Game Analysis
Re-Focused: Colts at Jaguars, Week 17
The nightmare is finally over for the Indianapolis Colts. They no longer have to suffer through the 2-14 season that was 2011, and can finally turn their attention toward rebuilding the franchise. Of course all of the talk centers around that quarterback prospect from Stanford, but many of the Colts’ key players will be free agents and they clearly lack depth throughout the roster. They have a lot more work to do to get the organization back on track. Sunday’s game was rather typical for the Colts as they turned the ball over and got gashed on the ground on their way to the 19-13 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jacksonville has earned a Top 10 draft pick of its own with a 5-11 record despite a much-improved defense. Their offseason will revolve around revamping a horrible passing game, most likely by finding some playmakers for QB Blaine Gabbert who struggled terribly in his rookie season. Like the Colts, organizational changes are ahead as they break in a new owner and search for the third head coach in franchise history. Read the rest of this entry »
Re-Focused: Cowboys @ Giants, Week 17
Divisional games with meaning in Week 17, this will please the NFL brass. In an odd game in the pouring rain at the New Meadowlands Stadium, the Giants jumped out to a huge lead, making it to the half up 21-0. It looked as if the Cowboys simply hadn’t turned up and it was going to be a complete walkover, but then Dallas began to make a game of it.
The Cowboys pegged the game back with some scores and some defensive stands of their own before Tony Romo threw a pick just as it seemed the momentum was back with Dallas. The Giants were able to control the game from that point onwards and closed it out 31-14 to win the NFC East in a season where none of the teams stood out.
For Dallas, it’s back to the drawing board again, and an offseason of heat on owner and general manager, Jerry Jones, for a roster with plenty of issues. New York, on the other hand, rolls into the playoffs on a run of form, and will not be easy outs. Read the rest of this entry »
Re-Focused: Seahawks @ Cardinals, Week 17
As commentators Sam Rosen and Chad Pennington kept on telling us this was a good, hard-fought encounter where both teams played like they had a lot more on the line than pride. It was as if Fox were concerned you couldn’t work out for yourself if you were enjoying the game; let’s just reassure the people watching that football with nothing at stake can be more entertaining than watching Tim Tebow struggle to complete 25% of his throws, they said … without actually saying it of course.
Truthfully, this was far more to my taste with some outstanding play on both sides to discuss and extrapolate into next year. When the dust of this season settles, the offseason is done and we are looking forward to Kick Off 2012, will what we saw here be far more salient than what was transpiring in Mile High?
Re-Focused: Buccaneers @ Falcons, Week 17
The Blowout Bowl. Atlanta entered this game with the number five seed still needing a victory to seal, so they came to play. Tampa Bay entered this game with nothing at stake, with no reason to play, and with pride long since evaporated away from the season. The results were predictable, as the Falcons steam rolled their way to a 42-0 lead before putting backups into the game in the second quarter.
In the end the Buccaneers were able to claw their way back to within three scores in the fourth quarter, thanks to some Falcons mistakes and the cumulative weight of passing against garbage time defenses. The truth is that the end result of 45-24 dramatically flatters a team that was frankly embarrassing for much of the game.
If Raheem Morris wasn’t already for the chopping block heading into this game, he was a dead man walking at halftime.
Re-Focused: Redskins @ Eagles, Week 17
Despite neither team being eligible for the postseason, these NFC East rivals played a tough game, though you wouldn’t know it by looking at the score.
The 8-8 Philadelphia Eagles have many reasons to be hopeful, including their dominating 5-1 divisional record. While their running game was nowhere to be found with LeSean McCoy sitting out with injuries (75 total yards on the ground), Michael Vick (+3.2) was able to get the victory with his arm and help from a still-suffocating pass rush (one sack, nine QB hits, and 18 pressures).
The 5-11 Washington Redskins continued to show some fight, but also showed the same mistakes that have plagued them all year. This included turning the ball over, being unable to take advantage when chances present themselves (two red zone trips in the first half led to nothing), field goal woes and other completely avoidable mistakes. In the end, the Eagles’ superior talent won, but there were some positives for the Redskins going into the offseason. Check out some notable performances from both teams.
