This is going to be my longest post yet. I will not be posting the rest of the week. This is going to top 25 pages when you include all the pictures and videos. I’d like to think it is worth the read (there are no bottom-line takeaways, but trust me there is enough to read already). So take a look, find the game or teams you want to read more about and read up. I hope you read it all, maybe a couple of games a day. Nonetheless enjoy…

Patriots 31

Jets 14

Let me start with my analysis with what has become just a mess of a Jets team. Early in the season they were treating their week 2 match-up with the Pats as if it was the Super Bowl. Rex Ryan even called all the season ticket holders with this message…

It worked…in week 2. But, when you pull out all the stops every week things inevitably go wrong. Ryan got the Jets too emotional too early. Now after a 3-0 start they 4-6 and look toast. SanCHEZ has played incredibly poorly as of late, and he might need to take a seat. I do have to give props to Darrelle Revis who once again had a big game against Moss. But, I have to wonder if he was able to shut down Moss in single coverage (the apparent claim) why were they not double and triple teaming Welker?

Let us take a quick look at the Patriots. This was a solid win, but I felt it still left a lot to be desired. We all saw their collapse in the Colts game and they came out a little slow in the second half of this game. I am not a fan of their offensive play caller, QB Coach Bill O’Brien. He does have a mean cleft chin though…

However, looking at his play calling I think he gets tight late in games and on big plays. I chronicled his 4th quarter against the Colts last week, and I do not have the time to really break down every week like that, but this is about the “eye” test. His play calling does not pass it.

Next week’s game just became a lot bigger than it should have been to be honest. With the Bengals and Steelers losing, the Patriots are in the driver seat for the second seed in the AFC and a bye. While a loss to out of conference Saints does not affect the tiebreakers (obviously record is the number 1 tiebreaker, but given two teams tie, record against the opposite conference is never a determining factor), it is important to keep pace.

Dolphins 24

Panthers 17

Wow interesting game. Ricky Williams ran wild and looked like the old Ricky Williams. The Dolphins are now at 5-5 and still have a chance to make a playoff run. In fact, if they win the next week and the Pats lose the two teams will meet with the AFC East’s first place on the line. Moreover, the good news for the Dolphins…if they win that game they would be 5-1 in the AFC East and hold the tiebreaker over the Pats.

If you were wondering how Ricky Williams stayed is such good shape apparently he practices something called Pranic Healing. What is Pranic Healing? I am glad you asked…

Please tell me you did not just watch that whole video. The quick definition for Pranic Healing is…

“Pranic healing encompasses a broad array of therapeutic approaches, both ancient and modern, based on the notion that illnesses of body or mind involve an imbalance and/or blockage in the flow of vital life energy.”

In other words Ricky is on some good stuff (note: I have nothing to back that up).

As for the Panthers…well not much to say really. They lack consistency and look to be finished. At 4-6 they have an outside shot at a playoff spot, but it is not likely. Jim Fox might be on the hot seat, but in actuality if his past performances are any indication the Panthers will bounce back next season. When Fox took over the team went 7-9, but the next season they finished 11-5 (and made the Super Bowl). Then they went 7-9 again but rebounded with another 11-5 record (making the NFC Championship game). They then had back-to-back mediocre seasons, 8-8 and then 7-9, but last year they went 12-4. Fox seems to coach a team that is either strong or mediocre, but never bad.

If I am the owner of the Panthers I actually give Fox more chance with the caveat that the next QB he picks to lead the team will dictate his future. Delhomme is not the answer, and yes I understand their next QB, if a rookie, could take a while to develop, but Fox has been stuck with Delhomme (an up and down QB, who is now on the downside) in 6 of his 8 seasons. I want to see how he does with someone with more upside.

Colts 17

Ravens 15

The Colts are playing in so many tight games that it is hard to look at them at 10-0 and feel truly confident. Even with their huge win last week seemed overshadowed by the 4th and 2 call by the Patriots. Look at the scores of their last 4 games…4 points, 3 points, 1 point, 2 points, not exactly domination station. So what has been the problem?

I think it has been a mix of things. Outside the Pats game 4th quarter they really have not had that Colts mojo going. Manning has been great but the running game is still struggling . In addition, they have had 7 turnovers the last three games. I could see the Texans pulling the upset next week, so many close games is a recipe for a loss.

I do have to give Dallas Clark props for this ridiculous catch…

For some reason this has inspired me to show some of my favorite catches of all time, check it (I have already shown Moss vs. the Colts, and Wayne vs. the Texans in past blogs)…

Moss vs. the Jets last year (the ultimate I want it more catch)…

Tyrone Prothro from college (too bad he had one of the worst leg injuries ever recorded, first video is the catch, second is the injury, hide your eyes)…

Santonio Holmes in the Super Bowl (this is to win the “F’n” Super Bowl)

Calvin Johnson in college (dude is Megatron)…

The Antonio Freeman MNF catch…

Lastly the Torry Holt catch from a couple years ago (he is running full speed when he makes it)…

I know there are others, if you find a good one send it my way.

So back to the game and specifically the Ravens…After their blowout win vs. the Broncos everyone thought they would make a “run,” but they have struggled with consistency especially on offense. Flacco is having the good old “Sophomore Slump,” which by the way is a saying I hate. It implies he is playing poorly because he is in his second year. Maybe he is playing poorly because he was not asked to do much last year and this year he has to do more and is not able to do it. It also has to be said that his WRs are not exactly world-beaters.

So looking ahead, the Ravens season comes down to one opponent. They have two games against the Steelers. Their other 4 games are against the Packers, Lions, Bears, and Raiders. The Packers are the only team in there that might be a threat and if you read this blog you know I think the Packers are not for real. If the Ravens win those four games and can take 1 of the 2 Steelers games they will finish 10-6, which might be good enough for a Wildcard birth.

Lions 38

Browns 37

Look at these two teams having themselves a regular old barnburner. The Mangina must have been enraged that his enemy Belichick was getting all the attention for a questionable play call and felt he had to beat his old mentor. For those who do not know let me “review” the end of the game…

Lions down 37-31 running the “final play of the game” from a little outside the Helmets 30 yard line. Stafford, who already has 4 TDs is rolling around avoiding the rush and throws to the endzone as time expires. Stafford gets nailed and seriously injures his non-throwing shoulder. The ball is incomplete BUT there is a pass interference penalty in the endzone placing the ball at the 1-yard line. Stafford however is hurt and there is an injury timeout to take him off the field. By rule unless either team calls a timeout Stafford cannot come back into the game for the final play. The Lions are out of timeouts, and remember both teams have had plenty of time because there was a penalty and then an injury. It would be hard to not have the “right” personnel on the field. So as a “cold as ice” Daunte Culppeper comes running onto the field the Mangina calls a timeout, effectively allowing Stafford, who has his adrenaline flowing, to come back into the game. The Lions score a TD and win the game. That timeout is INEXCUSABLE.

Any competent coach would take their chances with a cold Culppeper on that play. But don’t worry, the Mangina really put the nail in the coffin Monday when he “questioned whether the Lions faked injuries throughout the game.” The only thing I question after this game is the Mangina’s mental capacity.

I have to give Stafford credit for really gutting out this win. It was a huge performance by the rookie. Who knows where he will go from here. I was going to drop this stat at some point and I guess this is the right time. Peyton Manning threw 100 INTs in his first 5 seasons. Sometimes if a guy shows promise you have to give him time (unless his name is JaMarcus Russell).

Packers 30

49ers 24

Here comes Green Bay winning on that easy schedule and putting themselves in position to take a playoff spot in the NFC. But I have not been a fan of this Green Bay team from the beginning and for those who do not know they just lost two of their top defensive players with ACL tears, Aaron Kampman and Al Harris. They have three winnable games and three tough games left on the schedule. If they can beat the Lions, Bears, and Seahawks then they will have 9 wins and probably only need one win vs. the Ravens, Steelers or Cardinals. I really am not a big fan of this team, but I think it would be hard to bet against them. Then again it is the NFL and you never really know.

The 49ers really could have won this game had they played a full game. It was inexcusable especially because they were able to get a meaningless cover and continue my epic downfall in my picks league. Alex Smith is too inconsistent and the 49ers should not take solace in his most recent half. Consistency wins in the NFL, not a good half or a good game. It’s a 16 game season.

The 49ers did get their first Michael Crabtree TD and Vernon Davis has gone from super-specimen malcontent to team leader this year. He is putting up outstanding stats this year. He has even begun curling…

How that helps the 49ers? It doesn’t, but you have to admit it’s kind of cool.

Jaguars 18

Bills 15

If the playoffs started today the Jaguars would make it. There is no doubt that the Jags are the worst 6-4 team I have seen in a long time. MJD is an absolute stud, but there is no way this Jags team is playoff worthy. They have won their games by the following margins…7 points, 20 points, 3 points, 3 points, 2 points, 3 points. Watch out folks this team is a killer! They have a -36 points differential, meaning they have let up 36 more points than they have scored. The last team with a negative scoring margin to make the playoffs was the 2006 Seattle Seahawks who won the NFC West with a 9-7 record. They had a -6 margin. The Jags are -36 and it has only been 10 games. That is horrible. They have lost by 2 points, 14 points, 41 points, and 17 points. It does not exactly scream playoff team.

Completely unrelated…MJD has to be the most stubby star in the NFL. Look at this picture

He is so difficult to tackle and has been their X-Factor, even more than the emergence of Mike Sims-Walker. Still I cannot see them going anywhere, and if they make the playoffs it will not last long.

The Bills continue their downfall. They are now 3-7 and have an interim coach running the show. What could Terrell Owens be thinking right now about his decision to join the Bills? I always loved his attire when they first introduced him as a member of the Bills…

What is with the green shirt? It just does not make sense. I guess it is better than when he was doing crunches in his driveway…

I would expect Owens to be happy with this loss. I mean he had a big game and that’s all that matters.

Steelers 27

Chiefs 24

Do not get confused about this game. Roethlisberger did get hurt and that did enable the Chiefs to win the game, but he did not get hurt until OT. This game was a 24-24 game. The Chiefs played an even game with a team many thought was going to come out take it to an inferior team. This loss is bad for the Steelers because it came after a loss and it will be difficult for them to get in position for a bye in the playoffs. The Steelers are definitely a weaker team with out Troy Polomalu and all of their loses have come in games where he was either out or limited by injury.

Really Big Ben says he is going to be fine, but this is his 4th concussion. That is not a good thing for a QB who runs around a lot and takes a lot of hits. No one really seems to know the long-term effects of concussions, but I doubt that it is something good, I would even go as far to say it is something “not good”. Rashard Mendenhall has not exactly taken the world by storm as of late, and it looks like we all have to calm down a little bit about anointing him the next Jerome Bettis, not in the “I am fat” kind of way, but in the “lead RB of the Steelers” kind of way.

Bettis by the way is one of my least favorite backs of all time. There is no doubting he had a great career, but I always felt like he could be stopped by a good defense. Look at this Sports Illustrated cover picture…

Trust me he put on a lot more weight than that at the end of his career. The guy was basically a quick DT at RB. I found nothing more pleasing then his fumbles against the Patriots in those big games back in the early 2000s. Remember those days, when the Patriots would win big games and close out games defensively. I will now stab myself repeatedly with a pen.

The Chiefs have a winning streak and have played some solid ball the last two weeks. Interesting note for the Chiefs…every time I spell their name I mess it up. I spell it Cheifs. You see over the summer I was in a position known as “Chief Judge.” We were ordering jerseys and my buddy, also a Chief Judge, misspelled the Chief as Cheif on the jersey, or so he thought. We ended up getting the jerseys too late anyway and much to our surprise Chief was spelled correctly. Needless to say we returned the jerseys so the people who bought them could get their money back (haha yea right).

Please note the previous paragraph is entirely for one of my friends and will make no sense to anyone else reading it. The Chiefs have not lost since Larry Johnson was cut for using gay slurs and criticizing the coaching staff. Good for them.

