Week 13 looked like a borderline snoozer on the schedule, save the night games Sunday and Monday. The most appealing match ups prior to Sunday night looked like Atlanta-Tampa and Oakland -San Diego. Otherwise, it almost looked like a bye week for fans as we come around the final turn and into the stretch run.
And as they come around the turn some teams strengthened their positions. On the NFC track, Atlanta continued to have a one length lead over the contenders. Philly, New Orleans, Chicago, Green Bay and New York all held position behind the Falcons. Tampa lost a stride.
For the people who think the unofficial fifth horseman of the apocalypse is a sub-.500 playoff team, this was a good weekend…or at least weekend that made the scenario where the rivers run red with blood less likely. Both the Rams and Seahawks evened their records at 6-6 with wins over slightly less hapless teams in Arizona and Carolina. The schedule isn’t kind to them the rest of the way though. And the chance for the 7-9 Seahawks making the playoffs while Tom Coughlin’s head explodes when his 10-6 Giants don’t is very much in play.
On the AFC side, the field is a little better defined. New England pulled out ahead of the field. Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Jacksonville picked up a stride or two over their chasers. New York and Baltimore lost a step but are still in the thick of things and ready to take advantage of any misstep. Meanwhile, Chargers and Colts stumbled and lost a step, while Oakland continues to lurk. The Broncos bucked jockey Josh McDaniel off.
Many thanks to this week’s GBU contributors (Team Ugly): Any, BG, Geto, and Ward.
The Good
Cleveland – The Browns are one of the fastest improving teams in the NFL right now. Even though Peyton Hillis was cooled off by the Miami defense, veteran and much-maligned second string QB, Jake Delhomme and TE Benjamin Watson did enough to catapult the Browns to their 5th win of the season, dropping Miami to 6-6 and all but eliminated from playoff contention.
Dallas – The Cowboys continue to cry out that they are not as bad as they looked under Wade Phillips. This week’s effort came on the road against the Colts. The Cowboys offense was run-heavy, gaining 217 yards in 46 carries out of a total of 74 plays. That helped them hold the ball for 40 minutes out of the 67 played. While that is a gaudy number, it is maybe understated since they lost two potential possessions when their defense scored by returning Manning interceptions. All told the Cowboys created enough confusion to intercept Manning four times. In addition to the two TD’s, the overtime game-winning FG was set up by a third. Hard to not call this Good.
Green Bay – The Green Bay Packers have had a very good season and are one of the least-noticed contenders of the season. Despite losing many of Aaron Roger’s favorite targets, the Packers signal caller has been nothing short of outstanding this season. In Sunday’s game vs. the 49ers, Rogers went 21/30 for 298 and 3 TDs with a QB rating of 135.1, while spreading the ball around to 8 different receivers. The Packers defense held the 49ers offense in check with the exception of TE Vernon Davis, who caught 4 passes for 126 yds and a TD.
Minnesota – Maybe it took Favre being taken off the field for the Vikings to rediscover their identity and hit their stride. Jackson certainly did not embarrass himself in the QB position and his numbers look somewhat Favre-like in 2010. What lands the Vikings here is not simply that they pounded the Bills in Minnesota. They did it by focusing on the run, to the tune of 210 yards and over 5 yards a carry, and a defense that held the Bills to under 240 yards. Of 64 offensive plays, they rushed the ball 40 times. That helped them survive four interceptions of their own, along with grabbing an interception and collecting four Bill fumbles. Given the composition of this team, the Vikings never needed heroics from the QB position to be a true contender. This game may serve as a reminder of that, albeit probably too late to save this season.
New England – Good may not be good enough to describe this. It is a little like saying Fairbanks, Alaska is cold. While true, it does not begin to describe the magnitude. One thing is obvious now: The Patriots are well on their way of regaining their 2007 form. The Pats came out in front of a home crowd last night and completely dominated the rival Jets for 60 minutes straight. The offense, what more can you say? Tom Brady is doing more with less now than he ever has. Deion Branch has proved to be a better receiver for the team than Randy Moss was and little Danny Woodhead has become the Kevin Faulk. The defense, though statistically are very below average, still make opportune plays and are extremely well coached. New England likely has the AFC East wrapped up, along with home field advantage throughout. They’re going to be a deadly team, once again, in the playoffs.
