NFL Week 8: Jaguars @ Cowboys

October 30th, 2010 admin

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Dallas Cowboys Sun. Oct. 31st 1pm EST

No other team in the NFL this season has been more disappointing than the Dallas Cowboys. No matter what this team does to improve their franchise over the offseason and through the NFL Draft, they never seem to produce enough on the football field and this season has been a nightmare to say the least as they will head into their Week 8 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a 1-5 record.

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As if having one win coming into Week 8 wasn’t bad enough for this team that was considered Super Bowl title contenders before the season began, the Dallas Cowboys will also have to play the rest of the season without their Pro Bowl quarterback and leader under center in Tony Romo. With a broken clavicle that he suffered last week in the loss to the New York Giants, Romo has been ruled out for at least six to eight weeks which is basically the rest of the season for this struggling franchise.

With that being said, the once potent offense of the Dallas Cowboys is going to look and play completely different from here on out as the starting quarterback will be Jon Kitna who really struggled against the New York Giants last weekend in place of Tony Romo.

So with Kitna taking the snaps, I see this season getting even worse for America’s team as they will almost certainly struggle even more to put points on the board with a veteran QB that was noticeably struggling to take over for his Pro Bowl counterpart.

Fortunately, the Dallas Cowboys will be able to take advantage of a bad team in Week 8 as they will face the Jacksonville Jaguars who are having their own quarterback problems as well. A few weeks ago, starting quarterback David Garrard went down with a concussion and handed the team over to Trent Edwards who also went down and handed the team over to Todd Bouman.

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Even though Todd Bouman played somewhat decent against the Kansas City Chiefs last week, he will almost certainly struggle this week against a very desperate Dallas Cowboys defense that will do everything within their power to dominate the Jacksonville Jaguars offense.

As of right now, the Dallas Cowboys are favored and favored fairly big to come out on top in this one with a -6.5 point spread. This is kind of surprising to me as the Cowboys will be playing with Kitna behind center, but even though the spread is a bit high for this game, I still believe that America’s team should come out on top and cover.

NFL Week 8: Vikings @ Patriots

October 29th, 2010 admin

Minnesota Vikings @ New England Patriots Sun. Oct. 31st 4:15pm EST

Coming into Week 8, the Minnesota Vikings will be in desperation mode as they have only won two games this season and are coming off perhaps their biggest loss of the season to their division rivals and Brett Favre’s former team in the Green Bay Packers.

Along with failing to live up to expectations so far this season, the Vikings also continue to have some serious injury problems as they will be without Pro Bowl wide receiver Sidney Rice for at least one week and for the first time in his 20-year career in the NFL, Brett Favre’s playing status is in serious doubt due to what is being called a fractured ankle.

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Obviously, any normal human being would instantly be on crutches and suffering some severe pain that can only be brought down by painkillers, but Brett Favre is the very definition of Ironman in the NFL as he has started 313 consecutive games in his Hall of Fame caliber career in the NFL. There is no question that the Silver Fox will almost certainly be considering sitting out this week’s showdown with the New England Patriots as he is no longer a young buck and will struggle to recover from this injury, but if he doesn’t rest that ankle he could be done for the year and his career.

So as of right now, the Minnesota Vikings seem to be more inclined to go with backup quarterback Tavaris Jackson in this Week 8 matchup with Tom Brady and company.

Even though most people believe that having Brett Favre under center always gives the Vikings a legitimate shot of being any team in their way, the three-time NFL MVP has really struggled this season and hasn’t looked anything like the dominant quarterback we saw last season.

Fortunately, I believe that Jackson is a viable backup for Favre and will prove that fact by keeping the New England Patriots secondary on their heels all day long. The one thing that Jackson brings to the Vikings offense that Favre doesn’t is mobility. With Tavaris Jackson’s quick feet and superstar running back Adrian Peterson coming out of the backfield, the Vikings offense will be a bit more dynamic in Week 8 and might just have enough to take down the Patriots who have lost one game this season to the New York Jets.

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As of right now, the New England Patriots are being given the edge in this one and for good reasons considering the Minnesota Vikings injury problems and inconsistent play.

The point spread right now is -5.5 for Bill Belichick’s squad and I believe that is just about right as the Patriots should come out on top in this one.

The one thing to watch for throughout the week is the injury reports for Brett Favre’s playing status as it will almost certainly dictate the spread before this Sunday.

NFL Week 8: Packers @ Jets

October 28th, 2010 admin

Green Bay Packers @ New York Jets Sun. Oct. 31st 1pm EST

There is no question that there has been a tremendous amount of pressure put on the New York Jets this season as they have been dubbed as a legitimate Super Bowl title contender before this NFL regular season even began, but after the first seven weeks of the season they have proven to their doubters that they are for real and may be just as good on offense as they are on defense this season.

Even though the New York Jets have already been tested a few times this season against teams like the Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots, things won’t get any easier as they still have some tough games left on their schedule against some of the best teams in the league.

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Obviously, the New York Jets are circling the dates when they play the New England Patriots (Monday Night Football, December 6th) for a second time and when they get their first shot at the Pittsburgh Steelers (Sunday, December 19th) this season, but they will have to get through the Green Bay Packers in Week 8 before they can look that far ahead.

