Three games are in the books for Week 12. The Packers, Cowboys and Broncos got a leg up on the Week 13 competition by winning on Thursday. These teams have 9 days to refine what worked. The Lions and Raiders are on 2010 Watch, and the Giants have more than a week to prepare for the Cowboys’ visit to the Meadowlands. Let’s get to the rest of the league.
The Face of Monday Night
The NFL has undergone a number of changes in the past 25 years. Foremost among those changes have been the liberalization of rules to strengthen the passing game. Quarterbacks have never been as protected as they are today. Receivers have never had more room to operate — and they’ve never been bigger. In 1996, Keyshawn Johnson and Terrell Owens exploded the concept Sterling Sharpe and Michael Irvin had brought to life in 1985. These big, powerful receivers have become the prototype for a generation. Of course, they are not alone. Receivers like Carolina’s Steve Smith and Pittsburgh’s Hines Ward continue to be effective. So who is covering these guys?
Former Cal Bear, Nnamdi Asomugha - A Thinking Man's Corner
Gobble, gobble.
The Raiders have shot their wad, pardon me, for the month. Dallas, in facing another very tough pass defense, better come out running. Short week helps the Raiders, location does not. Dallas 10, Oakland 9.
For the Lions, Stafford is probably going to sit. Detroit is going to ask Daunte Culpepper to get his roll on without Megatron. Packers can smell the post-season. Green Bay 37, Detroit 17.
The Broncos are who I thought they were. However, don’t be surprised to see a proud group of veterans rally around this sinking ship. The Giants effectively have 2 days to rest and less than a full day to get acclimated to the altitude — AFTER playing an overtime game vs. Atlanta. Eli throws 3 or 4 to their guys. If the Giants pull this one out, kudos will go to the coaches who definitely did some 2-for-1 game planning in the bye week before Atlanta. Denver 19, Giants 17.
Not a bad week. Shoulda gone to Vegas. I wonder what a 12 pack pays straight up?
This was the week that the AFC North teams all believed the hype about themselves or their opponent and fell to pieces. The Steelers, Bengals and Browns all played on the road and thought they’d run roughshod over the Chiefs, Raiders and Lions. Every one of them had a rude awakening.
Week 11 means desperation time. I can smell the sweat and feel the anxiety in the Meadowlands and Baltimore and Philadelphia and San Diego and Denver. One place where no one can smell desperation is Charlotte, North Carolina. I didn’t write a post for the Dolphins-Panthers contest, but if you’ve been reading you know I liked Miami.
Carolina’s new offensive coordinator did it again. He allowed Jake Delhomme to throw the ball more than 40 times. The Panthers did not rely on their offensive line and lost another winnable game. They did not rely on DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart to carry the load. When those two combine for 25 carries, book the loss.
15 targets to Steve Smith for all of 87 yards. Like I said — book the loss.
On to Sunday:
The 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers are not the same team without all-world strong safety Troy Polamalu. He aggravated his injured knee during last week’s game vs. the Bengals at Heinz Field. Should he play and how soon? That’s the question.
The situation in Pittsburgh is not critical. It’s just complicated.
After 10 weeks, the team is 6-3 with control of their own playoff destiny and a chance to win the AFC North. In each of three losses this season, Polamalu’s absence has been felt, but it was arguably not the decisive factor.
Turnovers and special teams defense have been crucial in each game. In Week 2, the Steelers lost at Chicago and were minus 2 in the turnover battle. One turnover was an underthrown ball to speedy WR Mike Wallace who was running behind the Bears defense. That interception, influenced by spirited pressure from Bears RDE Alex Brown, turned that game around.
The following week, the Steelers were dominating the Bengals 13-3, in Cincinnati when Ben Roethlisberger fired a “pick six” to Bengal DB Jonathan Joseph. The Bengals woke up and won the game making the same pass that defeated the Steelers a week before. In Chicago, Jay Cutler zipped a ball in front of Tyrone Carter for a 7 yard score. In Cincinnati, Carson Palmer found Andre Caldwell from 4 yards out and a score. Both slants to the right side are probably never even considered with Polamalu on the field.
Nonetheless, it shouldn’t have come to that.
The Steelers can win every game remaining on their schedule without Troy Polamalu. In order to do so, they’ll need to do little things like take care of the ball, maintain lane discipline and tackle on special teams, and run in the Red Zone. They did not do these things well in Week 10 and lost a tough game. A defense capable of holding the Cincinnati Bengals to 218 yards of total offense can run the table. The offense and special teams need to carry their weight.
Remaining games: at Kansas City, at Baltimore, Oakland, at Cleveland, Green Bay, Baltimore, at Miami.
