The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People! » NFL week 4

NFL Story Lines to Watch in Week 5

Clodel Remy — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:30:09 +0000

The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!

We all saw this coming. It wasn’t supposed to happen in week 5, 6 or even week 7 but here we are: the Tebow era has officially arrived. This entire situation was handled poorly by the Broncos from the off season. Fans are fickle so it makes sense that they would clamor for the backup quarterback after an 0-4 start. The problem is Tim Tebow was third on the depth chart.

This was not purely a coaching decision or even a front office decision. This sudden move was brought on by the Denver fans. Now we all will see what Tebow can do and what the coaches saw in practice that landed him third on the depth chart. It must be a first in the NFL to have a quarterback coming from third on the depth chart to starting without any injuries to the true backup. Only with Tebow is anything like this possible.

Best Team In NFL

Power rankings change from week to week in the NFL, so it is unlikely to find the same team leading that conversation from week 1 to week 6, but that is the case with the Green Bay Packers. It would not be surprising for this team to go 14-2 this season or even better, but of course injuries will play a large role in that.

They are by far the best team, but the way they are winning will have to change or expand if they are to win the whole thing again. They are 22^nd in the league in rushing and 30^th in passing defense, meaning there is still room for improvement. Then again, maybe they don’t need anything but Aaron Rodgers -arguably the best quarterback in the NFL.

Michael Vick and the Eagles

Michael Vick and the Eagles are 1-4 right now after losing again this past weekend: a game where everything that could have gone wrong did in fact go wrong. There is a lot of blame to go around for this dismal start to the season, but at some point everyone assumes they will correct things.

There is too much talent for them not to. When watching the Eagles play, it is difficult to see where all the money went and what they got back in return.

They are second to last in rush defense and the huge holes they allow makes it impossible for their smaller and less experienced linebackers to make plays. Some of the blame has to go to the defensive coordinator, but more blame has to go to the head coach who hired a guy who has never coached on the pro level before.

Let’s not forget to blame Michael Vick for his inability to stop turning the ball over. Maybe they will turn things around, but they start next week against Washington, an improved division opponent who is 3-1 thus far.

Jets, Overrated?

The New York Jets have and will always be on the front pages and in every football conversation no matter what goes on in the game on Sundays. Rex Ryan is a talker to say the least and his team usually responds, except for the last couple of games: games played against rivals New England and Baltimore.

They had horrible performances both resulting in loses. The Jets now stand at 2-3 early in the season and a must win game awaits them in Miami, a team without a quarterback and playing a major role in potentially winning the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes. The defense has been a letdown so far for the Jets but the offense has been worse, and after Miami the schedule only gets harder.

Andrew Luck Sweepstakes

It’s not every day you find a quarterback like Payton Manning who hasn’t played a down in the NFL. Yes, it’s true every year the talent evaluators become infatuated with a particular college player and proclaim him King, but this Andrew Luck thing is interesting and somewhat different.

Is Luck the next Manning or the next Favre or even Tom Brady? We won’t know for sure until he has gone through the pains of being a quarterback in the league. The pro football world has been all about Andrew Luck for a while and he would have been the top pick last year if he had chosen to leave and go pro.

But we must wait another year while the legend grows and he matures into what will hopefully be a great NFL Quarterback. Teams and professional athletes are not usually in the business of losing on purpose in hopes of landing a savior, but it sure would be nice for a team like the Miami dolphins or any other team looking for a quarterback.
Alexey Stiop / Shutterstock.com

The article NFL Story Lines to Watch in Week 5 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

NFL in Historic Numbers: First Quarter Review

Greg Gilley — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:00:37 +0000

The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!

The NFL season is a quarter of the way through after four weeks and what a start we have witnessed. Despite the lockout and no training camps, teams have not missed a beat. The offensives have put up historic numbers, setting NFL records in passing yards for a single week by week one and breaking that record in week two.

Also for the first time in history, in weeks two and four, there were no divisional games. The league protected itself just in case of a lockout. Now bye weeks come into play, where teams will be giving off selected weeks from week five to eleven. Here is how the teams stack up through four weeks:

The Real Deal

Packers: The defending Super Bowl champions have showed no signs of slowing down. There is no Super Bowl hangover as they have gotten out the gates to a 4-0 start. They are healthy and Aaron Rodgers might even be better than last year.

Lions: A popular preseason pick to make the playoffs is showing why they were. They are 4-0 after winning 3 of 4 games on the road and coming back from at least 20 points down in two of them. Matthew Stafford is finally healthy and Calvin Johnson is making an early case for MVP.

Titans: A surprise team but definitely legitimate. The signing of Matt Hasselback seems to be genius as he’s throwing the ball all over the lot. They lost WR Kenny Britt for the year but Chris Johnson is starting to get his legs under him and the defense is solid. They will contend.

