NFL Fourth Quarter Report Cards

Ahh, playoff time in the NFL. You know what that means; rematches galore, and people scrutinizing every move of the players and coaches. Even during non-game days. It also means that it’s time for me to deliver the fourth quarter report card for each team. Some teams finished strong, other teams finished like Denver always does. Remember that the grades are based on the final four games of the regular season and nothing else. Colts fans, cover your eyes.

Dallas Cowboys (11-5): Quite the quarter for the ‘Boys. How bout ‘em? Ending New Orleans’ winning streak, shutting out two divisional foes to close out the season, and a home playoff game all have to have the Dallas faithful downright giddy. It remains to be seen if the lack of a go-to guy (still) will affect Tony Romo in the playoffs, but this is a team with a lot of positive energy and momentum right now. I wouldn’t want to play them in game one. Does Philly? Grade: A-

Philadelphia Eagles (11-5): Maybe I’m the bad guy, but I’m not as enthused about the Eagles’ final run as most people are. The Giants were a mess offensively against good teams, yet threw up 38 points in a loss to Philly. An underachieving Denver team nearly stole a win at Philadelphia, and the Eagles look lifeless in the season finale against Dallas when the division title (and, by extension, a home playoff game) was on the line. I don’t have much faith in these guys right now, to be honest. Grade: B-

New York Giants (8-8): What an embarrassing way to finish the season. I mean, really, where’s the pride? Despite being behind the eight ball to make the playoffs, the Giants showed absolutely no urgency and got absolutely pantsed by the Panthers and Vikings to close the season. Looking back on it, 10-6 wouldn’t have made the playoffs anyway, but they didn’t know that when they were 8-6, so why is it that they played like it? What disgrace. Grade: F

Washington Redskins (4-12): Hey, at least you hired Mike Shanahan, one of the top five coaches in the NFL in the last decade. I know that has nothing to do with the final quarter of the season, but I’m including it anyway because it’s my blog. Sue me. Grade: C

Minnesota Vikings (12-4): I hate to blow my own trumpets, but I sort of feel like saying, “I told you so.” I mentioned in last quarter’s report cards that I wasn’t sold on the Vikings, because they’d been beating up on orphans and bowing down to bullies. The Cincinnati win was pretty impressive, but the losses to Carolina and (especially) Chicago showed just how vulnerable this team can be. Does anyone really think they’re going to the Super Bowl? Yeah, me neither. Grade: C+

Green Bay Packers (11-5): Don’t look now, but the Packers are one of the hottest teams in football. The only thing standing between them and an 8-game winning streak is a last-second laser from Ben Roethlisberger to Mike Wallace. They’ve been sound in every phase of the game and have a ton of mojo heading into Arizona (again) this week. With the Cardinals licking their wounds, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see the Cheeseheads get their first playoff win of the Aaron Rodgers era. The first of many? We shall see. Grade: A

Chicago Bears (7-9): The Bears underachieved this year. Lovie Smith did a bad coaching job. Jay Cutler was worse than advertised. Devin Hester may or may not be alive. Firing the staff and keeping Lovie won’t solve anything. The win against Minnesota was fun to watch. That’s all I have for the Bears. Grade: C-

Detroit Lions (2-14): Did the Lions get any better this year? I have my doubts. They were kinda plucky to start the season, but haven’t really advanced at all. There were some close games sprinkled in with mostly double-digit losses, but their fourth quarter results weren’t much different than their first quarter results. I know they’re young and untalented, but I can’t say that I saw much improvement with Detroit this year. Maybe next year. Grade: D

New Orleans Saints (13-3): If you ever want the guide on how not to close out a potentially historic regular season, Sean Payton and company would be happy to share it with you. After being outplayed by Dallas, the Saints face-planted in a loss to Tampa Bay (no really, they lost to the Bucs) before closing the year with a mail-in performance against the Panthers. Not a lot of positive vibes coming from this team heading into the playoffs. Grade: C

Atlanta Falcons (9-7): What do you know? Matt Ryan returns and they promptly win 3 straight games to close out the season. It’s unfair to blame backup Chris Redman for any issues because I don’t think they would have beaten the Eagles or Saints with a healthy Ryan, but it’s good to see them post the first back-to-back winning seasons in franchise history. This Mike Smith guy can coach, apparently. Nicely done, sir. Grade: B+

Carolina Panthers (8-8): To recap the Cats’ quarter, I asked their number one fan, Skip, for his thoughts, as always: “The Cats opened the final quarter with an uber-conservative effort in a loss at Foxboro. The trend looked to continue through 3 quarters with the Vikings until Matt Moore and the coaching staff loosened it up, sparking a 3-game win streak in which Moore showed he may be ready, 28 (Jonathan Stewart) showed he can handle a full load, and the defense finally fully adapted to Meeks’ system with positive results in both points allowed and turnovers forced. This team is earmarked for a deep playoff run next season.” Like I’ve always said, Skip is the master of the 62-word sentence. Grade: A

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-13): They played well this quarter. Two wins, both on the road, against one good opponent (New Orleans) and one bad opponent (Seattle). Raheem Morris still looks completely overwhelmed as coach, but I’m never a proponent of firing a guy after one year in any sport. Maybe the Bucs can capitalize on this final quarter and have a semi-decent year next year. And maybe they’ll bring back the peach jerseys on a permanent basis as well. Grade: B-

Arizona Cardinals (10-6): The term “going through the motions” comes to mind. After beating Minnesota, the Cardinals had essentially locked up the division, so they took their foot off the gas down the stretch. Wins against Detroit and St. Louis are nothing to scream about, and the losses to San Francisco and Green Bay showed a team that is just ready to start the playoffs. Be careful what you wish for with a red-hot Packers team coming to town. Grade: C

San Francisco 49ers (8-8): Let’s see: beat Arizona, St. Louis, and Detroit; lost to Philadelphia. What am I supposed to gather from that? Oh yeah, that they’re a decent team with some nice talent that could possibly challenge for a division title in a year or two, but just isn’t very good right now. Their 8-8 record is a perfect representation of their season. Grade: C+

Seattle Seahawks (5-11): What a disappointment. Jim Mora, Jr. took over for Mike Holmgren and promptly ran the Seahawks into the ground. Now he's gone. Matt Hasselbeck is starting to look (and act) OLD, there is still no running game, and the T.J. Houshmandzadeh signing didn’t exactly light a fire under the offense. There are a ton of problems with this team, but maybe the bad season will allow them the luxury of getting rid of some of their aging talent and start anew. They lost their final four games by a combined 86 points. Ouch. Grade: F

St. Louis Rams (1-15): They didn’t finish with another win this season, but they kept playing hard and I commend the Rams for that. I know it’s not how you play the game, it’s whether you win or lose, but with the dearth of talent in the Gateway City right now, effort is about all that can be asked of this team. And they delivered on that front. As an aside, was I the only one who found it humorous when Keith Null’s stats would flash across the bottom of the screen, making it look like the computer had made a mistake and put “Null” in the place of the actual player? Oh, I was? Ok, never mind then. Grade: C

