Bye Week Blues

I didn't learn anything about pro football this week other than what you can glean from the newspapers and ESPN. I barely watched any of the games because the Eagles weren't playing. I did learn that if Oregon beats one of the worst teams in Division 1-A (Washington State) at home while Penn State beats a not-very-good-but-miles-better-than-Wazzou Illinois team on the road, Oregon ought to jump Penn State in the polls, but polls are meaningless anyway, so that doesn't bother me too much.

Did anyone learn anything while I had the television turned off? Don't be shy!

What have we learned - Week 3

Will there be cheesecake in this post? Don't be surprised if there is!

Eagles 34, Chiefs 14. Well, if you have a bad game, make sure you follow it up with a game against Kansas City! This was a shockingly easy game, as Kevin Kolb carved up the Chiefs, the defense stymied Matt Cassel and his crew, and the Eagles cruised. I was never sure why Kolb was getting bashed in the media after his poor performance against Baltimore last year and in the first game this year. After a week of practicing with the first team, he's put up 391- and 327-yard passing games consecutively. He looks very confident and he's standing in and taking the heat well. Plus, LeSean McCoy looked really good, and it makes the continuing drama over Brian Westbrook's health less traumatic. McCoy seems to hit the hole faster than Westbrook does, which is nice. All of this, of course, is mitigated by the fact that it was, after all, the Chiefs, but still - a nice win that they kind of needed. They get a bye, and then they get Tampa at home, Oakland on the road, and Washington on the road before they get the Giants and Cowboys at home. Those are all winnable games.

Lions 19, Washington 14. Surprisingly, the world didn't end at about ten minutes after four this afternoon, when the Detroit Lions won a football game. I actually watched quite a bit of this game, because it was fairly entertaining. A lot of people called this one, which only shows how very awful Washington is. And they looked terrible - for the second straight week, they struggled against what ought to be an inferior opponent, but maybe isn't. Matthew Stafford looked pretty good, and it's looking like Detroit made a good pick with him. I have a feeling Jim Zorn won't be long for this coaching world, as his owner is notoriously short-tempered when it comes to his coaches.



Packers 36, Rams 17. My friend who loves Marc Bulger was a bit grumpy about this game. First, Bulger gets hurt because God forbid the Rams provide him with any protection. Then, Kyle Boller comes in a chucks a couple of quick touchdowns, bringing the Rams back. Ultimately, they lost convincingly, but now the quarterback controversy begins, and my friend isn't happy about it, because Bulger is obviously much better than Boller is. The fact that Bulger toils for a horrible team is sad until you realize that he signed a long-term contract with St. Louis. But it's still kind of a shame that he could be doing much better if the Rams weren't such a dysfunctional organization. Meanwhile, Aaron Rogers continues to make Packer fans forget that other dude they had. Yes, he had a good day today, but long-term, Rogers is the man.

Vikings 27, 49ers 24. Speaking of R. C. Favre, the canonization continues, even though he had less to do with Minnesota's victory than you might think. First, Percy Harvin returned a kickoff for a touchdown, which was huge. Then, the final touchdown was much more Greg Lewis's effort than Favre's pass. San Francisco didn't get much pressure on him, so the fact that he "got away from it" isn't that big a deal (yes, he sidestepped a tackler, but 99% of quarterbacks who've ever played in the NFL could have done that). He had to throw it into the end zone, and he simply hurled it as far as he could. Lewis made a tremendous catch on a pass that just happened to come near him - it wasn't like R. C. found him as he broke open, because Lewis was blanketed. So let's hold off on re-anointing R. C., shall we? It's a good win for the Vikings, but for most of the game, they were winning despite their quarterback, not because of him. And remember that Frank Gore was injured early on, and San Francisco still should have won the game!

Patriots 26, Falcons 10. I watched very little of this game, so I don't know what we learned from it. Maybe we shouldn't count New England dead yet? Maybe we shouldn't proclaim Atlanta as a Super Bowl favorite? Beats me.



Jets 24, Titans 17. This was a pretty exciting game, with New York scoring early and late while Tennessee dominated the middle. It's always nice to see the old-school uniforms (especially the refs'), and on Lendale White's second-quarter touchdown run, the Jets grabbed him by the jersey and pulled, and as he was wearing a Houston Oilers shirt, it looked scarily like Earl Campbell breaking free. I started cheering, "Tear it!" even though they don't tear anymore. But it was pretty cool. The Jets sure look for real, I tell you that much.

Giants 24, Buccaneers 0. Here's another game I skipped completely, because there wasn't going to be much drama, and it turned out there wasn't much drama at all. New York, just like last year, looks like the class of the NFC, but we'll see how that plays out in January, won't we? New York was playing without a couple of their defensive lineman and Tampa still got five (5) first downs (!) and 86 (!) total yards. Yucky.

Ravens 34, Browns 3. Here's one reason why the Browns suck: Trailing 27-0 on the road, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Eric Mangini kicked a field goal. A FIELD GOAL! Why didn't he just pull his team off the field and forfeit? I mean, it's not likely you're going to 27 points in a quarter against Baltimore, but still. It was a 29-yard field goal, too, meaning the Browns had the ball at the 11 or so. Fortune favors the bold, Mangenius! Even if you don't score, that sets the tone for the rest of the season and shows your team that you expect them to step up. Mangini was playing for a tiny goal - not getting shut out. He should have realized the game was lost, and set up a bigger goal - suck it up, Browns players, and stick that damned ball in the end zone! But now you're 0-3, Cleveland, but worse, you have no hope. Good job. Oh, and Joe Flacco is getting scary good.

Jaguars 31, Texans 24. Hey, remember when Houston was a trendy playoff pick? They should stop losing to teams like Jacksonville at home. I probably should have watched more of this game, because Maurice Jones-Drew had another excellent game, but the only thing I saw was Chris Jones's fumble into the end zone with two minutes left, which Jacksonville recovered and which killed Houston's hopes. The Texans are one of those teams with a lot of talent that just hasn't figured out how to stomp on teams that aren't as good as they are yet. Unless they do, they won't go far this season. We'll see.



Bears 25, Seahawks 19. So Jim Mora, Jr. is chucking his kicker under the bus after Olindo Mare missed two (somewhat long) field goals on a beautiful day in Seattle. You stay classy, Mora. I could have sworn winning and losing in football was a team effort. Maybe you shouldn't have worn jerseys that made you look like you were wearing pinnies in high school:

I figured they won the coin toss and took "shirts." I'm surprised Da Bears weren't "skins." Gadzooks.

Saints 27, Bills 7. I watched a lot of this game, until the Saints scored to make it 17-7, at which time it became clear the Bills had no offense to come back (they scored their only points on a fake field goal). It was a nice defensive effort and showed, once again, that no quarterback, even Drew Brees, is unbeatable - the Bills put him under a lot of pressure and knocked him around quite a bit. Terrell Owens didn't catch a pass for the first time in 185 games, and I watched a couple of pass plays called for him. On one deep route, he barely looked back for the ball, and when he did finally see it, he didn't even make an effort for it. I've never liked Owens too much (even when he played for the Eagles), but at least he always made an effort. He's only on a one-year contract, so presumably he's trying to play into a contract with a better team next year. He's not going to get it this way.

Bengals 23, Steelers 20. I guess I should have watched more of the late games, but Mia wanted to watch the Wiggles, and she's quite insistent! I don't know how Carson Palmer and Cincinnati won this game, but good for them! The two Super Bowl teams from last year are both 1-2. I think we expected it from the Cardinals, but not from the Steelers.

Broncos 23, Raiders 3. Oh, Oakland. You're so bad. The good news: JaMarcus Russell completed over half his passes! The bad news: His 12 completions went for 61 yards. Blech. I was listening to the radio this morning, and Colin Cowherd and Trent Dilfer were pooh-poohing Denver's 3-0 record. Of course they got hate mail, but they have a point: They've beaten Cincinnati (on a miracle play), Cleveland (who's terrible), and Oakland (who's very terrible). It's nice that they're 3-0, but let's not start printing playoff tickets yet.

Chargers 23, Dolphins 13. Philip Rivers throws a nice deep ball, I'll tell you that much. His completions in the second half: 47 yards, 19 yards, 55 yards, 15 yards, 14 yards, and the two long passes were real purty. Of course, CBS kept showing scenes of San Diego, which made me think: If you lived in San Diego, why would you waste your afternoon attending a football game? Dang, that's a nice city. And Chad Pennington is out for the season. Miami's season last year is looking more and more like a mirage.



Colts 31, Cardinals 10. Some radio guys in town were predicting a Cardinals win on Friday, mainly because they thought Kurt Warner could keep up with Peyton Manning. They failed to realize that you don't beat the Colts by keeping up with Manning, you beat the Colts by not letting Manning on the field. Miami almost did it, but they didn't have the offensive firepower to finish the deal. Arizona needed long, sustained drives capped off by touchdowns, and then they turned the ball over twice inside the Colts' 10-yard line. They didn't need to get in a shootout with Manning, because Manning loves that. And the Cardinals gave up way too early on the run game, probably because they wanted to get in a shootout. Just a bad game plan all around. Oh well. I figured Arizona would fall back to Earth this season, and they are. Of course, it's not like they were that great last year - they could still go 8-8 this year and it wouldn't that big a dropoff. They're still far too undisciplined to be a consistent winner.

I'd write about college football, but nobody knows nothing, so what would I have to say? I thought Penn State was way overrated, but I also didn't think they'd stink up the joint so badly on offense. I kept wanting them to score just one more touchdown, because Iowa's offense wasn't doing anything. When Daryll Clark threw the interception on the first drive of the second half, I told Krys, "They're going to lose." After that, it was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. There just aren't any great teams in the country - the top three, Florida, Texas, and Alabama are close, but they're still beatable. Cal isn't ready for prime time, Miami got their swagger back without learning that those old Hurricane teams had the swagger because they were better than everyone, and LSU barely beat Mississippi State, for crying out loud. At this rate, it will be Cincinnati versus Boise State in the National Championship Game, and I think I might have to root for that, because maybe then the college presidents will get a playoff together, because no one will watch that game (sorry, Woody!, but it's true). Who knows what craziness will ensue this week? Will the Lions lose at Illinois? Will Arizona go to Washington and knock off the Huskies? Will Cal beat USC now that the pressure is off? Will Michigan State get their heads out of their asses and beat Michigan? We'll see!

