Spinning The St. Louis Rams’ 0-3 Start

One of my passions other than sports is politics. I love how politicians can spin almost anything to their advantage.

 

Cut popular programs? It’s only because you were committed to making the tough choices and being fiscally responsible for the good of the state.

 

Raise taxes? It was the only way to save programs that serve the neediest. Besides, rich people pay the most of it.

 

Caught cheating? It’s an opportunity to refocus on the things that really mean the most and come back a new and better man.

 

I’ve made the argument several times that following politics and following sports are really the same thing. It’s just the nuances of the game that change.

 

And so after the Rams’ 36-17 drubbing by Green Bay on Sunday, I decided to mix my two loves, sports and politics, and describe all the terrible things about the Rams through the lens of a political spin master.

 

 

Reality: After the Lions’ win over Washington, the Rams now have the longest active losing streak in the NFL at 13.

 

Spin: Even if the Rams do match the Lions’ streak at 19, they still wouldn’t go winless this year, so they’d still be better than the Lions.

 

 

Reality: Laurent Robinson is out for the season with a broken tibia.

 

Spin: Now Donnie Avery has a chance to prove he can actually adapt to the Rams’ new offense and be more than just a decoy for Keenan Burton.

 

 

Reality: At 0-3, Steve Spagnuolo joins Chiefs head coach Todd Haley and Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris as three of only 32 head coaches in NFL history without a career win.

 

Spin: In Tom Landry’s first year as a head coach as a 36-year-old with Dallas in 1960, the Cowboys went 0-11-1.

 

In Chuck Noll’s first year in Pittsburgh, the Steelers won their first game, then lost their next 16.

 

Bill Parcells went 3-12-1 his first year with the New York Giants.

 

I’m not saying Spagnuolo turns out to be any of these guys, but slow starts in year one with terrible franchises do not preclude long-term success.

 

 

Reality: The Rams lost starting quarterback Marc Bulger.

 

Spin: This is a great opportunity to see if Kyle Boller should be the “veteran playing ahead of the star rookie quarterback for a few games” next year.

 

 

Reality: The Rams have scored only 24 points all season, worst in the league. If they kept their current offensive pace, they would finish with 128 points scored, the lowest total ever in a full 16-game schedule and only three more than the famed 0-14 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

 

Spin: With Kyle Boller in the game, the Rams scored 17 points in the final three quarters on Sunday. If he were to continue that pace for the remaining 52 quarters this season, they would end up with roughly 318 points, which would have ranked a somewhat less-reprehensible 24th last season.

 

(Sorry. Not a whole lot you can do with do with an offense that makes you go back to one of the worst teams in NFL history for a historical comparison. That’s the political equivalent of having a gay love affair with your chauffer and have your wife go on Oprah. You’re just screwed at that point.)

 

 

Reality: With a next four of at San Francisco, Minnesota, at Jacksonville, and Indianapolis, the Rams have a 99 percent chance of going 0-7. And now the Week Eight trip to Detroit doesn’t look so winnable any more.

 

Spin: Ummmm…The St. Louis Cardinals are in the playoffs?

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Chicago Bears Preview Week 4: Lions (1-2) @ Bears (2-1)

Have you ever seen two teams infused with more confidence facing off in a divisional battle then these two? The Chicago Bears are coming off of consecutive wins, but the two wins were against the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks on their own turf. The Lions are also coming off of a win. Yes those infamous 0-16 Lions!

Both teams will be fighting tough in this game, and they have no reason not to. With a win, the Bears could solidify themselves as real competitors in the NFC North. The Lions win, and they follow the path of last year’s Miami Dolphins; starting 0-2 but grabbing a string of wins following.

The Bears offense has had a flip-flop of sorts. Last year, the offense ran through rookie running back Matt Forte. This year, newly acquired quarterback Jay Cutler has played excellently. Much was made over his 4 interception outing at Lambeau Field in Week 1, however many analysts failed to point out that Jay Cutler took over that game in the second half. For the past 10 quarters Jay has played like a Pro Bowl quarterback.

