Week 14 NFL recap

Oops. Time has slipped me by once again, so I'd better get cracking with this weeks recap. Cleveland Browns 6 @ Buffalo Bills 13: Not quite the classic I was anticipating. At least the Browns have figured something put though; Jake Delhomme is a bad quarterback. Now no offense to the Browns staff, but I kind of could have told you that a few months ago. Delhomme was 12/20 for 86 yards and a pick. Ryan Fitzpatrick however continues to induce nods of approval from Bills fans, though there is still some way to go before we see whoops of joy. 14/23 for 142 yards and a TD, with a passer rating of 93. That's not bad as far as the recent history of Buffalo quarterbacks goes. The ground game was the big surprise for Buffalo. Fred Jackson had 29 carries for 112 yards as the Bills discovered a run game that they never really knew existed. On the contrary the Browns rushing attack disappeared in the second half. Peyton Hillis finished the game with 21 carries for 108 yards, but 12 of those carries and 75 of the yards came before the break. On defense, LB Chris Gocong had another good game for the Browns (have I mentioned that he's up for free agency at the end of the season?) recording 10 combined tackles, a 10-yard sack and a forced fumble. LB Marcus Benard also did well, recording a sack, 2 tackles for a loss, a pass defended and another QB hit. For the Bills the standout is Jarius Byrd with 8 combined tackles and 2 forced fumbles. Atlanta Falcons 31 @ Carolina Panthers 10: Man. What a butt kicking. Matt Ryan and co. cruised largely, taking a 17 point lead before the half. Ryan finished 20/34 for 227 yards a TD and an INT, but the real star of the show was Michael Turner who carried the ball 28 times for 112 yards and 3 TD's. The Panthers didn't produce quite as well. Rookie QB Jimmy Clausen was sent out into battle again and took 5 sacks on the way to finishing 14/24 for 107 yards and an INT. On the ground the Panthers did a little better, with Jonathan Stewart taking 18 carries for 133 yards and Mike Goodson took 9 carries for 70 yards and a TD. But the Panthers struggles on third down didn't help (3/13, 23%). LB Mike Peterson put in some work for the Falcons D, with an interception, a forced fumble and a tackle for a loss. Defensive Ends Kroy Biermann and John Abraham ruled the roost though, both notching two sacks each. The Panthers D had a number of good performances, but then they had plenty of opportunities given how much time the Falcons spent with the ball. LB Jon Beason lead the team with 8 tackles, including two for a loss and 2 passes defended. DE Charles Johnson had a sack and two further QB hits, while DE Everette Brown picked up 1.5 sacks. Now despite the win, what will worry the Falcons moving forward and with the playoffs looming is the nine shots that Matt Ryan took in the game. They need to do a much better job of protecting their main man. Green Bay Packers 3 @ Detroit Lions 7: 7/11 for 46 yards and an INT. That's all Aaron Rodgers managed before his head struck the turf and a concussion took him out of the game. His replacement, Matt Flynn, went 15/25 for 177 yards and an INT. This, and a lack of anything resembling a rushing attack helps explain what happened (though not how Donald Driver caught just 2 of the 9 passes targeted at him). The Lions pounced (chortle, chortle) with Drew Stanton completing a whole 10 of 22 passes for 117 yards, a TD and 2 INT's (Calvin Johnson fared no better than Driver, catching just one of the eight passes thrown his way). Meanwhile 41 combined Lions rushes produced 190 yards in a largely forgettable offensive game. The defense for the Lions made the difference. They combined for 4 sacks, including two by Turk McBride, and another 8 QB hits and 6 tackles for loss. Combined with the 2 INT's it was enough to put away the Packers and leave Green Bay's playoff hopes hanging by a rather loose thread of late. Oakland Raiders 31 @ Jacksonville Jaguars 38: This game was witness to a cracking example of the new ridiculous rules covering QB "safety". The Jaguars thought they were on to a winner (well, they did in the end) when they got a hit on Jason Campbell, forcing a fumble which was recovered and returned for a TD. But no, no. There was laundry on the field because in the process of making the tackle the Jaguar defenders helmet just happened to bump the bottom of Campbells helmet. Cue a 15-yard penalty and an automatic Raiders first down for "unnecessary roughness". Are you kidding me? Just think about the term for a second; unnecessary roughness. That to me invokes images of a violent hit that was delivered completely