More body-painted young ladies here. It seems like a really uncomfortable way to show off your bod, but we appreciate the effort!

What have we learned - Week 2

Blech. Stupid Eagles. Stupid broken rib of the quarterback. Blech.

Saints 48, Eagles 22. I'm not as bummed out by this game as you might think, even though the Eagles lost by four touchdowns. They played well for most of the first half and then had a horrible two minutes at the end of the half, giving up an easy touchdown with very little time left after tying the game at 10. They kicked a field goal to end the half, but then, in the first three minutes of the second half, they turned it over twice and gave up two quick touchdowns, and the game was pretty much over. So in about five minutes of game time, they gave up 21 points and scored 3, meaning if you take away those five minutes (I know we can't, but work with me!), they lose only 27-19 (plus, of course, the final touchdown was an interception return very late). With a guy making his first career start. Yes, the defense could have played much better, but if McNabb is playing, I think the Eagles win, because they would have been crisper on offense. That being said, Kolb played pretty well (his first interception was awful, but other than that, he didn't make too many mistakes), and next week they get Kansas City at home, and then the bye, and then Oakland at home (when McNabb should be back), so I'm not too worried about losing to a high-powered offensive team like the Saints. And damn, Drew Brees is good. I mean, I've known that for a few years (I'm not sure how, in the age of the Internet, any team can be a "secret," as the Aikman kept saying, and if N'Awlins is a secret, it's probably because the networks only talk about the Cowboys and their new monstrosity, but that's just my opinion, of course), but watching him work for a full game (or at least most of the game; I kept switching channels to better games) is pretty neat to see. Of course, like all good quarterbacks, it really helps if you have a good offensive line, and Brees does. Oh well.

Falcons 28, Panthers 20. This is one of the games I skipped, mainly because other games were better. So I don't have much to say about it. Matt Ryan is still doing well, I guess. Nice draft pick, Falcons!

Vikings 27, Lions 13. I was so jazzed that the Lions were winning this game, 10-0, and then, a little later, I noticed it was 27-10. Well, that sucks. But look! No shots at R. C. Favre!

Bengals 31, Packers 24. I watched a bit of this game, because it was going back and forth nicely. I was amused to see that Chad Johnson found possibly the only Bengals fans outside of Cincinnati in the front row at Lambeau Field so he could do a Lambeau Leap. What are the odds of Bengals fans being at a game in Cincinnati, much less Green Bay? And the ending was pretty exciting, as Cincy had to see last week's game flashing before their eyes again. The Pack made it to the 10-yard line before time ran out. I'd say it was a good job by Cincinnati's defense, but they should thank the clock!

Texans 34, Titans 31. I watched a lot of this game, because it was really exciting. And there were at least two fights between the teams, which was kind of neat. Houston got a lucky touchdown that should have been overturned (the Saints' first touchdown in the second half should have been overturned, as well - what's up with the replay officials?) and a good call on a punt return that was recovered by Tennessee but wasn't technically a fumble (and Titans' fans, who were booing the call, should realize it was the right call, even if they didn't like it). I doubt if most of the country got to see this game, but it was fun to watch, I tells ya. And Chris Johnson had a good day, didn't he?

Raiders 13, Chiefs 10. I doubt if there was enough money in the world to make me watch this game all the way through. How did Oakland win this game? Is JaMarcus Russell ever going to learn how to play quarterback? Will the Eagles please not look past the Chiefs, even though Philly ought to roll them? I don't have the answers to these questions.

Jets 16, Patriots 9. So now we have to listen to how fucking great the Jets are and how fucking Joe Namath-esque Mark Sanchez is and how fucking "good" it is for the NFL when the Jets are decent (why, exactly?). Now, I'm perfectly happy that they smacked around the Cheaters, but I'm going to get sick real quick of the slobbering of the national media just because the Jets are decent again. I'd be worried if I were the Grand Cheater, because except for a few minutes in the Monday night game, New England has looked really bad, and they'd be 0-2 if not for the gift from the Bills. I don't know if Brady is still scared of taking a hit, but New Jersey blitzed him a lot (something every team should have been doing for the past 6-7 years) and he couldn't handle it. Very interesting. We'll see how they recover from this.

Team That Will Soon, We Hope, Not Be Called What They Have Always Been Called 9, Rams 7. What a joke of a game. I watched a few minutes, and Washington kept going up and down the field but couldn't put the ball in the end zone. St. Louis, meanwhile, stinks on ice. I'm not sure why they ever punt the ball. Why not just go nuts and never punt? It's not like you're going to be any worse!

Cardinals 31, Jaguars 17. Kurt Warner had a good game, didn't he? 15 consecutive completions to start the game, a record-setting completion percentage (24 for 26), and a big win in the Eastern time zone, which flummoxed Arizona last year. It's always interesting to see on what plays games change. Arizona was leading 10-3 when the Jaguars lined up for a field goal. I'm not saying that if Jax makes the figgie, they go on to win, but they're still in the game. Instead, the Cardinals block it, Antrel Rolle recovers the block and takes it 83 yards the other way. Instead of 10-6, it's 17-3, and the rout is on. It's interesting also to see a play like that go the Cardinals' way. It seems like those things happen to good teams, whereas a bad team might block the kick, but it would go out of bounds or something. Is Arizona starting to get "good teams'" breaks? The mind boggles!

Bills 33, Buccaneers 20. I watched some of this game, and saw Terrell Owens drop a perfect bomb from Trent Edwards. After picking on his quarterback and kick returner a bit this week, it was nice to see Owens get a beautiful pass and simply drop it. The Bills ought to be 2-0, and they make the AFC East even more interesting.

49ers 23, Seahawks 10. Frank Gore went a bit nuts in this game, gaining 207 yards on only 16 carries, including two long touchdown runs. I watched some of this game, and was astonished that Seattle wasn't winning - they were moving the ball well and stopping San Francisco fairly easily. But then Hasselbeck got injured, and although Seneca Wallace can play a bit, it seemed the life went right out of the Seahawks. Of course, Gore accounted for 14 points with his two long runs, so it's not like the 49ers blew them out of the water. But they are 2-0, with two divisional wins, in a weak division, so maybe, just maybe, this is the year San Francisco returns to the top of the heap in the NFC West. Maybe. It's a long season.

Da Bears 17, Steelers 14. I actually didn't watch any of this game. I did find it humorous that after last week, everyone was saying the Steelers were going to pound Da Bears. Except for Colin "I Was A Teenaged Blowhard" Cowherd, who thought otherwise. His reasoning was sound: Pittsburgh has no running game, they got lucky against Tennessee, Cutler wouldn't be as lousy as he was against the Packers, and Chicago's defense is still pretty good even without Urlacher, plus they would be playing hard to prove it. So this wasn't too surprising. What happened to Pittsburgh's running game?

Broncos 27, Browns 6. Gadzooks, the Browns are lousy. Nice way for Denver to open the season - versus the Bengals and the Browns. And they still needed a miracle finish for their 2-0 start.

Ravens 31, Chargers 26. Everyone keeps talking about the tackle Ray Lewis made on Darren Sproles that basically won the game for Baltimore, but I haven't seen many people talking about the fact that Philip Rivers destroyed Baltimore's pass defense, and even though it's impressive that the Ravens won that game, shouldn't they be worried if Joe Flacco, of all people, doesn't have a great game? I mean, Lewis's single play was good, but I'd be worried about stopping people if I'm Baltimore's defense. And Norv Turner is a lousy coach. Just ... lousy.

Giants 33, Cowboys 31. Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!! I was rooting for Dallas in this game, actually, so I ought to be disappointed, but can we really be sad when a team rips the heart out of the Cowboys and their fans like that? The orgy of ego that was going on before the game (I didn't watch it, but I saw highlights) and then the awful quarterbacking during the game was just perfect. Jerry Jones cares more about his stadium than his team, and it showed. Tony Romo, as I mentioned last week, had three long throws and little else, and if he didn't get those, he would be ordinary. And he was! Dallas can run the ball a little bit, can't they? Why didn't they do that more?

Colts 27, Dolphins 23. I honestly can't believe Indianapolis won this game. They possessed the ball for less than a quarter!!!! Miami worked their game plan to near-perfection, with one fatal flaw: You must score touchdowns!!!! If they had scored a touchdown instead of a field goal on just one of their scoring drives, they would have won. Instead, they kicked field goals while the Colts, despite the tiny amount of time they had the ball, scored touchdowns, one on a 1-play drive and another on a 4-play drive. That's definitely the way you beat Peyton Manning - keep him off the field - but you have to finish with touchdowns. Still, a good game plan. Maybe other teams will follow it.