However, Matt Forte seems to be going through a sophomore slump, as his 66 yard outing against the struggling and injury ridden Seahawks defense was his best of the year. Much needs to be made of that game, because for the first time this season it seemed that Lovie Smith and Ron Turner were committed to getting Forte involved in the offense.

As long as the Bears get up by a touchdown or two, they should be able to pound the ball down Detroit’s throat. Detroit went up early on both the Vikings and the Redskins, meaning both teams had to abandon the run to reclaim the lead. The Vikings as a result only got to give the ball to Adrian Peterson 15 times, however he averaged 6.1 yards per carry as he ran over the Lions defense upon Minnesota getting ahead.

When the Lions got down by a large amount against the Saints in Week 1, Saints RB Mike Bell came out of nowhere to run for nearly 150 yards. The formula to run on the Lions? Score early.

The Detroit Lions offense is the team’s strongest point; after a horrendous start to the season, rookie quarterback and number one overall pick Matthew Stafford has become much more conservative with the ball, throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions since his three-pick opening performance.

Stafford has been given some weapons to work with as well, namely physical freak Calvin Johnson, former number two overall pick out of Georgia Tech. Johnson has 13 receptions for 190 yards and a touchdown so far this season and has shown he has connected with Stafford and has earned Stafford’s trust.

However, the Lions will be awaiting injury news on two key players on both sides of the ball; second year running back Kevin Smith and linebacker Ernie Sims. Smith ran for over 100 yards against the Redskins before coming out in the third quarter because of a shoulder injury.

It is unknown how serious the injury is, but the Lions do have veteran Maurice Morris ready to step in if Smith is out. However, losing Kevin Smith would deeply hinder the Lions offense.

Linebacker Ernie Sims might return for this game, however his shoulder injury was said to make him miss a decent chunk of time. So, already having missed the Lions win over the Redskins last week, Sims is unlikely to return, although I wouldn’t count him completely out just yet.

Prediction: Bears 31   Lions 17

The Lions have enough firepower on offense to put up some points, though, the Bears offense can as well. The Bears are playing at home after a tough road win over the Seahawks and should be full of confidence. There’s no worries about looking ahead to a difficult opponent, as the Bears go on a bye the next week. To be quite honest, there’s no reason the Bears should lose this game.

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Breaking News: Chad Pennington Out For Season With Yet Another Injury

 The Miami Dolphins shocked the NFL world last season when they went from last to first, 1-15 to a division crown in one season.

A key contributor to the teams success was Chad Pennington, who last year won Comeback Player Of The Year.

The squad has not found the same luck in 2009, starting off the season at 0-3. However, today became the worst day of the season for the Dolphins, as their quarterback is on the shelf once again.

According to reports, Pennington has been diagnosed with a torn shoulder, and is reportedly out for the remainder of the season.

Pennington is familiar with this type of injury before, having multiple procedures done on the shoulder.

Chad Henne, a second year quarterback out of the University of Michigan, is expected to make his first career start.

Matt Miselis is an NFL writer for BleacherReport.com

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Buffalo Bills Head In To Week Four Needing a Road Win At Miami Dolphins

The Buffalo Bills dropped to 1-2 on the 2009 season by losing 27-7 to the visiting New Orleans Saints Sunday, in a contest that wasn’t decided until well in to the fourth quarter.

The high powered New Orleans’ offense, led by QB Drew Brees, had engineered nine TDs in their first two games. With 14 minutes left in the game, the Saints had only been able to muster 10 points.

There was the forecast of bad weather, which would have made it a challenge for the Saints to play their normal game, especially since they play inside of a domed stadium, but the weather never became an issue.

Watching the experts panel on ESPN before the game, no one thought the Bills’ defense would be able to step up and control Brees, but control him they did. Chris Kelsay, Aaron Schoebel, Kyle Williams, and Marcus Stroud all seemed to be in Brees’s face. Did not see much or hear about Aaron Maybin, so not sure why his name was not called during the game.

