NFL Instant Replay: Week 12

[Dr. Tom 0]

My latest masterpiece

 

It has stuff about Jeff George, Ty Willingham, Champ Bailey being overrated, and more, plus the usual.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Why do you have the Packers above the Vikings on the Power Rankings, but behind them in the divisional race? Since the key game for both teams is against each other, and you think that the Packers are better than the Vikings, how did you come to that decision?

[Guest Vitamin X]

I think then he means that the Packers are good, but not better than the Vikings.

 

Man, this is a hell of a week for Green Bay to prove itself.

[Guest Crazy Dan]

Well some of my observations. First, I suffered my first Fantasy Football lost of the season, but I still have clinched first place. I had no idea Graham on Cinci would score 16 points... oh well, my only time I played the wrong player. Plus, none of my stars got into the endzone.

 

As for my thoughts for this week:

 

Cinci vs Browns: Well I am glad defense was the emphasis here as who would have thought these two teams were going to go off like that. Hope all you gamblers took the over. Also sucks that one QB threw for over 400 yds and still lose. Who here sees Cinci getting shut down by Baltimore's D next week?

 

Niners vs Miami - Well it has happened, my Niners are the worse team in football. Now I know how fans felt like back in the 70's. Rattay is not the answer and he has turned the ball over four times that ended any chance of a win in the fourth quarter. Dorsey, who I had high hopes for, has no arm strength. Pickett was the only QB I was impressed with during Preseason and he will not see the light of day because Rattay is the starter. The line can't open up holes for Barlow, who was my fantasy bust of the year, nor do they give Rattay protection. The system is poorly designed so that Rattay's strengths are not being utilized. Erickson is a good college coach and that is where he belongs. Marriucci might have coached poorly the end of the first half of the Tampa Bay playoff game, but I still think he would be a better coach for the Niners right now, as he coached them back to playoff contention from salary cap hell they were in. Injuries to the Secondary and their best D. player has made their defense weak. The Niners had TO at their mercy, due to missing the filing date, and all they get is an injured D-lineman. I don't see a star in the WR's, but I will give it some time, but I am skeptical. Eric Johnson has been a nice suprise as he is finally healthy and will be a drafted Fantasy TE next season. And then lets get to the heart of their problems, the owners. Eddie D. loved his team and did what it took to make the niners a winner. Heck, when Bryant Young was injured on Monday Night a few years back, Eddie D was down on the field to check on his player and rode with him to the hospital. Eddie D also was able to get a plan for a new uplift for Candlestick, which badly needs it. Well Eddie gets busted in that gambling scandal and his sister and husband, Dr. York take over. And now the Niners have lost the magic that made them a top team. They are cheap and run the team like a business. Owners of a team should not own a team as a means of income. Good owners don't worry about bottom line as much, becuase their teams are more for fun and as a side business. I still think York can't name five players on his team. I laugh when I hear how they are committed to winning. Worse, when most owners have said that they wish the Niners had new owners, the Yorks plan on keeping the team. So the Niners have an owner who has no clue what he is doing. For those familiar with the Clippers owner way of owning the Clips, the Niners have a similar plan. One last thing about the Niners, they basically told Walsh to take a hike and gave Donahue a four year extension for sending them back into salary cap hell. This is a team with many problems and the route they are going is towards blackout city, as tickets are easy to get. All I want is a competitive team, some games I have seen them in it into the fourth quarter, but even those games ended with the Niners blowing it. They now are in position to get the #1 pick in the draft, I see them maybe trading the number one pick for more draft picks, as they need help in all aspects. And I think I rather see them do that, then take Leinert, who appears to be made in the mold of a QB who has great talent to make him look good.

 

For the Turkey Games:

 

Colts-Detroit - Peyton is on fire and Detroit played at home. Now if this had been in Ind, it might have been close. But Peyton is my offensive MVP and James has recovered back to his previous form. Definately a team I would hate to face in the playoffs.

 

Bears/Cowboys - Yuck. I spent Turkey day in a cabin without TV, and for once I was so happy. Parcells magic seems not to be working this time with the Cowboys and their defense sucks. Chicago is another team that I really can't get excited about, unless they clone Walter Payton.

