FMQB

Pop the Champagne!

It’s 2 weeks before New Years, but the Champagne was flowing last weekend for the 1972 Dolphins and 2008 Lions. In Week 15, the Packers lost their first game of the season, and the Colts won their first game, keeping those 2 records safe for at least one more year. More on both later…

 

The FMQB Curse:

The Madden cover has it’s curse, the Sports Illustrated Cover has it’s curse, but I’m beginning to notice a trend on stories I talk about. After Week 3, FMQB picked up on how lights out Cam Newton had been in his first 3 starts, since then he has yet to have another 400 yd game. FMQB was all about the Lions and Bills, and predicting the most unlikely of Super Bowls between them. Since then the Lions have struggled mightily and are barely hanging on to the #6 seed, let alone the #1 seed. While the Bills are off the radar altogether. As soon as FMQB jumps on the Texans train, their players start dropping like flies, even their Defensive coordinator is out! Call TJ Yates the next Tom Brady? He comes out with a flat 56 passer rating and first loss. But last week when I ran my drooling exposé about the Packers, I felt that I had nothing to worry about. So I would like to officially apologize to every Packer fan and any NFL fan who wanted to witness history this year. To be honest, with my team doing so poorly, the only thing I had left to root for was to witness NFL history, and I’m mighty disappointed that it will not happen this year.

 

Making a Play to be the next Head Coach:

If there was one game anybody said should be a sure-win for the Packers this year, it was the Chiefs. This 5-8 team had just fired their head coach, just benched their backup QB for a guy they picked up 2 weeks earlier, and had already lost their star RB for the season. But that’s why they play the game! To be honest, I was never really a fan of Romeo Crennel, he’s not really that motivating guy in my opinion, plus he coached for the Patriots. I thought he did an atrocious job in Cleveland. But seeing him get the Gatorade bath and the entire team rally around him honestly made me smile a little bit. From reading other articles, he seems like a stand-up guy; a players coach who told his team that they could beat anybody, even the undefeated Packers. And you know what? They did! And Crennel made a huge play to become the permanent head coach starting next season.

 

“Don’t Worry, I got your back”

The Nevermores have made the playoffs in their first 3 seasons with John Harbaugh at the helm. But failing to wrap up the AFC North has meant they have played 7 road playoff games in a row. A tough task indeed. This year, they finally swept their rival Steelers to essentially take a 1 game lead on them for the rest of the year. But this being the Nevermores we’re talking about, they lost to a team with a 6 game losing streak. All of a sudden they were in prime position to take the #5 seed once again (if the Steelers could pull off a win), instead of the #1 seed and homefield advantage. But obviously John has played the Steelers 7 times and knows exactly how to beat them now; case in point, 2 wins over them this season. Here is my take on probably what happened: Panic struck John after their loss to the Chargers, so on the flight home, he called brother Jim to chat. He gave Jim all of the Steelers weaknesses and tendencies, and a solid gameplan to beat the potential #1 seed. And that’s exactly what the 49ers did on Monday night, holding them to a measly 3 points while seeming to effectively manage their offense against one of the best defenses in the league. What’s the first thing you do if you ever need help in life? You go to your family!

 

Just Throwing It Out There:

A lot of people think that Denver is a team in question, and only by divine intervention are they in the playoff hunt this year. And after a 1-4 start, critics have claimed this was a rebuilding year. But take a look at the teams Denver has losses to. Oakland, Tennessee, Green Bay, San Diego, Detroit, and New England. Each team is over .500 and all of them are still in the playoff hunt with 2 games to play. I don’t foresee the Secretariats making a strong move in the playoffs, but they’re beating teams they’re supposed to beat (ahem, pay attention Nevermores), and sticking with some of the better teams in the league.

 

Drew Brees Scouting Report:

This week, FMQB and FFMQB attended the Vikings vs. Saints game in order to watch one of the elite QB’s in the league do his work. And man, did we pick a game for us to go to! Despite early Saints’ mistakes, Brees had 265 yards and 4 TD’s by HALFTIME! The Saints 28 points by halftime were more than both the Rams and Redskins put up in the entire game we went to in St. Louis! To say that Drew Brees was on fire is literally an understatement. He completed 32-40 passes, and honestly 8 incompletions sounds like more than he had, and it was tough to see one that was actually his fault. Drew Brees became the first player in league history to throw for more than 400 with five TDs, and complete 80 percent of his passes with no interceptions in a game. Well at least I got to witness some NFL history this year.

 

America’s Team:

FMQB said it first! Look at this story run by FoxSports.

http://www.foxsportswisconsin.com/12/22/11/Survey-proves-Packers-are-NFLs-favorite-/landing_packers.html?blockID=631780&feedID=5059

 

Stat of the Week #1:

Drew Brees had 5 TD passes before Christian Ponder had 5 completions.

 

Stat of the Week #2:

At 6-8, statistically the Eagles and Chiefs are still mathematically alive to make the playoffs and host a playoff game.

 

Stat of the Week #3:

Even with a 6 game losing streak, the Chargers are only 1 game behind a chance to host a Home playoff game.

 

Stat of the Week #4:

Kyle Orton has played for two AFC teams this year, and has had 2 chances to beat the NFC Packers. The second time he was successful.

 

Stat of the Week #5:

Ben Roethlisberger threw for 330 yards, yet the Steelers only scored 3 points.

 

Stat of the Week #6:

Pittsburgh is 0-3 against the Harbaugh brothers, and 10-1 against the rest of the league.

 

Stat of the Week #7:

It’s Week 16, and yet only 10 teams are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. In 2 weeks that number will be 20.

 

Newton’s Trick Play, inspired by Little Giants.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/carolina-panthers/09000d5d82529210/WK-15-Can-t-Miss-Play-Sneaky-Panthers

 

For Peyton!

With the #1 pick seeming to be locked up since Week 9, columnists have been debating on whether the Colts should take Luck with the #1 overall pick next April, and essentially ruin Peyton Manning’s swan song as a Colt. This discussion has literally been going on for WEEKS as they kept losing game after game. It wasn’t even a race in people’s minds. But wait a second!  Colts have scored 24 points their last 3 games, face the battered Texans and Jaguars to end season. Rams play Steelers and 49ers. If Colts win 1 game (and they did last night!!!!!!), and get some help with Strength of Schedule, the Rams would have the #1 pick. For Gods sakes, even if it’s not the best move, lets win 1 more game for Peyton!!! TNF update: If the Colts win against the Jaguars next week, the Rams will have the #1 pick.

 

Quote of the Week:

“Dang, Tebow is actually looking pretty sharp all of a sudden” FMQB

“That’s because it’s the 4^th quarter” FFMQB

 

Thou Shalt Be Humble before God:

Did anybody else find it funny that during the post-game hand shake, Tom Brady looked a little star-struck to be in the presence of Tim Tebow? A 3 time Super Bowl winning QB in front of a guy who hasn’t even started a full season at QB yet.

 

OOOOHHHHHHHHHH!

The last team to beat the Saints were the Rams…just saying.

 

Haters Say What?

For all you Romo haters out there, take a look at these stats. And to set the record straight, I’m not a Romo hater, I just give him crap when he falters! Personally I am a fan of his abilities as a quarterback and the way he handles the press…Tony Romo started his 75^th game on Sunday, all for the Cowboys. Let’s compare him to Troy Aikman, considered a God in Dallas. In 75 Starts, Romo has 3 more wins than Aikman, and 66 more TD’s!!! Also in 75 starts, he is in third place all time for passing yards, behind only Dan Marino and Kurt Warner! This is incredibly impressive for a guy who gets as much flack as Romo does. But of course there is a silver lining. Among the top 3 passers after 75 starts, there’s only 1 Super Bowl ring between them. And 66 more TD’s doesn’t make up for the 3 rings Aikman had by then. Championships will always be the deciding factor on QB greatness (Brady over Manning, Bradshaw over Tarkenton, Aikman over Kelly), but you can’t look away from QB greatness.

 

Playoff Picture:

The reason this time of year is so fun is due to the fact that so many teams are still vying for a playoff spot. The Eagles, Chiefs, Chargers, Cardinals, and Seahawks were all foregone conclusions for bad seasons 4 weeks ago. Yet here we are, Week 16, and they are all mathematically still alive for the hunt.

 

Game of NEXT week!

In Week 17, Kyle Orton will play against Tim Tebow (the man who stole his job). If the cards fall right in Week 16, this game would be the deciding factor of which AFC West team makes the playoffs. Would Tebow prove his coaches and fans right, or would Orton have sweet redemption?

 

Game of 3 weeks from now!

Predicting the first playoff matchup right now! In the divisional round, after the Steelers defeat the Texans to advance, they will have to travel to their Rival Ravens and play them for the 3^rd time of the season. This will be a repeat of last year’s divisional matchup (which the Steelers won), but for a second straight year it will happen again! I think the Ravens pull of the rare 3 game sweep and make it to the AFC Championship game, but I cannot wait to watch this matchup.

 

Game of This Week:

Giants vs Jets- New York teams are falling apart towards the end of the season, which team can hold onto their playoff hopes.  

 

Super Bowl Predictions:

After Week 14, the Packers, Texans, and Broncos held the top 3 winning streaks in the league (with 19, 7, and 6 game winning streaks respectively)…all three teams lost last week. Now the two leaders are the New England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints, each with 6 game streaks. There’s only one thing that’s worse than playing the #1 seed in the playoffs, and that is playing a team that is coming into the playoffs HOT. I have 2 predictions for Super Bowl matchups right now. It will either be Saints vs Patriots, or else I’m sticking with my earlier prediction of Packers vs Ravens. (A rematch of 49ers vs Steelers with a healthy Big Ben would be super interesting).

The Packers are Taking the Title:

And no, this discussion is not about the Super Bowl this year (although they will take that too). It is my contention that the Packers should steal the title of “America’s Team” from the Dallas Cowboys. This past weekend, FMQB and FFMQB took a road trip to Green Bay to visit some friends, and let me tell you, if there’s a town with more NFL history and a fan base that rallies around it’s team more than Green Bay, then I challenge you to show it to me. Jacksonville, the largest city in Florida with 1.5 million people, can’t sell out a game to save their lives even when in playoff contention. Green Bay, with only 104,000 people, sells out every game and have fans standing out in the cold hours before game time in the hopes of getting a ticket. The town is so small, that we were literally 3 miles from Lambeau Field and all we could see was farm country. Across from Lambeau field is a Laundromat and Kmart. Everything in the town is Green and Gold, and the receipt for our breakfast said “Go Pack Go.” The Bars the night before were a zoo, packed with fans anticipating the game on Sunday. One bar stopped the club music and a Packer chant ensued. Walking around the stadium, and seeing a larger than life statue of Vince Lombardi in front of the sign saying Lambeau Field literally gave me the chills. Even not being a Packer fan, walking down Lombardi Ave and Holmgren Way on the way to Brett Favre’s Steakhouse was just awe inspiring as a fan of the NFL. The town is so small, yet so filled with NFL history that it’s almost impossible to describe. There was definitely a buzz in Green Bay about their 13-0 record. The whole atmosphere was college-town-esque, but for an NFL team, it was definitely a cool experience. My guess is the only other team that is similar is Pittsburgh, but for now, America’s Team is the Green Bay Packers. Welcome to Titletown.

