Dec 22nd 2008 12:15PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Jets, Seahawks, NFL Fans, NFL Eliminated Teams, NFL Coaching, NFL VideoThere is always a ton of rain in Seattle. Not so much snow, though. However, in Mike Holmgren’s final home game as Seahawks head coach, Mother Nature decided to get a little funky and pelt the ‘Hawks homefield with a ton of the white powder. Seahawks fans responded accordingly, pelting everyone in site with snowballs. Including the Jets as they did the George Michael walk off the field. Shaun Ellis, Jets team captain, didn’t take this so well, slinging snowballs back at the fans.(Gracias, TJB.)
Holmgren didn’t seem to mind the snowballs nearly as much, but that’s probably because he didn’t take any “direct hits” like Ellis and the Jets. And because he didn’t just lose to a three-win team, despite having to coach those unlucky losers all season.
Dec 21st 2008 2:55PM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Bills, Broncos, Buccaneers, Chargers, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles, Jets, Giants, Panthers, Patriots, Ravens, Titans, Vikings, NFL Media Watch
Last year, the NFL started this flex scheduling thing, which allows them to alter the schedule late in the season so that the more meaningful games are broadcast on national television.
While there are rules that the NFL follows for selecting these games, they do Week 17 a bit differently. No games are off limits for the switch to NBC, aside from picking teams that have reached televised limits. They also only have to give six days advance warning about the change, instead of the normal 12 days.
That means the NFL will place the game with the most riding on it as their season finale on NBC.
So which games look like they could be a possibility?Continue Reading
Dec 22nd 2008 7:34AM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Broncos, Buccaneers, Chargers, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, Jets, Giants, Panthers, Patriots, Ravens, Steelers, Titans, Vikings, NFL Playoffs
This was the week when seemingly everyone decided they didn’t want to go to the playoffs. For three weeks, the injury-ravaged Broncos could have earned a playoff spot by simply winning one game. But here we are with a week to play and the Broncos still need one win.
In the NFC wild card race, Dallas came into the weekend controlling its own destiny, but they lost. That then put the ball in the Falcons and Bucs’ court. Atlanta did come through with a win to clinch a playoff spot, but the Bucs also punted their chance with a loss to the Chargers. That meant that the Eagles could put themselves in the driver’s seat with a win over the Redskins (the same team that just lost to the Bengals). Of course Philadelphia lost that game, which means that Dallas is right back where they began the weekend–win next weekend and the Cowboys are in the playoffs.Continue Reading
Dec 22nd 2008 8:30AM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Dolphins, Jets, Patriots, AFC East, NFL FansThere will be plenty of finger-pointing should the Jets miss the playoffs, and while Brett Favre’s name is sure to come up, the real issue is more a macro one: New York was 1-3 against the AFC West this season. Blowout losses on the road in San Diego and Denver, and a demoralizing overtime loss in Oakland, have just as much to do with the Jets’ current predicament as somehow finding a way to lose to the three-win Seahawks.
And now they’ll need help if they hope to play into January.
New York headed into the weekend leading the AFC East, but with the Dolphins and Patriots both winning, they’ve fallen to third. Worse, they have to win Sunday against Miami and pray that the Bills can muster the energy to beat the Patriots. Compounding matters: Chad Pennington will be quarterbackin’ up the Dolphins and even though he might not admit it, I suspect he’s playing with a chip on his twice surgically-repaired shoulder.Continue Reading
Dec 22nd 2008 9:15AM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Jets, AFC East, NFL Fans, NFL Coaching, NFL Rumors
I suspect it was much easier to be a Jets fan a year ago, when they were 4-12 and their playoff aspirations were dashed before Columbus Day. Now, after an offseason full of personnel moves — none bigger than dumping Chad Pennington for Brett Favre — New York is 9-6 and very much in the postseason discussion.
