NFL Week 11/MLS Cup Final Live Blog

I'm watching the Eagles game tonight.  Against the Giants.  With Vince Young starting for the Eagles.  Yes, I am a masochist.

NFL Week 11 Schedule

I am working on something big that will hopefully appear later this week, but until then, here is your Week 11 schedule.  Yes, I actually remembered to post this on Tuesday for once.  I am as impressed as you are. (all times ET; games I get are in bold)

Thursday Night Football

New York Jets vs. Denver Broncos  8:20 (NFL Network - Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)

Map of who gets what Sunday afternoon games

Fox games

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Green Bay Packers  1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
Carolina Panthers vs. Detroit Lions  1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)

Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers  4:05 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)
Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams  4:05 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)

CBS early games

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens  1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins  1:00 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)
Oakland Raiders vs. Minnesota Vikings  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harland and Solomon Wilcots)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Cleveland Browns  1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker)

America's Game Of The Week and other CBS late games

San Diego Chargers vs. Chicago Bears  4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Tennessee Titans vs. Atlanta Falcons  4:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)

Sunday Night Football

Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Giants  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

Kansas City Chiefs vs. New England Patriots  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Suzy Kolber)

NFL Week 2 Schedule

Well that was a fun week of football.  Well for the most part.  If you've used brain bleach to erase everything that was that 2nd Monday Night Football game disaster, which I assume all who have stayed up have at this point.  Who played in that game, again? (games I get are in bold)

Map of who gets what games Sunday afternoon.

Fox games

Chicago Bears vs. New Orleans Saints  1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Minnesota Vikings  1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)
Green Bay Packers vs. Carolina Panthers  1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and Jim Mora, Jr.)
Arizona Cardinals vs. Washington Redskins  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)

Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers  4:05 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)

CBS early games

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New York Jets  1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Cleveland Browns vs. Indianapolis Colts  1:00 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)
Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans  1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker)
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Detroit Lions  1:00 (CBS - Don Criqui and Randy Cross)

CBS late games

San Diego Chargers vs. New England Patriots  4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Houston Texans vs. Miami Dolphins  4:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Denver Broncos  4:15 (CBS - Spero Dedes and Steve Beuerlein)

Sunday Night Football

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Atlanta Falcons  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

St. Louis Rams vs. New York Giants  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Suzy Kolber)

2010 Eagles And Primetime NFL Schedules

Personally, I am not a fan of evaluating how difficult a schedule is 2 days before the NFL Draft, but the schedules were released today so for that much, I will post them. Here below is the Eagles schedule, as well as the Sunday Night Football schedule, Monday Night Football Schedule, and Thursday Night Football schedule.

Eagles

September 12: vs. Green Bay 4:15 (Fox)
September 19: @ Detroit 1:00 (Fox)
September 26: @ Jacksonville 4:05 (Fox)
October 3: vs. Washington 4:15 (Fox) (<-- OMG MCNABB BOWL)
October 10: @ San Francisco 8:20 (NBC)
October 17: vs. Atlanta 1:00 (Fox)
October 24: @ Tennessee 1:00 (Fox)
November 7: vs. Indianapolis 4:15 (CBS)
November 15: @ Washington 8:30 (ESPN) (<-- OMG IT'S ANOTHER MCNABB BOWL)
November 21: vs. New York Giants 8:20 (NBC)
November 28: @ Chicago 1:00 (Fox)
December 2: vs. Houston 8:20 (NFL Network)
December 12: @ Dallas 8:20 (NBC)
December 19: @ New York Giants 1:00 (Fox)
December 26: vs. Minnesota 1:00 (Fox)
January 2: vs. Dallas 1:00 (Fox)

Sunday Night Football (all games at 8:20 unless otherwise noted)

September 9: Minnesota vs. New Orleans 8:30
September 12: Dallas vs. Washington
September 19: New York Giants vs. Indianapolis
September 26: New York Jets vs. Miami
October 3: Chicago vs. New York Giants
October 10: Philadelphia vs. San Francisco
October 17: Indianapolis vs. Washington
October 24: Minnesota vs. Green Bay (<-- OMG A FAVRE BOWL)
October 31: Pittsburgh vs. New Orleans
November 7: Dallas vs. Green Bay
November 14: Pittsburgh vs. New England
November 21: New York Giants vs. Philadelphia (1st Flexible Game)
November 28: San Diego vs. Indianapolis
December 5: Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore
December 12: Philadelphia vs. Dallas
December 19: Green Bay vs. New England
December 26: Cincinnati vs. San Diego

As always, no SNF game is even penciled in for Week 17. That decision will be made by December 27.

