NFL 2012 Week 7: Patriots Look Average, But So Does Everyone Else

One of the more intriguing aspects of this NFL season is just how parity has clearly taken hold early in the season. In the AFC there were only two teams with winning records going into Week 7, the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens. And after Houston was trounced by Green Bay talk of Houston being the best team in the NFL waned a bit. Houston really bounced back by running over the Ravens, a team that has looked vulnerable in most of their wins and now of lost MLB Ray Lewis and CB Ladarius Webb for the season.

Meanwhile the darlings of the NFC at the start of the season, the San Francisco 49’ers and Green Bay Packers have both had slow starts, especially the Packers who sported a 2-3 record after five games. And the only undefeated team, the Atlanta Falcons have really pulled a few games out at the last moment. Meanwhile the Giants at 5-2 might look beatable but they seem to always come on strong late in the season.

It is still a wide open race in both conferences.

GAMES I WATCHED

New England Patriots over New York Jets, 29-26 OT

Immediately after this game was over, one that the Patriots nearly gave away, I felt it was a demoralizing win. This game just proved the Patritots are an average team, right down in the pack with all the rest. And they are. Instead of making the one or two plays that win close games they make the two mistakes that give them away. This is nearly what happened in this game when the Jets tied the game at 23-23, the Devon McCourtny fumbled the kickoff that gave the Jets a chip shot field goal for the go ahead score. At least the defense kept them out of the end zone. Then Brady did what he does best – drive the field for a tying score with less than two minutes to play, then did it again in overtime.

Granted I keep hearing that had Stephen Hunter caught a few balls the Jets would have won. But Brandon Lloyd, who frankly has been a big disappotment so far, dropped at least three long balls he should have had. For some reason he insists on making even easy catches acrobatic and as a result drops the ones that he should catch. We have no receivers that can really steatch the field. In fact, we really have no true number one receiver outside the slot with Wes Welker. This is a big problem with both tigh ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski ailing.

I have to give the MVP of this game to lineback Rob Ninkovich who made the play that sealed the deal at the end with his forced fumble on Mark Sanchez.

MVP: Rob Ninkovich, LB

San Franciso 49’ers over Seattle Seahawks, 13-6

This game was a slugfest between the two most rugged, physical defenses in the league. If defense and a little luck on offense leads to championships, then either of these teams have a decent shot at it. The 49’ers have a better overall quarterback (despite Russell Wilson’s recent late game heroics) and Frank Gore played a fantastic game.

Frankly coming into this season I thought we’d see a Frank Gore on the decline. Instead, he is playing as well as I have ever seen him play. If he can keep this up then the 49’ers have a shot. They, however, lack a good outside receiver which will hurt them down the road (as do the Seahawks).

MVP: Frank Gore, RB

Houston Texans over Baltimore Ravens, 43-13

Wow, the Texans really bounced back from the embarrassment at Seattle and dished out their own punishment on the Baltimore Ravens. With the Ravens depleted on defense and Haloti Ngata a bit dinged up they just couldn’t stop the Texans offense. And the Ravens offense is just wildly inconsistent. I can’t quite put my finger on the problem with the Ravens offense as the certainly have the talent. They don’t use Ray Rice enough though, and Flacco just doesn’t seem to be able to get the job done when it counts.

While I think the Ravens are still likely a playoff team come the end of the season, they certainly do look inconsistent and out of sync. And with their defense missing two key players, it’s going to put even more pressure on the offense to perform.

MVP: Connor Barwin, LB

Pittsburgh Steelers over Cincinnati Bengals, 24-17

I really, really, really expected more out of the Bengals this year. But as with so many teams in the AFC, they define the word “average.” Pittsburgh had a nice, solid running game with third stringer Jonathan Dwyer and held the ball 15 more minutes than the Bengals and that really was the story of the game. Shaun Suisham’s three 40 plus yard field goals sealed the deal.

MVP: Shaun Suisham, K

Chicago Bears over Detroit Lions, 13-7

Charles Tillman shut down Charles “Megatron” Johnson and the defense harassed Lions QB Matthew Stafford into some bad throws (Stafford just is way overrated frankly). And Urlacher might be hurt but he is a smart football player who really made some fine plays in the middle of the field, along with fellow linebacker Lance Briggs. The Bears defense lives.

