FRO's NFL Performance Rankings week 6

FRO's NFL Performance Rankings week 6
By Jon Wagner, Sr. Writer At-Large

While there are many power rankings out there based as much on hype, expectations, and too often, unrealized and inaccurate projections, at Football Reporters Online, we prefer to rank NFL teams on what's actually happened, taking into account only how teams have performed on the field and who they’ve played. At F.R.O., you won’t find yet another power ranking that doesn’t tell you much. Instead, here are the F.R.O. NFL Performance Rankings:

Week 6:


THE ELITE:

#1 NEW ORLEANS 5-0 -- Week 6: Beat NY Giants, 48-27
Drew Brees toyed with the Giants’ top-ranked pass defense, looking like he was having a simple game of catch in the backyard with Marques Colston and Lance Moore. With Brees leading the way, the Saints lead the league with a very impressive 38.4 points and 430.0 total yards per game.

#2 INDIANAPOLIS 5-0 +1 Week 6: Bye
The Giants’ loss is the Colts’ gain, as they enjoy their Week 6 bye moving up one, to number 2. The latest of Peyton Manning’s five straight 300-yard games to start the season, has the Colts rolling since a comeback win in Miami. And, the Colts are not just about Manning and the offense. Indianapolis ranks second, allowing just 14.2 points per game.

#3 DENVER 6-0 +1 Week 6: Won at San Diego, 34-23
The Broncos weren’t legit after the fluke win in Cincinnati. They weren’t for real after beating up on Cleveland and Oakland. Well, no one is saying that anymore after home wins over New England and Dallas, and wining in San Diego on Monday Night Football. So far, Josh McDaniels has proved a lot of people wrong doing it his way, with his system, without Jay Cutler, and with Kyle Orton, who is 27-12 as a starter. Denver is allowing a league-low 11.0 points per game.

#4 MINNESOTA 6-0 +1 Week 6: Beat Baltimore, 33-31
Minnesota could easily have two home losses already in their first three home games, but as they did against the 49ers, the Vikings pulled one out late against the Ravens to remain as one of only four unbeatens left. It’s going to be difficult to keep the record unblemished with a pair of tough roads tests coming up in Pittsburgh followed by Brett Favre’s homecoming to Lambeau.

#5 NY GIANTS 5-1 -3 Week 6: Lost at New Orleans, 48-27
New York’s ride against the bottom feeders of the NFL ended with an abrupt wake-up call. The Giants still rank first in overall defense and against the pass, but they looked just the opposite in New Orleans. They still luck out however, maintaining a two-game lead in the NFC East, thanks to the Eagles stubbing their toe in Oakland.

SECOND-TIER CONTENDERS:

#6 ATLANTA 4-1 +1 Week 6: Beat Chicago, 21-14
The Falcons look nearly unbeatable at home even though the Bears played them tough. So far, only one bad effort, at New England. Otherwise, Atlanta has looked sharp on both sides of the ball with a stout defense, and a nice run/pass balance offensively.

#7 PITTSBURGH 4-2 +3 Week 6: Won at Detroit, 28-20
After letting a couple of games get away late in Chicago and Cincinnati, the defending champs have righted the ship with three solid wins in a row.

#8 NEW ENGLAND 4-2 +4 Week 6: Beat Tennessee, 59-0
59-0?!? 45-0 at halftime?!? A records five TD passes for Brady in the second quarter?!? 619 yards of offense?!? And, all in the snow, no less? It looks like Brady has answered the questions of what might have been wrong with him after losses to the Jets and Broncos. The Titans are awful, but the Pats look like they’re finally playing up to their high pre-season expectations.

#9 CINCINNATI 4-2 -3 Week 6: Lost to Houston, 28-17
After five games going down to the wire including three wins in the final 22 seconds, there was no comeback this time, as Houston’s Matt Schaub lit the Bengals up for 4 TD’s and 392 yards. Not a huge surprise since Houston’s offense is dangerous. The area of concern is that Cincinnati’s offense was supposed to be equally dangerous, but couldn’t keep up. And now, Antwan Odom, with the second most sacks (8) in the league, is out for the year with a hurt Achilles tendon.

#10 ARIZONA 3-2 +5 Week 6: Won at Seattle, 27-3
The Cardinals move up by five spots for the second straight week. After a slow start, Kurt Warner has regained his old form, and no one in the league stops the run better than Arizona’s defense which has surrendered just 59.6 rushing yards per game.

#11 CHICAGO 3-2 -2 Week 6: Lost at Atlanta, 21-14
The Bears have played pretty well overall, sandwiching their three wins in between a couple of tough losses on Sunday Night Football in Green Bay and Atlanta.

#12 SAN FRANCISCO 3-2 -5 Week 6: Bye
The Niners started strong, very nearly going 4-0 while barely losing in Minnesota. However, the 35-point home loss to the Falcons was a big red flag. We’ll find out soon if the bye week helps San Francisco regroup, as they resume with a couple of tough ones on the road, at Houston and at Indianapolis.

#13 PHILADELPHIA 3-2 -5 Week 6: Lost at Oakland, 13-9
Despite their winning record, the Eagles have a lot yet to prove, having beaten up badly on some of the league’s weaker teams (Carolina, Kansas City, and Tampa Bay), while losing to another one of those teams (Oakland) and getting crushed by the one good team they’ve played (New Orleans).

MIRED IN MEDIOCRITY:

#14 BALTIMORE 3-3 -1 Week 6: Lost at Minnesota, 33-31
It’s been a strange season thus far for the Ravens. Usually known for their defense, they allowed a lot of yardage early on, starting undefeated by scoring over 30 points in each of their first three games. Since then, they’ve lost three games by a total of only 11 points, including the last two in the final couple of minutes by a combined five points.

#15 GREEN BAY 3-2 +3 Week 6: Beat Detroit, 26-0
The Packers can be good if they can keep Aaron Rodgers upright. Thus far, they’ve allowed a league-high 25 sacks, many of which were a huge factor in their only two losses this season (to Cincinnati and at Minnesota).

#16 DALLAS 3-2 -- Week 6: Bye
Despite three wins, the Cowboys actually looked their best in a loss to the Giants. Romo has been struggling with T.O. gone, and all three wins are against weak competition (Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Kansas City –- who Dallas needed, not T.O. but OT, to beat).

#17 NY JETS 3-3 -6 Week 6: Lost to Buffalo, 16-13 (OT)
The early season bloom has come off the rose for both Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan, who have recently looked like the rookies they are. The Jets’ results mirror the Ravens, only a little worse. After three impressive wins to start the season, everything has turned around with three straight losses, and two of those were against losing teams (Miami and Buffalo) within the division.

#18 HOUSTON 3-3 +3 Week 6: Won at Cincinnati, 28-17
Inconsistency, thy name is the Houston Texans. So far this year: Loss, Win, Loss, Win, Loss, Win. After a slow start, Matt Schaub and the Houston offense have found their rhythm. If the defense can now join them on a more regular basis, the Texans might get out of their pattern and actually string two or three wins together.

#19 JACKSONVILLE 3-3 +3 Week 6: Beat St. Louis, 23-20 (OT)
The Jags have been tough to figure out. They play the Colts tough on the road, then lay an egg at home against Arizona. They get a huge win in Houston and take care of the hapless Titans easily, but they get then get blown away in Seattle and need OT to beat the lowly Rams. So, far it’s all added up to .500, which is better than many preseason expectations.

