ESPN 2005 Football

[Marmel]

ESPN Football 2005 – New York Giants

The New York Giants had the 2nd overall pick in the fantasy draft and selected QB Donovan McNabb. Here is the roster breakdown for the New York Giants after the fantasty draft. The focus was entirely on the passing game, on both offense and defense. With their first 6 draft picks, the Giants selected a QB, two Wide Receivers and three cornerbacks.

Roster, with overall rating in ( )

Quarterbacks

Donovan McNabb (92)
M Schaub (65)
J Smoker (53)

McNabb is the man here, obviously, and will determine how we do every year. The other two guys are rookies, and will never see the field unless McNabb gets hurt.



Running Backs

W Dunn (81)
A Cason (71)
T Bell (71)

We are not going to run the ball all that much, but Dunn is a nice option in the backfield and should be able to catch some passes out of the backfield. He is good enough to keep the defense honest. Cason is the backup, but both he and Bell were drafted for their speed. In fact, most of the offense was drafted based on speed.



Full Backs

J Baxter (73)
R Cartwright (71)

Both of these guys were selected late in the draft and were picked for their pass blocking skills. We may not hand off to a Full Back all year long, so their importance to the team is minimal.



Tight Ends

R McMichael (80)
D Jolley (72)
T Euhus (52)

McMichael and Jolley were drafted for their pass catching skills. I would have liked to get a better TE in the draft, but they were snatched up before I got around to it. I like to have a great pass catching TE in this offense and it will be an area that could be upgraded in the first offseason, though McMichael should be pretty solid for us.




Wide Receivers

Chad Johnson (93)
Santana Moss (91)
Q Morgan (81)
S Parker (66)
C Francos (58)
J Schifino (51)

Our top three receivers comprise an outstanding group of receivers. We may not have that 1 superstar receiver like a Randy Moss or Marvin Harrison, but top to bottom, we are strong. Morgan, Parker and Francos were selected for their speed, a continuous focus on this team.




Centers

C Weigmann (90)
S O'Hara (72)

Weigmann is our best offensive lineman. Not much to say about the line, overall, but everyone who was drafted was picked based on their pass blocking abilities much more so than run blocking.



Guards

M Stinchcomb (79)
R Hochstein (79)
F Weary (64)
J Bell (59)

Stinchcomb and Hochstein are the starters, and they are satifactory.



Tackles

J Welbourne (81)
C Bober (79)
T Pashos (60)

Welbourne and Bober do a good enough job at protecting the QB, but they are not going to blast open any holes to run through.




Kicker

S Janikowski (88)

A strong leg will allow us to kick field goals from 50+ yards out with a reasonable chance of connecting.




Punter

C Hanson (91)

A great leg should allow us to control field position.




Defensive Ends

T Brackens (80)
J Smith (81)
F Wakefield (71)

Brackens and Smith are the ends on the D-Line. Defensive players other than corner backs were drafted late, so we had to take the best players left.




Defensive Tackles

T Harris (78)
L Chester (78)
D Stewart (66)

Harris and Chester were the best remaining players here. I only need them to hold their own against the run.




Outside Linebackers

K Wong (77)
K Bentley (75)
D Williams (64)
L Joe (53)

Wong is the best of this group, and actually should do a decent job against the run. Again though, we were choosing from what was left when we got around to the defense.




Inside Linebackers

N Harris (77)
C Polk (63)
R Seigler (59)

I usually control the MLB in my 4-3 defense, and I wish I got a better player than Harris, but for this year he will have to do. This will be a big area of concern in the offseason when we try to upgrade.




Cornerbacks

C Bailey (93)
T Law (91)
S Rolle (88)
W Bartee (59)
M Waddell (51)
C Iuwoma (54)

Bailey, Law and Rolle will comprise the best secondary in the league. I usually line up in a nickle defense, with an emphasis on the run to hedge my bets, that way, all three of my stud corners will play every down. The plan is to put up a lot of points and stop the defense from being able to compete in a shootout.



Strong Safety

B Sanders (73)
M Boulware (73)

These guys are pretty euqal and interchangable. Nothing spectacular though.




Free Saftey

A Floyd (72)
S Wooden (70)

Same situation here as at SS. Both spots will need an upgrade if possible.

[Marmel]

Week 1

New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles

We hit the road to begin the season. A quick strike to Santana Moss and an interception return by Rolle and we are up 14-0. Exactly how I planned when I was drafting. The Easgles came back with a pick reutrn off their own, then wore down the defense to tie the game at 14.

A Chad Johnson touchdown pass and a field goal put us up 24-14 at the half.

We extended our lead to 27-14 early in the second half, before the Eagles started their comback with a touchdown to make it 24-21, and then they drove to the red zone. Rolle picked off another pass though and we hold the lead. A 3rd touchdown pass from McNabb puts us up 34-21 and we finish off week 1 with a 34-28 victory!





Week 2

Washington Redskins at New York Giants

A rainy day at Giants stadium made the passing game tough, and the Redskins defense, maybe the best in the league on paper held us scoreless in the first half. Our defense stepped up though and only allowed a field goal, so we trailed 3-0 at the half.

In the second half the rain slowed down and our passing game picked up. An early 3rd quarter touchdown put us up 7-3. Warrick Dunn got crushed on a counter run later in the 3rd and he has a concussion. He is going to miss about 10 weeks of play!

We seal the victory though with another touchdown in the second half and take this game 14-3.




Week 3

Cleveland Browns at New York Giants

We could not stop Randy Moss and Plaxico Buress in the first half. Jake Delhomme hit each of them for a touchdown and with a missed extra point, the Browns took a 13-0 lead at halftime.

The second half was all New York though. Two touchdowns and 2 long field goals for Janikowski put us up 20-13, and our defense bent, but didn't break, holding the Browns to just a field goal in the second half. We remain unbeaten with a 20-16 win!



Standings after week 3 in the NFC East

New York 3-0
Philly 2-1
Washington 2-1
Dallas 2-1


We have a tough division this year and will have to keep playing good to stay in the lead.



