InClement Weather: 10 Midnight Musings

First off, push aside any of your "home-grown" playoff scenarios and just go here:
You can play out ANY scenario you want and get your results. And I mean ANY.

As usual, Yahoo! Sports is the place I go to get the very best.

Look closely and you'll see my co-NFL MVPs. Yep, I said it and I meant it.
Credit: Yahoo! Sports

Here are 5 nuggets from this week and 5 more from next week...

...5 From This Week...
1) How about we eliminate the division champs from the NFC and AFC West in the playoffs? Denver is choking almost as hard as the Jets and the Bolts may sneak in behind Norv Turner of all coaches; meanwhile, the Cardinals are an absolute embarrassment. I don't care when they 'clinched', they're the easiest 1st-round out in years, even at home.
2) Nobody wants New England in the playoffs. Nobody.
3) Brett Favre is going to retire. Mark it down. Let's see how New England acts if Cassell may get courted by the Jets.
4) Matt Ryan and Michael Turner should share the NFL MVP (see above dumby!)
5) Mike Smith and Tony Sporano should share the Head Coach of the Year Award.

...5 For Next Week...
6) If the Chargers win, that sets up Indy @ San Diego in the 1st round. Who doesn't like that drama/rematch? Even I do...
7) If the Eagles beat Dallas at home, neither might be in. Why? Oakland would have to beat Tampa for Philly to get in at 9-6-1. Ditto if the J-E-T-S beat the Fish & Pennington. By the way, it's S-U-C-K now.
8) Baltimore can still get knocked out with a loss. Although they can get in without a W without too bizarre a scenario, barely.
9) With #1 locked up, do the Giants suit up a team against Minnesota?
10) If Chicago loses tomorrow night, the Vikes might not suit up a team either.

Here are a few of the "more" important scenarios to take into account:
-Denver vs. San Diego is FLEXED by NBC. The winner is the AFC's 4-seed. Lock it up.
-Dallas wins and they are in. After all these past few years have seen for the enigmatic wideout of all wideouts, TO needs to help deliver a win in Philly. Wow.
-Miami wins and they are AFC East champs and the #3 seed. Easy. If they lose, there is NO scenario for a playoff birth. NONE.
-New England could end up only the second 11-5 team to NOT make the playoffs. How? Miami & Baltimore winning (both are favored).

The real key - as I see it - is the scheduling of games. Flexing can be done by CBS & Fox as well for the 4pm slate.

But which game gets the national 4pm spotlight? Or do two?
Dallas vs. Philly has FOX written all over it; meanwhile, NY Jets/Miami is a CBS showdown. There are other options; however, I don't see any being as plausible.

The aforementioned two could be very very interesting seeing as Tampa/Oakland should be a lock for 1pm; ditto for Buffalo/New England and Jacksonville/Baltimore. OH THE DRAMA!

Just imagine if New England and B-More win; who do the Jet fans root for between them and the Phins? Seriously? While nobody ever roots for their team to lose (or do they?), will memories of Spygate remind Jet fans a loss to the Fish spells doom for the Patsies?
Note: The team would never feel that way...I hope. Pride is pride. But fans (not me...yet) have sadistic levels of thinking.

While that's playing Devil's Advocate, it's still a game you play with playoff scenarios. While I see ZERO chance of either occurring, obviously there's two ways to get in for New York's not-so-finest:
1) WIN & New England loss to JP Losman & Buffalo (yeah, sure)
2) WIN & Baltimore loss to 5-10 Jacksonville (I'm on it!)
Note: Both are home games for the Patsies and Ravens.

Of course, WINNING in the first place isn't likely. Nevertheless...

It will be as crazy a Week 17 as we've seen in years. Especially if - let's say - the Jets beat the Fins and Iggles the Cowboys (or vice-versa in that second game) and neither of the four are in.

Drama...indeed.

Good luck!!!

5 NFL Questions - Week 12

The real "turkey" next week might be the 11-0 Titans traveling to the 0-11 Lions.
Lucky us.
Credit: DistantOcean

1) Will the Titans walk away 11-0 after their matchup hosting the Jets?
2) Will Daunte Culpepper and the Lions move to 0-11 after their matchup in Ford Field (Silverdome) against the Bucs?
3) Will Kevin Walter continue to "steal" Andre Johnson's touchdown receptions?
4) Is Tyler Thigpen getting closer to securing the Chiefs starting QB job in 2009?
5) Which of the 5-5s is closest to making a legitimate playoff push: Buffalo, New Orleans, Green Bay, Minnesota, or Chicago?

