News, Notes and Rumors for Week 8 of the NFL Season

By
Bill Smith

 

News:
What have we learned so far this NFL Season?

The current leaders for a bye week in the playoffs in the AFC are the Steelers and the Bills.
The Steelers got the top spot after the win over the Pats Sunday.  They have a HUGE game this week with the
Ravens in Pittsburgh.  Beyond that they have an easy schedule the rest of the way.
They face the Browns and Bengals twice.   The only games that seem to be a challenge now are road games at the
Chiefs and the 49ers.

The Bills have a tougher schedule ahead of them.  But their win last week over the
Redskins is a good sign for the D.  They face the Jets twice and close with a game at the Pats.

The other playoff teams at this point of the season would be Texans (AFC South), Chargers (AFC West) and the wild cards Bengals and
Pats.  Despite being ranked 5th overall in the AFC, the Ravens would be out of the playoffs if the season ended today.

In the NFC things are just as surprising.

The top team is the Packers which will not surprise anyone.  But the 49ers are 2nd overall at 6-1.  The Giants and Saints
would be the other division winners and the wild cards would be the Lions and Bears.

While the 49ers have the toughest schedule they are also in the easiest division.  They will face the Steelers and Ravens from the AFC and the Giants out of the NFC East.  The 49ers will win their division easily.

The Lions have to face the Pack twice as well as the Saints and the Raiders.  The Lions will be a playoff team IF they can keep QB Stratford healthy.  Otherwise the WC will go to the Bears.  The Bears have already lost to the Pack once and face the resurgent Eagles, the Lions and the Pack once in their remaining games.

The Cowboys are again struggling at RB because they are using a light Felix Jones too much.   He is hurt again and they cut RB Choice before their game Sunday.

The Cards have discovered what most of us have known for a while—QB Kolb is not an NFL quality starter.  He has really struggled
in the last couple of games and they are considering going back to Skelton.

 

Notes:

Teams that want Stanford QB Luck were rooting for the Rams to get the top pick.  That is the only team that would be inclined to trade either the pick or their current top pick QB Bradford.  The win by the Rams over the Saints hurt their chances of getting the pick.

Right now after week 8 of the season the Dolphins are leading the race to Luck.  They have not had a quality QB since Dan Marino retired and would love to “suck for Luck.”  The Colts are in 2nd but they will not get Luck even if they get the top pick.   To find out why check out my article WhyStanford QB Luck will not be a Colt in 2012 on the subject right here on FryingpanSports.com.

The Colts have kept QB Manning on the active roster.  However, he should not even think about coming back to the team this year.
The season is lost and the offensive line is … offensive.

The NFL Player Safety Committee will study the situation with Charger G Dielman who suffered a seizure after having a second
concussion Sunday.  It was a very scarysituation to see him stagger and fall to the ground after a hit.

 

Rumors:

Former HC Cowher denied rumors that the Dolphins had talked with him about becoming their HC.   Thank heavens for Caller ID.  He
avoided the call by seeing it was the Dolphins on the line.

The Saints loss to the Rams was a major upset but also indicates an issue with the team.  They have struggled to protect the QB and with their O so totally dependent on Brees passing, it puts doubt in the minds of many that the team is a serious contender for the title.  The
Rams won without their starting QB Bradford.

The Madden Curse strikes again.  This time it is RB Hillis that is the primary victim although the entire Browns’ group of RBs have also suffered from the Cover Curse.  Backup Hardesty is now down with a torn calf muscle and they are looking for anyone that can run the ball.

The chance of Hillis being on the Browns next year is said to be close to 0 but he may have to come back because no one else will
make him an offer.  He has said he does not want to be distracted by talking more about a new contract.  He will get very little interest unless he
gets back on the field and has a solid last half of the season.

The rumor is that the Texans are a dirty team.  HC Kubiak defended his team Monday in his news conference.  The truth is that Kubiak
started the rumor himself to make his team look tough.  Anyone that has seen this team over the last couple of years knows it is anything but tough in either their minds or physical play.  The D is doing better this year but the only reason the Texans may stumble into the playoffs is the
injury to Colt QB Manning.

Sometimes a big payday can make a player soft and he will fail to ever regain the performance that got him the check.  That is not the case with Titan RB Johnson.  While he has suffered from a lack of conditioning because of the lockout and his holdout, that is not the issue.  The fact is that the O line of the Titans has not opened holes like they it has in the past.  With a passing game that is among the worst in the league, teams are putting 30 guys in the box and making sure that Johnson cannot get outside.  RB Ringer is a better inside runner and will split time with Johnson.

If the Cowboys don’t make the playoffs, look for big changes in Big D.  Owner Jones is not patient and the coaching staff is not the only change that might be made.  QB Romo is going to have to become a consistent guy particularly in the 4th quarter.

Cowboy DC Rob Ryan is confident he will be a HC soon.  He indicated that his brother Rex got his chance already.  Rob, here is
some advice.  Not only do you have to have your own charges play better but unless Rex gets his act together he may
be an ex-head coach soon as well.

 

 

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color
on radio for
college football and basketball and has scouted talent.

He is a senior writer for and edits https://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on http://www.eBooks-Library.com/Contemporary/ and a non-fiction work at http://www.merriam-press.com/.

He edits .

 

 

 

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3 thoughts on “News, Notes and Rumors for Week 8 of the NFL Season”

  1. I agree about Luck not being a Colt next year, but I don’t think it will be his choice. As a young rookie QB, I couldn’t imagine a better position to start then as the protege of one of the best to ever play the game. Sure, you will have to sit for a few years, but look at the benefits that could come from watching #18 carve up defenses and having the chance to pick his brain every day.

    As a Colts fan I have to say I would be pretty upset if my team goes out and gets a QB and doesn’t focus on the glaring problems such as our secondary, D-line, O-line, you name it – they all need work. If we DO pick up Luck, I say we just use him as a trade to acquire some veterans that can help our team NOW instead of in the next few years. If we can give Manning something to work with maybe we can get a couple more championships from him before he retires.

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    • I agree that playing behind Peyton Manning would be a good experience although many feel Luck is ready to play in the NFL already.

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  2. I don’t anticipate either being signed, although things could potentially change if any injuries occur during the second half of the season.

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