Monday, November 30, 2009

NFL Week 12 Thoughts


Favre for MVP?

Everyone seems to be on the Brett Favre for MVP bandwagon after his 398 yard 3 TD performance against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. I am not one of these people. I feel like any competent quarterback could be putting up the same numbers as Favre if they had the team that he does. Broadcasters keep saying that that Favre has never had so many weapons or been on a team this good well shouldn't that discount his play?

Favre has Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice, Bernard Berrian, Visanthe Shiancoe and arguably one of the best offensive lines in football. You're telling me a mediocre quarterback like Joe Flacco couldn't do what Favre is doing given the same options? Imagine if Peyton Manning had the supporting cast that Favre has.

Manning has his team a perfect 11-0 and has lead them to 5 straight victories in which they were trailing entering the 4th quarter. The Colts have the 31st best rushing attack in the NFL while the Vikings have the 9th. Manning has receivers like Garcon and Collie and has Addai in the backfield. He makes the players around him better and is the driving force behind the team. Favre on the other hand is doing well because of the players around him.

Now I won't sit here and say Favre is having a bad season or that he is unworthy of praise but people need to look beyond numbers and look at situations. Put any elite quarterback on the Vikings (Brees, Brady, Manning or Rivers) and they would give you an undefeated season with mind boggling offensive stats.

My nod for MVP goes to Manning just because of how well he has produced given his circumstances. I also 100% believe that Manning is coaching the team and Jim Caldwell is just a figurehead. Seriously Caldwell hasn't flinched once this season and may or may not be in a coma.



0-6 to the Playoffs?

Vince Young and the Tennessee Titans havn't lost a game since losing 59-0 to the Patriots in Week 6. They went from 0-6 laughingstock to 5-6 playoff contender. Their latest win was a 20-17 miracle finish over the Arizona Cardinals that saw Young lead the Titans down the field 99, converting on 2 4th down plays, to eventually toss the game winning touchdown to Kenny Britt with 6 seconds left on the clock.

If you read my blog regularly you know that I was calling for Vince Young way back in Week 4. I didn't understand why he was on the bench when Kerry Collins was being so ineffective. Now Young ha regained his confidence and has regained the faith of the fans and his teammates.

The Titans have 5 games left where they have to face the Colts, Rams, Dolphins, Chargers and Seahawks. Realistically they could come out of that stretch 3-2 which would push their record to 8-8 and would probably not get them into the playoffs but realistically they shouldn't be 5-6.

No team has ever started a season 0-6 and ended up making the playoffs so the Titans are trying to make history. If they beat the Colts next which, which could happen, then all they need to do is beat the Rams, Dolphins and Seahawks to finish 9-7 and have a shot. Could they run the table and go 10-6 maybe? Crazier things have happened. I just enjoy watching them play each week and continue their run of success.

They will need some help and some luck to get in but if Young, Britt and Johnson continue to play they way they have been playing I believe the Titans have a serious shot of making the playoffs.



The Influence of Gladwell

About a month ago Malcolm Gladwell wrote a piece for the New Yorker where he compared the NFL to dog fighting and focused on the epidemic of concussions in the NFL. Last week the NFL instituted new rules and regulations about dealing with concussions and bringing in outside doctors to clear players.

The impact of this rule was felt immediately as on Sunday both Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger didn't play due to concussions and both their teams lost. The rules are important and put in place to protect the players from serious life threatening injuries that can develop later on in life.

This is something the NFL should have instituted a long time ago did not either due to ignorance or apathy. It is interesting that once Gladwell's article came out they made a big change and it really speaks to the influence Gladwell has in the United States. The idea that one journalist could write an article that made the NFL change its ways so quickly is startling but ultimately speaks to the progressive nature of the NFL.

The NFL has always been willing to change and adapt its game in order to stay modern and current with fans so this change shouldn't really come as a big surprise. They were the first league to really accept replay and they add new rules every year to update the game and make it safer and more exciting for fans.

Will concussions always be prevalent in the NFL? Of course but it is nice to see that Roger Goodell and the rest of the commissioners office are doing something to at least try and help the players. I think over time guys missing games will become more common and concussions won't be treated like a case of the flu. I also believe that over time Gladwell will get more credit for the changes than Goodell as his article seems to have been the catalyst in terms of major changes finally being implemented.


