2011 Week 9 Recap

Eagles v. Bears, Monday, November 7, 2011

"They are who we thought they were." Not the Bears, of course. I didn't have a strong opinion of the Bears prior to last night, other than:

"Matt Forte or LeSean McCoy - who's harder to stop?"

and

"Brian Urlacher is a really good linebacker. I wonder what it's like to have a really good linebacker? That must be nice."

No, I'm talking about the Eagles.

I quote Tommy Lawlor: "There is something off with this team." 

Stud of the Week: I was going to go with Brent Celek for a little variety. Then Shady tied Steve van Buren's record for consecutive games with a touchdown. So once again, Shady wins Stud of the Week. He's my secret running back boyfriend.

And there were some other high points. Other than the bone headed play of not getting out of bounds at the end of the half, Brent Celek had a great game. And special teams did a great job preventing ANY big returns from Devin Hester. Which is REALLY REALLY hard.

But it wasn't enough.

The Eagles had the same old problem: an inability to play a complete game in all three phases for four quarters.

The defense was able to shut down Matt Forte, for two quarters.

The offense had a real spark, for two quarters.

And then...turnovers.

Mike Vick's pick in the red zone was bad. DeSean Jackson's punt fumble inside the ten was worse.

And then...dumb penalties.

The roughing the passer call that Jason Babin drew? Possibly a bad call, understandable, but it gave the Bears 4 points. The Nnamdi Asomugha pass interference call? One could argue that it just delayed the TD, since if he hadn't interfered, Johnny Knox only had daylight ahead of him, but aren't the Eagles paying him big bucks NOT to get beat one on one?

...

Yeah, the much vaunted defensive secondary pretty much made  Jay "Pick" Culter look like Peyton Manning.

Oh, and DeSean? Celebrating after your ONE catch that led to a first down? That's not the way to earn yourself a fat contract, in Philly or anywhere else.

Once again, the Eagles got down early, pulled ahead, and then gave up 13 unanswered points to lose the game. The only variable in that equation? The fact that it was 13 points.

The thing is, I knew the Eagles were dead when punter Chas Henry couldn't hit a wide open Colt Anderson on the fake punt.  My 8 year old niece has a bigger cannon than that. Right call - ATROCIOUS execution.

It's still mathematically possible for the Birds to make the playoffs, but they're basically going to have to win ALL their remaining games. Hear that sound? It's hope dying.

So we can all watch the rest of the games like Redskins fans, for entertainment value only.

After all that, though, the most horrifying image of the evening, the one that's seared into my brain until the day I die, is Big Red in shorts with Gruden during the Monday Night Countdown coach's interview.

Speaking of, are Gruden and Lance Briggs dating? I do not know, but there are unconfirmed reports that Chuckie left a mash note in Briggs' locker.

Around the rest of the NFL...I got KILLED in my picks.

Jets over Bills: WRONG. Damn, Bills, don't do me like that.

Cowboys over Seahawks: OK, I got this one, but so did EVERYBODY.

Texans over Browns: wOOt! Team of Destiny emeritus! (I did get this one, too.)

Falcons over Colts: Again, everyone, including me, called this. DeMatha could play the Colts and win at this point.

Dolphins over Chiefs: WRONG wrongy WRONG. NOW the Fins decide to start winning (literally now - 1 game winning streak). Thanks for nothing.

Saints over Bucs: Got this one, but the Saints are pretty much impossible to beat in the Superdome (no, I will NOT call it the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, just like it's National Airport, not Ronald Reagan National Airport).

49ers over Redskins: OK, everyone - other than all the people who live near me - had this one, too.

Broncos over Raiders: Muffed this one, too. Told you I had a bad week. Carson Palmer has lost two games with the Raiders. It would be three if they hadn't had a bye in between.

Bengals over Titans: I had this one, too. Redheads of the world unite!

Cardinals over Rams: Wrong. Again. Two rookies - QB John Skelton and special teams player Patrick Peterson - sealed the win. K2's career as a starter could be short if Skelton can keep winning.

Giants over Patriots: Wrong. First Super Bowl 44, then 2011 season week 9. Do the Giants have the Pats' number? Yes, and it's called "We have NO defense to speak of. Kthxbai."

Packers over Chargers: I got this one. And apparently both teams' defense got waylaid in the Gaslamp District and didn't bother to show up.

Ravens over Steelers: Wrong. When was the last time the Ravens swept the Steelers in a season? Has that EVER happened? You know, with my Eagles struggling, I'm looking for a bandwagon to jump on. Not for the season, mind you. I'll still root for my Birds with all my heart. But I do need a playoff team, since it ain't gonna be the Eagles. Maybe Ravens? Nah...Packers!

