Week Three Preview: Atlanta Falcons at New England Patriots

When the 2009 NFL schedule came out, you can bet Falcons General Manager Thomas Dimitroff marked this Sundays game on his calendar. This weekend, the Falcons begin a two game road trip. The first stop, Gillette stadium and the New England Patriots. In a recent interview with Jeff Howe, Patriots coach Bill Belichick discussed his former pupil and his progress with the red hot Falcons team.

“He’s gone down to Atlanta and done a great job down there in a pretty short amount of time. [I am] very, very impressed with the team he’s built, put together, the way they play and the way they do things.”

“He did a really good job running our scouting department and adjusted some of the things that we were doing grading-wise—evaluations and things like that we may have overhauled a little bit as the game has changed over the last 10, 15, 20 years, the players and the systems that they play in and the type of things that they’re asked to do. He played a big part in that.”

Make no mistake, all pleasantries will be left behind come kickoff on Sunday. Both bosses mean business and neither expects to come away the loser of their first meeting in a regular season game.

Last weekend, the Patriots were exposed in New York by Rex Ryans Jets team and will be seeking redemption at home.

 

INTERESTING STATS

• The Falcons defense has allowed opponents to convert on almost 50 percent of their 3rd down conversions. The Patriots offense averages around 50 percent in conversions. Not a good sign for the Falcons.
• The Patriots defense has allowed a very low 265 yards per game average. The Falcons offense is averaging 326 with over 100 yards rushing per game.
• Tom Brady is the only quarterback in the NFL with more than 100 passing attempts. Not even Drew Brees (nine TD passes) has eclipsed that mark in two games.
• Falcons defensive end John Abraham is no stranger to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. He has five career sacks in seven meetings against the future Hall of Famer.
• New England has yet to intercept a pass this season and Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has thrown only one.
• The Falcons lead the all-time series 6-5 but lost their last meeting with now Texans quarterback Matt Schaub behind center. Schaub almost brought the team back but made a last minute mistake giving the Patriots the victory.The spot he was given on his run looked questionable, killing the Falcons chance to score.
• The Patriots are 15-0 in their last 15 meetings against NFC opponents.

 

MATCHUPS TO WATCH

WR Wes Welker vs. DBs Chevis Jackson, Chris Owens & Brent Grimes

Hard to say who will line up in the slot on Sunday. Welker is still questionable. But with the speed and agility of Welker the Falcons may slide equally athletic cornerback Brent Grimes into coverage. Tom Brady looks to him as his security blanket and 3rd down option. Whoever draws Welker will have their work cut out for them.

LT Matt Light vs. DE John Abraham

This will be a very interesting battle to watch. Abraham was held sackless last week and will be looking for his 6th sack against Brady. Matt Light is a Pro-Bowl tackle and will look to keep that from happening. This could answer the question of which will prevail: The immovable object or the unstoppable force.

DB Leigh Bodden vs. WR Roddy White

White has yet to put up a 100 yard receiving game and this week could be his best chance. Bodden is a solid veteran but no real match against the budding star White. If Ryan has time to follow his reads, expect to see White have a big game.

 

NOT THEM AGAIN

Patriots receiver Joey Galloway left the NFC South only to face the Falcons once again. These two are very familiar with one another. With the possibility of limited play from Welker expect to see him targeted quite often. He’s not quite as fast as he once was but he’s still a very viable deep threat for Tom Brady and his run and gun offense. He will draw newly aquired corner Brian Williams.

 

WHAT TO EXPECT: PATRIOTS OFFENSE

New England will be looking to move the ball through the air. Brady is shaking off the rust from spending last season having babies with models and going through rehab. Hopefully he doesn’t hit stride against the Falcons questionable secondary.

New England loves to screen the ball. The Falcons have the linebacking core to counter this directive. With the zone defense used by the Falcons the quick slants will likely dominate the passing. Expect a heavy dose of RB Kevin Faulk and TE Benjamin Watson.

I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Brady challenging 3rd year corner Chris Houston. He will be matched up against one of the best receivers in the league, Randy Moss. That means the Falcons defensive line must pressure the pocket and force slant passes. That will leave safeties Erik Coleman and Thomas DeCoud to limit big gains. Another week of bend, but don’t break game planning.

 

WHAT TO EXPECT: PATRIOTS DEFENSE

The Falcons will do what they always do… follow the process. That process is a heavy dose of the run mixed with play-action passing. Mike Smith is a firm believer in ball control.

