NFL Week 12 Recap 2015 (December 2nd)

I haven't had the time to put together an NFL Recap for the last couple of weeks, but hopefully that won't be the case for the rest of the season.

The NFL continues producing plenty of big stories after each week and Week 12 is no different as we get into the home stretch towards the Play Offs.

Jeff Fisher Should be Fired by the St Louis Rams at the End of the Season

He was one of the most sought after Head Coaches in the NFL after his time at the Tennessee Titans and it was the St Louis Rams who convinced Jeff Fisher to take over as Head Coach rather than head to the Miami Dolphins.

Fisher was successful with the Titans/Houston Oilers, but he now has just two winning seasons as a Head Coach in his last ten years. His best record with the Rams was a 7-8-1 record in his first season, but things have progressively got worse for Fisher as he has since gone 7-9, 6-10 and his team have lost four in a row to drop to 4-7 this season.

After the blow out loss in Cincinnati, Fisher told his critics to 'kiss my ass' if they were to criticise the effort his St Louis Rams have been making, but that's not good enough. There is so much talent on the Defensive side of the ball that it feels like the Rams are underachieving, while the appointment of Gregg Williams as Defensive Co-Ordinator has looked a big mistake with accusations of the St Louis Defensive unit making 'dirty plays'.

Offensively they have been a mess throughout Fisher's time here and the trade for Nick Foles to replace Sam Bradford has simply not worked. The Offensive plays are heavily reliant on gimmick plays and Todd Gurley has hit a wall in his rookie season.

Worst of all is the fact that Fisher didn't pull Case Keenum in the loss to Baltimore in Week 11 when the Quarter Back clearly was disorientated after a hit to his head. Fisher's excuse that he was concentrating on 'game management' isn't good enough and the St Louis Rams are perhaps moving to LA in time for the 2016 season.

Even if that doesn't happen, I think Fisher has had his shot and the St Louis Rams should make sure they are looking for a new Head Coach. One that can build a decent Offensive unit from the pieces they have to go with a Defense that is very under-rated and not being given enough time to rest in games with the other side of the ball constantly landing in three and out spots.

The NFC East Clearly the Worst Division in the NFL

A few weeks ago it was a hard choice to separate the NFC East and the AFC South as the worst Divisions in the NFL, but it has become clear through Week 12 that the NFC East holds that distinction.

The Dallas Cowboys haven't had much luck with their injuries and the renewed collarbone issue for Tony Romo means it is hard to see them making a run. However most teams who have lost seven in a row at some point in the season wouldn't be expected to be challenging for the Division, but the NFC East has been so awful that they are only two games out of the lead.

Then you have the Philadelphia Eagles who have been blown out in back to back weeks and have had their Head Coach Chip Kelly being questioned from a number of different angles. Philadelphia were booed off in their last home game and were embarrassed on Thanksgiving Day, but they are still only one game out of the Division lead.

The New York Giants have to be feeling the worst having had a chance to control the Division by winning on Sunday, but Eli Manning threw three Interceptions and his team fell into a 20-0 hole to the Washington Redskins. A late comeback fell short and that means the Giants and Redskins lead the Division with 5-6 records with just five weeks left to go.

Will this be the latest Division in recent years to send a team to the Play Offs with a losing record? I think the New York Giants can end this season with a 3-2 record to finish 8-8 and win the Division, but it is still very feasible that the Division does have a team with a losing record hosting a Play Off game in January.

Are the Pittsburgh Steelers the Dark Horse to Reach the Super Bowl?

This is the time of the season when fans start looking out for a team that is coming through the pack to perhaps have a surprising Play Off run that potentially leads to the Super Bowl.

In recent years we have seen teams like the New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers put together strong runs in December which have resulted in the team reaching the Super Bowl even as Wild Card teams.

I know Kansas City seem to be a popular choice to do that in the AFC, but I really have a lot of belief in the Pittsburgh Steelers if they can somehow get Big Ben Roethlisberger healthy.

