The Giants destroyed my Thanksgiving. Not only did they play perhaps the worst game I've ever watched at any level in any sport, but that the game was carried only by the NFL Network forced me to leave my friend's house early and rush across town to get back home. To add insult to injury, I bet them as a road favorite, something I almost never do. The takeaways from that game are as follows: (1) It's a travesty that all NFL games are not available on basic cable, and it's even more of a travesty that the Sunday Ticket is available only on DirecTV. What's worse, my DirecTV has decided to re-boot at 12:45 PM PT the last two Sundays, just as the early games are resolving. Re-booting can take up to 20 minutes. I would ditch that company in five seconds if the Sunday Ticket were ever available on regular cable. (2) The schedule makers might not want to schedule a lot of Thursday night road games in Denver. I'm not sure this was a factor, but doesn't it take a couple days normally to get used to the thinner air? Is it possible that the Giants looked so terrible because they were winded? (3) Eli Manning's playing through a stress reaction in his foot which could easily become a stress fracture if he aggravates it - if that happens, the team's season is over, so apparently he'll play through it, and it didn't seem to be a problem against the Chargers or Falcons. (4) The Giants offensive line isn't playing the same way it had the last few seasons. Maybe that's because teams have taken away the run and forced the Giants to throw. As a result, New York hasn't landed those early body blows with Brandon Jacobs that it did last year. But that explanation doesn't make a lot of sense because teams knew they had to stop the run last year, too - they just couldn't. (5) Bill Sheridan isn't working out as the new defensive coordinator. While the injuries to Kenny Phillips, Michael Boley and Aaron Ross were significant, it's hard to say they're more significant that what most teams go through (the Pats lost Richard Seymour and were without Jarod Mayo for several weeks, the Colts lost most of their starting secondary, the Steelers lost Aaron Smith and Troy Polamalu, the Bengals lost Antwan Odom, etc.) At some point, the coaches are responsible for not getting the most out of the personnel. (6) Maybe Denver's not that bad.
Matthew Stafford seems like a poor man's Jay Cutler - all the physical talent in the world, but after 10 games or so, still exhibiting very poor judgment. He's only a rookie, (while Cutler's in Year 4), but one has to wonder whether a player who throws the ball out of the end zone on fourth and goal, will ever have the decision-making skills to be a superstar. Because while mobility, arm strength and the ability to throw the ball accurately down the field on the move are great, awareness and judgment are key qualities in a great quarterback, and both are difficult to scout beforehand. Does anyone think the Bills would still have lost 6-3 to the Browns had Dick Jauron been fired before the start of the season? The Rams blitz pickup was nonexistent Sunday, and Kyle Boller actually did a pretty decent job of getting the ball out of his hands, despite taking four sacks. Seattle's rushers were on him before he could even set his feet a lot of the time, and St. Louis never seemed to adjust. With Justin Forsett around, why is Julius Jones anything more than a 5-10 carry backup in Seattle? Always take the points in any game the Redskins play. Steve Slaton had 17 touches, seven catches and 106 total yards, but Chris Brown isn't going away until he gets hurt. The Texans latest fold should probably cost Gary Kubiak his job - that team should be better. Larry Johnson rushed for 107 yards on 22 carries Sunday, showing for the 100th time that for 80 percent of the backs in the league, whether one is "washed up" is just a matter of environment. Yes, there's are some Eddie Georges in their last couple seasons (and also a couple Barry Sanders/Walter Payton types that transcend their surroundings), but for the most part, healthy backs that were once good will produce in the right situation. Of course, Cedric Benson (another player considered hopeless by many just four months ago) should be back soon, and Bernard Scott is still around. Darrelle Revis is really good. I thought maybe Steve Smith's lateral quickness (as opposed to the bigger receivers like Randy Moss and Andre Johnson that Revis shut down) might make him harder to handle one on one, but that obviously wasn't the case. Smith did catch a touchdown that was called back, but even on that, Jake Delhomme had to thread the needle and Smith had to go up as high as he possibly could to make what would have been a great catch, i.e., he wasn't really open. Now that Delhomme has a broken finger, Smith might be forced to work with Matt Moore, though at this point, it's hard to consider that a downgrade even though Smith had had such a great rapport with Delhomme over the years. Suddenly the Chargers are a convincing 8-3 - about where we expected them to be when the season started. And Antonio Gates showed why you must stick with players of that caliber all season no matter what - so long as they're healthy. LaDainian Tomlinson very quietly has eight touchdowns - on a pace for 12. I stand by taking Pierre Thomas over Frank Gore in drafts this year even though Gore will finish with better total numbers. i missed my flush draw, but the pot odds still made it the correct pick. It's a very tough call whether Vince Young or Brett Favre is the best story of the year. Young could not have played better than last several games, and to see him engineer a come-from-behind win while throwing for nearly 400 yards is mind-blowing. The NFL is a better and more enjoyable league with players like Young succeeding in it. (As opposed to say having more Matt Schaubs). Favre - and let's remember where he was this summer after a disastrous finish with the Jets and a torn biceps muscle - is by far the top rated passer in the league (112.1) with 24 TDs and three picks. (The rating would be the fifth best single season one ever. And he's only fumbled once all year. Drew Brees has fumbled seven times). If the Titans go 10-6 and make the playoffs, I think Young is the bigger story even if Favre wins the Super Bowl. The Titans still have to win @IND and at home against San Diego, so the odds are long. But if the Titans do run the table, what's the line in their first road playoff game which could be in New England? If you were drafting a real-life team today, would you take Vince Young or Jay Cutler?
