Archive for the ‘Chicago’ Category

Ulracher and the Bears defensive struggles

With the Bears’ season quickly approaching the halfway point, it’s become hard to ignore the change in MLB Brian Urlacher — both on and off the field. When he’s on his game — as was definitely the case in his 12-tackle performance in the Bears’ stirring come-from-behind Week Seven win over the Eagles — Urlacher remains one of the game’s elite players at his position. But for whatever the reason, there have been other times this season (the loss to the Vikings sticks out) when Urlacher’s play has been noticeably subpar. Daily team observers don’t believe the decline in his play is due to any drop-off in his speed or quickness, but rather the problems he has had taking on blocks. Urlacher’s forte has always been his rare athleticism that essentially has allowed him to run around blocks to make plays, but that skill hasn’t been on display nearly as much this season. Urlacher has been sitting out Friday practices the entire season for undisclosed reasons, and it’s been rumored for a while now that a back injury might be responsible for the weekly shutdown. But our sources maintain that, if an injury was really bothering him, he would be missing practices earlier in the week, which hasn’t been the case. As for getting any explanations from Urlacher himself, the local media hasn’t had much luck lately, as the six-time Pro Bowler has become increasingly curt and stand-offish. The consensus among our sources is that, considering the overwhelmingly positive press he has received over the years, his recent behavior has been disappointing to say the least.

NFL | 2006 | Playoffs | New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears - Preview

Not much of a preview really. We know these teams pretty well by now. The Saints will need to pressure Rexman all day long and the Bears will need to get Brees to turn the ball over at least twice.

Going in, only two stats really matter to me for this one:
• The Saints were 6-2 on the road this season, and 5-2 when playing outdoors.
• In their last 5 games, and since losing Tommy Harris, the Bears defense has given up 27 points, 31 points, 21 points, 26 points, and 24 points. That’s 25.8 points per game. No game under 21 points allowed. They have no pass rush. Zero. Nothing. They have running lanes off tackle that Duece McAllister is going to feast on. The Saints will score at least 30 today and win.

2006 | Week 3 - Chicago Bears

19-16 at MIN

An ugly road win for the Bears, but an important and impressive one. Chicago’s offense still is having problems converting drives into touchdowns. They could only move the ball through the air, and even then struggled to do so when Minnesota blitzed 5 and 6 players.

Rex Grossman should have been picked off 3 other times on top of the 2 up gave up, and through the first three quarters he had a hard time feeling the delayed rushes that the Vikings were bringing. Rex has got a little Brett Favre in him in that he likes to float the ball up for grabs when pressured. But he also seems to share Favre’s ability to make a good throw when most needed.

The Bears’ defense only real weakness is that it can still be run on, but you just have to counter what they do well, by running delays, traps, and power run plays against it. And if you get behind by more than 10 points, it’s pretty much over unless you’re willing to earn tough yards on the ground.

And it helps if you don’t fumble away your lead with 3:31 left to play.

Targets:
Free resource at Football Die Hards.
They have many helpers.

2006 | Week 2 - Chicago Bears

34-7 vs DET

Targets stats only this week.

CATCHES / TARGETS:
Muhammad - 4/8
Berrian - 5/7
Clark - 5/5
Bradley - 1/3
McKie - 2/2
Gilmore - 2/2
Davis - 1/1
Jones - 1/1

2006 | Week 1 - Chicago Bears

26-0 at GB

Green Bay’s defense just couldn’t keep Chicago’s offense on their own side of the field. The Packers had to blitz to generate any kind of pass rush, and even then it wasn’t too effective. The Bears first punt came 4 minutes into the third quarter.

Depsite the final score, the Bears should not be happy with the way their offense performed. The lone touchdown they produced came early in the game off a nice playaction fake by Grossman that froze the entire linebacking corps and strong safety Marquand Manuel. That left Berrian running free behind the secondary and Grossman hit him in stride for an easy score.

But after that, it was nothing but good drives ending in field goal attempts. And against this Packers defense, the Bears have to expect to be better.

Mushin Muhammad was as steady as his stats indicated. And Des Clark was relied on heavily as well. He made some nice catches in traffic.

The running game was mostly Thomas Jones, as Benson’s first carry of the game came half way through the third quarter.

Targets/Catches:
Muhammad - 6/7
Clark - 5/8
McKie - 4/4
Berrian - 1/3
Davis - 1/2
Jones - 1/1
Grossman - 1/1
Benson - 0/2

2005 NFL Playoffs - Divisional Playoffs

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.

