Week 14: Oakland at Green Bay

Ugh, I really wish the Packers would stop playing teams coming off bad losses who have something to prove. The Oakland Raiders just lost their division lead to the Denver Broncos after being destroyed by the Miami Dolphins. What is going on here? The Miami Dolphins?!

The Oakland Raiders are talented - it all depends on which Carson Palmer shows up. Palmer’s hard to peg. His games have been very up-and-down and it’s difficult to know how much to attribute to the fact that he joined this offense six weeks ago. Palmer threw six interceptions in his first two starts with the Raiders, but only three in the last four games. 

Good Carson? Or Bad Carson?

 This is a big week for the Packers’ defense. They need to force turnovers against Palmer. I’m concerned that Desmond Bishop is out for a second straight week. Again, D.J. Smith has done a good job in his stead, but Bishop is an excellent linebacker, and the Pack could really use him against the league’s fourth-ranked rushing offense. Michael Bush and Darren McFadden provide a potent one-two punch for the Raiders. For as much as the Packers’ defense has been criticized, I trust them to make plays in crunch time. Charles Woodson has been cleared to play, after suffering a concussion last week, and A.J. Hawk has practiced, so he has a chance to play.

James Starks has been ruled out for the game, also. I very much approve of holding Starks out. Even if he could play, he has had an ankle injury in each of the last three weeks. Let him rest. The Packers will need him down the stretch as the weather gets colder. Ryan Grant and Brandon Saine are serviceable against a weak run defense.

With the Packers at 12-0, I’m super stressed about an upset, but I just can’t see the Packers losing at home. Next week at Kansas City is their last away game, which concerns me more as there is a definite home-field advantage for Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium. But, I mean, Aaron Rodgers. That’s kinda the end of the argument, right? Aaron Rodgers. Have you seen him play this season??

Just try to stop him and his dreamy blue eyes.

I think this week will be closer than it should be (as so many games have been), but the Packers move on to 13-0.


P.S. The boring Thursday Night Football match-up provided a couple of interesting subplots that will be explored in my next post: 1) James Harrison needs to be suspended, despite early reports that he will only be fined; 2) What in the heck were the Browns thinking allowing Colt McCoy back into the game after he clearly, clearly suffered a concussion?? I’m no doctor, but if a player does not know who he is or where he is, he probably should not be put back on the field of play. 

More next week. Go Pack Go!

Jason Garrett is Stupid, But Not as Stupid as the Detroit Lions

• Aaron Rodgers was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for an unprecedented fourth straight month, dating back to last season.

Hah! Mr. 90 thought he could stop Aaron!

• What the heck, Washington!? You were up by 3 points with 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter and you end up losing by 15?? You are so terrible! How are you even allowed to play professional football?

• Dan Orlovsky has a chance to become the only NFL player to go 0-16 not once, but twice in his career. You can do it, buddy. We’re all cheering for you.

I have faith in you, Dan. Just stay the course.

• Another team got Tebowed! I’m fascinated by how he does this! As soon as the 4th quarter started, I think we all knew Denver was going to win.

• Jermichael’s YOTTO (Year of the Take Over) celebration thing is really stupid. It looks like he’s trying to do the YMCA dance, but forgot how to spell YMCA.

"Y... Y... shoot! ...O?"

• The 4-8 Cleveland Browns get to play Pittsburgh on Thursday night, right after playing Baltimore on Sunday.

• Whoa, look out for Miami! After losing their first seven, they've won four of their last five!

• Why are so many of the Giants’ players’ jerseys cut in to show off their armpit flesh?

• I understand Mike McCarthy’s insistence on establishing the run, but in close games, I think you still have to play to your strengths and pass until you have a bit of breathing room.

• Clay is a beast. A beast, I say!

You should probably just stay down, Eli.

• What a terrible use of the challenge flag by Tom Coughlin. The first challenge was a good one - a potential scoring play that had a solid chance of being overturned. The second challenge on Donald Driver’s third-down conversion?? That was just a waste of a time-out.

• Apparently, New York fans are saying the Packers' victory was rigged by the officials. The toughest call against them was Jake Ballard's non-touchdown. There's a picture that seems to show Ballard's knee down in-bounds, and that stinks for the Giants, but I watched that replay 20 times like everyone else and, from the video, it was just too hard to call, and too hard to overturn. People are also furious about Greg Jennings' touchdown catch. I think he had possession. It's an odd grip he has on the ball, but the ball is not moving. (And the Calvin Johnson rule only applies if the player is going to the ground.) The ball does not move until after Jennings has taken three steps and the defender knocks it out of his hands, but at that point, it's already a touchdown.

