Wellness

[gardenman]

That dropped pass was huge. Riley only dropped something like three passes all year so you just don't expect it from him. It was a perfectly conceived play though. It is what it is though. Had the offensive line done a better job giving McCoy room to run we'd have still been okay. And truthfully the offense did get us the lead late in the fourth. They did their part. The special teams then gave up the long return and the defense couldn't stop the Saints.

The Eagles appear to be nicely positioned to handle the NFC East for the foreseeable future, but you never know what will happen. The new coach in Washington could turn things around down there pretty quickly. He's lucky that Cousins wasn't spectacular in those last three games. That makes the locker room less likely to split into factions. Had Cousins played great, then the locker room likely would have split into pro-Griffin and pro-Cousins factions, but with Cousins looking pretty mortal that's less likely to happen. That's one less headache for the new coach. (I'm pretty sure Shanahan wanted nothing more than to leave a bitterly divided locker room and quarterback controversy behind for the new coach. Unfortunately for him it didn't work.)

The Cowboys and Giants have issues. If the Cowboys are sticking with Monte Kiffin's Tampa Two then they've got to get players better suited for it. They've also got cap trouble, and they're getting pretty old on offense. The Giants are intriguing. Was this just an off year for Eli or is this the new normal for him? I've seen reports blaming the receivers for his interceptions. If those reports are coming from Eli or his camp, his relationship with the receivers won't be especially warm and cuddly. Quarterbacks don't generally go from being good to horrible unless something is physically wrong with them, so maybe Eli has a rotator cuff/shoulder issue or possibly an elbow issue that needs addressing. He threw way too many interceptions this year. I'm not sure how enthusiastic a new coordinator will be to go to NY too. Coughlin's not exactly a safe coach if the Giants continue to have issues and if he goes the coordinators would likely be gone too. Working with Eli isn't necessarily an ideal situation either.

Right now I have the Eagles atop the division and likely to get better. I've got the Redskins a bit behind them, but likely trending upwards (if they get the right coach.) I've got the Giants and Cowboys both still trending downwards. The Giants have the most potential for a quicker turnaround if Eli can get his game straightened out and the defense can return to form. The Cowboys are married to Romo and need to totally rebuild that defense or change defensive schemes. They've got the wrong players (3-4, man cover guys) in the wrong (Tampa Two, 4-3, zone cover) scheme right now. It sounds easy to switch systems, but players are suited for one or the other and can rarely transition easily/well between systems. It's going to be an interesting offseason. Things could look a lot different by the time training camp rolls around, but right now, the NFC East looks to be in the Eagles' grasp for the foreseeable future.

[brewhaha]

I hope Mrs. Riley wasn't wearing her prescription glasses when he dropped the pass.

[gardenman]

And the Chargers keep the streak of the team playing the Eagles in their home opener winning the Super Bowl alive by beating the Bengals. Truthfully though the Bengals helped a lot by giving the ball to San Diego a bit too much, but it keeps the streak alive for another week. Now if the Chargers somehow beat the Broncos next week, that streak will start to look more impressive. If the Chargers make it to the Super Bowl and win the Super Bowl then every team on the Eagle's schedule will be bribing the schedule makers to be the home opener for the Eagles next year. The streak is four years old now and if SD can make it this year, it'll be five in a row. Five times in a row would defintely get people's attention.

On to the Green Bay/San Francisco game.

[Windycity]

Living in Bears country, I have to say GO 9ers!!! Weather here is the worst of the worst, however.

[aziza udoja]

San Francisco IN THE HOUSE,Gardenman.WE ARE the team of finesse and despite the 5 degree weather plus -10 wind chill factor,it's team for the cheese to be shredded and PACK(ED) up and sent to an icy demise.GO NINERS; WE STAND BEHIND AND WITH YOU! WIN,BABY,WIN- SEND THE PACKERS PACKING!!!!

[MomOf4]

GO NINERS!!!

I have to admit I'm glad the Bolts beat the Bengals. I think the Broncos will have an easier time beating them than the Colts.

[Mary Bailey]

On 1/5/2014 Windycity said:

Living in Bears country, I have to say GO 9ers!!! Weather here is the worst of the worst, however.

[gardenman]

The announcers completely missed the reason for the timeout at the start of the second half. Kaepernick came out without his wristband that contained the calls on it. He got the call in the huddle and tried to improvise without it, but quickly realized things didn't look right, called the timeout, hurried to the sideline, got handed the wristband and then came back. Bad announcing there guys.

[Mary Bailey]

On 1/5/2014 gardenman said:

The announcers completely missed the reason for the timeout at the start of the second half. Kaepernick came out without his wristband that contained the calls on it. He got the call in the huddle and tried to improvise without it, but quickly realized things didn't look right, called the timeout, hurried to the sideline, got handed the wristband and then came back. Bad announcing there guys.

DH can not stand Joe Buck, anytime anywhere.

[gardenman]

And the Niners advance! Green Bay almost had them when Kaepernick threw a pass right to a Packer, but the ball was just a tick too high and hard for him to reel in, so the Niners dodged a bullet there and ended up winning.