NFL Wrap-Up

Here are my thoughts from Week 6 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see.  I watched a lot this week, so I have a pretty good sample size.

Game of the Week

Carolina Panthers 37 v. Cincinnati Bengals 37 - The game was tied, so of course, this was the closest game of the week.  But the fact that it was pretty close throughout, and that the Bengals had a chance to win it in overtime, means that this was the game of the week..

Best Team Performance

Baltimore Ravens - Scored 28 points in the first quarter on the way to a 48-17 shellacking of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  The game wasn't even that close.

Least Impressive Team Performance

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - but because that was too easy, I will say the Miami Dolphins coaching staff.  Giving Aaron Rodgers the ball with just over 2:00 left and the Dolphins up 4 is not soo bad (after all you do have to score when you can), but calling two defensive time outs during that possession?  Ridiculous.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Joe Flacco, QB - Baltimore Ravens.  Flacco finished 21-29 for 396 yards and 5 Touchdowns, with the 5th coming just after the start of the second quarter.  He was in total control of the ball game from start to finish - which incidentally was about 10 minutes in.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)

Khaseem Greene, Darryl Sharpton and Christian Jones, LBs, Chicago Bears - The three backups all forced to start due to injuries, came up huge in the Bears win over Atlanta, holding the Falcons to just 13 points.  Greene had 14 tackles, with Sharpton finishing with 9 while handling the defensive play calls.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Matt Bryant, K - Atlanta Falcons.  Although the Falcons lost and Bryant did not have any dramatic kicks at the end of the game, he did split the upright twice (in two chances), the first from 52 yards and the second from 54 yard.

Most Impressive Team Performance (Premier League)

Off weekend for national team play.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Premier League)

Off weekend for national team play.

Goat of the Week

Mike Nugent, K - Cincinnati Bengals - He missed a 36 yard field goal with no time left on the clock in overtime that would have won the game for the Bengals.  Because it was overtime, at least they didn't lose.

Goat of the Week (Premier League)

Off week for national team play.

Hit of the Week

Baltimore Ravens on Tampa Bay Buccaneers - this was an all out mob-war type of hit.

Breakthrough Performance

Jarvis Landry, WR - Miami Dolphins - He had 6 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers.  A pedestrian game for a star wide receiver, but a first good game for the rookie from LSU.

Finally

Matt Forte - He has always been an important cog in the Chicago Bears offense, but had yet to have that star breakthrough game this season, which has been primarily showcasing the passing talents of Jay Cutler and the receiving ability of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey.  Against the Falcons, Matt Forte was the star, rushing for 80 yards and 2 TDs, and also contributing 10 catches for 77 yards.

Impact Injury

Bobby Wagner, LB - Seattle Seahawks.  For all of the attention garnered by the Legion of Boom secondary, it is really Wagner that is the heart and soul of Seattle's defense.

Team Rising

Indianapolis Colts - After losing their first two games - albeit at Denver and to Philadelphia, the Colts have won 4 straight with a pretty easy schedule remaining.

Team Falling

Atlanta Falcons - The home loss to the Bears brings Atlanta to 2-4 on the season, and in danger of losing a grip on the playoffs, with Baltimore and Detroit coming up next..

Best Teams

1. San Diego Chargers
2. Dallas Cowboys
3. Philadelphia Eagles
4. Denver Broncos
5. Indianapolis Colts

Worst Teams
(All winless teams will be bottomed ranked teams until none are left - then the rankings will be the result of my true thoughts and not just records)

32. Jacksonville Jaguars
31. Oakland Raiders
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
29. New York Jets
28. Minnesota Vikings

Middle Teams

15.  Detroit Lions
16.  Houston Texans
17.  New Orleans Saints
18.  Cleveland Browns

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

4. Cincinnati Bengals v. Indianapolis Colts - The Bengals are winless in two consecutive games while the Colts have won 4 straight.  Winner enters the home-field advantage derby.

3. New York Giants v. Dallas Cowboys - This division games means double, as a Giants loss puts them a full 3 games behind the Cowboys.

2. Carolina Panthers v. Green Bay Packers - Could have been even more exciting if the Panthers had won last week, but still a very important intra-conference game.

1. San Francisco 49ers v. Denver Broncos - Two of the 3 or 4 best teams in the league coming into the season, and still a whole ton of talent on the field!

Trivia

Last week Scott Chandler had the first 100 yard receiving game by a Tight End for the Buffalo Bills since 1992.  Who was the last Bills TE to have a 100 yard receiving game?

Sports Bar Review of the Week

Today's review is of Grease Burger Bar, located at 213 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach, FL

Admittedly, this is one of my favorites, so I will try my best to make this review simply about my last trip to the bar.

Ambiance, the bar itself - literally the bar - is really amazing as it runs the length of the restaurant from front to back, with lots of delicious bottled beer in many refrigerators behind the bar.  It has a great looking feel.

The sports feel is OK.  There are lots of televisions, but the majority of them are behind the bar.  Although angled, most of the televisions face in one direction.  Although all of the tables are in great range of the televisions, it is difficult to have a good vantage point of more than one or two games.  There were a ton of fans, cheering for 6 or 7 different teams, but it never had the feel of a sports bar, as most of the patrons attentions were on their groups.  It was loud and noisy (in vibrant way) punctuated by the occasional cheers, but it never felt like football was the focus of the establishment or the patrons.

Food is burger-focused, and they are delicious.  My favorite has a fried egg and bacon.  Our table was completely satisfied with the burgers and the fries, which are also scrumptious.  Although we stayed away from the OMG Cheese Fries this trip, I must highly recommended them.  The presentation of the burgers is nice too, with the word "Grease" grilled into the top bun.

The beer selection is awesome.  What seems like a hundred bottled beers on the menu, of all flavors and styles.  Our particular beers for the games consisted of Avery White Rascal, DogFish Head 90 Min. IPA and Stella Artois.  Half of the fun of Grease is reading the chalkboard with the listing of all of the bottles available that day!  They even have football specials for buckets.  Grease does have a full bar, and the bartenders will make just about any order of shots, as I saw many varietals moving from the bar to the customers.

Service was good, with timely check-ins by the waiter for re-fills and the food came out of the kitchen timely, even though the bar and its tables were full, and with a standing room only crowd.

The bathrooms are small and crowded, and as such they can look a little trashy from time-to-time.

Service - AFC West
Drinks - NFC North
Food - AFC North
Cleanliness - NFC South
Sports Accommodations - AFC North
Overall - 4th Place AFC North (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Rating System Best to Worst:  NFC West, NFC North, AFC North, AFC West, NFC South, AFC South, NFC East, AFC East

Trivia Answer

Peyton Manning passed the 500 touchdown barrier this week, becoming the second quarterback in history to do so (after Brett Favre).  Against what team has Manning thrown the most touchdowns, and who has caught the most of Manning's touchdown passes?  - Manning has thrown 48 touchdown passes against the Houston Texans, and Marvin Harrison has caught the most touchdowns from Manning with 112.  Reggie Wayne is second at 67.

NFL Wrap-Up

Here are my thoughts from Week 5 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see.  I watched a lot this week, so I have a pretty good sample size.

Game of the Week

New Orleans Saints 37 v. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31 - Yes the teams have combined for only 5 wins (including this game), but boy was it exciting.  The Saints scored 11 points in the final quarter to earn overtime, and then scored a touchdown in overtime.  Also exciting because at least 4.3 million people selected the Saints in their survivor pools.

Best Team Performance

San Diego Chargers - Yes it was the Jets, but the Chargers' defense pitched the only shutout of the weekend and San Diego did score 31 on the Jets normally stout defense.  The Chargers are a Super Bowl contending team this year.

Least Impressive Team Performance

New York Jets - This is too easy given the above, but the performances of both Geno Smith and Michael Vick seal this award for the work.  I feel like even typing this is a waste of time.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Peyton Manning, QB - Denver Broncos. He was 31-47 for 479 yards and 4 Touchdowns as the Broncos more than doubled-up the Cardinals.  Even more importantly, his two touchdown strikes to Demaryius Thomas finally may have woken  Thomas out of his slumber.  Once again DeMarco Murray with an honorable mention.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)

Marcell Dareus, DT - Buffalo Bills. Dareus had a monster game with 5 tackles, 3 sacks and a forced fumble.  It will be hard to find a defensive tackle that has such an impactful performance the rest of the year.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Stephen Gostkowski, K - New England Patriots.  He kicked 5 filed goals in 5 attempts, plust he made 4 extra points.  If you include kickoffs, that means Gostkowski was on the field for 19 plays!

Most Impressive Team Performance (Premier League)

Sunderland.  Scored early and late to defeat Stoke 3-1 and move out of relegation range - for the moment at least

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Premier League)

Petr Cech - Chelsea.  One of the top 5 or 6 goalies in the world, who lost his first team spot to one of the top 3 or 4 goalies in the world, is rushed into emergency duty after Thibault Courtouis suffers an apparent concussion due to the reckless play of Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez in the 24th minute.  All Cech did was shake of the rust and keep the clan sheet against the Gunners.

