Archive for the ‘Carolina’ Category

Steve Smith sends a message to Jarrett

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith had a little message for first round pick Dwayne Jarrett yesterday:

As Jarrett was talking, receiver Steve Smith, who hasn’t been talking to the media recently, walked out to his own locker and talked to Jarrett.

“Instead of talking to the media, why don’t you go watch some film?’’ Smith said.

Jarrett gave a slight smile and kept talking to the media.

Smith, followed up in a very strong tone.

“Seriously,’’ Smith said.

DeAngelo Williams and Carolina’s new blocking scheme

Wednesday, June 27th, 2007

Len Pasquarelli highlights a list of second year players he thinks have a good chance of breaking out.

Leading the way is Carolina running back, DeAngelo Williams.

But the notes also uncover an interesting fact about the Carolina offense. New offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson has made the team switch to a zone blocking running scheme.

“Most of the [tentativeness] is gone now,” said Williams, the 27th overall pick. “I mean, there’s a new [blocking] scheme to get accustomed to, but it’s a lot like what we did at Memphis, so I actually feel more comfortable. It’s like second nature for me. And just having been around the game for a year now, knowing the ropes, that helps any [second-year] player a lot.”

Pasquarelli later describes how while DeShaun Foster is the starter right now, Williams will likely get his chance to play.

Foster remains the unquestioned No. 1 tailback and is coming off a campaign in which he started a career-high 14 contests. But the former UCLA standout has a résumé filled with past injuries. He started just 10 games in his first four seasons and seems to be more productive when sharing the workload. Two other elements work in Williams’ favor: He shed five pounds and feels quicker at 212 pounds now, plus the zone-blocking scheme installed by new offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson dovetails very nicely with his one-cut running style.

NFL | 2006 | Week 13 - Carolina Panthers / Philadelphia Ealges

Tuesday, December 5th, 2006

24-27 at PHI

Interesting note here that the game winning interception by Lito Sheppard came as a result of the Eagles knowing the hand signal Delhomme gave Keyshawn at the line of scrimmage.

“We saw it on film,” cornerback Lito Sheppard said. “We watch film and we share the things we see, and that was one of those things. When he patted his butt, I knew to stay to the outside for the fade.”

2006 | Week 2 - Carolina Panthers

Thursday, September 21st, 2006

13-16 at MIN

Targets stats only this week.

CATCHES / TARGETS:
Carter - 4/9
Johnson - 5/8
Williams - 5/7
Foster - 2/4
Hoover - 1/2
Mangum - 0/1
Colbert - 0/1

2006 | Week 1 - Carolina Panthers

Wednesday, September 13th, 2006

6-20 vs ATL

It almost seemed like the speed of the Atlanta defense gave Carolina’s offense trouble in this game. This didn’t look like a team that was used to taking the ball and running it down a defense’s throat. DeShaun Foster is a good back, but he doesn’t bring a lot of physical, inside play to the table. He’ll always be more comfortable running outside the tackles, and he’ll even hit someone out there. But when it comes to busting a play up inside one of his guards, Foster just doesn’t have that instinct.

The Panthers had just 5 first half first downs, compared to Atlanta’s 16. What should be really troubling, however, is to take a look at the target stats below. Look how many times they threw the ball in this game. And it was only 20-6. The Panthers could not get anything going offensively all game long just as much because they took themselves out of the game by being way too predictable (running on running downs, passing on passing downs) than they did by executing poorly.

One would think, without Steve Smith, that they’d grind the ball on the ground - mixing Foster in with Williams. But, Foster carried just 15 times and hardly showed any spark when running inside. Williams didn’t earn one even carry, despite a preseason of sparkling inside runs.

I’m interested to see how this team responds week 2 at Minnesota. They lost their starting left tackle in the Atlanta game; the very underrated Travelle Wharton. And they’ll face a defensive line just as talented as the Falcons’ - althought Minnesota’s is not as much of a quick, pass rushing line as Atlanta’s is.

Targets/Catches:
Carter - 5/11
Johnson - 4/9
Colbert - 3/5
Mangum - 3/5
Foster - 4/5
Williams - 1/1
Hoover - 1/1
Gaines - 0/2

2005 NFL Playoffs - Divisional Playoffs

Saturday, January 14th, 2006

Divisional Weekend

This is a strange weekend of playoff football. Normally, I’d want to look at as much into these games that I could. But something about this week of preparation was different. I really see both the Seahawks and the Colts as special teams this year, and there’s realy such little chance that either one of them will not be playing for a conference championship next week.

Then there’s the Carolina / Bears game that is so evenly matched, it’s almost impossible to find an edge between the two teams. The Bears quarterback has played so few downs in the NFL, no one really knows what to think of him. And I believe that is what will do the Panthers in.

Divisional Round home teams are 15-5 since 2000.

Gil Brandt has more of these kinds of facts:

Under the current playoff format, the top seed in the NFC never has lost its divisional round game: 15-0. The first seed in the AFC is 10-5 in this round.

Overall, the NFC teams that have had a bye are 27-3 in this round; AFC teams coming off the bye are 22-8.

Since 2000, the team that scores first in NFC divisional round games is 9-1; the team that scores first in the AFC is 7-3.

And finally:

Since 2000, there have been eight instances when teams that faced each other once in the regular season played a rematch in the divisional playoffs. In those games, the teams that won the regular-season meetings are a combined 8-0 in the playoff rematch. (Note: This does not include three times when teams squared off twice in the regular season and then a third time in the playoffs.)

So for Saturday’s game, a couple of quotes from this week caught my attention:

Shaun Alexander, on their Week 4 loss in Washington:

We realized what it takes to beat good teams…I think after that we changed some things that are going to make us better for the long haul. That was an eye-opner game for us, and from then on we swtiched some things and changed some things to make us better.

And Deion Branch, when asked on how he’s approached facing a talented Broncos’ secondary:

The Colts did a great job this with in giving us an extensive game plan.

The Patriots are 6-0 when rematching within the same year against an opponent they previously lost to. That said, I don’t think the Patriots aren’t going to be able to run the ball very well. Denver will be able to play the run with 7 and road teams in the playoffs don’t win road games by throwing the ball 40 times.

Tom Brady’s home passer rating this season was 103.6. On the road, it was 83.6. He threw 2 INTs at home all season and 12 INTs on the road.

