Hello, Guest!

 

- NFL Week 7 - The Steelers are back in business

Ian Hetherington October 21, 2006
Ian Hetherington
NFL Columnist

Tell Ian your opinion.

-

Weeks 5 & 6


Big Ben is Back. Gotta love alliteration, haven’t you? Yes, Ben Roethlisberger in week 6 finally gave the performance that the Steelers, their fans and… well, pretty much the rest of the NFL has been waiting for. After a string of misfortunes befalling him up to this point and hindering his leadership of the NFL Champs, Ben got 238 yards, topped off with two touchdown passes, to lead the Steelers to a 45-7 win over a helpless Chiefs team in a performance that was a signal of intent from Pittsburgh if ever there was one. For arguably the first time this season, the Super Bowl Champions lived up to such a title, and having started 2-3, they’ll want to look back on this come the end of the season as just another hurdle they overcame to get a second consecutive Super Bowl. I’m not saying they will do any such thing, my pick is the Colts and as yet I have no reason to alter that, but that will be I the back of their mind, and they’ll be aiming over the coming weeks to ensure this wasn’t just a flash-in-the-pan performance.

Elsewhere, in week 5, the New Orleans Saints did it yet again, this time the visitors to the Superdome were the Philadelphia Eagles, and they joined the growing list of teams to walk away from NO empty-handed. I’d picked Philly to win this… I wanted to say the Saints, I almost did say the Saints, but I thought that they couldn’t keep it up against an impressive-looking Philly. But, I was proved wrong in what turned out to be the best game of the year thus far, as the Louisiana Roller coaster climbed another rise in the face of another resurgent team in the Eagles.

But I’ll stop about that for now, otherwise anybody who read this and my last column will think I do nothing but talk about them. In week 5 and 6 the most notable player for a variety of reasons could only be Matt Leinart, for my money. He was taking over from veteran Kurt Warner in a struggling team with a stuttering offence in which the O-line was taking much of the blame, and with a corps of underachieving players on both sides of the ball, but he came in and… well, lost twice if you want me to be blunt. But. And that’s a big “but”, with a capital “B”. The manner of his performance in two games where the Cards have collapsed in the second half has been such that there is still much hope in Arizona. With Chicago somehow escaping that game with three defensive touchdowns in the second half to hold on to an unbeaten record by the skin of their teeth, and Kansas relying on a second-half comeback also, the feeling has to be in Arizona that if they can just strengthen themselves over the course of a full game they might well be able to be a much better team than their current record suggests.

To round up the big games of week 6, we saw big wins for Dallas over Houston, including three-touchdown Terrell Owens- and for San Diego over the 49ers, Tomlinson finishing the game with a haul of four rushing touchdowns. Oakland’s woeful start continued as Denver’s average offensive show was made up for by a stifling defensive performance, while Seattle, Tennessee, Tampa Bay, the Jets, Carolina and Detroit pulled out victories of 3 points or less over their respective opponents, many of those games they were expected to lose.

Broncos report
Denver’s offence has continued to show just how good it is as the team became the first since the Lions way back in 1934 to go their first five games with just one touchdown allowed on defence (in 5 games, they’ve only let one team get more than ten points, but have yet to win by more than that margin.) This is just as well, as the offence has done enough (Plummer’s pass yards over the last two weeks have been 106 and 102) to get the win over the Ravens and the Raiders, but without ever looking like it’s really firing on all cylinders. But this is still an improvement, better to get a win with few mistakes than to get a few big but meaningless blowouts despite screwing up and look like the team is in line to fall apart when it matters. Steadily, the Broncos are getting the job done, but while this may be enough to get them past Cleveland in week 7, you can’t help but feel that both the passing and running games will have to step it up a notch for the visit of Indianapolis in week 8.

