Archive for the ‘New York (N)’ Category

« Previous Entries

More New York Drama

Tuesday, July 17th, 2007

First there was this note about Eli Manning’s personality coach and now the NY Post runs a story on Tom Coughlin disposition.

“I think there’s no question I can improve,” Coughlin admitted to The Post recently about his personal relations. “I’m going to try to be more patient, I’m going to try to be someone who understands again the jobs and responsibilities of those around me.”

Is the new Giants Stadium going up on Broadway?

PFW Whispers Review - July

Monday, July 9th, 2007

Pro Football Weekly’s usually weekly compilation of whispers comes out monthly during the offseason.

The team release July’s notes on Monday and in it were a few noteworthy tidbits.

• Following up on earlier news today that Brandon Stokely and Rod Smith will probably miss their mini-camp, “word out of Denver is that the declining 37-year-old Rod Smith could have a difficult time making it out of camp.”
• With Thomas Jones no longer in the picture, Bears RB Cedric Benson is thrilled to be carrying the load and eager to do so. We’re told the team earnestly believes he’s the better player between the two backs.
• Although he has to defer to Seahawks defensive coordinator John Marshall, new assistant head coach/secondary coach Jim Mora appears to have taken on a major role implementing the team’s defensive scheme. It’s worth noting that Mora had great success as the Niners’ defensive coordinator working with multifaceted OLB Julian Peterson, who is now the Seattle defense’s top playmaker.

PFW also reported some interesting news about yet another loomning distraction hanging over the Giants:

…word of Tiki Barber’s soon-to-be-published, tell-all book certainly has whisked its way through the franchise’s halls. And it isn’t likely to paint a positive picture of head coach Tom Coughlin, who often butted heads with the now-retired Barber. Though you cannot say that Coughlin is losing control of the situation based on these three unrelated blows, it’s worth noting that these are not signs of good news heading into training camp in what is Coughlin’s most critical season.

Eli Manning needing a personality coach

Sunday, July 1st, 2007

I just saw this note about Eli from Matt Mosley’s most recent chat on Friday.

Anthony (NYC): Matt what do you think are the chances that Eli will be a calming & productive QB this coming season. The Giants could be in for some rough times in the NFC East.

Matt Mosley: Giants GM Jerry Reese told me recently that the club has talked to him about working on his demeanor on the field. No more hanging his head after plays. When you have to coach a player’s body language, it’s a bad sign. I think he’ll improve this season, but the word “calming” doesn’t come to mind.

Hard to believe a GM admitted this to a reporter. It just doesn’t look good at all. But after all, Peyton still droops and mopes around after he screws up. Yes, the comparisons are eternal.

Giants’ Jacobs slimmed down for 2007

Saturday, June 16th, 2007

I haven’t yet seen any official news about how much weight Brandon Jacobs has lost this offseason - in anticipation of the increased workload he’ll see this fall - but judging from the footage shown on the NFL Network’s coverage of the Giants’ minicamp activities, Jacobs has certainly slimmed down and gotten himself into pretty good shape.

I’d say that Jacobs has gotten himself down to about 250 pounds and if that number turns out to be true, it would be about 15 pounds lighter than his playing weight last season.

This northjersey.com article on Jacobs written back in May, discusses philosophical changes in the former Southern Illinois standout’s game, but nothing specific in regards to playing weight.

“Coach shouldn’t worry,” Jacobs said when informed of Gilbride’s concerns. “Me being the guy, things will have to change. I can’t play 16 games and play the same way I have been playing, but I can easily go back to making people miss.

“They needed help on short yardage and goal line, and I fixed that. Now I have to look to another part of my game, running around people and making them miss. I know how to make people miss.”

We’ll see what the final number comes in at, but no matter what it is, expect a Brandon Jacobs this season that few of us have yet to see.

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

Sunday, January 21st, 2007

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.

