 Hi Folks, I know lots of you saw these games over the weekend but
we’re still continuing with our Game Recaps as we have all season. Hope you have a great week. Joe ************************************* Joe Bryant Owner – www.Footballguys.com First Round Playoff Game Recaps Editor: Joe Bryant. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/ Indianapolis Colts 0 at New York Jets 41 WHAT
YOU NEED TO KNOW New
York Jets: Chad Pennington played another outstanding game.
He guided the offense to seven scores on their first nine possessions (5 TD
& 2 FG). His stock is continuing to rise as premature comparisons to Joe
Montana are being tossed about. He won’t blow you away with the big arm, but he
is efficient, accurate, and makes good decisions. The Jets put 180 rushing yards on the
Indianapolis defense. From the box score it appeared that Lamont Jordan was the
feature RB (102 yards, 2 TD), but rest assured that Curtis Martin is still the
man for the Jets. This game was over at half time and the Jets let Jordan rack
up yardage in what amounts to garbage time. The three-headed WR combination of Coles,
Chrebet, and Moss give Pennington lots of choices. Coles is counted on to be
the go to WR, but any of the three could be the top producer any given week
right now. Indianapolis
Colts: The Colts were simply slaughtered. They were
outplayed in all aspects of the game (offense, defense, and special teams). The
offense only managed ten first downs in the game and the defense was able to
stop the Jets only twice (two punts). Peyton Manning was sacked only once on the last
play of the first half after running all over the field, but the Jets were able
to hurry him into several poor throws and decisions. Even when he did have an
open WR Manning was inaccurate. In five NFL seasons this was the first time
Manning has been shut out. The Colts chose to feed Edgerrin James the ball
in the first half (11 plays dedicated to him out of 23 snaps), but he was
unable to move the sticks. WHAT
YOU OUGHT TO KNOW New
York Jets: QB:
Chad Pennington: 19-25-222 passing yards (3 TD), 1-3 yards rushing. Pennington
managed a masterful game. His accuracy and poise is a perfect match for the
short passing game and ball control offense. He faced worse than 3rd
and 6 yards only three times in the entire game. RB:
Curtis Martin: 15-67 yards rushing, 2-12 yards receiving (2 targets). Martin
showed an explosive step through the hole and moved the pile after contact.
Martin ran hard and could have had a monster day if the game had been closer.
Martin had only two carries early in the third quarter then sat the rest of the
game as Jordan mopped up. Richie Anderson: 1-6 yards rushing, 2-66 yards
receiving (TD & 2 targets). Anderson was targeted early on the first New
York possession and got terrific blocking on his 56-yard screen TD. Of note,
the Jets opted to give backup FB Sowell a carry from the 3-yard line bypassing
Anderson in the chain of command. Lamont Jordan: 20-102 yards rushing (2 TD), 1-9
yards receiving (1 target). Jordan was given the second half to pile up some
stats with the game well in hand. He gained 59 of his yards in one drive during
the 4th quarter long after the Colts had packed it in. His first
1-yard TD occurred in the second quarter after Martin had carried the load on
that particular drive. WR:
The WR stats for the Jets suffered from the game being an early blowout. Little
used WR Chris Baker, who had only two catches this season, pirated a TD when he
normally wouldn’t have seen the field. Laveranues Coles: 4-36 yards receiving (5
targets), 1-3 yards rushing. All four of Cole’s catches occurred in the second
quarter with the game somewhat still in question. Coles had the fewest yards of
the three main WRs, but he is still WR1 for the Jets. Wayne Chrebet: 2-44 yards receiving (6 targets).
