Week 7's Final Drive
Week Seven was filled with exciting games, last minute game-winning field goals, and huge stories about some of the National Football League’s brightest stars. We saw some big upsets and major injuries befall a few of the League’s biggest stars. All of the excitement of the weekend, however, can not compare to the fact that the Oakland Raiders actually won a game. Actually, that outcome was less about the Raiders than it was about those sorry Cardinals. With that, I say on to the Final Drive.
First Down - Top Stories from the Past Weekend
-Shawne Merriman, San Diego Charger reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year, failed a NFL drug test and now faces a four game suspension. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported Sunday night that Merriman tested positive for steroids. This is a huge blow for a Chargers defense that is now down three of their top outside linebackers. Merriman is not the first player to test positive for steroids, but he is by far the biggest name to get caught.
-If I were to ask you who lead the league in total yards last year I am pretty sure the answer would surprise you. Most people would name Shaun Alexander, LaDainian Tomlinson or Larry Johnson. To nearly everyone’s surprise, the actual answer is New York Giants running back Tiki Barber. Barber pulled an even bigger shock this past week when he announced that he would be retiring at the end of this season. Tiki appears to be following in the footsteps of former star tailbacks Barry Sanders, Jim Brown and Robert Smith by calling it quits at a time when they were still able to dominate the league. The Giants not only will lose a great running back but also one of the classiest players throughout professional sports.
-Both of the defending conference champions lost their star quarterbacks to injuries this past weekend. Seattle Seahawks signal caller Matt Hasselbeck strained his MCL and reports are that he will miss at least 3 weeks. When you combine this injury with the earlier loss of Alexander, the Seahawks’ drive for the Super Bowl has taken a huge blow.
In Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger has suffered yet another injury. After his serious motorcycle accident and emergency appendectomy, he has now suffered a serious concussion. Pittsburgh’s passing game finally seemed to be waking up the past few weeks, but you really have to wonder if this injury is going to be one to many.
-Matt Bryant is not exactly a household name throughout the NFL. Even among kickers, he is still pretty far down the list when it comes to popularity. Nobody, however, did anything on Sunday that will be talked about as much as what Bryant did. He kicked a 62-yard game winning field goal against the Philadelphia Eagles on the last play of the Buccaneers win on Sunday. Bryant’s kick was one yard short of the NFL record, and one could arguably say that it was the best kick in regular season history. The current record is held by Jason Elam and Tom Dempsey - Elam for the Broncos and Dempsey for the Saints. The reason Bryant’s was more impressive is that Elam played in the high altitude of Denver and Dempsey had his famous squared tip boot on for his kick. Bryant had no such enhancers for his kick. While it might not be listed number one in the record book, I will take Bryant’s kick over the other two.
Second Down - Top Ten
Chicago-Grossman had a reality check against Arizona, but a win is a win.
Indianapolis-The Colts bulked up their run defense by bringing in former Buccaneers star Anthony “Booger” McFarland and then their offense woke up and dominated the Redskins.
Denver-The Broncos offense is scary bad so far this year, but when you have given up just two touchdowns through six games you really do not need to score much.
New England-People keep writing the Patriots off and all they keep doing is winning.
San Diego-The Chargers defense struggled Sunday in Kansas City, and with all the losses at linebacker, Coach Marty is going to have to rely on his young quarterback much more then he would have liked.
New Orleans-The Saints have another big challenge this week against the Baltimore Ravens, but with the way they have stepped up each week, another win would not surprise me.
Atlanta-The Falcons continue to have no problem moving the ball on offense, but their defense could be a big problem.
New York Giants-The G-Men made a huge statement Monday night in Big D. Their pass rush is going to prove very challenging for opposing offensive lines.
Cincinnati-Something is still missing with the Bengals; they just do not look right on offense.
St. Louis-All of a sudden the Rams look like they could be the head honcho in a mediocre NFC West.