NFL | 2006 | Playoffs | New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles - Preview

Sunday, January 7th, 2007

Stats:
• NYG was 5-3 on the road this season, with wins coming at PHI (Week 2), at ATL, at DAL, at CAR, and at WAS. They also scored 30 points in week 3 at SEA.
• PHI was 5-3 at home this season
• Coughlin: 4-5 playoff record
• Reid: 7-5 playoff record
• Manning: 0-1 playoff record
• Garcia: 1-3 playoff record
• Manning completed 57.0% of passes and had a 78.8 rating on the road, consistent with his season averages
• Garcia completed 52.7% of passes and had a 85.0 rating at home, both numbers down from his season totals
The Eagles’ offensive line is one of those rare few units that has had all 16 starters together all season. They are, in fact, just the second group in team history to have all five players start 16 games at the same positions.

The last time these two teams met, the Eagles beat the Giants in NY 36-22. In that game, Garcia was limping around the field but still threw for 237 yards/

The Giants’ offense was much improved last week vs Washington under Gilbride, but they’ve still got all kinds of personnel and technique issues on that side of the football.

I first started talking about Eli Manning’s poor footwork back in October of 2005 and he’s still falling out of his throws to avoid taking a shot in the pocket. The learning curve there in New York seems to have really flat-lined.

The Eagles defense has also stepped up their game over the last 4 weeks. The Giants will still have to rely mostly on Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs to move the ball. To me, however, there’s not much stopping Jim Johnson from blitzing Eli Manning up the middle the entire game to get him throwing off his back foot and moving out of the pocket.

Philly just knows the recipe for how to stop the Giants offense, and as we learned yesterday with the Colts, good defense is reliant so much on attitude, with this game in Philly, the Eagles will be able to stop the run enough to make this a blowout.

NFL | 2006 | Week 16 - New Orleans Saints vs New York Giants Preview

Friday, December 22nd, 2006

Last Week
The Eagles used plenty of dual running back formations in week 15 and even ran the same kinds of the plays the Saints will run this week by faking a run to one RB and giving it to another (or giving it to the first RB option and using the second as a decoy).

A good example of the latter is when the Saints will line up McAllister at RB and Bush out wide. The play will be designed to run Duece up the middle on a slant while Bush is coming back behind the play to possibly take a reverse. This holds that defensive backside where Bush is running to and creates a crease up the middle in between the guard and tackle spot. The Eagles ran this play with great effectiveness against the Giants and so will the Saints.

Even without this misdirection, Philadelphia ran up the middle very effectively against NY last week; something that Duece McAllister has done well this year. The Giants are vulnerable against the run in week 16 when they were spread out wide and the Saints excel at just that. Michael Strahan’s return (below) won’t be able to do much about the Giants softening middle.

New York also plays a lot of cover 2 and zone coverage on defense and Drew Brees has been eating that up this season.

Intangibles - Strahan
In the Giants’ favor, Michael Strahan has been trying to get back in the lineup for the last couple of weeks and it looks like he’ll get his chance this week. The Giants are 2-12 without Strahan in the lineup over the last three seasons but as the NY Times points out:

Most of that stems from 2004, when Strahan missed the final eight games with a torn pectoral muscle. His absence coincided with Coughlin’s decision to insert quarterback Eli Manning into the starting lineup as a rookie, and the Giants lost seven of their last eight games.

Nonetheless, this season, the Giants have given up 100 yards rushing in 5 of their last 6 games, and the only win they’ve had over those last 6 is the one game they held Carolina to 45 yards on the ground.

Strahan’s return will certainly improve the run defense, but I don’t know if he’ll be enough to keep the Saints passing offense from scoring 24+ points.

It’s also probably Tiki Barber’s last regular season home game, whatever extra that may bring to the Meadowlands.

Season Efficiency Ratings
In terms of overall efficiency, the Saints are rated as one of the top two or three offenses in the NFL in many categories: Total Yards, Passing Yards, Average Yards per Pass, Sacks Allowed, First Downs, Average Yards per Play, and Third Down %.

The Giants are statistically the 3rd worst defense in the league on third downs, they rank 28th in passing yards allowed per game, and are 25th in QB sacks. All of that is a clear mismatch when the Saints are throwing. Quite simply, this is one of the best passing offenses in the NFL against one of the worst pass defenses.

