Mike McCarthy: 'You see Eric, we are up here, and you guys are way down here.' (US Presswire)
That's what we had in the NFL this past weekend, and I'm blaming the bottom of the league.
There is a lot of garbage down there.
Sift through the mess that is in that NFL waste disposal and you will find the St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs and others among the rotting food and smelly garbage.
The bottom of the NFL smells worse than Elizabeth, N.J. That isn't good.
What having so many bad teams does is leave us with Sundays like we had this week, which was just bad.
Now we know why Pete Rozelle dreamed of parity all those years.
Think about the early games. We had Colts-Rams, Packers-Browns, Patriots-Bucs, Chargers-Chiefs and Texans-49ers.
Get your blood flowing, did they?
The late games brought us Raiders-Jets and Panthers-Bills, bad matchups and bad games, and we had bad games featuring Bengals-Bears and Cowboys-Falcons.
Look at that slate. The imbalance of the league is not a good thing. It brings on a batch of bad games every week. Of the 12 games Sunday, one -- Houston-San Francisco -- was decided by less than seven points.
One?
Those poor blokes in England probably threw up their fish and chips just watching the Patriots blow out the Bucs. Let's hope nobody upchucked the "bangers and mash."
You sure you want the NFL, London?
For that reason, I gave all the teams at the bottom -- and you know who you are -- failing grades this week in our CBSSports.com Week 7 Grades for bringing the level of play in the NFL down and for making Sunday the worst one yet.
Patriots: Aside from two interceptions, one in the end zone, Tom Brady had a big day. He had three touchdowns, but the defense dominated here. Brandon Meriweather had two picks, one returned for a touchdown to lead that unit.
A
3.10
F
Buccaneers: Josh Johnson clearly isn't the answer at quarterback. He was picked three times and really struggled, save for a throw or two. The pass defense, a season-long problem, was that again. They might not win a game.
Colts: The passing game wasn't as explosive, but it didn't need to be. Peyton Manning was still more than functional. The defense got a pick for a score by rookie Jacob Lacey and pressured Marc Bulger much of the day.
B+
3.27
F
Rams: They aren't good enough to compete with the Colts right now. Marc Bulger struggled. Steven Jackson did run the ball well, but that's about it for the highlights.
Steelers: They didn't do a heck of a lot on offense, but with two defensive returns for TDs it didn't matter. The defense came up huge in the fourth quarter with those two scores. The explosive passing game never seemed to get it going.
B+
2.96
C
Vikings: The two big turnovers were the difference. Brett Favre had those. The offense had trouble for much of the game. They couldn't get Adrian Peterson going. The defense played a good game, shutting down the Steelers' big-play passing game.
Chargers: The defense, which has struggled all year, dominated against a bad Kansas City offense. Philip Rivers was good again, but that has been the one constant with this team. They had to have it, and they did.
C-
2.38
F
Chiefs: It was as bad as the score. Matt Cassel isn't very good right now. He was picked three times. The line can't block, which doesn't help. Rivers did what he wanted in the passing game. Horrible.
Texans: They looked dominant in the first half, but went to sleep in the second. Same for their passing game, which moved the ball well in the first half, but they couldn't get it going in the second. Owen Daniels had a big day with seven catches for 123 yards and a touchdown.
A
2.43
C
49ers: At least they found out Alex Smith is the quarterback who should be playing. He played well in the second half and nearly rallied them. The defense continues to have trouble with the pass.
Packers: Who doesn't get credit? They did what they wanted. Aaron Rodgers had a big day, Ryan Grant ran it well and the defense shut down the Browns all day long, including twice inside the 5. It was almost too easy.
A
3.02
F
Browns: Man, they are bad. They can't pass it. They can't run it and they can't stop anybody. It gets worse by the week. Could Eric Mangini be one-and-done?
Jets: Can they get any better against a bad team? They ran it down the Raiders' throats all day, rushing for 316 yards. They also played great defense, starting it by forcing a turnover on the game's first play. Mark Sanchez didn't have to do too much.
F
2.81
F
Raiders: Why did we think they were going to show up here? JaMarcus Russell finally played himself onto the bench, but it didn't get much better. The defense was road graded. What a disaster.
Bills: They won this game with four takeaways leading to 17 points. The offense didn't do much, but it didn't need to do anything. The defense stole the show.
B+
2.10
F
Panthers: They continue to struggle on offense. Jake Delhomme is a turnover machine. The defense actually played well, but it received no help from the offense. This is a damning loss.
Saints: Coming back from 24-3 down says a ton about this team. That's character. That's talent. Drew Brees threw some picks, but he regrouped to get his team going again. The big plays were the two defensive returns by Darren Sharper and Tracy Porter. They were sloppy at the start.
A+
3.55
C+
Dolphins: You can't give away defensive touchdowns and expect to win against a team like the Saints. You must take care of the football. For a half, they looked great. Then it came apart. Chad Henne will have days like this in his first season as a starter.
Cowboys: Tony Romo and Miles Austin both had good days for the second consecutive game. Romo lit up the Atlanta secondary and Austin had 171 yards and two scores. The defense was the difference here, sacking Matt Ryan four times and pressuring him all afternoon. Patrick Crayton's punt return for a touchdown sealed it.
B-
2.90
C-
Falcons: They struggled to get the offense going, and Ryan was hurried all day. The pass defense, which is a concern as they move forward, didn't slow Romo. It's tough playing a team on the road coming off a bye.
Bengals: Carson Palmer threw five touchdown passes and Chad Ochocinco caught two of them to get the passing game going for the first time this season. Cedric Benson had a huge day against his former team with 189 yards and a touchdown. The defense picked off Jay Cutler three times.
