First? Go Steelers, and I can't wait to see how Anthony Smith does in his first start, I think he'll be starting next year.

I fart in the general direction of thursday night games.

So...whats the consensus on the Giants for week 14?
My thinking is E Manning will be Spec Tackular

I think the Giants will win because Eli will be less detrimental to his team than Delahomme.

not about CLE-PIT, but ...

is it just me or does the supposed Baseline killer look a lot like Ray Lewis? (see cnn.com)

Don't think Jake is starting....is he? Ripped tendon on his throwing thumb, (fox sports) but could be conjecture.

Now that fantasy playoff season is starting, I am founding a Donovan McNabb support group for those who lost their keeper/best player/soul mate three weeks ago. So for all of you out there who were making playoff runs and now have to listen to your friends bust your chops to no end every Sunday because your starting Vince Young/Trent Green, feel free to sign up and be comforted.

If Cleveland wins this game, I will be stunned. After all, this is the perfect time for the Steelers to hit a groove - too late to make the playoffs, but not late enough to win their way out of a high draft pick.

The red line for the line of scrimmage marker seems like a bad choice to me.

Can't this guy pronounce "Morey"? It's not like he has to read my last name, for crying out loud!

I missed the first two games on NFL Network, so this is my first time seeing their coverage of a game. It took less than 5 seconds for me to see that the criticism I have seen of Bryant Gumbel as a play-by-play announcer is completely warranted. He is awful.

Also, the graphics when the players were introduced were distracting and very poorly done. And I agree that the red line for the line of scrimmage is a bad choice.

They gotta love that in Cleveland.

Ben finally connects on a deep ball. It seems like he'd been underthrowing that badly all season and it was getting picked.

Re:#13

Actually, that one was underthrown slightly as well. Washington had to hesitate just a bit for it. Fortunately, he had so much of a step on Bodden that it didn't matter much.

Anyhow, Gumbel is really annoying.

Dumb penalty by the Steelers.

#14-

It was underthrown, but only slightly instead of badly, like he's been doing. :)

#15: You say that like it's something new.

That was scarily close to PI by McFadden.

Is it just me, or is Ben making some pretty good throws tonight? Holmes is looking pretty solid too.

My God. Walter Young just caught an NFL pass.

I really wish the announcers would be, you know, paying attention to the fucking game...

Bodden pretty much saved a TD there. I don't think there was anyone behind him who could have stopped Willie.

How close are the Steelers to dragging people off the street to play WR? I'm only a few hours away, I have good hands and deceptive speed.

Re:#9 & 11

The play-clock being red is worse, I think.

Yeah, Rocco, but are you also a fan favorite, or perhaps a gritty throwback?

Was that a fumble free, decent punt return by Holmes? Kick coverage has been solid as well. Who are you and what have you done with the Steelers?

Great run by Parker... and then he fumbles it. Browns' ball.

Ahh, fumble by Parker. That's more like it.

I think the fans will like me after a while. They'll be impressed with how I get up after crushing hits that appear to break every bone in my body.

I guess the Steelers were due for a terrible fumble.

#26- More importantly, what took you guys so long to show up this season?

Being the Browns, they give it back quickly.

Browns give it back. Anderson went up the middle on a scramble to pick up the first down, but fumbled. Initially ruled down by contact, Cowher challenged and it was overturned.

Steelers are keeping the Browns in the game. Settled for a FG last time. Now, they settle again, but the FG is blocked.

And a blocked field goal. Apparently the Steelers couldn't maintain their good ST play, lest they leap Arizona in DVOA.

Browns' receivers are dropping a ton of balls so far.

Now Davenport fumbles, but the Steelers' recover.

Holmes has seen so many fumbles, he knew how to fall on that one and secure it safely.

The Steelers' defense is really doing their best to give the Browns a shot to get some points before the end of the half.

Browns miss the FG at the end of the half. Still 10-0.

Is it just me, or is this halftime audio totally atrocious? The music being blared over the Heinz Field PA system is sort of pulsing into the analysts mics in a really distracting way.

Did someone chop off Dennis Northcutt's hands?

I think the Steelers can shut down the passing game tonight.

BTW, Gumbel said Orpheus Roye was out with "a bum knee", instead of "out with a knee" like all announcers do these days. He gained a point.

Big Ben bootleg! TD!

This is getting bad. The Browns have 15 yards on 8 carries.

How do you have 8 carries in a game that you're only behind 10-0?

I have to say it again, over the last couple games Ben is starting to look a little bit like his old self. Is that a good sign, or is it just that he's played two middling teams?

Gumbel is good at two things; telling us which direction a back has carried in and the name of the fullback before every play.

This is the best PBP guy that the NFL N can find?

And another dropped pass by the Browns.

3rd and 9...and they run? Huh? They've had decent success throwing in between drops but can't run at all.

Jesus, Parker is either gonna break 300 yards or die of a heart-attack.

Parker, TD. (Soon to be) 24-0.

Question... who looked worse? Steelers against the Ravens or Browns against the Steelers?

