After a pain staking wait through the lockout over the summer, it seems almost inconceivable that there are only 16 regular season games remaining in the NFL. It’s certainly been a memorable season, and with several playoff berths still up for grabs, week 17 should be no different.
So while you try to wrap your head around the multiple playoff scenarios for your team in preparation for Sunday’s action, let’s take one last look back at week 16’s action.
A Marked Man?
Two weeks ago, the New York Jets appeared ready to lock up a playoff berth over the last few games of the season. The Jets needed practically no help from other teams: all they needed to do was win the remaining games on their schedule and they would be in. It was the perfect situation for their young quarterback Mark Sanchez to prove he could come up big in pressure situation. But two games and two losses, the Jets are forced to wonder if Sanchez has what it takes to be a franchise quarterback.
New York’s playoff (and by the way Rex Ryan talked, Super Bowl) hopes rested on whether or not Sanchez could make the leap from game manager to game winner. In spite of the lock out, Sanchez put in plenty of work in workouts with his team mates during the offseason. The buzz around the Jets was that Sanchez was ready to live up to his “Sanchise” nickname and take the crucial next step in his development into a star in the league.
Unfortunately, progress in Sanchez’s game has been hard to find during the season, and it’s been brutally evident over the last two weeks. Following devastating losses in back to back weeks, perhaps the better question is not whether Sanchez has progressed, but just how bad the regression in his game has been.
The lack of playmaking from Sanchez was a big area New York had hoped would improve. Over the past two games, he’s done little of that. He’s only completed 53% of his passes and only thrown for three touchdowns. He hasn’t shown the crucial ability to get the ball down the field, either. He’s averaging only 4.8 yards per attempt in the last two weeks, a number that simply is far too low for a NFL quarterback. On Saturday against the Giants, Sanchez threw the ball a whopping 59 times, but his longest completion went for only 15 yards.
In spite of the lack of big plays, in years past the Jets felt like they could trust Sanchez to at the very least manage games and let his running game and defense win them. However, in these must win games he’s made crucial mistakes, turning the ball over six times. Giving up the ball that many times will crush nearly any team, regardless of how good the rest of the team is. During Saturday’s game he took a nearly unthinkable safety that went a long way in clinching the Giants’ victory over their cross town rivals. The results of Sanchez’s miscues have been predictable: losses of a combined 41 points to teams with a combined 12-15 record.
With one regular season game remaining, the Jets’ playoff hopes are still alive. Sanchez will clearly need to play a good game Sunday to help silence the growing group of doubters in New York. But is it too late for Sanchez to save his job in New York?
Following the Jets’ loss on Saturday, rumors began to surface regarding Sanchez’s fate as a Jet. Some sources said that the Jets doubted whether or not they could reach a Super Bowl with Sanchez at the helm. Ryan was quick to attempt to put those rumors to rest, saying he’d take Sanchez on his team in 2012 instead of making a move for some one like Peyton Manning. Still the question must be seriously considered this offseason in New York. Can Mark Sanchez take the Jets to the promised land, or will they need to look to move on in 2012? His performance against Miami on Sunday could go a long way in determining his fate.
Surprise of the Week
On November 29, the Indianapolis Colts made the long awaited move to bench Curtis Painter in favor of Dan Orlovsky. It was a move Colts’ fans had hoped for for far too long, and since the move the Colts have picked up their first two wins of the season. But Painters’ benching wasn’t the only move made on November 29, it Orlovsky isn’t the only force behind Indianapolis’ two game winning streak.
Indianapolis’ defense had struggled all season long, and the team decided to part ways with defensive coordinator Larry Coyer and give his duties to Mike Murphy. Since the move, the defense has been markedly better. The Colts have put up their two best defensive performances of the season in back to back weeks, giving up only 13 points against Tennessee and 16 points against Houston. They’ve also finally began to produce turnovers, posting a +3 turnover ratio in the last three weeks.
Perhaps Indianapolis’ biggest area of improvement has been on third down. The defense struggled to get their opponents off the field throughout the season, but Thursday night the Texans only managed to convert one third down in the entire game.
This certainly isn’t intended to take away from Orlovsky’s impact on the Colts’ offense. He’s made some surprisingly good throws in both of Indianapolis’ wins. The game winning drive he led in the final minutes against the Texans displayed a poise none of the Colts’ quarterbacks had shown all season. But without a huge stop by the Colts’ defense just prior to that drive, Orlovsky would have never gotten the chance to display such heroics. And that’s why for one of the few times in over a decade, it’s the defense that has been the reason for an Indianapolis winning streak, and not a high powered offense.
Rookie Watch
For several weeks, there was much debate over which rookie quarterback deserved offensive rookie of the year honors. In one camp were Cam Newton’s supporters, arguing that statistics should be looked at above the win-loss record. The other camp argued that Andy Dalton’s wins were the most important statistic of all.
And while Dalton has certainly had a solid rookie year, Saturday’s slate of games left no doubt: Cam Newton is the best rookie quarterback we’ve seen in quite some time. After a dominating win over Tampa Bay, Newton has now thrown for 3,893 yards, a record for rookies. He’s made Steve Smith look like a Pro Bowl receiver again. Smith’s 1,308 receiving yards pair with six touchdowns to make his best season since 2008, and with one game remaining it’s possible Smith could rack up more yards than he has since 2005.
Newton’s domination running the ball has been a huge factor in his early success. His 14 rushing touchdowns are a record for any quarterback in the NFL, rookie or otherwise. He’s averaged 5.6 yards per carry and has run for 674 yards on the season, creating nightmares for defenses all season long. And the scary part? He’s not even close to reaching his ceiling. As with any rookie quarterback, there are plenty of areas for Newton to improve upon. But he’s shown that he’s willing to put in the work necessary to get better, doing just that this past off season. And another solid offseason from Newton could lead to Panthers to a playoff berth in 2012.
Fantasy Notes
As are most Championship weekends, week 16 proved especially wacky this year. With Tony Romo having another strong fantasy season, many fantasy owners were relying on a strong performance from him against the Eagles to bring home a fantasy championship. But Romo went out of the game with a bruised hand in Dallas’ first series of the game, crushing fantasy owners’ hopes everywhere.
Like Romo, LeSean McCoy had been a stud all year long, but came up empty in the all important week 16 as well. A tweaked ankle kept him from being effecting against the Cowboys, and the touchdown machine ended up with only 35 yards on 13 carries.
Equally surprising was the explosion from Jared Cook. He’s been frustratingly inconsistent all season long, but his game Saturday showed just how valuable he could be to fantasy squads if he could just put together a consistent season. He racked up an eye popping 169 receiving yards and a touchdown, a performance that is sure to cause many fantasy players to think long and hard about taking him in next season’s drafts.
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