NFL Week 8: Midseason Melange, Melees & Matchups

Greetings, Sports Fans!  (and fakers--no judgement here.)

We've reached the (gulp) midway point of the 2012 NFL season.  I can't believe it's halfway over already!  With many teams looking forward to their BYE week already (see GTK),  it's crunch time for all....to come together or fall apart for the rest of the season.  Here are Week 8's key matchups.

New England (4-3) vs St. Louis (3-4)  
1 pm EST on CBS, played in London!

The NFL has played one game every year since 2007 in London, billed as "The International Series".  The game is played at Wembley Stadium, historic home of more Beatles, U2 and Queen concerts than you can shake a drumstick at.  Tickets are in demand, with more than 500,000 bidders clamoring for the 80,000 available seats each year.

1.  Even with team records only a game apart, the Patriots seem to be the favorite in every darn matchup they face, as they are here, favored by 7 points.

2.  Tom Brady is super hot and super amazing.  Damn, you Tom!  I still haven't forgiven you for 2003!!!  But thank you for being born.

3.  The Rams Top 10 defense has been HUGE this season.  Many of their draft picks have been spent on the D the last few years, and it's paying off.  This year's cornerback tandem of Jenkins (N. Alabama) and Finnegan (Samford) will be a huge obstacle for Wes Welker (Texas Tech) and the Patriot receiving corps.  NE is weak at Left Tackle (Blind Side) and the Rams' Quinn is an ANIMAL.  Watch for him to get after ol' blue eyes.


4.  Bill Belichick is one of the most respected and most hated coaches in football.  He's been cited for a signal-stealing scandal and is often ribbed for his less than inspired choice of attire on the sidelines.  He wears a hoodie with the sleeves cut off to EVERY SINGLE GAME.  Ugh.  But his teams win.  A lot. 

Atlanta (6-0) at Philadelphia (3-3) 
1pm EST on FOX

1.  Sports pundits are WAY more focused on the fact that Philly head coach and human/walrus hybrid, Andy Reid, is 13-0 after a BYE week than on the accomplishments of the leagues last undefeated team.  Hmmm....11 of those wins have also been home games in a very less-than-friendly atmosphere for visiting teams. 

2.  Michael Vick, aka "The Dog Fighting Don", has fallen from grace ON the field lately, throwing INTs and turning the ball over at an alarming rate.  They will run the ball OFTEN against a not-so-great Atlanta run defense, their potential Achilles heel. 

New Orleans (2-4) at Denver (3-3) 
1 pm EST on FOX

1.  Two of the NFL's most celebrated quarterbacks with some of the best numbers we've ever seen.  Ever:  The Saints' Drew Brees and Denver's Peyton Manning.  Manning is on his comeback tour with the Broncos after neck surgery saw him miss the entirety of the 2011 season in Indianapolis, and he is hitting his stride in Denver. He could exploit the Saints' glaring weakness on defense.

2.  The Saints NEED this one.  Bad.  But their defense is nogoodterribleverybad, allowing a league-high 465.5 yards per game.  (The 49ers are only allowing 272.3 yards per game.)  Yikes, Saints.  They've allowed 2,793 yards in the first six games....a dismal NFL record.

3.  The good news for the Saints?  Brees is back, doubling his numbers in all the right places in his last three games.  And that's good, seeing as how he'll need to score big in order to overcome that abysmal defense. 

Week 7 At a Glance

This week, we'll look at a key Divisional matchup and a game that illustrates the importance of the defense.  Why?  Because even though every game counts, toward the middle of the season, we start to see which teams are for real, whose injuries are going to thwart a team's success, and which defenses are getting the job done.  Games within your division mostly determine who goes to the postseason.  And Defense typically wins games for you late in the season.

Washington Redskins (3-3) @ New York Giants (4-2)  1 pm EST on FOX

The weekend's big matchup to watch.  Here's why:

1.  1st place in the NFC East is at stake.  

2.  RGIII (the 'Skins QB from Baylor) is 3rd in Passer Rating in the NFL with 100.5 (see GTK Corner above) AND he also has 379 yards rushing with 6 rushing TDs

3.  Both teams have scored exactly 178 points this season, but the Redskins make too many mistakes, and their defense is giving up 328 passing yards per game....WAY too many, especially against an elite passer like Eli Manning (Ole Miss).  

