Week 12

Season is over half done and playoff races are heating up.  Some teams we thought might be contenders are slumping, some we knew were are forging ahead, some we thought we pretenders are making huge pushes.
To be fair, the first touchdown the Giants scored Sunday night against the Cowboys was absolutely amazing.  Chris Collinsworth, of the NBC Sports, said that was easily in his top two spectacular catches of all-time.  But I was really impressed with how Dallas clawed their way out of the cellar in that game and came back to win.  That's what championship teams do, win the close ones, and sometimes doing so after being behind.  I was down on Dallas at the first of the season, I was wrong.  They are good and a team to be reckoned with this season, they combat the Eagles on their annual Thanksgiving Day game at 330p.  This should be interesting.  These two teams play each other twice over the next three weeks.  Could be a playoffs or bust type situation.
Green Bay continues to show-off their power.  Not necessarily with the same force against Minnesota as they have in previous weeks, but they are in control of what happens to them.  Unfortunately for the Packers, the Lions are really good this year.  This is another playoff race we will want to keep our eyes on.
As for the Lions, they got in the way of the Patriots and were steam-rolled.  They are still a good team, just that New England is better.
Oh, the lowly NFC South.  The leading team in that division is Atlanta, and they're 3-games below .500.  This is pitiful.  New Orleans looked flat against Baltimore Monday night, they had no motivation it seemed.  Makes me wonder how much longer Sean Payton will be walking the sidelines of the Mercedes Superdome.
Arizona was handed only their 2nd loss Sunday when they went to Seattle, who, I think I'm safe to say, played the best they've played all year.  Seahawks defense was swarming, never allowing the Cardinals to get into a rhythm.  San Francisco escaped with a close win against Washington, that game should never been as close as it was.  The team that calls the capital it's home has not got a whole lot of talent, the 49ers do.
Over in the AFC, the Patriots are demolishing everyone they play.  Buffalo and the Jets had to go to Detroit on Monday to play their game, which Buffalo easily won.  Miami is playing really well right now, nearly sneaking a win in Denver.
Here is an interesting tidbit, the AFC North has all teams at either 7-3-1 (Cincinnati) or 7-4 (Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland).  The Bengals have the best divisional record at 2-1, and every one of those teams are riding winning streaks.
Denver plays Kansas City Sunday night.  Should be a really good game, I always like watching Peyton Manning play ball.  Oh, we can't get away without stating that the Raiders finally won a game.  Last Thursday night, they defeated the Chiefs in Oakland.

Week 11

Adrian Peterson is out for the rest of the season, per the NFL, for disciplining his child.  Was it excessive to use the small part of a stick?  I'm not going to debate that as this could be a hot issue, I will so, though, that I had a switch used on me and I turned out fine.  The Vikings season is pretty much done anyway, despite a pretty impressive win over Washington a few weeks ago, and fighting with the Bears this past week, in a loss.
I saw a report recently that asked if the New England Patriots are the best team in the NFL right now.  Don't we always wonder this at this point in the year?  Especially recently the Pats have struggled a little early (and by struggled I mean they either lose a game they should have won, or won a game by not as much as we thought they should) and then dominate to finish the season.  Tom Brady is playing some of his best ball right, with their balanced run/pass attack.  In the AFC, I'm not sure they can be beat...at least not in the regular season.
With Denver's upset loss to St. Louis and Kansas City's thumping of Seattle, put the Chiefs into a statistical tie (same record) with the Broncos.  Denver holds the edge with an earlier defeat of KC, but this is shaping up to be one of the best rivalries this season has to offer.  Manning was shocked by a ferocious Rams defense and that's exactly what the Chiefs needed to see to stop Peyton and his brood in order to have a chance to win their division.
Dallas and Philadelphia are sitting at the top of the NFC East and they've not even played each other yet this season.  In fact, they are scheduled to meet for the first time on the Thanksgiving game in Dallas.  With Nick Foles out the 'Boys are going to look to rattle Mark Sanchez.  Remember the last time the Eagles signal-caller started a Thanksgiving game?  The hapless Jets faced the Patriots, Sanchez ran into his own offensive lineman and fumbled the ball, leading to a ton of "butt" jokes, eventually leading to New York going with rookie Geno Smith.
Green Bay looks unstoppable, but they still have to contend with those pesky Lions.  This will no doubt be a fun division to watch, at least between Green Bay and Detroit, as the season progresses.
In a sign of pure mediocrity, the NFC South leader is 4-6.  I enjoy parity but can't stand a "losing" team making the playoffs, especially when a team with a better record is eliminated.
Finally, how 'bout those Cardinals?  Facing the top defensive team in the league, the Lions, Arizona's sensational backup quarterback showed everyone that possibly, just possibly, it's time for a home-team to actually host the Super Bowl.  The two powerhouses from last year, San Francisco and Super Bowl champion Seattle are, at best, floundering.  In fact, if the playoffs started today, neither of those teams, representatives of the NFC for the last two Championship games, would even be in the post-season.  The 4-6 Falcons, however, would be (see previous paragraph).

