New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens at the top of the class

I can’t believe it.  The first quarter of the 2010 NFL Season is just about over.  You know what that means.  Quarter exams.  In Week 4 in the NFL, some teams passed their exams, some barely survived and others failed miserably. 

Top of the class.

The New York Jets are leading their division and LaDainian Tomlinson (LT) is running like he is in his twenties.  Buffalo did not have a chance against them yesterday.  The Jets won easily 38-14.  The Baltimore Ravens defense rallied and gave the Pittsburgh Steelers their first loss of the season.  Ray Lewis had an interception late in the game that sealed the Ravens 17-14 victory.  The Steelers were without their starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, but defense wins championships.

Just passing.

The Altanta Falcons barely beat the winless San Francisco 49ers, 16 -14.  The Washington Redskins won yesterday 17-12 against the Philadelphia Eagles (making Donovan McNabb’s return to Philadelphia pretty sweet), but the Eagles were without their new savior, Michael Vick.  The victory does not elevate them because they are in a division in which every team has loss twice.  The New Orleans Saints offense is struggling.  Luckily, they brought back 46 year old, John Carney, who made 3 field goals that put them 16 -14 over the Carolina Panthers.

Failing.

The Indianapolis Colts are not playing to their potential and have a disappointing record of 2-2.  The Chicago Bears only managed a field goal in a loss to the New York Giants.  The Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Carolina and San Francisco are looking forward to their first win of the season.

Incomplete.

Shockingly, Kansas City Chiefs is the only undefeated team left in the league.  Like the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they had a bye in Week 4.  These teams will finish up their first quarter next week.  If the Chiefs pull out a victory over Indiana, teams will start to take them seriously.

New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins play tonight on Monday Night Football.  Both teams have former Michigan quarterbacks as starters.  Tom Brady (Patriots) may teach the younger Chad Henne (Dolphins) a few things, but I don’t think that the Patriots defense will stop Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown or Brandon Marshall.  I’m going with Miami to win and take second place in the AFC East.

In college football, Oregon moved to #3 in the rankings.  Boise State is still undefeated, but they already had a week off so they are only 4-0.  Even with an unblemished record, we may see Boise State move down again.  They do not have a challenging schedule.  So, if a team like Auburn or Nebraska beats a ranked opponent it will look more impressive than Boise pounding on San Jose State.

Alabama #1 dominated Florida #14 (they moved down from #7).  A week after they almost suffered a loss to Arkansas, the Crimson Tide rolled over the Gators and held them to just 6 points.   They only have 3 more ranked opponents on their schedule, Auburn #8, LSU #12 and South Carolina #19.  After this weekend’s game against South Carolina, they will not face any tough competition until November.

Ohio State #2 and Terrelle Pryor are still leading the Big Ten, but they made Buckeye fans worry on Saturday.  Although they won, they struggled against an unranked Illinois team.  Considering that Alabama crushed a top 10 team, it’s surprising to me that the Buckeyes still received a first place vote in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls.  

In other areas of the Big Ten, star quarterback, Denard Robinson, saved Michigan #18.  His 277 passing yards and 217 rushing yards are the reasons Michigan is still undefeated.  Michigan State #17 upset Wisconsin #20 adding more intensity to their match up against Michigan on Saturday.  The rivals will enter Michigan Stadium without a loss and battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy.  Paul has been away from Michigan for a couple of years.  After Saturday, he’ll back in his plush arrangements in Ann Arbor.  Am I biased? Of course.  Go Blue!

Ciao! 

Heels & Helmets

College, NFL, fantasy leagues – Are you ready for football?

College football started, the NFL kicks off its season tomorrow and fantasy leagues have completed their drafts.  With so much going on, I decided to take a quick look at all three and give you some info to prepare for this weekend.

College Football

The first weekend of college football was really exciting!  The University of Michigan opened its new stadium to a sold-out crowd by demolishing Connecticut.   Quarterback, Denard Robinson, set a school record rushing for 197 yards at that position.  (I told you that the third year would be a charm.)  Boise State traveled to the nation’s capital and legitimized its #3 ranking by defeating Virginia Tech (#13) at FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins.  Boise gets to rest this weekend.  Michigan will go on the road to play non-conference rival Notre Dame led by new coach Brian Kelly.  Both teams are trying to climb its way into the top 25.  The Fighting Irish opened its season with a win over Purdue.  But, I do not think that their defense will be able to handle the speed of Robinson. 

The game to follow will be Ohio State (#2) and Miami (#12) at the “Horseshoe” in Columbus.  Miami lost the 2003 National Championship Game (Fiesta Bowl) to Ohio State in which a controversial call was made against Miami for pass interference.  The Hurricanes will be playing for all of the former players who were on the 2002 team.  They seem good enough to beat the Buckeyes.  I know that football is a team sport, but this is going to come down to the performance of one guy – Ohio State quarterback, Terrelle Pryor.  He is good enough to contend for the Heisman, but he also makes decisions that make him look like he should be on the bench.  I have been told that your greatest strength can also be your greatest weakness.  If TP is the Buckeyes’ greatest strength they will send Miami back to South Beach with an “L.”  If he is the team’s greatest weakness, there will be a serious hurricane in Northern Ohio.

Who Dat going to New Orleans?

It’s NFL Kickoff in the Big Easy!  Drew Brees and the Saints start the road to defend their Super Bowl Title at home against Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings tomorrow.  Both teams have their quarterbacks intact, but Favre’s ankle is still questionable.  The last time the teams played was earlier this year in the NFC Championship game.  In that game, Favre took a tough hit that injured his left ankle and threw an interception that ended the game.  Favre did not come back at 41 after major surgery on his ankle to lose.  I see him willing his way to victory and avenging his performance in last season’s NFC Championship game.  OK, I need him to do well because he is my fantasy QB.  Which brings me to…

Fantasy Football

You drafted your players and selected your defense.  Don’t worry if you did not get everyone that you wanted.  You can trade and draft new players throughout the season.  If you are new to fantasy football these three easy things will help you be successful with your team:

1. Keep up with your players’ schedules and do not have them on your roster when they have a “Bye” week.

2. Check in on injury reports and make sure that you are starting players who are still healthy and able to play.

3. Have patience and don’t trade immediately.  A player may start off slow and end up with a great season.  Try benching a player before you trade.

Now turn in your rosters and kick butt!  Just don’t mess up your heels.

Ciao! 

Heels & Helmets