New England Patriots (10-6): The Wes Welker injury basically ruins everything for New England. Tom Brady only looks deep to Randy Moss about 8 times per game now, and every other pass is thrown short to Welker to move the sticks. With him gone, their chances of winning the Super Bowl are non-existent. It’s that simple. On the bright side, they won 3 of their last 4 heading into the playoffs. Grade: D

New York Jets (9-7): What weird team. Their running game and defense are both fantastic, but they’re just not very good as a whole. They don’t scare anybody, and I guarantee you that every playoff team would love a chance to play them in the next round. As for their final quarter, they won 3 of 4, but lost to Atlanta, beat Tampa Bay, beat the Colts JV, and beat the Bengals JV. Am I supposed to be impressed? I hope not. Grade: C+

Miami Dolphins (7-9): Well, Miami went out with a whimper. Losing three in a row to go from potential playoff team to sub-.500 team? Not exactly the way to close out the year. Oh well, you can’t win division titles every year, I guess. Grade: F

Buffalo Bills (6-10): A friend of mine is from the Buffalo area and I contemplated going with him to see the Colts-Bills regular season finale. Then I realized that by Week 17, we’d be resting our starters and they’d be starting God-knows-who at various positions. And that it’d be -51 degrees and probably snowing. Then I decided against it. Based on what I saw as I watched the game on TV, a great call by the Lankster. Grade: C-

Cincinnati Bengals (10-6): A fun team to follow simply because they have so many characters on the team. But a maddening team to follow because I still haven’t been able to peg them. Early on, they were a strong defensive team with a good running game that could complete a clutch pass or two thanks to Carson Palmer. Now, they’re a good defensive team with a solid running game and no passing game to speak of thanks to Carson Palmer not having any targets. I hope they beat the Jets Anyway, their final quarter showed that they can play with San Diego but also sink to the depths of Kansas City. Basically, they play up or down to their competition. Grade: C-

Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7): They won their last three, but only after they had an embarrassing loss to Cleveland. If you’re a Steelers fan, how frustrating is it to know that all you had to do was beat ONE of the following teams and you’d be in the playoffs: Cleveland, Oakland, Kansas City. That’s the list. Not good, Mike Tomlin; not good at all. Now go polish up that Super Bowl ring and get right for next year. Grade: B

Baltimore Ravens (9-7): They didn’t make it easy on themselves, but they ended up making the playoffs anyway. Winning 3 of their last 4 helped, but the Raiders game showed how unexplosive (is that a word?) their offense is. And no, Willis McGahee’s anomaly performance doesn’t count. Why doesn’t Ray Rice score more? I don’t kow either. Grade: B

Cleveland Browns (5-11): Four wins to close out the year? By the Brownies? Wow, color me impressed. In brown, I guess. Now pay Josh Cribbs, please. He’s your best player and probably your best quarterback, too. $1.4 million per year isn’t good enough. Grade: A

Indianapolis Colts (14-2): Damn, here we go again. After all of my ranting, raving, hoping, and wishing, Jim Caldwell is essentially giving the starters three weeks off and expecting them to be sharp for the playoff game in two weeks. Were it not for the fact that this method has never worked for us before, I wouldn’t be concerned. But when you consider that teams with bye weeks in the playoffs haven’t fared so well in recent years, this move makes me nervous. I still think we have the best team in the AFC, and possibly the NFL, but if we don’t come out sharp from snap one, it won’t much matter, will it? Sigh. Grade: D

Houston Texans (9-7): Four wins in a row to close the year almost got the Texas into the playoffs. They needed the Jets to lose to the Bengals, but that didn’t happen. Regardless, Houston fans should be excited for next year as Matt Schaub showed that he’s ready to be a premier quarterback in the NFL, and Andre Johnson has already shown that he’s a premier receiver. Add in an ever-improving defense, and the Texans are looking at a playoff spot next year. Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Grade: A

Jacksonville Jaguars (7-9): 7-5 to 7-9 with losses to Miami and Cleveland. Yeah, that’s not very good, Jags. But hey, at least you can draft Tim Tebow now in an attempt to garner some more fans before you move to Los Angeles, right? Grade: F

Tennessee Titans (8-8): Chris Johnson got 2,000 yards, but gets demerits for promising his linemen cars if he hit the mark, only to actually reward them with Rolexes. Not that a Rolex is a bad gift, but it’s not a car. Then again, this is also the guy who predicted a 10-game winning streak after they started 0-6, so take it for what it’s worth. Grade: B

Denver Broncos (8-8): New coach, same result: a choke job that prevents them from making the playoffs. Losing to Oakland and Kansas City isn’t exactly the way to set up your postseason chances. I’m just saying. Ask Pittsburgh, they’ll tell you the same thing. Denver’s slide + Florida getting housed by Alabama = Lank not calling Big Brother until Opening Day in April. Grade: F

San Diego Chargers (13-3): No hotter team in football right now. They’ve won 11 in a row and are clicking on all cylinders heading into the postseason. Philip Rivers has been masterful, and people still think LaDainian Tomlinson is a quality back even though he didn’t touch 100 yards in a game this year. As did none of their backs. Mr. Rivers, your table is ready. Grade: A

Oakland Raiders (5-11): Two things, Oakland: first, thanks for letting my boy Sebastian Janikowski kick a 61-yard field goal. That was awesome. Second, hire Mike Leach to make your team watchable again, even when Sebastian isn’t kicking 60+-yard field goals. That’s all. Grade: D

Kansas City Chiefs (4-12): Lost to Buffalo and Cleveland, but beat Denver? Umm, ok. I guess that’s good, right? Because isn’t Chiefs-Broncos one of those fabled NFL rivalries I’m supposed to care about? Or is that Chiefs-Raiders? Or Broncos-Raiders? Ah, forget it, I don’t want to waste any more of my time trying to figure it out…oh wait, isn’t it Cowboys-Redskins? Never mind, I got my Indian mascots mixed up. Sorry about that. Grade: D+

~~ Lank

Lank Still Loves The Colts

As you may have heard (unless you don't watch sports or live under a rock...or don't watch sports while living under a rock), the Indianapolis Colts suffered their first loss of the season. Big deal? Eh, not really.

But how they lost it is.

As the blog's resident Colts fan, I'm taking it upon myself to assure you that losing a game isn't the end of the world for this team. 16-0 wasn't the stated goal for this time at any point during the season. Winning the Super Bowl always has been and will be the stated goal for this team. However, I can't help but think that losing to the Jets simply because coach Jim Caldwell pulled his starters to rest them is a bad sign. Had New York simply beat us at full speed with all hands on deck, that would have been one thing. But losing because you're taking your foot off the gas pedal in Week 16 is something else entirely.

A couple weeks back, I argued that the Colts should play all of their starters for the remainder of the year, regardless of the results. By giving them so much time off (their first playoff game won't be until January 16th/17th), the starters are in danger of losing their rhythm and forgetting the things that got them to 14-0 in the first place. You simply cannot take this much time off and expect to be as sharp when the playoffs roll around as you were the first three months of the season.

How do I know this? BECAUSE IT'S HAPPENED THREE TIMES ALREADY TO THE COLTS ALONE!!!

