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Week 3
Jacksonville 23 - New England 6
New England's overwhelmingly pass-heavy offense (56 pass attempts vs 8 runs, 0-11 on long passes) backfired in their loss to Jacksonville. QB Jimmie Matock had a really bad day by being sacked 4 times, completed less than 50% of his passes and logged his 10th career game with 3+ interceptions. Why New England would attempt such a strategy against one of the top passing defense in the league was beyond my grasp, given that they had a promising rookie RB in Carlos Hyde. Jacksonville was never under threat serious after CB Ralph Wagner two interceptions. OLB Lee Von Wyss (All-league teams in past 3 seasons) rediscovered his power by logging 3 sacks. The Patriots simply could compensate. All Jacksonville's QB Junior Woodard (one of top 3 QBs in the league) had to do was play with one arm tied behind his back and risk-manage the game with short passes with handoffs to their RB duos Carlson and 4th-round rookie phenom Rex Rayburn. While some saw the Jaguars as overachieving Cinderellas last season, they got off a good start this season. Woodard still has not played up to the standard of his teammates. Once he does, the Jaguars could be another dark horse this year.
Chicago 7 - New Orleans 16
New Orleans had their best start since going 3-0 in 2031 by riding on one man named Mark Bobro. The former 10th-pick RB, while in his twlight years, delivered another solid performance and is leading the league in rushing yards. However, how long Bobro could carry them remain questionable as their other stats are nothing to write home about. QB Randall Wolf has played fairly well since Junior Woodard was traded away, but New Orleans has to find a way to keep their offense balanced or risk exploitation from their opponents. Chicago, on the other hand, had their worst start in five years under the leadership of FA signing QB Nolan Greer. Greer did not play bad at all and Chicago is in fact a fairly good team. They are in the top quarter in terms of rushing and passing yards but somehow these numbers don't translate well in points (24th in points per game) Part of the problem may be their inability to get into the redzone. Their 6 rz visits is tied with #3 worst in the league. The silver lining is that once they got within 20, they scored TDs.
San Diego 19 - Cleveland 13
In an otherwise fairly even-strength game, San Diego pulled off a win in a dramatic and controversial fashion. After Cleveland missed a FG in OT, San Diego had the ball on their opponents' 45 yard line. QB Ryan Mallet threw a screen to RB Rick Carr, who "fumbled" the ball and recovered by WR Julio Van DeWege, who then ran 46 yards for the winning TD. Cleveland were complaining loudly and threw a red flag. Replay showed Cleveland's OLB Alejandro Hines did in fact hit the ball loose from Carr's hands before he hit the turf and the fumble did roll forward. What was not exactly clear was whether Carr "directed" the fumble towards DeWege with his extended pinky before the ball made contact with the grass. Replay seemed to suggest DeWege was making eye contact with Carr at the moment. Carr explained he was merely trying to recover the ball and not attempting a forward pass. GM Shark was so elated afterwards that he bragged all over the internet and hinted that it was an "undercover" pass that they have been practicing for 20+ years and that the officials were "tricked." Unfortunately, his sly comments did not amuse the FFL commish, who proceeded to levy an unprecedented punishment to Shark - penning "Inside FFL" for the rest of the season. Enjoy Shark... put your writing talent into better use. Signing off, Denver.
p.s. I apologize to those teams whose games were more "exciting" and "noteworthy" but not covered. I want to be fair to all teams and I tried my best not to have repeats (of course, it cannot be avoided sooner or later) and give fair representation to both. conferences.
Jacksonville 23 - New England 6
New England's overwhelmingly pass-heavy offense (56 pass attempts vs 8 runs, 0-11 on long passes) backfired in their loss to Jacksonville. QB Jimmie Matock had a really bad day by being sacked 4 times, completed less than 50% of his passes and logged his 10th career game with 3+ interceptions. Why New England would attempt such a strategy against one of the top passing defense in the league was beyond my grasp, given that they had a promising rookie RB in Carlos Hyde. Jacksonville was never under threat serious after CB Ralph Wagner two interceptions. OLB Lee Von Wyss (All-league teams in past 3 seasons) rediscovered his power by logging 3 sacks. The Patriots simply could compensate. All Jacksonville's QB Junior Woodard (one of top 3 QBs in the league) had to do was play with one arm tied behind his back and risk-manage the game with short passes with handoffs to their RB duos Carlson and 4th-round rookie phenom Rex Rayburn. While some saw the Jaguars as overachieving Cinderellas last season, they got off a good start this season. Woodard still has not played up to the standard of his teammates. Once he does, the Jaguars could be another dark horse this year.
Chicago 7 - New Orleans 16
New Orleans had their best start since going 3-0 in 2031 by riding on one man named Mark Bobro. The former 10th-pick RB, while in his twlight years, delivered another solid performance and is leading the league in rushing yards. However, how long Bobro could carry them remain questionable as their other stats are nothing to write home about. QB Randall Wolf has played fairly well since Junior Woodard was traded away, but New Orleans has to find a way to keep their offense balanced or risk exploitation from their opponents. Chicago, on the other hand, had their worst start in five years under the leadership of FA signing QB Nolan Greer. Greer did not play bad at all and Chicago is in fact a fairly good team. They are in the top quarter in terms of rushing and passing yards but somehow these numbers don't translate well in points (24th in points per game) Part of the problem may be their inability to get into the redzone. Their 6 rz visits is tied with #3 worst in the league. The silver lining is that once they got within 20, they scored TDs.
San Diego 19 - Cleveland 13
In an otherwise fairly even-strength game, San Diego pulled off a win in a dramatic and controversial fashion. After Cleveland missed a FG in OT, San Diego had the ball on their opponents' 45 yard line. QB Ryan Mallet threw a screen to RB Rick Carr, who "fumbled" the ball and recovered by WR Julio Van DeWege, who then ran 46 yards for the winning TD. Cleveland were complaining loudly and threw a red flag. Replay showed Cleveland's OLB Alejandro Hines did in fact hit the ball loose from Carr's hands before he hit the turf and the fumble did roll forward. What was not exactly clear was whether Carr "directed" the fumble towards DeWege with his extended pinky before the ball made contact with the grass. Replay seemed to suggest DeWege was making eye contact with Carr at the moment. Carr explained he was merely trying to recover the ball and not attempting a forward pass. GM Shark was so elated afterwards that he bragged all over the internet and hinted that it was an "undercover" pass that they have been practicing for 20+ years and that the officials were "tricked." Unfortunately, his sly comments did not amuse the FFL commish, who proceeded to levy an unprecedented punishment to Shark - penning "Inside FFL" for the rest of the season. Enjoy Shark... put your writing talent into better use. Signing off, Denver.
p.s. I apologize to those teams whose games were more "exciting" and "noteworthy" but not covered. I want to be fair to all teams and I tried my best not to have repeats (of course, it cannot be avoided sooner or later) and give fair representation to both. conferences.
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