THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY WEEK 15

What a wacky week of football! The Packers lose, the Colts win, and almost every team chasing a Wild Card spot in the AFC lost. There were more upsets this week than I can even count. Even the teams that were expected to win did so in an unexpected fashion. I break the week down for you in Week 15's "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly."

The Good: San Diego’s offense rolled over the fierce Ravens’ D.

The Chargers scored on all but one of their first seven possessions, Phillip Rivers only threw six incompletions all day, and Ryan Matthews had possibly his best game as a pro pounding the ball 26 times for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Most importantly, they managed to keep Rivers upright all game against a fierce Ravens’ pass rush and did not turn the ball over once, which has been their Achilles’ heel all season. That is a tough task against a team that had Ray Lewis back for the first time in five weeks. You expected the Chargers to put up points, but not in the way they did Sunday night. San Diego has been a pass happy team for years now, but it was the running game spear headed by the young Matthews who won them this game. They ran the ball almost 40 times for over 150 yards against a defense that has the second ranked rush defense, allowing less than 90 yards a game. This is incredible for a team that has been looking for a run game since Ladainian Tomlinson’s decline and then departure. It was a pleasant surprise for Chargers fans and probably a bit shocking to Ravens fans. The Chargers are unstoppable in the month of December and it is a real wonder why this team cannot find consistency in all the other months of the year.

Runner Up: Kyle Orton, thrown away by the Bears and Broncos, proves to the world he’s a starting caliber quarterback by knocking off the undefeated Packers in his first start as a Chief.

The Bad: The Titans get dominated by the winless Colts and are most likely out of the playoff race.

There is nothing more crushing than losing to a team that has not won a game all year, especially when it is this late in the season against a hated division rival who has lost thirteen straight games and your playoff hopes are on the line. Everyone in the AFC South has been looking up to Peyton Manning and the Colts since he was drafted in the late 90s and this was their season to put a beat down on the Manningless Colts. The Titans, Texans, and even the Jags beat them in their first matchups, but the Colts has all three of them in the final weeks of the season. When a team is down and out like the Colts have been all season, the only thing that motivates them to win is being able to knock a rival out of the playoff. The Titans should have seen it coming and been more prepared to see the best out of the Colts. The Titans had to know with Dan Orlovsky quarterbacking this team, the Colts were going to try to run the ball. They allowed the Colts to run the ball effectively (34 times for over 200 yards) and the Orlovsky had to do little besides hand the ball off all day. It was running back Donald Brown’s 80 yard touchdown that put the game out of reach late in the game and most likely crushed any hope of the Titans making the playoffs. Isn’t it supposed to be Chris Johnson, who the Titans gave a $54 million contact too in the offseason, that is the game breaking running back who can score from anywhere on the field? Not in this game. Johnson was held to just 55 yards rushing and was again disappointing against a very suspect Colts run defense. This loss really hurts because it puts them a game behind both the Jets and the Bengals, and it hurts their in conference record, which will be the tiebreaker for these playoff hopeful teams. I cannot see the Titans bouncing back and making a run for the last Wild Card spot.

Runner Up: The Patriots lose their sack leader, defense end Andre Carter, for the rest of the season.

The Ugly: Both the Jets and the Giants fall to NFC East bottom dwellers.

Both of my New York teams had full control of their playoff destinies before this weekend. On Sunday, I watched a painful six hours of football, watching the Giants and then the Jets put up absolutely disgusting performances. The Giants could do nothing on offense and Rex Grossman, yes that Rex Grossman, made the Giants’ D look silly. The Giants were outplayed in every faze of the game and this was the second time this year the Giants have been outmatched by a Grossman led Redskins. I thought that was the worst it could get and was ready to watch my Jets down the Eagles in Philly. That would surely make up for the awful game I had just witnessed. Two turnovers, 14 points, and less than one quarter later I thought I was having a nightmare. The Jets’ $50 million man, Santonio Holmes, lost fumble and had a pass go through his hands and straight into the defender’s arms behind him, both of which led to touchdowns for the Eagles. The Jets were looking good, moving the ball effectively and getting solid pressure on Michael Vick, but they could not make plays when it mattered most. Most importantly, they made catastrophic mistakes early and often and simply could not recover from them. This was an ugly week of football for these two teams who will be fighting for their playoff lives when they face off against each other on Christmas Eve. Only one of them will come away with a win and a playoff spot, and there is still a decent shot that neither of these teams even make the playoffs.

Runner Up: Big Ben takes a beating in San Fran and the Steelers lose an opportunity to retake the NFC North.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY WEEK 14

The Good: Eli Manning.

Wow was Eli Manning great Sunday night. He threw for 400 yards and made the big plays for his team when they needed him most, again. This was Eli’s sixth come from behind win in the forth quarter, which means all but one of the Giants’ wins have come off of a 4^th quarter drive by Eli. Against the Cowboys, Eli lead the Giants to two touchdowns in the last three minutes to put the Giants up with very little time left on the clock. Yes, Eli got help from a strong run game and he did make a few mistakes early in the game. However, he did not make many mistakes, he overcame a lot of big drops (I am looking at you Mario Manningham), and he was yet again perfect at the end when he had to be, unlike Tony Romo who was perfect all game, but failed to make enough plays when the Cowboys had the chance to put away the Giants. If it were not for Aaron Rodgers having the best season any quarterback has ever had, Eli would be the top candidate for the MVP of the league. Eli still has a very solid shot at breaking Dan Marino’s passing record (he is on pace to come about 20 yards short) and he has been the only reason this Giants’ team has stayed in playoff contention.

Runner Up: Unknown rookie quarterback T.J. Yates scores a last second touchdown to knock off the Bengals by one point and lock up the Texans’ first ever playoff appearance.

The Bad: Ben Roethlisberger gets injured in a win over the Browns.

Anyone who bothered to watch this NFL Network showdown saw how hobbled Big Ben was during the second half of this game. It looked like he could barely move in the pocket and was clearly in a lot of pain. Sure Roethlisberger has bounced back from a lot of these injuries in the past and has played successfully, but with an offensive line that has faced a lot of injuries and inconsistencies coupled with a struggling rushing attack, things could get bad for the Steelers fast. Roethlisberger has been the Steelers’ iron man for years now and he is carrying this entire offense this season. A lot of Roethlisberger’s success is due to his mobility in the pocket and how difficult it is to bring him to the ground. His mobility allows him to buy time in the pocket while his speedy receivers Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown get down field. If Roethlisberger’s injury lingers, their offense could really struggle because his injury allows teams to blitz him more often without the fear of Roethlisberger breaking tackles and throwing a bomb 50+ yards downfield. If the offensive line fails to give Roethlisberger time in the pocket, the Steelers could really struggle to score points because so much of their offense relies on Roethlisberger being a threat to throw a long touchdown anywhere on the field. I am not saying the Steelers are going to fall out of playoff contention or anything drastic like that, but in a year where they most likely will not win the AFC North, they will have to go on the road in the first round of the playoffs and could easily drop their first matchup. That would be a big disappointment for this team considering how wide open the AFC is right now.

Runner Up: The Bills get blown out by the struggling Chargers and look to be chasing another top 10 pick instead of their first playoff appearance since the 90s. Remember when they were atop the AFC East?

The Ugly: Marion Barber allows Tebowmania to continue.

