An assessment of Week 13 in the NFL
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by user DRE-LO
An interesting week of football in Week 13. Reggie Bush has his coming out party. Tomlinson continues to play like a man possessed and the Cowboys finally have a kicking game. Time to break down, assess and clear the clouds.
Reggie's 4 TD performance against the 49ers has New Orleans fans and NFL diehards salivating over what's to come in the future... the very near future. The Saints grabbed hold of the AFC South while Reggie was still getting his feet wet to the speed of the NFL game. Now that things are slowing down for him, NFC defenses should take heed.
Chicago scored 23 points in a W yesterday over the Vikings in every possible manner with no help from Grossman whatsoever. Talk about living up to your name. 6-19 for 34 yards against the 31st ranked pass defense in the NFL will only intensify the chants for Griese's arrival. Lovie is caught in another QB contro for the second year in a row. There is no way the Bears will win a playoff game with an offense this putrid. Do the math. No passing game = NFL defenses stacking up against until the run until there is no running game left. Their great defense will end up spending a great deal of time on the field and then tiring come playoff time like last year. They're one dimensional again and one-dimensional will lead to one and done.
The Romo empire conquered the New York Giants 23-20 to grab a firm hand on the NFC East. Now that the Cowboys have a kicking game, they're one of the more complete teams in the NFL. Romo never seems to get rattled or phased like most young QBs after they throw picks. He always seems cool, calm and composed in every situation. As for the Giants, they continue to struggle to get out of their own way. 3 personal foul calls including one from Burress and Bob Whitfield, two veterans that have played over 10 years and yet exhibit as much composure as a loose pitbull. And it's time for a change at the offensive coordinator position for the Giants. That 4th and 1 call to run a counter with Brandon Jacobs to the outside where Demarcus Ware was looking was horrendous. Not to mention the predictable play-calling at the goal-line in which Aaron Glenn seemed to know every play they were going to run. And I don't quite remember Jacobs being used at the goal-line either.
San Diego edges out Buffalo 24-21 with 28 carries 178 yards and 2 TDs from LT. There is no questioning who is the MVP this year. He becomes the 2nd NFL player to rush over 1200 yards in his first 6 NFL seasons. Now they're in a battle with homefield with Indy who lost thanks to another great effort from Young and the magical foot of Rob Bironas.
Week 13 only served to make the AFC wild-card race that much crazier. The J-E-T-S put a beating on the Packers 38-10 while the Jags ended the Dolphin's improbable playoff run 24-10 putting both teams at 7-5. Cleveland shocked KC 31-28 thanks to a great effort from backup QB Derek Anderson on Frye's injury while Denver fell to Seattle 23-20 on a late FG by Kris Brown dropping them to 7-5. The Jets seemingly have the best chance at the wild-card [unbelieveable} due to their soft schedule with sub .500 teams. The Bengals have Mr. Momentum on their side as they have the Raiders, Colts, Broncos and Steelers. The KC Chiefs will need help with a poor conference record and have the Ravens, Chargers, a rivalry game with the Raiders and the Jags. Their best chance is to win out. If they're 3-1, they may need lots of help. The Broncos may have put their playoffs in jeopardy with a late QB change. Shanahan has no choice but to stick with him now. They are on the road against the Chargers and Cardinals and then finish at home with the Bengals and 49ers. But with a rookie QB trying to adjust to the NFL Game, this may not be the ideal situation for him right now. They'll go 2-2 and finish 9-7 which will definitely not be enough to make the playoffs in the AFC.
New England edges out Detroit 28-21. A great effort from the Lions, but now they're an awesome 2-10. FIRE MATT MILLEN.COM!!!
The Falcons saved their season with 24 unanswered points in a 10-point victory over the Redskins. It probably won't keep Jim Mora Sr quiet however.
In the throwaway games, Arizona beat St-Louis and killed their wild-card dreams. Houston picked up a W over da Raiders and Pittsburgh started the "Play for Pride" campaign with a 20-3 win over the Bucs.
And finally, the NFL must seriously have a meeting to review the horrendous "roughing the passer" calls the officials have made all year long. That call on Brian Urlacher yesterday made me want to vomit my breakfast. The playoffs are coming and I would hate for a game of such importance to be overshadowed by a call that should have been reviewed from Jump street. I challenge the NFL to take action now.
For the sake of aggressiveness.
