How 'bout that Cleveland offense? On the very first play, Jared DeVries powers in on Kelly Butler's outside shoulder and smacks the ball out of Derek Anderson's hand. Corey Redding falls on it, and the Lions have already taken the ball from the Browns.
On the second play, Shaun McDonald bails out Kitna's bacon after HE gets hit while he throws and puts up a ridiculous lob. Even though they start the drive at the Cleveland 22, Detroit ends up settling for a FG. You'll never guess what they did on 3rd-and-10 from the Browns 12. They threw a pass short of the first down! 3-0, Detroit.
Both of Cleveland's kickoff returns have been out across the 35. It's the Martz Effect. The Browns completely ruin a nice long drive inside the Detroit 10 with some of the most inept offensive management you're ever going to see. They called a timeout. Jamal Lewis ran to the 1. They committed a delay of game. They called ANOTHER timeout. Lewis ran down to the 2. They committed a false start. Anderson tried to force a ball into a crowd and was intercepted by Ernie Sims. Absolutely hilarious.
Oh for God's sake, they are playing the fucking VIVA VIAGRA spot EVERY GOD DAMN COMMERCIAL BREAK. Not only are these assholes celebrating that they can't get it up, they're celebrating how whipped they are. "At the end of the day I'm not a guy who'll stray." "I'm sick of the road, I can't wait to get home." Not, you'll notice, "I cashed out my 401(k), bought a ragtop Chevrolet, looking for a drunk chick to lay." Viagra is actually a feminist conspiracy, isn't it?
That offensive offensive sequence seemed to take the air out of Cleveland's defense, too. Or maybe they're also sick of the non-stop Viva Viagra marathon. Tatum Bell ripped up the middle untouched for 20. Casey Fitzsimmons took a screen pass for 17 with no Brown touching him for a long time. Detroit starts the 2nd quarter at the Cleveland 23, but doesn't get much farther. They cover everybody and pressure Jon Kitna well to force an incompletion on 3rd-and-5. Detroit's FG is good, though, for a 6-0 Lions lead.
Charlie Frye in at QB for Cleveland. They're really working on getting the ball to Braylon Edwards. He has three catches already, two nice ones during the opening drive. Jason Wright is the replacement for Jamal Lewis. Browns make it out to midfield before they're set back by a holding penalty. Frye gets flushed upfield on 3rd-and-5 and is tripped up by Shaun Cody.
Bernie Kosar just described man-mountain Ted Washington as "two Frostys short of 400".
Shaun McDonald has been Kitna's main target tonight; he's been thrown to at least six times already. Shaun found his way into a gap in the zone for a 25-yard catch, but when Detroit gets to midfield, they start going backwards with penalties and eventually punt.
Frye drives Cleveland into Detroit territory, hitting Steve Heiden for 14 on 3rd-and-2 to get out of a hole, and scrambling for 14 out near midfield right before the 2:00 warning. A bit later he is stopped short on 4th-and-2 to turn the ball back over to the Lions with 1:00 left in the half. You'd sure figure much won't come of that lost gamble.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, Kitna catches fire, hitting Troy Walters twice, ex-Rams Brandon Middleton for 20 and McDonald for 14 and the TD to go up 13-0. 28-second TD drive.
With :20 left in the half, Frye's long pass is picked off by Gerald Alexander, who returns it back inside the Cleveland 20. Kenny Byrd's FG at the gun gives Detroit 10 points in just under a minute and a 16-0 lead at halftime.
With JT O'Sullivan in at QB, the Lions open the 2nd half with a 3-and-out.
Derek Anderson enters as QB for Cleveland and hits TE Ryan Krause for 9 to get them across midfield. On a 4th-and-1, he hits Krause again to keep the drive alive, then finds another TE, Darnell Dinkins, for 16. They get to the Lion 20 and have an actual chance to score, but Phil Dawson misses a 36-yarder. The Browns are falling apart before our eyes.
Detroit takes over with large doses of large TJ Duckett. He takes a short pass for 20. After O'Sullivan gets a short gain with a keeper on 4th-and-1, Duckett gets 17 on a 3rd-and-10 pass, and a couple of plays later, works a run outside for a 15-yard TD to a cascade of boos from a bunch of PO'ed Cleveland fans. 23-0, Detroit.
With the crowd chanting for Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey is the lucky stiff who gets to run the Brown offense next. A couple of passes to Travis Wilson take Dorsey and co. into Detroit territory. A DPI gives Cleveland the ball at the 1, and when they immediately false start to move it back, it looks like it'll be comedy of errors time again. But Dorsey hits Krause at the 1 and Jason Wright runs it in from there to put Cleveland on the board. 23-7 Lions.
Dan Orlovsky at QB for Detroit. A holding penalty shuts this drive down right away, the Lions 3-and-out, and...
... the Brady Quinn era begins, to the delight of the home crowd. His presence seems to energize the Cleveland offense. Chris Barclay takes off with a screen pass like he's shot out of a cannon for 30. Quinn hits 4 straight to set Cleveland up at Detroit's 4, including a nice 11-yard sideline pass to Maurice Mann. 2nd-and-goal from the 4, Quinn rolls right and hits Efrem Hill right after he's made a move on the Detroit DB for a TD. Heck of a drive for Quinn, though he can't come up with a completion for the 2-point conversion. 23-13 Lions.
Orlovsky drives Detroit back across midfield, but then they go to the run to burn up clock and Cleveland timeouts. They pin Cleveland at the 8 with the punt and turn it back over to Quinn.
I'm not sure if the star of this last drive should be Quinn or Jerome Harrison, because Quinn throws to Harrison 7 or 8 times. Brady shows a good arm, he moves the offense with a good tempo and makes quick decisions, but his only real downfield pass this drive is a 24-yarder to Steve Sanders. And a nice one that was. But again, just having Quinn behind center seems to have put a spark in the other offensive players. Harrison dives over the goal line with a short pass with 0:24 left to make this suddenly a close game, 23-20, Lions.
Detroit recovers the onside kick, though, and takes a knee to come away with the win.
It's not uncommon in preseason for the team that lost to have the better game. That seems to have come true for Cleveland with Quinn's fine first outing. Yes, he was throwing out of the no-huddle offense and I'm pretty sure Detroit was in soft prevent defense the whole time, but I don't think that's as important as the way the team responded to him. Romeo has to pull the trigger now and make Brady the starter if he has any illusion of coaching in Cleveland in 2008.
Detroit went on the road and dominated a bad team. They're usually awful on the road. The Lions are flickering signs that they are ready to move up to the next level and are ready to at least challenge for a playoff berth. Duckett's performance was valuable since they can't be sure when Kevin Jones will be 100%. Some good playmaking by the defensive line, too; also a good thing if they're to improve over last year.
19 down, 46 to go. Up next: I've got a stack of unmarked tapes here so it could be a surprise. I think it's going to be Tennessee-New England. (Vikings-Jets, actually.)
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Week 2: Game 18: Chargers 30, Rams 13
RamView
Rams struggled a bit more than they did the week before in run defense, and the special teams annoyingly sprung another TD-sized leak. Marques Hagans continues to excel at wideout.
San Diego's most dominating player was Shaun Phillips, who the Rams coulda/shoulda drafted a couple of years ago instead of stupid Anthony Hargrove. Twice Phillips nearly blasted Marc Bulger into next week.
My RamView duties and other duties have put me WAY behind the 8-ball as far as the rest of Week 2 is concerned. About all I've been able to do this weekend is collect most of the games on tape. The plan right now is to catch Detroit-Cleveland on NFL Network as the next game.
Rams struggled a bit more than they did the week before in run defense, and the special teams annoyingly sprung another TD-sized leak. Marques Hagans continues to excel at wideout.
San Diego's most dominating player was Shaun Phillips, who the Rams coulda/shoulda drafted a couple of years ago instead of stupid Anthony Hargrove. Twice Phillips nearly blasted Marc Bulger into next week.
My RamView duties and other duties have put me WAY behind the 8-ball as far as the rest of Week 2 is concerned. About all I've been able to do this weekend is collect most of the games on tape. The plan right now is to catch Detroit-Cleveland on NFL Network as the next game.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Game 17: Jets 31, Falcons 16
Falcons start with the ball at their 20. Joey Harrington at QB, Jerious Norwood at RB. Now, I knew Warrick Dunn was hurt, but did something happen to Michael Vick? What'd I miss?
Harrington hits Roddy White a couple of times, really getting drilled after the second one, to get Atlanta near midfield. But Norwood gets stuffed by Dwayne Robertson on 2nd down and Harrington's throw to Michael Jenkins on 3rd down is off, and would have been too short anyway. GOD, is that getting annoying. Falcons punt.
Jet offense runs the gamut from too-conservative to too-cute early. Thomas Jones runs four times, then on third down, Brad Smith takes the snap, but it's just to hand off to Leon Washington, who gets pulled down for a loss by Jamaal Anderson.
Falcons start from their own 9. Three straight handoffs to Norwood, with Kenyon Coleman stopping him cold on 3rd down to get the 3-and-out.
The Jets are making a point of getting Brad Smith the ball; he starts this series with 9 yards on a reverse. Amazingly, the Jets have opened the game with 10 straight running plays. Is OC Brian Schottenheimer really surprised when a 3rd-and-6 handoff to Leon Washington doesn't get the first down? Bizarre.
Falcons get a first down thanks to a pretty leaping catch over the middle by Joe Horn for 22. On 3rd-and-9, Harrington evades the rush and hits TE Dwayne Blakley for 37. Harrington's getting perhaps a little too fired-up every time he makes a decent play. Norwood runs it in from the 10 pretty much untouched to put Atlanta on the board first, 7-0.
Spectacular work by the wedge lets Washington break out with an 86-yard kick return to the Atlanta 8. Excellent effort and closing speed by David Irons temporarily saves the TD. Kellen Clemens takes over at QB (Why? Starter Chad Pennington never even threw a pass!) as the first quarter runs out.
Thomas Jones wriggles in from the 1 to tie the game at 7.
Chris Redman at QB for Atlanta. Another one of those dink-and-dunk drives ends when Alphonso Hodge holds Laurent Robinson to a 5-yard catch on 3rd-and-7. ONCE AGAIN THE PASS IS SHORT OF THE REQUIRED FIRST-DOWN YARDAGE. Billy Cundiff hits a 45-yarder to put Atlanta up 10-7.
Washington gets the corner and returns the next kickoff 28 yards to the 37. You know, Joe DeCamillis isn't the Falcons' special teams coach any more, and it already shows. DeCamillis, the best special teams coach in the league, went to the Jagwires, while the Rams, who also (re)filled the position this offseason? Hired a high school coach.
In what I consider a bit of an upset, Brad Smith has taken over at QB for the Jets. He scrambles twice for 10 and 7 yards. The Jets even try a fake punt with Smith as the up man, but he misses a running lane he could have taken off into for a first down and throws way behind Stacy Tutt for an incompletion that gives Atlanta the ball at their own 42.
The Falcons do nothing with the good field position after Roddy White does what Atlanta WRs do best... drops the ball, on third down. Three-and-out.
Jets open the drive from their 20. Clemens is back at QB, and underthrows a bomb by a good five yards, but Justin McCareins comes up with it for a 41-yard catch, somehow avoiding an OPI while throwing Alan Rossum aside to make the catch. Not only that, Rossum gets a DPI. Humorous.
Considering the skills he has, and that he plays for a New York team, it's surprising Washington doesn't get a lot more hype than he does. On 3rd-and-9 from the Atlanta 15, he sprints off with a screen pass down to the 2. TE Sean Ryan makes a diving catch in the back of the end zone for the score; 14-10, Jets.
Good kick return by Adam Jennings, out to the 37, gives Atlanta a good chance to drive for at least a FG in the last 0:47. White makes a nice leaping catch at the 24 and gets Atlanta's last timeout called with 0:01 on the clock. Cundiff hits the 41-yarder at the gun. Nice drive by Atlanta. 14-13, Jets at halftime.
Brad Smith opens the second half by returning the kickoff to midfield. Where have you gone, Joe DeCamillis? Falcon Nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Boo hoo hoo. Boo-hoo for the Falcon defense, too, as Washington bounces outside for a 25-yard run on 3rd-and-18. Star in the making, I tell you. DB Chris Houston is injured on the next play, a 16-yard Wallace Wright reception that gets the Jets into the red zone. Chancey Stuckey beats Tony Franklin for a jump pass from Clemens for the TD. Jets 21, Falcons 13.
KickReturnFest '07 tries to continue with Jennings returning the Jets' kickoff across the 40, but it's called back due to a penalty. The Falcons 3-and-out when Redman is almost sacked but gets a screen away to Jason Snelling, who's buried by three guys and loses 4.
Capsule of the Falcons' season to come: the local announcers completely ignore the previously-described possession while interviewing GM Rich McKay about Vick.
Jets take over at their 45, and Clemens engineers an effective dink-and-dunk drive out of no-huddle, finishing with a 10-yard pass to Sean Ryan, all alone in the corner of the end zone for his 2nd TD. Impressively, Clemens hangs in there with a blitzer bearing down on him and gets the pass off as he's getting whacked. 28-13, Jets.
Jennings returns the kickoff across the 40 AGAIN! The kick coverage in this game has been laughable. DJ Shockley taking over as Falcons QB. A holding penalty sets them back, and on third down, Shockley's pass is deflected by Michael Haynes and intercepted by Drew Coleman, who puts the Jets in long-FG position with the return.
The Jets 3-and-out it right back, though, with Clemens attempting a 3rd-down screen to Alvin Banks, who didn't appear to be looking for a pass. Mike Nugent misses a 52-yard attempt.
Jennings tips a pass to Laurent Robinson for a 17-yard gain to start Atlanta's drive. Robinson makes a fine diving catch of a 12-yard pass on 3rd-and-6 to move the Falcons inside the 25, and Snelling gains 10 the next play. As the 4th quarter starts, a false start, good Jet coverage on 1st and 2nd down, and an incomplete pass WELL short of the required distance lead to another Cundiff FG. Jets 28, Falcons 16.
Danny Ware opens the Jets' next drive with 25 on a draw play, and they're right back across midfield. Frisman Jackson makes a leaping one-handed grab of a Clemens pass for 20. The Jets drive down to the 11 before settling for a Nugent FG. An attempted screen pass is knocked down, and the Jets stupidly try to run Ware on 3rd-and-6. 31-16 New York anyway.
3-and-out for the Falcons, after a 20-yard pass to Jennings. Shockley overthrows Vincent Marshall downfield on 3rd down.
Happy to hold serve at this late stage of the game, the Jets also three-and-out, with Ware running three times for one yard. The Atlanta broadcast's choices for the "Coors Plays of the Game" are a couple of Harrington completions in the first quarter. Viva preseason!
Yet another long return by Jennings, this time 34 yards on the punt return, is called back for an illegal block. After a completion to Eric Weems, the Falcons 4-and-out with 2:36 left. They try a quick handoff on 4th-and-2, but Raymond Ventrone breaks it up in the backfield to give the Jets the ball back.
For some reason, the Jets change QBs again, to Marques Tuiasosopo. All they need to do is run out the clock anyway. Which they do. Valuable experience for Marques! Jets win, 31-16.
Two Jets really stood out here: Brad Smith, who is getting the full-blown "Slash" treatment in the Jets game plan, and Leon Washington, who's emerged as a dangerous threat on kick returns and as the third-down back.
The Falcons didn't particularly leave me a lot to go on. Their receivers look ordinary as usual. Harrington's trying to rally the team and be a leader. I wish him luck but don't see it taking. Atlanta's kick coverage units were terrible and could use a lot of work.
That completes Week 1 of the Preseason Challenge. Unfortunately, I'm a good 2 1/2 days behind schedule. The first Week 2 game up will be Chargers at Rams, which I'll be on my way to in a few minutes. Look for that on RamView.
Harrington hits Roddy White a couple of times, really getting drilled after the second one, to get Atlanta near midfield. But Norwood gets stuffed by Dwayne Robertson on 2nd down and Harrington's throw to Michael Jenkins on 3rd down is off, and would have been too short anyway. GOD, is that getting annoying. Falcons punt.
Jet offense runs the gamut from too-conservative to too-cute early. Thomas Jones runs four times, then on third down, Brad Smith takes the snap, but it's just to hand off to Leon Washington, who gets pulled down for a loss by Jamaal Anderson.
Falcons start from their own 9. Three straight handoffs to Norwood, with Kenyon Coleman stopping him cold on 3rd down to get the 3-and-out.
The Jets are making a point of getting Brad Smith the ball; he starts this series with 9 yards on a reverse. Amazingly, the Jets have opened the game with 10 straight running plays. Is OC Brian Schottenheimer really surprised when a 3rd-and-6 handoff to Leon Washington doesn't get the first down? Bizarre.
Falcons get a first down thanks to a pretty leaping catch over the middle by Joe Horn for 22. On 3rd-and-9, Harrington evades the rush and hits TE Dwayne Blakley for 37. Harrington's getting perhaps a little too fired-up every time he makes a decent play. Norwood runs it in from the 10 pretty much untouched to put Atlanta on the board first, 7-0.
Spectacular work by the wedge lets Washington break out with an 86-yard kick return to the Atlanta 8. Excellent effort and closing speed by David Irons temporarily saves the TD. Kellen Clemens takes over at QB (Why? Starter Chad Pennington never even threw a pass!) as the first quarter runs out.
Thomas Jones wriggles in from the 1 to tie the game at 7.
Chris Redman at QB for Atlanta. Another one of those dink-and-dunk drives ends when Alphonso Hodge holds Laurent Robinson to a 5-yard catch on 3rd-and-7. ONCE AGAIN THE PASS IS SHORT OF THE REQUIRED FIRST-DOWN YARDAGE. Billy Cundiff hits a 45-yarder to put Atlanta up 10-7.
Washington gets the corner and returns the next kickoff 28 yards to the 37. You know, Joe DeCamillis isn't the Falcons' special teams coach any more, and it already shows. DeCamillis, the best special teams coach in the league, went to the Jagwires, while the Rams, who also (re)filled the position this offseason? Hired a high school coach.
In what I consider a bit of an upset, Brad Smith has taken over at QB for the Jets. He scrambles twice for 10 and 7 yards. The Jets even try a fake punt with Smith as the up man, but he misses a running lane he could have taken off into for a first down and throws way behind Stacy Tutt for an incompletion that gives Atlanta the ball at their own 42.
The Falcons do nothing with the good field position after Roddy White does what Atlanta WRs do best... drops the ball, on third down. Three-and-out.
Jets open the drive from their 20. Clemens is back at QB, and underthrows a bomb by a good five yards, but Justin McCareins comes up with it for a 41-yard catch, somehow avoiding an OPI while throwing Alan Rossum aside to make the catch. Not only that, Rossum gets a DPI. Humorous.
Considering the skills he has, and that he plays for a New York team, it's surprising Washington doesn't get a lot more hype than he does. On 3rd-and-9 from the Atlanta 15, he sprints off with a screen pass down to the 2. TE Sean Ryan makes a diving catch in the back of the end zone for the score; 14-10, Jets.
Good kick return by Adam Jennings, out to the 37, gives Atlanta a good chance to drive for at least a FG in the last 0:47. White makes a nice leaping catch at the 24 and gets Atlanta's last timeout called with 0:01 on the clock. Cundiff hits the 41-yarder at the gun. Nice drive by Atlanta. 14-13, Jets at halftime.
Brad Smith opens the second half by returning the kickoff to midfield. Where have you gone, Joe DeCamillis? Falcon Nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Boo hoo hoo. Boo-hoo for the Falcon defense, too, as Washington bounces outside for a 25-yard run on 3rd-and-18. Star in the making, I tell you. DB Chris Houston is injured on the next play, a 16-yard Wallace Wright reception that gets the Jets into the red zone. Chancey Stuckey beats Tony Franklin for a jump pass from Clemens for the TD. Jets 21, Falcons 13.
KickReturnFest '07 tries to continue with Jennings returning the Jets' kickoff across the 40, but it's called back due to a penalty. The Falcons 3-and-out when Redman is almost sacked but gets a screen away to Jason Snelling, who's buried by three guys and loses 4.
Capsule of the Falcons' season to come: the local announcers completely ignore the previously-described possession while interviewing GM Rich McKay about Vick.
Jets take over at their 45, and Clemens engineers an effective dink-and-dunk drive out of no-huddle, finishing with a 10-yard pass to Sean Ryan, all alone in the corner of the end zone for his 2nd TD. Impressively, Clemens hangs in there with a blitzer bearing down on him and gets the pass off as he's getting whacked. 28-13, Jets.
Jennings returns the kickoff across the 40 AGAIN! The kick coverage in this game has been laughable. DJ Shockley taking over as Falcons QB. A holding penalty sets them back, and on third down, Shockley's pass is deflected by Michael Haynes and intercepted by Drew Coleman, who puts the Jets in long-FG position with the return.
The Jets 3-and-out it right back, though, with Clemens attempting a 3rd-down screen to Alvin Banks, who didn't appear to be looking for a pass. Mike Nugent misses a 52-yard attempt.
Jennings tips a pass to Laurent Robinson for a 17-yard gain to start Atlanta's drive. Robinson makes a fine diving catch of a 12-yard pass on 3rd-and-6 to move the Falcons inside the 25, and Snelling gains 10 the next play. As the 4th quarter starts, a false start, good Jet coverage on 1st and 2nd down, and an incomplete pass WELL short of the required distance lead to another Cundiff FG. Jets 28, Falcons 16.
