Ben Roethlisberger is how I will be starting off this week. I have heard him referred to by many names but after Thursday’s heroics I shall be renaming him Bionic Ben! No matter what injury he gets, he always comes back.
For anyone who didn’t see Thursday’s game, Ben was sacked in the first half and turned his ankle under his body. It looked pretty horrific and when he was being carried off I thought that could be season over.
As always however guess who comes out to start the second half, the Bionic one himself and he carries the Steelers to a narrow victory over the Browns which included a 79YD strike to Antonio Brown.
In other news this week, I managed to pick 14 out of 16 games correctly this week for the first time ever. A big Cheshire cat smile is currently lighting up my face as I think about it!
We also have a playoff picture which is a bit clearer now thanks to this weeks results which I will go through later and our first coach firings of the season! Before we take a look at that let’s catch up with the week 14 results.
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Cleveland 3 vs 14 Pittsburgh
Indianapolis 10 vs 24 Baltimore
Atlanta 31 vs 23 Carolina
Houston 20 vs 19 Cincinnati
Minnesota 28 vs 34 Detroit
Tampa Bay 14 vs 41 Jacksonville
Philadelphia 26 vs 10 Miami
Kansas City 10 vs 37 New York Jets
New Orleans 22 vs 17 Tennessee
New England 34 vs 27 Washington
San Francisco 19 vs 21 Arizona
Chicago 10 vs 13 Denver
Oakland 16 vs 46 Green Bay
Buffalo 10 vs 37 San Diego
New York Giants 37 vs 34 Dallas
St Louis 13 vs 30 Seattle
I owe this next bit to my good friend Justin as I didn’t mention the Texans last week. Hopefully this will make up for it sir!
TJ Yates really impressed me this week as when the pressure was on in the last two minutes of their game this week, he managed to keep his head and lead them on the game winning TD drive which see’s them make the playoffs for the first time in their history. The Texans have won the AFC South with their win over Cincinnati and the Titans losing this week to the Saints.
Two weeks in a row now TJ has come through when called upon and now has the honour of leading his team out in the big games. The only question is which seed will they be, my money is on number 2 behind the Patriots.
It also pains me to say this but while he keeps finding ways to win, the magician that is Tim Tebow gets his weekly mention along with another great moment of Tebowing from the fans.
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On that note it moves me on to my weekly Q & A with EJ:-
EJ - Are the Bears making the right move by not signing Farve or McNabb to help solidify their QB situation?
Adri - I think they are making the right move as we have seen this year with the Colts and Raiders that just because you have experience doesn’t mean you will win games in a new offence. It takes time to adjust even for veteran QB’s and also the young lad needs to learn. Without playing time he can’t get that all important experience.
EJ - Are Randy Moss and Terrell Owens ever going to step on the field again?
Adri - I would love to say yes to this question because they are two of the best receivers I’ve watched during my lifetime. Not only are we losing out on their talent but they are both full of personality and charisma.
They know how to involve a crowd and how can you not miss TO’s touchdown celebrations. Sadly as no one has picked up them up this season with the amount of injuries to receivers we have had, I don’t see them coming back :(
EJ - Coach of the year award goes to?
Adri - I think you would be hard pressed not to say that this award goes to Mike McCarthy. The Packers could have easily rested on their loral's and slid away from the playoff picture this season but here they stand three wins away from greatness and nobody looks like stopping them.
EJ - Being a die hard Bills fan, do you like what you see in Spiller? When Jackson returns off the IR, do you see Spiller having a larger role in the offense?
Adri - Spiller is a great raw talent for sure and unfortunately he is suffering the same issues that Reggie Bush did at the Saints. He is a great return specialist and lighting fast but is he an every down back is the question. He proved last week he is more than capable of carrying a large portion of the load but he will not be 1st choice while Jackson is in town!
Personally I would to see him and Jackson in the same sets with one lining up as a receiver and mixing up which one. Go for the run with spiller in the backfield and pass when its Jackson in the backfield sometimes to mix it up and keep opponents guessing.
Unfortunately for that to work we need to hire some pro bowl calibre offensive linemen as this is where we struggle big time at the moment.
EJ - A little college football flare....Do you agree with the Heismann winner?
Adri - I have to be honest my friend, my knowledge of college football is currently little to none which I hope to change next year. With that said I can’t really answer this one but would love to know your thoughts? Also how come it only seems to go to offensive players, when was the last time a defensive player won it?
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OK so onto the playoff picture. This week two more teams guaranteed themselves a place in the post season with Houston winning the AFC South and also New Orleans locking up at least a wild card spot.
Denver now have a game over Oakland in the race for AFC West and with Tebow mania in full swing they may sneak that division.
By the end of this weeks action most of the playoff teams could be locked in leaving a fight for the last wild card spot and the races for the NFC East and AFC West to go down to the wire!
With three weeks left of the season we also saw our first two firings off the season in Miami and Kansas. I’m a bit confused by this, not so much that they got fired but the timing off it. I mean they both appoint a coordinator as interim head coach until the end of the season before getting someone else in the off season. Why not just wait until the end of the season and do both your hiring and firing at the same time.
People will no doubt say they do this to see if they have a potential head coach on their staff but with just three games to impress, a depleted squad through injuries and an unmotivated team just how much can you get from this anyway?
So that just about wraps it up for this week. Don’t forget to check out the Top 5 Catches from this week http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/09000d5d824f9652/Week-14-Top-five-catches and if you need some hooey and applesauce in your life be sure to check out Dave Damesheks podcast and the weekly shame report http://davedameshek.nfl.com/
As always peeps I hope you’ve enjoyed my weekly spin and ‘Thanks for Stopping By’
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