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Here’s how Eagle fans treated 49er fans during Philadelphia’s win over San Fran on Sunday: I know that was mild compared to what Philly fans normally do to fans of opposing teams, but one has to wonder if God is punishing the Eagles for the way their fans act. You know, that whole thing about the Eagles always making it to the NFC Championship Game but never the Super Bowl? It’s cruel of God, but not as cruel as showering two defenseless Niner fans with hundreds of snowballs. Refs job Redskins on Brandon Jacobs non-flag
The Giants gave the Redskins a beating of the lifetime on Monday night football, so in the end a certain non-call didn’t matter. But how the hell did running back Brandon Jacobs not get flagged for throwing a punch at Albert Haynesworth during the third quarter last night? It wasn’t like he snuck the punch in while lying underneath a pile of players and the refs didn’t see it; the punch was right out in the open. As the saying goes, “they” always catch the second person in the act and not the instigator. But it was ridiculous when the official announced that Haynesworth was the one penalized when Jacobs clearly started the melee by tussling with Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall (no surprise that he was in the middle of something). Granted, Haynesworth should have been flagged as well, but I was shocked that Jacobs wasn’t thrown out of the game, never mind the fact that he escaped the situation without getting penalized. Again though, the situation was just one embarrassing moment in a sea of embarrassing moments for the Redskins. The Giants crushed them 45-12, but the score wasn’t even that close. New York dominated every phase of the game and proved that they’re going to fight for one of the two Wild Card spots in the NFC. The Cowboys might be feeling good after beating the previously undefeated Saints on Monday night. But with two losses to the Giants hanging over their heads, they might be a little worried after seeing New York’s performance on Monday night. The playoff race in the NFC is far from decided. Posted in: NFL Tags: 2009 NFL Week 15, Albert Haynesworth, Brandon Jacobs, Brandon Jacobs Albert Haynesworth, Brandon Jacobs non-flag vs. Redskins, Brandon Jacobs punch, Brandon Jacobs punches Albert Haynesworth, DeAngelo Hall, DeAngelo Hall Brandon Jacobs, Giants beat Redskins NFL Week 15, Giants Redskins Monday night Football, Giants vs. Redskins, Headlines, New York Giants, Washington Redskins
Is it time for the Bears to show Lovie Smith the door? 
To his credit, Lovie Smith has one Super Bowl appearance under his belt as a head coach. But how long should one Super Bowl appearance last someone if he fails to reach the playoffs the following three seasons? After losing to the Colts in the 2006 Super Bowl, the Bears have gone 7-9, 9-7 and are now currently 5-9. Despite trading for Jay Cutler in the offseason, Chicago is regressing and what’s worse is that it doesn’t have a first round pick in either of the next two drafts and also doesn’t have a second round pick next year. The Bears are floundering, not prospering. So where does that leave Smith? For all intents and purposes, Cutler’s turnover woes, the offensive lines’ blocking issues and all of the injuries on defense aren’t Smith’s fault. He can’t run, tackle and punt for his team, so maybe it’s not fair for him to be fired at the end of the season when it’s clear that the Bears’ problems run deeper than the head coach. The problem is that his players have given up. The 31-7 shellacking they took in Baltimore on Sunday was the fourth time that the Bears have been blown out this season. They’re just 1-6 on the road this year and the problems that haunted them in Week 1 are still haunting them in Week 15. That’s a problem – a coaching problem. Even the dreadful Browns and Redskins have cut down on the mistakes that cost them earlier in the season. The Bears finish the season at home against the Vikings in Week 16 and at Detroit in Week 17. If Chicago shows the same ineptitude over the next two weeks as it has over the past couple months, even a cheap ownership like the Bears might decide that enough is enough and hand Smith his pink slip at the end of the season. Photo from fOTOGLIF Childress tried to pull Favre in the third quarter of loss to Panthers 
According to Vikings beat writer Judd Zulgad, coach Brad Childress tried to pull Brett Favre in the third quarter of Minnesota’s 26-7 loss to the Panthers on Sunday night. Instead, the two got into a heated discussion and Favre wound up going back in. Childress apparently felt that Favre was taking too many hits and that’s why he wanted Brett to come out. According to Zulgad, Favre was still steamed about the situation after the game, so who knows if the situation will escalate. The Vikings had zero running game last night and Julius Peppers was treating Philip Loadholt and Bryant McKinnie like his personal dummy bags. I don’t fault Childress for wanting to pull Favre, even though at the time they were leading, 7-6. I realize Brett is a competitor and always wants to win, but this is the same man that derailed the Jets’ season last year after he tore his biceps. The goal is for the Vikings to reach the Super Bowl, not go one and done because Tarvaris Jackson has to start in the playoffs. I don’t blame Favre for being a little embarrassed because his head coach wanted to protect the old guy, but Minnesota has bigger things on the line than a win in Carolina. The situation will probably blow over soon, but it’s interesting to note that the Vikes have dropped two of their last three games and now the quarterback and head coach are arguing.
