[Chief Rum]

Week Eight

Week Eight's Big Games

Buffalo (6-1) at Kansas City (4-3)

The Chiefs will try to bounce back from their horrible game against the Raiders and give the AFC East-topping Bills a test.

Dallas (4-2) at Tampa Bay (5-1)

The Boys are in a tie for first in the NFC East, while the Buccs are trying to rebound from not only their first loss of the season, but from also losing first place in the NFC South to the Falcons.

Denver (4-3) at Baltimore (4-2)

The Ravens are trying to catch the AFC North-leading Steelers, while the Broncos try and build on the monetum of their big win over the Vikings last week.

NY Giants (4-2) at Minnesota (3-3)

This is a matchup of two division leaders, neither of whom looks particularly great. This could be a key matchup where one team starts to move up, while the other might start to fall apart.

St. Louis (5-1) at Pittsburgh (5-1)

A potential Super Bowl preview? These two teams are certainly at the top of their games right now and could be contendors for their respective conference's berth in the Big Game.

Tennessee (6-1) at Jacksonville (4-2)

This is gut check time for the Jags, who got obliterated two weeks ago by the Dolphins after a rosey start prior to that. The Titans lead the AFC South, and the Jags need this game to have a chance to catch them.

San Francisco at Arizona

After a week off to nurse wounds and redouble for the rest of the season, the Cards return to the field for a matchup against a key division rival (and with the Cards being the dog in the division, every other NFC West team is a "key division rival").

The Niners are coming off of a big win over the previously undefeated Buccaneers.

The Cards will start Jeff Blake again, after a two-week failed experiment with backup quarterback Preston Parsons. DT Wendell Bryant and C Pete Kendall are back and healthy, and CB Duane Starks is now 100%.

You just knew things were going to go bad after what happened in the very first couple minutes of the game. Niner S Tony Parrish returned a Blake interception for the first points of the game.

The Cards didn't just give in, though. Later in the quarter, Blake hooked up with Anquan Boldin on a long bomb 47-yard scoring pass to tie it up, and then the Cardinals took the lead with a field goal seconds into the second quarter.

The Cardinals wouldn't score again, though, as the Niners ran off 20 unanswered points to run away with the victory. Final score, 27-10.

Blake threw two interceptions, both to Parrish, and the Cards just couldn't run the ball effectively (56 rush yd).

QB Blake: 22-for-40, 246 yd, 1 td, 2 int
RB Smith: 46 yd (2.0 ypc)
WR Boldin: 5 rec, 85 yd, 1 td

The line held up well again, for the second straight game. Maybe there is hope yet, at least with the grunts up front. They let just 2 sacks go by, although it would be nice if they could generate some push in the running game. Aside from his saky first game, Kendrick Rodgers seems to be holding up well in place of the poor-performance-deposed Anthony Clement.

Raynoch Thompson had a big game on defense, with a team-leading 11 solo tackles and a pick off of SF QB Jeff Garcia.

The Niners scored with a multi-faceted offense. Garcia (17-26, 188 yd, 1 td, 1 int) was solid. Kevan Barlow (86 yd) pounded the ball at us, and Tai Streets (4 rec, 62 yd, 1 td) stepped it up in an off week for Terrell Owens (I like to think Duane Starks shut Owens down).

Other Games

Home Teams in CAPS

Buffalo 20, KANSAS CITY 14: The Chiefs lost their second straight game to a division leader and are in danger of falling to mediocrity. The Bills jumped to a 14-0 lead, and then tightened down the hatches. Nonetheless, the Chiefs came back to tie it in the very last minute of regulation, on a 20-yard pass from Trent Green to Eddie Kennison. In overtime, Trent Green again produced a score. Unfortunately, it was in the form of a Nate Clements interception return, giving the Bills a hard-fought win on the road. The interception was Green's first and only miscue of the day and came deep in Bills territory when the Chiefs were driving. In other words, it was a back breaker. Drew Bledsoe (29-44, 285 yd, 2 td, 0 int) was very strong, and the Bills also got leading performances from Travis Henry (95 rush yd) and Eric Moulds (8 rec, 106 yd, 1 td). Green (17-30, 253 yd, 2 td, 1 int) was the key contributor for the Chiefs.

