Now that the Monday Night game is behind us, it is time for me to hand out my awards for the best and worst of week 11 in the NFL. This week: Lovie, Matt Cassel, Aaron Ross, Marion the Barbarian, and more. Matt Bowen
Now that the Monday Night game is behind, here is my recap of the best and worst from week eleven of the NFL…
WEEK 11
GAME OF THE WEEK
Winner: Bills- Browns: This game had it all. Big plays in the return game, a break-out night for Marshawn Lynch, two young quarterbacks facing off, and a 56-yard filed goal to win it in freezing temps. This one hurt, I mean really hurt the Bills. Nice win for Brady Quinn and the Browns, and a night to forget for Trent Edwards.
Runner-Up: Jets-Pats: Who would have thought this one would have turned into a shoot-out in Foxborough? Matt Cassel puts up huge numbers in the loss, and Brett Favre is perfect in overtime. Big win for the Jets, but the Pats are still right in the hunt for the AFC East.
OFFENSIVE MVP OF THE WEEK
NFC: Ryan Grant, Packers: The first big game for Grant came at the right time for the Packers in a blowout win over the Bears. 145 yards and a TD on 25 carries. Now, we see why he deserves that big signing bonus. If he keeps it up, Green Bay rolls in the NFC North—if he keeps it up. Guy played hard.
AFC: Matt Cassel, Patriots: Even in a loss you can’t ignore Cassel’s numbers. 400-yards passing and 3 TDs, plus 62-yards rushing. If anything, he set himself up for a big payday in the off-season, and he showed that this is still a playoff team in New England.
DEFENSIVE MVP OF THE WEEK
NFC: Aaron Ross, Giants: Big game for the Giant defense, and a huge game for Ross, who picked off Joe Flacco twice, returned one 60-yards for a TD, and chipped in 6 tackles to top it off. Nice game.
AFC: James Harrison, Steelers: I can write this guy’s name in this slot every week. Harrison produced again in a great defensive effort by the Steelers: 4 tackles, a pick, and another sack.
TOUGH GUY AWARD OF THE WEK
NFC: Marion Barber, Dallas: This one is easy. Barber took over the game and ran the clock out by himself, as he piled up 66 of his total 114-yards rushing on the ground in the fourth quarter. That is tough running.
AFC: Thomas Jones, Jets: Jones gets the award this week because he was a workhorse in a win that moved the Jets into first place of the AFC East. He carried the ball 30 times against a good Pats defense and never slowed down. Finished with 104-yards and a TD.
“GOAT” OF THE WEEK
NFC: Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks: Not a good return for Hasselbeck. He looked shaky and threw 3 INTs and fumbled in another Seattle loss. I have no idea what happened to this ball club. Weren’t they supposed to run away with the NFC West?
AFC: Ravens’ Defense: The league’s second ranked defense took one on the chin against the G-Men. They gave up 207-yards rushing. When was the last time someone ran the ball down the throats of the Baltimore D? I have no idea, because I never knew it could happen.
PLAY OF THE WEEK
NFC: Tony Romo/ Martelleus Bennett, Cowboys: Romo and Bennett get the award because the hook-up they had won the game, and it was a sweet play. Romo took a chance and threw a bullet that Bennett snatched in-between two defenders. Big time play in the fourth quarter.
AFC: Jerome Harrison, Browns: Harrison gets the award because he made one cut, and then flat out smoked the entire defense of the Bills for a 72-yard TD. Maybe Cleveland should get this guy more involved—he can fly.
“NO SHOW” OF THE WEEK
NFC: Bears’ Defense: What happened up at Lambeau? Last week, the Bears held the Titans to 20-yards on the ground. Sunday they gave up 200 yards rushing and 227 yards passing. Bad, bad, day for that defense—which makes a ton of coin.
AFC: Trent Edwards, Bills: In a game the Bills had to win, Edwards didn’t come to play. He threw 3 first quarter INTs, and looked timid the rest of the game—leaving a lot of opportunities in the field. That concussion against the Cards last month has rattled him.
COACH OF THE WEEK
NFC: Mike McCarthy, Packers: McCarthy’s team was prepared to beat the Bears. Whatever he saw on film must have worked, because he ran the ball straight at (and through) one of the league’s best run defenses. His game plan was perfect.
AFC: Mike Shanahan, Broncos: Another easy pick for me. The Broncos went on the road and ran the football: 25 times for 124 yards. I liked Shanahan’s game plan: run the ball and let Jay Cutler make the big play to win it against a good Falcons’ team.
COACHING “DOG” OF THE WEEK
NFC: Lovie Smith, Bears: Lovie’s team looked and acted soft against the Pack on Sunday. He had no answer for the rushing attack of Green Bay and lost a divisional game by 34 points. Brutal folks, brutal.
