RealGM Wiretap
The AFC The Buddy Nix Buffalo Rumblings: “The Buffalo Bills’ 27-11 loss to the New York Jets yesterday was a big deal, but there were other games that mattered this weekend. With the loss, Buffalo dropped into a large contingent of AFC teams at 5-3 - including the team from Jersey - but got some help and didn't fall as far as they could have.” The Jeff Ireland The Phinsider: “The team is finally starting to look like...well...a team. The offense was clicking. The defense was clicking. The special teams were clicking. Everything worked on Sunday, and that led to this question. What can the Dolphins do over the last eight weeks of the season?” The Jonathan Kraft The Boston Herald: “The Patriots have had the NFL’s lowest-ranked defense almost all season. Now their offense is struggling, too. The Patriots lost to the New York Giants on Sunday, 24-20, and didn’t score until 5:29 remained in the third quarter. Tom Brady threw inaccurately on several passes. Others that were on target were dropped.” The Mike Tannenbaum Gang Green Nation: “You might have noticed Shonn Greene sitting on the bench in the waning moments of the fourth quarter with Jets staff tending to him. There is some good news on that front.” The Ozzie Newsome Baltimore Beat Down: “I'm concerned about Ray Rice. He is frequently cited as the centerpiece of our offense, our most dynamic offensive weapon, and the defensive coordinator of the Steelers was quoted by the announcers tonight as saying something to the effect of Rice being the beginning and end of their defensive game planning.” The Mike Brown Ryan Harper of Cincy Jungle: “Currently the Bengals are tied for 18th in the league with a conversion rate of 37.2 percent on third downs. Now that's nothing to crack open a bottle of champagne for, but it's nothing to be too embarrassed by. As the season has progressed so has the Bengals ability to convert on third downs. Converting on third down pressure situations is vital for the Bengals chances of winning.” The Tom Heckert Chris Pokorny of Dawgs By Nature: “Browns head coach Pat Shurmur confirmed this morning what was fairly obvious: starting running back Peyton Hillis will miss this Sunday's game against the St. Louis Rams after re-aggravating his hamstring last week” The Kevin Colbert Behind The Steel Curtain: “As much as it hurts me to say this, I think it is. Sunday Night Football was just a great game between two great teams. And it hurts even more to say, that the Ravens played amazingly well. Frankly, that's the way it should be, two very even teams, played a very even game, traded field goals, each scored a TD off a turnover, came up with long drives for another 7s, and the difference materialized only with 8 ticks to go. Seriously, it can't get much better than this.” The Rick Smith Battle Red Blog: “Throughout the 2009 season, there was a huge hullaballoo about the Houston Texans having the best defense in team history. At the time, I argued it was smoke and mirrors: we consistently under-performed against teams that played remotely talented quarterbacks.” The Chris Polian Stampede Blue: “Curtis Painter isn't the worst player in the league. But he's definitely the worst starting quarterback.” The Gene Smith Alfie Crow of Big Cat Country: “Jaguars rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert gets a bit of a break this weekend against the Indianapolis Colts. While he'll still have to deal with Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, outside of those two the Colts defense is a bit "squishy", for lack of a better word. Currently, the Colts rank 24th in the NFL against the pass, giving up 260 passing yards a game and allowing opposing quarterbacks a rating of 112.7.” The Mike Reinfeldt Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean: “Cam Newton is one of the NFL’s biggest surprises in Carolina. Andy Dalton’s slinging it for the Bengals. And in Minnesota and Jacksonville, rookies Christian Ponder and Blaine Gabbert are getting their shot. Titans rookie Jake Locker is going to have to remain patient, however. There are no plans to make him the starter this season, Coach Mike Munchak said on Monday. This is veteran Matt Hasselbeck’s team, he said.” The Brian Xanders Sayre Bedinger of Mile High Report: “We all know that Tim Tebow was a highly regarded recruit in high school, but we might have underestimated to do some recruiting