Thursday, September 27, 2012

2012 NFL SEASON: WEEK 4



WEEK 3:              5-11
TOTAL:              23-25

BREAKDOWN OF RECORD
MONICA
NOON
3PM
NIGHT
HOME
AWAY
TV
≤ 8 PTS
OT
WK 3
9-7
5-4
0-4
0-3
2-5
3-6
1-4
3-7
1-2
TOTAL
27-21
16-11
2-9
5-5
15-9
8-16
8-10
10-18
2-2


First, your Week 3 recap.

The Giants went into their matchup with the Panthers with many of their key offensive players lost to injuries. I did not expect the Giants to win this game…. Well, Eli Manning was Eli Manning throwing for 288 yards and one touchdown. Rameses Barden, starting in place for the injured Hakeem Nicks, caught 9 passes for 138 yards.

Hmmm…. Maybe the Giants are starting to get into their grove, while the Panthers are overrated…

Sunday’s games saw the Bears take care of business against the Rams, the Jaguars beat the Colts, and three games go to overtime. But first, the Cowboys defeat the Buccaneers.

Offensively, this was a snooze fest, but the Cowboys defense came up when it mattered most. Dallas better solve their problems when it comes to false starts on the offensive side of the ball. Up next is Chicago on Monday night and there’s no telling which Bears team will show up to Cowboys Stadium. Will it be the one that defeated the Rams or the one that imploded against the Packers?

The 49ers were upset by the Vikings in Minnesota. Maybe the 49ers are not as good as people are making them out to be. The Bills defeated the Browns (no surprise) but lost their running back C.J. Spiller to a shoulder injury. He is expected to miss one game.

The Bengals beat the Redskins 38-31 with this first play from scrimmage:


The game had its share of controversy. The Redskins offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan, was seen arguing with the officials and following them to their locker room. His actions cost him $25,000.

Maybe he can ask his dad, the Redskins coach, for the money.

Now the three overtime games. The Jets defeated the Dolphins in the extra session, but it came with a cost. Cornerback Darrelle Revis tore his ACL and is lost for the rest of the season. The Jets now have a massive hole in their secondary for the rest of the season. The Chiefs, behind the 233 yards by running back Jamaal Charles, rallied from 18-points down to defeat the Saints 27-24 in overtime. Charles had a 91-yard touchdown run that started the comeback. Kicker Ryan Succop set a franchise record for most field goals made in a game with six.

Perhaps the Saints aren’t as good as we thought…

And now the most exciting game of the day… Lions at Titans.

First, this punt return for TD by the Titans…


Lions rallied to take 27-20 lead in the 4th quarter. Then the Titans scored a touchdown on a kickoff return to tie the game at 27.

Nate Washington had this catch to give the Titans a 34-27 lead.


Then this fumble and scoop and score made it 41-27. The Lions would score a touchdown and then recover the onside kick to set up this last play:


In overtime, the Titans scored a field goal on the opening drive of overtime. With their overtime possession, the Lions drove down to inside the Titans 10. Facing a fourth down, Detroit went for it and Tennessee stopped them to win 44-41. What a way for Titans quarterback Jake Locker to get his first NFL win.

The afternoon games featured the Cardinals dominating the Eagles at home, and the Falcons showing no letdown with a victory over the Chargers. The Raiders rallied to defeat their historic rival, the Steelers, for Coach Dennis Allen’s first NFL win.

The Texans continued their Bulls on Parade theme with a win in Denver over the quarterback that regularly victimized them when he was with the Colts. Well, so far my AFC Super Bowl pick is looking well.

Sunday Night featured its fair share of drama in a back-and-forth contest between AFC powers. Before the game, Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith learned that his brother was killed in a motorcycle accident in Virginia late Saturday night. Smith went home to be with his family and then played the game of his career catching 6 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns.


The game had its share of low moments. A fan got onto the field before halftime.

If only Mike Curtis was around…


Towards the end of the game, the replacement referees penalized Coach John Harbaugh for trying to get their attention in calling a timeout. The Baltimore fans let their displeasure be known.


