NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Jclombardi highlights Packers victory over Cowboys & CB Harris to be released.

Packers crush Cowboys 45-7: On Sunday night, the clicking started and never stopped, turning into a drumbeat of efficiency in a 45-7 victory over the downtrodden Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field. Rodgers completed 27 of 34 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns and receivers Greg Jennings and James Jones embarrassed the Cowboys secondary by combining for 15 catches, 203 yards and two touchdowns. Whatever Rodgers threw seemed to wind up in the hands of one of the Packers. ”When everything is clicking,” said receiver Nelson, “that’s what it looks like.” The entire offense stepped up, producing 31 points and 415 yards, averaging 5.8 yards per play and converting 10 of 15 third downs (67%). ”I think we made some progress,” said offensive coordinator Philbin. “When we met as an offense we didn’t talk about needing to score 31 points, but we did talk about the need to move the chains and make first downs.”

Packers–complete package win: Throughout their up-and-down, .500 start, the Green Bay Packers kept saying how they were striving to play a game in which all three phases – offense, defense and special teams – played well simultaneously. "We accomplished that tonight," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Sunday night, following his team's 45-7 utter domination of the hapless Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field. "We played a complete football game tonight. This is the way you want to go into the bye week." Indeed, with the offense shaking off its inconsistent play, the defense picking up where it left off a week earlier in a shutout of the New York Jets and the special teams units chipping in with a fumble return for a touchdown, the Packers thoroughly outplayed the Cowboys in every phase. The rout sent the Packers (6-3) into their bye week riding a three-game winning streak, a half-game ahead of Chicago (5-3) in the NFC North.

Packers rout Cowboys: Facing a crumbling team that has given up on its coach and its season, the Packers dominated in every way Sunday night in humiliating the Dallas Cowboys 45-7. "You always set out to play a complete game, and we accomplished that tonight," coach Mike McCarthy said. "Very pleased with the special teams with two good takeaways. The defense swarmed all over and kept them out of the end zone, and the offense got into a rhythm. I really like the way the run-pass ratio was tonight. Third down was the key. We played a complete football game tonight. This is the way you want to go into the bye week." The win is the Packers' third straight and improved their record to 6-3, which keeps them a half-game ahead of Chicago (5-3) and 2½ games ahead of Minnesota (3-5) for first place in the NFC North Division.

Veteran CB Harris to be released: Harris' career with the Green Bay Packers is about to come to an end. The team plans on releasing the two-time Pro Bowl cornerback on Monday, the deadline for deciding his fate after three weeks of practicing with the team. "Yes, that is what they are going to do," Harris said in a text message late Sunday night. "I lost my job to injury, but I have only good things to say about Green Bay and everyone I worked with." Harris, who began practicing on Oct. 19, was not activated from the PUP for the third straight eligible week.

Last time Palmer, Bengals hosted Monday Night Football: 34-13 loss to New England

“We let some games slip in the last four weeks so have to do a much better job, get a good start, play consistently through the mid-point of the game and then finish at the end”

—Coach Marvin Lewis on the importance of Monday night’s game.

For a season that started with so much promise, there is no doubt its been an unmitigated disaster for Cincinnati. Standing at 2-5, and with games versus Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, New Orleans, and the Jets still on the schedule, hope and excitement are in short supply. Once again, our striped crusaders have disappointed us, but hey, we're used to that.

This year is especially tough to stomach, however, as this was the year the team had it all in place. They were coming off a division championship, and a first-ever sweep of the AFC North. They were a top five defensive team for the first time since the 1980's, and sported a bruising rushing attack. They were intimidating. They were gritty. They imposed their will on their opponents through a relentless attack that made opponents wilt as the game wore on.

It short, they were a lot like the Steelers.

While Cincinnati was enjoying that success, the men from Steeltown were uncharacteristically soft. Going to a more wide-open passing attack, the Steelers that they couldn't control the clock the way they once could. Their defense had difficulty rushing the passer, and gave up big plays at inopportune times. Turnovers and sloppy plays were common, penalties abounded, and they had to overcome injuries to key players all year, most notably Aaron Smith and Troy Polamalu.