Monday Night Football (all games at 8:30 unless otherwise noted)

September 13: Baltimore vs. New York Jets 7:00
September 13: San Diego vs. Kansas City 10:15
September 20: New Orleans vs. San Francisco
September 27: Green Bay vs. Chicago
October 4: New England vs. Miami
October 11: Minnesota vs. New York Jets
October 18: Tennessee vs. Jacksonville
October 25: New York Giants vs. Dallas
November 1: Houston vs. Indianapolis
November 8: Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati
November 15: Philadelphia vs. Washington (<-- OMG MNF MCNABB BOWL THIS GUY WILL MAKE IT GREAT)
November 22: Denver vs. San Diego
November 29: San Francisco vs. Arizona
December 6: New York Jets vs. New England
December 13: Baltimore vs. Houston
December 20: Chicago vs. Minnesota
December 27: New Orleans vs. Atlanta

Thursday Night Football Schedule (all games at 8:00 unless otherwise noted)

November 11: Baltimore vs. Atlanta
November 18: Chicago vs. Miami
November 25: Cincinnati vs. New York Jets
December 2: Houston vs. Philadelphia
December 9: Indianapolis vs. Tennessee
December 16: San Francisco vs. San Diego
December 23: Carolina vs. Pittsburgh
December 25: Dallas vs. Arizona 7:30

I've seen numerous schedules where the Eagles had 5 primetime games in a season, but I don't ever recall one where they were giving 6 right from the get-go like they were this year. And the funny thing is, I can't even tell you if this is going to be a playoff team or not. They have gotten considerably younger and I have absolutely no idea what to expect from this team now, mainly because, our oldest player is Juqua Parker and he (ironically) got off on a pot charge yesterday (April 20). Oh, and Juqua is not exactly Brett Favre old. He's 31.

Aspeaking of football, do join us as we live blog the entire NFL Draft, which on Thursday will consist of me trying (and likely failing) to follow and talk about both the draft and the Flyers game, which starts 30 minutes before the Draft.

Giants Fans Do Not Appreciate DeSean Jackson Walking Backwards Into The Endzone

First off, what a game that was last night. Certainly one of the most entertaining 3 and a half hours of regular season football that you could watch no matter who you are.

Mike Vick is finally starting to have a positive impact on the field in this Eagles offense (surely much to the chagrin of the 1 fan out of thousands is sticking to their threatened boycott of the Eagles after the signing), and DeSean Jackson is a mother fucking beast. He seriously has more than take over the role of Brian Dawkins as my favorite Eagle. The guy is just awesome and last night, he proved once again why Brent Musburger deemed him the "Wizard of Returns".

Aspeaking of DeSean Jackson, there was an incident last night and I am not talking about his 2 spectaular touchdowns. Well, actually, yes, I'm talking about the one, but not because of anything he did. Rich Hoffman of the Philadelphia Daily News made a rather interesting observation following his 60-yard TD catch in the game.

With outrageous protection from the offensive line, McNabb waited and waited and watched Jackson run completely clear. The 60-yard touchdown was accomplished with Jackson running effortlessly (and backward) into the end zone. There, he did a "Riverdance" kind of thing as celebration and was greeted by two launched beer bottles from the stands in reply.

Again, this is not to say that Philly sports fans are perfect angels, but if this was a Philly fan that did this to Hakeem Nicks or Mario Manningham, it's a national headline and the New York Post will cry of our foul depravity. Oh wait, they do that anyways.

Regardless, do you get my point? Granted maybe there has not been enough time for this story to develop, but why is this not gaining the national attention it would if it were an Eagles fan throwing a bottle at Nicks? It's the point I've been making all along, Philly being a sports hooligan town is only perceived that way because of the past reputation from booing Santa and cheering an unconscious Irvin that whenever an incident occurs at a Philly game, there is a national outcry along with national headlines, yet, when shit like this happens elsewhere, it just gets buried in a blurb in a Philly article summarizing the game. Don't take me out of context here, I'm not saying shit does not happen in Philly games, I'm just saying it happens elsewhere and people only care when it is occuring at Philly games.

Here is the video of the TD, and I type this from a lab with a horrible screen so I can't make out much of anything, other than a guy in a white shirt catches some brown thing and scores a touchdown and Al Michaels uses the term "street ball", but here it is anyway for your enjoyment.



Enough of my soapbox rant and now onto more videos of this great game.

The highlights of the game featuring the great Merrill Reese calling the big Eagles play, including the touchdown from above, Jackson's big punt return, and another Vick TD.



Remember the last time the Eagles played the Giants and DeSean Jackson tried to bump Andy Reid? Yeah, the result of that is now my Blogger profile pic. Well, they tried it again this week and here is how it went down.



DJax is my hero. End of story.

Week 14 NFL Live Blog

is here. My internet still does not work but I'll come once in awhile to yuck it up and what not. That does not mean that you should not come as well, though!

E.J. Henderson May Not Be Human

You can never fully trust the word of a doctor commenting on the injury of someone that he has never seen or evaluated, but if what Dr. David Thorson says is true, then we may be seeing E.J. Henderson back by training camp. No, that's not in a wheelchair maybe walking and saying hi to his old teammates back, I'm talking about putting on pads and helmet and actually hitting people back. Via the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

"Assuming everything is as it should be, my guess is he'll be participating in training camp," said David Thorson, a physician who works with the St. Paul Saints, Twin Cities Marathon and the U.S. ski team. "The bone heals fast, and he's a healthy guy."

