NFL Notebook Week 13

NFL Notebook Week 13
by Mike Neri

The Year of the Colts! The Colts (11-0 SU, 8-3 ATS) continue to win and cover, with a versatile offense (No. 3 in the NFL) and an aggressive defense. The Colts' became just the 11th team in the 86-year history of the NFL to open a season 11-0. They can join the 1998 Denver Broncos, '85 and '34 Chicago Bears and '72 Miami Dolphins as the only teams to start 12-0 by handling AFC South rival Tennessee on Sunday in the RCA Dome.

Motown Shakeup: The big story this week is that Lion's head coach Steve Mariucci was fired. Defensive coordinator Dick Jauron was named interim head coach for the rest of the season. The Lions have lost four of their last five games and team morale has disintegrated. Cornerback Dre' Bly and quarterback Jeff Garcia both thought the blame for the team's poor record shouldn't have rested on the now ex-coach. "If Jeff Garcia hadn't gotten hurt, Mooch wouldn't have gotten fired," said Bly. “I just feel like Joey Harrington's been here four years, and being the No. 3 pick in the draft, he hasn't given us anything. He hasn't given us what the third pick in the draft should give us." Wow! Talked about a fractured clubhouse!

It will be interesting to see if the team packs it in, or rallies. Last year Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt was fired midway through the season, replaced by Jim Bates. Miami rallied around him going 3-4 SU and 5-2 ATS the rest of the season. On the other hand, Cleveland coach Butch Davis was fired a year ago, and the Browns seemed to pack it in.

Plodding Buffaloes: Plodding on offense, that is. Sam Adams was unhappy with coach Mike Mularkey Sunday and left the stadium when Mularkey told Adams he wouldn't play. In addition, the Bills offense has been anemic, scoring 17, 16, 14, 10 and 9 points the last 5 games. Mark Buffalo down as a potentially unhappy clubhouse that may begin to pack it in, if it hasn't happened already. Buffalo is 0-6 SU, 1-5 ATS as a dog.

Falcons at Panthers: Notice that the Falcons are an underdog at Carolina this weekend. Did you know that Atlanta is 5-2 SU, 4-3 ATS as an underdog this season?

Bengals New-Look Offense: In the past two games, against the Colts and Ravens, the Bengals have run the no-huddle offense on 30 of 127 plays. The 14 run plays have yielded 87 yards, an average of 6.2 yards! The results of the pass plays are even more impressive: Palmer is 12-of-16 passing out of the no huddle for 259 yards and three touchdowns. "I love it, and I think we love it as an offense," Palmer said of working without a huddle.” This was already a great offense even without the no-huddle!

Year of the QB Injuries, Part 10: There have been so many quarterback injuries this season, but it's hard to believe the injury-bug still isn't done. Jacksonville lost starting QB Byron Leftwich to a broken ankle Sunday. He won't play Sunday against the Browns and may be done for the season. QB David Garrard will start. For the season Garrard is 12-of-26 for 115 yards, no TDs, no picks. Jacksonville is 22-12 under the total the last 34 games.

The Next Coaching Change, Houston? The Houston Texans are 0-9 SU, 3-6 ATS as an underdog, and the offense is second worst in the NFL and the defense is third worst! You can't get much worse than that. Expect in San Francisco, where the 49ers have the worst offense AND defense!

Romeo's Defense: The Browns are 5-0 "under" the total at home under new coach Romeo Crennel. Now that the weather is getting colder, it's getting even harder to score at Cleveland.

Jets in a No Fly Zone: The Jets appear to have packed it in and play at New England Sunday. The Jets are 4-21 SU, 7-15-3 ATS their last 25 as an underdog.

Favored Cardinals: The Arizona Cardinals are a road favorite Sunday at San Francisco. Don't forget the Cardinals are 4-25 SU, 8-21 ATS their last 29 road games!

QB Change in San Fran: The 49ers went with QB Ken Dorsey Sunday, going 23 of 43 for 192 yards and a TD in a loss to Tennessee. Coach Mike Nolan announced that rookie QB Alex Smith will get the start here and for the remaining 5 games, so they are clearly looking to next year. For the season, Smith is completing 46% of his passes with no TDs and 5 INTs.

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