Parker currently has 35.333 times as much yardage as the Browns' leading rusher.

Uh, you guys can tackle Braylon Edwards, you know. It's allowed.

Re:#52

I'd say the Steelers, to be honest. The Ravens just whipped them.

The Browns defense has been overmatched for the most part, but if their receviers could catch some passes, the offense might have been able to do something.

Anthony Smith with the pick!

Anthony Smith, INT. Fantasy football players with the Steelers defense rejoice.

And Parker has the Steelers' single game rushing record. He just missed it against the Saints a few weeks ago.

Nice cheap shot, Winslow...

James Farrior gets his revenge. Legally.

Wow. Anthony Smith. all I heard about this guy when he was drafted is that he didn't make enough plays and it was a bad choice for the steelers to draft him.

What are the chances that maybe he will make more starts this year, in spite of a healthy anthony smith?

Browns end the shutout. Nobody bothered to over Edwards in the middle of the field, and he took it the rest of the way.

"cover," not over.

dang, but who cares if it's an actual shutout anyway.

we shut them out for 55 minutes and Fast Willie got over 220 yards. but something's still gonna have to be done about that secondary though.

what is Charlie Frye thinking right now?

3-15-PIT 26 (3:40) N.Davenport right end to PIT 30 for 4 yards (W.McGinest). PENALTY on CLV-W.McGinest, Face Mask (15 Yards), 15 yards, enforced at PIT 30.

Holy crap, Willie.

"Three minute warning?"

Good one, Gumbel.

John Kuhn with a big run.

#67: Don't you mean John "Kyoon"?

On a slightly more serious note:

I know we're plagued with small sample size, but I think it would be interesting to analyze the stats for Thursday games after the season is over, and test a few hypotheses I've been kicking around in my head.

1. Road teams face a tremendous disadvantage playing Thursday. I realize both teams face an absurdly short week, but my guess is the road teams face it disproportionately.

2. We might be able to quantify this (hypothetical) disadvantage in one of several ways:
(a) Hypo I--DVOA(home)-DVOA(away)+(home field advantage) should correlate with win percentage; however if my hypothesis is true, we should observe, for Thursday games, DVOA(home)-DVOA(away)+(home field advantage)+(delta) in order to match the baseline correlation, where (delta)>0.
(b) Hypo II--as suggested in (a), HFA should be larger than normal for Thursday games. We might be able to observe the difference in a quick-and-dirty way simply by comparing the Thursday home winning percentage with the league non-Thursday average.
(c) Hypo III--we might be able to observe a difference in adjusted home field advantage, i.e., percentage of the time the home team covers the spread.

Cleveland's defense knows they're going to run, and they're allowing Pittsburgh a drive. The game was over anyway, but this is ugly.

Parker winds up with 37 times the yardage of Cleveland's leading rusher. Is this a record? Are there games where no on one side gained more than 3 yards or so? I just found a game where the Rams gained 6 yards (Nov. 20, 2005), but it was all Steven Jackson (on 12 carries), and the Cardinals' leading rusher (JJ Arrington) only had 45 yards so it's not close. Yeah, I'm procrastinating.

The Seahawks set a record against the LA Rams putting up -7 yards of total offense. IIRC

Droughns finished w/ 6 yards. Parker had 11 separate runs of at least 6 yards. Cleveland had 18 rushing yards. Parker had 3 runs of at least 18 yards.

Thanks Insancipatory! With too much procrastination, I've found a source for that -- it says that they went into negative yardage because of eight sacks, so they might have had a rusher who gained a few yards. Don't know. In the game where Barry Sanders gained minus one, did anyone else rush for more?

re: 69

Sample size is not as small as you think for Hypo (b) or (c). You could use every Thanksgiving game where teams did not have a bye the previous week. In several of the last few years, the NFL has had Thursday games randomly thrown into the regular season mix (besides season openers).

NFL.com recap:
"... Roethlisberger finished off a 91-yard drive with a 2-yard bootleg TD run, crossing up a Browns defense that was expecting Parker to get the ball."
OK, then is understandable that Roethlisberger managed to get in, as the defense concentrated on Parker, who was on the sideline.

Anyway it was a solid showing from the Steelers. The Browns aren't the best team, but their defense is quite good (Aaron has been praising it for a while), and Pitt had 2 TD drives of 90+ yards and 2 more drives over 70.

Not that it impacted the game (allowing 300 yards rushing, that's no way to win a game) but it was a little disheartening to see the officials get a call right on the field and then incorrectly overturn it on review.

Re:#77

Which call was that?

Given that Time Warner won't carry NFL Network and I have no chance to see the game last night, can anyone tell me how Derek Anderson looked at QB? A couple friends and threads seemed to mention that there were a few dropped balls that should have been completed, and he did have two turnovers, but should he still be starting next week over Charlie Frye?

#26, 30:
In the playbook I see the name 'C.Iwuoma' on the Steelers' side. There is at least correlation with good ST play there, if not causation.
I don't see the name 'D.Staley' there, BTW. Too little, too late, I think, but somebody has come to their senses in the personnel department, right?
#78:
The QB scramble for a first down that was deemed a fumble after review.