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Sunday Schedule: Sunday, November 6, 2011

This week, the Eagles play their second prime time game in a row, hosting the Bears on Monday Night Football. But never fear! We'll still be watching football on Sunday.

1 pm: Seahawks/Cowboys, with 49ers/Redskins (which I'm guessing won't be a very good game) on the computer

4 pm: Giants/Pats, with Packers/Chargers on the side (also not likely to be a very good game)

SNF: Ravens at Steelers, baby! That *is* going to be a good game.

Chef Spouse is feeling ham, scalloped potatoes, and French cut green beans this weekend. Bring something to go with (maybe some wine?).

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2011 Week 9 Picks

This week, the Eagles will face the Bears on Monday Night Football. Two prime time games in a row! YAY, but also some of us have DAY JOBS y'all!

I have to admit, in the McNabb era, I tended to worry about night games. If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know I have always been a huge Big5 fan. But DMac was often not as his best in the prime time games. Maybe it was the pressure. Maybe he's a morning person. I don't know. What I do know is that night games left me nervous.

Add to that Matt Forte. The Eagles have the #19 ranked run defense. Somehow, I think the #19 ranked run defense is going to have some problems with Matt Forte.

Add to that Devin Hester. And a rookie punter and place kicker, neither of which has been what I'd call "consistent" so far this year. We can all yell "DON'T KICK TO DEVIN HESTER!" all the live-long day to the TV, but I'm not confident of either Henry or Henery's ability not to do just that.

On the other hand, the offense seems to be coming together. Defensive coordinators can decide to take away the outside/big play receivers. Or they can decide to take away the short/across the middle plays. Or they can decide to shut down the Eagles run game. Or they can decide to try to keep Mike Vick in the pocket and/or harass him all day. They can't pick "all of the above," at least not with only 11 guys. And if the team can continue to limit turnovers on offense (knock wood), it's pretty damn hard to keep them from scoring.

Meanwhile, it seems like Juan Castillo might finally be learning his job. Or he's shuffled the guys into the right positions. Or everybody went to Remedial Tackling classes. Or all of the above.

I don't think it's going to be a waltz like last week's win over the Cowboys, but I do think the Eagles will pull this one out.

In the rest of the matchups:

Jets at Bills: Interesting AFC East matchup. The Jets are coming off their bye, which, at least in Bleeding Green Nation, always equals "win." The Bills are coming off spanking the Redskins, which to me, screams trap game. The entire league is topsy-turvy this year. Which to me says Bills.

Seahawks at Cowboys: The Cowboys better win this one at home, otherwise I'm pretty sure they should all plan to leave town. Immediately. Like 4:08 pm Sunday afternoon. Cowboys.

Browns at Texans: Gotta go with my Texans! Team of Destiny Emeritus!

Colts at Falcons: And the suck rolls on into Atlanta. Falcons.

Dolphins at Chiefs: After what both teams showed me last week, I have to go with the Chiefs. Which clearly means the Dolphins will finally pull it together, right?

Bucs at Saints: The Saints HAVE to be pissed after last week, and I can't see them dropping a divisional game at home, even with Sean Payton up in the press box. Saints.

49ers at Redskins: I'm officially on the bandwagon. Also, the Redskins have literally run out of offensive players. 49ers.

Broncos at Raiders: That bye week came just in time, but in the battle of Tim Tebow and Carson Palmer, I have to go with "which team has a better ground game?" That would be the Raiders.

Bengals at Titans: The Bengals, under rookie QB (and fellow ginger) Andy Dalton are surging. The Titans are right in there, too, for AFC South. This is a tough call, as neither offense is exactly lighting it up. I think I'm going to have to go with the #4 ranked Bengals defense.

Rams at Cardinals: Ugh. Look away! Cards? Rams? Who cares? If forced to pick - which I am, by the office pool - I'll go with Rams. Under protest. That this game is even being broadcast.

Giants at Patriots: Hm, speaking of teams that have to be pissed after last week..yeah, Giants, to quote Inside the Iggles, "good luck with that." Pats.

Packers at Chargers: Is it even fair to make other teams play the Pack this year? Do the Chargers have a prayer? No to both. Packers.

Ravens at Steelers: I can't see the Steelers losing to the Ravens twice in one season, particularly not at home. Steelers.

On bye: Last week! Jaguars, Lions, Panthers, Vikings

Edited to add: NOT last week. What's with the skip week on byes, NFL?

