NFL Week 7 Review

The NFL cracked down hard this week on helmet to helmet hits in the wake of last week's controversy over the number of head injuries sustained due to illegal hits.  Fines were given and a rule change was implemented to strictly enforce these penalties.  Time will tell how much good this will do, but based on the results from this week it seems they are off to a good start.  The players seem to have gotten the message, as this week there has yet to a penalty or fine for such a hit.  Will it last?

Detroit, Indianapolis, New York Jets, and Houston were on a Bye this week.  Let's hope they were paying attention so we can keep up this new trend of not hitting people in the head.

With the Colts on a Bye week it means we got to go a whole week without having to look at Payton Manning... except during commercial breaks.

Here are some things I noticed in this week's games.

• Roddy White continues his fantastic season.  He's the biggest reason why Matt Ryan is starting to look suspiciously like an elite QB.
• Carson Palmer had a big stats day, with the TOchocinco due getting plenty of catches each, but don't be fooled.  They played from behind pretty much all day, plus the Falcons D was without Dunta Robinson after last week's head collision.  After looking lifeless in the first half, the Bengals dominated the 3rd quarter, until Atlanta finally put them away with two 4th quarter TDs.
• Holy turnovers!  Chicago and Washington both struggled to hang on to the ball, with Jay Cutler throwing 4 picks (all to DeAngelo Hall - one of which was returned for a TD).  Rough day when someone on the opposing team's defense has nearly as many catches as your own top receiver on the day.  He also lost a fumble for good measure, as did Matt Forte.
• McNabb had a pretty ugly day himself, but wasn't quite able to turn it over as many times as Cutler, so the Redskins had to settle for a win on the scoreboard.
• Kenny Britt was the star for the Titans in their win over Philly.  After being benched for most of the first half due to some off-field issues (he was in a bar fight Friday night), Britt arrived in a big way - 225 yards and 3 TDs. 
• The game was closely contested for most of the way, until the 4th quarter where the Titans scored 27 uncontested points, ending the game after an interception that was returned for a TD by Cortland Finnegan.  So the game was a bit closer than the 37-19 score appears.
• Another sub par game for CJ2k.  Only 66 yards and averaging less than 3 yards per carry. Somewhat surprised that the Titans elected to kick a FG with 22 seconds remaining and leading by 8 points already.  I know its common sense from a football perspective to ensure that you remain up by two scores, but Chris Johnson needs more yards!  Come on coach, give him the ball!
• Andy Reid is secretly thankful that Kevin Kolb struggled at the end of the game in this loss.  It'll make it easier for him to put Vick back in as the starter for their next game.
• Another big day for Dwayne Bowe.  See what happens when you don't drop the ball?  Matt Cassell will never be an elite QB, but if he keeps up a good rapport with a receiver like Bowe then he may be able to be just good enough to keep pulling off wins.
• Jacksonville is a bad team.  David Garrard is a bad QB.  So when Garrard is out injured and the team has to play with a backup QB?  Yup, you guessed it, they are even worse.  They never really had a chance in this one, although it took KC longer than it should have to finally put them away.
• A controversial call helped the Steelers to another victory over Miami.  Big Ben fumbled at the goal line on his attempt to dive into the endzone.  It was originally called a TD, but reply overturned the call, saying the ball came loose before it crossed the goal line.  However, the referee stated that there was inconclusive evidence as to who recovered the fumble.  While from watching the replay it seemed inconceivable that anyone other than a Dolphins player could have recovered it, the fact remains that the ball could not actually be seen under the pile of players, which meant the ref was not allowed to reward Miami with the football.  The Steelers got the ball back for a 4th down play at the 1 yard line, allowing them to kick the winning FG.  Tough break.
• Super Bowl hangover?  The Saints need to blame it on something after they've now lost to Arizona and Cleveland, both of whom started rookie QBs.  Brees has not looked like himself and the offense is struggling because of it.  He threw 4 picks in this one.  Hopefully getting Reggie Bush back will spark the offense and return things to normal.  He could be back next week.
• Scoring two defensive TDs is a great way to take some of the pressure off a rookie QB.
• Two of the early season surprise teams, the Bucs and Rams, went head to head in what ended up being a closely contested game.  Josh Freeman showed great poise leading the team on their final drive, scoring the winning TD with 10 seconds remaining.
• While neither QB lit up the box score, both of these young QBs played fairly well.  Their running games did most of the work moving the ball, but each of them was able to make a few plays while limiting mistakes.  Pretty much all you can ask for from a young QB on a rebuilding team.  Part of why both of these teams are better than expected after miserable season's last year.  Each team already has more wins than they did all of last season.
• How does Mike Singletary still have a job?  A slow start could be brushed off given how poor the NFC West is, but at 1-6 they might as well give up at this point.  Alex Smith is clearly not the answer, but now he's hurt anyway, so they had to turn if over to David Carr.  To the surprise of no one, he still knows how to get sacked and throw interceptions.