Oakland – There’s not a single more inconsistent team in the NFL. After an embarrassing loss at home against Miami, the Raiders take a short flight south to San Diego and dominate the Chargers for a 28-13 win. They went back to their run attack with both McFadden and Bush just a carry from hitting 100 rushing yards each. Jason Campbell controlled the offense with composure (that ‘deer in the headlights’ look was nowhere to be found.) His play action not only confused the Chargers defense, but the cameramen as well. As clean as the Raiders offense looked, their defense was relentless. A few key numbers, Oakland was 8/15 on 3rd down and 2/2 on 4th and 4/4 in the Red Zone. They were much smarter with their play calling this game. Rivers was sacked four times and the Chargers run game was completely shut down, along with Darren Sproles who was knocked out of the game by a hit from Raiders LB Rolando McClain. With Jacksonville, Denver, Indy and KC left on their schedule, if THIS Raiders team decides to show up for the next three weeks, Oakland could be in control of their own destiny come the game in KC.
Pittsburgh – In the case of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Baltimore Ravens, you have to throw conventional wisdom out of the stadium and forget about the numbers. While those numbers were very even, the Steelers played a tough fought game against a hot Ravens team in Baltimore. The win was not without its casualties, as expected. The Steelers lost tackle, Flozell Adams, TE, Heath Miller, and punter, Daniel Sepulveda, while QB Ben Roethlisberger suffered a broken nose while being sacked in the first quarter. However, the Steelers defense kept the game close and took advantage of a Troy Polamalu forced fumble/sack, late in the 4th quarter to set up the game winning TD in which Ben Roethlisberger and RB, Isaac Redman made a critical hot read on 3rd and goal. The hard earned victory put the Steelers in the driver’s seat for the AFC North title and first round bye in the playoffs.
The Bad
Cincinnati – They Cincinnati Bengals, a year removed from a rare AFC North Division title, have returned to Bungle status and managed to yet again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The Bengals had a 30-27 lead over the reigning SB champion Saints with 4:25 left in the 4th quarter but made some critical mistakes late in the game. On a 4th and goal situation late in the 4th quarter, the Bengals had a chance to hold the Saints to a game tying FG with enough time left on the clock to put together a drive for the possible winning FG, or at the very least take the game into overtime. The Saints lined up with no intentions to run a play on 4th down, in an obvious effort to cause the Bengals defense to jump off-sides. The Bengals defense obliged and gave the Saints a first down, and allowed them to convert a TD instead of a FG. In a follow-up bungle job, the Bengals marched within striking distance of a possible game winning TD but failed to call a time out and wasted precious seconds off the clock and then allowed QB, Carson Palmer to be sacked on the last play of regulation. Cincy has returned to their status quo and sit at 2-10 in last place in the AFC North and tied for Buffalo for last in the conference.
Indianapolis – The Colts are in trouble. They still gain yards by the gross on offense, but turnovers are not only negating some of that movement, but resulting directly in opponents points. The running game is non existent, amassing a paltry 40 yards against the Cowboys. The defense is still playing the role of an object to be pushed aside. Despite it all, Sunday’s game was still winnable but for a stupid penalty on a FG attempt after a defensive stand into a TD and one too many interceptions. Only the fact that they were in a position to win despite their own fiascoes prevents this from being Ugly. The Colts need to regain their composure quickly or this season will be lost.