Wait... wait... wait... you mean... that was Bryant Gumbel? I thought it was Kermit the Frog. Again. Oh well.

Yeah... he's not real good.

Damn Browns. Frye on the bench and Droughns only getting 5 carries has wiped out most of my mulligans in the Loser League. Now I need Gradkowski, Henry, and Edge all to really suck on Sunday.

Re:#80

Yeah, that is what I figured. Except that #77 claims that the overturn was incorrect. The replay clearly showed the ball come out before Anderson was down, therefore, it was clearly a fumble. I don't see how anyone could disagree with that.

83 - it was clearly a fumble, yes. What was not clear was that the Steelers recovered. By the time Aaron Smith dived on the ball and rolled over such that he wasn't in the way of the camera, Anderson had managed to snag an arm around it as well. No way to tell from the film who got there first...so the play shouldn't have been overturned.

I say all this as a Steelers fan, though had the game been closer (ie, if the Browns had more than one reciever who could catch) I suppose I might have been more biased.

Worrying for the Steelers was a lack of pressure from the pass-rush and generally poor coverage from the cornerbacks (as opposed to the safeties and the linebackers, who were terrific).

Re 8:

Does it matter much, if they likely waste their 1st round pick in either case?

78 - 84,

What I was refering to in the replay they showed on tv at least (don't know what they saw under the hood), the side of Anderson's foot and his lower leg were in the dirt, thus down by contact as neither of those things are the soles of his feet, ball or palm of his hands. Which is how I've understood the rule.

If your recievers are going to drop half their passes on a day your defense is going to allow 300 yards rushing, that call isn't going to change the game. So I guess there's that. But in evaluating Anderson's performance I wouldn't consider the "fumble."

I don't know how good he'll be once teams have a lot of film on him. But he certainly earned himself a long hard look and a right to compete for the starting job next year. I just can't help but think one of the worst things the Browns did was let Dilfer go to San Fran diven what he did for Hasslebeck and seems to be doing for Alex Smith.

Re:#85

What makes you think the Steelers would "waste" their 1st round pick?

Did someone notice how upset Bill Parcells was with the TO queries? I saw the clip on ESPN and makes me wonder if the media should stand up and own its responsibility in the "TO-thrown-out-live-coverage-right-after-we-finish-speculating-favre's-retirement" circus

BTW, consider me inquisitive - but why did the topic of the BP's meeting come up with TO and who kinda led the reporter on this one.

Pats who didn't make the trip to Miami:

Maroney (RB)
Alexander (LB)
Baker (S)
Jackson (WR)
O'Callaghan (OT)

Feh. I hope Jackson doesn't turn out to be the next Bethel Johnson.

We have a linebacker named Alexander?

Is Chester Taylor getting a significant number of carries? Any intrepid MIN fans know?

I have to start two out of the three following players:

Cedric Houston - RB - NY Jets vs. Bills

Ciatrick Fason - RB - Vikings vs. Lions

Devery Henderson - WR - Saints vs. Cowboys

Which two should I start??

Thanks

This isn't the fantasy thread - try the scramble for the ball. That being all said, Taylor isn't starting for Minnesota today. I don't think it matters; much like Denver's OLine, I think any running back can do well against a Rogers-less Detroit.

As always, the IRC chat is open at bendenweyr.dyndns.org on channel #FO.

what is an IRC chat?

Internet Relay Chat

I want to point out that it's not even 1:10 yet and I have negative fantasy points, thanks to Carson Palmer ALREADY getting picked off... by OAKLAND?????

The announcer just noted that the Dolphins' starting secondary only have 3 INTs...have they been bad, or are they just having a hard time getting the INTs?

All Vince Young does is win!

"There's the PacMan...a very dangerous man"

Wow. you can't buy commentary that good.

OH MAN!! FRED TAYLOR put a sick move on the safety and goes for a 76-yard run right up the middle. Didn't get the TD though. Pinball Jones-Drew goes for a TD from the 22 on the next play. 7-0 JAX.

Good to see the Colts' rushing defense in fine form.

18 yard line, not the 22.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2006 Indianapolis Colts run defense!

98: They've had a hard time because Jason Taylor keep catching everything before they get a chance to.

Ravens @ Chiefs or Giants @ Panthers followed by Chargers @ Broncos or Bills @ Jets.

As I write Jason Dunn drops a pass on 3rd down and Lawrence Tynes misses the FG.

Who says that Indy can't stop the run?

According to Gametracker, the Lions just went for it on their own 9 yard line, and failed. Is that for real?

The 2006 Texans...2 false starts, one offsides. In the first 3 minutes of the game.

We're all professionals here.

Who is Travis Young?

Fumble by Armand Hall.

Texans get the ball.

Interesting. Apparently the Vikings lead the league in Time of Possession.

The Bengals just scored a touchdown on a pass to Chris Henry.

7-0 Bengals.