TAMPA BAY 37, Dallas 10: The Buccs were obviously pissed they lost last week, and it didn't matter that a division co-leader was coming to town. The game was surprisingly defensive deep into the third quarter, when Dallas had a 10-7 lead. The Buccs scored four touchdowns, three of them on scoring passes by Brad Johnson, in the last quarter and a half, though, to turn it into a rout. The Boys had just 191 total yards and Quincy Carter threw 3 interceptions. Troy Hambrick could get nothing done--he actually lost 6 rush yards on the day, in 15 carries. Johnson (20-32, 194 yd, 3 td, 1 int) was instrumental in the late-game offensive explosion. Keenan McCardell (3 rec, 102 yd, 2 td) made the most of his three catches.

BALTIMORE 13, Denver 10: The Broncos comeback fell just short. Down 13-3 going into the fourth, Denver scored a touchdown on a 35-yd strike from Jake Plummer to Rod Smith. They couldn't break the Ravens' D after that, though, and fell by a field goal. Ray Lewis was all over the place (6 tkl, 4 ass, 1 sack, 2 int). The Baltimore offense was stop-and-go, but a few players had nice days; Jamal Lewis (88 yd), Kyle Boller (20-28, 179 yd, 1 td, 2 int), and Todd Heap (10 rec, 83 yd). Rod Smith (10, 160 yd, 1 td) had a second straight incredible performance, although it wasn't enough this time.

MINNESOTA 21, NY Giants 16: The Vikings came back from a home loss to Denver and a halftime 9-0 deficit to these Giants before running off a string of points in the second half to bag them the victory. The Giants outgained the Vikings, 430-330, but the Vikes made it count when they had the ball. Rookie Onterrio Smith (146 rush yd, 2 td) had the best day of his young career, and Daunte Culpepper (19-26, 175 yd, 1 td, 0 int) didn't screw it up. Moss (11 rec, 96 yd, 1 td) was typically great. He wasn't the best receiver on the turf today, though. Amani Toomer (11 rec, 133 yd, 1 td) takes that prize.

PITTSBURGH 27, St. Louis 13: The Rams never really got going against a tough road crowd. They also allowed a kick return for touchdown, making it even harder to start a comeback. The Steelers overcame three lost fumbles to put up a veru solkid showing on offense, if not spectacular. Tommy Maddox (19-24, 193 yd, 2 td, 0 int) displayed poise in the pocket, and Jerome Bettis (132 yd) had another fine day running the ball. Maddox continues to show that his favorite target is Plaxico Burress (8 rec, 109 yd, 2 td).

Tennessee 27, JACKSONVILLE 17: Three weeks ago, the Jags were 4-1 and riding high. Now they are 4-3 and struggling. This was a needed victory they couldn't come away with. Fred Taylor gave them a good start, returning a kick for a touchdown and catching a TD pass from Bryon Lefrtwich in the first half to give the Jags the early 14-7 lead. The Titans did all the scoring in the second half, though, with help from a Andre Woolfolk interception return for score. Eddie George and Chris Brown combined for 98 rushing yards, and Steve McNair (15-25, 185 yd, 1 td, 1 int) was his usual effective self. Leftwich completed 30 passes, but only had 219 passing yards.

NEW ORLEANS 27, Carolina 15
NEW ENGLAND 38, Cleveland 10
CHICAGO 17, Detroit 14
INDIANAPOLIS 30, Houston 3
SAN DIEGO 16, Miami 10
PHILADELPHIA 31, NY Jets 7
Seattle 30, CINCINNATI 24

Injuries

My secondary tooka big hit when one of my two starting safeties--one of the few strengths of my defense--went down with an injur that could keep him out for two or three weeks at least. Free safety Dexter Jackson will have to mend up, while Marques Anderson gets the call to replace him. With all the injuries I have had in the secondary, the Anderson signing was probably the best move I made yet this season.

CR