NFL Week 4 Recap

by: Kyle Kettner

Chicago – 32 Detroit – 40

This was one of those games that became more and more painful to watch. The Lions definitely looked like the better team on the field on Sunday. There was a lot of scoring, and not by the Bears, so I’ll be damned if I’m going to go through every score. The Bears looked OK through a quarter or so. Matt Forte had a nice 53 yard TD run, but that was about it for the Bears in the first half. Reggie Bush had a day. I’ve never been sold on Bush, and I’m still not sold on him, but the Bears made him look like Walter Payton. He ran for 112 yards in the first half, and finished his day with 139 yards on the ground, and 34 through the air. He is definitely the cog that makes the Lions a complete team. The Bears played well against Calvin Johnson again, making this the 10^th game in 13 tries that he didn’t go over 100 yards against the Bears. Stafford looked off all day missing quite a few throws that could have made this game even more lopsided. Alshon Jeffrey had a nice game, going for 107 yards and a TD, but the big story was Cutler’s turnovers. He had a horrendous day. 3 interceptions and one fumble lost that ended up in a Nick Fairley TD. It was easily one of Cutler’s worst performances as a Bear. I’ll say that maybe one interception (the first of the day) could have been the receiver’s fault as much as his, but the last 2 were most definitely just poor throws off sloppy footwork. Cutler looked as if he had an all night bender and just showed up because it’s the Lions. Well, they’re roaring a little louder this year, now tied with the Bears atop the division.

Now you got the recap, my personal thoughts on this game…

Yes, Cutler had a horrible game. Yes, this loss can be put on his shoulders, as well as the lack of pass rush. (1 sack on Stafford – a strip sack by Peppers that led to a Bears field goal) I’m not hitting the panic button just yet. Did anyone think the Bears were going 16-0? If you did then you’re a moron who needs to be hit in the head with a tack hammer. This is still only a 10 or 11 win team. For the first time in a long time, if ever, Cutler came out after the game and blamed only 1 person. Himself. I can’t remember Cutty ever doing that, so maybe this is a turning point for him.
I went on record this week saying I didn’t think the loss of Henry Melton would be a disaster. I actually still don’t think that even with Bush gaining most of his yards through holes where Melton played. The Bears decided to start Stephen Paea in the 3 technique, with Nate Collins playing nose tackle. I bet if the Bears switch those two, and have Paea playing nose, this run defense gets better. I’ll be interested to see how they line up against New Orleans. Plus, I think the rumors of Izzy Idonije tipping Detroit as to how the Bears run their stunts has some teeth. Bush only gained 27 yards in the second half after the Bears scrapped the stunt play call for the defensive line.
Don’t be fooled by this score. Yes, it was only an 8 point game, but the Lions dominated this from the start. Cutler showed a little moxie in actually getting the Bears within striking distance at the end, but most of his yards came in catch up mode when the Lions were giving the Bears everything underneath as they were killing the clock in the 4^th quarter.
1 for 13 on third down. 1 FOR FUCKING 13!!!! That was very Lovie Smith-like, and can’t happen again. I think it actually shows how flawed the Lions are that Cutler himself has 4 turnovers, the Bears only convert ONE third down all day, and the Lions are still one score away from heading to overtime. I’m not discounting a win for the Lions, but if you really look at it, they should have won this game by at least 3 scores.
A lot of people are saying the line was bad, and Cutler didn’t have time to throw, blah blah blah. Shut up. The line actually didn’t play all that bad. There was definitely pressure, and the Lions have one of the best front 4’s in all of football so that WILL happen, but Cutler held the ball too long, seemed afraid to scramble when he had opportunities, and was slow in his decision making. For a line with 2 rookies and 2 new additions, they’ve played really well. Kyle Long was introduced to a real DT with Ndamukong Suh man-handling him a few times, but there’s only room for improvement. I saw some nice things from Alshon Jeffrey this week, too. He seems like he’s starting to come into his own and realize he can be a great #2 WR in the NFL.