San Diego – The Chargers hadn’t lost a game in December since 2005. It’s the Raiders. No way is Oakland coming into San Diego and sweeping the divisional series. Right? WRONG. The heavily favored Chargers couldn’t get much of anything working for them in the first half. They entered the locker room down 21-3, and they just couldn’t come from under the deficit. While their rushing game was stuck in quicksand, Rivers did as much as he could to distribute the ball and engage their FB Tolbert. But the Raiders defense just didn’t let up, keeping San Diego 3/12 combined on 3rd and 4th downs. So now the Chargers are 3rd in the AFCW and have two divisional games left on their schedule. Perhaps their December Cinderella days are over.
San Francisco – The Niners lost to Green Bay 16-34. No loss is easy, but there’s no shame in losing to the likes of the Packers, especially with star RB Frank Gore now done for the season. What becomes more clear each week, however, is how badly coached this San Francisco team is. After the loss, Singletary announced he’s going back with Alex Smith as the starting QB. Bad move. Troy Smith might not have thrown a good game, but he still has more tangible skills than Alex Smith, and Singletary is doing a disservice to his team with the switch. For one, Vernon Davis has responded well to Troy Smith, pulling in 126 yards and a touchdown in the game. Defensively the Niners had trouble with Aaron Rodgers who continues to put up great numbers. Even while sacking him three times, Rodgers threw for 3 TDs and almost 300 yards. Not that a coaching change at this point would make a difference, but something has to give.
Tennessee – The good news for Tennessee fans is making the Ugly requires a team participate in its own buffoonery, and the Titans simply didn’t put enough effort in to hit that bar. They weren’t a turnover or penalty machine. They didn’t even put up that much effort. The Titans rang up an anemic 220 yards of offense against the Jaguars. Jacksonville had more rushing yards (258) than Tennessee had total yards. The Titan offense only held the ball for 20 minutes of this sad display. The Titans are done. It is clear they threw in the towel a few games ago and the referee has just not yet stopped the contest. It is also pretty clear this team has run its course and some changes will be made.
The Ugly
NY Jets – Ugly beyond words, not much else can be said about New York’s performance in their biggest regular season game in at least eight years. They couldn’t do anything right, from ridiculously challenging a spot early in the first quarter, to attempting a 53 yard FG in swirling winds with a shaky kicker, to allowing the Pats’ to find an open receiver at will. Mark Sanchez reverted back to the rookie QB we saw last season with awful decision making and the deer in the headlights look. The vaunted defense couldn’t get off the field and saw Tom Brady just dismantle them all night long. The Jets’ worst loss in 25 years was a huge blow not only to the team, but to the fanbase that finally thought they were watching a legit contender this year.
Washington – Washington looked inept on both sides of the ball against the Giants. The defense was powerless in stopping their running backs, Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, while seemingly allowing QB Eli Manning to play game manager. On offense, Donovan McNabb couldn’t get anything going and the running game with Keiland Williams and Ryan Torain was nowhere to be found. Mike Shanahan’s return to the NFL isn’t going the way he’d like and his squad will probably finish in the .500 range.
Honors
Tom Brady – We’re a bit spoiled when it comes to judging Tom Brady. He’s almost always good and we’ve begun to expect it from him. Even when he’s great, we aren’t that surprised. But he’s due some recognition for the performances he’s putting down this season. He picked apart a very strong Jets defense in the MNF matchup, going 21/29 with 326 yards and 4 TDs for a 148.9 rating. More impressive than his numbers was how he managed that game. Smart passing, accurate passing, engaging that entire receiving crew.
Drew Brees – He only completed 24 of his 29 passes for 313 yards, a pair of TDs and one interception. Even if we forgive the interception, what happened on the other four passes that weren’t complete?
Chris Ivory – The Saints RB picked up 117 yards in only 15 carries, 2 for TD’s. That is just under an 8 yard average.
Brandon Jacobs – He only carried the ball 8 times but logged 103 yards and 2 TDs in the process against the Redskins. When you are averaging almost 13 yards a carry, you don’t need a lot of carries.
Maurice Jones-Drew – MJD racked up 181 yards in 31 carries for just under a 6 yard average against the Titans.
Chris Ivory – The Saints RB picked up 117 yards in only 15 carries, 2 for TD’s. That is just under an 8 yard average.
