Week 6 played host to the NFL’s biggest match-up of the season, and the Saints proved they are in fact for real. New Orleans dominated the previously undefeated Giants, while staying undefeated themselves in the process. Two other teams also faced some rather large tests on the weekend, and both the Vikings and Broncos managed to score passing grades. But the story of the week came outof Foxboro. Yes, there was a freak snowstorm on Sunday, but the Titans were the ones buried by an avalanche of Patriots’ touchdowns. Week 6 of the 2009 season will not be looked back on fondly by Jeff Fischer.
- Tom Brady was very testy in his post-game press conference following week 5’s loss to the Broncos. He knew he was going to face questions regarding his passing touch, or if he was capable of returning to his old form this season. Brady did not return to his old form on Sunday, he was better than that. Brady threw six touchdowns in New England’s 59-0 rout of the Titans. Five of the six TD’s came in the second quarter alone, which is a new NFL record. It doesn’t hurt that the Titans’ secondary is pathetic, but Brady was hitting Moss and Welker with perfect passes, which is something he was not doing in the previous weeks. The Pats are now in control of the AFC East, and will prove to be a very tough out in the playoffs.
- Fifty-nine to nothing! Are you serious? Who loses a professional football game 59-0? I’m guessing the Pats covered the spread in this one. The Tennessee Titans (who I picked to win the AFC South) have completely fallen off the face of the earth. This is the team that started last season by going 10-0, and now they are 0-6 just one year later. This team is struggling on offense, but their defense does not appear to be capable of stopping anyone at the moment. The time has come to start playing Vince Young. The Titans have to see what they have in their young QB, because the upcoming draft is littered with good quarterbacks, and the Titans should be picking quite high in that draft.
- Drew Brees was another quarterback putting in a solid performance on Sunday. Brees’ 4 touchdown performance was all the more impressive due to the fact it came against the New York Giants, and their league leading defense. The Saints offense is fun to watch when it is clicking on all cylinders. With Brees throwing perfect passes to receivers running perfect routes, it appears impossible for any defense to prevent this team from scoring points. This was a big win for the Saints who now remain ahead of the Giants, which would prevent any possible playoff trips to the Meadowlands in January.
- The Vikings were another team who managed to stay undefeated on the weekend, although their victory was not so one-sided. Minnesota appeared to be in complete control of this game leading 27-10 in the fourth quarter, but they gave up three touchdowns in that final quarter, and the Ravens would have won if it weren’t for a last second missed field-goal attempt. But a win is a win, and Brett Favre continues to make the Vikings brass look very smart for bringing him on board. Favre threw for 278 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. The 40 year-old quarterback currently has the third best QB rating in the league. Yeah, I think things are working out in Minnesota.
- Meanwhile, week 3’s superbowl champion, the Balimore Ravens, lost their third straight game, and are now .500 on the season. All three losses were very close, and this team is still very good, but there are some troubling signs on the defensive side of the ball. Defense has always been a staple of Ravens football, but this season’s version currently ranks 20th in overall defense. Baltimore teams are not supposed to lose football games when the offense puts up 31 points. The bye week appears to be coming at a perfect time for the Ravens, who next face another undefeated opponent in Denver.
- Monday night was a huge test for the Broncos. Denver had a chance to move 3.5 games up in the AFC West with a win, but they were also facing a San Diego team that has absolutely owned the Broncos in recent years. Denver proved on Monday that they are in fact for real, and I do not expect a late season collapse that will allow the Chargers to comeback and win the West. Denver’s defense put in another stellar performance, and once again shut down the opposition in the second half. San Diego only managed three points after the break, and the Broncos now have only allowed a total of 10 second half points on the season. McDaniels and Nolan are making tremendous adjustments at half time.
- Now that everyone appears to be on the Denver Broncos/Josh McDaniels bandwagon, people are starting to talk about how stupid Jay Cutler must be feeling right now. He left the 6-0 Broncos to join the 3-2 Chicago Bears. Cutler did manage to throw for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions, and his numbers in the red-zone were not very good. But Cutler is not to blame for Chicago’s loss to Atlanta. His teammates made some huge mistakes, which hampered the Bears chances of winning that game. I actually think the Cutler trade was good for both teams. Orton fits in perfectly to the Josh McDaniels offensive gameplan, while Cutler makes the Bears a much better team. This is just an example of two quarterbacks being put in different systems that allow each to have success.
- The Falcons are another team that does not have an issue at quarterback. Matt Ryan continues to show maturity beyond his years in the NFL. His numbers were not overly impressive against the Bears, but he did come up with the big plays when Atlanta needed them. While Cutler was struggling in the red-zone, Ryan had a quarterback rating of 135.4 inside the opponents twenty. Atlanta is now 4-1 on the season, and continue to apply pressure on the Saints for first place in the division.
