- Games in no detail: Broncos-Raiders (Peyton still isn't connecting on deep throws, but Denver covered anyway because Oakland stinks), Chiefs-Browns (uh, don't look now, but Cleveland actually has some playmakers), Chargers-Steelers (if WR Danario Alexander was there as a Philip Rivers target all season, San Diego would still be contending), Jets-Jaguars (the only way the Jets can win these days--42 rushes and 19 throws), Falcons-Panthers (Atlanta is so overrated), Eagles-Buccaneers (oh, that Tampa secondary), Rams-Bills (ugly weather, ugly game, but Buffalo safety George Wilson shoulda picked off Sam Bradford and won it twice), Cardinals-Seahawks (your all-time FedEx Mail-It-In™ Team, oh, and fire Whisenhunt now).
- Wait, I'm really confused--the Baltimore Ravens, flag bearers of fearsome, old-school defense, give up the ass to Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins and blow a game to Washington that Baltimore had sewn up...and the offensive coordinator gets fired the next day?! I'm shellshocked, and I bet so was Cam Cameron. Nothing against the new OC, Jim Caldwell, but Cameron was charged with the task of making Joe Flacco and the passing game "elite," then when everyone complained about Ray Rice not running enough last week, he fed Rice the rock this week as the Ravens built a 28-20 lead with a few minutes remaining. The loss goes squarely on the defense, if you ask me. Even the stats bear out what's going on with Baltimore this year. They're 16th in pass offense, not elite at all but the very definition of okay, but the pass D is 23rd. Overall, they're 18th in offense but 24th in defense. This warrants the canning of the OC? Really?? And what's Caldwell going to do in the next couple of weeks that will put Baltimore in better position to win the Super Bowl? Inquiring minds wanna know. Washington keeps chugging along, but RG3 can't possibly play next week with that hyperextended knee. Let's see how this Cousins kid handles another whole game.
- Another tough effort by Tennessee, another key mistake or two made by the QB Jake Locker that virtually gives the game to the opponent. It wasn't enough to let Indianapolis cover, unfortunately for me. Much has been said about the Colts and their miracle season, so I'll leave Chuckstrong alone and let them bask in 9-4. I want to acknowledge how the Titans have fought and improved in several areas, notably WR play and pass rush. They didn't get much pressure off the edge this year despite bringing in Kamerion Wimbley, but others have started stepping up and pressuring the QB, new names like Derrick Morgan and Kenny Klug. And the receiving corps has steadily improved, with Nate Washington as the possession veteran and kids Kenny Britt and Kendall Wright, along with TE Jared Cook, making plays. I'm a Jake Locker guy, so I'm all for him continuing to play and make mistakes and learn now. I think he'll be pretty damn good in a couple of years. Cook's hurt now, but I'll still make another pick for next week early (which hasn't gone well for me, but what the hay). The Titans will show up on the Monday night stage and play ugly football against the Jets, and they will beat them. We don't have to watch it, and who would want to.
- Nothing but questions for the Chicago Bears after another big loss. Why won't Jay Cutler play fundamentally sound and stop flinging flat-footed throws that get picked off because they don't have enough juice behind them? Why did they give all that money to RB Matt Forte in the offseason when he's just an average back? How do they allow Adrian Peterson to penetrate them like a basketball player in a brothel on the very first play of the game knowing that Minnesota has no other offense? And how does coach Lovie Smith let his team go into Minneapolis and lose the tie for the division lead to a Vikings squad spiraling out of playoff contention?? The Bears may not win again this year if they don't answer these questions, and yes, I'm aware that they still have Arizona on their sked.
- Dallas actually should have screwed up their attempt at an "inspirational" win the day after a teammate died because they were losing in the 4th quarter at Cincinnati and the Bengals were moving the ball easily against them. But in the 3rd and 4th quarters, A.J. Green uncharacteristically started dropping passes, including one on the edge of the end zone with no defenders around him. Give Tony Romo and his pass catchers the credit for engineering the comeback, but it doesn't happen if Green doesn't develop butterfingers. And that's why the Cincinnati Bengals are, and always will be, nothing but bumslayers.
- The Dolphins and 49ers were, as I thought, very careful and conservative on offense as they tried not to make mistakes and let their respective defenses find a way to win. San Francisco scored on one drive that started inside Miami's red zone because of a muffed punt, and they scored their last TD on a read-option sprint by QB Colin Kaepernick that went for about 640 yards. So I think Miami should have covered that spread for me, but it didn't work out. What I wonder is, can SF win a title that way? The careful and conservative plan got Alex Smith to the playoffs last year, but they had to open it up in order to hold off the Saints in the playoffs, then they couldn't open it up against the Giants, or else they would have won that one. I still see the obvious plan by Coach Insane to have the better athlete at QB able to open it up when they need it in this year's playoffs. But watching the Miami game, I wonder if they will wait until it's too late to try to stop being conservative. They can't rely on muffed punts to beat people.
- The New York Giants got a complete Eli Manning game against the Saints, and that's going to get totally ignored in the wake of David Wilson's breakout performance. New Orleans had a couple of moments in the 3rd quarter when it appeared that they would rally and mount a big comeback, and they were snuffed out by kick returns by Wilson that would break any team's spirit. But before the returns and late in the game, Eli made some magnificent throws to put points on the board and punch the New Orleans D right in the balls. This game is what happens when Eli's on his game and the G-Men can complement him with an explosive athlete in the backfield and on returns. That combo may be unbeatable. We'll see what Wilson can do from here now that every opponent will key on him. But don't take your eye off the ball--the real indicator of the team's chances of repeating is all about Eli.
- Green Bay ran the rock in the 2nd half and added another element in the elements. Steady snow made an effective passing game problematic for Aaron Rodgers and company, so they switched gears adroitly in the 3rd and 4th quarters and gashed Detroit for big runs as a way to move the ball. That had to be frightening for potential Packer playoff teams. The Lions actually had a ten-point lead, and then they started finding ways to lose, as they always do, highlighted by a Matt Stafford fumble where he cocked his arm to throw and simply lost the ball backwards with no players around him, which was picked up and ran in for a GB touchdown. A garbage time FG made this one a push, robbing me of another win, but I'm still encouraged by Green Bay's ability to win a game in a different manner than they usually win. They should be getting injured stars back soon, too, meaning they'll be getting healthy at the perfect time.
- Houston has some questions to answer as well after Monday night in Massachusetts, the biggest being, how did coach Gary Kubiak bring his 11-1 Texans team up to New England unprepared for varsity speed? They looked like the JV squad scrimmaging with the big boys on a Wednesday after school. The offensive line looked helpless, the entire defense looked hopeless, and DE J.J. Watt was breathless, clearly ineffective and huffing and puffing due to the manic tempo of the Patriots offense. And he's virtually their whole pass rush, and the Giants prove every five years that the only way to tame Tom Brady is rushing him, so once that element was gone, Houston had no chance. I said it after the previous big Houston prime-time game when they got dong-whipped by Green Bay, and I'll say it again: Don't get fooled by the record, Houston's not very good.
Week 14 Records--Dre 7-8-1, .467, Tout Service 2-1; Jay 7-8-1, .467, Tout Service 0-3
YTD Records--Dre 105-97-6, .520, Tout Service 5-4; Jay 100-102-6, .495, Tout Service 0-8-1
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