Have you heard this one before? The Broncos had zero points on the scoreboard with three minutes left in the game… and they won! Call it Tebow magic, call it solid team football, call it whatever you want, but this game was not won by the Broncos, it was lost by the Bears. The main culprit was running back Marion Barber. For most of this game, Barber was the star. He was putting this entire offense on his back and carrying them along with the Broncos’ defenders who were trying to tackle him. He had 100 total yards and the only touchdown of the game. He was filling in perfectly for Matt Forte, who has carried the Bears’ offense since he was drafted in the second round. However, he made two huge mistakes that were both turning points in the game that gave Tebow a chance to work his magic. After the Broncos scored their first touchdown of the game, they tried an onside kick and failed, meaning the Bears should be able to run the ball three times and pin the Broncos inside the 20 yard line with about 20 seconds left and no timeouts. The Broncos would have needed a miracle to get into field goal range in that situation. The Bears did run the ball three times, but Barber got greedy on one of his runs and ended up falling out of bounds while fighting for extra yards. This gave the Broncos almost a full minute to work with and Tebow got it done. Alright fine, the Bears lasted till overtime, which is more than most teams have who have faced Tebow. The Bears lucked out and got the ball first. Again Barber looks like the hero and is carrying the Bears into field goal range while seemingly redeeming himself for his mistake. The Bears got themselves into field goal range and looked to steal a win from Tebow, until Barber bursts up the middle for a run and blasts through numerous tackles. For a split second, it looked like Barber might break off a long run for a touchdown. However, Barber saw that opening and thought he had a touchdown, lost his concentration, and a stumbling Broncos’ defender was able to strip the ball out of his hands before Barber could really break free. The Broncos recovered the ball, the Bears did not even get a shot to kick a field goal, and Tebow again worked his magic and the Broncos kicked an incredibly long field goal to win the game. This might have been the worst way a team could have possibly lost a game, especially for Barber, and it will be interesting to see how an injury riddled Bears’ team bounces back this week in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Runner Up: The Buccaneers get blown out by the lowly Jags 41-14. Seriously, who let’s the Jags put up 41 points?

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY WEEK 13

Lots of good upsets this week, and a few other almost upsets. More injuries to high profile guys, while no name players continue to have big performances for their teams. Loads of teams are still in the playoff hunt, although a lot of them are not the teams we expected. Can you believe the Broncos are at the top of the AFC West! This is why the NFL is so fun to watch and why I have so much to talk about this week. Enjoy!

The Good: The Packers pull out a last second win over the Giants by driving almost 70 yards in 50 seconds.

The Giants came oh so close in this one to knocking off the undefeated Packers, but Aaron Rodgers showed once again why he is the best quarterback in the league on the final drive of this game. The Giants made the mistake of leaving almost a full minute left on the clock for Aaron Rodgers to work with. However, it probably would not have mattered because it only took Rodgers two throws and 15 seconds to get the Packers into field goal range. The rest of that drive was just Rodgers making the kicker’s job even easier. The 2011 Packers may not be the best team the NFL has ever seen, but Rodgers showed why it will be very hard for any team to beat them unless they get out to an early lead and hold onto it. When it needs to happen, Rodgers will score touchdowns at will and he has yet to face a defense that has come close to even slowing him down.

Runner Up: The Texans get a huge win over the Falcon with T.J. Yates at the helm.

The Bad: The Jaguars trading up to draft quarterback Blaine Gabbert.

I know it is hard to critique a 22 year old quarterback in his rookie season, especially when he is running possibly the least talented offense in the NFL, but anyone who has been watching this guy play can tell it looks like he does not care about making a play for his team. He is completing less than 50% of his passes this season and he has taken 30 sacks in less than 11 games. You can blame the offensive line all you want, but Gabbert holds onto the ball way too long and seems to never utilize his athleticism to escape the pressure. Against the Chargers, he had pretty solid passing stats (quarterback rating of 82.3), but the majority of his yards and touchdowns went to running back Maurice Jones Drew, who made big plays after the catch and had nothing to do with Gabbert’s talents as a quarterback. I feel like I saw Gabbert’s knees buckle as he went to the ground more than I saw him complete a decent pass. He looks jittery in the pocket and afraid of the defenders. He seemingly rather protect himself than try to make a play for his offense. This is a trait that none of the big time quarterbacks in the NFL possess. What made Brett Favre one of the best quarterbacks of all time was his ability to see the rush, hang in the pocket, and deliver an amazing pass while he was getting destroyed by a defender. I hate to make this type of comparison so early in Gabbert’s career, but he looks a lot like David Carr (first overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft) did in his time with the Texans. Carr too was part of one of the worst offenses in the NFL at the time and he took an unbelievable amount of sacks in his day. People blamed the Texans’ offense for Carr’s faults, but Carr fell on his face with his other opportunities after the Texans released him. Whether or not all the sacks ruined his will to play or not, I see Gabbert as a similarly weak minded quarterback who could fall down a similar path. With the Jags’ coach being fired, the team being sold, and a possible move to LA, there will be a lot of distractions surrounding this team. It does not help that there is no clear light at the end of the tunnel for this offense getting more productive so Gabbert will be relied on heavily to turn this team around. I can’t see that happening anytime soon.

Runner Up: The Cowboys fail to get anything going on offense against a very mediocre Cardinals’ defense and lose in overtime.

The Ugly: The Eagles get blown out by the Seahawks… yea, those Seahawks.

This game sums up the Eagles’ entire 2011 season. The Eagles could not stop the run, fell behind early, and turned the ball over numerous times. Sound familiar? I feel like this happens every week with the “Dream Team,” but you had to think things would be different against the Seahawks. The only thing the Eagles did right this week was they got the ball to LeSean McCoy over 20 times, and he paid off by scoring the Eagles only two touchdowns. However, they obviously did not get him the ball enough to stop Vince Young from throwing four interceptions, which must have felt good for Pete Carroll to be able to dominate the quarterback that ruined his hope of winning three National Championships in a row while coaching at USC. Not only did the Eagles’ offense struggle, but also their insanely highly paid defense faltered yet again. They managed to get three sacks, but they allowed Tarvaris Jackson pick them apart (boy you never hear that sentence), who only threw three incompletions all day. When it comes down to it, the Seahawks were coached up and motivated and the Eagles simply didn’t even try. Andy Reid has gotten a little too used to being an Eagle and it is time to say “Bye Bye Birdie” to Philadelphia before he gets run out of town with pitchforks.

Runner Up: The Bears lose at home against the Chiefs and Matt Forte suffers a serious knee injury. 

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY WEEK 12

What a great week of football! It is hard not to love watching football on Thanksgiving, even if none of the games were really all that exciting. However, almost every game this week seemed to come down to just a few plays being the difference in a win or a loss. There was plenty of good and bad to pass around, and way more ugly than most coaches would have liked, but it sure was fun to watch. Let’s dive right in.

The Good: Drew Brees plays like a god on Monday Night Football against the Giants.

I literally cannot remember a better quarterback performance than Brees’ on Monday night. He threw for four touchdowns, had an amazing run for another touchdown, and was deadly accurate all night long. Most impressive was Brees’ ability to avoid the Giants’ rush and still get the ball downfield. One play, Brees’ broke a tackle in the pocket from 270 lbs defensive end Justin Tuck (the Giants best pass rusher), then made it look like he was going to run with the ball before stopping perfectly on the line of scrimmage, stiff armed 320 lbs defensive tackle Linval Joseph to the ground, and then threw a perfect pass for the first down. While this type of tackling on the Giants’ part is inexcusable, this was one of the most impressive plays I have ever seen out of a quarterback, especially for one who is known for being undersized. You almost never see any quarterback take on defensive lineman so fearlessly, but for a 32 year old 6’0 210 lbs quarterback to do it shows just how badly Brees wants to win every single week. If you watch Brees’ eyes on the play, he was never looking for the rushers coming at him, but he was looking downfield the entire play waiting for someone to get open. That might not sound that impressive, but with a lot of enormous dudes flying all around you, you would think he might be just slightly concerned about them. This game is the perfect example of how Brees is one of the best the NFL has ever seen, and not to be too cliché, but Saints, pay the man!

Runner Up: The Broncos, not just Tim Tebow, gets a huge road victory over the rival Chargers in overtime.

The Bad: The Texans lose Matt Leinart for the season after already losing Matt Schaub.