Danny Ware opens the Jets' next drive with 25 on a draw play, and they're right back across midfield. Frisman Jackson makes a leaping one-handed grab of a Clemens pass for 20. The Jets drive down to the 11 before settling for a Nugent FG. An attempted screen pass is knocked down, and the Jets stupidly try to run Ware on 3rd-and-6. 31-16 New York anyway.
3-and-out for the Falcons, after a 20-yard pass to Jennings. Shockley overthrows Vincent Marshall downfield on 3rd down.
Happy to hold serve at this late stage of the game, the Jets also three-and-out, with Ware running three times for one yard. The Atlanta broadcast's choices for the "Coors Plays of the Game" are a couple of Harrington completions in the first quarter. Viva preseason!
Yet another long return by Jennings, this time 34 yards on the punt return, is called back for an illegal block. After a completion to Eric Weems, the Falcons 4-and-out with 2:36 left. They try a quick handoff on 4th-and-2, but Raymond Ventrone breaks it up in the backfield to give the Jets the ball back.
For some reason, the Jets change QBs again, to Marques Tuiasosopo. All they need to do is run out the clock anyway. Which they do. Valuable experience for Marques! Jets win, 31-16.
Two Jets really stood out here: Brad Smith, who is getting the full-blown "Slash" treatment in the Jets game plan, and Leon Washington, who's emerged as a dangerous threat on kick returns and as the third-down back.
The Falcons didn't particularly leave me a lot to go on. Their receivers look ordinary as usual. Harrington's trying to rally the team and be a leader. I wish him luck but don't see it taking. Atlanta's kick coverage units were terrible and could use a lot of work.
That completes Week 1 of the Preseason Challenge. Unfortunately, I'm a good 2 1/2 days behind schedule. The first Week 2 game up will be Chargers at Rams, which I'll be on my way to in a few minutes. Look for that on RamView.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Game 16: Ravens 29, Eggles 3
Quick! Name the stadium the Ravens play in. "M&T Bank Stadium"? Dick Stockton and Moose Johnston are your first-half announcers.
Eggles start with the ball. Not much of a kick return for former Olympic skier Jeremy Bloom. Donovan McNabb is out for the game; AJ Feeley starts at QB. The Kevin Curtis era in Philadelphia officially begins with his 9-yard catch on their first play. Baltimore has passed Oakland for loudest crowd so far. On 3rd-and-12, Ray Lewis WHIFFS on a sack of Feeley, but AJ still can't scramble far enough for the first. Punt pins Baltimore inside the 10.
Supplemental draft pick Jared Gaither starts at LT for Baltimore. The Baltimore broadcast is one of the few that takes care to list the actual starters of the game. Most broadcasts just lazily list the projected lineups for the regular season, whether those guys are actually in the game or not. Willis McGahee's 2nd touch is a 16-yard run off LT with Gaither delivering a big block. That's followed by Todd Heap running free in the Eggle secondary for 22. Heap's second reception. McNair hits Derrick Mason for 21 inside the Eggle 10. Steve McNair spears Quinn Sypniewski in the back of the end zone to put Baltimore ahead 7-0. Eggle defense barely registered during the drive, light pass rush, poor pass coverage.
Eggle offense moves a little better the second time, with Feeley getting better room to throw. Brian Westbrook does what he does best, taking a screen pass for 23. They're at the Raven 25 when Terrell Suggs knocks down a 3rd-and-5 pass to force a FG attempt. And David Akers misses it, uncharacteristically badly. Still 7-0 Baltimore.
McNair's already out and Kyle Boller's in for Baltimore. Musa Smith replaces McGahee. Brodrick Bunkley, who's reportedly tearing it up in camp, stuffs Musa on 1st down and a blitzing Quintin Mikell rejects Boller's 3rd down pass for a 3-and-out.
Kelly Holcomb now QBing the Eggles. Dennis Haley stuffs Tony Hunt on the last play of the first quarter. Antwan Barnes blitzes through untouched to take down Holcomb for a 10-yard loss to open the 2nd quarter. Barnes and friends stuff Hunt on 3rd down after an Eggle holding penalty. A minus-19 yard "drive" for Philadelphia.
3 passes and out for Boller and the Ravens, but they were lucky enough to have started the drive deep enough in Philly's territory to try a long FG. Matt Stover drills it from 50 to put Baltimore up 10-0.
Eggles dink and dunk their way to midfield before being slowed down by a false start. On 3rd-and-11, Holcomb holds the ball altogether too long, and blitzing DB Ronnie Prude isn't too embarrassed to sack him though originally slowed down by Buckhalter. Philly's getting almost nothing done on offense.
Ravens essentially 3-and-out at midfield. Demetrius Williams false-starts on 3rd-and-2 and Rashard Barksdale makes a good play to hold a pass to Mike Anderson in the flat to 2 yards.
Bloom is getting more dangerous with each return, bringing this punt back 19 yards. Holcomb takes another sack (Prescott Burgess) for holding the ball far too long, but bails himself out by hitting Greg Lewis on the sideline for the first down. Brent Celek turns a short pass into a 30-yard reception, breaking several tackles, to put Philly inside the 10. They don't convert, though, as Baltimore has Hank Baskett blanketed on 3rd down and Holcomb throws it away. Akers' FG makes it 10-3 just before the 2:00 warning.
The Raven 2:00 offense successfully gets into FG range. Boller scrambles across midfield for 20. They surprise the Eggles with an inside handoff to Cory Ross for 11. Boller hits Devard Darling for 11 more. He can't connect with Clarence Moore on a deep sideline route thanks to Barksdale's blanket coverage, so Stover hits a 41-yarder to extend the Raven lead to 13-3.
Kevin Kolb enters as QB 28 seconds before the half. Baltimore blitzes him on the last play of the half and Gerome Sapp takes him down for a 16-yard loss. 13-3 Baltimore at halftime.
Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith starts the 2nd half for the Ravens. Doing what he does best, he scrambles for 13 for a first down. The Eggles hold after that. Yamon Figurs can't come up with a low ball on a 3rd-down route that was 5 yards short anyway. Ravens punt. Bloom has to fair-catch this one.
The Ravens must not like Kolb much; they keep blitzing him. A third down blitz, bringing two DBs like the blitz before halftime, forces Kolb to throw a sloppy screen pass off his back foot for an incompletion. The blitzing's probably the right idea; Kolb has looked fine without the extra pressure coming.
Baltimore goes 3-and-out with Figurs' brutal drop of a Smith pass on 3rd-and-7. Figurs has not impressed so far. Another fair catch by Bloom on the punt.
3-and-out for Philly on three Kolb incompletions. Drop by Celek, big Raven blitz to force an incomplete screen pass, downfield pass for Celek broken up. Antwan Barnes was in on the blitz and continues to shine for Baltimore.
Corey Ross is having a fine night for the Ravens at RB. He bounces a run outside for 24, taking advantage of an overplay by the Eggle LB, to go with a couple of 10+ yarders he has already. Smith hits Moore with a laser at midfield for a first down. Rollout pass to Marcus (not Morgan) Freeman nets 17 down to the Eggle 32. The Eggles hold there, as Barksdale continues to stand out in pass coverage, and a 3rd-down blitz flushes Smith and leads to an incompletion. Stover hits again, from 50, to give Baltimore a 16-3 lead.
Ryan Moats has to be carted off the field with a broken ankle. Bloom in at WR for Philly; Kolb finds him for 11 to beat a blitz and 5 to convert a 2nd down. Kolb getting good protection, and having a good drive, until he thinks run on a 2nd down near midfield while his RB Nate Ilaoa is thinking pass. Prude recovers the fumbled ball for Baltimore.
Very quick 3-and-out for the Ravens. Smith has to throw it away under heavy pressure on 3rd-and-2. Yet another fair catch for Bloom on the punt.
The Eagles cheerleader calendar, by the way, receives my full endorsement.
Eggles also 3-and-out at the start of the 4th quarter, with Corey Ivy clobbering Kolb on a 3rd down blitz. My God, the Ravens are blitzing a lot tonight. Saverio Rocca, an Australian football import, has a 56-yard punt nullified by penalty, but follows with a 65-yard punt. That obviously outkicks the coverage, and Figurs brings it back for 17 to midfield. Barnes -blasts- Rocca on the return, which incenses Eggles commentator Ike Reese. That did seem like a cheap shot. Michael Gasperson gets a 15-yard penalty defending his teammate.
The new Ravens QB is Drew Olson. After a 1st-down sack/fumble that Baltimore recovers, he finds Kendrick Ballantyne open deep in zone coverage for 33 down to the Eggle 5. From the 4, Le'Ron McClain is left alone in the flat for an easy TD catch. It's now 23-to-3.
Kolb remains in and hits Jermaine Jamison with a fine pass over the middle, but Prude, who's starting to look pretty conspicuous, strips it out to get Baltimore the ball back again.
Ravens play some ball-control offense and take about 5:00 off the clock with a bunch of handoffs to - man, I'm getting old - Greg Pruitt, Jr. Pruitt would have had a TD from the 5 but his own lineman , Chris Pino, got in front of him and knocked him down. Ravens settle for Stover's millionth FG of the night and it's 26 to 3.
Kolb looks pretty decent; he's adjusted well to the oncoming pressure. But Zac Collie drops a 4th-and-4 pass to return the ball to the Ravens. Woof.
Ross is having a formidable game for Baltimore, squirting through left tackle for 19 to open the drive. He finishes the night with 11 rushes for 65 yards. The Eggles force ANOTHER Stover FG by stringing out Ross on a 2nd down sweep and by pressuring Olson into a low incompletion intended for a wide-open Damien Linson. Stover makes it 29-3, Ravens.
Kolb is sacked by Bill Swancutt to force one last punt with 2:00 left. Rocca hits it 50 yards; Figurs returns it 18. Ravens run out the clock for the win.
Baltimore took this one a lot more seriously than Philadelphia did. They were blitz-heavy on the rookie Kolb, and they stopped kicking to Jeremy Bloom. But they unveiled some good young players, too. Gaither looks like borderline-starting material already. Barnes and Prude were all over the place. Ross played like a game-breaking runner.
The Eggles had a lot of bright spots, for a team that lost by almost 4 TDs. Kolb fought off those Raven blitzes and had a strong game. On defense, Bunkley looks good and Barksdale looks like a keeper. Both Bloom and Rocca look like big future contributors on special teams.
Up next: A little nap, then Falcons at Jets to close out week 1 of the Preseason Challenge.
Eggles start with the ball. Not much of a kick return for former Olympic skier Jeremy Bloom. Donovan McNabb is out for the game; AJ Feeley starts at QB. The Kevin Curtis era in Philadelphia officially begins with his 9-yard catch on their first play. Baltimore has passed Oakland for loudest crowd so far. On 3rd-and-12, Ray Lewis WHIFFS on a sack of Feeley, but AJ still can't scramble far enough for the first. Punt pins Baltimore inside the 10.
Supplemental draft pick Jared Gaither starts at LT for Baltimore. The Baltimore broadcast is one of the few that takes care to list the actual starters of the game. Most broadcasts just lazily list the projected lineups for the regular season, whether those guys are actually in the game or not. Willis McGahee's 2nd touch is a 16-yard run off LT with Gaither delivering a big block. That's followed by Todd Heap running free in the Eggle secondary for 22. Heap's second reception. McNair hits Derrick Mason for 21 inside the Eggle 10. Steve McNair spears Quinn Sypniewski in the back of the end zone to put Baltimore ahead 7-0. Eggle defense barely registered during the drive, light pass rush, poor pass coverage.
Eggle offense moves a little better the second time, with Feeley getting better room to throw. Brian Westbrook does what he does best, taking a screen pass for 23. They're at the Raven 25 when Terrell Suggs knocks down a 3rd-and-5 pass to force a FG attempt. And David Akers misses it, uncharacteristically badly. Still 7-0 Baltimore.
McNair's already out and Kyle Boller's in for Baltimore. Musa Smith replaces McGahee. Brodrick Bunkley, who's reportedly tearing it up in camp, stuffs Musa on 1st down and a blitzing Quintin Mikell rejects Boller's 3rd down pass for a 3-and-out.
Kelly Holcomb now QBing the Eggles. Dennis Haley stuffs Tony Hunt on the last play of the first quarter. Antwan Barnes blitzes through untouched to take down Holcomb for a 10-yard loss to open the 2nd quarter. Barnes and friends stuff Hunt on 3rd down after an Eggle holding penalty. A minus-19 yard "drive" for Philadelphia.
3 passes and out for Boller and the Ravens, but they were lucky enough to have started the drive deep enough in Philly's territory to try a long FG. Matt Stover drills it from 50 to put Baltimore up 10-0.
Eggles dink and dunk their way to midfield before being slowed down by a false start. On 3rd-and-11, Holcomb holds the ball altogether too long, and blitzing DB Ronnie Prude isn't too embarrassed to sack him though originally slowed down by Buckhalter. Philly's getting almost nothing done on offense.
Ravens essentially 3-and-out at midfield. Demetrius Williams false-starts on 3rd-and-2 and Rashard Barksdale makes a good play to hold a pass to Mike Anderson in the flat to 2 yards.
Bloom is getting more dangerous with each return, bringing this punt back 19 yards. Holcomb takes another sack (Prescott Burgess) for holding the ball far too long, but bails himself out by hitting Greg Lewis on the sideline for the first down. Brent Celek turns a short pass into a 30-yard reception, breaking several tackles, to put Philly inside the 10. They don't convert, though, as Baltimore has Hank Baskett blanketed on 3rd down and Holcomb throws it away. Akers' FG makes it 10-3 just before the 2:00 warning.
The Raven 2:00 offense successfully gets into FG range. Boller scrambles across midfield for 20. They surprise the Eggles with an inside handoff to Cory Ross for 11. Boller hits Devard Darling for 11 more. He can't connect with Clarence Moore on a deep sideline route thanks to Barksdale's blanket coverage, so Stover hits a 41-yarder to extend the Raven lead to 13-3.
Kevin Kolb enters as QB 28 seconds before the half. Baltimore blitzes him on the last play of the half and Gerome Sapp takes him down for a 16-yard loss. 13-3 Baltimore at halftime.
Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith starts the 2nd half for the Ravens. Doing what he does best, he scrambles for 13 for a first down. The Eggles hold after that. Yamon Figurs can't come up with a low ball on a 3rd-down route that was 5 yards short anyway. Ravens punt. Bloom has to fair-catch this one.
The Ravens must not like Kolb much; they keep blitzing him. A third down blitz, bringing two DBs like the blitz before halftime, forces Kolb to throw a sloppy screen pass off his back foot for an incompletion. The blitzing's probably the right idea; Kolb has looked fine without the extra pressure coming.
Baltimore goes 3-and-out with Figurs' brutal drop of a Smith pass on 3rd-and-7. Figurs has not impressed so far. Another fair catch by Bloom on the punt.
3-and-out for Philly on three Kolb incompletions. Drop by Celek, big Raven blitz to force an incomplete screen pass, downfield pass for Celek broken up. Antwan Barnes was in on the blitz and continues to shine for Baltimore.
Corey Ross is having a fine night for the Ravens at RB. He bounces a run outside for 24, taking advantage of an overplay by the Eggle LB, to go with a couple of 10+ yarders he has already. Smith hits Moore with a laser at midfield for a first down. Rollout pass to Marcus (not Morgan) Freeman nets 17 down to the Eggle 32. The Eggles hold there, as Barksdale continues to stand out in pass coverage, and a 3rd-down blitz flushes Smith and leads to an incompletion. Stover hits again, from 50, to give Baltimore a 16-3 lead.
Ryan Moats has to be carted off the field with a broken ankle. Bloom in at WR for Philly; Kolb finds him for 11 to beat a blitz and 5 to convert a 2nd down. Kolb getting good protection, and having a good drive, until he thinks run on a 2nd down near midfield while his RB Nate Ilaoa is thinking pass. Prude recovers the fumbled ball for Baltimore.
Very quick 3-and-out for the Ravens. Smith has to throw it away under heavy pressure on 3rd-and-2. Yet another fair catch for Bloom on the punt.
The Eagles cheerleader calendar, by the way, receives my full endorsement.
Eggles also 3-and-out at the start of the 4th quarter, with Corey Ivy clobbering Kolb on a 3rd down blitz. My God, the Ravens are blitzing a lot tonight. Saverio Rocca, an Australian football import, has a 56-yard punt nullified by penalty, but follows with a 65-yard punt. That obviously outkicks the coverage, and Figurs brings it back for 17 to midfield. Barnes -blasts- Rocca on the return, which incenses Eggles commentator Ike Reese. That did seem like a cheap shot. Michael Gasperson gets a 15-yard penalty defending his teammate.
The new Ravens QB is Drew Olson. After a 1st-down sack/fumble that Baltimore recovers, he finds Kendrick Ballantyne open deep in zone coverage for 33 down to the Eggle 5. From the 4, Le'Ron McClain is left alone in the flat for an easy TD catch. It's now 23-to-3.
Kolb remains in and hits Jermaine Jamison with a fine pass over the middle, but Prude, who's starting to look pretty conspicuous, strips it out to get Baltimore the ball back again.
Ravens play some ball-control offense and take about 5:00 off the clock with a bunch of handoffs to - man, I'm getting old - Greg Pruitt, Jr. Pruitt would have had a TD from the 5 but his own lineman , Chris Pino, got in front of him and knocked him down. Ravens settle for Stover's millionth FG of the night and it's 26 to 3.
Kolb looks pretty decent; he's adjusted well to the oncoming pressure. But Zac Collie drops a 4th-and-4 pass to return the ball to the Ravens. Woof.
Ross is having a formidable game for Baltimore, squirting through left tackle for 19 to open the drive. He finishes the night with 11 rushes for 65 yards. The Eggles force ANOTHER Stover FG by stringing out Ross on a 2nd down sweep and by pressuring Olson into a low incompletion intended for a wide-open Damien Linson. Stover makes it 29-3, Ravens.
Kolb is sacked by Bill Swancutt to force one last punt with 2:00 left. Rocca hits it 50 yards; Figurs returns it 18. Ravens run out the clock for the win.
Baltimore took this one a lot more seriously than Philadelphia did. They were blitz-heavy on the rookie Kolb, and they stopped kicking to Jeremy Bloom. But they unveiled some good young players, too. Gaither looks like borderline-starting material already. Barnes and Prude were all over the place. Ross played like a game-breaking runner.
The Eggles had a lot of bright spots, for a team that lost by almost 4 TDs. Kolb fought off those Raven blitzes and had a strong game. On defense, Bunkley looks good and Barksdale looks like a keeper. Both Bloom and Rocca look like big future contributors on special teams.
Up next: A little nap, then Falcons at Jets to close out week 1 of the Preseason Challenge.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Game 15: Broncos 17, 49ers 13
This is an ESPN game, so the crew is Mike Tirico in his big-boy voice, Jaws, and of course, Kornheiser.
Broncos start with the ball and have a super opening drive. Travis Henry tears through a hole for 11.
Jay Cutler recovers from throwing a one-hopper to hit Javon Walker on a skinny post with a pretty strike for 24. Henry runs right through Brandon Moore for 10 and does it again for 6. Cutler dodges Marques Douglas' rush and sprints off for 16 down to the 1, and Henry surges into the end zone on 2nd down. 7-0, Denver, opening with a strong statement.
Frank Gore's sitting out tonight and probably all of preseason with a broken hand. Just as well.
Maurice Hicks starts in his place. Whiners move the ball well, too, with Alex Smith hitting Darrell
Jackson with a perfect 18-yard pass over the middle, beating Champ Bailey. Elvis Dumervil hits
Smith as he throws on 3rd down, though, and Frisco has to settle for a Nedney FG. 7-3 Denver.
Patrick Ramsey already in at QB for Denver. Cecil Sapp at TB. Ramsey is hit as he throws on 3rd down, leading to a silly-looking popup that he's lucky wasn't intercepted. Good pressure by Tully Banta-Cain forces the 3-and-out.
Brandon Williams returns the punt 13 yards to midfield. Hicks gets a big hole up the middle and pops for 20. Smith hits Arnaz Battle sliding at the goal line between three defenders with a pretty throw. Hate to say it, but he's looking quite good. Michael Robinson fulfills his goal line role with a 1-yard TD hop. 10-7 San Francisco.
Aha, a 49ers special teams breakdown, as Quincy Morgan returns the kickoff 60 yards. Heavy dose of
Mike Bell after that. 10 on a sweep left where he was mostly untouched, and 13 more through a big hole right up the middle. 8 down to the 4 on a sweep right behind super blocks from Adam Meadows and FB Troy Fleming. Broncos threatening as we begin the 2nd quarter.
Ramsey hits Fleming for a 3-yard TD to assure that was no idle threat. 14-10, Broncos, in a surprisingly high-scoring game. Weren't most of both of these teams' offseason moves on defense?
Trent Dilfer enters the game at QB for the 49ers, and immediately gets whacked attempting to sprint
away from Tim Crowder. The 8-yard sack leads to a 3-and-out.
Ramsey is flushed on 1st down and attempts a sideline pass that rookie Tarell Brown picks off. So
Ramsey starts 1-for-3 for 3 yards, a TD and an INT. The variety platter.
Thomas Clayton is now San Francisco's tailback. Whiners drive down to the 15, mostly passing, but
Dilfer's 3rd-down pass goes through Robinson's hands to force a FG attempt, which Nedney hits. 14-13 Denver.
