- I had the score of the Chiefs-Chargers game nailed on the head early in the 4th quarter. My 17-6 was looking nice until Kansas City did what they've been doing all year, which is, play from behind panicked and with zero poise and start turning the ball over constantly. And next thing you know, there went the over. But at least I didn't pick those Chiefs, so it was all good. Man, KC is one shit team. I can't call them a mail-it-in team because I'm not sure I've ever seen a very good effort from them by which I can compare. Just keep watching in awe to see if they will ever hold a lead, and don't you dare pick them unless they're at home playing an equally shitty team.
- Alfred Morris is still running hard for Washington, but he's a rookie, so that will stop soon. They're fucked when it does. Robert Griffin III's play action out of that grade-school triple option crap is how he gets most of his big downfield throws. When that running game disappears, watch out. The long drive by the Redskins in the 2nd quarter down 7-3 may have decided their loss against Carolina. It took about 7 minutes off the clock, it included two 4th-down conversions, and it ended with RG3 trying to run it in on 4th and goal from the 2 on a sprint sweep to the right, which got walled off. I like the guts, but when you work that hard and get nothing for it, it can take the spirit out of you, and that's what happened the rest of the game. And an observation about Cam Newton: Dude, you got all the celebratory moves, after a TD, after a 1st-down run, you make sure everyone sees how happy you are for yourself, and then if you lose, your bottom lip is out and you can't figure out what's wrong. It's going to be fascinating watching how you develop in the public eye, but at the moment, you're just a pure douche. Love watching you play though.
- I made sure to watch the Detroit-Jacksonville game because the Jags have to host the Thursday game this week. I wanted to see if they should get the same consideration as every other team hosting on a Thursday night. The answer is, no, they shouldn't. They absolutely stink. That QB Blaine Gabbert is still no good. He seems to have no touch at all. He didn't just overthrow some of his guys, he put the ball in places where two or three defenders had a better crack at catching it than his intended receiver. And he did that many times, and I guess that's why the Jaguars are once again ranked DFL in passing.
- I think the Bears defense just scored again.
- Denver's pass rush is becoming a very underreported factor in the team's success. Everyone knows about what Peyton Manning's doing, but Cincinnati had the home-field advantage and forced a couple of INTs, so they had a shot at winning this one easily. The Bengals took a lead early in the 4th quarter, then Peyton did his thing. But the Broncos pass rush is what allowed Peyton to get the ball back a 2nd time and score again, thus covering the number for us.
- In the same vein, Baltimore's in real trouble if they don't find a way to generate a pass rush. Cleveland scoring on five drives against the heralded Ravens defense should never happen, and it would have resulted in a Browns victory and more Brown Fever if they could have completed a few of those drives for TDs instead of having to settle for 3. Terrell Suggs hustled back from injury to lend a hand to the Baltimore sack attack, but if he's not going to show up on gameday (one QB hit against Brandon Weeden), it doesn't really matter how quick he returned.
- I think the Bears special teams just scored again.
- Yep, that thar's a professional quarterback they got down in Naptown. Andrew Luck lit up the Dolphins for 433 yards, a rookie record, and he's got the Indianapolis Colts at 5-3, which no one should have predicted. And Ryan Tannehill almost kept pace for Miami, but it's clear that when Luck gets in a rhythm in his domed home, he's sizzling hot.
- It's getting almost predictable in Seattle. Pound opponent with Beast Skittles at RB, trust rookie QB enough to make key 3rd-down throws and not much else, count on defense and home crowd to suffocate opponent's comeback attempts. Rinse, lather, repeat. As someone making picks on a public blog for all to scrutinize, I must say, I like predictable. Keep it comin', Pete Carroll!
- You know who else is predictable? Interception Santa!! Ho ho ho, Carson Palmer had balls to deliver to all the good boys on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, to the delight of Josh Freeman, Doug Martin, Greg Schiano, and those who picked the Bucs, namely Jason and me. Only Carson could put up 414 yards and three TDs and ruin the day by stopping the Oakland comeback bid cold with his legendary inaccuracy. As for Martin, who ran for 251 and four TDs, I can't help but be impressed, but the kid is from Oakland, so be wary. This was probably one of those all-timers that he pulled out to show off to his homiez. Don't count on anything remotely resembling this game in the future.
- I think the Bears defense just scored again.
- Some of those ref calls early made me think that the New York Giants were the chosen ones and that they were going to be awarded the game versus Pittsburgh to honor the victims of SuperStorm Sandy. Steelers coach mike Tomlin tried to give the game to the Giants too, calling for a dumb fake FG run in the 4th quarter that didn't fool anyone. What happened was a little stunning and hard to believe. All at once, Eli Manning lost his command and started throwing the ball all over the place, Isaac Redman started breaking off big running plays for Pittsburgh, and the Giants appeared to all get tired and worn down on defense. On a day where the Steelers had to fly to the game that morning and should have been the ones wearing down, the G-Men found themselves running out of gas. I put that on Eli ending drives with wild throws and keeping his defense on the field. I also put that on Ahmad Bradshaw and the rest of the Giants' poor excuse for a backfield, because if they could run the ball in the 4th quarter, Eli wouldn't have had to throw.
- Dallas can blame lots of missed tackles for its close loss at Atlanta, but they can also blame themselves for not relying more on Tony Romo. Wha?? Yes, Dallas should have relied more on Tony Romo to win that game. It was clear that their running game was not up to the task. Felix Jones ran for a grand total of 39 yards, and he was the leading rusher. Romo threw 35 times for 321 yards, and I'm sorry, but if you told me before the game that Romo was throwing only 35 times, I'd say the Cowboys would lose. When you bring no run game to the park like Dallas did, you gotta throw around 50 times if you want to have a chance. Their only touchdown of the game was in the 4th quarter in a hurry-up offense where Romo was able to find a rhythm. Hey, I've never said that Romo can't play NFL football. I've always said that he can't seem to stop finding ways to lose games late. But in the case of trying to figure a way to knock off the undefeated Falcons, the only way they were going to find a way to win was through Romo, and terrible coach Jason Garrett was way too conservative in his game plan.
- Keep an eye out for the Eagles as a mail-it-in team, because I don't know how many more times they can gather themselves to take the field for a football game and watch Michael Vick turn the ball over and refuse to throw the thing unless he's about to get clobbered. I know I would be disheartened if I were on the Eagles. No matter what I do for my team, the QB shits on it. Fucking up the lateral on the kickoff return wasn't Vick's fault, at least I don't think it was, but it's another example of having your spirit crushed. New Orleans is the most fun team to watch by a mile. Throw it all around, score, give up yards every way you can imagine, let them score, back and forth they go. In other words, don't buy the hype that they're going to make a run in the season's 2nd half. No team with a D that bad can be trusted except on a game-to-game basis.
YTD Records--Dre 72-57-3, .558; Jay 66-63-3, .512
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