Matt Ryan has taken very few shots downfield this season. He has mainly kept to slant and hook patterns. He chews up yards 10-15 yards down the field. He’s very astute on finding the one on one coverage. Much like Brady, Ryan will have his read targeted before the snap of the ball.

Look for New England to send the house on run blitzes. They will try and rattle the 2nd year quarterback early and often. Linebackers Adalius Thomas and Tully Banta-Cain will be zone blitzing quite yo try and force future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez to stay in and block. It’s up to the Falcons offensive line to make sure Ryan can finish his read. With time, he is one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league.

 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK 

What happened to the no-huddle offense for Atlanta. Last season, Ryan looked like the second coming of Jim Kelly moving his troops down the field. This season, they have yet to turn to it. We saw it in the pre-season but in the regular season it’s been non-existent. I asked Sirius radios Rich Gannon about it today and he felt like the Falcons would unleash it this weekend. We will see.

 

SO WHO WILL WIN

This is a really tough game to call. It should be one of the best games of the week. The Falcons catch a break playing New England so early. They are known to be strong finishers in November and December. It’s also preferable to playing in the harsh, winter conditions.

The Falcons are working a two game winning streak and will be going into their bye week. I expect them to let it all hang out this weekend and bring one home for Dimitroff and Ryan in their Boston returns.

 

ATLANTA 31

NEW ENGLAND 27

 

This would be a good week to start Michael Jenkins in Fantasy Football. I like his matchup against the Patriots secondary. They will be forced to account for both Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White. With the losses of Richard Seymour, Rodney Harrison, Mike Vrabel and Teddy Bruschi the Patriots are retooling that defense.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Steelers Will Face Challenges against Cincinnati

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }

/* Style Definitions */

table.MsoNormalTable

{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;

mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;

mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;

mso-style-noshow:yes;

mso-style-parent:””;

mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;

mso-para-margin:0in;

mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;

mso-pagination:widow-orphan;

font-size:10.0pt;

font-family:”Times New Roman”;

mso-ansi-language:#0400;

mso-fareast-language:#0400;

mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

Despite the loss to the Chicago Bears this past Sunday, the Steelers did make strides as they prepare for game three against division opponent Cincinnati Bengals.

There is a glimmer of improvement in the running game 36 yards in 23 attempts; 1.8 yard per carry against the Titans, to 4.8 rushing yards on 22 carries against the Bears.

The offensive line created more rushing opportunities for running backs Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall

Parker rushed 47 yards on 14 attempts, Mendenhall 39 on 3 (2 attempts no gain).

Four runs were of at least 12 yards and Mendenhall’s 39-yard run.

The offensive line continues to improve in pass protection but gave up two sacks (two less than the week before)

So with such improvements in the offense, why was there one rushing touchdown (Roethlisberger) and one passing (tight end Matt Spaeth)?

Can we be encouraged by the sheer fact that the Steelers earned one more touchdown in Week two versus zero in Week one?

I mean they have scored 27 points in two games.

What can we expect next week; one more touchdown than what was produced from week two?

Why isn’t the Steeler offense producing more?

At this stage of the game, our Super Bowl champs are not looking so super.

Against the Titans, Roethlisberger completed 33 passes from 43 attempts for 363 yards and one touchdown, and in game two, he completed 23 passes out of 35 attempts for 221 yards and one touchdown.

Roethlisberger is suppose to be in his prime and should be better, right?

One touchdown per game does not a winner make and at this rate, “It would be easy in Cincinnati, Sunday.”

Since the run game has shown some improvement, we can probably expect more of a run game this week especially with Parker healthy.

Parker loves to play the Bengals on the road.

In three career games in Cincinnati, Parker has averaged 130.3 rushing yards per game

For the third straight week, the Bengals will face one more 3-4 defensive scheme.

The Steelers 3-4 scheme is similar to the Packers since Dom Capers is the Packers current defensive coordinator.

Remember, it was Capers, Bill Cowher and Dick LeBeau, who worked together to develop the 3-4 defensive scheme for the Steelers during the early nineties.

Last week, the Steelers defense has shown that they won’t give on the ground game, as the Bears managed 43 yards on just 18 carries.

Running back Matt Forte gained only 29 yards on 13 tries. 

However on the passing game, Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler completed 27 of 38 passes for 236 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

He was sacked just once by defensive end Aaron Smith.

Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer completed 15 of 23 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns against the Packers last week.

That’s 18 yards less than Roethlisberger did last week and 2 more touchdowns.

Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco caught a 13-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and delivered on his promise to perform a Lambeau leap in Green Bay.

What do you think he will have planned this week?

Wide receiver Chris Henry has been known to torch the Steeler secondary and that was with former Bengal TJ Houshmandzadeh in the line-up.

With Houshmandzadeh gone, and a thin Steeler secondary, this could open up more opportunities for Henry score against the Steelers, if he plays.

 

The Bengals defense has improved and leads the NFL with nine sacks, five from defensive end Antwan Odom.

The Steelers on the other-hand have only two sacks on the season.

Last season, the Steelers led the AFC with 51 sacks.

Outside linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley combined for 27 1/2 sacks last season, and thus far have none in 2009.

The Steeler offensive line will have to account for defensive end Robert Geathers and defensive tackles Domata Peko and Tank Johnson.

One more thing to note about this game; wide receiver Hines Ward and linebacker Keith Rivers will be meeting for the first time since Ward’s the jaw-breaking hit that ended Rivers’ season.

It was that hit which prompted the “Hines Ward rule.”

The rule is a 15-yard penalty for any a player who makes an illegal blindside block from the helmet, forearm or shoulder and lands to the head or neck area of the defender.

Rivers was quoted to say it was a “clean hit,” and followed that up by saying he was looking forward to confronting Ward.

Ward on the other hand, didn’t seem to shrink when he said the “given a chance to level Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers with another rattling hit, he would do it again.

Finally, what’s going on with special teams?

Kick-punt returner Stefan Logan fumbled away a kickoff and averaged only 6.0 yards on six punt returns Sunday

Coach Tomlin said about kicker Jeff Reed, who missed two field goals in the fourth quarter last Sunday: “I’m confident he’s capable of doing the job and doing it at a high level. We carried him off the field the week before. He’ll bounce back.”

Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette predicts:

“The Steelers might not have much success in Chicago (1-12 lifetime), but they do in Cincinnati, where they have won their past eight games. The Bengals have averaged 12.6 points in those eight losses.”

Injury report

Steelers practice report: Santonio Holmes’ left wrist was injured when he put his hand on the ground to brace a fall Sunday, was put in a large ice wrap on Monday and wore a small cast on Tuesday.

Ryan Mundy, on the practice squad as a rookie in 2008, could find himself as the starting strong safety Sunday because of injuries to Troy Polamalu and Tyrone Carter.

Wide receiver Limas Sweed (foot) and linebacker Lawrence Timmons (ankle) practiced fully on Wednesday and both should be able to play on Sunday.

Wide receiver Hines Ward (not injury related) and defensive end Aaron Smith (not injury related) had their normal Wednesday off from practice.

Bengals practice report: running back Cedric Benson (ankle), along with corner back David Jones (foot) and Chris Henry (quadriceps), did not participate in practice on Wednesday.

Offensive guard  Nate Livings (knee) and corner back Johnathan Joseph (ankle) were limited in their participation.

Tackle Andre Smith (foot) has already been ruled out for this week.

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Seahawks Top 10 Draft Watch: Week Two

This is the first of a weekly update on the top ten potential targets for the Seahawks in the 2010 NFL Draft. This list will feature the top ten potential targets each week based on a ranking system and how well or poor that player plays will determine where they are in the ranks each week.

The Seahawks will most likely be targeting the following positions in the 2010 NFL Draft. QB, RB, OL, DL, CB and S.

With that being said here is this week’s top ten.

1) RB Jahvid Best—Cal (412 yards, 8 TD’s, 53 carries and a 7.8 avg)

2) S Eric Berry—Tennessee (24 tackles, 17 solo and 1 INT)

3) QB Colt McCoy—Texas (859 yards, 6 TD passes, 4 INT’s, 144 passer rating and 68 completion percentage)

4) OT Trent Williams

5) QB Sam Bradford

6) DT Ndamukong Suh—Nebraska (20 tackles, 9 solo and 2 sacks)

7) QB Tim Tebow—Florida (540 yards, 5 TD’s, 1 INT, 170 passer rating, 67 completion rating)

8) DT Gerald McCoy-—Oklahoma (8 tackles, 7 solo and one sack)

9) OT Russell Okung—Oklahoma State

10) OT Bryan Bulaga—Iowa

Now this is only the first week and by the end of the season, I’m sure this list will change for better or worse.

However the needs in order from greatest to least are QB,RB,OT,S,CB,DL in that order.

