Kyle’s NFL Week 10 Recap

So, a few headlines before I recap week 9…….

The Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin story gets more and more dicey

So more and more about this story comes out every single day. From what is released and what I’ve read, this is what I can tell…. Richie Incognito IS in fact a douche. Is he all at fault? HELL no. Jonathan Martin has got to take some responsibility in this if what is being said is true. I’m not saying Incognito isn’t a dick, but it’s fairly evident more and more everyday that Jonathan Martin is in fact a big pussy. If I was in that locker room I wouldn’t want him on my team.

Injuries keep piling up

Jay Cutler, Seneca Wallace, Michael Floyd, Mikie James, Paul Posluszny, Charles Tillman, Jake Locker, Sean Lee, Brandon Browner, and more suffered injuries on Sunday, with Tillman and Locker headed to IR. I’m not sure if the off-season change in the workout times is affecting this or not, but I can say that I can’t remember a year in which so many big name players have gone down in a few week time span.

Matt Flynn works out for Green Bay

In a move that everyone saw coming, Matt Flynn worked out for Green Bay on Monday. Seneca Wallace left Sunday’s game due to a groin injury, leaving Scott Tolzien as the only healthy QB on the Packers roster. Flynn at least gives them a QB that’s familiar with the system, even if he IS only as effective as a screen door on a submarine.

And now, WEEK 9

Detroit – 21 Chicago – 19

This game started off just how everyone envisioned it would. Jay Cutler and Matthew Stafford lead their teams on opening touchdown drives, leading everyone to think a shootout was eminent. Cutler hit Brandon Marshall for a 32 yard TD pass, and Stafford connected with Kris Durham on a 5 yard score. After those drives both defenses stiffened up. Chicago actually got pressure on Stafford, even though he wasn’t sacked once. He looked uneasy in the pocket and was forced to rush some throws. The Bears offense looked pretty good in the first half, but an interception by DeAndre Levy in the end zone off a tipped Cutler pass thwarted what looked to be a sure scoring drive for the Bears just before halftime. The second half was a completely different story. Cutler was a completely different QB in the second half after injuring his ankle in the second quarter. Though he was still making some nice throws, his mobility was severely limited, which led to some throws falling well short or off target. Matt Forte had easily his worst game under Marc Trestman gaining only 33 yards on 17 carries. The defense kept the Bears in it, with Chris Conte showing up in the stat sheet and intercepting a Matt Stafford pass to set up a field goal. That brought the Bears within one at 14-13. The Bears should have scored a TD, but a crucial holding call on Matt Slauson negated a Matt Forte TD run. The Lions weren’t done, as Matt Stafford connected with Calvin Johnson for the second time putting the Lions ahead by 8 with 2:22 left in the game. The Bears then decided Cuter couldn’t go, and Josh McCown came in. He drove the Bears 74 yards in 10 plays and connected with Brandon Marshall for an 11 yard TD in which he scrambled to extend the play. It was clear that Cutler would not have been able to do that. After a botched 2-point attempt, the Bears got one more chance on a helmet-to-helmet personal foul call. They attempted to run Forte in to tie, but Nick Fairley stuffed the play quicker than he stuffs his face at Wendy’s. A horrible onside kick attempt later, the Bears fell to 5-4, in a tie with the now reeling Green bay Packers for 2^nd place in the division.

