Kyle’s NFL Week 14 Recap

What a week! Between a blizzard in Philly, last second finishes, many one score games, and a few big injuries this was one of the most entertaining weeks in the NFL all year. Hopefully the last three weeks can live up to the hype of this week in the NFL.

But first…………………..

The Bears recap for Monday, December 9th……..

Cowboys – 28 Bears - 45

The scoring started early and came often for the Bears on an emotional night in which Mike Ditka’s jersey was retired in Chicago. The Bears and Cowboys looked to be a shootout with both teams throwing up 2 TD’s in the first 20 minutes of the game. Dez Bryant scored on a TD pass by Tony Romo, and the Bears had an Earl Bennett sighting catching a TD pass from Josh McCown. On the Bears next possession, McCown led the Bears on a 10 play, 65 yard drive that was capped off with a 7 yard TD run from the gutsy QB. He went through his progressions, saw all 3 routes covered, tucked it and ran, and ended the run in flashy fashion diving into the end zone getting helicoptered on his way down. It seemed to set the tone for the rest of the game. After the Cowboys scored on their next possession, the Bears scored 28 unanswered points. Matt Forte caught a TD pass, Michael Bush caught a rare TD pass, and Alshon Jeffrey made another catch that had everyone saying “Wow, this guy is good”. This kid is really starting to come into his own as a dominant WR. This was the game for Bears fans that we’ve been waiting for all year. Now, the Cowboys aren’t a dominant team, and their defense is flat out BAD, but it’s still a team that can hang 40 points on someone at any time. Romo didn’t have an answer for the Bears D, and except for a horrible run defense AGAIN, the Bears defense stepped to the plate on the national stage. The Bears seemed to play with some heart and urgency when they needed it most. Maybe they all channeled their inner Ditkas, but whatever it was, it needs to happen for 3 more weeks.

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

The weather was brutal for the game Monday night. Game time temp was 9 degrees with chills dipping into the negative single digits. One of the best highlights of the cold came from the water boy unfreezing the Gatorade bottles in front of the massive heaters on the sideline. Bear football, baby! One interesting stat from the night…the Bears didn’t punt the entire game. I can’t remember the last time that happened.
There is still some MAJOR concern with the Bears’ run defense. The Bears let DeMarco Murray run for 146 yards at an average of 8.1 yards a carry. It doesn’t matter if the Bears make a run to the playoffs because a run defense like that will lose you games in January. I do think that when Jeremiah Ratliff knocks the rust off he will help, but I get the feeling it’s going to be too little too late. The Bears have now given up 153 rushing yards a game. Good for dead last in the league.
The Bears dominated the Cowboys, but let’s not get too excited about this win. The Cowboys are historically bad on defense. In fact, they are so bad, they are chasing the Saints for having the worst defense in a season ALL TIME. Now, I know the Bears run defense couldn’t stop a 3 legged dog with down syndrome, but I think my 3 year old daughter could throw for 330 against the Cowboys secondary.
Josh McCown had 5 TD in this game. He was the first Bears player since 1949 to accomplish that feat. He has played pretty damn good in relief of Jay Cutler, and I love how his teammates rally around him. I also love how this team has such a level head about playing as a team, and acknowledging that though McCown is doing well, Cutler is this team’s QB. It alleviates the pressure of having a QB controversy that the media is trying to make. Trestman has this team thinking straight, and that is a good thing this time of year. One fact to remember about McCown is that he hasn’t faced a pass defense better than 19^th in the league yet…
I’ve been keeping my eye on Devin Hester all year, especially with his whiny comments in the offseason. Now, I understand that his stats aren’t mind-blowing, but the “Devin Hester Effect” has played a part for the Bears this year. The field position has gone more so in the Bears favor than not, and teams are still kicking away from him. He has one return TD this year, and should have 2 if not for a holding call on Craig Steltz. His 57 yard return in the Vikings game SHOULD have set the Bears up for a game-winning field goal, and he still helps put this team in position to win games. He may have lost a step, but he’s still a factor. If the Bears can work out a cap-friendly deal that Hester can live with, I’d love to see him come back for a couple years. If he’s going to break the record, I hope he does it as a Chicago Bear.

My final Bears thought……..

