Well, we’re past December 21 and the world, obviously, has not ended. However a lot of things have ended, or are about to this weekend, in the NFL which will prove that the Mayans calendar was more accurate than Mark Sanchez.
New York Jets: What better way to start a column on the end than the New York Jets. The Jets have absolutely sucked this year with their playoff hopes being dashed officially following a 14-12 loss to the Titans Monday. . . . Officially. The Jets' contention for playoffs was, in reality, dead months ago when Rex Ryan was too stubborn to make the switch at Quarterback. Would this have meant the Jets made the playoffs? Maybe not but look at the team at that time. The team was falling apart. Unnamed players criticizing each other. The team was turning into a farce. A Quarterback change could have switched things up.
The Jets have committed 67 turnovers this year; 50 of which belong to Mark Sanchez. 50! That’s 3.33 turnovers a game. How can a player average that amount and still keep his job until their season is mathematically dead? Of course when that happened, to stay relevant, Rex Ryan finally makes the change and starts the man who was a starting quarterback last year leading fourth quarter comebacks and improbable playoff wins. Oh no wait, this is the New York Jets! The inexperienced third string guy gets the start over the back up. 1 , 3, 2. Makes sense if you go by Jets' logic.
The fact is that if Tim Tebow started and won as a starting Jet then it would show up coach Rex Ryan for not making the decision a lot sooner. I’m sick of talking about the Jets this year and hoping the next time I do talk about them, the Tebow lead Jags are running riot on them!
Fantasy Football: The Fantasy Football season ends tonight with the Championship games. I somehow managed to get into two finals so I shall speak no more on that for fear of jinxing it (Did you see how well that worked for the 49ers last week?!). But I will talk about the sole reason that I am there: Adrian Peterson. Yes, he was a gamble at the start of the year when I drafted him in early but damn has that paid off. Adrian Peterson has carried my team just like the Vikings all year. His ACL may be recovered but that man is going to have some serious back issues! He carried Christian Ponder so much that he had to guide him through his wedding ceremony the other week. I pretty sure Ponder pulled a Ross from Friends moment at the alter and said Adrian instead of Samantha (Steele, ESPN reporter . . . Just Google it!)
If the Vikings managed to sneak into the playoffs then AP is a lock for MVP. Peyton Manning has been terrific this year but so has the Broncos defense. Do you really see any other team but the Broncos not topping that division without Manning? Bill Belichick got 11 wins out of Matt Cassel. Put it this way, that sorry excuse of a team, the Jets, are second in the AFC East. I think the Patriots would be able to top it without Brady. Of course the Broncos and Patriots would not be near as good with those players gone. Now take Peterson out of the Vikings! There’s your Apocalypse in Minnesota. 0-16 anyone?
Andy Reid: Andy Reid has had a phenomenal career at Philadelphia and it is such a shame to see him leave like this. However, there is one potential silver lining to this season for Eagles fans. The Eagles travel to the Giants in week 17 and it would be a nice for Reid to end his career by ensuring that the Giants do not make the playoffs. Speaking of which . . .
New York Giants' playoff hopes: If the Giants were to lose to Baltimore tonight and both Washington (@ Philadelphia) and Dallas (home to the Saints) won, then the Giants would be eliminated. The Redskins host the Cowboys in the final week. The Giants must win their final two games. Baltimore are in the middle of a three game losing streak and need to snap out of that fast, while I can’t even begin to to describe the psyche of the Giants after losing 34-0 to Atlanta (who now have home field advantage through the playoffs after beating Detroit last night).
God Hates Cleveland: Did you know that the Browns have won 4 of their past 6 games and are actually a (*gulp*) decent side this year? Cue Oakland Raiders fans “God actually hates Oakland”. That’s not it. See, it’s not that anyone hates Oakland, it’s just that you are irrelevant till you move back to Los Angeles. Though the Browns are still rock bottom in the AFC North, they have shown hope that they could actually be a playoff contender in a few years time.
Norv Turner: Before the season starts: “San Diego actually look good this year!” Come December: “The Chargers are over rated!” This happens EVERY SINGLE YEAR, without fail. If the Chargers couldn’t reach the playoffs BEFORE the Broncos developed into serious contenders with Peyton Manning, yeah, they’re screwed now.
Jets, Browns, Chargers, Titans, Bills, Raiders, Jags, Chiefs, Bucs, Panthers, Cardinals, Eagles, Lions:
Your season has ENDED!
All Playoff games matter: If the Colts beat the Chiefs tonight (Oakland beat them 15-0 last week) then the final AFC Spot will be decided between the Bengals, Steelers and Dolphins. God please don’t let it be the Bengals. It's not that I hate them, they just offer nothing to the play-off picture, in that they'll get knocked out in the first round and that'll be that. Cincinnati travel to Pittsburgh, a side capable of causing a stir in the play-offs, tonight.
And on that depressing note, straight to our picks for week 16:
(HOME TEAM in Caps):
Patriots (-14.0) over JAGUARS
Tom Brady is going to play this game like the middle of the third onwards against San Francisco. He is going top do whatever he wants to Jacksonville. The Pats will also be hoping that the Broncos slip up to try and catch a bye in the play-offs.
STEELERS (-3.5) over Bengals
One last time that I’m going with Roethlisberger and co. I can’t say no! And with a personal interest in this one (Again, who wants to see the Bengals scrape into the playoffs and get blown out? Do Bengals fans even want that?!), I honestly believe they can pull it out. Steelers won the first match up 24-17 and are about to get in their stride at the right time. Andy Dalton has never beaten the Steelers . . . Nor the Ravens . . . Actually who has Dalton beat?!
Vikings (+9.5) over TEXANS
Argue against it? I dare ya. Throw in all the arguments on how good that Texans offense is. How bad Christian Ponder is. How there is no way that the Vikings win this must win game. And I’ll raise you one Adrian Peterson. As good as his comeback has been, it’s not complete. Not yet.
Bears (-6.0) over CARDINALS
I think the line is a little too high in this one but will stick to it largely because the Cardinals suck so much on offense that the Bears D is going to have opportunities to create turnovers. Chicago need this win to stay in the hunt for the playoffs. Cardinals, well they were done a long time ago. Hard to believe that this team started 4-0
49ers (+1.5) over SEAHAWKS
The late night battle is one between the two best scoring defenses in the league.
I actually did a double take on this one. The first time I read it, I assumed the Niners were -1.5. Did anyone see what Kaepernick and co did to the “unbeatable” Patriots? New England had just wiped the floor with the Texans before that game. 31-3 at one stage and it could have be worse. Kaepernick threw 4 touchdowns! For perspective: Alex Smith has NEVER done that. The refs came out and said that they made a mistake in the first quarter when they said Delanie Walker fumbled the ball on the Pats 4 yard line. Akers missed another field goal. It doesn’t matter to the result now obviously and they were contributing factors in the game of the season this far but to go ahead and make the Seahawks favourites when the Niners were unofficially crowned the best in the league? Really? Niners need this win for the bye week and to still win the NFC West! The last time these two played, it was all about the running game. Marshawn Lynch and Frank Gore had career games. Now with Kaepernick and Wilson on fire, this is sure to be the game of the week! Niners to wrap up the division tonight!
Happy Football (and Christmas...but mainly Football) People!
Last Week: 2-5
Season: 43-43
Accumulator: 1-15
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