 

Diego/KC - Well San Diego is for real. Brees shows that some QB's need about four seasons to fully develop into their own. I am sure Brees thanks Rivers every day for holding out, even though he had not played a single down in the Pros. Memo to Roockies and teams who draft rookies. Only give big bucks to the players who actually perform on the field. Thanks to River's hold out, Brees was given the chance to show that he can play and is a MVP candidate. If San Diego lets him go, will be a very sought after free agent. Also, who would have thought the best FF TE this season would be Gates. I picked this guy up in the free agent pool and next season this will be one of the top TE drafted, as he not only leads the league in Rec, but has many TDs'. Not bad for a player who played BB in college and decided to be a football player. I think people forgot that Shotenheimer(?) is a good coach, with a history of winning. It just took him some time to get his players to buy into the system. As for the Chiefs, Holmes injury hurts, but what hurts even more is that KC did nothing to improve their defense at all in the offseason. Sorry Vermiel, you don't have the offensive weapons you did in St. Louis, and at least that defense was decent. KC's defense is bad and should be the main focus to fix in the off season. Also, I think that their WR's are ok, but none are really standouts, except for Gonzo.

 

Minn/Jacksonville- Moss is back, might take a game or too to get his legs back, but now Dante has his favorite target back. This team has a plethera of RB's, solid receivers, and Dante is having the second best season, next to Payton. His TO's are way down. Sure the dreaded collapse might happen again, but beating a tough Jacksonville defense shows that Minn will fight till the end. Plus, I have Dante, so when Moss is back, I get happy over the possibility of more TD's.

 

Phili-NYG - Any doubt who the best in the East is? Phili is my pick to go to the Superbowl for the NFC. Donnavan with TO, is much better as he has a go to WR he has lacked before. Westbrook has been very solid this year, giving the Eagles a very well balanced team of offensive weapons. And since the Eagles have come so close before, with TO, I think he gives them enough to finally make it to the Super Bowl. And their defense is solid too. As for NYG, well Eli is now being thrown to the Wolves and Warner is pretty much will have those three years in St. Louis to think about riding the pine. Tiki's change in holding of the ball as resulted in no fumbles and many yards, just not enough TD's. NYG have been a suprise and are still in it, but I have feeling that they will fade down the stretch. Interesting to see how Eli does down the stretch. I believe that QB's benefit from a year on the bench at least, but if Warner is not getting it done, then Eli gets his wish to play for NYG, I hope he can withstand his first round of boos.

 

Pitt-Wash - Pitt is one of the top teams in the NFL and Big Ben continues to win and play beyond his years. Bettis still can run and their defense is solid. Defintately a favorite to possibly play in the SuperBowl. I also like how Big Ben has gotten Plaxico involved again, meaning they now have a very balanced Offenese, with Ward, Buress, Bettis, and Staley, which will make them tough to prepare for. As for Wash, well I hate Dan Snyder and so I love to see him lose. I think we are seeing that maybe it wasn't Spurrier who was the problem, as Gibbs is also losing too. I think the Skins need to basically realize Burnell is not the 96 version, but the broken down version who can't move. Ramsey is also not the answer too. Portis is a good back, but he needs a line that can open a hole for him, like Denver did. But this team can't score to save their lives and once again Dan Snyder has proven he doesn't know anything about how to run a football team, as this is another year of making all these signings and still being mediocre. They really need a a QB of the future and a line that can get Portis open.

 

Carolina-TB- Well TB bitch slapped the Niners the week before. Pittman actually is now scoring and opening up the passing game for Griese, who has a nice WR in Clayton. Carolina, lucks into Goings to replace Davis and Foster and still has many problems as they suffer from the Super Bowl hangover. So, you think that TB wins this one easily and continue to climb back into contention. Well, funny how things work out sometimes. TB forgets to score again and Carolina D actually shows the form that got them into the Super Bowl. Oh yeah, this was a Carolina team that had to rally to beat the Niners, so Tampa really did have a great chance to win and well, Carolina had other plans. And so TB hits a serious roadblock in their attempt to make the playoffs. Imagine this was the Super Bowl Champ two years ago.

