NFL Round-Up: Week Nine

Introductions?

So.......

Sit back........

Grab a beer............

Put the kids outside...........

Tell the wife to leave you alone.........

IT'S TIME............................................

NFL Round-Up

Week 9

The Scoreboard

(A recap of all the action from the past week in the NFL....)

*Due to time restraints, the Monday Night Football games are not included in The Scoreboard


Cleveland Browns (2-7): 10    Cincinnati Bengals (8-0): 31

This looks and feels like a different Bengals team, doesn't it? This doesn't look and feel like the type of Bengals team that has Andy Dalton choke big-time in a prime-time televised game. This doesn't look and feel like the type of Bengals team that has problems with the Cleveland Browns, regardless of the disparity in talent between the teams. This doesn't look and feel like the type of Bengals team that's going to disappoint everyone and whiff in the playoffs....does it? Not right now because this Cincinnati team is absolutely on fire. Their offensive line is playing out of it's mind this season (Andrew Whitworth for MVP) and Andy Dalton is reaping all the benefits and making himself look like an all-time great. If he continues his stellar play this season, then I see no reason the Bengals shouldn't be taken as serious Super Bowl contenders. As for the Browns, they are done. If I was Cleveland, I would leave Johnny Football in for the rest of the season and just see what happens. Manziel was wildly inconsistent in this game, but at least he's entertaining to watch. That's much more than you can say about a Browns team with Josh McCown as QB....

Green Bay Packers (6-2): 29     Carolina Panthers (8-0): 37

Just in case you still weren't buying into what the Carolina Panthers are doing, they went ahead and just beat the "best team in the NFC" in the eyes of many. Can we start giving the Panthers the credit they deserve or are we just going to continue to brush them off as pretenders? Looking ahead at Carolina's schedule, there are a lot of winnable games left and it wouldn't shock me at all to see them get into the playoffs with the top seed in the NFC. If that happens, Carolina has a shot at making the Super Bowl. We just saw what they did to the Packers, even though Aaron Rodgers threw for 4 TD's. Cam Newton doesn't have the weapons that Rodgers does, but he's still playing out of his mind this year. Good coach + good QB + good defense = good NFL team. It's a simple formula that more teams should try and follow....

  

Washington Redskins (3-5): 10     New England Patriots (8-0): 27

Patriots. All they do is win. I say it every week and I'll continue to say it until one of these other pathetic NFL franchises can take these guys out. You think the Redskins were going to be the ones to do that? Puh-lease! You see these yet?

Tennessee Titans (2-6): 34      New Orleans Saints (4-5): 28

I'm not the kind of guy who's going to over-react to anything I see. I like to see things in large doses before I make a conclusion on something and I actually get rather annoyed when people don't do the same. With that said, I'm ready to go ahead and crown Marcus Mariota as the greatest NFL quarterback of all-time. Once again, the rookie QB came out (after returning from injury no less...) and threw for 4 TD's and actually threw the game-winning TD in overtime here. Not bad for a rookie QB that's on a garbage team that just fired their head coach last week. So, not only is Marcus Mariota a TD throwing machine, but he's also extremely clutch and can handle adversity no matter where it comes from. Where are all those NFL pundits that were saying Mariota was going to be a gigantic bust in the NFL because he came from a college team that doesn't prepare you to play QB in the NFL? Oh, that's right....

Miami Dolphins (3-5): 17    Buffalo Bills (4-4): 33

What did we learn this week Bills fans?

That "Shady" McCoy is pretty good when he's in the zone.

And......

FEED SAMMY WATKINS THE DAMN BALL! Good things will happen when you do. The Bills remain in the playoff hunt with a big win over division rival Miami, but honestly the best part was Watkins finally going off. Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a Sammy Watkins guy and I have been since his days at Clemson. I've been worried about the guy lately (especially with his off-the-field behavior), but it's good to see him come out and have a good game against the Dolphins. Now, let's see if he can keep it up. Something tells me if him and McCoy can have games like this every week, the Bills would be better than the 4-4 team they are today. 