2005 NFL Playoffs - Carolina at New York - Game Notes

Sunday, January 8th, 2006

Wild Card Weekend


• What makes this game so difficult to analyze is that it’s a matchup of one very inexperienced team (NYG) and one very inconsistent team (CAR). No one is quite sure which will show up for either side.
• Tom Coughlin has a career 4-4 record in the playoffs, all with Jacksonville. As a wild card entry, the Jags in 1996 won 2 straight road games before losing 6-20 at NE. Coughlin was also on the winning side of that Jacksonville team that beat the Dolphins 62-7 in a 1999 Divsional game.
• John Fox, a former Giants’ defensive coordinator, is 3-1 in the playoffs; all coming in the Panthers’ 2003 Super Bowl run.
• A note that may or may not be of interest, Peyton Manning led the Colts to the playoffs in his second year in the league. Indianapolis lost a home Divisional game 16-19 to the Tennessee Titans.
• For injuries, most of the concern is on the Giants’ side of the ball. They list LB Antonio Pierce, DE Eric Moore, and DT Fred Robbins all as out. LB Carlos Emmens is on the IR. WR and special teams player Tim Carter is questionable, as is LB Reggie Torbor. William Joseph and Jeremy Shockey are expected to play. The one place these losses will most be felt is on special teams.
• The Panthers two major issues, Morgan and Foster, both like they will be okay to play on Sunday.
• Panthers RT Jordan Gross gets to face Julius Peppers every week, so he does have the experience to hold up against Michael Strahan. He’s also done a good job against Patrick Kerney this season (8 combined tackles, no sacks). On the other side of the line, LT Travelle Wharton held Simeon Rice tackle less in 2 games this season. In fact, I had to look at Rice’s individual player log to make sure he even played because he didn’t make the boxscore in either game.
• So if Osi Umenyiora thinks the Giants have the best DE tandem in the league, he better be sure of which team has the best OT tandem in the league too.
• One of the reasons I like Carolina in this game is because they have the best trio of CBs in the league. At 6-0, 205, Ken Lucas is big and physical enough to play the Panthers’ style of bump coverage off the line against Plaxico Burress. Chris Gamble is another 200 lbs CB, and while he’s not as physical as Lucas is, there isn’t anyone in the league with better ball skills than Gamble. Nickel Back, Ricky Mannning, Jr is undersized at 5-8 185, but as he proved a couple of years ago in the playoffs against the Rams, the guy plays big in big games. There’s also rookie Thomas Davis who is a perfect fit to matchup against Jeremy Shockey.
• The Giants were torched by Santana Moss two weeks ago because they provided their corners with little or no safety help. Will Allen and Curtis Deloatch were both made to look inadequate against Santana Moss. Panthers’ WR Steve Smith is a very similar player to Moss and if the Giants don’t help out their overmatch CBs, Smith will hurt them just like Moss did. The Giants corners are more suited to play the underneath zone in a cover two but it doesn’t seem like their safeties can be trusted to take away the deep halves so New York is stuck between picking the lessor of two weaknessess.
• Let’s look at Tiki Barber. On 357 carries this season, Barber finished with 1860 yards and a 5.2 ypc average. Here’s a game by game breakdown who he picked up those yards against:
  
  

  WEEK	ATT	YARDS	YPC	TD	OPPONENT	OPP RUSH AVG	OPP YPC AVG
  1	13	62	4.8	1	ARZ	10	16
  2	22	83	3.8	1	@NO	27	26
  3	15	60	4.0	0	@SD	1	3
  4	24	128	5.3	1	STL	28	32
  6	14	62	4.6	0	@DAL	15	24
  7	19	86	4.5	1	DEN	2	15
  8	24	206	8.6	1	WAS	13	21
  9	21	71	3.4	0	@SF	18	11
  10	23	95	4.1	1	MIN	19	17
  11	21	112	5.3	0	PHI	21	10
  12	26	151	5.8	0	@SEA	5	5
  13	30	115	3.8	0	DAL	15	24
  14	32	124	3.9	0	@PHI	21	10
  15	29	220	7.6	2	KC	7	20
  16	16	80	5.0	0	@WAS	13	21
  17	28	203	7.3	1	@OAK	25	19

  
  The average ranking of Giants’ opponents this season against the run was 15 (ypgame) and 17.1 (ypcarry). But when I look at the teams Barber feasted on this year, only the week 12 game at Seattle stands out to me as somewhat impressive. I’m not saying Barber didn’t have a great year, he’s a good back, but the true test for him and the Giants’ offensive line will come on Sunday when they face the 4th best run defense (statistically) in the league.

Week 16 - Carolina Panthers

Friday, December 30th, 2005

20-24 vs Dallas

Up 10-0 early, Carolina’s offense didn’t do much to earn their lead except take advantage of two single coverage mismatches down the field. They only had 13 yards rushing in the first quarter; as the the Cowboys were loading up the box and Carolina kept running right into them. The two big plays they did hit were on first down pass plays.

On the 69 yarder to Proehl that set up Carolina’s first 3 points, it was 1st and 10 from the 20 after a Cowboys punt went for a touchback. Carolina ran playaction against what looked to be 0 coverage deep and the inside linebacker that was assigned to Proehl in the slot took one step in on the play fake and was never able to recover.

The Panthers first touchdown of the game was also Drew Carter’s first career score. The 6-3, second year wide out lined up against the 5-8 Aaron Glenn on the play. Off the line of scrimmage, Carter did a good job of running Glenn off for the first 10 yards and then made a nice break into his post pattern. But from there on he relied too much on his height to get the ball out of the air. He did not attack the ball in the air, nor shield the defender away and even though this particular result turned out well for him, if Glenn was 5′10 instead of 5′8, that play gets knocked incomplete.

Interestingly enough, half way through the third quarter, Delhomme threw Carter a pass deep down the sideline that the receiver glided into the path of- much in the way one would do casually in practice. Carter didn’t use his big frame to box the DB out, he did nothing special at all to finish his route, and the pass was knocked away by Reeves. Such is life as an inexperienced wide receiver. The Panthers were able to cut Rod Gardener because they felt Carter was ready to contribute, but the former Buckeye still has some work to do before he moves up the depth chart.

Looking ahead to week 17, the Panthers need a win against the Falcons to get into the playoffs. The last time they faced Atlanta, they used rookie LB/SS Thomas Davis to spy Michael Vick. Normally, teams can’t spy Vick with just one person, but Davis has that rare size/speed combination that makes it work. The Falcons will also be without top CB DeAngelo Hall and they still can’t stop the run.

TARGETS(catches):
Carter- 11(3)
Proehl- 4(2)
Magnum- 4(3)
Colbert- 3(0)
Goings- 3(2)
Smith- 2(1)
Foster- 2(2)
Hoover- 2(1)

Week 10 - Carolina Panthers

Wednesday, November 16th, 2005

30-3 vs New York Jets

The Panthers got 23 of their 30 points off of turnovers, and 20 in the fourth quarter. They averaged just 2.8 yards per rush in this game. They only got 2.4 yards per rush in their last game (TB), 2.8 yards in the game before that (MIN), 2.2 in the game before that (DET), and just 3.2 against Arizona. 2.7 against Green Bay, 2.3 against Miami, 2.9 vs the Pats, and finally all the way back to week one, they averaged 5.6 against the Saints. The amazing part, Carolina has won six in a row now and they are 7-2 on the year.

As I wrote about last week, they have the best red zone offense and are 3rd best in red zone effeciency. They trust their defense will keep them in games and they stick to the run. A lot of team’s don’t have the patience for that, so I give Carolina credit.

Michael Gaines was impressive again for Carolina. He got a lot of snaps at tight end in this game and while isn’t really a player anyone should have on their fantasy team, this guy is going to do something big for Carolina sometime soon.

TARGETS(catches):
Smith- 6(3)
Proehl- 3(0)
Foster- 3(3)
Hoover- 3(1)
Colbert- 2(2)
Gaines- 1(1)
Davis- 1(0)

Wednesday Football

Wednesday, November 9th, 2005

Week Nine Game Reviews
Carolina - Tampa Bay | Seattle - Arizona | Atlanta - Miami

Carolina Panthers:
Carolina always seems to take their games with the Bucs more seriously than Tampa does. The stats don’t really show the blowout that this game was. Carolina was balanced on offense, they didn’t turn the ball over, and no one can stop Steve Smith.

