NFL Week 8 Thoughts

Return on Investment

The most important positions in the NFL have traditionally been QB, LT and a pass rusher whether that be a defensive end or a linebacker. I would argue that this order is changing in front of our eyes this season as having a solid return man/wide receiver is more important than ever.

Sunday afternoon we saw 3 young players have an impact in their respective games both catching and returning the football. I am talking of course about Percy Harvin, Ted Ginn Jr, and Devin Hester.

Now Ginn stole the show Sunday by having 2 kick returns for touchdowns in the same game which tied an NFL record. Now he didn't catch a pass but he is still the primary receiver in that offense.

Percy Harvin also had a massive afternoon as he had 5 kickoff returns averaging 35 yards a return with a long of 77. He also made 5 catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.

Devin Hester was moved off kick return duties to focus primarily on being a receiver and it has paid off. On Sunday he caught 7 passes for 81 yards.

All of these guys are crucial to the success of their teams. Not only can they change momentum quickly with a big run back in the return game but they also have speed and are huge down field threats. Their ability to strike quickly means that defenses must always be aware of their presence on the field and adjust to it.

Josh Cribbs is another one of these guys who is multi-talented. Cribbs is by far the best player on the Browns and does everything from return kicks to catching passes and even playing a little running back.

having a good return man who can also play wide receiver is becoming increasingly important as teams are seeing the kind of impact these guys can have to their team right away.

Favre No Longer Center of Attention

Thank God the Packers finally played the Vikings in Green Bay so we can stop talking about Brett Favre. He won the game, got boo'd and "looked like a kid out there" doing it. By the way can that phrase never be said again. What kid has grey hair and a beard? He looks like an old man trying to play football let's just leave it alone.

After the game it was revealed that Favre has a mild groin injury so I am sure Vikings fans are pumped they have a bye week coming up.

I really wanted the Packers to win that game and not just because I hate Brett Favre (although that was a MAJOR factor). I like Aaron Rodgers and want to see him emerge out of the Favre shadow and in order to do that he needs to beat him. That won't happen until the Packers get some fat guys that can block though as Rodgers spent the whole day running for his life and on his back.

Role Reversal

So remember when the Giants were everyones lock to get back to the SuperBowl and people were laughing at the Cowboys? Well the tables have turned as the Giants have dropped 3 straight while the Cowboys are on a winning streak.

With their loss to the Eagles on Sunday the Giants fell into 3rd place in the NFC East while the Cowboys moved into a tie for 1st place with Philadelphia.

The Cowboys offense is the reason for their success as Tony Romo has been playing great thanks to the emergence of Miles Austin. The Giants have been losing because Eli Manning has been god awful and because the defensive line can't get any pressure.

The NFC East is always thought to be the toughest division in the NFL and this year is proving to be no different. I mean the Redskins are terrible but the Eagles, Giants and Cowboys are all competitors who have a shot to make the playoffs and lose to the Saints.

And Then There Were Two

Only the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts remain undefeated. The Colts went to 7-0 barely getting by the 49ers who remain a mystery to me while the Saints beat the Falcons in a shootout.

Not surprisingly the two teams that haven't lost boast the two best quarterbacks in the league. Both Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are having amazing seasons and are neck and neck for the MVP of the league. My nod is to Manning for doing so much with new receivers and no running games.

Will either of these teams go undefeated? Probably not. New Orleans has 3 tough games left as they host New England, @ Atlanta and host Dallas. Indy has 3 tough games left as well as they go to New England, host Baltimore and then go to Denver. I don't see either team going undefeated but imagine they both make it to the SuperBowl undefeated? Craziness I know.

Fantasy Goat of the Week

Devery Henderson - In a game where his team scored 35 points and generated 437 yards of offense he got just 46 yards receiving and no touchdowns. Now I realise that New Orleans is a team loaded with options but come on man. Get me a touchdown or at least a few more catches. Brees had 25 completions and he only caught 6. Need more out of him.

Quick Thoughts

- Everyone knew the Broncos were going to lose a game. They had a stretch of games where they played Dallas, New England, San Diego, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh. You knew they weren't going to make it out of that without a loss.

- Maurice Jones-Drew had 8 carries for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns and would have been offensive player of the week if not for Chris Johnson who had 22 carries for 228 yards and 2 touchdowns. By the way this was all in the same game...that nobody watched.

- In 2 games Alex Smith has 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions with a quarterback rating of 95.0. He deserves a lot of credit for the way he handled the whole situation in San Fran and hopefully he can win the starting job for good.

- I am starting to wonder if the Dillon Panthers could beat the Cleveland Browns because JD McCoy is 10x the quarterback that Derek Anderson is.

- Can the New York Jets please stop wearing those ugly ass AFL throwbacks. They are some of the ugliest jerseys ever. Oh also could you learn how to cover a punt return?

- Being that it was Halloween weekend it wasn't surprising to see some zombies walking around. The corpse of Julius Peppers made an appearance as did the corpse of believed to be dead Bears running back Matt Forte.

- Had this conversation on Sunday with a friend. Over/Under carries for Larry Johnson as a Chief: 1. I took the under.

- Josh Freeman will make the start for the Bucs in Week 9 and will be wishing he had been drafted to another team by Week 10.

- I have never wanted to punch someone in the face as badly as I want to punch Jon Gruden. Nevermind that is unfair to Jon. I hate the whole Monday Night Football booth. They all suck! They spent the whole game talking about how Drew Brees and Sean Payton turned around the franchise and are great friends. I get it! They like each other and are both good at what they do but could you please talk about the game!

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