And Bears QB Jay Cutler barely survived the body slam takedown by Ndamukong Suh. I do think Dirty Suh is a dirty player but this was a legal hit. Cutler showed a lot of moxie getting back in the game after have his ribs practically shattered.

MVP: Charles Tillman, CB

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive Player: Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans
Defensive Player: Charles Tillman, CB, Chicago Bears
Offensive Lineman: Mike Iupati, G, San Francisco 49’ers
Special Teams: Dan Bailey, K, Dallas Cowboys
Rookie of the Week: Dont’a Hightower, LB, New England Patriots

NFL 2012 Season Week Six Observations: Is Ray Lewis’s Career Over?

Observations from Week Six

Ray Lewis: Hearing that Ray Lewis is probably out for the season with a torn triceps, which could possibly mean the end of his career, is kind of tragic. To me there are only three current NFL players that absolute locks for being first ballot Hall of Famers, Ray Lewis, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning. (Now I know some will argue that Eli Manning and probably Ben Roethlisberger will get in too because of their Super Bowl wins, but they are not as good as those threes. Eli will probably get in for his last name as much as his heroics in the playoffs.)

In my time watching football only two linebackers jump out as being otherworldly, Lawrence Taylor and Ray Lewis. It will be a shame if we suddenly no longer see Ray Lewis on the field again. He has been the heart and soul of the Ravens entire team since its beginnings in 1996 and his name will forever be linked to the franchise that he has been the face of for nearly two decades.

I’m obviously not a Ravens fan, but you can’t help but be a fan of Ray Lewis.

Baltimore Ravens: With both Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb out for the season, and Ed Reed not really playing like the Ed Reed of old, the Ravens could be in trouble. They have world of talent on offense but still don’t seem to get it all together. They are a lucky 5-1, but they have made the plays to win games. But their defense could be in trouble, even if Terrell Suggs does come back soon.

Parity in the League: Everyone thought the Houston Texans were the best team in the NFL but the beat down they received by the Green Bay Packers really exposed them. The Atlanta Falcons are undefeated but won some very close games and are clearly beatable. The 5-1 Ravens are in the same category as the Falcons and look vulnerable, especially on defense with the injuries to Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb. The San Francisco 49’ers came into the season as the favorite pick as the number one team but they’ve lost two games. Meanwhile, the Patriots look average at 3-3. It should make for an interesting second half of the season.

Thursday Night Football: I’m not sure I am all that in favor of the Thursday Night Football every week. Favored teams seem to play down to the level of their competition and exposes players to injuries.

The Week of Meltdowns: I thought Tom Brady was the goat of the week against Seattle with his two interceptions and intentional grounding penalties essentially costing us the game, or maybe Tony Romo who just can’t get his offense to make the plays necessary to win a game. But Philip Rivers took it to an entirely different level in his complete meltdown against the Broncos Monday night. It was one of the worst quarterback performances I have ever seen. And the Houston Texans added to the trend Sunday night with their own embarrassing performance against the Green Bay Packers.

Russell Sherman, CB, Seattle Seahawks: Keep your mouth shut punk. You’re embarrassing yourself.

GAMES I WATCHED

Seattle Seahawks over New England Patriots, 24-23

I really hate saying this but Tom Brady was the goat in the New England Patriots loss to the Seahawks. Granted our defensive backs, especially our safeties, were atrocious during the game. And letting Golden Tate catch the ball deep in the fourth quarter for the winning score was a total and utter unacceptable blunder by Travon Wilson of the Patriots. That defense is designed NOT to give up the big play.

Nevertheless, Tom Brady’s two poor decisions on the interceptions, one in the red zone, were extremely costly. His intentional grounding at the end of the first half that required a runoff kept us from kicking a chip shot field goal. And his intentional grounding late in the game gave Seattle the ball in really good field position. Eliminate any of those four plays and we probably win the game. Eliminate all of them and might not have even been close.

The most worrisome aspect of this game is it exposed New England as an average team with a weak defense. The lack the killer instinct they had a few years ago to put teams away, and instead of making the two or three key plays a game to pull out close ones, they are the ones making the mistakes that cost them games. It’s real concern.

