NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

“It’s déjà vu all over again”. Yogi Berra

The Indianapolis Colts never cease to amaze me; although to be fair, when you have been a Colts fan for as long as I have (39 years and counting), what they seem to do on a weekly basis seems eerily commonplace. When the Colts went to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars Thursday night, I didn’t expect a high-scoring event as most weeks the Jaguars are lucky to eclipse 20 points a game.

In any case, both teams hooked up at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium and the game had the feel of a track meet, so to speak. Defense was definitely an afterthought and interestingly enough, Jacksonville held the ball for 11 minutes longer than Indianapolis. Both teams seemed to score at will (did I mention that not much defense was played?), but as has been the custom this season, Peyton Manning tossed a late touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne with 5:23 in the fourth quarter, enabling Indianapolis to remain perfect as they got past Jacksonville 35-31.

Manning was perfect in the first half, going 12-of-12 for 116 yards and had TD passes to Austin Collie and Dallas Clark; Clark made an improbable sliding catch in the end zone which put the Colts up 7-3 early in the second quarter. Collie’s 23-yard catch put Indianapolis ahead 21-17 withy 35 seconds left in the half; the Jaguars got ot within field goal range but kicker Josh Scobee came up short on a 57-yard FG attempt.

The Jaguars would take the lead at 24-21 with a 16-yard David Garrard TD pass to Mike Sims-Walker but Manning would again hook up with Clark on a 27-yard TD strike, putting the Colts ahead again 28-24; a 13-yard Garrard-to-Mike Thomas TD pass put Jacksonville up at 31-28 with 47 seconds. But Manning would lead the Colts down the field and with 5:23 left in the game, he connected with Reggie Wayne on a 65-yard bomb which put Indianapolis up for good 35-31.

Manning had good numbers, going 23-of-30 for 308 yards with 4 TD’s and an interception while Garrard went 23-of-40 for 223 yards with 3 TD’s and an INT. Joseph Addai led the Colts rushers with 16 carries for 59 yards while Maurice Jones-Drew rushed 27 times for 110 yards and a TD while catching 5 passes for 30 yards and a score. Wayne led all Colts receivers with 5 receptions for 132 yards and a TD while Clark caught 7 passes for 95 yards and 2 TD’s. Sims-Walker led the Jaguars receivers with 6 receptions for 64 yards and a score while Marcedes Lewis caught 4 passes for 53 yards.

Indianapolis (14-0) gets a long rest as they do not play again until Sunday, December 27 when they play their final game at Lucas Oil Stadium this season, hosting the New York Jets while Jacksonville (7-7) travels to Foxborough, MA to take on the New England Patriots, a week from Sunday.

Recently, we sat down with Dan from TheLandryHat.com and got his take on Saturday’s big game in the Superdome. We asked all the tough questions including what Dallas needed to do to pull off an upset. Thank you Dan for your insight.

SG: What does DeMarcus Ware mean to the Cowboys’ defense and what would not having him for Saturday’s game mean for the Cowboys?

TLH: The Cowboys defense has played well, but they do give up the big plays at the least opportune times. With that said, DeMarcus Ware’s absence from Saturday’s game against the Saints would be huge. He’s one of, if not the best linebacker in the NFL. Teams double-team him, which opens holes for other players. He’s a force and any team facing him adjusts to his talent. If he doesn’t play, likely rookie Victor Butler will get most of the plays. He’s a promising player, but he is not Ware. I don’t think Ware’s possible absence means a loss for the Cowboys, but it sure does make it a little harder when your sack leader is nursing a bad neck.

SG: The Cowboys offense has been effective at moving the ball down the field, but has had trouble finishing drives and scoring points. Why?

TLH: Well, I think it is both players not executing, and the coaches. Let’s use last week’s game as an example: 1st and Goal and the Cowboys did not score. On fourth and goal, Marion Barber was unable to get the six points. On three of the four plays, Barber got the ball. Later, coach Wade Phillips said the offensive line did not execute and that caused Barber to fail. But, I also put some of the blame on the coaches, who thought running the ball three out of the four downs was the best option when it was obvious that the San Diego Chargers were stuffing the front line.

