This week’s NFL roundup in Florida summons the spirit of the old 'N Sync pop hit “Bye Bye Bye.”
The Jacksonville Jaguars were on one Sunday. The Tampa Bay Bucs were coming off of one. And the Miami Dolphins are heading into one.
The Jags definitely needed the break following a 1-4 start to the season. Meanwhile, the Bucs clearly benefitted from the extra time off, as evidenced by their 38-10 demolition of the Kansas City Chiefs, a win that answered some pressing questions about an offense that had largely been underperforming until Sunday.
The Dolphins can cruise into some down time feeling pretty darn good thanks to a second straight victory, 17-14 over the St. Louis Rams, leaving them at .500 after a pair of painful overtime losses.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at what happened this past week — and what lies ahead on the Week 7 horizon.
Jaguars (Bye): The Jags had time to regroup, knowing that four of their five opponents this season boast a .500 record or better (with a combined record of 18-10). Still, that doesn’t change anything in the AFC South standings, where Jacksonville finds itself in the basement.
They definitely had a lot of unpleasant film to watch following their 41-3 loss to the Bears the week before — a game in which Chicago reeled off 38 unanswered points in the second half. Now come back-to-back road games, starting Sunday against 1-4 Oakland and then 3-3 Green Bay. To say the team has its work cut out is an understatement: Jacksonville currently ranks last in the NFL in offensive yards per game (241.2) and 29th out of 32 in yards allowed by the defense (424).
Dolphins 17, Rams 14: Hotshot rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill continued to impress, throwing a pair of touchdown passes to wipe out an early 6-0 lead by the Rams.
Tannehill connected on a 29-yarder in the second quarter to wideout Marlon Moore to give Miami a 7-6 lead and his 1-yard toss to tight end Anthony Fasano put Miami ahead 17-6 in the third.
St. Louis threatened to make a run with just more than eight minutes to play, scoring on a 1-yard keeper by quarterback Sam Bradford followed by a two-point conversion, making it 17-14. But their final hopes for a comeback faded on fourth and 7 from Miami’s 48. Rookie kicker Greg Zuerlein missed what would have been an NFL-record field goal of 66 yards with 30 seconds on the clock. The kick was actually long enough, but it faded wide left, much to the Dolphins’ delight. Game gallery »
Bucs 38, Chiefs 10: Quarterback Josh Freeman needed a shot of confidence and he got one against Kansas City, throwing for three touchdowns and 328 yards (with a 124.7 quarterback rating) and looking very much like the quarterback who led the team to a 10-6 mark in 2010.
He was helped by the big-play performances of Mike Williams and Vincent Jackson, starting with Williams’ 62-yard touchdown catch-and-run and a pair of sure-handed TD grabs of 17 and 19 yards by Jackson.
Another 62-yard completion to Tiquan Underwood and a 42-yard completion to rookie tailback Doug Martin also factored into the lopsided win. But the defense also did its part without the services of star cornerback Aqib Talib, who was suspended on the eve of the contest for four games for violating the NFL’s drug policy.
Ronde Barber’s 78-yard interception return for a touchdown — off a tip by Talib’s replacement, E.J. Biggers — put the game out of reach at 21-3 in the third quarter. The team effort halted a three-game losing streak. Game gallery »
The nod goes to Josh Freeman for a performance that showed the quarterback he can be when given the freedom to let it rip. He has a first-rate supporting cast of receivers and the ground attack shows promise with LeGarrette Blount getting more touches in support of rookie Doug Martin.
Aqib Talib. What was he thinking after so many brushes with trouble in his five seasons with the Bucs? He had just gotten a reprieve from his felony weapons charge before camp began — with the case against him dismissed in Texas. So why would he do anything to jeopardize his standing and the fate of the team by taking Adderall (a prescription stimulant)?
Did he think it wouldn’t show up on the rigid NFL drug tests? The club says it expects Talib to rejoin the team after the Nov. 4 game at Oakland. After that, there will be seven regular-season games remaining in the final year of Talib’s contract. As talented a player as he is, it will be interesting to see if he’ll get another one from Tampa Bay.
Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin on the victory: “I think we’ve played better. I think that’s what the film tells you. There were some good efforts. There were some good plays. We obviously won a football game. We’re in a results-driven business. We all know that. I’m not naïve to that fact. However, the film tells you we’ve played better. We’ve got to play better.”
Philbin again on how his team is finishing games better: “Hopefully, the chemistry is a little better, the resolve is a little stronger, the urgency to make a play is there. I think that’s hopefully what it is. I think it’s hard to put a tangible, ‘Hey, we did this differently.’ Our practice format hasn’t changed a whole lot. I think our guys, maybe, hopefully, have just watched the tape, learned from some of the prior mistakes and made some adjustments from there.”
Ryan Tannehill on why he thinks he doesn’t receive the same attention that other rookie quarterbacks receive: “I don’t even know. With wins, then our team will get more recognition. That’s all I care about is this team. We want to go out and get wins, string them together. Personal recognition doesn’t really matter.”
Miami offensive coordinator Mike Sherman on whether he’s surprised to see college quarterbacks succeeding so soon in the NFL: “It goes all the way back, not just to college, but to high school. These guys are in seven-on-seven all year round. It’s like the basketball kids coming out of high school and going into the NBA now. They’re playing all this basketball and they’re playing basketball year round, well now they’re playing football year round. I’m not saying that they’re NFL-ready physically coming out of high school, but they are far more advanced than they used to be at that juncture.”
