For almost 3 quarters, it looked like the Tennessee Titans’ hopes of pulling off the improbable undefeated season would come crashing to a halt on Monday Night Football. But then LenDale White scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown to pull the Titans within 2 points and Kerry Collins’ 2-point conversion pass to Ahmard Hall tied the game at 14. The Titans had new life, and they stormed past the Colts with a 17-7 edge in the 4th quarter to remain undefeated at 7-0. The 25 unanswered points scored by the Titans at the end of the 3rd quarter and the start of the 4th quarter sent a demoralizing message to the Colts team standing mere yards across the field from them. And more importantly, they sent a strong message to the rest of the NFL scattered all around the country. The Titans have a fierce defense and an efficient offense centered around a solid 2-headed rushing attack with LenDale White and Chris Johnson. The Titans now stand atop the AFC South with a 3-game lead over each of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans. They hold a 2-game lead over 3 teams in the AFC who all have 5-2 records – the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Titans are in great position, but have a tough stretch coming up where the Titans will play the Green Bay Packers at home, the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars on the road and then the New York Jets at home. Will the Titans be able to match the New England Patriots from a year ago and record an undefeated season to the delight of fans all across the state of Tennessee? Only time will tell. The Titans have already faced the music and racked up key victories over the Jaguars, Colts, Vikings and Ravens, so there is no reason to think the Titan Train will come to a halt anytime soon.
The Chicago Bears sit atop the NFC North Division with a 4-3 record. The Bears are tied with the Green Bay Packers and are 1 game ahead of the Minnesota Vikings. The Bears, Packers and Vikings all had bye weeks in Week 8.
The Bears cherished the week off right smack dab in the middle of the grueling 16-game season. The Bears will face the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field on Sunday, November 2nd. The Lions lost to the Washington Redskins 25-17 this past Sunday and have yet to win a game during the 2008 campaign. The Bears and Lions met in Week 5 in Detroit, where Quarterback Kyle Orton led the Bears to a convincing 34-7 win. Orton set numerous individual records in the game – career high in completions with 24, career high in yards passing with 334, and a career high in passer rating with a 121.4 mark. Orton also threw 2 touchdown passes. The Bears will look for much of the same from Orton and the rest of the offense that has been surprisingly efficient so far this year.
On the injury front, the Bears hope to get some help back in their secondary with the return of Nathan Vasher and Charles “Peanut” Tillman. This will present an interesting decision for Head Coach Lovie Smith regarding 2nd year player Corey Graham who has started the last 3 games due to injury. He has the most tackles of any Bear during that 3-game stretch – 33 tackles – and he made his 1st career interception against the Vikings on October 19th.
The Bears 2008 1st round draft pick – Offensive Tackle Chris Williams – has been cleared to play after having back surgery in August to repair a bulging disc. The Bears makeshift offensive line has responded well for Orton, and Orton has developed a good feel for when the pocket is collapsing. With the offense playing well, it is unclear how much time, if any, the Bears will give Williams over the next few weeks. The coaching staff doesn’t want to disrupt the offensive line team play right now, but also wants to get some NFL experience for their high-priced offensive tackle. While this week’s game against the Lions could be a good first test for Williams, the Bears have formidable foes during the 4 weeks following the Lions game – home against the undefeated Tennessee Titans, at the Packers, at the resurgent St. Louis Rams and at the Vikings. Barring a serious injury to one of the current starters, the chances of Williams seeing significant playing team in any of those contests is slim to none.
There are several unconfirmed reports that several NFL players have tested positive for using a weight-loss diuretic that violates the NFL’s steroids policy. Bumetanide is a “watter pill” that causes increased urination which decreases the amount of urine and salt retained in the body. When a diuretic like bumetanide is used as a “masking agent”, it dilutes the urine which lowers the amount of any banned substance being excreted from the body in the user’s urine. The New York Jets running back Jesse Chatman was suspended for the first 4 games of the season for using a diuretic that could be used as a amsking agent and thus violates the NFL’s strict steroids drug policy. The recent unconfirmed report states that somewhere between 10-15 NFL players have tested positive for the diruetic that could result in 4 games suspensions for each player involved. Fox 31 television in Denver only named 2 players in their report – Deuce McCalister and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints, who are in London to play against the San Diego Chargers in the annual NFL football game overseas. Houston TV station KRIV alos reported that the long-snapper for the Houston Texans, Bryan Pittman, was also one of the players who tested positive for the diuretic and is ready to appeal any potential suspension.
This is just another example of players and their trainers trying to find ways around the NFL’s drug policies in order to get the upper hand. The players should get the benefit of the doubt, they should be able to appeal the results and make their case, and they should have had the ability to do these things with confidentiality. The persons responsible for leaking the information to the public before any determination has been made should also be held accountable for their actions. It will be interesting to see how the NFL treats the players who tested positive for the diuretic. Commissioner Goodell and his staff have taken a hard-line regarding players’ violations of the NFL’s drug policies and players’ off-the-field infractions that may or may not be considered violations of the law. Given these precedents, it will be hard to imagine many of these players involved winning their appeals.
