Week Twelve

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First of all this week let me start by saying I hope my American readers had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed the time with their families.

If any of you have any turkey bowl stories you want to share then please tweet me @AdriMallows or email me amallows@googlemail.com, thanks.

So the play-offs are just edging that little bit closer after the week 12 games and just when you think you know who's going to the post season the NFL throws a spanner in the works.

This week not only have the Texans lost their starting QB but they've also lost their back up for the season. The big question is will they recruit a veteran or stick with the their third stringer?

The Bears were also without Cutler this week and suffered what is for them an embarrassing loss to the Raiders.

Another win for the Broncos this week but instead of mentioning a certain QB, I want to give a massive shout out to their defence who have only given up an average of 15 points to their opponents in the last 4 games. A great accomplishment in today’s game and for me the main reason why they have won 4 on the bounce.

With the exception of a handful of starting QB's in the league, give any of them that kind of target and they will win you the ball game!

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Here is a run down of all the scores from week 12:-

Green Bay 27 vs 15 Detroit
Miami 19 vs 20 Dallas
San Francisco 6 vs 16 Baltimore
Minnesota 14 vs 24 Atlanta
Cleveland 20 vs 23 Cincinnati
Carolina 27 vs 19 Indianapolis
Houston 20 vs 13 Jacksonville
Buffalo 24 vs 28 New York Jets
Arizona 23 vs 20 St Louis
Tampa Bay 17 vs 23 Tennessee
Chicago 20 vs 25 Oakland
Washington 23 vs 17 Seattle
New England 38 vs 20 Philladelphia
Denver 16 vs 13 San Diego
Pittsburgh 13 vs 9 Kansas City
New York Giants 24 vs 49 New Orleans Saints

The race for the NFC East took a turn in favour of Dallas this week with their last second field goal on turkey day giving them the win and also the Saints destroying the Giants. They sit alone on top of the division but fear not Giants fans as you still have to play them twice which for me will decide the division!

Is it me or are the defences really starting to rev it up now down the stretch. With the exception of the Eagles and Giants there was a lot of close games this week and they are only going to get tighter!

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OK so my Q & A with EJ is back this week, as always here are his questions followed by my answers.

EJ - With all the injuries to starting QB's which backup do you see making the biggest splash and the team not slipping too much?

Adri - Well my friend my first answer to this was going to be Matt Leinhart at the Texans but after his season ending injury that's out the window. I am however going with their third string QB TJ Yates. He looked OK on Sunday and the team is too good to suffer a set back!

EJ - Name the overall top 3 fantasy players at the end of the season?

Adri - Well the first on the list has to be Aaron Rodgers, he has been immense all season and they won't loose a game in the regular season.

Numbers two and three are very biased as they are in my fantasy teams. They are Arian Foster and another of my babies Ryan Matthews. This is more two players that I really hope to see in the top three.

Other names to look out for on the top performers list would be LeSean McCoy who despite my early ramblings saying he will slow down is still one of the top rushers in the league.  Beanie Wells is another who is having a great season and Steve Smith as well.  Probably best I stop there before I name about 20 instead of the three you asked for lol.

EJ - Name a deep sleeper that will unexpectedly make a big impact with their team before the year is out?

Adri - This one is really difficult as there has been so many injuries this year and a lot are already in play like Victor Cruz at the Giants who had another big game this week. Also Decker has been great in Denver since Brandon Lloyd left. For the record Lloyd is definitely one of my favourite receivers playing the game today and i would have loved buffalo to sign him.

Anyway I digress, my sleeper is Andrew Hawkins a WR of the Bengals. He made some great grabs when they were without AJ Green and I expect good things from him as Dalton grows in confidence towards the end of the season and into next year!

Great work again EJ, I missed our session last week. To make up for the missed week can I please have 5 for next week?

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I want to finish this week with a few things I saw that aren't really what the game is about and frankly have no part in the NFL.

First up is Ndamukong Suh and his stamping on an opponent during the game on Thanksgiving. I'm all for showing aggression during the game but in the right way with a big legal hit.