Bucs safety Ronde Barber on whether the victory made a statement: “We’re not trying to make any statements. We are playing one week at a time. This is our Kansas City season, as Coach (Schiano) likes to say, and we won that one. We’ll look at it tomorrow, see good things, obviously some bad things in there as well. Get ready for the next season (the Saints game). We’re not gloating, just like we didn’t pout when we lost those other games. We just kept going to work.”
Mike Williams on his frequent leaping catches: “That’s just like I’ve been saying my whole career. Every time somebody asks me, man, just put it in the air. I’m not going to fail you, because it’s either going to be incomplete or it’s mine.”
Rookie strong safety Mark Barron on his first year in the NFL: “I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable with each game I play. That’s going to help me out a great deal, because once I get comfortable, I can play faster. So hopefully I just keep getting better and better as the season goes on.”
Tampa Bay head coach Greg Schiano on the win: “Tomorrow we will watch the tape and be sick about 1,000 things (that) have to get fixed. The nice thing about a 1 o’clock game is that you actually have a couple hours to enjoy it; then we’ll get back and get read for New Orleans.”
Jacksonville head coach Mike Mularkey on his team’s 1-4 start: “I certainly hate to count us out. There’s plenty of football still to go. There are plenty of things that can happen for us, but we have to improve. We have to play a complete game. We just need to put a game together where all three phases are playing like they are capable. I’ve said that. We haven’t yet. We played a good half the other day and a half of the third. We’ve got to get a complete game in there. Let’s see where we really are and where do we stand.”
• Miami wide receiver Davone Bess now has 288 career catches in his first five seasons. That places him second all-time on the Dolphins list for most receptions through the first five years with the team. He’s closing in on Chris Chambers, who had 315 from 2001-05.
• Ronde Barber is now tied with former Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks with 221 starts for the Bucs. He’ll set the club record when he starts Sunday against New Orleans. Barber has made 204 straight starts now, the longest streak among active NFL players.
• Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts is excelling in the long game. Shorts leads the Jags with 205 yards on eight catches (a 25.6-yard average) and two TDs. Four of his eight receptions have exceeded 20 yards.
Our take: Joe Philbin couldn’t have said it better.
Our take: Maybe the rest of the Jags should read it, too.
Thanks @usnikefootball !! I love this pic!! #FastIsFaster twitter.com/L_Blount27/sta…
— LeGarrette Blount (@L_Blount27) October 7, 2012
Our take: Check out the shot and you’ll understand Blount’s enthusiasm.
New Orleans at Tampa Bay (Saints favored by 1): This is terrific chance for the Bucs to create some momentum, even their record at 3-3 and travel to Minnesota the next week on a minor roll. They also have history on their side, having won six of the past 10 meetings, including four of their past seven home games against New Orleans.
But put aside their dominant win over Kansas City. The Chiefs (1-5) are not a good football team. The Saints, in spite of their offseason upheaval with the bounty scandal and an 0-4 start, are beginning to look dangerous again.
Quarterback Drew Brees has an arsenal of weapons at his disposal, and the Saints’ No. 1 NFL ranking in passing offense underscores the test the Bucs will face (once again, without Talib). It doesn’t help that Tampa Bay’s pass defense is ranked 31st out of 32 NFL teams (312.2 yards allowed per game).
On the other hand, the Bucs defensive line and pass-rush has been outstanding this season (ranked No. 4 in rush defense to go with eight sacks) and should be able to keep the heat on Brees. The Saints are coming off a bye, having gone into it fired up with a 31-24 victory over San Diego.
There are rumblings that they’ll regain the services of star linebacker Jonathan Vilma. Originally suspended for the season in the bounty case, he’s filed an appeal and remains eligible to play during the process. A knee injury has prevented that. Vilma says he’ll be activated off the physically unable to perform list in time for Sunday’s game, but the Saints have yet to confirm that.
In any event, the stakes are high for both teams. Expect plenty of long balls from each side (after all, the Saints’ passing D ranks only 26th). It should be an entertaining NFC South tilt, as Bucs-Saints games often are.
Jacksonville at Oakland (Raiders favored by 4): The Jags last played in Oakland in 2004 and face a struggling Raiders team that could be ripe for an upset. That said, the Raiders nearly defeated unbeaten Atlanta on the road last week, falling 23-20.
At 1-4, that makes this an equally key game for the men in silver and black. Jags head coach Mike Mularkey is sticking with quarterback Blaine Gabbert, despite throwing his pair of pick-sixes in the collapse against the Bears.
Jacksonville will need for their franchise player, tailback Maurice Jones-Drew, to take some of the pressure off the passing game. He’s amassed 408 yards on 84 carries for a 4.9-yard average per carry and needs to continue moving the sticks.
But there’s no getting around the fact that Jacksonville is hurting offensively (as mentioned, dead last in total yardage at 241.2 yards per game), compared to 19th for the Raiders (308 yards).
The Jags aren’t much better defensively at 29th (allowing an average of 424 yard per game) with Oakland a few notches better at 24th (386.4). That’s what you might expect in a battle between two 1-4 teams that are fighting to keep the bottom from totally falling out in 2012.