Thorson said the femur — the longest and strongest bone in the body — should heal in six to eight weeks and that Henderson could resume running in eight to 12 weeks.

Athletes, though, typically need about nine months to fully recover from the fractured femur.

"There's a physical recovery and a psychological recovery," Thorson said. "Sometimes, the psychological takes longer."

Thorson said he has worked with six professional athletes — most of them skiers — who suffered fractured femurs and all of them returned to competition the next season. Thorson noted that skiers put much more stress on the leg than a football player because of the centrifugal force.

"Every athlete I've had was competing at a high level after (successful surgery) and competing at a high level a year later," Thorson said. " "They're not 100 percent back, but they're back doing what they need to do."

Thorson watched the Vikings' 30-17 loss Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals and saw Henderson's injury.


Like many fans and teammates, Thorson was horrified by the unnatural bend of Henderson's left leg.

"I said this isn't good the way the knee went," Thorson said.

But after learning that Henderson had a fractured femur, Thorson said the player should feel fortunate that he didn't suffer a serious knee injury.

"In some respects, this may be better news than other injuries," Thorson said. "(Major knee injuries) can be more difficult to recover from."

Okay, that is disgusting on so many levels. And here I was thinking he would be lucky if he could ever walk right again.

While it is certainly good for the Vikings that Henderson will be back by training camp, him being done for the year certainly puts them in a bit of a bind defensively as Jared Allen cannot be playing 12 positions at once and the Williams can't be on the field for more than half the game. Yes, they really do spend 30 minutes of game time devouring cheeseburgers. That secondary is susceptible to the passing attack if Kurt Warner showed us anything at all on Sunday and the Vikings would be in big time trouble if they have to go against the Saints in the playoffs. Message to Andy Reid: just because a team is susceptible to the pass does not mean you can throw it on literally every play of the game!!! If you try to do that Andrew Walter Reid, Pat Williams will be picking off 30-yard deep balls in no time.

But going back to E.J. Henderson, if you have been living under a rock and have not seen this video yet, I would advise you to see it just so that you can appreciate how amazing it is that this guy can be back by training camp. Then again, if you are at all squeamish to odd contortions of the human leg, I would advise you to not to watch it and just take my word that this would be an incredible recovery.

Your Week 14 NFL Schedule

Week 14 already? Oh my! CBS has the double header this week, but Fox has a shitload of games on it's regional coverage, so much so that they are calling in Chris Rose to work a game and they are one game away from bringing in Barry Tompkins and Eddie George after all. What a shame that we're not. Anyways, here is your Week 14 NFL Schedule complete with links to the maps and the announcers. This is the last weekend I will be around full time for the live blogs until the conference championships. Are you ready? Here we go! (games I get are in bold; all times eastern)

Thursday Night Football
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns 8:20 (NFL Network - Bob Papa and Matt Millen)

Map of who gets what Fox game

New Orleans Saints @ Atlanta Falcons 1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Carolina Panthers @ New England Patriots 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
Detroit Lions @ Baltimore Ravens 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
Seattle Seahawks @ Houston Texans 1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)

Washington Redskins @ Oakland Raiders 4:05 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Charles Davis)
St. Louis Rams @ Tennessee Titans 4:05 (Fox - Chris Rose and Trent Green)

Map of who gets what CBS early game

Cincinnati Bengals @ Minnesota Vikings 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Denver Broncos @ Indianapolis Colts 1:00 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Miami Dolphins @ Jacksonville Jaguars 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
New York Jets @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)
Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein)

Map of who gets the CBS late game and who gets blacked out

San Diego Chargers @ Dallas Cowboys 4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)

Sunday Night Football
Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Giants 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football
Arizona Cardinals @ San Francisco 49ers 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

I've got three decently looking games including the Saints trying to get one step closer to 16-0 by taking on the Atlanta Falcons. It should be a fun weekend!

Since When Is Quintin Mikell Cole Hamels In A Clever Disguise?

Remember when Cole Hamels said after Game 3 of the World Series that he could not wait for the season to end? Well, let's play the Philadelphia Eagles version of this game and I give you it's star: Quintin Mikell!

Personally, I really like Mikell as a strong safety. If ever there was a guy on this team that could change the momentum of the game with one tackle, it is Mikell as his hits have to be right up there with Brian Dawkins' in terms of ferocity. That being said, the confidence he has in his team to go all the way this year is simply resounding. And by simply resounding, I mean no confidence at all. This screenshot is from Eagles Beat Reporter, Brian Seltzer's Twitter account.

Uh......wow. I understand that this is a big game and all, but saying that this game is your Super Bowl basically says that you are not getting to the Super Bowl when realistically, when the Eagles are on the game, they have to be considered one of the top 3 teams in the NFC. Their playoff hopes are without a doubt in great jeopardy, but this is just one regular season game, not a Super Bowl.

If the Eagles lose, they'll at worst only be 2 games out of the division. That's not out of the playoffs, that's not out of the wildcard, and that's not out of the Super Bowl. At the same time, momentum wise, those playoff hopes would be on life support. Despite the lack of success the Eagles have had on SNF, surely they can beat a team that's been even worse in primetime this year, right? So maybe Quintin is going with the pessimistic realism that I mastered during the World Series. It may not be that he does not believe his team can win the Super Bowl, it's that without a win, there may not be any reason to believe the Eagles will be in the Super Bowl.