Week 10

Romo goes out with a broken back and the Cowboys get embarrassed at home by the Cardinals.  The very next week the Cardinals lose quarterback Palmer to a torn ACL, while Romo played in London and played very well, leading his team to a victory over the Jaguars.
It's been a busy couple of weeks.  With family I got to enjoy the Cowboys loss to Arizona in Arlington.  That started off really exciting with a pick-six on the Cardinals' first drive of the game, only to see the team sputter with no offense the rest of the way.
Seemed to me this past weekend (November 6-10) there were more blowouts than I've seen in the NFL a long time.  The Browns shredded the Bengals on Thursday night ball, Dallas tore apart Jacksonville, Seahawks over the Giants, Cardinals over the Rams, Broncos over the Raiders...and let's not forget Green Bay's scrimmage against the Bears.  What were the Packers on Sunday night?  Give some to the Bears, please.
No major trades coming up, haven't even heard any rumors, but things are about to get exciting with the playoffs looming.
Keep in mind, too, that Carson Palmer hasn't been behind center the entire season for Arizona, his backup has played admirably in helping the Cardinals get to the 8-1 record where they sit now.  If the season were to end today, Arizona would have homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs...which leads to another interesting tidbit.  A team has never played a home game for the Super Bowl.  The closest the NFL got was in the 80's when San Francisco hosted Miami in Palo Alto, CA, at Stanford Stadium.
As far as coaching changes, I think Rex Ryan might have bought himself some time with the Jets' win over Pittsburgh on Sunday, but he's on a thin string.  I'd be surprised to see Tom Coughlin walking the sidelines for the Giants next year, too.
Suppose the Patriots, who are likely the best team right now in the NFL, win the Super Bowl this year.  Would that not be the ideal way for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick to end their run in New England, or even the NFL?  Elway went out that way and now everyone remembers him as a Super Bowl quarterback, as opposed to a player who tried to hang on too long and ended up struggling the last few years.

Week 8

We're halfway through the season and there are some surprises and not-so-surprises.
Although the Cowboys lost this past Monday against divisional rival Washington, they are still a very talented team that could make some waves in the NFC playoffs this year.
Detroit is doing a fantastic job, being ranked near the top in the entire league in defense.
New Orleans and Carolina are floundering, though the Saints are playing a bit more consistently as of late, seems like the Panthers are suffering from poor play.  The Buccaneers are lousy in Lovie Smith's first year as their coach.
San Francisco and Seattle are relatively consistent, but the Cardinals are running away with that division.
In the AFC New England got their stuff together and are now doing what they usually do, winning in championship fashion.
The Bengals have righted their ship and look like they are for real.
Indianapolis is inching their way up the standings, leading Houston by a game.
Manning and the Broncos are as awesome, if not more, than they were last year.  Can they repeat as AFC Champs?  Looks like there is really nothing stopping them, but the game against this Patriots this week could really show us something about both of those clubs.
Others big games going on this week: Dallas and Arizona face-off Sunday in Arlington in what is one of the biggest contests of the season in the NFC, this could have huge implications for homefield advantage for post-season play.  As far as Dallas they have had some injury issues that crept up on them this week, with Romo missing some playing time in their loss to Washington on Monday, and missing some practice this week.
Denver travels to New England for an AFC Championship re-match, and yet another Manning-Brady contest.  This will be a great game to watch.
Sunday nights contest will be Baltimore visiting Pittsburgh, this is one of the more recent rivalries that has manifested itself.  After Rothliesberger's near record-setting performance against Indy this past week, no doubt the Steelers will want to build on their confidence gained.