of his own. Orlando Magic center and NBA superstar Dwight Howard recently tweeted this about Tim Tebow.” The Scott Pioli Patrick Allen of Arrowhead Addict: “Todd Haley might be one of the most interesting coaches the Kansas City Chiefs have had since the flamboyant Hank Stram. Haley can come off as gruff, grumpy, surly, angry, hot-headed, sloppy and childish. Yet at the same time, he can be very likable.” The Al Davis Silver And Black Pride: “When Hue Jackson became the coach of the Oakland Raiders after the firing of Tom Cable, many fans were ecstatic. There would be consistency, a fiery leader, a man who really knew football and commanded the locker room. Hue promised to build a bully. He brought promises of being a mean, tough football team. And sure enough, the team jumped out to 4-2 and looked every bit the part. They were hard hitting, never gave up, they ran it down teams' throats, and they imposed their will.” The Dean Spanos John Gennaro of Bolts From The Blue: “Ladies and gentlemen, Vincent Jackson. We wanted a big game from him to justify his desire for top-WR money, we got a big game. We wanted a big game against a big time cornerback and got to watch Jackson make Tramon Williams look foolish.” The NFC The Stephen Jones Steven Mullenax of The Landry Hat: “It was third down and goal in Seattle’s red zone. With no visible options, Romo tucked the ball and ran towards the endzone. He was stopped a couple yards short, and the Cowboys were forced to kick a field goal. But as Romo left the field, the home crowd in Arlington began to boo.” The Jerry Reese Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News: “Justin Tuck occasionally looked into the stands at Gillette Stadium on Sunday and saw the signs directed towards Giants quarterback Eli Manning. He read the ones that questioned whether Manning really belonged in a class with Tom Brady and whether he really could be called an “elite” quarterback in the league.” The Howie Roseman Paul Domowitch of The Philadelphia Daily News: “Another blown lead. Another game where their run defense let them down. Another game where turnovers killed them. Get the defibrillator.” The Bruce Allen Parks Smith of Hogs Heaven: “Despite the total despair we all felt yesterday there was one small glimmer of hope in the beat down the 49ers gave us yesterday. For years Skins fans have been looking for a "change of pace" back, and lightning to Clinton Portis’ and now Tim Hightower’s lightning.” The Jerry Angelo Steven Schweickert of Windy City Gridiron: “First thing I noticed was the Bears willingness, and somewhat reliance, on running to the right side of the field early and often. The first four runs were directed to the right side, including the third where he backtracked himself into a wide-open left side for 14 yards. Two runs combined for 39 yards.” The Martin Mayhew Sean Yuille of Pride Of Detroit: “Ever since Jahvid Best suffered his second concussion since August a few weeks ago, speculation has been swirling about when the Lions will get him back. Because concussion issues are nothing new for Best, there have been rumblings that he could miss the rest of the season.” The Mark Murphy Acme Packing Company: “You can point out some times when the cornerbacks have gotten beaten, but the problem isn't that they give up a completion in front of them now and again. That happens to all cornerbacks. But sometimes receivers are left so wide open, it looks like there's some miscommunication going on. And when a coverage is blown, the first players I look to are the safeties.” The Mark Wilf Mark Craig of The Star Tribune: “The announcement came with no ringing endorsement to suggest long-term comfort is warranted, but Vikings cornerback Cedric Griffin did survive the bye week with his starting job intact.” The Thomas Dimitroff Adam Schultz of The Falcoholic: “The Falcons needed to beat the Colts and they did, not bothering to even allow hapless Indy an offensive touchdown. It wasn't perfect but it also wasn't a disaster.” The Marty Hurney James Dator of Cat Scratch Reader: “There are some Carolina players whose nature as a player can be summed up in one moderately-simple polysyllabic word. Steve Smith is our mercurial wide receiver, Cam Newton has become our emblematic quarterback, and Greg Hardy is our eccentric defensive end; but there's one more player who joins this group of Panther nomenclature, and