If that makes any sense....

Your Week 11 NFL Schedule

I'm going to type this one up very quick as I've got a basketball game to live blog in 20 minutes. We're over at KSJ and somehow we'll try to go a good portion of the night and afternoon.

Thursday Night Football
Miami Dolphins @ Carolina Panthers 8:20 (NFL Network - Bob Papa and Matt Millen)

Map of who gets what Fox game

Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys 1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Atlanta Falcons @ New York Giants 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
Seattle Seahawks @ Minnesota Vikings 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Charles Davis)
New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)

Arizona Cardinals @ St. Louis Rams 4:05 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)

Map of who gets what early CBS game

Indianapolis Colts @ Baltimore Ravens 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)
Cleveland Browns @ Detroit Lions 1:00 (CBS - Don Criqui and Randy Cross)
Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars 1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein)

Map of who gets what CBS late game

New York Jets @ New England Patriots 4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
San Diego Chargers @ Denver Broncos 4:15 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Cincinnati Bengals @ Oakland Raiders 4:15 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)

Sunday Night Football
Philadelphia Eagles @ Chicago Bears 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football
Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

The World Of Broadcasting Has Taken Yet Another Shocking Turn This Week: John Madden Retires

After many glorious years of broadcasting, the time has finally come for John Madden to hang up the announcing boots. The 73-year old hall-of-famer has officially retired from broadcasting. Via the USA Today.

NBC has confirmed that John Madden has retired and will not be on the air next season.
"It's time. I'm 73 years old," Madden said in a statement.

"My 50th wedding anniversary is this fall. I have two great sons and their families and my five grandchildren are at an age now when they know when I'm home and, more importantly, when I'm not."

NBC has scheduled a conference call at noon ET today.

But it seems likely will Madden, who has been a lead NFL game analyst for CBS, Fox, and ABC before joining NBC for its Sunday games, would be replaced by former NFL receiver and longtime network analyst Cris Collinsworth.

It's indeed very nice to see him go out like this. For John Madden, now is indeed the time. The only time that I ever really had a gripe with Madden was during the Monday Night massacre that featured the Eagles at home in a snowstorm getting pummeled by the Seahawks. The Eagles had their alternate black jersies on and he inexplicablly called them "green". My family to this day continues to make fun of him for that. But I digress.

Madden's coming off what has been considered by many to be one of the best broadcasted Super Bowls of all time, and without a doubt in my mind, of this decade. But as time dwindles on, you start to lose it and if he were to continue, that would likely happen to John Madden. His final game was a good one and I certainly believe that he has a more than suitable replacement behind him in Cris Collinsworth.

As far as Al Michaels goes, remember it was John Madden who said "I'll retire when Al Michaels does", not the other way around, as I have frequently seen it misconstrued. In the pair of games that they worked last year (an SNF game where Madden did not want to travel cross country only to go back the next week and the Pro Bowl), they seemed like they would make a solid unit.

Madden's last game was a great game, one that will be remembered for quite some time, and I know if I were a legendary broadcaster, it is that kind of game (Super Bowl XLIII) that I would want as my swan song. Best of luck to John Madden in the future!

The 2009 NFL Schedule in Primetime

Sunday Night Football (8:20 PM on NBC, unless otherwise noted). (asterisk next to those that could be flexed)
Week 1 (Opening Thursday): Titans vs. Steelers, 8:30
Week 1: Bears vs. Packers
Week 2: New York Giants vs. Cowboys
Week 3: Colts vs. Cardinals
Week 4: Chargers vs. Steelers
Week 5: Colts vs. Titans
Week 6: Bears vs. Falcons
Week 7: Cardinals vs. Giants
Week 8: No game
Week 9: Cowboys vs. Eagles
Week 10: Patriots vs. Colts
*Week 11: Eagles vs. Bears
*Week 12: Steelers vs. Ravens
*Week 13: Patriots vs. Dolphins
*Week 14: Eagles vs. Giants
*Week 15: Vikings vs. Panthers
*Week 16: Cowboys vs. Redskins
*Week 17: TBD

Monday Night Football (8:30 on ESPN unless otherwise noted
Week 1 (doubleheader part 1): Bills vs. Patriots, 7:00
Week 1 (doubleheader part 2): Chargers vs. Raiders, 10:15
Week 2: Colts vs. Dolphins
Week 3: Panthers vs. Cowboys
Week 4: Packers vs. Vikings
Week 5: Jets vs. Dolphins
Week 6: Broncos vs. Chargers
Week 7: Eagles vs. Redskins
Week 8: Falcons vs. Saints
Week 9: Steelers vs. Broncos
Week 10: Ravens vs. Browns
Week 11: Titans vs. Texans
Week 12: Patriots vs. Saints
Week 13: Ravens vs. Packers
Week 14: Cardinals vs. 49ers
Week 15: Giants vs. Redskins
Week 16: Vikings vs. Bears
Week 17: No game