Seattle’s defense, despite giving up nearly 500 yards on offense, still won the game for them. They may have the best collection of starting defensive backs in the league and they match up well against bigger receivers. I like quarterback Russell Wilson and think he has a very promising future. His mobility and ability to get the ball down the field are impressive. But right now he’s not that great of a quarterback and don’t see Seattle matching up down the line with the hotter teams. But you never know, Green Bay and San Francisco are both struggling, the New Orleans Saints are all but out of it, so it could be one of those years an unexpected and maybe somewhat average teams rises from the pack. We’ll see.

MVP: Russell Sherman, CB

Tennessee Titans over Pittsburgh Steelers, 26-23

Pittsburgh definitely did not have their best outing against the Titans, except for Isaac Redman who had over 100 yards receiving. Once he got hurt, it seemed Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t do much of anything. Tennessee didn’t really do all that much either. Kenny Britt dropped the ball, ran wrong routes, but still had some key plays to get the win. It was still an entertaining game though since it was close and came down to the wire. Given all the sloppy play though, Rob Bironis and his four field goals win the day.

MVP: Rob Bironis, K

Baltimore Ravens over Dallas Cowboys, 31-29

Baltimore has been really, really lucky to be 5-1. In fact all their games have been close. Dallas rushed for well over 200 yards against the Ravens and still found a way to lose. But on the flip side of that Baltimore has had a knack for making the key plays to win games, in this case a record tying 108 yard kickoff return by Jacoby Jones, which ultimately was the difference in the game.

Both teams came away from this contest with significant injuries, more so Baltimore who lost Ray Lewis and starting cornerback Lardarius Webb to season ending injuries. Defensively, Baltimore may be in big trouble. Dallas lost starting running back Demarco Murray to a foot injury near the end of the first half. Before that he was on pace for a 200 yard plus rushing day.

The story of this game, Dallas continues to be pretenders and not contenders.

MVP: Jacoby Jones, WR/KR

Green Bay Packers over Houston Texans, 42-24

There were a lot of total meltdowns by teams and players this week, and Houston was certainly part of that parade. They got thumped by the Green Bay Packers on both sides of the ball while Aaron Rodgers put on a clinic in his six touchdown performance.

Houston’s defense, presumably one of the best in the league, not only got thrashed, but was undisciplined and completely fell apart in the second half. And the Packers defense shut down the run while Matt Schaub couldn’t get anything going. This really exposed Houston, at the time considered by some to be the best team in the league, as certainly beatable. The Packers simply steamrolled them.

Clay Matthews, Jr. was a beast, as usual on defense for the Packers. But J.J. Watt, Houston’s contender for Defensive Player of the Year, was erased.

For Green Bay, is this a sign they are back on track to where they were the past two years? Was Houston exposed as weak, not well rounded football team? Time will tell.

Denver Broncos over San Diego Chargers, 35-24

The biggest, most embarrassing meltdown of all ended the week as Philip Rivers completely imploded in the second half with five turnovers, poor quarterbacking, and just atrocious play all the way around. The Broncos, led by Peyton Manning overcame a 24-0 halftime deficit to come back and win the game. Of course they were largely aided by two defensive scores for 14 of those points and a tough defense, but the poise of Manning and the offense in the second half was still impressive.

This is typical San Diego and Norv Turner coached football, good solid talent but just get it all together.

Frankly, I found it fun to watch.

MVP: Peyton Manning, QB

Washington Redskins over Minnesota Vikings, 38-26

Robert Griffin III. End of story.

I mean really? The running, the smart passing. RG3 is carrying the Redskins right now and making everyone around him better. If, and that is a big if with his style of play and the Shanahans’ stupid play calling putting him at risks constantly on option plays, he is going to be a phenomenal.

