NFL Week 13

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

That's always risky... just remember none of us, in our wildest dreams thought we'd do better than 6 wins (personally, I was going for 4), so regardless of what happens, this season has been an amazing success and step forward.

With ya. A playoff berth would be way more than expected. I'll be beside myself if we can get the winning season.

[DaddyTorgo]

pathetic game by the Patsies today

[Izulde]

Man, seeing Miami at 7-5 is amazing. Like you Atlanta fans with the Falcons, I thought sure the Dolphins would maybe get 5, 6 wins tops.

To actually see them in the playoff hunt is AWESOME.

[Suburban Rhythm]

The last two games I've really watched Matt Light play (Super Bowl and then today)...how in the world was this guy in the Pro Bowl?

Also, I would love if the same reporter from last year asked BB what he thought about the Steelers safety play.

[RedKingGold]

Glad we have all these "protect the quarterback" rules when Freotte is injured on a bad no-call after a dirty hit by Adwunle Ogunleye.

[Coffee Warlord]

He's now suspended for a couple games.

[RedKingGold]

I'm not sure whether it's because this is a "rivalry game" or because there's so much at stake, but I've seen a lot of extra hitting/piling on in this game.

Very physical and one of the more fun games to watch today.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by JetsIn06

We get it... you don't like the Jets.

Watching how Packer fans have turned on Favre has only been matched by Red Sox fans turning on Ramirez in terms bringing the laughs.

[cougarfreak]

Holy shit........Vikes stop the Bears on 4th and goal from the 1, then Ferotte goes for 99 yards to Berrian on the next play.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

Glad we have all these "protect the quarterback" rules when Freotte is injured on a bad no-call after a dirty hit by Adwunle Ogunleye.

That definitely should have been a penalty, but if that was the NHL, Frerotte would also be in the box for diving.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Thanks to MVP JaMarcus Russell.

Tyler's a good kid and I'd like to keep him around as a backup I think he has some Rich Gannon-esque qualities where he could be a great backup QB, maybe just not The Guy unless he has a real nice team around him. I just don't think he can be a starting QB on a playoff team.

But he's a million times better than JaMarcus Russell. This kid has everything except any clue where the ball is going once it leaves his hand. He can fire the ball harder and farther than just about anyone, which is only a problem if he's overthrowing his receivers by about three feet or missing his target on screen passes. I have never seen a QB so completely miss his target on flippin' screen passes in my entire life -- he must have missed on a half dozen short passes like that.

This win just cost us draft position. We're sucking the Bengals tailpipe now. Watch this team get hot and go from having the No. 2 pick to having the No. 10 pick after they lose a coin flip.

I agree with you on Russell. Thigpen should be putting up those kinda numbers and throwing those kinda passes, not Russell. Right now he's looking like a big bust for the Raiders. But Al Davis loves him so he'll be starting there for a while it looks like.

I tend to agree with your assessment of Thigpen despite my liking him and being a local hero here. But you know the Chiefs have scored at least 19 points/game since Thigpen took over again-they only scored more than that once in the games he didn't start. So there is a spark there and growing confidence in him and by him. It's been the defense primarily that's let them down. It would be interesting to see how he would do with a good team around him. Given how empty the tank is in QB talent right now though, he's probably going to get a chance to start somewhere next season if not with the Chiefs.

It'd kinda suck for the Chiefs to win games at this point since it'd ruin their draft position, but all four games they have left on their schedule are winnable. They get Denver next who they already beat, then San Diego who they nearly already beat with Thigpen starting. Miami's their toughest opponent left probably but get them at home at least, then Cincy to end the year when the top two Coastal Carolina draftees (WR Simpson was a second rounder for Cincy this year) get to battle each other. I think they will win at least one game out of that four, but probably no more than two. But I'd be happy if they won some more, so sorry Chiefs fans

[st.cronin]

Thigpen is terrific. I'm willing to blame Russell's performance on the coaching staff so far. I still think he'll probably be ok.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

And that's not a knock on Chicago and Minnesota -- I just don't know anyone credible who would say before the season this was a must-see game. Sure, it has playoff implications, in the same way that determining who gets to go to the Alama Bowl has implications.

I think, though, after last season, NBC wanted AT LEAST one game with Adrian Peterson, thinking he'd build on his first year and be a super-mega stud on his way to MVP back this year.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

Thigpen is terrific. I'm willing to blame Russell's performance on the coaching staff so far. I still think he'll probably be ok.

In the few Raiders games I've seen with him at QB (2?), Russell's inability to complete a throw seemed to me to be more due to the fact that he had about 11 defenders in the backfield 0.3 seconds after the ball was snapped than any particularily awful accuracy issues.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Watching how Packer fans have turned on Favre has only been matched by Red Sox fans turning on Ramirez in terms bringing the laughs.

I think it's more being in defense of Rodgers. After watching every national media person rip GB for going with Rodgers over Favre (even though Rodgers has been better to this point) is extremely frustrating for Packer fans.