In short, they were a lot like our Bengals.

These two familiar opponents meet again on Monday night at PBS in Cincinnati. As opposed to last year, they'll meet on more familiar terms. Pittsburgh is 5-2 and enjoying first place in the division, in the thick of the playoff hunt and arguably the best team in the conference. Cincinnati is 2-5 and searching for answers despite returning nearly all starters from last year's club and adding upgrades at several positions. Their chances of making the playoffs now are on life support, close to a flat line.

So can the Bengals win?

Of course. They have the talent to beat anyone in the league. They can trot out an offense that includes two of the best wide receivers in the game today, and a former Heisman trophy winner at QB. Their defense has the talent and the ability to stop anybody.

And believe it or not, the Bengals match up fairly well against the Steelers. Looking at the statistics, Cincinnati's offense outperforms the Steelers in every major category except rushing yards per game, where the Steelers average 16 yards more per game.

On defense, the stark difference between the two clubs, again, is in rushing, where the Bengals give up nearly sixty yards more per game. However, the Steelers pass defense is suspect, giving up 243 yards per game. They are also weaker than expected on third down, with opponents converting 37% of the time.
To attack the Steelers, Cincinnati should continue to embrace the hurry-up, no-huddle offense, and continue to utilize the three-wide receiver set. This offensive attack has been the most successful over the years against Pittsburgh. The no-huddle will stunt the Steeler pass rush and spread out their defense for Cedric Benson and the running game.

The key here will be for the Bengals offensive line to hold up against the various blitzes Dick Lebeau's defense will be coming with.

On defense, the Bengals must to a better job of stopping the run. Despite being ranked fourth in the league in rushing defense in 2010, the Bengals have been gashed regularly in the run game. Meanwhile, the Steelers have re-discovered the value of the run game, with Rashard Mendenhall becoming a bona fide star in their backfield. Containing Mendenhall will be priority one for the defense.

As always, containing Ben Roethlisberger will be huge. The defensive line must be disciplined in their rush lanes, and contain Big Ben in the pocket. WR Mike Wallace will get a lot of attention from secondary coach Kevin Coyle and his charges.

Penalties and turnovers must be kept to an absolute minimum for the Bengals, and they'll need to come up with some extra possessions through forcing Steeler mistakes and turnovers on their side.

All of this together will result in a surprise win by the Bengals at home in front of a raucous crowd at PBS. Something like 23-20.

So will it happen?

Nope.

The fact is that the Bengals will be their own worst enemy as usual, with penalties and mistakes putting their offense behind, and defensive breakdowns keeping them on the field on third downs. The Steelers meanwhile will be disciplined and won't let the hostile environment get the best of them. Mike Tomlin's team will be ready to play and while Cincy will be game, they'll fold at the end. Steelers 31, Bengals 20.

“The Most Entertaining NFL QB Of All-Time” Did Not Miss A Beat In His Return Against “The Greatest NFL QB Of All-Time”

Right from the start, the Philadelphia Eagles dominated. With Michael Vick returning and DeSean Jackson, the Eagles looked to be good to go versus the Indianapolis Colts. And they did. On the first play, LeSean McCoy opened up for a 62-yard rush. Then a couple of plays later, Vick found Jackson open for a nine-yard touchdown.

As a Colts fan, I was frustrated. But if you don't know me all that much, I must admit that I have also been an Eagles fan, but I adore Indianapolis more. However, I couldn't believe how bad Indy did. In their retro uniforms, the Colts hoped to go 6-2 and take advantage of the AFC South division. They couldn't. The Eagles were too good for Indy.

Peyton Manning opened up the starting drive with incomplete passes. He then threw a pass under pressure which would end up in cornerback Asante Samuel's hands as he took it back to the ten-yard line. The Eagles would be in the red zone for their next two or three drives and make field goals, going as far as towards a 16-7 lead.

However, Indy came back as Peyton Manning drove down the field with some helpful runs with Donald Brown. There, Manning found Jacob Tamme open for a screen pass. Tamme got it and dived for the end zone to get the Colts back into the game within a 13-7 deficit.