Even though the Green Bay Packers haven’t exactly lived up to their Super Bowl title expectations this season, they are still a serious force to be reckoned with in the NFC Conference and after their big win over Brett Favre and the division rival Minnesota Vikings last week at Lambeau Field, they may have just have enough momentum moving forward in order to give the New York Jets a run for their money in Week 8.

Despite the Green Bay Packers seemingly heading in the right direction after finally beating Brett Favre last week, there is no question that they are really banged up right now as they are suffering from injuries to some of their best offensive players in running back Ryan Grant (knee) and tight end Jermichael Finley (knee).

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With both Grant and Finley out for the season, the Packers have become a one dimensional team as perennial Pro Bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been limited to using just the passing game to hurt opposing defenses. Even though backup running back Brandon Jackson had a decent game against the Minnesota Vikings last week with 58 rushing yards and a touchdown, that probably won’t be the case against the New York Jets this week as they have one of the best defenses in the league against the run by limiting running backs to a total of 90 yards per game.

Along with having one of the best run defenses in the league (7th best), the New York Jets have arguably the best ground game in the league with 159.2 rushing yards per game (2nd best). With both former NFL MVP running back LaDainian Tomlinson and up and comer Shonn Greene, I believe the Green Bay Packers won’t be able to stand a chance defending the New York Jets or scoring on them.

LeBron and Co. Fall to Celtics

October 27th, 2010 admin

The hoopla media is over and finally the trio of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James stepped on the court in Boston last night.

They finally got an opportunity to prove that two superstars and an all-star (Bosh is not a superstar in any sense of the word) can co-exist on one team. After their first game of the season, the Heat showed that they have lots to go through before they achieve some sort of chemistry.

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Let’s not overanalyze the first game of the Heat. In the last five minutes of the fourth quarter, Miami’s offense started to click when LeBron started to dominate the ball. It felt like watching LeBron in a Cleveland uniform. He started to drive to the rim more. In the first three quarters he settled for long jumpers. If he started taking the ball to the rim earlier, James would’ve opened up more opportunities by attracting double teams.

Wade played like Delonte West out there and Chris Bosh did his best JJ Hickson impression. It’s like James never left Cleveland. Bosh, in particular, was intimidated by the presence of Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O’neal. He played like a complete softy and was pushed around. No wonder why Shaq calls him the Rupaul of big men.

Boston showed them how it’s supposed to be done; unselfish play, great team defense and leadership. From early to mid-game Wade and James kept deferring to each other.
Wade gave way to James in the fourth, mainly because of a strained hamstring. But if he was healthy, James wouldn’t dominate the ball on offense. Let’s face it Wade is better in the clutch than James is.

James needs to realize that he isn’t in Cleveland anymore. His teammates are Wade and Bosh, perennial all-stars. He needs to channel his skill and ability to create for his teammates.

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What the Big 3 in Boston had when they started was Rajon Rondo. The New Big 3 in Miami don’t have a point guard as skilled as Rondo, who is willing to create shots and to defer to them. Rondo is a team player that is willing to play a team game and have the spotlight shine away from him.

The Heat needs a Rondo type player. A point guard that can set them up and can distribute shots among the three since LeBron isn’t willing to be that guy.

For now Miami has to contend with all the criticism that comes with losing the first game of the season. It seems that the MVP of their team is Mike Miller. He’ll give the Heat an outside threat that they clearly lacked against the Celtics. Maybe then LeBron will be more than happy to share the ball.

Green Bay Packers end skid with win over Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings

October 26th, 2010 admin

Coming into Week 7 both the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings had a lot at stake as they were set to face off in this NFC North showdown that would determine the second place standing in the division and quite possibly which team will be competing for the division title and which team could be on the outside looking in on the playoffs.

There is no question that this game was bound to be a close one with the Brett Favre saga continuing and so much at stake, but despite this matchup almost certainly coming down to the wire, Aaron Rodgers and company were favored to come out on top with a -2.5 point spread.

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No other rivalry in the NFL over the past two years has gotten as much publicity or hype than when the Packers and Vikings go head to head, but this game one Sunday night was emotional to say the least for one man as it would be the last time Brett Favre would be under center at Lambeau Field.

Fortunately, this game between these two NFC Conference heavyweights was epic to say the least as it was decided in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter.

Even though both teams had their fair share of turnovers as Brett Favre threw three interceptions and Aaron Rodgers also threw a couple, this game came down to the wire as the Minnesota Vikings had an opportunity to seal the deal in the fourth quarter as they were down 28-24 and in striking distance to deliver the final blow to the Green Bay Packers.

So with only seconds remaining, Brett Favre and company were doing everything within their power to get in the endzone, but unfortunately, they weren’t so lucky as the Silver Fox’s last pass at Lambeau Field was just over the head of superstar wide receiver Randy Moss in the endzone and the game was officially over.

There is no question that the Minnesota Vikings had plenty of opportunities to win this game and probably should have, but the Green Bay Packers were ahead when the final whistle blew and now Brett Favre and his boys will have to find a way to win over the next eight weeks of the NFL regular season.

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Despite being 2-4 and winless on the road this season, the Minnesota Vikings will have a chance to turn things around this year, but it will not be easy as they will have an even tougher task ahead of them next week against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

Personally, I believe that the Vikings can get the best of Tom Brady and company next week, but the Patriots continue to prove that they are arguably the best team in the league right now with just one loss on the season to the New York Jets.

It will be interesting to see what happens in Randy Moss’ return to Foxboro!

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