Patriot Problems
Wow it’s amazing what can happen when your team loses two straight for the first time since 2006. Tom Brady calls out his team, Adalius Thomas gets benched and now people are speculating that Randy Moss is giving up on his team. Moss made one catch that he fumbled. After the game, Chris Gamble said he knew that Moss would shut it down and give up. But the thing is the Patriots won the game so maybe we should delay the talk of the dynasty crumbling until after the season. The question I’d like answered: Who is more important to that offence, Wes Welker or Randy Moss?
Monster Receiving
Andre Johnson: 11 Catches, 193 yards, 2 TD’s
Brandon Marshall: 21 Catches, 200 yards, 2 TD’s
Enough said right? It’s clear that these two receivers are two of the best in the league. For Marshall, it’s a bitter sweet feeling. He’s 9th in the league for receiving yards and 3rd for receptions even though he only started 11 games. But for Johnson, this was just another day at the office. In my opinion, Andre Johnson is the best receiver in the league. He is also one of the quietest receivers in the league. He’s currently 1st in the league for receiving yards and 7th for receptions. We could see some more great numbers out of these two guys as they both face average pass defences this week.
Cleveland Steels a Game
Yes, the Browns beat the Steelers. Now who is to blame? Well we can’t blame the Steeler defence. They did allow some big runs but they kept Quinn to only 90 yards and the Browns put up only 13 points. The blame should be placed on the execution of the offence and the sacks giving up. Pittsburgh was in position a number of times to score yet they wouldn’t be able to get into the end zone. Plus, Ben Roethlisberger was sacked eight times. Everyone blames the offensive line for the sacks but if you watched that game, you would see that some of the sacks could have been avoided. Roethlisberger had time to pass yet he constantly hung on to the ball for too long. For each of the last four years, the Steelers have been one of the most sacked teams. I don’t think you can continue to place the full blame on the offensive line. Roethlisberger needs to get rid of the ball faster instead of hanging in the pocket hoping for a big play.
Playoff Picture
AFC
Colts 13-0 (Homefield and division locked up)
Chargers 10-3
Bengals 9-4
Patriots 8-5
Broncos 8-5
Jaguars 7-6
In the Hunt: Ravens (7-6), Dolphins (7-6), Jets (7-6), Steelers (6-7), Titans (6-7), Texans (6-7)
NFC
Saints 13-0 (First round bye and division locked up)
Vikings 11-2
Eagles 9-4
Cardinals 8-5
Packers 9-4
Cowboys 8-5
In the Hunt: Giants (7-6), Falcons (6-7), 49ers (6-7)
We’re four weeks away from playoff football and there are many teams fighting to make it. Here’s a look at the teams on the bubble and who I believe will make it.
Cowboys
Remaining Schedule: San Diego, @ New Orleans, @ Washington, Philadelphia
Dallas is 5-9 in December since Tony Romo started at QB. The Cowboys got a hard schedule ahead and with their history of flops in December, not many people have faith in the Cowboys. The fact is, Dallas kept with the Giants until the fourth and played a pretty good game. But if they think that passing the ball more than 50 times and only running it 23 times, they’re going to be in trouble. December football is where the running backs should get the ball a lot, especially with the depth of Dallas’ backfield. I’ll give the Cowboys a 2-2 record for the rest of December because I believe they can beat San Diego. They should be able to beat Washington but you never know what kind of collapse Dallas might have in that game. I believe Dallas will make it to the playoffs but after that? Well, is that something we can even predict?
Broncos
Remaining Schedule: @ Indianapolis, Oakland, @ Philadelphia, Kansas City
Do you remember when the Broncos were the talk of the NFL when they were 6-0? I do (I also remember Brandon Stokley taking a tipped pass for the game winning TD against my Bengals). Well now they’re 8-4 and don’t necessarily have an easy road ahead. Two divisional games, one game against an undefeated team, and the other against a good December team. If Denver can win at least two games, they probably will clinch a playoff spot. My prediction: Broncos win three out of four, one of those wins will be this week against the Colts. Why do I believe that? You’ll have to check out my blog tomorrow with my Week 14 picks to find out.
Patriots
Remaining Schedule: Carolina, @ Buffalo, Jacksonville, @ Houston
The Patriots are still a good team. They’re 7-5 and can win all four of their upcoming games. Their game week 16 against the Jaguars is big for playoff implications in the AFC. I expect to see Tom Brady playing January football again this year, it’s just unclear how long his team will be playing for.