The Colts big problem was penalties as they were struck by them multiple times in the game. With that, it was a big game-changer. Without all the costly, dumb penalties, the Colts could have taken this game away. But they couldn't.

After several defensive stops, Manning came back again. At midfield, Manning tried to hook up to Austin Collie, who got hit extremely hard. It would go down as unnecessary roughness. Sometime this week, I will write an article about helmet-to-helmet hits which was inspired from this deadly hit. Collie was frozen after the hit and was placed on a stretcher.

Manning would keep the drive going, eventually handing it off to Javarris James for a score to cut the lead 16-14. After a defensive stop, Manning led the Colts down the field to set up a field goal by Adam Vinatieri to have Indy's first lead of the game, 17-16, at the end of the first half.

The Eagles would stomp right back in the second half, kicking a field goal to gain their lead back, 19-17. Then they would hook up on another touchdown to bring up the lead 26-17. The drive was mainly helped by Vick, who made a 30-plus-yard scramble on a crucial third down.

The Colts would come back, as Manning gave James the ball again for another touchdown. James looking like his cousin, Edgerrin, who was a star back in the Colts powerhouse offense less than a decade ago. The deficit was just two points for the Colts, 26-24. After a defensive stop and with 40 seconds to go, this was the last chance for Indianapolis. But it was over when Manning threw another interception, which fell in Samuel's hands once again to end the game.

The Colts and Eagles both stand at 5-3. The Colts really shouldn't worry all that much. They only have two teams to take care of which are the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The standings are as follows:

1. Colts and Titans (5-3)
2. Texans and Jaguars (4-4)

Right now it could be anyone's way. However, I think the Colts can ice Jacksonville at home. They have two games with the Titans. I think the Colts will finish somewhere around 11-5 to 13-3. The Colts shouldn't worry a whole lot currently. This was a must-win for Philadelphia, however, and now they just trail the Giants in the NFC East by one game.

Manning was not at his best at all in this game, going 31-of-52 for 294 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, ending up with a 65.7 rating. Michael Vick dazzled, however, with 19-of-27 passes completed for 218 yards with a touchdown for a 93.8 rating. He also had ten carries for 74 yards and a touchdown.

Donald Brown had 15 carries for 50 yards while James had four carries on twelve yards with two touchdowns. LeSean McCoy had 16 carries for 95 yards.

Tamme had eleven catches for 108 yards and a touchdown while Reggie Wayne had eleven catches for 83 yards for the Colts. Jackson had seven catches for 109 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles. Jeremy Maclin had four catches for 48 yards.

The Colts haven't been so well on the road, as they are currently 2-3 there. They will be hosting the struggling Cincinnati Bengals next week, as Indianapolis is 3-0 at home. The Eagles will meanwhile travel to Washington to face the Redskins.

Come on Colts. Shake this game off. Get ready for Bengals next week.

Samuel Celebrating His Game-Clinching Interception Of Peyton Manning

Andy Reid Is Now 12-0 Following A Bye Week

What a game. The Eagles jumped out to an early lead but then let the Colts get right back into it.

There's plenty to talk about. The Eagles got killed by penalties. Some were there fault, but they got killed by a lot of bad calls by the referees.

In the end, there was huge impact by the return of Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson. Both players did some very good things on the offensive side of the ball early, and then after a large lag in the middle of the game, we saw both players step it up at the end of the game to put the game away.

Vick did some nice things throwing to Jackson, but both guys did some nice things with their feet as well.

Asante Samuel had his typical type of game. He disappointed us with some tackling efforts but had an interception early that gave the Eagles a jump start and sealed the game with an interception at the end of the game.

More to come on the game later.

Rookie TE from the “U”, Jimmy Graham, celebrating his first career NFL TD

“That gives us a lot of momentum and positive thoughts moving forward, just to feel like you could do that against that type of defense when the game was really on the line.  And you knew you needed to come up with some plays to win it.”

—Saints QB Drew Brees, on the huge win over the Steelers.

The New Orleans Saints came out like they had something to prove, particularly against a very tough division rival that has always been a thorn in their sides. After winning the toss and subsequently electing to receive to start the first half, the Saints came out smoking.

