Sunday Observations

I would like to say that the Star Wars in concert show was a wonderful treat. All my favorite john Williams music with a movie scenes on a jumbo tron. The orchestra was perfect and the sound was very good. Anthony Daniels, the actor who played C3PO narrated the show in person and was very entertaining.

The orchestra got a standing ovation at the end by the TD Garden crowd, and they did an encore of Vader's Anthem to close the show. I had a great time.

Of course we all then went out until close in Boston, so I am a little slow today. Still, I am waking up for the huge game tonight between the Patriots and the Colts. I was shocked at some of the early game results, so just a quick recap.

Bengals 18, Steelers 12
This was pretty surprising. I guess I still do not give the Bengals enough credit. I will now. Season sweeps of both the Steelers and the Ravens leaves the AFC North entirely in their hands. I guess 8 years of #1 draft picks eventually catches up with a team!

The Bengals are 7-2 now and their next 4 games are very favorable. The Steelers will have to play to win now as they may need to grab a wildcard to get into the show. Amazing turnaround for Cincy.

Jaguars 24, Jets 22
In a battle of 4-4 teams looking to try and make something out of the season, the Jags run all over the Jets and score late to wrap up the win. At 5-4 the Jaguars have dim playoff hopes, but they are still alive.

What to make of the Jets? Where is that "number one" defense? Why do they turn the ball over so much? I cannot answer these questions but at 4-5 the Jets are in trouble. A loss next week at New England and it is dagger time for their season. Does ESPN's Tom Jackson still think the Jets are going to the Superbowl? If they buy tickets maybe so!.

Redskins 27, Broncos 17
Another upset. The lowly Redskins use every trick in the book and get help by a hurt Kyle Orton to win their 3rd game. Denver is on a skid right now and will play the Chargers (who are beating the Eagles early in their game) next week in a game that suddenly means much more than I thought it would 2 weeks ago.

What ails the Broncos? Limited run game, short passing game, and a defense that is getting a bit worn down look to be the problems. Next week will be big.

Other Games
-The Buccaneers grossly mis-manage the clock at the end of the game and kill their chance to beat the Dolphins. Dolphins 25, Bucs 23

-The Saints continue to play bad football, turn the ball over, and suffer yet another monster injury in the secondary. They still beat the Rams, but things are getting a bit darker for the Saints. Saints 28, Rams 23.

-The Titans continue to show they have not mailed in this season, blowing out the Bills. Titans 41, Bills 17.

-The Vikings keep rolling. Adrian Peterson is going to have practice holding the football all week I imagine. Vikings 27, Lions 10.

-The Falcons continue to be up and down, dropping a game to the resurgent Panthers. It is hard to get a solid read on either of these teams at this point. Panthers 28, Falcons 19

Late Games in Progress as of writing:
-The Cowboys are having a hard go against the Packers, just as Gawains predicted and I did not. Uh oh.

-The Chargers no doubt saw the Broncos score and are leading the Eagles going into the 3rd quarter.

New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts
The weeks biggest game by far.

I could talk about this game all night, but I will keep it short. To win the Patriots will have to score 28 to 31 points and the safety play on Dallas Clarke will have to be good. Anything less will not get it done. Can the Pats score 28-31 points? Maybe, with a few turnovers then probably. This should be a high level game but the Colts have the home field and recent history on their side.

Addendum: The Automatic Earth has a new article up tonight that addresses many of the very things that are wrong right now. Of course the writing over there is a bit better than mine, so you should check this one out:
Instant Gratification
TAE is running their Fall Fund Drive and if you appreciate the work done over there as much as I do, you could pass along a small gift to help the site run.

Have a good night.