Penn State was boring and workmanlike once more, dispatching their third inferior opponent with little fuss. They haven't been tested, but they haven't played anyone either, and I'm a bit worried about Iowa this week, especially as the Hawkeyes beat them last year. But it's in Happy Valley this year, and the Lions should be a bit peeved about last year. USC pulled its typical bad game against an unranked opponent, but it seems like this year, they should be a bit more worried. Cal is quite good and they play the Trojans at home; Oregon also gets to play USC at home, and the Ducks proved they're not as crappy as they looked against Boise State; and Oregon State isn't lousy. Even Arizona State has a fairly good defense, and USC's offense isn't clicking. I really, really hope this is the year USC finally bites it, because I'm sick of Big Eleven teams playing the Rose Bowl in basically the Trojans' back yard. If Cal or Oregon has to travel to the game, maybe it might be fair. Meanwhile, I'm quickly falling in love with Lane Kiffin, the new coach of Tennessee. After Urban Meyer said his team had the flu and that he coached conservatively because Tennessee wasn't "playing to win," Kiffin said, in response to a question about whether he was worried about his players getting the flu, "I don't know. I guess we'll wait, and after we're not excited about a performance, we'll tell you everybody was sick." Kiffin is awesome. The Big East got a big boost from Cincinnati going to Corvallis and beating Oregon State, while the "mid-majors" took a hit when BYU lost to Florida State (boo!) and Oregon beat Utah. It wasn't the greatest week in college football, but there are always exciting games around. And then there was that Notre Dame receiver, Golden Tate, who jumped into the Michigan State band and they simply let him fall to the ground. It was pretty awesome.

Sorry, no cheesecake this week. Maybe next week. Anyway, the biggest thing we've learned this week is that rushing the ball just isn't what it used to be. Miami and Dallas both put up well over 200 yards on the ground, and they both lost. Somewhere Woody Hayes is rolling in his grave.

What have we learned - Week 1

Well, we learned that the Football Gods are fickle and cruel and are punishing the Eagles for signing Michael Vick. "You wanted Vick?" say the Football Gods. "Fine. We'll take away your other, better quarterback. Suck on it, Eagles fans!" Jesus.

Anyway, it's time for the NFL (college football, you may have noticed, started last week), and let's try to figure things out from one whole week of games. Jumping to conclusions is p-h-u-n! (One thing I don't say enough: Last week, while watching Penn State trounce Akron, I turned to my lovely wife and said, "Damn, I just love watching football!" I forget how much I love watching games when it goes away. Krys is certainly not a football widow; I turn games off all the time - next week I'm going to miss watching the Penn State game, for instance - but I really, really love watching football. Unless McNabb is gone for a long time. Watching Kevin Kolb run that offense was pretty painful.)

(And, to warn you, since these posts run pretty long with a lot of text, I've dropped in some random cheesecake pictures. Just a warning!)

Eagles 38, Panthers 10. When Carolina took the ball to begin the game and went 70 yards in 8 minutes to score a touchdown, I thought everyone's favorite team was in trouble. Luckily, the defense and special teams took some heat off the offense - in one 5-minute span in the second quarter, the Eagles scored 21 points and ran one (1) offensive play - and all went well ... until McNabb decided to score a touchdown in the third quarter and, while lying in the end zone, was hit by a late-entering defensive player and fractured a rib. The defender wasn't penalized, and I'm not sure he should have been, but he was late, and if McNabb misses significant time, I'll be really upset because it wasn't in the middle of a play. I certainly don't want players to pull up when they have a big lead, but it was 31-10 late in the third quarter, so couldn't McNabb have thrown it away and lived to play another day? Sheesh. (It was third down, so I get why he didn't, but a field goal works there, you know!) I wouldn't mind if they were playing a bad offensive team next week and could maybe survive with Kevin Kolb at QB, but they're playing the Saints, who just hung 45 points on Detroit (yes, it's Detroit, I know, but they're still good) and are firing on all cylinders. I hope the home crowd will inspire the defense and that Michael Vick can play in Week 3 and then the bye gives McNabb a chance to recover. As for Jake Delhomme - I've been saying for a few years that he's overrated, and boy howdy, is he proving me right. In his last game (the playoff loss to Arizona), he threw 5 interceptions and fumbled once. Today: 4 interceptions and 1 fumble. He's kind of like Brett Favre (God, I have to write about him for another freakin' year?) but less talented, and that gets him in deep trouble. Last year, it seemed Carolina didn't rely on him as much, and they were successful. Today, once the Eagles decided to play some run defense, they forced Delhomme to throw a lot, and we saw what happened. Seven turnovers (not all on Jake, of course, as he was benched) will cause you many, many problems.



Steelers 13, Titans 10. I know I should have watched this, because it featured "real-man" football, but I just couldn't be bothered. I will say that I don't understand the love for Ben Roethlisberger. Sure, he makes some plays, but usually there's a reason his team needs him to make a fourth-quarter comeback - because he's played lousy for three quarters and the team is either losing of playing down to the level of their competition. The defense saves that team way too much. Yes, I'm jealous that Big Ben has two Super Bowl rings. That doesn't change the fact that he's not that excellent. He's a top ten quarterback in the league, sure, but he's not top five.

Falcons 19, Dolphins 7. I watched exactly none of this game. Hey, Atlanta won! Good for them! The Dolphins will find out that last year's playoff run is a mirage, I think.



Broncos 12, Bengals 7. Woody! has to be dying inside after the events of this game. I turned it on at the perfect time - the last 30 seconds. Prior to that, it seemed like a snorefest, but a snorefest that it appeared Cincinnati had won when they scored a touchdown with 38 seconds left. Denver was backed up at its 13 and all hope seemed lost. Then Kyle Orton threw a pass to Brandon Marshall, who was covered by three defenders. If he catches it, he probably gets tackled in bounds and I don't think the Broncos could have gotten a few more plays off to get into field goal range. It's no guarantee that he would catch it, either. But one of the defenders in front of him leaps in the air and tips the ball. Unfortunately, he tips it straight up and in front of him a few feet, right into the arms of ... Brandon Stokely, receiver for the Broncos. As everyone appeared to be covering Marshall, there was no one between Stokely and the end zone, and he scored the winning touchdown with 11 seconds left. Man, what a way to lose. I don't think either of these teams has reason to be optimistic.



Vikings 34, Browns 20. Dear sweet Jebus, it's yet another year with Brett "Risen Christ" Favre on an NFL roster. I like how he said that his daughters told him that he should come back to get another Super Bowl ring. Yeah, right. His daughters are probably saying to him, "Hey, are you really my daddy? Because when you're gone for six months out of the year, Mommy hangs out with the landscaper a lot." The nice thing is that there seems to be a bit of backlash against R. C., mainly because of that crackback block he laid on that dude in the preseason game. I'm sure the media will quickly revert to worshipful form, but it was nice them get their heads out of their asses for a bit. Anyway, R. C. is supposed to lead this immensely talented Minnesota team to the Promised Land (that would be just like the Risen Christ, wouldn't it?), but the Vikings are classic underachievers (people claim the Eagles are underachievers, but at least they get to NFC Championship Games and the occasional Super Bowl) and there's no reason to think this year will be any different, especially once R. C. starts seething with jealousy over the attention paid to Adrian Peterson and begins to hurl the ball around like it was 1996. And he will. Peterson, meanwhile, put up typically monster numbers against a completely overmatched Cleveland team. Good job, Adrian - let's see you do that in the playoffs. Speaking of the Browns ... well, maybe we shouldn't. Thanks for playing, Cleveland - better luck next year!



Colts 14, Jaguars 12. I watched one play in this game. Nothing to say, really. It was closer than I would have expected, because I don't think Jacksonville is very good, but maybe the Colts aren't as good we think either. Who knows.

Saints 45, Lions 27. Man, whenever I looked up, Drew Brees had thrown another touchdown pass. Sure, it was against Detroit (I think they're at 18 losses in a row now), but that's still impressive. Next week they invade Philadelphia, and I fear for that game now that McNabb is (probably) out. Of course, any hope New Orleans has a postseason glory rested in their defense, and allowing Detroit 27 points (granted, one touchdown was a fumble recovery) isn't that great. Matthew Stafford got picked three times, but turnovers are largely luck, so I wouldn't hang my hat on that. Detroit was anemic offensively, but they did manage to move it a little bit (thanks to three Saints turnovers), so if the Saints play a team that can play a little defense (like the Eagles), they might be trouble. Still, New Orleans is fun to watch. And they'll probably be right there with Atlanta at the end of the year for the division, because Carolina and Tampa won't be.



Cowboys 34, Buccaneers 21. Right before Tony Romo unloaded an 80-yard touchdown pass that iced the game, the announcers said something to the effect that if you didn't look at the score, you'd think Tampa was winning the game, because they were outplaying the 'Boys. Not 30 seconds later, Romo chucked his backbreaker. I don't think Dallas is going to be very good this year, but they do have big-play capability, which can cover up a lot of flaws. They got three touchdown passes of 42, 66, and 80 yards, which accounted for 188 of Romo's 353 yards - or 53% of his total, in 3 completions. Tampa gained almost as much as Dallas, but couldn't get a play or two that gained big yards, so they couldn't keep up with the scoring. Of course, a team that doesn't give up big plays will pummel Dallas. I'm not a huge fan of Carnell Williams, but it was pretty cool to see him run well for Tampa after two years of recovering from injuries. Gruden ran him waaaaay too much in his rookie year - fans are probably hoping the new coach doesn't make the same mistake.



Ravens 38, Chiefs 24. I guess I should have watched some of this game, because it seems it was pretty entertaining. But I didn't. How impressive is Joe Flacco? Man, if Baltimore's offense plays like that all the time, they could be scary good.

Jets 24, Texans 7. Hey, remember the good old days of, say, Saturday, when all the "experts" had Houston as a sexy playoff pick? And how they were starting the season at home against a rookie quarterback, so it would be easy for them to go 1-0? Yeah, well, Mark Sanchez showed the experts, didn't he? He looked fairly impressive, I'd say. I'm not sure why a lot of people like the Texans. I've never been impressed with them, even when they win. Maybe they'll win someday, but not this year. And Sanchez will come back to earth, I think. Or maybe he's just that good.

Giants 23, Washington 17. New York is good. Washington is not. 'Nuff said.



