New Orleans Saints vs. Detroit Lions Preview

            The New Orleans Saints are undefeated at the Superdome this season and I don't see that changing after tonight's game against the Detroit Lions. The Saints have won three straight games and are in great shape to make a run at the Super Bowl. Drew Brees has averaged over three hundred yards and three touchdowns over the past five games and there is no reason why he won't continue to put up big numbers. The Lions defense will be missing Ndamukong Suh because of his two game suspension for stomping on the arm of Green Bay Packers lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith. They will also be without key members of their seconday including Chris Houston, Louis Delmas, and Brandon McDonald. On the offensive side of the ball, the Lions will be without running back Jahvid Best and Kevin Smith will most likely see limited snaps due to an ankle injury. Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson will have to step up their performance if Detroit wants to have any hope at winning in New Orleans. With the three-headed rushing attack of Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas, and Darren Sproles the Saints have too many weapons for a lacking Detroit Lions defense to match up against. Also on offense, tight end Jimmy Graham is having a remarkable season and is the Saints leading receiver. Graham can create a lot of mismatches with his size in a Lions secondary filled with backup players.

Courtesy of http://sportsrantz.com/achievements/drew-brees/

Prediction: The New Orleans Saints win 42-24 over the Detroit Lions.
Drew Brees will throw for 350 yards and four touchdowns. Jimmy Graham will have five receptions for eighty yards and one touchdown. The Saints rushing trio combined will have 130 yards and two touchdowns. Matthew Stafford will throw for 250 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Calvin Johnson will have 100 yards receiving and one touchdown.

Getting to Know Caleb Hanie

             After Jay Cutler's season-ending injury to a finger on his throwing hand after chasing after Antoine Cason, who intercepted Cutler in the fourth quarter, it will be back-up quarterback Caleb Hanie who will look to lead the 7-3 Bears into the playoffs.

Courtesy of http://planbphilosophy.blogspot.com/2011/01/are-you-prepared-for-opportunity-caleb.html

             The last we saw of Hanie was when he replaced Cutler after an "injury" in last year's NFC Championship Game. Hanie was 13-20 for 153 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, which for a replacement QB in the biggest game of his life, was by no means a bad performance. Hanie is in his fourth NFL season after playing at Colorado State. He is almost the same size as Cutler, at 6'2" and 222 lbs. Luckily for both the Bears and Hanie, the team is capable of winning without relying too much on the play of the quarterback. As we saw against Detroit last week, Chicago managed score with its defense, special teams, and dual running back system under Mike Martz. As long as the defense can limit the scoring opportunities of their opponents, Hester gives the offense good field position, and Matt Forte and Marion Barber are able to carry the offense, Hanie will be gradually re-introduced to the offense. If he is able to lead the Bears over the Packers in Week 16, he'll become a living legend in Chicago.

Bengals Fall to Ravens because of A Ridiculous Rule

            You would think that the NFL would learn from the drama of last year's Chicago Bears-Detroit Lions game where Calvin Johnson caught the game-winning touchdown in the final minute, but dropped the ball before the play was officially over. It was ruled incomplete and the Bears won. A similar situation occurred in Baltimore as each tick of the clock brought the game closer to ending in a Ravens win. Quarterback Andy Dalton threw a pass to tight end Jermaine Gresham, who bobbled the ball three or four times before controlling it, taking one step, and then a second, which put him in the endzone. However, when he fell to the ground, the ball slipped out of his grasp and hit the ground before he grabbed it again.

Courtesy of http://www.cincyjungle.com/2010/11/16/1818418/jermaine-gresham-nominated-for-rookie-of-the-week

            To most football fans, especially Bengals fans, the play appeared to be a completion and touchdown. Gresham caught the ball, made two steps in bounds, and the ball crossed the plane while under his control. He held on the entire way down until he hit the ground. Sadly there is nothing the league can do for the Bengals, but they definitely need to re-evaluate this rule in the offseason and find a way to modify it. The rule seems to imply that the wide receiver has to hold on to the football until he runs back to the bench. The rule is overkill, and led to the Bengals losing 31-24, after not scoring on their final drive. Andy Dalton got cheated out of a fourth quarter comeback and the Bengals got cheated out of a win.

