Random NFL Thoughts: 3/21/2012

Tags

Brandon Marshall, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Football, frank gore, Houston Texans, Jim Harbaugh, mario manningham, Mario Williams, NFL, Peyton Manning, random, random thoughts, Sports, thoughts, Tim Tebow

We’re just a little over a week into the free agency period so I thought I’d drop some thoughts one what’s gone down so far.

• Peyton Manning signing with the Broncos makes no sense to me.  He has repeatedly said he wishes to win more Superbowls, so why sign with the Broncos when he could have signed with the 49ers?  The Niners were one win away from the Superbowl last year with Alex Smith as the quarterback.  They have one of the best defenses in the league and some elite talent on offense with Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham, and Vernon Davis.  They also have one of the best young coaches in the game, Jim Harbaugh.  While Denver did make the playoffs last year, they did so because they are in a horrible division that includes the Chargers, Chiefs, and Raiders.  They have some young talent, but they aren’t stacked like the Niners are.  I don’t get it.
• Hines Ward announced his retirement yesterday.  The most prolific receiver in Steelers history still wanted to play, but just couldn’t imagine donning any other uniform, and I couldn’t either.  I really don’t understand why the Steelers’ couldn’t bring him back at the veteran’s minimum.  Ward could have still contributed on special teams and as a third or fourth receiver and he was a locker room leader.  Ward was considered by many to be a dirty player for his blindside hits (which I wasn’t necessarily a fan of either) but the man did everything that was asked of him and he did it well.  He was the best blocking WR in the game and even though he wasn’t the fastest or quickest receiver he still managed to get open somehow.  He also had hands like glue.  If the ball was near him he would catch it.  I will admit that as a Bengals fan I held a certain disdain for him, but honestly I would have loved it if he were a Bengal.  Ward’s trademark smile and his penchant for crying were fun to ridicule, but to be honest I think he’s a Hall of Famer.  He has two Superbowl rings (even if one was handed to the Steelers by the refs.  Ben STILL hasn’t crossed the goal line), and had over 1000 career catches on a team that primarily ran the ball.  He is the most complete receiver to have ever played the game, in my opinion.  And he did it all without the diva-like attitude most receivers seem to develop.
• Mario Williams has a new home, which is just tad further north than his last home.  The Buffalo Bills landed the most prized free agent (after Peyton Manning) in this season’s class.  Williams instantly upgrades a horrible pass rush and adds legitimacy to a rather mediocre defense.
• The signing of Peyton Manning in Denver has clouded the future of Tim Tebow.  Many expect him to be traded.  I look for him to land in Jacksonville.  It will boost ticket sales and old owner Wayne Weaver and new owner Shad Khan have both lamented not being able to draft Tebow when they had the opportunity.
• Peyton Manning will don number 18 for the Broncos, which had been retired.  Peyton says he was encouraged by Frank Tripucka to wear his retired number.  Look, this is just like when Jerry Rice wore Steve Largeant’s number 80 in Seattle.  It doesn’t matter if the old player says it’s okay.  You just don’t do it.  If a number’s retired it should stay retired.  Shame on Manning for “accepting” this number.  He could have worn his college number 16 instead.
• Mike Tolbert decided to sign with the Panthers even though the Chargers’ offer averaged $1 million more per year.  He grew up in Georgia and attended Coastal Carolina and wanted to work closer to home.  It’s nice to see that not all players are all about the money.
• The Texans traded former Pro-Bowl linebacker DeMeco Ryans to the Eagles for a 4th round pick and a swap of their 3rd round picks.  Apparently the Texans didn’t think he was earning the lucrative contract they had given him, but really?  They’ve lost Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans, and Eric Winston.  They are still the best team in their division, but I just don’t get why they’d let all those players walk.
• The Chicago Bears traded for Dolphins’ receiver Brandon Marshall, then found out he had allegedly punched a woman in a night club only a couple of days prior to the trade.  Marshall has been in trouble before and could be suspended.  The Bears said they knew about the incident before the trade.  If so, that makes them dumb.  Marshall is a great receiver but he’s an idiot off the field.  I sincerely hope he does get suspended.
• The NFL needs to hurry up and decide what the punishment is going to be for all of those involved in Bounty-gate.  Many of those players (and coaches) are on other teams now and need to know if they should make alternate plans for the coming season.  Those teams should not be punished for what the Saints did.

Random NFL Thoughts: Divisional Round

Tags

Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Football, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, NFL, NFL Playoffs, San Francisco 49ers, Sports

Well, I went 3-1 again this weekend.  Going into Sunday night’s game I thought I would go 4-0.  I still don’t think the Packers have showed up for that game.

