Sunday NFL Action: Running Commentary

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A few thoughts on the Sunday kickoffs in the NFL...

You know I'm gonna discuss this one...

Credit: JetsBlog.com

Atlanta defeats Miami 19-7.
1) Miami fans better have enjoyed last season because this year won't be nearly as much fun.
2) Still waiting for the Pat White "Wildcat" love.
3) Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are both in contract years. Rivalry in the backfield?
4) Tony Gonzalez was made for a developing-Matt Ryan.
5) Chad Pennington doesn't have solid back-to-back seasons. When will the cries for Chad Henne begin?

Denver stunned Cincinnati 12-7.
1) Denver's schedule appears to have them potentially at 3-0. Seriously.
2) Brandon Stokley shouldn't be leaving interviews with the CBS crew early. THIS might be his one moment this season deserving of a post-game interview.
3) Cedric Benson had the only Cincy TD. Dissapointing at home.
4) Is Coles going to become irrelevant in this offense?
5) The Eddie Royal "injury" has been under reported. Plenty of fantasy owners are worried.

Minnesota defeated Cleveland 34-20.
1) I don't believe Tarvaris Jackson wouldn't have won this game as the starting QB.
2) Percy Harvin is going to be a nightmare all over the field for opposing defenses.
3) Eric Mangini is a dumb stupid bastard for the way he handled the QB situation.
4) Braylon Edwards can't catch 1 pass and the Browns win.
5) Oh yeah...Adrian Peterson is a fantasy mammoth. Anyone who didn't take him #1 (even if you took Brees) is a mega-moron!

Indianapolis defeated Jacksonville 14-12.
1) I still don't like Jim Caldwell as the Colts' head coach.
2) I felt like a Scobee field goal was coming for 15-14...WRONG!
3) The Anthony Gonzalez injury is critical for the Colts. Might Harrison resurface?
4) MJD got plenty of touches and should keep fantasy owners appeased after Week 1.
5) Both Jack Del Rio and David Garrard are not worthy of their positions on that team. I said it before and I'll say it again!

Dallas defeated Tampa Bay 34-20.
1) Mike Jenkins at CB would terrify me if I were a Dallas fan (which I'm not).
2) One week down...good work Romo and Roy Williams.
3) Miles Austin and Patrick Crayton had fanastic week 1s.
4) Ronde Barber probably doesn't recognize many faces on his roster.
5) Byron Leftwich is the type of QB who loses these exact games, home or away.

Philadelphia annihilated Carolina 38-10.
1) Nobody has looked better thus far than Philadelphia.
2) Nobody has looked worse thus far than Jake Delhomme.
3) DeSean Jackson doesn't need to catch passes to give opponents nightmares.
4) It's hard to not mention Assante Samuel among the best defenders in all of football.
5) The McNabb injury remains an unknown. Westbrook's ankles can't carry this team without F. McNabb.

Might be time to scour the waiver wire of your fantasy league for Shockey.

Credit: ESPN.go.com

New Orleans "Drew Breesed" the Lions 45-27.
1) Drew Brees may approach 50 TDs and 5,000 yards (if healthy).
2) Robert Meachum may be the most talented wide receiver on this team. Ditto for Mike Bell as a pure running back (boy was I wrong about that one).
3) Is Jeremy Shockey finally at peace with his offensive system?
4) Kevin Smith is going to be a decent fantasy #2 back, despite being on a bad team.
5) Calvin Johnson owners may not get as many garbage TDs late in games that they once expected.

Baltimore defeated Kansas City 38-24.
1) Nobody had the Ravens scoring 38...even against the Chiefs "D".
2) This game was tied at 24 with less than 6 minutes to go. Did you know that?
3) Who watched this game that isn't a Raven or KC fan? Seriously?
4) Might Mark Clayton and Todd Heap be viable fantasy starts?
5) Brodie Croyle didn't win this game, neither would've Matt Cassell. But what about Tyler Thigpen!?!?!

Darrelle Revis continued his climb up the pantheon of NFL's top cornerbacks by completely shutting down Randy Moss. What's up next? Randy Moss. Keep on keeping on, son.
Credit: Zimbio.com

NY Jets stomped the Houston Texans 24-7.
..this might get a few extra...
1) Call me crazy…but did the Texans have an offensive play inside OUR 50? Or at least the 45. (Outside of the HUGE Slaton fumble-play.)
2) David Harris shouldn’t have been traded for Brandon Marshall…there’s why.
3) Sanchez looks great on playaction. Enter Clowney downfield in a few weeks? His postgame interview was incredibly savvy. Very anti-Favre.
4) Jenkins clubbing the Texan center was the moment of the game.
5) Better commentary from CBS than I expected. However, not nearly enough mentionings (is that a word?) of Revis. The camera showed him time and time again…but no love. (ESPN's Tom Jackson did though, immediately.)
6) How good did Lito look? The exact opposite of preseason good.
7) I'm gonnna enjoy this as much as I can. Won’t worry about Week 2 until kickoff next week. Live in the moment.
8) J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!!!

