Every now and then, usually as the playoffs approach, there is a week like this week. There were really only a handful of notable Goods, Bads and Uglies. Some playoff contenders won but were unimpressive. Others lost, but weren’t particularly notable other than they didn’t take care of business. Sometimes things just go that way, almost like no one is particularly interested in the playoffs or making our list.
That also leads to a more muddled playoff picture. Green Bay’s loss narrowed the gap between the first NFC wild card slot and being team seven in a six team field to one game. That gap is also one game in the AFC, but eight teams are scratching and clawing for the two spots instead of three. That should make for an interesting week 16.
As for the spirit of the season, the Skins gave the Giants the week off. The Bears did the same for the Ravens. Seattle handed the Bucs a nice gift. Others were not so generous. The Lions, Rams and Bills made the Cardinals, Texans and Pats work. The Jags gave the Colts all they could handle. The Cowboys had Saints fans shooting their TVs. And let’s not overlook that the Raiders will be getting a little coal in their stockings this year courtesy of the Broncos.
Happy Holidays to all. While wrapping this and placing it under your tree was not feasible, we hope you enjoy the season.
Team Ugly: Any, Arj, Ben, GFC, Hannah, Stig, and Ward.
The Good
Carolina – If you heard no other details of this game aside from “DeAngelo Williams went out at the end of the 1st Quarter, and Brett Favre only threw one INT, in garbage time,” you’d probably guess the end result was just about anything other than a Carolina rout. Stewart carried the load admirably alone against a stout run defense (especially considering how the Sportsline “experts” who effectively ended my fantasy season, said his nagging injury was worsening and he might not even play or would have very limited touches if he did) and Matt Moore continues to impress and make apparently everyone but John Fox more and more sure every week that the Panthers have solved their QB problem
Cleveland – Who is Jerome Harrison and why didn’t I have him on my fantasy team? 286 yards rushing always gets our attention. The Browns went through the hapless Chiefs like a hot knife through butter. Josh Cribbs returned two, yes TWO, kickoffs for TDs setting the NFL record. On the field, this game probably doesn’t warrant a Good by itself since it took all of those scores to dispatch the Chiefs. But, the Browns also gained a new leader in Holmgren. That makes it a Good week. The next question is ill Mangini still be with them in 2010?
Dallas – Romo maybe played his best game ever. The Cowboy defense was all over Drew Brees with an injured Damarcus Ware leading the way. The Cowboys came out with determination and fire and were not going to be denied a win over the 13-0 Saints. They used the dismissive media’s proclamations of certain loss to light a fire under their asses and win the game. They outgained the Saints by 100 yards, held the ball almost 13 minutes longer and held the fort after Nick Folk pushed the door open for the Saints to complete a comeback. The Folk issue has been addressed. Now, will they continue playing this way for the rest of the season and playoffs? Time will tell.
New York Giants – They completely dominated the Redskins who looked like they didn’t even want to be in the stadium. Eli played great and the dominant pass rushing of the Giant defensive line returned. On offense, the Gents moved the ball at will. They did not punt until the final 2:00 of the first half, by which the score was 24-0 and the game had been over for almost 10:00. On defense, the Giants showed an aggressive streak reminiscent of what everyone expects. This was a complete domination which is only lessened by the fact that the Redskins took the field waving the white flag.
Philadelphia – The Eagles put the 49ers on the ropes in the first half and never quite threw the knockout punch, but never the less played well enough throughout to earn an important home win and a spot here. In the process, they amassed 422 yards while holding the Niners to 261. McNabb had a 300 yard day in the air and Reid somehow maintained a balanced offense of 33 runs vs. 36 passes. In the process, the Eagle defense also collected four turnovers that led to 13 points. The one that produced no points did negate another one of those 4th and 1 inside your own 30 gambles, which failed. While turnovers caused some points to be left on the field and allowed the Niners back in the game, the Eagles were dominant enough to overcome their own mistakes en route to this win.
The Bad
New York Jets – They allow a hobbling dome team to come in and beat them when they are in a must win situation? The Falcons are a much different and generally lesser team on the road, and the weather should have worsened that. Yet it was the Jets who looked more like the team used to the Great Indoors. They may have the best defense in the league but they couldn’t hold down the Falcons in the most important drive in the game. File this under “blown opportunities.”
