The NFL experienced one of the most unusual if not exciting midterms last weekend. For most of the teams it was their eighth game of the schedule, so the first half of the season is now in the record books. There were 10 NFL records set, including one involving the Colts debacle. While Peyton Manning extended his touchdown pass record, Dallas Cowboy running back DeMarco Murry extended his 100 yard rushing record to 8 games and gained 1,000 yards at the earliest point in NFL history. Ben Roethlisberger became the first passer to throw for over 500 yards in a game twice in his career by ripping the Horseshoe for 522 yards and 6 touchdowns in the air, and posting a 150.6 Quarterback Rating. On December 20 of 2009, Roethlisberger passed for 509 and 3 touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers. Say what you want about Big Ben but it must be conceded that he possesses one of pro football’s strongest and most accurate arms.
The football weekend opened a week ago Thursday with Denver topping San Diego to the tune of 35-21. Sunday morning saw the Detroit Lions pull one out of the fire by defeating the Atlanta Falcons in Wembley Stadium in London. The game started at 10 a.m. EDT in the States, making it the earliest that an NFL game has ever been broadcast in the U.S. market. The Mayor of London and the London City Council announced that they are campaigning to get an NFL franchise for the city. The Lions find themselves sitting alone atop the NFC Central Division at 6-2 and a game ahead of Green Bay. Long suffering Lions fans have been waiting over half a century for their team to emerge as a genuine Super Bowl threat so this may be their year. A big reason for the Lions success is their new head coach Jim Caldwell. You may remember Jim — he was Peyton Manning’s quarterback coach under Tony Dungy and he and Peyton formed a close bond. When Tony retired after the 2008 season Caldwell was given the Colts head coaching job. His first season at the helm, which was 2009, the team went 14-2 and went to the Super Bowl where they suffered a humiliating loss to the Saints. In 2010, the Big Blue once again won the AFC South with a 10-6 record but were quickly eliminated in the playoffs. With the 2011 season came Peyton’s season-ending neck injury and the 2-14 “Suck for Luck” campaign. Caldwell’s contract wasn’t renewed and he moved to the Ravens as the quarterback coach and developed Joe Flacco into a Super Bowl winning quarterback. Jim Caldwell’s problem with the Colts was that he wasn’t Tony Dungy. Tony is a warm, fuzzy, and very sympathetic father figure kind of guy and was much beloved of Colts fans and players. Caldwell, on the other hand, is a hard-nosed, no nonsense, nose-to-the grindstone disciplinarian, and the media and fans couldn’t adjust to him after Dungy. He was also held responsible for the Colts Super Bowl loss due to his “poor sideline management“ of the game. Anyway, he seems to be just what the doctor ordered for the Lions. He’s got the team thinking like winners and playing up to their potential — something no other Lion coach seems to have been able to do. He is a very strong candidate for NFL Coach of the Year at this time.
The Washington ***skins downed the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Monday in overtime 20-17, in a controversial game. Led by Texas born quarterback Colt McCoy, the ‘Skins played hard hitting, and generally mistake free, football to take the victory on the Cowboys home turf. The Cowboys were on a six game roll and many (mostly Cowboys fans) were calling them the best team in the league. So much for that. McCoy threw an early interception but recovered and didn’t get rattled. McCoy is a long way from being a top end quarterback but he was the right guy in the right place at the right time for Washington on Monday night.
The Chicago Bears were pounded into the turf by New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium by a 51-23 count. Tom Brady was his usual surgical self, cutting up the Bear defense for 354 yards and 5 touchdown passes. Every year pundits claim that Tom is starting to slide downhill in his career and every year he just keeps performing at that same Hall of Fame level that he always has. We will be seeing Tom at Lucas Oil Stadium in three weeks. One of the really ridiculous plays came for the Bears late in the game when defensive end Lamar Houston tackled the Patriots reserve quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for a 24 yard loss. Despite the fact that the Bears were down by 27 points and time was running out, Houston went into a celebration sack dance. On his second hop, Houston came down off balance and tore the ACL in his right leg. He is now done for the season. It’s been that kind of year for the Bears. The Bears are quarterbacked by Jay Cutler of Vanderbilt University. Jay may be the NFL’s most despised player. He doesn’t have much of a personality and is not much of an interview. He is a Type II diabetic. The Bear fans hate him with a passion as they have anyone who lines up behind the center in Chicago and generally hope that he will be seriously injured and never be able to play again. The Chicago media has blamed him for everything from the Great Chicago Fire to the Cubs not going to the World Series. Cutler was born and raised in Santa Claus, Indiana. In 2000, Cutler took Heritage Hills High School to the State 3-A Championship with a 15-0 record, beating Zionsville in overtime 27-24 in overtime for the championship game. Cutler was an All-State selection and played in the 2001 High School All-Star game against Kentucky. Cutler is actually having a fairly good season statistically, but he isn’t showing much in the way of leadership and the Bears are losing.
As to the Colt loss. The Steelers definitely caught the Colts defense with their proverbial pants down. After blanking the Bengals in week seven, the defense was kinda up on its high horse and possibly setting itself up for a big fall. Big Ben not only brought them back down to earth, he rubbed their noses in the mud. Andrew Luck actually had a fairly decent game, throwing for 400 yards and three touchdowns. And he threw two interceptions. He got the Colts within eight points in the third quarter but wasn’t able to pull through with a winning comeback
When a team is subjected to a record-setting thumping, it’s best to move on and put it behind them. As Luck said in a post game interview, “We just need to turn the page and move on.”
snicewanger@yahoo.com