The NFL is Poop - Week 9

Damn Turnovers
The Bears undefeated season was once again ruined by the Miami Dolphins. But this time the Bears also have themselves to blame. For the second time in 3 games the Bears sabotaged themselves with 6 turnovers. The first time they somehow survived because the Cardinals were even worse. But there was no such luck this time against the Dolphins. Chicago's defense also didn't play great in this game, allowing Joey Harrington to throw 3 TDs and Ronnie Brown to rush for 157 yards.

Damn Turnovers II
The Packers outgained the Bills 427 to 184. They sacked JP Losman 5 times and held a 10 minute advantage in time of possession. But the Packers lost 24-10 because of turnovers. Brett Favre gave the Bills their first touchdown on a 17-yard INT return by London Fletcher-Baker-Butcher. Buffalo took the lead on a long pass to Lee Evans (they couldn't sustain a drive). On the next drive Favre threw another INT which was returned 76 yards and set up the Bills game clinching touchdown.

A Word About Those Damn Turnovers
The reason why the NFL is so hard to predict is turnovers. Turnovers are the single hardest thing to forecast and they are also the single most important thing in determining who wins and who loses. The biggest upset of the season so far was Miami over Chicago in which Chicago turned it over 6 times. I wonder how many people got knocked out of Survivor pools with that one, or with Pittsburgh losing to Oakland the week before. In that game Ben Roethlisberger was intercepted four times, two of which were returned for TDs. The Steelers lost despite outgaining Oakland 360-98.

Ain't That a Kick in the Head -- Sort of
The Raiders Tyler Brayton knees Jerramy Stevens in the nuts. Stevens was laughing so he must have been wearing a cup.



Who's Laughing Now?
In the matter of a few weeks the Mario Williams over Reggie Bush pick went from "one of the worst ever" to "maybe not so bad." On Sunday Mario Williams had 3 tackles, a sack and one "jump shot" celebration against the Giants. He now has 4.5 sacks this season. On the other hand Reggie Bush rushed 11 times for minus-5 yards. In his last 5 games he has 47 carries for 82 yards. He still is a threat out of the backfield but if he can't run for more than 2.6 yards per carry (his season average) he'll never be an every down back in the NFL. The Marshall Faulk projections may have to be downgraded to Eric Metcalf or Dave Meggett. And the Texans may get the last laugh.

Game of the Week
Colts 27 Patriots 20
For the second straight season the Colts beat New England in Gillette Stadium, in the regular season. Tom Brady played a poor game even though a tipped ball cost him one INT. The Colts didn't play great but they showed enough toughness to win the game. One thing I liked is when New England got within 7 at 27-20, the Colts got a few first downs and drove back into field goal range. Even though Vinatieri missed the kick at least Manning didn't fold. Kicker problems are going to plague New England all season. The Colts technically have a 3 game lead on Denver and the Patriots for home field advantage because they'd have to finish the next 8 games three games worse than one of those teams to lose home field to them.

Game to Watch
Chicago Bears at New York Giants
This one will go a long way to deciding the NFC this season. Right now they are clearly the two best teams in the conference and the winner will have the inside track on home field. Though if the Giants win, they'll be ahead on tiebreaker but have a much tougher upcoming schedule. The Bears played an atrocious game, their worst defensive performance too, against Miami and should be ready to bounce back. But the Giants also had a trap game against the Texans and although they prevailed, they played poorly.

Brief Rant About the Redskins
Thank god for untimed downs. In the last 35 seconds of this game Nick Novak missed a field goal. Mike Vanderjagt had one blocked. Sean Taylor returned the blocked kick 30 yards and got another 15 on a personal foul face mask penalty (probably should have been just 5 yards). Then Nick Novak drilled the game winner. Neither the offense nor defense played particularly well or particularly poorly. Brunell was adequate and he did make a few big plays. Once again the defense did not force any turnovers, giving them 5 takeaways on the year (last in the NFL). The New Orleans Saints forced twice that many and are 29th in the league. Baltimore leads the league with 25 takeaways. Thankfully they are 3rd in fewest turnovers putting them in the middle of the pack as far as margin goes. Unfortunately, I still doubt this team's potential this season. They could be 4-4 or even 5-3 as the games against Minnesota and Tennessee were both winnable. But then again they easily could have lost this one if not for two Dallas problems. First Bill Parcells went for 2 points in the first quarter which is asinine. Second, T.O. dropped a sure touchdown pass that would have made the score 26-12.

Cheerleader of the Week
Erica Weston of the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders
Erica is a full time student who spends her free time catching up on her sleep. Her most prized possession is her dog, Sweet Pea, but the greatest gifts she's ever received are her family and her faith. The hardest part of being a Broncos cheerleader is overcoming the stereotypes. She loves the Colorado weather when it's warm, so we can only wonder how she feels about cheering during snowy games.




Bonus Cheerleader of the Week
Jesse Adams of the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders
Jesse is also a student but she spends her free time working at the local beagle rescue. She has a beagle named Howie, also her most prized possession. She also has 4 other dogs who she evidently doesn't prize as much as Howie. She would like to one day have a career rescuing animals. She likes baking and she certainly sounds and looks perfect. Her favorite book is The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.


Why Two Cheerleaders This Week?
1) Because the Broncos are Pizza Parlor Derek's favorite team. 2) I liked both girls. 3) The Broncos have a really great cheerleader site (and I've seen almost all 32 so far this year). 4) It's interesting the Broncos cheerleader selection committee seems to have focused on abs, as opposed to the TREE-mendous breasts favored by Tennessee Titans. 5) The Broncos also have Kollette Klassen , the hottie who was (still is?) banging Jake Plummer.

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Indianapolis Colts 27 New York Giants 20
Have to give the Colts the advantage in this one because they won the first one and the only person in their way would be another Manning. I put the Giants here because I think they will beat the Bears this week in New York. And I don't think Chicago can make it threw the playoffs with Rex Grossman experiencing these all too frequent meltdowns. Pizza Parlor Derek and probably the rest of the free world are hoping this matchup doesn't happen because no one wants to see another childhood photo of Peyton and Eli.