Teams still undefeated after 3 weeks:

Buffalo 2-0
New York Giants 3-0
Chicago 3-0
Miami 3-0



Teams without a win:

Tampa Bay 0-3
New Orleans 0-3
Carolina 0-2
New York Jets 0-2
Minnesota 0-3
Detroit 0-3




At this point, I will recap each game after I play it so I can get better stats for my players and the other teams players.

[Marmel]

Week 4

New York Giants (3-0) at Green Bay Packers (2-1)

The Packers take the opening kickoff and on the first play from scrimmage, Pennington hits Jason Whitten for a 80 yard touchdown reception. We trail early, 7-0. McNabb comes back and.....throws a pick on his first pass attempt. The Packers waste no time at all punching it in with their great field position, and only 40 seconds into the game, we trail 14-0. Not the start we had planned on.

We get the ball moving on our next possession, but MCNabb throws another pick and they convert a field goal. We now trail 17-0 and things look bad for us already. Make it 20-0 after McNabb throws his third INT of the first quarter!

Finally the Giants offense gets going when we hit on a 67 yard completion to Santana Moss. With the extra point, the score is 20-7. That score holds until the half.

Late in the third quarter, our defense gets burned bad on a third and long draw play. They break it for the distance and put this game away as they go up 27-7.

Our team doesn't get roll over and die though. McNabb shows a flash of what he did in the first three weeks of the season and hits our 2rd WR, Q Morgan for a 46 yard touchdown pass to make the score 27-14. But our terrible run defense kills us as on the very next play from scrimmage, Green Bay breaks off a long 78 yard run for a touchdown and we go down 34-14.

We are just playing for stats now and McNabb hits Johnson for a 58 yard touchdown pass to make the score 34-21.

Thats the final score and here are some of the top performers today.

McNabb 15 for 40 for 334 yards with 3 touchdowns and a horrendous 6 interceptions.

Green Bay's RB T. Henry ran for 209 yards and 2 touchdowns.

S Moss had 7 catches for 183 yards and a touchdown, before leaving with an injury.

C Johnson had 67 receiving yards and a touchdown.

M Boulware had a game high 8 tackles.

Green Bay's D. Hall had 2 interceptions.

[Marmel]

Post Game Wrap Up


NFC East Standings

New York Giants 3-1
Philadelphia 3-1
Washington 3-1
Dallas 2-1



New York Injury Report

WR Santana Moss – Out for 2 weeks. Moss is one of our top 3 receivers, arguably our best this year, so our depth will be reduced in the next few games.

RB Warrick Dunn – Out for 9 weeks. We normally don't run much, but with Moss out, we may need to, so the backups will have to step up and get us a few first downs. That is all I ask.




Season Stats

Donovan McNabb 60 for 131 (46%), 1,128 yards, 7 TDS, 12 INT, 13 sacks.

RB Aveion Cason 36 runs for 77 yards and 3 touchdowns.
RB Warrick Dunn 18 runs for 50 yards and 0 touchdowns.

WR Chad Johnson 22 catches for 329 yards and 1 touchdown.
WR Santana Moss 16 catches for 405 yards and 3 touchdowns.
TE Randy McMichael 10 catches for 169 yards and 1 touchdown.
WR Quincy Morgan 5 catches for 1612 yards and 1 touchdown.

CB Ty Law 18 tackles, 2 picks
LB Kailee Wong 17 tackles





Power Rankings

1 Buffalo 3-0
2 Miami 4-0
3 Chicago 3-1
4 New York Giants 3-1
5 Atlanta 3-1



30 New York Jets 0-3
31 Detroit 0-3
32 Minnesota 0-3

[Marmel]

Week 5

New York Giants (3-1) at Dallas Cowboys (2-1)

We are on the road again, and once again we get off to a terrible start. Jake Plummer hits Marvin Harrison for an 80 yard touchdown pass on the first play of the game. We were in a nickle defense, with the ILB blitzing and we just got burned by Harrison, even with our great corners. 7-0 already. McNabb better be on his game today.

Our next drive stalls, but the defense holds and we get it back. Late in the first quarter, McNabb spread the ball around to 5 different receivers, and Cason punches it in from the 3 yard line to tie the game upat 7.

Dallas takes the kickoff and then face a 3rd and long situation. We play a dime defense as they send out 5 wide. Chester makes the interception and McNabb wastes no time in finding Johnson for a long gain, and then McMichael for the go-ahead touchdown. 14-7 Giants midway through the second quarter.

Dallas drives into the redzone on their next possession, but the defense holds and forces the field goal, which is good. That makes the score 14-10 in our favor.

Late in the first half, a great punt pins Dallas deep in their own territory. They come out passing, but Champ Bailey steps in front of a pass and picks it off, giving us great field position, and a certain field goal, at least. Two plays later, we don't have to worry about the field goal. McNabb finds Quincy Morgan for the touchdown and we lead 21-10 at the half.

[Marmel]

Second Half

We go to the run much more in the 3rd quarter, trying to eat up some clock here and while we don't put up any points, we pick up some first downs and our defense plays good. After 3 full quarters, we still lead 21-10.

Plummer and his offense have little success against our corners as they try to pass their way back into the game. It is not until they get into their 2 minute offense that they are able to move the ball a bit and cut our lead to 8 points with a field goal. They line up for the onside kick with the Giants ahead 21-13.

We easily recover the onside kick, and we don't even have to run a play. We can take a knee three times and leave Dallas with a 21-13 victory!


Stat Leaders:

McNabb was 11 for 14 for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns, no interceptions.

Jake Plummer was just 10 for 29 with a touchdown and 2 interceptions.

RB A. Cason ran 21 times for 65 yards and a touchdown.

Marvin Harrison had 109 receiving yards and atouchdown for Dallas.

For us, McMichael and Quincy Morgan each had a touchdown catch.