inappropriately. This was nothing. It was incidental contact at best between two helmets. The question I subsequently ask is this; is the NFL trying to alienate its fans? Is that the goal in this contract negotiating year? Maybe the league is hoping viewers will turn off in droves so they can use it as a bargaining chip against the NFLPA? I can't imagine such extreme measures are seriously the cause, but what other explanations can we come up with? It just makes no sense to ruin football in this manner. The uproar has been mighty. Everywhere you go on radio shows, TV shows and Internet message boards the call of thousands of fan voices decrying the leagues pussification of football is growing ever louder. I only hope the owners start listening soon and realise that not only is Rodger Goodell the primary problem, but he also makes a rather handy scapegoat. What? Oh yeah, the game. Jason Campbell was 21/30 for 324 yards and 2 TD's. Raiders RB Darren McFadden had another great game, carrying 16 times for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. Shame then that the Jaguars were just better on the day. David Garrard may have only completed 11/22 for 159 yards with 1 INT, but he also threw 3 touchdowns. Tack on another 109 yards and a TD off of just 5 carries for Rashad Jennings (remember who's been touting Jennings for a while now) and then another 101 yards and a TD off 23 carries for Maurice Jones-Drew. Not that Garrard did it without taking a few licks, as the Raiders D put together 2 sacks and 10 QB hits. A half sack and 2 quarterback hits were attributed to Kamerion Wimbley, but what the more mainstream stats don't show is that LaMarr Houston also put up 3 of those QB hits. Obviously sacks are more desirable, but hits are good none the less. Jaguars FS Don Carey gets my defensive game ball though with 6 combined tackles, a tackle for loss, a QB hit, a pass defended and an interception. Well done lad. Cincinnati Bengals 7 @ Pittsburgh Steelers 23: Normally the Bengals just pick a half and decide to pile all their points into that one half, deciding not to show up for the rest of the game. This time the Bengals made a game of it for one drive, then just gave up the pretence all together. Carson Palmer was 20/32 for 178 yards, a TD and 3 INT's, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Ben Roethlisberger was 21/33 for 258 yards, but the Steelers didn't score a single offensive touchdown. There was no need. Their defense and Palmers carelessness with the football did all the work. As well as the three picks the Steelers D combined for 3 sacks, 4 tackles for loss, 5 QB hits and 7 passes defended. The Bengals D hit back, but their offense did them no favours. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17 @ Washington Redskins 16: How often do you see a game lost because of a muffed extra point? With the Redskins on the loose, anything is possible. The scary thing is, RB Ryan Torain was having a field day, carrying 24 times for 172 yards. But 18 of those carries and 158 yards came in the first half. So my question to Mike Shanahan and his coaches is; what the hell happened? Did Ryan Torain come out drunk for the second half? Did Mike Shanahan? Stupid coaching decisions aside, the Redskins did ok. The trouble in the NFL however is that ok often isn't enough. Ok can have a habit of coming back to bite you in the butt. As indeed happened with the Redskins as they worked so hard to get that final score only to fumble away the chance to take the Buc's to overtime. Redskins owner Dan Snyder isn't exactly the forgiving type and he can't be happy knowing that his investment in a top coaching name along with QB Donovan McNabb has resulted in his team looking a lot worse on the field than it did last year. St. Louis Rams 13 @ New Orleans Saints 31: Sam Bradford tried, but 2 interceptions (one returned for a TD) didn't help. The Saints were just too good. Drew Brees finished the game with 25/40 for 221 yards, 3 TD's and 2 INT's. For Brees that's somewhat pedestrian, but big shots down the field exposed the Rams secondary and led the Saints to 10-3. The Saints defense played a big part in the win also. With their own offense going 11/16 (68%) on third down, the Saints held the Rams to just 1/11 (9%) and a red zone efficiency of just 1/4 (25%). Add 3 sacks, 6 tackles for a loss and 8 QB hits and you get the picture. The NFC South is looking very strong this year, which is some how inherently wrong, like Jeff Fishers moustache and Rodger Goodells toupee. Seattle Seahawks 21 @ San Francisco 49ers 40: Hell yeah! This is more like it. And the sad thing is that the 49ers 5-8 record still