2) Cheerleader of the week: Kelli of The Roar (Jacksonville Jaguars Cheerleaders). She's cute as a button!
3) The New Orleans Saints beat the hated Atlanta Falcons. Following the game, the Atlanta players gave the Saints no credit at all. They talked about how they beat themselves and how the Saints did nothing to stop them. I love rivalries! Everybody hates each other and no credit is given to the opposition when you get beat.
4) Congratulations Denver Broncos! You are going to win the AFC West and host a playoff game. You have proven your worth by dominating a division containing the powerhouse Chargers, Chiefs, and Raiders. Great job!
5) My current Top 6: Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts.
6) What's the deal, Cowboys? Are you a team that can win important games or aren't you? The evidence is mounting that you are not. Remember around week 4 or 5 when you were a shoe-in for the Super Bowl? What happened?
I'll tell you what happened ... Wade Phillips happened. Jones loves to hire coaches he can dictate to (Barry Switzer, Chan Gaily, anyone?), and Phllips is one of them, which means he's not the real power in the locker room. The Cowboys are about 10 years away from being the Raiders and Jones being Al Davis.
7) If the Saints aren't going to be in the Super Bowl, I'd hope to see a Titans/Giants championship game. They've been consistently the best two teams all year, it'd be a great game.
No, you don't have to be a genius to figure that one out. But there's no hot team right now who I feel like I'd rather see in the Super Bowl. There's no Giants like last year.
8) How about that NFC West? With the exception of the Rams, that division is showing signs of life. The 49ers are winning games, the Seahawks are trying their best, the Cardinals are going to the playoffs.
9) Fantasy tip: Believe it or not, I think Shaun Hill is a viable option right now. I'm considering him for my playoff matchup this week.
10) The winless Lions' remaining schedule: Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers. Seems likely they won't win any of those games. At least they put up a fight against Minnesota, it looked for a while like they might actually win that one. But of course, they didn't.
Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!
1) Holy crap! Pierre Thomas just may be the RB of the future for the Saints. When Payton dedicates the gameplan to include some power rushing by Thomas, good things happen. I still wish McAllister was their main power rusher, but he hasn't looked that great recently when carrying the ball.
2) Saints stat of the week: 414. Both the Saints and Falcons had exactly 414 yards last week. What a coincidence! And ... if you add the digits from those totals, plus the number of catches by Jeremy Shockey ... 4+1+4+4+1+4+5 = 23. Extra creepy!
3) Brees needs to average about 330 yards a game in his last 3 games to break Dan Marino's yardage record. That's not a sure thing. That's a tough record to break, it goes to show how awesome Dan Marino was. Can't believe that guy never won a Super Bowl. Crazy.
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2) Cheerleader of the week: Alisha of the Oakland Raiderettes.
3) The New Orleans Saints lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was a hard-fought game, like it always is against the Bucs. Pretty disappointing loss after manhandling Green Bay last week. This loss eliminates any possible wiggle room for making the playoffs. They would need to win their last 4 games and hope for a lot of losses by the likes of Atlanta, Dallas, Washington, Carolina, and Tampa.
4) Congratulations 49ers! That was a legitimate win over the Bills. Good job.
5) My current Top 5: New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Bucs. I'm still keeping an eye on the Colts, they've now won 5 straight and their next 2 games are against Cincinnati and Detroit. Their winning streak will continue and they won't be tested until they battle the Titans in week 17.
6) What are the Jets doing? If they want to be taken seriously they MUST beat the likes of Denver. This week they've got the 49ers. We'll see what happens.
7) It's hard to criticize the best player on the team, the guy who wins more games for you than anybody else, but in this case, Drew Brees's two late-game interceptions were killers.
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2) Cheerleader of the week: Erica Jenkins of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. She loses points for being a big country music fan, but I'll overlook it.
