2011 Week 11 Recap

Eagles at Giants, Sunday, November 20, 2011

Stud of the week: As hard as it is to go with the guy who threw THREE picks (thank God the Giants couldn't seem to capitalize), I have to give it to Vince Young, since he also engineered a nearly 9 minute drive in which he converted I think four third downs that ended when he tossed what turned out to be the winning TD to Riley Cooper (who also had a really good day, despite the fact that he hadn't caught a pass yet this year prior to last night). Shout-out to Jason Babin, too, for the strip sack of Eli Manning that ended their last scoring chance last night.

So I was watching the game alone, with Chef Spouse in Pittsburgh after an afternoon spent talking business with a bunch of smart association peeps and keeping one eye on the games. And I was honestly kind of half watching it because I was expecting to be disappointed/pissed off and really didn't want to not be able to sleep last night.

So here's what I remember:

The Giants couldn't do shit offensively. Their o-line was made of #FIAL - couldn't open holes for the run game, couldn't protect Eli. The Eagles defensive front, on the other hand, was made of "WE WILL F YOU UP!" Where have those guys been for the past 3 months?

The Giants receivers were also made of #FIAL. I was constantly astonished at their inability to catch ANYTHING. Not every pass was perfect, but it wasn't Eli's fault he was 18 for 35 last night.

The Eagles o-line, on the other hand, did a great job. Vince Young stayed clean. I had a conversation about this with...someone the other day. There is the issue that the Eagles' o-line is young and they've been being shuffled around all season and whatnot. But it's a lot harder to protect a QB who's running all over the place than it is to keep a clean pocket for a guy who's inclined to stay in it. And/or the line's finally coming together.

Down both Vick and Maclin, it seemed to me like Marty and Andy slimmed down the offensive playbook a bit for the game. Yeah, dumping the trick plays and 60 yard bombs for the rest of the season might be a good way to go.

DJax will not be an Eagle next year. You heard it here first. The FO might franchise tag him so they can trade him, or they might just let him walk. But the idiot who hands a 50 yard gain back in exchange for some childish showboating not only isn't going to get Fitz money, he isn't worth it.

LeSean McCoy, on the other hand, is. I'm bummed that he didn't get a TD last night, so the streak ends at nine games, but I think he's gotten to 1000 yards maybe the fastest of any RB in Eagles history? Well, at least recent history.

And the guys FINALLY didn't GIVE AWAY a lead in the fourth quarter. I cannot get over how magic that final drive was. Every time the team was looking at third down, I kept thinking: "Here we go. They won't convert, they'll punt, and the Giants will waltz down the field to score the winning TD, leaving us 53 seconds or something ridiculous to try to tie. Which, of course, we won't." Except when I was thinking: "Here we go. They won't convert, they'll kick the field goal, and the Giants will waltz down the field to score the winning TD, leaving us 53 seconds or something ridiculous to try to win. Which, of course, we won't." You know, later in the drive. I didn't believe in a nine minute drive leading to the winning TD until it happened. And I saw the replay. Twice.

This team is just maddening this year. We see flashes of competence all the time, and flashes of brilliance more than occasionally. Unfortunately, those flashes generally end up doused by whole stretches of complete boneheadedness.  I know no teams seem to be playing consistently this year (well, other than the Packers and the 49ers), but this is ridiculous. Just when I'd given up on this season, they'll pull me back in. But last night, to quote Berman, they played as a team. And they won.

Oh, and you know that whole thing about a QB controversy being the only catastrophe the Eagles had so far managed to avoid I mentioned in the picks? Yeah, looks like Vince Young might be starting against the Pats next week. If he reels off another win, boom, QB controversy. Mark my words.

Around the rest of the NFL...

I did better with my picks this week. Well, at least a little.

Broncos over Jets: "All he does is win games." Tim Tebow, that is. Who seems to be able to play like garbage for 45+ minutes and then figure out how to win in the last quarter. I don't know - maybe all those Broncos fans who paid for the billboards and whatnot were right. Are we seeing a reversion to a less QB-centric type of football? Too early to tell, but Tebow's won 4 out of the last 5.