Every week, I feel like the Texans have some devastating injury to their team. They started the season without the NFL’s leading rusher Arian Foster, then they lost one of the best pass rushers in the entire league in Mario Williams, and then they lost their offensive leader in quarterback Matt Schaub. However, despite these injuries, they are still tied in the lead of the AFC with an 8-3 record. Leinart had his first start since 2009 and looked very impressive against a surprisingly tough Jaguars’ defense. Before leaving with his injury, Leinart was completing almost 77% of his passes and had a quarterback rating of over 110. While I understand that the Texans were not asking a lot of him, he was playing about as well as anyone could have asked out of him and it looked like he could give them a chance to possibly keep their momentum going into the postseason and possibly make a playoff run. However, he is now out for the season and the Texans’ are hoping for the best out of their third string rookie quarterback T.J. Yates. At UNC, Yates did not really play against top competition so it will be interesting to see how he holds up and how quickly the Texans turn to the 36 year old Jake Delhomme, who they just brought out of retirement. Either way, this is yet another huge loss for this franchise that should still make the playoffs for the first time ever, but now has little hope of making a deep playoff run.

Runner Up: Bill’s Stevie Johnson has several crucial drops against the Jets as they come just short of knocking off the Jets and keeping their postseason hopes alive.

The Ugly: The Eagles blow an early 10 point lead over the Patriots to fall to 4-7 and out of the playoff race.

So much for the “Dream Team” eh? I mean no one really thought they would beat the Patriots without Michael Vick and Jeremy Maclin, but they were at home and they should have been able to put together a better performance than this. And it was really just cruel to their fans to start off so hot and then falter so quickly afterwards. They were up 10-0 in the first quarterback, before allowing the Patriots to score three unanswered touchdowns and then going into the half with an 11 point deficit. It also didn’t help that they then allowed that to become a 25 point deficit before scoring a late and meaningless touchdown. I understand that the passing game was working against the Patriots’ league worst defense, but it obviously did not work out well enough. Andy Reid continually forgets that his best weapon by far is running back LeSean McCoy. Reid, for the last freaking time, run the damn ball! His obsession with passing is killing his team and making it difficult for a very talented team to win any games. McCoy should be handed the ball at least 15-20 times, no matter what the situation is, but when you have a backup quarterback starting, your top receiver out, and your most explosive receiver seems to have given up on the season, he should be getting the ball more like 25-30. McCoy ran the ball only 10 times the entire game. Also, when playing Tom Brady, you would think you would want him off the field as much as possible so that he wouldn’t throw for over 360 yards and three touchdowns against you, which is what he did against the Eagles. I wonder how you could do that… oh yea, run the ball! Clearly I have a theme here and I am not sure how long it will take Reid to figure this simple fact out, but it might already be too late to save his job.

Runner Up: Ndamukong Suh’s stomp heard round the world may have cost the Lions their first playoff performance since the 90s.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY WEEK 11

There were not too many upsets this weekend, yet there is still plenty to discuss. The Packers being at 10-0 warranted my praise and finally made the “Good” list this week, while both my New York teams put up epic failures that were definitely worthy of being called ugly. 

The Good: Jordy Nelson shows why he is one of the most feared receivers in the NFL and helps his team stay on top of the Bucs to stay unbeaten.

With all the weapons Aaron Rodgers has in that Packers’ offense, it is amazing to me how consistently Rodgers looks to Nelson. Nelson claims he was overlooked by teams thanks to “reverse racism” (good white receivers are far and in between), and maybe that was true, but no one is overlooking him now. Nelson only trails Calvin Johnson in touchdown receptions this season and he is one of the main reasons the Packers are undefeated right now. He consistently comes up with huge plays just when his team needs him the most. We saw a glimpse of his potential in the Super Bowl last year, but he had a lot of big drops in that game as well. He has stopped dropping passes and has become the Packers number one threat on offense. At only 26 years old, he is only reaching the tip of his potential and he should be a lot of fun to watch for years to come.

Runner Up: The Dolphins take down division rival Bills to win three straight.

The Bad: Graham Gano misses two field goals, including one in overtime, to crush the Redskins’ hopes of an upset over the Cowboys.

Make fun of kickers all you want, but any team without a good one always regrets ignoring the least glamorous position in football. The Redskins defense shut down the run and forced Tony Romo to win this game with his arm. Despite not producing much out of their run game, Rex Grossman looked fantastic against a very complicated defensive scheme and scored three touchdowns for his team. This was the best performance the Redskins have put together since possibly the first game of the season, yet they still lost. It is hard to put it all on a kicker, but it is always hard to win when you miss numerous field goals. This was a tough loss for the Redskins, but at least they stay in the hunt for quarterback Andrew Luck.

Runner Up: Cam Newton blows a 17 point lead over the Lions by throwing four interceptions.

The Ugly: The Giants offense had its worst day in years and they lose the top spot in the NFC East.

I have watched almost every Giants game since Eli Manning was a rookie and this might have been the worst an Eli lead Giants’ offense has ever been. They had more three and outs than you could even imagine, mostly because of their lack of running success. They averaged 1.7 yards per carry and were held to under 30 total rushing yards. Despite their lack of success, they stuck with their run game instead of airing it out and it may have cost them the division. The coaching staff clearly decided to put the entire weight of this game on their defense, and despite playing valiantly for the majority of 60 minutes, they could not stop the Eagles offense at the end of the game. This was a huge loss for this team and it puts them in a very difficult position for the rest of the season. The Giants have the toughest schedule of any team in the NFL for the rest of the 2011 season and they might have to beat the Cowboys twice in order to even make the playoffs.

Runner Up: The Jets fall to yet another Tebow miracle.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY WEEK 10

Yet another wacky week of football, yet another week that needed Runner Ups in all categories. We are nearing the home stretch of the NFL season and this is when we realize who are the contenders and who are the pretenders. It is not too late for any of these teams to turn their seasons around and make a run at the playoffs, but there is also plenty of time for the top teams in the league to fall off the map. 

The Good: John Skelton throws for over 300 yards and three touchdowns against the most expensive secondary in the NFL.

I am so happy for Skelton who was brushed aside for the unproven Kevin Kolb after his rookie season in which the Cardinals continued to tell Skelton and the media that he was their quarterback of the future. Of course everyone knew they were lying and were looking for other options at quarterback for 2011. However, it is Skelton who is having the last laugh. The Cardinals had lost their last six games under Kolb and their season was sinking fast before Skelton took over the reigns. In two games, Skelton has looked much more impressive than Kolb and he has won twice as many games in two weeks as Kolb did in seven. Most importantly, Skelton is getting the ball to playmaking receiver Larry Fitzgerald and keeping him happy, which was something Kolb has struggled with all season. The Cards would be crazy to go back to Kolb anytime soon and they have a real quarterback controversy, considering they gave Kolb a six year $65 million and that is a lot of money to pay a backup quarterback. Maybe they see if the Redskins want to try another under performing quarterback in their rotation?

Runner Up: The Cowboys put it all together for a commanding win over the Bills 44-7.

The Bad: The Ravens fall to the Seahawks on the road.

What is going on with the Ravens? How can they possibly sweep the Steelers and then put up a stinker like this against the Seahawks? The Seahawks! They really struggled in all phases of the game. They turned the ball over three times (their kickoff returner lost two fumbles), Flacco struggled with keeping drives alive, and they again mysteriously went away from their run game (Ray Rice only ran the ball five times all game). However, most surprisingly, the Ravens’ defense really struggled against probably the worst offense in the entire NFL. Tarvaris Jackson was extremely efficient, Marshawn Lynch totaled almost 170 yards of offense, and the Ravens only managed to tally one sack and zero turnovers. The Ravens have not looked particularly good against anyone besides the Steelers. They need to bounce back quickly before hosting a much improved Bengals team or else they could be looking up at the Steelers and those Bengals in their own division.