#20 SAN DIEGO 2-3 -3 Week 6: Lost to Denver, 34-23
The Chargers defense and special teams have let them down. An average of 17.5 points per game allowed in their two wins, but 31, 38, and 34 points, for an average of 34.3 points allowed per game in three losses.

#21 MIAMI 2-3 -2 Week 6: Bye
Lose one Chad and start 0-3? No problem. Try another Chad, unleash the wildcat, win 2 straight, save the season, head into the bye week, and all’s fine again. Not so fast. Look who’s coming to town next: New Orleans. Expect a heavy dose of the wildcat aimed at keeping Brees off the field.


LOOKING TOWARD THE 2010 DRAFT:

#22 SEATTLE 2-4 -2 Week 6: Lost to Arizona, 27-3
There’s no truth to the rumor of the Seahawks petitioning the league to play St. Louis and Jacksonville only. Seattle beat those two by a combined 69-0. Against others, they’ve been outscored 109-49.

#23 CAROLINA 2-3 -- Week 6: Won at Tampa Bay, 28-21
Competition makes all the difference in the NFL. Start 0-3 playing Philadelphia and traveling to Atlanta and Dallas? No problem, play Washington and Tampa Bay. They may not play like NFL-caliber teams, but the NFL still counts them as NFL wins.

#24 BUFFALO 2-4 +4 Week 6: Won at NY Jets, 16-13 (OT)
The Bills exposed Mark Sanchez, picking him five times. As bas as Buffalo has been at times (see the brutal Cleveland loss), they’re probably one late fumble in New England away from being 3-3 and 2-1 in the AFC East. T.O. has yet to be the factor the Bills hoped he would become for them.

#25 WASHINGTON 2-4 -1 Week 6: Lost to Kansas City, 14-6
How bad is the Redskins’ offense? Well, they became the first team to play six consecutive winless teams, and they are still only 2-4, with only a 2-point win over the Rams and a 3-point win over the Bucs. You must find a way to score points in the NFL, and as well Jim Zorn did that in the other Washington (as a quarterback in Seattle), he hasn’t figured out a way to get the Washington in D.C. to even come close to accomplishing the same yet.

#26 KANSAS CITY 1-5 +4 Week 6: Won at Washington, 14-6
The Chiefs finally got a win over… who else? The aforementioned Redskins. Although they’re one game worse than Oakland and lost to the Raiders at home, they get rated a notch higher since they have played better than Oakland overall during the first six weeks, and should have beat the Raiders after statistically dominating them.

#27 OAKLAND 2-4 +2 Week 6: Beat Philadelphia, 13-9
The Raiders can be respectable. They played San Diego tough, and should have beaten them. Although the Chiefs badly outplayed them, they somehow found a way to win. And, they shocked the Eagles at home, although the offense struggled again. But, when the Raiders are bad, they’re horrible. Prior to the win over Philly, they lost three straight games by 20, 26, and 37.

#28 CLEVELAND 1-5 -3 Week 6: Lost at Pittsburgh, 27-14
The Browns won by default in a 6-3 game in Buffalo in which their punter was the game’s MVP. Other than that, they’ve been pretty bad all around, although they’ve generally hung in most losses a little better than the next four teams…

#29 DETROIT 1-5 -3 Week 6: Lost at Green Bay, 26-0
The Lions have allowed a league-high 188 points while beating only the Redskins (which says more about the state of pro football in D.C. that it does about Detroit turning things around any time soon). The ineptitude in the Motor City has now reached 20 losses in 21 games, but hey, at least they can’t go 0-16 again, like last year.

#30 TENNESSEE 0-6 -3 Week 6: Lost at New England, 59-0
How can a team fall so far, so fast? From an NFL-best 13-3 last season to winless and a 59-0 utter embarrassment in the snow up in Foxborough. The Titans are now allowing league-highs 33 points and 405.7 yards per game and seem to have simply quit on head coach Jeff Fisher, who seems to have lost it, donning a Peyton Manning jersey for a charity fundraiser, saying he “just wanted to feel like to be a winner.” At this rate, he may not get the chance, as that stunt has backfired with Titans fans (even though they’re overreacting), and he could be let go before Tennessee can muster their first win. The only reason the Titans are not last (and they may yet end up there very soon), is that they were very competitive while losing three tough games to start the season, before the three horrific efforts that followed.

#31 ST.LOUS RAMS 0-6 +1 Week 6: Lost at Jacksonville, 23-20 (OT)
For the longest period this season, the Rams have been the NFL’s worst team overall, and easily the league’s most offensively challenged team, scoring just 54 points this year. But, they move out of the cellar this week for at least giving Jacksonville an overtime scare on Sunday, while Tampa Bay…

#32 TAMPA BAY 0-6 -1 Week 6: Lost to Carolina, 28-21
Can’t get out of its own way. The Bucs were more competitive against Carolina but they haven’t been in all of their other games aside from a close loss in Washington. Losing their past 10 games dating back to last season, the bumbling Bucs are in the midst of their longest losing streak since 1977, when they were in the middle of their NFL-record 26-game losing streak. Let’s hope Tampa at least gets a win or two before the current streak repeats itself like that.

FRO's FAVORITE FIVE Top Five NFL Moments - Week 6

FRO's FAVORITE FIVE
Top Five NFL Moments - Week 6
by Jon Wagner, Sr. Writer-At Large, Football Reporters Online


HONORABLE MENTION: RAIDERS’ SECRET WEAPON ON KICKOFF COVERAGE? PIGEON POWER!

If they weren’t so embarrassed as 14-point favorites losing to the lowly Raiders, the Philadelphia Eagles might consider protesting their loss in Oakland since the Raiders weren’t flagged for having 12 men… well, make that the usual 11 men… and one pigeon... on kickoff coverage in the fourth quarter. So, the Eagles not only lose one to bad team they should have beaten easily, but a fellow winged creature turns on them. You just can’t make it up. Really, you can’t. Here’s the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2msmYpNXic

#5: SCHUAB MAKES SURE BENGALS CAN’T STEAL ANOTHER ONE
All five of the Cincinnati Bengals’ games this season had gone down to the wire this season, and the Bengals had pulled four of them out of the fire, including three in the final 22 seconds, for wins. Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub made sure that wouldn’t happen again. Schaub passed the Texans from a 17-14 halftime deficit to a 28-17 lead with a pair of third quarter touchdowns, as the Houston defense then held on to win by the same score. Schaub finished a great day completing 28 of 40 passes for 392 yards, while throwing 4 touchdowns and just one interception.

#4: EDDIE GIVES DENVER TEAMMATES HIS ROYAL TREAMENT
He did it so well the first time, Eddie Royal provided an encore a quarter later. After a 93-yard kickoff return gave Denver a 7-3 first-quarter lead, Royal returned a punt 71 yards a quarter later, to put Denver up 17-10 in San Diego, making him the 11th player in NFL history and the first Bronco ever to return both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown in the same game. The Chargers would regain the lead, 20-17, on what else, a kick return –- a 77-yard punt return by Darren Sproles with 1:03 left in the half. But, Kyle Orton’s two second-half touchdowns keyed a 34-23 comeback win to keep the surprising Broncos undefeated at 6-0.

