I am so excited about the great lineup of games today that I couldn't sleep. I'll be sitting on the couch with one of my buddies, tossing back a few with the TV on split screen, checking out Dallas/Philly on one side and TEN/IND on the other. CIN/BAL should provide much entertainment as will SEA/MIN live up to the game it's being billed as.

For a change, there is more than one entertaining late game. MIA is at NE and KC goes to Mile High to be handed their 2nd loss of the season by my underachieving, but beloved Broncos.

GO JAKE THE BIG SNAKE!

Vikes got a huge win today trouncing Seattle 34-7! This was one alot of people thought would seal the Vikes playoff hopes. Forutnately, Seattle cannot play on the road.

Giants looked horribly lame and tame. Fassel needs to go. Only Bruce Smith setting sack record was of any interest. Though I think the fact that they've only kept the sack record for just over 20 years makes it seem not so relevant to me.

Philly and Baltimore showed Dallas and Cincy to be in a bit over their heads.

And f**k, another week where CBS is showing a great game with an exciting finish (Colts-Titans) and has to leave due to contract requirements to get us to our local game (Jets-Bills). Even Jets and Bills fans would rather see the end of the other game, especially this time of year!

George_vikingfan, when did CBS change from the Colts-Titans game to the Jets-Bills geme? (I'm in Indy, so fortunately we were able to watch the end of a highly competitive, but rather sloppy game.) Were you able to see the Titans punt returner fumble the Colts punt at the end of the game?

Nick

They didn't show a 1 pm game on CBS here. At 4 pm the Colts-Titans game came on, but they switched to the Jets-Bills (I guess at the same time they did in NYC)--it was before the Titans kicked off after their last score. But here's my complaint: of the three games CBS is showing, WHY ARE THEY SHOWING US IN PHILADELPHIA THE VERY WORST MATCHUP???

Well, it sounds like some of you were able to see some or most of the Colts-Titans game. Out here, the early game on CBS was Raiders at Steelers, which I didn't bother watching (and probably nobody else did either!) At least I'm getting to see the Chiefs-Broncos; the lead has changed hands a couple of times, presently Denver is ahead 24-21 in the third. Go K.C.!

I think it was after the Titans scored the touchdown, but before they attempted the two-point conversion. So no, we didn't see the fumble.

It could be worse. Fox could have had the national game, and you would get to see the thrilling SF/Arizona game.

Have they outlawed defense in the NFL? After the gorge of fantasy numbers put up in the last couple of weeks, this week might have topped them all.

Jeff Garcia, 6 touchdowns! Clinton Portis 5 touchdowns! And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

welcome back Michael Vick: 124 yards rushing (and counting)

Thank heavens for the Sunday Ticket, where you can watch any game you want.

My Week 14 recap.

WOO HOO! Carolina won the coin toss as they move into overtime! Screw Michael Vick and the hicks. wink

In Dallas, the early game on CBS was IND @ TEN and the early game on FOX was DAL @ PHI. The doubleheader was on CBS which after the Justin McCareins punt return fumble, then took us to the KC @ DEN game.

Just as I thought, DEN disposed of KC and now has the tiebreaker over MIA for the 6th seed. Clinton Portis played like a man possessed today. Eddie Kennison is an SOB!

Vick is back and the Falcons were hot as ever in their red and white uni's. (I hope Illini is scouring the web for game pics now). wink

Seattle sucks on the road!

BAL doesn't need a QB. Lewis and Lewis can beat any team by themselves.

IND basically wrapped up the AFC South and the KC loss today will give NE the edge for home 'snow' field advantage.

The Giants are really bad and I mean really bad, fifth-place-team-in-a-four-team-division bad.

I don't know if there has ever been a team that plays like they want to get their coach fired more.

That Colts v. Titans game was a thriller. I like the Colts but man, they sure win the hard way. I worry for Steve McNair. Is he going to be getting around in a wheelchair when he's 50? The pounding he takes is incredible, but he's one tough mofo, isn't he?

As Jim @ Outsports said, the Dish with Sunday Ticket rules for football fans. The CBS affiliate here in Los Angeles kept showing the freakin' Raiders until a couple of weeks ago; they were heavily criticized for it as one of the benefits, supposedly, of not having a team here is getting the good games on the networks.

We actually watched 2 plays in the Bolts v. Lions game. That's two more than I thought we should have! The Chiefs were shockingly bad; they peaked at midseason and could easily get bounced out of the playoffs in the first round.

