NFL Week 11 Notes

Houston defeats New Orleans: In my AFC North Preview, I stated it would be hard for me to not have Andre Johnson in a top 5 NFL receiver list. He turns the Texans from a tough team to beat into a playoff team. The offense flows better with him in the lineup. Johnson demands safety help, ensuring a 7 man box for the running game to be established. The Texan defense, young and very fast, will be a strength for years to come if the group stays together. Mario Williams played with a lot of emotion and had a huge impact on the game. People will say it was because of playing against Reggie Bush, I think not. Watching Houston a lot this year, Williams has played hard and with determination on every down and is becoming a force, a guy that needs a double team or at least a chip from the RB. New Orleans played with some confidence early on. The Reggie Bush fumble was a killer with the score 7-3 Houston in the 1st Q. I liked Payton going for it on 4th and 10 from Houston’s 45 in the 3rd Q with the score 14-10 Houston. I liked Payton going for in on 4th and 2 from the Houston 43 with 12 minutes to play and the score 20- 10 Houston. What I did not like was his play-calling on 3rd down. If you know you are going to go for it on 4th down, run it with Bush on 3rd and 4. New Orleans has a very talented offensive core and with a bit of defense next year will be in the playoff hunt.

Arizona defeats Cincinnati: The Rudi Johnson era may be over in Cincinnati. Rudi Johnson has been one of the more consistent and reliable backs in the NFl for the past three seasons. He is a true between the tackles runner and his body looks a bit slower after three seasons of averaging over 340 carries per season. I do not think Kenny Watson is a #1 running back, but right now looks stronger at the point of impact and a lot quicker than Johnson. The Bengal season, so promising going into the season is dead. They make too many mistakes and have too many holes on defense to really be favored to win any games down the stretch. Arizona looked tough again this week, making plays on both sides of the ball when they needed to. Warner is playing well, the defense is making plays. One knock I have of their win is that the offensive line did a poor job of opening up running lanes against a soft Bengal front 7. The Zona running game has produced very little the past four contests after starting the season with some impressive games. Arizona has a real shot at the AFC West title. They will need continued defensive capacity and more importantly, a running game. As a side note, Antrel Rolle should be reprimanded for his taunting penalty after his game winning INT. He could have cost Arizona the game. Instead of kicking off from the 30, the Cards had to kick from the 15 and if not for a penalty on the return, Cinci would have had the ball at midfield with 20 seconds to go and a chance to tie.

Indianapolis defeats Kansas City: After the second half two minute warning, and Indianapolis facing a 4th a short form the KC 3, I looked at the guy next to me and said that Dungy will and should go for it. He answered back that there is now way he will or should go for it. During the commercial break I explained my side, which was the following. If you kick the field goal, K.C gets the ball back with about two minutes to go with one time out. One can not say what will happen on the kickoff, but a big return is possible. Croyle had been playing well, and with two big targets in Gonzalez and Bowe, had a good chance to get into FG range. If you go for it and get the first down, three kneel downs with a kick and the game is over. Worst case scenario is that you get stuffed and K.C needs to go about 70 yards for a FG attempt. Dungy showed a lot of faith in his line and in Manning to use his size to get a 1st down. I hope that Harrison and Ryan Diem get to 100% for the playoffs.

Jacksonville defeats San Diego: Norv Turner, you are dead to me. Is it really so hard to call on the best RB in football to run it 30 times a game when needed? LT should never be the second option in a football game. 16 rushes for the best RB in the game. 16!!! On the road, with Rivers looking like a college freshman, you gave the ball to LT 16 times. It pained me to watch this game. A consolation is that you may wise on up and change your ways before the season is over. The chargers should still win the West and maybe Norv will have smartened up by then and turn San Diego back into a run first team. I questioned Del Rio going with Gerrard after Grey had played well in his stead. Watching Gerrard this week changed my mind. He looks very smooth and effortless, in total control of the offense. Del Rio showed confidence in his team by going for it twice on 4th down on their second possession of the game. The Jaguar team identity is one of “we are tougher than you and will prove it”. On 4th and 1 from the SD 11 and then the SD 1, the Jags ran the ball getting a fist down and then a TD. Play calling like this instills confidence in a team and shows players that the coach believes in them. Come playoff time, the Jags will have confidence and experience in getting the 1st down when they are faced with a short yardage situation. Norv Turner showed no confidence in his team. 4th and 2 from the SD 39 in the 3rd Q. San Diego has an above average O-line, the best running back in the game and are in need of a confidence boost. Turner eschews all that and punts the ball. Jacksonville scored a TD on that possession. Jacksonville has a real shot at the division and certainly the wild card. The AFC South is strong enough to garner both wild card bids.

