Pats ST DVOA is already dropping and the game didn't even start yet -- Mike Reiss reports that punter Josh Miller has been placed on IR (shoulder) and replaced by former Pats' punter Ken Walters, who was absolutely terrible his final year-and-change with New England.

And Kevin Faulk (RB) added as questionable with flu.

Fantasy Football!
I got talked into starting Romo over Hasselback this week. So far so good. Unless Hass explodes for 6 TDs monday night.

Any advice on who to start at RB this week?

I need 3:

LT .....
Shaun Alexander
Deangelo Williams
Jamal Lewis
Deshaun Foster

Also 3 WR:

Marvin Harrison
Andre Johnson
Greg Jennings
Housh

Any advice is appreciated. I basicly have to win the next two to make the playoffs

....and Travis Henry is on waivers.

Re #4, PatsFan, don't worry, Chicago has a pretty lame ST and return game.

As a Colt fan, I welcome Walters with open arms back to the Pats locker room. He was my favorite Patriot! Not sure if they'll meet again this season, but if they do, I hope he has a prominent role. Him and Vinny. I thought they were both unusually odd choices.

I thought they were both unusually odd choices.
I'll agree with you on Testaverde, but picking up Walters is at least understandable -- he's been in the Patriots' system, and can hold for FG/PAT tries.

Second week in a row that the Steelers broadcast is not working properly on Field Pass. Other games are OK. Someone out there has probably forgotten to throw a switch. Can someone local call the station maybe?

Re 3

I'd go with Alexander, Lewis, and Williams in the backfield.

At WR it's an easy choice of Harrison, Johnson, and Whosyomama

DeShaun Foster officially out.

Ok, I have a random question. But I figure I have the best chance of having it answered here. What's the difference between a rollout and a bootleg?

I assume bootleg is typically more associated with a playfake, but I'm not sure. Are they just two words for more or less the same thing?

It was once described to me as:

A rollout is when the QB rolls out with his offensive line moving in front of him...

A bootleg is when the QB rolls out away and the offensive line is not moving in front of him.

Or something like that.

Berman just said "Nobody is better at adjusting on the fly than Coach Andy Reid." Why is this man allowed to talk about football in public?

Maybe he meant no one adjusts a game plan while on a flight better than Reid. It could help him focus or something.

With Deshaun Foster out, which is the better start:

Deangelo Williams
Jamal Lewis
Travis Henry

I'm leaning towards Deangelo. Lewis is against the fifth best run defense and Henry against the Giants.

One pregame show is turning the NFL's head coaching hiring process into an NAACP meeting, and the other one is asking Tony Romo about Jessica Simpson.

Eat my ass NFL.

Was it Jessica? My opponent this week was mocking me that my starting QB was dating Paris.

If you play Lewis, your opponent is going to smoke morganja.

Any word on whether Colston is going to start?

NM, just heard he was inactive for the game.

Seventeenth!

BTW, morganja, it's Jessica. Because that's what's really important in life.

#18 - And if not, more importantly, which celebutante is he dating?

Since when is Jesse "The Bachelor" Palmer doing games for Fox?

Saints @ Falcons or Panthers @ Redskins followed by Bears @ Pats or Giants @ Titans tonight.

Isn't Jessica Simpson from Louisiana? How can she have such a terribly fake Southern accent?

And JJ Arrington returns kickoff 99yrds TD

As a Vikings fan, I wrote Game Over just now. Kickoff return for a touchdown on first play of the game.

Why are the Cardinals on my TV, and why are they winning?

That was a pretty bland opening series by the Steelers. Very dull play-calling.

Two plays in and Ray Lewis is already dancing on a play he didn't make.

That's the Steelers' Special Teams, people...

No Colston, no problem, Henderson destroys Chris Crocker on a post route for a 76 yard TD, New Orleans up 7-0.

Alert: David Garrard is now, apparently, "deceptively large." Apparently he can do a little more than just win.

3rd Play of the game, and Henderson runs past DeAngelo Hall to go 76yds for a TD. Hall finished the play by being called for a Horse-collar about 6yds in the Endzone. Great start for the Falcons secondary.

24: Britney Spears is from just outside of Hammond, LA.

BTW, Devery Henderson is still fast.

Got to love DBs who play off the receivers on 3rd and 2.

And the Ravens score.

Dammnit I was so close to picking up Henderson :(

Roddy White drops a catchable (though difficult) ball in the end zone, and then Methuselah misses the FG form 43yds. Excellent.

