NFL WEEK 13, WHAT I SAW
The Chiefs post is below this one, so keep scrolling after you're thru with this one.
Jason Garrett blew it, no other spin on Cowboy's loss is realistic.
Forget about Dan Bailey's missed field goal at the end of regulation, the Dallas Cowboy's overtime loss at Arizona gets dumped right where it belongs, on head coach Jason Garrett. The clock management in the closing 30-seconds of regulation was as bad as I've ever seen, jeez it was Herm Edwards bad. Tony Rome completes a 3rd & 11 pass to Dez Bryant for 15-yards & a first down. The 'Boys had 2 timeouts remaining but didn't call one, deciding instead to spike the ball, stopping the clock with 7-seconds left. Then after he got his field goal unit on the field, Garrett called a timeout. Why now, to freeze your own kicker? By the way, the whistle blew just as the ball was snapped & Bailey drilled the kick right thru the uprights. You spend one of your two remaining timeouts before your kicker attempts a 49-yarder? Cards coach Ken Whisenhunt said after the game "I didn't have to call timeout to ice the kicker, they did it for us. Bailey's kick fell short by about 3-yards. I looked at my wife & we said in unison, "Cards win." They did win the toss, After making a pair of first downs on throws to Andre Roberts, the Cardinals were at their own 48. QB Kevin Kolb tossed a swing pass to Rod Stephens-Howling & he roared up the sideline using two key blocks & determined running to score the winning touchdown. I would imagine the first words out of Jerry Jones' mouth to Jason Garrett would've been "what the heel was with the timeouts?" The Boys had a chance to put some distance between themselves & the NY Giants. The Giants remain 1 back with 4 to play, but they play each other twice, the season finale in the Meadowlands.
Remember when people laughed at the Chiefs when they lost to Miami?
Tony Sparano's Dolphins are 4-1 after beginning the season 0-7. No one wants to play this team, they play every snap like it's their last. Just ask the Oakland Raiders who got smoked in Miami 34-14. It wasn't that close, the Raiders trailed 34-0 with 8-minutes to play in the game. More bad news for the Raiders, Miami rushed for 209-yards, Oakland just 46. Time of possession was nearly 2-1 & they managed to get penalized 10 times for 91-yards, a Raider staple for decades. DT Richard Seymour was ejected for punching Dolphin guard Richie Incognito in the throat after the whistle. If Oakland doesn't get some injured skill position players back soon, they'll be out of the playoff picture in two weeks. They travel to Green Bay next week & then face Detroit with Ndamukong Suh.
The Tebows comeback repeatedly, finally win 35-32.
Say what you want about Tim Tebow, he's winning right now & might just win enough to end up atop the AFC West on January 1st. His Broncos were missing OLB Von Miller, their best pass rusher, so Tebow needed to win in a shootout. After having just 46-total yards & 7 points scored by the defense in the first half, Denver got yardage in big chunks & overcame three Minnesota leads to win their 6th game in 7 starts for Tebow. WR Demaryius Thomas came up huge with 4 catches for 144-yards & two touchdowns. RB Willis MaGahee racked up 111-yards on just 20-carries & scored a crucial TD late in the 4th quarter. Minnesota rookie QB Christian Ponder had a career day with 381-yards & three touchdowns, but his two picks were catastrophic, one returned for a TD, the other setting up Denver's winning field goal in the last minute of the game. Denver faces the hapless Chicago Bears next week & then it's New England.
The wheels have officially fallen off in Tampa.
I said earlier this week I thought Tampa coach Raheem Morris was in danger of going from an fast-rising NFL head coach to out of a job. His team was awful again on Sunday & worse than that, he was awful. He banished defensive end Brian Price to the locker room during the game, told him to "go home, we don't need ya." In the post game press conference, Morris said "I told him to go home, f**k yeah I did." He sent Price packing after he was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. Morris has a starting cornerback who has been arrested for violent crimes 3 times in the past three years but Price is the reason the Bucs stink? From 10-6 to 4-8 this season, plus the embarrassment this franchise has caused should get Morris canned within 30-days. Carolina cruised with Cam Newton scored three times on the ground & threw a touchdown pass as they clobbered the sinking Bucs 38-19 in Tampa.
