CompughterRatings.com NFL Football Blog

Who Will be the Beast of the East?

2009-11-05T14:30:00.000-05:00

Well I think Brett Favre answered any critics and doubters (including me) after his four touchdown, no interception performance in Lambeau. Not only did he get his redemption, he has all but secured an NFC North title, given the Vikings a good chance for home field advantage and is one of the top MVP candidates. But the Packers fans still should be able to see that the organization made the right decision with Aaron Rodgers who had a great game and leads the NFL in passer rating. The only worry is whether he'll be able to stand on his own two feet after this season with all the hits he's taken.

But let's move on and talk about the NFC East

Just three weeks ago it looked as if we wouldn't have any question as to who would win this division. The 5-0 Giants didn't just look like the best team in the division...they appeared to be the class of the league. The Eagles were 3-1 at this point but hadn't beat anyone. The Cowboys were in crisis mode after losing in Denver and barely escaping Kansas City. But this is the NFL you know and NFL stands for Not For Long.

After three consecutive losses, it's the Giants who are now in crisis mode. In the three losses, the Giants have been outscored 112-61, with their secondary being absolutely torched. The once flawless Eli has thrown 6 INTs over this span and has many questioning whether the planter fasciitis in his foot is affecting his play. After an alarming loss to Oakland, the Eagles have rebounded with two good wins, including the 40-17 trouncing of the G-men last week. Donovan McNabb finally has the weaponry around him to dominate opposing defenses and DeSean Jackson is maybe the most dangerous player in the NFL. And now Tony Romo and the Cowboys are beginning to roll with their third consecutive win to tie Philly for the division lead as the two get ready to face each other Sunday night. The Giants...well they are in third place now and have a tough upcoming matchup with the Chargers. How quickly things have changed.

So things should be very interesting in the division that has been the most competitive in football over the past few years. Of course everyone wants to grill the Giants right now. In a "what have you done for me lately" league, three straight losses results in immense criticism and panic among the team's fans. But I'm not writing off the Giants just yet. Yes they have played poorly on both sides of the ball the past few weeks. They've given up too many big plays and don't seem to be getting as much pressure from their front four as they used to. But the injuries of Aaron Ross and Michael Boley have really handcuffed the Giants. The loss of Ross has especially hurt against three of the best passing teams in the league (New Orleans, Arizona, Philadelphia). But Boley should be back this week and Ross after next week's bye so the defense should be close to full strength.

As far as the offensive side is concerned, Eli always has these stretches of games where he's turnover-prone. I don't believe it's because of his foot injury. The Giants have fallen way behind early in two of the past three games (Philly, New Orleans), forcing the Giants to abandon the run. Not to mention the fact that in these two games, Eli had to deal with very smart, ball-hawking defenses as well as hostile crowds. I'm not trying to make excuses for Eli. He usually does well in these situations, But when things start going against him, they sometimes have a snowball effect and make him look really bad in certain games. I expect him to rebound at home against the Chargers and the Giants will still make the playoffs.

I really like the way the Eagles are playing right now and think they'll continue their success on offense. It's such a weapon when a team has the ability to score from anywhere on the field like the Eagles can. Jackson and rookie Jeremy Maclin are probably the most explosive duo of wideouts in the league. My only concern is that Andy Reid will be too pass happy (as he always is) and when he faces strong secondaries he'll stray away from the run too much. If this happens, those big plays could turn into turnovers. The Eagles need to prove that they can run the ball and not be so reliant on big plays to win games. Running the ball is the best way to protect leads anyway. But I like this Eagles team which has a great defense and special teams as well. They have a very good mix of experience and youth. I think it's between them and the Giants for the division title.

Then there's the Cowboys, who have flown under the radar the past couple weeks with impressive wins over the Falcons and Seahawks. All of a sudden the spotlight is back on them as they fight for the division lead with the Eagles this week. And there's even more media attention to America's team after Roy Williams makes some bone-headed comments about how the passes intended for him are always off target. He's just jealous of Miles Austin's success and realizes he isn't the #1 receiver anymore. But we know how Dallas usually does when they get the world's attention...they fold. I think it starts in Philly this week. Dallas is a team that is susceptible to the big play. I think down the stretch of this season, the team's lack of discipline and poor coaching will cost them a shot at winning the East. But I won't count them out of a wildcard spot. The NFC East has put three teams in the playoffs two of the past three years. The two other teams with the best chance at a wildcard spot are Atlanta and Green Bay. But Dallas has already beat Atlanta and has a matchup with Green Bay next week in Lambeau. If they win that one they'd have the tiebreaker over the two and a good shot at stealing a wildcard spot.