Is the game officially out of reach for the Oakland offense?

asg, no, the Vikings went for it on the Lions 11 yard line (4th and 1) and made it, but the Lions haven't had the ball yet.

Colts WR have 2 drops, RBs have one plus -9 rushing yards on the day so far.

Very refreshing - it's quarter after the hour, and ever since they cut to the Vikings-Lions game at 5 minutes to the hour, there has been no announcers. Just the ambient stadium noise, but no play-by-play or color. Which is great, since this game would get the bottom of the barrel team anyway.

Sack! The Titans finally get pressure on the QB. We are in serious need of speed rushers.

why are the colts continuing to use Rhodes so much? they need to win this game.

The Colts have decided that if they let the running back score quickly enough, at least they get the offense back on the field.

yes it is paul

I have a new nominee for worst commercial of the year - the Combos commercials. (Oakland-Cincinnati, but I'm sure they'll be on all the games)

The John Mellencamp count...

22 minutes, no commercials (yet).

This is our country.

Hunter Smith with a bad punt into the wind, then tack on 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. I didn't know running out of bounds and continuing up the field OB was an unsportsmanlike penalty. Jax could conceivably be up 14-0 shortly. Especially if Indy continues to allow 48 yards allowed per rush

The Combos? What is that?

The ineptitude of Travis Henry continues...1.5 yards on first down.

Travis Henry runs 8 yards for the first down, thereby making me look like an idiot.

Combos... what your mom would feed you if she were a man.

I don't know, I laughed the first time I saw it. Maybe not the same one.

Wow..you can have a worse start than the Colts have so far.

85 yards rushing on two plays. Two drops, one for a TD and one unsportsman penality...big hole to climb out of...Jags look pumped.

NYG @ CAR - is it me, or did Carolina look surprised that the Giants were going for it on 4th and 10? Even though they went for it on 4th and inches from the same spot just a few minutes ago?

The back-to-back-to-back triple post! I am being The Alpha!

Oh, i did see that commercial...
Still, not as bad as Mellencamp

Is it just me or does Matt Jones look plain clumsy playing wide receiver?

He just busted his butt trying to make his cut on an out route, on a sunny and dry day in Jacksonville.

Kansas City:

Two drives, three dropped passes, two penalties, one timeout burned, and a missed FG.

"demeaner" is the new "swagger"

Huge run by Vince Young.

Oh my god! The color guy just said that Vince Young has "deceptive speed". Finally, the correct usage of that term! I cannot believe it!

Will we next see an end around referred to as an end around?

By the way, did you know Vince Young is from Houston?

Two drops by Drew Bennett so far...

We have Titans-Texans, so can't see Colts. What is going on with the dropped passes? It was really bad last week (both INTs, Stokely on 3d down, one of the TEs on 3d down) and now a dropped TD.

If the passing game doesn't work because the receivers can't catch, the Colts descend to one of the worst teams in the league.

Josh...quality is the new quantity...check into it.

Roy Williams puts it on the ground for the 3rd time (in the 3 attempted catches), this time though, he caught it first, so fumble and Viking ball (plus 15 yard Unnecessary Roughness). Being challenged.

James,

KC and Houston--We're all professionals here.

Jags safeties are not playing well at all. The good news is the Colts can't get anything but negative yards on the vaunted stretch play.

Stan...Utecht drop...Stokely dropped a TD...hit both of them right in the hands.

Predictably, the Falcons ride Jerious Norwood to the red zone, and immediately take a sack, knocking them back out of the red zone.

3-0 Dolphins off of a Patriot turnover.

NYG @ CAR - Personal foul, #16 - blow to the head...

(Weinke passes to Mangum, and it bounces off his helmet)

Schaub fumbles the snap on the field goal attempt, and ATL gets another pointless red zone opportunity.

Eagles aren't dead yet.

Colts special teams are looking pretty craptastic so far. Just allowed FB Derrick Wimbush to run the kickoff 33 yards up to the 44 or so.

NFL gamecenter shows that LJ is injuired. is it serious?

JEFF GARCIA!!

Ahem, Re: 133: that actually happened last week in the Pats game...except the commentators disagreed. The play-by-play hack correctly identified a play as an end around, and the color hack called it a reverse all of 10 seconds later.

it would be nice if the patriots could figure out how to not fumble on maybe 1/2 of their drives.

I have never understood why someone with Vick's speed and elusiveness gets sacked so often. Perhaps it is because Vick is over-reliant on his physical abilities, just like Favre throws a lot of interceptions because he relies on his arm strength?

A MARcedes Lewis sighting! Rookie TE for Jax (a.k.a. "that other guy from UCLA they drafted") makes a good grab up the seam.

David Girrard!

All he does is win baby!

And overthrow open receivers in the endzone.

Andre Johnson just beat PacMan on a crossing route. It looked like Johnson just outran him.

Vick gets sacked a lot due to the combination of a collapsable pocket (ask Jake Plummer about those) and holding on to the ball too long.

The Orange Bengals uniforms are perhaps the worst uniforms in the history of professional sports.

