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| The Texans have dethroned the 49ers as the #1 team in the NFL according to the NFL.com Power Rankings. |
Don’t forget to listen to an all-new broadcast of The All-Sports Crew tonight at 7 p.m. on
WMUC Sports. We had a special show last night, the podcast of which is
currently on iTunes. The WMUC Sports server is currently back up and running, so
we should not run into the same issues we did last week, not getting a show in
or a podcast on iTunes.
10. ‘Monday
Night Fiasco’
I already wrote more than enough about this train wreck, but
it was so horrendous that it’s worth me linking to it in this post. You can
read my semi-rant here and check out our discussion on the topic by subscribing
to The All-Sports Crew’s podcasts on
iTunes.
9. CJ”No”K
Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson is one of the
fastest players in the NFL today. After running for 45 yards in 3 games he is
on pace to gain only 240 rushing yards in 2012. Keep in mind that this is the
same Chris Johnson who broke Marshall Faulk’s single-season yards from
scrimmage record in 2009, rushing for 2006 yards and gaining another 503 yards
through the air.
8. Coaches
Fined for Conduct
Denver Broncos head coach John Fox and defensive coordinator
Jack Del Rio have both been fined by the NFL for how they dealt with
replacement officials in their Week 2 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons.
This week, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Redskins
offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan are both being reviewed by the league for
their actions toward replacement refs. I’m sure we can expect some fines to be
handed to some coaches and players from Monday Night’s game, too. In my own
opinion, all of these fines are unwarranted.
7. Major
Injuries
Yet again, the Colts will be without Austin Collie for the
remainder of the season. After having concussion issues the past few seasons,
this year it is Collie’s knee that will keep him out for the final 14 weeks of
the season.
Darrelle Revis tore his left ACL and will also be gone for
the rest of the season, leaving the Jets playoff hopes all but shattered.
Darrius Heyward-Bey took a vicious hit in the end zone on
Sunday. He was unconscious before he hit the ground but gave a thumbs-up to the
crowd as he was carted off the field. He was released from the hospital on
Monday. He sustained a concussion and a strained neck.
Fantasy standout running backs Reggie Bush and C.J. Spiller
both went down with injuries this week. There was no structural damage to
Bush’s knee, but the team has not definitively said how much time he may miss.
Spiller’s injury may be more severe. It was a shoulder
injury, but the severity isn’t so much with the injury itself, which the Bills
have said may not keep him out for too much time. The severity is with Fred
Jackson scheduled to be back from his injury in the next week or two. With his
injury, Spiller stepped into the starting role and had many people thinking he
would keep it even when Jackson returned. Now, the future isn’t nearly so clear
for C.J. Spiller.
6. Fantasy
Disappointments
Saints RB Darren Sproles had only 6 fantasy points in my PPR
league.
Packers WR Jordy Nelson had only 2 fantasy points.
Patritos TE Rob Gronkowski laid a rare egg, scoring only 3
points despite Aaron Hernandez not being an option for Brady.
This one isn’t so much a disappointment because he played
poorly, but because he wasn’t rewarded for how well he played. Eli Manning
played a brilliant game against the Panthers, but only scored 16 fantasy
points.
5. Fantasy Surprises
Ravens WR Torrey Smith scored 27 fantasy points, playing
hours after learning of his younger brother’s death in a motorcycle accident.
Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles scored 39 fantasy points! He
said he finally felt like himself again after suffering a season-ending injury
last year. He looked like himself, too.
Texans QB Matt Schaub scored 33 fantasy points.
Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew scored 27 points as he finally
hit his stride after his holdout.
Giants K Laurence Tynes scored 20 points, quite a high sum
for a kicker.
4. Games to Watch
Like last week, I’ll be more specific on why these are the biggest games to watch
in my predictions post tomorrow.
- San Francisco 49ers at New York Jets (Sunday, 1:00 p.m.)
- Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions (Sunday, 1:00 p.m.)
- Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans (Sunday, 1:00 p.m.)
- Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sunday, 4:25 p.m.)
- New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers (Sunday, 4:25 p.m.)
- New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday, 8:20 p.m.)
3. Power Rankings
For the sake of space, I will list just the top 6 and the
bottom 6 here. You can see the rest on NFL.com.
1. Houston Texans
|
27. Indianapolis Colts
|
2. San Francisco 49ers
|
28. Miami Dolphins
|
3. Atlanta Falcons
|
29. Oakland Raiders
|
4. Green Bay Packers
|
30. Washington Redskins
|
5. Baltimore Ravens
|
31. New Orleans Saints
|
6. New York Giants
|
32. Cleveland Browns
|
The Vikings made the biggest jump, ten spots from 26th to 16th.
The Cardinals jumped eight spots from 15th to 7th. The
biggest fall goes to the Redskins and the Saints, who each dropped eight spots
from into the bottom six. The Steelers dropped seven spots from 7th
to 14th.
2. Arizona Cardinals
When John Skelton was announced the starter over Kevin Kolb
and then went down with an injury in Week 1 against the Seahawks, I’m sure most
people felt that any chance of winning games was gone for Arizona. Three weeks
later, they’re sitting at 3-0, one of just three teams with that mark this
season. Kolb has stepped in and, though he has not played like a phenomenal
quarterback, he has not been a liability to his team.
“Not a liability” isn’t much of a vote of confidence, but
when you have a defense like the Cardinals have put on display the last three
weeks, not a liability is all you really need from your quarterback. Anything
more is gravy.
The Cardinals backed up their comeback victory against the
Seahawks with a win against the Patriots (granted, they needed a missed field
goal as time expired to get that win) and a decisive victory against the
Eagles.
I am not yet buying into this team completely, but with the
49ers a strong team, and the Seahawks with possibly the best defense in the
National Football League, the Cardinals make the case for the NFC West being
the best football division.
1. Houston Texans
After a rough loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the San
Francisco 49ers have fallen from the top spot in the NFL.com power poll for the
first time this season. I was a little surprised that the voters weren’t more
split between the Texans and Falcons, but the Texans were the unanimous #1
team. Matt Schaub is back from last season’s injury, and he had a huge game
against Denver.
Arian Foster is a fantastic running back, Andre Johnson had
a great game and appears to have regained his position as a top-5 NFL wide
receiver, and the defense has picked up right where it left off last year.
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