GarageGabs

A rundown of this weeks NFL action this week-

Thursday-

Baltimore 7 @ Cincinnati 13-  Cincinnati stepped up and somehow played some defense Thursday Night.  Carson Palmer threw a long TD pass to T.J. Houshmanzadeh on a flea flicker that made the difference.  NFL Impact:  Cincinnati is a currently on a major move, winning 3 in a row, taking advantage of Denver and KC slipping.  Baltimore isn’t heavily effected by this loss, they still will win this division.  Gabs Took- The Bengals

Sunday

Arizona 34 St.Louis 20- Arizona is playing much better lately, winning 2 of 3, it seems Matt Leinart is starting to be more consistent.  Sorry Edge owners, the guy finally got over 100 yards, (115) but Marcel Shipp hogged all the TD’s, with 3 in just 7 carries.  What in the world has happened to the Rams??  Marc Bulger threw for over 300 yards, and 2 TD, but mixed in 3 picks as well….at home!  While St. Louis is still mathematically alive for the playoffs it isn’t realistic to think they’d slide in.  Gabs Took- St. Louis

Atlanta 24 Washington 14- The Skins have totally tanked and the Falcons keep slim playoff hopes alive.  Neither of these teams is very good right now.  Michael Vick only completed 8 passes for 122 yards, but two were for TD’s and he ran for 59 yards to lead the Falcons over the Jason Campbell led Redskins.  The big story was the Falcons running for 256 yards as a team on Washington.  Jerious Norwood got 69 of them in one play on a 69 yard 4th quarter TD run.  Fantasy Alert:  Ladell Betts ran for 155 yards and 1 TD.  Gabs Took- Atlanta 

New England 28 Detroit 21-  A lot closer game than you would have expected, New England needed 2 late TD’s and a 2 point conversion to win this game.  Corey Dillon scored 3 times, and John Kitna threw 3 picks.  New England still has a shot at home field in the playoffs as the Colts and Chargers are each just a game ahead.  Detroit is playing for a #1 pick.  Gabs Took- New England

Tennessee 20 Indianapolis 17- Mike in NC was right!  Vince Young and the Titans pulled off another upset, this time getting a 60 yard field goal from Rob Bironas to win the game.   The Titans rallied from a 14-0 deficit, intercepted Manning twice, and had a HUGE stop in the 4th quarter when the Colts had 4th and goal from the 1, only to come away with a field goal.  Tennessee improves to 5-7, still no real shot to make the playoffs.  Indianapolis loses their 2nd in a row, missing a chance to clinch the division, as the all important (especially for the Colts) home field advantage slips away.  Gabs Took- Indianapolis

Cleveland 31 Kansas City 28- The Chiefs missed a MAJOR chance to take the wheel in the AFC wildcard race.  Trent Green threw 4 TD’s for the Chiefs but it was Cleveland backup Derek Anderson that stole the show.  Anderson threw 2 late TD passes, and scrambled 33 yards ( an amazing run, if you haven’t seen it, watch sportscenter) to set up the winning field goal.  Kansas City falls into a 5 way tie with Denver, Jacksonville, Cincinnati and the Jets….all at 7-5, and all fighting for 2 wildcard spots.  Just creates more unknown in Cleveland as now they have to contemplate starting an unknown quarterback.  Anderson, a rooke, had never thrown an NFL pass until yesterday.  Gabs Took- Kansas City

Chicago 23 Minnesota 13- Ahem….Rex Grossman was 6 of 19 for 34 yards, threw 3 Interceptions, ran for -9 yards…..oh…and the Bears won.  The Bears defense and special teams won this game, scoring 16 points.  Seriously, what is up with Grossman!?  I addressed his situation earlier, but when I said he couldn’t continue to play bad, this isn’t what I had in mind.  He was HORRIBLE yesterday!  “I never really got anything going, and that is something I need to fix,” said Grossman.  I nominate Rex Grossman for the understatement of the year.  Despite his poor play, the Bears clinched the NFC North and have a 2 game lead on the #1 seed.  Fantasy alert:  Chester Taylor bruised his ribs in the 3rd quarter.  He did return, but didn’t carry again.  He was replaced by Ciatrick Fason who ran for 75 yards and a TD.  Gabs Took- Chicago