Julius Peppers again had Kenyatta Walker playing scared. Peppers has just owned Walker over his career.

The Panthers rank 4th in the NFL in points per game, 3rd in third down efficiency, and yet they are 31st in average gain per rushing attempt. The Panthers have forced 20 turnovers this year (tied for 3rd), but they’ve given away 15 themselves. But they are in first place by a wide margin in red zone touchdown percentage (77% versus second places’ 70%). The Panthers do have some holes in their game, and they’ll struggle when facing a team as disciplined and well coached as they are, but there are few out there. Carolina is essentially a NFC contender based on their third down and red zone efficiency alone. Anyone who wants to beat them will need to focus on what Carolina is doing when they need to convert a play.

The Panthers have won five in a row but they still have both games against Atlanta on their schedule.
TARGETS(catches):
Smith- 8(5)
Foster- 3(2)
Colbert- 2(1)
Davis- 2(1)
Proehl- 1(1)
Gardner- 1(0)
Mangum- 1(1)


Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
I don’t think Jon Gruden and his staff are doing a good job at getting their team ready to play. I think they are underestimating their weaknesses and overestimating their strengths. The difference between the Chris Simms that played against SF and the Simms that played against Carolina was clear. Against the 49ers, Simms was in over his head, unsure of the offense, and confused; even though he had a bye week to prepare for the game. Against the Panthers, Simms looked like the player most expected to see. He was getting the ball out on time, and his throws for the most part were where they needed to be.

Now, that said, he’s still a young QB and he’s making mistakes. The INT TD he threw to Chris Gamble wasn’t pretty. It was a 5 yard out that Simms has to make an adjustment on, even as he’s delivering the ball. Gamble broke on the first move and when you see that as a QB, if you’re already throwing you still have the ability to throw it high and over both targets. Simms has always had the label of being a better practice QB than a gamer, and I think a lot of that has to do with how he delivers the ball. Simms has a great arm, and a good throwing motion, he’s just a little too casual with his throws. He’s a reps and rhythm guy who isn’t a playmaker.

Anthony McFarland and the rest of the Bucs was really working hard in this game. The entire defense again gave a good effort, but these safeties still aren’t good enough in coverage to make their system work properly.

TARGETS(catches):
Galloway- 13(5)
Clayton- 8(2)
Pittman- 6(4)
Hillard- 5(4)
Smith- 3(3)
Williams- 3(3)
Becht- 2(2)
Alstott- 2(2)




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Seattle Seahawks:
Seattle used a lot of draws against the attacking Cardinals defense, especially on their opening drive. And it definitely was effective at keeping the Cards off balance on defense.

There has been talk this season that the team chemistry on the Seahawks is in a place it’s never been before. There appears to be something special going on here. Their offense is first in the NFL in total yards per game, average gain per rush, first downs per game, average gain per play, and they are 5th best in points per game. Don’t sleep on them.
TARGETS(catches):
Jurevicious- 6(4)
Engram- 5(3)
Stevens- 3(2)
Hannam- 3(1)
Strong- 1(1)
Morris- 1(1)
Urban- 1(1)


Arizona Cardinals:
New quarterback, same red zone struggles for Arizona. They have scored a touchdown just 3 times in 21 red zone trips this year. And six times they’ve come away with zero points.

I still put this on Kurt Warner. He never had great arm strength, and now it seems he’s a little wary of it and so he holds onto the ball too much. And in the red zone, when passing windows are open for less time than they are anywhere else, Warner is struggling the most. And he had time to throw against the Seahawks, but for almost three full quarter the Cardinals couldn’t punch the ball into the end zone.

The unfortunate part about all this is that Arizona has someone who could potentially be one of the best red zone WR in the game (Fitzgerald).

Someone needs to ask: Why is Kurt Warner starting? This offensive line cannot pass block. Kurt Warner cannot throw on the run. Connect the dots. Why is Kurt Warner starting.

J.J. Arrington is officially back on the radar. He’s been improved over the last few weeks but this was the first game I’ve seen him run with a purpose since his days at Cal. Arrington is still a fish out of water in this offense, however, so I don’t expect anything big to happen. He needs to play in a west coast hybrid system.

Bryant Johnson may have had a nice fantasy day, but he made a couple of key mistakes in this game; including dropping a slant pass in the end zone and blocking from behind on Edwards’ long catch and run. There’s a reason Johnson, a former first round pick, has been a third receiever for most of his career.

And losing Bertrand Berry for the season is going to kill this defense. Take the Cardinals out of the grill, it’s over for them.
TARGETS(catches):
Fitzgerald- 14(8)
Johnson- 11(6)
Newhouse- 7(2)
McCoy- 4(3)
Arrington- 4(4)
Ayanbadejo- 3(2)
Shipp- 2(1)
Bergen- 2(2)
Edwards- 2(1)



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Atlanta Falcons:
Michael Vick’s numbers for this game were certainly impressive, but the Dolphins- who don’t really have a good secondary to begin with- did him a lot of favors by blitzing frequently. You just cannot send 6 or 7 guys to rush Michael Vick. He’s going to be just as fast or faster than any of those blitzers and what you’re doing with the biltz is handing him a decision on where to throw to ball. His one weakness, pass selection, is taken away when you tell him off the snap of the ball where he should go. It becomes a much easier choice for Vick. That’s why Tampa has always been effective against him. They get pressure off the left tackle and they drop seven in coverage.

Atlanta’s defense is still soft against the run, but that is offset by their third down efficiency. The Falcons are 2nd in the league at getting off the field on third downs, a stat that is supplemented by their 4th best QB sack percentage. In this game, their speed was too much for Miami to contend with.
TARGETS(catches):
Finneran- 11(8)
Crumpler- 8(6)
White- 5(3)
Dunn- 4(4)
Griffith- 2(1)
Blakely- 1(0)


Miami Dolphins:
Teams who run the ball are going to be able to move down the field against Atlanta. And Miami’s ground game is still it’s strength. Still, this game wasn’t as close as it needed to be. During the first half, the Falcons gave the ball up on Miami’s 10 once and on their own 15 once, essentially giving the Dolphins 10 points. That allowed Miami a chance to stay with their run game, and stay in the game overall. To their credit, the Dolphins were technically in this game until late into the fourth quarter. Miami can stop the run and they can run the ball pretty well themselves. But they are 30th in the league in time of possession and in order to be competitive, they have to keep the ball out of the air- on both sides.
TARGETS(catches):
Chambers- 6(3)
McMichael- 4(3)
Brown- 4(2)
Booker- 3(2)
Welker- 2(1)
Morris- 2(2)
Williams- 1(0)



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I should have a couple more games up tonight.

Wednesday Football

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2005

Arizona Cardinals:
The Cards are trying to use more I-back, two WR sets in order to get more production from their running game, but the results just aren’t there. I guess we’ll see how Kurt Warner does this week. I still don’t understand why Warner was brought in. Josh McCown isn’t great, but you can count on him giving his best. How many games has Warner won this year?

Speaking of McCown, Dallas got good results by getting early pressure on the Cardinals QB. In the second quarter there were two key drives where Arizona could have stayed even with the Cowboys going into halftime. But because of the pressure, and more importantly the fear of pressure, McCown unloaded about six straight passes that were forced or thrown too soon. And so as a result, after a relatively good first quarter, McCown was off target with most of his throws for the rest of the afternoon.