 

Houston-Tenn- Wow, McNair played, finally. This is a tough player who personafies heart and grit, too bad the injuries might finally have caught up to him, which is a shame. But, Tenn might be looking at making some needed changes, as their season is slowly going bye-bye. I htink that their WR corp might need to get some upgrades. as Mason is the only WR producing. Chris Brown also needs to stay healthy, but he is making Tenn forget about Eddie George. Unfortuntately, Tenn is in downturn slide and will need to start thinking about making changes and rebuild. Houston continues to improve, and I have feeling that when Carr, Davis, and Johnson finally hit their peek, this could be a trio pf players who make the Texans a playoff competitor. I think the Texans have played some bad games of course, but many of their games they have been close. The Texans are on the right path towards respectability.

 

Atl-NO - Vick is learning the West Coast System and is now putting up numbers that make him dangerous through the air and on the ground. Also, he scored two TD's like this. He appears to be the QB on a team that I am sure a first round team has no desire to play due to his running. Algae Crumpler has been his favorite target this season. I am still disappointed in Price, as I think he might have been better served staying in Buffalo, and he just is not producing the numbers he was brought into to make. I also liked the balanced running attacked, as Duckett, Dunn, and Vick all contributed a balanced running attack. As for NO, Jim Haslett is more than likely gone after this season. The Saints have the talent, but they just don't live up to it. They need a coach who will get the Saints to play to their talent. When you have Brooks, Horn, and McCallister, this should be a nice triple threat, but the numbers indicate otherwise. I think Haslett peaked against the Rams in that first round playoff game in 2000, where they knocked the Rams off. People thought this was the start of the Saints decent into top tier teams and they never did live up to that potential they showed. And so Atlanta looks like they will be the South winner and NO will have a new look next season.

 

Buffalo-Seattle - Well, so much for Seattle being a Super Bowl lock. I trully think that the game where they choked against the Rams really put this franchise into a tailspin. Alexander has been great, but the problem is the WR. Hasselbeck has thrown many perfect balls to his WR's that have hit them on the hands, and they drop pass after pass. Robinson has the talent, but drops balls too much. Maybe it is all that dope he smokes. Jackson is solid, but he too drops balls too much. When a 42 year old WR legend has the best hands on the team, you know you have problems. The Seattle D, which looked awesome at the start of the season, has now shown to have some serious holes in it. Also, I trully believe that Holmgren might be an overrated coach. Sure he won a SB with GB, but he also had Favre in his prime. The game that set me off on Holmgren was the next SB, as he got outcoached by Shannahan and made the move to allow Denver to score in an attempt to try to let his offense try to tie. And then, I have just seen Holmgren do an ok job at Seattle. Now, Holmgren is a good coach, but I don't think he is a great coach. And Seattle, which should be in firm control of the West, are in a dead heat with the Rams. As for Buffalo, welcome to the emergence of McGahee, who went off and ran all over Seattle. I guess Travis Henry should start looking for work elsewhere. If McGahee continues this up, the Bills made a great draft decision to take a player who appeared might have been done. But what makes this a concern for Seattle, is that they allowed McGahee to do this on their home field. The Seahawks were embarrassed at home and that should be an indication that this team, even if they make the playoffs, will be watching most/all of the playoffs at home.

 

NYJets-Zona- Well this game was very exciting, compared to maybe a chess match on TV. The Jets find ways to win, but many their record hides the fact that this team will be looking at an early playoff exit. Pennigton getting hurt does not help. I also don't get how Moss came on so strong last season and has gone right back to where he was before. I am not sure because he is being double teamed, or that he just is being ignored for McCaerins (who is an inconsistent fantasy football player, by the way). I think also with Martin finding a rejuvination machine and showing he still is a top back also takes away from Moss as well. I just think that the record of the Jets show wins, but it does show that this is a team that is not dominant like other teams. But, if they can do enought to win, it might not matter. As for Zona, well, I thought they might pull a Victory out here, but I was wrong, they still have much improvemet to make, but they are competitive, and they actually are getting a new stadium (see that Niners, even the Cardninals are going to have a better stadium). I think that Zona has a nice corp of WR, they just need to get a QB and a RB to take over for Smith, and this team will be competetive in a few seasons. Damn, when the Cards future is brighter than my Niners, it really makes me glad I play Fantasy Football.