I have to ask…Why is the word Nevertheless three words as one, but the words Needless to say are split up? These are the important things we should all take into account when writing blogs and analyzing the Cheifs (yes that is misspelled on purpose).

Vikings 35

Seahawks 9

By this point you probably know it, but it is worth repeating, Brett Favre is playing some ridiculous football. He has 21 TDs and only 3 INTs. His strong play has led to this team being considered by many as the top team in the league. You will hear people say: Are the Vikings at 9-1 really the best team in the league?!?! Let me answer the question, no. Maybe it is my hatred of Favre, my knowledge that Brad Childress is a bad coach, or the fact that their pass defense is overrated, but I do not trust this team.

With that said, can this team prove anything to us over the next 6 weeks? Probably not, which could likely create an inflated perception of this team’s actual ability. So when it comes to playoff time it is all going to be about Brett Favre. Favre has not done well in his last couple playoff appearances (the year denotes the date of the playoff game)…

2008 Packers 20 Giants 23 (OT) at Green Bay

2 INTs including one in OT

2005 Packers 17 Vikings 31 at Green Bay

4 INTs

2004 Packers 17 Eagles 20 (OT) at Philly

Packers take 14 to 0 in 1^st quarter, end up losing in OT…15-28 180 yards, 2 TDs, 1INT

2003 Packers 27 Falcons 7 at Green Bay

2 INTs

2002 Packers 17 Rams 45 at St. Louis

6 INTs

Favre’s poor play could be deemed a direct cause of his team’s playoff loses in each of the last 5 playoff loses his team has faced. His teams have won only 2 playoff games in this time span, never winning more than 1 in a given year. Three of the loses came at home (or what used to be home), a place that had never seen a loss before the Falcons came in and destroyed them. I would not feel safe if I was a Vikes fan rooting this team in the playoffs.

The Seahawks are as big a mess as any team in the league and I did not see this coming at all. On paper this team looks all set. I know, I know I say that every week but seriously. Is this really all on Jim Mora Jr.? For one thing Hasselbeck has not been healthy for an extended period of time recently. The Seahawks definitely need a new QB of the future. They used to have one of the best rushing attacks in the league, but a mix of mediocre RBs and an aging O-line have killed that. They relied on Walter Jones for so long and just hoped that he would not “get old.” Well get this…he got old. He is 35 and has been placed on Injured Reserve ending this season. He says he wants to play again next year but he is probably more of a liability at this point. Offensive line is usually looked at as a place where longevity is attainable, but I think that holds truer for interior offensive lineman. You rarely hear of the 35+ year old OTs dominating. Even Orlando Pace fell of the map after a slew of injuries and oldness.

The good news for the Seahawks? They have two first round picks next year. They traded away an early 2^nd rounder last year for the Broncos first round pick this year, and if the Broncos recent play is any indication, that pick could also be on the higher end. If I was the GM of this team I would target a QB, OT, and a defensive playmaker with my top 3 picks (two 1s and a high 2). Now, that is obviously easier said than done, but those are the trouble spots. Defensively they have struggled against the pass, which seems to be a factor of poor coverage and lack of pressure. Patrick Kerney is on milk cartons in the Seattle area.

Giants 34

Falcons 31

This is a win the Giants desperately needed. After starting 5-0 against a cupcake schedule they lost 4 straight and many had written them off. They benefited from a week 10 bye and were able to win this game even with the Falcons mounting a wild comeback at the end. Eli Manning played very well and threw for 3 TDs, but the Giants still have some very big issues. Brandon Jacobs is not the Brandon Jacobs we all thought he was. Where did this guy go…

Instead he has gone to the Shaun Alexander and Larry Johnson school of old RBs, where players learn to dance and fall. I have to go on a quick tangent and tell my favorite Alexander story for a second. Alexander was arguably the best RB in the league for a couple years. Well as he started to get old he got hurt. One year specifically he broke a bone in his foot. Alexander, a delusional person to begin with, came to the practice facility the next day and was raving how he “prayed the night before and God healed him.” I am not making this up. Alexander was convinced he had been cured. The Seahawks thought this was great, but also thought it might be wise to take an x-ray to make sure this miracle did indeed happen. X-rays were taken, the bone was still broken, and now Alexander is remembered as much for his epic fall as he is for his MVP season. I believe in God, but give me a break Alexander. I would have laughed in his face.

With the Cowboys playing very tight vested and Philly being so inconsistent it is not out of the picture for the Giants to make a run at the NFC East title. They still face the Cowboys again, with a chance to sweep the season series, and the Eagles at home. Before the season we all thought this would be the “best division in football.” I do not think anyone thinks that now, but it could still end up being one of the most competitive. Even if the Giants can’t win the division this win gives them the “head-to-head” tiebreaker with the Falcons.

The Falcons are an incredibly flawed team right now, even though they almost were able to come out and win this game. Ryan had a good game and I will give him his credit for that. Mike Jenkins has to make that catch in the endzone, a TD that likely wins them the game. Still my fundamental flaw with this team is there inconsistency with their offense. If you watch the Falcons it is almost as if they are scared to run plays they know will work. When Turner was running all over the Panthers last week (before the injury) they almost seemed to rather pass than hand the ball off to him on back to back possessions.

I may be wrong with this but next time you see a Falcons game watch what they do on 3rd down. I have seen only a handful of their games but they run a QB Roll Out to the right a ton of the time (they might call it a waggle, but I am unsure if they pull the guards or the exact play call). This is their key 3rd down play it seems. To me that screams a lack of trust in their QB. A Roll out cuts down options and is basically something I call a “layers option.” Here is what I mean, take a look at this image, I made it in paint so it isn’t great but you can get the idea of it…

This is a basic play with the options simply being different distances from the QB. The read is much simpler. Ryan can read it either long to short, 4 to 1, or short to long 1 to 4 depending on the distance needed on the play. My problem with the play is the simplicity. The elite QBs do not run this as their “go to” play. Trust me I have seen enough Brady and Manning games to know this. They might have it as an option, but it is not their 3rd down play. If Ryan cannot consistently pick up key 3rd downs from inside the pocket, he will never be a top QB in this league.

The Falcons are now 5-5 and will have to play very well down the stretch to make the playoffs. In the NFC there always seems to be at least one 9-7 team to make the playoffs. The Falcons have a relatively easy schedule but they do face the Eagles and Saints, that could be two loses right there. Win the other games and they are 9-7. Unfortunately it would be 9-7 with 6 loses coming to conference foes (a big tie breaker is record against conference opponents). Worst off would be those losses would coincide with much of their competition for the wildcard spots. If they lose to the Eagles they would not own tie breakers against the Giants, Eagles, or Cowboys, and one has to assume at least 2 of those teams make the playoffs.

Saints 38

Buccaneers 7

The Bucs took an early 7-0 lead and I have to admit I was thinking we might see an upset in the works. Obviously that did not end up being the case, not by a long shot. The Bucs are still the same Bucs we thought they were. Freeman has played well for a rookie QB, but I am still worried about this team in the long run. I really think things will get worse before they get better, which is a scary thought for a team that started 0-7. Offensively they are relying on two 29 year old RBs (30 is the age of despair) and 27 year old who has been hurt every season since he came in the league. Needless to say they will likely need a new RB sooner than later.

At WR they extended Michael Clayton even though he has done nothing since his rookie season and is a marginal WR at best. Their best WR has character issues and has been hurt this year. He played well in a contract year (stop me if you haven’t heard that one before) but never showed consistency in his career. Their top TE has all the talent in the world but thinks he is a soldier, remember this…

Not exactly build your team around material. So there you have it, I have completely broken down their offensive talent. Defensively they are not scaring anyone. Their best player, MLB Barret Ruud, is more of the sure-tackler type than a game changing defensive presence, and Ronde Barber is getting old and slow. Old and slow is a bad combo for a CB. There has only been one corner I know to stay super fast his whole career and that was not Deion Sanders, but Darrel Green. Check out this video of the former CB of the Redskins…

Green was no joke. Ronde has never been known for his speed and he always excelled in Tampa’s Cover 2, which had safety help over the top. I think it’s time for him to either move to safety or go.

The Saints have their biggest test of the season this week, at least psychologically. How will they hold-up against a very hungry Patriots team? It is unclear. It appears both teams do what is usually done the week before a big game. Very tight to the vest play calling, no big tricks. The Saints rushed the ball 36 times in this game. The Pats ran the ball 35 times in their game. I do not think either team would be considered a run first team. But they got the leads and ran the clock, buying time until they face a real test.

I mentioned earlier that this game is bigger in the sense of “who is the best argument” than seeding. Although the win has gotten bigger because of what opposing teams are doing. The Vikes are nipping at the Saints heals and the Patriots are in 2nd place in the AFC and have benefited from other teams losing. Neither team wants to give up its hold in the seedings. I think this is a tough match-up to predict, obviously I am a homer and will pick the Pats, but a Monday night game in the Super Dome is no easy task. I would not feel very secure if I was the Saints and had to sign Mike McKenzie off the scrap heap to play in your secondary. When people don’t make teams to begin the season it is not because they are “too good.”

Cardinals 21

Rams 13

If Warner is hurt for any considerable time I would be considerably worried (you like what I did there with the word considerable). He really makes this offense tick, and I think the trick he has mastered as well as any QB in this league is the ability to “move on.” There is a saying that you are only as good as your next play. Warner has had an up and down career to say the least. He started out as nothing, made it to the top, fell to the bottom, and now is back. He knows that one mistake will not define him and that is his strength. I would not put him in the class of Manning and Brady obviously. Both of them have the “I have done it before factor,” where they can play poorly for an entire game and you are still scared to death of them if the game is close late. Warner is more of the “I wouldn’t be surprised if he did factor.” He just never lets anything get to him. His backup Matt Leinart on the other hand has faced his adversity in other ways…

Like the “which girl to choose quandary”…

…or the “I better hold this high enough even if my arm hurts” problem…

Not exactly a guy who has experienced a ton of in game adversity and proven to be a leader. The Cards do not have to rush Warner back though if he is hurting. They have a 3 game lead in their division the 49ers, Lions and Rams. I like this team as a potential dangerous team in the Playoffs. They have experience after last year, and might have the “no one believes in us” card going. The Cardinals also now lead this blog in quotation’ed sayings. Good for them.

The Rams do not have much to be thankful for right now. They have played a couple teams tough, but besides that they have not done much. Their coach Steve Spagnuolo also does one of the weirder sideline routines of any coach. Those Pats fans who did not commit suicide after the Super Bowl loss might remember images of him “praying” or at the least kneeling on the sidelines as he coached the Giants defense. He can routinely be seen in this crouched down like this…

I feel like a coach’s body language is a very big deal, and although it’s not like he looks like Art Shell out there…

Not many men can look that clueless at all times.

Spagnuolo’s sideline demeanor doesn’t exactly look how  head coaches are known to carry themselves. Now I think he is an outstanding coach to be honest. In New York he did very well with what he had and played to his team’s strengths, an underrated skill for a coach, it might seem obvious but a lot of guys don’t do it. We’ll see how it turns out for him in St. Louis.

The Rams are in position to get a top QB in the draft, and they really need to hit on this pick. I have always been a fan of picking an OT high when your team is bad, especially if you do not like any of the QB options. Last year they took Jason Smith, who should be a solid OT for years. Now they need a QB. Seeing as I cannot predict who wins each week, I will not even try to predict which QB coming out this year will be the best pro. Nonetheless they need to get a guy for the future in their soon.

Chargers 32

Broncos 3

The Broncos started 6-0 and since then have gone 0-4. I have not seen a transformation like that since Sammy Sosa showed his face again recently…

No, that is not a vampire outfit for Halloween. Sosa is apparently turning white. Look at this picture of him a few years back…

I too am scared right now. But as for the Broncos they are a mess. Apparently Head Coach Josh McDaniels also told Chargers’ LBs that his team “owns them.” I have to say that his team did not back him up. It is always a mistake when a head coach talks trash. I don’t think we are going to see much of this any time soon…

The Broncos are playing the memory game. The entire team remembers who they are (not good), and it has definitely hurt them. How bad is Chris Simms that he got replaced after one series by an injured Kyle Orton. Talk about a big sample size. The Broncos face the Giants Thursday night, and then also face the Colts and Eagles. That could be three loses right there and thus the end to their magical season.

