The Final Drive: Week 17, 2011-12 posted by Joe Anello

The 2011 NFL regular season ended with a bang with some great finishes and superb drama on Sunday. Records were set by a back-up QB, a team captain was benched for “quitting” and a fat-handed QB lost missed out on the post-season. The Final Drive must begin!

This makes me beyond furious. Mike McCarthy takes out his MVP quarterback and starts a fourth year back-up with one career start in Matt Flynn, and f*cking records are broken. Six touchdowns? 480 yards? Who wouldn’t want to be Matt Flynn right now? That guy is about to make BANK as a free agent. Blow me Green Bay. Take your awesome quarterback development and blow me.

(6-10) Miami Dolphins 19
(8-8) New York Jets 17
Mark Sanchez: 3 interceptions. Santonio Holmes: benched and called out as a whiny quitter by his teammates.  (Seriously. Worst team captain ever.) Bart Scott: flips off a photographer and refuses to talk to the media (For once). Finally seeing theses loathsome Jets miss the playoffs is SO satisfying to me. Take it Rex Ryan. Take it hard.

I don’t give a crap about the result of this game. What I do care about is DeSean Jackson deciding to actually play like he means it and be remorseful for his completely idiotic actions this season in the last game of the year. I’d be surprised (not stunned though) if the Eagles kept Jackson around. Maybe franchise him and get him on a one-year deal, but you would have thought he’d have been on better behavior once he showed up to 2011.

The Final Drive: Week 16, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

It was a Christmas Eve of meaningful NFL action as all the remaining playoff spots were nearly filled and draft orders are beginning to finalize. Miss any of the action? No need to worry, because the Final Drive starts right now!

Indy… what are you doing??? After all the speculation, you could single-handedly win yourself out of a franchise quarterback. Knock it off. (Or play more scrubs.) To Houston, I say congratulations. You’re in the playoffs. Now get ready to go home before anyone else.

This was about as disappointing a loss as you could find on Sunday. For a division-leader that could have locked up their playoff berth to lay down to a team that had nothing to play for is unacceptable. The Teebs magic was all used up apparently as Timmy tossed four interceptions, two of which were boomerangs. I wish I had been able to watch this one. It would have felt SO good.

It was looking awkward when the ‘Phins were up 17-0 at halftime, but Brady rallied and made sure his team clinched a first-round bye. I’m expecting the Patriots to take the number one seed in the AFC, but I don’t feel very confident about their postseason chances.

PFFT. I’m glad this turned out to be less of a game, because if it had been overly dramatic I wouldn’t stop hearing about it all week. And the rumors that the Jets aren’t completely sold on Sanchez for next year? Frosting on the cake baby. And this picture of Jacobs and Ryan jawing afterward? Weird.

The Opening Drive: Week 16, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Christmas Eve or not, there’s no way I’d let a schedule of great NFL action slip past my nets! The playoff positioning is settling in, but there’s some unresolved business in the NFC East with two pivotal games on Saturday. There’s plenty to talk about in week 16, so let’s get right to it!

John Skelton gets another chance to prove how little publicity the Cardinals can garner, despite his Tebowian winning ways. They travel to Cincy to take on the Bengals, who are desperate to climb back into the playoffs after stumbling the past few weeks. (I mean, they didn’t exactly blow out St. Louis.)

Can a game between a 7-7 and 8-6 team be any more unnecessarily hyped? I know there’s playoff hopes on the line and it’s between the two New York squads, but please, can we settle down slightly? The Jets defense has been utterly mediocre and Mark Sanchez has regressed. Give me Eli and the inconsistent Giants in this one.

This one would be almost not worth writing about except for Big Ben’s injury. Instead, the ancient Charlie Batch will get the start against the lowly Rams, a team that is now in the running for the first pick in April’s draft. I’m picking the Steeler defense in this match-up… because not much else excites me.