It should be a showdown between the Giants and Eagles in this division race. Both have played all their easy games early on and have extremely tough remaining schedules. I like the Giants to squeak it out for a few reasons. I think they will get revenge at home over Philly in Week 14 when their defense will be healthier. With Dallas coming to the Meadowlands and a road game against the pathetic Skins, the Giants should sweep the remainder of their divisional schedule. And I think the Giants' ability to run the ball (if they stick with it) will give them the edge over Philly.

So despite what you've seen in recent weeks, don't count the Giants out. You know what NFL stands for.

Thanks for reading my posts. For more, check out my personal blog at gurugridiron.blogspot.com.

The Return to Lambeau

2009-10-30T01:59:00.000-04:00

Imagine Cal Ripken Jr. returning to Camden Yards to play against the Orioles, or Peyton Manning facing the Colts or even Derek Jeter playing in Yankee Stadium against the Bronx Bombers. Sights like these just don't make sense to your eyes. Neither will the sight of Brett Favre sporting Viking purple in Lambeau on Sunday.

Very few athletes have meant more to their respective towns than what Brett Favre meant to Green Bay. In Green Bay, Favre came before God. He may have grown up about 1000 miles away from Green Bay but he was the perfect representative of that town with his blue-collar, ripped jeans, hard working image. His gunslinger mentality and his knack for doing whatever it took to get the W easily won over the Packer faithful. This town that eats, sleeps and breathes football had gone almost three decades without the trophy named after their former coach before their savior brought it back home. If Favre had retired after his premature emotional farewell, he may have been regarded more highly in Green Bay than Vince Lombardi himself. Shoot, the next stadium in Green Bay might've even been named after him. But of course, it wasn't to be.

There's so much intrigue and so much at stake in Favre's return to Lambeau on Sunday. How will Favre handle his emotions? How will the crowd react when he trots into the huddle? How fired up will his former teammates be to face him at home? Will Favre's current teammates rally around him as they did a few weeks ago in their matchup in Minnesota? How will Aaron Rodgers fare in round 2 of "did we make the right decision in letting Favre go?" There are so many questions to be answered and so many sides to look at. Let alone the fact that this game has huge implications to decide who will win the NFC North.

For Favre, this game is going to be a tough one to handle...much tougher than the Monday night matchup with the Packers a few weeks ago. It'll start with the pregame, which may be the most difficult time for him. As he rolls up to the stadium, years of memories will start flowing through his head as he looks at the place he used to call home. He'll feel uncomfortable in the one place he's never been in Lambeau...the visitor's locker room. Then nostalgia will hit as he runs through that tunnel onto the tundra (which shouldn't be frozen, temperatures projected at 48 degrees). Then he'll look up in the stands and feel a multitude of feelings. He'll see the fans...some with signs saying we miss you or why did you ever leave...making him feel sad and guilty. Others will have angry signs, maybe making him feel as if he had committed treason by leaving or give him extra motivation to win. More nostalgia and mixed emotions set in as he looks across the field at his former teammates and coaches. The ones he used to battle with now looking to hunt him down. As he takes the field on his first possession maybe he'll be thinking about all the touchdowns he threw here and how he owned this field. Maybe he'll throw a TD, forget he's a Viking now and try the Lambeau Leap (that could be disaster!). Or maybe he'll be haunted by his last pass here...an interception that cost him and some of the guys on the other side of the line of scrimmage a Super Bowl berth. As the game goes on, Favre will probably worry less and less about the history and more about the task at hand. But it's not going to be easy for him at any point.

For Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, there may be even more to prove. For three seasons Rodgers, a first round draft pick had to watch from the sideline and learn from Favre. He was extremely patient, despite knowing he wouldn't start over Favre and that Favre never got hurt so he wouldn't fill in during an injury either. Two years ago he got his break when the Packers decided to make Rodgers the future of this franchise and give up on the legend. So far, Rodgers has put up all the right numbers and all the wrong letters....Ls instead of Ws. Uneasiness has settled in among the fans. It's pretty apparent that the Vikings have the better supporting cast right now. But win or lose, the blame usually falls on a quarterback and Rodgers knows he needs to prove to the town of Green Bay that the management made the right decision in going with him. And it's wins, not yards that will do that.When the game is on the line does Rodgers have that magic to get it done?...the same magic that made Favre immortal in Green Bay.

The supporting cast knows it has to help out Rodgers as well. The offensive line wants to redeem themselves after their embarrassment in the Metrodome. The defense wants to put pressure on Favre and force him into mistakes instead of being picked apart like it was last time. Against a team as talented as Minnesota, it's going to take a drastic improvement in all areas for the Packers to give Rodgers a chance.

But looking past all the drama and hoopla there is a game to be played....a game between a 6-1 team and a 4-2 team. A win for the Vikings would put them 2.5 games up on the Packers, which would basically be a three game lead because the head-to-head sweep would give Minnesota the tiebreaker. The way the Vikings are playing, that kind of lead would be almost insurmountable. If the Packers win, it's pretty much a brand new ball game in the NFC North division race, with the Pack just a half game back and a head-to-head split with Minnesota. So this game is ENORMOUS for both teams.

The anticipation for this game is unprecedented for a regular season game. Rodgers and Favre have been waiting for it since Favre signed with Minnesota in August. I know it will be a hard fought game with a raucous crowd and plenty of emotion...but I don't know who will come out on top. Ultimately I think the winner will be determined by Brett Favre. Can he live in the moment or will the past be too much to handle? We'll soon find out.

I want to thank you all for checking out my articles. If you like what you've read go to gurugridiron.blogspot.com for more NFL blogging.

The Underachievers

2009-10-21T02:47:00.000-04:00

In the NFL you often come across teams that have all the talent in the world but can't seem to perform at the right moments to win a championship. There are plenty of classic examples: The Buffalo Bills of the early 90s, the Minnesota Vikings of the 1970s (and the 1998 Vikings), the Denver Broncos of the late 80s are just a few. But over the past couple years the team that stands out in my mind as the king of underachieving is the San Diego Chargers.

The Chargers have all the pieces of the puzzle that you see among championship teams. They have what once looked like the greatest running back of all-time. LT's combination of vision, cutback ability and breakaway speed for a six year period were maybe the best we've ever seen in this league. He was so good that this offense didn't even need a passing game until last year. But they still have had one. Philip Rivers led the league in passer rating last season and has become one of the many star QBs in this league. Antonio Gates has been the best tight end in the league for the past four or five years. Their receiving corps is underrated but still one of the best in the league as well as one of the biggest: Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd are each 6'5''. Chris Chambers is only 5'11'' but still a solid 210 lbs. And they have maybe the fastest guy in the league in Darren Sproles who adds another aspect to the passing game. I don't know what offenses are more talented than this one.

On the defensive side of the ball the Chargers once had one of the most feared front seven's in football, led by the most ferocious, frighening, freak of an athlete in the league named Shawne Merriman (steroids didn't hurt). Merriman led the league in sacks in 2006 and is (maybe was) one of the few defensive players who could dominate a game all by himself. The rest of the defense was pretty darn good as well. Linebacker Shaun Phillips is a force to be reckoned with and Jamal Williams is a three-time pro-bowler who is one of the best nose tackles in the NFL. Luis Castillo has been a very good defensive end as well. In 2006 Castillo, Phillips and Merriman combined for 35.5 sacks! The secondary has been vulnerable to some big plays but the front seven usually prevented that from happening. And cornerbacks Antonio Cromartie and Quentin Jammer have made some big plays of their own.