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2010 Conference Championship Recap

Packers over Bears: As (I) expected. Two good halves of football were played Sunday. Unfortunately, they weren't by the same team. The Packers looked unstoppable for the first half. And then Jay Cutler went down, Todd Collins played like, well, Todd Collins, and they handed the game over to rookie Caleb Hanie, who had never taken an NFL snap. "OK, kid, here's the situation. It's f-ing freezing. We're in the NFC Championship game, down by 14 points to a division rival. The fans are out of it - we think they may actually have been cryogenically frozen by the stadium conditions at this point - our starting QB is hurt and our backup QB is a mess. Good luck!"  Surprisingly, the kid did pretty well - better than Jay Cutler was doing, at any rate. How hurt was he? I can't say, but it was the NFC Championship game. Moving on, Matt Forte had a good game. And the Bears D came alive in the second half. But with a rookie under center, it just wasn't enough. And the Pack are going to Texas. Think they can win it all? Well, not if they play like they did in the second half yesterday.

Edited Tuesday, January 25 to add: an astute reader pointed out that Hanie's not technically a rookie. I should've come up with the better term for "newbie," but what I was trying to stress was: how many games had he started before Sunday? Answer: zero.  

Steelers over Jets:As (I also) expected. The thing is, if the Jets' receivers could catch a ball or the Jets' defense could've tackled ANYONE, this game could have gone completely differently. It's a different kind of football than Eagles fans are used to - actually, that's the case with both teams here - with a QB managing the game with a strong defense and a strong ground attack, when his main job is to not make any big mistakes. And Mark Sanchez can totally handle that. And the Jets have gone to the AFC Championship game - and lost - both of his first two years in the league. That's something that's quite familiar to Eagles fans. Sigh. Reading Gang Green Nation sounds really familiar - lots of looking on the bright side, lots of "we had a great season," lots of "we're contenders," lots of "other teams fear us now," etc. That's familiar to Eagles fans, too. Whatever. Show me the Lombardis. Oh yeah - that would be the Steelers all over. Sigh again.

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2010 Conference Championship Picks

Packers at Bears: These are well matched teams. The Bears look terrific. Mike Martz has got the Jay Cutler attitude problem AND interception problem under control. Brian Urlacher seems rejuvenated, and Julius Peppers is playing great. He played great in Carolina, too, of course, it's just that the rest of his was a mess. Charles Tillman creates turnovers the way American Idol creates crap one-hit-wonder pop stars. Matt Forte provides a significant ground attack, which helps keep Cutler from trying to do too much. And two words that strike fear in the heart of every special teams coach in the NFL: Devin Hester.

On the other hand, the Packers are heading for their 3rd road game in a row. They're the #6 seed, and they just pulled off the big upset win over the Falcons a week ago. Their issues with injury this season have been well documented, well, everywhere. And they're playing a divisional rival, which is always just that much harder.

But I'm still picking the Packers. And not just because they took out an Andy Reid team in the first round of the playoffs for only the second time in his 12 seasons as head coach. Aaron Rodgers is on FIRE and not only can't you stop Clay Matthews, you really can't even hope to contain him. Donald Driver and Greg Jennings are going to have to play a lot better than they did on January 2, though.

Jets at Steelers: The Jets are looking surprisingly good at this stage, too. Mark Sanchez seems to be over his sophomore slump from earlier in the season. The secondary combo of Revis and Cromartie is as good as it's supposed to be. Santonio Holmes has his playoff face on, making "Did I just see that?" catches every time you turn around. LaDanian Tomlinson is playing like he's 21, not 31. Jason Taylor, too.

Wait - is Troy Polamalu playing? Yes? Steelers.

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Sunday Schedule: Sunday, January 23, 2011

Can you believe it's Conference Championship Sunday already? Where did the 2010 season go? Seems like just yesterday I was at checking out the talent at training camp and getting ready to kick into high gear here at StN.  Now? Only 4 more games and we close the book on 2010. And with the NFL labor situation looking increasingly bleak, we might be seeing our last football for quite a while. Too bad the Iggles couldn't pull out the miracle run this year - they might've gotten to reign as Super Bowl champs for two years.

Anyway, the games this weekend are:

3 pm: Packers at Bears
6:30 pm: Jets at Steelers

Menu? Chef Spouse is pulling out all the stops - ribs, mac-n-cheese, and collards. Soul food heaven, baby. Bring something that will go with, and we'll see you Sunday!

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2010 Divisional Weekend Picks

The Eagles may be out of it at this point, but I'm still soldiering on with the blog. And the picks. 