I am most scared of the Chargers right now. Everyone loves Drew Brees and talks about him making the “leap” to Manning and Brady status. I think Phillip Rivers is the guy who could make that leap this year. I never liked him, and still don’t. He talks trash, has a cocky swagger, and looks like Jason Street from Friday Night Lights (the tv show), check it out…

vs.

But the bottom-line is this guy is tough. I talked earlier about the gutsy performance by Stafford. Well Rivers played in the AFC Championship game with a torn ligament in his knee. This guy has earned the respect of his entire locker room and has backed it up with great games on the field.

If anything holds back the Chargers it will be their lack of a running game and lack of a competent head coach. If you read this blog you know I doubt Norv Turner almost religiously, and bash LT like it’s my job, which it’s not but it is fun. I still say watch out for the Chargers. That warning is for the rest of the league and their own fans. The Chargers have a way of lowering expectations and winning, then choking when people believe in them.

Raiders 20

Bengals 17

This is the NFL. That pretty much sums up this game. Upsets in the league really should not shock people like they used to. Think of it like this. There are 32 teams in the NFL and let’s say 50 guys on a roster (I know it’s 53, but for math sake). That means there are 1600 players in the NFL. That number seems large but it really isn’t when you compare it to how many people play college football, and it is especially small when you compare high school football. That means these guys are the best of the best.

Realistically what is the difference in skill level between the #1 and the 1600^th player? Yeah, most of you would say it’s pretty high, but what about the 800^th player and the 1400^th player? What I am trying to say is that the sample size is so small that even if a team is made up of only top 500 players and another team is made up of players between 600 and 1000 the difference is not huge, and further more it is hard to necessarily distinguish differences in the middle.

Now my examples are extreme and very simplified, and yes the team of top 500 players should win every time, but better teams do not always win. JaMarcus Russell might be the 1600^th player in the league but the Raiders have some very talented players. Factor in things like emotions, coaching, injuries, and on any given week there will be an upset.

The Raiders should actually be disappointed with this win. They now have a 3 wins and are really out of the top 3 pick race. If you can sense the disappointment setting in you are not alone. Russell finally took a seat and for the first time all season did not hurt the Raiders. I just found this clip of Russell and Ravens QB Troy Smith. Listen carefully, and to think I thought Russell only struggled on the field…

Good talking JaMarcus!

If the Bengals were any other team people could write this game off as a let-down game after an emotional couple weeks. But the Bengals are the Bungles. This is their history. People thought things would be different this year, but with a loss like this you have to wonder…How can you trust this team against the Pats, Colts, or Chargers in the playoffs?

I understand Cedric Benson was hurt, but this game scares me if I am a Bengals fan. The Raiders are a bad team and you had a 14-0 lead on them. Why did you stop? What happened? No one knows and now the Bengals have a lot more questions than answers with 6 games left in the season. Luckily the Steelers and Ravens lost as well, but still.

Eagles 24

Bears 20

What a mess of a season this has been for the Bears. They lost Urlacher the first game and gave the most mistake prone QB in the league a huge extension. Their RB of the future looks like Mr. Mediocrity, and they have turned maybe the leagues greatest return man ever into a middle of the road WR. At least America got to see Devin Hester’s ass Sunday…

The Bears might be in one of the worst positions of any of the “stuck” teams out there. I know that is my go to word on this blog but look at them right now. Their defense is getting old fast. They invested in a QB who looks like a bust, and they have no offensive weapons. Lovie Smith should be on the chopping block. This team needs to start over. Too bad their fans have unreal expectations, and they are not bad enough to get a top pick, and worse they don’t have their first round pick anyway (Cutler trade).

The Eagles are winning tight again and I think their offensive woes have crystallized at least in my mind. They have big play threats. McCoy, Macklin, and Jackson. But they lack the ability to put up consistent drives. I like their TE Brent Celek, but they need a WR who can get open on short routes, not only running fly patterns and deep posts.

The Eagles face one of the tougher final 6 games of teams making the playoffs, but the right wins will get them in. They face the Falcons, Giants, and Cowboys. Those teams qualify as their direct competition for the playoffs (every contender except the Packers). I think most people put the playoff benchmark at 10 wins, but in a tight race it is about wins and who you own tiebreakers against. Those games will help determine the tiebreakers.

Titans 20

Texans 17

Rhianna must have really effected Kris Brown. He has missed huge FGs the last two weeks. In fact he missed 2 huge FGs in this game. The loss seriously hurts the Texans odds at a playoff birth this year. They are now 5-5 and to make things worse this was a HOME GAME. A must win home game on a Monday Night, with your chance to make a statement. Well they did make a statement…”Were not good enough yet.” The funny thing is either because of my hatred of the Colts or just because the Texans are so inconsistent I still think they win next week vs. the Colts.

But this column has been built of long-winded explanations, stupid stories and looking ahead, so to keep that going I think the Texans should fire Head Coach Gary Kubiak and hire one of these “big gun” head coaches. Change the atmosphere and bring in a guy who instills a sense that anything but winning is unacceptable. I mean it is hard to argue that they do not have the talent. Andre Johnson is a beast, Mario Williams is a freak of nature, Matt Schaub puts up big numbers (that might be all he does, but he has to be good enough to at least make the playoffs as a Wildcard). The Texans took a step in the right direction with Kubiak at the helm. Now it is time to break down the door with someone else.

The Titans remind me of the 2001 Redskins. The Skins that year started 0-5 then won their next 5, but eventually finished 8-8 for the season. I think 8-8 is a real possibility for this team. I have gone back and forth with my friend about whether Jeff Fisher should get canned. I think factors against him are that he has never won the big game, he has been given 16 years to do it, and his team went 0-6 to start and clearly has the talent to make the playoffs this year. Now what is funny is that as I write this I envision that Fisher would be a great fit for the Texans as a coach who knows how to get teams to the playoffs. I have mentioned change of scenery guys like Dungy and Belichick who have done better with their second stop.

Now understand this, because Dungy and Belichick won a Super Bowl after getting fired does not mean that the Titans should fire him. Me stating those coaches success is to point out that for Fisher he might benefit from a change. My gut feeling is that Fisher does not get fired.

The guy who is impressing me a lot this year is Vince Young. I made fun of him and questioned his desire, but he has played extremely well as of late. He has a nice poise to himself in the pocket recently. I am interested to see if it holds up, but as of right now him and Chris Johnson make a great duo in the backfield. Even Jon Gruden got overwhelmed by them when he dropped this great quote on MNF…

“I may not be a chemist but I am seeing a lot of explosions in the backfield”

Thanks Jon! With that said you can be an Adrian Peterson lover all you want, give me some of Chris Johnson. It is rare to see someone so fast. He is on pace for almost 2000 yards and has a 6.2 yards per carry average. This team had no QB for 6 weeks and he put up these numbers.

Last week’s blog I posed the video of Titans owner Bud Adams making a fool of himself flipping the bird to Bills fans. This past week as a way to apologize he took out the following ad in the local Buffalo paper…

In other words he did not apologize at all. This guy makes no sense if you ask me, but what do I know I just wrote a 20 page blog about one week of football, which in a  couple days will be proven completely non-telling to the rest of the season. Either way enjoy the holidays. I know I will miss John Madden and his turkey inside a chicken inside a rabbi inside a priest on top of a duck.

I welcome comments on my blog because it means I have readers (which is probably not true) and that people react to what I am saying. I even enjoy the criticism. It pushes the argument. Make me prove what I am saying. Well today I got my first comment in a while. An apparent Saints fan disagreed with my analysis of his Saints when I said they were looking “overrated.” Which is funny because technically when you haven’t lost a game yet it is hard to criticize a team deeply. But nonetheless I felt the Saints had been playing very mediocre ball lately especially when you compare it to their performances from early in the season.

Now simply criticizing my opinion is one thing but this reader said I did not take into account injuries. Now hold on a second. Injuries are part of every sport, football more than any other. I bet I am not alone in wondering how more people do not get hurt on a weekly basis. The last thing a team should say is holding them back is injuries. EVERY teamfaces injuries. Here take a look at the top 10 teams in terms of records in the NFL. I will list prominent players on their teams who have had  injuries…

 

Saints

• Tracey Porter (starting CB)
• Darren Sharper (starting CB)
• Sedrick Ellis (starting DT)

Colts

• Bob Sanders (a former Defensive player of the year, starting Safety)
• Marlin Jackson (starting CB)
• Kelvin Hayden (starting CB)
• Anthony Gonzalez (starting WR)

Vikings

• Antoine Winfield (starting CB)

Bengals

• Cedric Benson (new injury, but starting RB)
• Chris Henry (one of the best 3rd WRs in the league)
• Roy Williams (starting Safety)
• Antwan Odom (starting DE, led league in sacks at time of injury)

Broncos

• Kyle Orton (starting QB)
• Knowshon Moreno (starting RB)

Cardinals

• Adrian Wilson (starting Safety)
• Karlos Dansby (starting LB)
• Anquan Bolden (starting WR)
• Steve Breaston (starting WR)

Cowboys

• Marion Barber (starting RB)
• Felix Jones (3rd down RB)
• Mark Colombo (staring OT)
• Mike Jenkins (starting CB)

Patriots

• Ego (bruised since 2005)
• Stomach (punched last weekend)
• Ty Warren (starting DE)
• Jarvis Green (starting DE)
• Wes Welker (early in season, best slot WR in league)
• Fred Taylor/Sammy Morris (starting RBs)

Steelers

• Troy Polomalu (startign Safety)
• Aaron Smith (starting DE)
• Willie Parker (starting RB)

Chargers

• LT (starting RB)
• Jamal Williams (starting DT)

These are just a few of the injuries faced by teams. Some of these guys missed games early. Others missed games recently. Look at the list. Even casual fans know most of the guys I mentioned. And if you think these are the only injuries these teams faced you are wrong. In fact a lot of the guys I mentioned are on Injured Reserve and done for the year. So my apologies to Saints’ fans or any other team who think we should judge them differently because of injuries.

There is no doubt that the Steelers are much worse defensively without Polomalu and have had all their loses in games he either did not play in or had to leave due to injury. But you do not get any points for playing without your starters. No one gave last year’s Pats a break when Brady went down. No one is going to give the Saints a break because some guys are hurt. Everyone’s guys are hurt. You might be better with the injured guys, but you are only as good as who you put on the field.

 

I just witnessed my team blow a 17 point lead against the team I hate and you think I am going to write 8+ pages about the NFL? I will make a deal…how about a bullet point for each team. I will list the score then the two bullet points…

Colts 35

Patriots 34

• The Patriots have created a situation where I now begin to let fear and doubt creep into my opinion of them in big games. I am as big a homer as it gets, in fact I have not picked the Patriots to lose in 10 years, but this one hurts.
• I hate the Colts.

49ers 10

Bears 6

• Jay Cutler is like a Subway commercial…5….5 I-N-Ts…5 Interceptions. This is one of my favorite pictures of the year…

• Mike Singletary does not make sense to me as a head coach. And why does he need to wear that over the top cross on the field? This is not a religious commentary, he can believe in scientology for all I care. I don’t care if it’s a Cross, or a Star of David or a picture of Tom Cruise, its unnecessary.

Panthers 28

Falcons 19

• The immortal Matt Ryan had 5 TDs and 1 INT after two games this season. Since that time he has played 7 games. His team is 3-4 and he has thrown 9 TDs and 11 INTs. But this guy is GREAT! Don’t you dare speak poorly of him.
• You see what happens when Delhomme plays even a decent game. I am starting to come around on this team, who last week I highlighted as having some strong pieces. But at 4-5 and with a tough schedule do not get your hopes up.