So why hasn't this team even made it to a Super Bowl? Someone please explain it to me, I just don't get it. Their 2006 team was one of the best teams I've ever seen. A 14-2 regular season was somehow ruined by a loss in the divisional playoffs to the Patriots. The Bolts brought basically everyone back and figured out a way to drop to 11-5. They did win two playoff games to get to the AFC Championship game before losing to the Pats again. Everyone acted surprised that the Chargers made it that far. But in reality this team should've made it that far and could've beaten the undefeated Pats. Last year the Chargers were the epitome of underachievers, and had no reason to even be in the playoffs. They looked abysmal in their first 12 games, going 4-8. Only by a gift from Denver did they make it into the postseason at 8-8. Once again they pulled off what was called a surprising win over the Colts in the playoffs. But they were every bit as talented as the Colts as well as the Steelers, who they lost to in the next round. People watch them under-perform in the regular season and forget the immense talent the Chargers have on both sides of the ball.

What made the last two playoff losses even more perplexing was the fact that LT sat out most of the time to injury when it seemed like he was fine. In the 2007 loss to the Pats, LT watched from the sideline as Rivers bravely led his team with what turned out to be a torn ACL. As the Chargers fell short it was obvious that they needed their big play RB in the game. In the big games this team just found ways to lose.

This season San Diego is 2-3 (currently ranked 17th in the CompughterRatings.com poll) and shockingly finds themselves 3.5 games back of the Broncos after their loss to Denver on Monday night. It really looks like its the beginning of the end for this team. Typically, teams have a 4-5 year window to put together a championship. This is year number six for San Diego. We've seen LT's numbers steadily drop over the past four seasons. Injuries and age have really caught up to him. Now it's to the point where he is barely even a formidable back in this league. Darren Sproles is an electric player but is way too small to be a feature back. The passing game is better than ever but it's not enough. When they get into short yardage and goalline situations they have no one to go to anymore and often find themselves coming up short.

The defense has gone from one of the best in the league to one of the worst. Merriman doesn't look the same since recovering from his season-ending injury. He has no sacks and only 13 tackles in six games. Jamal Williams is out for the rest of the season, leaving a large hole at nose tackle, the most important position in a 3-4 defense. The loss of Williams has killed the Chargers' run defense...they rank 27th in the league against the run. Phillips and Castillo aren't getting to the quarterback anymore either, partly because they don't have Williams or an effective Merriman to eat up blockers. San Diego has a grand total of seven sacks on the season and the lack of pressure has made their problems in the secondary much more glaring.

Monday night's loss made it clear to me that San Diego's chance for a title with this group of guys is over. An early drive stalled at the goalline because their rushing attack is too weak to punch it in. Their defense was picked apart by Kyle Orton. Their special teams looked pathetic, giving up two return TDs to Eddie Royal. And they were pathetic on 3rd down going just 2-11. It's clear that there's a shift of power in the AFC West.

I'm not saying that the Chargers won't make the playoffs this year and I'm not saying that they can't eventually win a Super Bowl with Rivers. But it's clear that they aren't championship-caliber anymore. There are too many strong teams in the AFC and so far San Diego has proven that they can't beat any of them...losing to the Ravens, Steelers and Broncos (two of those were at home). There's nothing wrong with losing to these teams. But if you expect to win a championship, you have to beat the elite teams in the league. Even their two wins were unimpressive: a squeaker over Oakland and a boring 10-point home win over Miami. Nothing about this team resembles the 14-win team in 2006, and that team found a way to blow it. How is this uninspired group of guys going to do better?

Bang!

What was that noise?

That's the sound of the window for a championship slamming in San Diego's face.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2009-10-15T14:39:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone, I'm Jeremy Moreland, the new NFL blogger for CompughterRatings.com. I'll be bringing you insight, analysis, and my unique opinion of anything that's going on in the NFL. We look forward to having you check us out every week. Let's get things started!

When have you ever seen a group of top-tier teams that have been so dominant? When have you ever seen a group of bottom-rung teams so awful that they belong in NFL Europe? That's what we have so far in the 2009 NFL season. Right now, there are still five undefeated teams in the league, the Colts, Giants, Vikings, Saints and Broncos. And besides the Broncos, all of these teams have crushed their opposition on a fairly regular basis (and the Broncos are considered the #1 team on CompughterRatings.com). These five teams have combined to outscore their opponents by an average of 14.4 points per game! What's crazier is that there's another handful of teams not on this list that are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Many of these teams are perennial playoff teams that are struggling early like the Steelers, Ravens, Patriots and Chargers. Then there's teams like the Eagles and Falcons that seem to be flying under the radar. I think that all 11 of these teams are good enough to make it to the Super Bowl.