49ers do much better on this kickoff return, with Morgan failing to breach the 20. Bell tolls three
straight times for the Broncos but rookie Sammy Joseph stops him short on a 3rd-and-4 sweep. Dong. Dong. Dong. Punt.
Elvis Dumervil continues a fine game by sacking Dilfer, with Adam Snyder unable to even budge him
off the express track to the QB. Niners strike right back the next play, though, with Clayton
ripping right up the middle for 11. No, Jimmy Kennedy wasn't in at the time, though he does have
a couple of tackles tonight, doubling his career output. Tough sideline pass to Robinson for 6
gets Frisco a first down at midfield with 2:00 left. Brian Gilmore makes a tough sliding catch
for 4 and a first down before Hamza Abdullah picks off a deep pass from Dilfer to effectively end the half with Denver up 14-13.
Shaun Hill now at QB for San Francisco. He scrambles 19 to midfield. Couple of plays later, he puts the ball on the ground, scoops it back up, rolls out and hits Brandon Williams for 11. But Arkie Whitlock gets shut down on 3rd and 4th down to end the 49er drive. Pretty stubborn of Nolan to go for it from the Denver 27 instead of kicking the FG.
Ramsey hits Morgan for 15 to midfield on 3rd-and-4. On 3rd-and-10 from midfield, he hits Domenik Hixon for 20 on a deep hook. Brian Clark gets 12 on an end-around before Shanahan gets very uncreative in the red zone and runs three straight times. Bell comes up short on 3rd-and-4 and Brandon Pace (definitely no relation of Orlando's) puts Denver up 17-13 with a chippie.
Brandon Williams brings the kickoff out to the 40. He also makes a nice catch and run, surviving a big hit from Abdullah, for 17 and a first down. Williams is also Hill's target on 4th-and-1 for a big conversion at the Denver 25. Then, hey, it's an Ashley Lelie sighting, a 20-yard catch down to the 4 on the last play of the 3rd quarter.
Hill falls all apart at the goal line, though. He misses a wide open Zac Herold in the flat, throws an uncatchable fade pass on 2nd down, and then gets his 3rd-and-goal pass deflected by Alvin McKinney at the line and picked off by Steve Cargile in the end zone.
3-and-out for the Broncos as a screen pass blows up on Ramsey on 3rd down and he throws it into the ground. Ramsey's night is over at 4-10, 45 yards.
San Francisco's drive dies at midfield after rookie Jason Hill drops a sideline bomb from Shaun Hill.
Darrell Hackney is Denver's new QB. Broncos 3-and-out thanks largely to OPI on David Terrell on 3rd-and-2. During a sideline interview, Dre Bly thinks the Broncos are "under the radar" this season? I think he still thinks he's in Detroit.
Niners see Denver's 3-and-out with their own. Fine open field tackle by Quentin Harris on Jason Hill on 3rd-and-2. Niners down the punt at the 3.
Broncos get out to their 42 before they're done in by penalties and have to punt. 49er ball with 3:35 left, down 4.
After the 2:00 warning, CJ Brewer's all alone underneath for the 49ers and Hill steps up and finds him for 27 down to the Bronco 10. We may be in for an interesting finish. Demetrin Veal stops Hill from scrambling on 2nd-goal at the 8. Jeff Shoate makes a nice play to stop another Brewer underneath route at the 4. 4th-and-goal, Kenny Peterson wheels around Damane Duckett and hits Hill as he throws, with Lewis Green knocking the pass down in the end zone to preserve the 17-13 win for Denver.
Both starting offenses were suitably impressive. Denver walked right through what is supposed to
be a vastly-improved 49er defense ready to dominate this year. Travis Henry looked strong. Jay Cutler looked good. Elvis Dumervil had an impact game on defense. Even a little pass rush will make them extremely dangerous with that talented secondary.
Frisco fared well themselves. The big news I saw is that Alex Smith looks ready to move to the
next level. He showed playmaking and accuracy I hadn't seen from him previously. Brandon Williams
ought to get a shot at #3 WR there; from what I saw, he's head-and-shoulders ahead of Ashley Lelie.
Big dropoffs for both teams at 2nd string QB, though the 49ers would be in less trouble with Dilfer
than the Broncos would be with Ramsey.
Up next: Philadelphia at Baltimore.
Broncos start with the ball and have a super opening drive. Travis Henry tears through a hole for 11.
Jay Cutler recovers from throwing a one-hopper to hit Javon Walker on a skinny post with a pretty strike for 24. Henry runs right through Brandon Moore for 10 and does it again for 6. Cutler dodges Marques Douglas' rush and sprints off for 16 down to the 1, and Henry surges into the end zone on 2nd down. 7-0, Denver, opening with a strong statement.
Frank Gore's sitting out tonight and probably all of preseason with a broken hand. Just as well.
Maurice Hicks starts in his place. Whiners move the ball well, too, with Alex Smith hitting Darrell
Jackson with a perfect 18-yard pass over the middle, beating Champ Bailey. Elvis Dumervil hits
Smith as he throws on 3rd down, though, and Frisco has to settle for a Nedney FG. 7-3 Denver.
Patrick Ramsey already in at QB for Denver. Cecil Sapp at TB. Ramsey is hit as he throws on 3rd down, leading to a silly-looking popup that he's lucky wasn't intercepted. Good pressure by Tully Banta-Cain forces the 3-and-out.
Brandon Williams returns the punt 13 yards to midfield. Hicks gets a big hole up the middle and pops for 20. Smith hits Arnaz Battle sliding at the goal line between three defenders with a pretty throw. Hate to say it, but he's looking quite good. Michael Robinson fulfills his goal line role with a 1-yard TD hop. 10-7 San Francisco.
Aha, a 49ers special teams breakdown, as Quincy Morgan returns the kickoff 60 yards. Heavy dose of
Mike Bell after that. 10 on a sweep left where he was mostly untouched, and 13 more through a big hole right up the middle. 8 down to the 4 on a sweep right behind super blocks from Adam Meadows and FB Troy Fleming. Broncos threatening as we begin the 2nd quarter.
Ramsey hits Fleming for a 3-yard TD to assure that was no idle threat. 14-10, Broncos, in a surprisingly high-scoring game. Weren't most of both of these teams' offseason moves on defense?
Trent Dilfer enters the game at QB for the 49ers, and immediately gets whacked attempting to sprint
away from Tim Crowder. The 8-yard sack leads to a 3-and-out.
Ramsey is flushed on 1st down and attempts a sideline pass that rookie Tarell Brown picks off. So
Ramsey starts 1-for-3 for 3 yards, a TD and an INT. The variety platter.
Thomas Clayton is now San Francisco's tailback. Whiners drive down to the 15, mostly passing, but
Dilfer's 3rd-down pass goes through Robinson's hands to force a FG attempt, which Nedney hits. 14-13 Denver.
49ers do much better on this kickoff return, with Morgan failing to breach the 20. Bell tolls three
straight times for the Broncos but rookie Sammy Joseph stops him short on a 3rd-and-4 sweep. Dong. Dong. Dong. Punt.
Elvis Dumervil continues a fine game by sacking Dilfer, with Adam Snyder unable to even budge him
off the express track to the QB. Niners strike right back the next play, though, with Clayton
ripping right up the middle for 11. No, Jimmy Kennedy wasn't in at the time, though he does have
a couple of tackles tonight, doubling his career output. Tough sideline pass to Robinson for 6
gets Frisco a first down at midfield with 2:00 left. Brian Gilmore makes a tough sliding catch
for 4 and a first down before Hamza Abdullah picks off a deep pass from Dilfer to effectively end the half with Denver up 14-13.
Shaun Hill now at QB for San Francisco. He scrambles 19 to midfield. Couple of plays later, he puts the ball on the ground, scoops it back up, rolls out and hits Brandon Williams for 11. But Arkie Whitlock gets shut down on 3rd and 4th down to end the 49er drive. Pretty stubborn of Nolan to go for it from the Denver 27 instead of kicking the FG.
Ramsey hits Morgan for 15 to midfield on 3rd-and-4. On 3rd-and-10 from midfield, he hits Domenik Hixon for 20 on a deep hook. Brian Clark gets 12 on an end-around before Shanahan gets very uncreative in the red zone and runs three straight times. Bell comes up short on 3rd-and-4 and Brandon Pace (definitely no relation of Orlando's) puts Denver up 17-13 with a chippie.
Brandon Williams brings the kickoff out to the 40. He also makes a nice catch and run, surviving a big hit from Abdullah, for 17 and a first down. Williams is also Hill's target on 4th-and-1 for a big conversion at the Denver 25. Then, hey, it's an Ashley Lelie sighting, a 20-yard catch down to the 4 on the last play of the 3rd quarter.
Hill falls all apart at the goal line, though. He misses a wide open Zac Herold in the flat, throws an uncatchable fade pass on 2nd down, and then gets his 3rd-and-goal pass deflected by Alvin McKinney at the line and picked off by Steve Cargile in the end zone.
3-and-out for the Broncos as a screen pass blows up on Ramsey on 3rd down and he throws it into the ground. Ramsey's night is over at 4-10, 45 yards.
San Francisco's drive dies at midfield after rookie Jason Hill drops a sideline bomb from Shaun Hill.
Darrell Hackney is Denver's new QB. Broncos 3-and-out thanks largely to OPI on David Terrell on 3rd-and-2. During a sideline interview, Dre Bly thinks the Broncos are "under the radar" this season? I think he still thinks he's in Detroit.
Niners see Denver's 3-and-out with their own. Fine open field tackle by Quentin Harris on Jason Hill on 3rd-and-2. Niners down the punt at the 3.
Broncos get out to their 42 before they're done in by penalties and have to punt. 49er ball with 3:35 left, down 4.
After the 2:00 warning, CJ Brewer's all alone underneath for the 49ers and Hill steps up and finds him for 27 down to the Bronco 10. We may be in for an interesting finish. Demetrin Veal stops Hill from scrambling on 2nd-goal at the 8. Jeff Shoate makes a nice play to stop another Brewer underneath route at the 4. 4th-and-goal, Kenny Peterson wheels around Damane Duckett and hits Hill as he throws, with Lewis Green knocking the pass down in the end zone to preserve the 17-13 win for Denver.
Both starting offenses were suitably impressive. Denver walked right through what is supposed to
be a vastly-improved 49er defense ready to dominate this year. Travis Henry looked strong. Jay Cutler looked good. Elvis Dumervil had an impact game on defense. Even a little pass rush will make them extremely dangerous with that talented secondary.
Frisco fared well themselves. The big news I saw is that Alex Smith looks ready to move to the
next level. He showed playmaking and accuracy I hadn't seen from him previously. Brandon Williams
ought to get a shot at #3 WR there; from what I saw, he's head-and-shoulders ahead of Ashley Lelie.
Big dropoffs for both teams at 2nd string QB, though the 49ers would be in less trouble with Dilfer
than the Broncos would be with Ramsey.
Up next: Philadelphia at Baltimore.
Game 14: Seattle 24, San Diego 16
Seattle starts the game on offense. The game is apparently held up momentarily so Andrea Kremer can complete an interview with LaDainian, who won't even play tonight. Glory TV!
Hey, Shaun Alexander played. Well, took a couple of handoffs, anyway. A Hasselbeck pass is tipped and hauled in by the guard, Rob Sims, who fairly sprints off with it for a 16-yard gain. Largest. Receiver. Ever. Hasselbeck's luck continues when Drayton Florence's INT is called back by, well, Drayton Florence's defensive holding penalty. Hasselbeck gets plenty of time to find Deion Branch beating Quentin Jammer for a 31-yard TD. 7-0 Seattle. That's how you want to start the preseason if you're Seattle.
Michael Turner starting at tailback for San Diego. Philip Rivers abuses Brian Russell a couple of times for 30 yards. Holding and a false start slow the Chargers down, and Leroy Hill comes in on Rivers untouched for an 8-yard sack. On 3rd-and-17, Darren Sproles nearly got the first down on a screen. But on 4th-and-1, the Seahawks stuff Lorenzo Neal.
Seneca Wallace at QB, Maurice Morris at TB for Seattle. Morris tears off for 13 to open the drive but that's about it. Wallace dumps off incomplete on a 3rd down, and Ryan Plackemeier sort-of pins the Chargers at the 15 with a short punt.
Turner nearly breaks away with a run that goes for 10. On a 2nd down, Chuck Darby gets to Rivers easily for a 7-yard sack. Seattle is getting through to the QB pretty easily. The Chargers surprise Seattle on the next play with a draw to Sproles, who gets 23. I like that little guy. San Diego crosses midfield on a Malcom Floyd reception as the quarter expires. 7-0, Seattle.
Craig Davis opens the 2nd quarter by fumbling an end-around back across midfield. Vincent Jackson isn't having the greatest of games, despite being regarded by many as one of this year's prime fantasy football sleepers. He committed the holding penalty in the 1st, and now he fumbles the ball back to Seattle, though Humgrum had to win a replay challenge first.
Doesn't take long for Wallace to give the ball back, as he throws a TERRIBLE lob pass that's picked off by rookie Eric Weddle. You probably heard most of Seattle shout, What the hell was he doing? on that one.
Billy Volek at QB. Sproles appears to be the #3 tailback as well as the 3rd-down back. After crossing midfield, Volek gets sacked back-to-back, once by Russell Davis, once by Darryl Tapp, who pounds Volek to force a fumble that's recovered by Davis.
This is shades of last year's Seattle-San Diego preseason game, in which I believe the first 37 points were scored off of turnovers. Tonight's game has the turnovers without all the uninteresting stuff like scoring.
I no sooner than have that last bit typed out when Wallace FUMBLES THE BALL BACK at the end of a scramble. Seattle deserves more credit than they get for winning the division last year with this joker starting 5 games.
The Chargers don't cash that in, with Andrew Pinnock failing to corral a 3rd-and-2 pass. Chargers don't go for it this time, either, but pin the Seahawks inside the 10 with the punt.
New tailback for Seattle is Leonard Weaver. Wallace gets them out of the hole with a 40-yard pass to a wide-open Ben Obomanu. The Chargers hold there, though. Carlos Polk stops Wallace short on a 3rd-and-3 scramble, and Derrek Robinson trips him up on 4th down to give the Chargers the ball back near midfield. It looked like that play was going to be a pass.
Volek looks sharp, completing 3-of-3 for 50 yards, two to Malcom Floyd, the second a 14-yard bullet TD pass. Game tied at 7.
Seneca Wallace's drives tonight, including the one that just ended with 1:22 left: punt, interception, fumble, lost on downs, punt.
Sproles gets 20 more on a draw out of the shotgun, but the Chargers essentially run out of time before the half. 7-7 at halftime. A lineman having a rough night despite having one of my favorite names in football is Cory Lekkerkerker, who has a false start and gave up a couple of the sacks this half.
Malcom Floyd is having a big night. With his last catch for 18, he's now 5-63 with the TD. TE Scott Chandler follows that up with a 24-yard catch over the middle. This leads to a Nate Kaeding FG; 10-7, San Diego.
Ah, preseason. Josh Wilson fumbles the kickoff return back to San Diego, putting them in business at the Seattle 28. Not much happens from there, though. Kevin Bentley helps keep San Diego out of the end zone with a tackle and a pass defense against Pinnock. Chargers settle for Kaeding's 2nd FG to make it 13-7.
Wallace still in for the Seahawks, who don't do much with this possession. They get their second catch of the night by an offensive lineman when Tom Ashworth collects a tipped pass for a loss of two. Six possessions and Wallace has failed to move the offense.
Charlie Whitehurst at QB for San Diego. Running back is Tyronne Gross from Eastern Oregon State, which I figure must hold classes inside trees. Whitehurst moves the Chargers well until Tapp hammers him for his second sack of the game. Kaeding opens the 4th quarter with his 3rd FG, a 50-yarder. 16-7, San Diego.
FINALLY a good drive by Wallace, who hits Obamanu three times, the third a pretty one-handed catch deep in the end zone for a 17-yard TD. Obamanu's 5-83 with the TD, and the Seahawks have themselves a player there. 16-14 San Diego.
Three-and-out for the Chargers with Whitehurst being hit while he throws on 3rd down for an incompletion. Obamanu brings the punt back 22 yards to keep Seattle out of a hole. If momentum can be said to have switched during a preseason game, it definitely has.
Three straight passes from Wallace to Chris Jones for 41 yards put Seattle near the Charger red zone. At which point Wallace throws three straight incompletes. What's this --- Josh Brown MISSES a clutch FG? Bah, the Chargers had 12 men on the field. Idiots! Brown hits the do-over from 36 to give Seattle the lead, 17-16.
Whitehurst is 0-for-his-last-5 after a three-incompletion 3-and-out. Not looking good for the Chargers. Good rush from Brandon Mebane forced the first throwaway.
Seahawks appear to score the coup de grace, burning 5 minutes, two San Diego timeouts and the two-minute warning off the clock on a TD drive that puts them ahead 24-16. They convert three third downs, two of them on passes from Wallace to Logan Payne. Marquis Weeks finishes it off with a nifty 21-yard run and a 6-yard TD stroll.
The Chargers try to dink and dunk their way back into it in the final 2:00, and get to the Seahawk 26, but CJ Wallace picks off an attempted TD pass to stick the proverbial fork in it.
Seneca Wallace (still in there!) kneels to end it and Seattle wins 24-16.
Seahawks have to be happy with their start, even though that opening TD required a certain amount of luck. Wallace overcame a lousy start to look semi-competent by the end of the game. They got a strong pass rush going against a normally-solid San Diego offensive line. Ben Obamanu looks like the real deal.
Kind of a sloppy game for San Diego, but Darren Sproles is going to prove quite a weapon for them, even if it's just returning kicks. For all the talk about Vincent Jackson, it sure looks like Malcom Floyd is their top WR. Eric Weddle looked good at safety, and Kaeding was solid kicking. You could do a lot
worse than him in the 15th round of your fantasy draft.
Up next: probably Broncos-49ers from Monday night.
Hey, Shaun Alexander played. Well, took a couple of handoffs, anyway. A Hasselbeck pass is tipped and hauled in by the guard, Rob Sims, who fairly sprints off with it for a 16-yard gain. Largest. Receiver. Ever. Hasselbeck's luck continues when Drayton Florence's INT is called back by, well, Drayton Florence's defensive holding penalty. Hasselbeck gets plenty of time to find Deion Branch beating Quentin Jammer for a 31-yard TD. 7-0 Seattle. That's how you want to start the preseason if you're Seattle.
Michael Turner starting at tailback for San Diego. Philip Rivers abuses Brian Russell a couple of times for 30 yards. Holding and a false start slow the Chargers down, and Leroy Hill comes in on Rivers untouched for an 8-yard sack. On 3rd-and-17, Darren Sproles nearly got the first down on a screen. But on 4th-and-1, the Seahawks stuff Lorenzo Neal.
Seneca Wallace at QB, Maurice Morris at TB for Seattle. Morris tears off for 13 to open the drive but that's about it. Wallace dumps off incomplete on a 3rd down, and Ryan Plackemeier sort-of pins the Chargers at the 15 with a short punt.
Turner nearly breaks away with a run that goes for 10. On a 2nd down, Chuck Darby gets to Rivers easily for a 7-yard sack. Seattle is getting through to the QB pretty easily. The Chargers surprise Seattle on the next play with a draw to Sproles, who gets 23. I like that little guy. San Diego crosses midfield on a Malcom Floyd reception as the quarter expires. 7-0, Seattle.
Craig Davis opens the 2nd quarter by fumbling an end-around back across midfield. Vincent Jackson isn't having the greatest of games, despite being regarded by many as one of this year's prime fantasy football sleepers. He committed the holding penalty in the 1st, and now he fumbles the ball back to Seattle, though Humgrum had to win a replay challenge first.
Doesn't take long for Wallace to give the ball back, as he throws a TERRIBLE lob pass that's picked off by rookie Eric Weddle. You probably heard most of Seattle shout, What the hell was he doing? on that one.
Billy Volek at QB. Sproles appears to be the #3 tailback as well as the 3rd-down back. After crossing midfield, Volek gets sacked back-to-back, once by Russell Davis, once by Darryl Tapp, who pounds Volek to force a fumble that's recovered by Davis.
This is shades of last year's Seattle-San Diego preseason game, in which I believe the first 37 points were scored off of turnovers. Tonight's game has the turnovers without all the uninteresting stuff like scoring.
I no sooner than have that last bit typed out when Wallace FUMBLES THE BALL BACK at the end of a scramble. Seattle deserves more credit than they get for winning the division last year with this joker starting 5 games.
The Chargers don't cash that in, with Andrew Pinnock failing to corral a 3rd-and-2 pass. Chargers don't go for it this time, either, but pin the Seahawks inside the 10 with the punt.
New tailback for Seattle is Leonard Weaver. Wallace gets them out of the hole with a 40-yard pass to a wide-open Ben Obomanu. The Chargers hold there, though. Carlos Polk stops Wallace short on a 3rd-and-3 scramble, and Derrek Robinson trips him up on 4th down to give the Chargers the ball back near midfield. It looked like that play was going to be a pass.
Volek looks sharp, completing 3-of-3 for 50 yards, two to Malcom Floyd, the second a 14-yard bullet TD pass. Game tied at 7.
Seneca Wallace's drives tonight, including the one that just ended with 1:22 left: punt, interception, fumble, lost on downs, punt.
Sproles gets 20 more on a draw out of the shotgun, but the Chargers essentially run out of time before the half. 7-7 at halftime. A lineman having a rough night despite having one of my favorite names in football is Cory Lekkerkerker, who has a false start and gave up a couple of the sacks this half.