The Bills’ defense put fairly consistent pressure on Brees and forced him in to a higher number of dump off throws to avoid taking a sack. What is fairly remarkable about this is that Buffalo lost half of their backfield due to injuries.

Donte Whitner (thumb) and Leodis McKelvin (cracked fibula) departed and did not return. Bryan Scott (ankle) also was hurt. That the reserves were able to shut down Brees to 172 yards passing and no TD passes is pretty impressive.

Unfortunately for the Bills, their offense picked a strange time to disappear. The game seemed to go back and forth waiting for one team to step up and establish that they wanted to control the game and claim a victory. The Bills wound up scoring their only points of the day on their special teams, as the offense was not able to generate anything of significance. Brian Moorman threw a 25-yard pass off a fake field goal to Ryan Denney (defensive end), and he trotted in for their lone score of the day.

One of the keys to any football game is the battle for field position. The Bills’ starting field position after receiving six kickoffs: their own 16, 25, 24, 19, 27, and 20. The Bills’ starting field position after receiving four punts: their own 24, 3, 13, and 21. As these numbers bear out, you can see the Saints were able to contain the Bills’ return game and forced the offense to repeatedly drive the length of the field for the whole game.

The Bills’ offense and head Offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt were not up to the challenge.

It also should be pointed out that Roscoe Parrish had a key fumble on special teams that led to New Orleans taking the lead. He did relatively little in his punt returns throughout the game (except for fumbling) and filled in for McKelvin on kick off returns, but did nothing much there either.

If the Bills were showcasing Parrish for a potential trade, they now know that they shouldn’t expect to receive anything of signifigance for him.

Van Pelt will need to go back to the drawing board and find some other ways to get the ball in the hands of Terrell Owens and Lee Evans. There weren’t any reverses to T.O. this game, and in fact, he never even got a catch, which broke a streak that was third longest in league history.

Maybe the Bills should attempt to set up trips receivers on one side of the field, to make it harder to contain both Owens and Evans. It seems unfathomable that this talented pair of WRs lack the shake and bake skills necessary to get open on short, intermediate, or long routes. What will happen when the weather does turn nasty?

While the game was still in doubt in the fourth quarter, there were three consecutive snaps from Geoff Hangartner that were nowhere near where Trent Edwards was expecting the snap to go to. The bad hikes killed the flow of each play, with two of them resulting in sacks. You just cannot have these kind of mistakes at crunch time. It’s unacceptable if you are trying to be a winning team in the playoffs.

Twice Buffalo drove the ball down to the fringe of Rian Lindell’s outer range for field goals, only to see drives stall at the New Orleans 40 and 47. Both times they had a chance to pin New Orleans deep inside their own territory, but both times Brian Moorman’s punt went in to the end zone.

Moorman did have one punt downed on the three-yard line, but the other two opportunities did not materialize. Three times the Bills were flagged for an illegal block on a punt return or kick return (Wendling, Harris, and Byrd), and each time those flags sent the Bills backward, deep into their own end of the field.

The lack of discipline on special teams and the failure to win the special teams’ battles were some examples of little things the Bills are not doing correctly, and these all contribute to why they are not winning. Outside of the special teams’ TD, Bobby April’s group was not very special again, and this is a troubling sign.

As the game entered the fourth quarter, it was only a matter of time before the depleted secondary woes would catch up with Buffalo, and that is when the flood gates opened.

Pierre Thomas, who sat out the first half due to dehydration, picked up over 100 yards rushing on 12 carries, including two impressive touchdown runs—all in the second half.

The Bills’ defense carried the team again, but this was the first game that they were not able to score a touchdown of their own.

New Orleans’ defense was strong most of the day, and it was eerie to see two ex-Bills, Jabrari Greer and Anthony Hargrove making plays for the opposition. Greer stepped up to break up a pass to Terrell Owens that resulted in Trent Edwards only interception on the day. That was a turning point play in the game.

Now the Bills head down to winless Miami Dolphins (0-3). The Bills received some bad news that two of their defensive secondary starters Donte Whitner and Leodis McKelvin are probably going to be out with injuries suffered in the Saints contest. The Bills are already without MLB Paul Posluszny and have lost starting TE Derek Schouman and starting tackle Brad Butler.