Beautiful punt by Gardocki, and excellent coverage by Smith on that one.

Boy can Arizona not stop the run.

It is so weird for me as a Seahawks fan to be rooting FOR the Rams today.

Are the Steelers going to do any pass coverage today?

Every pass McNair has thrown, there's been an open receiver.

Whoever is announcing the Jets-Texans game said that Mangini has the Jets defense playing mistake-free football.

Now, I'm no expert, but generally, aren't teams that allow over 100 yards on the ground every week making some mistakes?

Holt either dropped a pass or fumbled for a long SF TD on the recovery. Rams are already using their second (and final since they lost the first) challenge.

2/3rds of the Earth is covered by water, the rest is covered by Walt Harris.

Losman throws a deep fly ball, the left fielder intercepts, but Robert Royal hits him and forces a fumble, which the Bills recover. And now Buffalo calls timeout. Didn't see a good replay but it sure looked like a clean catch and fumble.

Incomplete pass is the ruling.

Welcome to the NFL, Dee Webb. Losman throws up an ugly duckling of a deep ball, Webb makes the fair catch, takes two steps and is crushed by Robert Royal, the fumbled ball rolls back to the big TE. 26 yard gain for Buffalo on the INT!

Rudi! Rudi! He didn't happen to be a heroic walk-on in college, did he?

After breaking off a 31 yard run (followed by a 15 yard face mask by Keith Brooking), Deuce walks into the endzone on 3rd and goal from the 1. BTW, Reggie had an 11 yard run on the drive--up the middle.

Nice pass blocking...

Duckett in for the Redskins.

The coach killer just broke off a 51 yard run.

Huge run by Vick on a broken pass play, first and goal on the Saints 7.

And Willis finishes off the drive for Buffalo with the TD. I think there's already been four fumbles -- I know Garrard had one, Webb had the one he lost, and I think Buffalo had two that they both recovered. If the ball is that bouncy today, Garrard had better not even look at Matt Jones.

After that long run by Vick, the coaching staff did a pretty good job of killing themselves by calling 3 lousy plays in a row on first and goal from the 7 and having to settle for a field goal.

The play before the 51 yd run, Vick was sacked on 3rd down, but Omar Stoutmire was called for a penalty. It cost NO 3 points

And what is the matter with the server? It takes 2 or 3 attempts to post successfully.

How freaking stupid do you have to be to do color on an NFL game?!!!

In the Saints-Falcons game, the Saints score on 3d and short because the outside LB took on the lead block with the WRONG shoulder. He had gap responsibility for the 2d gap from the outside, but he took on the FB with his outside shoulder rather than inside shoulder. As a result of not keeping the proper arm free, the Saints walk into the end zone. If he had used proper technique, the MLB would have been able to scrape right into the hole and made the tackle. Instead, the MLB and safety get caught on the body of the stupid OLB and can't get to the hole.

The dumbass announcer says that the lead blocker blocked 3 defenders on the play. How damn stupid is that? You are on the one yard line. Defenders cannot run around a pile to make a play. Everyone has to hit their gap and attack. When someone takes the wrong gap, defenders are going to pile up because they can't go around and make a play.

58

Very Very stupid

And what is the matter with the server? It takes 2 or 3 attempts to post successfully.

It's like that almost every Sunday.

Ward, you dumbass. Don't be taking stupid penalties.

Ben gets sacked again.

And Fox touts the Bears-Pats game later today, and the Giants-Cowboys game next week, as handpicked for Fox. Aren't all games handpicked for whatever network they're on, even with flex scheduling? They're not footpicked. And they're not Robo-Scheduler picked.

The Redskins have fumbled three times now and held on to the ball. They have almost no offesnse, though, and Novak shanked an easy field goal so it hasn't really helped them.

So far in CAR-WAS, the Redskins have fumbled the ball 3 times. They've recovered 2, and the 3rd bounced out of bounds. This excellent fumble luck, though, hasn't helped them much. The one drive that included 2 of the fumbles ended in a missed FG.

Man, the Steelers just cannot pass-block at all.

Vick is over 100 yards rushing with 13 minutes to go in the second quarter, yet his team trails 14-3. He has 19 yards passing.

Size over smarts -- Big Ben almost gets sacked for a safety because he doesn't recognize blitz. He uses his strength to be able to throw it, but could have thrown a pick. Of course, the announcers praise his strength and ignore his failure.

Bottom line -- real strong, real dumb.

Is Jones-Drew that good, or does the Buffalo run D suck?

