Protecting the Shield - Week 15 Recap

Well now that the dream of a perfect season in New Orleans is history, that makes this edition of PTS a little more depressing for yours truly. But, after talking myself off the ledge, there is just too much goings on in the NFL to sulk for too long. So with Christmas around the corner, who is getting coal and who's getting a new Tickle Me Elmo this year in the NFL? Wait... those aren't popular anymore? Shoot.

Underrated Story of The Week: The Wild Card Races

-We know what most of the playoff picture looks like in the AFC and NFC. The Saints should (crossing fingers) take the #1 seed with a win over the Bucs. The Vikes and Eagles will fight for the #2 and the Colts and Chargers look certain for byes in the AFC. Really, the only division in doubt is the NFC East where the Cowboys trail the Eagles by a game heading into the last 2 weeks. What's not getting attention is the Wild Card race and the hot teams that could wreck the playoff chances of heavy favorites.

In the NFC, Dallas' stunning win has them flying high, but I'm still not convinced they can hold off the Giants, especially with Minny in free fall. Would you like to play either Dallas or the Giants with momentum and a second life in the first round? What about in the AFC where 8 teams are in contention for the final 2 spots? Would you like to be New England and see Baltimore or Tennessee come to town in Week 1? What if a resurgent Pittsburgh sneaks into the playoffs on a 3 game win streak? If there is any truth about playoffs in any sport it is this: beware of the hot team. So, watch out division winners. If one of these teams goes on a winning streak to end the season, you will be in danger in Round 1. Which teams will make it though... we'll talk about that a little later.

The Truth About The Story Of The Week: The Favre-Childress Saga and What It Really Means

-Brett Favre is a petulant, selfish player who has returned to Minnesota for himself and himself only. We've told you that from the beginning. Of course, the media love affair with Favre has been at a Hallmark level throughout the season with Favre continuing to play well down the stretch... until Sunday night. The Vikes were destroyed by a poor Panthers team, and reports surfaced that Favre refused to come out of the game when told by Brad Childress and a postgame shouting match ensued. This means one thing and one thing only: Minnesota is Brett Favre's team, not Brad Childress' or anyone else. Sure, I don't expect Favre to want to come out of the game; but in not manning up and pulling the trigger, Childress ceded control of the locker room to Favre. If you want to be respected as a head coach, don't let your QB run over you like a manservant, take charge of your team. Let's be real though, ever since the private planes have been flying around in August this has been Favre's operation. My guess is that with Favre leading the way, the Vikings will go down in flames. Don't be surprised if Childress goes down as well.

3 Stars:

3rd Star: Ben Roethlisberger (QB-Steelers)

-QBs don't throw for 500 yards every week. And, usually, it means a loss because a team has been playing catchup all game long. But, Roethlisberger's game of 503 yards and 3 TDs including the game-winning score as time expired was one for the ages. An unbelievable performance, but not the best of the week.

2nd Star: DeMarcus Ware (DE-Cowboys)

-Ware, playing in spite of a sprained neck, was the reason that Dallas ended New Orleans' perfect season. Ware only had 2 sacks (but got 2 fumbles with them), but his constant pressure all night had the Saints offense off balance throughout, but still it wasn't the best performance of the week.

1st Star: Josh Cribbs & Jerome Harrison (WR/RB-Browns)

-Huh? Josh Cribbs and Jerome Harrison? Is this a joke? The Browns? Really? I know, I can't believe it either, but here we are. Cribbs set a record with the 7th and 8th kickoff return TDs of his career and Harrison helped him out by rushing for an astounding 286 yards, 3rd best all-time. He had 301 yards for the season heading into the game! The most impressive stat though is the scoring of 41 points while passing for 66 yards. Browns fans should just hope these awesome performances don't save Eric Mangini's job.

Fab 5:

1. Indy

2. New Orleans

3. San Diego

4. Philly

5. Minny

-A thought about our rankings: Finally the tie at the top is broken. Now, with the spotlight firmly on the Colts will they go for it? We thought they would rest players against Jacksonville, but it didn't happen. Something tells me they might pull a surprise and go for 16-0. San Diego and Philly move ahead of Minnesota, who fall down the rankings because of their awful loss to Carolina and the locker room discord.

11 Random Observations:

1) The Cowboys win, while not upset of the century worthy, was mighty impressive. After being buried by everyone and their great-grandma (including this blog), they played a complete game and dominated the Saints for 3 quarters. But, if they lose one of their last 2 games it still might be for naught. Don't go jumping back on that bandwagon too quick.

2) Gee, with people interviewing for Jim Zorn's job, I can't imagine that the Redskins would play horribly against the Giants on Monday night. Hopefully that Fake FG call was sticking it to Dan Snyder and not done because it would succeed. That may be the poorest play design in the history of the league.