I’m glad with this win, but I’m not punching the Bears’ playoff ticket just yet. Staying a half game ahead of Green Bay and tying Detroit for the division lead is big, but there’still more work to do. As I said before, it doesn’t matter if the Bears make the playoffs if their run defense is still this bad. Any playoff team will run all over them. With the Bears heading to Cleveland this week, it would be good to get Briggs and Cutler back so they can knock some dust off against a team that doesn’t really scare anyone. Granted, the Cleveland D is good, and they almost beat New England this week, but I get the feeling that the game on Sunday was Cleveland’s Super Bowl and we can see the white truck coming because Cleveland just mailed it in. Bottom line is that if the Bears get in, and get the 4^th seed as the division winner, they better play their asses off because it is going to be a tough road to make ANY noise. Cleveland first, though….

Oh, and did anyone else notice that Julius Peppers didn’t record one stat? Nothing. Nada. And the Bears as a team? ZERO tackles for loss. That’s pretty bad.

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

Player that impressed: Brandon Marshall – WR

Marshall’s stats weren’t out of this world - 6 catches, 100 yards, 0 TD – but he’s on here for two reasons. I was worried earlier this season that Marshall would start being pouty and moody when Alshon Jeffrey started taking away his touches. He has been nothing but spectacular as a teammate and mentor to Jeffrey, and put aside his personal aspirations for the betterment of this team. THAT is what an All-Pro does. Well done sir. The other reason he’s on here is his blocking in this game. He had 3 crushing blocks, but the block he put on Sean Lee hurt me, and I was on the couch. Hits like that clutter your head when it’s warm out, I can only imagine how that felt with it being so cold. I could read Marshall’s thoughts watching the replay, “Oh, Josh is running. He can get that first down. Oh there’s Sean Lee. He doesn’t see me? Oooooohhhh….. hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi SIT DOWN BITCH!!!!!”.

Player(s) that disappointed: Jon Bostic, Khaseem Greene – LB

I know these are a couple rookies, so I won’t go too hard on them, but this IS the NFL, and you need to be ready to play. The fact that these guys’ names weren’t heard all night was not a good thing. The Cowboys ran for 198 yards. The two linebackers in question had 6 tackles combined. Chris Conte and Major Wright had 12 tackles. What that tells me is that running backs are getting to the third level too often, and these kids need to start maintaining their gap assignments and shedding some damn blocks. Bostic turns his back to the line of scrimmage too often, and when he does it, it allows blockers to push him wherever they see fit. He also has a hard time recognizing run or pass on play action plays. It often puts him out of position allowing for big gains for opposing offenses. It needs to change.

Around the NFL

Houston – 20 Jacksonville – 27

Congratulations Houston, you win the Battle of Suck competition for 2013 AND you got your coach fired. Wade Phillips takes over for the last 3 games, and maybe long term. Jacksonville, on the other hand, has now won 4 of their last 5 and are saving Gus Bradley’s job.

Indianapolis – 28 Cincinnati – 42

Andy Dalton went 24-35 and led the Bengals to an easy win at home against the Colts. I don’t know what’s going on in Indy, but the Colts do not look like a team that can make a run in the postseason. I’m guessing it has something to do with their rushing game. When Andrew Luck is your leading rusher, again, with only 32 yards, something is wrong.

Atlanta – 21 Green Bay - 22

Green Bay tried to give this game away but Matt Ryan and the Falcons weren’t having any of that. Matt Flynn records his first victory in the A-Rod Injury Era. Packer fans everywhere are hoping for a Rodgers return this week, especially with Detroit losing. I don’t think Detroit wants to win the division, they’re doing everything in their power to give it to either Green Bay or Chicago.

Cleveland – 26 New England – 27

This was one of the crazy ending games of this Sunday. Down 12 with no timeouts and a 2:39 to go, Tom Brady engineered one of the greater comebacks of the year. He hit Julian Edelman in the end zone with 1:01 to play. 26-21. On the ensuing kick, Stephen Gostkowski hit an onside dribbler up the middle. Fozzy Whittaker, who? I know, right?, fell on the ball but it squirted out and New England recovered. Brady then hit Danny Woodhead for the game winning TD. Cleveland actually got the ball back and in field goal range with :01 to go, but Billy Cundiff came up short on a 58 yard field goal. Gronk was lost for the year after tearing his ACL. Not good news for the Pats, who are statistically 20 spots worse offensively without Gronk in the lineup. Ouch.

Oakland – 27 New York Jets – 37

I give up on trying to figure out this team. One week Geno Smith looks like an NFL punching bag, the next week he looks like a 5 year starter. He might still become a good quarterback, but he is far too inconsistent. This might be the last year Rex Ryan has in New York. I wonder if Rex can run a 4-3…..in Chicago maybe?

