Bye-bye bye week. Starting tomorrow, we’re back to preparing for a game, looking to knock off NFC East rival Philadelphia.
So what happened today? Let’s check out the NFC East.
Our next week’s opponent, Philadelphia, played the team we played last week, Minnesota, and beat them 23-16. That moved the Eagles record up to 3-4 and keeps their hopes alive for the playoffs, so they will be ready for a visit from the Cowboys next week. We know all about the Vikings strengths and shortcomings, and they have a huge hole on their team at QB. The guys they played today weren’t much of an improvement. But Donovan McNabb looked pretty good on the day and he thinks he’s coming around from his knee surgery a year ago. We’ll have much more on the Eagles as the week goes on.
Following Philly, we get to visit the New York Giants. The Giants were doing a little visiting themselves, not every NFL team gets to see the Tower of London, Big Ben (the original, not Roethlisberger) and other nifty places in London before a game. Whether it was the unusual travel schedule, the bad field at Wembley Stadium, or the rain that fell, the Giants beat the Dolphins in an uninspiring, offensively-challenged football game. That’s American football, not soccer. Although the pace of scoring resembled soccer. Eli Manning completed only eight passes for 59 yards. That stinks. Still, they moved to 6-2, right behind the Cowboys, and they should be a formidable foe in the Meadowlands.
In the final game of the NFC gauntlet coming up, we battle the hated Redskins. They had their chance to take on the juggernaut that is the Patriots on Sunday. In my favorite moment of a joyless football weekend, New England straight out pimp-slapped Washington to the tune of 52-7. You read that right, 52-7, and the 7 came in the garbage time at the end of the fourth quarter. Bill Belichick sure isn’t making any friends in the coaching fraternity, but like everything else about Lil’ Bill, he really doesn’t care. Someday, when karma comes knocking for the Patriots and Belichick, it will be fun to watch. Meanwhile, teams have to live with the beatings. On the other hand, what does this say about Washington? They didn’t even put up a fight.
In other games:
- Cleveland beat St. Louis. This Derek Anderson guy is starting to really vex me!
- The Colts rolled over the Panthers. Next week's game between Indy and NE is going to be a very intriguing game. By the way, Tom Brady is having a year to remember, if he continues at anywhere near the pace he is on, we will witness the greatest year by a QB ever.
- After a horrible start, New Orleans is surging, and in their division anybody can win it.