Week 7 Expeditious NFL News & Notes: Tim Tebow with Surprising Passing Numbers

Week 7    Expeditious NFL News & Notes

Expeditious NFL News & Notes is put together to provide a wide range of number-oriented morsels for those who crave the delicacy and nerdy-ness of NFL statistics, news, notes and just about anything that can be put to the mix. If you’re not quoting one note each week, I’m not doing my job.

The New England Patriots Have Won the Last 3 Meetings at Heinz Field

AFC EAST

New England Patriots – The New England Patriots take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field this Sunday. It’s the eighth meeting between the two teams since 2002 and over the last seven contests (playoffs Included) the winner has scored 30 or more points in six of those seven games. Note – Patriots have a 5-2 advantage since 2002 and have won the last three on the road at Heinz Field.

Miami Dolphins – Matt Moore did something he has not done since Week 16 of the 2009 season versus the Denver Broncos this past Sunday: he threw a touchdown pass without throwing an interception. In the previous nine games he had played in since that game in 2009, Moore threw six touchdown passes compared to 13 interceptions.

Buffalo Bills – Fred Jackson has topped 100 yards versus both 2011 NFC East opponents (Eagles and Giants) and scored in both of those games as well. Jackson could make it his third straight game with 100 yards rushing and a score versus the NFC East when the Bills host the Redskins this weekend.

New York Jets – The streak continues for running back Shonn Greene, who notched his third consecutive 20-plus carry game in Week 7. Greene also reached 100 yards rushing; the last time he did that was in Week 4 of 2010. But what is most interesting is in Greene’s last three games he has rushed for 83, 74 and 112 yards. Those are his highest production totals on the ground since his last 100-yard game.

Is Peyton Hillis Worth Extension?

AFC North

Pittsburgh Steelers – With Hines Ward hurt in the Steelers' last game against the Arizona Cardinals, second-year receiver Antonio Brown made the most of the veteran’s absence, catching a career-high seven balls and recording his first 100-yard receiving day with 102. His 41 career catches have left Brown with only one accomplishment left on a personal level which is to record his first touchdown pass in a regular season game.

Cleveland Browns – Before last season began, running back Peyton Hillis had a total of 198 rushing attempts as a collegiate at Arkansas and 76 as a pro in his first two seasons with the Denver Broncos, equaling 274 total carries. In 2010 Hillis had 270 rushing attempts in one season, only four less than his entire college and pro workload combined to that point. Which makes me wonder with him missing two of the six games played by the Cleveland Browns thus far — is Hillis really a workhorse, bell cow type back?

Cincinnati Bengals – Head Coach Marvin Lewis is in his ninth season with the Bengals. In his previous eight seasons, two out of the three times the team was 4-2 or better the team made the playoffs. Currently the team is 4-2 for the third time under Lewis, whose best start with the team (5-1) came in 2005. 

Baltimore Ravens – From Week 6 – Joe Flacco is not having an accurate year in his fourth season as a pro. He currently stands third from last in pass completion percentage (51.4), ahead of only Kerry Collins and Blaine Gabbert. In Flacco’s three previous seasons it should be noted he has always finished above 60 percent in completions—maybe his lower percentage is a direct result of not having Derrick Mason and Todd Heap around.

Week 7 – Flacco earns the "Feast or Famine" award. In his six games played in 2011, he has a quarterback rating better than 100 twice averaging 110.6 in that category. In the other four games Flacco has averaged a quarterback rating of 57, or almost half of the production. 

Arian Foster Ties Emmitt Smith

AFC SOUTH

Houston Texans – Arian Foster had his second 100-yard receiving game of the year in Week 7, improving his receiving yards per game to 61 yards. That’s up 23.2 yards from last season when he averaged 37.8. After 26 career games, Foster has 11 games over 100 rushing yards. The league’s all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith, after 26 games, had seven 100-yard rushing efforts. In addition, Foster’s second 100-yard receiving game equaled Smith’s 15-year career total in that category.

Indianapolis Colts – From Week 6 – Tight end Dallas Clark played six games last season before heading to the IR. His numbers to that point were: 37 catches for 347 yards, three touchdowns and an average of 57.8 yards per game. That was with Peyton Manning under center.

In 2011, with Manning out of action, Clark’s stat sheet after six games reads: 20 catches for 189 yards and two touchdowns for 31.5 yards per game. 

Week 7 – The slide continues for Clark who, after the 111 regular season games he has suited up for, has gone without a catch only twice—in Week 16 of 2005 and this past Sunday versus the New Orleans Saints.