Where the Eli-te Come to Play:

After complaining about the multitude of primetime duds recently, I was extremely happy after watching the Sunday Night game. Not only was it played between the rival Giants and Cowboys, but the winner of the game controlled their own playoff destiny with 3 games remaining. It was an amazing back and forth game before the Cowboys started to pull away in the end. But wait a second, you can’t spell “Elite” without “Eli!” Down by 12 with 5 minutes to play, Eli Manning drove Los Tramposos 80 yards for a TD, and then another 58 yds for a second TD to take the lead. Romo actually did a good job getting the Cowboys into field goal range in about 40 seconds for a chance to take it into OT. <FLASHBACK> Last week, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett inexplicably iced his own kicker by calling a timeout before the final kick. Bailey made the first, but the re-kick after the timeout was wide and the Cowboys lost the game. This week, Coughlin called a perfect timeout a half second before Bailey sailed the kick through the uprights. I SWEAR THIS PART IS TRUE, but SOMEONE had already fallen asleep and thus cannot verify my story *ahem*. So instead of speaking, FMQB thought to himself “What are the odds that he misses it for the second week in a row.” Sure enough, Los Tramposos manage to block the kick!

Never Waiver in your Faith:

In the past, FMQB has talked about how if your team is down by 4 with 2 minutes left, and you give Peyton Manning or Tom Brady the ball, you can confidently say that they are going to win you the game. You’ve just seen it too often. Driving home from Green Bay, I periodically checked the Secretariats score, and was surprised that they were losing 10-0 in Denver. With under 4 minutes left, I will admit that I figured that Tebow was going to lose it and not have another magical 4^th quarter in him. Boy was I wrong! Within a span of about 2 minutes, the game was tied up, thanks to a 59 yard field goal at the end of regulation. The Broncos eventually went on to win it in OT thanks to numerous mishaps by Marion Barber. Admittedly, Tebow needs to learn how to play well the entire game, but there is obviously some fire and 2^nd gear he gets when his team is losing. Tebow has led his team to a 7-1 record, and an amazing 6 wins have been 4^th quarter comebacks! It’s seriously week after week that Tebow impresses! This week when Brady comes to town, one QB will not be able to complete a 4^th quarter comeback.

It’s About Time!

Fans have various opinions on Roger Goodell and the various rules he’s implemented into the NFL. Especially with off-field incidents, Goodell has really cracked down on players, offering year suspensions to Pacman Jones, Michael Vick, and other suspensions to Maurice Clarette, Chris Henry, and Brandon Marshall. Some fans think that he is being way too strict, especially on issues that don’t revolve around football. But I’m one who thinks he’s helping change players’ lives. The new crackdown on helmet to helmet hits has also got a lot of heat from both players and fans. Some fans think this is taking away some of the big hits we used to see (I’m one of them), and players think it’s impossible to react in a split second when both players are moving. Last year Goodell instituted that repeat offenders would start getting suspended instead of fined. Up until now, repeat offenders were just repeatedly fined. If the NFL is implementing these suspensions, then it can’t keep fining these players and allowing them to play, they’re not living up to their threat. Finally, James Harrison after probably 15 incidents, was suspended last week. I am a fan of Harrison, I feel he brings a lot of big hits to the game, but he does aim for the helmet. After knocking Colt McCoy out with a concussion, the NFL suspended him one game and proved that they’re not going to take it anymore. Sure Harrison had a good point about McCoy throwing at the last second, but there’s no reason a man with 275 pounds of pure muscle should level an 190 pound stringy QB. Kudos to the NFL for finally keeping their word, even if the rule itself is in question.

Hot Seat:

Oh the never-changing carousel of coaches has already started to rear its ugly head. It seems like each year about ¼ of NFL teams try to look elsewhere for success. This year already, Jack Del Rio (Jaguars) has been fired, and now both Todd Haley (Chiefs) and Tony Sparano (Dolphins) have followed. Surprising side note, everybody predicted Sparano would be out this year, but why not fire him after an 0-7 start, and wait until their 4-2 run after that? Anyway, I feel that several other coaches are on the hot seat. Steve Spagnola (Rams) is definitely out after this year. Totally love the guy, but 2 of the 4 worst offensive seasons in Rams history have come under the guy. I think if Coughlin (Giants) doesn’t make the playoffs, he’s gone too. Andy Reid (Eagles) should also be given consideration, but I don’t think they’d pull the trigger on him. Raheem Morris (Buccaneers) will make it so every Florida team loses their coach this year. And finally, Jim Caldwell (Colts) will not get a chance to coach Luck or Manning ever again, they will bring in a dynamic name to grow with Luck. Not quite as big of a year that we have had, but we should definitely see 5 firings by the end of the season. Final note: Honestly what’s the point in firing your coach with 3 games left? There’s no way an interim can prove anything in that time, and you’re basically giving up on your teams season.

They call it “Professional” Football for a reason:

I understand that every NFL player is human, and humans make mistakes. But there’s certain things that as a professional football player that you just shouldn’t screw up, either due to the tens of thousands of reps you’ve taken in your career, or the fact that there’s only so many things to practice. First case, Phillip Rivers this week. I will never understand how a QB throwing 10,000 passes in a career, and probably 5 times as many in practices, can inexplicitly lose grip of the ball and send it flying backwards when nobody is even near the QB. Well Phillip Rivers found a way to do it on Sunday! But probably the worst was Chiefs K Ryan Succop’s attempt at an onside kick on Sunday. First off, Succop’s onside kick is goofy, he actually lays the ball down on the ground with no kicking tee, but if memory serves me right the Chiefs have actually recovered a kick this year. Anyway, Sunday’s go didn’t turn out nearly as good. Succop kicked the ball 4 yards and proceeded to trip over his own foot. Here’s why this is ridiculous. When I worked for the football team at USD, the kickers had their own field, and were literally not a part of the team. The entire hour of practice, they worked on field goals, kickoffs, and onside kicks. There is literally NOTHING ELSE to practice if you are a kicker. How does Succop, a professional kicker, miss the ball with his leg and trip over himself?

You Heard it Here First, The Next Tom Brady:

Ok, well I won’t get too far ahead of myself, but is there a better (albeit quiet) feel good story this year than TJ Yates? I don’t think there is. The Texans are primed to make their first playoff run ever, when all of a sudden the best receiver in the NFL gets hurt. Then their former #1 draft pick is out for the season. Then as soon as their receiver is about to come back, they lose their star QB for the season. The next week they lose their backup QB after 2 quarters, out for the season. Last week, their defensive coordinator had emergency surgery and would miss time away from the team. Seriously, what else can you throw at the Texans! Well in the middle of it all, TJ Yates has managed to hold the team together. The Texans have won 7 in a row, 3 of which has come with Yates under center, including impressive wins over the playoff hopeful Bengals and Falcons. Last week they clinched their first playoff berth in team history, and with an easy schedule down the stretch, a #1 seed isn’t out of the question. Should Yates be able to pull 3 wins off in the playoffs, then I think we need to re-look at his story as perhaps the next coming of a great QB who finally got his shot.

Nice Guys Finish First (Non-Football Related):

During our aforementioned trip to Green Bay, our first stop was a minor league hockey game to watch the Green Bay Gamblers. We had four couples going to the game, but with our host only in possession of 4 tickets, we knew we would have to buy an additional 4 from the box office when we got to the game. As we walk in, a scalper yelled “4 tickets, $10 a piece.” So we ended up grabbing those at a discounted price. Our decision was to let the girls sit together and catch up while we had a guys night. So we look at the tickets, the ones we scalped were 300 level, and the girls were on the 200 level. So, being the best boyfriends possible, we figured we would give the girls the closer seats and took the 300 level tickets for ourselves. So we split up, and immediately had trouble finding a 300 level at all, so much so that we anxiously looked around for an arena map hoping we hadn’t been duped. And then we saw the sign “Suite Level, 300s that-a-way.” We’re just thinking “yeah right,” until we keep walking up stairs and pass multiple security check points checking our tickets each time. Soon enough we made it to a room with multiple TVs, free food, free drinks (non-alcoholic), and our own private bathroom! All this for $10 a piece from a scalper! It turns out another family in the Suite had won their tickets from the radio, we suspect our scalper did the same and didn’t want the tickets, so we ended up falling into a such a “suite deal.”

Quote of the Week #1:

“Tebow is a good running back…He does a good job for them” Bears LB Brian Urlacher

“Coming from a really good player, that means a lot” Tim Tebow

Zing! Never have I seen a line where somebody can literally “turn the other cheek” and take a shot at the other person’s statement as much as Tebow did here!

Quote of the Week #2:

“That play just lost the Cowboys the game, there’s too much time on the clock” FMQB

After Romo overthrew a wide open Austin on 3^rd down instead of running it and burning the Giants last timeout. Sure enough, the Giants scored with 40 seconds left.

Quote of the Week #3:

“Take the exit for Lombardi Ave” Matt

When driving into Green Bay, totally got chills after saying that, brought out all football nostalgia bottled up in me.

Warning: Math Content

A friend recently suggested that I should sell advertising space on my blog to make some extra money. In which case I found out I have one more reader, putting my total up to 7! Anyway, I actually looked into it (I would hate to tarnish the awesome FMQB Logo I made, but hey I’m a sucker for cash). The general web consensus is that pages earn about $0.10 per 1000 views. Now had I had the foresight to get ad space on my blog before I started, I could be a real rich man! Including this week’s blog, I have had 17 quality posts. Assuming that all 7 readers started from Day 1, I would be up to 119 views on my page. At $0.10 per 1000 views, I’m looking at an extra $0.0119 cents in the bank!

Games of the Week:

Patriots at Broncos: Ironically my game of the week involves the 2 teams I hate the most. But it will be pure entertainment to see Tebow vs Brady. Tebow needs to realize that he can’t come back in the 4^th quarter if he’s down by 30 though.

Saints at Vikings: Why? Because I’ll be there!

Steelers at 49ers: Potential Super Bowl preview, but will be a huge defensive battle.

 

Next Week, scouting report on Drew Brees in person.

{In an old and speedy Horse racing announcer voice}

“And here they come, down the stretch, Secretariats is in the lead, followed not far behind by Cheatriots. Nevermores are speeding up and slowing down at a very unusual pace, while the favorite Nightmares are slipping back even farther in the pack. Ironically, not even in this race anymore is the one horse named Colt. Los Tramposos started off strong but have been cut off along the inside rail, it doesn’t help he fell down on purpose. Are-You-Lion has stopped to kick a jockey that was down, and now he’s calling for the horse ambulance, unbelievable!!! We’re down to the final 100 yards, who’s got enough left in the tank! {now shouting} We’re four wide with the favorite Watch-My-Packers now a nose ahead! Somehow, Everything’s-Bigger-In-Texans are still in the race after losing their  jockey, saddle, and bridle around the quarterpole. The longshot Sixty-Not-Forty-Niner is also coming on strong! It looks like it’s going to be a photo finish folks, and the winner issssssss…..” To be determined.

