NFL: The Day After

Oh, can’t you see the morning after.  It’s waiting right outside the storm.  Why don’t we cross the bridge together and find a place that’s safe and warm?  -Maureen McGovern

Public Service Announcement:  Ok, here we go!  That sure was fun, wasn’t it?  More fun than a barrel of monkeys.  More fun than you can shake a stick at.  More fun than a clown on fire.  You follow me?   Well stop following me or I’ll have you arrested!  I kid.  Follow me after the jump and let’s see what happened yesterday.          

• Move over Tom Brady.  Move over Peyton Manning.  There’s a new sheriff in town and his name is Reggie Hammond.  No it ain’t.  It ain’t Reggie Hammond.  It’s Drew Brees.  The rootinest tootinest gunslinger in the NFL done slung his guns again.  Yesterday, Drew Brees done slung three touchdown passes in the Saints’ 48-22 victory at Philadelphia.  Hooray Drew Brees!  That increased his season total to nine TDs he’s done slung in his first two games.  Yowza!  That tied the NFL record for TD passes after two games, a mark that has stood for 44 years since it was set by the imitable Charley Johnson of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965.
• Rookie rookie, who gets the cookie?  Who’s the big winner here tonight at the casino?  Huh?  Marky, that’s who.  Marky’s the big winner.  Marky wins.  Mark Sanchez followed last week’s victory at Houston with a 16-9 win over the Patriots.  Sanchez is only the fourth quarterback in the last 40 seasons to start and win his team’s first two games in his rookie season.  The others were Joe Flacco, Ryan Leaf, and John Elway.  Like Meatloaf always says,  ”Now dont be sad ’cause two out of three aint bad.”
• We all knew Chris Johnson was gonna have a good game yesterday, but that good?  Sweet sassy molassy!  Every Coach’s Dream scored touchdowns of 57, 69, and 91 yards in the Titans’ 34-31 loss to the Texans.  Egads man!  That’s more TDs of 50 yards or longer than Curtis Martin or Eric Dickerson scored in their entire NFL careers.  Every Coach’s Dream was the first player to score three TDs of 50 yards or longer in one game since Rocket’s brother, Qadry Ismail, did it for the Ravens in 1999.  Just so you know, Johnson finished second in the 2004 Florida state high school track championships behind 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Walter Dix.  
• And then there were two.  Well, buckle my shoe!  Frank Gore scored on runs of 79 and 80 yards in the 49ers’ 23-10 win over the Seahawks. The only other player in NFL history with two rushing touchdowns of 75 yards or longer in the same game was Barry Sanders (80 and 82 yards against the Bucs in 1997).
• Kurt Vonnegut wrote a novel called Deadeye Dick.  He should have called it Deadeye Kurt.  Yesterday, Deadeye Kurt Warner set an NFL record for completion percentage in one game going 24-for-26 (92%) in the Cardinals’ 31-17 victory at Jacksonville.  That record doesn’t change hands very often.  Vinny Testaverde held the mark for 16 seasons (1993-2009), after a 19-year reign by Ken Anderson.
• My girl friend asks me which one I like better.  Six pack!  I hope the answer wont upset her.  Six pack!  Charles Woodson scored on a 37-yard interception return in the Packers’ loss to the Bengals.  It was his fifth pick-six since joining Green Bay in 2006, the most in the NFL during that time.  Woodson also became the first Packers player ever to score on an INT in four consecutive seasons.
• The new look Chicago Bears.  The new look Chicago Bears defeated the Steelers, 17-14, despite gaining only 43 yards on 18 carries.  It was the Bears’ third win in which they gained fewer than 50 rushing yards in the last 30 years.  How about that?

Public Spectacle: 

Peace out homies.  Six two and Even!

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