Chrebet did lead the WRs in yards, but two grabs on six targets is not good
production. Even still, Chrebet is still capable of having a huge day. Santana Moss: 5-42 yards receiving (TD & 6
targets). Moss was targeted on several shorter passes. The Jets are hoping to
get the ball to him quickly and allow him to make plays with his legs. Teams
are also purposefully keeping the ball away from him in the kicking game as he
is regarded as one of the most dangerous punt return men in the NFL. Also of
note, Moss did a great job of keeping his feet inbounds on his TD catch. TE:
Anthony Becht: 1-8 yards receiving (1 target). Becht was not a part of the game
plan, nor was it necessary for him to be part of the game plan. His catch
occurred in the second quarter. Pass
Defense: The Jets were able to keep enough pressure on
Manning with minimal personnel leaving the LBs and DBs to concentrate on
shutting down the passing game. After the Jets established the fact that James
was going nowhere slow, they showed absolutely no respect for the Colts play
action passing game. Rush
Defense: 14 carries for 52 yards in the game. It was
13-30 (2.4 ypc) before Mungro’s 22-yard carry on the last Indianapolis
possession. Combined with a methodical ball possession offense, this is where
the game was won. Special
Teams: The kickoff coverage team forced two fumbles
by Troy Walters. Recovering the second fumble at the outset of the second
quarter led to a quick 17-0 lead and the rout was on. Chad Morton also returned
the second half kickoff 70 yards to completely deflate Indianapolis. Hall was
two for two on FGs (41, 39). Indianapolis
Colts: QB:
Peyton Manning: 14-31-137 yards passing (2 INT), 1-2 yards rushing. The Colts
went three and out on four possessions. Manning was unable to convert third
downs throughout the game. He was inaccurate and hurried several throws. As
soon as the Jets showed they weren’t worried about the Colts running game
Manning had nowhere to go with the ball. The color of Manning’s jersey (soaked
and filthy) best describes how things went for the Colts. Both of his
interceptions came in the 4th quarter when he was forced into
throwing the ball downfield to try and make a play. RB:
Edgerrin James: 9-14 yards rushing, 2-9 yards receiving (3 targets). Nearly 50%
of the offense was run for James in the first half, but he had only one carry
for one yard in the second half. Indianapolis packed it in and let Mungro
finish the game. James did not have much of a chance. He was dropped in the
backfield on three of his first half carries almost as soon as he got the ball
from Manning. James Mungro: 4-36 yards rushing, 3-31 yards
receiving (4 targets). Mungro’s last carry in scrub time garnered 22 yards. He
was no more effective than James. He ran hard when opportunities presented
themselves this season and should have a shot at being the backup RB again next
year for Indianapolis. WR:
Marvin Harrison: 4-47 yards receiving (8 targets). Harrison was not immune to
the all around terrible play from the Colts. He had an uncharacteristic drop in
the first quarter that killed a drive and was not able to shake coverage in the
game. Harrison was not targeted in the fourth quarter. Reggie Wayne: 3-17 yards receiving (6 targets).
Colts management has to be asking if Wayne is the answer at WR2 for the Colts.
His lackluster production this season may not have been enough for the team to
give him another chance. Troy Walters: 1-17 yards receiving (3 targets).
Walters was not targeted in the first half. He fumbled twice early in the
beginning of the game on kick returns losing one of them. Walters was the
target of Manning’s first interception. He made a good double move on the
sideline, but Manning should have never thrown the ball into cover-2. It was an
easy pick for the safety. TE:
Marcus Pollard: 1-6 yards receiving (4 targets). Pollard made his catch late in
the 4th quarter long after the outcome was decided. Pass
Defense: The Colts sacked Pennington on the first New
York possession of each half. Other than that the Colts brought little
pressure. The effective Jets rushing attack allowed Pennington to freeze the
LBs with play action over and over. Rush
Defense: The Jets offensive line opened up big holes
for Martin and Jordan. The Colts were not able to force the Jets into 3rd
and long situations. It didn’t appear that a Colt DB got a hand on a ball in
the game. Special
Teams: Mike Vanderjagt missed from 40 yards in the
first quarter at the end of the longest Colts drive. Troy Walters coughed up
two fumbles (one lost) on first half kick returns. The kick coverage team
allowed a 70-yard return to open the second half. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/ Atlanta 27 at Green Bay 7 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Atlanta Falcons Michael Vick showed unbelievable poise and mobility and
leadership in this game. The stats (13
of 25 for 117 yards, 1 touchdown, 64 yards rushing) don’t even come close to
telling his impact on this game. Warrick Dunn was a factor in the first half with 45 of his
64 rushing yards and 3 of his 4 receptions.
The Falcons were content in the second half to pound away with T.J.