#3: CARDS STYMIE SEAHAWKS IN SEATTLE

Last week, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck made the number 5 spot on this list for his great performance at home against Jacksonville. A week later, he’s on the list for helping the Arizona Cardinals defense make themselves feel at home in Seattle. After averaging 29.3 points per game at home (in three previous home games), Seattle was held to just three points in an easy 27-3 Arizona rout. The Cardinals held the Seahawks to just 7 first downs all game, while allowing only 128 total yards, including just 14 rushing yards on 11 carries, and 114 passing yards, and forcing two turnovers (a fumble and an interception). A week after directing a 41-0 win over the Jaguars, Hasselbeck was limited to just 10 of 29 for 112 yards.


#2: FEELIN’ BREESY IN THE BIG EASY

True, the New York Giants’ secondary was depleted by injuries, but New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees was very impressive, going 23 of 30 for 369 yards, 4 touchdowns and no turnovers in a 48-27 thrashing of the G-Men in the Big Easy. Brees did pretty much whatever he wanted to do against the Giants’ ineffective two-deep zone, leading New Orleans to 34 points and 315 yards by halftime against a New York unit that came to The Superdome ranked easily as the NFL’s top defense. After directing a game-opening 15-play touchdown drive, Brees completed all six of his passes on a 6-play, 80 yard touchdown drive on the Saints’ next possession, en route to a near-perfect 17 of 20 for 247 yards and 3 TD’s by halftime. Brees made it look effortless, like a kid quarterback playing touch football in the street, all day long.


#1: BRADY’S SNOWY, RECORD-SETTING SECOND QUARTER

Whether or not the Tennessee Titans, as it seems, have simply quit on the season, and whether the weather –- as in early season snow in October in Foxborough -- had a lot to do with it, New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady was about as good as any passer could be on Sunday. Check out THIS stat line: 29-34, 380, 6 TD, 0 INT, 152.8 passer rating. Now consider that Brady didn’t even play the final 25 minutes of the game. As close to flawless as his overall performance was, that’s not the reason alone that the Patriots’ superstar earned the top spot for the Week 6 Favorite Five. No, it was because of a different five –- as in establishing a new NFL record for touchdown passes in a single quarter. Yes, five times in the second quarter, in the snow, no less, Brady threw a pass that a Patriot receiver took to the end zone for a score: first, a 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Randy Moss; back to Moss 57 seconds later on a 28-yard score; 2:39 after that, a 38-yard TD pass to running back Kevin Faulk; 4:27 later, a 30-yard strike to wide receiver Wes Welker; and finally, 1:41 later, a 5-yard touchdown toss, again, to Welker. A 35-0 quarter and a 45-0 Patriots halftime lead… wait, that’s worth repeating, since it now marks the biggest halftime lead in NFL history! … FORTY-FIVE TO NOTHING… AT HALFTIME! The game ended as a FIFTY-NINE TO NOTHING Patriots’ beatdown of the Titans. Amazing. This isn’t a college football mismatch on the schedule! THAT’S where you see 45-0 at the half and a 59-0 final (which tied the largest margin of victory since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970; the Los Angeles Rams beat the Atlanta Falcons by the same score in 1976 … You just NEVER see a blowout to this degree in the NFL. In fact, you have to go back to 1920, when a team like the Rochester Jeffersons beat a squad called Fort Porter 66-0 to have seen a whopping worse than this. Just incredible. Even more so since the Titans were 13-3 last year. From that, to 0-6 and a 59-0 loss. Wow. Here are some other impressive facts and figures on the Pats’ utter dominance… Brady’s 6 TD’s tied his own Patriots’ record… New England possessed the ball for 18 more minutes, an even 39 minutes to Tennessee’s 21… After a missed field goal on their first possession of the game, the Patriots scored on their next nine. They scored a touchdown followed by a field goal in the first quarter, and then scored touchdowns on all seven times they had the ball in the middle two quarters. In the fourth quarter, New England lost the ball on downs at the Tennessee 6 and on its last drive, at the Titans’ 41 after going a 4-yard rush and three kneel-downs by backup quarterback Brian Hoyer. So yes, it was 59-0, and it still could have been much worse… Now, here’s the real amazing thing about Brady’s performance (as if a 5-touchdown quarter wasn’t enough). Even in a game that was so lopsided, the Titans actually matched the Patriots in one of the most key statistical categories: each team rushed the ball for 193 yards (Tennessee on 36 rushes, New England on 30 carries); and the Titans had 6 rushing first downs to the Patriots’ 9. The difference though, which helped to account for a Patriots’ club record 619 total yards, was the in the passing game, led by Brady: New England had 21 passing first down to just one for Tennessee, while the Patriots outgained the Titans 426 to -7 (no, that’s not a typo with an extra character, that’s a MINUS 7 passing yards for Tennessee). Just one more number from this game that’s hard to believe.

“FRO’s Favorite Five” Frankie’s Favorite Fantasy Picks Week 7

“FRO’s Favorite Five”
Frankie’s Favorite Fantasy Picks
Week 7

By Frankie Underwood, Senior Fantasy Writer at www.footballreportersonline.com Email questions and comments to Frankie@footballreportersonline.com



Kansas City Chief’s QB Matt Cassel could put up enough numbers to cover for your regular starter during a bye week. Cassel is at home against a San Diego team that can not get pressure and is consistently in shoot out games. Just like last season Cassel started out cold but has gotten better on a weekly basis. Star WR Dwayne Bowe could be slowed down by Antonio Cromartie, but fellow receivers Mark Bradley and Bobby Wade have shown an ability to make clutch plays. The San Diego Chargers do not fare well against TEs so Sean Ryan should be useable last resort. If Cassel is not an option, Bills backup QB turned starter Ryan Fitzpatrick could show up, but try your best to find an alternative.

Unfortunately I could not find a real sleeper at RB this week. I guess I’ll have to consider the Indianapolis Colts Donald Brown as my play for this weekend. If you have Brown then there is a possibility that you are playing him weekly. If he’s not a weekly start for you and your feeling anxious about starting him this week, relax. Running backs are like H1N1 to St. Louis Rams; defenders either fall at their feet or just stay away in general. Michael Bush could perform this weekend, but it’s the freakin’ Raiders, so who knows.

Do you want a deep sleeper at WR this week? Hit or Miss I will put New England Patriots WR Sam Aiken out there with my stamp of approval. I wanted Julian Edleman, but guess who has a broken arm. Aiken signed a two year extension this week so now with Edleman out, we should get to see why. Whether it’s in garbage time or early in the game Aiken should get his share of the yardage that Tampa Bay is continually giving up. Tampa is transitioning from the Tampa 2 over to a more man defense and still has not gotten it down. Arizona’s Steve Breaston could also put up some stats especially if Anquan Boldin is out.

If you are losing your starting TE this week because of bye weeks, then you need a new starting TE, Period! If he’s on the waiver wire, Steelers’s Heath Miller should become your starting TE. The Steelers are against a Minnesota team that is fairly stout against the run but gives up a lot to TEs, and Big Ben will know where to find him. By The Way the match up of Big Ben versus Jared Allen should be fun to watch. When Allen gets to Ben, can he drag him down before Ben gets the throw off? Other TEs possibly on the waiver wire that could become your starter are Zack Miller (Raiders, agh.) and Sean Ryan of KC (last resort).