We’re finally here people, the last 4 games of the regular season. Teams with dreams of winning out and making it to the playoffs are going to give it their all or else they’re going home early. The struggling Lions, Bears, Giants, and Bengals, are trying to hold off the pack, while the surging Falcons, Jets, Raiders, and Titans are hoping to take their place. Teams have fought all year to get to this place, and it’s down to the last quarter of the season to put it all on the line. Some teams are just coming into their own, other teams are limping home with injuries and trying to hold onto their spot. This doesn’t seem like it should be that big of a race, but considering that in the past 12 years alone, 5 Wildcard teams have won the Super Bowl, any one of these teams has a shot!

Lockout Effect:

Once the lockout was lifted and teams were scoring right on pace with previous seasons, many people thought that the lockout actually had a very small effect on teams. But when you dig deeper into it, it has totally shaped the way this season has gone in three categories. The first is injuries. I don’t know if I remember a season where more big names, especially quarterbacks, have been out for the season. I chalk this up to a lack of proper preparation before the season, and the resulting poor conditioning. Unless players took the initiative to work hard this offseason, I feel that the injury bug has bitten them and I would expect a decrease in injuries next year. The second is the passing numbers. An amazing 10 players are on pace for a 4000 yard season, 3 QBs could have 40+ TD seasons, and a good 20+ receivers could have 1000 yd seasons. I chalk this up to the blown coverages that the NFL has experienced, and missed assignments by defensive backs. The final thing has made this season fun and horrible, and that’s the parity in the NFL. It’s awesome to see the 49ers, Lions, Texans, Broncos, Raiders, and Bengals all come from obscurity to great seasons! But at the same time, this is wrecking havoc on the TV lineups. The Colts have already had 4 primetime games, plus were flexed out of last weeks. The Jaguars somehow had 3 primetime games scheduled for them. It seems like the primetime lineup has truly suffered, Week 7 for instance portrayed Saints vs Colts and Ravens vs Jaguars. This is by far the least I’ve ever watched Monday Night Football, and it’s not even because we don’t have cable!

Time to play Find the Cardinals:

Every year, certain teams get swept under the radar if they aren’t in the playoff hunt. A few weeks back I pointed out the Dolphins impressive run, and I’d now like to talk about the Cardinals. With Kevin “Corn on the” Kolb struggling at the beginning of the season and digging an early hole before getting injured, the Cardinals haven’t been on anybody’s radar this year. But surprisingly, they have won 4 of their last 5 games. Before that they were a field goal away from beating the #1 AFC seed Baltimore Ravens. Could be a potential 2010 Lions situation, where they end the season strong and come into next year winning and surprising the league. Except it’s not a surprise anymore now that FMQB told you!

The Only Props you Deserve All Season:

To say the Colts have had a dreadful year is pretty much an understatement. Who would have thought that without Peyton Manning that they couldn’t pull off even one win. On Sunday, they played the Patriots, a game that got flexed out of the SNF slot. But I have to admit, playing against arguably the 2^nd best team in the league on the road, the Colts put up a solid effort. Sure it was all in the 4^th quarter, but the Colts came within a TD of beating a great team. They also tied their season high in points scored, all with a new QB. Dan Orlovsky had a brillian 30-37 day, 353 yds and 2 TDs. Yes, THAT Dan Orlovsky. Like Bill Buckner, he will only be remembered for a play where he ran out of the back of the endzone by 4 yds for a safety, and thought the play was still alive while the defender chasing him was cheering. But good, solid effort team.

Stat of the Week #1:

Tim Tebow has a 48% completion percentage, but an 85% winning percentage.

Stat of the Week #2:

Cam Newton, a Quarterback, is leading the league in Rushing TD’s

Stat of the Week #3:

DeMarco Murray, who only had 14 carries his first 4 weeks, is now tied with Adrian Peterson with 872 yds rushing.

Stat of the Week #4:

Cedric Benson and LeSean “Shady” McCoy both have over 200 carries this year without a fumble.

Stat of the Week #5:

If Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Eli Manning all maintain their yearly averages, we will have 4 QB’s with 5000 yd seasons!

Stat of the Week #6:

Every team in the NFC East is on a losing streak.

Stat of the Week #7:

After the Packers’ 18 game winning streak, the next highest are the Texans with 6, and the Broncos with 5:

Stat of the Week #8:

The Broncos are 2-3 at home, but 5-2 on the road.

Stat of the Week #9:

The entire AFC West has been outscored. The team closest to a positive point differential is the last place team in the division.

Stat of the Week #10:

In the same amount of games, the Packers have scored exactly 3 times as many points as the Rams (420-140).

We knew this by Week 2:

If the playoff race is close, then the Rookie of the Year award is the complete opposite. I think half the country would have nominated Cam Newton for rookie of the year after Week 2, but that was after he had 800+ yds in the air in 2 weeks. But the real reason he will become rookie of the year is because of his legs. In Week 13, Cam Newton broke the rushing TD record for quarterbacks with his 13^th score. He is also leading the league in rushing TD’s. Sure this fills my quota, but props to Cam Newton on an amazing rookie season. Setting this record has proved many critics wrong.

Games of the Week:

Houston at Cincinnati- Yes, only in 2011 would this be a highly touted game! Cincinnati will look to cling onto any hope of their season, while a battered Texans team is looking for their 7^th win in a row.

Giants at Cowboys- All out battle for the NFC East, it’s down to these 2 teams, and they play one more time after this! Two December games, bad news for Tony Romo.

Video Killed the Radio Star:

With FMQB and FFMQB going back to Rapid City for Thanksgiving, we had a 6 hour football radio-fest in the car on the way home on Sunday. I’ve done this several times before on trips back to school (it seems to ease my pain of missing football), but not going to lie, Sunday’s radio-fest was the best so far! It was either due to the fact that FFMQB has NFL mobile on her phone, thus allowing us to listen to any game we wanted, and even get to chose the Home or Away announcers. Or else it was due to the fact that maybe the Triptophan from Thursday drugged up the announcers to say some really goofy things. In the Bengals game after they clinched the game, one announcer went haywire screaming “BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, and one more nail in the coffin for good measure, BBAAMMM!!!!” Paul Allen of the Vikings must have learned a new word over the holiday, because he used “Spectacularly” in every other sentence (I’m not even exaggerating). There are only so many spectacular plays in football, I doubt a 3 yard run on 1^st down could have yielded a spectacular juke. They must know something in Philadelphia that we don’t, because the announcer wouldn’t say Lesean McCoy, he only referred to him as “Shady McCoy.” Which was weird when right away all we heard was “And Shady made a nice block,” or “Shady gets dumped at the 23 yard line.” But my favorite came in the Broncos game. We were listening to the Chargers announcers and they were describing what you have to do to win against Tebow. They kept referring to him in the third-person and as an object, it was hilarious! The best line came when one announcer said “If you want to win against the Tebow, you have to Punish the Tebow.”

Stop Me before I Run It Back Again:

Last year Los Tramposos where chided after punting it to Desean Jackson as time expired, and watching him run it back for the game winning TD which eventually knocked the Giants out of the playoffs. Devin Hester has crushed the return TD record in only his 5^th year, and yet teams keep kicking right at him nearly every game. The Rams apparently haven’t learned either. In Week 9 in OT against the Cardinals, the Rams punted to Patrick Peterson who ran it back for a game winning Punt return TD. In Week 12, only 21 days after this happened, the Rams punted directly to Patrick Peterson. Anybody want to take a guess as to what happened? Peterson ran it back for a TD. In a contest that was to be won by 3 points, the Rams special teams cost them the second game of the season to the same team, same player!

Do Fans really know more than John Fox?

Before reading too much into the headline, let it be known that FMQB likes John Fox as a coach, possibly because he coached the Panthers, but I feel like he is a great coach that never gets any respect. Anyway, at the beginning of the season, Fans were clamoring for Fox to bench Orton and play Kyle Tebow. Billboards were purchased, Tebow was chanted after any Orton mishap, and a backup QB’s jersey became the highest seller in the NFL. After a 1-4 start, it looked like the Denver Secretariats were going to have another horrible season, until Tebow came in. Tebow has led them to a 5-1 record as a starter, and has the Secretariats only a half game out of the playoffs! Let me be honest, it’s super fun to watch the fans rally around a crappy team and cheer for a backup, but the coaches are in the locker room 24/7 and they know the ins and outs of the offense. They are at every practice, and can tell which QB is really going to give them the best chance at winning. This is why coaches rarely listen to fans, but instead use their own judgement. To tell you the truth, who wants to be told by someone else how to do your job? In this case the Fans were right, but that is very rare. But what happens if Tebow is put in Week 1? Are the Secretariats 8-3 instead of 6-5? Are they contending for the #1 seed in the playoffs? Who knows…except maybe the fans. 

Stat of the Week:

Percy Harvin had a kickoff return of 104 yards and did not score. This is the longest play in NFL history that didn’t result in a TD.

It All Stays within the Family:

Apparently shooting yourself in the leg has become a trademark for AFC East teams. FMQB noted the Patriots fan who shot himself in the leg a few weeks back. Plaxico Burress gets out of jail after a nightclub incident where he shot himself in the leg, and signs with the Jets. This past week, Bills receiver Stevie Johnson made it into the endzone and pretended to shoot himself in the leg. This was by far the funniest celebration we’ve seen in the past 5 years!!! He got fined 10k for it, but people will be talking about this for awhile. I totally miss the days where TO could sign a football, Joe Horn could call his mom to tell her he scored, Chad Ochocinco could do an Irish Jig, or Steve Smith could use the pylon to putt the football. Those were the good old days, but now the NFL (No Fun League) has banned nearly all of that and fining players who disobey. I’m not going to lie, I side with the players on the celebration rule. If you want to keep them from celebrating, keep them out of the endzone! Thanks for taking me back Stevie!

Your main job is still to catch the ball:

While we’re talking about Stevie Johnson, what is with him and dropping passes? It seems like he’s hindering his own celebrating opportunities more than the defenders! Last year Stevie cried his heart out after dropping a wide-open pass in the endzone against the Steelers. His Tyrannosaurus Rex arms have led to 2 further drops in the endzone this year. Then on Sunday, he dropped 2 passes on the final drive, one more of them in the endzone! Stevie has advocated that he’s an elite receiver in the league, he needs to prove himself in clutch situations before anybody agrees with him.

Quest for Perfection:

Barring Mike McCarthy deciding to rest players, the Packers have only one more difficult test between them and perfection. That happens to be this week at the New York Giants. Los Tramposos are so wishy-washy though, they either play magnificently or like a pop-warner team still learning how to wear a cup properly. But one thing that has remained consistent is the Giants’ pass rush. If they can get to Rodgers, they have a shot at winning this game, although that chance is going down with the news that Osi Umenyioria is out Sunday. If the Packers can win Sunday, only their coaching decision stands in the way of being 19-0.

Quiet Streaks:

There are some very important streaks going on in the NFL right now that has changed the playoff picture in the past month. The Raiders have very quietly gone on a 3 game winning streak with Carson Palmer getting in the groove. The Texans still have a 5 game winning streak despite a rash of injuries. On the flip side, the Chargers, Giants, and Buccaneers have basically sealed their playoff absences with losing streaks. Once at the top of the AFC West, the Chargers have gone from a hot 4-1 start to 6 losses in a row and a 4-7 record. The Giants also led their division at 6-2, but have since lost 3 (about to be 4) to be 6-5. The Buccaneers were in the hunt of things with their 4-2 record before also dropping their last 5 for a 4-7 record.

