The Wednesday Walk Through
The NFL wasn’t quite the same last season. The offseason was ruined by the lockout. Hard Knocks was cancelled. Worst of all, Peyton Manning was injured and wasn’t going to be facing off against Tom Brady or playing for the Indianapolis Colts. When Peyton returned this season, as a fan of the league, the NFL finally felt normal again.
The WWT noted in the column a few weeks ago that the baseball playoffs are one of our favorite sporting events on the sports calendar. When Derek Jeter went down with a broken ankle last Friday, the WWT got that ugly feeling not felt since Peyton Manning was ruled out of the 2011-12 NFL season. With out Jeter, the baseball playoffs just aren’t the same. The games will go on, a champion will be crowned, and hopefully Jeter’s ankle will heal quick enough for him to be the Yankees starting shortstop on opening day.
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Each Wednesday, readers of this column will sit in and enjoy exactly what you read the week before. The idea of the column is to present the information in sections that will run each week. It might sound a little confusing, but you will catch on. Let’s do this…
Without any further ado, let’t start the Wednesday Walk Through…
5 Things I wont Forget about Week 6
- We mentioned Peyton Manning in the open and Monday’s game was a perfect example of what NFL fans missed with Manning injured last season. Manning lead his Broncos to a comeback for the ages on Monday Night Football against the Chargers. The Broncos have struggled in the first half for most of the season and Monday was no exception. Manning and the Broncos spotted the Chargers 24 points in the first half. After halftime, Manning was nearly perfect as he quickly lead the Broncos all the way back to defeat the Chargers by 11 points. This was the second straight week that the Chargers blew a first half leaf on National television. Phillip Rivers threw four interceptions and fumbled twice in the second half. Just as Manning raised his level of play it seemed that Rivers lowered his level of play. Both teams are on a bye this week and the results of the second half has drastically changed the tone in Denver and San Diego. The fans in Denver will spend the week talking about the playoffs, a run at the Super Bowl, and the greatness of Peyton Manning. In San Diego, fans are going to be questioning if Norv Turner should be their coach and if Phillip Rivers is good enough to lead the Chargers to a Super Bowl.
- The end of the Bills and Cardinals game was one of the more bizarre endings to a football game the WWT has seen all season. Late in the game, the Bills were nursing a three point lead and attempting to secure an upset victory. Instead of running the ball with CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson the Bills decided to have Brad Smith throw the ball into the end zone out of the wildcat formation. Smith was intercepted and the Cardinals has new life. A few plays later, Kevin Kolb was being carted off the field and John Skelton was forced into the game ice cold. Skelton found Larry Fitzgerald for a first down on a critical fourth down play but couldn’t do much else. The Cardinals sent Jay Feely onto the field to attempt a 61 yard field goal that was well out of his range. It seemed like an awful decision. Feely nailed the field goal and tied the game. A couple of minutes later, Feely came back on to the field to attempt a much shorter field goal to win the game in regulation. Feely hit the upright and missed the kick. Feely later said on twitter that the kick was blocked. The Bills won the game in overtime to improve their record to 3-3. The victory came despite disastrous coaching decisions by Chan Gailey in the fourth quarter. It’s always nice to win, but after watching the game did more Bills fans feel confident their team could make the playoffs or scared that the awful decisions that continue to be made by the coaching staff will cost them a chance at the playoffs?
- Is there a more cursed team in the league right now then the Pittsburgh Steelers? The Steelers seemed to lose a player to injury each time the ball was snapped on Thursday Night Football. After losing to the Titans, the Steelers are now 2-3 and the Ravens are atop their division with a 5-1 record. Before each season, the Steelers are usually penciled in as one of the six playoff teams in the AFC. It might be time to erase them. As long as Ben Roethlisberger is still standing, the Steelers have a chance to win whatever game they are playing but will the offensive line that the Steelers are forced to play each week be talented enough to keep Ben standing? The Steelers defense allowed the Titans to score 10 points in the last four minutes of the game. The 2012 Steelers defense is clearly not the Steel Curtain. Injuries are always a factor in the National Football League. Under Mike Tomlin, the Steelers have managed to stay one step ahead of the grim reaper. That might not be the case this season.
- The Lions have played two good quarters this season. The Lions salvaged an opening day disaster when Matt Stafford lead the team to a fourth quarter comeback against the Rams. Instead of building on the momentum of an emotional opening day victory, the Lions lost three consecutive games to the 49ers, Titans, and Vikings as they limped into their bye week. Three quarters into their game against the Eagles it appeared that the Lions would fall to 1-4 and out of the NFC playoff picture. Instead, Matt Stafford picked his team off the mat in the fourth quarter to stun the mediocre Eagles. The Lions had a magical season last year and reenergized their suffering fan base. Matt Stafford appeared to be the franchise quarterback they hoped he would be when they drafted him and Calvin Johnson had developed into the best WR in the league. There doesn’t seem to be much magic left for the Lions. The Lions play the Bears on Monday Night Football this week and one good quarter wont be enough to beat the NFC North leaders.