3) The New Orleans Saints blew out the Green Bay Packers. The first half was an entertaining game of swapping touchdowns. The third quarter was the best quarter of football the Saints have played all year, resulting in a 21-0 advantage in that quarter alone.
4) Congratulations AFC West! You are the weakest division in the NFL! Your best team (Denver Broncos) is barely over .500 and just lost to a team (Oakland Raiders) that had 2 wins before the game. The Raiders exacted some payback for the Week 1 blowout Denver inflicted upon them, so the Raiders have that going for them, which is nice. Also, the Raiders win eliminated 4 players from my suicide pool, which leaves me a 1:8 chance to win the ca$h.
The Chargers' season is probably finished. With 7 losses I suspect they are out of the playoff landscape. Technically, they could still win that sorry division, since they are only 2 games behind Denver. But honestly, does it matter? Whichever team wins that division is still shitty.
5) My current Top 5: New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens. I'll make the Saints an unofficial #6. And I'm keeping my eye on the Colts, they've won 4 straight, including wins over New England, Pittsburgh, and San Diego; they also beat Baltimore earlier this year.
6) Strange set of early games this week. Not one was decided by less than 13 points. Usually as it nears 1:00 pm I start keeping an eye on the close games so that I can switch over and watch how they end (NFL Ticket on DirecTV rules!). But this week, there were no close games to keep an eye on.
7) The Saints put on one hell of an offensive display against a team whose passing defense was supposed to be one of the best in the league. 416 yards, 7 touchdowns, 51 points ... without Reggie Bush. The Saints have won 3 of their last 4 games ... without Reggie Bush. I don't mean to imply the Saints are better without Bush, I just hope Coach Payton remembers how effective his offense is without Bush. When Bush is in the game, Payton tends to try extra hard to get him the ball. Not necessary, there are guys all over the field who will make plays as long as Drew Brees is directing the traffic.
Like I said last week, if Brees were to get hurt, his team would tank. If that's not the definition of MVP, then I don't know what is. Brees is in the top 2 candidates for league MVP this year. He is lights out.
8) This year, the sportscasters and analysts have latched onto the concept of incredible football plays being "like a video game". Too many times I've heard someone say, "that looked like something from a video game!" Madden football has been out there for years, and video game football even longer. But I've noticed this year an increase in video game call-outs, which is annoying, because that would have been cool about 10 years ago ... maybe.
9) Fantasy tip: I got nuthin' for you this week.
10) The Saints defense grabbed 3 interceptions! I can't recall the last time they accomplished that, so I looked it up. The last time the Saints had 3 picks in a game was against the Panthers on November 25, 2007, one year ago today. Not as far back as I would have guessed.
Between this week and last week, the defense is making great plays and making hard hits. That's the kind of defense they need to be playing. They ran some effective blitzes, real blitzes, not that bullshit corner blitz they'd been using all season.
Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!
1) Holy crap! Deuce McAllister became the Saints' all-time touchdown leader when he scored his 54th touchdown against the Packers Monday night. He has cornerback Jason David (of all people) to thank for breaking the record. It was David's interception, which he returned to the 3-yard line, that set up the McAllister plunge.
Congratulations Deuce! You are the most beloved player to ever wear a Saints uniform, it's perfectly appropriate that you hold the franchise touchdown record.
2) Saints stat of the week: 157.5. That was Drew Bress's QB rating against the Packers. Damn near close to a perfect rating of 158.3.
3) I must give respect to Pierre Thomas who had 18 touches for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns. Thomas has been playing well all season, continuing from his great play near the end of last season. Deuce looked shaky on the first series of the game, 2 carries for basically zero yards and it was Thomas the rest of the way. I love Deuce, it's too bad his kness are ailing him, it showed last night. Thomas is proving he can run between the tackles, opponents might have to start accounting for him.
