Week four in the NFL saw the first of this year's International Series games at Wembley Stadium with the Miami Dolphins playing host to the New York Jets. This was the first time in the history of the International Series that we had a divisional rivalry game as both of these teams play in the AFC East.
We had the usual pre game entertainment which included interviews with Mark Duper and NFL hall of famers Mark Clayton and Bob Griese. Bob Griese was quarterback for the Miami Dolphins when they had a perfect season going 17 - 0 which included victory in Superbowl VII.
Although this was built up to be a great game between two division rivals the Miami Dolphins just didn't seem to turn up, much like last week against the Buffalo Bills. The New York Jets went on to win 27 - 14. This result means that the Dolphins now have a record of 1 - 3 on the season and sadly they have also fired head coach Joe Philbin.
Now I want to move onto to those players who can often be the difference between winning and losing, between living and dying and you’ll be surprised when I tell you I am not talking quarterbacks! No the players I am referring to are the kickers of the NFL.
This year more than any other year I can remember kickers in the league seem to be missing field goals left and right (pun intended) lol. There have even been games where one kicker has missed multiple attempts from very gettable distances.
Kyle Brindza however has only managed to make 6 out of 8 extra point attempts and what's worse he has only made 6 out of 12 field goals this season including 2 misses in Sundays game versus Carolina.
As I write this I have just read that Brindza has paid the ultimate price for his form this season because the Buccaneers have let him go. I wish the kid all the best for the future, the trouble is he is not the only kicker this year to have such poor form. Looking at the stats the league average is 84% of field goals being made and 94% of extra points being made, not great only four weeks in. I best leave that there as I feel I may have already bored you to tears ;)
Back to the weeks action and week four saw a lot of backup quarterbacks in the starting role. The reason I mention it is because the quarterbacks they were replacing were Andrew Luck, Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo and Jay Cutler. I can’t think of a time when four quarterbacks of that calibre were all out of action at the same time. It truly has been a crazy start to the year.
Coach O’Brien seems to have the right attitude in that he encourages his team to get to know their teammates and to fight for the guy next to you but something just isn’t clicking for them at the moment. I do genuinely hope their season improves otherwise they may end up fighting San Francisco for the first pick in next years draft.
Well that is it for now but don’t forget to check out our podcast ‘Spitball’ later in the week for more musings from myself and Mr Innuendo Bingo himself, until then stay safe, take care and ‘Thanks for Stopping By!’
To finish off this week I want to talk about a team that I grew found of in the off season thanks to the NFL’s Hard Knock series and that is the Houston Texans. During the course of the five episodes I thought to myself that Coach O’Brien is steering them in the right direction and with some of the talent they have will be a force to be reckoned with this year. Sadly for myself and Texans fans alike it has not been the case.
This past week the player being highlighted for all of the wrong reasons is Kyle Brindza, rookie kicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now I know that there is more pressure this year as the extra point attempts are now from the 15 yard line but that still only makes it a 25 yard kick which any professional kicker should hit 100% of the time.