uPtoWnNY said:

Agreed but good coaching addresses that issue.

@ UptownNY

Them Texas boys ain't nuthin' to play wif!

Brees torches Giants as Saints win 48-27

NEW ORLEANS (AP)—Who dat knew them Saints were this good?

Drew Brees(notes) torched the Giants’ league-leading defense, swarming Saints defenders ruined Eli Manning’s(notes) homecoming and undefeated New Orleans matched its best start since 1993 with a 48-27 throttling of previously unbeaten New York on Sunday.

“We wanted to really dictate the tempo of the game the whole way through,” Brees said. “Seven different guys scored touchdowns. That’s big. That’s the type of rhythm that, when you get in, you feel like you can call anything and it’s going to work.”

Brees ended his two-game streak without a touchdown throw by completing 23 of 30 passes for 369 yards and four scores, giving him 101 TD passes since the Saints signed him as a free agent in 2006.

The Giants (5-1) came into the game giving up averages of 210.6 yards and 14.2 points. The Saints (5-0) had 34 points and 315 yards by halftime.

The Saints have beaten all comers by 14 points or more and have yet to trail this season, looking more and more like the team to beat in the NFC. They became the fourth team to have seven players score TDs in a game since the 1970 merger.

Yet the architect of this juggernaut, coach Sean Payton, bristled at the notion that New Orleans’ latest convincing victory over an undefeated team from New York—they beat the Jets 24-10 in Week 4—meant that the Saints had established themselves as clear Super Bowl favorites.

“I don’t think you can talk about big pictures after (Game) 5,” Payton said.

Manning looked like his father Archie sometimes did when he played for woeful Saints teams of old, fumbling on a sack by Roman Harper(notes) to set up a Saints score and throwing an interception under pressure that stalled a promising drive.

It was Manning’s first game in the Superdome, but not a memorable one for him—or for fellow Louisiana natives Brandon Jacobs(notes) and Corey Webster(notes). Manning was 14 of 31 for 178 yards. He lost his cool at least once, yelling at Ahmad Bradshaw(notes) and slapping his shoulder pad after the running back’s lapse in protection precipitated a rushed throw that Jabari Greer(notes) intercepted early in the third quarter.

“It’s not the way I imagined it during the week, but you’re going to encounter all sorts of games and all sorts of situations,” Manning said before walking across the Superdome field to the team bus, his mother on one side, his father on the other. “I look at it as a loss. We need to go back to work this week, fix some things and try to improve.”

Manning connected with Mario Manningham(notes) for a 15-yard score in the second quarter, but also overthrew an open Steve Smith on a deep pass that could have resulted in a touchdown in the first half. He was replaced by David Carr(notes) late in the fourth quarter.

By contrast, Brees connected on 15 straight throws at one point, two short of the franchise record he already owns. That stretch included his first three touchdown passes: 1 yard to former Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey(notes), 36 yards to Robert Meachem(notes) and 12 yards to Lance Moore(notes).

Saints players and coaches praised the offensive line, which routinely gave Brees time and did not allow him to be sacked.

“I don’t know that we ever hit him,” Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said of Brees, exaggerating only slightly. “At this level, if you’re going to stop the pass, you’ve got to get pressure. You’ve got to force the quarterback not to throw it on his tempo.”

Former Hofstra standout Marques Colston(notes) put on a show for his fans watching back in the New York area, often victimizing Webster as he caught eight passes for 166 yards and a 12-yard touchdown. He twisted gracefully in the air to snag passes thrown high and behind him, held the ball while absorbing hard hits and broke tackles while struggling for extra yards.

New Orleans gained more than 500 total yards before a sack of backup Mark Brunell(notes) made it 493. Moore caught six passes for 78 yards and Meachem had two catches for 70. New Orleans had 133 yards on the ground, led by Pierre Thomas’(notes) 72. Mike Bell(notes), Reggie Bush(notes) and fullback Heath Evans(notes) all scored on runs.

