Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack
-- Lions fired their OC and offensive line coaches, just before they headed over the pond to play the Chiefs in London Sunday. The head coach should be next.
-- Baylor QB Seth Russell (neck) will have surgery, is out for the year.
-- 5-time All-Star Torii Hunter retired; he was an excellent defensive outfielder.
-- Texans coach Bill O'Brien wanted to cut Ryan Mallett after he missed the team charter to Miami, but GM Rick Smith overruled him. Where is Hard Knocks when we really need it?
-- Purdue's best basketball recruit hasn't been cleared yet by the NCAA; he was adopted by a guy in 8th grade who is a Purdue alum. Make a decision, people; the season starts in 2.5 weeks.
-- UNLV's Chris Wood made the 76ers roster, the 10th Findlay Prep alum to make the NBA in the last five years.
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Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Wrapping up Week 7 in NFL......
13) Jaguars 34, Bills 31-- Jax led 27-3 with 3:00 left in half, but blew lead, throwing awful pick-6 with 5:21 left to fall behind 31-27. Bortles then drove them 84 yards in 3:07 for the win, hitting Allen Hurns for the winning TD. Hurns now has a TD in his last five games-- Jacksonville is slowly getting better- they scored defensive TDs 0:07 apart in the second quarter. Buffalo screwed up trading Matt Cassel to Dallas.
12) Rams 24, Browns 6-- Cleveland had scored 26.2 ppg in its previous five games, but St Louis forced/recovered four fumbles and rode rookie RB Gurley to a win that evens their record at 3-3. Rams scored defensive TD on Browns' third play of game.
11) Chiefs 23, Steelers 13-- KC snapped five-game skid against QB making his first NFL start. Chiefs still had only two TDs on five red zone drives. Home favorites are 25-20-1 vs spread in non-divisional games this season.
10) Dolphins 44, Texans 26-- Houston backup QB Mallett "missed the plane" to game; this is same guy who didn't show up for practice the day after Hoyer was named starting QB. Tough spot; QBs are hard to come by; if they cut him, he'll get scooped up in five minutes, but he seems like a jerk who should be cut.
This game was 41-nil at half; in Week 4 at Atlanta, Texans trailed 28-0 at half. O'Brien almost has to get fired, just a matter of when. Would be second year in a row the coach on Hard Knocks gets the boot. Not good for HBO or NFL Films.
As if things couldn't get worse for Houston, Arian Foster has a torn achilles.
9) Patriots 30, Jets 23-- Nine rushes, 16 yards; that was it for the Patriots' run game; they trailed 20-16 with 12:50 left, but on their last two drives, Brady drove them on TD drives of 80-68 yards for the win. NE has now won eight of last nine series games; five of last seven were decided by 3 or less points; Jets lost last five visits here by 9-3-3-2-7 points. Jets are much-improved, but Brady is still Brady.
8) Vikings 28, Lions 19-- There were rumors all Saturday night that Adrian Peterson was sick and wouldn't play; he ran ball 19 times for 98 yards and caught three passes. If playoffs started today, Minnesota would be #6 seed in NFC. Detroit is 1-6 as they head to London for a game with Kansas City.
7) Falcons 10, Titans 7-- Tennessee lost its ninth home game in a row; three of their home losses this year are by 3 or less points. Atlanta is an unimpressive 6-1; they've trailed in 4th quarter in four of six wins and this game wasn't much better, but they are still 6-1, albeit still behind Carolina in NFC South.
6) Redskins 31, Buccaneers 30-- Greatest comeback in Washington history; trailing 24-0 in first half, Cousins led Redskins back- they scored winning TD with 0:24 left, driving 80 yards on 11 plays. Bucs' WR Evans caught eight balls for 164 yards. Skins are 3-4 and only a game out of first place in NFC East.
5) Saints 27, Colts 21-- Indy is 3-4 but still atop a horrible AFC South; their teams are 6-1 vs spread outside the division. Colt owner Irsay had harsh words with GM Grigson after this loss-- Saints led 20-nil at half. New Orleans won three of last ffour games, scoring 58 points in last two games.
4) Raiders 37, Chargers 29-- Oakland led 37-6 early in the third quarter in a stadium where it was hard to tell who the home team was. NFL needs to clear up this stadium thing; who is going to LA, who isn't. Raiders started six drives in Charger territory; all 12 San Diego drives started 80+ yards from goal line.
3) Giants 27, Cowboys 20-- Dallas was -4 in turnovers, gave up a kick return TD and still almost won; they ran ball for 233 yards, but lost to Giants for first time in last six meetings. Divisional home favorites are now 5-16-1 vs spread this season.
Not a lot of fun having only two 4:25 games; NFL is leaning on Cowboys to produce TV ratings, but they stink without Romo and he is still a month away from playing.
2) Panthers 27, Eagles 16-- Carolina is unbeaten, Eagles are 3-4 and Rams need Sam Bradford to start two more games so they can bank a 4th-round draft pick for dealing the oft-injured QB last spring. If Dick Butkus were playing today, he'd be Thomas Lewis of the Panthers; hard hitter, very, very good player.
1) Cardinals 26, Ravens 18-- If the 2016 NFL Draft were this morning, it would be weird, since it isn't 2016 yet, but Baltimore would have the first pick- all six of their losses are by 8 or less points. Carson Palmer is now 75-75 as an NFL starting QB.