First Jacksonville Sighting of the Year:

There are 3 things that are certain in Jacksonville; Death, Taxes, and Jack Del Rio. Well not anymore. The longest tenured Jaguars coach was fired this week, and the team was sold to a Pakistani born businessman. Jacksonville has always been in a tough spot, they are in a tiny market with other Florida teams grabbing the headlines, and they never sell out any games. I feel like the firing and the selling of the team is a GIANT red flag that another one of FMQB’s predictions will be coming true. I bet that the new owner decides to pull up shop and move the team to LA in 2 years.

Vikings releasing McNabb

Last night the Vikings straight up released McNabb. What an embarrassing tenure that was. Living in Minnesota, McNabb got so much hype when he came to town that everybody was talking about a return to the playoffs, but not FMQB!!! The Vikings spent $5 million for McNabb to play in 6 games, and a Pro-Bowl and Super Bowl quarterback was benched for a rookie. Here is my next QB prediction (I’ve been pretty spot on with them all year)! McNabb will be picked up by the Texans who are in dire need of a QB, but he will lose the last 4 games and dump another team’s playoff hopes. Let me throw these other teams out there, McNabb could be picked up by the Jaguars, Colts, or a reunion with the Eagles. But my guess is he goes to Houston.

 

Props to Cam Newton on killing the Colts’ last shot at a win (quota met).

OOOOO It’s Your F-in Nightmare!

Let’s all pop the champagne people, with the Nightmares lost last night to the Seahawks, they officially cannot do better than an 8-8 season this year, which means the “Nightmares” nickname can stick around for the rest of the year! But seriously, what happened to the Eagles this year? They ended last season as one of the hottest teams in the league, Vick had resurrected his career, McCoy was poised for a breakout season, and they still added Asomugha, Rodgers-Cromartie, Jenkins, Young, and Brown! I was to the point that I could understand injuries, but in the back of my head I kept thinking “One of these weeks, the Eagles are going to start cruising and not look back at all.” I thought their victory over the Giants was that week. A loss to the Patriots is understanding, but being embarrassed even worse by the Seahawks? This will probably go down in history as one of the more disappointing teams in NFL history. There was incredible hype surrounding the Eagles, Vince Young called it a “Dream Team,” and yet now Andy Reid (the longest tenured coach in the NFL) is staring down the barrel and could very well likely be fired at the end of the year. Perhaps it was the curse of trusting in Michael Vick, a harsh animal abuser, that put the Eagles in the doghouse this year. In honor of the Avenged Sevenfold concert I am going to this weekend (Woooooo!!!), I will leave you with some of their lyrics which the Eagles should have listened to. “Flesh is burning you can smell it in the air cause men like you have such an easy soul to steal. You should have known, the price of evil. And it hurts to know that you belong here, yeah. Ooooo, it’s your F-in Nightmare!”

Sorry for the short post this week, but FMQB goes on vacations too!

 Vince Young:

I remember before the season started, FMQB predicted that Michael Vick would get injured, and Vince Young would come in and cause a quarterback controversy. Well Young didn’t have the best game last week against the Giants, throwing 3 INT’s, but he did one thing that FMQB always likes; he did what it took in the clutch to win the game. He drove the Nightmares on a 9 minute 4th quarter drive to put them ahead, the defense did the rest. This was a must win game for the Nightmares, one more loss basically guarantees they miss the playoffs. Whether Vick or Young starts on Sunday will be big when the Patriots come to town, but Young extended their season one more week.

News Flash, the Broncos are HOT!

This is my first installment of rubbing the other columnists noses in my face about being able to talk about Thursday night football first. Of course I didn’t get a chance to watch the game last night (but it wasn’t due to lack of effort, moreso lack of a decent stream). So most of this is coming from Gamecenter observation. Sure it’s the age of the quarterback, the 5000 yard seasons, and the Broncos looking like a team from the 1930s isn’t very sexy. But Tim Tebow is officially 4-1 as a starter, and any thoughts about Denver trying to hide him slowly disappeared last night. Last week, in Kansas City, the Bronco-tariats (they’re like Secretariat, all they do is run) ran the ball 55 times and only threw it 8 times. Tebow only completed 2 passes (one was for a TD) and yet they still won. Last night they relied on Tebow’s arm a bit more, throwing it 20 times (still very low, considering Stafford threw it 63 times). But in the end, they called a great bootleg running play and Tebow ran it in from 20 yards out. If you watch that play, there was NOBODY on that side of the field, the Jets had to have known that the Bronco-tariats have a heavy-run based scheme, how do you not stop that? You are also supposed to have one of the premier defenses in the league. Also if you look, the receivers are literally 25 yards down the field blocking 2 Jets CB’s in the endzone, very well designed play. This was all coming off a 95 yard drive by Tebow to win the game with less than a minute left…clutch. The Broncos are now 5-5, a half game out of the lead. They have defeated the Raiders, Jets, Chiefs, and Bengals; they also haven’t lost to a team under .500. They do have a tough stretch to finish out the season (SD, NE, CHI, and BUF), but a 9-7 season would be a huge improvement from last year, and may even take them into the playoffs in that division.

 We got Options:

With all of the football knowledge I have acquired, there is one thing I will never understand. Why do 95% of college teams successfully run the option, and yet it NEVER works in the NFL? Why don’t college defenses study NFL film to find defenses against it? Why don’t NFL teams study teams who literally scheme their offense around the Option, and add a couple plays? You literally watch an option run in college, and the QB pitches it perfectly and the RB runs 80 yds for a score. Exact same play in the NFL? There are 2 defenders on the wing to cover both players, and you’re lucky if you get 3 yards. Sure the NFL is faster, but there are fast defenders in college too. Just doesn’t make sense to me…Finally to my point! In the 10 minutes last night that the stream was actually working, I watched the Bronco-tariats run the most beautifully designed triple-option play for about 15 yards, that I have ever seen in the NFL. Tebow lined up in a reverse wishbone formation (totally awesome!), one RB ran to the power side, Tebow kept the ball and started running to the weak side with another RB in tow. Tebow kept the ball because of the HUGE lane that opened up after the initial fake, and the sole LB chose to guard the RB while Tebow scampered for a first down. They tried the option with Vince Young, but he wasn’t as football savvy to make it work. Tried a variation of it with Vick, but he always kept the ball. The Panthers have been running versions of it with Cam Newton (quota), and have had decent luck with it. It’s exciting to see new plays in the NFL (Wildcat is a great example), and I’ll admit that if teams can get the option working, it would make for some exciting runs.

 I said “NEVERMORE!”

The Ravens are seriously the most confusing team in football. Their 3 losses have come from teams that are a combined 11-16, yet have wins over Pittsburgh twice, the Jets, and Houston. What the heck is going on there? Are they game planning for 2 games ahead and teams are taking them by surprise? I don’t know, but at least in the playoffs they will play difficult teams, because at this rate the Week 14 matchup against the Colts is looking pretty scary!

 The REAL Game of the Century:

Two weeks ago, the Alabama vs. LSU game was touted as the “Game of the Century.” Psshh, I can think of 5 other college football games off the top of my head that matched up better, and I’m not even a college fan! The REAL Game of the Century was the National Championship game in 2005 between USC and Texas. After disappointing careers since then, both Matt Leinart and Vince Young could very well be starting this week (Reggie Bush too, but not Lendale White; he ate himself out of the league). Tidbit only I may be interested in, but cool nonetheless.

 Isn’t the Cheese Binding:

I watched the Packers demolish the Vikings on Monday night almost in utter awe of what they were doing. It literally got to the point where a receiver would drop a pass, and you’d think to yourself “wow, they made a mistake.” Aaron Rodgers hasn’t had a passer rating under 114 this season, and has tied Peyton Manning for the most consecutive passer ratings over 100 to start a season.

 Matt Matt Matt:

Year of the Quarterback has somehow turned into Week of the QB injuries, and it’s not a good week to be a QB named Matt (which is why I chose not to go into the NFL). In Week 10 alone, we lost Matt Cassel and Matt Schaub for the season, and Matthew Stafford broke his hand. On top of this, Michael Vick broke two ribs, and Ben Roethlisberger broke his thumb. I’m scared for Matt Leinart…

When will it catch up to them?

Every year, you can pick one team that was destined to do well, but 2 or 3 unfortunate injuries changes the complexion on their entire season. This year, that team is the Texans. Somehow, they have managed to put on a 4 game winning streak without Andre Johnson (arguably the best receiver in the league) and Mario Williams, their star pass rusher. But now they have also lost Matt Schaub, a QB who has quietly climbed amongst the elite when it comes to passer rating and managing the game. With Matt Leinart waiting in the wings, you just gotta wonder when all of these star’s injuries will catch up to the team. Luckily Leinart starts out against a winnable Jaguars team, and the Texans have an very doable stretch to finish the season (JAX, CAR, IND, TEN). I am predicting a 10-6 record, winning the AFC South, and an embarrassing early exit from the playoffs. Sorry Houston Fans.

Quota #2:

I feel like in addition to a Cam Newton quota (which is slowly turning into a Tim Tebow quota), at this point I also need an Andrew Luck quota, as I feel like the past 5 weeks have had features on him. This week had some interesting developments regarding the Colts. The Colts have a 2.5 game lead on the Luck sweepstakes with Rams and Dolphins victories this week, and it is hardly looking like they can lose that race at this point. Bill Polian, the Colt’s owner, has said that he has spoken with Peyton Manning about drafting a QB with a high pick this year (don’t do it Indy), and Peyton is supposedly ok with that (yeah right). I came across some interesting Luck, Colts connections that makes a pairing in the near future even more likely. Brian Polian, Bill’s son, is actually the Assistant Special Teams Coordinator at Stanford, meaning the Colts basically have had a scout watching Luck for the past 3 years. Peyton’s father Archie, and Luck’s father Oliver, were actually teammates together with the Oilers in 1982. Andrew Luck also attended the Manning Passing Academy to hone his game. The Colt’s logo, a horseshoe, is a symbol of Luck…

Stat of the Week #1:

At 4:30pm EST, the Dolphins were on a 2 game winning streak while the Patriots were on a 2 game losing streak

Stat of the Week #2:

The Packers have outscored opponents by 134 points this season (through only 9 games). There are 4 teams (nearly 6) in the NFL who have scored less than 134 points total!

Stat of the Week #3:

5 of the Nighmares’ 6 losses have been blowing 4^th quarter leads.

Stat of the Week #4:

The Nevermores have somehow beaten the #1 seed in the AFC, and the #2 seed twice. Yet lost to the #9 and #13 seeds in the AFC, and the #10 seed in the NFC (while almost dropping to the #11 NFC team as well).

Stat of the Week #5:

Against Kansas City, Tim Tebow had a 102.6 passer rating going 2-8

Stat of the Week #6:

Tim Tebow is averaging 6.9 yards per rush attempt, and only 5.6 yards per pass attempt.

Stat of the Week #7:

The Kansas City Chargers started off 0-3, then 4-0, and now 0-3 (after they get killed by the Patriots on Monday).

Stat of the Week #8:

FMQB talks more about a QB with 8 starts, a rookie, and a QB still in college than Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady combined.

Stat that Surprised Me:

With Flacco’s struggles this year, the Ravens are somehow 11^th in the league in passing this year.