Inside the red zone, the Giants have by far the league’s worst ratio of TDs given up when defending inside their twenty. The Saints are right at halfway (16th) in terms of offensive red zone TD efficiency.

Final Notes
The Saints are one of the best offenses in the league at picking up the blitz and they also do very well against 4 man rushes. The Giants haven’t shown enough pass rush this season - with or without Strahan - to disrupt Brees.

New Orleans’ defense boasts smaller, athletic linebackers and their DEs are two of the leagues’ best. This defense is fast but is giving up 5.1 yards per carry against the run. In order to win, the Giants will have to show more patience on offense than they have all season. They’ll need to run Barber and Jacobs 30-40 times in this game, just like the Redskins tried to do last week.

If they are effective, the Giants would be able to shorten the length of the game and keep Brees off the field.

The Saints have clinched their division but they are tied at 9-5 with Dallas for the #2 NFC spot and a first round bye. And judging by the way Sean Payton put the dagger into Bill Parcells a few Sundays ago, I don’t think this is a team that is about to let up.

2006 | Week 2 - New York Giants

Thursday, September 21st, 2006

30-24 at PHI

Targets stats only this week.

CATCHES / TARGETS:
Toomer - 12/12
Barber - 7/12
Burress - 6/9
Shockey - 2/3
Moss - 1/2
Carter - 1/2
Finn - 1/1
Shiancoe - 1/1

2006 Offensive Coordinator / Fantasy Football Preview - New York Giants

Wednesday, August 9th, 2006

INDEX

Tom Coughlin - Head Coach, 3rd season with NYG
John Hufnagel - Offensive Coordinator, 3rd season with NYG

In Tom Coughlin’s 8 years in Jacksonville, Coughlin won 4 - 9 - 11 - 11 - 14 - 7 - 6 - 6 games. It is assumed that a hard style like Coughlin’s gives his team a definite lift at first, but then falls off at the end as the roster grows weary of the hardline tactics. Before becoming a head coach in the NFL, Coughlin led Boston College to a 21-13-1 record from 1991-93 - culminating in a 9-3 finish his final season there. This being season three in NY for Tom, good things should be expected after a 6-10 first season finish, and a 11-5 year in 2005.

Also in his third season with the Giants is quarterback Eli Manning. Last year, I previewed Eli’s second season by comparing his progress with his brother’s. Eli’s second season started strong, but fizziled by throwing 15 INTs in his last 9 games. Still, the Giants offense made dramatical improvements in Manning’s first full season as starter. Their rankings went from 22nd in ponts and 23rd in yards during the 2004 season to 3rd best in both categories last season. One cause for concern I saw last season, however, was that Manning continued to make the same mistake of throwing balls up for grabs when under pressure. Manning also threw a lot of balls off his back foot, and I think the blitz really got to him in 2005.

Back to the Peyton - Eli comparisons, in the older Manning’s third season in the NFL, his numbers began to even out.



Peyton Manning 1998 57.6 3739 6.5 26 28 1999 62.1 4135 7.8 26 15 2000 62.5 4413 7.7 33 15

Eli Manning 2004 48.2 1043 5.3 6 9 2005 52.8 3762 6.8 24 17 2006 - - - - -


Obviously, Eli’s completion percentage has been a big topic of discussion this offseason. I think a big reason for his low number there is attributed to the above mention problem with not stepping into throws all the time, and pushing the ball into spots it shouldn’t go. Note also that Eli’s 43.5 completion percentage inside the opponents 20 yard line last season. The Giants finished 22nd inside the red zone last season, scoring TDs on 45.8% of their chances.

Manning’s offensive line should return all five starters from last season, assuming everyone stays healthy. For a unit that improved the team’s sack total from 29th in 2004, with 52, to 8th last season, with 30, Eli should be more confident in his protection and able to step into more of his throws inside the pocket.

