Madden NFL Simulation Franchise: 2007 and Beyond

[kblu54]

Week 1 Schedule
(Note: Gold = Game of the Week, Bold = Sunday Night Football, Red = Monday Night Football)
(Note: All times EST)

New Orleans @ Indianapolis, Thurs. 8:30 pm
Denver @ Buffalo, Sun. 1:00 pm
Pittsburgh @ Cleveland, Sun. 1:00 pm
Philadelphia @ Green Bay, Sun. 1:00 pm
Kansas City @ Houston, Sun. 1:00 pm
Tennessee @ Jacksonville, Sun. 1:00 pm
Atlanta @ Minnesota, Sun. 1:00 pm
New England @ New York Jets, Sun. 1:00 pm
Carolina @ St. Louis, Sun. 1:00 pm
Miami @ Washington, Sun. 1:00 pm
Detroit @ Oakland, Sun. 4:15 pm
Chicago @ San Diego, Sun. 4:15 pm
Tampa Bay @ Seattle, Sun. 4:15 pm
New York Giants @ Dallas, Sun. 8:15 pm
Baltimore @ Cincinnati, Mon. 7:00 pm
Arizona @ San Francisco, Mon. 10:15 pm

[kblu54]

AFC East rivals Patriots, Jets to open season with intense clash
NFL News

The NFL loves to kick a new season off the right way: watching two fierce division rivals battling it out in Week 1.

The New England Patriots, a favorite in the AFC, begins their quest for the Super Bowl on the road against the New York Jets, who could be their only challenger in the AFC East division.

The Patriots are loaded on offense, with stars like QB Tom Brady and WR Randy Moss, and are poised to score a ton of points. The Jets have a very efficient offense behind QB Chad Pennington, but it will be their defense that will carry them to the playoffs.

Unfortunately for New York, I don't think home-field advantage will play a role here. New England is just too good on offense to be slowed down.

New England Ratings New York Jets
92 ---Overall--- 87
91 ---Offense--- 87
91 ---Defense--- 87
89 ---Special Teams--- 89

Prediction: New England 35, New York Jets 17

[kblu54]

Jets shock Patriots in OT
NFL News

Coming into this season, everybody was raving about the Patriots and how good of a team they had. I guess the Jets decided that it was time to shut them up.

New York, playing at home in front of a frenzied crowd, upset the supposedly-dominant Patriots in overtime, 30-27. The Jets actually led 24-10 at one point, but allow New England to rally back in the 4th quarter to send the game into overtime tied at 27. The Jets wasted no time in sealing the upset, driving down the field on the first drive of the extra frame and winning on Mike Nugent's 33-yard field goal, his 3rd of the day.

Everybody was expecting the Patriots to roll up a bunch of yards and points, but it was the Jets that actually dominated offensively. QB Chad Pennington threw for 255 yards and 2 TDs, while RB Thomas Jones shredded the Patiorts for 162 yards rushing and a TD. The Jets outgained New England 417-325.

For the Patriots, QB Tom Brady played well in the loss, throwing for 268 yards and 3 TDs without an interception. Brady did have trouble against the Jets pass rush, suffering 6 sacks. WRs Donte Stallworth and Randy Moss each went over 100 yards receiving and caught all of Brady's TD passes.

Box Score

NE 0 : 10 : 0 : 17 : 0 - 27
NYJ 10 : 7 : 7 : 3 : 3 - 30

1st Quarter
(8:30) NYJ --- Nugent 45 FG --- NYJ 3-0
(1:17) NYJ --- Coles 4 pass from Pennington (Nugent kick) --- NYJ 10-0

2nd Quarter
(11:55) NE --- Peterson 40 FG --- NYJ 10-3
(7:59) NE --- Moss 22 pass from Brady (Peterson kick) --- TIE 10-10
(5:13) NYJ --- T. Jones 5 run (Nugent kick) --- NYJ 17-10