Draft Stars


I’ve been following some of the top draft pick’s progression since talking about them during my pre-season ramblings, trying to get an indication after the first NFL draft I really followed whether the big names in the draft are worth the hype once they actually reach the NFL. For #1 and #5 picks Mario Williams and A.J. Hawk, little has changed yet that I can see, both being on the defences of struggling teams, and to look at the top ten picks, you’ve got D’Brickashaw Ferguson who’s playing his part in helping Chad Pennington put up some good numbers and the Jets to a 3-3 record, Donte Whitner is getting games in Buffalo, with 5 starts and showing some promise as his stats are slowly but surely improving, Vernon Davis who before an injury was struggling to make an impact, Ernie Sims plying his trade for the Bills and… well, Michael Huff had the misfortune to be drafted onto the Oakland defence. But enough of that, let’s get onto the guys who’ve been doing particularly well in some form.

Matt Leinart, as already mentioned, has been playing in a manner that defies his young age as he’s managed to get 200+ passing yards in his two games started thus far, with 4 touchdowns, 1 interception thrown and one fumble. Not bad going for a rookie who was meant to be feeling the pressure under such circumstances, and a game at Oakland next week will be seen as his best chance for a victory yet after being mugged by Kansas and Chicago at the death.

Vince Young is in a similar situation to Leinart. He’s in the team because the starting QB wasn’t cutting it, so the coach decided to throw his hot property into the starting line-up earlier than anticipated and see how he does, and in his own way he’s had a similar impact. He got a poor 63 yards from 10/21 passes against the Colts, but did rush for 43 yards, including a touchdown to aid the Titans as they lost by a mere point to Indy. His first win would come, though, in week 6 against the Washington Redskins, as he passed for 161 one yards and a touchdown. He’ll be delighted with that victory, and rightly so, but there’s still work to be done for him. His passing has rarely seemed as composed as Leinart’s, but then he doesn’t have the same targets to aim for. Still, that win will give him an invaluable boost of confidence before the Titans’ bye-week, as he prepares for an eighth week shootout with David Carr when Houston come to visit.

Reggie Bush’s stock just keeps on rising. Ok, so he had a less than spectacular game when New Orleans managed to snatch a win from Philadelphia (where McAllister, Brees and Horn took the plaudits) but he had an exhilarating night against Tampa Bay in week 6. On the face of it, 23 rushing yards and 63 receiving yards without a touchdown from either doesn’t seem that special, but when the Bucs’ Bidwell punted the ball, little did he know that it would instantly be coming back in the hands of Reggie Bush, who made a 63-yard return for a touchdown with less than a third of the 4th quarter remaining, a score that put the Saints up by a field goal and gave them the victory. However, with a bye coming, another stern tests awaits as Baltimore come to the Superdome in week 8.

Bold Predictions


It’s time once again for me to look back and laugh at the predictions I made before this season got under way, so without further ado let’s have how my foresight looks in the cold light of week 6’s standings.

Super Bowl prediction : Indianapolis Colts. 5-0, and a visit from the Washington Redskins is unlikely to alter that 100% record, still looking good.

I selected the Cardinals as my team likely to have improved the most, and with Leinart now safely installed at quarterback, things should start to improve and the wins will hopefully start coming for Arizona to help this prediction come true.

Broncos: An AFC championship spot, unsure at the moment, but games against Indianapolis and Pittsburgh over the next few weeks should answer a lot of questions.

And last but by no means least, I chose the Redskins to be the most disappointing team and… hey, 2-4 and a home defeat to Tennessee (and 16 point loss to the Giants) tells you all you need to know, I’d say.

Random thoughts and predictions


-Cleveland Browns fans must be gutted at how many ex-Browns there are in Denver’s history-creating D as the Broncos come to see them in week 7.

-This game against the Colts is make-or-break for Washington, if their team is going to step up and give a great performance, even if they don’t win the game, the time is now.

-Three touchdowns to keep T.O. happy? Don’t be silly. He’ll be shouting, whining, gesticulating wildly, pulling faces and who-knows-what else once Bledsoe lets fly with his first pass, and he won’t find things so easy against the Giants.