Jacksonville Jaguars – The Jacksonville Jaguars went from the AFC Central in 2001 to the AFC South in 2002, and two teams that don’t miss them are the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-11) and the Baltimore Ravens (7-10), both of whom have all-time losing records versus the expansion team from 1995. Since the creation of the AFC North in 2002, the Steelers (five) and Ravens (two) have won every division title except one (Bengals in 2009).

Tennessee Titans – Dallas Cowboys rookie running back DeMarco Murray had 253 yards rushing in Week 7, and in that game alone, is only 15 yards below the entire output by the Titans' Chris Johnson, who has 268 yards after six games.

Darrius Heyward-Bey Emerging in Oakland

AFC WEST

Oakland Raiders – Darrius Heyward-Bey might have finally found the path towards fulfilling the potential Oakland saw in him when they took him seventh overall in 2009. In his third season, after six games played, DHB has already caught more passes (27) than he did in all of last season (26) and is only 56 yards away from tying his career best of 490 yards. Over the last four games he has averaged 5.5 catches per game and 96 yards, better than both Larry Fitzgerald and Roddy White over the same period.

San Diego Chargers – No one can blame the 27-21 loss to the New York Jets on kicker Nate Keading, who tore his ACL on the opening kickoff versus the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. Remember, it was Keading who was 0-3 in the 2010 playoff game between the teams, which the Jets won 17-14.

 Kansas City Chiefs – The Kansas City Chiefs are winners of three in a row, putting them at 3-3 after six games. In Week 7 they beat division rival Oakland 28-0, but hold on to your britches—the last time Kansas City beat back to back division opponents was in 2006, beating the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos. Why is this mentioned? The Chiefs host the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football in Week 8. 

Note – This Sunday would mark Pro-Bowler Joe Delaney’s 53^rd birthday. Delaney was one of the most talented running backs in the NFL back in the early 1980’s, but his life was cut short while trying to save three children who were drowning in a local pond. Heading into his third season with the Chiefs, Delaney and two of the other children died in the accident with one surviving. A career cut short by bravery. Happy Birthday, Joe.

Denver Broncos – Hmm… What to mention about the Denver Broncos this past week? So much is being made of the play of quarterback Tim Tebow and his mechanics, passing percentage and how he can’t win at the NFL level; by the way he is 2-2 as a starter on one of the worst teams in football. Listening to ESPN’s Merril Hoge explain why there isn’t any way on God’s green earth (don’t you like how I got God and the Tebow piece connected?) Tebow can succeed in the NFL, I just wanted to pass along some numbers.

Percentage of passes completed (In last 4 starts)
Players				All Week 7 2011	Total Starts
Tim Tebow	50.0*	55.2*	44.4*	48.1	4
Sam Bradford	64.5	46.5	50.0	47.8	21
Matthew Stafford	48.8	73.1	56.0	46.9	20
* Starts from 2010

Tim Tebow might not be the best pure passer to ever come down the pike, but even the youngest and brightest quarterbacks besides Tebow have those same exact days where the pass completion percentage is way below the desired 60 percent which NFL teams covet.

Note – Tim Tebow had a higher passer rating, 91.7, than 19 other starting quarterbacks that took snaps in Week 7. 

DeMarco Murray

NFC EAST

Washington Redskins – One beneficiary of Santana Moss missing the next 5-7 weeks is teammate Jabar Gaffney, who is second on the team in receiving yards (361) and ranks 33^rd overall among NFL receivers. With tight end Fred Davis leading the team in both receptions and yards and Santana Moss being the No. 1 receiver in D.C., it’s easy to overlook Gaffney’s production in 2011.

New York Giants  – Eli Manning is 4-2 coming off a bye week, with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. This Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins will be his first game versus an AFC opponent coming off of a bye.  

Philadelphia Eagles – In Week 9 of 2010, in what was Michael Vick’s sixth game of the year, he threw four touchdown passes versus the Washington Redskins and ended the game with a career best 150.7 quarterback rating. Following that game, Vick had 11 touchdowns with zero interceptions. Over the next 12 games since then, Vick has thrown 14 interceptions and only twice has he played a game without turning the ball over via the pass.

Note - Andy Reid has faced the Dallas Cowboys four times in the month of October and has a record of 2-2.

Dallas Cowboys – Rookie running back DeMarco Murray ran wild on the Rams, rushing for 253 yards. That’s more than the Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and St. Louis Rams each had in total net offense in Week 7. Ouch!