4.  Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw (Marshall) is not likely to play due to a foot injury.

Green Bay Packers (3-3) @ St. Louis Rams (3-3) 1 pm EST on FOX

1.  Green Bay is starting to look like its old self (15-1 last season), coming off of a 42-24 DE-STROY of the previously undefeated Houston Texans last week.  (Atlanta is the only remaining undefeated team)

2.  Packers have the NFC sack leader in Fathead commercial star, Clay Matthews (look for the flowing blonde locks pouring out of his helmet), so the Rams' offensive line will be tested.  Hard.  If Sam Bradford ends up on the ground too many times, this game will get lopsided in a hurry.  The Rams are missing their veteran at Left Tackle, Roger Saffold.  (think Sandra Bullock and the movie "The Blind Side")  This position is the heart of the offensive line and is key in protecting the QB.  He'll likely return in Week 10.

3.  The Rams defense is awesome.  Quinn and Long (Howie Long's son) have 10 sacks between them, and the team is only allowing an average of 18.5 points per game.  This may be their only hope in slowing down Aaron Rodgers (Berkeley) and the Pack.  Defense CAN win games, but this one will be tough to say the least.

TALKING TIDBITS:

• A New Orleans fan filed a $5M class action lawsuit against the NFL this week, claiming that the player suspensions after the Bountygate scandal amount to diminished value of their season tickets.  Good luck with that.....the NFL almost never loses anything.  

• The NFC is statistically better than the AFC at this point in the season for the first time in what seems like FOREVER.  The tide she is a turnin'.  Let's see if they keep it up.

• John Skelton in IN at QB in Arizona.  Kevin Kolb is out due to injury.  Look for AZ's early season offensive show to slow down considerably as a result. 

• Terry Bradshaw (famous former Steelers QB and FOX broadcaster) had a 0.0 passer rating in 3 separate games.  Aaron Rodgers posted an average 122.5 passer rating for the 2011 season, an all-time record in what was the Year of the Passer.

Seahawks at 49ers Tonight!

Hot List for a "new" classic NFC Matchup:

1.  The 49ers are banged up at the WR position, and QB Alex Smith has an injured third finger.  While this isn't as bad as Kurt Warner's carrer-changing pinkie injury many moons back, it MAY have been a factor in his three INTs last week against the Giants.  (and that killer Giants defense)

2.  The Seahawks defense is second best in the NFL for yards per carry allowed.

3.  49ers running back Frank Gore needs only three rushing touchdowns to tie the all-time team record of 50 set by Roger Craig and Joe Perry.

4.  Seahawks kickoff an punt return man, Leon Washington, is averaging 31.7 yards per carry.  That's good for second best in the NFL.

5.  The Niners are favored by 7 points with an over/under of 37.5.  I'd take that Over!

What is a "Pennant Race" and Why Should I Care?

Tonight we plow headlong into the middle and the meat of the Pennant Race.  What is the Pennant Race, you ask?  Before 1969, baseball only had two divisions:  The American League and the National League. The team with the best record from each advanced to the World Series.  Now, we have three divisions within the AL and NL.  The winners of each Division plus a Wildcard team (the fourth best overall score in each League) play through a set of playoffs to win "The Pennant" or the League title.  This in and of itself is a huge accomplishment.  Those two teams then square off in the Fall Classic, better known as The World Series.  The bracket this year looked like this:

We are right smack dab in the middle of this year's Pennant Race with a big night ahead of us:

This afternoon at 3pm CST, the San Francisco Giants travel to St. Louis for Game 3 in a best of 7 series to win the NL Pennant and advance to the World Series.  The series is TIED at 1-1.  The next three games are in St. Louis today, Thursday and Friday, then the series returns to SF if needed for games 6 & 7. 

TALKING POINTS:

1.  The Cards and Giants have met twice recently in the NLCS (National League Championship Series) in 1987 (Cards advanced) and 2002 (Giants advanced).  Baseball fans LOOOOOOVE history between teams.  THESE TWO TEAMS ARE THE WINNERS OF THE LAST TWO WORLD SERIES!!  (Cards - 2011, Giants - 2010)  The last time two back to back champs met this late in the Postseason was in 1958 when the Yankees took on the Braves.