Only against the Steelers would Jamal Lewis look like a quality NFL back. He's been running very well so far.

62 - in a way the games are robo-picked, as far as whether they are CBS or FOX that depends on AFC or NFC. And they are handpicked in that CBS and FOX can protect certain games from being moved to Sunday night, and can schedule which game is at 4 with the larger nationa audience than at 1

McFadden pulls an Ike Taylor and gets juked out of his pants and misses the tackle.

The Falcons had a nice drive going at the Saints 46 yard line with a lot of runs, but for some reason decided on 2nd and 5 to let Vick throw two straight times. Neither pass was close to being complete and they punted. Poor play calling again.

When Michael Vick scrambles for 50 yards on a third down, does DVOA compare it to other third down run plays or other third down pass plays?

Ravens score again.

Steelers are getting absolutely whipped. This game is over.

Michael Vick so far:

Passing: 4/10 19 yds long 10yds

Rushing: 6/101 yds long 51yds

Joe Horn makes a catch that will be all over the highlight shows.

Whoa -- Joe Horn makes a great one-handed catch.

70: Yes, I know all of that. I was just making fun of the way Fox is touting games not moved to Sunday night as handpicked. CBS is doing the same thing. It's ridiculous how they are spinning this to make the games seem extra special.

What is NFL record for most dropped kicks in a season? Steelers just got closer.

I guess the "never bet on Jacksonville on the road against a mediocre opponent" theme is holding true. Buffalo leads 17-7.

What the heck?!?!? Pit just fubled a kickoff!!!

zzyzx...nice to see you here, man!

McGahee looking healthy - he gets his second TD of the day. The respect the Jaguar D is giving Evans is letting Buffalo hit alot of 15 yard outs.

Ben gets crushed, and is still down.

Big Ben just got knocked the #$%# out by Bart Scott.

Charlie Batch is in.

Looks like they're checking Bens chest or midsection area and not his head.

I make this conclusion based on 4 seconds that I saw on TV.

I'm no athletic trainer, but I did sleep in my own bed last night.

Well, I think it's safe to say now that, not only is Reggie Bush the second-best rookie on his own team, but he's the second-best rookie to have played RB in Los Angeles last year.

#68 - Jones-Drew is running really well, but I think his skill is amplified exponentially by the suckitude factor that seems to be the Bill's rushing D.

All are welcome to come and despair about the stillers on IRC in channel #FO on server bendenweyr.dyndns.org.

If the Bills win, will people start saying that all J.P. Losman does is win games?

Why thanks Stuart.

Rams get a TD after a SF muffed punt.

I'm watching Bal/Pit and SF/STL which is not giving me much excitement.

...well until the 9ers started driving down the field now.

Jets - Texans Summary: "If this game were a loaf of bread, it would be three days old and stale."

Vick, Norwood, Dunn.

Has any NFL team ever had 3 guys run with the ball with the speed, quick feet, and ability to change direction that those 3 have? Damn! Talk about having a burst.

Boy, the shine is coming off McFadden in a hurry.

TD 9ers as the Rams forget how to tackle

Wow, as I'm just hoping Nugent just kicks a 54 yd FG attempt far enough that it won't be returned for a TD, he actually nails the kick.

Vick sacked on 3rd and goal. I'm not a Falcons' fan, but why not just run it there?

Greg Knapp needs to go.... Play action from the two leading to a sack, loss of eleven, and a field goal. You're (one of) the best rushing offense(s) in the league, and can't score in the red zone. It makes no sense.

For the record, the Falcons have 20 net yards passing in the first half. Of course, they have 180 net yards rushing.

Both of these numbers are due to Ron Mexico.

Vikings pull ahead 14-13, that's the first time they've been ahead in what, like 5 weeks?

Weird commentary by Steve Tasker in Jets game, says Jets D, similar to Pats, lets you do what you do best, and that's a good thing, because eventually it stops working or something like that. Second time he's made that point and I don't think it makes any sense

Must win game for the Steelers, and they come out like a bunch of pussies.

9ers jump offsides, Bulger hurt on the free play.

Halftime score in Washington:

John Casey 6, Nick Novak 3.

Ummmm,

Isn't about time the Steelers let Batch play this 2d half? They can say that they are just worried about his health after another big hit.

But Batch looked good in game 1 and Ben looks like he could use a rest.

Looks like he's ok.

Weird series of events there.

20 seconds left on a play with an interception, a penalty, and an injury.

