NFL Week 11 - Late Games

A couple of divisional battles are included in this week's late games. The lead in the AFC West is up for grabs in one. A fierce rematch provides another.

To check out my first part of Sunday's games, go here. For the second part, you can go here.

Arizona (6-3) @ St. Louis (1-8)

Cardinals: QB Kurt Warner returns. You know he'll be a bit emotional because St. Louis gave Warner a shot when nobody else would. All he did was lead the Rams to a Super Bowl victory (left) and another Super Bowl appearance. This game may the most unnerving game Warner plays all year. RB Chris "Beanie" Wells had a bit of a coming out party last week against the Seahawks. 108 total yards and 2 TD. If Wells can continue that type of play, the Cards will once again pose a major threat in the NFC.

Earlier this season, nobody could run on the Cardinals. In two of the last three Cardinals games, they have permitted a 100+ yard rusher (158 to Carolina's DeAngelo Williams and 123 to Seattle's Justin Forsett). The Cards better pull it together as the league's best pure running back, St. Louis' Steven Jackson, will be lining up on the opposite side of the ball.

Rams: One thing is for sure. The Rams will run the ball with RB Steven Jackson. The issue becomes scoring and Jackson only has 2 TD, but he has produced three straight 100+ yard efforts. The Rams offense has been very slowly getting better. Opponents key on Jackson and that gives the Rams a chance when passing. But Jackson leads the Rams in receptions. Another problem is that the team's #2 receiver, WR Donnie Avery, has only 26 catches. The #3, WR Keenan Burton, had his season ended due to a knee injury.

The defense ranks in the bottom six in every major category: scoring (29th), total yards (28th), passing (26th), and rushing (28th). Can anything else be said?

Cincinnati (7-2) @ Oakland (2-7)

Bengals: Did you ever think the Bengals (not the Bungles) would be leading the AFC North? If you're an NFL realist, the answer is no. And the Bengals thank you for continuing to doubt them. It has served them well. I get the feeling that opposing teams are still not taking them seriously enough and underestimating them. All that does is put more fire in QB Carson Palmer's (right) belly. And then it spreads to RB Cedric Benson (doubtful - hip) and WR Chad Ochocinco. With Benson's hip being an issue, newly signed RB Larry Johnson may see a lot of playng time. He won't need to be brought up to speed as far as the Raiders go.

The one thing people are just now giving Cincy credit for is their defense. They are second in scoring defense (16.3 points a game) and only the Indianapolis Colts allow less. And that can get better due to the Raiders inability to produce offensively. But the guys in stripes better not fall asleep.

Raiders: Head coach Tom Cable finally did the right thing and benched QB JaMarcus Russell. It only took him about a month and a half too long. QB Bruce Gradkowski gets the start in what may be an audition for a 2010 roster spot. The one thing the Raiders can kind of do well is run the ball with RBs Michael Bush and Justin Fargas. The big issue is that Cincinnati is second against the run. That leaves an inept passing game and Gradkowski is starting his first game this season. He's had previous starts (1 in Cleveland in 2008 and 11 in Tampa Bay in 2006), but his only start last year yielded a QB rating of 1.0.

The biggest matchup will be CB Nnamdi Asomugha on WR Chad Ochocinco. Asomugha is among the league's best corners and team's go out of there way to avoid him. He's that good! Watch this. It might be better than the actual game.

New York Jets (4-5) @ New England Patriots (6-3)

Jets: Can we please get off of the "Rex Ryan crying" thing? That might be just the spark the Jets need. And they need something as the Jets have fallen on hard times since getting off to a 3-0 start. Rookie QB Mark Sanchez maybe had too much success way too soon and that moved the expectation meter too high. Sanchez might want to get RB Thomas Jones a little more involved with the passing game, maybe a screen or two. And finding WR Braylon Edwards hasn't been a big problem. It's getting the ball to him and Edwards catching it.

From a statistical point, the Jets defense has held up its end of the bargain. Not entirely true from a realistic stand point. In the first game against the Dolphins (week 5), Miami scored a TD with merely 0:06 left.

The following week against the Bills, the Jets D allowed a woeful Buffalo offense to erase a 10 point halftime lead and force the game into overtime. Buffalo would win in OT. That's not entirely on the defense, but Buffalo?