Ravens at Steelers: These two teams are really evenly matched. Both 12-4, both similar style - grind it out on the ground, tough defense, Great Big White Guy quarterbacks, from tough, blue collar cities that are passionate about their teams. This could finish 7-6. Every inch will be contested, every point hard fought...oh wait. Is Troy Polamalu playing? Yes? Steelers.

Packers at Falcons: I'm only picking one road team this week, and despite Mattie Ice's success in the Georgia Dome, it's the smokin' hot Packers. So now you know how the rest of the picks are going to turn out.

Seahawks at Bears: The Seahakws won't be able to bring 65,000 home fans with them to Chicago. And I don't think Jay Culter's going to throw 5 picks. And even if he does, it might not be enough anyway. Bears.

Jets at Patriots: Rex? I don't like Tom Brady and Bill Belichick either, so I'm feeling you, but that payday loan's come due. Pats.

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Sunday Schedule: Sunday, January 16, 2011

Well, the Eagles are out of is, but that means we can all relax and enjoy the games without having a coronary every 10 minutes. Hey, I'm trying to look on the bright side here, people!

Anyway, as usual for playoffs, there are games both days, but we'll plan to do the big party and cooking on Sunday.

Saturday games:

4:30 - Ravens at Steelers
8:00 - Packers at Falcons

Sunday games:

1:00 - Seahawks at Bears
4:30 - Jets at Patriots

Chef Spouse is going to make gumbo. He was planning to make it in honor of the Saints' 2011 playoff run. Since that came to an early and abrupt end, he's making it in honor of the fact that it's carnival season. Also, Biker Nick and his gf are planning to join us! And if I gt inspired, I might make us beignet for dessert. Anyone have an Abita connection?

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2010 Week 12 Recap

Eagles at Bears, Sunday, November 28, 2010

In attendance: Shoegal, Fellow Eagles Maniac and her fiance, and The Bronx Bomber. Chef Spouse was on a plane.

Menu: my "Thanksgiving leftovers" idea didn't quite go off as planned. Everyone's relatives ate up all their leftovers. I had a little stuffing and some cranberries, but I ended up making a fresh turkey breast, potatoes, and brussels sprouts. Fellow Eagles Maniac contributed a pie and Shoegal brought the wine.

Stud of the week: David Akers. He was the only one who seems to have showed up to play, doing everything that was asked of him, including placing an on-side kick where someone could've gotten it. Notice I wrote "could've." As in, had this not been the "sometimes you're the bug" part of the equation. Brent Celek also gets props for that amazing 4th quarter TD catch while triple covered. That was nice to see, since the LAST time I saw Celek, he was on the back of a milk carton. Also a little love for LeSean McCoy who prevented a return TD on the pick at the end of the half, and to Jason Avant, who, all things considered, had a decent game.

Let's see - what all went wrong? The defense made Jay Cutler look like Peyton Manning. (Hm, Peyton Manning didn't look like Peyton Manning Sunday. Coincidence?) Guess Asante is the difference after all. Hurry up and get well, homes. Special teams reverted to the short-bus kind of special. The offense went 1 for 5 in the red zone, including Mike Vick's first pick of the season. Soldier "Field" was basically a marsh. DeSean Jackson IS on the back of a milk carton now. But that's only because Andy Reid has him locked in the basement, after apparently going postal on the whole team. "Red-faced and shaking"? Not quite what we've come to expect from Big Red. But I'm not so sorry to hear it.

Here's the thing:  the Eagles were not going to go 13-3. Even I'm not that much of a homer. And after two solid weeks of people kissing their asses, a little reality check was probably well-timed. Also, the guys didn't give up. Had that onside kick worked, you never know. But there are just days when your team can't seem to do anything right and the other team can't seem to do anything wrong. That's not to take anything away from the Bears - they game-planned well and executed their plan even better. It may be better to be lucky than good, but it's best to be both, and that was the Bears on Sunday.

Anyway, no time to waste crying over spilled milk - the Texans await in three days.

Around the rest of the NFL...

10 right so far this week, with the 49ers up on MNF possibly pushing me to 11.

Patriots over Lions: Why did I pick the Lions? Why is the sky blue? Why do cats always land on their feet? Why is Michael Irvin on national TV?

Saints over Cowboys: Roy Williams is taking all kinds of shit for getting stripped while fighting for unnecessary yards. Speaking of Asante Samuel...the thing is, he had a pretty decent game up to that point. But that was the game we ALL got to watch on Thanksgiving, and I couldn't have asked for more - close game, exciting, the Saints won, the Cowboys lost, clearly God is a Saints fan, amen.