Pittsburgh pounds Cincy showing the Bengals they're still a 3rd place team.
The Bengals faithful were tooting their horns a little early this season. yes they played well, but they hadn't played division heavyweights, Pittsburgh & Baltimore. After jumping out to a 7-1 start, they faced the Steelers & Ravens on consecutive weekends. They lost both games by a touchdown. They were still hopeful, until yesterday when Pittsburgh pounded Cincy 35-7. I still believe the Bengals can win 9-10 games, but will that be enough to snag the last wildcard spot?
Texans notch their 9th win behind T.J. Yates but there's bad news as well.
Houston passed their first test with rookie T.J. Yates in the starting role, beating Atlanta 17-10. Yates wasn't spectacular, he lost a fumble but didn't throw a pick. The news wasn't all good tho as WR Andre Johnson, who just returned after 6-weeks off to heal a hamstring pull, did it again & could miss more time. RB Arian Foster helped out with 111-yards on the ground but it was Wade Phillips' defense that won the game. They held the Falcons to just 70-yards on the ground & altho they didn't record a sack, Matt Ryan was constantly harassed, forced to throw early & knocked down 10-times. Luckily for Atlanta, their major wildcard competitors, Dallas, Chicago, Detroit & the Giants all lost as well. These five have 6 or 7 wins & are all still alive.
Ray Rice busts a deuce as Ravens slog thru Cleveland.
The Ravens rode their show horse to a 24-10 win in rainy Cleveland. RB Ray Rice rushed for 204-yards on 29-carries while his backup, Ricky Williams chipped in with 79-yards. Both scored as Baltimore ran roughshod over the Browns totaling 290-yards on the ground. The Browns offense is bottom-5 in the league, it's painful to watch.
OMG the Rams are horrible!
Without QB Sam Bradford, the Rams don't figure to score many points on anybody, especially on teams like the San Francisco Forty-Niners. St. Louis managed 157-yards of total offense & zero points as the Niners shut them out 26-0. The win clinched the NFC West for the 10-2 Niners. The only down news for Frisco was the number of sacks & QB hits they absorbed. Possible bad news for Frisco, their tackling machine, ILB Patrick Willis, left the game holding his hamstring & didn't return. Did you see how rookie Aldon Smith reacts when he gets a sack to force a punt? Instead of jumping up & beating his chest or doing a dance, he sprints off the field, yanks his helmet off, sets it behind the bench & then sits down, crossing his leg & arms. We were cracking up both times he did it, the former Mizzou Tiger is making a major impact with Frisco, recording 9.5 sacks in a part-time roll.
Undefeated Packers had just enough time to notch win #12.
Even after scoring a touchdown & a 2-point conversion to tie the unbeaten Packers, Tom Coughlin had to know 56-seconds is one helluva lot of time to give Aaron Rodgers. It was, Rodgers drove the Packers 68-yards on four straight completions to set up a game-winning 30-yard field goal by Mason Crosby. Rodgers threw 4 touchdown passes along with his 5th interception. OLB Clay Mathews jumped a route for a pick-6 off Eli Manning. Giants still alive thanks to everyone of their competitors losing. Pack clinches the NFC North & are steaming toward home field advantage thruout.
Saints roll to win #9 thanks to more Lion stupidity.
Wow, did you see the Detroit-New Orleans game last night? That Suh mess on Thanksgiving really made an impression didn't it? Detroit was doing their best Oakland impression as they were penalized for late hits, cheap-shot hits & even shoving an official. What does it take for head coach Jim Schwartz to get thru to these guys? Veteran players repeatedly tried to convince the hot heads to chill, but it didn't make the impression this sinking ship is desperate for, they're beating themselves. Or at least helping their opponent beat them. I had very high hopes for the Detroit Lions but now I don't think they're going to make the playoffs.
Good luck to the Office Pool Pick players, you're 12-3 going into tonight.
Lost the Cowboy debacle, took a shot with the Redskins that didn't pan out & of course the Bears. Tonight's pick is Jacksonville with a total of 31-points, good luck!
Jason Garrett blew it, no other spin on Cowboy's loss is realistic.