Thursday Night Football (8:20 on NFL Network unless other specified)
Weeks 1-9: No game
Week 10: Bears vs. 49ers
Week 11: Dolphins vs. Panthers
Week 12: Giants vs. Broncos
Week 13: Jets vs. Bills
Week 14: Steelers vs. Browns
Week 15: Colts vs. Jaguars
Week 15 (Saturday Night Special): Cowboys vs. Saints
Week 16: Chargers vs. Titans
Week 17: No game

And per usual, SNF > MNF > ThNF, although I must say that this looks like the strongest year of MNF on ESPN to date, but of course, you really can't tell right now, but the matchups are certainly eye-appealing thus far. Pats-Saints, Jets-Fins, Cowboys-Panthers, Cardinals-49ers (oh wait, scratch that last one, although it has become an MNF staple and the game last year was thrilling).

Oh, and Bears-Falcons, NBC? I can pretty much guarantee you that that is going to rival for lowest rated SNF on NBC game to date.

Primetime schedule (NFL.com)

Sunday Night Football Colts @ Chargers Live Blog 2nd Half

Manning face! The Colts and the Chargers are tied at 10 as we get set to start the 2nd half at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. Sproles takes the kick to the 34. 1st down is a pass to Chambers who picks up 13 and a 1st down. Tomlinson on 1st down up the middle and he picks up 20! 1st down and here's Sproles! All the way to the Indy 12, a gain of 21! Tomlinson goes nowhere this time and the Colts can breath a little.

LT gets a couple on 2nd down and it's 3rd and 7 but wait, false start, it's now 3rd and 12. Rivers from the gun under pressure, Rivers is sacked AND THE BALL'S OUT AND RECOVERED BY RAHEEM BROCK WHO TAKES IT TO THE INDY 34!

"You got a strip, you got a fumble, and you have a recovery."-Al Michaels (Via 49er16)

Was Al describing the play or his sex life? Anyway, Manning completes it to Addai for 4 yards and on 2nd down he hits him for 2. 3rd down he finds Addai again, this time it's for 8 yards and a first down. Addai gets the carry and he picks up a couple. 2nd and 8 and Manning audibles into the gun and passes to Addai who takes it the the SD 46 for 4 yards.

Colts in the hurry up, 3rd and 4, Manning is dancing around with those audibles and finallyh he gest it off for Gonzalez who makes the catch AND TAKES IT ALL THE WAY TO THE SD 17! Gain of 29 and almost all of those can be attributed to Gonzalez's running after the catch. 1st down goes for a yard on the carry by Rhoads.

2nd down and Manning finds Clark for 8 and a timeout is called. Sorry for the seemingly lack of break in paragraphs, Blogger is bunches everything up whenever I click away. 3rd and 1 and Rhoads picks up the first down....REACHES FOR THE GOALLINE....JUST SHORT! 1st and goal. Handoff to Rhoads and he loses yards. Shovel pass on 2nd down and the Chargers get another stop. Timeout Colts who barely got it in before the play clock struck double 0. And it looks like Manning face is going to have to go. It was fine before I added that picture. Or not. Ugh.

Manning hands it off to Rhoads and he is STUFFED BY THE CHARGERS! 4th and goal and let's see what the Colts do. They're going for it. Manning from the gun, barely beats the play clock, and throws it to A WIDE OPEN RHOADS WHO MAKES THE CATCH IN THE ENDZONE! TOUCHDOWN COLTS! The Extra point is good and the Colts lead the Chargers, 17-10.

And it looks like my problem's been fixed. Odd. Sproles takes the kickoff to the 27 and that's where the Chargers will set up shot. Remember when Eli Manning was in those Citizen Eco-Drive commercials? Good times....good times.

"Even if the market goes down 1,000 points this week, it will still be better to week than those guys." - Al Michaels as the cameras shows some turkeys.

Tomlinson picks up 8 on first down. Gates catches the 2nd down pass for a first down to the Charger 44. Rivers hands to Tomlinson and he picks up 4. 2nd and 6 and Rivers from the shot gun is sacked back at the 44! 3rd and 10 now for the San Diego Super Chargers.

"Right into the sack of Robert Mathis." - John Madden

Poor Robert Mathis! Rivers tries to dump it to Tomlinson but it's incomplete and it's 4th down. Scifres' sky high punt is fair caught at the 18. Addai on the carry picks up 3. 2nd and 7 and damn, the Colts schedule looks easy. Cleveland, Cincinnai, Jacksonville, and Detroit. Dallas Clark makes the catch for 4 yards and bowls over some guy on the sideline in the provess. Manning on 3rd down and we will have to wait to see that play. Manning had no idea that the quarter had ended.

We've played 3 in San Diego and the Colts lead the Bolts by a score of 17-10.

3rd and 3 from their own 25 and Manning overthrows everyone, but wait, there's a flag down. Pass interference on the Chargers but no way that ball was catchable. Colts ball at their own 41 and MANNING IS SACKED! Loss of 5. 2nd and 5 and Addai picks up 8. 3rd and 7 coming up for Indy and Manning from the shot gun fires incomplete intended for Clark. Hold everything, we have another pass interference flag on the Chargers. Colts ball at the 50.