The Giants were held to a season-low 84 yards rushing.

By the end, jubilant fans rained down chants of “Who dat say they gonna’ beat them Saints. Who dat! Who dat!”

Colston said he was confident he and his teammates would not let their explosive start go to their heads, though—not after missing the playoffs the past two seasons.

“This group has been together long enough to see some of the great times (the NFC championship game in 2006) and the last two years have been pretty difficult for us, so staying grounded is definitely not an issue in this locker room,” Colston said. “We’ve got some great veteran leadership.”

NOTES: The Saints have scored on each of their opening drives this season, with four TDs and one field goal. … Brees joined Archie Manning and Aaron Brooks(notes) as the only other QBs to pass for 15,000 yards and 100 TDs as a Saint. … Giants right tackle Kareem McKenzie(notes) left with a groin injury in the second quarter. … Saints LB Scott Fujita(notes) went out with a left calf injury in the first half.

Can't believe the Cowboys let Sean Payton get away.

I have nothing to say - the Saints were Rick James and the Giants were Charlie Murphy. Giants couldn't get a pass rush against the Saints o-line, and that exposed our weak-ass secondary. C.C. Brown was clueless out there. Giants gotta fix this shit quick or Warner & Fitzgerald will carve us up too.

How about that GREAT coaching job by Lovie Smith last night?

Graycap23 said:

Bears handed that game to the Falcons. They shot themselves in the foot time and time again. Matt Forte, WTF????

uPtoWnNY said:

11 more games and hopefully I'll never have 2 see Lovie Smith again.

Graycap23 said:

You know I was thinking about you during that game.

SCNDLS said:

Isn't lovie thee most competent head coach u have ever seen?

Graycap23 said:

There are quite a few worse than Lovie, I don't have to look very far..

SCNDLS said:

Lovie is a bum.....

Graycap23 said:

I'm just saying that on the bum scale he ain't at the bottom.

SCNDLS said:

The bottom, the middle, the top.....a bum is a bum, is a bum.

Graycap23 said:

Kris Jenkins is out for the year with a torn ACL...fuck, that's a huge loss for the Jets.

SCNDLS said:

All right, you.....

I never got the hype around this dude, he didn't do shit when he was with the Cowboys

Patriots cut WR Joey Galloway

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP)—The New England Patriots have released receiver Joey Galloway(notes) and tight end Michael Matthews(notes).

Galloway signed with the Patriots as a free agent after 14 seasons. He played in three games and had seven receptions for 67 yards.

Galloway was a first-round draft pick by the Seahawks in 1995.

uPtoWnNY said:

Opposing teams run stats will definitely
improve versus the Jets.

Miles Austin is now the starting WR instead of Patrick Crayton which ain't saying much since neither of these bustas are TO-caliber wideouts

SCNDLS said:

Miles has some upside while Patrick is as good as
he's gonna get. Miles has the quicks and hands. He
just has to get better at running routes.

phunkdaddy said:

He's injury prone tho

It seems that the Cowboys problems was NOT T.O.

Packers brought back Ahman Green.

Graycap23 said:

Damn, ya think???

You know how I fee about this shit here

SCNDLS said:

Let us see if the media admits this.

Graycap23 said:

This is currently a main story on Yahoo so I seriously doubt it.

Owens’ star has drastically fallen in Buffalo

As the trade deadline loomed only a few hours away Tuesday afternoon, a high-ranking AFC executive was rattling off some tidbits about potential movement around the league when the conversation turned to the value of Buffalo Bills wideout Terrell Owens(notes). Still hyped by the media as a commodity at this week’s deadline, Owens had been relegated to footnote status long ago by this particular talent evaluator.

“He’s hit the wall,” the AFC executive said. “I think he has. I think it’s done or close to it. He’ll have a couple of games here and there where he shows up, but big picture, long term, I think it’s done.”

