NFL Week 13 Power Report

I was expecting the Week of the Upsets and it happened somewhat, but not the way I anticipated.

1. Quote of the year: "We're going to unleash hell in December."
- Steelers' coach Mike Tomlin, following last week's overtime loss to the Ravens, which was followed by this week's loss to the Raiders.

2. It's a strange day when Chad Henne outplays Tom Brady. Poor execution, coaching problems, not finishing, and simply bad plays, Brady and Belichek have lost their strangle hold on top of the NFL. It's also true that the Dolphins reguarly give the Patriots a hard time.

3. The Redskins looked poised to put the Saints in the loss column until 1) a weird fumble after an interception, 2) missed 23-yard field goal attempt, 3) interception in the final 2:00, and 4) fumble in overtime. I guess that's what it takes to stay undefeated; look back at last weeks' Colts/Texans game where all hell broke loose against the Houston team.

4. Quote of the week: "I don't think we have a team of losers... I think they're winners." - Cowboys coach Wade Phillips following their loss to the Giants.
Romo had a "career day", yet the Cowboys lose to the beat-up Giants? They abandoned their 3-prong ground attack! 55:23 pass/rush ratio is not how the Cowboys will win. The Giants had a couple flukey plays (Jacobs' 75 yard play and Hixon's punt return). But Wade's obliviousness to reality is why this team will not make the playoffs! He's not a winner, Romo is not a winner, and there are no winners on his team! Even if they did squeak into the playoffs, there is nobody in that team that screams "I can lead this team to a big win."

Super Bowl Contenders
1. Saints. About as bad a win as you can get. They gave up 455 yards to a team of Jason Campbell, Rock Cartwright, Devin Thomas, Mike Sellars, and Quintin Ganther. This was clearly a trap game and they were more than lucky to escape.
2. Colts. Their first convincing win in a while.
3. Vikings. They really got outplayed in every way. Adrian Peterson disappeared in the teams' first real challenge other than the Packers.
4. Cardinals. They are now running the ball well, which will open things up even more for Fitzgerald and Boldin. Kurt Warner has been on fire his last four games (12:0 TD/INT, 72% comp., 133 QB rating). The defense blew out the Vikings. This is an elite team (with Warner on the field).
5. Chargers. Chargers have been playing when their opponents are at their worst (Raiders, Giants, Eagles, Broncos). Lucky for them their trip to Dallas falls in December.
6. Bengals. Ho-hum games against the Browns and Lions are followed with two road games against teams above them (Vikings and Chargers). Hey Chad: nobody cares anymore.

Playoff Contenders
7. Cowboys. Their best hope is that the loss signifies a weakness against the Giants and not against the calendar. Their last four games are tough.
8. Packers. Won Monday night in one of the ugliest games of the year. Rodgers was sacked only once and the defense was great, other than a handful of pass interference instances. Three road games remain but they should end up in the playoffs. Pretty remarkable for the most-penalized team in the NFL.
9. Eagles. NFL's equivelant of the Utah Jazz. I really think Andy Reid has not utilized Michael Vick into the offense enough so it was nice to see him get some action while Jackson and Westbrook are down. If Reid figures out a way to use him they could be the team I picked to make it to the NFC championship game but they need to stay consistent.
10. Broncos. A visit to Indianapolis is next but even still this team is in position for a Wild Card spot.
11. Patriots. Three bad games out of the last four for B & B. How does a team be so dominant in the first half and so bad in the second half, and good at home and bad on the road? They will still make the playoffs but they have lots of problems.
12. Giants. I gave up on them on Thanksgiving but couple a win over Dallas and a Falcons' slump and they have a shot at the playoffs.
13. Jaguars. This week's battle of Florida is a must-win for a playoff spot.
14. Dolphins. Every game now is a playoff game for the team that went 4-0 in December last year. The remaining schedule looked real tough before the season but with viable wins over Jacksonville and Pittsburgh they could sneak in. I'm still riding the Henne wagon.
15. Jets. Just when I think they are done they play Carolina and Buffalo with Tampa Bay and the reeling Falcons on the horizon. Ride the ground game if they want to win.

The Underachievers
16. Titans. Despite the loss, Chris Johnson is higher in the MVP race. And don't worry, the Colts are done and the Rams are next.
17. Steelers. Bad news, Troy Polamalu might not be back this year. Without him, this team stinks. Proof: the Champs join the Redskins as the only teams with multiple losses to the Lions/Buccaneers/Browns/Rams/Chiefs/Raiders group.
18. Falcons. Way too banged up right now, that was an embarrassing loss to an Eagles team I thought they had a chance to beat (though I did change my pick prior to the game). There is no way they beat the Saints this week.
19. Raiders. Their last three wins are over the Eagles, Bengals and Steelers. They could play spoiler again in a couple weeks against division rival Denver. When you keep racking up top 5 picks you are going to get some playmakers, and with Gradkowski under center this is a decent team. Imagine where they could be without Russell for 9 games.
20. Ravens. Joe Flacco made one of the worst passes I've ever seen on Monday night. Add the 2nd-most penalties in the league and it's bad news. They also should use their 3-prong ground attack more, that's what made them one of the best teams last year, not Flacco.
21. Texans. Rex Grossman and Chris Brown completed nearly as many passes to the Jags as to their own teammates (2:3). It's impressive they came back in this one, but I believe they are the only team to fall behind 17-0 to the Jaguars. Coach Kubiak better have a résumé prepared.
22. 49ers. They hold a tiebreaker with the Seahawks. Frank Gore is their best player, who had over 200 yards in the first meeting, yet only had 9 carries? Why are you throwing on 3rd- and 4th-and-goal from the 1 with him on your team?
23. Seahawks. I guess my rampage against Coach Mora was a bunch of smoke since the kicker he called out has made a team-record 18 field goals in a row.
24. Panthers. Turned 5 interceptions into a measly 3 field goals. I like the play ratio of 33:20 in favor of the rush.
25. Bears. They have no talent around Cutler.

The Teams that might beat Alabama if they were in the BCS
26. Redskins. I give Jim Zorn a lot of credit for having a competitive team every week; sometimes you just need a little luck.
27. Bills. Revis won the matchup over Owens and therefore the Bills lost. They need a quarterback and an offensive line.
28. Chiefs. Cassell had a nice QB rating of 14.6 before getting benched. And they wanted this guy because he had one good year on a great Patriots team?
29. Lions. At least they can get another good draft pick next year and there is no salary cap.
30. Bucs. Freeman joins the 2009 club of QBs with at least 4 INT and no TD (5 in this game). They moved the ball pretty well until the endzone was in sight.
31. Rams. Who cares?
32. Browns. Surprise surprise, it's the Browns!