Santonio Holmes #10 of the Pittsburgh Steelers makes a 35 yard pass reception to the Broncos three yard line as Champ Bailey #24 of the Denver Broncos defends in the third quarter during NFL action at Invesco Field at Mile High on November 9, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. The Steelers defeated the Broncos 28-10. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images / November 9, 2009)
Another weekend complete in the NFL, another blog of assorted musings from around the league.
Right now the Saints are reminding me of "Neo" from the Matrix. They're dodging bullets. That won't last, and that's not a good thing for their opponents. We've all seen this before: a team makes an unbeaten run to start the season, then as the pressure builds, their performance falters. Once they get that first loss, everyone relaxes, and it's back to business: which for the Saints means 40+ point games, instead of 30. Oy.
The last of the AFC unbeatens gets knocked off this weekend. The Colts will lose to the Patriots.
Kurt Warner is weird. Not OFF the field, ON it. One week after chucking up 6 picks, he throws 5 touchdowns to demolish the Chicago CutlersÂ…wouldn't want him on my fantasy team.
The greatest irony of the weekend: the Buccaneers getting their first win of the season in throwback uniforms that recall some of the most hapless teams in league history. The Bucs were the original "oh-fers" until the Lions came along last season. Former Bucs Head Coach John McKay--who presided over the darkest days of the franchise-- was a quote machine. Once he was asked about his team's execution, and he responded "I think it's a good idea." Awesome.
Now to the BroncosÂ….
Nothing changed from last week. Another loss, more inability to run the ball, being dominated in the second half, and like last week: I'm still not worried. Yes, the aforementioned are troubling trends. The Broncos need to have the ability to keep defenses off-balance by running the football (just look what the Steelers did). But let's have some perspective here--the Broncos were playing two of the nastiest teams in the league. Granted, the Broncos were dominated in the second half, but still, their problems are correctable.
Looking at their entire body of work over the first half of the season (we're already halfway through?!?!?!), the Broncos are 3-0 against division leaders, and 3-1 against teams with a winning record. Not bad.
Next Sunday, they'll roll into DC and get the ship straightened against a sinking vessel in the Redskins. A full analysis of that, coming up on Wednesday.
Right now the Saints are reminding me of "Neo" from the Matrix. They're dodging bullets. That won't last, and that's not a good thing for their opponents. We've all seen this before: a team makes an unbeaten run to start the season, then as the pressure builds, their performance falters. Once they get that first loss, everyone relaxes, and it's back to business: which for the Saints means 40+ point games, instead of 30. Oy.
The last of the AFC unbeatens gets knocked off this weekend. The Colts will lose to the Patriots.
Kurt Warner is weird. Not OFF the field, ON it. One week after chucking up 6 picks, he throws 5 touchdowns to demolish the Chicago CutlersÂ…wouldn't want him on my fantasy team.
The greatest irony of the weekend: the Buccaneers getting their first win of the season in throwback uniforms that recall some of the most hapless teams in league history. The Bucs were the original "oh-fers" until the Lions came along last season. Former Bucs Head Coach John McKay--who presided over the darkest days of the franchise-- was a quote machine. Once he was asked about his team's execution, and he responded "I think it's a good idea." Awesome.
Now to the BroncosÂ….
Nothing changed from last week. Another loss, more inability to run the ball, being dominated in the second half, and like last week: I'm still not worried. Yes, the aforementioned are troubling trends. The Broncos need to have the ability to keep defenses off-balance by running the football (just look what the Steelers did). But let's have some perspective here--the Broncos were playing two of the nastiest teams in the league. Granted, the Broncos were dominated in the second half, but still, their problems are correctable.
Looking at their entire body of work over the first half of the season (we're already halfway through?!?!?!), the Broncos are 3-0 against division leaders, and 3-1 against teams with a winning record. Not bad.
Next Sunday, they'll roll into DC and get the ship straightened against a sinking vessel in the Redskins. A full analysis of that, coming up on Wednesday.