leaves them in the hunt for a playoff spot! Much of the credit has to go to Alex Smith who was reinstated to the starting line up and finished 17/27 for 255 yards and 3 TD's. One of the prime benefactors of Smith's return was RB Brian Westbrook who caught 6 passes for 87 yards and a TD. But it wouldn't be a football game in the 2010 season if there wasn't a questionable call. On the same play that Westbrook picked up his TD, Alex Smith was lightly tapped by oncoming Seahawks defenders. He didn't even fall over. This however was deemed sufficient to draw a flag for roughing the passer. That's just pathetic. The only reason it's not being talked about more is because the pass was completed. Had the ball missed or been picked off, it would have had Seahawks fans seething (though they probably already were, given the result of the play). So the question now becomes is Alex Smith the answer again in San Francisco? Well, I'm not really sure. What I do know is that it's very media-esque to bash Alex Smith mercilessly. But the fact is that under his command the 49ers have lost a number of games only by small margins. They nearly beat the Falcons (the 11-2 Falcons by the way). If it wasn't for a stupid fumble after an interception, San Francisco would have beaten what is now the leading team in the NFC. The fact is, Alex Smith can be a good quarterback. He played in a spread offense in college and thus finds himself more at home in the Shotgun and with the field spread out by a 3 or 4 receiver set. Under these conditions, Alex Smith plays ok. I'm not saying he's Peyton Manning. I'm not saying he's Tom Brady. But he is good. Given an offense that adjusts to match his strengths, Alex Smith can lead this offense. Just about. Of course it does help when the opposition quarterback (Matt Hasselbeck) throws four interceptions.... Denver Broncos 13 @ Arizona Cardinals 43: Two players dominated proceedings in Arizona; RB Tim Hightower and Kicker Jay Feely. Yes, Jay Feely dominated a game. 5/6 on Field goals and another rushed in for a TD on a trick play. That's 15 points from the field goals, plus another 4 from extra points and then 6 from the touchdown to make a grand total of 25 points. 25! Like I said though, Hightower also put in some work, carrying the ball 18 times for 148 yards and 2 TD's. Just as well really considering that rookie QB John Skelton completed just 15/37 for 146 yards. The only danger to Arizona was the Denver offense getting its butt back into gear after last week. Kyle Orton; 19/41 for 166 yards and 3 INT's. That didn't work then. We can't blame the Broncos offense entirely though. Some credit has to go to the Cardinals D, as odd as that may sound given how bad their season has been so far. Safety Adrian Wilson found some of his old form to generate 11 tackles, 2 QB hits and a pass defended and LB Daryl Washington (watch list) had 8 combined tackles, an interception and 2 passes defended. New England Patriots 36 @ Chicago Bears 7: Erm, what the hell? Chicago has ridden it's defense to get this far. But against New England their defense just fell apart like a cheap pair of boots in the Vietnam Jungle (?). There were 33 points on the board for the Patriots before half time as they adapted well to the snowy conditions inside Soldier Field. Tom Brady was 27/40 for 369 yards and 2 TD's. Danny Woodhead ran in another. LB Gary Guyton took a fumble to the end zone and the rest of the points were kicked home. The Bears did manage a TD, but Cutler finished the day 12/26 for 152 yards and 2 INT's. The Bears defense? They actually managed 3 sacks and 7 tackles for a loss. But it wasn't enough. The Patriots D collectively defended 7 passes as well as the 2 interceptions, forced 2 fumbles and had 2 sacks. It was too much for the Bears, who crumbled in the face of clearly superior opposition. Miami Dolphins 10 @ New York Jets 6: The only story that seems to have come out of this games involves Jets Strength and Conditioning coach Sal Alosi. Which is lucky for both the Jets and the Dolphins, because it masks their terrible performances. Chad Henne was 5/18 for 55 yards and a TD. Mark Sanchez was 17/44 for 216 yards and an interception. The crowd was bored to tears. Then it all got interesting as Dolphins corner Nolan Carroll raced down the sideline on a punt coverage play (as a gunner) and Sal Alosi stuck out that fateful knee which brought Carroll down and has now earned Alosi a $25,000 fine and a suspension without pay for the rest of the season. Much has also been made of the fact that there were five or 6 staff members lined up alongside Alosi. The rumours and speculation are that these