The NFL is Poop - Week 13

Less Than Perfect
For the second straight week the New England Patriots survived by the hairs on their chinny, chin, chin. A couple of things are being pointed to as reasons why they won, bad playcalling by the Ravens and bad officiating by the refs. Neither is true, the Pats won because they make the plays.
With a 24-17 lead and 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter the Ravens faced a 3rd and 14 on the New England 30. They tried a deep pass and got intercepted. I don't disagree with the playcall. Sure they could have tried a screen pass or a run to set up a 40 yard or so field goal to take a 10 point lead. But the weather was bad, it was windy and no field goal was a chip shot. They tried to catch New England napping and stick a dagger in them. It didn't work. But they were playing to win the game. When you play not to lose, you usually do.
For some reason the Ravens are also being criticized for calling a timeout right before New England ran a crucial 4th and 1 play. The only reason to blame them is because the Ravens stopped them on this play. But defensive coordinator Rex Ryan obviously thought they didn't have the right personnel in, so he tried to get his team more prepared. Didn't work. Doesn't mean it was wrong.
And the officials are being castigated for granting the timeout, but he clearly called it before the snap.
Then there was the holding penalty called on Jason Winborne on a crucial play that would have ended the game. But the penalty was clear.
The only call I disagree with the refs about was whether Jabar Gaffney had control of the touchdown catch before he went out of bounds. It depends on your definition of control. He wasn't bobbling it, but he didn't have it secure AND have both feet in bounds at the same time.
Maybe the worst indiscretion by a referee came from Phil McKinnley who reportedly called Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle "boy" several times during the game. Big fuckin deal. If that's all it takes for you to feel disrespected, you need to get a thicker skin. And although "boy" has some racial context, the accused referee is black, so that's not an issue.
The Patriots are a good team that made plays and got lucky, but the refs didn't hand them this game.

Don't Be Flip
New Orleans coach Sean Payton is getting lambasted for calling a reverse when his team just needed one first down to put the game away. The Saints had a 3 point lead, and the ball at midfield with 3:30 left and Tampa Bay was out of timeouts. Reggie Bush pitched to Devery Henderson, but the pitch was bad and the Bucs recovered and drove for the winning touchdown. Most coaches would have called 2 running plays, and tried to pin the Bucs deep with 2:30 left and no timeouts. I don't hate this move but I do see the inherent risks involved. Plus it ended up costing the Saints the game, and probably any chance at a playoff spot.

Two Many Mistakes
It amazes me that NFL coaches work 18 hour days, sleep in their offices and watch so many hours of game film that they know every tendency of every opponent, yet by and large none of them, have figured out when to use the 2-point conversion. New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin is the latest example. The Giants scored with a minute 37 seconds left to take a 20-16 lead. By the way, I have no problem with him leaving the Bears too much time. You have to win the game. You do it when you can, you can't risk a bad snap, a penalty, you have to be aggressive and try to score. Anyway, with 97 seconds left there probably wasn't enough time for the difference between a 4 and 5 point lead to matter. But if Coughlin had gone for 2 and gotten it, he could have benefitted from the possible (although admittedly unlikely) scenario of a missed extra point. The only possibility, which I doubt he considered was that if the Bears got a quick TD, they'd have had to go for 2 to give them a 3-point lead to protect against a Giants field goal. And if he missed, they'd have kicked and gotten a 3-point lead. But I think Coughlin just fucked up.

Game of the Week
Arizona Cardinals 27 Cleveland Browns 21
Two frisky, underestimated, high-scoring teams meet in a shootout that comes down to the last play and ends in controversy. It's hard to win when you are minus-3 in turnovers and kudos to the Cardinals for converting 3 of the Browns 4 turnovers into touchdowns. One on a pick-6, one after a 43-yard drive, the other on a 22-yard drive. But the Browns were one strong push from winning the game anyway. On the last play, Derek Anderson hit Kellen Winslow in the endzone from 37 yards out. Winslow clearly caught the ball, but he clearly came down out of bounds. The only question was whether he was forced out. It's a judgement call and the offical judged no. It is not reviewable, but they reviewed it anyway for some reason.




Game of Next Week
Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
If anyone can follow the supposed blueprint of run the ball down their throats and hammer their receivers, it is the Pittsburgh Steelers. I'd be shocked if the Pats had a third straight bad game.

A Brief Rant About the Redskins
I don't get NFL Network. For a longer rant, click here.

Cheerleader of the Week
Megan J. of the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders
Megan likes ice cream and Ramen Noodles and her favorite restaurant in "The Melting Pot." She's the second COTW to love that restaurant, joining Becca and just about every other person who has ever eaten there. She's a rookie who teaches aerobics in her spare time (she enjoys "making people work hard and sweat!") but unfortunately she's married.




If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
New England Patriots 30 Dallas Cowboys 27
If the Pats fall to the Steelers would they still deserve this spot?