Top NFL Plays of Week 10



3. Yesterday in the Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs game, half of Tim Tebow's completions were touchdowns. Considering that he only had two completions make that stat much less impressive, but nonetheless, I think he deserves credit for his sole passing touchdown after lulling the Chiefs' secondary to sleep in a game that featured fifty-five Broncos rushing plays. In the fourth quarter, while the Broncos were only up by three points, Tebow connected with wide receiver Eric Decker for a fifty-six yard score. I give props to Decker for his salute to the American troops in honor of Veterans Day even though the officials did not agree. He was flagged for excessive celebration.


Courtesy of http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/extramustard/hotclicks/11/14/catrinel-menghia-eric-decker-penalized-for-saluting-to-troops/?xid=cnnbin 

2. Chicago Bears speedster Devin Hester scored his third touchdown return of the year against the Detroit Lions on Sunday. As so many great special teams plays often start, Hester bobbled the punt, but doing so caused the Lions punt team to overcommit on Hester, allowing him to run to the outside and sprint down the sideline virtually untouched for his 12th punt return touchdown of his career. What was most impressive about his touchdown is that he returned the punt while he had an unspecified sickness. I would hate to be the opposing team when he's completely healthy!

Courtesy of  http://www.suntimes.com/sports/morrissey/8813736-419/why-teams-still-kick-to-the-bears-devin-hester-is-a-mystery.html

 1. Easily the most spectacular play from last Sunday was Kansas City wide receiver Jonathon Baldwin's catch, that ended up not counting because of a penalty on the play. Matt Cassel underthrew Baldwin, who was streaking down the field, and then amazingly, Baldwin caught the ball blindly behind the back of Broncos saftey Brian Dawkins. Baldwin went down with both the ball and Dawkins, but his efforts were nullified by the penalty.

 Couresy of http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/13/jonathan-baldwin-catch-chiefs-broncos-dawkins_n_1091370.html



It's Hard to Lose with Chicago's Defense

                The Chicago Bears got revenge at Soldier Field today after losing to the Detroit Lions in Week 5 at Detroit. The Bears were able to score in four different ways today and what is most promising for Chicago is that they were able to win despite Jay Cutler having a mediocre game. Cutler went 9-19 for 123 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. Matt Forte also had a bit of an off-night with only 64 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown. However, the Bears defense and special teams carried the team against the Lions. Detroit never got into an offensive rythm after turning the ball over on their first two possessions in both halves. Detroit's fumbles, both lost by wide receivers, turned into ten easy points for the Bears and they never looked back. The second quarter started with a Robbie Gould field goal and less than a minute later, after the Lions went three-and-out, Devin Hester returned his NFL-leading 12th career punt for a touchdown. Despite being questionable leading up to the game he turned a mishandled punt into his third special teams touchdown this season. The Lions went into halftime down 20-6 and their woes continued when quarterback Matthew Stafford threw two pick-sixes on consecutive possessions to Major Wright and Charles Tillman. After Stafford's third interception to Tim Jennings, he took his anger out on Bears defender D.J. Moore, tackling him by his helmet, setting off a chain reaction that escalated along the Lions' sideline. Moore ended up charging back at Stafford before getting pummeled by two Lions players. Moore ended up getting ejected from the game, but that was the least of his worries since his team was up 37-6 in an absolute rout of Detroit.

Courtesy of  http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/14112011/5/photo/14112011004810.html (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

                     The Lions picked up a touchdown in garbage time, but seven more points could not heal Detroit after such a bad loss. While I wasn't thrilled with the Bears' offense, this was the type of game I love watching Chicago play. They didn't rely on Cutler trying to throw the ball across the field and be Tom Brady, but their defense forced six turnovers and they scored three touchdowns while their offense was on the sideline. Chicago definitely has a long way to go to make it to the playoffs, but having such a potent defense and special teams that can both limit their opponent's scoring opportunities and find their way to the endzone will give them an extra advantage against most of the Bears' opponents. As seen by Stafford's temper tantrum, a defense as good as Chicago's gets in the heads of their opponents and causes them to make more mistakes later in the game.The Chicago Bears are in great position at 6-3 in second place in the NFC North behind the Super Bowl Champion Packers. With a few more stellar performances by the Bears defense and if Hester can continue to tear it up on special teams, Chicago has great chances at making it to the playoffs, hopefully after finishing first place in the NFC North.