Lions unable to stop the run, and the Vikings up 14-0.

153:
That's 2 in the first quarter alone. At least the broadcasters correctly identified Garrard as at fault on the 2nd one.

Hmm...my prediction of a Raiders' upset ain't looking so hot right now...course, neither are the Patriots.

Like Good Rex and Bad Rex, we have the short brady and the 'original' brady. The short brady refuses to pass for anything above 10 yards. just check his current stats for today.

Carr checks down to Lundi for a 7 yard gain on 3rd and 14.

151

Vick gets sacked so often because generally, he thinks he can make something out of every play.

Rather than throw the ball away, he runs around in the backfield looking for a hole, and gets sacked.

Baltimore get a FG on drive where KC would have forced a 3 & out, except for Tamba Hali going offsides.
Professionalism rules OK?

As I write Ed Reed picks off a poor pass from Trent Green.

Can we please get someone faster than Jabar Gaffney to run deep routes?

Great blitz pickup by the Titans...the Texans rushed 7, a TE and RB stay in to block, and Young throws it to Drew Bennett for a 20 yard gain. No defender came close to hitting Young.

Wow, blocked punt by Jacksonville.

How Auspicious? NE starts second quarter with a false start. Yee Gods., that is some cover-your eyes football in Miami

on 3rd and inches, halfback option to Addai, who loses about 4 yards. Addai and Rhodes both have negative rushing yards now.

PUNT BLOCKED!! PUNT BLOCKED!! By KENNY PETTWAY who was on the PS just a few weeks ago! Jorge Cordova just blocked another kick!

51 and 55 Re: Vick sacks --

Every QB with scrambling ability tends to take too many sacks because they hold the ball instead of throwing it away. McNabb and McNair suffered from this for years.

It is also the reason they tend to get hurt. That is, they are more likely to get hurt because of the tendency to hold the ball than they are because they get hit while running with the ball.

Oh yeah, the truck falling through the earth ad is going to keep the Mellencamp ad from being the unanimous winner.

Kitna throws high, Dwight Smith picks it and takes it to the Lions 20.

Sorry, Pettway pickedup the kick, Cordova blocked it. That'll teach me not to (1) type while jumping up and down and (2) listen to Rich Gannon and Kevin Harland.

Could the KC-Bal game be this weeks Min-Chi?

Also, I believe the broadcast team has used the words Vince Young and "winning" in the same sentence 6 times.

Re: 167

Since Dick Enberg is one of the commentators, it's also "cover your ears" football.

Colts have 3 and 1...best 3rd down conversion rate in the league...and we attempt HB pass with Addai...

Then Colts punt is blocked...

As Jonny Miller would say...the wheels have fallen off.

Can MIN please trade the run defense for Joseph Addai. That is required for the post-season

Another 3rd and long conversion, another Michael Lewis blown coverage. He should just move to linebacker already.

PacMan takes a sweep, almost gets stopped for a 7 yard loss, then reverses field and picks up 1 yard. Outstanding speed there.

175,

I keep hearing that Dungy is a good coach. I keep seeing lousy special teams. More than anything else, special teams play is a reflection of the head coach.

Ahem... maybe I spoke to soon... Michael Lewis pick 6.

Who is Artose Piner? 8 car 48 yds 2 td for the Vikings today.

the magic of david garrard continues!

oh, and jeff garcia is more clutch than mcnabb. clearly.

Artose Pinner is apparently Tony Richardson's replacement (according to announcers).

Wow, a Brad just took it in himself. 21-0

Artose Pinner is an ex-Lion back-up who is probably pumped to play his old team.

NE is coming up with some bad starting field positions. Last time it was from the 4 yd and this time i think it is the 5 yd line.

Re #181

Josh, Artose Pinner is a back that the Lions cut at the beginning of the year. Great front office in Detroit.

Okay, 20-0, on a bobbled snap and a rediculous 'throw' attempt by the holder.

This is going to be very, very ugly for my Panthers... currently some dude named "Byrum" and the rookie Richard Marshall are taking turns guarding Plaxico. If Eli doesn't manage to forget him while he does jumping jacks in the end zone again, we're going to lose by a LOT.

re:186

Before you annoint him, remember this is detroit theyre playing.

The wind is pretty bad today in Miami. Harrington had a pretty good looking throw down the sideline get blown out of bounds, and you can see Brady's having issues with it too.

Jacksonville, just run the damn ball.

"The Texans have been among the league leaders in scoring defense in the second half" Hmmm, Mr. Announcer, maybe that's because their opponents are just running out the clock? I know the idiocy of announcers shouldn't bother me, but it still does...

So far, the Eagles have 14 points off of only 41 yards of total offense.

You don't really need a healthy Donovan McNabb if you can do that.

186: I'm starting to think that Chester Taylor just sinks. The Vikings have the best run-blocking line in the league right now, anybody should be good behind those guys.

Why do I watch the Falcons? Crumpler drops a 3rd down pass that hit him in his hands, in stride and would have gone for at least 15 yards.