Now the players have to fit the Seahawks motto. The Seahawks motto or bill for draft picks are three things. One, they have to come from a big time school. Two, the player has to be a four year player and not come out early. Finally, he must have great character and becomea leader.

Well that would be Tim Tebow and Eric Berry at the top of the list and Seahawks fans would love to see that.

You can check out Rob Staton’s draft blog and see his top ten players to watch as well. http://seahawksdraft.blogspot.com/2009/05/walter-cherepinskys-two-round-2010-mock.html

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Oakland Raiders Vs Denver Broncos: Welcome to The Black Hole, Orton

For two teams in the AFC West, this matchup is going to be pivotal.

For the Denver Broncos, a win would move them into the forefront of the AFC teams playing.

For the Oakland Raiders, it would help prove the team is moving forward and back towards respect that has been lacking for years.

But this game means oh so much more than this.

For Denver, it is a chance to face an AFC West team. Their two opponents so far, the Bengals and the Browns combined for eight wins. Not bad if you had one team, but together it was four wins each.

In their first game, Denver was held down by a Bengals defense, until a small miracle of deflection gave Denver a win.

In their second game, they played a team that has scored a single offensive TD in the last 32 games.

For the Raiders, after a hard-fought game one loss to San Diego, Oakland went on the road to Kansas City and were on the right side of some very odd stats. Kansas City had over 400 yards. They controlled the ball for the majority of the game. They had their marquee player back in action, Matt Cassel.

The result? Oakland held Kansas City to 10 points and won the game, 13-10. Incidentally, it might have not been that close if Nnamdi Asomugha hadn’t suffered from dehydration when Dwayne Bowe made his touchdown grab.

The important aspect to remember about this rivalry, is that when it comes down to these two teams, the records go out the window. The players, the coaches, even the fans take it to another level. Oakland and the Raider Nation look forward to this rivalry, be the team 2-8, 5-5, or even twice in three weeks.

Welcome to the AFC West, Kyle Orton.

Try to stay on your feet.

Prediction, Oakland 24-21

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

St. Louis-Green Bay: Five Keys To The Rams Hanging With The Packers

Can the Rams beat the Packers?

 

Just typing that sentence seems weird. The Rams have exactly seven points this season. They have exactly one sack. Their quarterback is averaging a miniscule 4.94 yards per pass attempt, worst in the league. Their supposed leading receiver has been terrible.

 

Kick-off returns – terrible. (16.2 yards per return, second worst in the league)

 

Clock management – terrible. (A Martzian waste of their final timeout on Sunday to avoid a delay of game which they ended up getting anyway on a punt that went into the end zone for a touchback)

 

Third downs – terrible. (8 of 26 on offense, 26th worst; 15 of 30 allowed on defense, 29th worst)

 

And then on the other side you have Green Bay, which remains a serious playoff contender despite losing at home to the Bengals on Sunday (knocking a million schlubs like yours truly out of their survival leagues).

 

The Packers have one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL with Aaron Rodgers, a great receiver duo in Greg Jennings and the ageless Donald Driver, a stud running back in Ryan Grant, and a defense that already has six interceptions in two games, one returned for a touchdown.

 

With all that said, what would you guess the line would be? Nine? Ten?

 

Six and a half.

 

Perhaps Vegas doesn’t like the fact the Packers allowed Cedric Benson of all people to run for 141 yards on 29 caries, or that Bengals DE Antwan Odom, with a career 15.5 sacks in 64 games entering this season, finished this past Sunday with five against the Packers’ sieve of an offensive line.

 

In any event, Vegas has faith that the Rams can make a go of this contest. I’m not sure I agree, but I can tell you that if the Rams don’t improve in these areas, they have no chance whatsoever:

 

 

Donnie Avery: Perhaps it’s a bit harsh to put the total blame for the Washington loss in Avery’s hands, but he fairly well deserves it:

 

* He had a drop that would have given them a first down on their first drive. The ball was a little bit behind Avery, but he got both hands on the ball and should have made the catch.

 

* He got called for a needless block in the back that cost the Rams 13 yards off Steven Jackson’s 61-yard run mid-way through the second quarter. Instead of the ball being placed at the Washington 23, it was at the Washington 36. (The Rams still went on to score their first touchdown of the season).

 

* And then there was the fumble. On third and four from the Washington nine and 13 minutes left in the game, Bulger hit Avery for five yards. But what should have been first and goal four yards from a 14-9 lead turned into Washington ball when Avery fumbled on a hit by Redskins safety Chris Horton. It was Avery’s second fumble of the season – the only two turnovers of the Rams’ season thus far.