2.  Monday night, Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday plowed into Giants 2nd Baseman Marco Scutaro, taking one of their stars out of the game.  He plans to return today!  And watch the Cards' Carlos Beltran.  He is their best hitter, AND he is also a former Giant.  Burn. Media darling, Buster Posey, is the best batter in the game for the Giants.....keep your eye on him!

3.  Matt Cain is the starting pitcher for SF today.  He is coming off 5 days rest after leading his team to victory in a do-or-die in Cincinatti.  (4-5 days rest is the minimum usually required to rest a starting pitcher's arm--starting him with less is a risk for injury and sub-par performance, but is sometimes done for strategy) He is 1-1 vs the Cardinals' batters this season, giving up 9 runs in 11 2/3 innings pitched.  The Cards think they have his number.  We'll see......

4.  Kyle Lohse "gets the start" (meaning he's the starting pitcher) for the Cardinals.  He is 3-2 vs the Giants this season with a 3.78 ERA against them.  (Earned Run Average:  avg of how many runs he lets the opponents score off his pitching, notwithstanding the errors of other fielders) The League avg is a 4.5 ERA.  Kyle had the 8th best ERA in all of baseball this season with a 2.86.  Anything under a 3.00 is considered to be really, really good. 

New York Yankees @ Detroit Tigers  GAME 4  7:07 PM CST on TBS

Baseball fans feel only one of two ways about the Yankees:  LOVE 'em or HATE 'em.  They have the most World Series victories of any team in History with 27.  (Cardinals are second with 11) They have consistently had the highest paid roster in all of baseball, the largest TV contracts and the highest merchandise sales.  So whether you can't get enough of those Yankees pinstripes or you're a diehard Tigers fan, here are the hot topics for the rest of this series:

1.  The Yankees face getting swept TONIGHT (losing in four straight games to be eliminated) for only the fifth time in 73 Postseason appearances (that's a TON of appearances, the most in baseball ever), with the last coming in a loss to George Brett and the Kansas City Royals in 1980.  (32 years ago......gulp).  

2.  Everyone is talking about how the Boston Red Sox came from behind in this exact scenario in the ALCS against the Yankees in 2004, and overcame their loooooooong drought to win the World Series (over the Cardinals) to end the curse of the Bambino.  (more on that another day)

3.  C. C. Sabathia gets the start for the Yankees.  He had a 3.38 ERA this season, but is 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA so far this postseason.  He is coming off a huge win for the Yanks in their Division clencher. 

4.  The Detroit Tigers lost the World Series to the Cardinals in 2006.  And they eliminated the Yankees in 5 games in this same series last year!

5.  Max Sherzer gets the start for Detroit tonight.  Enjoy!!!

NFL WEEK 6

6 Weeks.  The time it takes to:  a) get halfway through a round of P90X, b) survive a full election cycle in England,  or c) reach Week 6 of the 2012 NFL season. I can't believe we're already 37% of the way through the season.   :(  (A season has 16 weeks of play with each team receiving one Bye week or week off.)

Week 6 Hot Topics:
New York Giants (NFC, 3-2) @ San Francisco 49ers (NFC, 4-1)
4:25pm EST FOX

The defending SuperBowl champ Giants are now considered an underdog this week to the speeding bullet train that is this year's 49er team.  (This is the only night game, so most fans watch this one) The takeaways for this game:
1.  Last year the Giants narrowly beat the 49ers to advance to the Superbowl and won.
2.  Alex Smith for the 49ers is the top rated passer in the NFL  (which is strange only because commentators have been bad-mouthing him for years---he was horrible, but has now found his footing in SF)
3.  Eli Manning (Giants' QB) is considered an elite quarterback in this league, and you can never count him out, though SF is favored to win by 5 points.