Duckett in the second half but it was more of a game situation than a lack of
effectiveness on Dunn’s part. He did
get 21 of his 64 yards on one play. T. J. Duckett was a factor in this game carrying 17 times
for 45 yards and an impressive 6 yard touchdown run. He showed power and explosion in the 1st half which
accounted for 43 of his 64 rushing yards but was shut down much of the 2nd
half because Green Bay knew the Falcons were running the ball to keep the clock
moving. Brian Finneran was Vick’s favorite and most reliable
target. He totaled only 4 catches for
35 yards but was targeted 7 times. He
was targeted in the red zone in the first half twice. Green Bay Packers Brett Favre looked as bad if not worse than his numbers (20
for 42 for 247 yards, 1 touchdown 2 interceptions) indicate. Ahman Green’s play was extremely lackluster. He showed none of his usual quickness or
explosiveness and left the game in the 3rd Quarter with a bruised
knee. He rushed for only 34 yards and
caught just one pass. Donald Driver did play and caught 3 passes for 64 yards and
Green Bay’s only touchdown. He dropped
the ball on the play before the touchdown but Favre went right back to the same
play. Driver scored but left the game
after that catch with an aggravation to his shoulder injury. He was targeted 6 times. Terry Glenn caught one ball for 11 yards and promptly
fumbled. Fortunately Driver was
standing there and recovered the ball.
He was only targeted twice the entire day and left the game with a
concussion Javon Walker provided 5 catches for 104 yards. He was targeted 8 times often on 3rd
down. One of the 3rd down
catches he leapt and reached above his head and snagged a Favre bullet
pass. Ryan Longwell contributed…to the Packer woes by missing a 47
yard field goal in the 1st quarter that could have stemmed the tide
at that point. There was nothing wrong
with his footing or the field as this was before the snow started. He simply missed the kick. He later missed a 45 yard field goal but
conditions didn’t help him with that one. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO
KNOW
Atlanta Falcons QB: Michael
Vick showed unbelievable poise and mobility and leadership in this game. The stats (13 of 25 for 117 yards, 1
touchdown, 64 yards rushing) don’t even come close to telling his impact on
this game. He lead the Falcons to 210
yards of offense in the 1st half as they ran up a huge lead. His passing numbers in that half, were 8 of
15, but of those 7 incompletions, 3 were drops, 3 were balls he intentionally
threw away, and one was a spike to stop the clock. He was not sacked the entire game despite being hit and chased
behind the line of scrimmage on half a dozen occasions. He routinely turned those scrambles into 8,
10 and 12 yard games. His longest run
of 22 yards came on a crucial 3rd down and 3 play on the Falcon’s
first drive of the 2nd half after Green Bay had scored their
touchdown. Vick saw an opening and took
off extending the drive which resulted in a field goal and more importantly
took nearly 7 minutes off the clock.
The wind was clearly out of the Packers’ sails from then on. The Falcons’ controlled the ball for nearly
two-thirds of the game. He is the
quickest, fastest player in football and at only 22 years old, it is scary to
think what he will be like as he improves. RB: Warrick
Dunn was a factor in the first half with 45 of his 64 rushing yards and 3 of
his 4 receptions. The Falcons were
content in the second half to pound away with T.J. Duckett in the second half
but it was more of a game situation than a lack of effectiveness on Dunn’s
part. He did get 21 of his 64 yards on
one play. T. J. Duckett was a “thunderbolt” of a factor in this game
carrying 17 times for 45 yards and an impressive 6 yard touchdown run. He showed power and explosion in the 1st
half which accounted for 43 of his 64 rushing yards but was shut down much of
the 2nd half because Green Bay knew the Falcons were running the
ball to keep the clock moving. He was
clearly the short yardage option. WR: Brian
Finneran was Vick’s favorite and most reliable target. He totaled only 4 catches for 35 yards but
was targeted 7 times. Unlike the other
Falcon receivers he did not drop a pass.
He was targeted in the red zone in the first half twice. Shawn Jefferson caught only one pass but it was the opening drive touchdown. He found the soft spot in the Packer zone defense and exploited it scoring Atlanta’s first opening-drive touchdown of the year. Jefferson dropped the second pass targeted at him and was not thrown to again. Quentin McCord was targeted twice – he dropped one and the
other was an uncatchable pass on a long pass.
He did rush on 2 end around plays 1 for 18 yards and the other only
gained 1 yard. Trevor Gaylor dropped a catchable ball on the second series
of the game and later caught the only other ball thrown to him for 7 yards. TE: Alge Crumpler was targeted only once and made a
nice 9 yard reception on a ball tipped high into the air. Falcon Pass Defense: The Falcon’s pass defense came
up huge in Green Bay. They limited
Brett Favre to an unbelievable less than 50% completion rate. They sacked him twice and forced 5
turnovers. Keion Carpenter came up huge
intercepting 2 passes and nearly picking off a third. He also recovered a fumble. Falcon Rush Defense:
Green Bay was held to just 56 rushing yards and virtually abandoned the
run as they fell behind. This unit came
up huge on the goal line stand late in the 2nd quarter twice
stuffing Ahman Green for negative yardage.