Chicago Bears - Week 13

19-7 vs Green Bay

I didn’t get a chance to comment about Chicago last week after their win in Tampa Bay, so this post is based on two weeks of notes.

First off, Kyle Orton’s arm strength is very impressive. He sneaks passes into spots that few quarterbacks will even try. The Bears have used more quick hitches and outs because of the rookie’s natural talent.

As for this Bears defense, I’ve noticed a few things lately that opponents can take advantage of.

First, is that you can stretch this defense out and find success running up the middle. The Bears are so fast, they over pursue plays and leave backside lanes open- especially if you run weakside on a overloaded front. Belly plays, where the back starts down the middle, and then kicks it out to the opposite side A or B gap, is a good way to utilize this

Another play I’ve seen work lately is the fake reverse - HB dive because it slows the ends (Brown or Ogeuleye) from collapsing towards the ball carrier.

On two plays in the first half of this past game, the Packers picked up good yards on that fake end around dive and then late in the second quarter, right before the two minute warning, they actually ran the reverse with Chatman and picked up 10+ yards.

The Packers also found room to run in the their two TE, two RB sets. Look for Pittsburgh to do plenty of that in week 14.

TARGETS(catches):
Muhammad- 4(0)
Berrian- 3(3)
Clark- 3(2)
Wade- 2(1)
Jones- 2(0)
Gage- 1(0)
Reid- 1(0)
Peterson- 1(0)

Wednesday Football (II)

As promised, two more games:
Oakland - Kansas City | Chicago - New Orleans

Oakland Raiders:
This game featured nothing of importance for the first three quarters. The Raiders had 101 yards of offense and they had just given up the first touchdown of the game, making the score 9-13. Then all of the sudden, they put together two drives in the fourth quarter for a combined 155 yards and more importantly, 14 points. Another 40 pass attempt game for Kerry Collins, but just 162 yards threw the air.

Looking at the midseason stats, I don’t see anything that the Raiders are doing well. They are 13th in total yards, 15th in first downs, 13th in third down efficiency, 23rd in opponents yards per game, 24th in opponents points per game, and 17th in point differential. With a 3-5 record, and with the AFC West playing the NFC East this season, there really isn’t much hope for this team. A 7-9 finish should be expected.
TARGETS(catches):
Porter- 9(7)
Moss- 8((1)
Jordan- 8(5)
Gabriel- 5(3)
Anderson- 5(2)
Williams- 2(2)
Foschi- 2(1)

Kansas City Chiefs:
As mentioned on the OAK side, the score of this game was just 9-6 until late in the third quarter. Both teams were basically sleeping their way through, and that’s surprising considering how important this one was to each team.

I thought going into this game that it would be a good opportunity to get a sneak preview of what Larry Johnson will be like as a team’s featured back. I did not expect that day to come so soon. Johnson came into the league as a strong between the tackles runner, but he has improved under Holmes’ guidance around the perimeter and behind pulling linemen. Still, he’s no Priest Holmes and this team will probably look to run more straight ahead plays.

Despite being one of the top 10 offenses in the league, Kansas City ranks just 23rd in the league on third downs. And inside the red zone, once the foundation of this team, the Chiefs are just at 50% in touchdown effeciency (15 for 30). That’s good for 21st in the NFL.

And even if they didn’t score on that last play of the game. For a team like this, I love the attitude that says, ‘if we can’t gain one yard doing what we do best, then we don’t deserve to win this game anyway.’
TARGETS(catches):
Kennison- 8(5) Gonzalez- 7(5) Horn- 6(4) Johnson- 6(3) Hall- 5(3) Richardson- 2(2)



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Chicago Bears:
Kyle Orton started the game poorly. Mushim Muhammad wasn’t able to do much to help him out either. But since this wasn’t really a road game, the young quarterback got a chance to settle in and still be in a position to win the game late. And that’s what he and Mushin did on a key third down late in the fourth quarter. Against almost any other team, in any other city, the Bears lose this game. Their offense was terrible, but as it turned out it wasn’t as bad as the Saints’. And that throw Kyle Orton made at the end of the game was the only pass he was asked to make on their 4 minute, 10 play, game winning drive.

Two straight road victories is just huge for this team. They’ve got two games with Green Bay still, and next week’s game versus San Francisco.