Stamping on an opponent who is on the ground is not acceptable and to be honest he's lucky he doesn't play rugby. If that happens in rugby 9 times out of 10 the guy gets up and knocks you out!

I am bit disappointed as well to be honest as for someone who is a great talent and a self proclaimed non dirty player he has a funny way of showing it.  Mr Suh you deserve your two game ban and your team may not make the play-offs thanks to your actions.

Also this week much though I love the guy, Stevie Johnson had a moment this week when he mimicked a plane crashing in front of the New Jersey crowd.  I'm all for being able to celebrate after a score but that was a bit thoughtless!

Lets end on a brighter note, please check out these Top 10 TD celebrations http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=539R6AQQZnA

This video is a little old as the awesome celebrations aren’t really allowed any more. As long as there tasteful, lets bring them back I say.  Joe Horn and the cellphone was just brilliant!!!!

Until next week my friends 'Thanks for Stopping by'

Week Eleven

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All aboard the Tebow train! It seems that despite being his third choice QB that even Coach Fox has jumped on the train. Could it be that you still don't rate him but have to praise him as he is saving your job!

Another week down and surprisingly for me another Tebow win, this time against the Jets.  Thursday night football brought us a nice little shocker to open up the week. Unless your a Denver fan, who honestly thought they would win.

Here is an idea for Denver, in the same way you use a change of pace back, maybe they could do the same with Orton and Tebow!  Despite his 3 - 1 record, I'm still not convinced he is good enough to be a starter in this league. I would love to know what you guys think!

OK so moving away from my Tebow rant, it was another bad bad week for the Bills. We rolled into Miami thinking we could #Squishthefish as it was put but Football is a game of momentum and when it's with you it's great.

At the moment the Bills momentum is picking up speed as we fall down the hill quicker than Jack and Jill! Needless to say we were embarrassed by the Dolphins and we didn't even score a TD.  I seriously don't know what's happening in Buffalo right now but I will always Billieve we can turn it around! The question is will an 11 - 5 record be enough to get us into the play-offs?

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Here is all the scores from the Week 11 action:-

New York Jets 13 vs 17 Denver
Cincinnati 24 vs 31 Baltimore
Jacksonville 10 vs 14 Cleveland
Carolina 35 vs 49 Detroit
Tampa Bay 26 vs 35 Green Bay
Buffalo 8 vs 35 Miami
Oakland 27 vs 21 Minnesota
Dallas 27 vs 24 Washington
Seattle 24 vs 7 St Louis
Arizona 7 vs 23 San Francisco
Tennessee 17 vs 23 Atlanta
San Diego 20 vs 31 Chicago
Philadelphia 17 vs 10 New York Giants
Kansas City 3 vs 34 New England

The Packers continue to march on remaining the only undefeated team in the league while the Patriots are back on form and making the AFC East look like a one horse race again.

Other results of note this week include the Eagles who with a win over division rivals the Giants just made the NFC East interesting again.  Who will win that race with New York and Dallas leading the charge. They play on the last day of the season at Metlife and could be a hell of a game.

It does make me think do I go to Boston to watch us be creamed by the Pats or do I go to a division deciding game? Your thoughts please EJ and all my other readers.

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With the above said, in place of my usual Q & A I shall be taking a look at the play-off picture with two thirds of the season now in the history books.

Firstly let's have a look at the AFC. It looks like this year the play-offs will be dominated by the AFC North as they have the potential to see 3 teams make the post season with the 3 other division winners.

The AFC East pretty much seems to be sewn up by the Patriots baring any major upsets between now and the end of the season. It proves that Brady and Belichick are too good to keep down!

Next up we have the AFC South which despite an injury to starting QB Matt Schaub appears to be Houston's to loose and I don't see that happening this year with the form Arian Foster is in right now.  Tennessee are their nearest rivals but even they are two games behind.  As for the Colts well they are in a one horse race of their own for the first draft pick next year and I don't see them loosing that race!