 

NEW England -Baltimore - Well, typical Patriots. Use a shut down defense and the offense scores around the 24 points, which is plenty enough to win. And they do enough to make sure the other team can not come back. Dillon was great this game and is proving to be very nice RB that the Patriots have been missing (no offense to Antwain Smith) who can eat yards and keep the ball in the Patriots hands. Still, there were many FG's, so not the most exciting game. Also, Baltimore really missed Lewis, once again, for without him, the Ravens really couldn't do much. Boller needs some WR's to be able to throw too, especially when the running game can not get going. I actually think Boller might not be the Ravens QB they need, that QB was named Trent Dilfer, but he was not Elvis. So the Ravens might make the playoffs, but this team doesn't have enough weapons to get out of the first round, and the Patriots proved the Ravens D. is not as dominant as it once was. Patriots also must be another favorite to make it to the Super Bowl as well.

 

Oakland-Denver - So how many thought Oakland would win a game in Denver? All of you raising your hands, can put them down. Denver destroyed Oakland last meeting and many expected more of the same. Denver also owns Oakland in Denver and Shanahan also loves beating the Raiders. Well, I guess the Raiders decided to ignore history. Collins finally looks like he is adapting to the offense and making reads he was not before. Jerry Porter finally had a game that many felt he was capapble of having, 3TD's. Collins had 4 TD passes as well as his other TD went to Curry. Both combined for over 200 yards in receiving, which was able to overcome the lack of rushing yards, which is suprising since usually a snow game means more running. The TD's proved to be enough for the win. Denver which had been playing very well, got a another solid game from Droughns and the ageless Rod Smith and a INT for TD. But the Raiders did hold the Broncos to FG, and that ended up being the difference. Jake Plummer obviously had a harder time throwing in the snow, as he only had one TD. Also, usually when Denver has a fourth quarter lead at home, it usually means a win. Oakland instead finally was able to make a fourth quarter comeback, scoring the last two TD's of the game. And then the Raiders actually were able to block Elam's FG attempt and pull out the rare win. Sure the Raiders season is pretty much done, but they have bounced back from two embarrassing loses, one lose was by a TD and a win. Stuff like this is a great way to build for next season.

 

And last but not least, GB - Rams: Well in the beginning of the season, I really did think the Packers were one of the worse teams in the league, as nothing seemed to go right for them. Well they proved me wrong and have been able to get right back into the North race. The Rams are my Jeckyl and Hyde team, one week they look awesome, the next they look terrible. Well, it was Monday night, and Favre loves this night and it usually shows. Of course, he decided to only throw to Walker twice, which didn't help me in Fantasy. And due to all the TD's, Longwell did not get me a whole mess of points either. Which sucks becuase my oppanent had Bulger, who went off for 400+ yards and two TDS, good enough to end my 11 game win streak. But getting back to the Rams, once again, the Rams shows up as Hyde, as their QB went off, and they still got smeared by the Packers. Davenpot filled right in for Green and ran over the Rams. Favre found open receiver after open receiver (still wish he had found Walker a few more times) and the Rams two turnovers led to two TD's. That is a good way to ensure you don't win. I also thought the trick play to fake the field goal was just plain bad, as the Packers appeared to know what was going to happen. I know Martz love tricks, but this trick had bad idea written all over it. I wonder who much longer Martz has before the owners realize that the Rams will not win a Super Bowl under Martz.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Dude, you wrote a lot for a simple messageboard post.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Bah...not nearly enough talk about Willis.

[MARTYEWR 0]

Hey Tom, why no predictions for the Cardinals-Lions and Texans-Jets games?

[Dr. Tom 0]

Hey Tom, why no predictions for the Cardinals-Lions and Texans-Jets games?

Damnit. I guess I missed them in my haste to get it posted, since it was already late. I'll fix that.

 

Why do you have the Packers above the Vikings on the Power Rankings, but behind them in the divisional race? Since the key game for both teams is against each other, and you think that the Packers are better than the Vikings, how did you come to that decision?

Because I think the Packers are better *right now*, which is what the power rankings reflect. By the end of the season, I expect Minnesota to be the better team, and to win the division. I realize I'm banking on them not to do their annual December choke-job, which might be foolish on my part, but we'll see.