Week 13: Who Dat?! New Orleans Saints at the Atlanta Falcons

Saints fans call themselves "Who Dat Nation". After last night's rematch against the Atlanta Falcons they might want to change their name to "What Happened Nation". You may remember that just a few short weeks ago, the embattled New Orleans Saints handed the Falcons their first loss of the season. A win made much sweeter by the fact that these 2 NFC South rivals HATE each other. The Falcons are in a comfortable position to make it to the playoffs being tied for the best record in the NFL with the Houston Texans. But Drew Brees and the Saints needed this win to even stay part of the Post Season conversation. To say that Brees blew it would be an understatement as well as a clever play on words and the Falcons walked away with a BIG 13-23 win. Here are the highlights...or lo-lights whichever you prefer.

I can't help but love New Orleans and all their weird ways

- The Saints should have known that things were not going to go well for them on Thursday night when they landed at the Atlanta airport and their team bus was egged. Seriously, Atlanta...what are you 12 years old?

- The first drive started off with the Falcons scoring a quick touchdown...it took them just about 4 minutes to put 7 points on the board after an impressive drive led by running back, Michael Turner, who had 83 yards rushing and the opening touchdown. Drew Brees had his chance on the next drive and it looked like he was going to turn nothing into something when he threw a 38 yard bomb for a big 3rd down conversion. But on the very next play, he threw his first of 5 interceptions of the night. I feel like I need to say that again. DREW BREES THREW 5 INTERCEPTIONS LAST NIGHT! Not only was that a career high for him (i would hope so) but last night's game also ended Drew Brees' streak of 54 consecutive games with a touchdown pass, an NFL record that he set earlier this season.

- Despite the interceptions, the Saints had multiple chances to win this game. I mean, they only lost by 10 despite giving the ball back to the Falcons like it was a bomb or something. At the end of the second quarter the Saints drove to the red zone but were unable to put ANY points on the board when Brees had an incomplete pass to Sproles with 12 seconds remaining and did not have enough time to get the last play off before time ran out. The usually reliable, wide receiver, Lance Moore, also dropped a ball in the endzone during the 3rd quarter.

- The 3rd quarter actually looked like it belonged to the Saints. The Falcons had yet to convert a third down the entire game and with less than 4 minutes left in the game, they had gone 5 consecutive possessions without a 1st down. At this point in the game the Saints had run 58 offensive plays, wearing out the Falcons' defense. "Impress Him" Fact: The average number of plays run by an offense in a football game is around 63, which is why the Falcons defense was understandably worn out. But at the end of the 3rd quarter Brees threw his 3rd interception of the night and the Saints never quite reclaimed the momentum.

- There was one glimmer of hope towards the end of the 4th quarter. Michael Turner fumbled the ball and it was recovered by the Saints and even run down for a touchdown. But the touchdown was called back because the refs said there was contact made with the runner, but it was still Saints ball. "Impress Him" Fact: In the NFL a runner has to be "down by contact" to be considered down. Which means that unlike in college football, if a player gets possession of the ball and falls down but is not touched by an opposing player, the play is still alive and he is allowed to get up and continue forward progress. After recovering the fumble, the Saints still had a chance, that is before Drew Brees threw his 5th interception. Oh wait! the Falcons were offsides, the interception doesn't count, it's still Saints ball, they have another chance! Or Drew Brees can now throw his 5th official interception of the night.

- You'll notice that I have not even mentioned Matt Ryan yet. That's because the Falcons owe this win to their defense. For as well as they played on defense they did little on offense after the first quarter. Matt Ryan completed just 18 of 33 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown pass. But as Matty Ice (yes, that is seriously his nickname) has said all season, it doesn't have to be a pretty win, just a win, and the Falcons go on to an 11-1 record.

Matty Ice with some Natty Ice...get it. 

What a game to kick off Week 13! The next 3 weeks will be filled with teams trying to claw their way into the playoffs and then it starts all over again. Let me know what you think on Twitter @gridiron4girls or on my Facebook Page. Happy Friday!!

Week 5: Cool Brees: Sunday Recap

Can you believe it's October? I can't, mostly because it has been 90 degrees outside. In fact, the only way I can tell that it is October is because everything, including NFL players and coaches, is covered in pink...which I think is AWESOME. I can't think of anyone who hasn't been touched in one way or another by Breast Cancer, so I think it's great that this male dominated sport is showing their support for their moms, wives, sisters, daughters, and friends! With October comes Week 5 of the NFL season. Aside: I have to apologize for not posting about Thursday night's game between the Rams and the Cardinals. I blame my husband's co-workers who were playing fast and loose with the wine list at my favorite restaurant. Anyhoo, for me, the best part of following the NFL are the stories off the field that makes what happens on the field all the more poignant and interesting. This week there were a couple of teams with more on the line than just their record, starting in New Orleans.