Malcom Floyd is having a big night. With his last catch for 18, he's now 5-63 with the TD. TE Scott Chandler follows that up with a 24-yard catch over the middle. This leads to a Nate Kaeding FG; 10-7, San Diego.
Ah, preseason. Josh Wilson fumbles the kickoff return back to San Diego, putting them in business at the Seattle 28. Not much happens from there, though. Kevin Bentley helps keep San Diego out of the end zone with a tackle and a pass defense against Pinnock. Chargers settle for Kaeding's 2nd FG to make it 13-7.
Wallace still in for the Seahawks, who don't do much with this possession. They get their second catch of the night by an offensive lineman when Tom Ashworth collects a tipped pass for a loss of two. Six possessions and Wallace has failed to move the offense.
Charlie Whitehurst at QB for San Diego. Running back is Tyronne Gross from Eastern Oregon State, which I figure must hold classes inside trees. Whitehurst moves the Chargers well until Tapp hammers him for his second sack of the game. Kaeding opens the 4th quarter with his 3rd FG, a 50-yarder. 16-7, San Diego.
FINALLY a good drive by Wallace, who hits Obamanu three times, the third a pretty one-handed catch deep in the end zone for a 17-yard TD. Obamanu's 5-83 with the TD, and the Seahawks have themselves a player there. 16-14 San Diego.
Three-and-out for the Chargers with Whitehurst being hit while he throws on 3rd down for an incompletion. Obamanu brings the punt back 22 yards to keep Seattle out of a hole. If momentum can be said to have switched during a preseason game, it definitely has.
Three straight passes from Wallace to Chris Jones for 41 yards put Seattle near the Charger red zone. At which point Wallace throws three straight incompletes. What's this --- Josh Brown MISSES a clutch FG? Bah, the Chargers had 12 men on the field. Idiots! Brown hits the do-over from 36 to give Seattle the lead, 17-16.
Whitehurst is 0-for-his-last-5 after a three-incompletion 3-and-out. Not looking good for the Chargers. Good rush from Brandon Mebane forced the first throwaway.
Seahawks appear to score the coup de grace, burning 5 minutes, two San Diego timeouts and the two-minute warning off the clock on a TD drive that puts them ahead 24-16. They convert three third downs, two of them on passes from Wallace to Logan Payne. Marquis Weeks finishes it off with a nifty 21-yard run and a 6-yard TD stroll.
The Chargers try to dink and dunk their way back into it in the final 2:00, and get to the Seahawk 26, but CJ Wallace picks off an attempted TD pass to stick the proverbial fork in it.
Seneca Wallace (still in there!) kneels to end it and Seattle wins 24-16.
Seahawks have to be happy with their start, even though that opening TD required a certain amount of luck. Wallace overcame a lousy start to look semi-competent by the end of the game. They got a strong pass rush going against a normally-solid San Diego offensive line. Ben Obamanu looks like the real deal.
Kind of a sloppy game for San Diego, but Darren Sproles is going to prove quite a weapon for them, even if it's just returning kicks. For all the talk about Vincent Jackson, it sure looks like Malcom Floyd is their top WR. Eric Weddle looked good at safety, and Kaeding was solid kicking. You could do a lot
worse than him in the 15th round of your fantasy draft.
Up next: probably Broncos-49ers from Monday night.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Game 13: Dolphins 18, Jagwires 17
Craig Bolerjack, Nat Moore and Bob Griese call the first half for Miami. Ted Ginn Jr. bounces outside to return the opening kickoff 25 yards. Remember when Ginn was going to be a Ram? What would have happened if he and Adam Carriker had been off the board when the Rams picked on draft day? We'd still have Jimmy Kennedy and still be waiting for Darrelle Revis to come to camp?
Trent Green gets his 2nd down pass batted down by John Henderson and throws a one-hopper under pressure on third down to start Miami off with a 3-and-out. The punt is partially blocked, too, and the Jagwires will start near midfield.
Terrible start by Jagwire T Tony Pashos. Matt Roth beats him badly on 2nd down to sack Byron Leftwich. He false starts on 3rd down. The Dolphins blitz and nobody picks up Rodrique Wright for another sack. So in one series, Leftwich has already been sacked twice. This is becoming a tradition for him.
By the way, the nfl.com website has been redesigned, and it sucks. It is slower than Albert Pujols "running" out a grounder with Scott Rolen on his back, and the team rosters are spread out over multiple pages? What the hell is that? (Looks like they fixed that later.)
Dolphins are giving their fans no reason not to worry about their offense. Fastball in the dirt from Green on 1st down, followed by a holding penalty on Samson Satele and two short completions that don't get the first.
Jagwires get one first down but are forced to punt when Maurice Jones-Drew gains just 1 on 3rd-and-2. Why isn't Greg Jones getting that call?
The Dolphins go for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 29. Corey Schlesinger gets the yard. He may be Miami's lead rusher tonight; Ronnie Brown has stunk. And how many years has Trent Green been in the league and he's throwing after crossing the line of scrimmage? That boneheaded penalty by a 14-year veteran kills the Dolphin drive.
Leftwich throws four incompletions in a row, but penalties keep the drive alive, especially Vonnie Holliday's penalty for roughing the passer on 3rd-and-20. Vonnie and the announcers are mad about the call, but you gotta know to hit the QB lower than Vonnie did, meeting Leftwich facemask-to-facemask. Leftwich then hits Matt Jones for 19, first play Jones has has shown any interest in tonight. Last play of the first quarter.
Jagwires leave my Greg Jones question from earlier unanswered by bringing in LaBrandon Toefield. Leftwich hits him for 18 to get close to the red zone. Alvin Pearman rips up the middle for 16, and it's first-and-goal. 1-yard TD to Dennis Northcutt puts Jacksonville on the board first. 7-0 Jagwires. Good touch and zip on that pass by Byron. Much more ham-handed touch by the Dolphin announcers, who are still moaning about the penalty on Holliday. Head-to-head hit, people.
Cam Cameron was a candidate for the Rams' HC job last year before they picked Scott Linehan. This drive makes me think the Rams came out on top. Ronnie Brown up the middle for 3. Then, Ronnie Brown up the middle for 3. On 3rd-and-4, a draw play, or, Ronnie Brown up the middle. For minus three. Yeah, that's some innovative offense right there. 1,2,3, kick.
David Garrard now at QB for the Jagwires. Upon seeing Paul Soliai surge into the backfield, a startled Toefield juggles and loses the first-down handoff. Seriously. Soliai scared the ball out of Toefield's hands. Miami recovers.
Green sacked on first down. 2nd down, screen pass incomplete under pressure. With all night to throw on 3rd down, Green throws a poor pass under pressure and incomplete for TE David Martin. Dolphins bailed out by a offsides penalty. On 3rd-and-5, James Wyche pops Anthony Alabi like he's nothing, sacks Green, forces a fumble, 92 recovers for Jacksonville. Just a four-man rush there.
Dolphin football... it's Cam-tastic!
Key play of the Jagwire drive is a 24-yard pass from Garrard to Matt Jones. Jim Maxwell stops Toefield for a loss, and KGB's brother AGB sacks Garrard to force a FG attempt, which Josh Scobee hits. 10-0 Jagwires.
3:00 left in the half, and Trent Green is still in at QB. He hits Ginn for 9, but Derek Hagan muffs the catch a couple of plays later right into the hands of Bruce Thornton. But the Jagwires are determined not to let the Dolphins be the only sloppy team on the field; Toefield commits his second turnover after getting popped by Jason Allen at the end of a reception.
The Dolphins are on fire! Hagan tries to atone for his fumble with a 29-yard catch over the middle. Tack on a facemask penalty on Jamal Fudge, who still thanks his lucky stars every day that he wasn't drafted by Green Bay. That got Miami into the red zone, but Trent had to throw the ball away on third down, leaving Jay Feely to put Miami on the board. 10-3. Green's night is over with 6-15 passing, 60 yards (half on the Hagans catch), two sacks, a lost fumble and an interception.
The Jagwires cross midfield but Garrard can't connect with Reggie Williams on the Hail Mary as the half ends. 10-3 Jacksonville.
Paul Burmeister and Tony Boselli on the call now for Jacksonville. Jags string together a nice drive to start the second half. Garrard hits a wide-open Reggie Williams for 29 - almost looked like a blown coverage - to get in the red zone, and John Broussard at the Dolphin 1. That sets up an Alvin Pearman TD run - again with the little guys in the situations that call for big guys! - and a 17-3 lead for Jacksonville.
Cleo Lemon is the new QB for Miami. Jesse Chatman's the guy who puts points on the board, though; he slips an ankle tackle in the backfield, cuts back left, runs past both safeties upfield and outraces the Jagwire defense for a 74-yard TD. It's now 17-10.
New Jagwire QB is Tim (no relation) Couch. Jax gets out to midfield before Dolphin DT Steve Fifita rag-dolls Jagwire center Dan Connolly and plasters Couch for a 10-yard loss. Time to punt.
NFL Network jumps directly to Miami's next punt, forcing us to miss Lemon's deep pass to Kerry Reed, tackled by Nick "Sunshine" Sorenson. The abridged third quarter ends with a brutal drop by TE Greg Estandia, Miami bailing the Jagwires out with a DPI and Edmond Miles dropping Pearman for a loss. 17-10 Jax going into the 4th.
Poor screen pass from Couch to Pearman creates a 3rd-and-13, on which Abraham Wright gets a sack of Couch. Though Wright's #53, the Jagwire TV crew identifies him as Kevin Vickerson, #92.
Dolphins dink their way across midfield, but on 3rd-and-4, Lorenzo Booker stops his pattern downfield while Lemon was expecting him to keep going. Punt downed at the 12.
New Jagwires QB is Lester Ricard. Engage! Hey, a Richard Angulo sighting! He false started. A couple of incompletions to rookie WR Mike Walker, who appears preoccupied with his dislocated middle finger, not that I blame him. I certainly couldn't drive around here without mine. Up goes another punt.
Rookie John Beck takes over at QB for the Dolphins. He gets away with a terrible misfire when Brian Iwuh drops an interception floating right toward him. Beck was trying to throw a bomb but threw a lob instead; ball may have slipped out of his hand. Beck also gets away with a fumble that RB Patrick Cobbs picks up and advances to the 20. Cobbs finishes out saving Beck's bacon with an 11-yard run and a 3-yard vault into the end zone. Cam mercifully goes for two instead of tying the game with 3:50 left. That'll help his coaching karma. Cobbs plunges in to give Miami its first lead, 18-17.
Ricard's going to get the chance to drive the Jagwires to victory. They face a 4th-and-1 near midfield at the 2:00 warning. The very-French-sounding connection of Ricard-to-Broussard hits for a 30-yard fade pass. Interesting call for the situation; beautiful throw by Ricard. That gets Jacksonville to the Miami 25; should be good enough for the win.
But no. Josh Scobee yanks it right. The Jags burn through their timeouts and get one last shot, but from their own 13, and Ricard can't do much with it. Miami wins 18-17.
The win disguises a lot of what is wrong with Miami, namely, THE STARTING OFFENSE. Trent Green looked bad and wasn't even playing smart. He just has to do better than that behind his awful offensive line. That line already looks like a sinking ship, though.
The Jagwires burned through the starters pretty quickly and are harder to gauge. I'm not impressed with their offensive line. Toefield had better have some other career skills besides fumbling. Their offensive playcalling seems less conservative this year, especially in conservative situations. That's a good sign for future success.
Up next (sort of, I'm actually working on these at the same time): Seahawks @ Chargers.
Trent Green gets his 2nd down pass batted down by John Henderson and throws a one-hopper under pressure on third down to start Miami off with a 3-and-out. The punt is partially blocked, too, and the Jagwires will start near midfield.
Terrible start by Jagwire T Tony Pashos. Matt Roth beats him badly on 2nd down to sack Byron Leftwich. He false starts on 3rd down. The Dolphins blitz and nobody picks up Rodrique Wright for another sack. So in one series, Leftwich has already been sacked twice. This is becoming a tradition for him.
By the way, the nfl.com website has been redesigned, and it sucks. It is slower than Albert Pujols "running" out a grounder with Scott Rolen on his back, and the team rosters are spread out over multiple pages? What the hell is that? (Looks like they fixed that later.)
Dolphins are giving their fans no reason not to worry about their offense. Fastball in the dirt from Green on 1st down, followed by a holding penalty on Samson Satele and two short completions that don't get the first.
Jagwires get one first down but are forced to punt when Maurice Jones-Drew gains just 1 on 3rd-and-2. Why isn't Greg Jones getting that call?
The Dolphins go for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 29. Corey Schlesinger gets the yard. He may be Miami's lead rusher tonight; Ronnie Brown has stunk. And how many years has Trent Green been in the league and he's throwing after crossing the line of scrimmage? That boneheaded penalty by a 14-year veteran kills the Dolphin drive.
Leftwich throws four incompletions in a row, but penalties keep the drive alive, especially Vonnie Holliday's penalty for roughing the passer on 3rd-and-20. Vonnie and the announcers are mad about the call, but you gotta know to hit the QB lower than Vonnie did, meeting Leftwich facemask-to-facemask. Leftwich then hits Matt Jones for 19, first play Jones has has shown any interest in tonight. Last play of the first quarter.
Jagwires leave my Greg Jones question from earlier unanswered by bringing in LaBrandon Toefield. Leftwich hits him for 18 to get close to the red zone. Alvin Pearman rips up the middle for 16, and it's first-and-goal. 1-yard TD to Dennis Northcutt puts Jacksonville on the board first. 7-0 Jagwires. Good touch and zip on that pass by Byron. Much more ham-handed touch by the Dolphin announcers, who are still moaning about the penalty on Holliday. Head-to-head hit, people.
Cam Cameron was a candidate for the Rams' HC job last year before they picked Scott Linehan. This drive makes me think the Rams came out on top. Ronnie Brown up the middle for 3. Then, Ronnie Brown up the middle for 3. On 3rd-and-4, a draw play, or, Ronnie Brown up the middle. For minus three. Yeah, that's some innovative offense right there. 1,2,3, kick.
David Garrard now at QB for the Jagwires. Upon seeing Paul Soliai surge into the backfield, a startled Toefield juggles and loses the first-down handoff. Seriously. Soliai scared the ball out of Toefield's hands. Miami recovers.
Green sacked on first down. 2nd down, screen pass incomplete under pressure. With all night to throw on 3rd down, Green throws a poor pass under pressure and incomplete for TE David Martin. Dolphins bailed out by a offsides penalty. On 3rd-and-5, James Wyche pops Anthony Alabi like he's nothing, sacks Green, forces a fumble, 92 recovers for Jacksonville. Just a four-man rush there.
Dolphin football... it's Cam-tastic!
Key play of the Jagwire drive is a 24-yard pass from Garrard to Matt Jones. Jim Maxwell stops Toefield for a loss, and KGB's brother AGB sacks Garrard to force a FG attempt, which Josh Scobee hits. 10-0 Jagwires.
3:00 left in the half, and Trent Green is still in at QB. He hits Ginn for 9, but Derek Hagan muffs the catch a couple of plays later right into the hands of Bruce Thornton. But the Jagwires are determined not to let the Dolphins be the only sloppy team on the field; Toefield commits his second turnover after getting popped by Jason Allen at the end of a reception.
The Dolphins are on fire! Hagan tries to atone for his fumble with a 29-yard catch over the middle. Tack on a facemask penalty on Jamal Fudge, who still thanks his lucky stars every day that he wasn't drafted by Green Bay. That got Miami into the red zone, but Trent had to throw the ball away on third down, leaving Jay Feely to put Miami on the board. 10-3. Green's night is over with 6-15 passing, 60 yards (half on the Hagans catch), two sacks, a lost fumble and an interception.
The Jagwires cross midfield but Garrard can't connect with Reggie Williams on the Hail Mary as the half ends. 10-3 Jacksonville.
Paul Burmeister and Tony Boselli on the call now for Jacksonville. Jags string together a nice drive to start the second half. Garrard hits a wide-open Reggie Williams for 29 - almost looked like a blown coverage - to get in the red zone, and John Broussard at the Dolphin 1. That sets up an Alvin Pearman TD run - again with the little guys in the situations that call for big guys! - and a 17-3 lead for Jacksonville.
Cleo Lemon is the new QB for Miami. Jesse Chatman's the guy who puts points on the board, though; he slips an ankle tackle in the backfield, cuts back left, runs past both safeties upfield and outraces the Jagwire defense for a 74-yard TD. It's now 17-10.
New Jagwire QB is Tim (no relation) Couch. Jax gets out to midfield before Dolphin DT Steve Fifita rag-dolls Jagwire center Dan Connolly and plasters Couch for a 10-yard loss. Time to punt.
NFL Network jumps directly to Miami's next punt, forcing us to miss Lemon's deep pass to Kerry Reed, tackled by Nick "Sunshine" Sorenson. The abridged third quarter ends with a brutal drop by TE Greg Estandia, Miami bailing the Jagwires out with a DPI and Edmond Miles dropping Pearman for a loss. 17-10 Jax going into the 4th.
Poor screen pass from Couch to Pearman creates a 3rd-and-13, on which Abraham Wright gets a sack of Couch. Though Wright's #53, the Jagwire TV crew identifies him as Kevin Vickerson, #92.
Dolphins dink their way across midfield, but on 3rd-and-4, Lorenzo Booker stops his pattern downfield while Lemon was expecting him to keep going. Punt downed at the 12.
New Jagwires QB is Lester Ricard. Engage! Hey, a Richard Angulo sighting! He false started. A couple of incompletions to rookie WR Mike Walker, who appears preoccupied with his dislocated middle finger, not that I blame him. I certainly couldn't drive around here without mine. Up goes another punt.
Rookie John Beck takes over at QB for the Dolphins. He gets away with a terrible misfire when Brian Iwuh drops an interception floating right toward him. Beck was trying to throw a bomb but threw a lob instead; ball may have slipped out of his hand. Beck also gets away with a fumble that RB Patrick Cobbs picks up and advances to the 20. Cobbs finishes out saving Beck's bacon with an 11-yard run and a 3-yard vault into the end zone. Cam mercifully goes for two instead of tying the game with 3:50 left. That'll help his coaching karma. Cobbs plunges in to give Miami its first lead, 18-17.
Ricard's going to get the chance to drive the Jagwires to victory. They face a 4th-and-1 near midfield at the 2:00 warning. The very-French-sounding connection of Ricard-to-Broussard hits for a 30-yard fade pass. Interesting call for the situation; beautiful throw by Ricard. That gets Jacksonville to the Miami 25; should be good enough for the win.
But no. Josh Scobee yanks it right. The Jags burn through their timeouts and get one last shot, but from their own 13, and Ricard can't do much with it. Miami wins 18-17.
The win disguises a lot of what is wrong with Miami, namely, THE STARTING OFFENSE. Trent Green looked bad and wasn't even playing smart. He just has to do better than that behind his awful offensive line. That line already looks like a sinking ship, though.
The Jagwires burned through the starters pretty quickly and are harder to gauge. I'm not impressed with their offensive line. Toefield had better have some other career skills besides fumbling. Their offensive playcalling seems less conservative this year, especially in conservative situations. That's a good sign for future success.
Up next (sort of, I'm actually working on these at the same time): Seahawks @ Chargers.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Game 12: Bills 13, Saints 10
I called an audible and switched to Friday night's network game. Gus Johnson and Solomon Wilcots on the call for CBS.
The Saint offense seemed to get off to a good start; Reggie Bush launched through an opening to convert a 3rd-and-8; Drew Brees was 4-for-4, hitting Devery Henderson twice. Once they got into the red zone, though, Buffalo stuffed Deuce McAllister for a loss on 2nd-and-1 and Brees can't find an open receiver on 3rd down. And the FG attempt is blocked, as Bobby April maintains his career goal of pissing me off by coaching top-notch special teams everywhere BUT St. Louis.
Saint d-line is really teeing off on Buffalo. JP Losman gets one first down with a Flutie-like run, scrambling around for 80 yards to get a 12-yard gain, but Lee Evans drops a third-down pass in traffic to end the drive. Sam Aiken then makes a terrific shoestring tackle of punt returner Lance Moore to pin the Saints at the 1. Screw you, Bobby April. Just screw you.
Between the 20s, the Saint offense looks like the Second Greatest Show on Earth. Brees is very sharp, hitting Henderson with a beautiful sideline pass for 24. They line Reggie Bush out wide and Brees hits him for 17. Brees has already hit 6 different receivers. This drive also falls apart, though, with a holding penalty and an end zone pass too tall for Henderson, who gets clocked by Ko Simpson for his efforts. New Saint placekicker Olindo Mare hits a 42-yarder to start the 2nd quarter. 3-0.
Saints had the ball almost 12:00 of the first quarter. They had almost 120 offensive yards in the quarter, most of it coming from Brees. And they got a whole 3 points out of it, pointing up the importance of having an effective red zone offense.
Marshawn Lynch in at RB now for A-Train. The Bills make it to midfield - nice throw and catch from Losman to Josh Reed at the sideline to gain a 1st down - but Losman has to dumpoff short on 3rd-and-10. Brian Moorman's punt caroms out of bounds at the 3. Bobby April is the devil.