that's our enigmatic cornerback Chris Gamble.” The Mickey Loomis James Varney of The Times-Picayune: “Speaking with reporters Monday after the New Orleans Saints 27-16 victory over Tampa Bay, Coach Sean Payton and safety Malcolm Jenkins stressed that the club is focused on playing its best football in November because that is the month where serious NFL contenders establish themselves.” The Mark Dominik Bucs Nation: Quincy Black was given a huge contract this off season and he has not earned it. I can say that in regards to the seasons he's play before singing it and for this campaign. He's the fastest linebacker on the field with all of the impressive measurables but he's just not a very good player. There are problems in every aspect of his game from coverage to breaking down.” The Rod Graves Seth Pollack of The Desert Dirt: “With about five minutes left in the first half of the Arizona Cardinals game Sunday against the St. Louis Rams a strange thing happened: Rookie CB Patrick Peterson checked in on offense. According to coach Ken Whisenhunt, we will see that again.” The Billy Devaney Ryan Van Bibber of Turf Show Times: “I guess they don't call him "Silent Stan" for nothing. Since his infamous post-game meeting with St. Louis Rams Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo after a disappointing loss to the New York Giants in week 2, there has barely been a mention of Rams owner Stan Kroenke. Without a doubt he's watching the games, watching bad calls and punt return touchdowns chipping away at his investment.” The Trent Baalke David Fucillo of Niners Nation: “One of the random complaints early in Alex Smith's career was the fact that his hands were supposedly too small to effectively grip and throw the football. That always struck me as a little odd, but given his early problems with holding onto the ball, I suppose it is not surprising the complaints came along.” The John Schneider Danny Kelly of SB Nation Seattle: “The Seahawks lost 23-13 on Sunday but managed to stay in the game until into the fourth quarter. They also covered the spread. So I suppose it wasn't all bad. Let's take a look at some of the numbers and what they might mean.”
NFL Scoop: 32-Team Week 9 Reactions
The AFC The Buddy Nix Buffalo Rumblings: “The Buffalo Bills’ 27-11 loss to the New York Jets yesterday was a big deal, but there were other games that mattered this weekend. With the loss, Buffalo dropped into a large contingent of AFC teams at 5-3 - including the team from Jersey - but got some help and didn't fall as far as they could have.” The Jeff Ireland The Phinsider: “The team is finally starting to look like...well...a team. The offense was clicking. The defense was clicking. The special teams were clicking. Everything worked on Sunday, and that led to this question. What can the Dolphins do over the last eight weeks of the season?” The Jonathan Kraft The Boston Herald: “The Patriots have had the NFL’s lowest-ranked defense almost all season. Now their offense is struggling, too. The Patriots lost to the New York Giants on Sunday, 24-20, and didn’t score until 5:29 remained in the third quarter. Tom Brady threw inaccurately on several passes. Others that were on target were dropped.” The Mike Tannenbaum Gang Green Nation: “You might have noticed Shonn Greene sitting on the bench in the waning moments of the fourth quarter with Jets staff tending to him. There is some good news on that front.” The Ozzie Newsome Baltimore Beat Down: “I'm concerned about Ray Rice. He is frequently cited as the centerpiece of our offense, our most dynamic offensive weapon, and the defensive coordinator of the Steelers was quoted by the announcers tonight as saying something to the effect of Rice being the beginning and end of their defensive game planning.” The Mike Brown Ryan Harper of Cincy Jungle: “Currently the Bengals are tied for 18th in the league with a conversion rate of 37.2 percent on third downs. Now that's nothing to crack open a bottle of champagne for, but it's nothing to be too embarrassed by. As the season has progressed so has the Bengals ability to convert on third downs. Converting on third down pressure situations is vital for the Bengals chances of winning.” The Tom Heckert Chris Pokorny of Dawgs By Nature: “Browns head coach Pat Shurmur confirmed this morning what was fairly obvious: starting running back Peyton Hillis will miss this