We're Back! And NFL Quick Hitters

T.J. Yates needs to get back on his horse

Hey guys, sorry for the absence, first of all. When I started up school, I didn’t know it was going to be that hard to juggle school, work and some personal issues I’ve had over the past couple of months. Through all of that, I knew there was no way I could keep up the pace and we had started to lag in terms of consistent article output. Instead of dragging it out, I just closed up shop for a little while to get my life under control so I could get back in the game.

Anyways, we’re back.

Another big thing was the online radio show I did with Caleb Parkinson also got put on hold. I’m not sure if I’ll return to air just yet, but I’m open to the possibility. Yeah… so there’s that.

Enough babbling, I’m ready to get some NFL talk out of my system.

1. The Texans lost this week against the Panthers.

I was actually pretty surprised by this. It was starting to look like T.J. Yates was finding a comfort zone, especially after he tore my beloved Bengals apart on the final drive of the game last week. I didn’t really expect him to struggle against an average Panthers pass defense. Yet he did.

He looked like a rookie, throwing two picks in the red zone, ultimately leading to the Texans’ demise. It was starting to look like they weren’t going to miss Schaub all that much, but scrap that. It probably doesn’t help that Andre Johnson is going to miss the game against the Colts on Thursday again either. This may scream bad idea, but it would be nice to see Johnson in the lineup against the Titans in week 17. He needs to build some sort of rapport with Yates if they want to be effective in the playoffs.

Even without Johnson, this match up with the Colts is a telling point. Can Yates bounce back and be the game manager the Texans need him to be, or was last week enough to rattle his confidence for the season? With the Colts gaining momentum (tehe), it’s tough to say.

2. The Ravens continue to be the Rubik’s cube of the NFL.

A close, hard fought loss to the Chargers would be acceptable. The drubbing that took place on Sunday was not.

Championship teams come to play every week. Heck even some won’t during a week, but the Ravens have forgotten their fire at home more than once. Flash back to week two against the Titans. Nobody expected the Ravens to lose to the Titans, but that one is still understandable, considering it is early in the season and the Titans somehow got off to a quick start by going 3-1 to start the season.

The next two losses weren’t quite as encouraging.

The Jaguars are horrible; and they lost 7-12. The Seahawks are marginally better at best and they got beat 17-22. Now we get to throw in this horrible loss to the Chargers in the mix as well.

It’s no secret the Ravens are good. They have experience, talent and coaching all in one. However, the defense isn’t the same it used to be. They failed to get pressure on Phillip Rivers. Joe Flacco is just an average QB and their inability to get the most effective use out of Ray Rice in some weeks is haunting them. To make things worse for Flacco, he was sacked seven times last week. Yikes.

They’ve got a chance to finish out strong, though, with final games against the Browns and Bengals and the chance to clinch a first round bye.

3. Tebowdom got put back in its place.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Tim Tebow. He’s a great role model, dynamic player and a great story. But you would have had to be blind to not see this loss coming.

You didn't think you could get through an article without reading about or seeing a picture of Tebow did you?

Tebow has failed to produce before the fourth quarter this entire season and you knew he was going to have to if they wanted to win this game. He didn’t do too bad against the Patriots, but as expected, they weren’t able to hold pace against a high powered offense like the Patriots.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Broncos make the playoffs, though. They finish out with the Bills and Chiefs, two very winnable games. It’s not entirely Tebow’s fault that he hasn’t produced in the first three quarters of games either. The coaching staff hasn’t let him lose that early. If they do, they should handily win out.

An interesting stat: The Broncos have played four games against quarterbacks ranked in the top 10 in passing, those being Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Phillip Rivers (twice) and Tom Brady. They’ve gone 1-4 in those games. That also decreases their odds for potential playoff success for obvious reasons.

Another stat:

Tim Tebow	CMP	ATT	Yards	PCT	TD	INT	RAT
1st Quarter	17	33	222	51.5%	1	1	70.5
2nd Quarter	16	46	124	34.8%	1	0	50.8
3rd Quarter	16	42	258	38.1%	3	0	83.2
4th Quarter	54	92	842	58.7%	6	1	106.3

My major concern with Tebow’s potential comes in the form of his porous completion percentage. Time will tell how much it will improve, it’s obvious he can hit the big throws, but he needs to do it with more consistency. However, Tebow might be the kind of QB that can be successful without a solid completion percentage.

4. The pressure is off the Packers.. or is it?

The Packers got knocked off from the ranks of the unbeaten on Sunday, losing to the mighty Kansas City Chiefs. They made Kyle Orton look like a Pro Bowler and Aaron Rodgers wasn’t on his A-Game.

I am by no means saying the blueprint is out on how to beat this team, just that this defense is going to lead to their downfall. They just simply aren’t very good. While in the middle of the pack (pun intended) of points allowed, they are second worst in the total yardage category, giving up nearly 400 yards per game. When they play playoff teams, those massive yardage amounts are going to get them touchdowns, not field goals.

They still are a legitimate Super Bowl contender, obviously, but the fact that they are going to be playing every playoff game in the frozen tundra worries me. If Rodgers doesn’t turn in his best performances, they could be going home early.

Momentum may shift away as well. They finish up the season playing a very desperate Bears team and another team likely needing a win in the Detroit Lions in week 17. Combine those games with a bye week and it’s a little startling.

Lucky for them, they play in the NFC. The 49ers struggle to score at times, the Lions are sporadic, the Falcons may or may not show up and the Cowboys have struggled in big games to a point in the past. Their biggest obstacle comes in the form of the New Orleans Saints, a team capable of keeping pace with the Packers.

Entertainment of the day:

Biggest necks in the NFL

Top 10 Peyton Manning Commercials