[Marmel]

Post Game Wrap up

NFC East Standings

New York 4-1
Washington 4-1
Philadelphia 3-1
Dallas 2-2

Next Week: Bye


Injuries:

Santana Moss – Out for 1 week

Warrick Dunn – Out for 8 weeks





Top 5 Power Rankings:

Buffalo 4-0
Miami 5-0
New York 4-1
Chicago 3-1
Philadelphia 3-1



Winless teams:

New England 0-4
New York Jets 0-4

[Marmel]

Post Bye Week Recap


NFC East Standings

New York 4-1
Philadelphia 4-1
Washington 4-2
Dallas 3-2

New Week: vs. Detroit (2-3), in New York




Injury Report:

Warrick Dunn – Out for 7 weeks. Cason is doing a fine job filling in, so no worries right now. With Moss back in the lineup, we will be back to a heavy passing game, although our win against Dallas might have convinced me to run a little more when we hold a lead.




Top 5 Power Rankings

Buffalo 5-0 (the only undefeated team left)
Miami 5-1
Philadelphia 4-1
Chicago 4-1
Tennesee 5-1

The Giants fell to 6th during their bye week.



The Jets are last in the power rankings and they are the only team yet to win a game. They stand at 0-5 on the year.

[Marmel]

Game Day, NFL Week 7

Detroit Lions (2-3) at New York Giants (4-1)

Detroit takes the opening kickoff, but on their first series of down our FS A. Floyd makes the interception. A sack killed our drive, but we get the first points of the game on a 40 yard field goal from Janikowski. 3-0 Giants early on.

Early in the second quarter the Lions put together a fine drive, capped off by a 15 yard touchdown pass from Steve McNair to Derrick Mason. The Lions go up by a score of 7-3.

We get the ball back on the kickoff and drive 80 yards, capping it off with a 1 yard touchdown plunge by Cason. Giants regain the lead, 10-7 as we approach the 2 minute warning.

Both defenses do a good job in the last few minutes of the half, and we are happy to go to the half with the 10-7 lead.




Second Half

The Giants open the second half with the ball and we go on a very time consuming drive. Chad Johnson caught 3 third down passes, all for first downs to keep the drive alive, but we came up short as we got into the redzone and had to settle for another Janikowski field goal. We push our lead to 6 points at 13-7.

The third quarter comes to an end with the Giants in the midst of another nice looking drive.

That drive ends early in the 4th quarter with Janikowski's third field goal of the day. We take a 16-7 lead, which mean the Lions will have to score twice in the fourth quarter to win this game. I like where we are sitting right now.

The Lions make a game out of this though. With 3 minutes left on the clock, McNair and Mason hook up for their second touchdown of the day. After the extra point, our lead is down to just 2 points at 16-14.

We take the kickoff, but the Lions force us into a 3 and out and we have to punt away after the 2 minute warning hits.

We luck out big time as the Lions fumble the punt and we recover it at the 31 yard line! The Lions use up the rest of their timeouts and we pick up a first down on the ground which means we are able to run out the clock and escape with a close victory. The final score was 16-14.


Stats

McNabb was 15 for 27 for 241 yards with a pick and no touchdowns.

McNair went 15 for 24 for 192 yards and 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.


Cason ran the ball 23 times for 60 yards and a touchdown.

For Detroit, Mason had 8 catches for 93 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Chad Johnson had 6 catches for 78 yards and Moss had 3 catches for 65 yards in his return from the DL.

[Marmel]

Week 7 NFL Report


NFC East Standings

New York 5-1
Philadelphia 5-1
Washington 4-2
Dallas 3-3

Next Week: at Minnesota (2-4)




Injury Report:

Warrick Dunn – Our for 6 more weeks. Cason is slowly making a statement that we don't even need Dunn.




Power Rankings Top 5

Buffalo 6-0
Philadelphia 5-1
Miami 5-2
New York Giants 5-1
Tennessee 5-2


The Jets finally win a game, beating the Patriots, who also have only 1 win on the season.




Week 7 Prime Time Players

FS Brown (JAX) 9 tackes, 1 sack, 2 interceptions.

WR Moulds (SD) 8 receptions, 235 yards, 2 touchdowns.

SS Lewis (MIA) 11 tackles, 2 sacks

TE Heap (CIN) 9 receptions, 164 yards and 3 touchdowns.

[Marmel]

NFL Week 8

New York Giants (5-1) at Minnesota Vikings (2-4)

This Viking team is pretty bad on paper, and not much better on the field. It may be a game where I can pile on the score and put up some gaudy console stats. Of course, last time I got cocky before a game, I threw 6 interceptions.


Our first offensive series of the game results in a couple incomplete passes followed by a 59 yard strike from McNabb to Quincy Morgan and we grab the early 7-0 lead. The Vikings answer with a decent drive, but we hold them to a 39 yard field goal attempt, which they hit. We still lead 7-3. As the first quarter comes to an end, we have the ball and are just crossing midfield.

That drive stalls when McNabb throws an INT. The Vikings turn the turnover into another field goal and cut our lead to 7-6 midway through the 2nd quarter.

McNabb throws his second pick of the day later in the 2nd quarter, but our defense is able to force a quick punt. Our offense comes back on the field and for the second time today, McNabb finds Morgan for a touchdown pass, this one was a 45 yard strike. We go up 14-6.

The Vikings try to make something happen late in the 2nd quarter, but Boulware makes the interception to give us a chance to add another touchdown before the half. McNabb is having another one of those days though. We go for the quick 7, but the ball is picked off, his third of the day. Minnesota again tries to make something happen, but Champ Bailey gets the pick. The last 3 pass attempts have all been interceptions in this game!

This time we play conservatively, and knock home a long field goal to go up 17-6, and that score holds until the half.

[Marmel]

Second Half

Most of the third quarter was each defense harrassing the other team and forcing a pretty quick punt. We finally break through on a PA pass and Santana Moss takes a pass 73 yards for the score to put us up 24-6.

Instead of running the ball late and eating up clock, we call an audible after McNabb gets sacked deep in our territory. The Vikings were stacked up to defend the run and Santana Moss gets wide open and practically walked into the endzone on a 83 yard pass completion for another touchdown. That makes the score 31-6.