Jets over Bengals: Wow. Could the Bengals look any worse? I didn't even bother to watch the end of the game. And could Rex Ryan be any more entertaining? I love footage of his press conferences.

Falcons over Packers: Hell of a game. The Falcons don't look quite so scary on the road, though. Then again, it looks like the NFC path to the Super Bowl might just go through Atlanta, so road wins might not matter for the dirty birds. And the Pack needs to find some kind of a ground game even without Ryan Grant, which is easier said than done.

Steelers over Bills: In OT. Because a rookie wideout dropped a perfect TD pass. On the bright side, the Bills might be able to score the first pick in the 2011 draft! But Steelers, really?

Browns over Panthers: Yawn.  Actually, it was a very close game. But no one cares.

Texans over Titans: This was not a close game. The wheels seem to be coming off the bus in Tennessee. Jeff Fisher needs to get a handle on his team immediately. And the Andre Johnson/Courtland Finnegan altercation was just ridiculous.

Giants over Jags: In a come-back win. Don't worry - they'll still have a late-season crumble like usual. This win was just delaying the inevitable.

Vikings over Redskins: When the game is won by Brett "Methuselah" Favre successfully rushing for 8 yards to allow the Vikings to run out the clock, you know your defense is in trouble. Also, Redskins wideouts are dropping passes left and right. You know DMac's gotta be like, "Not this again!"

Dolphins over Raiders: Just when I give up on the Dolphins and start believing in the Raiders, they both screw me. Jeez.

Chiefs over Seahawks: The NFC West is going to be won by a 7-9 team this year. You heard it here first. I'm pretty sure the NFL needs to put in some sort of "law of maximum suckitude" such that if no team in a division finishes above .500, they give it to a more deserving team and go with 3 wildcards.

Ravens over Bucs: Big-time showdown next week as the Ravens face the Steelers for the lead in the AFC North. Another big game next week? Jets/Pats. Now THAT's a MNF matchup!

Rams over Broncos: In other news, Josh McDaniels learned more than how to give terse press conferences all those years under Belichick - he also learned how to cheat. Not cool. And you know he's got to be laughing about the $50,000 fine, since that's like lunch money to a pro football coach.

Chargers over Colts: The Chargers are clearly gearing up for their annual end of season awesomeness. And Peyton Manning played like, well, Jay Cutler. Again, coincidence? Speaking of teams that need a run game.

Final note: good to see Brian Westbrook getting some carries on MNF, particularly since I have to assume this will be his final year in the NFL. Until he starts coaching running backs, of course.

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Sunday Schedule: Sunday, November 28, 2010

Happy black Friday! I'm celebrating by not shopping. I don't care how good the bargains are, I'm not getting up before dawn.

In other news, this week, I should be able to watch 8 of the games. Wow. I need to get a life.

Moving on....

1 pm: Packers/Falcons (keeping an eye on Giants/Jag and Redskins/Vikings on the side)

4 pm: Eagles/Bears

SNF: Chargers/Colts

Menu? Chef Spouse will be on a plane on his way to Jacksonville. I'm thinking Thanksgiving leftovers - hey, it's tradition! - but I'm open to suggestions.

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2010 Week 12 Picks

I'm also thankful this guy isn't our QB.

Happy Thanksgiving y'all! Things I'm thankful for this year include:

• The Eagles are, in case you forgot, currently leading the NFC East.
• Geekman, The Lovely Ms. Geekman, and their brood Ms. Lily Fantastico, Duce, and Emmelia Bedelia will be joining us Life-Long Eagles Fan Mom and You-Two-Calm-Down-or-I'm-Turning-Off-the-TV Dad's for Thanksgiving, which means I can check to make sure my brother is properly schooling his offspring in all things midnight green.
• Chicks in the Huddle, and therefore I, got picked up by Yardbarker this year.
• In a season where people are dropping like flies, the Eagles are mostly healthy at this point (knock wood).
• The Cowboys don't get to play the Lions this year and thus are VERY likely to lose.
• All the great people who read this blog, here or in its various other locations.
• The Cowboys are currently last in the NFC East. And there's only ONE team in the NFC with a worse record. And for that, we must give thanks.
• And did I mention that the Eagles are currently leading the NFC East?

Up until I went 10-6 last week, I was thinking seriously about abandoning The System. I will say that that 12-1 week may have given me too much confidence. But I'm sticking with it for my picks at least one more week.

Eagles at Bears. I really hope Asante Samuel can go, because he'll have a field day picking off Jay Cutler assuming he makes it ON the field. The Bears do have the #3 defense, and that's something to be concerned about. Except the Eagles beat the team with the #2 defense last week, and that after cornering the market on dumb mistakes.

