NFL Thoughts: Week 3 in the AFC

I'll post the NFC tomorrow but for now the AFC Thoughts:

Colts 21 /Jaguars 14
I see that some are saying this is a statement games for the Colts. Sure. How about a statement that they can't freaking stop the run? I can't believe how they were bulldozed in the first half. Still they did manage some stops in the second half and forced key mistakes from Leftwich so it wasn't all bad. I tell you what though, the Jags need to keep finding ways for Maurice Drew to get his hands on the ball. He's hard to tackle and quick as lightning. I think he could be one of the best rookie offensive players out there. This was a game that could have been there for Jacksonville. They controlled the clock and they kept the scoring down. But you can't beat the Colts when you don't take advantage of those things by throwing interceptions and allowing a punt return TD. I'm looking forward to the next meeting between these two.


Jets 28/Bills 20
I didn't watch this game but the stats seem to favor the loser. Losman over 300 yards. McGahee rushes for 150 yards. What the hell happened to them? It was the usual suspects of course. Turnovers and not converting in the clutch. The Bills were 3-12 on third down and on 1-4 on 4th down. I'm not a genius but I know that's bad.


Dolphins 13/Titans 10
I'm very disappointed in the Dolphins so far. Their offense looks like it hit a time warp and emerged in the Jay Fiedler era. Culpepper is so bad it's almost hard to describe. Miami fans are thirsting for a QB who can pass the ball with efficiency. This is like throwing water colored confetti at a de-hydrated man in a desert. I really thought Culpepper was going to improve this week. I see now that I should have listened to those who really understood the debacle he had become in Minnesota before he got hurt.



Bengals 28/Steelers 20
Amazingly this went about the way I expected. In other words, kinda ugly but ultimately a win for the tiger stripes. The Steelers defense have a way of making everything tough. Two of Palmer's TDs were outstanding catches by Henry and Houshma-whatever. And here's an obvious understatement: If the Steelers are going to repeat they are going to need Roethlisberger to start playing better. And you know what? He just might. I wrote the Steelers off last year and they sure made me feel stupid. Not that I need any help in that area.


Ravens 15/Browns 14
Great defense. Struggling offense. That's not exactly what Raven fans are hoping for this year with McNair in town. But lets be honest. He hasn't looked great so far at QB. Maybe the dollar signs weren't the only reason the Titans were willing to let him go to the Ravens. He does have a lot of mileage on that body. Still, he wasn't bad on the final drive that led to Stover's very cool 52 yard field goal. But the guys in orange and dirt colored unis have to be disgusted. Cleveland dominated most of this game and if Frye makes a TD play instead of getting hit and intercepted in the end zone then we're talking about a surprising win for Cleveland. Baltimore says a win is a win. And maybe they're right. I mean after all it wasn't too many years ago that they won games like this all season long and then went and won a Super Bowl.

Broncos 17 /Patriots 7
A few things we learned in this game. 1. The Packers should have tried harder to hang on to Javon Walker. 2. The Broncos defense is still pretty good (not a good trend in the NFL this year --look at the scores for the past three weeks, it's getting uglier and uglier out there). and 3. Shanahan and Belichick are just damn creepy looking.