Crunch Time

It is starting to get serious as the NFL is sadly coming to an end. With each passing week teams are getting mathematically eliminated from playoff contention and the number of potential playoff teams is growing smaller.

With their loss this week the Dolphins are pretty much out of it as are the Texans and Giants. Sure they haven't officially been eliminated yet but you can just tell that they don't have a shot of getting in.

Here are some teams that are still in the chase but will fizzle down the stretch or choke when it counts:

Falcons - No Matt Ryan and no Michael Turner means no playoffs
Jets - I don't trust the Sanchize to pick up my dry cleaning let alone win a games
49ers - I actually like the 49ers but their inconsistency worries me
Ravens - I don't know what happened to their defense but they look beatable every week
Jaguars - Another team that struggles with inconsistency

Here are the teams I see making the playoff:

NFC: Cowboys, Vikes, Saints and Cards with the Widcard teams being the Packers and Eaglies.

AFC: Pats, Bengals, Colts and Chargers with the Wildcard teams being the Broncos and Steelers.


Fantasy Goat of the Week

I think this might be my last year playing Fantasy Football. I can no longer handle watching certain players struggle every week or see my wide open receivers not get the ball. I also don't enjoy cheering for Roy Williams or Donovan McNabb. I want to just sit back and enjoy watching football games again without having a stock in certain players.

Joe Flacco's performance on Sunday night is the catalyst for this decision. I watched as he struggled to throw a touchdown pass with 3 chances on the goal line in the 1st half and I almost threw my remote through my 37' TV on a number of occasions.

Having said that I am sure I will play again next year as the draft is too fun not to participate in and it keeps me interested in teams like Cleveland and Oakland.

Still if Joe Flacco doesn't start throwing some touchdown passes I am going to fly down to Maryland and kick him in the nuts.


Quick Thoughts

- Ray Rice at 55th overall in the 2008 draft may turn out to be one of the biggest steals in draft history as Rice is proving that he is a complete player that can do it all.

- I felt awful for Dennis Dixon last night as he had to sit and watch while Billy Cundiff kicked the game winning field goal after Dixon's interception. Considering it was his 1st career start and it was in Baltimore against a pumped up Ravens team I thought he played really well.

- Do they miss Favre in Green Bay? Aaron Rodgers has 22 TD with only 5 INT to Favre's 24 TD and 2 INT. Rodgers also has thrown for 262 more yards and has done all this while running for his life as his offensive line is piss poor at best.

- I don't care how many touchdowns he has LaDanian Tomlinson is not "back." He is averaging a pathetic 3.4 yards per carry has yet to put up 100 yards in a single game this season. He also doesn't catch nearly as many passes as he used to. Since his rookie year he has had at least 51 receptions. This year he has 10. Dude is done.

- I can not explain what is going on with the Baltimore Ravens defense. I know they lost a couple of players in the off-season but they have looked downright awful at times this year. They aren't getting as much pressure on the quarterback and their corners are getting burned consistently. Did Rex Ryan's departure really hurt them this badly?

- I love the Cardinals strategy of drafting players with hyphenated names. They already have Rogers-Cromartie and now they have LaRod Stephens-Howling. Love it.

- Speaking of the Cardinals does Matt Leinart hate Vince Young? Every time they play each other Young finds a way to win on the last play of the game and become a hero and completely take away any credit Leinart earned.

- Jake Delhomme is the biggest bum in the NFL.

- Darrell Revis is quickly becoming my favorite player on the Jets. His ability to shut down opposing receivers and make big plays on defense make him so valuable. Also the demotion of Kerry Rhodes to a back-up role really seems to have fired him up as he had 2 INT on Sunday.

- I remember watching Danny Amendola on Hard Knocks a few years ago trying to make the Cowboys thinking that he didn't have a chance to make it in the NFL. Well now he is looking like Wes Welker 2.0 as he is running tight routes and making great catches.

- Mike McKenzie had a beast of a game on Monday night. Hard to believe that only a week ago he was sitting on his couch at home watching the Saints and now he is part of it. It also appears he learned to tackle people rather than just push them out of bounds.

- What can you say about Drew Brees performance that hasn't already been said? Watching him on Monday night was like watching someone play Madden on rookie mode. Unbelievable.


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