Week 4: Order Has Returned- Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens

Welcome to Week 4! Can you believe we are already 25% through the NFL football season?! Well, the regular season...then there are the playoffs...and then the Super Bowl...who am I kidding, there is still a LONG way to go and believe it or not, I am actually glad! Full Disclosure: I HAD to watch the season premier of Grey's Anatomy last night, just HAD to! The last time I saw my favorite doctors they were dying in the woods after a plane crash, there was no way I could wait another day to see who made it and what state they were in. I hope you will all understand. That being said, I did dutifully flip back to the Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens game between commercial breaks and watched the second half....I could never let my loyal readers down, and make no mistake I am so grateful for all 30 of you. Now on to the game!

- For maybe the first time in their careers as NFL referees the men in stripes received a standing ovation when they took to the field in Baltimore. As predicted, Monday Night's debacle sparked so much controversy that both sides were able to reach some kind of agreement and get the regular officials on the field. Almost immediately you could tell that order had been restored and the shenanigans of the past weeks were just that...in the past.

Thumbs high to you too, Mr. Regular Ref! (Photo Credit: Soraspy.com)

-  The Baltimore Ravens have had a rough few weeks. In fact, last night was the first home game of the season where the Ravens did not have a moment of silence at the beginning of the game. The first was for their former owner, Art Modell who passed away 4 days before the season started, and then last week for Torrey Smith's younger brother who was killed in a motorcycle accident last Sunday. Through all of this, the Ravens have played 4 games in just 17 days and managed to come out with a 3-1 record, including their 23-16 win over the win-less Cleveland Browns last night. The Ravens are proving week after week that they have both the physical and the mental toughness that it takes to be a great NFL team. "Impress Him" Fact: The Ravens became just the second team in NFL history to win a game on Sunday night and then turnaround and win again the next Thursday.

- Joe Flacco proved his own resilience for the Baltimore Ravens. He shook off an early interception in the red zone and put together a 87 yard drive which included a 18 yard touchdown pass to none other than Torrey Smith. "Impress Him" Fact: Joe Flacco's red zon interception last night broke a streak of 125 passes in the red zone without an interception. Flacco also pulled a fast one on Cleveland Brown's linebacker, Scott Fujita, and rushed for a 1 yard touchdown....and a less-than-cool touchdown spike. Anquan Boldin also did his part for the Ravens in the second half with 125 receiving yards.

I know Sam is an Eagle and not a Raven, but still pretty uncanny, no? (see the full QB to Muppet comparison  @gridiron4girls on Twitter) (Photo Credit: Buzzfeed.com)

- The Browns rookie QB, Brandon Weeden, actually had an okay game with 25 completions for 320 yards and just when the announcers were about to praise his performance he threw an interception to Cary Williams who returned it 63 yards for a Ravens touchdown.

- Much like Monday night, the game came down to the final seconds and not one, but 2 Hail Mary attempts (the Browns got another chance after a penalty was called against the Ravens). But unlike Monday night, there were not hundreds of replays and endless analyzing...mostly because Weeden way overthrew the last pass so no one had a chance to catch it.

- The Ravens extend their home winning streak to 13 games, the most in the NFL and won 10 straight division games, also the most in the NFL and the Browns are 0-4 for the third time since 1998.

So we are underway in Week 4 and with the return of the tenured officials  it promises to be a little less cray cray and a little more focused on the actual X's and O's. I wonder if it will be as entertaining for me to watch without all the drama, but one thing you can count on is that I will keep you posted. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Week 3: Time's Up! Greenbay Packers at Seattle Seahawks

As I was watching the game last night I thought to myself, "this is kind of a snoozer, maybe I will skip this one." Then I thought maybe I will write a little blurb about how football is the only sport where a grown man can use the phrase, "he's got a wide banana on the corner" with a totally straight face and millions of men across the country will know exactly what he is talking about and begin debating whether or not he actually did have a wide banana. Then the final play of the game happened and instead of being a "snoozer" Monday Night's game between the Greenbay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks will go down as one of the most...if not THE MOST controversial games in NFL history. Now I know the whole point of this blog is that you don't have to watch any actual football, but just in case you are curious, this is the play that will be lighting up the sports world for weeks to come:

Here is what happened: The Greenbay Packers had overcome a very shaky first half (Aaron Rodgers was sacked 7 times) to take over the lead 12-6 on the Seahawks. As the clock was winding down on the Seahawks last chance to win rookie Quarterback, Russell Wilson, launched a Hail Mary pass into the end zone into a sea of Packer defenders and a couple of Seahawk receivers including Golden Tate. What all of America (except for the replacement refs and Seattle fans) saw was first, that Golden Tate used both hands to shove a Packer out of his way, a big penalty that was missed; and then we all saw M.D. Jennings intercept the football for the Packers while Golden Tate managed to get a hand on it. Two of the "refs" ran over to the pile, literally looked at each other like they had no idea what to do, and then one of them called a touchdown giving Seattle the win....and the other one called a touchback giving Greenbay the win. The replay showed over and over that Jennings got his hands on the ball first, brought it to his chest, and maintained possession as he came to the ground with Tate's arm wrapped around him and the ball. All scoring plays are reviewable, so I watched along knowing that they were going to overturn the touchdown call and give the Packers the win they deserved. And then in a moment that changed everything, the ruling on the field as a touchdown was confirmed, touchdown. Seahawks win, no time left on the clock. Game Over. Mass Pandemonium ensued. The Packers walked off the field, Seahawks stormed the field and everyone seemed to forget that NFL rules state that an extra point MUST be kicked. So both teams scrambled to find 11 guys and the Seahawks kicked an extra point to win the game 14-12. Finally, the replacement refs had decided the outcome of a game and instead of talking about the brilliant performance of a rookie quarterback in Russell Wilson or the hard fought perseverance of a veteran quarterback and team in Aaron Rodgers and the Greenbay Packers, we are all talking about the refs.