Game-by-game predictions


Carolina Panthers vs. Cincinnati Bengals

I was originally going to go for the Bengals on this, but having thought on it a little more, I’m gonna say Carolina… with Steve Smith in the team, winning is what they do, and while they’ve not exactly been the best Super Bowl contender thus far, they’ve started doing enough to get the win, and I think they’ll do the same again against a Bengals team that couldn’t seem to get going at Tampa Bay, with Johnson and Houshmanzadeh catching for 201 yards between them but only managing a single touchdown. They’ll need to get more output from their yards this week, but I don’t know whether they will (and Johnson being listed as “probable” doesn’t do much to douse my doubts.)

Detroit Lions vs. New York Jets

You might think this is a no-brainer to pick a Jets team that’s holding it’s own with a 3-3 record, a quarterback doing a good job (only 175 yards last time out but two touchdowns) and is at home, and it is. Detroit may have beaten Buffalo last week, but the Bills aren’t in much better shape than they are, whereas the Jets beat an improved but still under-achieving Miami, and will claim back a winning record that they’ve lost twice this season.

Green Bay Packers vs. Miami Dolphins

This an ideal game for Miami. It won’t be a pushover, but the players that looked so much better against the Jets last week (Joey Harrington, Ronnie Brown, and the group of receivers all putting up respectable stats) will perform in a similar manner in front of a crowd that had such high hopes for this season, doing enough on defence to take a much-needed win over Favre and Co.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans

The Cowboys slaughtered the Texans last week. I’d be lying if I said a Jacksonville’s running duo of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew couldn’t create at least the same amount of yards on the ground that Dallas inflicted on Houston, and with them already being the 5th easiest team to pass against in the league (statistically, at least), Leftwich, providing he plays after being bothered by a sore ankle again, and the men he’ll be passing to must be relishing the prospect of this game as well. For their part, the Texans will give it their best shot… Carr will pass, Andre Johnson and Eric Moulds will catch and… hmmm, I guess they’ll at least try and run, but against Dallas their highest rusher was Carr. With 15 yards. Oh dear.

New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills

Do you really want me to go into a lot of detail over this? If not, skip to the next pick, if you do then I guess I’ll have to. Just compare their key players:

Brady vs. Losman? Brady. With 17 sacks in 6 games, the Buffalo D will pressure him but since when did Tom Brady notice pressure?

Maroney and Dillon vs. McGahee? Maroney and Dillon. McGahee might have a stack of running yards, but only one touchdown, and he doesn’t have a back-up you’d like to rely on, whereas New England have a great tandem to work with.

Brown and Gabriel vs. Evans, Parrish and Price? Yeah, again, Bills have lots of yards from these guys but not enough touchdowns, Brady’s receivers will have a better night, methinks.

New England D vs. Buffalo D? New England might only have allowed just over a hundred less rush yards than the Bills, but Buffalo have the best of 300 more rushing yards allowed to consider as well.

Ok these are all statistics, and statistics won’t guarantee a correct prediction, but the Patriots simply being better than Buffalo will.

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Eagles poor defence has, for the most part, been outshone by the points on the board, but as they lost to the 27-point Saints last week, a potentially fatal flaw was exposed as Philly for the fourth time this year allowed 24 or more points. Now, they should still do better against Tampa Bay’s defence than the Bucs will do against theirs, but that shouldn’t mean they put it to the back of their mind. Promising rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski might have ended up on the winning team against Carson Palmer but he’s got another duel on his hands with Donovan McNabb, who may be missing a few of his best targets come Sunday, but he’s not the league’s passing leader for no reason and he’ll give the Bucs a torrid day once again as he leads from the front to give the Eagles another victory.

***Game of the Week***
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Atlanta Falcons

This should certainly be an interesting one. A Steelers team who hit back with a bang against Kansas last week, or a Falcons team fronted by a Michael Vick who looks much happier now the team seem more willing to let him be what he is rather than trying to turn him into a pocket passer? I’m going for the Steelers for this one, they can’t allow themselves to lose this chance to break even with a 3-3 record and try and catch Baltimore and Cincinnati. Atlanta, for their part, are also third in their division as they look upwards at the Panthers and the Saints, and while many (such as myself) will be picking the Steelers, they won’t have any doubt in their mind they can win this game. Once it’s all said and done on Sunday though, the Steelers will have built on the momentum garnered from their defeat of Kansas City with another win.

