NFL Week 15: Mike Phipps' late delivery

[YGBFKM]

Bengals-Eagles to start the week sounds awful, but it's likely going to be a pretty entertaining game for fantasy purposes if nothing else.

Great slate of games Sunday:
Giants at Falcons: OK, Atlanta, you want respect, win this game
Packers at Bears: OK, Jay Cutler, you want respect, win this game
Redskins at Browns: All of a sudden, Cleveland is winning, and RG3's status is uncertain
Broncos at Ravens: Baltimore really needs a win, but Denver hasn't lost in two months
Colts at Texans: Indy has a chance to steal the division with two against Houston in the next three weeks
Steelers at Cowboys: Two teams clinging to playoff hopes, and both will find plenty of ways to make it interesting
49ers at Patriots: Kaepernick deserves a new tattoo if he can win in Foxborough.

Monday's game:
Jets at Titans: Ugh.

 

[JackReacher]

Jesus. That is a great group of games. Looks like my Monday night is open, though. Awful.

RG3 is going to play.

 

[YGBFKM]

I figure he'll play, too. Even if he does, winning in Cleveland won't be as easy as people assumed a couple weeks ago.

The bigger injury for the Redskins may end up being Dez Bryant. If he is sidelined, the Cowboys are in trouble down the stretch. Even if he does play, it'll be with two fingers taped together, and that's a ***** for a wide receiver.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Only three defenses have slowed the Pats down the least little bit this year, and oddly enough, two of 'em were from the AFC West, the Cards and Seahawks. Since the 49ers allegedly have the best defense in that division, I'm interested to see what they can do. BTW, if there was an Assistant Coach of the Year award, Pats' OL coach Dante Scarnecchia would be a hands-down winner. The OL is the relatively untold story of their offense.

 

[Chef2]

You know ESPN is saying to themselves......"How can we make this turd at least halfway interesting?"

 

[JackReacher]

I figure he'll play, too. Even if he does, winning in Cleveland won't be as easy as people assumed a couple weeks ago.

The bigger injury for the Redskins may end up being Dez Bryant. If he is sidelined, the Cowboys are in trouble down the stretch. Even if he does play, it'll be with two fingers taped together, and that's a ***** for a wide receiver.

Agree on both. I mean, I certainly think the Skins can beat the Browns, and maybe beat them bad depending on how effective RG3 is, but it's not a pushover by any means.

And yeah, the Bryant injury is huge. I mean, the good news was flowing nicely for Skins fans yesterday. Which means it's bound to come crashing down. Probably Sunday.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

It's just a great week of games...

Could likely No. 1 seeds inspire less fear than Houston and Atlanta?

The Giants should destroy the Falcons, but then again, they played well last week, so they could be due to **** the bed this week.

I'd love to see the Niners win one in Foxborough, but I don't see it happening.

Browns-Redskins is definitely an underrated game.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

The Cardinals front seven had a fantastic game in Foxboro, Mizzou. That's what the Niners need, too.

 

[YGBFKM]

It'll be interesting to see if the Patriots can run on the 49ers. The Texans brought the No. 2 run defense into Monday's game and they couldn't stop Ridley and Vereen. Directly related to that, there were a couple play-action passes that could not have been executed better.

I don't know the Pats' defense well enough, but how are they set up for stopping a QB like Kaepernick and the read option?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

It is truly amazing to see how Belichick picks up players during the season who make an immediate impact. They stole Talib and Stallworth made a nice contribution last night...

It is amazing to think that the Pats started 3-3 this season, but ever since they overtime win over the Jets, they've been the best team in the league for the last 7-8 weeks.

 

[shockey]

You know ESPN is saying to themselves......"How can we make this turd at least halfway interesting?"

well, what's the over/under on how many times espn's cameras flash to tebow? and the under/over on how many times his name is uttered by tirico, gruden and jaws? just when an espn exec concedes there was waaaay too much of tebow during training camp the orldwide leader gets a chance to show it listens to the higher-ups.

 

[YGBFKM]

It's pretty amazing that the AFC has two teams (the Broncos being the other) which haven't lost in two months.

Not sure how the seedings are going to shake out, but Manning vs. Brady for the AFC title would be unbelievable.

 

[YGBFKM]

It is truly amazing to see how Belichick picks up players during the season who make an immediate impact. They stole Talib and Stallworth made a nice contribution last night...

My wife texted me on my way home from work that Stallworth caught a TD. My first thought was, "****ing Belichick." In a begrudgingly respectful way.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Stallworth is a member of what I call Belichick's theatrical company. Players who aren't on the roster who he knows can play and also knows he can pick up cheap to fill the inevitable holes that develop during a season.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Is it just me or have the Pats, before Monday at least, been a bit overlooked in the contender discussion? There seems to be a belief that their defense isn't all that, plus there was that loss to the Cardinals. But now they are 10-3, the three losses by a combined four points, and have destroyed the Broncos and Colts and Texans. Pretty sure they'd do the same to the Ravens if they played again today.

 

[JackReacher]

New England and Denver are the only teams who have a legit shot at the Super Bowl from the AFC. Houston ain't gonna cut it, even if they do lock up homefield.

In the NFC, you got.....Giants, 49ers, Packers, Seahawks (maybe), Falcons (LOL).

Isn't that about it?

 

[YGBFKM]

The game I'm most interested in and least want to watch is Bears-Packers. I assume Matthews and Woodson will be back, which means it'll be a tossup as to whether Cutler throws more picks than J'Marcus Webb gives up sacks. I have absolutely no faith in the play calling or execution, but at this point I don't even care if the Bears win, I would just like to see the offensive skill players show up for a change against Green Bay.

 

[amraeder]

You know ESPN is saying to themselves......"How can we make this turd at least halfway interesting?"

Wall-to-wall tebow.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

LTL, the Pats didn't exactly destroy the Broncos. They survived a big late rally due to a timely interception. The Colts self-destructed. I do believe the Texans just don't match up well with New England. By contrast, the Ravens do match up better than one might think. The two teams tend to play very close games.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I don't know ... it was 31-7 late in the third quarter against the Broncos. (Wasn't that the game the Pats unveiled this version of the no-huddle?)

I expect to see Belichick in (wherever the Super Bowl is) in February, and it would be quite the upset if he isn't. They don't even have Gronkowski right now and they're doing this.