With the Monday night game still to come, there weren’t any surprising results in week 12 but plenty of surprising moments. With the Suhspension still on the horizon, there’s plenty to talk about! I just told Microsoft Word to learn the word “Suhspension” by the way, as I doubt this is the last time I’ll be using it.
On the inside, I'm still laughing
Stevie’s Dance
By now I hope you have seen Stevie Johnson’s epic touchdown dance but if not, click the link. After Buffalo takes a 13-7 lead against the Jets on Sunday he starts to dance, and them pretends to shoot himself in the leg before transforming into a Jet and crashing into the ground. The first part of this dance is obviously aimed at Plaxico Burress who spent a bit of time in prison after accidentally shooting himself in the leg at a night club. I was monitoring twitter closely when this happened, and the response was interesting to say the least.
At first everyone was laughing their ass off, posting and retweeting links to the dance. Then as time went on a different group of people began to let their voice be heard. It was the party poopers who thought this was a disrespectful and awful act. I saw people calling for fines. Well, it certainly was disrespectful…but to what level should we really be concerned about this? Charlie Sheen’s meltdown has been referenced and parodied by people in his field, why is this any different? If you don’t like the dance I understand, but lets just keep it in perspective. If the personalities and celebrations I didn’t care for weren’t on center stage, my enjoyment of the game would probably be lessened. The league could stand to be a little bit more fun from time to time. Burress himself didn’t have much of a problem with it, saying that the mockery “Doesn’t bother me at all”. The only people Johnson really has to apologize to are his teammates for getting a penalty. And for the record, the gunshot part of the celebration didn’t even earn the penalty. It was when he went to the ground that the flags came out.
That being said, I wouldn’t have a problem if Plax was pissed off. The prison term was no doubt a very hard time in his life. Jets fans have a right to boo Johnson, post about it on message boards, etc, but that’s where it ends. Being made fun of is a small price to pay for being paid millions of dollars to play a game and I think Burress understands that, so good for him.
After all, he did get the last laugh. Perhaps the next time Plaxico scores a touchdown against the Bills he will throw the ball up in the air and then drop it, Stevie Johnson style.
Tebow time…sort of.
Every week I say to people, “this just can’t keep happening” and then like clock work, once a week…it happens.
His passing stats were not completely abysmal (9 for 18 for 143 yards) but he certainly didn’t look all that impressive once again. It took two missed field goals from Nick Novak and another incredible effort by the Broncos defense to seal the overtime victory. It’s going to be hard to reason with Tebow-maniacs until he loses a few games, so I will avoid making anymore rational arguments until then, as I really don’t like being shouted down by people who just keep saying “HE WON THE GAME!” as if I am arguing a different point.
In a somewhat related story, as they were also involved in the game, the Chargers have apparently just quit on Norv Turner. I don’t condone pro athletes doing such a thing, but I think if he was my boss at McDonald’s or something I’d probably react in a similar fashion as he just doesn’t seem to be an inspiring figure. Which begs the question, why is Norv Turner trying to run the west coast offense at a McDonald’s? I think I’ve made some good points here.
More Romo
I know there are a few people who thought the guest piece on Romo was a little unfair. After all, Romo has been criticized by the media as hard as almost any QB in the league and to argue that he is given a pass can seem on the surface slightly disingenuous. Thing of it is, there is a part of the media who have reacted entirely too hard in the other direction.
Take NFL.com columnist Michael Lombardi, a highly respected journalist who has worked with Bill Walsh and Bill Belichick in the past. He wrote about Tony Romo after Thanksgiving and tried to explain his tendency to throw interceptions.
“Too much is made of Romo’s interceptions, especially early in the game. He is like the centerfielder in baseball that can get to almost every ball, which is why he has more errors than a player that can’t cover as much ground”, Lombardi said, and my head exploded.
The Dolphins turned two early game interceptions to a combined total of 3 points. If they had capitalized on these two picks, which set them up with great field position each time, it is very possible that the Cowboys do not win. It is easy to glorify late game heroics, and over simplify everything else. It’s not always as easy to take a look at what happens in a game and put it in perspective logically. Against a better team he will not be able to get away with this. The part about playing center field is too goofy to even dignify with a response.