49ers 20, Cardinals 16. Talk radio folk here in the Basin are living in a dream world, where Arizona didn't barely make the playoffs and just happened to get hot at the right time and instead went 14-2 for the fifth straight year and are shoe-ins to win the NFC West again. Last year they barely escaped one game against San Francisco, and this year they couldn't escape. They were the same old Cardinals - committing 12 (!) penalties and turning the ball over twice. Their defense played fairly well until it really mattered, and then San Francisco, with no help from Frank Gore, drove 80 yards in something like 7 minutes to score the game-winning touchdown. Good job, Cardinals! San Francisco isn't any good, either, but at least they're hungry. Arizona has acted all off-season like a 9-7 record gives them the division this year by default. Um, not quite. I will say that Adrian Wilson was penalized for hitting Vernon Davis under the new rules about not hitting "defenseless receivers." I didn't see the hit, but if the NFL continues "protecting" all the offensive players, why not just make it flag football? Apparently Wilson's hit was perfectly legal under the old rules, and he didn't lead with his helmet and he didn't hit Davis in the head. He hit him in the chest with his shoulder, but because Davis wasn't looking, he was "defenseless." Maybe if I see the hit I'll feel differently, but this is a bit ridiculous. Come on, NFL! Let them play!



Seahawks 28, Rams 0. Man, St. Louis is lousy. Really lousy. When your best offensive weapon is your punter, that ain't good. Seattle looks like they're back, as long as Hasselbeck doesn't get hurt. Of course, it's fairly easy to look good against the Rams.

Packers 21, Da Bears 15. Man, it sucks to be Brian Urlacher today - gone for the season. It seems like, from what I saw of the game, Da Bears played a lot better than the Pack, but of course, it comes down to turnovers, and Jay Cutler kept throwing interceptions. Cutler is just not a great quarterback - he's fool's gold, I tells ya! Chicago will probably still be pretty good, but they're not going far in the playoffs if they even make it. And it looks like it's Green Bay's division to lose. Now that R. C. Favre is gone, I no longer hate the Pack, so that's cool with me.



Over in college football, Penn State was on cruise control for the second straight week in dominating Syracuse. I'm not convinced they're the fifth-best team in the country, but they haven't played very well at all and they've still cruised. And they won't be tested next week against Temple, for crying out loud. The other "good" team in the Big Eleven, Ohio State, played amazingly conservatively at home against USC, which is never a good idea, and they lost late. Fortune favors the bold, Jim Tressel! Ohio State played better than the Trojans for 50 minutes, but couldn't put them away. I was rooting for Michigan against Notre Dame, because I don't hate Michigan as much as Notre Dame, and I always want the Big Eleven to win those high-profile games. I still don't think the Wolverines are all that great, but I think this game may have killed Charlie Weis. Houston beat Oklahoma State in Stillwater, but do we hear how lousy the Big XII is? UCLA beat Tennessee in Knoxville, but do we hear how lousy the SEC is? I just get tired of the Big Eleven bashing. Yes, Michigan State should have beat Central Michigan, but CMU is a pretty good team. It's just annoying that everyone bashes the Big Eleven, even if the conference often deserves it. The way parity has come into college football, there are very teams that are completely easy wins. And Florida schedules all of them!

So that's the week. Not a bad one in football world, in terms of entertainment. Your opinion may vary based on how your team did, but the games in which I had no stake were pretty entertaining. We'll just see if Kevin Kolb can actually play next week! Yay!

(I got the image from here, where they have 101 attractive and probably faux redheads. Just in case you were wondering.)

What have we learned - Championship Game Weekend

I didn't watch a lot of football this weekend. The first half of the Eagles game disgusted me, so I really didn't feel like watching the second half. At halftime Krys needed to take Mia to the emergency room (thankfully, there was nothing seriously wrong with her, but with her, we need to be cautious), so I wasn't really in the mood to watch even if the Eagles had been winning. I still wasn't in the mood to watch the AFC game, and she wasn't back from the hospital yet and I was hanging out with Norah, so that was that. But we can still glean some nuggets of information from yesterday's games!

Arizona 32, Philadelphia 25. Before I rant about how crappy the Eagles were, let's consider why the NFL needs full-time referees. In the first half, with the score 14-3, the Eagles had 3rd-and-6 at the Arizona 15 or so. McNabb throws a pass to a wide receiver (Baskett, I think, but I'm not sure) who is clearly being held by the defender. No call, no first down, and the Eagles have to kick a field goal. With 2 minutes left, the Eagles have one last chance to win on 4th down, and a pass to Kevin Curtis is incomplete. Rod Hood not only knocked Curtis down, but as he was falling, grabbed Curtis' leg. No call, no first down, Arizona basically runs out the clock. Just before the Cardinals' third touchdown, Asante Samuel was called for pass interference on the goal line to give Arizona a first down. That was definitely pass interference, so I'm just wondering why neither of the other two penalties were called. If the Eagles score a touchdown after the first penalty, it's 29-24 late in the game instead of 25-24. Then, if Arizona scores, the Eagles need only a field goal to tie. With a first down late in the game, they probably score. Troy Aikman, imbecile that he is, said that neither play should have been called, even though they were both close. That's bullshit. Both were clear penalties. I don't have a problem with refs missing tough calls, but both of the plays were in space with no one but the two principals involved, and both were E-A-S-Y to make. Our hometown newspaper, even as it was glossing over the play (it wouldn't do to imply that the Cards didn't win completely fairly), wrote "Rod Hood was all over Kevin Curtis," which, 30 years ago, would have been fine. In today's NFL, like it or not, it's a penalty.

Of course, the Eagles shot themselves in the foot enough times as well that they can't blame the refs. For some reason, they decided to skip the game film of the Arizona-Carolina game and therefore missed the fact that you might want to cover Larry Fitzgerald! Seriously, Philly, what the hell? On the long touchdown pass that made it 14-3, there was no way J. J. Arrington was running with the ball. The instant he took the pitch, he ran backward away from the line of scrimmage, and not very fast. Either he's throwing the ball himself or he's going to chuck it back to Warner. Yet the Eagles bit, leaving Fitzgerald one-on-one with a guy who's not even their best cover guy. If Asante Samuel or Sheldon Brown or even Lito Sheppard had been covering Fitzgerald on the play, maybe I could have forgiven it. But they weren't, and that stupidity killed the Eagles. On the third touchdown, the guy covering Fitzgerald let him get a free release off the line of scrimmage. The ball is at the 1-yard line, and Fitzgerald is either going to run a slant or a fade. Either route depends a lot on timing, but the cover guy (Brown, I think), doesn't jam him. If Fitzgerald can't get off the line right away, the ball is overthrown. Lots of teams don't jam receivers enough, especially when they're playing a team that relies on timing routes, like the Cardinals do. What the hell?

And then there's Jim Johnson's defensive strategy. I love Jim Johnson, don't get me wrong. But sometimes he does inexplicable things. On Thanksgiving, the Eagles didn't blitz a lot. They made Warner hold onto the ball and look around, and Warner tends to get happy feet if he has to hold onto the ball a long time, and that leads to sacks and fumbles. So why change? The Eagles blitzed too much, and Warner loves that, because he's best when he takes short drops and zips the ball out of there. He's difficult to blitz because of that. I was surprised the Eagles didn't just play tight coverage and let their front four get pressure, because that's what worked the first time. Why didn't they? Beats me.

McNabb didn't have a great game, but he's not the reason they lost. Early on he threw some bad passes, but neither of his two turnovers led to scores and he (apparently) made some wonderful throws in the second half. I put this almost all on the defense - you can't let the best player beat you, and they simply didn't cover Fitzgerald well enough (granted, it's hard to cover him, but it didn't appear like they tried anything new after seeing him destroy the Panthers, which is just stupid). When the Eagles finally took a lead, Arizona went right down the field for the winning points. So although I'm sure lots of Philadelphia fans are baying for McNabb's blood right now, they should be wondering why the defense couldn't keep it together in the biggest game of the season. I've said this before and I'll say it again - McNabb should be the quarterback of the Eagles as long as he wants to be. If anyone has to go of the Reid-McNabb alliance, it should be the coach. His refusal to commit to the run game always bites the Eagles in the ass. I don't think he should go, either, but if one of them has to, it should be Andy.

Eagles fans who are bitching about the QB or coach should remember the Ray Rhodes Era. Or the Richie Kotite Era. Or the Marion Campbell Era. Or even the Buddy Ryan Era (good teams, never won a playoff game). Yes, the Eagles still don't have a Super Bowl win. But back in those days, you could stop paying attention to football in early November, if not sooner. It's January, and we're still watching the Eagles play football. So that's pretty nice, even if it doesn't lead to the promised land.

Oh, as for the Cardinals? The Steelers better figure out how to cover Larry Fitzgerald, or they just might become the "worst" team (by record) to win a Super Bowl.

DeSean Jackson update! 6 catches for 92 yards and 1 touchdown; 1 punt return for 13 yards.
Turnovers: Eagles 3, Cardinals 1. Turnovers = loss? Actually, no, but I'll go by the stats. One Philly turnover led to the Arizona one ... on the same play (interception by Arizona, fumble back to Philly); a fumble led to no points; the third turnover was on the last play of the game. So I'll give Arizona the "win," but it's odd that four turnovers were so inconsequential in a game of this magnitude. 1-0.

Pittsburgh 23, Baltimore 14. Apparently there was a game last night. I turned it on in time to see the Ravens score to make it 16-14, and then I happened to see Troy Polamalu return his interception for a touchdown. He's good.
Turnovers: Ravens 4, Steelers 1. Turnovers = loss? Probably. 2-0.