Tyler Palko, not Jamie Martin, replaces Brees. Antonio Pittman in at TB. Damn fine outing for Brees, 12-14-118. Palko gets the Saints out to the 50 in 3 plays, including a good sideline pass to Lance Moore and a screen to Pittman. Kevin Dudley atones for getting submarined at the Hall of Fame Game by blasting Trevor Hooper along the sideline at the end of an 18-yard reception. That hit fired up the whole stadium. The Saints make it inside the Buffalo 10 before Palko is picked off at the goal line by Jabari Greer. Very little of New Orleans' effort tonight is translating to the scoreboard.
New QB for Buffalo is Craig Nall. Three completions to Roscoe Parrish set them up for a 36-yard Rian Lindell FG that ties the game up just before halftime. Despite Buffalo's success this drive, the Saint secondary is playing a lot tougher than they did last Sunday night. The Saints definitely took heed of the message the Steelers sent in that game. 3-3 at halftime.
Trent Edwards enters the game at QB for Buffalo to start the second half. Somebody tell Edwards it's ok to throw a pass more than five yards downfield. It's legal, really.
AN ANTHONY HARGROVE SIGHTING! He deflects a Palko pass back at him early in the 3rd. Saints go 3-and-out.
Why are Gus and Solomon marveling at how "the city shuts down" and they take off from work when Saints games come on? Do they really think that many people are working on Sundays?
Edwards doesn't even throw a pass across the line of scrimmage as Buffalo goes 123-out. He can throw the ball forward, can't he?
Ashton (It's Not Your Booty, It's) Youboty makes a fine play to stop returner Lance Moore for a loss of two, coming at the end of a 51-yard punt. Bobby April molests collies.
Terrible throw by Palko, off his back foot for no reason, hangs in the air for 20 yards and is picked off by Greer, his second of the night. Palko, you're no Charlie Batch.
Edwards still hasn't thrown a ball more than 5 yards downfield, but Fred Jackson turns in the best run of the preseason so far. He gets stacked up in the hole but twirls out of it with a spin move, turns the corner and runs up the sideline for a 17-yard TD. 10-3, Buffalo.
WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO THIS COUNTRY? CANADA beat MEXICO for the world flag football championship? The US didn't even make THE FINAL? Who was the coach of the US team, Marty Schottenheimer? Is it a sign where this country is going when we can't win at baseball, can't win at basketball, can't even win at flag football, but we got the hot dog eating championship back?
Palko is much better off throwing fastballs than he is looking downfield for the long ball. This drive, he seems to hold the ball forever and takes a sack from Paul Posluszny for a 9 yard loss. But he makes up with it with an 18-yard pass to Robert Meachem, and to start the 4th quarter, 4th and 1 from the Buffalo 45, he takes off for 19 on a naked bootleg. Sweet, sweet call. The Saints drive to the 2 and Meachem makes a super play on Palko's fade pass for the TD. The drive went 16 plays, 78 yards in 7 1/2 minutes. 10-all.
Another great drive for Edwards. He attempts a 10-yard pass that is badly incomplete and gets sacked on 3rd down by Josh Cooper, who burns Walter Stith with an inside move. Nice work, nfl.com; neither of those linemen are listed on their "current" team rosters online.
Palko scrambles for 14 more, but the Bills get a jailbreak on him a couple of plays later for a sack and a loss of 10. I'm thinking somebody missed an assignment when 3 guys come in on the QB untouched. And you know who's having a good game, though I understand he's been suspended for the first four games of the season? Anthony Freaking Hargrove. Guess he missed Bill Kollar.
Fred Jackson's off to a heck of a good start. He opens this drive with a 12-yard run around left end and a 9-yard run off right tackle, bouncing off 2 or 3 tacklers. Edwards throws his longest pass of the night. Nine yards. And it was a screen pass. That plus a short Edwards scramble overcome a couple of sacks and set Lindell up for a 54-yard FG, which he hits to put the Bills ahead 13-10.
35-yard kick return by Pierre Thomas sets the Saints up near midfield. HA HA! Fie on thee, April-demon! 3:00 left and Palko's still in, so I guess no Jamie Martin tonight. A completion and another scramble, for 10, get the Saints in FG range. They wouldn't do that, would they? Sean Payton needs to pretend he's down 4 here and needs a TD. No one wants overtime in preseason.
Saints at the 35 with 2:00 left. Bills bring the house, Palko switches off and throws a deep pass incomplete. Youboty gets away with a pretty blatant hold. The 3rd-and-9 call is a stupid screen pass, which Pierre Thomas takes nowhere. Gotta let Palko fire there, Payton. A false start makes it 4th-and-12, which really isn't important because Palko gets pressured by five different Bills and tosses it away incomplete.
Well, at least Kevin Eakin can tell his kids someday that he played in a real NFL game. He's the QB as Buffalo runs out the clock for the 13-10 win.
The Bills seem to be auditioning a lot of DBs, and Jabari Greer certainly made a good impression with two INTs. Trent Edwards, I'm not so sure. At some point he has to start throwing balls that travel more than five yards in the air. Then again, I don't know what to make of a game where ANTHONY HARGROVE looks good.
The Saints took a lesson from the physical game the Steelers played against them in Canton. That's a good response for a team that is sure to get the "finesse team" label applied to them. Saint secondary showed up a lot better than they did last week. Now, they need to get their red zone offense working. Brees was very sharp and they're working consciously to make Devery Henderson a more consistent part of the passing game.
Up next: Jacksonville vs. Miami.
The Saint offense seemed to get off to a good start; Reggie Bush launched through an opening to convert a 3rd-and-8; Drew Brees was 4-for-4, hitting Devery Henderson twice. Once they got into the red zone, though, Buffalo stuffed Deuce McAllister for a loss on 2nd-and-1 and Brees can't find an open receiver on 3rd down. And the FG attempt is blocked, as Bobby April maintains his career goal of pissing me off by coaching top-notch special teams everywhere BUT St. Louis.
Saint d-line is really teeing off on Buffalo. JP Losman gets one first down with a Flutie-like run, scrambling around for 80 yards to get a 12-yard gain, but Lee Evans drops a third-down pass in traffic to end the drive. Sam Aiken then makes a terrific shoestring tackle of punt returner Lance Moore to pin the Saints at the 1. Screw you, Bobby April. Just screw you.
Between the 20s, the Saint offense looks like the Second Greatest Show on Earth. Brees is very sharp, hitting Henderson with a beautiful sideline pass for 24. They line Reggie Bush out wide and Brees hits him for 17. Brees has already hit 6 different receivers. This drive also falls apart, though, with a holding penalty and an end zone pass too tall for Henderson, who gets clocked by Ko Simpson for his efforts. New Saint placekicker Olindo Mare hits a 42-yarder to start the 2nd quarter. 3-0.
Saints had the ball almost 12:00 of the first quarter. They had almost 120 offensive yards in the quarter, most of it coming from Brees. And they got a whole 3 points out of it, pointing up the importance of having an effective red zone offense.
Marshawn Lynch in at RB now for A-Train. The Bills make it to midfield - nice throw and catch from Losman to Josh Reed at the sideline to gain a 1st down - but Losman has to dumpoff short on 3rd-and-10. Brian Moorman's punt caroms out of bounds at the 3. Bobby April is the devil.
Tyler Palko, not Jamie Martin, replaces Brees. Antonio Pittman in at TB. Damn fine outing for Brees, 12-14-118. Palko gets the Saints out to the 50 in 3 plays, including a good sideline pass to Lance Moore and a screen to Pittman. Kevin Dudley atones for getting submarined at the Hall of Fame Game by blasting Trevor Hooper along the sideline at the end of an 18-yard reception. That hit fired up the whole stadium. The Saints make it inside the Buffalo 10 before Palko is picked off at the goal line by Jabari Greer. Very little of New Orleans' effort tonight is translating to the scoreboard.
New QB for Buffalo is Craig Nall. Three completions to Roscoe Parrish set them up for a 36-yard Rian Lindell FG that ties the game up just before halftime. Despite Buffalo's success this drive, the Saint secondary is playing a lot tougher than they did last Sunday night. The Saints definitely took heed of the message the Steelers sent in that game. 3-3 at halftime.
Trent Edwards enters the game at QB for Buffalo to start the second half. Somebody tell Edwards it's ok to throw a pass more than five yards downfield. It's legal, really.
AN ANTHONY HARGROVE SIGHTING! He deflects a Palko pass back at him early in the 3rd. Saints go 3-and-out.
Why are Gus and Solomon marveling at how "the city shuts down" and they take off from work when Saints games come on? Do they really think that many people are working on Sundays?
Edwards doesn't even throw a pass across the line of scrimmage as Buffalo goes 123-out. He can throw the ball forward, can't he?
Ashton (It's Not Your Booty, It's) Youboty makes a fine play to stop returner Lance Moore for a loss of two, coming at the end of a 51-yard punt. Bobby April molests collies.
Terrible throw by Palko, off his back foot for no reason, hangs in the air for 20 yards and is picked off by Greer, his second of the night. Palko, you're no Charlie Batch.
Edwards still hasn't thrown a ball more than 5 yards downfield, but Fred Jackson turns in the best run of the preseason so far. He gets stacked up in the hole but twirls out of it with a spin move, turns the corner and runs up the sideline for a 17-yard TD. 10-3, Buffalo.
WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO THIS COUNTRY? CANADA beat MEXICO for the world flag football championship? The US didn't even make THE FINAL? Who was the coach of the US team, Marty Schottenheimer? Is it a sign where this country is going when we can't win at baseball, can't win at basketball, can't even win at flag football, but we got the hot dog eating championship back?
Palko is much better off throwing fastballs than he is looking downfield for the long ball. This drive, he seems to hold the ball forever and takes a sack from Paul Posluszny for a 9 yard loss. But he makes up with it with an 18-yard pass to Robert Meachem, and to start the 4th quarter, 4th and 1 from the Buffalo 45, he takes off for 19 on a naked bootleg. Sweet, sweet call. The Saints drive to the 2 and Meachem makes a super play on Palko's fade pass for the TD. The drive went 16 plays, 78 yards in 7 1/2 minutes. 10-all.
Another great drive for Edwards. He attempts a 10-yard pass that is badly incomplete and gets sacked on 3rd down by Josh Cooper, who burns Walter Stith with an inside move. Nice work, nfl.com; neither of those linemen are listed on their "current" team rosters online.
Palko scrambles for 14 more, but the Bills get a jailbreak on him a couple of plays later for a sack and a loss of 10. I'm thinking somebody missed an assignment when 3 guys come in on the QB untouched. And you know who's having a good game, though I understand he's been suspended for the first four games of the season? Anthony Freaking Hargrove. Guess he missed Bill Kollar.
Fred Jackson's off to a heck of a good start. He opens this drive with a 12-yard run around left end and a 9-yard run off right tackle, bouncing off 2 or 3 tacklers. Edwards throws his longest pass of the night. Nine yards. And it was a screen pass. That plus a short Edwards scramble overcome a couple of sacks and set Lindell up for a 54-yard FG, which he hits to put the Bills ahead 13-10.
35-yard kick return by Pierre Thomas sets the Saints up near midfield. HA HA! Fie on thee, April-demon! 3:00 left and Palko's still in, so I guess no Jamie Martin tonight. A completion and another scramble, for 10, get the Saints in FG range. They wouldn't do that, would they? Sean Payton needs to pretend he's down 4 here and needs a TD. No one wants overtime in preseason.
Saints at the 35 with 2:00 left. Bills bring the house, Palko switches off and throws a deep pass incomplete. Youboty gets away with a pretty blatant hold. The 3rd-and-9 call is a stupid screen pass, which Pierre Thomas takes nowhere. Gotta let Palko fire there, Payton. A false start makes it 4th-and-12, which really isn't important because Palko gets pressured by five different Bills and tosses it away incomplete.
Well, at least Kevin Eakin can tell his kids someday that he played in a real NFL game. He's the QB as Buffalo runs out the clock for the 13-10 win.
The Bills seem to be auditioning a lot of DBs, and Jabari Greer certainly made a good impression with two INTs. Trent Edwards, I'm not so sure. At some point he has to start throwing balls that travel more than five yards in the air. Then again, I don't know what to make of a game where ANTHONY HARGROVE looks good.
The Saints took a lesson from the physical game the Steelers played against them in Canton. That's a good response for a team that is sure to get the "finesse team" label applied to them. Saint secondary showed up a lot better than they did last week. Now, they need to get their red zone offense working. Brees was very sharp and they're working consciously to make Devery Henderson a more consistent part of the passing game.
Up next: Jacksonville vs. Miami.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Game 11: Raiders 27, Big Dead 23
Grant Napear, Jim Plunkett and George Atkinson make up the Oakland broadcast team. This is my favorite preseason crew because they're so mistake-prone.
Oakland's is easily the loudest home crowd I've heard so far. Cards open 3-and-out as Edge comes up just short on a 3rd-down screen pass. Napear identifies Arizona punter Scott Player as Neal Rackers.
Josh McCown starts at QB for the Raiders and starts with three brutal, laughable incomplete passes.
3-and-out for the Cardinals again. Raiders pressured Leinart into an incompletion without bringing any extra rushers. Leinart was expecting Bryant Johnson to head upfield. Edge finding no room to run so far, just like last pre- and regular season. Plunkett pronounces his name "Edgar-in". Plunkett pronounces no one's name right; I bet he pronounces his own last name Plun-KETT.
McCown completes a couple of passes, but a fine play by Eric Green forces Ronald Curry out of bounds short of the first down. Raiders down the punt inside the 5.
I guess James is already done; Marcel Shipp's in at TB. Or as Plunkett says, Mar-shel. Cards make it to the Oakland 40 before Leinart's pressured into a 3rd-down dumpoff that the Raiders were all over. Shipp found some room to run this drive, but Leinart nearly had a couple of passes picked off, and his throws have tended to be high.
As the first quarter ends, the Raiders have driven inside the Arizona 20. Dominic Rhodes has done a little damage on the ground, McCown has hit Jerry Porter and Mike Freaking Williams, and the Big Dead have done their traditional share of help with stupid penalties; unnecessary roughness on Darnell Dockett and offsides on Bertran Berry on a 3rd-and-6. Rhodes finishes the 10-play, 80-yard, 7-minute drive with a 1-yard TD plunge. 7-0 Raiders.
Kurt Warner in as Arizona's QB. Not too long before he hits Bryant Johnson for a 58-yard TD that looked a lot like Walter Young's in the Steelers-Packers game. Terrible diving tackle attempt by the DB, former Ram kick returner non-extraordinaire Chris Johnson, and the deep back Hiram Eugene took a bad angle. Game tied at 7.
Andrew Walter at QB now for the Raiders. Raiders go 3-and-out with just a couple of short completions. Bill Leavy's officiating crew is allowing a lot of contact downfield.
Warner is already out of the game in favor of Shane Boyd. Yeah, I don't think Kurt's job is in any trouble. Boyd's first pass is right to Eugene and returned for a 31-yard TD. 14-7 Raiders.
3-and-out for Arizona. Boyd hangs TE Troy Bienemann (whose name I'm disappointed Plunkett didn't pronounce "Beenie Man") out to dry and BJ Ward drops the boom on him. Oakland makes a long return on the punt for the second time tonight.
Raiders put together another good, long scoring drive to run out the first half. They convert four third downs, including a leaping grab by Zach Miller on 3rd-and-10. Justin Fargas is the workhorse in the Arizona end with 5 carries, and Walter hits Mike Williams on the fade route for a TD from the 3.
21-7, Raiders.
Wow, I spoke too soon. Boyd's two completions and scramble in the last 0:22 look innocuous enough, but Rackers hits a 59-yard BOMB out of the infield dirt to make it a 21-10 game at halftime. Rackers was off a little last season, but that is a hell of a statement for him right out of the gate.
3-and-out for the Raiders as Chris Cooper completely overruns Mario Henderson to get to Walter for the sack. Making a bad situation worse, Tyler Frederickson's punt is a total shank, going maybe 30 yards.
Capitalizing on the shortened field, Boyd hits 4-of-5 passes and makes a nice cutback on a QB draw for a 8-yard TD to bring Arizona within 21-17.
Well, how 'bout the start of the Daunte Culpepper era in Oakland? The noted fumbler blows the snap on his very first play, and Alan Branch recovers the loose ball for Arizona. Golden scoring opportunity inside the Raider 20, but the Big Dead settle for just a FG. Replay challenge saves Boyd from giving up another INT return TD, but he still gets sacked by Jay Richardson on 3rd down to force another Rackers FG. Good comeback by Arizona - they've made it almost all the way back, trailing just 21-20.
He hasn't been in camp long, but Culpepper looks awful so far. He nearly fumbles it away again after Chris Cooper's 2nd sack, and his third down pass stinks to salt away a 3-and-out.
Helped by a roughing the passer penalty and a JJ Arrington run, the Cardinals get another Rackers FG to take the lead. A Ben Patrick drop and a couple of good pressures by the Raiders keep it from being more. Arizona leading now, 23-21.
After a touchback, the Raiders cross midfield on the strength of a bunch of carries by Joe Echemandu. A holding penalty right before the start of the 4th quarter sets them back. They go for it on 4th-and-6 at the Arizona 39 instead of letting Janikowski try a 56-yarder. Culpepper's bomb for Chris McFoy is too long by a step, and the Cardinals take over on downs.
3-and-out for Arizona with Boyd throwing a long incompletion on 3rd-and-4.
Culpepper uncorks a perfect 50-yard bomb to Johnnie Lee Higgins. 3 Echemandu runs bring the Raiders in for a closer FG attempt. Janikowski hits the 27-yarder to put Oakland back in the lead, 24-23.
Arizona gets to midfield before breaking down with a false start by Levi Brown, who seemed to have a good game otherwise, and Boyd getting sacked for -11 by Isaiah Ekejiuba, who came in on a dog.
Oakland gets another long punt return and sets up at midfield. They cash the excellent field position into a 48-yard Frederickson FG. 27-23, Oakland.
Arizona's night ends not with a bang but with a whimper. Boyd goes underthrow, sack, incomplete wounded duck near-pick, underthrow to send everyone home.
Echemandu grinds out the clock and the Raiders win 27-23.
The Raiders deserve credit for being able to string together some long drives. This was an offense that couldn't get out of its own way last season. Culpepper should take over as starting QB before too long. Echemandu looked good at RB but I doubt he'll crest above 4th on their depth chart.
DE Chris Cooper was the best of the Big Dead tonight as far as I'm concerned: 6 tackles, 2 sacks and a forced fumble. Except for saying that Rackers looks like he could be exceptional again, there isn't a lot to go on for them. Cooper was the only player with a sack; against Oakland, that's not good. If Leinart were a pitcher, you'd say he lacked command. Edge did nothing. Their run blocking looks improved; then again, they lost Oliver Ross for the season in this game, and having to shuffle the offensive line never helps an offense. As an interested opposing fan, I'd like to see more of their starters.
11 down, 54 to go. Up next: Falcons @ Jets.
Oakland's is easily the loudest home crowd I've heard so far. Cards open 3-and-out as Edge comes up just short on a 3rd-down screen pass. Napear identifies Arizona punter Scott Player as Neal Rackers.
Josh McCown starts at QB for the Raiders and starts with three brutal, laughable incomplete passes.
3-and-out for the Cardinals again. Raiders pressured Leinart into an incompletion without bringing any extra rushers. Leinart was expecting Bryant Johnson to head upfield. Edge finding no room to run so far, just like last pre- and regular season. Plunkett pronounces his name "Edgar-in". Plunkett pronounces no one's name right; I bet he pronounces his own last name Plun-KETT.
McCown completes a couple of passes, but a fine play by Eric Green forces Ronald Curry out of bounds short of the first down. Raiders down the punt inside the 5.
I guess James is already done; Marcel Shipp's in at TB. Or as Plunkett says, Mar-shel. Cards make it to the Oakland 40 before Leinart's pressured into a 3rd-down dumpoff that the Raiders were all over. Shipp found some room to run this drive, but Leinart nearly had a couple of passes picked off, and his throws have tended to be high.
As the first quarter ends, the Raiders have driven inside the Arizona 20. Dominic Rhodes has done a little damage on the ground, McCown has hit Jerry Porter and Mike Freaking Williams, and the Big Dead have done their traditional share of help with stupid penalties; unnecessary roughness on Darnell Dockett and offsides on Bertran Berry on a 3rd-and-6. Rhodes finishes the 10-play, 80-yard, 7-minute drive with a 1-yard TD plunge. 7-0 Raiders.
Kurt Warner in as Arizona's QB. Not too long before he hits Bryant Johnson for a 58-yard TD that looked a lot like Walter Young's in the Steelers-Packers game. Terrible diving tackle attempt by the DB, former Ram kick returner non-extraordinaire Chris Johnson, and the deep back Hiram Eugene took a bad angle. Game tied at 7.
Andrew Walter at QB now for the Raiders. Raiders go 3-and-out with just a couple of short completions. Bill Leavy's officiating crew is allowing a lot of contact downfield.
Warner is already out of the game in favor of Shane Boyd. Yeah, I don't think Kurt's job is in any trouble. Boyd's first pass is right to Eugene and returned for a 31-yard TD. 14-7 Raiders.
3-and-out for Arizona. Boyd hangs TE Troy Bienemann (whose name I'm disappointed Plunkett didn't pronounce "Beenie Man") out to dry and BJ Ward drops the boom on him. Oakland makes a long return on the punt for the second time tonight.
Raiders put together another good, long scoring drive to run out the first half. They convert four third downs, including a leaping grab by Zach Miller on 3rd-and-10. Justin Fargas is the workhorse in the Arizona end with 5 carries, and Walter hits Mike Williams on the fade route for a TD from the 3.
