Week 11 Thoughts

A football Sunday without the Minnesota Vikings always seems lacking but it's kinda relaxing.

It seemed that the Green Bay Packers ran the ball more in the first quarter against the Detroit Lions than they have in entire games. The Packers offense is obviously going to be so much more explosive if they can get that ground game going. James Starks is a tough runner. Too bad he can't seem to stay healthy for long.

I sure wish that the Vikings had a receiver like Calvin Johnson. Who doesn't? They could really use a big, physical receiver that you can just chuck the ball up to and have a better than decent chance that he comes down with it. The Vikings certainly had that with Randy Moss so long ago. They had it with Sidney Rice more recently. They need it now. It was hoped that rookie Greg Childs would be that guy but he tore the patella tendons in both knees during training camp. Hopefully, he can come back but the search continues.

Wow, Packers kicker Mason Crosby has the "yips." Fortunately for him, his team still won the game.

The Packers are starting to find more ways to get the ball in the hands of receiver Randall Cobb. In particular, they are lining him up in the backfield and handing it to him. On a team loaded with playmakers, Cobb might be the most dangerous.

The Packers got a big break when the officials decided not to call corner Casey Hayward for pass interference in the end zone late in the game. What could have been at least three plays from the 1-yard line and a possible touchdown ended up being a short field goal with that non call. In a four point game, those missed four points were huge.

Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairly sure likes to celebrate himself. It seems that on every tackle he acts as if he's saved the world. He and fellow dumbass Ndamukong Suh could be one of best tackle combinations in the game. Unless they start focusing on football they'll never get there.

There were three overtime games among the early games. I guess that all were a surprise in that the underdog had double digit leads in regulation only to have the favorites come back and force overtime. All would carry that momentum into the extra time to victory. The Houston Texans had to score fourteen fourth quarter points against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers needed a touchdown and two-point conversion in the last minute to tie the Carolina Panthers. The Dallas Cowboys needed a last second field goal to tie the Cleveland Browns. Great games from struggling teams. Great resolve from teams needing wins to maintain playoff hopes.

The Texans became the first team in NFL history to score twice in overtime.

I approve of the new overtime rules. It's not perfect but it's better than sudden death.

Jaguars rookie receiver Justin Blackmon finally had his breakout game against the Texans. 7 catches for 236 yards with an 81-yard touchdown.

Not to be outdone by a rookie in the same game, Texans receiver Andre Johnson had 14 catches for 273 yards. His 48-yard touchdown in overtime won the game.

It's no surprise that with receiving numbers like that Texans quarterback Matt Schaub and Jaguars quarterback Chad Henne had huge games. 527 yards and 5 touchdowns for Schaub. 354 yards and 4 touchdowns for Henne. Schaub's 527 tied Warren Moon for second most in league history. Norm Van Brocklin's 554 yards way back in 1951 is still the record.

It's amazing that those fantastic receiving games of Blackmon and Johnson are still 100 and 63 yards short of Flipper Anderson's 336 yard game in 1989.

New New England Patriots corner Aqib Talib sure made a nice introduction to his new team. He returned an interception 59 yards for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts yesterday. The Patriots have been looking for playmakers in the secondary for a while. If Talib can stay out of trouble the Patriots may have found their man.

I really like the rookie passing combination that the Colts have with Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton.

Players really need to realize the situation on the field. The Chargers went for it on 4th and 14 on the Broncos 46-yard line with about 9 minutes to play. Broncos safety Jim Leonhard probably thinking only of his own stats intercepted the pass. It resulted in about a twenty yard loss in field position for his team.

Denver Broncos pass rusher Von Miller is a frickin' beast! He might be the best in the game at getting to the quarterback.

After a 1-4 start, the New Orleans Saints are 5-5. Nice recovery.

I love watching Ed Reed play football.

It's surprising, maybe only to me, that there are only six weeks left in the 2012 regular season.

Next week is bad news for the Bears!