MVP: Robert Griffin III, QB

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive Player: Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
Defensive Player: Clay Matthews, LB, Green Bay Packers
Offensive Lineman: Michael Oher, T, Baltimore Ravens
Special Teams: Jacoby Jones, WR/KR, Baltimore Ravens
Rookie of the Week: Robert Griffin III, QB, Washington Redskins

2012 NFL Season Week Five Observations

Steven Ridley takes handoff from Tom Brady

Some Quick Thoughts on Week Five

Chop blocks: I agree with Clay Matthews — the chop blocking I saw this weekend was troubling.  Brian Cushing was injured, maybe for the season, a block from the side, right on or below the knee, by Jets Guard Matt Slauson.  It was clearly an illegal play.  Ironically, while not illegal, it was the Houston Texans guards I saw going low, from the side, on defenders they were not engaged with.  In fact, that is how just defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson got hurt when he had to leave the game.  Any of these so called “zone blocking” scheme teams are prone to these low blocks on defensive players they are not engaged with.  I saw low blocks by the Broncos as well against Patriots.  Not sure how much can be done about it within the current rules but it’s one that will continue to put defensive players are risk.

Rookie Kickers: I don’t think I have seen a year when you had three such unbelievably good rookie kickers in Matt Blair of Minnesota, Billy Hunter in Baltimore, and Greg Zuerlein with Rams.  And the Rams have a great rookie punter as well in Johnny Hekker.  Makes me wish the Patriots had one now that Gostkowski has a case of the misses.

GAMES I WATCHED

New England over Denver, 31-21

Coming into this game I really wondered how we’d fare against a team with a good offense and defense.  Thankfully, the Patriots look back in some semblance of top form, at least on offense.  I love the balance attack with the running and passing game going.  Not being so one dimensional on offense will serve the team well going throughout the season.  The defense also played reasonably good, opportunistic football.

MVP: Stevan Ridley, RB

Baltimore over Kansas City, 9-6

It was awfully painful to watch the Chiefs utterly self-destruct against the Ravens.  The Chiefs pretty much outplayed the Ravens the entire game except turnovers.  And the turnovers just killed the Chiefs chances of winning.  And I am sorry but Matt Cassel has played terribly this year.  I hated to see him get hurt and think that fans that cheered that should be ashamed.  But, it is time to give Quinn a chance to see what he can do, although if his past performances are any indication, he probably won’t do much better.  It’s a shame too because there is talent this team otherwise.  The Cheifs beat themselves in this game and handed the Ravens a win.

MVP: Ray Rice, RB

St. Louis over Arizona, 17-3

Exposed.  That is what Arizona was on Thursday night.  Not so much their defense, although even that unit has seen it’s better games, but th offense was just awful.  But it has been all year long, the defense just kept bailing them out, until Thursday night’s loss to the Rams.  The Cardinals offensive line is embarassing.  It seems defensive ends have career days against them every week. They can’t run the ball.  And while I don’t think Kolb has much chance back there, even when he does he doesn’t always do much with it.  I feel sorry for Larry Fitzgerald who I think is the first or second most talented reciever in the league (along with Charles Johnson of Detroit).  He has a bad quarterback coupled with a bad offensive line.

I frankly I am not a big beleiver in the Rams or Sam Bradford, which is surely and unpopular stance.  I love Danny Amendola though, and it’s too bad he got hurt this year again and will be out for a while.

Chris Long just schooled the Cardinals tackles.

MVP: Chris Long, DE

New Orleans over San Diego, 31-24

Fair or not, I just can’t root against the Saints after the bounty scandal, not this year at least.  But I like San Diego even less so this game left me wanting both teams to loose, although I probably leaned a little toward the Saints.  The Saints and Drew Brees got the offense rolling late in this one and never looked back, as Drew Brees broke Johnny Unitas consecutive game with a touchdown pass record at 48.

Given the weakness of the AFC West, at least until Denver starts winning some games against good teams, San Diego might be in the drivers seat.  It will be interesting to see how that race plays out this year.

MVP:  Drew Brees, QB

Houston over New York Jets, 23-17

The New York Jets played well enough to win this game.  But they made mistake after mistake after mistake, espeically on offensive, leaving them no chance to beat a good team.  And it was not all Mark Sanchez’s fault.  It was just a sloppy, mistake prone offensive game.  It was also rather poor blocking by the offensive line as well.  Only Nick Mangold is any good.  D’Brickshaw Ferguson has always been wildly overrated.