Usually when there are that many teams in contention for a championship run, you think there's serious mediocrity in the league. But in this case, I think all 11 of these teams are really, really good. How is this possible? Well take a glance at the cellar of the NFL. There are still four winless teams in the league, the Chiefs, Rams, Buccaneers, and Titans. And there are another five teams that have somehow found a way to win a game but are still putrid: the Browns, Bills, Lions, Redskins and Raiders. These nine teams have combined for a 6-39 record! And all six of those wins came against one of the other teams in the group. Every year we have a game or two that will be labeled as the "toilet bowl". This year we have already had 6! And there's plenty more on the way, including a Chiefs-Skins matchup this week. Yuck!

So let's start out with what makes the premiere teams of the NFL better than ever this season. Here are my top three reasons why.

1. Great Quarterbacks
This season we have seen the best crop of quarterbacks, both young and old, than there's ever been in the NFL. Right now there are five future hall of fame QBs in the league: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Kurt Warner and Donovan McNabb. By future hall of famers, I mean that if their career ended today they would still make it to Canton. Four of these five play on my list of Super Bowl contenders and the only one who doesn't, Kurt Warner, just played in the big game last year. There are another three QBs well on their way to hall of fame careers: Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Drew Brees. Manning and Roethlisberger already have Super Bowl rings to boost their resumes. And then there's a great class of young QBs including Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan, Philip Rivers, Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers. Three of these five play on teams in my Super Bowl contender list and Cutler and Rodgers are good enough to be champions but just need a better team around them. And the one I didn't include, Kyle Orton is probably a top five candidate for MVP honors this season.

Every one of these 11 teams has the capability with their talent at QB to win a game in the air. And most of these teams with the exception of the Broncos, Ravens and Vikings are pass-first teams. And the Ravens could be considered pass-first too with the way Flacco has thrown the ball this season. These 11 teams rank in the top 17 in passing yards per game. This is with the AP-reliant Vikings coming in at 17th. Nowadays it's more important to have a great passing game than a running game. There are many teams like the Chargers, Steelers, Colts and Patriots who have almost non-existent running games but are still successful. Teams can stack up against the run and stop it if they have a defensive game plan geared toward that. But it's much more difficult to do that with a great passing team that can beat you over the top or underneath.

Another thing to look at is that a lot of these teams don't even have premiere wide receivers. The Giants have been successful with unheralded receivers like Steve Smith and Mario Manningham. The Colts have Reggie Wayne but a bunch of no-names after that and the Ravens receivers are nothing to brag about. Give credit to the QBs for being more accurate and smarter than ever. Finally, any of these premiere teams can ask their QB to put the team on their shoulders and take the team down the field when the game is on the line. This is what seperates a championship-calibur team from a good team.

2. Offensive Lines
The most underrated aspect of football but probably the most important is how well your offensive line plays. Great lines not only create holes for running backs and give your quarterback time, they keep your QB healthy, which is most important. How do you think Favre and Manning have been able to have such remarkable consecutive start streaks? They aren't touched by the league's defensive linemen and linebackers who are stronger and faster than ever. Manning has only been sacked twice all season! Jared Allen had over twice that many sacks on Aaron Rodgers a couple weeks ago. Almost all of these 11 teams have superior offensive lines. They've only allowed a total of 71 sacks, which is only 1.4 per game. The Steelers and Chargers are exceptions. They are lucky that Roethlisberger and Rivers are big and strong enough to take all the hits. Take these two teams out of the equation and the other nine teams have only allowed 1.14 sacks/game. That's pretty impressive.

So let's put these two pieces together. There are excellent QBs in the league that can burn defenses left and right. And these guys are getting all day to throw the ball. Hmmm...I wonder why these elite teams are killing the opposition.

3. Red Zone Offense/Defense
There are teams in this league that have great offenses, put up a ton of yards but don't end up scoring a lot of points. It's the teams that take advantage of their opportunities that are successful in this league. The Giants, Colts, and Saints don't settle for field goals very often. They always find ways to punch it in. A team's performance in the red zone is probably the deciding factor in about half of the NFL's games. Last week a poor performance in the redzone cost the Houston Texans their game against the Cardinals when they failed to punch it in at the goalline when they had three shots at it. The Colts game against the Titans last week could've been closer if the Titans didn't have to settle for three field goals.

