Braincramp and other things...

Just some quick thoughts on this past weekend's NFL games...

Watched the Bills-Jets game and could only come to the conclusion that the Bills of September were an illusion. Yes, I know that their starting quarterback is out, as is Aaron Schobel, their best defensive player. That doesn't excuse the Bills coaches who called for a pass with two minutes left. The coaches that called for a pass with two minutes left when their running backs were ripping off five to six yards a carry. Perish the thought that they protect the ball and possibly have to put the game in the hands of their defense because they had to punt the ball with about a minute to go. No, call a passing play and turn the ball over.

Boneheads.

The Raiders have set a mark for futility that not even the pitiful Lions have been able to achieve. With their loss to the Patriots, Oakland has become the first team in the history of the NFL to lose at least 11 games in six consecutive seasons. Barring a major overhaul of the organization, starting with Uncle Al, this is not a team that looks like they have an opportunity to win more than five games next season.

Speaking of the Lions, with their loss to the Colts, they're only two steps away from immortality. A bowl of gumbo, and a block of cheese, so to speak, with games left against two talented squads where players will be playing desperately for their jobs over the next two weeks. The Lions will be playing solely to avoid becoming the first 16 loss team in the history of the NFL.

With yesterday's win, the Pats can finish no worse than .500. The last time a New England team lost more than eight in a season was in 2000 when the team won only five games.

The offense was firing on all cylinders at the beginning of the game with Matt Cassel throwing for four touchdowns and three other players reaching the endzone as the Patriots rang up 487 yards on offense and a total of 663 (including special teams). Unfortunately, were the Pats playing a better offensive team, this still could have been a close game despite the 47 points scored by the Pats.

The messiness that is the Raiders netted 545 combined yards against the Pats. Part of the reason why I think that if the playoffs are in the cards for New England, they'll be folding early.

As for the Pats playoff chances...

They got some help from the Steelers who dropped the Ravens in Baltimore. Currently the Ravens, Jets, Pats, and Dolphins are all tied at 9-5 with the Ravens holding the tie-breakers for the last wild card slot. Currently the standings look like this -

Jets - AFC East champ

Ravens - Wild Card
'Phins
Pats

To get in the Pats need to win out and get help from any number of places - to win the East, they need Miami to lose to Kansas City, and then win against the Jets, or for the Jets to lose to the Seahawks and then win against Miami. To get the wild card, the team still needs to win out with both the Ravens and one of the in-division foes to drop a game as before. Even though the Ravens have the toughest remaining schedule with the Cowboys and Jaguars still on the docket, I just don't see them losing either game.

If this is the end of the road for the Patriots this season, so be it.

With additional injuries to Gary Guyton and Matt Light this week, their job has become a lot tougher.

As for Cassel - he gave an impressive performance, given his situation, and the weather. I'm sure his dad would have been proud.

Four thoughts about recent events

With the exception of Matsuzaka, the pitching and defense remained a problem for the Red Sox in their three game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers. That said, the hitting has come around - Hell, David Ortiz has heated up, and last among the regulars with a .250 batting average.
Here are some numbers for the rest of the American League to consider - the Sox lead the majors with a .295 team batting average, hits (472) and a .461 slugging percentage, and lead the AL in On Base Percentage (.366), Runs Batted In (228), and Runs (239). If the bullpen solidifies and the rest of the pitching staff solidifies, it's going to be a long season for the challengers in the AL East.

I've read about a lot of different things done to bust out of a slump, but I never needed to know about Jason Giambi and his gold thong. What's more, I never needed to know that Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter have worn his thong.
That's right, the Yankees have shared underwear that is essentially butt-floss. Even by my standards...ew.

Staying on the Yankees, as always, the team was a popular choice to win the AL East. They were picked along with the Tigers and Mariners by some. All three are dead last in their respective divisions, and the best of them (record-wise), the Yanks, would remain in last even if they swapped divisions with the last place team in any other division in baseball.
The flip side for the Yankees - they're at 20-24 through 44 games this season...exactly where they were this time last year. Unfortunately, their pitching is no better than it was this time last year either.

The Bengals released Odell Thurman. Not a big surprise, the team has finally decided to do some house cleaning, getting rid of troubled wide-out Chris Henry, and now Thurman who just came off a two year suspension.
Thurman will likely get one last shot, probably on a team like the Raiders and at the veteran minimum, bit the veteran linebacker has effectively destroyed any of the real market value of his talent by being a complete butt-head off the field.
When the Bengals are cleaning house, it is, in essence, a new day in the NFL, and boneheads like Henry, Thurman, and Adam Jones need to pay attention because all that money they thought they were going to have is going to evaporate in a hurry.