Joe's Final Drive: Week 4

Someone finally looked like a rookie quarterback; things are going south in Tennessee, and some guy named Brett Favre made headlines. I wrap up week four in the NFL with the Final Drive! 

(3-1) New England Patriots 27
(3-1) Baltimore Ravens 21 

Okay, so has everyone gotten the “don’t touch or breathe on Tom Brady’s legs” memo? Ray Lewis, you can complain all you want about bad penalties or ball spots; it still doesn’t change that fact that your defense let Tom Brady get fourteen points in the second quarter. You’re 3-1; it wasn’t the AFC Championship game. Man up and take the loss.

 
Seriously. Don't touch him. 

(2-2) Jacksonville Jaguars 37
(0-4) Tennessee Titans 17 

Um, what teams were on this field? David Garrard threw like the QB that earned his massive contract and Mike Sims-Walker is turning out to be the Jaguars’ best receiver. In Tennessee, things are a mess. Their defense is crumbling after the loss of Albert Haynesworth. If they lose to Indianapolis next week (and they should) and fall to 0-5, look for Vince Young to take over for Kerry Collins. Even if its not Collins’ fault, the team needs a spark.

Where have you been?  

(4-0) New Orleans Saints 24
(3-1) New York Jets 10 

Drew Brees hasn’t thrown a touchdown for a second straight week and the Saints are still undefeated. Why? They’ve established a running game and played excellent defense. That will win you plenty of football games. For the Jets, Mark Sanchez simply played the game we all knew was coming. He’s not Joe Namath yet, but he’s definitely going to be successful in this league. 

(1-3) Miami Dolphins 38
(1-3) Buffalo Bills 10 

The Dolphins finally won a game with their clock-controlling style. You can only go so long excelling at dominating time of possession and not win, even if Chad Henne was making his first NFL start. Not every opponent will have Peyton Manning. Buffalo looks to be in considerable turmoil already. I would not want to be coach Dick Jauron right now with a volatile TO waiting to ‘splode. 

(4-0) Denver Broncos 17
(2-2) Dallas Cowboys 10 

Either we were giving Denver too little credit or we were giving Dallas too much credit. It’s probably a bit of both, but I’ll still say its more overrating Dallas than anything else. The Cowboys are a .500 team that can at best manage 9-7. Denver has a rough schedule coming up that includes New England, San Diego, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Let’s see where Josh McDaniels, Kyle Orton and 4-0 go from here. 

(2-2) Pittsburgh Steelers 38
(2-2) San Diego Chargers 28 

With 28 points in the final 17 minutes of play, I think the Chargers can rest a little easier about this loss. They definitely struggled for most of the game, but they ignited under Philip Rivers. Big Ben and the Steelers needed to avoid a 1-3 start to keep the AFC North race close. Maybe Rashard Mendenhall earned a few more carries for himself? 

(4-0) Minnesota Vikings 30
(2-2) Green Bay Packers 23 

Brett Favre won the Brett Favre Bowl. Surprised? I’m not. As hard as I was rooting for the Packers (and I was, it was so weird), it never seemed as if they could overcome Minnesota’s defense until it was too late. They even shut down Adrian Peterson, holding him to 55 yards on 25 carries. But Favre was efficient with the long ball and more importantly never turned the ball over. Aaron Rodgers had two turnovers, both of which led to touchdowns. (He also took a safety. Completely inexcusable in that situation.) Still, they’ll meet again. Next time it will be in Green Bay. 

Lame.  

Hope your week is well! Keep an eye out for my Bears recap!