This was the week of bad weather. If you have Aaron Rodgers or played against the Steelers defense (raises hand for both), I am sorry for your pain. The weather will continue to affect the NFL next week as well, so be prepared. The Bears Vikings game is going to be outdoors, for one.
Checking Down:
-The Colts saved their season, and really played better than the final score shows. They basically let Tennessee score in a controlled fashion at the end to burn clock, and they played pretty well in this game.
-However, that was the most painful backdoor cover EVER.
-Roddy White is in a very inconvenient scoring dry spell. I expect that to change in Seattle.
-Buffalo-Cleveland….let’s move on.
-Green Bay should have won that game even if I was playing QB. That loss might not only cost them the division, but the playoffs. They will probably lose this week too, and might be in trouble. That vital game versus the Bears the last week of the season may not matter as much as we think.
-Mojo was great, but the Colts will win this division after the Jags falter next week….like they always do late in the season.
-Denver is so bad, and while McDaniels can say his coaching wasn’t the problem, his personnel decisions definitively were.
-Arizona is not nearly that good; they just caught an even worse Denver on a bad week. Still, Skelton wasn’t horrid. He should start from here on out to see if they have something in him. Who’s up for offering Kurt Warner 20 million next year? Crazier things have happened. He can easily win the division with the Arizona team in place, and tutor a young QB they draft. C’mon Kurt, Favre is leaving and you can be the old man of the league again.
-Miami shows a lot of heart, and beat a clearly better but not mentally put together Jets team. However, Chad Henne needs to be a back up somewhere yesterday. Miami needs to clear a few positions and start over, but there a team with heart here and I’m not convinced the coach needs to go. Sparano is solid if nothing else.
-KC is severely reliant on Matt Cassel to produce points, and that is okay. Indy and NE are in similar positions. However, the fact that they are not really explosive with him means they look truly terrible without him.
-San Diego is going to run the table and get in, and KC just might not be able to do anything about it. The Chiefs will rise next year into a really powerful team with another WR and growth along the lines.
-Philly, I still like your team and its explosive ability. However, you should not have let Dallas stay that close. Also, injuries are stacking up for the Eagles.
-Tampa, every win you get from here on out I will consider a great accomplishment considering your youth and injuries. Washington, every win you get from here on out I will consider a minor miracle.
-The Saints are rolling along and no one is talking about the defending champs. To me, a New England fan, they petrify me in the playoffs and are the team I would least like to see in the Super Bowl.
-Random Fantasy note: Larry Fitzgerald became the leading Arizona Cardinal receiver of all time recently. He passed Anquan Boldin. I paid close attention for years to the pair and how they interacted. What really fascinates me is that with a litany of QBs that are barely as good as Rex Grossman Fitzgerald has actually had more yards than Boldin this year. How did this happen?
-Giants took care of business this week, like they should. That double running game is working well. I think they will take down the Eagles next week as well, and get a playoff spot. Depending on the NFC North, the winner of the East could get a bye too.
-Maybe Minnesota is better off with Favre. However, that is just an indictment of how bad that team is set up at such an integral position. Do they draft someone young, or go after a McNabb type?
-Baltimore survived. They might even win a first round game, probably getting KC/SD on the road. However, they aren’t going deeper than that. This team doesn’t seem to have the bite needed to stomp on a bad opponent.
-Houston, I know, you are trying. Kubiak needs to go. He’s just too passive and provides no fire. How about Bill Cowher for this team?
-Andre Johnson, you are a beast. He might lead the NFL in receiving yards despite missing 2.5 games.
-Odd stat of the week: Roddy White and Reggie Wayne have well over 90 catches while no one else is past 80. They are going to lap the field despite neither having impressive TD totals. PPR mainstays, and top 3 picks next year at their position.
-Brodie Croyle, that was terrible. Maybe there is a reason you are 0-10.
Going Long:
-Dallas should keep Jason Garrett. This is one of many cases where the Rooney Rule is not viable and possibly embarrassing. It is unfortunate that we will humiliate some poor candidate who is very qualified, happens to be of color, and will be interviewing publically for a job we all know Garrett will keep. Should minority candidates be given a fair shake in hiring practices? Of course they should. In fact, some of the best coaches in the NFL are minority coaches. Mike Tomlin is one example out of many, though Tony Dungy, Jim Caldwell, and Raheem Morris also come to mind. But in situations where the successor is clear and especially in the case of interim coaches, this rule does not need to exist. When such rules cause more harm than good, they are not useful anymore. When a team is just starting a coaching search, they should be required to fulfill the Rooney Rule. In this case, they should not.
-When Moss was traded and Branch added, I said that the 2002-2004 Patriots were back. They were going to do WR by committee like only the early 21st century Pats could. They were just replacing Givens and Troy Brown with Tate and Welker and adding better tight ends. And, this is basically what happened. They reverted to luck filled games with a big play defense filled with no name players and an incredibly efficient offense that Brady managed perfectly. However, the past two weeks they showed me something different. They showed me the fire of the 2007 Patriots.
This is still a team that runs the “whoever is open is the best receiver on the team” offense, unlike the “throw it to Moss up top and Welker in the middle” 2007 offense. However they are going for the jugular. They are embracing that swagger that defined the magical 2007 season. In the Jets game, they did not let up in the second half. Belichick demanded that they didn’t. In the Bears game no play showed this cutthroat mentality like the last play of the 1st half. Normally, most teams sit on the ball with 3 seconds left at midfield and a lead going into half on the road in a blizzard. The 2002-2004 Pats probably would have. But, this team didn’t. They threw it right up to Branch. You know the rest. I, for one, am impressed and embrace this integration of the 2004 system with the 2007 fire. It may result in a 2010 championship.
BLISS
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