NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

The Seahawks are 4-2 and have sole possession of the NFC West lead. Before Seahawks fans turn their attention to the upcoming Week Eight matchup in Oakland, it's time to give them the run of the place here at SeahawksGab with the Tuesday Two Deep.

Can't get enough SeahawksGab? Follow Editor Devon Heinen on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DevonHeinen.

The Giants offense looked  like a championship-caliber unit

After an awful start, the Giants recovered to put on a pretty dominating show in Dallas, as they beat the Cowboys 41-35 in Dallas. The Giants improved to 5-2,and are in sole possession of the NFC East lead. The Cowboys are 1-5.

On the first series, Eli threw an interception, that led to a 4 yard touchdown reception by Jason Witten. Another series, another interception for Eli, this time leading to a 26 yard field goal, to put the Cowboys up 10-0 very early on.

The Giants and Hakeem Nicks answered late in the first quarter, on a 7 yard touchdown pass.

The Cowboys dominated the early 2nd quarter, scoring first on a 41 yard field goal, then following it up with a 93 yard punt return for a touchdown by Dez Bryant.

The Giants weren't fazed, and started to mount their comeback. Nicks added another TD on an 8 yard pass from Eli Manning. Steve Smith scored a 14 yard touchdown to give the Giants a 21-20 lead. They ended the half with a 53 yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes.

The Giants came out strong in the 2nd half, scoring on a beautiful 25 yard TD reception by Mario Manningham, to put them up 31-20. Brandon Jacobs added to the drubbing with a 30 yard touchdown run to make it 38-20.

Dez Bryant added a touchdown in garbage time after another Eli interception. After a successful two point conversion, the Giants were up 38-28. The Giants added a field goal late to make it 41-28. Bryant added yet another TD with under a minute left to make it 41-35

The Giants, after all their turnovers, really dominated this game. The Cowboys seemed to give up on defense. The Giants offense could move pretty much at will, on the ground and in the air. Whether it was Hakeem Nicks, Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Bradshaw or Jacobs, the Giants could do what they pleased. The Cowboys, seemingly, gave up.

The Giants defense, as usual, was incredible. A lot of it has to do with the injury to Romo (fractured left clavicle). The offense had no punch with Jon Kitna. Still, the pass rush was epic, and the Cowboys just had nowhere to go.

Special teams was a mixed bag. Tynes and Dodge were great. But they gave up a 93 yard punt return for a touchdown to Dez Bryant, and gave up some other good returns. Coverage still is the biggest problem.

The Giants did let the Cowboys creep back into the game late in the game. It's a disturbing trend that's been happening of late. Not sure why it's happening. Maybe they're resting on their laurels a bit too much. Whatever it is, for the Giants to be a completely elite team, they have to cut that out.

The Giants showed resiliency tonight, fighting back from a horrid start to end up dominating the game. The Giants looked unstoppable. Romo or not, the Giants played like one of the best teams in football. And, with this win, they just might be.

Senior writer jclombardi grades Packers win over Vikings. 

SUMMARY: The Packers turned two Favre’s third-quarter interceptions into touchdowns erasing a Vikings’ halftime lead and including a 32-yard return by linebacker Bishop. QB Rodgers was 21 of 34 for 295 yards and two touchdowns.

GAME BALLS: LB Bishop; S Collins; RB Jackson; WR Jones.

INJURY REPORT: DE Jenkins (calf strain). DE Pickett (reinjured ankle).  LB Poppinga and DE Neal headed to I.R.