Goat of the Week

Matt Forte, RB - Chicago Bears.  His horrible fumble coast the Bears an easily winnable game at home against the Carolina Panthers, one in which the Bears committed turnovers on each of their last three possessions to give Carolina the win, and move the Bears to 0-3 at home this season.

Goat of the Week (Premier League)

David Nugent, Leicester City - After coming into the game against Burnley in the 63rd minute, Burnley held a 2-1 lead late into the game when Nugent commits a fouls just outside the box that earns him a yellow card and gives a free kick to Burnley, which Ross Wallace promptly converts in the 6th minute of extra time to steal a point.  Nugent's foul definitely cost Leicester 2 points for the win.

Hit of the Week

Geno Smith, QB - New York Jets - The blow to his ego must have obliterated him.

Breakthrough Performance

Austin Davis, QB - St. Louis Rams - Finished with 375 yards and 3 Touchdowns (with 2 fumbles), in a 34-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.  That being said, we cannot look at Davis as a wide-eyed inexperienced backup anymore.  Davis can play.  He might make some mistakes, but he can play.

Finally

Buffalo Bills - For finally giving Kyle Orton a chance.  Say what you will about Orton, but he has been around the league and will not be frazzled when thrust into a game situation.  Orton finished 30-43 for 302 yards and 1 touchdown, and more importantly, the Bills won, defeating Detroit 17-14.

Impact Injury

Reggie Bush, RB - Detroit Lions.  Buffalo really took control of the game once Bush went out, and his versatility as a runner and as a receiver out of the backfield will be missed if he is out significant time.

Team Rising

Green Bay Packers - Two division wins in a row, and more importantly, two wins in which the Packer offense has looked unstoppable.

Team Falling

Chicago Bears - The Bears are 0-3 at home, and have lost two games that easily should have been wins except for late turnovers.  If you cannot close out games you are winning, you are not going to win a lot of games.

Best Teams

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. San Diego Chargers
3. Denver Broncos
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. Indianapolis Colts

Worst Teams
(All winless teams will be bottomed ranked teams until none are left - then the rankings will be the result of my true thoughts and not just records)

32. Jacksonville Jaguars
31. Oakland Raiders
30. New York Jets
29. Tennessee Titans
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Middle Teams

15.  Detroit Lions
16.  Houston Texans
17.  Kansas City Chiefs
18.  Atlanta Falcons

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

4.  Chicago Bears v. Atlanta Falcons - Not because the teams are so great, but because this game is incredibly important for both 2-3 teams to win.  Chicago and Atlanta were both pre-season playoff contenders, and the loser of this games likely drops out of the hunt.  Interesting stat is that the Bears are undefeated on the raod so far this year while the Falcons are undefeated at home.  Obviously one of those is going to end this week.

3. Carolina Panthers v. Cincinnati Bengals - Two very good teams looking to earn a statement win; Carolina to keep pace in the NFC and Cincinnati to show last week's shellacking at the hands of the Patriots was an anomaly.

2.  New York Giants v. Philadelphia Eagles - Two high-octane offenses in a battle of division contenders?  Yes, please!

1. Dallas Cowboys v. Seattle Seahawks - Winner has early control of the tough NFC.

Trivia

Peyton Manning passed the 500 touchdown barrier this week, becoming the second quarterback in history to do so (after Brett Favre).  Against what team has Manning thrown the most touchdowns, and who has caught the most of Manning's touchdown passes?

Sports Bar Review of the Week

I am behind by about one review, as I went to a couple of bars (1 for college and 1 for NFL a couple of weeks ago), so this is my catch up review from the one Monday Night Football game I went out to watch earlier this year.

Sports Page Bar and Grill, 535 25th Street, West Palm Beach, FL

This was last year's local Bears viewing bar, but since then new owners have taken over so it felt like a completely new bar - even though not one thing cosmetically or substantively has really changed from the previous owners.

Ambiance, the bar itself - literally the bar - is really amazing as the back trough behind the bar is frozen daily, so you can sit your drink in the ice to provide a really cold coaster.  It is old, with a great feel to it.

The sports feel is good, but not as great as it should be for having as many televisions as it does.  There are a lot of obstructed views of televisions, with taps, or bottles or other items in front of some of the televisions.  Even though it is not optimal, it is still pretty good, and each table has its own television to view if you are not in the bar area.

Food is all over the place; from traditional bar food to italian to seafood to you name it.  I would like to see the menu streamlined so that it might be easier for the kitchen to concentrate on a food type, but generally the food tastes pretty good.  We had conch fritters and the buffalo chicken sandwich. on this occasion, but have had nachos and wings and other items in the past.  The presentation leaves a lot to be desired - especially on the buffalo chicken sandwich - but it tastes pretty good.  Not great, but good.

The beer selection is small, consisting primarily of your domestics with a handful of popular imports (Heinekin, Amstel, Stella, etc.) and a couple of local crafts - primarily Due South's Caramel Cream Ale.  They do have bucket specials during football games - which is nice.

Service was slow, but more deliberate than dawdling.  On this occasion the entire bar was slow (maybe 8 people total), so that may have had an effect on the listless service.  Nice service, not particularly versed in the menu or the drinks, but nice.


Service - AFC North
Drinks - NFC East
Food (Presentation) - AFC East
Food (Taste) - AFC West
Cleanliness - NFC North
Sports Accommodations - NFC North
Overall - Kansas City Chiefs (third in AFC West)

Rating System Best to Worst:  NFC West, NFC North, NFC South, AFC West, AFC North, AFC South, NFC East, AFC East

Trivia Answer

The last time that the NFL actually had interesting games or teams in London was ... NEVER!

NFL Wrap-Up

Here are my thoughts from Week 3 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see.  I finally was able to secure a spot at a local watering hole with lots of friends and lots more football fans, so I was able to take in portions of almost every game!

Game of the Week

Miami Dolphins 38 v. Oakland Raiders 14 (in London).  Only because the NFL requires me to make this the Game of the Week due to its being played in London.  Just kidding, the NFL lets us all do what we want to do.  Right?

San Francisco 49ers 26 v. Philadelphia Eagles 21.  Two playoff-looking teams in a dogfight, with San Francisco just needing (and wanting) it a bit more.  San Francisco held the vaunted Eagles offense scoreless in the second half, to come back from a 21-13 deficit to win the game.  I don't think San Francisco is as good as they have been the past two years, but if they can survive until Game 10 (when Aldon Smith returns) they could make some waves late in the season.

Best Team Performance

New York Giants.  In a game between two teams that looked like the had finally turned the corner coming in, the Giants absolutely annihilated the Washington Whatever their Name is Eventually Going to Be.  Eli Manning looked, dare I say, "Elite" in carving up Washington's secondary, and Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams both had their way with the defense as well.

Least Impressive Team Performance

Tennessee Titans.  Normally there would be nothing wrong with losing a game on the road to the Indianapolis Colts, but the Titans looked like they didn't even show up.  Perhaps it was because they had to play the entire game with Charlie Whitehurst at quarterback, but having Whitehurst lead the team in rushing also evidenced just how unimpressive this performance was by Tennessee.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Phillip Rivers, QB - San Diego Chargers- Another total annihilation of the Jaguars, in large part because Rivers went 29-39 for 377 with 3 TDs.  Yes the Jaguars are horrible, but Rivers did exactly what you are supposed to do to bad teams.  Honorable mention to Demarco Murray of the Cowboys.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
Husain Abdullah, FS - Kansas City Chiefs. He did some of everything on the defensive side of the ball for the Chiefs in their defeat of the New England Patriots.  He had 8 tackles, 3 passes defensed, a QB hit and the interception that he returned for a touchdown.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Dustin Colquitt, P - Kansas City Chiefs.  Once again, his booming punts kept filed position in the Chiefs' favor all game.  Averaged 45 yards a punt, only two of which were returned - for a total of 10 yards.

Most Impressive Team Performance (Premier League)

Chelsea.  Defeated Aston Villa 3-0 to maintain their place at the top of the Premier League Table with 5 wins and a draw in 6 matches.  In addition, Chelsea managed to get 3 goals passed Brad Guzan, the goalie that most experts believe had been playing the best to start the season.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Premier League)

Edin Dzeko - Manchester.  Dzeko scored a brace against Hull City, the second being the go-ahead goal as City defeated Hull 4-2.

Goat of the Week

Brad Wing, P - Pittsburgh Steelers - After the Steelers were unable to gain a game-winning first down after getting the ball back up 4 with 1:44 remaining in the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brad Wing shanked a 29 yard punt giving the Buccaneers the ball at Pittsburgh's 46 with 40 seconds left, which Tampa used to score the game-winning touchdown.

Goat of the Week (Premier League)

Wayne Rooney, Manchester United - After scoring an opening goal, Rooney proceeded to earn a straight red card, which also results in him missing this weekend's clash at home against Everton.

