Phyrric Victory:

All it takes is one play...for a great career to end.

Week 12 NFL Review

For the Week:
Vs. W/L (12-4)
Vs. Spread: (10-6)
Vs. +/- (7-9)

For the Season:
Vs. W/L (110-66)
Vs. Spread: (88-86-2)
Vs. +/-: (80-84-2)

Well, there you have it, a 10-Win week! Perhaps your fearless prognosticator ought to continue making weekly picks bleary-eyed at 1:45 am (or maybe it was the schedule). Anyhow, we’re tied for third with the cbs.sportsline experts, a mere three games from the lead with four weeks left in the tournament.

As far as what occurred in the weekend games, the Giants’ fourth quarter collapse has most likely doomed their playoff hopes. How does an NFL team allow an opponent 24 points in the fourth quarter? With Coach Coughlin? It’s not possible. But it happened. San Diego had a less than inspiring win, Carolina allowed Washington to defeat them, which for a playoff contender at this point of the season it entirely unacceptable. Once again, St. Louis and Detroit bedeviled me. Were it not for my inability to read these two teams on a weekly basis, I would been 10 games ahead in the race with the experts. The fifth game I lost was on Denver, where it appears that "Jake The Snake" has worn out the coach’s patience and his welcome. The Broncos turn to their #1 Pick, Jay Cutler to take the helm at QB. It’s a gutsy move by Shanahan, no doubt, but the team simply could no longer rely on the erratic Plummer.

As far as the wins, New England-Chicago turned out to be a Phyrric Victory for the Patriots. These two teams went at each other like it was Hagler-Hearns I, my goodness, it was some tough football put there. Combined, both teams committed nine turnovers; and in the process, the Patriots lost Junior Seau for the year with a broken arm.

As much as he was disliked for being a World-Class Hot Dog and Piler-On, Seau’s "post-graduate" work with the Patriots was by and large a success. He learned Belichick’s complicated coverage schemes and was an effective presence stopping the run. The guy just wanted a ring, and hot dog or not, was a tremendous linebacker for many years in San Diego.

It looks like the Ravens and Cincinnati are going to fight it out for the AFC North title. "Ocho Stinko" has toned down his act and the Bengals have finally started to play like a disciplined team. As far as the Ravens, ever since Billick took over the offensive coordinator’s duties, the team has been on a tear. If there is one team that’s firing on all eight heading into December, it’s the men in purple and black. Hey, what’s that going on in Cleveland? Note to Braylon: If you want to be respected as "a man" by your teammates, peers, fans and football aficionados worldwide, start acting like one yourself. A "man" in a football context understands that he is merely one element in a "team concept". It involves the submission of individual ego for the collective good. Should you have disagreements with your teammates, a "real man" does not air dirty laundry in public, nor does he "call out" anyone when cameras are watching every move. That’s the reason why team meetings occur behind closed doors and out of the public domain. Hopefully, Coach Crennel will impart some time-honored wisdom on the misguided lad.

Another troubling incident was Michael Vick’s salute at the end of the game. At least, he’s man enough to admit his mistake and apologize. Vick’s plight is what happens when a team puts all of its stock in the athletic gifts of one individual. Despite what the media says, he single-handedly cannot win football games, though he tries mightily to accomplish just that. It’s just as Ray Glier recently mentioned, for $130 million, the time has arrived for a player of Vick’s magnitude to play like the highest paid player in the NFL…Meanwhile down in "Big D" they’re already starting to compare Tony Romo with Tom Brady. Only time will tell whether the comparison’s valid, but it is certainly true that he’s helped restore that old-time Cowboy arrogance..Despite losing by 10, the MNF game was pretty good. Seattle looks as if they’re ready to roll. Shaun Alexander had a big night in the snow, and the Packers came to play in their element, unlike last week. The problem is that they stink whether the sun shines or it snows.