Kyle’s NFL Week 12 Recap

First, the Bears recap for Sunday, November 24^th……..

Bears - 21 Rams – 42

The Bears run defense showed it’s ineptitude on the 3^rd play of the game. Tavon Austin took a reverse handoff, stopped, changed direction, and took it 65 yards to the house. When the Bears got the ball, Matt Forte fumbled on the first play from scrimmage for the Bears. That is how the Bears afternoon was destined to go. The Bears allowed 82 yards rushing on the Rams first 3 plays en route to allowing 258 yards for the day. I’ll touch on that pile of garbage below. Josh McCown threw for 352 yards and two touchdowns, and did what he could with an offense that wasn’t on the field too much due to the Rams running game. Brandon Marshall had a normal game for him, catching 10 balls for 117 yards and a score. He ran the offense effectively again in Jay Cutler’s absence, but this day was all about the defense. Benny Cunningham (Who?? I know, right??) cut the Bears up for 109 yards on 13 carries, and Zac Stacey had 87 yards on 12 carries before leaving with an injury. In the lone bright spot in this game for the Bears, Matt Forte rushed for 77 yards, passing Neal Anderson for 2^nd place on the franchise’s all-time rushing list. Penalties killed the Bears yet again, with holding penalties nullifying what would have been a Devin Hester punt return touchdown, a TD reception, and a Forte TD rush. In all the Bears had 10 penalties for 84 yards, and got into a scuffle with the Rams in the first half. Couple that with Trestman going for a 4^th and goal, failing, then allowing the Rams to drive 94 yards for a score, it was a long day for the Bears. The scuffle resulted in a personal foul penalty, and had Chris Long sprint from the sideline to try to pull brother Kyle out of the fray. It was the Rams’ game to win from the first play.

Now you got my recap, here’s my 5 Bears thoughts………

The run defense is fucking horrible. HORRIBLE. I understand not having your top 3 defensive tackles, but c’mon!!! I don’t remember having seen a worse run defense, and unfortunately, I don’t see it getting better anytime soon. I could drive a Mack truck through the openings in the middle of the line. I bet Adrian Peterson is wearing out his lips licking his chops so hard for next week’s game.
Penalties have been killing the Bears, and they have to get control over it. The last two games have yielded 23 penalties. That is so unacceptable I can’t begin to explain. The holding call that brought back Hester’s return TD was huge. That could have been a momentum changing play in this game, and the Bears fucked it up worse than whoever made this sign…
I understand Trestman going for it on 4^th down in the first half, and I even understand calling a run play from a yard out. The sad part is that the ball was given to Michael “Can’t gain a yard to save my life” Bush. This guy has shown time and time again that he can’t gain the clutch yard when needed. Time for him to get hungry, and start wanting it. Judging by his fat ass it shouldn’t be too hard.
In the first half, the Bears called a play in which McCown threw to a streaking Brandon Marshall. The ball was a bit underthrown and picked off, but was nullified by a Rams penalty. That right there was an example of a throw McCown can’t make that Cutler can. THAT is why Cutler is still the better choice for starter, even with McCown playing well.
Matt Forte actually turned in a really nice game. He was running with authority, seeing the field well, and was a catalyst to the Bears offense producing what it did. In a game that made me sick to my stomach, Forte’s effort was a bright spot.

My final Bears thought……..

Even after the Lions debacles this season, I think this was the worst game I’ve seen the Bears play all year. Allowing 42 points to a team like the Rams is pathetic. Even if the Bears found a way to limp their asses into the playoffs, they wouldn’t be able to stop anybody. Their offense is improved, but it’s evident that they can’t win a shootout. I cringed having to write this review this week because the game was such a pile of shit. I’m glad that I have an event on Sunday prohibiting me from watching the Bears game against the Vikings because I’m scared of what Adrian Peterson is going to do to this team.

NEW ADDITION TO THE BLOG! WHOA! EXCITING, I KNOW!

Player that impressed: Josh McCown – 352 yards, 2 TD, 1 Int

McCown kept up his good play, and even though he lost a fumble and threw an Int, they both happened in garbage time when the game was lost. He controls the offense well, and has proven now the he is one of the best back-ups in the league, or at least the best fit for the system he’s in.

Player that disappointed: Chris Conte

I still feel bad for the guy, and I think his first problem is confidence. His second problem is that he sucks. He’s as good as gone after this season, and the Bears need to find some safeties that can play.

Around the NFL

New Orleans – 17 Atlanta – 13

I am in complete awe of the Falcons season this year. I never thought that in week 12 Atlanta would be vying for the #1 overall pick in the 2014 draft. New Orleans almost gave this one away as they are starting to seem a little mortal.