The Indianapolis Colts defense could be one of the top defenses this weekend when they travel to St. Louis. The Rams offensive line is still a liability and the colts speed rushers should make them look silly. St. Louis QB learned from Kurt Warner to sit back and wait until a receiver comes open. If he has not changed his ways we could see Kyle Boller again sooner rather than later. As long as the middle of the defensive line and safeties can contain RB Steven Jackson, this could be a shut out for Indy. San Diego is also a long shot play this weekend despite what I said about Cassel above, really it’s 50/50.


Last Weeks Favorite Five


Matt Hasselbeck – Looks like Arizona found their pass D, Sorry

LeSean McCoy – Does Andy Reid even look at what other teams have done to his opponents? Sorry

Mike Sims-Walker – 9 for 120, I’ll take it!

Jermichael Finley – 5 for 54, again I’ll take it!

New England Patriots – 2 INTs 3 Fumbles Recovered and a Shutout, I’ll take that too!!!

Steve Phillips ESPN scandal - Oakand live talk at Lake Chalet

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com

Free Videos by Ustream.TV

This is the first experimental episode of Zennie62 Live. We're at The Lake Chalet at 4:13 PM. The big news of the day is that the Steve Phillips ESPN Sex Scandal is still a top search on Google Trends because of the letter that his now-ex-girlfriend Brooke Hundley, the 22-year old ESPN Production Assistant, wrote about how they came to date.

In Oakland, locally, the news is the truck accident on Grand Avenue, where a big construction truck ran into a man trying to turn on to Mac Arthur from Grand Avenue.

Precious controversy: Tyler Perry movie tests America's readiness for black story - Oscar Buzz

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com

Precious is a film I've not yet seen and frankly would only do so with a group of friends. Based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire, and directed by Lee Daniels, it concerns the purgatory life of Clareece "Precious" Jones played by Gabourey Sidibe and its description, regardless of where one turns, is wince-producing.



Precious was making a headlong sprint for the Oscars, wining several film festival awards this year, until it hit a major speedbump in the form of a snub at the Gotham Awards that's got bloggers talking. I read Tom O'Neill's great post over at LA Times' Gold Derby Blog on the assumed backlash against Precious and had to chime in.

Harlem-born Precious Jones is the victim of a severe degree of domestic violence treatment primarily from her father and a mother who tells her that she's worthless and throws sharp objects at her. A terrible crucible to grow up in. It's a real story of real people and a real problem called child abuse. It's an African American story, but an American story at the same time.

The film has made the rounds at film festivals with no small measure of success. It won the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize, and took the Toronto Film Festival by storm.

During its film festival travels it became known as "The Oprah Flick" as CNN called it because of her financial investment in the movie, and her presence, along with Perry, on the main credits.

Tom O'Neill considers if there's a backlash against the film because of the star power of Winfrey and Perry, then turns to bloggers for reaction. I personally don't think that's the case, but I do think there's a classic issue with the frank depiction of a segment of black life.

Precious was shockingly snubbed as a nominee in any category at the Gotham Awards and in all categories many believed it would win an award in, including best picture. It's not up for even one award. Not one.

What I see developing is what I hope does not come to pass: a variation of another "Color Purple" moment.

The Color Purple was an outstanding movie produced by Quincy Jones and directed by Steven Spielberg, released in 1985, and based on the book "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and didn't get even one.

You could hear the collective cry of blacks around America, including me. It was an exciting moment to hope to see Hollywood bless a movie about hard issues that are part of African American history. Then, in three hours of painful viewing, the hope was dashed.

Like Precious, that hard issue was abuse and Celle, the woman who was the focus of the story, well played by Whoopi Goldberg, was the "Precious" of the 80s. But some didn't feel the movie lived up to the book. Others were resentful that a white director, Spielberg, was at the helm of a "black" movie, which was stupid then and dumb today. The Color Purple was as equally hard to watch in its day as Precious is today.

Not hard to watch in that one doesn't want to see it, but in the case that The Color Purple really tests you and touches your emotions at a visceral level.

But with that, I don't think Precious will suffer exactly the same fate as The Color Purple did in 1985. But I do think the real problem is in the direct, in-your-face depiction of a black story. In watching just the video clips I've seen, Precious took me back to the South Chicago I grew up in.

I think everyone who grew up in South Chicago knew someone that was a Precious or a group of young women that had suffered abuse in different ways like Precious did. That's what's "hard to watch" for me.

But I think it's even harder for some high-brow, non-black audiences to understand because their reactions predictably fall into three groups: one that thinks it's "too stereotypically black" (which is not the case), one that like it but can't get past the depiction of abusive relationships or the violence, or the third group which just likes it as a great movie work.

As you can see if 33 percent of the non-black film snob audience like Precious, then the chance that it may not get the Oscar nod it deserves is rather high. I agree with Scott Feinberg, who offered the observation that the Academy's membership is older and conservative, and falls into the "high-brow, non-black (mostly) audience.

And, like for The Color Purple, there are black bloggers like Keith Josef Adams over at The Root who say the Precious plays "the blame game", but this time puts it on women, where talk show host Tony Brown called The Color Purple the most racist depiction of black men since "Birth of A Nation".

Some believed it was that kind of chatter that killed The Color Purple's Oscar chances.

The degree to which Precious overcomes those hurdles and takes Oscar gold, let alone secures key award nominations really will be a barometer of how far we've come as a society.

I'm going to roll the dice in favor of Precious as well as the idea that America really has changed.

Oakland parking ticket hastles on the day after; looking for interns

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com

I spent so much time dealing with the Oakland Parking ticket and tow situation that I lost time working and some sleep too. Today was the day I caught up with work, but frankly I'm totally overwhelmed. I'm also not looking forward to returning to the Oakland Parking office but I'll have to bite that bullet I suppose.

I've got an occupational life beyond any one blog; it includes my simulation games for the classroom and the work I do for clients in building new media platforms for them.

So if someone reading this - it's on a bunch of my blogs - wants a small-expense pay internship learning and doing blogging, vlogging, and new media in general, drop me an email and a resume. Ideally I'm looking to restart my "SBS Personalities" program of bloggers but expand it to my Zennie.62 blog network, so up to three people will work. This is not an office engagement - have your own laptop and be able to work at home or cafe or wherever.

Pay? Very small for now as I wrote, but it could grow, and you will get enough to at least cover your food expense if you blog regularly - like every day at least twice a day. That written, the blog traffic is growing and the more you blog, the more it helps.

And on that I'm out of town in Georgia about half the time, and I just got invited to travel to Belize in November to vlog about the nice aspects of that country. So I need to build a base of people here.

Ideally someone in college with a communications major and a keen interest in entertainment, sports, and politics is best. If you have your own blog, all the better. And if you like and follow sports and celebrity gossip, totally awesome - extra points.

Extra points for San Francisco Bay Area dwellers who have their own blogs and current or former journalists who want to learn how to blog for the Internet or just want an extra place to post their blogs. (I'm not a journalist). And major points if you're a video-blogger or a person who has a camcorder, a MacBook, and knows how to use IMovie.

If you're wondering where I'm headed with Zennie62.com, visit TMZ.com as one example.

Ok. Back to work, but man I need a lot of sleep and a great vacation away from Oakland.

Noam Chomsky compares right-wing media to Nazi Germany in San Francisco visit

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com

I happened on this YouTube video where famous intellectual, author, and spokesperson on the media and politics Noam Chomsky talks about right-wing media during a recent visit to San Francisco's Commonwealth Club.