J.J. Arrington continues to show that he has very little understanding on how to run behind blockers. He’s up there on the list of backs that needs to be traded to Denver.

Larry Fitzgerald had a number of jump ball chances in this game, but the Cowboys did a good job of keeping multiple defenders around him at all times.
TARGETS(catches):
Fitzgerald- 11(4)
Boldin- 8(3)
Johnson- 5(2)
Shipp- 5(4)
Bergen- 1(1)
Ayanbedejo- 1(1)
Arrington- 1(1)


Dallas Cowboys:
Bill Parcells loves to face a team who uses plenty of blitzes and so getting ready to face Arizona must have been a fun week for him and his offensive staff.

Marion Barber is a good back, but he really had a ton of room to run on Sunday against Arizona. Dallas ran especially well behind the left side of their line, but the right end struggled to keep defenders back. Most of the profitable runs to the right were as a result of cut backs of plays starting left.

Keyshaun Johnson has been a very consistent performer this season. He’s been thrown no less than 6 passes in any one week, he’s scored in four different games and added a 120 yard effort in one game he didn’t score in.
TARGETS(catches):
Johnson- 7(6)
Witten- 5(5)
Glenn- 4(3)
Price- 2(1)
Barber- 2(2)
Pierce- 1(1)
Polite- 1(1)



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Chicago Bears:
The Bears ended the first quarter having held the ball for just 3:29 and with only 10 total yards of offense. This is just not a good road team and for them to take this one from Detroit is just huge for their season. (They did end up with 216 yards of offense for the first half.)

Losing Mark Bradley is just an awful break for Chicago. Not only was he becoming a protege of Muhammad, but Bradley was beginning to show that great run after catch ability he flashed at Oklahoma. I don’t know if it was a coincidence, but the Bears’ offense did nothing after Bradley went down with his knee injury (which, by the way, was another 100% turf casualty).

Chicago hit a lot of skinny posts in this game. Orton has such a great arm, that when he makes that throw it’s almost impossivle to defend.

The Bears’ defense is probably the fastest in the league. And they just pounded Jeff Garcia in this game.
TARGETS(catches):
Muhammad- 9(4)
Bradley- 5(5)
Jones- 5(3)
Gage- 4(2)
Clark- 4(1)
Wade- 2(0)
Edwards- 1(1)
Peterson- 1(1)

Detroit Lions:
Kevin Jones’ game is really picking up. He turned it on late last year and it looks like he’s about to do something big real soon. Jones looks as quick, as fast, and as strong as ever. And that was obvious before his third quarter TD run where he beat a very good linebacker (Briggs) around the right corner for the score.

Charles Rogers is back this week, but the Lions have good depth at WR even with Kevin Johnson out. Scottie Vines is a good athlete at that position and he’s a quality fourth option.
TARGETS(catches):
Vines- 8(5)
MWilliams- 7(3)
Jones- 6(5)
Pollard- 5(3)
Bryson- 5(5)
Pinner- 1(1)
Martinez- 1(1)



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Minnesota Vikings:
How will Minnesota’s offense run with Brad Johnson behind center? Johnson will certainly bring more efficiency, but he doesn’t have Culpepper’s arm strength. That may actually be a good thing because it will force the Vikings to use more controlled pass plays, something they should have done from the beginning of the season. Minnesota also has to do something about the awful routes their receivers run. On almost every play they will run straight ahead for seven yards, stutter step about six times to try to sell the myth that they’re breaking their route short (which they never do), and then they will go deep. No one’s buying it.

There is just no aggresiveness on defense here. What happened to the attacking style they said they were going to play? Pat Williams continues to be the team’s best defender.
TARGETS(catches):
Williams- 7(3)
Taylor- 5(2)
MRobinson- 5(4)
Wiggins- 5(3)
Williamson- 4(1)
Burleson- 3(1)
Kleinsasser- 2(1)
Moore- 1(1)

Carolina Panthers:
Shame on the Vikings for thinking they could cover Steve Smith with just Fred Smoot. 11 catches for 201.

Smith did his damage with the smoothest, most subtle moves you’ll see out of a receiver. He absolutely had Smoot’s number.

There’s been a lot of flea flickers in the league over the last few weeks, but I yet to see one work. The big thing about these plays is that the wide receivers really have to sell it, and just by judging the results, they are not getting anyone to bite.

The Panthers’ run game has struggled, but with DeShaun Foster back in the lineup they looked improved. He definitely adds something to their attack that Carolina needs to succeed.

Keep an eye on TE Michael Gaines. He had two big catches in this game and I like how comfortable he looks as a receiver (he’s 280 pounds).
TARGETS(catches):
Smith- 11(11)
Foster- 5(1)
Colbert- 4(2)
Proehl- 3(2)
Gardner- 2(1)
Gaines- 2(2)
Davis- 2(1)
Goings- 1(0)



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Green Bay Packers:
This was a game where Brett Favre really could have used Javon Walker. Favre’s throws were anything but careful, and 4 of his 5 INTs were passes that the Bengals DBs made better plays on the ball than the Packers’ receivers. Lots of miscommunication out there and not a lot of determination on Green Bay’s part.

The Packers have an underrated defense. They are well-coached and they stop the run better than expected.

I was anxious to see Samkon Gado run, and he did once for 8 yards. Early comparisons to Willie Parker look to be close. Gado is fast, and he has a good, powerful, and low base.

Bubba Franks is a player you might be able to get cheap (or free) right now. Considering there are very few players on this team that Favre has played with, I expect Franks to have a busy second half to the season.

The play to end this game (Favre’s fake spike gallop) is probably one of the ugliest plays to occur in football this year.
TARGETS(catches):
Chatman- 11(8)
Franks- 10(7)
Driver- 9(5)
Lee- 4(3)
Fisher- 4(2)
Henderson- 1(1)

Cincinnati Bengals:
It looked like the Packers in this game borrowed a lot from what the Steelers did on Monday night; bringing pressure by overloading one side and playing a two deep shell behind.

Cincinnati did a poor job at finishing drives, and with Green Bay not allowing them any big plays, the Bengals offense was only able to put together two good drives all game. Their execution is lacking right now, as teams have adjusted a bit to what the Bengals are doing on offense.

Chris Perry’s chances continue to rise.
TARGETS(catches):
CJ- 13(5)
Perry-7(6)
TJ- 6(5)
Henry- 4(2)
Walter- 1(1)
Schobel- 1(1)
RJ- 1(1)
JJ- 1(1)



---

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
You can’t really ask more of your defense than what they got, but still the Bucs couldn’t pull out a victory against SF. Coming in with a record of 5-1 against teams who were a combined 13-23, this game really proved just how fragile the Bucs’ success is.

Third downs have been one of Tampa’s top strengths this season, but with Simms at QB and without any production from the running game, Tampa Bay wen 3 of 14 on third downs. Starting a game on the road is just a very difficult thing for a young quarterback to do.