The defensive backs played really well containing the Oilers passing game with the exception of a few gaffs, but the defensive line and linebackers were just mauled by the Texans offensive line.  They gave us some really big runs to Arian Foster.  But they hung in and kept them to field goals instead of touchdowns enough to give their offense a chance.  Their offense just didn’t take advantage of it.

I don’t think the Jets are as forlorn as many, but this could be a tough year for them.

MVP:  J.J. Watt, DE

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive Player: Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, New York Giants [200 yds rushing]
Defensive Player: J. J. Watt, DE, Houston Texans
Offensive Lineman: Eric Winston, T, Kansas City Chiefs
Special Teams:  Johnny Hekker, P. St.  Louis Rams
Rookie of the Week: Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts

2012 NFL Season: Week Two Observations

Replacement Refs: The replacement officials had a really rough go of it in week two. While I didn’t see any game changing calls, the officials dramatically slowed the game down and ruined the flow of the action. In the Baltimore at Philadelphia game, the officials constantly were spotting the ball incorrectly or having trouble determining where it should be spotted. They also did not get control of the game when players got a bit chippy. The Denver at Atlanta game was even more mismanaged. It was very painful to watch.

Jay Cutler Continues to Prove he is a Jerk: I have never been a fan of Jay Cutler, especially after the petulant, childish way he left Denver. I do feel sorry for Cutler because he really doesn’t have a good offensive line and he often gets pounded on during games, but bumping your left tackle and getting in his face in public probably isn’t the best way to handle it. And his postgame press conference was also childish and petulant. Despite what Brian Urlacher says, I find it hard to believe Cutler has much respect in the Bears locker room.

Tight Ends Rule the Day: While there were some amazing offensive performances from Reggie Bush (RB, Miami), Danny Amendola (WR, St. Louis), and Victor Cruz (WR, New York Giants), it was the tight ends that made pivotal or had big days that helped get their teams over the top in Sunday. Brent Celek of the Eagles was the clearly the MVP of that game and was frequent target and security blanket for Michael Vick. Vernon Davis (San Francisco), Heath Miller (Pittsburgh), Todd Heap (Cardinals), Tony Gonzalez (Atlanta), and Anthony McCoy of Seattle all had pivotal roles in their team’s wins.

My Top Five Teams: San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Green Bay, Denver

GAMES I WATCHED

Arizona Cardinals over New England Patriots, 20-18 (on NFL.com Game Rewind)

I really, really did not want to watch this game on NFL.com Game Rewind and I wish I hadn’t. The Patriots played about as badly on offense as I have ever seen them play. They weren’t playing well when Aaron Hernandez went out with an ankle injury, but after that they seemed totally unprepared and muddled on offense. It was just awful to watch. The Cardinals do have a solid defense, but New England didn’t seem to even show up for the game. On the bright side, the defense played rather well considering the turnover and blocked punt and that offense did nothing to help them out.

About all I can say about this game is that I hope it’s an aberration and not a trend. The loss of Aaron Hernandez for a month or more is going to hurt.

MVP: Patrick Peterson, CB

Green Bay Packers over Chicago Bears, 23-10

The Chicago Bears were just awful in this game. The offense line was atrocious. Jay Cutler was awful even when he had time in the pocket. And Clay Matthews not only had 3.5 sacks, but was a menace to Chicago’s offense all night long.

Green Bay’s offense looked much better in this game than they did last week against the 49’ers and they even got a little running game going with Cedric Benson at times. It wasn’t a spectacular offensive performance but it was certainly and efficient one.

MVP: Clay Matthews, LB

Philadelphia Eagles over Baltimore Ravens, 24-23

Not only for was this game a turnover fest for both teams, but the replacement officials were pretty lousy in keeping up with the flow of the game. The Eagles tried to hand the game to the Ravens early with a flurry of turnovers, but Baltimore gave the ball right back often enough to almost even out the points off turnovers by the end of the game. It was a close game throughout but the ragged play of Flacco in the second half and a few lucky breaks for the Eagles turned it into a close win for the home team.