Runner Up: Falcons’ coach Mike Smith goes for it on forth down in overtime and hands the game to the Saints.

The Ugly: The Lions turn the ball over six times and lose to division rival Bears 37-13.

The Lions explosive offense was held to only six points in the first half, which seems to be around their average. However, against a very tough Bears defense, they did not have what it takes to overcome yet another terrible first half. Matthew Stafford threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns and the Bears offense had to do almost nothing to blow out the Lions who have now lost three out of their last four games after an impressive 5-0 start. This team cannot continue to struggle in the first half and expect to come away with miracle wins in the second half. If the Lions cannot find a way to effectively run the ball with or without Jahvid Best, they will be sitting at home when the playoffs roll around. Enter yet another injury to Stafford and that task just got a lot harder.

Runner Up: The Jets get outplayed and out-coached by the Patriots on offense, defense, and special teams.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY WEEK 9

The Good: Joe Flacco and the Ravens down the Steelers for the second time this year.

As usual, this battle between the two AFC North heavyweights was one of the best games of the week, and of the year. However, it was Joe Flacco who came away with the biggest win of his young career. After having never beaten Roethlisberger before this season, Flacco swept Roethlisberger and the Ravens look to take the division for the first time in years. Most impressively, it took a 92 yard touchdown drive with two minutes left in the game against the formidable Steelers defense for the Ravens to secure a win. Flacco has looked extremely mediocre all season long, throwing for only one touchdown in the last 4 games, but this is exactly the type of performance the Ravens’ organization and fan base were looking to see out of him. Flacco has tended to struggle in big games, so his strong performance at the end of the game was the most impressive performance of the week. If the Ravens can keep this momentum up and not lose games against teams they are supposed to beat (i.e. losing to the Jags just two week ago), they could turn out to be the best team in the AFC.

Runner Up: The Jets dominating defense forced three turnovers and held the Bills to 11 points.

The Bad: The Patriots offense fails to score over 20 points… again.

What in God’s name is wrong with the Patriots? We all know their defense is mediocre, but their offense was shut out in the first half for the first time in over 70 games. And it was against a banged up and struggling Giants defense! We excused the offense when they struggled against the Steelers defense, since the Steelers tend to always have one of the best defenses in the league. However, Tom Brady simply looks frustrated with everything that is happening with his offense. With Randy Moss gone and Chad Ochocinco being irrelevant, this offense is lacking a deep threat to stretch the field. This allows defenses to focus on taking away Wes Welker and Brady’s amazing tight ends in the short passing game without being afraid of being burned deep. The Pats need to figure out something soon because they have a flight into New York to face the red hot Jets, whose defense is playing as well as anyone right now.

Runner Up: Michael Vick again fails to make plays when it counts and the Eagles fall to 3-5.

The Ugly: The Chiefs get blown out at home by the previously winless Dolphins.

Imagine this, if the Chiefs had been able to beat a winless Dolphins team at home, they could have been atop their division. However, they did not just lose to the Dolphins, they got blown out by the Dolphins 31-3. While the Dolphins do mysteriously play much better on the road than at home, they are simply not a very good team. They allowed the Dolphins offense, which has been terrible in the red zone for the past two seasons, to score touchdowns on both of their trips into the red zone, as well as give up long touchdowns to Reggie Bush and Anthony Fasano. The Chiefs’ offense also had a horrible day, allowing Matt Cassel to be sacked five times by a defense that as had trouble getting pressing on the quarterback all year. If I was a Chiefs’ fan who paid money to see this game, I would be asking for a refund. This was an ugly loss that shows the Chiefs are not even close to being a legitimate playoff contender. However, as of right now, no one in the AFC West is playing well and it is anyone’s guess who will come out on top of this division. 

Runner Up: The Raiders defense allows almost 300 yards rushing to the struggling Broncos, including 163 yards going to a 30 year old running back with only one good hand (Willis McGahee ran wild with a broken right hand).

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY WEEK 8

This week was the sloppiest week of football I have seen in a long time. Tons of missed field goals, loads of turnovers, and some big upsets, with even more almost upsets. And don’t even get me started on Tim Tebow’s performance. Yikes. For the sake of the readers, I will leave Tebow off the list this week because him playing horribly is now officially the norm for him and it is no longer worth talking about.

The Good: The Steelers hold the Patriots to 17 points and Tom Brady to under 200 yards passing.

Despite struggling in a lot of their early games, the Steelers are now 6-2 and look to be the cream of the crop in the AFC. The Steelers came out firing on all cylinders on both offense and defense. Ben Roethlisberger was extremely efficient throwing the ball 50 times in this game and really exploited the Pats’ lowly pass defense. Despite getting sacked five times, he threw for 365 yards and two touchdowns with only one turn over. This allowed the Steelers to maintain possession of the ball for almost twice as long as the Patriots did (39:22 to 20:38) and gave Tom Brady very little opportunities to succeed. Most impressively, they almost completely shut down Wes Welker, who was on pace to have well over 2000 yards this season. Coming into this game, I thought Welker would tear up this aging defense, but they held him to under 40 yards. The Steelers dominated every aspect of this game and left the Patriots with a lot of questions to answer.

The Bad: The Saints get blown out by the winless Rams, who were without Sam Bradford.

It is never a great day when your team gets out physicaled by the St. Louis Rams. However, that’s exactly what happened to the Saints. After putting up 62 points on the Colts last week, the Saints did not score a point against the Rams until the third quarter. The Rams ran the ball all over the Saints defense, allowing them to control the game and giving Steven Jackson his first 100 yard rushing game in three seasons. The more surprising storyline is how the Saints offensive line, which is filled to the brim with Pro Bowlers, got absolutely bullied by the Rams’ front seven. The Rams sacked Drew Brees six times, with Chris Long getting to Bress three times himself. This forced Brees into making costly mistakes, throwing two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown late in the forth quarter that sealed the win for the Rams. This was an awful game for the Saints and it would have been the ugly performance of the week if not for the Chargers epic fail in their Monday night mathcup with the Chiefs. Despite how poorly the Saints played, you have to give credit to the Rams who played their first solid game in a long time. If Steven Jackson stays healthy and the defense keeps playing like this, they are going to win a lot more games this season.

The Ugly: Phillip Rivers fumbles the snap and gives the Chiefs a chance to win the game in OT.

With a week that saw the Giants and Ravens overcome big deficits to stave off an upset, everyone watching the Chargers game just assumed that they would do so as well after falling down 10-0 to the Chiefs. The Chargers fought so hard to get back into this game, having to tie the game with a two-point conversion. However, with the ball on the 15 yard line and only one minute left, the Chargers were attempting to run as much time off the clock as possible before attempting what would have been a game winning chip shot field goal when the Chargers did the only thing that could cost them the game. They fumbled the snap and allowed the Chiefs to recover the ball. This gave the Chiefs another chance before overtime to win the game, but luckily for the Chargers, Matt Cassel threw another interception and the game went into overtime. Unfortunately, the Chargers continued to do nothing in extended time and allowed the Chiefs to march down the field and kick the game winning field goal. This is just an atrocious way to end a game for a team that is looking to make a strong playoff push. After blowing a big lead to the Jets last week, they had a chance to make up for the loss by knocking off the defending division champs in their house and take a two game lead in their division. Yet in typical Chargers fashion, they blew what could have been a big emotional win for them and instead are in a three way tie atop the division. With two games still left on the schedule against the ever improving Raiders, this team has a lot of work to do if they think they have a shot at even making the playoffs.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY WEEK 7

The Good: The Jets have a marquee win over the struggling Chargers.