guy on left says interception, guy on right says touchdown (Photo Credit: DMW3Sports)

As Steve Young, a former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst, was talking about his disgust over what had happened you could actually hear his voice choke up as if he was fighting off tears. I looked over at my husband's face and while there were no tears, I saw sheer disappointment and anger and I realized that this "dispute" with the refs is ruining the game for those who love and respect it the most. The integrity of what has become America's Sport (sorry baseball) is diminishing week after week because the officials that are calling the games are not used to the caliber of the game they are calling. Players and coaches are testing the limits of what they can get away with with the new guys, and the games are becoming jokes. Please NFL, I think last night has proved once and for all that the regular refs deserve what they have coming to them, get them back to work before you start to really lose face. Time is up.

Week 3: And We're Going to Overtime

Happy Monday (don't you hate it when people say that?)! I found out yesterday that even though I may be traveling on a Sunday, that doesn't mean that I can't still watch football. All you have to do is set up the personal hotspot on your iPhone, then tether your iPad to that hotspot, sign into your DirectTV NFL Sunday Ticket account and presto! you can watch all the games just like at home. Combine that with satellite radio and a second iPhone and my husband's Ford Fusion was turned into a mobile NFL command center that I didn't think was possible. But thank goodness it was because there were a lot of exciting games early on, and then an absolute sh$! show to end the day. In fact the Sunday Night match-up between the Patriots and Ravens was so amazing that we should start at the end.

I hate this guy. (Photo Credit: Larry Brown Sports)

- Did Bill Belichick just grab that ref?! Yes he did. It was the perfect end to an absolutely incredible game that they should make a movie about some day. It had everything you could ask for: history, tragedy, controversy, and just a little bit of violence. The drama surrounding the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens was already at a fever pitch as these 2 rivals were set for a rematch of last years AFC Championship match. But early Sunday morning Ravens Wide Receiver, Torrey Smith, learned that his younger brother had been killed in a motorcycle accident in Virginia. Smith, who helped raise his 6 younger siblings, drove to Virginia to be with his family but not before letting his coach, John Harbaugh, that he wanted to play against the Patriots that night. as the game started Smith could be seen wiping tears from his eyes on the sidelines and as I reached for my own kleenex I wondered how on Earth this kid was going to play in this game...and then he showed all of us. The next time I saw Torrey Smith he was catching a 25 yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to give the Ravens their first score of the night....in fact, Smith had 6 receptions, 127 yards, and 2 touchdowns. The Ravens still had their work cut out for them, the Patriots offense was doing a good job of moving the ball. Tom Brady completed 28 of 41 passes for 335 yards and a touchdown and they were up 30-21 early in the fourth quarter. But Joe Flacco and the Ravens were not done. Maybe they wanted revenge for their loss to the Patriots in the post season last year, maybe they wanted this for their teammate who had shown up in a big way despite a tragic personal loss, maybe a combination of both. whatever it was, the Ravens came up with a touchdown pass to (who else) Torrey Smith, and then their defense did their job by stopping the Patriots and getting the ball back so that Justin Tucker could kick a field goal so high over the upright that the refs had to call it good and the Ravens won 31-30. "Impress Him" Fact: The Patriots were saying that the final field goal kick was no good, but because the ball went over the upright it is not reviewable....hence the assault on the poor replacement ref.   The replacement refs played their roll as the villain pretty well, there were a total of 24 penalties, 14 of those went against the Ravens for 135 yards, proving that even when the odds were against them they seemed to have an angel looking over them last night.

Torrey Smith played a huge part in an emotional win for the Ravens (Photo Credit: Bettor.com)

As crazy as the Sunday Night game was, the stage seemed to be set for it all day. The wild storylines started with the early games where 3 out of nine games finished in overtime:

- The Tennessee Titans blew a 20-9 halftime lead against the Detroit Lions in the second half...and then things really got crazy. The Lions came out in the second half  and scored 18 straight points to make it 27-20. The Titans turned around and answered with 21 points of their own to make it 41-27. Well then those pesky Lions decided they were going to score 18 points in the last 14 seconds of the 4th quarter. Oh and did I mention they did that without starting quarterback, Matt Stafford who went out with a leg injury? So now we are in overtime, NFL OT rules are that if the first team scores a touchdown the game is over, if they score a field goal the other team will have a chance to score. The Titans scored a field goal first, giving the Lions the opportunity to either score a TD to win or go for the field goal to tie the game. Jim Schwartz decided he was tired of playing this game and went for the short touchdown instead of the tie....and it did not pay off. The Lions were stopped short of the goal line and the Titans won 44-41, their first win of the season. "Impress Him" Facts:  The Titans became the first team to score 5 TDs of 60 yards or longer in a single game. The Detroit Lions are the first team to score 14 points in under 18 seconds since 1983.

You're not the only one scratching your head over that call, Jim. (Photo Credit: Fox Sports North)

- Things continue to take a downward spiral for the New Orleans Saints. With 5:36 left in the third quarter, the Saints started to hand back the 18 point lead they had over the Kansas City Chiefs. Jamaal Charles ran 91 yards for a Chiefs touchdown....the longest running play in Chiefs' History. Chiefs kicker, Ryan Succop (yes, you pronounce that exactly as you think you do) added 3 field goals to the board to tie the game and send it into overtime where the Chiefs won 27-24. The Saints defense gave up over 500 yards in offense, Drew Brees was sacked 3 times by Justin Houston including one sack for a safety (2 points), he threw one interception and didn't get any points for the Saints in their last 6 possessions. The Chiefs picked up their first win of the season while the Saints continue to struggle with the absence of their head coach and the controversy surrounding their program. "Impress Him" Fact: The Saints are now 0-3, the last 0-3 team to make the playoffs was the 1998 Bills. On the other side of that Drew Brees had his 46th consecutive game with a touchdown pass....so there is that.

