Yahoo’s Doug Farrar wrote up a piece yesterday letting everybody know Tom Brady had some words with Seahawk’s cornerback Richard Sherman. After picking off Brady’s intended pass to Deion Branch in the 3rd quarter, Brady told Sherman to “see him after the game when they win.” Sherman clearly found Brady after the Seahawks won 24-23..
Week 4 is in the books….time to rank each team!
1. Atlanta Falcons (4-0) A near loss to Carolina made this a tough choice, but I don’t see it making sense to move the Falcons down after another win. (Last Week’s Ranking: 1)
2. Houston Texans (4-0) Big win margins in all their games so far…but also look at the quality of their opponents…(Last Week’s Ranking: 2)
3. Arizona Cardinals (4-0) Great story for the Cards this season, loving the success they are having. (Last Week’s Ranking: 3)
4. San Francisco 49ers (3-1) Made Sanchez and the Jets look like…Sanchez and the Jets. (Last Week’s Ranking: 4)
5. Baltimore Ravens (3-1) Throwing for an impressive amount of yards, also giving up a ton of passing yards (Last Week’s Ranking: 5)
6. Philadelphia Eagles (3-1) Been in some nailbiters, but another great win against New York on Sunday Night. (Last Week’s Ranking: 8 )
7. Green Bay Packers (2-2) Gotta think Green Bay will go on a roll the rest of the season, such an uphill battle though. (Last Week’s Ranking: 6)
8. Chicago Bears (3-1) The Bears showed me something Monday Night, they are a much better team than I thought. (Last Week’s Ranking: 11)
9. New England Patriots (2-2) Patriots went off in the 2nd half against Buffalo, still a lethal team. (Last Week’s Ranking: 10)
10. New York Giants (2-2) Almost identical team to last year’s. Trust in Eli though and everything will be fine. (Last Week’s Ranking: 7)
11. Cincinnati Bengals (3-1) Big home stretch coming for the Bengals, surprise team so far. (Last Week’s Ranking: 13)
12. San Diego Chargers (3-1) Good start, need a strong finish. (Last Week’s Ranking: 14)
13. Denver Broncos (2-2) Two big road games against New England and San Diego before their Bye week. (Last Week’s Ranking: 16)
14. Minnesota Vikings (3-1) I am shocked at how well Ponder is playing this year. (Last Week’s Ranking: 21)
15. Dallas Cowboys (2-2) Plenty to improve after the loss to Chicago, plenty of time to work during the bye week. (Last Week’s Ranking: 12)
16. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2) Bye week….nothing to say…. (Last Week’s Ranking: 15)
17. Washington Redskins (2-2) Another week…nothing else to say but, “RGIII!!!!” (Last Week’s Ranking: 19)
18. St. Louis Rams (2-2) New coach has the Rams thinking playoffs (Last Week’s Ranking: 24)
19. Seattle Seahawks (2-2) Fantasy owners of Seattle D are always happy (Last Week’s Ranking: 9)
20. Buffalo Bills (2-2) Too many points being given up lately…(Last Week’s Ranking: 18 )
21. New York Jets (2-2) It would be absolutely idiotic to not give Tebow a shot (Last Week’s Ranking: 17)
22. Detroit Lions (1-3) Fire the Special Teams coach, these are not the Lions of last year. (Last Week’s Ranking: 20)
23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-3) Got some easy games coming up, need to turn things around. (Last Week’s Ranking: 23)
24. Carolina Panthers (1-3) Hey Cam! Grow up! You are not Superman! Win some games first, then we’ll talk. (Last Week’s Ranking: 22)
25. Tennessee Titans (1-3) Of course I sat Chris Johnson this week…..ouch (Last Week’s Ranking: 25)
26. Miami Dolphins (1-3) Tannehill starting to come into his own. 431 passing yards last game. (Last Week’s Ranking: 29)
27. Oakland Raiders (1-3) Was hoping they would look better this year… (Last Week’s Ranking: 26)
28. Kansas City Chiefs (1-3) Have fun getting killed by Baltimore (Last Week’s Ranking: 28)
29. Indianapolis Colts (1-2) God Bless Chuck Pagano, get well soon. (Last Week’s Ranking: 27)
30. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-3) Crappy week, crappy team this year. (Last Week’s Ranking: 30)
31. New Orleans Saints (0-4) The woes continue…(Last Week’s Ranking: 31)
32. Cleveland Browns (0-4) Trust me…Trent Richardson will be really…really good. (Last Week’s Ranking: 32)
Comment on this post with your winners!
1. Rex Ryan (New York Jets)
vs.
8. Jason Garrett (Dallas)
4. Mike Shanahan (Washington)
vs.
