Week 10 Winners & Losers

by Bruce McMichael

Denver 34 / Cleveland 30
Winner: Brady Quinn (CLE) has spent the last 23 games on the sidelines waiting for his chance. On Thursday night the second year QB played well and most importantly protected the football. The Browns lost but the future looks promising for the fans of Cleveland.
Loser: Braylon Edwards (CLE) only had one catch against the Champ Bailey-less Broncos. It will take time to develop with Quinn, but Edwards should’ve exploiting the Bronco’s weak defense.

Tennessee 21 / Chicago 14
Winner: The Bears dared Kerry Collins (TEN) to beat them, and he delivered. Collins for the first time this season had the game on his shoulder, he responded with 289 yards two scores and an impressive 73% completion rate.
Loser: Ron Turner (CHI) called a terrible game. The Bears Offensive Coordinator forced Matt Forte down Tennessee’s throat and had zero success, but he forced anyway. The Bears scored on their opening drive and were shut out on the next 10 possessions.

Jacksonville 38 / Detroit 14
Winners: David Garrard (JAX) got back on track against the Detroit Pussycats. Garrard completed 72% of his passes and finished the day with a QB Rating of 128.4. Kevin Smith (DET) got the majority of the workload and delivered for Detroit. From last weeks W&L…(Rudi Johnson (DET) the Lions starting back is almost a bigger joke than the 0-8 record his team boasts. Johnson has just 48 yards in his last three games. It’s time to give rookie Kevin Smith 80% of the carries and see what he can do.)
Loser: Whoever decided that Dante Culpepper should start over Drew Stanton. Culpepper has about 20hours of work with the Lions, compared to Stanton’s season and a half.

Baltimore 41 / Houston 13
Winner: Willis McGahee (BAL) is the latest RB to give Flacco the support he needs to continue winning football games. Willis carried the ball 25x for 2 TD’s.
Loser: Gary Kubiak for the second straight week. Someone needs to tell Gary his QB is Sage Rosenfels. 83 pass attempts in the last two games add up to two consecutive losses. Run the football coach!

New England 20 / Buffalo 10
Winner: Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis (NE) is an undrafted rookie. He has scored in every game he has played, and Sunday he robbed the starting job blind. This kid is a hard-nosed runner and was the best back on the field with dreads, last Sunday.
Loser: Trent Edwards (BUF) seems to regress more and more every week. His 49.2 QB rating is a great cliff note of his performance…. Crap.

Atlanta 34 / New Orleans 20
Winner: Michael Turner (ATL) didn’t have huge numbers but he was the work horse for the 6-3 Falcons. Turner carried the ball 27x for 96 yards and a score.
Loser: You can’t blame Drew Brees (NO) for the loss. Brees threw the ball 58x for 422yards but he hit the wrong color jersey three times, twice in the fourth quarter.

Miami 21 / Seattle 19
Winner: Ricky Williams (MIA) had his best game since Jan 1, 2005. He eclipsed the hundred yard mark with only 12 carries. The Williams, Ronnie Brown attack has given defenses head-aches all year.
Loser: Seneca Wallace (SEA) isn’t 100% healthy. But this is a guy with 4.4 speed and he only scrambled twice. Wallace is the most mobile QB in football these days and he needs to add that to the game plan more than twice a game.

Minnesota 28 / Green Bay 27
Winner: Adrian Peterson (MIN) strikes again. AP carried the Vikes to their second straight win, with 30 carries and 192 yards. Peterson completely erased the floundering performance of QB Gus Frerotte.
Loser: Packers Coordinator Joe Philbin blew the game with his play calling on the Packers last drive. After a 19yard pass, Philbin reverted to running the ball which took 40 seconds off the clock, and didn’t bring them any closer to a win.

NY Jets 47 / St. Louis 3
Winner: Thomas Jones (NYJ) just ripped though the Rams defense. Jones had his best day as a Jet, with 149 yards and 3 TD’s.
Loser: Marc Bulger (STL) was pulled from the starting lineup for the second time this season. Bulger was ineffective after going 6-13 with a interception and a QB rating of 29.3.

Carolina 17 / Oakland 6
Winner: DeAngelo Williams (CAR) was the only bright spot in this one. This game was as sloppy as Star Jones at a Chinese Buffett, but Williams took the rock 19 times for 140 yards and a score.
Loser: Jake Delhomme (CAR) was downright awful. The Panthers QB threw 4 INT’s and was only 7-27. Carolina boasts a 7-2 record, and despite a QB Rating of 12.3 the Panthers are on top of the NFC South.


Indianapolis 24 / Pittsburgh 20
Winner: Peyton Manning (IND) knocked off another top AFC opponent. It was only a matter of time before the Colts got rolling. Peyton threw for 240 yards and 3 TD’s. Next week the Colts face the faltering Texans.
Losers: I’m not sure if this is Coach Tomlin’s fault or Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) but #7 certainly was not playing at 100%. Big Ben looked weak and had no velocity. Despite completely 71% of his passes Roethlisberger turned the ball over 3x.

San Diego 20 / Kansas City 19
Winners: Tyler Thigpen (KC) seems to be the real deal. Thigpen has thrown 6 TD’s and 0 interceptions in his last 4 games. Herm Edwards made the right call going for two even though it cost them the game. It showed confidence and I think this team will turn the corner next week against New Orleans.
Loser: Norv Turner got the win, sure. But he has botched the game plan for the 3rd straight week. LT is off to the worst start of his career, he doesn’t have a rushing TD in his last 5 starts. It’s time to get Sproles more involved in the Chargers running attack.

New York Giants 36 / Philadelphia 31
Winner: The Giants Defense held Brian Westbrook to just 2.0 YPC. They played the run and were unable to pressure McNabb, but making the Eagles one dimensional led the Giants to the win.
Loser: Donovan McNabb (PHI) had all day in the pocket but he only mustered up a 47 completion percentage. Not a terrible day for McNabb but not enough to get his team the win.

Arizona 29 / San Francisco 24
Winner: Kurt Warner (ARI) may be making another MVP run. Warner has 19TD’s on the season and a QB Rating over 105. On Monday night he threw for 328 yards and 3 scores.
Loser: Vernon Davis (SF) is San Fran’s best receiver, everyone was curious how he would respond to being benched two weeks ago. He didn’t really. Davis had one catch for 18 yards and a score. The 49ers need more production out of the TE.