The Crystal Ball Week 10

So Thursday night I’m watching the riveting Falcons/Ravens slugfest, which only became interesting in the last five minutes, procrastinating taking out the trash. Halftime came and still I hesitated until they show a clip from this week’s Sunday conversation with Brett Favre. The first question Steve Mariucci asks is will Favre play next season. Suddenly, scooping cat litter became very interesting to me.

Opening Kickoff

Ok Kurt Warner, you’re done with Dancing With The Stars. Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to play this season? The ball is in your court Cardinal Fans, what are you willing to offer for eight games of competent quarterbacking?

The Way It Was

The Cowboys missed a chance to challenge a Packer touchdown, that would have been overturned, because they were out time outs and therefore unable to challenge. This was an indefensible moment of inept coaching and most likely the tipping point in spurring Jerry Jones to fire Wade Phillips. Cowboy fans breathe a sigh of relief.

But don’t get too excited, since the interim head coach, on an eight game audition for the “permanent” job, is offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. And we all know how horribly his play calling has been this season. Hey Jason, ever heard of running the ball?

The New England Patriots got JACKED UP!

What is in the water in Cleveland? Seriously, this cannot be due to Mangenius, can it?

Damn Cleveland. That’s two weeks now they've played a high profile opponent and whipped their fannies. And the following week, that same opponent is all pissed off wanting to prove they don’t suck and then faces Pittsburgh. Cleveland: the bizarro Kenny Bania of the NFL.

Baltimore’s defense has been exposed twice in 4 days. They cannot stop the run.

Awwww, Buffalo you were so close! I really thought they could pull it off.

Dang, Tampa almost did pull it off. If the Bucs can learn to get two yards by force of will on the road, they're going far.

Boy, I’m sure glad I held off jumping on the Lions band wagon. Mistakes by a young team, losing their kicker and Stafford, possibly for the season, and having one missed extra point make all the difference doomed them. I did love Ndamukong Suh filling in for Jason Hanson despite him missing the kick. That guy is worth the dough.

Nice game in Oakland, and full of interesting twists. It looked like Kansas City and Oakland were both enamored with the fake punt. Such a shame neither of them can actually pull it off.

What a wicked catch by Jacoby Ford to put Oakland in field goal position. He stole the interception away from Kansas City defense. That kids is why you don't never ever give up on a play.

The Giants were so far ahead against Seattle they played all their second string players and went to an all running offense. When they got within two minutes and within striking distance of Seattle’s end zone, the team just kneeled on the ball instead of scoring again. Tom Coughlin gets my classy move of the week award. Suck on that one Belichick.

Panthers quarterback Matt Moore is apparently done for season. Not like it will make any difference, though. But this is a good lesson for future coaches as to why do you do not go into the season with a first string quarterback with only 8 career starts and two rookie backups with zero experience.
The Steel Pit

Steelers 27 – Bengals 21

Pittsburgh roared out at the beginning of the game, forcing turnovers and capitalizing upon them. For a good portion of the evening, the Bungles looked like the 2-5 they were, much to my delight.

However, the axiom still held, that if you let a bad team hang around they will find a way to beat you. They settled for field goals too often, and in the third quarter the Steeler offense went into hibernation while the defense became increasingly overworked and unable to even contain Terrell Owens.

Every Pittsburgh fan had horrific flashbacks to last year when the team gave up fourth quarter leads and lost games one after another. It felt like watching the most embarrassing moments of your life on national television.

The Bungles almost comeback, however, was not entirely Pittsburgh’s fault. Casey Hampton and Ike Taylor were called for back to back penalties on Cincinnati’s last scoring drive, practically putting the ball in the end zone. Both were terrible calls that the NFL later in the week acknowledged as such. But that would have been cold comfort if the Bungles had completed their comeback and won the game.