Week 7

Last week was a doozy, with a tie game and lots going on.  Let's see what's going on this week.
The NFL trade deadline is close, only a week or so out.  What could happen?  We really don't know, but have seen "hypothetical" trade situations involving Tom Brady and the Houston Texans.  I don't know if this has any merit or if it's just a sports network filling air-time.
How 'bout those Cowboys?  Did anyone think the Dallas Cowboys would be one of the top teams in the league this year?  I for sure didn't.  They have handily beat everyone they've faced, including the defending Super Bowl Champions in their own home.  They play a Washington team this Monday night in what is always a tough game (remember back in '90 when the Cowboys went 1-15?  That 1 was against Washington).  That being said, this is always a tough fought game and we can't really determine who will come out on top.  Dallas does host the smokin' hot Cardinals in a couple of weeks.  That should be the game of the week, if not the month.  That mid-season contest will have homefield implications for the playoffs, for sure.  I'll be there, up in the nose-bleeds, live-tweeting during the game (@PIX_inc), at least until my phone dies.
The Bengals have tanked it seems like since they got hammered by New England a few weeks ago.  A tie and a shutout followed, leaving everyone wondering why they thought Cincinnati was the hottest team playing.  Lots of holes they need to fix.
Shout-out to the Jacksonville Jaguars for not only winning, but doing so in a convincing way against a decent Browns team.  They didn't just squeak one out, but outscored the Browns by 3-scores, 24-6.  Not only did they get their first win, but did so at home, allowing their fans to enjoy this victory with them.  Only direction from here is up, gentlemen.
This week pits the Cardinals and Eagles against each other.  Based on their records, this should be a really good game.  Think of this, though, the Eagles have only played two teams (49ers and Colts) that have winning records (they've defeated both of those teams), whereas the Cardinals have gone up against three clubs with winning records (49ers, Broncos, and Chargers) and have won two of those (against the 49ers and Chargers).  Can't wait to watch this one.

Week 5

Okay, okay, I hear you New England.  You're not losing anything on the competition chart and you're still dominant.  The Bengals had nothing against a very sharp Patriots team this past Monday, proving that anytime you count out Belichick and Brady, you've made a mistake.
Dallas is continuing to surprise everyone, this time against a very solid, stacked Texans team.  The Cowboys pulled out an overtime win over Houston on Sunday after dominating most of the game.  The South-Texas team clawed themselves back into the game played away from their home at Reliant Stadium and tied the game.  Bryant and Romo put on a clinic on how to put up numbers when it counts.  Are the 'Boys for real?  I stated in week 1 of my blog that I didn't think Dallas would win more than 5-games this season.  I could be wrong since they are already sitting at 4-1 heading into this battle they face in the Pacific Northwest with the defending Super Bowl Champs Seahawks.
Tampa Bay nearly pulled another upset out of their bag of tricks, taking the Saints to overtime before apparently deciding they didn't need to play defense any longer.  New Orleans simply walked over the Bucs into the end zone.
I have actually learned something about the Jaguars team, they're resilient.  They have some building to do, but they have been in each of the games they've played this year, just haven't been able to stay in.  They start early and strong, only to flounder in the 2nd half and lose the game.  The young talent they have should give all Jags fans something to look forward to.
Peyton Manning is a beast!!  He threw for his 500th career touchdown this past Sunday afternoon, facing a formidable Cardinals defense.  In the 500 TD class there are only two...Manning, and some guy named Bret Favre.  They will both be next to each other in Canton before too long.  What the Broncos qb did to the Cardinals was nothing short of amazing, typical Manning-like precision, hitting the guys he needed to when he needed to.  Like a skilled medical examiner using his/her scalpel in a way to completely dissect a corpse.  This win by Denver left the NFL with one undefeated team heading into the Monday night contest...then the Pats handed Cincinnati their first win in a dominant way...which leads us back to the first paragraph...

Week 4

Is this a changing of the guard in the NFL?  New England has been dominant for over a decade, now they're starting to slide.  After struggling last week against a lackluster Raiders team, the Patriots were steamrolled by a resurgent Chiefs group.  Makes one wonder if Brady is nearing his end and preparing his induction speech for Canton.  If that were to happen, what would happen to Bill Belichick?  Did Brady make him?  Or was it the other way around?  We need not think too far into the past with John Elway and Mike Shanahan.  After Elway's retirement, Shanahan never won another playoff game.
Dallas played like a team possessed Sunday night.  Prognosticators said the Cowboys would have a pitiful defense this season, but they've proved just the opposite.  They were swarming around Saints runners and receivers in Arlington, and the offense was smooth and sharp.  My earlier statement about the 'Boys not winning 5 games may have been premature, seems like they may give the Iggles a run for their money in the division.  Things are going to get very, very interesting in the NFC East, I believe.
Tampa Bay had an amazing rebound in the 2nd half of their game against the Steelers.  The Bucs had troubles doing anything in the first half at Heinz Field, but made the needed adjustments and rallied to win with a Glennon-to-Jackson touchdown with 12-seconds left in the game.  Seems like young Mr. Glennon is making a name for himself in comeback wins.
Where was the awesome Falcons team we've seen the first three weeks?  They went to Minnesota and were shocked by rookie quarterback sensation Teddy Bridgewater.  Are the Vikes for real?  Can they win without Peterson in the backfield?  We'll find out Thursday night when they travel to Green Bay to take on the red hot Packers.