There is a common theme to this week’s offering. With two exceptions, all the awards are teams with playoff aspirations. It is that time of year. Early in the season we are grading teams based on expectations. Later, realizing potential comes to the forefront. The last four or five weeks, we concentrate mostly on teams looking to continue playing when the regular season ends. That’s where week 13 finds us.
This week saw several teams strengthen their position for the stretch run. A few weakened their position, and a couple really put the hurt on themselves.
Then there is Oakland, who out of nowhere ambushed the Steelers. The Raiders have no playoff hopes this year or next for that matter. But gutting it out gets noticed. As for the Redskins, it is almost entertaining to see how they will grasp defeat from the precipice of victory. Unlike the Browns, Rams or Bucs, the Redskins lose with gusto.
Many thanks to the GBU contributors (Team Ugly): Any, Arj, Ben, GFC, Hannah, Stig, and Ward. And many thanks to you for reading our offering.
The Good
Arizona – Just when you thought the NFC was a two-team race, the Cardinals upend the Vikings. Offensively, they made the Viking defense look rather ordinary with Warner tossing 285 yards and three touchdowns, complemented by a 115 yard running attack at over 4 yards a clip. Defensively, they seemed to confuse Favre, picking him off twice and holding the Vikings to 62 yards rushing. This was one of those games that the scoreboard pretended was closer than it was, and was a statement game for Arizona.
Denver – Beating KC is normally not enough to win a spot here, even in KC. But demons inhabit Arrowhead Stadium with a history of torturing the Broncos. Denver exorcised the demons Sunday to a tune of nearly 200 yards of offensive advantage and almost 12 minutes of possession. 245 of the 413 Bronco yards were on the ground, with 199 beneath the feat of Buckhalter and Moreno. Perhaps more impressive was the Broncos followed up a 14-6 halftime lead with a 30-7 second half explosion. Perhaps the omen that the demons would be held at bay was at the start of the first quarter, on the tail-end of an 8 minute Chief drive, the Broncos defense forced a field goal after facing first and goal from the 1. No matter how you look at this, it was a Good day and an important win to the Denver playoff hopes.
Indianapolis – Well, the Colts continued on their winning streak by handily beating a hot Titans team that had found its groove with Vince Young. Garcon has emerged as a legitimate WR threat and seems to have taken hold of a permanent spot opposite Reggie Wayne. The Colts defense held the dangerous Chris Johnson at bay (as much as he can be held) and kept the early lead brought by the Colts offense intact. This Colts win ties the regular season win streak record of the 2006-2008 Patriots at 21 and makes the 2000′s Colts the winningest team in a decade (over the 90′s 49ers).
New York Giants – In a must-win game at home against the Cowboys, the Giants absorbed 10 points worth of body blows before outscoring Dallas 31-14 the rest of the way, including a 7 point lack of interest TD at the end. All this despite being outgained, running 31 less offensive plays and having almost 18 minutes less time of possession. Still, they were good when they needed to be. They turned the early 10 point hole into a 14-10 halftime edge, then answered a 3-point third quarter deficit with 17 straight points before the final Dallas score. The result is they stay in the playoff hunt and well within range of the division title.
Oakland – We’ll give the Raiders some love for their effort. This is a game they could have easily lost because of lack of interest. Yet they hung around and scored more points in the final 8:30 than they do normally in two weeks. Gradkowski picked apart the Steeler secondary during that stretch with a series of huge plays. He wound up with 308 yards and 3 TDs for his efforts, 177 yards and all three TDs in that final stretch. The Raiders may have been fortunate since their defense was not all that interested in stopping the Steelers during that same stretch, but Raider fans will take Good where they find it.
Philadelphia – Sure, Atlanta is beat up and right now a shell of itself. Still, the Eagles went to the Dome and inflicted a world of hurt on the Falcons. The Eagles scored early and often, jumping out to a 10-0 lead less than halfway through the opening stanza. The Falcons contained the bleeding but the Eagles held them out of the end zone on three plays from the 1in the final minute of the first half. Philly put the game away in the second half, sealing the deal with a third quarter interception near the goal line. It was not that they won this game, it was that they took the Falcons out early, didn’t allow them back and finished the job in a big way. Their only loss was the shutout, which evaporated on the game’s final play.
The Bad
Dallas – There is no shame in losing to the Giants in New York, but the Cowboys could have gone a long way to exorcising the December Demons. What makes this one bad is that they outplayed the Giants in many ways, but came away with nothing to show for it. They are now looking at a final four games with three playoff contenders and the pesky Redskins. They had a chance to enter that stretch by pushing the Giants out of the divisional picture, instead they find themselves tied with the Eagles and a game ahead of the New Yorkers, but having lost both head-head games. And it is December.
