Week 15 recap

Time to look back at the week that was... Week 15. New Orleans Saints 24 @ Baltimore Ravens 30: Would you credit it? All this time that the Ravens offense has spent flapping around ineffectually, week after week, then along come the Saints and suddenly the Ravens have an epiphany. "Wait! What if we feed the ball to Ray Rice! He was pretty good last year!". We'll congratu-f***ing-lations. Now can I have my pick back? Ray stormed the day, scoring two touchdowns (one on the ground, one in the air), leading his team in receiving yards and piling up over 150 yards on the ground off 30+ carries. This was the Ravens of old, the Ravens that went to the playoffs last year. The Saints were not the Saints of last year. Drew Brees ended up throwing nearly 50 times, completing 29 for 3 TD's and an interception. But there was little support from the run game. Last year I observed that the Saints scored a lot of their passing touchdowns on play-action, but at this rate their rushing attack will be barely worth honoring. Of course we've seen with the Colts that even a poor rushing attack isn't always a barrier to good play action. Regardless, after the 49ers/Chargers game, this result squares me up at 1-1 pick wise for the week. Arizona Cardinals 12 @ Carolina Panthers 19: Yep. I told you the Cardinals were that bad. And they were. John Skelton completed just 17/33 for 196 yards. Like a lot of coaching staffs, the Cardinals either simply refused to adapt to the reality of a rookie QB, or simply were just very keen to see how Skelton panned out with an eye to next year. The Panthers took a different approach. With the number one overall pick practically in the bag for 2011, they went back and revisited what has been a winning formula for them in recent years; turn around and hand the ball off to whoever is at running back. Mike Goodson got 10 carries, Jonathan Stewart 27. They didn't score between them, but at least they helped to build drives that ended in field goals. Exciting stuff when Arizona and Carolina meet. 2-1. Cleveland Browns 17 @ Cincinnati Bengals 19: The Bengals won a game! Christmas has come early in Cincinnati. And what an exciting game it was, as you can clearly see by the score. At least one person enjoyed it and that was Cedric Benson, who had 31 carries and 150 yards plus a TD. The sad fact about this game is that the Browns actually scored more touchdowns, with Colt McCoy returning to the lineup and throwing in both. But alas the Browns couldn't match the Bengals for putting together field goal ending drives. Possession and field position favoured Cincinnati. Four sacks on defense helped, including one for rookie Geno Atkins (watch list) and two for rookie Carlos Dunlap. And it dropped me to 2-2 in the picks. Washington Redskins 30 @ Dallas Cowboys 33: It was close for a while. I happen to like Rex Grossman, who can be something of a double edged sword. Sometimes he's very good. Sometimes he's an unmitigated disaster. This week he was a bit of both. 300+ yards and 4 TD's, as well as two 2-point conversions is not to be sniffed at. The two interceptions might generate a mild sniffle though. The Cowboys actually dragged their heels in the touchdown stakes, but again, field goals made up the difference, along with 5 sacks by the defense (including two for DeMarcus Ware). John Kitna did well, putting up 305 yards and 2 touchdowns of his own. The running game probably made the difference though. 27 carries between Felix Jones and Tashard Choice produced over 120 yards and a rushing TD for Choice. Perhaps critically it reduced turnovers in a game that was decided by 3 points. 3-2 Jackonsville Jaguars 24 @ Indianapolis Colts 34: The Jaguars tried to get cute with Peyton Manning. Generally that's not advisable, as the Jaguars have learned. Having watched the film of the Cowboys/Colts game, the Jaguars will have seen the Cowboys using a "Tampa 2" defense (two deep safeties, with the middle linebacker dropping into coverage up the middle to create a cover 3 look) to great effect. The Jaguars tried to emulate this success, but as is all too often in coaching, emulation without the inner understanding can be worse than just sticking with what you otherwise do really well. Manning obligingly ripped it up with 2 touchdowns. What was more surprising was the Colts sudden explosiveness in the run game and their sudden stoutness against the run on defense. Donald Brown busted out two long runs, one ending in a TD. That does tell you a lot about the Colts rushing attack though, as his 12 remaining carries generated about 30 yards. Maurice Jones-Drew on the other hand was held to just 46 yards from 15 carries. David Garrard had almost 300 yards passing, but it produced just 2 TD's and 1 interception. Both teams also had special teams returns for touchdowns, with Mike Thomas's 78 yard punt return scamper being a little more impressive than Tyjuan Hagler's 41-yard pick up of an obvious onside kick. 4-2 and doing well in the picks. Buffalo Bills 17 @ Miami Dolphins 14: Alright Buffalo!!! There's something about being English that compels me unconsciously to support underdogs at any opportunity. Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bills are definitely my favourite underdog right now. Fitzpatrick put up just over 200 yards passing, with 2 touchdowns and an interception. But I still have no idea how the Bills won this. Chad Henne managed to complete 33/45 passes. Thirty three completions. And yet that mustered just 276 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. Talk about struggling to find that killer edge. The Dolphins looked to have taken strides to improve in the off season. But now? Man, there are some issues that need solving and I'm really not sure how the Dolphins go about it. On defense, the 'phins pulled out two sacks, including one for rookie watch lister Koa Misi, but the Bills even trumped them in that respect, producing three sacks, with LB Arthur Moats snagging 1.5 of them. 5-2 Philadelphia Eagles 38 @ New York Giants 31: I have absolutely no sympathy for teams like the Giants. None. With the kind of lead they had, all they had to do was see the game out. That was it. You don't even have to put together scoring drives anymore. You can be much more relaxed with your play calling, both offensively and defensively. You can afford to run the ball much more, driving down the field and using up the clock. And if anyone can run the ball right now, it's the Giants. On defense you can afford to play a little softer in coverage, using the odd zone blitz to get after an opposition offense that badly needs some big plays to get back in it. You have your opponent right where you want them. But somehow, somehow the Giants failed to capitalise on their dominant position. Having started the 4th quarter scoring with a TD, the Giants then proceeded to give up four unanswered touchdowns to the Eagles, including allowing the Eagles to recover an onside kick largely due to a failure to deploy their hands team, then finally getting the ball back only to have to punt.... and punting the ball right to DeSean Jackson who returned it 65 yards for the score as time expired. It was just second half game management ineptitude on a scale probably not seen before in the NFL. It was that bad that we probably wont ever see something like that again. If the now 9-5 Giants miss out on the playoffs and let the now 10-4 Eagles slip by, it could potentially cost Coach Tom Coughlin his job. It cost me a pick. 5-3. Kansas City Chiefs 27 @ St. Louis Rams 13: This is just simply not playing fair! Like most people, I had no idea that Matt Cassel was going to play until close to kick off, which kind of hampers a persons ability to make accurate picks. There is a lot of difference between Cassel and his current understudy Brodie Croyle. That difference was noticeable. Cassel didn't do anything particularly fancy, but then he never does. The great skill that Cassel seems to bring to the Chiefs is just not turning the ball over an excessive amount, with just one pick on Sunday to Sam Bradfords two. That's pretty much all the Chiefs need out of their QB right now. The defense and the running game does the rest. Chiefs RB's Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones combined for 33 carries, 188 yards and 2 TD's (one each). The defense produced three sacks, all by the hands of DE Wallace Gilberry. They also had two interceptions, both going to safety Kendrick Lewis (rookie watch list). Probably the biggest problem for the Rams though was their own quarterback, as Sam Bradford had an unusually off color performance, completing just 21/43 passes, for less than 200 yards and with those two interceptions. This was the Chiefs sticking to a tried and tested game plan. If they keep this up, there is no reason they can't reach the playoffs and make a good run when they get there. Unfortunately that drops me to 5-4 for my picks. Detroit Lions 23 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20: The Lions finally did it. They finally bucked their losing streak away from home. It's been a tough ride for the Lions and the game in Tampa was no exception, as it went right down to overtime after a game that was punctuated by brief spells of action. By some miracle the Lions managed to produce a 100 yard rusher, Maurice Morris (15 carries, 109 yards, 1 TD). The Buc's did too with rookie LaGarrette Blount (15 carries, 110 yards, 1 TD) who battled and fought and pummelled his way through the Lions defense. Trust me, it never gets tiresome watching Blount run. But the most impressive thing in this game has to be Drew Stanton, who was the number 3 guy only weeks ago and who now has