Final Bears thought…

Losses are always tough to swallow, especially when they come from within the division. Even though the Bears got slapped around more than Rhianna, there is some reason for optimism here. Uncle Touchy came out and said the play calling needs to be better, Cutler came out and said that HE needs to be better, and no one in the locker room appeared to have lost any confidence. The Bears know they played bad, and seem determined to come back strong. I like how Trestman took blame and has this team focused. One loss is just that. One loss. Suck it up, move onto next week, and get more than one fucking third down conversion. Lance Briggs seemed offended when a reporter asked why the defense has lost some of it’s swagger. He says they haven’t. Prove it to me Lance…

AROUND THE NFL

San Francisco – 35 St. Louis - 11

Man, the Rams looked bad. I actually thought having the 49ers come in would get the Rams going since they usually play them tough. Frank Gore called out Harbaugh this week and he backed up every bit of his words with 153 yards and a TD. Anyone get the feeling that maybe Sam Bradford isn’t the golden boy he’s been touted as being? Eh, either way, Jeff Fisher still looks like he can fuck some shit up, so you have to trust him to right the ship.

Baltimore – 20 Buffalo - 23

If Joe Flacco keeps this up, he might end up in my Eli Manning/Christian Ponder group. 5 interceptions torpedoed the Ravens on Sunday. I’ve said before I’ve never been sold on Flacco. It makes me laugh when choads like him command these monster contracts, show up in crappy McDonald’s commercials, then go out and have games like this. HAHA. Douche. Do what you do best and give Ray Rice the ball. He’s too good to be getting only 17 yards a game.

Cincinnati – 6 Cleveland - 17

Brian Hoyer, you’re my hero. I’ll say it, I was wrong. I’m not putting him in the Pro Bowl yet, but for the second week in a row he didn’t fold under pressure, and provided a spark for a Browns team that desperately needed it. He now has 2 wins in 2 starts, and threw 0 interceptions this week. Willis McGahee’s “dramatic” improvement resulted in only 46 yards, so maybe he should shut up and try to get into football shape. The Bengals are so up and down this year it’s tough to get a read on them. How do you go from beating the Packers to losing to the Browns? Marvin Lewis is a good coach, but if he can’t make some improvement his seat will be getting hotter and hotter.

New York Giants – 7 Kansas City - 31

Well, I can safely say the wheels are falling off the bus for the Giants. Eli Manning had another so-so performance (HAHA!!), Victor Cruz was a rock star, but Hakeem Nicks is nowhere to be found. He needs to step up in a big way. The Giants are 0-4 for the first time in 25 years. The Chiefs are rolling right now, and they’re doing it in all phases. Tamba Hali and Eric Berry are in pro-bowl form, Alex Smith was definitely the right QB for the job, and Dexter McCluster is finding ways of making me like him more and more every week. I will say, I am surprised that the Chiefs are doing this getting low to moderate production from the best playmaker on the team, Dwayne Bowe. Although, he did have a TD catch on Sunday. Looks like Ol’ Fat Stache is the early season leader for coach of the year.

Pittsburgh – 27 Minnesota - 34 (in London)

So the Matt Cassell era started on Sunday, and Minnesota gets a win. He had a solid game, didn’t make any mistakes, and only got sacked once. Adrian Peterson had a solid game, and Greg Jennings finally showed something, ANYTHING, in a purple jersey. As well as the offense played, they still needed a stop in the end, and got one as the defense held on despite Big Ben throwing for 383 yards. Jared Allen is still a crazy-ass hillbilly and one hell of a pass rusher. So who starts next week Viking nation??? Oh, and Ponder Sucks!!!

Arizona – 13 Tampa Bay - 10

This game was really pretty boring. There was nothing too special that happened. Mike Glennon looked like a 3^rd round rookie in his first start, though he did do a few nice things. Carson Palmer still looks old at times. Patrick Peterson is an all-pro and came up big in the final quarter, but the Cardinals looked bad. Tampa didn’t look much better. Both teams are in trouble, that’s the easiest way to put it.

Indianapolis – 37 Jacksonville - 3

I’m starting to wonder if Jacksonville will get a win this year. They will definitely rival the 0-16 Lions team of a few years ago. Indy did what they were expected to do, and destroyed the Jags, even with a poor start by Andrew Luck. Good thing they were playing the NFL’s version of the JV team. Blaine Gabbert….hahahaha…..sorry kid, but you suck. I’ll give you some props though, your 3 interceptions weren’t your fault. All 3 hit receivers hands before they were picked. What is your fault is that you could only muster 3 points. Maybe it’s time Jacksonville explores that trade option on Josh Freeman?

Seattle – 23 Houston – 20 (OT)

This game pissed me off. I wanted Houston to win this game so much, and they found a way to let the Seahawks not only come back from 17 down, but win in overtime. Screw you, Pete Carroll. Man, I hate you. You ever notice how viciously he chomps his gum?? He looks like a 12^th grade girls gym teacher named Alice. I wouldn’t be able to be anywhere within 10 feet of him while he’s doing that, it would drive me crazy. I will happily give someone my entire life savings if they find Pete Carroll, slap him in the face, and kick him in the balls. Sure, it may only be $34.75, but hey, it’s worth it. He’s climbing up on the Coaching Douchebag list with Jim Schwartz.

