Jets 27   Chargers 21 Now THAT’S what the Jets thought they were getting when they signed Plaxico Burress. Few are better equipped to thrive in the red zone, where spacing is tight, than a man who’s tall, strong and has experienced prison. Burress beat Antoine Cason, San Diego’s most talented cover artist, for all three of his red zone touchdowns Sunday. Twice he did it with physicality and once with elusiveness. One reason expectations are high for Burress is, being a Jet, he’s assured of never having to face Darrelle Revis. A week after punishing Brandon Marshall and the Dolphins for attacking him, Revis stifled Vincent Jackson, one of the toughest covers in the league. According to ESPN, “Jackson was targeted four times on passes of more than 15 [...] Continue reading → | Indianapolis Colts, NFL London, Plaxico Burress, Steelers Cardinals, Tim Tebow

FL Week 6 featured a number of exciting high-stakes marquee matchups that went right down to the end of the wire.  Seven games were decided by seven points or less and only three contests were won by 17 points or more. NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora smells something in the wind—and its putrid blowouts this weekend.   While I’m often inclined to agree with the almost always accurate analyst and NFL insider, and I do believe there could be quite a few lopsided mismatches on tap, it might be overshadowed by the fun-to-watch early action. Tossups are at a premium this week with Washington (3-2) headed to Carolina (1-5), Chicago [...] Continue reading → | 2011 NFL Predictions, Albert Breer, Bucky Brooks, Jason La Canfora, Michael Gartman, nfl picks week 7, NFL Predictions Week 7, NFL.com, Peter King, SI.com

If you thought last week was chock-full of excitement, you’re in for a real intoxicating and mouth-watering treat in NFL Week 6! Six more teams (Chargers, Chiefs, Broncos, Titans, Seahawks and Cardinals) take an early exit and have an opportunity to get healthier, change their game plans and perhaps dig deeper into trade scenarios with the trade deadline coming up on [...] Continue reading → | 2011 NFL Predictions, 49ers vs. Lions, Albert Breer, Bills vs. Giants, Browns vs. Raiders, Colts vs. Bengals, Cowboys vs. Patriots, Dolphins vs. Jets, Eagles vs. Redskins, Jaguars vs. Steelers, Jason La Canfora, Michael Gartman, Monday Night Football, NFL picks Week 6, NFL Predictions Week 6, NFL.com, Panthers vs. Falcons, Peter King, Rams vs. Packers, Saints vs. Buccaneers, SI.com, Sunday Night Football, Texans vs. Ravens, Vikings vs. Bears

NFL Week 5 was chock-full of inevitable thrillers, head-turning surprises and much more puzzling parity. Six teams sat out for the first week of byes (Dallas, Washington, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Louis and Miami), creating even a tougher task to systematically sift through the confusion, chaos and correlation between the pretenders and contenders. Here are my Week 6 NFL Power Rankings.   No. 32  St. Louis Rams (0-4):The game isn’t over ‘til the clock strikes double-zero.  But there’s less than 10 seconds to go and the Rams are behind and out of [...] Continue reading → | Brian Billick, CBSSports.com, Derrick Mason, Derrick Mason Texans vs. Ravens, Don Banks, Elliott Harrison, ESPN.com, FoxSports.com, Michael Gartman, NFL Contenders, NFL Power Rankings Week 6, NFL Pretenders, NFL Week 5 Pretenders and Contenders, NFL.com, NFL.com Power Poll, NFL.com Power Rankings, Pete Prisco, Rick Reiley, SI.com

Seahawks O vs. Giants D The Giants appeared to simply take the Seahawks lightly. They were unprepared for Seattle’s up-tempo, quick-striking passing attack out of the gates. Seattle dictated tempo most of the game. Ben Obamanu against Aaron Ross was a matchup the Seahawks clearly liked early on, and for good reason. Seattle stayed in three-receiver sets virtually the entire game. That allowed them to do two things: use sturdy slot wideout Doug Baldwin in the voids down the seams (behind the linebackers and in front of the safeties, where the Giants’ coverage often broke down) and run Marshawn Lynch inside against nickel linebacker Jacquian Williams, who isn’t very good in traffic. This marks two weeks in a row that New York’s run defense has struggled. The [...] Continue reading → | Andy Dalton, Kyle Orton, NFL Week 5 film, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Tim Tebow

