Tom Brady is Back! Are the 2007 Patriots?

The fact that Tom Brady’s leg injury from last year no doubt opened the door for many teams in the AFC to be considered at a competitive balance should be no secret to anyone. Now that Brady is back, he has lost mobility, but that doesn’t mean that this year’s Patriots can’t be very close to explosive as they were in their undefeated regular season from two years past.

Even if the Patriots’ offense isn’t going to be as explosive as it was when it was the most explosive offense in NFL history, well then how bad can the drop off really be? Still one of the top offenses ever? Close to one of the top offenses ever? Or at least one of the top two offenses this season. Either way, those odds are good for the Pats.

Don’t be surprised if the Patriots run away with the AFC East where the Jets are still growing and have no proven quarterback, the Dolphins rely on trickery and near-perfect play from Chad Pennington at quarterback, and Buffalo where, Trent Edwards proved last year that he still has something to well… prove!

Bye Bye Bye!

So long Laveranues! I wish you well. I hope you do well in Miami. That is where you are headed right? I mean surely your man crush on Chad Pennington has yet to simmer. Has it? You should be there just long enough to help usher in Chad Henne as the starter. By then you should just about be squirming to get out of what ever silly contract Miami is sure to offer you. I am sure you will get fair market value. A contract to rival that of all those other number one wide outs you so closely resemble on the field. Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Calvin and Andre Johnson. No question you deserve it after all you have done to help push the Jets forward. Without question your character and attitude alone are enough to overcome the current economic climate. No one will even have to look at your resume either, I mean, it speaks for itself by now.

Good luck and good riddance!

Tennessee Titans vs. Baltimore Ravens Playoff Primer

In this week, the Divisional Playoff Round of the NFL, hearts are truly broken. In my mind, there is nothing more embarrassing than being a bye team and losing your first game. It is almost as if all the good your team did was all-for-not, and similarly, for the road team, it means you were only good enough to win in the Wild Card round. The first game of Divisional Round weekend will feature the Baltimore Ravens attempting to go down to Tennessee to pull off a huge road victory.

 

Advantage Ravens

 

Once again, the Ravens Defense will be the phase of their game to rely on; 3^rd in the league in points allowed (15.2), 2^nd in yards (261.1ypg), 2^nd in passing (179.7ypg), and 3^rd against the run (81.4ypg). The stinginess of their defense showed up profusely in their Saturday victory in Miami against the Dolphins as they forced Chad Pennington into throwing four interceptions, when he had only seven up until that point. On top of that, they also forced a fumble which they recovered.

 

What is even more is they rank higher in almost every major category defensively than the Titans; 7^th in yards (293.6ypg), 9^th in passing (199.8ypg), and 6^th against the run (93.9ypg). The Titans beat them in points per game at 14.6, but that is only for a difference of 0.6 points.

 

Aside from the Ravens defense, the performance of Joe Flacco in his first ever playoff game should pay huge dividends for Baltimore as he now goes into his second. In that game, his numbers were far from solid; 9-23 with 135 yards. That was only good for a slunky 39% completion. But if there are any underlying factors in his performance, it was obviously the fact he committed no turnovers, and amazingly, averaged 15.0 yards per completion. What this suggests was that when he actually did find the right target, it was a big play.

 

He already had the one playoff game where he saw his defense carry him. Now he knows if he can just step it up a bit, and with his defense playing like it can, that his team is in prime position for success.

 

Advantage Titans

 

The difference between the Miami pass defense (25^th at 227.8ypg) and the Tennessee pass defense (9^th at 199.8ypg) is 16 spots in the rankings. If Joe Flacco cannot increase his completion percentage, and is forced to throw the ball more against the Titans solid rushing defense, then the Ravens could be in for a long day. Maybe even the type that sees Flacco performing somewhat like Pennington did.

 

After that, Kerry Collins threw seven interceptions on the season, ass opposed to Flacco’s 12. But sadly, that seems to be the only advantage that the Titans could have over the Ravens. And too bad for them Joe Flacco hasn’t been prone to throwing games away this season. Oh… and we also saw what happened to the last quarterback the Ravens faced who only three seven regular season INTs.