The Final Drive: Week 15, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

I’m not sure what else you could have wanted from week 15 in the NFL. Two impressive streaks ended, the “Trap of the Week” proved to be true once again and one win never mattered as much as it did for Indianapolis. (And Candlestick Park was sans light… for a few second before auxiliary lighting come on. Not as much drama.) Many a-loser won on this day. Oddsmakers be damned! Get ready for The Final Drive!

Oh Tennessee. How could you? You somehow managed to give their first lowly Colts a victory whilst in the midst of your own playoff hunt. For shame. While it’s nice to get a win (I’m sure), Jim Caldwell should still get effing fired.

Another streak brought to a necessary conclusion! Honestly, as much as we generally thought the Packers COULD do it, it’s probably better that they didn’t. Injuries to their offensive line killed them yesterday against the Chief pass rush, just one facet of a defense that made it difficult on Aaron Rodgers. Well done Romeo Crennel. Oh yeah, and the Chiefs can somehow still get into the playoffs.

BOOM! You got TRAPPED Eli! This was such an obvious upset to pick, even in a day that ended up with a metric ton of stunning results. How the Giants could come out and lay an egg like this when they had a chance to put some distance in front of the Cowboys is appalling. (And hilarious.)

The Opening Drive: Week 15, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Week 15??? Really? Time goes by so fast! With the playoff races tight and Tebow versus Brady on the schedule, week 15 has everything you want. Let’s set-up for The Opening Drive!

We’re starting this week’s drive by diving right into the “Trap of the Week!” The Giants are coming off a huge win against the Cowboys, with whom they’re tussling for the division title. It would be fitting of this annually inconsistent team to lose a game late in the season that they absolutely should win.

I seriously have no idea what’s going on in this game. Two aggressive defensive lines, but two very different offenses will take the field. The Lions can’t run the ball to save their lives and the Raiders would prefer to simply pound you into the dust. Something has to give.

Speaking of something has to give… I will do anything to be able to see a beatdown of these Broncos. Tom Brady… I will do ANYTHING. Just have the Patriot PR person get in touch with me. Away from divine interference on the field, I simply don’t see the Broncos keeping pace offensively with the Patriots. Brady should have a two-touchdown lead going into the fourth quarter, which should be more than enough. If the Pats score more than 24, they should win.

The Final Drive: Week 12, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Another Monday night means another edition of The Final Drive! I’m going to skip right past the Thanksgiving Day games as we all saw what happened. (Right?) Lots going on in week 12, including another QB injury in Houston and more magic from Jebus and Teebs.

(6-5) Tennessee Titans 23
(4-7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17
Hey… Chris Johnson showed up to the 2011 NFL season. Welcome.

(6-5) New York Jets 28
(5-6) Buffalo Bills 24
Completely overshadowed by his idiotic celebration and dropped touchdown is the fact that Stevie Johnson made Revis Island look like a vacation. He consistently beat Revis in one-on-one match-ups, but that wasn’t enough for the Bills to avoid dropping their fourth straight.

I don’t care so much about this result, since the Jags are pretty terrible. But Matt Leinart broke his collarbone, effectively ending his season and leaving T.J. Yates in charge of this playoff-bound squad. That has to be a frightening thought for Texan fans. I was really looking forward to Leinart and his porn’ ‘stache.

(8-3) New England Patriots 38
(4-7) Philadelphia Eagles 20

The Opening Drive: Week 12, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

I hope you got your fill of exciting and meaningful football on Thanksgiving, because there is a slew of pure crap on the early NFL schedule for week 12. I’ll still be entertained no matter what I’m watching, but you might want to sleep in a bit if you just want to watch good teams. It’s time to kick-off the Opening Drive!

(2-8) Carolina Panthers at
(0-10) Indianapolis Colts

I’ve got my eye on this game because it might be the only game Indy wins this entire season. Cam Newton’s production and excitement has waned in recent weeks, leaving a horrific defense and so-so offense in front of Panther fans. If Curtis Painter (or whatever crappy QB they put out there) was ever going to put up a respectable point total, it’d be in this match-up. Though now that I’ve said that they’ll probably get shut-out.

