Kaspers Korner

Sunday saw some surprises, and not so surprises, so lets get to the games.

San Francisco 49ers @ Buffalo Bills:

49ers:  Any other decent team would have beaten them.  After the first drive the 49ers cimpiled 123 total yards for the reaminder of the game.

Bills:  Coaching simply cost the Bills this one.

Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals:

Ravens:  Today’s performance by Joe Flacco is impressive.  The Bengals pass defense was a formidable opponent going into the game ranked 17th.

Bengals:  Bengals should have forefitted this one.  Why even show up with the way your team is playing versus the way the Ravens defense has been playing.

New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

Saints:  The loss has eliminated them from the playoffs.  You are not going to win many ball games when you give up almost 150 yards rushing.

Buccaneers: Good start to their gauntlet, but still have two more big games to go.  Garcia may not have been good passing the ball today, but he still has a lot left in the legs, and when you know when to use them that is a back breaker to defenses.

New York Giants @ Washington Redskins:

Giants:  Is there anyone that is going to be able to stop them from repeating.  No Shockey, no Barber, and no Burress, and they are still winning. 

Redskins:  When the leagues leading rusher is held to two yards per a carry it is going to be a long day.

Miami Dolphins @ Saint Louis Rams:

Dolphins:  Again escaped defeate by another bad team.  Running backs Ricky Williams, and Ronnie Brown combined for 27 rushes for 102 yards against the Rams.   That is pathetic, since the Rams run defense is one of the worst in the league.

Rams:  If you are going to win games you cannot turnover the ball like quarterback Marc Bulger did.

Indianapolis Colts @ Cleveland Browns:

Colts: The beginning of their decent to oblivion if they do not get rid of wide receiver Marvin Harrison.  Harrison is not what he use to be, and is holding the offensve down now.

Browns:  When you hold the Colts offense to no touchdowns, and pick off Manning twice, and still cannot win the game there is only one thing to say about this team.  LOSERS!!!!

Carolina Panthers @ Green Bay Packers:

Panthers: Wow! Thier running game is amazing, and it will be interesting to see if anyone can stop it in the playoffs.

Packers:  You are not going to win many ball games when you go 2-4 in the red zone.

Atlanta Falcons @ San Diego Chargers:

Falcons:  Can anyone stop their dynamic duo of quarterback Matt Ryan, and running back Michael Turner.  Also, the defense holding Landanian Tomlinson to 24 yards rushing is an amazing accomplishment.

Chargers:  Head coach Norv Turner has lost his team, and is done most likely after this season.

Denver Broncos @ New York Jets:

Broncos:  Defense showed some life getting two turnovers.  Also, Jay Cutler’s performance, with diabiaties is amazing.

Jets:  Huge loss for them.  Looks like their defense really does have some holes in it.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England:

Steelers:  As long as running back Willie Parker is healthy they are the team to beat.

Patriots:  The loss of linebacker Adalius Thomas was huge.  Patriots will miss the playoffs if their defense keeps allowing offenses to run like this.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Oakland Raiders

Cheifs: Not a bad performance after a horrible one last week, since the Riaders pass defense is ranked eighth in the league.

Raiders:  Their defense needs to improve defending the run, and then their defense may carry them to winning ball games.  Also, when is quarterback Jamarcus Russell going to pass for over 200 yards?

Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings:

Bears:  Looks like teams have figured out quarterback Kyle Orton.  It is up to him adjusting to get himself going again.

Vikings:  Once againd Peterson carries the team.  They be nothing without him.

The Buffalo Bills loss today pretty much has ended their hopes for a birth in the playoffs.  The loss also confirmed that the Dick Juaron era is nothing more than a joke.

The loss is clearly on the shoulders of the coaches.  Miike Schoop questioned Sunday wether the Bills have any decent players.  The answer to that qestion is yes.

When managers forecast their sales for the upcoming week they take into account many factors.  One of them is actually the weather.

The Bills coaching staff on the other hand did not take that into account.

Any person that has played high school football understands that when it rains you have to run the ball.  Especially, when it is almost at the freezing point, and when is consistent for a long period of time.

The reason is the ball gets so slick, and it is very hard to control.  Also, when it is raining consistently you have nothing dry your hands on to get a better grip, because everything gets wet.  I know this is true, because I played center in high school, and rain is your worst enemy.

