Esiason On Patriots-Colts: 'Could Be A Major Shootout' Sunday Night
BOSTON (CBS) - CBS Sports football analyst and WFAN radio host Boomer Esiason called 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich Monday morning for his weekly appearance, and the discussion started with the Jets' win over the Steelers.
Entering Sunday, Ben Roethlisberger threw for 12 touchdowns in his previous two games. But the Jets forced four turnovers and stymied the Steelers to get a 20-13 win.
Esiason is on the radio for morning drives in New York City, and fans have been calling for the Jets to start Michael Vick at quarterback weeks ago, but Rex Ryan and the general manager stood behind Geno Smith while he continued to throw games away left and right.
Speaking of backups, Arizona will now turn to Drew Stanton as Carson Palmer went down with a knee injury on Sunday. The Cardinals fear Palmer's season is done, just days after signing a three-year contract extension.
"It's a huge blow," Esiason said of the Palmer injury.
"A veteran quarterback can do a lot of things on the field of play and make people around him better, and I guess the good news for the Cardinals is they have a capable backup in Drew Stanton. They have a team that can support him. The Cardinals were the favorite up until this point to make the Super Bowl, but as they say 'Not For Long' in the NFL. I can see them as an 11, 12-win team -- maybe 13 wins if the run game gets active. They'll be a very competitive team, but their run to the Super Bowl took a major hit."
Esiason has been very outspoken of Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson, saying his upbringing is "no excuse" for how he disciplines his kids. Peterson plead no contest to a misdemeanor, and the NFL has been dragging its feet in regards to his reinstatement.
"Peterson has not lost any money. I would think before you allow him back on the field there's got to be some sort of financial fine associated with it, and maybe now a legitimate suspension where they don't let him play the rest of the year. I think the Vikings are in a tough spot. If you remember when all of this came down, a lot of their sponsors were very angry and the sponsorships were pulling out -- that spoke volumes. There's no easy answer here as to what the NFL should do. Just because he plead no contest to a lesser crime in a court of law doesn't mean we all don't know what happened here. We saw the pictures."
After taking a look around the NFL, Esiason looked ahead to Sunday night's game between the Patriots and Colts, two teams coming off byes in Week 10. The Patriots have opened up as 2.5-point underdogs.
"I'm not shocked by it," Esiason said of the Vegas odds. "Andrew Luck has been playing out of his mind and he plays great at home. He plays good on the road, and here's one thing you can hang your hat on if you're a New England fan or New England defender: he's not averse to throwing an interception or two. He's the modern day gunslinger. He's gonna throw it down the field and throw it a lot."
Esiason thinks the Patriots might try and incorporate the same defensive game plan they would use going up against a quarterback like Peyton Manning.
"I'm sure Bill Belichick has been working overtime to try and figure out how to confuse this young man, because Luck has played fantastic. No quarterback in football is asked to do more than he does right now. He physically has to go out there and throw the ball 45-55 times, so if you're Bill Belichick you're probably gonna employ the same defensive strategy that you would use with Peyton Manning. That is, invite the kid to run the ball."
You've got two of the best offenses going at it on a fast track in the Indianapolis dome. All things considered, this could be a high scoring affair.
"We could actually have a major shootout Sunday night, which I hope happens because these prime time games have been brutal this year. Hopefully we get a good one Sunday night," Esiason said in closing.
Listen below for the full interview!
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