That being said, Romo is playing pretty well overall the last month and has the Cowboys in position to win the NFC East.
Other Stuff
-Interesting thing happened in Baltimore on Thursday night: the 49ers couldn’t run the ball. And when they can’t run the ball, Alex Smith looks…well, like Alex Smith. Defensive coordinators definitely took note.
-The Houston Texans are being decimated by a gypsy curse. They have already lost their best defensive player for the year, their starting QB for the year, their best WR for several weeks, and earlier in the year their best running back for a few weeks…now back-up QB Matt Leinart looks like he is probably done for the year with a broken collarbone. We are sending them a copy of the Stephen King book “Thinner” in hopes that it provides some kind of solution to the problem. If you don’t get that joke, it probably means you have good taste!
-The Buccaneers should just wear their awful orange uniforms the rest of the year, since they seem to be as woeful as the teams that donned those putrid things years ago.
-The revised Suh apology seems like it was written by the commissioner himself. How about that!
-Caleb Hanie threw three picks against Oakland on Sunday but still almost led them to a come from behind victory. If he would have been any worse the Bears might have tried to explore other options, and if he would have been any better they’d probably feel comfortable. It will be interesting to see how those NFC wild card spots are sorted out.
Enjoy Monday Night football everyone!
Posted by Ben Van Iten
Chris Dorsey
Nate Raby
Joseph Kyle Schmidt
Ben Van Iten
Yeah! Monday is here! I’ve been up since 530 this morning waiting for this post! 6 games this week have been decided by 4 or fewer points! Turkey day footbawl was pretty much a bust!
The Suhspension is over rated! We need more “Blitz” video game type play! The league needs a lovable bad guy! Another Def player that actually leaves it all on the field and reminds folks that he gets paid to hit them! I mean, we haven’t had one like that since……..well…… ummmmm ……… oh yeah, Warren Sapp!
I’m just kidding everyone! I like his tenacity but all the post play shit has got to stop. Maybe he needs to have an intervention with Ray Lewis and Tim T-Blow!
The Stevie dance doesn’t bother me. The penalty does though. No flags for mimicking violent behavior but so help me, if you go to the ground in your celebration you are getting a yellow handkerchief thrown at you! We mock it by calling it the No Fun League for a reason! I mean, in a craptastical game like Dallas and Miami, I’m only watching to see something go wrong (much the same reason I might watch a NASCAR race) or see a fantastic “in yo face” celebration! But, in some aspect, it’s much like your mailman doing a “get down” in your front yard after delivering a package to you! Really man? It’s you job! You get paid money to do it! Lots of money! Some humility wouldn’t kill you! Ohh, and celebrations really piss me off when your team is loosing! “Yeah, we down by 35 but I just scored! Puttin some stock in my stats man! Winning for my fantasy players!” Asshole! Oh did I mention I hate fantasy football and everything it stands for?
As for the Denver / SD game, is it more surprising that T-Blow won or that Philip Rivers lost it? Both of those should be equally amazing! First things first, Tim T-Blow! A very similar thing that happens to Romo happens to T-Blow! If he’s winning, there isn’t much to talk about; but if he looses then he is the worst thing to happen for the QB position since JaMarcus Russell! Look, they are winning games, and in the real NFL, not that fantasy crap, the only thing that matters is wins! This ain’t collage footbawl where you can suck, but have a “tougher schedule” and get voted to a bowl game! Stats don’t matter, only the score at double zeros! Ohh, and if I was going to work for an NFL coach at a McDonalds, it would probably have to be Jim Schwartz! After his Harbraugh conflict, I’m conviced he would punch a customer in the face for disrespecting one of his workers!