The Jets really needed this win. Coming into this week, the Jets had three wins, but the teams they beat only had 3 combined wins. Despite Phillip Rivers struggling a bit, the Charger were out to their most impressive start in years with a 4-1 record. Had the Jets lost this game, their playoff hopes would have all but vanished. The Jets put themselves in a big hole by having a turn over go for a touchdown on the first drive of the game, but they fought back and shut out the Chargers in the second half of the game. Their offense played surprisingly well, especially the connection between Mark Sanchez and Plaxico Burress, and their defense played their best game of the season. Hopefully the Jets pull themselves together for the rest of the season, but the Chargers have a lot of questions to answer.

The Bad: The Ravens’ offense only puts up 7 points against a subpar Jags’ defense.

This was the worst game the Ravens have put together in a long time. This game was a complete mess. Both teams’ star running backs combined for 4 fumbles and neither offense ever really got anything going. The Ravens and the Jags each only converted 2 third downs (2/12 and 2/16 respectively), making this one of the toughest games to watch of the season. Blaine Gabbert threw for less than 100 yards and completed less than 50% of his passes, yet they still came out victorious. Gabbert didn’t make any good plays, but he didn’t make any big mistakes to cost them the game. That’s all they needed to get past a Ravens team that is struggling to find an identity on offense.

The Ugly: The Colts get blown out 62-7.

How the mighty have fallen. The Colts won their division going 10-6 last season, but they have already lost 7 games this season without their leader, Peyton Manning. The Colts are sporting the worst defense in the league and the third worst offense. Every aspect of this team has fallen apart without Manning and it was clearer than ever in their decimation by the Saints. The Saints totaled over 500 yards of offense and held the Colts to around 100 yards passing, despite struggling against the pass in recent weeks. The Saints at home is a tough matchup for any team, but allowing anyone to run up 62 points on you is inexcusable. This team has lost all motivation and the coaching staff needs to take a lot of the blame for this team’s performance. 

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY WEEK 6

The Good: The Buccaneers prevail over the Saints at home.

Where did this performance come from? Josh Freeman threw for over 300 yards, backup running back/fullback Earnest Graham rushed for over 100 yards, and the defense caused the high powered Saints offense to turn the ball over 4 times, picking off Drew Brees a shocking 3 times. This team was down probably their most talented players on both offense and defense (running back LeGarrette Blount and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy), yet they played by far their best game of the year. On top of this, they have a solid lead in their division with impressive wins over both the Saints and Falcons, who were both supposed to be Super Bowl contenders. Sorry to quote Dennis Green, but the Bucs are apparently the team I thought they were, a dangerous young team with a solid shot at making the playoffs.

The Bad: Sam Bradford throws for over 300 yards, yet scores only 3 points and gets injured.

How do you produce over 400 yards of offense and put up 3 points? If anyone is counting, that is driving the length of the football field 4 times. This shows a complete lack of efficiency when it really matters, most importantly in the red zone and on third down. The Rams were 0/3 in the red zone and 3/13 (23%) on third downs. That is atrocious. I don’t care who Sam Bradford is throwing to and how bad his offensive line is playing, he has to be better. There is no excuse for a quarterback who is getting $60 million guaranteed to be so ineffective. I know he is still very young, but he needs to get much better for this team to even have a chance to win a single game. And that is if he even gets to play, considering he has a high ankle sprain and is wearing a walking boot. Maybe the Rams need a change of scenery, and sunny LA is looking better and better.

The Ugly: Rex Grossman throws 4 interceptions against a struggling Eagles' defense and gets benched.

For most of the beginning of this season, we have seen the good Rex Grossman. It was about time we saw the bad. Unfortunately for Grossman and the Redskins, the bad Grossman is pretty hard to watch, as all Bears fans know all too well. Grossman threw four interceptions to the Eagles’ underperforming safeties (three of which went to Kurt Coleman, who had just won his starting role back this week after getting benched). Not-so-sexy Rexy looked the way we expected him to play, under throwing open receivers and tossing up bombs for no apparent reason straight into defenders’ hands. He was benched for John Beck, who was not overly impressive, but seems to now have a strong hold on the Redskins’ quarterback spot. Despite a 3-2 record, do not be surprised to see the Redskins join the “suck for Luck” sweepstakes. Who thought having a quarterback battle between Rex Grossman and John Beck was a bad idea? Oh yea, everyone. The Redskins went from good to ugly oh so fast. 

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY WEEK 5

The Good: The Raiders down the Texans 25-20.

Al Davis may have spent the last ten years seemingly trying to destroy this franchise, but he clearly was still very important to his team. The Raiders were playing extra hard this week for their recently deceased owner/general manager and it paid off. For the first time in as long as I can remember, the Raiders won this game by the strength of their defense. Yes, they allowed Matt Schaub to throw for over 400 yards, but they held Arian Foster to 3 yards a carry and held the Texans explosive offense to just 6 second half points, helped by intercepting Schaub in the red zone with only seconds left on the clock. The Raiders offense had one of their worst games so far this year, but as a team they found a way to win. This was a great win for this franchise and I have a feeling that the Raiders are going to be knocking my Jets out of the playoffs when the end of the season rolls around.

The Bad: The Buccaneers’ offense continues to struggle.

What in God’s name has happened to the Bucs? Last season Josh Freeman and Mike Williams looked like the best young quarterback-wide receiver combo in the NFL. This season they look like what everyone expected out of them last season. Freeman has already throw as many interceptions through 5 games as he did all of last season and Williams is on pace for less than 600 yards and 3 touchdowns (he had 964 yards and 11 touchdowns in his rookie season last year). I have heard of a sophomore slump, but this is ridiculous. The Bucs were down fast to the 49ers thanks to a porous defense and a pick six by Freeman, and they simply were never able to recover. Usually when a team goes down early, their quarterback throws for a ton of garbage yards, but the 49ers still only gave up under 200 yards passing. The 49ers are much improved from last season, but they are barely a playoff caliber team and they blew out the Bucs 48-3. The lockout has clearly hurt this young Bucs team, but there is no excuse for how poorly this team has played through the first 5 games. It is amazing to me that they are 3-2, but they have to improve fast if they plan on staying above .500.

The Ugly: The Eagles fall to 1-4.

I said last week that the Eagles barely missed out on making the ugly list, but this week they were not so lucky. I knew this game would be a tough matchup for the Eagles, but it was a must win game to try to establish themselves as a playoff contender. They instead went out and proved that they deserve to be 1-4. The Eagles continue to play like they are only interested in putting up fantasy numbers for their fans and don’t care about winning games. This team continues to gain enormous amounts of offense yards, but fails to put up points on the board when it counts. They turned the ball over 5 times against an average Bills defense and that alone will lose you any game. As bad as the offense was, the defense still is the weakness of this team. They allowed Fred Jackson to have almost 200 total yards and Ryan Fitzpatrick only threw 6 incompletions all game (that’s almost as many interceptions as Vick threw). This is about as ugly as it gets. Despite all the hype surrounding this team before the season started, the Eagles are off to its worst start since Andy Reid’s first season with the team in 1999. If they don’t improve soon, it could be Reid’s last.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY FROM WEEK 4

The Good: The Lions come back… again.

How many times can this team play an awful first half and then win a game in the last seconds of the 4^th quarter? I am once again impressed with the Lions, yet I still cannot be a believer in a team that plays so poorly in the first half of games. There are only so many times a team can bounce back like this. Having watched USC in their glory days be a “second half team,” I know how easily this playing style can come back and bite you hard. Despite my lack of belief in this team, it would take a big meltdown for this team to miss the playoffs.

The Bad: The Ealges blow a 24-3 lead against the 49ers.

Does having Ronnie Brown on your team immediately make you a 7-9 team or worse? What was he thinking on that “pass” that was essentially him handing the ball to the 49ers defenders? How do you lose a game where your quarterback has almost 500 yards of offense? How do you run LeSean McCoy only 9 times in a game in which you were winning big until the last few minutes? Most importantly, how does your highly overpaid defense allow Alex Smith, the same Alex Smith who has been at best mediocre for his entire career, throw for almost 300 yards against you? A lot of questions and very few answers. If it weren’t for possibly the ugliest game in NFL history, the Eagles would have gone from bad to ugly real fast. I am so back on the “Andy Reid is a terrible coach” bandwagon. And boy oh boy does it feel good to be back.

