Yesterday was one of the craziest days in a while for the NFL. With all the upsets we had yesterday, we learned a lot about the teams that had the big wins and those who lost.
1. Green Bay toughest challenge is themselves. Green Bay did not come out yesterday ready to play and it cost them their perfect season. This was one of those perfect trap games for the Packers that they got caught in. Green Bay will have a great chance to make a quick turnaround against the Bears in the national spotlight on Christmas Day. Their opponent; Kansas City, proved that they should have put Kyle Orton in earlier. If Orton would have gotten his shot to play earlier, this Kansas City team could be in playoff contention. Todd Haley wishes he would have put Orton in earlier because he would not have been fired if he would have put him in earlier.
2. The Giants are the most inconsistent team in the whole NFL. Tom Coughlin should be fired if he can't motivate his team for the games that are in between the nationally televised ones. Eli Manning is the most inconsistent quarterback in the whole NFL. Eli Manning played great during the Cowboys game and then was terrible yesterday against the Redskins in throwing three interceptions. The Giants can offensively self implode. There were many drop passes including one by Hakeem Nicks that would have been a touchdown. The Redskins are starting to build some momentum for next season thanks to their excellent defense led by Brian Orakpo and Rookie of the Year candidate Ryan Kerrigan.
3. New England has one of the NFL's best offenses. Tom Brady is leading one of the NFL's most potent passing offenses. This Patriots offense isn't just Brady, Welker, and Gronkowski. Aaron Hernandez had been almost forgotten about but proved why he is one of the top ten tightends in all of the NFL. However, the Patriots defense proved that there run defense is worse than we even realize. Denver will need to improve their offense a little more to be competitive in the playoffs. Denver looks like a team that is a year or two away from being right at the top of the NFL
4. Detroit got the job done in Oakland. Detroit got a critical win yesterday in Oakland thanks to a great performance by Matthew Stafford. Stafford and Calvin Johnson has become the best quarterback to wide reciever combonation in the whole NFL. Detroit will need to improve their pass defense if they want to be a serious Super Bowl contender since they will probably have to go through Green Bay and New Orleans in the playoffs to reach the Super Bowl. However, this win almost seals Detroit's spot in the playoffs as they only need to win at home this week against San Diego or at Green Bay against what will probably be the Packers backups. For the Raiders, they missed a great oppurtunity to tie the AFC West with a win as they threw away a game that they could have used in the tight AFC West. Oakland's pass defense is not as good as it has been in the past.
Extras
Chicago threw away their playoff hopes with a blowout loss at home to Seattle. Caleb Hanie does not have the talent to lead this team to the playoffs. Houston must have their running game put up huge numbers for that offense to have any success. TJ Yates needs an excellent running game to play well. Drew Brees has to be considered for the MVP. Right now, I think Brees is as important to the Saints as Rodgers is to the Packers. Lastly, congrats to the Coltson winning their first game this year. The Colts have been successful in avoiding the ultimate futility in sports, losing every game you play. Tonight's game between Pittsburgh and San Francisco should be a great cap to this week in the NFL.