Knowshon Moreno – The Broncos RB went wild for 161 yards in 23 carries for a 7 yard average.
Adrian Peterson – AP was once again the Vikings heartbeat Sunday with 107 yards in only 16 carries and 3 TDs. Another RB with a big average, 6.7 yard in this case.
Sidney Rice – What AP didn’t do for the Vikings, Rice did. 5 catches for 105 yards and a pair of TDs, including an incredible grab in the middle of two defenders that started the rout.
Ben Watson – The Browns TE caught 10 passes for 100 yards and a TD.
Reggie Wayne – 200 yards in 14 receptions and a TD in a losing effort. That accounted for over half the Colts passing yards.
Dishonors
Albert Haynesworth and Washington Redskins – Everyone knew this was not going to end well (well, everyone except Daniel Snyder). And with a four game suspension, for, let’s face it…being an asshole…this is only going to get worse.
Josh McDaniels – After a 6-0 start in 2009, the Broncos have gone 5-17. If the losing wasn’t bad enough, McDaniels was fined for his part in the illegal videotaping of the Niners walk-through in London. The Broncos will now be writing checks to two coaches no longer on staff. McDaniels will need that money, he’s going to have to pay for a really great resume-smith who can spin “losing” and “cheating” into viable assets.
Troy Smith – After a shocking performance where he threw for 356 yards in a win over the Rams, he has dropped off the face of the Earth with QB ratings of 51.5, 61.7, and 64.4 in the last three games. Put it this way, if you are benched for Alex Smith, you are irrevocably bad.
Awards
Ciron Black best of the Good: New England. In what many considered a marquee matchup, the Pats dismissed the class by halftime. A 42 point win simply can not be minimized.
Aunt Esther ugliest of the Ugly: From the Department of Excess Redundancy Department, the New York Jets. Read the Ciron Black and picture being on the opposite side.
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NFL week 13
NFL Week 13: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
December 7, 2010 - 11:35 pm · 0 comments
by Zack Kelberman
in Community Commentary, Weekly Segments
Week 13 looked like a borderline snoozer on the schedule, save the night games Sunday and Monday. The most appealing match ups prior to Sunday night looked like Atlanta-Tampa and Oakland -San Diego. Otherwise, it almost looked like a bye week for fans as we come around the final turn and into the stretch run.
And as they come around the turn some teams strengthened their positions. On the NFC track, Atlanta continued to have a one length lead over the contenders. Philly, New Orleans, Chicago, Green Bay and New York all held position behind the Falcons. Tampa lost a stride.
For the people who think the unofficial fifth horseman of the apocalypse is a sub-.500 playoff team, this was a good weekend…or at least weekend that made the scenario where the rivers run red with blood less likely. Both the Rams and Seahawks evened their records at 6-6 with wins over slightly less hapless teams in Arizona and Carolina. The schedule isn’t kind to them the rest of the way though. And the chance for the 7-9 Seahawks making the playoffs while Tom Coughlin’s head explodes when his 10-6 Giants don’t is very much in play.
On the AFC side, the field is a little better defined. New England pulled out ahead of the field. Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Jacksonville picked up a stride or two over their chasers. New York and Baltimore lost a step but are still in the thick of things and ready to take advantage of any misstep. Meanwhile, Chargers and Colts stumbled and lost a step, while Oakland continues to lurk. The Broncos bucked jockey Josh McDaniel off.
Many thanks to this week’s GBU contributors (Team Ugly): Any, BG, Geto, and Ward.
The Good
Cleveland – The Browns are one of the fastest improving teams in the NFL right now. Even though Peyton Hillis was cooled off by the Miami defense, veteran and much-maligned second string QB, Jake Delhomme and TE Benjamin Watson did enough to catapult the Browns to their 5th win of the season, dropping Miami to 6-6 and all but eliminated from playoff contention.