The Ugly: The Jets-Ravens game.

Coming into this matchup, you knew that this would be a defensive struggle. However, the Jets offense accounted for 3 points for the Jets and 3 touchdowns for the Ravens. That is astonishingly bad. However, the Ravens offense was not much better, turning the ball over three times themselves. The Ravens special teams were even worse, fumbling the opening kickoff and allowing barely on a roster Joe McKnight to run 107 yards for a touchdown on a kickoff return. I have never seen a game this ugly before in my entire life and this was by far the ugliest performance of the week. Both these teams have a lot of work to do, but clearly the Jets are the inferior team. 

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY FROM WEEK 3

The Good: The Lions comeback win.

While the Lions looked terrible in the first half of their game against the hapless Vikings, you have to be impressed with the way they kept themselves in the game despite being down 20-0 at half. They did not give up on themselves and they fought back as a team. It doesn’t hurt that, when healthy, Calvin Johnson might be the best receiver in the NFL. I have not been a believer in this team, but this game is making me rethink my opinion of them. They are turning their talent on paper into success on the field, which has been their problem the last few years. I hope this team stays healthy because they are really fun to watch. Can you believe the Lions are one of three undefeated team, a list which includes the Bills? What has the NFL come to?

The Bad: The Jets’ run defense.

Remember when the Jets were the ground and pound team that lead the NFL in rushing? Me neither. The Jets barely made it to 100 yards rushing, while the Raiders galloped for a whopping 234 yards against the Jets’ usually stout run defense. The Jets defenders seemed to forget basic gap responsibility and they were gashed for huge gain after huge gain in the run game. The Jets need to rebound quickly because they have to stay on the road for the next two weeks against the Ravens and Patriots, and then come home to a Dolphins team that always seems to give them trouble. They have to find a way to win two out of the next three games or they might be sitting on the couch when the playoffs roll around.

The Ugly: Tom Brady’s 4 interceptions.

After going out on a limb last week on my Stubborn Oxen Blog (http://stubbornoxen.blogspot.com/) saying that Tom Brady is the best quarterback to ever play the quarterback position, Brady comes out an delivers one of the worst performances of his career. After throwing four interceptions all of last season, he threw FOUR picks against the Bills this week, who they had not lost to in almost 8 years. To make matters worse, Brady looked dominant in the first half, throwing for three touchdowns and jumping out to a 21-0 lead over the Bills. They got cocky after their big lead and it cost them this game. It was not just Brady who lost them that game, especially considering how poorly their defense continues to play, but Brady, for possibly the first time in his career, was the main reason his team lost. 

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY FROM WEEK 2

The Good: Tony Romo plays with broken ribs and punctured lungs to win in OT.

What a bounce back performance by Romo after a horrible 4^th quarter in Week 1 against the Jets that cost his team the game. Romo made up for it by coming back into Week 2’s matchup with a punctured lung and broken ribs. He lead his team from behind to make it into overtime and then made the plays to give his team the win without his top two receivers, Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. This is exactly the type of game that he needed to quiet his critics.

The Bad: The Raiders defense giving up 5 touchdown drives in a row to the Bills.

The Raiders have more talent on their team in 2011 than they have had in probably over a decade, which includes their 2003 team that went to the Super Bowl. However, the constant turnover on their coaching staff is still killing this team. They are horribly undisciplined and it is probably going to cost them a shot at the playoffs. Injuries have hurt them as well, but they need to put it all together and play up to their potential on both sides of the ball in one game. If they can do that, they will be a hard team to beat. Until then, they will continue to lose games the same fashion they lost to the Bills. No team had ever in the history of the NFL scored 5 touchdowns in five straight possessions, and they allowed the Bills to do that to them. The Chargers are licking their lips after getting beat by the Raiders twice last season.

The Ugly: The Ravens getting blown out by the mediocre Titans.

How did the Titans win this game with Chris Johnson averaging 2.2 yards a carry? It is completely inexcusable that the Raven only ran Ray Rice 13 times in this game, when Flacco was clearly struggling and he had such a good game last week against the Steelers top run defense. The Ravens need to get better against the pass and they cannot let mediocre quarterbacks throw for over 350 yards on them. Flacco needs to play better on the road or this team is not going to make the playoffs.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY FROM WEEK 1

The Good: Cam Newton throws for 422 yards.

What a performance by Cam Newton in his first start. I am not ready to stamp him as a franchise quarterback, since we all knew the kid has a ton of potential. He will have to prove himself against better competition, but considering everyone was expecting the Cardinals defense to have a field day against him, this was one heck of a performance. The biggest surprise was the Panthers inability to run the football, which makes Newton’s 400 yard passing performance even more impressive. I am not sold on Newton yet, but this provides a lot of hope for a team that had none last season.

The Bad: Just about every teams’ special teams.

Remember when everyone thought the new kickoff rules would limit the number of kickoff returns for touchdowns? That didn’t really pan out this week. Three kickoffs were returned for touchdowns, which was part of a record setting week that saw 8 returns for touchdowns. That doesn’t even include the numerous blocked kicks and punts we saw this week. A lot of special team players are running sprints as we speak as punishment for their horrible performances in week 1.

The Ugly: Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers’ performance.

I do not think Ben Roethlisberger has ever had a worse performance than he did against the Ravens this week. After looking so strong in the preseason, he looked completely lost in this game and seemed to have forgotten how to play the quarterback position all together. You have to give the Ravens defense a lot of credit for an amazing game plan against all of the Steelers weapons, including Rashard Mendenhall who could not find a running lane all night long. This is the worst the Steelers have played in a very long time. 

Stubborn OXen Blog: Welcome to the Stubborn OXen Blog!

Stubborn OXen Blog: Welcome to the Stubborn OXen Blog!: Here is a new blog I am starting with my good friend JT Stallsmith. We have been good friends for years now, despite my love of the Jets and his deep roots as a Boston/Patriots fan, ugh! I will continue to add postings of my own on What I Know About Football, but I will also be doing weekly posts with Stally on our SOB blog. We will be battling back and forth on which teams will be victorious in their weekly matchups, as well as who will win their divisions and take home the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the year. Enjoy!

PLAYERS TO AVOID

Everyone that has played fantasy football has gotten burned by drafting a one year wonder, a veteran player past his prime, or just a player who has gotten way too much hype for not proving they can consistently be relied upon in fantasyland. Here are some guys that you might want to avoid in your draft so that you are not scratching your head in a month wondering why you drafted one of these players so high.

Quarterbacks:

Eli Manning: The Giants offense clearly needed work after last season when Eli Manning threw a league high, and a career high, 25 interceptions. What did the Giants do? They let Steve Smith and Kevin Boss walk in free agency, as well as cut three long time starters on the offensive line. In a division with some scary pass rushers, Eli could be running for his life and throwing picks left and right again. I would not count on him as anything besides a solid backup fantasy quarterback.

Kevin Kolb: There was a lot of talk last season about Kolb being a number 1 fantasy quarterback, but that was with the plethora of weapons in Philly. Larry Fitzgerald is an unbelievable receiver, but he alone cannot make an offense effective, as we saw last year. With the loss starter Steve Breaston, they have even fewer weapons in the passing game than last season. Todd Heap is way past his prime and has a ton of injury concerns. If one of the Cardinals young receivers does not step up and become a legitimate starting receiver, Kolb could be in for a very long season.

