Not that they didn’t deserve it.

The Saints have played opponents with losing records in back to back weeks and have struggled early against each. Sure they pulled off the win in both but it’s how they won that had a lot of folks wondering if perhaps our Saints had hit a slump. Well, they can shut everybody up and prove everybody wrong by coming out strong against the battered, beat down Buccaneers….a team that literally puts the “uc” in “suck.” No more of this, “let’s wait until the second half to get our heads out of our butts” game plan. I’m talking up 20 by halftime. (Saints up 20 by halftime, just to be clear.)

Since those scurvy Bucs are hungry for a win and they were denied in heartbreaking fashion last week, the Saints won’t be able to get by with their “C” game. They need to be aggressive, focused and “undumb” if you will. They need to play like the undefeated, NFC powerhouse that they are. I refuse to let a division rival be the first to blemish our record, no matter how much I like the name “Raheem.”

Prediction:
Saints 34
Bucs 13

During the 2005 draft, Rodgers was projected to be the first round draft pick, and the San Francisco 49ers were on track to snatch up the successful quarterback. McCarthy, the offense coordinator of the 49ers at the time, along with the rest of his coaching staff, decided to set their sites on someone else. Alex Smith, a spread-offense quarterback from Utah, went No. 1. Rodgers sat quietly and watched as names drop from the board until, finally, the Green Bay Packers, a team with (at the time) one of the most respected quarterbacks in the history of the game, decided to nab him.

Fast-forward four years and as head coach of the Green Bay Packers McCarthy couldn’t be happier.

Smith was thrown into the game as a rookie, while Rodgers had the luxury of learning from Brett Favre, one of the best. In Smith’s first season he threw for one touchdown and 11 interceptions, and his team went 4-12. Rodgers, on the other hand, served as Favre’s backup from 2005 to 2007, and in his first season as a starter he threw for 4,038 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Don’t get me wrong–Rodgers’ job as Green Bay’s No. 2 quarterback wasn’t easy. Given the media attention and the scrutiny that has attached itself to the never-ending Favre/ Rodgers saga, life might have been easier for Rodgers had he gone first. But he didn’t.

And now he is up to face off against the man who sealed his fate as a Green Bay Packer. Though the two claim to be pals, this game has a lot riding on it, for both men.

Smith will want to prove to 49ers fans that they didn’t make the wrong choice in 2005, while Rodgers is faced with a good-to-mediocre team with high expectations and less than fabulous results. With a 5-4 record, the Green Bay Packers are on the cusp of making the playoffs, and with two painful losses to Brett Favre (Judas) and the Minnesota Vikings, their hopes for a division title are a thing of the past.

Coming off a big win last weekend against the Dallas Cowboys, the Packers will find themselves at a metaphorical fork in their road. Do they defeat the 49ers and continue to build on this supposed and hopeful momentum that last week’s decisive victory generated or do they buckle under the pressure (as they have before) and go back to being a ridiculed team who has yet to live up to its potential?

Four and a half years ago, someone made a choice that brought Aaron Rodgers to this 5-4 Packers team and made him quarterback of one of the most dedicated and passionate football franchises in the NFL. Though it’s all working out for him, four and a half years ago, Rodger’s fate was determined for him. This time, Rodgers, the decision is yours.

We'll miss you, Troy

Troy Polamalu is out with a knee injury, but hopefully the defense won’t miss him too much tomorrow. If they can’t win against the Chiefs without him, well…not even gonna think about that. Travis Kirschke is also out for his third straight game. These injuries shouldn’t have too much of an effect on the outcome of this game and should give these starters another week to relax and recover. But, hey, the game against the Lions was a little too close to comfort. You just never know with these Steelers.

The offense sucked last week, no doubt about it, but they’re looking to bounce back and keep the momentum going all the way until playoff time, which I have every reason to believe the Steelers will be a part of. But what if they can’t get their rhythm back? What if they have a showing like last week? The offense needs to get it together and find ways to win games. If not, it’s going to be a long off-season. They should unleash Rashard Mendenhall and stop with the uneven call playing. After some changes on special teams, we can only wait and see if Tomlin made the necessary adjustments. Though I’m not sure playing against the Chiefs will be a true test of the special teams’ success. We’ll have to wait until Baltimore.

