NFL Liquor Cabinet Week 8

For the entire NFL season, we will be breaking down the rest of the NFL not named Green Bay by looking at it like a liquor cabinet. Why did we choose this method? I like to booze and it makes things really easy to determine what's great, average and poor. 

TOP SHELF
ALL HAIL BREEZUS - Buffalo is a team who has shown they can play with anybody for the first seven weeks of the season but Week 8 was a different story. Drew Brees played on another level only missing eight passes and going for well over 300 yards with five touchdowns. This is probably Brees' most efficient performance of the season and one of his best in recent years. Brees looked he hit his stride on Sunday and that could be a real bad thing for the rest of the National Football League.

Is Andy Dalton a competent quarterback?  I do not want to live in this world - My new Ryan Tannehill
scenario. Last year, I would write every week about Tannehill throwing shade left and right hoping I would be right about him  Dalton is this year's version. I am not ready to admit the Red Rifle knows what he is doing at the quarterback position. He dominated again against the New York Jets in a Bengals 40-point rout at home. Dalton has eleven touchdowns in his last three games. Miami has some faults, but they do have a good secondary so I will be interested to see how Dalton handles them on Thursday.

Terrelle Pryor and the future of Raider football - First play of Pittsburgh-Oakland featured Terrelle Pryor taking the ball 93 yards for a touchdown on the ground. Pryor ended up finishing with 106 yards on the ground with 88 through the air leading Oakland to their third win of the season. They play a hapless Philadelphia team at home meaning they could get to 4-4 which would be one of the biggest shocks of the season.  People thought this team would be lost at quarterback, but it is apparent they have one in Pryor. He seems more than able to carry this team moving forward and now Oakland has to build around him.

MIDDLE SHELF
Oh settle down about the Giants - Everyone is freaking out about New York's other football team. They have won two games in a row and people are semi-serious about them getting back in the playoff hunt. This is somehow not a joke. New York beat Minnesota and Philadelphia which neither team is really worth a damn at this point of the season. The leader of division Dallas lost on the road to Detroit, Kansas City and San Diego then a home loss to Denver. Even though they have four losses, they are a far superior team than New York. Wake me up when they beat a real team.

Yes, Matthew Stafford made a great play but let's not get excited about Detroit - Another team that everyone needs a big glass of 'Chill the f--- out' about in the NFC. Detroit beats Dallas on arguably the best play of the season with Stafford faking a spike for a touchdown yet they have so many flaws. Let's just forget they had four turnovers and had trouble for awhile moving the ball on this Dallas defense. I still think this team is a pretender because of their defense and their turnovers. There is no reason to be scared of Detroit... yet.

Will the Chiefs ever cover? - I do not gamble, but if I did, I would have bet on Kansas City the last two weeks. They played a Case Keenum-led Houston team and then a Jason Campbell-led Cleveland team. You would think they could cover a spread in both of those games... Nope. They play close games with both of them. That's when you know Vegas has you by the balls.

BOTTOM SHELF
Dez Bryant criticism is unwarranted - I guess I really did not understand all of this on Sunday, Monday and probably the rest of the week. People overreacted about Dez Bryant getting all mad on the sidelines. Heaven forbid some player gets mad that his team is struggling and maybe he is a bit too much demonstrative yet Bryant is a young player. NFL.com released some of the sideline audio and it just seems like a passionate guy playing football. This was not good enough for some pundits as they wanted to see the other video that led to Demarcus Ware grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. Bryant seems like he is the next receiver to be under the biggest microscope.

Kellen Clemens sucks so goddamn bad - Just a poor excuse of a quarterback really. He had a chance to beat Seattle on Monday night.  He did not really lead the team down there as Daryl Richardson was pounding the rock yet Clemens made one big pass down the field to keep the ball moving. They ended up at the goal line only to do absolutely nothing. I really do not think there is a better option than Clemens at this point given where the Rams are with Bradford. They just have to ride it out and hope their defense keeps coming to play for them.

Ryan Tannehill might die before the season is done - The Dolphins quarterback is on pace to get sacked 76 times this season. That is two more than David Carr's record of 74. He faces Cincinnati this Thursday and the hashtag #PRAY4TANNY should be out in full force because it could get real ugly. Miami needs Jake Matthews, Taylor Lewan and anyone else.

Atlanta is not a good football team - I realize this is not a #HOTSPORTSTAKE yet it is pretty evident they are not going to be good this year. They might surprise a few teams at home, but they look useless on defense especially in the secondary plus Steven Jackson might have hit the famous running back wall.

Charlie.