2005, 2007, and 2008. In those seasons, the Colts won at least 12 games, secured their playoff position by late in the season and chose to rest their starters in the last game in order to "rest them" for the playoff run. For the record, the supposed "playoff run" last exactly one game in each of those seasons. In 2006, the one year we actually had to scrap and claw our way to a decent playoff seed, we never benched our starters and ended up...wait, what was the result that year...oh yeah, I remember...WINNING THE SUPER BOWL!!!

Sorry to go all caps twice on you, but I'm just a little frazzled right now. This bout of deja vu is resembling '05, '07, and '08; not '06. I'm not happy about this.

A redeeming quality from the Jets game is that all of the players looked pissed. Not necessarily at Jim Caldwell or his decision, but just pissed that they were losing. If we can somehow channel that motivation into playing hard against Buffalo (you know, until they get benched again) and taking some intensity into the bye week prior to our playoff game, we may be able to salvage this situation after all. Sharpness is key in the playoffs because every team is good and the slightest of mistakes can turn into game-changers. If the intensity is lacking due to the benchings, sharpness will be as well, and that's bad news.

I love my Colts, and I'm not quibbling about a 14-1 record. What I am quibbling about is a troubling trend that seems to be rearing its ugly head yet again. Is it January yet?

~~ Lank

Why The Colts Should Play to Win

Heading into tonight’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars (8:20 pm, NFL Network), the big question is whether or not the Indianapolis Colts will play their starters for the duration of the game. Having already clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs, there are some who think the Colts should “shut it down” for the season to allow all of the bumps and bruises of an NFL season to heal.

I couldn’t disagree more.

Having been an Indianapolis fan for years and years, I can recall the Colts’ playoff results off the top of my head…and most of them aren’t good. The two most excruciating losses I’ve suffered as a Colts fan were the 2005 loss to the Steelers in the playoffs (the game was technically played in 2006, but was part of the 2005 season), and the 2007 loss to the Chargers in the playoffs (same principle; different years). The common denominator between these two? The Colts had gotten out to a big lead in the divisional race and proceeded to take their foot off the pedal in the last few weeks in order to get everyone healthy and rested for the playoffs. Meanwhile, the ’05 Steelers and ’07 Chargers had to scrap and claw their way into better playoff positioning, so they’d been playing all of their starters for the full 17 weeks.

Once those results became a reality (2005 was the worst, by the way; that was probably the best Colts team I’ve ever seen), it was clear that resting our players may not be the best strategy to use going into the playoffs. Especially since we had to keep our foot on the gas in 2006 to make the playoffs…and ended up winning the Super Bowl four weeks later. Coincidence? I don’t think so, but the Indianapolis brass does.

Obviously, Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell are a lot more intelligent than me and know their team much better than I do. However, after seeing high seeds who rest their guys down the stretch lose in the playoffs year after year (’05 Colts, ’07 Colts, ’07 Cowboys, ’08 Titans, etc), and seeing teams that have to play with a sense of urgency all year do well in the playoffs (’05 Steelers, ’06 Colts, ’07 Giants, ’08 Cardinals, etc), there seems to be a trend forming.

This isn’t a plea for them to try and win all 16 games this season; a 16-0 season would be nice, but I’d rather win another Super Bowl than have an undefeated regular season and another disheartening playoff loss. If the undefeated record comes, fine; but if it doesn’t, I don’t really care. I just want another ring.

Another reason for my desire to see the Colts continue to play their starters all year is much more simple: their offense and defense rely on a certain rhythm to make plays, more so than most other teams in the league.

Peyton Manning is the best quarterback I’ve ever seen, but even he is prone to starting slowly when given too much time to rest. Why? The Colts’ offense is one that relies on timing and precision to succeed. Manning must get his reps in order to ensure that the rapport with his backs and receivers, and the offense as a result, is at an optimal level. This is one reason that Manning obsesses over attending every practice, workout, and game, no matter what: he needs reps. All of those 12-yard outs, screen passes, and deep crossing routes are much easier to complete when you know exactly when your receivers are going to break, and the spots to which they’ll break. As 18 goes, so go the Colts; so if he needs the playing time to keep his game sharp, shouldn’t the Colts give it to him?

Defensively, the Colts play with a small, quick lineup that is based on pursuit and gang-tackling. The goal is to have as many blue jerseys in the picture as possible, preventing any significant gains from the opposing offense. The Colts defenders play off one another well, pursuing the ball and knowing where the others will be on any given play. When guys are given large amounts of time off, this chemistry is disrupted, and guys aren’t where they should be as often. Playing time is crucial for defenders to get into a rhythm defensively, learning the tendencies of the offense, and knowing exactly what the coaches expect from them with every play call. Without sufficient playing time, the performances are doomed to suffer, which has a deleterious effect on the unit as a whole.

I’ve been encouraged by the way the Colts have played this year. Save for a few games (St. Louis, Seattle, and Arizona come to mind…why can’t we play the NFC West every year?), there haven’t been a lot of blowouts and easy games. Despite the closer-than-expected results in some games (Miami, San Francisco), the Colts have remained poised and have shown the resilience of a champion. A lot of this comes from the consistent play of both the offense and defense. No matter how bad they may look at times, both units remain steadfast in their execution, confident that things will eventually go their way. And thirteen times this year, they have. That consistency doesn’t come about by happenstance; these guys have worked hard to perfect their craft and find ways to make plays no matter the situation. Keeping guys on the bench for large parts of the rest of the season will disrupt this consistency and could threaten the Colts’ bid for another run at a championship.

Do we want to repeat 2005 and 2007? Or do we want to repeat 2006? I don’t know about you, but I had a great time watching them win the Super Bowl in 2006. Let’s try that again.

~~ Lank

NFL Third Quarter Report Cards

With Week 13 having come and gone in the NFL season, everyone is officially at the three-quarter pole, having played 12 games this season. The season is coming into focus as we now know the contenders, the pretenders, and the flat-out awful teams. I’ll be handing out grades to each team for their third-quarter performance, not their year-long accomplishments. So expect lower-than-expected grades for the Steelers and Ravens, but higher-than-expected grades for the Jaguars and Titans. Just a hint.

Dallas Cowboys (8-4): An uneven quarter for the Cowboys. They won two games, sure; but did they really inspire any confidence in you? The 7-6 stinkbomb against the Redskins was sleep-inducing, the pantsing at the hands of Green Bay was discouraging, and their inability to slow down a formerly punchless Giants attack was worrisome. In the grand scheme of things, they’re 8-4 and probably headed for the playoffs. But if they lose in the first round (again), does it really matter? Grade: B-

Philadelphia Eagles (8-4): Now that the third quarter is over, we can wipe that nasty loss to the Raiders off the slate before assessing them. I think they had a pretty good four-week stretch. Winning three games, the Eagles won two road games and took care of division foe Washington at home. That’ll play. Now that they’ve nestled themselves in the thick of the playoff race, we can see what they have in store for us to close out the season. They’re traditionally good closers, so don’t expect a drop-off between now and Week 17. Grade: B+

New York Giants (7-5): The Giants have followed their four-game losing streak with a 2-1 record. But I’m still not sold. Denver ate them for Thanksgiving dinner, and the overtime win against Atlanta didn’t exactly impress anyone. However, wins are wins, and their defeat of Dallas keeps them firmly in the playoff, and division, hunt. I just need to see more consistency before I get too excited about these guys. Grade: C+

