Tuesday Morning Football

After a week off due to a frustratingly busy workload, and not enough time to sit and write, I'm back with the weekly roundup of the NFL's top performers.

In London, the Atlanta Falcons raced to an unexpected 21-0 lead before the Detroit Lions launched an unexpected 22-point comeback to win the game in the dying seconds. There were a number of noteworthy results from around the league, as the struggling Saints beat the Packers on Sunday night, the Steelers put 50 points on the heavily-favoured Colts and the Bengals got back to winning ways following a frantic fourth quarter with the Ravens that saw the lead change three times in the final six minutes (before a penalty overturned a last-gasp 89-yard Steve Smith touchdown).

Ben Roethlisberger

Not much more needs to be said other than Big Ben became the first player in NFL history to post two games with over 500 yards passing. Only 15 quarterbacks have one game of over 500 yards passing to their name, including Norm Van Brocklin's record of 554 yards, set against the New York Yanks in 1951. Roethlisberger finished with 522 yards (and six touchdowns), and at one point early in the third quarter was on pace to break 600. No one is doubting Ben as a singular talent but that offense has struggled in recent weeks, and it is staggering that this feat was accomplished against a Colts team with a respectable defensive unit.

Arian Foster

The first of three players on this list to score three touchdowns, Foster was again the focal point of a Texans offense that dominated the Tennessee Titans. He continued his comeback from injury, and one of the best seasons of his career, with 151 yards off 20 carries and two touchdowns. Foster added 22 yards receiving and a touchdown to complete his hat-trick.

Emmanuel Sanders

Another three-touchdown performance came from the Broncos' latest receiving threat. Sanders arrived from Pittsburgh via free agency prior to this season and has emerged as Peyton Manning's new favourite weapon. He highlights how dangerous the unit can be because, should defences shut down Demariyus and Julius Thomas, Manning will find new and explosive ways to beat you. The San Diego Chargers found this out the hard way when Sanders torched them for 120 yards and three touchdowns off only nine receptions.

Rob Gronkowski

Recurring injuries and a slow start to the season had many people wondering whether we had already seen Rob Gronkowski at his peak. Some suspected he would never regain his formidable 2011 form, in which he accumulated 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns. The man they call Gronk bounced back in a big way on Sunday when he caught 149 yards and three touchdowns against the Chicago Bears, in a performance that wouldn't have been out of place in his dominant first three seasons in the league.

Big Blue Review: Giants @ Cowboys

The Giants entered week seven on the back of a 27-0 humbling at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles and responded with a shrug and a whimper rather than a necessary emphatic performance at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.

The Giants walked into Philadelphia aware that, if they pulled off wins in their next two weeks, they would enter the bye week 5-2, with three wins over division rivals and a firm hold of the NFC East. Dallas and Philadelphia have looked good this season, but close wins over poor teams have led some to question how strong they really are.

But both Dallas and Philadelphia are too good for New York, and Sunday was a reminder to all that the Giants are not yet contenders. The Giants had hoped that the script would be that of the plucky underdogs bloodying the nose of the playground bullies, but it played out more like a horror movie.

If the Philadelphia game was a crushing capitulation, it was a case of 'good, but not good enough' against the Dallas Cowboys. The Giants had pressured Tony Romo (Jason Pierre-Paul had a phenomenal game, besting Tyron Smith for two sacks, six tackles and three hits/hurries), kept DeMarco Murray and Dez Bryant in check, showed some offensive prowess of their own and went into half time tied 14-14.

One thing that had categorically not worked in the first half was the run game. The offensive line simply could not run block, and yet Tom Coughlin and Ben McAdoo religiously stuck with rushing on first down, even when Eli Manning had the time necessary to pass all over the Cowboys' defence. I understand that you cannot simply abandon the run altogether, but I'd have expected to see the ratio of pass plays to run players edge in favour of the former while chasing the game. It led to a lot of 3rd-and-long situations, and quick passes could have both neutralised the Cowboys blitzing defence and put the ball into the hands of the Giants' most dangerous playmaker - Odell Beckham, Jr.