Roethlisberger is in the concussion protocol this week, but he showed what he is capable of with a huge performance at the Seattle Seahawks in Week 12. He has some big time weapons in the Receiving department while DeAngelo Williams has been an effective replacement for the injured Le'Veon Bell.

The Defensive unit has to play better in the Secondary to really fulfil my belief though after failing to play much coverage in Week 12, but this Steelers team looks very dangerous.

Going 4-1 down the stretch should be good enough to get Pittsburgh into the Play Offs as a Wild Card team and might even be enough to take the Number 5 Seed. That would mean going to the AFC South winner in the Wild Card Round which should see Pittsburgh building momentum and they will feel they can out-score any team they potentially play from the Divisional Round onwards.

It was Almost the Worst Case Scenario for the New England Patriots

With just three minutes left and controlling the ball, the New England Patriots were looking to run some clock and grab a couple of First Downs that would have won the game in Denver.

But a throw towards Rob Gronkowski almost saw their season go up in flames as the Tight End saw his right knee snapped back and had to be carted off the field.

Outside of Tom Brady, Gronkowski is the one player they can't afford to lose on an Offense that is plagued with injuries. Julian Edelman, Dion Lewis and Danny Amendola were important pieces of the Offense already missing and it didn't look too good for Gronk who was writhing in agony on the slow covered turf.

Fortunately for the Patriots, it looks like their star Tight End has escaped serious injury and he potentially takes to the field this weekend. I don't think New England risk him with a 10-1 record which keeps them as favourites to win the AFC Number 1 Seed and home field advantage so I am expecting Gronkowski back in Week 14.


The Seattle Seahawks weren't so fortunate as Jimmy Graham was ruled out for the season and the big target they acquired in the off-season won't make any Play Off games either. Graham and Russell Wilson just seemed to be getting on the same page too so it is a blow for the Seahawks who need all the Offensive weapons they can get to protect a surprisingly porous Defensive unit.

The Brock Osweiler Era Has Begun in Denver

Before Week 12 there was still a feeling that Peyton Manning would be restored as the Denver Bronco starting Quarter Back as soon as he was healthy to go. That would only change if Brock Osweiler was to have a second solid start in a row, this time against the New England Patriots, and there is little doubt that he passed that test with flying colours.

It would be a huge mistake for Gary Kubiak and the Broncos to turn the Offense back to Manning with the way Osweiler has played in his first two games. He has been more than a simple game manager, making some big throws but most importantly Osweiler hasn't made too many mistakes to put his Defensive unit under pressure.

The running game has been more effective with Osweiler taking the snaps from under Center and the team are fully behind their young Quarter Back which is vitally important for Denver. For many people this has looked a small window for the Broncos to win the Super Bowl and so Kubiak has to go with his best option which looks to be Osweiler.


That is no disrespect to Peyton Manning who has been a Hall of Fame Quarter Back through his career in the NFL. However his mistakes have been terrible and Denver are almost into the Play Offs where Manning doesn't have the best record during his peak years, let alone when he is playing at his current level.

Reports suggest Manning is not quite ready to hang up his cleats, but Denver won't be his home in the 2016 season on his current contract and this does feel like a permanent changing of the guard at the Quarter Back position.

Top Ten

1) Carolina Panthers (11-0): The Carolina Panthers look to be the team to beat and they are very close to picking up home field advantage through the Play Offs.

2) Arizona Cardinals (9-2): The Arizona Cardinals are a little banged up at Running Back which might cause problems in January, but they can take care of business at home.

3) Denver Broncos (9-2): I am sold on Brock Osweiler and think he can do enough coupled with a very good Defensive unit to see the Broncos go very far in the Play Offs.

4) New England Patriots (10-1): Banged up on Offense and that might cause problems for Tom Brady and the Patriots.