Favre: 90 rating, 68%, 2,708 yards, 20 TDs, 14 INTs (14 yards and 0 TDs rushing)
Rodgers: 91 rating, 64%, 2,897 yards, 20 TDs, 10 INT (188 yards and 4 TDs rushing)

Yet, you'd think Favre was the second coming of Joe Montana and Rodgers was Dante Cullpepper if you listened to the media. The Jets have a better team than GB and an incredibly weak schedule (talk about winning the lottery - getting the AFC and NFC west conf), that's why they have 8 wins and GB has 5. It's not because Favre is so much better than Rodgers.

Still, I am rooting for the Jets as GB gets a 2nd round pick if the Jets make the playoffs (1st if they make the SB). As a Packer fan, we need all the talent/assets we can get at this point.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Logan

That definitely should have been a penalty, but if that was the NHL, Frerotte would also be in the box for diving.

That dive made Crosby jealous.

[Fighter of Foo]

God bless the Raiders:

It was even 3-3 early in the second quarter when Cable first felt the tingling in his brain. The Raiders had driven for a field goal on their first possession, thanks to a couple outside-the-box calls — one a hook-and-lateral which Darren McFadden ran to the Kansas City 14, the other an end-around which Johnnie Lee Higgins advanced to the 7.


The Chiefs had answered with a field goal. Now the Raiders were moving back down the field. When their drive stalled at the Kansas City 25, Cable dispatched the field goal team, with special instructions.


Holder Shane Lechler took the snap at the 33. Instead of spotting the
ball on the ground, he flipped it backward between his legs in the direction of kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who was making for the left sideline.In a perfect world, which is to say when the Raiders practice the play against themselves, the ball hits Janikowski in stride. Whereupon the 250-pound Janikowski circles left end like Gale Sayers on the power sweep, gaining a first down, perhaps scoring a touchdown, maybe even stopping along the way to pull a quarter out of his ear.


"It's something we've worked on for two years," Cable said. "They were lined up exactly as we wanted."


What, with their helmets on backward?


Lechler's flip was behind the lumbering Janikowski. Even if Janikowski had caught it, Kansas City's Maurice Leggett was standing there waiting for him. Instead the ball hit the ground. Leggett scooped it up and ran 67 yards for a touchdown.


"I don't think it was a big deal," Cable said. "Obviously the touchdown was a big deal, but the team continued to play."


It was a ginormous deal on a multitude of levels, starting with the fact it was a 10-point swing in what turned out to be a seven-point game. Then there were the wide-eyed players along the Oakland sideline who watched the disaster unfold.


"We do that in practice all the time," cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha said, "but I never knew it was a real thing that we were going to attempt."

[Pumpy Tudors]

Wait, is this serious? Did the Raiders actually run a play like that? It's like the only game I haven't seen any highlights of. I'd really like to laugh about that, but this is the same Raiders team that crushed Denver a week ago.

[Fighter of Foo]

I'm not that creative: YouTube - Week 13: Fake Gone Bads

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

In the few Raiders games I've seen with him at QB (2?), Russell's inability to complete a throw seemed to me to be more due to the fact that he had about 11 defenders in the backfield 0.3 seconds after the ball was snapped than any particularily awful accuracy issues.

After watching every Raider game this year, I endorse this viewpoint. The difference between last week and this week is that Russell had time to throw last week.

On the trick play thing, the Raiders have been so vanilla during their losses I'd rather see them lose trying to win as opposed to run, run, pass, punt their way to losing.

That being said, there's a time and place for everything.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Wait, is this serious? Did the Raiders actually run a play like that? It's like the only game I haven't seen any highlights of. I'd really like to laugh about that, but this is the same Raiders team that crushed Denver a week ago.

Sounds like this is definite flere material. I didn't realize they tried to run that play either

SI

[PilotMan]

Tony Kornheiser says, "Jack Del Rio is a big physical guy, who likes big physical guys."

LMAO

Unintentionally hilarious.

and then

"The best way to stop the running game is penetration."

Which is, coincidentally, how I got my wife.

[RedKingGold]

Has Rosenfels always looked this bad?

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by Fighter of Foo

"I don't think it was a big deal," Cable said. "Obviously the touchdown was a big deal, but the team continued to play."

This might be the most pathetic sports related thing I have ever heard. An actual head coach in the NFL saying a swing of 10 points in a really close game "wasn't a big deal". That's without even considering what a pathetic play he dialed up. Raiders hit new lows every couple of weeks right now.

I'm assuming it also won't be a big deal when he's a positional coach again in 3 months time... Lane Kiffin is laughing all the way to the bank right now.

[sterlingice]

My favorite story of the week:
NFL suspends 6 players for doping violations - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

NFL suspends 6 players for doping violations



NEW YORK (AP)—Unless the courts intervene, the Minnesota Vikings will have to make their stretch run at the NFC North title without their two stalwart defensive tackles.

Kevin and Pat Williams, who have anchored a Minnesota defense ranked second in the NFL against the run, were among six players suspended by the league on Tuesday for violating the league’s anti-doping policy. New Orleans Saints Deuce McAllister, Charles Grant and Will Smith also were suspended along with Bryan Pittman, the Houston Texans’ long snapper.