Tiki Barber will again line up behind the QB this season, and under Coughlin Barber has seen his career turn from a good one to a great one. Barber turned 31 this past April, so there is a concern there. And both of his backups this preseason have suffered setbacks: Derrick Ward broke a bone in his foot and Brandon Jacobs was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. The Giants may end up signing Mike Cloud or Chad Morton.

Barber had runs of 20+ yards 16 times last season, including a 95 yarder and 4 more 50 yarders. That was a big reason for his 20% increase in rushing yards last season; up to 1860 from 1518 in 2004. His average per carry total last season was 5.2 as well, also much higher than his career numbers ever were (4.6). The final troubling stat from last season is Barber’s 357 carries, a career high. He had 322 in 2004, but before that only went over 300 once - in 2002 with 304. At 31, the carries are catching up on Barber and his yardage total is certain to decline this season.

In eight seasons under Coughlin, the WR duo of Smith and McCardell both gained 1000 yards in four different seasons. In two other seasons, Smith had over 1000 and McCardell registered just under 900 yards. The duo of Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer can play a very similar, if just slightly less talented tag team role this season with the Giants. I wouldn’t expect too much from Sinorice Moss this season, his older brother took three seasons to become a real threat. The younger Moss will see some action, however, as the Giants have added screen and hitch passes to their playbook in order to take advantage of his abilities. Jeremy Shockey’s numbers have been pretty consistent within the type of offense he’s played in over his first four seasons. Another 60+ catch, 800 yard season is likely, but not much more.

On top of everything else for this season’s Giants, their defense will be significantly improved. Or at least, healthy. New York should boast a top team defense and a top ten offense this season inside the toughest division in the NFL.

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.

Thursday Football

Thursday, November 3rd, 2005

Kansas City Chiefs:
This game surprised me. KC either came in with no specific plan to cover Antonio Gates, or their plan was terrible. But form what I saw, there was no effort made on the part of the Chiefs to do anything special for Gates. Why no get one of the top linebacker athletes in the league (Johnson) on Gates? Why would you not do that? Why would you leave the task of covering him to whomever San Diego happened to line him up against? And how could you still be caught off guard when LT has a chance to throw for a touchdown? What were the Chiefs’ coaches doing all week? They had, in fact, an extra two days to prepare. Did they just think they could come out and cover these guys with Wesley and Mitchell?

Back on offense, San Diego exposed KC’s tendancy to run to the edge. The Chargers did a good job of pushing everything inside and KC was not able to make them pay for it by running up the middle (thanks to big Jamal Williams). Larry Johnson needs to be used more in order to counter this if defenses are going to mimic this philosophy. Johnson is a strong between the tackles runner who can bring good balance to this offense. It looks as if teams are anticipating the outside runs more when Holmes is in the backfield. But San Diego is just one of those teams that matches up well against the Chiefs.

Dante Hall had a big game returning kicks.
TARGETS(catches):
Gonzalez- 10(7)
Kennison- 9(7)
Horn- 8(7)
Johnson- 5(3)
Holmes- 4(3)
Hall- 3(2)
Boerigter- 1(1)
Dunn- 1(0)
Richardson- 1(1)

San Diego Chargers:
Not much really to say here. The Chargers were up 21-3 at halftime because they were well-prepared on both offense and defense. The Chiefs defense basically let San Diego do whatever they wanted to do and the Chargers’ defense just outplayed KC. Shawn Merriman really has strung together a some excellent games recently and this front seven is very strong at attacking the run. TARGETS(catches):
Gates- 16(10)
McCardell- 8(5)
Parker- 7(4)
LT- 5(3)
Caldwell- 3(1)
Neal- 2(2)
Osgood- 1(0)
Peelle- 1(1)
Turner- 1(0)



---

Washington Redskins:
The Redskins’ defense came to play, for a little while at least, but they certainly left their offense in San Francisco. The Giants were getting to Burnnel with just a 4 man rush, and as the Redskins kept backs and tight ends to help block, the Giants would just send the linebackers that were assigned to cover them.

Also, I’d be worried about what Chris Cooley will be able to do over the next couple of weeks.

