1. Cam Newton has such poise in the pocket. For a quarterback who was known as a dual threat QB in college at Auburn, Newton has already demonstrated he can play in the NFL as a pass-first QB. I have to admit I was not a believer when he was drafted first overall in April, but after 4 weeks he has changed my opinion. The game seems to come slower to him than most quarterbacks in the league, and he is only a rookie….Scary.
2. The Bengals had a lot of holes to fill when the draft came this year in April and they decided to add an offensive weapon in A.J.Green. Green is an explosive talent with the speed and agility to find space in the secondary. He showed that explosiveness against the Bills this past week as the Bengals threw screens and end-arounds to get him more involved in the offense. If Andy Dalton turns out to be the franchise quarterback in Cincinnati, him and Green could be a fun duo to watch for the next decade.
3. “We want the ball and we’re going to score!”- Matt Hasselback. This is a phrase that will forever be remembered in playoff history. Hasselback got the ball (twice) against the Packers and ended the game by throwing a pick 6. Hasselback, a three time pro-bowler, received absolutely no media coverage before the season started as the new QB in Tennessee and the Titans were forgotten. Matt Hasselback connected 4 times for over 50 yards against the Browns and has rejuvenated the Titans offense. The next two games, @ Pittsburgh, and @Houston will be the true tests as to how far the Titans will go this season.
4. With about 10 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the Cowboys had the ball and a 27-3 lead. And then…disaster. What an absolute collapse by the Dallas Cowboys. They were dominating this game, offensively, defensively, and were winning the field position battle. Tony Romo handed this game to the Detroit Lions. Now, the Lions took full advantage of the myriad opportunities handed to them; returning two of the interceptions for touchdowns and scoring on almost every drive in the 2nd half. I noticed two key plays in this game. The first play came at the beginning of the fourth quarter on a 1st and 10 from the Cowboys 23 yard line. Stafford scrambles to the left and throws into triple coverage to Calvin Johnson. You could barely see Johnson in the crowd of Cowboys, but he comes down with the ball. Amazing. The second play is with about 4 minutes left, Cowboys ball on their own 30 and 4 minutes left. What was Romo thinking? Throwing off his back foot 25 yards downfield into double coverage to Witten. Take a sack, throw the ball away…Do something other than throw the ball there.
5. Two years. Two years is all it takes for Mike Shanahan’s zone-blocking scheme to start working. It really did not even matter who was running the ball this game. The team averaged 7 yards a carry…What was even more impressive in this game though was the play of the Redskins defense, particularly rookie linebacker Ryan Kerrigan. This guy is a tackling machine and made several key tackles in open space against the Rams. They held the Rams to just………
6. Ben Roethlisberger is the toughest player in the NFL. You can argue with me all you want, but when someone gets back up again and again from the beatings he takes every single week, there is no doubt. Toughest player in the NFL. On that note, is there an answer for the Steelers offensive line?
7. Maybe Minnesota really is this bad. They seemed to live on the Chiefs side of the field, but could never capitalize on their field position. With so many weapons on offense like Peterson, Harvin, even a pass-catching tight end like Kyle Rudolph, you have to start to question the play-calling.
8. Upset of the week: San Francisco. Goat of the week: Alex Henery. Alex Henery kicks those two field goals and the Eagles win this game. This is a huge loss for the Eagles in the competitive NFC East. They had multiple opportunities to put this game away but never did anything with them. The Eagles 28% scoring percentage in the redzone is really sad. Ronnie Brown literally threw a pass falling to the ground, Vick throws an interception, Henery misses two fields goals. It’s still a long season, but the “Dream Team” needs to figure out how to put away games.
9. The Falcons were lucky to come away with this win in Seattle. After dominating the first half, Atlanta seemed to, once again, lose its identity. Not only did they lose their identity, but they also lost all ability in the ground attack. Michael Turner was running into a brick wall after halftime.
10. Denver was no match for Green Bay. Whenever the Broncos appeared to draw a little bit closer, the Packers made a big play. One player to point out for the Broncos though was rookie Von Miller. He is going to grow into a force onto defense and illustrated the start of something special with two sacks on Aaron Rodgers.
11. The Giants finally decided to show up in this game with about 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter. They got an extremely lucky call when Arizona could not challenge the ruling that Cruz was never touched. That may be the rule right now, but it needs to be changed. Despite the call, the Giants made plays when they had to and came away with a key win to make them 3-1.
12. The turning point in the Raiders-Patriots game came late in the 2nd quarter when Campbell threw the interception in the endzone. The Patriots followed going on a 17-3 scoring run. If Campbell doesn’t turn the ball over there, the Raiders at least stand a chance in this game.
13. One thing I have always loved about Philip Rivers is his ability to throw the deep ball. Not only his ability to throw the deep ball, but his willingness to throw it deep. Rivers did not turn the ball over this Sunday either, which he has done twice in each of the last 3 games.
14. I know the Jaguars were playing the Saints and had to air the ball out at times, but their play-calling was skeptical. It’s inexcusable to get Maurice Jones-Drew only 11 carries. They were still in the game and did not have to panic and pass the ball as much.
15. I have had the opportunity to watch Mark Sanchez quarterback for the Jets for the past three seasons. Someone please save me. "He" may have won playoff games and "he" may have brought the Jets to AFC Championships, but it was definitely not him. The team is all defense. If they turn the ball over or make special teams mistakes, they will not win games. The "Sanchize" will not win a Superbowl in this league as a starting quarterback.
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