• The Panthers got their first win of the season at their expense.  They are another team that nobody expected to be this bad, but at least nobody was picking them to win their division.  What has been more disappointing then their record has been the struggles of their once feared rushing duo of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.  Some games they are behind so much they need to abandon the run, but in this game they both got plenty of chances (19 carries for Williams, 14 for Stewart) and neither did much with it.  They each barely cracked the 2 yard per carry average.  Not much going well for this team, but they can at least finally enjoy a victory.
• The Bills are the only winless team in the NFL. You have to wonder when (or if?) that will change.  They had a chance against Baltimore, but Ray Lewis saved the day by forcing a fumble in overtime to set up the Ravens for a win.  Fumbling the ball in OT is bad enough, but the unnecessary roughness penalty that put the Ravens in FG range to start their game ending drive was, well... unnecessary.
• Who knew the Bills offense could be so explosive?  374 yards and 4 TDs from Ryan Fitzpatrick?  Really??  Baltimore clearly has some issues in their secondary, even with Ed Reed finally back on the field.  Their offense is good, but not good enough to make them an elite team if they keep giving up points like this.
• Really thought Ray Rice would do more damage against a terrible Buffalo defense, but he was relatively kept in check.  Willis McGahee did more on a per carry basis (Rice 4.5, McGahee 5.8).  Not a poor performance by Rice, but the presence of McGahee will limit him.
• Has the Seahawks defense improved that dramatically, or have they just been matched up against teams that happen to play sloppy against them?  5 turnovers in this game, including 4 fumbles.  Given the -4 turnover differential, it's not hard to predict who won this one. 
• It's bad enough that Arizona can't decide on a top RB (Hightower starts, but Wells gets the majority of the carries), but they keep switching their QB as well.  That can't be good for anyone's confidence, especially their fans.  Derek Anderson and Max Hall both got a chance in this one but they both failed to impress.  Is Dancing With the Stars over yet so they can get Kurt Warner back?
• Mike Williams looks like Matt Hasselbeck's new favorite target since Branch was traded away.  ESPN had a great story on Williams, whos' career looked like it was over after he bombed as a high draft pick with Detroit.  The former USC star became overweight and unmotivated, eventually finding himself out of the league. Now he's back and put together his second quality game in a row.
• If you blinked at the start of this game then you missed any part of it that may have been competitive.  Oakland ended up being ahead 21-0 only 6 minutes into the game.  Darren McFadden ran all over the place for 196 total yards and 4 TDS (3 rushing, 1 receiving).  Not bad for a guy that declared himself only 70% certain to play before the game.
• Michael Bush had 15 carries, compared to 16 for Run DMC, but it's clear that he's the backup.  Most of Bush's carries came after McFadden needed a breather after a big run (like the 57 yard run he had).  Now that he's healthy, McFadden is the guy.  Oakland didn't have a RB come close to 1,000 yards last season, but McFadden already has 557 despite only playing in 5 games.
• Another relatively low yardage game for Kyle Orton, but he remains in 2nd in the league in that category, thanks in part to Payton Manning being off this week.
• Knowshon Moreno showed signs of life in this game by catching 2 TD passes, but he was only mediocre on the ground against a bad rush defense.
• The Patriots have to feel fortunate to come away with a win in San Diego considering how poorly the offense played.  The Chargers practically tried to give them the game by turning the ball over 5 times in the first half, yet they only managed to convert that into 13 first half points.  They could have easily put the game away early, but they struggled to move the ball for most of the game.  If it weren't for the great field position given to them by the turnovers then they may not have scored at all in the first half.
• The Chargers made the Pats sweat it out in the end by scoring two 4th Quarter TDs, the second of which came after an on-side kick that was perfectly placed at just about exactly the minimum 10 yard mark.
• Bellichick made another controversial 4th down call, going for it on 4th and 1 around mid-field.  A successful conversion could have possibly allowed them to run out the clock.  Instead, the Law Firm was stuffed for a loss, which allowed the Chargers to get the ball in great field position to set up a potential game tying FG.  Luckily, an untimely false start penalty on San Diego pushed the FG attempt back to 50 yards.  The kick still had the distance, but hooked just enough to end up hitting the post.  If the kick had been made from the original 45 yard spot it likely would have gone through.  I almost had a heart attack watching this ending.
• Not to knock Kris Brown for his efforts, but you have to think a healthy Nate Keading makes that kick.  I mean, he only misses clutch kicks like that in the playoffs, right?
• Brett Favre returned to Green Bay for only the second time as an opposing player, but this time it didn't go quite as well as before.  Coach Brad Childress was critical of Favre after the game, not so subtly hinting that Favre's interception that was returned for a TD cost them the game.
