$.01-- Chicago stayed hot by bolting the collapsing Chargers 31-20 at Soldier Field, but the big development from this game is the loss of Jay Cutler. The Bears quarterback broke his thumb and will be out at least six weeks, according to multiple reports. Cutler is in the midst of a very good season where he had bubbled up to the second-tier signal callers. Chicago has won five in a row and during that time Cutler has been solid, making quicker decisions and distributing the ball where and when it needs to be. The questions about his toughness and leadership seem trite and silly after how Cutler has played this year. Given the middling receiving corps and the offensive line issues, he has been very good. The biggest step is his avoidance of the dramatic error, though ironically enough he was hurt while trying to chase down a return on an interception by Antoine Cason. Chicago sits at 7-3, tied with Detroit and a game ahead of the Giants/Cowboys and Falcons in the race for the two NFC Wild Cards. Everyone is already pointing to the Bears defense being strong enough to carry the team, but the numbers do not back that up. Even after some strong performances, The Chicago defense ranks 25th in average yards per play, 29th in yards per carry, 31st in sack percentage, and 25th in opposing completion percentage. Overall they are a middle of the pack defense, a unit that complements a good offense and great special teams but not a defense that can dominate and consistently win games where the offense fails to perform to snuff. Now the offense goes to Caleb Hanie and his 14 career regular season passing attempts. Hanie did show promise in relief of an injured Cutler against Green Bay in the NFC Championship game last year, but he also threw two interceptions among his 20 attempts in that one. He has a very strong arm that he clearly trusts, and he has the moxie and sneaky/tough mobility of a young Jon Kitna. The problem is, Mike Martz calls one of the most complex offenses in the league, full of sight options that require the quarterback and receivers to see the same thing on every play. I suspect they will try to lean more on Matt Forte, but that can only work to a point. Hanie gets his first start in Oakland next week, facing a Raiders team that recorded five sacks and 12 QB pressures in picking off Christian Ponder three times on Sunday. Nothing like trial by fire in the Black Hole... Hanie might not be Cutler, but being better than Philip Rivers should not be a problem. The San Diego spray gun had a fourth quarter that makes Jimmy Clausen look like Joe Montana in the clutch: 0-for-4, with two interceptions. That negated what had otherwise been a pretty strong game for Rivers, as he rediscovered his deep ball to Vincent Jackson and took advantage of the Chicago safeties inexplicably paying extra attention to the shadow of what used to be Antonio Gates. The San Diego offense has a variety of issues, but it starts with the inexplicable fall off by Philip Rivers. $.02-- I abhor when the officials decide a game, but that is precisely what happened in the Cincinnati-Baltimore tilt. In a game with major playoff ramifications, the Bengals had closed the gap and were driving late when the officials decided that Baltimore should probably win the game at home. The play in question: second-and-goal for the Bengals from the Baltimore seven-yard line, with the Ravens clinging to a 31-24 lead, under one minute to go in the game. Cincy quarterback Andy Dalton gets pressured from behind by Terrell Suggs, who made a great move to get in position to make the sack. But instead of sacking Dalton, Suggs forearm shivers Dalton under the facemask and then horse collars Dalton enough that his knees bend backwards and his head snaps. In a desperate attempt to make a play, Dalton throws the ball well over the head of everyone and out of bounds. Referee Ron Winter, who was looking straight at Dalton the entire play, ignored the illegal head shot, chose to interpret the horse collar rule incorrectly, and flagged Dalton for intentional grounding, a loss of a precious down and 10 yards. Horse collar tackles are not illegal in the area of the line of scrimmage, but a scrambling quarterback is always an exception. It would have been first-and-goal from just outside the 3 if Winter would have called either of the obvious fouls on Suggs. The Ravens smartly kept the boot on the throat and forced an incompletion on the next play, then sacked Dalton on fourth down to effectively end the game. All that pressure came from Baltimore rushing just three, which is damn impressive and probably deserves more of my praise. Yes, the Bengals had more chances and yes, the Ravens were the better team for the bulk of the game. But the inexcusable ineptitude of the crew directly impacted the outcome by denying the Bengals a fair chance to compete in the final minute. Many Bengals fans are incensed about a negated Jermaine Gresham touchdown pass earlier in the quarter, but I think the officials got that one right even though Gresham held the ball a full second longer than Dezmon Briscoe did for Tampa on his touchdown reception. Yet in this season where quarterbacks have been protected beyond any reasonable expectation from even the most protectionist prudes, the officials allowed two personal fouls committed against a quarterback on the same play to slide. It is not coincidental the game was in Baltimore. Now, the Bengals find themselves 6-4 and a full game plus a tiebreaker behind both Pittsburgh and Baltimore. This game was too important for such awful officiating, and the NFL deserves ridicule if Winter and his crew are not verbally and publicly flogged. That blown call could very well have cost the Bengals a postseason berth and all the revenue that comes along with that. $.03-- My Lions made for an uncomfortable Sunday afternoon with yet another schizophrenic