This snoozer has significance
Sunday, December 19, 2010
This is the reason the NFL implemented its flexible scheduling plan in 2006. As long as a decision is made 12 days in advance, the league is allowed to move a more palatable game into the primetime slot on Sunday night between Weeks 11 and 17. Granted, we had no idea two weeks ago that quarterback Aaron Rodgers would miss tonight’s game with a concussion, but common sense should tell us that Giants vs. Eagles in mid-December will almost always be more meaningful than an inter-conference snoozer between the Patriots and Packers.
The league shouldn’t be scheduling anything other than intra-division games in primetime slots during the final four weeks of the season – and that includes Monday night, too – but since we can’t go back in time and fix the NFL’s problems we’re now stuck with Packers vs. Patriots, which means New England fans might have to wait until midnight to find out whether or not their team has clinched its second consecutive AFC East title.
A loss by the Jets in Pittsburgh (that game begins at 4:15 p.m.) coupled with a win by the Patriots will put an end to the division race. As it stands, the official stamp of certitude is merely a formality. The Jets are cooked. They’ve got strength coaches tripping opposing players on the sidelines and everyone from the ball boy to the starting quarterback pointing fingers at one another while New England is in cruise control. The Patriots have won five consecutive games since a disastrous loss to Cleveland on Nov. 7 and have forced 13 turnovers during that stretch without committing a single turnover on their own end.
The Jets might need a miracle just to beat the Steelers this afternoon, let alone win the division. Pittsburgh has won four in a row while allowing only 9.0 points per game in the process. The Jets have dropped back-to-back games for the first time all season and have scored only one touchdown in their last 11 quarters dating back to Nov. 28. Quarterback Mark Sanchez has combined for four interceptions in those losses and hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass since Thanksgiving. On paper, it’s a recipe for disaster.
The same can be said for the Packers’ chances of winning at Gillette Stadium. Tom Brady hasn’t lost a regular-season game at home since 2006 while the Patriots overall have won 15 consecutive regular-season games at Gillette dating back to November of 2008. The Packers are a formidable opponent at full strength, but they’re far less dangerous without Rodgers. After he left last week’s game in the second quarter due to a concussion, Green Bay managed just one field goal in a 7-3 loss to Detroit at Ford Field. Even with Rodgers, the Packers were miserable on the road this season (3-4 away from Lambeau Field). Now they’re asking third-year backup Matt Flynn to pull off the impossible with a win in Foxboro in order to keep Green Bay’s playoff – and division title – hopes alive.
The Patriots actually did the Packers a favor by pounding Chicago last weekend. Green Bay still trails the Bears by a game in the NFC North and also trails the Giants by that same margin for the final wild-card spot. Perhaps the significance of tonight’s game will make it more interesting than it looks on paper, but that’s highly unlikely based on the tale of the tape. Every statistic favors the Patriots; they’re 58-14 after Thanksgiving since 2001, 31-5 in December since 2002 and 34-5 against NFC opponents over the past nine years. Add in the possibility of snow flurries hitting Foxboro later tonight and you can all but kiss the Jets’ division title hopes goodbye (the Patriots are 11-0 in the snow under Bill Belichick).
The game everyone should be watching won’t be available in every market today thanks to the NFL’s curious decision to keep Packers vs. Patriots in primetime. All we can do is continue marveling at what the Patriots have done in this so-called season of parity and watch for the possibility of them clinching another division title under Belichick’s reign – if the game doesn’t put us to sleep first.
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