This game is quick. (Via SSR)

Agreed. A false start backs the Colts up 5 and on 1st and 15 Manning passes to Harrison for 3 yards. Manning fires and it is ruled incomplete although the Chargers and Chargers fans think that that should have been a catch and a fumble and I agree with said team and fans.

3rd and 12 and Manning finds Gonzalez for a first down at the 37. Gain of 5 on 1st down and on 2nd down Addai up the midde picks up the first. From the 20, Manning fires for the endzone but it's incomplete. 2nd and 10 and Manning form the shotgun overthrows Addai and it's now 3rd and 10 and the Chargers need a stop because this game has quickly turned into Chargers vs. Colts and Refs.

Manning under pressure, just gets it away but it's incomplete. And will come Adam Vinatieri. From 38 yards out. It's up.....AND IT'S DRILLED THROUGH! 20-10 Colts have doubled up the Chargers.

"Great QBs make big plays on 3rd down." - John Madden This man is making millions of dollars to tell me that. (Via SSR)

Did you learn something? I for one, had no idea that that was something great QBs did....The kickoff is taken by Sproles to the San Diego 30. Rivers to Tomlinson and it picks up 7. 2nd down and Rivers finds Chambers for a first. 1st and 10 from the SD 45 and LT picks up 3. Cris Chambers makes the catch on 2nd down and he's just shy of the first.

What is it with announcers being on camera with one standing and one sitting. LT picks up the 1st down on 3rd and short. They needed a yard. They got a yard. Jackson makes the catch inside the 30 to a 28 for another SD 1st down!

Rivers to Jacob Hester and he picks up 5. Amd right now Uncle Gary is shocked to learn that this is why LSU hasn't been handing the ball off to him. Rivers scrambling, looking for a man and he decides to take off and pick up the first down all the way to the 13! Slowest 9 yards ever. Rivers to Hester over the middle and he gets another 9 yards to the 4. LT on the carry is just short of the marker. 3rd and inches Tomlinson gets the first down, but not the TD.

1st and goal for the Chargers and they need to start hurrying. Rivers passes it to Jacob Hester who MAKES THE CATCH IN THE ENDZONE FOR THE TOUCHDOWN! The extra point is good and it's now 20-17 Colts.

Think Norv will kick an on-side kick? He's probably dumb enough to do it this early. (Via Walnuts)

We'll see. I don't think he'd do it but it wouldn't surprise me if he did. And I agree SSR, this has been a well played game throughout. Very entertaining.

Simpson takes the kickoff to the Indy 30 and on will come Peyton to kill the clock. Addai picks up 5 on the 1st down carry and there's 5:10 remaining on the clock in counting. 2nd and 5 and Manning from the gun will throw and it's caught by Addai just short of the marker. And this is big. 3rd and 1 for the Colts.

Manning hands it off to Addai who is brought down in the backfield! The Chargers get the stop they needed and this is quickly becoming the Chargers' game to lose.

"Hunter Smith bangs one deep" - Al Michaels

and it's taken by Pierre Garcon (cue French joke) to the 13. Rivers swings it to Gates who gains 6. 2nd and 4 and Rivers throws it to Tomlinson on the screen and he takes it all the way to the SD 34! 2:38 to go. 1st and 10 and Rivers finds Chambers who makes the catch at the SD 48 for another first down!

Rivers to Sproles and he picks up 11 on the swing pass! He was wide open! And we are at the 2-minute warning. Chargers driving, down by 3, all 3 timeouts intact. This one's finishing up in bold, folks. (sorry for that channeling of Brent Musberger)

1st and 10 for the Chargers and Rivers fires for Gates and it's incomplete. 2nd and 10 coming up. Al said it best. The Chargers need to score a TD while milking as much time as possilbe.

2nd and 10 and we have a false start on the Chargers. That hurts. 2nd and 15. Rivers throws it to Tomlinson who DROPS IT! How costly is that! He had them in field goal range if he makes that catch. Rivers on 3rd and 15 and the pass is caught by Manumaleuna who reaches for the 1st down marker and is just short!

Here comes Nate Kaeding, to tie the game. From 47 yards out....IT'S UP, AND.....IT'S GOOD! KAEDING HAS TIED THIS GAME AT 20!

Here's Simpson from the 14 to the 29 yard line. And here's Peyton Manning with a 2-minute drill. I'd be scared if I were San Diego. His first pass is caught by Gonzalez for a gain of 13. Manning fires again and it's incomplete.

2nd and 10 and Clark makes the catch for a gain of 5. 3rd and 5 and the clock's ticking Manning throws it to Harrison who makes the catch but they're short of the marker! Wait, they've given him the first after all! No, wait again, it's being reviewed! Holy cow!

"What Indianapolis will have to do on 4th down is decide what to do." - Al Michaels

Thanks for the insight! And they've got a spot but they have to measure it! From the replay, it looks like there was no way he got it, but let's see what the measurement says....