Now you got the recap, my personal thoughts on this game…

I know a lot of people are trashing Marc Trestman for not pulling Cutler earlier, and I agree with them to a point. As Trestman pointed out, up until the 3 and out drive before Cutler was pulled, he was making the throws he needed to. Alshon Jeffrey dropped TWO touchdown catches, and Matt Slauson negated a Forte TD. If that holding doesn’t happen, or Jeffrey makes either of those catches, we’re talking about how gutsy Jay was today, not Trestman and his reluctance to pull Cutler. Either way, the Bears as a team in no way played well enough to win.
Chris Conte showed up after being the red-headed step child of Chicago for the last 4 weeks. He had a few tackles, a pick with a 35 yard return, and knocked down a sure TD pass to Calvin Johnson. He also, however, totally blew his gap assignment on a Reggie Bush run that led to a TD on the opening drive of the second half. This game was good for his confidence, but it’s blatantly clear that he is still a liability in both the run and passing game.
Matt Forte looked horrible on Sunday. Last week I was pulling for Forte to go to the Pro Bowl, and I still am, but he needs to do more than 33 yards on 17 carries. Not all of it was hit fault, but he deserves a big portion of that blame. With McCown back in next week vs. the Ravens, he needs another game like he had in Green Bay.
Losing Peanut Tillman for the year hurts. Luckily Lance Briggs will be back in a couple weeks, and Bowman is an average replacement, but his leadership on defense will be missed. Hopefully this time off will heal his legs up as well as the triceps, and he’ll be ready to go IF the Bears find a way into the playoffs.
Will everyone PLEASE SHUT UP about “McCown should be playing even if Cutler is healthy”, and “he should start next year”, blah blah blah. That is the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. He is in 11^th year as a back up FOR A REASON. Just because he works well in Trestman’s system as a stop gap, does not mean he can handle a 16 game season. I’ll admit, he has played well, and he should play until Cutler is 100%, not a snap more. Cutler is a top-tier talent and was playing like it before the groin injury. Anyone who says McCown will take this team farther is a complete moron and should be taken out to the swamp and shot. With that said, Cutler needs to take a week or two more off, and get 100% so he can be there for a playoff push.

Final Bears thought…

I thought the Bears played well in the first half despite going into halftime tied. I think that Cutler could have been pulled earlier, but as I said earlier, there were a lot more reasons than just Jay as to why the Bears lost. Trestman has been doing and saying the right thing all year, so I’ll give him a pass on leaving Cutler in a few series too many. Cutler really needs to take the next two weeks to get healthy though. The Bears are looking at needing to win 5 of their last 7 to have a shot at the post season. With Carolina surging, and the Packers falling, they need to make a run. A healthy Cutler for the last 4 or 5 games will only help the cause. The Bears have the talent to make a run to the playoffs, whether the team is healthy enough to do so is another question. Oh, and I’m not sold on the Lions yet. Yes, they beat the Bears twice. Yes, they’re at the top of the division, but don’t you get the feeling that a late season collapse is on the horizon? Maybe it’s my dislike for a douchebag like Jim Schwartz, but I don’t see the Lions winning this division.

AROUND THE NFL

Washington – 27 Minnesota - 34

Well I’ll be damned. Christian Ponder was actually putting together a decent game until he hurt. I can’t believe I just typed that. This one is on the Skins, they were knocking on the door and decided that shitting down their leg was a better option than scoring a TD. 3 incomplete passes from the 4 yard line??

Buffalo – 10 Pittsburgh - 23

The Steelers were in control of the game from the 1^st quarter, and didn’t let up. Big Ben was in the midst of trade rumors before the game, but he refuted all of them saying he wants to retire a Steeler. He didn’t play great, but EJ Manuel sucked, so the Steelers got the W.

Philadelphia – 27 Green Bay - 13

The Packers felt the loss of Aaron Rodgers in a loss that was a very winnable game. The Eagles appeared intent on letting the Packers hang around until the second half even with Scott Tolzien at QB. That game should have been over in the 1^st quarter. Foles is on a mini tear with 10 TD passes in his last 2 games, but it feels as if no one cares because we all know he’s not that good. Epitome of a fluke right there. Did anyone see the hammer of Thor that Clay Matthews is wearing now? Holy shit. That thing is HUGE!

Jacksonville – 29 Tennessee - 27

Alert the presses! Plan a parade! Give these guys some keys to the city! The Jaguars won a fucking game!! Losing Jake Locker was huge for the Titans, because Ryan Fitzpatrick now has the reigns for the rest of the year. So long playoff hopes, see you next year.

St. Louis – 38 Indianapolis - 8

I don’t know anyone that saw this beat-down coming. Indianapolis laid the egg of all eggs at home on Sunday, allowing the Rams to man handle every inch of their business. When Andrew Luck is the leading rusher for the Colts with 17 yards, that is bad news. The running game for the Colts could never get started though, as they were playing catch up the entire game. 21 second quarter points for the Rams sealed it. Tavon Austin had a day. (more on that below)

Seattle – 33 Atlanta - 10

Atlanta has now gone from free-fall to full on nose dive. They took themselves out of playoff contention with yet another bad loss. I know Seattle is good, but Atlanta has looked defeated all year. I guess losing Roddy White and Julio Jones at the same time was too much to overcome. And as always, Pete Carroll, you’re a tool.