• First and foremost, my condolences go out to Joe Philbin and his family.  If you have not yet heard, the son of Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin was found dead last week.  I cannot possibly fathom what he must be going through currently.
• The Saints/Niners game was epic.  Four lead changes in the last 4 minutes?  That’s great football.  Personally, I didn’t think the Niners would be able to put another game winning drive together after doing it once already, but “The Catch III” has made this game an instant classic.
• Alex Smith finally looked like the first-round pick that he was.  Of course, with the Saints blitzing every play and leaving all of the Niners’ receivers in one-on-one coverage didn’t help their cause either.
• As expected, the Patriots throttled the Broncos.  Teebow looked awful as did the Broncos defense.
• Brady added another passing record to his resume: 5 TD’s in one half of a playoff game.  He threw 6 total, tying a post-season record.  Rob Gronkowski caught three of the touchdowns begging the question:  Is anyone ever going to try to cover this guy?
• The Ravens/Texans game was a defensive slugging match, as I thought it would be.  The Ravens defense forced rookie QB TJ Yates into throwing 3 picks, which ultimately cost the Texans the game.  Arian Foster churned out 132 yards on the ground, but that wasn’t enough to overcome the turnovers, the most costly of which was Jacoby Jones muffing a punt he shouldn’t have even tried to field.  The Ravens recovered in the red-zone.
• The Giants/Packers game was just embarrassing for the Packers.  Their offense looked the worst at has all season, and neither I, not anyone else, saw that coming.  I figured to see a shoot-out, not a blow-out.  Perhaps the death of Joe Philbin’s son was more of a distraction than they could handle.
• Jeff Fisher is now the head coach of the St. Louis Rams.  Fisher will have plenty to work with on offense, but will need a complete overhaul on the defensive side of the ball.
• Greg Williams has reportedly accepted the defensive coordinator position, which I find to be a questionable move.  William’s blitz-happy defense in New Orleans hasn’t been all that productive the last couple of years.
• It looks like either Hue Jackson or Brian Schottenheimer will be Fisher’s offensive coordinator.  This should be a no-brainer.  Schottenheimer’s offense in New York the last couple of years has been horrid.  Go with Hue.
• Mike Zimmer is in contention for a couple of head coaching jobs:  Miami and Tampa Bay.  While I’d hate to see him go, he deserves a shot.  Ideally (in my world, anyway) he’d get the head coaching job in Cincinnati after Marvin is relieved of his duties.
• Per this article, the Chiefs are electronically spying on their employees.  I really don’t know what purpose this serves if true.

 

Divisional Round Predictions

Tags

Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Football, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, NFL, NFL Playoffs, San Francisco 49ers

Last week’s picks went so well that I thought I’d try this prognostication thing again.  I went 3-1 last week, and really, who didn’t pick the Steelers to beat the Broncos?  Even the Broncos were surprised they won.

Denver Broncos vs New England Patriots:  This is the game that everyone is talking about.  Why? Well, because of Tim Tebow.  Why is everyone talking about Tim Tebow?  I have no frickin’ clue.  He’s a mediocre quarterback who happens to be a phenomenal leader.  Every win the Broncos have had this season has been a team win, but to hear the media tell it Tebow’s doing it all by himself.  Maybe he’ll walk on water at halftime.

Anyhow, as to the game, I’m going with New England in this one.  These two teams played in the regular season with New England beating the Broncos pretty soundly.  And that was in Denver.  This time they will be playing in Foxboro.  The Broncos will still be without Brian Dawkins (and their long snapper for some reason), and their defense just hasn’t been the same since he’s been out of the line up.  I see the Pats putting up a 40-burger on the Broncos in what will be the biggest blow-out this weekend.

Houston Texans vs Baltimore Ravens:  This is going to be an ugly game.  Two pretty exceptional defenses against a couple of average offenses.  If the Texans had Matt Schaub in the lineup I would definitely be going with the Texans here, but they don’t so I won’t.

The Baltimore defense will force rookie TJ Yates into making some rookie mistakes while holding the Texans’ premier running attack in check.  The Baltimore offense will score just enough to win.  Anquan Boldin will be back and that should help boost a Ravens offense that has been lacking some punch lately.  Ravens win a low scoring game.

New York Giants vs Green Bay Packers: While the NE/Denver game gets all the attention, this is the game I think will be the most exciting to watch this weekend.  I expect a shoot out again between these two teams.  And though I like the Giants’ confidence going into this game, you just can’t stop the Packers at home.  Green Bay wins.

New Orleans Saints vs San Francisco 49ers:  The Saints are favored to win this game, and it’s not hard to understand why.  They arguably have the most potent offense in the league.  They have a vicious three-back rotation featuring very productive backs.  The passing game features Drew Brees, Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston, Lance Moore (who may not play), Devery Henderson, and Robert Meacham.  Plus Darren Sproles coming out of the backfield.  There are a ton of weapons on the Saints offense.  The 49ers, however, have a good enough defense to stop them.  Or at least contain them.  The Saints offense scores about 13 fewer points a game on grass than on turf, and they will be playing in the Niners backyard.  The Niners offense isn’t explosive, but they can put some points on the board.  And they can control the clock.