JUST SHORT! AND THEY'RE GOING FOR IT! 4TH AND INCHES! MANNING PLAY FAKE AND IT'S CAUGHT BY HARRISON AT THE 34!

That took guts. They hand off to Addai who doesn't get much. They have to spike it, and they do with 2 seconds left! And on will come Vinatieri for a chance at retribution from last year.

Timeout San Diego.

From 51-yards out. VINATIERI'S REDEMPTION IS UP.......AND GOOD!!! AND THAT'S IT! THE COLTS BEAT THE CHARGERS 23-20 IN ANOTHER COLTS-CHARGERS SNF THRILLER!

Thank you all for joining me for this live-blog. This was a fun one and it put me in a better mood after watching the Eagles debacle. Good night and good luck.

Sunday Night Football Colts @ Chargers Live Blog 1st Half

Well, it looks like I will be in place of AA today who has not showed himself at all. He must be drunk with happiness as his Redskins barely beat those dominating Seahawks that are always impossible to stop. We will be getting underway at 8:15. See you then!

John Madden just looks so strange in brown jackets. I don't know, he just looks different. And ironically enough, Qualcomm Stadium was playing Faith Hill's "I've Been Waiting All Day for Sunday Night" behind Al and John as they were talking. Either that or we had a technical problem, in which case, this will be a long night. Kickoff coming up next!

Colts have won the toss and elected to receive. The smoke from the fireworks dissipates and we are underway. Kickoff is taken by Simpson to the 28 and on first down Manning passes to Gonzalez to the Indy 43 for a first down. 1st and 10 and Addai picks up a couple. 2nd and 8 and Manning fires to Marvin Harrison who makes the catch inbounds for another Colts first down, this time in Charger territory at the 45. But wait, did Harrison only have one foot down?

The Chargers challenged it but the ruling on the field stands much to the chagrin of the San Diego fans. Let me tell you what, if that's ruled out of bounds, I don't know if it gets overturned.

Norv "The Master of Challenging Bad Plays" Turner (Via 49er16)

He does have some competition though, no doubt about that. 1st and 10 for the Colts and Manning fires to Harrison for 4. 2nd and 6 and the Colts hand off to Addai and he is stoned at the SD 40. No gain and it's 3rd and 6.

Manning fires and it's incomplete as he was trying to hit Dallas Clark. On comes Hunter Smith to punt it away and Darren Sproles to return it. Fair catch called for and made at the 9.

LT takes the carry on 1st down and picks up 6. 2nd and 4 and Rivers hands it off to Tomlinson for a yard and it's 3rd down and 3. Rivers from the gun fires deep and Malcolm Floyd reaches out to catch it but it's not enough. Incomplete and the Chargers will punt it away. Here's Scifres to punt it away and Ratliff fair catches the very high punt.

1st and 10 from the 43 and Manning from the gun is under pressure and misses his target. Is it just me or is Al talking at a 100 words a second? 2nd down and Addai gets stuffed. 3rd down and Manning completes it but it's way short of the marker so Hunter Smith will come on to punt after the three and out.

"He comes from Johnson." - John Madden

Don't we all? Rivers fires to Chambers for a gain of 5 on 1st down. 2nd and 5 and LT takes it up the middle and it appears he is just short of the marker. Tomlinson gets the carry on 3rd down and he's tripped up in the back field. Here comes Scifres to punt and he gets off a good one that Ratliff returns to the Indy 33.

1st and 10 for Manning and the Colts and he hands to Addai who gets 5. 2nd down and Manning fires one that's caught by Addai and he picks up 4. 3rd and a yard and Manning takes a timeout as the play clock was winding down. Here we go, 3rd and 1 and Mannig fakes it to Addai, fires deep, and it's CAUGHT BY REGGIE WAYNE AT THE SD 32! First down Colts.

Manning gives it to Addai who gets 6 and it's 2nd and 4. Manning throws it to Addai and he picks up a first down at the 21. Hand-off to Addai and he picks up another 6. 2nd and 4 from the SD 15. Manning fires a quickey over the middle for Gonzales and it's incomplete. 3rd and 4. Manning out of the gun fires to Dallas Clark who makes the catch and dives for the marker....1st down Colts!

1st and goal from the 10 and Manning fires incomplete. Manning hands it off on 2nd and goal and that loses yards. 3rd goal from the 13. Manning fires to Wayne who catches it at the 7 and advances to the 5 and "the worst pass defense in the NFL" gets the stop.

And here comes Vinatieri from 23 yards out. It's up.....AND IT'S GOOD! 3-0 Colts.

Does he drink the whole milk after the oreo lick race with his brother. (Via 49er16)

Of course he does. And come on people, Manning drink? He's too whole-some to do that. Get it? Whole-some? Milk joke? Sigh.....

1st and 10 and LT picks up 8 on the carry. 2nd down goes nowhere. 3rd and short and Rivers finds FLOYD TO THE LEFT FOR A GAIN OF 31 INTO COLT TERRITORY! And that big play will end the first quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, Colts lead the Bolts 3-0.

