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Our Take |
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For the second week in the row, Vikings defensive end Jared Allen was a one-man wrecking crew. Allen recovered two fumbles and returned one 52 yards for a touchdown in the Vikings easy win over the Rams. Adrian Peterson ran for two touchdowns and Brett Favre celebrated his 40th birthday by starting a season 5-0 for the first time in his career. While Peterson doesn’t lead the NFL in rushing anymore, he still leads the league with seven rushing touchdowns. Bring on the Ravens. |
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That was a very classy thing Tom Coughlin did against the Raiders. Realizing his Giants had the game well in hand, Coughlin called off the dogs in their 44-7 win over the brutal Raiders. Had they wanted, the Giants probably could have scored 80 points. Justin Tuck had a field day against the Raiders, racking up two sacks and six solo tackles. It was also a smart move to pull Eli Manning from the game when they had a big league because the Giants will have their hands full with the Saints this week. |
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It’s almost to the point that we are going to run out of superlatives to describe Peyton Manning. Playing quarterback in the NFL isn’t supposed to look that easy. The Colts are a perfect 5-0 and Manning leads every quarterback in passing yardage (1645), touchdowns (12) and quarterback rating (114.1). Manning has thrown for over 300 yards in each of the Colts five games of the season. Right now, Manning is far and away the best quarterback in the NFL. What really makes Manning seem even more special is that he makes an unheralded fourth round draft pick like Austin Collie look like a Pro Bowler. Coming up, the Colts have the bye week then the Rams. |
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Coming off the bye week Drew Brees and the Saints are about to face a team that may re-surface down the road in the post-season, the Giants. This game will feature a number of intriguing chess matches. The biggest chess match will be how the Saints offensive line handles the Giants fearsome front seven. Given Brees time to operate will be a key. Another great chess match will feature Saints safety Darren Sharper versus Eli Manning. Like they say down in New Orleans: Laissez les bons temp rouler. |
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7 |
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I am quite certain that Josh McDaniels or Kyle Orton could walk into any greasy spoon in Denver and come away with a free meal. That’s the least the Mile High City can do after the Broncos wild over-time win over the Patriots. Orton led the Broncos offence on an epic 98-yard drive to tie the game. Then, proudly wearing the most hideous looking uniforms in the history of the NFL, Matt Prater nailed the game-wining field goal in overtime as the Broncos improved to 5-0. Think about that one for a moment: the Broncos are a unbeaten. Considering the daily soap opera that surrounding Brandon Marshall (who now now has four TDs in his last four games) and the rest of the team in camp; no one could have predicted a start like this. |
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I always thought a healthy Carson Palmer would change the fortunes of the Bengals this season. But little did I know the man would be performing miracles on the football field. With Palmer the master of his domain, the Bengals have won its last three games with under a minute to go on the clock. Over the course of the four game winning streak, the Bengals have beaten the Packers, Browns and the Ravens all on the road. Add to that the win over the Steelers, and the Bengals find themselves in first place in the AFC North. How about Bengals running back Cedric Benson? The guy leads the entire NFL in rushing. |
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10 |
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There’s nothing like a healthy Donovan McNabb and a game against the Bucs to give Eagles fans a reason to eat, drink and be merry. Fully recovered from his rib injury, McNabb was at his very best throwing for 264 yards and three touchdowns. That works out to a quarterback rating for 157.2. Rookie receiver Jeremy Maclin had a huge breakout game and ended up being McNabb’s favourite target in the Eagles easy win over the Bucs. Speaking of easy wins, up next the Eagles take on the Raiders in the Black Hole. |
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12 |
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After its loss to the Patriots, the Falcons went into the bye week on a mission. That was plain to see after watching the Falcons dismantle the 49ers in San Francisco. Matt Ryan had a great game and did a great job of getting the ball into the hands of his playmakers, Michael Turner and Roddy White. Turner scored three touchdowns and White had over 200 yards receiving and scored two touchdowns of his own. The Falcons defence had their way with the 49ers, holding them to 279 yards and 10 points. I can’t wait to see the Dirty Birds take on the Bears next week in the Georgia Dome. |
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12 |
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James Harrison had three of the Steelers sevens sacks in a win over the Lions at Ford Field. Harrison now has five sacks in his last two games and is playing the way his mentor Dick LeBeau wants him to. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked three times, but he still found enough time to throw three touchdowns including a beautiful 47-yard bomb to Mike Wallace. The Steelers will attempt to make it three in a row when they host the Browns this week at Heinz Field. The way the Bengals are playing right now, the Steelers will need a win to keep pace in the AFC North. |
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Coming off the bye week, Lovie Smith and the Bears will have their hands full as they hit the road to take on the Falcons in Atlanta. It will be fascinating to see how Jay Cutler does in a hostile environment and facing a talented team like the Falcons. Over the course of the Bears three-game winning streak, Cutler has been nothing short of incredible, throwing seven touchdowns and his quarterback rating over 100.0 each game. This will be a busy week for Bears defensive co-ordinator Bob Babich as he tries to come up with a game plan to slow down the Falcons offence. |
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Here’s an ugly stat for Patriots fans to chew on: They were 0-6 on third down conversion in the second half of its overtime loss to the Broncos. I bet it was a lot of fun to be in the film room with coach Belichick after that loss. Yikes. Stalwart left tackle Matt Light hurt his knee against the Broncos and will be a long shot to be in the lineup against the Titans this week. Losing Fred Taylor for the season with that ankle injury hurts. I never thought I would have to say this before, but I think the Patriots need to run the ball more to take some pressure off of Tom Brady’s shoulders. |
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I know the Ravens like to play a tough, punishing brand of football. But what was Ray Lewis thinking with that needless head shot to Ochocinco at the end of the fourth quarter? That 15-yard penalty kept the Bengals drive alive and gave Carson Palmer the opportunity to throw the game winning touchdown. Tough is good; undisciplined and careless is very bad. Now the Ravens have to suck it up and take the show on the road to Minnesota to face some guy named Brett Favre. That should be a great game. |
 With apologies to Miles Austin and Peyton Manning, who can you not give the award to Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer? Last Thursday, Zimmer’s wife Vikki passed away. On Sunday, Zimmer was on the sidelines coaching the Bengals defence that played a big part in the hard fought 17-14 win over their division rivals, the Ravens. Afterwards, in a very emotional Bengals locker room, Marvin Lewis handed Zimmer the game ball. Who Dey?
 Another easy one; all players and coaches with the Cleveland Browns or the Buffalo Bills. The Bills and Browns took part in one of the worst displays of football the NFL has ever witnessed. Browns quarterback Derek Anderson completed one pass for seven yards in the second half. That's right; he completed one pass. Anderson had a quarterback rating of zero in the second half, and the Browns were still able to beat the Bills, 6-3. My man Eric Smith from the Fan590 is nearly inconsolable after watching his beloved Bills lose that game.
 Picked by a lot of people (myself included) to be one of the top teams in the NFC; it’s time for the Packers to man up. Coming off of a bye week, there are no more excuses for the Packers as they face the Lions and the Browns the next two weeks. The Packers will need those wins because coming up in three weeks is the game Brett Favre and the Vikings at Lambeau Field.
 In the aftermath of the Chad Pennington season ending injury, there were a lot of people that were ready to write of the Dolphins this year. Then along came Chad Henne. Henne was efficient two weeks ago in the Dolphins win over the Bills. Monday night, Henne was outstanding in the Dolphins crucial division win over the Jets. All of a sudden the wildcat is working wonders and the Dolphins are one game back of the Jets and the Patriots in the AFC East.
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