Julius Jones busted out the gate and picked up a quick 54 yards from scrimmage on the first play of the game. Chris Ivory also followed with an impressive run for back-to-back first downs. The next play, however, literally killed the otherwise masterful drive. After fumbling the snap, Drew Brees tried to hurry a pass in to Robert Meachem who had the ball ricochet off his hands only to be intercepted by Carolina's Richard Marshall. After returning the ball back to to the 28-yard line of Carolina, the defensive back was brought down by a heads up play by Marques Colston. Carolina was able to advance the ball enough to get into a first-and-goal-situation, but once again the Saints defense came up huge and held them to a field goal. Just like that, the Panthers were on the board 3-0 off the Saints turnover. But that would be all they got on the day.

The Saints came out flat and out of sync after that, having to punt on their next possession. However, getting the defense back out on the field turned out to be just the spark the Saints needed to get the offense going. Darren Sharper laid the wood down on Jonathan Stewart, forcing him to fumble and also to have to leave the game with what was later reported as a head injury. The Saints recovered, but it was only ruled a fumble after a challenge by Sean Payton.  New Orleans got the ball back on the Panthers 27-yard line and from there began a total domination of the Panthers from that point on.  After a couple of ineffective downs, Drew Brees found Jeremy Shockey for a 7-yard touchdown, marking the 500th career catch for the ProBowl tight end.  Shockey left the game with a rib injury and did not return.  The score was 7-3 at that point.

The 2nd quarter didn't go any better for the Panthers.  After getting into scoring position for the second time, John Kasay failed to knock the field goal through, leaving Carolina hopelessly locked in at 3 points.  Give the Saints defense a lot of credit because it came up huge again today.  Those guys harassed Matt Moore until he was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury.  Sedrick Ellis  recorded his fourth sack of the year when he got to Moore following an all-out blitz.  But they weren't any lighter on Jimmy Clausen when he came in to replace the injured Moore.  Jabari Greer intercepted Clausen and returned it for six and Leigh Torrence nailed the rookie quarterback for a critical sack, both in the 3rd quarter.  Tony Pike eventually replaced Clausen at quarterback in the 4th.  Roman Harper and Jeff Charleston also recorded sacks.  On the day, the Saints smothering defense held the Panthers to a measly 195 total net yards, including a lowly 68 passing yards by three quarterbacks!

The powerful performance by the Saints defense obviously jolted the offense and inspired it to step things up.  Jimmy Graham caught his first NFL touchdown, a 19-yarder.  Then in the waning moments of the half, Brees threw a beautiful 36-yard pass to Lance Moore to put the Saints in striking distance once again.  However, after picking up some impressive yardage on a short pass from Brees, Dave Thomas failed to get out of bounds to stop the clock and the Saints had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Hartley.  The score at the half was 17-3.  To show just how dominating the Saints performance was today,   they'd outgained  the Panthers 284 total yards to a meager 91 in the first half alone!  Brees had already thrown 183 yards and 2 touchdowns.   They went on to finish the day with 408 yards of total net offense.  Brees was 27 of 43 for 253 yards, 2 first half touchdowns, and the one fluky interception.  The rushing attack led by Julius Jones racked up 165 yards on the ground; Jones rushed for 68 yards on six carries.  Marques Colston had another impressive performance, grabbing eight passes for 65 yards and the always reliable Lance Moore had six catches for 77 yards.  Besides Shockey, Chris Ivory and Darren Sharper both left the game with injuries.

The Saints win today was much-needed  and welcomed.  They showed some consistency, which has been lacking a lot this season and they played like they had a purpose.  This was important because Carolina is a team that has historically given the Saints some close competition.  New Orleans goes into the bye 6-3, just a half game back behind the Atlanta Falcons for the number one slot in the division.  They'll  get some key bodies back healthy and they'll have lots of confidence to build on after coming off two critical wins back-to-back.  In my opinion, the Saints should be looking pretty good as they tackle the rest of their schedule.  If they play like they have the past two weeks, then they will control their own destiny for the rest of the season.

