Wednesday, December 21, 2011

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.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

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 4th 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?

Friday, December 9, 2011

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. 

Friday, December 2, 2011

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.