How We Saw Week 14

For some reason, though, I can't get over the feeling that it's going to be the Chicago Bears lifting up the Lombardi Trophy in February.  A little more than a hunch, there's a vibe about that team - from the magical wins over San Francisco and Cleveland to the dispatching of Tampa Bay this week.  Which would add Jim Miller to the names of Trent Dilfer and Kurt Warner as the last three Super Bowl winning quarterbacks.  The odds you coulda got in Vegas . . .

Some might think that the Baltimore Ravens would have been better off with Trent Dilfer.  After all, he led them to the Super Bowl last year.  Elvis Grbac had a very Dilferesque performance Sunday night - 20-38 for 159 yards, two touchdown passes, one touchdown run and one interception.  The reason the Ravens are better off with Elvis:  Elvis can manufacture offense.  Last year, Dilfer had Jamal Lewis running behind him.  Last night, the Ravens' leading rusher was a guy named Obafemi Ayanbadejo with a whopping 22 yards.  Jim told me that injury to Lewis sank them in August.  I didn't listen.  Double ugh.

The Chumpster is back. For the last six weeks, the defense of the San Diego Chargers has taken flack, rightfully so, for losing games. This week, it was quarterback Doug Flutie who handed the game to the Raiders. His three interceptions, two in the red zone, were game-costing reminders as to why he never has gotten the accolades so many think he deserves for his sometimes awe-inspiring play.

After admitting that I attended Christmas parties last Sunday instead of watching some of the games, I got some flack from our readers. One actually got me to chuckling: "this is quite pathetic for a website thinking it's a "sports" related site-and it's writer admits he was more interested in partying than doing his job to report facts-typical fag." It's good to know even self-hating fags read the site.

New England is 9-3 since starting 0-2.  Behind Tom Brady who hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in three games.  With a receiver whose locker was cleared out two weeks ago.  

Another receiver who ran himself out of town was Eddie Kennison.  He was with the Broncos until he decided he didn't want to play football anymore - then went to the Chiefs.  After the Broncos said this past week they wanted to hurt, he got the last hurt in, gaining 76 total yards from scrimmage and helping the Chiefs knock his former team out of second place in the division.

The greatest receiver in the history of football caught for a ho-hum 144 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday.  Had a couple spectacular grabs that very few would be able to make.  I don't care what they say about his "attitude," there are over a dozen and a half teams who wish they would have taken Randy Moss and anyone who says otherwise is full of shit.

My Top Five Coach of the Year Candidates:  1) Marty Schottenheimer, Washington; 2) Bill Bellichick, New England; 3) Steve Mariucci, San Francisco; 4) Bill Cowher, Pittsburgh; 5) Dan Reeves, Atlanta.

Had a Christmas party at my house today with great food and all the games on satellite. The group of us football fans had a ball. The roast turkey breast was moist, the garlic mashed potatoes were heavenly, Cyd's candied sweet potatoes were sinful and the salad provided some needed greenery. The games were pretty good, too.

Heard a ton of foul language during the games Sunday, the worst being at the near-riot in Cleveland, when the fans showered the field with beer bottles. Extremely loud ``F*** you, refs! and ``bullshit'' were picked up by CBS' microphones.

In the Kansas City-Denver game, Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil could be seen mouthing the words ``F*** You A****** to a ref who called back what would have been the game-winning field goal.

And Detroit Lions receiver Johnnie Morton said ``Jay Leno can kiss my ass!'' after the Lions got their first win. Leno has made the Lions the butt of jokes for weeks.

Before the season I picked Green Bay to make the Super Bowl, but Sunday's 26-20 loss to Tennessee makes me think it's not likely to happen. The Packers have lost three games to teams with losing records and are terribly inconsistent. As wide receiver Antonio Freeman said succinctly: "We're just not as good a team as we say we are,"

Loved seeing Pittsburgh beat Baltimore to win the AFC Central. The Steelers were clearly the better team and racked up 450 yards against a Ravens defense that shoots off its mouth better than it plays on the field. "We did a lot of talking, but we didn't back anything up," Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe said. "We didn't throw the ball well. We didn't run the ball well. We didn't cover well. We didn't tackle well. Other than that, we did fine.''

Biggest concern for the Steelers has to be their inability to put teams away. They beat the Ravens by five yet should have won by 17-20 points. Poor special teams play continues to hurt Pittsburgh.

Kordell Stewart (388 total yards) is my vote for league MVP through 13 games. He has been terrific this year, never more so than on his 90-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Shaw on third-and-7 Sunday with the Steelers nursing a six-point lead over the Ravens.

Would love to know why Buffalo coach Gregg Williams did not challenge a play where receiver Peerless Price was ruled out of the end zone after catching a pass in the fourth quarter with the Bills losing, 6-3, to New England. Replays showed Price was clearly in-bounds and should have been awarded a touchdown. Williams had both challenges left.

Philadelphia came up big in winning at Washington to all but clinch the NFC East. The 'Skins have gone 6-2 the last eight games, but their 0-5 start is too much to overcome.

Here is how I see the playoff picture with three games left:
NFC: St. Louis, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Green Bay will get spots. The last wild card will go the winner of the Tampa Bay-New Orleans game next week.

In the AFC, Pittsburgh and Oakland are in, but after that it's a muddle. New England and Miami will fight for the AFC East, while Baltimore and New York have the inside track on wild cards, with only Seattle having a shot to sneak in.

Week's Hot Player

Wade Phillips Memorial
 Bonehead Coach of the Week Award

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