Having said all of that, I think the………..Niners will win.  I’m going with the upset here.  I think the fans will be loud enough to distract the Saints offense.  The Saints don’t really have much of a defense.  They put 11 guys out there every play, but they play like there’s only 5 out there.  The Niners will win the time of possession and keep Brees sitting on the bench most of the game.

That’s what I see while gazing into the crystal ball.  What do you see?

Wild Card Weekend Predictions

Tags

Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Football, Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, NFL, NFL Playoffs, Pittsburgh Steelers

With nothing better to write about currently, I figured I’ll give prognostication a shot.  This weekend begins the NFL playoffs, as teams will fight for a chance to play in the Superbowl.

Cincinnati Bengals vs Houston Texans:  I really don’t see the Texans losing this game.  Matt Schaub was already injured when the Texans beat the Bengals earlier this year in Cincinnati, without Andre Johnson.  Andre Johnson is back and they will be playing in Houston.

Cincinnati has been slowly regressing as the season has worn on.  The offense isn’t as productive as it was in the beginning of the year and the defense, while still mostly stout, has developed a penchant for giving up huge plays towards the end of the year.

I think the Texans will win this one, but here’s hoping that I’m wrong.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Denver Broncos:  This one is easy.  The Broncos defense has not been the same since Brian Dawkins has been injured, and he won’t be playing.  The Steelers, like other Broncos opponents the last 3 weeks, will have their way with Denver’s defense.

On the flip-side, the Steeler’s defense will make Tim Tebow look worse than he has at any point this year.  And Tebow has looked pretty horrible at times.  Unless the Broncos are able to surprise the Steelers with some trick plays or score on a return, I see the Broncos getting shut out in this one.  Steelers win.

Atlanta Falcons vs New York Giants:  The Falcons have been on a tear lately, but so have the Giants.  Both offenses have been very productive, while both defenses have been only mediocre.

Given that these teams are pretty evenly matched, to my eye anyhow, I’ve got to give the home team the advantage in this one.  Giants win.

Detroit Lions vs New Orleans Saints:  This game promises to be an epic shootout.  Both offenses are highly potent and both defenses are fairly inept.

The edge goes to the New Orleans offense, which broke multiple statistical records this year.  The Saints will also have the advantage of playing in the Superdome.  The Lions match up pretty will against the Saints, but the Saints weapons outnumber the Lions’ exponentially.

The Saints will win, but I’ll be pulling for my hometown team.

Agree?  Disagree?  How do you see this weekend playing out?

Random Week 14 Thoughts

Tags

Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, NFL, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Redskins

Sorry I’m late with this, in case anyone cares enough to read this.  I’ve actually been busy this week, so I haven’t gotten around to it.  Let’s get it started.