- Can anyone figure out the Dallas Cowboys? The Cowboys seemed to have the perfect game plan on Sunday. They pounded the ball right up the gut of the Ravens defense and gained over 227 yards on the ground. Dez Bryant caught 13 passes and had one of his best games in the NFL. Late in the fourth quarter, with the game on the line, suddenly nothing seemed to work for the Cowboys. DeMarco Murray left the game with an injury. Bryant dropped a two point conversion that would have tied the game and the coaching staff failed to manage the time that was left on the clock after they had recovered an onside kick. Dan Bailey missed a 51 yard field goal at the gun despite being 3 for 3 earlier in he game. At 2-3, the Cowboys have a winnable game this week against the Panthers. The Cowboys better beat the Panthers or they will be 2-4 heading into a three game stretch against the Giants, Falcons, and Eagles.
Raking the Rookie QB’s
They say that this is a quarterback league and five team’s are playing with a rookie behind center this year. Each week, the WWT will rank the progress of the five rookie starters to see who develops quickest this season and who might be a draft day miss.
- Robert Griffin III (Washington Redskins) (Last Week: 2) Robert Griffin III spent his entire week answering questions about concussions, player safety, and ethics. It didn’t distract him from dominating the game against the Vikings. Griffin passed for 182 yards and touchdown while doing most of his damage on the ground. Griffin rushed for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns including a 76 yard gain on a third down late in the fourth quarter that clinched the Redskins first home victory since opening day last season.
- Andrew Luck (Indianapolis Colts) (LW: 1) Luck had one of his worst days as a pro and probably should have dropped further in the rankings. I am going to give Luck a pass this week because the whole Colts organization was due for a letdown after their emotional victory over the Packers. Luck has a chance to rebound this week agains Brandon Weeden and the Browns.
- Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks) (LW:5) Russell Wilson has spent the last two weeks dead last in these rankings. The WWT was being a little harsh in regards to Wilson and this is the week to fix that wrong. Wilson lead his team to a come from behind victory over the Patriots with a gorgeous pass to Sidney Rice in the fourth quarter. Wilson and the Seahawks are 4-2 with victories over the Packers* and the Patriots. We should find out this week if the Seahawks are for real as they travel to San Francisco to play the 49ers on Thursday Night Football.
- Ryan Tannehill (Miami Dolphins) (LW:3) Tannehill drops a spot despite a victory over the Rams to improve the Dolphins to 3-3. The Dolphins are in a four way tie for first place and a four way tie for last place in the AFC East. After their bye, the Dolphins will start a stretch of four straight conference games that will probably determine if the Dolphins are pretenders or contenders.
- Brandon Weeden (Cleveland Browns) (LW:4) Weeden finally gets his first win in the NFL and the WWT drops him a spot in the rankings. How do you explain that? The facts are that the Browns are still 1-5 and Weeden leads the entire league with 10 interceptions. Browns fans have certainly seen some play from Weeden in his first season that would lead to optimism. However, if the Browns had the first pick in the April draft, has Weeden done enough to keep them from picking a quarterback?
Week 6 Playoff Projections
Instead of power rankings, each week in the WWT we will look at what the playoff situation would look like in each conference if the season ended today. It will be interesting to see this list evolve from week-to-week.
NFC
East- New York Giants
North- Chicago Bears
South- Atlanta Falcons
West- Arizona Cardinals
Wild Card 1- Minnesota Vikings
Wild Cars 2- Seattle Seahawks
AFC
East- New England Patriots
North- Baltimore Ravens
South- Houston Texans
West- Denver Broncos
Wild Card 1- San Diego Chargers
Wild Card 2- New York Jets
Must See TV- Week 7 Edition
Each week, the WWT will get you ready for the upcoming week of action in the NFL by ranking the five games every NFL fan must watch.
1. Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans, Sunday, October 21 at 1:00 on CBS
The Ravens and Texans will battle for the title of best team in the AFC. The WWT isn’t convinced that the winner of his game will in fact be the best team in the AFC but on paper they will be. The winner of this important game will be all alone in first place in the conference and have the head to head tiebreaker locked up. The Texans have more to prove after stumbling on Sunday against the Packers. The Ravens will be playing without Ray Lewis and even though T-Sizzle has been activated off the PUP list he won’t be ready to play on Sunday. The game is also a showcase of two of the leagues top two running backs, Ray Rice and Arian Forster.