Based on how serious these new injuries turn out to be, it will be interesting to see if the Bills do add some veteran talent, or keep replacing starters by adding new players off of other teams’ practice squads, like they did last week when they plucked Jamon Meredith away from Green Bay. At some point (maybe right now), the dropoff in talent level is too much to overcome when you try to fix a hole with one inexperienced player after another.

On the plus side, the Bills will welcome back Marshawn Lynch after he sat out the first three games due to his league suspension. Freddy Jackson has demonstrated that he is a quality back and is capable of handling the load by himself in consecutive weeks.

He is probably a little banged up, so some sort of rotation between Lynch and Jackson should mean that both players are able to stay fresher as the season wears on.

In addition, defensive back Drayton Florence played in his first game, and his return is timely due to the secondary injuries. Youngsters Jairus Byrd and Reggie Corner will need to step up on Sunday to plug in the holes along with Florence in the secondary.

From reports earlier today, it appears that Miami QB Chad Pennington is going to miss the rest of the season due to the shoulder injury he suffered against the Chargers yesterday. This will force Miami to play inexperienced Chad Henne at quarterback.

His inexperience will be a wash against the Bills’ depleted defensive backfield, so it then will fall on the shoulders of Van Pelt, Edwards, Owens, Lynch, Jackson, and Evans to score some points against the Dolphins’ defense if they want to get back to .500 record. Think the Dolphins had any scouts at the game Sunday?

 

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Oakland Raiders: The Houstan Texans May Be Just What The Docter Ordered

After coming off a disappointing performance and a loss to the Denver Broncos the Raiders are struggling especially on the offensive side of the ball.

But what better way for a struggling team to come back from a loss. This week the Raiders are playing a team who appears to be struggling more especially defensively.

The Houston Texans are giving up a league worst 436.3 yards per game as well as a third worst 86 points in three games.

What offense wouldn’t be anxious to go up against that. The Raider running backs better be as the Texans have the worst rushing defense in the league giving up over 200 yards per game on the ground.

What better way for a struggling QB and offense to build some confidence than by playing the worst defense in the league.

If the Raiders offense, namely JaMarcus Russell, can’t rebound and find some swagger against this struggling defense then they have serious problems. And that would mean it is time to make some serious changes and bench the Raider QB.

The Texans are actually also ranked 30th in rushing offense and the only thing they have going for them is the passing game ranked 9th. This plays right into the Raiders strengths as pass-rush and pass defense are two of the Raiders strengths.

This week four match-up is a great opportunity for the Raiders to get back to .500 build some confidence and quiet a few doubters. If they don’t then the season will likely turn for the worst as losses begin to pile up.

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Fantasy Football Weekly Words: Week 3

Another week has nearly come to a close here in the NFL, and with it, as per usual, has come another batch of story lines to examine. In Whooley’s Weekly Words, I, Bruno Boys Whooley, tackle just a few of the more interesting items to catch my eye from the weekend.

This week, I’ll be discussing the quarterback as I look at the mediocrity of Tom Brady, the magnificence of Peyton Manning, the quarterback controversies brewing around the league, and the zero TD’s thrown by Drew Brees in Week Three.

Tom Not So Terrific?

A 15 point fantasy day—not bad, right? Typically, no, but when you’re talking about Tom Brady, his owners were looking for more, especially since he was coming off a performance of just six fantasy points in Week Two. You see, Tom Terrific never has two so-so games in a row.

Despite coming off a lost 2008 season due to injury, Brady was still considered a top-four quarterback option, at worst, in fantasy drafts this offseason. After all, the last time he was on the field, he set the record for most passing TD’s in a single season with 50 back in 2007.

However, the pay off Brady has given his owners has not matched the investment they made in the QB. Through three weeks, Brady has just three passing TD’s, and really, if it weren’t for Leodis McKelvin and his fumble in Week One, he’d be sitting with two.