Al Michaels: “That’s the loudest manure chant I’ve ever heard.”

The game came down to a field goal. In last season’s AFC Championship Game between these two teams in New England, this happened:


Last Sunday, this happened:


And in the post-game chaos, Coach Bill Belichick is seen chasing and grabbing an official. The NFL would fine him $50,000 for his actions.

Monday Night…

The Green Bay Packers faced a tough Seattle team. The Packers left the Pacific Northwest with a 12-7 victory. M.D. Jennings made the game saving interception to push Green Bay’s record to 2-1.


We’ve all seen this play. While I agree that it was an interception, the Packers put themselves in this position. They settled for a field goal inside the Seahawks 15 in the third quarter. They did not convert a two-point conversion after they scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter. If Green Bay had gotten a first down on their last offensive drive of the game, the game would be over.

Oh, and it is worth mentioning that Green Bay’s offensive ranks are equal to Cleveland. Again, Green Bay’s offensive ineptness is equal to the Browns.

Oh… and this will make Packers fans happy.

The NFL supervisor in the replay booth was Phil Luckett. The same Phil Luckett that was involved in “Coingate” in the 1998 Thanksgiving game between the Steelers and Lions. The same Phil Luckett whose officiating crew that ruled that quarterback Vinny Testaverde scored a touchdown when clearly he was short of goal line in a Jets 32-31 win over the Seahawks 11 days after “Coingate.”

With this recent disaster with the replacement referees, the NFL and the regular referees have resumed labor talks. They have progressed to the point that an agreement has been reached between the parties. The regular referees will return to the field starting with tonight's game between the Browns and Ravens.

As for my picks… Thank goodness I didn’t put any money on these games of I’d probably be wearing Cement Shoes at the bottom of the Trinity River.

5-11 last week… Ugh. Well, I have a Top 10 pick going into next year’s NFL Draft.

Yeah, Monica defeated me this week with a 9-7 record. My goal is just to get back to above .500 for the week. Small goals.

Week 4 is the start of the bye weeks. The Colts and Steelers are the first teams to get a week off. Adjust your fantasy rosters accordingly.

Looking at the games for Week 4, the Ravens host the Browns in an AFC North showdown. Sunday has the Texans go for another first in the team’s short history: a 4-0 start. It will come against a Titans team that put up 44 against the Lions. San Diego travels to Kansas City while the Broncos host the Raiders in the other AFC West showdown game. The Patriots look to get back to .500 against the Bills.

The Jets begin the rest of their season without Darelle Revis by playing the 49ers. Detroit has their first home game since Week 1 by hosting the Vikings. The two undefeated teams in the NFC look to continue their winning ways with the Falcons hosting the Panthers and the Cardinals hosting the Dolphins.

The game that everyone had circled on their calendars at the start of the season is the Saints at Packers. Clearly both teams have not lived up to expectations. The winner of this game has a great chance of saving their season while the loser will likely see their playoff chances diminish.

Sunday Night is an NFC East showdown in Philadelphia between the Giants and Eagles. Should be another good one.

And Monday Night is between two teams with a long history in the NFL: the Chicago Bears and the Dallas Cowboys.

Here are your picks for Week 4. Let’s hope these are better than last week’s. If not… good-bye thumbs.

Kickoff Times are Central Time
Picks Indicated in BOLD
Sunday Day Games for the Dallas-Fort Worth Area are indicated with (DFW)


BYE WEEK
Indianapolis Colts
Pittsburgh Steelers


THURSDAY NIGHT (9/27)
Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens, 7:20 PM NFL


SUNDAY (9/30) FOX DOUBLEHEADER

NOON FOX
San Francisco 49ers at New York Jets (DFW)
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams


NOON CBS
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans (DFW)
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs


3PM CBS
Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals
Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars


3PM FOX
New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers (DFW)
Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers


SUNDAY NIGHT
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles, NBC 7:20 PM


MONDAY NIGHT (10/1)
Chicago Bears at Dallas Cowboys, 7:30 PM ESPN

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