DP: This is one of those weeks where strange shit just happens and all you can do is scratch your head. We'll rank every game on the Head Scratching Scale where 1 equals 'minor itch' and 10 equals 'large bald spots'.
TJ: I resent any mention of ‘large bald spots.’ Dick.
Atlanta over Cincinnati- 2.
DP: Not much to say about this game. It was good to see Atlanta take care of business, but it’s not a good sign if they are the best team in the NFC. As for Cincy? Who cares?
TJ: With New Orleans blowing up, Atlanta’s playoff hopes just jumped through the roof. Good run game, good defense, and solid QB play. Sounds like a winner to me. Too bad they’d be about the 6th best team in the AFC. Cincy is more like the 18th best team in the AFC. (Yes, I know the AFC only has 16 teams.)
Tennessee over Philly- 3.
DP: I watched a large part of this game it was closer than the final score revealed. Philly actually moved the ball fairly well, and Tenn did not pull away until late. I think Tenn will push Indy for the AFC South (especially with the injuries piling up for the Colts) and might even challenge Balt/Pitt/NE/Jets for a wildcard. Philly has really impressed me with the relatively smooth transition from McNabb to Kolb. I think they will continue to challenge the Giants for the NFC East and could really be a contender in the next few years. Perhaps the most surprising thing of all was seeing how beefed up Ed Hochuli has become. That guy is ripped.
TJ: These are both good teams. I think the Doc is right, they’ll both push their division leaders and be Wild Card contenders. Neither is a threat to win the Superbowl this season, and I think Philly has a brighter future than Tennessee (I think the Titans’ window closed a couple years ago, when they let their best defenders go). It’ll be interesting to see how things go when Vick is healthy.
Carolina over San Fran- 6.
DP: Normally a one loss team traveling across the country and getting beat by a win-less team wouldn't be that weird. San Fran built up a lead with the embattled Alex Smith who was later knocked out of the game. In comes David Carr (who 49er fans had be calling for) who promptly goes 5/13 including a crippling INT late in the 4th quarter that allowed Matt Moore to lead a comeback win. Anytime you can feature 3 crappy QBs in one game, it’s got to be weird.
TJ: This was the proverbial Pooperbowl. They could have released a different wild animal onto the field every 4 minutes and I still wouldn’t have watched. I thought really highly of Singletary’s prospects as a head coach, but now I’m not so sure. Maybe he’ll be like a lot of the best NFL coaches, though, and not have success until his second job.
Washington over the Bears- 7.
DP: Aren't Donovan McNabb and Jay Cutler supposed to be above average QBs? McNabb went 17/32, for 200 yards and 1 TD against 2 INT. Jay Cutler meanwhile was even worse going 26/40 for 281 yards and 1 TD, but he threw 4 INTs all to Deangelo Hall including a Pick-6. He also managed to get sacked 4 times and give up a fumble as well. What an ugly game.
TJ: The Bears’ offensive line should be ashamed of themselves, and so should Cutler. He needs to learn to throw the fucking ball out of bounds when his receivers are covered, and the line needs to give him more than 0.45 nanoseconds before he gets his ass obliterated. The Redskins still seem like pretenders to me, but in the NFC, hell, a pretender could make the superbowl!
KC over Jacksonville- 3.
DP: You can't be too surprised when a team led by Todd Bouman gets beat by 22. What is surprising is that KC looks like the clear leaders for the AFC West. With San Diego and Denver losing again, Oakland is now in second place. The Chiefs have a nice balanced offense and a lively D. Start printing those play-off tickets Chief fans!
TJ: I’ve hated this Jags team forever, and that ain’t changing, but my hate for the Chiefs is starting to fade. They just keep winning easy games, and their schedule is still chock full of easy games. I think the Doc is right again, the Chiefs are going to win the West. Of course, some Wild Card team like the Ravens/Jets/Steelers/Pats is then going to serve them their own asses on a stick in the first round, but hey, at least they’ll host a playoff geme!
Pittsburgh over Miami- Solid 8.