Green Bay Packers (NFC, 2-3) @ Houston Texans (AFC, 5-0) 
8:20pm EST NBC

1.  GB won the SuperBowl two seasons ago and finished the 2011 regular season at 15-1.  They still have all their weapons intact this year and should be winning, but they're just not.  (Notwithstanding the HUGELY controversial loss to Seattle due to a bad call by the replacement refs)

2.   Houston running back Arian Foster is a BEAST.  He already has 532 yards rushing with 0 fumbles.  (that's a big deal, because the RB handles the ball a ton in full contact situations)

3.  Houston is one of two undefeated teams remaining in the league.  Everyone is wondering when they're going to fall.  Green Bay could definitely get it done, though Houston is favored by 3 1/2 points.


Indianapolis Colts (AFC, 2-2) @ New York Jets (NFC, 2-3)

Indy QB Andrew Luck

The story here is not that we have two juggernaut teams by any stretch, but that we have a storied young quarterback in Indy's Andrew Luck (Stanford) and a QB controversy in New York.  Last year's Heisman Trophy winner propelled his team to an emotional victory last Sunday over the Packers.  Playing hard in honor of their coach, Chuck Pagano, who is being treated for Leukemia, Luck set personal bests with 31 completions in 55 attempts for 362 yards (anything over 300 yds is a big day for a passer) and 2 TD passes in a HUGE come-from-behind victory after being down 21-3 at the half.  Games like this are why football fans love this sport.  It's a big deal for a rookie QB fresh out of college to perform this well on the BIG stage. Watch to see if Luck continues his Pro-level performance, or if he falters, the way many rookie quarterbacks do when thrust into the high speeds and complicated offenses of the NFL.  (Cam Newton, the QB for the Carolina Panthers is currently experiencing the sophomore slump.)

Jets' QB Mark Sanchez

On the Jets' side of the ball, Hottie McHotterson, starting QB Mark Sanchez has completed less than 50% of his passes through 4 games (that's bad--the majority of QBs are in the upper 50s to lower 60s).  The team owner is a big fan of backup, Tim Tebow (Florida Gators--first sophomore ever to win the Heisman--drafted by the Broncos).  Up until this week, they have attempted to switch it up under center (that's where the QB lines up for each play) and use both QBs with no luck.  Sanchez started as a rookie in 2009, and led his team to the playoffs that year and in 2010, a first for a rookie QB in his first two seasons.  But if Sanchez doesn't improve his dismal numbers and produce some points for NY, head coach Rex Ryan faces a tough decision and, potentially, a polishing of the resume.  The unpredictable Tebow faces what's sure to be a shaky start on a very talented buy shaky team.

Tebow "Tebowing"

NFL--Week 5

Hey, Ladies!  During the first week of October's Breast Cancer Awareness month in the NFL, this post is for YOU.  Whether you love football or could care less, wouldn't you love to throw out a few tidbits at your dad, boyfriend, husband or buddies?  The boys won't know what hit 'em.  So, girls,  (and guys who have been living under a rock this week), here are the hot NFL matchups for this weekend and why you should care....(with the good stuff in PINK)

San Diego Chargers (3-1) at New Orleans Saints (0-4)  (8:25PM EST--NBC)

Why you should care:  Between the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the feel-good story of the Saints' comeback on good-guy, Drew Brees' watch, people love the Saints.  They won the Superbowl in 2009 (a franchise first) and made the playoffs in 2010.  Last year, Drew Brees broke the single season passing record with 5,476 yards, and RB Darren Sproles took the record for most all-purpose yards in a season with 2,696.  

Then things got ugly....the post-season was marred with the BountyGate scandal, in which it was discovered that the defensive coaching staff was paying players to make vicious hits on opposing teams.  Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for this season, along with several players and assistant coaches.  The Saints are struggling to find their first win this year under the weight of the scandal and the absence of their coach.  They are 0-4 going into Sunday's game against a tough Charger team, but playing at home in the super-loud Superdome has given them a lift in the past.  And for reasons only Supreme High Commander Roger Goodell (the Commissioner of the NFL) understands, Sean Payton will be allowed to "attend" this game, albeit, only from the grandstands.  It's do or die for the Saints.

Atlanta Falcons (4-0) at Washington Redskins (2-2) (1PM EST--FOX)

Why you should care:  The Falcons are one of only two undefeated teams remaining in the League with their standout QB, Matt Ryan (Boston College--bonus points for knowing where star players went to school).  

