Dave’s Football Blog

It’s the sort of firing that won’t get as much attention as, say, Butch Davis or Tyrone Willingham, but the Carolina Panthers waived kicker Jeff Chandler today. Chandler attempted two field goals last Sunday against Tampa Bay and missed both of them. That’s a pretty good way to lose your job.

Say hi to Tim Couch for us, Jeff.

Who beat this conference with the ugly stick?

1. Philadelphia (10-1)
2. Atlanta (9-2)
3. Green Bay (7-4)
4. Seattle (6-5)
—
5. Minnesota (7-4)
6. St. Louis (5-6)
—
7. N.Y. Giants (5-6)
8. 7 teams tied at (4-7)

Green Bay edged Minnesota in a Week 10 matchup at Lambeau field, so they tenuously hold the NFC North tiebreaker. St. Louis has the tiebreaker over the Giants by virtue of a better conference record. Philadelphia has already clinched the NFC East title and only has to hold off Atlanta for home field advantage. Atlanta could clinch the NFC South title Sunday with a win against the Buccaneers in Tampa.

The Packers’ thrashing of the Rams last night in Green Bay, however, has put the last Wild Card spot up for grabs, and nine, count ‘em, nine teams with sub-.500 records have a shot at this. The Rams and Giants are 5-6. Arizona, Carolina, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, New Orleans and Tampa Bay are 4-7.

Yes, you read that right — the Carolina Panthers started the season 1-7 and are down to their fifth option at running back, but three straight wins have put them back in the hunt for a playoff berth.

Man, the NFC just sucks, doesn’t it? You can almost hear people in Houston cursing under their breath about being stuck in the better conference…

The real lynchpin here is the NFC West, or as I like to call it, the Division of Oz. Last night’s loss put St. Louis a game behind, but because they beat Seattle twice this season, they hold the division tiebreaker. If both teams finish 8-8, St. Louis wins the division, and Seattle is left hoping. The only bright side for the Seahawks is that they have tiebreakers on the Giants and every 4-7 team in the NFC South.

Confused yet? You will be. Next Sunday is starting to look like “Moving Day” for these sub.-500 teams. Let’s take a look at some NFC matchups for Week 13.

1.) Green Bay at Philadelphia, (Sun, 4:15PM, FOX)

This will be the one everybody wants to watch, as it will pit the Super Bowl favorite against a team that declared that this season is Super Bowl or bust. Whoever wants the Super Bowl has to go through the Illadelph to get it. Much will depend on the health of Packers RB Ahman Green and the ability of the Green Bay secondary to cover Terrell Owens.

2.) Minnesota at Chicago. (Sun, 1:00 PM, FOX)

The Vikings are 2-3 on the road, but they see a big opportunity to snatch the NFC North lead away from the Packers with a win against a team with no quarterback. Jeff George? Are you kidding me? Was Frank Reich busy? Should we start the Tim Couch suicide watch now? The Bears may be alive in the playoff hunt, but they’re much deeper in the hole than a lot of other 4-7 teams.

3.) Atlanta at Tampa Bay. (Sun, 1:00 PM, FOX)
4.) Carolina at New Orleans. (Sun, 1:00 PM, FOX)

These two games will determine the fate of the NFC South. Not only could the Falcons clinch the division on Sunday, but they could knock Tampa Bay out of the running for the last Wild Card spot. Should the Bucs pull off the upset, though, they would be back in the hunt, fumbling running back and all.

Meanwhile, Carolina and New Orleans both find themselves in a must-win game. The Panthers defense is starting to show some glimpses of last year’s squad, while New Orleans still has one of the worst defenses in the league. I don’t think that team is listening to Jim Haslett anymore. If Nick Goings has a 100-yard day and the Panther D forces Aaron Brooks into another memorable blooper, Haslett may get his pink slip by next Tuesday.