DP: I thought replay was supposed to correct bad calls, but in this case it made things worse. Haven't we learned that in the world of Instant Replay we should play every down out to the end? Pitt should ride the momentum of this game to a solid 12 or 13 win season. This just doesn't look like Miami's year.
TJ: I’m disappointed in both teams. The ‘Phins really needed this win to stay competitive, and they just couldn’t close it out. What happened to the “Wildcat” and all the offensive creativity? You can’t beat good teams running a vanilla offense with Chad Henne at QB. If the Steelers are the real deal, they need to blow out teams like the Dolphins, not sneak by on lucky calls.
Baltimore over Buffalo (OT)- 8.
DP: Buff giving up 37 is not that surprising, but who would have suspected Ryan Fitzpatrick would shred the Ravens top-notch pass defense for 374 yards and 4 TDs? Maybe I was wrong about Fitzpatrick, he clearly has something going for him. Still, Buffalo is the only winless team left and seems destined for the top pick. I would love to see them draft Andrew Luck from Stanford to go with Harvard boy Fitzpatrick. They could be called the Wonderlick-Twins.
TJ: The Ravens better not play that badly against anybody in their division. Even the Browns and Bengals could have beaten the Ravens squad that showed up on Sunday. Ray Lewis better ask that talking bear from his Old Spice commercial how to fucking tackle, because he and his boys all looked like they forgot against the Bills. Sorry, Dan and Jen, the Bills still suck.
Cleveland over New Orleans- 10.
DP: Where to start on this one? Look at these stats and tell me what would make you think "Blow out win": Brown's QB Colt McCoy is 9/16 for 74 yards. Running back Peyton Hillis gets 69 yards and 16 carries while Brown's Punter Reggie Hodges gets 68 yards on 1 carry? That’s the entire offensive production for the Browns. Meanwhile, New Orleans outgains the Browns 394 to 210 (of which 68 yards are from a fake punt). I guess it takes Drew Brees throwing 4 INTs including 2 Pick-6's to make up for the Brown's anemic performance. The Saints have now thrown away 3 games (missed FG against Atlanta, 2 return TDs against the Cardinals and 2 return TDs to the Browns).
TJ: I’d be really excited if the Browns hadn’t blown too many close games early to support a mini-Wild-Card-run at this point in the season. Turnovers are so capricious. Last season, they made the Saints 13-3. This season, they’ve stolen multiple games from them. I still think the Saints are a playoff team, especially in the NFC, but they really need to protect the ball and get their run game going (15 carries for 48 yards for Ivory against a weak Cleveland D. And this is the guy who blew up against the Tampa defense last week?).
Tampa Bay over St. Louis- 2.
DP: The Rams are a nice story, but probably can't keep up in the NFC West. Tampa is a nice story but probably can't keep up in the NFC South. The only surprising thing here is that this game has a little bit of meaning.
TJ: If Tampa makes the playoffs, I’ll lose my mind (and Josh Freeman will lose his virginity). 4-2 is a terrific record for this team, and they have Arizona, Carolina, and San Fran in three of their next four. Easy to see them at 7-3, and needing to go 3-3 over their last six for a Wild Card (and in those six, they have very winnable home games against Detroit and Seattle). The Rams might be a good team in a few years, but they need to win games like this to get there.
Seattle over Arizona- 4.
DP: The game itself played out fairly predictably, but the side notes are interesting. Derek Anderson coming back in for Max Hall. Seattle with Pete Caroll making a move to win the NFC West. With San Fran picking up loss #6, that means that only St. Louis and Arizona stand between the Seaskanks and the playoffs.
TJ: The Seaskanks? Doc, you’re a fucking genius. Yeah, I like what Seattle’s been doing. They have some tough games coming, but they play their toughest opponents at home (Giants, Chiefs, and Falcons), where they have a distinct advantage. They should win the West, but they can’t make playoff noise, can they? Meanwhile, the Cardinals continue their decent into oblivion. Sorry, but I don’t see them improving in the next couple years, either, Cards fans. Both of you.
Oakland over Denver- 10.