I can’t believe that with an extra week to prepare, Coach Gruden would hand Chris Simms the same offense to run. But that’s what seems to have happened here. There didn’t appear to be many half-field reads, or designed rollouts (ala Ben Burger, 2004) to slow things down for Simms. And in turn the Bucs were as undisciplined as ever, racking up 8 penalties for the game and also forgetting to tackle Kevan Barlow on the second to last play of the first half (leading to a Nedney field goal).
TARGETS(catches):
Galloway- 13(8)
Clayton- 7(4)
Smith- 3(2)
Alstott- 3(3)
Hillard- 2(1)
Pittman- 2(1)
Williams- 2(1)
Sheppard- 1(1)

San Francisco 49ers:
Mike Nolan won this game for the Niners. He and his staff outcoached Tampa Bay by such a wide margin, the 49ers actually won. Were it not for a great individual play by Joey Galloway, Tampa probably gets blown out 15-3 in this game. San Fran gave up zero turnovers, they ran the ball 39 times for 158 yards, and quite simply they made plays when they needed to. This Cody Pickett is an interesting player, but he’s not really a legitimate quarterback yet. And he’s probably starting this week.
TARGETS(catches):
Lloyd- 6(2)
Morton- 3(1)
Barlow- 3(2)
Jackson- 2(1)
Smith- 2(0)
Bajema- 1(1)
Gore- 1(1)
Beasley- 1(0)

Thursday Football

Thursday, October 20th, 2005

The Week 7 Mirl Picks are out. I have a feeling that Houston pick from last week is going to cost me big time.

I’d like to also call out all these people who keep picking double digit favorites as their best bets. Guys, try picking someone besides the Colts and/or whoever is playing the Texans/49ers. So far this year, I’ve gone with KC, PIT, IND, JAX (loser), GB, and CAR as my best bets. And this week I reluctantly like Atlanta at home on Monday night (I’d rather pick a team that wasn’t such a favorite, but I’m still the lone Atlanta best better- not all the picks have been posted yet though). I was tempted to go with the Steelers, but Ben Burger’s health left me with some doubt. That’s going to be one heck of a game.

Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons need to be worried about their run defense. Maybe they’re missing Hartwell’s presence in the middle, but for the second week in a row they were gashed by an opponents’ ground game. Lucky for them, they get to face a banged up Jets team this week on Monday night before going into their bye week. Were it not for their fantastic special teams, the Falcons would have probably been blown out in this game.
TARGETS(catches):
Crumpler- 7(4)
DWhite- 4(0)
Jenkins- 3(2)
Dunn- 2(2)
Griffith- 2(2)
Finneran- 1(0)
RWhite- 1(1)
Blakley- 1(0)
Duckett- 1(0)

New Orleans Saints
The Saints always seem to play the Falcons tough and they also seem to playing well in their adopted home of San Antonio.

I didn’t get a chance to mention last week my thoughts about the McAllister injury. But as I wrote here in the Swamp the day after Duece’s injury, the Saints have two decent runners in Stecker and Smith, but more importantly, McAllister wasn’t really tearing things up anyhow. To me he looked a step or two slow in the Saints’ first three games, then improved a little in week four against Buffalo, only to then fell apart in Green Bay. And as this game against Atlanta showed, New Orleans probably isn’t going to miss McAllister too much this year. It’s kind of like they were already missing him.

The Saints do need to get Joe Horn back and 100%. He’s a guy they can’t afford to keep missing.
TARGETS(catches):
Hakim- 9(6)
Stallworth- 8(7)
Henderson- 8(4)
Stecker- 3(2)
Horn- 1(0)
Poole- 1(1)
Hilton- 1(1)
Karney- 1(1)



---

Minnesota Vikings
How did this game get so out of hand? The Bears had 31 total yards of offense in the first quarter and the score was tied 0-0 with the Vikings driving into Chicago territory. The Vikes had already botched one field goal attempt when Edinger shanked a 52 yard try to start the second quarter. Minnesota then recovered a Bears’ fumble at mid-field, drive the ball down to the 2 yard line, and then had to kick a 23 yard field goal. After surrendering 28 unanswered points, nothing that happened during their bye week kept them from sucking.

The Vikings began three of their first eight drives at the 50 yard line and all they did with the ball was find different ways to not score. Looking back, I don’t know why I picked them to win this week against Green Bay.

Jerome Wiggins is essentially a wide receiver who was asked a long time ago to weigh 30 pounds more than he ever should.
TARGETS(catches):
Wiggins- 15(10)
Williamson- 12(4)
Moore- 9(5)
MRobinson- 6(4)
Taylor- 4(2)
KRobinson- 1(1)
Kleinsasser- 1(0)
Williams- 1(0)

Chicago Bears
The Bears didn’t do anything on offense in the first half until Bobby Wade set them up at mid-field with a 49 yard punt return. Chicago ended up leading 7-3 at the half, even though they could have easily been down 21-7. They have played so much better at home over the last few years, probably because they are eternally led by some kind of young quarterback. Orton again played well enough to keep the Bears in the game, but as I mentioned above, Minnesota had plenty of chances to take a commanding lead. This game was only 14-3 going into the fourth quarter. Yet still I picked them to win this week because they host a team that is almost a mirror image of themselves (Ravens). Key on the word ‘host.’
TARGETS(catches):
Muhammad- 12(5)
Clark- 4(4)
Bradley- 3(1)
Edwards- 2(2)
Wade- 1(1)
Reid- 1(1)
TJones- 1(1)
Peterson- 1(1)



---

Carolina Panthers
Ugly, lucky, and with a bye this week.
TARGETS(catches):
Smith- 9(6)
Proehl- 9(5)
Gardner- 5(4)
Colbert- 3(3)
Goings- 3(2)
Mangum- 1(0)
Seidman- 1(0)
Robertson- 1(0)

Detroit Lions
The Lions defense played aggressive and fast in this game. They deserved a better fate but when it came down to it they were responsible for keeping Carolina out of the end zone on the game’s final drive and they couldn’t come through.

The Lions have a good chance to defeat each of their next four opponents; starting this week in Cleveland. With the defense playing as well as they are, a change at quarterback may be all they need to kick start a 4-0 run. And it is indeed time for a change. Harrington just is not a play maker at the position and that Garcia is. After facing the Browns this week, the Lions are at home against the Bears, then at Minnesota, and home vs the Cardinals. They need to be 6-3 when facing Atlanta in week 11, cause they also still have the Steelers and the Bengals on their schedule.
TARGETS(catches):
KJohnson- 6(4)
Pollard- 5(3)
KJones- 3(2)
Martinez- 3(0)
MWilliams- 2(0) Vines- 2(1)
Fitzsimmons- 2(1)
Bryson- 2(2)
Pinner- 2(1)
Smith- 1(1)



---

New York Giants
The Giants were a +3 in turnovers during the first half but they were held to a total of just 6 points because they could not contain a strong Dallas pass rush.

I have no doubt that the sun/shade spots on the field- caused by the late start time- causes problems for both passing games. There were numerous occasions where receivers could not track the ball in or out of the sun/shawows. Plaxico Burress in particular had noticeable trouble picking up the football.

The Giants host Denver this week, and NY has scored 42 and 44 points at home so far this year. Their struggles on offense against Dallas began and ended with their inability to give Manning time to throw. Eli did improve in the fourth quarter by looking more for the underneath passess and towards Shockey.