Now we have the AFC West which is one of the more intriguing divisions. Oakland currently sitting top with a game in hand over the Tebow inspired Broncos. I for one talk a lot about Tebow but let's not forget it is the defence playing some great football to keep him in with a shout of winning games.  I can see Oakland winning this division as with Palmer at QB they are starting to have a decent passing attack with Moore, who is making some great catches btw. Also in Michael Bush they have a more than adequate replacement for McFadden in their rushing attack.

Finally let's take a look at the AFC North. This is by far the strongest conference in the AFC and they have three teams with a legitimate shot at the play-offs.  Personally the division title comes down to Pittsburgh and Baltimore. My money goes on Baltimore this year as despite two losses in the next games after their wins against the Steelers they don't have to worry about that now as both Steelers games are done and dusted.  They are currently top with the same record as Pittsburgh but the two wins over their main rivals are massive tie breakers and ultimately what decides the division.

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Let's now take a look at the NFC. There is a lot of talk about how the NFL is a copy cat league, and with the NFC North it proves this point. Just like its AFC cousin it could also end up with three teams in the play-offs!

Lets start with the easiest of the four divisions to pick a winner from and that is the NFC West.  San Francisco have basically got this division sewn up and just need two more wins to seal it and guarantee themselves a play-off spot.

Then we have the NFC south which is a Two horse race between the Falcons and the Saints.  Although the Falcons are only one win behind when you look at their division record it is pretty appalling compared to that of the Saints and I see the Saints walking away with it.  The only remaining question is will the Falcons have a better record than anyone in the NFC North.

OK so onto the NFC East, I think I have pretty much covered my excitement of this division earlier on but suffice to say it will go down to the wire and I think that as the last game is at home I can see the Giants holding on to take the division.

Finally we get to the awesome NFC North with the Packers, Bears and Lions. I think the Packers are a given and the Bears will join them. I can see the Falcons having a better record down the stretch meaning the Lions just miss out this year.

Right so with that said and done here is who I think will be representing each conference in the play-offs:-

From the AFC it will be Ravens, Steelers, Bengals, Texans, Patriots and Raiders. I have to say that I think the Steelers will make the Superbowl!

From the NFC it will be the Packers, 49ers, Giants, Saints, Falcons and Bears.

The Packers will be in the Superbowl and so it looks like it's going to be a repeat of last year but this time the Steel curtain will come down on Rodgers as the Steelers win a close one 31 – 28.

I would love to hear all of your thoughts on this years play-off run, drop me a comment or tweet me at @AdriMallows.

As always ladies and jellyspoons 'Thanks for Stopping by'

Week Ten

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Another great week of NFL is in the books and there have been the usual twists and turns and the obligatory Colts loss.

Welcome to my round up of week 10. It has been another tough week as a Bills fan. I was full of optimism going into the game against the Cowboys as Romo has been hot and cold this season. Unfortunately for us he decided he would be hot this week and man did he torch our secondary this week! He completed 23 of 26 passes for 270YDS and 3TD'S, their first four possessions resulted in touchdowns leaving a massive mountain for us to climb.  Unfortunately we seemed to have left our climbing gear at home this week as we ended up loosing 44 - 7.

If there is one man who can help us get back on track it's @DYNAMOMAGICIAN. I mean if he can get England to beat Spain as he did on Saturday he is capable of turning our season back in the right direction!

This week also saw 10 early kickoff games and 3 late kickoffs which I found very bizarre, it was like an imbalance in the force and must be why I was only 7 out of 15 on Sundays predictions.

I have to ask, did anyone catch the Steelers win this week? Although he ended up on the loosing side, how good is Andy Dalton starting to look.  He is running that offence like he truly belongs to be their leader.  The Bengals are good this year so next year I expect him to do great things, definitely worth a late draft pick as a backup fantasy QB next year I think!

Also in the AFC North this week, what happened to the Ravens??? Dear coach Harbaugh, how do you go from doing the double over one the best teams in the AFC to loosing to Seattle?? When you have Ray Rice throwing TD passes you have issues! With that in mind does anyone know how many points that gets my fantasy team, does it count as a normal QB TD pass I wonder.

