10:25 P.M. VIKES LOSE; AREA BLOGGER DECLARES SELF GENIUS

I should point out that I’ll be pointing out my correct prediction of the Vikings’ loss to the Panthers very regularly for the foreseeable future.

More to come tomorrow. If anyone reads this or has checked in today on my pointless blogging I say thanks to you. Come back Monday evening and I promise you’ll be entertained.

9:04 P.M.

Well, the Steelers ended up winning their game vs. the Packers in one of the most dramatic finishes I can remember. You’ll see the highlights, and if not, here they are, fresh from NFL.com.

Roethlisberger threw for 508 yards, including the 18-yard game winner with no time left on the clock. The catch, by a rookie named Mike Wallace, was as brilliant as the throw. If you missed the game, look at the clip. It’s worth it.

So far I’m almost half right that the Vikings were playing a trap game against Carolina. The Purple took a 7-6 lead into the locker room at halftime, and had amassed a total of 66 yards of offense in the first two quarters.

6:22 P.M.

Mike Tomlin just made one of the biggest coaching blunders I’ve ever seen in my life. After kicking a FG that put them up with 4 minutes to play, the Steelers tried a surprise onside kick that failed, giving the Packers the ball on the Steeler 40.

It was an uncharacteristically dumbsh*t call by Tomlin to say the least. There will be time left on the clock if Green Bay does score, but how much? They only need a field goal to win the game, but this loss, if it happens, is virtually all on one bone-headed coaching move. The Steelers have coughed up yet another 4th-quarter lead in a game that has defined Pittsburgh’s struggles this year.

5:58 P.M. – Cutler Yanked

Jay Cutler was removed from the Ravens’ beating of Chicago. I had predicted this as a possibility on Friday, and it turns out that the offense was indeed capable of playing poorly enough to get their QB benched. Chicago’s GM Jerry Angelo bristled before the game when asked about a report earlier this week that head coach Lovie Smith was safe for next year, saying “I don’t know where that report came from. That’s speculation.”

In Angelospeak, Jerry might has well have told Lovie Smith to go f*ck himself. Ol’ Jerry usually speaks in phrases and tones so measured that absolutely no conclusion can be drawn from any segment of his quotes, no matter how far out of context you can go. One doesn’t have to be listening too hard to know that he is unhappy with how Smith has showcased his collection of highly=priced players and that another year without the playoffs isn’t acceptable.

In a game that matters, Cincy and San Diego are tied with 16 seconds left, the clock stopped for an injury timeout. Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding has never really shown that he has the rocks required to kick a football when it counts for the game, it will be interesting to see his response if he gets the chance.

Packers and Steelers are all tied up too, at 27. Close games between some good teams out there. Must be nice.

5:32 P.M.

It doesn’t look like Cincy’s wish of winning for Chris Henry is going to be able to happen. San Diego is gradually beginning to outpace them and pop off big plays as they wish. I will take the opportunity to say, with no disrespect whatsoever, that Chris Henry kind of looked like an Avatar:

5:08 P.M.

There are over 9 minutes left in the 3rd quarter of Bears-Ravens, and Chicago just committed their 4th turnover of the game. The offense has been on the field for all of 2 plays. The Ravens took the first possession and marched for a TD, the Bears fumbled the returning kickoff, and the Ravens scored another TD off of that. The Bears offense came back on the field, only for Matt Forte to fumble it right back. It’s now 31-7, and the wifey* had it right when she said, “Well, this is the kind of sh*t that gets people fired.”

This is a complete lack of focus, effort, and character right after halftime, the only time that the coach interacts with all 53 players at once. They came out of the locker room as flat as can be imagined. This is an organization in complete disarray. More interceptions, more miscommunication, more mistakes and more pouting.

One thing I truly dislike is when coaches use miscommunication as some kind of excuse for poor play execution or game mismanagement. You’re the coach. If you have any one duty above all else, it’s to communicate – and to make sure everyone else is communicating too. You set the terms of communication. Miscommunication is, therefore, your own @#%&ING fault!

* used with permission

4:42 P.M.

Aaron Rodgers just tied his game against the Steelers with a 14-yard TD run with about 2 minutes to play in the first half. He now has 297 yards rushing, leading the league among QB’s.

The Bengals and Chargers are dueling it out in a well-matched contest, 17-14 S.D. in the 3rd, and is probably the game you should switch to if you happen to get it and are reading this for some reason. And your team’s game sucks.

