Super Bowl XLVIII Is Poop

Worst Super Bowl Ever?
It seems that nearly every year recently we debate if the just completed Super Bowl is the best ever. We don't have to have that argument this year, but this stinker certainly has a case for the worst. I'd still have to say San Francisco 55 Denver 10 is the least competitive, but this game was nearly as bad. For almost the entire game Denver could not move the ball against Seattle, nor could they stop Seattle from scoring. They gave up 4 turnovers and just played as bad a game as you can play.

Manning's Legacy
I was one of the people saying that Peyton Manning has cemented his legacy before this game. He's one of the all-time greats, and he just had one of the best seasons a quarterback has ever had leading a team to the Super Bowl for a third time. But his performance in this game was so bad, and so unlike how he normally plays that I think it's fair to reconsider whether he chokes, ok maybe not chokes, but performs poorly in big games often enough that it really is a thing and not just a random outcome or a product of facing good teams with good defenses.

Trent Dilfer Won a Super Bowl, Too
I have never been a big fan of Russell Wilson and nothing he did in this Super Bowl changed my mind. I think he is a great quarterback for this team. He very seldom makes mistakes and very often makes some great plays. But I insist that a team relying on Wilson to generate points wouldn't go very far. He needs to be on a team with a defense and a running game. That's exactly what he's got, so he's a deserving Super Bowl champion. But put him on the Redskins or the Jets, and I just don't think you get results anything like what he is doing in Seattle.

Turning Point of the Game
First play of the game, Peyton Manning comes steps up to the line, his center misinterprets the movement (just Manny being Manny), snaps the ball, it goes over his head and into the endzone for a safety. And that was it. There have been many great plays in Super Bowl history (Lynn Swann's catch, Marcus Allen's run, The Helmet Catch, etc) and there have been some memorable disasters (Garo Yepremian and Leon Lett come to mind though both of their teams won those games), but I can't think of a play as strange or as weird that had such a huge impact on a Super Bowl as this one. Based on everything else that happened I would say odds are still very high that the Broncos would have gotten creamed anyway, but after that Denver looked totally discombobulated and sunk.

Nice Super Bowl Goodell, Don't Ever Fuckin Do It Again
The NFL pulled a fast one and got away with it. They took a gamble playing a Super Bowl, outside, in a cold-weather city and it paid off. Temperatures were a comfortable 40 degrees and the weather had no influence whatsoever on the outcome or the way the game was played.

In fact, the worst part of the potential cold weather was Joe Namath's fur coat.

Note: I blame the referee for the coin toss snafu, he stepped back and stopped talking, making Broadway Joe think he was supposed to toss the coin.

If this was a one-time thing to reward the Jets and Giants and the area for building such an expensive stadium, that is ok. But if the NFL tries this again, in New York, or Chicago or worse Green Bay or Minnesota, they are courting disaster. Had Monday's snowstorm come a day earlier not only would the game have been affected, it would have been unsafe for people going to and coming home from the game. An outdoor Super Bowl in a cold-weather city worked out, once. Once!

Picture of the Week
Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith does a confetti angel on the field after the game.

Could This Be the Start of Something Big?
Because the Seahawks are so good and so young, and because there's a history of young Super Bowl winning teams going on to win at least one more, there is talk about whether these Seahawks could be embarking on a dynasty. I say no. The quarterback isn't good enough, the defense is great, but relies a lot on turnovers which involved a huge amount of luck, and today's NFL makes it tough with free agency (even though a lot of key players are locked up) to keep a Super Bowl winning team together. I would be surprised if the Seahawks won 2 more Super Bowls in the next 5 years.

The NFL is Poop - Conference Championships

The Ones That I Want
Only once in the past 20 years have the top seeds from each conference played each other in the Super Bowl. Unfortunately for him, Peyton Manning lost that game, to the Saints.
Note: The Bills 4th straight Super Bowl loss, was the previous time, in January 1994, Super Bowl XXVIII.
One of the drawbacks of this wild card era is that frequently teams that are inferior, had so-so regular seasons, not just make, they win they Super Bowl. It has led to a long run of mostly exciting games for about 15 years now but regular season success is rarely ever rewarded. But both these teams earned the top spots in their conference because they were better all year, and they used their home-field advantages, the thin air and 12th man (the second of which I still believe is greatly overrated) and held serve against worthy adversaries.

This Super Bowl will also feature the #1 offense vs. the #1 defense. The last time that happened was the first Super Bowl the Bills lost, to the Giants, on Scott Norwood's miss. This might be a better predictor of the type of game we're going to see. Seattle;s big physical corners are going to try to beat up the Denver receivers and Denver will likely try run routes to get their receivers into favorable coverages, screens and quick slants.

15th Times the Charm
In the 15th matchup of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, Manning clearly got the better of his heretofore more successful counterpart. Manning was precise in his short throws and even though people say he has lost some arm strength he threw some beautiful balls that were turned into great catches by his receivers.
Brady on the other hand was not at his best, missing a wide open Julian Edelman early in the game and later also missed some throws that I thought he could have made. These things happen. Not even the best players can play at their best in every single game. If they did, it wouldn't be fun to watch. Also the Patriots vaunted running game (a little sarcasm there) only managed 64 yards, putting more pressure on the passing game.

Manning's Legacy
I have always been a pretty big Peyton Manning doubter, considering him a great quarterback who far too often was unable to make the big play to lead his team to victory in a big game, very often making the game-losing mistake instead, like the Tracy Porter pick-6 in Super Bowl XLIV. But at this point, 3 Super Bowl appearances, every NFL record, win or lose he's the perfect cross between Dan Marino and Joe Montana and he has to be one of the 2 or 3 greatest QBs of all time.