Washington Redskins (3-9): Is there such a thing as an encouraging 1-3 quarter? If so, the Redskins are the perfect example. After beating Denver, Washington lost to Dallas by one, Philly by three, and New Orleans by three in overtime. An argument could be made that they should’ve won each of those games. Obviously they didn’t, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed by the way this team has performed over the last few weeks. Maybe Coach Jim Zorn hasn’t lost them yet after all. Grade: C+

Minnesota Vikings (10-2): In case you were wondering, the Vikes have exactly two wins over teams with a winning record. Actually, make that “team”, because they’ve beaten Green Bay twice. That’s it. They played the Cardinals in an attempt to add to that list and were thoroughly outplayed. I’m not yet sold on the Vikings because, honestly, they’ve played four games against decent opponents and are 2-2 in those games. We’ll see what Old Man Favre has in store for the last quarter of the season; their fate rests on his arm whether they want to admit it or not. Grade: B

Green Bay Packers (8-4): Last quarter, I chastised the Packers for losing to the Buccaneers and not doing enough to get themselves back in the playoff race. Well, either they read what I wrote and got inspired, or they just played up to their talent level. Either way, THAT is how you go through a quarter. The slate wasn’t the toughest it could have been, but beating Dallas, San Francisco, and Baltimore is nothing to sneeze at either. Aaron Rodgers has been tremendous this season, despite being under constant pressure, and is the main reason that the Pack are still alive in the NFC playoff race. Well, him and Charles Woodson, that is. Dude’s a beast. Grade: A-

Chicago Bears (5-7): Things have gone from bad to worse in Chicago this quarter. The lifeless loss at San Francisco in which Jay Cutler threw 31 interceptions was just the beginning. Philadelphia and Minnesota kept the losing streak going, and only a date with the St. Louis Rams could heal the pain. And even that game was entirely too close. This team is a train wreck right now and I don’t see any way it gets better with Green Bay, Baltimore, and Minnesota coming up next. Grade: F

Detroit Lions (2-10): I’m going to (essentially, but with some updates) repeat what I said last time, because I still feel the same way: “Uhhh, well, hmmm. I don’t expect much from the Lions, but they aren’t exactly meeting my expectations. They beat the Brownies, which was great; but then they turn around and look terrible against Green Bay and Cincinnati. I know, I know, Matthew Stafford was hurt, but he wasn’t all that good in his Thanksgiving date with the Packers (4 INTs). Detroit, I love you, but we need some time apart right now.” Grade: D

New Orleans Saints (12-0): These guys sure do love to play with fire. Will they get burned? I think so, eventually, but for the time being, they’ve been great. The near-brushes with St. Louis and Washington aren’t exactly comforting, but wins are wins at this point. 12-0 is 12-0 and the New England thrashing was particularly memorable, despite the Patriots’ struggles this season. The thing about this team is that they’re never out of a game. I watched them look terrible all day against the ‘Skins and then turn it on at the end to score the requisite points to win. That quick-strike offense just can’t be counted out. Ever. Grade: A-

Atlanta Falcons (6-6): A 1-3 quarter, with the only win being a last-second job against Tampa Bay? I know Matt Ryan is hurt, but come on guys. The reality of the situation is that this is a banged-up team that wasn’t particularly good to begin with. They’ll continue to struggle until they get their pieces back…if they ever do. 8-8 sounds about right for this squad. Maybe 9-7 if they get a couple breaks along the way. Grade: C-

Carolina Panthers (5-7): To recap the Cats’ roller coaster of a quarter, I asked their number one fan, Skip, for his thoughts: “We were given an opportunity to save our season with 3 out of 4 at home against beatable teams. Lotta pride against ATL, but a miserable game plan against the Fish shot the season after failing to get to .500 for the 4th time this year. The Jets were a hangover disaster and Jake’s swan song, leading us into the uncharted waters of the Matt Moore era.” That, my friends, is why I go to him for these things. Grade: D

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-11): A couple of close losses this quarter for the Bucs. Not that it’s any consolation for a fan base that realizes its coach is in completely over his head, but there have been some recent improvements. Josh Freeman is erratic, but does show some promise in the pocket. He’s definitely a guy to build the offense around in the future. He’s about the only one, though. There just isn’t much talent in Tampa right now and it has shown in the past four weeks. Grade: C-

Arizona Cardinals (8-4): The Cards liked only losing one game last quarter so much that they decided to repeat the feat this quarter. Going 3-1 with wins against Seattle, St. Louis, and Minnesota, Arizona didn’t exactly take down murderers’ row, but they won the games they were supposed to. If every other team in the league could do such a thing, we wouldn’t be subjected to so many average teams with 5-7, 6-6, and 7-5 records. Parity? Yeah right, try ‘mediocrity’. Sorry, I had to get that off my chest real quick. I feel better now. Grade: A-

San Francisco 49ers (5-7): I read something the other day that said something to the effect of, “once San Francisco got away from its dull, predictable running game plans and put the ball in Alex Smith’s hands, their fortunes have turned.” This is what frustrates me about young players (especially quarterbacks). They’re expected to perform at a high level right off the getty, so any time they don’t, they’re not given ample opportunity to showcase their abilities. Everybody knew that Alex Smith was a gifted player and had the work ethic of a well-digger. His only problem was that he was forced to grow up on the job and didn’t have any talent around him. Now that he’s gotten a few years under his belt, he been productive and has made the Niners a lot better than they would’ve been with Shaun Hill at quarterback handing the ball off to Frank Gore 35 times per game. Vernon Davis’ career has been revitalized and Michael Crabtree has been great since he finally signed with the team. All because of Alex Smith getting an honest chance to prove that he could play. Imagine that. Grade: C+

Seattle Seahawks (5-7): Status quo for Seattle. Beat the teams you should (St. Louis and San Francisco) and lose to the teams you should (Arizona and Minnesota). I can’t help but thing the lingering effects of Matt Hasselbeck’s broken ribs are affecting this team’s consistency. If he isn’t hit, they play well; but once he’s tagged a couple times and his ribs begin to act up, they might as well be playing with Seneca Wallace at quarterback. No, that’s not a good thing. They might as well tank the season and get a Top 10 pick at this point. Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung would love to play left tackle for you for the next decade, I bet. Grade: C

St. Louis Rams (1-11): Four more losses this quarter, but none of them was by more than ten points. This group is improving, but there just isn’t enough talent there to compete. A big shout out to Steven Jackson, though. The guy is the only good player on that offense, yet nobody can stop him even though they know he’s getting the ball an inordinate amount of times each game. He’s impressive to watch; he really is. Grade: C

New England Patriots (7-5): Before we get started, I just want to repeat what I said last time: “Everybody has wood now that the Pats are 6-2 and Tom Brady is flinging the football around again. Their three-game win streak (after losing to Denver) has come against Tennessee, Tampa Bay, and Miami. Wow. Yes, I’m skeptical, because their defense still looks a step slow and the offense isn’t as efficient as people are making it out to be. With Indy and New Orleans coming up shortly, we’ll know more about New England soon. For now, I think they’re ok.” Fast forward to now, and we have a 7-5 team that was unable to beat Indianapolis or New Orleans. No shame in that, but when you consider yourself one of the big boys, you have to beat one of the other big boys to get some credibility. Can we just keep it real? This isn’t a very good team right now. Grade: D

