FMQB

Issues with the Colts:

Last Sunday, the Colts were not only upset by the Rams at home, but absolutely demolished! It was 28-0 at halftime, and at one point 35-0, surprisingly mostly by Rams rookies. I of course was thrilled, and wanted to use this game as my one shot to do a picture shout out to them (see above). The Colts were stunned by this loss, remember, they have defeated the 49ers, Seahawks, and Broncos this year. Last night’s game has shown the exact same issue that has plagued them the last 3 games. Against Houston, St. Louis, and then Tennessee, they found themselves in early holes, down multiple TDs without a score. They may be able to squeak out some comeback’s this way, but will be a quick out in the Postseason if they continue this trend.

Take Notes RGIII:

Bears QB Jay Cutler had a very unselfish move on Sunday which proves he’s a true team player. The Bears and Lions were in a fight for first place in the division, and Cutler aggravated his ankle around halftime. It wasn’t enough to take him out, but it definitely slowed him down. Instead of RGIII-ing it and taking his team down with him, he spoke with his coach and Josh McCown, and told them the team had a better chance of winning with McCown in. This is extremely brave of him, not that McCown would take his job, but he is very capable of running the team. Cutler also worked closely with McCown the rest of the game, discussing situations. He wasn’t like Aaron Rodgers who has been disconnected from the game. Cutler gets a lot of crap, but props to you Jay. The Bears may have fell just short, but strong effort.

Speaking of Rodgers:

With Rodgers out as QB of the Packers, Seneca Wallace got a chance to start and show what he could do. Sure enough, first series, he gets hurt and is out of the game. In comes an unheard of Tolzien (didn’t he write the Lord of the Rings?). Even though the Packers didn’t score much, I watched this entire game and was rather impressed by Tolzien. His interceptions were rough, but other than that he looked very solid. YAY Packers for signing Matt Flynn. His $14 Million two-year vacation is now over. Would be cool to see him get some playing time, but this has to be his last chance. He’s been on 5 teams in less than 2 years.

Panthers Make a Quiet Statement:

The Panthers have somehow come out of nowhere to be this year’s HOT team! After starting the season 1-3 (and yours truly writing off Cam Newton and the Panthers in general), they have won 5 in a row and have jumped into the competitive playoff race. Arguments against their winning streak included wins over measly Rams and Vikings teams. Well they made a quiet, 10 point statement on Sunday that they can hang with the big dogs on the road. They have a rough schedule to end the season (they still have to play the Saints twice, Patriots, and Jets), but let’s see what they can pull off.

Stat of the Week #1:

3 NFC playoff teams (Minnesota, Atlanta, Washington) are now in 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th place in the NFC.

Stat of the Week #2:

The Saints gained a record 40 first downs. That’s 10 per quarter! Putting this in perspective, the Jaguars won, scored 29 points, and only had 16 first downs.

Play of the Week:

Craziest play of the season so far, the Bengals were down a TD with only seconds left in the game, and at about the 50. Only chance is to toss up a Hail Mary, which works probably less than 1% of the time. Dalton heaves one that lands about the 5 yard line (with a group of 8 guys jumping up for it). It bounces back a few yards, and the Ravens safety punches it up (ignoring the #1 defensive rule of “KNOCK IT DOWN”). It pops straight up, and you can almost see AJ Green behind all of this action saying a combination of “WHAT?” and “Thank you, I’ll just take that then.” Disappointing that the Bengals couldn’t take care of it in OT, but seriously a crazy end of regulation.

Quote of the Week:

“Wow, I bet #31 is relieved that his play didn’t cost them the game” FILOFMQB (Father In Law of FMQB)

Quote of the Week #2:

“I’m not sure  if I should pick up Rivers, or just role with RGII the rest of the season” FFMQB (apparently RGIII has been demoted)

Fantasy Moment of the Week:

Sorry to stick on the same play, but I had awful games from Andy Dalton and AJ Green for the first 59:57 of the game. I was literally jumping for joy as I got 17 fantasy points in 3 seconds!

Broncos vs. Chiefs

To start out, I am having a major issue with the name “Chiefs” now. And it has nothing to do with the Redskins name debacle. It’s not “knifes” or “wolfs,” so why is it “Chiefs?” Sure the I before E thing is also confusing, but from here on out, I think I will refer to them as the Chieves…Easily the game of the week that everybody has been looking forward to is when the Chieves go to Denver. I’m sticking with my guns from last week. Even with Manning hobbled by ankle injuries, I don’t see this being close. Watch for the Broncos running game to see more action than normal, but I don’t see the Chieves scoring over 20 to keep up. Final score, Broncos 34 Chieves 17.

Dolphins distracted?

Monday Night’s contest between the Buccaneers and Dolphins looked horrible on paper, but turned out to be a decent game. I was surprised that on Monday Night Countdown, every single broadcaster (except 1) picked the 0-8 Bucs to win the game. The Dolphins had been through a lot the past week with the whole bullying scandal, and facing a winless team seemed perfect for this part in the schedule. But they couldn’t capitalize, and instead seemed distracted by off the field issues. It was also surprising to see the gaping holes in the offensive line where Incognito and Martin used to play. But good win for the Bucs to get off the schnied.

Florida Double Duty:

The 2008 Detroit Lions can now pop the Champagne, as the Jaguars also got off the schneid and won their first game. No analysis on that, just wanted to mention it.