Timing is Everything: The Russell Wilson Story
I have never been a huge Russell Wilson fan, and I still think a large part of his success is due to the team he is on, but he certainly deserves a lot of credit for winning this game for the Seahawks. Yes, he made some bad plays, the intentional grounding, but he hit two huge plays, and they were both plays that very few other NFL QBs could have made. The first one came early in the game, a ridiculous 51-yarder to Baldwin who was being double-covered. But he caught it and it set up the Seahawks first points, a field goal that cut the lead to 10-3. And of course the second was a ridiculous bomb to Jermaine Kearse to give Seattle a 20-17 lead. That was a risky play. If they don't make that the 49ers get the ball with the lead and good field position. But Wilson, as seems to be his MO, made the play when it absolutely needed to be made.

Night Kap
On the other hand you have Colin Kaepernick who was great early, but turned it over 3 times in the 4th quarter. This game showcased everything we know about Kap, he's got a great arm, is really fast, but he makes mistakes.
Personally, I blame a lot of his problems on the game plan. I thought the play-calling in the second half was atrocious. You have to give the Seahawks credit, they are good. They should have attacked with crossing routes, rollouts, and even designed Kaepernick scrambles. Instead it seemed the 49ers wanted to hit the big pass to the outside, 2 of which were picked. And 2 more could have been (the TD to Boldin and another pass on the last drive, to Crab, I think). And on that last play, why go for broke there with 20 seconds left and 2 timeouts? And if that was the decision why rush it? Why not take a timeout? Whoever decided that is the one who needs to take the blame.

Ball Don't Lie
One of the craziest sequences ever occurred in the 4th quarter when Seattle fumbled on consecutive plays. And funny thing about this sequence is San Francisco recovered the first one, and the ball went to Seattle. Seattle recovered the second, and the ball went to San Fran. On the first one, NaVorro Bowman had a clear recovery (this type of play will be reviewable next year) but he must have gotten it pulled out in the pile, understandable since his knee had just been torn to shreds.
But on the very next play, Wilson and Lynch botched the handoff, and though the Seahawks jumped on it, it was 4th and goal, so the 9ers got the ball back, rightfully.

Picture of the Week
Peyton Manning bobbles a snap

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Denver Broncos 27 Seattle Seahawks 13
Something just feels right about Peyton Manning winning the Super Bowl this year and cementing his legacy. I have not been overly impressed by the Seahawks offense, and no matter how good their defense plays, you know Manning will still put up points.

The NFL is Poop - Divisional Playoffs

Disappointing Weekend
Normally Divisional Playoff weekend is the best one of the year because there are four games and you are guaranteed to have the league's four best teams are guaranteed to be involved. But after a very exciting weekend all four of these games were duds. Even the two games that were technically touchdown games were only made so by late touchdowns.

A Touch of Excitement
If nothing else we did have two very exciting plays. Twice a team down by a touchdown late in the 4th quarter kicked an onside, and recovered it.
First, the Saints. They actually might have had a chance after their recovery, but when Marques Colston caught a pass, instead of stepping out of bounds, and giving Drew Brees a Hail Mary, he stepped back in bounds and threw a forward pass all the way across the field. Not how the Saints wanted their season to end.

The Saints say the play was called, but Colston obviously screwed up the execution by passing forward. And Payton also admits maybe it was called one play too early, they had time for another chance.
San Diego tried their onside with 5 minutes left, down 10, recovered it, and drove for a score (a field goal). But they couldn't stop Denver and get the ball back.

Brilliance of Belichick

I don't want to get involved on the Bill Belichick dick-sucking, but it would just be impossible for him to have this much success without being an excellent coach. The latest example would be a playoff win where the Patriots run the ball 46 times (vs. 25 passes by Tom Brady) for 234 yards and 6 touchdowns. And with guys like LeGarrette Blount, castoffs who somehow buy into the Patriot Way.

Did Anyone Else Notice?
The pants of Colts wide receiver Da'Rick Rogers? I know it was raining, so I expected his pants to be wet. But he must have also come in contac
t with some red paint from the field. Either that or he had some serious rectal bleeding? LeGarrette Blount's confrontation with the ref? After some pretty benign jawing the referee, Garth DeFelice, aggressively shoved Blount, and screamed in his face, for much longer than necessary to defuse the situation? The guys at Larry Brown Sports noticed.

One Last ScrewUp
The Colts-Patriots game was the last in the long announcing career of Dan Dierdorf. And he left us with one final flub. While talking about the play where Patriots punter Ryan Allen scopped up a bad snap at the two yard line and tried to do something with it, Dierdorf said he should have just fallen on the ball and let his defense try to stop the Colts. His actual decision to try to throw it was a poor one (though it worked out well because it was batted out of the back of the end zone for a safety), what he should have done was kick the ball, or pick it up and run with it, out of the back of the end zone. The 2 points for a safety was the least bad option available to him at the time. But Dierdorf insisted giving the Colts the ball at the 2 was his best option.
Though Allen did get hurt forcing placekicker Stephen Gostkowski to do the punting for the rest of the game.

He did have a nice moment with Greg Gumbel at the end of the game.
But my best memory of Dierdorf occurred during the heyday of Monday Night Football when Hank Williams Jr was crooning "Franl and Al and Dannnnnn..." The Raiders Napoleon McCallum suffered a brutal knee injury and a disgusted Dierdorf said (too bad that video cuts off before he says it) "Normally we hope we have as many viewers as possible but I hope the TV wasn't on in the McCallum household tonight."

Game of Next Week
New England Patriots at Denver Broncos
It's very hard to choose because I am very much looking forward to both of these games, but how can you pass up Manning v. Brady for the Super Bowl. I have little rooting interest so I will just hope it becomes a legendary game with an exciting ending.

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Denver Broncos 21 Seattle Seahawks 10
I just have a feeling this is Peyton Manning's year. I do think there is a good chance the 49ers pull off the upset and lose their second straight Super Bowl, but as of right now, you'd have to make Seattle the favorites. Also, I did pick San Fran and Denver for the Super Bowl way back in September [CORRECTED] so I am hoping that comes true.

