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The Week that was in the National Football League

Week 8 was awesome from a Ravens fans perspective. The Bengals played well early and then preceded to melt down as the Miami Dolphins heated up. Bengals QB Carson Palmer played well enough (not great) for his team win. The Bengals running game was not effective. Ochocinco and TO demonstrated that the inside breaking routes are not a consistent part of the route tree for them. Both Ochocinco and TO let Carson Palmer down at different times in the game and it really hurt the teams chances to win. TO’s stat line is impressive to those that didn’t watch the game. Not sure how the Bengals can recover from this loss at home. Marvin Lewis really has an up hill battle to get his team to play more consistent the last half of the season.

Speaking of Head Coaches that have work to do. Look no further than Josh McDaniels in Denver. McDaniels is getting Pro Bowl caliber play from Kyle Orton and Bradon Lloyd. The Dever Broncos are a pure finess team (can’t run the football and can’t stop the run) and Orton is under too much pressure to carry the team every week. Brandon Lloyd is finally playing to his talent level. Always a good thing when players play to the level of their physical gifts.

The defense of Denver was a perfect incubator for Troy Smith to get re-acclimated to live NFL action. Troy did not disappoint (unless you are a Broncos fan) with a stat line of 12/19, 196 1 td . Troy Smith started a little shaky and then settled down, showing good velocity on his fastball to go along with very good touch and accuracy on deep throws. Smith’s ability to escape initial and secondary pass-rush pressure helps the offense in this game because the 49ers lack dynamic playmakers outside of Vernon Davis. Good outing for Troy Smith. Is this something to build on in San Francisco for Troy Smith?

If there is a Coach that I am pulling for…..it is Chan Gailey in Buffalo. I have so much respect for the way Gailey puts together game plans to attack teams effectively, delegating authority and keeping his team in games where they have no business being in them. It helps now that Ryan Fitzpatrick is playing very well every week. The offensive talent is being developed in Buffalo and if CJ Spiller puts it togeher quickly, the Buffalo Bills will start to win these close games. The Baltimore Ravens were extremely lucky to defeat the Bills as were the KC Chiefs yesterday.

You just have to love it when the polar opposite of Chan Gailey, the loquacious Rex Ryan is silenced (if only for minute) by a dreadful performance by the New York Jets at home no less. The Jets were shut out 9-0. Mark Sanchez was an awful 16/38 zero td 2 int. Can't win many games with that stat line. The Jets will go as far as Mark Sanchez takes them. I think it will be a short ride in Gotham City come playoff time. Green Bay Packers DC Dom Caper's Zone Blitz Scheme confused and frustrated Mark Sanchez. all game. I find it interesting that Brian Schottenheimer had no answers for the pressure packages of the Green Bay Packers given his HC Rex Ryan employs similar pressure concepts.

Aah, the best is save for last. Our hated rival the Pittsburgh Steelers lost last night in the Super Dome to the New Orleans Saints. Drew Bress returned to form (34/44 305, 2 td 1 int.) repeatedly hurting the Steelers with the 3 step drop and 5 step drop passing game. Sean Payton had an aggressive, attacking game plan that the Saints executed almost flawlessly. The Pittsburgh defense was off-balance all night and never got in a rhythm defensively. Not a great night for Big Ben either. The Saints pass-rush smotherd Roethlisberger and reduced the Steelers deep passig game to rubble with variations of 2 deep man-under coverage concepts. There is much to absorbed by DC’s and OC's that will face the Steelers down the road from the film of this game.

A New England loss would have been the creme de la creme. I guess it is too much to ask for it all from the football gods?

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