As Michael Vick knows, when you play with underdogs, you're bound to git bit in da butt now and again, but dp otherwise definitely proved to be downright prophetic.
dp breathed a deep sigh of relief after Charles Woodson's 57-yard scoop and score gave the Packers a 17-14 victory over the Redskins. Coming off a bye week spent dissecting 5 games of Green Bay film, the Redskins unleashed a great defensive game plan designed to stop Brett Favre. First, to prevent the efficient, quick-hitting short passes Mike McCarthy favors, the Skins rolled up cornerbacks Shawn Springs, Fred Smoot, and Carlos Rogers to play tight man-to-man coverage on Packers WRs Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, and James Jones. With his outside options jammed at the line of scrimmage, Favre couldn't throw the quick slants, outs, and hitches the Packers have exploited for great gain all year. Second, Washington blitzed often, gambling that with Favre's receivers tied up at the snap, the 'Skins could sack him or force him to throw before anyone came open downfield. It worked about as well as defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo could expect, as Favre didn't have a touchdown pass and served up two interceptions. Luckily, Woodson justified his expensive contract with a single game-breaking play. Strike the Heisman, C-Wood! Take that arm, and FLICK, just let it go....
Despite Green Bay's sputtering offense, dp thinks the Pack will utilize the bye week to rest, recover, regroup, and reload. McCarthy and Favre will be able to plot some new looks and come out with a reinvigorated offense in Week 8. Tellingly, the Packers adjusted at halftime by planning to throw deep and make the Skins pay for their aggressive pass coverage. Unfortunately, safety Sean Taylor picked off Favre's deep pass on the Packers' first 3rd quarter drive. dp actually felt relatively good when Favre threw his second interception. On a counterstrike option designed to expose the 'Skins aggressive press coverage, Favre pump-faked a quick slant to Jones, who then burst to the outside past a badly burned corner. Unfortunately, rather than lasering a 20-yard line drive pass, Favre fluttered a 40-yard floater, giving Taylor enough time to move across the field to snatch his second leaping pick. dp is confident that Favre will smooth out these and other new wrinkles and rebound with a great Week 8 performance on Monday night in Denver.
New England is hotter than Gisele Bundchen on a runway in Paris after Sunday's 41-27 FLICKing of the Cowboys in Big D. With a career-best 5 TD passes against Dallas to extend his NFL-leading total to a record 21 through six games, Tom Brady is hitting his receivers like they were supermodels- that is to say, in stride with great frequency of endzone penetration.
Seriously, at 6-0 and boasting a 230-92 total point differential, Belichick's cheaters are threatening to go unbeaten this year. The only way the Pats' lovefest gets broken up is if Brady gets sacked and buried by a wild pack of steaming A-list divas. Who knows, perhaps Gisele actually will intercept Bridget's baby....
Finally, in a less photogenic game, Philly defeated the Jets 16-9 to move to 2-3 (and 9-0 in games following a bye week under Andy Reid.) dp is once again Doctor Predictor, already off and looking for five Week 7 winners.Week 6: 4-2
Season: 12-9
