NFL RECAP – WEEK THIRTEEN
STATE OF THE GAME
Saturday morning I logged on
to my computer to pay some bills online.
My homepage msn.com was flashing a Bold Bulletin news story that a
Kansas City Chiefs' player had murdered his girlfriend.
I clicked on the article and
read that Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jevon Belcher had shot and killed his
girlfriend Kasandra Perkins in front of Belcher's mother who was staying with
the couple. Belcher and Perkins were the
young parents of a three-month old baby girl.
The news stations flocked to
the Chiefs complex and to Belcher's nearby home. Reporters and commentators raised questions
as to whether the Chiefs should play the game, how the Chiefs should recognize
the victims in pregame ceremonies, whether any football-related injuries may
have contributed to an act of violence that friends and family were unable to
explain. In short, the media focused on
this story in the context of the football world that draws our attention on
fall weekends.
Then Jason Whitlock dared to
write an article to ponder what had occurred in the context of our tolerance
for violence. He stated that our gun
culture ensures that more domestic disputes and petty arguments will lead to
murder. He offered the conclusion that Kasandra and Jevon would both still be alive if Jevon did not
have easy access to a gun.
During the Sunday Night game
telecast Bob Costas took up where Jason Whitlock left off. He focused on the role our "lax" gun laws play
in acts of violence.
Several groups predictably
criticized Whitlock and especially Costas for their comments. First, the "entertainment" faction
scolded Costas for daring to speak about something serious during an
entertainment event. Then the
"don't tread on me" chorus scolded those who feel that maybe
guns and our gun laws do in fact impact the level of violence we experience day
after day.
Intimate acquaintance use a
handgun to murder their female companions hundreds of times a year in the
United States. Most times we don't see
camera crews salivating over these stories because the murderer is not an NFL
linebacker. I am not faulting the
media. I am not faulting the people that
want to understand what happened and gather every nugget of news they can on
the matter.
The flip side to intense
coverage of an act of violence is that people will have serious opinions about
the root causes of that act. They will
ask questions that we may not want to hear near our
"entertainment". They may
voice opinions that don't agree with ours.
They may make us uncomfortable enough that we think about our own
opinions.
So I thank Jason Whitlock and
Bob Costas for making us feel uncomfortable.
I applaud the defenders of what Whitlock labeled the "gun culture" for making sure we
get another opinion. What ever your view these are the sad facts: People with guns kill
people when they get into arguments.
Often times the victim is a woman killed by a man she loved. If we make sports so much of our focus, we can't avoid or ignore the times when it draws us into deeper dialogue.
5-10 MUSINGS FROM THE GAMES
What Now?
Colin Kaeprnick looked more
like a mistake-prone version of Alex Smith yesterday than he did the next new
thing in Bay-area quarterbacking. Smith
handed nine points to the Rams with mistakes he made near his end zone. In three and a half games Kaepernick has one great
performance (Bears), one good performance (Saints), one average performance
(Rams I), and one bad performance (Rams II).
The Niners are in a dogfight with the Packers/Bears/Giants to secure the
number two playoff seed in the NFC. I do
think Kaepernick gives the Niners a sleeker offensive capability down the
road. I thought they would take that
road at the start of the 2013 season.
Harbaugh appears to have made this read: He could not win the Super Bowl
with Smith under center. He is willing
to risk potential playoff seeding to get Kaepernick comfortable being the
number one guy come playoff time.
When it Counts
Andrew Luck played poorly at
times yesterday against the Lions. With
five minutes to play the Colts trailed the Lions 33-21 in part because Luck had
tossed three interceptions. Luck threw a
long touchdown to cut the deficit to 33-28.
He then led the Colts 85 yards in just over a minute with no
timeouts. He smartly flicked a short
pass to Donnie Avery on the game's last play as he scrambled to his right from
the Detroit 14-yard line. Avery surged
into the end zone for the winning score.
More Colt magic. Luck, like
another Stanford quarterback (Elway) seems to play his best when it matters the
most.