- When fantasy owners drafted Tom Brady in the second round, I don’t think they were looking for 115 yards, one TD and one pick in Week 15 against the Buffalo Bills. - Matt Cassel (331 yards, 2 TD) rewarded those owners that were brave enough to start him after a fairly miserable stretch of games. With Chris Chambers and Dwayne Bowe, the Chiefs have something going in the passing game. - I’m actually surprised that Matt Ryan mustered 152 yards and a TD in his first game back against a very stout Jets pass defense. - Jay Cutler (94 yards, 3 INT) had a miserable day against the Ravens. Meanwhile, Joe Flacco (234 yards, 4 TD) shredded the Bears’ defense. - Ben Roethlisberger (503 yards, 3 TD) had a MONSTER day against what was a pretty stingy Packer defense coming in. Aaron Rodgers (383 yards, 3 TD, rush TD) did everything to win the game but rush Roethlisberger on his game winning drive. - Laurence Maroney (23 carries, 81 yards, TD) has defied the odds, holding onto the Patriots’ RB1 job even with the return of Sammy Morris. - Jerome Harrison (34 carries, 286 yards, 3 TD) looks like he might be worth having in a keeper league. He destroyed the Chiefs’ defense. - Jamaal Charles (25 carries, 154 yards, TD) now has a TD in six straight games. - Arian Foster (2 carries, 7 yards) lost a fumble on his first and only catch and didn’t see much work the rest of the day. Ryan Moats (13 carries, 46 yards) carried the load. - Steven Jackson (24 touches, 123 yards) missed practice all week with the flu and was a game time decision, but he grinded out a nice fantasy line. - The Dolphins managed to keep Chris Johnson out of the endzone, but he still racked up 159 yards on 29 carries and two catches. - The perception that Chris Wells (17 carries, 110 yards, TD) has taken over as the Cards’ RB1 is correct, but Tim Hightower ran for a TD and caught six passes, so he’s still somewhat valuable in PPR leagues. - Maurice Morris (22 touches, 161 yards, TD) made the most of his opportunity to start with Kevin Smith out. Arizona actually has a pretty good rush defense, so Morris’s performance is that much more impressive. - Knowshon Moreno (22 touches, 81 yards) was a big disappointment given his tremendous matchup with the Raiders’ pathetic rush defense. - Michael Bush (18 carries, 133 yards, TD) destroyed the Broncos’ run defense. - Leonard Weaver (17 carries, 52 yards) got the most carries against the 49ers, but LeSean McCoy was the one who scored. - Josh Morgan (7-61-1) really seems to be benefiting from the arrival of Michael Crabtree. He has 22 catches over the last four weeks and has scored twice in that span. - Terrell Owens (2-20) screwed over whomever was brave enough to start him this week. He has been decent of late, but was a non-factor against the Pats. - I think an alien took over the body of Chris Chambers (5-114-1). - Andre Johnson (9-196) is pretty good. - Calvin Johnson (3-35) is a stud, but he’s not trustworthy when he has a dud (Duante Culpepper, Drew Stanton) throwing to him. - Brandon Marshall’s line (7-73-1) is somewhat surprising considering he was going up against Nnamdi Asomugha all day. - Vincent Jackson (5-108-2) didn’t have a great matchup, but he turned in a great fantasy line for those owners who stuck with him this week. Check back in a bit for the RB and QB positions. - With an early TD, Antonio Gates (4-33-1) looked like he was going to get off to a big day, but finished with rather pedestrian numbers. - I’m excited that I benched Todd Heap (5-56-2) in favor of Bo Scaife (5-40) in a league where I lost Owen Daniels midseason. That’s just great. - In