Forget about Dan Bailey's missed field goal at the end of regulation, the Dallas Cowboy's overtime loss at Arizona gets dumped right where it belongs, on head coach Jason Garrett. The clock management in the closing 30-seconds of regulation was as bad as I've ever seen, jeez it was Herm Edwards bad. Tony Rome completes a 3rd & 11 pass to Dez Bryant for 15-yards & a first down. The 'Boys had 2 timeouts remaining but didn't call one, deciding instead to spike the ball, stopping the clock with 7-seconds left. Then after he got his field goal unit on the field, Garrett called a timeout. Why now, to freeze your own kicker? By the way, the whistle blew just as the ball was snapped & Bailey drilled the kick right thru the uprights. You spend one of your two remaining timeouts before your kicker attempts a 49-yarder? Cards coach Ken Whisenhunt said after the game "I didn't have to call timeout to ice the kicker, they did it for us. Bailey's kick fell short by about 3-yards. I looked at my wife & we said in unison, "Cards win." They did win the toss, After making a pair of first downs on throws to Andre Roberts, the Cardinals were at their own 48. QB Kevin Kolb tossed a swing pass to Rod Stephens-Howling & he roared up the sideline using two key blocks & determined running to score the winning touchdown. I would imagine the first words out of Jerry Jones' mouth to Jason Garrett would've been "what the heel was with the timeouts?" The Boys had a chance to put some distance between themselves & the NY Giants. The Giants remain 1 back with 4 to play, but they play each other twice, the season finale in the Meadowlands.
Remember when people laughed at the Chiefs when they lost to Miami?
Tony Sparano's Dolphins are 4-1 after beginning the season 0-7. No one wants to play this team, they play every snap like it's their last. Just ask the Oakland Raiders who got smoked in Miami 34-14. It wasn't that close, the Raiders trailed 34-0 with 8-minutes to play in the game. More bad news for the Raiders, Miami rushed for 209-yards, Oakland just 46. Time of possession was nearly 2-1 & they managed to get penalized 10 times for 91-yards, a Raider staple for decades. DT Richard Seymour was ejected for punching Dolphin guard Richie Incognito in the throat after the whistle. If Oakland doesn't get some injured skill position players back soon, they'll be out of the playoff picture in two weeks. They travel to Green Bay next week & then face Detroit with Ndamukong Suh.
The Tebows comeback repeatedly, finally win 35-32.
Say what you want about Tim Tebow, he's winning right now & might just win enough to end up atop the AFC West on January 1st. His Broncos were missing OLB Von Miller, their best pass rusher, so Tebow needed to win in a shootout. After having just 46-total yards & 7 points scored by the defense in the first half, Denver got yardage in big chunks & overcame three Minnesota leads to win their 6th game in 7 starts for Tebow. WR Demaryius Thomas came up huge with 4 catches for 144-yards & two touchdowns. RB Willis MaGahee racked up 111-yards on just 20-carries & scored a crucial TD late in the 4th quarter. Minnesota rookie QB Christian Ponder had a career day with 381-yards & three touchdowns, but his two picks were catastrophic, one returned for a TD, the other setting up Denver's winning field goal in the last minute of the game. Denver faces the hapless Chicago Bears next week & then it's New England.
The wheels have officially fallen off in Tampa.
I said earlier this week I thought Tampa coach Raheem Morris was in danger of going from an fast-rising NFL head coach to out of a job. His team was awful again on Sunday & worse than that, he was awful. He banished defensive end Brian Price to the locker room during the game, told him to "go home, we don't need ya." In the post game press conference, Morris said "I told him to go home, f**k yeah I did." He sent Price packing after he was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. Morris has a starting cornerback who has been arrested for violent crimes 3 times in the past three years but Price is the reason the Bucs stink? From 10-6 to 4-8 this season, plus the embarrassment this franchise has caused should get Morris canned within 30-days. Carolina cruised with Cam Newton scored three times on the ground & threw a touchdown pass as they clobbered the sinking Bucs 38-19 in Tampa.
Pittsburgh pounds Cincy showing the Bengals they're still a 3rd place team.
