Week 15 Judgements: Broncos bringing back painful memories
1. Suddenly, it's beginning to look like 2006 all over again in Denver. The Broncos won five of their first six that year, allowing just 44 points in the process. Then gravity took over, and Denver lost six of their next 10 to finish 9-7 and out of the playoffs. Now fast forward to this season. They won their first six, allowing an NFL-low 66 points, before the ghosts of 2006 took over. Now they've dropped six of their last eight -- including Oakland at home -- and may be doomed for the playoffs again. So they will beat Kansas City in the season finale. Big deal. The problem is what's next: Philadelphia at Philadelphia. Say goodnight, folks.
2. Finally, Chicago got smart and benched Jay Cutler. The Bears never, ever, ever should have brought him in, and now they know why. It's one thing to have great ability; it's another to be a leader. This guy couldn't lead the Faber College marching band.
3. Never has losing been so good, and ask the St. Louis Rams if you don't know what I'm talking about. For a while there, I thought the Rams were going to blow a chance at Ndamukong Suh by doing something stupid, like upsetting Houston. But then they wised up and fell short, and with Tampa Bay winning they're where they want to be -- at the top of the draft board, with Suh all to themselves. All they must do the next two weeks is what they've done all year. Just lose, baby.
4. That should end all the loose talk about Randy Moss -- at least for another week. So he had a bad day last weekend. It happens. The guy is a big-time threat, and, yeah, so maybe he takes plays off. You take the good with the bad, and there was a lot more of the good in Buffalo. "These shoulders that I have on my body," said Moss, "you can put the Earth on them. Just to let you know, I bounce back." Works for me.
5. Memo to Mike Shanahan: Don't do it.
6. No one needs to tell Cincinnati cornerback Leon Hall you can't go home again. Hall, who grew up in Vista, saved his worst game of the season for San Diego -- burned again and again for big plays, with Malcom Floyd's 15-yard catch to set up the game-winning field goal the final indignity. Hall wasn't bad. He was awful, and, yes, that is out of character.
7. Maybe, just maybe, Carolina found something in Matt Moore. The guy not only wins, he doesn't make the big mistakes that a certain other quarterback does.
8. Ooops, looks like it's Broadway Schmo for Mark Sanchez again. That's what happens when you throw 20 interceptions.
9. This is all you need to know about what Oakland coach Tom Cable thinks of JaMarcus Russell: He leads the Raiders to a come-from-behind win at Denver, and Cable announces that third-stringer Charlie Frye, not Russell, will start next week. Beautiful.
10. Yeah, sure, Ryan Clark and Ike Taylor were right. The local media is too tough on the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. Surrendering 436 yards, spotting 36 points and blowing another fourth-quarter lead convinced me. Listen carefully, guys: You should be grateful that Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense bailed you out of an apology. Come to think of it, you should apologize anyway. That's what people do when they're wrong.
11. I'm sorry, Brett Favre is not the quarterback he was earlier this year. Then again, he never is this time of year. Minnesota should be worried. History does not lie, and history tells us that down the stretch -- more specifically, the last five games of the season -- Favre plays like a 40-year-old quarterback in jeans. He was 10-1 the first 11 games, with 24 TDs and three interceptions. He is 1-2 since, with three TDs and four interceptions.
12. That does it. The MVP goes to Peyton Manning.
13. Here's what I'd like to see happen the next month-and-a-half: Indianapolis not lose, then go to Miami and win Super Bowl XLIV. And here's why: So we can stop going through the annual Nick Buoniconti and Miami Dolphins' champagne watch. Enough already. Run the table, Indy, so he ... they ... stop becoming topics of conversation. And what better place to do it than Miami, huh?
14. Maybe the Kansas City Chiefs should start concentrating on drafting someone, anyone, who can stop the run. It wasn't that 28-yard game-winning TD by Jerome Harrison that convinced me, nor the 24-yard scramble by Brady Quinn on the same drive. Nope, it's the 200 or more yards rushing they hemorrhaged in each of the past three games, including a season-worst 351 against the Browns. "You can't win games if you can't stop the run," said coach Todd Haley. No kidding.