The Ugly
Chicago – Way to blow chunks guys. Four interceptions, two lost fumbles and a collective 37.5 completion percentage. We know you didn’t arrive in Baltimore until almost 11pm Saturday night, but you could have sleep walked through this game and accomplished more. To put this in perspective, the Bears completed a 30 yard pass on the first offensive play of the game. That was roughly 1/7th of their offensive total for the game, and yes, three plays later the interceptions started to rain from the skies. Two of their five first half possessions ended with interceptions, one on downs at the Raven 1, one lasted 3 plays and one was the kneel down at the end of the half. They did return a punt for a TD. The second half was more futility, with a fumbled kickoff return, their subsequent 8 possessions ended with 2 interceptions, a fumble, four punts (the successes) and one on downs. U-G-L-Y, they ain’t got no alibi, their Ugly, whoa, their Ugly.
Denver – We thought very seriously about only making this a “Bad” since Oakland has been a solid spoiler team this year knocking off some pretty big names. But with the Broncos previously in the WC driver’s seat, and the game being in Denver, I decided this was ugly because it sort of epitomizes the dichotomy of the Broncos’ season. They opened to a surprising 6-0 on the strength of a brutal defense, which has now cooled to the point that it can surrender 20 in a near must win contest with the “juggernaut” of an Oakland offense led by Russell/Frye.
Seattle – They deserve as Ugly a ranking as they can get. Just an abysmal effort from everyone involved, from the coaches to the clipboard holders. They couldn’t cover Tampa’s receivers. T hey couldn’t put pressure on a rookie QB. They couldn’t stop a moribund running game. They couldn’t put the ball in the end zone. They couldn’t convert 3rd downs. They couldn’t protect the ball. Jim Mora was outcoached by a rookie coach who is widely considered not up to the responsibilities of the position. They got blown out of the water by 17 points by a previously 1-win team. And this was all at home, in front of their home crowd. Completely unacceptable.
Washington – The Redskins may have set a new standard for Ugly. The Redskins were not a factor in this game, save a couple of drives after the dirt had been shoveled over them. This was such a complete fiasco they should have entered the field by piling out of a Volkswagen. And what exactly was that Ugliness to end the first half? Not even Cerrato’s dismissal earlier in the week could pull this out of the low side of Ugly. The only thing that could have made Zorn look like he was trying to get fired more was if he coached the second half without any pants.
Honorable Mention
Atlanta Defense – Couldn’t quite give a full team “Good” here since the offense was sub-par, but the collective D was very impressive. They slipped big one time in the 1st quarter to allow a pretty 65 yard TD pass to Edwards. That was the only time a Jet-controlled football (aside from a Jay Feely missed FG) crossed the Falcons 30 yard line all day. This was accomplished by shutting down all of the Jets options thoroughly. Though steady pressure only netted 2 sacks, it disrupted Sanchez enough to stop drives with incompletions, and contributed heavily to at least one of 3 INTs. On the other end, the Jets running duo of Jones and Greene were held to an anemic 3.03 ypc average on 27 attempts.
On the other side, the Packers and Steelers defenses – This gets the double award. This game featured a whopping 973 yards of offense combined for both teams. Tomlin actually decided to onside kick when up 2 points to try to avoid putting his defense on the field. This game had to have several members of the Steel Curtain doing the 
.
Cincinnati – OK, the downside is they lost. But having to handle the death of a teammate, travel to the west coast and play one of the two best teams in the AFC who is on a 8 (thanks PP) game winning streak (entering the game) is a tall order. The Bengals traded blows with the Chargers and gave them all they could handle before being betrayed by a penalty that helped set up the game-winning FG. Despite it all, they gave the Chargers something to think about entering the playoffs. This winds up here only because the loss draws the Bengals one game closer to the Ravens in the divisional race, which can not be considered a Good outcome. Oddly, had the Ravens invented a way to lose to the Bears, this would have made the big list.