21-7, Raiders.
Wow, I spoke too soon. Boyd's two completions and scramble in the last 0:22 look innocuous enough, but Rackers hits a 59-yard BOMB out of the infield dirt to make it a 21-10 game at halftime. Rackers was off a little last season, but that is a hell of a statement for him right out of the gate.
3-and-out for the Raiders as Chris Cooper completely overruns Mario Henderson to get to Walter for the sack. Making a bad situation worse, Tyler Frederickson's punt is a total shank, going maybe 30 yards.
Capitalizing on the shortened field, Boyd hits 4-of-5 passes and makes a nice cutback on a QB draw for a 8-yard TD to bring Arizona within 21-17.
Well, how 'bout the start of the Daunte Culpepper era in Oakland? The noted fumbler blows the snap on his very first play, and Alan Branch recovers the loose ball for Arizona. Golden scoring opportunity inside the Raider 20, but the Big Dead settle for just a FG. Replay challenge saves Boyd from giving up another INT return TD, but he still gets sacked by Jay Richardson on 3rd down to force another Rackers FG. Good comeback by Arizona - they've made it almost all the way back, trailing just 21-20.
He hasn't been in camp long, but Culpepper looks awful so far. He nearly fumbles it away again after Chris Cooper's 2nd sack, and his third down pass stinks to salt away a 3-and-out.
Helped by a roughing the passer penalty and a JJ Arrington run, the Cardinals get another Rackers FG to take the lead. A Ben Patrick drop and a couple of good pressures by the Raiders keep it from being more. Arizona leading now, 23-21.
After a touchback, the Raiders cross midfield on the strength of a bunch of carries by Joe Echemandu. A holding penalty right before the start of the 4th quarter sets them back. They go for it on 4th-and-6 at the Arizona 39 instead of letting Janikowski try a 56-yarder. Culpepper's bomb for Chris McFoy is too long by a step, and the Cardinals take over on downs.
3-and-out for Arizona with Boyd throwing a long incompletion on 3rd-and-4.
Culpepper uncorks a perfect 50-yard bomb to Johnnie Lee Higgins. 3 Echemandu runs bring the Raiders in for a closer FG attempt. Janikowski hits the 27-yarder to put Oakland back in the lead, 24-23.
Arizona gets to midfield before breaking down with a false start by Levi Brown, who seemed to have a good game otherwise, and Boyd getting sacked for -11 by Isaiah Ekejiuba, who came in on a dog.
Oakland gets another long punt return and sets up at midfield. They cash the excellent field position into a 48-yard Frederickson FG. 27-23, Oakland.
Arizona's night ends not with a bang but with a whimper. Boyd goes underthrow, sack, incomplete wounded duck near-pick, underthrow to send everyone home.
Echemandu grinds out the clock and the Raiders win 27-23.
The Raiders deserve credit for being able to string together some long drives. This was an offense that couldn't get out of its own way last season. Culpepper should take over as starting QB before too long. Echemandu looked good at RB but I doubt he'll crest above 4th on their depth chart.
DE Chris Cooper was the best of the Big Dead tonight as far as I'm concerned: 6 tackles, 2 sacks and a forced fumble. Except for saying that Rackers looks like he could be exceptional again, there isn't a lot to go on for them. Cooper was the only player with a sack; against Oakland, that's not good. If Leinart were a pitcher, you'd say he lacked command. Edge did nothing. Their run blocking looks improved; then again, they lost Oliver Ross for the season in this game, and having to shuffle the offensive line never helps an offense. As an interested opposing fan, I'd like to see more of their starters.
11 down, 54 to go. Up next: Falcons @ Jets.
Game 10: Packers 13, Steelers 9
Steelers TV crew is Bob (Volcano) Pompeani and Edmund (Who?) Wilson.
Mike Tomlin's charges continue to take preseason very seriously, trying to set a physical tone early. The Steelers actually zone blitz on the first play of the game, dropping Casey Hampton into coverage. Largest. Pass Defender. Ever. Packers 3-and-out with Troy Polamalu hitting Brett Favre as he throws for an incompletion.
Big Ben starts, despite somebody stepping on his foot or something. Maybe he shouldn't have. Cullen Jenkins beats Marvel Smith on 3rd down, slaps the ball out of Ben's hand and falls on it for the turnover. Sack/fumble/recovery trifecta for Jenkins.
Packers get nowhere after the turnover. There's a confusing 2nd down play the Pittsburgh TV crew didn't even get on camera, apparently a fumbled snap. Polamalu breaks up the 3rd down pass to force another Packer punt.
THE HELL? We skipped a play earlier; now NFL Network has cut out a whole possession, skipping almost four minutes of the first quarter. NFL.com tells us the Steelers got a first down and punted, and Nate Washington actually held on to a pass this week. Najeh Davenport got clogged for no gain on 3rd-and-1. Daniel Sepulveda, a great college punter who'll be a stern test of my "Never Draft A Kicker!" edict, hits a sloppy punt but gets 50 yards after the roll.
The Packer team song? How 'bout "Road To Nowhere," as they 3-and-out for the 3rd straight time, with Donald Driver dropping Favre's pass on 3rd down.
Charlie Batch now at QB for Pittsburgh. He opens with a freakin' 60-yard pass OFF HIS BACK FOOT that Washington nearly hauls in with a circus catch. We get the one-millionth 3rd-down pass short of the 1st down this weekend, and cue the punter.
FOUR 3-and-outs now for the Packers. Darryn Colledge is flagged for holding, then Favre throws a pass for Greg Jennings so bad I have no idea what he was even trying to do. Apparently deciding to give up with over 48 minutes still left to play, the Packers run on 3rd-and-a-mile and get nothing.
Davenport bowls outside for 21 behind a Kendall Simmons block. Jenkins rings up his second sack, dropping Batch for -8, but Batch answers with a 41-yard TD pass to Walter Young, who benefits from a Travis Fisher-quality tackle attempt by Atari Bigby and a terrible angle taken by Marviel Underwood. The point after is blocked, so let's hear it for Steelers special teams coach Bob Ligashesky, what do you say?
Aaron Rodgers now at QB for Pittsburgh. At the start of the 2nd quarter, his third down pass is poor, low and nearly intercepted by Ricardo Colclough. FIVE 3-and-outs for Green Bay now.
Batch hits Santonio Holmes with a 49-yard bomb. That ball hung up some and it was another horrible play on Bigby's part that Holmes got to catch it. The bomb got Pittsburgh down to the Packer 12, but Brady Poppinga stuffed a Kevin Barlow run, and the Packers had the main options covered in the end zone on 3rd down, so the Steelers settle for a Jeff Reed FG and a 9-0 lead.
The Packers FINALLY get their first 1st down, 4 minutes into the 2nd, but that's all for the time being. Brandon Jackson only gets 1 on 2nd-and-6 and Rodgers' deep pass for Robert Ferguson is incomplete.
Brian St. Pierre at QB for Pittsburgh. Barlow gains 17 around end, but gets stuffed on 2nd down two plays later, and on 3rd down, KGB smoked Max Starks and took down BSP.
After a nice 20-yard scramble by Rodgers, Green Bay gets nothing going, with a brutal drop by Bubba Franks on 3rd down. Jon Ryan's punt goes out of bounds at the Steeler 3.
St.Pierre gets the Steelers some room with a 3rd-down completion to Willie Reid for 14, but can't scramble out of trouble on the next 3rd down. Sepulveda looks great, nailing a 59-yard punt to pin the Packers back.
Packers put together a drive in the final 2:00. Noah Herron runs for 14 and makes a catch for 13. Rodgers hits James Jones over the middle for 25. Ruvell Martin gets them inside the 20 with a catch, (thanks also to Rodgers moving well in the pocket) and appears to catch a TD with 0:15 left, but he's ruled to have stepped out the back of the end zone before making the catch. Packers settle for a Dave Rayner FG and go into halftime down 9-3.
It's the 3rd quarter now, and the Green Bay broadcast takes over, with Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon.
Nothing doing for Pittsburgh out of halftime, as Will Blackmon breaks up a 3rd-down floater from BSP to Matt Spaeth.
Rodgers appears to have a connection with Ruvell Martin, hitting him for 9 and 19 during Green Bay's first drive of the half. A 15-yard face mask puts Green Bay in scoring range. Shaun Bodiford's 18-yard catch puts them inside the 10. Rodgers finishes off an excellent drive with a 2-yard fade to Carlyle Holiday over Anthony Madison. Packers now lead, 10-9.
Pittsburgh gets one first down but is done thanks to a brutal Willie Reid drop and a BSP throwaway under pressure on 3rd down. The TV crew intersperses its on-the-field coverage with a booth interview of - coach Mike McCarthy's father.
An 18-yard DPI on William Gay gets Green Bay out of a hole. Brandon Jackson weaves through the middle for 17. First real impact play from him tonight. He makes another one two plays later, slanting inside behind some good blocking for 14. The Steelers knock down a 3rd down pass at the line to force a long FG attempt, which Mason Crosby hits from 52 to give Green Bay a 13-9 lead.
Oh God, did I just hear Kevin Harlan say Aaron Rodgers has looked "tight"?
Pittsburgh's 2nd half looking a lot like Green Bay's first half. BSP running for his life, gets sacked by Justin Harrell on 2nd down. 123-kick for the Steelers, who had 1 first down this quarter.
Packers cross midfield but Rodgers is flushed out of bounds for a loss on 2nd down, and Holiday slips and falls on his cut for a 3rd down incompletion and a punt.
Gary Russell might be the best RB the Steelers have suited up tonight. He rushed for almost 50 yards before Larry Birdine (from Oklahoma, not French Lick) charged unblocked right up the middle to sack BSP. Steelers intended to go for it on 4th-and-13 but relented after a false start.
It'll do Mike Mayock's heart good to see Ingle Martin in the game for Green Bay. Corey White is the tailback. Martin scrambles for a first down. They chew about five minutes off the clock behind White and punt with 4:40 left.
Sideline reporter Jessie Garcia gives a hilarious explanation for those ugly green dots that are on the QB's helmets now. Her explanation was fine; the reason is hilarious. The dot is so the referees can identify which helmets have the radio units the coaches use to talk to the QBs. There's a new rule this year that the holder on placekicks can't have that helmet on. It's to prevent teams from gaining an unfair advantage and calling fake kicks over the radio at the last possible second. It takes paranoia at the genius level to think this kind of stuff up. OK, was Mike Martz the one who raised this issue?
Meanwhile, the Steelers dink and dunk their way out to midfield before turning the ball over on downs.
Paul Thompson gets to run out the clock for the Packers at QB.
Not quite; Pittsburgh gets the ball back at the 20 with 0:26 left. They get knocked back to the 10 on a holding penalty. They can only get out to their 35 before time expires.
Like the Chiefs, the Packers are a team best known for an offensive player, but whose identity has to come from its defense to do well this year. Cullen Jenkins along with Kampmann and spot duty by KGB make the Packer d-line a real threat. And it needs to be, because it looks like their secondary has significant issues. Speaking of which, there's the whole Panther offense. They are going to struggle to run if Brandon Jackson continues to look like just-a-guy. And this has to be the year they take Favre aside and tell him "we're starting the other guy." Aaron Rodgers looks like the better QB at this point.
Pittsburgh didn't leave me much to go on. Mike Tomlin still has the team playing aggressively. Batch may be the league's best backup QB. Santonio Holmes looks ready to contribute with regularity.
10 down, 55 to go. Up next: Big Dead @ Raiders.
Mike Tomlin's charges continue to take preseason very seriously, trying to set a physical tone early. The Steelers actually zone blitz on the first play of the game, dropping Casey Hampton into coverage. Largest. Pass Defender. Ever. Packers 3-and-out with Troy Polamalu hitting Brett Favre as he throws for an incompletion.
Big Ben starts, despite somebody stepping on his foot or something. Maybe he shouldn't have. Cullen Jenkins beats Marvel Smith on 3rd down, slaps the ball out of Ben's hand and falls on it for the turnover. Sack/fumble/recovery trifecta for Jenkins.
Packers get nowhere after the turnover. There's a confusing 2nd down play the Pittsburgh TV crew didn't even get on camera, apparently a fumbled snap. Polamalu breaks up the 3rd down pass to force another Packer punt.
THE HELL? We skipped a play earlier; now NFL Network has cut out a whole possession, skipping almost four minutes of the first quarter. NFL.com tells us the Steelers got a first down and punted, and Nate Washington actually held on to a pass this week. Najeh Davenport got clogged for no gain on 3rd-and-1. Daniel Sepulveda, a great college punter who'll be a stern test of my "Never Draft A Kicker!" edict, hits a sloppy punt but gets 50 yards after the roll.
The Packer team song? How 'bout "Road To Nowhere," as they 3-and-out for the 3rd straight time, with Donald Driver dropping Favre's pass on 3rd down.
Charlie Batch now at QB for Pittsburgh. He opens with a freakin' 60-yard pass OFF HIS BACK FOOT that Washington nearly hauls in with a circus catch. We get the one-millionth 3rd-down pass short of the 1st down this weekend, and cue the punter.
FOUR 3-and-outs now for the Packers. Darryn Colledge is flagged for holding, then Favre throws a pass for Greg Jennings so bad I have no idea what he was even trying to do. Apparently deciding to give up with over 48 minutes still left to play, the Packers run on 3rd-and-a-mile and get nothing.
Davenport bowls outside for 21 behind a Kendall Simmons block. Jenkins rings up his second sack, dropping Batch for -8, but Batch answers with a 41-yard TD pass to Walter Young, who benefits from a Travis Fisher-quality tackle attempt by Atari Bigby and a terrible angle taken by Marviel Underwood. The point after is blocked, so let's hear it for Steelers special teams coach Bob Ligashesky, what do you say?
Aaron Rodgers now at QB for Pittsburgh. At the start of the 2nd quarter, his third down pass is poor, low and nearly intercepted by Ricardo Colclough. FIVE 3-and-outs for Green Bay now.
Batch hits Santonio Holmes with a 49-yard bomb. That ball hung up some and it was another horrible play on Bigby's part that Holmes got to catch it. The bomb got Pittsburgh down to the Packer 12, but Brady Poppinga stuffed a Kevin Barlow run, and the Packers had the main options covered in the end zone on 3rd down, so the Steelers settle for a Jeff Reed FG and a 9-0 lead.
The Packers FINALLY get their first 1st down, 4 minutes into the 2nd, but that's all for the time being. Brandon Jackson only gets 1 on 2nd-and-6 and Rodgers' deep pass for Robert Ferguson is incomplete.
Brian St. Pierre at QB for Pittsburgh. Barlow gains 17 around end, but gets stuffed on 2nd down two plays later, and on 3rd down, KGB smoked Max Starks and took down BSP.
After a nice 20-yard scramble by Rodgers, Green Bay gets nothing going, with a brutal drop by Bubba Franks on 3rd down. Jon Ryan's punt goes out of bounds at the Steeler 3.
St.Pierre gets the Steelers some room with a 3rd-down completion to Willie Reid for 14, but can't scramble out of trouble on the next 3rd down. Sepulveda looks great, nailing a 59-yard punt to pin the Packers back.
Packers put together a drive in the final 2:00. Noah Herron runs for 14 and makes a catch for 13. Rodgers hits James Jones over the middle for 25. Ruvell Martin gets them inside the 20 with a catch, (thanks also to Rodgers moving well in the pocket) and appears to catch a TD with 0:15 left, but he's ruled to have stepped out the back of the end zone before making the catch. Packers settle for a Dave Rayner FG and go into halftime down 9-3.
It's the 3rd quarter now, and the Green Bay broadcast takes over, with Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon.
Nothing doing for Pittsburgh out of halftime, as Will Blackmon breaks up a 3rd-down floater from BSP to Matt Spaeth.
Rodgers appears to have a connection with Ruvell Martin, hitting him for 9 and 19 during Green Bay's first drive of the half. A 15-yard face mask puts Green Bay in scoring range. Shaun Bodiford's 18-yard catch puts them inside the 10. Rodgers finishes off an excellent drive with a 2-yard fade to Carlyle Holiday over Anthony Madison. Packers now lead, 10-9.
Pittsburgh gets one first down but is done thanks to a brutal Willie Reid drop and a BSP throwaway under pressure on 3rd down. The TV crew intersperses its on-the-field coverage with a booth interview of - coach Mike McCarthy's father.
An 18-yard DPI on William Gay gets Green Bay out of a hole. Brandon Jackson weaves through the middle for 17. First real impact play from him tonight. He makes another one two plays later, slanting inside behind some good blocking for 14. The Steelers knock down a 3rd down pass at the line to force a long FG attempt, which Mason Crosby hits from 52 to give Green Bay a 13-9 lead.
Oh God, did I just hear Kevin Harlan say Aaron Rodgers has looked "tight"?
Pittsburgh's 2nd half looking a lot like Green Bay's first half. BSP running for his life, gets sacked by Justin Harrell on 2nd down. 123-kick for the Steelers, who had 1 first down this quarter.
Packers cross midfield but Rodgers is flushed out of bounds for a loss on 2nd down, and Holiday slips and falls on his cut for a 3rd down incompletion and a punt.
Gary Russell might be the best RB the Steelers have suited up tonight. He rushed for almost 50 yards before Larry Birdine (from Oklahoma, not French Lick) charged unblocked right up the middle to sack BSP. Steelers intended to go for it on 4th-and-13 but relented after a false start.
It'll do Mike Mayock's heart good to see Ingle Martin in the game for Green Bay. Corey White is the tailback. Martin scrambles for a first down. They chew about five minutes off the clock behind White and punt with 4:40 left.
Sideline reporter Jessie Garcia gives a hilarious explanation for those ugly green dots that are on the QB's helmets now. Her explanation was fine; the reason is hilarious. The dot is so the referees can identify which helmets have the radio units the coaches use to talk to the QBs. There's a new rule this year that the holder on placekicks can't have that helmet on. It's to prevent teams from gaining an unfair advantage and calling fake kicks over the radio at the last possible second. It takes paranoia at the genius level to think this kind of stuff up. OK, was Mike Martz the one who raised this issue?
Meanwhile, the Steelers dink and dunk their way out to midfield before turning the ball over on downs.
Paul Thompson gets to run out the clock for the Packers at QB.
Not quite; Pittsburgh gets the ball back at the 20 with 0:26 left. They get knocked back to the 10 on a holding penalty. They can only get out to their 35 before time expires.
Like the Chiefs, the Packers are a team best known for an offensive player, but whose identity has to come from its defense to do well this year. Cullen Jenkins along with Kampmann and spot duty by KGB make the Packer d-line a real threat. And it needs to be, because it looks like their secondary has significant issues. Speaking of which, there's the whole Panther offense. They are going to struggle to run if Brandon Jackson continues to look like just-a-guy. And this has to be the year they take Favre aside and tell him "we're starting the other guy." Aaron Rodgers looks like the better QB at this point.
Pittsburgh didn't leave me much to go on. Mike Tomlin still has the team playing aggressively. Batch may be the league's best backup QB. Santonio Holmes looks ready to contribute with regularity.
10 down, 55 to go. Up next: Big Dead @ Raiders.
Game 9: Panthers 24, Giants 21
Announcing the game for the Giants are Chris Carlin and Carl Banks. Carlin is the epitome of every bald white guy living in New York right now.
Eli Manning's season gets off to a flying start as he badly overthrows Michael Jennings on 3rd down. That throw was so off, I hope Jennings was running the wrong pattern.
William Joseph slides out to DE while Michael Strahan plays hooky from training camp while pretending he's contemplating retirement. Kiwanuka at OLB as per their offseason plans.
Look out now, but here come the Carolina Panthers, who have just put together the best drive I've seen all preseason, 81 yards in 7 minutes. They have changed their offensive coordinator and blocking scheme to finally get their running game going, and their moves are working great so far. DeShaun Foster is positively lethal with cutbacks, chalking up runs of 7, 9 and 15 on the drive. When they pull him out for a blow, Nick Goings cuts back and rumbles for 21 down to the 4. Jake Delhomme finishes it off with a TD pass to Steve Smith, and if Carolina runs this well this season, Jake's going to be a lot more comfortable passer than he has been lately. I'm not real enthused at this point about the Rams drawing Carolina as the opponent for their home opener.
Well, there's a big chink in the Carolina armor - Derrick Ward returns the ensuing kickoff 67 yards. Eli immediately gets into trouble by getting sacked by Stanley McClover, but on 3rd-and-3 from the Panther 7, he steps up nicely in the pocket and squeezes a TD pass in to Jeremy Shockey. We're tied at 7.
Foster continues to gallop up fantasy football boards around the world, with a 9-yard screen and a 31-yard run around right tackle (with a nice block by Steve Smith). The one thing about him, which he's always done, is that he carries the ball like the proverbial loaf of bread. Something OJ Atogwe, for instance, may want to have in mind Opening Day.
Ushering in the 2nd quarter is new Panther QB David Carr. His first drive ends just across midfield when Will Demps sacks him off a blitz. Well, if there's anybody who's used to that, it's David Carr.
The Hefty Lefty, Jared Lorenzen, replaces Eli. Reuben Droughns enters the game at tailback. Lorenzen shows off his big arm on a long incompletion for Steve Smith, but gets the first down with a 14-yard scramble. Carolina breaks up another attempt to Smith to force a punt that Jeff Feagles shanks.