Dolphins 25

Buccaneers 23

• If Ronnie Brown is out for a considerable time this team is going to fall apart. You do have to love seeing Joey Porter run his mouth one week and then get “Adalius Thomas’d” aka be a healthy scratch the next.
• It looks like Josh Freeman could be a solid starting QB in this league and qualify as the only “promising” player on the Bucs roster. I mean if a Rookie QB has a couple good games to start he has to be the best player ever right…just ask Mark SanCHEZ.

Vikings 27

Lions 10

• Adrian Peterson is running wild but those fumbles are a big problem. Plays like that don’t hurt you against the Lions, but they kill you in the playoffs.
• The Lions are terrible but will be favored next week against the Helmets. Last time they were favored they lost to the Rams.

Jaguars 24

Jets 22

• What a play by MJD to stop before the endzone in effect defeating the Jets…

• Head Coach of the Jets, Rex Ryan, who has been anything but bashful apparently BROKE DOWN IN TEARS at a team meeting after this loss. I am sorry that is unacceptable.

Bengals 18

Steelers 12

• The Bengals are for real, especially on defense, but to no one’s surprise they go out and take another chance on a troubled player, this time in the form of Larry Johnson. Chad Ochocinco calls him Dos Siete, I call him washed up.
• The Steelers offense is so hit or miss, and defensively they are a completely different team without Troy Polomalu

Saints 28

Rams 23

• WARNING! WARNING! The Saints are on the edge and looking overrated. WARNING! WARNING!
• Steven Jackson has been a monster all season…he is averaging over 100 yards a game and I dare you to name another offensive talent on the Rams. He doesn’t  have the TDs but some might argue he is the best RB in the NFL, maybe above Peterson, too bad this next guy is in the league…

Titans 41

Bills 17

• Chris Johnson is having a monster season and could eclipse 2000 yards, which on a team that lost its first 6 games. He has 4.26 speed and plays like it…check out his college highlights….

• I know I said only 1 bullet point per team, but check out this Bud Adams (owner of the Titans) video. He is going off giving the the Bills’ fans middle fingers…

• DOWN GOES DICK JAURON!!! Jimmy Z cannot believe it either. Jauron is officially the first coach fired. He was fired a season too late.

Redskins 27

Broncos 17

• The Broncos are unbelievably frustrating. So we don’t believe in them for 6 weeks and they go  6-0. Then we begin to think they are for real and they go 0-3. Kyle Orton going down could be the end of this early season Cinderella story.
• Jimmy Z is a survivor. He beats the odds and now he can coach out the rest of the season with a team no one enjoys watching. Gotta give it to him.

Chiefs 16

Raiders 10

• How bad is JaMarcus Russell? Is it even a fair question? There is no quantitative answer which can truly encompass his lack of ability. He was 8-23 for 69 yards on Sunday. His replacement was 5/9 for 59 yards and 2 INTs and was an upgrade.
• The Chiefs have won 7 straight in Oakland. They have only won 8 games since 2007.

Cardinals 31

Seahawks 20

• Hey look it’s Justin Forsett. I never mentioned that guy. But guess what, he is the starting RB now with Julius Jones bleeding in his lungs. Go get Justin Forsett. (he will now do nothing until Jones returns)
• The Cardinals are slowly shaping into quite the contender. For those who can still make a trade get the buy low candidate Anquan Boldin. Great match-ups and you can get him at a reasonable price compared to a guy like Fitzy.

Packers 17

Cowboys 7

• What is it with this Cowboys team. They went out and shit the bed, and leave absolutely no confidence in anyone. Last week they are in the argument. This week we remembered who they were.
• The Packers are a bad team still, but they got a key win. I still cannot believe they lost  to the Bucs last week.

Chargers 31

Eagles 23

• Andy Reid was down 13 after a 4th quarter TD. If he goes for 1 he is down 12 and needs at least 2 TDs he can not settle for a FG. If he goes for 2 he only needs a TD (another 2 point conversion) and a FG to tie. Neither looks great but it’s easier to get a TD and a FG than two TDs. Andy Reid might look like a genius this week though with Belichick’s decisions.
• The Chargers need to be in the discussion for top teams in the AFC. You just can’t stop LT. Just kidding, I would rather have Brian Westbrook on my team and he might be concussed for the rest of the season.

Ravens 16

Helmets 0

• The Ravens do not get any shout outs here just watch this Cleveland video (search for the 2nd one too, it didn’t show on youtube for some reason)…

Devastated. That is the only way any Patriots fan can describe their feelings following this game. As I sifted through my texts and chatted with a few people online, I felt I needed to say something to let my feelings out. I posted the following on Facebook …

“It wasn’t about not getting the spot, or the pass interference call the drive before, or even the Maroney fumble….it came down to going for it on 4th down…Belichick decided the game like a kid playing madden at home…let your team win the game…I am sick, disappointed, angry, upset… If you want praise when you succeed you better be ready to take the shit when you mess up. That was awful coaching.”

 

Clearly I was upset. But was I overreacting? Yes and no. Before I breakdown the game I am going to look at Bill Belichick’s coaching and specifically how, we as Patriot’s fans, should handle this.

“Hey Belichick, You Fucked UP!” Plain and simple, that is the most defining explanation for what happened last night. In Belichick’s defense, he has made countless decisions that have won us games we had no business winning. An example that comes to mind is the game in Denver years ago when he took the intentional safety to “flip the field” and we won a thriller almost solely based on that decision.

Belichick “fucked up” last night and many will destroy him, but let’s be honest do you want anyone else coaching this team right now? And to those that think this was Belichick trying to “show off” or “stick it” to the Colts – this isn’t a 2 point conversion or running up the score. Belichick made a bad decision that he thought was the right choice. It’s like when a guy gets really drunk at a party and hooks up with the wrong girl. Except Belichick doesn’t have the excuse of being drunk, or at least I don’t think he does.

Ok, with that said, I want to break down where I think Belichick made his first, of what became a long string of mistakes in this game.

His first mistake was actually NOT going for it on 4th and 8 from the Colts 18 with 4:17 left in the game and the Pats up by 10. At the time, the FG would put the Patriots up by 13. I turned to my Dad and said, “That FG meant nothing.” If anything, it actually was a detriment, which I will explain later. People claim Belichick was scared of the Colt’s offense and had no faith in his defense, explaining why he went for the first down from his own 29-yard line at the end of the game. My question is this: At what point did he make this decision? When did he realize he couldn’t stop Manning? Manning’s 2-min TD drive in the series after the Pats kicked the FG was not surprising.

Let me explain…

Earlier in the 4th quarter Manning had another 2-minute TD drive (that drive should have made you scared), making it a 10-point game. Then the Pats drive eventually stalled, Manning got the ball back and on the first play of the drive he threw an interception due to a misread on a route by Wayne. But still, if you watch the interception it was a misread. If you’re the coach of the Patriot’s, Manning’s INT does not change your opinion that you think the Colts can score on you very quickly, and not just FGs but TDs. The Pats would then take that INT and turn it into the FG, which I think, was a mistake.

Manning gets the ball back and has a 2 min TD drive, making it a 6-point game. Pats get the ball and go for it on the infamous 4th down out of a supposed mix of: fear of Manning and confidence in Brady’s offense. I find it hard to believe that the fear was a product of the most recent 2-min TD drive. Manning was marching his team and had 1 bad play the entire quarter, and it was a misread. To me, Belichick going for a FG on 4th and 8 from the Colts 18 and then going for the first down on a 4th and 2 from his own 29 are contradictory decisions and that is where he gets most of the blame in my book.

The argument that going for it at the end of the game gave them the best chance to win makes no sense when you compare situations. Up by 10 points with 4:17 left and failing to get a first down at the Colts 18 yard line does not lose you the game. But up by 6 points with 2:00 left and failing to get a first down at your own 29 does.

I can even argue that the FG hurt the team. Down by 10 the Colts can tie with a TD and a FG and win with 2 TDs. If the Pats had pushed the lead to 17 the game is over. Pushing the lead to 13 only ensures that the Colts need to score 2 TDs, and in fact puts them in line to only consider winning the game. What if the Colts were only down 3 when they got the ball back for the final time? Going for the win when you can tie is an interesting and difficult balance. I would like to believe Belichick punts the ball only up 3 and then Manning has to balance getting his team into FG range and trying for the win. My bet is they have to settle for a FG. Who knows who wins then, but as weird as it sounds I think being up 13 after the FG hurt the Pats.
I have now bashed Belichick and the Head Coaching decisions but let me tell you just how poorly the Pats play calling became in the 4th quarter. Besides their TD seconds into the quarter this is their following play calls…

New England Patriots at 12:14 up by 10
1-10-NE 20 (12:14) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to W.Welker to NE 32 for 12 yards (G.Brackett). P22
1-10-NE 32 (11:37) L.Maroney up the middle to NE 32 for no gain (G.Brackett).
2-10-NE 32 (10:57) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to W.Welker to NE 37 for 5 yards (R.Brock, M.Bullitt).
3-5-NE 37 (10:10) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to R.Moss to NE 45 for 8 yards (T.Jennings). P23
1-10-NE 45 (9:34) L.Maroney left end to NE 47 for 2 yards (D.Muir, R.Mathis).
2-8-NE 47 (8:54) (Shotgun) T.Brady sacked at NE 42 for -5 yards (R.Mathis). FUMBLES (R.Mathis) [D.Muir], recovered by NE-D.Koppen at
NE 45. D.Koppen to NE 45 for no gain (G.Brackett). Minus 2 sack yards.
3-10-NE 45 (8:07) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short right to R.Moss (R.Mathis).
4-10-NE 45 (8:02) C.Hanson punts 37 yards to IND 18, Center-J.Ingram, fair catch by T.Rushing.

New England Patriots at 7:44 up by 10
1-10-IND 31 (7:44) L.Maroney up the middle to IND 30 for 1 yard (M.Bullitt, G.Brackett).
2-9-IND 30 (7:03) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to I.Stanback to IND 22 for 8 yards (J.Lacey).
3-1-IND 22 (6:28) L.Maroney up the middle to IND 20 for 2 yards (R.Mathis, P.Wheeler). R24
1-10-IND 20 (5:49) (Run formation) T.Brady pass short right to R.Moss to IND 16 for 4 yards (J.Lacey).
2-6-IND 16 (5:05) (Shotgun) K.Faulk right tackle to IND 18 for -2 yards (A.Bethea).
3-8-IND 18 (4:22) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short right to K.Faulk [D.Freeney].
4-8-IND 18 (4:17) S.Gostkowski 36 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-J.Ingram, Holder-C.Hanson.

New England Patriots at 2:23 up by 6
1-10-NE 20 (2:23) (Shotgun) K.Faulk up the middle to NE 20 for no gain (R.Brock).
Timeout #1 by IND at 02:18.
2-10-NE 20 (2:18) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to W.Welker to NE 28 for 8 yards (J.Lacey, C.Session).
Timeout #2 by IND at 02:11.
3-2-NE 28 (2:11) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short right to W.Welker (J.Powers).
Timeout #3 by NE at 02:08.
4-2-NE 28 (2:08) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to K.Faulk to NE 29 for 1 yard (M.Bullitt).

Brady dropped back for 11 passes. 10 of those passes are described as “short.” I believe that means less than 10 yards down field. The other pass play resulted in a sack. All other plays are obvious run plays. What is the fear in passing the ball down field and attacking? Once again how can we go for the jugular on a 4th and 2 from our own 29-yard line but be scared to play the aggressive style that put us up 17 in the first place.

There were so many contradictory decisions made by Belichick in this game. The Patriots had a 17-point lead and played “not to lose” when they had played “to win” for 3 quarters. Couple that with bad coaching and poor decision-making and that results in a loss. I haven’t even mentioned the mismanagement of timeouts (which is a huge issue) or playing a vanilla defense and rushing only four. Bottom-line is no one knows what happens if Belichick punts the ball away. Unfortunately for Pats fans we know the pain that happened because he didn’t.