men were designed between them to trip Carroll up if Alosi missed. But I have a few problems with that theory. Number 1, it's pure speculation. As a general rule, players and coaches tend to stand on the sideline. Nothing they did (except for Alosi) would suggest that it was some pre-meditated move (many in the main stream press are calling it a "formation"?). Number 2, Carroll shouldn't have been where he was. Now I'm not saying that what Alosi did was excusable. It isn't. It's pretty downright despicable. But people also need to understand that technically speaking, Alosi didn't break any rules. Carroll however did. When leaving the field, whether intentionally or through being pushed, players are required to make an immediate effort to return to the field of play. Carroll clearly didn't. Yes Alosi should have been fired. But accusing the Jets of cheating and planning & using a sideline formation designed to stop coverage players from doing something that is essentially illegal under the rules makes no sense. Enough of that though. Just quickly some more praise for Cameron Wake, as if he needed any more from me. 5 tackles, 2 sack, 2 tackles for a loss, another Qb hit and a forced fumble. Not bad for an afternoons work. Kansas City Chiefs 0 @ San Diego Chargers 31: 7/17 for 40 yards. Someone remind me why in the hell I had faith in Brodie Croyle? Well, I know why. I've seen better from Croyle. Much better. Just not on this Sunday. Philip Rivers on the other hand was back to being the winning Rivers; 18/24 for 226 yards and 2 TD's, 1 INT. Even better for the Chargers was Mike Tolbert returning to form with 16 carries for 66 yards and a TD. Add on rookie RB Ryan Matthews (watch list) who also carried 16 times, but only for 65 yards and a TD (just one out Ryan). Even better than that though was the Chargers defense back to it's best (sort of). Collectively they put up four sacks, 6 tackles for a loss and 6 QB hits. If they keep this up they might even somehow squeeze into the playoffs through the bizzaro world that is the AFC West right now. Philadelphia Eagles 30 @ Dallas Cowboys 27: Michael Vick gets all the plaudits. He was 16/26 for 270 yards, 2 TD's and 2 INT's. He rushed for another 16 yards and a TD off of 8 carries. But two **Sean's are the ones who make it all go. RB LeSean McCoy carried 16 times for 149 yards. WR DeSean Jackson caught just 4 passes... for 210 yards and a TD. And it's DeSean Jacksons TD celebration that got my back up. I understand that when players score they want to celebrate and that's ok. But do you really have to stand on the edge of the end zone and fall into while holding the ball out? For me that crosses the line of celebration and enters the realm of taking the piss. This is the main reason why I thoroughly enjoy seeing DeSean Jackson getting hit. But what also bugged me about it is why did we have to watch 10 or so replays from 6 different angles trying to figure out if he was in the end zone or not. This is what I was talking about the other day when I said that the NFL (or in this case the broadcaster, NBC) is getting too picky and too concerned with whether the hairs on a players beard have broken the plane of the goal line etc. It was an excessive celebration. We could all see that. We don't need to watch it a thousand times over to confirm or refute the decision. Now back to the football and John Kitna. 24/35 for 242 yards, 2 TD's and 2 INT's. Not bad, but not good enough I'm afraid. What bugged me was the continuous use of Felix Jones as the main back when it looked pretty clear that Tashard Choice posed a bigger threat of breaking a big run. But that's just me. New York Giants 21 @ Minnesota Vikings 3: Well, at least we have a pretty good idea now that Tavaris Jackson isn't "the guy" in Minnesota; 15/30 for 118 yards and an INT is almost as bad as Favre's prior outings this season. Actually it's probably worse. But on the bright side for Tavaris, even Adrian Peterson couldn't get it done. 14 carries for 26 yards. Cue then the Giants. Eli Manning; 22/37 for 187 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT's. Not quite what I was expecting. Maybe the rushing attack can save the day for the G-men? Brandon Jacobs; 14 carries, 116 yards, 1 TD. Ahmad Bradshaw; 11 carries, 104 yards, 1 TD. That'll do nicely! But it gets even more intriguing. 4 sacks as a defensive whole. 