The Bears’ midseason stats are as expected. They are in the top 10 for every major defensive category and they are in the bottom 10 for every major offensive category except rushing yards per game (6th) and average gain per rush (7th). As well as things are going right now, this 5-3 team will have to be very fortunate to finish better than 9-7. But that’ll be good enough to secure a first round playoff loss.
TARGETS(catches):
Muhammad- 9(3)
Gage- 8(4)
Wade- 2(1)
Clark- 2(1)
Jones- 1(1)
Peterson- 1(1)
Edwards- 1(1)


New Orleans Saints:
Antowain Smith had a very strong game running up the middle on the Bears defense- which is where you have to attack them because they are probably the fastest defense in the NFL. But Aaron Brooks was horrible. He had put together a couple of good games earlier in the season, but that hasn’t been the case lately. How does this team think it can go anywhere with him at quarterback?

And where was Joe Horn? Only 4 targets, he played for most of the game, but just didn’t get many looks. That’s very unusual for Aaron Brooks.

The Saints are last in the league in turnover edge, and they have one of the worst defenses against the run. Opponents are getting much through the air against New Orleans, but their statistical success in that category is more due to teams not needing to pass versus not able to pass. On offense, the Saints are 9th in the league on 3rd downs, and they’re 8th in average rush, so there is something there. But no one’s doing anything about it.

And that poor crowd in Baton Rouge. It looked like there was maybe 25,000 in attendance. It sounded like less. San Antonio Saints?
TARGETS(catches):
Stallworth- 4(3)
Horn- 4(2)
Hitlon- 3(2)
Stecker- 3(2)
Hakim- 2(1)
Poole- 2(1)
Hall- 2(1)
Smith- 2(2)
Karney- 2(2)

Wednesday Football

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)



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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

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)



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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)



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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)



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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)



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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)



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Three more games to cover tomorrow or Saturday morning.

Wednesday Football

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Wednesday Football

ARZ- The Cards really struggled against a Rams defense they should have performed better against. Arizona failed to score a touchdown on four different drives inside the 30. Kurt Warner, despite throwing for 327 yards, had a tough time finding targets when it mattered most. After getting 15 throws in week one, Larry Fitzgerald only got 5 against the Rams. Anquan Boldin led the team with 9 in week two, including three looks inside the red zone. Poor Bryan Johnson has just 4 catches on 18 targets through two weeks.

Marcel Shipp had a solid game, but he was underused with just 12 carries. He did catch five of the six passes thrown his way. With J.J. Arrington struggling (he’s not a good fit for this offense), I’ve expected Shipp to take over the running duties for the Cardinals.

And just on a side note, there’s not a better home field kicker in the NFL right now than Neil Rackers.

ATL- Rising star Michael Jenkins had another strong game, he led the Falcons with 6 targets. But inside the twenty, Vick looked to Brian Finneran three times. Since there’s a good chance that Matt Schaub is starting this weekend against Buffalo, I expect Finneran to have another good week- especially if he gets matched up against the 5′9 Terrance McGee near the goalline.

CHI- Mushin Muhammad is going to led the way as long as he’s healthy, and the former Panther got 9 passes thrown to him on Sunday. But inside the 20, with a rookie QB, the Bears are a running team. On the season, Thomas Jones has 6 redzone carries and Cedric Benson has 1, while Orton has thrown just three passes (all against the Redskins).

DAL- Jason Witten picked up 6 targets on Monday night after just getting one pass thrown his way in week one. Terry Glenn was the Cowboys’ leader against Washington, with 9 targets, 6 catches, 157 yards (long of 70) and a score.

DET- Joey Harrington is still staring down his receivers and against the Bears, he focused on Roy Williams 13 times. Kevin Johnson tied Charles Rogers for second on the team with 9, and it looks like Harrington has a lot of confidence in Johnson- leaving rookie Mike Williams with very little playing time. Detroit threw the ball way to much against Chicago. What success they had last year, they did by running Kevin Jones 25-30 times and not the 8 he got in Chicago.

GB- With Javon Walker out, Terrance Murphy picked up 6 targets. Donald Driver was the team leader for the second week in a row, this time with 8. Also for the second week in a row, Favre threw to his backs heavily, giving them 13 passes (17 last week). Favre has thrown 44 passes in each of the first two games of the season. It’s going to be a long year. The Packers host 2-0 Tampa Bay this week.

