This image of chaos is likely burned into most Packer fans' brains by now
So where do I even start....? Week 3 of the 2012 NFL season had to be one of the most bizarre/incredible/unbelievable/crazy/(fill in adjective here) weeks I have ever witnessed in the NFL. And I was saying that before Monday night's well discussed clash between the Packers and Seahawks. It seems like the universe recognized that I started a blog and wanted to make sure I'd have plenty to write about. And I do, I just don't have the time or energy to discuss all of the ridiculous things that happened on Sunday and Monday. But I'll try to briefly cover some of the major points below:
So I'll start with a brief commentary about Monday's robbery football game. Tate committed a penalty shoving the Packers player in the endzone. Jennings caught the interception, established possession, then Tate put his hands on or near the ball. It wasn't simultaneous possession (like the NFL claimed this morning), it was an interception. However because it was ruled as a catch and touchdown on the field, the call was unable to be overturned by video evidence. I partially understand that because the review wasn't 100% conclusive. But I'm not sure how it was ruled a touchdown on the field. You can see in the picture above that one ref signalled interception while the other signalled touchdown. If you are a Packers fan, you have a legitimate reason to be upset. And as fate would have it, I was watching this game in my living room WITH 8 PACKER FANS WHO WERE BORN AND RAISED IN MILWAUKEE. Sooooo there's that. At least our TV is still in one piece.....But to everyone who kept saying "Well, it's not like the replacement referees have decided the outcome to any of the games," well, now they have.
Because this game will be forever remembered for the last play, most people will likely forget what happened before that play. Even though the Packers should have won the game, it wasn't pretty. Aaron Rodgers was sacked 8 times in the first half.....8 times in the first half!!! Seattle is showing that their defense is legit, although it should be noted that the Seahawks have one of the strongest home-field advantages in the league. Packers have to be concerned with the way their offense is playing, but at the same time, starting the year with games against the 49ers, Bears, and Seahawks is a tough start. I have a feeling they will rebound and start clicking again.
If the whole Packers-Seahawks thing didn't happen, people would have been talking about the Lions-Titans game. It featured over 1,000 total yards of offense and a last second hail mary by a backup quarterback to push the game into overtime. Of those 1,000 yards, Chris Johnson had 29. I talked in my Week 3 preview about how disappointing he has been, and it seems to be getting worse instead of better. And while this game was having its crazy overtime ending, the same thing was happening in....
New Orleans! The 0-2 Saints were playing at home against the Chiefs, and still managed to find a way to lose in overtime. The Browns and the Saints are the only two teams in the NFL without a win, and I certainly would have picked New Orleans to go 3-0 before going 0-3. The JC of KC, Jamaal Charles, had a monster game picking up 288 yards and a touchdown on 39 touches. I'm not sure how much this win says for the Chiefs, but the loss seems to speak volumes about the Saints. According to NFL.com, teams starting with an 0-3 record historically have a 2.8% chance of making the playoffs. Payton can't come back soon enough for the Who Dat Nation....
C'mon guys, just pretend that I'm there on the sidelines
After beating the Patriots in Week 2, the Cardinals beat the Eagles to improve to 3-0. I'll pause for a minute and let you re-read that sentence a few times until it sinks in and makes sense......okay it still doesn't? Yeah, it doesn't for me either. This is a team with two quarterbacks (read: no quarterback), a poor offensive line, and a lack of playmakers aside from Larry Fitzgerald. But apparently they have an elite defense all of the sudden, and they are beating quality teams. I've seen several "Power Rankings" that now have Arizona as the #1 team in the NFL. I don't see it that way, I'll be skeptical until I see more. But it's not necessarily a good thing to be the consensus #1 in the Power Rankings: Packers had it in Week 1 and lost to the 49ers, the Patriots had it in Week 2 and lost to the Cardinals, then the 49ers had it in Week 3 and lost to the Vikings. Early upset pick for the Dolphins this week?
Chargers.....ugh, where to start. Well for one, I didn't end up going to the game. I was also unable to watch it on TV because of the [several expletives] NFL blackout rules. However both of these turned out to be blessings in disguise. The Chargers were demolished at home, and there is virtually nothing positive to say about the game. Mathews stayed healthy for a game (!), but managed to fumble in the red zone (his other issue that people forgot about while complaining about his injuries). Rivers, from what I read, was out of rhythm and made several poor decisions. Anyone who knows me has heard me call for Norv Turner's job for years.....and I'm not stopping now. I still maintain that he should have been fired 3 years ago, 2 years ago, AND LAST YEAR FOR SURE. It looks like this will be the status quo in 2012. And speaking of status quo, here's a great video to sum up the Chargers:
And one more game to discuss: Ravens-Patriots. This one is probably going to be forgotten about, but if it weren't for the Packers-Seahawks, THIS would be the game that would have everyone talking about the officials. There were periods of time where a flag was being thrown on seemingly every play. Then there were times where nothing was being called. Fights were breaking out constantly. And then, once again, the game ends on a call made by the replacement refs. Impossible to tell from the TV angles, but the game ended on a Ravens field goal that went above the uprights and was ruled good. Belichick wasn't too pleased and actually grabbed an official. He'll be hearing from Commissioner Goodell for that one, but Roger might have a few more things on his plate as well. I still think both of these teams will be in the hunt, and the AFC Championship game might be a rematch.
I'D LIKE TO DONATE SOME MONEY TO THE NFL!!!!!!
What a crazy week. And what a terrible week to start making picks. I haven't tallied up my final results yet, but I know they're going to be bad. But to be fair, I think I should get the point in the Packers game. And for reference, I'm in a Pick'em pool with seven people where we pick the winners (no point spread), AND NOT A SINGLE PERSON GOT 50% right. Think about it for a second. Picking against the spread should be 50-50, and picking without the spread should give you a solid advantage. So I think I have to throw out Week 3 as a fluke, and keep on going. A bad start, but hopefully I will recover. Right now the monkey flipping coins is having a good laugh....
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