Week 11 — Mon Nov 23 15:41:47 PST 2009
From: Jeff
To: mnf@doobie.com
Date: Mon Nov 23 15:41:47 PST 2009
Subject: It's Monday...
...and whoa, what a week we just had in the NFL.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen (and you, too, John), we had ourselves some pretty big upsets this week. Let's talk about them, shall we?
The Raiders failed to sell out Oakland Alameda County Coliseum, but the Bengals still showed up. Apparently, they didn't show up to play, and the Raiders (yes, the Raiders) beat them 20-17, thanks to a fourth quarter rally capped off by a special teams play. Oh, and of course, the unceremonious benching of JaMarcus Russell – a player so useless that the Raiders always look better when he's not playing. The Bengals started off in complete control of the game, and took a 14 point lead early on (with two touchdowns scored by QB Carson Palmer – both on the run). Then, they watched it slip away in the fourth quarter. The Raiders tied the game, 17-17 late in the game, then kicked the ball away, planning for overtime. Fortunately for both Raiders fans, Andre Caldwell fumbled the ensuing kickoff, the Raiders recovered the ball, and kicked the game winning field goal as time ran out.
Notable stat: the Bengals are 0-10 in Oakland.
The Steelers, playing with a seriously diminished staff thanks to injuries, got spanked by the Chiefs in overtime 27-24. While the Steelers put up a good effort, they apparently only showed up to play for two quarters. In all fairness, they were playing the Chiefs, who hadn't won at home since September, 2008, so two quarters was all the defending champions expected to play. Apparently nobody told them about the “Any Given Sunday” rule. The first half of the game completely belonged to the Steelers defense, which held the chiefs to a mere 35 yards of passing offense. However, two non-offensive touchdowns from the chiefs kept things interesting (a 98 yard return on the opening kickoff, and a long interception return), and rookie kicker (and this year's “Mr. Irrelevant” – the last player chosen in the draft) Ryan Succop booted two critical field goals... one to tie the game in the third quarter, and another to win the game in overtime. Injuries continue to plague the 6-4 Steelers (who are now #2 in their division behind the Bengals). This week it got even worse as QB Ben Roethlisberger went out of the game late with a possible concussion. It's unclear when he'll return. A very important part of playing in the postseason is keeping your players healthy, and the Steelers are having a hell of a time doing that.
Meanwhile Brett Favre and the Vikings continue to roll along, this time defeating the Seahawks 35-9. Brett is playing better football this season than he has in quite a few years, and it's clear that the Vikings will make the playoffs behind him.
San Diego went to Denver and crushed the Broncos 32-3. Denver has now lost their fourth straight, falling to 6-4, which seriously hurts their playoff chances. Kyle Orton did play a few downs, sprained ankle and all, but he was not looking like an NFL-caliber quarterback out there. He needs to sit down and heal, but Denver doesn't have a suitable replacement for him.
The best game of the week was the one that should've been the biggest stinker. Cleveland went to Detroit, and the Lions beat them 38-37, on a final, untimed down. On what would've been the last play of the game, a pass interference flag was thrown. Because a game can't end on a defensive penalty, the Lions were given one more down... and rookie Matt Stafford (the #1 draftee) somehow managed to toss the ball into the end zone for the winning touchdown.
The Playoff situation:
Essentially In: 10-0 Colts, 10-0 Saints, 9-1 Vikings, 7-3 Cardinals
Probably In: 7-3 Patriots
Fighting to stay in: 7-3 Chargers, 7-3 Cowboys
Fighting to get in: 6-4 Broncos, 6-4 Eagles, 6-4 Giants, 6-4 Steelers
Fooling Themselves: 5-5 Dolphins, 6-4 Jacksonville
Keeping it interesting: 5-4 Texans, 6-4 Packers, 5-5 Falcons
Which brings us to tonight's game...
Tonight, as I float above the aptly named flyover states, enjoying free power, free (reliable) wifi, ESPN's pregame show on the Linux-based seatback in front of me, and a pair of in-ear-canal headphones smooshed into my ears (completely blocking out the sounds of the pair of crying infants across the aisle), I am reminded that air travel doesn't have to suck entirely.
If only it were so for the Tennessee Titans.
The Game:
Tonight the 3-6 Titans go to Reliant Stadium in Houston to take on the 5-4 Texans, on Tifsport Bermuda grass supplied by King Ranch Turfgrass. When it was built, Reliant Stadium was the first stadium in the NFL to use a retractable roof, and the second stadium in Texas to use natural grass indoors (the Astrodome was the first... before the astroturf was installed). The natural grass experiment is not much better this time, and the turf at Reliant is traditionally horrible by December. Yes, they paint the grass green in the winter.
This is a must-win game for the Texans. To stay competitive in the wild card race, a team really needs to be 6-4 right now.
The Line:
The Texans are favored by 4. The over/under is 48.5
Last week, the Smart Money lost. It is now 12-6 for the season, representing a 27.3% ROI. Over the same time, the S&P 500 has gone up 6.9%, and the dollar has lost 2.7% against the Euro.
This week, the Smart Money takes the Texans, and hopes to stop the two-game losing streak.
The Bar:
While I'll be enjoying my frosty adult beverage at 35,000 feet, that doesn't mean you have to. How about a fine dive near the 9th ave entrance to the park?
The Little Shamrock
807 Lincoln St (at the corner of 9th Ave)
Steps from the 16-ax express. One block from the N train.
Kickoff is at 5:30.