AFC: Marvin Lewis, Bengals: I could have probably put Andy Reid in for the NFC nomination as well, but did anyone else notice the play calling at the end of the game and in overtime for the Bengals? They looked like they were happy playing for a tie.
SHOCKER OF THE WEEK
Bengals 13 Eagles 13 : This was a poor excuses for football--and that's all I can really say folks. End of story.
New England must win at Miami to split head to head. With Jets going to Tenn (for a projected loss), and Buffalo loss last night, a W will put New England back in the thick of it, with a realistic chance at winning the division.
Pats are always in it.... Might come down tothe fianl 2 weeks of the season.
We, as Bear fans, deserve every bit of these awards. Can't remeber a game when we that unprepared to play--especially against the Pack. BRUTAL!
Jon - that's not Bizarro-World, that's Heaven!!!!
The Bears had an off day (very off) they are capable of playing a lot better than you saw.
BTW - I was at the home opener at Lambeau in '06 when the Bears shut us out - so it goes both ways
I would nominate Dick Jauron for Coaching Dog of the Week for his playcalling at the end of the Bills loss last night. 3 straight runs from the 34 yd line is WAY too conservative; a 40-plus yd field goal in windy Buffalo is not exactly a chip shot. I know Trent Edwards was shaky for much of the game, but he had just completed a 30 yd pass to get them into scoring position. I still think Jauron is a pretty good coach, but he dropped the ball on that one.
I would put Andy Reid above Juron Sean
That pass was just a glimpse of what the rest of the league can expect for Tony down the stretch.
Go Boys!
My trip to Green Bay confirmed all of the rumors I've heard about Packer fans as being 100% true (you can take from that sentence whatever you like!). It's an experience every NFL fan has to try (and will love), and I promise that there is no better people-watching in the world. I honestly thought I was on a different planet. That said, as bizarre and intense as they were, they are very fun loving people and weren't the slightest bit hostile to us Bear fans which was both surprising and refreshing. Hopefully the Bears figure out a way to give the Pack a taste of their own medicine on December 22 at Soldier Field, and I promise to return the favor and be nice to the Cheeseheads near my seats.
Hard to disagree with that one Matt. Reid's team should have never even gone to overtime with the Bengals in the first place. I think that organization needs a new face in the coaching position; the Eagles are a talented team but they seem pretty uninspired right now.
I agree that the Eagles need a new face but I am not sure about the talent. They can't stop the run or gain a yard on the ground when they need it. The Philly media & fan base are having a seizure this week due to the tie and McNabb's (and others) lack of knowledge regarding the basic rules of the game.
Jon - and that was a Milwaukee package crowd, the Green Bay package fans are even more special.
FYI - There are 2 sets of Packer season tickets, this was done after the 1994 season when they stopped playing 3 games in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee season ticket holders (Gold Package) get tickets to 1 preseason game and the 2nd and 5th regular season games, Green Bay ticket holders (Green Package) get the other games.
Jon (Chicago) - we feel the same way about Chicagoans, except for the niceness factor. Nah, just joking. It is great to have Chicago (and Minnesota) fans at Lambeau, you are always welcome. The last game was particularly nice since we have not had many victories over the Bears at Lambeau lately.
I've never really understood the people who would rather loose a limb than to say anything nice about any team except the team they choose to cheer for.
I think overall Packer fans are not usually these people. I told my buddy (a Bears fan) that it wasn't fun loosing two of our three games to them last year, but I would rather loose to a team that plays on grass in the cold, and runs the ball and plays great defense. I'm a huge Packer fan, but it's not difficult for me to compliment other teams, even the Bears. Football in Chicago is played the way football is supposed to be played in the Midwest, just as it is in Green Bay.
The Packers and the Bears rock. The Viqueens, that's a different story!
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Nov 18, 2008
04:06 PM
Thanks a lot Bears, for putting me in a terrible mood all week and giving guys like Matt Bowen a ton of writing material. Thank you for ruining my first Lambeau experience and subjecting me to the Bizarro-World that is Green Bay, Wisconsin for a total beat-down. Where else do people proudly wear skunk-skin coats and hats and think it's cool while dancing to "Roll out the Barrels"? The game I drove 3 hours from Chicago to see at Lambeau Field showed me that the Lions are closer to winning a championship than the Bears. The Bears have proven championship-caliber talent on their roster that is still close enough in their prime to make some noise. By the time they sort out their scheme or put the right coaches in place to be effective, our former pro-bowlers will be collecting their pensions. I'm climbing on the safe bandwagon now...Go Lions!