Dallas – The Cowboys continue to cry out that they are not as bad as they looked under Wade Phillips. This week’s effort came on the road against the Colts. The Cowboys offense was run-heavy, gaining 217 yards in 46 carries out of a total of 74 plays. That helped them hold the ball for 40 minutes out of the 67 played. While that is a gaudy number, it is maybe understated since they lost two potential possessions when their defense scored by returning Manning interceptions. All told the Cowboys created enough confusion to intercept Manning four times. In addition to the two TD’s, the overtime game-winning FG was set up by a third. Hard to not call this Good.
Green Bay – The Green Bay Packers have had a very good season and are one of the least-noticed contenders of the season. Despite losing many of Aaron Roger’s favorite targets, the Packers signal caller has been nothing short of outstanding this season. In Sunday’s game vs. the 49ers, Rogers went 21/30 for 298 and 3 TDs with a QB rating of 135.1, while spreading the ball around to 8 different receivers. The Packers defense held the 49ers offense in check with the exception of TE Vernon Davis, who caught 4 passes for 126 yds and a TD.
Minnesota – Maybe it took Favre being taken off the field for the Vikings to rediscover their identity and hit their stride. Jackson certainly did not embarrass himself in the QB position and his numbers look somewhat Favre-like in 2010. What lands the Vikings here is not simply that they pounded the Bills in Minnesota. They did it by focusing on the run, to the tune of 210 yards and over 5 yards a carry, and a defense that held the Bills to under 240 yards. Of 64 offensive plays, they rushed the ball 40 times. That helped them survive four interceptions of their own, along with grabbing an interception and collecting four Bill fumbles. Given the composition of this team, the Vikings never needed heroics from the QB position to be a true contender. This game may serve as a reminder of that, albeit probably too late to save this season.
New England – Good may not be good enough to describe this. It is a little like saying Fairbanks, Alaska is cold. While true, it does not begin to describe the magnitude. One thing is obvious now: The Patriots are well on their way of regaining their 2007 form. The Pats came out in front of a home crowd last night and completely dominated the rival Jets for 60 minutes straight. The offense, what more can you say? Tom Brady is doing more with less now than he ever has. Deion Branch has proved to be a better receiver for the team than Randy Moss was and little Danny Woodhead has become the Kevin Faulk. The defense, though statistically are very below average, still make opportune plays and are extremely well coached. New England likely has the AFC East wrapped up, along with home field advantage throughout. They’re going to be a deadly team, once again, in the playoffs.
Oakland – There’s not a single more inconsistent team in the NFL. After an embarrassing loss at home against Miami, the Raiders take a short flight south to San Diego and dominate the Chargers for a 28-13 win. They went back to their run attack with both McFadden and Bush just a carry from hitting 100 rushing yards each. Jason Campbell controlled the offense with composure (that ‘deer in the headlights’ look was nowhere to be found.) His play action not only confused the Chargers defense, but the cameramen as well. As clean as the Raiders offense looked, their defense was relentless. A few key numbers, Oakland was 8/15 on 3rd down and 2/2 on 4th and 4/4 in the Red Zone. They were much smarter with their play calling this game. Rivers was sacked four times and the Chargers run game was completely shut down, along with Darren Sproles who was knocked out of the game by a hit from Raiders LB Rolando McClain. With Jacksonville, Denver, Indy and KC left on their schedule, if THIS Raiders team decides to show up for the next three weeks, Oakland could be in control of their own destiny come the game in KC.
Pittsburgh – In the case of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Baltimore Ravens, you have to throw conventional wisdom out of the stadium and forget about the numbers. While those numbers were very even, the Steelers played a tough fought game against a hot Ravens team in Baltimore. The win was not without its casualties, as expected. The Steelers lost tackle, Flozell Adams, TE, Heath Miller, and punter, Daniel Sepulveda, while QB Ben Roethlisberger suffered a broken nose while being sacked in the first quarter. However, the Steelers defense kept the game close and took advantage of a Troy Polamalu forced fumble/sack, late in the 4th quarter to set up the game winning TD in which Ben Roethlisberger and RB, Isaac Redman made a critical hot read on 3rd and goal. The hard earned victory put the Steelers in the driver’s seat for the AFC North title and first round bye in the playoffs.