Washington has to face the Eagles this Sunday, and they’re going to have to do something about their pass protection Philly is going to shut them out too.
TARGETS(catches):
Moss- 9(4)
Patten- 5(1)
Cooley- 4(3)
Royal- 4(0)
Portis- 4(3)
Sellers- 3(1)
Betts- 1(0)
Thrash- 1(1)
Jacobs- 1(1)

New York Giants:
The growing trend (and a troubling one) of Eli Manning throwing off his back foot as he bails out of the pocket hurt the Giants in the first quarter of this game. Fortunately, they didn’t need the 11 points they left on the field on their first two drives.

The Giants were again very productive when running to their left. Tiki Barber had 200 yards by the end of the third quarter.

I’ve been saying for a while that this Giants’ defense is playing better than the stats may indicate. They get good pressure on the QB and they cause turnovers. Against Washington, there were five blue jerseys around ball at all times. And in the second half, New York never let up. They came after the Redskins all game.

New York also did a good job keeping Toomer involved in the game. His role has to be increased.
TARGETS(catches):
Burress- 9(4)
Toomer- 6(2)
Shockey- 6(3)
Barber- 2(1)
Ward- 2(1)
Carter- 1(1)

Tuesday Football

Tuesday, October 25th, 2005

San Diego Chargers
The Chargers put themselves in a position to lose this game because of penalties, plain and simple. They had 9 for 72 yards, but every one was huge. The Eagles picked up 4 first downs via a SD penalty.

Both teams looked real sloppy, but San Diego was especially bad.

Caldwell was having a nice game until he fumbled on the 18 yard line with a 1:30 left in the game.

The Chargers only pass rushed 4 players for most of game. Sometimes, they’d send a 5th, but for the most part it seemed they were protecting their secondary. And the Eagles offensive line is one of the best pass blocking units in the league. They had no trouble with the Chargers’ rush.

Don’t worry about Tomlinson. The Eagles did not so much stop LT as they stopped Marty-ball.

In the second half, San Diego found ways to move the ball by using Brees on more short drops with quicker throws. They also began to vary their formations and sets, often lining up Gates in places where they could dictate his matchups. Welcome to the modern day NFL Marty. Guess what, everyone does this from the opening kickoff- not after halftime.

Attention san diego playoff chances, Nate Kaeding is scary. His kicks are still real ugly.
TARGETS(cathces):
Gates- 12(8)
MCCardell- 8(5)
Caldwell- 7(4)
Tomlinson- 6(4)
Parker- 2(0)
Peelle- 2(1)
Osgood- 1(0)
Neal- 1(1)

Philadelphia Eagles
I don’t know why some thought after the Eagles’ week 5 loss to Dallas, that they could not stop the run. In fact, I’ve seen them play extremely well against their opponents’ rushing attack this season and this game against San Diego was further proof of that. The middle of the DL did a good job of collapsing the interior of SD’s offensive line into the backfield.

And Washington should take note, those power right and power left plays that Marty and Gibbs like to run aren’t going to work against Philly.

L.J. Smith looked healthy and showed no ill effects from his ankle injury a couple of weeks ago.
TARGETS(catches):
Westbrook- 13(10)
Smith- 11(6)
OWens- 10(7)
Lewis- 6(4)
Gordon- 5(3)
Spach- 4(1)
Parry- 3(2)
Brown- 1(1)
McMullen- 1(1)



---

Indianapolis Colts
Why does anyone ever blitz the Colts?