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It has been another crazy week for results this week, check out all of the scores below:-

Oakland 24 vs 17 San Diego
New Orleans 26 vs 23 Atlanta
Tennessee 30 vs 3 Carolina
Detroit 13 vs 37 Chicago
Pittsburgh 24 vs 17 Cincinnati
St Louis 13 vs 12 Cleveland
Buffalo 7 vs 44 Dallas
Jacksonville 17 vs 3 Indianapolis
Denver 17 vs 10 Kansas City
Washington 9 vs 20 Miami
Arizona 21 vs 17 Philadelphia
Houston 37 vs 9 Tampa Bay
Baltimore 17 vs 22 Seattle
New York Giants 20 vs 27 San Francisco
New England 37 vs 16 New York Jets
Minnesota 7 vs 45 Green Bay

The Colts are officially the worst team in the NFL right now and you have to ask if Manning can't play again and has to retire, where does that leave them for next season?

The Packers continue to march on but we all know what happened last time a team went 16 - 0 in the regular season don't we Pats fans.  That's right, they lost in the big one to Eli Manning and the Giants!

Can the Packers go one better is the Question? What do you think EJ, do you believe the hype that they will go 19 – 0?

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Awesome its Q & A time:-

EJ – The game is on the line....4th and inches....what player would you want to get that yard to seal up the victory?

Adri - This one is easy Tim Tebow haha only joking, I would have to go with Adrian Peterson as he just keeps bouncing off hits it's ridiculous just how good he is!

EJ - If you were the defensive coordinator, what team would keep you up at night giving you the night sweats and nightmares, knowing that it will be very difficult to game plan against them?

Adri - Wow this one is a great question fella. The Packers this year are amazing but if you can stop Rodgers they would struggle to rely on their rushing game for an entire game I think, so it's not them!  Although it pains me greatly to say it I would have to say the Steelers because if you focus on stopping big Ben by dropping into coverage their running game will eat you alive. Likewise if you have too many men in the box, with the emergence of Antonio Brown playing alongside Miller, Wallace and Ward it becomes impossible to stop the passing game.

EJ - What current player just needs to hang up the cleats and retire due to being ineffective?

Adri - I can think off a couple to be honest. We are not seeing much off Shockey down in Carolina and so it might be time for him to hang up the old cleats.  I also think Vick needs to seriously contemplate retiring as he takes far too many hits every week with the way he runs and that offence just isn't clicking. Receiver problems can't be used as an excuse as the good teams find a way, look at the emergence of Harry Douglas when Julio Jones is injured or when New York had issues we were exposed to Victor Cruz and look how good both of those receivers are doing as the QB's get them the ball!

Thanks as always my good friend and I look forward to next weeks instalment of three brain teasers.

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Now it's time for the Two Minute Grill with questions provided by @LewisEnglish.

@LewisEnglish - How important is the loss of Matt Schaub for the Texans?

Adri - I think Schaub is a huge loss for the Texans, with his distribution and the lack of Andre Johnson it could be hard for them to overcome.  They have Leinart as their back up and I'm not sure how they will fair.  All I can say is that its a good job Foster is on fire and that they are in the AFC South.  Look for them to make the play-offs but loose in their first game!

@LewisEnglish - Is Demarco Murray the real deal?

Adri - I think given time he could be their franchise RB, he is starting to put up some good numbers every week in the absence of Felix Jones.

@LewisEnglish - Which conference is better?

Adri - At the moment I have to say the NFC is the best conference as 3 out 4 of the last Superbowl winners have been from the NFC.

@LewisEnglish - What is more important coaching or talent?

Adri - For me it is about the coaching staff.  You can have a team full of talent but if the coaching is bad then they won't make the play-offs will they Andy Reid! Also on that note apparently the Bills are a team of no names yet two weeks ago we were top of the AFC East thanks to Coach Gailey and his team.  I could give some more examples but feel it's best to leave it there.