Donovan McNabb: I do not think there was a single person more upset that the Vikings let Sidney Rice go in free agency than Donovan McNabb. I still think McNabb has a good amount left in the tank, but without Rice, the Vikings are very thin at receiver. McNabb has wanted a big, fast receiver like Rice his entire career, but he will now have to go another season without one. Percy Harvin is a good receiver, but he works best out of the slot. The Viking have two good tight ends, which will help in the red zone, but McNabb thrives on throwing passes deep downfield and I don’t think they have a player who can stretch the field.

Running Backs:

UNDERVALUED FANTASY PLAYERS

People love putting together their list of sleepers, super sleepers, and breakout players. Let’s make this much simpler. Here are my top players who I believe are undervalued in most drafts. These are guys that you can target later than you may expect, but could end up being big steals that help you win a championship.

Quarterbacks:

Matt Schaub: The Texans’ offense should be one of the top scoring offenses in the league this year. Schaub has an unbelievable amount of weapons at his disposal and still has not reached his full potential. He has just turned 30, which for quarterbacks is the prime of their career, and should improve on his touchdown totals from last season with a healthy Owen Daniels back in the lineup.

Josh Freeman: One of the most underrated fantasy quarterbacks last season, Freeman scored just 11 points less than Drew Brees last season. He was unbelievably consistent and there is no reason he cannot put up similar, or even better, numbers than he did last year with the progression of this very young offense.

Matt Cassel: People have been very low on Cassel, who is coming off of a Pro Bowl year in which he threw a career high 27 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions. He put up those elite numbers with one of the worst receiving corps in all of the NFL and with a rookie tight end. With the additions of Steve Breaston and rookie Jonathan Baldwin, as well as the progression of tight end Tony Moeaki, Cassel should have this offense rolling at full speed. I see the Chiefs throwing the ball more this year and having a more balanced attack after leading the league in rushing last season.

Ryan Fitzpatrick: Despite only starting 13 games last season, Fitzpatrick put up career numbers and seems to have stabilized the quarterback position for the Bills, which has plagued them for over a decade. Fitzpatrick will benefit from being named the starter before the season for the first time in his career. With one of the easier schedules in the NFL, he has the skills to be a borderline number 1 fantasy quarterback or at least a solid backup, despite the loss of Lee Evans.

Running Backs:

BRONCOS SHOULD TRADE TEBOW

After the Broncos failed to trade Kyle Orton to the Dolphins, they have no choice but to start him over Tim Tebow because he is clearly the better quarterback for 2011. I am not saying that Tebow has no chance of becoming a good starting quarterback, although I am very skeptical of that happening, but Orton is the better quarterback right now. Since neither seems to be the future of the franchise, one of them needs to be off the team. A team cannot carry two decent quarterbacks on their roster and not put their full support behind either one of them. This causes way too many controversies in the locker room and makes your starting quarterback jittery, since he will have to look over his should all season long.

I have constantly made a case that Orton is an underrated starting quarterback and should be the Broncos starter in 2011. Orton was on pace to break Dan Marino’s single season passing record before he was injured and then kept on the bench for Tebow to start. He is a smart and accurate quarterback who has never gotten the credit he deserves. He will never be a top 5 quarterback, but he is more than serviceable, which is more than you can say about most starting NFL quarterbacks. Orton’s best attributes are his decision-making and his accuracy, which allows him to get the most out of a young and talented group of receivers. This allows Orton to be at his best and helps the Broncos’ offense run at full speed.

Tebow on the other hand is incredibly inaccurate and inconsistent, which is to be expected from such a young quarterback with almost no experience in a pro style offense. The only qualities that he possesses that Orton lacks are dynamic running abilities and unmatched leadership. However, those don’t make him a great quarterback. His throwing mechanics and accuracy have to improve for him to even be considered a starting quarterback in the league. 

10 Below the Radar Free Agent Signings

Most football fans will hear about the big name free agent signings, but here are some of the free agents who could make a bigger difference on their new teams than their contracts suggest.

Kevin Burnett ILB, Dolphins

Burnett’s development last season into a top end starter at middle linebacker helped the Chargers’ defense become one of the best in the league. He had 95 tackles, 6 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 interceptions. Those numbers would usually mean a trip to the Pro Bowl, but he unfortunately got snubbed for Ray Lewis and Jerod Mayo. Pairing Karlos Dansby with Burnett will create the best pair of interior linebackers in the NFL and should make the Dolphins defense even more dangerous. He is a big upgrade over Channing Crowder. 

Harvey Dahl G, Rams

This is a huge pick up for the Rams, who continue to do everything they can to help the development of Rookie of the Year Sam Bradford. The Rams already had a great line with two great young bookend tackles. Now they have a top 5 guard as well to add to the mix. Dahl will help out in the run game as well as protect Bradford. The Falcons might miss Dahl more than they think, considering they are in one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL.

Ray Edwards DE, Falcons

I almost didn’t put Edwards on here because he was the most coveted pass rusher in this free agent class, but he still does not get as much name recognition as you might expect. He might not be a top end pass rusher but he is the perfect fit in Atlanta. Much like how Edwards was paired with a great pass rusher in Minesota (Jared Allen), Edwards will now be paired with John Abraham, who is getting older yet is still a very dangerous pass rusher.

Jermon Bushrod T, Saints

Bushrod was pursued by a few other teams than the Saints (at least the Bears went hard after him), but he ended up staying with the Saints. As anyone who watches football knows, the Saints pass the ball a ton and they cannot afford to lose such a young and talented player who holds pass rushers at bay.

Steve Breaston WR, Chiefs

Breaston is reunited with his old offense coordinator Todd Haley, now head coach of the Chiefs. The Chiefs are desperate for weapons in the passing game and Breaston will be the most reliable receiver for Matt Cassel, since Dwayne Bowe and first round pick Jonathan Baldwin have a lot of character and work ethic concerns.

STARTING QUARTERBACKS WHO MIGHT SURPRISE YOU

As expected, there have been numerous quarterbacks on the move since free agency started yesterday. Many of the top tier quarterbacks ended up where most people thought they would: Matt Hasselbeck to the Titans, Donovan McNabb to the Vikings, and Kevin Kolb to the Cardinals (the latter two are unofficial but are as good as done deals). However, there are some lower level quarterbacks on the move that could end up starting for their respective teams. Here are some of the more interesting quarterback situations:

Seattle Seahawks

QBs on their roster: Charlie Whitehurst

Who everyone expected them to go after: Kevin Kolb, Matt Leinart

Who will most likely be their starter: Tarvaris Jackson

Everyone thought that the Seahawks would take a run at Kevin Kolb since they were expected to let Matt Hasselbeck leave. However, it is reported that they really didn’t show much interest in him once free agency opened up. They were also tied to Matt Leinart, considering his connection to coach Pete Carroll. They decided to go in a completely different direction and signed Tarvaris Jackson to compete with Charlie Whitehurst, whom they gave up a second round pick to get just a season ago. It does not look like they will go after another quarterback in free agency, except for someone to be their third string quarterback. Maybe they end up going after a guy like Marc Bulger, but it is unlikely at this point.

FANTASY FOOTBALL COMING SOON

Sorry I have been MIA on the blog for such a long time, but I have been extremely busy and I was tired of reading about legal proceedings and trying to find something to say about reports that were entire speculative anyway.

Either way, the lock looks as if it is coming to an end and we can FINALLY get this season rolling. Fantasy Football preparation is going to be even more difficult this year considering there are approximately 500 free agents without a team right now. After the big name free agents sign, I will be bringing you my fantasy advice for the upcoming season, so look forward to it!

MCNABB TO THE SEAHAWKS?

I’m surprised no one is talking about this one yet but it seems like it could be a very good possibility. Donovan McNabb clearly needs a fresh start and its all but set in stone that McNabb will be released before the season starts. I’m not saying this is the right move for the Redskins, who clearly have no real backup plan without McNabb, but it is going to happen nonetheless. If he is released, he will not consider any team that is not a playoff contender and most likely will not ask for a ton of money to be signed.