- The  New York Jets caught a break against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. After injuries left both teams without some key players (the Dolphins lost running back, Reggie Bush and the Jets lost cornerback Darrelle Revis, both to knee injuries) they seemed to find ways to fill the holes and traded scores back and forth. Dan Carpenter kicked a 41 yard field goal with 16 seconds left in regulation to tie the game for Miami. The Jets had the first possession of overtime and missed the field goal, giving the Dolphins the chance for the win....and then Dan Carpenter missed it. He missed it. So the Jets got it back and then THE JETS KICKER MISSED TOO!!! But hold on, what's that? Joe Philbin was trying to "ice the kicker" and called a time out before the Jets kicked it so they actually kicked it again. Are you f-ing kidding me (I am quoting a certain hubby)?? So they kicked it again and he made it. The Dolphins lose a heartbreaker at home 23-20. "Impress Him" Fact: The Jets offensive coordinator, Tony Sporano, was fired as the Dolphins head coach last year....so I am guessing this was a pretty sweet victory for him.

Other Notes:

- CJ Spiller, currently the leading rusher for the NFL, went out for the Bills on Sunday with an injured shoulder.

- The NFL and refs have been in negotiation talks over the past week, but no progress seems to be happening so players and coaches are going to have to continue to play the game with the refs they are dealt....and every week it is going to be harder and harder.

I feel like every week I talk about how crazy the games were, but every week it is true! Unlike in college football, NFL games count early on in the season and if the first 3 weeks are any indication of whats to come, we are in for some very interesting...and possibly scary football. Here's hoping that Bill Belichick learns how to keep his hands to himself.

Week 3: NY Giants at Carolina Panthers

Welcome the Week 3 and perhaps my most painful post to date. The only good thing I can say about this game is that I was in the car on my way to my hometown, Birmingham, AL listening to it on the radio so I didn't have to actually watch Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers get destroyed 36-7 by Eli Manning and the NY Giants, but it was hard to listen to nonetheless.

- Going into this game it seemed like it might actually be a good one. If for no other reason than the NY Giants were missing key pieces of their offense with running back, Ahmad Bradshaw and wide receiver, Hakeem Nicks, both out with injuries. Add that to the fact that the Panthers offense looked great against the New orleans Saints last week, it sounded like we were all in for a hell of a game. Well it was a hell of a game, but maybe only for Giants fans. "Impress Him" Fact: Thursday Night was Eli Manning's 122nd consecutive NFL start, putting him in 3rd place behind Brett Favre and big brother, Peyton.

- The Giants scored on their opening drive and then went on to score on their next 3 possessions to take an early 20-7 lead. Andre Brown, who happened to be cut by the Panthers, had a career high 113 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Panthers defense, I assumed they played defense, had absolutely no answer for him. Brown told reporters that he thought about how the Panthers had cut him right before he walked into the Stadium and it lit a fire in him. I'll say. It was Brown's first NFL start and he put on a show. "Impress Him" Fact: The Carolina Panthers have allowed an opening game touchdown in every game this season.

- So the Giants found a fix for the running back hole, surely they will still struggle with the hole left in the passing game by Hakeem Nicks....wrong again. Ramses Barden filled in for the injured Nicks and also decided to have a career high game in his first NFL start. He had 9 receptions for 138 yards.

- Thursday night was Cam Newton's first career night game as an NFL quarterback....and he did not look ready for Prime Time. He threw 3 interceptions and was held to just 6 rushing yards, a week after rushing for a career high 71 yards. Newton was famous for second half comebacks when he led the Auburn Tigers to the National Championship in 2010, but any hope of tapping into that magic was lost when the Panthers fumbled the kickoff punt to open the second half and gave the ball back to the Giants. Cam did put one drive together and scored a 1 yard rushing touchdown. Aside: you have no idea how much it pained me to type this paragraph, so I am including this picture to make me (and Cam Newton) feel better.

Happier Days for Cam...and me. (Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated)

 I guess the jury is still out on Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, but the verdict is definitely in on Eli Manning and the Giants. While I may never see another cover of SI like the one to the left, Eli Manning is not giving up on his back to back Super Bowl dreams just yet.

Week 2: Welcome to Atlanta

We've made it through Week 2, friends and as wild a Sunday as it was, Monday night's game seemed the perfect end to an eventful week, so let's get straight to it!

- Peyton Manning sat out all last season after 4 neck surgeries only to be released by the Indianapolis Colts at the end of it all. Last week he made his debut as the Denver Broncos QB with a big win at home over the Pittsburgh Steelers and everyone joined in the chants of "He's Back!". Everyone, that is, except Peyton Manning. Before the game he let reporters know that he still felt there was some rust to dust off and that he was not expecting this week, playing in Atlanta, to be anything like his home field opener. There is a reason Peyton Manning is so respected in this game, he knows his sh...um stuff. Much like his little brother, Eli, did on Sunday, Peyton threw 3 interceptions in the first quarter to give Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons the opportunity to take an early 20-7 lead.

Nice one, Atlanta. Very nice. 