So, what’s the problem? Many believe that part of Brady’s struggles could be due to the absence of one of his favorite targets, Wes Welker, these past two weeks. But, Brady has thrived without Welker before, and wide receiver, Julian Edelman has done a decent Welker impersonation in Welker’s absence.

No, the problem is with Brady himself. Just watch a Patriots’ series or two and you’ll see Brady is missing windows he hit frequently during his record-breaking 2007 season.

Whether a ball is overthrown just slightly or thrown behind his target, Brady is just off a smidge. And, a smidge can often be the difference between a one TD outing and a three TD day.

As his timing and confidence in his knee grows, Brady should improve; however, his owners shouldn’t be surprised if Brady is only mediocre at times till those things happen.

Manning Magnificent

The above headline, indeed, could apply to New York Giants’ quarterback, Eli Manning, who has his team sitting 3-0 after three weeks of play.

However, it’s not Eli we’re talking about here. Rather, it’s the Indianapolis Colts signal caller, and Eli’s brother, Peyton Manning that’s the subject of this piece—who by the way also has his team sitting at 3-0 through three weeks.

Remember this offseason when many fantasy owners out there were freaking out because of all the change happening around Manning and the Colts? Turns out, there was really no need to worry.

While I do not wish to take anything away from Tony Dungy, the Colts have indeed been Manning’s team for some time now, and the start of this 2009 season has demonstrated that quite clearly. Rather then struggle with all the regime changes, the Colts and Manning have come out looking stronger than ever.

In the team’s three contests, Manning has gone for 300+ passing yards in each and every one, while throwing seven TD’s to just two INT’s. That feat becomes even more impressive when you consider Manning and the Colts had the ball less than 15 minutes in their Week Two contest with the Miami Dolphins.

How many owners out there do you think are kicking themselves for taking Brady ahead of Peyton in this year’s fantasy drafts?

Quarterback Controversies Brewing

Fantasy football owners and NFL coaches have quite a bit in common. First and foremost, they both hate losing, which leads to a second shared trait—a lack of patience. With three weeks of the season now gone by, that means the rise of quarterback controversies.

So, which teams are considering a change at the quarterback position? To find the answer is simple; just take a look at the teams that currently reside at the bottom of the standings with 0-3 records. After all, if you’re winning, everyone is happy.

Of those 0-3 squads, let’s start with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that totaled just 86 yards in a loss to the New York Giants this past weekend.

Much of that could be contributed to starter Byron Leftwich as he completed just 7 of his 16 attempts for 22 yards with one INT. However, Josh Johnson, the man who replaced him in this contest, did not do much better as he completed just 4 of 10 passes for 36 yards.

Still, head coach, Raheem Morris, apparently saw enough in Johnson to announce today that he will be the team’s starter moving forward.

We’ll have to see how this plays out, but if Tampa struggles as they did Sunday moving forward, it’s going to become a fantasy wasteland with the value of everyone, including Cadillac Williams, Derrick Ward, and Kellen Winslow dropping.

Like Leftwich, Brady Quinn of the 0-3 Cleveland Browns experienced a benching, also, after completing six of eight passes for just 36 yards with one INT against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

Quinn’s starting position may have been saved, though, by the horrendous showing Derek Anderson put up, in which he threw for just 92 yards and three INT’s. The Browns, though, currently sport the worst offense in the league, averaging just 9.7 points per game to go along with 218 yards per game.

Should Quinn not be able to turn things around quickly, don’t be surprised to see Brett Ratliff get a shot at the QB position, especially since Quinn will receive an additional $11 million in incentives if he is under center for 70 percent of the Browns’ snaps this season.

The St. Louis Rams are another squad that may think about changing things up under center. In the first two weeks of the season, the Rams had scored just seven total points with Marc Bulger at the helm.

They scored 17 in Week Three when back-up Kyle Boller took over for an injured Bulger against the Green Bay Packers. Boller wasn’t spectacular by any means, completing just over half of his passes (16 of 31) for 164 yards, two TD’s, and one INT, but he did provide life to what has been a morbid offense early in 2009.

