# NFL Week 14 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 6, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677 "2013-12-06T15:17:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/1 "2013-12-06T15:17:46Z")
Thursday, December 5 (last night) Houston (2-10) -2.5 @ JACKSONVILLE (3-9\*) (Final: 20-27) Sunday, December 8 Oakland (4-8) @ NY JETS (5-7) -2.5 Cleveland (4-8) @ NEW ENGLAND (9-3) -10.5 Miami (6-6) @ PITTSBURGH (5-7) -3.5 Indianapolis (8-4) @ CINCINNATI (8-4) -5.5 Kansas City (9-3) -3.5 @ WASHINGTON (3-9) Detroit (7-5) @ PHILADELPHIA (7-5) -2.5 Minnesota (3-8-1) @ BALTIMORE (6-6) -7.5 Buffalo (4-8) @ TAMPA BAY (3-9) -2.5 Atlanta (3-9) @ GREEN BAY (5-6-1) -3.5 Tennessee (5-7) @ DENVER (10-2) -11.5 Seattle (11-1) @ SAN FRANCISCO (8-4) -2.5 NY Giants (5-7) @ SAN DIEGO (5-7) -3.5 St. Louis (5-7) @ ARIZONA (7-5) -6.5 Carolina (9-3) @ NEW ORLEANS (9-3) -3.5 Monday, December 9 Dallas (7-5) @ CHICAGO (6-6) -1.5 - Jacksonville now (4-9) after last night’s win. An interesting note, the favored team is at home 14 of the 16 games this week. An uninteresting note, Houston really, really sucks. I can’t imagine McNair expecting anything other than complete outrage if he doesn’t fire him at season’s end. After 7 years and a sizeable number of good drafts the Texans are 2-11. Pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/2 "2013-12-06T15:24:36Z")
ETA: “him” of course being Kubiak. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/3 "2013-12-06T15:42:02Z")
I don’t think we’ve really had a “sizable” number of good drafts, but yeah Kubes is probably done. It’s a bit of a shame, since he’s actually still a good offensive coach and a quality guy off the field. Over the last 5 years, we’ve had average to above average drafts. Granted a few of the higher picks (and Foster as an undrafted free agent) have become stars, but there’s a ton of picks, including several in earlier rounds, who turned into “just another guy”. That said, Rick Smith is a good GM. You don’t get character issues like with other teams and we haven’t had a bad draft yet, either. But both he and Kubiak seem to have a blind spot at QB. It’s the most important position on the field, yet we don’t ever seem to find the right talent there or properly train what we do have. As exciting as Keenum made things and as much as the locals like him, I watched that guy for 5 years out of UH, and I never saw anything more than talented #2 or, at best, #1 for a cruddy team (I guess he’s both this season with the Texans - sometimes in the same game). ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/4 "2013-12-06T17:30:14Z")
Kubiak was fired [this morning](http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10089214/gary-kubiak-coach-houston-texans-fired). Wade Phillips will be the interim head coach for the last few games. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/5 "2013-12-06T17:30:55Z")
Thread drift question of the week: how long is a football game snap-to-whistle? IOW, what is the total aggregate amount of time players spend running around trying to move/stop the ball? My rough guess is about 20~27 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/6 "2013-12-06T17:34:54Z")
You can often download torrents of just the action, and they generally clock in at around 25-30 minutes. Interestingly, they are kind of hard to watch. While modern games have a crap ton of downtime, eliminating all of it makes for a hard to watch mess. The sweet spot for pacing is somewhere in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/7 "2013-12-06T17:36:20Z")
> [@For You](#): > > Thread drift question of the week: how long is a football game snap-to-whistle? IOW, what is the total aggregate amount of time players spend running around trying to move/stop the ball? My rough guess is about 20~27 minutes. A lot shorter than that, I think. [Eleven](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406) to [twelve](http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2008/12/how-much-action/) minutes seems be the average. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/8 "2013-12-06T17:41:51Z")
Looking forward to Bengals v Colts. Could be a preview of a playoff matchup as both are divisional leaders. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/9 "2013-12-06T18:25:47Z")
Teams hanging on for dear life: Miami Baltimore GB Chicago ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/10 "2013-12-06T18:33:48Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > Kubiak was fired [this morning](http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10089214/gary-kubiak-coach-houston-texans-fired). Wade Phillips will be the interim head coach for the last few games. Relief is at hand, although any kind of a quick turnaround really shouldn’t be expected. McNair [went on to say](http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000293330/article/gary-kubiak-fired-as-houston-texans-head-coach) the Case Keenum would start the rest of the games this season. While I don’t find his preference startling, I do find it a little unusual that an owner would make that call publicly. No matter, and who can blame him for diving in when exasperated by the lack of success to date. I know Wade wants to be a head coach again so it’ll be interesting to see how they address or skirt around that possibility during their search. Personally I like him better as DC rather than HC. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/11 "2013-12-06T18:45:58Z")
I’m intrigued by the possibility of David Shaw out of Stanford. He’s had some obvious success there on his own and under Harbaugh and some familiarity with Andrew Luck. I just hope the likes of Gruden and Cowher don’t get more than a cursory glance if even that. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/12 "2013-12-06T18:50:23Z")
Oh dear God… are you trying to give _me_ a mini-stroke? I don’t know anything about Shaw, gotta read up. Depending on what Fox does I wonder if Del Rio would be a consideration. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/13 "2013-12-06T18:55:26Z")
Will the Saints actually be able to hold off Carolina? I have my doubts. I suspect these are teams on opposite trajectories, look for a lead change in the NFC-S. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/14 "2013-12-06T19:06:17Z")
Dan Hanzus at [NFL.com](http://NFL.com) reports _"McNair said he’s looking for a replacement with prior NFL head-coaching experience. Former Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith’s name came up as a possibility, though Houston intends to cast a wide net. “It’s based more on the individual,” McNair said. “We’re looking for a coach who’s bright, ethical, innovative and is able to make adjustments.”_ Ouch. > [@For You](#): > > Will the Saints actually be able to hold off Carolina? I have my doubts. I like like N.O. at home and motivated after being embarassed Monday but yeah, it’s a tough call regardless. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/15 "2013-12-08T17:59:04Z")
Snowing pretty good in Philly. Should be a fun game to watch. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/16 "2013-12-08T18:14:48Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > Snowing pretty good in Philly. Should be a fun game to watch. Fun to watch, even while it probably knocks me out of fantasy playoffs. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/17 "2013-12-08T18:23:47Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > Snowing pretty good in Philly. Should be a fun game to watch. Baltimore too. Can barely see the Vikings in their white jerseys. ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/18 "2013-12-08T18:26:01Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > Fun to watch, even while it probably knocks me out of fantasy playoffs. It might knock one of these teams out of the playoffs too. I know the manbros will say, “HUR! REAL FOOTBULL HUR!” but this kinda sucks after the fun novelty wears off in five minutes. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/19 "2013-12-08T18:32:07Z")
I’m no manbro and snow games are the best part of football. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677/20 "2013-12-08T19:08:49Z")
Browns dominate but score field goals. I know how this one goes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-14/675677.md?page=2)