lead the Lions to back to back wins. Much of the credit to how well the Lions offense has coped with the loss first of Matthew Stafford, and then his backup Shaun Hill, has to go to the Lions coaching staff. Fingers crossed on behalf of Lions fans that they can keep that up. Except when I pick them to lose of course, as I did this week. 5-5. Houston Texans 17 @ Tennessee Titans 31: No Vince Young? No problem say the Titans. We'll just sit back and let Chris Johnson carry the ball 24 times for 130 yards and a TD. Then we'll get Kerry Collins to throw 14/24 for 237 yards and another 2 touchdowns, against all previous expectations. Meanwhile on the Texans sideline, they responded to a first quarter performance that saw them give up 3 touchdowns by coming back gunning the ball downfield. The result was Matt Schaub throwing 35/54 for 325 yards and 2 touchdowns, 1 interception. That's good, but when you're chasing a big score that's not quite enough. I just don't get the Texans. They always seem to wait until the game is practically beyond their reach before they finally find the right gear and begin playing to their full potential. And they cost me another pick! I hate the Texans. 5-6. Atlanta Falcons 34 @ Seattle Seahawks 18: You can trust Atlanta. Like a good Ford automobile, they're reliable. As indeed are the Seahawks on most week ends. You can rely on them to stink up the field, which they did. With the win, the Falcons are now guaranteed a place in the postseason, which is where their form will really count. And they're on form alright. Matt Ryan may have only found the mark on 20 of his 35 passes, and for just 174 yards, but crucially he had 3 touchdowns to his one interception. Contrast that with the combination of Seattle quarterbacks Matt Hasselbeck and Charlie Whitehurst, who combined for zero passing touchdowns (Whitehurst had one rushing) and two interceptions. The Falcons were simply a class above the Seahawks. If they can keep this up, good things will happen in 2011, including a possible place in the NFC Championship game. They also helped me even out pick wise at this stage. 6-6. Denver Broncos 23 @ Oakland Raiders 39: Tim Tebow (rookie watch list) got his first start and made a pretty good impression, not least when he carried the ball 40 yards for a touchdown, despite several assertions from prominent footballing commentators before the draft that Tebow wouldn't be able to do such a thing given the speed of NFL defenses. Well that theory has been blown out of the water. Tebow finished the game with 8 carries for a team high 78 yards. He threw just 16 passes, completing 8 for 138 yards and another TD. It proved however to be not enough. The Raiders QB Jason Campbell put up 15/26 for 238 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. RB Darren McFadden had 20 carries for 119 yards. Michael Bush had 12 carries for just 24 yards, but also 2 touchdowns, and all this after Jacoby Ford opened the scoring with a 71 yard TD on a reverse. The win keeps alive the Raiders hopes of making the playoffs. For the Broncos it was a good early sign of things that might be in the ensuing years. For me, it was another pick well placed. 7-6. New York Jets 22 @ Pittsburgh Steelers 17: Mark Snachez hardly stunned once more. 19/29 for 170 yards. In all fairness, he did manage to rush home his teams only offensive score. But the Jets still look less than the Super Bowl worthy team that Rex Ryan thought told them they were and that many in the off season (including me) thought they might be. Still, can't turn your nose up at a win over the Steelers. There will of course be claims that without Troy Polamalu the Steelers weren't the same defense. Mainly because without him, they're not. But that doesn't explain why Ben Roethlisberger completed just 23/44 passes, with 1 TD and 1 interception. There is little that Polamalu could have done about that. It also doesn't explain how the Steelers got "home" for a sack just once compared to the Jets 3 sacks. Regardless. The Steelers have bagged a playoff berth thanks to results elsewhere going there way. They still haven't got the AFC North in the bag, but that's a work in progress that they should be able to handle. The Jets are still in the hunt themselves, looking predominantly for the chance to steal a wild card spot. They have the players, it's just a case of finally gelling this team into a solid and consistent unit. Based on the way they've played recently, that might take some doing. 7-7. Green Bay Packers 27 @ New England Patriots 31: Hands up who thought the game would be this close? Now put your hands down you liars. I don't think anyone presumed for a second that Matt Flynn would do as well as he did, reeling in the Patriots time and again. 