The NFL is Poop - Wild Card Playoffs

Fuck the Cold
I only wish I had a little more confidence in my knowledge of just how overrated home field advantage is in the NFL, especially when it comes to the weather. Three outdoor games this week, and all three games were won by the road team, from the warmer climate that was supposed to be affected by the bad weather. That doesn't mean every bad weather game will be won by a road team for a Southern city, it just means that there are a million factors in determining which teams win football games, and even in the playoffs, the cold is probably in the bottom 100,000.

Which Leads Me to the Most Important Factor in Wins and Losses
In the NFL you need a quarterback who can make plays when the game is on the line. It can be with his legs, like Colin Kaepernick's 11 yard scramble on 3rd and 8 that put the 49ers in field goal position. Or it can be with his legs and his arm like Aaron Rodgers's brilliant escape and fire on 4th and 2 to Randall Cobb early in the 4th quarter that set up the touchdown that gave Green Bay the lead. Both these quarterbacks played brilliantly in this game and the only reason Rodgers lost is because his supporting case just wasn't up to snuff.

And When Your Quarterback Plays Badly, You Lose
Andy Dalton picked the wrong time to put up an absolute stinker. The Bengals actually led this game 10-7 at the half, and after a Bengals 3-and-out, San Diego scored a touchdown to take a 14-10 lead. The game was still very much in reach but then Dalton fumbled on a long run when he dove headfirst, not feet first, meaning the ball was live and the ground could cause a fumble. (RGIII did the exact same thing earlier this season.)

Then Dalton threw interceptions on the next two series (he now has 1 TD and 6 INTs in three playoff games). But San Diego still led only 20-10 and the Bengals had the ball at San Diego's 41 with under 5 minutes to go. Yes, the situation was dire, but on 4th and 3, they should have gone for the 3 yards, and taken a field goal if it were available. Instead they went deep, missed, and ended their chances to win, with 5 minutes left.

Game of the Week
Indianapolis Colts 45 Kansas City Chiefs 44
One of the greatest, most exciting, craziest games I've ever seen. It's now the second biggest comeback in playoff history after the famous Bills-Oilers game.
In order to score 35 points in one half of football everything needs to go your way, like this fumble that bounced right to Andrew Luck for the touchdown that gave the Colts the lead.

But even besides that he played a great game, got just enough collapse out of the KC defense and led his team to a huge memorable victory.

I do kind of weep for Alex Smith here. He is known as a game manager, and more derisively as Captain Checkdown, but he played a great game, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 378 yards, a few nice deep balls (a 79-yarder to Donnie Avery), and basically a hell of a game, but his team failed him.

Shoveling It In
One of Alex Smith's other touchdowns lack the artistry of his beautiful bomb to Donnie Avery, but still accounted for 6 points. It was a back-handed shovel pass to fullback Anthony Sherman. But that wasn't the only shovel pass I saw. Andy Dalton hit a big one to Giovanni Bernard as well. And I am pretty sure I saw a couple others over the weekend. It's a pretty risky pass, but cool when it works.

Picture of the Week
Ladarius Green makes a great leaping catch over Chris Crocker (he's 6'6", Crocker is 5'11") for a touchdown.

Game of Next Week
Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots
There's no such thing as momentum but that doesn't mean the team "on a roll" never wins. Confidence does matter though and if Andrew Luck is feeling good he could fling the ball around. But he's going to have to find a different receiver because you know Belichick is going to clamp down on TY Hilton.

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Denver Broncos 31 Seattle Seahawks 17
Nothing much changed this week, as expected. But this week is when we separate the contenders from the pretenders, so this space could change.

The NFL is Poop - Week 17

The Fickle Field Goal of Fate
With the collapse of the Miami Dolphins and the Baltimore Ravens, the San Diego Chargers controlled their own future. Beat the Chiefs, make the playoffs, lose and the 8-8 Steelers get in. Oh yeah, the Chiefs were also sitting many of their starters.
But that might have actually worked against San Diego, as motivated KC backups, Chase Daniel and Knile Davis, led the Chiefs to a 24-14 4th quarter lead.
The Chargers bounced back from that to tie the game but Daniel led a great drive to get KC into position for a 41-yard field goal attempt from Ryan Succop. A very makeable field goal, with two teams' playoffs hopes on the line.
And he missed.

But here's the rub: the NFL admits the referees missed a penalty on the Chargers on that play. It should have been an illegal procedure penalty for lining up 7 men on one side of the formation.
So they played on and the Chargers starter OT with a 9 and a half minute possession ending in a field goal. The Chiefs couldn't match it and the game was over. But we'll see these two teams again this week.

The Refs Almost Blew This One Too
With the Eagles lead 24-16 and the Cowboys driving to tie it up late in the 4th quarter the refs made an error even more egregious. After a 33-yard catch and run Jason Witten was tackled in the middle of the field, the play clock was somehow only reset to 25 seconds, instead of 40. The Cowboys couldn't get off the play in time and were penalized 15 yards. Thankfully this mistake didn't change the game too much, because the Cowboys scored anyway (on a 4th and 9 play). But they missed the 2-point conversion attempt. hey did get another chance but Kyle Orton did his best Tony Romo impression and threw an interception on the first pass of what could have been the drive to make the playoffs.
So the Eagles go to the playoffs, the Cowboys go home, but this time they don't have Tony Romo to blame. At least not for this loss.

Game of the Week
Green Bay Packers 33 Chicago Bears 28
How did he get so open? That's the question every Bears fan is asking after a sure victory and home playoff game was ripped from their hands. 4th and 8, 46 seconds left, 28-27 lead for the Bears, Aaron Rodgers scrambles, buys some time, and Randall Cobb sneaks away from the Bears secondary, Rodgers fires one, and its a 48-yard touchdown pass for the win.
I actually think there may be some karmic justice in this one as the Bears played horribly at times this season and probably didn't deserve his spot, with the stinker they put up last week in Philadelphia.
The Packers on the other hand were 5-2 when Rodgers got hurt, and went 0-4-1 in the first 5 games without him (including the game he got injured in, because he threw only 2 passes). So I'm a little more excited to watch them, even at 8-7-1 then I would be watching another lackluster Cutler performance.

