FanHouse EveryPlayCounts

Every Play Counts is Michael David Smith's weekly look at one specific player or one aspect of a team on every single play of the previous game.

In an installment of Every Play Counts last month, I wrote about how the New York Jets' defense had dominated the Buffalo Bills' offense, and specifically how defensive tackle Kris Jenkins was a practically unstoppable presence in the middle of the line. The Bills finished that November game with just 30 rushing yards on 17 carries, and the Jets' defense looked like it could lead them deep into the postseason.

And then in Sunday's Jets-Bills rematch, Buffalo ran 32 times for 187 yards and two touchdowns, and the Jets' defense looked like it had no business playing in the postseason at all. Although Bills quarterback J.P. Losman ended up giving the game to the Jets with five turnovers, including three in the final 2:06 of the fourth quarter, the Jets' run defense was a mess.

So what's gone wrong? And can the Jets count on their run defense to lead them in the playoffs? We explore in this week's installment of Every Play Counts.

Every Play Counts is Michael David Smith's weekly look at one specific player or one aspect of a team on every single play of the previous game.

A year after Brett Favre led them to a 13-3 record and the brink of a Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers are 5-8 and just about eliminated from playoff contention.

But while the knee-jerk reaction would be to blame the decision of the front office to trade Favre and make Aaron Rodgers the starter, folks in Green Bay are mostly supporting Rodgers. The reason? Packers fans are smart enough to see that the real problem is on the other side of the ball, where opposing offenses are pushing the Packers' defense up and down the field.

That was on display in a big way on Sunday, when the Houston Texans rolled up 549 yards of total offense in a 24-21 win at Lambeau Field. So what's wrong with the Packers' defense? We explore in this week's installment of Every Play Counts.

Every Play Counts is Michael David Smith's weekly look at one specific player or one aspect of a team on every single play of the previous game.

The Miami Dolphins selected offensive tackle Jake Long with the first pick in this year's NFL draft. The St. Louis Rams selected defensive end Chris Long with the second pick. On Sunday, they did battle at the Edward Jones Dome.

The Dolphins won the game, but who won the individual battle? I explore in this week's edition of Every Play Counts.

Every Play Counts is Michael David Smith's weekly look at one specific player or one aspect of a team on every single play of the previous game.

As I went through the stat lines from all the box scores from last weekend's NFL action, this one stood out above all the others:

JaMarcus Russell: 10-11, 152 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions

Really? JaMarcus Russell? The Raiders' quarterback who had barely completed half his passes this season? The guy who had a game earlier this month when he threw the ball 19 times and only had six completions for 31 yards to show for it? That guy completed more than 90 percent of his passes in a game, for almost 14 yards a pass? And the Raiders beat the Broncos 31-10 after getting blown out 41-14 in the season opener? How is this possible?

To find out, I watched the Raiders-Broncos game for this week's Every Play Counts.

Every Play Counts is Michael David Smith's weekly look at one specific player or one aspect of a team on every single play of the previous game.

The quirkiest story from Sunday's NFL action was the news that Spencer Larsen of the Denver Broncos turned back the clock and started the game on both offense and defense. I'm one of those old-fashioned types who can't get enough NFL Films footage of Chuck Bednarik, so I was curious to see just what kind of player Larsen is.

So I reviewed the tape of each and every one of Larsen's plays -- at fullback, middle linebacker and on special teams -- for this week's installment of Every Play Counts. Short answer: He's certainly not Chuck Bednarik, but he is a talented player who has a relentless approach on special teams and real potential as a linebacker. At fullback? Not so much.

Every Play Counts is Michael David Smith's weekly look at one specific player or one aspect of a team on every single play of the previous game.

Daunte Culpepper signed with the Detroit Lions on Monday, went through a playbook cram session on Tuesday, got the majority of the practice reps on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and was declared the team's starter on Saturday.

It was a busy week.

So how did Culpepper do when he finally took the field on Sunday? We explore in this week's installment of Every Play Counts.

Every Play Counts is Michael David Smith's weekly look at one specific player or one aspect of a team on every single play of the previous game.

The New York Jets have gone from 4-12 last year to 5-3 this year thanks in large part to the addition of a high-priced veteran player. But that player is not Brett Favre.

Favre has been mediocre at best leading the Jets' offense this year, but the Jets' defense has improved significantly with the addition of defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, who had a thoroughly dominant game in Sunday's win over the Bills.

Jenkins had two sacks on Sunday, twice tackled Buffalo running backs for no gain, and generally destroyed every object in his path.

Every Play Counts is Michael David Smith's weekly look at one specific player or one aspect of a team on every single play of the previous game.

Randy Moss had a big game on Sunday in the Patriots' win over the Rams, with seven catches for 102 yards. He became the 19th player in NFL history with at least 800 catches, and by notching his 52nd career 100-yard game, he moved into third place all time, behind only Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison.

And yet Moss also showed off some of the negative qualities that have shown up through most of his NFL career: disinterest in blocking, inconsistent route running, failure to fight for the ball every time it's thrown to him. It was a reminder that the man who infamously said, "I play when I want to," is still a great player -- but only when he wants to be.

Every Play Counts is Michael David Smith's weekly look at one specific player or one aspect of a team on every single play of the previous game.

Clinton Portis played one of the toughest football games I've ever seen in the Redskins' win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. After missing practice last week with a hip flexor, Portis played, and he played with reckless abandon.

Portis carried 27 times for a hard-fought 175 yards, and he did more than just that: He had an absolute monster of a game in pass protection, never hesitating to take on Cleveland's pass rushers. It might have been the best game any NFL running back has had this season.

Every Play Counts is Michael David Smith's weekly look at one specific player or one aspect of a team on every single play of the previous game.

Heading into the Colts' game against the Ravens on Sunday, Peyton Manning looked like he was having, by his standards anyway, a lousy season.

Through the first four games of the year, Manning had five touchdown passes, putting him on pace for a career low, and five interceptions, putting him on pace for his most in seven years. His completion percentage was the lowest it had been since his second year in the league.

And with the Ravens coming to town, things weren't likely to get any easier. Through the first four games of the season, Baltimore had the best defense in the league. And so, of course, Manning proceeded to complete 19 of 28 passes for 271 yards, with three touchdowns and no turnovers, and the Colts blew out the Ravens, 31-3.

So how did it Manning do it? I'll explore that in this week's Every Play Counts.