bring a higher level of intensity. Both coaches will be digging deep and staying up late to put all the final touches and odd tweaks on the game plan. Its game time! Hyperbole done, who wins? The Eagles with their explosive offense and slightly unstable defense, or the Giants with their rugged & athletic D tied to an offense that can be so-so? I think New York has the edge. Last time these two came face to face, the Giants figured out a plan for keeping Michael Vick in check. They executed it well and it nearly paid off. Unfortunately, Eli "butter fingers" Manning ran for a first down and then promptly fumbled the ball away in comical fashion. Since that game the Giants defense has gotten even more dangerous. Rookie Jason Pierre-Paul has been coming alive, as has the rest of the front seven. More importantly, so has the Giants offense. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw have been a revelation in the past two weeks. They're simply putting up ridiculous numbers on the ground, smashing defenses out of the way and scooting untouched to the end zone as if it were a routine thing for NFL running backs. The ease with which they have carved up defenses, coupled with stout play from their own defense leads me to believe it will be a happy revenge game for the Giants. Giants win. Kansas City Chiefs @ St. Louis Rams: What we're looking at is potentially two Western division champions. Potentially. That cause will be hampered by the fact that they have to play each other on Sunday afternoon (Eastern). But can the Chiefs overcome their terrible road record to pull out the win, or will the Rams remain reasonably solid at home and take another step closer to winning the west? Put simply, you can't trust the Chiefs on the road. Especially if they're missing Matt Cassel again. I also don't trust the Chiefs to run the ball, which is where there greatest strength lies with the one-two punch of Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones. I've seen it too many times. I put faith in a team to do the right thing and they don't. (Wait, didn't I just back the Giants based on them doing the right thing...) With or without Cassel at quarterback, the Chiefs routinely struggle through the air. While Dwayne Bowe making great touchdown grabs might make the highlight reels, the truth is that the Chiefs are not a premier passing team. That's not what they do. It's not "who they are". Yet last week we saw an abundance of poor Brodie Croyle who was thrust into action against a brutal Chargers defense. The Chiefs have to reverse that trend this week, but hoping that they will is not sufficient for me to pick them. As I said, too many times I have relied on a good team doing what seemed logical and thus ended up getting burnt when they threw out the rule book and went spread offense on my ass. So with that in mind I'm taking the Rams. They have a pretty good team of their own now. RB Steven Jackson and QB Sam Bradford seem to complement each other well. They have a pass rush which has mysteriously evolved out of nothing over the course of the season. Sometimes they even make big plays on defense. Sometimes. Rams win. Detroit Lions @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers: This is what happens when you use planned parity. You get Lions vs Buccaneers games. Which actually isn't that bad. Both teams have significantly upgraded themselves for this season, though only one team seems to have found a way to consistently turn upgrades into wins. The Lions have been good. At times great. But they lack that cutting edge, that killer instinct. They've also been done by shitty officiating in two games against the Bears, but that's something they can't control and sadly the things they can control they just don't control very well. It's like an uncontrolled demolition (point belaboured and murdered). The Buccaneers are the opposite. At times they've been staring certain defeat in the eyes and yet somehow have a knack of squeezing out of tight spots. When they do, they then go into assassin mode and finish off opponents mercilessly. Kind of. That's why I have to take Tampa Bay. Relatively speaking the Lions probably have more talent on their roster, but they never seem to be able to get all that talent working at once towards a unified goal. The Buccaneers meanwhile line up and just let LeGarrette Blount pound and beat the opposition into submission, before Josh Freeman applies the coup de grace. It's not as pretty and it's susceptible to being exposed by the better teams, but against teams like the Lions it gets the job done. Fire The Cannons! Buccaneers win. Houston Texans @ Tennessee Titans: This should be pretty easy, mainly because of how bad the Titans are. I'm not saying that the Texans are saints, immune to any and all criticism. But they're not the Titans. Which is lucky for Houston because the Titans are bad right now. They have almost no sense of direction. Coach Jeff Fisher seems resigned to the fact that as the weeks pass it becomes more and more apparent that he will lose his job at the end of the season. The Vince Young fiasco may have been tipping the point. Now put that up against the Texans, who fought valiantly to drag themselves back into last Mondays game against the Ravens. Admittedly they wouldn't have had to drag themselves back if it weren't for their inept defense and poor special teams coverage, but that's not the point. The Titans are nowhere close to being an offensive threat and the Texans know it. Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson should have a feast, joined later in the game by Arian Foster. Texans win. So that's part one of my week 15 picks all done and dusted. The rest will follow tomorrown. But before I head to bed and you head to... wherever it is you're headed, there's just time to indulge in some slightly unnecessary but ultimately rewarding bashing of ProFootballTalk.com. Well, partly. First off they did post a good article regarding the benching of Donovan McNabb. Apparently Mike Shanahan wants Rex Grossman to start and wants to see how John Beck will perform in the "number 2 role". I'm sorry? The number 2 role? As in, how does John Beck cope with standing on the sideline and doing precisely jack shit during the game while Grossman is out on the field filling the only real QB role available on the team. Now I have no issues with the Grossman part of it. McNabb has been good in general but hasn't exactly lit up the world and is prone to mistakes at critical moments, usually trying to bounce the ball off the turf to his receivers as if it were a basketball game. I get that. I understand that you want to test Grossman out to see if he will be any better for next year. But to demote McNabb to number 3 on the depth chart and say that you want to see how John Beck performs as a number 2? That's just downright disrespectful to someone who has tried to stay cool and calm during his tenure and has tried to maintain an air of professionalism around his team. This is basically a kick in the teeth. What exactly is John beck going to do on Sunday as the "number 2 guy" ........... ? Precisely; fuck all. This is nothing more than a petty snub at McNabb by Shanahan, trying to divert blame onto him for the franchises failings this season. Heaven forbid anyone should point the finger at Mike Shanahan, the great Shanahan who has fallen very rapidly from the lofty highs of football coaching fame ever since losing John Elway to retirement. And most of all old Mike has to protect and mask the ineptitude of his son Kyle Shanahan as the offensive coordinator, or else some might begin to question whether Shanahan the younger isn't just riding his fathers name to get along in the NFL. Not that I might be suggesting the NFL is one big 'old boys' club.... Next from PFT.com is the Friday 10 pack by Mike Florio, in particular focusing on item 2. According to Florio, Ravens QB Joe Flacco is an elite quarterback and Falcons QB Matt Ryan is not, based entirely on playoff records. Personally I think neither of them has been around long enough to be considered "Elite", but if push came to shove I'd take Ryan over Flacco in a heartbeat. See, what Florio seems to be missing is that while indeed Flacco has the greater number of playoff wins, that's not what the question of elite quarterbacks is about. The Ravens have won the games they have under Flacco largely because of a combination of their defense and Ray Rice. If anything, Flacco has been holding back a very good team that arguably should have been to another Super Bowl by now. Contrast that with Ryan, who has been a quality quarterback that has lead his offense well, been hailed as a great leader on the team and this season has earned a reputation for being a "clutch" QB (which makes all the more puzzling Florio's assertion that; "This year, we’d rather have Flacco under center in a money game, especially if that game is being played away from home.") What has held back Ryan in his career so far is a defense that has taken till 2010 to become truly competitive. Even then they often have a habit of leaving the door just slightly ajar for the opposition, forcing Ryan to Cooley drive down the field in the last few minutes in order to slam that door shut. To me, trying to suggest the notion that Flacco is a superior QB to Ryan is as obviously ludicrous as trying to convince someone that a lump of coal is much brighter than a snowball. But then I've come to expect such ridiculousness from Mike Florio of late. Tit. And finally from the hallowed pages of PFT.com, Michael David Smith tries to convince the world that somehow Miles Austin has had his talent drained away by a mysterious force and is no longer worthy of the contract extension he received. I find this hard to believe. Minus Tony Romo, everyone on the Cowboys team has suffered a dip in their numbers. Part of this is strategic. Part of this is Kitna's struggles with the deep ball. Very little of it seems to be Austins fault. The impression I get from the article is that the author wants to make Jerry Jones look silly (not usually a hard thing) for paying Austin. But the fact is that with the ball in his hands this season, Austin has been every bit as good as he was last year. If the Cowboys could just find more ways to feed the monster then I'm sure he'd happily indulge himself with a nice serving of yards and touchdowns. Have a great day everyone. (E-mail any abuse to: keepingthechainsmoving@live.co.uk )