New York Jets (6-6): They’ve put the training wheels back on Mark Sanchez, and it appears to have worked. Kind of. Sanchez still makes some silly decisions, but by limiting what he does each game, the mistakes aren’t as killer as they once were. The back-to-back wins against Carolina and Buffalo have given them some momentum, but the playoffs are pretty much out of the question unless they can somehow scrape to 9 wins and hope for a divisional collapse from everyone else. Basically, it’s not happening. Grade: B-

Miami Dolphins (6-6): You almost did it, Miami. You were a choke job against Buffalo away from being undefeated this quarter and in the driver’s seat in the AFC East. Instead, you’ll have to settle for an outside shot at the division title. The win against New England was huge, but it does no good if you guys go out and lay an egg against Jacksonville or Tennessee in the next couple weeks. Chad Henne looks strong, but can he make enough plays to get you over the hump? I guess we’ll see. Grade: B+

Buffalo Bills (4-8): I’ll admit it: I know nothing about this team. I know that Ryan Fitzpatrick is now playing quarterback, Terrell Owens has put together a couple of good games, and they fired Dick Jauron. Otherwise? Not much. They’re never on TV, their highlights on SportsCenter last about 17 seconds, and I don’t get much of a feel for them. They went 1-3 last quarter and are now 4-8 overall. I do know that that isn’t very good. Grade: D

Cincinnati Bengals (9-3): Not that a 3-1 quarter is anything to sneeze at, but when that one loss came against Oakland, it’s a little unsettling, right? Regardless, the Bengals have shown everyone that they’re not an early season fluke and that their defense is among the best in football. Carson Palmer (despite the interceptions) is making enough plays to make the offense dangerous and the return of Cedric Benson from a hip injury means that they have their workhorse back. That being said, I’d love to play these guys in the playoffs. No disrespect, but they don’t have the ability to run away and hide from teams, nor are they built for a huge comeback. Basically, if you get up on them early, you’re going to win. Grade: A-

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6): Let’s see: an 0-4 quarter, a WR/QB tiff, their best player on defense is likely done for the year, and their coach is now threatening to make roster changes. Well, it appears that the Steelers haven’t really enjoyed the last month, now doesn’t it? I know everybody’s piling onto him for it now, but you have to admit that Coach Mike Tomlin saying that his team would “unleash hell in December” was a pretty legit move. I’d be jacked if Jim Caldwell came out and said that. Mainly because it’d mean that he’s not thinking about benching our best players for the final game when that strategy has yielded absolutely no results in the past 5 years. Wait, how did I get on the Colts? We’ll get to them in a minute... Grade: F

Baltimore Ravens (6-6): After beginning the season 3-0, the Ravens dropped 3 in a row to get to 3-3. Now they’ve alternated wins and losses for the past 6 weeks to bring them to a total record of 6-6. Hey, at least this team’s consistent, right? Of their six losses, only last week’s defeat at the hands of Green Bay was by more than 10 points. They stay in games, they just don’t close very well. And that, my friends, is why they won’t make the playoffs. Grade: D

Cleveland Browns (1-11): Remember what I said earlier about San Francisco and Alex Smith? Well it’s happening in Cleveland as well with Brady Quinn. The kid has shown a ton of potential and is finally relaying some of that into success on the field. The only problem is that his teammates (save for Joe Thomas) aren’t very good, so the win/loss results won’t be there for him. Cleveland is already talking about drafting another quarterback. Really? You have one of the best prospects of the past decade under your nose and you want to start over with another daisy-fresh rookie? There are reasons why Cleveland is Cleveland. I’m still holding out hope that Quinn gets traded to Denver this offseason and flourishes under the tutelage of Josh McDaniels. Stay tuned. Grade: F

Indianapolis Colts (12-0): As I was saying earlier (see: Pittsburgh Steelers), Indianapolis head coach Jim Caldwell has already said that he’s going to rest his players in the final weeks much like his predecessor, Tony Dungy, did during his time in Indy. This doesn’t make sense. We rested our players in 2005, 2007, and 2008 and lost in the first round. We were forced to play all of our guys in 2006 for the duration of the season and went on a four-game winning streak to win the Super Bowl. What about that makes anyone want to bench the starters in this season’s finale against Buffalo? Two weeks off doesn’t make you fresh, it makes you rusty. How do I know? BECAUSE I’VE SEEN THE COLTS IN THE PLAYOFFS FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS. Sorry I went all caps on you, but I’m getting flustered already. As for the last quarter? The Colts went 4-0 with wins over the Patriots, Ravens, Texans, and Titans. Not bad, boys; not bad at all. Grade: A

Houston Texans (5-7): Wow, this went from “eh, not bad” to “holy crap, this sucks” in a few short weeks. They haven’t won since November 1st and are now facing another mediocre season. They’re the Texans, so they’ll probably go 8-8, but it’s just stunning how this team is unable to achieve any sustained success whatsoever. I can’t figure it out; I honestly can’t. Now Steve Slaton is out for the season and George H.W. Bush is threatening to boycott their games until they wear their monochrome red jerseys again. Ok, so only one of those things is actually true. Grade: F

Jacksonville Jaguars (7-5): Interesting fact about the Jags this year: they’ve only played three teams that currently have a .500-or-better record. One of them was the Jets, who they beat this quarter, but they lost the other two. I guess what I’m trying to say is that, yes, Jacksonville is 7-5, but they haven’t beaten a single good team all season. With Miami, New England, and Indianapolis coming up, we’ll know a lot more about the Jaguars’ true identity by the New Year holiday. Personally, I’m not a believer, but I’ll give them a chance to convince me otherwise. I’ll see you Thursday, December 17th, Jaguars. Show me something. Grade: B-

Tennessee Titans (5-7): The comeback win over the Cardinals was miraculous, but the missed opportunities at Indianapolis are probably going to come back to haunt the Titans. At 6-6, they could’ve possibly made the playoffs. At 5-7, they’re dead. Vince Young has been very, very good over the past few weeks, and the future is bright in Nashville with him and the electric Chris Johnson leading the way. They still need a dependable receiver, but there are signs of life from this offense outside of Johnson’s long runs. Grade: B-

Denver Broncos (8-4): I like when the Broncos win; it puts Big Brother in such a better mood. Dude gets grumpy when his teams are losing (who doesn’t?), and grumpy Big Brother isn’t exactly a joy to be around. So, with that in mind, I’d like to personally thank Josh McDaniels and his squad for taking care of business lately. Sure, the losses to San Diego and Washington were maddening, but they’ve responded nicely with convincing wins over the Giants and Chiefs. Denver isn’t who we thought they were at the beginning of the year; nor who we thought they were when they were 6-0. But they’re a pretty good team that could be tricky to face in the playoffs if you have to go on the road to face them. For the record, I still think they should trade for Brady Quinn this offseason. Grade: B-

