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.

Week 12 Review of the NFL

The Saints go marching in

Let the debate begin. Who will be the MVP? Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers. After seeing how easy both of these quarterbacks make it look on a weekly basis, I’m convinced that these two have now dethroned Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. For a decade the debate was between Brady and Manning. Now the candidates are different. Drew Brees made the Giants look like a terrible team by himself. Now I know that he has great players to throw to, but you have to have a good quarterback to get the ball to them. Everyone is now expecting and wanting a rematch of the Saints and the Packers for the NFC Championship in January. I wouldn’t mind seeing that. It’s better than seeing LSU play Alabama again for the BCS Championship. New Orleans doesn’t seem to have any problems scoring points, but their defense needs to get back to their championship ways if they are to even get to the NFC Championship game. Ever since winning the Super Bowl two years ago the Saints defense has been ineffective to say the least. But I’m still impressed by the offensive onslaught they continue to put out.

The fall of Ndamukong Suh

I was one of Suh’s defenders. He brought a style that was right at the line of being called dirty, but to me it didn’t cross that line. However, as I was watching the Packers begin to run away with the game on Thanksgiving. I noticed that there was a fracas happening near the line of scrimmage. Sure enough, Suh was in the middle of it. But what I saw on the replay was Suh stomping on a Packers lineman’s arm. Immediately I thought there was no way I can defend this guy anymore. He has crossed that line. You don’t step on or kick a guy. That in football is a big no-no. Suh’ explanation afterwards was even worse. Trying to say you lost your balance and ended up stepping on the guy’s arm was pretty pathetic. The tape doesn’t lie. You tried to convince yourself that you did nothing wrong, but in the end you’re the one who needs to face the facts. You even met with the commissioner Roger Goodell a few weeks ago to talk about what you can and can’t do on the field. And you requested the meeting. You’re lucky you were only suspended for 2 games because there were a lot of folks that wanted to gone for a much longer time. Tone it down and don’t talk anymore.

We have our first coaching change

A few weeks back I said that the Miami Dolphins were going to be the first team to fire their head coach. Yeah, I got that wrong. Jacksonville finally let go Jack Del Rio. What was strange is that at the same time owner Wayne Weaver announced that he was selling the team. Now I’m not going to get into the conversation about the Jaguars future in Jacksonville. Honestly I don’t see it anymore. But I was a bit perplexed by the timing of the firing. You have less than half a dozen games left in a lost season. Now was the best time to let Del Rio go? Of course giving the ultimatum of getting into the playoffs or lose job wasn’t a good idea. And neither was the idea of letting QB David Garrard go just before the season started. If you want to win, don’t announce that and then let Garrard go to save some money. That doesn’t really give any of your fans a sense that you want to win. Alas Del Rio was let go after 9 seasons on the job. It’s amazing to think that one of the leagues youngest franchises has only had two head coaches throughout its history. Now they will be looking for their 3rd, but this time with a new owner and maybe a new city to play in.

Labor Peace in Major League Baseball

It’s amazing isn’t it? Who would have thought that in all four major sports that baseball would be the one shining example of labor negotiations? Kudos to everyone involved on both sides for getting together and realizing that the mistakes of the past are never to be made again. Not when your popularity and finances are at an all-time high.

In the midst of a NBA lockout that will most likely end their upcoming season. And the NFL now recovering from their long drawn out squabble. Commissioner Bud Selig and MLBPA leader Michael Weiner should be commended for a relatively painless process. Once the owners came to an agreement amongst themselves on the revenue sharing aspect, everything else began to fall into place.

The biggest change will be to the postseason. Two more Wild Card teams will be added into the mix next season. The top two teams that clinch the Wild Card spots in both leagues will play each other in a one game playoff to determine who moves on to the Division Series. I’ve always felt that less is more with the baseball postseason. However, I’m not going to say it’s the worst idea ever. It should put a bigger emphasis on winning your division rather than playing a one game playoff.

The MLB draft and free agent compensation are getting overhauled starting next year. There will be spending limits on how much a draft pick will receive depending on where they’re selected. Free agency will no longer be separated into ‘Type A’ and ‘Type B’ free agents. That will drastically change how trades will be made and how teams build their teams for the future.