 

Check back tomorrow for the rest of week 10’s games, and maybe some final thoughts on this one. I know this is kind of like a rant, but this game hurts.

Get excited. It is time once again for 10 Predictions. Seeing as these predictions are not locked into just this weekend or the NFL this could get interesting…

1. The movie 2012 will be terrible, but in that I will watch it on HBO kind of way. My father has a theory that you know a movie is bad if it gets advertised a lot. I think his theory has some flaws but it’s movies like 2012 which feed tons of fuel to his argument. I for one look forward to movies like 2012 finally being released. It means the end of the ridiculous ad campaigns and in this case John Cusack being one of the only people to “survive.”

2. I think that Drew Brees gets the MVP this year for a couple reasons. Brady and Manning both have one already. The Saints are the feel good story, and everyone wants them to do well. Finally if the Saints finish with the #1 seed in the NFC they he has to win it, and right now that is exactly what they are on pace to do.

3. Add Lovie Smith to the list of coaches who will be fired by the end of the year. I think these guys are locks: the Mangina, Jimmy Z, Dick Jauron, Tom Cable. The following are definite possibilities: Lovie Smith, Jim Fox, Jeff Fisher, Mike McCarthy, Gary Kubiak, Jack Del Rio, Wade Phillips, and Norv Turner.

4. NFC Playoff Teams: Saints, Vikes, Cards, Falcons, Cowboys, Eagles…Giants are too banged up in the secondary.

5. AFC Playoff Teams: Pats, Colts, Steelers, Bengals, Broncos, Chargers…Texans are chokers and the Broncos/Chargers and Bengals schedules are too easy.

6. The halftime show at the SuperBowl is featuring The Who. It is a big mistake, and will be a waste of everyone’s time. I heard Michael Wilbon say it on PTI and I agree…they should have gotten Taylor Swift.

7. I will not do another 10 predictions column because these things are impossible. It is hard to mix predictions that will come right (which I never make) and humor (which I don’t have).

8. This is a must click link. When all is said and done do not be surprised if Bill Belichick goes down as the greatest coach of all time.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-films-sound-efx/09000d5d8141e444/Sound-FX-Bill-Belichick-mic-d-up

9 and 10. Time for predictions of the two biggest games of the weekend. I took the Pats and the Steelers. Since 2001 every season if the Patriots beat the Colts they have gone onto the SuperBowl that season. It sounds weird but it’s true. The Bengals look like they are for real, but it is hard to beat a really good team twice in a season. The Steelers are at home and I am picking them. I won’t be shocked if the Bengals win though.

Alright enjoy the biggest weekend of football yet…

So yesterday I was wasting time trying to think of good ideas for my Pats vs Colts Mega Preview. I decided I was going to google my name…”Matt Lutchen.” I got excited when I saw a link I had never seen come up. Here check it out…

 

http://www.thesouthern.com/news/breaking/article_096bd0b7-70bd-5979-99bf-6a618c1da549.html

 

Because I know you won’t read it here is a quick excerpt…

“A mother and son were jailed without bail in connection with the killing of a man whose decomposing body was discovered Tuesday.

Elmer Atkins Jr., 46, and his mother, Edna Atkins, 63, could have formal charges filed against them in court Wednesday, Williamson County State’s Attorney Charles Garnati said.

Garnati said he expects to charge Elmer Atkins with first-degree murder in the death of Matthew Lutchen, 51.”

When I read this article I became immediately scared. Could this be true? Am I dead? I double checked and realized that this was clearly a different Matt Lutchen. The article also said the other Matt Lutchen was nicknamed “Little Guy” which as my friend mentioned to me “I have never been called “little guy” I should be fine.” Whether that is encouraging or a shot at my weight I don’t know. But never mind that.

So what does this have to do with the NFL and this Sunday? I have no clue but I felt I should warn everyone out there. Now what should you expect from the rest of this column? Not much I am pretty tired but I am going to encourage everyone to read tomorrow when my 10 Predictions make a cameo because I am too lazy to write a blog today. I will leave you with something good though…

 

This is a compilation of big hits I found on youtube. Some hits are shown multiple times and there is a highlight of a catch which obviously doesn’t fit in. But regardless, the music is good and even though I have seen this type of video before it still is interesting.

 

 

Lastly I forgot to show the following in yesterdsay’s post. Brady is the only QB in Sunday’s big game who has his own personal logo….

 

TB12

Year in and year out this game has been the game to see each and every season. Former division foes, when the realignment occurred these two teams were only guaranteed to meet each other once every three seasons. But due to both teams being on top in their divisions for so long the last time these two did not play against in each other was the 2002 season. This year’s match-up is one of their biggest meetings yet. The Patriots are 6-2 and look poised to make a run this year. The Colts are one of only two unbeatens and have a 8-0 record. If the Colts win this game they will be in a strong position to finish with the number 1 seed in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. If the Patriots win they will put a definitive chink in the Colts armor and put themselves in a strong position to at the very least earn a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

So what should we expect in this game? Who knows but I am going to bullet point this game to death. Hopefully I can give you insight on things you should know….

• The Colts are 8-0 but have faced only 2 teams with a winning record thus far. Their opponents combined winning percentage is .400.
• The Patriots are 6-2 with loses in week 2 to the now 4-4 Jets and week 5 to the now 6-2 Broncos. Both games were on the road. The Patriots 6 wins have come against opponents with a combined .375 winning percentage.
• Peyton Manning has 16 TDs and 5 INTs on the season.
• Tom Brady has 16 TDs and 5 INTs on the season.
• No not all of my bullet points will be symmetrical comparisons but it is a nice place to start I guess, also did I mention I hate the Colts and find so much joy in seeing the every popular “Peyton Manning Face.”

• The Colts will be without most of their starting secondary in this game. Bob Sanders, Marlin Jackson, and Kelvin Hayden are all not likely to play.
• Dwight Freeney has at least 1 sack in every game this season. That is a mark of consistency, and with rookie Sebastian Vollmer starting at tackle for the Patriots this could be a huge match-up within the game.
• I heard today on the radio that Brady and presumably the team calls Vollmer “Sea Bass”. I loved this and reminds me of the movie Dumb and Dumber and the scene with “SeaBass” played by Boston Bruins’ great Cam Neely…

• That reminds me of my favorite line from the movie. It comes from this scene…

• You gotta love this line…“something about me not listening enough, I don’t know…I wasn’t really paying attention.”
• I mentioned this yesterday but it is worth reminding everyone…The Colts only average 3.7 yards per rush, 6th worst in the league.
• Peyton Manning and Tom Brady both are world class superstars and both have taken part in things they likely regret, remember this…

or this…

• Joseph Addai has been a part of 30.29% of the Colts plays. That means he is the rusher, passer, or intended receiver on nearly 1/3 of all plays the Colts run.
• Dallas Clark leads all TEs in “targets” this season and has been nearly unstoppable this year.
• The Patriots have not allowed a TE to gain over 46 yards all season. Clark has had only two games with less than 46 yards, and is averaging almost 88 yards a game. The Patriots have played 2 other TEs who are in the top 10 in “targets.” They held Tony Gonzalez and Kellen Winslow to a combined 3 receptions and 24 yards.
• The Colts lead the league in defensive points allowed. They only allow 13.5 ppg.
• The Patriots are second in the league in defensive points allowed with only 14.4 ppg.
• Everyone knows that Tom Brady is married to the world famous Gisele…

• But few people know that Manning has himself a wife as well. Check her out…

• She is pretty good looking, but it really isn’t fair comparing most people to Gisele.
• A lot of people think the real match-up is Manning vs. Belichick. Belichick has won 8 of their 13 match-ups, including the playoffs. But Manning has won 4 of the last 5.
• One of my favorite Pats vs. Colts game was the 2004 season opener when the Colts lost 27-24 when their “liquored up kicker” missed a game tying FG as time expired.
• One of my favorite images from this rivalry was Rodney Harrison spiking the ball after making an INT in the endzone in the AFC Championship game…

This was my screen-saver on my laptop for years.

• My most crushing memory was when the Colts came back against the Pats in the 2006 AFC Championship game. I was watching at a friends house. Needless to say we still discuss our “all hands in” huddle we had before the last drive where Brady was intercepted. I have seen my Patriots lose the AFC Champ game and the Super Bowl. Both were equally painful, but I will say this, losing the Super Bowl is bad, but after the parade you really do not see highlights of it on Sports Center for the most part. But when we lost the AFC Champ game I had to deal with 2 weeks of Super Bowl hype. Both are horrendous don’t get me wrong and losing the Super Bowl is worse but at least I can watch ESPN a couple days later.
• Yesterday I showed you the great Randy Moss catch 2 years ago in this very game. I want to show you my favorite Reggie Wayne catch of all time. It was not in a game between these two teams but it was truly outstanding…(you have to click the link, I wanted to give you guys the top quality version…

http://www.nfl.com/videos/houston-texans/09000d5d80b5ddad

 

• Both Brady and Manning have been on SNL but I have to give it to Manning with this skit…

• That’s pretty good but Manning never was on Entourage. Even Brady can make Turttle a fan…

• I have kind of strayed from the game and match-ups we should expect Sunday night, but who cares. I am sure you all know I will be picking the Patriots. This game is really one of those must see exciting games. Hopefully it lives up to the hype. I know that Andrea Kramer will be excited to see Tom Brady this Sunday…

• She was a little too into that interview. All I can say is get ready because as the immortal Randy Moss once said this game is going to be “Straight Cash Homie.” (and yeah maybe I took that out of context)

So last week I started work. As the 5 readers of this blog know I was busy all week getting adjusted to “being a real person” and was unable to get most of my low quality high quantity blogs up. That will not happen again. Actually I have no clue if it will happen again, but I have been taking notes from the MNF crew and so I am trying to speak in hyperbole for this week’s intro. Last week was the worst blogging week of my career. This week I am going to dominate and produce blogs that destroy the competition. With that said let’s get to the games and as usual we are starting with the one, the only, the soon to be Colts killing, New England Patriots…

Patriots 27

Dolphins 17

This is one of those “solid” wins. The Dolphins are a lot tougher than their 3-5 record indicates. The Patriots were able to come away with a 10 point win and seemed to dictate most of the game. The Dolphins were effective on 3rd down but they have been all season as they are tied for 1st for 3rd down conversion %. The Patriots  are 2nd in the league in time of possession but lost the battle for time in this game. However much of that can be attributed to Miami’s 10 minute 3rd quarter drive. If you watched this game you would not come out saying that the Pats dominated, but as a Pats fan you never felt worried.

The Wildcat was wildly ineffective for the most part. The Dolphins did score a passing TD out of the Wildcat on the goal-line, but to the Pats’ defense they had just stopped two run plays out of the Wildcat for no gain. Chad Henne looked like a run-of-the-mill QB and the Pats special teams were able to silence Ted Ginn Jr. for the most part. I wanted to show this quote in last weeks Sneak Peak column but it got lost when my browser crashed. This is Miami Offensive Coordinator Dan Henning comparing Ginn to Jesus apparently…

“We go back three or four weeks ago and Teddy was a hero after the first Jet game, he was a goat after New Orleans and now he’s a hero again,” Henning said. “I can’t wait to see the next chapter of this and who decides that.”

“You know, in the Bible,” Henning said, “on Palm Sunday they threw flowers and garlands at the Good Lord and then on Friday, they picked him up, beat the s@$* out of him, crucified him, and in this league they give us seven days – only gave him five.”

Kind of scary I must say. In other news it’s too bad Joey Porter didn’t play in this game. He was talking a lot of trash before the game but no-showed worse than the Jets come playoff time (you like that…a shot at both the Dolphins and Jets in one sentence, I am such a homer). Porter is notorious for running his mouth, and over his career has been hit or miss when it comes to backing it up. I wouldn’t be surprised if he runs his mouth again before their next match-up though. Law of averages says he is going to be right one of these times.