And then there's the image of Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew dropping to his knee short of the goal line and K Josh Scobee kicking a game winning 21 yard FG. I'm just saying...

Patriots: And could we please stop the crap about Belichick and the 4th-and-2 stuff? All BB has done is deliver three Lombardi Trophies. I think he can be forgiven and never doubted. Now, focus on the Jets. That'll be easy because no one does that better than BB and his Pats. Plus, there's an added incentive of the talk from their first meeting. QB Tom Brady was harrassed and had little time to throw. But WR Wes Welker did not play that game and the Jets were constantly all over WR Randy Moss. There's the matchup...Moss and Jets CB Darrelle Revis. Can Revis cover Moss with Welker on the field?

You know the Patriots remember the words from that postgame. Jets head coach Rex Ryan declared the best team won. Why do teams give New England a reason for anything? The Jets have. This game will be too much to miss.

San Diego (6-3) @ Denver (6-3)

Two teams going in completely opposite directions.

Chargers: LT will be known in a few months as Daddy. That motivated him last week to his best performance since the final game of last year when the Chargers bounced the Broncos from first place and won the AFC West in the season finale. A bit of a smiliar situation, but it's not the last game of the season. The Bolts can bounce the Broncos from first place with a win and you better believe the Chargers offense will be ready. C Nick Hardwick will miss yet another game and he hasn't played since the season opener against the Raiders. WR Vincent Jackson is starting to slowly become a household name. And we all know about QB Philip Rivers and TE Anotonio Gates.

The Chargers have a pretty good set of corners in Antonio Cromartie and Quentin Jammer. A decent pair of outside linebackers in Shaun Phillips and Shawne Merriman. But there's where the Chargers defensive issue lie. There's no strength up the middle and opponents pound the ball to the tune of 119 yards a game on the ground, ranking the Chargers 23rd against the run. Denver has a pretty good running game.

Broncos: The status of QB Kyle Orton (ankle) is a gametime decision. QB Chris Simms is ready to go if Orton cannot. Getting RB Correll Buckhalter back will severly enhance the Broncos rushing attack, the one place San Diego is vulnerable defensively. And the Broncs will run the ball for another reason, to keep the ball away from San Diego's pass offense.

The Broncos defense has fallen from 1st to 6th over the last three weeks including allowing 27 points to the Washington Redskins. I say that because until last week, Washington had not scored more than 17 points in any game this year. Also, the Broncos have allowed 100+ games to opposing running backs in back-to-back weeks (Rashard Mendenhall for 155 and Ladell Betts for 114). Their old nemesis LT and the Bolts are in town. Getting back on track with a win would mean not only staying in first in the AFC West, but stem the tide that needed to be stopped.

Sunday Night
Philadelphia (5-4) @ Chicago (4-5)

Eagles: RB Brain Westbrook will miss at least another 2-3 weeks due to suffering another concussion. That leaves the running game in the hand of rookie LeSean McCoy. But the Eagles don't run a lot. But they'll sure throw it. Almost too much because teams gear for the pass. That's where utilizing McCoy must become more of a part in Philly's offense. Teams that can run, can win.

The Eagles must once again play musical chairs with their linebackers. LB Akeem Jordan will miss the game. Chris Gocong and Wil Weathespoon will start at the outside and Joe Mays will get the start in the middle. The personnel may be different, but the results are usually the same.

Bears: Is it time for the Jay Cutler evening performance? He hopes the results differ greatly this time. Cutler has been morbid on the big stage. 3 TD and 11 INT in night games. But they have all been on the road (Green Bay, Atlanta, San Francisco). Maybe a bit of home cooking is what Cutler needs. And maybe he needs a bit more RB Matt Forte. Getting Forte in gear would greatly reduce the stress that Cutler is feeling.

Last week, the defense played good enough for Chicago to win. In fact, the Bears defense has played well in all but two games this season. So why is Lovie Smith (above), who's been calling the defense, getting so much garbage? He's an easy target since he's the head coach. I don't get it, but there are teams that will take him if the Bears don't. The defense is the reason Chicago is no worse than 4-5. Without that unit, the Bears are a much worse team.

Remember what Mike Ditka says...Coaches coach, players play.