Thursday Night Football

Time for a bit of Thursday Night pick 'em. But first, more complaining. I have a simple question; who the hell does Rodger Goodell think he is? Two of the latest fines that have caught my attention are these: Kenny Britt; fined $5,000 for wearing a towel that had "#10 VY" written on it during the Colts game. Tony Brown; fined $5,000 for wearing red cleats during the Colts game. I don't get it? How in the name of god does the NFL have the power or even the right to fine someone $5,000 (Five. Thousand. Dollars.) just for wearing a pair of cleats that aren't of an approved color? I could understand if the team itself wanted to discipline a player who had been asked not to do a certain thing (like wear red cleats) or who they felt was taking actions negative to the clubs image (with the VY towel), but even then not to the tune of $5,000. It's just getting ludicrous. The amount of control wielded by the commissioner and the way it's being wielded is absolutely absurd. What annoys me the most though is three fold: 1) Goodell's smug face. 2) Why the national media aren't doing more. 3) Why the players aren't doing more. Everyone just seems to be sitting on their God damn hands hoping that this is some aberration for the 2010 season that will blow over in time. Well it's not going to is it. What we've seen consistently is that if Goodell wants something and nobody puts up a fight, then he gets it. He's not going to back down from his current dictatorial approach unless someone applies a little pressure. Which is why I'd like to see the US media do something for a change. The analysts on NFL Network sometimes mention it in passing, or complain during a highlight reel, but I don't see an organised resistance. I don't see them banding together and making their feelings known more vociferously. And what about the other networks? Everyone complains briefly but then does nothing more. Why? As a mere blogger with a (very) limited reach, I have basically zero power to put a stop to all of this. But the big networks? They represent (or at least should do) NFL fans across the states and the world, and they have an obligation I feel to make the fans concerns known. They also have the power, if they dislike Goodell (which, judging by their comments many do) to put that message out there and make it clear that Goodell is an ass who needs to go. And the Players? I've heard some comments from a few Baltimore and Pittsburgh players, but that's it. The rest of the league..... almost nothing. Everyone seems to be happy to complain about these things on Twitter or to quietly grumble to their local rag, but where is the concerted effort to make a stand? When are these people going to grow a sack and start hitting out with a unified voice against Goodell? Yeah you might get fined a few thousand dollars. Yeah maybe the owners might look at you with a little suspicion. But that's why you all get together and go balls to the wall to make a point. That goes for the press to. They've got to stop kissing Goodell's ass and actually stand up for what's right. Just look at that weasel Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk.com. He used to be all about the fans and reporting unbiasedly about whatever issues came up. Now he's practically a step away from being Goodell's lap dog because he smells a chance to get a permanent slot on NBC television. This is precisely what free speech and free press was designed for; to allow people to hit back at dictatorial regimes like Goodell's. It's about fucking time some of these big shot media people exercised that right and told Goodell - on behalf of the fans if nothing else - where he can stuff his fines, stuff his "enhanced season" and where he can stuff his ridiculous "roughing the passer" penalties too! Ahem. What was I saying? Ah yes, Thursday Night pick! San Francisco 49ers @ San Diego Chargers: Interesting. The 49ers had a great game last Sunday, as did the Chargers. Both teams need a win pretty badly to keep alive their respective hopes of making it to the playoffs. Of course, the fact that I just mentioned the 49ers and the playoffs in the same sentence says a lot about the NFC West this year. San Francisco's hopes are alive only because of the spectacular level of mediocrity that exists in their division. They've been no better really. Or have they? After getting soundly whipped by the Seahawks in week 1, they then took the defending Super Bowl champions right to the wire. The Chiefs battered them the next week only for the 49ers to have the Falcons nearly wrapped up a week later. Only a god awful fumble allowed the Falcons to snatch victory from the Jaws of certain defeat. A week after the 49ers took the Eagles to the wire and lost by 3, then went on to beat the Raiders. Then lost, somehow, to the Panthers. They then beat the Broncos and Rams in successive games before being blown out by the Bucs'. They trounced the Cardinals, got run over a week later by the Packers, then hammered the Seahawks into the floor. All in all, something of a sketchy season for my 49ers. But they are probably a bit better than that record tells. Especially when you look at the performance of Alex Smith last week. Operating in the Shotgun and using more of a spread style look, Smith was suddenly back in his comfort zone and doing well. Well enough to beat the Chargers? That's hard to say. The 49ers defense isn't exactly the most stout in the league, despite sporting a number of very good (read; under rated) players at various positions. That kind of poses a problem against the Chargers, what with them having Philip Rivers at Quarterback. And Vincent Jackson at wide receiver. And the rest of the Chargers receivers. And Jacob Hester at Fullback. And Mike Tolbert or Darren Sproles at running back. That's before we even get to the defense. In summary; shit bags. Chargers win. Have a great day everyone.

