Deadly defense might not be enough for Bills
The stats tell us that Seattle own the best defense in the NFL. They give up the fewest yards (272.4 per game), the fewest first downs (17.5) and the second-fewest points (17.3) of any team in the league. Crucially, they also have the pedigree. The Seahawks’ defense ranked first in the league in all of those categories last season, providing the platform for a Super Bowl triumph. What more emphatic argument could you have for being the best than hoisting the Lombardi trophy?
Only, defenses do not win championships in isolation. This year, as last year, Seattle can rely on one of the NFL’s most consistently productive running backs in Marshawn Lynch, as well as a Pro Bowl-calibre quarterback in Russell Wilson. Their offense has given up 12 turnovers all season – the second-fewest in the league. It averages 32mins 25sec of possession per game – third-most of any team. Less time on the field for a defense means fewer opportunities to give up those yards, first downs and points.
The intention here is not to diminish Seattle’s achievements. Just a few minutes of watching Bobby Wagner and Earl Thomas track down San Francisco’s ball-carriers in the second-half on Sunday would have been enough to tell you that this was an elite unit, without the need for any kind of stat sheet. But what has become clear over the last two weeks is that a similarly brilliant unit exists on one of the league’s more mediocre teams.
With an 8-6 record, Buffalo are a long-shot to make the playoffs. Trapped behind the Patriots in the AFC East, they are already out of contention for a division title, and their Wild Card hopes have been substantially undermined by head-to-head losses against direct rivals. The Buffalo News ran a piece on Monday explaining the Bills’ most realistic routes into the postseason. Suffice to say, none were straightforward.
And yet, in their last two games, Buffalo have shut down two of the best passing offenses in the league. In week 14, they left Peyton Manning without a touchdown pass in Denver – becoming the first team to keep him out of the endzone since November 2010. This week, they restricted Aaron Rodgers – the runaway favourite for this year’s MVP award – to 17 completions on 42 attempts for 185 yards, no touchdowns and two picks.
It was an unprecedented achievement. Never before had Rodgers thrown two more interceptions than touchdowns in an individual game. His 34.3 passer rating for the game was the lowest of his professional career.
Not all of that was down to Buffalo. Green Bay’s receivers dropped half a dozen catchable balls over the course of the game, including one by Jordy Nelson that would have gone for a touchdown. Rodgers was also off target more often than you would expect from a player of his abilities.
But a large slice of the credit must still go to a Bills defense that kept him off-balance despite failing to generate the pass rush they have achieved for most of this season. Rodgers was not sacked until Green Bay’s final offensive play, but still could not find windows to throw into against a secondary that is hardly stuffed with household names. The player who got both interceptions, Bacarri Rambo, is a 2013 sixth-round pick who was cut by Washington in September.
“We believed in each other,” said Rambo afterwards. Perhaps more importantly, he and his team-mates also bought into Jim Schwartz’s defensive schemes.
Unlike against Denver, Buffalo were rewarded with a victory. The Bills generated just 253 yards of total offense – 80 fewer than Green Bay – but a 75-yard punt return from Marcus Thigpen was the main difference in a 21-13 win.
With a better quarterback than Kyle Orton, and a more explosive lead running back than Fred Jackson, it would have been an easy win. More than likely, this team would already be playoff bound. And then perhaps we would be discussing Buffalo’s defense as the best in the NFL. PB
Johnny Awful
With hindsight, it was silly to think Johnny Manziel could lead the Browns to victory over Cincinnati (ahem). The rookie had been thrust into an enormously pressurised situation, making his first professional start in a win-or-bust matchup against a division rival at a point when the Browns’ season had already begun to come apart at the seams.
The team he stepped into had lost three of its previous four games. Cleveland’s offense had been stuttering ever since center Alex Mack went down with a broken leg in October. A defense which had lost the likes of Karlos Dansby, Tashaun Gipson, and Phil Robertson to injury, and for whom Joe Haden was playing on a reduced snap count, was never going to shut the Bengals down as as they had during a 24-3 road victory in week 10.
But if there was one thing that did seem reasonable to expect from Manziel’s first start, it was a little excitement. Not everybody believed that the quarterback, with his reputation for partying off the field, was ready for the responsibility of leading an NFL offense. Not everybody believed that, at 6ft tall and with only average arm strength, he had the physical tools to succeed in the pros.
Most of us, though, assumed he would be fun to watch. He certainly had been in college, earning that Johnny Football nickname – not to mention a Heisman Trophy – with his endless escape acts and flair for making plays outside the pocket. Jerry Jones likened Manziel to Elvis Presley. Flawed, perhaps, but certainly a great entertainer.
The NFL saw none of that charisma on Sunday. Outmatched and perhaps overwhelmed by the occasion, Manziel never even really threatened to get the crowd on their feet. On his first drop back, he attempted to tuck the ball and run, only to be swallowed up instantly by a defender. That would be the story of the afternoon, Cincinnati’s defenders closing on his attempted scrambles so quickly as to make it appear that he was running through tar.
Manziel’s attempts to pass the ball were just as unsuccessful, the ball floating high and loose off his fingers. He finished with 10 completions on 18 attempts for 80 yards, no scores and two interceptions, but even that miserable stat line fails to reflect how badly he struggled.
Far from being fun to watch, this was downright painful. The Bengals’ defenders enjoyed themselves, more than one mocking his ‘money’ celebration. Cincinnati’s fans will also have relished the 30-0 win which keep them top of the AFC North.
