Week Twelve

1st Down

First of all this week let me start by saying I hope my American readers had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed the time with their families.

If any of you have any turkey bowl stories you want to share then please tweet me @AdriMallows or email me amallows@googlemail.com, thanks.

So the play-offs are just edging that little bit closer after the week 12 games and just when you think you know who's going to the post season the NFL throws a spanner in the works.

This week not only have the Texans lost their starting QB but they've also lost their back up for the season. The big question is will they recruit a veteran or stick with the their third stringer?

The Bears were also without Cutler this week and suffered what is for them an embarrassing loss to the Raiders.

Another win for the Broncos this week but instead of mentioning a certain QB, I want to give a massive shout out to their defence who have only given up an average of 15 points to their opponents in the last 4 games. A great accomplishment in today’s game and for me the main reason why they have won 4 on the bounce.

With the exception of a handful of starting QB's in the league, give any of them that kind of target and they will win you the ball game!

2nd Down

Here is a run down of all the scores from week 12:-

Green Bay 27 vs 15 Detroit
Miami 19 vs 20 Dallas
San Francisco 6 vs 16 Baltimore
Minnesota 14 vs 24 Atlanta
Cleveland 20 vs 23 Cincinnati
Carolina 27 vs 19 Indianapolis
Houston 20 vs 13 Jacksonville
Buffalo 24 vs 28 New York Jets
Arizona 23 vs 20 St Louis
Tampa Bay 17 vs 23 Tennessee
Chicago 20 vs 25 Oakland
Washington 23 vs 17 Seattle
New England 38 vs 20 Philladelphia
Denver 16 vs 13 San Diego
Pittsburgh 13 vs 9 Kansas City
New York Giants 24 vs 49 New Orleans Saints

The race for the NFC East took a turn in favour of Dallas this week with their last second field goal on turkey day giving them the win and also the Saints destroying the Giants. They sit alone on top of the division but fear not Giants fans as you still have to play them twice which for me will decide the division!

Is it me or are the defences really starting to rev it up now down the stretch. With the exception of the Eagles and Giants there was a lot of close games this week and they are only going to get tighter!

3rd Down

OK so my Q & A with EJ is back this week, as always here are his questions followed by my answers.

EJ - With all the injuries to starting QB's which backup do you see making the biggest splash and the team not slipping too much?

Adri - Well my friend my first answer to this was going to be Matt Leinhart at the Texans but after his season ending injury that's out the window. I am however going with their third string QB TJ Yates. He looked OK on Sunday and the team is too good to suffer a set back!

EJ - Name the overall top 3 fantasy players at the end of the season?

Adri - Well the first on the list has to be Aaron Rodgers, he has been immense all season and they won't loose a game in the regular season.

Numbers two and three are very biased as they are in my fantasy teams. They are Arian Foster and another of my babies Ryan Matthews. This is more two players that I really hope to see in the top three.

Other names to look out for on the top performers list would be LeSean McCoy who despite my early ramblings saying he will slow down is still one of the top rushers in the league.  Beanie Wells is another who is having a great season and Steve Smith as well.  Probably best I stop there before I name about 20 instead of the three you asked for lol.

EJ - Name a deep sleeper that will unexpectedly make a big impact with their team before the year is out?

Adri - This one is really difficult as there has been so many injuries this year and a lot are already in play like Victor Cruz at the Giants who had another big game this week. Also Decker has been great in Denver since Brandon Lloyd left. For the record Lloyd is definitely one of my favourite receivers playing the game today and i would have loved buffalo to sign him.

Anyway I digress, my sleeper is Andrew Hawkins a WR of the Bengals. He made some great grabs when they were without AJ Green and I expect good things from him as Dalton grows in confidence towards the end of the season and into next year!

Great work again EJ, I missed our session last week. To make up for the missed week can I please have 5 for next week?

4th Down

I want to finish this week with a few things I saw that aren't really what the game is about and frankly have no part in the NFL.

First up is Ndamukong Suh and his stamping on an opponent during the game on Thanksgiving. I'm all for showing aggression during the game but in the right way with a big legal hit.

Stamping on an opponent who is on the ground is not acceptable and to be honest he's lucky he doesn't play rugby. If that happens in rugby 9 times out of 10 the guy gets up and knocks you out!

I am bit disappointed as well to be honest as for someone who is a great talent and a self proclaimed non dirty player he has a funny way of showing it.  Mr Suh you deserve your two game ban and your team may not make the play-offs thanks to your actions.

Also this week much though I love the guy, Stevie Johnson had a moment this week when he mimicked a plane crashing in front of the New Jersey crowd.  I'm all for being able to celebrate after a score but that was a bit thoughtless!

Lets end on a brighter note, please check out these Top 10 TD celebrations http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=539R6AQQZnA

This video is a little old as the awesome celebrations aren’t really allowed any more. As long as there tasteful, lets bring them back I say.  Joe Horn and the cellphone was just brilliant!!!!

Until next week my friends 'Thanks for Stopping by'