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Fantasy Football Today
Nothing Personal with David Samson
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Jaguars bench Gabbert, insert McCown
It’s safe to say that the rookie season for Blaine Gabbert has been nothing short of a disaster, and he suffered another indignity as the Jaguars are behind by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter.
The Jacksonville coaching staff has benched Gabbert after his 13 of 29, 126-yard, one-interception performance today and has inserted Luke McCown into the game in his place.
It comes across as another move of desperation by coach Jack Del Rio, who clearly is on his way out of town. Remember when he released David Garrard in the preseason and placed al
l his chips on Gabbert? Yeah, that’s not working out so well.
The Sanchez conundrum -- four TDs while looking bad
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During the week, Rex Ryan, in an attempt to light a spark underneath Mark Sanchez, ordered backup Mark Brunell to take some of the first-team snaps in practice.
And while Sanchez looked terrible for much of the day, you can’t deny that his four touchdown passes was a major factor in the Jets 28-24 win against the Bills. Yes, Sanchez really did throw four touchdowns, and yes, he still looked unimpressive, finishing 17 of 35 for 180 yards and an interception.
It was an important win for the Jets, who will be no worse than two games behind the Patriots in the AFC East and who kept themselves in the thick of the wild card race.
For Buffalo, it was another disappointing loss in a season that has spiraled completely out of control. Although the Bills had at least three shots at the end zone in the final minute of the game -- not to mention a wide open Stevie Johnson touchdown catch that he simply dropped -- New York’s defense was just good enough to hold on for the win.
All of which completely ruined Johnson’s awesome touchdown celebration.
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Chris Johnson is back! (again)
The old saying "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me" certainly comes to mind after what Titans running back Chris Johnson did to the Buccaneers Sunday. By the time it was over, Tennessee beat Tampa Bay 23-17 to move to 6-5, and Johnson had -- by miles and miles and miles -- his biggest day of the season.
He rushed for 190 yards on 23 carries and looked like the guy the Titans thought they were getting when they gave him that huge contract extension during training camp. Instead, Johnson has been one of the NFL's worst backs in 2011, averaging 51 yards per game prior to Sunday's breakout effort.
So is Johnson back? It sure looked like it against the Bucs, but we saw this movie two weeks ago when he ran for 130 yards against the hapless Panthers. Johnson returned to his '11 form seven days later when he managed 13 yards on 12 carries against the Falcons.
Put differently: it'll take more than one impressive showing to convince us that Johnson's big games are now the aberrations.
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Panthers push Colts towards 0-fer
Thanks to a surprising defensive effort -- it featured turnovers and sacks! -- and an efficient day from Cam Newton, the Panthers pushed the Colts towards a winless season with a 27-19 victory in Indy on Sunday.
It wasn't always pretty for Carolina, and Indy nearly came back to have a shot at a tie before Curtis Painter threw his second interception in the end zone of the day.
The stats on this one are weird, too, because it looks like a hard-fought game between two efficient teams. The reality is that the Panthers are good on offense and the Colts are just miserable. But not so miserable that they couldn't move the ball some against the Panthers porous rush defense -- Donald Brown finished with 14 carries and 80 yards and Joseph Addai picked up 23 yards on 7 carries.
The Colts defense was just worse, though, and Indy moved a step closer towards a winless season with this loss. Realistically, their only shot of NOT losing out comes in Week 17 when they play the Jaguars.
The NFL Today: Week 12 Postgame Show
James Brown, Dan Marino, Bill Cowher, Shannon Sharpe and Boomer Esiason recap the week 12 games including the Bengals win over the Browns and the Falcons victory over the Vikings.
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Eagles fans chant 'Fire Andy' as Pats cruise
Any concerns about the Patriots having lost their way have been assuaged in recent weeks. New England lost two in a row earlier this season -- to the Steelers and then the Giants -- but have reeled off convincing victories against the Jets, Chiefs and in about half an hour, the Eagles.
Philadelphia, proclaimed the Dream Team by quarterback Vince Young during the preseason, has been the league's most disappointing team through 12 weeks. The Eagles have shown glimpses of potential but it's been fleeting. They beat the Giants without Michael Vick last week, and then against the Patriots Sunday reverted to the form that will have the sitting at 4-7 by the end of the day.
The Patriots and Tom Brady, meanwhile, look to have found their form. Brady has more than 300 passing yards, and three touchdowns, two going to one of the league's best receivers, Wes Welker. New England leads Philly 38-13 midway through the fourth quarter.
Oh, and while Eagles' head coach Andy Reid's job appears to be safe (at least for now), Philly fans feel differently. They were chanting "Fire Andy!" at various points in the second half.
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