The Chiefs haven’t won two consecutive games since October 2007. They’re 0-4 at home. Their top receiver Dwayne Bowe was suspended four games after taking some performance-enhancing substances. They just released Larry Johnson. Although they won against Oakland last week, it is what it is…they won against Oakland. The Steelers are struggling to make it to the playoffs, and every win counts. We’ll see if the Chiefs can step up to the challenge, but I’m hoping the Steelers will run all over ‘em and gain back some pride that was lost last week. I can’t even tell you how difficult it’ll be to post something if we come home with a big fat L. Let’s just not even go there.

And for those who are wondering why I quote or mention him so much, here’s why: as much as he tries to act all aloof and like he’s not bothered or concerned with the season because it’s so disappointing…truth is, he secretly reads any Bills news out there and knows way more than I do about football and the team. Also, if he didn’t care than he wouldn’t be so crabby every Sunday afternoon Being a devoted fan for 30 plus years is no small feat, so the man knows what he’s talking about and when the Bills finally have a winning season, he might even try to rival me for title of craziest Bills fan in Albany.

Anyway, he says that when Jauron was fired on Thursday, his optimism for Sunday’s game against Jacksonville was actually existent…which for him, would probably be one of the first times this season. He said he had a really good feeling about Fewell and felt like the atmosphere he would create would do wonders for the team’s motivation. With Jauron, we all know that whether a player did something amazing or horrendous, Jauron would just stand there stone-faced. As a former competitive athlete, I know that having a coach that is visibly passionate about your efforts is far more motivating than feeling like it doesn’t matter how you perform because you’ll get the same reaction regardless. Daddy thought Fewell’s energy and fiery personality might be the extra push the Bills needed to produce on offense or at least finish out the game.

Now, however, daddy is back to his negative-nancy self because Marcus Stroud is injured and Keith Ellison was just placed on injured reserve. He said that since we already had a poor run defense, now it’s even worse. I agree that the situation is far from ideal but there are a few other factors we can try to be optimistic about:

>Jacksonville is the worst pass rushing team in the NFL. If that’s not good news for our offense, I don’t know what is! Ryan Fitzpatrick is starting at QB (woo hoo!) and we know he understands that the football can be thrown…if he actually has some time to throw it, we might actually get points in groups of 7 instead of 3!

>The Bills and Jaguars are about equal in red zone defense. If we can do just a little better, we should be good to go.

>Maurice Jones-Drew is might be the Jags’ deadliest weapon…but we have Fred Jackson at RB and return, Shawn Nelson as a very competent TE and more WRs to choose from than we have chances to use them. For the first time all season, our O-line is actually looking more well-rounded and put together than our opponent’s.

>Our defense is always good for at least one interception and since the Jags’ O-line is pretty youthful, the interception COULD turn into a TD or at least get us workable field position.

>In his last start against the Jaguars on Nov. 2, 2008, Ryan Fitzpatrick went 21-31 for 162 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in a 21-19 win over Jacksonville…I mean, it could happen again!

>Umm…that’s about all I’ve got. Jacksonville is 5-4 and we’re 3-6 but we’ve actually fared BETTER against teams with better records than us…fingers crossed??…

I leave you with a quote from Fewell that echos every true Bills fan’s thoughts and reason for remaining loyal.

“We are who we are,” said Fewell. “We have that identity. We’re going to try to give a little spark, but we are who we are.”

GO BILLS!!!!

And let’s be even more honest: Bucs v. Saints is the worst possible match-up in the lopsided division. The Saints are 9-0. The Bucs are 1-8. And these records aren’t flukes–the Saints really are that good, and the Bucs really are that bad.