On the 4th and goal from the 2 yard line, Ellis Johnson
avoided a cut block and stuffed Green for a 4 yard loss. Falcon Special Teams:
This unit turned the tide of the game on two plays. They blocked a Bidwell punt and recovered
that for a touchdown to go up 14-0. Later,
they recovered a controversial muffed punt which lead to Atlanta’s third
touchdown. Green Bay Packers COACHING: Mike
Sherman will take some heat in this one.
His 1st quarter poor decisions put the Packers in a deep
hole. First, he declined to challenge
the call on the “muffed punt” when replays clearly showed that the ball hit a
Falcon and therefore was not subject to recovery by the Falcons. He told Melissa Stark at halftime that the
officials told him it was a non-reviewable play but he never challenged the
call or talked to the officials while the incident was in dispute. This lead to the Falcon’s third
touchdown. Later he chose to go for a
touchdown while trailing by 21 points but there was still 6:37 left in the 2nd
quarter and plenty of football to be played.
Without those 2 mistakes, the score could have stood at only 14-3. At the very least, with the field goal the
score would have been 24-10 after the first Packer drive of the second half. To compound measures on the 4th
down call, after a time out, a weird formation and play was called. The Packers went with 7 down linemen and 2
running backs in the backfield. Tyrone
Davis went in motion to the left and then lined up as a 3rd running
back on the left side. The play called
for the left guard to pull to the right and Tyrone Davis come across the
formation and lead block for an Ahman Green run to the right side. This left the left tackle Flanagan to
attempt to block down on Ellis Johnson.
For some reason Flanagan tried to cut block Johnson which was totally ineffective. To make matters worse, Davis virtually ran
right by Johnson and blocked no one on the right side leaving Green to get
creamed in the backfield. QB: Brett
Favre had never lost a playoff game in Lambeau Field. Brett Favre had never lost a game when the temperature was below
34 degrees. Now he has. Brett Favre looked as bad if not worse than
his numbers (20 for 42 for 247 yards, 1 touchdown 2 interceptions) indicate. As he often does when trailing, he tried to
do too much. His first interception
came on their first drive when he tried forcing the ball to Terry Glenn but
they were clearly not on the same page because Favre expected Glenn to come
back for the ball but Glenn wasn’t even facing Favre. He started the game 1 for his first 7 throws. His second interception was a forced throw
to Javon Walker. He nearly had a third
interception but Carpenter dropped the ball.
RB: Ahman
Green needed 2 bags of IV fluids when he faced the Falcons opening day. Maybe he needed them again and didn’t get
them because his play was extremely lackluster. John Madden commented that something seemed to be wrong with him
because he showed none of his usual quickness or explosiveness. He left the game in the 3rd
Quarter with a bruised knee. He rushed for
only 34 yards and caught just one pass.