Stat that Screams RB by Committee:

The Saints 3 RB’s are 36^th, 37^th, and 37^th in the league in rushing, with 348, 340, and 340 yds respectively. Apparently their momma’s taught them all to share.

If the Playoffs were to Start Today:

For the 3^rd week in a row, both the NFC and AFC North Divisions would have 3 teams in the playoffs. As of now, there are 7 cold weather teams that could host playoff games, could make for a snowy playoff schedule. But hey, that’s what football is all about!

What happened to my Bills and Lions?

The Bills and Lions roared out of the gates at a combined 9-1, since then they have been a measly 2-6. Let’s hope the 49ers don’t discover they’re good and start to get cocky too.

The Cutler Did It:

The Bears are suddenly looking legit with impressive wins over the Eagles and Lions in consecutive weeks. The offensive line is doing their job protecting Cutler, who was on pace to be sacked 80+ times by Week 4, but since has only been dropped 5 times. Chicago has also won 4 in a row and is solidifying themselves as a team nobody wants to play right now. Cutler is a great quarterback (not many agree with me) but he also needs a lot of help around him. With his WRs and O-Line stepping up, don’t be surprised to see the Bears make a deep run in the playoffs, I’m talking making it to the Championship game as a wildcard team.

Man I Love College:

With all the strict NCAA rules, I get sick of hearing about the crazy scandals in college sports (perhaps another reason college football doesn’t interest me terribly). It’s either Reggie Bush giving up his Heisman, Cam Newton being interrogated, Ohio State losing their QB and head coach, Miami seems to always be doing something shady, and now Penn State. Earlier this year, Miami played Ohio State, and it was hilariously dubbed the Ineligibowl (props ESPN)! Now this weekend, Penn State plays Ohio State. Trying to come up with a good name for it, my best one is the Rock Star Bowl, because it’s all tattoos, cars, and sex. The rumor that R. Kelly would be singing the national anthem is also false.

Games of the Week:

Bengals at Ravens

Eagles at Giants

And Thanksgiving Games of:

Packers at Lions

49ers at Ravens

Aww Shucks:

Close your eyes and say the words “Manning game winning drive.” I just about guarantee you aren’t picturing the guy in New York, but his brother instead. At the beginning of this season, Eli Manning proclaimed that he should be considered one of the Elite quarterbacks of the league (FMQB had him at #8). I don’t know if it’s his pouting, or his “Aww Shucks” attitude to life, but people don’t seem to take him seriously. Well the league is beginning to take notice at his clutch performances. Los Tramposos have won 6 games this year, and 5 of those wins have been because of Manning’s game winning drives. This is extremely impressive, showing the individual fortitude like that to win when the game is on the line. As most FMQB fans know, that means a lot to me. This past weekend he scored with 15 seconds left in the game, driving against the Super Bowl contending Patriots, in New England, trumping Tom Brady once again. Every other columnist has compared this game to Super Bowl XLII, so I will skip that analysis here. But it was eerie how Eli went to an unknown receiver who wore #85 on the clutch play of the drive. And then a quick drop and throw to the back left corner of the endzone for the game winning TD. More on Eli later…

 

Quote of the Week #1:

To make up for last week, we were at a sports bar on Sunday to catch as many games as possible. The table next to us were die-hard Saints fans, and their cheering was hilarious.

“Ahhh, look how fast Darren Sproles is. He’s so ffaaaasssstttt!” Ok, true statement

 30 minutes later

“Look how fast Drew Brees is. He’s so ffaaaaasssstttt!”

 

Quote of the Week #2:

This was said during the middle of the play where the Cardinals Patrick Peterson ran back a 99 yard punt return for the win in OT against the Rams.

 “Why would you catch that at the 2 yard line….oh, that’s why” Matt

 

Inept Rams:

The Rams’ 8 drives of the second half and OT looked like this. Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Turnover on Downs, Blocked FG, Punt returned for TD. Ouch. To be completely honest, if you watched those 5 minutes (from Blocked FG to Punt return) of the Rams game, you wouldn’t have to watch another down, and know everything about the Rams’ season.

 

The Rare Four-Point play:

What do you do in basketball if there’s 3 seconds left and you’re down by 4? You run into the defender, heave a hail mary three, hope it goes in, and hope you get the foul. Pretty slim chance on that working. What do you do if you need 4 points in football? The easy answer is score a TD and get more than 4 points, but the Rams answer is to get back to back safeties on back to back plays on defense. That being the only points scored for the Rams in the 3^rd quarter, it was the first four-point quarter for a team in the NFL’s 92-year history!

 

Tidbit Stolen:

I snagged this from ESPN, but it was something I was trying to figure out myself. In Jim Harbaugh’s first season as an NFL coach, the 49ers have won four games in the Eastern time zone. Picking another West Coast coach for comparison’s sake, Norv Turner has won four Eastern games in five seasons with the Chargers.

 

“Is this thing loaded?”

Apparently New England fans are more hardcore than I thought! Before Sunday’s game against the Giants, sensing their second straight loss, a Patriots fan shot himself in the leg in the parking lot! Three hours later the Patriots defense were all shooting themselves in the foot for not being able to stop that final drive! On a side note, I didn’t realize Plaxico Burress was a Patriots fan! Thank you , Thank you, I’m here all week.

 

The AFC Playoff Picture is Amazing!

Halfway through the season, typically the playoff picture begins to make itself clear. Usually, there are about 10 teams in the mix for the 6 spots, and the bottom of the barrel is already set. But take a look at the AFC, it could literally come down to Week 17 to decide the entire picture! In the AFC East, the Jets, Bills, and Patriots are all 5-3. The AFC North has the Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals all with 6 wins. And finally the AFC West has the Chiefs, Raiders, and Chargers are all 4-4 (the Broncos are 3-5) and nobody seems to want to step up and win that division. The NFL Schedulers didn’t disappoint either. Take a look at Week 17’s picture. The AFC will be determined by Bills at Patriots, Ravens at Bengals, Chiefs at Broncos, and Chargers at Raiders. Even the NFC has good matchups with playoff hopefuls Dallas at Giants, Detroit at Green Bay, and Tampa Bay at Atlanta. How will FMQB chose a Game of the Week that week?!?!?!

 

If the Playoffs were to Start Today:

Cincinnati and Houston would be the #1 and #2 seeds in the AFC. Last year they were a combined 10-22.

 

Champagne to be popped?

Every year, the league waits as undefeated teams go deep into the season without a loss, until finally the 1972 Miami Dolphins are able to pop the champagne on another guaranteed year as being the only undefeated team ever to win the Super Bowl. In 2008 they had to wait dreadfully long until the 18-0 Patriots lost on the final drive of the Super Bowl. While not as prestigious, I would imagine the 1976 Buccaneers or 2008 Lions also breathe a sigh of relief when the winless teams finally win (ok maybe not). While the Colts don’t have a particularly difficult schedule, all I know is that they better get a win in their next 2 games (Jaguars, Panthers), or else it isn’t happening. They luck out by playing Jacksonville twice yet, but drop those two games and they will really LUCK out. On the flip side, the Packers have a difficult schedule ahead, with 7 of their 8 games against playoff hopefuls. However that hasn’t seemed to matter to them yet, beating the Saints, Falcons, Chargers, Bears, and Broncos already. Their toughest stretch is back to back road games against the Lions and Giants. If they can pull that off, my bet is they go undefeated. But as of now my guess is 15-1…and a back to back championship.

 

And Then There was One:

While we’re on the topic, lets discuss Andrew Luck again. The one thing that will disappoint me this season even more than the Patriots winning the Super Bowl, would be if the Colts get the #1 pick. And at 0-9, they seem cruising to that finish. Here’s why…If the Colts have the #1 draft pick in the 2012 draft, they will be ruining a Hall of Fame quarterback’s career. Option A). They take Luck with the intention of having him sit for 4 years behind Peyton Manning. After all, you can’t bench or trade Peyton after what he’s done for your franchise. So instead they will waste 4 years of development on a kid that can win today. Option B) They take Luck, have him sit a year behind Manning, then trade Manning to the Dolphins, Titans, or Cardinals in 2013 to let Luck play. Manning goes down in history with Montana, Favre, and Namath for trying to hold on too long, and finishing their careers with a team other than the one they made famous. To me this is situation could turn eerily similar to Steve Young sitting behind Joe Montana. Or Rodgers behind Favre (although Rodgers wasn’t as highly touted, but look at him now). The ONLY way this can go well for either QB is if the Colts somehow go on a winning streak (Peyton could come back in December afterall), or the Colts unload Luck for a slew of 1^st round picks and/or talent. I think teams will be after Luck, no matter what the price. But is ruining the eternal face of your franchise worth that price? Don’t do it Indy.

 

Stat of the Week #1:

Before Thursday’s game, Carson Palmer had played 6 quarters for the Raiders, and has thrown 6 interceptions. In playing the entire season, Hasselbeck, Manning, Schaub, Cutler, Flacco, McCoy, Stafford, Rodgers, Bradford, and Smith have all thrown 6 or fewer interceptions.

 

Stat of the Week #2:

Not one team in the AFC West has a positive point differential.

 

Stat of the Week #3:

What can offense do for you? The Rams defense has allowed only 6 more points than the Saints defense. Yet their 1-7 vs 6-3 records couldn’t be more dissimilar. Just shows how much a good offense does for a team.

 

Stat of the Week #4:

Tim Tebow is 2-1 as a starter…With a team that went 4-12 last year…His only loss is to a team that is 6-2…Does that shut up the critics? For now maybe…

 

Stat of the Week #5:

Matt Moore of all people had the highest QBR this week!

 

Stat of the Week #6:

Tim Tebow had a higher passer rating than Tom Brady

 

Stat of the Week #7:

Tim Tebow passed for only 6 more yards than he ran! (124 yds pass, 118 yds rush).

 

Stat that will be explained later:

Only 6 active quarterbacks have won Super Bowls

 

Stat I can’t find:

Bill Belichek is notorious for not losing back to back games. In previous years, it seemed like EVERY Patriots loss would bring up the stat on how Belichek hadn’t lost back to back games since 2000 or something. Well he lost back-to-back games this week, even has a legit shot of losing 3 in a row when the Patriots travel to the Jets!

 

“I see you live to die another day”

Whew, I am thanking the Bears for letting me hold onto the Nightmare’s nickname at least another 2 weeks. On a side note, I love how two wins over the Cowboys and Redskins (a combined 7-9) is enough to crown the Eagles as not being as bad as they have been. Before Monday’s game, Steve Young predicted a Eagles vs Packers NFC Championship.

 

My Super Bowl Matchups:

If I could choose the Super Bowl matchups for this year based on current playoff teams, I would choose one of the following. (Let’s see if any of these actually happen!)

 

Bengals vs 49ers: Rematch of Super Bowls XVI and XXIII. Shades of Joe Montana and Boomer Esiason. Plus it would be fun to see 2 teams who have struggled the last decade make it that far!

 

Cowboys vs Texans: It would just be cool to have an all-Texas Super Bowl. Would have been cool if it had been played last year in Dallas’ stadium.

 

Patriots vs Giants: Rematch of Super Bowl XLII. These 2 teams always put on great games together for some reason, even though they play once every 4 years.

 

Packers vs Patriots: Rematch of Super Bowl XXXI, plus a Tom Brady vs Aaron Rodgers matchup would be incredible!

