Advertisement
Showing posts with label Colts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colts. Show all posts
-
SHOWDOWN IN THE FRENCH QUARTERS
The (7-3) New England Patriots take the trip south to the Superdome, for a Monday night showdown with the (10-0) New Orleans Saints. The Saints are the only NFC team that remains undefeated. Only the Indianapolis Colts join them in a perfect season thus far.
Can the Saints reel off an eleventh straight victory? Facing a New England Patriot team primed for a run. Tom Brady is back to his rare form. Wes Welker is coming off a career high 15 catch, 192 receiving yard performance. Randy Moss will be looking to post primetime numbers in a primetime game. Bill Belichick will be devising defensive schemes yet to be seen on film. Throw in New England’s heartbreaking week 10 loss to the Colts. Motivation couldn’t be any higher for this squad.
The Patriots defense made a huge statement in week 11. They dominated the Mark Sanchez led offense of the New York Jets. Sanchez threw four picks. Three of those picks complimentary of Leigh Bodden. One of which he returned for a TD. Belichick defenses eat up inexperienced quarterbacks. Peyton Manning struggled for years before getting over the hump.
Drew Brees is 2-0 versus the Patriots over his career. Both times he was sporting a Charger uniform. He played them in week 4 of 2002 and week 4 of 2005. In 2002 he threw for a meager 104 yards, 1TD. LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 217 yards, 2TDS. In 2005 Brees threw for 248 yards, 2TDS. L.T. had 134 yards, 2TDS. Brees has found some success when facing Belichick defenses. It didn’t hurt that L.T. was the best running back on the planet at that time.
The Saints have a stable of dangerous wide receivers in Marques Colston, Robert Meachem, Devery Henderson, and Lance Moore. Tight ends Jeremy Shockey and David Thomas have great hands. Running backs Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, and Reggie Bush are all capable of doing their share of damage. Sean Peyton has explosive offensive players capable of giving the NFL’s best defenses fits.
This game is a chess match. The Saints Sean Peyton is regarded as one of the brightest offensive minds in the game. Then you have Bill Belichick who is one of the NFL’s more innovative defensive strategists. This is going to be a game of constant adjustments. A game when the momentum can turn on a dime.
Will it come down to General Brady or General Brees, being summoned, to march their respective team down the field come crunch time? Expect this game to go down to the wire. Both of these teams have a ton of talent on their squads. Coaches and management included.
The Patriots have won their last six games on Monday night football. Is there a seventh in the works? The Saints offense is averaging 36.9 points per game. The Patriots pass defense ranks 6th. The Saints pass defense ranks 16th. I’m giving a slight advantage to the Patriots. They find a way to win this one on the road, spoiling the Saints campaign for a perfect season.
more
-
Fantasy Payoff Picks
Even if you are not at the top of your league, let's feel good about some of the high draft picks you may have selected this year.
The Tennessee Titans players have been lousy this year. Chris Johnson has been the exception. He is a home run style runner. Johnson has had runs of 30 or more yards in 7 of 9 games this year. His 6.4 yards per carry average on 170 attempts is a testament to his explosive running style. Johnson will be a top three pick in fantasy drafts come the 2010 season.
It is safe to state that Tom Brady has officially returned to his expected form. He has had a career best four straight three-hundred yard games. In those games Brady has thrown 13 TDs. That is a TD/INT ratio just better than 3:1. His upcoming matchups are: NYJ, @NO, @MIA, CAR, @BUF, JAC, @HOU. Fantasy owners will continue smiling in the coming weeks.
Maurice Jones-Drew has been on fire his last four games. He had workhouse numbers in week 6, getting 33 carries for 133 and 3 TDs. Week 7 he was on a bye. In week 8 at Tennessee he accumulated a season high 177 yards on 8 carries! Drew found pay dirt twice that week. Week 9 brought 29 carries for 97 yards and 1 TD versus Kansas City. Week 10 was against a tough Jets defense, 24 carries for 123 yards and 1 TD. Drew would have had another TD at the end of the game but he took an intentional knee.
Aaron Rodgers has more than lived up to fantasy owner’s expectations. Despite having to run for his life every week he has produced. Rodgers has thrown double digit TDs six times this year. He is out scoring Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, & Drew Brees in most fantasy leagues. He was a solid second or third round pick.
Weeks 7, 8, & 10 have brought good fortune to Stephen Jackson owners. Jackson rushed for 134 yards against Indianapolis in week 7. Week 8 at Detroit was even better. Jackson posted his first TD of the season to go with 149 yards. He was able to find pay dirt again in week 10 and ran for 131 yards against New Orleans. Jackson has run incredibly hard all year for a terrible team. Larry Johnson should try to emulate himself after Mr. Jackson.
Reggie Wayne is coming off a 10 catch, 126 yard, 2 TD Sunday evening. He is quite simply as good as any receiver in the NFL. Wayne will once again finish the season as a top five fantasy scorer among receivers.
more
-
Under The Hoodie - There Is No Doubt It Was The Right Choice
There has been an inordinate amount of piling on the Patriots coasch over the last few days since Bill Belichick went for for it on fourth down on his own 28 against the Colts. It is very easy to question this call, and it makes great sports radio and blog fodder. However let's not pile on, but think about why, and talk about how a calculated risk is not such a bad move.