 

Based strictly on performance on the field, Avery has been passed by up both leading receiver Laurent Robinson and fellow second-year receiver Keenan Burton. And if the Rams are going to get anywhere this season, Avery has to show up.

 

 

Pass rush: Against Washington, the defensive tackles were getting no push in the middle of the pocket. Even when the Rams were able to bring pressure from the corners, Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell was able to step into the pocket and make the throw or break out for a gain on the ground. Some of Clinton Portis’ best runs also came up the gut of the Rams’ d-line.

 

Considering the pathetic performance put up by the Packers line so far (NFL-high 10 sacks allowed, and now missing left tackle Chad Clifton), the Rams’ have to capitalize and force Rodgers to throw before he’s ready. Otherwise, he will pick apart the still-developing Rams secondary.

 

 

Time of Possession: The Rams offense has run a total of 107 plays this season. Opponents have run a combined 140. That’s an average of an extra 16 snaps for opposing offenses, which would explain the time of possession disadvantage: On Sunday, the Washington offense had the ball for nearly 10 minutes more than the St. Louis offense.

 

Considering the Rams defense is hardly what you could consider loaded with depth, that’s going to be more and more of a problem as the season rolls on if the Rams can’t string together some more frequent long drives.

 

 

Randy McMichael: Count me among those who thought McMichael would have a bounce-back year with the Rams, but he’s not showing anything close to that on the field. On the Rams’ third drive, he took a screen from Bulger, took a hit from Rocky McIntosh and gave the ball up to Washington on the Rams’ 17.

 

Now it just so happens the Redskins were called for a ticky tack roughing the passer penalty that gave St. Louis the ball back with a first down, but that play still happened.

 

On the game, McMichael, who also dropped a touchdowns pass late in the second quarter, finished with just two catches for 14 yards and zero impact.

 

 

Mental Toughness: There’s a cliché in sports that teams need to learn how to win. But as with most clichés, there’s an element of truth: Teams who win tough games know how to handle adversity.

 

The Rams don’t.

 

When the Rams had a blocked FG return for a tying touchdown against Seattle called back due to a penalty, they instantly imploded and fell down 14-0 within a matter of minutes.

 

And after Avery’s fumble killed the potentially game-winning touchdown against Washington, the Rams got all of three yards on their final seven plays of the game.

 

Bad things happen in football games. The key for good teams is to take the bad things in stride, get past them and not let them impact the rest of the game.

 

 

Honoring Deacon Jones – Kind Of

 

The Rams are going to be retiring the number of former Rams great Deacon Jones this Sunday, and that’s all well and fine. As one of the most feared pass rushers in the history of the game, Jones deserves all the accolades he gets.

 

But retiring his number in a ceremony in St. Louis seems weird … because the only time he played in St. Louis, it was AGAINST the home team St. Louis Cardinals.

 

Jones played for the Los Angeles Rams from 1961 through 1971 before finishing up with two seasons with San Diego and one in Washington.

 

In his time with the then-LA Rams, Jones played played in St. Louis three times:

 

On December 5, 1965, the LA Rams beat the St. Louis Cardinals 27-3.

 

On September 16, 1968, the LA Rams beat the St. Louis Cardinals 24-13.

 

On September 18, 1970, the LA Rams beat the St. Louis Cardinals 34-13.

 

That’s it. That’s the history Deacon Jones has with the city of St. Louis. Was he a great Ram? Yes. But retiring his number with a ceremony at the St. Louis home opener just seems hallow.

 

It would be like the Arizona Cardinals holding a grand ceremony honoring Hall of Fame center Dan Dierdorf, who played his entire career with the franchise while they were still in St. Louis.

 

I mean, what are those fans going to be cheering for? A guy who played for another team 1,500 miles away 40 years ago? How passionate with their appreciation could they be?

 

Now again, this is in no way intended to devalue the career of Deacon Jones. An eight-time Pro Bowler and Hall of Fame inductee in 1980, he deserves to be recognized as one of the all-time greats.

 

I’m just not sure the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday is the right place.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Ravens Offensive Success Stymies Wildcat Hype

As fans and the media alike get over the initial shock that the Ravens have an effective offense for once, let alone an explosive one, it becomes easier to break down what makes Joe Flacco and company so successful. And as the much-hyped “Wildcat” offense continues to leave an impact on the NFL, Baltimore’s bunch is proving you don’t need to be tricky to win.

