Tag: week

Here’s the important info to know about Week 7 in the NFL:

Who’s Back:

• Terrell Suggs was back in the lineup for the Ravens. Although unfortunately it didn’t help much in their 13-43 loss to the Texans.
• Vilma was back for the first time this season for the Saints…possibly for the last time this season if his case is heard and the suspension upheld this week.

Who’s Out:

• Charles Woodson, Packers Cornerback, broke his collarbone in the 4th quarter of the game against the Rams. This is bad news for the Packers, whose defense has not been stellar so far as it is. Woodson will be out for at least 6 weeks.
• The Jaguars. Or, at least two of the more effective players on their roster: Blaine Gabbert, QB, likely out for this week, and Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, likely out for awhile with a foot injury.

What’s Good:

• SO MANY awesome endings. The Jets/Patriots and Jags/Raiders games went into OT simultaneously, while earlier in the day at least four games were decided on the final drive: wins by the Saints, Giants, Titans, Cowboys. Amazing.
• RG3 vs. Eli. Man, that was a great game – and promises to be a great NFC East matchup for years to come.

What’s Bad:

• The Panthers, with so much hope invested in Cam Newton, are kind of falling apart. So much so that they just fired their GM. Bad news.
• I continue to be hopeless in our family fantasy football lead. I didn’t even pick this week…I left it completely to chance: a quarter for the wins/losses and random.org for the confidence points. And I still lost by double digits. It’s like I’ve never seen a football game before.

It literally pains me that we’re already at Week 7…the season goes by so fast! At any rate, here’s the need-to-know info for this week:

GAME OF THE WEEK: I’m tempted to go with the battle of the 3-3’s: The 3-3 Patriots vs. The 3-3 Jets, both of whom are fighting with the also 3-3 Bills and 3-3 Dolphins for 1st place in the AFC East. But the Houston/Baltimore game is more compelling, I think. Houston is coming off a confidence-shaking loss to Green Bay on Sunday night, and Baltimore just lost several of their best players to injury. It’s an interesting AFC match-up – of the only AFC teams who actually have winning records right now (both are 5-1).

PLAYER TO WATCH: Jonathan Vilma, linebacker for the Saints, might get to play in his first game this season after coming off of the Physically Unable of Perform list this week. If you’re wondering how he can play since he’s technically still serving a year-long suspension for his alleged involvement in the Saints bounty program – don’t worry, I was wondering the same thing. But since Vilma’s case is still under appeal and will be subjected to ruling by the federal judiciary system sometime soon, the suspension is not currently under effect.

STORYLINE TO KNOW: The face-off of the two surprisingly good teams: the Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals. Both teams are 4-2, and neither were expected to be anywhere near that number at the beginning of the season. But intrigue: John Skelton, the Cardinals original starting QB who was injured and lost his spot to Kevin Kolb who is now also injured and could potentially lose his spot, again, to Skelton, is starting this week. He’s under a lot of pressure to play well – to earn his spot back and to redeem an ugly loss to Buffalo in OT last week. Minnesota is also trying to come back from last week’s loss to the Redskins. It’s not being billed as a great storyline, but if you can, watch this game. It’s sure to be a good one!

RECIPES TO MAKE:

apple snicker nachos

peanut butter filled devil’s food cupcakes

pumpkin crunch cake

reese’s peanut butter white chocolate bark

snickers caramel cheesecake cookies

I left you guys hanging on Friday without a What to Know in Week 6 post…I’m sorry! Here’s a quick recap of what happened in Week 6:

• Sad news for Ray Lewis and the Ravens, he’s out for the rest of the year with a torn tricep. This is a HUGE loss for the Ravens – he’s their main emotional leader as well as an on-the-field powerhouse. And it’s a huge disappointment for Lewis, who is nearing the end of his playing days as is.
• Surprise, surprise. #1: The Bills upset the Cardinals in overtime. Biggest surprise: Jay Feely hit a field goal from 61 yards earlier in the game…and missed a chip shot to win in overtime. #2 The Seahawks upset the Patriots. Biggest surprise: bad decision making from the Patriots…who never make bad decisions.
• Two high profile clobberings: The Giants dismantled the 49ers in a huge road win, and…my Packers! My Packers took apart the formerly undefeated Texans. Big, big win for the Packers – but big loss as well with two more out-for-the-season injuries: linebacker D.J. Smith and running back Brandon Saine.
• RGIII dominated after coming back from a nasty concussion last week. A lot of people (myself included) didn’t think he should play, but the doctors cleared him and he took full advantage, tearing up the field.
• And…Dallas continues to struggle.
• And…so do the Eagles.