5) Cincinnati Bengals (9-2): Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals could still take the Number 1 Seed in the AFC if they can win out and the Patriots slip, but they have to prove they can play in December and January.

6) Minnesota Vikings (8-3): Could have quietly become the third best team in the NFC, but this week is a chance to prove themselves against the Seattle Seahawks.

7) Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5): They might have lost in Seattle but I still rate them above the Seahawks if they can get Ben Roethlisberger healthy.

8) Seattle Seahawks (6-5): It was a big win for Seattle in Week 12, but they were heavily outgained in terms of yards and had a couple of fortunate plays go their way. Legion of Boom has been terrible defending the pass which is a concern.

9) Kansas City Chiefs (6-5): I am not convinced about this team, but the Chiefs have plenty of momentum behind them which can't be ignored.

10) Green Bay Packers (7-4): The Green Bay Packers have lost their form at the wrong time and Aaron Rodgers is demanding his team get back on track with harder work on the practice field.

Bottom Five

32) Cleveland Browns (2-9): How typical of the Cleveland Browns to lose a game where they had the winning Field Goal only to see it blocked and returned for the winning Touchdown.

31) Tennessee Titans (2-9): This is a team that has been unfortunate in some recent losses, but a long home losing run is hard to ignore. Won't have a better chance to snap it than hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 13.

30) Miami Dolphins (4-7): The Miami Dolphins have made more Co-Ordinator changes, but this looks a team that has given up on the season.

29) Dallas Cowboys (3-8): They might still be in the hunt for the NFC East Division, but Tony Romo is done for the regular season and the Dallas Cowboys might start focusing on earning a high Draft Pick.

28) New Orleans Saints (4-7): How pathetic are the New Orleans Saints that they come out of their bye week having fired their Defensive Co-Ordinator and then made Brian Hoyer look like Joe Montana.

Week 12 Picks Recap

I have had some bad weeks in my years of making picks on this blog, but this was by far the most pathetic performance.

2-10...

2-10... I would have been better off tossing a coin with some of the picks made this week and even the Denver Broncos pick only came through thanks to some last minute Brock Osweiler magic.

My Thanksgiving Day Picks were all terrible, but I still don't understand what has happened to the Green Bay Packers to give up games as they have.

It was worse on Sunday with Tampa Bay in a position to cover only to fall apart in the second half after leading at the end of the first half. Eli Manning came out and put the New York Giants in a big hole, while teams like the Miami Dolphins, St Louis Rams and New Orleans Saints were just horrible from the beginning to the end.

So I can't even blame too much bad luck, the picks just stunk and have completely eviscerated the season performance to this point. From a decent position I have moved into a big hole because of that pathetic Week 12, but I have to clear the mind and get back to focusing on what had worked for much of the season.

I don't need to get it all back at once, I just want to get back to winning weeks and see if that can get the season back on track with five regular season weeks to go.

NFL Week 7 Recap 2015 (October 28th)

Another NFL Week is in the record books and so it is onto the Week 7 Recap.

Is Rex Ryan Really Head Coach Material?

There was a lot of excitement in Buffalo this off-season when Rex Ryan was appointed the new Head Coach especially as they looked to have all the Defensive pieces to really challenge the AFC East dominance of the New England Patriots.

A win over the Indianapolis Colts on the opening week of the season looked to have underlined the potential that Buffalo had this year, but I think the former have just looked plain bad and that win hasn't looked as good as it did in Week 1.

A beat down from the New England Patriots put the Bills back in their place, but the bigger issue has to be the fact that Buffalo haven't had back to back wins all season and go into their bye week with a losing record.

After all the excitement and expectation for the season, going into the bye week at 3-4 after losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London is a bitter pill for the fan base to swallow. Questions have to be asked about Rex Ryan whose bravado quickly evaporated at the New York Jets after leading that team to back to back AFC Championship Games.

