Thanksgiving is a special time when we commemorate the
collaboration of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans feasting on
delectables together. Well that is until the Pilgrims mass murdered the Indians. Nowadays, it’s
a day to be Thankful, bask in the presence of family and loved ones, and stare
mindlessly for 10 hours at football because nothing truly personifies a
holiday like grown ass men crushing each other.
Lions (+3) vs. Texans
This is not the Lion’s first rodeo. They've had a seat at
the Thanksgiving football special for years and although haven't won a
Thanksgiving day game in 9 years, they don’t have a choice. Win or wave any
smidgen of playoff hope goodbye.
The NFL is a confusing malcontent that has no interest in
cooperating with logic. I mean the Lions are filled with talent for god sakes and
yet are 4-6. On paper, they should be able to compete with any team
in the league, but unless they run the table they'll see themselves watching
the game from some small beach resort. Last week Titus Young was demoted for
acting once again like a hooligan and being insubordinate. I mean, they
informed him where to line at the end of last week and he completely ignored
the coaches. The receivers coach was seen screaming at the offensive
coordinator, Scott Linehan. They've reached their boiling point, so why do I
think they’ll beat the team tied for the best record in football?
The Lions are removing a cancer from their team in Titus
Young. While the coaches’ emotions should stay in check on the sidelines, it
shows their passion for the team which trickles down to the players. Stafford
and Megatron are continuing their hot streak. Leshoure looked good with 84
yards and a TD. Their defense gave up only 24 points to one of the hottest
offenses in the league right now. Before the 4th quarter, they had
held the Rodgers crew to 14 points and Fairly and Avril looked strong, combining
for 3 sacks. Those two need to get going in order to get some men off of Suh.
Tulloch is having a great year and with a front seven that might be one of the
best in the league, they should be able to get to a QB before he has the time
to thrash what is a subpar Lions secondary. Schaub is no Rodgers, no matter
what his stats looked like last week.
The Texans, although they continue to win, are going to
reach their breaking point soon. They also played in a long game last week to
an abysmal Jaguars team that lasted until 2 minutes left in OT. I don’t care if
you're Wolverine; you need time to heal after a very intense game. Oh and by
the way, this was no defensive struggle. They gave up 37 points to a team who
probably still has no idea where the end zone is located. Chad Henne threw for 354
yards and 4 TD’s. Justin Blackmon, one of the biggest fantasy busts of the
year, had an out-of-this-world 236 receiving yards which would have been tops
for the weekend if it was not for Andre Johnson from Texans. Ok, Matt Schaub
threw for 527 yards, but that was on 55 attempts. He also threw 2 picks. Arian Foster might as well stayed on the sidelines and read a People magazine last
week as he was nonexistent with his 2.8 ypc and 0 TD’s. Two weeks ago they
beat a good Bears team in a low scoring affair, but the conditions were abysmal
and Jay Cutler was knocked out of the game. The week before that, they beat a
terrible Bills game in a closer game than the score.
The Texans are exhausted, on a short week, and traveling to
Detroit, a team and a city that knows how to respond when backed against a wall
Cowboys vs. Redskins (o47)
Unlike the AFC North, the NFC East throw up big numbers when
playing division foes. In the 6 AFC East showdowns, an average of 46.33 ppg
have been scored which is essentially just under this games over-under. Both
teams have the ability to score a lot of points, especially in the stylish
comforts of a Dome.
The Redskins scored 31 points on the woeful Eagles while the
Cowboys struggled to beat a struggling, but better than their record shows,
Browns team by putting up 23 points on their underrated defense. RGIII has the
ability to take over the game by simply sliding behind the line of scrimmage
and giving himself enough time to either throw a bombs like he did on Sunday to Santana Moss and Aldrick Robinson or find
his check-down. His elusiveness also allows him to scramble for yards (6 TD’s
and 613 yards rushing). Alfred Morris has developed into a beast of a running
back, having compiled 869 yards and averaged 4.7 yards per carry. They’re
number 2 in the league in rushing yards. While the Skin’s rushing defense
is solid, ranking 7th overall, their passing defense is an abysmal 29th
in the league. Romo is in need of playing against a weak secondary as much as
Terrell Owens needs a job.
The ‘Boys are still in the hunt and licking their chops.
They smell blood in the mediocrity that is the NFC East. They are at .500, one
game behind the G-men who currently sits atop of the pathetic division. Dez
Bryant is finally playing like a beast, having at least 87 yards in 3 of his
last four games, including a huge game against the Browns (145 yards). The last
two weeks were also the first time this season he caught TD’s in 2 consecutive
weeks. Occasionally overshadowed, they still have ‘Pretty Eyes’ Miles Austin
who only has 8 yards less than Dezzie (727 to 735). They're on pace to both
have over 1000 yards receiving. Future badass DeMarco Murray is out, but they
still have solid back-up Felix Jones.
Their defense is not terrible, but any team that let’s up 20 points to a
poor Brown’s offense has some work to do.
New England Patriots (-6) vs. New York Jets
The Patriot’s offense is downright rude. Over their last 4
games, they have averaged 42.5 ppg and for the season, they have averaged 35.8 ppg.
For a team used to running around 60% of their plays in a double TE
set, though, they might come out a little shaky. Gronk broke his arm and will be out
4-6 weeks while Aaron Hernandez is still trying to recover from injuries. If
you've learned anything from the Patriots, though, it doesn’t really matter
who their personnel is as the Tom Brady, Bill Belichick combo is all they need.
Now that Gronk is out, they’ll rely on sure handed pro-bowler Wes Welker (890
yards) even more. Besides him, they find players to fit their system such as
Brandon Lloyd (Great pick-up in the offseason), Danny Woodhead (1 rushing TD
and 1 receiving TD two weeks ago against the Bills), and Julian Edelman (1 punt
return for a TD and 1 TD reception last week). Even though last week was a down
game, Vereen had been playing solid, recording 1 TD in each of the last three
games. The Patriots also are starting to develop a strong defensive secondary
with Aqil Talib and Devon McCourty being moved to safety. Ok, so maybe their
passing defense is 30th in the NFL, but with Jerod Mayo, Vince
Wilfork, and Dont’a Hightower, they rank a respectable 10th in rush
defense. That said, they don’t even need a defense against a scattered Jet team.
The Jets are knee deep in shit right now and if you think a
27-13 victory over the struggling Rams means progression then you're an idiot.
They are 29th in passing yards and 15th in rushing, which
will not allow them to keep up with The Brady Bunch. Even though this game is
home, they are 2-3 in the Meadowlands. Their defense is a stellar 4th
in opponent passing, but can’t hold a running back down as they are 30th
in opponent rushing. Shonn Greene is hit or miss at this point and last week everyone
praised Sanchez for such a great game, but he threw the ball for a weak 178
yards and 1 TD. No picks? Well the Rams haven’t gotten an interception since
the Clinton administration. Sure that's fine and dandy, but it won’t win you
any game against the top-tier teams. It’s not all Sanchez’s fault, as his
receiving corp. might be better suited for college than playing in the Pro’s.
Dustin Keller might never be healthy this season. Their best receiver is Jeremy
“Who are You?” Kerley. Their receiver with the second most yards is Santonio
Holmes who hasn’t even played a down in the last 6 games and will miss the rest
of the season with an injured hoof. Similar to last year, Rex Ryan has lost all
control of that locker room and, by not making the playoffs again, will prove
that he is the most overrated coach in football.
Happy Thanksgiving.
- Kyle
Happy Thanksgiving.
- Kyle
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