0 Carpenter kicks home to surpass the Patriots 22-21. Posted by DieHardFans | at 2:24 AM

Over the last four weeks the New England Patriots have looked less like contenders and more like pretenders as they are making their way through the NFL campaign. On November 15, New England lost a game they should have won to the Indianapolis Colts due to a terrible decision made by head coach Bill Belichick and a display of ineptitude by the team’s defense in the last quarter.

The following week they had some consolation as they beat a lackluster New York Jets team as a payback for their loss earlier this season. Last Monday night they were run over by the New Orleans Saints and were pummeled by a score of 38-17. The Patriots this Sunday played in Miami’s Land Shark Stadium against division rivals the Dolphins. New England needed a win against the Dolphins not mathematically but psychologically; they needed to show themselves that they could bounce back from a beating they had gotten Monday night.

The Patriots would hold the lead the entire contest; except when it counted as the game became a final with the Dolphins getting a 22-21 come from behind victory. Kicker Dan Carpenter kicked a 41 yard field goal with 1:02 left to play giving the Dolphins their first lead of the game at 22-21. The Patriots had the time to make one more drive to comeback and grab the victory. Unfortunately for the Patriots that did not happen as their QB Tom Brady was intercepted by Dolphins linebacker at the Patriots 40 with 35 seconds to play. It was the first interception Crowder had made in the NFL and it could not have come at a more opportune time as it clinched the come from behind win for the Dolphins. If you just look at the statistical breakdown of this game the Patriots really had no business leading for most of the contest. Miami held onto the rock for 32:37 while New England had it for 5 minutes less at 27:23.

However in spite of those numbers, the Patriots would dominate the scoreboard for most of the contest and appeared that they would take this game quite easily until the latter stages of the game. The two quarterbacks were a study in contrast as Henne improved as the game went along and completed 29/52 pass attempts for a total of 335 yards; with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception where it seemed Brady peaked early on and then trailed off completing 19/29 for 352 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Miami is back to even as they are now 6-6 with the victory and they will be in Jacksonville next Sunday to take on the Jags. New England still leads the mediocre AFC East with a record of 7-5 and will play host next Sunday to Carolina.

0 Dick Jauron gets the chop after a miserable start to this season... Posted by DieHardFans | at 11:42 PM

True to previous form, the Bills have underachieved in 2009. As a result, its management has made a stunning move, firing head coach Dick Jauron. The decision was taken by owner Ralph Wilson, just a few days after the team was beaten badly in Tennessee.

“I am announcing today that I am relieving Dick Jauron from his duties as our head coach, effective immediately,” said Wilson in a press statement. “I have tremendous respect for Dick and thank him for all of his efforts during these past four years. While this was a very difficult decision, I felt that it is one that needed to be made at this time for the best interest of our team. We will now focus on moving forward and preparing for our game this week in Jacksonville.”

He is the first head coach to be fired during a regular season, since Hank Bullough’s termination, which also came after nine games in the 1986 season. Jauron’s job has long been on the line, and the team started 1-4 including an awful defeat at home, 6-3 to the Cleveland Browns. They are 3-6 through the first nine games. Run defense was a major issue for the Bills, as they ranked higher than 22nd in the league against the run and are currently last in the NFL in that category this season.

Bills owner Ralph Wilson said this year that he was expecting a big turnaround, and he loosened the purse strings for some expensive free-agent signings, including wide receiver Terrell Owens. But it hasn't worked, and now Jauron is out of work. The Buffalo Bills announced that defensive coordinator Perry Fewell would serve as interim head coach for the remaining seven games.

0 Jets continue their Downward Spiral as they lose 3 straight at home... Posted by DieHardFans | at 2:42 AM

After starting the season 3-0, including impressive victories at Houston and New England, the Jets have fallen flat on their faces. With a home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday, against a team that was previously 1-3 on the road, the Jets have now lost four of their last five games.

Three of these games were at home, against the Bills, Dolphins and Jags. Their problems emanated from losing the turnover battle (3-to-1), and their inability on the run defense to stop Maurice Jones-Drew. He ran for 123 yards on 24 carries and also threw in 22 receiving yards for good measure. The Jets were able to move the ball at times, amassing 322 yards on 60 plays (compared to 347 on 60 plays for the Jags). They were also pretty comparable in terms of time of possession. When the two teams play that evenly from scrimmage, the game is usually decided on turnovers. And it was. Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez set the tone, throwing an interception on the first play of the game.

