Week 4 in Review Oct 1, 2007

Week 4 in Review

Lions 37 --- Bears 27

The Detroit Lions are 3-1 and the Chicago Bears are 1-3. A THIRTY-FOUR POINT 4^th quarter by the Lions enabled them to win this game. Yes, I said a 34 point 4^th quarter. You can do the math. They scored three points through three quarters. Jon Kitna saved his fantasy owners in that quarter as he finished the day with 247 and 2 TD’s. Tatum Bell and Kevin Jones each had double-digit carries for around 40 yards, with KJ getting a score. Mike Furrey filled in for Calvin Johnson and had 96 yards while Roy Williams was held to 53 yards. Shaun McDonald caught his 3^rd TD of the season in the Lions win. The Lions D/ST also added two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Griese was just as sexy as Rexy was. He threw 3 INT’s along with his 2 TDs, one of which was a garbage score. Bernard Berrian had 99 yards receiving while Muhsin had 49 and a TD. Desmond Clark had the other TD along with 44 yards. Benson continues to disappoint as he rushed for only 50 yards on 15 carries on a Lions defense that was torched a week ago by Westbrook. Devin Hester had a 97-yard kick return for the Bears which gave them the lead in the 4^th, a lead that they would never see again.

Cowboys 35 --- Rams 7

Just another day at the office for Tony Romo. He finished with 339 yards, 4 TDs (3 passing, 1 rushing) and an INT. Julius Jones and Marion Barber III each ran for 50+ yards, with Julius getting the lone TD between the two. Patrick Crayton was the story of the day as he racked up 184 yards with 2 TDs. Jason Witten caught 6 balls for 71 yards and a TD. Owens was quiet in the big win for big D.

Marc Bulger played awful once again and was pulled for Gus Frerotte later in the game. RB Brian Leonard carried 16 times for 58 yards in his first start. Torry Holt had 52 yards for the Rams. There was not much offense for St. Louis in this game.

Browns 27 --- Ravens 13
The first of several home underdogs to win their game on Sunday was the Cleveland Browns. The Browns got off to a fast start with TD’s by Jurevicius and Edwards. Derek Anderson had 204 yards to go along with those TD’s. Jamal Lewis had 64 rush yards and a TD. As for the Ravens, Steve McNair threw for over 300 yards and had a TD pass to tight end Quinn Sypniewski. Willis McGahee ran for 104 yards on just 14 carries. The Ravens have been a strange team this season. They lost on opening day to the Bengals when they had a chance to send it to OT at the goal line. Then in week 2, they held off a late Jets 4^th quarter comeback and did the same against the Cardinals in week 3. However, they were blown out in Cleveland this weekend and will need to regroup. It’s a 2-2 Ravens team that could easily be 0-4.

Bills 17 --- Jets 14

It doesn’t get much worse that this folks. A 0-0 game at half-time, which lasted only a little over an hour, finished in the Bills favor. A late Pennington interception with just seconds left would keep Jets kicker Mike Nugent on the sidelines without a possible game-tying field goal attempt from 50+ yards out. Chad Pennington finished with a line of 32 for 39 with 290 yards, a TD to Coles, but two crucial interceptions. The run game was not to be found for the Jets as Thomas Jones rushed for just 35 yards on 12 carries. Cotchery and Coles each caught 8 balls and had 106 and 65 yards, respectively.

For the Bills, the rookies stole the show as Marshawn Lynch ran for 79 yards and a TD while Trent Edwards threw for 234 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT in the victory. Lee Evans had 6 catches for 72 yards in his best outing of the season. We knew things could not get worse in Buffalo with the QB change, so Evans’ owners are hoping this is the sign of something good to come.

Falcons 26 --- Texans 16

The Falcons defeated the Texans as a home dog on Sunday. No Andre Johnson + No Ahman Green + the home crowd = a recipe for the Falcons first win. Joey Harrington looked sharp for a second straight week throwing for 223 yards and 2 TDs in the Falcons first win of the year. Warrick Dunn ran for 62 yards on 18 carries while Michael Jenkins caught 6 balls for 64 yards to go along with his 2 scores.

Meanwhile, the Texans lost a game that could have earned them some respect. To go on the road without your starting WR and starting RB and pull off a victory would have been impressive. However, that was not the case. Matt Schaub threw for 317 yards and a TD to Andre Davis. The Texans once led 7-3, but the Falcons controlled this entire game. Ron Dayne rushed for 62 yards on his 15 carries for the now 2-2 Texans.

Raiders 35 --- Dolphins 17

Daunte, get your roll on. That he did on Sunday as the Raidddaaas demolished the Dolphins in Miami. It was sweet revenge for Mr. Culpepper who threw for just 75 yards and 2 TDs, but ran for 28 yards and 3 more TD’s. Justin Fargas took over for the injured LaMont Jordan and torched the Fins for 179 yards on 22 carries. Jerry Porter caught both of Culpepper’s TD passes in the win.

Trent Green is on the hot seat in Miami as he threw for just 158 yards, 1 TD, and 2 picks. However, Ronnie Brown continued his success running for 134 yards and a TD. He also added 73 yards receiving. That was all the offense for the Dolphins though as they are now 0-4 on the year.

Packers 23 --- Vikings 16

Brett Favre to Greg Jennings on a quick slant to the end zone was the record-breaker in Minny as the Packers improved their record to 4-0 in their win over the Vikes. Favre was impressive throwing for 344 yards and 2 TDs. Favre did what he does best and that’s spread the ball around. Ten different Packers caught a pass from Brett while nine of the ten had at least 2 catches. There was nothing noteworthy for Green Bay in the running game yet again, which will have to improve later in the season.

