College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

For the second straight week the NFL Monday Night-er will feature a team that once represented the city it’s playing against. Last week it was the Baltimore Ravens (formerly the Cleveland Browns) taking on the ‘new’ Browns in Cleveland. This week the Tennessee Titans (formerly the Houston Oilers) are in Houston to battle the Texans. Unfortunately like last week this game also features two teams at the bottom of their   division. This time it’s the AFC South. The Texans are 5-4 and sit a game behind the Jacksonville Jaguars for second spot in the division. Last week Houston was on a bye, but in week nine they suffered a heart-wrenching 20-17 to the Indianapolis Colts. They played the Colts tough and that game could have gone either way. Quarterback Matt Schaub has stayed healthy this season and he’s put up some pretty good numbers. Schaub is top ten in the league for passing yards (2653), touchdowns thrown (17) and completion percentage (67.5). Tennessee started the season 0-6, but they’re on fire winning three straight. Their defence has been a lot better and quarterback Vince Young has been behind centre for all three wins, including a 41-17 week 10 pounding of the Buffalo Bills. The word in the locker room is Young has comeback from last season’s demotion more mature and a better teammate. He’s also a match up nightmare for most defences. In his last three starts he’s taken chances at throwing the ball deep which takes away from defences cheating against the run. That opens up the running game not only for himself, but also uber-stud running back Chris Johnson. Johnson is already at the one thousand mark in rushing yards (1091), has eight touchdowns and is gaining a gaudy 6.4 yards per carry. Not good news a Texans defence that’s giving up over a hundred rushing yards a game.

If you’d rather watch some puck tonight, there’s a good divisional battle between the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators. Detroit’s been pretty good as of late (7-2-1 in their last 10), but they still sit in the three spot in the Northwest division. The Predators come into this one red hot. They’ve won five straight and trail the Red Wings by a point. Nashville has dominated Detroit as of late. Last season they finished 4-2 against the Red Wings and come into this one with a three game winning streak over their opponents.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

I’m guessing the people who are in charge of making the NFL schedule felt that Cleveland would be a far better team. How else can you explain the Monday night-er tonight? The Baltimore Ravens (4-4) making the trip to the Mistake by the Lake to take on the Browns (1-7). These two teams are at the bottom of the AFC North and are far from any post season aspirations. Cincinnati leads the division with a 7-2 record and Pittsburgh trails the Bengals by a game. Getting back to the Ravens and Browns, the last time these two teams met was in week 3 and Baltimore cruised to a 34-3 win. A similar result is expected tonight. The Browns are so bad, management has decided to give quarterback Brady Quinn a second chance at starting. In three starts this season (including week 3) Quinn has one touchdown pass, three interceptions and has been sacked 10 times. The Ravens haven’t been great either. They started the season strong, but have lost four of their last five. Running back Ray Rice has been one of the lone bright spots for the team. He’s rushed for 573 yards, caught 46 balls for another 436 yards and has scored six touchdowns. You can be sure he’ll get a lot of work tonight.

If this game doesn’t get you going you can also check out some NBA action. Two young and talented teams battle it out as the Portland Trailblazers are in the ATL to take on the Hawks. Atlanta (8-2) has the best record in the East, while Portland (8-3) is number two in the West.

On the ice it’s on Atlantic division battle as the top seed New Jersey Devils take on the Philadelphia Flyers in the City of Brotherly Love. If the Devils win tonight they open the season winning nine straight on the road, tying a league record for most wins on the road to start a season.

They were some real eye-openers Sunday afternoon, none more so than the Cincinnati Bengals. With their 18-12 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bengals have moved to 7-2 on the year, but more importantly control the AFC North. They’re a combined 4-0 against the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens this year, and enter a very easy stretch in their schedule. With the way their defence is playing, they should be able to keep the division lead for quite a while.

THE GOOD

Two teams have done an excellent job turning their seasons around – the Carolina Panthers and the Tennessee Titans. Carolina moved to 4-5 with a tough win over Atlanta, thanks in large part to Jake Delhomme. The embattled quarterback was dreadful earlier this season, but has been able to right his game enough to get some wins. Sunday afternoon he threw for just under 200 yards and two scores. With wins in four of their last six (and they should have been able to capitalize against New Orleans last week), the Panthers are still in the race for an NFC wildcard spot.

Tennessee, meanwhile, has won three straight games with Vince Young back under centre. Chris Johnson has rushed for just under 500 yards in those three wins, and their defence seems to be restoring some of its swagger from last season. Word of caution to their next opponents: the Titans are out to show their 0-6 start was a fluke. Word of caution to Titans fans: the three wins have come against Jacksonville, San Francisco, and Buffalo.

THE BAD

Maybe it was just a case of looking past a weak opponent, but the New Orleans Saints need to be careful. I’ve watched the team four weeks in a row now, and I haven’t been impressed with their performance in any of the contests. A narrow five point win over the St. Louis Rams, a game in which the Rams deserved a better fate, tells me that Head Coach Sean Payton needs to get his team better prepared for games. As I’ve said before, come playoff time, the Saints aren’t going to go far if they keep allowing inferior teams to stay in the game.

THE UGLY

The Dallas Cowboys had a great opportunity to open up a two game lead in the NFC East, and went out and had a pathetic outing versus the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys offensive statistics may look adequate, but most of their effectiveness came in garbage time when the Packers were up 17-0. The ‘boys didn’t convert a third down until the fourth quarter, and Dallas running backs managed only 45 yards on 11 carries. So much for Tony Romo’s November magic.

I know they’re still three games over 500, but this is the Denver Broncos team I thought I’d see. I give full marks to Kyle Orton for finally throwing the ball over 20 yards (he did it twice!),  but even with Orton going down, they have to beat the Washington Redskins. With three straight losses, the Broncos are now tied with the San Diego Chargers in the AFC West.

TWO POINT CONVERSION

- I know the games generate a lot of revenue for specific markets, but can’t the league switch the Monday nighter if it looks like a dud? I’m sorry, but Baltimore @ Cleveland just doesn’t rev my engine as a Week Ten matchup this season

- Josh Freeman had another nice outing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Count me as surprised. Freeman actually leads the Bucs on scoring drives – a nice change from the quarterback play they were getting earlier in the season

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

It’s a HUGE AFC battle tonight in the Monday-nighter as the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) go up against the Denver Broncos(6-1). Both teams are coming off the bye and for the first time this year Denver’s rookie coach Josh McDaniels will have to get his team ready following a loss. The Broncos suffered their first loss at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens pressured QB Kyle Orton all game long forcing him to check off to his backs. Tailback Corell Buckhalter led his team with six catches. In fact the Broncos only crossed into Raven territory three times over the course of the entire game and made it to the red zone once. Unfortunately for Denver, Pittsburgh plays a very similar style defence to Baltimore. Pittsburgh has won four straight and before the bye week they handed Minnesota its first loss of the season, thrashing the Vikings 27-17. In that game the Steelers D forced Brett Favre into many mistakes. The linebackers alone sacked Favre three times and scored two touchdowns. In prior season the Steelers have always been known as a run-first offence. This year they’re relying on the arm of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben is in the top ten for passing yards (2062) and has already thrown 11 touchdowns. If he keeps up this pace he’ll eclipse his personal best of 3,513, which he posted back in 2006. Pittsburgh has some extra motivation. The Cincinnati Bengals lead their division with a 6-2 record and a win for the Steelers bringing them into a tie. The Bengals beat the Steelers already this season and hold an edge over their division rivals. That could all be forgotten when the two battle in next week in Pittsburgh.