Read This
If there is a can’t-miss article this week, try this one by Brad Sham:
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Ken Hamlin Highlights
I don’t often watch Cowboys Insider on FSN, but here is a bit from Wednesday’s show. Safety Ken Hamlin was miked up in last Sunday’s win:
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Team Stat Projections
After week 4 (vs. St. Louis), I offered projections of the stats based on the performances in the first four games. Here is an update:
| Category | 2006 | 2007 (proj. after 4 games) |
2007 (proj. after 8 games) |
| Offense | |||
| First Downs | 336 | 356 | 344 |
| 3rd Down Conversions | 100/205 | 92/204 | 102/208 |
| Offensive Yards | 5772 | 7052 | 6496 |
| Offensive Plays | 1025 | 1004 | 996 |
| Ave. Per Play | 5.7 | 7.0 | 6.5 |
| Rushing Yards | 1936 | 2440 | 2046 |
| Rushing Att. | 472 | 496 | 446 |
| Rushing Ave. | 4.1 | 4.9 | 4.6 |
| Passing Yards | 3836 | 4612 | 4450 |
| Comp.-Att. | 310-506 | 288-484 | 340-528 |
| Comp. % | 61.30% | 59.50% | 64.40% |
| Int. Thrown | 21 | 12 | 20 |
| Sacks Allowed | 37 | 24 | 22 |
| Field Goals | 20/28 | 24/28 | 28/32 |
| Field Goal % | 71.40% | 85.70% | 87.50% |
| Touchdowns | 52 | 76 | 64 |
| Time of Possession | 31:02 | 32:47 | 31:09 |
| Defense | |||
| Opp. First Down | 294 | 284 | 290 |
| Yards Allowed | 5165 | 4792 | 4774 |
| Rushing Yards Allowed | 1659 | 1288 | 1350 |
| Passing Yards Allowed | 3506 | 3504 | 3424 |
| Sacks Recorded | 34 | 36 | 42 |
| Int. | 18 | 36 | 24 |
Individual Statistics
Here are the updates for the individuals:
Tony Romo
2006: 337 att., 220 comp., 65.3% comp., 2903 yards, 19 TD, 13 Int., 95.1 rating
2007 (projected after 4 games): 484 att., 288 comp., 59.5% comp., 4796 yards, 44 TD, 12 Int., 112.9 rating
2007 (projected after 8 games): 528 att., 340 comp., 64.4% comp., 4616 yards, 38 TD, 20 Int., 100.4 rating
Marion Barber
2006: 135 att., 654 yards, 4.8 ave., 14 TD
2007 (projected after 4 games): 192 att., 1224 yards, 6.4 ave., 16 TD
2007 (projected after 8 games): 200 att., 1070 yards, 5.4 ave., 12 TD
Julius Jones
2006: 267 att., 1084 yards, 4.1 ave., 4 TD
2007 (projected after 4 games): 204 att., 704 yards, 3.5 ave., 4 TD
2007 (projected after 8 games): 182 att., 706 yards, 3.9 ave., 4 TD
Terrell Owens
2006: 85 rec., 1180 yards, 13.9 ave., 13 TD
2007 (projected after 4 games): 76 rec., 1448 yards, 19.1 ave., 12 TD
2007 (projected after 8 games): 88 rec., 1460 yards, 16.6 ave., 12 TD
Patrick Crayton
2006: 36 rec., 516 yards, 14.3 ave., 4 TD
2007 (projected after 4 games): 52 rec., 1048 yards, 20.2 ave., 8 TD
2007 (projected after 8 games): 52 rec., 800 yards, 15.4 ave., 8 TD
Jason Witten
2006: 64 rec., 754 yards, 11.8 ave., 1 TD
2007 (projected after 4 games): 80 rec., 1216 yards, 15.2 ave., 12 TD
2007 (projected after 8 games): 90 rec., 1234 yards, 13.7 ave., 10 TD
Sack Leader
2006: DeMarcus Ware: 12 sacks
2007 (projected after 4 games): DeMarcus Ware: 12 sacks
2007 (projected after 8 games): DeMarcus Ware: 14 sacks
Interception Leader
2006: Roy Williams: 5 int.
2007 (projected after 4 games): Anthony Henry: 16 int.
2007 (projected after 8 games): Anthony Henry: 10 int.
Thurman’s Thieves (7-2)
No incredibly stupid moves this week, but I did keep Drew Brees (27.7 points) on the bench in favor of Derek Anderson (16.1). This looked really bad for a while on Sunday, because Brees had already played by the time that the Browns-Seahawks game started, and Anderson did not start well. Didn’t turn out to be a big deal, though.
My hero this week? LB James Harrison, which was a name that I had not heard until I picked him up blindly a couple of weeks ago. Nine tackles, four sacks, and 27.8 points later, he’s staying put.
Pigskin Pick’em
Week 9: 7/14
Season: 68/130
Average: 62.1/130
Best: 88/130
Good decisions:
* Green Bay was an underdog (+2 1/2) at Kansas City but pulled out the 11-point win.
* I was somewhat concerned about taking Detroit over Denver, but after the Lions pulled out a 44-7 win, I worried for not.
* The Cowboys covered much easier than I expected, given that Dallas has had so much trouble at Philadelphia.
So wrong:
* Not sure why I took San Francisco, except that I knew that the Georgia Dome had not sold out. Not a good reason.
* Cincinnati has imploded. Should have gone with Buffalo.
* Recall the Golden Rule: Don’t bet against New England. Except when the Patriots are favored by 5 1/2 at Indianpolis.