 

Bears vs Ravens: This would just be an amazing defensive battle that would be worth seeing.

 

Packers vs Steelers: Rematch of last year’s Super Bowl, see if Steelers can get revenge from last year, or if we see the first back-to-back Champs since the Patriots did it in 2004.

 

Bills vs Lions: My original Super Bowl hope, the only bad part about this matchup is that one team would have to lose.

 

“I dub thee, Sir Eli-te”

Ok, I’ll admit that I crown people way too fast (Tebow, Cam Newton, etc). But just remember one thing, before the season, Eli Manning said he should be in the conversation of top 5 QB’s in the league and everybody laughed at him. So here comes the “crowning” part. Suppose Eli wins the Super Bowl this year. What happens then? He all of a sudden becomes the better Manning quarterback, has more rings than his dad and older brother, people will view him like Terry Bradshaw (never had great stats but could win in the clutch). I think this would be enough to put him in a top 5 QB list in the league. Only 6 active QB’s have won a Super Bowl (Eli, Peyton, Brees, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, and Brady). Should Eli win, only Brady would have more rings than him. What’s even more surprising is he’s only 30!

 

“Oohhhh, we’re halfway there…”

Some teams are really livin’ on a prayer at this point, but halfway through the season here’s where we’re standing for the Playoff picture, as well as my prediction on the seeds.

 

NFC Current	NFC Prediction
Green Bay Packers	1. Green Bay Packers
2.    San Francisco 49ers	2. New York Giants
3.    New York Giants	3. San Francisco 49ers
4.    New Orleans Saints	4. New Orleans Saints
5.    Detroit Lions	5. Detroit Lions
6.    Chicago Bears	6. Atlanta Falcons
AFC Current	AFC Prediction
Cincinnati Bengals	1. Baltimore Ravens
2. Houston Texans	2. New York Jets
3. New England Patriots	3. Houston Texans
4. Kansas City Chiefs	4. Oakland Raiders
5. Baltimore Ravens	5. Pittsburgh Steelers
6. Pittsburgh Steelers	6. New England Patriots

 

For the NFC, I think the Giants leap the 49ers this weekend and stick with the #2 seed. The Saints win the NFC South, but the Falcons finish up strong and knock off the Bears for the last Wildcard spot. Just minor reshuffling, I think the NFC is pretty set as it is.

 

For the AFC, I am just not sold on the Bengals until they get an impressive win. That division is so close that 2 losses to the Steelers and Ravens will knock them out of the picture entirely. The Ravens take the #1 seed, Jets take control over the AFC East with a win over the Patriots this weekend. Chargers finally take control of the AFC West in Week 17. Unfortunately for Bills fans, they will fall one spot short.

 

I bet a 10-6 team from both divisions miss the playoffs. It’s rare, but there are some tight races right now.

 

Midseason MVP: Aaron Rodgers

Midseason Coach of the Year: Jim Harbaugh

Midseason Rookie of the Year: Cam Newton

 

This I Promise You:

The only mistake I have made with FMQB (besides predicting the Packers wouldn’t make the playoffs) was branding myself as Friday Morning Quarterback. I get so anxious to publish my column every week, and it’s tough to read others on ESPN who had similar ideas to mine (which makes it look like I’m stealing). But here is the first upside to it. I will be the first column able to talk about the Thursday night games (suck it MMQB and TMQ!). However I saw none of it last night, so it is hereby my promise that I will use my FMQB status and report on the Thursday night games from now on. However, very impressive that the Raiders pulled off a win in San Diego! Palmer missed on only 6 passes, had 300 yds and 2 TDs. Of course Micheal Bush stole the show with 242 yds from scrimmage, but a big division win has me back on the Raiders bandwagon for the AFC West. Without watching the game, it sounds like Palmer found his rhythm again, and if he keeps it up, look for the Raiders to finish up 10-6 atop the division.

 

Games of the Week:

Wow, another great slate of games this week. Somehow we’ve gotten away from the New Orleans vs. Indy and into good divisional matchups with playoff implications. Here are the games FMQB thinks you should follow:

 

Chargers at Raiders: Who wants the AFC West?

 

Steelers at Bengals: Sure the Bengals are 6-2, but are they legit enough to beat the Steelers?

 

Broncos at Chiefs: Who wants the AFC West? Plus all time great rivalry

 

Saints at Falcons: These 2 will be fighting for a playoff home game. Loser gets the wildcard spot

 

Giants at 49ers: Rivalry renewed, can the Eli-te Manning win on the road against a nearly flawless 49er team?

 

Lions at Bears: Fighting for the other wildcard spot

 

Patriots at Jets: Will the Patriots lose 3 in a row?

 

Cam Newton:

I said his name, this hereby counts towards my weekly quota of Cam-talk.

Super Bowl Rematch:

Before the season started, the Super Bowl rematch from 21 months ago between the Saints and Colts looked like a ratings gold mine. Instead, we had the #1 offense in the league vs. an 0-6 Manningless Colts team. Sure this set up for a one-sided game, but holy crap did anybody expect something like that??? Final score was 62-7 and Brees was out of there in the 3^rd Quarter! The Saints weren’t even trying to run up the score, the last 2 TD’s were a run that the Colts couldn’t stop all night, and an INT return. The Saints had an eye-popping 36 first downs in the game, nearly as many as the amount of plays the Colts were even able to run (45). What’s the most impressive part of this blowout? The fact that Sean Payton relinquished his play-calling duties for the first time in his career to his Offensive Coordinator, and they still had an offensive explosion with a first-time play caller! Crazy to see how much things can change in a mere 21 months.

A Legend in the Making:

There is definitely an intangible in football when it comes to winning games. How is it that some QB’s won’t put up decent numbers at all, but when the game is on the line they somehow find a way to win, yet other QB’s can have amazing statistics, star players around them, and yet can’t win the big one. Think Moon, Marino and Manning, three of the best QB’s statistically in NFL history, but only have 1 ring between them. Tom Brady won all 3 of his rings before he was a statistical powerhouse, same with Roethlisberger’s 2. For some reason when the game is on the line, Favre, or Brady, or Roethlisberger seem to muster up a 2^nd gear and do what it takes to win, even when plays are breaking down. I am going to be bold and add Tim Tebow into that list of names. Against the Chargers, Tebow had a horrible 3^rd quarter, but scored twice late in the 4^th quarter and had a legit shot to win that game. On Sunday, he had a dreadful first 3 quarters, throwing errant passes, getting sacked 7 times, completing only 4 passes, all while Denver coaches tried to hide their young QB by running it 39 times. But with the game on the line, within 2:44 left in the game, Tebow is able to lead the Broncos for 2 TD’s and a 2-point conversion! His only other win as a starter? Week 16 of 2010, where he led another 4^th quarter comeback after being down by 13 to the Texans. If Tebow could play like Romo does in the first 3 quarters, and continue like he does the 4^th, he could be a great QB. In the meantime, it’s exciting to watch a guy who literally shows the heart it takes to win in the NFL.

Once Upon a Midnight Dreary, While I Pondered Weak and Weary:

Last week, the weak and weary Vikings took heed to Edgar Allen Poe’s quote, and Pondered what to do once upon a season dreary. With the season in turmoil, the Vikings decided to start Christian Ponder. Just as they couldn’t expect much for season results, I’m sure the Vikings weren’t expecting much against the best team in the NFL and Super Bowl champions. Like Tebow, Ponder wasn’t particularly impressive. He went 13-32, and had 2 INT’s. But also like Tebow, Ponder also showed one thing that statistics can’t, heart. What the stats don’t show is that 12 of his 13 completions went for first downs! He was 2 for 2 in the Red Zone, got new receiver Michael Jenkins finally involved, and even posted 7.8 yds per rush. But the most impressive part? Christian Ponder was able to take a 1-5 team to the brink against the best team in the league! They were even leading at halftime (but it’s the Vikings, so of course that means they lost). The Vikings should be VERY impressed with their rookie QB. They just may finally have a young QB of the future!

Quoth the Raven(s) “Nevermore!”

While we’re on this Poe kick, what happened to the Ravens on Monday? The Ravens are a confusing team. “Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore.” It’s a mystery this team can beat the Steelers, Texans, and Jets, but somehow lose to the Titans and Jaguars? “Quoth the Ravens, Nevermore! Thrilled me– filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;” The Ravens should be scared if they can’t beat bottom of the barrel teams this year. “So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating.” The Ravens better not repeat this trend by losing to Arizona, Indianapolis, Seattle or Cleveland. “On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.” Meaning someone of importance to the team (Ray Lewis, Joe Flacco, John Harbaugh) will not be back if they do not reach their hopes of a Super Bowl. “Then the bird said, “Nevermore.” Which means it’s nothing to worry about, the Ravens will never lose to an easy team the rest of this season…On a side note, who would have thought that Edgar Allen Poe could have predicted a football team’s future from 1845? Even got the team name right!!!

Stat of the Week #1:

In the first 3 weeks of the season, the Chiefs and Bengals were a combined 1-5. Since then they are a combined 6-0!

Stat of the Week #2:

The St. Louis Rams have had the toughest schedule in the league so far, playing teams with an average .639 win percentage. The Packers have had the 4^th easiest, a .383 win percentage.

Stat of the Week #3:

Plaxico Burress only had 4 catches for 25 yards on Sunday, but 3 of them were TD’s.

Stat of the Week #4:

2 of the top 15 rushers play for the Houston Texans, both are on pace for 1000 yard seasons (once again, great job Kubiak).

Stat of the Week #5:

Two teams on Sunday won by only kicking Field Goals.

Stat of the Week #6:

Combining all three QB’s who played in the Chiefs vs Raiders game, there were 30 completions total and 8 interceptions.

Stat of the Week #7:

In 21 pass attempts, Carson Palmer has thrown the same amount of interceptions as Aaron Rodgers has in 239 pass attempts.

Stat of the Week #8:

If you added up the passer rating of all 3 QB’s in the Chiefs vs. Raiders game, (Cassel 38.3, Boller 22.3, Palmer 17.3) =77.9, 13 other QB’s in the week would be ahead of that 77.9 passer rating.

Stat of the Week #9:

The Raiders won’t have a pick in the 2012 NFL Draft until the 5^th round. The first 4 picks were lost acquiring QB’s.

Stat of the Week #10:

Drew Brees had more touchdown passes than incomplete passes.

Stat of the Week #11:

The Saints scored 62 points in one game, the Rams have scored 56 points in 6 games.

If the Playoffs were to Start Today:

Two divisions, he AFC North (Ravens, Steelers, and Bengals) and the NFC North (Packers, Lions, Bears), would represent half of the playoff teams.

Trigger Happy:

Last Week FMQB praised the Raiders’ bold move to acquire Carson Palmer, but only had reservations of starting him 5 days after being picked up. He needs to learn the offense, gain a feel for his receivers, and shake of the rust of sitting on his couch for the past 10 months. So I applauded Hue Jackson’s decision to start Kyle Boller, even if it is Kyle Boller we’re talking about here. But why bring in Palmer at halftime? If he’s not ready to start, spending an extra hour and a half with the team isn’t going to make him ready either. The Raiders rushed it, and Palmer looked just as bad as Boller did. I’m still not with everybody else who says Palmer is washed up, past his prime (he’s only 32), and not worth the price. But that was a little too fast. I bet he will come in and win at least 4 or 5 games with the team this year still. But ouch, 3 INT’s in one half, not the best way to start.