The Dark Ages
I was not around when teams
first embraced the forward pass to progress the leather toy down the
field. I imagine that the first cavemen
of the pass possessed skills similar to those on display in the Cardinals/Jets
game on Sunday. These stats are true and
this game was played in clear weather in the year 2012:
Lindley - Cards -- 10/31 for
72 Yards 1 interception
Sanchez - Jets --
10/21 for 97 yards and 3 interceptions
I don't think we need to list
any QB ratings to confirm that this was an epic fail of the quarterback
art. Greg McElroy replaced Sanchez and
threw a short touchdown for the only Jets score. There was a line in an "Office"
episode where Daryl says "you can't unsee that" to describe the
lasting impact of a horrific sight. I
think a stadium of fans will never be able to "unsee" this game.
They Played the Game
The Chiefs and the Panthers
played just one day after Chief linebacker Jovan Belcher murdered his
girlfriend and then committed suicide at the Chiefs complex. The Chiefs' coaches and players wanted to
play the game. The pregame included a
moment of silence for the victims of domestic violence. The teams took the field and the NFL went
on. Kansas City prevailed in a tough
contest 27-21. Credit the Chiefs players
and coaches for somehow keeping it together.
I also think the Chiefs players and coaches showed a great deal of poise
and thoughtfulness in responding to questions regarding
the tragedy.
Too Soon??
Last week I indicated that
the four AFC division leaders had virtually locked up their respective
divisions and were now fighting for playoff seeding. On Sunday the Broncos and the Patriots
clinched their divisions. The Ravens
took a step in the opposite direction when they lost at home to the Steelers
23-20. The Ravens now hold just a
two-game edge over both the Steelers and the Bengals. The Ravens have four tough games remaining:
They play in Washington against the Redskins, then have home games against the
Broncos and the Giants, and finish on the road against the Bengals.
The Steelers deserve a ton of
credit for hanging tough and winning a division road game with their third
string quarterback. Charlie Batch
rebounded from a terrible outing in Cleveland last week to lead a fourth
quarter comeback. The Steelers got a big
assist from the Ravens who took a
20-13 lead into the fourth
quarter and then inexplicably seemed to forget that Ray Rice should touch the
ball.
Fantasy Stud - Reality Dud
If you have Carson Palmer on
your fantasy team you are reasonably happy.
He is on pace to throw for 4700 yards and 27-30 touchdowns. If you have Palmer on your flesh and blood
team the prospects are not as good.
Palmer's record as a starting quarterback for the Raiders since coming
to Oakland in midseason 2011 is 7-14. Palmer
tends to put up big numbers in meaningless spots. That is great for the fantasy world. In the real world his inability to make big
plays at crucial times has hurt the Raiders.
The Raiders have cobbled together Super Bowl teams in the past by resurrecting
quarterbacks like Jim Plunkett and Rich Gannon.
The league demands more now from its quarterbacks. Palmer will not get Oakland anywhere near the
promised land.
WEEKLY AWARDS
MVP
There were a handful of
really good clutch performances this week.
Andrew Luck and Charlie Batch rallied their teams to fourth quarter road
wins to keep the AFC wildcard picture tight between the Colts, Steelers and Bengals. My MVP award goes to another
quarterback who led his team to a win on the road. Russell Wilson led the Seahawks on a 97-yard
scoring drive late in the fourth quarter to take a 17-14 lead in Chicago. The Bears tied the game on a late field
goal. Wilson then calmly led the
Seahawks on another long scoring drive to win the game with a touchdown in
overtime.
EL BUSTO
Drew Brees is one of my
favorite players ever but I have to call them as I see them. His poor clock management cost the Saints
points at the end of the first half against the Falcons. Then he turned into a turnover machine in the
second half. The Saints played well
enough on defense to win the game in Atlanta.
The loss sealed the team's fate as a playoffs spectator.
SURPRISE-SURPRISE-SURPRISE
This week's Jim Neighbor's
award goes to Eagles' rookie QB Nick Foles.
Yes, the Eagles dropped their eighth straight game on Sunday in
Dallas. Still, Noles played well. He showed much better pocket presence and
made some good throws downfield under heavy pressure. It makes sense for the Eagles to play Noles
the rest of the year to accelerate his learning curve.
TREASURE OF THE WEEK
Two games in a near photo
finish for the award: I am going to give the nod to Hawks/Bears over
Colts/Lions because the game featured two playoff contending teams scrapping
hard in a playoff-type atmosphere.
Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck are not just young and good, they are
clutch.
TRASH OF THE WEEK
This is a landslide of near
Reagan/Mondale proportions. Cardinals
and Jets out-stink all other candidates by generating a month-long garbage
strike's worth of foulness. If you saw
it, you can't unsee it.
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