The Vikings get the ball back and Boulware makes his second interception of theday, but we get gready, and go for it on 4th and goal and are stuffed.

With under a minute left in the game, we could have just run out the clock, but instead, McNabb and Moss hook up for the third time today and we take a 38-6 lead.

That ends up as the final score.



Stats

Donovan McNabb 13 of 34 for 407 yards with 5 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
Brad Johnson, for Minnesota, was 21 for 48 for 243 years, no touchdowns and 6 interceptions.

RB Cason had 11 carries for 26 yards.

Santana Moss had 6 catches for 223 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Quincy Morgan had 2 catches for 104 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Floyd and Boulware each had 2 picks for us.

R. Williams for Minnesota had 3 interceptions on the day.

[Marmel]

Week 8 NFL Recap

NFC East Standings

New York 6-1
Philadelphia 5-2
Washington 4-3
Dallas 4-3

Next Week: at home vs. Chicago Bears (5-2)




Injury Report

Warrick Dunn – Out for 5 more weeks.




Top 5 Power Rankings

Buffalo 6-1
Giants 6-1
Philadelphia 5-2
Tennessee 6-2
Miami 6-2






Week 8 Primetime Players

DE Carter (CAR) 9 tackles, 2 sacks

DE Holliday (SD) 9 tackes, 2.5 sacks

WR Moss (NYG) 6 receptions, 223 yards, 3 touchdowns

HB Alexander (HOU) 86 rushing yards, 175 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns

[Marmel]

Week 9

Chicago Bears (5-2) at New York Giants (6-1)

We expect a tough battle today. The Bears have an excellent defense. Our passing game must be very accurate today and we will have to probably have a decent running game as the weather is terrible today. A snowy, rainy mixture out there in New York.


We get on the scoreboard first this afternoon with a 43 yard field goal from Janikowski. With about 2 minutes left in the first quarter, the Giants take the 3-0 lead.

Our defense is making life tough on Brett Favre and their offense is barely able to get out of park. As the first quarter ends, we are on the move again.

On the first play of the second quarter, McNabb hits Chad Johnson for a 22 yard touchdown reception and we take a 10-0 lead.

Later in the second quarter both QB's throw an interception. After the series of picks, we end up with the ball and McNabb hits Quincy Morgan on a long post pattern for 7 points. The completion and run after the catch covered 40 yards and we find ourselves up 17-0 late in the first half.

The half ends at 17-0 and we are feeling great heading into the second half, especially considering we will be getting the ball to start the second half.



Second Half

The third quarter was a defensive battle for the most part. We missed a 51 yard field goal attempt, and forced them to punt a couple of times, until late in the third. Brett Favre hit Tony Gonzalez for a 41 yard touchdown to get them back into the game. The score is now 17-7.

The third quarter ends with the score still at 17-7 and we have the ball, trying to eat up some clock.

More defense for most of the 4th quarter, but the Bears give themselves a chance by hitting a 53 yard field goal with about 1:20 left in the game. They still have all of their timeouts as well.

The Bears try the onside kick, but we recover it. All we need is one first down, which we pick up. The Bears burn all three of their timeouts, but we are able to run the clock down and out to take the 17-10 victory!




Stat Leaders:

QB McNabb was 12 for 22 for 203 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception.
QB Favre was 7 for 24 for 149 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

RB Cason had 22 carries for 53 yards.
RB D. Davis for Chicago had 7 carries for 43 yards.

WR Chad Johnson had 6 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown.
WR Moss had 3 catches for 49 yards.
WR Morgan had 1 catch for 40 yards and a touchdown.

For the Bears, TE Tony Gonzalez had 3 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown.

[Marmel]

NFL Week 9 Recap


NFC Est Standings

Giants 7-1
Eagles 6-2
Cowboys 5-3
Redskins 4-4

Next Week: at Arizona (6-2)




Injury Report:

RB Warrick Dunn – Out for 4 more weeks.




Week 9 Power Rankings Top 5

Buffalo 7-1
New York Giants 7-1
Philadelphia 6-2
Tennessee 6-2
Kansas City 6-2





Week 9 Primetime Players:

DE Douglas (SD) 11 tackles and 4 sacks

LB Urlacher (NE) 12 tackles and a sack.

WR Moulds (SD) 6 receptions, 201 yards and 3 touchdowns.

QB Maddox (SD) 17 for 28 for 373 yards and 5 touchdowns.

[Marmel]

NFL Week 10

New York Giants (7-1) at Arizona Cardinals (6-2)

The first quarter of this game saw each team punt the ball away twice after completing a few first down plays. The defenses did good enough to keep the offense out of field goal range though. Late in the first, Eli Manning got the Cardinals moving downfield, but threw a costly interception inside the 10 yard line. The first quarter comes to an end with a 0-0 score.

McNabb is getting fristrated with his receivers as the second quarter gets under way. He is doing a great job of threading the needle and hitting his receivers right in the numbers, but the Cardinal secondary is laying the lumber, causing way too many dropped passes.

We have to punt and the Cardinals get good field position. They take advantage of it and Manning hits Chris Chambers for a touchdown pass to give Arizona a 7-0 lead.

We are able to connect on a long field goal right before halftime to make the score 7-3 going into the locker rooms.



Second Half

Our offense still cannot move the ball against the Cardinal secondary. More dropped balls for us and we have to punt. The Cardinals get the ball and go on a very long drive, converting a few third down situations and take control of the game with a 3 yard touchdown run by RB Jamal Lewis. Arizona leads us 14-3.

Arizona tacks on a field goal early in the 4th and final quarter of the game to take a 17-3 lead. Our offense has not gotten out of first gear all day, and we have little time to get the job done now.

McNabb throws his second interception of the day as soon as we get the ball back and Arizona tacks on 3 more points for a 20-3 lead.

McNabb throws another pick when we get the ball back and that pretty much does it.

We come back down to earth this week with a 20-3 loss.



Stats:

McNabb was just 9 for 30 for 135 yards with 3 interceptions.
Eli Manning was 15 for 22 for 205 yards, a touchdown and a interception.