3) Mike Holmgren took the football czar job in Cleveland. Our friends at Rumors & Rants have a pretty accurate view of the situation here in a quickie article entitled Dear Mike Holmgren, Gooood Luck. I don't know if luck will be enough...

4) After another pitiful performance in Baltimore, it looks like Lovie Smith's job could be in danger in Chicago. It's a shame, because he is a good coach. In truth, the Bears should look to the front office and get rid of the uber-paranoid Jerry Angelo. Angelo's the one who supplied Jay Cutler with 85 year old Orlando Pace, 0 legit wide receivers, and 2 straight years without draft picks in the first 2 rounds.

5) If Lovie does leave, Mike Shanahan in Chicago might be the most perfect fit of any offseason coaching situation. If Shanahan is smart he would avoid Washington like football Siberia.

6) My thoughts about teams playing spoiler in the NFL, "every season there are a handful of teams that stand up and play the role of spoiler late in the season... and no I'm not counting Charlie Frye and the Raiders playing Denver".... whoops.

7) Green Bay and Pittsburgh played the game of the season on Sunday. It was a shootout that went down to the last play and kept Pittsburgh's playoff hopes alive. Mike Tomlin should be buying Big Ben whatever he wants for Christmas for the comeback win. His onside kick decision was one of the boneheadest (that's a word, right?) moves of the season and his QB bailed him out big time.

8) The Bengals should be saluted for their valiant effort in defeat to San Diego on Sunday. Chad 85's raw emotion throughout the game tore at the heartstrings of everyone watching.

9) As I tweeted on Sunday though, there just seemed to be too much joy and excitement after the Bolts won. From Jim Nantz in the booth to the players on the field, the celebrational attitude wasn't fitting of the moment. Sure, the Chargers and their fans should be happy with the big win, but it would have been nice to see a little more levity considering the circumstances.

*For the rest of the season we'll save our last 2 observations to take a look at the AFC and NFC Playoff Picture! Here's our predictions with 2 weeks to go, they've changed a bit with the results of Week 15...

AFC:

1) Indy 16-0 (W v NYJ, W @ Buf)

2) San Diego 12-4 (L @ Ten, W v Wsh)

3) New England 11-5 (W v Jax, W @ Hou)

4) Cincinnati 11-5 (W v KC, W v NYJ)

5) Baltimore 9-7 (L @ Pitt, W @ Oak)

6) Pittsburgh 9-7 (W v Bal, W @ Mia)

7) Denver 9-7 (L @ Phi, W v KC)

8) Jacksonville 8-8 (L @ NE, W @ Cle)

9) Miami 8-8 (W v Hou, L v Pitt)

10) Jets 7-9 (L @ Indy, L v Cincy)

11) Houston 7-9 (L @ Mia, L v NE)

*NE gets the 3 seed via strength of victory tiebreak, NE and Cincy would both be 3-2 in common games, and yes I calculated that just for you loyal readers!

*Denver lost to both Baltimore and Pittsburgh so they would be out of the postseason.

NFC:

1) New Orleans 14-2 (W v TB, L @ Car)

2) Philadelphia 12-4 (W v Den, W v Dal)

3) Minnesota 12-4 (W @ Chi, L v NYG)

4) Arizona 11-5 (W v St L, W v GB)

5) Green Bay 10-6 (W v Sea, L @ Zona)

6) New York Giants 10-6 (W v Car, W @ Min)

7) Dallas 10-6 (W @ Wsh, L v Phi)

*Philly gets the 2 seed by virtue of a better conference record than Minnesota assuming the Week 17 results.

*Dallas is the odd team out in a 3 way tie with GB and NYG.

What Happened In Week 15 That Will Change The Season: As The Favre Turns

-Well it took a little longer than expected, but Brett Favre's grip over the Vikings franchise looks like it might be finally coming back to haunt Minny. Did they not know about the problems and locker room discord in New York? Did they not know his track record of selfish behavior? Did they not know about his late season slumps? Yes, everything seemed hunky dory in the first 14 weeks of the season, but now trouble is rising to the surface at the worst time. It's not good if your head coach and QB are swearing and shouting at each other with 2 weeks left in the season. Now, the Vikings must win out to get a first round bye and that doesn't look likely after getting smoked by the mediocre Panthers. If Brad Childress is unable to unite the locker room and take Brett Favre down from his ego-driven power trip, it will be a short playoff exit for Minnesota. The Vikings made their bed in August when they brought Favre in on a winged chariot to Minnesota as franchise savior, now they have to live with the consequences.

Check back for the next round of our stories of the decade as we conclude 2009 at RSS! Let us know how you think the playoffs will shake out in the comments down below. Bye for now...