• The Browns and Steelers played an ugly, ugly game Thursday.  The only highlights were the injuries both quarterbacks sustained.  Big Ben had has ankle rolled (Grade 1 sprain) and Colt McCoy got knocked the fuck out by James Harrison.
• Harrison was suspended 1 game for his helmet-to-helmet hit on McCoy, and has been crying about it.  Look, James, McCoy threw the ball and took two steps before you slammed your helmet directly into his facemask.  Quit crying and accept your punishment.
• Shame on the Browns for putting McCoy back in two plays later.  He was obviously concussed and dizzy and should not have been on the field.  Idiots.
• The Pats win a surprising shoot out with the Redskins.  Rob Gronkowski broke the record for receiving touchdowns in a season for a Tight End.  He now has 15 for the year.
• The Saints made it interesting against the Titans, only winning 22-17.  That was with the Titans losing Matt Hasselbeck to injury early in the game.  Jake Locker lead the Titans to some scoring drives, but also completed less than 50% of his passes.  Chris Johnson returned to mediocrity rushing for only 23 yards on 11 carries.  The Saints defense it NOT that good.  Shame.
• The Dolphins lost Matt Moore and their game against the Eagles.  Then they lost their coach.  Tony Sporano was fired after the Dolphins 9th loss of the season.
• Though the Eagles won, it was more because the Dolphins sucked than because the Eagles played well.  Andy Reid is now on the hot seat, and there are talks that he may be fired after the season.
• It looked like the Panthers were going to beat the Falcons.  They went into halftime up 23-7, then gave up 24 second-half points while scoring none of their own.  Ron Rivera is reportedly pissed about the new ways his team finds to lose every week.  I would be, too.  They’ve blown leads in all but one of their losses this season.  I have two words of advice for Rivera for the offseason:  draft defense!
• The Bucs made the Jags look like the class of the AFC, losing 41-14 to the beleaguered franchise.  The Bucs turned the ball over an unprecidented seven times (4 fumbles, 3 INT’s) to the Jaguars, who actually turned those into points.  I don’t see Raheem Morris returning as coach next year.  He’s totally lost this team.
• Congratulations to the Texans, who clinched their first playoff berth ever by beating the ever eager-to-lose Bengals in Cincinnati.  Seriously, how shameful is it to let a 5th round rookie lead a last-minute drive to win the game without their top receiver?  Shame.
• The Lions almost blew a huge lead against the Vikings, who were led by Joe Webb after Christian Ponder was injured.
• The Jets stomped all over the Chiefs, who fired coach Todd Haley.  Haley then later said he wanted to resign last week.  You can’t fire me!!  I quit!! Nice.
• The new Baltimore team creamed the old Baltimore team.  Why the Colts even deny they’re in full Suck-for-Luck mode is beyond me.  This team needs more than a quarterback anyhow.  They need a good running back and a decent defense.
• I think it was Peter King that said Peyton Manning should be this years MVP.  His case is that the exact same team this year (without Peyton, of course) hasn’t won a game while last year’s team with Peyton won 10 games.  I’d agree with him, except for the fact that the MVP has to, you know, play.
• After Tebow pulled off another “miracle” comeback against the Bears, a bitter Brian Urlacher was quoted as saying that Tebow is “a good running back.”  Really, Brian?  Tebow had only completed 3 passes through the first 3 quarters, which is horrible, but then he completed 18 in the 4th quarter for roughly 190 yards and 10 points to send the game into overtime.   Don’t be a bitch, man.  Love him or hate him, you can’t deny his results.
• The biggest upset last week, to me anyway, was the Cardinals beating the Niners, 22-19.  Alex Smith had an off day, though he was able to get his offense into the red-zone 3 times.  The Niners kicked field goals each time.
• The Cardinals lost Kevin Kolb only a handful of minutes into the game.  John Skelton came in and led the Cards to victory.  In the four games he’s played in this year, they’ve won three of them.  Hmmmmmmm……
• Remember earlier this year when the Bills were everybody’s darling and they were racking up 30 points a game and beating teams like the Patriots?  Yeah, me neither.  They lost their 6th straight game after starting the year 5-2, getting pounded by the Chargers and their suddenly resurgent offense, 37-10.
• Carson Palmer threw 4 more picks as the Packers literally tore the Raiders apart.  Palmer has thrown 13 picks in the 7 games he’s played so far.  If you take away the 3 he threw against the Chiefs three days after his trade and only count the games he’s played since he said he’s got the playbook down cold, he’s thrown 10 in 6 games.  I wonder if Hue Jackson still thinks this was the best trade in the NFL?
• The Cowboys/Giants game was pretty epic.  Eli Manning leads the Giants to another come-from-behind victory.  The Cowboys kicker got iced again, but at least this time it was by the opposing team’s coach.
• The Seahawks made short work of the Rams, who may also be looking for a coach after the season.  The coolest thing in this game were the fans “making it skittle” on Marshawn Lynch after he scored a touchdown.

 

Tim Tebow’s pastor is an idiot *updated*

Tags

Denver Broncos, Editorials, NFL, Opinion, Religion, Tim Tebow

I was perusing profootballtalk.com today when I came across and blurb pointing out that Tim Tebow’s pastor claims that the Broncos are winning because God wants them to.

My first reaction is:  who the hell cares what Tim Tebow’s pastor thinks and why on Earth did they ask him anyway?

My second reaction is:  With all the evil in the world today, does this traif truly believe that God is fixing football games instead of battling Satan?  If so, he needs to find a new profession because he sucks at the current one.

My third reaction is:  Since when does God have favorites?  If, as this cockpouch says, God is fixing the Broncos games so that Tebow can win, then he’s purposefully making the other guys lose.  There are plenty of believers in the NFL, though not as vocal about it as Tebow, but would God choose Tebow over them?  Methinks not.

The Broncos are winning games because their defense is playing lights out and the offense, led by Tebow, is making plays when they need to.  I’m sure the Broncos play has been inspired by Tebow’s God-given leadership ability, but in no way is God interfering with NFL games.  That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

The stupidity that religion inspires amazes me sometimes.

Updated Thoughts: So now that the Broncos have been eliminated from the playoffs, does this mean that God wanted them to lose?  Or did the Patriots pray harder?  Or did God just watch the game like the rest of us wondering who would win?  I take option three.  And I’ll bet God had some wings and beer while watching.

Tebowmania has gone too far

Tags

Denver Broncos, John Elway, NFL, Tattoo, Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos have hijacked the flow of NFL news this year.  They were 1-4 when Tebow was handed the reigns to the Broncos offense and they are 6-1 since.  They lead the AFC West via a tie-breaker over the Raiders.

