Covenant of the Gridiron 11.26.07: Week 12 NFL Breakdown
Posted by Derek Robbins on 11.26.2007
Was someone able to finally step up and claim the AFC West? Were there any actual good games this week? Did any of the 'good' teams lose? Find out all of that and more this week as 411 writer Derek Robbins breaks down week 12 of the NFL.
Hello and welcome to the breakdown of the twelfth week of the NFL season. Before I proceed with the recap, there are a couple of things I would like the breakdown:
- I am a huge hot-stove baseball nut…so I liked this. I think the Cubs should have an interest in Johan too, though…since I thought they were one marquee starter away from World Series contention last year. Then again, what would I know? I'm fairly biased towards my Cubbies.
-Black Friday was pretty pathetic. Some people almost got into a fight over zunes. Basically what happened is that when the store opened at 5 AM a bunch of people rushed over to the zunes (Which were normally 200 dollars, but that day were 100) and some guy got there first…but ANOTHER guy reached around him, grabbed them all, and started handing them to his friends. Ridiculous! So naturally the first guy to get there was pissed off…and chaos almost ensued. Luckily the manager was there to calm tempers…so it wasn't so bad.
Well, that's enough of that, ON WITH THE BREAKDOWN.
NFL Week 12 Breakdown
Green Bay Packers 37 at Detroit Lions 26
Bret Favre completed 20 consecutive passes in this beat-down of the Detroit Lions. Now, the score may not say beat-down…but the score was 34-12 with 13:08 left in the fourth quarter. The Packers pretty much coasted and played prevent defense the rest of the way…and teams are apt to pick up some ground when this happens. Favre had another impressive day as expected and with this win the Packers are virtual locks to win the NFC North. This doesn't really mean much, given the sorry state of that division (and let's be honest, the sorry state of the NFL this year)…but the playoffs are the playoffs and the Packers deserve some credit for being one of the four legitimately good teams this year.
What can be drawn from this Not much, but this gets us prepared for some pretty mediocre Thanksgiving day football.
New York Jets 3 at Dallas Cowboys 34
There's no better way to say this than how I am going to say this right now: The Jets got the absolute crap beaten out of them by the Cowboys. I guess this is to be expected…the Jets came off one of their biggest wins of the season against Pittsburgh so a letdown was expected. Plus, the Jets suck…and the Cowboys are one of the four legitimately good teams in the NFL this year, so I guess it was inevitable. Dallas played well on both offense and defense, as they held the Jets to under 200 yards of total offense. There really isn't anything we can tell from this game, I think everything went as planned for the Cowboys and the Jets just showed up there to take their beating for the week.
What can be drawn from this? Nothing.
Indianapolis Colts 31 at Atlanta Falcons 13
In my opinion…with the Colts the past couple of years they always lose a couple of games and then proceed to bounce back and finish strong. They started the game relatively weak against a pretty shoddy Falcons team getting into a 10-0 deficit, but…they proceeded to score 31 of the next 34 points to blow away the Falcons. Surprise, surprise. They just started slow, but when they got their act together…they showed how they are indeed superior to this team. I guess seeing as Indy is one of the four legitimately good teams in the league and Atlanta sucks…this result was to be expected.
What can be drawn from this? Nothing, except for the fact that this was a terrible day of Thanksgiving football.
Tennessee Titans 6 at Cincinnati Bengals 35
My theory was one again proven correct. The Titans were unable to run the ball, Vince Young was forced to win the game with his arm. The Titans get their ASSES beat. He can't put together a drive for crap and even though this was one of this better statistical days…he still couldn't get the job done. Not that he's all to blame – Cinci ran all over Tennessee's defense today. Chad Johnson set the Bengals career reception record and netted all three of Cinci's touchdowns. It was nice to see Cincinnati actually score points for a change given at the beginning of the season I figured that they would be offensive juggernauts and possibly the AFC North winners. I was wrong about that, but…the Bengals played well today. The Titans shoddy play at quarterback is finally getting to them in my opinion.
What can be drawn from this? Tennessee needs to get their act together. Cinci finally plays with a bit of a spark…for a change.