Since reaching the second of those Conference Championship Games, Rex Ryan is just 29-42 as a Head Coach and I do wonder if his soundbites perhaps sees him escape the criticism that he should receive. That is a pretty terrible record and now the Bills are underachieving and I think the pressure has to be building on Ryan who may simply be a great Co-Ordinator but an average Head Coach.

Buffalo have had injuries that some Rex Ryan fans will point to, and I accept that has been the case in Offensive positions, but the Defensive unit have not exactly been as productive as hoped. They have just 11 Sacks all season which is terrible considering the money invested in the Defensive Line and a Defensive Head Coach like Ryan has to take some responsibility for that.

Ill discipline is also on the Head Coach and Buffalo are the most penalised team in the NFL and I do wonder how much time Rex Ryan will get here. Missing the Play Offs this season might not be a deal breaker for him, but another poor start in 2016 would almost certainly end the Ryan tenure in Buffalo and I think he will do very well to get another shot at a Head Coaching role.

Dan Campbell Doing Enough to Earn a Permanent Head Coach Role

The Miami Dolphins were a mess when leaving London after a blow out loss to the New York Jets, but Stephen Ross finally made the correct decision in firing Joe Philbin.

The team represented Philbin in being flat, unemotional and rarely looking like one that had too much belief that they could win enough games to make the Play Offs.

Enter Dan Campbell.

From the opening introductory press conference, Campbell has looked a Coach that will demand every ounce of respect from the players and credit to the players for responding in the professional manner. This is a man that exudes passion and commitment and the troops have followed on the field in the first two games he has taken charge of.

Granted it is only Tennessee and Houston, but Miami dominated both opponents in blow out wins and the Dolphins are now back in contention for the Play Off positions in the AFC.

Now comes the big test for Miami though as they take on the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football, the unbeaten Patriots who have dominated teams through the season. This is a litmus test for Dan Campbell but even if Miami are beaten, it will be key for them to show the passion they have in the last couple of games to keep the team going in the right direction.

And if Campbell is able to take this team to nine or ten wins and challenge for a Play Off spot, I think he becomes a serious contender to take the permanent Head Coaching spot in Miami at the end of the season.

Ryan Mallett is Deservedly Cut By the Houston Texans

I don't like anyone who has talent but clearly doesn't want to put in the work to really achieve something and instead wants to glide through life off the back of that talent.

I had wrote a piece basically talking up the reasons why the Houston Texans had to cut Ryan Mallett after his latest timing issues, but the Texans managed to get that done before I published this Recap.

You can't oversleep and miss flights through traffic issues because you're the back up now. Mallett has looked disinterested since being yanked by Bill O'Brien and keeping him in the locker room would do nothing for the Houston Texans.

O'Brien had to show he is the Head Coach and is not going to carry passengers or accept players to show up when they feel like and it was the right decision.

I'd also be surprised if Mallett is given another opportunity in the NFL after failing in both New England and Houston, especially with serious character concerns surrounding him.

The Indianapolis Colts Look Like This Season's San Francisco 49ers

What I mean by that is the Indianapolis Colts look like a team with plenty of talent that is being destroyed by the discord between their Head Coach and General Manager. It is also an open secret their Head Coach is likely to be gone by the end of the season regardless of how well he does and that has filtered down to the players who have struggled to perform consistently.

The one major difference between the Colts and the 49ers of last season is the Divisions they play in- San Francisco and Jim Harbaugh had to deal with the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals and were going to have a tough time winning the Division even if everyone was on the same page.

That isn't the case for the Indianapolis Colts who are in the awful AFC South where they lead despite having a 3-4 record. It says something that they are 3-0 in Divisional games but 0-4 outside of those and the Colts look a mess at the moment.

Chuck Pagano's role as Head Coach is unlikely to last like Harbaugh's did through the season though and the rumour is that he might be done after this week. The other major obstacle for Pagano to cross if he is to see out the season is the Week 10 bye especially if the Indianapolis Colts roll into that with a 3-6 record and it looks a matter of when not if for the Colts to make the change now.