Hit of the Week

Jason Garrett, Coach - Dallas Cowboys - For his hits on Cowboy Wide Receiver Terrence Williams after Williams caught his second TD pass of the game.

Breakthrough Performance

Travis Kelce, TE - Kansas City Chiefs. After showing promise earlier in the year, Kelce broke out with an 8 catch 93 yard performance that included a touchdown.  Much more important than just the stat line was that Kelce looked like the type of tight end that could be a primary receiver, catching the ball, creating mismatches, running after the catch and making people miss.

Finally

Jacksonville Jaguars - They lost, and badly, but they finally gave the start to rookie Blake Bortles, who looks to have the skills and demeanor to be a real quality quarterback in the NFL.

Impact Injury

DeAngelo Williams, RB - Carolina Panthers.  To a team that relies primarily on running the ball and its defense, this injury really hurts, especially when added to the list of other injured running backs, Jonathan Stewart, Mike Tolbert and Fozzy Whittaker.

Team Rising

New York Giants - Perhaps the problem with the Giants was not that they were terrible, it may just have taken time to get used to the new offensive coordinator and his system, but boy have they ever.  They host the Falcons, and are at divisional rivals the Eagles and Cowboys before the bye week, so we will learn a lot about the Giants in October.

Team Falling

New England Patriots - Every sports talk show was asking if the Belichick-Brady dynasty is over.

Best Teams
(All undefeated teams will be top ranked teams until none are left - then the rankings will be the result of my true thoughts and not just records).

1. Cincinnati Bengals
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. San Diego Chargers

Worst Teams
(All winless teams will be bottomed ranked teams until none are left - then the rankings will be the result of my true thoughts and not just records)

32. Jacksonville Jaguars
31. Oakland Raiders
30. Tennessee Titans
29. Cleveland Browns
28. Washington Whatever their New Name is Going to Be

Middle Teams

15.  Kansas City Chiefs
16.  Green Bay Packers
17.  New York Giants
18.  Chicago Bears

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

Bonus Game (since last week most of the match up sucked, this week, we have ore interesting games) - Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos.  The undefeated Cardinals bring their stellar defense on the road against the Broncos' vaunted offense.  If Arizona can win this game, they will definitely make a statement to the rest of the league.

4.  Kansas City Chiefs v. San Francisco 49ers - If we get both teams that played last week, this will be an exciting and very tough game to watch.

3. Atlanta Falcons v. New York Giants - Assuming that the Giants' offense has in fact gelled together, this could be the best offensive scoring game we have seen in a long, long time.

2.  Houston Texans v. Dallas Cowboys - The battle for Texas is also the battle to go 4-1!

1. Baltimore Ravens v. Indianapolis Colts - The Colts continue their tough opening schedule after their brief respite against the Titans last week.  The Ravens have looked downright dominating at times.

Trivia

When was the last time that the NFL actually had interesting games or teams in London?

Sports Bar Review of the Week

As stated earlier, I was at a Sports Bar this Sunday, so that is the bar that gets the review.

Duffy's Sports Grill, 225 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach, FL

I must confess that I have been to this place too many times to count, as well as many other locations within this growing Florida chain.  Generally, I like Duffy's, but this review is strictly about this past visit at this one location, and not about my normal overall thoughts and other locations.

The place was packed, but not overly so, a little bit surprising considering that the Dolphins (local team), Bills (huge local following), Bears-Packers (big rivalry) and other games were on.  Our waitress was named Jessie, and she came immediately upon us sitting at the table and ordered our drinks..

This is a generic sports bar, in that its menu is exactly what you would expect; wings, burgers, salads, entrees, appetizers.  But what makes this place great is it is on a very busy downtown corner, with sight-lines down both streets to see the activities, and lots of televisions facing in every direction.  From practically any seat you can have a great view of 4 different televisions, and you can see more, just not as direct.  Lots of planning is done prior to Sunday to make sure all of the games are accurately spaced-out so that each patron can view many different games should they choose to do so.

The food is what I would consider very good bar food.  Normally I would get the wings, but for some reason I wanted to try something different, off the "football menu" - the buffalo chicken sliders.  However, the name is a bit of a misnomer, as this was not mini-buffalo chicken sandwiches.  This was chicken meatballs, stuffed with blue cheese (which was piping hot and delicious), and then shaken in a wing sauce of your choice.  My choice was the spicy garlic, which is outstanding.  We also had an order of chicken nachos, which are good, but exactly what you would expect.

In addition to the standard food fair, Duffy's has pretty standard beer selection, with some craft beers being present on the menu as well, but nothing outside of the ordinary.  After realizing I had settled down for some long football watching, I had boring Bud Light, while others in our group had Stella Artois.  Duffy's does also have a full bar, which some in our group may - or may not - have taken advantage of.

A pretty good time (except for the outcome of the football game I was watching) until the end.  Jessie was great and pre-delivered separate checks to our party.  She knew because she had waited on several of us on a number of occasions previously.  All the tabs were paid, except for one guy who simply questioned the amount of beers placed on his tab.  He was charged for 5 beers, which does not seem like a big deal so I will break it down for you.  Duffy's has 2-for-1s, so that meant he had 10 if he was charged for 5.  Again, not so bad for watching an entire set of early games, except for the fact that Duffy's also has large beers, which is what was ordered at our table.  So that means he actually had 20 regular beers.  This is over the course of just over 3 hours.  So basically he was finishing a beer every 10 minutes.  Mathematically this does not make sense for someone at a restaurant (at a party, at home, the beach, at the tailgate, maybe, but not in the restaurant).  When he questioned his tab, Jessie rightfully summoned the manager over, who was entirely and completely argumentative from the start.  He said those were the beers that were ordered, and we were going to pay for them or he was going to have security escort us out to the cops.  (Downtown West Palm Beach has a private security company that patrols the area - paid for by the City).  Now, the bill was not that high, the cost was not the issue, we were just questioning the number on that one particular tab.  The manager said that it had to be correct because nobody else was drinking Bud Light.  Now I know that was not true because I was, and so was the guy sitting next to me.  So basically, what was a simple question about the potential for extra drinks being on a bill - which has happened to me before at this establishment so I believe it to be a possibility in this case - turned into a tremendous overreaction from the manager and about 12 people who no longer want to go to this establishment.

Too bad the manager didn't know that I write this review section up weekly.  Let's just hope that the readership of this blog rises enough to make a difference.

I want to be clear, I have no problems with our waitress Jessie.  Perhaps she made a mistake in ringing up beers, perhaps not.  Perhaps one of  my beers ended up on my friend's tab - in which case I would have paid it no problem.  Who knows?  But, she was a good waitress, and when the issue presented itself she went to the manager.

He, however, was nothing but argumentative and never wanted to even listen to us speak - much less listen to my mathematical breakdown as detailed above.  At least ACT like you are listening to your customer.

Service (during the games) - NFC North
Service (management) - AFC East
Drinks - AFC South
Food - NFC South
Cleanliness - NFC West
Sports Rating - NFC West
Overall (not including management) - Minnesota Vikings (3rd in the NFC North)
Overall (including management) - Pittsburgh Steelers (3rd in the AFC North)

Rating System Best to Worst:  NFC West, NFC North, NFC South, AFC West, AFC North, AFC South, NFC East, AFC East

Trivia Answer

In the game against the Eagles, Pierre Garcon had 138 receiving yards and DeSean Jackson had 117 receiving yards.  The last time the Redskins had two receiver over 100 yards in the same game was 2003.  The receivers were LAVERANUES COLES (180 yards) and ROD GARDNER (118 yards) on September 13, 2013 against Atlanta.

NFL Wrap-Up

Here are my thoughts from Week 3 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see.  I did not watch a ton of games as I was actually at the Kansas City - Miami  game, but I did see that one and Monday Night's game in total.  Was also able to catch parts of a lot of the early games!

Game of the Week

Philadelphia Eagles 37 v. Washington Whatever They Are Going to Be Called 34.  The second consecutive week that the Eagles have made this entry.  High-flying performances from both offenses, close game throughout, Kirk Cousins with 427 yards in his season (starting) debut, DeSean Jackson's return to Philadelphia, and a fight.  This game practically had it all.

Best Team Performance

Atlanta Falcons.  Defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 56-14, but it was not even that close.  It was 56-0 at the end of the third quarter.  Matt Ryan was an efficient 21 of 24 with 3 TDs, and it seemed like nobody could even try to cover Julio Jones.  An all-around dominating performance by the Falcons.