Ravens over Bengals: I was so sure the Bengals would pull off the upset win. Next year my ginger friend Andy Dalton becomes a factor. Trust.

Browns over Jaguars: Despite the fact that the Browns' kicker missed ANOTHER totally makeable field goal, the Browns hung on for a win. Yes, the Jags are THAT bad.

Lions over Panthers: The first half? All Panthers. The second half? All Lions, including scoring the final 14 points of the game in about 20 seconds. Also, apparently, both defenses actually went to Bank of America stadium by accident.

Packers over Buccaneers: Well, sure, although it was a lot closer than I thought it would be. Do you think the Pack will go undefeated? Aaron Rodgers looks pretty unstoppable, but their D is a little suspect. The Lions are all about the shoot-out. That Thanksgiving day game is looking pretty interesting.

Dolphins over Bills: Was it only two months ago that the Bills beat the Patriots? They peaked too early, and they've had so many injuries, I think they had to get the oil changed on the cart.

Raiders over Vikings: And with Adrian Peterson injured, things just keep getting worse for the Vikings. Meanwhile, Hue Jackson is attempting to read the zebras the riot act. I didn't see the game, so I can't offer my own opinion as to whether or not the gazillion personal foul penalties the Raiders drew were justified or not. In the Raiders' defense, the officials are, at least sometimes, calling games really tight. For the prosecution, though, this is the Raiders we're talking about.

Cowboys over Redskins: Even though the Cowboys and the Redskins are very much headed in opposite directions at this point in the season, this was a great game. With the Cowboys having won the last 6 out of 7, Dallas week here in DC isn't what it once was, but the Redskins brought their A game and gave the 'Boys a run for their money.

49ers over Cardinals: Well, yes. Is there any chance the 49ers don't win the NFC West? Nope. Ex-Navy Cheesehead knew - Jim Harbaugh would turn that team around.

Seahawks over Rams: Not sure why I thought the Rams would win this, other than the fact that they beat the Browns last week. Which probably shouldn't be considered indicative of, well, anything.

Falcons over Titans: Again, well, yes.

Bears over Chargers: The Bears might've won their last game this year, with Jay Cutler out for the rest of the season with the broken thumb. Well, maybe not - looking ahead, they have the Raiders, the Chiefs, the Broncos, the Seahawks, the Packers and the Vikings. Even with Caleb Hanie under center, they should be able to knock off three of those teams. Ah, but which three?

And right now we're watching the Chiefs at the Patriots. Apparently, SportsBlogNation's Chiefs bloggers saw that I picked the Pats and was not terribly sanguine about Tyler Palko's chances tonight, and they WERE NOT HAPPY. Ooooo-kay.

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2010 Week 15 Recap

Eagles at Giants, Sunday, December 19, 2010

In attendance: 81,000+ people, at least a few of which were actual Eagles fans.

Menu: stadium food, but we found a deli stand that had decent corned beef and excellent pastrami.

Stud of the week:  DeSean Jackson, whose 65 yard punt return won the game? Nah - other than that, he had a pretty quiet game. Michael Vick? More about him below, but being Superman is just living up to expectations at this point. I have to give it to a combo: David Akers and Riley Cooper, who combined to perfectly execute the onside kick that totally changed the momentum of the game.

This was a rough game to attend in an unfriendly stadium. I know Eagles fans have a deserved reputation for being tough on opposing teams' fans and being somewhat lacking in class. Let's just put it this way: we're not unique in the NFC East in either of those.

Chef Spouse and I were in NYC courtesy of his company, thanking him for doing something really great this fall. He prepared an excellent picnic lunch for the train on the way up. We spent the afternoon walking around midtown admiring the department stores' fancy Christmas window displays. We enjoyed an outstanding dinner at WD-50 on Saturday night. Sunday dawned cold but not terribly windy and a little overcast - perfect December football weather. And this game was pretty much for all the money. Yeah, there are two games left, but the winner of this game was virtually guaranteed to win the NFC East and even potentially take the #2 seed, depending on what the Bears do in the next three games.

