IDP - General Admission 10
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Posted 11/11 by David Baker, Exclusive to Footballguys.com
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With Bills CB Troy Vincent recovering from surgery, Terrence McGee has been
the starter. McGee has provided some good sparks. McGee's fumble recovery and
return of 38 yards set up Buffalo's first touchdown in their 22-17 win over
the Jets. There has even been some talk about moving Vincent to safety when
he returns
The problem here is that McGee keeps getting picked on by opposing QBs and
WRs Of the Jet's 207 passing yards, 163 were by receivers guarded by McGee.
McGee has been a target of opposing teams ever since he moved into the lineup
in place of Vincent. Although he's made his share of plays, he's been giving
up far too many big plays and this is becoming a growing concern
Bills safety Lawyer Milloy had his first interception in nearly three years
Jet LB's Jonathan Vilma and Eric Barton combined for 20-8 tackles
The Jets were held sackless for the first time this year
Redskins DT Cornelius Griffin had another nice game with two sacks and 3-3
tackles. It was his second two-sack game of the season. More importantly, his
help stuffing the run has added significance to his free agent signing last
offseason. The Redskins beat Detroit 17-10
Ex-DE Robert Porcher, who retired last week with a Lions-record 95.5 sacks,
was given a rousing ovation when he was shown on the scoreboard early in the
game
The first touchdown for the Arizona Cardinals in their 24-23 win over Miami
came from CB Duane Starks. Starks intercepted an AJ Feeley pass late in the
third quarter and returned it 41 yards for the score. A 12-3 game became a 12-10
game and was just the momentum the Cards needed in their comeback
With only 4-6 tackles, it was a down day statistically for Dolphin LB Zach
Thomas
Steeler safety Troy Polamalu is proving more and more that he was worth the
16th pick overall in the 2003 NFL draft. Sunday, in Pittsburgh's beating of
the Philadelphia Eagles, Polamalu had the unenviable task of guarding superstar
WR Terrell Owens in single coverage whenever TO lined up in the slot. Owens
caught back-to-back passes when he lined up in the slot in the third quarter,
gaining 20 and 13 yards. Each time, though, Polamalu sent him flying with hard
hits
Steeler LB Kendrell Bell made his first appearance of the regular season Sunday.
The former defensive rookie of the year has been hampered by injuries throughout
much of his NFL career, and this season it has been because of a shoulder injury
and then a sports hernia that required surgery. He was credited for one solo
tackle and two assists, and he could reclaim his starting job in Cleveland
James Farrior continues to produce for the Steelers. In most IDP leagues, he
is currently a top 5 LB. Sunday, Farrior had 3-2 tackles. He also had an important
sack on a third down play and he intercepted a pass and returned it 42 yards
There were several big defensive plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their
34-31 upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday. Safety Dwight Smith might
have had his best game as a Buc. In the first quarter, Smith chased down WR
Eddie Kennison and his tackle of Kennison caused a fumble, which the Bucs recovered.
Smith also had an interception in this third quarter and finished the game with
4-0 tackles
Another big play for the Bucs was when the other starting safety, Jermaine
Phillips, intercepted a Trent Green pass with less than six minutes remaining
and KC had moved all the way to Tampa's 22-yard line
Bengal safety Madieu Williams continues to have a strong presence on the field.
He is a playmaker and some suggest a future star that is likely headed for the
NFL all-rookie team. Williams had 9-1 tackles and an interception in Cincinnati's
26-3 win over Dallas Sunday
Bengal CB Tory James added an interception and now leads the NFL with five
Raider DT Warren Sapp has been a disappointment for the team. Through nine
games, he only has 26 tackles and half a sack
Sapp is not alone, however, in his disappointing play as, amongst others, LB
Napoleon Harris and DB Phillip Buchanon have also been making far too many mistakes.