- On the other side of the ball, Matt Ryan completed 24 of 36 passes for 219 yards and 2 touchdown passes, including his 100th career TD pass (congratulations Matt Ryan!). Would the Falcons have won the game without the mistakes by Peyton Manning? I think so, Matt Ryan was efficient and made good key decisions that protected their lead when it looked like Peyton Manning was going to pull and Eli and try to win the thing in the 4th quarter.

- And the Broncos did make a run at it. Manning Broncos marched the Broncos down the field and completed a touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas just before halftime to make it 20-7. In fact, Peyton got it as close as 21-27 and it looked like they were going to have another chance to score until Matt Ryan completed a pass to Julio Jones for a key first down that allowed the Falcons to run out the clock send the Broncos back to Denver with a 1-1 record. "Impress Him" Fact: Before Monday's game Peyton Manning was 11-3 on Monday nights. This has to be a loss that he will feel all the way home.

- There was all kinds of extracurricular activity during this game as well, it looked as if the inmates were running the asylum. The replacement refs turned over 3 calls after reviewing the replay in the first half. There was a little pushing a shoving show that took 6 minutes! After Knowshon Moreno fumbled the ball for Denver in the 1st quarter, the field was swarmed by Broncos and one Falcon, Ray Edwards actually bumped a referee! There was only one flag against Edwards, no one was thrown out of the game, and 6 minutes of everyone's lives, including mine, was gone. I said in my last post that frustration with the replacement refs is growing, that might be an understatement after last night's game. It's not the RR's (like that?) fault, they are out of their element and each week the pressure on them is going to grow. I leave you with this image of this poor guy, who is probably a used car salesman who coaches little league football on the weekend, getting his face blown off by John Fox, the head coach of the Broncos. Get the real guys back, NFL. Just get 'em back.

how'd you like to see this coming at you?

 

Week 2: Oh When The Saints Come Falling Down

If nothing else, this blog is doing for me what I hoped it would do for other girls who are constantly surrounded by NFL talk. I have been spouting off stats and NFL tidbits all week and the reaction has been priceless.  The only downside so far has been that when it was time to go pick up lunch today neither my husband nor I wanted to go because we were both glued to the NFL Kickoff show, a minor bump in the road during this experiment in marriage and sports. SO MUCH happened this Sunday, here are some of the big headlines. I have also highlighted some "Impress Him" facts that are sure to raise some eyebrows if you have the opportunity to use them.

- The New Orleans Saints are no strangers to adversity. Seven years ago, Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans and Drew Brees and the Saints stepped up to become the face of the recovery effort and the team that everyone was rooting for no matter who their team was. This year the Saints find themselves facing a different kind of adversity, a less friendly kind. Allegations of players being paid bounties for making hits against certain players have left Drew Brees and New Orleans without their head coach, Sean Payton for this season and the eyes of NFL fans everywhere focused on them, this time in a negative way. The Saints lost to the Carolina Panthers, 27-35, for the first time since 2009 and are now 0-2 for the first time since 2007. Cam Newton and the Panthers looked energized in their home stadium. Newton did a little bit of everything, he had 253 passing yards, was the lead rusher with a career high, 71 rushing yards, one rushing TD, and no interceptions,(Disclaimer: I am a HUGE Cam Newton fan, so I may tend to dwell on him a little. I'm sorry, I can't help it, we have a very special connection that only he and I know about. Well, he doesn't actually know but that's neither here nor there.). Anyhoo, on the other side of the ball, the Saints defense looked rough. They have allowed over 900 yards of offense in their last 2 games. Drew Brees threw 2 interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown. Everyone will be talking about how Drew Brees and the Saints can bounce back from this disappointing start to their season. (Aside: A replacement ref was dismissed at the beginning of this game because it came out that he was a HUGE Saints fan, and when I say "huge" I mean that there were pictures of him on Facebook wearing every bit of Saints clothing he could get his hands on. I am willing to bet there is a Saints tattoo somewhere on his body. Good call by the NFL.).


Cam Newton's Signature TD Celebration, "The Superman"

- Are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers really going to beat the NY Giants at home?! Are the Super Bowl Champions going to be 0-2?! Absolutely not, but it looked like it for the better part of 3 quarters. "Impress Him" Fact: Both the Offensive and Defensive Coordinators for Tampa Bay came from the NY Giants. The Giants had developed special signals just for this game in case it seemed like the Bucs were onto them. And it certainly seemed like they were onto them. At halftime, Eli Manning had thrown 3 interceptions for the New York Giants and the Bucs were up by 11. After the half, the Giants changed their tune. Eli Manning came out with 295 yards in the second half, tying for the 8th most in NFL history for a total of 510 passing yards overall (what?!). Tampa Bay scored 21 points off of turnovers but once Eli decided to play like a 2 time Super Bowl Champ, there was little the Bucs could do to stop him. The Giants won 34-41.

- Do you remember when I said a couple of weeks ago that Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys were under a lot of pressure this year? And then they opened this season up with beating the reigning Super Bowl Champion, NY Giants, in New York and I said it looked like the Cowboys had come to play this season? Remember all that? Well forget it. They looked terrible today against the Seattle Seahawks. Just terrible. And it started immediately, Felix Jones fumbled the kickoff return which gave the Seahawks their first 3 points and then Jeron Johnson returned a blocked punt to give the Seahawks a 10-0 lead in less than 5 minutes! Tony Romo started off in the hole and his teammates didn't do much to help him out of it. Jason Witten and Dez Bryant couldn't seem to catch a break, let alone a ball and Demarco Murray, who had over 100 yards against the Seahawks last season, only rushed for 44 yards. Seattle's rookie QB, Russell Wilson didn't look too bad either. He passed for 151 yards and ran for another 28. Marshawn Lynch also did his part for the Seahawks with 122 yards on the ground and one touchdown. Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks got their first win at home in a big way, 27-7 over the Cowboys. "Impress Him" Fact: The last time Tony Romo and the Cowboys played in Dallas was during the 2006 NFC wild card game where Romo bobbled the snap of what would have been the winning field goal, and then tripped up just shy of the goal line for what would have been the winning touchdown. Remember, the Cowboys have only won ONE PLAYOFF GAME during the Tony Romo years.

