NFL09 Week XV
A lot can happen when you take a week off. The Pittsburgh Steelers lose five in a row and are in real danger of missing the playoffs altogether, while the Baltimore Ravens look to slip into the wild card after an inconsistent season. Conceivably and unbelievably, if the Cincinnati Bengals were to lose all of the three remaining games, and the Ravens were to run the table, Baltimore could actually win the AFC North despite the Bengal’s 6-0 division record. In the East, the New England Patriot’s hold on the division is tenuous at best with both the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets only one game back. For my money, the lone playoff representative for the AFC East will be the division champ, whoever happens to stumble out of this pile. My sentiments are that the two hotly contested wild card spots up for grabs will go to one of the teams from the AFC North, South, or West. As of now, the Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Denver Broncos are the frontrunners for those coveted spots.
NFL09 Week XIII
Talk about fruitless labors, the New Orleans Saints sitting at 11-0 thus far late in the season haven’t even wrapped up their division yet, whereas the 11-0 Indianapolis Colts have clinched the AFC South yet again. On a lesser note, the 10-1 Minnesota Vikings have also yet to clinch the NFC North with the Green Bay Packers hot on their heels despite an 0-2 record against the Purple People Eaters that gives Fah-vera and company all tiebreakers. Understandable as if the Colts even lose all the last 5 games, the Jacksonville Jaguars would have to win all of the next 5 games and still be tied with the Colts, but lose out in tiebreakers as both would own a 4-2 division record. The Saints on the other hand still have 3 division games on deck, and if New Orleans loses all 5 games while the Atlanta Falcons run the table, it would go down to the tiebreaker with the Falcons winning by virtue of a 4-2 division record and the Saints owning a 3-3 division record. Highly unlikely, but fun to think about.
NFL09 Week XII
Blessed are the physical things in this spiritual life. Blessed are the friends and family, the bountiful food, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parades, football, the copious wine and beer; blessed are the many little things taken for granted in this big wide world. Most of all, blessed are the Detroit Lions. Indeed it’s an NFL World, and I’m just living in it. The reach and influence of the league has reached epic proportions, what once was just tradition is now an opportunity to peddle its ware as the NFL and its own creation the NFL Network added another game on Turkey Day. This year it is a semi-marquee matchup between the New York Giants and the Denver Broncos. In the eyes of some, this game draws more interest than the annual cranberry-fest tortured fans are forced to watch the Detroit Lions. Of course, the love-hate relationship with the Dallas Cowboys usually doesn’t tarnish the fact that the boys are almost always in contention by this time of year so any casual fan can look forward to them winning or losing on national TV.
NFL09 Week XI
Fourth and two. What hasn’t already been said about the now infamous “gaffe” of one Coach Bill Belichick needs to be said. You have opinions ranging from defending his aggressiveness, to deriding the apparent apocalyptic decision to try to seal the game, the same game his defense twice let Peyton Manning march down the field convincingly to even make the game close. What hasn’t already been said, I will come out and say. Because you know, I have to at least address the hottest subject of the week without looking like a conformist. Bill Belichick is a stupid genius.
If that didn’t make sense, it sure didn’t make sense in my head before I started typing it. First of all, after years of watching ineptitude, I honestly think the genius label for Belichick is a tad bit on the over exaggeration side. This is football, not quantum physics. Football is preparation, organization, sophisticated choreography, game planning, scheming, in-game management, motivating your players, and basically executing. For my money, Bill Belichick does most of these very well, if not the best business at doing each of these very well. That really doesn’t make him a genius, just a coach doing what he’s paid to do. The bottom line is to win, and his job is to coach the players that he has, devise a game plan, stick to that plan, execute it, and manage the game. His success over the last decade stems from astute coaching and common sense. So while one supposed mistake in one game shouldn’t tarnish a career of success, it’s understandable that he is held to a higher standard. Were this a Dick Jauron move (that almost came off as vulgar), it would be buried at the bottom of the sports page.
NFL09 Week X
As the cream of the divisional crop start to rise, aka the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals, other teams are starting to sputter and desperately need to assert themselves with a win to get back into the thick of the playoff race. Ironically, two undefeated teams like the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints have particularly struggled with perceived “lesser” opponents the last couple of weeks but nevertheless have squeaked out wins to remain unblemished. The Colts this weekend will have a premier matchup on NFL Sunday Night Football versus their bitter rivals in the Patriots who are riding high with 3 straight wins. I would venture to say the winner of this game will have the early inside track for home field advantage throughout the playoffs. On paper it looks like New England would come out as winners considering the way they have been playing on both sides of the ball and the injuries ravaging the secondary of the Colt’s defense. Thanksgiving seemed to have come early for Tom Brady who looks to carve up the pass defense with his electric turkey slicer. Yeah, that made no sense but what can I say, I have turkey on my mind! My brain’s basted and cooked the way Miguel Cotto’s was during one of Manny Pacquiao’s flurry of shots.
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"I bet if you were a mummy wrapper in ancient Egypt, on thing you would constantly find yourself telling people would be, 'Be sure, before I start, you have all the jewelry and so forth on the body, because I am NOT unwrapping him later.'"
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