Here's your Week 15 recap in Quick Snap form. I'll also feature a big idea, team and/or player each week to keep things interesting. This week: My Playoff Matchup Wish List. But first, the good stuff:
Week 15: The Good Stuff
- Atlanta's Statement Game - This is undoubtedly the cliche term of the day, but even I can't deny how the Falcons responded to their critics and doubters against a dangerous Giants team by issuing them a 34 - 0 shut out this weekend. New York never found its rhythm while the Falcons never lost theirs, putting up 4 TDs and forcing 3 turnovers. It's hard to say whether Atlanta will be able to make it past the other NFC juggernauts to the Super Bowl yet, but if they play in the Georgia Dome in January like they have in December, they should clear some confidence hurdles with ease.
- The Patriots-49ers Shoot Out - If there's one team that should have just about everyone shaking in their postseason boots, including Atlanta, it's the San Francisco 49ers. If there are two teams, let the other be the New England Patriots. Both squads put on a heckuva show on Sunday night in one of the most memorable top tier bouts we've seen all season. The Niners sprinted out to a 31 - 3 lead early in the third quarter, which would usually be enough to send fans off to bide time on that inexplicable 4-lane highway in Foxboro. But the Patriots faithful [almost] got the show they paid to see when Tom Brady led his team back from a 28-point deficit in mere minutes. Even though San Francisco ultimately overpowered them by taking advantage of late game defense and special teams breakdowns, New England fans should still take pride in the fight this team showed to the end. It will most certainly serve them well in January and maybe February too. Kudos to Colin Kaepernick & co as well for matching explosive offensive wits with the high-flying Pats.
- The Redskins' Apparently Smart Draft Maneuvers - Many people understandably ripped the Redskins management for selling a hefty bit of its future for some big picks in the 2012 draft. In retrospect of Sunday's surprise breakout performance by rookie backup QB Kirk Cousins, who also impressed last week with a clutch overtime win against the Ravens, it was well worth it. Cousins put up 2 TDs and over 300 yards on an underrated Cleveland defense and brought the Redskins over the finish line for the second week in a row. Think about that. How many off-the-bench rookies do you know of that could keep their team in a tightly contested playoff position after their MVP-quality Number One (or III) went down? Throw surprise 6th round star RB Alfred Morris in the mix and you absolutely have to, with white knuckles and grinding teeth, give Dan Snyder an iota of credit for a remarkable turnaround in Washington. These past two games alone were certainly well worth nabbing Cousins.
- Nailed It! My Best Week 15 Prediction - I wasn't stunningly good with the picks this week, but there were a few I got really right. This may be low-hanging fruit, but Baltimore's late season struggles have emerged in a big and obvious way:
- "Will this coaching change allow the Ravens to shake things up against John Fox’s scheming or just send Baltimore into a world of disorganized chaos? Seeing how Coach Caldwell fared without Manning under center in 2011, I’m guessing this is a pretty bad time to shake the Ravens’ offensive snow globe."
- Baltimore's Offense Problem - Somewhere in the great northeast, ex-OC Cam Cameron is doing a crossword puzzle in his loafers (or building model ships in jars?) and smirking inwardly about the continuing offensive woes in Baltimore. To give a measure of grace to the Ravens, they've had the kitchen sink in terms of devastating injuries on defense, and that's had a huge impact on the whole game plan. But it is quite clear that, for his flashes of brilliant play, Joe Flacco cannot carry this team on his shoulders alone. And speaking of carrying, when you know that about Flacco, Jims Caldwell and Harbaugh, why in the heck are you limiting Pro Bowl RB Ray Rice to less than 20--or heck, 15--carries a game? Ever. Period. I know people will say that you can't run the ball when you're in a hole like the Ravens were in this weekend, but in the big picture, they had 6 three-and-outs this time, were held to 3 points for three quarters and now find themselves in the middle of a three-game slide at the wrong time of year. Someone get Ray Lewis some amphetamines stat!