Instant replay will now be expanded to fair/foul calls and whether a ball was caught or trapped by the fielder. It’s pending approval with the umpires, but you’d have to think they won’t shoot this down. I hope. Players will be required to attend the All-Star game. Unless they are truly hurt i.e, on the disabled list or excused by the commissioner’s office. Concussion proof helmets will be implemented for the 2013 season. Assuming they don’t look like ‘The Great Gazoo’ from the Flintstones.

HGH testing will begin this upcoming season. Baseball, not football, basketball or hockey is the first major North American professional sport to implement blood testing for HGH. That’s startling considering how far they’ve come from those congressional hearings. Also players who are arrested for DWI will be required to undergo mandatory evaluation. What that evaluation is remains to be seen, but it certainly would be more than what the Detroit Tigers did with Miguel Cabrera.

Also in this labor agreement all players, managers and coaches may not use smokeless tobacco products during televised interviews and may not carry them in their uniforms. Thankfully baseball did not cave to the ridiculous notion that it should be banned altogether. Yes, it isn’t allowed in the minor leagues, but even I find a problem with that.

The stuff is bad for you. There’s no doubt about it. But just like cigarettes, the government who now wants to ban smokeless tobacco in the major leagues, taxes cigarettes and people are still smoking. You would think it would be more the responsibility of the adults to tell their kids that chewing tobacco isn’t the greatest thing in the world not the government. But I digress.

And last, but not least the American League will have a new member in 2013. The Houston Astros will be moving from the National League Central to the American League West. What would have made more sense to me is if all the baseball teams had realigned, but you can’t always have it your way. Also being put into place is year round interleague play which puts less strain on teams traveling schedules.

It’s amazing to think that all of this could be accomplished with relative ease. And to think that there are still billionaire owners and millionaire players arguing right now over the same kind of issues that baseball has just agreed to without any lockout. I’m glad the NFL figured it out when they did, but it took way too long to get it done. The NBA is right back where they were in 1999. Some progress. But baseball has shocked us all with what is going to be over 20 years of labor peace. Who saw that coming?

Week 11 Review of the NFL

Tebowing

I have to admit that I am now caught up in this ‘Tebowing’ craze. You can go to my twitter account and see for yourself. Regardless of that, Tim Tebow is winning football games. That’s all that should matter, right? All of his mechanics are way off and he doesn’t seem to be comfortable in the pocket. All of that doesn’t matter though as he continues to win games. The Oakland Raiders were caught off guard in their blowout loss to the Broncos. And the New York Jets seemed to forget that Tebow can run the ball better than most quarterbacks. I’ve had my doubts about Mr. Tebow, but I am becoming fascinated with this team. They are playing at another level ever since he was named the starter. It’s also interesting to see how Denver’s VP of football operations John Elway and head coach John Fox handle all the media coverage. Both clearly didn’t want Tebow, but he is giving Denver some hope of making the playoffs this year. Also I’m beginning to get a little irritated about the religious discussion surrounding Tebow. He has every right to talk about his religion. As do those who say he shouldn’t talk about it as much. When has it ever become a problem in sports to mention Jesus Christ? If I’m not mistaken many athletes have done it before Tim Tebow came along. If you don’t like it fine. He’s playing football, not trying to convert you. That includes you Jake Plummer. I could be jumping the gun when I say this, but don’t be surprised if you see Tim Tebow hosting a playoff game this year. Imagine what that will do to the Broncos plans for the future.

‘Da Bears’

It’s time we start to discuss the Chicago Bears. They are currently on a five game winning streak. They handled Philadelphia, Detroit and San Diego with ease. There doesn’t seem to be any stopping the Bears in their pursuit of division rival Green Bay. That is until it was revealed after their win against San Diego that QB Jay Cutler broke his thumb. Now in the ultra competitive NFC, this should be a major problem. Just when Cutler was on fire now the Bears have to turn to QB Caleb Hanie. The same Caleb Hanie who almost led the Bears to the Super Bowl last year when Cutler was knocked out of the game with an apparent knee injury. Now that I’ve jostled your memories, this shouldn’t be a problem at all. The Bears have a good defense and a great special teams. Those two groups have carried them in the past and should get them into the playoffs again. Once there they’re hopeful that Cutler can return, but until then you will see heavy doses of RB Matt Forte. Which could be a bad thing considering that he wants to get paid. He really doesn’t have a choice, but I can guarantee that if he holds up and continues to perform, Forte will get that massive extension he’s been looking for.