Houston Texans 17 at Cleveland Browns 27
I'm glad the Browns are having a good year. I find them one of the more likable teams in the league for some reason…and I hope that Derek Anderson doesn't get the total shaft whenever they decide to go with Brady Quinn. That said, this was actually a decent game through the first half. Cleveland had to go on a fourth-and-three from Houston's 32 in order to set up their second touchdown of the game. After that though…the Browns put the throttle down and scored the next 13 points to beat the Texans. Sure, Houston pulled out a touchdown with three minutes left…but the result was never really in doubt. Cleveland won a decent game, and I am glad for them. The Texans are…average, but at least they've improved over recent years.
What can be drawn from this? The Browns appear to be playoff bound. Yay!
Oakland Raiders 20 at Kansas City Chiefs 17
Wow, a good game between division rivals…it's just a shame that the division is the putrid AFC West and that this game will have no meaning in the long run. The Chiefs went for a fourth-and-one on the Oakland 23 with a little over five minutes remaining…and didn't convert it, so they failed to win the game. I had thought the Chiefs were over achieving, and calls like this tend to prove my point. Why not just take the tie? Aren't you supposed to play for the tie? I know theoretically you play for the win at home, but when you play in a crappy division like the AFC West and you are in it no matter WHAT happens…every win counts, and Kansas City should have just tried to tie it up. They didn't, they didn't touch the ball again after that, and they lost. Kudos to Oakland for winning their first inter-divisional game in seventeen tries.
What can be drawn from this? Not much. Again. Decent game though.
Seattle Seahawks 24 at St. Louis Rams 19
There was a game a couple of years ago where the Seahawks got out to a large lead over the Rams…and Terry Bradshaw proclaimed: "WELL, THE RAMS BETTER JUST GO HOME NOW BECAUSE THIS GAME IS O-V-E-R OVER." This game seemed to be the inverse of that, as St. Louis got out to a nice 19-7 lead and appeared to be cruising…but the Hawks came fighting back as Matt Hasslebeck had a decent second half and Marc Bulger went down with an injury…so any offensive consistency can be thrown out the window when you have Gus Frerotte at the helm. Before you get on my case about Frerotte playing most of the game, please note the word CONSISTANCY. Bulger probably could have kept the Rams ahead. Frerotte couldn't. I know the defense is to blame for this too, but....I had a feeling Seattle would come back. This was a big win for the ‘hawks…as Arizona would go on to lose later.
What can be drawn from this? Seahawks are probably playoff bound, and the Rams…well…they still suck, but they played hard and that's all you can really ask for from them.
Minnesota Vikings 41 at New York Giants 17
This proves my theory that this is a watered-down NFL this year and most every team is average. Some are average-leaning-towards-good. Others are average-leaning-towards-bad. Any team can beat most any other team, it seems…and it's not just a cliché. It's actually true! I never would have guessed that the Giants would get the crap beat out of them at home…but here I am presented with Eli Manning's worst day as a pro. Well, presumably. I'm not going to fact check this or anything. I know that the media can ACTUALLY blame him for this loss, though. Three of his four INTs were returned for touchdowns and he had an under 50% completion percentage ratio. Fine, all of you Eli haters can come out of the shed and claim how much he sucks now…but Peyton had an even worse week last week, and we all know how good he is. Fact is, most NFL teams would love a QB like Eli. He's just in New York, and we all know how people love to bitch about things in New York.
What can be drawn from this? The NFL has a lot of mediocre teams.
Washington Redskins 13 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19
Tampa Bay was forced to use Bruce Gradkowski for most of the game and they STILL won. Bruce. Gradkowski. Congratulations Washington fans! Your team couldn't beat a team led by the almighty Gradkowski! I had a lot of faith in this Washington team earlier in the year…but now I think perhaps they aren't that great. Maybe Joe Gibbs is too old for the game now? Really, Tampa dominated the whole game – acquired a 19-3 lead heading into half – and coasted towards the end. Washington's offense can't do anything, and this game re-affirmed that. Jason Campbell had a decent day throwing the ball…but when a team gets behind like that it's only natural for passing stats to go up. Ronde Barber had a game saving interception in the fourth quarter as Campbell threw to the end zone…and he snagged it. Interestingly, this set the Bucs all time INT record. So good for him!