San Diego Chargers (9-3): Suddenly dangerous, the Chargers have been dumptrucking people this quarter. After thrashing the Broncos and Chiefs, San Diego leads the AFC West and is threatening Cincy for the second seed in the conference. Philip Rivers has been terrific, Antonio Gates is having a great year, and LaDainian Tomlinson even gains yards every now and then. Hosting the Bengals in two weeks, the Chargers can make a statement that they’re a team to be reckoned with in the AFC…if they haven’t done so already. Grade: A

Oakland Raiders (4-8): Now that was a productive quarter for the Silver and Black. Beating the 9-3 Bengals and the defending champion Steelers in Pittsburgh shows what Oakland can do when they get steady quarterback play. Bruce Gradkowski has emerged as a playmaker for the offense and his play may relegate JaMarcus Russell to the bench until he develops a work ethic or a desire to actually play football. Either would be nice, both would be a pipedream. Grade: B+

Kansas City Chiefs (3-9): I know they went 2-2 this quarter, but my goodness the Chiefs are bad. Matt Cassel hasn’t earned any of his $50 million dollar contract this season (but honestly, does that surprise anyone? Anyone?) and the team hasn’t really gotten much better. Jamaal Charles looks good in the backfield and the defense is ok, but there is nothing for this team to hang their hat on right now. At least their mascot, KC Wolf, is awesome. They play Buffalo and Cleveland in the coming weeks. Yuck. Grade: D+

~~ Lank

Colts, That Was Crazy

Warning: this might be the most disjointed, tangential post I've written since the NBA Draft live-blog.

Ok, now that that's out of the way, let's get started. I just got finished watching the Indianapolis Colts beat the New England Patriots in one of the best regular season games I've ever seen. Sure, the Bill Belichick decision will cause great debate in the coming weeks (it was one of the worst decisions I can remember seeing, for the record), but just the drama of the game was superb. I love the Colts wholeheartedly, but for about 3.5 quarters, the Patriots were giving them the business. They went up and down the field at will, with Tom Brady exploiting the banged-up Colts secondary to the tune of 375 yards and 3 TDs. Randy Moss showed everyone why he's still one of the best receivers in the league, carving up the Colts for 179 and 2. It was just a great show of football for the Pats.

But, somehow, the Colts won.

After a few turnovers and fortunate turns in momentum, Indy was able to make play after play in the 4th quarter on both sides of the ball to squeak out the victory. I'd have to go back and look at specific plays, but I remember holding New England to a field goal to make a 31-21 game a 34-21 game, keeping things within two possessions. Then, after the offense went down the field in less than two minutes to make it 34-28, the Colts defense did not allow New England to get a first down (though, the Pats got about 9.87591 yards). Bill Belichick's decision to go for it on 4th and 2 from their own 28 in this sequence is about as bad as it gets. From there, Peyton Manning his Reggie Wayne for a few yards, let Joseph Addai run to the goal line, and then hit Wayne again with an absolute strike for the tying points with less than 15 seconds to go. Matt Stover's extra point put the Colts ahead 35-34, completing a 17-point comeback with 21 points in the 4th quarter.

Sitting here, nearly an hour later, I can't really describe my feelings during the game. I was pissed for a large portion of it since we refused to cover Moss with any help for our young corners (yes, I realize I'm waffling between "they" and "we" when discussing the Colts, but that's what happens when I get worked up), we couldn't tackle, and we looked out of synch on offense. It was just maddening, to be honest. I was watching the game with my neighbor and he was essentially laughing at me because the Colts were playing so poorly. When it got to be 31-14 early in the 4th, he kept telling me it was over, but I refused to believe it. Partially because I'm stubborn, but partially because we'd shown enough pluck that if we could just manage a play or two on the ensuing drives, we'd be right back in it.

It turns out, I was justified in my faith. The Colts, as I mentioned before, made several huge plays on both sides of the ball and pulled out the come-from-behind victory. My frustration from earlier had transitioned to joy/relief/disbelief/excitement/amazement/silence/loudness at what had just transpired. I really didn't know what to do. It's one of those situations where you say to yourself, "ok, if we can just get a stop here and make it a 10-point game, we're in good shape," and "hey, we just made another play, we might actually pull this off," and then the next thing you know, it actually happened. It seems that whenever I actually give myself a laundry list of things that need to happen in order for the game to be ours, my teams don't normally pull it out. It's just hard to get that many things to fall into place. But when they actually do, man is it sweet.

Tomorrow, I'll be a little frustrated still. Despite the victory, we were outplayed by New England and looked like the inferior team for 3.5 quarters. It's not the best scenario to be down 31-14 in the 4th and depend on a legendary comeback for the win. Yes, we did it (on a grander scale, actually) to win the AFC Title game in 2006 against these same Patriots, but it's not a habit I want to get into. However, that being said, I think it shows a lot of resilience on the part of the Colts to get the win. Just a crazy game, a crazy ending, and so many subplots throughout.

Ok, I'm gonna go try to sleep now, but the chances are good that I'll be up for another two hours trying to figure out what just happened. Sheesh.

~~ Lank

Friday Night Picks: November 13th

Ole Miss (-3) vs. Tennessee

Indiana (+22) at Penn State

Michigan State (pick) at Purdue

Missouri (+2.5) at Kansas State

Stanford (+11.5) at USC

Atlanta (-1) at Carolina

Miami (-10) vs. Tampa Bay

New Orleans (-14) at St. Louis

Denver (-4.5) at Washington

Baltimore (-12) at Cleveland (Monday Night)

~~ Lank

NFL Second Quarter Report Cards

With Week 9 having come and gone in the NFL season, everyone is officially at the halfway point, having played at least 8 games this season. The season is coming into focus as we now know the contenders, the pretenders, and the flat-out awful teams. I’ll be handing out grades to each team for their second-quarter performance, not their year-long accomplishments. So expect lower-than-expected grades for the Ravens and Broncos, but higher-than-expected grades for the Panthers and Titans. Just a hint.

Dallas Cowboys (6-2): Since we last saw them, the ‘Boys have ripped off four wins in a row, putting them in first in the overrated NFC East. Are they good? Not sure. Beating Kansas City and Seattle isn’t very impressive, but the road win at Philly was pretty good. I think. Regardless, they are winning while everyone else (read: New York Giants) is losing and there’s something to be said for that. With Oakland and Washington comprising half of their schedule next quarter, expect the winning ways to continue in Big D. Grade: A-

Philadelphia Eagles (5-3): As John Wooden once said, “never mistake activity for achievement.” The Eagles have been active, they just haven’t achieved much. Beating Tampa Bay and Washington isn’t anything to holler about, and their losses to Oakland and Dallas weren’t things of beauty. Not a good quarter for the Eagles. Three of their next four games are on the road, so they might want to tighten up the ship sooner than later. Just a suggestion. Grade: C-

New York Giants (5-4): In the second quarter of the season, the G-Men have beaten Oakland and lost four times. Not exactly capitalizing on the strength of that 4-0 start are they? They had a remarkably easy schedule for the first four games, so it’s not too surprising that they’ve lost…it’s just surprising that they’ve lost every single time they’ve played a halfway decent team this quarter. The running game isn’t working, the receivers are inconsistent, and Eli looks bewildered. Not much to get excited about in Gotham. Grade: F