At first the refs say that the Rams won't be charged with a time out due to the change of possesion, but then say that they will be because the penalty wiped it out.

Doesn't a penalty stop the clock too?

WOW long pass and then a dive out of bounds with 3 seconds left. Rams lining up for a FG.

Re: 102
It must be a Pennsylvania thing.

Holy Brees!

Last play of the half and NO come down with the Hail Mary. Terrific catch by Terrance Copper.

Falcons give up a huge TD pass on the last play of the half. 49-yarder to Copper. Can we have a new secondary, please?

As Tom Jackson says, "Knock it down..."

Terrance Copper (he of the many fumbles), catches the Hail Mary at the end of the half for the Saints. 21-6 at the half, and the Boo Birds are out for the Dirty Birds.

I'll refrain from further gloating.

I take back EVERY bad thing I said about Terrance Copper after the two fumbles the past two weeks.

Wow, a lot of QBs are not exactly lighting it up in the early games. Some half-time stats:
Vick: 6-13, 30.
Rothliesberger: 5-10, 40.
Delhomme: 8-15, 44.
Campbell: 8-15, 47.
Garrard: 5-6, 53.
Bulger: 9-15, 73.
Losman: 12-15, 86.

RE: 113 which of those QBs has 127 yards rushing? Lighting it up can happen in more than one way...

114: And how many of those guys are winning in their respective games at the half?

114,

Of course, lighting up the scoreboard isn't one of them.

I was about to say that this was the most embarrassing half of Steelers I've had to witness in a long, long, long time; and then I remembered Mike Tomczak, Kent Graham, Kordell Stewart, and Bubby Brister.

Go 'Stillers!

* spacemonkey bangs self in head with frying pan

When your best starting field position of the day is your own 24, you're having a bad day.

RE: 113 which of those QBs has 127 yards rushing? Lighting it up can happen in more than one way…

More teams should let punt returners play quarterback. I'm sure the spectacular broken field runs would more than make up for the complete lack of passing and decision-making acumen. Just like it does with Vick...

RE: 115 About half of them, not including Atlanta. Then again, most of those QBs haven't put up 150 combined yards. Perhaps the responsibility for being behind comes down to more than one player?

118,

For the Steelers today, it is the finishing field position that has been the biggest problem.

Atlanta lines up in a funny formation, which would suggest a fake, but they really punt.

Well, the Vikings would be better off this game kicking the kickoffs out of bounds.
Nice pick by Griffith though.

Good defensive series by Atlanta--they get the ball back just 34 seconds after they punt it away.

Awesome meaningless stat of the day alert!

Fox News gives us this graphic -- Drew Brees has had a pass pct of 50 or better in 38 straight games.

Isn't that sorta like saying that some RB has rushed for 40 or more yards in 38 straight games?

Jags just punted, ball was rolling towards the Bills endzone. Bills guy (Parish?) picked it up and ran it back for a TD. The delay of picking it up seemed to have made a difference.

And then, of course, two guys jumped into the stands. Unsportsman like penalty. Yes, I mean the penalty is unsportsman like.

105: Ben isn't exactly sharp, but I think he looks okay. He has absolutely NO blocking.

Wait a sec, color guy on the Bills game just said you're not allowed to grab the jersey of your teammate to assist them. Parrish was stumbling forward and some other guy pulled on him to steady him.

Anyone heard of this rule before?

128: I'm not sure about that one, but I once heard that it's illegal to block in the back.

127,

So which QB do you want out there not getting any blocking? If Big Ben is supposed to be the franchise QB and he has been physically hammered for most of 2006 while the season is already toast, wouldn't you want Batch to take the 2d half?

Ben clearly isn't getting it done (whether his fault or not) and Batch did look really good in game one. Maybe he provides a spark.

Pennington hurt Ramsey coming in

Chad back in after 1 play

Speaking as a Ravens fan. Batch scares me more than Ben atm. Batch is the unknown quantity and he looked good earlier in the season.

Brees almost put Atl right back in it.

Redskins partially block at Carolina punt, Sean Taylor idiotically tries to pick it up and run about 15 yds downfield from the original LOS. He fumbles, Carolina recovers, but the refs call the ball dead prior to Taylor's recovery because the longsnapper had illegally touched the ball. Weird play.

On the highlight of Ben getting sacked, it is obvious that he is locking on to one side of the field and has no feel for when a blitz might be coming. He isn't getting hit by pass rushers working off of blocks. He's getting hit by unblocked blitzers that he's not looking for.