SG: As you know, the Saints are very dangerous on offense. What are some of the things Dallas can do to slow down the Saints?

TLH: Control the clock by running the ball. The Cowboys will want to hold onto the ball as long as they can, and that means running the ball A LOT. I’d use all three backs, and use more wildcat plays than normal. I’d wear down that defense and control the ball as much as possible. That’s the only way to slow these Saints down: don’t give them the ball. If there is any team that should be able to run the ball with success, it has to be the Cowboys. They have three quality backs.

SG: The Saints defense has been hit hard by the injury bug this year, especially in the secondary. The Redskins and Falcons both scored almost at will against them. What are some of the things the Cowboys can do on offense to exploit holes in the Saints defense?

TLH: The Cowboys do not want to get into a shooting match with the Saints. Even with a second-rate secondary, the Cowboys want to be very careful with exchanging scoring drives with the Saints. I would slow it down. Run the ball early. Study how the secondary reacts to play action. It would be a big mistake for the Cowboys to come out lobbing the ball to Miles Austin or Roy Williams. Be patient and they can win.

This morning, Bengals receiver Chris Henry died after falling out of pickup truck during a dispute with his fiancee. Henry's fiancee tried to drive away, and Henry attempted to jump on the back of the pickup truck. He fell out. The injuries sustained were too much to recover from. Our thoughts and prayers are with his families.

"We knew him in a different way than his public persona," Bengals owner Mike Brown said of the player who was suspended five times during his career. "He had worked through the troubles in his life and had finally seemingly reached the point where everything was going to blossom. And he was going to have the future we all wanted for him. It's painful to us. We feel it in our hearts, and we will miss him."

Chris Henry is a story in redemption, a story in a comeback ending far too soon. Henry had been arrested five times. He has been called a "one man crime wave". He had been suspended for half a season. He had been released by the Bengals. The Bengals were the only team willing to take a chance on him. He was the poster boy for what was wrong in the NFL, his talent be damned. He was a risk. No team would touch him. No team would go near him. He was a cancer.

But, after his release, Henry changed. When the Bengals brought him back, he was determined to live up to his potential. He spent more time working out. He spent more time with his fiancee and with his kids. He was a changed man. The Bengals noticed.

"He's a great kid with a great heart," (Bengals QB Carson)Palmer said as training camp started. "He's changed his life around. He ran into some trouble, made some bad decisions, and realized that. He's sorry for them, apologized for them, and has done everything he can to make himself a better person. I'm just proud of him."

"If you only knew him by hearsay, you'd think he's some kind of ogre," Brown said during the Bengals' appearance on HBO's "Hard Knocks" series this summer. "It's not true. He's a good person. When you see him up close, you'll find that you'll like him. He'll be a soft-spoken, pleasant person."

"I kind of felt like I dug myself out of the hole and started doing the right things," Henry said in an interview with The Associated Press as training camp opened. "People say, 'How you feeling now Chris? You doing all right?' I just tell them I'm blessed. That's why I got it."

He did get it. He did understand the consequences of his poor decisions. He dug himself out of a deep hole, a hole deeper than anyone could imagine. And then, just like that, he's gone. Just like that, a comeback was ended. Just like that, another athlete died far too young.

You can talk about what the NFL can do to help troubled players. But in the end, there is no justification for this. There is no answer as to why this happened. No one can know what this domestic dispute was about. No one can know what caused Henry to jump on the back of the pickup truck. No one can know. No one can ever know. What we do know is that Henry was a changed a man. A family man. 3 kids. All under 3 years. They'll never see their father again.

Chris Henry, for all intents and purposes, is a marked man. He's the trouble maker. He's the poster boy for bad behavior. No one will remember his comeback. No one will remember his struggle for redemption. No one will remember that he turned around his life. Because, we focus on the negative parts. We focus on what someone did wrong, not what someone did right. Chris Henry won't be remembered as a family man. He won't be remembered as a hard worker, as a good teammate. He won't be remembered as someone who turned his life around. He'll be remembered as the guy who fell out of a truck, a trouble maker. That's his legacy.

It's times like these that we reach into our moral conscious. We reach deep down, to find emotions, to find understanding. In Chris Henry's case, there is no understanding. There is only confusion. There is only sadness. There are only questions: Why does the one who turns his life around die? Why doesn't the one who can't turn his life around? What did Chris Henry do wrong? We will never know the answers. And that's what frustrating.