@LewisEnglish - If you could go back in time and watch any game, what would it be?

Adri - I have only been watching the NFL for 21 years now and so have chosen something from this period. For me it would be one weekend instead of one game and that is the Conference Championship games from 2003-2004 season. It's a weekend I always remember as in both games one cornerback stole the show. For the NFC it was Ricky Manning Jr and for the AFC it was Ty Law. Both of them took the game by the scruff off the neck and recorded three picks against two of the best quarterbacks at the time!

@LewisEnglish - Who is the most underrated player in the league?

Adri - For me without question it is Fred Jackson.  The Buffalo coaching staff have also been guilty of that too. I remember a few seasons back I was screaming for him to get the starting job over Lynch and even when we drafted CJ Spiller he initially had to share the load even though he was by far the best RB we have.

Another set of great questions squire, I am thoroughly enjoying the Two Minute Grill.

For more great features and articles on our beloved NFL everyone should head
over to www.untilkickoff.com

Well folks in the words of Homer Simpson 'That's the end of that
chapter' and as always 'Thanks for stopping by'

Week Nine

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'Destroyed' is what happened to my Bills this week! The Jets were in town at the Ralph this week and it pains me to admit, they out muscled and out played us this week.

In the first half our defence was pretty immense holding them to just a field goal and forcing two turnovers. The 3rd quarter however was a different story as the Jets adjusted and rattled up 17 points and sadly at this point we knew the game was over much though I wanted to #Billieve. The Jets ended up winning this one 27 – 11.

One of the main things I learned from this game was that tickets to Revis Island are about as rare as finding a leprechaun, so happy hunting!

Despite our loss to the Jets, thanks to the other New Jersey team (The Giants) we are now in a three way tie at the top of the AFC East with the Patriots and Jets. This makes our division so interesting and the dolphins will play a big part in the run in with every division game almost as good as two wins!

OK so I will leave the AFC East there for this week but I'm afraid you will be hearing lots about it as the weeks unfold.  These last couple of weeks I have been saving myself from my mid week lack of NFL lull by listening to Dave Damesheks podcast. I strongly recommend checking it out, he brings a funny yet always insightful take on the weeks action. Dave and Adam Rank also jump in the old Delorean to bring us the upcoming weekends results! Here is the link for those interested:- http://davedameshek.nfl.com/

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There was some other big divisional games this week and according to their players, the biggest game away from the Superbowl is the Ravens vs Steelers.  I was listening to Terrell Suggs on total access last week and he was sharing his passion for beating up the Steelers and Big Ben. I totally get where he is coming from as I hate the Steelers with a passion.

It all stems from the Superbowl win over Seattle when big Ben dives for the end-zone, is short but then stretches his arm out with the ball over the goal line when the play is dead and they still give it as a TD.  A blatant cheat but he got away with it and it bugs me. He in my eyes is up there with the hand of god goal from Maradona in the 86 world cup!

Anyway I digress, back to their game with the Ravens. It was the early morning kick off over here so I didn't see all of it but I woke up with the Steelers leading 20 - 16 with a couple of minutes to go in the 4th. I like a lot of others assumed it was over and went back to sleep.

Boy did I get a shock in the morning when I found out Flacco drove the
Ravens down the field and got the winning score taking the game 23 – 20.

Here are all of the scores from the Week 9 action:-

New York Jets 27 vs 11 Buffalo
Seattle 13 vs 23 Dallas
Cleveland 12 vs 30 Houston
Atlanta 31 vs 7 Indianapolis
Miami 31 vs 3 Kansas City
Tampa Bay 16 vs 27 New Orleans
San Francisco 19 vs 11 Washington
Denver 38 vs 24 Oakland
Cincinnati 24 vs 17 Tennessee
St Louis 13 vs 19 Arizona
New York Giants 24 vs 20 New England
Green Bay 45 vs 38 San Diego
Baltimore 23 vs 20 Pittsburgh
Chicago 30 vs 24 Philadelphia

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Now its time for my Q & A session with my good friend EJ. As always here is his and @LewisEnglish's answers to my question from last week and my answers to his three pearler’s.

