Can he catch it ‘no he can’t’ was a cheer I would have had going round in Gillette Stadium on Thursday night as the Patriots rookie receivers struggled to come to terms with the incredible downpour! Tom Brady was getting very animated with his receiving corps as despite taking an early lead, the receivers managed to drop several passes leading to Brady completing only 19 out of 39 passes. This was for me pretty much the only talking point in what was a dire game of football which the Patriots won 13 – 10.
Now we move onto something more upbeat as this week see’s the return of my fanzone interviews. I was able to catch up with Richard Lloyd who is a Jacksonville Jaguars fan. Richard is someone I met when we both used to write for www.secondcityfanatics.wordpress.com and he has also made it down to some Aylesbury Vale Spartans training sessions.
Welcome to the Ballhawksnest Richard, what is your earliest football memory?
I have some vague recollections of the American Bowl's happening in the mid-80s at Wembley. Your younger readers might not appreciate this but in the days before the internet or satellite TV access to this world was incredibly limited which gave it a hugely romantic appeal, there had been years of trouble at Football stadiums and here we had glitz, cheerleaders, noise and excitement. We did have the weekly printed newspaper 'Firstdown' but that was pretty much it. Once I'd left school and was living in student digs in the mid-90s I was glued to Channel 4 and the brilliant Gary Imlach, it's really he who gave me the lasting love of the sport.
Who or What made you chose to support the Jaguars?
This is going to sound daft now but I really started getting into it around 1995 and I knew I needed a team to support. That year the Jags and the Carolina Panthers were expansion teams and I thought as a new fan I should support a new team. So I tossed a coin. In hindsight I should have supported someone good and looking back I particularly remember Troy Aikman and Emmett Smith from that period so I'd probably have ended up a Cowboys fan.
Do you manage to get to many games?
I've been to 3 of the London games and I'll be going for the Jaguars this season. Over the last year I've been making regular trips to the US and I was unfortunate enough to see the Jags blow a healthy lead at the Coliseum against Oakland last season. I also managed to catch the Redskins play at Fedex field about 10 years ago whilst on holiday.
Who is your favourite Jaguars / NFL player?
My favourite Jaguars of old are Fred Taylor and Tony Boselli (having met the latter at the Jaguars event in London), currently there's not much choice but Josh Scobee is who I have on my jersey. Away from the the Jags I've always been a fan of recently retired Bear Brian Urlacher and having watched him play for Maryland Terrapins D'Qwel Jackson of the Browns.
What three words would you use to describe the NFL action?
Chess on grass
What do you love most about the NFL?
The subtleties of the individual plays on both sides of the ball. That and the stadia. Secretly it's probably the Fantasy Football too, I'm in a long standing and very competitive league.
What would you say to those people who say American Football isn't tough as they wear pads?
Give it a chance, it’s very easy to criticise something that you don't understand.
Finally please can I ask you to say a few words that will convince our rookie readers to continue watching the NFL?
If you've reached the end of an interview with a Jags fan on a Bill's fan's site, you're already hooked - welcome!
Thank you Richard for taking the time out for us and welcome to our fanzone hall of fame!
Now we move back to the action from week two and where better to pick up than ‘The Manning Bowl’. Sunday night saw the third meeting between the Manning brothers, Eli Manning and Peyton Manning. On the two previous occasions they have met on the field it is Peyton who has come out on top and lead the series 2 – 0 going into the game.
The honour of the first possession and ability to score first was given to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. As usual Peyton did not disappoint and drove his team to within scoring distance and on this occasion instead of passing it in, he decided to hand the ball off to the young running back Monte Ball who whilst pushing for the goalline fumbled into the endzone which was recovered by the Giants. I would not have liked to be in his shoes at that moment based on the look Peyton was giving him.
It was now Eli’s turn and on his first play from scrimmage Eli completed a 51 yard pass downfield to Victor Cruz which led to a 36 yard field goal from Josh Brown. Eli had taken first blood and the question now was can they maintain this momentum. Unfortunately it would appear not as both teams next two possessions ended in punts before Knowshon Moreno put the Broncos in front with a 20 yard touchdown run. This would prove to be the beginning of the end for the Giants as despite them scoring two more field goals to make it 10-9, Eli Manning would leave his mark on the game and not in a good way. During the rest of the match whilst Peyton was looking controlled, comfortable and passing at will, Eli on the other hand was being pressured and making mistakes. In Eli’s defence the Giants had no running game and so it was all put on Eli’s shoulders, unfortunately four interceptions later it was another bad day at the office for the younger Manning. The final score in this game was 41 – 23 to the Broncos and Peyton now has a commanding 3 – 0 lead in ‘The Manning Bowl’.
