NFL Week 13 -- I wish turkey only cost a nickel

[Songbird]

I went to bed around 5. Put on the Bills Steelers. Watched one Steelers drive (when it was 0-0) and they looked pathetically boring in a 3 and out. I fell asleep.

 

[DanOregon]

There are more than a few QBs in the league right now that remind me of QBs in the 70s. Every throw might not be a beaut. They may not look textbook the way they play like a Manning or a Brady, but they get the job done. Nix and Mayfield remind me a bit of Stabler, Tarkenton, Zorn, Morton, Sipe, and Bert Jones.

 

[Spartan Squad]

There are more than a few QBs in the league right now that remind me of QBs in the 70s. Every throw might not be a beaut. They may not look textbook the way they play like a Manning or a Brady, but they get the job done. Nix and Mayfield remind me a bit of Stabler, Tarkenton, Zorn, Morton, Sipe, and Bert Jones.

I think about something similar when QBs are being killed for interceptions after a win. We’ve gotten spoiled that throws are generally more accurate and offenses have been given a lot of help with rules. But it used to be that interceptions were way more common. Obviously the game has evolved and even over or two turnovers can tilt a game. So I’m not saying interceptions are good. But in the totality of the game, not all interceptions are created equal. But it does make me wonder how certain guys would fair in today’s game. The ones we consider all-timers with questionable INT-TD ratios. That and, to quote the Smashing Pumpkins, the unrelenting urgency of now doesn’t give many guys a real chance.

 

[Cosmo]

Broad takeaways from this week...

* The Chiefs' best path to the playoffs may come via a Colts collapse, which is in the cards. Indy's finishing stretch is at Jags, at Seahawks, vs. 49ers, vs. Jags, at Texans. They could easily go 1-4 or 0-5 and miss the playoffs. KC still has to win out or go 4-1 at worst, but the door is cracked open just a bit. The Sunday night Houston-KC game next week is a de facto playoff game. The loser probably isn't getting in.
* The 7 seed in the NFC is 9-4 San Francisco, which tells me that it'll take at least 11 wins to get a wild card in the NFC, leaving zero margin for error for the Lions and Cowboys. Thursday night Dallas at Detroit is basically a playoff eliminator.
* The NFC South should be a fight to the end. Tampa and Carolina play twice in the last three weeks. Panthers finally get a bye week next week.

 

[Songbird]

Looks like Bryce Young and the Panthers are coming around.

 

[justgladtobehere]

I think about something similar when QBs are being killed for interceptions after a win. We’ve gotten spoiled that throws are generally more accurate and offenses have been given a lot of help with rules. But it used to be that interceptions were way more common. Obviously the game has evolved and even over or two turnovers can tilt a game. So I’m not saying interceptions are good. But in the totality of the game, not all interceptions are created equal. But it does make me wonder how certain guys would fair in today’s game. The ones we consider all-timers with questionable INT-TD ratios. That and, to quote the Smashing Pumpkins, the unrelenting urgency of now doesn’t give many guys a real chance.

<cough> Terry Bradshaw </cough>

 

[rtse11]

Even Marino had 252 interceptions in 242 games

 

[outofplace]

Tonight is the first time I've ever thought this might be it for Mike Tomlin. Probably not his fault (anyone who saw Aaron Rodgers last year knew he was done), but this is the kind of collapse that gets people fired or nudges organizations to gently show them the door. Sometimes it's just time. That said, coach-killing Aaron Rodgers strikes again.

It goes deeper than that. I believe this is the team Tomlin wanted. I think GM Omar Khan is building the roster to fit Tomlin's specifications and that approach is not working.

Tomlin wants to be conservative. He wants to keep things simple. Play defense and run the ball. Bully the opposition. Part of the problem is they don't have the talent on either line to do that. Another part is that the teams that do usually do more complex things on offense and defense. The Steelers are extremely predictable and when the talent level is diminished by departures or injuries, they can't overcome it.

More importantly, the attention to detail just isn't there. To play the style Tomlin wants, you have to be disciplined. His teams simply aren't. They never have been.