Don’t look at the score, this game was never close.
Indianapolis was flat for the entire game, and still it was an easy win for them.
TARGETS(catches):
Harrison- 9(7)
Wayne- 9(9)
Stokely- 5(1)
Clark- 5(3)
James- 1(1)

Houston Texans
The Texans’ offense didn’t really get back on track with their 20 points in this game, but they did show a little life. Houston played a smart first half by giving the ball to Dominick Davis over and over and over again. But there is still just nothing going in the passing game and this team will continue to strike out on third downs. I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, but Houston’s only chance to produce points on offense is if they move more towards a similar offensive philosophy to what Mike Shannahan has going in Denver. Houston is the perfect fit for a one cut running game and bootleg quarterback. The only plays they are making this year are just that. David Carr threw just 9 passes all game.
TARGETS(catches):
Gaffney- 5(4)
Bradford- 1(0)
Mathis- 1(0)
Davis- 1(1)
Rivers- 1(1)



---

Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs came out again with a number of three wide receivers sets. And they’re able to run the ball out of those sets often and effectively. With Sammy Parker out with an injury, Marc Boerigter had a busy night. Tony Gonzalez picked up 7 more catches on the night, but a majority of those came in the fourth quarter when KC had a comfortable lead. The Chiefs held the ball for 41:40 of this game.
TARGETS(catches):
Gonzalez- 9(7)
Boerigter- 7(2)
Hall- 4(3)
Kennison- 4(2)
Holmes- 3(1)
Horn- 2(1)
Dunn- 2(2)
Richardson- 1(1)
Johnson- 1(1)

Miami Dolphins
Gus Frerotte played a terrible game. He was highly inaccurate throughout the contest, until he was pulled late in the fourth. It seems to me like he’s forcing too many deep throws and passing up some of the shorter options. And again, his accuracy was just awful. Gus should have had two touchdown passes in the first half (which would have made it a 14-14 game) but he twice missed open receivers in the end zone on third down.

The Chiefs’ aggressive defense gave Miami’s line trouble. They had just 17 rushing yards in the first half. And other than Ronnie Brown’s impressive 65 yard TD run, the Dolphins’ running game was empty (13 carries for 29 yards).

All Wes Welker does is make plays. He deserves more chances.

Chris Chambers’ first catch of the game came with about 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter. And his second catch, the big touchdown score, came from Sage Rosenfelds with two and a half minutes left in the game.
TARGETS(catches):
Chambers- 11(2)
Booker- 6(2)
McMichael- 6(3)
welker- 4(2)
Brown- 2(2)
Williams- 1(0)
Evans- 1(1)



---

Denver Broncos
Despite their early season success, I still don’t see how this Broncos’ team can go far with Plummer as their quarterback. What he does well is just too limiting. And on a couple of key throws in the third quarter that could have shifted momentum and stick the Giants behind by 17 points, Plummer had time to throw but missed open receivers on back to back plays.
Opposing defenses really have to take into consideration Denver’s FB Kyle Johnson. This guy has some moves and he can really get open.

Denver’s secondary has a lot of talent, but I think the Broncos’ put them in plays with single coverage and little help. Far too often they have to play 10 yards off the line of scrimmage and make things happen on their own.
TARGETS(catches):
Putzier- 6(3)
Lelie- 6(5)
Smith- 4(3)
Alexander- 4(3)
Bell- 4(2)
Johnson- 2(2)
Jackson- 1(0)

New York Giants
Tiki Barber’s fumble in this game came as his body was nearly horizontal, trying to keep his balance. It had nothing to do with his past fumbling problems and should not be of any concern.

The Giants did a great job at containing the Jake Plummer bootleg while still holding their own against the run.

And I don’t think New York’s secondary will suffer without longtime veterans Will Allen and Will Peterson. Both Deloatch and Webster are good, young corners and they have the potential to be solid starters. In fact, this Giants defense has young talent at all three levels.

The crossing routes to Shockey are really working well for this team right now. Opponents are going to have to make that a point of focus for their defenses.
I don’t know why only now people are saying that Eli Manning is a good quarterback. Was that ever up for debate, really? He did spend too much of this game making throws off his back foot. He’s got to learn to stand in the pocket a little better or he runs the risk of turning into Joey Harrington.

Despite his great numbers this season, Plaxico Burress is still not a consistent receiver. With five minutes to go and down by 6, he dogged it on a post pattern and allowed Champ Bailey a chance to make a great interception. The Broncos got the ball on their own 40 and could have closed the game out right there.