The fans that clamored for Tebow to start have gone crazy.  I’ve seen photos of fans with #15 jerseys that have Jesus’ name on the back.  A photo fad called “Tebowing” has been born.  John Elway has been crucified in Denver for not committing to Tebow as the franchise quarterback.

And now, we’ve reached an all-time low in Tebowmania.  After only 10 career starts for Tebow, a Denver fan has tattooed “Tebow Time” above a centaur wearing a Broncos helmet on what looks like his knee.

WTF?

If Tebow loses every game he starts for the rest of his career this guy will be stuck with an embarrassing tattoo on his leg.  Cynical as I am, I’m still occasional stunned by humanity’s stupidity.

Random Week 13 Thoughts

Tags

Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, NFL, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Redskins

• There was a game Thursday between the Eagles and Seahawks, but only the Seahawks showed up.  Dream Team indeed.  Marshawn Lynch was in Skittle-fueled beast- mode and torched the Eagles “defense.”
• Chris Johnson looks to be back to his old self.  He and the Titans beat the suddenly terrible Bills to keep their very slim playoff hopes alive.
• Ryan Fitzpatrick has sucked since signing his contract extension.  Coincidence?
• The Chiefs and Bears played a game Sunday.  If Matt Forte hadn’t gotten hurt in the game I would deny that it ever happened.  I haven’t seen such inept football since….well, ever.  The only touchdown in this game was a hail-mary Dexter McCluster caught after Brian Urlacher batted it down.  Exciting stuph.
• The Texans somehow managed to beat a very good Falcons team.  Down to their third-string quarterback, TJ Yates, the Texans relied on Andre Johnson, Arian Foster, and a suffocating defense to win this game.  Andre Johnson, who had just missed 6 games with an injured right hamstring, caught 4 passes for 97 yards before injuring his left hamstring.  The Texans must be cursed.
• The Oakland Raiders were absolutely embarrassed and dismantled by the suddenly resurgent Miami Dolphins.  Miami scored all 34 points before the Raiders put up 14 in garbage-time to save some face.  There was even a TJ Housnmandzadeh sighting, but no one cared.  I really don’t know what to make of either team, here.  The Raiders have a different team show up each week and are extremely inconsistent.  The Dolphins lost their first 7 games before finding a metaphorical can of spinach, and going all Popeye the Sailor on every team but the Cowboys since.  The best they can finish now is 8-8, but that may be enough to save Coach Sparano’s job.
• The broken record keeps spinning as Tim Tebow does it again.  This time it wasn’t the Broncos defense, as they surrendered 32 points.  They did score a defensive touchdown, though.  Tebow, Willis McGahee, and Damyrius Thomas did the rest, putting the other 28 points on the board as the Broncos cruise to another win secured with a last-second score.  It’s like the Broncos are stuck on repeat every week.
• New England, as expected, went up 31-3 on the Colts.  Then something expected happened:  the Colts started playing football.  Dan Orlovsky led the Colts to within a touchdown of tying the game.  Weird.
• Watching the Bengals/Steelers game was similar to watching Chuck Norris kick a retarded kid’s ass.  I would, however, like to point out that even though the Bengals played horribly and deserved to lose, the Steelers also had the refs in their pockets on this one.  A phantom pass-interference call put the Steelers in the red-zone on one scoring drive.  Two block-in-the-back penalties were not called on the punt return touchdown and on Mike Wallace’s second touchdown.  Lastly, there was a phantom face-mask penalty on Reggie Nelson that replays showed he never touched Hines Wards mask.  That penalty also put the Steelers in the red-zone.  I know the Steelers are the most popular team in the league, but come on.  Let’s be real here.  You can’t just ignore this crap.  Even Phil Simms made a comment about the penalties the Steelers got away with.
• Andy Dalton has been good, but Cam Newton has to be the Rookie-of-the-Year.  He rushed for 3 touchdowns and now owns the record for most rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback.  He currently has 13.  The Panthers again attacked with the run first, and, again, they won.  I love being right.
• Oh, Raheem Morris will be looking for a new job after this season.  The Bucs suck.
• The Jets won, but it was against the Redskins so no one cared.
• Ray Rice (from Rutgers!) ran for over 200 yards as the old Browns steam-rolled the new Browns.  I seriously feel bad for Browns fans.  They deserve better.
• Here’s news where the joke is already inserted.  The Cowboys iced their own kicker before the game-winning field goal attempt.  They made the first one right after Jason Garrett called a time-out.  He missed the second.  You can’t make this stuph up.  The Cardinals won in over-time when Lerod Stephens-Howling took a screen pass to the house.  I love watching the Cowboys lose.
• As I boldly, or not so boldly, predicted, the Giants gave the Packers a run for their money, but the Pack ultimately prevailed on a last-second field goal.   Their remaining games are against the Raiders, Chiefs, Bears, and Lions.  They will own the Raiders.  I thought the Chiefs game might be tough since it’s at Arrowhead, but with Tyler Palko not quarterbacking for the Chiefs it won’t even be a contest.  The Bears with Caleb Hanie at the helm (and Matt Forte injured) will pose no problem.  The Lions have imploded on themselves.  The Packers will cruise through the playoffs again and win the Superbowl.  Write it down now:  19-0.
• The Niners spanked the Rams 26-0.  This game isn’t really even worth mentioning.
• The Lions had over 100 yards in penalties against the Saints.  The Lions offense put up over 400 yards, but couldn’t score because of all the idiotic penalties they committed, including 3 personal fouls.  Jim Schwartz needs to teach some discipline these guys somehow.
• The Chargers snapped their 6-game losing streak against the recently sold Jaguars.  They piled it on the hapless Jaguars, 38-14.  The Jags are just terrible.