***Fantasy Question***
6) Who will be more unpleased after Sunday: TO or TO's fantasy owners? Or neither?

Tuesday FourCast: Week 9

I've given this week's FourCast a commercial theme for the most part. While we all look forward to Super Bowl commercials, the current commercials (especially during the Presidential Campaigns) are the type of mindless drivel that could drive us all insane. Anyway...I'll kick it off with the worst of them all.

1) Saved By Zero

I now understand the annoyance level of Terrell Owens (sorta). Watching college and NFL football over the last three weekends has caused me to hear the all too familiar jingle on the Toyota commercials. I have even discussed the fact that the cars in the commercial are animated, and the fact that the Prius doesn't get that kind of financing because the market is hot for them and Toyota wants to put it to Prius buyers with their financing. Regardless, the commercial is driving me insane. Anyway...T.O. seems to be dealing with the same kind of frustration when it comes to his QBs. Brad Johnson was nothing short of...well...short on a lot of his noodle-armed passes. Brooks Bollinger showed his true value on his first play (an interception). The Cowboys are in shambles, and while the return of Romo would make T.O. less frustrated, there seems to be more to fix on that team than just the QB situation. Some DBs that can cover would be a start.

2) Can you hand your team to a man who has never been in charge of anything?

While McCain's Campaign aired this commercial way too much, I think Curt Menefee made a great observation in his live editorial on Fox NFL Sunday which asked the same question. There are too many teams out there that are run by non-football people. I'm interested to know which team he mentioned is now run by a former blogger. It makes me feel qualified to run a team. He also mentioned that these non-football people running these teams have made knee-jerk reactions to the media and the criticism of their respective teams. While I'm not going to complain about how well they're doing now, as a Redskins fan I have seen this with Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato. They are not football guys, and it's taken them a while to get to the current success that they're having. How many teams are dealing with this issue? I would say Oakland is a pretty good place to begin.

3) $5 Foot Long

A bargain, right? Except when you realize you just saved $0.19 on your sub. Want a real bargain? Look no further than the Titans who just finished up a perfect first half of the season. They entered this season with nearly $18 million in cap space (6^th lowest cap figure in the league). In my opinion, several factors lead to the 8-0 Titans. First and foremost, you start with Jeff Fisher. He has been the head coach of the franchise since 1994 (replacing Jack Pardee late in the season). The defensive system has been intact since that time, and while the offense has changed somewhat over that time, the overall structure remained. At the QB position, they actually have a real QB playing. Kerry Collins has solidified that offense with his ability to make reads (better than Vince Young, at least) and complete passes. Finally, you add Chris Johnson to the mix, who is everything Chris Henry was supposed to be at RB for this franchise. Many jumped on the Titans on draft day for taking Johnson so early. The Titans are having the last laugh with Johnson, who is leading the AFC in rushing. If they can secure homefield advantage over the next 8 weeks, they could find themselves playing for the Lombardi.

4) This is a Test

For the next sixty days, the "team" known as the Lions will conduct a test of the Emergency QB System. This is only a test. However, should Daunte Culpepper show us anything during that time, he could resurrect his career (sort of). One of the questions is whether the Lions are the right team for him. A few things don’t make a lot of sense. Culpepper (as Sum would put it) is no spring chicken. Drew Stanton was about to be handed the reigns this year. The Lions are in rebuild mode. I don’t think I’ll be too far out on a limb to predict that this union between Culpepper and the Lions won’t end in any kind of great success.

Tuesday FourCast: Week 6

Paymon called it last week with his code orange games. Things definitely went awry, especially for one division. We saw some mighty teams fall in what should have been easy matchups. And with that, we start the mid-section of the season.


#1. Take That Vegas

At one point last week, the Redskins were 14.5 point favorites over the Rams. Let's not forget, this is the NFL, which means "No Funds League" if you use Vegas odds when betting on games. Coming off big wins against the Cowboys and Eagles on the road, the Redskins lay an egg at home against the hapless Rams. Being a long time fan of the Skins, I can tell you that this is normal. I told people in my office last week that this is a game the Skins always lose and had several of them remind me on Monday about that revelation. A few things I take away from this game. Josh Brown is one of the best free agent acquisitions the Rams have had for a while. The Redskins came down to earth as soon as they had a few turnovers. Vinny Cerrato should publicly apologize for forcing the team to keep Durant Brooks as their punter, since he wasted a draft pick on Brooks. Offensive linemen should bat down passes instead of thinking they are Jerry Rice. And, Richie Incognito should be a professional wrestler and not in the NFL.