Which isn’t to say that the Ravens won’t pull out the tricks when necessary, as evident by the use of quarterback Troy Smith in certain situations (dubbed the ‘Suggs Package’ by the local media). But Baltimore’s 2-0 start is thanks to the arm of Joe Flacco, the legs of Willis McGahee, Ray Rice and Le’Ron McClain and the skill of a young but promising offensive line.

It’s called balance. And it makes Baltimore a tough match-up for any defense in 2009.

The popular offense of the last year, the Wildcat formation helped the Miami Dolphins earn a division title last year. With the NFL being the copycat league it is, many other teams have attempted versions of it, with the Philadelphia Eagles even bringing in the high-profile Michael Vick. How successful the Eagles’ version will be has yet to be seen.

But the Dolphins have not had much success with it in the early part of 2009, starting 0-2. The Ravens played Miami twice last season, in the regular season and playoffs, and had no trouble halting them. Other teams are catching on.

Meanwhile, the Ravens’ offense is third in the NFL with 406.0 yards per game, and is second in scoring, coming only behind the New Orleans Saints.

“I think it credits our receivers, it credits our offensive line, it credits our running backs,” said Flacco, referring to his team’s success in the red zone this season. “We have a couple of ways that we can beat you. Our offensive line is doing a great job right now pass-protecting and run-blocking for the backs.

“Anytime your offensive line is playing the way they are, it allows you to free up some time back there for me to find receivers, and it allows the backs to run through some open holes and maybe bust a couple for touchdowns rather than a couple of yards.”

It seems silly to point out, but the Ravens’ offensive line is one of the largest reasons for their success thus far in the season. With the young and athletic Jared Gaither and Michael Oher protecting Flacco, the second-year quarterback is staying up right, and has times time find his receivers.

But Flacco has also shown his ability to move around when need be. Combined with his strong arm and poised demeanor, it’s given defenders more reasons to stay up watching film prior to playing Baltimore. Flacco has nine touchdowns in his first two games this season, a mark he didn’t reach until Week 9 in 2008.

Flacco is also spreading the ball around. A year ago he would often lock on wide receiver Derrick Mason. This year, he’s spreading the ball around to the likes of Mark Clayton, Kelley Washington, McGahee, Rice, and Todd Heap.

There’s nothing especially unique about the play-calling. It’s just been smart, courtesy of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, often regarded as one of the best in the league. With a year under his belt in Baltimore, it’s given the offense more time to gel, and the results are showing.

“[Cameron is] feeling more comfortable with us as a unit, and Joe [is] feeling more comfortable with the weapons he has out there,” Mason said. “He’s not just going to look at one guy. He knows he has two, three or four guys he could potentially hit that could make a play.”

But what truly makes the Ravens difficult to game plan for is the “three-headed monster” of McGahee, Rice, and McClain. Each brings a different style, and Cameron uses each of them on a regular basis, depending on the game plan.

McGahee is the versatile, explosive type who can also block with the best of them, while Rice is more elusive, able to run between the tacklers. McClain is the bruiser of the bunch, great for short yardage situations.

Simply put, there’s just too much for a defense to prepare for. And the Cleveland Browns, who have given up 61 points in the first two games, may have a hard time.

When you have more talent at your disposal, trickery isn’t as necessary. The Ravens are proving that talent and execution can overcome fancy schemes on any given Sunday.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Comparisons Of Oakland, KC, SD, and The Broncos: A Global View

When you study mathematical objects, you can view them locally on intervals, or globally on their entire domain of existence.

With this in mind, I decided to look at four NFL teams over the 50-year period of their existence.

Each of the teams have played a total of 742 games. Here are a few observations.

Oakland has the maximum win-loss percentage of the four teams; the minimum is San Diego. If we rank the four teams, we discover:

Rank       Team

1            Oakland

2            Broncos

3            Kansas City

4            San Diego

In terms of the number of championships, here is the list

Rank       Team

1            Oakland (3)

2            Broncos (2)

2            Kansas City (2)

3            San Diego   (1)

Now, let’s look at the total number of Super Bowls each team has won and rank

Rank        Team

1             Oakland (3)

2             Broncos (2)

3             Kansas City (1)

4             San Diego (0)

The data for conferences is

Rank         Team

1              Broncos (6)

2              Oakland

3              Kansas City

4              San Diego

On this article, I have provided some data and charts.

You do the analysis!