However, FOX affiliates throughout Louisiana and central Florida can breathe a sigh of relief, because this game has the potential to be something other than a complete and utter blowout. Here’s why:

NO has lots of injuries. Both of the Saints’ starting corners, Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter, are likely out for this game. DT Sedrick Ellis, too. Star safety Darren Sharper is back after missing last week’s game, but still nursing a sore knee. And on offense, RB Reggie Bush and WR Lance Moore are both banged up.

Antonio Bryant should be back. Not only will Tampa be playing an injury-ravaged NO secondary, but new starting QB Josh Freeman might actually have a competent wide receiver to throw to. No offense to Michael “Not Clooney” Clayton, Maurice Stovall, Sammie Stroughter, or Brian Clark (or, ok, a little offense to all but Stroughter), but tight end Kellen Winslow has been the only real target this season. Having two guys on the field at once who can catch and hold the ball might do wonders for the offense.

NO plays down to their opponents. Last week, the Saints almost lost to the St. Louis Rams. They probably should have lost to the Carolina Panthers the week before. The Bucs are arguably the worst of all three, so here’s hoping the Saints play accordingly.

TB is playing at home. Crowd noise is on the Bucs’ side, and the Bucs D can certainly use the “12th man” to help cut down on Drew Brees’s big-play ability. Plus, Raymond James Stadium has those cannons that fire every time the Bucs enter the Red Zone, which could startle the Saints’ defenders into confusion.

Josh Freeman is good at the 4th quarter comeback. Which, frankly, he will need to be, given that the Saints have Brees, a passel of talented receivers, and Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell to run the ball. Not to mention the fact that the Bucs’ defense lacks proficiency in rushing the passer (well, except Aaron Rodgers), consistently protecting against the deep ball, and stopping the run.

Bucs have no expectations. The Saints are currently undefeated, and everyone is looking to bring them their first loss. Teams sit their starters against the Bucs.

NO plays New England next week. Maybe they get so caught up in game-planning for the Patriots that they forget to fly to Tampa?

]]> http://chicksinthehuddle.com/2009/11/21/this-saint-gonna-be-easy/feed/ 1 http://chicksinthehuddle.com/2009/11/21/this-saint-gonna-be-easy/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChicksInTheHuddle/~3/zZmih0cqW1c/ http://chicksinthehuddle.com/2009/11/20/mayflower-trucks-been-there-done-that-lets-go-10-0/#comments Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:00:42 +0000 AFC South Chick http://chicksinthehuddle.com/?p=10305 As one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the NFL, the Colts will try to extend their overall winning streak to 19 games Sunday when they visit the Baltimore Ravens. Now I could go back into the history between the Colts and the city of Baltimore but I won’t. I’ll just stick with- the Colts are better so we should win.

The Colts are sitting pretty in the AFC leading the South division by four games over Jacksonville and Houston, which are tied for second place. They hold a two-game edge on Cincinnati in the race for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.

Here’s what the Colts should be looking for:
* The Run- The Ravens are a strong running team with Ray Rice. The Colts have been ok against the run this year. Ok won’t get it done with Ray Rice. The Ravens are 4th in the league in running. This is a major test for the Colts’ D line. If they can contain Rice, it will be a positive sign for the rest of the year.

* Joe Flacco- He’s not the same rookie that got ROCKED by the Cols D last year. Since he threw 3 picks to the Colts, the Ravens are 14-6 and Flacco has thrown 25 TDs to 12 picks and a rating of 90.5.

* Watch the Blindside dude- Michael Oher has a pretty big week coming up. He has to play the Colts and he has some movie that hasn’t been advertised very much coming out soon. He’d better be as good as this movie has me thinking he is.

* Watch for the let down. Indy played the BEST GAME EVER on Sunday night while Baltimore played on Monday night in a scrimmage against the Browns. Both teams could come out flat. I’m hoping it’s the Ravens.

I wouldn’t say the Colts own the Ravens but…they do have five consecutive wins over Baltimore. In this game it seems that the Ravens have more to play for. They currently sit at 5-4 and really need to win this game at home to stay in a tough playoff race that might just require 11 wins to take a Wild Card slot.

Let’s hope the Colts realize how hot 10-0 really sounds!