Third Down - Top Games from Next Week
New England Patriots at Minnesota Vikings
Atlanta Falcons at Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore Ravens at New Orleans Saints
St. Louis Rams at San Diego Chargers
Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos
Fourth Down - Who I Like and Why
San Francisco at Chicago - Alex Smith is going to be in for a long night against the well-rested Bears in what should be another blowout victory.
Atlanta at Cincinnati - I do not trust either defense in this game, but I trust the Falcons’ just a little bit more.
Seattle at Kansas City -Seneca Wallace makes his first career start in a building where most veteran quarterbacks struggle. I see the Chiefs pounding the ball behind Larry Johnson en route to a solid victory.
Houston at Tennessee - When two bad teams play each other, I will take the home team who happens to be coming off a bye.
Arizona at Green Bay - Green Bay looked like the Packers of yesteryear on Sunday. I expect Brett Favre, Ahman Green and Donald Driver to lead the pack to consecutive victories.
Tampa Bay at NY Giants - With both teams coming off emotional wins, I like the Giants pass rush against a young and inexperienced quarterback and his offensive line.
Jacksonville at Philadelphia - Donovan McNabb and company are looking to bounce back after two straight tough losses. I like the Eagles in a surprisingly high scoring affair.
Baltimore at New Orleans - I just do not see the Ravens having the offensive fire power to defeat the high flying Saints.
St Louis at San Diego – “Marty Ball” at its finest looks like the key to success for the Chargers now; expect San Diego to use a ball control offense to beat the Rams.
Pittsburgh at Oakland - Was the Raiders victory a sign of things to come? I would guess “no” on that one. The Steelers will dominate Oakland.
Indianapolis at Denver - Peyton Manning in cold weather is not a good combination, Denver might give up more points then usual but Indy is going to sustain their first loss.
NY Jets at Cleveland - In the battle of Bill Belichick’s former defensive coordinators, I expect Romeo Crennel’s boys to suffocate the overachieving Jets.
Dallas at Carolina - If Bledsoe plays, I expect the Cowboys to prevail over the Panthers; if it is Tony Romo under center, I would bet on the Panthers.
New England at Minnesota - The Patriots front seven is going to be way too much for an immobile quarterback like Brad Johnson. Expect the Pats to ride their defense to victory on Monday night.
First Down - Top Stories from the Past Weekend
-Shawne Merriman, San Diego Charger reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year, failed a NFL drug test and now faces a four game suspension. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported Sunday night that Merriman tested positive for steroids. This is a huge blow for a Chargers defense that is now down three of their top outside linebackers. Merriman is not the first player to test positive for steroids, but he is by far the biggest name to get caught.
-If I were to ask you who lead the league in total yards last year I am pretty sure the answer would surprise you. Most people would name Shaun Alexander, LaDainian Tomlinson or Larry Johnson. To nearly everyone’s surprise, the actual answer is New York Giants running back Tiki Barber. Barber pulled an even bigger shock this past week when he announced that he would be retiring at the end of this season. Tiki appears to be following in the footsteps of former star tailbacks Barry Sanders, Jim Brown and Robert Smith by calling it quits at a time when they were still able to dominate the league. The Giants not only will lose a great running back but also one of the classiest players throughout professional sports.
-Both of the defending conference champions lost their star quarterbacks to injuries this past weekend. Seattle Seahawks signal caller Matt Hasselbeck strained his MCL and reports are that he will miss at least 3 weeks. When you combine this injury with the earlier loss of Alexander, the Seahawks’ drive for the Super Bowl has taken a huge blow.
In Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger has suffered yet another injury. After his serious motorcycle accident and emergency appendectomy, he has now suffered a serious concussion. Pittsburgh’s passing game finally seemed to be waking up the past few weeks, but you really have to wonder if this injury is going to be one to many.
