Week 15 Top 10

It was another week filled with madness in the NFL. Here are the things that stood out to me.

1. Six weeks ago, I thought the NFC West was worse than the SEC. Now, it might be the best division in the NFC. Can the Cards or Hawks seriously make it to the playoffs? No one else in the NFC seems to want that 6th seed. (Note to all teams playing Arizona. Devin Hester rules are now in effect. If you punt to Patrick Peterson bad things are going to happen.)

2. San Francisco HAS to win tomorrow night against the Steelers. The Saints look like there is no way they’re going to lose another home game in 2011-2012. Luckily for Niner fans, James Harrison has less self control than Lindsey Lohan at a frat party. If they 49ers have any hope in getting past Saints in the Divisional Round, it has to be outdoors. (Yes, I am assuming they both get there. The Saints, 49ers and Packers are a step above everyone else in the NFC – no Jerry Jones, I don’t care that your Cowboys neutered the Bucks on National TV. There’s a club for people who’ve done that to the Bucks called “Every Team That’s Played Them Since September Club”.

3. People are going to over-react to the Green Bay loss, but Arrowhead is a tough place to play. Let’s also not forget that the Chiefs fired Todd Haley this week, and there was a lot of noise that he was HATED in the locker room. Now Green Bay can rest its injured guys and prepare for the playoffs (they really need to get healthy on the offensive line to have any chance at repeating as Super Bowl champs).

4. People may say otherwise, but I think the Giants are the most consistent team in football. They compete with the elite teams, beat good and average teams, and lose trap games. Those things are sure as black-jack.

5. I’m okay with the Lions making the playoffs. They’re one of the top 6 teams in the NFC and should be there. I don’t, however, know if they’ll be able to keep their under control enough to make a playoff run, especially if this happens again.

6. Tebowwwww……oh wait. This is what’s going to happen if the Broncos play teams that can score. Detroit did what they wanted against the Broncos a few weeks back, and now New England has. Seems like a one-and-done playoff team to me.

7. Question for Jets fans – Should Rex Ryan’s seat feel a little warm? It really looks like this team is underachieving. Sanchez seems to get most of the blame, but how about the loud-mouth coach who is responsible for winning these games? Every year Rex comes out and guarantees they’re going to win the Super Bowl. Now, I’m not saying Jets fans are all geniuses, but I do believe they’re going to notice that you’re 0-3 on that guarantee, Rex. (I really am excited for him to get fired and hired by another team so we can have another season of “Hard Knocks” next year.)

8. Every Sunday at about 7:25 Central Standard Time I’m reminded that Faith Hill looks damn good for 44.

9. I feel like the Ravens or Chargers are always on national TV. I know almost as many of these players as I do players for my team. At least Flacco and Rivers are fun to watch. They both have a “good quarterback capable of winning or blowing a game” feel about them. FYI, I’m picking Baltimore to win 24-20.

10. To every New England fan who is celebrating their blowout win over the Broncos today, I would like to remind you of this – You made Tebow look like a good quarterback for most of that game. That secondary is going to be the death of you. I can already see Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown streaking down the sidelines.

Thanks for reading this week’s recap. See you again next week!

1st and Goal – Thoughts From Around the NFL

Here are 4 things I’ve been thinking about this week (and feel free to click the links, they add to the story).

1st – Has there ever been a more important battle for home field than the one between New Orleans and San Fransisco? Typically, Vegas gives the home team a 3-point advantage when calculating lines, but in this matchup, I’d argue that home field is worth more like 10 points.

Think about it, if San Fransisco gets the 2 seed and home field in the second round, where would you put the line? Probably something like 49ers by 4 1/2. Anything under that and you’re definitely taking San Fran’s defense out doors in January, you basically have to. I can picture Drew Brees under throwing a shivering University of Miami grad Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles epeatedly getting blasted in the backfield by Patrick Willis already.

Now let’s pretend the Niners lose this week to Pittsburgh, the Saints win out to get the 2nd seed, and that game is played inside in New Orleans. Where would you put that line? I’d probably flip it to New Orleans by 4 and 1/2, and honestly that even seems a little low. All the problems for the Saints of playing outdoors would be eliminated, and in this scenario its pretty easy to picture New Orleans putting up 30 points, even against that 49er defense. Can San Fran get to 30 without some sort of weird special teams play? I don’t really think so.

2nd – The Cowboys line blocking was so offensive (get it?) that it thrust Jason Pierre Paul (who will now be referred to as JPP) into the Defensive Player of the Year conversation. JPP didn’t just beat the Cowboys o-line, he destroyed them in a way that only Julius Peppers usually can. Click here to see a Yahoo! link of JPP’s 2011 stats.

Who is JPP’s primary contention; you have Revis Island (4 picks, 1 TD, shutting people down like AT&T cell-reception), Jared Allen (quietly in serious contention to break the sack record, hunts buffalo with a bow and arrow in spare time) Charles Woodson (one pick-6 away from the all-time record) DeMarcus Ware (don’t see how he could get it over Allen), and even Von Miller (more valuable to the Broncos than Tebow). I think in that group I go Allen, but it’s damn close. If JPP keeps his play at the level its been the last few weeks, and the Giants make the playoffs, he’s going to (and should) get a serious look at DPOY.

3rd – If Tim Tebow shot-puts all over the Patriots on Sunday, we can go ahead and start blaming Bill Belichick for not doing a better job drafting on defense. We all know the story, the Pats have a boatload of picks every draft, and then trade back to pick up more. At one point I was convinced they were trying to have every pick in the 2043 draft.

Last year, however, they actually used a bunch of those picks, but only one of the first 7 was on defense (CB Ras-I Dowling, 2 games, 3 tackles, 0 picks, injured reserve). Think New England could use a pass rusher, corner, or safety right about now? Is anyone ever going to question the moves that Bill Belichick makes? Without question, this is a championship level offense that is going to get held back by a defense that has more holes than Charlie Sheen’s memory bank.

4th – The two most dangerous teams in the NFL (other than the elite teams) reside in New Jersey. If I’m Green Bay, I want no part of the Giants. Eli Manning now sits at the big boy table at the Manning family Christmas, and seems to have epic TD drives every Sunday. If Osi gets healthy for the playoffs, that three headed Tuck/JPP/Osi d-line is horrifing, especially to the pass-happy offenses in Green Bay and New Orleans. The G-men can score with almost anyone and rush the passer probably better than anyone.

If I’m New England or Baltimore I want nothing to do with the Jets (I don’t necessarily think Pittsburgh is a good matchup for them, unless of course James Harrison loses his mind and does this to a QB between now and then). That defense is playing well, and Shonn Greene has looked really good the last few weeks. If, wait I should capitalize/bold that for effect, IF Mark Sanchez can make a few plays and keep the turnovers down, a third straight AFC ship could be on the way (where they get spanked by the Steelers. In case you’re duller than Lindsey Lohan, I really like the Steelers).

Those are my thoughts, feel free to debate, and thanks for reading!