No doubt the Patriots were in control of this game. Also no doubt that the New England Defense was on for the first three quarters. Another no doubt is that this is not even an issue if Maroney doesn't fumble in the Red Zone.
There was no doubt that the Colts made an adjustment. There is also no doubt that Manning can score quickly and efficiently at any time. There was no doubt that the Patriots defense was tired from fighting out the first three quarters.
Most would agree that Tom Brady and the offense could get 2 yards. You and I both would bet on it, over them not making it, any day of the week. The Patriots were going to have to play defense no matter what. A long field with a tired defense could create an easy big play for the Colts and Manning. We all know that the Red Zone shortens the field and makes it more difficult for any offense. No doubt Belichick thought of this and gambled. It's not that he didn't trust his defense, he chose the gamble of putting them on a shorter field and thinking they had to stop the Colts anyway.
Brady passed to Faulk, executed the play, the ball was bobbled, and in the NFL that is enough time to not make the first down. Was it a crazy gamble? For any other team yes, but not Patriots. Belichick felt his best chance to win the game was with his offense. The idea that his defense is upset over the call is silly. The NFL is not high school, it is professional football. His gamble did not work, oh well. Sometimes your gut is what you have to trust. It has gotten Belichick to the top and is a necessary tool for a great coach. I would rather have a coach that takes a chance on what he feels is his best chance to win, than just going with conventional wisdom. That's why most teams are average, they take no chances and have no balls.
There is a ton of season left. No one knows where or how this game will affect the Patriots. No matter who you are, you do not want to play the Patriots in the playoffs at home or on the road.
They will get another chance at the Colts.
more
-
RIVALRY
The Patriots-Colts square off in a battle highlighting two of the games most gifted quarterbacks to have ever shouldered the NFL emblem. I praise the football Gods for games such as this! I will go so far as to state I firmly believe Monday the 16th of November should be declared a national holiday for 2009. If I were elected president this issue would be at the top of my list. Matters such as these would heed precedence over bringing peace to the Middle East or nuclear proliferation. I would make the day before, of, and after the Super Bowl a permanent national holiday. As your President my first official oval office meeting would be with my most trusted football advisors. We would meticulously dissect the upcoming NFL schedule in order to declare timely holidays for that given calendar year. What true red, white, and blue Patriot wouldn’t vote for me?
Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning! Can a headline get any sexier than that? Yes. The Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings saga beat out any feasible headline for the 2009 American football campaign.
The practical minds of the NFL’s schedulers chose to have these two elite franchises collide in week 10. What a flawless marketing decision. What were the odds that both organizations would be sitting at or near the top of the NFL come week 10? So good I would have bet everything I have ever owned on it. Even my soul provided it would have any potential monetary appeal.
This game exudes far than a headline consisting of Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning. These teams have faced each other so many times in the course of both quarterbacks’ illustrious careers that it must be incredibly difficult to construct an innovated game plan. What can these coaches, who are extremely familiar with one another, conceivably disguise during the course of this game that will prove to be effective? It comes down to the X’s and O’s of the game. The team that executes, doesn’t turn the ball over, and wins special teams will be triumphant.
Can Patriots LT Matt Light contain Colts pro bowl DE Dwight Freeney? Freeney has caused Patriots pro bowl LT Matt Light fits in previous meetings. This will be one of the key matchups taking place Sunday. Due to the Colts being without defensive starters SS Bob Sanders, FS Marlin Jackson, and LCB Kelvin Hayden. Rookies Jerraud Powers and Jacob Lacey will be the Colts starting CBs.
Colts pro bowl TE Dallas Clark is fresh off a 14 catch performance in week 9. Expect Belichick’s to game plan to include plenty of attention directed Clark’s way. It should be difficult for him to get open in the middle of the field. In a similar fashion to the way the Patriots were able to neutralize Atlanta Falcon pro bowl TE Tony Gonzales.
This should be a spectacular game. Enjoy!
more
-
"Fire" Before "Earth"
The New York Giants are at the top of the NFC. It helps that they just played the abomination known as the Oakland Raiders. The team whose head coach is about to be sent to the house of correction. How excited Raider Nation must be right now! Coach Cable is upping his street cred!
In the coming weeks the Giants will be playing teams that actually belong in the NFL. In particular the New Orlean Saints. It is the most intriguing game of week 6. This is the battle of two superlative teams. The winner of this game gets my secret ballot for the NFL’s most impressive team to date. Accompanying the Colts of course.
I’m most interested in seeing the distribution that occurs in the Giants backfield. Will Tom Coughlin succumb to the media pressure and start Ahmad Bradshaw? If that happens it won’t be because of the media’s need to sell a story. If Bradshaw starts it is because he has had 58 carries for 375 yards. That is 6.5 yards per carry! Brandon Jacobs has 100 carries for 355 yards. That is a dismal 3.6 yards per carry!
Jacobs didn’t hide his displeasure regarding his play nor his critics recent criticism on his WEPN-AM radio interview. Maybe that will fuel him in his upcoming games?
Bradshaw is a home run guy every time he touches the ball. He has a nice mixture of light feet and power. If he racks up good numbers this week going against the NFL’s 7th ranked rush defense then I don’t think there will be much question as to who the better starting option in New York will be moving forward. At least until the cold weather settles in.
more
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