The Bills most likely have multiple dry towels in a bag, but when you are on a long drive the towel gets wet, and you cannot change it.  

The mere fact that the Bills quarterbacks threw for over two hundred yards is amazing.  Of course it would have been higher if Edwards was in there the whole game.

When the Bills coaching staff saw that it was raining they should have thrown the game plan out the window.  However, their own arrogance got in the way, and decided to still pass the ball.

Last week the win gave them so much confidence that offensive coordinator Turk Schonert thought that he could run whatever he wanted. 

The biggest example of this is on fourth down and two from the San Francisco seven.  On the play the Bills ran a crossing route, which was pointed out by announcers was open. 

However, on the replay what they failed to show was when wide receiver Lee Evans was lined up to the left of the formation the corner was off him at least five yards, and a simple audible to a wide receiver screen, or three step drop, would have got the first down, and maybe even a touchdown.

Defensively, the way defensive coordinator Perry Fewell game planned Shaun Hill was pathetic.  The last two weeks Fewell blitzed a lot, and finally last week it paid dividends in a turnovers by the Kansas City Cheifs. 

This week Fewell went back to what he did in the first three loses in the Bills huge free fall.  That being only rush four, with zone coverage.

On the positive side if there was one game the Bills could afford to lose is was this one.  The reason being that it was a NFC opponent, and had no bearing on conference tie breakers.

Also, the Bills got a lot of help from opponents.  The New York Jets lost to the Denver Broncos, and the New England Patriots lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As everyone knows the key to the season coming down the stretch is the rest of their division matchups, and not San Francisco.

So, hopefully this will be a wake up call to the coaching staff, and they will realize that they have to do what the team is good at.  Defensively, blitz people to death, and offensively run the ball, and use playaction off of it.

If the coordinators come in with the same game plan, then they should be nothing short of fired.

Unfortunately, firing Juaron means that you only got two options.  A rookie head coach that Wilson can get for cheap, or a retread.

If there is any retread out there that should be given a chance is Jim Fassel.  He been to the Superbowl, and understands that it is great quarterback play, and good play calling from your coodinators, that makes a head coach good. 

Also, head coaches have to be a jerks.  The reason comes from Phil Sims book.  When a coach is nice players will do what they wants.  So, I realized that coaching is like parenting, and you have to be strict if you want them to do what their suppose to do the first time, and in football you have to excute things the first time. 

So, with it being crunch time for the Bills expect them to crumble, unless the coordinators take their heads out of their rear, and coach better.

Miami @ Saint Louis

Miami: With the loss of thier top wide reciever the Dolphins have to find ways to get wide receiver Tedd Ginn Jr. open to keep the passing game going.  The defense needs to dominate the line of scrimage

Saint Louis:  They are going to have to play press coverage, and blitz Pennington.  If Jackson plays they need to get him going to keep the Dolphin offense off the field.

San Francisco @ Buffalo:

San Francisco:  They need to get the running game going, and limit the number of chances the Bills offense has to score.  Then the defense needs to stop the run, and get a pass rush when the Bills are passing.

Buffalo:  Defensively, the need to dominate the line of scrimage.  Also, the defense needs to blitz a lot to get pressure on quarterback Shuan Hill.  The offense needs to establish the run, and then work the pass off that with play action, and some three step drop passes.

Indinanapolis @ Cleveland:

Indianapolis:  Just let Peyton do his thing offensively.  Defensively, they will need to stop dominate the line of scrimmage when the Browns are running and passing.

Cleveland:  Get the running game going to keep Manning off the field.  Defensivley, they need to get pressure on Manning to force him to make some mistakes.

Carolina @ Green Bay:

Carolina: Get the running game going, and then work in the passing game.  Defensively, they need to stop the Packers running game, and then blitz when the Packers are passing.

Green Bay:  The Packers defensively need to stop the Panthers running game.  Then they need to get the running game going, and work in the pass as well.

Baltimore @ Cincinnati:

Baltimore: The defense needs to keeps simply stop the run, and then get a pass rush.  Offensively, they need to rely on the running game, because the Bengals have a good pass defense

Cincinnati:  The offense needs to find some way to run the ball.  The defense needs to stop the run, and make rookie Joe Flacco try, and beat them.

New Orleans @ Tampa Bay:

New Orleans:  On offense ride the back of Drew Brees, defensively stop the Bucs passing game.