Twenty-eight points resulting from mishaps in all three phases of the game early on were too much for the Seahawks to overcome as the New York Giants defeated the Seattle Seahawks 41-7 at Qwest Field.

Two first-quarter defensive penalties on Seattle put New York in position to score its first points of the game.

Facing third-and-nine from the Seattle 38, Eli Manning aired a pass deep to Hakeem Nicks resulting in an incompletion; however, a defensive pass interference penalty on cornerback Marcus Trufant breathed new life into the Giants' drive. With the ball at the Seahawks' 22-yard line and a new set of downs, it would take four plays for New York to get on the scoreboard thanks to a two-yard rush by Ahmad Bradshaw.

With 2:33 remaining in the opening quarter, an illegal contact penalty called on rookie safety Earl Thomas on a third-and-eight gave the Giants the ball just within Seattle territory. On the following play, the 6-foot, 215-pound Nicks made a diving 46-yard catch and roll across the goal line. A Lawrence Tynes extra point put New York up 14-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, Seattle return specialist Leon Washington fumbled at his own 29-yard line and Aaron Ross returned the ball to Seattle's 4. After that, the Giants' Bradshaw found daylight up the middle for his second rushing touchdown of the game.

Seattle's woes continued into the second quarter.

The first play saw quarterback Charlie Whitehurst throw an interception in the end zone after Mike Williams bobbled the pass. Cornerback Terrell Thomas snatched the ball out of the air and returned it to the Giants' 27. Eleven plays later, Steve Smith was on the receiving end of Eli Manning's second of three touchdown passes of the game, a six-yarder.

Whitehurst recorded his first regular-season start in the National Football League while Seattle's regular starter at quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck, watched on the sideline while still recovering from the concussion he suffered last weekend in Oakland.

Seattle's lone score came with 13:41 remaining in the game as Whitehurst found a streaking Ben Obomanu down the right sideline for a 36-yard touchdown and Olindo Mare added the extra point.

The 28-year-old Whitehurst finished the game with 12 completions out of 23 attempts for 113 yards, the touchdown and two interceptions.

The win improves the Giants' record to 6-2, while the loss drops the Seahawks to 4-4.

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

Without starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in the lineup, the Seahawks headed into the locker room trailing by 35 after the first half of the team’s Week Nine matchup against the Giants concluded.

Filling in for Hasselbeck was Charlie Whitehurst.  Making his first regular-season start of his career, the 28-year-old Whitehurst completed nine of 19 attempts for 64 yards.  He also threw two interceptions.

While Whitehurst struggled, the Giants’ Eli Manning shined.  The seven-year veteran’s three first-half touchdowns place Manning one aerial score away from tying his single-game best as a professional.

At the half, the visiting New York Giants lead the Seattle Seahawks 35-0.

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

Not Again: Stafford left the game with a shoulder injury

The Lions are a young and inexperienced team which has been the cause of a lot of the team's mistakes this season, however the Lions loss falls squarely on the coaching staff and a "seasoned" veteran.  The Lions had a 20-10 lead over the overmatched Jets, but the lead trickled away and the game unravelled after the loss of Matthew Stafford.

The Lions dominated the Jets in every phase of the game until late in the 4th quarter.  Matthew Stafford played brilliantly throwing touchdowns to Brandon Pettigrew and Nate Burleson and then running one in himself.  The defense shut down the Jets running game and had Mark Sanchez and the passing game out of sync.

Earlier in the game the Lions got a second chance in the redzone because of a roughing the kicker penalty on Trevor Pryce.  When Pryce "fell" into Jason Hanson (despite not being pushed) he took out Hanson's knee and Hanson had to leave the game.  The Lions got an automatic first down and scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive.  However, Hanson wasn't able to kick the extra point so Ndamukong Suh attempted the PAT and hit the right upright.  Instead of an 4 point lead the Lions only went up 13-10.