5.) Dallas at Seattle, (Mon, 9:00 PM, ABC)

Here’s another must-win game for both teams. St. Louis gets to stay home and face the San Francisco Lollipop Guild. The Seahawks, who have less mental toughness than any Mike Holmgren-coached team I’ve ever seen, has to win to stay a game ahead. They face a Dallas team that can make or break their season with this game. If Seattle loses, they face the possibility that Dallas could hold a Wild Card tiebreaker on them.

Cowboys’ rookie RB Julius Jones put up 150 against the Bears on Thanksgiving. Think he’ll be a factor here?

6.) N.Y. Giants at Washington. (Sun, 4:15 PM, FOX)

So what exactly made the New York Football Giants look at Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger and think they had the best of both worlds in Eli Manning? This team was 5-2 four weeks ago. Now they’ve benched a former Super Bowl MVP in favor of a rookie who is clearly proving he was not the best QB in the 2004 draft. On top of that, both their defensive ends, including All-Pro deoderant pitchman Michael Strahan, are injured and out for the season.

The Reskins may stink this year, but they have a decent defense and a good running back, making them just the sort of team that could pick the Giants off right now. With the Ravens and Steelers looming on the horizon, the Giants could be deeper in the hole than most people think.

7.) Arizona at Detroit. (Sun, 1:00 PM, FOX)

Really, are either of these teams good enough to make the playoffs? One of them will stay in the hunt with a win, but I don’t think either will finish the season better than 7-9.

ESPN is reporting that the Cleveland Browns have fired head coach Butch Davis this morning and will name an interim coach soon. Davis went 24-35 in nearly four years in Cleveland and got to the playoffs once in 2002.

Browns QB Kelly Holcomb threw 5 TDs passes on Sunday, but the Browns still lost to the Bengals, 58-48. I don’t care how much respect Marvin Lewis has. When the Bengals drop 58 on you, it’s time to go.

Butch won’t have to wait long to find his next gig. He’s already a candidate for several minor league…uhhhh, I mean college football head coaching positions.

The NFC West is like the Wizard of Oz. The Seahawks have no heart, the Rams have no brain, the Cardinals have no courage, and the 49ers look like a house fell on them.

Here’s how it looks in the AFC right now:

1. Pittsburgh (10-1)
2. New England (10-1)
3. San Diego (8-3)
4. Indianapolis (8-3)
—
5. New York Jets (8-3)
6. Baltimore (7-4)
—
7. Denver (7-4)
8. Jacksonville (6-5)

Pittsburgh currently has home-field advantage, thanks to their Week 8 victory over New England. San Diego is ahead of Indianapolis by virtue of better conference record. The same tie-breaker applies to the last Wild Card spot, and the Ravens lead the Broncos by a half-game at the moment.

Key AFC matchups to watch in Week 13:

1.) Denver at San Diego. (Sun, 4:05, CBS)

Make no mistake — this is the game of the week. This game will have a dramatic impact on seeds 3 through 6 in the AFC playoff race. The Broncos put themselves in a terrible position, too, after getting upset by the lowly Raiders at home last Sunday and falling a game behind the surging Chargers. In order to stay alive for a division title, Denver must win in San Diego. That will give them the automatic tiebreaker over the Chargers, which Denver may need to earn a playoff berth. If San Diego wins, however, they will likely run away with the division and give the Jets and Ravens a big boost in the Wild Card race.

2.) Cincinnati at Baltimore. (Sun, 1:00, CBS)

The Ravens now trail the Steelers by three games, so their best hope for the playoffs is a Wild Card spot. A loss to the Bengals and a Denver win over San Diego, however, would nudge the Ravens out of playoff position. Cincinnati is pretty hot right now, too — 3-1 in their last four games, their only loss being a close one against the Steelers. Brian Billick better hope Kyle Boller finds his game soon.

3.) Pittsburgh at Jacksonville. (Sun, 8:30, ESPN)

Pittsburgh needs to win to maintain home field advantage. Jacksonville needs to win to have any hope at all of being a playoff team this year.

4.) Houston at N.Y. Jets. (Sun, 1:00, CBS)

While the Texans aren’t quite a playoff team yet, they are clearly ready to play spoiler for another team that is. The Jets will be tested by this game, but if they pass, a Wild Card berth is all but assured. Keep an eye on who starts at QB for New York, though.

