Putting a Cap on Week 16

Putting Week 16 to bed:

Green Bay 9, Minnesota 7 - What, over the last 16 years, gives you the impression that the last touchdown pass Brett Favre ever throws in Lambeau Field is going to be an interception return for a score? Absolutely nothing. I'm sure Favre will dance around the issue a bit in the off-season, but unless the Packers make the playoffs this weekend (a possibility) and have a long run at another Super Bowl, #4 is coming back in 2007.

Kansas City 20, Oakland 9 - One rumor is that the Oakland Raiders won't fire Art Shell just so they can stick it to Adam Schefter. As much as I'd love to see Al Davis further sink the Raiders into an actual black hole, I can't believe he'd set his franchise back like that out of spite.

Tampa Bay 22, Cleveland 7 - He was my pre-season pick for Defensive Rookie of the Year, and with 10 sacks, Kamerion Wimbley might be the lone bright spot for what has been a miserable season in Cleveland. The weirdness started early for the Browns, when LeCharles Bentley landed on IR on the 1st day of training camp, and it got progressively worse. Will next week be the last week of Romeo Crennel's head coaching career? He's such a nice guy, I'd hate to see it. But the bottom line is Cleveland hasn't shown any improvement since he got there, so a change may be in order.

Tennessee 30, Buffalo 29 - This just in: Vince Young...is pretty good. The delivery may be unorthodox, but he gets the ball where it needs to go, and his running ability and size has me envisioning a more polished, more durable version of Michael Vick. When I've come across Titans games the last few months, and the Titans have had the ball, I've had to stop to watch them. Young has that aura about him where you don't want to turn the channel out of fear of missing something special.

Carolina 10, Atlanta 3 - How was Chris Weinke able to beat the Falcons and stop his personal 17-game losing streak? By attempting as few passes as humanly possible. The Panthers ran 59 plays on Sunday, and just 7 of them were passes.

St. Louis 37, Washington 31 - The Rams won, and in the process kept their slim playoff hopes alive. If the Vikings rip off 196 yards rushing against them this Sunday, the Rams defense will have given up more rushing yards in a season than anyone in NFL history. Thank goodness the Rams have Marc Bulger, Steven Jackson, Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce.

Baltimore 31, Pittsburgh 7 - This is what happens when the Pittsburgh don't put pressure on the quarterback and can't run the ball. No sacks, and their leading rusher was Ben Roethlisberger. I think Baltimore is ready for the playoffs, don't you?

New Orleans 30, NY Giants 7 - The Giants have lost 7 of 8 and just embarrassed themselves at home. And they're still in the driver's seat for the final playoff spot in the NFC. New Orleans just dominated the line of scrimmage, with Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush both topping the century mark.

New England 24, Jacksonville 21 - Ok, so the Patriots aren't blessed with playmakers on offense. So what do they do? 11 different Patriots had a reception on Sunday, and the leader was their #3 tight end, rookie David Thomas.

Houston 27, Indianapolis 24 - Did someone tell the Colts that it was January? I can't think of any other reason to explain how the Colts have played lately, but I do know this: You do not want to be unable to stop the run in the playoffs when you've got LaDainian Tomlinson, Jamal Lewis and the Corey Dillon/Laurence Maroney, the Bells in Denver and Leon Washington to contend with.

Chicago 26, Detroit 21 - Is Lovie Smith trying to tell us something by giving Brian Griese some snaps on Sunday?

Arizona 26, San Francisco 20 - Matt Leinart's season came to an end on Sunday, but not after doing all he could do to end San Francisco's season. By the time Leinart sprained his shoulder, Arizona was out to a lead they would not relinquish. As a Seahawks fan with one eye on this game, the image of Kurt Warner running onto the field was not one that warmed the cockles of my heart.

San Diego 20, Seattle 17 - Seattle may have clinched the NFC West with the 49ers loss, but it would've been nice to see the Seahawks beat the best team in the NFL. Final score aside, the Seahawks showed they can play with a team like San Diego.

Denver 24, Cincinnati 23 - I wouldn't want to trade places with Kyle Larson this week, that's for sure. Your team is fighting for the playoffs, you just need the extra point to force a tie to get to overtime, and you let the snap go straight through your arms? Yikes.

Philadelphia 23, Dallas 7 - I guess it's settled. With the hugging and smooching going on between Tony Romo and Carrie Underwood, I guess Jessica Simpson and Romo aren't an item. Or maybe there's a catfight a-brewin'? Please?

As for the football game, no team is hotter than the Philadelphia Eagles right now. They even got the "best team in the NFC" nod from ESPN's talking noggins this morning. Yep, that sounds about right. It was simply their turn.

NY Jets 13, Miami 10 - Before you mock the NFC playoff picture, take a hard look at the AFC. As of right now, the New York Jets, who nobody took seriously even after beating the Patriots in Foxborough, are the #6 seed in the AFC. Chad Pennington and his thrice surgically-repaired right shoulder, will start 16 games for the 1st time in an NFL career that was perceived to be dead 12 months ago.

Let me ask you something: If you're in the Indianapolis Colts, do you want to see Eric Mangini and the New York Jets in the RCA Dome in two weeks? I think not.

Mac's Game Balls

Offense - Marc Bulger, QB, St. Louis - Bulger kept the Rams playoff hopes alive with a 4-touchdown performance against the Redskins.

Defense - Lofa Tatupu, LB, Seattle - I know, this is an absolute "Homer" pick. The bottom line is Tatupu played his best game of the season, registering 12 tackles and a sack of Philip Rivers. Tatupu may have been energized by his selection to a 2nd straight Pro Bowl, but whatever the reasons were, he appeared to have elevated his game and for the most part, Seattle shut down LaDainian Tomlinson, keeping the league's odds-on favorite out of the end zone for just the 4th time this season.

Special Teams - Kris Brown, K, Houston - Houston was 0-9 all-time against the Indianapolis Colts heading into Sunday. All that changed when Kris Brown drilled a 48-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Texans a 27-24 win over the suddenly hapless Colts.

What is Pat Kirwan and NFL.com Thinking?

Today, NFL.com ran a Pat Kirwan "Unsung Heroes" feature entitled "Strength in Numbers". The story is a good one, as it sheds some light on how hard the strength coaches in the NFL work. That's not my problem with the story. My problem lies in who they chose to highlight in their picture: Shawne Merriman.

This is the image NFL.com ran in conjunction with the article:












Should the NFL really be running a photo of a player they suspended for steroids in relation to an article about how hard strength coaches work?

This isn't meant to take anything away from the work of San Diego's strength coach, Dave Redding. San Diego is a team loaded with strong players, and Merriman is certainly one of them. But it's clear to everyone that this year, Merriman had additional, and illegal, assistance.