You might also like:
Tagged as:
afc,
gbu,
nfc,
nfl,
week 15
Week 15: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
December 22, 2009 - 11:16 pm · 0 comments
by Zack Kelberman
in Community Commentary, Weekly Segments
Every now and then, usually as the playoffs approach, there is a week like this week. There were really only a handful of notable Goods, Bads and Uglies. Some playoff contenders won but were unimpressive. Others lost, but weren’t particularly notable other than they didn’t take care of business. Sometimes things just go that way, almost like no one is particularly interested in the playoffs or making our list.
That also leads to a more muddled playoff picture. Green Bay’s loss narrowed the gap between the first NFC wild card slot and being team seven in a six team field to one game. That gap is also one game in the AFC, but eight teams are scratching and clawing for the two spots instead of three. That should make for an interesting week 16.
As for the spirit of the season, the Skins gave the Giants the week off. The Bears did the same for the Ravens. Seattle handed the Bucs a nice gift. Others were not so generous. The Lions, Rams and Bills made the Cardinals, Texans and Pats work. The Jags gave the Colts all they could handle. The Cowboys had Saints fans shooting their TVs. And let’s not overlook that the Raiders will be getting a little coal in their stockings this year courtesy of the Broncos.
Happy Holidays to all. While wrapping this and placing it under your tree was not feasible, we hope you enjoy the season.
Team Ugly: Any, Arj, Ben, GFC, Hannah, Stig, and Ward.
The Good
Carolina – If you heard no other details of this game aside from “DeAngelo Williams went out at the end of the 1st Quarter, and Brett Favre only threw one INT, in garbage time,” you’d probably guess the end result was just about anything other than a Carolina rout. Stewart carried the load admirably alone against a stout run defense (especially considering how the Sportsline “experts” who effectively ended my fantasy season, said his nagging injury was worsening and he might not even play or would have very limited touches if he did) and Matt Moore continues to impress and make apparently everyone but John Fox more and more sure every week that the Panthers have solved their QB problem
Cleveland – Who is Jerome Harrison and why didn’t I have him on my fantasy team? 286 yards rushing always gets our attention. The Browns went through the hapless Chiefs like a hot knife through butter. Josh Cribbs returned two, yes TWO, kickoffs for TDs setting the NFL record. On the field, this game probably doesn’t warrant a Good by itself since it took all of those scores to dispatch the Chiefs. But, the Browns also gained a new leader in Holmgren. That makes it a Good week. The next question is ill Mangini still be with them in 2010?
Dallas – Romo maybe played his best game ever. The Cowboy defense was all over Drew Brees with an injured Damarcus Ware leading the way. The Cowboys came out with determination and fire and were not going to be denied a win over the 13-0 Saints. They used the dismissive media’s proclamations of certain loss to light a fire under their asses and win the game. They outgained the Saints by 100 yards, held the ball almost 13 minutes longer and held the fort after Nick Folk pushed the door open for the Saints to complete a comeback. The Folk issue has been addressed. Now, will they continue playing this way for the rest of the season and playoffs? Time will tell.
New York Giants – They completely dominated the Redskins who looked like they didn’t even want to be in the stadium. Eli played great and the dominant pass rushing of the Giant defensive line returned. On offense, the Gents moved the ball at will. They did not punt until the final 2:00 of the first half, by which the score was 24-0 and the game had been over for almost 10:00. On defense, the Giants showed an aggressive streak reminiscent of what everyone expects. This was a complete domination which is only lessened by the fact that the Redskins took the field waving the white flag.
Philadelphia – The Eagles put the 49ers on the ropes in the first half and never quite threw the knockout punch, but never the less played well enough throughout to earn an important home win and a spot here. In the process, they amassed 422 yards while holding the Niners to 261. McNabb had a 300 yard day in the air and Reid somehow maintained a balanced offense of 33 runs vs. 36 passes. In the process, the Eagle defense also collected four turnovers that led to 13 points. The one that produced no points did negate another one of those 4th and 1 inside your own 30 gambles, which failed. While turnovers caused some points to be left on the field and allowed the Niners back in the game, the Eagles were dominant enough to overcome their own mistakes en route to this win.
