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Ravage!!!
11-23-2009, 05:42 PM
John Clayton's Last Call: Giants end skid; problems mounting for Steelers

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/notebook?page=lastcall09/week11


1. Giants keep the faith: Sometimes, faith and a little luck can turn a season around. The Giants believed in themselves enough to pull out a 34-31 overtime victory over the Falcons, and it's pretty clear the Falcons (5-5) question themselves.

The Giants were the more confident team on offense. It took a quarter or two for Eli Manning to adjust to the Falcons' blitzes, but he did. Once he figured them out, Manning attacked the corners for 25 completions, 384 yards and three touchdowns. He moved the chains with Mario Manningham for six catches and 126 yards. In the red zone, Manning hit tight end Kevin Boss -- whom he considers a great tall target -- for two touchdowns. Hakeem Nicks (5 catches, 65 yards) was also a tall target to his left. Steve Smith (4 catches, 79 yards) was a good possession target.

"We didn't change our offense, we just needed to be more consistent,'' said Manning, who noted the team had gone 42 days without a win.

On the flip side, the Falcons weren't confident. During the first half, quarterback Matt Ryan was uncharacteristically gun shy. Because he has thrown too many interceptions in recent weeks, Ryan delayed throws and often had to leave the pocket and throw on the run. He got into a groove in the fourth quarter, but he never got a chance in overtime. The Giants won the toss and quickly drove to a game-winning field goal.

2. Ravens need break from norm: Bill Belichick was criticized all week for his fourth-down decision against the Colts, but the Ravens can be taken to task for being too conservative in a 17-15 loss to the same Colts. Everyone knows you can't settle for field goals if you are going to beat Peyton Manning. Baltimore coach John Harbaugh settled for five and lost the game. Joe Flacco and the Ravens made seven trips inside the Colts' 28-yard line. They had six field-goal attempts and one fourth-quarter interception. Flacco's pick halted a promising Baltimore drive with 2:42 remaining.

The Ravens' offense has become too predictable with too many short throws to Derrick Mason and too many tosses to Ray Rice. At 5-5, the Ravens need a miracle or a change in offensive style to make the playoffs.

3. Widespread problems: Ben Roethlisberger suffered a concussion in the Steelers' 27-24 overtime loss at Kansas City, but Big Ben's health isn't the only problem in Pittsburgh. The Steelers continue to stink on special teams. The Chiefs' Jamaal Charles had 158 yards on four kickoff returns, including a 97-yard touchdown. That's the fourth special-teams score Pittsburgh has allowed in five weeks. Inexcusable.

The usually unbeatable Steelers defense allowed Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel to complete 11 passes for 213 yards in the second half and gave up 20 points to the Chiefs after the intermission. Clearly, the absence of safety Troy Polamalu (knee) had an impact. The Steelers didn't have the Polamalu knockout punch in the second half. After taking a 24-17 lead in the fourth quarter, the Steelers' defense had the Chiefs pinned back at their 9-yard line with 8:29 left. Cassel hit Lance Long for 20 yards and Chris Chambers for 47 yards on back-to-back plays. Four plays later, Cassel tied the score with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Charles.

When Roethlisberger went down in overtime, the Steelers were lost. Charlie Batch couldn't get the Steelers' offense into field goal range, and Cassel hit Chambers for 61 yards to set up the game-winning field goal. At 6-4, the Steelers are clearly a playoff team, but they don't look like a team that's ready to repeat as Super Bowl champs. Special teams are making this a not-so-special team.

4. Rocky Mountain low: Denver's collapse -- not San Diego's rise -- is the story in the AFC West. Sunday's 32-3 loss to the Chargers was Denver's fourth straight defeat following a 6-0 start.

With two games remaining against the Chiefs and one against the Raiders, Denver should get to nine wins. But if the Broncos can't win their Thanksgiving home game against the New York Giants, they probably won't get to 10, which means their playoff hopes are slim. Coach Josh McDaniels is in desperation mode. Chris Simms offered no hope as the starter, and going back to Kyle Orton was a major risk. Playing on a bad left ankle, Orton isn't accurate within his usual 20-yard range and he ended up throwing a pick. If he can't throw accurate passes in that short area, the Broncos can't score many points.

The Broncos have been figured out. They are light on defense, which leaves them vulnerable to the run. The no-huddle throws off their defensive rhythm. McDaniels has to huddle up on what's happening on his team. He's going with veterans, and those veterans are wearing down. On Sunday, first-rounder Robert Ayers was among four draft choices who were inactive. Halfback Knowshon Moreno is the only draft choice who has started. Cornerback Alphonso Smith, who cost McDaniels next year's first-round pick, is playing behind Ty Law as a nickelback.

5. Bengals trip up: Raiders fill-in quarterback Bruce Gradkowski made the Bengals look like the Bungles again, orchestrating a 20-17 victory. The Bengals appeared to be cruising to an easy victory, but Gradkowski, filling in for an ineffective JaMarcus Russell, rallied Oakland from a 17-7 second-half deficit. His 11-play, 80-yard drive culminated in a 29-yard touchdown pass to Louis Murphy with 33 seconds left. Then Andre Caldwell fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting up Sebastian Janikowski's game-winning field goal with 12 seconds left.

What this game showed is the Bengals (7-3) haven't completely matured as a team, something they were so proud of during their victories over the Steelers and Ravens. The Bengals' biggest problem is scoring. They're averaging 21.5 points a game, not up to the standards of the other top teams in the AFC.

Northman
11-23-2009, 05:49 PM
Ravage, always the bearer of positive news. LMAO

Ravage!!!
11-23-2009, 05:52 PM
well... sometimes its either just positive news, or bashing Cutler, that gets the headlines. Right now, the reality is our team is a house-of-cards crashing down.

Northman
11-23-2009, 05:53 PM
Bah! To hell with you! lol

Peerless
11-23-2009, 08:11 PM
Thank you John Clayton. Like I really needed to read your crap to help me understand what's wrong with my Broncos.