Week 11 NFL recap

So, recap time, and I'm afraid it's going to be a brief one again this week. Now I received an e-mail (you can reach me at keepingthechainsmoving@live.co.uk ) which enquired as to why the recaps have been much shorter in recent months, especially when compared with this time last year. The answer is two-fold; a) My work schedule and b) the way I go about doing recaps Problem A is solvable. My current contract ends in about two, maybe three weeks, and I have no plans to renew it. Problem B is a bit more difficult. The simple reality is that it's humanly impossible to watch every game, every week. Thus in many cases I'm reliant on a combination of; a) highlights and b) statistics, specifically the box score. The two are conjured together with a dash on knowledge and past form to create the recap. Last year this process was helped immeasurably thanks to; a) NFL.com's highlights with radio calls and b) some player specific highlights (such as a QB or RB) As you can see, I like lists. The key was that last year they condensed the game into a 5 or 6 minute reel, including most of the key plays. More to the point, I was able to click back on the time stream and re-watch certain things like a TD pass without the whole video stopping and having to reload itself from that point, in order to check multiple things such as (here comes another list); a) Receivers routes, b) blitz's c) The QB's movement in the pocket, his head movement etc This year however the radio call highlights are gone. All that is left is a "highlight" reel that sometimes amounts to as little as showing 50 seconds of footage, with the NFL networks Gameday crew yapping over the top (There's something about Steve Mariucci; I just can't stand his OTT presentation style). If you think I'm the only one who doesn't like it, go to Google and type in "nfl.com highlights with radio calls". Some of the posts on various team forums are hilarious. This means that in order to get a decent look at the game I have to do the following (another list); a) Go to NFL.com b) Click on the game in question c) Click on the highlights tab d) Click on the sub tab for fantasy highlights e) Watch each individual highlight with the more helpful radio calls (down and distance for example) f) Endure a 15-30 second advert before every second highlight clip. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) this process is thus extremely laborious. Coupled with typing and proof reading, on average doing a full and proper recap takes between 5 and 7 hours (the condensed version a mere 3-4). Again, needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) this does not mix well with my current work schedule. So now you know. I'm sure those of you who are still awake are delighted about that. On with the recap: Baltimore Ravens 37 @ Carolina Panthers 13: - What were you expecting? For Brian St. Pierre to pluck an unlikely win out from his butt? - The crowd turned nasty when he started throwing picks (into triple coverage) but I guess you have to credit Carolina for giving the comeback a go. - Panthers RB Mike Goodson took 22 carries for 12o yards. Coupled with Jonathan Stewart next year, the Panthers now have little reason to renew DeAngelo William's contract. - 9 first downs to 22. Guess who had which. - Both teams were shocking on 3rd down (Baltimore: 2/11. Carolina: 1/13) Buffalo Bills 49 @ Cincinnati Bengals 31: - "The Fitzpatrick Strikes back". I warned you (21/34, 316 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs). - I couldn't help but laugh at the Bengals, who finally learned how to put up first half points... only to crumble as Buffalo mounted a second half comeback that would have made the Bengals proud (if they hadn't just had their butts kicked of course). - Both teams produced a 100+ yard rusher (Bills; Fred Jackson, 21 carries, 116 yards, 2 TDs. Bengals; Cedric Benson, 25 carries, 124 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble). - Credit to Bills receiver Steve Johnson (8 receptions, 137 yards, 3 TDs). - Bengals corner Johnathan Joseph grabbed two picks (one for six), but his lack of production compared to last year has hurt the Bengals this season. Detroit 19 @ Dallas Cowboys 35: - My sympathy's to regular reader/commenter Kevin... a Lions fan (ha, ha). - Shaun Hill was 32/47 for 289 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT. That is some serious dinking and dunking right there. - Conversely