Yes, the Detroit front office continues to be a model organization...

Damn. I hate the Colts.

Pats O Line looks baaaaaaaad today. Vonnie Holliday and Matt Roth just ate Brady for lunch.

Goodness gracious.

The 5-7 Minnesota Vikings, without their top rusher, is beating the Lions 20-0 early in the second quarter, in Detroit.

So, this will make them 2-11, is it possible Matt Millen will actually be canned this year?

following on gamecenter...what happened to Delhomme?

193: maybe the karma is starting to shift for the Eagles. Or they could just be regaining their "swagger".

"if the Texans aren't in sync, they are out of sync"--stupid announcers.

Jacksonville, just run the damn ball.

They refrained from throwing until 3rd-and-goal from the 15. They had a 6-yard run on 1st-and-goal from the seven negated by an illegal formation, then they got stuffed twice behind the line.

Re: 200 Delhomme's hurt. Has ligament trouble in has thumb on his throwing hand.

Delhomme sustained a ligamentous injury in his hand when he hit Steve Smith's(?) helmet in a play against Philly last week.

After trading short drives for a quarter, the Giants and Panthers have both figured out that the opposing secondary sucks. Each had a quick TD drive on deep passes. 10-7, Giants.

199- Obviously , that would make too much sense.
Detroit fans did have 22 hours of hope, before yahoo news crushed our hopes.
December 4, 2006
• Rumor: Millen soon done in Detroit 12:23 pm EST (Yahoo! Sports)
December 5, 2006
• Rumor: GM Millen safe for now in Detroit 10:30 am EST (Yahoo! Sports)

Trent Green got sacked and fumbled, and now has a nice head start for the worst game of his career.

The Chefs should just keep giving the ball to Larry.

Houston just took a 7-6 lead over the Titans on a Ron Dayne touchdown run.

Talk about things you never thought you would be saying.

My man Demeco Ryans is having a good day, though. He's leading the Texans in tackles again.

Wow, Brad hit a receiver in stride on basically a fly route. Who knew. And Troy Williamson with 2 actual catches.

The Dolphins are looking good against the Patriots today.

It's still 3-0 Dolphins off of the Patriot fumble, and the Dolphins have it first and ten at their own 40 with five minutes left to play in the first half.

Been a snoozer so far though, both teams have less than 100 yards of offense.

Judging from the game so far, it looks the Patriots have put Asante Samuels on Booker, perhaps believing he is their number 1 receiver.

And Brad threw a pick-6 on a bootleg out route. *sigh*

207,

Have you guys started scouting Dwayne Jarrett yet? ;)

Sorry, had to get in the Lions / Wide Receiver / 1st Round Pick joke in there.

This just in! Maurice Jones-Drew is not tall!

Welcome to the game LJ...

J.Garcia scrambles up the middle to WAS 6 for 10 yards (C.Griffin)

When i read this on gamecenter, only one thing came to mind - BACK TO THE PAST.

Remember Jeff Garcia turned 62!

Re: 212

He might not be their no. 1, but he's actually better than Chambers. Maybe Belichick's been reading FO.

Giants-Panthers: Foster never had the handoff, and that should have been a fumble.

Does anyone get the impression that coaches are passing up challenge opportunities this year that they didn't in past years? Maybe a conscious decision to repurify the game?

Stupid announcer tricks-- my son is watching titans-texans and I walked thru the room and heard this one about David Carr, "no matter what is happening around the QB, he has to get it done."

What kind of crap is that? Anyone ever hear that of a RB -- "doesn't matter that there is no place to run, a RB must pick up 5 yards if he has to run over 11 defenders." We don't hear it because it would be brain-dead stupid. QBs are even more dependent on the other 10 guys than the RB is. What the hell is Carr supposed to do on a play, if the receiver drops the ball or the pass pro falls apart?

Do these guys ever think about what comes out of their mouths?

214: everyone knows that millen will draft calvin johnson.

Jacksonville with runs of 17, 17, 19 and 21 on consecutive plays.

Basically, the Colts DLmen are on their backs every time the Jags run the ball.

Fred Taylor has over 125 yards today and a TD, and has passed Earl Campbell on the All-time rushing list. Not a bad day. Jags are closing in on 175 rushin yards this half.

So far Brady has threw 15 passes but not yet surpassed the 50 yard mark. That doesn't happen too often.

Also, Dillon is averaging 2+ more yards per carry than Brady is per pass attempt.

Odd day in Miami.

Oh well, it's only 3-0, and Harrington has his "Trojan-Enz Boner of the Week" play yet.

2-3-JAC 26 (7:47) M.Jones-Drew up the middle to JAX 43 for 17 yards (M.Jackson, J.David).
1-10-JAC 43 (7:09) M.Jones-Drew up the middle to IND 40 for 17 yards (G.Brackett; M.Giordano).
1-10-IND 40 (6:31) F.Taylor up the middle to IND 21 for 19 yards (C.June).
1-10-IND 21 (5:53) F.Taylor up the middle for 21 yards, TOUCHDOWN

What else can one say?