And then? The Eagles stunk it up. For 52 minutes, they were a complete mess, with the exception of the run defense (more on that below). And, my God, did we hear about it. It's a good thing I'm not easily offended, because F bombs were being tossed at me faster than in a Quentin Tarantino movie. When we left our seats at halftime (24-3) to get food, "go home, losers" was the nicest thing we heard.

Getting and eating the food took a while, and we returned to our seats with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter, by which time the seriously shit-faced Giants fan to our left decided Chef Spouse had drunk his beer (absolutely incorrect) and came about [this] close to starting a fight over it. My take? He was so wasted he didn't realize that HE had drunk his beer. Also? How is it even possible to get that tanked on Bud Light, Princess?

So the fourth quarter starts, and the Giants engineer another long drive, at the end of which Kevin Boss scores, taking it to 31-10. Apparently, with just over 8 minutes left in the game, the chances of the Eagles pulling out a win was 1%. Now, I hadn't done the math, so I didn't realize it was quite THAT dire, but I knew the Birds' chances were not good.

And then? Michael Vick apparently decided that there was no way in hell his team was going to lose. Even more amazingly, he made it happen. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas. Chuck Norris wears Michael Vick pajamas.

Meanwhile, Chef Spouse and I, convinced that the team could not win, were hanging out in our seats checking in on the other games with his new iPhone 4 and speculating about playoff scenarios.

Brent Celek TD? "Oh, isn't that sweet? They're not giving up!"

Onside kick? "How could the Giants NOT be prepared for that, after that Akers-led Sideline Coaches' Summit? Also, good job Riley Cooper!"

Vick runs in another TD? "Wouldn't it be funny if this game ended 24-31? It would look a lot less lopsided than it was."

Eagles burn all their timeouts with 4 minutes left to save the clock? "Didn't Andy Reid watch our win over the Cowboys last week? This does not bode well."

Maclin TD to tie it up? "Wow! Looks like we're going to overtime! Do we need to call the car service driver to let him know?"

[All of the above said very quietly so as not to set off Drunky Drunkenstein in the next seat over again.]

And then? One of the most amazing plays I've ever seen. Andy had DeSean back there, and I was all, "I don't know if I like this with DJax's injured foot. There's no way in hell the Giants kick it to him anyway." And poor rookie Matt Dodge either gets a bad snap or chokes on the pressure and kicks RIGHT TO DeSean, who DROPS the punt (which turned out to be a good thing, as it completely FUBARed the Giants coverage team), picks it up, spots a lane, Jason Avant lays a MONSTER block on Zak DeOssie, and the next thing we knew, DeSean's running across the front of the endzone before driving the stake through the Giants' hearts. With a VENGEANCE.

The stadium was silent.

I was so shocked, I had to sit down.

Chef Spouse kept repeating, "Did that just happen? Did that JUST HAPPEN?"

Tom Coughlin was so pissed he threw down his clipboard and headset and ran on the field before DeSean was in the endzone.

Things were so chaotic, the zebras couldn't get enough Giants on the field to kick the extra point, so it took several more minutes to end the game. During which Giants fans in front of us started - or tried to start - fights with any person they spotted in midnight or kelly green. Chef Spouse and I did our best to lay low, particularly until Drunkface and his friends were gone.

After which we started jumping up and down and screaming.

A few additional notes: rookie MLB Jamar Chaney played great. The Giants, purportedly a team "built to win in December" with a great run game and a solid defense, could not run the ball. And that turned out to be key. Remember the Cowboys last week? The Eagles won that game because LeSean McCoy successfully ran 4+ minutes off the clock. The Giants had to pass, and that gave the Birds far too many chances. I was really worried, with Stewart Bradley being out, but one thing about Andy Reid is that he seems to always have another guy ready to step in.

