Without further adieu, here's your Week 14 recap in Quick Snap form. I'll also feature a big idea, team and/or player each week to keep things interesting. This week: the team I'll be rooting for instead of the Saints until 2013. But first, the good stuff:
Week 14: The Good Stuff
- The Redskins' Next Man Up - I admit, I was still rooting for Baltimore in this Battle of the Beltway as much as I've enjoyed watching the Redskins this year. The Ravens looked to have a win firmly in their control after jumping out to an early lead and taking Robert Griffin out of the game in the fourth quarter. But along came unlikely backup QB Kirk Cousins to put up a TD and 2-point conversion in the waning seconds that sent Washington to overtime and an eventual victory. Raise your hand if you want a Never Say Die Giants-Redskins wild card bout. Honorable mentions go to rookies Andrew Luck and Nick Foles for leading their teams back from the brink to victory on Sunday as well.
- The Patriots' Killer Defense - Here I was thinking that the Texans defense/Patriots offense would be the matchup to watch in our Lady Blitz Game of the Week, but it ended up being the New England defense that put a hurting on Arian Foster and suddenly incompetent Matt Schaub. The dynasty that just won't die just got a heckuva lot scarier heading toward January on the muscled wings of Vince Wilfork, Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones to name a few. Meanwhile, Houston should be more than a little concerned that its offense has fallen well short of the likes of the Packers and the Patriots this season-- they need to make some adjustments fast in order to keep sprinting with the cream of the NFL crop.
- Adrian Peterson. Again. - Talk about a career year. AP put up over 100 yards in the first quarter alone this week against the once-formidable Bears defense. It's a shame Chicago has withered away mid-season by the way, since I was actually looking forward to their matchup with Green Bay later on this year. But anyway, Peterson has a chance to be just the 7th player in NFL history (notably in this pass-happy era) to put up 2,000 yards in a single season after an incredible comeback from an ACL injury. He'll probably still get snubbed for MVP, but I cannot even imagine what alternate universe the Vikings would be in right now without him. Here's to hoping he and Larry Fitzgerald someday have the fruits of their labor realized after being on terribly uneven and snakebit teams for so long.
- Nailed It! My Best Week 14 Prediction - Ermahgerd, what a pitiful week in picks. I didn't get a ton of predictions right that weren't in the Captain Obvious category and even missed some of those, but one respectable win against the spread was the St. Louis Rams who held the Bills' C. J. Spiller to just 37 yards, sacked Ryan Fitzpatrick 4 times and eked out a last-minute comeback in Buffalo:
- "This game really could go either way depending on which offense does or doesn't show up in Buffalo. If C.J. Spiller has a big day, Buffalo should have the upper hand. But if the Rams can get inside that O-Line's head early and often (which they appear capable of doing), St. Louis should be able to eke out a key road win. I like it."
- Arizona's DOA Offense - Ken Whisenhut's coaching seat just got a little more toasty after the Cardinals suffered an [his words] embarrassing 0 - 58 loss to the Seahawks this weekend. On the one hand, you can't blame the guy that much since his QB bench is about as deep as a Kardashians spin-off. At the same time, the Cardinals have done literally nothing to shore up the terrible offensive line that has put them in this position and they are letting poor, incredibly graceful future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald waste away like a dodo bird. The result? Arizona's offense is averaging a league-worst 15.5 points a game. They haven't broken 20 points a single time since going on their 9 game losing streak, which makes one wonder more than a little bit how they ever got to 4 - 0 in the first place this season.
- The Falcons' Fall From Grace - Not that this Saints fan has any room to criticize a divisional foe after a very sloppy showing against the Giants this week, but the Falcons took a huge step back on Sunday at the Panthers. Atlanta fans can whine all they want about not getting respect despite their current NFC-best record, but they looked rough (to be generous) against Carolina in what could have been a #1-seed clinching game against a struggling 3 - 9 team. Instead, they found themselves in an early 0 - 23 hole and let the uneven Panthers put up 475 yards of offense against them. Matt Ryan was held to just 40 yards of passing before halftime. As those pesky champagne-popping Dolphins of '72 constantly remind us, virtually every team has bad days, but this loss should haunt a Falcons team that still has much to prove heading toward January. Next week's bout with the Giants should be telling...
