NFL Week 15 One-and-a-Half Liners

A look back at NFL Week 15.

San Diego Chargers 34, San Francisco 49ers 7

Vincent Jackson's 3 touchdowns proves general manager A.J. Smith was right not to meet his contract demands. (As he explains to a wig-wearing LaDanian Tomlinson, "Pimpin' been pimpin' since been pimpin'...")

Cincinnati Bengals 19, Cleveland Browns 17

The Bengals snap their 10-game losing streak, while the Browns snap Terrell Owens meniscus. (Might need to cop some Knee Grows...)

Dallas Cowboys 33, Washington Redskins 30

Rex Grossman threw 4 TDs, but in the end was no match for Jon Kitna and the Cowboys offense. (Donovan McNabb just threw up, again...)

Tennessee Titans 31, Houston Texans 17

In the second of the two matchups this season, the Titans jumped on the Texans early with 21 first quarter points. (Kind of how Andre Johnson jumped on Courtland Finnegan early in the first matchup...)

Indianapolis Colts 34, Jacksonville Jaguars 24

The Colts, in true big-brother fashion, let the Jags get their division title hopes up just long enough before snatching it away yet again. (Maybe the Jags can put the Colts on the next season of "Bully Beatdown"...)

Kansas City Chiefs 27, St. Louis Rams 13

The Chiefs may win the AFC West by being the best team in the NFC West (4-0 against the 49ers, Rams, Seahawks and Cardinals this season). (Boise State laughs uncontrollably at the Chiefs non-conference schedule...)

Buffalo Bills 17, Miami Dolphins 14

The Dolphins fall to 7-7, but are 1-6 at home. (If something like this happened to Sun Life Stadium, the Dolphins might be leading the AFC East...)

Detroit Lions 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 (OT)

The Lions win a road game for the first time in three years. (Geno Auriemma is disappointed that you care more about the Lions losing than his women winning over the same time period, you miserable bastards...)

Philadelphia Eagles 38, New York Giants 31

DeSean Jackson returned a muffed punt 65 yards for a touchdown on the game's final play to cap a 28 point fourth quarter comeback by the Eagles. (You wanna know how Jackson got his pet cheetah? His Benjamin pile? Because he's faaaaaaa-aaast...)

Carolina Panthers 19, Arizona Cardinals 12

Nobody cares. (Nobody cares...)

Baltimore Ravens 30, New Orleans Saints 24

Even after watching the game, it remains unknown if these teams are both Super Bowl contenders, or first round flame outs. (Also, fantasy football owners of Ray Rice thank him for having his first great game of the season, ten weeks too late to validate taking him number one overall...)

Atlanta Falcons 34, Seattle Seahawks 18

The Falcons continue to lure people into believing that they are the best team in the NFC. (Pete Carroll continues to be a completely mediocre head coach on the professional level, even though it's legal to pay players...)

Oakland Raiders 39, Denver Broncos 23

Tim Tebow allegedly made his first start at quarterback, yet carried the ball 8 times for 78 yards and a TD. (Meanwhile, God smiled on the Raiders, who are at .500 in December for the first time since 2002, when this massacre happened...)

New York Jets 22, Pittsburgh Steelers 17

The Jets beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh for the first time in franchise history, and score an offensive TD for the first time in three games. (The Steelers secure a playoff spot in the loss, and the media ignores Mike Tomlin allowing Big Ben to throw 44 times in the snow, when Rashard Mendenhall became the first player to run for 100 yards against the Jets on only 17 carries...)

New England Patriots 31, Green Bay Packers 27

Matt Flynn filled in admirably for Aaron Rodgers (251 yards passing, 3 TDs), but was no match for Tom Brady's hair or clock management capability. (Somewhere in Louisiana, Les Miles is smiling...)

Chicago Bears 40, Minnesota Vikings 14

As Brett Favre picked himself up off the turf after being planted by Bears DE Corey Wootton, it reminded me of the end of "Fallen", when the demon Azazel leaves Denzel's dead body, floats around, and finally reveals itself having possessed a cat that was nearby, saying "Oh, you forgot something, didn't you. I said I was going to tell you about the time I almost died..." (Jay Cutler sings, "Time is on my side...")