Oh - my pick? Eagles all the way, baby.

In the rest of the matchups:

Patriots at Lions: The System says Lions. Hm. Maybe the Pats are due a letdown after whupping the Colts last week? Lions (gulp).

Saints at Cowboys: Saints. Which should stop all the "maybe we WILL be able to play a Super Bowl in our own stadium after all" foolishness dead in its tracks.

Bengals at Jets: Jets. Who should be able to win by more than a field goal this week.

Vikings at Redskins: The System says Vikings. Does it realize that Chilly just got fired and they're in the middle of a HUGE QB controversy caused by the fact that their professed starter has basically given up? Also, I think WaPo sports columnist Sally Jenkins must be a huge Snarkin' fan, seeing as her column today is basically just a recap of everything I've been writing about The Favre for the past 3 years. Of course, speaking of people who are done, maybe The System got the news about Clinton Portis's season being over. Anyway, I gotta go with the Vikings. Who might want to consider giving Tavaris Jackson a shot. Just for shits & giggles.

Titans at Texans: Texans. C'mon guys! I still believe! And the Colts are looking mighty vulnerable.

Jaguars at Giants: Giants. Even though Tom Coughin's team tends to peak by October, they do win *some* games after that, and I can't see them dropping 3 in a row.

Panthers at Browns: The one NFC team with a worse record than Dallas? Carolina. But The System is picking the Panthers, so I am, too.

Steelers at Bills: Steelers. Duh.

Packers at Falcons: Falcons. Who are looking like the team to beat in the NFC, at least this week. Oh wait - the Eagles DID beat them. HA! But speaking of injuries, the Pack has been hit hard and it's got to show at some point. This is a close call, though.

Chiefs at Seahawks: Chiefs. Also, West versus West? Ugh.

Dolphins at Raiders: The Fins are another team that's running out of players. This one's a push, but I'm going to go with Raiders.  Home field and all.

Rams at Broncos: Broncos. Another West versus West. More ugh. Even The System agrees that AFC wins those.

Buccaneers at Ravens: The Bucs are looking like the real deal this year, but I don't think they're real enough to take the Ravens. Ravens.

Chargers at Colts: You know how some teams are really struggling with injury? The Colts are struggling with injury on an EPIC scale. Peyton's probably like, "Put a motor in a tackling dummy if you have to, but please God, give me SOMETHING to throw at!" Fielding a 53 man roster is going to be a major issue for the Colts if they're current trajectory continues. Chargers. Who should riding high after spanking the Broncos on MNF.

Speaking of MNF...

49ers at Cardinals: Really? Really? Other things you could do on Monday night: start your holiday shopping. Or decorating. Or card writing. Go for a walk. Clean your gutters. Call your mom. Catch up on all that filing that's been piling up. Work late. Just about anything would be preferable to watching this mess. 49ers.

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2009 Week 11 Recap

Eagles at Bears, Sunday, November 22, 2009

In attendance: me & Chef Spouse, plus a bunch of screaming Bears fans (we were in a sports bar in NOLA)

Menu: margaritas and nachos (see above RE: sports bar)

Stud of the Game: Mike Vick FINALLY ripped a big run. This isn't the photo I wanted, but I just spent 20 minutes looking for one of him actually running during the game, and no dice. Second runner up? LeSean McCoy, who had a big game AND scored the winning TD. But I had to give Vick a little love since his entire previous 11 weeks have consisted pretty much of a few short runs, a few incomplete passes, and lots of holding a clip board.

The guys had me freaking out. This looked like one of THOSE games - you know, a game where the other team does everything they can to give it away to us and we still can't seem to pull it together to take it. Cutler consistently overthrew every single Bear on the field. Man, is he antsy these days. They couldn't get in the end zone to save their lives. OK, that's partially credit to the effort put up by our seriously depleted defense (Trot's really our best option at MLB? Really? He's like 327 in football years! Although he did manage to chase Devin Hester out of bounds...), but still. They didn't give the ball to Matt Forte nearly as much as I would've, which to me indicates problems with their run blocking. Hell, Devin Hester even got pantsed.

I love the way Tommy described the game:

Remember the movie Groundhog Day? Did it occur to anyone Sunday night
that we were living that movie out? We're trapped in a loop playing the
Bears in close games until we finally get it right and then we can move
on. In 2007 we can from behind, but couldn't protect a lead.
Last year we couldn't punch the ball in and lost 24-20.

We finally won in prime time, we finally won in Chicago, and Big5 led us to a win in the 4th quarter of a close game. Does that mean we finally get to win a Super Bowl?