Coaching can also be called into question when discussing the Giants' discipline. If Tom Coughlin's time in New York can be given a storyline, it is that of a harsh disciplinarian who tapped into his softer side, won the locker room over, and led the team to victory in Super Bowl XLII. Despite this, he has always preached mental toughness and maturity, so it is surprising to find the Giants so plagued by indiscipline. Larry Donnell fumbled twice on Sunday (one of which sealed the Giants' fate), and the offensive line had another night to forget, with Will Beatty responsible for two drive-killing penalties.

These issues are all, fortunately, correctable. What isn't, however, are injuries. The Giants have thus far lost David Wilson, Jerrel Jernigan, Victor Cruz, Trumaine McBride and Walter Thurmond III to season (or in Wilsons' case, career) ending injuries. On top of that Geoff Schwartz will be out of action until at least week nine, and Rashad Jennings, Jon Beason and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are all hugely limited by injuries of their own. The Giants are a middle-of-the-road team, and now they are a middle-of-the-road team with an increasingly depleted roster. It's not a good position for any team to be in.

Tom Coughlin's men could pull off an upset at home later in the season, but for now Big Blue are 3-4, and have a number of major issues that need to be corrected before Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts roll into MetLife stadium in week nine.

Put simply, the Giants are what everyone expected. The three-game win streak raised expectations - and power ranking positions - through the roof, but ultimately the giants are a team still very much in the process of rebuilding. The pieces are there to be successful, and 3-4 is a better record than the 1-6 record they had in 2013, but the 2014 Giants are an incomplete team that will feast on weak teams and come undone against the tougher teams on their schedule.

NFL Tuesday Morning Football - Top Performers from Week Six

In this shortened, slightly late, post - due to overbearing work-induced time constraints - I will be taking a look at three of the top performers from the NFL this week.

Another topsy-turvy week in the NFL saw the Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers join forces to post the highest-scoring tie (37-37) in NFL history, the Cowboys beat the Seahawks in Seattle to stake their claim as (probably) legitimate Super Bowl contenders, and the Green Bay Packers stole a win from the Miami Dolphins with a last-second fake spike touchdown from Aaron Rodgers.

Colin Kapernick, LeSean McCoy, Giovani Bernard, Tom Brady,  Andrew Luck and Alshon Jefferey were among those who put up stellar numbers this week, but here are three players I felt worthy of a place in my weekly roundup.


Joe Flacco

Joe Flacco threw five touchdown passes on Sunday. This would be a huge deal in its own right, but what makes it more impressive is that he managed to do it all in the first half. He nearly did it in one quarter, with his final touchdown - a 56 yard pass to Steve Smith Sr. - coming less than one minute into the second quarter. It took the Ravens' quarterback just 16 minutes and three seconds to throw five touchdowns (now the NFL record for the Fastest Time to Five Touchdowns), and had Flacco continued as this pace he would have thrown 18 touchdowns. Yes, it was against the impossibly bad Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it is an impressive feat nonetheless.

Matt Forte

Kiss goodbye to Matt Forte, running back, and say "hello" to Matt Forte, offensive weapon. He has not been named as such for no reason, and that reason is not "because it sounds cooler". Forte can be considered an offensive weapon - initially created by the Jacksonville Jaguars for former Michigan quarterback Dennard Robinson - because he has emerged into the type of player that causes defensive coordinators nightmares. Forte has flourished under second-year head coach Marc Trestman, and now has a league-high 46 catches in six games. He is the only running back to feature in the top 20 in receptions and top 50 for receiving yards, and he has four games with 100 combined yards from scrimmage this season. Sunday's win over Atlanta was no different, with Forte posting 80 yards - and two touchdowns - on the ground and 77 yards in the air.

T.Y. Hilton

T.Y. Hilton had a quiet week six, leading the NFL in receiving with nine receptions for a staggering 223 yards and an average of 24.8 yards per cach. He also caught one of Andrew Luck's three touchdown passes in the Indianapolis Colts' 33-28 win over the division rival Houston Texans. Hilton emerged in the absence of Reggie Wayne last season, and has remained the Colts' most prolific playmaker despite Wayne's return and the addition of former New York Giant Hakeem Nicks. He leads the Colts with 40 receptions for 604 yards and eight plays of at least 20 yards, a stat for which he is ranked fourth in the league.