Detroit – 20 Philadelphia – 34

By far, the most entertaining game on Sunday afternoon. This game reminded me of grade school when a snow day is called. Everyone gets on the horn to meet at the local field and destroy each other in a foot of snow.

By halftime there were 6 inches of snow on the turf at Lincoln Financial Field. LeSean McCoy appeared to be the only one that could gain any footing, rushing for 217 yards and 2 scores. The Lions fumbled 7 times, losing 3, and couldn’t get a rhythm going on offense all day. It seems to me that if the Lions were a decent team, they wouldn’t be trying to give away the division in a year when they’re relatively healthy and every other team in the NFC North has taken up an entire wing of a hospital.

Miami – 34 Pittsburgh – 28

Pittsburgh almost pulled this one out, running a Cal-Stanford type play with no time on the clock. It would have worked and won the game but Antonio Smith stepped out of bounds on his way to the end zone ending the game, and maybe Pittsburgh’s season.

Buffalo – 6 Tampa Bay – 27

What? Tampa won? Over Buffalo? Oh, that’s right. I still don’t care. EJ Manuel threw 4 interceptions, making him the 5^th QB this season to do so. He’s the only one who did it without throwing a TD though.

Kansas City – 45 Washington – 10

What a mess Washington is right now. Not only are they losing games, and in very ugly fashion, but now it came out that Shanahan was ready to be done last season. This is a team that needs to hit the reset button from the top down. Dan Snyder has to be one of the worst owners in all of sports.

Minnesota – 26 Baltimore – 29

This game was 7-6 at the end of the 3^rd quarter. The teams scored 42 combined points in the 4^th quarter, with 5 touchdowns coming in the last 6 ½ minutes. Here’s the short of it. Baltimore scores, gets 2 point conversion, leads 15-12. Toby Gerhart 41 yard TD run. Minnesota up 19-15. 2 minutes left. Jacoby Jones 77 yard kickoff return for a TD. Baltimore leads 22-19. One minute 16 seconds left. Cordarrelle Patterson 79 yard TD reception. Minnesota leads 26-22. 45 seconds left. Flacco throws to Marlon Brown for a 9 yard touchdown on one of the better, if not the best, catches of the day. Baltimore wins 29-26. It was the most exciting 4^th quarter I’ve seen since the Bears-Browns in 2001 where the Bears scored twice in the final 28 seconds and won in OT.

Tennessee – 28 Denver - 51

I actually had someone tell me that Ryan Fitzpatrick is a franchise caliber player this week. Sorry to call you out Colleen, but I hope this game showed you a bit what I was talking about. Fitz is not that good. His stats were pedestrian and he looked worse than that. Reportedly the Titans are going to release Chris Johnson after the season. After hearing that Tennessee isn’t picking up Jake Locker’s option for next year, and Munchak being on the hottest of hot seats, it makes you wonder what’s in store for the Titans.

St. Louis – 10 Arizona – 30

The Cardinals have quietly positioned themselves 1 game out of the wild card hunt, but face San Francisco and Seattle in the last 3 weeks. Carson Palmer looks a bit rejuvenated, but let’s see if he can lead the team on the stretch run.

New York Giants – 14 San Diego – 37

Damn it. Of the sucky whiny QB battle, the one I think I hate more won. I guess it’s still a win win. It looks as if the Chargers won’t be going to the playoffs, and the Giants just flat out suck. All is right in the world.

Seattle – 17 San Francisco – 19

I find it funny that when something goes wrong in Seattle, they can never hold themselves accountable. Everything is God’s will or someone else’s fault, and the blame game runs rampant. Maybe it’s because their D-Bag of a coach still wants to be 21 and whines as much as any coach in the business. Or maybe it’s just that I hate him and think he’s a total ass hat.

Carolina – 13 New Orleans – 31

Carolina definitely showed some chinks in the armor while not being able to hang with New Orleans. I still see Carolina finishing 10-6, but their weaknesses showed when they finally went up against a good team.

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

Washington Redskins offense

This team now looks completely inept. The Redskins are shutting down RG3 for the year, and Shanahan looks like he’d rather be getting his wisdom teeth pulled than be coaching the Redskins right now.

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

Matt Prater – K – Denver Broncos

While I could have easily given this award to Josh Gordon for the 3^rd week in a row (and it would be justified with the day he had) I decided to go with a record breaker instead. Prater kicked a 64 yard field goal in the Broncos win over the Titans putting him in sole possession of the longest kick in NFL history.