Least Impressive Team Performance

Miami Dolphins.  It would be easy to select the Buccaneers (see above) or the Jacksonville Jaguars, who lost 44-17 to the Colts, but both of those blowouts were to really good teams.  The Kansas City Chiefs dissected the Dolphins defense so thoroughly that Knile Davis had over 100  yards rushing.  Yes that Knile Davis.  The one that doesn't start.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Andrew Luck, QB - Indianapolis- It wasn't just the 44-17 victory, or the 370 yards, but the fact that he also did this while only throwing 39 attempts, completing 31 of them.  That is just under 10 yards per attempt and over 75% completion rate.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
Muhammad Wilkerson, DE - New York Jets. Almost single-handedly kept the Jets in the Monday night game against the Bears, a game which could have ended up being an early blowout by the Bears.  He finished with 1 1/2 sacks and 3 QB hits, but he was everywhere.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Dustin Colquitt, P - Kansas City Chiefs.  His 48.8 yard net punting average seems way lower than what it looked like happened on the field.  His booming punts changed filed position all game in favor of the Chiefs.

Most Impressive Team Performance (Premier League)

Arsenal.  Scored three goals in the span of 4 minutes (Mesuit Ozil, Danny Welbeck and an OG), to defeat Aston Villa 3 - nil on the road at Villa Park.  This was an important victory for the Gunners as they sit currently in 4th place in the Premier League table, just one point behind Aston Villa.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Premier League)

Leonardo Ulloa - Leicester City.  The Argentine scored a brace against Manchester United, including an insurance penalty kick in the 83rd minute to seal the victory at home over Manchester United.

Goat of the Week

Geno Smith, QB - New York Jets - He threw too horrible interceptions, one in the end zone to kill a promising drive, and the first one which was nowhere near the receiver on a flare screen, and which Ryan Mundy returned for a touchdown.  Smith was definitely the difference maker in this game.

Goat of the Week (Premier League)

Pablo Zabaleta, Manchester City - The Manchester City defense was so hell-bent on being physical with Chelsea striker Diego Costa trying to provoke HIM, that it was not shocking when it was Zabaleta who in fact retaliated against Costa earning a red card (via his second yellow).  Five minutes later Andre Schurrle scored for Chelsea giving them a 1-nil lead.  Lucky for Zabaleta that long time Chelsea hero knotted the game a 1 apiece with his goal for City in the 85th minute.

Hit of the Week

Jared Cook, TE - St. Louis Rams.  After dropping a touchdown pass from quarterback Austin Davis, the first thing Cook did when he got to the sideline was to shove Davis.

Breakthrough Performance

Kirk Cousins, QB - Washington Whatever Name They Are Soon Going to Be Called. He played some in relief of Robert Griffin, III over the past couple of years, but nothing like this week's 427 yard performance.  Perhaps Washington could do something in the not-so powerful NFC East.

Finally

Tony Romo, QB - Dallas Cowboys - He has a reputation for choking away games, especially at the end (whether this is a deserved reputation or not is up for debate).  Nevertheless, he led the Cowboys in a come-from-behind win after trailing the Rams.

Impact Injury

Danny Woodhead, RB - San Diego Chargers.  The versatile running back has been placed on injured reserve - and thus lost for the season - with a broken fibula.  Although not a superstar, he is the type of cog on a football team that often determines whether a team succeeds or does not.  He does a little bit of everything from the running back position, which is important for a team that has already lost Ryan Matthews for a bit of time and a team that likes to involve running backs in their passing game.  A very important loss for a team with their sights set on contending for the Super Bowl.

Team Rising

Chicago Bears - Two wins on the road in prime time, and in fairly convincing fashion (on the field if not in the score).  If the defense tightens up just a little bit more, this team is going to be really scary to those in the NFC North.

Team Falling

New England Patriots - Barely defeated an hapless Oakland Raiders team and looked bad while doing it.  If this is any consolation, the Steelers were the team falling last week and managed to dominate this week against the Carolina Panthers.

Best Teams
(All undefeated teams will be top ranked teams until none are left - then the rankings will be the result of my true thoughts and not just records).

1. Cincinnati Bengals
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. Philadelphia Eagles
4. Seattle Seahawks
5. Denver Broncos

Worst Teams
(All winless teams will be bottomed ranked teams until none are left - then the rankings will be the result of my true thoughts and not just records)

32. Jacksonville Jaguars
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
30. Oakland Raiders
29. Miami Dolphins
28. Minnesota Vikings

Middle Teams

15.  San Francisco 49ers
16.  Pittsburgh Steelers
17.  New Orleans Saints
18.  Houston Texans

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

4.  No number 4 because their are 6 teams on a bye and the games generally suck.

3. Carolina Panthers v. Baltimore Ravens - Two teams at an early crossroads in their season, and both could certainly use a nice win at this juncture as 3-1 looks a whole lot better than 2-2 for some reason.

2.  Chicago Bears v. Green Bay Packers - Can the Bears win their third consecutive big game on the road or will Green Bay rebound from their funk?  Also, this is the best rivalry in professional sports.

1. Philadelphia Eagles v. San Francisco 49ers - The powerful offense of the Philadelphia Eagles against what used to be a stingy 49ers defense.  The Eagles could stay at 4-0 while San Francisco is trying to avoid falling into a 1-3 hole.

Trivia

In the game against the Eagles, Pierre Garcon had 138 receiving yards and DeSean Jackson had 117 receiving yards.  The last time the Redskins had two receiver over 100 yards in the same game was 2003.  Can you name the receivers?

Sports Bar Review of the Week

As stated earlier, I was at SunLife Stadium for the Kansas City - Miami debacle on Sunday, but I did venture out to watch the college games on Saturday.  So, I will review that place.

Roxy's Pub, 309 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach, FL

I must confess that I have been to this place too many times to count, so this is not exactly a completely uninterested review.  But that being said ...

The place was ridiculously packed, with every seat and most of the walkways filled with people, yet somehow you could still maneuver.  It took a little while to order the first drink, but after that, it was very friendly and timely.  Two bartenders that I did not know served us, but they were generally great after that first drink order.

This is actually an Irish pub, that does a really good facsimile of a sports bar.  There are four televisions on each side of the inside of the bar (8 total), for bar patrons to have a good view of the games, four more on the outside of the bar for those in the restaurant.  The big plus, a huge wall of various size televisions on the back wall so that those seated in the back area can see lots and lots of games.  As a sports bar it is not phenomenal,  unless you are at the back wall, but for an Irish pub, it is a great sports bar.

The food is what I would consider very good bar food.  Although somewhat common now, it was the first place I ever saw macaroni and cheese balls, which are excellent.  We usually go for our staple, the grilled wings and the chicken nachos.  The grilled wings are great with the hot teriyaki sauces mixed, and the chicken nachos are delicious, huge and made with homemade chicken chili.  Unless you have about 4 people, order the half portion.  In the past I have eaten the burgers and several wraps, which are all good, especially with the seasoned fries.

The best thing about Roxy's - the beer.  About 64 taps, most of them fairly common craft beers, meaning you can find just about whatever you like.  Our choices for the day included Avery White Rascal, Hooegarden, Abita Purple Haze, Sam Adams Oktoberfest and Harp.

Always a great time at Roxy's, even if it is overburdened with distraught Gator fans.

Service - NFC North
Drinks - NFC North
Food - NFC South
Cleanliness - NFC West
Overall - Chicago Bears (1st in the NFC North) - Really, really good!

Rating System Best to Worst:  NFC West, NFC North, NFC South, AFC West, AFC North, AFC South, AFC East, NFC East

Trivia Answer

With the loss to the Eagles on Monday night, Andrew Luck just missed the chance to set the record for most games by a quarterback without consecutive losses to start a career.  That record was held by DAN MARINO.

NFL Wrap-Up

Here are my thoughts from Week 1 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see.  I was not at my usual bar(s), so I did not see as much as usual, but still!

Game of the Week

Philadelphia Eagles 30 at. Indianapolis Colts 24.  Both teams moved the ball plenty, but not enough that it looked like the defenses did not matter.  Some exceptional performances by backup running backs (Darren Sproles and Ahmad Bradshaw), and a last minute drive to win the game, on the road, at the buzzer by a field goal.  All of this in prime time on a Monday Night.  Jon Gruden's head probably exploded.

Best Team Performance

Chicago Bears.  The Bears win at a seemingly more talented San Francisco, with their hobbling wide receivers Brandon Marshall (3 TDs) and Alshon Jeffrey the difference in the second half, and losing the heart of their usually unimpressive defense (Charles Tillman).  Jay Cutler leads an impressive comeback, and the defense, including 2 interceptions by first round draft pick Kyle Fuller contributes mightily.

Least Impressive Team Performance

Minnesota Vikings.  Without Adrian Peterson the team jumped out to a 7-0 lead, and then proceeded to lose to the Patriots 30-7.  For reasons not related to on-the-field play, Minnesota never had a chance this game.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

DeMarco Murray, RB - Dallas- With all due respect to Aaron Rodgers, who absolutely carved up the New York Jets secondary, Murray was the most impressive offensive player.  After a game in which people wrote off the Cowboys due to turnovers by Tony Romo in week 1, Murray took the ball, rushed for 167 yards and resurrected the Cowboys' hopes for the season.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
Kyle Fuller, CB - Chicago Bears. Two absolutely game turning/changing interceptions coming off the bench to replace the injured Charles Tillman.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Cody Parker, K - Philadelphia Eagles.  Hit a 36 yard field goal as time expired to win the game on the road in Indianapolis.

