September 20, 2010

Green Bay 37 - Buffalo 7 (and Washington 27 - Houston 30)

I felt pretty secure in saying that despite the fact I was missing this game on TV, I wasn't missing much. Rodgers threw for 2 TDs and ran for another, and Brandon Jackson picked up his first TD as a starter. The only negative thing I can say about the game is that for a blowout this big, the Packers only put up 91 rushing yards. I like Jackson because he's a decent option to catch passes out of the backfield, but we're talking about Buffalo, the 24th best team against the rush (per FO). I know the Packers are a passing-oriented offense but you have to think that they're looking desparately for a new RB.

Supposedly they are looking at Marshawn Lynch, which I'm not a huge fan of (who else is available though). He's been accused of sexual assault by his ex, struck a drunk pedestrian and fled the scene, and was caught with marijuana and a loaded gun in his car following the 2009 Pro Bowl. He also loves Applebee's, which makes me instantly despise him on top of all the legal issues. Obviously his head isn't screwed on straight.

For the most part this was a scoreboard watching game, and the best news was that the Vikings lost (now 0-2!). The Bears beat the Cowboys, which further dims their chances as a WC contender but with the Vikings 0-2 and Favre struggling the Packers look like they don't really need it anyway. The Vikings get the frisky-looking Lions next week in the Metrodome. The Lions are a pretty good pick at home right now, I think but I don't really see them winning this game on the road.

Game Balls:
Offense: Aaron Rogers
Defense: Clay Matthews (3 sacks)

Next week the Packers travel to Soldier Field to play the improbably 2-0 Chicago Bears on Monday Night. It should be a fun one, for various reasons, most notably the fact that I heard several Bears fans mention on Twitter/fb something along the lines of Cutler should sue his offensive line for attempted murder.

(mini-recap: Washington 27 - 30 Houston)
The Redskins looked much, much better this week, and I take back anything I said about McNabb being done. That said, I don't really have any idea how Houston managed to come back, despite the fact that I watched it. They just have a great, great offense. They look like a playoff team, and could even knock off the Colts in the AFC South.

I still don't know what to think about the NFC East. The Cowboys were overrated but they still managed to surprise me by losing to the freaking Bears IN DALLAS. The Eagles don't wow me either, though McCoy sure looked good. Teams will start gameplanning for the Notorious Dog Killer if he keeps playing, and Kolb certainly did not look impressive against the Packers before he was knocked out. The Giants are kinda good but aren't really blow you away good. I thought the NFC East would be a real muddle but now I'm even more convinced. I wouldn't be surprised if 9-7 won the division (with a bunch of tiebreakers) and I could see the Skins (or any other of these guys) going on a hot streak to win it.

I was going to add some more here about the NFL overtime rules and the lameness of icing kickers, but that deserves its own post.

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