What can be drawn from this? The Bucs are probably going to the playoffs. Not that it's terribly difficult in the putrid NFC South. Hey! I can say that about most divisions this year!
- Seriously guys. BRUCE GRADKOWSKI!? Jeesh.
New Orleans Saints 31 at Carolina Panthers 6
Carolina got their brains beat out, and the Saints come off a two game losing streak to improve to one game below .500. That's great for them, but I can't help but feel we as a people always overrate Carolina because of their super bowl run a couple of years ago. They've been an average team since then, and this year…they could be even worse than that. To be fair, they are having problems at the QB position – David Carr sucked today – but…I can't help but feel that Carolina wouldn't have been that good this year regardless of Delhomme's health. It's nice to see New Orleans win again, but they really aren't that good.
What can be drawn from this? Both teams are average. Simple as that.
Buffalo Bills 14 at Jacksonville Jaguars 36
Another blowout, another crappy game this week, but we'll analyze it anyhow! I think the Jacksonville Jaguars are THIIIIIIIIIIIIIS close to entering the elite four of the NFL. That is to say, they could become one of the legitimately good four teams in the league! But with them there, it would be five! What a shocking development! I'm not sure, we'll see. Today Jacksonville's kicker was the man as he kicked five field goals and David Garrard continued to improve. I'm starting to think that Buffalo's loss last week to New England got in their heads as…I thought they weren't bad before that happened, but they got blown out again this week, so perhaps I was wrong? Losman once again shows us why his name is pronounced "Loss-Man". Oh, and when Jacksonville's offense puts up over 400 yards on you…you know you're in trouble. Just saying.
What can be drawn from this? The Jags are on the cusp of becoming good.
San Francisco 49ers 37 at Arizona Cardinals 31
Turnovers. They can kill a team, and this game is living proof of that. Kurt Warner had an amazingly impressive day, but a fumble in overtime was returned for a touchdown by San Francisco. The 49ers, one of the worst, most confusing teams in the league actually beat the Cardinals today despite Warner going all '99 Warner on them with 484 total yards passing. No, that isn't a typo. 484 yards. Wow. The 49ers offense was a tad more balanced as Frank Gore had a nice day, as did Trent Dilfer. This was a good, exciting game…and a surprising offensive struggle given the 49ers inability to play offense. I don't really chalk this up to anything other than the two being division rivals…and when you play against a division foe, you tend to play better. Still. HELL YES, THE 49ERS WIN.
What can be drawn from this? Huge loss for the Cardinals, as they lose some ground on the Seahawks.
Denver Broncos 34 at Chicago Bears 37
Why do people keep kicking to Devin Hester!? WHY!? It's really puzzling, considering teams would actually kick out of bounds to Dante Hall when he was having his big year…but teams STILL KICK TO DEVIN HESTER. This made him the record holder for Bears most kickoff/punt returns for TDs. He punished the Broncos this week by returning both a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown…this still wasn't enough for Chicago, as they needed to score a couple of touchdowns with five minutes left in regulation. The Bears won the coin toss in overtime, drove down the field, and Robbie Gould kicked it through. Nice! Looking at the statistics…the Broncos played a better game than Chicago, so it's almost as though Denver gave the game away. They did blow a lead, so this can definitely be assumed. Denver has been so inconsistent this year, I've really stopped trying to figure them out.
What can be drawn from this? Bears are holding off to their slim playoff hopes, and the Broncos are…well…they're in the pathetic West, so they're still in it too.
Baltimore Ravens 14 at San Diego Chargers 32
It's safe to say that the Ravens suck this year. Their offense is pathetic and their "feared" defense is over-rated. The Chargers went out and won their sixth game of the year in convincing fashion over a…well…less than convincing Ravens team. Phillip Rivers looked impressive, and even though he isn't as good as Drew Brees yet (in my opinion) I don't really think the Chargers are hating their decision to go with the young gun. A change needs to happen in Baltimore, Brian Billick probably needs to go…and they need to implement an actual offense. Really, their attempts are cute! But…in the NFL you DO need to score some points every once in a while. Really!
