Monday Morning Quarterback

It's another Monday Morning Quarterback and in between celebrating the Dallas Cowboys' playoff berth and celebrating the holidays, I watched some other football this week and boy was I disgusted from what I saw. I have a lot to say so let's start.


Tampa Bay 20 New Orleans 17 (OT)
First off all, props to the Bucs, who have came back from a horrible performance against the Jets to win back-to-back on the road. Now MAJOR thumbs down to the Saints, who all of a sudden look like they don't care anymore. To quote Herm Edwards, YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!!!! The Saints look like they took a holiday until the weekend of Jnaruary 16-17. What a joke and an abonimation of the game. Give some effort New Orleans, this is two straight weeks. I hope they lose home field next week.


Atlanta 31 Buffalo 3
Yay for the Brian Brohm sighting today, but I think this game confirmed he can't be an NFL quarterback. Good, solid effort all around by a Falcon team with nothing to play for and they would be a postseason team if injuries didn't interfere. Unfortuantly, part of being a good NFL team is having depth, I hope Atlanta learned its lesson.


Houston 27 Miami 20
Wow, typical game for both teams in that inconsistencies plagued both teams. The Texans dominated the first half, the Dolphins dominated the second. Ultiamtely, the Texans held on, but in the end, I'm not impressed on either side and don't think either team deserves a wild card spt. Both teams are still in, but need help, (the Dolphins, more of a miracle.)


Green Bay 48 Seattle 10
Not much to say here, the Packers did what they had to do while the Seahawks continue to embarras themselves. Green Bay is now palyoff bound, for the first time since the 1980's with a quarterback other than Brett Favre.


Carolina 41 NY Giants 9
My BIGGEST thumbs down, and I mean BIG to the New York Football Giants. Their hideous performance against the Panthers today reminded me of the 44-6 Cowboys-Eagles thrashing last year. What a disgraceful appearence for a team that had to win to stay alive in the playoff hunt and was playing their final game at Giants Stadium. I never felt so bad for New York fans and I truly mean that, despite Dallas knocking out the Giants, I really feel bad that such a day as the final game at the stadium had to be such a disaster. Here's hoping Tom Coughlin gets the boot after that game.


Cleveland 23 Oakland 9
Oops!!! I picked the wrong bad team in this one. Interesting observation here: Jerome Harrison looks like a starting running back in Cleveland now. Should I keep him in fantasy? Oh and Charlie Frye looked lousy in his return to Cleveland.


New England 35 Jacksonville 7
As predicted by yours truly, the PAtriots are hitting their playoff form and clinched the AFC East, while the Jaguars effectively ended their season, barring a ridiculous miracle. Disappointing thumbs down to the Jags for not putting up a fight, they could have played better.


Cincinnati 17 Kansas City 10
This makes next week's Bengals-Jets game very appealing, in that the Bengals might be the worst AFC team entering the postseason. Yeah, they won the AFC North, but they barely beat the Chiefs and right now, the offense is really limping. Cincinnati is relying too much on their defense right now and the question is how far can the Bengals bend on that D before they break. We'll find out come two weeks....


Pittsburgh 23 Baltimore 20
The Ravens are breathing a BIG sigh of relief that they still control their own destiny. I have never seen a team blow so many chances to win a game. Baltimore effectively beat themselves thsi week and not only jeopardized their chances at the playoffs, but kept the Steelers in the hunt. Big thumbs down to Baltimore (not as big as the Giants, because the Ravens actually showed up) and AGAIN, the Steelers get lucky. IF they get in the playoffs, it'll be something.


Arizona 31 St. Louis 10
Almost had the exact score here, missed by a field goal. The 2% of the country that got this game on FOX were treated to a Keith Null, Chris Ogbonnaya, and Danny Amendola sighting in one game. The worst part of that? They led the Ram offense in passing, rushing, and receiving respectively. At least Steve Spagnuolo didn't suffer through the Giants debacle.


San Francisco 20 Detroit 6
In a game in the meaningless department, the 49ers won a moral victory over the Lions. The other 2% of the country who got this game on FOX got treated to a Drew Stanton sighting and then benching, a pitiful performance by Maurice Morris, a great performance by Frank Gore, and a new kicker named Ryan Schmitt. I love meaningless games.


Philadelphia 30 Denver 27
The face that the Eagles nearly lost this game proves the incompetence of both games. This was similar to Houston-Miami in that inconsistent play was king and both teams showed they need some work to win in the playoffs. I don't belive in the Eagles and that lousy 2nd half is a reason why. And the Broncos are on the verge of another collapse, they need help plus a win next week if they want to go to the postseason.


NY Jets 29 Indianapolis 15
Now, for my major rant. Before I start, big thumbs up to the JEts, for going to Indy against an undefeated team and takign care of business. NOW, I will start by once again rolling out a Herm Edwardsism, YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME. I don't CARE if you clinched everything possible, if it's week 16, no way in HELL are the starters sitting unless your up by 30+ points. Watching Curtis Painter come into the game and look completly stupid in his first NFL action was a joke. Though I'm sure Jets fans loved it, watching Painter throw to Hank Baskett and Donald Brown get stuffed behidn a second string offensive line trying to block one of the best run defenses is a joke. MAJOR thumbs down to Jim Caldwell for quitting on the game as well as quitting on a perfect season. A complete disgrace. Oh, and congrats to Don Shula and company, you guys can finalyl pop that champagne on another non-perfect year.


Dallas 17 Washington 0
I'll be honest, I remain nervous about this Cowboy team. The 2nd half was a joke and their lack of offense on 3rd and 4th down short plays was a disgrace. At the same time, Tony Romo loosk fantastic and this team looks differnet than previous years, they're a team that is hungry to win. Next week, they host the hated Eagles for the NFC East title and it will not be like last year. This is a different Cowboy team and though I'm not sure who will win the game yet, I hope to be headed to Modell's next Monday to buy a division championship t-shirt.