8 tackles for a loss. 10 QB hits. And then 9 passes defended. I'm almost loathed to say it but, the last time the Giants had that combination of strong front seven play on defense and explosive rushing on offense.... they won the Super Bowl. 2010 maybe? Baltimore Ravens 34 @ Houston Texans 28: The atmosphere inside Reliant stadium must have been awesome. Having watched their team slip away into obscurity, the Texans fans then watched as the Ravens entire team collapsed in truly magic fashion. The decision by the Ravens to throw on 3rd and 2 with barely a few minutes left on the clock would have left Ravens fans stunned and Texans fans elated as the clock stopped. Then came the final scoring drive, followed by a two point conversion that took the game to overtime. And then Matt Schaub pissed it all away. Chasing a big deficit, Schaub finished the game 31/62 for 393 yards, 3 TD's and 2 INT's. Andre Johnson had 140 yards and 2 TD's off 9 catches. Somehow in all of that the Texans managed to find 20 carries for Arian Foster, which he wove into 100 yards. The defense produced five sacks. And they still lost. Joe Flacco was run of the mill in comparison, with 22/33 for 235 yards and 2 TD's. Ray Rice put up leisurely numbers of 19 carries for 54 yards compared to his opposite number. The Ravens D had just two sacks. The Ravens offense managed only 19 first downs to the Texans 28. Importantly however, the Ravens made it count on the money downs. They were 3/3 in the red zone, compared to the Texans 2/3. On third down the Ravens converted 8/15 for a 53% rating. The Texans; 7/18 (38%). But even then the Texans converted all four of their fourth down attempts. Penalties hampered the Texans, with 8 for 51 yards, compared to the Ravens meager 3 for 15. The biggest difference was special teams. The Ravens returned 6 kickoff returns for 233 yards (longest; 103) and a TD. The Texans had 2 returns for just 41 yards. And while the various major news outlets around the web bitch, cry and bemoan the Ravens defense (I'm looking at you ProFootballTalk.com), I'm taking a slightly more pragmatic view. The Ravens won because ultimately they played better all around football. For all the sharp criticism focused on their defense, it was in fact the Ravens D that won the game with an overtime interception. They've found yet another way to win. Now this is obviously very premature, but this is what championship winning teams do. They find ways, any old way, to win. The Saints did it last year. The Jets reached the AFC Championship game on this approach. The Falcons have been doing it all season on their way to the best record in the NFC (so far). I'm just saying. Right, after much typing and distractions (I started this article 8 hours ago) we've come to the end of the week 14 round up. Apology's that it took so long. Pick wise I finished the week 10-6, which now takes my season tally to 104-88. Getting better by the week. I'll be back tomorrow with pick for Thursdays game as week 15 swings around upon us already. Till then, Have a great day everyone.

Monday Night Football round up

Monday night has been and gone, kind of, so it's time to recap the Monday night game and check my last pick of Week 14: Cardinals 9 @ 49ers 24 -- Well I'll be damned. You have to love the Arizona Cardinals. One week they basically dominate the Vikings, shutting down Adrian Peterson on the ground and making life a nightmare for QB Brett Favre. Then they come back next week and let Frank Gore tear them apart while Alex Smith picks some holes through the air! For weeks I've been bemoaning the need for Gore to get more action. Well, the call has been answered my friends! 25 carries for 167 yards and a TD is just what the doctor ordered. Tack on 144 yards through the air plus 2 more TD's and we have us a ball game. Of course, the real victors here are the 49ers defense. 2 interceptions and 6 forced fumbles (5 recovered by the 49ers) is quite the tally. Patrick Willis especially stood up to be counted by his team, leading the unit confidently with 9 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. If the 49ers can keep this up they still have an outside shot at making the playoffs (probably through a wildcard). It's unlikely, but not impossible. The question is can they keep this up each week, especially with Philadelphia next on the schedule (!!). As for the Cards, they can probably recover from this and go on to take the division, but Head Coach Ken Wisenhunt must be mad as hell!!! So with that pick gone, it leaves me 11-5 for the week, which I think is my best so far. There were some fundamentally stupid picks this week (Seahawks, Broncos) but you can't argue. If they'd gone right I wouldn't be bitching so hey, ho, and away we go. That now leaves me 78-41 since starting in Week 7. That leaves me with a win percentage of just over 65%. Ok, but must try harder I think. Need to make less stupid picks.