St. Louis Rams (4-4): 18    Minnesota Vikings (6-2): 21

Don't look now, but the season is halfway over and the Minnesota Vikings are now tied with Green Bay for first place in the NFC North. If you've been reading The Ultimate Sports Blog this season, you would know that we are big on the Vikings and Minnesota continues to roll. Don't be surprised when this team makes the playoffs. Now, the other thing we have to talk about is the controversy surrounding this game afterward. Lamarcus Joyner hit Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater during the game with what appeared to be a questionable hit and Bridgewater was pulled out of the game with an apparent concussion. During his press conference after the game, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer brought up Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams' past (Bountygate anyone?) and now everyone is going crazy. There's no doubt that this is going to get brought up constantly this week. It'll be interesting to see if anything comes out of Zimmer's allegations but I'm sure there will be OUTRAGE because who doesn't love OUTRAGE???

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6): 23    New York Jets (5-3): 28

Oakland Raiders (4-4): 35    Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4): 38

Oakland fans shouldn't beat themselves up to bad over this loss. You still look like a really good football team that is missing a few pieces before you can turn that CORNER (yes this is a pun...) from a "good" to a "great" NFL team. Obviously the weakness on this Oakland team is in the secondary. Outside of Charles Woodson (who is playing out of his mind in what should be his final season....but who knows with this guy?) and T.J. Carrie, the Raiders are garbage in the secondary and that's likely going to be the reason they just miss out on the playoffs. As for the Steelers, what more can go wrong for Ben Roethlisberger this year? The guy has now suffered his second injury this year, and I'm not the kind of guy who goes around and tries to make situations even worse....but "Big Ben" isn't getting any younger and if I was a Steelers fan, I would start to worry about the long-term health of my QB. One of the biggest keys to Roethlisberger's success is his ability to take a hit and that he's one of the hardest QB's to actually take down. Is that still possible with "Big Ben" or are we at a point now that the guy is going to miss some serious game time after every bit of contact he makes? Anyway, I guess it doesn't matter as long as ANTONIO BROWN GETS 284 RECEIVING YARDS IN ONE GAME!!!!

Seriously though. That guy is a beast and as long as he's healthy....I can play for QB for the Steelers and they'll at least have a shot. 

New York Giants (5-4): 32    Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5): 18

Outside of Odell Beckham Jr.....

Atlanta Falcons (6-3): 16    San Francisco 49ers (3-6): 17

Ladies and gentlemen....

THE REAL ATLANTA FALCONS HAVE ARRIVED TO THE 2015-16 NFL SEASON!

It was a tad late, but we knew they would show up eventually and here they are. After starting out the season a surprising 5-0, the Falcons have faded in a horrible way. They are 1-3 in their last 4 games and all four of those games have come against teams that aren't exactly setting the world on fire. The Falcons only win in that span was against a Tennessee Titans team that was playing with it's back-up QB. What I'm trying to say is, I didn't have that much faith in the Falcons going into the season and it's good to see that I can be right sometimes. 

The 49ers on the other hand? Maybe they are on to something? Maybe Jim Tomsula is actually a REALLY good coach and Blaine Gabbert is actually a REALLY good NFL QB and we are all just stupid?

Denver Broncos (7-1): 24     Indianapolis Colts (4-5): 27

The Denver Broncos finally lost?

That's too bad Peyton. Looks like you won't be riding off into the sunset with a Super Bowl ring on an undefeated team. Now, there is still a chance you end up with a Super Bowl ring this year so I won't get too crazy with my hammering, but whenever the Donkies and John Elway end up on the losing side of things...it's a good week around my house.

The big story to come out of this game (besides Peyton's return to Indy of course) was Broncos CB Aqib Talib obviously eye-gouging the shit out of Colts TE Dwayne Allen. Talib has already been suspended a game, but he's appealing his suspension because he says the eye-gouge wasn't intentional.

I don't know. I'll let you guys be the judge of that.....