A few weeks ago, Donovan was quoted as saying (I'm paraphrasing here) that while he loves working with all the young guys on offense (377 total yards? I'd love it, too), but he doesn't always know where they're going to be. Nowhere was that more evident than on DMac's scramble in the first quarter. He's running around trying to direct the guys down the field, and I'm pretty sure I heard Brent Celek yell to Peanut: "He wants you to steal second!"

We had a few white-knuckle turnovers, but I can't really blame our guys too much - Charles Tillman is a BEAST. And both Peanut and Maclin otherwise had great games, as did Macho Harris on kick returns. No juking for him - he finds whatever lane there is and HITS IT. I see some return TDs in his future.

IgglesBlog has a new favorite play, and I agree: Peanut runs straight at the deep safety, who realizes about a 1/2 second too late that it's happening, by which point Peanut's already gone. I agree. Let's do that more.

They also pointed out that, while blow outs are more fun and far less stressful to watch, that's not what our young players need right now. To go deep into the playoffs, you need to learn how to gut out close wins against teams that are as good - or maybe even better -than you. Our vets - DMac, lots of the guys on D, Akers - have been there. But too many of our skill players haven't. Seeing that they can pull out a close win in the last minutes of a game is hopefully a real character builder for them that will serve them well in January.

Around the rest of the NFL...

Dolphins over Panthers. And without Ronnie Brown, who's now on IR. Which, to be honest, is probably the end of the Dolphins playoff hopes. But at least they won this one.

Colts over Ravens. I was sure the Ravens were going to take this one. But it's pretty hard to beat the Colts if you can't get in the end zone.

Cowboys over Redskins. GAHHHH! So close! The Cowboys didn't score until late int he 4th an the Skins still had a chance to take it, but for a batted Jason Campbell pass that was intercepted. The Boys are a mess, though. And Tony Romo got nailed Sunday. And we're about to go into December. Hopefully the Raiders can pull off another upset in two days.

Lions over Browns. High scoring game, and totally butch move by Matt Stafford throwing the winning TD with a dislocated (?) left shoulder. But still, yawn. Although Mangenius looks closer and closer to bursting a blood vessel every week. And now he's suggesting that Lions players were faking injuries. Sore loser much?

Packers over 49ers. You know, if you manage to hang onto the ball for more than 40 minutes, you're probably going to win. Unless you're playing the Colts.

Jaguars over the (head coach-less) Bills. So Dick Jauron was the first coaching casualty of the 2009 season, NOT Jim Zorn (technically)? I'm pretty sure I owe someone some money. Here's how I envision the conversation must've gone between Jauron and owner Ralph Wilson:

Wilson: "So, Dick, we're thinking we need to make a coaching change."

Jauron: "What? Why?"

Wilson: "Well, you haven't won a Super Bowl yet."

Jauron: "With all due respect, it's only week 11."

Wilson: "Yeah, but hasn't Belichick won like, 2 Super Bowls already this season? And it would've been more if not for that brain cramp against the Colts!"

Jauron: "......"

Wilson: "And we got you TO!"

Jauron: "Yeah, but Trent Freakin' Edwards is still under center!"

Wilson: "....."

Chiefs over Steelers. You know, we were wandering around the French Quarter Sunday morning looking for a good place to watch the 1 pm games. We really wanted to see Saints/Buccaneers, seeing as we're in Saints country and it would be fun to be surrounded by a bunch of cheering Saints fans. We passed what was clearly the local Steelers bar and contemplated going in, but I was like, "Nah - I want to hear the Saints audio and it's going to be a total blow out." Wrong on that one, babe. They better hope Polamalu gets healthy in a big hurry, or they're going to have to write off this season. Also, Big Ben took a hard shot to the head, and Charlie Batch broke his wrist. Paging Jeff Garcia?

Vikings over Seahawks. Rumor has it that Holmgren might be thinking about returning to the Seahawks. Well, they need SOMETHING.

Giants over Falcons. In OT. Damn. The Falcons need to get Michael Turner back in a hurry or they might as well write off their season.

Saints over Bucs. OK, so back to us wandering around the French Quarter. There are plenty of bars that have the Sunday ticket, but we're passing bar after bar, and it's getting closer and closer to 1 pm, and most of them are pretty empty. Then I spot two slightly older ladies walking down the street FULLY decked out in black and gold, up to and including big feather boas and giant fleur de lys costume jewelry. "We're going wherever THEY'RE going!" I remarked to Chef Spouse. Good choice - they took us to a cozy man cave looking bar with Saints fans and good bar food and shared a bottle of champagne with us.