 

Week 12 Random Thoughts

Tags

Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, NFL, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Redskins

It’s that time again.  Time for my incoherent ramblings on all things NFL.  Here we go!

• For the first time in a long time, meaningful games were played on Thanksgiving.  The Lions and Packers kicked things off at 12:30, then the Packers kicked the Lions off.  Ndamukong Suh decided to kick back, going all Albert Haynesworth on Packers guard Evan Dietrich-Smith.  Suh was ejected from the game, thus being spared further embarrassment at the hands of the Packers, who stomped the Lions 27-15.  Yes, I still think the Packers go 19-0.
• Speaking of Suh, he should, and probably will be, suspended.  He is out of control. EDIT: As I was writing this, it was announced that Suh will be suspended two games.
• The Cowboys and Dolphins played a pretty good game.  The Cowboys won on a last second field goal to win 20-19.  At 7-4, the Cowboys are surprisingly leading the NFC East.
• The Dolphins plans to win out have been derailed.  The best they can do now is 8-8, but I don’t see that happening either.
• Thanksgiving night featured “Har-bowl 1″.  The 49ers, coached by Jim Harbaugh, squared off against the Ravens, coached by John Harbaugh.  The Ravens brutally dismembered the Niners’ offense, sacking Alex Smith a club-record 9 times.  They win 16-6.  The Ravens are now currently in the driver’s seat of the AFC North.  The Niners can clinch a playoff spot with a win this week.
• Not much to say about the Vikings/Falcons game.  The Falcons owned them.  Matt Ryan threw three more TD’s as the Falcons continue to roll.
• The Bengals/Browns game was much closer than it should have been, as the Bengals are a much better team.  The Browns played well, though.  Jerome Simpson did some great acting.  Andy Dalton notches another fourth quarter comeback under his belt.
• Ron Rivera finally emphasized the run game against the Colts this past weekend.  For probably the first time this season (I’m not going to look it up), I think they ran more than passed and (surprise, surprise) Cam Newton was efficient AND turnover free.  Newton, Williams, and Stewart all had good days rushing the rock for the Panthers and things are so bad in Indy that they’re turning the ball over to Dan Orlovsky this week and have fired their defensive coordinator.  Ouch.
• Playing quarterback for the Texans seems to be a risky proposition lately.  Last week Matt Schaub was lost for the season.  This week Matt Leinart was lost for the season.  TJ Yates (who!?!?) is now the starter for the Texans.  Things are so bad that they’re pondering calling Favre, they have worked out Jeff Garcia and Jake Delhomo, and have signed Kellen Clemens.  Luckily, the rest of their division sucks.  They will ride on their explosive running game and solid defense.  Good luck, guys.
• The Jaguars are FUBAR.  They fired Jack Del Rio this morning and Wayne Weaver announced his selling the team.  Wow.  Los Angeles Jaguars?
• The Bills/Jets game was all kinds of fun.  The Jets win on a fourth quarter come-back engineered by (gasp!) Mark Sanchez.  Steve Johnson scored a touchdown and made fun of Plaxico Burress AND Santonio Holmes by pantomiming Burress shooting himself in the leg and imitating Holmes’ TD celebration where he puts his arms out like wings and “flies”.  Johnson later dropped a possible touchdown catch which was eventually the difference in the game.  Karma’s a bitch, huh?
• Steve Johnson has been widely criticized around the league for making fun of Plax shooting himself.  He’s been referred to as classless and one Jet player accused him of being insensitive to 9/11 victims for doing Holmes’ “Jet” celebration.  Get over it, people.  First and foremost, anyone who shoots himself, accidentally or purposefully, deserve any criticism heaped upon him.  Secondly, NFL players mock other NFL players’ TD celebrations all the time.  Calm down, idiots.
• This week’s Toilet Bowl featured the Cardinals and Rams.  The Cardinals won the “thrilling” contest, 23-20.  Steve Spagnulo is expected to be fired after the season.  Poor St. Louis fans.
• Chris Johnson showed up for his second game this year.  He ran for 190 yards on the stout (cough, gag, chuckle) Buccaneer defense.  Maybe he’ll keep it up, but I doubt it.
• If there is a team underachieving more than the Bucs this year, I don’t know what team that is.
• The Caleb Hanie era started for Chicago as the Bears took on the Raiders.  Hanie…sucked.  He threw for 254 yards and 2 TD’s, but threw three picks as well.  The Bears defense gave up quite a few yards, but only allowed the Raiders to score one touchdown.  Ultimately, the Raiders won 25-20.
• The Redskins and Seahawks played a game Sunday, but I don’t think anyone cared.  Rex Grossman threw for 314 and 2 TD’s, but threw another 2 picks.  The Redskins win, for whatever that’s worth.
• The Pats rolled all over the “Dream Team”.  Chants of “Fire Andy” could be heard throughout the game from the Philly faithful.  Julian Edelman went all Troy Brown against the Eagles, even getting a sack on Vince Young.  He actually did a pretty damn good job on defense.  He should think about switching since the Pats offense is so loaded.
• At last, we have the Broncos/Chargers game.  Tim Tebow and the Broncos somehow pull out another ugly game.  The funniest thing is near the end of regulation, the Chargers had a chance for a winning field goal.  Right before the snap, John Fox called a timeout and the kick was blocked.  I’m sure everyone thought, as did I, that would come back to haunt him.  Nope, the Chargers shanked the next attempt.  Tebow leads the Broncos into field-goal range with only a couple of minutes left in overtime.  Broncos win.  Tebow is now 5-1 as a starter this year.  Who’d have thunk it?
• The Steelers looked horrible against the Chiefs Sunday night, and barely pulled out at 13-9 win.  But for Tyler Palko throwing three picks, and Dwayne Bowe going all Randy Moss on the Chiefs last offensive play, the Chiefs might have (and should have) won.
• Was there even any doubt that the Giants would get pummeled by the Saints this week?  The Giants have been playing horribly of late, and the Saints are running like a well-oiled machine.  The Saints beat them down like Ike beat Tina.  It was like watching a train wreck.

