Week 16 of the NFL season is in the books, and a lot of
important and year-altering things occurred this weekend, including the always scintillating
Titans-Jaguars battle that happened Thursday night. Just kidding. Once again,
thank you NFL for putting that game on national television in Week 16. We as
fans greatly appreciate it.
Without further ado, let’s move onto the rest of the action
from Week 16….
Chargers Surge Back
What a great win for the Bolts, in a game they desperately
needed. San Diego trailed 21-0 in
the second quarter, and 28-7 at halftime, but somehow, despite three Philip Rivers’
three interceptions, were able to come back and win the game in overtime. They
outscored San Francisco 31-7 after
halftime, and had two touchdowns in the final 5:15
of the game. Their final drive of regulation, the one that tied the game, was
probably their most impressive of the season, as they went 80 yards on 14 plays
in just over three minutes. On that drive, the Chargers converted on two long
fourth downs (fourth-and-eight and a fourth-and-ten), and tied the score with
an 11 yard touchdown catch by Malcolm Floyd. They then won it in the extra
session on a 40 yard field goal by Nick Novak.
I still can’t believe it. That comeback was incredible. As
they were getting dominated in the first half, my Angry Old Man texted me:
“Nice pick on the Chargers this year idiot! I could make
preseason predictions by drawing names out of a hat at random and still do
better than you! Thanks for making us wonder just how dumb you could be by continuously
pushing San Diego on us all year!”
As always, he was a real sweetheart about it. Anyway, I was
ready to come on here, write a long, “yeah, I know I’m an idiot, let’s just
move on as quickly as we can so I won’t start repeatedly closing my laptop on
my head for making such a dumb pick” until the Bolts started showing a little
bit of fight, and started to get some stops on defense. And slowly, Rivers got
into a little bit of a rhythm, and the points started flowing.
Speaking of Rivers, despite the three picks, he was
brilliant down the stretch, finishing with four TDs and 356 passing yards on 54
attempts, all while missing his best wideout, Keenan Allen, and his best
running back, Ryan Mathews. San Diego
won this game on the strength of his arm, his will, and his guts, and a defense
that magically dug in during the second half, and started showing a little bit
of a backbone.
And now, after Baltimore ’s
loss at Houston and Kansas
City ’s loss at Pittsburgh ,
the Bolts, who didn’t control their own playoff destiny despite their win on
Saturday, are now in the playoffs, assuming they can win in K.C. next week. Amazing,
particularly when you look at their daunting schedule in Weeks 13-16; they were
at Baltimore , home against New
England , home against Denver ,
and at San Fran. A lot of people thought they’d lose all of those games, but instead,
they’ve gone an impressive 2-2, and can get to 10 wins and the playoffs if they
take care of business this week. Not bad for a team with the strongest strength
of schedule in the last five weeks of the season. Just keep making me look
smart guys! I know it’s hard to do, but just keep on doing what you’re doing!
Major Dysfunction In San Fran
Obviously, this loss by the Niners wasn’t as debilitating as
it could’ve been, because they were eliminated from playoff contention last
Sunday, but this game was the perfect manifestation of everything that’s
happened to them this season. Lots of blown games, a ton of poor play, and
plenty of head scratching, poor performances. It’s weird, and almost
unexplainable, that it’s happened to THIS team, one of the greatest and
unshakeable pillars of the NFL the last three seasons. Six of their eight
losses this season have been completely out of character for this team,
including:
Week 2: Playing Chicago
at home, the Niners led the Bears 17-0 with 2:02
left in the first half. However, on the strength of the first bad Colin
Kaepernick game of the year (3 picks), San Fran only scored three points in the
second half, and lost 28-20. Kaepernick’s horrible play set Chicago
up with multiple short fields, something even Jay Cutler couldn’t screw up.
Week 7: Playing at Denver ,
the Niners got ran off the field from outset, and lost 42-17. Peyton Manning
had a field day against their defense, finishing with 318 yards passing and 4
TDs, all while completing 84.6% of his passes.
Week 9: Coming off their bye week, and playing at home
against St. Louis , the San
Francisco ’s offense was absolutely terrible all day,
managing to score only 10 points. Late in the game, as they were finally able
to drive the ball down around the goal line, Kaepernick had the ball taken away
from him on a QB sneak, killing their last chance. The Rams won 13-10.
