Tuesday, October 21, 2008

O'Malley's Tallies: Week 7 -- Week of the Running Back



















Well, well, well! It certainly has been a while. Last time I popped in, I was here talking about the NFL Draft highs and lows and telling everyone how good Steve Slaton would be (Nice call eh?) and how John David Booty would be challenging for Minnesota’s starting job by now (Ok, so maybe nobody’s perfect..). Anyway, the league is now in full swing and we are beginning to see what teams are ready to rise to the top (Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and the Giants) and who is going to sink quickly (Bengals, Chiefs, and Lions). As week 7 comes to a close, let’s take a look at the “Studs” and “Duds” in this edition of “O’Malley’s Tallies”…..

STUDS

1. Steven Jackson – Is Jim Haslett putting something in the Gatorade cooler for those St. Louis Rams???? Just when you thought it couldn’t get much worse in the “Show Me State” (putrid Chiefs and free falling Missouri Tigers), Interim coach Jim Haslett and the boys showed glimpses of what we used to call the “Greatest Show on Turf.” Leading Sunday’s beat down of Dallas was #39, as he ran for 160 yards on the ground with 3 rushing TD’s to go along with it. With back to back wins against two of the NFC’s best teams, one has to question the head coaching ability of recently fired Scott Linehan…

2. LenDale White/Chris Johnson – Move over Brandon Jacobs and Tiki Barber. The “Thunder and Lightning” tag has now been passed onto this dynamic duo from Nashville! That Glenn Dorsey pick is quickly looking like a B.U.S.T. for those Chiefs as Johnson and White TORCHED Kansas City for a combined 317 yards and 4 touchdowns. No, no, no…that is a not a misprint. That really happened in Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.

3. Clinton Portis – Might next year’s #1 overall fantasy pick reside in the Nation’s Capital??? While it still may be too early to tell, C.P. is doing his best this year to move into that top spot. Portis ripped off another 175 yards yesterday in the Skin’s 14-11 win over the Browns on Sunday, making him on pace for more than 1,800 yards this season!

4. Mewelde Moore – Willie Parker. OUT! Rashard Mendenhall. OUT! Didn’t seem to matter much though to the black and gold on Sunday, as Mewelde “Need I say” Moore felt right at home in the backfield at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. The former Tulane Green Wave standout went to town against a winless Bengal team, running wild for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns. With the offensive line beginning to gel and FWP expected back very soon, this could be a productive backfield going forward the rest of the year…

5. Andre Johnson – Is there any receiver in the league that is more consistent when healthy than Andre Johnson??? Including Sunday’s performance of 11 catches for 141 yards, A.J. has now averaged 10 catches and 150 yards the past 3 games, making PPR owners drool in the process! Going forward, if the hamstrings, groin muscles, and knee ligaments can somehow find a way to cooperate for a full season, a monster season is definitely in store for Houston’s Finest.

DUDS

1. Kansas City Chiefs – Terrible. Awful. Dreadful. Putrid. Vile. Dire. Appalling. Which ever one of these adjective’s you would like to use to describe this team, you are well within your right to do so. With an offense in absolute disarray and a defense with more holes than one could ever imagine, one would have to guess things are only going to get worse before they get better.

2. Peyton Manning – After watching Sunday’s Colts game, now I know where little brother Eli got the famous “Eli Face” whenever he makes a poor play. In a performance as rare as it gets, Peyton Manning was downright terrible yesterday at Lambeau Field. Whether it was the blustery winds or still not being 100% from knee surgery, #18 could not get into any rhythm yesterday as the Colts got THUMPED by the Packers 34-14. While the Colts and playoff berths have been synonymous for as long as we can remember, 2008 might be a year in which that trend comes to an end unless things turn around quickly in Indy.

3. Ronnie Brown – As the expression goes, “All good things must come to an end.” Unfortunately for me, this time the expression applies to Ronnie Brown and the rest of my Miami Dolphins. After a few weeks of the “Wildcat” offense being the talk of the league, Ronnie was shut down by Ray Lewis and Co. in a major way. After #23 only gained 27 yards on the ground on Sunday, one can begin to guess that the “Wildcat” offense may go back in the archives going forward this year.

4. Brad Johnson – While nobody was expecting this long time veteran to come in and create a quarterback controversy in Big D, you had to except better than what had occurred on Sunday afternoon. Filling in for the injured Tony Romo, Johnson struggled BIG TIME against a very poor Rams defense, throwing three picks vs. only one touchdown. After this terrible loss vs. St. Louis, one would have to guess the Cowboy’s training staff will be working overtime to get Mr. Romo back on the playing field in next week’s pivotal matchup vs. the highly underrated Tampa Bay defense.


That is all until next week. Keep an eye out this coming Sunday as the NFL goes across the pond against to Wembley Stadium for a matchup of two desperate teams in the Saints and Chargers. Speak to you then!!!




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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mr Tally,

Long time reader first time commenting this year. You are my second favorite NFL blogger next to Lil Wheezy. Do you think Lendale White is going to keep this up? 8 td's so far is pretty good... but I personally dont see the L train chugging along all season.

Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

Mr O'Tallywhacker,

Terrell Owens has been sucking lately. Do you suggest benching him until his quarterback (sniffle sniffle) tony romo comes back?

Anonymous said...

Mr. Mangan,

For as long as we have seen LenDale, he has been a touchdown hawk. Whether it was during his time at USC or here with the Titans, touchdowns and LenDale seem to go hand and hand. With that being said, I expect the TD's to keep on coming and Chris Johnson owners continuing to pout!

As for T.O., I think it is tough to bench him just because of his superstar potential but he can NOT be counted on as a number 1 or 2 option right now. Brad Johnson is most likely the worst starting QB in the league right now and his arm is not what it used to be (even though that's not saying much). If T.O. is gonna get in the endzone, I believe it will be between the 20's rather than the deep ball that we all became used to with Romo. Consider T.O. a #3 or flex option until #9 returns.