Thoughts from a solid, entertaining day with the NFL.
(1) Norv Turner may be gone but the Minnesota offense isn’t going to be a title contender with those tackles and those skill guys. Detroit’s defense – in their new building – should have been the remedy. But not only did they struggle moving the ball but they’re now getting Sam Bradford hit with regularity. And we all know what happens when you get Bradford hit. You get Bradford hurt.
(2) Matthew Stafford is becoming the best late-game quarterback in the league. Detroit’s offense was lifeless throughout the second half but with the game on the line and clock expiring, Stafford did what he’s done so often for this organization: pulled a win out of a loss.
(3) John Elway has been a brilliant GM for the Broncos. But he is wasting a year of a great defense by doing this Trevor Siemian stuff. The second the Broncos fall behind in a game, they’ve lost.
(4) Ted Thompson has done a terrible job building the Packers roster and Mike McCarthy will probably be fired for it. Aaron Rodgers’ play will receive the most scrutiny but Andrew Luck ripped that defense to shreds Sunday. Why? Because that defense isn’t any good.
(5) So I watched the games in a bar near my apartment. Five TVs. The bartender is Irish and had money on the Chiefs. Over the span of three hours, he was asked to turn off Chiefs v Jags about eight times, including once to put on marathon coverage. That’s how terrible that game was.
(6) Second half team to watch? Carolina. It looks like 9-7 will be enough to sneak someone in the NFC into the tournament and you know Seattle doesn’t want Cam Newton showing up at their doorstep in early January. What I like about Carolina is they can beat you however they feel like beating you. 13-10 or 42-30. They don’t care.
(7) Brandon Marshall says the fault lies with he and Ryan Fitzpatrick in New Jersey. Well it certainly lies with Fitzpatrick – who has no excuse for the moronic decisions he makes each and every week. But why is Todd Bowles benching Mo Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson for early parts of a must-win game? Season over and I’m not convinced Bowles is a head coach.
(8) After watching every snap played by the Vikings, Lions and Packers yesterday, I’m not sure I don’t prefer the Bears roster to all three.