Cason was given the ball just twice, and picked up 3 yards.
Jamal Lewis had 87 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown.

For Arizona, Chris Chambers had 137 receiving yards and a touchdown.

[Marmel]

NFL Week 10 Wrap up


NFC East Standings

Giants 7-2
Cowboys 6-3
Eagles 6-3
Redskins 5-4

New Week: at home vs. Atlanta (6-3)




Injury Report

RB Warrick Dunn – Out for 3 weeks.




Week 10 Primetime Players

SS Polamalu (CAR) 7 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery

LB Urlacher (NE) 11 tackles, 2 interceptions.

HB Alexander (HOU) 23 rushes for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns.

HB David (CHI) 80 rushing yards, 72 receiving yards, 3 total touchdowns.




Later Top 5 Power Rankings

Buffalo 7-2
Tennessee 7-2
New York Giants 7-2
Kansas City 7-2
St. Louis 7-2


Worst Two Teams in the League:

New York Jets (1-8)
Jacksonville (1-8)

[Marmel]

NFL Week 11

We are getting towards the end of the season now, and barring a total collapse, it looks like we should qualify for the playoffs. Now the goal is to win the division and then go after home field advantage.

New York Giants (7-2) vs. Atlanta Falcons (6-3) from Giants Stadium


The Falcons took the opening kickoff and had their way with our defense until Bouleware picked off a pass at the 1 yard line, saving what appeared to be a touchdown drive for the Falcons. We dodge a bullet and now hope that our offense can have the same type of success.

We pick up a couple of first downs, but then McNabb throws an interception on a desperation third and long situation.

The Falcons get the ball back and on the final play of the first quarter, Cutis Martin takes a handoff from Culpepper and rumbles 12 yards for the touchdown. Our defense looks like a bunch of amateurs out there so far today.

Early in the second quarter, McNabb throws his second pick of the game and Culpepper makes quick work of the short field and we now find ourselves down 14-0 and staring at two striaght losses if we cannot rebound.

On our next possession we finally find a nice flow on offense, mixing in a few successful runs with a lot of passes. On the first play after the 2 minute warning, McNabb finds Santana Moss for a 9 yard touchdown pass and we cut the score to 14-7.

We kick off deep and on third down, Culpepper tries to make something happen with his feet, but he gets popped hard by a linebacker and coughs up the ball. Floyd falls on it and we have the ball on the 10 yard line. It takes just one lob play to the corner of the endzone to Santana Moss and this game is tied at 14!

Halftime arrives and this game is still tied up at 14 all.



Second Half

We open up the second half with a slant pattern to McMichael. The defense was selling out on the run and Michael was free and clear, only to be brought down by the faster secondary, but not until he got inside the 5 yard line! Cason dives over the pile on second down and we have scored 21 straight points to take a 21-14 lead.

The Falcons get the ball back and face a third and 1. They try to plow up the middle, but somebody strips the ball from Martin and the defense recovers. McNabb only needs a couple pass plays to find McMichael and reward him for the long pass play on the last series. This one is a 16 yard touchdown play and we now go up 28-14!

The game heads into the fourth quarter and we have the ball, pounding it on the ground now that we have a 2 touchdown lead, and eating up clock. We tack on a field goal and the defense does the rest of the work, giving us a solid 31-14 after falling behind 14-0 early on.



Stats

QB McNabb was 13 of 20 for 257 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
QB Culpepper was 11 of 18 for 144 yards with a touchdown and 2 interceptions.



RB Cason ran 23 times for 68 yards and a touchdown.
RB Martin ran 9 times for 41 yards and a touchdown.



TE McMichael had 3 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.
WR Santana Moss had 19 receiving yards on two catches, both for touchdowns.
WR Coles, for Atlanta, had 44 receiving yards and a touchdown.


Brackens picked up 2 sacks for our defense and Bouleware had 2 interceptions.

[Marmel]

NFL Week 11 Recap


NFC East Standings

Giants 8-2
Eagles 7-3
Cowboys 7-3
Redskins 5-5

Next Week: at home vs. Eagles (7-3)




Injuries

HB Warrick Dunn – Out for 2 weeks

ILB Napoleon Harris – Out for 2 weeks with a strained wrist. This is the guy I control for about 90% of the plays.




Top 5 Power Rankings

Tennessee 8-2
Kansas City 8-2
St. Louis 8-2
Bullafo 7-3
Giants 8-2





Week 11 Primetime Players

FS Prioleau (TEN), 13 tackles and a sack

DE Little (DET), 7 tackes and 2 sacks

HB Foster (MIA) 18 rushes for 260 yards and 2 touchdowns.

WR Morton (BAL) 5 catches for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns.

[Marmel]

Week 12

Philadelphia (7-3) at New York (8-2)

The Eagles get the ball first in this game, and Payton Manning will try to lead them to an early score. The only problem is, Manning has a less than talented receiving corp to throw to. Rod Smith is good enough, but after that, they stink. Smith picks up one first down for them, but we force a punt after that.

We get the ball for the first time today, and McNabb is perfect on the drive, connecting on 5 of 5 passes. Cason ran hard on this drive and capped it off with a 2 yard plunge to give us a 7-0 later in the first quarter.

The Eagles have much more success on their next possession by handing off to Edgerrin James and having him catch short passes out of the backfield. Almost single handidly, he led them 80 yards for a game tying touchdown.

We don't have nearly the same level of success moving the ball when we get it back and have to quickly punt it away. The Eagles continue to use James on almost every play and they are eating up yards, but once they get into the redzone, our defense tightens up and forces a fumble, which we recover. We are under the 2 minute warning now and will try to get at least a field goal before the half.

We make our way down to the 10 yard line thanks to a big gain by TE McMichael. A few plays later, McNabb connects with Chad Johnson for a touchdown and we go into halftime, leading the Eagles 14-7.