Apparently, at halftime, Asante Samuel, usually not the most voluble guy, exhorted the team to play with heart. Not to win, not to get back in it, but to play with heart. Chef Spouse and I were speculating, while waiting in line for our delicious, fatty deli meat sandwiches, what would need to happen in the locker room at halftime for this not to be an utter disaster. Chef Spouse noted that if anyone was going to step up with the "unleash the hounds!" speech, it was going to have to be one of the players. True dat.

A few comments on the Giants: Eli Manning played really well. I tend to rag on him, mostly because his diffident manner tends to get on my nerves (and I think it's unfair that he has a ring, when I honestly don't believe he's a great, or even a consistent, quarterback), but yesterday isn't on him.

You know who else it isn't on? Matt Dodge. Yeah, he made a bad mistake on that final punt. But he didn't have anything to do with blowing a 21 point lead in about 7 minutes. And 10 other guys were on the field who should've tackled DJax. Denizens of Big Blue View are calling for his head and bitching that you don't waste time grooming a punter. Two words for you: Sav Rocca.

Also, Justin Tuck? Might want to tone down the trash talk, son.

Finally, there's been a lot of Giants fan whining about DeSean Jackson "showboating" across the front of the endzone. He's been quoted as saying he was just making sure he'd used up the clock, and being there, it was pretty obvious he was looking back over his shoulder at the clock to be sure. Either way, all I have to say is, just like when the Cowboys whined last week, if you don't want to see it, don't let him do it.

Around the rest of the NFL...

Chargers over 49ers: The Giants fans in front of us at the game Sunday were talking about this game and how BWest is doing so well for the 49ers. I forbore to mention that it was because he didn't have to play at all for about 2/3 of the season, mostly because even when their team was winning, the Giants fans were really, really cranky.

Ravens over Saints: Super Bowl hangover? Nah - the Saints will still likely make the playoffs, although they do have to face the Falcons again, and in Atlanta. And once we're into the postseason, anything can happen. Actually, that holds for the Ravens, too.

Panthers over Cardinals: I called this one! And pretty much no one else did! Who cares?

Bengals over Browns: TO's done for the season, and maybe forever. Aw - I'm really going to miss that guy. No, I'm not.

Cowboys over Redskins: But Sexy Rexy played really well. Prediction? McNabb's done in DC. And he seems to have developed the reputation as being stubborn/inflexible, which could hurt his chances of going elsewhere.

Colts over Jaguars: I knew the Colts would find a way to win this game. Like I said, I just don't see Peyton allowing them to miss the playoffs. One of the Sunday morning shows was talking about "this combination of QB and coaching experience blah, blah, blah," and I know they were thinking Jim Caldwell, but I was thinking, "Same guy."

Bills over Dolphins: Just when I think it can't get any worse for the Fins (who, you recall, I picked to win the division), they lose to the Bills. Ouch.

Chiefs over Rams: The NFC West will be won by a team under .500. Sickening.

Lions over Buccaneers: Guess that whole dream of the playoffs is pretty much right out the window for the Bucs. Have I mentioned that I think the Lions are SOOOO close to being good? Because I really think they are.

Titans over Texans: We just watched C'mon Man, and they showed the Texans' linemen getting into a fight WITH EACH OTHER and drawing a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty. Possibly the dumbest thing I've seen this week (then again, it's only Monday).

Falcons over Seahawks: Well, yes.

Raiders over Broncos: Who will be starting Tim Tebow for the rest of the season. Why the hell not? Find out what you have now.

Jets over Steelers: There's this great sports bar in Times Square called Tonic, which is where we ended up after getting back from New Jersey and showering up, both to warm up and to try to address the Crazy Santa Hat Hair situation. We were watching the 3rd quarter while getting ready, and got to the bar in time to see the 4th quarter, where we found a lot of Jets fans, and some nice, friendly Giants fans. Apparently, you have to pass an asshole test to go to the game, as in, if you aren't one, they don't let you in the stadium (Yes, I was in the stadium. Draw your own conclusions). Watching this game, all I could think was: how important is Troy Polamalu to this team? I don't have the stats handy, but I know the Steelers winning percentage with Troy Polamalu is really good, and without him, um, not nearly so good. Even with the loss, they're still atop the AFC North, but they need to gentle Samoan to get healthy ASAP.