Week 14 round up

All the action from Sunday is done, which means it's time for a recap of the days games: Saints 26 @ Falcons 23 -- A friend of mine (yeah, I have some) recently called me out on the fact that I don't believe the Saints are the best team in the league. This result goes a long way to showing why. In their last two games the "Best team in the NFL" has ridden it's luck almost to the point of exhaustion. And to beat who? The Vikings, the Cardinals, the Colts, the Packers? Nope, the Redskins and the Falcons, who are essentially among the bottom feeders this year. Last week the Redskins went out of their way to give the Saints as many second chances as possible, including a missed chip shot field goal that would have won the game in the dying seconds. This week they got the luckiest of lucky pass interference calls. What should have been an interception on a 3rd and 10 instead became a near enough 30 yard gain which set up a score for Reggie Bush. Then later in the game Darren Sharper, the "Best safety and/or ball hawk in the league right now" got absolutely toasted ("victimised" to use a commentators turn of phrase) for an easy TD. I'm happy that I got the pick, but I'm gutted a little about the way it's happened and that the Saints will still be hauling in the plaudits tomorrow morning. Lions 3 @ Ravens 48 -- I'm a huge fan of running the football. It takes a certain degree of determination and physicality to pull it off, but when you do, it can be just as explosive as any passing attack. Run the ball, play great defense. That's the motto. That's Ravens football. And the Ravens made a point of that today. Ok, so it was against the Lions, but who else has trashed Detroit by 45 points this season? On 40 rushing plays they generated 308 yards of offense and 5 touchdowns. If you exclude receivers and QBs, 4 different Ravens had carries which helps take some of the load off Ray Rice. And all this largely dictates the type of looks you're gonna get from the defense and subsequently makes life so much easier for Joe Flacco. He completed just 13 of 20 passes, but notched 230 yards, a TD, and crucially no picks. All this helps to keep the Ravens D off the field where they can rest and talk with the coaches, which is bad news for a Lions team missing Matthew Stafford. His replacement Daunte Culpepper completed less than half of his 34 passes and threw 2 INTs as well. This Ravens team has an outside shot at a wildcard place and if they get it, and continue to play like this, they will go far. Packers 21 @ Bears 14 -- The Packers just keep on rolling. They threw, they ran and they picked the ball off. It's the big 'M' word. Momentum. That's what the Packers are taking with them as they make a late run for the postseason. The Bears on the other hand combined for just 17 total rushes and Cutler handily turned the ball over twice. They just look poor right now. Worse, they look like Seattle...... Seahawks 7 @ Texans 34 -- ....... And speak of the devil. My upset pick for the 'Hawks was based on the premise that lately they've been very keen to develop a ground game to make themselves less predictable. Oops! The Texans ran it more, and better, as well as passing for 365 yards and 2 TD's. Of course it helps when you have a guy like Matt Schaub throwing to a guy like Andre Johnson, who turned 11 receptions into 193 yards and 2 TDs. The Texans are a good team, they just don't always play like it. Broncos 16 @ Colts 28 -- I'm a big believer in playing to your relative strengths and getting the ball to your play makers. 21 receptions for Brandon Marshall may be taking that idea a little literally though. But that was far from the Broncos biggest problem. Two thinks you need to understand. 1) In the redzone, you need to score. You need 100% efficiency. The Colts were 4/4, the Broncos 2/4. No surprises then that the Colts won. 2) Peyton Manning does not throw 3 interceptions per game on a regular basis. That means that when he does, you have to punish him. The Broncos failed to do that. On a side note, I'm just wondering if the Colts will ever be called this season for running what are supposedly illegal 'pick/rub' plays. I counted at least three, two for touchdowns. Dolphins 14 @ Jaguars 10 -- There is a simple logic to this game. The Dolphins looked at Ricky Williams and said "yeah, you're pretty good. We'll run it and set up some play action". And they did, giving Williams 28 carries for 108 yards and a TD. The Jaguars meanwhile looked at Maurice Jones-Drew and said "We don't have a god damn clue what we're doing, so how about just 18 carries for the day". And they did, giving him 18 carries for 59 yards