Game of Next Week
Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis Colts
All four games this week are actually pretty interesting, but I favor this one because it's a rematch of a Colts blowout win from a weeks ago. I think the Chiefs will get their revenge.

A Brief Rant About the Redskins
Mike Shanahan deserved to be fired. I don't think he is a horrible coach but I know his son is. Kyle Shanahan's play-calling was a big reason for RGIII's regression this season. And the Redskins weren't only bad on offense.
They gave up 478 points, only Minnesota's 480 was worse. They had a historically bad special teams, 3rd worst in history covering punt returns, and 3 touchdowns among all that return yardage. Plus they turned it over 34 times. Shanahan blamed his poor performance (double digit losses in 3 of 4 seasons) on the salary cap penalties the Redskins were hit with.
Hopefully his replacement will be the beneficiary of salary cap space, a healthy quarterback and a good offensive coordinator.
He will not however reap the benefit of the 2nd pick in the draft which will go to the Rams as part of the RGIII trade.

Black Monday
Four other coaches were fired in the NFL's annual season-ending purge.
Leslie Frazier is a horrible coach but I don't think his team, with those lousy quarterbacks, would have done any better with Vince Lombardi.
Greg Schiano is a college coach whose micro-managing control everything nature was never going to work in the NFL. Jim Schwartz is another moron, but he may have been done in by talented players who just didn't play smart at the key times. Maybe the next coach can reach these guys.
If any fired coach deserved to keep his job it was probably Rob Chudzinski who wasn't given enough time (about 355 days) to build something in Cleveland.
I have no problem with Rex Ryan and Mike Smith keeping their jobs based on past success, but what has Jason Garrett ever done?

Picture of the Week
San Francisco 49ers linebakcer Dan Skuta rips off Andre Ellington's shoe and sock while trying to make a tackle.

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Denver Broncos 34 Seattle Seahawks 21
After everything has shaken out during the regular season these two teams are clearly the best.

The NFL is Poop - Week 16

Incredbile
Peyton Manning broke one of the most important single-season records for a quarterback by hitting Julius Thomas for his 51st touchdown of the year. This week he can, if he plays enough, pass Drew Brees for the single-season yardage record as well, he only needs 267 yards.
I know Manning is a product of his system, they let him throw, a lot. But he isn't David Klingler at the University of Houston. Manning is leading a great NFL team, a leading Super Bowl contender, winning games first, and putting up gaudy passing numbers while doing it. The fact that he is 37, after a major injury and a team change, makes what he is doing even more remarkable. I've often criticized him for his frequent failures in the playoffs, but no matter what happens this year we all have to be in awe of how great a quarterback he is this year, and for all the seasons before.

He'll Break Your Heart
Matthew Stafford is one of those quarterbacks (Jay Cutler and Tony Romo also come to mind) who has great talent and often uses it to make great plays and win games. But seemingly just as often, his mistakes lead to his team's ruin. This time Detroit led the lowly Giants 20-13 with 5 minutes left. A win would have given the Lions a chance to play the Vikings with a win giving them the division title (though they didn't know that at the time). In need of a first down Stafford threw a bad pass (maybe the decision wasn't as bad as the execution) and it was returned for a touchdown to tie the game.
The Giants won on a field goal in overtime to eliminate the Lions.
The Lions lost 5 of their last six games despite holding fourth quarter leads in all of them. Surely the blame can be spread around (even the great Calvin Johnson dropped passes), but I'm not really sure Matthew Stafford will ever be able to lead a team deep into the playoffs.

What a Difference a Year Makes
Last year the Arizona Cardinals went into Seattle and suffered the worst shutout defeat in NFL history, 58-0. They turned the ball over 8 times and allowed two 100-yard rushers. Russell Wilson completed only 7 passes for 148 yards, and barely played. This year, in a full game, Wilson got even fewer yards, 108, as the Cardinals beat the seemingly invincible-at-home Seahawks 17-10, despite 4 interceptions by Carson Palmer. Seattle got nothing done against the Cardinals defense and certainly cast doubt on their ability to run through the NFC playoffs, simply by dominating on their home field.
But someone else will likely have to be the ones to follow the Cardinals blueprint for success in Seattle, because the Cards need to beat San Francisco at home, and have the Saints lose to the ExpensiveCornPrices, in New Orleans.
Not likely, so it is a shame such a good team will likely miss the playoffs while the dreck in the other two NFC divisions will make it in.

Game of the Week
Pittsburgh Steelers 38 Green Bay Packers 31
This game featured one of the weirdest plays I've ever seen. A blocked field goal, touched by about four Steelers before being knocked out of bounds was given back to the Packers at the 2 yard line setting up a touchdown. I think Ryan Clark did actually possess the ball, so it was a bad call, but he was an idiot for trying to lateral in that situation.

But the fun didn't end there, not by a long shot.
The Steelers did not let that play hurt them though, Roethlisberger drove right down the field for a TD, and the Packers next play from scrimmage was a Matt Flynn pick-6. Steelers up 31-21 entering the 4th quarter.
After the Packers tied the game on their next two possessions and had the ball again, but Matt Flynn fumbled, setting up a short field goal attempt by the Steelers. But the Packers were offside, giving the Steelers the chance to score a touchdown, and kill more time.
No way the Packers could come back from this, right? But they almost did, thanks to a 70-yard kick return. But this time it was on offside penalty (on the 1!!!!!) that cost them 5 yards, and 10 seconds. For some reason Matt Flynn did not get the play off fast enough (he blames the official, wasting 7 seconds, and giving them only one chance from the 6, which they didn't convert.
The win kept the Steelers playoff hopes alive (though they need a lot of help), and it didn't hurt the Packers who just need to win to get in.