3rd Quarter
(12:08) NYJ --- Coles 54 pass from Pennington (Nugent kick) --- NYJ 24-10

4th Quarter
(13:12) NE --- Stallworth 7 pass from Brady (Peterson kick) --- NYJ 24-17
(8:18) NE --- Peterson 34 FG --- NYJ 24-20
(4:48) NYJ --- Nugent 35 FG --- NYJ 27-20
(2:16) NE --- Stallworth 3 pass from Brady (Peterson kick) --- TIE 27-27

Overtime
(11:16) NYJ --- Nugent 33 FG --- NYJ 30-27

Team Stats

1st Downs:
NE --- 14 ... NYJ --- 20
Total Offense:
NE --- 325 ... NYJ --- 417
Rushes-Yards:
NE --- 27-88 ... NYJ --- 41-162
Passing (C-A-I):
NE --- 20-33-0 ... NYJ --- 24-38-1
Passing Yards:
NE --- 237 ... NYJ --- 255
Times Sacked:
NE --- 6 ... NYJ --- 0
3rd Down Conversions:
NE --- 6-18 ... NYJ --- 9-19
Turnovers:
NE --- 0 ... NYJ --- 2
Penalties-Yards:
NE --- 6-43 ... NYJ --- 8-73
Time of Possession:
NE --- 29:44 ... NYJ --- 34:02

Individual Stats

NEW ENGLAND

Tom Brady, QB --- 20 - 33 - 268 yds, 3 TD

Laurence Maroney, RB --- 25 att. - 87 yds

Donte Stallworth, WR --- 7 rec. - 101 yds, 2 TD
Randy Moss, WR --- 6 rec. - 126 yds, TD

Junior Seau, MLB --- 11 tkls
Mike Vrabel, OLB --- 9 tkls
Asante Samuel, CB --- 3 tkls, INT

NEW YORK JETS

Chad Pennington, QB --- 24 - 38 - 255 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT

Thomas Jones, RB --- 40 att. - 162 yds, TD; 4 rec. - 30 yds

Laveranues Coles, WR --- 7 rec. - 116 yds, 2 TD
Chris Baker, TE --- 5 rec. - 43 yds
Jerricho Cotchery, WR --- 5 rec. - 26 yds

Jonathan Vilma, MLB --- 9 tkls, FF
C.J. Mosley, DT --- 2 tkls, 3 sacks
Kimo von Oelhoffen, DE --- 1 tkl, 2 sacks

[kblu54]

Game Recaps

Indianapolis 27, New Orleans 24 (OT)

Indianapolis rallied from 10 points down and won in OT.

IND: Peyton Manning, QB --- 36 - 48 - 287 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
NO: Deuce McAllister, RB --- 23 att. - 69 yds, 2 TD

Denver 47, Buffalo 6

Denver dominated the Bills through their passing and return game.

DEN: Jay Cutler, QB --- 28 - 46 - 313 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
BUF: Only 184 yards of total offense

Pittsburgh 30, Cleveland 27

Great down-to-the-wire game. Ben Roethlisberger's TD pass to WR Hines Ward with 5 minutes left wins it.

PIT: Willie Parker, RB --- 27 att. - 143 yds, 2 TD
CLE: Derek Anderson, QB --- 21 - 39 - 298 yds, 2 TD

Philadelphia 31, Green Bay 10

Green Bay scored a TD only 2 minutes into the game, but struggled the rest of the way. The Eagles' offense dominated.

PHI: Donovan McNabb, QB --- 30 - 40 - 326 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
GB: Aaron Rodgers, QB --- 16 - 23 - 206 yds, 1 TD

Houston 14, Kansas City 7

The Texans rattled Chiefs' QB Michael Vick in his first regular-season game back.

HOU: Ahman Green, RB --- 28 att. - 98 yds, 2 TD
KC: Michael Vick, QB --- threw 4 INTs, ran for TD

Jacksonville 20, Tennessee 17

Jacksonville held off the Titans and QB Vince Young even after starting QB David Garrad left the game with a minor injury.