Re-Focused: Titans @ Texans, Week 17
With an outside chance of making the playoffs, this was it for the Tennessee Titans and first year head coach Mike Munchak. Could they beat a severely depleted Houston Texans side, and would it matter?
Unfortunately while the answer to the first question was yes, it ultimately proved only of consequence to their draft stock as results went against them. A disappointing end to an encouraging season where the Titans got plenty of rookies plenty of playing time, though the nature of this victory against a largely second string Texans side shows there is a lot of work to be done.
As for Houston they march into the playoffs and will consider this game a success, presuming T.J. Yates is at full health as they host their first ever playoff game. After all they got Andre Johnson some snaps, didn’t lose anyone to injury, and got their depth some playing time. Let’s look at how that depth, and others, performed.
Re-Focused: Chargers @ Raiders, Week 17
While San Diego may have already been eliminated from playoff contention, you could tell from the kickoff that they were intent on preventing Oakland from winning the division. Philip Rivers was in the kind of form that very few other quarterbacks have ever produced, with his nagging injury long in the past. This was another season where probably the best overall team in the division will find themselves at home during the postseason.
For the Raiders, they couldn’t stand the pressure in front of their home fans when the Broncos were losing to the Chiefs, opening up the chance at the AFC West crown. It was their front four that won them the first matchup, sacking Rivers six times. This time, with Jared Gaither controlling the dangerous Kamerion Wimbley, Norv Turner was able to call up the vertical pass plays which are such a staple of the Chargers’ offense and gash Oakland through the air.
Re-Focused: Steelers @ Browns, Week 17
The Pittsburgh Steelers got some ideal preparation for the postseason in the form of a closely contested divisional clash that featured some wintery weather and went down to the last play. Unfortunately, they also got some bad news after the game when it was revealed that running back Rashard Mendenhall had torn his ACL on an innocuous-looking play in the second quarter.
The Steelers hung on to beat the Cleveland Browns 13-9 when a last-second Hail Mary pass fell incomplete and now travel to Denver for a postseason game on the road. Despite losing Mendenhall, they should still be favorites, although a lot will depend on how Ben Roethlisberger’s ankle holds up, because it still seemed to be limiting him here.
The Browns year ended with a spirited effort and they will look to retool in the offseason, especially on the offensive side of the ball, as they only scored more than 20 points once all season and that was back in Week 2.
Re-Focused: Chiefs @ Broncos, Week 17
In a game the Broncos had a win and in situation, their offense didn’t seem to get the message. Neither team was able to do much when they had the ball in their hands, but Kansas City was able to get the ball into the end zone once, which was good enough for the win.
In the fourth quarter, we’ve grown to expect Tim Tebow to come up with some sort of heroics to make the game winning score and clinch the division. In this game there were no signs of Tebow making big plays at any point, so when it came to the fourth quarter Denver didn’t look like they had much of a chance despite only being down by four.
Even though Denver couldn’t score more than three points, they can thank the Chargers for helping them make the playoffs. Only parts of this team look playoff ready, while the rest of the team needs to get better fast if they want a chance against Pittsburgh.
Re-Focused: Panthers @ Saints, Week 17
After losing Malcolm Jenkins on the first defensive series in a meaningless Week 17 game last year contributed to the Saints’ early exit from the postseason, surely they didn’t play their starters very long this time around, right? Not quite; New Orleans still had a chance to move up a spot in the Playoff seeding with a win and 49ers loss, and the Saints decided that keeping their momentum was worth the risk of injury. In hindsight the decision looks like a good one because nobody got hurt and the New Orleans offense put up at least 42 points and more than doubled their opponent’s score for the third consecutive game. They did it without Jenkins, Lance Moore, or Jonathan Vilma, whose leadership on the field can’t be quantified the same way his overrated play can be. In the end, it felt less like a game between the Saints and Panthers and more like a battle of the Saints against various NFL and franchise records.
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