Stopping your opponent inside the red zone is just as important. This is what has made the Ravens' defense so great over the years. They will give up some yards now and then but they don't give up the big TD very often. Of course last week this wasn't exactly the case. The Saints have become pretty good with their red zone defense as well, something that is especially important for them because they don't quite have the talent to entirely shut down their opponents. For the most part, these 11 teams have got the job done inside the 20. It will be the teams who are the most effective with their red zone offense and defense who win when these premiere teams start clashing in the playoffs.

Now let's look at the cellar-dwellers in these three categories and analyze just how pitiful they are.

The starting quarterbacks: Jason Campbell, Josh Johnson, Trent Edwards, Matt Stafford, Kyle "I should've been a" Boller, Matt Cassel, Kerry Collins, Derek Anderson/Brady Quinn/any bum on the streets of Cleveland, and finally Jamarcus "I have a cannon and don't know how to aim it" Russell.

Not exactly the murderer's row of QBs is it? I will say that Campbell, Cassel and Collins aren't that bad and could be good starting QBs if they had a better supporting cast. We saw what Cassel did last season with the Pats. But all in all these guys are pathetic and can't compete with the elite list of guys I named earlier. None of these guys have much experience starting in this league besides Collins, who is the only one in this bunch to start a playoff game. The sad thing is that many of these guys have strong arms. We all know that Russell has a howlitzer and can launch it 80 yards. But he misses his receivers by so much that referees should be calling intentional grounding on him when he isn't throwing it away. I've heard that Kyle Boller threw the ball through the uprights from midfield on his knees before. From watching him throw I find it more surprising that he got the ball between the goal posts than the fact that he threw it that far. Brady Quinn was a beast in college and everyone thought that the Browns got a steal when picking him 22nd overall. I don't think the other 21 teams are regretting not picking him at this point.

Now lets add insult to injury. Most of these QBs as bad as they are have offensive lines just as bad. That makes for flat out ugly offense. Every time Jason Campbell goes back to pass he's like a child watching a tsunami come at him with nowhere to run. Losing Chris Samuels was the worst thing that could happen to him. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers aren't on the list of poor teams but their awful offensive line is worth mentioning here. They've allowed 20 sacks in 4 games! During the bye week Rodgers has been having nightmares of Antwan Odom and the crazed mullet-head Jared Allen attacking him relentlessly. The two combined for 9.5 sacks on poor Rodgers. After the Packers, it's the Bills, Lions and Chiefs taking the most sacks. Without protection, it doesn't really matter what kind of weapons your offense has. These teams are finding this out the hard way.

Finally, let's take a look at the redzone offense/defense of these nine teams. Most notably, is the Redskins poor performance inside the 20s, much of which is blamed on some horrendous play-calling form Jim Zorn. They failed inside the 10 a couple times against the Rams, and weren't even able to score a TD in their ugly 9-7 win. They were also stuffed at the goalline early on in their loss to the Lions. Washington has been called the "Redzones" by local talk show hosts for a reason. The Bills and Browns couldn't even get the ball in the endzone in their "toilet bowl" matchup last week. I guess if you want to look at the positive side of things, their redzone defense played well. Teams like the Rams and the Bucs are happy to get in the red zone let alone score. The Rams have been shut out twice this year so any score is a bonus. Defensively, the Titans can't stop anyone from scoring, letting the Jaguars put up 37 on them. The Bucs red zone defense is bad, but most of the time they let teams score before they get to the 20 anyway. It only took one snap for McNabb to torch them for a long bomb TD pass. The Cowboys torched them for three TDs over 60 yards. So they have more to work on then just their red zone defense.

So now you see what has and will continue to make these elite teams dominate the terrible ones. I really think we might have a winless team for the second consecutive year. I just can't see the Rams winning a game this year...so maybe the Lions won't have to live with the embarrassment for too long. As far as who wins it all this year...it might be the most exciting fight to win the Super Bowl that we've ever seen.

NFL Blog on CompughterRatings.com

2009-10-12T13:34:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the brand new NFL blog hosted by CompughterRatings.com. Blog posts for NFL will be covered by Jeremy Moreland.