John Kitna came back to haunt his previous team with 18/24 for 147 yards and 3 TDs (plus a rushing TD.... on a bootleg. John Kitna. On a bootleg). - Rookie Bryan McCann made another smart play to earn a TD this week. Nice to see a young player being rewarded for his hard work and smarts. Cleveland Browns 20 @ Jacksonville Jaguars 24: - The Jaguars left it late again, coming back with two 4th quarter TDs. - The Browns wont win games on a regular basis until they learn to punish teams for their mistakes (Garrard threw 3 interceptions, Jones-Drew another, and the Jaguars fumbled twice). - It wasn't a great day for offensive linemen, with 10 sacks (Browns; 4. Jaguars; 6) - Keep an eye for the rest of the season on Browns LB Chris Gocong, who (if I remember correctly) is a free agent at the end of the season. Could be a bargain basement scoop for someone. Arizona Cardinals 13 @ Kansas City Chiefs 31: - Yep, the Cardinals are bad. - Cardinals QB Derek Anderson (25/46, 295 yards) produced just 1 TD. - The Chiefs got back to their running game again (Jamaal Charles; 12 carries, 88 yards. Thomas Jones; 15 carries, 71 yards, 2 TDs). - Dwayne Bowe; 6 catches, 109 yards, 2 TDs. Beware again. - Kendrick Lewis, Eric Berry and Javier Arenas (1 sack) (all watch Lister's) filled three of the top four tacklers slots on the Chiefs D. Green Bay Packers 31 @ Minnesota Vikings 3: - When Brad Childress urged his team before the game to "get a sack", I don't think this was quite what he had in mind. - Brett Favre's glorious return fizzled out into 17/38 for 208 yards and an INT. - Aaron Rodgers meanwhile cruised to 22/31 for 301 yards and 4 TDs. - Greg Jennings did ok to; 7 receptions for 152 yards, 3 TDs. Houston Texans 27 @ New York Jets 30: - Oh dear, the Texans blow another good comeback. - Two sacks for Texans DE Mario Williams is promising though. Now, if they can just trade in the rest of that D.... - Mark Sanchez (22/38, 315 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) came through in the clutch again, as did WR Santonio Holmes (7 receptions, 126 yards, 2 TDs) - LaDanian Tomlinson showed everyone the versatility which is part of why the Jets picked him up and why those backing him in Free Agency should be considered geniuses... (*cough, cough*) (12 carries, 36 yards. 7 receptions for 71 yards). Oakland Raiders 3 @ Pittsburgh Steelers 35: - ... Unless of course they picked the Raiders to beat the Steelers. - How do you overcome 14 penalties for 163 yards? By playing the Raiders it seems. - On a serious note, if the NFL is trying to prove that they are not biased against Pittsburgh, as many Steelers fans believe they are, then this will amount to a PR disaster. It was almost blatant at times. - Funniest moment of the week? Watching Ben Roethlisberger run up to Raiders DE Richard Seymour and appear to talk smack... only to get clubbed right in the kisser. Seymour was ejected and has since been fined $25,000. - The Steel Curtain descended once more with 6 sacks. - Roethlisberger completed just 18/29, but did so for 275 yards and 3 TDs. Washington Redskins 19 @ Tennessee Titans 16: - Donovan McNabb; 30/50 for 376 yards and an INT. One TD. One. - Vince Young; 12/16 for 165 yards, one set of pads picked off, one locker room lost. - The Titans failed to score an offensive TD. Their sole TD of the game was picked up by emerging weapon, rookie WR Marc Mariani on an 87 yard punt return. And yet the Redskins still struggled just to take the game to overtime. Seattle Seahawks 19 @ New Orleans Saints 34: - Drew Brees; 29/43, 382 yards, 4 TD's, 2 INT's. This is a bit more like the real Drew Brees. - Matt Hasselbeck; 32/44, 366 yards, 1 TD. Another of the season favourite "all yards, little scores" performances. - Saints RB Chris Ivory stopped being a threat and actually became a factor with 23 carries, for 99 yards, 1 TD. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21 @ San Francisco 49ers 0: - Guess I shouldn't have laughed at the Lions fan really. - Troy Smith; 16/31 for 148 yards, 1 INT. Dare I say "bring back Alex Smith"? - Credit to Smith though, he put up more rushing yards on 5 carries (45) than Frank Gore did on 12 carries (23). - The 49ers O-line looks F***ing horrid. Worse, they look like Seattle. - Josh Freeman; just 13/20 for 136 yards, but crucially 2 TD's. - LaGarrette Blount; 26 carries, 82 yards. - Patrick Willis finished the game with 9 tackles and 2 sacks. Now if the rest of the defense could just pitch in we'd be well away. Atlanta Falcons 34 @ St. Louis Rams 17: - The QB battle was fairly even (Matt Ryan; 26/39, 253 yards, 2 TD's. Sam Bradford; 27/42, 233 yards, 2 TD's, 1 INT). - The RB battle wasn't (Michael Turner; 28 carries, 131 yards, 1 TD. Steven Jackson; 11 carries, 54 yards). - Predictably, Curtis Lofton led his team in tackles with 7. In fact, the Falcons played it pretty much exactly as I called it. I'm starting to like the Falcons. - Rams Tight End Michael Hoomanawanui. They need to get this guy the ball more so we can laugh at announcers trying to pronounce his name. Indianapolis Colts 28 @ New England Patriots 31: - Say what you like about the Colts and the Patriots, they put on an entertaining game. - In the run up to the game, Peyton Manning was worried about the Patriots listening in to the Colts locker room. Turns out it was the Colts pulling out the underhanded tricks; Brady complained after the game in a radio interview that the Colts D-linemen were trying to mimic the Patriots snap count during the final few plays. - It was a tale of two very different QB performances (Peyton Manning; 38/52, 396 yards, 4 TD's, 3 INT's. Tom Brady; 19/25, 186 yards, 2 TD's). - Running backs BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead played a pivotal role in the Pats win (Green-Ellis; 21 carries, 96 yards, 1 TD. Woodhead; 7 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD). - The Colts 3rd down efficiency (11/14 - 78%) and red zone efficiency (4/4 - 100%) were scary. Shame about the picks hey Peyton. New York Giants 17 @ Philadelphia Eagles 27: - Eli Manning; 20/33, 147 yards, 2 TD's, 3 INT's. Tack on an incredibly stupid fumble near the end of the game and you have a receipe for an over rated QB. - The Giants receivers must bear some of the blame. At times their technique and awareness were appalling. - Michael Vick; 24/38, 258 yards. Stood up to the blitz well. A key stat though is his 11 carries for 34 yards and a TD. Much reduced compared to last week. - Despite losing, the Giants D set a precedent for keeping Vick under control (sort of), by blitzing from his left and forcing him to scramble right. With defenders in hot pursuit he was unable to stop and cock back his left arm for a throw. - Eagles RB LeSean McCoy busted out a few big runs to end the game with 14 carries for 11 yards and a TD. - When he gets going Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw can be outstanding. The trouble is his O-line seem to have trouble remembering who they're supposed to be blocking and how to make the blocks when they do remember. - On the other hand, the Eagles O-line were largely pretty good. - Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora are beasts. Tuck took home 6 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Though Umenyiora doesn't ave the stats, his athleticism was on display, blocking off running lanes for Vick and forcing him back into the rest of the Giants D. Denver 14 @ San Diego Chargers 35: - Classic. I should have known that the "Modest Yards, actually scores points" Chargers would show up. - Speaking of which; Philip Rivers; 15/24, 233 yards, 4 TD's, 1 INT. - Mike Tolbert; 25 carries, 111 yards, 1 TD. - Question; given the success of Fullbacks like Mike Tolbert and Clevelands Peyton Hillis, plus power backs like LaGarrette Blount, will we see a rash of FB type running backs next year? I hope so, it's one of the reasons I put Charles Scott on my watch list (He's on the Giants practice squad at the minute), and backed Brit Miller, formerly of the 49ers (now on the Rams practice squad). - Kyle Orton; 24/38 for 217 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. How can he and the Broncos offense fluctuate so much week to week? - The Chargers D racked up 5 sacks, including 2 for LB Shaun Phillips. Given Phillip's performance this season, it's much easier to understand why the Chargers dumped Shawne Merriman. - Comparing 3rd down efficiency tells us a lot (Bronocs; 1/12 - 8%. Chargers; 7/14 - 50%). - Is this the start of the Chargers now annual comeback streak? There we go then. 15 games, all wrapped up. Including the Thursday night game that means I finish the week at a respectable 11-5 from a pick perspective. For the season I'm now 83-77, which is still bad. Now hopefully this week I can get my retrospective of the rookie watch list done. He says..... Have a great day everyone