Honourable mention: Dan Bailey

Dallas Cowboys' kicker - and die-hard Aston Villa fan - Dan Bailey became the most accurate kicker in NFL history on Sunday, surpassing Mike Vanderjagt's (remember him?) record of 86.47% with a 91.07% field goal accuracy percentage. Vanderjagt's record was always doomed to fall though, because the standard of kicking in the league right now is so much higher than anything that has come before. The top 38 most accurate kickers in history have been active in the last ten years, and twenty three of them are on NFL rosters as we speak. Given how long NFL kickers' careers tend to last, 26 year-old Bailey has plenty of time to distance himself from the rest of the placekicking crowd.

NFL Tuesday Morning Football - Top Performers from Week Five

The NFL might not have been as wild as College Football was this weekend (in which five of the top eight, and eleven of the top 25, ranked teams in the country lost), but it was typically filled with big results, unpredictable moments and impressive individual performances. Let's take a look at five of the best:

*Honorable mentions* Russell Wilson for posting 201 yards passing, 122 yards rushing and three touchdowns against the Washington Redskins. Percy Harvin, who would have made the list, had any of his three touchdowns stood. A 16 yard rush, and receptions of 26 and 41 yards were all nullified by referee Jeff Triplette.

Tom Brady

It appears the reports of Tom Brady's demise were greatly exaggerated. Any problems the Patriots seemed to suffer from over the first four weeks were temporarily erased as they marched to a dominant win against the previously undefeated Cincinnati Bengals. The entire team looked to have regained their best form, notably Rob Gronkowski and Darrelle Revis, but Brady put forth a near-flawless performance, going 23-of-35 for 292 yards (his highest of the season) and two touchdowns. His 292 yards were enough to break the 50,000 career passing yards mark.

Brian Hoyer

Brady's former understudy has, following a brief and unfruitful period in Arizona, gone on to carve out a solid career as a starter in Cleveland. Despite their drafting of Johnny Manziel in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, the Browns have put their faith in Brian Hoyer and been rewarded. On Sunday he put 26 unanswered points on the board to seal the largest road comeback in NFL history, and the biggest in Browns' history. When it was all said and done, Hoyer had completed 37 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns.

Arian Foster

I was tempted to put yet another DeMarco Murray performance (31 carries, 136 yards) here but instead opted for his Texans' counterpart. Arian Foster returned from injury and shone in a losing overtime effort against the Dallas Cowboys, gaining 157 rushing yards on 23 carries, with 15 additional yards receiving. He scored two touchdowns, including the game-tying score with less than one minute left in regulation, but unfortunately fumbled on a third-and-two play in overtime that allowed Dallas to score the winning field goal. It was Foster's twentieth game of at least 150 yards from scrimmage.

Branden Oliver

Everyone knows the name Branden Oliver now, but you'd be forgiven for not knowing prior to the San Diego Chargers' 31-0 win over the New York Jets. The Chargers are without Ryan Mathews, lost Danny Woodhead for the year shortly after and saw their running back unit depleted further when Donald Brown suffered a concussion in the first quarter. The undrafted rookie out of Buffalo was the next man up, and exploded for 144 rushing yards, a further 68 receiving yards and two touchdowns against a Jets defence ranked as one of the best in the league,

C.J. Mosley

I may have written about Kyle Fuller a few weeks ago, but we have found our frontrunner for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. C.J. Mosley was a coveted prospect coming out of Alabama and he lived up to the hype in the Baltimore Ravens' 20-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, piling up 14 tackles, a spectacular goal line interception and a hit on Andrew Luck that forced a rare pick for Haloti Ngata. He doesn't have the highlight-reel moments that Fuller, Anthony Barr or Khalil Mack might have, but Mosley has been a force in the middle of the Ravens' defence and has 49 total tackles through five games.

