Vikings Vs Steelers Week 7 - Saints helmet analysis

I'm looking forward to the Saints Dolphins game later today and in preparation have already donned my Saints jersey like the dedicated (geek as my lady calls me) fan that I am.  I will be writing quarter by quarter reports during the game so check in for that and comment as you feel.

In the meantime I'm getting set up (muting cell phone, cooling beers, blocking out the sound of parental wittering - only kidding Ma!) for a heck of a showdown between the Minnesota Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  I believe one or both of these could well be divisional playoff and Super Bowl opponents so I will be studying the form with interest.

The headline match up see's Brett Favre square up against Ben Roethlisberger in the 'Who is the most rugged winner on the field' showdown.  These guys are two of the best Quarterbacks/Team Leaders to have graced the league in the modern era and both are football players who deserve ultimate respect as winners and tough, tough competitors.

I'm an old school football kind of guy.  I like players who play hard, work hard and never say die.  In both of these guys you have the epitome of what I call proper football players so it will be fascinating to see who comes out on top.

I think it's going to be a close game but if I was laying my bets right now I would give the Vikings the edge for the following reasons:

1 - The Vikings offence contains both Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson.  You maybe able to stop one but you're never going to be able to stop both all day.
 

2 - The Steelers will have a fitness question mark hanging over Troy Polamalu going into the game.  He is the leader of that Steelers defence and without him firing on all cylinders they loose a certain edge.  I'll be watching the first quarter with interest to see just how freely he is moving.

3 - The Steelers are not killing games off like they used to and whilst the old saying 'form is temporary class is permanent' may hold true I just don't think the Steelers will quite be able to see this one off.

So for me this will be a one score game heading into the 4th which the Vikings will just about see off.

Stay tuned for my New Orleans Saints helmet fan analysis.

NFL season taking shape

After week 3's results some definite prospects are emerging.  The Jets, Saints, Ravens, Colts, Broncos, Giants and Vikings have all jumped out to 3 and 0 starts.  I don't think I would have wagered on that combination of teams being where they are.  Only the Ravens, Colts and Giants would have taken my money before the season to be in that select band so it definitely makes for an exciting start to the season.

I watched the Jets v Titans match up and was really impressed with Mark Sanchez.  He showed guts on his run for the early touchdown, lowering his head and then making a second effort to get the ball across the plain of the goal line.  That's the kind of leader a team respects and follows.  Thereafter he was on and off but he made enough quality throws and learned from some early ball handling mistakes to lead the Jets to victory.  If I was a New York fan I would be very happy with his development to date.



Speaking of QB's the old boy Kerry Collins threw some absolulte rockets in the game.  On one drive in particular, I think it was in the third quarter, he threw 3 passes that were just unplayable by the defence.  The old boy still has it in him to produce the goods although I don't think the Titans are now anybody's pick to go all the way.  They just don't have enough weapons to get it done this year.

I also watched the second half of the Dolphins Chargers game (I'm kind of glad my girlfriend pulled me away from the first half as it doesn't look like I missed much).  At least the second half came to life once Rivers started connecting on some deeper throws.  Again laser like accuracy from the big man.  I didn't like Norv Turners play calling in the backfield though.  I think he should have mixed it up more between Sproles and Bennett.  The Dolphins D was able to key in on Sproles too much and I think would have had less success had Bennett been used more working the inside.

Other notables from week 3:

• Brett Favre with yet another come from behind win as the seconds ticked off the clock.  Just a born winner and I for one am glad he's still in the league.
• The Detroit Lions finally win their first game in 19 attempts.  Well done guys.  Being a Saints fan I know what it is to be the butt of the jokes and it does get a bit tiring so hats off to you.  Hopefully you can at least have one week of respite.
• The Saints running game helped the Saints to a 3 and 0 start (what?  you didn't really think I wasn't going to mention this did you?).  It's great to see a more balanced offence and a D that is now 5th in the league (5th!!) against the run.  If we can keep that up and stop a few more big plays in the secondary we've got a chance to go far this year.
• The Cleveland Browns... is this the worst team in football?  It's close but I think they edge it.
  

Who's your money on for this years Super Bowl?

Hi sports fans,

So the NFL season is back and we're already in week 2, can you believe it?!!  I love the early stages of the season as being a die hard Saints fan I am able to maintain hope until at least weeks 6 or 8.  Thereafter the crushing reality of another playoffless season looms ever larger in the distance and I start having to stat crunch to at least see if any of our boys will make the Pro Bowl.



This season we've jumped out to a 2 and 0 start in some style.  I won't get ahead of myself and predict a division championship but I will say at least we look like contenders.  If Drew Bree's can stay fit and healthy we have as good a chance as anybody.  That said Defence's win championships, as the old saying goes, and sometimes I think my old gran could tackle better in open play than some of our so called linebackers... oh how I wish the Dome Patrol were still around.  So far so good  but I'm not sure we have the frontline quality and depth to go all the way (please, please prove me wrong boys).

OK so that is my opening admission, I am a Saints fan, yadder, yadder, but I don't want this to be a Saints focused blog and basically just love football so will endeavour to speak from a neutrals perspective as much as is humanly possible.

Early surprises for me are witnessing a 100% record for the Broncos and Jets to date.  I'm impressed by how fast Mark Sanchez has made an impact as the pressure's on a rookie QB are pretty intense especially playing for a hard to please New York crowd.  Granted it's not the same kind of pressure as holding down 3 jobs, supporting a family of 5 with back rent and outstanding utility bills (any help would be much appreciated ;-) ) but you get my point.

Talking of QB's it's great to see Tom Brady back playing.  Quality QB's make for a better league and I for one love to watch the likes of Tom, Manning, Favre, et al, ply their trade.  It's a highly skilled business and it's fantastic to watch when executed by such practitioners of the art.

OK so early season prediction time.  I'm wagering a tonne on the Steelers to regain the Vince Lombardi trophy.  They'll beat either the Bears or Saints (OK the Bears as I said I'd be neutral) in the big final with a big Ben QB sneak with 1.32 left on the clock.

You read it here first people.  Get your spread bet set on that now.