24/37 for 251 yards, 3 TD's and 1 INT is not a bad days work for an understudy like Flynn, even if it was against the Patriots slightly flimsy defense. But Packers FB and so-so Carson Palmer look-a-like John Kuhn was the running highlight of the game for me, despite his low numbers (6 carries and 3 receptions). Barreling through tackles and jumping over defenders he set the tone for the Packers offense that was mirrored by RB Brandon Jackson. It's just a shame then that Kuhn's antics were overshadowed by probably the most hilarious thing ever to be seen on a football field; Patriots offensive guard Dan Connolly getting his hands on a short kickoff and returning it 71 yards, including a stiff arm and a nice cut back along the way. Connolly started off looking so out of place it was unreal, then suddenly channelled his inner Walter Payton to set up a short field for the Patriots offense. An offense that didn't really seem all that threatening, but still managed to score 3 touchdowns. Tom Brady was just 15/24 for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns (both to TE Aaron Hernandez (rookie watch list)). Part of the reason for their struggles was Packers DT B.J.Raji, who had two sacks and was a menace all night, much like his Patriots counterpart Vince Wilfork who shrugged off much of the Packers less than stellar blocking to make plays along the defensive line. All in all, the big special teams return plus Kyle Arringtons 36 yard "pick 6" might have been the only things that really saved the Patriots from what could have been a frustrating and slightly embarrassing loss. It also saved my pick. 8-7. Chicago Bears 40 @ Minnesota Vikings 14: Brett Favre; 5/7, 63 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception and potentially one career ending bash on the noggin, courtesy of the cold, hard field at TCF Bank Stadium, the Vikings current home away from home. It's almost certainly the end for Favre this year, and possibly forever (finally, for real this time). Having hit the turf, Favre didn't move for a good while. If there was a light on still, then there was most certainly nobody home. That should be enough for him to say goodbye, so long, and farewell. I doubt his wife will use such kind or restrained words though after seeing her husband lay motionless for a lot longer than most healthy human beings should. His replacement, Joe Webb, did as well as could be expected for a rookie who probably can't remember the last time he took a snap with the first team, if indeed he ever has. 15/26 for 129 yards and 2 INT's isn't great, but it's not the end of the world. He also carried the ball 6 times, including a 13 yard TD run that saw him dive for the pylon. At this point however we need to stop and take stock. We need to refocus. Because for all the drama surrounding the offense in Minnesota, it really is the defense that has to shoulder a substantial amount of the blame. Where are the sacks form last year? Where is the tight defensive unit that helped accompany the offense to the NFC Championship game? It's just disappeared, vanished into thin air. Jared Allen has been a non-factor this year. Ray Edwards is up for free agency in 2011, and he seems to be the only person playing like he's giving it his all. Let's put it this way. They gave up 40 points to the Bears. Ok so seven of those came on a punt return, but that still leaves 33 others to account for. And even though many of the points were booted through the uprights by Robbie Gould (4/4 on field goals), that doesn't excuse the fact that the Vikings defense gave up the yards to make those kicks a reality (the longest kick was just 34 yards). In the end Jay Cutler had quite an easy day. 14/24 for 194 yards, 3 touchdowns and just the one interception. RB Matt Forte had 17 carries for 92 yards. Devin Hester had a good day as well in the return game, returning a punt for a 64 yard touchdown and taking back a kickoff for 79 yards to leave a short field. All of the above means that the 2010 Bears have done the unthinkable; they've clinched the NFC North. Only God knows how they did it. But at least they kept me above even in my picks. 9-7. So after a hectic week, congratulations are in order to those teams that have already booked their place in the post season. Good luck to you. As for me, my Week 15 picks left me a disappointing 9-7. I was hoping to do much better. For the season that puts me at an equally disappointing 113-95. But what concerns me a bit more is the way I'm doing recaps. I just remember last year that I seemed to spend less time doing the recap, which allowed me to get them done in a more timely manner. I also feel that I spend more time this year just regurgitating numbers at people than last year, when I preferred to delve a little deeper into what was happening on the field. Hopefully I can buck this trend fairly shortly. Might need a rethink, me thinks. Anyway, until next time, Have a great day everyone.