Patriots over Packers: This game is proof that things mostly turn out as expected. Even though the Packers, led by rookie QB Matt Flynn, led for most of the game, that is not going to beat Tom Brady at home 9 times out of 10 and twice on Sunday. Funniest moment of the game? Lineman Dan Connolly running back a punt 70+ yards. The crowd at Tonic was yelling, "Run, Fat Boy!" as one. The funny part is, if he hadn't tripped, he probably would have made it into the endzone, dragging all those relatively tiny Packers who were trying to tackle him, even though, as Chef Spouse observed, he was holding the ball like a sack of groceries.

And now? I find myself in the unenviable position of having to root for Brett Favre. But I really want that #2 spot, not least of which because it dramatically reduces the chances that the Eagles will have to face the Giants again this year. It's really, really hard to beat a team 3 times in a row. It's even harder to do it 7 times in a row.

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2010 Week 15 Picks

Chef Spouse did something really amazing for his company this fall. To say thank you, they're sending us to Gotham this weekend - hotel, sideline tickets, car service to the Meadowlands, the works. And Chef Spouse is preparing a picnic lunch of high end treats (pate, caviar, champagne, etc.) for the train ride up.  And we have dinner reservations at WD-50. Now if we can just get the temperature above ridiculously freezing cold, we'll really be in business!

So who's going to win the game?

Well, the math says Giants. So do some of the guys at Bleeding Green Nation (traitors!). But The System doesn't know Steve Smith is done for the year, and Mario Manningham is decidedly iffy. And the Giants historically don't do well in December. And I'm not sure what's going on with Eli Manning lately, but he's throwing a LOT of picks. And did I mention that Asante Samuel is back? And even though he's been out since the last Giants game, he's leading the NFL in picks?

Oh - and could this game be any bigger? The team that wins this WILL win the NFC East. You heard it here first.

I gotta pick my Eagles, even against the math. And if they can win out, they'll likely jump to the #2 spot given how tough the Bears schedule is. That bye and a home playoff game would be nice, fellas. Can't you taste it? Don't you want it? You know you do. Don't let me down.

In the other matchups:

49ers at Chargers: Both teams playing for their playoff lives, and BWest is having a bit of a renaissance now that Frank Gore's sidelined. But I figure the Chargers should win this one going away. Both west divisions are bad, but the NFC West is like a whole other level of bad.

Saints at Ravens: This is going to be a hell of a game, with both teams in tough divisions and trying to stay in the wildcard race. I'm picking the Saints. I'm also picking this as the game we'll have on Chef Spouse's new iPhone while we're at the Meadowlands.

Cardinals at Panthers: This, on the other hand, is a meaningless game. The math says Panthers, but really, who cares?

Browns at Bengals: Another meaningless game. The Bengals have a slight edge, but again, who cares?

Redskins at Cowboys: Much as I want to pick the Redskins, the Cowboys are now playing like we all expected them to at the beginning of the season, and the Redskins' lack of depth at pretty much every position is causing their usual late season meltdown. Cowboys.

Jaguars at Colts:  Colts. I can't believe they'll miss the playoffs, and they have to win their division to get in this year. Peyton will make it happen by sheer force of will if he has to.

Bills at Dolphins: Dolphins.

Chiefs at Rams: Two not very good teams fighting to stay in the lead of their crummy divisions. Bleh. Chiefs.

Lions at Bucs: This one's a push, but the Bucs are at home and potentially have something to play for (they're still not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs), so I'm going with them.

Texans at Titans: The Texans will win this game, for all the good it will do them. Sigh. Maybe next year former/future Team of Destiny.

Falcons at Seahawks: The Falcons are only unstoppable at home. And when they're playing bad teams. Falcons.

Broncos at Raiders: Raiders. I hadn't bought, but I was renting to own. Hope I can get out of this lease.

