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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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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Sunday Schedule: Sunday, November 21, 2010

The Eagles host the Giants this week in a prime-time battle for the lead in the NFC East. I'm hoping the Eagles repeat their recent beatdown of the Redskins, although I suspect the Giants will not be such easy pickings.

ThNF: Bears/Dolphins (Once again, the NFL Network manages to score a good game. Now if we could just do something about their booth crew...)

1 pm: Redskins/Titans (with Cowboys/Lions on as the secondary game)

4 pm:  Colts/Patriots (second game? people's choice)

SNF: Eagles/Giants is ON!

MFN: Chargers/Broncos

Menu: Chef Spouse needs to make another run at chestnut soup before Thanksgiving, and he's thinking duck with a sour cherry pan sauce too. I'll be making pies this weekend, so there will be an apple to enjoy.

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2010 Week 11 Picks

All the bye weeks are over. Now it's a race to the playoffs. And surprisingly (or at least, surprising me), the Eagles are in it.

This week the Eagles host the Giants, in a battle for the lead in the NFC East.

So far, the Giants have beat the Panthers (1-8), the Texans (4-5), the Bears (6-3), the Lions (2-7), the Cowboys (2-7), and the Seahawks (5-4, but in the JV division), and lost to the Cowboys, the Colts (who the Eagles beat two weeks ago), and the Titans (who apparently own the NFC East this year). So 2 wins against teams that are over .500.

The Eagles have beat the Lions (2-7), the Jaguars (5-4), the 49ers (3-6), the Falcons (7-2), the Colts (6-3), and the Redskins (4-5), and have lost to the Packers, the Redskins, and the Titans (see above RE: owning the NFC East).  So 3 wins against teams that are over .500

The System says Giants, and after Monday on a short week, we could be due for a let down.

On the other hand, Michael Vick has clearly been eating his Wheaties and may, in fact, actually BE Batman. If he can keep playing like he did Monday, the NFL should pretty much call off the rest of the season and give the Eagles the Lombardi trophy.

Of course, he's not going to play like that every week. And the Giants - or at least Antonio Pierce - seem to think they can stop him.

But I just can't find it in myself to pick the Giants. Not after what I saw in Largo. Eagles.

In the rest of the matchups:

After last week's 5-9 debacle, am I abandoning The System? No, but it's definitely on notice that it needs to perform better, or I'm benching it favor of my usual completely unscientific method of picking: which team do I hate more?

Bears at Dolphins: Dolphins. Even though they're nearly out of Chads.

Ravens at Panthers: Ravens (didn't need The System to tell me that).

Bills at Bengals: Bengals. Kills me to make this pick, particularly after TO was tweeting smack about McNabb's new contract on Monday night. Dude, let it go. He doesn't love you any more. It's time to move on with your life!

Lions at Cowboys: The System says Cowboys and by a lot, although I'm really tempted to pick the Lions anyway, because they've owned the Cowboys lately. Oh wait - Romo's not playing. The System must know.

Browns at Jaguars: Jags by a nose. And they are at home, although I'm not sure how much of a 12th man Jacksonville is actually able to field.

Cardinals at Chiefs: Chiefs. Well, yes.

Packers at Vikings: The System says Vikings, but it hasn't seen Brett Favre's recent press conferences. I'm going with the Packers.

Texans at Jets: Jets. But the real question is: can the Jets win a game WITHOUT going to OT?

Raiders at Steelers: All my Steelers fan friends are going to kill me, but Raiders.

Redskins at Titans: So far the Titans have owned the NFC East. I don't see that stopping this week. Titans.

Seahawks at Saints: Saints. Again, didn't need The System to tell me that one, particularly with Reggie Bush back in the huddle.

Buccaneers at 49ers: 49ers. Hmmmm - interesting.

Falcons at Rams: Falcons. Again, fairly obvious choice even without the math.

Colts at Patriots: Colts. Also, this is going to be a great game.

Broncos at Chargers: Chargers. And since it's MNF, it will be broadcast whether or not the Chargers fans step up and the game sells out.

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2010 Week 10 Recap

Eagles at Redskins, Monday, November 15, 2010

In attendance: On Sunday, me, Shoegal, and Chef Spouse's friend The Underwear Model (yes really, and he also looks a LOT like Mike Tomlin. Only younger and more ripped.)  MNF? Cool Web Dude, Hottie Web Chick's brother, Chef Spouse, me, and a sell-out crowd at FedEx Field.

Menu: chili, jalapeno cheese scones and margaritas. Shoegal brought salad fixin's so we'd have at least one really healthy thing.

Stud of the Week: Michael Vick. No contest. Threw for 4 TDs and over 300 yards, ran for 2 TDs and 80 yards. He was out of control good. Scary good (well, at least if you're a Redskin).  If you look up "off the hook" in the dictionary, you'll see his picture.

So I've been getting emails and texts all day to the effect of "I can't wait to see your recap of the game!"

Here it is:

Redskins get WHOMPED. Film at 11.
 
Seriously, what else is there to say?

Eagles first series? Well, it wasn't a series - it was one play, an 88 yard TD hookup between Vick and DeSean Jackson.

Redskins first series? Three and out.

Eagles first quarter? 4 TDs.

Redskins first quarter? No first downs.

As Cool Web Dude observed: the Redskins scored all their points in junk time. Which was pretty much the last 3 quarters of the game.