I am curious as to what constitutes a late hit on Matthew Stafford because the Jets were hitting him after the ball was out a lot today.  On one of the blatant late hits, Stafford aggravated his shoulder and it was visibly bothering him for the rest of the game.  With just under seven minutes left in the game Stafford scrambled and re-injured his shoulder as he was tackled.  Drew Stanton came into the game and couldn't muster a game ending first down in his two drives.

The first major coaching mistake came on the Lions' final drive of the game.  With the Lions facing third and six with 2:00 left the Lions ran a play action pass that fell incomplete and stopped the clock when the Jets were out of timeouts.  I don't question the coaches for calling the pass, but I do question why it wasn't made clear to Stanton that if he couldn't get a simple completion to make sure he took a sack.  By throwing an incomplete pass, Stanton stopped the clock which prevented the Lions from running 4o seconds off before punting.  Instead of the Jets getting the ball back with 1:40 on the clock, they would have gotten it back with 1:00.

Julian Peterson made the next epic mistake by getting a senseless unnecessary roughness call on Tomlinson and gave the Jets 15 free yards.  Peterson is the most veteran player on the defense and when rookies and second year players were making heads up plays, it is inexcusable that a leader like Peterson makes a stupid play like that.

The Lions had plenty of opportunities to beat the Jets, and in truth the Lions were the better team today.  The Lions just can't seem to get out of their own way and it cost them a chance to get back into the playoff picture.

Jay benefited from a balanced Bears offensive game plan

During their bye week, the Bears talked of becoming more balanced offensively. While they didn't exploit the league's worst rush defense, they did enough to keep the Bills honest. The result? The Bears escaped Canada with a 22-19 win over the still winless Bills.

The Bears rushed 31 times for 105 yards, 39 of them coming on Jay Cutler scrambles. Once again, their bend-but-don't-break defense did enough to keep them in the game. Trailing by 5 in the 4^th quarter, a 39-yard INT return by Tim Jennings set the Bears up in great field position.

Jay Cutler capitalized with a 2-yard TD pass to Earl Bennett. A Culter-to-Forte shovel pass secured the 2-point conversion, giving the Bears a 3-point lead they would not relinquish with 6:41 left in the game.

When the defense rose to the occasion and stopped the Bills offense in Bears territory on Buffalo's ensuring drive, the Bears failed to run out the clock. Once again, their short-yardage offense couldn't convert a 3^rd and 1 that would've ended the game. A Brad Maynard punt pinned the Bills at their own one. Three plays later, Chris Harris picked Bills QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick to end the game.

Canadian Israel Idonije, playing in his home country for the first time since college, had a solid game, recording 3 tackles, a half sack and a blocked extra point.

After going 3 and out their first 2 drives, the Bears finally got their offense in gear. A 14-play, 81-yard drive ended with a 4-yard Cutler-to-Olsen TD pass. Then, in what would become a recurring theme, the Bills would fight back.

Bills QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick, helped lead Buffalo back with a 14-yard TD pass to Roscoe Parrish. Fitzpatrick who entered the day among the leaders in TD passes with 12, put the ball in the air 51 times (completing 31) for 299 yards 1 TD and 2 INTs.

The teams exchanged touchdown drives in the third quarter, both of which ended in short touchdown runs – a 1-yarder by Chester Taylor (yes, the Bears managed to score from the 1!) and a 4-yard answer by Fred Jackson.

The Bears offensive line kept Cutler clean most of the day against the Bills below-average pass rush. He was only sacked once, but was also stripped on the play. The Bills cashed in the fumble for a Corey McIntyre 1-yard TD run.

Other than that, Cutler was solid. Martz's commitment to the run game allowed Cutler to put up solid, but pedestrian numbers – 17 for 30 for 188 yards and 2 TDs. Also, rather than force plays that weren't there, he threw the ball away when no play was available.

Perhaps more important than the yards the Bears gained on the ground, Mike Martz stayed committed to the run game. Forte and Chester Taylor combined for 24 carries for 62 yards against the league's worst rushing defense. While that performance doesn't do much to squash Bear Nation's concerns over their O-line, the balanced attack helped Chicago earn a big midseason win.

The 5-3 Bears host the 3-5 Vikings (who beat AZ in OT) next week in an NFC North battle.