What can be drawn from this? The Chargers control things in the West. With how terrible the division is, they shouldn't have too much trouble holding onto it.
Tomorrow's game:
Miami at Pittsburgh –
OH WOW GUYS, WHAT AN EXCITING MONDAY NIGHT MATCHUP! I CAN'T WAIT TO WATCH FOOTBALL THIS MONDAY GUYS. Seriously? I'll probably be watching Monday Night RAW. Screw this. Pittsburgh will probably win huge.
Onwards!
Top-5, Bottom-5 Teams
As always, I'll be ranking the top-5 and bottom-5 teams in the National Football league. The number outside of the win-loss record is where they were last week. In the bottom-5…1st is the worst, 5th is the, uh, fifth worst.
Top Five
1-) New England Patriots (Theoretically 11-0)(1) – A huge, huge shocker! The Patriots remain at number one!
2-) Green Bay Packers (10-1)(2) – The Packers might slowly be becoming the favorites in the NFC. I think Favre is the reason for this.
3-) Dallas Cowboys (10-1)(3) – The big showdown next week will determine who is the true number two.
4-) Indianapolis Colts (9-2)(4) – The Colts will probably jump a spot next week, unless we have a really tight game.
5-) Jacksonville Jaguars (8-3)(5) – They are *THIS* close to having me consider them one of the ‘good' teams in the league. Four is an awfully low number. Bottom Five
1-) Miami Dolphins (0-10) – Durr hurr hurr. I hope they run the table in reverse.
2-) St. Louis Rams (2-9) (4) – What? They're already back at number two? Aww guys, I thought you might actually break free.
3-) Oakland Raiders (3-8) (3) – A win over the Chiefs keeps them standing pat. Uh…yay?
4-) New York Jets (2-9) (5) – A blowout loss to the Cowboys sent them down a spot. POOR JETS. Hey, I hope Chad Pennington goes to Buffalo and beats the shit out of you next year.
5-) San Francisco 49ers (3-8) (2) – We actually won this week, despite the fact we were outplayed in almost every way! Hell yes!
Jacksonville sure has been...KICKING...ass this year. Get it? That's a kicker? It's a pun! Aha aha aha aha aha aha aha.
Top performers of the week
Special Teams Player of the week Devin Hester, Chicago Bears: Let's face it: If you kick to Hester anymore you DESERVE to lose the game. Chicago was outplayed in almost every way by Denver, and yet…Denver STILL lost. If you wipe Hester's 14 points from the board, the Broncos would have won! Serves you right, Denver. Good job Devin for your accomplishment.
Offensive Player of the week Bret Favre, Green Bay packers: I have to go with Bret here. He had a really good passing performance and completed twenty straight passes on Thanksgiving. Don't the Lions usually play better on Thanksgiving? Good job, Favre, I know you're taking this honor quite well.
Defensive Player of the week Minnesota Vikings Defense: It's hard to give it to just one of them, so I figured I would go with the whole team. They made Eli look like a joke this week and deserve a ton of credit for it. Nobody gave them a chance, and they beat the Giants down. Big props.
Least Valuable Player Eli Manning, New York Giants: I am usually an Eli supporter, I'll admit this. He sucked this week and cost his team the game. Really, if he even played HALF competently…perhaps they would have had a chance. Too bad he didn't. Good job there, Eli.
E.T. memorial award for crumbiest game of the week: Cinci at Tennessee. My favorite kind of game is the blowout. Really! There's nothing more exciting than watching one team ease towards victory while the other just says "lol wut?" and lets them.
Best game of the week San Fran at Arizona. It was back and forth the whole game and had a lot of drama. It was also freaking awesome seeing San Fran pull one out. Also, Kurt Warner was a blast to watch in this one. It was one of the few games where I was entertained throughout this year of the NFL.