All six were punished for using a diuretic, which can serve as a masking agent for steroids.

The punishment means all six will miss the end of the regular season, an especially harsh blow to Minnesota, which relies heavily on the Williamses in its run defense.

Angelo Wright, the agent for Pat Williams, said he planned to file a motion in federal court in the next 24 hours, presumably to put off his client’s suspension. Tom Condon, the agent for Kevin Williams, said he hadn’t yet determined what course of action to take.

A seventh player identified in reports that began surfacing in late October, Atlanta’s Grady Jackson, was not suspended. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Jeff Pash, the league’s chief counsel, had asked for additional information.

If a player’s team makes the playoffs, the player will be eligible to return to the active roster on Dec. 29.

The suspensions of Pat and Kevin Williams, who are not related, may prove to be the most critical.

The Vikings lead Chicago by a game in the NFC North with four games left, in large part because the Williamses are considered the NFL’s best defensive tackle combination.

Last Sunday, they led a goal-line stand that kept Chicago from taking a 14-3 second-quarter lead in Minneapolis. On the first play after the Bears were stopped, the Vikings’ Gus Frerotte threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian, giving Minnesota a 10-7 lead it never lost—a 14-point swing.

“In response to this afternoon’s ruling, the Minnesota Vikings are very disappointed in the National Football League’s suspension of Kevin and Pat Williams,” the team said in a statement. “At the appropriate time, we will have further comment.”

Adolpho Birch, the NFL’s vice president of law and labor policy, would not disclose during a conference call when the players tested positive.

Asked why it took until the final four games of the regular season to hand down the suspensions, Birch said it was “a function of a lot of factors.”

“I think if you ask most coaches, every game is important. I don’t think they’d differentiate between the first and the last,” Birch said. “We do have things in place to get them done as quickly as possible. But we had to deal with the number of players involved and adjust travel schedules. We have to fit it around the players’ ability to attend.”

David Cornwell, the lawyer for Pittman and the three Saints, called the decisions “inconsistent with the objectives of the steroid policy.”

“Deuce, Will, and Charles did not try to enhance their performance with steroids, nor did they knowingly expose themselves to the adverse health risks of a diuretic,” Cornwell said in an e-mail. “They took a weight loss supplement that they had every reason to believe was safe.”

In their appeals, some players said the banned substance Bumetanide was not listed as an ingredient in StarCaps, an over-the-counter weight-loss pill.

In fact, Jackson filed suit against StarCaps in Alameda County Superior Court in California last month, seeking restitution for any lost salary and damages for “false advertising and unfair business practices.”

But in issuing the suspensions, the league reiterated the section of its policy that reads:

“You and you alone are responsible for what goes into your body. Claiming that you used only legally available nutritional supplements will not help you in an appeal. … Even if they are bought over-the-counter from a known establishment, there is currently no way to be sure that they contain the ingredients listed on the packaging or have not been tainted with prohibited substances …

“If you take these products, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK! For your own health and success in the league, we strongly encourage you to avoid the use of supplements altogether, or at the very least to be extremely careful about what you choose to take.”

The NFL also said it sent two notifications about StarCaps on Dec. 19, 2006 — one to NFL club presidents, general managers and head athletic trainers and the second to NFLPA executive Stacy Robinson, who oversees the steroid policy for the union. That letter, according to the league, advised that StarCaps had been added to the list of prohibited dietary supplement companies.

Asked if the NFL would review its policy on diuretics, Birch said the policy is reviewed every year.

“I suspect the players’ association may want to look specifically at diuretics or some other issues. We’d be happy to do that with them if appropriate,” he said. “I do think it’s good policy. It works well. It has different aspects to it, but we will certainly listen with an open mind and if it’s appropriate to make change, make changes.”

Yes, the long snapper. Steroids are everywhere!

SI

[flere-imsaho]

Quick, everyone pick up Detroit's running back in fantasy!

[sterlingice]

Wow- usually you want to pick up the opposing back for the Lions games

SI

[Scoobz0202]

Im pretty stacked everywhere but running back. Who should I start this weekend guys? Two running backs:


McFadden
Larry Johnson
McGahee
Kevin Smith

[flere-imsaho]

Not easy.

McFadden - Normally I'd say bench because you'd have to assume the Raiders would be playing from behind all game and he wouldn't see the ball. However, the Chargers have struggled of late, so he could see more use, but will probably split some carries with Fargas.

Johnson - Depends. If you think Thigpen can keep up with Cutler, then he'll probably have a huge day.

McGahee - Is Baltimore's O now better than Washington's D? If you lean that way, then he's probably a good start.

Smith - If the Williamses are suspended for real, then the Minnesota D could give up a lot of running yards. Of course, how quickly will Detroit get behind and have to start throwing?

I'd say Johnson is probably the safe choice, and then it's a question of who you'd rather take a flier on: McGahee or Smith. I'd probably go McGahee given that Detroit are so abominable.

[Scoobz0202]

I was thinking the same thing. Only thing is that McGahee has been getting hurt all season and will get about 4 carries some games.

What a bunch of underachieving bastards I got at Running Back.