Monday Mash- Week 11

After the picks section went 0-6 in week 10, the NFL's week 11 has now come and gone. And I have just one word...

WOOOOOO!

Well, kinda. 5-2 is woo-worthy, no? The Cowboys didn't even come close to their spread, so that was a bad one. But the Giants had a 6-1 record absolutely gift-wrapped for me. A full touchdown lead evaporated in the final seconds, and the overtime period guaranteed they wouldn't be able to cover. The Vikings (emphatically), Colts (barely) and Patriots (damn it) all covered as favorites while my two 'dogs (Browns and Bills) both covered despite losing. Actually, both lost in such heartbreaking fashion... I'm worried I put a hideous curse on them.

Let's take a look at the locals. It wasn't pretty, but the Giants were willing to take any kind of win they could get yesterday. Sure, they spit up every opportunity they had to bury Atlanta. Sure, Eli Manning's gaudy numbers are quite deceiving considering how uncomfortable he was all game. And sure, Falcons star running back Michael Turner was injured and Big Blue let the backup run somewhat-wild. But they got the win in the end. They kept pace with the Eagles and Cowboys, whose wins (Dallas particularly) were just as ugly as the Giants'. Though there's tons of work ahead, the Giants live to play another week.

While the Giants live to play, we now visit the tomb of the New York Jets' season. It was a somewhat up-and-down game, in the sense of how much the Pats would win by. It looked like they would win by 40, then about 25, then very briefly about 7, then the final score dictated a 17-point win. The fallen Sanchize (more on him later in the week) did his best to keep the game anti-close with another 5 turnovers in the game.

Games like this present some very interesting thoughts in a fan's head. Once the Patriots had the early interception returned for a touchdown, any Jets fan that's watched for the last month knew the game was absolutely, utterly over. It didn't matter how early it was. The game was over. It's a unique feeling. Normally, every time I watch a game, I focus on that game. You know, what they can do to win. But when you're sure that the game (and your playoff chances) are all up in smoke, here are some (factual) snippets of what ran through my brain...

• Hmmm, I wish I watched college football more often. Then I'd know what players are between 10th and 20th best and can be excited to picture them as a Jet next year.
• If the Jets, for absolutely no reason, named Kellen Clemens as a starting quarterback after week 3, what would their record be? 7-3? 8-2 perhaps?
• If I change over to Bride Wars on HBO, but it's 15 minutes after it began, will I still be able to get the central idea and themes of the movie?

It's not really an enjoyable experience. You do irrational things such as criticize every single call by the officials. (For the record, though, I'm still rationally irritated by two calls: Leigh Bodden's Mortal Kombat uppercut to Braylon Edwards as he tried to catch a long ball and Bodden again for roughing up Sanchez on that last interception. The Liu Kang fatality on Edwards is a moot point because the Jets got a touchdown anyway. But the other one still kind of bothers me. The announcers didn't talk about it yesterday, and nobody seems to be talking about it today, so maybe I'm still irrational. You can see the play by clicking here and decide for yourself. You can see it a little bit at the :26-:27 mark, but the best angle is at the :39-:40 mark, as number 23 (Bodden) comes in and absolutely launches his whole body to put the wallop on Mr. Sanchez. In a season that's been loaded with ticky tack roughing the passer penalties (with Tom Brady being the king,) I was quite surprised and disappointed not to see some flags there. would the Jets have won the game if it had been called? Hardly. But a 10-point game with 10 minutes left and the Jets driving with momentum...it certainly would have made things more interesting.)

But it wasn't meant to be. The New England offense moved consistently on the Jets via the short pass (another excellent job by Darelle Revis not letting Moss get any monster gains.) While the Pats offense clicked, Sanchez gave them everything they needed otherwise. At 4-6, at least the Jets can go about their business quietly (for a change) and perhaps play spoiler. Sanchez will take more lumps and hopefully learn from them. Though it's bitter after a 3-0 start, it's better than being a team completely in turmoil (St. Louis, Cleveland, etc.)

Here's the rest of the juicy stuff from week 11...

The Montauk BeverageWorks Delicious Performance of the Week:
Matthew Stafford, Lions. How ya doin, rookie? In yesterday's pick section, I felt I "had to pick" the Browns-Lions game. That was sarcasm for how ghastly the game was supposed to be. Both teams came into the game woeful. The result? Why the game of the week, of course! The Lions grasp the victory on an un-timed play at the end of the game. (The reason? Why an unnecessary pass interference on the last-second hail mary of course! You're the best, Cleveland.) But Stafford took advantage, throwing his FIFTH TOUCHDOWN OF THE DAY. (Has Sanchez thrown five in the last month??) Second place for this award went to the other quarterback in the Lions-Browns game! Brady Quinn threw for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns, which just missed Stafford's 422 and 5 scores. Yes, over 725 yards passing and nine touchdowns in the Stafford-Quinn shootout. And we're told that the NBA is where amazing happens...

• In Reilly Sports Blog fantasy team news, Tony Romo might have done just enough to win this week. Though it was disgusting (he should have torched Washington) he did throw a score in the end. Team Clean Sanchez (and the Cowboys) keep pace with the pack.
• I'm sorry it's taken so long to get to this...but how bout those upsets yesterday? The Raiders, already victors over the Eagles this year, stun the Bengals at the buzzer. Let the theories about Larry Johnson, locker room cancer, begin! In an even bigger shocker, the hapless Chiefs drop the hammer on the Steelers?? I know Cedric Benson and Troy Polamalu are out for Cinci and Pit, but those defeats are real shockers.
• The Chargers beat the living garbage out of Denver to take control of the division. Honestly...I wasn't the only one but...I told ya so.
  
• Terrell Owens went for 197 yards catching. Of course the Bills didn't win. It's a hate-hate relationship.
• It's becoming extremely clear that the Colts are not going for style points here. Who knew a 10-0 team could still be the cardiac kids? It's insane the Ravens are now just 5-5.
• The Saints are also perfect after blasting Tampa. Next Monday against the Patriots is going to be something.
• But this Monday night? Tennessee at Houston. The Texans are favored by 4. Steve Slaton is the man again at running back for Houston, and I gotta ride with my guy. Tennessee is dangerous, but the Texans find a way. Houston 24, Tennessee 16.

Thanks for dropping by!