As for the Vikings, the only offensive star continued to shine as rookie Adrian Peterson rushed for 112 yards on just 12 carries. Kelly Holcomb got the start for Minnesota and he threw for 258 yards with a TD (to Sidney Rice) and a pick. A little love for the kickers as they each went 3 for 3.

Bucs 20 --- Panthers 7

The Tampa Bay Bucs now have sole possession of first place in the NFC South. They dominated the Panthers from start to finish in this game. The Panthers added a late TD by DeAngelo Williams to avoid the shutout. Jeff Garcia ran for a TD in the win and had 176 yards in the air. The running game was solid from Graham and Pittman because the Caddy was wrecked after a nice run early in the game. He will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury that didn’t look pretty. The 3-1 Bucs will face their former coach, Tony Dungy, next week in Indy.

The Panthers could not do much with David Carr at the helm as he finished with 155 yards, a late TD to DeAngelo and an INT. Foster ran for 64 yards while Steve Smith was shut down for the 2^nd straight week. He caught only 3 balls for 32 yards.

Seahawks 23 --- 49ers 3

This one was u-g-l-y. Ugly. Alex Smith was hurt immediately and could miss several weeks with a shoulder injury. Trent Dilfer replaced him and was not effective. He threw for 128 yards and 2 INT’s, including a momentum killer after the Niners recovered an onside kick to begin the 2^nd half. Frank Gore ran for 79 yards and had 3 catches for 42 yards.

The Seahawks just dominated this game and now control the NFC West. Alexander ran 25 times for 78 yards while Hasselbeck threw for 281 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT. Bobby Engram finished with 53 yards and a TD while Deion Branch had 7 grabs for 130 yards in the Seattle win.

Chiefs 30 --- Chargers 16

Mar-ty. Mar-ty. Mar-ty. Chants from the San Diego faithful after Phillip Rivers threw four incomplete passes to officially end the Chargers’ hopes of coming back in this game. SD led this game 16-6 at the half and were outscored 24-0 to end the game. Phillip Rivers threw for 211 yards and 2 INT’s in a dismal performance. Tomlinson rushed for 132 yards, caught 5 passes for 22 yards, and added a TD. Antonio Gates had 79 yards receiving for San Diego.

The Chiefs played a solid game against the Chargers and put them in a 1-3 hole. D-Bowe led the way for the Chiefs with 164 yards and a TD. Damon Huard threw 2 TDs to go along with his 284 yards. Tony Gonzalez hauled in a TD to tie the game at 16 on a nice catch over two defenders in the back of the endzone. Larry Johnson ran for 123 yards on 23 carries and added 25 receiving yards. The Chiefs are now tied for first place in the crazy AFC West.

Colts 38 --- Broncos 20

The Colts own the Broncos of late and they showed why on Sunday. Peyton Manning threw for 193 yards, but had 4 total TDs (3 passing, 1 rushing). Joseph Addai, who left the game with a shoulder bruise, rushed for 136 yards and a TD. The Colts are optimistic he will be able to return next week as they host Tampa. Dallas Clark led all Colt receivers with 76 yards and 2 TDs. Reggie Wayne added 38 yards with a TD as well. Marvin Harrison caught one pass for 8 yards because he also left the game with a knee or thigh injury. There have not been any reports about his status yet. He wanted to go back in the game, but the trainers did not allow him to.

The Broncos got off to a fast start as they led 10-0 early, but the Colts proved to be too much for them. Cutler threw for 131 yards and a TD to Brandon Marshall. Henry stole the show for the Broncos on the ground rushing for 131 yards. Selvin Young ran for 81 yards on 8 carries, but there was just not enough offense for the Broncos in this one.

Cardinals 21 --- Steelers 14

Another home dog with the win on Sunday was the Cardinals upsetting Pittsburgh in Arizona. No one is happier than Ken Wisenhunt as he defeated his old team. The Quarterback By Committee (QBBC) strategy worked well for the Cardinals as Warner threw for 132 yards and a TD while Leinart threw for 93 yards. It strangely may work for Arizona, but it is something to stay away from in fantasy. Edge ran for 77 yards and a TD while Fitzgerald caught 11 balls for 123 yards with Boldin absent from the game.

Big Ben threw for 244 yards, 2 TDs, and 2 INT’s for the Steelers in the loss. Willie Parker could not find much running room as he scampered for only 37 yards. Santonio Holmes had a big day for Pittsburgh as he caught 6 passes for 128 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Giants 16 --- Eagles 3

Osi makes the sack. Umenyiora takes down McNabb. Down goes the quarterback as #72 in blue makes the sack. It didn’t stop there, but I will. The Giants had twelve; I repeat twelve sacks in their Sunday Night domination of the Eagles. Osi totaled for half of those 12 sacks, Kiwanuka had three, and Tuck had two. Michael Strahan had the other sack as he surpassed LT as the all-time leading sack-holder for the Giants. In the last six quarters, the Giants have allowed just three points. Eli Manning threw for 135 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT in the win while Plaxico Burress caught his 6^th TD of the season. Derrick Ward got the start and rushed for 80 yards and had 26 receiving yards. The Giants are now 2-2 and will face the Jets in a battle of the NY teams.

As for the Birds, they were without Brian Westbrook, who was a game-time decision. Buckhalter rushed for 103 yards in his absence, but McNabb was on the ground just 3 less times than the number of his completions. Donovan was 15 for 31 with just 138 yards. They were dominated from start to finish and now look at a 1-3 hole entering the bye week.

However, Eagle fans can now focus their attention on the Phillies, who completed a great comeback thanks to the Mets huge collapse in September.

Monday Night Football

Ok, the last two weeks I’ve gone with the home team (Eagles and Saints), so tonight I will go with the best team in football on the road.

Patriots win 34-23 in what should be a shootout in Cincy.

Good luck on Monday Night!

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