Week 15 round up

With Monday Nights game wrapped up, it's time to see how I got on pick wise with my Week 15 round up. So far I'm 1-1 this week: Patriots 17 @ Bills 10 -- Two words. Pass. Interference. I consider myself quite a grouchy, cynical person. And I've noticed that better teams certainly do get the rub of the green. The Colts basically live off a large number of 'pick' or 'rub' plays, which are supposed to be illegal. And anytime the Pats need a helping hand it seems all they have to do is throw a bomb to Moss and watch the little yellow flags fly. It's a joke and both of those big calls resulted in touchdowns. 2-1. Browns 41 @ Chiefs 34 -- Wow. Having laughed at this fixture for it's seemingly poor quality, it turned out to be quite the game. Special teams certainly made their mark as Josh Cribbs set a new NFL single season record for kick returns for TDs. But it was Jerome Harrison, in his 4th season now, who really stole the show. 34 carries for 286 yards and 3 TDs. I keep saying it to people but no one seems to listen. That production from Harrison is equal to what many of the best QBs in the league produce passing when they get 34 throws. And it's a whole lot more productive than what the worst QBs in the league get out of 34 throws. Credit to Brady Quinn though. He only got 17 attempts but still managed to complete just 10 of them and throw 2 picks. On a more positive note he did turn 4 scrambles into 39 yards. Maybe he just missed his calling. 2-2. Falcons 10 @ Jets 7 -- And from one exciting game to..... an abomination of the footballing kind. And to top matters, the 'Sanchise' was back from injury. Which meant the Jets rushing attack that has been trying to sustain this team all year long was once again dumped on. And predictably in the cold weather Sanchez completes just 18/32 and throws 3 picks. But worse was to come for the New Yorkers, as they botched no less than three field goal attempts well within range. One muffed hold, one wide right and one botched snap that led to a block. Then to cap a great game for the Jets, on 4th and goal for the Falcons with time ticking away, they let Tony Gonzalez practically walk into the endzone and sit down for the game winnning catch. 2-3. Texans 16 @ Rams 13 -- Not a lot to say about this one except that Matt Schaub to Andre Johnson has to be one of the most fun combinations to watch in the NFL, as Johnson went 9 for 196 yards. Maybe next year Houston.... 3-3. Dolphins 24 @ Titans 27 -- Somethings been driving me nuts about Miami for ages now. They've lived a lot on the strength of the 'Wildcat' this season. But as soon as Ronnie Brown went down injured, they just tossed it aside. Even though they've already shown themselves that with Pat White in the backfield they gain another two dimensions (legitimate throwing and option football). Ah well, they only have themselves to blame. The Titans were good but on 29 carries Johnson was held to just 104 yards. Vince Young got the offense going through the air but somehow the 'Phins rallied to take it to overtime. Then threw a pick. Stupid. 3-4. Cardinals 31 @ Lions 24 -- The Cards nearly got the shock of their life against the Lions. Only some hard running by Chris 'Beanie' Wells and a tough catch and run by one of my favourite players, Anquan Boldin, got it done for Arizona. Having seen how effective his team was on the ground, former Steelers coach Ken Wisenhunt looks like he's leaning more on becoming a power football team. I think the Cards chances in the playoffs just went up a notch. 4-4. Raiders 20 @ Broncos 19 -- Prior to having the chance of watching highlights for this game, I read repeated accounts of how great the Raiders were and how they pounded the Broncos into submission in this one. Then I watched the film. The Raiders scraped a win in the last 30 seconds or so. That is not what I call dominating or pounding anyone into submission. That's what I call slipping through the gap in the final seconds. 4-5. Bengals 24 @ Chargers 27 -- There are two things you can't really do against the Chargers. One is make costly mental errors that the Chargers will happily exploit. Two is to keep feeding the ball back to the Chargers and Phillip Rivers. Unfortunately for an emotional Bengals, they did both. Whether it was the pressure of the game or the loss of Chris Henry, the Bengals did not look alert at times and these lapses ultimately cost them. In addition, after weeks of successfully driving the ball hard on the ground, the Bengals picked an inopportune moment to ignore their rushing attack. In a game that was decided by a last minute Chargers drive, some burning of the clock might just have come in handy. 