49ers: New coach Jim Harbaugh has his team off to a 3-1 start and could even be 4-0 if it weren’t for late game heroics from Tony Romo. San Francisco is one of the top teams in stopping the run. They stand first in a weak division and we’ll see if they can keep their play up.

No Surprise

Patriots: Tom Brady leads his team to a 3-1 start with one bump at Buffalo. Other than that he’s been terrific. The defense has been bad and needs improvement if they want to win it all.

Saints: After losing the first game of the season, the Saints have won three in a row. They came into the season thinking they had an improved defense but that has yet to be seen.

Chargers: San Diego has gotten off to a rare fast September start. That’s really been there only problem in past seasons. They stand at 3-1 and atop their division but have company as they will compete with a tough Raiders team.

Ravens: Baltimore started the season off with a thunderous blowout win against the Steelers. The defense looks solid and passing game is improved with speed threats Lee Evans and Torrey Smith.

Buccaneers: Tampa Bay was a team that went 10-6 and just missed the playoffs last season. They had high expectations coming into this season and have not disappointed and are tied with the Saints for the division lead.

.500 Club

Cowboys: Dallas has been hit with injuries, played close games and has had up and down play from Tony Romo. A perfect recipe to be 2-2. They get Austin back after the bye week and look to take off against bad defenses.

Raiders: Lead by Darren McFadden, Oakland has looked good despite a 2-2 record. They have great lines on both sides of the ball and with that they can compete with anyone in the league.

Bengals: Rookie Andy Dalton has been solid and has shown no affects of playing without training camps. Bengals defense has been tops in the league against the run and off to a great start.

Browns: The time is now for Colt McCoy and the Browns to take advantage of a not so good Steelers team and average division. They head into a bye and look to get back to work week six.

Overachievers:

Bills: Their offense has been one of the best in the league while the defense hasn’t caught up. Although it has been a nice 3-1 start, their remaining schedule is going to be a challenge.

Giants: A team that was bombarded with injuries even before the season began has played through it to go 3-1. With wins against the Rams, Cardinals and Eagles they still have to prove how good they really are. Eli has played well and carried his team through the first part of this season.

Texans: The defense is improved with Wade Phillips as defensive Coordinator but is not all the way their yet as proof of the 40 points that Drew Brees and the Saints scored on them. They are winning big games but fighting through injuries. Foster is back but Andre Johnson could miss some time.

Redskins: Nobody expected the Redskins to lead the division- except Rex Grossman of course. He said they would win the division and he is starting to make believers out of all of us.

Panthers: Besides their 1-3 record, Carolina is overachieving. Mainly Cam Newton, as he is shocking everybody by showing just how good he is. He’s keeping his team in every game, including a game against the Packers.

Underachievers:

Eagles: The “Dream Team” has quickly become a nightmare after three straight losses and they have glaring holes. The defensive is getting gashed, especially against the run. The O-line is big trouble and Michael Vick won’t last all season at this pace.

Steelers: Another team with offensive line issues, signing players off the street to fill in. The once great defensive has quickly gotten old. They are far from their Super Bowl days.

Jets: McFadden’s performance in Oakland hurt the Jets statically. They are still one of the top defenses. Their trouble the last couple weeks have started with their lack of run game. That picks back up when they get back Pro Bowl C Nick Mangold.

Falcons: Three of their first four games have started on the road and that is the start of their problem. Atlanta is still 2-2. The next two games at home and the next seven in a dome.

Bears: They need to find a way to keep Cutler upright or they can’t be successful in this division

Andrew Luck Sweepstakes

Vikings: Whether it’s now or at the draft there is going to be a quarterback change in Minnesota. They have Christian Ponder waiting to get the call, it might be time.

Colts: Indianapolis is showing just how important Peyton Manning really is. They could end up drafting Andrew Luck and having him sit until Peyton passes the torch.

Chiefs: They lost Jamal Charles and S Eric Berry for the season. They are having trouble scoring and Matt Cassel is not the answer. They’ll be looking for Luck.

Dolphins: They are in a tough spot at 0-4. Miami sits in a division with the Patriots, surprising Bills and the Jets. It doesn’t get easier from here.

Seahawks: Seattle trades for Tavaris Jackson and don’t resign Hasselback. They wish they had that move back. Hasn’t been good thus far.

Rebuilding

Jaguars: Jacksonville cut Garrard before week one. They bench Luke McGown halfway through the Jets game. Now they are being lead by their future Blaine Gabbert. Looks promising but it’s going to take some time.

Cardinals: Arizona makes a trade to get Kolb from the Eagles after the lockout. They got the guy they wanted and in a winnable division but are off to a slow start.

Rams: St. Louis has taken a huge step back. They have been hurt by injuries but they were supposed to compete for a division and stand winless.

Broncos: Fans are screaming for Tim Tebow. The time may come very soon because Denver is going nowhere fast.

Ken Durden / Shutterstock.com

The article NFL in Historic Numbers: First Quarter Review appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.