I need help with the NFC East

I picked two teams out of the NFC East to make the playoffs this year. They were the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. Now I’m not so sure there will two teams making the playoffs out of this division. The New York Giants were at the top, but they appear to be in another second half collapse which will probably cost Tom Coughlin his job at the end of the year. The Dallas Cowboys are playing great right now, but they have a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way. Can we take them seriously? The Philadelphia Eagles have been terrible. Michael Vick is banged up and the defense is being run by a former offensive line coach. Try to explain to me how that was a good idea. I’d love to know. And I won’t even talk about the Washington Redskins who have all sorts of problems that don’t involve their defense which has been great. It looks like the Cowboys will take the division, but after watching the Eagles this past Sunday, I’m not so sure. What I mean by that is I can’t figure out which team is going to show up. The Cowboys played to lose once again in Washington. The Giants took the Eagles for granted at home no less. Now watch next week as the Cowboys will probably lose to the Miami Dolphins at home. The Eagles will also lose a must win home game against the New England Patriots. And the Giants will forget that the New Orleans Saints are a pretty good team on Monday night. I’ve given up trying to make heads or tails of the NFC East.

Week 10 Review of the NFL

Time to consider San Francisco as a legitimate contender

I would like to first disclose that I’m a Niners fan. If you don’t know by now, you do now. Anyway the Niners are contender right now and for the rest of the season. Their 8-1 record might be flawed playing in the weakest division in the NFL, the NFC West. However, they’ve only played one division opponent so far and that was back in Week 1. Now that they’re getting into the soft part of their schedule it’s to be expected that they can easily finish with a pretty good record. All but two of their final 7 games are against division opponents. Those other two opponents are Baltimore and Pittsburgh. San Francisco has already beaten Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Detroit and most recently the New York Giants. I’ve said it before that QB Alex Smith is finally being brought along the right way and isn’t being asked to do everything for once. RB Frank Gore has been great although he was injured against the Giants, but the Niners have been winning because of their defense. If you haven’t heard of LB Patrick Willis than I suggest you go to nfl.com and start watching some videos. This guy is a beast. He’s been the mainstay of an ever improving defense that has now become elite. For all the true Niners fans that have been through some rough years, that time looks to have finally passed. Go Niners Go!

How far can Houston go?

To answer, they can go pretty far. They have two great running backs in Arian Foster and Ben Tate. WR Andre Johnson will be back healthy before the season is done. However, with the recent news of QB Matt Schaub’s foot injury his season appears to be over. That could put a halt to the Texans playoff hopes, but in the weak AFC South I don’t think it will. Besides the Texans have been winning 4 straight games thanks to their rushing attack. Their defense is playing well and adjusting to the 3-4 scheme put in by Wade Phillips. Remember they don’t have DE/LB Mario Williams either who is out for the year with a torn pectoral. Houston so far has been pretty resilient to the injury bug, but they will have to play perfect football without Schaub. Backup QB Matt Leinart should be all right, but he failed miserably in Arizona and hasn’t started since. Houston needs to hope that Leinart has learned to just manage the game and not try to win it on every play.

The Lions and Bills are who we thought they were and I didn’t let them off the hook

To take a memorable quote from Dennis Green the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills are pretty much what we thought they were. Two teams that were riding high early in the season, but have fallen flat of late. Both are in danger of falling completely out of the playoff picture as well. Thankfully for Buffalo, New England and the NY Jets haven’t been playing great either and they are all still neck and neck with each other. Detroit on the other hand play in a very competitive conference where they had to win this last week against their division rivals the Chicago Bears. They were outplayed in every facet of the game. Why do you still kick the ball to Bears WR Devin Hester is unthinkable still, but the Lions have no running game with RB Jahvid Best sidelined with a concussion. It’s not so much that Best can run between the tackles, but he opens up the field for everyone else. As a result QB Matthew Stafford is being pressed more and more. WR Calvin Johnson has become a non-factor. And the defense has been on the field for far too long. Both the Bills and Lions still have time to turn it around, but we’re already going into Week 11.