NFL Week 13 General Discussion Thread

Lucky Thirteen, where the most random sh*t can happen.

Early scores:

Green Bay 7, Chicago 19
Jacksonville 20, Cleveland 14
Minnesota 21, Detroit 16
Tennesse 3, Indianapolis 35
Tampa Bay 10, New Orleans 3
Dallas 10, NY Giants 17
Cincinnati 38, Pittsburgh 31
Atlanta 6, Carolina 24
Houston 15, Baltimore 16
Buffalo 23, Miami 24

Is it too early to say that the Steelers and the Cowboys' playoff chances are dwindling fast?

Steelers have to run the table (IMO) to get a wild card. The Jags just lucked out and Cleveland should be ashamed. Cincinnati looked great except the offense sputtered in the 4th and they had 4 chances to put the game away and didnt. I am glad to see Carolina exorcise the Atlanta demon and anopther loss for Atlanta would really kill them completely if Tampa Bay is able to maintain. Chicago needs just a tad more offense and they could be deadly to any NFC team in the playoffs.

The Jags just lucked out and Cleveland should be ashamed.

I'll trade that luck to have Byron Leftwich back any day.

Go Big Blue! Wahey!

Late scores:

Arizona 17, San Francisco 10 (With all the picks Alex Smith is throwing, he's starting to look like Ryan Leaf without the psychosis)
NY Jets 3, New England 16
Denver 27, Kansas City 31

There's a belief going around the Bay Area of late: Niners coach Mike Nolan makes the best out of what little talent he has; Raiders coach Norv Turner can't make the best out of what great talent he has. Norv will be joining Mooch in the unemployment line in the near future.

Rat Boy wrote:

Is it too early to say that the Steelers and the Cowboys' playoff chances are dwindling fast?

Both the NYG and the Cowboys still have a tough schedule left. I think it is still up in the air.

Rat Boy wrote:

NY Jets 3, New England 16

Wow the Jets covered the spread!

Tonight's the night... Watch as our fictional-species, "Seahawks" devour the Eagles on PrimeTime.

Can you imagine how big tonight's game would have been if TO didn't hire Rosenhaus and if McNabb didn't get hurt, and if the Eagles didn't fall to the bottom of the NFC East? One more week till we get Darrel Jackson back.

Wow. Clinton Portis ISN'T allergic to the end zone!

I'm starting to wonder if the Skins can actually pull ahead in the NFC East. The Giants and Dallas have tough schedules compared to the moderately easy games Washington has left. If Washington pulls off wins against Dallas, Philly, and Arizona, I think they'll have a fighting chance against the Giants for the NFC East title.

RandomlyGenerated wrote:

Tonight's the night... Watch as our fictional-species, "Seahawks" devour the Eagles on PrimeTime.

Can you imagine how big tonight's game would have been if TO didn't hire Rosenhaus and if McNabb didn't get hurt, and if the Eagles didn't fall to the bottom of the NFC East? One more week till we get Darrel Jackson back.

Here is a snoozer.

As for tonight, I have some hope the Eagles will arise to barely defeat the seahawks...but I ain't putting money on it.

Next - what a early Sunday - watch the Bengals/Steelers match, and then switch over in time to see Miami come back to win it after being down 21-0 in, I think, the first 45 seconds of their game.

My Falcons are done, methinks.

Rat boy - to me, the hiring or Norv Turner shows how out of touch Al Davis really is (and many of the owners) - same as the 49ers hire of Erickson - you hire a guy with a losing record over several years in the NFL, and guess what? WHAT? you get another losing record. So sayeth the seer! I'm still chuckling that the 49ers could have had Cincy's coach, but went with Erickson and his proven ability to lose...a lot! What's that Cincy's guys name again...Marvin Lewis or something (all he did was give the Bengals their first winning season in like 16 years - I mean, I joined the AF the last time Cincy had a winning season...a longgggggg time ago.)

Cya Norv...go back to coordinator where you truly do excel. Cuz you suck as a head coach comrade!

On a side note, and Spy, take note - I hate Peyton Manning - a pox on him and his genitals. First, they change the rules, so if you breath or fart on a WR once he enters the stadium, its a penalty, so he breaks Marino's TD record. Now, the communist team known as the Colts are heading to take down the 'perfect season' record... I'm do honestly feel bad, but I'm still rooting for James to trip over Manning, and cause a mass of broken limbs for both players...OK...I'm actually praying for that... (bastards...sigh)

On a side note, and Spy, take note - I hate Peyton Manning - a pox on him and his genitals. First, they change the rules, so if you breath or fart on a WR once he enters the stadium, its a penalty, so he breaks Marino's TD record. Now, the communist team known as the Colts are heading to take down the 'perfect season' record... I'm do honestly feel bad, but I'm still rooting for James to trip over Manning, and cause a mass of broken limbs for both players...OK...I'm actually praying for that... (bastards...sigh)

I grew up in Miami and if any team should be the heir to the Dolphins of 72 its the Colts and if any QB should be thought of in the same sentence as Marino then its Peyton. Peyton now has the added benefit of a defense and a running game (Someone please find and kill Sammy Smith) that Dan never had and that is what allowed Peyton to beat the record - on top of the "rule changes".

Edit: As far as a pox on the genitalia you may be thinking of Ron Mexico and not Peyton :). May Atlanta and their overrated QB suffer the scourge of the fleas from a thousand camels.

Rat boy - to me, the hiring or Norv Turner shows how out of touch Al Davis really is (and many of the owners) - same as the 49ers hire of Erickson - you hire a guy with a losing record over several years in the NFL, and guess what? WHAT? you get another losing record. So sayeth the seer!

Hmm..didn't Bill Belichek have a losing NFl record in Cleveland?