Minnesota – It is not the result that places the Vikings here. There is no disgrace in dropping a road game against last year’s NFC Champ, who is on another march towards the playoffs. The problem is that Favre played like his critics said he might late in the year, which is some cause for concern. However, even that can be overlooked. But it is compounded by EJ Hendersons broken leg. It was not a good night, and only part of it was the fault of the purple gang.
New England – There are some serious team chemistry issues going on. Tom Brady has been calling out the team publicly and questioning the effort of players. The head-scratching decisions of Belichick continue.
Washington – What a Houston-esque performance of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They are now in the market for a new kicker.
The Ugly
Baltimore – The Ravens are slipping from playoff contention. This week against the Pack, they managed a meager 185 yards of offense. Sure, the Packer defense is good, but the Ravens made them look impenetrable. The Ravens established little in the way of a running game and Flacco hardly distinguished himself, completing only 15 of 36 passes, with 3 picks. Meanwhile, the Raven defense managed to keep the team in the game until the final 5 minutes of the first half, giving up two TDs in those final few minutes. They also gathered up a couple of third quarter fumbles to allow the offense to capitalize and make this a game for a short stretch, but in the end it was a case of too few defensive stands and too little offensive movement. While the defense grabbed three turnovers, the offense gave up four. The loss places the Ravens two games behind the Jaguars and Broncos with only four remaining. Not good.
Pittsburgh – The vaunted Steeler defense has been getting shredded late in games all year. But, three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to Gradkowski and the Raiders??? OUCH. The end result is they join the Ravens in being two games out of a playoff spot and a less than easy schedule remaining.
Honorable Mention
Cincinnati – Not their 10-point win over the Lions, which a randomly-selected group of us could do, but that win combined with the other results of the day. They find themselves 3 games up on both the Ravens and Steelers in the division, owning tiebreakers over both. Their magic number in the AFCN is 1.
Green Bay – More or less dominating the Ravens at home keeps the Pack a game ahead of the Giants and even with the Eagles/Cowboys in the wild card race. This was nearly a Good performance, but three turnovers is a bit more than we can look beyond. Still, the defense controlled most of this game en route to a 27-14 win.
Miami - It was not a great performance, but they put it together when they were on the verge of seeing the meaningful part of their season end. Recovering from a 21-10 deficit in the second half against New England keeps their playoff hopes alive and gets a nod of respect.
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Week 13: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
December 11, 2009 - 11:39 am · 0 comments
by Zack Kelberman
in Community Commentary, Weekly Segments
There is a common theme to this week’s offering. With two exceptions, all the awards are teams with playoff aspirations. It is that time of year. Early in the season we are grading teams based on expectations. Later, realizing potential comes to the forefront. The last four or five weeks, we concentrate mostly on teams looking to continue playing when the regular season ends. That’s where week 13 finds us.
This week saw several teams strengthen their position for the stretch run. A few weakened their position, and a couple really put the hurt on themselves.
Then there is Oakland, who out of nowhere ambushed the Steelers. The Raiders have no playoff hopes this year or next for that matter. But gutting it out gets noticed. As for the Redskins, it is almost entertaining to see how they will grasp defeat from the precipice of victory. Unlike the Browns, Rams or Bucs, the Redskins lose with gusto.
Many thanks to the GBU contributors (Team Ugly): Any, Arj, Ben, GFC, Hannah, Stig, and Ward. And many thanks to you for reading our offering.
The Good
Arizona – Just when you thought the NFC was a two-team race, the Cardinals upend the Vikings. Offensively, they made the Viking defense look rather ordinary with Warner tossing 285 yards and three touchdowns, complemented by a 115 yard running attack at over 4 yards a clip. Defensively, they seemed to confuse Favre, picking him off twice and holding the Vikings to 62 yards rushing. This was one of those games that the scoreboard pretended was closer than it was, and was a statement game for Arizona.
Denver – Beating KC is normally not enough to win a spot here, even in KC. But demons inhabit Arrowhead Stadium with a history of torturing the Broncos. Denver exorcised the demons Sunday to a tune of nearly 200 yards of offensive advantage and almost 12 minutes of possession. 245 of the 413 Bronco yards were on the ground, with 199 beneath the feat of Buckhalter and Moreno. Perhaps more impressive was the Broncos followed up a 14-6 halftime lead with a 30-7 second half explosion. Perhaps the omen that the demons would be held at bay was at the start of the first quarter, on the tail-end of an 8 minute Chief drive, the Broncos defense forced a field goal after facing first and goal from the 1. No matter how you look at this, it was a Good day and an important win to the Denver playoff hopes.