And so order is restored in the NFL, as the home teams both win the Championship Games. On the one hand, I'd like to see the Cardinals win the Super Bowl, and they have a slim chance. Pittsburgh also likes to blitz, and if they try it like the Eagles did, Fitzgerald or Boldin (let's not forget him, as he'll probably be completely healthy by them) will be able to get open for big plays. The Steelers don't have a great offense, so a few big plays might do them in - as long as Arizona doesn't turn the ball over. On the other hand, the Bidwills, who own the Cardinals, are scum of the earth, especially the old man, William. Bidwill is the guy who refuses to share the 1925 title with the Pottsville Maroons, even though his family retroactively claimed the crown when they had no right to. This is a guy who is quoted in today's newspaper whining about the Eagles' defeat of the Cardinals in the 1948 NFL Championship Game. He says, "We had beaten the five times in a row. Then the blizzard game came. It should have been move to Monday night, but the commissioner wouldn't change it." First, Bidwill, it was 60 years ago. Let it go! Second, the commissioner at the time asked both teams (which includes the Cardinals) whether they wanted to play or postpone it. Both teams wanted to play. It's a little late to be bitching about it when you had your chance back then, isn't it? (Bidwill didn't own the team back then, but he was involved with running it.) So I just want Bidwill to be thwarted once again in his quest, because if history is any indication, he's so cheap he won't play Kurt Warner (a free agent) to come back and he won't re-negotiate Anquan Boldin's contract, and next year the team will suck again.

It doesn't really matter, because I'm not going to watch the Super Bowl. Once the Eagles leave the scene, football has no interest for me. I'm not that grumpy, because after the Eagles lost to Baltimore and fell to 5-5-1, I didn't expect them to make the playoffs, so anything they did in the postseason was gravy. I hope they are a better team next year, and I hope Andy Reid gets a big back to pound the middle so he doesn't get his quarterback and his other running back killed. And would it kill them to throw more screen passes? Sheesh.

What have we learned - Wild Card Weekend

Yes, it's my third football post in a row! Fret not, though. My family is gone, and once again I have nothing to do but write on the Internet. But first, let's check out the weekend in games of the oblate spheroid!

Philadelphia 26, Minnesota 14. Despite the fact that this game was 16-14 into the fourth quarter, I never really felt that the Minnesota offense was going to put something together. That's how good the Eagles' defense was. Philadelphia's offense might have gacked something up and given the Vikings a cheap win, but there was no way that the Vikings were going to drive the length of the field. They gave up one big play on Adrian Peterson's touchdown run, but otherwise, they didn't do anything. Of course, at halftime, the Eagles offense had gone one full game (the second half of the Dallas game and the first half of this one) without scoring a touchdown, during which time the defense had scored three, and that upset me a bit, but at least they were moving the ball, and they managed to score at the end. The way the defense is playing, however, I have some confidence that they can beat the Giants this weekend. The offense has to play better, though. Go Eagles!
DeSean Jackson update! 1 rush for 2 yards; 1 catch for 34 yards; 5 punt returns for 109 yards, including one huge 62-yarder.
Turnovers: Eagles 2, Vikings 2. Turnovers = loss? It's a wash.

Arizona 30, Atlanta 24. Peter King at Sports Illustrated wrote that this game was the only "snoozer" of the weekend, which puzzled me. There was a 27-9 beatdown by the Ravens, and this one wasn't decided until two minutes left. What the hell, King? Anyway, no one was giving the Cardinals much of a chance, but they were playing at home and the Falcons had a rookie quarterback - not a good mix. Sure, the Cardinals weren't playing well, but their run defense wasn't as bad as everyone thought, and Kurt Warner knows how to dissect a defense. Arizona also decided to run the ball, which is always nice. And they kept trying to anticipate the snap count and get onto Matt Ryan, which led to a few offsides penalties but also led to the game-winning touchdown on a fumble recovery. I bet the Cardinals will take that! I doubt if the Cardinals are going to win at Carolina next week, but it would be nice.
Turnovers: Falcons 3, Cardinals 1. Turnovers = loss? You bet. 1-0.

San Diego 23, Indianapolis 17. I went out on Saturday night so I didn't see the game, but apparently the Chargers' punter was the most valuable player. That's always nice to see. Three of the last four years, the Colts have been one-and-done in the playoffs. Of course, the other year they won the Super Bowl, but that's kind of interesting. People have been whining about the overtime rules and how the Colts didn't get the ball, but they were 12-4 playing an 8-8 team (even if it was in San Diego). They shouldn't even have been in OT, for crying out loud! I'm perversely glad that the Colts lost, because I always think they're overrated. Yes, I suck. Peyton Manning makes funny commercials, though.
Turnovers: Chargers 2, Colts 0. Turnovers = loss? I guess not. 1-1.

Baltimore 27, Miami 9. Man, this was a boring game. Miami turned the ball over a lot, which was out of character but not surprising when Baltimore is playing defense. The Ravens' offense did very little but didn't have to, and it got ugly relatively early. The Dolphins got a bad matchup in this game, because the Ravens are a disciplined defense that don't fall for Miami's fancy formations. Nice season by the Dolphins, but they were outmatched. Unfortunately, because I don't like the Ravens either. Oh well.
Turnovers: Dolphins 5, Ravens 1. Turnovers = loss? Most definitely. 2-1.

As for college football ... the less said, the better. Penn State had to play a perfect game to beat a good team on what might as well be their home field (what a joke that is), and they didn't. Oh well. Meanwhile, Utah is the only unbeaten team in Division 1-A, and yet pundits are ranting that they don't deserve a piece of the national championship. Yeah, that's bullshit. Someone today said that Oklahoma was beating good teams by 30 and 40 points. Well, in many games, the Sooners were throwing the ball desperately with their starting QB, Sam Bradford, still in the game, in order to run up the score. Screw you, Sooners! God, we need a playoff. Stupid Nittany Lions.

Next week: Divisional Playoffs! Go, Eagles!

What have we learned - Week 17

I thought this might be the last football post of the season, but a Festivus miracle occurred, and somehow the Eagles made the playoffs. Let's celebrate!

Philadelphia 44, Dallas 6. I was worried about this game, because of how the Eagles played last week, but once they scored a touchdown to go up 10-3, I began to feel a little better, because they weren't making mistakes and Dallas, frankly, looked like they wanted to go home. How can you play so poorly with your season on the line? My God. I would say Jerry Jones needs to fire Wade Phillips, but he obviously doesn't want a strong head coach who could whip his players into shape. It's ridiculous how early they quit in this game. It was 17-3 when Tony Romo threw the interception late in the half. At that moment, it looked like the defense gave up. Then, in the second half, the offense managed to put a decent drive together, and then Romo fumbled it and it was returned for a touchdown. Another fumble, another touchdown. I get that it's 41-3 at this point, but the offense and coaching staff just gave up. How do you explain kicking a field goal in the fourth quarter? I hate Dallas, so I don't care, but what a waste of talent. Good riddance, Cowboys. And thanks to Roger for cheering for the Eagles!
DeSean Jackson update! 2 catches for 46 yards; 2 punt returns for 24 yards. Season totals: 0-1 passing, 1 interception; 64 catches for 912 yards and 2 touchdowns; 17 rushes for 95 yards; 50 punt returns for 440 yards. Not a bad year, rook!
Turnovers: Cowboys 5, Eagles 1. Turnovers = loss? When the Cowboys started turning the ball over, the score was 17-3. When they stopped, the score was 44-3. So yeah, the turnovers helped. 1-0.

Atlanta 31, St. Louis 27. I'm not entirely sure how St. Louis stayed in this game for so long. Atlanta turnovers, most likely. Now the Falcons get to travel to the desert to play the Cardinals. I'm not saying the home team will win, but I think they have a better chance than a lot of people are giving them. Yes, the Falcons have Michael Turner. They also have a rookie quarterback. We'll see if Ryan can overcome that.
Turnovers: Falcons 3, Rams 0. Turnovers = loss? No, because they're the Rams. 1-1.

New England 13, Buffalo 0. If you've seen video of this game, you know that the wind turned it into a farce. But the one thing I like about Belichick is that he prepares for things. The Cheaters ran the ball 45 times and threw it 8 times (Andy Reid would have defied the wind and thrown it 50 times), went for it a few times in field goal range because the wind was so wacky, and had Matt Cassell quick-punt on third down once, which put the ball at the Buffalo 1-yard line. Belichick knows what he's doing, even if he is a scumbag! Of course, it all worked out in the end, because New England went 11-5 and missed the playoffs. The Bills finished 7-9. I should point out that once they were 5-1.
Turnovers: Bills 1, Cheaters 0. Turnovers = loss? It looks that way. 2-1.

Cincinnati 16, Kansas City 6. Hey! The Bengals won a game! Yay!
Turnovers: Chiefs 1, Bengals 0. Turnovers = loss? So it seems. 3-1.

Green Bay 31, Detroit 21. Everyone is talking about how sad it is that the Lions lost every game. I don't know why. They still get paid, and once you've established that you're pathetic, you might as well be historically pathetic. They're probably a bit peeved that they didn't get to play the Browns down the stretch, because Detroit probably would have won that game. I can't believe that at the halfway point of last season, Detroit was 6-2. Since then, they're 1-23.
Turnovers: Lions 2, Packers 1. Turnovers = loss? Of course - it's the Lions! 4-1.

Indianapolis 23, Tennessee 0. Hey! The Titans didn't play any starters! Yay!
Turnovers: Titans 0, Colts 0. Turnovers = loss? It's a wash.

Minnesota 20, New York Giants 19. I thought that the Giants had to win in order for the Eagles to make the playoffs, so I was agonizing over this when Ryan Longwell kicked the field goal to win it. Then I realizes they needed the Vikings OR Da Bears to lose, and all was right in the world. I like how on Adrian Peterson's touchdown run, the announcers were praising him but ignoring the offensive line, who cleared the way. Peterson was not touched as he went through the line. That must be nice.
Turnovers: Vikings 1, Giants 0. Turnovers = loss? It doesn't seem likely. 4-2.

Carolina 33, New Orleans 31. Somehow Carolina blew a 30-10 lead in this game, yet managed to kick a last-second field goal to win the division. Drew Brees fell 16 yards short of passing Dan Marino's single-season passing-yardage record, and on the final play, his receiver made no effort to get a pass that would have broken it. Nice move, receiver! Meanwhile, an announcer pointed out that John Fox should have waited until there were 5 seconds left to call time-out before the game-winning field goal (there were 6 seconds left) because five seconds is how long it takes for a field goal to go through. If he had called it one second later, New Orleans wouldn't have had time for one last play. Weird that Fox didn't know that.
Turnovers: Saints 2, Panthers 0. Turnovers = loss? I guess. 5-2.

