Come to find out a lot of people actually like watching football in blizzard like conditions.  The powers that be having been freaking out for the last year knowing that it could possibly happen in New York (it’s really in New Jersey) for the upcoming Super Bowl.  Oh those poor people will have to bundle up at the first sign of snowflakes.  If I remember correctly one of the most iconic games in NFL history happened at the ‘Frozen Tundra’ otherwise known as Lambeau Field between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys in the late 60s.  Why would it hurt the NFL if there’s some inclement weather?  Peyton Manning’s only Super Bowl win was in Miami and it was raining throughout most of that game.  Were folks complaining then?  Maybe, but that was my first Super Bowl where I was watching it on a HD television.  Seeing the raindrops coming off the helmets in slow motion was amazing.  Anyway if there is snow at this seasons Super Bowl so what?  Millions will still watch and maybe millions more with pictures like the kind we saw this past weekend.

Finally a game that lived up to its billing.  Just because I’m a fan of one of the teams doesn’t diminish the fact that when you watch the Seahawks and 49ers playing each other, there’s bound to be some interesting moments.  You start with the head coaches who just don’t like each other.  They don’t show it, but Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has had a problem with 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh going back to their days at USC and Stanford respectively.  It’s even better now because they get to play each other twice a year instead of once.  The players for both teams keep it respectful and put all their talk on the field and not with reporters.  It would be nice to see them go at it again in the playoffs, but we’ll have to wait and see on that.  The 49ers close win means that they keep the Seahawks from clinching the division for another week.  If Seattle does end up losing their lead in the division they’ll be looking back at this game as one they shouldn’t have taken lightly.

The Carolina Panthers had an eight game winning streak going into New Orleans this past weekend.  Now after their loss to their division rival some think that this is exactly what Carolina needed. Say the Panthers beat the Saints in the Superdome.  They would be expected to win the division at that point with their next meeting against the Saints coming in North Carolina.  If that were the case the Panthers could be in a position to be the second seed in the NFC and be a contender for the Super Bowl.  Now that the hypothetical scenario is out of the way, with the Panthers loss they now have a chance to get right and learn from their mistakes. There were plenty of them.  Their defense was exposed and couldn’t get a consistent pass rush.  Their offense was stagnant and didn’t have a killer instinct.  This could go badly for them, but the Panthers are still in a good position to clinch a playoff spot. They’re a dangerous team only if they play like it.

They are on an incredible winning streak at home right now. They’ve clinched the first playoff spot in the NFC and it appears that they could be clinching home field advantage in the playoffs with another win or two.  That’s a good thing for them because they certainly are a different team when they play on the road, although they’ve only lost one game so far this season.  I have been impressed with their performance this season.  That includes the thumping they gave the New Orleans Saints on Monday night. Jumping out to a 17-0 first quarter lead just about guaranteed a victory for the Seattle Seahawks.  What all this doesn’t guarantee right now is a trip to New York for the Super Bowl.  They have been exposed in some of their games this year and though their record doesn’t show it they do have lapses both on offense and defense. They seem to forget their identity.  If that happens down the stretch they could lose that home field advantage and maybe the NFC West, but they have a pretty sizable lead going into the final four games of the season.

It helps that the 49ers are starting to look more balanced on offense.  With the return of WR Michael Crabtree from an achilles tear in May it seems to have rejuvenated QB Colin Kaepernick. The St. Louis Rams are a good defense, but the Niners were able to expose their flaws and Kaepernick had a good performance throwing the football.  Can this continue to finish the season with games against the Seahawks, Buccaneers, Falcons and Cardinals? It’s certainly possible.  They are the defending NFC Champions and they still boast one of the best defenses in the league and have a pretty good leg up on their competition that is stumbling behind them.  Health and consistency will be keys for the 49ers as it will be with their rivals the Seahawks.  If San Francisco beats Seattle this Sunday it could be an interesting finish in the NFC West.

To be this obvious is really a disservice to cheaters.  It’s hard to say which one was more obvious.  Mike Tomlin on the sidelines (pictured above) or Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd clearly telling his player to “hit me” that resulted in Kidd’s cup being spilled on the basketball court.  Both of them are dumb for doing it and were rightly punished with fines for their actions.  Is that to say they won’t do it again or something similar to get their way?  Absolutely not.  Coaches have done things that can be called cheating or getting an edge on the competition, but that’s with far fewer television cameras watching their every move.  I’d expect this kind of stuff at the high school level or at some college venues with fewer eyes.  During a nationally televised game?  Hardly.  A lot was discussed about their actions, but only reaction was that it was stupid and they were caught doing it.  Trying to pass it off as if nothing was done, like Jason Kidd did made it even worse.  Tomlin knew he was screwed, judging by his smile after the play.  He is a more seasoned coach and should know better, but Kidd is a new head coach and was a desperate play to steal a win.  Whatever the reasoning behind it the key to cheating is not getting caught.  That’s usually an easy thing to remember.