Goat of the Week

Adrian Peterson, RB - Minnesota Vikings - Inactivated against the Patriots after being indicted for charges in Texas related to child abuse of his kid for hitting the four year old with a switch, and this was not the first incident of this.  The Vikings started the season with a promising win, and now their year is completely over.

Hit of the Week

San Diego Chargers.  The entire team came out and hit the "toughest" team in the NFL - the Seattle Seahawks - in the mouth, and the Seahawks did not answer the bell after that.

Breakthrough Performance

Kyle Fuller, CB - Chicago Bears. He showed exactly why the Bears made him a first round pick, and will be the starter for the remainder of the season.

Finally

Cincinnati Bengals Coaching Staff - Giovanni Bernard had more carries that Andy Dalton had pass attempts (27-23) in a 24-10 win over the Falcons.  That may be a bit high for Bernard every game, but the equation seems about right.  Cincinnati can win it all if it keeps this up.

Impact Injury

Kansas City Chiefs - Lots of big names out (Robert Griffin III, Knowshon Moreno) out for extended periods of time, and lots of big names (Gerald McCoy, Ryan Matthews, A.J. Green) out for unspecified short periods of time, but no team lost more than the Chiefs, who after losing LB Derrick Johnson for the season last week, lost RB Jamaal Charles and S Eric Berry for unknown time periods this week.  The Chiefs are officially done.

Team Rising

Buffalo Bills - One of only 7 teams to start the season 2-0, and with the Jets and the Moreno-less Dolphins in their division, can safely think Wild Card possibilities, at least for now.

Team Falling

Pittsburgh Steelers - Thoroughly dominated by the Baltimore Ravens in a division game; a Ravens team that is not stellar by any stretch of the imagination.

Best Teams
(All undefeated teams will be top ranked teams until none are left - then the rankings will be the result of my true thoughts)

1. Denver Broncos
2. Cincinnati Bengals
3. Philadelphia Eagles
4. Carolina Panthers
5. Houston Texans

Worst Teams
(All winless teams will be top ranked teams until none are left - then the rankings will be the result of my true thoughts)

32. Jacksonville Jaguars
31. Oakland Raiders
30. New York Giants
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
28. Kansas City Chiefs

Middle Teams

15.  Detroit Lions
16.  Baltimore Ravens
17.  New York Jets
18.  Tennessee Titans

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

4. San Diego Chargers at Buffalo Bills - After what the Chargers did to the Seahawks last week, they have become a chic playoff pick.  The Bills being undefeated makes this game really interesting.  Which team makes a big jump to the playoff picture, the Bills who could be 3-0, or the Chargers, with Phillip Rivers and Antonio Gates looking as good as they ever have together?  Biggest game the  Bills have played in a long time.

3. San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals - Before last week, the 49ers were thought to be the only real competition for the Seahawks, but they were exposed a bit, especially by Chicago's big receivers.  Too bad Arizona doesn't have any of those - oh wait, they do.  The Cardinals defense could be great, even though they are missing Darnell Dockett for the season.  The winner gets the first leg up in the NFC West.

2. Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions - Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson and Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson could produce 1,000 yards of offense.  Which defense will make a plan to win the game?

1. Denver Broncos at Seattle Seahawks - Only the sixth time a Super Bowl rematch has occurred the following season.  Can Emmanuel Sanders, DeMarcus Ware and Aqib Talib make a difference this time around?  Seattle is virtually unbeatable at home.

Trivia

With the Colts loss to the Eagles on Monday night, Andrew Luck just missed the chance to set the record for most games by a quarterback without consecutive losses to start a career?  Who holds that record?

Sports Bar Review of the Week

I did not watch the NFL games at a Sports Bar, but I was recently at another sports bar with some college games on television, so I will review that one.

Murray Brothers Caddyshack Restaurant, 455 South Legacy Trail #E106, St. Augustine, FL

As you can probably guess, Caddyshack is a Caddyshack themed restaurant, owned by the Murray brothers, Brian Doyle-Murray the predominant writer of the movie - now on the television comedy Sullivan and Son - and Bill Murray being the most famous.  Complete with the servers wearing caddy bibs with various golf terms on the back, to the hostess stand being made from the front of a golf cart with the word "Starter" on the front, their is no mistaking the theme.

The service was friendly and good enough, but nothing astounding, with the waitress service at the table much better than the bartender.  I did not remember either the waitress's name, or the bartender's name, as I was not expecting to do this review on Caddyshack.  The bartender seemed more concerned with cleaning, even 2 hours before closing, than he did the games on the television, as he did not even know the primary sports channels in order to change games after one set was completed.  He was fairly attentive to the guests though, so that is OK.

Although the bar seems as if it is sports oriented, it really is not, as their were not great viewing lines to the televisions in order to watch the games, even though each was programmed to show a different game (except once one ended and whatever the next program was, was shown).  So for a sports bar, the bar was nothing special.  We ordered some local craft brews, which were not new to our group, but they were still pretty tasty.  Not that big of a selection overall, however.

For food, the chicken nachos were great, and more than enough for the four of us to share.  The burgers, mostly Chicago themed, were delicious, and I would definitely order them again.  As stated earlier, I did not expect to be doing this review, so I did not vary all of the orders of the group, nor did we share tastings in order to provide more information.  I would have tried the Chicago dog or the bratwurst, had I been thinking ahead.

Generally the restaurant/bar was clean, although the bartender used hot water to melt all of the ice in the beer bin, but kept the beers in the bin while he did that.  Pretty sure that could affect the taste of the beer.

Overall, a decent experience, but nothing special.  A big bonus for being less than 1/4 mile from where we were staying, though that has nothing to do with the restaurant!

Service - AFC West
Drinks - AFC West
Food - NFC South
Cleanliness - NFC South
Overall - Oakland Raiders (4th in the NFC West) - Good, but nothing special.

Rating System Best to Worst:  NFC West, NFC North, NFC South, AFC West, AFC North, AFC South, AFC East, NFC East

Trivia Answer

The first quarterback to defeat all 32 NFL franchises was BRETT FAVRE.

NFL Wrap-Up

Here are my thoughts from Week 1 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see.  I was not at my usual bar(s), so I did not see as much as usual, but still!

Game of the Week

Atlanta Falcons 37 v. New Orleans Saints 34.  This game had lots of action, tons of offense, and Atlanta's Matt Bahr kicking a 51 yard field goal at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime and then winning it with a 52 yarder.  Drew Brees and Matt Ryan threw for a combined 781 yards to 16 different receivers.  Plus, it was a divisional game in Week 1.  Great way to start the season for the Falcons, and the fans.

Best Team Performance

Seattle Seahawks. They decimated the NFC North champions and Aaron Rodgers.  Granted it was at home, where the Seahawks could go 8-0, but this team has no flaws.  Smart quarterback, they can run, they can pass, they can stop the run and they can stop the pass.  Wait, they do have a flaw - they need a punt returner.

Least Impressive Team Performance

Washington Whatever their new Name is Going to Be - They were horrible.  Plain and simple.  Is it too early to start the chant for Kirk Cousins?

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Julius Thomas, TE - Denver- 7 receptions, 104 yards and 3 TDs.  I wanted to choose Matt Ryan for his 448 yards passing, but Thomas was so uncoverable that it was not even fair to the Colts that he was on the field.  His 35 yard TD reception - in which he out ran the linebacker in coverage, then outmaneuvered the rest of the defense into the end zone was special.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
Eric Berry, S - Kansas City Chiefs. 15 tackles, including 14 solo tackles and a pass defensed, against a team that ran the ball 38 times and threw 33 (with 22 completions).  That is 1/4 of the tackles the Chiefs made were from Berry.  Cameron Wake and his 2 sacks and overall mayhem that he created also deserves mention.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Matt Bahr, K - Atlanta Falcons.  A 51 yard field goal as time expired to to tie the game, and a 52  yarder in overtime to win.

Goat of the Week

Robert Griffin, III, QB - Washington Whatever their new Name is Going to Be - Horrible.  Passing numbers not too bad (19/37 for 267 yards), but for a guy whose legs are supposed to be a weapon, being sacked three times and 2 yards on 3 rushes is not good.

Hit of the Week

Antonio Brown, WR/KR - Pittsburgh Steeler.  OK, so maybe it was a penalty, but his karate kick to Cleveland punter Spencer Lanning was downright funny to watch, and spawned its own internet meme.

Breakthrough Performance

Derek Carr - QB - Oakland Raiders. No the Raiders didn't win - but they covered (and as a west coast team playing the early game on the east coast, that seems next to impossible), and no Bradford did not play like a star.  he was 20-32 with 2 TDs and no interceptions.  But, he looked like he belonged in the NFL as a QB, especially given that his team ran for 25 total rushing yards.  He has a chance to really be good

Finally

Ray Rice, (Former) RB - Baltimore Ravens

Yes all of this came out on Monday, but it deserves mention.  Maybe it took the video for Baltimore to release him and the NFL to suspend him indefinitely, but as far as I am concerned, better late than never.