Adri - Which 3 NFL teams have the best uniforms?

EJ - In terms of uniforms, I am a classic/old school guy so I love the Packers and Steelers. I think my favourite though is when the Chargers bust out the pewter blue.


@LewisEnglish - My top three uniforms are 49ers, Packers and Bears. As you can see I am a traditionalist, but there are a few modern looks I like, the Ravens for example.  The Bills are close behind, but without the red helmet it isn't perfect.  My own team, the Texans have a boring bland uniform. I wish they would get some character.

OK so now time for me to answer EJ's beauties:-

EJ - Who is the comeback player of the year (someone who has been in the league previously, but is busting out this year)?

Adri - Well buddy for me there is only one answer to this question and it fits in nicely with your next question. My comeback player off the year (drum roll please) Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers. I know I have said it earlier in the year but with Cam Newton back there he is playing like he is reborn. They seem to have a great chemistry and I think the fact he has put up 918YDS speaks for itself, sure he only has 4TD's but Cam has run in a lot himself and let's not forget they are only 2 – 6.

EJ - Who will be the rookie of the year?

Adri - This is a tough question as there are quite a few rookies who are having great seasons. Andy Dalton and AJ Green in Cincinnati, of course they are helped by a great defence but you still have to get it done when you have the ball and I believe they are.

Then there is Julio Jones in Atlanta, we saw his pure ability this weekend with what was for me the catch of the season so far! Check it out http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-fantasy/09000d5d823d5b55/Ryan-and-Jones-go-deep-for-50-yard-TD-play

Finally you have my rookie of the season, I'm sure its no surprise that I would pick Cam Newton. All you need to do is look at his numbers and see how he gets that offense working week in and week out.  Carolina are looking like a tasty prospect next year and can't wait to see how he develops throughout his career.

EJ - If given an option to select any coach for your team, who would it be?

Adri - To be honest I wouldn't change Coach Gailey as I really like how he and Buddy Nix are running our franchise. They seem to follow the same ethics as Belichick in that you don't have to be a big name to be a star on the team. You just have to work and train hard and leave all you have on the field every Sunday!

Of course if I was forced to pick any other coach it would be Belichick or Payton with Payton being my number 1 choice.

Thanks as always for the questions EJ, I look forward to another 3 gems this week!

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From this week moving forwards this will be my new segment with my good twitter friend @LewisEnglish. We have decided to fulfil your lives with some more Q & A but this will be Q & A UK style, I hope you enjoy it!

@LewisEnglish - Which Redskins running back would you start?

Adri - I think now Hightower is out of the equation I would have to go with Helu as when called upon he seems to be putting up the numbers this year.

@LewisEnglish - If the Colts take Andrew Luck where does Manning end up?

Adri - I think where Manning ends up is purely reliant on his neck injury as to whether he plays again. I would make sure that I keep him in my organisation even if he is unable to play next year. He is practically an offensive coordinator on the pitch anyway so I would give he that position and keep him there to mentor Luck! When you have a QB as good as Manning you don't trade them at this point as he is more valuable on the sidelines in my opinion.

@LewisEnglish - You have to choose a QB and WR to complete a 99YD Hail Mary TD pass?

Adri - This one is a tough and great question. I think my QB would be Aaron Rodgers as there is no one better at his position at the moment and my receiver would be Wes Welker. Once Wes in the open field I don't see anyone catching him.

@LewisEnglish - If you could transport one player from the past to the 2011 Bills who would it be?

Adri - Number 78 Bruce Smith, the man was a total QB nightmare rushing from the end. There is a reason he is a Hall of Famer after all. I'm getting so geeked out at the thought of him, Dareus and Kyle Williams as our front three, it would be epic!

@LewisEnglish - One final question, name the London franchise?