A funny day in the world of the league

So what's been happening this week? -- Rex and Rob Ryan have exchanged some funny ass press conferences. Not sure how it will pan out but Rob looked mighty pissed off. -- The fine flurry in the NFL went into ridiculous over load this week. Kenny Phillips was fined $5,000 for a facemask. Bart Scott was fined $20,000 for a breach of the uniform policy (he left his chin strap unsnapped during live play). But the best two are cleat related. I sh!t you not; cleat related. Bernard Berrian claims he was fined $5,000 for wearing yellow cleats on Sunday. But with the bizarre logic and sense of fairness that is possessed only by those in the higher ranks of the NFL, Chad Ochocinco was fined $20,000 for wearing gold cleats. $20,000. For gold cleats. Are you f***ing kidding me? When, when, did it become ok to fine players for wearing the wrong coloured cleats? A warning maybe, but $20,000? That's ridiculous! I know it's not fashionable to stick up for players on stuff like this. After all they're multi-millionaires and deserve to get squeezed for every cent right? But come on. This is just beyond stupid. Never mind the CBA, the players should just go on strike now against this ridiculous policy of fines for such petty crap. It's making a joke of the NFL. And the cumulative effect of these fines is really starting to grate on the nerves of many fans. -- Oh, and there was a game last night. Baltimore Ravens 21 @ Atlanta Falcons 26: Someone please explain this to me; the Falcons had the lead for almost the entire game, yet Michael Turner has just 17 carries and Matt Ryan threw the ball 50 times (completing 32 for 316 yards and 3 TDs). Have the Falcons not heard of burning the clock and trying to avoid throwing away a lead (literally). Luckily for them Matt Ryan has earned a reputation for being ice-cold under pressure and even more luckily he came up good once again in the dying seconds. Atlanta scored an absolute gem in that one. As did I, kicking off the week pick wise at 1-0. Talking of which, I'll be back a little later with the rest of my picks for this week. By later, that could potentially mean tomorrow, but such is the joy of work/sleep/necessary chores. Have a great day everyone.

Week 4 NFL picks (part 2)

Time to finish off my picks for Week 4, starting with:

Colts @ Jaguars -- The Jaguars are truly horrible. I mean truly and utterly horrible. They have an appalling secondary and against Peyton Manning & the Colts that is basically a death sentence. Colts win.

Texans @ Raiders -- The Texans minus starting left tackle Duane Brown were well and truly beaten up by the Cowboys. DeMarcus Ware had a field day with 3 sacks and more pressures. The question then becomes whether the Raiders can match this feat and also run rough shod over Matt Schaub? I think they can. Two names spring to mind; Kamerion Wimbley and Richard Seymour. I imagine both guys will finish with at least a 1 in the sack column next to their name. I'm also anticipating Bruce Gradkowski and Darren McFadden ripping apart a terrible D. Raiders win.

Redskins @ Eagles -- Donovan McNabb returns to Philadelphia looking to stick it to his old team and a legion of fans who are unhappy with McNabb for not taking them to Superbowl glory. Many have argued this and point that McNabb took the team to the big game once and to the NFC Championship game many other times. Others still would argue that if it wasn't for McNabb then they would have won more than just one of those multiple championship games.

Whichever way you lean, it's pretty safe to say that this will be an emotionally charged game. Which I see Philly winning. I like Vick as a runner and passer, certainly more so than McNabb. I like LeSean McCoy better than Clinton Portis. I like DeSean Jackson more than Santana Moss. Maybe the Redskins earn the TE edge with Chris Cooley over Brent Celek, but even that is tight. I certainly like the Eagles D over the Redskins D, which says a lot about the Redskins D. Anyway, Eagles win.

Cardinals @ Chargers -- There is always one game per week where you really don't fancy either team. You think both are equally capable of losing through their own ineptness. This would be it for week 4. I dislike the Chargers just a little less than the Cardinals, so I'll give them the edge. Chargers win.

Bears @ Giants -- If it wasn't for the game above, this could probably qualify as the "don't fancy either team to win it" game. The Bears are quite possibly the worst 3-0 team in history. The Giants are just plain bad. Their vaunted pass rush went missing last year and has failed to return this year. Even the offense is looking bad. Sure they can put up the yards. But scores? No. So who do I dislike more? Even though they're 3-0 I think I have to go against the Bears. Surely they cant come up lucky 4 weeks running? Giants win.

Patriots @ Dolphins -- A Monday Night match up with lots of potential. I have no doubt that the Patriots D is going to give up a ton of points once again. The Dolphins offense is more than capable. But how will the Dolphins D handle the Patriots offense? Can they limit them sufficiently? I like the Dolphins secondary. Enough to pick them. Dolphins win.

Have a great day everyone.