Week 13: After a few weeks of hype and, “Yeah, this team is
going to be fine! They’re starting to figure some things out!” from lots of
people (including me, stupidly), the 49ers, at home, on Thanksgiving, got
absolutely physically dominated in all facets of the game by Seattle ,
as they were defeated 19-3. The score doesn’t look THAT bad, but just watching
the game, it was obvious that San Francisco
was badly outplayed. The Seahawks squashed each and every thing the Niners
tried to do, and they punched them in the mouth time and time again. Very
uncharacteristic for this team since Harbaugh got there.
Week 14: Once again, this time in Oakland, the 49er offense
was completely inept, as they only scored 13 points, all while allowing rookie
Derek Carr to stand upright for most of the day, and throw for three
touchdowns. The Old Niners would never allow for a rookie quarterback to stand
in confidently and pick them apart.
Week 16: Really? Was their any way the San
Francisco teams from 2011-13 would squander a 21 point
lead? Of course not.
It’s a lost year for this team, one that was full of
injuries, suspensions, incredibly average to bad play from the quarterback
position, and constant swirling and speculation about their head coach’s
future. It was a great three year run for this team, but now, it’s over. It
will be interesting to see what happens with this team in the off-season. Where
will Harbaugh end up (My guess: Oakland)? Will Kaepernick be back with this organization next year (Yes, I think so)?
Who is going to be the new head coach (No clue)? Regardless, I know I’ll be keeping my
eye on the Bay Area throughout the spring and summer.
What a weird, very un-Dallas-like game from the Cowboys. Their
35 point beat down of Indianapolis
was their largest margin of victory in this month since Tony Romo began
starting in 2006. Did they exorcise all their December demons after last week’s
enormous win in Philadelphia ? Maybe
they did. I have no idea. Regardless, they certainly looked impressive
yesterday, and that defense, which has been discredited all season, absolutely
took Andrew Luck apart, holding him to just 109 yards passing and two
interceptions. It was the Cowboys’ best game of the season, and with the Eagles’
loss on Saturday to the Redskins, it clinched the division for Dallas, meaning
they won’t have the inevitable Week 17 game, on Sunday Night, when they show
up, get a few soul-crushing Romo interceptions, embarrass themselves on
national television, and break their fans’ hearts, as they are eliminated from
playoff contention.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if I was all the other
NFC playoff teams, Dallas would be the
last squad I’d want to play. Their running game is so overwhelmingly dominant
and physical, and they don’t ask Romo to do all that much, meaning other teams
won’t get those gift interceptions from him like they used to. Their defense
isn’t great, but it doesn’t matter all that much, because the Cowboys, with
that running game, can control the clock like no one else, keeping that unit on
the sidelines as long as possible.
Back to Romo for a second. I realize this is going to sound
like an insult, and I don’t mean it to be one, but isn’t he having one of the
greatest “game manager” seasons of all time? He’s completing over 70% of his
passes, has thrown for 3,406 yards, and has 32 TDs, while only throwing eight
interceptions. He’s only attempting 28.6 passes per game, his lowest since
2006, and down seven attempts per game from last season (and incredibly, about 12
from two years ago!). The Cowboys, smartly, have realized this season that it’s
a terrible idea, and impossible to attain their goals, if they ask Romo to drop
back and win every game for them with his arm. He just makes too mistakes if he’s
asked to sling the ball down the field as much as he has been throughout his
entire career. But in the role he has this season? That’s perfect for him, and exactly
what Dallas needed.
The NFC Goes Through The 12th Man?
Shockingly, incredibly, and amazingly, if Seattle
wins next week at home against the Rams, they’ll have home-field advantage
throughout the playoffs. Crazy, considering how everybody declared them done
(ok, I kind of thought they were in a lot of trouble too) after their
embarrassing loss at Kansas City in
Week 11 that dropped them to 6-4. Since then, they’ve gotten Bobby Wagner back
at the linebacker spot, won five games in a row, and allowed just 33 points in
those five contests. The Legion of Boom is flying around like old times, and
the pass rush is humming just like last season. This team isn’t as good as last
year’s group, because the offense is extremely limited, but they’ll be a tough
out, at home, in the playoffs. When Seattle
is great (like they are now), that’s the most challenging place to play in the
NFL. They, along with Green Bay and
Dallas , are clearly the best teams
in the NFC.
Odell Beckham Jr. Is A Monster
Beckham busted onto the national scene with this incredible catch on Sunday Night Football in Week 12, and since
then, people have started to notice just how great this guy actually is, as
well as how impressive his stats actually are. On the season, he has 79
catches, 1120 yards, and 11 TDs. That’s a really nice year, but not legendary,
until you remember that he missed the entire month of September with a
hamstring injury, meaning he’s attained all those numbers in just 11 games.