220:
no

JAX gained 74 yards on 4 runs against the IND defense. Boy., this looks like a Madden game to me. IND pass TDs and JAX run TDs

222,

I think that's why the Colts will be melting down in the playoffs yet again this season.

I imagine LT would have a day to remember against that defense.

Another INT for Baltimore.

Trent Green seems to think Ed Reed is playing for the Kansas Offense.

2 trips to the red zone, blown FG, and INT in the end zone (after quite a push off from the DB, actually). Go Falcons.

Joe and Troy said that if the ruling is down by contact on a potential fumble, you CAN challenge it if it's CLEAR who would have ended up with the ball (Foster's fumble went right into Emmons hands)...

I have NEVER heard of this before, and would dismiss it as Joe and Troy's stupidity, but anyone want to say that they're actually right?

Taylor is averaging 16 yards per carry right now. Unbelievable.

Indy is headed for another one and done with this run defense.

Re: 175 "Since Dick Enberg is one of the commentators, it’s also “cover your ears� football."

I actually think the other guy is much, much worse.

Also, I'm a Pats fan, but I think I might be starting to hate Brady. I just can't stand all of this worship.

Trent Green has been picked again. See my first post about him.

Wonder if Asomugha will make it to the Pro-bowl this year. There seems to be a huge rush right behind Champ Bailey. R Mathais & A Samuels are equally good.

Gee, Jac caught on.

225,

Dungy is a defensive genius?

When was the last time that an NFL team gave up four straight rushes for more than 17 yards?

If ever? That seems almost impossible. I know I've never seen it in the pros.

The statline for the Eagles game says, "Jeff Garcia" is 6-8 for 86 yards with 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Seriously, who is this guy?

I've heard of a Jeff Garcia before, but he has sucked for years. What gives?

We just had the fifth camera shot of Vince Young's high school coach.

Is it sad when the primary running back's longest run of the day for a team is negative?

First, that's a bad pass by Vick that's picked in the end zone, but more importantly - when will the Falcon's coaches stop calling
the fade route in the red zone! They run this all the time and I can't recall it ever working! With Vick as a QB you NEVER call that play!

I actually think the other guy is much, much worse.

Who is the other guy? I have a great quote written down-he had a bonehead analysis of Graham's fumble.

239:

actually, Paul, Jeff Garcia was a Pro-Bowl QB before his transient years with the miasma of suck that surrounds the Lions and Browns.

Re: 231

While Buck is one of the worst announcers ever, he's right about this one. It's a new rule this year that if it is clear than you can award the ball. It came up in the Browns-Steelers game.

239,

Yeah, I know. But after the past couple of years, it seemed that guy was long-since dead.

Wow, Drew Bennett was mugged on that play. It's not good when the CB just grabs the WR's helmet.

242: I have no idea what is wrong with the red zone play and play-calling for Atlanta this year (well, other than 5-receiver sets inside the 5), but the only thing worse has been their special teams.

This is as close to madness as we know (real madness is watching the CLE offense or IND rush defense 24/7!). Why take a Time-out at 2:06 when the 2-min warning is coming up. And follow it with a incomplete pass. This is gonna be a long day for the patriots

Pinner fumbles the ball to the Lions. Vikings trying to keep this a game.

What happened on the Colt INT?

GMC keys to victory in Cowboys-Saints game.

Romo has to keep making throws.

Bush has to keep making plays.

This is the kind of insightful football commentary I expect from my car dealer.

Could Oakland actually score? Stay tuned!

Can we put Joe Buck, Theisman, Aikman, Enberg, and Dierdorf on the cover of Madden 08?

The past two years, Garcia has seemed more past his prime than Elvis did in 1976.

And who got the personal foul?

Nick Kaczur is about as effective as a stool would be against Jason Taylor.

Georgia Tech isn't a big-enough name for Millen, and I don't know if the ACC is a big-time conference in Millen's mind.

I think the old Millen would take a guy that we all know isn't going to play like he did in college, a guy from a big-name school, maybe even from a college in the middle states ...

"With the first pick in the 2007 NFL draft, the Detroit Lions select ... Jeff Samardzija, wide receiver, Notre Dame."

In theory, Marinelli and his staff have had an effect on drafting (thus Sims instead of offense in the first round), and possibly next year, we'll get more players to fill the huge holes we have on the roster.

In practice, though, when you have incompetence at the very top, there's no reason to expect success anywhere below.

Paul,

Peyton Manning would look past his prime playing in Detroit and Cleveland.

Can we put Joe Buck, Theisman, Aikman, Enberg, and Dierdorf on the cover of Madden 08?

lol. Please, can we?

Re: 243

I think it's Randy Cross, but I'm not sure.

I'm through with this game, the Falcon's are displaying their across the board sucktitude today, and my Bucs are hopeless this season.

I said to myself yesterday that I could see the Jaguars beating the Colts then losing their next three to finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs.

Joey Harrington not only has got some of his swagger back, after playing in Detroit, he also got some of his QB brain cells back.