4 pm kickoff has come and past...

Anquan owners = not happy.
He and Fitz didn't have more than 10 combined yards in the 1st half.
Scary. Although Fitx did sneak in a TD and end up with 70 yards.
Credit: 17wks.com

Seattle spanked St. Louis 28-0.
1) Seattle isn't this good. But they are the favorites in the NFC West...right now.
2) St. Louis might be even worse than this. Will they score next week (@Washington)?
3) Julius Jones won't be nervous about Edgerrin James being behind him. He's done.
4) John Carlson is going to be a very good tight end in the NFL.
5) Good luck managing starting any of these Seattle wideouts week by week.

New York held on against Washington 23-17.
1) I don't want to hear about the "silver linning" from Skins' apologists. This was an ugly performance.
2) Why didn't the Skins trade Betts (aka Bettis) a few years back when he had high value? He stinks.
3) DeAngelo Hall worries me...a lot.
4) Brandon Jacobs didn't wow me today. Neither did Ahmad Bradshaw.
5) Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora are going to be a migraine headache all season long for opposing offensive coordinators.

San Francisco "upset" Arizona 20-16.
1) Don't be surprised if Arizona doesn't go over .500.
2) Hightower might've caught a dozen balls, but why not keep him in the backfield to BLOCK the 49ers pass rush?
3) Frank Gore had a fantasy day....under 50 total yards and still 2 TDs.
4) Singletary is going to will this team to victories just like this.
5) Todd Haley is already missed. Warner looked a year older and 3 years slower.
Note: Was Singletary really wearing a stopwatch around his neck? Good timing???

Sunday night thoughts (Chicago @ Green Bay) aren't likely.
Hope you enjoyed your opening Sunday NFL action.

Clement’s Weekly Picks & Prognostications…Week 16

First off, it's time for the 'excuse' as to why I didn't post on Friday.
Well, a partial dislocation of my left elbow did the trick!

Two words: not fun.
Credit: LSBU.uk

Two more weeks to go and the NFL season is officially white hot.

Wouldn't you know it, but both the AFC and NFC have every seed up for grabs.
(Note: The exception to the rule came true Thursday night as Indy clinched the #5-seed after defeating the Jags 31-24.)

True, several teams have clinched either a division (Tennessee, Pittsburgh, NY Giants, Arizona), a bye (Tenn & Pitt), and others just a playoff spot…wait, none of the “wild-card” are locked up yet (again, except Indy).

Interestingly enough, Carolina can win next week and clinch the #1-seed in the NFC OR lose out and potentially miss the playoffs altogether. Best-case to worst-case, to say the least.

6-8 San Diego is alive; meanwhile, it’s possible an 11-5 Patriot team could miss the playoffs (not likely though). Even crazier is that two 10-6 teams (as opposed to just Cleveland last season) AFC teams and several NFC will likely miss the playoffs.

Imagine if the Falcons and Phins end up 10-6 and both are out of the playoff picture.
The Jets could go from 8-3 and Super Bowl contenders to 9-7 and 2 games out of the playoffs.
Skin fans have sentiments far drearier as their playoff path seems invisible, despite a 6-2 start.

You gotta love this time of year, right? NO.
It’s far too much stress I tell you. Too much!
Fortunately, you have me to kick around…as my picks have suddenly become sublimely average.

NFL Picks: 41-26 [Taking credit for the Bears W over the ‘Aints. Pay can back me up. I swear!]
Upset Specials: 11-10 [If I can get this thing to something like 16-12, it’s a respectable season.]

I’m taking each and every game that MATTERS. HONEST!

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Tennessee Titans (+1)
Chucking the Titans to the side of the road is a mistake. An even bigger mistake is noticing how the Steelers do nothing but dominate fourth quarters. With Vanden Bosch and Haynesworth already ruled out, I don’t like Titans chances for brusing up Big Ben and an underachieving Steeler rush game. Tight ends will play major factors in this game and I’ll take the veteran Pro Bowler Troy Polamalu over the emerging talent Michael Griffin at the other key position, safety. That means I’m going Steelers for the cover.