a week where starting TEs were pretty quiet, Kellen Winslow (6-93) and John Carlson (7-86-1) had big fantasy lines in that TB/SEA game. - Jermichael Finley (9-74-1) is a stud in the making. He has 31 catches for 302 yards and three TD in the five games since he came back from injury. That’s 15.8 fantasy points per game in a PPR format. - Heath Miller (7-118) had a huge day against the Packers, but how many fantasy owners were starting him after just seven catches (and zero TD) in the last three games? Check back in a bit for the WR, RB and QB positions. Chargers, Bengals heading in opposite directions 
Two playoff AFC playoff teams clashed on Sunday, but only one of them is heading in the right direction. For the Bengals to have to deal with the death of Chris Henry and then have to travel cross-country to face a red-hot Chargers team was a tall task. But they did it, and they fought hard despite eventually falling 27-24 on Nate Kaeding’s last-second field goal. That said, the Bengals have now lost two in a row and three of their last five. They haven’t looked sharp since their win against the Steelers in mid November, which isn’t good considering the playoffs are coming up in two weeks. And since their loss on Sunday was against San Diego, they now won’t have a first round bye. San Diego, on the other hand, is scorching hot and has locked up the No. 2 seed in the AFC. Vincent Jackson came up huge with five receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He routinely beat Cincinnati’s excellent cornerback duo of Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph and is really coming on of late as Philip River’s go to go on the outside. It’s interesting how this season has unfolded for the Bolts. They were a lot of people’s preseason favorite to make an outside run at the Super Bowl, but when they struggled early on, many started to hop off the bandwagon. But now that they’ve rattled off nine in a row, people are breaking their ankles climbing back on their bandwagon. Every team in the NFL has an opponent that is just a pain in the ass for them, and the Chargers are that team for the Colts. Indianapolis obviously looks incredible this year, but I wonder if Peyton Manning and company are getting a little uneasy with how good San Diego has looked over the past nine weeks.
Broncos allow Charlie Frye, JaMarcus Russell to beat them at home 
I don’t want to take way anything the Denver Broncos and first year head coach Josh McDaniels have accomplished this season. But they might not be able to look at themselves in the minor tomorrow after allowing Charlie Frye and JaMarcus Russell combine to beat them 20-19 in Week 15. Did I mention Denver was at home, too? Actually, Michael Bush and the rest of Oakland’s was the reason the Raiders were able to pull off yet another surprising upset this season. Frye and Russell just made sure they stayed the hell out of the way. Bush rushed 18 times for 133 yards and a touchdown, while Darren McFadden chipped in 74 yards on 12 carries. On the day, Oakland rushed for 241 yards, which was huge because the team only had 102 passing yards on the day. This is a rather jarring loss for the Broncos, who now have an identical record as the Ravens at 8-6. They’re still in good shape in the AFC playoff race, but no team should lose at home to the Raiders when Charlie Frye is starting for Oakland and J. Russell McBust makes an appearance. There’s just no excuse for Denver to allow Russell to lead a game-winning touchdown drive. None. What an ugly loss for the Broncos.
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