Week 17 Review of the NFL

The 2011 season might not have been. Thankfully we were able to see some amazing moments and record breaking quarterback play. For the final weekly review in the NFL, I’m going to look back at the previous weeks of the season. You can say it’s a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly moments of the 2011 season.

Week 1

Carolina Panthers rookie QB Cam Newton arrived with a 400 yard passing performance in his first NFL game. The New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers opened the season with what many believed to be a preview of this years NFC Championship game. The Dallas Cowboys showed us right from the start that they were destined to miss the playoffs.

Week 2

It was starting to look like the Buffalo Bills were destined for a magical season. I was wrong about that one. Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick showed that he is the highest risk quarterback in the NFL suffering a concussion in Atlanta. Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo breaks a rib and plays his best game of his career.

Week 3

The Buffalo Bills are riding high. Once again, I was wrong. The Oakland Raiders looked like a dangerous team. That’s when RB Darren McFadden was healthy though. Just like the Bills, the Detroit Lions were also on a winning streak to start the season.

Week 4

Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan opens his big mouth and actually said Lions WR Calvin Johnson wasn’t good enough to be the 3rd receiver in Dallas. Try telling that to Tony Romo. Besides the Bills, the Washington Redskins were also 3-1 at this point in the season. Shocking I know. We begin to wonder who will be the first head coach to be fired. Quite a few of them were.

Week 5

Raiders owner Al Davis passed away. His team lived up to his motto. Tim Tebow was given an opportunity and almost lead the Broncos to victory. Looking back it was too early to panic for Eagles and Jets fans.

Week 6

Instead of the actual game everyone was talking about the little spat between Lions head coach Jim Schwartz and 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh. Saints head coach Sean Payton was taken out on the sidelines. Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett in one of his many peculiar decision making moments late in a game.

Week 7

Perhaps the worst football weekend ever. Sorry to remind you. Tim Tebow made his triumphant return to Florida in a victory in Miami. The fight to get Stanford QB Andrew Luck begins.

Week 8

At this point the elite teams were beginning to run away from the pack. Aside from the Buffalo Bills all the good teams went on to make the playoffs. Most of the other teams did not elevate themselves from their bad or ugly status.

Week 9

An almost exact replica of Super Bowl XLII between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots took place. The Packers and Chargers had a shootout at Qualcomm Stadium. The Ravens and Steelers had a good old fashion football game that went down to the last second.

Week 10

It was time to consider the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans as legitimate contenders going into the stretch run. The Lions and Bills began to cool off after such great starts to the season.

Week 11

I participated in the ‘Tebowing’ craze. ‘Da Bears’ were on a roll until QB Jay Cutler broke his thumb. I was having trouble figuring out the NFC East. I still am.

Week 12

Saints QB Drew Brees began to put his name into the MVP conversation with Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. Lions DT Ndamukong Suh crosses the line. Jacksonville makes a change as they fired their head coach Jack Del Rio

Week 13

The playoff picture starts to take shape as the 49ers and Packers clinch playoff spots. The Lions as a whole couldn’t shake the ‘dirty’ label. Trouble was brewing in Chicago.

Week 14

The Texans and Saints clinch playoff spots. It was more impressive for the Texans as they lost their top 2 quarterbacks to injury and were led by a rookie to the playoffs. I finally figured out why the Cowboys struggle so much. The Broncos success was not all because of Tim Tebow.

Week 15

The AFC was up for grabs this late in the season. The Green Bay Packers lost their first game. I still think it was a good thing for them. Calvin Johnson takes the top spot among the best wide receivers in the NFL.

Week 16

A front flip into the endzone for a touchdown. What a surprise. The NFC East will be decided during the last game of the season. Move over Dan Marino. Drew Brees is new record holder.

Week 16 Review of the NFL

The most amazing play ever

There have been amazing catches. Long touchdown runs. And bone jarring hits. But there hasn’t been a play like the one in Cincinnati made by Bengals WR Jerome Simpson. My mind was blown. I had never seen a more spectacular play. I’m not going to say that this was the greatest play of all time. It wasn’t in a playoff game or the Super Bowl, but it’s now in my top 10. Simpson caught a pass from QB Andy Dalton over the middle of the field. He proceeded towards the endzone where he decided the only way to get into the endzone was to leap over the defender. He made it into the endzone but he was going to be in for a rough landing, or so I thought. All of a sudden he begins to turn himself upright in the middle of the air and sticks the landing in the endzone. Touchdown Bengals. I’m sure it’s all over youtube right now. Either way you have to see it again and again. It was a once in a lifetime kind of a play.