Impact Injury

Robert Mathis, DE - Indianapolis Colts/Derrick Johnson, LB - Kansas City Chiefs.  The best players on their respective defenses, and both are out for the season with torn Achilles.  Tough to see Indianapolis stopping anyone without Mathis to provide a pass rush.  At least the Colts might have the offense to outscore opponents.  Derrick Johnson is the heart and soul of a potential playoff defense, and the Chiefs do not have the same offensive firepower as the Colts.

Team Rising

Minnesota Viking - New coach; utilizing Adrian Peterson but not overusing him; solid defense; breakout by Cordarelle Patterson.  This team has the ability to challenge in the tough NFC North against the likes of Green Bay, Detroit and Chicago.

Team Falling

Dallas Cowboys/New York Giants/Washington Whatever their New Name is Going to Be - The Eagles may clinch this division by the end of October.

Best Teams

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. San Francisco 49ers
3. Denver Broncos
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. Detroit Lions

Worst Teams

32. Washington Redskins
31. St. Louis Rams
30. New York Giants
29. Kansas City Chiefs
28. Dallas Cowboys

Middle Teams

15.  Arizona Cardinals
16.  New York Jets
17.  Bufffalo Bills
18.  Houston Texans

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night would normally make this list just for the hard-hitting (literally) rivalry, however these two teams are both down a bit, and the history of the last couple of years has definitively shown that Thursday night games stink.  So, this game does not make the top 4.

4. Atlanta Falcons at Cincinnati Bengals - Two super exciting offenses, and does anybody really believe that the Falcons were as bad as their record last year.  The loss of LT Sam Baker could really hurt against a very underrated, yet spectacular, Cincinnati front 7.  AJ Green and Julio Jones continue to battle for supremacy from their recruiting class.

3. Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers - Despite the loss against Buffalo, the Bears gained an absolute ton of yards.  Although I do not expect that many yards against the Niners, this game should promise to be fun to watch, with San Francisco's offensive line proving to be the difference.

2. Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers - The classic strength versus strength match up, with the Lions vaunted offense going against the stellar - yes stellar - Panthers defense.  With Cam Newton coming back and Kelvin Benjamin to emerge as a go-to-receiver, the Panthers offense can control the game, and conversely, DeAndre Levy might be the most underrated defensive player in football.

1.  Philadelphia Eagles at Indianapolis Colts - If you asked 1,000 analysts and experts, 1,000 would say this is the game of the week.  If they do not, they should be fired as an analyst and they are not an expert.

Trivia

With Denver's victory over the Colts on Sunday night, Peyton Manning has now defeated all 32 franchises during his storied career, making him the second to do so. Who was the first?  Yes this is pretty easy, but this is week 1.

Sports Bar Review of the Week

As stated earlier, I did not watch the games at a Sports Bar to watch this week's games, so I will review one that I attended recently.

Taps Bar and Grille, 220 County Road 210 West, Jacksonville (St. Augustine, really), FL

Taps is more restaurant than bar, but has plenty of televisions and the casual atmosphere necessary for a good sports bar.  They had several games on the televisions (this day was actually college), and a general congenial atmosphere given that the staff and most of the patrons were wearing shirts of different rivals (primarily Florida and Florida State, but a smattering of Michigan State/Ohio State and others).  One guy even requested the Georgia Tech game.

The service was friendly and good, with both the bartenders and wait staff being incredibly friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, both beer and food.  They would, from time-to-time, become distracted, but nothing to ordinarily complain about if I was not writing this review.

As the name suggests, the bar concentrates serving a clientele that favors beer, particularly and almost exclusively of craft beers.  Your attention is immediately attracted to the digital board showcasing the craft beers in draft and bottle.  Our party partook of a local beer, the Intuition I-10 IPA, the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, the Tucher Hefeweizen, Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier and a Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA.  All delicious, although the bar did run out of the Tucher during our relatively short stay.

For food, the bartender recommended to try the smoked wings, which were on special at $.25 per, available in groups of 10.  We had the dry rub, foregoing the buffalo sauce, and this was a good cal as the flavor was delicious.  We also had the fried pickles appetizer, which were very good.  Now, as a caveat, I love pickles, but I find the fried pickle rend a little disturbing as some places do them well and some taste horrible.  Taps is in the former, luckily.  As an entree, we split the wedge salad and jambalaya.  The wedge was good, but nothing special, and the jambalaya was good, but not as spicy as I would prefer.

As a plus, the bar, restaurant and the restrooms were all extremely clean.

Overall, a very good experience, I would recommend Taps.

Service - NFC North
Drinks - NFC North
Food - NFC South
Cleanliness - NFC West
Overall - Detroit Lions (2nd or 3rd in the NFC North) - Pretty Darned Good

Rating System Best to Worst:  NFC West, NFC North, NFC South, AFC North, AFC West, AFC South, AFC East, NFC East

Trivia Answer

No question as this was Week 1.  Look for the answer to the previous week's question here each week.

NFL Wrap-Up

Here are my thoughts from Week 1 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see, and again, since I was at a bar all day drinking and watching football, that was a lot!

Game of the Week

Indianapolis Colts 24 at Houston Texans 34. There were no really classic games in Game 1. Some teams made a statement that they are better than expected, some teams made the opposite statement (I am looking at you New York Jets). This game was the game of the week for what it represented, The Houston Texans' emergence as a power in the NFL, and Indianapolis' comeuppance. Now Indianapolis may not slide into complete mediocrity, but they are at a point where other good teams are no longer scared of them. Houston, without great games from Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson, but behind a ridiculous effort by the offensive line leading to 231 rushing yards by Arian Foster, made a claim that they are the team to beat in the AFC South.

Best Team Performance

The New England Patiots. They completely dismantled the defending AFC North champions the Cincinnati Bengals, who became preseason darlings after the arrival of Terrell Owens. New England asserted control early, and eased into a 38-24 victory, letting the Jets know that despite Rex Ryan's assertions, the Jets are not the team to beat in the AFC East.

Least Impressive Team Performance

New York Jets - Horrific offensively against the Ravens, and they looked like they were completely lost on offense. The defense only gave up 10 points to a supposedly vaunted Ravens offense, but when needed, and especially on third down, Baltimore was able to have its way with the Jets.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Arian Foster, RB - Houston. 231 yards on 33 carries, including 4 consecutive carries during which he gained 98 yards. In all honesty, I don't know what was more impressive, Foster's running or the blocking provided by the offensive line.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
LaRon Landry, S - Washington Redskins. 17 tackles, including 13 solo tackles, against the hated rival Dallas Cowboys in a 13-7 victory. Honorable mention to Clay Matthews, who had 3sacks for Green Bay against the Eagles.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Dexter McCluster KR, Kansas City Chiefs. A 94 yard return for a TD in his NFL debut. In a game in which he was not supposed to play because of an illness. So much for being too small for the league.

Goat of the Week

Calvin Johnson, WR - Detroit Lions. Yes, in reality he caught the ball. We all saw it. But anyone who has watched the NFL for any length of time knows that if you go to the ground during a catch, you have to maintain possession the entire time. Apparently Johnson was too busy with his engineering studies to watch the NFL growing up.

Hit of the Week

Julius Peppers - DE, Chicago Bears. Not a classically great hit in terms of viewing pleasure, but Peppers separated Matthew Stafford's shoulder with his hit, knocking the QB out for several weeks, maybe months. You don't get much harder than that. Peppers must be chomping at the bit to go against the Cowboys' Alex Barron.

Breakthrough Performance

Sam Bradford - QB - St. Louis Rams. No the Rams didn't win, and no Bradford did not play like a star. But, he looked like he belonged in the NFL as a QB, and he had 55 pass attempts. Generally most rookie QBs don't throw that much in 4 or 5 games.

Finally

Michael Vick, QB - Philadelphia Eagles

After serving time in the federal pen, and after not playing much at all last year, Vick looked good in throwing the ball for 175 yards, and he looked like himself in rushing for 103 yards. He gets the start this week.

Impact Injury

So many to choose from this week, but I will have to go with Matthew Stafford. The Lions look like they could be emerging this season to respectability, and now they lose Stafford for an indeterminate number of weeks.

Team Rising

Kansas City Chiefs - They looked good in defeating the perennial AFC West favorites San Diego Chargers. More importantly, they looked fun, not boring, with Charles and McCluster breaking off big plays.

Team Falling

Toss Up between the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys, but I am going to pick the Cowboys, because they lost to the Redskins. The Jets at least lost to the Baltimore Ravens, a team some consider a Super Bowl favorite.