- It's no secret that the New Orleans Saints have been struggling this year. Amid the Bountygate Scandal, three of the Saints coaches, including Saints' Head Coach Sean Payton who is suspended for the entire season and was to have no contact with the team and the Saints were 0-4 going into Sunday night's game. However, Sunday night's match-up between the Saints and the San Diego Chargers was no ordinary night. If Saints QB Drew Brees could throw a touchdown pass in this game it would be his 48 consecutive game with a touchdown pass and he would break a 52 year old record set by Johnny Unitas. Before the game Drew Brees personally emailed NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, and asked that Sean Payton and the other suspended coaches be allowed to attend the game. The commissioner granted the request and for the first time this season the Saints' had their head coach in the building...even though he wasn't coaching.We didn't have to wait long for the history-making throw from Brees; With 2:36 minutes left in the first quarter, Brees threw a 40 yard touchdown to Devery Henderson to break the record set by Johnny Unitas from 1956-1960. It was a great moment for the Saints and they went on from there. Brees threw 3 mores touchdowns to Marques Colston for a total of 370 passing yards on the night and the Saints won their first game of the season, 31-24. "Impress Him" Fact: Drew Brees played for the San Diego Chargers before hurting his shoulder and the Chargers decided to go with Phillip Rivers as their starter. It looked like he had nowhere to go until the Saints signed him for the 2006 season. It must have felt pretty good to break the record against his old team.

The Saints haven't seen that smile in a while. (Photo Source: Monolith.com)

- The big story surrounding the Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots game had less to do with the teams and more to do with the 2 quarterbacks. While this is Peyton Manning's first year with the Broncos, this game would mark the 13th time that he has gone head to head with Patriots' QB, Tom Brady. The Patriots won 21-31 improving Brady's record against Manning to 9-4. Brady completed 23 of 31 passes for 223 yards, a touchdown and a rushing touchdown of his own. Brady also put together 4 scoring drives of 80 yards or more. When all seemed lost, Manning tried to put together a late comeback and managed to make it a 10 point game. They were poised to score again when Willis McGahee lost a fumble that would secure the win for the Patriots.

- Coming into Week 5 there were 3 undefeated teams: the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, and the Houston Texans. The Cardinals lost on Thursday night to the St. Louis Rams  the Atlanta Falcons extended their winning streak against the Washington Redskins, and the Texans don't play until Monday night, but they should hang onto their streak as well against the troubled NY Jets.

- The Atlanta Falcons are 5-0 for the first time in franchise history. With their 24-17 win over the Washington Redskins, Matt Ryan and the Falcons sent a message to future opponents that they are capable of winning under any circumstances. If you have been following this blog week to week you know that RG3, the rookie QB for the Redskins, has been making a serious run at the Rookie of the Year title. He may still be on his way to that title, but he was knocked out of the game with a mild concussion during the 3rd quarter when he ran for a first down. "Impress Him" Fact: A more seasoned NFL quarterback would have known to get out of bounds after securing the first down in stead of trying to gain more yardage and risking a big hit, which is exactly what happened to RG3. On the other side of the ball, Matt Ryan, QB for the Atlanta Falcons, is making a serious case for league MVP. Ryan completed 34 of 52 passes for 345 yards and 2 touchdowns. The loss is the eighth consecutive home game loss for the Washington Redskins.

getting stitched up on the sideline. learned your lesson, RG3? (Photo Source: Sportsrapport.com)

- It has been an emotional week for the Indianapolis Colts. The team learned this past Monday that first year head coach, Chuck Pagano, was diagnosed with Leukemia and has taken an indefinite leave of absence in order to receive treatment which is intended to cure the disease. So when the Colts took to their home field against the Greenbay Packers they had more on their mind then getting a win, they wanted to get a win for their coach. Win they did, 30-27, in a most dramatic fashion. At halftime the Colts were down 21-3 and things did not look good. But in the second half rookie QB, Andrew Luck and Wide Receiver, Reggie Wayne took matters into their own hands and decided to put on a show. In fact, they both had career high games. Luck was 31 of 55 for 362 yards; Reggie Wayne had 13 receptions for 212 yards including the game winning touchdown which came in the last 35 seconds of the game after Luck had put together an 80 yard drive. The Packers had a chance to tie the game but missed a 51 yard field goal attempt. I am not a Colts fan, and you all know how I feel about Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, but there is just something about a team that is playing for more than just league standing. So congrats on a hard fought and well deserved win, Colts; here's hoping Coach Pagano is back on the field soon!

- The NY Giants again overcame injuries to key players to pull out a 27-41 win over the win-less Cleveland Browns. Aside: One of my loyal readers, also known as my cousin, wanted to know why the Browns are called the Browns but wear orange. The short answer is that the Browns were named after their coach Paul Brown, when the team was started in 1944; the team colors are orange and brown. The Browns actually have a pretty interesting history which you can read all about here. Now back to the present. The Browns came out and scored a fast 14 points in the first quarter that had me thinking that maybe this was going to be the week that these poor saps actually win a game and against Eli Manning and the Giants to boot! But in typical fashion eli Manning and the Giants would not go away. Victor Cruz caught a career-best, 3 touchdown passes and 3 salsa dance celebrations. And Ahmad Bradshaw overcame an early fumble to have a career-best 200 rushing yards. "Impress Him" Fact: The Giants are 9-0 in games where Ahmad Bradshaw has 100+ rushing yards. The Browns are 0-5 for the first time since their return to the league in 1999 and extend their 11 game losing streak. Ouch.

What will happen tonight when the Texans take on the Jets? Will Tebow be Tebowing instead of Mark Sanchez? I'll let you know all about it tomorrow morning!

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.