posted November 2, 2009 at 14:48 EST in NFL Articles
NFL Sunday Recap - A Week 8 to Remember
NFL Sunday Recap: Favre is Still the Man at Lambeau and Young Helps Tennessee Get Their First Victory
What appeared at first to be a somewhat ho-hum NFL Sunday, actually turned once again into a day to remember. Indy versus San Francisco? Zzzz. Dallas taking on Seattle? Boring. The Minnesota Favres vs. the Green Bay Packers? Okay…that one was interesting before the season started.
So, how did Brett Favre do in his return to Lambeau as the unquestioned leader of Green Bay’s hated rivals, the Minnesota Vikings? Just fine, thank you. The Cheese Heads may not have believed that Favre’s magic would return but Lambeau itself never thought Favre had left. How else to explain a magical 17 out of 28 performance for 244 yards and 4, count them, 4 touchdown passes?
There wasn’t a hint of emotional distress from the grizzled Favre as he marched his troops up and down Lambeau’s sunny field and into the end zone. The only difference in this game than in Favre’s past Lambeau dominations was the fact that he wore purple and gold. The boo birds were out in force, of course, cheesy hateful cries streaming from their mouths, but Favre wasn’t fazed at all. By the end of the second quarter, it was 24 to 3, Minnesota.
Green Bay made a run in the second half when putting up 23 points, but the Packers’ D just couldn’t hold down Favre and the Vikings. Adrian Peterson threw in a nice 97 yards on the ground and 1 touchdown for good measure. The Vikings just dominated all day to a 38 to 26 victory over the Packers. In winning by such a large margin, the Vikes squashed the football odds in the NFL sportsbook as they were 3 ½ point underdogs at Lambeau.
Hmm…Fisher Puts in Young and, Wham! Victory
A lot of NFL fans, not just Tennessee fans, but NFL fans were crying for Tennessee Coach Jeff Fisher to install Vince Young as the team’s starting quarterback. Enough was enough with the lackluster offense that Tennessee had been putting onto the field.
Well, Fisher did just that this past Sunday and look what happened? A win. The lone, solitary, single win so far for one of the best teams in 2008. How did it happen?
I like to call it the scare and move tactic. Sun Tzu, the author of the Art of War, would have said that the Titans simply kept the enemy guessing. Who’s going to run the ball now: Vince? LenDale White? Chris Johnson?
With Young back there, Tennessee’s offense becomes incredibly adept at keeping defenses on their heels. If they play against Young, the fastest man in the NFL, sometimes I believe he’s the fastest on the planet, Chris Johnson, runs all over you. But, you know, Mr. D Coordinator, that if you let Vince do his thing, he will do his thing.
The Jags decided to keep Vince in check, and they did by holding him to 30 yards on the ground in 13 attempts, but Johnson ran wild for 228 yards and 2 touchdowns. Not only that but Vince played the most mature game of his career by going 15 out of 18 for 125 yards and a TD.
The Titans won the game 30 to 13 and easily covered the 3 point spread in the NFL sports book.
Sorry Cowboy Haters, Romo is a Really, Really Good QB
Tony Romo is a good quarterback. A lesser quarterback, a lesser man, would have taken the criticism fed to him and turned it inward, becoming a Tim Couch, Jeff George type. NFL fans didn’t hear a peep from Romo when things were bad earlier this season.
Instead, he’s produced three Drew Brees like games in a row. Romo’s thrown 8 touchdowns with no interceptions and close to one-thousand yards in his last three games. Romo’s QB rating in those last three games has been 113.7, 141.6 and 108.1.
The Cowboys are now tied with the Philadelphia Eagles atop the NFC East. After the ‘Boys dismantled Seattle 38 to 17 on Sunday, covering a 10 point spread while doing it, there’s no doubt that Dallas is one of the better squads in the NFC and have a legitimate shot to win the NFC East this season.
Philly Pounds the G-Men
The New York Giants must have been confused on Sunday when facing the Philadelphia Eagles. In what is usually a tight college like rivalry game, the Giants were blitzed for 40 points and only put up 17 of their own.
There’s something wrong in New York, for both teams that play in the Meadowlands. At least the Jets have a rookie quarterback to blame. The Giants? There’s no excuse for 4 turnovers, two Eli Manning picks and 2 fumbles, and allowing rookie LeSean McCoy to turn for a 60+ touchdown in the second half.
The G-Men’s D also allowed Donovan McNabb to throw for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns. The nfl betting line on this game was a single point. 40 to 17? Something smells in G-Town right now and it’s the quickly disintegrating Giants who have lost three games in a row.
Other Games
Denver suffered their first loss of the season to the Baltimore Ravens 30 to 7. Denver was 4 ½ point underdogs and played like 20 ½ point underdogs in the loss. Don’t fret Denver fans. The Ravens were due for a break-out game after losing their last three before Sunday. The Broncos will be back.
Both Indianapolis and San Diego held on for straight-up victories as big favorites. Both lost ATS as Indianapolis was a 10 point favorite to beat San Francisco but won by only 18 to 14. Hey, S.F. is a better team with Alex Smith.
The Chargers beat Oakland 24 to 16 as 16 point favorites. Another loss ATS for the Chargers. That shouldn’t surprise any NFL betting fans.
Miami outlasted the New York Jets 30 to 25 as 3 ½ point underdogs on the road. The Carolina Panthers upset the Arizona Cardinals 34 to 21 as 10 point underdogs on the road.
Now, it’s time to turn our attention to Week 9 in the NFL!