Note: This article is dedicated to Jeffrey and Salman, two of my calculus students.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Don’t Overlook This Player When Talking About the New Orleans Saints

Devery Henderson, for the vast majority of his career, has been a “yeah, but…”

“Yeah, Devery’s got great speed, but he runs poor routes.”

“Yeah, Devery’s led the league two of the past three seasons in yards per catch, but he has too many drive-killing drops.”

Yeah, but not anymore.

When Henderson became an unrestricted free agent this past spring, I thought he was long gone. In my mind, the Saints would not want to spend a lot of money for someone who had been no better than their third wide receiver, and Henderson’s speed would make him a tempting commodity for any team that badly needed to upgrade their wide receiver corps.

Man, was I wrong.

Not only was Henderson one of the first free agents to re-sign with the Saints, but he did it to the tune of four years, $12 million.

Now I know that’s not a whole lot in today’s NFL, but it is for a guy who catches the ball twice a game.

Even tough he seemed to have improved upon his career-long concentration issues in 2008, Henderson’s signing was one of those things that made me go “hmmm.”

He should have had more than 32 catches in a season in which Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey, and Reggie Bush all missed considerable time.

Lance Moore’s 2008 emergence, the expectations placed on former first round pick Robert Meachem, and Sean Payton’s infatuation with Adrian Arrington seemed to have Henderson no better than fourth on the depth chart and possibly fifth.

Wrong, again.

The Saints waived Arrington when rosters had to be trimmed to 53 and Henderson opened the season with five catches, 103 yards, and a touchdown against the Lions.

He followed that up with three catches for 71 yards against the Eagles secondary.

More importantly, he has yet to drop a catch-able ball during this young season.

He is second on the team with 12 targets. Drew Brees is 8-12 for 174 yards and one touchdown when throwing to Henderson this season.

Expect Henderson’s productivity (and fantasy value) to improve as the season wears on. Two of the three catches he had against Philadelphia came on third and long, and Brees values receivers he can count on in big-time situations.

If he can continue to come through in the clutch, he will turn himself into a “yeah!” receiver.

No buts about it.

 

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Where’s 91? Week 2: Jaguars Saddle Harvey With Big-Body Grunt Work

If the Jaguars keep trying to use Derrick Harvey as a big body, they’re going to waste him.

Reggie Hayward’s season-ending injury in Jacksonville’s loss at Indianapolis likely forced Harvey into his role this past Sunday. With new defensive coordinator Mel Tucker employing mostly three-man fronts in the first two regular season games, the Jaguars’ defensive line has been pressed into service in positions with unique size requirements.

At 6’5″ and 281 pounds, Harvey would seem a decent fit for what’s called a “five-tech” end—a defender who lines up across from an offensive tackle and is responsible for the gaps to either side of that tackle. The position requires long, strong arms to separate from blockers and the “base” (lower-body strength) to push against them.

Hayward (6’5″, 275) had both. Though signed by Jacksonville in 2005 to be a pass-rushing threat—an expectation he met with 8.5 sacks that year—a ruptured Achilles tendon in 2006 robbed Hayward of the explosiveness he used to pursue opposing quarterbacks.

Before fracturing his shin in this year’s season opener, Hayward seemed to have reshaped himself into a roughneck end, ready to fight with opposing tackles from that five-tech spot. When he went down, the Jaguars were left without a comparable player on their depth chart.

Harvey has the arms. In Jacksonville’s two losses thus far, he’s shown the ability to strike out at blockers to keep them from latching on. But, as Sunday’s 31-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals made abundantly clear, he doesn’t have the base.

The Jaguars lined Harvey up in place of Hayward for over half of his snaps. He played the position the only way his tools allowed, by attacking the tackle.

On some plays, he bull-rushed to try and seal off his side of the line, but the Cardinals’ tackles proved too hefty for Harvey to move without over-committing to them. Arizona’s running backs broke contain to the outside, and quarterback Kurt Warner was able to make quick throws before Harvey could release from his blocker.

When Harvey attacked his gaps, the Jaguars’ spread-out line gave him little help, with Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells consistently hitting the holes he left. Pass rushing from face-up on the tackle forced him to choose between getting caught in the middle or running too wide an arc.

Harvey’s best and worst plays came as an end in four-man fronts. Tellingly, both came after he had dominated his blocker from that position.

His best effort of the afternoon, as depicted in the photo accompanying this article, came on a strong side run by Hightower.

Lining up on right tackle Levi Brown’s outside shoulder, Harvey was ready for Brown’s attempted lead block. He punched out, shoving Brown aside, and slammed into Hightower at the line of scrimmage.