JAX: David Garrad, QB --- 2 TD passes (left game w/ injury)
TEN: Vince Young, QB --- 207 pass yds, 70 rush yds, 2 total TD

Atlanta 24, Minnesota 13

Atlanta scored the final 17 points of the game to ruin Favre's Minnesota debut.

ATL: Jerious Norwood, RB --- 26 att. - 132 yds, TD
MIN: Adrian Peterson, RB --- 17 att. - 58 yds, TD

Carolina 30, St. Louis 14

Carolina held the Rams' supposed high-powered offense to only 184 total yards in victory.

CAR: DeAngelo Williams, RB --- 31 att. - 108 yds, TD
STL: Marc Bulger, QB --- 18 - 33 - 126 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT

Miami 21, Washington 14

New starting QB Trent Green threw the game-winning TD in his Dolphin debut.

MIA: Ronnie Brown, RB --- 38 att. - 161 yds, 2 TD
WAS: Clinton Portis, RB --- 25 att. - 90 yds, TD

Detroit 20, Oakland 10

Detroit rolled up 417 yards of total offense with a balanced attack.

DET: Jon Kitna, QB --- 23 - 32 - 307 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
OAK: Jamarcus Russell, QB --- 15 - 32 - 150 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT

Chicago 31, San Diego 10

2 return TDs and 5 interceptions of QB Phillip Rivers lead Chicago over the Chargers.

CHI: Devin Hester, WR/KR --- 208 punt return yds, TD
SD: LaDainian Tomlinson, RB --- 26 att. - 120 yds, TD

Seattle 22, Tampa Bay 7

Seattle's D keeps Tampa Bay off the scoreboard, despite almost identical offensive outputs from both teams.

SEA: Shaun Alexander, RB --- 27 att. - 127 yds, TD
TB: Jeff Garcia, QB --- 19 - 30 - 196 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT

Dallas 35, New York Giants 17

Dallas led 35-0 at the half in a surprising rout.

DAL: Julius Jones, RB --- 29 att. - 94 yds, 2 TD
NYG: Eli Manning, QB --- 18 - 30 - 155 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT

Cincinnati 24, Baltimore 7

Carson Palmer throws 3 TDs and the Bengal defense held the Ravens scoreless until late in the 4th quarter.

CIN: Carson Palmer, QB --- 22 - 33 - 201 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
BAL: Steve McNair, QB --- 15 - 24 - 163 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT

Arizona 35, San Francisco 21

Edgerrin James was unstoppable against the 49ers' defense in a road Monday Night Football win.

ARZ: Edgerrin James, RB --- 42 att. - 192 yds, 3 TD
SF: Alex Smith, QB --- 16 - 32 - 159 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT

Week 1 Notable Injuries

Mike Flanagan, C, Houston --- Out 9 weeks (broken collarbone)
Kenny Wright, CB, Cleveland --- Out 3 weeks (MCL sprain)

AFC Players of the Week

Offense:
Willie Parker, RB, Pittsburgh
27 att. - 143 yds, 2 TD; 4 rec. - 30 yds

Defense:
Madieu Williams, FS, Cincinnati
4 tkls, 1 sack, 2 INT, FF

NFC Players of the Week

Offense:
Edgerrin James, RB, Arizona
42 att. - 192 yds, 3 TD; 4 rec. - 46 yds

Defense:
Adam Archuleta, SS, Chicago
2 tkls, 2 INT, TD

[kblu54]

Week 2 Schedule
(Note: Gold = Game of the Week, Bold = Sunday Night Football, Red = Monday Night Football)
(Note: All times EST)

