Week 13 Recap:
Vs. W/L (11-5)
Vs. Spread (9-7)
Vs. O/U (7-9)

For the Season:
Vs W/L: 121-75-0
Vs Spread: 91-101-0
Vs. O/U: 101-91-0

Here’s where we’re at via the Spread relative to the “Sportsline Experts”:

Expert “P”: 107-84-0
Expert “J”: 104-87-0
Expert “S”: 99-92-0
Expert “H”: 94-97-0
Expert “R”: 91-100-0
PFN: 91-101-0
Expert “D”: 88-103-0
“Movin’ On Up…”

Week 13 Game Balls:
Sometimes even thrilling finishes are the product of very sloppily played games. The Ravens and Patriots game on Monday night may've had a thrilling finish, but it was hardly a polished performance by either team. As far as the Patriots are concerned, they played like they were awfully burned out. The Ravens made their intentions clear prior to the game that they were going to run the ball all night long. And for the better part of the night they did so with great success. Perhaps it was a case of being tired, or learning how to cope without Roosevelt Colvin and the lineup, but the defense looked like Swiss cheese out there, especially during the third quarter, when it look as if McGahee ran around and through 11 statues on the field. This was not a game the Patriots won, but one that Ravens lost.

Many of the Ravens’ players were college teammates and friends of Sean Taylor, so it was perfectly understandable that guys like Ray Lewis and McGahee would be powerfully motivated in memory of their friend. However, there’s a fine line between playing with an edge and losing the discipline needed to win, and that is precisely what happened. Rather than pointing the finger of blame at the referees, the players need to look themselves in the mirror. They held the Patriots on a critical fourth and one play as time is winding down. But the Ravens’ defensive coordinator had called a timeout prior to the snap and the Pats were given another shot. The next play, they held the Patriots again, but New England committed a penalty leaving them with a fourth-and-six. The defense allowed Brady to run for the first down, and then some. Just as it appeared they were going to hold on for the win, the Ravens committed another stupid penalty in the end zone. Even then, the Patriots were down to a last-ditch effort when Gaffney caught the ball in the left corner of the end zone. And he did catch the ball. However, even if the original call were overruled the Patriots would've had an automatic first down at the goal line because one of the Ravens’ players behaved like a child throwing a tantrum when he threw the official’s yellow flag into the crowd. Due to a series of three critical penalties, the Patriots kicked off following the touchdown with the ball in the Ravens’ end. I've been watching football for nigh on 45 years, and I’ve never seen a kickoff being made from the opponent's side of the field. The effect of the penalties gave the Ravens bad field position to start off their final drive. They were able to get the ball, a to about the 40 when Boller heaved a long, high desperation pass that was caught at the 2 yard line, where the game ended.

There was more undisciplined play in the fourth quarter alone than most teams have in an entire season. And people want to know why the Ravens have lost five games in a row. There’s your answer right there. They had numerous opportunities to win and failed to do so.

This was the only time during the course of the season that virtually all Patriots’ fans could say that the team did not deserve to win. If they play the same way on Sunday afternoon at home against Pittsburgh they can kiss their undefeated season goodbye.

After the game, there was a lot of bitching about the broadcast crew, and how it sounded to many viewers as if they were openly rooting for the Patriots to lose. To them I say, that's why God invented the mute button on the clicker. The older you get the more sensitive to noise you become. Having long ago been turned off by the ever so politically correct crowd at ESPN, any time there’s an ESPN broadcast worth watching, the sound is always off. I wouldn’t waste one second of time, or have my auditory nerves offended in any way, shape or form from the babble that emanates from the mouths of their broadcasters. They’re all just a bunch of headline-grabbing empty suits.

Another game ball goes out to Adrian Peterson this week for his magnificent performance in the Vikings’ blowout win against the Lions. Most fans figured he done for the year after he suffered a knee injury a few weeks ago in Green Bay. But he came up with 116 yards on 15 carries and scored twice. That is pretty amazing.
A game ball also goes out to the Washington Redskins, this staff and their fans for their courageous performance on Sunday afternoon in memory of their fallen teammate and friend. The way that they lost in such heartbreaking fashion at the end was particularly cruel, but they will be all right and the memory of their friend will live.

Congratulations to the New York Titans for their first win since November 22, 1962 when they defeated Denver 46-45 at the Polo Grounds. That's right, for the second time this year, the Jets dusted off the Titans’ Blue & Gold in Miami and blasted the Dolphins 40-13.