However, not all was bad. Yes, there are some question marks surrounding the defense and their bend and almost break method late in games, what I am now calling the greenstick fracture defense. And with Max Starks now gone for the season, plus a rash of additional injuries team wide, the offense has yet one more issue to cope with.

But the Steelers pulled it together long enough to secure the win, which is all that matters at the end of the day. Rashard Mendenhall had some powerful fourth quarter runs, showing he’s big time all game long. And who didn’t enjoy TO chirping constantly in Palmer's ear? It seems reminiscent of a scene I once watched on a Philadelphia sideline long ago.

With TO yapping, and now Ochocinco piping up about being frustrated not getting thrown to and defenses keying on him, plus Marvin Lewis being a basically a lame duck coach and the team mired at 2-6, how long until this operation hits Cowboy level play and dysfunction? I suspect early cancellation for the TOcho Show.

Only In Faux NFL Reality…

The NFL had Jay Cutler miked up for the Bears/Bills game. Boy, this guy is terribly smug for someone who gets intercepted on average once out of every two passes. If you didn’t want to punch him before, you will now.

Apparently Randy Moss arrived in Nashville on a private plane Sunday night ready to go to work the next morning for the Titans. So you're telling me a man on his third team in one season wasn't at the facilities days ago, working furiously to get the play book learned so he'd be as up to speed as possible when the team came back from their bye week for practice? Yeah, this will work out.

I’m not sure what bothers me more about Braylon Edwards’ once again trying to stick it to Cleveland fans as he gears up to face the Browns this week. The fact that a player with such a reputation for being undependable and dropping balls feels confident enough to call anyone out, or his “bring ya popcorn” reference. Really Braylon, you couldn’t come up with anything better than to rip TO off? What a loser.

Look, finally a reason to want to go to Cowboy home games! (WARNING: link has material of a mature nature)

How does an organization, worth over a billion dollars, forget to renew their website registration? Considering how the team has been run lately, I suppose it is a plausible excuse. Personally, I think it just crashed with Cowboy fans demanding Wade Phillips head.

Ravens running back Le’Ron McClain avoided a fine for spitting in the face of Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder. I don’t know how the NFL let this one slide, that’s just wrong.

How many fall seasons will we be forced to watch this movie?

Upon Further Review

The word of last weekend is overtime. Three games went past regulation, giving fans of six fan bases over 60 minutes to fret out a win, or potential loss. As we all remember, sudden death overtime became a hot button topic in the previous off season, resulting in a convoluted rule change for the playoffs only in order to give each team an offensive possession.

I have been an ardent voice against this, as both teams understand the rules of sudden death overtime. Plus, the idea of each team getting a possession seemed dumb to me. The arguments for a new format included that the majority of teams that won the game were the same team that won the coin toss and that it was only fair that each team had a shot with the ball. My counter arguments included that if a team lost the coin toss, their defense should then step up and save the day, and that life by its very nature is not fair.

So let’s look at the games last weekend. Of the three that went into overtime, two of the teams that won the coin toss ultimately lost the game. And why is that? Because the coin toss losers, in these cases the Vikings and Raiders, had their defense step up and take care of business, giving the ball to their own offenses. In this small sample, that constitutes 66% of games played where the coin toss winner lost the game.

In the arguments for a new playoff format, it was pointed out that over 60% of teams that won the coin toss won the game. Well, last weekend’s sample study proved that wrong, no? How about we look at the season as a whole then? Don Banks at SI.com has done that for us. As he shows, of all 11 games that have gone to a fifth quarter this season, ONLY ONE game has been won by the team that won the coin toss. Boy, we really did need a new playoff format didn’t we?