Second Half

We get the ball to start off the second half, and after McNabb gets sacked, the momentum seems to be turning as we face a 3rd and 18 inside our own 10 yard line. But the momentum did swing, heavily in our favor. Quincy Morgam beat his man and hauled in the throw from McNabb with nothing but green in front of him. He took it the distance for a touchdown and we take a 21-7 lead.

The Eagles get the ball back, and once again, a big hit on James causes him to cough up the ball and we recover it. James had to be helped to the sidelines and his status is in doubt.

We begin to work the ground game with a 2 touchdown lead, in order to wear down their defense and eat up the clock. It was a short field for us, and made it easy to put together a picture perfect drive. Cason ended it with an 8 yard touchdown run, his second score fo the game, and now we are comfortably ahead, 28-7.

We head to the 4th quarter with the score still 28-7. Midway through the quarter, Manning hits Smith for a long touchdown pass of 70 yards and our lead is now at 28-14.

We recover the onside kick and pick up 2 first downs, which allows us to run out the clock. We pick up the divisional win, 28-14.



Stats:

QB McNabb was 11 for 15 for 265 yards and 2 touchdowns.
QB Manning was 8 for 17 for 192 yards and a touchdown.

RB Cason rushed for 70 yards on 22 carries and scored 2 touchdowns.
RB James rushed for 73 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown.

WR's Morgan and Johnson each had a receiving touchdown for us.

[Marmel]

Week 12 NFL Wrap Up


NFC East Standings

Giants 9-2
Cowboys 7-4
Eagles 7-4
Redskins 6-5

Next Week: at Washington (6-5)

We have created some seperation from the pack in the division, and should be able to win this thing. The Rams and Cardinals are both 9-2 in the NFC West, so we still have a battle for home field advantage going on.




Injuries:

RB Warrick Dunn – Out for 1 more week.

ILB Napoleon Harris – back this week, earlier than expected.




Top 5 Power Rankings

Tennesee 9-2
St. Louis 9-2
Kansas City 8-3
New York 9-2
Buffalo 8-3





Week 12 Primetime Players

SS Parrish (JAX) 10 tackles and 2 sacks.

LB Brooking (CAR) 7 tackles and 3 sacks

WR Wayne (ARI) 158 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.

QB Brady (STL) 25 of 34 for 314 yards and 3 touchdowns.

[Marmel]

Week 13

New York Giants (9-2) at Washington Redskins (6-5)

The Skins get the ball first, but we force them to punt after only 1 first down. We fumble the punt and the Skins get great field position. Our defense holds them to a field goal try and they take an early 3-0 lead.

McNabb gets a pass tipped up into the air and then picked off on our first offensive series. Our defense holds again and this time, they miss the 37 yard field goal. The lead is still 3-0 for Washington.

The first quarter ends with Moss making a catch inside the 5 yard line and setting us up for a chance to take the lead.

Their defense holds us with a sack and a couple of incompletions and we have to settle for the 31 yard field goal, which Janikowski connects on. That ties the game up at 3-3.

Late in the second quarter, after the 2 minute warning, McNabb scrambles around in the pocket. Moss improvises and gets open in the back of the endzone. McNabb throws a bullet and it is hauled in for the touchdown! We take a 10-3 lead late in the first half.

The Redskins go into 2 minute offense mode and David Akers hits a 54 yard field goal attempt, which bounces off the upright and in. The halftime score is 10-6.



Second Half

We get the ball to open the second half. On the first play from scrimmage, McNabb throws a pass to the flat, but it is picked off by Randall Godfrey and he walks it in from 19 yards out to give the Redskins a 13-10 lead.

After that, both teams put together consecutive drives that cover half the field and a lot of time, both drives ending in interceptions though. We have the ball, down 3 as we start the 4th quarter.

With under 4 minutes left in the game, we are able to move the ball down field into field goal range. Janikowski hits a 37 yard field goal and this game is tied up at 13 all.

The Redskins take the kickoff and drive to midfield, but our defense forces the punt and we are at the 2 minute warning...plenty of time for us to move into position to win this game with either a touchdown or field goal.

Well, that sounded good, but McNabb throws his third pick of the day and the Redskins are all set up at the 8 yard line now. It only takes them 1 play for Michael Vick to hit Muhsin Muhammad for the 8 yard touchdown pass. We will have about 1:40 left to tie the game up, as we trail 20-13.

On the first play of this drive, McNabb gets sacked and does not get up from the turf. This spells disaster for us. That means Schaub will come in as the new Quarterback for us, for at least 1 play. There is no word as to the seriousness of the injury yet.

Schaub connects on his first 2 passes to move us to midfield, but his third pass is picked off. We do have all three timeouts left still, so we have a slim chance left.

We stop them, use up all three timeouts and get the ball back at the 18 yard line with exactly a minute left to play.

Schaub can't hit the wide side of a barn though and we fall to the Skins, 20-13.



Stats

QB McNabb was 11 for 30 for 204 yards, 1 touchdown and 4 picks.
QB Vick was 13 for 25 for 129 yards with a touchdown and 2 interceptions.

RB Cason ran 11 times for 19 yards.
RB Staley, for Washington, ran 15 times for 35 yards

WR Chad Johnson had 92 receiving yards and so did Moss. Moss had a touchdown catch.

Darren Sharper and Jason Sehorn, both from Washington, each had 2 interceptions.

Champ Bailey and Rolle, each had one for the Giants.

[Marmel]

NFL Week 13 Recap

NFC East Standings

Giants 9-3
Cowboys 7-5
Eagles 7-5
Redskins 7-5

Next Week: at Baltimore Ravens (6-6)



Injury Report

QB Donovan McNabb – Out for about 3 weeks with a sore neck. This hurts, bad. We get Dunn back, so we are going to have to try to run the ball a little more, and hope we can find some success on the ground. This team was not built to trun the ball, nor did we draft a capable backup QB. Matt Schaub will get the starting nod until McNabb returns. Thankfully, he should be back for the playoffs, and we should be able to hold on without him to qualify.