I wouldn’t completely blame Brandon Jacobs for his late goal line fumble. Derrick Ward served as Tiki Barber’s running back for all of the game until that play just inside two minutes. Why would the Giants’ coaches put a guy in a position like that who’s been standing on the sidelines for the last three hours. TARGETS(catches):
Burress- 11(5)
Shockey- 10(5)
Toomer- 3(2)
Carter- 3(1)
Barber- 1(1)

Dallas Cowboys:
With Julius Jones sitting out, the Giants had little reason to fear the Cowboys running game going into this match and Dallas did very little to change New York’s mind. Despite being one of the deepest teams in the NFL at the RB position, Dallas came out throwing and did little to establish a rhythm or balance on offense. If Jones misses more time, Tyson Thompson is really the teams best run option on first and second downs, with Barber coming on a third down.

This was a real sloppy game on both sides; one that featured 8 turnovers. Through the end of regulation time, Dallas held the ball for 36:59, compared to NY’s 23:01.
TARGETS(catches):
Johnson- 14(8)
Glenn- 8(6)
Witten- 5(5)
Crayton- 4(4)
Barber- 3(2)
Campbell- 1(1)
Thomas- 1(0)



---

Houston Texans:
I really did think the Texans had a chance here. They ran the ball well against the Titans last week and Seattle has a tough time getting pressure on the quarterback with just their front four. With Engram and Jackson still out, and following a big win against the Rams, I really thought this was a game that Seattle might sleep on. I guess not, and I guess the Texans are destined for one of those awful 1-15 type seasons. Good thing they get to face the Colts this week.
TARGETS(catches):
Gaffney- 13(10)
Bradford- 9(4)
Davis- 3(2)
Wells- 2(1)
Armstrong- 1(1)
Rivers- 1(1)

Seattle Seahawks:
How many touchdowns does Shaun Alexander have in prime time now? TARGETS(catches):
Jurevicius- 5(3)
Warrick- 5(3)
Strong- 4(3)
Urban- 2(2)
Stevens- 2(2)
Alexander- 2(1)



---

Three more games to cover tomorrow or Saturday morning.

Friday Football

Friday, October 14th, 2005

The picks for Week 6 are up. Thanks, as always, to Eric Mirl for gathering up all 34 of us. The Beach is back in second place, after a 9-5 week 5. I’d also like to point out that I’m picking Houston to win on Sunday night in Seattle. It’s crazy, and it’s probably a loser, but it’s a statement pick. If you’re still in a survivor pool, go with someone other than Seattle this week. I just have a feeling the Texans are going to give the Seahawks a game here. I am, however, the only one on the list to take Houston and in fact I’m going against 16 best bets. Sounds like a winner to me.

Miami Dolphins
Ronnie Brown continues to improve. He’s running with a good burst and on one particular play in the second quarter he laid a great pass block on a Bills’ DT who came in free off the snap. That play allowed Ferrotte to stay in the pocket long enough to hit Chris Chambers down the sideline for a nice gain. And on the Dolphins first TD drive, Brown had a really sharp looking 28 yard run that got Miami down to the two. Who knows what the plans are with Ricky back, but Ronnie Brown is just starting to get it and it would be nice to see what he can do. Still you’ve got to do the same for Ricky. Though situation.

Gus Ferrotte had two INTs in the first half that came in Bills territory; one of which was picked in the end zone.

The Bills played okay in this one, but Miami just killed themselves for three quarters with penalties and turnovers.

On the final Miami drive, down 14-20, the Dolphins were moving the ball well. Buffalo kept blitzing and the Dolphins just took the easy throws and executed all the way down the field until Brown fumbled on the Buffalo 15. They could have easily won this game on that drive.
TARGETS(catches):
Chambers- 9(4)
Brown- 7(6)
Booker- 5(3)
Welker- 3(2)
Diamond- 2(1)
Evans- 2(2)
McMichael- 1(1)
Heller- 1(1)
Morris- 1(1)

Buffalo Bills
Kelly Holcomb must have drawn the Dolphins off-sides about four times in the game’s first twenty minutes. That’s already something you can point to and say that Losman would have not done this season.

Sam Adams received a red zone target on the first drive and it took a pass interference penalty to keep him from scoring on the play.

Lee Evans is immediately worth a pickup now that Holcomb is playing QB. Evans will end up being a top tier WR sometime over the next two/three years. He’s not as shifty as someone like Steve Smith, but Evans has that rare top end speed and understanding of the position combination.

A couple games ago, McGahee was criticized by his head coach for his passive running style. Willis is doing a better job at hitting the hole now but he’s still not making things happen on his own as much as one would like to see out of a #1 back. And Shaud Williams has been subing for McGahee on passing downs quite frequently of late.

The Dolphins were 5 for 6 in stopping the Bills from scoring from the one yard line. So the third time Buffalo got down there, they put the ball into the end zone by throwing it.
TARGETS(catches):
Moulds- 9(7)
Evans- 3(3)
Campbell- 3(3)
McGahee- 3(2)
Shelton- 3 (2)
Reed- 2(2)
Williams- 2(1)

—
Carolina Panthers
Like I haven’t told you Steve Smith is good. Last year for the Panthers, Mushin Muhammad caught 93 balls for 1405 yards on 159 targets. Well, Smith is on pace right now for 105 catches, 1513 yards and 160 targets.
TARGETS(catches):
Smith- 12(8)
Magnum- 3(3)
Proehl- 3(1)
Gardner- 3(3)
Colbert- 2(0)
Foster- 2(2)
Gaines- 1(1)
Hoover- 1(0)
Goings- 1(0)

Arizona Cardinals
The roles of Marcell Shipp and J.J. Arrington looked more defined in this game. Shipp was getting carries as the team’s #1 back and the Cards were using Arrington more as a Brian Westbrook-like tweener. Arrington looked healthy and very comfortable when doing the things he’s used to doing. I still think Shipp is and should be this team’s first option, but it’s good to know that Arrington is improving on his terrible start to the season. Regardless, this team still can’t run the ball.

Fitzgerald and Boldin were making plays all over the place. That’s one thing Josh McCown allows his receivers to do. McCown will makes his share of errors, but he trusts his receivers and gives them a chance to make plays. Kurt Warner just held on to the ball way too much for this team. Arizona has two of the best receivers in the league and McCown is giving them a chance to make plays. Just think about that pass he threw to Nate Poole to end the Vikings’ 2003 season. Take a look at the target stats below!

Key play of the game: 13:21 left in the second quarter, the Panthers have 3rd and 10 from their own 20. The Cards show only three down linemen, dropping 8, and they end up forcing an incompletion. But Bertrand Berry jumped off-sides giving Carolina a free play, which they convert on a much easier 3rd and 5. The very next play, Steve Smith catches a pass 1 yard behind the line of scrimmage and beats rookie corner Eric Green for a 65 yard touchdown. You just can’t give good teams cheap scores like this.
TARGETS(catches):
Boldin- 17(10)
Fitzgerald- 16(9)
Ayanbadejo- 4(4)
Shipp- 3(2)
Arrington- 2(1)
Johnson- 2(2)
Lee- 1(1)
Bergen- 1(0)

—
Denver Broncos
The Broncos never trailed in this game, and that’s the recipe for success with this team. For the rest of the year, I’ll probably be refering to my preseason write up on Denver and Jake Plummer. Basically, if you put Jake in a shootout, you’re probably going to lose. And this week’s game versus NE looks like it’s going to be a shootout.