#2. Gun-Slinging (Sorta) in the Wild West

How important is special teams play to a football team? Just ask the Cardinals who pulled a minor shocker at home against the Dallas Cowboys. There is no need to look further than the Cardinals' opening play and their closing play of the game. J.J. Arrington started things off with the proverbial punch in the nose, with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Later, Sean Morey and Monty Beisel combined to block a punt and claim the ball in the end zone for a TD in overtime to seal the victory. These two plays served as the end-caps for a game overstocked with turnovers and ugly play. Another observation I had refers to what T.O. cried about in a previous press conference. He wanted the damn ball. But, in three of the last four games, he has 8 catches for 120 yards and 1 TD. Marion Barber had 11 for 128 and a TD in this game alone. Note to T.O.: Get open, and you'll get the damn ball...and cozy up to Brad Johnson too.


#3. Is LT Finally Going to Shut Up???

I could see it before the game even started. A pouty LaDainian Tomlinson boo-hooing over a loss to the Patriots, claiming, "They cheated!!! Belichick is a bad bad person!!!" (Queue crying baby sound effect). It was nice seeing them pound the Brady-less Patriots like a team that's missing their All-Pro QB. Ok, that sounded redundant, but I'm sure you all know what I mean. Phillip Rivers got his groove on throwing to his over-sized receivers. The smaller Patriot DBs showed their weakness. Matt Cassel showed us why he's never been a starting QB. I think this is just further proof that since Tom Brady went down, the AFC is anybody's game.


#4. The New York Football...Midgets???

Not quite, but what are we to think? Did the Browns come to life, or did the Giants finally come back to earth? Derek Anderson spent the last few weeks barely holding Brady Quinn off from the starting QB job. Last night, Anderson restated his case as the outright starter in Cleveland. Eli Manning threw three picks (one of them a Pick-Six) to a set of Browns DBs that the average fan couldn't name a single member. Amazingly, sans the "Soulja", the Browns looked a lot like the team that went 10-6 last season. Braylon Edwards shook off some of that dust to give Anderson a hand, and once again looked like he's the next big thing at WR. Furthermore, the Giants lost their first road game since week 1 last season. If I was to point out a trend for this week, it's that three quarters of the NFC East needs to pick themselves up after some shocking losses and once again prove that they are the best division in the league.

Romo Out 4 Weeks With Broken Pinkie

Michael Smith of ESPN.com reports Tony Romo will be out four weeks with a broken pinkie suffered in Sunday's overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

If Romo misses the next four weeks as stated, Brad Johnson will deputize against Rams (1-4), Bucs (4-2) and Giants (4-0). After the Giants game, the Cowboys will have their bye week. Realistically, the Cowboys could be staring at 5-4, and the Giants will have yet another break after facing the Peewee version of the Washington Redskins followed by three fraudulent teams that have totaled two wins.

I wonder when TO will have an interview this week with Graham Bensinger to say that if Brett Favre was the Cowboys quarterback, they'd be 6-0. Four catches and only 36 yards against a shoddy secondary will bring out the living, breathing carcinogen that wears number 81 for the Cowboys.

Quick Hits from Sunday's Games

Here's one sentence (maybe two) from each of Sunday's games ...

Cleveland @ Cincinnati
Edwards and Ocho Cinco find the endzone, and Quinn should have entered the game for Cleveland after halftime if Crennel knew what he was doing.

Houston @ Jacksonville
Jacksonville evens up its record yet Matt Schaub has a career game. Both defenses stopped the other team's running backs.

Atlanta @ Carolina
Moose reawakens and Atlanta fails to score a TD in its second straight divisional road game.

Denver @ Kansas City
LJ and Clement's fantasy teams got going. Four turnovers and an inability to stop the run killed Denver.

San Francisco @ New Orleans
The return of Deuce McAllister to full-time duty and a full game's worth of production from Drew Brees result in an easy win in the Big Easy.

Arizona @ New York Jets
Thirty-four second quarter led to the clock operator being replaced and Kurt Warner putting up the worst 472 passing yards ever. Arizona will never stay on the East Coast.

Green Bay @ Tampa Bay
Late burst from Earnest Graham shored up an anything but certain victory for Tampa. Shocker: I saw at least one scuffle and guess who was in the middle? Jeremy Trueblood.

Minnesota @ Tennessee
Tennessee cruises behind its defenses, who caused three turnovers, and effective redzone play. Minnesota is searching for answers.

San Diego @ Oakland
Oakland squanders a 12-point fourth quarter lead and that LT guy wakes up from his season-long slumber. As of the writing of this post, Lane Kiffin still has a job.

Buffalo @ St. Louis
Linehan's out after Buffalo took care of business in the second half. Action Jackson finally finds the endzone.

Washington @ Dallas
Washington outplayed and outcoached Dallas, and TO - the target of 34.5% of offensive plays - complains. Missing person reports were submitted for Marion Barber III and Felix Jones.