Showdown for the NFC East

It has come down to the final game of the season for the NFC East. Who could have seen this coming? The New York Giants weren’t going to let the New York Jets beat them. But the Dallas Cowboys laid a goose egg in their stadium against the Philadelphia Eagles. Nearly being shutout. Now with Cowboys QB Tony Romo nursing a bruised throwing hand, the question all week will be about his health. I would expect the New York Giants to win this game since it is being played in New York. The Giants did beat the Cowboys a few weeks ago in Dallas. But I don’t trust either one of these teams. Just when you think they’ve figured it out, they fall flat on their faces. Which Eli Manning will show up? Will the Giants pass rush live up to their potential. Will the Dallas Cowboys actually play defense for an entire game? Can the Cowboys run the ball consistently? Those are the most important questions for both teams. Whichever team can successfully quell those questions they will have a NFC East title and host a playoff game.

A new record

Probably the one thing that most people love about football is that you don’t have to know a lot about it. And that’s okay. Some folks could care less about the historical records and statistical achievements of the games greats. What Saints QB Drew Brees did on Monday Night Football was one for the ages though. Hall of Fame QB Dan Fouts held the record for most passing yards in a single season with 4,802 yards. That record lasted for only 3 years until another Hall of Fame QB Dan Marino shattered that record with 5,084 yards. That record has stood for 27 years. No one has come close to getting 5,000 yards passing since. That is until QB Drew Brees arrived in New Orleans. He came close to breaking it in 2008 when on the last pass play of the season it was an incomplete pass. This year though he broke the record with one game to spare. Chances are that this record will never be broken, but with the way the league is heading towards an offensive explosion. It might not last as long as Marino’s record. Either way it is quite an accomplishment. To be only the second person to throw for over 5,000 yards in a season and do it twice is something to be proud of.

Week 15 Review of the NFL

The AFC is up for grabs

The New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers all clinched playoff spots this past week. The Patriots clinched their division with their victory over the Denver Broncos. Baltimore and Pittsburgh had playoff spots without even playing their games. But they both lost. Thus creating a debate about the AFC’s top team. I don’t want to crown the Patriots just yet. When you have Tom Brady the sky is the limit. I don’t like their defense at all. If Brady doesn’t get them 30+ points, they will lose. The Ravens don’t seem to want to play their best game when it matters. And Pittsburgh can only go as far as Ben Roethlisberger’s ankle can take them. It should be mentioned that I didn’t consider the Houston Texans as a top team once their QB Matt Schaub went down. They will host a playoff game, but rookie QB T.J. Yates does have his limits. Then there’s the AFC West. All four teams have a chance at the playoffs. Honestly I think it’s down to the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos, but those pesky San Diego Chargers figured out that it was December. Now they’re on a roll. It figures that they revert back to their old ways. After seeing how the AFC is panning out you can see why I’m not going to rush to any decision on who will be atop this conference once the playoffs start.

Perfect no more

Did I think the Green Bay Packers could finish the season 16-0? Yes. Would it have been a good thing going into the playoffs? No. Not in the sense that they were going to run the table. The New England Patriots went down this path before and didn’t win the one game that mattered. The Packers could have ended up in a similar scenario. Now I don’t believe for a second that they wanted to lose a game. No team wants that. But I bet you that on the plane ride back home they were all breathing a collective sigh of relief. Now they can focus on getting that one victory to clinch home field on Christmas day against the Chicago Bears. But they will need to protect Aaron Rodgers with a banged up offensive line. It’s a tough task, but if any team can do it, the Green Bay Packers can.

They call him ‘Megatron’

No running game, no problem if you’re the Detroit Lions. When you have a guy in Calvin Johnson to throw the ball to, QB Matthew Stafford’s job is a lot easier. Now I don’t know how you could lose Calvin Johnson on the football field, but the Oakland Raiders showed you exactly how to do it. Calvin had a career game with 9 catches, 214 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game winner. This was a must win game for both teams, but it was made even worse for the Raiders who could have tied with their division rivals, the Denver Broncos for the division lead. Detroit showed that they are the comeback kids as they have done it before. Remember their Week 4 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys? They were down 24-3 when Cowboys QB Tony Romo threw back to back interceptions for touchdowns. Then the Lions scored 17 points in the 4th quarter to complete their come from behind victory. Calvin Johnson caught two touchdowns in that game as well. They occurred in the 4th quarter. Obviously the Oakland Raiders didn’t read or bother to write that in their scouting report for this game. Maybe now the rest of the league will grow wise to this guy nicknamed ‘Megatron’.

Week 14 Review of the NFL

Two more teams are in the playoffs

Just a few weeks ago it seemed as if the Houston Texans were dead in the water. They had lost their starting quarterback Matt Schaub and their backup quarterback Matt Leinart in consecutive weeks. In steps 5th round pick QB T.J. Yates. In his first two starts he’s up against the Atlanta Falcons and the Cincinnati Bengals. All that’s on the line is a playoff berth. The first in franchise history. No problem. Yates threw a TD pass against the Falcons, but the Texans defense stepped up and held the Falcons to only 10 points. In Cincinnati though it was a different story. Houston was down by 9 going into the 4th quarter. The Texans running game was being shutdown all day long. Yates lead the Texans to a come from behind victory throwing for 300 yards and 2 touchdown passes. Amazing to think that Houston will be hosting a playoff game with a rookie QB getting them to that point.