I saw a stat this week in the print edition of Pro Football Weekly that said that the Broncos are 9-1 when Plummer throws for less than 200 yards. Weird. But I completely understand it.

Ashley Lelie finally scored on that end zone fade they’ve been working on this year.
TARGETS(catches):
Lelie- 7(1)
Smith- 6(2)
Adams- 3(2)
Johnson- 3(1)
Putzier- 2(1)
Alexander- 2(0)
Anderson- 2(2)
Bell- 1(1)

Washington Redskins
I really feel bad for Clinton Portis. I don’t know if it is as easy as the Redskins changing their blocking schemes, but on the few plays I saw Portis get a chance to run behind a line that zone blocks straight ahead, he looks like a 1600 yard runner. But when he has to wait for a guard and/or a fullback, well Washington might as well have Betts in there.

It was nice to see David Patten play his first productive game of the season.
TARGETS(catches):
Moss- 13(8)
Cooley- 12(8)
Patten- 11(7)
Thrash- 3(1)
Portis- 3(2)
Betts- 3(2)
Royal- 2(1)
Sellers- 1(1)

—
Cincinnati Bengals
Perhaps Chad Johnson was crying because he missed his friend, T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
TARGETS(catches):
Johnson- 8(5)
Walter- 6(3)
Henry- 5(3)
Schobel- 4(3)
Washington- 3(2)
Perry- 2(2)
RJohnson- 2(2)
JJohnson- 2(1)
Kelly- 1(1)

Jacksonville Jaguars
TARGETS(catches):
Smith- 8(3)
Williams- 5(2)
MJones- 3(0) Wrighster- 3(2) GJones- 2(0) Wilford- 1(1) Brady- 1(1) Pearman- 1(1)

—
New Orleans Saints:
TARGETS(catches):
Hakim- 11(5)
Conwell- 6((3)
Stallworth- 5(1)
Henderson- 3(0)
McAllister- 3(3)
Hilton- 3(1)
Smith- 1(1)

Green Bay Packers:
TARGETS(catches):
Driver- 7(5)
Fisher- 7(6)
Ferguson- 4(3)
Martin- 4(2)
Chatman- 2(0)
Henderson- 1(1)
Lee- 1(1)
Davenport- 1(1)
Leach- 1(1)

Wednesday Football

Wednesday, September 28th, 2005

It works better for me to do the Targets by game, as I’m now able to watch every play via Directv’s Short Cuts.

CAR- I talked last week about how Steve Smith wasn’t the only receiver getting chances. Well, in week three, he was. Smith took in 15 targets and caught 11 of them for 170 yards and three scores. Two of those touchdowns came inside the five yard line, and the other came on a skinny post, with Smith showing that he’s a top talent. Incidently, as if we needed more proof that Jake Delhomme has complete confidence in his top receiver, Smith’s first touchdown came on an out route that wasn’t particularly open. Kerry Colbert once again took the goose egg on catches, and the four balls he did have thrown his way were close to meaningless. And even though he played out of the slot for most of the game, Ricky Proehl looked like he was getting more looks than any receiver not named Smith. I only saw Rod Gardener on the field once, although I wasn’t really ever looking for him. Inside the red zone, this is still Stephen Davis’ team. He got three more RZ chances, giving him 10 on the year.

MIA- Even though Chris Chambers is currently on pace for just 821 yards after three games, I really think he’s going to have a fine season. He’s been the target leader among the Miami WRs in every game so far and has 32 total targets on the year. With only 14 catches, the chances are there for him to improve his production. Chambers’ 42 yard, one-handed touchdown catch made all the highlight reels. Marty Booker is still the #2 WR, and he picked up 6 more targets. But I’d say that Randy McMichael is the guy that Gus Ferrotte looks to after Chambers. McMichael only had one catch on 5 targets, but it was good for a score.

—
CIN- Chris Henry is proving that he was more than worth the third round pick Cincinnati used on him. For the second week in a row, Henry caught 4 passes on 4 targets but this time out, he added a nice 38 yard touchdown catch. Henry is still the third option on this team, but he’s clearly surpassed Kelley Washington on the depth chart and was a big reason the Bengals could let Peter Warrick go. CJ and TJ each picked up 5 targets, while Chris Perry had 4 and now has 14 on the season.

CHI- Even though the Bears got blown out, they were able to move the ball a little bit against Cincinnati. And playing from behind early, Orton was forced to throw more often than he has in either of his other two games. To the Bears credit, however, they did not give up on the ground game even when down by two scores. For the third week in a row, Muhsin Muhammed was the leading target (12). Rookie Mark Bradley had a second best 8 targets. He’s a great run after the catch guy that should get more looks as he grows accustomed to the NFL. Bobby Wade picked up 4 catches on 7 targets, playing as the team’s #2 for much of the game.

—
NYJ- They’re obviously in trouble and should be on the phone offering Tennessee anything they want for Billy Volek. Chris Baker is still looking good as the #1 TE. He went 3 for 3, including a nice little mini-screen pass that went for 30 yards. Justin McCareins pulled in only 1 of the 7 passes thrown to him. Some were drops over the middle but there were a few poorly thrown balls in there as well. He really isn’t the solid #2 receiver the Jets thought they were getting last year. Laveraneus Coles picked up just 17 yards on 4 catches and 6 targets. He was badly underthrown on a couple of occasions. Starting Brooks Bollinger isn’t really the worse thing that could happen to this team. He’s a third year guy now and Pennington was really limiting what they could execute on the field. If Bollinger can take control of the offense, he can be a decent game manager and still give this team a chance. If I were the Jets, I’d be more concerned with the way their defense has looked soft at the most inappropriate times.

JAX- The Jags are doing a lot to get the ball in Matt Jones’ hands. He led the team with 7 targets against the Jets, but Jones is still not yet a reliable receiver over the middle. Ernest Wilford is still making the most of limited opportunities. He caught two balls on 3 targets and is 4/6 on the year. Leftwich likes to go to the 6-4 receiver in tough situations. Wilford is very reliable over the middle and can be counted to to make every attempt to get the ball into his hands. Jimmy Smith was practically nonexistent for all of the game until he scored in OT to win it. Smith ended with 2 catches on 4 targets. Alvin Pearman is doing an ok job as a punt returner. He’s good at keeping his shoulders square and upfield, no matter which direction he’s going. Pearman has also looked very powerful and very elusive running the ball in limited time on offense. He’s clearly the guy the Jags will go to if Taylor misses time.

Jacksonville is going to finish around 12-4 this year. We know their defense is good, and the offense under new coordinator Carl Smith has proven it can come up with a big play when needed. But the Jags special teams are terrific. Their kickoffs go for touchbacks. Their punt are well covered, but they do need to figure out who can return kickoffs now that they’ve released Chad Owens.

—
TB- I’ll keep talking about how Carnell Williams is being overused until he’s on the IR or sees his work load descreased. It’s amazing to me that Jon Gruden would let Thomas Jones go in part because he didn’t fit into the offensive scheme, and then go and change the identity of the team after drafting Williams. Anyhow, after a quiet week 2, Joey Galloway picked up 8 more targets. He caught 5 of them 53 yards and two scores, both inside the twenty. Michael Clayton took in 7 targets, and is as steady as they come (8 last week, 7 before that). Williams took 6 rushing chances inside the red zone.

