NFL RECAP – WEEK ELEVEN
STATE OF THE GAME
This is a purely anecdotal
observation on my part. I think NFL
teams have passed themselves so silly they no longer know how to pick up tough
rushing yards. Third and one now means
bring in the wildcat guys or four guys who normally play lineman to man the
fullback and tight end spots. Or better
yet, why don't we fake a run and do a short toss to the tight end as he clears
the linebackers or to the fullback as he fades out to the hashmarks?
I watch games where teams
pick up third and ten all day, but can't convert on third and two or less. Teams that used to have a running identity
don't trust their ability to pick up "power" yards anymore. All the passing emphasis has bleached the
tough running game from their DNA. Short
yardage has now become the time for gimmick formations and creative play
calling. I dread when a team I am
cheering for gets a first and goal on the five because that means they think
they should try to run, but they don't know how. Which inevitably leads to a roll out or fade
on third down.
There is a price to pay for
all the sexy passing plays. That price
is the loss of the rugged running game.
Do you think the Dolphins with Larry Csonka, the Bears with Walter Payton,
or the Redskins with John Riggins fretted over what to call on third and
one?
5-10 MUSINGS FROM THE GAMES
Bonus Time
The Cowboys/Browns,
Texans/Jaguars, and Panthers/Bucs games were all heading to overtime at about
the same time on Sunday. You look at
these matchups on paper and think "these will not be very compelling
games, I am going for a trail run (or something like that)." That is the
beauty of today's NFL. Dallas and
Cleveland are inadequate enough to meet in a happy place that produces a good
game. The Jags can come to their senses,
bench Blaine Gabbert, start Chad Henne and play a wildly entertaining scoring
fest against the Texans. The Bucs and
the Panthers are headed in opposite directions but passed along the way to
contest a spirited division game. Three
paper clunkers turned into field gems.
Not So Fast Young Fella
The Patriots brought the
Colts and their QB Andrew Luck down to earth on Sunday. The Colts started fast and moved easily on
the Patriot defense. The Pats turned the
game on two returns for touchdowns in the second quarter. Julian Edelman returned a punt 68 yards to
tie the game at 14. A minute later Aqib
Talib returned an interception 59 yards to give the Patriots the lead for
good. The Patriots can avalanche a team
in a hurry. They buried the Colts before
they could regain their bearings, adding a third return touchdown in the fourth
quarter on an 87-yard interception score.
Final score 59-24. The Patriots
have now virtually locked up their division.
They now battle the Broncos, Ravens, and Texans for seeding during the
season's final six weeks.
Vonsanity
Bronco linebacker Von Miller
is playing out of his head. In week ten
he lived in the Panther backfield and nullified Cam Newton. In week eleven he continued his dominant play
against the Chargers with three sacks and two forced fumbles. He now leads the lead with 13 sacks and is
the games hottest defensive player. The
comparisons to LT and DT are emerging.
Von Miller is becoming that rare defensive player that offensive
coordinators have to address in the game plan.
The End has Begun
Both the Chargers and the
Eagles started the year 3-1. The
skeptics (including me) were quick to point out that the Eagles were winning by
1,1, and 2 points, and that Michael Vick was turning the ball over at a record
clip and taking a ton of hits. The
Chargers first three wins came against Oakland, Tennessee, and Kansas
City. Wait until they play somebody.
The Eagles are 0-6 in their
last six games and the Chargers 1-5.
Worst still, both teams seem to have an abundance of feckless talent
that has no hope to congeal into a respectable unit. The clock is counting down on Coach Reid in
Philadelphia and Coach Turner in San Diego.
I Take that Back
Von Miller does not lead the
NFL in sacks anymore. Aldon Smith of the
Niners hung four sacks on the Bears Jason Campbell to take over the league lead
with 14.5 sacks. The Niners overwhelmed
the Bears in a pairing of division leaders (The Bears are now former division
leaders). At one point in my warp speed
viewing of the game I saw a stat that The Niners had outgained the Bears 303 to
31. Talk about breaking out a can of
whip a.....I wonder how Michael Wilbon will spin this one?
Colin Kaupernick played
masterfully in place of an injured Alex Smith.
He just looks like Alex Smith 2.0.
Bigger, sleeker, better throws, better runner. I know the backup QB is always a popular guy
-- but I predicted earlier this year that Kaupernick will be the Niner starter
some time in the near future (2013).
Come on, don't you all agree?
The Saints Go Marching On
Last week the Saints ended
Atlanta's undefeated start. This week
they went out west and easily subdued the Raiders. The Saints are now 5-5 after an 0-4 start and
in the thick of the wild card hunt with the 6-4 Hawks, 5-5 Cowboys, 5-5 Bucs,
and 6-4 Vikes. I love all the playoff
scenarios that start to unfold when there are this many teams in the wild card
fray. Let's wait another couple of weeks
and see where we are in this free for all.
I am still not sold on the Saints due to their shortcomings on D. Next five games for Saints: Niners, Falcons, Giants, Cowboys, Bucs. If they make the playoffs they will have
earned it.
No Way!!!!!
I failed to record the first
quarter of Ravens/Steelers -- I picked it up at 10-7 in favor of the
Ravens. The three quarters I sped
watched in just under 15 minutes left me wondering how either of those two
offenses scored a touchdown. They were
that bad, or the defenses were that good.
I think it was more the bad offenses.
So I find out the Ravens got
their TD on a punt return. That
computes. Then I see that the Steelers
got a 31-yard TD run from......Byron Leftwich. Am I being punked? Where is the hidden camera? Glaciers move
faster than Byron. Strange things happen
when the Steelers wear those Three Stooges escape from Alcatraz costumes.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/steelers/2012/11/19/nfl-steelers-leftwich-struggle/1713685/
MVP
Matt Schaub hangs 527 on the
Jags and leads the Texans back against the Jaguars. Whenever somebody throws for 527 yards I will
probably make him my MVP - -just to get that out there.
EL BUSTO
Jason Campbell and the Bears
offense did pretty much nothing against the Niners on Monday night. The Bears had a chance to show they are a
complete team to a National TV audience.
I don't think it would have mattered had Cutler played. The Bears are who we thought they were: A marginal contender that can't count on its
defense to carry it forever.
SURPRISE-SURPRISE-SURPRISE
This week's Jim Neighbor's
award goes to Justin Blackmon of the Jaguars.
He nearly doubled his receiving yards for the season when he gained 236
against the Texans. I guess it was not a
total surprise -- Blaine Gabbert was not under center.
TREASURE OF THE WEEK
Shockingly the Jags played in
a game of the week honoree. The game had
nearly 900 passing yards, a receiver from each team with 200+ receiving yards,
and three scores in an overtime period.
The teams made a little history and earned the best game plaque.
TRASH OF THE WEEK
Hmmm. For the second week in a row the Bears played
a quality opponent and didn't deliver.
Not only did they not deliver, the Niners steamrolled them something
awful. The Niners were great in one of
the most lopsided games of the year. I
have watched enough Bears to know I don't want to see them again anytime
soon. Boring. Sorry Niners, but this is payback for the
week you guys stunk it up in a marquee matchup with the Giants. Double bag this win as it really smells of
dying Bear.
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