The New Orleans Saints didn’t make it easy for themselves in Tennessee. But QB Drew Brees makes it look too easy and lead the Saints to another playoff berth. With their division rival Atlanta Falcons coming from behind to beat the Carolina Panthers, the Saints will have to wait another week to see if they can clinch the division title. Assuming the Saints beat Minnesota at the Metrodome and the Falcons beat Jacksonville in the Georgia Dome. It will set up a fantastic Week 16 Monday Night matchup between Atlanta and New Orleans at the Superdome. I’m really hoping for that outcome.

The reason the Cowboys struggle

It really isn’t that obvious, but it was after watching them play this past Sunday against the New York Giants. Dallas’ problem is expectations. Owner Jerry Jones has put far too much pressure on this team to win a division title every year. Finish with at least 12 wins. And always play for a championship. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not working with these Cowboys. I believe QB Tony Romo can win in this league, but not with the Cowboys. It won’t happen. Why? The players around him don’t know how to handle the pressure. You mean to tell me that WR Miles Austin after playing in that new billion dollar stadium for a couple years now can’t find the football in the lights? Pretty lame if you ask me. What happened to that spectacular defense we were going to see from the Cowboys new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan? It shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone knowing that Ryan’s two previous jobs as defensive coordinator were with the Cleveland Browns and the Oakland Raiders. Ryan’s defenses have been ranked in the top 10 only one time; 2006 in Oakland. The rest of the time they’ve been ranked near the bottom. Also head coach Jason Garrett seems to be wilting under the pressure as well. Time after time he has made some boneheaded decisions that have cost his team wins and it could cost him his job as well. Put it to rest once and for all. The Dallas Cowboys shouldn’t be counted on to be Super Bowl contenders unless they prove it otherwise.

It’s not all about one guy

I know I’ve talked about Broncos QB Tim Tebow a lot this season. Rightfully so. He’s a unique individual and a unique quarterback. And I do know that he isn’t doing everything to help the Denver Broncos win. Their defense has done so much this season to put Tebow in position to win the game for them in the 4th quarter. Or to tie it and then win it in overtime. Also the other teams have done their part as well. Case in point this past week when Bears RB Marion Barber runs out of bounds with a minute to go. That gave the Broncos time with no timeouts to drive down the field and tie the game at 10 going into overtime. Then in overtime Barber fumbles the football giving the Broncos another opportunity to win the game, which they did. Get ready to see the Denver Broncos hosting a playoff game this year. Because I don’t see the Oakland Raiders waking up anytime soon.

Week 13 Review of the NFL

Two teams are in

It’s time to acknowledge the first two teams to have clinched a playoff spot in the NFL. The Green Bay Packers (12-0) will be defending their Super Bowl championship this season. And the San Francisco 49ers (10-2) have clinched a playoff spot and their division for the first time since 2002. That was the Steve Mariucci and Jeff Garcia days. Both teams are starting to bring back memories of those Brett Favre-Steve Young days of the late 90s. They haven’t played each other yet this season, but I am anticipating that they will meet. Either way you can rest assure that the NFL scheduling czars will put Green Bay and San Francisco against one another next season. Congratulations to both teams. I look forward to the NFC playoff brackets to be the best this season.

The undisciplined Lions

I tweet quite a bit when there is football on TV. I was almost speechless during the Sunday night game as the Detroit Lions were basically falling apart at the seams. They committed 11 penalties for 107 yards. My tweet to this was, “11 penalties for the Lions. are they trying to be the Oakland Raiders of the NFC?” It was a valid point. What has happened to this team? It was their first game without the suspended DT Ndamukong Suh. Some folks thought that Suh was the only problem. Not the case. It starts with the head coach Jim Schwartz. He has done a great job to turn around the culture in that organization. However, he has done a terrible job in reeling in his players. The Lions attitude is a reflection upon their head coach. Now I don’t expect that to happen again, but make no mistake that the Lions are losing some scoring opportunities thanks in part to their stupid penalties.

Trouble with a capital ‘T’

Can you hear the entire Chicago Bears fan base screaming, “UH-OH!” QB Caleb Hanie is not the answer. I can say that for a fact after just two games. A freak hail mary touchdown to end the first half by the Kansas City Chiefs was the clincher in their game at Soldier Field. That entire place was stunned and probably realized at that point that the game was over. I sure thought so. The Bears need WR/KR Devin Hester to score all of their touchdowns for the rest of the season. Why is WR Roy Williams still playing football? And why are there discussions of QB Brett Favre willing to play for the Bears if they call? I’m glad I’m not a Bears fan right now. Time to prepare for the offseason.