If you have any understanding of coverages and are seeing the whole field, you have to be aware of where the blitz can come from.

Big run by TJ Duckett inside the ten, first-and-goal Redskins.

Vick doubles his passing yards to Crumpler on the one. First and goal, prepare for another FG.

Ben just hit Ed Reed right in the numbers. But Reed drops the pick. I think Ben is shell-shocked and needs a rest.

Hey, whattya know, Warrick Dunn can run in goal line situations (when the play is called).

Braylon Edwards= Mini-TO?

BE? Meh... eejit, anyway.

Up 20 points at start of 4th quarter, Jets go for it on 4th and 1 from their own 40. Spread formation out, Pennington QB sneak for the 1st down. Nice gutsy call by Mangini

As a jaguar fan and a ecu pirate alumni i have seen David Garrard for a few years I have no confidence that he can throw the ball downfield with any success. Some of it may be playcalling, as I can never recall seeing any double moves on the outside by the receivers.

At this point in the game, the Steelers might as well only have 6 guys on the field because the O-line isn't blocking ANYONE.

As a Browns fan I'm disgusted by this crap....

Joe Montana wouldn't be able to move the ball with the rush the Bills are getting.

Vick may be a terrible passer but the Falcons have TERRIBLE WR's.

"Dropped pass" has to be a play in the Atlanta playbook. Amazing.

I think that I can hear the boos coming from the GA Dome at my house.

Huge 3rd down drop by a wide open Roddy White. Vick took a big hit on the play as well.

I think the Rich McKay WR draft curse is approaching the Madden curse in validity.

kyle boller is in.

I guess Jack Del Rio didn't have much confidence either as we went draw draw pass draw on this drive.

DeAngelo Hall is getting abused.

Did I really just see back-to-back false starts on G. Wrighster with Jax knocking on the door? Or is Gamecenter lying as usual?

George Wrighster of the Jags drops a pass at the 3, then commits back to back false starts. Hope that paycheck comes through on time next week big fella...

Garrard with a run for a first on 4th and 15 at the 25 or so. 30 seconds left, Bills up 7.

Carlos Rogers is having a really good game for Washington. Teams have been abusing him deep all season, but he's had consistently good coverage today.

Fade!!! Matt Jones touchdown all tied at 24

The 9ers missed picking up a 3rd and 1 by under an inch. The tip of the ball was almost touching the end of the chains.

If the Rams somehow win this game, that play will be huge.

I don't see it though because they have neither run defense nor offense.

Finally, we see a successful fade to Matt Jones. TD Jags. Bills return to their 40 with 22 seconds and 2 TOs left.

And Matt Jones with a TD catch to tie it up with 28 seconds left. Looks like OT to me.

4th and under 1 for the Rams now and...

...Jackson gets 4.

There's an Alexander Wright sighting in Cleveland.

And of course the squib kick backfires for jax... two plays and they are well within field goal range.

though the last catch is being reviewed

That's four FGs for Mike Nugent, folks. Two were more then 40 yards, one was a 54 yarder.

Wait, what?

Maybe I spoke too soon. Parrish called with a catch on the 25. Under review whether he was in-bounds though.

bills in FG range, with couple of seconds left

7+ minute drive by the Saints to open the lead to 11 with 5:48 remaining. Of course, this means that Vick will be throwing passes to the Little Fists of Concrete.

What a terrible angle. No, wait angleS on the review. We're looking at it from like 50 yards away.

And they call it good.

Amazing catch by Roscoe Parrish. Bills will set up a gamewinning FG at the Jags 25.

No angles because the HD cameras are at the Meadowlands.

my chest hurts in this loss for some reason

All J.P. Losman does is win games.

Rams having an impressive drive. They're deep into SF territory, needing a TD with 50 odd seconds left.

Shockley is hurt in warmups.

That's not good for the Giants.

4th and 1 again for the Rams and they...

...get 6, Jackson... No timeouts...

9ers called for delay for stalling.

FG good, Bills win. This should essentially kill the Jaguar playoff hopes. Meanwhile, I hope we lose to the Dolphins and beat the Colts, Patriots, and Chiefs to compile the wierdest split against winning and losing teams ever. And that we acquire a real WR.

Another drop by Roddy White. He's been thrown to 7 times, has one catch for 14 yards.

TD RAMS!

27 seconds left.

...but they're reviewing if he was in.

And the Falcons have 64 net yards passing.

Devery Henderson's first catch covered more ground...

TD stands.