Oh, and Matt Schaub, you’re career is dwindling quickly. Fun stat of the day, through 4 games Matt Schaub has thrown a pick-6 in every game.

New York Jets – 13 Tennessee - 38

The Titans dominated this game, but it came at a price. Just as Jake Locker was exploding for the game of his career (3 TD passes in a little over 2 Qtrs of play) he got knocked out with a hip injury. It looks as if he’ll be out 4-8 weeks. This especially hurts the Titans because Locker was really starting to come into his own. Looks like that development will be stunted a little bit. The Titans are one of only 2 teams in the modern Super Bowl era (also the 1995 St. Louis Rams) to start the first 4 games without committing a turnover. That is a crazy stat. Too bad I see that streak ending if Ryan Fitzpatrick is leading the way the next few weeks.

Philadelphia – 20 Denver - 52

YES!!!! The Eagles drop to 1-3 after getting trounced by the Broncos. The quest for 1-15 is still in tact! Mike Vick was running for his life a lot of the day, and Peyton Manning took the 4^th quarter off after throwing 4 Td’s. He now has 16 touchdowns to 0 Interceptions this season. You read that right. ZERO picks. 16 TD’s. That stat is INSANE. Peyton looks more dialed in than any quarterback I’ve ever seen, and the Broncos appear unstoppable in the early part of the season. Wes Welker is loving his new digs.

Washington – 24 Oakland – 14

Well this game also went according to plan. RG3 still didn’t look all that great, but is making progress. Matt Flynn pretty much proved that he’s not a starter in this league. How in the hell do you let the Redskins defense, which has been historically shitty through three games, register 7 sacks?? Oh, because you got Matt Flynn at QB, that’s right. His numbers weren’t horrible, but he looked lost all day. His coach even called him out after the game basically stopping short of saying that the front office guys are fucking morons for bringing this guy in.

Dallas – 21 San Diego – 30

Phillip Rivers had a big game (more on that below) and the Chargers scored 20 unanswered points, and pitched a shut out in the second half to close out the victory against Big D. Romo had a solid game, and Sean Lee played like a man possessed, but Rivers ended up being too much, and fumbles cost the Cowboys on Sunday. I guess Rivers left the tampon at home this week and decided to put on his big boy shoes. He actually has a good TD-INT ratio this year at 11-2. Manti T’eo got his first taste of regular season action as well, notching 3 tackles.

New England – 30 Atlanta - 23

Tom Brady finally got some continuity with his receivers as her threw for 316 yards en route to a New England win. I really thought Atlanta would take this game, and they almost rallied, but came up just short. Matt Ryan is adding to his cause for being one of the best regular season QB’s of all time. If he could only get it together in the playoffs. I’m still waiting for New England to come back to earth, but those bastards are 4-0 now. Maybe they ARE better than everyone thought… Losing Vince Wilfork for the season will be a huge loss for the defense.

Miami vs. New Orleans

Check my Facebook page on Tuesday for this game’s recap!

“Well You Didn’t Make a Lick of Difference” Performance of the Week:

Ray Rice – Baltimore Ravens

5 carries for 17 yards

Rice’s teammate Flacco could be here, but he made a HUGE difference…..for the Bills. 5 picks was bad. I was going to put Cutler here, but then he DID almost give the Bears a chance to tie at the end of the game. The reason it’s Rice isn’t necessarily his fault. The Ravens only ran the ball 9 times in the entire game. Niiiiiinnnneeee tiiiimmeeeees. (Ferris Bueller reference for those of you who don’t know that, but if you don’t know that, then someone should hit YOU with a tack hammer as well. haha) If he wasn’t healthy enough to carry more, then why was he in there? Either way, 17 yards is really pathetic.

“Holy Crap, I’m Awesome!???” Breakout Performance of the week:

Philip Rivers – San Diego Chargers

35/42 – 401 yards – 3 TDs – 1 Int – 120.3 rating

This isn’t Rivers first 400 yard game, probably won’t be his last, but in this particular game he threw for 401 while completing 83.3 percent of his passes. That was the most accurate any QB has ever been in a 400 yard passing game. Now, I usually think Philip Rivers is a sally and a whiny baby, but I’ll give him his props for this game.