Random Week 11 thoughts…

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Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, NFL, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Redskins

The following thoughts are fraught with keen insight, sophomoric attempts at humor, and grammatical errors:

• Tim Tebow worked his magic again Thursday night.  After 55 minutes of looking like the worst quarterback in the league, he then authored a 95-yard game-winning drive against the inconsistent Jets.  Both teams are now 5-5 and heading in opposite directions.
• Jake Plummer was asked by Denver media what he thinks of Tim Tebow.  His opinion is that he likes the unconventional way with which Tebow is winning games, but is fed up with the words “Jesus Christ” coming out of Tebow’s mouth.  I have two thoughts about Plummer’s, um, thoughts.  One, who the hell cares what you think?  Two, you’re right.  I don’t have a problem with Tebow’s faith, but the inordinate amount of time he speaks about it wears on me and makes me not really care what he has to say.  He sounds like a broken freakin’ record.
• Cincinnati and Baltimore played an extremely exciting game Sunday, in which the officials played a part in two crucial plays in the game.  The first was the reversal of Jermaine Gresham’s touchdown catch.  The reversal was wrong.  Gresham caught the ball, got two feet inbounds, and crossed the goal-line.  Anything that happens after that doesn’t matter.  The second play was on a fumble that hit the ref, making the ball bounce the other way toward a Raven’s defender instead of a the two Bengals that were there ready to recover it.  I know the ref is considered part of the field, but when the ref is 70 he just isn’t quick enough (or fast enough) to keep up with this game.  Get younger refs.
• Maurice Jones-Drew’s imitation of Lebron after he scored on the Browns was hilarious.
• The Browns win an ugly, ugly game against the Jags.  Both of these teams are just horrible on offense and painful to watch.  On the bright side for the Browns, Chris Ogmonnaya recorded 100 rushing yards and looks better than Peyton Hillis or Montario Hardesty have looked all year.  So there’s that.
• After throwing four picks last week, Matt Stafford started out with two more against the Panthers before eating a can of Popeye’s spinach and busting out 5 touchdown passes on the suspect Panther’s defense.  Looks like he finally figured out he to throw with that broken index finger.
• Tony Scheffler should score all the time (ha, ha).  He did the “flash mob” dance after scoring this week.  Nice.
• After being a huge disappointment after being drafted by the Lions a few years ago, Kevin Smith whipped out 200 all-purpose yards on the Panthers.  Now, I know it’s against the Panthers, but Kevin Smith had never done that before and the Lions desperately need a running game if they want to win some playoff games.
• Cam Newton has put up plenty of impressive numbers this year, but unfortunately he’s also put up a bigger number that’s not so impressive.  Interceptions.  Like the 4 he threw against a mostly inept Lions defense.  Watching the way Cam plays it’s sometimes hard to remember that he’s a rookie, but he’s making some pretty costly mistakes.  Once he gets that under control….look out.
• Newton also scored his 9th rushing touchdown of the year Sunday, which is a record for a rookie quarterback.  Impressive.  Most impressive.
• Lagarrett Blount’s epic 54-yard run against the Packers was reminiscent of Marshawn Lynch’s epic run against the Saints in last year’s Wild Card playoff game.  If you haven’t seen it, kindly click here and enjoy.
• The Bucs gave the Packers all they could handle, but the Packers still won and still look invincible.  I stand by my 19-0 prediction for this team.
• Buffalo and Miami played Sunday and they’ve been at opposite ends of the spectrum all year.  The Dolphins started out the year looking like the worst team in the league and the Bills started out looking like one of the best.  Now its the other way around.  Matt Moore and Reggie Bush have looked like Pro-Bowl caliber players the last three weeks and I can’t explain it.