Jets at Steelers: The math says Jets, but I think they're starting to fall apart, and the Steelers, who have one of the oldest rosters in the NFL but sure as hell don't play like it, are hitting their stride big time. I'm going with the Steelers.

Packers at Patriots: The math says Packers, but it doesn't know about Aaron Rodgers concussion or the fact that Tom Brady's on fire, too. I have to go with the Pats, even though another loss almost definitely dooms the Packers post-season hopes, while the Pats could coast a little at this point.

Bears at Vikings: The Vikes still have no stadium and have an almost new coach and a new QB (Patrick Ramsey, who hasn't had meaningful playing time since he was a Redskin in 2004) to backup their starter, who up until last week was the third string clipboard holder. The math says they're going to win, but that's crazy talk. Bears.

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2010 Week 11 Recap

Eagles v. Giants, Sunday, November 21, 2010

In attendance: just me, Chef Spouse, and Shoegal. Sunday night games are tough, and Ex-Navy Cheesehead is recovering from getting a bionic ankle.

Menu: duck, chestnut soup, cauliflower and green beans, apple pie. Fall deliciousness.

Stud of the week: LeSean McCoy, who put the Eagles ahead for good with his 50 yard TD run on an almost-botched 4th-and-1 conversion attempt with about 4:30 left in the game. Shady had a good day, with over 100 yards, although most of them came on two big plays. I'm not complaining, though.

In some ways, this felt like the game where the Eagles couldn't do anything right. Well, except win. There was an awful lot of "YES!!! Wait! NOOOOOO!" in my living room last night. The receivers had the dropsiers, most notably with both DeSean Jackson and Jason Avant dropping TDs. Even Al Michaels pointed out that Avant is one of the most sure-handed wideouts in the NFL, so that was just bizarre.

The game also saw Michael Vick's first 2010 season turnover, although he still hasn't thrown any picks (knock wood).

Speaking of turnovers, Asante Samuel created one only to turn the ball over himself with a completely unnecessary run just after the Shady TD. Fortunately, as Shoegal observed, Eli Manning clearly doesn't know how to slide, either, leading to the Akers' field goal that iced the game with under 30 seconds left.

Speaking of, how often does Akers end up with a blocked kick? Of course, stats on SNF revealed that Akers has trouble against the Giants.  It occurs to me, though, that the Giants' field goal coverage is what every team should study against the Eagles, since Akers holds the all-time franchise record for points scored. Good tackle, Sav. I guess that's why you want an Aussie rules punter - he's not afraid to knock guys down if it comes to it.

And the Eagles almost killed themselves with dumb penalties. There were like 120 yards of Eagles penalties. That is not good. 

Of course, how many times did Trent Cole get obviously held and it's wasn't called? More than once, I saw a Giants lineman have him in a half-nelson (and to his credit, he just kept on driving his legs). I'm pretty sure that's not kosher.

Now, this game WOULD be a great example for other teams of how to defend Mike Vick...if it wasn't for the fact that the Eagles won anyway. The Giants certainly did a good job of limiting the big plays, and amazingly, this season, smart teams go ahead and let Mike Vick run, since he's changed his game so much that his arm is more dangerous than his legs.

A quick note:  I've been very impressed with Dimitri Patterson over the past two weeks. It's not hard for a corner to impress against the Redskins, but remember that the Giants have the #2 ranked offense. Maybe he's finally found a home with the Eagles. One team's (well, actually three teams' - Redskins, Vikings and Chiefs) trash is another team's treasure.

The thing to take away from this, though, is that too many times over the years it's felt like the Eagles couldn't win close ones. DMac was always great at putting up a ton of points, but he wasn't necessarily always clutch (although he was more clutch than a lot of people give him credit for). It was good to see the team overcome some mistakes that really could have been devastating to gut out a tough win over one of the best teams in the NFC.

Around the rest of the NFL...

9 and 6 with MNF in progress, and although there were a lot of combacks this week, my pick of the Chargers is looking pretty solid so far, which would put me at 10-6 on the week.

