Week 15 Thursday Night Pick

(No idea how I got snow to fall in this picture)

Six takeaways from Week 14.

1. Gronk's ACL

Two things about the Gronk and his injury. Absolutely brutal to watch and see Gronk on the field screaming. While I'm not exactly a big fan of the Patriots, I'm a huge Gronk fan so my condolences to all Patriot fans.
First off, I think this ends the Patriots season. I said they were going to the Super Bowl after week three but that was because I knew the Gronk was coming back from previous injuries. He missed the first six weeks of the season and the Patriots offense was ranked 22nd until he returned. Right now they are 5th in points per game. In seven games this year he had four touchdowns but he has always been a major threat in the red zone. During his absence at the start of they year it was clear that they missed his presence. They did go 5-1 without him so I guess I shouldn't totally count out Lord Brady and the Patriots but their chances definitely took a huge hit.

Second, this is what Roger Goodell asked for when he made all the rules to protect players heads. T.J. Ward got fined twice last year for going high, so he is a perfect example of a defensive player that has changed the way he plays to adjust to the new rules. Defensive players have to go low to avoid penalties and fines. What I'm worried about now is that clearly players going so low is a dangerous play. So what is the NFL likely to do? Make another rule banning players for hitting below the knee, giving them a strike zone to hit. And if they do that, that's just not football anymore. There will be so many missed tackles because defensive players will almost have to play at half speed. The NFL did this to themselves and they are on a slippery slope of changing the game too much and not for the better.


2. Snow Football is awesome

The Lions Eagles game in the first half was ridiculous. You couldn't even see what was going on because it was snowing so hard. It looked liked there was eight inches of snow on the ground. Players could barely run around. It may have been ugly football to some but I loved it. That's classic football. Pittsburgh, DC, Green Bay, Baltimore all had snow. I can't remember a day when half the games had serious snow and it ended out being one of the most exciting NFL Sundays in a long time. 

But I kept hearing how the NFL is praying that this weather doesn't happen in New York for the Super Bowl. Why not? I understand it would be a pain for people traveling and all of the logistical issues but as for the actual game, I think it would be cool. Would it affect the outcome? Yes it would but this is football. The elements are part of the game. At the end of the day was the Lions Eagles game more exciting because of the snow? Yes it was. Had it just been a cold sunny day nobody would have cared about it. Chances are there won't be a ton of cold Super Bowls after this one because people are already complaining. So why not go out with a snow storm? My team isn't going to be in it anyways, so let it snow. 

3. The Jets are just screwing with me at this point

I had finally given up on the Jets. Last week I said Rexy should probably get fired at the end of the year and Geno is not the guy. I also picked the Raiders to go into JetLife and win. They had only scored six points in their previous two games. They had a Tight End picking the Patriots and Broncos to be in the AFC Championship. I was convinced the wheels had fallen off the bus...or the jet. But what do the Jets do? They win 37-27. Geno wasn't fantastic but he wasn't horrific. He threw for a TD and ran for one. They combined for 143 rushing yards. They had a blocked punt picked up for a TD. They looked like an actual football team for the first time in weeks.
They finish with Panthers, Browns, and Dolphins so I don't see them making the playoffs but they should get to 7-9 at the worst. Which coming into the year would have been seen as a successful season. So maybe Rexy will get another year. I have no idea what to think. I should probably stop writing about the Jets and then at least they won't make me look like a fool.

4. Vikings at Ravens finish

36 points in the final two minutes and five seconds. One of the craziest finishes in NFL history. I'm not sure what else to even say about it. I was rooting for the Vikings because at that time the Steelers were winning and still had playoff hopes. But every minute the score kept going back and forth. I honestly think if the Ravens last TD had happened with 30 seconds left, the Vikings probably would have scored again.
I'm also not too sure what to make of the Ravens at this point. They certainly don't win with style but they have won four of five and are the favorites to get the sixth spot in the AFC. Their final three games are against tough teams (Lions, Patriots, Bengals). So if they can win some of those games and get into the playoffs they might be a threat, especially if FLACCCOOOOO returns to his last year playoff form.

P.S. Apparently Adrian Peterson has never seen The Wire. Why would he expect Baltimore fans to be nice?

5. Even though the Niners and Saints won, I'd still take the teams they beat.

I'll start with the 49ers 19-17 win over the Seahawks. The Niners needed that win a lot more than the Seahawks did. However, after the game if I'm the Seahawks I'm not worried about the 49ers knowing that if they play again it will be in Seattle. It took everything the Niners had to beat the Seahawks and they only won by two and if Frank Gore hadn't busted a 50-yard run who knows if they even get the game winning field goal. I think the Seahawks are the better team even though they lost.
Now the Saints 31-13 win at home over the Panthers. The Saints are a different animal at home. 7-0 this year. Drew Brees is unstoppable in the Dome. Even though that is the most points the Panthers have allowed all season, they are still fine. They get a chance to redeem themselves in week 16 at home. I think the Panthers win that game. The issue with the Panthers is that even if they beat the Saints and win out, if the Saints go 2-1 they will win the NFC South (based on conference record), meaning the Panthers would have to go back to the SuperDome if the match-ups work out. That could be an problem but I think the Panthers could pull it off but they need to get touchdowns and not field goals like they did last Sunday night.

6. My worst pick of the year...Redskins +3 vs Chiefs

Yep. I picked the Redskins to beat the Chiefs on Sunday. The game ended with a score of 45-10. I picked the team that scored 10 points. Not my best work.
In all seriousness though how does Mike Shanahan still have his job? Most likely because Dan Synder doesn't want to pay him seven million dollars to not work. Either way the Redskins are a dumpster fire at this point. Now that Shanahan realizes he's not getting fired he's sitting RGIII for the rest of the season to protect his health. Is that a joke? Last year you let him play in the playoffs with a busted knee. I've been anti-Shanahan for a long long time, the fact that people give him credit for winning two Super Bowls is insane. He was given a great Broncos team and just found a way not to screw it up. Without John Elway he hasn't accomplished anything.
That's just the Shanahan side of the story. RGIII hasn't exactly had the "Will to Win" this year. He continues to throw his teammates under the bus when he fails to perform and who knows what the locker room even thinks of him at the moment. Somehow the Redskins have made the Jets look like a stable franchise.


Thursday Night Pick

Broncos 42, Chargers 28 --- I feel like in most Bronco games I give very little reason for why they will win the game. That is because they have Peyton Manning. Peyton does not lose games he should win in the regular season. He waits until the playoffs to play bad. The Chargers need this win to have any chance to make the playoffs but it's not going to happen. The Broncos offense is going to score too much.