The Bad
Cincinnati – They Cincinnati Bengals, a year removed from a rare AFC North Division title, have returned to Bungle status and managed to yet again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The Bengals had a 30-27 lead over the reigning SB champion Saints with 4:25 left in the 4th quarter but made some critical mistakes late in the game. On a 4th and goal situation late in the 4th quarter, the Bengals had a chance to hold the Saints to a game tying FG with enough time left on the clock to put together a drive for the possible winning FG, or at the very least take the game into overtime. The Saints lined up with no intentions to run a play on 4th down, in an obvious effort to cause the Bengals defense to jump off-sides. The Bengals defense obliged and gave the Saints a first down, and allowed them to convert a TD instead of a FG. In a follow-up bungle job, the Bengals marched within striking distance of a possible game winning TD but failed to call a time out and wasted precious seconds off the clock and then allowed QB, Carson Palmer to be sacked on the last play of regulation. Cincy has returned to their status quo and sit at 2-10 in last place in the AFC North and tied for Buffalo for last in the conference.
Indianapolis – The Colts are in trouble. They still gain yards by the gross on offense, but turnovers are not only negating some of that movement, but resulting directly in opponents points. The running game is non existent, amassing a paltry 40 yards against the Cowboys. The defense is still playing the role of an object to be pushed aside. Despite it all, Sunday’s game was still winnable but for a stupid penalty on a FG attempt after a defensive stand into a TD and one too many interceptions. Only the fact that they were in a position to win despite their own fiascoes prevents this from being Ugly. The Colts need to regain their composure quickly or this season will be lost.
San Diego – The Chargers hadn’t lost a game in December since 2005. It’s the Raiders. No way is Oakland coming into San Diego and sweeping the divisional series. Right? WRONG. The heavily favored Chargers couldn’t get much of anything working for them in the first half. They entered the locker room down 21-3, and they just couldn’t come from under the deficit. While their rushing game was stuck in quicksand, Rivers did as much as he could to distribute the ball and engage their FB Tolbert. But the Raiders defense just didn’t let up, keeping San Diego 3/12 combined on 3rd and 4th downs. So now the Chargers are 3rd in the AFCW and have two divisional games left on their schedule. Perhaps their December Cinderella days are over.
San Francisco – The Niners lost to Green Bay 16-34. No loss is easy, but there’s no shame in losing to the likes of the Packers, especially with star RB Frank Gore now done for the season. What becomes more clear each week, however, is how badly coached this San Francisco team is. After the loss, Singletary announced he’s going back with Alex Smith as the starting QB. Bad move. Troy Smith might not have thrown a good game, but he still has more tangible skills than Alex Smith, and Singletary is doing a disservice to his team with the switch. For one, Vernon Davis has responded well to Troy Smith, pulling in 126 yards and a touchdown in the game. Defensively the Niners had trouble with Aaron Rodgers who continues to put up great numbers. Even while sacking him three times, Rodgers threw for 3 TDs and almost 300 yards. Not that a coaching change at this point would make a difference, but something has to give.
Tennessee – The good news for Tennessee fans is making the Ugly requires a team participate in its own buffoonery, and the Titans simply didn’t put enough effort in to hit that bar. They weren’t a turnover or penalty machine. They didn’t even put up that much effort. The Titans rang up an anemic 220 yards of offense against the Jaguars. Jacksonville had more rushing yards (258) than Tennessee had total yards. The Titan offense only held the ball for 20 minutes of this sad display. The Titans are done. It is clear they threw in the towel a few games ago and the referee has just not yet stopped the contest. It is also pretty clear this team has run its course and some changes will be made.