Indianapolis – Well, the Colts continued on their winning streak by handily beating a hot Titans team that had found its groove with Vince Young. Garcon has emerged as a legitimate WR threat and seems to have taken hold of a permanent spot opposite Reggie Wayne. The Colts defense held the dangerous Chris Johnson at bay (as much as he can be held) and kept the early lead brought by the Colts offense intact. This Colts win ties the regular season win streak record of the 2006-2008 Patriots at 21 and makes the 2000′s Colts the winningest team in a decade (over the 90′s 49ers).
New York Giants – In a must-win game at home against the Cowboys, the Giants absorbed 10 points worth of body blows before outscoring Dallas 31-14 the rest of the way, including a 7 point lack of interest TD at the end. All this despite being outgained, running 31 less offensive plays and having almost 18 minutes less time of possession. Still, they were good when they needed to be. They turned the early 10 point hole into a 14-10 halftime edge, then answered a 3-point third quarter deficit with 17 straight points before the final Dallas score. The result is they stay in the playoff hunt and well within range of the division title.
Oakland – We’ll give the Raiders some love for their effort. This is a game they could have easily lost because of lack of interest. Yet they hung around and scored more points in the final 8:30 than they do normally in two weeks. Gradkowski picked apart the Steeler secondary during that stretch with a series of huge plays. He wound up with 308 yards and 3 TDs for his efforts, 177 yards and all three TDs in that final stretch. The Raiders may have been fortunate since their defense was not all that interested in stopping the Steelers during that same stretch, but Raider fans will take Good where they find it.
Philadelphia – Sure, Atlanta is beat up and right now a shell of itself. Still, the Eagles went to the Dome and inflicted a world of hurt on the Falcons. The Eagles scored early and often, jumping out to a 10-0 lead less than halfway through the opening stanza. The Falcons contained the bleeding but the Eagles held them out of the end zone on three plays from the 1in the final minute of the first half. Philly put the game away in the second half, sealing the deal with a third quarter interception near the goal line. It was not that they won this game, it was that they took the Falcons out early, didn’t allow them back and finished the job in a big way. Their only loss was the shutout, which evaporated on the game’s final play.
The Bad
Dallas – There is no shame in losing to the Giants in New York, but the Cowboys could have gone a long way to exorcising the December Demons. What makes this one bad is that they outplayed the Giants in many ways, but came away with nothing to show for it. They are now looking at a final four games with three playoff contenders and the pesky Redskins. They had a chance to enter that stretch by pushing the Giants out of the divisional picture, instead they find themselves tied with the Eagles and a game ahead of the New Yorkers, but having lost both head-head games. And it is December.
Minnesota – It is not the result that places the Vikings here. There is no disgrace in dropping a road game against last year’s NFC Champ, who is on another march towards the playoffs. The problem is that Favre played like his critics said he might late in the year, which is some cause for concern. However, even that can be overlooked. But it is compounded by EJ Hendersons broken leg. It was not a good night, and only part of it was the fault of the purple gang.
New England – There are some serious team chemistry issues going on. Tom Brady has been calling out the team publicly and questioning the effort of players. The head-scratching decisions of Belichick continue.
Washington – What a Houston-esque performance of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They are now in the market for a new kicker.
The Ugly
Baltimore – The Ravens are slipping from playoff contention. This week against the Pack, they managed a meager 185 yards of offense. Sure, the Packer defense is good, but the Ravens made them look impenetrable. The Ravens established little in the way of a running game and Flacco hardly distinguished himself, completing only 15 of 36 passes, with 3 picks. Meanwhile, the Raven defense managed to keep the team in the game until the final 5 minutes of the first half, giving up two TDs in those final few minutes. They also gathered up a couple of third quarter fumbles to allow the offense to capitalize and make this a game for a short stretch, but in the end it was a case of too few defensive stands and too little offensive movement. While the defense grabbed three turnovers, the offense gave up four. The loss places the Ravens two games behind the Jaguars and Broncos with only four remaining. Not good.
Pittsburgh – The vaunted Steeler defense has been getting shredded late in games all year. But, three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to Gradkowski and the Raiders??? OUCH. The end result is they join the Ravens in being two games out of a playoff spot and a less than easy schedule remaining.
Honorable Mention
Cincinnati – Not their 10-point win over the Lions, which a randomly-selected group of us could do, but that win combined with the other results of the day. They find themselves 3 games up on both the Ravens and Steelers in the division, owning tiebreakers over both. Their magic number in the AFCN is 1.
Green Bay – More or less dominating the Ravens at home keeps the Pack a game ahead of the Giants and even with the Eagles/Cowboys in the wild card race. This was nearly a Good performance, but three turnovers is a bit more than we can look beyond. Still, the defense controlled most of this game en route to a 27-14 win.
Miami - It was not a great performance, but they put it together when they were on the verge of seeing the meaningful part of their season end. Recovering from a 21-10 deficit in the second half against New England keeps their playoff hopes alive and gets a nod of respect.
You might also like:
Tagged as: gbu, nfl, week 13