This was a great game on both sides, much like last week’s KC/WAS match. Both teams are playing good football right now.
TARGETS(catches):
Burress- 13(6)
Toomer- 13(8)
Shockey- 7(3)
Barber- 7(6)
Carter- 2(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.

Wednesday Football

Wednesday, October 5th, 2005

A friend of the Beach, DVR, pointed me to a couple of places that offer free target stats (one and two). Thanks for that.

STL- The Rams came out throwing and never stopped. Of the 10 carries Steven Jackson did get, most were designed draws or delays, He was used, however, inside the red zone a total of 4 times and giving him 11 on the season. The Giants defense played a lot of the game with their corners 10 yards off the line and St Louis threw a lot of quick stops and slants to take advantage. New York’s secondary has a lot of injuries and they seemed resigned to give those plays to the Rams. So yes, Marc Bulger threw 62 times but in Martz’s partial defense, the Giants were really giving him 4 free yards through the air on most downs.

St Louis has the kind of offense where they are vulnerable against opposing defenses who can provide pressure on the quarterback by just rushing their front four linemen. And the Giants did a good job in this game of doing just that.

At half time, the Rams had 234 yards on offense and not a single one was gained on the ground (after accounting for yards lost by sacks). And while both the final score and the pace of the game were dominated by the Giants, St Louis really could have made this a game. Right before the half and down by 10, the Rams missed a 48 field goal. After the break, St Louis took the kickoff and drove 13 plays down to the six yard line before running some ridiculous reverse. Right there are 10 points they could have tied this game up with.

So despite throwing 62 times and only rushing 15, St Louis held the ball for 32:04 (compared to NYG’s 27:56). Yet it seemed that the more they threw, the more the Giants defense got comfortable defending against St Louis. All three of Bulger’s INTs came in the second half.

With Issac Bruce out, Dane Looker saw plenty of action as the fourth WR and played well. It was hard to tell if Kevin Curtis was the #2 WR out there or if it was Shaun McDonald. Most likely, they alternated. TARGETS(catches): Holt- 14(7), McDonald- 13(9), Looker- 11(8) ,Curtis- 7(6), Jackson- 8(5), Faulk- 5(3), Williams- 1(1), Hedgecock- 1(0), Robinson- 1(0).

NYG- I was very interested to see how Burress picked up his 10 catches and after watching the game, I was impressed. Burress was used on all kinds of patterns. He’s not just been someone Eli Manning can rely on, Burress has been a playmaker. Adam Archuleta misplayed the ball on Burress’ first touchdown, but it was Plaxico’s size that allowed him to shield off the Rams’ safety. Burress only made one catch in the second half. He was thrown to 6 times, catching one pass, having another called back on offensive interference, and then drawing defensive interference on another play. While it looked like the Rams were making an effort to contain Burress a little better in the second half, he still was made a few plays that didn’t show up in the box score. This was the second straight shootout the Giants have been in. If they ever get this defense sorted out, New York is going to make some big time noise.

Amani Toomer took in a red zone score, and Jeremy Shockey beat Archuleta in single coverage for his 31 yard TD. Burress picked up 4 RZ looks, but Barber was the team leader with 8. TARGETS(catches): Burress- 17(10), Shockey 10(4), Barber- 4(2), Toomer- 3(3), Shiancoe- 1

—
BUF- The Bills came out and put together a decent enough touchdown drive to start the game. They went 75 yards on 10 plays. McGahee ran well and Losman did his best Michael Vick impression and the Bills were up 7-0. For the rest of the game, Buffalo gained a total of 101 yards. Losman continues to look terrible. He’s showed little rhythm in making his reads, missing throws everywhere, and he runs running out of the pocket at the first sign of pressure- and sometimes even when there is no pressure.

Losman’s first INT was another case of him having just absolutely zero feel for his deep throws. Like I mentioned last week, J.P. just sort of wings it out there hoping his guy runs under it. It didn’t help that Buffalo faced third and long all game. After that opening drive, the Saints defense would put 8 in the box on first down, play base on second, and then blitz on third. McGahee had just 50 yards after the first drive, and the Saints just let Losman do the rest.