-Matt Bryant is not exactly a household name throughout the NFL. Even among kickers, he is still pretty far down the list when it comes to popularity. Nobody, however, did anything on Sunday that will be talked about as much as what Bryant did. He kicked a 62-yard game winning field goal against the Philadelphia Eagles on the last play of the Buccaneers win on Sunday. Bryant’s kick was one yard short of the NFL record, and one could arguably say that it was the best kick in regular season history. The current record is held by Jason Elam and Tom Dempsey - Elam for the Broncos and Dempsey for the Saints. The reason Bryant’s was more impressive is that Elam played in the high altitude of Denver and Dempsey had his famous squared tip boot on for his kick. Bryant had no such enhancers for his kick. While it might not be listed number one in the record book, I will take Bryant’s kick over the other two.
Second Down - Top Ten
Chicago-Grossman had a reality check against Arizona, but a win is a win.
Indianapolis-The Colts bulked up their run defense by bringing in former Buccaneers star Anthony “Booger” McFarland and then their offense woke up and dominated the Redskins.
Denver-The Broncos offense is scary bad so far this year, but when you have given up just two touchdowns through six games you really do not need to score much.
New England-People keep writing the Patriots off and all they keep doing is winning.
San Diego-The Chargers defense struggled Sunday in Kansas City, and with all the losses at linebacker, Coach Marty is going to have to rely on his young quarterback much more then he would have liked.
New Orleans-The Saints have another big challenge this week against the Baltimore Ravens, but with the way they have stepped up each week, another win would not surprise me.
Atlanta-The Falcons continue to have no problem moving the ball on offense, but their defense could be a big problem.
New York Giants-The G-Men made a huge statement Monday night in Big D. Their pass rush is going to prove very challenging for opposing offensive lines.
Cincinnati-Something is still missing with the Bengals; they just do not look right on offense.
St. Louis-All of a sudden the Rams look like they could be the head honcho in a mediocre NFC West.
Third Down - Top Games from Next Week
New England Patriots at Minnesota Vikings
Atlanta Falcons at Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore Ravens at New Orleans Saints
St. Louis Rams at San Diego Chargers
Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos
Fourth Down - Who I Like and Why
San Francisco at Chicago - Alex Smith is going to be in for a long night against the well-rested Bears in what should be another blowout victory.
Atlanta at Cincinnati - I do not trust either defense in this game, but I trust the Falcons’ just a little bit more.
Seattle at Kansas City -Seneca Wallace makes his first career start in a building where most veteran quarterbacks struggle. I see the Chiefs pounding the ball behind Larry Johnson en route to a solid victory.
Houston at Tennessee - When two bad teams play each other, I will take the home team who happens to be coming off a bye.
Arizona at Green Bay - Green Bay looked like the Packers of yesteryear on Sunday. I expect Brett Favre, Ahman Green and Donald Driver to lead the pack to consecutive victories.
Tampa Bay at NY Giants - With both teams coming off emotional wins, I like the Giants pass rush against a young and inexperienced quarterback and his offensive line.
Jacksonville at Philadelphia - Donovan McNabb and company are looking to bounce back after two straight tough losses. I like the Eagles in a surprisingly high scoring affair.
Baltimore at New Orleans - I just do not see the Ravens having the offensive fire power to defeat the high flying Saints.
St Louis at San Diego – “Marty Ball” at its finest looks like the key to success for the Chargers now; expect San Diego to use a ball control offense to beat the Rams.
Pittsburgh at Oakland - Was the Raiders victory a sign of things to come? I would guess “no” on that one. The Steelers will dominate Oakland.
Indianapolis at Denver - Peyton Manning in cold weather is not a good combination, Denver might give up more points then usual but Indy is going to sustain their first loss.
NY Jets at Cleveland - In the battle of Bill Belichick’s former defensive coordinators, I expect Romeo Crennel’s boys to suffocate the overachieving Jets.
Dallas at Carolina - If Bledsoe plays, I expect the Cowboys to prevail over the Panthers; if it is Tony Romo under center, I would bet on the Panthers.
New England at Minnesota - The Patriots front seven is going to be way too much for an immobile quarterback like Brad Johnson. Expect the Pats to ride their defense to victory on Monday night.
posted by marinjos at 10:53 PM
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