• Former MLB pitcher Randy Johnson is now a sports photographer?? Kinda cool.
  

Y'know, just chatting with Larry Fitzgerald, taking some pics.

• Jordy’s a sideline ninja! It always looks like there’s no way he caught that in bounds, but he always does! Sigh. This is incredible.

• I’m still curious as to why Jason Garrett iced his own kicker. His explanation just doesn’t make sense. The Cowboys got to Arizona’s 31-yard line with 26 seconds left and, instead of using one of their two time-outs, ran the clock down to 8 seconds before spiking the ball to stop the clock. And then called a time-out with 6 seconds left, nullifying Dan Bailey’s successful field goal. I’m just confused. But, hey, I’ll take a Cowboys’ loss any way they want to give it.

• The Cowboys’ botched management of the clock also led to this cool touchdown run by little LaRod Stephens-Howling. I like his face-plant celebration.

• Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris not only pulled his player after he committed a stupid personal foul penalty, but he sent him home. In the middle of the game. Maybe Jim Schwartz should take note.

• Poor Matt Forte. I understand Chicago’s unwillingness to sign a running back to a big-money, long-term contract, but I also think it’s awful how they are totally willing to run Matt Forte into the ground and potentially ruin his chances at scoring a big contract with another team.

Sorry, Matt. I wished you played for a better team, too

• Aaron Rodgers recorded his lowest passer rating of the year with a 106.2. He also threw his 5th interception of the season. You suck, Aaron!

"Under 110? Ugh. I should just go play for the Redskins."

   

• A reporter asked Jordy Nelson, “Can you go undefeated?” Nelson responded, “If we win the rest of them, we can.” Hot AND has a wry sense of humor? Sigh.

• Matthew Stafford has 408 yards, but the Lions only put up 17 points?!

I don't get how that's possible, either, Matt.

• A couple of weeks ago, Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall said he should be cut. I agreed with him wholeheartedly. But, apparently, he really, really wants to be cut. When Jets' RB Shonn Greene took the direct snap, Hall was guarding Jets’ QB Mark Sanchez, who was lined up as a receiver. Fine. But when Greene started to run for the endzone, look how Hall stands there and watches.

• The Detroit Lions are embarrassing themselves. So many stupid personal foul penalties. More than once you saw Lions’ players chewing out teammates for idiotic penalties that destroyed any chance they had of competing with the Saints. Receiver Nate Burleson said, “We have to get guys to understand you don’t have to show how tough you are on each play.”  Kyle Vanden Bosch recognized that teams are intentionally trying to bait the Lions, because everyone know that the Lions will hurt themselves if given the opportunity. I understand being emotional and all, but how hard is it to refrain from shoving a referee? Everyone is piling on Jim Schwartz, and rightly so. A team's discipline is a direct reflection of the coaching staff.

Week 13: Green Bay at New York Giants

I really wish the Giants hadn't lost to the Saints on Monday night. At least not in such an embarrassing fashion. Now they're all angry and playing for pride and all that, and that makes me nervous. Let's take a look at some aspects of Sunday's game:

On the one hand: It looks like the Giants might be getting their leading rusher, Ahmad Bradshaw, back after a foot injury has kept him out of the last four games. 

On the other hand: It’s tough for a running back to just pick up where he left off several weeks before, especially considering that Bradshaw will not practice much this week. His coach has still not confirmed Bradshaw’s availability for Sunday. The Giants are ranked dead last in rushing yards on the season. Bradshaw has not had a spectacular season, averaging just under 63 yards per game, and has had only one game with more than 100 yards.



On the one hand:  Desmond Bishop and A.J. Hawk will both be sidelined for the game. Rookie D.J. Smith will handle the defensive calls.

Bishop is the team's leading tackler.

On the other hand:  Backups Brad Jones, Robert Francois, and Smith have played well when called upon. But this still sucks.



On the one hand: Giants’ linebacker Michael Boley also looks like he will return from a hamstring injury that has held him out the last two days. Justin Tuck, Antrel Rolle, Derrick Martin, and Victor Cruz all participated fully in practice after various injuries prevented them from full practices earlier in the week.

Justin Tuck is one of my fave non-Packers players. He's a beast!