Yes, both teams have wide receivers named Steve Smith. The Panthers have the one who kicked Jason Sehorn's ass (figuratively) and knocked the Rams out of the 2003 playoffs. The Giants have the one who kicked Dominque Byrd's ass at USC a couple of years ago. (literally)
DeAngelo Williams must be out - Goings is in as the #2 RB. A long DPI gets the Panthers across midfield. 9- and 11-yard runs by Goings help get them down to the Giant 6, but the G-men stiffen, stuff Goings twice, and pressure Carr into a throwaway. Jon Kasay puts the Panthers up 10-7 with a chippie.
36 yard kick return by Ahmad Bradshaw, and we have officially found a weakness in the Panthers. Giants put together a nice drive after that. Lorenzen hits Tyree on 3rd-and-5. After the 2:00 warning, they go for it on 4th-and-5 from the Panther 38, and convert it with a nice call: a downfield screen pass Droughns takes all the way down to the 6. Derrick Ward scores on a draw on 3rd-and-goal from the 5 and New York goes up 14-10.
Well, I hope nobody left early for a snack. Carr drove the Panthers 73 yards in 0:47 to give Carolina the halftime lead. A roughing penalty on Craig Dahl moved Carolina across midfield. Ryne Robinson got his second big catch of the half, a 24 yarder down to the 23. After a timeout, Dahl (not his best drive) and Corey Webster let Taye Biddle run free down the sideline, and Carr hit him for an easy TD. The Giants kneel out the clock and trail 17-14 at halftime.
Carolina's TV crew, Gary Williams and Steve Beuerlein, certainly lead the league in hair styling product.
I hope Dante Hall is everything he's cracked up to be, because Ryne Robinson looks capable of bringing what Hall does/did to special teams and of filling a #3/#4 role at wide receiver.
Brett Basanez in at QB, and he delivers immediately, throwing a rocket to Taye Biddle for an 85-yard catch-and-run TD. Kevin Dockery makes an awful play, trying to leap for the pass instead of staying with his man, leaving, yep, Chris Dahl to try to cover Biddle, and he takes a poor angle and gets to run 10 yards behind Biddle all the way downfield. 24-14 Carolina.
The Giants cross midfield on a nice second-effort 19-yard run by Ward, but Kevin Boss can't come up with a diving catch on first down, and D-FREAKING-LEW blows up a screen pass on 3rd down to force a punt.
3-and-out for Basanez and the Panthers, as he misses connections with Chris Horn on 2nd down and can't find anyone open on the rollout on 3rd down. This earns the Giant defense a large Bronx, make that Jersey, cheer/jeer from their home crowd.
Nice TD pass from Lorenzen to Anthony Mix to make it close again. Very similar play to Biddle's first TD for Carolina. A Ryan Grant 20-yard run and a 20-yard DPI got the Giants in position. 24-21.
Three Giants swamp Basanez on third down for a sack to force a 3-and-out and a punt.
Anthony Wright is the new Giants QB. Chad Lavalais sacks him on his first pass attempt. 3-and-out and punt for the Giants as we head to the 4th quarter.
Zach DeOssie sacks Basanez - perfect defensive call, Basanez had no chance to do anything but get tackled - and Corey Webster makes a nice play to tip a deep corner route to force our third straight 3-and-out.
Bartender! Another 3-and-out down here, please. The Giant o-line lets two blitzers in untouched on Wright, who has to throw it away on 2nd down, and Christian Morton breaks up a pass to Brandon London on 3rd down that would have been well short anyway. Viva preseason!
3-and-out for Carolina after an initial completion. Looked like Michael Gaines dropped the pass to him on 3rd down. Panthers down the punt at the 3.
Giants get out to midfield before this drive bogs down. Ahmad Bradshaw has a nice 15-yard run with multiple cutbacks, Wright rolls and hits Marco (That Girl) Thomas for 19, then scrambles for 11. Morton puts a lick on Mix to break up a 2nd-down pass, and Wright gets stopped short on a 3rd-down scramble to end the drive.
Carolina 3-and-outs on 3 runs and punts it back.
Wright has had to field some terrible snaps from Matthew Lentz this quarter, and this one turns into a sack. Remembering Leroy Harris' struggles last night, kids, if you want to play in the NFL, work on your shotgun snap. Plenty of teams can use a backup with that skill. Wright gets sacked again on 3rd-and-9 by Otis Grigsby, whose name has gotten called a lot tonight.
Not a typo: Carolina 3-and-outs on 3 runs and punts it back.
While previewing the Rams late in the game, Beuerlein calls Randy McMichael "Ryan McNeil", then corrects himself: "Ryan McKnight".
One last chance for the Giants with 0:42 left, but Grigsby nearly sacks Wright again, and Bradshaw fumbles after taking off with the shovel pass Wright does get off. Carolina wins 24-21.
It'd be easy to say the Giants are in big trouble on defense, and it does look like they miss Strahan's presence. Their secondary is a disaster, but they're also fighting some injuries back there. They had big problems defending the run as well. I'm fairly impressed with Hefty Lefty Lorenzen; I think he could be more than a novelty act.
But I think the bigger news is how good Carolina looks. Their starters looked like an offensive machine, and they could be on their way to a complete turnaround in their running game, assuming Foster stays healthy and hangs on to the ball. Taye Biddle emerged as this year's version of Keary Colbert, and DE Otis Grigsby seems certain to end up somewhere in the unlikely event he hits the Carolina waiver wire.
9 down, 56 to go. Right around the corner: Packers @ Steelers.
Eli Manning's season gets off to a flying start as he badly overthrows Michael Jennings on 3rd down. That throw was so off, I hope Jennings was running the wrong pattern.
William Joseph slides out to DE while Michael Strahan plays hooky from training camp while pretending he's contemplating retirement. Kiwanuka at OLB as per their offseason plans.
Look out now, but here come the Carolina Panthers, who have just put together the best drive I've seen all preseason, 81 yards in 7 minutes. They have changed their offensive coordinator and blocking scheme to finally get their running game going, and their moves are working great so far. DeShaun Foster is positively lethal with cutbacks, chalking up runs of 7, 9 and 15 on the drive. When they pull him out for a blow, Nick Goings cuts back and rumbles for 21 down to the 4. Jake Delhomme finishes it off with a TD pass to Steve Smith, and if Carolina runs this well this season, Jake's going to be a lot more comfortable passer than he has been lately. I'm not real enthused at this point about the Rams drawing Carolina as the opponent for their home opener.
Well, there's a big chink in the Carolina armor - Derrick Ward returns the ensuing kickoff 67 yards. Eli immediately gets into trouble by getting sacked by Stanley McClover, but on 3rd-and-3 from the Panther 7, he steps up nicely in the pocket and squeezes a TD pass in to Jeremy Shockey. We're tied at 7.
Foster continues to gallop up fantasy football boards around the world, with a 9-yard screen and a 31-yard run around right tackle (with a nice block by Steve Smith). The one thing about him, which he's always done, is that he carries the ball like the proverbial loaf of bread. Something OJ Atogwe, for instance, may want to have in mind Opening Day.
Ushering in the 2nd quarter is new Panther QB David Carr. His first drive ends just across midfield when Will Demps sacks him off a blitz. Well, if there's anybody who's used to that, it's David Carr.
The Hefty Lefty, Jared Lorenzen, replaces Eli. Reuben Droughns enters the game at tailback. Lorenzen shows off his big arm on a long incompletion for Steve Smith, but gets the first down with a 14-yard scramble. Carolina breaks up another attempt to Smith to force a punt that Jeff Feagles shanks.
Yes, both teams have wide receivers named Steve Smith. The Panthers have the one who kicked Jason Sehorn's ass (figuratively) and knocked the Rams out of the 2003 playoffs. The Giants have the one who kicked Dominque Byrd's ass at USC a couple of years ago. (literally)
DeAngelo Williams must be out - Goings is in as the #2 RB. A long DPI gets the Panthers across midfield. 9- and 11-yard runs by Goings help get them down to the Giant 6, but the G-men stiffen, stuff Goings twice, and pressure Carr into a throwaway. Jon Kasay puts the Panthers up 10-7 with a chippie.
36 yard kick return by Ahmad Bradshaw, and we have officially found a weakness in the Panthers. Giants put together a nice drive after that. Lorenzen hits Tyree on 3rd-and-5. After the 2:00 warning, they go for it on 4th-and-5 from the Panther 38, and convert it with a nice call: a downfield screen pass Droughns takes all the way down to the 6. Derrick Ward scores on a draw on 3rd-and-goal from the 5 and New York goes up 14-10.
Well, I hope nobody left early for a snack. Carr drove the Panthers 73 yards in 0:47 to give Carolina the halftime lead. A roughing penalty on Craig Dahl moved Carolina across midfield. Ryne Robinson got his second big catch of the half, a 24 yarder down to the 23. After a timeout, Dahl (not his best drive) and Corey Webster let Taye Biddle run free down the sideline, and Carr hit him for an easy TD. The Giants kneel out the clock and trail 17-14 at halftime.
Carolina's TV crew, Gary Williams and Steve Beuerlein, certainly lead the league in hair styling product.
I hope Dante Hall is everything he's cracked up to be, because Ryne Robinson looks capable of bringing what Hall does/did to special teams and of filling a #3/#4 role at wide receiver.
Brett Basanez in at QB, and he delivers immediately, throwing a rocket to Taye Biddle for an 85-yard catch-and-run TD. Kevin Dockery makes an awful play, trying to leap for the pass instead of staying with his man, leaving, yep, Chris Dahl to try to cover Biddle, and he takes a poor angle and gets to run 10 yards behind Biddle all the way downfield. 24-14 Carolina.
The Giants cross midfield on a nice second-effort 19-yard run by Ward, but Kevin Boss can't come up with a diving catch on first down, and D-FREAKING-LEW blows up a screen pass on 3rd down to force a punt.
3-and-out for Basanez and the Panthers, as he misses connections with Chris Horn on 2nd down and can't find anyone open on the rollout on 3rd down. This earns the Giant defense a large Bronx, make that Jersey, cheer/jeer from their home crowd.
Nice TD pass from Lorenzen to Anthony Mix to make it close again. Very similar play to Biddle's first TD for Carolina. A Ryan Grant 20-yard run and a 20-yard DPI got the Giants in position. 24-21.
Three Giants swamp Basanez on third down for a sack to force a 3-and-out and a punt.
Anthony Wright is the new Giants QB. Chad Lavalais sacks him on his first pass attempt. 3-and-out and punt for the Giants as we head to the 4th quarter.
Zach DeOssie sacks Basanez - perfect defensive call, Basanez had no chance to do anything but get tackled - and Corey Webster makes a nice play to tip a deep corner route to force our third straight 3-and-out.
Bartender! Another 3-and-out down here, please. The Giant o-line lets two blitzers in untouched on Wright, who has to throw it away on 2nd down, and Christian Morton breaks up a pass to Brandon London on 3rd down that would have been well short anyway. Viva preseason!
3-and-out for Carolina after an initial completion. Looked like Michael Gaines dropped the pass to him on 3rd down. Panthers down the punt at the 3.
Giants get out to midfield before this drive bogs down. Ahmad Bradshaw has a nice 15-yard run with multiple cutbacks, Wright rolls and hits Marco (That Girl) Thomas for 19, then scrambles for 11. Morton puts a lick on Mix to break up a 2nd-down pass, and Wright gets stopped short on a 3rd-down scramble to end the drive.
Carolina 3-and-outs on 3 runs and punts it back.
Wright has had to field some terrible snaps from Matthew Lentz this quarter, and this one turns into a sack. Remembering Leroy Harris' struggles last night, kids, if you want to play in the NFL, work on your shotgun snap. Plenty of teams can use a backup with that skill. Wright gets sacked again on 3rd-and-9 by Otis Grigsby, whose name has gotten called a lot tonight.
Not a typo: Carolina 3-and-outs on 3 runs and punts it back.
While previewing the Rams late in the game, Beuerlein calls Randy McMichael "Ryan McNeil", then corrects himself: "Ryan McKnight".
One last chance for the Giants with 0:42 left, but Grigsby nearly sacks Wright again, and Bradshaw fumbles after taking off with the shovel pass Wright does get off. Carolina wins 24-21.
It'd be easy to say the Giants are in big trouble on defense, and it does look like they miss Strahan's presence. Their secondary is a disaster, but they're also fighting some injuries back there. They had big problems defending the run as well. I'm fairly impressed with Hefty Lefty Lorenzen; I think he could be more than a novelty act.
But I think the bigger news is how good Carolina looks. Their starters looked like an offensive machine, and they could be on their way to a complete turnaround in their running game, assuming Foster stays healthy and hangs on to the ball. Taye Biddle emerged as this year's version of Keary Colbert, and DE Otis Grigsby seems certain to end up somewhere in the unlikely event he hits the Carolina waiver wire.
9 down, 56 to go. Right around the corner: Packers @ Steelers.
Game 8: Browns 16, Chiefs 12
The Browns apparently have such an embarrassment of riches at QB that Romeo Crennel can't possibly decide which one deserves to start on his own, and announces that the decision will be made via coin flip. That's the kind of tough decision-making you want from your head coach, eh? Charlie Frye is named Cleveland's starter when team officials are unable to locate Thomas Jefferson.
Cleveland announcers are Jim Donovan and Bernie Kosar. Sounds like we all lost another coin flip there.
Frye's first pass of the preseason is nearly picked off. I don't care if you have to wake his mother up, find Jefferson and get him down here!
Antoine Peek strips the ball from Brodie Croyle to blow up KC's first drive. Michael Bennett opens with runs of 10 and 16. Rookie Eric Wright blankets Samie Parker on a long route. Yeah, if I'm KC, I'd keep passing.
Crennel is apparently going to switch QBs every possession. Who does he think he is, Steve Spurrier? Derek Anderson gets stuck with a poor 3-and-out: stuffed run, short completion, stuffed run. I'm sure Anderson's thankful those calls let him put his best foot forward. If this were anybody but Cleveland, I'd give KC a lot of credit, esp. Jared Allen, for dominating the LOS and stuffing the run.
Croyle had looked fairly composed, up until this play. Cleveland gets a blitz through, Croyle makes a spin move to elude it, then uncorks a mindbendingly-dumb throw right to Leigh Bodden, wide open along the sideline. Just so we're clear, Bodden plays for Cleveland. Return sets up Browns for a score.
Every other play's a good one for Frye this drive. Josh Cribbs, the opening kick returner, gets 17 on an end-around. Then Napoleon Harris sacks Frye on a blitz. Jamal Lewis runs for 15 through a huge hole made by #3 overall draft pick Joe Thomas. On 3rd-and-short, Jared Allen, who's all over the place like usual, stuffs the FB Vickers and Cleveland meekly takes a Dawson FG for the turnover. 3-0 Browns.
Croyle hits uncovered TE Michael Allen for 18 before Cleveland's playmakers get at it again. Peek stuffs a run on first down and Eric Wright stops a pass short on 3rd down. Kamerion Wimbley has also been a major obstacle for the Chiefs to handle at this point.
First quarter ends with Cleveland up 3-0.
Anderson returns for Cleveland, starting inside their own 10. Drive goes 3-and-out after Cribbs drops a good pass.
Damon Huard takes over for the Chiefs with two terrible overthrows, an awful screen pass on 2nd down and a third down pass two feet over the receiver's hand and into the hands of Daven Holly deep behind the play.
Anderson gets some good field position this time and scrambles for a 1st down to get the drive going. Jason Wright breaks a couple of tackles for 21 on a screen pass. A false start and an underthrown short pass on 3rd down lead to Dawson's 2nd FG. What happened to throwing for the first down yardage on third down? Both teams are constantly dumping off.
A holding penalty puts KC's next drive in a hole right away, and 20 yards in 3 plays is going to be a lot for either team tonight. Chiefs get close but have to punt.
Browns offense gets rolling for Frye. Jerome Harrison sprints for 18 around left end. Frye hits TE Ryan Krause on the sideline for 26 with the best throw of the night. Unable to stand prosperity, Frye throws a backward pass that Harrison can't get and immediately gives up on. Unfortunately for Harrison, Frye, Bernie Kosar and Chief CB Benny Sapp realize the ball was lateraled and is still alive. Sapp grabs the loose ball and takes it 56 yards essentially unchallenged for a TD. 7-6, KC.
Harrison's poor night continues with a sloppy fumble. Cleveland recovers, but a holding call against Joe Thomas brings the whole thing back. Harrison is yanked in favor of Jason Wright. Frye converts the third-and-long with a nice pass to Kendrick Mosley for 23. Frye seems to be Cleveland's best choice at QB, until Crennel's coin lands on end and he picks Brady Quinn. Several of Frye's incompletions were catchable.
2:00 left in the half. Frye overcomes Thomas' 2nd hold and Harrison's 5-yard loss with a 22-yarder to Syndric Steptoe. They get all the way down to the Chief 5 with 0:12 left, but with no timeouts, and Frye stupidly runs with the ball on 1st-and-goal instead of throwing it away. KC stops him, the clock runs out, and Cleveland gets no points out of the effort. Amazing that Frye's a starting QB in the NFL and still makes a play that idiotic. 7-6 Chiefs at halftime.
Oh Lord, Jaycie Pearson on color on the Chiefs broadcast.
Just in case the QB'ing in this game isn't laughable enough already, the Chiefs send in Casey Printers. The Browns stuff two runs and Printers throws a wild pass while running back into his own end zone for the 3-and-out.
Cleveland finally gives Anderson some good field position. Browns are spared a 3-and-out by a gift illegal contact from the refs. Cleveland capitalizes on that with - another 3-and-out. Harrison's disappointing night continues with a 2-yard loss, and Anderson can't make a sideline connection with Travis Wilson on 3rd down.
KC's turn for a 3-and-out, as Printers can't find anyone on third down and can't quite escape the pocket on his scramble.
Anderson hits Steptoe for 14, then Krause for 8 on 3rd-and-6 to beat a blitz. Cleveland's backups on offensive line are keeping Anderson's jersey clean. He hits Wilson for 17 to beat another blitz. Once in the red zone, TE Darnell Dinkins false-starts, and a poor low throw by Anderson on 3rd down sends Dawson back in. His 32-yarder gives Cleveland the lead back, 9-7.
Having just taken a two point lead, Cleveland promptly kicks off out of bounds to set KC up at the 40. Jereme Perry covers Chris Hannon perfectly on a 1st-down bomb, and Marcus O'Keith drops a pass in the flat for another KC 3-and-out.
Ken Dorsey now at QB for the Browns. KC strings out a Dorsey bootleg nicely on 3rd down to force a 3-and-out, and they get good field position off a short punt.
Printers goes deep and incomplete again as the third quarter expires. 9-7, Browns.
Nice cutback by Derrick Ross and downfield blocking by Hannon leads to a 19-yard run. But Mike Pinkard drops a pass on 2nd down, the Chiefs are called for holding on 3rd down, and a draw to O'Keith goes nowhere. Printers still has not completed a pass, continuing his awful performance from 2006. Cleveland's punt returner inexplicably lets the ball bounce right next to him at the 10 and the Chiefs kill it at the 1.
That punt turns out to be big, as KC sacks Dorsey in the back of the end zone the very next play for a safety. Patrice Majondo-Mwamba whips Rob Smith and - really? Ryan Tucker? - to sack Dorsey and force a fumble. Somewhat luckily for Smith, he recovers the ball so he only cost his team 2 points instead of 7. Game now tied at 9. Justin Phinisee then returns the free kick a long way to put KC right back in scoring position.
The Chiefs, in classic preseason fashion, end up losing 19 yards on the drive. A false start and two sacks that Printers didn't have a chance to avoid create the third 3-and-out Casey has led them to. And he still hasn't completed a pass.
Dorsey drives Cleveland into scoring position with four passes to TE Buck Ortega. A couple of good pass defenses by Michael Bragg force a FG attempt, though, and the Browns entrust the kick to the camp leg Jesse Ainsworth instead of Dawson. Ainsworth's 43-yard attempt is terrible, and the game stays tied at 9.
PRINTERS COMPLETES A PASS! PRINTERS COMPLETES A PASS! PRINTERS COMPLETES A PASS! 6 yards to Titus Ryan. The Chiefs are so unfamiliar on what to do after a completed Printers pass they have to burn a timeout. He then scrambles for a first down on 3rd-and-4. This counts as an extended drive for Printers. The Chiefs end up driving down to the Cleveland 20 and appear happy to settle for a Justin Medlock FG since they ran on 3rd-and-7. Medlock hits from 42, 12-9 Chiefs with 1:51 left in the game. Clutch kick for the rookie.
Wouldn't you know it. Chris Barclay fields the short kickoff, gets a huge seam right down the middle, puts a move on Medlock and puts Cleveland back on top 16-12 with an 88-yard kickoff return.
Cleveland's kickoff is deep but Ian Randolph returns it out to the 40. Good grief. Talk about non-clutch play on special teams. Printers has about 1:30 to get the Chiefs a TD. He hits Hannon on a corner route with a splendid pass for 21, scrambles for 14 and gets a late hit to put the Chiefs at the 9. Printers to Ekwerekwu (aka Brad) down to the 4. Brad makes a nice play to get out of bounds and stop the clock. On 3rd-and-goal, though, Printers and the center blow the exchange, and Cleveland runs out the clock for the win.
Exciting finish, sure, but does either team have that much to be happy about? Both offenses are laughable. Frye pretty clearly stepped forward as the #1 QB, but he will make plays so idiotic he doesn't give them any reason not to rush Brady Quinn along. Jamal Lewis has almost no speed, and Jerome Harrison was a huge disappointment. KC's QBs are laughable. That team is in big trouble.