Miami Dolphins @ Kansas City Chiefs (+4)
Don’t sleep on the Phins facing a challenge this week. They play teams close and aren’t likely to blow anyone out. Problem for KC this week (and every week) is turnovers, the pistol formation stifling LJ in the redzone, and the overall lack of playmaking talent on the defensive side of the ball. Pennington won’t have that crippling 3-turnover game that allows 2-12 teams to pull upsets. Phins cruise, which means a win by 7-10. Joey Porter may have 20 sacks on the year after this game for his season tally. 2 extra INTs too.

San Diego Chargers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3)
Not the best time for Tampa to struggle with stopping the run. Then again, LT is a shred of his former self this season. Remember the Bucs are 6-0 at home and they realize their playoff lives are on the line. A division title still remains a possibility; enhanced even more with Jeff Garcia likely back under center. While the Chargers can really put a TON of pressure on Denver (who has no gimme itself this weekend), I like the Bucs to move to 10-5 and end the Charger season across the country.

Buffalo Bills @ Denver Broncos (No Line)
Not sure what’s going on with the psyche of either team right now; however, I’m taking the Broncos to win a close one. In all honesty, I flipped a coin.

Atlanta Falcons @ Minnesota Vikings (-3)
The game is in Minnesota, so I’m taking the Vikings. You need more? A-Pete versus The Burner should be amazing. The real storyline may be Ryan & Jackson though. While I’m not sold on Tavaris, I am also not sold on the Atlanta D on the road. Vikes win, with probably a push on this 3. I'm pulling for the upset though.

Carolina Panthers @ NY Giants (-3)
Another game that screams for a push. The G-Men must improve the juice in their pass rush - despite their lack of depth this time of the season - and force Jake Delhomme to rush throws into a crowded secondary. While I don’t want to go 0-3 in consecutive weeks with the G-Men, I also don’t know if the Panthers will run all that well against the Giants. I’ll take New York’s finest football team. If DeAngelo Williams was a Pro Bowl snub, we'll know after this weekend.

[Picking Against My Own Team] Upset Special #1:

New York Jets @ Seattle Seahawks (+5)
I pissed and moaned last week and the Jets did almost everything they could to lose at home - after leading 14-3 (with the ball at midfield early in the 2^nd quarter) – to the lowly Bills. Nevertheless, a win is a win. Or is it? While some Jets are talking about the lack of need for style points…I’m questioning offensive playcalling, a bland defensive scheme, zero intricacy with blitz packages, and a lack of reliance on the rush offense with the lead. Seriously, only 1 carry for Leon Washington? I’m calling for the outright upset here by the Hawks. Why? I know the Jets all too well. 8-3 was maybe the worst thing that happened to this team and coaching staff.

[Monday Night] Upset Special #2:

Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears (-4 ½)
Spoiler alert! Not sure why, but it will be!

[Quasi-]Upset Special #3:

Baltimore Ravens @ Dallas Cowboys (-4 ½)
Obviously, this is a VERY different game if it’s being played in Baltimore than in Texas Stadium; especially weather-wise. The health of Tony Romo may quickly come into question - especially considering the ferocity of hits the Ravens lay on opposing QBs - as without Romo the Boys are DOA. Ditto for the patience of Cam Cameron in Joe Flacco if DeMarcus Ware can get around the corner and pressure the rookie QB. If Flacco can't make big throws downfield, the Ravens won't dink and dunk their way to a road W. Two other factors really stick out: the Ravens unbalanced line and the lack of a Raven running game. One needs to help the other as the new line-formation won't do enough if it's only intention is to contain Ware on the edge. My pick is the Cowboys; however, I’m sticking with the Ravens to keep it close. Very close.

Ten Fantasy Insights/Questions on Championship Weekend:
1) If you don't have your championship in Week 16…your league stinks.
2) If you are pairing up a regular season title with a potential playoffs title, that’s awesome.
3) If you are pairing up a regular season tite, point’s lead, and a playoff title…you are awesome.
4) If you are the 8-seed playing for the playoff championship, I have two words for you: silver lining.
5) If your NFL team is out of it, I hope your fantasy team isn’t.
6) Whose your fantasy MVP: Kurt Warner, Michael Turner, Adrian Peterson, Andre Johnson, or maybe even Tony Gonzalez?
7) Whose your fantasy LAMO over the year: Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, Derek Anderson, or maybe even LT as your #1 overall pick?
8) Which rookie QB did you ride to a greater fantasy surprise: Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco?
9) Who's the #1 pick next year: Adrian Peterson or the field?
10) Is Matt Cassell a top 7-8 QB – wherever he is – next season (fantasy football-wise).

See you next week…to close out the regular season (gulp).