I've always felt Chomsky had his pulse on the zeitgeist of what's wrong in America. My favorite was his take on mainstream media, and while it was over a decade ago, it still applies today in a way. For example, he wrote:

The elite media set a framework within which others operate. If you are watching the Associated Press, who grind out a constant flow of news, in the mid-afternoon it breaks and there is something that comes along every day that says "Notice to Editors: Tomorrow’s New York Times is going to have the following stories on the front page." The point of that is, if you’re an editor of a newspaper in Dayton, Ohio and you don’t have the resources to figure out what the news is, or you don’t want to think about it anyway, this tells you what the news is.

And that's still true today, except the New York Times is joined by Google. As a blogger I tend to use Google Trends with a passion. But it reflects what is news at the moment - what people are searching for. More democratic? Yes, but important news can get burried under the weight of too many searches for Megan Fox.

At the Commonwealth Club Chomsky compared right-wing media to Nazi Germany. Mediaite has a partial transcription what Chomsky said:

the memory that comes to my mind — I don’t want to press the analogy too hard, but I think it’s worth thinking about — is late Weimar Germany. There were people with real grievances, and the Nazis gave them an answer. ‘It’s the fault of the Jews and the Bolsheviks and we’ve got to protect ourselves from them, and that will take care of them.’ And you know what happened…

[...]Germany in the 1920s was at the peak of Western civilization. A decade later, it was at the pits of human history.

Unless an answer can be given to these people, unless they can be led to understand what’s really happening to them, we could be in for trouble.

He's right. I continuously say and write this, but we've got to fix this economy if only to make sure political unrest does not set in. I think part of what fuels the couch potato conservatives is that they aren't making ends meet like many in America. But their response to the economic problem has been to become anti - government. How far that goes is anyone's guess.

What is Wrong with the San Diego “Super Chargers”?

What is Wrong with the San Diego “Super Chargers”?
By Will Osgood for Football Reporters Online

To answer the question of this article completely it would probably take a 900,000 word novel. I don’t have time to write such a piece, nor do you have time to read it. Instead, I will give a brief, to the point synopsis of such problems from a coach’s perspective. Some may disagree, although most will likely agree since it doesn’t seem to be brain surgery here.

1. A Lack of Commitment to the Running Game
Take Monday night’s debacle against the Broncos. While LT’s yards per carry average was not what it has been when he’s been at his peak performance, against a good defense he was consistently picking up positive yards and moving the chains. He looked fresher and quicker than I remember him in the last two-plus seasons. He had the quickness and explosion we’ve all gotten so used to from LT.
It felt like any play he was about to break the big one. He still had 70 yards, but on only 18 carries. Imagine if he was given carries on the goal-line early in the first quarter when the Chargers settled for another field goal. Say he gets to 25 carries. He gets very close to 100 yards, and I bet breaks a big one and gets well past that mark.

But more important is the effect the commitment to the run has on the Chargers both as a team and an offense. Norv Turner apparently felt he had to call all pass plays when only down by four points with about six minutes to go in the game. When Mike Nolan, the Broncos Defensive Coordinator, figured this out he just started blitzing an overmatched Chargers offensive line. Poor Philip Rivers had no chance to find men down field because blitzers were in his face as soon as he got back in his drop.

If Turner would’ve run the ball even once or twice on that drive, the Broncos would’ve had to respect that and played a little more conservatively, thereby giving Rivers at least a chance to find an open receiver.
As a New Orleans Saints fan I’ve seen how a pass-only offense ends up working out. You may put up great numbers and score a lot of points, but it is so hit or miss that you have as many three-and-outs as you do big plays. And the ball is in the air so much you’re bound to have a lot of turnovers.
Three-and-outs and turnovers kill your own defense because it puts them in horrible field position and makes them play far more downs than they are capable of handling before they break down. Complementary football, as Sean Payton calls it, is what wins football games. Run the football, keep your defense off the field, and give your offense a chance by being unpredictable.

2. Poor Line Play on Both Sides of the Ball
Again this is hard for anyone to question, but still bears being repeated. It is understandable why Norv Turner shies away from the running game. For the most part, they (the O-Line) have done nothing to reward his confidence in them. Since it is a little bit easier to throw the ball without great blocking, passing becomes your best option.

Part of the O-Line’s issues goes back to Pro Bowl Center Nick Hardwick’s absence. He is responsible for getting the line into its’ proper protections and adjustments. He has done this very well for a good number of years now. Without him the line is somewhat lost. Other injuries to Louis Vazquez have forced the Chargers to start two less qualified players on their O-Line for part of this season.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Chargers are greatly missing the services of two men who are now in other buildings, Igor Olshansky, now with the Cowboys, and Wayne Nunnelly, the veteran D-Line Coach who had been with the Chargers for 14 years and is now doing a wonderful job with…you guessed it the Denver Broncos.

Of course, losing All Pro Nose Tackle Jamal Williams doesn’t help matters either. The Chargers D-Line has become an undersized, minimally talented unit that for the most part does not fit the scheme the team is trying to run. Many in Charger Land are now casting blame on GM A.J. Smith for his inability to find suitable backups in case of a Jamal Williams injury or dropoff in production because of his age.

I for one, believed two years ago Kentwan Balmer, a DT out of North Carolina, would have been the perfect man to eventually replace Williams at that nose spot. Smith instead chose CB Antoine Cason, who looks like he’ll be a good player, but seemed to be less of a need pick at the time. Now the Chargers are left trying to fill a couple D-Line positions with career journeymen. Is it any wonder they are struggling to stop the run?

3. The Approach Has Become Stale
It is not uncommon for coaches to feel as if they are no longer reaching the players on their team after ten years or so with the same team. Well, it hasn’t been nearly that long for Norv Turner, but it is reaching that amount of time for GM A.J. Smith. And under Smith, the approach has been the same. Bring in young talent, sign your core players long-term, but don’t at any cost overpay them, and only sign second-tier free agents who will make your team as backups or role players.

To be completely honest, I generally love this model. It has worked for some of the best franchises in the league, such as Pittsburgh, New England, Indianapolis, and perhaps you could include Philadelphia. But guess what? They’ve all at least been to a Super Bowl. The Chargers have not.

Players will buy into anything if it leads them to their ultimate goal. But when their ultimate goal is not being met, uneasiness and questioning begins to take place. You might say success breeds success, just as losing leads to more losing. In my opinion this has happened to the San Diego Chargers. You could see it in the First Quarter when both Tomlinson and Antonio Gates (both team leaders and core players) showed their frustration after a third down call on the goal-line.

Most people realize San Diego’s real leader is not Norv Turner. He is much more of a puppet to A.J. Smith. Turner is basically just a glorified Offensive Coordinator. Smith chose him after firing Marty Schottenheimer to keep the current offense (which again was smart), but also so he could choose his own defensive coordinator. Most organizations allow their head coach to make such a decision.

