NFL Week 12 Thanksgiving Preview: Don't Diss the Turkey Day Games
The Thanksgiving Day games have gotten a lot of hate lately, and considering they involve the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys, who have a combined seven wins, against the New York Jets, New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints, who have a combined 23 wins, it might not be misguided.
Let's face it, Thanksgiving has been seriously lacking in years past, as there have only been six games since 2001 that have been decided by 10 points or fewer, and only one in the past four Thanksgivings, a nine-point win by Kansas City over Denver.
It's not crazy to want to switch the game over to the Texas A&M-Texas game when the Bengals and Jets play in prime time.
However, these games are getting a bum rap, and there are plenty of reasons to watch.
Expect exciting games while you are in between your second and third helping of your Aunt Trudy's stuffing and yams.
Will New England Be Trapped?
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The New England Patriots are coming off back-to-back wins against two of the best teams in the NFL—the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts.
The Detroit Lions are coming off back-to-back losses to two of the not-so-best teams in the NFL—the Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys.
The Patriots then go on to play the New York Jets, Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, all terrific teams who are eying the playoffs and will be tough games for these Patriots.
If that isn't enough to classify this game as a possible trap game, then I don't know what is.
This will be one to tune into, as there is a possible upset out there to put a tree branch into the spokes of the Patriots bicycle.
Jason Garrett
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Never, ever, ever have I been excited to watch a team quarterbacked by the one and only Jon Kitna, but I must say I'm intrigued with Thursday's matchup against New Orleans.
The Dallas Cowboys may be a measly 3-7, but before the firing of Wade Phillips, they were 1-7 and are coming off back-to-back wins against the Giants and Lions.
Whether the team is tired of looking terrible on the football field or they are afraid of losing their job, they have not only won in their past two games, they have done so during in games.
This will be a game to catch, as the Cowboys players will be putting life and limb on the line to keep their job, and the coaches will be pulling out all the stops to do the same.
T.O. and Ochocinco on the National Stage
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It's no secret that the Cincinnati Bengals have laid an egg this season, but it is a secret that they have been exciting this season.
Despite the fact that they are 2-8 and they gave up a massive lead to the lowly Bills on Sunday, they have been exciting, as they have only lost two games by more than 10 points this season.
Another trend that has come up is the fact that Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco seem to show up when the limelight is shined on the Bengals.
Their biggest games from this season and the receivers yards are as follows:
@ New England (First game of the season and game against New England=Limelight): Ochocinco 159 yards, T.O 53 yards
@ Cleveland (Ohio battle royal=Limelight): T.O. 222 yards, Ochocinco 59 yards
vs. Pittsburgh (Monday Night Football): T.O. 141 yards, Ochocinco 15 yards
@ Indianapolis (Game vs. Peyton Manning=Limelight): Ochocinco 86 yards, Owens 64 yards
Besides their knack for showing up when the world (or at least all of Ohio) is watching, Owens has recently been complaining about how bad Cincy has been, and that will either lead to a T.O. explosion game or a T.O. implosion game, and both are entertaining to watch.
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Jon Kitna Vies for 30,000
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Jon Kitna is sitting at 28,516 total career yards, just short of one of the biggest benchmarks for a quarterback to pass to be considered Hall of Fame-worthy: 30,000 yards.
He has averaged 244 yards per game this season, and if Tony Romo doesn't return this season, that would put him at 1,464 more yards the rest of the way.
If he stays on this pace for the rest of the season, he would end the season with 29,980 yards.
Needless to say, he has a shot at getting to 30,000, and if he has a big game Thursday, talks could start heating up.
Whether you consider Jon Kitna a quarterback worthy of the NFL Hall of Fame or not (and I am guessing most people reside in the latter group), it is definitely an interesting development to keep in mind while you're chowing down Thursday.
Besides, it's at least a good subject to bring up while watching the game with your father-in-law and uncles that you haven't seen since the Fourth of July and have nothing to break the awkward silence.
Darrell Revis and Two Outpoken Receivers
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There is no question that Darrell Revis has had a worse year this year than he did last year, although he has been plagued with injuries this season.
The surprising thing is, even with the addition of Antonio Cromartie, they seem to be a worse defensive team this season compared to a year ago.
With a very simple ranking system that ranks team defenses from first to worst depending on how many yards they give up compared to the league average, footballoutsiders.com gives good perspective on the New York Jets.
Last season, the Jets gave up 34 percent less than the average through the air and 12 percent less on the ground, easily the best defensive team in the country.
Now, however, they give up 12 percent more than the league average through the air, a number that puts them at 17th in the league, while their run defense has improved to 23 percent less than average.
This Thursday, they play the Bengals, the same team from a few slides ago with a few outspoken receivers who like to show off on the big stage.
One of those receivers, Terrell Owens, even called the once feared Revis an "average" cornerback and a one-hit wonder.
It's time for both of these guys to put up or shut up (although it's improbable that Owens ever shuts up), and that should make for an exciting matchup.
New Orleans-Dallas Shootout
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New Orleans and Dallas have two offenses that can, on any given day, be among the best in the NFL.
They each have quarterbacks playing who aren't afraid of chucking the ball downfield and receivers who are capable of burning any defensive back in the league.
If there is one thing that this game has going for it, it's its potential to have a score ballooning to over 60 combined points.
Dallas' Jon Kitna has been alternating 180-yard games with 350-yard games, and the good news is that he threw for 147 yards against Detroit, which, according to my mind that assumes every pattern I see will continue, means he will go for at least 300 against New Orleans.
Drew Brees hasn't had less than 250 yards since Week 1 and has had multiple passing touchdowns in eight of his 10 games.
Don't change the channel on this one, or you just may miss that 94-yard pass that everyone is talking about on Friday.
It's Tradition!!!
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Now that football has seemed to have supplanted baseball as America's favorite sport (I'm still not giving it America's favorite pastime), there is nothing more traditional to do than watch football on Thanksgiving.
We have made a name for sitting on the couch and eating too much, and this is the day that we get to show off our hard work from all year.
So pile the food on your plate, shovel it down, plop yourself down in your favorite seat with your favorite beverage and take in the non-stop football on Thursday and show the world what we're made of.
I know I will.
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