Big Blue Review: New York Giants v Atlanta Falcons

With a 30-20 win over the Atlanta Falcons, the New York Giants advanced to 3-2 and a +.500 record for the first time since the end of the 2012 season - officially making all that talk of Eli being benched and Coughlin being fired a thing of the past.

The Falcons' visit to Metlife Stadium really was a game of two halves. The first half saw the Atlanta Falcons' first-ranked offense move the ball with relative ease. The Falcons' were suffering from a depleted offensive line void of key starters in Joe Hawley, Lamar Holmes, Justin Blalock and Sam Baker, but the makeshift unit still managed to frustrate the Giants' defensive line - a performance that was underscored by a clinical ten-yard touchdown run by Steven Jackson in the first quarter. Julio Jones bested Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for eight catches and 88 yards, and Matt Ryan finished the first half going 17-of-27 for 166 yards, without being sacked once.

Giants' fans would have been concerned by the re-emergence of the self-defeating New York Giants in the first half. In a bizarre sequence of events, Quentin Demps picked off Matt Ryan on third down before fumbling the ball on the return, and a Prince Amukamara penalty gave the Falcons great field position and a first down. The defence forced a punt before a roughing the punter penalty on Jason Pierre-Paul gave the Falcons yet another first down. The defence were competitively quiet in the first half, but still managed to hold the Falcons to just one touchdown.

The Giants' emerged after half time trailing 13-10, and did so a team transformed. The Giants' class of 2014 made a huge impact, with 2014 Heisman Trophy finalist, and fourth round draft pick, Andre Williams rushing for a touchdown after Rashad Jennings went down injured. Williams ran hard all afternoon, and ran over Falcons defenders on many of his carries. Odell Beckham, Jr. finally made his Giants' debut after a preseason of injury and almost no practices. He was moved all over the offense, and early in the second half showed exactly how dangerous he can be when he got open with ease on consecutive plays. Only an overthrown pass by Eli Manning - who was otherwise consistently calm and composed - and a defensive penalty prevented them from being touchdowns. Beckham Jr. finally found the endzone in the fourth quarter with a 15 yard pass from Manning.

The defence raised their game as well, with the Falcons' offensive line finally overwhelmed by their defensive counterparts. Jason Pierre-Paul was phenomenally disruptive - repeatedly hurrying Ryan and causing penalties. Robert Ayers and Jonathan Hankins continued their good form, with the latter effectively sealing the win with a sack on fourth down late in the game. As a unit they hit Matt Ryan eight times. The Giants' were exposed at linebacker, however, with the group seemingly unable to cope with screens or short routes by running backs out of the backfield - a deficiency disguised by the dominance of the line and secondary.

The Falcons may have also been 2-2, but this win legitimises the Giants. It proves that their offence works against a tough defence, it proves they can win in the fourth quarter (they trailed 21-10 with 21 minutes left), and it proves that the defence can keep up with the best in the league. It also validates - for now - the selection of Odell Beckham Jr. in the first round. Even though their opponents have a combined twelve wins (at the time of writing) compared to the Cowboys (nine wins) and Eagles (seven wins), the Giants are still being viewed as the runts of the litter in the NFC East. This win should have changed that perception for the time being.

What We've Learned About The NFL Through Four Weeks

The Patriots are in trouble

Let's clear some things up: the Brady-Bellichick 'era' is not over. There is no 'quarterback controversy' brewing. Jimmy Garoppolo will not start against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

As bad as the Monday Night Football loss to Kansas City was, it doesn't change anything in New England. It does, however, confirm the Patriots' status as a team in trouble. Through four weeks the Pats have lost a divisional game against the Miami Dolphins, scraped past the lowly Oakland Raiders and been dismantled 41-14 by the Kansas City Chiefs. That they beat the Minnesota Vikings by a sizeable scoreline does not disguise the fact that they are suffering from an atypically anaemic offence.
Only a few weeks ago, Tom Brady said: "when I suck, I'll retire". I don't see him retiring any time soon, but Brady, for the first time in his career, sucks right now. Brady has looked like a shell of his 2002-2013 self, and the offensive line, now without Logan Mankins, have not helped him out. The Patriots are 23rd in rushing offense, and a mind-boggling 30th in passing.
Brady has talent around him, but he does not have the time to work his magic and bring them into the game. Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins are talented, but redundant because Brady is jumpy about getting rid of the ball before getting laid out.