It may be time for the Rams to turn over a new leaf at the QB position much like they did with the WR position this offseason.

Quick Hitter—Drew Brees Shut Down

After throwing nine TD’s in the first two weeks of the season, Drew Brees appeared to be a man possessed. Heck, he was on pace for an astounding 72 TD’s on the year, prompting many to declare Tom Brady’s record of 50 passing TD’s good and dead.

Then, came Week Three, and in what was a stellar match-up on paper against the 31st ranked pass defense of the Buffalo Bills, Brees was shut out in the TD department. All of a sudden, he’s now only on pace for 48 TD’s.

Will Brees best Brady? Only time will truly tell, but remember, folks, football is a fickle game and the stud from one week can easily be a dud the next.

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Oakland Raiders Fans Left Speechless After Loss

So who’s fault is it this time? The Coaches? Ownership? Jamarcus Russell? It doesn’t matter because what’s done is done.

There is plenty of blame to go around, but the fact of the matter is this: The Raiders lost in terrible fashion to a team that outplayed them on both sides of the football, point blank, period.

What more can be said about this outing that hasn’t already been said? The people have spoken and they have spoken loudly enough, but is anyone listening?

Denvers running backs Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter made the much talked about Raiders defense look like swiss cheese. Meanwhile, Darren “Jell-O Hands” Mcfadden fumbled three times and picked up only 45 yards on 12 carries.

Kyle Orton, with 157 yards and one touchdown thrown unmolested, looked like he should have been the number one pick instead of Russell, who once again proved his worth with 61 yards and two interceptions.

Don’t worry though, Raiders fans, according to Cable, Russell will suit up next week for another go.

The only thing Cable can hope for is that the drubbing serves as some form of motivation not only for his team, but for himself to improve as a coach.

As a coach you naturally like to take the blame for a loss; most times it’s to switch the negative media attention away from the players, to cut them some slack. However this time it’s solely on the Cable guy’s shoulders.

Openly admitting that his team was not prepared properly for the game was an understatement; they forgot to hit the alarm clock on Sunday.

Still, amidst all of the struggles this team has had, I am willing to applaud effort, heart, and guts. Those things are present but not consistently from game to game.

There seems to be no sense of urgency, there appears to be no improvement from one game to the next, and, sadly, there is no accountability.

This is inexcusable.

You either get it, or you don’t. There is only so much game film you can watch, so many two-a-days you can put in.

Coach Cable talked in a press conference Monday about how 90 percent of the guys “get it” and the other 10 percent do not. He talked about how it’s a struggle for the coaches to get these guys up to speed.

I say demote them and let them learn from the sidelines. This goes for Russell who Coach inadvertently referenced to as part of the 10 percent.

That said, I believe there needs to be a shake-up with the roster. If not, and the losses keep coming, you might start to see a shake-up in attendance. Maybe that will get management’s attention.

 

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What We Learned After Week 3 In The NFL

With teams keying in on the New Orleans Saints passing game, it really opens up their running game.

The Houston Texans still have a pretty mediocre defense.

With Detroit Lions finally winning (Congrats!) the Browns take firm control of worst team in the NFL.

Browns coach Eric Mangini may not last the season, it looks like the Browns players turned on him in Week 1 after the 1st half against the Vikes.

As already noted on here, Browns QB Brady Quinn continues to look like the bad choice at QB for Cleveland. The Browns are looking like a bad choice for an NFL team.

The 2009 Baltimore Ravens offense is the best ever assembled in Baltimore.

Redskins coach Jim Zorn will probably be on the coaching hotseat soon.

Don’t ever think the Pats are done as a team with Bill Belichick still as head coach and Tom Brady at quarterback.

The Buccaneers still have a bad team, bad defense, bad offense, it’s bad. It might come down to this team and the Browns for worst team in the NFL this year.

Denver Broncos might be one of the least unimpressive 3-0 teams ever.

JaMarcus Russell is indeed a bust at QB and that probably won’t ever change.

Rex Ryan will probably get Coach of the Year.