Pittsburgh 31, Cleveland 0. The Cleveland Browns have not scored an offensive touchdown since 17 November. In that time they've scored one touchdown, on an interception against the Eagles with the score 30-3. Shockingly enough, Romeo Crennel got fired. But maybe Ben Roethlisberger, who was knocked out of the game with a concussion, won't play that well in two weeks. If so, a meaningless game against a worthless opponent could determine the course of the AFC playoffs.
Turnovers: Browns 2, Steelers 1. Turnovers = loss? Probably not, but the numbers don't lie! 6-2.

Oakland 31, Tampa 24. Well, I hate rooting for the Raiders, but I was forced to on Sunday. With the score 24-14, things looked bleak, but amazingly enough, the Buccaneers decided they couldn't tackle and Oakland came roaring back. Nice to see Tampa go in the tank yet again. If you watched this game, it was another example of a team just giving up. What's up with that?
Turnovers: Raiders 1, Buccaneers 1. Turnovers = loss? Another wash.

Houston 31, Chicago 24. If I had known that Da Bears OR Vikings had to lose, I would have been less anxious, because Houston controlled this game pretty well throughout. Da Bears have issues on offense, but whenever I turned it on, Houston was going up and down the field on their supposedly stout defense. Another team trying to make playoffs lying down. Sheesh. Aren't these guys professionals?
Turnovers: Bears 1, Texans 1. Turnovers = loss? Yet another wash.

San Francisco 27, Washington 24. If you watched this game and are not a fan of either team, you need to have your head examined. Seriously. Seek help.
Turnovers: Washington 1, 49ers 1. Turnovers = loss? And yet another wash!

Baltimore 27, Jacksonville 7. I didn't watch this game, but I was happy to see the Ravens knock New England out of the playoffs, even though I don't really like the Ravens. Wasn't Jacksonville supposed to be a playoff team this year? Sheesh.
Turnovers: Jaguars 4, Ravens 0. Turnovers = loss? That's what it looks like. 7-2.

Miami 24, New York Jets 17. Another game I enjoyed, if only because R. C. Favre threw three horrible interceptions and may finally quit. Well, also because I think the Dolphins are fun to watch, and if they don't have as much talent as other teams, they play the game correctly; i.e., they don't turn the ball over!!!!! Good riddance, R. C. Favre.
Turnovers: Jets 4, Dolphins 1. Turnovers = loss? Indubitably. 8-2.

Arizona 34, Seattle 21. Usually I try to check in on the Cardinals, but I was too busy watching the Eagles (and Dolphins), so I missed most of this. Edgerrin James came back from the dead to rush for 100 yards, and Steve Breaston gave Arizona three 1000-yard receivers. On the downside, Matt Leinart looked lousy in limited duty. Poor Leinart. I think the Cardinals will win this weekend, but then they have to go on the road to Carolina or New York, and I think their season will come to an end. Meanwhile, Mike Holmgren couldn't have anticipated that his final season would have turned out that way. I wonder if he'll be back in 2010.
Turnovers: Seahawks 3, Cardinals 2. Turnovers = loss? Why not? 9-2.

San Diego 52, Denver 21. The Broncos cost Mike Shanahan his job today, but they had a ton of injuries this season, and they just weren't all that good. I don't care if Denver fires Shanahan, but they did overachieve for most of the season. The Chargers, meanwhile, got hot at the perfect time, and I really hope they knock off the Colts this weekend. Stranger things have happened!
Turnovers: Broncos 2, Chargers 0. Turnovers = loss? Among other things. 10-2.

So that's the season. Teams that turn the ball over less than their opponents finished 146-44-1. Don't turn the ball over!!!!!

Let's look at the final records based on turnover margin (the asterisk denotes teams that made the playoffs):

*Miami: 13 turnovers, +17 margin, 11-5 record.
*Tennessee: 17 turnovers, +14 margin, 13-3 record.
*Baltimore: 21 turnovers, +13 margin, 11-5 record.
*New York Giants: 13 turnovers, +9 margin, 12-4 record.
*Indianapolis: 17 turnovers, +9 margin, 12-4 record.
Green Bay: 21 turnovers, +7 margin, 6-10 record.
*Carolina: 19 turnovers, +6 margin, 12-4 record.
Chicago: 27 turnovers, +5 margin, 9-7 record.
*San Diego: 20 turnovers, +5 margin, 8-8 record.
Cleveland: 26 turnovers, +5 margin, 4-12 record.
*Pittsburgh: 24 turnovers, +4 margin, 12-4 record.
Tampa: 26 turnovers, +4 margin, 9-7 record.
Kansas City: 25 turnovers, +4 margin, 2-14 record.
*Philadelphia: 26 turnovers, +3 margin, 9-6-1 record.
*Arizona: 30 turnovers, +2 margin, 9-7 record.
New England: 21 turnovers, +1 margin, 11-5 record.
Oakland: 23 turnovers, +1 margin, 5-11 record.
Washington: 18 turnovers, +0 margin, 8-8 record.
New Orleans: 26 turnovers, +0 margin, 8-8 record.
Cincinnati: 26 turnovers, +0 margin, 4-11-1 record.
New York Jets: 31 turnovers, -1 margin, 9-7 record.
*Atlanta: 21 turnovers, -3 margin, 11-5 record.
St. Louis: 31 turnovers, -6 margin, 2-14 record.
*Minnesota: 31 turnovers, -7 margin, 10-6 record.
Buffalo: 30 turnovers, -7 margin, 7-9 record.
Seattle: 27 turnovers, -7 margin, 4-12 record.
Jacksonville: 25 turnovers, -8 margin, 5-11 record.
Detroit: 29 turnovers, -9 margin, 0-16 record.
Dallas: 33 turnovers, -11 margin, 9-7 record.
Houston: 31 turnovers, -12 margin, 8-8 record.
Denver: 30 turnovers, -17 margin, 8-8 record.
San Francisco: 35 turnovers, -17 margin, 7-9 record.

Thanks for hanging in there with me, everyone. My family has been in town, so I've found posting to be difficult. I should be back on track soon! Have a grand New Year's Eve!

What have we learned - Week 16

Crappity crappity crap. Stupid Eagles. Stupid stupid Eagles. STUPID STUPID EAGLES!!!!!!!

Washington 10, Philadelphia 3. Just when you think Andy Reid has gotten his head out of his ass, the Eagles run the ball 16 times in a game in freezing weather where they weren't blown out. I didn't watch the entire game because it was so frustrating, but I couldn't believe why, after three weeks of great balance in the running and passing game, Reid seemed to give up on it early in this game. It wasn't as if Washington was blowing them away, and it wasn't even that they were running it poorly. They weren't running great, but it still wasn't awful. Why, Andy Reid, why????? Jesus. Now they need a lot of help to make the playoffs, from the Raiders, of all teams. Crap.
DeSean Jackson update! 1 rush for 7 yards; 2 catches for 14 yards; 1 punt return for 7 yards. Season totals: 0-1 passing, 1 interception; 62 catches for 866 yards and 2 touchdowns; 17 rushes for 95 yards; 48 punt returns for 416 yards.
Turnovers: Eagles 1, Washington 0. Turnovers = loss? The only turnover led to the only touchdown, so yes. 1-0.

Indianapolis 31, Jacksonville 24. Stupid Jacksonville. Hey, maybe you could try to force Manning to throw an interception! You think?
Turnovers: Jaguars 1, Colts 0. Turnovers = loss? I suppose. 2-0.

Baltimore 33, Dallas 24. Good to see the Cowboys go down, because it helped the Eagles, but more because I hate Dallas. It's also fun to see them get pounded. And Terrell Owens was a bit grumpy during and after the game, so that was cool. I didn't watch the game, but the late touchdown runs by the Ravens were pretty neat - two straight plays of 75+-yard runs, for the first time in NFL history.
Turnovers: Cowboys 2, Ravens 1. Turnovers = loss? So it seems, so it seems. 3-0.

Cincinnati 14, Cleveland 0. The Browns might actually be worse than the Lions, if that's possible. I mean, the Lions got smacked this past weekend, but they've been playing pretty hard. The Browns have just been lying down on the job for a long time. I mean, I can deal with losing to the Bengals, but to get shut out at home? Really? Man, just put Joshua Cribbs at quarterback and let him have some fun.
Turnovers: Browns 4, Bengals 1. Turnovers = loss? It certainly looks that way. 4-0.

New Orleans 42, Detroit 7. A lot of ESPNers were picking the Lions to win this game. I know picking games is essentially a coin flip, but here's a tip for you pundits: Detroit sucks. A LOT. Sure, they were within 14-7 at one point, but if everything doesn't go perfectly their way, they're not going to win. And then the Detroit columnist asked the coach if he wishes his daughter had married a better defensive coordinator (she married the one who works for the Lions). Everyone is dogpiling on Rob Parker, the columnist, which distracts from the fact that Rod Marinelli, should have fired his son-in-law a while ago. Of course, Marinelli shouldn't survive after next week, but who the hell knows what's going on with Detroit. Oh, and Drew Brees stayed in the game long after it was decided trying to rack up passing yards. He's 402 yards short of breaking Dan Marino's single-season passing total. Nice way to get it, Drew - chucking the ball all over the field against an 0-14 (soon to be 0-15) team.
Turnovers: Lions 2, Saints 1. Turnovers = loss? Jawohl! 5-0.