A.J. Smith is a wonderful talent evaluator, but he has worn out his welcome with his bold moves, most notably allowing Drew Brees to leave via Free Agency, although in hindsight it worked out okay because Rivers has developed nicely.
The bigger point is that the players know Norv Turner has no power, and therefore they do not respect him. And they do not respect A.J. Smith because he is a pompous, overbearing boss who is doing more than his job description entails.
If the Chargers have any chance at salvaging their season, Turner must retake hold of this team and their psyche. He must recommit to running the football, and find a way to get some production out of his lines, despite their lack of talent and size.
It is a tall order to say the least. It is unfortunate that Turner is in this position because he actually has done an okay job given the situation he’s been given. He’s fighting an uphill battle, and one very few coaching candidates now would want to be a part of. Truthfully, despite San Diego’s talent level, I would say the Chargers Head Coaching job has become one of the least attractive in the league because you are faced with A.J. Smith.
It is no secret what I think the biggest problem is in San Diego.

AFC South Wrap Up Week 6

                       AFC South Wrap Up Week 6
 
By Rafael Garcia
Sr. Contributing Writer Football Reporters Online
Southeast Region
 
Houston 28 Cincinnati 17
In the NFL a lot of us try to find a reason why our team is not playing well. We all know they have to have certain components that work together and believe in each other. When the chips are down and they are not in sync all you need is a good quarterback to right the ship. Matt Schaub is becoming one of those quarterbacks. In a season where the job of the head coach and status of some players are in question, Schaub is maturing before our eyes. When his running game was not working he was just fabulous. He was 28-40 for 392 yards and four touchdowns with a passer rating of 124.2 with one interception. Andre Johnson caught eight passes for 135 yards and Owen Daniels had seven for 78 yards and two touchdowns. While Steve Slayton was held to 43 yards on the ground, he chipped in with 102 receiving yards on six catches, one for a touchdown. The defense was also huge in posting their third straight shutdown of the run game. Last week Cedric Benson ran wild on the Ravens but this week was held to 44 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown. In the past three weeks the run defense has given up 44, 45 and 46 yards respectively. They are playing lights out and are led by the likes of DeMeco Ryans (12 tackles), Brian Cushing (three forced turnovers, including a pick late). Next week they host the Niners and are looking to get to 2-2 at home.
 
Jacksonville 23 St. Louis 20
After getting stomped by Seattle 41-0 last week the Jags came back with a purpose. Maurice Jones-Drew ran a career-best 33 times for 133 yards and three touchdowns. Mike Sims-Walker was benched last week for curfew violation and came back with 120 receiving yards of his own. David Garrard looked sharp finishing 30-43 for 335 yards but he was picked off twice and sacked three times. It was said that Jones-Drew had expressed his displeasure with the play calling. So if he wanted the ball more he got it in a big way. At halftime he had only 11 yards but got 122 more in the second half. The Rams stayed in the game despite all that effort from Jacksonville as Marc Bulger was back after missing two weeks. He went 22-30 for 213 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Torry Holt was playing his first game against the Rams and had 101 yards receiving. Steven Jackson had 128 yards rushing and receiving. But in the end, it came down to a Josh Scobee field goal with eight minutes left, and the Jags found themselves at 3-3 with Houston. They must still play with more consistency because you cannot stay in playoff contention losing big one week and winning the next. What happened against the Seahawks and then the Rams happens all too often to this team and they must find a way to string a couple of consecutive wins together. 
 
New England 59 Tennessee 0
Yes sir you read that correctly. This was not a test or a rehearsal for the Titans. They showed the kind of ineptitude that has not been seen in this league In quite some time. Players were playing as if they were disinterested or were on the sidelines laughing It up with one another. The lack of pass coverage brings up questions about the coaching. Kerry Collins flat out stunk up the joint. Yes I know that receivers are dropping passes too but at some point It has to fall on the leader of the team. Collins was a miserable 2-12 for -7 yards folks. Chris Johnson actually had over 100 yards rushing but so what. They are dead last in scoring in the league with only 84 points. I mean the Pats got 59 in one game against them. The defense is faring no better and fans don’t want to hear that Haynesworth being gone makes that huge of a difference. Yes they have injuries in the secondary, but players are drafted to get the job done, and It just Isn’t happening. For the most part they have the same players from last year but you can’t tell watching blunder after blunder. Mistakes are a part of this teams makeup right now. They have no go to receiver and they cannot count on the running game as well. Now they have a quarterback controversy even if they didn’t want one. When do you find out if your $50 million dollar investment has anything to offer? Why not put Vince Young in now to see If he can Ignite your offense in some way. He may not be the answer long term but this would be the time to showcase him while giving him the starting job back he wants so badly. He Is scheduled to make over $14 million dollars next year and most would say that is not going to happen. The year Is shot now so take the chance because In the NFL you can suck In the first half and make a run in the second. Sure It may not get them into the playoffs but they need to find a way to win. This brings me to my last point about Jeff Fisher. I have been a fan of his since he was hired by the organization. He has earned his place and respect in Nashville but time is not on his side. Just this past week Owner Bud Adams gave him a vote of confidence, but It was for this season only. He said that he would not fire a coach in mid-season but has done it before. He and his coach have formed a bond and that has allowed Fisher to have control of this franchise unlike most NFL head coaches do. So If this ship Is sinking then he captain must take the blame now. He keeps talking about how well this team does In practice or how he believes In his players and coaches. Defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil Is looking like he Is In over his head and special teams are horrible. Changes are In need and fast in Nashville because fans won’t take It anymore . The Titans don’t want to end up like the Raiders with their well past over 80 owners calling all the shots. That’s why they hire these guys so they can get the job done and when they don’t Its time to get another.

NFC South Week 6 Wrap Up

                         NFC South Week 6 Wrap Up
 
By Rafael Garcia
Sr. Contributing Writer Football Reporters Online
Southeast Region
 
  New Orleans 48 N.Y. Giants 27
Wow Is a word you might want to use when describing the Saints offense. Maybe you could use the words awesome or unstoppable. Well they were all that and more In a battle of two unbeaten powerhouses. When the dust settled It was the G-men looking for answers. Drew Brees was simply marvelous In the first half alone. He threw where he wanted to and to whomever he wanted to. His first touchdown pass was to Jeremy Shockey from 2 yards and I guess you could say It was Shockey’s hello to his former team. He would go on to throw three more and finished the day 23-30 for 369 yards and four touchdowns. The Saints were also stout on defense keeping Eli Manning off balance all day. When they had the lead the Giants still tried to run they shut that down. Their defense limited New York to just over 23 minutes in time of possession. They would not let the running game beat them even though they were playing a monster in running the football. The Giants just could not move the ball consistently so they were never able to keep up. Three different receivers had at least 70 yards receiving for New Orleans and they kept making the big play on the arm of Brees. At times when It looked like it might turn into a game the Giants would make another mistake. Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell ran with purpose and helped compliment the passing game. If the Saints can maintain a strong defense they will go deep into the playoffs with the offense they have.
 
Carolina 28 Tampa Bay 21
This was another chance for Carolina to win another game and for Jake Delhomme to play a better game. They got the win but Delhomme continued his struggles going 9-17 for 65 yards, one touchdown and TWO more interceptions. With no passing attack the Panthers tuned to their one two punch in the backfield. DeAngelo Williams ran 30 times for 152 yards, two touchdowns, and his running mate Jonathan Stewart added 110 on 17 touches. As for the Bucs, they had great special teams play and that was it. Sammie Stroughter ran a kickoff back 97 yards for one score and Tanard Jackson picked off Delhomme and ran it back 26 yards for another score. The offense was horrible as Josh Johnson fumbled five times but was lucky to lose only one. He went 11-17 for just 147 yards and his offense only got 245. So head coach Raheem Morris continues to look for his first win of his NFL coaching career.
 