4) I must give respect to Lance Moore who had 5 catches for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns. This is his first year playing a significant role as a wide reciever for the Saints, but he's proving to have that Wes Welker type ability to catch a lot of balls and convert a lot of first downs. Marques Colston is still their big threat, I wish he would get 100% healthy and stay healthy. Brees has so much confidence in Moore now, I think Brees would throw him the ball even if all 11 defenders were circling him.
5) I must give even more respect to Drew Brees. The guy just plays perfect game after perfect game. Some people are saying that the Saints offense finally emerged last night. Well, that's bullshit. With the exception of an egg they layed against Carolina, the Saints have scored 24, 24, 32, 31, 27, 34, 37, 20, 30, and 51 points this year. Does that sound like an offense that isn't producing enough? Not to mention they have the number one overall offense and number one passing offense in the league. And it's Drew Brees who makes that all possible, he's still on pace to break Dan Marino's single season yardage record. He is money. And Don Banks of SI agrees with me.
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2) Cheerleader of the week: Lindsey H. of the Tennessee Titans Cheerleaders.
3) The New Orleans Saints beat the Kansas City Chiefs and recorded their first road win of the season (if you count the London game as a "home" game, that is). The Saints played a balanced game, with good effort on offense, defense, and special teams. The offense was less lopsided than usual, with 25 rushing attempts for over 100 yards.
Okay Saints defense, was that so hard? You got 4 sacks, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery, and 2 red zone stands, forcing the Chiefs into field goals. The offense scores it's usual 30 points, all you need to do is hold opponents to 20 and that's the Saints formula for success. Truth be told, the Chiefs scored 24, but the refs blew a call on a replay that seemed obviously like a Chiefs touchdown. You couldn't actually see the ball in the replay, but it would have been a miracle if it didn't break the plane of the goal line.
4) Congratulations St. Louis Rams! You officially suck again! It was great that you took a brief respite from sucking, long enough to beat the Redskins and Cowboys back-to-back. But now you've lost 4 in a row, and been blown out in your last 3 (outscored 116-32). You might have 2 wins but you're playing worse than the Lions, who have 0 wins.
5) My current Top 4: New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens. The Giants totally stomped the Ravens; surprising.
6) As I've been saying ... the Patriots will be inconsequential this year. They may or may not win their division, if they do, it won't mean much. Losing your star QB when he is the identity of your team is a huge deal.
7) I can relate to the Cowboys and their Tony Romo situation. Romo is that team's identity. When they lost him, they lost their identity just like the Patriots when they lost Brady. Now that Romo is back, all of a sudden they look like a good team again. It's amazing the way even the defense plays better when Romo is in the house.
If the Saints were to lose Drew Brees it would be the same situation. Brees is the team's identity. The Saints would stink royally if he got hurt. And if he came back in his first game to beat the Panthers, Saints fans would be heralding the return of a savior, just like Cowboys fans are doing right now after Romo returned to beat the hated Redskins.
8) A few oddities this week. For the first time in 6 years, a game ended in a tie (Eagles/Bengals). For the first time in NFL history a game ended with a score of 10-11 (Chargers/Steelers). Donovan McNabb revealed that he didn't know there could be games that end in ties. Who gives a shit about any of this? They are quirky tidbits, but nothing more. Nothing that needs to be talked about by every analyst and touted on the front page of Yahoo!.
9) Fantasy tip: Start a running back that will score fantasy points for your team. In other words, don't start Tim Hightower.
10) I'm not a fan of Warren Sapp as an NFL analyst. He's too smug, likes himself too much, laughs at his own (unfunny) jokes too often, mugs for the camera too much. I could live without ever seeing that guy on TV again.
Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!
1) Holy crap! Brees is still on pace to break Marino's yardage-in-a-season record. With the way Sean Payton typically abandons the run, it should be no problem to break that record.
2) Saints stat of the week: 5. That's how many of their next 6 games the Saints need to win to even THINK about playoffs. To be a serious contender, they need to win all 6.