 

Conclusion

 

We already know that the Ravens have better defense. But what is even more is the fact that their offense isn’t too far off either. In total yards per game the Ravens are 18^th at 324, and the Titans 21^st at 313.6. Although the Titans are 27^th passing (172.6), versus the Ravens 28^th ranking (175.5), it is for a difference of 0.7 yards making them virtually equal in that aspect. The real kicker comes in the Ravens 4^th ranked rush offense at 148.5 yards per game against the Titan’s 7^th place ranking at 137.4 yards per game. The Ravens, as a matter of fact, even score more points per game with 24.1, against the Titans, 23.4. However, that points per game number is also for a mere difference of 0.7.

 

The real deciding factor offensively is going to be the Ravens stronger running game, and better play-making defensively. I also predict another deciding factor to be the performance of young Joe Flacco against that of old Kerry Collins. Their stat lines, although similar, are leaving one thing out. Where as last week I mentioned the experience of Kurt Warner would take over that of Matt Ryan’s, this week it will be the youth of Flacco over Collins. Warner is still a dynamic quarterback. Whereas Flacco and Collins roles in their team’s offenses is to manage the game and not turn the ball over, for Flacco it is more to help ease his transition as a rookie quarterback, and for Collins it is because he is on the downside of his career.

 

But aside from all this, the most telling stat is the following. The combined records of the Tennessee Titans regular season opponents was 92-115, and the Ravens was 123-94. This just tells me that the Ravens have been having their mettle tested a lot more often than the surprising Titans up to this point.

 

Ravens move to within one victory of the Super Bowl.

Are the Buffalo Bills Really that Good?

The Buffalo Bills have been a topic of discussion all season long. Their early success has created much buzz about them being shoe-ins for the AFC East title. I don’t see why that is though. Sure, they were 4-0, and they went down in Arizona while JP Losman played most of the game. However, JP Losman didn’t give up 41 points. At the end of week 7, the look of the AFC East will be a lot different and it can all culminate fairly easy.

In week 7, the Jets are playing in Oakland who looked like they had no spirit when they played the Saints this past weekend losing 34-3. If the Jets win, they are 4-2 and that would be no surprise if they did.

New England plays host to Denver on Monday Night Football. This game should not be easy for New England to win. They’ll have to grind it out big time. However, they’re at home in front of a national audience and if they do pull it off, they’re 4-2 as well.

Finally, those loveable Bills play host to the San Diego Chargers. Albeit the Chargers are only 3-3, they are still a good 3-3. If the Bills lose, they’ll be 4-2. Now picture this possible version of the AFC East standings at the end of Week 7;

AFC East

BUF 4-2

N.E. 4-2

NYJ 4-2

MIA 3-3

Doesn’t look too clear cut anymore now, does it? I didn’t think so.

 

Laveranues Coles…CATCH THE DAMN BALL!

By The Boinger

Dear Laveranues, Brett Favre is a better quarterback than Chad Pennington. It took Randy

Moss one quarter to prove he was still Randy Moss last year when opening the season against the Jets. The Patriots went from “contenders” to outright “favorites” after that game because Randy Moss went out and caught the damn ball. He did not cry and whine or beg or plead or offer any built in excuses about playing with a new QB or being in a new system. In fact neither did Wes Welker. They had no problem going out every down, running their routes, catching the ball or even making blocks down field. Now why should it be any different for you? You went out and made a big deal about your contract for a second time now with the Jets and you have not produced. You have not proved that you are the go to guy for any one of your QB’s. Tony Romo went out and won the job because he could find T.O. no problem any time any place. Everything else fell into place for him after establishing that. You do not offer that to your QB. Not Brett, Kellen,Chad,Patrick Ramsey, Mark Brunell or Vinny. If they cannot count on you to be there on every down why do you deserve number 1 money? What do you offer any team as a number 1? At best even with a HOF as your QB you were still at best a BYE week replacement fantasy WR. So far through two game you have not done anything to prove otherwise. Chansi Stuckey is outplaying you. Is he better than you? No! No? Well he sure is playing like it and he is playing with more desire than you and it shows. Not

to mention he’s got no problem catching passes from a guy who never threw a pass his way before a few weeks ago. If you cannot get excited about playing every week with Brett Favre then what are you doing here? We anxiously await your answer or your departure, which ever comes cheaper!