5. Dennis Allen (Oakland)
2. John Fox (Denver)
vs.
7. Leslie Frazier (Minnesota)
3. Ken Whisenhunt (Arizona)
vs.
6. Mike Mularkey (Jacksonville)
Comment on this post with your winners!
1. Jim Schwartz (Detroit)
vs.
8. Joe Philbin (Miami)
4. Chuck Pagano (Indianapolis)
vs.
5. Pat Shurmur (Cleveland)
2. Greg Schiano (Tampa Bay)
vs.
7. Romeo Crennel (Kansas City)
3. John Harbaugh (Baltimore)
vs.
6. Mike Smith (Atlanta)
Week 3 is in the books…time to rank each team!
1. Atlanta Falcons (3-0) Good win over the Chargers. Could be 4-0 if they can handle Cam and the Panthers next week. (Last Week’s Ranking: 2)
2. Houston Texans (3-0) Taking down Peyton at Mile High? Impressive. Good balance in the offense. (Last Week’s Ranking: 3)
3. Arizona Cardinals (3-0) Being undefeated deserves its accolades, Cards take number three spot for now. Big wins over Philly and New England. (Last Week’s Ranking: 12)
4. San Francisco 49ers (2-1) Upset loss to the Vikings drops San Fran from 1 to 4 in our power rankings. Look for them to bounce back against the Jets in week four. (Last Week’s Ranking: 1)
5. Baltimore Ravens (2-1) Baltimore could easily be 3-0 or 1-2, very tight games being played for the Ravens early. I still believe this team can contend, trust in Rice. (Last Week’s Ranking: 6)
6. Green Bay Packers (1-2) It is appalling that the NFL didn’t overturn that terrible call last night, but the Pack will have to use it as motivation. Poor start, gotta believe things will turn around. (Last Week’s Ranking: 5)
7. New York Giants (2-1) Big test against Philly coming up, can the Giants prove they can defend the title? (Last Week’s Ranking:8)
8. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) Gotta limit the turnovers, starting to get ridiculous. (Last Week’s Ranking: 7)
9. Seattle Seahawks (2-1) Should be 1-2, but that’s besides the point. Pete Carroll has a solid team, and a dangerous one as well. Could continue to play spoiler as the season progresses. (Last Week’s Ranking: 15)
10. New England Patriots (1-2) A Bill Belichick squad with a losing record? Unheard of in Pats country. (Last Week’s Ranking: 4)
11. Chicago Bears (2-1) The NFC North continues to be intriguing. Bears throw their hat into the ring as a contender. (Last Week’s Ranking: 13)
12. Dallas Cowboys (2-1) America’s Team is off to an okay start. Still plenty left to be proven for the ‘Boys. (Last Week’s Ranking: 17)
13. Cincinnati Bengals (2-1) Almost let the Skins come back and win, couple brownie points for the trick plays. (Last Week’s Ranking: 18)
14. San Diego Chargers (2-1) Norv’s squad had two easy opponents out of the gate, now getting into the more difficult part of the schedule. (Last week’s Ranking: 10)
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2): Not quite the defense we are so used to seeing out of Pittsburgh. Gotta change things up. (Last Week’s Ranking: 11)
16. Denver Broncos (1-2): Can’t fall in a hole early, Denver off to some dreadful starts. (Last Week’s Ranking: 9)
17. New York Jets (2-1): Nailbiter against the Dolphins….did I just say that? (Last Week’s Ranking: 20)
18. Buffalo Bills (2-1): 3 real tough opponents up next in the Pats, 49ers, and Cardinals (Last Week’s Ranking: 22)
19. Washington Redskins (1-2): Before you call me a homer understand that the Skins are the 2nd ranked team in rushing and RGIII still looks solid. (Last Week’s Ranking: 16)
20. Detroit Lions (1-2): Matt Stafford is still so shaky this season, Detroit can’t lose to the Titans and be happy. (Last Week’s Ranking: 14)
21. Minnesota Vikings (2-1): Ponder is looking terrific after last week’s win, combined with a healthy AP watch out NFC! (Last Week’s Ranking: 28)
22. Carolina Panthers (1-2): Cam stunk up the joint, can’t dance around like that when your team is losing. Grow up and be the quarterback we know you can be. (Last Week’s Ranking: 19)
23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-2): Had a chance to beat Dallas…should have taken it. (Last Week’s Ranking: 21)
24. St. Louis Rams (1-2): Something tells me the Rams shouldn’t be ranked this high….going against my better judgement here. (Last Week’s Ranking: 24)
25. Tennessee Titans (1-2): The return of Chris Johnson, kind of. Plenty of trickery and luck against the Lions, we’ll see how long it lasts. (Last Week’s Ranking: 26)
26. Oakland Raiders (1-2): Possible upset pick against Denver next week? (Last Week’s Ranking: 30)
27. Indianapolis Colts (1-2): 313 passing yards last game for Luck (Last Week’s Ranking: 25)
28. Kansas City Chiefs (1-2): Jamaal Charles had a bomb of a game, fantasy owners were ecstatic. (Last Week’s Ranking: 29)
29. Miami Dolphins (1-2): Dolphins last week were pretty darn exciting…don’t think it will last (Last Week’s Ranking: 27)
30. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2): I shouldn’t have laughed at these guys last week, no longer the worst team in the NFL. (Last Week’s Ranking: 32)
31. New Orleans Saints (0-3): I am actually shocked at this start…(Last Week’s Ranking: 23)
32. Cleveland Browns (0-3): Poor..poor…T-Rich…(Last Week’s Ranking: 31)
Comment on this post with your winners!
