Browns drop in the desert,Seahawks win in the rain and Devils win 7th in a row

On a big Sunday,the Cleveland Browns fell in the land of the cacti to the Arizona Cardinals 27-21.
Despite a controversial call on the games final play,the Browns really did not deserve to win.
Three turnovers and an inability to stop the run make it hard to defeat any team on the road,especially the Cardinals,who seem to be a far different team at home than on the road.
The Cardinals seem to do win one or two games at home every season that they shouldn't on paper,so this really is not a surprise.
The loss didn't really do much to affect the wild card hopes other than allowing Tennessee,who won over Houston to get back into the race,but it did kill any slim hopes of catching the Steelers for the division title.
Now for the game ending play.
I did think that Winslow was pushed out of bounds and the play should have been ruled a touchdown,but I didn't think it had any chance of being overturned.
The part that was the problem was that being pushed out of bounds and "projected" to be any bounds before contact is clearly a judgement call.
Judgement calls cannot be reviewed and the video review was the check of Kellen Winslow's feet to be in bounds and clearly he only had one in the field of play.
But what an effort for Winslow to even catch the ball.
We have stated before that we don't always like the noise from K2,but we love the heart and effort that he always gives.
If this game is in Cleveland-that catch is ruled a TD.
Part of the home field advantage,I suppose.
Derek Anderson's two first quarter turnovers that led to two Arizona TD's really allowed the Cardinals to grab confidence and made the difference in the game.
Not a great performance,but liked the effort.
The Browns travel to New Jersey next week for a seemingly easy win vs the Jets,but Pittsburgh thought the same way and suffered an upset loss.
Cleveland needs them all,so lets hope they take this one with all seriousness.

The Seattle Seahawks meanwhile traveled east to Philadelphia for a Sleet-marred game vs the Eagles.
Lofa Tatupu was a one man difference maker for the Hawks 28-24 win with three interceptions.
Tatupu's two first half picks led to two Seattle touchdowns and the final grab was the dagger to the heart of the Eagles,as he grabbed A.J. Feeley's pass at the Seattle 4 with seconds remaining.
Lofa also made 11 tackles and along with Julian Peterson,slammed the door on a 4th and goal attempt by Brian Westbrook late in the first half that might have been the biggest play in the game prior to the final interception.
Shaun Alexander returned to action with a rushing TD and Mo Morris added one as well.
The two combined for 120+ yards on the ground and maybe Mike Holmgren will use more of a mix for the rest of the season.
Seattle moves to 8-4 with the win and holds a two game lead over the Cardinals in the NFC West.
The Cardinals come to Seattle next week and Seattle can virtually clinch the division with a victory.

The New Jersey Devils won their 7th game in a row with their first shootout win on the season with a 3-2 win over the visiting Atlanta Thrashers.
Sergei Brylin's 3rd goal of the year tied the game at 1-1 late in the first period and John Madden's 7th goal of the season in the second gave New Jersey a 2-1 lead after 2 periods.
but Ilya Kovalchuk's laser like shot beat Marty Brodeur midway through the third to give the Thrashers the tie and eventual 1 standings point.
The overtime was a fun,free flowing stanza with both teams having scoring chances and Brodeur and Atlanta's Johan Hedberg both making excellent saves.
After the Thrashers first two shootout attempts failed,Brian Gionta beat Hedberg from the backhand to give the Devils the shootout lead.
Brodeur then equalled his battle with Kovalchuk for the night by making a snatching glove save to end the game and put in the Devils win column for two points.
A fun game to watch and well played by both teams.
The Devils return to action on Wednesday in Beantown to battle the Bruins at 7:00

Bullpen Notes

Whatever happened to Karel Rachunek since his child was born a few weeks back is unknown,but his play has been excellent.
If this is the cause of the improved play,we hope his family has another addition soon!

The Ohio State Buckeyes caught the breaks and get their chance for the National Title.
OSU will be (should be ) underdogs to the LSU Tigers,but just getting to the game in what was thought to be a reloading year is an accomplishment.

And yes,we know the non-conference schedule was weak,but we cannot blame the schedule makers too much.When Washington was put on the schedule,they were a nationally ranked team every year.
Just a blip on the radar after two years of Texas and a two game series starting next year with USC.
Future deals have been signed with Oklahoma,Virginia Tech and former has been power Miami.

Until next time

Photo Credits
Winslow leap-Paul Connors-AP
Winslow closeup-Matt York-AP
Tatupu-Tom Mihalek-AP
Brodeur-Bill Kostroun-AP