D
2.86
F
Bears: That was horrendous. They didn't even compete. Jay Cutler wasn't good. The defense was worse. The Bengals did what they wanted on offense all afternoon long. It had to burn the Bears to see Benson run wild like he did.
Cardinals: The Cardinals defense came up big in this one. The pick by Adrian Wilson in the second half to set up a touchdown was the big play. Kurt Warner made some big throws, despite taking heavy pressure.
A
2.62
C-
Giants: The offense couldn't get anything going and the turnovers were killers. The pass defense still has lapses that really hurt. Eli Manning just didn't seem to get into a groove.
Eagles: They had trouble on offense again. The line is bad, which makes it tough to get anything going. The defense, aside from the two big plays, actually played pretty well. The play-calling change didn't matter. It's about players.
F
2.77
D
Redskins: The two big plays on offense by DeSean Jackson were the difference. He is special. The offense didn't do much other than those plays. The Will Witherspoon interception return for a touchdown was big. A solid game.
Well, Pete, I think you gave us apretty good report card this time. Why do the Lions play on Thanksgiving day anymore? They have to have their head examined for playing Matthew Stafford...why? Here's your franchise QB, and let's see how he likes being a punching bag for the Packers.
If the Cowboys would stop making mistakes, they could have put 40 on the Raiders. As it w
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Why is it that the Cowboys can play a team like the Eagles and beat them but the media either calls it a weak league and but when we lost earlier in the season to the Giants they were on their way back to the Superbowl. I know the Cowboys are the team people love to hate but my goodness what happened to us being just plain Good. I'm not saying we are Superbowl material yet but we are making some s
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You are being way too kind when saying that the Bears arent playing good football. The are absoutely stinking up the joint. As a die hard Bears fan that has tried to keep looking at the stupid glass as half full I have finally had enough of this wreck of a team. I would love to say its injuries or something like that as to why the Bears are so god awfull but its not. When y
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I'm a Packer fan, but to say they deserve an A for this game is more then just a stretch. The Special Teams play was bad once again coughing the ball up on the opening drive, missing a 43 yard field goal, and giving up 2 34 yard returns. The offense had trouble scoring TD's in the red zone and also gave up a Safety. The penalties problem continued, the Atari Bigby block in the ba
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The Ravens at home on a Sunday night playing a divisional game against a team without starting QB Ben Roethlisberger, Guard Chris Keamouteau, safety Troy Polamalu, and DE Aaron Smith...the most 4 important people for the Steelers, and the Ravens playing against Dennis Dixon only win in OT because of the kid's interception in his first start ever. I say the Ravens should be getting a C-.
Let me start by saying, this isn't directed at ALL Steelers fans, just the ignorant ones who can't type a post or have a conversation without mentioning 6 Super Bowl wins, and when I say "Steelers fans" I'm referring to these ignorant ones...
The Steelers don't have more championships than other other franchise. In fact, they're not even in the top 3. The current leaders are t
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This is a plea to Prisco to start grading teams OBJECTIVELY rather than based on expectations. Please explain to me how the Chiefs earn an A while the Steelers earn a D, when the game went into overtime? Just because a team that normally plays poorly manages to win a squeaker against a good team, they get an A? You gotta be kidding me. Did you watch the game??? The Chiefs were dominat
Prisco probably should have said that playoff races are usually a bunch of good teams chasing each other for a few coveted spots, usually while playing a decent level of football. The problem is that even the mediocre 6-4 clubs continually play up and down each week, there are only a few teams that play consistently well almost each week and the rest are basically struggling to put together any ki
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I am so sorry Pete to douse water on your platonic love affair with Peyton ....but no team ever deserves an "A" when they fall behind 17-0 against an opponent they own...and your "special boy" Peyton throws 2 picks(again!!)
Even your "binky buddy" Manning said they did not play a complete game....... they get an "A" for playing a 1/2 gam
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"Steelers: They outplayed the Chiefs and lost, which will make this one sting. They have had trouble covering kicks all season. The interception was the big play, turning things around in a big way."
They got a D and the Chiefs got an A??? They got outplayed and got an A? Strange grades indeed.
Prisco - I usually love your writing despite what everyone else on here has to say about it. However, your argument does not make mathematical sense. For example, you mentioned that the Bengals would have virtually locked up the AFC North if they had beat the Raiders. They would have a two game lead plus tie breaker with 6 games to go.
The problem with that thinking is that it assumes
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How can you say that? Because you read the stats and saw the yardage that McNabb put up? Or did you actually watch the game?
The Chargers offense was scoring at will and the defense held Philly to a field goal on, what?... 3 redzone situations - one being 1st and goal at the 1 yard line. So the Chargers went to playing prevent D most of the game. T
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(POLL)
I am not a Colts fan, but how can a team that is PERFECT on the season only have a 3.15? Isn't a PERFECT record equivalent to a 4.0? if not, why the heck not? What else is supposed to happen in this league other than win ALL of your games?
I have huge respect for Pete Prisco. The amount of dis he suffers on this forum is way over the top. And unwarranted. Nevertheless , for once , I'm disappointed with him this week.
The Sunday night game was a classic. For most of the game New England was terrifyingly awesome. On both sides of the ball. Brady was exceptional. By contrast Indy was not inspiring and I thought Manning had t
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I don't agree with what Prisco is saying. No playoff races in the coming weeks? Sure, there are a divisions with significant leads, but that doesn't mean the end of the season is set up for a number of big wild card races. Still, another other reason I don't agree is that a few weeks ago I remember either Prisco or Judge saying the exact same thing about there being no races, exc
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