Hey, Ricky, you're so fine!
(Joe Rimkus, Jr./Miami Herald)

I feel good! And no, I can’t say, “I knew that I would.” When I read the news about Ronnie Brown being out for the season, I was scared. A week without Ronnie? Sure. The rest of the season without Ronnie? No way!! I even had a bag of peanut M&M’s handy which I only half-jokingly called my “emergency disaster packet.” I was ready for disappointment and prepared for pain.

When I turned on the game, I was looking at everything through doom-and-gloom tinted glasses. First, we lost the coin toss. Then Dan Carpenter’s plant leg slipped on the kick-off. Not Good. Carolina quickly trotted downfield, and not five minutes into the game the Panthers were poised to score. I was sure the football gods were against us. But relief came when Joey Porter, followed by a swarm of rushing Dolphins, penetrated the Carolina line and sacked Delhomme on third and goal. I could stop holding my breath. Things might not be all that bad.

And things weren’t all bad. They were pretty darn good, especially for the first three quarters. The defense made some mistakes with missed tackles and blown coverages, and when Delhomme was on target, it seemed like Carolina could do anything they wanted. But every time a drive started to gain momentum, our defense stepped up. Third down situations arose and Miami came up with huge sacks! All together, we had four sacks, all on third downs. We also intercepted Delhomme once, and nearly a second time.

Offensively, Chad Henne wasn’t shooting out the lights, but he was solid. The passing game looked better than it has all season. Brian Hartline had a 36 yard catch that kick-started the game in the 2nd quarter; Davone Bess made several big catches that were key to helping us sustain drives; and even Tedd Ginn could be relied upon when the ball came his way. (Boy, I guess he finally realized that he has a pair of hands that work as well as his quick feet! One more game like this and maybe they’ll let him run a deep route. If he catches that one, I’ll let him off the hook.) The running game was mostly back to basics. The wildcat was there, but limited. And it didn’t matter. RB Lex Hilliard, fourth on the depth chart, got his first action this week. On 3rd and 16, he plowed ahead for the first down, plus a little more. Wow! Way to rise to the occasion, buddy! And Ricky Williams? I love you, Ricky! Ricky was INCREDIBLE! I couldn’t have dreamed up a better way to beat Carolina than to have Ricky catch a pass for a TD, dive into the end zone pylon for a second, and then burn downfield, leaving guys in his wake, on a 46 yard power-run to score a third! It was like a vintage Ricky Williams highlight reel!

I said in my pre-game blog that nothing could be finer than to beat Carolina. And don’t it feel good! To paraphrase a Kevin Welch song that I love, I don’t know where we’re going, or how long this will stay. All I know worth knowing is I feel fine today!

Just in case you’re wondering, I never needed to open the M&M’s. *My waistline thanks you, Ricky!*

Well for me, it’s always been the Ravens. I could probably rant for hours about why their purple and black jerseys make my blood boil (if you don’t believe me, ask some of the people “blessed” with the opportunity to talk football with me). Suffice it to say, I used to look forward to the Tennessee/Baltimore match-ups each year because I wanted to see my Titans embarrass Ray Lewis and whatever no-name quarterback happened to be under center that week. Even if the games went horribly, horribly wrong – and trust me, that was often the case – they gave me more fuel to add to my Raven-hate bonfire.

Once the AFC Central was no more, I adopted a new most-loathed team – the Indianapolis Colts. Again, ask me sometime about why I hate the Colts and I could talk your ear off. I’ll just leave you with two simple words – Peyton Manning. Titans/Colts games now feed my need for rivalry games. And I’m content with that.

So imagine my surprise upon reading that the Houston Texans are heating up their rivalry against Tennessee. Really, Houston? I get it, you’re mad that the Oilers left your city. Personally, I’d be a little more upset at the team you found to replace them. I know the Texans are above .500 and have an impressive pass attack. Their defense is showing shades of improvement. Even ESPN is starting to talk about them more often!