Harris has been overrunning tackles or being blocked out of plays. Opposing
offenses have been picking on Buchanon all season
Remember when the Carolina Panther defense was tough? No longer. Losing star
DT Kris Jenkins for the season didn't help, nor did losing his backup Kindal
Moorehead to injury, but that doesn't explain the problems they've had this
year. Last year, their defense won them games. This year, they absolutely can
not stop the run and they are committing far too many penalties
Talk about an IDP stat line
Bears DE Alex Brown had one for the ages Sunday
as the Bears defeated the New York football Giants 28-21. Brown had 6-2 tackles
and four, count 'em four, sacks. In most IDP scoring leagues, Brown was a top
10 scorer. No, not a top 10 scoring DE or IDP, but overall, including QBs, RBs
and WRs
What are the most sacks a player ever had in one game? Derrick Thomas, the
superstar LB for the Kansas City Chiefs, had seven against Seattle fourteen
years ago today (Nov. 11)
Thomas, if you recall, died tragically on February 8, 2000 after an auto accident
while still at the top of his game at the age of 33. Thomas had spectacular
numbers over his career that included nine consecutive Pro Bowl appearances,
126.5 sacks, three safeties and eighteen fumble recoveries
The good news for the Giants has been the play of safety Gibril Wilson. Wilson
has played well in place of the injured Shaun Williams. Wilson had 9-0 tackles
and a sack against the Bears
The bad news, however, far outweighs the good news for the Giants. Future Hall
of Fame DE Michael Strahan was placed on injured reserve and will miss the rest
of the season after tearing his right pectoral muscle. As if that wasn't bad
enough, the Giants also found out that they lost Strahan's counter on the left
side, DE Keith Washington, to season-ending injury too with a torn ACL in his
left knee
After a two-week absence, Seahawks LB Anthony Simmons had a pleasant return
Sunday in Seattle's 42-27 win over San Francisco. Simmons, coming back from
shoulder surgery, had 5-1 tackles, but he had his most fun intercepting a Tim
Rattay pass and returning it 23 yards for a touchdown midway through the fourth
quarter. The touchdown made it a 15-point game
The bad news for Hawks fans came with CB Ken Lucas, who is having a nice year,
as Lucas was diagnosed with a bruised lung after a play while covering Brandon
Lloyd. He should be OK, but his playing status for this week's game remains
up in the air as of this writing
San Diego Charger safety Terrence Kiel continues to out up good numbers. On
Sunday, in the Chargers 43-17 beating of the Saints, Kiel had 7-3 tackles. If
he's on your FF team, you should be starting him
Charger LB Steve Foley added another sack and now has a career-high six for
the season
One of the few bright spots for the Houston Texans in their 31-13 loss to the
Denver Broncos was the play of backup safety Glenn Earl. His impressive play
might have moved Earl into the starting lineup as soon as this week. Earl replaced
veteran starter Eric Brown in the second half against Denver and Earl ended
up with 5-1 tackles
Earl was a fourth round pick in this year's NFL draft and some speculated that
he would have been drafted much higher had it not been for a knee injury. Strong
safety has been a position of need for Houston because of injuries to Earl,
Brown and Jason Simmons. Earl, though, likely has the best skills of them all
and should be an every down starter by next year at the latest
Houston Texan's CB Dunta Robinson might have had the hit of the day on Bronco
fullback Kyle Johnson after a fourth quarter reception. Robinson just clobbered
Johnson. But it was Robinson, not Johnson, who wound up needing help off the
field. Neither player was injured
With New England CB's Ty Poole and Ty Law both out with injury, the Patriots
were forced to start Asante Samuel and Randall Gay against the Rams Sunday.
Just four minutes into the game, Samuel left the field with a shoulder injury.
That forced HC Bill Belichick to go with Earthwind (nice name) Moreland
The bigger question, though, was who to include in their nickel? This was,
mind you, the Rams they were playing. Belichick's solution? Why, WR Troy Brown,
of course. Brown had 3 tackles in the game
What did Rams HC Mike Martz think? "(Brown) ran out there and I could
see it from the sideline. Where was he going? To the john?"
Oh yeah, Brown also caught a touchdown pass. Who passed Brown the ball? Why,
kicker Adam Vinatieri, of course
Early on in the game, Rams DE Leonard Little blew past his man and into the
endzone. He couldn't believe what he saw. "The ball was just lying there."
DT Damione Lewis had knocked the ball out of Tom Brady's hands and Little hopped
on it for the score. It put the Rams up 7-6. It was Little's first touchdown
of his NFL career
With the Cleveland Browns having moved the ball 54 yards to the Raven's 5-yard
line in the closing seconds of their game Sunday, it looked like they were headed
to overtime. On a second and five play, Jeff Garcia threw the ball towards TE
Aaron Shea. Raven's safety Ed Reed stepped in, intercepted the throw, and returned
it an NFL-record 106 yards for the score
It was the sixth touchdown in Reed's 40th NFL game, as he once again established
himself as a premiere playmaker
Colts rookie safety Bob Sanders got his first NFL start and proceeded to have
his second consecutive nice performance in their 31-28 win over the Vikings.
The highly regarded Sanders had seven solo tackles
Colts DE Dwight Freeney looked quicker than ever Sunday, as he added two more
sacks to give him six on the season
Vikings CB Antoine Winfield leads many IDP leagues in scoring for CB's. He
had 10-3 tackles on Sunday
Until next week
E-mail me with feedback or comments at [email protected].
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