That was an opinion echoed by multiple front-office executives contacted by Yahoo! Sports this week. Posed with two questions (does Owens have any significant trade value, and where is his career going) the answers were resounding: He now commands little on the market, and beyond a “name” that sells tickets, his impact going forward is expected to be marginal at best. Like Marvin Harrison(notes) last season, the soon-to-be 36-year-old Owens is viewed by personnel men as the NFL’s dying supernova of 2009 – a star on the verge of a fascinating final collapse that many NFL front offices want to avoid.

Their opinions aren’t solely driven by numbers, although that would be understandable. Through six games, Owens is off to arguably his worst start since his rookie season: 15 catches for 215 yards and one touchdown, and a yards-after-catch average (3.3) that is the lowest of his career. Part of the ineffectiveness can be blamed on the offensive pieces surrounding Owens, but personnel men familiar with his film say that’s hardly the only issue.

“I hear that he’s one of the greatest of all time, but I don’t buy it – never did,” said one general manager. “He drops balls. He’s not a natural catcher. He’s not a great route runner, blah, blah, blah. He’s big and strong and good with the run after the catch, if he catches it. I can give you 100 negatives. It’s just not worth it.

“Someone else [on another team] will say the opposite. [They’ll say] ‘We’ll get him to catch better. We’ll get him to do what we want.’ [They’ll say] ‘He’s a threat just being on the field. He’ll open up other players.’ Well, when you’re talking about that, you’re talking about using a guy knowing he’s a failure and who might shock you with a touchdown or two. But basically you’re sacrificing him to free up our other good players. That’s what I’ve been hearing for two years, and that’s the death march right there.”


In fairness, whatever Owens has lost off his game has been made exponentially worse by some of Buffalo’s other decisions. When the franchise traded anchor offensive tackle Jason Peters(notes) to the Philadelphia Eagles in April, it essentially began a complete gutting of the offensive line. Thanks to the makeover and injuries, Buffalo actually started three rookies against the New York Jets last week: right tackle Jamon Meredith(notes) and guards Eric Wood(notes) and Andy Levitre(notes).

The inexperience of those players, along with concerns about health at the quarterback position, has created some significant changes in scheme. There isn’t the protection for deeper drops and more developed routes downfield – the kinds of routes that would best suit Owens. There are also more maximum protection situations, resulting in fewer receivers released in routes and more opportunities for defenses to double Owens.

“Their offensive line is really struggling,” former Bills coach and general manger Marv Levy said. “It’s young, it’s inexperienced and now add to that that they’re beaten up and battered. They’re seeing a tremendous amount of double coverage on their receivers. Then they get behind and have to throw the ball. As a result [of the double teams] they have to throw a lot of dump off passes, so the offense field gets shorter. So there aren’t many going to him. That’s really what it amounts to. You can force it to him, but that’s when you get interceptions.”

But even blaming the offense doesn’t tell the full story. One Jets player said that when New York was prepping for Owens, the strategy for dealing with him was fairly basic. He wasn’t reacting well to physical contact at the line of scrimmage, and didn’t warrant double coverage. While superb cornerback Darrelle Revis(notes) was expected to be singled up with Owens most of the day, the Jets delivered simple instructions to whoever found himself across from the receiver: get your hands into his chest at the line of scrimmage and don’t worry about surrendering short area passes. The result was Owens getting targeted eight times, catching three balls for only 13 yards.

“I don’t think we doubled him once,” the Jets player said. “Buffalo will make you hit a wall [in your career]. People thought Randy Moss(notes) hit a wall, too, didn’t they? How motivated is [Owens] to play in Buffalo? How excited is he about the offense? They just canned the no-huddle [stuff] because it wasn’t working. They’re not finding creative ways to get him the football, either.”

Asked if he thought Owens could still be a great player in the league, the Jets player replied, “I don’t know. But definitely not on that offense.”