and a TD. Meanwhile, Rashad Jennings had his mandatory 2 carries slashed in half this week, but he took it on the chin and clocked 10 yards. Chad Henne played his part for Dolphins, and despite throwing a pick and no TDs, managed to put 220 yards on the board to help things along. Bills 16 @ Chiefs 10 -- The Bills passing game sucked and their rush defense was practically non-existent, but never fear Bills fans, luckily Matt Cassel has arrived to save the day! No-one seems to have cottoned on yet that much of Matt Cassels success last year was down to a certain receiving combination by the name of Moss and Welker Ltd. That would explain why he went 26/43 for 224 yards, no touchdowns and a handsome 4 interceptions. Jamaal Charles must have been seething, as his 20 carries for 143 yards and a TD went unnoticed. One day people will wake up and realise that even the worst rushing attack in the league could take the Bills defense for at least 200 yards if given the chance. As it stands, the Bills slip through another game. Bengals 10 @ Vikings 30 -- I love teams that run the football, but it has to be understood that one of the reasons for running the ball so much is to try and get the defense to play with 8 in the box and man coverage on the outside. When that happens, you have to take your shots down field. You have to use play action and try and get big chunks of yardage/scores off of a relatively fewer number of passes. Not 94 yards off 25 passes. The Bengals lacked a down field game whereas the Vikings didn't. That pretty much sums this one up. Panthers 10 @ Patriots 20 -- I give up on the Panthers. I hate them with a passion now. I can't blame Panthers fans who simply refuse to go and watch games. 'Cos I can at least understand the thinking behind why you would throw so much with Jake Delhomme. You're the coach, it's your responsibility to do what you think is best for your team. If that means throwing the ball 40 times a game and hoping Steve Smith will break off a big play or two, then so be it. It's a fatally flawed strategy (Delhomme + 40 throws = muchos interceptions) but at least you believe it's the right one. But when Delhomme isn't playing through injury, how in Gods name can you justify giving the ball to backup Matt Moore and asking him to throw 30 passes? There isn't a way in hell that you could possibly believe that to be a superior strategy to running the ball with Williams and Stewart. Or to put it another way, when you have one of the best running back tandems in the NFL, it's inexplicable that they should combine for less carries than Laurence Maroney. The Panthers deserve to get beaten for this. It's a shame it wasn't by more than just 10 points. I hate the Panthers. Jets 26 @ Buccaneers 3 -- 33 pass attempts, 93 yards, 0 touchdowns, 3 interceptions. That pretty much sums up the Buccaneers day on offense. The Jets took a more grounded approach and it paid dividends today. Rams 7 @ Titans 47 -- Steve Spagnuolo must be wishing he'd stayed with the Giants. His defensive unit played woefully, but not as bad as backup QB Keith Null who managed to turn 43 pass attempts into 1 touchdown and 5 interceptions. On the other side of the ball Vince Young went down injured, so no doubt many Titans fans were looking rather edgy to see Collins enter the game. Luckily for them the Titans limited him to 19 throws which produced a TD and no picks. Johnson had another big day on the ground but probably not enough to keep him on course to break Eric Dickersons record. Redskins 34 @ Raiders 13 -- Gradkowski is hardly the Messiah of Oakland, but at least he's not JaMarcus Russell. So I bet Raiders fans were in shock to see their much maligned, multi millionaire signal caller trot out onto the field for the second half...... only to promptly get sacked 6 times as well as throwing an interception. The truth is that the Redskins D is pretty handy. Helps though when you're playing the Raiders. Quinton Ganther got 14 carries for Washington, notching up 50 yards and 2 TDs, proving yet again that it's the Redskins O-line and not Clinton Portis that's been working so well all this time. Chargers 20 @ Cowboys 17 -- Literally a field goal divided the two teams. Having picked off Philip Rivers the Cowboys had a shot at a field goal from about 42 yards and they miss. That ultimately costs them the game. That, and their inability to finish one drive by stuffing the ball in the endzone despite having 4 shots at it from close range. On the opposite side of the field, Norv Turner consistently built drives and used his two backs as pass protectors to allow Rivers to take deep shots down the field. When it came to