5.) Tennessee at Indianapolis. (Sun, 1:00, CBS)

The Colts have a two-game lead over a team that has to play arguably the best team in the NFL next Sunday night. Not bad. On the other hand, the Colts are the #4 seed in the playoff race right now, and that’s not ideal, so they need to keep winning to keep pace with San Diego.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at the NFC playoff picture, which is about as muddy as the field in Foxboro was yesterday. Plus, tonight’s Rams at Packers game will have some impact on that playoff race, too, so there’s not much sense in examining that picture until that game is played.

While I didn’t watch yesterday’s Steelers-Redskins game, I clearly forgot to give credit where it was due to Antwaan Randle El, my fellow Indiana University alumnus. Randle El returned two punts deep into Washington territory in the first half yesterday, giving the Steelers a short field and setting up a touchdown and a field goal — all the scoring Pittsburgh really needed to beat the Redskins.

The Redskins are in much the same boat as the Baltimore Ravens — great defense, but a lousy offense despite a decent running back. I can only surmise from their records that the Ravens just have better players in key positions right now…

• Steelers 16, Redskins 7.

  Duce Staley was a gametime scratch because of continuing hamstring troubles. No problem. Jerome Bettis came in and had his fourth consecutive 100-yard game — which I would not have expected, and that’s why I’m just a blogger. Roethlisberger’s numbers (9-for-20, 131 yards) indicated he struggled against the blitz today, but so did Washington QB Patrick Ramsey, and the Steeler defense stuffed the Redskins’ running game.

• Panthers 21, Buccaneers 14.

  Carolina RB Nick Goings rushed for 106 yards, and QB Jake Delhomme hooked up with rookie WR Keary Colbert on a 40-yard TD pass with 20 seconds left to break a 14-14 tie and knock off archrival Tampa Bay. Stat of note: kickers Jeff Chandler and Martin Gramatica were a combined 0-5 on field goal attempts today. Maybe Carolina’s gravy-guzzling punter could have done better than Chandler after all. John Kasay, get well soon.

  One other score of note…

• Bengals 58, Browns 48.

  According to CBS, this was the highest-scoring game in the league since the AFL-NFL merger. (And really, there’s no reason to pay attention to this game otherwise.) Cincinnati RB Rudy Johnson rushed for 202 yards on 26 carries. Cleveland QB Kelly Holcomb threw 5 TD passes. Both teams gained a combined 966 yards. Yikes! I’ve seen Arena League scores lower than this…

Tomorrow is my birthday. My parents are in town, and we’re making plans for the day that don’t necessarily involve football. I intend to keep track of the game by phone, but don’t expect much in the way of game coverage here tomorrow…

Byron Leftwich. The Jacksonville QB will start for the Jaguars in Minnesota on Sunday after being out for two games with a knee injury. Leftwich is known to be a quick healer who is horribly impatient when it comes to doctor’s orders. Jags head coach Jack Del Rio probably deserves coach of the year honors just for convincing Leftwich to sit for two weeks.

Matt Hasselbeck. Earlier this week, the Seattle QB received accupuncture treatments for a deep thigh bruise and was given the green light to play this weekend. Hasselbeck doesn’t think he’s 100% yet, but he feels ready to play. He may still receive treatments heading into the game itself, though I suspect he won’t wear the needles out on the field

Kelly Holcomb. The Cleveland fan favorite will start at QB for the Browns on Sunday. Jeff Garcia sprained his rotator cuff in last Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets and may be out a few weeks. This shouldn’t prevent the Browns from missing the playoffs again this year.

Randy Moss. Orginally, the Vikings’ standout wideout was going to be held to about 25 plays after missing several weeks with a damaged hamstring. Head coach Mike Tice, however, has said that Moss is healthy enough to play the full game if necessary. It’s the Jaguars, too, so it will probably be necessary.

Does anyone else remember when Dolphins vs. 49ers meant something?