The defence, too, were horrible against Kansas City, but they will still be able to keep the Pats competitive this season. Unfortunately, I don't think that will be enough to make the playoffs. Of course, they looked bad through four games in 2013 and still ended up in the AFC Championship game, so there's still hope for Pats fans.

The Cowboys are not a guaranteed playoff team...

It was hard not to be impressed by the Cowboy's dominant win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Their offensive line looked unstoppable as DeMarco Murray ran riot over the Saints' struggling defence, and Tony Romo went 22-of-29 for 262 yards and three touchdowns.

No one is taking that win off them, but, as should always be the case with the Dallas Cowboys (but rarely is), expectations must be tempered. They beat a Saints team that had allowed Matt Ryan to break the Falcons' single-game passing record and then lost to the Cleveland Browns the week after. The Cowboys laid an egg against the San Francisco 49ers and followed that up with unimpressive performances against St. Louis and the Tennessee Titans. The win does not magically erase the Cowboys' inability to get into the postseason over the past few years, and - although they played exceptionally well against New Orleans - it doesn't hide the fact that their defence is still porous. They are allowing nearly 380 yards per game, and in a division that features high-powered offenses courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants, that could be disastrous.

Four games is too early to anoint them NFC East champions, but it is also too early to completely rule them out. Get back to me in week eight and, if the Cowboys have strung together some performances of the calibre of that Saints win, then we can start seriously discussing them as contenders.

But the Cincinnati Bengals are...

In much the same way that it is too early to rule out the Dallas Cowboys from making the playoffs, it is also too early to really lock anyone in for a playoff berth. However, if you had to bet on one team playing football in January, the Bengals would have to be it.

As so many pundits, journalists and analysts are so fond of saying, the Cincinnati Bengals are "the most complete team in football". They currently sit - after a bye week - seventh in total offense and 11th in total defence, with convincing wins against division rivals the Baltimore Ravens, the Atlanta Falcons and the Tennessee Titans under their belt.

Andy Dalton is hardly setting the league on fire, but he is playing smart, mistake-free football in a scheme that allows him to maximise the considerable talents of players like A.J. Green, Giovanni Bernard and Mohamed Sanu. On the other side of the ball, the Bengals boast a deep and stingy defence that leads the league in one of - if not the - most important statistical categories: scoring defence. Through three games, the Bengals are officially the best at keeping opposing offenses out of scoring positions, and have a league-leading +15.7 point margin that should only increase when they face the floundering Patriots offence this Sunday.

J.J. Watt is the NFL MVP

I am one of those people who, almost every season, hopes and prays for a defensive MVP. The last overall MVP to ply his trade as a defensive player was Lawrence Taylor in 1986. Taylor is widely - and rightfully - hailed as the greatest defensive player of all time and revolutionised the concept of pass-rushing outside linebackers, who had previously played the game in a reactionary capacity. 'LT' dominated opponents during his revolutionary career with the New York Giants, and his uncanny speed and strength meant offences had to game plan around this one man. Defences often did - and still do - this for offensive players, but rarely the other way round.

Fast-forward to 2014 and J.J. Watt is dominating opposing offensive lines in a manner reminiscent of Taylor. When Jadaveon Clowney was drafted by the Texans with the first pick in the 2014 NFL draft, many expected Watt to benefit from the extra attention his new team-mate would bring; Clowney has been inactive for the better part of four weeks due to injury, and in that time Watt has been nothing short of dominant. He currently has 16 quarterback hits, more than 15 teams have, and in week four alone Watt had more hits (nine) than any other team had. His total means that the Texans have a league-leading 34 hits, and his 31 pressures would have seen him finish inside the top 20 at his position for the entirety of last season.