Bills 24, Eagles 21 The media will emphasize Michael Vick’s career-worst four interceptions. But if Jason Avant had held onto a very catchable third down pass near the red zone late in the fourth, we’d probably be talking about how Vick led a jaw-dropping comeback similar to the one he spearheaded at the New Meadowlands last season. By the fourth quarter, the Eagles had the Bills figured out on both sides of the ball. Of course, Dream Teams are supposed to have the opponent figured out by the first quarter. Instead, it was Chan Gailey’s club that played with the upper hand. The Bills D had a beat on the Eagles offensive attack, as George Wilson and Jairus Byrd were all over the field, forcing two turnovers and a [...] Continue reading → | Aaron Rodgers, Al Davis, Buffalo Bills, Michael Vick, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Tim Tebow

Following another exciting weekend in the NFL where seven mouth-watering great slate games were decided by five points or less and certainly satisfied football appetites from around the country, it’s time to establish my latest batch of NFL Power Rankings for Week 5. After the opening week in October, we can really start to systematically sift through and separate the pretenders from the contenders. I’ll label each team as a pretender, contender or interchangeable based on what I’ve seen through the first four weeks, team’s upcoming schedules and my expectations moving forward.   No. 32  St. [...] Continue reading → | Andrew Luck Sweepstakes, Brian Billick, CBSSports.com, Don Banks, Elliott Harrison, ESPN.com, FoxSports.com, Michael Gartman, NFL Contenders, NFL Pretenders, NFL Week 5 Pretenders and Contenders, NFL.com, NFL.com Power Poll, NFL.com Power Rankings, Packers vs. Lions Thanksgiving 2011, Pete Prisco, SI.com

As we head into Week 5, here's a rundown of where some teams are at, based on film study from their game last week. Chargers O vs. Dolphins D It was a well-executed gameplan from a Chargers offense that was without superstar tight end Antonio Gates. Norv Turner mixed his run-pass play-calling well and effectively used play-action, particularly in taking downfield shots in the first half. Vincent Jackson’s smoothness and power were on full display early in the game; in the second half, San Diego attacked underneath with dumpoffs and screens – a tactic they’ve had success with all season. Much of their passing game revolved around attacking  safety Yeremiah Bell, who was slow to recognize routes and consistently ill-positioned in coverage. Attacking [...] Continue reading → | Cam Newton Panthers, Cam Newton stats, Cleveland Browns, Matt Moore Dolphins, Montario Hardesty, peyton hillis, San Diego Chargers, Tennessee Titans

Lions 34, Cowboys 30 This season Tony Romo has gone from goat to G.O.A.T. back to goat. Not that the reactionary Romo haters will care, but two of Romo’s second half interceptions on Sunday are explainable, perhaps even understandable. The first (to Bobby Carpenter) was simply a bad play. But the second was more about great defense than bad offense. Cornerback Chris Houston – who had trouble much of the afternoon against Laurent Robinson, a [...] Continue reading → | Aaron Rodgers touchdowns, Bill Belichick Patriots, Calvin Johnson touchdowns, Joe Flacco, NFL Week 4 analysis, Tony Romo interceptions

Bills 34, Patriots 31 There’s no hesitation about hopping on that Buffalo bandwagon now. Capitalizing on a few fortuitous bounces, the Bills, for the second straight week, dug themselves out of a three-touchdown hole to win at home. It’s time to start questioning the Patriots defense. They gave up 416 passing yards to Chad Henne, allowed San Diego to move the ball fairly consistently and, on Sunday, surrendered 80-plus yards receiving to four different Bills. These are [...] Continue reading → | Bills undefeated, NFL Week 3, NFL Week three analysis