GB- I should probably include the Bucs’ DBs on this list as well. Twenty percent of Favre’s compeltions went to Tampa’s secondary. Robert Ferguson is stepping up as the team’s #2 threat. He went 4 for 8 with 68 yards and a score against the slow footed Juran Bolden. The Packers only held the ball for 3:29 in the fourth quarter, so that’s part of the reason Favre only threw 24 passes while trailing for most of the game. Donald Driver was held to just 2 catches on 4 targets.

Friday Football

Friday, September 23rd, 2005

AFC Targets, and related team news from Week Two:

BAL- In their first game with Anthony Wright at quarterback, Derrick Mason was the most active Ravens receiver. He caught 8 passes on 10 targets for 60 yards and a score. The tightends, all three of them, were again heavily featured. Heap, Wilcox, and Dinkins had 11 total passes thrown their way. With a bye this week, Baltimore’s top priority is to find their running game.

BUF- J.P. Losman was lucky he didn’t leave Tampa with two or three interceptions to his credit. Josh Reed picked up 7 targets, as did Eric Moulds. But the real story with the Bills right now is with their running back, Willis McGahee. He and Coach Mularkey have had a minor media fued this week in reference to McGahee’s running style lately. I, too, noticed in the preseason that he looked hesitant. The 1-1 Bills face another tough defense this week as they host Atlanta, and McGahee needs to show that he can dominate games because J.P. Losman can’t.

CIN- After picking up 4 more targets against the Vikings, Chris Perry now has 10 total on the season. He also had an impressive 87 yard flare pass called back on Sunday by a holding penalty. Chad Johnson was again the team leader, with 13. He’s on pace for a 184 target season (last year he had 158). Chris Henry looked good, catching 4 of the 4 passes thrown his way. And T.J. Houshmandzadeh picked up 4 red zone targets.

CLE- Trent Dilfer is doing a good job so far this season at getting the ball out of his hands quickly. He’s also spreading his targets around well. Steve Heiden led the team with 8, as the Packers have been hurt by tight ends a lot this year (Marcus Pollard in week 1). Billy Miller also got a chance in the end zone that was knocked away by a defender. As expected, Frisman Jackson only had two passes thrown his way and everyone saw what Braylon Edwards did with three of his four targets. The Browns will face a very fast Colts defense this week, and I expect their rather immobile offensive line to have all kinds of troubles.

DEN- The Broncos did all they could to lose to the Chargers, but it didn’t take. Denver turned the ball over twice inside the Chargers’ 30 and Elam missed two field goals in their first 8 possessions. But 10 fourth quarter points led them to a key divisional victory. Rod Smith (11) and Ashley Lelie (10) led the team in targets and Jeb Putzier had a surprisingly low 3. Charlie Adams seems to still be the #3 WR, as he got 4 passes thrown to him. Darius Watts had just one. The Broncos host KC on Monday night, and they should doing so with an 0-2 record. Still, they also could have beaten San Diego by three touchdowns. Denver’s defense played well.

HOU- Awful.

IND- The Colts are going to expload this week, I can just feel it. They’ve faced two of the best defenses in the league, and yes they are going against Romeo Crennel this week but his Browns just don’t have the talent to do what the Pats have done in the past. Dallas Clark played his first game of the season and he picked up 3 targets. The WR trio maitained their form; Harrison 8, Wayne 7, Stokely 5.

JAX- Reggie Williams continued his rise, with 4 catches on 5 targets. The Jags also kept Matt Jones involved with 3 targets. But Jimmy Smith is still the clear #1. He picked up 7 passes.

KC- Almost by default, Eddie Kennison is still the top WR on the Chiefs. He had a career high 1086 yards in just 14 games last year. He picked up 102 targets last year and is on pace for 104 this season. But I still like #2 guy Sammy Parker. He had 6 passes thrown to him against Oakland, catching 3 for a 28.7 ypc average. In the red zone, the Chiefs went to their running backs 10 times in week one, and 11 times last week. Tony Gonzalez has just two RZ chances on the season. He’s a little behind his three year average of 21.6 and he’s got those talented Denver linebackers to deal with this week.

MIA- Randy McMichael was busy against the Jets, pulling in 8 passes on 11 targets. On the year, he has 14 catches on 18 targets, and four looks inside the red zone. Chris Chambers is also getting a lot of passes, as he has 20 targets on the year and five inside the twenty. But Chambers only has 6 receptions so far.

NE- Daniel Graham only got one pass thrown his way in week two, but it was a 1 yard touchdown strike. Ben Watson is still the top TE target, he got 5 more passes thrown to him against Carolina. Deion Branch (14, 25 in two weeks) is the clear #1 and David Givens (9) a solid #2 guy. New England’s offense really struggled last week. They only ran one play in the red zone (Graham) and that was only after Troy Brown’s 71 yard pass play that ended on the 1. Their best starting field position was from their own 33 and they made it into Carolina territory just four times (TD, INT, FG, Fumble).

NYJ- Laveranues Coles and Justin McCareins had identical target numbers in week two (10 and 8, respectively). Not too much else going on here. The Jets are still finding their way around their new offense.

OAK- Lamont Jordan had a tough time hanging on to the ball against the Chiefs. He caught just 6 of the 11 passes thrown to him. Many of those incompletes were due to Jordan trying to run with the catch too soon. I still think he’s a above average receiver, especially considering his size. The errors he made Sunday night were not really physical; he definitely has the hands to catch 70-80 passes this year and he’s obviously going to get the chance to in this offense (see the OAK preview). After two weeks, it looks like I might be wrong about Randy Moss. He’s got 10 catches and two scores so far and that’s in line with the projections I had him at. But the 257 yards he’s racked up is way ahead of the pace I’d thought he’d go on. In fact, he’s on pace for 2056 and even though it’s only two games, I didn’t see him getting to 1600. But that looks to be where Moss is headed. He’s getting the ball thrown to him plenty (22 total targets). Jerry Porter had 11 targets in week two and with Ronald Curry out of the year, Porter should see an increase in his production. Also look for Doug Gabriel to make an impact as he returns this week from a finger injury.

PIT- All of these crazy Pittsburgh stats are either very misleading or they underscore how fantastic this team is playing. We’ll find out this week, but from my point of view, it looks like they are rolling.

SD- The Chargers got Antonio Gates involved right away, as he went 8 for 8 in passes. Keenan McCardell continued his high pace with 8 more targets, giving him 22 on the year. And not only has LT not caught a pass all season, but he’s only been thrown one ball.

TEN- Steve McNair used his back heavily against the Ravens, throwing 15 passes to the trio of Chris Brown, Travis Henry, and Troy Fleming. In turn, the tight ends saw considerably fewer balls (4, down from 13). The wide receivers were led by Drew Bennett (8) and Brandon Jones (6). The Titans are back on the road to St. Louis this week.

And from the NFC…
CAR- The Pats were focused on slowing Steve Smith. He only had 4 catches on 6 targets for 34 yards. Keary Colbert had 7 balls thrown his way but didn’t come down with one. Ricky Proehl stepped up for the Panthers, catching 3 of 3. And Rod Gardner, who reportedly has been slow to learn the offense, picked up one red zone chance. It’s Stephen Davis’ team inside the twenty, he scored 3 RZ touchdowns on 6 chances.