They probably should’ve won the AFC East a few weeks ago, but an inexplicable 1-3 record against the AFC West, and a loss to the four-win Seahawks yesterday, puts them in their current predicament. Which is why it’s perfectly reasonable to think that if the Jets miss they playoffs, people might call for Eric Mangini’s (figurative) head.Continue Reading
Dec 16th 2008 1:43PM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Broncos, Buccaneers, Chargers, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, Jets, Giants, Panthers, Patriots, Steelers, Titans, Vikings, NFL Playoffs
The playoff scenarios get a little bit clearer, but what’s remarkable with two weeks to play is how a 10-6 record may mean very little this year. Usually 10-6 is enough to wrap up a playoff spot, and it is this year if you play in a weak division. But if you’re aiming for a wild-card spot, 10-6 might leave you sitting at home.
But while scenarios are clearer this week than last week, it’s still pretty complicated, especially in the wild-card races, where four 9-5 AFC teams and three 9-5 wild-card contenders in the NFC ensure that there are plenty of tiebreakers to check out.
Probably the most surprising thing that jumped out when running through this week’s scenarios is how the Giants could go from a sure-fire No. 1 seed to playing next week to stay out of the first week of the postseason if they lose this week. And Minnesota has gone from a likely January vacation to a shot at a first-round bye.
Continue Reading
Dec 17th 2008 9:00AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Bills, Jets
In an installment of Every Play Counts last month, I wrote about how the New York Jets’ defense had dominated the Buffalo Bills’ offense, and specifically how defensive tackle Kris Jenkins was a practically unstoppable presence in the middle of the line. The Bills finished that November game with just 30 rushing yards on 17 carries, and the Jets’ defense looked like it could lead them deep into the postseason.
And then in Sunday’s Jets-Bills rematch, Buffalo ran 32 times for 187 yards and two touchdowns, and the Jets’ defense looked like it had no business playing in the postseason at all. Although Bills quarterback J.P. Losman ended up giving the game to the Jets with five turnovers, including three in the final 2:06 of the fourth quarter, the Jets’ run defense was a mess.
So what’s gone wrong? And can the Jets count on their run defense to lead them in the playoffs? We explore in this week’s installment of Every Play Counts.Continue Reading
Dec 14th 2008 1:09PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Bills, Jets
Brett Favre is pretty spry for an old man.
In the first quarter of the Jets’ game against the Bills today, Favre ran around the left end on a naked bootleg, and no Buffalo defenders were even close. He scampered down the left sideline untouched and picked up 27 yards before he was finally pushed out of bounds by Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin.
How long has it been since Favre had so long a run? A decade. His last run of more than 25 yards was in 1998, when he had a 35-yard run in a win over the Titans.
The long run today got the Jets down to the Bills’ 14-yard line, and they scored three plays later to take a 7-0 lead.
Dec 14th 2008 7:15PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Filed under: Bills, Jets, AFC East
Right after J.P. Losman fumbled away a Bills win with just over two minutes left in a game they were winning 27-24, FanHouser Shane Bacon emailed to remind that a cardinal rule of quarterbacking was to throw the ball away when you’ve got nothing.
It was a sound point. Losman was scrambling when Abram Elam hit him from behind, causing a fumble that Shaun Ellis returned for a touchdown, but there was another rule that loomed large. Somewhere in the big book of coaching rules, it states that one shall not let J.P. Losman try to win a game unless there’s absolutely no other hope.
Dick Jauron will likely have plenty of time to review that rule when the Bills fire him in a couple of weeks. His team finally showed up to play, no small thing given their recent efforts, on Sunday, but Jauron removed all hope of a win by calling for a pass. It was second-and-five, the two minute warning would follow the play and the Jets had just two timeouts. And the Bills had run for 187 yards to that point in the game!
To his credit, Jauron took full responsibility after the game.
“Clearly the responsibility for the last call, the play-action pass, that was mine,” Jauron said. “That goes right on me. It backfired clearly and caused us to lose the game.”
It’s nice to hear that honesty. We’ll see if it’s enough to quiet the swirling rumors about the status of his job.Continue Reading
Dec 9th 2008 10:00AM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Buccaneers, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, Jets, Panthers, Patriots, Steelers, Vikings
Before we know it, the NFL regular season is going to be done. Three more weeks and there will be no scenarios to map out and no hypotheticals to think through.
But for now, the Jets’ collapse and the Cowboys’, Bucs’, and Falcons’ losses make for a very jumbled playoff picture.
Here’s the short-hand version, with a chart to help.Continue Reading