Moss had a great one-handed catch in this game. But I wanted to show all of you my favorite Moss catch. Two years ago against the Colts check it out (not great quality sorry)…

With this win the Pats improve to 6-2 and hold a 2 game lead in the division. Next week they have the game we all circle every season. Patriots at Colts (the “at” pisses me off, more on that in the Colts game). Right now the line is an even Colts by 3. For those who don’t know the home team always “gets 3″ so if the line is 3 in favor of the home team essentially Vegas thinks the teams are even. Funny how that works.

I am going to have a lot more on this game later. Likely an entire column. Actually that is exactly what I am going to do. Tomorrow, with the freedom given to me by Vets around the world, and my job which gives the day off, I am going to write an enlightening piece filled with stats that make no sense and analysis you can get anywhere else about the Patriots/Colts game. It’s not like anyone reads my Bye Bye Bye Column. In fact no one read it last week. I should take a hint (note I did not post one last week).

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• The Dolphins and their unbeatable Wildcat are 0-5 against teams with winning records (in other words they have not beat a team over .500 all season).
• The Patriots play the Colts next week.

Falcons 31

Redskins 17

You have to love when an overrated player faces off against his old team and then tries to fight the Head Coach. I must admit I have never seen this actually occur before and I am pretty sure that DeAngelo Hall never actually played for Head Coach Mike Smith, but check out this video…

Hall to me has always been one of the great overrated players in the game. He is a product of the Madden Generation of fans. On paper his “ratings” or “ability” jump off the page. He is fast, strong, and athletic…everything you want in a big time corner. In Madden he always got a great rating but his play never matched his ability. He is nothing more than a mediocre corner who talks as if he is God’s gift to earth. You know your bad when one of my most hated players, Jay Cutler, gets my seal of approval after this comment…

As for this game and what it means…well…nothing really. The Falcons got a victory they had to have, and the Redskins are awful and lost again. The Falcons look like they are going to make the playoffs, but I would bet on them to be one and done. Matt Ryan has come back to earth a little bit this season this season. Last year as a rookie he had respectable numbers…16 TDs and 11 INTs. But this is a guy who is lauded as the next Peyton Manning. His numbers thus far this season look like this: 13 TDs and 10 INTs. If he doesn’t cut down those INTs he is going to have a tough time reaching Manning or Brady status. The weird thing is people act like its blasphemy to say anything negative about the guy.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• Matt Ryan can have as many bad games as he wants, he is still the greatest QB ever, and a great razor blade salesman.
• I hate DeAngelo Hall so much that I wrote an entire wrap up about the Redskins and didn’t mention Jimmy Z once.

Cardinals 41

Bears 21

I just brought up Cutler so I might as well discuss his game this weekend. He put up absolutely HUGE numbers. 369 yards and 3 TDs. And yet, he lost by 20 points. That my friends is what we call “hollow stats.” A lot of guys do this around the league. Megatron Johnson’s entire season last year was “hollow stats,” his team didn’t win a game. Cutler put up huge numbers but it didn’t mean anything and further more only 21 points by an offense isn’t enough to beat an explosive Cardinals team most Sundays. To Cutler’s defense the Bears defense was putrid. And check out this cheap shot by Tommie Harris…

Some guys just don’t get it. This is going to stay with him for the rest of his career. He now falls under the “dirty player” category. I am sure that Lutui (the guy he punched) said or did something to piss him off but this reminds me of an old lessen my father always told me…

If you do not like a teacher you should never just say “F’ them and stop doing the work or showing up to class. Why? Because at the end of the day when you get your grade it’s going to be something bad. What you should do is work like a mad man and get good grades. No it wont “piss off” the teacher, but in the end you win. To take this saying to the football field…Harris should have played like a man possessed the rest of the game and tried to dominate the line of scrimmage. Instead he said “F” you to Lutui and attacked him. He got ejected from the game and his team lost big time.

Lovie Smith’s job might be in jeopardy. The Bears defense is run by him. There is no one else to blame for their defensive woes.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• If the Bears fire their defensive coordinator they are going to need a new Head Coach.
• I did not mention the Cardinals at all in this games wrap up…give me a break this things like 8 pages long.

Colts 20

Texans 17

This game got close in a hurry, and if Kris Brown doesn’t choke on a must have FG attempt at the end of regulation this game would have gone to OT. To Brown’s defense I am shocked he could even get the kick up with both feet around his neck (get it? the line should be hands around his neck, but hes a kicker, so I said feet…haha?).

Moving on…the Texans proved once again they are good enough to compete but not quite good enough to be considered in that top echelon of the league. I would say give them time, but how much time do they need? I think they definitely missed having Owen Daniels out there. Their TE replacements had a total of 3 catches for 24 yards. Not exactly top TE in the league status.

With the Ravens loss the Texans are still in contention for that last playoff spot. They currently are 7th place in the AFC and only a half game out of the 6th place Chargers. Nonetheless, it looks like they are going to have to win at least 5 of their last 7 to make the playoffs. They have a bye next week followed by the Titans, Colts, Jaguars, Seahawks, Rams, Dolphins, and Patriots. It is a tough schedule to predict that is for sure. There appears to be some gimmies in there, but who knows with a team that has a track record of coming up short.

The Colts threw the ball 40 times in the first half which just seems ridiculous. The Colts have really struggled as a team to rush the ball. In fact they rank 27th in the league with a measly 3.7 yards per carry. They do not rush it often either. It is as if they know they are no good at it. This has to be a concern for them especially if they do not get home field advantage in the playoffs. As it currently stands they are undefeated, but we all know who comes to town next week. Which brings me to my homer rant of the week…Why do the Colts get this as a home game? That makes it 3 straight seasons these two have met at Indy. This is undoubtedly the biggest game of the year so far. The Patriots never get any breaks! (Just kidding, there is no way there was 1 second left on the clock at the end of the first half in this weeks game against the Dolphins. If you saw the game you know what I am talking about).

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• The Texans are stuck in neutral, and have been for years.
• The Colts play the Patriots next week.

Jaguars 24

Chiefs 21

Isn’t it cute when bad teams play each other and try to have a competitive game. Needless to say this game was a waste of time. Not only did the Jags not cover, they got blacked out again because they were unable to sell out. This is a legitimate problem and in all likelihood will lead to the Jaguars needing to relocate at some point in the near future. I am not kidding about that either. Outside of MJD and MSW who on the Jags team is noteworthy? Furthermore the community has shown to be unable to support them. Here is the interesting question…if we move them say to LA (the likely spot) how do we realign the divisions in the AFC?

What if we did this…

LA Jaguars to the AFC West

KC Chiefs to the AFC North

Baltimore Ravens to the AFC East

Miami Dolphins to the AFC South

Now I know this ruins a lot of rivalries, but look at the map and try to come up with a better scenario if the Jags have to leave Jacksonville. Keeping them in the AFC South is also in the mix I guess.

I have to mention that Larry Johnson here. The guy finally got what he deserved. He was cut from the team for being an idiot. I say good riddance. I hope no one picks him up, but inevitably I know someone will. And if that someone happens to be the Pats I cannot wait to become a fan.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• MJD is good for at least one run a game where the other team does not want to tackle him, too bad the Jaguars are going to ruin divisional rivalries because they suck.
• Larry Johnson was hated so much that the fans started a petition for him not be able to get the Chiefs career rushing record, with his release he is like 70 yards short. That is how you cater to your fans even when your team sucks.

Buccaneers 38

Packers 28

If I am going to rip myself a new one every time I am wrong you better bet I am going to gloat when I am right. I have told you for weeks that this Packers team is overrated. I said they have an easy schedule but cannot play with the good teams in the league. Well looks like they cannot play with the bad teams in the league either. The Packers were unable to take advantage of their weak schedule and lost an embarrassing game to the Bucs. Just embarrassing.

Aaron Rodgers has a legitimate problem taking sacks. He has 37 on the season. He is on pace to be sacked 74 times. The record is held by David Carr who was sacked 76 times. In absolutely ironic news I found this item scrolling across the bottom of the nfl.com’s game tracker page for this game…

How great is that??? A “red practice jersey” of one Aaron Rodgers. For those who don’t know the red practice jersey means “no contact.” Which of course is the opposite of any game for Rodgers. Furthermore, who in their right mind wants a red practice jersey of their favorite player or any player for that matter? The only guy who wants it this season is Rodgers himself. Maybe that will help his sack problem.

Oh yeah…the Bucs are still bad, but maybe Josh Freeman has a future, well see though, remember we as fans love to play the “overreact after one game” game. I can’t take credit for this joke but I can still make it…I bet Morgan is really proud of his son winning his first game (think about it).

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• The Packers have the easiest remaining schedule of any team. They also have the easiest offensive line to run by.
• The Bucs head coach Raheem Morris got his first win, I would not be surprised if it’s his last, that’s how bad this team and he is.

Saints 30

Panthers 20

If any other team did this to the Saints they would have been in position to win this game. But the Panthers are such a poor offense that a couple long runs cannot keep the Saints at bay for an entire game. I am not going to waste time analyzing this team further. They have two great RBs, a great WR, and a solid O-Line. And yet, because their QB is so horrific the Panthers are a bad team. Delhomme has a 61.7 QB rating, only Stafford (a rookie), Josh Johnson (someone who’s coach called him a career backup), JaMarcus Russell (don’t get me started) and Derek Anderson (yeah he’s worse than Russell) have worse ratings for QBs who qualify.

I am concerned for the Saints as it comes to an undefeated season. They are playing like the Pats did late in their 2007 season. Living on the edge isn’t going to get it done. Expect them to lose sooner than later.

I do want to bring up a stat I heard and LOVED. The Saints defense has scored 6 TDs, the Helmets offense has only scored 5 TDs. WOW. That is just awesome. I love ripping on the Helmets and this just adds fuel to the fire. Next thing you’re going to tell me that their fans are planning on showing up late to their Monday night game next week as a form of protest against their abysmal ownership and team. Oh wait…that is exactly what is going on. And to make the story better Helmets owner Randy Lerner had a 2 hour meeting with a Helmets fan named “Dawg Pound Mike” hoping to stop the protest. Lerner was unsuccessful as Mr. “Pound Mike” says he and his fellow fans plan to go on with their protest.

Here is a picture of Dawg Pound Mike for those wondering…

I really hope he wore that to the meeting.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• Even on bye weeks the Helmets and JaMarcus Russell are not safe.
  
• The Saints are due for a loss, even with the easy schedule, and to be honest it might be a good thing.

Titans 34

49ers 27

This marks the end of the 49ers 2009 season. When they beat the Cardinals in week one then started 3-1 we thought they could take the NFC West. Well now they are done. That’s it. Stick a fork in them. They are 3-5 and have no QB and one of the leagues worst running games statistically. Not a winning combo in any league except maybe the Big 10. Yeah that’s a college football reference. I am so happy there will be no Big 10 team in the BCS title game this year. Big 10 Football = San Francisco 49ers = Boring. Interesting how Alex Smith has been unable to resurrect his career. I guess not being good his first 30 games was bad sign.

As for the Titans, I do not get the “who wants to fire Jeff Fisher now?” arguments. Me, that’s who. I don’t care if you win the rest of the season. Jeff you have proven one thing to me…you are not a good enough coach to win the big game with the Titans. He has a .546 winning %. Basically that equates to almost being 9-7 per season. I know that is taking his early career into account and he does have some great seasons. But I wrote a big article about being “stuck” in the NFL. The Titans are “stuck” and need a new direction. Fisher himself might benefit from being fired. A lot of great coaches win Super Bowls with their second team. Many would argue Tony Dungy and Bill Belichick are the best coaches of the past decade. Both of them were fired from their first jobs.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• Greg Easterbrook wrote an article on ESPN about something how Crabtree is to blame for the 49ers going from 3-1 to 3-5. I hate Easterbrook and think he is to blame for global warming. Both arguments are based on the same amount of facts.
• Vince Young is looking relaxed and good and I have wanted to get the following picture on the blog for a while now so here it goes (it means nothing but why does he have no shirt on?)…

Seahawks 32

Lions 20

The Lions took a 17 to Zero lead then let up 25 straight points. They would eventually lose by 12. When the Lions beat the Redskins I started to believe this team had really started to change a little bit, but not anymore. This Lions team is a mess. Stafford seems to be digressing from the start of the season. He had an amazing 5 INTs in this game. I didn’t like Stafford coming out of school and I didn’t like him as the top pick for the Lions. There is a golden rule in the NFL Draft…”if you don’t have a franchise QB and one is available you have to take him.” I would like to add this rule…”just because you are bad and don’t have a franchise QB does not mean you HAVE to take one with your top pick.” The Lions better hope that Stafford works out. The amount of money they put into him, if he is a bust, they are going to be set back for at least another 5 years. Just ask the Raiders (Russell), Helmets (Couch), 49ers (Smith), Texans (Carr), and even themselves (Harrington).