Report Card Grades–Good, Bad, & Ugly (LA vs. SE):

PASSING OFFENSE:  C+ vs B-. With solid protection in spread formation offense, QB shaky Rodgers completed 21 of 34 for 295 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Rodgers had three tipped passes by linemen including one for an interception. On at least seven passes, miscommunications led to Rodgers being out-of-sync with his receivers dealing with Vikings coverage schemes. On two passes, he committed two Favre-ish interceptions. WR Jones caught 4 big passes for 107 yards and WR Jennings caught 6 balls for 74 yards and one touchdown exploiting a weak Vikings secondary. Rookie TE Quarless had 2 catches for 16 yards and one touchdown.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C vs C. The Packers had 23 rushes for 84 yards averaging 3.7 yards per carry. RB Jackson had his best game of the year. He rushed for 58 yards averaging 4.5 yards and 4 catches for 46 yards for a combined 104 total yards and one touchdown. After FB Kuhn converted a 4 and 1 down with a two yard run on an earlier play in the fourth quarter, the decision to execute the same exact play in a similar scenario had many scratching their heads. The predictable play led to FB Kuhn being stuffed with no gain by the Vikings defense stopping the Packers drive. Further, he should have kicked the field goal.

PASSING DEFENSE: B vs A-. QB Favre completed 16 of 29 for 212 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, and 50.4 passer rating. Explosive WR Harvin had 5 catches for 65 yards and one touchdown abusing CB Woodson. CB Williams limited WR Moss to three catches for 30 yards and one touchdown. The Packers pressured Favre throughout the game getting one sack and many quarterback hits. Without reinjured DE Jenkins and DE Pickett, the Packers were down to three defensive linemen who made the necessary big plays. DE Wynn had the big coverage sack. Rookie DE Wilson's pressure on Favre led to LB Bishop's interception and score. LB Hawk had 6 tackles and 5 assists. LB Bishop had 5 tackles and 3 assists. LBs Hawk and Bishop each had big interceptions. In the play-of-the-game, LB Bishop returned an interception for a 32 yards touchdown. Also, when the Vikings were driving deep into Packers territory, S Collins made a big interception.

RUSHING DEFENSE: D- vs D. The run defense was absolutely awful giving up 196 total yards. The depleted front seven simply failed to contain all-pro Peterson.  Peterson rushed for 131 yards averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The linebackers overpursued on the edges giving inside openings for too many runs.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C vs C-. With the exception of one 48 yard return, the kickoff coverage limited WR/KR Harvin. KR Lee had 5 kickoffs averaging 20 yards including one for 30 yards. The fake field goal was a great play, but the execution failed as backup QB Flynn overthrew the pass to a stumbling TE Quarless.  Punter Masthay punted a better game.

COACHING: B vs B. Coach McCarthy and his staff get credit for inspiring the team to beat the Vikings. The games plans were solid enough. The units got the big plays and turnovers to win the game. Yet, in the first half, the Packers had 268 yards and only 14 points to show for it. Also, in the second half, especially the fourth quarter, the offense struggled with two awful executed plays in two offensive series.  First, FB Kuhn got stuffed on a déjà vu fourth and 1 from the Vikings' 34 to halt one drive. Second, QB Rodgers did not come close to completing a pass on third and 3 to keep the final series alive and run out the clock. Instead, the Packers were forced to punt giving a final shot to the Vikings. Again, the offense stood still playing too conservative football and allowing the Vikings to almost catch up. Coach McCarthy finally won two good challenges, although he should have also challenged the 3rd down spot of the ball putting the Packers short of a first down in the 4^th quarter.

OVERALL: B vs A+ CBS Sportsline. Ravaged by injuries, especially along the defensive line,  the Packers get a win they absolutely needed to have, and pull into a first-place tie with the Chicago Bears in the NFC North.

Here are some random ramblings after digesting Cincinnati's third loss in a row:

What the Hell, D? Mike Zimmer's vaunted defense was supposed to be the savior this year.  They carried the Bengals' inept offense all season last year, and stifled opposing playmakers with aggressiveness and discipline.  This year, however, the defense has read too many of their praises and have faultered. Often. Aside from two big plays (Leon Hall's interception and Adam Jones' scoop and score), the defense was sliced and diced like tofurkey.  Over 200 yards for Roddy White. Over 100 for Michael Turner.  Missed tackles, clumsy technique and, of course, penalties hurt them again.  What's worse, they cannot stop anyone on third downs.  In fact, some of the biggest plays given up have occurred on the most decisive down. And when this team needs a stop, the "D" just can't get it done.  They couldn't against Cleveland, they couldn't against Tampa Bay, and they couldn't against Atlanta.  How do you pull back from a 24-3 lead to turn around and quickly surrender another 15 points?