Clearly, the move to the Bills was a major career miscalculation. And one that Owens likely realized early on, when strife began to develop during the preseason between former offensive coordinator Turk Schonert and head coach Dick Jauron. But even now, it’s not known if Owens actually had other legitimate suitors for his talents. While agent Drew Rosenhaus said there were “several” teams interested in his client after his release by the Dallas Cowboys in March, not one other team has surfaced as having expressed serious interest.

All of that raises the question of where Owens will go from here. One year ago, many speculated that Harrison would certainly find another NFL team if he was cut by the Indianapolis Colts in the offseason. However, his declining skills and off-field baggage made him practically radioactive. It stands to reason that the same could be in store for Owens when he becomes a free agent after this season. Unless another franchise is willing to take Buffalo’s stance that Owens is good for ticket sales, the rest of his attributes will be hotly debated – especially if he is viewed as a marginal No. 2 or even a No. 3 receiver.


One Jet says Owens didn't command double-team attention in their game last Sunday.

(Getty Images)
“He has slowed down far too much and he is a lightning rod for noise that teams don’t need,” said the aforementioned AFC executive. “This guy used to create a large part of his problems [with the media], but now [reporters] are trying to help him create problems. Part of what he said is true – the assertion that he’s just trying to be left alone but people won’t leave him alone. But that’s his cross to bear because of how he acted when he was younger.

“It’s kind of like what was following Randy Moss years ago. Randy changed. But he finally got to a place where it’s closed down enough [in New England] where [reporters] tried following him like a hound but they couldn’t.”

Clearly, Owens is a player with a gauntlet of concerns that make him a shaky commodity. And that’s not even factoring in the bridges he has burned throughout his years in the league. That reality was punctuated when media reports linked the Baltimore Ravens to a potential pursuit of Owens at the trade deadline. One player who had a front row seat for the messy situation involving Owens in 2004 was incredulous when informed by Y! Sports of the Ravens/Owens trade speculation.

The player said Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome was “furious” when Owens forced his way to the Eagles after Baltimore had acquired him via trade. After using a union grievance to win a trade to Philadelphia, Owens subsequently flamed Newsome in his autobiography “Catch This!”, which came out shortly after he shunned the Ravens. In the book, Owens alleged that Newsome had remarked to Owens’ former agent, David Joseph, that “sometimes a black man’s gotta be slapped.” Owens later told Baltimore reporters that statement was one of the reasons he didn’t want to play for the Ravens. Newsome has consistently refused to comment on the book.

“Do you think Ozzie would trade for him after that?” the player said. “Not after he [expletive] on Ozzie like that. Everybody in the organization knew it. He’ll never have a job [in Baltimore]. He [expletive] on everybody. Whatever [Ravens coach and former Eagles assistant John Harbaugh] says about thinking Owens is a great player, Ozzie isn’t going for that. Ozzie is calling the shots. T.O. called Ozzie out. He talked [expletive] about Ozzie. And Ozzie isn’t going to trade for a player who called him out.”

In fairness, Owens has been largely silent so far in Buffalo. Aside from some subtle digs at the play-calling, he has avoided the blowups that have marked his previous stops.

And yet, the typical drama that has followed Owens doesn’t seem to be the primary concern anymore. Instead, he may be finally becoming more a victim of what he does on the field than off. Ask evaluators about his value now, and they’ll tell you it’s not an issue of the walls he builds inside the locker room, but rather the walls he runs into once he leaves it.

This article is a perfect example: It lists a 1000 reasons why it's not his fault that he's having a bad season in Buffalo YET still manages to blame it on him. Oh and it's funny how even though Ozzie Newsome made that comment about "slapping a black man" the Ravens people are saying that TO shit on HIM by making it public. Really??? Anybody that can't see how he's unfairly depicted in the media is blind.
[Edited 10/23/09 6:48am]

SCNDLS said:

Exactly right.

Let's go Cards!!!

SCNDLS said:

How bout those Bears.....