Atlanta 21 Chicago 14
Here was a game that the Bears should have won If they just stayed away from inside the Falcon 10-yard line. They turned the ball over twice and were stopped on a fourth down try In the last minute of the game when they could have tied it. Jay Cutler had a good day with 300 yards In the air and two touchdowns but could not overcome the mistakes that should have made this an easy Bear win. Matt Forte was one of the culprits as he fumbled not once but twice from the one and veteran lineman Orlando Pace moved early on a fourth and one to make it fourth and six on a late drive where they could have tied it. Needless to say they could not convert. The game was full of defense as each took turns stopping the other. Michael Turner decided the game when he scored the winner from five yards with just over three minutes left but only got 30 yards on 13 carries and Matt Ryan could not fare much better. He threw for two touchdowns but also threw two picks as his team out gained the Falcons to no avail. It was the second straight year that they have played a thriller and the second time the Bears went down in defeat. The Falcons kept pace with New Orleans for the division lead staying only one game behind.  
 
 

Seven & Out – Week #6

Seven & Out – Week #6
By Michael – Louis Ingram, Associate Editor, Director of Scouting
FRO/BASN
 
PHILADELPHIA (FRO/BASN): Each week, the League confesses seven deadly whims; and we’re here to decipher the sins – from the wins…
But first, a tip of the hat to 7& reader Rob Daniels - who offered a significant aside to the question in last week’s column, “How many of Kurt Warner’s 50 300 yard games did he win?” Daniels said, “31 out of 50.”
You know, Rob – I can roll with that. Thirty – one up and nineteen down means Warner’s passing stats were integral to his team’s overall success, and not filler for some fantasy freak.
The holidays are coming, and I have your address, Rob. Rest assured Rasta Claus will send you something to put under the tree…
 
Today’s Menu:
 
New England quarterback TOM BRADY passed for 380 yards and ties a franchise record with six touchdown passes in the Patriots’ 59-0 win against Tennessee.  Brady threw five touchdowns in the second quarter and became the first quarterback in NFL history with five touchdown passes in a quarter.
 
(In all likelihood, Brady will also be the first QB to get bitch-slapped in the regular season the moment the opportunity presents itself. This ain’t the fuckin’ BCS! New England is up 45 – 0, yet they’re still throwing the ball, and Brady’s still in the game.
 
I’m all for whippin’ dat azz, but if Brady had wanted to show what a real leader looked like, he could’ve just audibled and ran the ball the whole second half. When you add the new pom-pom rule {don’t hurt my Tommy!} it further taints whatever accomplishments Brady had earned thanks to his cheatin’ ass head coach.
 
You’d think Belicheat’d know better by now, after having the Giants beat the shit out of his 18 – 1 ass! Showing up an opponent should have been a lesson learned, but noooooo!
 
Stay tuned, y’all; because what comes around…)   
 
 
Arizona quarterback KURT WARNER threw for 276 yards in the Cardinals’ 27-3 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.  Warner (30,032) surpassed 30,000 career passing yards in his 114th career game, tying Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO for the fewest number of games to accomplish the feat in NFL history.
 
 
(Kudos to Warner for this milestone, but does this make him a Hall of Famer? I’m slightly leaning to yes – but there are at least three who’d better be in Canton before Warner even entertains a thought: try Ken Andersen, Randall Cunningham and Ken Stabler.)
 
 
New Orleans quarterback DREW BREES passed for 369 yards in the Saints’ 48-27 win over the New York Giants.  Brees has passed for 15,310 yards in 53 games since joining the Saints in 2007, becoming the fastest quarterback to reach 15,000 passing yards with a team.  The previous mark was 56 games set by Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (Miami) and MARC BULGER (St. Louis).
 
 
(It seems each week we find at least one bullshit stat – and when it comes to Brees, all of these fantasy foreplay numbers still hide the fact Brees is only 55-51 career as a starting quarterback; oh, and the last time Brees was 5-0 out the gate, the team ended up 8-8 – and out of the playoffs. As Eugene “Mercury” Morris would say, “Call me if you’re in my neighborhood” – come December.)  
 
 
New Orleans had seven different players score a touchdown against the New York Giants to improve to 5-0.  The Saints became the fourth team since 1970 to have seven different players score a rushing or receiving touchdown in a game.  The Seattle Seahawks (10/30/1977 vs. Buffalo Bills), Cincinnati Bengals (12/17/1989 vs. Houston Oilers) and Jacksonville Jaguars (12/23/2007 vs. Oakland) also accomplished the feat.
 
(I’ve a feeling the Saints are gonna need some of those points a couple months from now; especially away from the Dome Depot.)
 
 
Jacksonville wide receiver TORRY HOLT had five receptions for 101 yards in the Jaguars’ 23-20 overtime win against St. Louis.  Holt, who had 12,670 receiving yards in 10 seasons with the Rams, became the first player in NFL history to post 100 yards in his first game against a team for which he had at least 10,000 receiving yards. 
              
 
(Playing well – and winning – is the best revenge…)
 
 
Holt also reached 13,000 receiving yards (13,066) in his 164th career game, becoming the third-fastest to accomplish the feat.  Only JERRY RICE (154) and MARVIN HARRISON (162) reached 13,000 yards in fewer games. 
 
 
(Told you the brother was smooth- next stop, Canton.)
 
 
Minnesota quarterback BRETT FAVRE threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings’ 33-31 victory over Baltimore.  Favre has now passed for at least two touchdowns in 11 consecutive games at the Metrodome (eight with Green Bay, three with Minnesota), tied for the third-longest streak (JIM EVERETT, Anaheim Stadium, 1989-90) with the most consecutive games with multiple TD passes at one stadium. Favre (Lambeau Field, 1994-96) and KURT WARNER (Trans World Dome/Edward Jones Dome, 1999-2000) each had a streak of 12 games, the longest in NFL history.
 
 
(They say it’s better to be lucky than good; well if Minny is 8-0 at midseason, luck won’t have anything to do with it.)
 
 
Pittsburgh quarterback BEN ROETHLISBERGER led the Steelers to a 27-14 victory over Cleveland.  Roethlisberger has now won all 10 of his starts against the Browns and is only the second player since 1970 to win each of his first 10 regular-season starts against one team.  The last player to start 10-0 against one opponent was Pro Football Hall of Famer JOHN ELWAY (against New England).   
 
 
(Well, it’s a lot easier to lead your team to victory when the referees are as blind as fucking BATS! Even Stevie Wonder could see that was not a first down, but, then again, the Seattle Seahawks know about getting screwed by referees when playing against Roethlisberger and the Steelers. I’m still waiting for his ass to score that touchdown from the “Get Jerome ‘Bus’ Bettis a Ring” Super Bowl, let alone get the “first down” against Cleveland.
 
If I’m a Browns fan, especially after watching the first down farce magnified on the big screen, I’m even more insulted. {Sir, let me confirm your order:  That’s One Royal Screwing, Hold the KY – with a side of Disrespect; you wanna be fried with that?)
 
 
Always remember, gang – once the point is made, roll a seven – you crap out!
 
 
mike@footballreportersonline.com
  

Giants Zone Out In The Big Breesey

Giants Zone Out In The Big Breesey

By Jon Wagner-Sr. Writer at Large Football Reporters Online

New Orleans is known as “The Big Easy,” but the football game played at The Superdome on Sunday was anything but trouble-free for the New York Giants, who were unable to stop one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks and the league’s most prolific offense, which scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and never looked back.