Sunday's game against the St. Louis Rams after re-aggravating his hamstring last week” The Kevin Colbert Behind The Steel Curtain: “As much as it hurts me to say this, I think it is. Sunday Night Football was just a great game between two great teams. And it hurts even more to say, that the Ravens played amazingly well. Frankly, that's the way it should be, two very even teams, played a very even game, traded field goals, each scored a TD off a turnover, came up with long drives for another 7s, and the difference materialized only with 8 ticks to go. Seriously, it can't get much better than this.” The Rick Smith Battle Red Blog: “Throughout the 2009 season, there was a huge hullaballoo about the Houston Texans having the best defense in team history. At the time, I argued it was smoke and mirrors: we consistently under-performed against teams that played remotely talented quarterbacks.” The Chris Polian Stampede Blue: “Curtis Painter isn't the worst player in the league. But he's definitely the worst starting quarterback.” The Gene Smith Alfie Crow of Big Cat Country: “Jaguars rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert gets a bit of a break this weekend against the Indianapolis Colts. While he'll still have to deal with Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, outside of those two the Colts defense is a bit "squishy", for lack of a better word. Currently, the Colts rank 24th in the NFL against the pass, giving up 260 passing yards a game and allowing opposing quarterbacks a rating of 112.7.” The Mike Reinfeldt Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean: “Cam Newton is one of the NFL’s biggest surprises in Carolina. Andy Dalton’s slinging it for the Bengals. And in Minnesota and Jacksonville, rookies Christian Ponder and Blaine Gabbert are getting their shot. Titans rookie Jake Locker is going to have to remain patient, however. There are no plans to make him the starter this season, Coach Mike Munchak said on Monday. This is veteran Matt Hasselbeck’s team, he said.” The Brian Xanders Sayre Bedinger of Mile High Report: “We all know that Tim Tebow was a highly regarded recruit in high school, but we might have underestimated to do some recruiting of his own. Orlando Magic center and NBA superstar Dwight Howard recently tweeted this about Tim Tebow.” The Scott Pioli Patrick Allen of Arrowhead Addict: “Todd Haley might be one of the most interesting coaches the Kansas City Chiefs have had since the flamboyant Hank Stram. Haley can come off as gruff, grumpy, surly, angry, hot-headed, sloppy and childish. Yet at the same time, he can be very likable.” The Al Davis Silver And Black Pride: “When Hue Jackson became the coach of the Oakland Raiders after the firing of Tom Cable, many fans were ecstatic. There would be consistency, a fiery leader, a man who really knew football and commanded the locker room. Hue promised to build a bully. He brought promises of being a mean, tough football team. And sure enough, the team jumped out to 4-2 and looked every bit the part. They were hard hitting, never gave up, they ran it down teams' throats, and they imposed their will.” The Dean Spanos John Gennaro of Bolts From The Blue: “Ladies and gentlemen, Vincent Jackson. We wanted a big game from him to justify his desire for top-WR money, we got a big game. We wanted a big game against a big time cornerback and got to watch Jackson make Tramon Williams look foolish.” The NFC The Stephen Jones Steven Mullenax of The Landry Hat: “It was third down and goal in Seattle’s red zone. With no visible options, Romo tucked the ball and ran towards the endzone. He was stopped a couple yards short, and the Cowboys were forced to kick a field goal. But as Romo left the field, the home crowd in Arlington began to boo.” The Jerry Reese Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News: “Justin Tuck occasionally looked into the stands at Gillette Stadium on Sunday and saw the signs directed towards Giants quarterback Eli Manning. He read the ones that questioned whether Manning really belonged in a class with Tom Brady and whether he really could be called an “elite” quarterback in the league.” The Howie Roseman Paul Domowitch of The Philadelphia Daily News: “Another blown lead. Another game where their run defense let them down. Another game where turnovers killed them. Get the defibrillator.” The Bruce Allen Parks Smith of