Still, down by just three, Ryan Lindell missed a 45 yard field goal with less than two minutes left in the half. The Saints took the ball and kicked a field goal on their own. And with just seconds remaining, Terrance McGee returned the kickoff 82 exciting yards all the way to the four yard line just before tripped and fell with time expired.

Kelly Holcomb came in a couple of minutes into the 4th quarter but it didn’t do anything to help the Bills. I don’t think there should be a QB controversy here. Losman hasn’t shown much, and Buffalo needs to find out if this guy is their future. Their defense is soft without Pat Williams and now Takeo Spikes and their season is over. So they might as well find out what they have with Losman. TARGETS(catches): Moulds- 6(2), Evans- 3(2), Smith- 3(0), McGahee -3(2), Shelton- 2(0), Reed- 1(1), Williams- 1(1), Campbell- 1(0), Neufield- 1(0)

NO- Aaron Brooks played a real smart game against Buffalo. He ran with the ball when it helped the team, and stayed in the pocket at times when he needed to. The Saints had zero turnovers, and Brooks was in control of the offense for the entire game. Donte Stallworth had a big game, but I don’t think he can be the team’s #1 guy for the long run. Stallworth is a perimeter guy and while he did catch a couple of balls over the middle, he was wide open for both against spread out zone coverage. Duece McAllister looked much better than he did last week, carrying the ball 27 times. He also got 9 red zone chances.

A good home crowd really helped here too. The Bills picked up multiple penalties aided on by the noise. With 11:14 left in a 7-13 game, the Saints defense stopped Buffalo on third and 1 and again on fourth and 1 at midfield. But with 5 minutes left in the 4th when the Saints had a chance to put the game away, they had to settle instead for a 20 yard field goal. The New Orleans defense played well and with McAllister had his best runs of the game on the team’s last drive. TARGETS(catches): Stallworth- 11(8), Henderson- 3(1), Conwell- 3(1), McAllister- 3(2), Karney- 1(1), Smith- 1(1), Hall- 1(1)

—
MIN- Not much to say here. Minnesota did the same thing last week but this time they were playing a much better defense. When you look at these numbers, consider that the first catch made by a WR came almost five minutes into the second half. The Vikings have a bye this week. Troy Williamson has 7 catches and 2 TDs over the last two games. TARGETS(catches): Taylor- 8(5), Moore- 8(6), Williamson- 5(4), Robinson- 4(1), Wiggins- 3(3), Kleinsasser- 2(2), Bennett- 2(2)

ATL- Up 7-0, with third down and 9 to go from the Vikings’ 25 yard line, the Falcons ran Dunn on a shotgun draw. Dunn took the exchange but then fumbled as he stiffed armed past a lineman. He had so much room around him, however, that he was able to calmly gather the football and run just enough of the nine yards he needed to get the first down. And that pretty much summed up the rest of the game Atlanta had against the Vikings. The Falcons just showed up, ran their offense and went home with a victory. This game looked like the equivalent of a starting pitcher throwing a complete game by just throwing his fastaball the entire time.

I’m sure Vick would have played more had this game been a real contest. Also, Dunn’s 36 yard touchdown run was just sick. The Vikings brought a blitz on first down into the right side of the Falcons’ offense (and the wrong side if you’re playing against Michael Vick). The play had Dunn running to the left, so already he had three Vikings beaten. He got into the second level easily and then undressed Corey Chavous with a double move 10 yards away from the line of scrimmage. Good down field blocking by his receivers allowed Dunn enough room to just squeeze into the end zone. TARGETS(catches): Crumpler- 8(3), Finneran- 5(3), White- 4(2), Jenkins- 1(1), Griffith- 1(0), Dunn- 1(1), Blakely- 1(1)

Wednesday Football

Thursday, September 22nd, 2005

Well, the football guys locked the door to the targets stats they left open last week. Here’s the NFC notes:

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.

AFC and Carolina tomorrow.

« Previous Entries