NFL - hitting it's stride in Week 10

Stunned. Shocked. Flabbergasted. Those were my reactions to the end of the Colts - Pats game, the most anticipated game of the season. Indy's improbable comback was the icing on an NFL cake that even the Cake Boss could appreciate.

The NFL couldn't have scripted yesterdays contests with any more drama. It felt like every game was another installment to the Jason Bourne trilogy.

Quick recap of the televised games:

NE 34 @ IND 35

By far the most entertaining match up on Sunday's slate. The two best QB's in the league put on an aerial display that included a combined 680 yards and 7 TD passes. What people will remember most about this instant classic, is Bill Belichik's decision to go for it on 4th and 2 from his own 28 yard line with 2:00 left in the game. Peyton Manning should consider endorsing hypnotic products and services, because there's no way Belichik goes for it if Chad Henne is standing on the other sideline.

(If Chuck Norris didn't wear Peyton Manning pajamas before last nights game, he certainly will be now.)

DAL 7 @ GB 17

I've said it before and I'll say it again...Dallas games are painful to watch. Not just because I'm a fan, but because there seems to be at a minimum 8 coaches challenges, 26 TV timeouts, 5 two-minute warnings, 3 players carted off, 37 holding penalties, and 4 shots of Wade Phillips celebrating like the fat guy from Teenwolf when he hits his free throws. Sloppy play, poor play calling, and a lack of discipline proved to be more than the Cowboys could overcome. Green Bay's defense looked solid and Clay Matthews, along with A.J. Hawk will be a talented core of LB's for years to come.

Side Note: Is anyone else as sick of the Bud Light "Too light, Too Heavy" commercials as I am? The lady using the nail gun to pin on her beau's boutonniere was pretty funny, but I get it already...Bud Light's not too light and it's not too heavy. One last thing...give it up on the Bud Light Lime already...if we want lime in our beer, we'll do it ourselves...with actual lime juice, thanks.

CIN 18 @ PIT 12

First place in the NFC North was decided by the boot of Shayne Graham and the stifling defense of Cincinnati. Graham's four second-half field goals were too much for the hometown Steelers to overcome. Cincinnati held the Steelers to a paltry 3.6 yards per play and sacked Big Ben four times. Pittsburgh finds itself in unfamiliar territory after losing both games to the Bengals this season. They're now two games behind the Bengals heading into Week 11.

DET 10 @ MIN 27

I mentioned Lions Rookie Matthew Stafford in an earlier blog post and brought up a few numbers that might relate to the Lions poor record this year. In an encore performance, Stafford attempted over 50 passes for the second straight week. So let me get this straight...it's Favre vs. Stafford, Good vs. Bad, no one believes you can win, and you want to lay the game on the shoulders of a baby-faced, 21 year-old rookie QB? They pay Coach Schwartz a considerable amount of money to make decisions like that. Run the ball, play defense, kick field goals, keep it close, and most of all keep yourself out of 3rd and Lake Michigan.

That's all for the recap! Enjoy tonight's scintillating contest between the Old Browns from Baltimore against the New Browns from Cleveland.

This week's picks will be posted on Thursday afternoon prior to the game.

Ochocinco's next deodorant victim...the Lions!

At first glance, the score of 32-20 looks like a pretty good victory for the Seattle Seahawks. Every NFL fan would be happy with their team after a home win of 32-20 and everything in the box score suggests that Seattle was the dominant team…except for the 17-0 first quarter Detroit lead. Something like this jumps off the page to Detroit Lions fans trying to figure out what in the hell went wrong on Sunday. How can you give up a 17-0 lead against an inferior offense that has had trouble finding the end zone all season long?

Look no further than Matthew Stafford’s stat line: 22-42, 209 yds, 2 TD 5 INT

Now before you start pointing fingers at Matthew Stafford, let’s try to figure out why the Lions would even consider throwing the ball 42 times in a game where that held a 17-0 lead after one quarter of play. My initial thought was that Seattle had fought their way back into the game and Detroit needed to throw the ball in order to keep up. Wrong. My next guess was that the Lions had too many penalties on first and second down. Wrong.

When I went back over the play-by-play breakdown, I primarily focused on the first down play calling of Lions Offensive Coordinator, Scott Linehan. I must admit that I was thinking to myself “surely this guy would run the ball at least 70% of the time on first down with a lead…and a ROOKIE playing quarterback.” Wrong again. The breakdown went like this:

First Down Plays

Penalties – 2 false start penalties

Run – 12 att, 84 yds, 7.0 yds/att

Pass – 6 -11, 45 yds, 1 TD, 1 sack (-8), 3.8 yds/play (This doesn’t include spiking to stop the clock)

The Lions offense appeared to have everything going it’s way in the first quarter. Coach Linehan scripted the first 15 plays strategically enough to mix up the run and the pass that translated into four straight possessions with an opportunity to score. They cashed in on three of these four possessions, which led to a 17-0 lead.

What happened after that? To some it may not come as a surprise, but the Seahawks proceeded to outscore the Lions 32-3 over the final three quarters. Failure to make adjustments at halftime and not taking advantage of Seattle’s shoddy run defense proved to be the difference in the game.

As I mentioned earlier, many people would like to pin this loss on Stafford and his five costly interceptions. Let’s not be hasty, we should instead attempt to understand the game situations in which his mistakes were made. All but one of his interceptions came on third and long situations. One interception was essentially a punt with 4:34 left in the fourth quarter. On 3^rd and 9 from the DET 24 yard line, Stafford went deep down the right side to Calvin Johnson and was picked off by Marcus Trufant at the SEA 40. Stafford’s other three 3^rd down interceptions came on distances of 16, 10, and 9 yards.

I understand that there’s a learning process for rookie quarterbacks in the NFL and at times it can be a lengthy one (just ask Washington and San Francisco). Quarterbacks are such easy scapegoats in this league and in most cases it’s validated. However, Stafford wasn’t the main reason the Lions lost on Sunday.

The coaching staff of Detroit needs to put Stafford in situations where he doesn’t have to be the reason they win or lose. Never underestimate the importance of not going backwards on first down. Balance the playbook to a 70-30 run/pass ratio on first down to give Stafford a chance to get to 3^rd down and manageable. Also, consider the fact that your playbook opens up quite a bit more on 2^nd and 6 than it does on 2^nd and 10.

Stafford should never attempt more than 30 passes per game this season. At this point in his young six game career, he’s averaging over 35 attempts per game. That’s absurd. When the Dallas Cowboys started Troy Aikman as a rookie and finished 1-15, he averaged only 26 attempts per game. You know you’re team is going to struggle, so why, as a coaching staff, make it harder than it has to be. Go back to the basics and run between the tackles, make a few first downs, and play a little field position. You never know what kind of bounces that funny shaped pigskin can take sometimes.