He Said He Said

Rams HC Jim Haslett probably didn't endear himself to back Steven Jackson yesterday. Haslett said the quad injury Jackson's currently dealing with was likely caused by Steven's training camp holdout. Haslett basically said you can do all the running and weight training you want, but it's nothing until you're into football shape by getting hit and taking part in actual drills and such. Of course, Jackson said it wasn't that and cites doctors who told him nothing could have prevented it. The sides seem to be in accord when Haslett suggested Jackson to seek nutritionists and trainers to stay in optimum condition in the off-season. We do know this for certain: Jackson WILL be back next year, having received a long term deal. As for Haslett? Time will tell.

Not So Giant

Giants back Brandon Jacobs practiced yesterday and claims that he'll be ready to go against the Cardinals Sunday, as he says he's fine. However, coach Tom Coughlin and the medical staff will likely have the last say. I would monitor the injury report on this one when the designations come out later today (NFL.com) is a great source of injury information. Meanwhile, receiver Plaxico Burress is ailing, not with complaints of not getting the ball enough, but with a hamstring that tightened up on Thursday. Indications are that this will be a game time decision against the NFC West leading Cardinals. Don't look now, but the hurts (Kareem McKenzie's wrist) are starting to pile up for the defending champs.

Can Michael Turner turn the tide against the Panthers?  Will Peyton stay on a roll?  Will the Giants continue to dominate on the ground against a team that attacks through the air?  All these questions will be answered late Sunday afternoon.

Carolina at Atlanta

Falcons RB Michael Turner has not been the force he was earlier in the season, averaging just 3.4 yards per carry over the last two weeks.  Carolina has a strong run defense led by LB Jon Beason and will look to shut Turner and company down, forcing the ball into rookie QB Matt Ryan's hands.  Ryan has been very good this year, particularly at home, but the Panthers have an aggressive ball hawking secondary that can make the best QB's look bad.  Expect Ryan to struggle this week.  Ma'ake Kemoeatu is a wall against the inside run, and Julius Peppers is one of the best pass rushers in the league this season.  With a strong running game and WR Steve Smith tearing up the Atlanta secondary, Carolina could put the Falcons out of the playoff race.  Carolina 27  Atlanta 20

Oakland at Denver

They say to throw the numbers out when these two division rivals meet, but some of these numbers are just far too staggering to ignore.  The Raiders haven't scored a touchdown in 13 quarters, and the run game has all but vanished under HC Tom Cable.  But the plan is to develop Jamarcus Russell at QB, so that's what they are doing.  He had an efficient outing last week, and could find some open opportunities downfield against a porous Denver secondary.  But Russell has limited receiving weapons at his disposal and can't get into a shootout with the likes of Jay Cutler and WR's Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, who should both see their share of single coverage on this day.  Denver 35  Oakland 13

New York Giants at Arizona

The Giants have just one sack in the last two games.  With Cards QB Kurt Warner dropping back 40-50 times this week, it will be imperative that the Giants put him on the ground multiple times on Sunday, otherwise the WR corps of Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, and Steve Breaston can create mismatches against the Giants secondary.  Arizona's downfall comes on defense, where they will struggle with the New York rushing attack, even if Brandon Jacobs doesn't play.  Giants 34  Arizona 28

There are plenty of big games on the docket this weekend, leading off with the undefeated Titans hosting a potential playoff team in th New York Jets.  /take a look at what's in store for you this Sunday.
New York Jets at Tennessee

Both defenses play the run well, but don't expect that to stop the Titans from pounding the rock.  Tennessee's willingness to run in just about any situation, even on 3^rd down and long, will have the Jets playing half a step slow in order to account for the two-headed running attack.  New York will be quicker to turn to Brett Favre and go to the air.  But the Titans have good athletes in the secondary, and their ability to pressure with four and get to the QB, will allow them to do different things in coverage against Favre.  At home, the Titans remain undefeated.  Tennessee 27 Jets 21

Philadelphia at BaltimoreThe Eagles are 11^th in the NFL against the run, but the last time they were beaten up on the ground was two weeks ago against a physical rushing attack of the Giants.  Baltimore plays physical too and will pound the run early in the game.  Look for runs at the gut that will take pressure off a banged up O-line and keep the play away from the edges where their starting OT's for this game are completely up in the air due to injury.  Baltimore will rely heavily on the defense, which will look to put as much pressure as possible on QB Donovan McNabb, who has thrown five INT in the last three games.  Injuries to OG Shawn Andrews and RB Brian Westbrook have rendered the Philly run game obsolete.  Expect to see some more of Correll Buckhalter establishing more of the inside run, but Baltimore will shut that down and come after McNabb, hoping to force more errors in the passing game.  Baltimore 20 Philadelphia 17