After three straight effortless weeks shutting down some of the league’s worst offenses (winning consecutive games against 0-6 Tampa Bay, 1-5 Kansas City, and 2-4 Oakland), the Giants’ two-deep zone defense was picked apart by New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees in a demoralizing 48-27 loss, ending the New York’s five game winning streak to begin the 2009 season.

The Saints, who are 5-0 for the first time since 1993, set the tone early with a game-opening 15-play, 70-yard drive, which consumed 7:41 off the clock. The drive ended with a 4th-and-1, over-the-top dive for a touchdown by running back Mike Bell, giving New Orleans a 7-0 lead before Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning, who was making his homecoming, could touch the ball for the first time. The 28-year-old Manning, who was born and raised for the first 18 years of his life in New Orleans, played for the first time in the building where is father Archie Manning quarterbacked the Saints from 1971-1982.

On that first drive, Brees was just getting started, completing 5 of 7 passes for 43 yards against the Giants’ very soft zone with its injury-depleted secondary, while also running for six yards and a first down on 3rd-and-3 from the Saints’ 37 on the game’s first series.

The Bell touchdown marked the fifth time in as many games that New Orleans scored on its first possession this season. The score also gave the Saints 31 points (most in the NFL) on opening drives this year, which surpassed the Giants’ 27 points on such drives. On the game’s next possession, New York’s streak of scoring on its first possession in its first five games came to an end when it managed just one first down before punting.

The next time Brees touched the ball, he threw six straight passes, completing all of them, leading the Saints 80 yards in just 2:48, finding ex-Giant tight end Jeremy Shockey on a one-yard touchdown pass, putting New Orleans up, 14-0, with 2:11 left in the first quarter.

In less than 12 minutes, the Giants had already just about given up their average of 14.2 points per game (second only to Denver) coming into the contest.

At that point, Brees, who finished the game going 23-30 for 369 yards (his 32nd career 300-yard game), with four touchdowns and no turnovers, had already completed 11 of his first 13 passes for 123 yards against a Giants’ defense which entered the game ranked first in the league both overall (allowing 210.6 total yards per game) and against the pass (giving up just 104.8 passing yards per game).

The Saints led by double digits the rest of the way, in what was supposed to be a Bayou showdown between arguably the top two teams in the NFL entering Week 6, although the Giants briefly showed signs in the first half of getting back in the game.

After the Saints’ second touchdown, Domenic Hixon returned the ensuing kickoff 45 yards to midfield, but New York could only move 19 yards to the New Orleans 31 yard-line, for a Lawrence Tynes 49-yard field goal, to pull to within 14-3 with three seconds left in the first quarter.

The second quarter featured a scoring explosion. The Giants scored a pair of touchdowns, but allowed another three, and trailed 34-17 by halftime.

After Tynes’ field goal, it took the Saints just four plays and 2:20 to go 57 yards and take a 20-3 lead (the PAT was missed) on a 36-yard toss from Brees to wide receiver Robert Meacham.

The Giants responded though, taking the next possession 9 plays and 73 yards in 4:59, closing to within 20-10 on running back Ahmad Bradshaw’s 10-yard touchdown run with 7:41 left in the first half. The game nearly got away earlier on that drive when Saints’ safety Darren Sharper returned the ball for an apparent touchdown, but it was called back for a personal foul call on New Orleans linebackers Jonathan Vilma’s late hit on Manning.

The Saints struck right back on the next possession, however, going 5 plays and 61 yards in only 2:37, taking a 27-10 lead on a Brees 12-yard touchdown throw to Lance Moore. That scoring drive was aided by a very questionable 35-yard pass interference penalty on Giants’ cornerback Corey Webster who got his feet tangled with Saints’ receiver, former Hofstra star Marques Colston (games highs of 8 receptions and 166 yards), setting New Orleans up with a first down at the New York 12 yard-line.

Hixon again responded, returning the kickoff that followed, 68 yards to the Saints’ 37 yard-line. The Giants used the short field to score in just four plays, as Manning, who was held to just 14 of 31 for 178 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT on the day, threw his only touchdown pass of the game, a 15-yard strike to wide receiver Mario Manningham, who ripped the ball away from Sharper. The Giants were in the game, down 27-17, with 3:19 remaining in the half.

On the next possession, Brees and Colston again had their way with the Giants’ pass defense, connecting on consecutive hookups of 40 yards and then another 20 yards, to the New York 8 yard-line.

The Giants defense finally had what looked to be a momentum-changing moment though, stopping the Saints on a goal-line stand, as New Orleans running back Pierre Thomas (game-high 72 yards on 15 carries) was stopped on 4th-and-1, on a surge led by Giants’ defensive end Osi Umenyiora.

After Manning completed an 18-yard pass to Manningham, he was sacked and fumbled. The Saints recovered at the Giants 8-yard line. Two plays later, running back Reggie Bush scored on an easy 7-yard touchdown run with just 9 seconds left in the half, to lead 34-17.

The Giants entered the locker room at halftime stunned, having allowed three more points in a single half than they had in any of their previous five games this season (they gave up 31 in a win at Dallas) and eight more points than they gave up in their previous three games, combined.

Brees completed the first half with a 157.7 passer rating, going a near-perfect 17 of 20 for 247 yards, 3 TD, and 0 INT. A huge part of the Giants’ inability to cover receivers downfield was their severe lack of pressure up front on the Saints’ quarterback. Brees wasn’t sacked and was hit just twice in the opening half, while New Orleans rolled up 315 yards of offense and scored touchdowns on five of 6 first-half possessions.

“I don’t know that we ever hit him,” Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said of Brees. “At this level, if you’re going to stop the pass, you’ve got to get pressure. You’ve got to force the quarterback not to throw it on his tempo.”

Which is exactly what Brees thought was the key to his success, saying “We wanted to really dictate the tempo of the game the whole way through. “Seven different guys scored touchdowns. That’s big. That’s the type of rhythm that, when you get in, you feel like you can call anything and it’s going to work.” It was the first time that seven different Saints scored in a game since November 2, 1969, at St. Louis.

After each team traded punts to start the third quarter, Manning was intercepted at the New Orleans 40 yard-line, prompting a frustrated Manning to slap Bradshaw on the shoulder pad and berate him for Bradshaw’s breakdown in pass blocking.

Brees and the Saints took advantage of the turnover, going 9 plays and 71 yards in 5:11, for Brees’ final touchdown of the day, a 12-yard touchdown pass to Colston with 4:10 left in the third quarter, giving New Orleans a 41-17 lead, effectively ending the Giants’ hopes.

The Giants had an early fourth-quarter touchdown pass after a great scrambling job by Manning nullified by a mysterious holding call. New York then settled for a 38-yard Tynes field goal, to trail 41-20.

New Orleans running back Heath Evans added a 2-yard touchdown run with 7:04 left and backup quarterback David Carr, in for Manning with the game out of reach, closed the scoring with a 37-yard throw to rookie wide receiver Hakeem Nicks (5 catches for 114 yards), who caught a touchdown pass for the third straight game.

New York will need to return to form defensively when it returns home next week to face another good quarterback, Arizona’s Kurt Warner, when the Giants host the Cardinals (3-2) at 8:20pm EST, on Sunday night, at Giants Stadium.