15. Chad Ochocinco may have some explaining to do after telling reporters that "I don't see it as an advantage being at home" for the playoffs. If you don't get it, keep reading. "I like playing away because of the fans," he said. Uh-oh, that will make the natives restless. "I like the talking," said Chad. "I like all that hoopla. I'm just different. There's something wrong with me." No comment.
Sez them ... or Rapid Reporters' Rewind
From Mark Ludwiczak in Buffalo ... It wasn't pretty, but give New England credit: It finally won a road game outside of London. The Patriots had lost five straight in the U.S. before Sunday's victory.
From Jon Gallo in Baltimore ... It's official: Jay Cutler is the biggest bust in the NFL this year. He hit ground zero vs. the Ravens, completing 10 of 27 passes for 94 yards, with three interceptions, no touchdowns and a passer rating of 7.3 Oh, yeah, he was also benched.
From Brian Carson in Pittsburgh ... Congratulations to Ben Roethlisberger. He became the 10th quarterback in NFL history to throw for 500 yards and the first Steeler to do it.
Five things I like
1. Jerome Harrison running the length of the goal line to kill the clock on his game-winning touchdown. The guy isn't just good; he's smart, too.
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| Don't think Steven Jackson is going to shut his season down early. (US Presswire) |
3. Vincent Jackson vs. Leon Hall. Roll the videotape, and you'll see what I mean.
4. Philadelphia tight end Brent Celek. Everyone talks about Jason Witten, Tony Gonzalez and Vernon Davis as the NFC's premier tight ends, but how about a little love for Celek? The guy is Mr. Consistent, leading the Eagles in catches and second only to DeSean Jackson in TDs.
5. Rams running back Steven Jackson shrugging off suggestions he should shut it down for the rest of the year because of a back in injury. "I'm going to gut it out," he said. Just another reason to like the guy.
Five things I don't
1. Officials missing the swing that Cedric Benson took at San Diego defensive back Antoine Cason after a deflected pass. It's not as if it happened away from the play. It was, um, how should I put this ... blatantly obvious. So how do you miss it?
2. The NFL preventing Chad Ochocinco from recognizing Chris Henry by wearing his jersey. The NFL fined Chris Redman when he wore black high-tops without permission to salute Johnny Unitas, and it threatened to fine former quarterback Jake Plummer when he wanted to wear a decal on his helmet for the rest of the season to honor former teammate Pat Tillman. C'mon, guys, relax. Bend the rules when they deserve to be bent. And it's situations like this when they deserve it.
3. Seattle's performance. Fans were booing, and they should. The Seahawks flat-out stunk. What has happened to this franchise?
4. Buffalo picking up Richie Incognito. There's a reason St. Louis let him walk, and Buffalo should know why. This is trouble waiting to happen.
5. Philadelphia going for it on fourth-and-1 at their own 29 with a minute and a half left in the first quarter. It makes no sense. Why give San Francisco a short field? You have the better team, and you're going to beat the 49ers -- provided, of course, you don't unnecessary risks like this. Andy Reid caught a break when the 49ers fumbled away the gift.
Just asking but ...
• Where would Cleveland be without
• How do you not cover Tony Gonzalez?
• What happens to Dallas now?
• What in the name of Matt Moore happened to Minnesota?
• With all the guys they had dropping back, why were the Packers in single coverage with
Significant numbers
• 3 -- Consecutive games with a Jason Hanson missed field goal
• 6 -- Consecutive years New England has swept Buffalo
• 9 -- Consecutive 100-yard games for Chris Johnson
• 9 -- Consecutive December victories for Philadelphia
• 10 -- Arizona turnovers the past two weeks
• 10 -- First-quarter turnovers by Seattle this season
• 13 -- Turnovers forced by Carolina in the past four games
• 30 -- More plays Carolina had than Minnesota
• 104 -- Yards Buffalo was penalized in the first half, the most by any team this year
• 156 -- Consecutive passes without a Tony Romo interception
My top five
1. Indianapolis
2. New Orleans
3. San Diego
4. Minnesota
5. Philadelphia
My bottom five
32. St. Louis
31. Detroit
30. Tampa Bay
29. Kansas City
28. Cleveland
Next weekend's three best games
San Diego at Tennessee ... It's a not-so-Merry Christmas for one of these two.
Baltimore at Pittsburgh ... Steelers can block Ravens' playoff drive
Denver at Philadelphia ... Playoffs at stake for slumping Broncos
