Week Eight

1st Down

Well I am sure that we are all thinking the same thing this week, what on earth happened to New Orleans??? I mean scoring over 60 points one week and beaten by a winless team the next is just obscured!  With that in mind, I did hear a stat this week which just stunned me.  Including now the Saints, teams that have scored over 60 points are just 2 - 7 in their ensuing games. I find this simply mind blowing as surely you stick to what's working and use it in the next game?

Thanks to the Saints I was only 9 out of 12 on my Sunday predictions this week, still can't grumble at 75% accuracy I suppose!

I now move onto the other winless teams going into this week, Miami and Indianapolis. Both teams had high hopes this week as the Colts were up against the Titans who have seen little to no production from their star man Chris Johnson and the Dolphins were up against Mr hit and miss Eli Manning.

Miami started off really well by leading the Giants at half time. I was seriously worried for the Giants as it looked like nothing was working for the offence and Reggie Bush was having a great game.  Unfortunately for the Dolphins they managed to hit the self destruct button and let the Giants come back to win the game 20 – 17.

What can I say about the Colts, the answer is nothing really. Without Peyton Manning at the helm, the offence isn't putting up the points and getting into big leads which allow their quick defence to make plays! I may be wrong but I seriously think they will be the worst team this year by some way and will get one win, two at most! Would love to hear what you guys think, Colts for first draft pick next year?

2nd Down

I feel that I have done well to leave my awesome Bills until now.  After shutting out an all be it below par Redskins team (Sorry big dog), will people please take us seriously now. We are top of the AFC East and we have beaten the Patriots and Eagles to get there! We are definitely heading to the play-offs this year and after years of searching we finally have a franchise coach in Mr Gailey!

I like his style and the way he has our team of apparently no named stars playing right now shows his quality as a coach.  OK so my Bills rant is over for now so let's catch up on the scores from week 8:-

Arizona 27 vs 30 Baltimore
Minnesota 24 vs 21 Carolina
Jacksonville 14 vs 24 Houston
Miami 17 vs 20 New York Giants
New Orleans 21 vs 31 St Louis
Indianapolis 10 vs 27 Tennessee
Washington 0 vs 23 Buffalo
Detroit 45 vs 10 Denver
New England 17 vs Pittsburgh
Cleveland 10 vs 20 San Francisco
Cincinnati 34 vs 12 Seattle
Dallas 7 vs 34 Philadelphia
San Diego 20 vs 23 Kansas City

3rd Down

OK so now it's time for the questions from EJ and my responses, I hope you enjoy  them!

EJ - Name the top 5 play-makers in the league?

Adri - This is a tough one to put them in order as the players I have in mind can barely be separated but here goes:-

No 1, Troy Polamalu - This guy is just a beast of a defender and the Steelers certainly suffer when he is not on the field. He tackles like a linebacker when he is at the line of scrimmage and of all the backs I've seen he has made some phenomenal picks like the one hander I showed earlier in the year. Finally how about his impact on the last play against the Patriots on Sunday, Brady gets sacked and fumbles the ball and who is there to illegally punch the ball backwards towards the end-zone, the one and only Polamalu. I guess as the ref’s didn't see it, it becomes legal but hey ho.

No 2, Adrian Peterson - I was in and out of the Minnesota game this week but every time I see him carry the ball I get excited. He runs through defenders like there not there. He's such a powerful runner even though his physique might not show it. By this I mean when you look at him compared to someone like Brandon Jacobs he is small! To have a career average of 4.8YDS per carry just shows how amazing this guy is and why he is my No 2.

No 3, Devin Hester - I think this one speaks for itself when you say return specialist. I have seen teams deliberately kick it out of bounds when he is back to receive the kick / punt just so they don't concede a TD. All I need to say is he has only been in the league since 2006 and he is already the NFL's leading kick / punt returner with 16 TD'S.

No 4, Calvin Johnson aka Megatron - Firstly you don't get a nickname like that if your only an average receiver. This guy just seems to catch anything thrown his way. I have already seen instances this season where Stafford is being rushed and needs to throw it, Megatron is double covered but the ball is thrown to him anyway and wouldn't you know it he comes out winner of the jump ball to score a TD. He is still a young receiver and has a great career ahead of him, keep an eye on him, he is a special player.

No 5, Brian Urlacher - Again with this one I think you only have to look at his career stats to know that he gets it done, period!  Whenever the Bears need a big play on defence he comes up trumps whether it be a forced fumble or interception. I know he is coming to the end of his career but we all know when he retires the Bears will struggle to replace him as both a player and a leader on the field.

That's my top five buddy but I also have to give a special mention to one of my favourite receivers Brandon Lloyd. I have seen this guy make so many spectacular catches and there is rarely a week goes by when he is not in the top 5 catches of the week!

EJ - Is Tim Tebow the real deal?

Adri - I have seen enough of Tebow these last couple of weeks to give my answer on this one. Simply put no is my answer, he is a great runner with the ball but you only have to look at his production against Miami for example, he did nothing in the first three quarters and against any other team they would have been punished and his late scores would have been no more than a consolidation. On a final Tebow note, look at the other young QB'S like Dalton, nowhere near as much hype as Tim but managing to get the job done in Cincinnati.  Here's a thinker for you, what would you say to bulking him up a bit and turning him into a receiver or running back??

EJ - Name 2 average teams now that are going to make a strong run into the play-offs and 2 good teams now that are going to blow a tire preventing them from the play-offs?  Just to clarify this one is based on records rather than quality.

Adri - My first average team to make the play-offs is Kansas City, after a bad start they are putting a run of wins together and after seeing off the Chargers last night, I think they will win the AFC West!

My second team is the Eagles, again a slow starter but they are too good not to make it into the play-offs this year.

This leads me into my first team to fall off the play-off wagon, the Eagles division rivals the Giants. I just don't think Eli has it in him to sustain his current good form.

Finally despite their current 5 - 2 record I don't think the Bengals will make it as the Steelers and Ravens are too strong not to top the AFC North.

Awesome questions EJ, let me know what you think to my answers old boy please.

4th Down

I hope you all like my little Q and A sessions with EJ, I've said before and I will say it again that its good to have banter with those more in the know than myself when it comes to all things NFL.

With that in mind EJ, I do have one question for you which ties in with how my new twitter friend @LewisEnglish does his weekly predictions.  Which 3 NFL teams have the best uniforms?

I would love to get your take on that one as well please @LewisEnglish.  In case your wondering @LewisEnglish bases his weekly predictions on the teams with the best uniforms in that match up.  A novel idea and surprising how effective it is. If you get the chance to, please check out www.untilkickoff.com

I really enjoyed answering your questions this week EJ as it really gets me thinking. Please can I have three more pearler’s from you again this week buddy? As always my answers will be in next weeks 3rd down.

Finally this week I just want to say I am already stoked about next week as my Bills are back on sky sports for our divisional game against the Jets of New Jersey. There's only one team that actually plays in the state of New York, remember that residents of Meadowlands / now Metlife arena!

Let's Go Buffalo!

As always ladies and gents, 'Thanks for stopping by'