ESPN Clayton: First and 10...(Cowboys game only)
Early warning: Pats-Chargers has playoff implications
By John Clayton
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: September 13, 2007
New England's Sunday night meeting against the Chargers is one of the more important games of the season, and, believe it or not, it's more important for the Patriots. A loss to the Chargers could come back to haunt New England because it could mean the difference between playing a playoff game in Foxboro, Mass. or San Diego.
Despite this week's spy saga, the Patriots have the feel of a Super Bowl team. They showed tremendous swagger in destroying the Jets on the road last week. But their schedule is tough, as their opponents had a .535 winning percentage last season. Their road schedule is the NFL's toughest, with opponents posting a .570 winning percentage in 2006. The Pats play six of their road games against teams that posted .500 records or better in 2006.
If the Chargers, who play the overmatched NFC North, can take care of business in the AFC West, they could get to 12 or 13 wins and force the Patriots to play them in San Diego again.
The Chargers have had their own issues. They fired head coach Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-win season because of his inability to win playoff games in two of the past three years. They struggled offensively for the first three quarters of last week's 14-3 victory over the Bears. New head coach Norv Turner couldn't get the offense into any kind of rhythm against the tough Bears defense.
LaDainian Tomlinson doesn't think winning or losing this game will define the Chargers, whose goal is to beat the Patriots in the playoffs.
Here's a look at the other big games this week, which features some great non-divisional matchups:
8. Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins
The Cowboys were supposed to put up a bunch of points against the Giants, but it was surprising to see the Dallas defense give up 35. A big part of the problem was having four defensive starters miss the game. Until they get healthy, the Cowboys might be vulnerable on defense. Losing nose tackle Jason Ferguson hurt more than even the Cowboys imagined. The key to a 3-4 defense is the play of the nose tackle. If the nose tackle draws double teams, it frees the rest of the defense to make plays. Ferguson is out for the season, and Terence Newman's foot injury has the secondary undermanned. Tony Romo continues to grow as a quarterback and a leader. Romo is playing for a contract and the better he performs, the quicker Jerry Jones must pay him..
The Dolphins lost a tough game to the Redskins last week. Because of the struggles along their offensive line, Trent Green couldn't move the offense as well as he did in Kansas City. The system is new, and Green is still getting his timing down with his receivers. The Dolphins have a good enough defense to stop the running attack of the Cowboys and force Romo to go after their secondary. This should be an interesting game.
By John Clayton
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: September 13, 2007
New England's Sunday night meeting against the Chargers is one of the more important games of the season, and, believe it or not, it's more important for the Patriots. A loss to the Chargers could come back to haunt New England because it could mean the difference between playing a playoff game in Foxboro, Mass. or San Diego.
Despite this week's spy saga, the Patriots have the feel of a Super Bowl team. They showed tremendous swagger in destroying the Jets on the road last week. But their schedule is tough, as their opponents had a .535 winning percentage last season. Their road schedule is the NFL's toughest, with opponents posting a .570 winning percentage in 2006. The Pats play six of their road games against teams that posted .500 records or better in 2006.
If the Chargers, who play the overmatched NFC North, can take care of business in the AFC West, they could get to 12 or 13 wins and force the Patriots to play them in San Diego again.
The Chargers have had their own issues. They fired head coach Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-win season because of his inability to win playoff games in two of the past three years. They struggled offensively for the first three quarters of last week's 14-3 victory over the Bears. New head coach Norv Turner couldn't get the offense into any kind of rhythm against the tough Bears defense.
LaDainian Tomlinson doesn't think winning or losing this game will define the Chargers, whose goal is to beat the Patriots in the playoffs.
Here's a look at the other big games this week, which features some great non-divisional matchups:
8. Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins
The Cowboys were supposed to put up a bunch of points against the Giants, but it was surprising to see the Dallas defense give up 35. A big part of the problem was having four defensive starters miss the game. Until they get healthy, the Cowboys might be vulnerable on defense. Losing nose tackle Jason Ferguson hurt more than even the Cowboys imagined. The key to a 3-4 defense is the play of the nose tackle. If the nose tackle draws double teams, it frees the rest of the defense to make plays. Ferguson is out for the season, and Terence Newman's foot injury has the secondary undermanned. Tony Romo continues to grow as a quarterback and a leader. Romo is playing for a contract and the better he performs, the quicker Jerry Jones must pay him..
The Dolphins lost a tough game to the Redskins last week. Because of the struggles along their offensive line, Trent Green couldn't move the offense as well as he did in Kansas City. The system is new, and Green is still getting his timing down with his receivers. The Dolphins have a good enough defense to stop the running attack of the Cowboys and force Romo to go after their secondary. This should be an interesting game.
posted by The Gryphon at 10:12 AM
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