Power Rankings Top 5

St. Louis 10-2
Tennessee 9-3
Arizona 9-3
Kansas City 9-3
New York 9-3





Week 13 Primetime Players

LB Nguyen (SEA) 10 tackles and 3 sacks.

SS Harrison (OAK) 10 tackles and 3 interceptions.

QB Maddox (SD) 16 of 28 for 297 yards and 4 touchdowns.

QB Kitna (MIA) 23 of 31 for 324 yards and 3 touchdowns.

[Marmel]

Week 14

New York Giants (9-3) at Baltimore Ravens (6-6)

The Ravens take the ball first and our defense forces a third and out. The offense comes on the field and we pick up a couple first downs on the ground, but facing a third and 8, Schaub totally misfires to a wide open Chad Johnson and we have to punt the ball back.

Our defense continues to have success. The Balitmore offense is really bad, and I am surprised this unit has even won 6 games, led by Jeff Garcia at QB. The first quarter comes to a close with the game still scoreless.

On our next drive, we benefit from a facemask penalty that gives us a first down, when otherwise we would have punted. This seems to give Schaub some confidence, as he hits his TE, McMichael for a long gain, and then Moss on a slant route for the touchdown. We take a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.

The Ravens get their offense going a bit on their next possession and drive into the red zone. Our defense stops them on third and 3 to force a field goal, which they connect on. The score is now 7-3.

We run out the clock after they kick off and take that 7-3 lead into the half.




Second Half

We get the ball to begint the second half and we already go into stall mode. We pick up a couple of first downs on the ground, but then have to punt the ball away. We do eat up half the time in the quarter though.

The Ravens put together another good drive, and they cap it off with a touchdown pass to Tiki Barber coming out of the backfield. We now find oursevles down 10-3 with just a little over a quarter left to play.

Schaub throws two incomplete passes and then takes a sack as the time in the third quarter runs out. We have to punt to open the fourth quarter.

The Ravens take the ball and drive all the way down to the 10 yard line, seemingly with ease. It looks certain like they will lock this game up with a touchdown, but Rolle picks off a pass near the endzone and we still have some life in us with just under 3 minutes to play.

We can't do a thing with the ball, Schaub is missing wide open receivers, and when he does get the ball to them, they are dropping it. We give the ball up and Barber breaks a long run to clinch this game. Ravens lead 17-7 with just over a minute left to play.

Instead of running the clock out the Ravens pile it on and Barber breaks off another run to make the final score 24-7. We were completely humiliated out there without our man, McNabb.


Stats

QB Schaub was 8 of 21 for 120 yards and a touchdown.
QB Garcia was 11 od 15 for 119 yards, a touchdown and a pick.

RB Dunn ran 16 times for 49 yards.
RB Barber ran 12 times for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns.

TE McMichael had 32 receiving yards.
WR Moss had 31 receiving yards and a touchdown.

LB Wong had 11 tackles and a sack.

[Marmel]

NFL Week 14 Recap


NFC East

Giants 9-4
Cowboys 8-5
Eagles 8-5
Redskins 7-6

Next Week: at home vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-9)




Injury Report

QB Donovan McNabb – Out for 2 more weeks.




Top 5 in the Power Rankings

St. Louis 11-2
Kansas City 10-3
Tennessee 9-4
Arizona 9-4
Miami 9-4





Week 14 Primetime Players

LB Brayton (JAX) 10 tackles, 3 sacks and a fumble recovery

DE Brock (STL) 7 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

WR Bradford (MIN) 176 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns.

QB Johnson (MIN) 21 of 35 for 312 yards and 4 touchdowns.

[Marmel]

Week 15

Pittsburgh Steelers (4-9) at New York Giants (9-4)

The Steelers get the ball off of the opening kickoff and a combination of Ricky Williams running and Mark Brunell throwing very accurate short passes leads the Steelers to a 80 yard drive for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Our defense better tighten way up, and now our offense, led by the youngster, Schaub has a lot of pressure on it.

Our first drive moves us across midfield thanks to some nice running by Dunn, but the drive stalls out and we have to punt it away.

Our defense holds as the first quarter expires, but our offense goes three and out without picking up a single yard on our next possession. We have to punt again.

Our defense forces a fumble on the Steelers next possession, and we take over at the 50 yard line. Dunn picks up 7 yards on his first two runs, and we go to him again on 3rd and 3, but he gets stuffed in the backfield for a 2 yard loss and even with great field position, we can't do a thing on offense. We punt again.

The Steelers take the ball and eat up most of the second quarter, and cap it off with Williams' second rushing touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

The half ends with us still down 14-0.




Second Half

We get the ball to start the second half and Schaub starts hitting some of his receivers and we move all the way down to the 10 yard line. Dunn picked up a couple nice first downs on the ground as well. Facing a 3rd and goal from just inside the 10, Francis, our 4th receiver drops a pass in the endzone and we have to settle for a field goal. Janikowski knocks through the chip shot and the score is 14-3.

We kick off to the Steelers and tackle the returner inside the 20 yard line. Brunell comes out throwing on first down and Ty Law picks off the pass, and we are set up around the 25 yard line.

Three incompletions later and Janikowski lines up for the 40 yard field goal and hits it to cut the gap to 8 points at 14-6.

Our defense is pumped up and smothers the Steeler's receivers and force a quick punt. We will have the ball to begin the fourth and final quarter, trailing by 8.

Another 3 and out for our offense though and we need to depend on the defense to hold one more tme, at least.

Our defense heads back out on the field and we send 2 linebackers on the blitz, up the middle on all three plays, totally disrupting their offensive flow and forcing another quick punt. We get the ball back at the 28 yard line with over 3 minutes to play, a lifetime in this game.

Two plays and two beautiful completions by Schaub and we cross midfield, all the way down to the Steelers 36 yard line. Then it just takes one more play to get a touchdown. Chad Johnson totally juked his man and was so wide open, even Schaub couldn't miss him. We get the touchdown and the score is 14-12. We get stoped on the 2 point conversion and need the defense to show up for us one more time. There is still over 3 minutes left on the clock, as our scoring drive was very quick.