Game of Next Week
Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
I know both teams are pretty bad/inconsistent but one of them is going to host a playoff game. No Tony Romo, but I wouldn't write off the Cowboys just yet. Though, if the Eagles can capture any of what they had against the Bears, they will run through Dallas like a hot knife through butter, and could be a scary team in the playoffs.

Picture of the Week
Houston Texans Cheerleaders dressed up for Christmas. I suppose you would call this look "Naughty Santa." What can I say, I'm a sucker for cheerleaders in costume.

A Brief Rant About the Redskins
2 starts for Kirk Cousins, 2 1-point losses. It's not his fault the defense absolutely sucks and can't contain Tony Romo or cover the Dallas receivers, once Romo starts to scramble. There's no excuse for allowing two long 4th down conversions on that final drive.
But there's also no excuse for the pitiful 4 plays the Redskins ran when they had a chance, and a little bit of time, to kick a field goal for the win, but those 4 plays were as bad as I've seen. And Kyle Shanahan deserves the blame, and he will get it, as he will surely be fired on December 30th.

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Denver Broncos 37 Arizona Cardinals 13
If the Cardinals can go into Seattle and win they can beat any NFC team, anywhere, right now. But they likely won't get the chance to show what they can do.

The NFL is Poop - Week 15

Who Wants It?
After an entire season of Denver and New England going back and forth at the top of the AFC, both teams have hit the skids recently. The Broncos turned in a prime time stinker against the Chargers and the Patriots needed a miracle to beat the Browns but lost Rob Gronkowski which proved to be a huge loss when the Patriots followed that up by losing to the Dolphins. That loss opened the door for the Bengals...who got smoked by the Steelers. The Colts are 9-5 but maddeningly inconsistent, so it would be hard to pick them to win the AFC. That leaves one team, with the best record in the conference, the Kansas City Chiefs. Yes they had a 3 game losing streak, but two of those losses were to Denver, and they have rebounded nicely by scoring 101 points in two games. They went from sleeper, to pretender, to serious threat, in the span of a month.

Home is Where the Heart Is
Meanwhile in the NFC, there are two top contenders, Seattle and New Orleans, that are completely different teams. They share one thing in common, they are both dominant at home and iffy on the road. I can't believe New Orleans dropped that stinker in St. Louis, and though the Seahawks dominated the Giants, I'm not sure how much that tells us. At this point it would be very har to pick anyone else to win the NFC besides Seattle.

Game of the Week
Green Bay Packers 37 Dallas Cowboys 36
An epic collapse has sent the entire franchise into disarray. Jerry Jones blaming Jason Garrett. Jason Garrett blaming Bill Callahan and Tony Romo. And everyone pointing the finger at Dez Bryant. But I want to talk about Tony Romo. This is the second game this season (the 51-48 loss to Denver was the first), when he had an amazing game, but made one big mistake late that hurt the team. But we shouldn't let it overshadow the amazing comeback by the Packers, with Matt Flynn leading them to 5 touchdowns in the second half. Flynn is another mystery/enigma we can deal with another time.

Crybaby? More like Lie-Baby
Dez Bryant walked off the field late in that game, but before time had officially run out. I don't buy that it sends the message that he is walking out on his team, but I also don't buy his excuse that he went inside the locker room to cry where no one could see him. What it does tell me, is that he a selfish guy who cares very little about anyone but himself. He didn't care about anyone or anything when he took improper benefits from Deion Sanders, or when he lied to the NCAA investigators about it or when he screamed at his teammates on the sidelines.
Randy Moss had similar attitude problems, and even did the same walk off early thing, and had similar tremendous physical gifts and he had a very successful career. Bryant is so good, and so troublesome, his career will likely trace a similar arc.

A Brief Rant About the Redskins
This team is in a pickle. It's not just the injury, Robert Griffin III played horribly. At his best RGIII is miles ahead of Cousins at his best. But what if RGIII is never at his best again? I don't think you can trade Cousins in the offseason because you need some insurance, and even if he plays 3 good games, you won't get much back for him. Better to just keep him.
But definitely fire Mike Shanahan.
He should have played for overtime.

Game of Next Week
Indianapolis Colts and Kansas City Chiefs.
There are a few good ones this week including New England at Baltimore, but I am anxious to see if one of these teams assert themselves as a real contender in the AFC. This is also a possible first round preview.

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Seattle Seahawks 21 Kansas City Chiefs 17
We've spent most of the column addressing this already, but I have doubts about Denver and New England, and Kansas City has looked amazing in the past two weeks. No way anyone goes into Seattle and beats the Seahawks. I just don't see it happening.

The NFL is Poop - Week 14

Let It Snow
A beautiful to cuddle up someplace warm and watch NFL football on a high-definition screen. Snow falling all over the east coast as game in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington and especially Philadelphia provided a beautiful winter tableau. But far from what you would expect, we had a scoring outburst, that helped set an NFL single-day record for touchdowns with 88. Those 4 games featured 30 touchdowns, and the overall point totals were 54, 55, 55 and 62.

Prater the Greater
An even longer standing and more impressive record was broken when Denver's Matt Prater kicked a 63-yard field goal. The record famously was set by Tom Dempsey in 1970, famous because he had no toes and was kicking with a stump. The record also belonged to Jason Elam of the Denver Broncos, not a coincidence that those two kickers were able to kick such long field goals in the thin air of Denver. But this is not track and field and wind-aided kicks count just the same as any other kick. So Matt Prater is your new all-time longest field goal record holder.