Chin up, Romo. At least you don't have to go home to Jessica Simpson

- Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles did it again this week against the Baltimore Ravens. Vick turned the ball over 4 times but in the end Michael Vick came through with a 1 yard rushing touchdown to win the game 24-23. Just as he overcame throwing 4 interceptions last week against the Cleveland Browns, to win the game 17-16. Whether or not you have forgiven him for his past, Michael Vick is proving that he still has plenty of life as a premier NFL quarterback.

- Rookie Quarterback, Robert Griffin III (RG3), almost had more to prove this week after the dazzling display he put on during his debut as the Washington Redskins starter last week. This week the Redskins took on Sam Bradford and the St. Louis Rams. At one point in the first half the Redskins led 21-6; but Rams receiver, Danny Amendola, decided to make things tricky with 12 receptions in the first half (an NFL record) including a 1 yard touchdown to cut the lead to 21-6 at the half. In the fourth quarter the Rams were up 31-28, but RG3 had managed to get the Redskins in easy field goal position to tie the game...that is until an unsportsmanlike conduct call went against the Redskins who now had to try for a 62 yard field goal attempt...which they missed and lost the game 31-24. Does this mean RG3 isn't the real deal? Not at all, he had a solid game with 206 passing yards, 82 rushing yards, and 2 rushing touchdowns. This guy is something special. "Impress Him" Fact: Mike Shanahan, the head coach of the Washington Redskins, wanted to draft Sam Bradford when he was #1 overall pick in the 2010 Draft but was not able to make the necessary moves to secure a higher draft pick.

- Last time the San Francisco 49'ers and the Detroit Lions played their head coaches , Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz, almost got in a fist fight during their post-game handshake. So naturally, all the talk before this game was focused on whether they would kill each other during their handshake this year. They didn't. Not before the game, not after. And the San Francisco 49'ers won their second game of the season. Alex Smith threw for 226 yards and 2 touchdowns, Michael Crabtree was clutch in converting 3rd downs for SF. The SF managed to shut down Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions and stopped him from having another big yardage game. The San Francisco 49'ers won 27-19 over the Detroit Lions.

Quick Notes:

-The New England Patriots lost in a heartbreaker in their home opener against the Arizona Cardinals. Tom Brady and the Pats were stopped on an attempted 2 point conversion and then missed a field goal that would have won the game for them. They lost 20-18 to the Cards. (Aside: I know girls tend to swoon over Tom Brady, but I am not one of those girls. No offense to Gisele but I think he is a First Class Goob, and I think the picture below proves that I am not far off.)

married to Gisele, but snuggling a goat

-Miami Dolphins rookie QB, Ryan Tannehill, led the Dolphins to their first win (35-13) against the Oakland Raiders. Tannehill had 200 passing yards and Reggie Bush (another Kim Kardashian casualty) clenched the win with 172 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.

- In other rookie QB news, Andrew Luck also got a "W" for the Indianapolis Colts against the Minnesota Vikings. Luck completed 20 out of 31 passes for 224 yards.

- Following their big win last week against the  NY Jets struggled against the Pittsburgh Steelers who were trying to avoid losing 2 in a row. The Jets lost to the Steelers 27-10 even though the Steelers were without key defensive vet, Troy Polamalou and linebacker James Harrison, who were both out with injuries. Tim Tebow only played for one snap on which he rushed for 22 yards...and was then booed when he came off the field. No one likes this guy, not even his own fans.

- C.J. Spiller led the Buffalo Bills to a big win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The former Clemson Tiger carried the ball 15 times for 123 yards (8.2 yards per carry) and rushed for 2 touchdowns. The Bills won 35-17 at home.

- Frustration is growing when it comes to the replacement refs. They are making inconsistent calls and one quarterback, the usually mild mannered Joe Flacco, has called them out for effecting the outcome of the game. They are also being criticized for taking too long making decisions and slowing down the game.

With everything that happened on the field this Sunday, I know that there is something that you might hear people talking about that I missed. If you ever need me to elaborate on games or story lines please feel free to hit me up on Twitter @gridiron4girls or you can email me at gridironforgirls@gmail.com. See you all Tuesday morning for a recap of the Denver Broncos vs. the Atlanta Falcons. All I can say is, thank god the Bachelor Pad is over.

Week 2: Chicago Bears at Greenbay Packers Recap

It just hit me today the dedication it takes to follow this sport. I just have to trust that the Glee season premier went off okay without me and that the designers of Project Runway managed to get their designs down the runway without my supervision. But there isn't any time to dwell on the fact that I am missing Britney Spears as a judge on the X Factor because tonight it is all about the "Oldest Rivalry in Football".

Going into this game it is safe to say that Packer Nation was freaking out. They had lost their home opener against the 49ers and were about to go up against their biggest NFC rival. The thought of the Greenbay Packers going 0-2 on their sacred Lambeau Field was more than even this blogger could handle (mostly because I think Aaron Rodgers is dreamy). One thing they knew for sure is that they needed to commit to a running game if they were going to win this game, and they found success on the ground with running back, Cedric Benson, who rushed for 81 yards and who also used to be a Chicago Bear. The Packers got their first home win of the season with a 23-10 win over the Chicago Bears


- The first half of the game turned into a defensive battle, with both quarterbacks (Aaron Rodgers for the Packers and Jay Cutler for the Bears) spending a lot of time on their backs and neither offense could get anything going. With 2 minutes left in the half the Packers were up 3-0 and it looked like they were about to kick another field goal...but wait..are they going to fake this field goal? You bet your bottom dollar they are and not only that, it is going to work!  Tom Crabtree ran the ball 27 yards in for the touchdown to make it 10-0. All was not lost for the Bears...they still had 1:50 left in the half to put some points on the board....oh my bad Jay Cutler just threw an interception and the Packers got another 3 to make it 13-0 at halftime.