Atlanta @ Jacksonville, Sun. 1:00 pm
Buffalo @ Pittsburgh, Sun. 1:00 pm
Cincinnati @ Cleveland, Sun. 1:00 pm
Green Bay @ New York Giants, Sun. 1:00 pm
Houston @ Carolina, Sun. 1:00 pm
Indianapolis @ Tennessee, Sun. 1:00 pm
New Orleans @ Tampa Bay, Sun. 1:00 pm
San Francisco @ St. Louis, Sun. 1:00 pm
Dallas @ Miami, Sun. 4:05 pm
Minnesota @ Detroit, Sun. 4:05 pm
Seattle @ Arizona, Sun. 4:05 pm
Kansas City @ Chicago, 4:15 pm
New York Jets @ Baltimore, Sun. 4:15 pm
Oakland @ Denver, Sun. 4:15 pm
San Diego @ New England, Sun. 8:15 pm
Washington @ Philadelphia, Mon. 8:30 pm

[kblu54]

Chargers, Patriots both looking to overcome Week 1 losses
NFL News

Coming into this season, both the Chargers and the Patriots were favorites in their divisions and in the entire AFC. But somehow, both teams find themselves 0-1 after Week 1. How is that possible?

The Patriots lost a thriller at the Meadowlands last week, dropping a 30-27 overtime decision to the rival Jets. The Chargers, on the other hand, looked pretty awful in a 31-10 beatdown at the hands of the Chicago Bears. QB Phillip Rivers threw 5 interceptions, including one that was returned for a TD, and they couldn't stop the explosive Devin Hester on punt returns.

This week, both squads are looking for redemption.

The game should be an excellent battle, but I can't see QB Tom Brady & company starting the season 0-2. The Patriots should pull out a win at home.

San Diego Ratings New England
89 ---Overall--- 92
91 ---Offense--- 91
88 ---Defense--- 91
88 ---Special Teams--- 89

San Diego Team Stats (NFL Rank) New England
10.0 (t-26th) ---Points Per Game--- 27.0 (t-9th)
228 (28th) ---Total Offense--- 325 (12th)
122 (15th) ---Rush Offense--- 88 (27th)
106 (29th) ---Pass Offense--- 237 (8th)
214 (4th) ---Total Defense--- 417 (t-30th)
116 (t-14th) ---Rush Defense--- 162 (28th)
98 (1st) ---Pass Defense--- 255 (27th)
-1 (t-20th) ---Turnover Diff.--- +2 (t-4th)

Prediction: New England 27, San Diego 24

[kblu54]

New England easily beats San Diego without Rivers
NFL News

New England had no trouble getting their early season gameplan back on track, beating a struggling San Diego Chargers squad at home, 33-9. The Patriots led 17-3 midway through the 2nd quarter and never let up, while the Chargers lost QB Phillip Rivers to injury and couldn't get anything going offensively without him.

The statistics are not a very good representation of the game, as both teams had the same amount of 1st downs (17) and total offense (252). The stats that really made a difference was 3 lost fumbles by San Diego and 2 TD passes from QB Tom Brady.

Brady completed 27-of-38 passes and tossed 2 TDs, but only threw for 177 yards on a check-down gameplan against the blitzing Charger defense. TE Benjamin Watson was the leading receiver with only 46 yards on 7 catches, while WRs Randy Moss (6 catches - 36 yards) and Donte Stallworth each caught a TD pass. RB Laurence Maroney led all rushers with 79 yards and scored the game's final TD with only 28 seconds left.

Rivers completed 4-of-8 passes for 26 yards before leaving the game late in the 1st quarter with an apparent back problem. There was no official diagnosis, but team doctors reported that the injury "didn't look good" and that Rivers could miss some time. Backup Billy Volek filled in and threw for 213 yards on 21-of-32 passing but could only produce 3 field goals. RB LaDainian Tomlinson was held to 50 yards rushing.

New England kicker Todd Peterson nailed 4-of-6 field goals.