Adri - I like this question, although I like the question more than the thought of us having a franchise to be honest. The international series games are amazing but I think one of the reasons for it is that it is a one off in the season. I like I'm sure a lot of fans wouldn't change my loyalty away from the Bills and I think we may have a situation where people only go to see the away team thus taking away the home field advantage. Also it would be a logistical nightmare.

Anyway that's my rant over on that one for now, if we did have one I like going back to the Monarchs as it makes sense or as an alternative the London Executioners because of its ties with the white tower. My other favourite is stolen from Family Guy and that's the London Silly Nannies! How funny would that be!!!

Great questions buddy and I hope you like my answers. I look forward to your instalment of questions for next week!

As always don’t forget to check out my favourite watches on NFL.com in the Top 5 Catches, Top 5 Nuttiest moments and The Shame report!

Ladies and Gents, this week has been emotional and so until next time 'Thanks for Stopping By!'

Week Eight

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Well I am sure that we are all thinking the same thing this week, what on earth happened to New Orleans??? I mean scoring over 60 points one week and beaten by a winless team the next is just obscured!  With that in mind, I did hear a stat this week which just stunned me.  Including now the Saints, teams that have scored over 60 points are just 2 - 7 in their ensuing games. I find this simply mind blowing as surely you stick to what's working and use it in the next game?

Thanks to the Saints I was only 9 out of 12 on my Sunday predictions this week, still can't grumble at 75% accuracy I suppose!

I now move onto the other winless teams going into this week, Miami and Indianapolis. Both teams had high hopes this week as the Colts were up against the Titans who have seen little to no production from their star man Chris Johnson and the Dolphins were up against Mr hit and miss Eli Manning.

Miami started off really well by leading the Giants at half time. I was seriously worried for the Giants as it looked like nothing was working for the offence and Reggie Bush was having a great game.  Unfortunately for the Dolphins they managed to hit the self destruct button and let the Giants come back to win the game 20 – 17.

What can I say about the Colts, the answer is nothing really. Without Peyton Manning at the helm, the offence isn't putting up the points and getting into big leads which allow their quick defence to make plays! I may be wrong but I seriously think they will be the worst team this year by some way and will get one win, two at most! Would love to hear what you guys think, Colts for first draft pick next year?

2nd Down

I feel that I have done well to leave my awesome Bills until now.  After shutting out an all be it below par Redskins team (Sorry big dog), will people please take us seriously now. We are top of the AFC East and we have beaten the Patriots and Eagles to get there! We are definitely heading to the play-offs this year and after years of searching we finally have a franchise coach in Mr Gailey!

I like his style and the way he has our team of apparently no named stars playing right now shows his quality as a coach.  OK so my Bills rant is over for now so let's catch up on the scores from week 8:-

Arizona 27 vs 30 Baltimore
Minnesota 24 vs 21 Carolina
Jacksonville 14 vs 24 Houston
Miami 17 vs 20 New York Giants
New Orleans 21 vs 31 St Louis
Indianapolis 10 vs 27 Tennessee
Washington 0 vs 23 Buffalo
Detroit 45 vs 10 Denver
New England 17 vs Pittsburgh
Cleveland 10 vs 20 San Francisco
Cincinnati 34 vs 12 Seattle
Dallas 7 vs 34 Philadelphia
San Diego 20 vs 23 Kansas City

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OK so now it's time for the questions from EJ and my responses, I hope you enjoy  them!

EJ - Name the top 5 play-makers in the league?

Adri - This is a tough one to put them in order as the players I have in mind can barely be separated but here goes:-

No 1, Troy Polamalu - This guy is just a beast of a defender and the Steelers certainly suffer when he is not on the field. He tackles like a linebacker when he is at the line of scrimmage and of all the backs I've seen he has made some phenomenal picks like the one hander I showed earlier in the year. Finally how about his impact on the last play against the Patriots on Sunday, Brady gets sacked and fumbles the ball and who is there to illegally punch the ball backwards towards the end-zone, the one and only Polamalu. I guess as the ref’s didn't see it, it becomes legal but hey ho.