The Bengals choked. My friend has Chad Johnson, who we call "The Emerging Superstar" because Dick Engberg called him that, in fantasy and we couldn't figure out why the Bengali's weren't throwing to him. That was the Jon Kitna of old yesterday. The Racist Drunk, Kerry Collins, and Fassel out for the Giants? And how bad are the Saints? I lust after Jim Haslett, but man his teams are always unprepared and sloppy.

And it can't be said enough times in enough places: the BCS blows donkey cocks. I hate USC--UCLA! UCLA! UCLA! Fight fight fight!--but they got jobbed. On Sportscenter, they mentioned that if Notre Dame had won, USC would have made it. Another reason to hate Notre Dame.

[ December 08, 2003, 08:39 AM: Message edited by: Jim Allen ]

And the Redskins are one player away from a Super Bowl run? C'mon. We may both be Redskins fans, but the 'Skins hardly looked like a good team out there in their own right. It's not like there was a huge talent disparity. If there were, Strahan wouldn't even have been able to breathe on Hasselbeck, let alone sack him twice when the outcome was still very much in doubt.

The Redskins still make way too many mistakes (though they're finally beginning to correct some of them) and miss too many assignments and make too many key penalties to be a good team. Good teams don't lose three straight games they should win, even against quality opponents. A good team wins at least three of the games they've lost by less than a touchdown this season.

There is no comparison between the way the Redskins and the Giants played yesterday.

The winner of this game ceased to be in doubt when Tiki Barber fumbled on the first offensive play of the game. It was just a matter of waiting three hours. All the attention that his fumbling has gotten this year, he comes out and fumbles on the first play. That, singularly, says more about how bad the Giants are than I ever could.

And they are fifth-place-team-in-a-four-team-division bad.

Why has no one mentioned Denver's walloping of Kansas City? Talk about WHOA! I want to present the Human Rocket award to Clinton Portis myself. (Someoen else can choose to console Trent Green.) And New England showed that they should move into the top Power Ranking spot with their defensive defeat of Miami. The Patriots may not always get their offense working, but when that's the case, the defense picks up the slack. KC's defense got lost somewhere on the way to Mile High Stadium.

Another dreadful game I partly watched: Chicago's inept self-destruction at Green Bay. The play calling by Jauron and Shoop was awful and Kordell Stewart followed up brilliant passes with grotesque interceptions. Dick Jauron should probably be packing up his office right now; he's going to be out of Chiland faster than Fassel leaves a trail of exhaust in the Meadowlands.

Baltimore's defeat of Cincy and Minnesota's defeat of Seattle raises the validity factor of my Rams' wins, since St. Louis defeated both teams. Cleveland won't be a walkover tonight, either.

The biggest joke game: San Francisco vs. itself--uh, I mean, Arizona!

[ December 08, 2003, 03:07 PM: Message edited by: fantomas ]

Oh, yeah. f**k the Chiefs. Scumbags.

Yes, I picked Denver to lose yesterday in the loser's pool I'm in. Rat bastards. Like Jim's recap on the main board said, the key play was when the Chiefs had 3rd and 1, the best RB in the game is on the bench and they try a play-action pass that blows up and causes Green to be sacked. A friend that I was watching with who's a Chief fan was bitching about that call the rest of the night; he should have, it was awful.

Good point about Da Bears playcalling. They had the Packers on the ropes and let 'em come back.

Why, just because the Redskins made a couple fewer mistakes than the Giants did?

Before we go nominating the Redskins as the Second Coming of the Steel Curtain or the Greatest Show on Turf, the Redskins played a *decent* game against a discouraged football team. If there had been the Grand Canyon-esque difference you described, the 'Skins would have won 40-7.

The Redskins still are a team that is a collection of star players, but not a great TEAM. As long as Daniel Snyder keeps trying to get the shiniest toy on the block, that will remain the case for years, no matter who coaches the team. Joe Gibbs couldn't get this team out of the mess it's in.

While I'm at it, if I were coaching the team, I'd serve Mr. Ramsey with some notice that he's going to have to win his job back in training camp if Hasselbeck plays well the next three games. I think the whole "you don't lose your job to injury" thing is as much a load of crap as the BCS.

The Redskins need a major upgrade on the defensive line and an every down running back. They have none of that.

Well, they already did. But it'll be more clear-cut this week, I'd guess (unless people start throwing the Colts back up there).

Theo, why is Eddie Kennison an SOB? Do you choose to believe the filth that the Bronco's promote? Here's the real story:

Eddie was a Bronco player. His wife was going through a difficult pregnancy/child birth that happened to coincide with a Bronco game. Eddie asked coach Mike Shanahan to let him leave the team to be with his wife during the childbirth/medical procedure. Mike Shanahan refused. Eddie left. Mike spun the story, saying that Eddie abandoned the team. Then the Bronco's cut him.

