1080 Blog

1. Pittsburgh is scary. The Steelers backs were against the wall in their game against the Giants. With all the injuries they have suffered this season, the fact that they arrived in New York the day of the game instead of the day before, and all the momentum behind the Giants after the tragic events this past week of Hurricane Sandy. The Steelers went into New York and outplayed them. A couple mistakes by the Steelers kept New York in the game, but in the end Pittsburgh pulled off the win. They are looking like one of the better teams in football right now. It isn’t pretty how they do it, but they continue to win. Beating the defending Super Bowl champs makes a huge statement. This team is running back by committee. This week, it was Isaac Redman with 147 rushing yards. Although they are currently behind Baltimore in their division, I think they are playing better football than the Ravens.

2. Colts have plenty of “Luck”. The Colts are also for real, and it’s because of Andrew Luck. He threw for 433 yards, a rookie record. He has the Colts at 5-3. This team is playing inspirational football. With their head coach being gone for most of the season due to being diagnosed with leukemia, this team has continued to play hard week after week and right now, they are in the playoff hunt. The guy he replaced by the name of Peyton Manning is also 5-3 with the Denver Broncos this season. Here is an interesting stat. Both Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning have thrown for the same number of yards, 2,404, this season. And if the playoffs started today, these two teams would meet in the opening round. The Colts have a favorable schedule going down the stretch, as only 3 of their final 8 games consist of teams with winning records. I am picking this team right now as a Wild Card playoff team.

3. “Team me how to Dougie”. Doug Martin, what an outstanding rookie season he is having. This guy is a beast. 251 rushing yards on 25 carries against the Raiders. Thats a 10 yard average per carry. Last week he had 135 against a good Vikings defense. He was the 31st pick in the draft, which means pretty much every team passed over him. Tampa Bay made the right decision to trade up and get this guy. This is the type of player you can build a team around. In a league where the running game has pretty much faded, it is great to see backs like this come out of nowhere. I also want to point out the good season that Josh Freeman is having. 16 TDs with only 5 INTs. He is having an outstanding year as well. Tampa is one of those teams that need to be on people’s radars as a future contender. They are building this team up and moving in the right direction.

4. Home field advantage. Nobody has this more than the Seattle Seahawks. I think the “12th Man” in Seattle is one of the coolest things in all of football. Their fans are passionate about their team, and it makes it difficult on opposing teams to walk into their stadium and be successful. This team is 4-0 at home. If I was a team I would not want to go play the Seahawks on their home turf. Having a home game should mean something. Dallas, since moving into their new home, is 14-13 at home, just to compare.

5. Monsters of the Midway. The Bears are really good, but lets focus on their defense. In the game against the Titans, Charles Tillman forced four fumbles, Brian Urlacher scored on a 46-yard interception return, and they blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown. This season alone, the team has returned 7 INTs for a touchdown. The offense looked good as well. Jay Cutler passed for 229 and 3 TDs and sat the bench for the last 10 minutes. Matt Forte rushed for 103 yards and a TD, and Brandon Marshall caught 3 TDs. They are doing it on both sides of the ball.

6. A look ahead. Of all the games next week, the Bears vs. Texans matchup has to be the most interesting. The Bears are one of the better teams in the NFC, and the Texans are one of the better teams in the AFC. Both teams have great defense, and both teams have offensive units that can put up points. It will be interesting to see how the Texans offense matches up against the Bears defense. Both teams have lost only one game this season, and in both cases it was to the Packers. Texans are number 3 in total defense, and the Bears are 6. This should be a good match.

This week on Monday night football, we have the Eagles vs. the Saints. Two very desperate teams looking for a win. Many of the Eagles are playing for their jobs. Michael Vick is under a microscope right now, somewhat unfairly. Andy Reid has taken a lot of heat as well. The Eagles are a contender almost every year. Their fans are tired of being just another playoff team, they want a Super Bowl. I still say don’t count them out. The two years that the Giants won the Super Bowl, people were calling for Tom Coughlin to get fired earlier in those two years. I am picking the Eagles to win this game tonight. I feel like they absolutely have to.