But for the rest of us, this was just an ugly mismatch, in which Manziel looked like exactly what he is: a rookie quarterback with an awful lot to learn. Plenty of successful sporting careers have been born from similarly inauspicious beginnings, and now is hardly the time to write him off. But it might be the moment to bring our expectations for a flawed rookie quarterback swiftly back down to earth. PB
Five-win Panthers flirting with playoffs
Week 15 saw the AFC East (Patriots) and AFC South (Colts) divisions decided, but regrettably it’s the NFC South that needs breaking down. Much has been said about the dirty South in 2014, and none of it positive. With the NFL boldly supporting the notion of ‘more is better’, how about another southern tale this week? The most unlikely playoff team just three weeks ago headed the division after their victory Sunday: Cam Newton-less Carolina, are now wins against Cleveland and Atlanta away from a potential home playoff tie following a 19-17 win over Tampa Bay. ‘Keep pounding’, the Panthers’ Twitter account read after the victory. Not sure how much pounding has preceded this win at 5-8-1, but that’s the South for you.
So how did this happen? Atlanta lost to Pittsburgh, Derek Anderson continued his All-Pro form against the Buccaneers and Luke Kuechly secured the interception to set up a foot race finish in the basement division. This is the same Carolina team that had won one game in the span of a couple of months before their recent two-game win streak, and despite the major TV networks clambering for winner-takes-all Week 17 match-ups, you can be sure this isn’t the one they truly desire.
Newton has been on the receiving end of critics who don’t believe he has progressed sufficiently as the end of his fourth season in the league nears, but he was the unfortunate victim of a car crash in midweek which was sadly met with questions of ‘will he start against Tampa Bay?’ rather than ‘is he actually OK?’.
So excuse me for asking the question but why so much Manziel-mania when we’ve got awesome-Anderson? The veteran stepped in diligently, throwing for 277 yards, one touchdown and most importantly no turnovers.
This is no doubt one of the worst divisions in league history whoever decides to win it, further making a case for seeding if and when playoff teams are expanded next March.
The best the winner can do in this sorry group is finish 8-8, and said team will have a home wild card encounter against a worthier opponent. Whatever you do this week, make sure to keep pounding on the league to change the way the playoff berths are decided. MW
NFC East showdown goes Cowboys way
December is a special month for a lot of people, with the holiday season homing in and families rejoicing, but Tony Romo hasn’t brought many gifts to the table in a month which tends to determine the trajectory of an NFL season. But on Sunday, Dallas headed to Philadelphia – who had trounced the Cowboys just two weeks ago – and won a game that held huge playoff implications.
After blowing a 21-0 lead, Dallas rallied behind three touchdown catches from Dez Bryant – putting him atop the league list with 13 – and two more scores on the ground from DeMarco Murray – also leading the rushing list with 11 – to move ahead in the NFC East standings at 10-4.
After that Thanksgiving loss Bryant was left frustrated, calling out the Eagles secondary for being ‘cheap’. But playing as the best receiver in the game should, he responded with a slash line of six catches, 114 yards and a career best three scores, all while being ‘covered’ by Bradley Fletcher, who no doubt felt the wrath of Bryant throughout.
Philadelphia had won 10 straight at Lincoln Financial Field before their last two defeats, and in this historically challenging month for Romo’s ‘Boys they showed that this particular team may be a class above previous failures. The proof came after two touchdowns from Chris Polk and a Darren Sproles run that put the Eagles up 24-21, when Dallas responded with two scores in a span of 2:51, a riposte worthy of a division champion.
But why only set their sights there? Dallas are 7-0 on the road this season, with a home game against the Colts next week before a trip to struggling Washington to close up shop. Only five teams in NFL history have ever gone perfect on their travels during the regular season, and four of them ended up at the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile Philadelphia, who started the season 7-2, now need plenty to go their way in order to make the postseason. Eagles fans will inevitably blame the injury to Nick Foles as the catalyst for despair – back-up Mark Sanchez was sacked twice and picked off during his final two drives – but their problems clearly run deeper than that. MW
Quick outs
• Defeat dropped Cleveland out of contention in the AFC North, but Pittsburgh and Baltimore both kept pace with Cincinnati by winning on Sunday. All three now have nine victories, but the Bengals have their noses in front thanks to their week six tie with Carolina. Given that they still have a road game against the Steelers to come in week 17, it is not time to start counting chickens just yet.
• Houston are technically still alive in the AFC, but realistically they would need a miracle after falling to 7-7 in the wake of a 17-10 defeat to the Colts. The Texans will rue their misfortune in losing Ryan Fitzpatrick to a leg injury in the second quarter, with Ryan Mallett already ruled out for the remainder of the season. Rookie fourth-round pick Tom Savage acquitted himself pretty well (better than Manziel) but beating Indianapolis on the road is a pretty tough ask to start your career, even on a day when Andrew Luck also struggled.
• Another week, and another row between police and an NFL team regarding players’ rights to use their pregame introductions as the stage for a personal protest. Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins wore a shirt reading, “Justice for Tamir Rice and John Crawford III” as he entered the field for his team’s game against Cincinnati. Both individuals were killed by police in incidents this year. “The Cleveland Police protect and serve Browns stadium,” said Jeffrey Follmer, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolment’s Association, in a subsequent statement. “The Browns organization owes us an apology.”
• The 49ers have been eliminated from playoff contention after their loss to Seattle, but might things have gone differently without a key roughing the passer call against the 49ers in the fourth quarter? Linebacker Nick Moody was flagged for hitting Russell Wilson in the chest just after he had released the ball on an incomplete third-down pass. The NFL’s head of officiating, Dean Blandino, has since confirmed that this was the wrong call. Without the penalty, the Seahawks would likely have attempted a field goal. Instead they scored a touchdown two plays later, taking a 17-7 lead that they preserved to the end.
• Good year to be a rookie wide receiver from LSU.
• Peyton Manning blocking. PB