If you take out his long run of 14 yards, he averaged just 2 yards per
carry. He was stuffed twice at the goal
line on Green Bay’s crucial series, the first time on 2nd and goal
from the 1 he showed little heart at getting into the end zone. Tony Fisher spelled Green even in the first half and
averaged 3.8 yards per carry. He caught
3 passes for 11 yards but is likely not the long-term answer at running back. WR: Donald
Driver did play and caught 3 passes for 64 yards and Green Bay’s only
touchdown. He dropped the ball on the
play before the touchdown but Favre went right back to the same play. Driver scored but left the game after that
catch with an aggravation to his shoulder injury. He was targeted 6 times. Terry Glenn caught one ball for 11 yards and promptly fumbled. Fortunately Driver was standing there and recovered the ball. He was only targeted twice the entire day and left the game with a concussion. Ironically, he left the first game against the Falcons with a concussion. Robert Ferguson was a big disappointment in light of the
injuries to the other receivers. He
caught only 3 passes for 17 yards but was targeted 8 times. He had one clear drop and didn’t catch
another very catchable pass in the end zone because he jumped rather than run
through the route. The ball went right
off his hands. It’s unlikely he will be
a major part of the Packer passing game next season. If there was any bright spot on the entire Packer night,
Javon Walker provided it with 5 catches for 104 yards. He was targeted 8 times often on 3rd
down as Favre shows that he is more and more comfortable throwing to the
youngster. One of the 3rd
down catches he leapt and reached above his head and snagged a Favre bullet pass. TE: Bubba Franks caught 2 passes for 20 yards and was
targeted 5 times on the night. Franks
was targeted on Green Bay’s first play in the red zone and again on 3rd
down from the 1. Packer Pass Defense: Suffered greatly from the injury
to Darrin Sharper and flu to Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. The pass rushed was greatly concerned with containing Vick and
appeared tentative and lackluster in their pass rush. They were unable to sack Vick all day and it clearly frustrated
and cost them. They came up with no
interceptions and no turn overs. Packer Rush Defense:
The Packers surrendered 192 yards rushing and missed Gilbert Brown who
suffered a hip injury on the second play of the game. He did play some after the injury but left the game for good in
the 2nd quarter. Packers Special Teams: The Packer special teams were atrocious. A bad blocking scheme lead to the blocked punt which turned the tide of the game and a Packer allowed the defender to drive him back into the punt returner which resulted in the turn over which knocked the Packers out. Ryan Longwell contributed…to the Packer woes by missing a 47
yard field goal in the 1st quarter that could have stemmed the tide
at that point. There was nothing wrong
with his footing or the field as this was before the snow started. He simply missed the kick. He later missed a 45 yard field goal but
conditions didn’t help him with that one. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/ Cleveland 33 at Pittsburgh 36 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Cleveland
Browns Kelly Holcomb played an outstanding game. He played well
enough to give his team multiple chances to win against a tough Pittsburgh
defense. He definitely improved his stock for next year. William Green was completely shut down by Pittsburgh. 30
yards on 25 carries. Dennis Northcutt was Holcomb’s go to guy and finished with a
big game including 2 touchdowns.
Northcutt dropped a catchable ball late in the game that was huge. Kevin Johnson got open deep several times for long gains,
but failed to get into the end zone. Pittsburgh
Steelers Tommy Maddox earned his Comeback Player of the Year award.
He led the team to 29 point in the last 19 minutes to win the game by 3. Amos Zereoue ran very well and was the feature back. He had
limited carries, but he made the most of them. Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress both had good days each
logging a hundred yards receiving and touchdown. The Steelers defense got abused early, but they tightened up
in the second half and gave the offense a chance to win it. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Cleveland
Browns QB: Kelly
Holcomb completed 26 of 43 passes for 429 yards while throwing 3 touchdowns and
1 interception. Holcomb played a game that should lead to a lot more playing
time for him in the future. Holcomb was cool under fire and consistently
delivered passes with perfect touch and accuracy. The Pittsburgh defense
totally shut down the Cleveland running game and Holcomb was forced to adapt to
an all throwing offense with no run support. In the first half he threw 2
touchdown passes to WR Dennis Northcutt and an 83 yard go route bomb to WR
Kevin Johnson who was tackled on the 1 yard line which set up the only rushing
touchdown of the game by RB William Green. In the second half, the Steelers
defense tightened up, but Holcomb was still able to throw another touchdown to
WR Andre’ Davis. At the end of the game when the Browns really needed to run
the clock out with the lead, the run was again stopped and Holcomb was forced
to throw on 3rd and 12. Holcomb hit Northcutt in the hands 15 yards
downfield and Northcutt just dropped the ball. That catch might have allowed
the Browns to run out the clock and win the game. Then, after Pittsburgh had
taken the lead, Cleveland had one last drive trailing by 3 points. Holcomb led
the drive into field goal range with the last pass, but it was thrown slightly
behind WR Andre King who fell down making the catch and then couldn’t get out
of bounds in time to stop the clock. Holcomb proved with this game that his
success at the beginning of the season was not a fluke and that he deserves to
be at the helm of a NFL team. Should
be a very interesting offseason for the Browns as they sort out the QB
situation. RB: William
Green had 25 carries for 30 yards and a touchdown. He also gained 8 yards on 2
receptions. The Pittsburgh defense was too much for the Cleveland line to block
and Green was often faced with a sea of black and gold in the backfield with
him. He did not have holes to run through, but he did not create anything either.