Another week is almost in the books in this NFL season. As we reach the halfway point of the year, here is what’s on my mind this week.

1. Peyton Manning is still Peyton Manning. The Denver Broncos are playing at a Mile High level right now, and a lot of it has to do with their quarterback. People were ready to count Peyton out after missing the entire season last year due to neck surgery. He started the season slow, but is now back to his original form, making Denver a contender in the process. 305 yards passing and 3 TDs against a struggling New Orleans team. In what people thought would be a shootout between two of the leagues best QBs ended up being a one man show. 17 touchdowns and only 4 INTs on the year. He is the comeback player of the year for sure.

2. Rookie quarterbacks making an impact. The first overall pick in the draft, Andrew Luck, is making a splash, as he has his Colts at 4-3 going into next week. This time last year, the Colts were at 0-8. He is getting better every week, and making his team better in the process. Robert Griffin III has made the Redskins a threat, as he is playing outstanding so far. 1,778 passing yards, 8 TDs and only 3 INTs, he limits his mistakes and is learning how to better protect himself in the process. Brandon Weeden of the Browns, who actually has more passing yards than any of the rookie QBs this year, has kept Cleveland in pretty much every game this year. Ryan Tannehill of Miami, although not as productive as the others, still has helped Dolphins to a 4-3 record, although he left the game early against the Jets due to injury. I think this is a great rookie class of QBs, one that we will be talking about for a long time.

3. Atlanta Falcons. The only remaining undefeated team. Many experts had the Falcons on upset alert this week against Philadelphia. The Falcons came out and crushed the Eagles. Matt Ryan has to be an early candidate for MVP. I think this team will go as far as he takes them. Last week I said I thought the Texans were the best team in the AFC. I think Atlanta is the best team in the NFC and the entire NFL. If they keep playing the way the are, they can’t be beat. On Atlanta’s first three possessions, Matt Ryan threw for a touchdown.

4. Give Roethlisberger the credit he deserves. I hear so much about the Steelers and their great group of receivers. I don’t think people realize why they are so good. It’s the guy throwing them the ball. Big Ben needs to be included in the list of best QBs in the game because he is that good. He makes the Steelers contenders on a yearly basis. He isn’t flashy, he doesn’t have to be. He does what a quarterback is suppose to do. 14 TDs and only 3 INTs on the year. He makes everybody around him that much better.

5. There is still hope for Philly. A lot of people are ready to throw in the towel on Philadelphia this season. I’m not quite ready to do that yet. The Eagles are 3-4 at this point in the season. This is the same record they had at this same point last year before ended the season strong at 8-8. In 2010 they were only 4-3 at this point before ending the season at 10-6. They play their better football at the second half of the season, they always have. They might not win the division the way the Giants are playing, but don’t count out a possible wild card spot. They are not down and out by any means.

6. Hard to figure out the AFC. At this time, Houston is the top AFC team at 6-1. After that is Baltimore at 5-2, and then New England at 5-3. After that, you have 4 teams, Denver, Miami, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh, at 4-3, only one game above .500.  Usually by the midway point it is a little easier to distinguish the good teams from the bad. But right now its too early to really say. I think the teams with the more established quarterbacks will have the best shot. Meanwhile in the NFC, it is a little easier to figure out, but still some questions. Atlanta is the front-runner at 7-0, followed by Chicago at 6-1, and the Giants at 6-2. Then you have the 49ers at 5-2, who are the favorites to win their division. The Vikings currently own the tiebreaker against Green Bay, as they both have 5-3 records, but I expect that to change quickly with Vikings facing a brutal schedule down the stretch. Arizona dropped 3 in a row after starting off 4-0, so they have issues right now. Seahawks showed promise but have lost 2 in a row to go 4-4. It’s still wide open for many teams, and should lead to some exciting football in the second half of the year.

And for this Monday’s game between Arizona and San Francisco, I like the 49ers to win. I think this will be a much closer game than what is expected, especially with first place in the division up for grabs, but I see the 49ers pulling it off in the end. Their defense will prove to be too much for Arizona’s offense.

See you next week.