I figured it was to good to be true that the Broncos would shut out the Patriots.  Denver was up 24-0 at halftime and then as soon as the second half started, New England had scored 31 unanswered points.  It’s a bad sign for a team to give up that many points after being ahead by nearly the same amount.  Also what was weird about this game is that Peyton Manning once again looked lost playing in Foxboro.  The weather wasn’t great by any means, but Patriots QB Tom Brady had by far his best game of the season with the wild wind.  Granted New England made sure that Tom Brady wasn’t throwing into the wind with them deferring to Denver after winning the coin toss in overtime.  I thought that would be a mistake, but it wasn’t after all.  The Patriots made the necessary adjustments and the Broncos looked lost once they left the locker room for the second half.  This game could have a big impact later in the season if the Broncos lose a few more games and don’t get a first round bye.  That could come back to haunt them if they have to play in Foxboro with the same weather conditions.

For far too long Philip Rivers has been an average quarterback.  He showed a lot of good promise earlier in his career, but that was with more weapons at his disposal.  Soon after most of those players left Rivers started to struggle and the offensive line wasn’t as effective in pass protection.  Rivers is the definition of a pocket passer.  Seeing him throw on the run is painful to watch, but he can make a play if given time.  The most important thing the Chargers needed to do was give Rivers a safety net and seeing how he interacts with RB Danny Woodhead in the passing game reminds me of when he had LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles bailing him out.  That was the reason why the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t have an answer for the Chargers.  Those plays setup the big completions that San Diego would need later on to win the game.  I don’t think San Diego will clinch a playoff spot this year, but going forward if they can keep the offense running like this the Chargers will bounce back next year and beyond.  Their defense still needs some work, but San Diego could make a move next year and for the rest of this one.

The Green Bay Packers desperately need Aaron Rodgers back. The Chicago Bears seem to be doing okay without Jay Cutler, but their defense looks uninspired.  The Detroit Lions don’t seem to want to increase their lead in the division and the Minnesota Vikings are playing spoiler right now.  If it weren’t for the NFC East, the NFC North could be considered the worst division in the NFL. Detroit and Green Bay, once Aaron Rodgers returns, are playoff teams, but I don’t think they will go very far.  If Chicago could be consistent week to week they might be in the conversation as well, but that’s a big question when Jay Cutler comes back.  If he struggles do they bench him in favor of Josh McCown who has played well in his absence?  With the case of the Lions I don’t know what to think. Their offense is so good that it puzzles me to see Matthew Stafford throw 4 interceptions against the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  If he threw one less interception they would have probably won that game.  The Packers are a different team with Aaron Rodgers and it showed with their tie agains the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field.  They had no life in them going into overtime and their confidence fell early with Scott Tolzien’s struggles.  Matt Flynn was signed earlier in the week and led the Packers in a comeback to take the game to overtime, but Green Bay couldn’t do anymore.  Once Rodgers returns the Packers should get back to normal and Detroit should be better than those 4 interception performances.  Chicago is the wild card here, but there isn’t much time left for them to do something about it.

Aside from the sideshow that saw Panthers WR Steve Smith duke it out with Patriots CB Aqib Talib and hearing Patriots QB Tom Brady drop an ‘F’ bomb to the referees as they picked up a flag that would have guaranteed New England at least one more play to win the game, this was a good Monday night game.  Most this season have been dreadful, but not as bad as the Thursday night showcases on the NFL Network.  Regardless this was a big victory for the Carolina Panthers as it puts them well into contention in the NFC and the Patriots loss doesn’t mean much other than to say that they aren’t invincible and they won’t always have the perception of being bailed out by the referees.  If this means that Cam Newton will now live up to the potential that comes with being the number one overall pick then this will be the game that started his rise to that elite level.  Time will tell and now the NFL will quickly focus to the Patriots hosting the Broncos next week and hopefully folks will forget about that flag being picked up.

I haven’t gone this far in calling the NFL a ‘flag football’ league, but after this past weekend I have no choice now.  First and foremost I’m a San Francisco 49ers fan.  If you didn’t know before, you know now.  Even if I wasn’t a Niners fan that hit that Ahmad Brooks put on Saints QB Drew Brees was a clean hit in my book.  Although my book would classify a lot of perceived ‘dirty’ hits nowadays as clean hits, but I’ve seen far worse hits on quarterbacks this year and sometimes they were called, but not all the time.  Why was this one?  I saw Colin Kaepernick get pushed to the ground after he clearly threw the ball away and took nearly two full steps before being pushed.  Was there a flag?  Nope.  Where’s the consistency in the calls?  That’s all I’m asking.  49ers LB Ahmad Brooks is appealing his fine which might or most likely not be reduced, but the damage is done.  He’ll be thinking twice about touching the quarterback when he has to and we are getting closer to a flag being around the quarterbacks waist or two-hand touch.  Which do you prefer?