Brandon Pettigrew Exceeding 2010 Production

NFC NORTH

Chicago Bears – Matt Forte has 1,091 total yards of offense after seven games—672 rushing and 419 receiving—which is more yardage than the Jacksonville Jaguars have in total passing yards after seven games (899).

Minnesota Vikings – Michael Jenkins caught the first pass thrown by rookie quarterback Christian Ponder Sunday, which resulted in a 73-yard touchdown that was reversed after being challenged. Later in the fourth quarter Ponder would make it stick, hitting Jenkins for 24 yards and the score. With the Vikings passing game in transition, Jenkins is still the main target between both Donovan McNabb and Ponder. He leads the team in receptions (27), yards (332) and touchdowns (three).

Green Bay Packers – A lot was made of who would be the lead back in Green Bay between Ryan Grant and James Starks heading into the 2011 season. After Week 7 and heading into the bye week, Starks has received more touches but results between the two remain relatively close.

Players	Att.	YPC	Yards	Rec.	Yards	YPR	RushTD	Rec TD
James Starks	83	4.5	374	18	137	7.6	1	0
Ryan Grant	57	4.0	229	7	52	7.4	0	0

Detroit Lions  –  It is hard to get past Calvin Johnson when looking at the passing game of the Detroit Lions, but Brandon Pettigrew, the team’s third-year tight end, is on pace to outproduce his 2010 numbers of 71 catches for 722 yards and four touchdowns. With 38 receptions over seven games, Pettigrew is averaging 5.4 catches a game, a full catch better than his 4.4 average from 2010. In addition, his yards per game are up from 45.1 to 50.3, and with two touchdowns already in 2011, he is halfway to tying his total from 2010.

Mike Williams: Sophomore Slump?

NFC SOUTH

Atlanta Falcons – Like the New York Jets, the Atlanta Falcons are getting back to what they do best: running the football. Over the last two weeks, running back Michael Turner has carried the ball 27 times in each game, both season highs, resulting in two wins. Over the span of his Falcons career, the team is 20-3 when he hits the 100-yard mark. Note – Over the last three seasons Turner has averaged 1,313 yards and 13 touchdowns.

New Orleans Saints – Running back Darren Sproles and tight end teammate Jimmy Graham are tied for second place in the NFL for receptions with 45 apiece, giving the pair 90 total. The five receivers who play for the Saints, Marques Colston, Robert Meachem, Lance Moore, Devery Henderson and Adrian Arrington, have combined for 90 receptions—pretty funky!

Carolina Panthers – The Carolina Panthers were the only team in the National Football League to win while having fewer first downs than their opponent in Week 7. The Washington Redskins had 22 compared to the Panthers’ 20.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Second-year receiver Mike Williams is enduring a sophomore slump. Williams has only one fewer catch (31) compared to what he had at this same point last year, but it’s after the catch where the drop-off is most glaring.  In 2010, he had 470 yards and four touchdowns after seven games. After seven games in 2011, he has 317 yards and just one touchdown.

Delanie Walker: 49ers' Secret Weapon

NFC WEST

Arizona Cardinals – The Cardinals offense has nine rushing touchdowns after six games. Last season it had three after the same amount of games played. With Beanie Wells hurt this past Sunday, undrafted second-year running back Alfonso Smith from Kentucky ran for his first career touchdown, continuing the positive rushing trend in Arizona.

San Francisco 49ers – Alex Smith is finding tight ends Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker to be reliable targets, especially in the red zone. The tight end tandem is tied for the team lead with three touchdowns apiece and has accounted for six of Smith’s eight touchdown passes.

49ers Receptions/TD’s by Position
Position	Total Players	Rec. Total-TDs
RB/FB	3	18 -0
TE	2	35 – 6
WR	5	47 - 2

Seattle Seahawks – How bad was the Seattle Seahawks' offense versus the Cleveland Browns Sunday? Matt Forte (145), Adrian Peterson (175) and DeMarco Murray (253) had more rushing yards than Seattle’s entire offense (137). Adding in both receivers Greg Jennings (147) and Steve Smith (143), that’s five individual players outproducing the Seahawks’ entire offense.

St. Louis Rams – “Wonder Twin powers, activate! Form of…an offensive coordinator (Josh McDaniels)! Shape of…a wide receiver (Brandon Lloyd)!”

Reunited with his former offensive coordinator in St. Louis, Lloyd immediately became involved in the Rams' passing attack, leading the team in receptions (six) and yards (74). One year ago, Brandon Lloyd enjoyed one of the finest seasons any receiver has ever had in NFL history playing under McDaniels, who was the head coach in Denver. After one game in St. Louis, it looks like the dynamic duo is off to another fast start. 

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