Game of the Week
Baltimore Ravens 29 Minnesota Vikings 26
This game was 12-7 right before the 2-minute warning. Then:
Baltimore scored on 4th and goal. Toby Gerhart ran for a 61-yard touchdown. Jacoby Jones returned the kickoff four a touchdown. Cordarrelle Patteron scores on a 79-yard screen pass. Joe Flacco hits Marlon Brown for a touchdown. Five touchdowns, 4 extra points, 1 2-point conversion, 36 points in 2 minutes and 1 second. In the snow! One of the craziest most exciting finishes there could ever be.

A Few Inches From Surpassing the Ravens-Vikings Game
The Steelers trailed the Dolphins by 6 points, and had one play and 74 yards to go. They were able to run it out to the right and reverse field to the left (though Roethlisberger's lateral may have been forward and get Antonio Brown streaking down the sideline, and he just barely stepped out of bounds at the 12.

The sad thing is, if he could have controlled his momentum, he probably had enough room to stay in bounds and still get around the tackler.
And where was Mike Tomlin to push him back in bounds?

Poor Gronk
Rob Gronkowski suffering another unfortunate injury, costing him the rest of the season, after a broken arm cost him the beginning of it. Who knows when Gronk will be able to play again after tearing the ACL and MCL in his knee. Now we have a bunch of defensive players saying they will have to go for players' knees because there are so many flags being thrown for hitting players in the head and shoulders area.
Good!
I'd rather have a guy get a knee injury than a head injury. Not being callous, just accepting that football is a violent sport. When someone gets a knee injury, they recover, and if it leads to long-term problems maybe worst case is being confined to a wheelchair. If you sustain a head injury the potential damage is much much worse. So if we have to choose a body part to injure, I'll take knee over head any day for the long term. Though short-sighted people would say you can come back a week later from a concussion but an ACL takes a year.

Overshadowed
Gronk's injury cast a pall on what otherwise would have been a monumental comeback victory for the Patriots. Tom Brady led a long drive ending in a touchdown, then the Patriots got the onside kick and scored quickly thanks to a dubious pass interference call, giving them 13 points in a minute to beat the Browns by 1.

Game of Next Week
Baltimore Ravens at Detroit Lions
One of very few games this week between two teams in playoff contention. But both teams really could use a win to hold off some teams coming up behind them.

Picture of the Week
San Diego Chargers fans still haven't gotten over being spurned by Eli Manning.

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Denver Broncos 31 Seattle Seahawks 17
I can't put New England here without Gronk. I can't put the Saints here after they got destroyed by Seattle. The Seahawks will probably get the chance to defend home field in the NFC playoffs. But on a neutral site, Peyton Manning vs. Russell Wilson.

The NFL is Poop - Week 13

Best of the West
As expected the Denver Broncos dispatched the Chiefs, in Kansas City, sending the once 9-0 darlings to a 3-game losing streak. A streak which will end this week when the Chiefs play the Redskins (more on them in a moment). But significant questions about the Chiefs defense remain. After they got pounded by Philip Rivers, Manning lit them up for 400 yards and 5 TDs.

Not Enough
Mike Tomlin was fined $100,000 for being on the field and likely interfering with a Jacoby Jones kick return. I think the referees should have awarded the Ravens a touchdown on the spot (they can do that!). But since they didn't, I think this merited something more like $250,000 and a 1-game suspension. He's not even supposed to be on the white line during a play, never mind the field. I don't think Tomlin did this in order to interfere, or to feign interference, but nonetheless his punishment should have been much more severe. If the Steelers had won this game, the outcry over this play would have been even louder.

Tailspin
A few weeks ago the Jets were 5-4 and were looking at a big slate of winnable games. Then they collapse. 20 points in those 3 games, almost no chance at the playoffs, and worse their quarterback of the present does not look like the quarterback of the future. It's hard to spend a high draft pick on a QB, give him playing time under bad circumstances and immediately right him off and draft someone else. But I don't see how anyone, including Geno himself, can have any confidence that he will turn into a productive NFL quarterback.

Let's Do It Again
Amazing feat by Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, 498 yards receiving on 24 catches in the past two weeks. That's nearly 200 catches and 4000 yards over 16 games. Yes, the Browns get behind and have to pass a lot, but that's still pretty impressive.

Do Not Touch the Referee
Cordarrelle Patterson catches a touchdown then tries to high five the referee. After initially leaving him hanging the ref finally relents and high fives Patterson. Looks like Christian Ponder has a different kind of celebration in mind.

Contact with the official didn't work out so well for Patterson's teammate Chris Cook who after getting beat by Alshon Jeffrey on a ridiculous touchdown catch...

...grabbed the referee's shirt and got himself ejected.

Game of the Week
Minnesota Vikings 23 Chicago Bears 20
Aside from those dramatics this game was actually very exciting as the Bears really needed a win and the Vikings wanted to avoid their second straight sister-kisser. Adrian Peterson ran for 211 yards. When if ever do you see a 200 yard rusher and a 200 yard receiver in the same game?
But the excitement really started in overtime when Blair Walsh made a field goal, then had it nullified by a face mask and missed the re-kick.
And then the Bears reliable kicker missed a 47 yard field goal on second down. The Bears definitely should have tried for at least a few more yards on second down, I could see kicking on 3rd down. Or if the kick were 25 - 30 yards, but to go for a 47 yarder on 2nd down. Foolish. And it ended up costing the Bears the game.

Game of Next Week
Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars
Just kidding, this is the worst game of the season. Only real NFL junkies, fantasy owners and degenerate gamblers will watch this crap. Which means it'll do 5 million for the NFL Network.

Game of Next Week
Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints
The Saints got their asses handed to them in Seattle. But this game is in the Superdome where they haven't lost yet this year. This game is a huge test for the Panthers who have won 8 in a row but still don't have the full confidence of NFL insiders.

Picture of the Week
Members of the Baltimore Ravens cheerleaders show off their hair extensions.

Making Amends
Juice was right to call me out for not including a picture of Selena Gomez performing at halftime of the Cowboys game on Thanksgiving.