Tomlin had great teams when he had great talent and leadership and he maximized their potential. He had dominant defenses with playmakers like James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, Joey Porter, and LaMarr Woodley. They also had rock solid veterans like James Farrior, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, and Brett Keisel. They have nothing like that now. T.J. Watt is past his prime. Alex Highsmith is erratic.

Tomlin's best talents were built around elite, explosive talent that overcame sloppy play. That defines Ben Roethlisberger. They had dynamic receivers like Santonio Holmes and Antonio Brown. Le'Veon Bell was the best back in the league at one point. They have nothing like that now. Rodgers is a shell of his former self. Jaylen Warren is a decent back, but nothing more. Metcalf has been a huge disappointment. They had one truly elite talent on offense, George Pickens, and they traded him away.

That's the other problem. Tomlin doesn't want to deal with the problem children anymore. That is why Pickens is gone. He got in fights. He took plays off. He acted like a petulant child. He was worth it, just as Santonio Holmes and Antonio Brown were worth whatever trouble they caused, too. The Steelers acted as if Pickens was the problem. That they just had to get rid of his attitude and all would be well. Instead, they have an undisciplined team full of sloppy players and it is showing on the field. Trading Pickens for a couple of draft picks was a huge mistake. It probably cost them at least two games this year. The receiving corps is a joke without him. Meanwhile, he has blossomed into one of the league's elite receivers in Dallas. That is a massive failure by Tomlin.

If there is a class in which most students get a D, nobody gets better than a C, and a few students fail, the students with failing grades aren't the problem. The teacher is the problem. That's Tomlin, which is why it is past time for him to go.

 

[Spartan Squad]

The 7 seed in the NFC is 9-4 San Francisco, which tells me that it'll take at least 11 wins to get a wild card in the NFC, leaving zero margin for error for the Lions and Cowboys. Thursday night Dallas at Detroit is basically a playoff eliminator.

The fact that the Niners at 7 have a reasonable chance to still get the 1 seed tells me how wide open (and top heavy) the NFC is. The South’s (per tradition) best playoff hope is a division win and that will likely get them a 4 seed. But everyone else has a puncher’s chance. Obviously Rams, Bears and Hawks have the best shot but Niners could get some help from the remaining schedule for everyone else (but they still need to beat the Bears and Hawks). Packers could make some noise and get in there with some help. Philly could get lucky if they play better.

I like Detroit more than Dallas to sneak in. I feel like Dallas is on its annual rack up wins in November to make everyone think they could do something leading to a December collapse.

 

[outofplace]

<cough> Terry Bradshaw </cough>

Bradshaw was terrible during his first four seasons in the NFL. He threw 73 of his 210 career interceptions. He didn't fully and permanently gain control of the starting job until late in the 1974 season, the year the Steelers won their first Super Bowl.

Comparing quarterback numbers now to what they were before 1978 needs to be done in context. The league made a series of rule changes that year to open up the passing game. Of course, Bradshaw kept throwing high numbers of interceptions when the league opened the passing game, but he won his one league MVP award in 1978. He threw 20 interceptions that year.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

That 40-40 tie against the Packers is going to end up biting Dallas in the ass. I knew it would as soon as the night it happened.

 

[HanSenSE]

San Francisco may be the biggest beneficiary of the last bye. They've been putting the band back together after a rash of injuries and have a favorable schedule down the stretch.

 

[Deskgrunt50]

Hate the Patriots but love their throwback uniforms. I want to see Andre Tippett and Steve Grogan in a neck roll.

 

[HanSenSE]

Ladies and gentlemen, your NYG highlight of the night.

 

[ChrisLong]

******* is mimicking my golf swing.

 

[Deskgrunt50]

The Giants are apparently going to stink forever. Just ****ing dreadful.

 

[Deskgrunt50]

Ladies and gentlemen, your NYG highlight of the night.

I’m sure this happens from time to time. But **** if I’ve ever seen it in four decades of watching football. ****’s sake, Giants.

And to echo @ChrisLong, I dug a trench with a 5-iron like that this very morning.

 

[DanOregon]

Clearly the problem was he didn't go full ***.

 

[da man]

Ladies and gentlemen, your NYG highlight of the night.

Good grief! Did Lucy pull it away again?

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

The Abdul Carter reports sound like something that you'd expect to come out of Cleveland, or with the Jets.