Philadelphia Eagles (4-4): 33    Dallas Cowboys (2-6): 27

The Eagles are a pretty good football team when things are working. And by things, I mean Sam Bradford. I'm still not sold on Bradford's long term potential in Philadelphia and you bet your ass that they should be looking for a QB in the off-season...but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. 

The Cowboys are a garbage football team without Tony Romo. We've already established that in the pages of this very column. Also, I'll continue to laugh at Dallas' failures as long as they have that piece of shit Greg Hardy on their football team. Why does Dallas have Greg Hardy on their football team? Because their owner is a fucking joke who is afraid to do the right thing. I can't wait for Hardy to do something else dumb (it's only a matter of time) and totally make Jerry Jones look like a jackass. It's going to be GLORIOUS! 

Monday Night Football Scores:

Chicago Bears (3-5): 22    San Diego Chargers (2-7): 19

Fantasy Football Top Performers

(Fantasy football is huge these days. Here are the best fantasy football players from this week)

*Stats are from Yahoo and don't include Monday Night Football teams

Quarterbacks:

1. Cam Newton (34.58 points)

2. Aaron Rodgers (33.96 points)

3. Marcus Mariota (33.34 points)

4. Drew Brees (32.38 points)

5. Derek Carr (27.34 points)

Running Backs:

1. DeAngelo Williams (36.50 points)

2. Lamar Miller (26.10 points)

3. Karlos Williams (23.00 points)

4. DeMarco Murray (22.10 points)

5. Adrian Peterson (20.30 points)

Wide Receivers:

1. Antonio Brown (28.60 points)

2. Cole Beasley (23.20 points)

3. Michael Crabtree (22.80 points)

3. Sammy Watkins (22.80 points)

5. Jordan Matthews (19.30 points)

6. Allen Hurns (18.20 points)

7. Dez Bryant (16.40 points)

8. Randall Cobb (15.90 points)

9. Emmanuel Sanders (15.00 points)

10. Amari Cooper (14.80 points)

Tight Ends:

1. Delanie Walker (23.50 points)

2. Tyler Eifert (23.30 points)

3. Owen Daniels (16.20 points)

4. Richard Rodgers (13.90 points)

5. Garrett Celek (13.20 points)

Kickers:

1. Greg Zuerlein (17.00 points)

1. Josh Brown (17.00 points)

3. Connor Barth (14.00 points)

3. Graham Gano (14.00 points)

5. Adam Vinatieri (12.00 points)
5. Chris Boswell (12.00 points)
5. Jason Myers (12.00 points)

Defense:

1. New York Jets (14.00 points)

2. New York Giants (13.00 points)

3. Philadelphia Eagles (12.00 points)

4. New England Patriots (9.00 points)

4. Tennessee Titans (9.00 points)

NFL Power Rankings

(Pretty self explanatory here...)

1. New England Patriots (8-0)
2. Cincinnati Bengals (8-0)

3. Carolina Panthers (8-0)
4. Denver Broncos (7-1)
5. Arizona Cardinals (6-2)
6. Minnesota Vikings (6-2)
7. Green Bay Packers (6-2)
8. Atlanta Falcons (6-3)
9. New York Jets (5-3)
10. New York Giants (5-4)
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4)
12. Seattle Seahawks (4-4)
13. Philadelphia Eagles (4-4)
14. Buffalo Bills (4-4)
15. Oakland Raiders (4-4)
16. St. Louis Rams (4-4)
17. Indianapolis Colts (4-5)

18. New Orleans Saints (4-5)
19. Kansas City Chiefs (3-5)
20. Miami Dolphins (3-5)
21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5)
22. Washington Redskins (3-5)
23. Chicago Bears (3-5)
24. Houston Texans (3-5)
25. San Francisco 49ers (3-6)
26. Dallas Cowboys (2-6)
27. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6)
28. Baltimore Ravens (2-6)
29. Tennessee Titans (2-6)
30. San Diego Chargers (2-7)
31. Cleveland Browns (2-7)

32. Detroit Lions (1-7)