San Diego Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

If there’s a game this week that promises points it must surely be this one? LaDainian Tomlinson and Larry Johnson will both be difficult to contain as ever, we’ve got two good young quarterbacks on display, and two teams geared towards offence. Does this mean, then, that the advantage rests on the team who’s best when they don’t have the ball? Kansas really ought to hope not, as Kansas City have conceded 97 points through five games to San Diego’s 55. It should be an entertainingly free-scoring game, one that the Chargers will edge by a good 10 points or more.

Denver Broncos vs. Cleveland Browns

Does anybody else sense a dull game is on the cards? The Denver offence will do enough against a poor Browns defence that has struggled to make a mark and nothing more as the defence will carry them and the pressure won’t be on them for points. The Brown’s offence really don’t look likely to break down the Broncos D, the line of which (as previously mentioned) consists of former Browns players. A Broncos win but there won’t be much to write home about here.

Arizona Cardinals vs. Oakland Raiders

The cast is assembled, the stage is set, the build-up is complete. Yes, after two heart-breaking defeats it’s time for Matt Leinart’s first win as a starting NFL quarterback. That’ll be the only story of real interest to come out of this game, Leinart will continue to impress, Oakland will remain as the league’s biggest not-winners for now.

Minnesota Vikings vs. Seattle Seahawks

Many were willing to consign Seattle to a defeat because they were away at St. Louis and missing Shaun Alexander, not giving enough consideration to the ‘Hawks will to win and the other talented members of the squad. Their guests at Qwest field this week are the Vikings, who with a 3-2 win-loss record, including an early victory over Carolina. The Vikes will look at this match as a prime chance to claim another big scalp as their hosts will still be missing both Alexander (foot) and Bobby Engram who it turns out has Graves’ disease, and the steady hand of Brad Johnson will steer them to a strong challenge, but ultimately it won’t get them the win. And here’s another tip, the Vikings haven’t let a team put 20 or more points past them this season, but rules are meant to be broken, and Seattle will be the first to do it this year.

Washington Redskins vs. Indianapolis Colts

All I can say when I think about the ‘Skins for this game is “ouch”. I said earlier they have to step up and, win or lose, give the Colts a scare. They won’t. Washington have one of the poorest pass defences in the league right now, and they’re up against Peyton Manning. Doesn’t make for a pretty game.

New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys

This is a key match-up in NFC East… with the Washington Redskins presumably about to hit 2-5, what is currently still a three-horse race could be altered long-term by the outcome of this one. There are plenty of clashes here to pique everybody’s interest as well. Tiki Barber, having announced his end-of-season retirement and the NFL’s leading rusher after 6 weeks is up against the meanest run-defence in the league (Dallas have only let teams run for 335 yards in five games). Julius Jones, Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn will cause more than a few problems for a New York Giants defence, enough in fact for a Dallas win. Here’s how I see this one happening: The Cowboys take an early lead after a swift drive. The Giants decide not to let themselves trail as they did to Seattle and Philly and hit back through the first half, doing reasonably well on the run but getting a few touchdowns from Manning passes and a few kicks to give them a 20-7 lead at half time, only for the Cowboy’s to consistently breach the Giants in the second half and with the Giants putting up a few more points of their own, Dallas eventually win by a touchdown.


Do you have an opinion on this article? Do you want direct fantasy football advice from one of our writers? You can e-mail us at ianwelby@hotmail.com. Be sure to label your subject line appropriately so we don't think it is spam. Please include your name (can be a screename), city and state. We guarantee a response to any questions or comments you have, and will publish them in our next mailbag session if appropriate.
Sponsors
NFL tickets and Super Bowl tickets

Meet Doc's Advisory Board for:


PFC Pick'em
- The 2008 PFCritics Pick'em Challenge is now open for registration. Join Now and win big! Sponsored by sportsbettingstats.com
Add to My Yahoo!
Topsites
PFCritics.com

© 2004-2024 PFCritics.com. All Rights Reserved.