Eddie was with his with his wife, which is exactly what each one of us would do if faced with a similar circumstance. But that cancerous rat-face Shanahan spun this to make Eddie look like the bad guy.

Then, this week, the press tells Eddie about a quote from Denver, "The Chief's are 11-1 frauds." Eddie reacts thinking those words come from the Denver players. It isn't until after the fact, that he's told it comes from a Denver writer.

Theo, please tell me why Eddie Kennison is an SOB? Kennison was one of the few Chiefs who performed like a champion in the loss Sunday, catching three passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.

Chief's 11-2
Bronco's 8-5

Coyote, why is it "filth" when it was reported by objective sources? I say Kennison is an SOB because he quit the team. He walked out on his team the night before an important game, lied to his coach and teammates and said his heart wasn't in it anymore. And before you could blink, he's in Kansas City being fit for a jersey. If there were an iota of truth to what you are saying about his family, why wasn't any of that brought up then? He had plenty of opportunity to set the record straight but didn't. Now, a year later, all he can say is no one on the team likes Shanahan and that he was going to guarantee a win Sunday. Well we see that didn't happen.

[quote]coyoteugly:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Theo:

Chief's 11-2
Bronco's 8-5 [/quote]Just a small point, that originally was on another thread, but:

You don't need an apostrophe to make plurals. Just add an "s" or "es". So: BRONCOS. CHIEFS. An apostrophe signifies a possessive. The Broncos' star runner. The Chiefs' excellent record. The only time you would use an apostrophe to make a plural is for ACRONYMS or YEARS, and even then, it's not required. I make this mistake myself sometimes, so I'm not being righteous.

Now, I don't really know about the Kennison situation, but Shanahan is a tough cookie. The Broncos are even tougher. What is happening to the Chiefs, though?

Objective sources…. Mike Shanahan and the Bronco’s are objective sources? Unfortunately, what has been widely reported regarding the situation came from the Bronco’s and Shanahan, not Eddie Kennison.

“He walked out on his team the night before an important game, lied to his coach and teammates and said his heart wasn't in it anymore.”

That’s according to the Bronco’s, Theo. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s accurate. There are two sides to every story.

Both Eddie and Dick Vermeil have been pretty candid about what happened in Denver regarding his wife (as well as his father’s) medical issues. It’s also interesting that the words that Eddie used to describe Shanahan are eerily similar to what current Bronco Daryl Gardener has said about Shanahan recently. Trend?

Also, Eddie did not guarantee a win on Sunday.

If you want to bring Daryl Gardner into this, well here goes:

DENVER (Dec. 8, 2003) -- Denver Broncos defensive tackle Daryl Gardener was deactivated for the rest of the season for a non-football illness.

Gardener was suspended twice for a total of three games for conduct detrimental to the team. He was to join the team Dec. 8 after the suspensions, but Broncos coach Mike Shanahan decided to shelve Gardener so the player can seek treatment for unspecified personal issues.

"I'll let them (the issues) stay with him and I'll respect that," Shanahan said. "I'm hoping the best for him and that things get taken care of."

Gardener's agent, Neil Schwartz, said the player wasn't being treated for alcohol or drugs.

"This was not adversarial," Schwartz said. "Both sides agreed this is what's best for Daryl. He understands and agrees that his personal health is paramount."

Gardener was supposed to be Denver's big free agent pickup of the offseason, signing a seven-year deal that included a $5 million signing bonus. He hasn't lived up to the expectations.

Gardener was arrested for a fight outside a pancake house in July, then missed training camp and the team's first five games because of wrist surgery stemming from the altercation.

He returned in a limited role before starting two games, but was replaced as a starter by Mario Fatafehi on Nov. 6 against San Diego.

Gardener told Shanahan the following week that he didn't get along with some of Denver's defensive coaches, including coordinator Larry Coyer, and didn't like the team's scheme.

Shanahan suspended Gardener for one game after the meeting, and the defensive tackle criticized his coach in a tirade on a Denver radio station the next day. Shanahan suspended Gardener for two more games after the outburst.

Despite all the problems, Shanahan said he would be open to Gardener returning to the team next season.

"We still have his rights and I'll address that at the end of the season," Shanahan said.

Schwartz said Gardener hopes to be back in Denver.

-------------------------------------------------

Shanahan has the issues?

Theo, all I am saying is that the comments that DG made about Shanahan are similar to those voiced by Kennison about Shanahan.

I read that story too, and again, one thing is also similar to the Kennison story...we are getting the Bronco's side of the story only and not the player's.