SpyNavy wrote:

Edit: As far as a pox on the genitalia you may be thinking of Ron Mexico and not Peyton :). May Atlanta and their overrated QB suffer the scourge of the fleas from a thousand camels.

BA-ZING!

RandomlyGenerated wrote:

One more week till we get Darrel Jackson back.

Well hell I can go out there and drop passes for you right now!

28-0 with 2 minutes to go in the 1st half... weren't you the one dissing Tatupu's selection in the 2nd round, *Legion*? He's looking pretty good tonight...

Yep, I didn't like the pick and I still don't.

It was less about Tatupu and more about the fact that a guy like Odell Thurman was sitting on the draft board still. Thurman's having an outstanding year and is a huge reason why the Bengals can play a little defense now. He's much more athletically gifted than Tatupu and has the potential to be a special player.

It's nice that Tatupu has done well, but it was terrible to pass on a guy like Thurman. It's like how teams took Kevin Hardy and John Mobley over Ray Lewis in 1996. Sure, Hardy and Mobley were both productive, All-Pro players, but were their teams right to pass on Lewis? Not a chance. (Not that Thurman is definitely a Ray Lewis type player, but as far as 2nd round picks go, he was the guy to take)

wow that was an embarrasing display by the current Eagles team.. on Reggie White night no less! you'd think that they'd at least play a competitive game in front of the home crowd and many of the old players..

I can only imagine what Buddy Ryan was thinking watching that game last night...

The discussions about Coach of the Year have begun.

If the Colts go 16-0 or 15-1, Tony Dungy is probably the shoo-in choice.

If they slip some, then Lovie Smith probably gets the nod as long as his Bears stay above 11-5.

If neither of them, then the discussion pool gets deeper. Does Mike Tice deserve consideration if the Vikings get into the playoffs? Some people have mentioned Holmgren, but it seems to me like that team is finally playing where their talent level should have had them all along. If the Broncos win out from here on, where does Shanahan fit in?

What if the Jaguars beat the Colts this week without Leftwich, and finish 13-3 or 12-4? Jack Del Rio's team is playing with all 3 team captains out - two out for the season and Leftwich possibly missing the rest of the regular season - and without Fred Taylor for much of this run too. None of the other presumed playoff-bound teams are even close injury-wise.

One thing's for sure - Andy Reid's nowhere on the ballot this year.

No love for Marvin Lewis, *Legion*?

I remembered Lewis after I posted.

Lewis belongs in the mix of guys behind Dungy and Lovie. If I made a list, I'd have him above Tice and some of the others, but behind Del Rio because he hasn't had the same injury issues to overcome (and the Jags beat the Bengals). But if the Bengals come out with the better final record, then he moves ahead.

It's hard to imagine Dungy isn't going to just run away with it. And if not him, Lovie's team had the biggest turnaround, from 5-11 last year. The Jags were 9-7 and the Bengals were 8-8 last year, so neither's improvement is a complete surprise.

There will be no Belichick either unless his boys run the table and then win the SB again. At that point given the devastation of their injuries he should be coach of the year. I still wont like the Patsies, but Belichick would be the man.

not unless its a career threating injury...which is could be.. it took Staley a whole year to recover from that type of injury..but perhaps Westbrook isnt that serious and its more that since this season is a lost cause why not simply shut him down now and begin rehab in 8 weeks.

So in many ways..this is good.. because lets face we'll need a really high draft pick..

Now we just need some worse teams to start winning! go Pack!

Now we just need some worse teams to start winning! go Pack!

No! We will continue to lose just to spite the Philly fans! It's a race for the pick. May the worst team win!

SpyNavy wrote:

There will be no Belichick either unless his boys run the table and then win the SB again. At that point given the devastation of their injuries he should be coach of the year. I still wont like the Patsies, but Belichick would be the man.

I pin less of it on injuries and more on coaching - as in, the two guys that left to coach Notre Dame and Cleveland were perhaps the real coaching studs.

The offense has been largely in place health-wise, except for a couple O-line injuries. Corey Dillon did miss time, but he was pretty worthless before getting hurt. It's become clear to me that Charlie Weis is what made that group overachieve by so much.

Defense has definitely been banged up, especially in the secondary. But equally important was the fact that the two ILBs that were to replace Bruschi and Johnson (Monty Beisel and Chad Brown) flat out sucked rocks.

I've come to believe that Belichick benefitted more from Weis and Crennel than anyone has cared to admit, and that he's not as far removed as the guy that used to coach the Browns as people try to make him out to be. I think it's like when Holmgren had Mariucci, Andy Reid, Jon Gruden, and Dick Jauron all on his staff - and you didn't find out until later how good those guys were and how much more Holmgren succeeded with them than without them (though Holmy's got a nice season going in Seattle this year, FINALLY - maybe a new crop of up-and-comer coaches on his staff? )

I've come to believe that Belichick benefitted more from Weis and Crennel than anyone has cared to admit, and that he's not as far removed as the guy that used to coach the Browns as people try to make him out to be.

I agree, I thought that from the start. Many people were saying it was no big deal for them to lose their two coordinators, they would still be the same ole patriots, but I didn't believe that's how it would turn out.

As an aside, maybe a dumb question - do coaches' salaries count against the cap?

To be fair, the Patriots have been riddled with injuries this year. (which is usually the case when teams go deep into the playoffs in consecutive years.) If anything, based on their active personnel, I would say that the Patriots have overachieved a bit this year. Also, any team is going to drop-off after losing two coordinators who had been with the team for that long. Although, they do play in a pretty sorry division.

But.... what about that stupid commercial for that show on ESPN, where that dude said "But the Patriots have Tom Brady; and quite frankly, that's all you need!"

Ah, lovely Stephen A Smith, what a blowhard.