5-5. Bears 7 @ Ravens 31 -- Sometimes there are bigger things going on when a QB throws a lot of interceptions. God only knows what's happening with Jay Cutler. 3 more interceptions this weekend now takes his season tally to 25. That's five more than rookies Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez, and 7 more than even the pick master Jake Delhomme (though granted with more starts). The Bears only touchdown came on a special teams return and their defense just looked shocking. Even 'Air Flacco' was able to muster 4 TDs against them and that's probably the most damning indictment you can have. 6-5. Buccaneers 24 @ Seahawks 7 -- Maybe I should just toss a coin to decide my picks more often. The Buccaneers didn't just win, they stormed the Seahawks. And amazingly, Seattle could learn a thing or two from Tampa. Such as how to defend against the passing game. And understanding that good QBs are best used with a supplementary run game. Derrick Ward and Cadillac Williams hardly set the world alight, but they made solid games that helped keep the offense on track and kept it from becoming predictable. The Seahawks largely discarded a run game that has done them good service lately and instead went airborne 46 times, generating 4 interceptions in the process. Poor. 7-5. 49ers 13 @ Eagles 27 -- Let me just point something out for the sake of those who aren't aware. When the Eagles have more rushing attempts than you, not even yards, just rushing attempts, then I'm afraid you have serious problems my friends. So guess who has serious problems? Yep, my poor 49ers. Poor them and poor play. On a happier note, credit to the biggest playmakers of the day; the Eagles ground staff. Somehow they managed to find the pitch under all of that snow and get the game on. Well done. 8-5. Packers 36 @ Steelers 37 -- Did someone order a shootout? Big time game through the air and the NFL executives have probably all wet themselves just a little at the thought of this (I notice this is the game that has been chosen for NFL Replay on Tuesday and not the higher scoring and just as dramatic Browns @ Chiefs). Ultimately it was a missed field goal in the first half that came back to bite the Packers, along with a string of penalties in the fourth quarter alone. Who says a good kicker isn't worth the investment. There are a few teams in the league right now whose playoff aspirations have been variously hindered by just a few simple missed field goals. 8-6. Vikings 7 @ Panthers 26 -- After checking in on my total pick tally for the day I realised things had not gone well. I was boosted by the thought of the Vikings visiting Carolina. With the Saints losing on Saturday to fellow conference team the Cowboys, the door had been kicked open ready for the Vikings to make a charge on the number 1 seed in the NFC. I expected them to walk right into the Bank of America stadium and then walk out again with another win. Instead they strolled in and just barely crawled out, taking a big L with them. But the biggest surprise I've had is watching, listening to and reading the reactions of, various highly respected football analysts. Because somehow, somewhere, they've all become just a little mentally unstable. Take for example Michael Lombardi of NFL.com, who proudly stated, and I quote "Quarterback Matt Moore looked like a Pro Bowler in only his third start of the season... " Are you F*%$ing kidding me? Is this for real? Moore looked awful. Between them, Steve Smith and Gary Barnidge made Moore look good. They saved him from two, possibly three potential picks and chalked up most of Moores passing tally after the catch. The real heroes of the day were Jonathan Stewart who stepped up after DeAngelo Williams went down injured, and the in particular the Panthers D. They truly did dominate someone, namely Favre. Favre went 17/27 for 224 yards, but that doesn't tell the whole story. His biggest gain of the day was a short pass to Adrian Peterson who then turned up field and notched 63 yards. But that wasn't until the 4th quarter and was followed by Favres only pick of the game on the next play. That's how bad a beatdown the Panthers layed on the Vikings. And as for Peterson in the ground game? 12 carries for 35 yards and a TD. Only 3 of those carries came in the second half. It's the classic "Who cares that we have a great RB, we just want to air it out" mentality coming back again. Unfortunately for the Vikings fans, Favre-aggeddon may just blow up in their face this year. 8-7. Giants 45 @ Redskins 12 -- Signs that your team is in trouble #45: your QB gets more yards on two scrambles than any of your proper RBs. So yeah, the Redskins are in trouble. The Giants meanwhile found a nice balance to their offense which the normally quite stout Redskins couldn't cope with. This is a big win for the Giants. 