• "You can't throw it to them, you've got to play within the confines of our system," Vikings coach Brad Childress said of Favre. "Sometimes it's OK to punt the football. You can't give seven points going the other way, not in a game like this."
• So the key to the game is to throw the ball to your own teammates so they can score, not the other way around?  Genius!  Thanks coach!
• It amuses me that Childress has the nerve to be critical of anyone.  Things look to be headed for a messy divorce with the Vikings and Favre, and once he's gone Childress may soon follow him out the door.
• Adrian Peterson was unstoppable. He's one of the only reasons the Vikings had a chance in this game.  172 total yards, with one of his receptions for 26 yards helping to keep the Vikings chances alive.  The play came on a 2nd and 16, following a Favre sack, when things weren't looking good.
• The end of the game was a whirlwind of emotions.  Favre gleefully bounced up and down on one leg as he hobbled over to his teammates to celebrate what he thought was a game winning TD in the final minute of the game.  After a booth review it was determined that Percy Harvin did not come down in bounds, so the TD was overturned.  Favre had a couple other desperation shots at the endzone, but failed to connect with Randy Moss on both attempts.
• Aaron Rodgers stat line in the box score looked ok, but watching him in the game he didn't look very good. He missed badly on several passes.  They managed to barely squeak out a victory, mainly because the Vikings are so dysfunctional right now. 
• Favre is either hurting (ankle, elbow or whatever else he wants to complain about next) or distracted by the off field allegations against him.  Either way, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't finish the season.
• Fans in Green Bay should have taken out their cell phones and pretended to snap pictures of Favre during the game to taunt him.  Too bad the Bengals don't play the Vikings.  OchoCinco would do it for his TD celebration, fines be damned!
• I entered Monday night's game in need of 20 points from Tony Romo to win one of my fantasy football matchups this week.  Certainly not a lock, but reasonable.  So of course he gets injured in the first half (broken clavicle) so I didn't even come close.  I still had some hope when TV cameras showed Romo trying to get back into the game only 1 series after the injury, but coaches wisely held him back for further testing.  By halftime it was revealed he wasn't coming back.  Romo could be out 6-8 weeks.  Possibly even for the season. 
• In case the 1-5 record wasn't telling enough, with Romo out we can now officially end any talk about Dallas playing in front of their home crowd in the Super Bowl.  Jerry Jones just shed a tear.
• No, Jon Kitna will not turn this team around.  His final stat line looked ok given that he only played a little less than 3 quarters of the game, but most of the damage came at the end of the 4th quarter when Dallas was forced to keep throwing in a desperate attempt to catch up. 
• Kitna came in to replace Romo with about 12 minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter.  Romo had already gotten them to the NY 29 yard line, so it didn't take much from Kitna to get them a FG on that drive.  Dallas didn't score on offense until there was about 3 minutes left in the game.
• Dez Bryant had a big game, helping Dallas make the final score look a lot more respectable than they actually looked in the game.  His 93 yard punt return in the 2nd quarter was impressive, but he also caught 2 TDs in the final minutes of the game to give Dallas a chance.  Not a good chance, given that the 2nd one came with 40 seconds left, but it put them within 1 score and gave them a chance at a miracle finish.  Which of course didn't happen, because that goes against everything that has happened to Dallas this season.
• Miles Austin was a major disappointment.  Not only did he seem to disappear after Romo left, but he dropped two big catches, one of which would have been a TD.  An elite WR like him has to make those catches.  Hell, any WR in the NFL (or your buddy's flag football league) has to make those catches.
• The game actually started out going very well for the Cowboys, with 2 early Interceptions by Eli Manning gifting Dallas 10 points in under 6 minutes.  Then the Giants took control and never let up.
• Speaking of Eli, after a shaky start he was pretty impressive with 4 TDs in the game.  Two of them went to Hakeem Nicks, who looks close to impossible to cover 1 on 1 in the endzone.  Steve Smith and Mario Manningham each caught a TD as well.  The Giants receivers have become a formidable trio, perhaps giving Eli the deepest collection of weapons he's ever had, which explains the career year he's having statistically.
• We still aren't quite at the halfway point, and keep in mind that Payton was on a Bye this week and Eli's isn't until next week... but has Eli ever been this close statistically to Payton this late in the season?  He's only about 150 passing yards behind him and actually leads by 1 in TDs after last night.  The biggest difference is the Interceptions (Eli - 11, Payton - 2).  If Payton has a big week next week while Eli's team is off then maybe it won't look so close, but when you factor in all the injuries the Colts have at receiver (plus Dallas Clark is out for the season) it's not unreasonable to think that Eli could finish with better stats than his older brother. 
• So far no team is running away with their Division.  In fact, every Division in the league has at least 3 teams that could potentially make the playoffs.
• The NFL wants parity and it's getting it this year.  Unfortunately you can't help but notice that a lot of that has to do with injuries as opposed to an even distribution of talent.