Best Teams

1. New Orleans Saints
2. New England Patriots
3. Houston Texans
4. Tennessee Titans
5. New York Giants

Worst Teams

32. San Francisco 49ers
31. Cleveland Browns
30. Oakland Raiders
29. Carolina Panthers
28. Cincinnati Bengals

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

4. Chicago Bears at Dallas Cowboys - Is it possible that Dallas is as bad as it has shown in the preseason games and week 1? The Bears looked really good at times against the Lions, but the Cowboys aren't the Lions.

3. New England Patriots at New York Jets - After last weeks debacle, the Jets really need to assert some control over the other playoff favorites. New England looks to continue its dominance from last week.

2. Miami Dolphins v. Minnesota Vikings - Can Miami be that good without any real stars? Can Minnesota start 0-2? Both important questions that can be answered early in the season.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers v. Tennessee Titans - Two tough grind it out teams fight for early season supremacy. Steelers D v. Chris Johnson. Dennis Dixon with a game under his belt. Who knows what could happen?

Trivia
Houston Texans RB Arian Foster surprisingly rushed for 231 yards last week. This should not have been that much of a surprise as he is the second leading rusher in Tennessee Volunteer history. Who is the first? Answer provided next week.

Sports Bar Review of the Week
This is a new segment this year. Me and my peeps are going to attempt to watch the NFL games every Sunday from a different sports bar. My review of the bar will be in this section of the NFL Wrap-Up. This week's bar - JJ Muggs Stadium Grill in the Abacoa section of Jupiter, Florida.

JJ Muggs is in a great location, right across from the Spring Training stadium of the St. Louis Cardinals and the Florida Marlins. At first, it looks like a great sports bar, with lots of televisions in all good angles for watching. However, we were asked to move from our table because it was "reserved", and those that reserved it had arrived. We later find out that the reserving party was a bunch of employees, including the girlfriend of one of the managers. We were escorted upstairs, which is a nice area for a private party, but not so great for NFL Sunday. The televisions are located only along one wall, running perpendicular to the tables. Not good angles for watching the actual games.

Our bartender/waitress, Katie, was very attentive and generally really good. Although she seemed incredibly busy, running a small bar and about 10 tables by herself, she generally kept on top of everything.

The bar offers all you can eat wings during football Sundays, and although the buffalo style was OK, the barbecue wings were great. The sauce was exceptional, and we ordered more than several plates.

The beer was cold, the prices were good, and the experience might have been better if only it was easier to watch the actual games. It was better for the 4:00 games, as most of the bar cleared out after the early games finished, but generally, it was difficult to maneuver to watch more than one game.

On a scale of 1-10, the overall rating is a 3. It might have been higher if we were downstairs, and it would have been even higher if we weren't kicked out from downstairs. The saving grace was Katie and the barbecue sauce.

NFL Wrap-Up (Week 3 Version)

Here are my thoughts from Week 3 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see, and again, since I was at a bar all day drinking and watching football, that was a lot!

Game of the Week

New Orleans Saints at Denver Broncos. As much as I would love to say it was the Dolphins at the Patriots, that game was only at its best by virtue of the outcome. New Orleans had lots of passing (Marshall 155 receiving yards, Brees 421 yards passing), lost of scoring, two point conversion attempts and a kazoo sighting (that's Martin Grammatica if you didn't know). Denver clicking on all offensive cylinders, but again not being able to stop anybody. I am looking forward to a lot of exciting Denver games this year.

Best Team Performance

The Miami Dolphins. They certainly earned it this week. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams ran all over the Patriots defense, the playcalling was genius and inventive and Joey Porter spent most of the game in the New England backfield. An incredible win by a team that really needed one. The inventive play calling shouldn't have come as a surprise since QB coach David Lee, was last seen as the Offensive Coordinator/QB coach at Arkansas, that ran their famous "Wildcat" formation with both Darren McFadden and Felix Jones.

Least Impressive Team Performance

New England Patriots - for all of the above reasons.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Ronnie Brown, RB - Miami. Brandon Marshall followed up his award winning week from last year with another 155 yards receiving and a TD, but he doesn't even come close to Brown's week. Ronnie Brown gained 113 yards on 17 carries, scored 4 TDs himself and threw for a 5th, all against the heretofore vaunted Patriots.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
Antonio Cromartie, CB - San Diego Chargers. Yes, I know the interception was against Brett Favre so it was bound to occur, but the athleticism involved in that particular interception was amazing. The timing, the coordination, and the ability to adjust to the deflection, and then the composure to run it back.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Rian Lindell K, Buffalo Bills. Kicked a game winning 38 yard field goal as time expired. I won't say too much more about kickers.


Goat of the Week

OK, so I lied. Martin Grammatica, K, New Orleans. 1 for 3 in FGs, including a late potential game winner.

Hit of the Week

Once again our winner is Ronnie Brown, who bowled over Ellis Hobbs at the goal line for a touchdown, especially since Brown could have avoided Hobbs by going either left or right, as nobody else was close. Instead, Brown lowered his shoulder to go through and over Hobbs.

Breakthrough Performance

Julius Jones, RB - Seattle Seahawks - for his 140 yard rushing performance after everybody thought his career was washed up. Why did people think that anyway? I agree he is no Marion Barber, but he certainly isn't a slouch. May have saved Seattle's season, although the game was against St. Louis.

Finally

Carson Palmer, QB - Cincinnati Bengals

No Kim Kardashian pictures this week. This is an award for "finally doing something this year" as opposed to "finally doing something at all", but Palmer was 27-39 for 286 and 1 TD, to hopefully put this offense back on the right track.

Ok, maybe one Kardashian picture.

Impact Injury

Charles Tillman, CB - Chicago Bears - Tillman got his feelings hurt after the Bears managed to stop the Bucs on third down deep in Buccaneer territory, meaning great field position for the Bears in overtime and an easy few runs and field goal. Except, Tillman had to take umbrage to the physical play of Tampa and earn a personal foul, giving Tampa a first down, and ultimately the game. Now granted, the fouls should have been offsetting, at least, as I saw one Buc player throw 3 punches, but Charles, the best way to strike back would be to win.

Team Rising

Buffalo Bills - Although played relatively poorly against the Raiders for 3 quarters, they still pulled out the win, are 3-0, and in first place in the AFC East.

Team Falling

New England Patriots _ I don't care if you did start Matt Cassell, or Kevin O'Connell or Matt Gutierrez, you are still supposed to be the Patriots. And this was the Dolphins.

Best Teams

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Philadelphia Eagles
3. Green Bay Packers
4. New York Giants
5. Denver Broncos

Worst Teams

32. St. Louis Rams
31. Kansas City Chiefs
30. Cleveland Browns
29. Oakland Raiders
28. Houston Texans

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

4. Philadelphia at Chicago - I only added this as a fourth game because, as a Bears fan, I am interested in seeing if the Bears can be as prolific as their Week 1 Sunday night victory over the Colts, and/or if we are going to see Caleb Hanie in at QB for the Bears because the Eagles knock out both Orton and Grossman. Naturally, the Eagles will only knock out Orton, and Grossman will play well enough to create a QB controversy.

3. Green Bay at Tampa Bay - The renewal of a good old fashioned NFC Central rivalry, between teams that look pretty good so far this year. Winner will be 3-1.

2. Atlanta at Carolina - Winner moves to 3-1 and at least a share of the the NFC South lead, depending upon the game listed above.

1. Baltimore at Pittsburgh - Could be the lowest scoring game since, well, last year's Miami Pittsburgh game played in the awful, and I mean awful, field conditions of Heinz.

Last Week's Trivia Answer
Philadelphia Eagles WR Don Looney was the first WR in history to amass two consecutive 100 yard receiving games to start his NFL career. As we saw this year, Ealges WR DeSean Jackson was the second.

Trivia
All of the Philadelphia Eagles sacks on Roethlisberger got me to thinking, what NFL player has the most consecutive games recording at least 1 sack? Please no online searches, and place your guesses in the comments. Answer provided next week.

NFL Wrap-Up (Week 2 Version)

Here are my thoughts from Week 2 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see, and since I was at a bar all day drinking and watching football, that was a lot!

Game of the Week

San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos. No question whatsoever. This game had it all; big plays, special teams, backups performing admirably (Darren Sproles), brilliant homecoming (Brandon Marshall), Ed Hochuli, and well, blown calls by Ed Hochuli. Add to that a malfunctioning replay system and this game had it all. San Diego was robbed. Honorable Mention to Philly at Dallas, although that game was amazing as well.

Best Team Performance

Dallas Cowboys. They showed the NFL that they are currently the best team in the league with a scintillating 41 - 37 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. This game could have gone either way, but Dallas outscored Philadelphia 17-7 in the second half, when the defenses finally showed up at the game. Tony Romo was 25-37 for 312, including a big play to T.O., and Jason Witten with 7 catches for 110 yards. If the defense can make the big plays everyone is expecting them to, watch out. They did sack Donovan twice on Philly's last series. Plus, they have our Patron Saint.