3) Playing their last 4 games on the road, the Saints have not played in the Superdome since Oct. 12. They're finally back this week, hosting the Packers on Monday night.
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2) Cheerleader of the week: Courtney L. of the Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders.
3) The Atlanta Falcons routed the New Orleans Saints despite my prediction that the Saints would win. Here's what happened: the Saints' defense sucked, the special teams mostly sucked, and the offense was mostly okay but still kind of sucked. And the coaching was a bit sucky too.
The Falcons did the same thing the Panthers did 3 games ago, played better football than the Saints and won the game. I swear, the Saints defense looks like it's constantly in the wrong scheme. I don't know who calls the defensive formations and plays, I assume it's the defensive coordinator, Gary Gibbs. The Saints might need to pull a San Diego Chargers and fire that guy mid-season. He's been here 3 years and the defense has shown zero improvement, even as we acquire better players (Ellis, Vilma, Porter) we still seem to be running the same old crappy defense.
Adding injury to insult, Mike McKenzie is now out with a fractured kneecap (sounds painful!).
4) Congratulations Jeremy Shockey! You've angered your quarterback the last two games, there are rumors that many of your teammates hate you, and you're injured more often than not. 'Atta boy, way to show those Giants what a huge mistake it was to trade you away!
It's a good thing for the Saints Billy Miller is a very good pass-catching tight end. He made a few excellent catches against the Falcons and that's not the first time.
5) My current Top 5: New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons.
6) The Kansas City Chiefs aren't messing around anymore. They've been playing tough football and have been in it in their last three games. Wouldn't surprise me if they start winning games soon. Of course, They play the Saints next.
7) Minnesota vs. green bay. Adrian Peterson was a monster and basically won that important divisional game on his own. I hope he got a game ball from Childress, he may have saved the coach's job. I'm surprised Green Bay didn't find a way to win that game. I thought Green Bay was the class of the NFC North, but maybe they're not.
8) I've noticed the Saints and Chargers are on identical paths. They are basically the same team. Pass heavy offense, shitty defense, mediocre record. Check out the stats (added the Giants and Titans for comparison purposes):
| Record | Turnover ratio | Time / Possession | |
| Saints | 4-5 | -5 | 30:53 |
| Chargers | 4-5 | -3 | 28:28 |
| Giants | 8-1 | +6 | 34:06 |
| Titans | 9-0 | +10 | 30:45 |
| Points / Game | Passing Yards / Game | Rushing Yards / Game | |
| Saints | 26 | 325 | 90 |
| Chargers | 27 | 253 | 96 |
| Giants | 29 | 205 | 168 |
| Titans | 24 | 178 | 134 |
| Points Allowed / Game | Sacks | INTs | Passing Yards Allowed / Game | Rushing Yards Allowed / Game | |
| Saints | 25 | 14 | 6 | 238 | 109 |
| Chargers | 24 | 18 | 6 | 264 | 103 |
| Giants | 18 | 30 | 12 | 177 | 87 |
| Titans | 13 | 24 | 14 | 194 | 90 |
2) Cheerleader of the week: Sarah of the Cincinnati Ben-Gals. Sarah is a high school english teacher. Let the fantasies begin.
3) The New Orleans Saints were on their bye week, so I have nothing to report other than my prediction that they will beat the Atlanta Falcons this weekend. Atlanta's a great run team, but the Saints have shown the ability to shut down good running games (Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore) this year (just like last year). And the Falcons won't be able to defend the Saints passing attack very well.
4) Congratulations Redskins fans! You allowed Steelers fans to fill your house on Monday Night Football and cheer loud enough to force the Redskins into a silent count. That is a trend-setting approach to supporting your team.
5) My current Top 5: New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals. That's right, the Cardinals, their offense is lights out and their defense is respectable.