Nice Offense: Meanwhile, the Bengals offense was finally showing what we all thought it was supposed to be.  Cedric Benson had some nice runs, but T.O., Chad, and Jordan Shipley abused the Atlanta secondary all day.  Carson Palmer looked like the Carson Palmer we all once loved, putting up 412 yards, 3 TDs, and no picks.  Aside from Benson's fumble, and T.O. being unable to stay inbounds on the previous play, the offense acquitted itself well.  Finally.

No Huddle Is The Shizz: As I've been saying since before training camp, the Bengal offense works best with 3 WR sets, a TE, and no fullback–particularly out of the no-huddle.  The Bengals finally incorporated this into their game plan and the results were impressive.  Best of all, it wasn't the kind of  "hurry-up, no slow down, no hurry-up" schizophrenia we've been seeing from the no-huddle all year.  It was quick, but in rhythm.

Still No Pass Rush: When are we going to actually pressure an opposing QB?  We still can't do it when we send the entire house.  What gives? They looked like they'd be scary in the preseason, but no one has showed up to date.  This correlates directly to why Cincy's ability to stop 3rd downs is atrocious.

At 2-4, the Bengals need to hold serve at home against Miami and Pittsburgh over the next two weeks.  If they do that, they'll be .500 at the turn, with ample opportunity to make a run.  To do that, they must put together a complete game for the first time all year.

I have some small fleeting faith in Mike Zimmer's ability to correct the defensive issues.  If the offense is truly on its way then there's still hope.

Fleeting though it might be.

The news is not good for Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who didn’t even last a half vs the New York Giants in their critical Monday night showdown in Dallas.

Word is that Romo has a broken collarbone, an injury that usually takes about 8 to 10 weeks to recover from, meaning his season is likely over.

Romo was drilled into the turf on his left shoulder early in the second quarter Monday night, forcing him to the locker room for X-rays.

Romo fired a pass to Miles Austin, then took the hard hit from linebacker Michael Boley, who was running at him unblocked, going practically full speed. Romo was down, flat on his back, until trainers came to his aid.

Last season Romo took every snap last season making now QB Jon Kitna the NFL's only No. 2 quarterback not to play—and had done so through five games this season. Romo had been 5 of 7 for 39 yards with a touchdown pass.

Rams running back Steven Jackson may be out this weekend after having surgery on his finger, an injury he played with over the weekend in the teams loss in Tampa.

Coach Steve Spagnuolo said Jackson had surgery on his left ring finger today, saying that two pins were put into the finger.

Jackson’s status for the teams home game vs the Panthers Sunday is up in the air. Spagnuolo says Jackson broke the finger during Sunday's loss vs the Bucs, a game in which he broke Eric Dickerson's all-time Rams rushing record. The coach says Jackson simply kept playing.

"He didn't think it was a big deal," Spagnuolo said. "He kept playing. … He's going to be sore. Hopefully, he'll be able to play this week. We'll know more after he gets through it. … He's just a warrior. He goes out and plays and we find out later on there's a crack in there."

This is not your grandfathers Cleveland Browns. Or even your father’s. Or uncles, or even older brothers.

You get the point.

The 2010 Cleveland Browns do not quite have the talent or play makers yet to give teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers or Baltimore Ravens a run for the AFC North for the division title, but one thing is clear after Sunday’s stunning win against the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints.

They will not go down without a fight.

They showed that at the SuperDome Sunday by being the most creative team of any in the National Football League with more trick plays than the Harlem Globetrotters run when they take on the Washington Generals.