performance, falling behind 24-7 thanks to a flurry of errors before rallying for a 49-35 whipping of the Panthers. Matt Stafford started out 3-of-8 for 35 yards and two interceptions, looking almost as if he took too much lithium for breakfast. After Keiland Williams fumbled away the pigskin for the third turnover in the first quarter, Stafford woke up and showed why he was the #1 overall pick. The Lions gunslinger woke up and went 25-of-28 for 300 yards and five touchdowns -- to five different receivers, none of whom was Calvin Johnson -- the rest of the day. Such is the frustration of being a Lions fan. How can this team go from being the butter to the hot knife so frequently and so easily? Carolina was in complete control when Kealoha Pilares ran back a kick 101 yards for a touchdown and Cam Newton followed soon after with a great touchdown run to put the Panthers up 24-7 in front of an aghast Ford Field crowd that was on the verge of booing the home team off the field. There was no signature play, no tangible turning point, but the Lions were a completely different team the rest of the way. Carolina and Newton still had some moments, but Detroit dominated the action and scored six touchdowns on their next seven possessions. Stafford got red hot, the offensive line dramatically improved, the running game exploded with long lost Kevin Smith, and the defense picked up the pressure. Games like this show why nobody wants to play the Lions. This is the third game they have trailed by at least 17 points and won, a feat never before accomplished in the Super Bowl era. They have scored 45 or more points three times, one of two teams (Green Bay) that can say that. Detroit is capable of producing turnovers in bunches, and they lead the league in points off turnovers by nearly three touchdowns. But it is also damn frustrating that they can be so wretched and undisciplined for such long stretches for no apparent reason. They play Green Bay on Thanksgiving and it would not surprise me if the Lions end the Green Bay quest for perfection. But it also would not surprise me if the Packers win 50-20. $.04-- Washington versus Dallas is often one of those proverbial "throw the records out" affairs, and Sunday proved to be no exception. The Ethnic Slurs entered on a five-game bender where Coach Shanahan has veered from Rex Grossman to John Beck and back again in a vain and futile attempt to keep his injury-ravaged team afloat. Dallas had won two in a row in impressive fashion and appeared to have finally found the cure to what ailed Tony Romo and their shaky offense. Yet this game wound up going to overtime, and Dallas needed some serious fortune to escape Washington with a win. It was not pretty. Tony Romo struggled early and the Ethnic Slurs surged out to a 14-10 halftime lead, their first intermission advantage in six weeks. Washington bottled up the potent Dallas running game all day long, as just nine of 25 rushes by DeMarco Murray gained four yards or more, as compared to 50 of his prior 62 going for at least four yards. Rex Grossman had more Sexy Rexy moments than Bad Rex plays, including a great game-tying touchdown throw to Donte Stallworth (nice catch too) with 14 seconds left. Skins kicker Graham Gano missed two makeable field goals, including the overtime 52-yarder that just missed. Romo slithered out of trouble and rediscovered Dez Bryant to put the Cowboys in position for a winning field goal, which Dan Bailey calmly made even after a near-gaffe by Romo trying to pull a Chris Webber and call a nonexistent timeout. In the bigger picture, this was a divisional road win for Dallas that vaults them into a tie for first place and nails the coffin shut on their hated rivals. Most Cowboys fans, notably owner Jerry Jones, are frustrated and upset by how Dallas played and how much luck they needed to down the moribund Ethnic Slurs, but I encourage you to see the forest from the trees. These are the kind of games that Tony Romo has lost in the past, including earlier this season. Now they take a three-game win streak into their Turkey Day affair with the Dolphins, who have a three-game win streak of their own. That means the game will not be easy, but after an ugly victory like this I am more confident Dallas can win a tight, important game. $.05-- Dallas is in first place because Philadelphia stunned the lethargic Giants in the Sunday night tilt. It was not an easy or pleasant game to watch, as both offenses struggled against defenses that seemed a little too familiar with the plays being called from the other sideline. The Giants punted on nine of their first eleven possessions, and failed to get more than one first down on a possession on 11 of their 13 possessions in the entire game. The Philadelphia defensive front dominated the action, repeatedly pushing back the line of scrimmage and beating the New York runners to the hole. The Giant wideouts dropped some throws, and Eli Manning had his worst outing in months. This game did not feature the soul-crushing big play that punctuated the 2010 famous (or infamous, depending on your fandom) Philly win, but DeSean Jackson once again proved a major thorn in the New York paw. Jackson was largely responsible for the Philadelphia win, with a long reception and a great punt return that set up scores. He also had a first quarter return that lost five yards only by the mercy of the officials as he scampered a good 15 yards backwards on the play, and also negated another long gain with a well-deserved taunting penalty. Philadelphia rode the uneven play of backup quarterback Vince Young, who started slowly but gradually grew more comfortable despite three interceptions, one of which was not his fault at all. The Eagles broke more big plays offensively and kept the dim playoff light flickering. Converting six third downs on the game-winning drive showed testicular fortitude that I did not think this