Cardinals over Rams. Duh. Anyone know how serious that Kurt Warner injury is? Because Matt Leinart is no Kurt Warner, and the playoffs are looming.

Chargers over Broncos. Holy crap. 3 points? Dissention on the sideline? Annual Broncos collapse? Yes, yes, and probably yes. Even Wolverine's magical powers may not be enough to pull them out of their tailspin.

Pats over Jets. The Jets, September notwithstanding, are just not a very good team.

Raiders over Bengals. When Al and Cris were reviewing the day's games on Sunday night football, they both burst into hysterical laughter when talking about this game. That's not a good sign for the Bengals. Who are still leading the AFC North, by the way, but losing to the Raiders is not a good sign. Who knew Bruce Gradkowski had it in him? Maybe the Bucs shouldn't have been so quick to let him go.

Titans over Texans. So yesterday, Chef Spouse and I got breakfast from Community Coffee, stopped by the famous Louisiana Music Factory and picked up a bunch of used CDs by local musicians, bought tickets for a benefit concert Ivan Neville is putting on Wednesday for Marva Wright, had lunch at the fab Restaurant August, spent the afternoon hanging out in Louis Armstrong park, stopped by the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone for their famous Ramos Gin Fizzes, walked over to Fauborg Marigny and caught a set by the Frenchman Street All-Stars at the Spotted Cat on our way over the hear Charmaine Neville's regular Monday night gig at Snug Harbor. Then we were able to catch the last quarter of MNF over snacks in the bar at Marigny Brasserie. Would've been a perfect day if freakin' Kris Brown had been able to knock through his stupid field goal. Oh well - can't have everything I guess. Here's hoping the Texans can knock off the Colts next week. Team of Destiny!

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2009 Week 11 Picks

In the midst of my packing frenzy, I stop to give you Just the Picks, Ma'am:

Eagles/Bears - Under Andy, we don't do well in prime time or in Chicago. But the Cowboys helped us last week by playing against the Packers like I expected them to play against us, and we still hold the tie-breaker over the Giants. (Despite beating the Broncos last week, I still don't view the Redskins as a threat. I could be wrong. But I doubt it.) I fully expect us to recover from our recent swoon and start winning some damn games! Like this one! Pull it together, Coach!

Dolphins/Panthers - Dolphins. Jake might not be done-done, but I don't see him doing well this week. The Panthers are bad against the rush. You know who's good at rushing? The Dolphins. Who will wildcat all over the Panthers. Dolphins.

Colts/Ravens - The Colts have to lose some time, and I think it will be this week. As long as Harbaugh doesn't have a brain fart and hand the ball back to Peyton Manning with 2 minutes to cover 30 yards. Ravens.

Redskins/Cowboys - I hope the Redskins can keep the momentum going long enough to beat the 'Boys. Redskins (she picks, hopefully).

Browns/Lions - OH THE HUMANITY.

49ers/Packers - I like the 49ers. Unless it's snowing at Lambeau Sunday.

Bills/Jaguars - Bills. Go MoJoDrew!

Steelers/Chiefs - Steelers. Also, that's a shame.

Seahawks/Vikings - Vikings. Stupid Brett Favre.

Falcons/Giants - I can make an argument in my little head either way for this one. But I think the 4 game slump Giants are the real Giants. Falcons.

Saints/Buccaneers - The Saints also have to lose sometime. But it's not going to be this week. And we'll get to cheer for the Saints surrounded by lots of Saints fans, since we'll be in NOLA! Geaux Saints!

Cardinals/Rams - Cards. Call me, Fitz!

Chargers/Broncos - I predict the winner of this game will win AFC West. I also predict that it will be the Chargers on both counts.

Jets/Patriots - I heard Belichick just got a fresh shipment of kittens. Patriots.

Bengals/Raiders - Bengals. Also, this, too, is a shame.

Titans/Texans - Texans! Team of Destiny!

Also - no more bye weeks! YAY!

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Sunday Schedule: November 22, 2009

No football Chez Shark this week, as we'll be on vacation down in NOLA.

But these are the games I recommend (and we'll be watching at least some of them):

ThNF: Dolphins/Panthers
1 pm: Best game? Colts/Ravens. Game I want to watch? Redskins/Cowboys. Game we'll probably *be* watching? Saints/Bucs, since that's what will be on locally. Falcons/Giants should be pretty good, too.
4 pm: Chargers/Broncos. Who will win the AFC West this year? We'll probably have a pretty good idea by 8 pm Sunday.
8 pm: Eagles/Bears
MNF: Titans/Texans

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