From the fake punt where Reggie Hodges looked like he was waiting to be tackled by a Saints player in going 68 yards, to the punt return where Josh Cribbs threw across the field to Eric Wright for a big play early, to even Colt McCoy catching a pass, the Browns looked like a team not afraid to make chances.

"That was how the play was called, so that was how it was supposed to be run,” Hodges said of the fake punt. “Guys were supposed to go to the outside and the middle was supposed to be open, so it was just my job to get a first down.

Overall, the Browns knew they had to play special in order to upend the defending Super Bowl champions, and they played like it.

"We had an opportunity to run some things that we felt might work and I think we were successful on every, single play that we ran that was kind of a trick play," said Wright. "It helped us. You've got to be prepared and ready when they do call it and luckily, we were able to convert every time that we tried something like that."

It may not work week in and week out, and in the end, the Browns still need players on both sides of the ball to be a true contender, but Sunday sure was fun. It also shows that maybe the Browns are not as far away as people may think.

The next two games after the bye will be against two more of the AFC’s best – the New England Patriots and the New York Jets.

They, like the Saints yesterday, appear to have the horses enough to beat the Browns nine out of 10 times, but that is where Sunday’s ability to run tricks and take advantage of other teams mistakes on defense come into play.

If the Browns can continue to do that, they may not be playing much past New Year’s, but teams will have to respect and be plenty aware when the Browns take the field each and every Sunday.

Could the Brett Favre game streak finally be over?

That’s a question that will be asked about a million times this week leading up to the Vikings Sunday matchup with the New England Patriots and Tom Brady. Favre hurt his ankle in Sunday night’s loss to the Packers in Green Bay, and was limping late in the game and also out of his post game press conference.

Today head coach Brad Childress told the media that Favre is in a walking boot, stating that he has an evulsion fracture and stress fracture. He said that right now Favre will not need a surgery, meaning of course there’s a shot he could go Sunday.

Now we just have to wait for the ESPN updates from Favre’s lawn, and the minute by minute updates to see if he’s going to play or not.

Are Fisher’s Titans serious Super Bowl contenders?

After watching Sunday’s games in Week 7, it had me thinking: How many teams are truly in the hunt for the Vince Lombardi Trophy?  Even better, who passes the “eye test” in the up and down NFC?  It’s one of many questions that will be answered in my weekly edition of the 9-Route, where I go around the league and review what was and what wasn’t during Week 7 of the National Football League.

• The biggest question mark concerning the Tennessee Titans has always been their lack of a clear-cut #1 WR.  It looks like they have found their answer with an exclamation point -Kenny Britt.  With that said, I don’t know if there could be a team in the NFL that I am more impressed with at this moment.  Serious Super Bowl contenders?  I think so.  Could you tell me otherwise?  This team is as tough as they come.  I liked what I saw during the team’s comeback against a good Eagles club.  Nothing rattles them.  You thought the Steelers were the prime model and shining example for toughness in the NFL, think again.

• Darren McFadden, when healthy, gives Oakland that “Adrian Peterson” dimension to their offense.  Coming out of Arkansas, I thought he could be as good if not even better than Peterson.  McFadden has the potential to be an MVP in this league.  Now, we are finally starting to see the “real” McFadden, the one who “stood up” in Denver on Sunday.

• So, are we going to continue to bash the Patriots defense?  They aren’t that good, they are so bad they won’t even make the Playoffs.  Never underestimate a Bill Belichick-coached team.  Also, Tom Brady is back to winning games without playing his best.  Now these are the Patriots that I know and love to root for.  Did you know they have the best record in the NFL?  Neither did I.

• Should I lose all hope for the Bengals?  No.  They outscored supposedly the “NFC’s best team”, the Atlanta Falcons, 22-0 in the Georgia Dome, they have four games left within the AFC North, including two with Pittsburgh, and they are too talented to give up on them this early.  I could see them sneaking in as a Wild Card team.  Why not?  The current state of the defense.