Both teams do have reasons to be excited about their defense, which is how they're going to win games this year; yes, even Kansas City. Both defensive lines excelled tonight. Kamerion Wimbley is on his way to becoming a perennial all-Pro for Cleveland, and Antoine Peek looks like a heck of a good pickup. 2nd-round CB Eric Wright is also off to a very promising start. For KC, Jared Allen is becoming a guy you have to account for on every snap, which could lead to big seasons for him and Tamba Hali. Napoleon Harris looks like a good addition to a defense that already has Derrick Johnson, Ty Law, Patrick Surtain and Donnie Edwards. That late FG was a good confidence builder for Medlock, though he'd better start kickoff deeper. In any event, defense is the future for both of these teams.
8 down, 57 to go. Up next, actually, already starting: Panthers @ Giants.
Cleveland announcers are Jim Donovan and Bernie Kosar. Sounds like we all lost another coin flip there.
Frye's first pass of the preseason is nearly picked off. I don't care if you have to wake his mother up, find Jefferson and get him down here!
Antoine Peek strips the ball from Brodie Croyle to blow up KC's first drive. Michael Bennett opens with runs of 10 and 16. Rookie Eric Wright blankets Samie Parker on a long route. Yeah, if I'm KC, I'd keep passing.
Crennel is apparently going to switch QBs every possession. Who does he think he is, Steve Spurrier? Derek Anderson gets stuck with a poor 3-and-out: stuffed run, short completion, stuffed run. I'm sure Anderson's thankful those calls let him put his best foot forward. If this were anybody but Cleveland, I'd give KC a lot of credit, esp. Jared Allen, for dominating the LOS and stuffing the run.
Croyle had looked fairly composed, up until this play. Cleveland gets a blitz through, Croyle makes a spin move to elude it, then uncorks a mindbendingly-dumb throw right to Leigh Bodden, wide open along the sideline. Just so we're clear, Bodden plays for Cleveland. Return sets up Browns for a score.
Every other play's a good one for Frye this drive. Josh Cribbs, the opening kick returner, gets 17 on an end-around. Then Napoleon Harris sacks Frye on a blitz. Jamal Lewis runs for 15 through a huge hole made by #3 overall draft pick Joe Thomas. On 3rd-and-short, Jared Allen, who's all over the place like usual, stuffs the FB Vickers and Cleveland meekly takes a Dawson FG for the turnover. 3-0 Browns.
Croyle hits uncovered TE Michael Allen for 18 before Cleveland's playmakers get at it again. Peek stuffs a run on first down and Eric Wright stops a pass short on 3rd down. Kamerion Wimbley has also been a major obstacle for the Chiefs to handle at this point.
First quarter ends with Cleveland up 3-0.
Anderson returns for Cleveland, starting inside their own 10. Drive goes 3-and-out after Cribbs drops a good pass.
Damon Huard takes over for the Chiefs with two terrible overthrows, an awful screen pass on 2nd down and a third down pass two feet over the receiver's hand and into the hands of Daven Holly deep behind the play.
Anderson gets some good field position this time and scrambles for a 1st down to get the drive going. Jason Wright breaks a couple of tackles for 21 on a screen pass. A false start and an underthrown short pass on 3rd down lead to Dawson's 2nd FG. What happened to throwing for the first down yardage on third down? Both teams are constantly dumping off.
A holding penalty puts KC's next drive in a hole right away, and 20 yards in 3 plays is going to be a lot for either team tonight. Chiefs get close but have to punt.
Browns offense gets rolling for Frye. Jerome Harrison sprints for 18 around left end. Frye hits TE Ryan Krause on the sideline for 26 with the best throw of the night. Unable to stand prosperity, Frye throws a backward pass that Harrison can't get and immediately gives up on. Unfortunately for Harrison, Frye, Bernie Kosar and Chief CB Benny Sapp realize the ball was lateraled and is still alive. Sapp grabs the loose ball and takes it 56 yards essentially unchallenged for a TD. 7-6, KC.
Harrison's poor night continues with a sloppy fumble. Cleveland recovers, but a holding call against Joe Thomas brings the whole thing back. Harrison is yanked in favor of Jason Wright. Frye converts the third-and-long with a nice pass to Kendrick Mosley for 23. Frye seems to be Cleveland's best choice at QB, until Crennel's coin lands on end and he picks Brady Quinn. Several of Frye's incompletions were catchable.
2:00 left in the half. Frye overcomes Thomas' 2nd hold and Harrison's 5-yard loss with a 22-yarder to Syndric Steptoe. They get all the way down to the Chief 5 with 0:12 left, but with no timeouts, and Frye stupidly runs with the ball on 1st-and-goal instead of throwing it away. KC stops him, the clock runs out, and Cleveland gets no points out of the effort. Amazing that Frye's a starting QB in the NFL and still makes a play that idiotic. 7-6 Chiefs at halftime.
Oh Lord, Jaycie Pearson on color on the Chiefs broadcast.
Just in case the QB'ing in this game isn't laughable enough already, the Chiefs send in Casey Printers. The Browns stuff two runs and Printers throws a wild pass while running back into his own end zone for the 3-and-out.
Cleveland finally gives Anderson some good field position. Browns are spared a 3-and-out by a gift illegal contact from the refs. Cleveland capitalizes on that with - another 3-and-out. Harrison's disappointing night continues with a 2-yard loss, and Anderson can't make a sideline connection with Travis Wilson on 3rd down.
KC's turn for a 3-and-out, as Printers can't find anyone on third down and can't quite escape the pocket on his scramble.
Anderson hits Steptoe for 14, then Krause for 8 on 3rd-and-6 to beat a blitz. Cleveland's backups on offensive line are keeping Anderson's jersey clean. He hits Wilson for 17 to beat another blitz. Once in the red zone, TE Darnell Dinkins false-starts, and a poor low throw by Anderson on 3rd down sends Dawson back in. His 32-yarder gives Cleveland the lead back, 9-7.
Having just taken a two point lead, Cleveland promptly kicks off out of bounds to set KC up at the 40. Jereme Perry covers Chris Hannon perfectly on a 1st-down bomb, and Marcus O'Keith drops a pass in the flat for another KC 3-and-out.
Ken Dorsey now at QB for the Browns. KC strings out a Dorsey bootleg nicely on 3rd down to force a 3-and-out, and they get good field position off a short punt.
Printers goes deep and incomplete again as the third quarter expires. 9-7, Browns.
Nice cutback by Derrick Ross and downfield blocking by Hannon leads to a 19-yard run. But Mike Pinkard drops a pass on 2nd down, the Chiefs are called for holding on 3rd down, and a draw to O'Keith goes nowhere. Printers still has not completed a pass, continuing his awful performance from 2006. Cleveland's punt returner inexplicably lets the ball bounce right next to him at the 10 and the Chiefs kill it at the 1.
That punt turns out to be big, as KC sacks Dorsey in the back of the end zone the very next play for a safety. Patrice Majondo-Mwamba whips Rob Smith and - really? Ryan Tucker? - to sack Dorsey and force a fumble. Somewhat luckily for Smith, he recovers the ball so he only cost his team 2 points instead of 7. Game now tied at 9. Justin Phinisee then returns the free kick a long way to put KC right back in scoring position.
The Chiefs, in classic preseason fashion, end up losing 19 yards on the drive. A false start and two sacks that Printers didn't have a chance to avoid create the third 3-and-out Casey has led them to. And he still hasn't completed a pass.
Dorsey drives Cleveland into scoring position with four passes to TE Buck Ortega. A couple of good pass defenses by Michael Bragg force a FG attempt, though, and the Browns entrust the kick to the camp leg Jesse Ainsworth instead of Dawson. Ainsworth's 43-yard attempt is terrible, and the game stays tied at 9.
PRINTERS COMPLETES A PASS! PRINTERS COMPLETES A PASS! PRINTERS COMPLETES A PASS! 6 yards to Titus Ryan. The Chiefs are so unfamiliar on what to do after a completed Printers pass they have to burn a timeout. He then scrambles for a first down on 3rd-and-4. This counts as an extended drive for Printers. The Chiefs end up driving down to the Cleveland 20 and appear happy to settle for a Justin Medlock FG since they ran on 3rd-and-7. Medlock hits from 42, 12-9 Chiefs with 1:51 left in the game. Clutch kick for the rookie.
Wouldn't you know it. Chris Barclay fields the short kickoff, gets a huge seam right down the middle, puts a move on Medlock and puts Cleveland back on top 16-12 with an 88-yard kickoff return.
Cleveland's kickoff is deep but Ian Randolph returns it out to the 40. Good grief. Talk about non-clutch play on special teams. Printers has about 1:30 to get the Chiefs a TD. He hits Hannon on a corner route with a splendid pass for 21, scrambles for 14 and gets a late hit to put the Chiefs at the 9. Printers to Ekwerekwu (aka Brad) down to the 4. Brad makes a nice play to get out of bounds and stop the clock. On 3rd-and-goal, though, Printers and the center blow the exchange, and Cleveland runs out the clock for the win.
Exciting finish, sure, but does either team have that much to be happy about? Both offenses are laughable. Frye pretty clearly stepped forward as the #1 QB, but he will make plays so idiotic he doesn't give them any reason not to rush Brady Quinn along. Jamal Lewis has almost no speed, and Jerome Harrison was a huge disappointment. KC's QBs are laughable. That team is in big trouble.
Both teams do have reasons to be excited about their defense, which is how they're going to win games this year; yes, even Kansas City. Both defensive lines excelled tonight. Kamerion Wimbley is on his way to becoming a perennial all-Pro for Cleveland, and Antoine Peek looks like a heck of a good pickup. 2nd-round CB Eric Wright is also off to a very promising start. For KC, Jared Allen is becoming a guy you have to account for on every snap, which could lead to big seasons for him and Tamba Hali. Napoleon Harris looks like a good addition to a defense that already has Derrick Johnson, Ty Law, Patrick Surtain and Donnie Edwards. That late FG was a good confidence builder for Medlock, though he'd better start kickoff deeper. In any event, defense is the future for both of these teams.
8 down, 57 to go. Up next, actually, already starting: Panthers @ Giants.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Game 7: Bears 20, Texans 19
Joel Meyers and Spencer Tillman will bring us the first half on Houston's behalf.
Devin Hester NOT returning kicks for the Bears; it's Danieal Manning, who barely gets the opening kick across the 20. Rex Grossman actually gets off to a decent start, and doesn't feel much heat from Houston until the Bears get to Houston's 35. The drive dies in part due to a Fred Miller false start. Where've I seen that before? Robbie Gould can't convert from 52 and we're still scoreless.
On 3rd-and-7, Matt Schaub does a nice job to get the pass off to beat a blitz, but Ken Walter can't hold on to it. Houston punts.
Huh, Hester is returning punts. Texans screen him off from making a fair catch, though, and the punt rolls another 20 yards.
Cedric Benson opens the next possession with an 11-yard run that was nearly a lot more. Grossman goes Ankiel on a screen pass and slightly overthrows Rashied Davis to lead to a Bears punt. Jacoby Jones returns the punt 23 yards for Houston.
Schaub hits Andre Johnson to move Houston across midfield. Drive stalls out, though, and Houston settles for a Kris Brown FG to take a 3-0 lead.
With about 1:30 left in the 1st, Brian Griese is in at QB and Adrian Peterson (the Northwestern version) enter the Bear backfield. Griese's first pass is horrible and Von Hutchins picks it off to put Houston in great shape.
Sage Rosenfels taking over at QB for Houston, as the game enters the 2nd quarter. They work all the way down to the Chicago 4, then gain nothing on three tries up the middle for Ron Dayne. Highly disappointing, uncreative offense there. A second Brown FG puts Houston up 6-0.
Devin Hester has come in to play WR. Griese hits him nicely for 12. Two plays later, as awful as Griese's INT was a minute ago, his pass down the sideline to Mark Bradley is a very pretty play. It gets Chicago to the Houston 4, and Obefemi Ayanbadejo scores a TD from Griese the next play. 7-6 Chicago.
Jerome Mathis nearly returns the ensuing kickoff all the way. His offense, though, follows that big play with a disgusting sequence, 3 straight incompletions. Houston's biggest offensive weapon so far, Kris Brown, comes in to put another 3 points on the board. Houston 9, Chicago 7.
3-and-out for the Bears. They come up short on 3rd-and-3 with a 2-yard pass to Rashied Davis.
Rosenfels runs his incompletions streak to five before finally completing one well short of the first down. I believe that makes them 0-for-5 on third down. The good news is, this leads to a Matt Turk sighting, and his punt covers 58 yards. Good thing for Rams Nation that Donnie Jones had a good game last night.
After Chicago 3-and-outs again, Houston finally strings together some plays. They're still unable to convert a 3rd down, so Samkon Gado converts a 4th down at the Bear 27. Gado gets two more passes once Houston enters the red zone, and on 3rd-and-1 from the 11, they're passing again, but no dice, and they settle for Brown's fourth FG to push their lead to 5. 12-7, Houston.
Halftime, and we switch to Chicago's announcers Mike Patrick and Mike Ditka.
Nothing happening for Houston after halftime, either. Rosenfels misses an open Jacoby Jones on 3rd down with a pass that nosedives short of him.
Kyle Orton is the new Bears QB. He hits John Gilmore for 13 and a first down, but on the ensuing 3rd-and-2, a bomb for Mike Hass is out of bounds and not catchable. Another Chicago punt.
Houston starts off the next drive with an impressive sideline catch by Jones. That seems to inspire them into putting a drive together, as they cross midfield and then convert their FIRST third down of the night with a pass to the fullback. A Rosenfels scramble gets them inside the 10, and he hits Jeb Putzier two plays later to stake Houston to a 19-7 lead. Nicely drawn-up and executed play, with Rosenfels naked bootlegging right off a fake run left.
The Bears turn in another 3-and-out, with Gilmore coming up just short on 3rd-and-9.
Bradlee Van Pelt is now Houston's QB. Wali Lundy fumbles the handoff on 2nd down, and Israel Idonije recovers for Chicago.
As the third quarter expires, Orton slings one to Brandon Rideau for 17 just before he gets clocked by a rusher. Add a roughing penalty and the ball's at the Houston 3. From there, they liked Houston's rollout pass on the last TD so much, they run it themselves, with similar success. Orton's toss to Fontel Mines makes it a 19-14 game.
Houston has returned kicks well all night and do it again here with a 33-yard return. Van Pelt leads them inside the Bears 35 with a draw play on 3rd-and-9 before the drive falls apart. He badly underthrows the TE on first down, gets sacked on 2nd down (the first sack tonight by either team), and badly overthrows the TE on third down. The ball ends up in safety Kevin Payne's hands but he drops it. Turk pins Chicago at the 11 with an ugly-looking punt.
A stupid penalty keeps Chicago's final drive alive. Earl Cochrane runs into the punter just before the 2:00 warning. That gives them a 4th-and-1 at midfield that they convert with a Josh Allen run. After taking a sack, Orton hits David Ball, the New Hampshire record-setting receiver, with a big 20-yard sideline pass. A couple of plays later, Allen fumbles, but the Bears recover, and Gould hits a 47-yard FG to put them ahead 20-19.
Too little time for Houston to mount a last comeback, even with Van Pelt completing a pass to himself via a deflection. Bears win 20-19.
Chicago's main questions for me are on offense. The two guys they're relying heaviest on, Grossman and Benson, both had good games. Orton also stepped up, completing 12 in a row at one point.
Houston's still doing too much of what bad teams do. They didn't convert third downs, they bogged down in the red zone, they didn't make the most of their opponent's mistakes, they committed bad penalties at crucial moments. The play-calling in the red zone was especially questionable. Best thing for them tonight is that Jacoby Jones seems to be stepping forward as their best option opposite Andre Johnson.
7 down, 58 to go. Up next: I'm not completely sure. Either Chiefs-Browns, or Bills-Saints from Friday night.
Devin Hester NOT returning kicks for the Bears; it's Danieal Manning, who barely gets the opening kick across the 20. Rex Grossman actually gets off to a decent start, and doesn't feel much heat from Houston until the Bears get to Houston's 35. The drive dies in part due to a Fred Miller false start. Where've I seen that before? Robbie Gould can't convert from 52 and we're still scoreless.
On 3rd-and-7, Matt Schaub does a nice job to get the pass off to beat a blitz, but Ken Walter can't hold on to it. Houston punts.
Huh, Hester is returning punts. Texans screen him off from making a fair catch, though, and the punt rolls another 20 yards.
Cedric Benson opens the next possession with an 11-yard run that was nearly a lot more. Grossman goes Ankiel on a screen pass and slightly overthrows Rashied Davis to lead to a Bears punt. Jacoby Jones returns the punt 23 yards for Houston.
Schaub hits Andre Johnson to move Houston across midfield. Drive stalls out, though, and Houston settles for a Kris Brown FG to take a 3-0 lead.
With about 1:30 left in the 1st, Brian Griese is in at QB and Adrian Peterson (the Northwestern version) enter the Bear backfield. Griese's first pass is horrible and Von Hutchins picks it off to put Houston in great shape.
Sage Rosenfels taking over at QB for Houston, as the game enters the 2nd quarter. They work all the way down to the Chicago 4, then gain nothing on three tries up the middle for Ron Dayne. Highly disappointing, uncreative offense there. A second Brown FG puts Houston up 6-0.
Devin Hester has come in to play WR. Griese hits him nicely for 12. Two plays later, as awful as Griese's INT was a minute ago, his pass down the sideline to Mark Bradley is a very pretty play. It gets Chicago to the Houston 4, and Obefemi Ayanbadejo scores a TD from Griese the next play. 7-6 Chicago.
Jerome Mathis nearly returns the ensuing kickoff all the way. His offense, though, follows that big play with a disgusting sequence, 3 straight incompletions. Houston's biggest offensive weapon so far, Kris Brown, comes in to put another 3 points on the board. Houston 9, Chicago 7.
3-and-out for the Bears. They come up short on 3rd-and-3 with a 2-yard pass to Rashied Davis.
Rosenfels runs his incompletions streak to five before finally completing one well short of the first down. I believe that makes them 0-for-5 on third down. The good news is, this leads to a Matt Turk sighting, and his punt covers 58 yards. Good thing for Rams Nation that Donnie Jones had a good game last night.
After Chicago 3-and-outs again, Houston finally strings together some plays. They're still unable to convert a 3rd down, so Samkon Gado converts a 4th down at the Bear 27. Gado gets two more passes once Houston enters the red zone, and on 3rd-and-1 from the 11, they're passing again, but no dice, and they settle for Brown's fourth FG to push their lead to 5. 12-7, Houston.
Halftime, and we switch to Chicago's announcers Mike Patrick and Mike Ditka.
Nothing happening for Houston after halftime, either. Rosenfels misses an open Jacoby Jones on 3rd down with a pass that nosedives short of him.
Kyle Orton is the new Bears QB. He hits John Gilmore for 13 and a first down, but on the ensuing 3rd-and-2, a bomb for Mike Hass is out of bounds and not catchable. Another Chicago punt.
Houston starts off the next drive with an impressive sideline catch by Jones. That seems to inspire them into putting a drive together, as they cross midfield and then convert their FIRST third down of the night with a pass to the fullback. A Rosenfels scramble gets them inside the 10, and he hits Jeb Putzier two plays later to stake Houston to a 19-7 lead. Nicely drawn-up and executed play, with Rosenfels naked bootlegging right off a fake run left.
The Bears turn in another 3-and-out, with Gilmore coming up just short on 3rd-and-9.
Bradlee Van Pelt is now Houston's QB. Wali Lundy fumbles the handoff on 2nd down, and Israel Idonije recovers for Chicago.
As the third quarter expires, Orton slings one to Brandon Rideau for 17 just before he gets clocked by a rusher. Add a roughing penalty and the ball's at the Houston 3. From there, they liked Houston's rollout pass on the last TD so much, they run it themselves, with similar success. Orton's toss to Fontel Mines makes it a 19-14 game.
Houston has returned kicks well all night and do it again here with a 33-yard return. Van Pelt leads them inside the Bears 35 with a draw play on 3rd-and-9 before the drive falls apart. He badly underthrows the TE on first down, gets sacked on 2nd down (the first sack tonight by either team), and badly overthrows the TE on third down. The ball ends up in safety Kevin Payne's hands but he drops it. Turk pins Chicago at the 11 with an ugly-looking punt.
A stupid penalty keeps Chicago's final drive alive. Earl Cochrane runs into the punter just before the 2:00 warning. That gives them a 4th-and-1 at midfield that they convert with a Josh Allen run. After taking a sack, Orton hits David Ball, the New Hampshire record-setting receiver, with a big 20-yard sideline pass. A couple of plays later, Allen fumbles, but the Bears recover, and Gould hits a 47-yard FG to put them ahead 20-19.
Too little time for Houston to mount a last comeback, even with Van Pelt completing a pass to himself via a deflection. Bears win 20-19.
Chicago's main questions for me are on offense. The two guys they're relying heaviest on, Grossman and Benson, both had good games. Orton also stepped up, completing 12 in a row at one point.
Houston's still doing too much of what bad teams do. They didn't convert third downs, they bogged down in the red zone, they didn't make the most of their opponent's mistakes, they committed bad penalties at crucial moments. The play-calling in the red zone was especially questionable. Best thing for them tonight is that Jacoby Jones seems to be stepping forward as their best option opposite Andre Johnson.
7 down, 58 to go. Up next: I'm not completely sure. Either Chiefs-Browns, or Bills-Saints from Friday night.
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