When the Browns needed him at the end of the game to get a first down and help
kill the clock, Green was ineffective. At least he did not fumble. Jamel White has evolved into the pass catching running back
on the team. He did not have a single carry, but made 5 catches for 45 yards.
He is a good receiver and has become a weekly part of the Browns’ passing
attack. WR: Kevin
Johnson made 4 catches for 140 yards, but did not score. He did have an 83 yard
reception on a go route where he was brought down on the 1 yard line. Johnson
was also given a chance to throw the ball on a play that looked like it was
going to be a QB throwback, but he was sacked by a heavy pass rush before he
could even begin looking for a target. Johnson also had a really beautiful
diving catch ruled incomplete. His value might have actually increased with the
loss of Tim Couch. Dennis Northcutt caught 6 passes for 92 yards and 2
touchdowns. He was the biggest benefactor from the loss of Couch because
Holcomb seemed to lock on to Northcutt as his favorite target. He also had a 5
yard gain on an end around running play. Northcutt had a great game until the
end when the Browns were faced with a 3rd and 12. Holcomb hit
Northcutt right in the hands about 15 yards down field and he dropped it. That
catch probably would have won the game for the Browns. Quincy Morgan was not a big part of this game. He caught
only 2 passes for 30 yards and he was the target of only one or two more
passes. Andre’ Davis made only 2 catches, but they were for 65 yards
including a 22 yard touchdown. He has good speed and good hands and is learning
more and more every week. Look for Davis to be a bigger part of the passing
attack next year. Andre King had only 1 catch on the day, but it was very
important. With 7 seconds left on the clock King ran an out pattern 15 yards
down field to set up the field goal. Holcomb threw the ball slightly behind
King who fell to the ground after making the catch and he could not get out of
bounds fast enough to stop the clock before it ran down to zero. Game Over. TE: Mark
Campbell made 3 catches for 31 yards. He has good hands and is big enough to
run over a defensive back or two. Pass
Defense: The Cleveland pass defense was pretty good in the first
half, but got beat play after play in the second half. Although Pittsburgh was
able to move the ball early, CB Daylon McCutcheon intercepted 2 passes in the
first half. The first interception was a great defensive play by McCutcheon
where he jumped the same skinny post route that he had been beaten on during
the regular season. The second interception was a tipped pass at the line that
went straight to McCutcheon. The pass rush could have been better as Maddox
usually had time to find an open receiver. He was sacked 3 times however by DE
Kenard Lang and DTs Orpheus Roye and Alvin McKinley. In the second half Maddox
was free to move the ball through the air with little resistance. The unit gave
up 432 passing yards. Rushing
Defense: The Cleveland rushing defense was not very good either.
They gave up 89 rushing yards on only 20 carries. The weakness in rushing
defense did not show as much because the Steelers went to a pass only offense
in the second half. Safety Robert Griffith led the team with 9 solo tackles and
1 assist. How often does a team win when their leading tackler is a safety? At
least the game didn’t end with a penalty for taking off a helmet. Pittsburgh
Steelers QB: Tommy
Maddox completed 30 of 48 passes for 367 yards including 3 touchdowns and 2
interceptions. Maddox had a hard time in the first half battling a strong pass
rush and throwing 2 interceptions (one was a bad throw and one was bad luck).
