NFL Week 12 Notes

Some thoughts from a few of the games I watched this weekend.

49ers defeat Cardinals: Frank Gore played a tremendous game considering it looked over after what appeared to be a bad ankle injury in the first half. Juking, slashing and then running over people, all those watching this young man were treated to his enormous talent. Arizona coach Ken Whizenhunt made a call with 10 minutes to go in the game that I was not to fond of. Trailing by 3, 4th and 1 from the Niner 2, Whizenhunt went for the TD rather than the tying FG. Sure, if you do not get it you pin the Niners deep and odds are that you will get the ball back with good field position, but there is no guarantee that the Niners, who have been moving the ball the entire game, would not drive the field and put up some more points. The FG was the correct call but the TD succeeded giving Zona a temporary lead. I am also critical of Arizona’s play calling after San Fran punted in OT to give the Cards the ball at the 3 yard line. Warner is not mobile at all so he will not be able to escape any rush. Why not run the ball on 1st down in hopes of picking up some yards and breathing room? Arizona was averaging 4 yards a carry at this point. Warner should also know better in this spot. A veteran QB must feel the rush and get rid of the ball to avoid the safety/fumble. He looked lost on the final play of the game.

Browns defeat Texans: The biggest play of this game was the Owen Daniels fumble after the catch with 6 minutes to go in the 3rd Q. Daniels had the 1st down but did not see a defender behind him who hit the football out of his grasp. It would have been 1st and 10 at the Cleveland 22 with Houston trailing by 7. After the fumble, Jamal Lewis took over and won the game. It took the Texan defense 3 or 4 players to get him down on every touch. Jamal Lewis is only 29 years old and looks to have a lot left in the tank. Derrick Anderson was spot on with almost all of his passes. If not for a few drops, the Browns would have won by a larger margin. Kellen Winslow is a mismatch for a LB or a CB. The Browns have a real shot at winning in the playoffs if the defense plays the way they did against Houston. Houston is likely out of the playoff picture. For the first time this season, Matt Schaub looked nervous and Andre Johnson was a non-factor.

Patriots defeat Eagles: A very entertaining game. Brady looked fantastic again, winning the game by taking what the defense gave him. Feeley played well. People will knock him for throwing the INT with 4 minutes to go. It was a bad pass, yes, but the play should have not happened. 4 minutes to go, 2nd and 4 from the NE 29, run the ball. Andy Reid, you have a standout RB with Westbrook and a very good O-line, run the ball here. People will say that the Eagles gave the rest of the league a blueprint for beating the Patriots. Give me a break. The Eagles made great plays on offense, sure, and have an All-Pro secondary, but let me ask you this. If you watched the game, was there a point at which you felt the Eagles had a real shot at winning? Do you think Brady and company would have put themselves in a position to win if the Eagles’ tied or took the lead on their penultimate drive? The Patriots are a team that will not lose unless the other team plays the perfect game and has the talent on both sides of the ball to execute the perfect game. Who in the NFL matches that description?

Vikings defeat Giants: I always assume 1 Manning bone-headed INT, but this was ridiculous. He looked confused and most of his passes were off the back foot, a sign of intimidation. The Giants better win this week or their season will meet Mr. Hanky for some Christmas cheer. Minnesota is back in the playoff hunt, congratulations. I still say that they should rest Peterson until next season. Chester Taylor is a very capable RB.

Raiders defeat Chiefs: By now, most people know of Herm Edward’s decision to go for the 1st down on 4th and 1, when the Chiefs were down by 3, at the Raider 23 yard line. What is this guy doing? How do you not kick the 40 yard FG to tie the game? The only reason to not kick the FG is if your kicker is hurt, which was not the case here. Gregg Easterbrook, a columnist who contributes to ESPN Page 2 every week in his very well written and researched Tuesday Morning Quarterback, called Herm Edwards going for it “a smart, high-percentage decision”. Agreed, it was high percentage. One yard after you already have over 150 on the ground should be attainable. The execution and lack of a play action pass threat contributed to the Chiefs not getting the 1st down. Calling it smart is debatable. Even an average NFL kicker should be able to make a 40 yard FG on a consistent basis. Tie the game up and rely on your defense against an offense led by the never clutch Dante Cullpepper. Please, Coach Kiffen, get Jamarcus Russel some playing time before the season is over.

Tampa Bay defeats Washington: Garcia is playing at an All-Pro level so any extended time missed will be detrimental to Tampa’s playoff push. Washington has a real gem in Jason Campbell. He made some rookie mistakes again this game, but the talent is obvious. I really like the way he stands tall in the pocket, almost never looking rattled.

Seattle beats St. Louis: Just when you think Frerrotte could actually win a game, 1st and goal from the Seattle 6, he reminds us why he is a back-up. The 1st down pass to Bruce that hit him in the ankles after hitting the ground was atrocious. The 4th down fumbled snap was inexcusable. Steven Jackson looked healthy. Seattle was not very impressive, but won another game, moving them closer to the division title.

San Diego defeats Baltimore: San Diego beat up on a Baltimore team that is playing an extremely poor level of football in every facet of the game. Billick should give McGahee the ball 25 times a game, but for some reason believes that Kyle Boller can run the 4 and 5 wide out-shotgun sets. Let me be offensive coordinator for either one of these teams. I guarantee better results than they are getting now.