The Redskins and the media are LOVING Robert Griffin III, their star, rookie QB from Baylor University.  No slouch, he was a track star, graduated in three years with a 3.67 GPA and was studying for his masters his senior year when he won the 2011 Heisman Trophy.  He's a versatile, running QB (like Michael Vick) who makes a run defense question their strategy.  And even though the Falcons are undefeated, their run defense ranks a dismal 29th in the NFL.  While the Redskins are certainly not a cohesive unit (yet), this could be a very interesting game.  (Side note**  The 1972 Dolphins are the ONLY team to ever have a perfect season, remaining undefeated AND winning the SuperBowl.  Every year when the last undefeated team falls, they are rumored to share a toast of champagne!)

Denver Broncos (2-2) at New England Patriots (2-2) (An AFC matchup) (4:25PM  EST--CBS)

Why you should care:  Two names.....Tom Brady (yes, Giselle's hottie hubby) and Peyton Manning (that nice boy your mom wanted you to date in high school).  Tom Brady and the Patriots have struggled a bit this year at 2-2, and have yet to win at home where they have traditionally been unbeatable. (**They won 35 of their last 36 games at home before the Cardinals knocked them off in Week 2.) Not known for having a running game, they ran well last week and will do it again, if the Bronco defense allows it.  

Manning and Brady have a playoff rivalry going back several years.  Manning is back from a one year hiatus from football after neck surgery, and he is finding his rhythm.  The former star QB of the Colts took over throwing duties at Denver this year.  Two of the best QBs of our generation, squaring off on fairly equal footing, though most believe the Patriots will ultimately win.  We'll see.

I'll be back with more match-ups and facts next week!

Yours in Sports,
Anastasia Roark

Angry Birds

If you can imagine the powerful, agile and stately Ram as a helmeted, tough-as-nails, scheming piggy, then there just might be some very angry birds in Phoenix after tonight. 

The Rams have surprised many this season with their re-vamped Defense, picking up a 2nd in the league 8 INTs in just four games.  The Jeff Fisher-led, confounding pass defense is relying more on the Secondary and less on the blitzing packages that suspended coach, Greg Williams, would surely have employed....and it's working.  The Rams have given up only 2 passing TDs so far this year.  And who could have imagined at the beginning of the season that a pair of rookies would lead a thinned-out kicking corps to 41 of the Rams' 79 points this year?  Skill players at key positions can make all the difference.  Enter....the twin-pack of power:  Kicker, Greg "The Leg" Zuerlein and Punter, Johnny Hekker, with a capital K and a capital P out of respect, respectively.  A 6th round draft pick out of Missouri Western, Zuerlein kicked a franchise record 58- and then 60-yard FG last week in a gruntfest win against Division rivals, the Seahawks.   Anything south of the opponent's 50-yard line is points territory for the Rams now, sending Defensive coordinators back to the drawing board. 

While the Miami Dolphins found their way through the Cards' O-Line 8 times last week, out-toughing the heart of the Cardinal offense will still be no easy task.  According to Albert Breer of NFL.com, receivers Roberts and Fitzgerald will attempt to spread The Rams defense thin.  If the Rams have surprised some, then the Cards have surprised everyone with their 4-0 mark in a league that saw record-breaking numbers put up by offenses last year and tough defenses making all the rules this year.  2-0 in Division play, they beat the Patriots at home, and embarrassed a struggling Philadelphia in Arizona.  And their defense gets the added injection of Defensive Tackle, Darnell Dockett, back on the field tonight.  The Rams D will have to hold off the Cardinals' hard-charging offense and slow them down just long enough for the boots to kick a hole in the Birds' hull.

Vegas is giving the Arizona Cardinals a 1.5 point voucher to use against the Rams, which, with kickers like theirs, just might not be enough.  Thanks to the Rams new-found confidence on Defense and in the kicking game, all-purpose awesomeness, Danny Amendola, bruiser, Steven Jackson, and QB, Sam Bradford, may just get the opening they need to pull off a victory against the shaky but effective Kolb/Fitzgerald machine and end the Cardinals' winning streak at home tonight in St. Louis.  The game will be broadcast on NFL Network at 7pm CST/8pm EST. 

Anastasia Roark