- Shanked It!: My Worst Week 14 Prediction - So many to choose from, though to be fair to myself, there were four upsets this week that I can bet almost nobody saw coming (Eagles, Vikings, Chargers, Panthers). Let this be a lesson to those of you with team loyalties that blind you to what is rational and healthy for setting expectations: always go with the Giants in December:
- "Absolutely nobody wants to play New York with their backs up against the wall in December, but the Saints have downright schooled them in these teams' past several meetings with double-digit wins. On the bases of history, extra rest, and one last gasp of misguided team loyalty, I like the Saints in an upset."
I've got that vintage feeling again I remember so well from childhood-- that moment when you know definitively that the Saints' season is over well before Week 17. It's never a "good" feeling of course, but there's still plenty of talent, an easier schedule and hopefully a re-signed Sean Payton to look forward to while being let down pretty easily in the grand scheme of things. By comparison, my mood was markedly terrible for a week after New Orleans, erm, soiled the bed in San Francisco last January after taking the lead with a minute to go. So what is a fan to do between now and September 2013? Redirect my energy toward other teams who are worthy of my rahs as follows:
- Baltimore Ravens - Baltimore is definitely an outside shot in my mind to make it as far as I'm hoping, given that they just threw a bizarre Hail Mary by firing OC Cam Cameron on Monday. Oh sure, he's an uneven guy with the play-calling, but why in the heck are you replacing him with a 9 - 4 record after your defense gave up an 8-point lead on Sunday that cost you the game? But I digress. Now that Ray Lewis' return to the field is delightfully imminent, I so hope that he and Terrell Suggs can help this team make one final push for a Super Bowl in what would be a pretty remarkable comeback story. The Ravens are just more fun to watch with those holy terrors on your side.
- Seattle Seahawks - There have been some pleasant surprises this season and then there have been the likes of the Seattle Seahawks, who could be giving the surging 49ers a run for their money in what was easily the worst division in the NFL two years ago. I love the way that defense has been playing and I particularly love the way Russell Wilson's offense has stepped up without all of the fanfare of those other highly publicized rookie QBs, though they've earned their keep beyond a doubt. Yes, I recognize this means having to support Pete Carroll in some nominal way, but I can look past it if the Seahawks continue to play the young, impish spoiler deep into the playoffs.
- Houston Texans - Oy. I was feeling a little better about this one before Monday night in Foxboro, but now the Texans will be an unlikely underdog going into the 2012 postseason. I love the balance this team brings to the table in a league where it seems an overwhelming majority of winning teams rely so heavily on their passing game to sweep their weaknesses under the rug... and get away with it. The Texans are trying to fight the good fight, and they're on the edge of elite, but like their only 11-2 brethren the Atlanta Falcons, it'd be hard to vote them the best team in their conference right now, much less the league. So I stand with you, Houston, on your impossible uphill battle for another year trying to do things the right way. Speaking of...
- Whoever Crushes the Falcons in the Playoffs - When all else fails, you can't go wrong sending your ill wishes to your most-hated rival. Watching them suffer is almost as delicious as watching your own team win, and since the Saints still have a leg up on Super Bowl wins against the Dirty Birds, it's pretty much the only thing we have going for us until next year. And I'd sure hate for Atlanta to gain the confidence of a real contender between now and then. I don't care who it ends up being - the Giants, the Packers, the 49ers, or some unexpected dark horse (Seahawks). They'll make it happen, and I'll be there [in spirit] to bathe in Matt Ryan's tears.
- Memphis Grizzlies - The nuclear option of course is that you can always migrate to another sport altogether, and how can you not love how the Memphis Grizzlies are playing this year? The town hasn't been this hungry for postseason contention since the Tigers went to the now-unexistent NCAA finals in 2008, and I'm ready to hop on that bandwagon as soon as the NFL season ends. There's still a lot of basketball to play, of course, but I'll be rooting hard for the lovable and gritty gang of Tony Allen, Marc Gasol and Memphis' power animal, Zach Randolph All. The. Way. along with my Bluff City compadres. There is still life in this Saints fan's year to forget.
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