While the officiating was poor, they didn’t decide the game. I am sick of Baltimore constantly blaming bad calls every time they lose a game. It was offensive pass interference on Jacoby Ford in a second half apparent touchdown pass. He had is hand on the defenders facemask. And it was clearly a forward pass by Michael Vick in the fourth quarter when the ref overturned his original call of a fumble. At most one might argue it was intentional grounding. These two calls did seal the deal for the Eagles, but both were appropriate and correct calls.

Tight end Brent Celek had a fantastic game for the Eagles.

MVP: Brent Celek, TE

Pittsburgh Steelers over New York Jets, 27-10

The Steelers had a nice, steady offensive performance in this game. While the offense was still generated primarily in the passing game there was just enough running to keep the Jet’s defense off balance. And Big Ben had a one of his better games, spreading the ball around to numerous receivers. We even saw the reemergence of Heath Miller in the passing game who had three catches and a touchdown.

And the defense played liked we are accustomed to seeing the Steelers defense play. They seemed rather vulnerable last week against Denver but this week they held the Jets in check for most of the game.

MVP: Ben Roethlisberger, QB

San Francisco 49’ers over Detroit Lions, 27-19

I think the 49’ers are clearly the best team in the NFL right now. They have a fabulous defense and the offense is now clicking on all cylinders. Quarterback Alex Smith is playing at a very high level, and has good rapport with tight end Vernon Davis. He is making good decisions and getting the ball to his receivers with velocity and accuracy. And I keep waiting to see Frank Gore slow down and look his age. But so far he looks fantastic and rejuvenated. With the depth on the offensive line and the stout defense, the 49’ers are going to be hard to beat.

Detroit, on the other hand, doesn’t come out looking so good. Granted they were playing a tough defense but Matthew Stafford was not that accurate with his passes. Stafford seems a bit lost at times. He might have a big arm, but in this game I wasn’t too impressed with him. And they really need to get a running game going but I’m not so sure Kevin Smith is the answer there. I think Detroit might regress a bit this year.

MVP: Vernon Davis, TE

Atlanta Falcons over Denver Broncos, 27-21

Wow, what a difference a week makes. Last week Payton Manning looked like the old Payton Manning, and this week the throws three first half interceptions spotting Atlanta at 20-0 lead. That was pretty much, almost the game.

Manning the Broncos did come back and make a game of it in the second half but Atlanta’s offense and defense did just enough hold off a comeback.

On the theme of what a difference a week makes, Julio Jones had an embarrassing week, dropping a sure touchdown pass and having fumble fingers throughout the game. Lucky for Atlanta the same was not the case for Roddy White who had a superb outing.

MVP: Roddy White, WR

St. Louis Rams over Washington Redskins, 31-28

Danny Amendola. Enough said. What a wicked good performance by this WR. He had 15 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown and tied an NFL record for most catches a first half with 12. He was almost unstoppable except for a fumble. The Rams fell behind early because of turnovers and sloppy play but I thought mostly outplayed the Redskins. A blocked punt by St. Louis in the second half essentially cleared the way for the win.

MVP: Danny Amendola, WR

 

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

I know Reggie Bush had a phenomenal 172 yards rushing, but I am still going with Amendola.

Offensive Player: Danny Amendola, WR, St. Louis Rams
Defensive Player: Clay Matthews, LB, Green Bay Packers
Offensive Lineman: Marshal Yanda, RG, Baltimore Ravens
Special Teams: Justin Tucker, K, Baltimore Ravens
Rookie of the Week: Justin Tucker, K, Baltimore Ravens.

Troy Brown gets inducted into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame today.

Doug Baker's NFL Blog

It was reported in The Boston Globe that Troy Brown will announce his retirement this week. Troy Brown is one of my all time favorite New England Patriots. He is a 15 year veteran who spent his entire career with the team, a rarity in this day of free agency. His tenure with the Patriots is second only to Steve Grogan who spent 16 years with the team. This off season, when it was clear the Patriots were not going to bring him back he flirted with signing with other teams, including the New York Jets. It would have been very sad to see Troy Brown spend his last year in the league in obscurity, in a strange land, among enemies. I’m glad he will retire having not worn the uniform of another team. And I can’t really say enough about what a joy it has been seeing Troy Brown…

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