Washington Redskins (2-6): The ‘Skins have only lost four times this quarter…but they had the bye on the fifth week. I’d make a joke about them needing overtime to beat the bye, but I’m better than that. Washington is a mess. There is no leadership, roles aren’t clearly defined, you never know what’s coming next, and morale couldn’t be any lower. Hey now, I was talking about the Redskins, not the government; I can see how you got them confused, though. There must be something in the water up there. Grade: F

Minnesota Vikings (7-1): A solid quarter from Adrian Peterson’s team. Percy Harvin has proven to be a gamebreaker, Sidney Rice has been a relatively consistent receiving threat, and the Jared Allen-led defense has been nasty. There was a slip-up against Pittsburgh, but we’ll blame that one on the quarterback, who will remain nameless for the foreseeable future. Overall, the Vikes are having a great year, and are a team to be reckoned with in the NFC. Grade: B+

Green Bay Packers (4-4): With a quarter consisting of games against Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay, the Pack had to make it through at 3-1 at least. Well, they lost to a superior Minnesota team at home and then followed that up by sleep-walking through a loss against the winless Buccaneers. Terrible. Their playoff hopes are now in jeopardy, and the schedule doesn’t let up any. Not a good quarter, Green Bay; not a good quarter. Grade: D

Chicago Bears (4-4): All of the goodwill built up after that 3-1 start? Gone. That’s what happens when you go 1-3 over your next for, with the only win coming against the hapless Brownies. Jay Cutler is looking like 2006-2008 Jay Cutler, their running game hasn’t clicked (if anyone sees Matt Forte, tell him he’s needed in Chicago), and that defense has gone into the tank as of late. It’s getting cold in the Windy City these days, and the Bears are falling right along with the temperatures. Grade: F

Detroit Lions (1-7): Uhhh, well, hmmm. I don’t expect much from the Lions, but they aren’t exactly meeting my expectations. They were competitive against the Steelers, which was great; but then they turn around and look terrible against Green Bay and St. Louis. I know, I know, Matthew Stafford was hurt, but he wasn’t all that good in his return against Seattle (5 INTs). Detroit, I love you, but we need some time apart right now. Grade: D

New Orleans Saints (8-0): Don’t get it twisted: being undefeated halfway through the season is a remarkable accomplishment. However, there have been some noticeable chinks in the armor of the Saints. Getting behind early to teams has become the norm, but furious comebacks have limited the damage. I wouldn’t advise them to continue this trend, but then again, if you’re winning, people don’t worry about that stuff. They’ve been impressive this quarter, but not overly so. Grade: B+

Atlanta Falcons (5-3): Just take most of what I said last quarter and apply it to this quarter as well. They’re still not impressive at all (0 wins against teams with winning records), but they’re not shooting themselves in the foot, either (all losses are to teams with at least a 6-2 record). The future schedule isn’t too imposing, so I could see the Falcons getting 9 or 10 wins and me still not being impressed. What a weird team. Michael Turner has finally gotten it going, but Matt Ryan has a 13/10 TD/INT ratio. Whatever, let’s just move on. Grade: C+

Carolina Panthers (3-5): Not as bad as the first quarter of the season, but still not great. They gave away the Buffalo game at home and let New Orleans recover from a double-digit deficit. Sure, 5-3 would be loads better than 3-5, but the Panthers don’t like success. They’d rather grind out a few wins and get to 8-8. Hey, at least they beat Washington and Tampa Bay, right? The Arizona road win was a good one, and shows what this team is actually capable of. Unfortunately, they’re not interested in bringing that type of effort for four quarters every week. I love you, Skip. Grade: C

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-7): They’re terrible, but they won a game. Josh Freeman is showing some promise as the new quarterback. Raheem Morris won’t be the only winless coach in NFL history. They got a free trip to beautiful London, England. Work with me, I’m trying to be positive here. Grade: C+

Arizona Cardinals (5-3): The Cards went 4-1 this quarter and beat some decent teams to boot. Yeah, the Carolina loss was pretty bad, but in the grand scheme of things, they’re positioning themselves for another NFC West title and a return trip to the playoffs. Not bad. They will probably need Anquan Boldin to be at their best, so if someone could return him to the Lost and Found bin, Kurt Warner would greatly appreciate it. Grade: A-

San Francisco 49ers (3-5): One of the highlights of the NFL season for me was seeing Alex Smith come in against Houston and cut it up. I’ve always thought he was a wondrously gifted player who got stuck in the quagmire that was the mid-00s Niners. They’ve been close against the Texans, Colts, and Titans, but were unable to pull of any of those victories. The fact remains that they went 0-4 this quarter. Not good. Grade: D

Seattle Seahawks (3-5): I can’t figure these guys out. I keep waiting for them to turn things around now that Matt Hasselbeck is back, but it’s just not happening. Julius Jones is giving them nothing in the running game and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (no cheating on the spelling) has been a disappointment as a free agent acquisition. There is no rhythm with this team and I don’t know what to make of them going forward. Grade: C-

St. Louis Rams (1-7): The Rams won their first game in forever against Detroit and pushed Jacksonville to OT a couple weeks before that. They’re certainly improving, but there just isn’t much talent in The Lou. They have a lot of fire to them, though, and Lank’s a sucker for effort. Grade: C

New England Patriots (6-2): Everybody has wood now that the Pats are 6-2 and Tom Brady is flinging the football around again. Their three-game win streak (after losing to Denver) has come against Tennessee, Tampa Bay, and Miami. Wow. Yes, I’m skeptical, because their defense still looks a step slow and the offense isn’t as efficient as people are making it out to be. With Indy and New Orleans coming up shortly, we’ll know more about New England soon. For now, I think they’re ok. Grade: B-

New York Jets (4-4): Remember when the Jets were supposedly good and Rex Ryan was the toast of the NFL landscape? Yeah, that’s all gone now. Losing three out of four (with the only win coming against the Raiders) will do that to you. Mark Sanchez looks overwhelmed, the defense doesn’t look as ferocious, and Leon Washington’s broken leg cost them a playmaker. Braylon Edwards is actually trying in New York, though, so that’s a positive. Grade: D

Miami Dolphins (3-5): With a 2-2 quarter, the Dolphins have given some (faint) life to their season. They battled against NO and NE but ultimately fell short in both contests. Their offense is fun to watch and their defense is scrappy, but I’m not exactly forecasting a playoff run in their future. They’re plucky, so they’ll end up with a few more wins, but they are what they are. Grade: B-

Buffalo Bills (3-5): They lost to the Browns this quarter. Enough said. Grade: F

Cincinnati Bengals (6-2): Two wins against Baltimore, a destruction of Chicago, and a slip-up against Houston. That’s the Bengals’ quarter. Not bad at all. That’s a good defense, folks. Carson Palmer is making all the right decisions when it counts, and Big Ced Benson is doing his thing on the ground. I like this team quite a bit. Big shout out to Mike Zimmer; everybody at Skip To My Lank still has you in our thoughts and prayers. Grade: A

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2): After the defending champs started 1-2, everybody started bugging. Well, they’ve ripped off 5 wins in a row, including triumphs over Minnesota and Denver (at Denver). They’ve gotten back to their winning ways and look sharp going into the second half of the season. You don’t want to be playing this team right now, trust me. Grade: A