The Bengals still have tough games on the road at San Diego, at Minnesota and at the Jets.
The Steelers lost to the Bengals for the second time this season. I’m not happy about it. At least the Cowboys are being shut out by the Packers.
Congratulations to the Bengals who have swept the season series with both the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens. The race in the AFC North is over and the Bengals are going to the playoffs.
Now is the time to fine tune the team and work on bringing the hammer every week. I hope the Steelers can play the Bengals again – with Troy Polamalu in the fold…and I hope that Ben Roethlisberger takes some mustard off of his throws. Overthrown balls in the end zone to Santonio Holmes and Mike Wallace were the difference in this game. And, then there were the two underthrown balls to Wallace who was running behind the defense. Arrrrgh!!!
It happens. 
Yeaaaah!!!
My misery index is now at ZERO.
After watching The Genius of Video go for a 4th down deep in his territory and squander a 13 point lead in the 4th quarter, I’ve SEEN IT ALL…and I’m happy as all hell. The Colts beat the Patriots in a game they richly deserved to lose. And I think the bloom is off the rose.
Bill Belichick has lost his mind and I’m so glad. 
That post-game handshake was so quick, I wonder if Jim Caldwell even got a good look at Mr. Bill. What a putz!
From where I’m sitting, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have accomplished one thing this season. They’ve shown that they have 3 quarterbacks who can make plays and that they have a defense that is a shadow of its former self. The offense has hardly been lights out this season, but when you consider that the offensive coordinator was fired at the start of the season, that the team has a new head coach, that the starting QB was determined at the end of pre-season, and that two of the QB’s who’ve started this season are new to town, you simply cannot have high expectations. As I’ve said, Byron Leftwich was not the reason the Buccaneers were not winning games at the beginning of the season. They were losing for the same reasons they lost prior to last week: a profound inability to stop the run.
When Leftwich was benched, he was 6th in passing yards in the NFL. Guess who is 6th in passing yards right now? Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers have won five in a row.
Leftwich performed well in relief of Roethlisberger last year. Given that Antonio Bryant has played hurt for the entire season, that Michael Clayton is somewhere between Chris Chambers and Chris Henry, and that the Bucs don’t have a reliable deep threat, Leftwich did a credible job. The same can be said for Josh Johnson — except that he was compelled to play against teams like New England (#3 pass defense) and Carolina (#5 pass defense) and Philadelphia (#2 with 15 INTs) and Washington (#1 pass defense). Forget that Leftwich scored 21 points against Dallas and threw for nearly 300 yards vs. Buffalo. Forget that Josh Johnson fought hard against some of the best defenses in the league.
It is officially “on.” We have passed the half-way point of the season. National sportswriters, desperate for an angle, have begun to pass out “Midway Medals” and “Halfway Honors” to players they cover every week, and the opponents they love to hate.
Tonight, I like the 49ers to win a tight contest. I’ve picked the Niners on the road vs. the Texans and at home vs. the Titans. They lost both games. In between those winnable games was a hard fought loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Now that the 49ers have definitively proven they would be the “weak sister” of the AFC South, its on to small fish in the NFC.
"Devin, let me hold that for you!"
Aside from desperately needing to win this game, the Bears and 49ers can also commiserate over a pair of embarassing 45-10 losses. The Falcons beat San Francisco by that score in Week 5. The Bengals blasted the Bears in Week 7.
I know the college interns have been pouring over databases all week looking for the last time two teams played one another in the same season they lost by that score, by that margin, on a Thursday night, in prime time, with playoff hopes hanging in the balance, with two Black head coaches, with highly-touted quarterbacks who have not quite fit in with the team that drafted them, and, last but not least, with axes to grind against the Minnesota Vikings. This is certainly going to an epic matchup.
It could go one of three ways:
There simply isn’t enough time to wait for both of these teams to score 45 points.
I’ll take option 1. The Niners get it together at home and the world is introduced to Alex Smith for the first time and Vernon Davis, for the second time.
And a shake to Baltimore Raven CB Dominique Foxworth.
Mano-a-mano. Shading Chad to the Inside. Hut-hut-hut!
It’s going to get hectic.
He's Not Going Inside! Damn!
Chad’s Not Done…and Neither is Dominique.
"Gotta Get Up! Quick...Recover!!"
Chad’s thinking, “I did my part, where is the damn ball?”
A perfect throw from Carson Palmer on this play probably goes for a touchdown. That perfect pass never came. The Bengals didn’t need it because this season, they are simply better than the Ravens. Palmer is 8-3 (career) against the Ravens. Chad has always been a big part of that. From what I can see, he hasn’t lost a step — and if he has, Dominique Foxworth won’t find that lost step any time soon.
