NFL Week 4 Katy Perry Report
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Jaguars Offense- David Garrard was sensational, going 27/37 for 323 and three TD’s, two of those to emerging star Mike Sims-Walker.
Rashard Mendenhall- After being benched last week, Mendenhall replaced the injured Willie Parker and rushed 29 times for 165 yards and two scores in Pittsburgh’s big win over San Diego.
Steve Smith- Didn’t he have a bye? No, the Giants wideout had 11 catches for 134 and two scored as the Giants beat up Kansas City 27-16 to go to 4-0.
Brett Favre- With all eyes on him and Adrian Peterson struggling, Favre stepped his game up to the tune of 24/31 for 272 and three TD’s as Minnesota beat Green Bay 30-23 to go to 4-0. Honorable mention goes to Aaron Rodgers, who had a helluva game himself in defeat.
San Francisco’s Defense- They not only shut out the hapless Rams, they limited them to 82 passing yards and recorded five sacks in a 35-0 win, half of them by Patrick Willis.
Elvis Dumervil- With DeMarcus Ware on the other sideline, the Denver DE did his best impression, getting two sacks in a huge 17-10 come from behind win. Dumervil has eight sacks in four games and is the frontrunner for the DPOY as we’ve reached the season’s quarter mark.
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The Raiders- Oakland managed 165 yards on 57 plays, with JaMarcus Russell completing 12 of his 33 passes in a 29-6 loss to Houston, despite the Texans going 1-5 in the red zone. Da Raidaz had more penalty yards (60) than total rushing yards (45).
Tampa Bay’s Offense- Despite getting off to a 10-0 lead over the awful Redskins and forcing four turnovers, the Bucs mustered just 100 yards of passing and went 2-13 on third downs to fall to Washington 16-13.
Buffalo Bills- Buffalo was thoroughly dominated by Miami in their 38-10 loss on Sunday. The Dolphins outrushed the Bills 250-46, won in total plays 73-49, held the ball for over 37 minutes and forced three Trent Edwards interceptions. Dick Jauron’s seat is getting pretty toasty up there. Yahoo! Sports pointed this out on Monday, but it bears repeating: the three teams that fired its offensive coordinators just before the season started, Buffalo, Tampa and Kansas City are a combined 1-11 thus far.
Mark Sanchez- The Jets rookie has been sensational, but ran into trouble Sunday at the Superdome. Sanchez threw three picks, one returned for a TD, and lost a fumble in the end zone that was the team’s downfall in New York’s 24-10 loss to New Orleans as the Saints remained unbeaten.
Game 163 Preview
The Twins have won 16 of their last 20 games without elite slugger Justin Morneau, and are flying high going into their one game playoff with the Detroit Tigers to decide the AL Central championship.
Detroit struggled in September to finish 86-76, and the Tigers hopes will rest on the shoulders of 20-year-old rookie Rick Porcello (14-9, 4.04, 1.35) who is 0-2 with a 6.30 ERA in two starts this season at the Metrodome. The Tigers have had confidence in Porcello’s abilities all year long and they’ll give him the ball in the biggest start of his young life.
Porcello will be opposed by Minnesota’s Scott Baker (15-9, 4.36, 1.19), who has only walked 46 batters in 194 innings this season, but has allowed a whopping 27 homers. Baker is 6-5 with a 4.55 ERA this season at home.
The big storyline that seems to be overshadowing the game itself is the behavior of Detroit’s best hitter, righty slugging 1B Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera was in a domestic dispute with his wife over the weekend, and was arrested for drunken driving at 5 a.m. on Saturday morning with a .26 blood alchohol level, three times above the legal limit, according to Michigan police. Reporters will be hounding Cabrera all day long as he prepares for the 5 p.m. game being shown on TBS.
The winner will face the Yankees in the American League Division Series beginning either Wednesday or Thursday, depending on what the Yankees choose after the game. Expect New York to play on Wednesday if Detroit wins to limit the starts or rest that Tigers ace Justin Verlander can have. Either way, game 163 will always be a memorable one.
If the Twins do lose this game, it will be the last game the team plays in the Metrodome, which has hosted many a memorable game, including two world series, featuring the epic game seven of the 1991 World Series that saw Jack Morris outduel John Smoltz in an epic, 10 inning classic. Minnesota has never lost a World Series game at the Metrodome, and the loud crowd will play a big role in this afternoon’s outcome. Tigers-Twins at 5 p.m. today, it’ll be a memorable game no matter what happens.