-- Lions fired their OC and offensive line coaches, just before they headed over the pond to play the Chiefs in London Sunday. The head coach should be next.
-- Baylor QB Seth Russell (neck) will have surgery, is out for the year.
-- 5-time All-Star Torii Hunter retired; he was an excellent defensive outfielder.
-- Texans coach Bill O'Brien wanted to cut Ryan Mallett after he missed the team charter to Miami, but GM Rick Smith overruled him. Where is Hard Knocks when we really need it?
-- Purdue's best basketball recruit hasn't been cleared yet by the NCAA; he was adopted by a guy in 8th grade who is a Purdue alum. Make a decision, people; the season starts in 2.5 weeks.
-- UNLV's Chris Wood made the 76ers roster, the 10th Findlay Prep alum to make the NBA in the last five years.
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Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Wrapping up Week 7 in NFL......
13) Jaguars 34, Bills 31-- Jax led 27-3 with 3:00 left in half, but blew lead, throwing awful pick-6 with 5:21 left to fall behind 31-27. Bortles then drove them 84 yards in 3:07 for the win, hitting Allen Hurns for the winning TD. Hurns now has a TD in his last five games-- Jacksonville is slowly getting better- they scored defensive TDs 0:07 apart in the second quarter. Buffalo screwed up trading Matt Cassel to Dallas.
12) Rams 24, Browns 6-- Cleveland had scored 26.2 ppg in its previous five games, but St Louis forced/recovered four fumbles and rode rookie RB Gurley to a win that evens their record at 3-3. Rams scored defensive TD on Browns' third play of game.
11) Chiefs 23, Steelers 13-- KC snapped five-game skid against QB making his first NFL start. Chiefs still had only two TDs on five red zone drives. Home favorites are 25-20-1 vs spread in non-divisional games this season.
10) Dolphins 44, Texans 26-- Houston backup QB Mallett "missed the plane" to game; this is same guy who didn't show up for practice the day after Hoyer was named starting QB. Tough spot; QBs are hard to come by; if they cut him, he'll get scooped up in five minutes, but he seems like a jerk who should be cut.
This game was 41-nil at half; in Week 4 at Atlanta, Texans trailed 28-0 at half. O'Brien almost has to get fired, just a matter of when. Would be second year in a row the coach on Hard Knocks gets the boot. Not good for HBO or NFL Films.
As if things couldn't get worse for Houston, Arian Foster has a torn achilles.
9) Patriots 30, Jets 23-- Nine rushes, 16 yards; that was it for the Patriots' run game; they trailed 20-16 with 12:50 left, but on their last two drives, Brady drove them on TD drives of 80-68 yards for the win. NE has now won eight of last nine series games; five of last seven were decided by 3 or less points; Jets lost last five visits here by 9-3-3-2-7 points. Jets are much-improved, but Brady is still Brady.
8) Vikings 28, Lions 19-- There were rumors all Saturday night that Adrian Peterson was sick and wouldn't play; he ran ball 19 times for 98 yards and caught three passes. If playoffs started today, Minnesota would be #6 seed in NFC. Detroit is 1-6 as they head to London for a game with Kansas City.
7) Falcons 10, Titans 7-- Tennessee lost its ninth home game in a row; three of their home losses this year are by 3 or less points. Atlanta is an unimpressive 6-1; they've trailed in 4th quarter in four of six wins and this game wasn't much better, but they are still 6-1, albeit still behind Carolina in NFC South.
6) Redskins 31, Buccaneers 30-- Greatest comeback in Washington history; trailing 24-0 in first half, Cousins led Redskins back- they scored winning TD with 0:24 left, driving 80 yards on 11 plays. Bucs' WR Evans caught eight balls for 164 yards. Skins are 3-4 and only a game out of first place in NFC East.
5) Saints 27, Colts 21-- Indy is 3-4 but still atop a horrible AFC South; their teams are 6-1 vs spread outside the division. Colt owner Irsay had harsh words with GM Grigson after this loss-- Saints led 20-nil at half. New Orleans won three of last ffour games, scoring 58 points in last two games.
4) Raiders 37, Chargers 29-- Oakland led 37-6 early in the third quarter in a stadium where it was hard to tell who the home team was. NFL needs to clear up this stadium thing; who is going to LA, who isn't. Raiders started six drives in Charger territory; all 12 San Diego drives started 80+ yards from goal line.
3) Giants 27, Cowboys 20-- Dallas was -4 in turnovers, gave up a kick return TD and still almost won; they ran ball for 233 yards, but lost to Giants for first time in last six meetings. Divisional home favorites are now 5-16-1 vs spread this season.
Not a lot of fun having only two 4:25 games; NFL is leaning on Cowboys to produce TV ratings, but they stink without Romo and he is still a month away from playing.
2) Panthers 27, Eagles 16-- Carolina is unbeaten, Eagles are 3-4 and Rams need Sam Bradford to start two more games so they can bank a 4th-round draft pick for dealing the oft-injured QB last spring. If Dick Butkus were playing today, he'd be Thomas Lewis of the Panthers; hard hitter, very, very good player.
1) Cardinals 26, Ravens 18-- If the 2016 NFL Draft were this morning, it would be weird, since it isn't 2016 yet, but Baltimore would have the first pick- all six of their losses are by 8 or less points. Carson Palmer is now 75-75 as an NFL starting QB.
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