Philadelphia @ Chicago
Orton plays his best half as a pro followed by possibly his worst. Philadelphia's inability to translate turnovers caused into points (6 points from 4 turnovers) cost them dearly.

Tuesday FourCast: Week 3

Clement is always a tough act to follow. The guy just has a knack for analyzing what happens on the field/court/rink/pitch/etc. Now it's my turn, and I do my analysis like I like my football games...UGLY!!! Week 3 had its shares of ups and downs, but I decided the bigger stories were more interesting to me.

Without much further ado...here's your Tuesday FourCast


#1. The Bane of Their Existence

How fitting is it that the team to end the New England Patriots' 21-game regular season winning streak would be the Miami Dolphins? The Curse of the '72 Dolphins persists. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Somebody has to shut those geezers up, and stop those corks from popping. I am not a fan of the Pats, but would have been fine if they put a cork in those geezers last year. Regardless of who is playing QB, nobody expected a 38-13 drubbing. But, is that what this team has become without Brady? Sure, they didn't have Maroney, but what does Maroney mean to that team anyway? He's been highly replaceable in my opinion. Would last year's Patriots have given up 4 TDs on the same gimmick play? Is Randy Moss giving up on another team? Charlie Casserly seems to be alluding to that. Regardless, we saw something that none would have dreamed while watching the Patriots tear through the league last season. The Foxboro faithful booed their own team.


#2. Al Davis and His Red Kimono

In Japan, by the time man reaches the age of 60, he is commemorated with a special ceremony. This ceremony features the man wearing a red kimono, which denotes that he no longer has the responsibilities of being a mature adult. Al Davis has been wearing a proverbial red kimono for some time now. The whole Lane Kiffin situation is nauseating. What self-respecting coach with any kind of experience would consider "coaching" the team under Al Davis? Kiffin is part of a long line of coaches that Al Davis has walked all over, dating at least back to when Shanahan was there. Davis owns a team that acts just as juvenile as he does. He breeds an environment for immaturity. The Raiders Culture is no longer a bunch of players who intimidate the other team on the field. They are now a team of individuals who do whatever they want at the detriment of the team. The latest, a Davis confidant John Herrera, showed those that saw the post-game video how despicable of a person he is. I say they parade him around the sidelines in Al's Red Kimono the rest of the season, before firing him.


#3. Jerrah and his Blue Storm

Switching from Al Davis to the owner that I respect the most in the NFL. Jerry Jones may be a meddlesome owner, but he knows his football. He's one of the better GMs in the league, and could probably head to the sidelines and coach that team. Jerrah is everything Al Davis tries to be (while failing miserably). He also deserves a ton of credit (so does Tuna) for having the best team on the field every Sunday. And yes, that is the most painful thing for a Redskins fan to say. The makeup of this team has championship written all over it. Now if they can just win their first playoff game in over a decade. Franchise QB, check. One-Two Punch at RB, check. Star Receivers, check. All-Star Offensive Line, check. Their offense has put up 96 points in the first three games. The defensive front seven is stacked like a 3-4 defense should be, with a slew of gutsy linemen and talented backers. The defensive backs are so deep with starting caliber talent that they can adjust to any team's style. Some haters will point to the players with unattractive character, but they forget the guys that are good influences on the team (Tony Romo, Flozell Adams, Zach Thomas, Ken Hamlin). Watching them pound the Packers this week cemented my feelings about the Cowboys. While I don't see them matching the regular season of the 2007 Patriots, I can easily see this team making another addition to the team's Lombardi Trophy case.


#4. The Bane of Their OWN Existence

Some are pointing to the St. Louis Rams as being the worst team in the NFL. However, I believe the owner of that title belongs to the Detroit Lions. I especially loved William Clay Ford, Jr. coming out and saying his father should fire Matt Millen so that the team can reach some level of success. No truer words have been spoken. The Lions are 31-84 under Millen. The bye week couldn't have come at a better time, because they go on the road in week 5, where Millen's road record is 8-49. While St. Louis is 0-3, they played teams like Philly, the Giants and the Seahawks (two playoff teams and a team that's playing like they're playoff bound). The Lions on the other hand have played two weak teams (Atlanta & San Fran), made them look good and have given up 113 points after 3 games. Their running game is in shambles, Kitna keeps putting the team in a bad situation by claiming they're going to win 10 games every year (giving other teams the motivation to shellack them), the offensive line, as talented as the individuals are, can't put it all together for an entire game, and the defense isn't playing with much heart outside of the LB corps. Management needs to show Millen the door. Not just for his mistakes, but also to give the team a fresh start from the top. The team may even need a fresh start from the coaching staff that runs the team more like a boot camp. Either way, it will be a long season for the Lions, and they may be looking at the #1 pick in the draft.