So here’s the real question: is Beckham having the greatest
rookie receiver season of all time? I think so. If we averaged his numbers out over
a 16 game season, here’s how Odell would look compared to other great rookie
years by receivers:
Odell Beckham Jr: 115 catches, 1629 receiving yards, 16 TDs
Randy Moss: 69 catches, 1313 receiving yards, 17 TDs
Anquan Boldin: 101 catches, 1377 receiving yards, 8 TDs
Bill Groman: 72 catches, 1473 receiving yards, 12 TDs
Billy Howton: 53 catches, 1321 receiving yards, 13 TDs
It’s important to note that Groman accomplished his numbers
in a 14 game season, and Howton achieved his numbers in a 12 game season, which
makes them even more impressive, but Beckham’s actual numbers, through only 11
games, are comparable to theirs. And if he’d gotten a full season, he would’ve
passed them by.
It’s been a fun ride with Beckham this year, and I hope it
continues for years to come. Any time a guy practices one-handed catches in warm-ups, you know he’s going to be exciting to watch.
Oh yeah, and great at the game of football.
One more thought on him, quickly; Odell Beckham Jr…. what a
great name for an athlete! Congrats to his parents on that one.
The Curious Case of Chicago
The Bears lost to the Lions yesterday, but the game was
secondary to the biggest story surrounding this team, the day-to-day drama
around their former starting quarterback, Jay Cutler, who was benched by head
coach Marc Trestman last week. Cutler has been pretty terrible this season, but
his struggles have only been a part of Chicago ’s
problems. For the Bears to be competitive next year, they’ll need a major
overhauls pretty much everywhere, mainly on defense. That unit has been one of
the worst in football, allowing 28.6 points per game, the most in the NFL. All
their big signings on the defensive side of the ball haven’t panned out (Jared
Allen, their biggest free agent grab, has just 5.5 sacks, and had just 1.5
through the team’s first eight games). Mel Tucker, their defensive coordinator,
should be fired, and I’d cut whoever I could get away with on that defense.
That side of the ball hasn’t gotten enough blame for the team’s shortcomings
this season, because the football media and fans tend to just gravitate towards
the lowest common denominator, in this case, the quarterback position, giving
that guy all the credit or all the blame for the results on the field. Clearly
though, Cutler and his 24 turnovers through 14 games has been unacceptable. And
since he’s making more money than anyone on that roster (or in the NFL), he’s
going to have a target on his back.
So what should the Bears do with him? “Trade him” has been a
popular opinion that’s been floated around, but my question is, who in their
right mind would want to trade for that guy and his guaranteed 36 million
dollars? I know I wouldn’t. And why would the Titans want him? I’ve heard their
name mentioned more than a few times, but they’d be insane to give Chicago
anything for him. They’ve got a chance to draft a guy like Marcus Mariota,
develop him, and pay him a hundredth of what Cutler is making. And I don’t care
that Jay played at Vanderbilt, or that Tennessee ’s
head coach, Ken Whisenhunt, is a “quarterback whisperer”. It would be an
incredibly dumb mistake, and one I hope the Titans don’t make.
The NFC South Is Stupid
I can't put into words how dumb it is that the 6-9 Falcons, and the 6-8-1 Panthers, are playing for the division title, a playoff spot, and a HOME playoff game in Atlanta on Sunday. Both these teams are among the 12 worst in the league, and it's stupid that there's so much attached to a game between to below .500 teams in Week 17.
And here's the crazy thing; if Arizona ends up getting the 5 seed, which is entirely possible, they could be at Atlanta or Carolina with Ryan Lindley or Logan Thomas starting at quarterback for them. I'm sorry, but you aren't ever winning a playoff game with one of those dudes playing that position for you. Does that mean the winner of the game this weekend is going to be in the Divisional Playoffs? I think so.
I'm fine with every division winner getting into the playoffs, but I'm not sure you should be hosting a playoff game on Wild Card Weekend if you can't at least go 8-8. That's not unreasonable is it?
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And now, from my Angry Old Man, who, besides (mistakenly) harassing
me about the Chargers, has been relatively tame this week. I think it’s the
Christmas spirit. He told me to tell everyone:
“The only thing on my Christmas list is for you to turn off
the boom boom music, start listening to the wisdom of your Pa, and stop making
crappy football picks every week that insult our intelligence, and bring shame
to the Peace family name. But Merry Christmas to every one else, and a Happy
New Year.”
There you have it. I’ll be back on Friday with my Week 17
picks, and predictions for the rest of the bowl season.
Merry Christmas. I hope you guys have a great day.
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