A Brief Rant About the Redskins
The referees fucked up but they did not cost the Redskins the game. A predictable offensive gameplan and a horribly inaccurate quarterback turned a 14-0 lead into a 24-17 loss. They stink.

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Seattle Seahawks 34 New England Patriots 31
The Seahawks look dominant at home but there are still doubts about how they would play on the road, and perhaps on a neutral site. The Patriots didn't look great in a narrow victory over the Texans but they're still dining out on last week's win over Denver.

The NFL is Poop - Thanksgiving Edition

No Helmet, No Touchdown
A wacky and wild end to the Steelers-Ravens game. The Steelers had two touchdowns reversed, both of which were the right call and the second one coming when Le'Veon Bell lost his helmet right before he scored. The rule was enforced correctly, and it's a good rule. As soon as the helmet comes off, the play is dead. You can't have defenders charging helmetless players, so you have to stop the play. It didn't have a big impact on the game but imagine if the Steelers had been stopped and never gotten the chance to miss the 2-pointer.

Good Strategy
The Oakland Raiders employed a strategy I am constantly recommending but I rarely see it in use. Down 10 with the ball on the 28 yard like and about 40 seconds left the Raiders kicked a quick field goal to cut it to 7, to give them a chance to get an onside kick and perhaps a few shots at the endzone. Too many teams try for a touchdown and then don't have enough time to even attempt a field goal, even if they were to recover an onside kick.

It Wasn't Even That Close
The Detroit Lions beat the Packers 40-10, and that score doesn't do the final outcome justice. Had the Lions not turned it over 3 times in their first four possessions including a fumble returned for a touchdown, this game could have been something like 50-3. Total yards 561 for Detroit, 126 for Green Bay, which includes a 56 yarder at the very end of the game. I don't know what this portends for these two teams because as good as Matthew Stafford looked at times, making some beautiful throws, he also turns the ball over way too much. And maybe the Packers will be much better when Aaron Rodgers come back. He'll create more room for the running game, and take the pressure of the defense, but I really can't be sure what happens next. With either of these teams.

The NFL is Poop - Week 12

Gone With the Wind
Bill Belichick is a mad genius. Sometimes his gambles pay off other times they don't. It would be too results-oriented to say because the Patriots won the game that he made the right decision to give up the ball in overtime. The benefits of having the ball first far outweigh any potential wind advantage. It has to be a mathematical fact, even if it doesn't work that way every single time.
But that one weird quirk actually makes this amazing game even better. The Patriots fumbled the first three times they had the ball, and the Broncos took a 24-0 lead. The Patriots staged an amazing second half comeback and won the game thanks to a horrible play by the Broncos, a punt bounced up and hit Tony Carter, New England recovered and that was that.
I wouldn't quite write this game off as the last head-to-head matchup between Brady and Manning (they could meet in the playoffs and if they both win their divisions, they'll play next year) but certainly after 14 games (Brady is 10-4), this great individual rivalry is in its twilight.
It's been a lot of fun to watch over the years and once again Tom Brady was able to make the plays to lead his teem to victory whereas Peyton Manning didn't.

Playoffs?
If the AFC Playoffs started today the Tennessee Titans would be the 6th seed, by virtue of their win over the Raiders. If the Raiders had won, they would have occupied the 6th spot at 5-6. But before you run to your bookie to bet against Ryan Fitzpatrick in the first round of the playoffs, on the road, there is a host of other 5-6 teams (Jets, Dolphins, Steelers, Ravens and Chargers) ready to take that spot.

One Spot Too Few
We have the opposite situation in the NFC where two great divisions have produced 3 teams battling for two wild card spots. We know the Panthers are on fire, combining a great defense with a resurgent Cam Newton, but they still trail the Saints. In the NFC West we have the Seahawks running away with the division, but the 49ers are still the defending conference champions with a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. And we can't sleep on the Arizona Cardinals because they have a good defense, and Carson Palmer is rejuvenated, which has rejuvenated Larry Fitzgerald which had made the Cardinals a serious contender.

Brothers Don't Shake Hands
Very cool scene in the Rams-Bears game where brother Chris and Kyle Long (sons of Howie) were involved in a scuffle. Kyle was on the field and Chris on the sideline; when the fracas began Chris ran in and grabbed his brother off the pile. It looked a lot worse than it really was, they weren't fighting each other as some people had reported. But the incident did overshadow the actual game and I can't find out if there were any plays where Kyle actually had to block his brother.

Picture of the Week
Andy Reid uses his ample ass to get Philip Rivers away from his sideline, and the referees.

Game of the Week
San Diego Chargers 41 Kansas City Chiefs 38
I know this game got overshadowed by the craziness in Foxboro, but this was a great game, back and forth and back and forth, 7 lead changes, which is quite something for a football game. Each time one team scored the other team answered back. This game was heartening for the Chargers who are still in the playoff hunt but normally collapse late in the season. But it is worrying for the Chiefs because they're supposedly stout defense got strafed by Philip Rivers. Not a good sign with another matchup against Peyton Manning upcoming.

Game of Next Week
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs
Both teams are coming off tough losses, and the loser will fall to 9-3. If Kansas City loses they are basically looking at the 5 seed in the playoffs and all road games to the Super Bowl. The winner would still have a great chance to get home field all the way through. A lot is on the line here.

Cheaters
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Walter Thurmond will start serving a 4-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy, reportedly for marijuana. Safety Brandon Browner could be facing a year-long suspension for his failed drug test, his second. The first time Browner tested positive for Adderall (so did Richard Sherman, but his was overturned on appeal) and this time it could be another PED suspension. There are now 7 Seahawks who have tested positive for a banned substance since 2011. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this has to do with Pete Carroll. Maybe he didn't expressly order these players to do this, but wherever he goes, cheating follows. He ran one of the most corrupt programs in college football when he blindly looked the other way while Reggie Bush took thousands of dollars. He is a cheater, he does nothing to stop cheating, he overlooks it and by doing so tacitly encourages it.