Tennessee 31, Pittsburgh 14. A bunch of pundits were saying that the Steelers would use the Titans' stomping on a "terrible towel" as motivation if and when the two teams play again in the playoffs. That always bothers me. Why would the Steelers need artificial motivation like that? Shouldn't the idea of winning a championship be motivation enough? If I'm a Titan and the only motivation the Steelers have is that a few players stomped on a piece of cloth, I'm thinking my team has already won the game. Sheesh. It was childish on the part of the two Titans, but if Pittsburgh needs that as motivation, they're in trouble.
Turnovers: Steelers 4, Titans 0. Turnovers = loss? Most definitely. 6-0.

Miami 38, Kansas City 31. This was probably the most entertaining game of the day, as the two teams went up and down the field but also made some crucial stops when it counted. Miami is actually fun to watch, because Tony Sparano doesn't care about being ridiculed for running ridiculous formations, he just cares about the results, and more often than not, his plays work. Meanwhile, Tyler Thigpen looked like a freakin' Pro Bowler. He was chucking the ball all over the place and even running like a young Donovan McNabb. He's a big dude, too, so it's impressive to see him rambling down the field. I don't know if this will last, but he looks like the real deal. So of course he went to Coastal Carolina - the cradle of quarterbacks!
Turnovers: Chiefs 4, Dolphins 2. Turnovers = loss? Yes. 7-0.

San Francisco 17, St. Louis 16. If you watched this game, even if you're a fan of one of the teams, you need help. Seriously. I did turn it on long enough to watch the Rams' last, futile drive, but I couldn't imagine watching more than a minute of game time of this. Yuck.
Turnovers: 49ers 4, Rams 1. Turnovers = loss? Playing at home and getting four turnovers, the Rams couldn't win. Sheesh. 7-1.

New England 47, Arizona 7. I was busy at 11 in the morning on Sunday, so I missed the first hour of NFL football, and when I got home, New England was already leading 28-0, so I didn't watch any of this game. I don't mind the fact that Arizona might have an 8-8 record and make the playoffs, but the fact that they get a home game is idiotic. I dearly hope a wildcard team comes in here and smacks them, because they look truly awful right now. Of course, the Cheaters might go 11-5 and miss the playoffs, so there is some justice in the world!
Turnovers: Cardinals 2, Cheaters 0. Turnovers = loss? Indeed. 8-1.

San Diego 41, Tampa 24. The good news for the Eagles is that Tampa is playing like they want a playoff spot even less than the Eagles do, so Philadelphia might have a chance this weekend. And then there's San Diego, who may have gotten their act together too late. They need to beat the Broncos next week, and perhaps the horrible, horrible call that jobbed them back in Week 2 against Denver won't hang like a stench over the season. We'll see.
Turnovers: Buccaneers 3, Chargers 0. Turnovers = loss? Sure! 9-1.

Seattle 13, New York Jets 3. Brett "Risen Christ" Favre: 21 touchdown passes, 19 interceptions. Chad Pennington: 17 touchdown passes, 7 interceptions, more yardage, higher rating. Do you think the Jets might be regretting jettisoning Pennington? Meanwhile, I know Shaun Ellis would be fined for chucking a huge block of snow into the fans, but damn, that was funny.
Turnovers: Jets 2, Seahawks 2. Turnovers = loss? No man can say!

Oakland 27, Houston 16. Everyone was talking about how the Texans had a chance to finish above .500 for the first time. Yeah, well, now they have a chance to finish at .500 for the first time. Playing on the road is tough in the NFL, especially when you (Houston) aren't that good to begin with. I mean, really good teams can go into Oakland and win, but mediocre ones probably find it a big more difficult. The Raiders, by the way, have to go to Tampa this week and beat the Bucs for the Eagles to have any hope for the postseason. Go, Raiders!
Turnovers: Texans 1, Raiders 1. Turnovers = loss? Another wash.

Buffalo 30, Denver 23. I guess I should have watched some of this game, right? Man, the Broncos are weird. Actually, so are the Bills.
Turnovers: Broncos 2, Bills 0. Turnovers = loss? Indubitably. 10-1.

Atlanta 24, Minnesota 17. If Matt Ryan doesn't win Rookie of the Year, they should stop giving the award. The Falcons are in the playoffs. Say it with me. The Falcons are in the playoffs. Wow.
Turnovers: Vikings 4, Falcons 0. Turnovers = loss? Don't turn the ball over, Minnesota!!!! 11-1.

New York Giants 34, Carolina 28. I didn't watch this game, but my dad did, and he can't figure out why everyone is suddenly praising the Giants again as the best team in the league. He said they were down until very late and then rallied, but for three quarters they were the worse team. It was a well-played game, as far as I can tell (no turnovers, for one), and it's not like the Giants proved that they were that much better than the Panthers. If they play again in the NFC Championship Game in New York, the Giants better watch out, because they might not get another comeback.
Turnovers: Panthers 0, Giants 0. Turnovers = loss? A total wash.

Chicago 20, Green Bay 17. I definitely wanted Da Bears to lose, because they would have been eliminated from the playoffs, and it looked like it would happen for a long time. How did Da Bears win this game? I watched most of it and I still don't know. Kyle Orton looked awful, the defense didn't look that great, but the Packers couldn't put it away, and Da Bears got a great spot on a fourth down run down at the goal line that led to their game-tying touchdown. Stupid Packers.
Turnovers: Packers 2, Da Bears 2. Turnovers = loss? A final wash.

And so, the record of teams that turn the ball over less than the other team is now 136-42-1. That's fairly definitive.

Tennessee: 17 turnovers, +14 margin, 13-2 record.
Miami: 12 turnovers, +14 margin, 10-5 record.
Indianapolis: 17 turnovers, +9 margin, 11-4 record.
Baltimore: 1 21 turnovers, +9 margin, 10-5 record.
New York Giants: 13 turnovers, +8 margin, 12-3 record.
Green Bay: 20 turnovers, +6 margin, 5-10 record.
Cleveland: 24 turnovers, +6 margin, 4-11 record.
Chicago: 26 turnovers, +5 margin, 9-6 record.
Kansas City: 24 turnovers, +5 margin, 2-13 record.
Carolina: 19 turnovers, +4 margin, 11-4 record.
Tampa: 25 turnovers, +4 margin, 9-6 record.
Pittsburgh: 23 turnovers, +3 margin, 11-4 record.
San Diego: 20 turnovers, +3 margin, 7-8 record.
New York Jets: 27 turnovers, +2 margin, 9-6 record.
New Orleans: 24 turnovers, +2 margin, 8-7 record.
Arizona: 28 turnovers, +1 margin, 8-7 record.
Oakland: 22 turnovers, +1 margin, 4-11 record.
Atlanta: 18 turnovers, +0 margin, 10-5 record.
New England: 21 turnovers, +0 margin, 10-5 record.
Washington: 17 turnovers, +0 margin, 8-7 record.
Philadelphia: 25 turnovers, -1 margin, 8-6-1 record.
Cincinnati: 26 turnovers, -1 margin, 3-11-1 record.
Jacksonville: 21 turnovers, -4 margin, 5-10 record.
Minnesota: 30 turnovers, -6 margin, 9-6 record.
Buffalo: 29 turnovers, -6 margin, 7-8 record.
Seattle: 24 turnovers, -6 margin, 4-11 record.
Dallas: 2 28 turnovers, -7 margin, 9-6 record.
Detroit: 27 turnovers, -8 margin, 0-15 record.
St. Louis: 31 turnovers, -9 margin, 2-13 record.
Houston: 31 turnovers, -12 margin, 7-8 record.
Denver: 28 turnovers, -15 margin, 8-7 record.
San Francisco: 34 turnovers, -17 margin, 6-9 record.

Next week: Will it be my last football post of the season? I fear so!

What have we learned - Week 15

No college football this week (unless you count that wussy lower division stuff, where they actually have playoffs instead of settling things the manly way, with polls voted on by coaches who don't watch games and computer nerds!), but some overrated quarterback probably won the Heisman (let's check - yeah, I was right) and we're all just waiting until the bowl games start. So let's check out the pros!

Philadelphia 30, Cleveland 10. The only thing I was worried about with the Philadelphia game was whether the Eagles would shoot themselves in the foot. They almost did, as DeSean Jackson and McNabb both threw interceptions when the Eagles were inside the Cleveland 10, one of which came at the end of the half and was returned 98 yards, the longest return that didn't go for a touchdown in NFL regular season history (lucky Eagles!). They were clearly much better than the Browns, so even though they screwed up twice in the red zone, the defense was dominant and stifled any hope Cleveland had. The Browns did manage to score a touchdown for the first time since 17 November, which is almost unbelievable. It was a defensive touchdown, however, and the guy who scored it dove and flipped into the end zone, which was kind of funny considering the score was 30-3 at that point and the Eagles had been carving up the Browns defense the whole game. It will be interesting to see if the Eagles can win the last two games against a spiraling Washington team and an overrated Dallas team and sneak into the playoffs. Wouldn't that be nice? By the way - Andy Reid didn't run the ball enough tonight. Oh dear. Luckily, McNabb was on his game. But still.
DeSean Jackson update! 0-1 passing, 1 interception; 5 catches for 77 yards; 3 punt returns for 3 yards. Season totals: 0-1 passing, 1 interception; 60 catches for 852 yards a 2 touchdowns; 16 rushes for 88 yards; 47 punt returns for 409 yards.
Turnovers: Eagles 3, Browns 2. Turnovers = loss? Not in this case, although the Browns did score their touchdown on a turnover. 0-1.

Chicago 27, New Orleans 24. I heard a few people wondering if the refs should have called the pass interference penalty against the Saints in overtime, setting up the game-winning field goal. The implication is that the refs, like basketball refs, should swallow the whistle late in the game. This kind of crap pisses me off like very little else in sports. The pass interference was somewhat ticky-tacky, but it was definitely a penalty. If you let people get away with that late in the game, why not earlier? Jeez. Anyway, let's eliminate the Saints from the postseason sweepstakes. Da Bears are still hanging by a thread, but at least they're alive.
Turnovers: Da Bears 3, Saints 2. Turnovers = loss? It does not appear so. 0-2.