The Ugly
NY Jets – Ugly beyond words, not much else can be said about New York’s performance in their biggest regular season game in at least eight years. They couldn’t do anything right, from ridiculously challenging a spot early in the first quarter, to attempting a 53 yard FG in swirling winds with a shaky kicker, to allowing the Pats’ to find an open receiver at will. Mark Sanchez reverted back to the rookie QB we saw last season with awful decision making and the deer in the headlights look. The vaunted defense couldn’t get off the field and saw Tom Brady just dismantle them all night long. The Jets’ worst loss in 25 years was a huge blow not only to the team, but to the fanbase that finally thought they were watching a legit contender this year.
Washington – Washington looked inept on both sides of the ball against the Giants. The defense was powerless in stopping their running backs, Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, while seemingly allowing QB Eli Manning to play game manager. On offense, Donovan McNabb couldn’t get anything going and the running game with Keiland Williams and Ryan Torain was nowhere to be found. Mike Shanahan’s return to the NFL isn’t going the way he’d like and his squad will probably finish in the .500 range.
Honors
Tom Brady – We’re a bit spoiled when it comes to judging Tom Brady. He’s almost always good and we’ve begun to expect it from him. Even when he’s great, we aren’t that surprised. But he’s due some recognition for the performances he’s putting down this season. He picked apart a very strong Jets defense in the MNF matchup, going 21/29 with 326 yards and 4 TDs for a 148.9 rating. More impressive than his numbers was how he managed that game. Smart passing, accurate passing, engaging that entire receiving crew.
Drew Brees – He only completed 24 of his 29 passes for 313 yards, a pair of TDs and one interception. Even if we forgive the interception, what happened on the other four passes that weren’t complete?
Chris Ivory – The Saints RB picked up 117 yards in only 15 carries, 2 for TD’s. That is just under an 8 yard average.
Brandon Jacobs – He only carried the ball 8 times but logged 103 yards and 2 TDs in the process against the Redskins. When you are averaging almost 13 yards a carry, you don’t need a lot of carries.
Maurice Jones-Drew – MJD racked up 181 yards in 31 carries for just under a 6 yard average against the Titans.
Chris Ivory – The Saints RB picked up 117 yards in only 15 carries, 2 for TD’s. That is just under an 8 yard average.
Knowshon Moreno – The Broncos RB went wild for 161 yards in 23 carries for a 7 yard average.
Adrian Peterson – AP was once again the Vikings heartbeat Sunday with 107 yards in only 16 carries and 3 TDs. Another RB with a big average, 6.7 yard in this case.
Sidney Rice – What AP didn’t do for the Vikings, Rice did. 5 catches for 105 yards and a pair of TDs, including an incredible grab in the middle of two defenders that started the rout.
Ben Watson – The Browns TE caught 10 passes for 100 yards and a TD.
Reggie Wayne – 200 yards in 14 receptions and a TD in a losing effort. That accounted for over half the Colts passing yards.
Dishonors
Albert Haynesworth and Washington Redskins – Everyone knew this was not going to end well (well, everyone except Daniel Snyder). And with a four game suspension, for, let’s face it…being an asshole…this is only going to get worse.
Josh McDaniels – After a 6-0 start in 2009, the Broncos have gone 5-17. If the losing wasn’t bad enough, McDaniels was fined for his part in the illegal videotaping of the Niners walk-through in London. The Broncos will now be writing checks to two coaches no longer on staff. McDaniels will need that money, he’s going to have to pay for a really great resume-smith who can spin “losing” and “cheating” into viable assets.
Troy Smith – After a shocking performance where he threw for 356 yards in a win over the Rams, he has dropped off the face of the Earth with QB ratings of 51.5, 61.7, and 64.4 in the last three games. Put it this way, if you are benched for Alex Smith, you are irrevocably bad.
Awards
Ciron Black best of the Good: New England. In what many considered a marquee matchup, the Pats dismissed the class by halftime. A 42 point win simply can not be minimized.
Aunt Esther ugliest of the Ugly: From the Department of Excess Redundancy Department, the New York Jets. Read the Ciron Black and picture being on the opposite side.
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Tagged as: gbu, NFL week 13