6) The latest physiological science says stretching before you engage in physical activity is actually harmful. I encourage you to click that link and read the article. Muscles lose as much as 30% of their strength through static stretching, according to studies. Are NFL players and teams aware of this? Seems like every pre-game routine includes dudes doing static stretches, even with trainers helping them stretch by pushing against a leg for 30 seconds, or twisting a torso into a pretzel.
7) I guess the Oakland Raiders have decided to take an eternal cigarette break. They managed all of 77 yards for the entire game. Around the league, 10 running backs and 18 receivers had more than 77 yards in week 9. Pathetic.
8) I suspect Saints Will Smith, Charles Grant, and Deuce McAllister will lose their appeal to the league and will in fact be suspended for 4 games each. Grant is now out for the season on IR, so he can serve his suspension while he's out, but he needs to drop his appeal and take the suspension before the season ends.
9) Fantasy tip: This has been a not-as-fun-as-usual season for fantasy football. Nobody is reliable anymore. Every week your stud players are liable to stink while no-name players gobble stats. Makes it very frustrating to set a competitive weekly lineup. My team fluctuates wildly one week to the next. So just do your best, play the match-ups, pick up hot players off the waiver wire.
10) The top 5 passing teams are a combined 22-19. The top 5 rushing teams are a combined 31-10. The top 5 passing defenses are a combined 26-14. The top 5 rushing defenses are a combined 26-15. Based on that, the best team in the league should have a very strong running game, and strong all-around defense. The only team who is in the top 5 of rushing offense, rushing defense, and passing defense: the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens might be a team to watch the rest of the way, their problem is they are 26th in passing offense. If they could get into the top half of the league in passing offense, they would be incredible. They have a tough schedule coming up (Steelers, Redskins, Giants, Eagles, Cowboys) but if they make the playoffs they could be very dangerous.
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2) Cheerleader of the week: Jessica of the New England Patriots Cheerleaders. According to her bio she loves to eat banana splits. In case you were wondering.
3) The New Orleans Saints won a shootout with the San Diego Chargers in London. With both teams sporting high powered offenses and suspect defenses, you had to know the over was the smart bet. That was either two offenses who can't be stopped or two defenses who can't stop anybody. Or both.
The opening Saints drive lasted 9 minutes, but only resulted in 3 points. But that was the drive where I knew the Saints would win the game. Holding the ball for a 9 minute stretch in the first half goes a long way to tiring out the defense in the second half, and San Diego's defense was surely tired. I just didn't know the Saints defense would get equally tired.
4) Congratulations NFL officials, you've found a way to botch more games this year than in any year I can recall. This week it was the Falcons getting screwed when Mike Smith was not allowed to challenge a call on a supposed muffed punt. It's unfortunate Smith could not challenge due to his lack of timeouts available, that's the rules, so that's fine. But the call made by the officials was horrendous.
5) My current Top 5: New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears.
6) Mike Singletary is taking charge of the 49ers in a very public way. I just don't know if the team is talented enough to win games no matter who the coach is. It's easy to like his style, I hope he doesn't go too over the top with it.
7) The Colts have had a stranglehold on the AFC South for years, this year the Titans are claiming it. I never would have guessed Kerry Collins would pile up wins like this, but with the assist of a dominant defense, he is.
8) Philip Rivers, on the final drive of regulation (not counting the hail mary play at the very end), underthrows two open recievers, takes a delay of game penalty, then throws an interception. Not exactly a clutch performance by ol' Philip. The Saints defense deserves credit for the interception, but the rest of it is on Rivers.
9) Fantasy tip: Give up. If your team has less than 4 wins don't even bother setting a weekly lineup because you suck.
10) Brett Favre leads the league in interceptions. LenDale White leads the league in touchdowns.
Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!
1) Holy crap! The Saints beat the Chargers, just like I predicted last week. I'm a genius.
2) Saints stat of the week: 72. Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma leads the league in tackles with 72.
3) Saints are on their bye week now, what a boring week of games it will be without the Saints.
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