Extra point gives the Rams a 3 point lead.

Another sack for 12 yards, the Michael Vick experience is one of running away from the pass rush all day long, and periodically bouncing passes off receivers' hands.

Although the overall number don't show it, the Ravens O-line and Jamal Lewis really whipped the Steelers front 7 in the first half, which really surprised me because the one thing the Steelers are still great at is rush defense. The second half the Ravens offense did nothing, but they were clearly content to do nothing because their blitz packages rendered the Steeler O-line helpless.

I just saw Arthur Blank go over to Ron...er, Mike Vick after he had another brain fart and give him some encouragement (during the game).

It's official, I now hate the Falcons with a passion that can't be defined.

For the love of all that is holy and pure, get your owners ass up in the owner's box and stay off the football field.

rollo: and maybe, I dunno, tackle guys on punt return? The game against the Colts and this game both had a punt return TD that was a backbreaker -- of course, if Webb just holds on to that pick, the game may be completely different.

Rams win on INT.

If there is a list of ways to lose close games, Jack del Rio and Jacksonville have at least 50% of them checked off.

Switching games, the Panthers have an impressive late drive going.

70 seconds left needing a TD in Skins territory.

errr, that was before the pick in the end zone.

And no, I have no problem with running up the score on a rival like that.

OK, part of that is because Henderson's yards help me in fantasy this week...

Jake Delhomme takes another unnecessary risk and ends the game. He still doesn't seem to understand the game of football.

In defense of Delhomme, he was obliterated while throwing into the end zone.

Except Steve Smith was triple-covered. Judging by Fox's sideline shots afterwards, Delhomme knew he should have thrown it away.

Is shockey playing or not?

Re #185:

That was the first Steeler loss this year where I couldn't say that a couple of plays here and there would have made a difference. Congratulations to the Ravens on a total whipping.

Randy Cross gives his keys to the game (or "Cross Talk", as they ever so cleverly put it).

#3 on the list? "'Aaron' it out", making the game revolve around Aaron Brooks.

I'm not sure if this was a key for success for the Raiders or Chargers.

Vick's stats: 9/24 for 84 yds and 12 rushes for 166 yds

Looks to me like the most meaningless rushing yds ever, when the QB can't make-up 100 yds passing!

Vick today throwing to Lelie/White: 1/11 for 14 yards, with 5 drops. Throwing to everyone else (5 other receivers): 8/13 for 70 yards, and no drops.

3 & Out for the Pats - i don't like it when that happens!

Welcome back Ken!

Aaaand, Evil Rex it is.

SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY YOU TAKE FRANK GORE OUT ON 3rd & 1 FROM THE 7 YARD LINE WHEN HE'S BEEN AVERAGING 6 YARDS A CARRY!?!?!?!? WHYYYY!?!?!?

Norv Turner, you're killin' me over here.

my god.

welcome back, Asante

Early appearance by Bad Rex.

Shockey's in the game. Hand taped & gloved.

Well, tha was a perfect pass that was smacked into an int/fumble whatever :(

Early appearance by Bad Watson

Oh Jesus. That's anything BUT Brady's interception.

Yes, but those stats can't measure the unstoppable swagger of The Michael Vick Experience. The numbers may not be pretty, but he just keeps on winning. Well, okay, maybe not winning, but with that much swagger, even if they don't make the playoffs, they're still the favorite to win the Super Bowl.

crazy finish coalescing in minnesota...

Wow, the Giants really improved their playcalling. First down, incomplete. Second down, stuffed run. Third down, desperation pass. The only thing missing was an interception! Okay, I'm off to peel the skin from my body with a salad fork.

So how does that jump shot by Tillman not draw a flag? Isn't that using the ball as a prop?

Not saying he should be penalized, just that these rules are so dumb and inconsistent.

211.

I was watching that game, and it still amazes me how poor the playcalling is in Atlanta.

I jus keep wathing and saying "what are you people doing?"

Why did Joe Buck say Grossman "rolled out"? What he did was Run Backwards.

This has got to be the biggest difference between 1st and 2nd down, and 3rd down performance I've seen in a while.

Killing them on 1st and 2nd, and can't stop anything on 3rd.

Am I just being a homer, or should that have been interference on that long pass to Berrian. The safety (Butler) just ran into him.

Look at Aikman co-signing retreating in the pocket, lets see how long he says "you can't throw off your back foot like that"

Looks like the inanimate carbon rods in the Pats 2ndary are going to give the Bears the game.