So! Did you watch any games over the weekend? Which ones? Questions, comments, concerns? Let’s talk about it! That’s what the comments section is there for! See you there :)

Here are the Top 5 from Week 5:

1. Drew Brees broke Johnny Unitas’ record for the most consecutive games with a touchdown pass (47). Also significant because it was the Saints first win of the season, and suspended personnel Mickey Loomis, Joe Vitt, and Sean Payton were allowed to attend the game to see the record broken and the game won.
2. The Colts came back from an 18 point deficit to beat the Packers in an inspirational win to honor their head coach, Chuck Pagano. On the flip side: the Packers looked bad, and things are about to get worse. They are losing one of their most productive offensive players, Cedric Benson, to a Lisfranc foot injury for 8 weeks at the least. They also have the task of playing the undefeated Houston Texans on Sunday night in Texas. It promises to be a long night for me and my #12 jersey.
3. Speaking of the Texans, they were also dealt a significant blow in last night’s game, losing linebacker Brian Cushing to an ACL injury, perhaps for the rest of the season. They pulled out the victory…but it probably would have been a lot harder if the Jets would actually use Tim Tebow. Not even as the starter if they’re not ready for that yet (emphasis on yet), but just in ways that MAKE SENSE. I said it last night on Twitter and I’ll say it again here: having Tebow on the roster and not using him on critical 3rd downs or in the red zone is like having a dishwasher and choosing to wash your dishes by hand. Blindfolded. It just doesn’t make any sense.
4. The much-lauded Manning/Brady game wasn’t a bad game, but wasn’t a nail biter, either. It looked like it might turn around in the 4th quarter with the Broncos on their way to a touchdown to make it 28-31, but a goal-line fumble ended that. But competitive or not, it’s still great to see both of them play. They’re just so good.
5. The Bills have been outscored 91-7 in the past 6 quarters. To every fan I met at training camp who had an optimistic spark in their eyes about this season: I’m sorry.

Here’s what you need to know about Week 5 in the NFL:

GAME OF THE WEEK: This one is a no-brainer. Whatever you are doing on Sunday at 4:30pm, you should really stop to watch some of the Broncos/Patriots game. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are two of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Neither is getting any younger and no one can know how much longer they’ll be in the league, so opportunities to see them face off like this should be treasured.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Drew Brees is only one touchdown away from breaking Johnny Unitas’ for consecutive games with a touchdown pass (47). It’s likely that he’ll break it on Sunday in their game against the Chargers in New Orleans. The interesting part of this story is that suspended personnel Sean Payton, Joe Vitt, and Mickey Loomis are being granted permission to attend the game to see Brees go for the record breaking score. It should be an emotional game for all involved, and will hopefully result in the Saints first win of the season.

STORYLINE TO KNOW: Indianapolis will be playing their first game without head coach Chuck Pagano, who is undergoing treatment for leukemia. The Colts have had an emotional week and will have a tall order facing Green Bay, but they’re playing at home and should be considered an upset threat.

RECIPES TO MAKE:

It’s all about the brownies this week…

2 ingredient pumpkin brownies

brownie batter on a stick

caramel brownies

chocolate covered pretzel peanut butter brownies

fudgy brownies with cookie butter frosting

It’s the end of the first quarter of the season, which means this week it’s time for teams to assess how they performed in the first quarter and see how they can improve in the next. For this week’s postgame review, let’s take a look at each Division and see where the stories are:

NFC North: The Vikings…are 3-1?! This has to be the biggest surprise of the season so far…and not just in the NFC North. The Vikings have a solid running game led by RB Adrian Peterson and QB Christian Ponder has been good – more than just efficient. The Bears are also 3-1 and the Packers aren’t far behind at 2-2, but the Lions shouldn’t be counted out either quite yet despite their 1-3 record.

NFC South: Atlanta has this all but wrapped up already. They are sitting pretty at 4-0 with the Bucs and Panthers back at 1-3 and the Saints a shockingly dismal (sorry, Liz!) 0-4.

NFC East: The NFC East is always exciting, but I think it will be a dog fight for 1st in this Division this year. The Eagles are 3-1 by the slimmest of margins, and the other three teams (Giants, Cowboys, Redskins) are all 2-2. In the end, I’d bet the Giants come out on top. They have a way of pulling it out at the end.

NFC South: It was kind of assumed that the 49ers would have this Division locked up at this point, with the Cardinals, Rams, and Seahawks having a history of less-than-impressive records. But it’s been surprisingly competitive out in the West, with the biggest surprise coming with the Cardinals 4-0 start. The 49ers aren’t far behind at 3-1, but the Cards look way better than expected nonetheless.

AFC North: The Steelers and Ravens look good, the Browns look bad, and the Bengals look like a dark horse to challenge for a playoff spot. So: same old, same old.

AFC South: This is the Texans Division to lose. They’re undefeated, and the other three teams (Colts, Jaguars, Titans) only have one win a piece. Stranger things have happened, but barring an overwhelming collapse the Texans can basically punch their ticket to the playoffs already.

AFC East: You’d think, with the abysmal performances of the Jets and the Bills over the past few weeks, that this would be an easy domination for the Patriots. But the three are squarely tied at 2-2 with Miami pulling up the rear at 1-3. In my opinion, though, that won’t be the case for long. The Jets are beat up and confused and the Bills are…the Bills. Welcome to the playoffs, New England.

AFC West: The Chargers are 3-1 (somehow) and the Broncos aren’t far behind at 2-2. The Broncos schedule, however, is brutal, so they might take a dip in the standings over the next few weeks. The Raiders aren’t as awful as their 1-3 record suggests. The Chiefs are far worse than their 1-3 record suggests.

P.S. A final exam is forthcoming! Details soon!