Brett Favre can actually throw it more than 10 yards. Vikings are pretty fortunate to be 3-0, but that’s the NFL for you, there is some luck involved.

49ers are the new favorite to win the Stinker Division…Again, that could always change next week. They should be 3-0, though, which is mighty impressive. They look like the most complete team in the NFC West.

Chicago Bears are 2-1 but probably won’t make the playoffs.

There is no difference between QB Matt Hasselback or QB Seneca Wallace starting for the Seahawks, they’re both equally unimpressive and both put up the same numbers whenever either one starts.

The Miami Dolphins went down fighting with a valiant effort against San Diego. With the way the Jets and Pats are playing right now, Miami is virtually out of the playoffs with an 0-3 record.

With Chad Pennington out with an injury, the Chargers still had to win a close one at home against the Dolphins. Such is the way with Norv Turner as head coach.

Games in Depth

Tennessee 17 vs. New York Jets 24
Kerry Collins when given time to throw in this game was deadly accurate and it’s a good thing since his receivers were never open at all throughout this game. The NY Jets defense plays aggressive and the Titans offense really struggled at times because of it. The Titans made way too many mistakes in this game to win it, which didn’t happen a lot last year. Mark Sanchez got off to a great start but the Titans defense started to put the clamps down on him later in the game. The Jets are looking great right now, but I can see Sanchez start to struggle as more teams get film on him and opposing defenses start to gel. Don’t be surprised if the Jets struggle later in the season a little. I’m not ready to write off the Titans but they’re clearly looking at a Wildcard spot at best right now.

Pittsburgh 20 vs. Cincinnati 23
The Steelers give another game away by not putting the Bengals away early in this one. Offensive miscues and questionable coaching decisions have cost the Steelers in the last two games. The Steelers defense is struggling to get pressure on opposing QB’s which didn’t happen last year, giving up 20 points in the 2nd half is a big concern to Steeler fans everywhere. Cincy’s improved defense didn’t look so improved in this game with the Steelers tearing up their D for over 200 yards of offense in the 1st half alone. The Bengals play a more ball-control offense now, Carson Palmer looked uncomfortable early but played well in the 2nd half without the Steelers getting any pressure on him. The Bengals offensive line looked great as did the Steelers O-line.

Indianapolis 31 vs. Arizona 10
Turnovers kill you and they sure killed the Cardinals in this game. The Cards offense was able to move the ball only to give the ball away at the most inopportune times. The Cards probably abandoned the run too early in this one. Last week the Dolphins ran all over the Colts but the Cardinals only attempted 12 runs the whole game. Meanwhile Warner had to throw it 52 times for only 332 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT’s. The Colts on offense stayed aggressive throughout the game never letting up, something the Steelers could learn from. The Colts defense looks pretty good but needs to improve if the Colts want to be legit Super Bowl contenders.

Check out my blog footballfury.wordpress.com for more analysis and observations.

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Fantasy Football: Risers and Fallers

(Coffee will benefit from Gore’s absence.)

It took one carry to change Glen Coffee’s fortunes, sending him from solid back-up to fantasy riser status.

Read on for analysis on Coffee and other risers, as well as some players who are dropping in value, and are strong candidates to also be dropped from your team.

 

Risers

Glen Coffee, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Last Week: 25 att, 54 yds, 0 TD

Coffee is only averaging 1.8 yards per carry on the season, but considering 25 of his 35 career carries came against the Vikings’ stout run defense, you should give him a break.

Frank Gore’s ankle injury should keep Coffee’s value at a solid level, and considering San Francisco’s dedication to smash-mouth football, Coffee should project as a fine RB2 against St. Louis and Atlanta for the next two weeks.

Available in 76 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

 

Pierre Garcon, WR, Indianapolis Colts

Last Week: 3 rec, 64 yds, 1 TD

Garcon scored his second straight touchdown and looked much more comfortable as Peyton Manning’s second receiver than he did on last Monday night.

The better chemistry the two have, the better Garcon’s value is. Tight end Dallas Clark is still Manning’s official “number two,” but Garcon is an explosive target that Manning should continue to look to more and more leading up to Anthony Gonzalez’s return.