- Break out JaMarcus Russell and the Oakland Raiders. Russel set season highs for both completions and passing yards, leading the Raiders to an upset win over the Eagles. Russel’s touchdown was an 86-yard catch and run to TE Zach Miller, and it gave the Raiders a 7-3 lead at the time. This was a lead Oakland would not relinquish as the Raiders’ defense gave Donovan McNabb and Eagles’ offense fits. Oakland racked up 6 sacks on the day, while holding the Eagles to 283 total yards, and three field goals.
- Okay, cue the calls for Kevin Kolb to become the Eagles starting quarterback. I’ll be the one leading the charge as I had Philly in my eliminator pool. A 13-9 loss means I am now eliminated. McNabb did not look very comfortable in the loss, but that probably has more to do with the lack of blocking being provided by his line, and key drops from his receivers. The Eagles secondary also appears to be missing the presence of Brian Dawkins who was the unquestioned leader of the group. I still find it hard to believe the Eagles did not want to keep Dawkins in the fold.
- Derek Anderson had a much better week against the Steelers then he had against the Bills. Anderson actually completed 9 passes on the day, which is 7 more then he completed in the previous week. Anderson finished 9/24 for 122 yard, 1 td, one interception, and 2 lost fumbles. It is clear that the Browns are finished with Brady Quinn. He will likely be moved in the off-season.
- Meanwhile, Ben Roethlisberger had a phenomenal day against the rival Browns. Big Ben threw for a whopping 417 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Steelers victory. Despite the win and the big passing numbers, the Steelers still have a lot of work to do if they want to repeat as Superbowl champions. Pittsburgh turned the ball over four times on Sunday, and that will not work when facing better competition.
- Well, there was not very much fight in the Lions this week. Detroit’s was absolutely pounded by the Packers at Lambeau Field; although, if you compare this game to Tennessee’s then it doesn’t seem so bad. Okay, all mocking of the Titans aside, this game featured the pre-season version of the Green Bay Packers. The offense was very sharp racking up 435 total yards, and the defense finally put in their most dominant effort holding the Lions to 149 yards on offense. The only troubling stat to come out of this game for the Packers was the five sacks they gave up. Protecting Rodgers has been a glaring for the Packers, and he can not continue to take this kind of a beating game after game.
- Congratulations have to go out to Todd Haley and the Kansas City Chiefs. Sure the offense struggled and did not score a touchdown, but they did not need one against the Redskins. Who would have thought that a week in the NFL which saw three teams in the AFC West win games, San Diego would be the one team to lose? It was not supposed to be this way.
- Things are going from bad to worse for the Washington Redskins. The Redskins are the first team in NFL history to face a winless opponent in each of their first six games, and they only have two wins to show for it. Quarterback Jason Campbell was benched at halftime, and head coach Jim Zorn had his play-calling duties stripped from him after the game. A coaching change appears imminent in Washington.
- The two California baseball teams have not fared well in the cold east coast weather, and USC grad Mark Sanchez looked just as bad in the Meadowlands on Sunday. Sanchez had his worst game in the NFL throwing 5 interceptions in a 16-13 overtime loss to the Bills. The New York Jets shocked everyone storming out of the gate going 3-0, but they have now lost three games in a row, and Sanchez has not looked very good in those three losses. The Jets have now allowed the Patriots to take over the AFC East lead, and it will be very tough for this young team to take that lead back.
- Enough with takes on terrible offensive showings. I’ll end the post discussing two very good offensive performances. The Houston Texans continue to put up big numbers on the offensive side of the ball. Matt Schaubthrew 4 touchdown passes, and bothAndre Johnson and Steve Slaton finished with over 100 yards receiving. Houston is once again in the top five of total offense, and should only improve if they can reduce the number of turnovers.
- Brett Favre continues to get it done at the age of 40, and Kurt Warner looks as though he still has a few years left at the tender age of 38. Warner and the Cardinals offense is beginning to role after a mediocre start. Having Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston catching the ball should lead to pretty good offensive numbers. The Cardinals are now back on top of the NFC West, and appear poised to win another division crown.
The number of undefeated teams in the NFL is down to four. Minnesota will be in tough to stay undefeated as they travel to Heinz Field to take on the Steelers. Meanwhile, the Saints will also take on a tough opponent in Miami, and the Colts come off their bye week to face the Rams in St. Louis, and the Broncos have a bye. So it is safe to say there will be at least two teams still undefeated after week seven.
Fun stat: the number of touchdowns thrown by Tom Brady in the second quarter of the game was greater than the combined quarterback rating of both of Tennessee’s quarterbacks.