Saturday, November 21, 2009

Sunday in a Nutshell: Week 11

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Morning Games:
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INDIANAPOLIS COLTS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS:
Payton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts look to continue their undefeated season in Baltimore this week. Indianapolis has not lost a regular season game since Oct 27th 2008--that is an 18 game regular season winning streak, just three games shy of the record held by their arch enemy the New England Patriots. The Ravens want a win to keep pace with division leading Cincinnati Bengals. Look for Ravens RB Ray Rice (wow, such alliteration) to have a big day against the Colts defense. These two teams are not in the same division but there is a rivalry here since the Colts moved to Indianapolis from Baltimore. Remember our division talk? I have a feeling the Colts will stay undefeated after this weekend--Payton Manning is usually a safe bet. We know that now. 

ATLANTA FALCONS AT NEW YORK GIANTS:
Both of these teams have a 5-4 record (meaning 5 wins, 4 losses) and need a win to stay in the playoff race. The New York Giants started the season 5-0 but have lost their last 4 games. Way to be consistent, guys. This is "gut check time" (apparently meaning that it's time to look deep inside yourself in order to see if you have the guts to step it up a notch--or so I've been told) for Eli Manning and his New York Giants. The Falcons will have a tough time getting a win with RB Michael Turner on the sideline with an injury. RB Jason Snelling and Jerious Norwood will try to replace this elite running back. On the Giants' side look for RB Brandon Jacobs, who has had a disappointing season so far, to have a big game on Sunday. This game will probably have as many highlights as Ryan Seacrest's hair. 
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Afternoon Games:
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NEW YORK JETS AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS:
After that devastating last minute loss to the Colts last Sunday the Patriots want to bounce back with a win against their division rivals, the New York Jets. The Jets beat New England in Week 2 but New England is playing great football these days and the Jets are sputtering. No pun intended. Jets Head Coach and super villain Rex Ryan is trying any method possible to motivate his team, even shedding a few tears during a press conference. Sigh. He still has faith in his Rookie QB Mark Sanchez and his young and tough defense (and if we're going based on looks, I have faith in him, too). This will be a challenge for the Jets but they have stunned the Patriots before so lets see if they can do it again.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS AT DENVER BRONCOS:
Both of these teams are 6-3 and tied for 1st place in the AFC West. Denver beat the chargers in week 6 by a score of 34-23 but the Chargers have not lost a game since. The Chargers are playing great football and the Broncos are getting worried especially with their quarterback Kyle Orton having to leave the game last week with an injury and being questionable this week to play. If Orton doesn’t play back up, QB Chris Simms (son of Football Great Phil Simms) will get the start. Even though this game is in Denver, the Broncos will have a tough time beating the smokin' hot Chargers.
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Sunday Night:
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PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT CHICAGO BEARS:
The Eagles are one game behind the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East division so they want a win to catch up. They will have to get this victory without All Pro RB Brian Westbrook who suffered his second concussion in the last 3 weeks against the Chargers last week. OUCH. QB Donovan McNabb will have to win this game with his arm this week for the Eagles. Look for WR Desean Jackson to make some big plays for the Eagles. On the other side the Chicago Bears are having a disappointing season. QB Gay Butler…ahem…Jay Cutler is the leading player in the league with 17 interceptions. (this is not a good category to lead the league in--kind of like having a high golf score. Not good.). Second year RB Matt Forte is having a disappointing season as well. If the Bears get a win they are not yet out of the runnings for the playoffs. This game doesn’t look that great on paper but just about every Sunday night game has been great and I don’t think this one will be any different.
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Monday Night:
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TENNESEE TITANS AT HOUSTON TEXANS:
This game doesn’t look too good on paper either. The Texans are 5-4 and the Titans are just 3-6…BUT this is going to be a good game. Both of these teams have big playmakers that should make some big plays on Monday night. Texans QB Matt Schaub and WR Andre Johnson should make some big plays down the field against a soft Titans defense. On the other side Titans RB Chris Johnson wants to have another big game and add to his league leading rushing yard total. He said that if he breaks 2000 yards this season (a total that only 5 players have done in a season) he would buy his offensive linemen a Mercedes each. The Titans are on a 3 game win streak and need to win the next seven games to have a shot at the playoffs. The Texans don’t have much of a chance to win their division as the Colts are up 4 games on them with 7 left so their hope is for a wildcard spot. This should be a Monday night game with some huge plays.

Stay tuned for some Defensive positions explained on Monday and this week's recap on Tuesday. Until next time...

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