Box Score

SD 0 : 6 : 3 : 0 - 9
NE 7 : 10 : 3 : 13 - 33

1st Quarter
(10:35) NE --- Moss 4 pass from Brady (Peterson kick) --- NE 7-0

2nd Quarter
(10:08) NE --- Peterson 37 FG --- NE 10-0
(6:03) SD --- Kaeding 44 FG --- NE 10-3
(4:00) NE --- Stallworth 4 pass from Brady (Peterson kick) --- NE 17-3
(0:29) SD --- Kaeding 42 FG --- NE 17-6

3rd Quarter
(10:34) NE --- Peterson 31 FG --- NE 20-6
(2:15) SD --- Kaeding 22 FG --- NE 20-9

4th Quarter
(13:01) NE --- Peterson 27 FG --- NE 23-9
(5:50) NE --- Peterson 47 FG --- NE 26-9
(0:28) NE --- Maroney 3 run (Peterson kick) --- NE 33-9

Team Stats

1st Downs:
SD --- 17 ... NE--- 17
Total Offense:
SD --- 252 ... NE--- 252
Rushes-Yards:
SD --- 12-57 ... NE--- 29-83
Passing (C-A-I):
SD --- 25-40-0 ... NE--- 27-38-0
Passing Yards:
SD --- 195 ... NE--- 169
Times Sacked:
SD --- 6 ... NE--- 2
3rd Down Conversions:
SD --- 2-11 ... NE--- 7-17
Turnovers:
SD --- 3 ... NE--- 0
Penalties-Yards:
SD --- 8-84 ... NE--- 4-25
Time of Possession:
SD --- 25:30 ... NE--- 34:30

Individual Stats

SAN DIEGO

Phillip Rivers, QB --- 4 - 8 - 26 yds
Billy Volek, QB --- 21 - 32 - 213 yds

LaDainian Tomlinson, RB --- 11 att. - 50 yds; 4 rec. - 35 yds

Eric Parker, WR --- 6 rec. - 64 yds
Antonio Gates, TE --- 6 rec. - 35 yds
Malcom Floyd, WR --- 3 rec. - 52 yds
Vincent Jackson, WR --- 3 rec. - 36 yds

Shelton Quarles, MLB --- 9 tkls
Shawne Merriman, OLB --- 8 tkls
Terrence Kiel, SS --- 5 tkls, 1 sack

NEW ENGLAND

Tom Brady, QB --- 27 - 38 - 177 yds, 2 TD

Laurence Maroney, RB --- 24 att. - 79 yds, TD

Benjamin Watson, TE --- 7 rec. - 46 yds
Randy Moss, WR --- 6 rec. - 36 yds, TD
Jabar Gaffney, WR --- 5 rec. - 41 yds
Donte Stallworth, WR --- 3 rec. - 13 yds, TD

Tedy Bruschi, MLB --- 5 tkls
Richard Seymour, DE --- 4 tkls, 2 sacks, FF
Rosevelt Colvin, OLB --- 4 tkls, 1 sack
Adalius Thomas, OLB --- 1 tkl, 2 sacks

Todd Peterson, K --- 4/6 FG, 3/3 XP

[kblu54]

Game Recaps

Jacksonville 31, Atlanta 11

RB Fred Taylor and FB Greg Jones each scored 2 TDs on the ground, and the Jaguars' defense shut down QB Byron Leftwich.

JAX: Fred Taylor, RB --- 22 att. - 103 yds, 2 TD
ATL: Byron Leftwich, QB --- 15 - 24 - 164 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT

Buffalo 28, Pittsburgh 24

Rookie QB Trent Edwards leads Buffalo back from 17-7 deficit and throws game-winning TD with 1:57 left.

BUF: Trent Edwards, QB --- 24 - 37 - 295 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
PIT: Ben Roethlisberger, QB --- 20 - 32 - 240 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT

Cleveland 37, Cincinnati 28

RB Jamal Lewis and TE Kellen Winslow each score 2 TDs for Cleveland.