Houston at Cleveland

Both teams will look to run the ball this week.  Houston has the tandem of Steve Slaton and Ahman Green, while Cleveland may have to rely on Jamal Lewis due to the injuries to Jerome Harrison and Jason Wright.  The Texans are all banged up along the defensive line and in the linebacking corps and have not been able to figure out a way to stop the run.  CB Dunta Robinson returns as a starter this week, but the secondary is still a liability.  The Texans will try to stick with the run, as they did last week, and as a result, they will keep this one close.  But QB Sage Rosenfels has not been the savior for this team that he was last season.  He needs to find Owen Daniels and Andre Johnson in favorable coverage against a weak secondary.  One big play could be all it takes to get the win here.  Cleveland 24  Houston 21

Tampa Bay at Detroit

The Lions have done a good job running the ball in recent weeks with rookie RB Kevin Smith running behind new FB Moran Norris.  It doesn't hurt to have a big armed QB like Daunte Culpepper to keep defenses honest either.  Expect Culpepper to test CB Ronde Barber with WR Calvin Johnson deep, but the Lions will want to play ball control, running the ball and working underneath to Shaun McDonald and Mike Furrey, if he's healthy.  Tampa's defense is tough, holding seven of the NFL's top ten rushers under 100 yards this year.  On offense, Jeff Garcia won't get a lot of pressure from the Lions defense, and there are plays to be had in the secondary.  He just has to take care of the football to get the win in this one.  Tampa Bay 31  Detroit 13

There are plenty of big games this weekend.  Here are a few mano-a-mano battles that could help determine the outcome of those games.
Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald vs. Giants CB Corey Webster

The Giants will be comfortable with this matchup because of the size (6-0, 200) of Webster.  But Fitzgerald is a 6-3 receiver who plays like he is 6-6 because of his leaping ability.  He has great body control and can go up and pluck the ball out of the air.  QB Kurt Warner will throw the ball up high and rely on Fitzgerald to go get it, no matter what part of the field they are on.  Webster will have to counter with some press coverage in an effort to slow Fitzgerald's release.  Webster will try to re-route him outside and work his towards the sideline.  This is easier said than done, but if he is successful, he will use the boundary to help him, particularly on high throws to the sideline where he can push Fitzgerald out of bounds.  Fitzgerald is so big and physically strong, that he will get his share of inside releases and win on the post or deep cross, but if Webster can keep him to the outside, he may have some success.  Remember that a big part of how the Giants play in coverage has to do with their pass rush.  While they are known for getting after the B, the Giants have just one sack in the last two weeks.  Warner will likely throw between 40 and 50 times in this game, and if the Giants don't put him on the ground 4-5 times in this game, Webster will suffer the consequences.  Advantage: Fitzgerald

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Well, the Steelers took another gift from the philanthropic AFC North last night, beating up on the Bengals in the snow at Heinz Field, 27-10.  This is something akin to beating up a homeless person for their last nickel and then sending them on their way.  Pittsburgh is now 4-0 against the division this season and 16-6 against their AFC North foes since 2005.  It's been easy pickin's for the Steelers, but it's been enough to put them under consideration as the second-best team in the AFC.

Will that hold up until the end of the season? Will the Steelers be able to parlay that into some postseason success? I took a peek ahead to see what might be coming down the road.

If the AFC playoffs were to start next weekend, Tennessee would be the clear No. 1 seed.  Based on my picks for this coming Sunday, I'm assuming the Jets lose on the road to the Titans this week, making the Steelers No. 2 at this point.  If the Broncos beat the Raiders this weekend, putting them in a 7-4 tie with the Jets, then the first applicable tiebreaker (conference record) would go to the Jets, putting New York in the 3rd spot and Denver as the 4th seed (Note: these teams will meet later in the season, so if they are tied after 16 games, the head-to-head result will be the first tiebreaker). 