Will Greg Hardy Ever Get It?

There is no doubting the talent that Greg Hardy has and I have no doubt that he will be given a couple more shots in the NFL even if things don't pan out in Dallas as he would have hoped.

As a Football player Hardy is amongst the very best at his position.

But off the field he is struggling to really understand what is expected of him and I do wonder if he can keep the hand off the self-destruct button.

I am not overly concerned that he was seriously pissed off that Dallas had given up a Special Teams Touchdown after tying the game with the New York Giants. But getting into an argument with Dez Bryant looked unseemly, and that was exacerbated by the video of him slapping Rich Basaccia's clipboard, that is Special Teams Coach Basaccia.

Childish games with the media after the game won't help his cause either and I do think Hardy needs a lot of support to understand how to improve his public image after last year's alleged domestic abuse issues. Comments about Tom Brady's wife, terms like 'guns blazing' and then this latest problem doesn't make for a good look for Dallas even if the Cowboys continue to support their player.

Talent will get to the NFL, but it won't be enough to keep Hardy there if he cannot escape the controversies that have plagued him through College Football and into this point of his career.

Top Ten

1) Green Bay Packers (6-0): The Packers remain the best team in the NFL and they should come back healthy from their bye and ready to prove that on the road in Denver.

2) New England Patriots (7-0): The team to beat in the AFC.

3) Carolina Panthers (6-0): The Panthers could easily have been flat against the Philadelphia Eagles off a big win in Seattle, but Carolina keep winning.

4) Cincinnati Bengals (6-0): Cincinnati didn't do anything wrong in their bye week but I think Carolina have done just enough to overtake them. Big game at Pittsburgh in Week 8 upcoming.

5) Denver Broncos (6-0): Now we will see what the Broncos are all about as they host the Green Bay Packers.

6) Arizona Cardinals (5-2): Arizona held on to beat the Baltimore Ravens and remain the favourites to win the NFC West.

7) Atlanta Falcons (6-1): They struggled to beat Tennessee in Week 7, but that was a non-Conference game off a Divisional loss which can be difficult.

8) Minnesota Vikings (4-2): A definite contender for a Play Off spot in the NFC.

9) Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3): Yes, they lost last weekend, but Ben Roethlisberger is back and this is a very dangerous team going forward if they can keep Big Ben healthy.

10) New York Jets (4-2): Another team who lost in Week 7, but the New York Jets showed enough on the road at the New England Patriots to consider them a genuine Play Off contender in the AFC.

Bottom Five

32) Tennessee Titans (1-5): This is a team that is struggling mightily with injuries and could be in line for a top two Draft Pick for the second season in a row.

31) Detroit Lions (1-6): The Lions were back to losing games last week having broken their season duck in Week 6. Average team with Jim Caldwell on a very hot seat as Head Coach.

30) Baltimore Ravens (1-6): This is not a team that is used to being as bad as they have been this season.

29) Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5): Finally made the trip to London worthwhile by winning their first game in three shots at Wembley Stadium.

28) San Francisco 49ers (2-5): They had a players only meeting to try and fix the big issues they are having. Could be another team looking for a new Head Coach at the end of the season.

Week 7 Picks Recap

It is a real disappointment to see three straight losing weeks to drop the season totals from the strong start they have made. I was fortunate it wasn't worse when the New York Jets kicked a 55 yard Field Goal to cover against the New England Patriots with just eighteen seconds left in that game.

I completely mis-read the Indianapolis and Miami games with both of my picks in huge holes by half time in those games, but then again I should have had more luck with my two underdog picks in Pittsburgh and Dallas. Both had their chances to win outright, let alone cover, but missed both aspects to drop the week into a negative.

More frustrating was looking at my shortlist and the picks I didn't make which ended up being on the right side- earlier on in the season I was finding the right teams so the last three weeks have to be considered a failure.

The season total is still very much in the positive, but I want to end this three week losing run in Week 8.