Smile, you’re on Candid Cam-era:

The Panthers’ Cam-era has officially gone much better than anybody could have expected. The Panthers posted a season high 33 points, beat a team that was in the playoff hunt, and Newton posted impressive stats (127.5 passer rating). Sure God’s Gift to Man Cam has a lot to learn, throws too many picks, and shouldn’t be dancing before the game even begins when you’re 1-5 (that’s how you got your nickname dude). But he is also averaging 300 yds per game, 4.7 yds per rushing attempt, and has 7 rushing TDs. He has more TD passes than Philip Rivers, a preseason MVP favorite. Four of the Panthers five losses have come down to the final drive for the Panthers or have been within 7 points. They should end up going 6-10 due to a killer end of the schedule, but I think it’s fair to say that Panthers fans have something to look forward too. (And this hereby meets my “Weekly Cam” quota I have set for myself).

Wacky Prediction Come True:

Before the season, FMQB said “A team other than the Jets or Eagles will have 6 INT’s in a game.” Six interception games are rare, in fact the Chiefs hadn’t had one since 1984. But with all the top CBs playing for those two teams, having it happen with a different team is even less likely. Sure enough, the Chiefs pulled off a 6 INT game, intercepting both Palmer and Boller three times a piece.

Revis Island:

There is a reason the Jets pay this guy. Darrelle Revis is the best cornerback in the league, and even with a lackluster season last year (0 INT’s), he is worth it. Against the Cowboys in Week 1, Dolphins, and now Chargers, his last minute interceptions to set up game winning drives have literally WON the game for the Jets. The Jets would literally be 1-6 right now if it weren’t for Revis’ heroics. Unless you consider Deion Sanders running punts back for TD’s, I don’t think you can say any other CB has ever directly impacted a team on defense as much as Revis. This is one player, on an island, a Revis Island, who impacts the game and gets wins. This is just unheard of for the cornerback position.

Warning: Math Content…Breaking Down ESPN’s QBR:

The current passer rating system used by the NFL is confusing to say the least. A perfect rating is 158.3, and if a QB doesn’t complete one pass, he still has a rating of 39.7 (yet it’s possible to get less than that, like both Raiders QBs did this weekend). So ESPN analysts decided to introduce a new system, known as the QuarterBack Rating (or QBR). First off, it dumps the 0-158.3 scale for a 0-100 rating (Major Improvement #1). This makes it way easier, because even with the current system in place for so long, it’s impossible to figure out how much better a QB is if they have a 137.6 rating instead of a 115.9. All you know is both are good. In the new system, 100 is a perfect game (and nearly impossible to hit), 75 or better is MVP caliber, 65 or better is Pro-Bowl caliber, and 50 is about average. It’s much easier on this scale to compare someone with a 69 QBR to an 88 QBR. The math actually works out perfect too! So far this season there are 3 QB’s in the MVP level (typical decision for MVP is down to 3) and there are 6 QB’s above Pro-Bowl level (6 QB’s go to Hawaii every year). The formula also takes into account the level of contribution towards the win (Gaining a first down in the 2^nd quarter isn’t as good as gaining it on 4^th and 10 with 3 minutes left in the game when you’re down by 4). This is their “clutch” measurement, meaning what a QB can do in the clutch. It’s a subjective measure, but it also brings in the ability to measure an intangible, heart. What does the QB do when the game is on the line (Cool Improvement #2). It also divides the credit of a QB’s performance to the offensive line, Wide Receiver, etc. to distinguish a 3 yard pass with a 22 yd run, vs a 25 yd pass and tackled immediately, another great idea (Major Improvement #3). ESPN went through the previous 10 years of film, analyzed every QB’s play (I wish I had that job!). It essentially takes the “weirdness” out of the current passer rating result, and fixes it.

Case in point, take a look at the following 3 stat lines from Week 7:

Quarterback	Incomplete Passes	Touchdown Passes	Interceptions	Passer Rating	ESPN’s QBR
Drew Brees	4	5	0	144.9	97.2
Aaron Rodgers	6	3	0	146.5	90.8
Matt Schaub	5	2	0	147.7	95.6

 Conventional knowledge would say Drew Brees should have the best passer rating, but he doesn’t. Why? He has the fewest amount of Incomplete Passes and the Most Touchdown Passes! Yet he has a worse rating than Rodgers and Schaub. The QBR system fixes that, and Brees has the highest QBR when he obviously had the best game. (The only reason Rodgers’ QBR is lower than Schaub is because he was sacked 4 times, you can’t take sacks to keep drives alive). The QBR is a better rating system and this is my plea for the NFL to adopt it instead of the current system…For the record, I did a job shadow of the Rapid City Red Dogs, a minor league football team, and was the stat guy on the radio for about 8 games. I used to actually calculate Passer Rating with my stats, and it was an annoying formula to figure out. And here is what I used to deal with:

 (Percentage of Completions/30 and multiplied by .05) + (Yards per attempt -3 and multiplied by .25. If result is greater than zero, value is 2.375. If it’s less than 0, value is 0) + (TD Passes/Attempts multiplied by .2) + (INT/Attempts multiplied by .25. Take 2.375 – result)= SUM of this formula / 6 and multiplied by 100….yeah, took about 10 minutes per QB with only a calculator and no fancy spreadsheet!

Move over Dorsett, Walker, and Emmitt, there’s a New Cowboy in Town!

As a testament to just how bad the Rams are this year, a ROOKIE RB for the Cowboys just set the franchise record for most rushing yards in a game with 258! Two things make this either impressive, or pathetic by Rams standards. First, Demarco Murray is a rookie running back, who only ran for 71 yards in his first 6 games before his explosion. Second of all, this isn’t the Texans rushing record or the Panthers, this is the COWBOYS, who have fielded hall of fame running backs such as Emmitt Smith, Tony Dorsett, and Herschel Walker.  Demarco Murray is now atop that list in the Cowboys record book over those 3 guys. Not surprisingly, his game knocked the Rams into last place in rushing D.

Quote of the Week:

FFMQB: “Oh the Rams game is on, did you want to watch it?”

FMQB: “Ummm, not really.”

The Best Tight End of All Time:

And no we’re not talking about Kim Kardashian or Jennifer Lopez! On Sunday Tony Gonzalez leapt to #2 on the all time receptions list, behind only Jerry Rice. He has 300 more receptions than fellow tight ends Steve Largent and Shannon Sharpe. Hands down, Tony Gonzalez is the best Tight End in the history of the game! For a position that does a lot of blocking, it’s impressive how a Tight End can be so high on that list. To put in perspective of what company he has beaten: Marvin Harrison, Cris Carter, Tim Brown, Terrell Owens, Isaac Bruce, Randy Moss, Art Monk, the list goes on. On a side note, Jerry Rice’s record will never be touched, but Larry Fitzgerald is looking damn good. He’s only 27 years old and SHOULD BE in the top 30 of all time by the end of the season.

Bonus Stat of the Week:

Running Back Marshall Faulk has more receptions than Hall of Famer Michael Irving

Game of the Week:

New England at Pittsburgh

 Dallas at Philadelphia

Venting about Rules:

Every year the competition committee for the NFL meets and amends or changes rules. I want to go on a small rant about whenever a change occurs, it’s either a rule that shouldn’t be changed, or the fact that the refs don’t seem to adopt it when they’re changed for the better.

 

Rule #1, the famous “Tuck Rule” is by far the stupidest call in Sports. Just like you will always remember where you were when you heard about Kennedy being shot, or September 11^th, it seems to happen in sports the same way. Even though many of these happened when I was pretty young, there are a few instances in sports that I will always remember seeing and even where I was; Cal Ripken breaking Gehrig’s record, McGwire hitting #70, the Rangers winning the Stanley Cup in 1994, Jordan’s sick crossover and 20 foot game winning shot to secure his 6^th Championship, Steve Bartman ruining the Cubs’ playoffs, and the Tuck Rule. Yes, believe it or not the Tuck Rule is in that memory log for me, I remember more about the closing minutes of that game in 2001 than I do of last years’ Super Bowl…Anyway, this was based on a bad call http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHEQtASq9BI in the 2001 season, and in my opinion it was only adopted from that call to make the refs look good. Just because you’re bringing the ball back down to your body doesn’t mean you’re arm is moving forward. You are not intending to initiate a pass, therefore any tuck rule call should be a fumble. I seriously hate the tuck rule! This rule changed the face of the 2001 playoffs, and in the end, it created Tom Brady’s legacy. (Ironically, you can argue the Raiders got screwed twice with this rule. It kicked them out of the playoffs that year. But it also led to the rare Head Coach trade and John Gruden left the team for Tampa Bay, who won the Super Bowl the following year over the Raiders since Gruden knew all their plays).

 

Rule #2, the “force out.” This rule was changed a few years back, but doesn’t make sense to me at all. Remember when Nathan Poole for the Cardinals caught a last second TD that knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs several years ago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnl1YqcBQfg? This is a prime example of the force out rule. Nathan Poole had 1 foot in while Vikings DB’s did everything they could to force the player out of bounds. It was impossible to get his second foot down, but he would have if he wouldn’t have been pushed. This was a great rule, yet the NFL changed it saying any force out was an incomplete pass. What’s stopping the DB from catching the WR in the middle of the field and fireman carrying him out of bounds? The WR wouldn’t have got his feet down, yet with this literal interpretation of the rule, it would not be a catch. It doesn’t make sense to me how you can get rid of the force out rule and say that hands down it’s an incomplete pass. Probably since this rule with Nathan Poole changed the face of the playoffs that year, they felt they needed a change, but once again it was changed for the worst.

 

Rule #3 should have never been a rule in the first place, and it pisses me off how refs still hang onto it. To set the scene, Week 1 of the 2010 season, it’s Lions vs. Bears. Calvin Johnson catches the game winning TD pass with seconds left in the game, rolls on the ground, STANDS UP, and puts down his hand (with the ball in it) to stabilize himself http://www.nowpublic.com/sports/calvin-johnson-catch-video-overturned-td-catch-vs-bears-2663340.html . In this move, after having the ball for a good 3 seconds, he lets go of the ball. The refs challenge it and say that he did not “control the ball throughout the entirety of the catch.” No TD, Lions lose. Other than the Tuck Rule, this was the most BS call I had ever seen! So of course the NFL changes this rule over the offseason. Why do refs keep hanging onto this “control the ball throughout the entirety of the catch?” Since it was my Game of the Week, I watched the Lions vs 49ers game this past Sunday. The first TD by TE Petigrew, he catches the ball around a defenders arm, has the ball for 3 seconds, is laying down on his back not moving anymore, and a defender knocks the ball out just for posterity. But wait a minute, the refs have to challenge it for 5 minutes to make sure it’s a catch. Second time, Nate Burleson catches a TD, runs out the back of the endzone by 5 yards, starts tripping in the goal post netting, puts his hand down to stabilize himself and loses the ball. Refs challenge for ANOTHER 5 minutes saying he didn’t finish the catch. Are you freakin kidding me? What do the Wide Receivers have to do before it’s ruled a catch, hang onto the ball until Tuesday’s practice?!?! Luckily both were ruled TD’s otherwise I would have flipped out. But come on refs, control of ball, two feet in, it’s not that hard! For the record, due to penalties and stupid challenges, the game was 3 hours and 45 minutes long.

