Bucs - Luke McCown: 15-of-15 for 214 yards to start the game, one heck of an upgrade from the Bruce Gradkowski nightmare from last week. And with Earnest Graham continuing to grind out yardage in the trenches, this offense looked far better than anybody expected without Jeff Garcia behind center. Five first half drives, and all five produced point scoring chances in Saints territory. Ten different Tampa receivers caught passes from a quarterback who had a grand total of one completion since 2004 – where the heck did this come from? We saw several breakdowns from Monte Kiffin’s famous Cover 2 defense that never lets anyone behind them, as the Saints had a handful of completions over the top in the first half. But Kiffin made his halftime adjustments, and New Orleans was held without an offensive point in the second half.
Eagles - AJ Feeley played one heck of a game in New England last week, but there’s a reason that he’s the long term backup, with rookie Kevin Kolb slated to eventually take Donovan McNabb’s job. Feeley again showed flashes of brilliance today, but his propensity for key interceptions doomed the Eagles chances, much like last week. And this secondary really got torched! The Eagles have been remarkably inconsistent all year – their longest ATS winning streak of the campaign is one game.
Falcons - This defense looks a lot like they did last year at this time, a unit that has completely given up hope in the latter stages of another long miserable season. The offense with Joey Harrington looks worse than it did last year at this time. But there was an enormous difference in attitude and execution once Chris Redman came into the game, replacing Harrington. It seemed as if the offensive line protected Redman with a lot more intensity than they were protecting Harrington. Bobby Petrino’s former quarterback at Louisville rallied a dead team from three touchdowns behind on the road, never an easy task. Of course, with the game on the line, the defense couldn’t get a stop.
Lions - Damien Woody has never played tackle in the NFL before today, forced into duty on the right side today after numerous injuries on the offensive line. No surprise that Jon Kitna took three more sacks here – he was the single most sacked quarterback in the league coming into the game. This defense looks awful, unable to get off the field on third down and unable to generate any push at the line of scrimmage. The Lions didn’t force a punt, a turnover or even a single negative yardage play in the first half. Heck, they only forced three third downs while giving up five touchdowns. Not pretty. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team take more bad angles with their tackling. Here’s a fun stat: Detroit is now 0-27 on third down conversions of longer than ten yards since the beginning of October, not exactly making big plays out of tough spots.
Panthers - Why wouldn’t Carolina start Matt Moore at this stage instead of the 44-year old Vinnie Testaverde? Seems to me as if John Fox is trying to coax every win he possibly can out of this team this year in an effort to save his job, as opposed to a more secure coach who might be more willing to see what he’s got in his young backup. DeShaun Foster is one of the most mystifying backs in the NFL. He was a monster in college, an absolute beast with the power/speed combination that made scouts drool. And he’s shown flashes of that ability with Carolina – there are weeks that he looks like a legitimate impact back – today, for example. But there are also the games like last week: -5 rushing yards, two fumbles. Hard back to handicap!
Rams - No hangover here from last week’s devastating loss – the Rams marched down the field and into the end zone on their first possession, led by Gus Frerotte. They did it again on their next possession as well. St Louis in the first quarter is definitely a bet worth considering at home – they’ve completely dominated the early stages of each of their last three home games. This is a three win team that is still playing hard, with a real sense of purpose. But, boy, the Rams sure don’t know how to close out games, blowing big leads in each of their last two games. As a team, they can’t seem to maintain that intensity or execution for the full sixty minutes.
Saints - Marques Colston is the No. 1 receiver in the NFL over the last month, with 42 receptions in his last five games. He caught a beautiful jump-ball on a flea flicker to set up the Saints first touchdown here, using every inch of his 6-5 frame to make the grab. Devery Henderson outran two defenders to catch a Drew Brees bomb. But after making those big catches early, the Saints top two receivers were completely shut down after halftime. In fact, the entire offense was a non-factor in the second half, shut out for the most important 30 minutes of their season. A team that started 0-4 and fought their way back into contention truly squandered that chance today.
Seahawks - Did my eyes just deceive me, or did Shaun Alexander just score a rushing touchdown? Alexander has been completely invisible in the Seattle offense for months. In fact, his last touchdown came all the way back in Week 2, and his 16 yard gainer prior to the TD was his longest rush from scrimmage since Week 4. Then again, Alexander couldn’t do a thing with his next red zone opportunity, stuffed twice inside the ten yard line, and he managed just 47 yards on his other 18 carries. Josh Brown missed another relatively short field goal here, after missing two last week; hitting just four of his last nine tries. Don’t look yet, but the Seahawks have now won and covered four straight (all against losing teams), and they won’t face an opponent with a winning record until they reach the playoffs.
Vikings - Tavaris Jackson threw four interceptions in the first meeting between these two teams, but he looks like a completely different quarterback right now – confident in the pocket, throwing sharp, crisp passes, making good quick decisions. It sure helps to have one of the best offensive lines in football protecting him. Minnesota doesn’t just look like a playoff team right now – they look like a legit contender to make some noise in the postseason. No. 1 against the run; No. 32 against the pass, quite the defensive dichotomy. But the pass numbers might be a bit deceiving, because teams aren’t even trying to run on this front seven anymore.
For more NFL betting analysis from Teddy Covers, go to www.sportsmemo.com.