CLE: Jamal Lewis, RB --- 30 att. - 107 yds, 2 TD
CIN: Carson Palmer, QB --- 19 - 34 - 263 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT

New York Giants 14, Green Bay 9

Giants score all of their points in the 1st quarter and hold Green Bay to only 3 field goals.

NYG: Eli Manning, QB --- 20 - 31 - 241 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
GB: Aaron Rodgers, QB --- 18 - 34 - 194 yds

Houston 17, Carolina 14

Jerome Mathis returns 3rd-quarter kickoff following Carolina score for eventual game-winning TD, helping Houston overcome a poor offensive effort.

HOU: CB Jerome Mathis 98-yd GW kickoff return TD
CAR: DeAngelo Williams, RB --- 36 att. - 162 yds, TD

Indianapolis 31, Tennessee 14

QB Peyton Manning and the Colts easily dominate over QB Vince Young and the Titans.

IND: Peyton Manning, QB --- 23 - 34 - 317 yds, 3 TD
TEN: Vince Young, QB --- 185 pass yards, 136 rush yds, pass TD

Tampa Bay 27, New Orleans 15

Tampa Bay humbles the Saints, who were still without injured RB Reggie Bush, at home.

TB: Joey Galloway, WR --- 7 rec. - 111 yds, 2 TD
NO: Orindo Mare, K --- 5/5 FG

St. Louis 20, San Francisco 17

QB Marc Bulger throws game-winning TD with only 49 seconds left.

STL: Marc Bulger, QB --- 25 - 36 - 206 yds, 2 TD
SF: Frank Gore, RB --- 27 att. - 105 yds, TD

Dallas 23, Miami 20 (OT)

Dallas wins wire-to-wire nailbiter in OT.

DAL: Tony Romo, QB --- 17 - 32 - 136 yds, 1 TD
MIA: Ronnie Brown, RB --- 24 att. - 161 yds, 2 TD (1 rec)

Minnesota 20, Detroit 7

Minnesota shut downs Detroit on the road, but lose RB Adrian Peterson to injury.

MIN: Brett Favre, QB --- 17 - 31 - 190 yds, 1 TD
DET: Jon Kitna, QB --- 18 - 35 - 178 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT

Seattle 24, Arizona 13

Ten-point 4th-quarter surge clinches win for Seattle.

SEA: Matt Hasselbeck, QB --- 21 - 29 - 169 yds, 2 TD
ARZ: Kurt Warner, QB --- 16 - 25 - 127 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT

Chicago 17, Kansas City 13

RB Cedric Benson's two 3rd-quarter TD runs boost Chicago past Kansas City, who lost QB Michael Vick to injury.

CHI: Cedric Benson, RB --- 23 att. - 108 yds, 2 TD
KC: Larry Johnson, RB --- 24 att. - 141 yds, TD

New York Jets 31, Baltimore 6

Jets prove last week's upset of New England wasn't a fluke, dominating Baltimore to improve to 2-0.

NYJ: Chad Pennington, QB --- 25 - 35 - 316 yds, 3 TD
BAL: Only 140 yards of offense

Denver 21, Oakland 14

Denver wins a sloppy one with only 158 yards of offense.

DEN: Jay Cutler, QB --- 19 - 34 - 134 yds, 2 TD
OAK: Jamarcus Russell, QB --- 19 - 32 - 157 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT

Philadelphia 27, Washington 12

The Eagles' offense continues to cruise in the early going, blasting past the Redskins on Monday Night Football.

PHI: Brian Westbrook, RB --- 184 total yards, 2 TD (1 rec.)
WAS: Mark Brunell, QB --- 17 - 26 - 172 yds, 1 TD

Week 2 Notable Injuries

Nick Harper, CB, Tennessee --- Out for season (dislocated hip)
Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota --- Out 7 weeks (broken collarbone)
Phillip Rivers, QB, San Diego --- Out 7 weeks (strained back)
Michael Vick, QB, Kansas City --- Out 2 weeks (strained back)