• Roddy White is officially in the class of Andre Johnson.  Take him away from the Falcons, it would be the same as taking away Johnson from the Texans.  He could be the NFL’s best WR.  In the NFC, there’s no doubt.  Matty Ice to Roddy is suddenly becoming the best QB-WR connection in the league.  The thing I like about White is he gets the job done quietly, just like Andre.

• Are the Washington Redskins one of the top three teams in the NFC?  I have to say yes.  You got the Giants of course, the Falcons, and who else?  The Bucs?  I mean, Washington passes the “eye test” because they can win the “ugly” game.  If I had to choose, I would say the best teams are in the NFC East; especially when Vick returns.  I’d go 1. Giants  2. Redskins  3. Eagles.  Atlanta has to prove to me they can win a big game outdoors.  Who knows, they may not have to answer me if they can get home field advantage in the Playoffs like New Orleans and Minnesota did last season.

• The Chiefs are good enough to make the Playoffs, however, are they good enough to advance in a loaded AFC?  I’d feel better if they were in the NFC.  Charles-Jones are as good as they get in terms of 1-2 punches at RB, Cassel to Bowe is emerging as a legitimate threat, and the defense covers a lot of ground.  Not only their play on the field, but how about the coaches on the sideline?  Haley-Weis-Crennel are making a big difference, it’s so evident that it’s hard not to recognize amidst the team’s miraculous turnaround.  Name me a more impactful coaching staff that has more to do with a team’s success than this trio in Kansas City?

• It took Ryan Fitzpatrick to have the Ravens secondary problems return front and center.  Ed Reed returned with two picks, still, it didn’t matter.  Why should I believe this is a Super Bowl contender with all the solid teams in the AFC?  How much stock should I take into this game?  It’s the defense, not the offense, that I’m concerning with in Baltimore.  Nonetheless, this is the team that gave the Jets and the Steelers their only losses.  They are still worthy contenders for the Lombardi.  Plus, with Reed back, you have to think this team is better than the one that lost to Pittsburgh in the ‘08 AFC Championship game.

• Randy Moss: When will you join your teammates?  Percy Harvin is playing out of his mind, Adrian Peterson is doing what he does, yet, Favre is looking for his “Sidney Rice” in Moss -and he hasn’t answered the call.  If Moss plays like he should and is capable of, it will take a lot off of Favre’s shoulders.  But even if the offense gets more efficient, the defense still could prevent this team from overcoming its 2-4 start.  If the Bucs are doing more with less, than the Vikings are certainly doing less with more.

According to the Associated Press, Brett Favre admitted to sending voicemails to Jenn Sterger when he was with the New York Jets. However, Favre denied sending her nude pictures of himself.

The NFL is investigating this. Sterger has yet to decide on whether she will talk to the league or not about this situation.

According to Sterger's spokesman, Phil Reese, Jenn is strongly considering to talking to the league.

"We have an ongoing dialogue with the NFL," Reese said. "What we've been talking about is having Jenn come in. Like I have said, she is strongly considering it. Ultimately this decision is hers and hers alone."

Reese was asked of what Favre said about not sending nude photos, but about admitting to voicemails.

"We're currently in the fact-gathering stage; all I'm doing is dealing with facts. Unfortunately the person in the pictures didn't also hold up their driver's license, so I'm not going to speculate as far as identity. But I'm working with people to diligently get all the facts," he replied.

Sterger has not yet commented about what has happened lately. She is currently one of the hosts on Versus network.

"Send me a text. Love to see you tonight," one voicemail said.

Favre was interviewed by one of the league officials on Tuesday. There has been no indication of what had happened in the Favre's chat with them.

"That's a league issue," Favre said this week as Minnesota prepared to play Green Bay, "that I just have to leave at that."

Favre's wife, Deanna, hasn't gone into details about these allegations as well.

"At this point we have not reached any conclusions," Greg Aiello, an NFL spokesman, said. "We will continue to pursue opportunities to speak with individuals that potentially have information."

Favre tried contacting Sterger again last June, according to the New York Post. Reese chose not to give details about this on whether there were multiple calls or not.