THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS

From the land of red meat and football, Birmingham, Alabama, another exciting NFL weekend took place. The Oakland Raiders started in first place for the first time since 2002, when they went to the Superbowl. In addition to their showdown with the Chargers, a pair of 5-0 teams slugged it out. As always, it was an fantastic day for those who love the gridiron.

I will be the first to admit that college football does not inspire the same passion in me as the NFL or republican Jewish brunettes, but being in an Alabama household turned me into a fan for one day. One member of the household was attending the University of Alabama. Another member of the household used to attend Ole Miss. For those who do not know, an atheist in Alabama is somebody who does not believe in Bear Bryant. In a controversial ending, Alabama defeated Ole Miss 27-24. Another member of the household was attending Auburn, and in a defensive bonelock, Auburn defeated Arkansas 9-7. In an ariel show that went into triple overtime, Kentucky shocked # 1 Louisiana State University 43-37. Lastly, the USC Trojans barely survived Arizona 20-13. Other college football games were played, but then again, this column does not care. Apparently some baseball game went into about 20,000 innings. Each team had a couple field goals until one team scored a touchdown and an extra point to win it. That was even less significant. Now, for life, aka the NFL Recap.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs–This was a battle of two inconsistent teams, with the Bengals being overrated and the Chiefs perhaps being underrated despite some miserable offensive performances. The teams combined for 727 yards and 5 turnovers, 3 by the Bengals. Damon Huard had 2 touchdown passes and no interceptions, and Larry Johnson ran for a tough 119 yards on 31 carries. KC held the ball for over 35 minutes. Tony Gonzalez had 9 receptions for 102 yards. For the Bengals, TJ Houshmanzadeh had 8 receptions for 145 yards and 2 touchdowns, with Chad Johnson adding 8 receptions for 83 yards. Yet Carson Palmer had 2 interceptions in addition to his 2 touchdown passes, and the Chiefs withstood a late rally to prevail and get their record to 3-3. 27-20 Chiefs.

Miami Dolphins @ Cleveland Browns–These teams combined for 740 yards of offense. Apparently Dorothy is no longer in Kansas, and Joey Porter is no longer in Pittsburgh. Derek Anderson had 3 touchdown passes and no interceptions. The Dolphins quarterback had two of each. Ronnie Brown had 101 yards on 19 carries, but the Dolphin defense, injuries notwithstanding, remains a sieve. True, the Browns offense was not as impressive as when they scored 51 points a few weeks back. However, their defense gave up less than 45 as well. Trent Green may never play football again, and the Dolphins themselves are on life support, remaining winless. 41-31 Browns

Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears–This was not NFC Norris black and blue football. Adrian Peterson ran for 224 yards for the Vikings, including two long touchdown runs. Devon Hester remains the greatest show on Earth in Chicago now that Michael Jordan retired from the NBA. Hester ran another…yes another..punt back for a touchdown, this one for 89 yards. Down 31-24 late in the game, Brian Griese through an 81 yard touchdown bomb to…you guess it…Hester. However, The Vikings had just enough time in a game that did not have much defense. A 55 yard field goal by Ryan Longwell at the gun provided the difference. 34-31 Vikings

Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Jets–Each team had 3 field goals, with David Akers going 3 for 5 and the Jets kicker going 3 for 4. The Jets had zero penalties, and the Eagles only had 2 for 14 yards. Yet the Eagles did have one touchdown, which was the difference. With 3 minutes left, the Jets had 4th and 1 at the Eagle 14, and a pass fell incomplete. 16-9 Eagles

Tennessee Titans @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers–As expected, this was a defensive slugfest. Tampa Bay broke a 3-3 tie with a long touchdown pass, and Monte Kiffin’s Tampa defense harrassed Kerry Collins all game. Yet Collins, subbing for an injured Vince Young, still throws a gorgeous long ball. An 86 yard drive late in the game tied the game 10-10 with just over a minute remaining. However, Jeff Garcia had a critical scramble for a completion on 3rd and long to keep the final drive alive. The winning field goal with 11 seconds left ended a typical “Buc Ball” game. 13-10 Buccaneers

St. Louis Rams @ Baltimore Ravens–Gus Frerotte threw 5 interceptions, and the Ravens defense had a typical game we have come to expect of them in the last few years. The Rams remain winless. The Ravens offense continues to consist of field goals, in thsi case five of them. It was ugly, but good enough. 22-3 Ravens

Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars–This game had over 800 yards of offense, but 6 turnovers, 3 by each team. The difference in this game was the Jacksonville running game. Maurice Jones-Drew had 125 yards on the ground, and longtime stalwart Fred Taylor added 90 more. David Garrard had three touchdown passes. Houston scored late, but the game was a blowout nonetheless. 37-17 Jaguars

Washington Redskins @ Green Bay Packers–While Brett Favre did not have his best day statistically, he did manmage to break George Blanda’s all time interception record. Nevertheless, the Green Bay defense had a strong day. Down 14-10, Charles Woodsen returned a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown, which was the difference in the game. 17-14 Packers

Carolina Panthers @ Arizona Cardinals–This game actually had some interesting subplots. Both starting quarterbacks, Jake Delhomme and Matt Leinart, are out for the season. Carolina’s backup quarterback also got hurt, meaning Vinnie Testaverde, the ageless one, would be starting this week. He just joined the team, and was thrown into action. In the first quarter, Kurt Warner was hurt, which meant the Cardinals had to go with Tim Rattay. So both teams had 3rd string quarterbacks, but the mistakes were made only by one side. Rattay threw 3 interceptions, and Arizona had 5 turnovers overall. Testaverde was efficient, and made no mistakes. Steve Smith had 136 yards receiving, including a 65 yard touchdown, and running back Williams had a 75 yard run for a touchdown, with 121 yards overall. 25-10 Panthers

New England Patriots @ Dallas Cowboys–Yes both teams were unbeaten, but this was billed as the contenders versus the pretenders. The game went as expected. Tom Brady exploded for 5 touchdown passes and 388 yards passing. Dallas did lead 24-21 in the 3rd quarter, but New England simply has too much firepower. With the Patriots leading 31-24, a pass over the middle followed by a couple mistackles became the touchdown that salted away the game. Dallas has a decent offense, but their defense is suspect. As for New England, an AFC title game showdown preview with their archnemesis in Indy is only a few weeks away. 48-27 Patriots

Oakland Raiders @ San Diego Chargers–The Oakland Raiders had 2 weeks to prepare for the San Diego Chargers, but their one week reign at the top of the AFC West came to an end. Reality set in quickly, and The Chargers simply overmatched them. Ladanian Tomlinson had 198 yards rushing and four touchdowns. The Raiders had 3 turnovers, including 2 interceptions thrown by Daunte Culpepper. San Diego outgained Oakland 362 to 246. Lamont Jordan was stuffed throughout the day, gaining only 42 yards on 18 carries. The Raiders fell behind 14-0 early, and never totally recovered. San Diego was only up 21-14 late in the game, but with 3 minutes to go, Tomlinson broke through for his longest run of the day, a 41 yard burst up the middle. It was his last touchdown, and it iced the game. 28-14 Chargers

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New Orleans Saints @ Seattle Seahawks was the Sunday night game. The teams combined for almost 800 yards of offense, and Matt Hasselbeck was 26 of 43 for 362 yards, 2 touchdowns and one interception. Seattle had only 3 penalties for 11 yards. Yet what is left off of the stat sheet is that the previously winless Saints, on the road, went into Seattle and beat the tar out of them. It was as unexplainable as it was thoroughly dominant. Hasselbeck was sacked 5 times, Shaun Alexander had 35 yards rushing on 14 carries, and Drew Brees and Reggie Bush had solid performances. The Saints led 28-10 in the fourth quarter before being given severl chances to make the score closer. They did get a touchdown with several minutes remaining, and their next drive went into field goal range before Hasselbeck threw an interception. With about 90 seconds left, Seattle had made it back to the Saints 14 yard line, where on 4th down, needing two scores, Seattle inexplicably passed up the chip shot field goal. They failed to convert, and the Saints ran out the clock, to preserve their first win. 28-17 Seahawks

New York Giants @ Atlanta Falcons was the Monday night game. I am not sure if the Giants are anywhere near as good as there record, but the Falcons really are that bad. The Falcons did have a 10-7 lead briefly in this game, but overall the team is a mess. Yes, one player can make a difference, and the best hope for the Falcons is Michael Vick getting time off for good behavior. 31-10 Giants

As for the football team I am on, I took the week off for business. I expect to play wel next week, but then again, I expect a lot of things.

eric

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 14th, 2007 at 4:58 pm and is filed under SPORTS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.