Bears over Dolphins: The Bears pitched a shut out. That's gotta hurt. Having no Chads and no Brandon Marshall may be too much for the Fins to overcome. Plenty of teams are struggling with injury (see below, Colts, The), but the Fins are pretty much in the "decimated" category.

Ravens over Panthers: Duh.

Bills over Bengals: Oh my God. The Bills scored 35 unanswered points. 35! The Bengals couldn't hold a 28-7 lead. That's just pathetic. To quote TO: "We are terrible." Yes, TO, you are.

Cowboys over Lions: And in predictable fashion, many Cowboys fans are calling Jason Garrett the second coming of Tom Landry and talking about the playoffs. Sorry kids, 9-7 won't get you in this year. Your only possible role in the next 6 weeks is to play spoiler.

Jaguars over Browns: MJD is looking good. I know everyone's already heard this one, but rumor is that tackling him is like trying to tackle a Coke machine. Looking at him bull ahead, I believe it.

Chiefs over Cardinals: Speaking of rumors, I heard that Fitz might leave the Cards? I think he only has one more year on his contract, and since the Cards don't have anyone who can get him the ball...I'd suggest Philly, but the Eagles are actually pretty loaded at receiver at the moment. Wow. Feels weird to type that. I'd love to see what Fitz, DJax, and Vick could do together, though. Talk about explosive offense.

Packers over Vikings: Rumors of Ellis Hobbs' death have been greatly exaggerated (although he is out for the rest of the season - again - with a neck injury) - rumors of Brad Childress's have not. He's the second head coaching head to roll this season. Brett Favre may be done, too. And frankly, I blame him for a lot of the mess in Minnesota. I know - Chilly's to blame, too, because he made the decision to bring Favre back. But NFL.com is right - in this situation, either the QB gets benched or the head coach gets fired. Did the Vikings make a mistake? Let's put it this way: I think it's time to go to Tavaris Jackson.

Jets over Texans: Hey! The Jets managed a win in regular time! It was the very end of regular time, but still. You know what worries me? Playoff games tend to come down to the wire, and the Jets are getting PLENTY of practice winning those games. That means trouble for whoever faces them come January, which could (cross fingers) include the Eagles at the Super Bowl? That might be too much to ask, but a girl can dream right?

Steelers over Raiders: Oh, The System, why did you tempt me into picking the Raiders? Also, on the whole Richard Seymour smacking Big Ben in the head, Roethlisberger's all "I didn't say anything." I call bullshit.

Redskins over Titans: Center Casey Rabach went down, and that seems to have been a good thing, since the replacement center quit stepping on McNabb and knocking him over. It's not good when your center is the sack leader. People keep talking about Randy Moss not contributing, but what I see is that he's fulfilling one of the key roles of a #1 wideout: drawing double and triple coverage so OTHER guys can get open. Not that that was enough Sunday. And how odd is it that the Titans beat every other NFC East team than the Redskins? Who, by the way, need a new kicker. Again. Well, actually, still.  Also, did you hear Vince Young threw a hissy fit when Jeff Fisher wouldn't let him and his busted thumb back in the game, reportedly throwing "part of his uniform" into the stands. I gotta figure that was a helmet, because most other uniform parts don't travel so well. Or maybe it was a shoe? You could probably fling a shoe for pretty good distance.

Saints over Seahawks: Of course. Even without Reggie Bush. But resting him one more week was a smart decision when the opponent is from the NFC West.

Bucs over 49ers: Another shut out and speaking of "the NFC West" and "stinks," case in point.

Falcons over Rams: The Falcons, at least as of last week, are still above the Eagles in the power rankings. Think that will continue to hold? They are one game up, but the Eagles did beat them back in week 6 and it was with K2 under center. I'm just sayin'.

Pats over Colts: Speaking of decimated by injury, the Colts have run through the active roster, the practice squad, the CFL, and most of the nearby colleges. I think they're starting to scout some Pop Warner prospects at this point.

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