I don't know what happened, but the Eagles were BALLIN'.

Actually, I might know what happened (although I didn't see it, because it takes a million years to get anywhere in DC during rush hour, and it takes two million years to get to FedEx, so we just got to our seats in time to see the DJax TD) - apparently during warmups, there was some jawing and a little fracas that got the Eagles' dander up. So I think what we learned last night is that you don't want to see these guys pissed.

The other big story of the night was, of course, McNabb's new contract. Although additional details have come out at this point that make it not quite as jaw-dropping as it initially looked (they can cut him after this year and only own him another $3M in addition to his salary for the year), it is a clear demonstration of organizational schizophrenia. Two weeks ago, Kyle Shanahan benches him for Rex f-ing Grossman, Pops Shanahan spends two weeks coming up with increasingly implausible cover for Junior, then they write DMac a $78M "I'm sorry" check. Yeah, for Dan Snyder, that amounts to the change in the sofa cushions, but still, if you manage to figure out what the Redskins are up to, do let me know, because I don't have a clue. 

Around the rest of the NFL:

The System really let me down this week. In other news, there were a fair amount of upsets. Those two may be related. I only got 5 right. Yikes. I guess anyone can have an off week.

Falcons over Ravens: 9 times out of 10, if I offered you odds on the Ravens D being able to protect a lead with 1:05 left, you would be safe betting the mortgage on the Ravens. But not Thursday night. The big question now is whether or not they continue to be a dominant defense. It kills me when the Eagles let players go who are maybe just starting down the slope. But they do. And they don't end up with legends that are losing it. I'm looking at you, Ray Lewis.

Bills over Lions: Well, we knew they couldn't lose forever.

Bears over Vikings: I know I've been looking for this for a long time, but is it just me, or does Brett Favre look TOTALLY done at this point? Too bad he might take Brad Childress down with him. And he was a mess Sunday - three picks. Return of the old Brett. Not sure how dumping Randy Moss makes you better, particularly when you're #1 wideout is out for the season. And apparently someone forgot to remind the Vikings that it's still really not a great plan to kick to Devin Hester, particularly if your coverage team is completely asleep.

Jets over Browns: But it took overtime. Again. Finding a way to win is good. Taking a full extra quarter of football to do it week after week is not, particularly if you hope to go deep into the playoffs, which Rex's guys certainly do. The ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown team all gave their "bold" predictions for the second half of the season. I can't remember which one, but one of them (maybe Ditka?) predicted the Browns would win the AFC North. They certainly aren't as bad as their 3-6 record, but win the division? Well, it's certainly a bold prediction. One could also go with "crazy." Berman's "bold" pick? Same as always - Eagles in the Super Bowl.

Colts over Bengals: The Bengals may have Batman and Robin, but I guess that makes Peyton Manning The Joker. Or maybe Commissioner Gordon. Not 100% up on my Batman mythology. Anyhoodle, the Bengals are not good this year. The Colts aren't quite themselves either, but the Bengals just suck.

Jaguars over Texans: C'mon guys! You're killing me! Didn't you just hear me say that the Colts aren't as strong as usual? This could be your year. Only you have to actually win some games, for chrissakes!

Dolphins over Titans: Told you. Also, Randy Moss is, like, on the back of a milk carton at this point. I know all that moving around has to be confusing (literally - I'll bet he hasn't gotten his copy of GQ in months), but where did he go? The Dolphins are in trouble, though, as BOTH the Chads went down, leaving them with Tyler Thigpen. No, he's not retired. Yet. At least they had someone to go to - the Titans had to put an injured Vince Young back in because they've got a guy named "Rusty Smith" as their 3rd. Who? Exactly.

Buccaneers over Panthers: There are an awful lot of teams with decent records at this point (basically everyone bunched up at 6-3, which is a LOT of teams), and we're all sitting around going, "Yeah, but who have they beat?' The Bucs are one of those, but then again, this seems to be one of those years. Which means the playoffs should be wild.

Broncos over Chiefs: Just when I start believing in the Chiefs, they completely forget to show up. Maybe it's time to get on the Raiders' bandwagon? They are leading the division - for the moment.

Seahawks over Cardinals: Yawn. OT game? Still yawn. The NFC West also sucks.
 
Cowboys over Giants: As The Underwear Model (Who is also an Eagles fan. Did I mention that? He really is yummy...) observed, a Cowboys win helps the Eagles. I still couldn't root for them, but he's right. Unless of course, this either pisses off the Giants so much they stomp the Eagles next week and/or this is the beginning of a Cowboys' resurgence, just before the Eagles have to face them twice. But I'm hoping for the Cowboys are too far gone to save and this is the beginning of the Eagles resuming their rightful place at the top of the NFC East. I hope.

49ers over Rams: Remember that whole "NFC West sucks" thing? Applies here, too. Also, I think Alex Smith is done. Also, Sam Bradford, despite this loss, is still in contention for rookie of the year, at least in my book. I think the Rams have already won more games this season than about the last 3 years combined.

Patriots over Steelers: What happened to the Steelers? They completely fell apart - and in prime time. I initially ended this recap: "How embarrassing!" But after MNF, I'm guessing the Steelers are mostly thinking, "Thank GOD and Vince Lombardi we're not the Redskins!" today.

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