The Bengals faithful were tooting their horns a little early this season. yes they played well, but they hadn't played division heavyweights, Pittsburgh & Baltimore. After jumping out to a 7-1 start, they faced the Steelers & Ravens on consecutive weekends. They lost both games by a touchdown. They were still hopeful, until yesterday when Pittsburgh pounded Cincy 35-7. I still believe the Bengals can win 9-10 games, but will that be enough to snag the last wildcard spot?
Texans notch their 9th win behind T.J. Yates but there's bad news as well.
Houston passed their first test with rookie T.J. Yates in the starting role, beating Atlanta 17-10. Yates wasn't spectacular, he lost a fumble but didn't throw a pick. The news wasn't all good tho as WR Andre Johnson, who just returned after 6-weeks off to heal a hamstring pull, did it again & could miss more time. RB Arian Foster helped out with 111-yards on the ground but it was Wade Phillips' defense that won the game. They held the Falcons to just 70-yards on the ground & altho they didn't record a sack, Matt Ryan was constantly harassed, forced to throw early & knocked down 10-times. Luckily for Atlanta, their major wildcard competitors, Dallas, Chicago, Detroit & the Giants all lost as well. These five have 6 or 7 wins & are all still alive.
Ray Rice busts a deuce as Ravens slog thru Cleveland.
The Ravens rode their show horse to a 24-10 win in rainy Cleveland. RB Ray Rice rushed for 204-yards on 29-carries while his backup, Ricky Williams chipped in with 79-yards. Both scored as Baltimore ran roughshod over the Browns totaling 290-yards on the ground. The Browns offense is bottom-5 in the league, it's painful to watch.
OMG the Rams are horrible!
Without QB Sam Bradford, the Rams don't figure to score many points on anybody, especially on teams like the San Francisco Forty-Niners. St. Louis managed 157-yards of total offense & zero points as the Niners shut them out 26-0. The win clinched the NFC West for the 10-2 Niners. The only down news for Frisco was the number of sacks & QB hits they absorbed. Possible bad news for Frisco, their tackling machine, ILB Patrick Willis, left the game holding his hamstring & didn't return. Did you see how rookie Aldon Smith reacts when he gets a sack to force a punt? Instead of jumping up & beating his chest or doing a dance, he sprints off the field, yanks his helmet off, sets it behind the bench & then sits down, crossing his leg & arms. We were cracking up both times he did it, the former Mizzou Tiger is making a major impact with Frisco, recording 9.5 sacks in a part-time roll.
Undefeated Packers had just enough time to notch win #12.
Even after scoring a touchdown & a 2-point conversion to tie the unbeaten Packers, Tom Coughlin had to know 56-seconds is one helluva lot of time to give Aaron Rodgers. It was, Rodgers drove the Packers 68-yards on four straight completions to set up a game-winning 30-yard field goal by Mason Crosby. Rodgers threw 4 touchdown passes along with his 5th interception. OLB Clay Mathews jumped a route for a pick-6 off Eli Manning. Giants still alive thanks to everyone of their competitors losing. Pack clinches the NFC North & are steaming toward home field advantage thruout.
Saints roll to win #9 thanks to more Lion stupidity.
Wow, did you see the Detroit-New Orleans game last night? That Suh mess on Thanksgiving really made an impression didn't it? Detroit was doing their best Oakland impression as they were penalized for late hits, cheap-shot hits & even shoving an official. What does it take for head coach Jim Schwartz to get thru to these guys? Veteran players repeatedly tried to convince the hot heads to chill, but it didn't make the impression this sinking ship is desperate for, they're beating themselves. Or at least helping their opponent beat them. I had very high hopes for the Detroit Lions but now I don't think they're going to make the playoffs.
Good luck to the Office Pool Pick players, you're 12-3 going into tonight.
Lost the Cowboy debacle, took a shot with the Redskins that didn't pan out & of course the Bears. Tonight's pick is Jacksonville with a total of 31-points, good luck!
Hey, Rich--we were in the stands at the Giants/Packers game and saw the Chiefs beat the Bears. Lots of good games yesterday. The Giants really looked good, I must say.
Reply to this
Rich - Bowl system is corrupt, like the Fiesta Bowl payoffs for election campaigns and the ridiculous match ups in this seasons bowls. Makes me want to not watch many of them. Proly make my wife happy.
Dude seriously, the Jags?????????????????
Reply to this