Atlanta 13, Tampa 10. Man, the NFC South is weird. They're all dominant at home. It's just bizarre. Can't someone win on the road? This couldn't have been an exciting game, but Michael Turner (32 carries, 152 yards) is making the Chargers look foolish, isn't he? I guess you can't ditch Tomlinson to make Turner the featured back, but I wonder if they wish they had signed him before he became a free agent?
Turnovers: Falcons 3, Buccaneers 1. Turnovers = loss? I guess not. Tampa's offense must be that inept. 0-3.

Cincinnati 20, Washington 13. Woody! must have enjoyed this game, and as he hasn't had much joy in this professional football season, I hope he watched every down laughing at Washington's ineptitude. Dang, they suck these days. I'm enjoying the meltdowns of the various NFC East teams, and this Portis/Zorn kerfuffle is rather humorous. The Bengals, by the way, probably want to play in the NFC East - they took the Giants to overtime, pushed the Cowboys really hard, tied the Eagles, and beat Washington. Considering they're 2-11-1, they've played really well against those teams.
Turnovers: Washington 2, Bengals 0. Turnovers = loss? See how well you can do when you don't turn the ball over? 1-3.

Indianapolis 31, Detroit 21. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'm not proud of it, but I really want the Lions to lose every game. Yes, I suck. But come on - wouldn't that be cool? At this point, if I'm a fan of Detroit, I want them to lose the final two games. I hope that the players don't feel that way, but as a fan, 0-16 just sounds more pathetic than 1-15. Sure, there have been 1-win teams before, but in 20 years, will anyone remember the 2007 Dolphins? Maybe. Everyone remembers the 1980 Saints, after all, but only because they were the first. In 20 years, everyone will still remember an 0-16 Lions teams, and they'll celebrate stuff like Dan Orlovsky inexplicably running out of the end zone for a safety and the offensive lineman flipping off the fans and refusing to apologize for it. Come on, Detroit, you can do it!
Turnovers: Lions 2, Colts 2. Turnovers = loss? It's a wash. By the way, that was a good effort by Detroit, wasn't it? They actually had a chance to win the fourth quarter!

San Diego 22, Kansas City 21. Poor Kansas City. There they are, leading 21-3 in the third quarter, and they couldn't hold it. I didn't watch any of this game, but it looked fairly exciting - the Chargers scored two touchdowns in the last two minutes to win. That's why you're the Chiefs.
Turnovers: Chargers 3, Chiefs 2. Turnovers = loss? No. That's why you're the Chiefs! 1-4.

Seattle 23, St. Louis 20. Did they really have to play this game? Couldn't they have just cancelled it and held a nice dog show in the Edward Jones Dome instead? And it almost went into overtime, too! Sheesh.
Turnovers: Seahawks 2, Rams 2. Turnovers = loss? Man, they couldn't even have a clear-cut winner in the turnover battle!

Miami 14, San Francisco 9. Man, this couldn't have been a good game. The Dolphins are two wins away from tying the best turnaround in NFL history. They're also close to becoming the only 1-15 team to make the playoffs the following year. I wonder if Jerry Jones is feeling a bit annoyed that he let Bill Parcells go? Probably not, as he's so egomaniacal that he still thinks he can run the team better than Parcells could.
Turnovers: 49ers 0, Dolphins 0. Turnovers = loss? Another wash.

New York Jets 31, Buffalo 27. The Bills are falling apart, and this game sums up their season. With slightly over two minutes left in the game (the final play before the two-minute warning, in fact), Buffalo had a second down with five yards to go and a 27-24 lead. Inexplicably, J. P. Losman took the snap and ran sideways and backwards instead of handing off the ball and burning the clock. He was sacked, fumbled, and the fumble was picked up by Shaun Ellis, who returned it for the winning touchdown. What the hell was Losman doing????? The Bills are 2-8 in their last ten games. That play is a big reason why.
Turnovers: Bills 4, Jets 2. Turnovers = loss? Pretty much! 2-4.

Jacksonville 20, Green Bay 16. Yeah, I just didn't care about this game.
Turnovers: Packers 1, Jaguars 0. Turnovers = loss? Sure, why not? 3-4.

Houston 13, Tennessee 12. At the end of this game, the Titans reached the Texans' 32-yard line, where they had a fourth down. Jeff Fisher chose to go for it (they had four yards to go) instead of kicking a field goal to win. Now, it was a long field goal, but Rob Bironas had already kicked four field goals, including a 51-yarder. Why would Fisher do that? It's not like it was well out of field goal range, or even that it was earlier in the game. He had to know he wasn't getting the ball back. Weird.
Turnovers: Titans 2, Texans 1. Turnovers = loss? It appears so. 4-4.

Minnesota 35, Arizona 14. Man, the Cardinals just can't beat a decent team, can they? Okay, they beat Dallas earlier in the year, but still. They got behind 21-0 and just couldn't recover. And why? Turnovers. Sure, the Vikings got a punt return for their first touchdown, but then Arizona turned it over, Minnesota scored, and the rout was on! Arizona had dreams of a 3-seed in the playoffs, but that's probably over now. Considering they have to play at New England next weekend, they probably won't even reach 10 wins. When your defense makes Tarvaris Jackson look good, you have a problem!
Turnovers: Cardinals 2, Vikings 1. Turnovers = loss? Pretty much. 5-4.

Carolina 27, Denver 10. The Panthers are bludgeoning everyone these days, and they actually have a chance to finish as the number one seed in the NFC. Denver, astonishingly, could actually lose the division to the Chargers, based on the Chiefs' collapse against San Diego. There also might be two division winners going 8-8. Man, that's not parity, that's crappiness.
Turnovers: Broncos 2, Panthers 1. Turnovers = loss? Si, senor. 6-4.

Pittsburgh 13, Baltimore 9. Okay, so the Steelers' touchdown was controversial. I get it. I think it's pretty clear that it was a touchdown, but I can see why people don't think it was. But let's consider what the Steelers were doing there in the first place. Pittsburgh had the ball on their own 8-yard line with 3.36 remaining, and this awesome Ravens defense allowed them to march right down the field. Maybe the Steelers got the benefit of the doubt with the touchdown, but if Baltimore wants to have a great defense, don't let a one-dimensional team (the Steelers currently have no running game) march right down the field on you, okay?
Turnovers: Steelers 2, Ravens 2. Turnovers = loss? Another wash.

New England 49, Oakland 26. A bunch of pundits are talking about how well the Cheaters are playing right now. Well, sure. But remember - it's the Raiders, for crying out loud.
Turnovers: Cheaters 1, Raiders 1. Turnovers = loss? Yet another wash.

Dallas 20, New York Giants 8. Terrell Owens has called the ESPN guy who reported that the team was in turmoil a "liar." Yeah, because Owens has never done anything to mess up a team before! Meanwhile, pundits are falling all over themselves to once again proclaim the Boys the team to beat, even though the Giants were missing their best running back and had a couple of offensive linemen go down during the game. I'm not saying the Cowboys aren't talented, but like the Eagles last week, they caught the Giants at a good time. As for Owens - well, he dropped an easy catch early in the game, and Romo threw to Jason Witten more than he threw to his glory-hog wide receiver, so while it's all good when they win, what happens if they lose to Baltimore next week? Or if they lose to the Eagles in two weeks and get knocked out of the playoffs? Will ESPN lie about the turmoil then?
Turnovers: Giants 2, Cowboys 0. Turnovers = loss? For once, Dallas won the turnover battle and the game. Impressive. 7-4.

Teams that turn the ball over less than their opponents are now 125-41-1. That's a solid winning percentage.

Miami: 10 turnovers, +12 margin, 9-5 record.
Tennessee: 17 turnovers, +10 margin, 12-2 record.
Cleveland: 20 turnovers, +9 margin, 4-10 record.
New York Giants: 13 turnovers, +8 margin, 11-3 record.
Indianapolis: 17 turnovers, +8 margin, 10-4 record.
Baltimore: 20 turnovers, +8 margin, 9-5 record.
Pittsburgh: 19 turnovers, +7 margin, 11-3 record.
Tampa: 22 turnovers, +7 margin, 9-5 record.
Kansas City: 20 turnovers, +7 margin, 2-12 record.
Green Bay: 18 turnovers, +6 margin, 5-9 record.
Chicago: 24 turnovers, +5 margin, 8-6 record.
Carolina: 19 turnovers, +4 margin, 11-3 record.
Arizona: 26 turnovers, +3 margin, 8-6 record.
New York Jets: 25 turnovers, +2 margin, 9-5 record.
New Orleans: 23 turnovers, +1 margin, 7-7 record.
Oakland: 21 turnovers, +1 margin, 3-11 record.
Philadelphia: 24 turnovers, +0 margin, 8-5-1 record.
San Diego: 20 turnovers, +0 margin, 6-8 record.
Washington: 17 turnovers, -1 margin, 7-7 record.
New England: 21 turnovers, -2 margin, 9-5 record.
Minnesota: 26 turnovers, -2 margin, 9-5 record.
Jacksonville: 20 turnovers, -3 margin, 5-9 record.
Atlanta: 18 turnovers, -4 margin, 9-5 record.
Cincinnati: 25 turnovers, -4 margin, 2-11-1 record.
Dallas: 26 turnovers, -6 margin, 9-5 record.
Seattle: 22 turnovers, -6 margin, 3-11 record.
Detroit: 25 turnovers, -7 margin, 0-14 record.
Buffalo: 29 turnovers, -8 margin, 6-8 record.
Houston: 30 turnovers, -12 margin, 7-7 record.
St. Louis: 30 turnovers, -12 margin, 2-12 record.
Denver: 26 turnovers, -13 margin, 8-6 record.
San Francisco: 30 turnovers, -14 margin, 5-9 record.