No 2, Adrian Peterson - I was in and out of the Minnesota game this week but every time I see him carry the ball I get excited. He runs through defenders like there not there. He's such a powerful runner even though his physique might not show it. By this I mean when you look at him compared to someone like Brandon Jacobs he is small! To have a career average of 4.8YDS per carry just shows how amazing this guy is and why he is my No 2.

No 3, Devin Hester - I think this one speaks for itself when you say return specialist. I have seen teams deliberately kick it out of bounds when he is back to receive the kick / punt just so they don't concede a TD. All I need to say is he has only been in the league since 2006 and he is already the NFL's leading kick / punt returner with 16 TD'S.

No 4, Calvin Johnson aka Megatron - Firstly you don't get a nickname like that if your only an average receiver. This guy just seems to catch anything thrown his way. I have already seen instances this season where Stafford is being rushed and needs to throw it, Megatron is double covered but the ball is thrown to him anyway and wouldn't you know it he comes out winner of the jump ball to score a TD. He is still a young receiver and has a great career ahead of him, keep an eye on him, he is a special player.

No 5, Brian Urlacher - Again with this one I think you only have to look at his career stats to know that he gets it done, period!  Whenever the Bears need a big play on defence he comes up trumps whether it be a forced fumble or interception. I know he is coming to the end of his career but we all know when he retires the Bears will struggle to replace him as both a player and a leader on the field.

That's my top five buddy but I also have to give a special mention to one of my favourite receivers Brandon Lloyd. I have seen this guy make so many spectacular catches and there is rarely a week goes by when he is not in the top 5 catches of the week!

EJ - Is Tim Tebow the real deal?

Adri - I have seen enough of Tebow these last couple of weeks to give my answer on this one. Simply put no is my answer, he is a great runner with the ball but you only have to look at his production against Miami for example, he did nothing in the first three quarters and against any other team they would have been punished and his late scores would have been no more than a consolidation. On a final Tebow note, look at the other young QB'S like Dalton, nowhere near as much hype as Tim but managing to get the job done in Cincinnati.  Here's a thinker for you, what would you say to bulking him up a bit and turning him into a receiver or running back??

EJ - Name 2 average teams now that are going to make a strong run into the play-offs and 2 good teams now that are going to blow a tire preventing them from the play-offs?  Just to clarify this one is based on records rather than quality.

Adri - My first average team to make the play-offs is Kansas City, after a bad start they are putting a run of wins together and after seeing off the Chargers last night, I think they will win the AFC West!

My second team is the Eagles, again a slow starter but they are too good not to make it into the play-offs this year.

This leads me into my first team to fall off the play-off wagon, the Eagles division rivals the Giants. I just don't think Eli has it in him to sustain his current good form.

Finally despite their current 5 - 2 record I don't think the Bengals will make it as the Steelers and Ravens are too strong not to top the AFC North.

Awesome questions EJ, let me know what you think to my answers old boy please.

4th Down

I hope you all like my little Q and A sessions with EJ, I've said before and I will say it again that its good to have banter with those more in the know than myself when it comes to all things NFL.

With that in mind EJ, I do have one question for you which ties in with how my new twitter friend @LewisEnglish does his weekly predictions.  Which 3 NFL teams have the best uniforms?

I would love to get your take on that one as well please @LewisEnglish.  In case your wondering @LewisEnglish bases his weekly predictions on the teams with the best uniforms in that match up.  A novel idea and surprising how effective it is. If you get the chance to, please check out www.untilkickoff.com

I really enjoyed answering your questions this week EJ as it really gets me thinking. Please can I have three more pearler’s from you again this week buddy? As always my answers will be in next weeks 3rd down.

Finally this week I just want to say I am already stoked about next week as my Bills are back on sky sports for our divisional game against the Jets of New Jersey. There's only one team that actually plays in the state of New York, remember that residents of Meadowlands / now Metlife arena!

Let's Go Buffalo!

As always ladies and gents, 'Thanks for stopping by'