Let’s have a look now at all the scores from week two:
New York Jets 10 vs 14 New England Patriots
Tennessee 24 vs 30 Houston (OT)
Cleveland 6 vs Baltimore 14
San Diego 33 vs 30 Philadelphia
Dallas 16 vs 17 Kansas City
Miami 24 vs 20 Indianapolis
Washington 20 vs 38 Green Bay
Minnesota 30 vs 31 Chicago
Carolina 23 vs 24 Buffalo
St Louis 24 vs 31 Atlanta
New Orleans 16 vs 14 Tampa Bay
Detroit 21 vs 25 Arizona
Denver 41 vs 23 New York Giants
Jacksonville 9 vs 19 Oakland
San Francisco 3 vs 29 Seattle
Pittsburgh 10 vs 20 Cincinnati
New York Jets 10 vs 14 New England Patriots
Tennessee 24 vs 30 Houston (OT)
Cleveland 6 vs Baltimore 14
San Diego 33 vs 30 Philadelphia
Dallas 16 vs 17 Kansas City
Miami 24 vs 20 Indianapolis
Washington 20 vs 38 Green Bay
Minnesota 30 vs 31 Chicago
Carolina 23 vs 24 Buffalo
St Louis 24 vs 31 Atlanta
New Orleans 16 vs 14 Tampa Bay
Detroit 21 vs 25 Arizona
Denver 41 vs 23 New York Giants
Jacksonville 9 vs 19 Oakland
San Francisco 3 vs 29 Seattle
Pittsburgh 10 vs 20 Cincinnati
This week I also noticed that the defences across the league are starting to play at a very high level, except of course the Washington Redskins who were just obliterated by Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offence. I am not quite sure what is happening with the Redskins at the moment, did Robert Griffin III (RG3) come back to early, should they have started with Kirk Cousins and ease RG3 back into it?
Also what happened to the Redskins defence as on Sunday night they were surgically taken apart by Green Bay in the first half with Aaron Rodgers throwing for 335 yards and three touchdowns. At the end of the game Rodgers finished with 480 yards and four touchdowns, Green Bay also had their first 100 yard rusher in 44 regular season games. This is quite an unbelievable stat and shows you just how much they have been relying on Aaron Rodgers and the receivers over the last few years. It is sad for me to say but I may have to change my mind about the Redskins and Giants battling out the NFC East in week 17 if the results keep going the way they are.
Now it is time for me to finish off with the weekly award winners, but before I do, if you would like more of a run down on this weeks events then check out our podcast ‘Spitball’ which will be posted later this week.
Right now we move on to the awards and this week I shall start with the 'Mr Ray Lewis Award' for defensive impact player. This week there are two team defences who were both runner up and winners of this award. The runner up is the Buffalo Bills defence led by Kiko Alonso and Mario Williams, between the two of them they combined for 16 tackles, five and half sacks and one interception. In general the Buffalo defence played extremely well and held Carolina to only field goals when the game was on the line. I know I promised not to talk about the Bills as much this season but I think it would be extremely harsh not to mention what they did this week.
Okay so now we move onto the winner of the 'Mr Ray Lewis' award and as mentioned it is another team defence, can you guess who it is? The week two winner is …........................ the Seattle Seahawks defence, they were the real difference on Sunday night. Colin Kaepernick is usually a very accurate passer and the Seahawks made him look average by intercepting him three times and also holding the whole of the 49ers team to just three points. I'm sure you would agree that this is impact, wouldn’t you?
Okay so now we move onto the winner of the 'Mr Ray Lewis' award and as mentioned it is another team defence, can you guess who it is? The week two winner is …........................ the Seattle Seahawks defence, they were the real difference on Sunday night. Colin Kaepernick is usually a very accurate passer and the Seahawks made him look average by intercepting him three times and also holding the whole of the 49ers team to just three points. I'm sure you would agree that this is impact, wouldn’t you?
We finish off now with the 'Megatron Award' for offensive impact player and the special mentions this week go to Eddie Royal of the San Diego Chargers. Eddie has been making some great catches recently and he is also scoring for fun. This week he had seven catches for 90 yards and three touchdowns! I am also going to give a special mention to his receiving partner Malcolm Floyd who is thankfully reported to be ok after a horrific collision which saw him stretchered off and taken to the local hospital. Before the incident occurred Floyd had five catches for 102 yards and I wouild like to wish him a speedy recovery from any injuries sustained.
The winner of the award this week is ….......................... Aaron Rodgers. As I mentioned earlier Rodgers was surgical in the way he took apart the Redskins defence and forced their offience to abandon the run game and try to pass their way out of trouble. So for the second week in a row a quarterback has won the 'Megatron' award, the question is can anyone take it away from the quarterbacks this year?
The winner of the award this week is ….......................... Aaron Rodgers. As I mentioned earlier Rodgers was surgical in the way he took apart the Redskins defence and forced their offience to abandon the run game and try to pass their way out of trouble. So for the second week in a row a quarterback has won the 'Megatron' award, the question is can anyone take it away from the quarterbacks this year?
Okay so again we come to the end of another week of action, be sure to check out our podcast 'Spitball' later in the week and until next time football fans, stay safe and 'Thanks for Stopping By'.