Least Impressive Team Performance

This is difficult, but I am going with the Miami Dolphins over the Kansas City Chiefs this week. Miami wins primarily because they gave up a 79 yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin on Arizona's third play from scrimmage after the Cardinals lined him up in the slot to get 1-on-1 coverage by a linebacker. I mean, its not like Boldin has ever done anything in this league for the Dolphins to worry about.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Brandon Marshall, WR - Denver. So many great performances this week, but Marshall had the second highest total of catches in a single game in NFL history, with 18, for 166 yards and 1 TD.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
Jon Beason, LB - Carolina Panthers. 11 tackles against the Chicago Bears, plus he seemed to get stronger as the game progressed. The entire Carolina defense took their strength from him and became better and better throughout the game. Plus, Big Beast perpetrated the first 7th Floor Crew-on-7th Floor Crew crime in NFL history when he recovered G-Reg's first fumble of the game.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Darren Sproles - San Diego Chargers. Felix Jones also had quite a weekend, but Sproles 103 yard Kickoff Return for a TD, coupled with his catch-and-scamper in the 4th quarter which felt like a return, takes this weekly honor. Two excellent weeks for former LDT backups (see Turner, Michael from last week).


Goat of the Week

I was sooooo going to award this to Greg Olsen, who fumbled the ball away twice leading to two scoring drives for the Panthers in their 20-17 victory of my Chicago Bears, but I couldn't because of ....

Hit of the Week

Ed Hochuli's hit on the entire Charger Nation when he blew his whistle. If you don't know what I am talking about, quit reading .... NOW!

Breakthrough Performance

Since I prefaced them last week, and since they both showed up strong this week, this award goes to Eddie Royal and DeSean Jackson, although Jackson was a bit boneheaded by throwing the ball away before actually entering the endzone. Both of them have served notice that they are receivers to be reckoned with in this league, now, not in the future, but now. Royal had 5 catches for 37 yards, but he scored the last TD, and the game winning two point conversion. Strong confidence in the kid from Jay Cutler. Jackson had 6 catches for 110 yards, and the now infamous bauble.


In realty this award should have gone to Darren McFadden for his 164 yards rushing, or to Jonathan Stewart for his breakthrough performance against the Bears, but I'll just leave them in the "keep a close eye on" category for now.

Finally

Reggie Bush, RB - New Orleans Saints. Since he scored again, I will leave him in again, simply so I can post another picture of Kim Kardashian.

Impact Injury

Bob Sanders, S - Indianapolis Colts. On a team already reeling from offensive line woes, the last thing they needed was to lose the heart and soul of their defense, which is exactly what happened.

Team Rising

Carolina Panthers. At 2-0, the Panthers have made an impressive opening salvo for surprise team of the year, even without Steve Smith. They have started to hone their running attack with Jonathan Stewart, and Smith will make the offense that much more explosive once he returns from suspension this week. Throw in a solid defense and the most underrated coach in football, and Carolina could be looking forward to a playoff berth.

Team Falling

Seattle Seahawks. From a perennial playoff foundation from the NFC West to a potential doormat in the league. They have started 0-2, and have lost to Buffalo and San Francisco. They need to get moving fast, or else everyone else out west could pass them (except St. Louis, they suck).

Best Teams

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Philadelphia Eagles
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Green Bay Packers
5. Denver Broncos

Worst Teams

32. St. Louis Rams
31. Miami Dolphins
30. Kansas City Chiefs
29. Cincinnati Bengals
28. Seattle Seahawks

Don't worry, I am sure the Raiders will return after they no longer face the likes of the Chiefs.

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

3. New Orleans at Denver - Denver looks prolific on offense, and they don't look like they can stop anybody, which means points and points galore in this game. It should be very exciting for football fans.

2. Pittsburgh at Philadelphia - Philly proved its mettle last week, barely losing on the road. Elite teams return those type of favors by beating other elite teams at home. Pittsburgh is looking to solidify its ranking at the top of the entire AFC.

1. Dallas at Green Bay - The winner gets the early lead for home field advantage in the NFC, plus we get the chance to see just how good the Packers' offense can be under Aaron Rodgers, who has already played pretty decently against Dallas once in his career.

Last Week's Trivia Answer
The ever-immortal Michael Bishop was the last QB prior to Matt Flynn to throw a touchdown on his first ever NFL attempt (or at least that is what my sources tell me).

Trivia
To keep up the rookie theme, DeSean Jackson is only the second WR in history to amass two consecutive 100 yard receiving games to start his NFL career. Who was the first? Please no online searches, and place your guesses in the comments. Answer provided next week.

NFL Wrap-Up (Week 1 Version)

Isn't it great to have the NFL back? Well, for most fans it is. For those of you too drunk to remember, here is your weekly NFL Wrap-Up. Based primarily on what I was able to see.

Game of the Week

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints. A division battle between two playoff-oriented teams. A great way to start the season, with enough offense and defense to make any fan happy. Honorable Mention to Minnesota at Green Bay and Carolina at San Diego.

Best Team Performance

Philadelphia Eagles. A 38-3 thorough ass-whipping of the St. Louis Lambs, err Rams. McNabb threw for 361 yards and a 131 passer rating, and three separate receivers gained at least 102 yards (DeSean Jackson, Greg Lewis and Hank Baskett). Honorable mention to the Denver Broncos, who won their game against the Oakland Raiders in about 2 minutes.

Least Impressive Team Performance

Oakland Raiders. They just simply looked out of sync the entire game. Dropped passes, missed opportunities (as few as they were), McFadden injured and just out-and-out sloppy play. Russell didn't play awful, so he may be something for the fans to keep watching.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Michael Turner, RB - Atlanta Falcons. 220 on 22 carries, for 2 touchdowns. Welcome to the starting lineup Mr. Turner.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
London Fletcher, LB - Washington Redskins. 17 tackles. Just an enormous effort in an uphill game for Fletcher.

Honorable Mention to Charles Grant, DL - New Orleans Saints. He was only credited with 3 solo tackles and 1 sack, but he was a complete disruption in the game against the Buccaneers.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Roscoe Parrish - Buffalo Bills. Concussionless and incredibly quick. Changes direction on a dime quicker than anyone in the NFL. His 63 yard punt return for a TD was electric. He could challenge Devin Hester as the most exciting Hurricane return man in the NFL.

Hit of the Week

Philadelphia's Sheldon Brown's hit on St. Louis's Steven Jackson that took his head (OK, his helmet) clean off. Much props to Jackson for popping right up.

Also Kansas City's Bernard Pollard's hit on T ... nah - that's just too mean, and it wasn't that big a hit. (Yep, I am going to hell).

Breakthrough Performance

This should go to Michael Turner, but because he was already mentioned, I am going to give this to his teammate Matt Ryan, QB. Not huge numbers (9-13, 161, 1TD), but a victory for QB-starved Falcons Fans (all 3 of you), plus a TD on his first NFL pass (more on this later).

Also look out for Eddie Royal, WR from Denver, and DeSean Jackson, WR from Philadelphia.

Finally
Reggie Bush, RB - New Orleans Saints. 14 carries for 51 yards, and 8 catches for 112 yards, including a 4th quarter game winning 42 yard TD reception that was practically all run. Is this the Reggie Bush that everyone was expecting? Plus, Kim Kardashian.

Impact Injury

Duh!

But also Nate Burleson, and possibly the combo of Joseph Addai and Dallas Clark. Burleson's injury is really threatening to the Seahawks because with the exception of one Shaun Alexander record setting year, they rely on the passing game. With no starts at WR, they need the collective talents of all of their receivers to really function, especially since their RB's are just not good.

I could also put Shawne Merriman here, but his injury was from so long ago, that he could have been recovered by now. Whoops.

Team Rising

Chicago Bears. Assuming that Kyle Orton can continue his steady play, they might just have the right run/pass mix to have a serviceable offense which complements their dominant defense. Now, I know their defense was not good last year, but the performance against the Colts, with the pressure they put on Manning and the tackling by the linebackers and secondary, especially on the slant patterns, was great. [Ed. note - Probably wishful thinking and Bears homerism.]

Team Falling

Cincinnati Bengals. And fast. Their prolific offense might just be finished, and since their defense never even approached adequate, that spells trouble, Ocho Cinco or no Ocho Cinco.

Best Teams

1. Pittsburgh Steelers
2. Dallas Cowboys
3. Philadelphia Eagles
4. Denver Broncos
5. New York Giants

Worst Teams

32. St. Louis Rams
31. Cincinnati Bengals
30. Seattle Seahawks
29. Oakland Raiders
28. Cleveland Browns

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

3. Indianapolis at Minnesota - The loser falls to a precarious 0-2. Not impossible (See Giants, New York circa 2007), but still not a fun hill to climb.

2. Buffalo at Jacksonville - Time to see if Buffalo is real. Also time to see if Jacksonville peaked last year, or if the Titans just have their number.

1. Philadelphia at Dallas - For division, conference and possibly league supremacy.

Trivia

Who was the last quarterback before Matt Flynn to throw at TD on his first NFL attempt? Answers in the comment section. Answer provided next week.