Oh, and he also caught a touchdown while lined up at tight end against the Oakland Raiders, and returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills.

Andrew Luck and Philip Rivers are great at passing for touchdowns and yardage through the air, but they are simply doing what they are being paid to do well, and currently Watt is doing his job better than they are doing theirs. J.J. Watt lives in a world all of his own, and he breathes the rarefied air reserved for the Best Player in the League. Should his play remain at this level for the rest of the year, you are looking at your league MVP.

NFL Tuesday Morning Football - Top Performers from Week Four

It feels strange to think/say/write it, but we are already a quarter of the way through the 2014 NFL season.

It's already been filled with drama and talking points; from domestic violence scandals and a swathe of of injuries to star players across the league, to teams with surprising records (both good and bad) and a hilarious South Park parody featuring the Washington Redskins.

For UK fans, week four will be dominated by talk of the NFL's first of three annual soujourns across the pond. The Miami Dolphins' destruction of the Oakland Raiders at Wembley was an impressive team performance, but there have been a number of phenomenal individual performances over the last three weeks, and that didn't change in week four. Let's take a look at who lit the league up this week:

Teddy Bridgewater

We'll officially declare the Matt Cassel "era" over in Minnesota. Cassel's fractured foot has put him out of action for a while, and Bridgewater's performance on Sunday may mean we never see the former Patriots quarterback in a Vikings uniform again. Bridgewater starred in one of the most impressive rookie quarterback debuts in recent years, leading the Vikings to a win over the Atlanta Falcons. Bridgewater was calm and composed all game, passing for 317 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions and a rushing touchdown.

Andrew Luck

Arguably the league's MVP at the quarter mark, Luck has - despite his team's 0-2 start - been in stellar form, and Sunday saw him bring his touchdown total for the season to 13. Against AFC South rivals the Tennessee Titans, Luck completed 29-of-41 passes, threw for 393 yards and four touchdowns. Only three NFL quarterbacks have thrown more through the first four games of a season since 1960 - Kurt Warner and Don Meredith (14) and, of course, Peyton Manning (16). With Luck and J.J. Watt, the 2014 MVP race could easily come from the AFC South.

DeMarco Murray

As someone with DeMarco Murray in his fantasy football team, I am well aware of the calibre of his performances this season. If you've been hiding under a rock, you'll not be aware that Murray has rushed for 534 yards and five touchdowns. He's also lost three fumbles but those numbers mean that Murray is on pace for 2,136 yards and the crown to Eric Dickerson's three-decade old single-season rushing title. Obviously, we're only in September, but his 149 yard, two-touchdown game against the Saints will help him on his way.

Steve Smith

Whether it's Katherine Grainger finally winning her Olympic gold medal at her fourth and final summer games, Kurt Warner resurrecting his career in Arizona and leading the franchise to their first Super Bowl, or Derek Jeter hitting a walk-off single in his final appearance at Yankee stadium, sports fans love a storyline. In the NFL, a whole load of fuss is made whenever this situation unfolds: 'X legendary player returns while playing for a new team to Y team that they spent most of their career with'. In recent years we have seen Peyton Manning face the Indianapolis Colts, Brett Favre returning to Lambeau as a Viking and - on Sunday - Steve Smith suiting up for the Baltimore Ravens against the Carolina Panthers. Smith stuck it to his former team of 13 seasons with seven catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns.

Larry Donnell

As I wrote in my review of the New York Giants' rout of the Washington Redskins on Friday, the Giants now have a force at tight end. No-one is crowning the 2011 undrafted free agent out of Grambling State the next Jimmy Graham, but by the end of the year he could be regarded as one of the league's most potent offensive threats. Through four games Donnell has 25 receptions (tied for 7th in the league and 3rd among tight ends) for 236 yards and four touchdowns. Three of those came in one game, as Donnell caught touchdown passes on three of his first five receptions on Thursday night. His huge frame gives Eli Manning a crucial presence in third down and red zone situations, something the New York Giants have missed since Martellus Bennett departed for Chicago in 2013.