Miami bounced back from their week one defeat with a win over the Jets. Both defenses struggled but Miami stayed ahead all the way after taking a second quarter lead. The Bills put paid to early rumours of their demise with a convincing win over the Patriots. Despite struggling on the ground Buffalo were very effective on third downs. The Bengals decided to go after the Steelers on the ground, running over fifty times and completing only five passes - but those five passes went for about forty yards each. Pittsburgh had some big plays of their own but couldn't catch up after falling behind in the first half. Cleveland returned to winning ways but had the Jacksonville offense to thank, the Jags coughed up the ball on four occasions. Denver came from behind in the fourth quarter, scoring twice to take them past the Seahawks. Seattle ran the ball well but couldn't retain possession when it counted in the fourth. Kansas City dominated the Raiders through three quarters, completely shutting down the Oakland running game, but nearly threw all their good work away in the fourth. A field goal with nine seconds remaining in overtime preserved the shock result of the week. Washington were, once again, no match for the Cardinals, the game wasn't close after the first quarter. Dallas, for the second consecutive week, ran a much fancied contender very close. The Eagles this time needed a fourth quarter field goal to preserve victory. Tampa Bay came storming back in the fourth quarter in Green Bay, overturning a fourteen point deficit, only to see the Packers snatch victory with a field goal. Detroit gave the Bears the expected beating, two late Chicago touchdowns made the scoreline respectable. In the other shock of the week the Rams defense managed to hold the 49ers to less than twenty points. San Francisco have their third down defense to thank for saving them from defeat. Carolina once again started fast but were eventually overtaken by the Saints in the fourth quarter.
Offensive performance of the week goes to Kansas City, who would have scored a lot more points if they had half decent special teams. Defensive performance of the week goes to Buffalo for holding the Pats to only one touchdown. Special teams performance of the week goes to Cincinnati, perfect on field goals and some big returns.
1 Rob Crowther 17 2 Martin Devine 15 3 Darren Birtchnell 12.5 4 Quentin Jenkinson 9.5
How to ... beat the Packers : Do not fumble a snap and not recover it during overtime.
How to ... beat the Saints : With the Saints on 4th and 2, 24 yards out, do not defend the outside run and watch the ball sail up the middle for the winning touchdown.
This table lists all the coaches who have ever appeared in the NFLBP, ranked by overall winning percentage. New coaches are not credited (or blamed for) results until the turn after their name first appears on the League Report (ie. from the submission of their first gameplan). The table does not include this season's results, or any consolation bowl results.
Overall Reg Season Playoffs W L T % W L T % W L % Danny De Simone 15 3 1 816 14 2 1 853 1 1 500 Robert Crowther 44 10 0 815 39 7 0 848 5 3 625 Christopher Baird 37 13 2 731 31 13 2 696 6 0 1 Martin Devine 37 14 0 725 34 12 0 739 3 2 600 Quentin Jenkinson 35 14 1 710 34 11 1 750 1 3 250 Steve Harridge 33 16 0 673 32 14 0 696 1 2 333 Mario Olivier 8 4 0 667 8 4 0 667 0 0 Darren Birtchnell 25 13 1 654 22 11 1 662 3 2 600 Allan Firth 11 7 0 611 11 6 0 647 0 1 000 Tony Mountford 17 12 0 586 16 10 0 615 1 2 333 Pat Ratcliffe 28 20 0 583 27 19 0 587 1 1 500 Ian Rothwell 28 20 0 583 27 19 0 587 1 1 500 Jason Evans 16 14 0 533 16 13 0 552 0 1 000 Nic Torpey 25 22 0 532 25 21 0 543 0 1 000 Ray Spicer 17 15 0 531 15 14 0 517 2 1 667 Michael Scott 24 24 1 500 23 22 1 511 1 2 333 Jonathan Cullen 13 17 0 433 13 17 0 433 0 0 Peter Wilkinson 20 27 0 426 20 26 0 435 0 1 000 Graham Morgan 20 27 0 425 20 26 0 435 0 1 000 Martin Keel 19 27 0 413 19 27 0 413 0 0 Derek Blackhurst 2 3 0 400 2 3 0 400 0 0 Mark Stuart 8 12 0 400 8 12 0 400 0 0 Paul Gaines 17 31 0 354 16 30 0 348 1 1 500 Paul Thorniley 15 31 0 326 15 31 0 326 0 0 Tony Whiting 15 32 0 319 15 31 0 326 0 1 000 Dominic Williams 9 20 0 310 9 20 0 310 0 0 Mick Ashton 14 32 0 304 14 32 0 304 0 0 Darryl Saunders 12 34 0 261 12 34 0 261 0 0 Graham Muir 3 9 0 250 3 9 0 250 0 0 Brian Ball 7 39 0 152 7 39 0 152 0 0 Dave Boulton 2 14 0 125 2 14 0 125 0 0
In season one: The Bengals conceded fifty points to the Chiefs, losing by 29 (my prediction in the newsletter - Bengals by 1), leaving only the Chiefs and Seahawks unbeaten in the AFC. The Cardinals, Eagles, Rams and Saints were all unbeaten in the NFC.
