Andy Richardson
A quick whirl around the league at the highlights and lowlights of the games I paid the most attention to on Sunday…
Random Thought: It's not really "goodbye," but in many ways, week 16 of the NFL season kind of is. It's the end of most fantasy seasons, which is bittersweet whether you won or lost -- more bitter when you lose, but still a little uncomfortable even when you win. How much gloating is too much? In the leagues you lost, is it ever cool to brag about the leagues you won? And then there's the NFL, where week 16 normally cements the playoff teams and seedings -- not quite the case this year, but with only one wild-card spot up for grabs in each conference, it basically does. The football season is essentially over. So is the fantasy football season. Kind of sad.
Steelers-Rams: Am I the only one who thinks Pittsburgh will be fine with Najeh Davenport and another of their running backs replacing Willie Parker, out with a broken leg? I realize Parker was leading the league in rushing, but that strikes me as having as much to do with the team’s commitment to the running game, easy schedule that includes playing with a lot of leads, and Parker’s workload as it does Parker being any kind of difference-maker in terms of talent. Maybe I underrate him (probably), but I think they’ll go just as far in the playoffs without him as with him. Which granted, might not be past the first round anyway. I like the Steelers’ passing game led by the tough and accurate Ben Roethlisberger, with great talents like Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes at wide receiver, far more than I do their running game. I was glad to get Roethlisberger for one possible title team this year; wish I had him, and Holmes, in a few more.
What next for the Rams? Certainly their offense is a different animal with Steven Jackson healthy. But with virtually their entire offensive line coming back from injury next year, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt another year older, and Marc Bulger another year of being beat up and broken-down, it’s going to be scary to draft these guys next year. Plus when you see stuff like Holt yelling at Scott Linehan on the sidelines, you wonder if the coaching staff will be back, and what changes a new coaching staff, or even the same one, might institute a year from now. Stuff like throwing to the tight end, as a for instance. Maybe their offense needs to get a little more conservative – anything to keep their quarterback in one piece for an entire season would be a step forward.
Cowboys-Panthers: These two teams have one thing in common. For some reason, they both spend a lot of time giving carries to a lousy running back (Julius Jones, DeShaun Foster) at the expense of a superior one (Marion Barber, DeAngelo Williams). In the case of Barber, they’re probably trying to keep him fresh, but with Jones averaging a full yard and a half less per carry and no threat to do anything particularly positive with the ball, why bother? Why not just pass or give it to the fullback or something? In the case of Foster, it just doesn’t make any sense. Maybe Williams isn’t that great; fine. But we KNOW Foster isn’t any good; why not give Williams a chance to prove he isn’t either? It’s just curious. If the team was doing as well as Dallas, it’d be hard to criticize the coach too much, but the Panthers are horrible. May as well let Williams have all the carries and let him succeed or fail.
Of course, the big news is Terrell Owens suffering a high ankle sprain, but at least he got his fantasy owners a nice touchdown and decent points beforehand, and most teams don’t play in week 17 anyway (Owens certainly won’t be). Steve Smith helped those owners who dared start him, and those with meaningful games in week 17 were left to hope the Packers would win in Chicago so both they and Dallas would still be fighting for the top seed in week 17. Speaking of which….
Packers-Bears: Meaningful games for Green Bay and Dallas in week 17? Nope. The Packers will be looking to build some playoff momentum, while the Cowboys will be aiming to keep rival Washington out of the playoffs. Does that mean Brett Favre, Ryan Grant, Tony Romo and Marion Barber will play the entire game? I seriously doubt it. As for the game itself, well, you can’t underestimate those longtime division rivalries. The Bears didn’t seem to mind the ridiculously bad conditions, the Packers couldn’t do anything – aside from a breakaway 66-yard TD run by Grant, which actually could have been his SECOND such play in the game. He had another opportunity but got tripped up by his own blocker, or he’d have been gone.