Oakland – 20 New York Giants - 24

Eli Manning and Terrelle Pryor COMBINED for only 262 passing yards, and the Giants defense came up big when they needed it, with Terrell Thomas returning an interception 65 yards to set up the go ahead score. Maybe Antrelle Rolle was onto something, the Giants have now won 3 in a row.

Cincinnati – 17 Baltimore - 20

What a great finish. I actually turned this game off after Dalton threw the interception late in the 4^th. I knew the Bengals had 3 timeouts left, so getting the ball back wasn’t out of the question, but then the hail mary to AJ Green? Are you fucking kidding? That was great. Then the Bungals totally screwed the pooch in OT.

Carolina – 10 San Francisco - 9

This was a pretty boring game in all actuality. 4 field goals and one touchdown. Woohoo. The Panthers held tight against a 49er team that looks nowhere near as good as the 6-3 record says. It’ll be interesting to see how Jim Harbaugh handles this team down the stretch.

Houston – 24 Arizona - 27

After starting 2-0 the Texans have dropped 7 straight. They are the Falcons of the AFC. Case Keenum is playing ok, just not ok enough to win games. Anyone else surprised Arizona is 5-4? Never thought they were above .500. I’m actually amazed that Arizona is in the mix in the NFC wild card talk.

Denver – 28 San Diego - 20

The Broncos won for John Fox, and now set up the well awaited match up of powerhouses with the Chiefs next week. The Broncos sacked Rivers 4 times, and Peyton Manning hurt both of his ankles, but threw for 330 yards and 4 TD’s anyway. He’s on pace for 59 TD’s. I think I got a half chub just thinking about how fucking good that is.

Dallas – 17 New Orleans - 49

Not to blow my own horn, but in my picks this week I wrote, “I don’t think this game will be as close as anyone says. Rob Ryan gets to face his old team, the Jets beat down the Saints last week, and Romo never plays as well on the road. Easy win in my mind.”

Ha! Told you so bitches! In all seriousness, though, the only stat you need to understand how this game went is this one.

The Cowboys ran a total of 43 plays. The Saints had 40 FIRST DOWNS. Oh, and 625 yards of offense. Brees was 34-41 for 392 yards and 4 TDs. BITCH SLAP!

Miami at Tampa Bay

I don’t care the outcome of this game, Tampa Bay is BAD. I shouldn’t say the whole team, their defense is ok (Miami only had 2 rushing yards all night) but the Tampa offense LOOKS like a college offense. Mike Glennon throws a nice ball, but his decision making is average at best. Miami had the chance, down 3, to make something happen with 3 minutes to go in the game. They had 95 yards to go, but a chance nonetheless. Sack, sack, incomplete, interception. You stay classy Miami. Get an offensive line.

“Well You Didn’t Make a Lick of Difference” Performance of the Week:

Indianapolis running backs

9 carries - 2 yards

Yeah, that’s not a misprint. 9 carries for two fucking yards. I see the Trent Richardson trade is working out for you. Now, the Colts were playing catch up most of the game, passing a lot, so this stat isn’t as bad as……

Miami running backs

13 carries – 0 yards

The Dolphins finished the game with 2 yards rushing in a game decided by 3 points. Miller and Tannehill each had 2 yards, and Thomas had -2 yards. Wow, that is the sorriest running attack I’ve ever heard of. Your running backs finished the game with 0 net yards rushing. Against an 0-8 team!! You suck Miami.

“Holy Crap, I’m Awesome!???” Breakout Performance of the week:

Tavon Austin – WR – St. Louis Rams

2 catches – 138 yards – 2 TDs

1 carry – 4 yards

1 Kick return – 27 yards

4 punt returns – 145 yards – 1 TD

314 total all purpose yards in a game. The rookie has FINALLY made some noise after more than a couple games that could have earned him the other award.

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