Not what anyone expected from the gritty NFC North, known for its bruising rushing attacks, bone-crushing defenses and low-scoring games. The Bears ultimately held on for a 48-41 victory that put them in a tie for 1st place atop the NFC North with the Green Bay Packers. The Vikings are 1 game behind the Packers and Bears with a 3-4 record. Bears Quarterback Kyle Orton threw for 283 yards and 2 touchdowns and did not throw an interception, good for an exceptional 114.5 passer rating. Vikings Quarterback Gus Frerotte put up similar numbers – 298 yards and 2 touchdowns – but threw 4 costly interceptions that prevented the Vikings from picking up the win at Soldier Field. Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson rushed for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns against the porous Bears defense. Bears Running Back Matt Forte had trouble rushing the ball all day long, but still managed 56 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown run at the start of the 4th quarter that gave the Bears a 17-poit cushion at 48-31. Although the Vikings scored 10 points late in the 4th quarter to pull within 1 score at 48-41, the Bears defense held on for the all-important intre-division victory. The Bears special teams scored 2 touchdowns – on a blocked punt in the 1st quarter in which Garrett Wolfe returned the ball 17 yards into the end zone for a score and on a Bears punt in which the Vikings return man fumbled the ball in the end zone which the Bears Zackary Brown recovered for the score. Each special teams’ touchdown gave the Bears back the lead and proved that the Bears special team unit still has the potential to be a game-changer as the season wears on.
The Bears have a bye week in which the team can nurse some lingering injuries and focus on a tough stretch ahead. After playing the winless Detroit Lions on 11/2, the Bears will face off against the undefeated Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field on 11/9, and then endure a 3-game road trip which could determine the fate of the Bears season – 11/16 at the 4-3 Green Bay Packers, 11/23 at the rejuvenated St. Louis Rams in St. Louis; and 11/30 at the intra-division Minnesota Vikings. The Bears have a difficult road to hoe, but with the new leadership of Quarterback Kyle Orton and the committment to the rushing game which opens up all facets of the Bears offense, the Bears feel like they can win on any given Sunday.
The Atlanta Falcons defeated the Chicago Bears 22-20 on a game-ending 48-yard field goal by long-time great NFL kicker Jason Elam. With the Falcons leading 19-10 midway through the 4th quarter, the Bears drove down the field with ease, only to be stopped on a heroic goalline stand by the Falcons on several plays from the 1 yard line. The Bears didn’t despair however, as the team cut the lead to 6 with a 32-yard field goal by Robbie Goul with 4 minutes remaining in the game. When Elam missed a 33-yard field goal with less than 3 minutes to play which could have preserved the win for the Falcons, the Bears had a new lease on life. Bears Quarterback Kyle Orton calmly directed a 77-yard drive which ended with a 17-yard touchdown strike to Rashied Davis to tie the game at 19 all. Gould’s extra point gave the Bears the 20-19 lead with only 11 seconds left to play. The Bears elected to squib the kickoff, and the Falcons were able to return the ball 10 yards to their own 44 yard line. The Falcons had time for 1 quick pass and Rookie Quarterback executed a perfect 26-yard sideline pass to Michael Jenkins – shockingly putting the Falcons and Elam in range for a makeable 48-yard field goal attempt. Elam made up for this earlier “chip shot” and connected on the field goal – his 5th of the day – to give the Falcons the unexpected 22-20 win. With the win, the Falcons jumped to 4-2 – tied for 1st place in the NFC South with the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the loss, the Bears fell to 3-3 – tied for 1st place in the NFC North with the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. Kyle Orton had one of his best days as a pro – completing 60% of his passes for 286 yards and 1 touchdown. He had a passer rating of 87.9. Matt Ryan completed over 73% of his passes for 301 yards and 1 touchdown, good for a 116.1 passer rating. Neither quarterback threw an interception.
For the second consecutive week, the Chicago Bears blew a 4th quarter lead and lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24 in overtime. The Chicago Bears fell to 1-2 and remained 1 game behind the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North Division. After taking a 24-14 lead over the Bucs with only 6+ minutes to go in the 4th quarter, the Bears defense collapsed. The Bucs scored 10 points in the game’s final minutes, including the game-tying touchdown from former Bears quarterback Brian Griese to Jeramy Stevens with only 7 seconds remaining in the game. In overtime, after the Bears stopped the Bucs on a critical 3rd down play deep in Bucs territory, Peanut Tillman was hit with a unnecessary roughness personal foul penalty, which gave the Bucs a 1st down with some breathing room at their own 25-yard line. Ten plays later, Matt Bryant kicked the game-winning 21-yard field goal to send the Bucs to 2-1 and the Bears to 1-2. Bears quarterback Kyle Orton and wide receiver Brandon Lloyd developed a much-needed connection on offense for the Bears passing attack. Orton completed almost 65% of his passes for 268 yards and 2 touchdowns (both to Llyod). He also threw 2 interceptions – 1 of which was returned for a touchdown by the Bucs. Lloyd recorded his 1st 100-yard receiving game as a Chicago Bear. Despite throwing for over 400 yards and 2 touchdowns, Griese only recorded a 66.0 QB Passer rating with 3 interceptions.
The previous week, the Chicago Bears lost to the carolina Panthers 20-17, depsite holdig a 17-3 more than midway through the 3rd quarter. The conservative Bears offense failed to generate any sustaining drives in the 2nd half, and the Bears defense wasn’t up to the task of holding off the Panthers. The Panthers cut the lead to 17-13 by the end of the 3rd quarter on a 4-yard touchdown run by Rookie running back Jonathan Stweart. The Panthers scored the game-winning touchdown on another run by Stewart, this time from 1 yard out. For the 2nd consecutive week, Kyle Orton threw for less than 150 yards and the Bears fell to 1-1 overall.