But please don’t think that because the Texans aren’t having a miserable season (as of now), they’re turning the franchise around. Houston is like Miss USA in the Miss Universe pageant – she may put up a great effort, she may excite some fans, she may even make the other competitors sweat a bit, but she’ll always lose out to the more exotic beauties (read: more dynamic offense, more punishing defense or flat-out better coaching).

Yes, the Texans beat Tennessee in Week 2. Since then, however, the Titans have hit rock bottom, struggled to gain back momentum and brought in a secret weapon – a mistake-free Vince Young. Tennessee is having a terrible season, but that does not mean that Houston should become their rivals. If Houston has to wait until the Titans start out the season 0-6 to see an opportunity to gain momentum in the division, what does that say about the mindset of that team?

As an expansion team, Houston leads an existence of low expectations – “Oh, you only lost by 10? That’s great!” and “It’s alright that we lost! At least Mario Williams had a sack!” Titans linebacker Keith Bullock said it best: “They’re like our fourth- or fifth-cousin. We don’t really acknowledge them.”

While the odds of Tennessee winning a fourth straight game may be low, they do have a shot at beating the Texans this Monday night. Chris Johnson is an absolute beast. He became one of three players in NFL history to rush for 1,000 and average 6.4 yards per carry in the first nine games of the season – joining the ranks of Adrian Peterson and Jim Brown. It would be lovely to see C.J. have a similar game to his Week 2 match-up against Houston when he racked up 197 yards and two touchdowns.

Surprisingly enough, the Titans defense is starting to look imposing once again. Two pick-six plays in the fourth quarter against Buffalo last week gave the secondary a much-needed confidence boost. Turnovers will be key on Monday night, and if Tennessee can keep up the +7 ratio they’ve worked for these past three weeks, they’ll keep Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson – a duo that really burned them in the last game – off the field.

I’m looking forward to this game for three reasons:

1. I actually get to watch it! Nationally-televised Titans games are like mini-Christmases that come from the NFL Scheduling Santa.
2. Chris Johnson will be able to prove that he deserves to be called one of the best backs in the league.
3. Four wins in a row would be mini-redemption for the depressing 0-6 start.

Notice how none of those had to do with how much I hate the Texans. Please, sports media – put the rivalry talk to rest. Come and talk to me after the Texans don’t have a late-season collapse into painful mediocrity.

“It’s a self-perpetuating problem that is not Jay Cutler’s fault.  It’s not Rex Grossman’s fault. It’s not Kyle Orton’s fault. It’s not every other quarterback who has been through that system’s fault. It’s the fault of the organization for not understanding what a quarterback needs.”

Hmm…what does a quarterback need?  A daddy who sticks up for him?  Some skills, perhaps?  The ability not to trip over oneself?

Actually, I agree with Dan Grossman–to a point.  There is definitely a pattern of mismanagement of quarterbacks in the Chicago system.   That being said, it doesn’t “redeem” Rex Grossman.  Grossman was a streaky mess.  He had an arm, but lacked accuracy and mobility outside of the pocket.  Jay Cutler has all of those things.  Grossman also had better receivers than Cutler, and Cutler is still outperforming him by a long shot.

Papa Rex’s comments are a thinly veiled attempt to defend his son’s honor.  He may have some sympathy for Jay Cutler and  his family, but that’s not why he’s speaking up.  He’s making an implicit argument that his son would have been a good quarterback if it weren’t for the Chicago Bears.  And I disagree with that.  At most, he would have been “less bad”.  Cutler, on the other hand, has the potential to be great.  He is tough as nails and can throw bullets.  The Bears are squelching his talent, and it’s a shame. 

Yeah they were both first round draft picks, but Jay Cutler and Rex Grossman don’t belong in the same category of quarterbacks.  Sorry, Papa Rex.

Brees is shown in super slo-mo completing a pass to the president. Also featured in the commercial, former Saint Mike McKenzie. (Hmmmm…so much for Secret Service clearances.)

Check it out.

What you didn’t see? Troy Polamalu dragging down the prez with a horse collar, then spiking the little girl seen on Patrick Crayton’s shoulders. That guy’s always on the clock, eh?