In season two: Green Bay won their first game of the season, after two ties, by whopping the Saints 60-13.
In season three: The Bengals handed the Broncos a 27-0 thrashing which would prove to be their last defeat for some time. Oakland came from behind to beat Cleveland and preserve their perfect record, Arizona, Green Bay and New Orleans won more comfortably to preserve theirs.
Predictions and commentary from myself, other predictions from Darren Birtchnell, Quentin Jenkinson and John Coleman.
Browns at Jets The Jets' weaknesses have been all too apparent so far, while
the Browns look like a solid team. BROWNS BY 7
DB - BROWNS BY 3 QJ - BROWNS BY 3 JC - JETS BY 7
Bengals at Bills If the Bengals try the same gameplan they used last week then
the Bills could be on for another surprisingly big win.
Cincy's rookie QB could find himself under all sorts of
pressure. BILLS BY 3
DB - NO PREDICTION QJ - BENGALS BY 7 JC - BILLS BY 3
Seahawks at DolphinsMiami looked good last week and should have enough offense to
stay ahead of the Seahawks. DOLPHINS BY 7
DB - DOLPHINS BY 3 QJ - DOLPHINS BY 7 JC - DOLPHINS BY 7
Chiefs at Patriots An interesting encounter, we're all expecting a big
improvement from the Pats while the Chiefs have played last
season's AFC Championship game teams and covered themselves
in glory. I'm hoping the Chiefs win so my result doesn't
look so bad... CHIEFS BY 3
DB - CHIEFS BY 1 QJ - CHIEFS BY 7 JC - PATRIOTS BY 3
Broncos at SteelersTwo solid teams with strong offenses, homefield gives the
Steelers the edge. STEELERS BY 1
DB - STEELERS BY 1 QJ - BRONCOS BY 3 JC - STEELERS BY 7
Raiders at Jaguars After two games the Jags find themselves ranked fifth in
overall defense while the Raiders languish at 22nd. Oakland
need some major improvement on defense if they are going to
prevent this season turning into a disaster.
DB - RAIDERS BY 7 QJ - RAIDERS BY 7 JC - JAGUARS BY 3
Lions at Cardinals The Lions have outscored their opponents so far, but will
find this difficult in Arizona. The Cards have so many ways
to hurt you - offense, defense and special teams can all
contribute to the scoring. CARDINALS BY 7
DB - CARDINALS BY 5 QJ - NO PREDICTION JC - CARDINALS BY 10
Packers at Eagles Green Bay have looked decidedly shaky so far, two close wins
over two teams not expected to feature in the playoffs. The
Eagles represent their first major test and it should be an
interesting matchup. Philadelphia could struggle with the
Packers' passing attack. PACKERS BY 3
DB - PACKERS BY 3 QJ - PACKERS BY 3 JC - EAGLES BY 3
Rams at Redskins Both teams are looking for their first win, though the Rams
came close last week. If St Louis can repeat their defensive
showing of last week they should win comfortably. RAMS BY 10
DB - RAMS BY 3 QJ - RAMS BY 3 JC - REDSKINS BY 1
49ers at Bucs 49ers have looked shaky so far, while the Bucs have played
well for no reward. San Francisco have a much more balanced
offense than the Packers, however, and should be able to shut
down Tampa's running offense. 49ERS BY 7
DB - 49ERS BY 4 QJ - BUCS BY 7 JC - BUCS BY 3
Saints at Bears This game should be over by halftime. SAINTS BY 14
DB - SAINTS BY 14 QJ - SAINTS BY 21 JC - SAINTS BY 15
RC DB QJ JC Lock Cardinals Raiders Bengals Panthers Shock Bills Chiefs Bucs Lions Blowout Saints Saints Saints Lions Shootout Broncs at Stlrs Seahawks at Dolphs Broncs at Stlrs Pack at Eagles Slugfest Bengals at Bills Panthers at Cowboys Pack at Eagles Raiders at Jags
The 0-2 Buccaneers have been quite unlucky in their opening games this season, they've played the best two teams from the conference last season extremely close. Tampa Bay closed down the running games of Arizona and Green Bay and should be able to do the same to San Francisco. The 49ers, a perennial force in the BP, look to be in some trouble at the moment. Their week one win at home to the Cowboys was less than convincing and their tie with St Louis was disappointing, to say the least. Look for Steve Stenstrom to replace the ineffectual Steve Young again at some point during the game as the Bucs' defense contains the 49ers and hands them their first defeat of the season.