8-8. I don't believe it, what a shocking week pick wise. 8-8 is by far my worst showing so far and it takes my overall tally since Week 7 to 86-49. Big time blow this week. Next week will need a big lift to recover some picking pride. But before I rush off anywhere, I just want to bring one truly dumb decision to light (and for a change, it's not mine). The Dallas Cowboys have had enough of Nick Folk and have released him. That's understandable. But who do you bring in to replace him? Maybe Jason Elam, he's out there on the free market isn't he? Hasn't he got 2 Superbowl rings? Isn't he tied in 1st place with Tom Dempsey for the longest field goal kick in NFL history? Doesn't he have a career 81% rating at kicking field goals? Yeah he does!!! So who do the Cowboys take? Shaun Suisham. WTF? The same Shaun Suisham who missed a 23-yard chip kick field goal for the Redskins against the Saints, a field goal that would have won them the game and ended the Saints undefeated streak even faster? Yeah, the same Shaun Suisham. Nice work Dallas, slick move. Slick move. No Superbowl dreams for you this season then.

Saturday Night round up

Saturday nights game is done so let's have a round up: Cowboys 24 @ Saints 17 -- You couldn't script it any better. The team that cant win in December, wins in December, against a team that so far this season hasn't been beaten. Well, so much for the undefeated season. And with it goes my pick for the game. But I don't care. I am now looking forward to a week of listening to people coming up with excuses as to why the Saints lost. No doubt the same people who have conveniently overlooked all the little things, the lucky breaks and bad calls, that have helped the Saints to go undefeated in the first place. It's poetic justice at its finest. But excuses aside, there are some very legitimate reasons why the Saints lost. A huge part of the Saints offense relies on play action passes to generate space behind the secondary for all those deep balls. Looking at it, the Cowboys just didn't bite as hard as most teams do. They stayed with the receivers and were rewarded with just 2 minutes left in the first half when Drew Brees under threw a pass to Devery Henderson and Mike Jenkins came up with the pick. Then we have the respective run games. If we exclude QB scrambles, then the Saints tallied just 11 run plays compared to the Cowboys 32. Even though 'Americas Team' notched just 145 net yards on the ground, the key thing is they burnt the clock and kept the explosive Saints offense off the field. That's how you beat the Saints. Though there is one last element needed.... DeMarcus Ware. One of the reasons I took the Saints was because Ware was listed as Questionable. That usually means 'if he plays, he'll be rubbish'. Ware however looked on fine form and bagged himself 2 sacks, both causing fumbles, using his patented 'push and then duck under' rushing technique. OLB Anthony Spencer also helped the cause coming up with 2 sacks of his own. That's 4 in one game, compared to the Saints previous grand total of 15 in all of their previous 13 games. And what a surprise. Who would have thought that sacking the QB of a pass heavy team would help you beat them. But it nearly went off the rails for Dallas.... 2:14 left in the 4th quarter, Dallas leads by 7. They get down close to the Saints end. Then get stopped. There's nothing more they can do. It's a 24 yard chip shot field goal and then hope that the 10 point lead holds up. Onto the field walks much maligned kicker Nick Folk. The snap is good.... ball down.... kick is up and on the way and it is..... NO GOOD!! OFF THE INSIDE OF THE UPRIGHT!!! At this point Cowboys fans probably couldn't believe what they'd just seen, Wade Phillips was probably calling the GM to arrange for someones pink slip to be waiting for them in the dressing room, and Saints fans were sitting in the stands going "That happens all the time for us, how else do you think we're still 13-0?" Luckily for the Cowboys DeMarcus Ware got his second sack and forced fumble of the night on the ensuing Saints drive, allowing Jay Ratliff to dive on the ball and wrap it up for the Cowboys. But we're not quite done yet, there's still one last person left to poke some fun at. Namely Cowboys WR Roy Williams. Williams has made a regular point of telling the media he's Mr #1 in Dallas. The reality is he's a close third or fourth. Austin is #1. Romo is #2. That's that. Austin caught 7 balls for 139 yards and a TD. Witten caught 5 for another 44 yards. Williams caught 1 for 14 yards and dropped a clanger on a potential 3rd conversion. When you look at the Cowboys as a whole, I'd favour Patrick Crayton over Williams 10 times out of 10. So that's that done and that's me 1-1 for this week, though I can't help but smile at tonight's result. It's gonna be a good week I think. Take care all. Miles Austin

