Since the start of last season, teams that ran for 200 yards or more were 37-2 in the NFL.    Last weekend they were 2-3.  Yep, the Titans, Cowboys, and Dolphins all ran for over 200 yards…..and lost.  Houston’s sieve-like defense is allowing 215 yards rushing and 244 yards passing per game.  Those are Conference USA type numbers, but in this instance we’re talking about the NFL’s Texans, not the collegiate Cougars.  

I hear from a pretty authoritative source that Donovan McNabb isn’t eager to take a painkilling shot that would enable him to play despite his rib injury.   With the beatable Chiefs on the docket this week and a bye on the horizon, starting Kevin Kolb this week is the likely scenario for the banged-up Philadelphians.  An Eagles beat writer concurs, calling McNabb’s participation “unlikely”.

Parity alert: the only game between 2-0 teams this week is Niners vs. Vikings.  Despite not even thinking about throwing downfield, Minnesota looks great.  But allowing only 5.6 yards per pass attempt and 2.7 yards per rush attempt against a pair of teams (Cardinals and Seahawks) who lit up their other opponent indicates that the Singletarian way of doing things is catching on in San Francisco.   Up until the Super Bowl loss to the Giants, Tom Brady’s protection was impeccable.  Now it seems awfully easy to pressure the Pats.   That’s masked by the fact he’s only been sacked once in two games, but the hurries and hits have been frequent.

Joe Montana thinks that playing out of a spread formation with a lot of shotgun hinders the development of a quarterback.  But is Graham Harrell in the CFL because of the shotgun, or because he lacks arm strength?  Jevan Snead of Ole’ Miss takes a lot of direct snaps, which is one reason why the NFL scouts love him, but he also has a big-time arm.  There are only a certain number of guys who can make all the downfield throws against the speed and complexity of an NFL defense. It appears to me that the NFL is using more shoutgun than ever, and we’re sure to see some numbers on that in a couple of weeks. 

Scoring is big and big news in the NFL.   But playing every over would only have you at 17-15 thus far. The median NFL scoring offense is getting 20 points per game.   The median NFL scoring defense is allowing 22.5 points per game.    Last year those numbers were 23 and 22 respectively.   So talk of increased scoring in the NFL is largely a New Orleans Saints production, with a few teams (also Cowboys, Ravens, Titans, Panthers, Eagles, etc.) seeing big scores in their first couple of games.   5 games this weekend are lined at 46.5 or higher.

Lots of great stuff in the Maximum Profit Football Weekly this week, including a college play out of a 120-59 system backed by strong matchup support, a small college favorite that has a big edge in the playmaking department, a college dog with a significant coaching advantage, an NFL dog with some matchup edges that’ll surprise you, and an NFL favorite that a 56-17 system says is poised for a blowout win.   And those just scratch the surface. You’ll get a ton of content, plays and ideas when you subscribe to The Max for just over $6 per week, so why not do so?   Call 1-770-649-1078 to subscribe.