Despite being a 7-9 team last year, the Seahawks were able to make a playoff run, benefiting from playing in the worst division in the NFL. The Seahawks have already said that their number one priority in free agency is to bring back Matt Hasselbeck, but they have already offered him a contract that he turned down and it does not look like the Seahawks are going to raise that offer significantly. I see Hasselbeck getting a large 2-3 year contract from a different team and the Seahawks not matching the offer. There is also talk of the Seahawks bringing in Matt Leinart and reuniting him with Pete Carroll, who he went an unbelievable 37-2 with at USC. I know Carroll has been all about trying to help jump-start the careers of his old USC players (see Mike Williams and LenDale White), but why would he take a risk on a player like Leinart who has yet to have any success in the NFL when he could take a low cost risk on a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback who is at the end of his career and hungry for another shot at the Super Bowl? 

TOP RUNNING BACKS OF 2011: 10-1

Here's the top 10 running backs that I would want leading my team. Every guy on this list is an incredible talent.

10. Jamaal Charles: Like most NFL fans, especially fantasy football fans, I was extremely confused about the limited amount of carries Charles got last season. I love Thomas Jones, but he is at the end of his career and should not have led the team in carries. Jones averaged 3.7 yards per carry while Charles averaged an unbelievable 6.4 yards per carry. It does not take a math wiz to figure out who should have been starting out of those two. Charles is also a great receiver out of the backfield. He has the potential to be as good as Chris Johnson.

9. Frank Gore: Injuries have really slowed him down, but he is an absolute beast and deserves to be in the top 10. He does not have elite speed, but he is a tough runner and an amazing pass blocker. Every year he is one of the 49ers top receivers on top of tallying up four 1000 yard rushing seasons despite all of his injuries. He has been playing with just awful quarterbacks and has still produced at a very high level.

8. Steven Jackson: Jackson is probably the most underrated running back in the NFL. He is a bigger back, yet catches the ball like a receiver, which is extremely rare. He had one amazing season in 2006, but has not had the supporting cast in St. Louis for him to repeat those numbers. I really hope he has at least another 2-3 years of elite play left in him because Sam Bradford is the quarterback the Rams have been looking for to take pressure off of Jackson. Jackson has been the Rams’ entire offense for years and it will be fun to watch him run with some help on offense.

7. Michael Turner: Turner is one of the biggest starting running backs in the NFL and yet he is still one of the fastest. The guy is almost impossible to bring down and if he gets into the secondary, there are few defensive backs in the league that can even slow him down. Only reason he is not higher on the list is because of his ineffectiveness on passing downs and some injury concerns.

6. Peyton Hillis: There is no way this guy is going to be a one year wonder. He has some problems with fumbling, which is apparently caused by having enormous biceps. That’s a problem that most players would love to have. He started the season as a fullback and ended up on the cover of Madden 2012. That’s a much more impressive story than Michael Vick’s comeback. Unless his injury problems come back, I don’t see him slowing down at all in 2011. He was the only reason the Browns were able to generate any sort of offense last season. He benefits from running behind a great offensive line, but he broke more tackles than anyone else in the NFL last season. On top of that, he had a staggering 61 catches, which was second on the team. He has only showed the tip of his potential and I think he’s going to have an incredible career.

TOP RUNNING BACKS OF 2011: 20-11

NEW FORMAT: Counting down. Hopefully this help builds some suspense for you guys!

20. Pierre Thomas: Thomas is one of the most unappreciated running backs in the NFL. His recent slue of injuries is concerning, but the guy has produced at a very high level every time he has been on the field. He looks like the player that should have been taken second overall, while Reggie Bush looks like the guy who went undrafted (in case you didn’t follow that, the exactly opposite is true).

19. Marshawn Lynch: After pulling off one of the best runs in a playoff game of all time, Lynch has catapulted himself back into the minds of NFL fans and personnel. He has a ton of potential to be an every down back, but he needs to keep focused on playing football in order to get back to playing at the Pro Bowl level (Lynch went to the Pro Bowl in 2008 with the Bills).

18. DeAngelo Williams: Why this guy is ranked in the top 15 on NFL.com makes no sense to me. He has a ton of potential, but he simply cannot stay healthy. He put up crazy numbers at the end of the 2008 season, but he has been inconsistent at best since. Once he and Jonathan Stewart went down with injuries, no name running backs Mike Goodson and Tyrell Sutton playing better than both of them behind a great offensive line. Williams need a new start out of Carolina and maybe he can find some of his old magic and stay healthy.

17. LeGarrette Blount: It is not often to hear this said, but the Bucs would have won about half as many games last season if it were not for this undrafted rookie. The Bucs have been looking for a solid, durable running back since Cadillac Williams first injury years ago. Blount ran for over 1000 yards in just seven starts. He does not have potential on third downs, but he is still a beast between the tackles. He lacks top end speed because of his size, but he has rare quickness and agility that makes him explosive. He runs a lot like Brandon Jacobs in his prime.

16. Cedric Benson: After being a huge disappointment in Chicago, Benson has put together a solid resume. He surprisingly puts up his biggest numbers against the better run defenses in the NFL. He is an underrated pass catcher, but his main skill is pounding the ball up the middle and tiring out defenses. The Bengals HAVE to retain him once free agency begins if they have any hope of Andy Dalton progressing in his rookie season.

TOP RUNNING BACKS OF 2011: 21-30

 Sorry it looks like I’m just copying NFL.com’s articles, but after doing my top quarterbacks of 2011 (http://tinyurl.com/3cdav45), I saw NFL.com’s top running backs in the NFL (http://tinyurl.com/3j26ylq) and I was shocked that both Frank Gore and Peyton Hillis were out of the top ten. Because of this, I simply had to write this up because I could not disagree more with their rankings. Here are my top 30 guys that I would want running the ball for my team in 2011, starting with 21-30.

21. Jonathan Stewart: Like most of the players on the Panthers roster, Stewart had a simply awful 2010 season. After scoring 10 rushing touch downs in each of his first two seasons, he only score 2 and ran for just 770 yards, the lowest of his career. However, he is still only 24 years old and it does not look like the Panthers are going to bring back DeAngelo Williams, so he should be taking over that top spot on the depth chart. With Cam Newton likely starting at quarterback next season, Stewart could be running the ball well over 300 times next season. If he can stay healthy, which is a big if, look for him to prove that he can carry an offense on his back.

22. Jahvid Best: In the first two games of 2010, Best showed the world why the Lions traded up to get him in the first round. However, after just those two games, he showed people why a lot of teams had him as a second round player at best (no pun intended). He has some serious durability concerns because of his small size. If he can avoid injuries, or at least play through some injuries with more success, he can be one of the most explosive running backs in the NFL.

23. Fred Jackson: What Jackson has been able to do for the Bills should not be over looked. He has averaged almost 1000 yards rushing and 40 catches over the last two seasons and made Marshawn Lynch expendable. He did all of this on one of the worst teams in the NFL that has had the worst offensive line in football for at least the last two years. And he has averaged well over 4 yards a carry, which is extremely impressive considering they have had one of the worst passing games in the NFL over that time period. He’s already 30 years old so he won’t be getting any better, but he still has plenty left to offer for at least another year or two.

24. Knowshon Moreno: Moreno’s first two seasons with the Broncos have been a disappointment after being selected 12^th overall in the 2009 draft. However, he has shown flashes of potential. If he can remain healthy, he might be able to solidify himself as the every down back the Broncos thought they were drafting.

25. Mark Ingram: If it were not for the questions about his knee, Ingram would be much higher on this list. I don’t care what people say about his timed speed and all the rest of that, he is an every down back. He did not catch the ball much in college, but he has underrated hands and is great in pass protection. I see Ingram being the difference maker in two or three games next season that help the Saints win their division once again.