Vikings defeat Raiders: Steve Hutchinson gets the majority of press when it comes to the Viking O-line prowess. He deserves all the accolades bestowed on him. It will be an oversight if Matt Birk does not go to the Pro Bowl this year. He is mauling defensive tackles. With Brian McKinney also playing at a high level, the Viking line is doing a lot of damage, evident by the gaudy numbers Peterson and Taylor are putting up on a weekly basis. Tavarious Jackson looks very athletic but I am not sure if he is the answer at QB. I would like to see him play with a few decent wide receivers before casting final judgment. I said it before and I will say it again, Adrian Peterson should not play again this season. As for Oakland, where is Jamarcus Russel? Come on, lets see what this kid has. Scale down the play book and get him in there.


Eagles defeat Dolphins: There will be those in Philly that will call for Kolb or Feely to replace McNabb. These are the same fans that wanted McNabb out a long time ago and they should never speak about football again. McNabb is right behind Brady and Manning as best QB the last 8 years and no QB has done more with so little than has McNabb. The one year Philly management gave him a legit WR, the Eagles went to the Super Bowl. McNabb is out of Philadelphia after this season and I hope he goes somewhere with some decent receivers. Westbrook won this game for the Eagles. Miami has not given up on this season and I will predict that they win a game. Rickey Williams was re-instated by the NFL. There have been many comments about Williams regarding his quitting of football and his use of marijuana. About smoking weed, raise your hand if you never smoked pot. I am not saying that NFL players should be allowed to smoke weed, it is still an illegal drug in this country. I am saying not to treat his pot use as if it is a crime on par with gun possession or shooting someone. In regards to him quitting football, I think he needed a break. Most of the people who criticize him probably never ran at full speed, let alone played football since the age of 8. Football is a grueling sport, with an enormous level of dedication in order to make it to the NFL. Williams made his money and then struggled with his true feelings on playing. I can not fault him for quitting, but I do fault him for not quitting before the NFL draft and leaving the Dolphins with a big hole at RB. I have a question for all those that look at Williams with disgust that he quit football. Do you like your job? If you answered no, and had millions in the bank, would you quit and do some things that interest you? Would you travel and see the world? I certainly would. Williams was getting beaten up every Sunday and needed to get away from it all. I wish him the best.

Denver beats Tennessee: Please get Vince Young some receivers for next season. How many dropped passes did the Titans have? 5, 6 maybe. The better team did not win this game. Why does John Lynch still play football? This man had neck surgery to remove bone spurs in 2004. Why risk limb mobility and play football, especially a hard hitting safety who loves to lead with his head? He had a neck stinger on Monday. Go spend some time with your family. I have a prediction. If someone looked up which player has hurt the most teammates in a career, I bet it would be John Lynch. There will be a pile up, play basically over and Lynch will come flying in to hit anything in sight and a lot of time it is his own teammate.


Dallas defeats Washington: Still not sold on the Dallas defense. Campbell played a wonderful game, his only mistake an interception at the Dallas 20 with about two minutes to go. I did not like the play calling here. Two minutes to go, at the Dallas 20 and all three time outs left. Gibbs decided to go pass happy. Why not run the ball with Portis on 1st down, help your young QB out. If it works on 1st down, run the ball again on 2nd down. There is plenty of time left so run your normal offense. On his interception, Campbell looked hesitant to use his legs once he got outside the pocket. It seemed to me that he had a good bit of space to run. He is going to be a very good QB for a while and Gibbs seems correct in moving up in the 2005 draft to pick him up. I wonder if the Cowboys will be able to move the ball once opposing teams figure out that they should guard Terrell Owens.

Cleveland defeats Baltimore: Fun game to watch. Cleveland let the Ravens back into this game. For all the good Cleveland has done this season, two bad things stand out to me. 1- They have a below average defense, 2- Very talented on offense, they are young and have yet to develop a killer instinct. Cleveland had Pittsburgh on the verge of defeat last week and eventually lost because they got nervous in the second half, making silly mistakes and costly turnovers. Same thing happened here against Baltimore, but the outcome was in their favor. It was news to me that field goals were not review able. Why not change that now? Get the competition committee on conference call and establish FGs as review able. It can’t be that hard and which owner would say no to this. Getting the call correct should be the bottom line.