In the second half, Maddox (NFL Comeback Player of the Year) led the team back
with 3 touchdown passes in the last 19 minutes. He also helped set up the
winning touchdown run by RB Ma’afala that put the Steelers in the lead for
good. Didn’t he learn the game holding a clipboard for Elway? What haunts the
Browns more; Elway’s “The Drive” or “Maddox’s 19 minutes”. Maddox is the real
deal. RB: Amos
Zereoue gained 73 yards on only 13 carries. I know “The Bus” is the man in
Pittsburgh, but how can you not start this kid every game. He is fast, tough
and just plain good. He deserves to be a full time starter for someone. Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala got some playing time as well. He ran
for 4 yards on 2 carries including a 3 yard touchdown and he caught 2 passes
for 20 more yards. He is the big back that could run for the short yardage
plays next year if Pittsburgh dumps Bettis. WR: Hines
Ward led the team with 11 receptions for 104 yards including a 5 yard
touchdown. He also ran an end around for a 4 yard gain. He was the main target
in the Steelers passing attack. Some critics say that he is not fast enough or
big enough to be a top receiver. What he does have is the innate ability to get
open and good hands. That seems to be good enough to make him a must start
every week. Plaxico Burress caught 6 passes for 100 yards including a 6
yard touchdown. He has darn good speed and a quarterback that can get him the
ball. Burress is a very tough deep threat that is now learning how to read
defenses and get open short as well. Antwaan Randle El played a big part in this game. He caught
5 passes for 85 yards and ran an end around for 3 yards. El also returned a
punt 66 yards for a touchdown and put his QB hat on and threw a completion to
TE Tuman for a two point conversion. Terance Mathis caught 3 balls for 40 yards. He has bulked up
and now runs people over instead of running out of bounds. He is pretty good
for a 4th receiver. TE: Jerame
Tuman caught 3 balls for 18 yards including a 3 yard touchdown catch. He also
caught the 2 point conversion thrown by El. He has decent hands, but is an
average TE at best by NFL standards. Pass Defense: The
Steelers pass defense was poor at best. They gave up 409 passing yards. They
did not pressure Holcomb that well and there was almost always separation
between the defensive backs and the Cleveland receivers. LBs Joey Porter and
James Farrior had the two sacks and CB Mike Logan made the only interception. Rushing
Defense: The Steelers rushing defense was tough. Safety Lee Flowers
(6 solo tackles, 4 assists) and LB Kendrell Bell (8 solo tackles, 1 assist) led
the defense which only gave up 38 rushing yards on 28 attempts. Bell is one of
the fastest linebackers around and Joey Porter is one of the meanest
linebackers around. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/ NY Giants 38 at San Francisco 39
Kerry Collins had impressive numbers again. He finished with 342 passing yards and 4
touchdowns with just one interception. The pick came on a ball that was tipped
into the air by Ron Dayne and not on a poor decision from Collins. Toomer and
Shockey were his main targets as they have been all season. Amani Toomer had two first half touchdown catches and a
third early in the second half. He beat both 49er cornerbacks seemingly at
will. Tiki Barber must have hit his fumble quota last week against
the Eagles because he didn’t have any today. He put up solid numbers again with
115 yards on 26 carries with a 6-yard score. Jeremy Shockey is clearly option 1a in the New York passing
game. He scored on a 2-yard pass and dropped a sure score that would have meant
the difference in the game. Several mistakes on the final FG attempt at the end of the
game prevented the Giants from getting a good kick off that might have won the
game. San Francisco 49’ers Jeff Garcia proved to be much more effective when he rolled out of the pocket. He enjoyed excellent protection from his offensive line all game. Terrell Owens scored like many fantasy owners have come to
expect: 9 catches, 177 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 2-point conversion scores. RB: Tiki Barber must have hit his fumble quota
last week against the Eagles because he didn’t have any today. He put up solid
numbers again with 115 yards on 26 carries with a 6-yard score. He’s become a
workhorse back and the Giants appear to have finally recognized that. Barber’s
numbers have really improved with the emergence of the Toomer/Shocker receiving
tandem because they force the linebacker out of run support and into pass
defense. WR: Amani Toomer had two first half
touchdown catches and a third early in the second half. He beat both 49er
cornerbacks seemingly at will. If the Giants can get a wide receiver threat to
start on the other side Toomer could be capable of upper-echelon fantasy
production. Jeremy Shockey and Toomer complement one another nicely in the NY
passing game by forcing the defense to choose which player to double cover. Ron Dixon returned from a several game absence and was a
contributor. He had 5 catches for 52 yards but was clearly not 100%.
RB: Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow combined for
27 yards on 10 carries. They didn’t have a lot of room to run in the first
place but once the 49ers were down by three scores all thoughts of a ground
game went right out the window. Barlow did have a 1-yard scoring run that was
originally not ruled a TD but was reversed on a challenge. WR: Terrell Owens scored like many fantasy
owners have come to expect: 9 catches, 177 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 2-point conversion
scores. Those are incredible numbers from a true fantasy monster. He has the
ultimate confidence from his QB, which means he gets balls thrown to him when
he’s not even open. This was an impressive effort. He even completed a 25-yard
pass. Tai Streets had good numbers today, as he has had on and off
throughout the season. He finished with 5 catches for 58 yards and a score and
was an important second option on the occasional play where the Giants had
Owens covered. J.J. Stokes is still not a good fantasy option. He had just
2 catches for 14 yards.
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