Springsteen Band Member Disturbed By Praise Of Mike Vick

Nils Lofgren, solo artist and former member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, recently sent this open letter to "to the men and women of the sports reporting community" via ESPN. It was a pretty passionate letter explaining how he is disturbed by the attention Philadelphia Eagles QB Micheal Vick is getting for his spectacular performance this season. Here is one glaring quote from the letter than struck a nerve with me:

“When you do what Vick did, a second chance should never include the rare gift of an NFL career and the potential bounty it offers.”

First off, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I can't dispute that. And at the same time it is my right to disagree with said opinion. Which in this case, I disagree.

True be told, what Vick was convicted for was cruel and insensitive. He committed his crime with little regard for the consequence or without considering how it may be viewed. But the fact of the matter is that Vick has served his court appointed debt to society. He did his time. And to say that Vick shouldn't be in the NFL because his crime was against animals is preposterous.

Saying that he should not be allow "the rare gift of an NFL career" is a little off based to me. I think because of the high profile of the National Football League, most of the general public forget that an NFL position is, an essence, a job. They get paid a salary just like any other working class individual. If you want to point the finger at anyone for Vick's NFL career, than it should be pointed at the owners who are profiting hand over fist from anything he produces on the field.

Michael Vick is a professional football player. He makes his living between those sidelines. Saying that he shouldn't be allowed to play in the NFL is basically saying his should not be allowed to make a living in the career of his choice. Proclaiming that Vick should not be considered for the MVP award for his on the field performance is basically in line with saying an ex-con should never be considered for an Employee Of The Year merit, which is technically what the MVP is.

Many may disagree with my point of view on this, and I can accept that. But correct me if I am wrong, but isn't our correctional facility and judicial system in place to rehabilitate an individual to become a better member of our society? And in Vick's case, does that not appear to be what has transpired?

But as I said, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

-ALR

Michael Vick's Game Jersey Heading To Hall Of Fame

Per sources and this story from the Washington Post, Michael Vick's jersey from the Philadelphia Eagles 59-28 victory over the Redskins is being sent to be displayed in Canton.

In the Monday Night Football match up, Vick was 20-28 for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns while also running for an additional 80 yards and 2 scores. Vick was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for the second straight week, and is the first QB to receive the honor since Randall Cunningham back in 1998.

This has been quite a comeback story for Vick who was once the highest paid player in the NFL. Vick has looked better than ever and is currently leading the NFL with a 115.3 passer rating. Amazing story considering Vick wasn't the Eagles starting quarterback entering the season. If he can continue on this torrid pace Vick will definitely be a candidate for MVP.

Good job Mike; keep up the good play!

-ALR

To Catch a Kolb?

Well, that didn't take long.

Teams are already lining up to inquire about the services of the Philadelphia Eagles now backup QB, Kevin Kolb. ESPN's Sal Paolantonio reports that a number of teams have contacted the Eagles about the availability of the QB who just a month ago was considered the team's QB of the future, and a day ago, was still the teams starter.

Now, there's the perception that nothing is for sure, nothing is for certain, nothing last forever. Michael Vick has been named the starter for the team for this week's matchup at Jacksonville, and beyond. Teams with poor quarterback situations won't wait for the Eagles to make a rational decision about their own future, but rather try and pressure them to jettison a potential franchise player.

Kolb reportedly has the stuff that NFL scouts love to see in a quarterback. He's big (6'3", 220), strong-armed, and adept to running a west coast "cerebral" offense. He's the first NFL quarterback to throw for over 300 yards in each of his first two starts, filling in for an injured Donovan McNabb last season. He's also young (26) and while he wouldn't be cheap, in an NFL financial world where quarterbacks Sam Bradford ($50 million guaranteed) and Matt Cassel ($28 million guaranteed) can get paid long term without much of a resume', I'm sure some team can find a few nickles for a QB like Kolb.