NFL Sunday Recap – Colts Bail on Perfection
It was an interesting Sunday in the NFL. The New Orleans Saints all but had a victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their pockets when Garrett Hartley lined up for a last second chip shot field goal.
Tied at 17 a piece, the Saints had blown a 17 to 0 lead but a fantastic two minute drive in the 4th quarter orchestrated by Drew Brees led to Hartley’s seemingly easy kick from inside the 40 yard line. Unfortunately, Hartley hooked it left and the game went into overtime.
What happened next was to be expected. A Saints’ defense riddled with injuries and looking every bit as awful as the 2008 version, allowed rookie Tampa QB Josh Freeman and RB Carnell Williams to march their way into Saints’ territory. Tampa kicker Connor Barth hit the kick and once again the Saints were denied home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
There really is no excuse for loosing to the lowly Bucs but New Orleans is suffering through a lot of injuries and, yes, given time they might get back to where they were earlier in the season, but the signs are bad for this team. They’ve gone 4 and 7 against the spread since their bye week, have lost two games in a row, and flat out looked uninspired and disjointed out there on the field.
The Saints’ D often times can’t cover in the defensive backfield if their front seven doesn’t put pressure on the quarterback. Not only that, but the defense is susceptible to the run as Carnell Williams rushed for over 100 yards for the first time since 2006 on Sunday.
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The Saints offense was stymied as well. With tight end Jeremy Shockey once again on the bench, New Orleans just appeared hapless at times. Despite Brees completing 19 straight passes during one stretch in the game, none of those terrific drives turned into touchdowns. A sign this team is lacking a killer instinct and confidence is when the Saints had a 4th and inches on their own 40 yard line and coach Sean Payton elected to punt the ball instead of going for it.
It proved to be the wrong call as Tampa Bay punt returner Michael Spurlock scooted the punt 77 yards for a tying touchdown.
New Orleans is now in a must win situation against the super hot Carolina Panthers in Week 17. The Panthers have outscored their opponents 67 to 16 in their last 2 games. If the Saints were to lose to the Panthers and the Vikings were to win their next two games, New Orleans would lose home field advantage.
G-Men Pack it In…In a Bad Way
The New York Giants looked terrific last Monday night, destroying the Washington Redskins 45 to 12. That was not the same team that stepped onto the field yesterday as they had no answer for the Carolina Panthers, going down 41 to 9 as 9 point favorites at home.
How awful was it? Carolina was up 31 to 0 in the 3rd quarter before the G-Men put 3 points on the board. It was an embarrassing loss for a team that won the Super Bowl in the 2007 season and had one of the best records in the NFL in the 2008 season.
Because the Tennessee Titans were throttled by the San Diego Chargers this past Thursday night 42 to 17, the two teams with the best records last season, the Giants and Titans, won’t make the playoffs this season.
Dallas & Green Bay Secure Playoff Berths
The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers both looked great on Sunday in securing wildcard playoff berths. The Cowboys beat the rival Washington Redskins 17 to 0 on the road while the Packers took down the Seattle Seahawks 48 to 10. Because of the lopsided scores, both the ‘Boys and the Packers covered in the sportsbook.
How will the Cowboys do in the playoffs? One need only to watch next week as the Cowboys take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17. As it stands now, the ‘Boys would play the Eagles in the 1st round of the playoffs if the playoffs were to start today. There’s the potential that Dallas would face the Eagles two weeks in a row.
Strangely enough, the same scenario could play out when the Green Bay Packers take on the Arizona Cardinals this coming Sunday in Week 17. If the playoffs started today, the Packers would face the Cardinals in the wildcard round.
So conceivably, both the Cowboys and Eagles and Packers and Cardinals in Week 17 would repeat in the 1st round of the playoffs just 6 or 7 days later.
Bad Move to Pull Peyton but Not Just Because of 16 and 0
Sportsmanship aside, going for 16 and 0 shows respect for the NFL and the league and every team should try to do it given the chance, the Colts pulling Peyton Manning in Sunday’s game against the New York Jets had other implications.
By beating the Indianapolis Colts, the New York Jets put themselves into playoff contention. Should they beat the Cincinnati Bengals this coming Sunday, the Jets would march into the playoffs.
How bright was that, Colts? You decide not to the end the season of a playoff contender, let them kick you in the mouth, and now might have to face them in the playoffs.
Yes, the Jets would need to do something spectacular in order to reach the Colts, like beating the Bengals or Patriots in the 1st round of the playoffs…oh, wait…spectacular? The Jets have already beaten the Patriots once this season and could beat the Bengals this Sunday!
Then, they’d probably go into the second round of the playoffs, after beating one of those teams again, as the lowest remaining seed meaning that the Colts would have to beat them after getting run over by them just three weeks earlier.
It was just stupid not to bury the Jets when you had the chance. Flat out stupid. Your defense is going to remember how Jets’ RB Thomas Jones ran all over them should you meet the Jets again.
Ah, but this is what is great about the NFL. Even in the final week of the regular season, so much is on the line. Don’t forget to log onto the NFL sportsbook and get your bets down!
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