DP: This is a solid head scratching 10. Last week Denver plays the NY Jets tough and should have won. Oakland squeezes 9 points out of Jason Campbell in losing to the 49ers. This week? The Raiders go up 38-0 half way through the second period. Denver gives up 328 yards rushing and makes Darren McFadden look like Eric Dickerson. I seriously doubt the Raiders can put together a winning season and the Chargers and Broncos already have 5 losses. The path is clear for the Chiefs to win the West.
TJ: What the fuck? Seriously!?! Is this what the Raiders would be capable of every week if not for inept coaching and clinically deceased ownership? The Broncos are in a tailspin that started in week seven LAST SEASON! And as for Josh McDaniels, well, if it looks like a smarmy little douchebag, talks like a smarmy little douchebag, and walks like a smarmy little douchebag, the win-loss record will eventually reveal it to be smarmy little douchebag.
New England over San Diego- 5.
DP: The result wasn’t that weird, but I was a little surprised Bill Belichek lost faith in his defense again. Up by 3 late in the 4th quarter, he goes for it on 4th and 1 (with a questionable run instead of a Brady to Branch pass) and gives the ball back to the Chargers. How does San Diego respond with new hope and their season on the line? Missed FG. Probably the most symbolic play of the season.
TJ: I was far from shocked that the Pats would go for it under those conditions, Doc. That’s always been their M.O., but the shocking thing was that (as you mentioned) they called that weak-ass Veer run. They’d rushed for only 51 yards all day, and that particular run was slow-hitting and easy to read. A strange combination of aggressive philosophy with conservative playcalling. I still like New England to make the playoffs, but I think the Chargers are totally done. Also, I can’t see Norv being invited back next year. Coach Gruden, wouldn’t you like to live in Southern California again?
Green Bay over Minn- 4.
DP: You can never be too surprised by Brett Favre throwing 3 INTs. Green Bay gets a much needed win as they try to hold it together until they get their injured players back. Minnesota meanwhile throws away (literally) a chance to catch Green Bay and is looking forward to a trip to New England next weekend, yikes. 2-5 here we come!
TJ: The Doc is right again, the Vikes are in trouble. They needed this win, and Favre’s broken ankle means he’s either going to miss next week (putting the Vikes’ season in the hands of Tarvaris Jackson), or he’s going to cough up a few more ugly ducklings to that New England defense. We started the season thinking the NFC North was the class of the Conference, and now the winner of this division might limp into a first round loss. On the other hand, maybe the Pack gets healthy and will peak just in time for the playoffs. Stranger things have happened.
NY Giants over Dallas- 8.
DP: Again the Giants beating the Cowboys is not that strange by itself, but the way the game unfolded was interesting. Dallas, fighting for their season, built a 10-0 lead on the Giants after 2 Eli Manning INTs. The Giants get a TD to make it 10-7 and then Tony Romo goes down with a broken clavicle. Miraculously, the Cowboys build up a 20-7 lead. So how does the Cowboy Defense respond with the season on the line and the back-up QB in the game? By giving up 31 straight points and effectively ending their season. Spending $600 on Cowboys-Saints tickets for Thanksgiving suddenly doesn’t look like such a great move anymore. Somehow, how the Giants give up 5 turnovers (3 INTs and 2 fumbles) plus a punt return for a TD and come out of the game as The Best Team in the NFC. I guess this is the kind of crap that passes for a good team in the NFC. Damn, I wish I would have put money on AFC -3 to win the Superbowl before the season.
TJ: This whole season has been an inexcusable clusterfuck for the Cowboys, and it goes all the way from ownership (could you have hyped the new stadium and Superbowl and pressured the team a little more, Jerry?), to the coaching staff (Jesus Christ, Wade, do you even give a shit about discipline or preparation?), to the players (averaging 9 penalties per game, and many of them stupid, dead-ball, selfish crap penalties). Romo’s season is over, even if he’s back in 6 weeks. The Giants are the team to beat in the NFC East, but they still haven’t played Philly or Washington yet, so that could change rapidly. I really like their receivers, and Eli seems to have his shit together this year, but it’s not beyond any Coughlin-led team to blow it down the stretch. One thing is for sure, watching this season shake out will be massively entertaining!
No comments:
Post a Comment