Hogs Heaven: “Despite the total despair we all felt yesterday there was one small glimmer of hope in the beat down the 49ers gave us yesterday. For years Skins fans have been looking for a "change of pace" back, and lightning to Clinton Portis’ and now Tim Hightower’s lightning.” The Jerry Angelo Steven Schweickert of Windy City Gridiron: “First thing I noticed was the Bears willingness, and somewhat reliance, on running to the right side of the field early and often. The first four runs were directed to the right side, including the third where he backtracked himself into a wide-open left side for 14 yards. Two runs combined for 39 yards.” The Martin Mayhew Sean Yuille of Pride Of Detroit: “Ever since Jahvid Best suffered his second concussion since August a few weeks ago, speculation has been swirling about when the Lions will get him back. Because concussion issues are nothing new for Best, there have been rumblings that he could miss the rest of the season.” The Mark Murphy Acme Packing Company: “You can point out some times when the cornerbacks have gotten beaten, but the problem isn't that they give up a completion in front of them now and again. That happens to all cornerbacks. But sometimes receivers are left so wide open, it looks like there's some miscommunication going on. And when a coverage is blown, the first players I look to are the safeties.” The Mark Wilf Mark Craig of The Star Tribune: “The announcement came with no ringing endorsement to suggest long-term comfort is warranted, but Vikings cornerback Cedric Griffin did survive the bye week with his starting job intact.” The Thomas Dimitroff Adam Schultz of The Falcoholic: “The Falcons needed to beat the Colts and they did, not bothering to even allow hapless Indy an offensive touchdown. It wasn't perfect but it also wasn't a disaster.” The Marty Hurney James Dator of Cat Scratch Reader: “There are some Carolina players whose nature as a player can be summed up in one moderately-simple polysyllabic word. Steve Smith is our mercurial wide receiver, Cam Newton has become our emblematic quarterback, and Greg Hardy is our eccentric defensive end; but there's one more player who joins this group of Panther nomenclature, and that's our enigmatic cornerback Chris Gamble.” The Mickey Loomis James Varney of The Times-Picayune: “Speaking with reporters Monday after the New Orleans Saints 27-16 victory over Tampa Bay, Coach Sean Payton and safety Malcolm Jenkins stressed that the club is focused on playing its best football in November because that is the month where serious NFL contenders establish themselves.” The Mark Dominik Bucs Nation: Quincy Black was given a huge contract this off season and he has not earned it. I can say that in regards to the seasons he's play before singing it and for this campaign. He's the fastest linebacker on the field with all of the impressive measurables but he's just not a very good player. There are problems in every aspect of his game from coverage to breaking down.” The Rod Graves Seth Pollack of The Desert Dirt: “With about five minutes left in the first half of the Arizona Cardinals game Sunday against the St. Louis Rams a strange thing happened: Rookie CB Patrick Peterson checked in on offense. According to coach Ken Whisenhunt, we will see that again.” The Billy Devaney Ryan Van Bibber of Turf Show Times: “I guess they don't call him "Silent Stan" for nothing. Since his infamous post-game meeting with St. Louis Rams Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo after a disappointing loss to the New York Giants in week 2, there has barely been a mention of Rams owner Stan Kroenke. Without a doubt he's watching the games, watching bad calls and punt return touchdowns chipping away at his investment.” The Trent Baalke David Fucillo of Niners Nation: “One of the random complaints early in Alex Smith's career was the fact that his hands were supposedly too small to effectively grip and throw the football. That always struck me as a little odd, but given his early problems with holding onto the ball, I suppose it is not surprising the complaints came along.” The John Schneider Danny Kelly of SB Nation Seattle: “The Seahawks lost 23-13 on Sunday but managed to stay in the game until into the fourth quarter. They also covered the spread. So I suppose it wasn't all bad. Let's take a look at some of the numbers and what they might mean.”