So what does all this prove? That once again a small but highly vocal minority has worked for selfish and foolish reasons to change the outcome of games because they did not like the results of a few contests, much like what we saw with the knee jerk reaction to violent hits a few weeks ago. And yes, I am specifically referring to SI.com’s Peter King, the most vocal of playoff format revisionists, and his campaign for the change because he didn’t like Brett Favre losing yet another NFC Championship game in overtime. Please overlook that those games were lost because of Favre’s ineptness or that King would never admit that Favre’s failures were his raison d’etre for his campaigning. He would always maintain this change is for fairness. Yeah, seems fair to me that now we will all suffer come playoff time equally.
He Said He Said

"We've seen that horror flick before. I like this ending a little better." Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin comparing this year’s victory over the Bungles to last year’s defeat

Me too, although no need to make it come down to the wire like that boys.

"I recognized that after the game we just weren't playing winning football and our best chance was to make a change." – Cowboys owner Jerry Jones after dismissing Wade Phillips following the Cowboys debacle in Green Bay

You just recognized it? What have you been watching for the previous 8 weeks Jerry?

"If we play like we played today we are not going to beat anybody." – Patriots quarterback Tom Brady after Cleveland stomped New England

Play that way this week; play that way this week…

“I felt like I was playing for mine. I’m just being honest. Have I always got along with my coach, head coach, quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator? No. why should that factor into me wanting to be the best player I can be?" – Vikings quarterback Brett Favre when asked if playing for Childress' job

That’s a dumb question. If he was playing for Childress' job, he would have tanked.

"Le'Ron McClain spit in my face. He spit in my face. That's some real shit. So if you talk to him, tell him he's a ho." – Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder, accusing McClain of spitting in his face, which seemed to be backed up by video evidence

I’m with Channing, that’s just disgusting and insulting.

"I don't think Wade [Phillips] survives this night.'' - Cris Collinsworth during the end of the Sunday Night Football broadcast of the Dallas/Green Bay game

Obviously he meant metaphorically, as Phillips was fired the next day. But considering the Cowboys’ performance, and Jones’ expression, I figured Cris meant Jerry would have Wade killed.

"As I sit here right now, it's not a concern at all because we won. When we get back home and watch film, I might be concerned." – Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin when asked about the fourth quarter collapses that led to Pittsburgh losing its 20 point lead

Get concerned Mike.

Idiot of the week

This week’s honored winners of this prestigious award are not just one player or coach or even a team, but it goes out to the fans and team from the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia.

During last Sunday’s showdown against Indianapolis, Colts receiver Austin Collie collapsed to the turf lifelessly after getting hit by Eagle defenders Quintin Mikell or Kurt Coleman.

Now, from all visual evidence, the hits were clean. Yes, Collie did sustain a helmet to helmet hit, but the contact did not look flagrant but incidental. In the process of getting hit, Collie dropped the ball which was picked up by the Eagles thinking it was a fumble.

In review of the play later in the week, the NFL did not fine either Eagle defender for the hit and did say the play should have been ruled a fumble since Collie had possession, taken two steps and made moves to protect himself from impact. However, retrospect did little good on Sunday.

The officials working the game, with the newly instilled hypersensitivity to helmet to helmet collisions, immediately ruled the play an incomplete pass and threw a flag for the hit. While not terribly fair or acceptable, it is understandable with how the NFL has decided to change the rules of the game why the officials would make this call at the time.

However, all of this was secondary to the health of the player down on the field. Collie dropped like someone shot him, and lay on the ground motionless, a truly frightening sight. Colt medical personnel rushed onto the field, surrounding the downed player and calling for a stretcher and back board, and everyone watching on television fearing possible paralysis or worse.

Now, were the home team and crowd as sympathetic? You bet your sweet bippy they were not. Philadelphia reached a new low in earning their reputation as vicious fans. As Collie’s condition was being assessed, the officials made their rulings, much to the consternation of the fans and team.

Defensive players on the field ran around in mock indignation. Head coach Andy Reid, who should have waddled his fat can out to show support, berated the closest official about the call. Fans in the stadium booed loudly and voraciously. As this was going on, no one knew the extent of the injury to Collie. And to be frank, with the way he went down, he very well could have been dead.