Prediction: Texans 31 Ravens 24
2. Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers, Thursday, October 18 at 8:20 on NFLN
The NFL Network had to have been thrilled with the Seahawks come from behind victory over the Patriots and the 49ers loss to the Giants. The way things played out in week 6 has left the NFLN with one of the best games in week 7. The winner of the game will be in sole possession of first place in the NFC West. The game is the start of a three game stretch against conference opponents for the Seahawks. For the 49ers its the first of two games against there closest competitors in the division before their bye week. If the 49ers can defeat the Seahawks and then beat the Cardinals they will be in complete control of their division and 6-2 at the mid point of the season.
Prediction: 49ers 24 Seahawks 10
3. New York Jets at New England Patriots, Sunday, October 21 at 4:25 on CBS
The Jets and Patriots rivalry has been nothing short of polarizing since Rex Ryan was named head coach of the Jets. James Walker, the AFC East blogger for ESPN.Com told me on my podcast this week that the Patriots are a 6-0 team disguised as a 3-3 team. The Patriots have 3 loses by a total of 4 points and might be the best team in the AFC. To bother a line from Mr. Walker, the Jets look like a 1-5 team in disguise as a 3-3 team. I expect the Patriots to easily handle the Jets this week. This might be the biggest mismatch of 3-3 teams in NFL history.
Prediction: Patriots 42 Jets 10
4. Washington Redskins at New York Giants, October 21 at 1:00 on FOX
It will be very interesting to see if the Giants pass rush can contain the electric Robert Griffin III. If the Giants can contain RGIII, they should easily defeat the Redskins. The Giants looked like the best team in the league last week in San Francisco but the Redskins did beat the Giants two times last year before the RGIII era. The NFC East games are nothing if not exciting and this should be no exception. JPP meet RG3. RG3 meet JPP.
Prediction: Giants 24 Redskins 21
5. Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears, Monday, October 22 at 8:30 on ESPN
The Chicago Bears can burry the Detroit Lions on Monday night at Soldier Field. The Bears were on MNF just two weeks ago and they destroyed the Dallas Cowboys. The Lions have played two good quarters this season and one good quarter wont be enough against the Bears. Matthew Stafford is going to need to protect the ball if the Lions are going to upset the Bears. Lions fans would love to see Ndamukong Suh to plat his best game of the season and get to the easily frustrated Jay Cutler.
Prediction: Bears 33 Lions 31
Make Sure He is in your Lineup
Each week, the WWT will pick out a player that absolutely has to be in your fantasy lineup this week.
The WWT is on a Falcons like run in this section of the column. Aaron Rogers, Victor Cruz, and Larry Fitzgerald have all been winners. But, let’s be honest, none of those predications were exactly bold. In an attempt to be bolder this week, the player fantasy owners need to get in their lineups this week is Felix Jones. DeMarco Murray has been ruled out this week against the Panthers and that means Jones is going to get a chance to start. It might be his last chance. Jones has had chances in the past to take the job and run with it only to fumble. The door is wide open for Jones this week. The Panthers are 23rd against the run this season and the Cowboys did a great job blocking for the run last week against the Ravens. Felix Jones is still available in about 50% of ESPN.com fantasy leagues so there is a chance he is available in your league. If one of the six teams on a bye have you short a running back this week you could do a lot worse than Felix Jones.
Projected Total: 20 rushes for 94 yards, 5 receptions for 45 yards, and a touchdown.
Must Win Game of the Week
Each week, the WWT will tell you what team absolutely positively needs to win their upcoming game.
There has been some talk during the Saints bye week that they might be able to turn their season around. Jonathan Vilma is off of the PUP and eligible to play while the courts sort out the bounty case. Drew Brees is still the team’s quarterback and if any one can lead a team out of a 0-4 hole its Brees. If the Saints are going to do this then they have to do it now. The Saints next three games are against the Buccaneers, Broncos, and Eagles. If the Saints can win all three games and get back to even they can turn their season around. If they cant win all three of them then it’s over. A wise man once said that you have to win one before you can win three and a game against the lowly Buccaneers is a great place to start.
One Last Thing…
Aaron Rodgers was awesome last Sunday against the Texans. It was obvious from the first quarter that Rodgers was determined and the Texans were toast. The Packers may be 3-3 and have looked vulnerable at times but if Rodgers plays like he played on Sunday the Packer are unbeatable. Rodgers can play the game at a level that only two or three other players in the league can reach. The Packers play the Rams, Jaguars, and Cardinals before their week 10 bye and they will be favored in all three games. I expect the Packers to be 6-3 at the bye with five of their last seven games against NFC North opponents.