That takes us to the Wild Card. Indy, New England, and Miami are all tied at 6-4. The first thing that would have to be done is to break the tie within the AFC East. In this week's picks, I have the Patriots avenging their loss to the Fins earlier this season, so with the season series tied, the head-to-head matchup won't break the tie.  A New England win this weekend would give the Pats a better division record, which would give them the edge.  Between the Colts and Patriots, Indy wins the tiebreaker based on their 18-15 win against the Pats earlier this season.  So if we had to seed everyone on Monday, given my picks for the weekend, it would look something like this:

1.       Tennessee

2.       Pittsburgh

3.       New York Jets

4.       Denver

5.       Indianapolis

6.       New England

Will that hold up through the end of the season? Well, let's take a look.

Early in the third quarter the Steelers were driving into the Bengals side of the field by throwing short crossing patterns until the recently signed Chris Crocker almost took the head off of WR Santonio Holmes after he caught a short slant.  This hit brought renewed life to the Bengals defense which forced the Steelers to settle for a field goal after a Hines Ward drop deep in Bengals territory.  

On offense, the Bengals have not been able to do anything.  Fitzpatrick has been under constant pressure and appears rattled, throwing inaccurately and much sooner than necessary.

The Bengals have been able to slow the Steelers running game, but Roethlisberger is beginning to find open receivers because the Bengals have not been able to get much of a pass rush.  Cincinnati has not been able to handle the coverage of the tight end when he releases downfield.  Heath Miller caught the Bengals off balance on a seam route where he was stopped at the two before Willie Parker took it in for 20-7 lead just before the end of the third quarter.   

After a 52 yard drive, the Steelers appeared to have stalled at the Bengals 3-yard line until RB Gary Russell muscled off tackle to get a key first down on a fourth down play.  Ben Roethlisberger then found TE Heath Miller in the corner of the end zone to tie the score when the Bengals got mixed up with coverage at the goal line.

The Pittsburgh offensive and defensive lines have begun to establish themselves against the Bengals.  With snow flurries falling and the temperature dropping, the Steelers are having their way offensively; able to consistently gain 3-4 yards per run; and with little pressure on Roethlisberger, plenty of time for receivers, especially Santonio Holmes in the middle of the field, to find creases in the secondary as the Steelers systematically move the ball against the Bengals.

With just under two minutes remaining in the half, Pittsburgh forced the Bengals to punt after a LaMarr Woodley sack, only to lose a fumble on the ensuing punt when the ball hit Limas Sweed in the hand on the Steelers 38-yard line.  Unlike earlier in the game, the Steelers, led by James Farrior, are beginning to bring pressure, challenging Fitzpatrick to throw, knowing that the Bengals are unable to run against the #1 ranked rush defense.

Unlike their first meeting in Week 7 when Steelers OLB's James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley each notched a pair of sacks, the Bengals have thus far kept TE Reggie Kelly in as an extra blocker to successfully protect QB Ryan Fitzgerald on passing plays.  In so doing, the Bengals drove 62 yards on 11 plays for their first score when Fitzgerald hit Glenn Holt on a 23-yard pass for Holt's first TD reception of the season.  On this drive, Fitzgerald helped to slow the pass rush by throwing short to intermediate passes off quick three and five step drops, where he was 3-4 on third down plays, including a key third down pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh to keep the drive alive near midfield.   

TNF Hurts

The Bengals visit the Steelers (hold me down!) to start week 12. Cincinnati "86'ed Ocho Cinco," as Chad Johnson will not play due to a violation of a team rule. Chris Henry, he of the 2^nd chance fame from owner Mike Brown, will likely start for Chad. The club put fellow receiver Antonio Chatman on injured reserve with the spinal chord contusion. Offensive linemen Levi Jones and Andrew Will miss the contest. For the Steelers, corners Bryant McFadden and Deshea Townsend, along with tackle Marvel Smith will sit this one out. Pittsburgh could get TE Heath Miller back for the fray.

Pacman's Back

Late yesterday afternoon, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that the NFL was reinstating suspended corner Adam Jones. Adam had served a four game ban for violating the league's personal conduct policy after a row with one of his security guards in the restroom of a Dallas hotel last month. Pacman, eh, Adam, won't play this Sunday or on Thanksgiving day, but would be eligible to come back for the December 7 game against the Steelers. Interestingly, Jerry Jones won't provide those bodyguards anymore for Adam Jones, which could be sending a "you're on your own to stay out of trouble message." For the record, Jones' teammates will welcome him back and say he was working hard before he got into trouble. To me, he would be nothing more than a dime back at this point, as rookies Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick have developed with Jones' absence and that of Terence Newman till last week. In other words, don't disrupt what you're doing to accommodate Jones.