Surprisingly, the game of the week wasn’t New England versus the Jets. It wasn’t Bears and Eagles….It wasn’t even the Chargers at Denver, where the winner would sit alone atop the AFC West.
No, the game of the week was one where both teams combined for 2 wins as they took the field on Sunday morning.
Yes, the best game this week was the Cleveland Browns in Detroit to face the Lions. Quinn Vs. Stafford. Schwartz Vs. Mangina. Joke Vs. Joke!
Entering the game, Cleveland had a NFL low for points scored in the first quarter, scoring just NINE points in all their games COMBINED! When the dust had settled on a very exciting first quarter, Cleveland had hung 24 on the board, and Brady Quinn had 3 TD passes. Add that to his current yearly total and he had FOUR TDs total. His stat line after 15 minutes was 8/9 for 153 yards and 3TDs. Eye popping numbers.
On the other side of the ball, Matt Stafford had the biggest game of his young career, as he chalked up a pretty impressive stat line himself: 26 for 43 for 421 yards and 5TDs. If you want to see a negative in his play, he also threw 2 picks on the day, but by now I think Detroit fans are used to seeing this type of play out of him.
The play of the day was really a combination of two plays. The first was with just a few ticks left on the clock, and the Lions down by 6. Stafford was able to keep the play alive with some movement in and around the pocket, darting to the left…Then back to the right, avoiding the 3-man rush the Browns had sent to take down the rookie. With one final toss of hope, Stafford released a ball to the end zone as he was crushed, landing on his non-throwing shoulder. The outcome was an incomplete pass, and a hurt QB. But wait! A flag on the play. Pass Interference in the end zone, resulting in one un-timed down from the 1 yard line, as a g
ame cannot end on a defensive penalty.
Here is the most curious call of the day for me…Stafford was noticeably hurt, and on the sideline. An ice cold Daunte Cullpepper had entered the game under center, and was ready to get the snap when Mangini, in his infinite wisdom, called a timeout. After the timeout, Stafford took the field again, and calmly tossed his fifth TD of the game, this one was a game winner to his
fellow rookie, Brandon Pettigrew. The home team won in a game that seemed as though the ending was scripted by Walt Disney himself (minus the racism)!
What a game! What a finish!
Pet Peeve Of The Week: I cannot take credit for initially thinking this one up, but I can’t help but agree with it. It occurs when a QB drops back to pass, and delivers an off target pass down field. The defending cornerback takes a stab at the ball, knocking it down, or JUST whiffing on it…Then you hear it: ‘Almost intercepted!’.
Dick Enberg might be the biggest culprit of this, as I heard the 2 word phrase come out of his mouth 4 times while watching the 1st half of the Broncos-Chargers game. Really, Dick? Was it almost intercepted, because it looked to me like he got two fingers on it, and did his job… DEFENDED THE PASS!
I plead to all announcers…Please do not overuse this phrase. You have already beaten it into the abyss of meaninglessness. Let’s bring it back to its glory days when it meant the ball was really almost intercepted.
Stat Line Of The Week: Robert (Bobby) Meacham – 2 catches, 10 yards, 2TDs. That is making the best of your opportunities!
And now a few other notes from Sunday:
- Freeman looked like a winner early on, going 2/3 for 26 yards and a excellent TD pass to Michael Clayton on his first drive. He also had a key 15 yard scramble on 3rd and 13 to keep the drive alive. The problem is that after that drive, he was just 15 for 30 for 100 yards and 3 interceptions. Consistency might be the name of the game for Freeman from here on out.
- Drew Brees is the least blitzed QB in the league, and TB continued that trend by not blitzing him once in the first half.
- Eli Manning had his first ever 300 yard game at home. He continues to be an anomaly, as he is one of the few QBs that is better on the road than at home. Doesn’t it seem like he loses a little luster come winter at home in the Meadowlands every year?
- Tony Siragusa was a sideline commentator for this contest….Commentators are supposed to add to the game, and I find that he takes away from it. Please stop it, Tony!
- The Vikings outgained the Seahawks 160 to 4 on the ground. Tavaris Jackson, who played only 15 minutes of the game, was just 4 yards behind Seattle’s leading rusher, Justin Forsett.
- Remember the Poison Pill contracts from a few years ago? Steve Hutchinson had a clause in an offer he signed with the Vikes that if he wasn’t the highest paid O-Lineman on the team, his contract was guaranteed? The Seahawks could not match as Big Walt Jones made a truckload of money, so in retaliation, the Seahawks signed Nate Burleson to an offer sheet that stated ‘if he played 4 games in the state of Minnesota, the entire contract was guaranteed. Oh, just some of the games GMs play! Even though Burleson is having a breakout season (8-100 on Sunday), it’s pretty obvious that Minny got the better of those offer sheets.