Other than that, this game was just more evidence that if you have a quarterback or wide receivers from a cold-weather team, make sure you have a decent warm-weather option lined up for the playoffs. It’s the third straight year that Favre has let down his fantasy owners with weather-influenced subpar performances in week 16.
Browns-Bengals: If division rivalry games are important, how about division rivalry games featuring two teams from the same state? The Bengals had nothing to play for but a lesser defensive player on draft day but came out fired up anyway, jumping out to a 19-0 lead before faltering and nearly losing late. (After all, they’re still the Bengals.) Chad Johnson couldn’t hang onto a touchdown pass for the second straight week, while T.J. Houshmandzadeh did – good job, Pro Bowl voters! Kenny Watson rushed for 130 yards and a TD; I know I can’t believe I ever viewed him as just a third-down back, and I wonder how the Bengals feel, using him that way much of the season behind the mediocre Rudi Johnson.
For the Browns, their playoff hopes suddenly depend on the Titans losing at Indianapolis next week – which would be reasonable, if the Colts had anything to play for. It’s going to be a fun week of debating the integrity of the league and what the Colts’ obligation is here (Should they play their starters throughout?), but I think it’s pretty simple. The Browns put themselves into this position by losing to a bad Bengals team. It’s cruel to say, and I’d probably feel differently if I were a Browns fan (and don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see them in the playoffs), but they did this to themselves and deserve what they get. Plus I think the Colts are going to beat the Titans anyway.
Giants-Bills: Kudos to the Giants, who go on the road hearing about their annual collapse, fall behind 14-0 to a team that’s no doubt inspired by Kevin Everett’s appearance at the game, and lose Brandon Jacobs for part of the contest due to injury – but win anyway. Moreover, they were playing in what looked like a freaking monsoon! A highlight was the Bills cheerleaders (The Jills; clever, no?), dressed in Santa outfits – season appropriate, if not weather appropriate – running for the tunnels as the wind and rain swirled, and then coming back wearing rain gear over their holiday attire. It reminds me of an old “Peanuts” storyline with Sally giving a school report on Santa and his rain gear. Ho, ho. Er, ho.
Anyway, Plaxico Burress dropped a TD, Eli Manning didn’t play all that well, and the Giants killed a pair of drives with a horrible goal-line sequence and a fumbled snap – but won anyway. I can’t guarantee they’ll make any noise in the playoffs, and definitely won’t give them much of a shot to knock off the Patriots next week, but stranger things have happened. If nothing else, maybe Eli will fire up his defense to try and protect big brother Peyton’s touchdown record. Oh, Marshawn Lynch: very good player. A nice No. 2 or 3 pick in rookie drafts, while those who took Calvin Johnson are probably a little concerned so far.
And other random notes…. In Texans-Colts, it was really nice to see the Colts starters playing deep into the game. Of course, they got some guys banged up, which ensures Tony Dungy won’t make that mistake this week – sorry, Cleveland. … Saints alive! New Orleans is still in the playoff hunt thanks to Washington’s win at Minnesota (unless I’ve got that wrong). They’d be in great shape had they simply, you know, won more home games this season, including Sunday’s against Philadelphia. Like the Giants, they had a pretty abominable (Note the Rudolph reference; seasonal, you know) sequence at the goal line, running the ball into the teeth of what the Eagles actually do well. Just odd. And of course, with Marques Colston sidelined, nobody else on the team can be counted on to catch an important pass. Washington is home against Dallas next week – another fun topic to discuss this week, will Dallas play its starters? – while Minnesota and New Orleans are on the road against Denver and Chicago, respectively. Advantage Washington.
The NFL season isn't over -- there's still week 17, which has some meaning for some teams, and one of my fantasy leagues. There's still the playoffs, which should be a blast, with lots of compelling matchups (assuming we get Green Bay-Dallas and Indianapolis-New England, that is) and some great drama.
I don't know whether it will compare to seeing my son unwrap his big blue dinosaur on Christmas Day, but that's OK. Not many things will touch that.
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