MIN- Daunte Culpepper showed me a side of him I haven’t seen in years, as he threw 5 interceptions to the Bengals. Most of those came late in the game, and after they got down 14-0 early, I can only describe Culpepper as being on Tilt. I don’t know if he’s frustrated with the playcalling, but I sure would be. Losing Randy Moss didn’t have to be a big deal if the Vikings took the off-season to refocus their strategy towards the current strengths of the roster. That seems to have not happened. It’s like they’re still running the same exact offensive system.

Up until the very end of the third quarter, Minnesota’s plays were as unimaginative as they were unproductive. There were few or no slants, hitches, screens, draws, and traps called. Instead, it looked like: run, go deep, go deep, punt. But then towards the fourth quarter, things started to open up. The Vikings started throwing those shorter slants and quick hitches. They mixed in a few runs on pass looks, and they looked to exploit the first 15 yards from scrimmage more than the second. At home against the Saints this week, I expect this offense to finally produce.

That said, I just don’t see how Michael Bennett can be this team’s starting running back. He doesn’t catch the ball exceptionally well. He doesn’t run with exceptional power. He doesn’t really do anything really well except run fast. Bennett did start the Bengals game with a couple of great runs on the edge, but then he fumbled going up the middle and then fumbled again a few minutes later twice and it was all over from there for him and for Minnesota.

And I don’t know if Mewelde Moore is the answer for this season either. The Vikings really need more of a playmaker at that position They need someone like Lamont Jordan. So keep an eye on Ciatrick Fason.

Travis Taylor took in 12 targets against the Bengals, and he caught 7 of them. With Minnesota down 27-0 at halftime, rookie Troy Williamson got some action in the second half. He took in 2 passes on 4 targets.

NO- For as long Aaron Brooks in the Saints’ QB, Joe Horn is as steady a target as they come. After getting 13 targets on Monday night, Horn has had one game since the start of 2004 with fewer than 7 passes thrown his way. I’m also impressed with Donte Stallworth this year. He pulled in 8 passes on 12 targets against the Giants. For the year, Donte has 12 catched on 17 throws. For the second straight week, Ernie Conwell had two red zone targets and he has 10 anywhere targets on the season. Conwell is a big part of this offense.

NYG- Eli seems to really enjoy throwing to the 6′5 Plaxico Burress. After giving him 11 passes in week one, Manning threw 10 more Burress’ way on Monday night. But Burress has just 10 catches on those 21 targets so far this season. Jeremy Shockey went 5 for 6 and is now 7 for 8 on the year.

PHI- After relying to much on TO and BW last week (29 of McNabb’s 45 passes), with a big lead the Eagles were able to spread it around against the 49ers. Greg Lewis was clearly the #2 WR on Sunday, getting 7 targets over the entire game. Rookie Reggie Brown picked up 3, all in the second half. TO had 7, but the team leader LJ Smith broke out with 9 catches on 9 targets, 119 yards and a touchdown. Smith is still the only viable TE on this team and this kind of game won’t be out of the ordinary for the tight end. The Eagles’ offensive line did a real nice job protecting McNabb in the face of a very good SF pass rush.

SEA- Bobby Engram is still going strong, with 8 more targets on Sunday. Darrell Jackson was the team leader with 11, but Jerramy Stevens was again well featured, with 5 targets.

SF- Not much doing for the 49ers against Philly, but Arnez Battle is indeed the best receiver on this team. With 6 targets last week and 7 more this past Sunday, Battle has 9 catches on the year for 103 yards. Alex Smith did come in and run three plays before going off for a punt.

STL- Marc Bulger only had to throw 29 times against the Cardinals. Holt and Bruce are still the top pair, with Holt getting 7 targets and Bruce 8. Kevin Curtis has an ankle injury, and he was limited against Arizona, but he still got 4 passes. The Rams should look to strike through the air this week, as they host the Titans.

TB- With an early lead at home, the Bucs didn’t have to throw much. Joey Galloway’s numbers fell hard, with just 2 targets. Michael Clayton got 8, however, and with the 7 he got in week one, he’s Griese’s top threat.

WAS- Of course Santana Moss caught the two big ones, but he also pulled in three other of the 7 total passes thrown his way against Dallas. David Patten got 5 targets, but the production just hasn’t been there so far. There were no trips to the red zone this week, but Robert Royal still got 4 passes thrown to him and Chris Cooley got 3.