Our defense has totally taken control of this game and switched the momentum our way as we are approaching the two minute warning. We force yet another 3 and out, and cap off the defenive stand with a sack on third and nine. The punt is away and we will line up around midfield, needing only a field goal to take the lead for the first time today.

On first Down, Dunn breaks off a 9 yard run to the right. That brings us to the 2 minute warning. The wind is blowing right to left, so we don't want to make Janikowski kick from too far away, now do we want to leave much time on the clock when we line up for the field goal.

Another 7 yards for Dunn on second down brings us to the 31 yard line as the clock continues to tick down.

The clock is now running under a minute left in the game and we face a 3rd and 6 from the 27 yard line. This is pretty comfortable field goal range for the leg of Janikowski. We don't convert on 3rd down and the Steelers stop the clock with their first timeout of the game. Janikowski comes out for about a 42 yard field goal attempt in the wind with 23 seconds left in the game.

The kick is up.....the wind is pushing it right......but it skims inside the upright and the Giants lead 15-14 with just 19 seconds left in the game!

With 15 seconds left, the Steelers line up on offense with 2 timeouts, needing a field goal to win. Our defense has been great in the second half, but we can't allow even 1 long pass right now.

Brunell lofts one over the top and they come down with it at midfield. A quick timeout and we have 9 seconds left in the game.

Our defense knocks down a few hail mary chances and we get a scare when there is a flag way down field. I feared the worst, pass interference, which would put them in field goal range, but it was an ineligible receiver down field. We escape with a 1 point victory at home!



Stats

QB Schaub was 8 of 24 for 152 yards and a touchdown.
QB Brunell was 13 of 25 for 210 yards with an interception.

RB Warrick Dunn ran 16 times for 62 yards.
RB Ricky Williams ran 15 times for 6 yards and 2 touchdowns.

WR Chad Johnson had 80 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Pittsburgh WR Amani Toomer had 7 catches for 129 yards.

[Marmel]

Week 15 NFL Recap


NFC East Standings

Giants 10-4
Cowboys 9-5
Eagles 8-6
Redskins 7-7

Next Week: at Cincinnati Benglas (6-8)



Injury Report

QB Donovan McNabb – out for 2 more weeks. His return has been pushed back another week, which mean he will not see any action until the playoffs, assuming we hang on and qualify.




Top 5 Power Rankings

St. Louis 11-3
Kansas City 10-4
Tennessee 10-4
Arizona 10-4
Miami 9-5

The Giants are ranked #6 at 10-4.




Week 15 Primetime Players

SS Polamalu (CAR) 7 tackles, 2 sacks and an interception.

DE Gbaja-Biamila (SD) 9 tackles and 2 sacks.

QB Harrington (CAR) 13 of 28 for 341 yards and 5 touchdowns.

WR Washington (CAR) 4 receptions, 183 yards and 3 touchdowns.

[Marmel]

Week 16

New York Giants at Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals take the opening kickoff and pick up one first down before we force them into a third and long. Rookie QB Phillip Rivers forces a pass and our LB, Wong picks it off, giving up great field position.

We hand the ball off to Dunn three straight times and he picks up a first down. Deciding to mix in the pass was a bad idea, as Schaub throws an interception and the Bengals get the ball back inside the 10 yard line. We would have had at least 3 points if not for the turnover.

The Bengals drive to across midfield, but our defense holds on third down and the first quarter ends with them punting it back to us, still no score.

We get the ball deep in our own territory, but Schaub connects on three consecutive passes to move us to midfield. Dunn pounds the ball for another first down and we hit the 2 minute warning facing a 3rd and long situation, just around Janikowski's field goal range.

Schaub hits Johnson on the third down play, just short of the marker. Johnson tries to reach for the first down but has the ball knocked away. The fumble is recovered by the defense and we let another scoring opportunity slip away with a turnover.

Our defense forces a quick three and out and we have a little over a minute to get some points. Moss hauls in 2 consecutive catches and we are on the move.

With time running down, we take a shot at the endzone, but Schaub throws his second pick of the day. We have now turned the ball over 3 time, and each time we denied ourselves a better than average field goal opportunity.



Second Half

We start out with the ball in the second half, but go three and out. The Bengals get the ball back and Davis rips off a long touchdown run on third and iches to give the Bengals a 7-0 lead early on in the second half.

The two teams punt the ball back and forth for the rest of the third quarter. As the fourth quarter begins, we have the ball and are moving across midfield once again.

We start pounding the ball with our backs and move down to around the 20 yard line as the clock ticks under 3 minutes now.

It may have not been the smartest decision, but we have to settle for a field goal at the 2 minute warning to make the score 7-3. We have all of our timeouts and need our defense to get the ball back for us with one last shot to take this game.

The Bengals run on three consecutive plays, we stuff them and use up all of our timeouts and should get pretty decent field position. We will need Schaub to step it up now.

We start right on the 50 yard line with 1:35 left on the clock.

Schaub throws away any chance for us to win with his third pick of the day and we go home losers today, 7-3.




Stats

QB Schaub 11 of 21 for 140 yards and 3 picks.
QB Rivers 4 of 12 for 62 yards and a pick.

RB Dunn 18 carries for 62 yards.
RB Stephen Davis 19 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown.

WR Moss 6 catches for 71 yards.

[Marmel]

Week 16 NFL Recap


NFC East Standings:

Giants 10-5
Dallas 10-5
Eagles 9-6
Redskins 7-8

Next Week: at home vs. Dallas (10-6): The division title is on the line!!!




Injuries:

QB McNabb – Out for 1 more week.



Top 5 in the Power Rankings:

St. Louis 11-4
Kansas City 11-4
Arizona 11-4
Tennessee 10-5
Dallas 10-5



Week 16 Primetime Players

DE Wiley (KC) 10 tackles and 3 sacks

LB Gold (HOU) 6 tackles and 2 sacks

QB Couch (JAX) 20 of 32 for 424 yards and 4 touchdowns.

QB Plummer (DAL) 21 of 36 for 341 yards and 4 touchdowns.