The first half looked painfully similar to the first half of the Bengals disaster, with Chicago’s defense unable to provide opposition to Kurt Warner and the explosive Cardinal offense. With four first half touchdown passes (two to Larry Fitzgerald), Warner all but obliterated any chance of a second straight win for Lovie Smith. Chicago looked lost defensively, as if they did not expect Larry Fitzgerald to be Warner’s top target. Nice job guys. With Anquan Boldin a late scratch, Fitzgerald caught 9 passes, most of which were 8-12 yards in length. The Cardinals didn’t need Boldin, with Warner finishing the game with 5 TD’s through the air. What didn’t help was losing corner Charles Tillman and safety Al Afalava through the course of the game, leaving an already struggling secondary without key performers.

Continue reading "Bears cant catch up to Cardinals lose 41-21"

After exchanging a total of five three-and-outs to start the game, the Bears finally broke through on the scoreboard with a Robbie Gold field goal. An interception and a fumble on the two following Browns possessions lead to another field goal and a Matt Forte touchdown, putting the Bears up 16. A Browns score made it 16-6 early in the third, which was too close, even though I never felt like they were going to get the upper hand.

Continue reading "Cutler gets Jay-Roughed in Bears win over hapless Browns"

Um… I struggled to find six games with real significant drama. Bob Sanders will return to the Colts, but it’s against the lowly Rams! The Packers face the bumbling Browns, New England faces winless Tampa Bay in London, and Buffalo takes on Carolina. *shudder* Here’s the best of week seven in my Opening Drive! 

(6-0) Minnesota Vikings at (4-2) Pittsburgh Steelers 

So in spite of their early problems while without Troy Polamalu, the Steelers have emerged 4-2, trailing a half game behind the Bengals for the division lead. They welcome in the still streaking Vikings, who are making the rounds on the Brett Favre victory tour. Polamalu practiced this week and is expected to play, which should healthily improve the Steelers’ run and pass defense. Against Favre and Adrian Peterson, they’ll need Troy at his best. With Ben Roethlisberger coming off a 400-yard passing game of his own and Vikings Pro Bowl corner Antoine Winfield doubtful with a foot injury, this has potential to turn into a shoot-out. 

Continue reading "Joes Opening Drive Week 7"

(3-3) Houston Texans 28
(4-2) Cincinnati Bengals 17 

Every once in a while, Houston goes ballistic and puts up mega-points. Matt Schaub once again proves he’s a fantastic fantasy QB… five games a season. The Bengals aren’t an elite team, so you had to expect a letdown eventually after winning four straight. Now they dropped back with Pittsburgh, who are also 4-2, but technically behind since the Bengals beat them head-to-head.  

(6-0) Minnesota Vikings 33
(3-3) Baltimore Ravens 31 

Why won’t anyone beat the Vikings?! Steven Hauschka’s missed 44-yard field goal keeps the legend of Brett Favre in Minnesota going strong for another week. Who thought that the Baltimore defense would be the team’s weakness this season? They don’t deserve to be called “good” with the amount of points they’re allowing. Take that Ray Lewis.

Continue reading "Joes Final Drive Week 6"

(1-2) Detroit Lions 19 (1-2) Washington Redskins 14 

The Lions had to win eventually. Though it would be an unfortunate day for whatever unlucky team they defeated. Jim Zorn will keep his job… for a while longer. Congrats to the Lions and the fans that actually showed up to see it.

  
Get ready to lose next week.

(3-0) Minnesota Vikings 27
(2-1) San Francisco 49ers 24 

We’ve all seen or heard of Favre’s late game heroics. I blame Mike Singletary’s defense, which put only two players on the endzone. There were five Niners in the middle of the field! Everyone knows when they need a touchdown on the final play of the game you stack men in the endzone so they can bat the ball down. Horrible call from a good coach.

Continue reading "Joes Final Drive Week 3"

In week three, two early unbeatens face off at the Metrodome while numerous 0-2 teams try to avoid the near-insurmountable playoff climb out of the 0-3 hole. Let’s get started with this week’s Opening Drive!

Washington Redskins (1-1) at Detroit Lions (0-2)

I’m rooting for the Lions to avoid the longest regular season losing streak in league history (20 games). Why? So I can see the chaos that will undoubtedly ensue in Washington when the ‘Skins fall. Jim Zorn is already under pressure for his inept offense that barely put away the Rams last week.

San Francisco 49ers (2-0) at Minnesota Vikings (2-0)

One of these two hard-nosed squads will finally lose this week. Unfortunately, Niners QB Shaun Hill can’t put up enough points up to hang with Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson and the Vikings for very long. Mike Singletary’s defense needs to go above and beyond if they’re going to stay undefeated.

Continue reading "Joes Opening Drive Week 3"

With 16 games in the regular season, losing your first two isn’t a cause for panic, but it is a cause for concern. In the Week 2 edition of the Opening Drive, here are some teams who need to avoid an 0-2 start.

Carolina Panthers (0-1) at Atlanta Falcons (1-0)

What’s the over / under on Jake Delhomme interceptions in this NFC South match-up? I’m going to set that line at 2. Though after 9 picks (and 2 fumbles) in his last two games, I’m being generous. His leash could not be shorter. If Atlanta takes down the Panthers, they could share the division lead (or own it outright) after only two games. Expect heavy doses of both teams’ running attacks.

Continue reading "Joes Opening Drive Week 2"

In an effort to maintain his strength and conditioning while he is banished until week five against the Miami Dolphins, Pace, 28, decided to travel to Las Vegas to train for two weeks with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) legend Randy Couture. 

“The Reason why I’m doing MMA is it’s probably the closest thing you can find to football as far as conditioning, cardiovascular and the physical aspect,” said Pace, who signed a six-year contract with the Jets worth $42 million in 2008. “I’m not going to be fighting and I’m not going to get hit. I’m just going to be training my behind off.”   

Continue reading "UFCs Randy Couture Could Help the New York Jets Defense Former Duke PG Greg Paulus Will Be A Solid NFL QB"

The upstart league will have four teams competing in seven cities and games will be played on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings.

The four teams selected to compete in 2009 are the California Redwoods, the Florida Huskers, the Las Vegas Locomotives and the New York Sentinels.

A championship game is slated to occur on Thanksgiving weekend.

Largely because of the current economic state, many prospective owners decided to initially refrain from establishing a franchise.

However, if the UFL experiences some measure of success this autumn, and if the economy does improve, those hesitant owners have expressed interest in expanding the league.

Continue reading "The United Football League UFL Will Thrive"

Continue reading "Preseason Vick Stallworth and The Ziggle plus a Steeler victory over the Cardinals"