There really is not much to say for the Seahawks. I mentioned last week how they are poorly coached and have a great team on paper. It was nice to see Justin Forsett, the guy I have said should get the ball more, get involved more in the offense. Let’s see if that keeps up as the season goes on. If they were well coached it would.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• (insert something witty and funny about how the Lions suck)
• (insert something witty and funny about how the Seahawks suck)

Chargers 21

Giants 20

A fairly boring game turned into quite the barn burner as the Chargers scored a last-minute TD to pull out the 1 point victory. This was a match-up of the top 2 QBs taken in the 2004 NFL Draft. They were traded for each other in that draft. Lets take a look at that trade again…

Giants get Eli Manning

Chargers get Phillip Rivers and 3 draft picks which end up being Shawn Merriman, Nate Kaeding, and Roman Oben.

On paper it looks like the Chargers came out on top. Then again look for Merriman to be with another team next year as his play has slipped since the steroid suspension. Kaeding is a solid kicker but looks like 4-year-old boy, and is historically “un-clutch.” I think most people would rather have Rivers than Manning, but truth be told Manning has a Super Bowl ring and Rivers does not.

Look at Kaeding…

What a dork.

The Chargers and Giants leave this game going in two different directions. The Chargers are now 5-3 and thanks to Broncos’ lose are in a strong position to take the AFC West. In fact they play the Broncos in two weeks. If the Chargers can beat the Eagles next week and assuming the Broncos beat the Redskins that match-up could very well decide the division. A Broncos’ win gives them the tie breaker which translates to a 3 game lead with 6 to play. A Chargers win evens things up, and makes it a lot more interesting.

The Giants need to get their secondary together and quickly. Manning played well in this game. I was called by a reader to tell everyone how bad Tom Coughlin is as a coach. That is a tough one for me. I think that Coughlin had an improbable run with that 2007 Giants team, but he is not one of those coaches who truly stands out as a difference maker in this league. Will I say he is bad? No. Great? No. The guy is solid.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• The Chargers are playing well enough in the regular season that when they disappoint people again in the playoffs some fans might be surprised.
• The Giants are struggling, but don’t count them out. Its week 9, 8 games are left, a lot can happen.

Cowboys 20

Eagles 16

This is a huge win for the Cowboys. A win they didn’t get in past seasons. With the Giants slipping and the Redskins being the Redskins, this puts them in the driver’s seat for the division title. I have mentioned their schedule is not the easiest in the world, but if they play with the poise and consistency they did this weekend they will be a dangerous playoff team. Well until a decision comes down to Wade Phillips, who is still a terrible coach.

The sad thing is that Andy Reid might be worse. No other coach seems to challenge with as much terrible consistency as he does. And to top his horrific challenges he kicked that absurd FG down 7 with NO timeouts. Is he serious? Does he know how scoring works. He would still need a TD to win the game and they had to stop the Cowboys with a 3 and out. They had only forced one 3 and out all game and that came in the first half. They were completely unable to stop the Cowboys offense at that point. Still Eagles ownership wants to talk contract extension with this guy. Will people ever learn?

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• The Cowboys are doing all the right things so far this season. It is kind of weird.
• Andy Reid would rather lose by 4, then go for the win.

Bengals 17

Ravens 7

A lot of people were surprised by this outcome. I thought the Bengals would win a close one, but they were able to dominate on defense and when you hold the opponent to only 7 points, scoring 17 is going to be more than enough. The Bengals still have one more test to pass though and that is next week against the Steelers. The Bengals and Steelers both stand at 6-2 and the Bengals already won the first match-up. So similar to the Chargers/Broncos match-up a win by the Bengals will give them a  sweep of the series and an “extra game lead” because they will own the tie breaker.

We gotta check out Ochocinco offering money to the ref on a replay…I think its funny…

I owe the Ravens WRs a thank you for making me right again. I said it in week 4 that the Ravens WRs were bad and could not be relied on. The only form of offense that the Ravens have is Ray Rice. Flacco was just unable to get anything against this Bengals defense all game. At 4-4 it is going to be extremely difficult for the Ravens to make the playoffs in the ultra competitive AFC.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• The Bengals owe all their success to Hard Knocks, otherwise half their fans wouldn’t care for them. I know it sold me.
• The Ravens might be more done than Ray Lewis. And to think no other team made a serious run for him in free agency?

Steelers 28

Broncos 10

The Broncos have come back to earth. This is their second straight loss and worst of all is they look bad in both games. Teams are going to lose during the course of the season, but this game was a destruction. Really Big Ben ate the Broncos’ secondary alive (literally). The Broncos signed Ty Law before the game. I mentioned how old their secondary was last week. Ty Law does not make you any younger. Still the Broncos have an easy schedule, but the Chargers game in two weeks now becomes a must win.

The Steelers are back and rolling. They are 6-2 and have that big Bengals game next week at home. If they win that the division looks like it will be theirs. The AFC has all the makings to be one of the strongest playoff races and playoffs themselves in years. The Steelers, Colts, and Patriots are all vying for bye weeks and home field advantage. It is going to be a great end to the season.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• The Broncos are not scary good, but with an easy schedule they can be good enough for the playoffs.
• The Steelers have played their way into the top of the AFC (and NFL) discussion.

Well that does it for this Wrap Up. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Tomorrow is the big Patriots Colts breakdown. To paraphrase a famous 50 Cent song “I love this game like a JaMarcus Russell loves cake.” Until tomorrow…have a good one.

I was 75% done with a slightly different but just as effective Sneak Peak when my browser crashed. Now you get the bare bones version with some stats to know about the 5 biggest match-ups of the weekend. I am mad about it too, sorry I do not have more time…

Dolphins at Patriots

Stat(s) You Need To Know:

• The Patriots have allowed only1…that’s right 1…rushing TD all season. Tops in the league.
• The Dolphins are ranked 2nd in the league with 12 rushing TDs scored.

Texans at Colts

Stat(s) You Need To Know:

• Owen Daniels was hurt for the season in last weeks game. Coming into last week he was targeted more than any other TE in the league (57 times). By target I mean the # of times a player rushed, passed, or was the intended receiver. Those targets accounted for 12.5% of all the Texans’ plays.
• The Texans are 1-13 all time against the Colts.

Ravens at Bengals

Stat(s) You Need To Know:

• The Bengals defense held the Ravens to their worst offensive showing of the season only allowing 7 offensive points (they had 14 in total).
• The Ravens average 28.4 ppg on the season.

Dallas at Eagles

Stat(s) You Need To Know:

• The Eagles are 5-2 with wins over the 3-4 Panthers, 1-6 Chiefs, 0-7 Bucs, 2-5 Redskins, and 5-3 Giants, and never forget they lost to the RAIDERS.
• The Cowboys are 5-2 with wins over the 0-7 Bucs, 3-4 Panthers, 1-6 Chiefs, 4-3 Falcons, and 2-5 Seahawks.
• IMPRESSIVE TEAMS!

Steelers at Broncos

Stat(s) You Need To Know:

• The Steelers have lost their 2 games by a combined 6 points.
• The Broncos caused a turnover on defense every week except for last week. Last week was their first loss.

Sorry this post sucks. Next week I will start working on the blog during work…jk…but seriously…jk.

It is time once again for the new and much improved weekend wrap up. Nothing has really changed but now this post comes out on Tuesday and it includes a look at the Monday Night game. With the Patriots on a bye week I have to start somewhere else…

 

Eagles 40

Giants 17

This game wraps up everything wrong with the NFL and why doing what I do, not write a bad blog, but prognosticate, is nearly impossible. Let’s look at how each of these two teams got here…

Two weeks ago the Eagles lost to the Raiders…the Raiders…wait let that sink in…the Raiders. Then last week they play extremely mediocre ball against the Redskins and get an ugly win.

The Giants start out 5-0 and look like one of the top teams in the league. Then they lose to an amped up Saints team on the road, which was not that big of a surprise (although I obviously picked that game wrong). Then they lose to the hit or miss Cardinals (more on them later), but still this is a 5-2 team. And I am a firm believer it is hard to beat a good team twice, let alone 3 times in a row.

This brings us to this past Sunday. Two teams struggling, but one started 5-0 and had two tough games. But it’s the NFL and it’s unpredictable. Thus the Eagles absolutely dominate the Giants.

Eli Manning played like Mr. Turd in Pants. The same Eli Manning I defended on this very site. That is right I defended this guy. Me, a diehard Patriots fan who still shutters to think about that Super Bowl game defended Eli Manning. That Super Bowl was so bad that the other day I was watching tv and talking to my father on my cell phone when highlights from that game came on. As I began to get overwhelmed and upset I told my father what was on and he yelled “CLOSE YOUR EYES!!! CLOSE YOUR EYES!!!” And yet, I defended that man. I HATE ELI MANNING!

This image is just painful.

Where do we go from here? The Eagles have been like this since Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb took over. They look great, have an inexplicable game, but somehow rally making you forget about that one bad game, then they lose when it matters in very similar fashion to that game you thought was just a mistake. Well it is not a mistake. Never forget that Raiders game. The Giants on the other hand are having some real issues in the secondary and offensively Eli Manning is far too inconsistent right now. Either he is in a rut or hurt. If the Giants problems continue they might struggle to make the playoffs.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• T-Shirts get made for both situations in the Super Bowl, but time does not heal all wounds
• NEVER FORGET THE RAIDERS GAME!

Colts 18

49ers 15

I was mocked and ridiculed for picking the 49ers to win this game. Well who’s laughing now??? Still you guys, but I mean give me some credit it was closer than any one thought. Why was it so close though? The 49ers weakness is a team like the Colts, a high powered offense with multiple weapons and speed, but some how the 49ers were able to hold the Colts to FGs nearly the entire game. I would say maybe it was that Peyton Manning was off his game but he was still able to put up 347 yards. The Colts were just unable to punch it in and had to rely on a RB pass for their only score. Cool play, check it out…

When the ball got in the RedZone the 49ers were able to shrink the field and actually never allowed the Colts to get a 1st and goal situation. Offensively the 49ers struggled and if you take away Frank Gore’s 64 yard run his yards per carry average slips from 7 to 2.25. That is a big difference especially for a team that needs the run to be successful. Crabtree had a solid game with 6 catches for 81 yards. Pick him up if he is available in your fantasy league.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• Even the MIGHTY Colts have weaknesses and can struggle. Remember their schedule has been very easy.
• The 49ers are a bad rushing offense.

Ravens 30

Broncos 7

Another one of this weeks big games and another outcome who’s score is rather shocking. At least right now it is. If I told you at the beginning of the season this outcome you would not have been that surprised. But after the start the Broncos had for them to lose like this you would be a little taken back. Many expected them to lose, but to only muster 7 points and allow 30? That is pretty bad.

This game shows me two things.

1. The Ravens were desperate for a win and played with a sense of urgency that teams need to have to win games.
2. The Broncos are coming back to earth a little bit. And I know it is just one game, but they have the Steelers who are coming off a bye next week, which could be another loss. I think they definitely make the playoffs but this team has clear flaws and no one will be surprised if they finish 10-6 or 9-7. At the same time they could conceivably finish 12-4 or 13-3 because of their easy schedule. Just do not count on this team in the playoffs. They start 4 guys over 30 in their secondary and the season is a long one. Crafty vets today are tired old players tomorrow.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• Ray Rice is a difference maker, and will be extremely dangerous come playoff time.
• Regular season records determine seedings in the playoffs not who is the better team in the playoffs.