(5-5) Buffalo Bills at
(5-5) New York Jets 

For the Bills and Jets, this game is a chance to get back into the AFC Wild Card hunt, since neither team will be able to catch up to the Patriots. It would be more interesting if the Jets hadn’t absolutely pounded the Bills in Buffalo only three weeks ago, but alas, we’re probably in for more of the same. Rumors of an out in the Ryan Fitzpatrick contract are swirling heavily. He needs to play really well down this stretch in order to avoid being dropped like a mediocre hat at the end of the year.

Tebow-time Clocks Jets, 17-13 posted by Richard Kagan

Say what you want abut Tim Tebow.  He can't pass the ball.  He looks inept.  He can't move a team.  Well, his team was on the 5 yard line and he moved them down the field 95 yards on the final drive with 1 or 2 completed passes and some pretty runs and in the end, its 17-13 Broncos.  The Jets played ugly and lost ugly.  They fell victim to Tebow ball.  Lost to a guy who can't, for now, throw the ball with accuracy.  And, in the last play, on a blitz, Tebow skirts to the left side and runs, almost untouched to the end-zone.  The Jets are the jokes here. 

The Jets blow a lot of smoke and hot air. And their coach Buddy Ryan has a lot of bluster and big talk, and darn it, "we got beat today, that's all there is to say."  It's simple when you lose like that.  You are too stunned to say anything else.

It's Tebow-time.  The Jets got clocked.

Jets Trail 3-0 in Denver posted by Richard Kagan

It's early in Denver and the Jets trail 3-0.  Of course, Tim Tebow is getting more press these days.  Can he throw, can he run?  Will be be an NFL QB?  It remains to be seen.  At any rate, the Jets need to win this game.  They need to stop Tebow on the run or if he passes.  And, Denver has to stop the passing attack of NY.  They'd like to run, but in the rarified air of Denver, maybe QB Sanchez can find an air pocket?  The Jets with all their bluster, are in a game they need to win to be relevant in the AFC.  If not, their playoffs hopes take a major hit.

Joe's 2011 Thursday Night Preview: Jets at Broncos posted by Joe Anello

What a game NFL Network has for us tonight. Two of the most scrutinized quarterbacks in the NFL take to primetime hoping to prove they’re passable NFL signal-callers. Tim Tebow is 3-1 this season a starter and won his last start despite only completing two passes. Mark Sanchez is under fire yet again after getting shelled by the Patriots in what ended up being a blow-out loss at the Meadowlands. Thank you NFL!

(5-4) New York Jets at
(4-5) Denver Broncos

Don’t look now, but with a win the Broncos could get to .500 and move into second place in the AFC West, a loss behind Oakland at 5-4. I could not be any more excited to see the Tim Tebow show in action tonight. John Fox has taken great lengths to make Tebow feel at home by incorporating the read option into the Bronco offense, letting Tebow run to his heart’s content. (Though how’d you like to be a wide-out in an offense that runs 55 times a game?) Thankfully Fox’s defense has shown up to work with an attitude the past few weeks, led by rookie sack-machine Von Miller, who’s getting plenty of DROY talk.

Speaking of defense, the New York Jets can’t have another second-half meltdown if they hope to keep their playoff hopes alive. Thankfully they’re not playing the Patriots again. Instead Rex Ryan has to gameplan to contain Tim Tebow and the triple-option and somehow get Mark Sanchez to not suck. After being drafted in 2009, Sanchez has improved incrementally each season, but I think he’s just about as his ceiling, which clearly isn’t very high. His “great” games just aren’t that good and his “bad” games can be downright putrid. Coming off such a low, the Jets could rebound to show their colors or lay down and accept their lot.

Schottenheimer to run Rams' offense (AP)

Jeff Fisher isn't wasting any time putting his staff together in St. Louis. The new Rams coach formally announced Monday that Brian Schottenheimer was the team's new offensive coordinator and that Gregg Williams will run the defense. Schottenheimer spent the past six seasons with the New York Jets, where he helped the team make consecutive trips to the AFC championship game. [read full article]

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