Chris Henry was 26. He had a fiancee, 3 kids. He was an amazing talent, who, though hurt, was anxious to get back on the field. Chris Henry is dead. He won't see his fiancee again. He won't see his 3 kids. Maybe the mistakes of his past caught up to him. Maybe they never left. Whatever happened, I will remember Chris Henry as someone who changed. I will remember Chris Henry as a family man. I will remember Chris Henry as a hard worker, as a good teammate. Rest in Peace, Chris Henry. I guess heaven needed a wide receiver.

The Indianapolis Colts look to strive for 14-0 on Thursday Night. And man, what a great week for NFL Network, eh? They got two undefeated teams playing on their channel, exclusively. They got the 13-0 Indianapolis on Thursday Night, like I said, and then the Saints against Dallas on Saturday.

But enough. It's time to talk Colts. The Colts are going to probably rest a few players throughout the game, but I still think Indy can come out with a win. It really won't be that hard, really.

I mean, I just can't see a 7-6 teams getting at a 13-0 team, other than the Chargers in 2005. But the Chargers always get us (maybe not this year, though!). But this is Jacksonville people!

And then after that, Indy has New York, and Mark Sanchez always struggles. Then they end it with the Bills, which would most likely turn out as a win. The last three games look to be very easy. The Colts can get this easily.

Manning is only 95 yards away from 4,000 and one touchdown away from the big 30. Joseph Addai may be striving for 800-1,000 yards there, and Reggie Wayne is already having a fantastic year, and is well on his way to 100 catches.

Meanwhile, the only good thing for Jacksonville on offense is Maurice Jones-Drew, with his running. But David Garrard hasn't even hit 3,000 yards yet, and only had ten touchdowns. And their leading receiver is Mike Sims-Walker. Let's compare Sims-Walker and Wayne for a sec:

Wayne: 87 catches for 1,078 yards and 9 TD's

Sims-Walker: 53 catches for 758 yards and 6 TD's

Now tell me, who do you think wins this matchup? And Wayne wants 16-0 badly, as well as Manning, so you won't see them benched. The Colts are going to move up to 14-0 people!

I am thinking of a score of 20-10, or something like that. It looks like a good game, and I am looking very forward to it watching it on TV on Thursday Night.

The Colts and Saints got a huge week.

And also, there's NFL Network.

The Redskins have named Bruce Allen, son of former Redskins coach George Allen and the GM for Tampa Bay from 2004-2008, as executive vice president of football operations and general manager. Bucs blogger Matt Loede discusses what Redskins fans can expect from Allen as a GM, and how he will try to shape the team’s roster.

Submit your questions and comments before or during the discussion.

Here’s the Link for the Chat on the Washington Post at noon

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have announced that Bengals receiver Chris Henry has died, one day after suffering serious injuries upon falling out of the back of a pickup truck in what authorities describe as a domestic dispute with his fiancee.

Police say Henry died at 6:36 a.m. Thursday. Henry was 26.

Away from the team because of a broken forearm, Henry was rushed to the hospital Wednesday after being found on a residential road. Police say a dispute began at a home about a half-mile away, and Henry jumped into the bed of the pickup truck as his fiancee was driving away from the residence.

Police said at some point when she was driving, Henry "came out of the back of the vehicle."

Another tough season for the Redskins has resulted in a change at the top, as the team has announced that the head of the front office, Vinny Cerrato, has resigned. Many Skins fans feel that Cerrato’s decisions have cost the team dearly, and it’s a huge reason behind the team being 4-9.

In a statement released by the team, Cerrato said he has had numerous conversations with owner and friend Daniel Snyder over the last few weeks regarding the team's future.

"We agreed that the franchise needs someone different in this position," Cerrato said. "I'm thankful to Dan Snyder and other members of his ownership team for the opportunities I've been given over the years. Of course, I am disappointed with this year's results, but I strongly believe that with outstanding draft picks and encouraging performance by our younger players, we have laid a strong foundation for the franchise."