1. Jim Harbaugh (San Francisco)
vs.
8. Norv Turner (San Diego)
4. Mike Munchak (Tennessee)
vs.
5. Gary Kubiak (Houston)
2. Bill Belichick (New England)
vs.
7. Mike McCarthy (Green Bay)
3. Tom Coughlin (New York Giants)
vs.
6. Pete Carroll (Seattle)
Up until now, the NFL replacement referees had yet to directly decide the outcome of a game. Well, on Monday night football, on the grandest of stages, live on ESPN, the days of the replacement referees hit an all-time low.
It was a closely contested, closely called game that was destined to be one for the ages. The Green Bay Packers were heavy favorites over the home team Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks used their twelfth man, the home town fans, as fuel to fire the upset.
Fast forward to the last play of the game. Russell Wilson stands at the Packers 24-yard line looking to accomplish something that many had never seen before: a game winning touchdown pass on the last play. The score was 12-7 in favor of Green Bay.
Wilson rolled to his left and fired into a swarm of Seahawks and Packers players in the endzone. The ball disappeared into the mass of men and, after 10 seconds of waiting, one referee signaled touchdown and the Seattle Seahawks were the victors…or were they.
I said that “ONE” referee signaled touchdown. Another referee, standing right next to the referee that signaled touchdown, signaled an interception (meaning that the Packers would be the winners). So, in other words, one referee gave the game to the Seahawks and another referee gave the game to the Packers.
At first glance, it appeared as though it was a simultaneous catch (in that case, the ball would be awarded to the offensive player), but then the officials reviewed the call on the field. When looking at the replays, it appeared as though Packers’ defensive back M.D. Jennings actually caught the ball, which would be an interception. Another interesting bit that the review displayed was that Seahawks receiver Golden Tate shoved a defensive player (which means offensive pass interference should have been called and the play should not have counted).
To put it in simpler terms, there were two key pieces of evidence that went AGAINST the Seahawks winning this game that were revealed in the official review that went ignored. The first was that the pass was actually intercepted by M.D. Jennings and the second was the pass interference against Brandon Tate. If you take both those pieces of information into account, the Packers should have come away with this win.
But, they didn’t. And this is just another instance in which the replacement referees completely messed up a call in a crucial moment of the game. Before now, the referees had yet to decide a game. But now, a decision that they made directly affected the outcome of a game.
The National Football League needs their regular referees back more than they think. Players’ safety and livelihood as well as coaches livelihoods are at stake. Coaches and players get paid and get jobs based on whether they win or lose.
In terms of player’s safety, the replacement referees are letting them get away with too much. Players are allowed to simply tee-off on defenseless players without penalty. Players will get hurt and that will affect the way they live and also how much they get paid.
Another way in which the NFL/replacement referees are screwing everything up is the landscape of the NFL. Once the real referees return, the landscape and the playoff picture will be all out of whack. The playoff picture will be ruined due to incidences like the one on Monday night.
In my eyes, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the rest of the front office are all criminals. If they aren’t willing to pay people to do a professional job and referee the right way, they are just as guilty for the poor quality of officiating as the officials themselves. If they truly love the game of football, they will do whatever it takes to get the real NFL referees back.
The NFL is fast becoming a joke. It’s losing its integrity every week that the replacement refs are active. Do something right for once, Roger Goodell; bring the original referees back so the quality of the NFL as a whole will improve.
I don’t blame the referees for the catastrophe that is this NFL season. I place 100 percent of the blame on Roger Goodell. He, and he alone, is single handedly ruining an American pastime and is disgracing the great game of football.
By Brian Skinnell
