TNF: Manning Strikes Back

Poor Tamme. He should see a drop in tackles soon.

Okay, just from the title alone, you can already guess who I think is going to win tonight’s game. As bad as the Colts have been playing lately, nobody in the entire NFL has been playing as bad as the Titans these last couple weeks. That’s saying a lot if you consider that the Panthers and Cardinals are also actual participants in the NFL. I guess you can argue that the Titans are getting Kerry Collins and Kenny Britt back, but even with Chris Johnson running around the Colts, I don’t think they can match Peyton‘s offensive execution. Yes, he’s been playing horrible lately, but even while he’s throwing 3-4 INTs per game, the Colts are usually still offensively in the game. Remember in 2007 when he threw 6 INTs against the Chargers? The Colts almost won that game! The quickness with which Peyton can drive down a football field is uncanny, and I see that as the determining factor in tonight’s game (and I just don’t see him throwing 4 picks again, but don’t bet money against it). Having Jacob Tamme on the field tonight would be more of a reason to like the Colts, but it looks like he’s a game-time decision. The Colts outmatch Chris Johnson’s production and win 31-13 in yet another boring prime-time game.

*Update* So, the game didn’t end up being quite as large of a blow-out as I thought, but even though it was only a 2 point game, that’s because the Titans scored a TD with 0 secs left on the clock. It didn’t really mean anything. Peyton showed up and picked apart the Titans defense, only having to worry about Blair White defending his TD pass to Reggie Wayne. That was smooth, rookie. Chris Johnson also had a nice performance, along with Kerry Collins, but just like I predicted (I also said Colts would score 31… just sayin’), the Colts moved down the field with too much efficiency to be topped by CJ1K. The Colts were aided by a few questionable pass-interference calls, but who’s surprised that the NFL wants to see the Colts make a run for the playoffs? I personally would like to see the Jaguars take the AFC South, but I’m sure there are many, including the IceBat, who would hate such a thing.

Why MNF Sucks

Can you at least fix Gruden's hair?!

I haven’t seen every game in the 2010 season, but I’ve made a point to watch every prime-time game… even when they’ve been hard to watch. And trust me, some of these games have been very hard to watch. Out of the 3 nights (Thursday, Sunday, and Monday), Sunday has been, by far, the best produced by NBC with the best games, but for the other 2, there’s been some major issues. First, just to get it out of the way, the NFL Network had some great games on Thursday night, but is absolutely butchering it with the commentating. Just listening to Matt Millen makes me feel like I’m losing (burn!), and honestly, I’m tempted every week to mute the game. Why couldn’t they have someone like Mike Mayock in the booth? Then we all might actually gain something from all the chatter. Anyway, at least some of the games have been able to make up for the mental bleeding caused by that crew – because the same can’t be said about Monday Night Football on ESPN. Here’s why they suck. 

Vegas, Here I Come!

LeSean "Shady" McCoy

You know how much I love to brag, so you should’ve seen this coming. Yesterday I predicted the game would be 34-24 Eagles, and guess what the final outcome was? That’s right, 34-24. Sure, it was practically a shot in the dark, but I can boast a little, can’t I? Anyway, it was a fun game to watch as the offenses duked it out. Probably my favorite part of the game was how quietly LeSean McCoy (he seriously has 4 capital letters in his name) racked up 120 yards and 2 TDs. He has to be the most underrated skill player on the Eagles. Everybody’s so concerned with Vick and Jackson, as they should be, so McCoy can use his skills to make big plays. Now, as an NFL Network commentator said earlier this week, imagine how awesome it’d be if the Eagles saw the Falcons in the Georgia Dome for the NFC Championship. That’d be nuts. Anyway, enough with the dreaming, I still think Green Bay will be right there til the end for the NFC.

Can’t wait for the other prime-time games this weekend! Ravens & Steelers on Sunday night and Patriots & Jets on Monday. Week 13 has to be, by far, the best regular season weekend this year. Let the best team (Ravens) win!

TNF: How To Stop Andre

Just run, Cortland. Run.