- In the upset of the week, KC beat the Steelers in overtime. 2 comments about this game: 1) The Steelers are just not the same without Polamalu patrolling the middle of the field! 2) Chris Chambers went from castoff to #1WR within 2 weeks of play. He had his hand in this upset as he caught a 61 yd pass in OT to set up the game winning field goal by Mr. Irrelevant, Ryan Succop!
- The Steelers have given up a Defensive or Return TD in 8 straight games!
- I can’t stop talking about MJD! Even in a sub-par game rushing (25-66 and a TD), he was impressive. In one play in particular, he was face masked and horse-collared at the same time by Paul Posloszney. Oh, and he still managed to pick up 3 yards. Man I love that guy!
- I am not sure what the Bills were doing at the end of the first half as interim coach Perry Fewell showed some ‘Andy Reid Style clock management’. With a 7 yard completion to T.O, the Bills lined up, 1st and goal on the 5 yd line with the clock running down from 0:27. The smart play is to spike the ball, giving you 2 chances for the TD before kicking the FG. Instead, they get to line line, snap the ball, and ran a play…a RUNNING PLAY with F. Jackson. They then had to kill the clock with 6 seconds left, leaving a field goal as the only option. They ended up losing by 3 points. Smarter play calling, and they could have won the game. Who knows.
- Well hello there Mr. Owens…where have you been all year? 9-197 and a big TD! I think you and Mr. Fewell will be getting along very well this week!
- SF, I know you were down early, but rushing the ball just 10 times (only 7 with Frank Gore) is appalling….Especially since for his first run of the day, Gore broke it 42 yards. Not sure about you, but I would rather put my game plan on the legs of Gore than the shoulder of Alex Smith.
- You think V. Davis and A. Smith like playing with one another? Just another 6-108 and a TD for Davis!
- Well Hello there Mr. Jennings! Nice to see you coming to play again this season! 5-126 and a TD make it your best Sunday of the season to date.
- The first catch by a Cowboy WR came on the last play of the 3rd quarter. No wonder the Dallas offense was on the side of milk carton most of the game.
- Did anyone actually think Dallas WASN’T going to score when they got the ball with 7:06 left in the game, trailing 6-0? It seemed to be a foregone conclusion that it was going to be a Cowboy victory.
- Is there a worse announcer than Joe Buck? The guy can make the most exciting play sound boring.
- Indy wins their 19th consecutive game (2nd longest streak in NFL history) in a tight game in Baltimore. It goes to show that Vegas knows more about Football than you, as this game was MUCH closer than anyone expected.
- Derrick Mason might be having one of the quietest good seasons for a WR in the league. Just another 9 catches for 142 yards.
- Arizona proved they need Warner to be healthy to win. In 1 half of Matt Leinart, the team put 0 points on the board, had 2 3-and-out’s, and looked altogether stagnant. Maybe there was some merit to the rumours about Brian St. Pierre challenging for the backup role in the preseason.
- Wait, What, Really? Oakland beat Cinci? How did that happen? I guess having a QB under center that can actually throw a spiral helps win games?!!?! Who would have thunk it?
- Bernie Scott rips off his first 100 yard game in his first NFL start. Larry Johnson? 2 carries 5 yards! With that said, it looks like the goal line back with Benson out is going to be Carson Palmer.
- More growing pains for the Sanchize! Another 5 turnover game for him results in a lop-sided victory for the Pats. There were a couple throws that even I know better than throwing.
- Darrelle Revis proved he might be the best corner in the game by keeping the best WR in the game to just 5 catches for 34 yards and a TD.
- Are the Broncos done? 4 straight losses after starting 6-0, and next week they are entertaining the Giants. I predict that the Broncos will be .500 after another Arrowhead upset in week 13!
- We’re not sure if the Broncos are done, but Lord knows the Chris Simms experiment is. Kyle Orton was apparently not well enough to start, but well enough to come in and play over a half of football. Strange coaching by McDaniels there.
- There was another example of the announcer jinx in this game. Phillip Rivers had been having a heck of first half when Dick Enberg decided to let us know that he had completed 12 straight passes. The next pass? Knocked down at the line. Way to go, Dick. Might as well just shout ‘SHUTOUT’ at a hockey game.
- Should I be shocked that Jay Cutler threw an interception with the game on the line late in the 4th quarter? His 18th pick of the season was the nail in the coffin to the Bears
- A Shout out to all Canadians! I noticed 2 Canadian flags on FGs this week, one in Detroit, and one in Giant Stadium! Represent, my Canuck brethren!
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