NFL Week 15

Sorry for the late thread.

Thursday:
ARI 12, STL 6

Sunday early:
PIT @ ATL +2 / 55
WAS @ NYG -6 / 47
MIA @ NE -7.5 / 48
OAK @ KC -10 / 41.5
HOU @ IND -7 / 49
JAX @ BAL - 14 / 45
GB @ BUF +4.5 / 50.5
TB @ CAR -3 / 41.5
CIN @ CLE -0 / 44

Sunday late:
NYJ @ TEN +2.5 / 42
DEN @ SD +4 / 50.5
MIN @ DET -8 / 42.5
SF @ SEA -10 / 38

SNF:
DAL @ PHI -3 / 55

MNF:
NO @ CHI +3 / 54

I love Bruce Arian’s and what he and his staff have been able to do with the Cardinals, despite big injuries to Pro Bowl players and journeymen QB’s. I also love his post-game pressers, where last night he laid into the Rams saying they had read their press clippings too much. Good on him.

Speaking of the Rams, Jeff Fisher is on his way to another 7-9 or 8-8 season, his third in a row. I don’t like the guy, so maybe I’m biased, but I think he’s one of the most overrated coaches in the NFL. Sure, give him enough high first round draft picks and he can take your bad team to the heights of mediocrity, but his .538 winning percentage isn’t impressive in the least. He’s been an NFL coach for 20 years now, and has made the playoffs only 6 times and half of those were one and done. His playoff record is 5-6, a dismal .455 winning percentage, and yet he continues to be an NFL head coach. I don’t get it.

You know, I know they needed a TD and a FG to win, but against an awesome defense like Arizona’s, why not go for it on 4th down inside the 5? If they’ve spent the whole game stifling your offense, shouldn’t you try to take full advantage of your most successful drive? Isn’t it better to have to get into field goal range to win it rather than having to drive down the field against that defense for the go ahead TD?

I, for one, am looking forward to Johnny Football’s debut as a starter. I didn’t like the pick, don’t care for his attitude, but I sure hope he can win football games. I think his elusiveness alone makes him a better option than Hoyer. If he can hit wide open receivers it’s icing on the cake.

I think the “we need 2 scores to win, so whatever order they come in” idea is overused. It’s much harder to get within 5 yards of the goal than 35-40, so if you’re that close and you need a TD, you should go for it more aggressively there. I don’t know what the clock is in this scenario (didn’t watch the game), but this is especially effective if you’ve got some time and your defense has a decent shot of forcing a 3 and out.

They had about 6 minutes left with all their timeouts. So even if they couldn’t punch it in, their defense could have gotten them the ball back with maybe 4 minutes left with all their timeouts and good field position.

I would tend to agree with you. I believe at the time though Fisher was just thinking that if they came away with no points at all then he likely wouldn’t get two more chances.

I was fully on AZ’s boat a few weeks ago, then they lost one they shouldn’t have and have now won a couple that, with their injury situation, they had every right to lose. Can’t quite figure these guys out, weekly bet-wise.

I agree with this line of thinking. It’s always better to be down by one score than by two scores. However, the NFL game book says it was 3rd and goal on the 1, incomplete pass, 4th and goal on the 1, field goal. I would have run it on 3rd and goal, and if I got stopped for no gain, I probably would have tried again. I wouldn’t have passed on either down. If I lost yards on 3rd, I would have kicked a field goal.

They got the ball back two more times and never even got back into field goal range, though, so either way it was moot.

The line on the 49ers-Seahawks game is, umm, out of line. This is an elimination game for SF, they better be throwing everything they have into it. Unless Mr. Jim already has his next job prospect lined up (I would be surprised if he was not looking around in his spare time).

It is not looking like 7 losses will get an NFC team into the playoffs – unless they are in the South, that is.

I completely agree with all of this (!!!). Just read a recent SI article on Arians and I love his approach to both football and life. Steelers fans hated him until he was gone. The Cardinals are a microcosm of the NFL this season outside of Green Bay and New England: parity and coaching.

The other agreement is your evaluation of Fisher. He’s a white Marvin Lewis with a fabulous moustache.

Redzone channel is switched on the Cleveland game as Johnny Football starts from his own 17 yard line. I guess he’s in someone’s red zone.

What’s the record for penalties in a single game? This game has to be on pace.

What’s the record for quickest time for a player to not live up to the ungodly hype?

It’s nearing the end of the 3rd quarter in Cleveland. If Yahoo Sports can be believed, Manziel’s QB rating is 12.9 (up from single digits in the first half).

There’s room for improvement.

I’m guessing there will be one or two plays in the second half where the play breaks down, Manziel buys time with his feet, and he throws one up for grabs that gets caught by Gordon for a big play.

I root for Cleveland fans, and I feel bad, but honestly, as soon as I heard the “wreck this league” story, it told me the kid did not have an NFL mindset. I’m more down on him than I have been on any 1st round QB since, well, Brandon Weeden.
Speaking of that – you’ll probably hear in the media that RG3 came in for an injured McCoy and played well. He hasn’t. Same panicky indecision, inability to read the defense, and poor mechanics that got him benched, just with a couple long run-after-catches that make his stats look OK.

Damn this lack of TV. Missed the chance to see an onside free kick. How often does that happen?

Probably about as often as a kickoff from the recieving team’s 35 yard line.

2 personal fouls on the Redskins after the last play of the first half; Giants lined up on Washington’s side of the field and sucessfully ran an onside kick.

Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers fumbled and the ball rolled into the end zone. When a different green Bay player picked up the ball, it was immediately whistled dead and ruled a touchback, by a fumble recovery rule explained by Mike Pereira that applies only during the last two minutes of the game*. I never heard of this rule before. When was this rule adopted, and why?

  • I assume not the last two minutes of each half, but Pereira just said last two minutes.

ETA: Green Bay was down by 6 prior to the play, and Buffalo recovered the ensuing on-side kick, and won by 8 after three kneel-downs.