ROMO! The won on Thursday so all is well in Dallas this week! As for the baseball comparison, um no! The outfielder comparison would have to be made toward a wide receiver. If you are going to compare a QB to a baseball player, wouldn’t it obviously have to be compared to a pitcher? Guy throws a ball! He does it well and accurately they win! He does it poorly and leaves to much out there for the other team, the LOOSE! What a freaking idiot! I might compare him to A.J. Burnett of the Yankees. Since NY reporters treat him the same way Dallas reporters treat Romo. But with that argument, WHY IS IT EVEN NECESSARY TO COMPARE A FOOTBAWL PLAYER TO A BASEBALL PLAYER? Oh and since Jerry Jones still owns the Cowgirls, I predict some shit happening in the next 2 weeks that takes them out of playoff contention and the Giants tie up the NFC East!
As for the Har”bro” game, that was a pretty good game IMO. Also WTF is up with Flacco’s facial hair? Why does he want to look all douchey like Jarred Allen? http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/photos?photoId=1702140&gameId=311124033
I actually feel bad to the Texans!
Blah blah blah Buccs!
The Suh apology couldn’t possibly be any worse than the explanation for the WWE attempted face stomp! “Umm I slipped getting up!” Dude, at least be true to yourself and say, “I was mad and felt like stompin that guys face in!” It’s been shown that the public’s opinion of you will be better if you are honest about being an ass than if you try to be something you’re not!
Blah blah blah Chicago! What? You mean there is a team that has a back up QB with questionable playing ability? Bull shit!
GEAUX SAINTS!
I would make one addendum to your bit about the Ravens-49ers game: While Alex Smith had some trouble throwing the ball, he also got sacked 9 times, yes 9 TIMES!!! I’m unsure if you had the opportunity to watch the game, but if you did you would have noticed that even the times that Alex Smith wasn’t sacked he had essentially no time to throw the ball. A few instances occurred when I thought Smith was a bit slow through his progressions, but overall the offensive line of the 49ers didn’t give Smith much of a chance, or Frank Gore for that matter.
I do think that you’re right about defensive coordinators taking notice, but I feel like Harbaugh is smart enough to take notice as well, and fix the protection problems that plagued the 49ers on Thursday night. It reminds me of the problems the Bears were having in protecting Jay Cutler and his stupid face earlier this season, and when Mike Martz finally removed his head from his anus and started allowing Cutler time to throw the ball, the offense picked up and Cutler looked as good as he ever had in a Bears uniform. In no way am I saying Smith is as talented as Cutler, but I think in the right system and with the chance to remain upright and make throws he can be successful enough for that team to win some big games. Considering Harbaugh was a proficient QB in his own right, I think he’ll figure out a way to boost the offense’s productivity and maybe Smith will start utilizing some of that talent that caused him to be the #1 overall pick in his draft class, or at least enough to allow Gore some room to run and keep the defense fresh and dominant as it has been all season.
First of all I did watch the game. I think you’re right Dozo, on pretty much all accounts. But one way or another, even bad defensive teams can create that kind of pressure. It just takes more and more bodies. It’s going to be up to Alex to beat single coverage downfield and throw with people in his face or his life is going to get a lot more miserable.
I’m still really high on this 49ers team, but its got to make you a little nervous as a fan to see the offense completely bog down like that. It could be a hiccup or it could be a trend. We won’t really know until he starts playing playoff calibur defenses consistently. Which, with the way their schedule works out, won’t be until the playoffs really.
But yeah, the Ravens D is kind of a special case. Even without Lewis.
I definitely agree, and I think the game against the Steelers in a couple weeks will be a true test for the 49ers and I’m interested to see what kinds of strides the offense can make by then. As you know I have never cared for Alex Smith and even as well as he has managed games this seasons I still think the 49ers need a QB who can make plays in order to elevate them into that next level of elite teams. I think that Smith may have the physical tools to do so, but I just haven’t seen any noticable improvement in his ability to read defenses or make big plays in crunch time. If any coach can help him reach his full potential I think Harbaugh is it, but until I see that happening the 49ers will have to rely on Frank Gore and a great defense. I’m sure the offense will compensate with better protection packages, but that means playes like Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree will need to step up and beat defenders more often.