- Jay Cutler, the quarterback for the Bears, was running his mouth before the game just as you would expect thy guy who knocked up Kristin Cavallari to do, I believe he said "good luck covering us". Well that was nice of him to wish the Packers luck especially since they sacked Cutler the first time he touched the ball...and 3 more times before halftime. Incidentally, the number of times that Jay Cutler was sacked in the first half (4) was the same number of completions that he threw in the first half. One can only hope that Cutler is a better father than he is smack talker, or quarterback for the matter, but my guess is that Baby Cutler-Cavallari has a long road ahead.

- Things seemed to be going from bad to worse for Jay Cutler and the Bears after the half. The first time that Jay Cutler targeted his #1 receiver and former favorite target when they both played for the Denver Broncos, Brandon Marshall, he dropped it in the end zone for what should have been an easy touchdown. I like to call Brandon Marshall "Sir Drops-A-Lot", this goes back to his days as a Miami Dolphin...seriously, I could drop as many passes as this guy for half of what he is getting paid. In fact, Brandon Marshall did not get his first reception in this game until halfway through the 4th quarter....oh and then he dropped another one in the end zone.

- Sir Drops-A-Lot aside, Jay Cutler had bigger problems...one very big problem in particular, Clay Matthews. To say this guy is a beast is an understatement, I don't even know the right word for this guy and I bet neither does Jay Cutler after the number of times he was planted by him which was 3.5 times, 7 sacks total. (Fun Fact: Clay Matthews had 6 sacks ALL SEASON last year and already has 5.5 sacks in the first 2 games of the 2012 season, he also looks like the incredible Hulk but when he opens is mouth he sounds like Papa Smurf- no disrespect, Clay Matthews.).

-Everyone will be talking about the lack of protection given to Cutler. When Jay Cutler wasn't picking grass out of his helmet he was throwing interceptions. He threw 4 interceptions total, and completed 11 passes out of 27 attempts for 126 yards. Cutler is now 0-3 at Lambeau Field.

-  Aaron Rodgers got off to a rocky start for the Packers and while he had a solid night with 22/32 completions for 219 yards, 1 touchdown, and only 1 interception, the real star of tonight's game is the Greenbay Packer defense.


I have to say I am happy to see the Packers win, Aaron Rodgers seems like a solid guy with a good head on his shoulders and there is just something so intriguing about Wisconsin..am I right?? See you Monday morning for my recap of all of Sunday's games!

Monday Night Football Doubleheader

I'll be totally honest...I flipped back and forth between the Bachelor Pad finale and the Ravens-Bengals game last night, and was fast asleep for kickoff of the Chargers-Raiders game that followed. BUT that doesn't mean that I still can't tell you what happened!

- in short the Ravens were the BOMB! They join the Jets, Redskins, Flacons, and Bears by putting up 40 points or more in their 2012 season openers. And while Joe Flacco and his new no-huddle offense racked up 430 yards, no turnovers , and only punted twice; the Ravens famed defense, led by veteran Ray Lewis did their part to make sure the Cincinnati Bengals had no chance to win. The Ravens won their 11th straight home game 44-13. NFL teams beware, the Ravens now have an offense to go along with their always strong defense.

- as for the second MNF game Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers managed to pull out a win mostly by avoiding making the same mistakes that the Oakland Raiders made: 3 botched punts, no touchdowns until late, etc. The Raiders were also missing some of their "big play" wide receivers like Jacoby Ford due to injuries. The Chargers were also missing key offensive players but Rivers managed to work with what he had avoid any major blunders and pull off the 22-14 win.

That takes care of Week 1, how am I doing?? Let me know with your comments or on Twitter @gridiron4girls


Sidenote: Did anyone else see that Bachelor Pad Finale?!

Week One: This Is A Marathon Not A Sprint

After 10.5 hours and 11 games, I am feeling pretty good. I will admit that I wish I had more waters and less bloody marys at brunch, but you live and learn. In the end, I made it through my first Sunday with only a 20 minute nap (brought on by aforementioned bloody marys) and a slight back ache. My husband moved only once that I could tell during the entire 10.5 hours. He had 2 TVs in the living room and one game pulled up on the iPad. The couch was set up with 3 pillows from the bed and his favorite blanket and if you follow me on twitter (@gridiron4girls) you can see that every hair on his head was sticking straight up. I don't know if this is because he is stressed out about his fantasy football team, or just excited that football season is back; either way, I am looking forward to see how it behaves during the next 4 months. Truth be told, I didn't miss my lazy Sundays watching terrible "girlie" television. Instead, it was fun to watch something that so many people are passionate about, maybe even including me.

A LOT happened but here are the big stories coming out of the first Sunday:

-Remember when I told you that there were 5 rookies starting on Sunday, well you will be hearing one of their names a lot on Monday and that is Robert Griffin III but you should get use to calling him RG3. RG3 led the Washington Redskins to a 40-32 victory over the New Orleans Saints on the Saints' home field. He had 320 passing yards on only 26 attempts and on top of that he also rushed for 43 yards. In addition he added the longest touchdown pass by a rookie on opening day with a pass to Pierre Garçon for an 88 yard touchdown. If this kid put on that kind of performance in his first NFL start in a very intimidating road game there is no telling what is still to come, RG3 is the real deal.