Dolphins 30

Jets 25

This game could have a 10 page write-up in its own right. There are about 100 storylines to cover and the easiest way is probably bullet point form (note there will only be like 5 bullet points, I might have exaggerated with the number 100)…

• Bill Simmons tweeted the following two weeks ago “Ted Ginn Jr’s career gives us a chance to imagine what it would be like if someone tried to play wide receiver without arms.” This killed me and gave me an idea, albeit too late, for a costume where I would dress as Ted Ginn Jr. and either have no arms just a uniform with empty sleeves, or no hands. I got lazy went with a cowboy kinda. It sucked, get over it. Then this week Ted Ginn Jr. goes OFF for two kick returns for touchdowns. Talk about a reversal of fortunes. And this return was too good not to show you again…

• This game featured 3 failed 2-point conversions and a team up by 11 going for 2 in hopes of pushing the lead to 13. I kid you not, that happened. I know it makes no sense but Dolphins head Coach Tony Sparano tried it. Why? Please explain the incentive there? The opposing team already needs at least 2 TDs to take the lead, and if you’re up 12 by hitting the extra point and the other team scores two TDs a FG still wins the game.
• I saw this on Peter King’s MMQB: Tony Sparano was quoted as saying “We’re 3-0 in the division … and it still goes through us!!!” Which is ridiculous because they are 0-4 against all other teams. 6-10 does not exactly qualify you for the playoffs, even if all you wins are in the division. I feel like this quote explains why he went for 2.
• Finally Bart Scott had one of my favorite post game interviews in a long time. After losing to a team for the second time this season. Not once, but twice. He said “”They’re a great team. They’ll probably contend for the Super Bowl. They have a tremendous offense, great running backs, a great quarterback, a great tight end. They are stacked across the board. I’m serious. They are great…Like I said, they have a great team. They have a tremendous offense and they showed it today. They are Super Bowl contenders and they will probably take it all the way.” I don’t think he was serious, but he just sounds moronic. They beat you twice this year.
• Rex Ryan sounded just as dumb as Mr. Scott saying he felt his team “out-played” the Dolphins. To be honest I understand what he means, but you are the head coach, you do not say that kind of stuff. It is just another year of the Jets doing all the talking and never being able to back it up when it counts.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• Bart Scott thinks the Dolphins will win the Super Bowl.
• If the Dolphins only win all their division games they will be the first 6-10 team and more importantly first non-playoff team to win the Super Bowl.

Vikings 38

Packers 24

I would have loved to see this game go against the World Series game Sunday night. My dad believes the World Series would win the ratings war. I don’t buy it. This country loves fatty food, reality tv, and Brett Favre in a nice pair of Wrangler Jeans deciding on what flat screen to buy for his wife (a wife who you never see if you watch the games). But for those of you who do not know Favre wasn’t always just a jean wearing tv salesman. He’s also been a pill popper; I mean he used to sell lawn mowers. Check this out…

As for the game itself…It was nearly a carbon copy of their match-up earlier in the season. Favre and Rodgers put up huge numbers. Jared Allen had a ton of sacks. He has 7.5 against the Packers this year and only 3 against everyone else. Rodgers is being criticized for holding the ball too long. The overrated Packers defense was overrated, and the Vikings won a game that was almost close but never really felt like it.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• The Packers cannot compete with the better teams in the league.
• Favre isn’t loyal in sales either.

Saints 35

Falcons 27

This game highlighted a couple things in my book…

First off the overration (not a word but you know what it means) of this Atlanta Falcons team and Matt Ryan in particular. Once again I am not saying he couldn’t become a top QB in this league but he is not right now. His performance last night proved that.

 

Which leads me to my next thing which is how much announcers gush over him. There was a stretch where he must have made 5 straight terrible throws and then made a nice pass and I think it was Jaws who was like “What a pass!!!” It was a 10 yard completion but the way Jaws was describing it you might have thought he cured cancer or something.

Finally the MNF crew highlights stupid announcer comments that make no sense. With 9 seconds left in the first half the Falcons were at the Saints 33 yard line. Meaning the Falcons were right on the edge of FG range. With no timeouts left they could either kick the FG or try a quick out on the sidelines. They tried the quick out, it happened to fail, but Gruden could not get enough of this play.

He said something like this…”Boy-oh-Boy! That Mike Mularkey has a play for every situation.” Mularkey is the offensive coordinator of the Falcons. But think about that statement for a second. Running a “quick out, on the sidelines, when you have no timeouts, and need to gain a quick couple yards, and stop the clock” is an example of a coach who “has a play for every situation.” I was waiting for Gruden to applaud Mularkey for taking advantage of the rule that allows you to get an extra point after a TD. I mean seriously Gruden…give me some real analysis not over the top hyperbole.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• The Falcons are overrated in nearly every facet of the game.
• The Saints are looking a little more human every week, but they are still winning.

Chicago 30

Helmets 6

This game signifies that I have betrayed every ounce of trust I had in myself. In a match-up of two of my least favorite teams/people (the Helmets and Jay Cutler) I tried to get cute and took the Helmets to cover. I figured Cutler would get erratic and throw a couple interceptions and the game would be closer than we thought. I hate myself. This is almost as bad as a Philadelphia Eagles team losing to a team with JaMarcus Russell at QB and a head coach who abuses women. The Helmets will never be picked by me to cover anything ever again. They just fired their GM today but still have to fire their BM (play on words, bowel movement, turd, poop, crap) the Mangina. I cannot wait to see him fired and jobless. I know that sounds harsh, but trust me it’s not that bad…I think.

As for Jay Cutler, you are still one of the most overrated QBs in the NFL. Congrats on beating the Helmets, and enjoy your 30 million dollar extension. Cutler is going to be more of a burden on the Bears than missing on a first round QB. He costs them 2 first rounders and lots or money. JaMarcus Russell only cost lots of money and 1 first round pick. Although Russell’s feeding fees can get expensive.

Congrats on the Guitar Hero record Stan, but your Dad is wrong.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• FIRE everyone on the Helmets. Hire LeBron.
• Jay Cutler has doomed the Bears

Cowboys 38

Seahawks 17

I have been calling myself out a lot so far and that is because I have tended to be wrong a lot. Well a good friend of mine pointed out that I was way wrong on Miles Austin when I told him I thought he would be a one hit wonder. Look I still don’t buy this guy seeing as he dominated the Chiefs, Falcons, and Seahawks, but I have to admit he has not become a bust yet. The Cowboys are doing all the right things right now. Let’s see how they hold up down the stretch.

The Seahawks are one of those teams that on paper look really talented. They have good pieces at nearly every position and are extremely deep particularly at WR. So what’s the problem? I think it comes down to the fact that they are one of the older teams in the league and seem to be poorly coached. Jim Mora Jr. did not get a lot of headlines taking over for Mike Holmgren. Mora Jr. was the head coach for Vick during his “Dog Years.” Mora Jr. was fired from that job and came to Seattle where he was inexplicably named the “head coach in waiting.” The only good news is his father has one of the great sound bites in NFL history…

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• The Seahawks probably never make it to the PLAYOFFFFSSSSS under Mora Jr.
• Even when I am wrong…like with Miles Austin…I can still pretend I wasn’t really wrong and say things like the competition wasn’t that good.

 

Texans 31

Bills 10

It is as if the Bills thought the game ended after the 4th quarter. Up 10-9 they said thanks for the win and stopped playing. Well that does not really make sense seeing as this is the same Bills team that lost to the Helmets. They are pretty bad no matter what quarter it is. But seriously…they let up three TDs in the 4th quarter to a guy named Ryan Moats. Moats only had 4 career TDs coming into this game.

I am shocked at the lack of talent on teams like the Bills. There is always so much talk of the success of the NFL, how it’s growing every year. Well this season features some of the worst teams in recent memory. Fans everywhere deserve a refund for at least 8 maybe 10 teams. I was talking about this blog with a friend explaining how I look for interesting stats. The “outliers” one might call them, those stats for good teams that seem to show what is going wrong or deficiencies they might have. But this year there are 8-10 putrid teams that skew every single stat out there. It’s ridiculous.

As for the Texans they played to their competition for most of this game. Slaton is struggling this season and might be more of a specialist RB. But the biggest news is the loss of Owen Daniels. He was playing as well as any TE in the league. He is done for the year, and that hurts the Texans and my fantasy team.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• The bottom 10 teams in the league are a combined 14-60…that is the equivalent winning percentage of a 3-13 team.
• The Texans are like a poor-man’s Cardinals…who knows with them.

 

Rams 17

Lions 10

This game features two franchises that probably have the longest way to go of all time. I do not think that makes any sense, that is how bad these two are. James Butler a safety on the Rams intercepted the ball in the endzone ran out of the endzone, then back into it to give the other team a safety. Here watch (fast forward to the 50 second mark…then stop watching before you go blind)…

That sums up both of these franchises right there. Every time you think they are making progress they shoot themselves in the foot.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• The Lions got a huge tiebreaker when it comes to a lower pick in the NFL draft.
• The Rams will likely not win another game….ever.

 

Chargers 24

Raiders 16

How in the world do the Chargers not destroy this Raiders team? What in the world is going on in San Diego? I mean seriously. This is a lay-up for a blow out. Everyone and their mother picked the Chargers to cover. But no, any team with Norv Turner and “Washed Up” LT cannot be relied on for anything. This Chargers team needs a new coach and a new RB.

The Raiders got another amazing performance from JaMarcus Russell. They have spent picks on Russell, McFadden and Heyward-Bey the last couple seasons. Is it really any mystery why they cannot get out of the basement of the NFL? And yet they trade away their first round pick in two years for a free agent to be? This was their rank in the standings since 2003…

Tied for Last, Tied for 4^th worst, Tied for 3^rd worst, Last, Tied for 3^rd worst, Tied for 7^th worst.

This year if the season ended today they would be the 7th worst team in the league. Do not try to argue progress. The 6 teams below them have a combined 5 wins. I cannot wait to see who the Patriots take in 2 years with a top 10 pick.

I have not even discussed Tom Cable. That man is just plain dangerous. The story on ESPN was weird and frightening. Oakland is going into next season definitely needing a new QB and a new Head Coach. If either person returns they will be the favorite for the worst record in the league.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• This Chargers team is so incredibly flawed its ridiculous.
• The Raiders define ineptitude.

 

Titans 30

Jaguars 13

I am obviously happy the Jags lost because the Patriots have their 2nd round pick. But come on Jags. What was this performance by you guys? I actually put my money on both the Jags this week and Torry Holt. I put my trust in your hands Torry! I should have known he couldn’t come through. I mean just look at his hands…

I am done for this game. That picture is enough.

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• Torry Holt has the scariest hand since that guy from Scary Movie 2.
• Vince Young just wins baby. (no I do not think he is good)

 

Panthers 34

Cardinals 21

This is why you never bet on the Cardinals. I mean absolutely never. They had just reeled off 3 straight wins. I said it last week, expect a stinker they look just too good. Obviously I didn’t have the balls to pick them to lose, but they did. The Panthers are still a nothing team with a QB who is so far past his prime that I find it hard to believe he had a prime at all. I know he led the Panthers to the Super Bowl once, but the guy who is playing QB now is not the same guy, not by a long shot. I am tired, this game was not that shocking so I am done…read your takeaways…

Bottom-line Takeaways:

• The Cardinals are who we thought they were…unknown.
• The Panthers have good RBs, but are a bad team.

 

That is it for this post. I have bad news, well bad if you care which you probably don’t. I cannot post my Bye Bye Bye column tomorrow, so it will be skipped and we will only get a Week 9 Sneak Peak Thursday. Sorry starting the new job and changing around my schedule makes me busy. I feel like a female companion of Tom Cable’s. I’m beat. Have a good one…