• I also can’t explain why the Bills suddenly suck.  They have lost no one to injury, and there’s been no coaching changes, yet they’ve been blown out the last three weeks.  I don’t get it.
• The Vikings lost Adrian Peterson for a while with a high ankle sprain.  Doesn’t really affect their season since they suck this year anyhow.
• Carson Palmer has been extremely efficient since the Raiders lost to the Broncos two weeks ago.  He’s not throwing many incompletions and the Raiders are pounding the ball on the ground and winning games.  Perhaps Hue Jackson knows what he’s doing afterall….we’ll see.
• Christian Ponder is having his ups and downs during his rookie season.  He looks good one minute, then throws three picks while losing to the Raiders.  I think he’ll eventually be a good quarterback once the Vikings have some decent receivers for him to throw the ball to.
• The Cowboys did their best to make the Redskins look good, but ultimately failed.  They win in overtime.
• Deangelo Hall said after the game that the Redskins should cut him because of his inability to cover Dez Bryant.  The sad thing is, he’s one of the best players on the team…and he sucks.
• Not much needs to be said about the 49ers/Cardinals game.  The Cardinals were destroyed by the Niners, who rolled on to 9-1 for the year.
• In a “who’s dumber?” contest, Cardinals’ Early Doucet and Niners’ Dashon Goldson scuffled and threw punches…at each other’s facemasks.  Really?  How stupid are you two?
• This week’s Toilet Bowl pitted a bad Seattle Seahawks team against an even worse St.Louis Rams team  The Seahawks win.  Nothing really special happened here.
• The Falcons and Titans played a close one.  Matt Hasselbeck went down and rookie Jake Locker came in and led the Titans on two scoring drives to make the game close.  No word yet on how long Matt will be out.  Chris Johnson also went back to sucking this week, running 12 times for 13 yards.  The Titans have to be ecstatic that they signed him to a big-money contract.
• Meanwhile the Falcons continue to roll.  Their offense is still firing on all cylinders.  I bet the Chargers are wishing they had kept Michael Turner, who added another 100-yard game to his resume.
• Jay Cutler was impressive again in the Bears win over the Chargers, however it will likely be his last game of the regular season.  Cutler has a broken thumb on his throwing hand and is out 6-8 weeks.  The job now falls to Caleb Hanie, who will likely hand the ball off to Matt Forte.  A lot.
• The Chargers are now 4-6, and I still see no late season surge from them.  Rivers is making too many mistakes.  Hell, he had a pass intercepted yesterday on a ball he was trying to throw away.  It’s that bad.
• The Eagles beat the Giants 17-10, and many people were praising the efforts a Vince Young and I’ve even heard a prediction that the Eagle will run the table and make the playoffs.  Look, beating the Giants was huge and they are a good team, but watch the game.  Young threw three picks and the Eagles didn’t play well, the Giants just played worse.  Eli turned the ball over twice and the Giants only managed 29 yards on the ground.  What a miserable performance by the G-Men.
• The Pats mopped the floor with the Chiefs last night in Foxboro.  Without Matt Cassell, the Chiefs looked shakier than normal, even though their defense held the Patriots to only 10 points in the first half.  The Pats exploded in the second.  The Pats tight-end duo of Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski is virtually unstoppable.  You can’t cover them in addition to Deion Branch and Wes Welker.  If the Pats don’t fix their defense, however, they won’t go too deep into the playoffs.
• Rex Ryan was fined $75,000 for cussing at a fan last week.  When asked about the fine, Ryan said, “I don’t want to be a black eye on the league.”  It’s a little too late for that.

That’ wraps up my random, incoherent thoughts for Week 11 in the NFL.  So long!