Cerrato added that he has "had the pleasure of working with some great coaches such as Joe Gibbs, Greg Blache and Sherman Lewis"—notably leaving out the current coach, Jim Zorn, whose job status is also tenuous.

As of now, no successor has been named, but Cerrato's resignation is expected to clear the way for a huge offseason shakeup. Snyder is now free to hire a high-profile coach who would demand control over personnel decisions. Former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has been frequently mentioned as a candidate to succeed Zorn.

In the Redskins' statement, Snyder praised Cerrato for his work.

"He is my friend, and he has always been there for me and the Redskins," Snyder said. "He's the consummate optimist and has always made decisions based on what would be the best for the team."

Cerrato has been a favorite punching bag for fans in recent years, receiving criticism often in tandem with Snyder. One fan infamously used a pair of signs to refer to the pair as "Dumb" and "Dumber" at a game this season.

Cerrato was one of the first major hires after Snyder bought the Redskins in 1999. He was fired in 2001 by coah Marty Schottenheimer after Schottenheimer was given control of football operations. A year later, Snyder fired Schottenheimer and rehired Cerrato.

Although Cerrato's title changed over the years, he remained a significant front office voice in player decisions. The results have been far from encouraging: The Redskins have won only one playoff game since 2000.

Cerrato's power within the organization increased after coach Joe Gibbs' resignation two years ago, and there have been plenty of hits and misses among his player choices.

This year, Cerrato gave Zorn an offensive line without a single reserve who played in the NFL last year—even though two starters were coming off significant injuries. Both of those starters soon were out for the season, and the resulting scramble for a starting five hampered the development of the offense.

Rookie QB Josh Freeman is about to make his west coast debut against one of the NFL’s loudest stadium’s (Qwest Field). The 12th men haven’t had a whole lot to cheer about in Seattle this year with the Hawks sitting at 5-8 and coming off a very poor performance against the Houston Texans. Still this is the NFL and, well they’re playing the 1-12 Buccs.

In my opinion this game will be one at the line of scrimmage (like most) and the Buccs need to seriously consider trying to contain RB’s Julius Jones and Justin Forsett.

Jones will get the start but I believe Forsett will get the bulk of the carries considering his ability to outrun everyone on the field. The guy has great vision too.

If Seattle can implicate it’s zone blocking scheme (COUGH) this will certainly need to be addressed as quickly as you can say “opening drive touchdown.”

It doesn’t look to bad on paper for the Buccs, but this Hawk team still remains dangerous with veteran QB Matt Hasselbeck also taking the field Sunday. He missed a couple weeks earlier in the year when he injured his shoulder against the 49ers, and it may still be affecting him as he re-aggravated it last week (along with thumb) against the Texans.

I’m confident that the Buccs secondary (which has been playing much better as of late) will be able to stop the pass if those bumms up front can do their jobs for once.

Here’s how Seattle has fared statistically this season.

Offense
Overall : 23rd 315ypg
Rushing : 18th 91ypg
Passing : 15th 224ypg

Defense
Overall : 22nd 357ypg
Rushing : 11th 104ypg
Passing : 29th 253ypg

How to win : The Buccs have to start running the ball effectively if they expect rookie QB Josh Freeman to excel. If this doesn’t happen I can still see us hanging around for a bit in what actually might turn out to be an exciting game, but getting the loss in the end, this team knows no better. Freeman will not have a repeat of the last 2 weeks. In my opinion he’ll be very ready (along with the coaching staff). But this Bucc team still doesn’t have enough to know how to win.

Prediction : Hawks 27 Buccs 19

Bucs VS Seahawk History

The Buccs are 2-7 all time against the Hawk’s with their last meeting ending up a Buccs victory at Raymond James, 20-10 in 2008. They have only beaten the Hawks once on the road when stadium names actually had some color and personality, “The Kingdome.” In that game QB Trent Dilfer was injured after a 6-3 lead in the 3rd quarter. Rookie Shaun King replaced Dilfer and threw 4th quarter TD pass to Patrick Hape to seal the game up. The final score was 16-3 Buccs. King went on to lead the Buccs to the NFC Championship game that year in a heartbreaking loss against the Rams 11-6. Dilfer was cut at the end of the year and signed with the Baltimore Ravens and went on to win the Super Bowl in 2000.