 

Rule #4: This years’ kickoff rule…don’t even get me started.

 

Commentator Rule #5: Not gonna lie, I miss the TD rule about only having to break the plane of the endzone simply for the fact that it was amusing to hear the commentators say “Theoretically, if you drew a line across the goal line, it would go all the way around the world. As long as the ball broke that line, it would be a TD” The new rule about inside the pylon is better though.

 Stat of the Week #1:

The Bills and Lions both lost for the first time since December 5^th of last year.

 Stat of the Week #2:

Through 6 weeks, the Very Human looking Tom Brady has already thrown twice as many interceptions as he did all of last year.

 

Stat of the Week #3:

God’s Gift to Man Cam Newton has 6 rushing TD’s, in 2^nd place only to Adrian Peterson.

 

Stat of the Week #4:

Raiders Punter Shane Lechler has a perfect 158.3 Quarterback Rating in his career.

 

Stat of the Week #5:

A whopping 17 QB’s have more rushing TD’s than Michael Vick this year, who is now undeniably the best rushing QB in NFL history.

 

Stat of the Week #6:

The Philadelphia Nightmares and Panthers are 3^rd and 5^th in the league in total offense, but have a combined record of 3-8.

 

Stat of the Week #7:

The Harbaugh brothers have a combined record of 9-2

 

Stats of the Week #8:

The Rams held the Packers to their fewest points of the season…The Packers have scored 4 times as many points as the Rams!

 

Stat of the Week #9:

The Nightmares have scored 145 points (24+ points per game) but have a losing record. The Redskins have scored only 96 points, but have a winning record.

 

Stat of the Week #10:

1 out of every 4 catches for Calvin Johnson has been a TD.

 

Just because I respect you doesn’t mean I have to like you:

As most friends of FMQB know, Team #2 that I hate is the New England Patriots. It’s a combination between Tom Brady being a pretty boy, Coach Belichick being a cheater and a cold pouter when he loses, because they win a lot and make it look so easy, and the fact that the Patriots beat my two favorite teams in 3 years in the Super Bowl including my beloved Rams. That combination forms the perfect storm of why I literally loathe the Patriots. I would like to point out however that I respect what they do for the game of football, and respect their greatness. I was watching the Cowboys Patriots game on Sunday, and the Cowboys were up by 3 late in the 4^th quarter. The Very Human looking Brady started driving the ball, and once again got intercepted. For one fleeting moment, you think “Wow, the Cowboys might win this game!” But of course, the Last Place Patriots defense (yards allowed) knows the right time to decide to play, and Brady gets the ball back with under two minutes. You watch him drive, he’s at the 30 yard line with 30 seconds left, and you just have this gut feeling that he’s not playing for overtime, he’s playing for the win, and it’s going to happen. We’ve seen it too often with him, to the point where you just expect it. Of course, Brady throws a TD pass with no time for the Cowboys to even try anything. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are the two most clutch QB’s when the game is on the line, they execute the 2 minute drill better than any QB’s in NFL history. If the ball is in their hands at the pivotal point of the game, you can pretty much say “Game Over.”

 

Re-Balancing Act:

With the beginning of each season, it seems there’s always two teams that surprise people. Last year it was Kansas City and Tampa Bay. Typically one team makes the playoffs, and the other falters in the end to miss out (case in point, last year). This year is bizarre though, how the 49ers, Lions, Bills, Bengals, Raiders, Texans, and Redskins are all taking the league off guard. But even with the parity of the NFL, I have this sense that the season is starting to re-balance itself, and the good teams with bad records start to improve, while some surprise teams will begin to suffer. With Detroit’s loss, they went from the #1 seed and having a first round bye and home field advantage, to #5 and having to win 3 road games to make the Super Bowl. Buffalo fell from #1 to #6. The Nightmares won impressively and have a favorable schedule down the stretch (ugh, hate to lose that nickname once they top .500!), Pittsburgh with its early season woes have quietly jumped to a 4-2 record, the Jets are a disappointing 3-3, but have a very winnable stretch as well. Hate to see some of these surprise teams dip out, but the best cream rises to the top.

 

If the Playoffs were to start today:

Only 4 of the 12 teams that made the playoffs last year would be in it again.

 

Take me to your Leader:

For once the injury lists and suspension talks were shifted away from the players and onto the head coaches! Saints head coach Sean Payton got hit hard in the leg, and you could see his knee bend awkwardly the wrong way. He ended up having a broken fibula and tore his MCL!!! The Saints even put him on a temporary injured reserve…ok not really, but Assistant Head Coach Joe Vitt was calling plays after that. My favorite part about it was seeing Payton sitting on the bench 20 feet behind the sidelines, and having EVERYBODY clear out so he could still see the field. There wasn’t one player within 30 yards of him!

 

Just an hour earlier, Lions coach Jim Schwartz chased down 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh and both needed to be restrained to avoid a fight. I should say that I like Jim Harbaugh, but I’m not going to lie, seeing him running off the sidelines celebrating, flashing his goods, and still jumping up and down when he reached Schwartz was not good sportsmanship. He apparently “shook his hand too hard and slapped his back” which set off Schwartz (we are talking about football though). Schwartz fired back with a “What the F*$&” and it all went downhill after that. Which begs the question, if players can get ejected for punches, can coaches too? There’s nothing better in Hockey than a goalie fight, but after Week 6, I really want to see a head coach fight! I’d sign up for PayPerView heavyweight battle between Rex Ryan and Andy Reid!

 

Vick’s $100 million curse:

In my MBA program, we actually discussed how much of an incentive money is. People in sales get paid commissions based on performance, and it’s believed that psychologically, people will perform better when in pursuit of a bigger paycheck. The point is actually best played out in sports. Inexplicably, the best years of a players’ career is typically the final year of their contract, with the thought that a good year will lead to a higher payday. The following year tends to be a dropoff in performance. Look at Chris Johnson this year, he’s been begging for a new contract for 2 years, finally got his huge contract and is now 26^th in the league in rushing after back to back 2000 total yard seasons. He’s not even on pace for a 1000yd season! What about Albert Haynesworth? Signed huge deal with the Redskins, once he got that guaranteed money he refused to practice! Bust in Washington. In 2004, Vick led Atlanta to NFC Championship game and a 11-5 season. The following offseason he was rewarded with a $100 million contract. The very next year, Vick led the Falcons to an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs. Last year, Vick led the Nightmares to an impressive playoff berth in one of the toughest divisions in football. This offseason he was rewarded with his SECOND $100 million contract, what has he shown from it? A frustrating 2-4 start. Sure they may turn it around, but there are currently 6 teams ahead of the Nightmares just for the last Wild Card spot.

 

Quote of the Week:

There’s a mild controversy brewing in Chicago, apparently Jay Cutler directed an “F*$% him” during the game referring to offensive coordinator Mike Martz. When asked about it later in the week, Martz replied “If it was at me (Cutler was directing his curse), that’s probably the nicest thing a player said to me during a game!” On a side note, why would Cutler even say that if they were up by 29 after 3 quarters?

 

Beep Beep:

I need to point out that I’m the first one to admit that I make a lot of wacky predictions. In fact, I sometimes wonder if I make too many and if people will even believe what I am even predicting anymore. But for some reason, my QB predictions have been coming true and I just hit one right on the nose! So I need to gloat. Before the season started, I made four predictions involving QB controversies, and in consecutive weeks 3 of them have come true. The first involved Tim Tebow being named the starter in place of Kyle Orton…check. The second, a QB controversy involving Rex Grossman and John Beck. Grossman was benched for Beck when only down by 2 scores against the Nightmares, and Beck came in and scored to pull within 7 points. Beck is now the starter…check. But the mother of all predictions, “McNabb will be benched by Ponder by Week 6.” Low and behold, in WEEK 6, Vikings about to go 1-5 and down by 29 in the late in the 3^rd, bring in Christian Ponder to play! Done with another Old QB flop, they have just named Christian Ponder the starter after Week 6. I don’t want to be the guy to toot my own horn…but Beep Beep!!!

 

Second QB Prediction Coming True:

Before the season, FMQB said “Carson Palmer may as well look for a house in the Bay area, because he’ll be starting for either Oakland or San Francisco next year.” The Raiders had an established QB, but my gut told me that Palmer would look great in Silver and Black. I’ll admit, this is one of the more bizarre predictions I made, how did this one come true?!?! It’s like I have ESPN or something…The Raiders traded two 1^st round picks for Palmer with the hopes of salvaging their 4-2 season after Campbell got hurt, and to be the QB of the future. People think that the Raiders overpaid, but this is one of those cases where I think it was a win-win trade for both teams. They’re even starting Palmer 5 days after the trade (not sure about that move though). Watch Palmer lead them to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

 

Favorite Move for Good QB:

What would you do to get a great QB behind center? Would you trade two 1^st round draft picks to salvage your season? Would you bench a 5 time NFC Championship QB for a rookie? Would you listen to your fans chants and finally put in your Heisman winning QB? The obvious answer is “Yes” to all of those. But I officially have a new favorite saying throughout the NFL when it comes to bold moves to get QB’s; and that saying is “Suck for Luck!” It seems like many fans across the country have already thrown in the towel this year, but with the opportunity to get the highest touted QB in over a decade to lead their team for the next 15 years, it might be worth it to throw games to get Andrew Luck. Let’s just hear the saying again, “Suck for Luck.”

 

MVP of the Year:

Without playing a down this season, I literally think that Peyton Manning should be in consideration for the MVP voting this year. HOW GOOD is he, if he can lead a team to the playoffs every single year, and the second he ‘s gone, they can’t even win one game! He is the definition of the Most Valuable Player to an organization. He gets my vote.

 

Best Joe Schmoe to the NFL Football Movie:

If you’ve never seen the movie “Invincible,” definitely rent it. Great inspiring movie about Joe Schmoe making it to the NFL. Last week, FFMQB and I watched “The Garbage Picking, Field Goal Kicking, Philadelphia Phenomenon” with Tony Danza. Horrible production value, but it’s a pretty amusing movie that brings me back to my childhood. They used random game footage to supplement the film, so one shot shows fans in ponchos because it’s raining, but return to Tony Danza and it’s sunny out. The shot of Danza before the final kick shows him at a night game, but it clearly comes back to the daytime. Anyway, pretty good movie other than that! Ironic how both films feature Joe Schmoe being picked up by the Philadelphia Nightmares (perhaps doing that in real life would turn their season around, couldn’t hurt).

 

Games of the Week:

Atlanta at Detroit

Atlanta’s struggling to find their identity this year, but they are still a very talented team. What are the thoughts if they knock off the Lions, and the Lions lose 2 straight at home?

 

Houston at Tennessee

The Texans and Titans both have 3 wins atop the AFC South. The winner of this game takes a 2 game lead in the division (due to head to head wins).

 

Please Don’t Write Me a Letter:

No, I did not just compare the “Tuck Rule” to September 11^th. I’m sure if I worked for ESPN I would be fired for saying that (already miss Hank Williams Jr.), so before anybody freaks out, please don’t send me a nasty letter.