Tampa Bay:  The defense has a daunting task of stopping Brees, and the offense needs to establish the run to limit the number of chances Brees gets.

New York @ Washington:

New YorK:  Establish the run, with working the pass off that.  Then defensively they simply need to stop the running game.

Washington:  Stop the run, and run the ball.

Atlanta @ San Diego:

Atlanta:  Let the offense ride the backs as usual of running back Mike Turner, and quarterback Matt Ryan, defensively stop LT.

San Deigo:  The defense has to stop the running game first, and then get a pass rush on Ryan.  Offensively, get LT going, and use play action pass off that.

Denver @ New York Jets:

Denver:  Simply, the defense has to find a way to actually play decent.  Do that and they win.

Jets: Defensively stop Jay Cutler, and on offense get Thomas Jones going, with protecting Brett Farve.

Pittsburgh @ New England:

Pittsburgh: Get the running game going to limit to keep the Patriots offense off the field, and limit their chances.  Defensively, get a pass rush on Matt Cassel.

New England:  Stop the Steelers running game, and get a pass rush on Big Ben.  Offensively, get Moss involved somehow.

Kansas City @ Oakland:

KC:  Get running back Larry Johnson going early, and do not turnover the ball.  Defensively, stop the Raiders running attack.

Oakland:  Stop Johnsons, and blitz the heck out of quarterback Tyler Thigpen.  Offensively, get MacFadden going.

Chicago @ Minnesota:

Chicago:  Get Matt Forte going on offense, with working the passing game off that.  Defensively, stop Adrian Peterson first, then get pressure on the quarterback, becuase Gus Ferrotte is a turnover machine.

Minnesota:  The defense needs to stop the run, and then get a pass rush on Orton to force him to make mistakes.  The offense needs to simply ride the back of Peterson.

Jacksonville @ Houston:

Jacksonville:  Needs to get the run going, and find a way to protect the quarterback.  Defensively, they need to get a pass rush, and force the quarterback into mistakes.

Houston:  Offensively, establish the run, and work the passing game off that.  The defense needs to consistently control the middle of the line, beacuse the Jaguars are missing their starting guards, and center. 

Rumours have been running rampant in the past couple of weeks linking the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach to the Tennessee Volunteer’s head coaching job.  Many Buccaneer fans can breathe a sigh of relief today as the Volunteers found their man, but his name is not Jon Gruden.

According to ESPN.com the Volunteers is going to name former Oakland Raider head coach Lane Kiffin to the head coaching job.   That means Gruden is going to stay in Tampa Bay, which is also one less distraction for the Bucs.

The Bucs are in the midst of a battle for the AFC South division, or Wild Card spot to make the playoffs.  With a record of 8-3 going into this Sunday’s game the Bucs are in control of their own destiny.

The Bucs in the next three weeks, in order, face the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, and the Atlanta Falcons.  If they are able to run this gauntlet the Bucs are for sure to be in.

San Diego Charger head coach Norv Turner was known pretty much around the league as a great head coach, but after getting a win in the playoffs last year many may have thought that changed.  With the Chargers having a losing record that repuatation has come out again.

The worst thing that can happen to a head coach is that he loses the respect of his lockerrom.  That has already happened in an interview on CBS 8 in San Diego, when reporter Kyle Kraska interviewed wide receiver Kassim Osgood. 

“I think his testament for his career is that he’s been an offensive mind.  So, he’s a good coordinator,”  said Osgood.

Also, off camera many other Chargers expressed doubt in the ability of Turner’s ability to head coach to Kraska.

So, in other words if the Chargers do not make the playoffs, then it is bye-bye to Turnerafter the season. 

Simply it is a mess in San Diego, and the only real way that the ship is going to be right again is when they get some better pass rushers other than Shawne Merriman.

The New York Jets win over the Tennessee Titans may have just locked up the AFC East division.  That is due to the fact that they have a pretty darn easy schedule the rest of the way.

Of the remaining games the Jets have the toughest opponents are the Buffalo Bills, and the Miami Dolphins.  Their other three opponents are the Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers, and the Seattle Seahawks.

The only thing that could prevent them from locking up the division is injury to starters, or their own stupidity.  Something that they did not lack early on in the season.