A Brief Rant About the Redskins
The Redskins have the worst starting field position because their returners suck. The Redskins kick coverage teams are awful too. The Redskins defensive line gets no pass rush. The Redskins defensive backs consistently give up big plays. The Redskins offensive line can block for the run ok, but in pass protection, too often they don't give the quarterback enough time. And the Redskins wide receivers don't get open. I grant you all of that. The Redskins are a bad, no, a terrible team in every aspect.
But I am starting to be concerned about the future of Robert Griffin III, and his ability to someday develop into a championship quarterback. Maybe if the Redskins ever improve in those other areas, he'll stop making some of the horrible mistakes he's making that lead to interceptions, and correct the smaller things he's doing wrong that lead to so many passes that are just a bit too long, or too high, or too low.

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Seattle Seahawks 27 New England Patriots 24
Does anyone want this spot? The Seahawks could be in trouble if half their secondary is suspended. I can't give the AFC spot to the Broncos or the Chiefs, so the Patriots get it by default, though they earned it.

The NFL is Poop - Week 11

The Thing That's Going to Ruin Football
With his team trailing 20-17 with about 3 minutes to go, Drew Brees, faced a 3rd and 2 at the 49ers 35, not quite reliable field goal range. Brees was sacked by Ahmad Brooks for a 10-yard loss, which would have forced the Saints to go for it on 4th and 12, but there was a penalty for a hit to the head/neck area of the quarterback. The foul was not blatant, it wasn't excessively violent, it seemed accidental, but it was surely a penalty under these rules. And this is the threat to football. It's not that the kids won't play the game. It's not that people will feel guilty for rooting for others to suffer violent hits. And it's not even that if violent hits are legislated out of the game, people will no longer watch football.
The biggest threat to the long-term health of the NFL is that too many penalties on these type of plays will occur at crucial times and end up deciding too many games. That's what will make the games, boring, disappointing and not fun to watch. And I don't really have a solution. The NFL can't reverse course and start allowing hits to the head. And I don't think there is a way to prevent players from accidentally hitting quarterbacks and other players in the head occasionally.
And if and when a flag like this, or even more questionable than this, decides a playoff game or a Super Bowl, that is when the NFL's popularity will be in decline.

Like I Said
There's nothing more hollow than a game ending on a questionable call. That's why so many people are pissed about the ending of the Patriots-Panthers game. Rob Gronkowski was clearly held by Luke Kuechly, and the flag was thrown, but it was picked up when the referees conferred and decided the ball was uncatchable. It's technically the correct call because Gronk would have had to turn around, run in 5 yards and knock away a defender in order to match the catch. But we were robbed of the chance to see Tom Brady with one untimed down from the 1-yard line to win the game. I think it was the correct call by the rules, but the infraction was so blatant, I think the flag could have stood. And from an entertainment standpoint, I wish it had.

Through the Rain and Stormy Weather
We saw the very rare rain delay at Soldier Field as tornadoes were in the area. The Ravens led 10-0 when the game was postponed, an hour and 55 minutes later, the game resumed and the Bears woke up, taking a 20-17 before ceding a late field goal that sent the game into overtime. A Robbie Gould field goal in overtime gave the Bears the win, 5 hours and 17 minutes after the game started.

The Backup Quarterback Theory is Alive and Well
Even I doubted my own supposition that you can't doubt bad teams that are starting backups quarterbacks. Because in the case of the Raiders, their QB of choice was former Penn State Nittany Lion Matt McGloin. But thanks to some typical play by the horrible turnover prone Texans, McGloin took the Raiders in for two early scores, then tacked on a couple more and was able to lead his Raiders to victory.

Does he throw the ball with his hand on the ball and not the laces?

Doesn't Mean Shit
A lot is being made of the Jets trip to Dave and Buster's, before the Bills game, as if their night of merriment meant they were taking the Bills lightly. Even some of the Bills bought into this, saying they felt disrespected. I can assure you this had absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of this game. The Jets weren't distracted or looking past the Bills, the Bills weren't angered and inspired and disrespected. The Jets win-one, lose-one pattern had more to do with their ass-kicking than this ridiculous story bought into and played up by a mindless media swarm who as a group isn't smart enough to intelligently understand what causes teams to win or lose, so they make up shit they think sounds good.

A Brief Rant About the Redskins

The Redskins stink. About 5 players on this team are good (RGIII, Garcon, Morris, Orakpo and Kerrigan), the defense gets killed and the offense stinks too. Make nothing of this comeback, it only happened because the Eagles were up so much they stopped trying. Kyle Shanahan is awful and predictable and everything RGIII said is true, but he shouldn't have said it. He should have played a little better and not thrown a horrible interception on 3rd and 1 late in the game. He also missed so many other open receivers, including Logan Paulsen for a sure touchdown in the first quarter, that he is reminding me of when the Redskins had Donovan McNabb. I do think RGIII can still be great, I'm just a little less certain that he will be.

Game of the Week
Denver Broncos 27 Kansas City Chiefs 17
This game didn't quite live up to the hype as in the second half the Broncos took a commanding lead and won without much drama. But it did give me a little bit of hope that when they meet again in Arrowhead Stadium in two weeks, the Chiefs could pull out the win. If they do that, they have a great shot at home field advantage and the Super Bowl.

Game of Next Week
Denver Broncos at New England Patriots

I never want to count out the Patriots, but I just don't see them beating the Broncos right now even at home.

Picture of the Week
Ryan Tannehill runs on the field during introductions.

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Denver Broncos 21 Seattle Seahawks 20
I still think Denver is the best team in the league, if they can get their defense playing on that level on a more consistent basis. The Seahawks are up and down and I have my reservations about Russell Wilson, but I can't quite put the Panthers in this spot yet.