Conclusions after Week 11 - The Playoff Picture strating to assemble

The early playoff picture is starting to take shape and there are still two unbeaten teams, the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers. It's quite a feat when you consider that the Panthers had been written off at the start of the season and the Patriots have an ever increasing injury report.

 

The Cardinals and the Bengals showed that they're for real in an impressive head to head. It was Carson Palmer who made his case for player of the week with an impressive second half showing through the air. Thanks to Palmer the Cardinals pulled off the win, 31-34.

 

The Falcons continue their free fall with a loss to the Colts who started Matt Hasselback at quarterback. The Eagles continue to have an inconsistent season as they were demolished 45-17 by first overall pick Jameis Winston. Winston looked ridiculously good for a rookie as he threw five different touchdowns to five different players!

 

Denver travelled to Chicago with untested QB Brock Osweller. He had a strong showing and may be the successor to future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. Osweller did a pretty good job against Chicago and will get at least two more games to show that he is for real.

 

London has proved to be somewhat of a talisman for the Chiefs. They have carried on their good form and move into playoff contention with a win against the terrible San Diego Chargers, who look like they are firmly in the hunt for the number one overall pick. This week Dontari Poe became the heaviest player to score a touchdown as he rumbled in from a yard out.

 

The Blaine train came off the rails against the Seahawks but the 49ers will continue to see what they have in Blaine Gabbert, especially now that they have put Colin Kaepernick on IR. If Gabbert plays well he's likely to secure a job for next year at the very least. At worst he becomes the short term answer to their quarterback problem.

Concluding the week - Gabbert get the win and gets the start again.

In the NFL, as in life, things often seem to come back into fashion given time. On Sunday Blaine Gabbert, a former first round pick once laughed out of Jacksonville for repeated failure with meagre resources, took over from the ultimate shooting star, Colin Kaepernick. With relatively little help from the ground game Gabbert mostly made good decisions and was able to do enough through the air with 185 yards and 2 TDs, but also 2 interceptions. Gabbert made several nice throws and the win was enough to inspire coach Jim Tomsula to name Gabbert as the starter next week -  his second start of the year.

 

It was a rough week for franchise quarterbacks with injuries to both Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger and Colts’ Andrew Luck. Despite Roethlisberger’s injury the Steelers, led by Antonio Brown’s 284 yards receiving, were too much for the Raiders as Penn State tight end Jesse James collected both his first deflection and his first touchdown. Meanwhile after an impressive day going 21 of 36 for 252 yards and beating the man he replaced in Indianapolis, Peyton Manning, and Andrew Luck later revealed that he’s suffering a kidney laceration and will be out for 4-6 weeks.

 

A week after being demolished by the Patriots, the Dolphins were taken to pieces by the Bills, losing 33 – 17. LeSean McCoy and promising rookie Karlos Williams rushed for over 100 yards each and Sammy Watkins caught 8 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. It was a promising look at what the Bills offence can achieve with all of its weapons in place.

 

Whilst the Buccaneers lost, their young players gave reason for hope. Second year man Mike Evans is a star, accounting for 152 yards receiving. Rookie quarterback Jameis Winston continues to improve week on week with guard Ali Marpet doing a good job of protecting him.

 

After suffering a loss last week against the Denver Broncos, which saw a miserable 77 yards, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers were largely ineffective for the first two quarters against the Panthers. Despite a valiant fight back by Rodgers and his largely unknown receivers it was not enough.  Have injuries finally caught up with the Packers? It sure looks like it. Conversely the Panthers remain unbeaten and are playing some impressive football behind Cam Newton.

 

 

The Eagles running game showed up once again and proved how much damage they can do once they get going. With DeMarco Murray gaining 161 total yards and a touchdown, Ryan Mathews gained 67 yards and a touchdown and Jordan Matthews had an impressive 133 yards. But the dropped passes continued. The Cowboys lost in overtime 27-33. Brittle running back Darren McFadden showed that he still has the talent (117 yards on 27 carries) if he can only stay healthy. This game saw Eagles promising rookie middle linebacker Hicks lost for the year with a torn pectoral muscle.

 

Drew Brees seems to be trying to win in New Orleans despite them having no defence. Case in point, that awful bobbled pass by a Saints defender that Delanie Walker grabbed and ran all the way to the end zone. Drew Brees cannot constantly be expected to throw for 5 touchdowns week in, week out.

Concluding Week 8 - San Fran QB riddle and Chiefs power at Wembley

The NFL may have a pretty impressive redemption story in the case of the 49ers. It says something about the state of the San Francisco offence that they've benched starter Colin Kaepernick in favour of Blaine Gabbert, the former first round pick who flamed out of Jacksonville.

 

The Chiefs game at Wembley was impressively one sided as the Chiefs dominated every phase of the game. It was an impressive performance by the Chiefs, especially on defence. But the difference in the teams may start with the quarterbacks. Alex Smith was more than happy to run the ball as he helped his team and he made every effort to get first down after first down, only sliding once he'd passed the marker. Stafford, however, was sliding way before the distance needed for a first down. This is not behaviour that is going to win over the locker room and unite the team.

 

It would be a great boost to the team if their win on Sunday was the start of a winning streak as they make a push for the playoff. By contrast things in Detroit became more unsettled with the firing of the Lions GM. Andy Reid later said that he is behind the move to an NFL franchise in London once logistic problems are worked out.

 

Todd Gurley continues to make plays every week and is already looking like one of the best backs in the NFL.  He has the power to run over people and the speed to take the ball to the house and outrun defenders. The Rams draft pick looks like a steal!

 

The Broncos demolition of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers was worth noting for two reasons. The Broncos defence was around Aaron Rodgers all game and gave him no opportunity to make plays and when he did his receivers were generally covered. Secondly Peyton Manning looked much happier throwing the ball and got the ball out with a lot more power than in recent weeks.