This past Sunday was the first this season in which I wasn’t able to watch the slate of games because I attended the crazy game between my Dallas Cowboys against the rival New York Giants. Despite the final result (I was sitting right in front of where Dez nearly caught the ball) it was still a great experience and I can’t wait to do it again this season. Turns out if you don’t actually watch the games as their progressing it’s pretty difficult to get a feel for what is going on around the league. I spent yesterday locked in to NFL Network in order to re-evaluate what went down. Here are the things that still intrigue me after week 8:
Performances of the week: From the looks of it the old Matthew Stafford is back (pass: 352 yds, 3 TDs; rush: 12 yds, 1 TD) so he gets the gold star for the week. Stafford had been so terrible the past couple of week that many were wondering whether or not the offensive explosion from last season was simply an anomaly. Now he just needs to get Megatron more involved and things will be back to their usual chaotic Stafford ways. Another stand out over the weekend was Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (146 yds, 2 TDs) who was performing overseas in London. As usual, Gronkowski’s celebrations once again caught the attention of many. Play of the week was made by Colts RB Vick Ballard, who simply gave up his body (pictured above) in an emphatic way to secure the OT win for his team.
Which coach has the hottest of the hot seats?: Three teams with plenty of media coverage and scrutiny have brought themselves unwanted attention due to lack of production from the head coaching position. We’ll start with Rex Ryan, who has been under fire throughout the season with questions about whether Mark Sanchez (continuing to underperform) should be the starting quarterback. How long will we hear “Tebow!” chants from Jets fans before something happens? Looks like firing their defensive coordinator didn’t help the Eagles improve in that aspect, losing pretty mightily to the now 7-0 Falcons. Naturally the questions begin to mound about Andy Reid’s tenure and how much it has left to go. Doesn’t this seem to happen every season? Last but not least, we have my Cowboys, who week after week seem to lose in the most incredible fashion. Maybe if Dez Bryant’s fingers weren’t freakishly long i’d be sitting here talking about what an incredible comeback they had. Jason Garrett has to stop getting his team into such terrible situations.
What surprising team has the best chance this season?: I’m trying to look at each team that has performed higher than expected and figure out which one will make the most noise going forward into the second half of the season. I keep circling back to the Miami Dolphins for a couple of reasons. Two of their losses came in crazy OT games and their schedule going forward has only a few tough games (twice against the Patriots, Niners and Seahawks) and if they can split those, they’re in great shape. Also, has anyone else looked at how terrible the AFC is this season? Pencil me in as a supporter for the Dolphins as the surprise team in the AFC this season.
For anyone wondering, these were my seats at the Cowboys game. Right there on right side of the end zone is where Dez nearly caught an incredible game-winning TD pass from Romo. It still hurts but i’m very glad that I attended the game.