Re: 218

Yup, total PI in my book...bumped him off the route...easy call.

Huh. I just noticed that Arizona didn't punt today. And they lost.

Is it season over for the steelers or is there a statistical chance that they can run the table to gain a wildcard berth?

Re: 217

That's because the ICR's in the Pats' defensive backfield can't stop anything. Pats stuff the run on 1st and 2nd, then can't stop passes on 3rd.

*blink*

Wow -- that was blatant PI.

218

The safety was closer to the ball than Berrian was... if theres a bump, the call should be on berrian.

Why is pac-man jones not covering plexico burress?

How many times does the Patriots secondary get to shove Bernard Berrian to the ground and not get flagged for Pass Interference?

227: Why does a grown man insist on being addressed as a video game character whose only purpose was to devour everything in sight?

Nice to see the Bears have to play against the refs too. Brutal.

in philly, they decided that since the eagles are doing poorly, everyone would want to see the giants

that camera angle behind the LOS is pretty cool on FG attempts .... makes you appreciate the process of kicking

228: That's part of the Genius that is Belichick.

if everyone is bigger/stronger/faster nowadays, why don't they just kick FGs from *8* yards behind the LOS rather than 7?

MEH I am no chicago fan, but I think the NE is getting away with a few here. Nice play by CHI D so far.

So New England cannot be flagged for Pass Interference for shoving Berrian to the ground, but Chicago hitting a runner to push him out of bounds before he has ever set foot out of bounds is a "late hit"? These Refs suck.

Isnt the point of the forward progress rule, is so that once the RB stops, you can't stand him up and pull the ball out?

It seems like they forget about that rule when the Bears play

Great penetration on the line at the snap, but no way Maroney should lose that ball. He's got both hands on it, but away from the body, and Briggs just takes it.

Andrew, do you ever watch a pats game without bitching about the refs?

I agree the call was borderline, as manning started to tackle before dillon was out of bounds, but the hit was clearly after he got out of bounds, whether or not it was started before he was out.

I love TVUPlayer .... no need to watch Giants/Titans if I don't want to

229: more than anything, i find the name pac-man funny and i agree, he needs to grow up in the head!

Yeah the forward progress rule is a complete mess. I don't think its just the bears who benefit.

I shoudl say though that that wa snot a forward progress case, he was tryig to spin out of the tackel and advance when he lost it.

242.

No, its not just them, but it seems like theres something with them every other week where the RB is clearly stopped, and then he gets stripped.

Maroney wasn't stood up. It was a solo tackle, and a great one. Forward Progress didn't apply.

243

Becephalus, it doesnt matter what hes trying to do. He had stopped moving, and wasnt going anywhere. It doesnt matter what hes trying to do, forward progress had been stopped.

The Inanimate Carbon Rods strike again.

my respect for the OAK defense has just shot thru the roof - ryan for HC.

They are facing the No.1 scoring offense and shut them down for 1 full quarter - not to say that between LT, Rivers and Gates - there were no big plays

Is "throw it long and see what happens" a legitimate tactic for the Bears today?

248

I hate the secondary. It seems like theres too many plays where the DB is there, and the pass is thrown short, and he still gets beat to the ball. I know theyre all short, but can any of them jump?

Hmm -- looks like the ball came loose in Berrian's hands as he hit the ground, but probably not anything that'll overturn the play.

Is "Torched in the secondary" a correct representation of the NE Pats Defense?

Re: #249

When you're playing against the Pats' secondary, it is.

246 - He got stripped as he was rolling away from the tackle. His forward progress was not stopped.

I don't see this being reversed. But what do I know about incontrovertible evidence? The standard changes from crew to crew and week to week.

I think it's just a matter of having Berrian healthy. The Bears love to throw deep to Berrian.

255

I dont see it getting reversed either, but it looks to me like the ball touched the ground on the initial impact, and then it was bobbled.

The ball CAN touch the ground, but only if you have control of it, so I guess it just depends on whether the tip of the ball touched, because he didnt have control until well after he hit the ground.

Did anyone take the over on fumbles?

my god this is an ugly game.

Although, I've got the Pats D for fantasy, so this is great.

Doesn't matter. Pats will go 3-and-out, Walters will shank one, and the Bears will have the ball at the Pats 35.

Jesus. Both teams have cost themselves at least 10 points.

I cannot wait for Rex to break the all time turnover record at some point in his career :)

What was up with the clock counting up 20 seconds in the Pat/Bears game?

"shooken up" ???

Graham held on for once?!?!?