The outside position gave Harvey the edge, literally, on Brown by turning what would’ve been a shoving match, had he lined up at five-tech, into a test of balance and upper-body strength. With space on the end to maneuver, Harvey used Brown’s momentum against him and made the play.

But Harvey’s worst play of the day also happened in open space. On Arizona’s last drive of the first half, he beat Brown around the edge of the pocket and had a shot at Warner.

As soon as the way to the quarterback was clear, though, Harvey lumbered forward cautiously at a bad angle and whiffed as Warner hit receiver Jerheme Urban for a 12-yard gain. His swiftness in moving past his blocker was wasted with a moment’s indecision.

Throughout the game, Harvey missed several opportunities to stop runs in the backfield because of similar hesitation—the mark of rookie lessons not fully learned.

In this coming Sunday’s contest against the Houston Texans, Harvey matches up better physically against tackles Duane Brown and Eric Winston than he did against Arizona’s grinding linemen.

If the Jaguars’ scheme leaves him free to attack them—and if he attacks without hesitation—Harvey has many more aggressive plays like his tackle of Hightower in him. But that potential, as of this past Sunday, still has yet to be unleashed.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Panthers at Cowboys: A Monday Night Football Must-Win for Both Teams

The most intriguing matchup of Week Three in the NFL could easily be the game that will wrap the week up. 

The Panthers will be on the road playing in the Palace that Jerry Jones built down in Big D.  It brings up a great question: Early in this season, who needs the win more, the Panthers or Cowboys?

First, let’s analyze the state of the Dallas Cowboys.  Tony Romo is coming off an absolutely horrible game that the Cowboys still had a chance to win at the end.  He wanted to deliver a win against the Giants in the Stadium debut, but that’s over and done with.  He better win on Monday night or else there could be some serious changes in Big D.

Tony Romo is Jerry Jones quarterback, like it or not.  As far as Wade Philips is concerned that scene is yet to be played out.  A loss at home on Monday night could put Philips strictly on the hot seat.  Remember, there is a hot offensive coordinator making $3 million dollars a year in Jason Garrett on board in Big D.

Don’t think Jerry Jones would think twice about pulling the trigger on firing Wade and promoting Jason Garrett to head coach.  He has made crazier decisions, and this would be no different.

Now sizing up the team Dallas is facing is the Carolina Panthers.  Off to a 0-2 start, the last thing they want to do is end up 0-3 in the NFC South.  That would spell disaster for John Fox and his Carolina Panthers.

This team’s defense has disappeared over the offseason.  Julius Peppers is not the same player, and he has been consistently double-teammed off the line of scrimmage.

The linebacker core led by Jon Beason has struggled mightily in stopping the pass.  Donovan McNabb and Matt Ryan both lit it up in the air the last two weeks.  These problems need to be addressed this week, or Romo will make them pay.

Jake Delhomme is going to need to find his receivers open against a weak Dallas secondary in order to win this game.  Steve Smith and Mushin Muhammad better have big games if they expect to leave Big D with a win.

DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart have to get back the one-two punch of last year in order for this team to start winning games.  A tough start to the year, but Carolina has looked inefficient on offense and slow on defense through two games.

Speaking of running backs, Marion Barber is dealing with an uncertain quad injury.  His chances of playing are up in the air right now, but expect to see a lot of Felix Jones and Tashard Choice anyway.

Dallas can run the ball, and if they are successful in the passing game, Garrett needs to establish the run first.  Then, Romo can work Roy Williams on the outside and his safety blanket tight end Jason Witten over the middle.

This game should be titled must-win Monday, because both teams need it just as bad.  The NFC South and NFC East are full of talent and solid teams that have six playoff caliber teams.  The only problem is only not all of those teams will be playing come Wildcard Weekend.

It is only Week Three, but watch out for Jerry Jones to make some moves if his team losses Monday night.  On the other hand, the Panthers could be in for a long season if they don’t show up in Dallas.

Dallas should and needs to win this game if they are planning on being at the top of the NFC.  Romo and company need to get their acts together and start playing as a team.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

« Previous Page — Next Page »

NFL Sport Channel Latest

• Just How Far Would You Go?
• Sorry Rex, But It Isn’t Happening
• Super Bowl Predictions: Five Stat-Free Reasons Why the Eagles Will Reach The Super Bowl
• Seahawks Attempt to Turn Corner With Heavy Pursuit of Pete Carroll
• Bill Cowher Unlikely to Coach in 2010