- That's some good defense!
Wrapping up and mail!
Here's this week's featured mail, which would be in italics:
Hey Derek,
Again I enjoy reading your breakdown of all the week's games and I have to admit that there are a few teams at the top who create some awesome games when they play one another but outside of that the games are kinda lame this year. Also, what is with Indianapolis? I think they have a New England hangover.
That leads me to the one thing that I have disagreed with you about. I don't think that New England really ran up the score the other night. Madden was talking about the same thing, and said the Pats weren't running it up. It was 35-7 at half-time. The third-quarter saw us run Kyle Eckel and Heath Evans, our 4th and 5th string runners (both fullbacks for Christ's sake) just to try and kill time. But Eckel was picking up 14 yards per play, so there really wasn't much we could do to stop it. Brady didn't play the last 14 minutes of the 4th quarter. The only reason he played in the 4th at all was because they allowed him to finish the current drive (which consisted mostly of rushes) which ran about a minute into the fourth quarter and resulted in a Kyle Eckel TD. Then it was 49-10. But Eckel scored that last one and we can't in a non-insulting manner punt on first down or take Brady out for the entire second half. The last TD of the game was scored on a brutal tackle and fumble recovery run back by Sanders and Hobbs. Also, not really the defense's fault... I mean, you don't take a knee after a fumble recovery at the other team's 25 yard line.
Finally, all arguments about them running up the score are pointless. It's professional football. If you don't want to get crushed, stop the other team. I'm sorry the '49ers are having a bad season though... they're my favorite NFC team. When I started watching football, my Patriots were 1-15 and the '49ers were in the latter Montana years, so I had them as an alternate team to root for. Come to think of it, I wish they were doing better except that we (Patriots) now have their 1st round pick so next year, I wish the niners the best, but this year... may they rest in peace... much as it pains me.
Anyways, take care, good column as always,
Ryan
Hey Ryan! Sorry I didn't write you back, I was a bit busy this week…but I'll write you back in my column, which is…kinda good I guess.
Let me say that I agree with most of what you are saying. The Colts probably were coming off the Pats game poorly…and they DID bounce back this week, albeit against a rather poor Falcons team. I just think it's a trend in the Colts to lose like that, but…that's just me. You're right though, there's no reason to expect a collapse and I'd be shocked if they didn't make the AFC title game. Then again…you never can tell with these playoffs.
As with the Patriots? Yes, in some ways they couldn't help but run up the score…but with the fumble recovery touchdown? I've seen some people ‘fall' while returning them. I'm not saying they should, but…they probably could have. You're right though, when your team is that much better than another…it's kinda hard to stop scoring. So too bad for Buffalo.
Also, this 49ers season is hurting my soul. I figured they would be good this year, but man was I wrong. I was dead wrong. It's okay though, at least we can beat Arizona! *sigh* I've had to hop onto the Cleveland bandwagon this year though. I've liked the Browns a bit the past few years, but…I dunno, I feel dirty.
ANYHOW, thanks for writing my friend, sorry for the delay in response and sorry I didn't actually mail this to you,
-Derek
If you wish to reach me and comment on my column or really, anything else…, the e-mail is either Desipiot@hotmail.com or Dragonmaster_Alex_158@hotmail.com your choice.
QUICK PICKS FOR WEEK 13
Green Bay over Dallas (Oh, and screw you NFL network)
San Diego over Kansas City
Houston over Tennessee
Indy over the Jags
Washington over Buffalo
San Fran over Carolina (I'm hoping!)
Minnesota over Detroit
NY Jets over Miami
St. Louis over Atlanta
Seattle over Philly
Cleveland over Arizona
Denver over Oakland
NY Giants over Chicago
Tampa Bay over New Orleans
Pittsburgh over Cinci
New England over Baltimore.
Well, that is it for this week. See you next time!
- Seriously guys. BRUCE GRADKOWSKI!? Jeesh.
Jacksonville sure has been...KICKING...ass this year. Get it? That's a kicker? It's a pun! Aha aha aha aha aha aha aha.
- That's some good defense! 