The key game for the Jets will be against the Bills.  If they win the next two games the Jets could wrap up the division with a win against the Bills. A first round by for the playoffs could go all the way to the end as the Pittsburgh Steelers have the same record at 8-3.

This week’s game looks no different than previous two games as the Broncos defense is horrible, and the Jets should be able to rack up the points on them.  That means another win for the Jets.

In the opening game last year former Buffalo Bills tightend Kevin Everett suffered a career ending injury.  They injury may have happened last year, but the ramifications of it are still being felt today.

Everett last year was the back up to starting tightend Robert Royal.  That would of meant that he would have had a significant role in the offense last year.

Last year the Bills used a lot of two tightend sets.  Which, gave both the starting, and back up tightend a lot of chances to catch balls, and they did just that as both Robert Royal and Michael Gaines had 25 receptions each last year. 

That would of mean that Everett would of had a chance to breakout, and prove that he was deserving of being made starter, and a threat in the offense. 

Thanks to the injury that never happened, and the Bills were set back several years by it.  The greatest example of this was in the Bills four game losing streak, which saw second wide receiver Josh Reed on the sidelines due to injury.

After Reed there is no real threat in the passing game.  Third wide reciever Roscoe Parrish is dangerous, but has yet to fully get down the nuiances of running routes against zone coverage.  Then after Parrish the Bills have two rookies that are not ready yet.

The Bills did draft a tightend in Derek Fine in this past April’s draft, and has shown signs of being a capable tightend.  However, it will most likely be a couple more season before he is fully effective.

In the end that is the nature of the beast in football.  You just lose players, and you have to deal with it.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were thought of to be a contender for the Superbowl.  The reason for the mess is simply a lack of chemistry.

The lack of chemistry is lacking so much that running back Fred Taylor has called this years Jaguars one of the worst teams he has been on, according to an interview on Sirius Satelite radio. 

Chemistry is a huge part of a football team, because you always find yourself in the right spot at the right time.  That is due to being together for so long that you know what each other is going to do in each situation.

The Jaguars have a buch of free agents, and players they traded for.  Their wide receiver core is especially full of these type of players.

If the Jaguars do not learn their mistakes, then it is going to be a long time before they see the playoffs again.

Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher his been embroiled in a divorce case for over the past year.  Today news, along with other factors, will force the Bears to look long and hard if they really want Urlacher around.

Today in court the mother of Urlacher’s son, Tyna Robertson, has accused, and provided evidence of, that Urlacher is causing genger confusion.  He is causing it, allegedly, by paint his son’s toe nails blue, and dressing him in Cinderella diapers.

Robertson provided a photograph to The Herald news, which can be seen by clicking here: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/1300144,4_1_JO26_URLACHER_S1.article

As a parent the news is simply sickening.  Both the front office of the Bears, and National Football League commisioner Roger Goodell, need to step in and take action in the case.  For what Urlacher is doing is nothing short than physical, and mental, abuse.

Urlacher on top of this has developed arthritis in his back, and is 30 years old.  Keeping him around is the stupid thing to do.

Urlacher should be suspended, and never allowed to see the field again for his crimes against a defenseless human being. 

However, the Bears are in the middle of a playoff hunt, and Goodell has turned out to be no better than his predecessor Paul Tagliabue.

If one of us was doing this we would be fired from out job.  However, thanks to the government the people that have the most money get off.

With Thanksgiving coming this Thursday, so does a slate of games.  So, here is your keys for the game.

Tennessee @ Dallas:

Tennessee: Simply, run the ball, and stop the run.  It has been their strength all year.

Detroit: Pray for a miracle, because they cannot stop an old lady running the ball.

Seattle @ Dallas:

Seattle: Run the ball, and limit the chances of the Cowboys offense.  Along with double teamming wide receiver Terrell Owens all day, so that he also does not get a lot of chances to make plays.

Dallas:  Do what did last week, and that is get TO the ball.  Afterall he is their best player.  Defensively, get a pass rush on quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, eventhough he is struggling he will come around soon.

Arizona @ Philadelphia:

Arizona:  Give quarterback Kurt Warner time to make plays.  Defensively, get a pass rush on Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb to force him into more turnovers.

Philadelphia:  Pretty much the same as Arizona, because they are very similar to them. The difference is that the Eagles are better at defending the pass than the Cardinals

Ultimately, the team that forces more turnovers will win.