the crunch he handed the ball to no.21 LT who did what he does best and stuffed that rock in there. The Chargers look impressive, but bizarrely so do the Cowboys, if they could just iron out some of the wrinkles. Eagles 45 @ Giants 38 -- This game was without question the finest game of football I've ever watched. It was open and dramatic and just simply phenomenal to watch. DeSean Jackson is crazy good. The kid has out of this world talent. Well either that or like Chris Johnson he's just realised that when you only weigh around 170 pounds then no safety in the country has a chance of catching you. And the fact that the Giants secondary was appalling. Leonard Weaver continued to impress for the Eagles as well. Brandon Jacobs continues to make a case for why he should get more carries. And Tom Coughlin will want to know how his team scored 38 points and racked up 512 yards of total offense, yet still managed to lose the game. The stats for certain individuals also don't tell the whole story. Take for example Trent Cole. 4 tackles, 2 assists and a forced fumble. He was everywhere in this game and he made plays at crucial times. His hustle set the tone for his entire team. Then we have Hakeem Nicks. 4 catches, 110 yards and a TD. But honestly, he was bad. He dropped two clangers first then later caught a pass in the endzone... but couldn't keep his feet in bounds, largely due to drifting so wide through poor route technique. Michael Vick only threw two passes and ran the ball 3 times, including a TD, but he always looked a threat and his 32 yard completion was thrown near enough flat. Whoever gets him next year gets a big time weapon. So, there we have it, that's all the games from this week so far. Tomorrow my superstar 49ers (yeah, ok) play host to the Cardinals in that frozen wasteland otherwise known as Candlestick Park. And I'm backing the Cardinals in that one. As for this week, so far I am......... 11-4!!! If it wasn't for the damn Steelers losing to the Browns, the Panthers being idiots as usual (I hate them), and me picking the Seahawks and the Broncos for upsets that were less likely than a JaMarcus Russell league MVP, then I could have swept clean so far!! Hopefully the Cards will carry me to 12 wins tomorrow. And if they don't I win anyway.

Week 14 Thursday night Recap

The dust has settled, the seats are empty and the teams are on their respective ways home, so it must be time for a recap of Thursday Night Football: Steelers 6 @ Browns 13 -- My god. Just, wow. I have to eat some humble pie here. I didn't think the Steelers D was as bad as everyone makes out. But some of the tackling I witnessed would make an 8 year old linebacker sick with embarrassment. It was terrible. Losing to the Browns is not a good sign. But only putting 6 points on the board is even worse. Couple that with losses to the Chiefs and Raiders and there is an argument to be made that the Steelers are the second worst team in the NFL right now, after the Lions. I'm just speechless. As I type this, I'm not thinking anything other than 'holy crap, how did that happen?'. Well, I can make some educated guesses. Take for example the Steelers offense. Their O-line drew a huge amount of criticism last year for not protecting Big Ben. Now some of that has to be put on the shoulders of the QB for constantly scrambling and extending plays past their lifespan. But this week I think both the line and the QB have to shoulder some of the blame for conceding 8 sacks. 8. That contributed a grand total of 60 negative yards. To the Browns..... But it's just another symptom of the Steelers overall. Their line is built for the run. Their defense is built to complement a running game. Their draft strategy has always assumed a heavy dose of the run. And yet here they are, in December, throwing 32 passes. 32. Tack on the 8 sacks and we have 40 pass attempts, out of 62 rushing/passing plays. And just to remind you, this is the Steelers we're talking about right. Rashard Mendenhall got just 16 carries. 'Fast' Willie Parker is fast becoming an unused asset, with just 3 carries. This is chronic. If I was the Steelers GM I'd be pulling Head Coach Mike Tomlin to one side after the game and suggesting that maybe it's time to ask the offensive co-ordinator what the hell he thinks he's doing. Not that Bruce Arians or any other offensive co-ordinator is gonna listen. This is the NFL right! The National Flag League, where only passing matters. Well tuck into your offense Pittsburgh, because it's killing your football team. Shame. So, that's me off to a now typical 0-1 start. Either tomorrow or Saturday I shall put up my picks for the rest of Week 14.