New York Jets 38 Green Bay 10- Ok, the Jets have played themselves into the playoff hunt and have a decent slate of remaining games.  (Buffalo, @ Minnestoa, @ Miami, Oakland).  If they take care of business at home, and steal a road game, they could very well get a wildcard spot.  Not sure what to say about Green Bay, they are done.  Fantasy Alert- Cedric Houston got the Jets love yesterday, with 22 carries, 105 yards, and 2 TD.  It’s really impossible to predict which Jets back gets the love, it seems to change on a game by game basis.  Gabs Took Green Bay.

San Diego 24 Buffalo 21- The L.T. train just keeps on rolling.  178 yards and 2 TD yesterday, Rivers was efficient, throwing a TD and no picks.  The Chargers are a team NO ONE is going to want to play in the playoffs, scary mix of efficient passing, electric running, and solid defense.  The next 3 weeks will make or break the Chargers with Denver, Kansas City, and Seattle on tap…I’m betting it’s a make.  Buffalo is done, but Losman does appear to be getting better and they have McGahee back now.  Gabs Took San Diego 

New Orleans 34 SanFrancisco 10- FOUR touchdowns later and Reggie Bush is no longer a flop.  Eva J called it, just give the kid some time!  Honestly, at some point people have to note that Bush leads the Saints in receptions, and is on pace for 1,000 yards receiving.  He now has SIX touchdowns.  Just a well played game by the Saints, Brees was efficient, Duece ran wild, and Bush had his coming out.  Absolutely HUGE game next week as New Orleans travels to Dallas.  The 49ers still have slim playoff hopes, but at this point it seems quite unlikely.  Gabs Took New Orleans

Jacksonville 24 Miami 10- Couldn’t have a bigger win for Jacksonville or a bigger loss for Miami.  Jacksonville is now in the wildcard hunt at 7-5, while the Dolphins fall 2 back at 5-7.  With the strength of the AFC, I’d say the Dolphins chances are slim to none.  The Jag’s are David Garrard’s team now and he played well yesterday, tossing 2 TD.  There was a Matt Jones (WHO!?) Matt Jones sighting yesterday as well, as he caught 6 balls for 128 yards, and a TD….he lost a fumble as well.  The Jaguars have a REALLY tough road if they want to make the playoffs with Indianapolis, Tennessee, New England, and Kansas City on the schedule.  Good luck with that.  Gabs Took Jacksonville 

Houston 23 Oakland 14- Oakland Raiders……YOU SUCK!  Seriously, how do you lose to a team that has negative yards passing?  David Carr didn’t complete a single pass in the 2nd half but the Texans still won.  Andre Johnson…..Andre Johnson…..where are you?  Man, what a frustrating game!  Gabs Took Oakland (go figure, I won’t be doing that again)

Dallas 23 New York Giants 20- HA HA!  Gabs Took Dallas 

Pittsburgh 20 Tampa Bay 3  Ok, Tampa really is BAD.  They hit the field goal as time expired.  Pittsburgh needed this game just to feel good about themselves, but they won’t be playoff participants.  How Big Ben continues to play with NO scrutiny from the national media is beyond me.  Gabs Took Pittsburgh

Seattle 23 Denver 20- Let the Jay Cutler show begin, the rookie turned the ball over 3 times last night and was generally ineffective.  Denver hung in the game because Matt Hasselbeck was bad as well.  Denver got a solid defensive game, and ran the ball well….didn’t matter.  I bet Plummer would have won this game.  :)  Watch the life slowly slip away from the Denver Broncos. Gabs Took Seattle

That’s it for this week, so far Gabs is 10-5 for the week, with Carolina @ Philly tonight.