Baltimore Ravens (4-4): They’ve lost twice to Cincy and took another L against Minnesota. Basically, we’ve found out that B-more isn’t ready for primetime. Ending Denver’s winning streak was nice, but there’s too much evidence pointing the other way. The defense still isn’t good, and when Joe Flacco has an off day, these guys aren’t winning. It’s that simple. Grade: D

Cleveland Browns (1-7): They won. They fired their GM. They traded their enigmatic former Pro Bowl receiver. They have no idea what to do at quarterback. That’s the Browns in a nutshell. Grade: F

Indianapolis Colts (8-0): Here I was, ready to get jacked about another Colts season (yes, I talk myself into it every November), then the bad news comes. Marlin Jackson, Bob Sanders, and Tyjuan Hagler? Out for the year. Kelvin Hayden and Anthony Gonzalez? Out for a few more weeks with knee injuries. Donald Brown? Bum shoulder. As always, the saving grace is that Peyton Manning is behind center, leading this MASH unit to win after win, week after week. The defense has been superb under first-year coordinator Larry Coyer, but must step up in the coming weeks with two rookies starting at cornerback. Next quarter will tell us a lot about the Colts (NE, @Bal, @ Hou), but for now, I like what I’m seeing from this squad. Grade: A-

Houston Texans (5-4): Heading into their bye week, the Texans should be ok with where they are. Not thrilled, but not disappointed either. Sure, there were a couple lost opportunties (Arizona and Indy), but they have a good record and are positioning themselves for a playoff run. Keep an eye on these guys; I like what I’m seeing from Gary Kubiak’s group. You know, outside of Steve Slaton fumbling every five minutes. Grade: B-

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4): Not a good quarter for the Jags. Their wins were against St. Louis (in OT) and Kansas City. They got punked by Tennessee and Seattle. This is a team that shows no consistency or resolve whatsoever. If I’m Jack Del Rio, I’m trying to figure out a way to keep these guys motivated week to week. Their upcoming schedule is favorable, but that doesn’t mean much if you blow games you’re supposed to win. Grade: C

Tennessee Titans (2-6): Vince Young has started the last two games and they’ve won them both. Coincidence? Probably. Don’t get me wrong, he’s played well; but he hasn’t been great. Their defense finally decided to stop people and Chris Johnson has been an absolute beast lately. Don’t forget, this quarter also featured the 59-0 pasting against the Patriots. Big demerits for that. Grade: D

Denver Broncos (6-2): You didn’t expect them to go undefeated, did you? This is Big Brother’s favorite team, so I’ll be nice. Kyle Orton has struggled recently, leading to two straight losses. Prior to that, though, there were good wins against New England and San Diego. The Chargers are breathing down their necks, so the Broncos can’t let up, but with two games left against KC, one against Washington, and one against Oakland, they’re virtually guaranteed 10 wins. Will that be enough to win the division? We’ll see. Grade: B-

San Diego Chargers (5-3): 3-1 this quarter, but can we count wins against KC and Oakland? Ok, but only because you made me. Were it not for the Giants choking away that game last week, they’d be 4-4 and in major trouble. However, they’ve been given a second chance at life, and we’ll see how they respond. Denver beat them head-to-head so they’ll need to win the return battle for any chance at the division crown. Grade: C

Oakland Raiders (2-6): Sure, they beat Philly. But they lost their other three quarter games by a combined score of 106-23. I’m no mathematician, but I don’t think that’s very good. JaMarcus Russell is bad, Darrius Heyward-Bey has brought precisely nothing to their passing game, and there is no semblance of a running game. Oh, and can you please fire Tom Cable already? Thanks. Grade: D-

Kansas City Chiefs (1-7): Outside of getting pantsed by the Chargers, the Chiefs had a decent quarter. Close losses to Dallas and Jacksonville, as well as their lone win against Washington, will give this team a bit of confidence heading into the second half of the season. Sure, they’re still a bad team that isn’t fun to watch at all, but at least they’re playing hard and keeping things competitive. It’s like the opposite of Washington. Grade: C-

~~Lank

Friday Night Picks: November 6th

Minnesota (-6) vs. Illinois

Northwestern (+17.5) at Iowa

Kansas (-2.5) at Kansas State

California (-6) vs. Oregon State

San Diego State (+24) vs. TCU

Atlanta (-10) vs. Washington

Houston (+9) at Indianapolis

Green Bay (-10.5) at Tampa Bay

Seattle (-10) vs. Detroit

Philadelphia (-3) vs. Dallas

~~ Lank

Michael Crabtree Is Just Fine, Thank You

So, I was reading Jerome Bettis' takes on the NFL the other day at SI.com. Not sure why, because he doesn't bring anything noteworthy to football analysis (either in "writing" for SI or when he was a TV "analyst" for NBC last year), and I wasn't a fan of his as a player. Look, I got bored at work and read whatever I could to pass the time. But that's neither here nor there.

What irked me is that Bettis writes, "I'll say this to Michael Crabtree: That costly fumble in the third quarter on Sunday is what happens when you don't go through camp. Crabtree caught the ball and made a pretty decent move, but he was carrying the football way outside his body, leaving it up for grabs, and it got swiped out. That's one of those things you see happen to rookies in the first couple days of training camp, before they know what these big boys in the NFL can do. Perhaps you can get away with that in college, Michael, but not in the NFL. The kid has some things to learn. I hope he takes a few things away from this loss."

Huh? I watched the game between San Francisco and Indianapolis, and Michael Crabtree was the one guy on their team that scared me. Frank Gore had a long touchdown run early, but got shut down for the rest of the game. And even his touchdown run was due to multiple missed tackles by the Colts D. Crabtree, though? That guy's good. His final numbers (6 rec, 81 yards, 1 fumble lost) aren't superhuman, but every time he got the ball, I held my breath. He moves with a fluidity that a lot of the receivers in the league just don't have; and he's always looking to break a big play. Yes, his fumble was a result of poor handling, but I don't think his holdout had anything to do with it.

Camp is one of those things that NFL types love, because it's supposed to galvanize the team, set the tone for the year, and get everyone in shape for the season. Personally, I think it's overrated. Skip was pissed a couple years back because his beloved Panthers and their first-round draft pick, LB Jon Beason, couldn't come to terms quickly, and he held out for a couple weeks. I tried to calm down Skip and let him know that it wasn't the end of the world, it was just camp. Skip didn't care, he wanted Big Beas to get in camp. For the record, Beason led the Panthers in tackles that year. Houston's Steve Slaton went to camp all summer and got benched last week because of his fumbleitis. Why no mention of that, Jerome? Just curious.

Yes, holding out (especially well into the season like Crabtree) makes rookies look like prima donnas and selfish players. However, let's not immediately classify them as "unprepared" just because they missed a few weeks. Anybody who's actually seen Crabtree play this year knows he's more than ready for the NFL. His hands are terrific, his playmaking ability is there, and he looks like a keeper for years to come. As a matter of fact, I'm sure the Raiders would love to have him now over their actual first-round pick, WR Darrius Heyward-Bey. Despite playing all season long, Heyward-Bey has less catches this year than Crabtree does in his two games played.

And Heyward-Bey went to camp.

~~ Lank