On the other hand: Man, the Giants have a lot of injuries. It’s been reported that Osi Umenyiora will miss at least the next two games; receiver Mario Manningham looks unlikely to play with a knee injury; linebacker Mark Herzlich probably will not play; receiver Hakeem Nicks is dealing with a concussion and rib injuries. That’s not even counting all the players who have been and will be playing with other minor injuries.



On the one hand: The Giants’ pass rush has been very disappointing. Particularly on Monday night, they were unable to put any sort of pressure on Drew Brees.

The Giants' D might force Aaron to run more than he'd like.

On the other hand: They have Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul. This is the team that last year had a 9-sack first half against Chicago. The Packers’ offensive line has been good, but not great, giving up 27 sacks so far, and allowing way, way too many hits on Aaron Rodgers. Evan Dietrich-Smith played well against Detroit, but not having Josh Sitton in the lineup is a Big Deal.



On the one hand: Eli Manning is their quarterback.

I've always hated Eli.

On the other hand: True, but like my other archnemisis, Jay Cutler, Eli Manning has been having a very strong season. Manning has been averaging nearly 300 yards a game and, uncharacteristically, has only thrown 10 interceptions this season. The Packers’ defense has to get after Eli and rattle him. Under pressure, Eli will usually revert back to his old pick-throwing ways. He’ll especially have a rough time without Manningham and possibly Nicks.



On the one hand: The Giants are desperate. They’ve lost their last three, and Monday night was particularly embarrassing. Even their own coaches questioned their efforts. The Giants need this win to try to keep their playoff chances alive. It’s at the Meadowlands. Pretty much the whole season is on the line for these Giants.

On the other hand: The same could be said of last season’s game against the Giants. After their humiliation at the hands of DeSean Jackson and the Eagles the previous week, I thought they would come out blazing, but instead, they laid down in 45-17 slaughter. The Packers, this whole year, have seemed to have had a good mentality about not underestimating their opponents. They’ll be aware of the Giants’ position and won’t be caught sleeping.



On the one hand: Aaron Rodgers looks unstoppable. The fact that his past two weeks - 45/67, 608 yards, 5 TDs, 114.5 passer rating - seem pedestrian for him says all you need to know about the way he is playing. The Giants have a good pass rush, but Aaron’s better. And Eli simply cannot keep up with the Packers’ offense, should this game turn into the shootout.

And it's his birthday.

On the other hand: There is no other hand. He’s Aaron Rodgers.

Harbaughs, Tebow Magic, Flops, and the Rest of Week 12

• OMG. THE COACHES ARE BROTHERS! THE SAME WOMAN GAME BIRTH TO BOTH OF THEM! AAAHH!

They're related!

• Hmm, maybe Houston should have tried for Kyle Orton after all.

• Has Patrick Peterson reached just-don’t-kick-to-him status after his fourth punt return for a touchdown in his rookie season? Admittedly, two of them were against St. Louis, but all four were for 80+ yards.

• Jay Cutler learned something from last season’s NFC Championship game: put on a headset and talk to your back-up on the sideline. Even if you’re just whispering to him how bad he is, it looks better than sitting by yourself and sulking on the sideline.

                                   "If only I were still in the game! I know I could 
                                                  throw at least three more interceptions!"

• Indianapolis scored it’s first offensive touchdown in the month of November today.  Oh my.

• Rich Gannon’s analysis consists of saying things like, “You can’t throw interceptions;” or “The defense has to play better;” or “They need a stronger run game.” Thanks for those insights, Rich.

• Stevie Johnson’s touchdown celebration imitating Plaxico Burress shooting himself was totally worth 15 yards.  Except that it helped the Jets to a touchdown on the next drive.

Stupid, yes. But still funny.

• Tampa Bay’s now lost five in a row.

• San Diego’s lost six in a row. Goodbye, Norv, I wish I could say it’s been fun.

• As it turns out, San Diego kicker Nick Novak’s most embarrassing moment of the day wasn’t missing a game-winning field goal in overtime. The less said about this the better.

• Alex Smith was sacked nine times by the Ravens on Thanksgiving. And that was without Ray Lewis.

Just when you thought maybe it doesn't suck to be Alex Smith.

• Jay Cutler was really rocking the local-news-anchor hair.

• The Chargers’ alternate uniforms are so pretty. They should wear them all the time.

At least they'd look nice losing.

• Tim Tebow is 5-1 as a starter this season. Crazy.

• I was not impressed with Caleb Hanie’s angrily gesturing at his teammates whenever they were unable to catch his wildly inaccurate throws. (Then again, they've been playing with Jay Cutler; they should be used to errant passes.)

