The Dugout – October 30
NFL Week 8
This week we saw blowouts, we saw tight bore-fests and we saw Detroit come back from the dead against Dallas, just days before Halloween. NFL Week 8 recap, starting now:
- Duuummb. As a Dallas fan, there’s only so much I wanna say about Detroit’s heroics. But my professional integrity wins out. Imma need a stiff drink after this…
- OK. Matt Stafford. If that wasn’t the ballsiest play I’ve ever seen, then I don’t know what is. With the seconds ticking away, and no timeouts, he completes to Megatron, who is taken down just short of the endzone. So Stafford sprints forward, calling for the spike to stop the clock, but instead dives over an unexpecting Dallas D-Line for the winner. And then he peels off in pure jock-ish celebration. If he doesn’t get over the line, he’s lost that game for his team. That takes guts and leadership. Nice work, bro.
- Aww, man, did you see Tom Brady’s hand!? Looks less like a prehensile human extremity than it does an inflated disposable glove. How does he even throw with a hand that swollen? Apparently it’s not too bad, because Tommy orchestrated a second half comeback to help the Pats down Miami. It was a rough blow to the Dolphins season – despite all the Wildcard generated hype, they’re still trailing the Jets in the division. And they play Cincinnati next, who just pummelled NYJ by 40 points.
- Terrelle Pryor is really starting to look like the Oakland Raiders franchise QB now. He led his team to victory over Pittsburgh, highlighted by an amazing 93 yard TD run, the longest ever by an NFL QB!
- Kansas City remained unbeaten, now at 8-0, after a close win over Cleveland (who aren’t nearly as bad as their many quarterbacks have been). Buffalo next week should be a win too, then they have the bye. It’s following that when things’ll get difficult, with a trip to Denver followed by home games against San Diego and Denver again. So far so good though for KC though. Alex Smith is playing smart and restrained, their defence is probably the best in the business – the 17 conceded points in this one ties their season high! – and it’s all brought together by the coaching genius that is Andy Reid.
Andy Reid, via Bleacher Report
- Jacksonville and Tampa Bay continue to suck a bag of useless, neither of whom have won a game yet, and neither even look like getting close. They’d better hope for value in the draft, coz they’re nothing else to work with. I wonder if we’ll see some trades from these guys. Justin Blackmon and Vincent Jackson deserve better.
- Trade rumours are spreading across the NFL like bird flu in a Nike sweatshop with the deadline coming up later today. Tony Gonzalez (TE – Atlanta) denies he’s looking for a change of scenery, but his name is one of the big ones being mentioned. Larry Fitzerald (WR – Arizona) is another, but his GM vehemently denied it.
Aaaand GIF Watch:
Teamwork from the Pats on D for this interception
Cordarrelle Patterson with a 109 yd kick return (the longest possible!)
Dez Bryant did THIS
But then he did this.
But the play of the day belonged to Matt Stafford
NFL Stat Crunching
Being the halfway point in the regular season, here’s a look at some of the leaders in the various stat cats.
Obviously Peyton Manning features strongly. He leads the league in completions (237), Passer Rating (199.4), Passing Yards (2919) and is on target to shatter the all time TD record (Tom Brady 2007 – 50), as he already has 29. Phil Rivers (73.9%) leads Peyton (71.2%) in completion percentage. And his brother Eli, with 15, leads the interceptions, though Carson Palmer (14) and Geno Smith (13) are running him close.
LeSean McCoy still has a big lead in Rushing Yards. His 733 are 98 clear of Jamaal Charles. Don’t count out Adrian Peterson, though. He only has 571 to date, but always finished the season strongly. It’s Knowshon Moreno, McCoy’s arch enemy, who leads the Rushing TD category however with 8.
Surprisingly, Antonio Brown with 56 leads the NFL in receptions. Probably because nobody else on the Steelers can catch a pass to save their life. Denver’s Wes Welker (that’s still weird to write) has 9 TD receptions for the lead. No shock that after his unbelievable catching clinic week 8 that Calvin Megatron Johnson is number 1 in receiving yards (821). AJ Green (734) is the only one close to him.
Defensively, Robert Mathis of Indianapolis is ahead of the pack in sacks (11.5), half a point ahead of Justin Houston (KC) and Mario Williams (BUF). 7 different players have 4 interceptions – 2 players have multiple pick-sixes (DeAngelo Hall – WAS and Tim Jennings - CHI)
Here are the full leaderboards.
All Hallows Eve
In the spirit of the heathen season (why do people actually celebrate this thing?), and with the NBA season starting today, here are some pictures of some NBA players all decked out for Halloween. Thanks to the wonders of the internet… The best one is clearly Collison as Walter White from Breaking Bad. But Serge Ibaka as Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy’s character in ‘Coming To America’) runs him pretty damn close:
Marco Belinelli & Tony Parker
Kawhi Leonard, Nando De Colo, Marco Belinelli & Manu Ginobli
Nice to see Steven Adams getting invited to these parties.
Good Week:
- Andy Dalton (Cincinnati Bengals) – Big Red is having the great season that Bengals insiders have been telling us he’s capable of, but we just kept on ignoring them like might for Jerry Gergich (actually, if Jerry is secretly calling the shots at Cincy, I wouldn’t be shocked). Dalton’s 2013 stats: 65.6% comp, 8.1 y/att, 16:7 td:int, 99.0 passer rating. The Bengals crushed the NY Jets 49-9 to move to 6-2. It was the biggest win of this season.
- Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) – He’s just so good! 26-34, 332 yds, 5 tds and nobody hardly notices.
- Boston
Red Sox – So far so good…
Bad Week:
- Philadelphia Eagles – So much for that ‘Chip Kelly Offense’. Teams sure figured them out quick. After that blistering start, the last 2 weeks have seen them pick up only 194 and 200 total offensive yards for 10 points (7 of them via a defensive turnover). Oh, and Mike Vick is injured. Again.
- Atlanta Falcons – Fair to say their playoff hopes are done for. With New Orleans looking outstanding, the division is basically gone. So it’s a wildcard spot or nothing, only San Fran/Seattle will be taking one of those, and in all likelihood, Green Bay/Detroit get the other. SF is 6-2, Detroit is 5-3 atm. Atlanta, having been iced by a rubbish Arizona team (Andre Ellington ran for 154 yards on 15 carries), is now 2-5. And that doesn’t look like getting much better the way they’re going.
Limerick Gimmick:
There once was a man named LeBron
On the court he could do nothing wrong
But he stops with a shiver
When he looks in the mirror
And sees that his hair is all gone!
Player of the Week:
Calvin Johnson (Detroit Lions) – I mean, wow. This was a career performance by a player who transcends his generation. You realise that Calvin Johnson will be remembered as one of the greatest players of all-time, right? That watching him is like watching Jerry Rice circa 1995? If Megatron can have a career somewhere near as long as Rice, then potentially he ends as the greatest WR ever. He had 329 receiving yards against the Cowboys. THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY NINE! The second most in the history of the game. You throw the ball into TRIPLE COVERAGE and he’s favourite to catch it. Plus he is literally the model professional.
The best WR of all time?
Upcoming Dates (NZ Time):
TODAY – NBA regular season begins
TOMORROW - MLB World Series Game 6
December 30 – Final day of NFL regular season