1st down and Rivers connects with Manumaleuna who gets turned into a helicopter but he picks up a first. Rivers dumps it off to Gate and he has a first down at the Indy 20. So far not many highlights from Al and John this evening. If you catch something, feel free to add it to the comment section.

Tomlinson takes it to the right for a couple and it's 2nd and 8 and Rivers hands to Sproles who gets stuffed at the line of scrimmage. 3rd and 8 for the Chargers and Rivers from the gun finds Sproles for a couple.

"He starts up, gets in to him." - John Madden

Here comes Kaeding for a 35-yard field goal. From 35 yards out, it's up and....BANG! IT'S GOOD! 3-3.

Kickoff is taken from the 4 by Simpson who makes a few man miss and he takes it all the way to 33. 1st and 10 and Manning fakes to Rhoads then throws it to him for a couple. 2nd and 8 and there's a flag for a false start. 2nd and 13. Manning throws it to Harrison who makes the catch for 8. 3rd and 5 for the Colts. Manning fires to Gonzalez who backs himself past the marker and picks up an Indy first down! Great effort there.

1st and 10 and Manning fires deep and IT'S INTERCEPTED BY QUENTIN JAMMER! Chargers ball at their own 11 as we got a look at Manning face.....DRINK!

LT up the middle on 1st down and he picks up 3.

"That ball was poorly thrown or underthrown." - John Madden

There's a difference? 2nd and 7 and Rivers' pass falls incomplete. 3rd and 7 and Rivers from the gun fires for a wide open Malcolm Floyd who takes it to the SD 37 yard line. Damn, even Jarrett Lee could have made that catch. LT on 1st down gets 6. 2nd and 4 and Rivers will scramble past the 1st down marker before sliding down to avoid the hit. 1st and 10 Tomlinson loses a yard. 2nd and 11 and Rivers finds Chambers for 10 yards and he's just short of the marker. 3rd and inches and they hand off to Tomlinson who takes it past the Colt 40 for the first down. 1st and 10 and Rivers fires it deep and it's CAUGHT BY JACKSON AT THE 3, TURNS AROUND, AND FALLS INTO THE ENDZONE! TOUCHDOWN CHARGERS! The PAT is up and good and it's 10-3 Chargers.

Double coverage, triple coverage, all kindsa coverage...Madden's on a roll tonight. (Via JamesCraven)

Madden is to coverage as Jaws is to penetration. Dawson on the kickoff return and the big defensive linemen takes it to the Indy 29. 1st and 10 and Manning fires incomplete.

"It's important for everyone to have hand signals." - John Madden

2nd and 10 and the Colts will gain 5 free yards courtesy of Marcus Harris' neutral zone infraction. 2nd and 5 and Manning fires for Dallas Clark who picks up 4 thus setting up a 3rd and 1. Manning hands it off to Addai WHO GETS A FIRST DOWN AND THEN SOME AND HE TAKES IT ALL THE WAY TO THE sd 39! Pick up of 23 and on 1st down Manning throws it to Rhoads who gets 5 on the completion. On 2nd down it's Rhoads getting stopped at the line of scrimmage. 3rd down coming up for the Colts.

Manning from the shotgun throws it to Rhoads who gets a first down and takes it all the way to the SD 21. 2-minute warning.

Is that really Rosie or was it Calliendo in drag? (Via Mal)

Most likely Rosie, because not even Caliendo would do that. But then again, you never know. You can never tell with Rosie and/or Frank. 1st down for the Colts from the 21 but they'll be moved back 5 because of the false start. Rhoads on the carry bounces it to the outside and takes it all the way to the SD 12 for a pick up of 13! 2nd and short and Rhoads is stood up for no gain. 3rd and short coming up.

Manning from the gun and he takes a timeout.

"reverting back to my days playin', 'oops' was a good word". (Via Mal)

Nowadays it's "My bad". 3rd and and short and Manning fires to a wide open Gonzalez who MAKES THE CATCH AND WALKS INTO THE ENDZONE! TOUCHDOWN COLTS! Vinatieri's extra point is good and we are tied at 10.

"If Gonzalez starts singing the old Faith Hill song, 'I've Been Waiting All Day for Sunday Night', the ol' Joan Jett tune, you can understand it." - Al Michaels

Kickoff taken past the 22 and Al and John are playing of a game of you can say the word "pick" more often. The Chargers hand off to Tomlinson who gets 7 and Norv Turner is really going conservative here. Rivers fires the most awkward pass I've ever seen into the turf monster.

"Wehn you're 4-6, your head coach is about as popular as a bank CEO." - Al Michaels

3rd down and Tomlinson gets a big gain of 12 to the SD 46 and it might be hail mary time. Instead Rivers throws a quick strike to Chambers for 7.

"I don't know if there is enough time for another play and a field goal try." - John Madden who thinks you can get a play off in 3 seconds.

The hail mary try goes ary as Rivers is hit as he throws it. The ball falls harmlessly into the grass at Qualcomm Stadium and that's the end of the 2nd quarter.

At halftime, the Chargers and the Colts are tied at 10.

See you guys in the 2nd half thread.