• And, seriously, Caleb, this is how you end the game?

• Mike Periera, his smug monotone, and his ridiculously toolish glasses made another appearance. Blech.

Just look at him. Ugh.

• Oakland’s Shane Lechler had an 80-yard punt today against Chicago! Yeah, try to return that one, Devin Hester.

• Von Miller looks like the Defensive Rookie of the Year to me. The entire Denver defense is impressive.

• Percy Harvin had the longest non-scoring play in NFL history when he returned a kick for 104 yards. He got his team to the freakin’ three-yard line and they couldn’t score?! Not even a field goal?! This is what Percy gets for playing for Minnesota.

• Jerome Simpson’s flop is awesome.

• The Bears have a fullback names Tyler Clutts. What a terrible last name for an athlete.

• Houston Texan’s tight end Owen Daniels took snaps at halftime, just in case the team lost third-string quarterback T.J. Yates, too. I’m always intrigued by who is each team’s emergency qb, and I always kind of want to see a punter or a wide receiver have to take significant snaps.

• Ndamukong Suh. Yikes. You had a chance to escape with a one-game suspension until that disaster of a press conference. Not even your mother believed you on that one, hon. He had seen the tape, too, at that point, so he had to know what he was selling had absolutely no connection to the hard evidence that the entire country had seen. 

"Please excuse me, sir, while I try to regain my balance."

• It’s pretty bad when your ex-teammate says you’re “out of control” and that something needs to be done about you.

• As a Packers’ fan, I’ll just say thank you to Ndamukong Suh. That touchdown you gave us was a huge turning point in the game. See you in January - if you’re back from your suspension by then.

Week 12: Green Bay at Detroit

Finally! Football fans have been waiting all season for tomorrow’s showdown between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions! How will the league’s best quarterback handle Detroit’s front four? How can a spotty Green Bay secondary limit Calvin Johnson? Can Green Bay’s offensive line keep Aaron Rodgers upright and avoid a repeat of last year’s devastating loss at Ford Field? Let’s look at a couple of issues for this game:

The O-line.  It’s hard not to worry about Aaron in this game. Last time he took the field in Detroit, he suffered his second concussion of the season. I think Detroit’s defensive line is going to be a huge challenge for the Packers. Detroit is able to bring pressure without blitzing, which is key since anyone who has watched Rodgers knows, you don’t blitz #12. Rodgers has a passer rating of almost 140 and a 70% completion rate when facing the blitz. But given their impressive talent, Detroit can get to opposing quarterbacks without having to bring extra men.

Run game. Detroit has a surprisingly poor run defense, ranked 27th in the league. The Packers’ running game took a hit on Sunday when James Starks injured both his knee and his ankle. Thankfully, his injuries do not seem to be as serious as they appeared (Starks credits this to being bow-legged) and he still has a chance to play on Thursday. I think the Packers should hold him out, even if he is able to play. It’s a short week, don’t risk making the injury worse - they’ll need him later in the season. And despite everyone in the world being down on Ryan Grant, I like the guy. He’s not amazingly fast or shifty, but he can pick up ugly, necessary yards. As a back that improves with more carries, Grant’s had a hard time of it this season, considering the low number of carries he’s been given. I think he could have a big game on Thursdays if he gets the opportunities.

Who covers Megatron? It’ll be interesting to see how the Packers’ defense tries to handle Calvin Johnson. Jermichael Finley offered his suggestions, encouraging physical play. I think he’s right - the Packers should be willing to take a few flags when it comes to covering Calvin Johnson if it means bumping him out of a comfortable rhythm. To that end, I think Charles Woodson might be the best option. If anyone knows how to play physically in coverage, it’s Woodson, though Tramon Williams might have a bit more of Johnson’s speed than Woodson. No matter who is covering Johnson, the safeties really have to be accountable in order to allow Woodson or Williams or whomever to challenge Johnson’s receptions. The Packers can’t sleep on Detroit’s other receivers, either, as Matthew Stafford has been finding ways to take advantage of the attention Johnson necessarily draws. On Sunday, for example, none of Detroit’s five passing touchdowns were to Johnson.

Keep forcing turnovers. The Packers’ defense continue to lead the league in interceptions with 19, and it’s their ability to force turnovers that has prevented them from being a scapegoat in a Packers’ loss. The more often the defense can get Aaron Rodgers back on the field on Thursday, the better the chances of us all spending the dinner being thankful for an 11-0 record.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!