Then in the third quarter, the Jets sandwiched two turnovers, Braylon Edwards fumble and another Sanchez pick was around a takeaway of their own. In a game where every inch counts and was decided on a last minute field goal, you can't turn the ball over like that. Despite that, they still had a chance to win. They held a one-point lead after a solid drive concluded with a Thomas Jones touchdown. But at the end it wasn’t enough for them to get the win they were looking for. They don't have much time to grieve after this loss, however, because they head to New England for a rematch with the hated Patriots next Sunday. You can expect the Pats to be out for a little revenge, too, so the Jets have their work cut out for them.

The Jags will look to win their third consecutive game next week when they face the Bills at home and look to thrust in the play-off picture.

0 Young shines as Titans record first win of the season against over the Jacksonville Jags! Posted by DieHardFans | at 10:23 PM

Vince Young did everything he needed to do on Sunday to stake a claim to the Titans' starting job for the rest of the season, but did he really do enough to show that he should be around in 2010 and beyond? Young clearly gave the Tennessee Titans a spark. In the most important stat of all, Young is 1-0 this season as a starter while Kerry Collins is 0-6.

Vince Young says the year of watching Kerry Collins from the bench helped him grow and mature. Young helped the Titans (1-6) win their first game of 2009, a 30-13 rout of Jacksonville on Sunday that snapped an eight-game skid dating back to Dec. 21. Now the 2006 Offensive Rookie of the Year, the quarterback who’s called Tennessee's future at the position over n over, has the final nine games to show how much he's really grown and whether he's worth keeping past this season.

Young currently is estimated to count $14.2 million against Tennessee's salary cap in 2010 with a $4.25 million roster bonus due in March. Owner Bud Adams wanted Young starting so the Titans could see what the quarterback could do. "We've got to find out how he's developed over the last two years," Adams said after the game. "He hasn't played that much.

We've got to get him in and find out what he can do. Otherwise we're going to have a high draft choice, and we're going to be looking for another quarterback."Adams liked what he saw as Young was 15-of-18 for only 125 yards, and almost all of his passes were of the dump-off variety. He also showed that he was just as comfortable taking off and running if no one was open downfield. Young was helped greatly by the Titans running more than throwing. Tennessee ran 49 times for a season-high 305 yards, and RB Chris Johnson set a franchise-record with 228 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Receivers that had struggled holding onto the ball didn't drop any this time around.

Questions still remain. How does Young react after a bad game or a couple interceptions? Or when fans boo? He handled himself very well and showed he can do it," the owner said. Coach Jeff Fisher isn't looking past Sunday's visit to San Francisco (3-4) when he was asked how much sway the rest of this season holds on Young's future. "That's not an issue of his or ours. What's important for us and for Vince is just to improve and play well this week. That's all.

0 QB hassle ends in Tennessee as Young gets the Starting Job! Posted by DieHardFans | at 5:09 AM

After a fair amount of consideration, the Tennessee Titans are benching veteran Kerry Collins in favor of 26-year-old Vince Young.

The team’s owner, Bud Adams is reported to have pushed for Young this week. Head coach; Jeff Fisher deliberated on the decision, though, before finally agreeing with Adams and choosing Young as his starter against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Collins has been the Titans' starter since Week 2 of 2008 when he guided the Titans to 13-3, but an 0-6 start to the 2009 season combined with a lack of ingenuity urged a move under center. However, the question is, can Young now step up to Rescue the Titans? In the midst of a lost season, there's no harm in seeing whether or not Young can captain the Titans' ship next yr and beyond. Many feel that he is worth a shot, given his 56.9 percent completion percentage, 67.8 QB rating.

He has also won 18 of his 29 as starter back in his rookie season. Most rookies struggle to win games right out of the gate. With Wildcat football being all the rage, maybe people expected Young to be part of the popular offense this year, but so far Jeff Fisher has stuck with one QB center philosophy. With Young at the helm, the defense should in theory, be opened up. This is thanks to the danger that Young creates, tucking the ball and picking up five or six yards at a time.

If the third year PRO out of Texas impresses, we can expect him return with a bang in 2010. If not, the Titans will be forced to look for a young QB in next April's NFL Draft or in the off-season free agency market.