Jaguars
Remaining Schedule: Miami, Indianapolis, @ New England, @ Cleveland
Jacksonville is doing pretty well for a team with attendance issues. They don’t have that much talent but are making the most out of every game. They can win at least two games but is that going to be good enough? Possibly not. I think that the Jaguars should rely on Maurice Jones-Drew to carry the team. All four teams they face have average rush defences and Jacksonville can take advantage of that.
Ravens
Remaining Schedule: Detroit, Chicago, @ Pittsburgh, @ Oakland
The Ravens haven’t impressed like they did last year as they’re defence hasn’t been as dominating as last year. Sitting at 6-6, they’ll need a lot of help and probably will have to win all four games. Luckily, none of the teams they face have a better record than them. Pittsburgh will be the tough task especially since it will be in Pittsburgh. Don’t count the Ravens out quite yet.
Dolphins
Remaining Schedule: @ Jacksonville, @ Tennessee, Houston, Pittsburgh
One of the most surprising teams of 2008 is having a sub-par season. 6-6 and now has a tough last four games. Three out of the four games they play are against above average rush defences. Without success on the ground, Miami will have to turn to first year starter Chad Henne and their 26th ranked pass offence to pull out wins. My advice to Miami: hope that you can win all four games and pray that your make it in the playoffs. Maybe next year Miami, you won’t be playing at home for the Super Bowl.
Jets
Remaining Schedule: @ Tampa Bay, Atlanta, @ Indianapolis, Cincinnati
Let’s look at this Jets team: 30th ranked pass attack, 1st ranked rush attack, 1st pass defence, and the 17th ranked rush defence. They lead the league in two categories yet they’re only 6-6. Now it’s being said that Kellen Clemens will start this week against the Bucs. Other than the Bengals, the other teams they face have below average run defences. I hope the Jets keep the ball on the ground and keep it out of Clemens or, when he returns, Sanchez’s hands. 8-8 looks like a strong possibility.
Steelers
Remaining Schedule: @ Cleveland, Green Bay, Baltimore, @ Miami
There is no doubt that it is a surprise that the Steelers are 6-6. Even more surprising is that the Steelers are only 1-3 in the division. They play Cleveland tomorrow which should be an easy win but then they play Green Bay and Baltimore, two teams that can cause some problems. Will the Steelers go 8-8 and miss the playoffs? I doubt that strongly. Expect them to go either 9-7 or 10-6 but already it’s been a disappointing season for the defending Super Bowl champs.
Eagles
Remaining Schedule: @ New York Giants, San Francisco, Denver, @ Dallas
A tough end to a pretty good season. All of these games will be hard to pull out a win. Could the Eagles go 10-6? Yes I believe so but can they also go 8-8? Absolutely. Anything is possible right now especially in that weird NFC East. We’ll see how the Eagles do but I think they’ll need a little luck on their side.
Packers
Remaining Schedule: @ Chicago, @ Pittsburgh, Seattle, @ Arizona
One divisional game followed up by three tough games. The Packers have some difficult games ahead but they can definitely finish up at 10-6. They have their defence coming together and their offence is going strong. They could sweep all four games if they play good enough. All of these games will most likely be close though. But in the end, we’ll probably be seeing more of the Packers in the postseason, except this year with a quarterback whose name is not Favre.
Giants
Remaining Schedule: Philadelphia, @ Washington, Carolina, @ Minnesota
What if I were to say that the Giants weren’t going to make the playoffs? Well, it just might happen as six teams with better records than them. Looking at their schedule, they can pull off maybe three out of four. After last week’s game, it looks like the G-Men are going back in the right direction. Washington might shock but it is very doubtful and I think they can handle Carolina. The real test is this week against the Eagles and week 17, possibly a ‘win and in’ game, against the Vikings.
Falcons
Remaining Schedule: New Orleans, @ New York Jets, Buffalo, @ Tampa Bay
This week’s game is pivotal if the Falcons want any chance at making the playoffs. If the Falcons get Matt Ryan and Michael Turner back from injury, they’ll definitely get a boost. But this Falcons pass defence is below average and they’re facing one of the best quarterbacks and one of the best offences in the league. This doesn’t look good for the Falcons. If they were to win, then it would be on to New York to face the Jets then the Bills at home and the Bucs in Tampa Bay, all games they can win. They will most likely be favoured in the last three games so a loss would be very disappointing
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