Who controls their playoff
future? That's the big question lots of people are
asking right now. In the NFC, there's only one spot left.
And thanks to the Eagles win Monday night, the New York
Giants are in if they beat the Washington Redskins on
Sunday. If the Giants lose, the Green Bay Packers will be in
with a win. Beyond that, it's too many ifs for me to waste
space here.
In the AFC,
the Denver Broncos are in with a win, and the New York Jets
are in by winning their last two (including Christmas
night).
If the Jets don't win on
Christmas night, the Cincinnati Bengals will get in with a
win in Week 17.
Ravens keep rolling.
I've been saying for a few weeks that the Baltimore Ravens
have the best shot of winning the Super Bowl. And I keep
liking their chances more and more. They completely
dominated the Steelers in Pittsburgh, still have the best
scoring defense in the league, and can lock up a bye by
beating Buffalo in Week 17. They also have the sixth best
scoring offense in the AFC, which is all they need with that
defense.
QB #3 is #1 in Miami.
For the second straight game, the Miami Dolphins benched
quarterback Joey Harrington in the middle of their game and
opted for third-year quarterback Cleo Lemon out of Arkansas
State. So, after bringing in two quarterbacks that started
for two NFC North teams for several years in the offseason,
they're pinning their hopes on a guy whom they're paying the
league minimum and who is in his second season with the
team.
Romo "Hero" talk quieting.
I have nothing against the guy. But, after his first five
starts, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo was the greatest
athlete not only to ever wear an NFL jersey, and not only to
play football, but the greatest person or animal ever to
participate in any sport ever. The reason the Cowboys
ditched Drew Bledsoe for Romo was because the blitzes were
stifling Bledsoe, and he was making bad decisions. Against
the Eagles, it was more blitzing that disrupted Romo, and he
made some bad decisions that resulted in interceptions. All
of the media buzz resulted in Romo going to the Pro Bowl.
But Romo's going to have to play a lot better than he has
recently to go to another February Bowl.
Top Five Chances to Win
the Super Bowl:
1) Baltimore (3:1).
They are playing the best football right now, and they've
been my #1 since Week 14. While their offense isn't very
strong, it is what it needs to be with that very good
defense.
2) New England (5:1).
That New England is my #2 speaks to the parity in the
league. While they've beaten some good teams (Jacksonville,
Chicago, Cincinnati), they are streaky and flawed. But their
6-1 road record gives me hope for them.
3) San Diego (6:1). I
simply won't put the Chargers any higher than this until
they actually get there. The game at Seattle showed that LT
can just carry them to victory every time, and I don't
believe Philip Rivers, in his first season quarterbacking in
the NFL, will be enough against good defenses like the
Ravens and Patriots.
4t) New Orleans (7:1).
There is something going on with this team. I loved how they
went for it on fourth down twice against the Giants. They
attack, attack, attack and don't seem afraid of anyone. With
Bush rolling now, they're the class of the NFC. And if they
host the NFC Championship, which I think they will, the
Superdome will be rocking.
4t) Denver (7:1). I
watched about 30 minutes of their game against Cincinnati,
and I was most impressed with quarterback Jay Cutler. He
made some good throws. With the running game, if the defense
can find its rhythm again, they could make a run.
Quick hits on an NFL Christmas Eve:
--You can
stick a fork into the Indianapolis Colts as far as the Super
Bowl goes. On Sunday, the Colts punted only once and Peyton
Manning had an excellent quarterback rating of 135.3. Yet
the Colts still lost to the hapless Houston Texans, 27-24,
because of a season-long affliction: the inability to stop
the run.
Texans
running back Ron Dayne rushed for 153 yards, the first time
he has gained more than 100 yards in five years. But this
season, a 90-year-old in a walker could gain 100 on the
Colts, who have given up an average of more than 175 yards a
game.
With the
loss, the Colts (11-4) dropped to the third seed in the AFC,
and if that holds through next week, Indianapolis will not
get a bye and would need to win two road playoff games to
reach the Super Bowl. That’s a lot to ask of a weak
defensive team that has lost four consecutive road games.
But, of course, people will still find a way to blame
Manning.
--Bizarre coaching decision by Buffalo Bills coach Dick
Jauron during his team’s 30-29 loss to the Tennessee Titans.
Facing fourth and 5 at the Titans’ 28 with 57 seconds left,
Jauron decided to not let kicker Ryan Lindell try a
potential game-winning 46-yard field goal. All Lindell had
done was kick five field goals during the game. He was
facing a wind, but Lindell has been clutch and the Bills had
a better chance of making the field goal than of converting
on fourth down; J.P. Losman’s desperation pass was
intercepted and the Bills were done.
--The
Titans started the season 0-5 but have now won eight of 10
games under rookie quarterback Vince Young and six in a row.
Tennessee still has an outside wild card chance, amazing
considering how bad the Titans looked early in the season.
--All
year I’ve considered Baltimore suspect, figuring quarterback
Steve McNair would not last a whole season. McNair and the
Ravens playing so well that they now look like the AFC’s
best team after spanking Pittsburgh, 31-7. In two games
against the Steelers this season, the Ravens have outscored
the defending Super Bowl champions, 58-7.
--Watching San Diego struggle against Seattle makes me think
the Chargers could do a belly-flop in the playoffs despite
their talent. Their play calling against the Seahawks was
weird and seemed designed to take the ball out of the hands
of LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers’ most dangerous player
–when you have L.T., why do wide receiver reverses and swing
passes to fullbacks? I still contend that the only person
who can stop the Chargers in the playoffs is their coach,
Marty Schottenheimer, 5-12 in the postseason.
The
Chargers won, 20-17, on a 37-yard pass from Phillip Rivers
to Vincent Jackson with 29 seconds left as Seahawks safety
Michael Bouleware somehow let Jackson get by him. Rivers was
awful until then – 10 of 30 for 180 yards. And he totally
messed up clock management on the last drive, getting off
only three plays in a 1:30 before the TD pass. Sometimes it
helps to be lucky than good.
--Goat
of the week is Cincinnati kick snapper Brad St. Louis, whose
botched snap on what would have been the game-tying extra
point led to the Bengals 24-23 loss at Denver. With the win,
the Broncos (9-6) need only beat San Francisco to claim a
playoff spot. Cincinnati (8-7) is still alive but needs
help.
--Does
anyone want to claim the sixth NFC playoff spot? Five 7-8
teams are tied for the final spot. It would be fitting in
the pathetic NFC to have all five lose next week and have a
7-9 team make the playoffs, the first time in a non-strike
season their would be a losing team in the postseason. To
show how bad the NFC is, the Giants have lost six of seven
but still control their playoff fate.