Available in 67 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

 

Vernon Davis, TE, San Francisco 49ers

Last Week: 7 rec, 96 yds, 2 TD

In just one game against Minnesota, Davis both matched his 2009 reception total, as well as his 2008 touchdown total.

It’s clear that Davis is becoming a bigger part of the offense, and as long as Shaun Hill is confiding in him, he should project as a solid TE2 with the potential to finally achieve TE1 numbers down the stretch.

Available in 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

 

Mark Sanchez, QB, New York Jets

Last Week: 17-30, 171 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT, 4 att, 10 yds, 1 TD

Sanchez proves more each week that he’s a flat-out gamer, and is also proving to be a reliable fantasy option. I’m not sure if he’s channeling Matt Ryan or not, but it’s time to stop waiting for him to mess up, and get him on your roster.

He may not be ready to stand with the big boys as a QB1 yet, and may not all season, but if you were running with Chad Pennington or were still holding out hope on Kyle Orton or Trent Edwards, it may be time to make the jump on Sanchez.

Available in 58 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

For the “Fallers” and much more fantasy advice and news, go here.

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The Dolphins Should Trade For Brady Quinn

Have you ever known two different people who you thought would be perfect for each other? The two parties involved made so much sense that you wonder why they didn’t come together in the first place.

Such is the case with the Cleveland Browns and the Miami Dolphins.

A trade where the Browns send Quinn to the Dolphins would be a win-win scenario for all parties involved.

On one side, the Cleveland Browns are smack in the middle of another quarterback controversy.

Currently, the Browns have two young quarterbacks on the roster – neither of which they can fully support while the other remains with the team. Browns head coach Eric Mangini benched Quinn in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Ravens – effectively shattering any trust either one can have for the other.

For all intents and purposes, Brady Quinn’s time in Cleveland is over.

Furthermore, the Browns still have former Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Anderson on the roster – who proved he could effectively orchestrate Brian Daboll’s offense in limited action.

In Miami, the Dolphins received word today that Chad Pennington’s 2009 season will likely come to an end .

Pennington’s absence leaves Chad Henne to run the offense. Henne did little to impress last weekend against the Chargers – completing 10 of 19 passes for 92 yards. He threw one interception which was returned for a touchdown.

Coming off multiple shoulder surgeries, the 33-year-old Pennington cannot be relied upon to be the long-term answer in Miami.

Enter Brady Quinn.

Quinn’s conservative approach to offensive football fits perfectly with what the Dolphins like to do. In their current run-heavy, wildcat-based offense, the Miami Dolphins do not need a quarterback to throw for 300 yards on Sunday. They need a quarterback to manage the offense, avoid turnovers, hand the ball off to Ronnie or Ricky, and convert short distances on 3rd down.

Quinn would be perfect for that.

The Dolphins are loaded with talent at every position.

In addition to boasting the league’s most potent rushing attack, the Dolphins have a solid offensive line, a capable defense, and talented wide receivers in Ted Ginn Jr. and Greg Camarillo .

They also have tight end Anthony Fasano – who should be more than a little familiar with Brady Quinn.

With Quinn at the helm, Fasano finished his college career with 92 receptions for 1,112 yards and eight touchdowns. He was the second most prolific receiving tight end in the school’s history.

A potential trade of Brady Quinn to Miami would bring about the thrilling conclusion to a memorable 2007 Draft Day.

In 2007, the Cleveland Browns passed on Quinn with the 3rd overall pick of NFL Draft. Brady Quinn was rumored to fall no further than No. 9 – where the Miami Dolphins were projected to draft the Notre Dame standout. In a surprise move, the Dolphins passed on Quinn in favor of Cleveland native, Ted Ginn Jr.

The Browns would eventually strike a deal with Bill Parcells and the Dallas Cowboys – acquiring the 22nd overall draft pick and the rights to draft Brady Quinn.

One more trade with Parcells would be the best case scenario for all parties involved.

If that happened, it really would be a match made in heaven.

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