- As for the other four rookies: Luck, starting for the Indianapolis Colts and trying to fill a very large void left by Peyton Manning, threw for over 300 yards but also threw 3 interceptions. Wilson showed some promise for the Seattle Seahawks, but nothing to write home about and don't even get me started on Ryan Tannehill for the Dolphins and Weeden for the Browns; they both got their fannies handed to them. Of the 5 starting rookies RG3 was the only one to get a win for his team.

-The San Francisco 49ers won at the Greenbay Packers for the first time since 1990. This is a HUGE win on the road for the 49ers against their NFC rivals. While the Packers made some moves to try and come back, in the end the 49ers simply outplayed Greenbay to win 30-22. Randy Moss, in his 14th season in the NFL had the first touchdown for SF and their kicker David Akers kicked a 63 yard field goal to end the first half; seriously, the ball bounced off the crossbar and just happened to fall on the right side of the goal. With that kind of luck on their side the 49ers were going to be hard to beat.

-During the 4 weeks of pre-season games the New York Jets played 4 games and scored 1 touchdown. 1 touchdown in 4 games. Maybe they were just saving them all for their season opener against the Buffalo Bills. The Jets won 48-28 setting a franchise record and silencing their critics. All the talk before the Jets game was about how they would use Tebow, but in the end Tebow all the credit has to go to Mark Sanchez for this decisive win. The Jets head coach, Rex Ryan, is somewhat famous for a lot of big talk. For now and for once it seems like he has kept his foot out of his mouth...so to speak.

- It was a wild one in Denver, the Steelers and the Broncos took traded the lead back and forth during all 4 quarters. Peyton Manning made his debut with the Denver Broncos after sitting out all last season after 4 surgeries on his neck. At the beginning of the game Manning and the Broncos didn't seem to quite have their mojo going, but that all changed in the 3rd quarter. At the beginning of the half Peyton Manning had been off the field for almost an hour. When he finally got his hands on the ball in the second half it took him 36 seconds to throw his 400th touchdown pass to Demariyus Thomas who took it 71 yards down the field. Manning joins the ranks of Dan Marino and Brett Favre with #400 and as the second half wore on he looked more and more like the Hall of Fame QB that he is. You can't ignore the play of the Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger and co. looked good and it looked like who ever could manage to have the ball last was going to be the team to come away with the win. But Big Ben threw an interception to Tracy Porter that was run back 43 yards for a Broncos touchdown with less than 2 minutes to go in the 4th quarter to put the Broncos up 31-19. After that it was all Broncos, Ben Roethlisberger was saked 3 times, maybe now he knows how his dates feel. In the end Peyton and the Broncos pulled off a big win and no one will be saying that it is time for Peyton Manning to hang up his cleats

-8 months after after having reconstructive knee surgery Adrian Peterson's legs seemed to be working just fine for the Minnesota Vikings against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Peterson carried the ball 17 times for 84 yards and had 2 touchdowns. Guess a brand new knee was worth it, the Vikings won 26-23.

-Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers whose defense gave last years rookie of the year (and my personal favorite) a wake up call. The Panthers were shut out in the first quarter, the defense looked terrible, and while Cam tried to put a few drives together and had 303 passing yards, he also had 2 interceptions and virtually no ground game. I think it's too soon to say whether or not Cam Newton will fall victim to the Sophomore Slump, but it does seem like he and the Panthers have a tough road ahead.The Bucs won16-7 ending a 10 game losing streak.


-It wouldn't be a blog post without mentioning the replacement refs. This Sunday did not go as smoothly for our retired insurance salesmen (and woman) as they probably would have liked. The Packers-49ers game was ruled by terrible calls that very well could have helped put the nail in the Packers' coffin. The Panthers game and Steelers-Broncos game also had some miscues. Here's hoping that the NFL gets the real guys back on the field and these other guys back on the golf course sooner rather than later.

Well, I am exhausted, being an NFL fan is hard work! Don't forget to follow me on twitter @gridiron4girls and share this blog with your friends (if you want to). I will be back after Thursday's Bears- Packers match up. Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Cowboys at Giants: Season Opener Recap

I wasn't planning on posting about this game, but it was such a good one that I thought it would be irresponsible for me to skip over it, and I am nothing if not responsible. Plus, this is more fun than I thought you should have seen the look on my husbands face when I told him Hakeem Nicks was definitely starting for the Giants and so should be starting for his fantasy team. Priceless.

I don't want to spend too much time on the Pre Show, but I would be remiss not to say something about the kickoff "concert". If you didn't see the game let me just say that the crowd that NBC tricked into cheering for Mariah Carey and No Doubt (when did they even get back together) forgot what they were supposed to make a lot of noise. I swear I heard crickets chirping in the middle of New York City after both performances.

Anyhoo, it's football that we are here to talk about and as promised the Cowboys and the Giants did not disappoint. For the past 8 years it has been a tradition that the reigning Super Bowl Champions open the season on a weekday, and for each of the previous 8 years the reigning champ has won the Season Opener, but not tonight... The Cowboys won 24-17 on the road, against a championship Giants team, and they looked good. Here are the big stories that are going to be coming out of this game:

- Kevin Ogletree. Who? Kevin Ogletree. This guy was an undrafted free agent at the end of the 2009 draft and was picked up by the Cowboys. Before last night he has 25 career receptions and no touchdowns. Well that all changed last night when he had 8 receptions for 114 yards including 2 touchdowns and one very key 3rd down converstions with 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter.