254: And how much do i pay for it?

Stan, I think Harrison did, for shoving Sensabaugh to the ground out of bounds. Manning's pass was into double coverage, SS Sensabaugh picked it off.

Jacksonville has 200 yards rushing (1:28 to go in the first half) after another 10 yard run by Jones-Drew. Marlin Jackson is injured for the Colts (Bethea is down as well).

Vince Wilfork got a 15 yard personal foul for lying on the ground while Harrington tripped over his head. The rules protecting the QB are out of control

Is there any reason for the Jags to throw the ball at all?

Did the Redskins just false-start themselves out of FG range?

Randy Cross' partner is Dick Enberg, yeah.

Pinball Jones-Drew just scored. Again.. I think from 48 yards out. That's 248 yards rushing in the first half.

And the announcers are wondering why Bironas is not out to attempt a 61 yarder. Hmmm...maybe because this is not the end of the game, and there is not a 20mph tail wind.

Re: 267
Agree completely. "Late hit" should only be called if the defensive player is doing the hitting.

Nice way for Miami to get into FG position at the end of the half.

BULLSH*t!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, I was all set to complain about coddling the QB, but this reaches a new low.

Patriot Vince Wilfork rushes Joey Harrington and gets a hand on him (while he still has the ball). Harrington breaks the tackle and Wilfork falls down. Harrington throws the ball, turns around, trips over Wilfork's prone, motionless body, and falls down. WILFORK THEN GET'S CALLED FOR ROUGHING THE PASSER!!!!!!!!

Dis&*%^ other announcer on the BS Roughing the Passer call:

"That wasn't a hit, that was a stumble. Is [Harrington] a soccer player? Nice dive, blah blah blah I suck ass!"

(That quote may have been changed a bit).

It was a bad call...Harrington tripped over Wilfork, but clearly Harrington banged his leg on a helmet. He was hardly taking a dive.

And as a college soccer player, I would like to see that fat idiot in the booth get off his ass and play any sport.

jax rbs: 15-246 3 tds.
need i say more?

Could I have taken "IND run defense" for my loser league team?

Jones-Drew, by the way, is still not tall.

He has deceptive speed according to Rich Gannon.

Lastly, when was the last time a team had TWO 200-yard rushers in a game?

Are the Colt's really gonna give up 500 yard rushing today?

250 yards of rushing in the first half? Yikes!

Indy's run D's awfulness is breath-taking:

F. Taylor 9 131 1
M. Jones-Drew 6 115 2

In one half!

48 yards up the middle for another score. Jags RBs are 15 for 246. Teams have QBs who average half as many yards per pass attempt as the Jags average per run.

I don't want to hear anymore crap about execution from Tony. This obscene.

The IND run D could be more of a trainwreck than Rex Grossman.

A Mike Williams sighting negated by a illegal chop block. Lions settle for the FG.

Colts have given up 246 yards rushing in the 1st half.

In all seriousness...it is the worst professional football defensive display I have ever seen.

Baltimore have absolutely dominated the Chiefs in the first half, and go in 6-0 in front. I'm not sure with Brian Billick or Herm will be the unhappier coach.

Meanwhile, Brady is getting leveled. To be fair, all the Dolphin's hits on Brady have looked clean, but then , so have all the Patriots' hits on Harrington, and the count is 2 roughing the passer calls on the Pats (which gave the Dolphins both their FG's) to none on the Phins.

Marvin Harrison drops another one (he was double-covered anyway). That's two drops for him, plus the stupid OB penalty.

Guys...uh...the ESPN bottom line said I've just been signed to play LB for the Colts. Should I go?

Jones-Drew and Taylor are averaging a combined 16.4 yards per carry at the moment.

Wow.

Gus, if you can tackle then no. You wouldn't fit in.

The Pro Bowl commercial with Rex Grossman is so unintentionally funny.

That Indy run defense is emabarrasingly bad. You have to be able to coach better run defense than that. The Jags running backs are 15 rushes for 246 yards and three touchdowns in a half. OMG that bad.

And what the hell are 'tostitos'?

Viking strange reverse on the KO, 2nd runner fumbles, picks it up off the ground, and continues to run it for another 30 yards... and they called it back because apparently the 1st guy is being accorded the fumble (on the handoff), and so the Vikings on the 7 yard line instead of the 40... that's just bull@#$t.

looking at the halftime highlights of colts-jags. worst. defense. ever.

291: Yeah, whoops. They may have jumped the gun on that one.

I'm wondering why they're even bothering to have Garrard throw the ball. 10 passes? That could have been another 130 yards rushing.

292,

a type of corn chip

245 - wow. The NFL put in a rule that makes sense, and Joe Buck got it right.

Jeff Garcia is playing well.

What planet am I on?

[Hears the Colts run defense is sucking].

Okay, everything appears back to normal.

Wow. 24-10 Jacksonville. End of the first half. I figured 10-7 Jax best-case scenario.

RE: 292, are you British? If so, Tostitos are what you know as "Latinos"... no joke.