- Jets v. Titans - Oh. My. Tebow. If the 49ers-Pats game was one of the very best we've seen this season, then this Monday night stinker has to be the absolute worst. It's like Sunday night was a succubus that took the soul of Jon Gruden's call. Honestly, who in the ESPN scheduling office thought this would ever be a good idea in December 2012? Did they forget the end of the world isn't until Friday?! To give you a sense of how bad this has been, neither QB has hit the 100-yard mark midway through the third quarter, Tebow's one series was somehow one of the worst I've ever seen even by Tebow standards, and we've seen two 20-yard punts from Tennessee's end zone. It's a shame only one of the these teams could have lost this game, but you really have to hand it to the Jets for their unparalleled ineptitude. Down by 4, New York had the ball inside Tennessee's 30-yard line not once but twice inside of two minutes. What did we get out of it? A Sanchez INT on first and ten before Jon Gruden could even finish the sentence "they have all the time in the world to run this thing in," and then this.
- The Cowboys' "Support" of Josh Brent - I generally try to stay away from the political and the self-righteous moralizing in this space, but I was more than a little stunned to see the Cowboys' Josh Brent on the sidelines during Sunday's game against the Steelers. If you don't recall, Brent was arrested just two weeks ago for killing teammate Jerry Brown in a drunk-driving accident and now finds himself back in prime time albeit in street clothes. As the Cowboys tell it, Brown's mother pleaded that the team forgive and support Brent through what has absolutely been the nightmare scenario of a lifetime. (And if you want to know what true forgiveness looks like, she has said publicly she does not wish to press charges against Brent for this terrible mistake.) I could not admire her more for the grace she has given to the embattled player, but the Cowboys organization is a whole other story. While I'm sure the move was well-intentioned on Dallas' part, letting Brent stand on the sidelines of Sunday's game just left a bad taste in my mouth. Why does this "support" of Josh Brent have to be so public, so fraught, and probably so distressing to the countless number of other people who've lost loved ones in drunk driving accidents? This is a situation where I'd say if the Cowboys' office had even the smallest of reservations about how this decision would make those people feel or what kind of message it sends to the youth who look up to players like this or just how tragically preventable this whole event was in the first place, they should have supported Josh Brent at home when the bright lights are off, because I'm positive that's where he's going to need it most. Don't drag the rest of us into this.
- Shanked It!: My Worst Week 15 Prediction - I had some near-misses and some real whiffs this week in the pick, to be expected. This wasn't one many people saw coming, but I'm actually quite impressed that the Arizona defense finally got a win it deserved when the offense just hasn't been enough:
- "Whereas Detroit has a mediocre defense to Arizona’s solid one (Sunday in Seattle aside), Arizona is absolutely no match for the Lions on offense. An 0 - 10 slide is imminent"
There are still a smattering of playoff spots up for grabs, which ought to make for an excellent last couple of weeks in the regular season, but as the crystal ball gets a little clearer, it's time to salivate over the most intriguing playoff scenarios that could come to pass. If Santa's out there listening, here's my playoff matchup wish list for 2012-13:
- Brady-Manning 15.0 - In what turned out to be a hotly anticipated but disappointing blowout earlier this year, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning met for the teenth (not sure which one) time in Denver in Week 5. It's hard to believe that either team got so much better after that, much less both teams. They are without a doubt the cream of the AFC crop, and this looks to be a match of destiny in the conference championship.
- The Indy Relay Race - Peyton Manning unwillingly passed the Colts QB baton to Andrew Luck back in the Spring, but both must be feeling like this has been a win-win situation in retrospect. The 2012 Colts would/will be no match for a Broncos team this talented and well-coached, but who wouldn't want to see the ghosts of Colts past and future trade TD passes?
- Giants-Redskins Rumble, The Third - Washington and New York switched places in the NFC East (and playoff seed) standings this weekend, and as both of their divisional bouts this year demonstrated, the margin of competitive edge is razor-thin. And if there was any matchup that could go spiraling into triple overtime (other than a highly unlikely Rams-49ers playoff battle), it would be between these never-say-die rivals. Sign me up.
- Harbaugh Bowl - Going into the conference championships this past January, we almost had the chance to see brothers Jim and John Harbaugh go head to head in the big dance with the 49ers and Ravens, respectively. John won Round 1 last year, but there appears to have been a reversal of fortune this time with San Francisco playing in a different dimension than the rest of the league. Sibling rivalry at its finest.
- Fail Mary, the Sequel - For those of you who thought recounts were just for Florida, how choice would it be to see the Seahawks and Packers reunite in the playoffs under the ever-precise and watchful eyes of the "real" referees? What's more, Russell Wilson's starting to look like he could actually go toe-to-toe with the great one in Green Bay, meaning this thing could still come down to a breath-taking Hail Mary drive.
No comments:
Post a Comment