3:19 P.M.

Well, my team’s buttkicking is already underway. My cable’s Autotune function switched over just in time for me to see Cutler toss a pick, and to see Chicago’s defense let Ray Rice and Joe Flacco shred them for a quick touchdown.

I don’t know where all the snow I heard about is, because it barely looks cold and the field is spotless. Cutler threw his league-leadigng 23rd TD, and it wasn’t anyone’s fault but his.

3:11 P.M. – AZ-Detroit

Beanie Wells and Anquan Boldin pretty much sealed this one, with Wells getting knicked up after a good run. Boldin muscled his way to a TD with just under 1:54 remaining. The Lions put up a great fight, but I can’t imagine them actually driving the length of the field to score a TD and win this game.

3:00 P.M.

The Lions are at the Cards’ one at the moment, waiting on the results of a coach’s challenge that should give them the ball at 2nd and goal inches from the goal line. This would be a disaster for Arizona if they lose this game. If you lose to Detroit this late in the season, you’re not going back to the Super Bowl.

They deserve respect for getting back to the playoffs, and they should still win this game (Lions just tied it), but it’s tough for a team to play any kind of “we get no respect” card at any point after a loss to Detroit. And the Super Bowl underdog ALWAYS plays the “we get no respect” card.

The Lions have put up 24 2nd-half points in this one, fueled solely by Matt Stafford’s taking over after halftime. This game could honestly signal a turning point for Detroit if they pull a W out of this contest.

2:35 P.M.

There are guys out there worth rooting for, even if your team is garbage. If you’re a St. Louis Rams fan, then Stephen Jackson shows you week in and week out why he’s worth your interest. Same for Joshua Cribbs in Cleveland. Calvin Johnson in Detroit. Lance Briggs in Chicago.

This Detroit Lions team is down one TD and getting the ball with good field position with 8 minutes to go. It’s 24-17 Arizona, and there is too much time left for Detroit to hang with them, but the Lions have played a good game so far.

The defensive battle continues in The Meadowlands where Atlanta is leading the Jets 10-7. I saw Thomas Jones get a personal foul earlier in this game, which was odd to see. Atlanta QB Matt Ryan came back for this one, but hasn’t been very effective against the Jets defense.

Jets head coach Rex Ryan is an enormous human being.

Mark Sanchez just sealed the loss with an interception. There’s about 1:05 remaining, and that should do it. Mark Sanchez tossed 3 picks today but he had a few nice passes in this one despite the low score.

1:43 P.M.

I couldn’t find a single cable station that was playing “Gremlins” all weekend, which is bullsh*t. It’s a fantastic Christmas movie and one of the few I can stomach. And yes, Christmas Vacation is great, but most of the time it’s on you have to sit through 17 commercial breaks and miss half of the movie to editing. The presentation does the actual movie no justice.

Gremlins can be viewed casually, just on in the background if you have friends over, occasionally drawing attention when one of them meets it’s spastic and bloody end in a blender. If I don’t see it on next week, I’m going to be forced to buy it. Or wait for someone to give it to me as a gift. What a subtle hint.

Speaking of spastic and bloody ends, the Chicago Bears will meet theirs today in snowy Baltimore. The game was postponed to 3:15 Central because the Bears couldn’t make their first few scheduled flights into the area. If I hear even a whisper from anyone blaming the late flight in for the ass-kicking Chicago will endure today, I will burn down that person’s Xmas tree. Lots of people handle their daily business hours or even minutes after stepping off of a plane. Don’t tell me that NFL players’ internal alarm clocks are that critical to optimum performance.

The halftime highlights of the early games are quite the spectacle, with Vince Young and Joshua Cribbs each putting on a show. Cribbs has 2 kick returns for TD’s, and Young is slicing up the Miami defense for 2 TDs and over 170 yards at half.

I welcome the future to both of these players. I too had once thought Vince Young was finished, but I see a lot of great play out of this kid right now. Bombs with soft touch, converted 3rd downs, making very few mistakes and a lot of correct reads. The offensive coaching staff in Tennessee is putting him in a great position to use his particular skill set, which is something a lot of teams in the league could learn from. Ahem.

contact email: nick.thomas@flying pigskin.com

Tags: Brett Favre, carolina panthers, chicago bears suck, chris henry + avatar, chris henry looks like an avatar, Jerry Angelo, vikings lose, week 15 nfl 2009 live blog