Thursday Night Football round up

Before I even get started with this post, I'd just like to say how sorry I was to hear about the passing of Chris Henry. Henry had his troubles along the line, but by all accounts he had made an extra effort this year to get his life and his playing career on track. Team mates have spoken about his dedication in the off season and his strong ongoing work ethic. The results were evident on the field as Henry looked to work his way back into the Bengals first team. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and team mates of Chris Henry. May he rest in peace. And now we come to this weeks Thursday Night Football round up: Colts 35 @ Jaguars 31 -- Questions will be asked of Jaguars Free Safety Reggie Nelson. His coaches and team mates will want to know why he meekly threw himself against the side of Dallas Clark, allowing Clark to stay upright and run home a 27 yard TD pass in the 3rd quarter. Then everyone will want to know what happened on the 65 yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne in the 4th quarter. They'll all want to know why Nelson failed to simply dive and wrap up Wayne well short of the goal line instead of just running up behind him, leaning forward, and then seeming to pat him on the backside before falling over. After his coaches have finished playing tape of him in front of the whole team to make a point about tackling, the FBI will probably want to have a word with Nelson as well, something to do with suspicious betting patterns on a Colts win. Of course that's a slight embellishment (I hope) but honestly, if you haven't seen it yet, then after you've finished here head over to NFL.com and watch the game highlights. For all my talk about running the ball, teams choices of offense etc, etc, I'm a defensive guy at heart. I love watching defenders fly across the field in an attempt to create a kind of human Crash Derby. But that mindset has it's downsides. 1) I go nuts when I see blown coverages. 2) I tear out what little hair I have left from my head when I see appalling tackling. It just astounds me how bad some of the tackling in pro football is. Nelson practically put on a one man "how not to" show tonight. Just shockingly bad. And that, amazingly enough, was pretty much the difference. Manning had another 300 yard/4 TD game, tearing Jacksonville to pieces. David Garrard tried to fight back but completed just 23/40, for 233 yards and 3 TDs. Both QB's threw one pick. Jones-Drew had 27 carries and notched 110 yards plus a rushing TD to go with his receiving TD from earlier in the game. And my little dynamo Rashad Jennings got over double his normal allocation of rushing attempts, a whole 5 this time around, for 23 yards. Now don't get me wrong, I like David Garrard, but he's not a game winning QB in the way that many others are. He's a handy tool, a guy who can keep drives alive. But he's not the bread and butter of the Jaguars and I do wish they'd stop treating him as such. It was also nice to see Chad Simpson get a 93 yard TD return which should hopefully shine some more light on a young player who I think has a big future. But that's enough ranting for now. Saturday night marks the first Saturday game of the season as the Saints welcome the Cowboys, so here's my pick for that one: Cowboys @ Saints -- It's December and that means only one thing as far as the Cowboys are concerned. And that my friends is a big, fat L. The Saints are going for the 16-0 and rightly so. While the Cowboys have the tools to make life difficult for the Saints, I just can't see it happening. They're likely to be without LB DeMarcus Ware for this one and they need all the help they can get to stop the Saints offense. Jay Ratliff might have a good game bringing pressure up the middle and forcing Drew Brees to hold the ball and move around, but don't count on the Cowboys to come up with many big defensive plays. On the opposite side of the turf, the Saints will possibly see the return of CB Tracey Porter and if that happens it will provide a huge boost to their recently lagging secondary. I still don't rate the Saints as the best team in the league, but I do rate them as better than the Cowboys. Much better. Saints win. So that's me done for the day, I'm off to go and play in the snow (who says a 25 year old can't enjoy building a snowman?) but I'll be back again tomorrow to bring you my picks for the rest of week 15. Until then, take care of yourselves.