The Bad
New York Jets – They allow a hobbling dome team to come in and beat them when they are in a must win situation? The Falcons are a much different and generally lesser team on the road, and the weather should have worsened that. Yet it was the Jets who looked more like the team used to the Great Indoors. They may have the best defense in the league but they couldn’t hold down the Falcons in the most important drive in the game. File this under “blown opportunities.”
The Ugly
Chicago – Way to blow chunks guys. Four interceptions, two lost fumbles and a collective 37.5 completion percentage. We know you didn’t arrive in Baltimore until almost 11pm Saturday night, but you could have sleep walked through this game and accomplished more. To put this in perspective, the Bears completed a 30 yard pass on the first offensive play of the game. That was roughly 1/7th of their offensive total for the game, and yes, three plays later the interceptions started to rain from the skies. Two of their five first half possessions ended with interceptions, one on downs at the Raven 1, one lasted 3 plays and one was the kneel down at the end of the half. They did return a punt for a TD. The second half was more futility, with a fumbled kickoff return, their subsequent 8 possessions ended with 2 interceptions, a fumble, four punts (the successes) and one on downs. U-G-L-Y, they ain’t got no alibi, their Ugly, whoa, their Ugly.
Denver – We thought very seriously about only making this a “Bad” since Oakland has been a solid spoiler team this year knocking off some pretty big names. But with the Broncos previously in the WC driver’s seat, and the game being in Denver, I decided this was ugly because it sort of epitomizes the dichotomy of the Broncos’ season. They opened to a surprising 6-0 on the strength of a brutal defense, which has now cooled to the point that it can surrender 20 in a near must win contest with the “juggernaut” of an Oakland offense led by Russell/Frye.
Seattle – They deserve as Ugly a ranking as they can get. Just an abysmal effort from everyone involved, from the coaches to the clipboard holders. They couldn’t cover Tampa’s receivers. T hey couldn’t put pressure on a rookie QB. They couldn’t stop a moribund running game. They couldn’t put the ball in the end zone. They couldn’t convert 3rd downs. They couldn’t protect the ball. Jim Mora was outcoached by a rookie coach who is widely considered not up to the responsibilities of the position. They got blown out of the water by 17 points by a previously 1-win team. And this was all at home, in front of their home crowd. Completely unacceptable.
Washington – The Redskins may have set a new standard for Ugly. The Redskins were not a factor in this game, save a couple of drives after the dirt had been shoveled over them. This was such a complete fiasco they should have entered the field by piling out of a Volkswagen. And what exactly was that Ugliness to end the first half? Not even Cerrato’s dismissal earlier in the week could pull this out of the low side of Ugly. The only thing that could have made Zorn look like he was trying to get fired more was if he coached the second half without any pants.
Honorable Mention
Atlanta Defense – Couldn’t quite give a full team “Good” here since the offense was sub-par, but the collective D was very impressive. They slipped big one time in the 1st quarter to allow a pretty 65 yard TD pass to Edwards. That was the only time a Jet-controlled football (aside from a Jay Feely missed FG) crossed the Falcons 30 yard line all day. This was accomplished by shutting down all of the Jets options thoroughly. Though steady pressure only netted 2 sacks, it disrupted Sanchez enough to stop drives with incompletions, and contributed heavily to at least one of 3 INTs. On the other end, the Jets running duo of Jones and Greene were held to an anemic 3.03 ypc average on 27 attempts.
On the other side, the Packers and Steelers defenses – This gets the double award. This game featured a whopping 973 yards of offense combined for both teams. Tomlin actually decided to onside kick when up 2 points to try to avoid putting his defense on the field. This game had to have several members of the Steel Curtain doing the
.
Cincinnati – OK, the downside is they lost. But having to handle the death of a teammate, travel to the west coast and play one of the two best teams in the AFC who is on a 8 (thanks PP) game winning streak (entering the game) is a tall order. The Bengals traded blows with the Chargers and gave them all they could handle before being betrayed by a penalty that helped set up the game-winning FG. Despite it all, they gave the Chargers something to think about entering the playoffs. This winds up here only because the loss draws the Bengals one game closer to the Ravens in the divisional race, which can not be considered a Good outcome. Oddly, had the Ravens invented a way to lose to the Bears, this would have made the big list.
You might also like:
Tagged as: afc, gbu, nfc, nfl, week 15