- Demarcus Ware picked up his 100th career sack last night when he pummeled Eli Manning. Ware is the second fastest player to ever reach this milestone, behind the late, great Reggie White. He is also among only 5 active NFL players who have 100+ sacks.

- Miles Austin, who briefly suffered from a bad case of Kim Kardashian, had a big touchdown in the 4th quarter to seal up the Cowboys victory and as much as it pains me to say anything supportive of a Kardashian castoff...he looked damn good doing it.

- We can't leave out the man of the hour, Tony Romo. Last season critics said that the Dallas Cowboys couldnt close. They were notorious for blowing big leads in the 4th quarter. Romo sent a very strong message last night that 2012 was going to be a different story, he looked confident and strong in the second half despite a shaky opening 1st quarter. It's hard not to like Romo,he just seems like a decent guy.

- As for the Giants, Ahmad Bradshaw did what he could for the G-men with 78 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. Martellus Bennett, a former Cowboy who did not leave on friendly terms, scored the first touchdown for the Giants in the first quarter, while wide receiver, Victor Cruz dropped at least 3 passes. Truth be told, the Giants just couldn't match the momentum of the Cowboys once Tony Romo decided to turn it on.

Other Notable Stories:

- Jason Witten was being called a "warrior" for deciding to play with a lacerated spleen (wtf?!). But in the end he was not really a factor at all in the game and you have to wonder if it was worth the additional hits he took to his body.

- Our friends, the replacement refs, didn't make or break the game. There was one missed holding call that should have gone against the Cowboys, and then a questionable holding call against Victor Cruz. But all in all the refs did not determine the outcome of the game and should be able to face their 8th grade geography class today (seriously, one of the refs is a geography teacher in Iowa or Idaho...does it really matter?).

There you have it, the first game is under my belt, though I was hoping to have this posted earlier this morning, I will do better on Sunday, I promise. So far, I am loving my new project even though I think my husband wishes I would go back to watching Beverly Hills, 90210 re-runs because I asked him a lot of questions...a lot. But no one said that that spending more time together was going to be easy did they :-)

While I am trying new things, I have also jumped on the twitter bandwagon, so I would love for you to follow me @gridiron4girls.

See you Monday morning!!

Are You Ready For Some Football?! Week 1 Kickoff Preview

Happy Labor Day Girls and Guys! What am I doing on my day off, besides shaking off the humiliation of being called a "terrible karaoke singer" by a hippie who lives in the woods of Belton, SC (a blog post for another time)... I am doing just what I promised I would, diving into the world of the NFL and trying to make sense of it all. So without further ado, here are some of the big stories that will have your boyfriends, husbands, bosses, etc. running their mouths this week.

The NFL officially kicks off the 2012 season this Wednesday, September 5 with the Dallas Cowboys playing at the defending Super Bowl Champions, the New York Giants. Defending Super Bowl champs aside, all eyes might be on the Dallas Cowboys during this game. When Tony Romo took over for an injured Drew Bledsoe during the 2006 season, he surprised everyone with his effectiveness as a starting quarterback. But now, 6 years and one Jessica Simpson relationship later, the Cowboys do not have any Super Bowl rings, in fact they only have one playoff win during the Romo era. Some blame Jessica Simpson, others blame Tony's supporting cast, either way the Cowboys will be feeling the pressure on Wednesday night.

Other Week 1 Storylines:

- The NFL referees are on strike and there are no negotiations scheduled as of now, replacement refs will take the field Week One. Where did they get these replacement refs? Glad you asked, they have come from small, non BCS colleges, the Arena League, and other organizations that may play the game of football, but nowhere near the level of the NFL. The replacement refs have been working during the entire pre-season without making a major impact in the outcome of the games, but how will it pan out when the games count?

- Maurice Jones Drew, a running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars, ended a 38 day hold out for a new contract (despite having 2 years left on his current contract) with no new money and no reps during the pre-season. MJD (see what I did there?) is coming back to a new head coach (Mike Mularkey) and a brand new playbook. People will be watching for how he performs on Sunday when the Jags take on the Minnesota Vikings.

- There are 5 rookie quarterbacks starting for their teams on Sunday, ALL eyes will be on these five guys to see how they handle the speed and pressure of the NFL:

• Andrew Luck starting for the Indianapolis Colts against the Chicago Bears- Luck was the Number 1 Overall Draft pick for the Colts and walks in to fill the sizable hole left by the exit of Peyton Manning.

• Robert Griffin III (RG3) will start for the Washington Redskins against the New Orleans Saints- RG3 was the Heisman Trophy winner  and the Number 2 Overall Draft Pick

• Ryan Tannehill is starting for the Miami Dolphins against the Houston Texans- Tannehill was the Number 8 Overall Draft Pick. This seems like a good time to tell all of you that my poor husband is a huge Dolphins fan and as a result has suffered for years. So for the sake of this little experiment of mine, lets hope that this kid can pull it off, he can start by figuring out which teams play in his conference (the AFC). Tannehill beat out last years Dolphins starter, Matt Moore for the job.

• Brandon Weeden will start for the Cleveland Browns against the Philadelphia Eagles- Weeden was the Number 22 Overall Draft pick and will have #3 Overall Pick, Trent Richardson to run the ball for him, provided that he is healthy following arthroscopic surgery.

• Russell Wilson will start for the Seattle Seahawks against the Arizona Cardinals- Wilson was picked in the 3rd Round of the Draft, 125th overall. He was named the starter for the Seahawks after beating veteran QB, Matt Flynn out for the job during training camp.

That ought to keep all you guys and gals pretty informed moving into the 2012Season, whether you choose to watch the games or not. Look for my recap of the week on Monday, September 10!