by Dugald Skene
By any previous season's standards, the 2012 NFL year has got off to a sensational start and has seen many preseason favourites got off to varying degrees of success and a few of the unfancied sides claim some impressive scalps.
Week 4 has seen the return of the regular NFL officials, and not before time. Despite some fantastic games, the replacement officials came up short too many times culminating in the terrible decision to award a game winning touchdown to Seattle over the Packers last Monday night. The NFL saw this as the catalyst to resolve the issues and so we now we are back to normal.
Week 4, like all previous weeks so far, has thrown up some interesting results, but here are a few things that caught my eye over the weekend.
Drew Brees Breaks An 'Unbeatable' Record
The 0-3 New Orleans Saints travelled to Wisconsin to take on Green Bay on Sunday in an effort to stop the rot and prevent them going 0-4. The Packers themselves were under pressure having lost (controversially or not) 2 of their first 3 games, 2 of them at home. It may only be Week 4, but this was a must win game for both.
Drew Brees throws himself into the record books
As predicted, the first half was a bit of a shootout between two of the leagues greatest quarterbacks, the Packers' Aaron Rodgers and the Saints' Drew Brees. And despite the Saints ultimately losing in a tight contest 27-28 after missing a last minute field goal on the third attempt, it was Brees that came away having broken Johnny Unitas' long standing record of throwing a touchdown pass in 46 consecutive games. His pass to Colson in the first quarter was number 47, and adds another remarkable accolade to his already lengthy list. His team may be struggling without their head coach, but Brees keeps on proving his class.
The Rams Prove Their Home Worth
After clinching their second win of the season last week against the Packers in debatable circumstances, the Seattle Seahawks travelled to St Louis to kick on. But new head coach Jeff Fisher has got his fairly fresh Rams side competing well and home form clearly seems to be a priority for them.
After beating the Washington Redskins in Week 2 in a high scoring contest, the Rams were at it again, this time using a little nouse to out-fox a stubborn Seahawks defence with a clever dummy play from a field goal set up to throw to a wide open Danny Amendola in the end zone. The touchdown proved the difference as the rams ran out 13-19 winners. No one will fancy going to St Louis this season.
Texans Continue To Show How It's Done In The AFC
Coming into Week 4, the Houston Texans were the only NFL team to rank in the top 10 on total defence and total offence. On paper, they are the best team in the league. Backing that up by being the only AFC team witha 3-0 record, the Texans entertaineda Tennessee Titans side buoyant from their high scoring win over the Detroit Lions in Week 3.
The Titans were brought down to earth, with a thump. This was literally the case for starting QB Jake Locker who fell awkwardly after being hit, damaging his left shoulder and leaving the game after the first quarter. Experienced stand in Matt Hasselbeck is far from the worst replacement quarterback in the league, but his lack of match time was clear against such an aggressive Texans defence.
Texans linebacker JJ Watt was outstanding once again
JJ Watt was once again outstanding and for me, is the best linebacker in the league at the moment. On the other side of the ball, Arian Foster had another solid rushing performance and Andre Johnson was superb again at wide receiver. The Texans ran out 14-38 winners to go 4-0 in the league, a record for the young franchise.
Eagles Show Their Potential
The late kick off on Sunday night saw the Eagles welcome divisional rivals the New York Giants to Philadelphia. With both teams on a 2-1 record coming into this, a win would be crucial for either with playoff aspirations in this incredibly tight division.
It was the Eagles that grabbed the initiative with accident prone QB Michael Vick having his best game of the season so far. His offensive line protected him better than previous weeks, not something too hard to achieve given the number of times Vick has been hit so far, 78 times in 3 games. Despite a late rally from Eli Manning and the Giants in the fourth quarter, the Eagles held out to record an impressive 17-19 victory. The Eagles now go to 3-1, the Giants to 2-2. With the Redskins winning to go 2-2 and the Cowboys looking to go 2-2 on Monday night, the NFC East is looking every bit as tight as we hoped preseason.
The Cardinals & Falcons Keep On Winning
Both NFC teams the Cardinals and the Falcons waon last night in games that saw both almost lose out on going to 4-0 for the start of the season. For Atlanta, it was an up and down performance against the up and down team of the league, divisional rivals the Carolina Panthers. The 28-30 win sees them go to 4-0 for the first time since 2004.
In Arizona, it was a Miami team that is making a habit of making a pest of themselves that drove the Cardinals to overtime but only after Arizona QB Kevin Kolb mustered up two touchdown strikes in the fourth quarter. It was Jay Feely who slotted the 47 yard field goal in ovretime after Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill was picked off in overtime by Kerry Rhodes. Despite a very average 3 and a bit quarters from Kolb, the Cardinals have mastered a way to get the job done. That's now 11 wins from the last 13 games.
Cedric Benson Provides Packers A Much Needed Running Option
The Packers are a passing team, that much we know, and with Aaron Rodgers at the helm, who would blame them? But the effectiveness of the Packers offence became all the more potent as Cedric Benson produced his best performance of the season to provide a rushing option that has been so lacking for a slightly one dimensional Packers offence. His running with and without the ball meant the Saints defence was exposed at times and allowed Rodgers and co to capitalise. A fine performance that head coach Mike McCarthy will be looking to see improve in coming games.
Despite only 84 yards from 18 attempts, Benson provided the impetus
for the Packers 27-28 victory over the Saints