Pittsburgh – 27 Cleveland – 11

I actually thought this game would go a different way, but I was wrong on a LOT of picks this week. Jason Campbell left the game with injury, but he wasn’t lighting the world on fire to begin with, which left it to Brandon Weeden. Weeden looked average at best, even with Josh Gordon having a career day. (More on that below). Pittsburgh is all of sudden back in the playoff discussion now in the paltry AFC, being one of 6 teams tied for the 6^th seed with a 5-6 record.

Tampa Bay – 24 Detroit – 21

Don’t look now, the Bucs have won 3 in a row, and went from lone winless team to now only 3^rd worst in the league. I can’t remember the last time I used the words ‘Bucs’ and ‘winning streak’ in the same sentence. As a bonus, their hot streak continued against Jim Schwartz and the douchebag Lions. Stafford was picked off 4 times, and before leaving with an injury, Revis Island had Calvin Johnson shut down.

Minnesota – 26 Green Bay – 26

This game allowed the entire NFC North to go winless on Sunday. Matt Flynn came into the game in relief of Scott Tolzien who had a nifty little TD run in the first half. I have a feeling that will be his lone career highlight. Flynn actually resembled an NFL quarterback in his relief appearance. It looks as if he can only play QB in Green Bay. The Packers better be careful, their defense is looking more and more like the Bears defense every game.

San Diego – 41 Kansas City – 38

The Chiefs weren’t the same after Tamba Hali AND Justin Houston left the game with injury. It hurts any defense losing your top two pass rushers. Phillip Rivers had a good day, throwing for 392 and 3 scores. He made the throw that counted to Seyi Ajirotutu (are you trying to pronounce his name, too? If so, you probably sound as ridiculous as you think) with 24 seconds to go in the game. A tough loss in more ways than one for the Chiefs and Ol’ Fat Stache.

Carolina – 20 Miami – 16

Carolina has 7 wins in a row. That’s not a typo, and no, this isn’t the seventh ring of hell. The Panthers actually have put themselves in great position to catch a wild card, and even fight for the division if the Saints falter. Cam Newton is having a coming of age year in which he’s learning to be a football player.

New York Jets – 3 Baltimore – 19

Yeah, I didn’t see much of this game. I don’t particularly like Joe Flacco, and the Jets fucked up their win one – lose one system they had going on. It’s too bad because with how much the AFC sucks this year, 8-8 will probably catch a wild card spot. A week after torching the Bears for 131 yards, Ray Rice was held to 30 yards on 16 carries. Fucker. On a side note, Geno Smith sucks.

Jacksonville – 13 Houston – 6

6 points. SIX fucking points? You are at home against the worst team in the NFL and you can only muster 6 points?? Hello, Houston. Meet rock bottom.

Tennessee – 23 Oakland – 19

When the hell did Ryan Fitzpatrick turn into a quarterback?? He threw the game winning touchdown with :10 left to push Tennessee into the last playoff spot in the AFC. That wasn’t even what I remembered from this game. The highlight (and lowlight) of this game was the vicious hit Michael Griffin laid down on Mychal Rivera. Griffin got suspended for the hit, which looked pretty nasty. It knocked Rivera’s helmet off, and concussed him good.

Indianapolis – 11 Arizona – 40

What the hell happened to Indianapolis? They are 1-2 in their last 3 games, being outscored 78-19 in the two losses. No offense, but looks like ChuckStrong was only good for 6 months….

Dallas – 24 New York Giants – 21

Tony Romo engineered a 14 play drive that ended in Dan Bailey hitting a 35 yard field goal with no time left to end the Giants winning streak, and take a step towards controlling the NFC east. I don’t know about you, but I’m happy seeing Eli’s season go down in flames. I also think Dez Bryant is a whiny little bitch.

Denver – 31 New England – 34

This was as entertaining as advertised for a Brady/Manning rematch. In the second half anyway. New England was down by 24 points at one point, and rallied in the second half to send it to overtime. where Bill Belichick decided to defer after winning the coin toss. Talk about a ballsy move. I know he was taking the wind to his back, but who in their right mind gives Peyton Manning the ball first in overtime if they had a choice? It paid off, but only because Wes Welker couldn’t decide to yell ‘poison’ quick enough on a punt and it hit Tony Carter as he was trying to avoid it. It gave the Patriots the ball on the Broncos 13 yard line, and lead to Gostkowksi’s winning field goal. Lucky bastard. If Denver had gone on to win could you imagine the backlash Belichick would have gotten?

San Francisco – 27 Washington – 6

Yeah, did anyone really think Washington was going to win? Neither did I.

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

Geno Smith – QB – New York Jets

9/22, 127 yards, 0 TD, 2 Int, sacked 3 times, 1 fumble

Smith looked dreadful in the Jets loss this week. I can’t say that I’m totally surprised, and it’s my guess this isn’t the last time he ends up here.

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

Josh Gordon – WR – Cleveland Browns

14 rec, 237 yards, 1 TD

Josh Gordon tied the club record with 14 receptions, and set a new record with the yardage. He seems to be the lone bright spot on an otherwise mediocre Browns offense.