If I’m Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, stop talking about Michael Vick.  As long as Nick Foles is healthy this is your quarterback.  At least former Eagles head coach Andy Reid did something right by drafting Foles a few years before he was fired.  As of right now the Eagles are atop the horrible NFC East which still has the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants still on their heels.  8-8 would be the best record for the division winner at this point, but the way that Foles has been playing of late don’t be surprised if the Eagles push their win total to 10.  I’ve always had second thoughts about this division for a long time.  Almost the majority of ‘experts’ say that this is the toughest division in football.  It is in the sense that no one wants to outright take it.  You never know who will show up, especially when they play each other.  You have to wonder how much longer Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Redskins owner Daniel Snyder keep their current staffs with the disappointment they’ve had this year with high expectations.  Will Tom Coughlin be back if the Giants don’t make the playoffs?  If the Eagles win the division how far could they go in the playoffs? It could be a case of don’t let any team from this division qualify for the playoffs, but the only one I see making any noise going forward would be the Eagles based off of the arm of their current quarterback.

The Panthers certainly made a statement on Sunday by not just beating the 49ers, but being in control of the game.  Even though the stats don’t indicate that Carolina did a good job on offense, they did just enough to score more points than San Francisco.  This was more about the defense though as the Panthers found the 49ers in a state of disarray with Colin Kaepernick appearing lost at times and the Niners offense only converting twice on 13 third down attempts.  One can assume that the absence of Vernon Davis who left with a concussion during the game has a devastating effect on the 49ers.  The Niners defense played great as well, but clearly the Panthers defense is ready to play.  Easily the early favorite to win the NFC Defensive Player of the Year award is Panthers LB Luke Kuechly.  He was all over the place and was instrumental is slowing down Frank Gore in the second half.  This doesn’t mean a free fall for the 49ers, but they needed a wake up call again and the Panthers are contenders for a playoff spot going forward.

I would have thought that it happened before, but no team had ever converted 40 first downs in NFL history until the New Orleans Saints did so on Sunday night.  Drew Brees was his usual self throwing for almost 400 yards and four touchdown passes and to make matters worse for their opponent the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans was able to run the ball for 242 yards.  Now if the Saints can have that kind of balance on a consistent basis then their defense will be well rested for a Super Bowl run.  This doesn’t bode well for the rest of the NFC and it shows that the Dallas Cowboys are in a sad state.  Yes, even the best defense in the NFL couldn’t have slowed down that kind of an offense, but the Cowboys couldn’t even do anything on offense the entire game.  The state of the NFC East division is getting worse every week.  If the Saints can continue that kind of balance against the 49ers next week, then there is no telling who could slow them down.

I have avoided talking about or even mentioning the Dolphins sad state of affairs when it comes to Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin for a long time now.  Most immediately said this was a case of bullying and jumped on the bandwagon of saying bullying is wrong and should never be tolerated.  Then it became more of an issue of racism with Incognito using the ‘N’ word in voice and text messages to Martin.  And to top it off most of the Dolphins players are backing Incognito over Martin and said that there wasn’t any kind of physical or verbal altercations between the two teammates. So far only Incognito has spoken publicly and Martin is getting treatment and will meet with NFL investigators in the near future. 

What do I think of all of this?  In short I don’t care.  My thought process is this; what goes on in a locker room is none of my business or anyone else’s unless it involves someone threatening the livelihood of another.  Then it should be taken care of immediately by the team and league not those in the media.  We don’t know what happened and we shouldn’t try to solve it amongst ourselves.  Second is that with a name like Incognito you would have to think something is wrong with him.  Is that a common last name?  My last name isn’t common either, but Incognito?  Anyway he was kicked off of two college football teams and the St. Louis Rams dumped him early in his pro career.  The Dolphins needed help on the offensive line and brought him in and it worked out on the field.  Everything else seems to point to a weird individual who can’t control himself.  

Again the only reason why I’m mentioning this is because we need to let things play out and take it at face value.  I didn’t watch all of Incognito’s interview with Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer.  One thing that troubled me is that Incognito was almost trying to defend himself for using the ‘N’ word.  For one that word will never be banned.  You can’t ban people from saying something unless you’re in a communist country and I would like to think that most people understand the meaning of that word and don’t think that because you say it a certain way it’s okay now.  

But the one thing I found interesting about what Incognito said is the text messages that Martin sent back to him when this all started.  Martin essentially told Richie that he didn’t blame him and that this was getting blown out of proportion.  So why is this becoming a big deal then?  I would like to hear more from Martin, but we need to let the NFL look into this and wait for their report. They said it would all be made public so lets just wait and see.