The Week That Was -- review of last week's NFL outcomes

THE WEEK THAT WAS / NFL WEEK TWO
With commentary by Tim

Ah, my mateys, batton down the hatches, hoist the sails, and prepare to set sail for another wondrous journey into the vast oceans and unchartered worlds that beckon to us from this here National Football League...

Hot off the presses, the early edition TMW play-by-play ratings for your perusal from the most recent week of this festive NFL season. For those new to the numbers read the following:

PSR: Play Success Rate - every play is graded as either a success or failure
Big: percentage of plays that went for big gains...10+ yards for a run, 20+ for a pass
Yds: adjusted yards per play, including penalties and excluding non-plays
EFR: Effectiveness rating. One number overall summary.
Stats Score: This is the projected score the TMW computer would have spit out if the stats for the game were the numbers coming in. This column lets us know who "should" have won.

San Francisco at New Orleans

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
San Francisco	50%	12%	5.2	102	50%	11%	5.8	88	25
New Orleans	27%	5%	2.1	36	43%	13%	7.5	112	20

The WRONG TEAM WON! Oh my gosh, the implications are unfathomable.

Washington at NY Giants

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Washington	35%	14%	3.8	67	42%	5%	5.2	59	3
NY Giants	32%	4%	2.2	57	51%	3%	6.2	117	34

Funny how if you have seven turnovers you tend to lose the game. Hmmm, Washington might want to avoid that in future.

Denver at Jacksonville

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Denver	42%	0%	2.4	52	54%	7%	6.1	112	27
Jacksonville	36%	9%	3.3	45	20%	10%	4.4	50	0

Lordy, the WRONG TEAM WON in this game. My word! Are Jacksonville lucky dogs, ripe for a comeuppance? or are they the children of fortune ready to run the tables in this topsy-turvy NFL world?

Pittsburgh at Baltimore

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Pittsburgh	34%	8%	3.1	61	36%	13%	5.0	65	9
Baltimore	34%	15%	4.1	68	36%	5%	4.5	63	14

Two teams going into my little black book of "stinkys" to avoid.

St. Louis at Atlanta

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
St. Louis	37%	6%	1.2	56	46%	15%	6.9	97	14
Atlanta	66%	22%	6.8	141	60%	10%	8.1	125	47

Maybe this Michael Vick guy really can play and lead a team to the fertile lands of tomorrow...

Houston at Detroit

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Houston	40%	6%	3.6	68	47%	13%	6.7	92	16
Detroit	47%	17%	4.0	78	51%	7%	5.7	100	27

Ding Ding! The stats score is within a meager point of matching exactly the actual score.

Chicago at Green Bay

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Chicago	58%	18%	5.2	111	52%	5%	6.4	100	32
Green Bay	61%	16%	4.9	112	37%	5%	5.2	69	17

Green Bay appeared to have the Monday Night Football hangover working...anyone seen the latest research on that?

Indianapolis at Tennessee

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Indianapolis	68%	23%	5.9	131	64%	8%	7.2	145	51
Tennessee	63%	17%	5.2	120	54%	2%	5.9	102	26

You like offense? Here's some offense for ya boy!

Carolina at Kansas City

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Carolina	33%	15%	4.6	64	51%	3%	6.2	100	23
Kansas City	43%	13%	4.7	82	34%	11%	5.0	71	16

KC off to rough start, Carolina back in the swing after being written off.

Seattle at Tampa Bay

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Seattle	26%	4%	2.4	30	30%	3%	4.2	63	3
Tampa Bay	45%	8%	4.0	75	44%	4%	4.1	60	19

Could Tampa Bay be the worst team in football? If they don't quickly figure out how to move the ball and score some points, they may well be!

Cleveland at Dallas

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Cleveland	40%	11%	4.7	74	19%	3%	3.0	19	0
Dallas	40%	3%	2.1	56	51%	16%	8.2	86	28

Now really, ain't no way Parcells was going to lose this game, right?

Buffalo at Oakland

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Buffalo	44%	0%	2.2	40	36%	9%	5.1	63	6
Oakland	26%	4%	2.1	34	45%	10%	5.7	83	18

The WRONG TEAM COVERED! You know that already if you watched this affair in Raider-land.

New England at Arizona

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
New England	60%	10%	4.3	100	46%	13%	6.6	100	31
Arizona	37%	6%	3.1	75	34%	5%	3.1	42	3

Pats on cruise control. My man Dennis Green will get things rolling in Arizona, just give him a bit more time...

NY Jets at San Diego

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
NY Jets	50%	12%	3.6	91	59%	13%	9.2	159	47
San Diego	60%	8%	4.5	116	43%	5%	6.0	78	20

Okay, Jets have impressed me, let's see if they can handle this tricky "bye" team coming up next on the schedule...

Miami at Cincinnati

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Miami	18%	0%	0.2	0	34%	10%	4.5	63	6
Cincinnati	30%	13%	2.8	56	32%	2%	2.6	44	17

Um, maybe all those geniuses saying that the Dolphins would be better off without Ricky Williams since he only gained 3.4 yards per carry in 2003 should look at the numbers now: zero big gains, and a whopping 0.2 adjusted yards per rush, with a 0 effectiveness. Yeah, Ricky please come back! We'll fire Wannstedt and the off. coordinator if that's what it takes. Ricky? Ricky?

Minnesota at Philadelphia

Matchup	Rush PSR	Rush Big	Rush Yds	Rush EFR	Pass PSR	Pass Big	Pass Yds	Pass EFR	Stats Score
Minnesota	38%	14%	2.7	52	57%	6%	5.9	111	17
Philadelphia	50%	13%	5.7	106	64%	3%	7.4	158	50

Let's recalibrate: Eagles are the team to beat, Patriots second team to beat, and Indianapolis Colts the third team to beat in the NFL nowadays.

Also see:
Week That Was, Week 1

ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ARRIVERDERCI!!
You might think Tim is just a windbag without any use for foretelling the wondrous future. Wrong! The clowns who run this joint have had me do actual, real, bonafide, not made up, not plagiarized, not copied off the back of a cereal box, RESEARCH on these doohickey numbers of WTW fame. Dang if they don't tell us something after all... see Tim's Research Project

We want your feedback! Tell us your thoughts