Pats Fan,

Walters is really gonna have to shank that punt...

Re: 204,

Gore got injured according to the recap. I just got back and missed the game, and I also screwed up by recording the "Upcoming" program instead of the actual game so I can't see a repeat.

Does anyone know where to find out what games NFL Network repeats?

TEs aren't supposed to be able to lay out like that .... nice catch

the Titans are having a wretched game against the Giants. 2nd fumble of the game, and the Giants are just about in the red zone already. 14-0 Giants.

Its bad enough I'm forced to watch NYG/TEN instead of CHI/NE, and now the Titans have decided not to show up today even though for some reason I thought this would be a close game.
Isn't it odd that Jacobs is the Giants 3rd down back? I know they want to give him carries, but he's the opposite of a prototypical 3rd down back.

2nd time Ocallahan has been hurt this year..not a good sign for a rookie.

[270]

download and install

http://www.tvunetworks.com/downloads/player.htm

Nice blocks by Watson and Evans to spring Maroney.

So, in terms of consistency, why was that tackle on Maroney not called a late hit? What's the difference?

Chi/NE update:

Points: 7
Turnovers: 4

"the king's pain, is your gain."

you have to be kidding me...friggen awesome. I dont even have an xbox, and i'm gonna buy it

RE: 270 True enough about Jacobs. Typically he'd be the 1st and 2nd down back and Tiki would be in there for 3rd. Dave Meggett, Jacobs isn't.

Accck! 21-0 Giants. When will the Titans be consistent?

Seau gone for the year.

Broken radius?

Holy crap, this TVU thing is awesome. I can now watch the Bears.

279

Yeah, that looks like a broken arm/wrist to me.

Can they give LB'ers those clubs that they give lineman?

Broken something, anyways. You could see the wrist and hand just at totally a wrong angle to the rest of the arm.

That... has got to hurt. Looks like it might be time for Junior to graduate.. again.

The Giants running up 21 points was an anomoly. The Titans will score at least 14 unanswered points before the half is over.

I gotta say, while I hope Seau's fine, I loved that shot as they went to commercial.

All of the Pats guys run to surround Seau and hide his injury, but camera guy zooms in from the side on a closeup of him holding his wrist. Can't hide every injury.

Who do NE have at LB now? Will they go 4-3, or do they have any depth?

RE: 272
Diane you're the greatest.

More dumb color commentary -- in the Titans-Giants game, he said that "PacMan Jones' punt return for a TD last week was all on his own. No one blocked for him because they had the punt block on."

There are a number of coaches who believe that the best way to spring long punt returns is to go for punt blocks. Making the coverage players have to make a serious effort to block usually results in some of them getting out late to cover. Gaps in coverage lanes are a good returner's dream.

When Deion was at FSU, they went punt block almost every punt. They got a number of punts that year. More importantly, punters would rush their kicks just to get them off. Low, short kicks were often the result and Deion in a broken field was a real threat to go to the house.

Just because your teammates are trying to block the punt doesn't mean that they aren't doing quite a bit to help spring you on a return.

One thing I do have to say about the titans, when they keep the ball in their hands they are running all over the Giants

who was that defender that Benson just destroyed?

Mid-forearm fracture, not a wrist. Seau will be out for the season, if not permanently (will probably require surgery and a plate).

They have a little more depth, but not quality depth. If they did, they wouldn't be starting 45-year-old "Junior" Seau. And yes, that is an exaggeration, he's really only 43 ;-)

Darn, now we can't watch him pump his fist after a tackle 3 yards from the LOS like he just won the freakin Masters.

Rich Conley:

I rarely bitch about the refs at Patriots games. Maybe you are thinking of someone else.

In any case, I don't see how it is borderline to try to tackle a guy who is in the field of play when you make contact. There is nothing borderline about it. If he hadn't made contact, Dillon could have continued down the sideline.

Wait a minute .... FOX can flex schedule too?

Why are the Patriots staff such dweebs about injuries? Like we didn't see what happened already? Do they feel the camera is invading the privacy of the player?

The Bears protection just got obliterated there.

295

Andrew, the defender clearly started going for the tackle while Dillon was inbounds on the play. Thats fine.

When he hit dillon, dillon was almost out of the white part of the sidelines. Thats why it was called. I dont think it should have been called, but he clearly was not still in play when he was hit. Dillon was CLEARLY going out of bounds, and thats why it was called.

oooh. going for it on 4th and goal. TMQ will be happy (Ten NYG)