There’s no love lost between the Colts and Patriots as far as fans are concerned. Indy’s followers envied the Patriots because New England was the obstacle the Colts couldn’t get past in the early going. The role has reversed as the Colts gained the edge. And the bar is raised on Sunday night as the Patriots have the extra incentive to protect their record 16-0 regular season.

Continue reading "Game of the Year"

Probably the biggest surprise regarding New England’s draft class is that all 12 players made the final roster. Even DT Darryl Richard wasn’t visited by the turk.

It may take one to three years to find out if the whole draft class pans out or which ones get left on the side of the road. But how do the Pats rookies stack up against their peers?

The players have to get playing time in order to make these comparisons fair. It’s really a losing battle as it boils down to five against about 250 rookies. But New England’s newbies compare well overall:

Continue reading "Rookies vs Rookies"

A slew of division match-ups are highlighted in this week’s NFL schedule. First place is up for grabs in the NFC East and one team hopes to avoid falling further behind the Colts in the AFC South. What games should you be watching? Find out in the Opening Drive of week nine!

(4-3) Baltimore Ravens at (5-2) Cincinnati Bengals

With the Ravens, Bengals and Steelers all making a case for their place atop the AFC North, this game will go a long way in deciding the final two. If Baltimore is swept by Cincinnati, they’ll drop back to .500 while the Bengals and Steelers fight it out. The Ravens dominated Denver in the second half of last week’s game, thanks to Joe Flacco’s efficiency with the football. He’ll need a repeat performance if he’s going to keep up with Carson Palmer, who is playing on a Pro Bowl level. Both offenses have depending on a balanced attack, so look for each defense to shut down the run.

Continue reading "Joes Opening Drive Week 9"

This year New England fans will have a tough time rationalizing Patriot players worthy of being selected. The offense’s big three of QB Tom Brady and WRs Randy Moss and Wes Welker will get their share of votes. Beyond them…good luck.

As much as we like ILB Jerod Mayo, his injury set him back. He’s eighth on the team in tackles. No one from the front seven has a chance of getting voted in.

And even though safetys Brandon McGowan and Brandon Merriweather are playing well, the star power at the position in the AFC (Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu, Baltimore’s Ed Reed and Indianapolis’ Bob Sanders) might keep either out, as well as costing each other votes.

Continue reading "Pro Bowl Ben"

I’m holding true to my belief that Brady needed seven to eight weeks to find his comfort zone. As the season went on, we noticed the progress Brady made, step by step.

His second half against Buffalo was a complete 180 of the first half. After being blitzed nearly to death against the New York Jets, Brady carved up Atlanta and starred down Baltimore’s Ray Lewis-led defense and came out ahead.

Not happy with his inaccuracy on deep balls against Denver, Brady put on a clinic against Tennessee, throwing six touchdowns and connecting on a handful of passes downfield. And Brady put it all together in London in a sound defeat of Tampa Bay.

Continue reading "The Real Tom Brady"

(5-2) Dallas Cowboys 38
(2-5) Seattle Seahawks 17

What’s with teams not wanting to tackle Cowboy receivers? Miles Austin and Sam Hurd have just been embarrassing defenders left and right. Tony Romo has put his team in a position to take first in the East following their next game, which comes against rival Philadelphia. In Seattle, injuries abound for the second straight year. There is no way this team could fight for a division title.

(4-3) Baltimore Ravens 30

Continue reading "Joes Final Drive Week 8"

While the numbers look good, I’m not sold on Maroney’s performance against Tennessee. It’s not just because the Titans are a bad team. Laurence started off well, hitting holes quickly. But after the 45-yard touchdown, his feet were pitter-pattering again.

I’ll give Maroney the benefit of the doubt, but only to a point. It was a snowy field so maybe to keep his traction Laurence chopped his feet. I’d believe it, except Maroney has a history of stuttering in the backfield. That, and on one run, he tried to bounce it outside instead of taking what was available. Old habits die hard.

Continue reading "Staying On the Run"

Tennessee has gotten off to a terrible start as they are 0-5, and have completely undewhelmed after finishing the regular season with the best record in the league a year ago.  A lot of those failures have to be placed at the feet of Jeff Fisher.  I don’t know if he just assumed they would be good this because they were good last year, but you can’t approach every season the same.  You have to make proper adjustments and you have to continue to challenge your team.  Granted, the Titans have had their share of injuries but so has every other team in the league.  There shouldn’t be that much of a drop off.  The Titans really miss Albert Haynesworth, but you have to be prepared for that situation.  And then to have a communication breakdown of this magnitude with Kearse, in his second home of Tennessee in front of all of his family and friends…what else would you expect?  This team is going nowhere fast and if Fisher can’t find a way to bring some promise out of this squad then he should not be the head coach for this team next year.  Jeff Fisher is a good coach, but like Cowher, Shannahan and Gruden, he may need a clean break from the grind of the NFL season.

Continue reading "Fisher is falling out of favor"

In years past, it took two full years to be back to normal after ACL and MCL surgery – a year to heal and another year playing on the knee to regain confidence and feel. That’s not the case anymore, with San Diego’s Phillip Rivers tying for the league lead in touchdown passes last year after ACL surgery in January.

After five games it seems unlikely that Brady will reach 34 TD passes this year. With his up and down play so far, he’ll have a hard enough time reaching 30 scoring tosses.

Continue reading "Seven Weeks"

(1-4) Cleveland Browns 6
(1-4) Buffalo Bills 3 

Ugliest. Game. Ever. Derek Anderson goes 2 for 13 in a WIN. Mangini should have stuck with Brady Quinn. In Buffalo, things could be even worse after signing T.O. in the offseason. Dick Jauron will lose his job during this season. You can almost lock it in. 

(3-2) Dallas Cowboys 26
(0-5) Kansas City Chiefs 20 

Wade Philips needs to thank Tony Romo and Miles Austin for saving his job. Austin’s 10 catches for 250 yards was a Cowboy franchise record and could not have come at a more significant moment with Roy Williams on the bench. While winless, Kansas City is at least keeping things close. 

Continue reading "Joes Final Drive Week 5"