Tonight’s game should be a lot of fun, if you’re into high-scoring offensive TD-fests. I mean, who isn’t? Isn’t that why Michael Vick demands so much attention from television audiences across America? He’s a freak talent, possibly once in a lifetime, with the shiftiness and speed to be a great skills-player (i.e.: PR, WR, RB) and the laser left-handed arm of a matured QB. The last few times we saw Michael Vick in primetime, he did more than an outstanding job – and those games were v. the Redskins and Giants. Now, come tonight, Michael Vick will be playing against the 32nd-rated defense in the league. If this game becomes a shoot-out, which it very well can with Arian Foster and Andre Johnson on the other side, Vick could potentially amass over 500 yards from scrimmage, and I wouldn’t even be shocked. I’d be entertained, but not shocked.

Prediction and more after the jump… 

Matt Millen = Miami Dolphins

"I didn't sign up for this... Sigh..."

What a title for the TNF recap, huh? Here are my thoughts on last night’s game:

• NFL Network – You guys are kidding, right? How can you be okay with how your games have been commentated? It’s ridiculous! I mean, it’s gotten to the point that Twitter’s gone crazy talking about it and even Yahoo! Sports wrote a column on it (here). I’ve talked about it before and MJD does a pretty good job with it at Yahoo!, so I’ll move on… but seriously?! You guys are still screwing up which team is which?!

More points after the jump… 

Friday Morning Hangover

Ravens fall to the Falcons 26-21

I woke up today feeling sick. Not 100% sure it’s from watching last night’s game, riding the roller coaster called the Ravens defense, but I’m about 87% sure that’s it. As nauseated as I am, here are my thoughts on a great Thursday Night Football game: 

TNF: Man, I Can’t Help Myself!

Baltimore's Defense

The Baltimore Ravens, after 9 weeks of the 2010 NFL season, are the best team in the entire league. Think about it. The offense has developed far beyond anything any Ravens team has ever had, and it even continues to develop after Flacco was dismantled in week 2 by the Bengals (he has the highest QB-rating since week 3). But more importantly, the defense is healthy, gelling, and finally playing to its notorious potential. Statistics may say otherwise, but everything about this Ravens’ team indicates league superiority. The Ravens have beaten the NY Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, while barely losing a 10-point lead to the New England Patriots in Foxborough after their bye. And I don’t mean to make excuses for the Ravens’ losses, but if the Ravens were to see any team on a neutral field (i.e.: Super Bowl), I’d have full confidence they would pull out a victory…

Now, the most important part of that last sentence is the words “neutral field.” Tonight, the Ravens square off against the Falcons in Atlanta, where the Falcons are currently 4-0 in the season. I could list a bunch of other statistics regarding the Falcons’ home dominance, but I’m sure if you’ve heard anything about tonight’s game, you’ve already heard all of them. On a neutral field, I can easily say the Ravens would win 4 out of 5 games against the Falcons, but because the game is in Atlanta, I’m hesitant to confidently pick either team to win. Now, I think where the Ravens have the edge is their defensive unit. Regardless of how good Matt Ryan is in the Georgia Dome, Ed Reed is one of those players that will be one of the, if not the, most important factor(s) to consider.

I’m a proud Ravens fan, but I’m approaching this game as neutrally as possible… it’s a good thing Ravens win when things are neutral! I see Ray Lewis, Haloti Ngata, and Ed Reed making the difference in this game. Flacco & Ryan and Rice & Turner will cancel each other out. Ravens win 27-23.

*Update* Well, wasn’t that wishful thinking? Flacco and Ryan did cancel each other out, and Rice actually won the RB battle, but where the game slipped away was actually where I thought the Ravens had an advantage: DEF. Suggs stepped his game up, but Lewis and Reed both didn’t play their best games. We can point fingers at the Ravens CBs, who are finally starting to solidify themselves as liabilities, but as an entire defense, we weren’t good enough to stop the Falcons. Valiant effort by the Ravens, but not enough to stop a stellar performance by Matt Ryan and Roddy White. Falcons won 26-21.