In other games I’ve watched where an injury like this happens to a visiting player, the home crowd becomes hushed and tense, concerned for the well being of the competitor. In Philadelphia, they barely even registered an injured player, just the bad call. In fact, as the network went to commercial break, I heard an Eagle fan, picked up on one of the stadium microphones, screaming, “This is bullshit.”

Of course, after that commercial break, the stadium was quiet and the teams subdued. I bet they had to make an in stadium announcement to act like civilized human beings. And mind you, I know this does not represent every Philadelphia fan in attendance or watching the game. But it did represent the vocal majority.

So for showing your unbelievable classlessness in the face of potential human tragedy, Philadelphia, you are an idiot.

On Tap This Week

See, weeks like last week I totally enjoy.

Last week: 11 - 2
Thursday: 1 - 0
Season to date: 80 – 51

Plus I almost won the week, except I guessed too high on the tie breaker points. Thank goodness Pittsburgh stopped Cincinnati on that last drive or I would have had enough points to win. Almost horrifying.

Sitting at home, placing bets on Randy Moss’ next team: Green Bay, New Orleans, Oakland and San Diego

Sunday

Minnesota (3-5) at Chicago (5-3)

There is no way Chicago, with that atrocious offensive line and overrated quarterback, can be 6-3 is there? Play to save Chilly!

Vikings over Bears

Tennessee (5-3) at Miami (4-4)

First he was Unstoppable, and then he was Intolerable, now he’s just Unbearable. Welcome to the Randy Moss era in Tennessee. Will Moss make a difference? Who knows, but Chad Pennington making his first start this season for Miami certainly will for the Dolphin passing game, and not a good one.

Titans over Dolphins

Detroit (2-6) at Buffalo (0-8)

Like a desperate gambler thinking I can break it with just one more roll, I’m gonna let it ride.

Bills over Lions

New York Jets (6-2) at Cleveland (3-5)

See, this is why Eric Mangenius sucks. Why even question your starter? I think after beating Brees and Brady, Colt McCoy has earned his stripes. Stupid Browns. In other news, the Ryan twins face off against each other. Now, where's Buddy to send them to their rooms if they get too rambunctious?

Jets over Browns

Cincinnati (2-6) at Indianapolis (5-3)

Anyone have any confidence in the Bungles? Anyone? I thought so.

Colts over Bengals

Carolina (1-7) at Tampa Bay (5-3)

Only eight games to go before Carolina starts throwing mad money at Bill Cowher.

Buccaneers at Panthers

Houston (4-4) at Jacksonville (4-4)

Let’s play who’s more mediocre?

Jaguars over Texans

Kansas City (5-3) at Denver (2-6)

My only hope for this game is it puts one more stamp on Josh McDaniels’ ticket out of town.

Chiefs over Broncos

Seattle (4-4) at Arizona (3-5)

It’s like choosing between lima beans and Brussels sprouts. Either way you have a bad taste in your mouth.

Cardinals over Seahawks

Dallas (1-7) at New York Giants (6-2)

The Jason Garrett era begins as Dallas hopes to turn the page, and their fortunes, on the season. I wonder how this will end. No I don’t.

Giants over Cowboys

St. Louis (4-4) at San Francisco (2-6)

I think it’s time for St. Louis to learn to win on the road. And now is the best time.

Rams over 49ers

New England (6-2) at Pittsburgh (6-2)

Did you know that as a starter, Tom Brady is 5-1 against Pittsburgh? Did you know Pittsburgh is missing both of its preseason projected starting tackles and a starting guard? Did you know this is Pittsburgh’s third straight prime time game? Did you know James Harrison is experiencing back spasms and is questionable for the game? Did you know I’m terrified?

Steelers over Patriots

Monday

Philadelphia (5-3) at Washington (4-4)

Well, Donovan McNabb won the first faceoff against his former team. I’m betting he won’t win the second. Mainly because he may not have the cardiovascular endurance to make it all four quarters.

Eagles over Redskins