Eagles team had, so give them credit. New York is suddenly a very wobbly division co-leader. Since they stunned the Patriots, New York has dropped two in a row as the offense has slogged under predictable play calling and inadequate line play. It does not get any easier, as they travel to New Orleans before hosting Green Bay and then traveling to Dallas in the next three weeks. This was a game the Giants desperately needed, but they could not handle a 3-6 Philadelphia team missing its top receiver and starting quarterback. That does not bode well going forward as New York fans sense a nasty case of déjà vu all over again with yet another late season collapse seemingly inevitable. $.06-- Houston was off this weekend but still made lots of news with the Matt Schaub injury. A few things here: -- Schaub has still not officially been put on injured reserve, even though Adam Schefter led the gun-jumpers in declaring him out for the season on Tuesday. That was news to Schaub and his teammates and they were simultaneously amused and angered by it. Running back Ben Tate was asked on ESPN Radio how he felt about Schaub being out for the season in a Tuesday afternoon interview. his bemused response was "somebody better tell Matt because I was just with him in the training room and nobody said nothing about no out for no year." Even Schaub doubts he is coming back this year, but the zealousness of ESPN to break a story was factually and inexcusably premature in this case. Irresponsible journalism at its finest! -- Matt Leinart is getting ripped as a bust that certainly cannot handle the reins of the Houston offense. But take a look at his numbers compared to those of Schaub when the latter came over from Atlanta for two second-round picks: Schaub was 0-2 as a starter, completing 52% of his passes with 6 touchdowns and 6 INTs, an average of 6.4 yards per attempt and a sack rate of 6.9%. Leinart in Arizona: 7-10 as a starter, 14 TDs and 20 INTs while completing 57% of his passes, an average of 6.5 yards per attempt and a sack rate just under 5%. They are almost the same guy. If Schaub could do it, there is no reason Leinart cannot. Assuming of course that Leinart is done filling his hot tub with coeds, which everyone here in Houston says is a thing of the past. -- Houston could catch an unprecedented run of facing green quarterbacks. Next week brings Jacksonville and rookie Blaine Gabbert. Matt Ryan is next, and he could very well be the last non-rookie quarterback the Texans face. After the Falcons, Houston heads to Cincinnati and Andy Dalton, followed by a visit from Cam Newton and Carolina, a trip to Indy and pseudo-rookie Curtis Painter, and the finale against the Titans could very well be Jake Locker if the AFC South is already decided or Hasselbeck stays hurt. With the #1 rated defense, I still like their chances even with Leinart. -- At what point did Matt Schaub become this irreplaceable All-Pro? Schaub is a slightly above-average quarterback sitting pretty behind a great line and the beneficiary of the best, deepest running game in the league. Texans fans have been disgruntled with Schaub for his inability to play well in the clutch and for always taking the safe play when a little danger is called for. Yet the way this injury has been viewed, you would think Schaub is Aaron Rodgers. Schaub is a good game manager, nothing more, and that was plenty enough to get this team atop the AFC this year. -- To compare this situation to Chicago, Houston is in much better shape. Leinart is more experienced and has a much higher ceiling, but the rest of the Texans are better than the rest of the Bears. Houston ranks #1 in scoring defense, #1 in pass defense, 3rd in third down defense, and gives up a full yard less per play than Chicago (4.7 to 5.8). Houston already runs the ball more than any other team at over 35 attempts per game (Chicago is 15th and just under 27) and ranks 10th in yards per attempt to 13th for Chicago. Houston has already played more than half the season without top weapon Andre Johnson, who should be ready for action to help Leinart; Hanie gets no such bounce. Cutler was far more integral to his teams success than Schaub has been to that of Houston. $.07-- On Thursday night, Tebowmania struck once again. Denver rallied for a late Tebow touchdown to shock the guileless Jets, an outcome that leaves both teams at 5-5. Broncos fans are ecstatic with that record, Jets fans are suicidal. Volumes will be written about the Tebow magic and its sustainability, but I want to focus on the Jets. They are easily the most overrated team in the league, even more than the disappointing Eagles. Philly is underperforming, whereas the Jets are simply not a very good football team despite all the hype. It starts with their Sanchize quarterback, who looks a lot more like John Beck than Tom Brady. Mark Sanchez continues to struggle with both decision making and accuracy, making mistakes that are just not acceptable for a player with his experience anymore. He does not anticipate routes or coverage adjustments well, and he often looks out of sync with his receivers. Sanchez also lacks an explosive first step on his scramble. It is not that he lacks mobility, but it takes The Sanchize a count longer to get moving than most quarterbacks. That leads to more rushed throws and trouble extending plays. The ridiculously overhyped Jets defense shares in the blame. Everyone is (rightfully) ripping safety Eric Smith for his terrible angle on the blitz on the Tebow winning touchdown, but Smith is not alone in culpability. How about Rex Ryan sending both safeties on edge blitzes while also rushing both outside linebackers? With zero coverage on the outside, if Tebow breaks the first tackle there is nobody to stop him. Bringing the house on both sides is just asinine, as Tebow is not going to run to his right and also present the threat of a throw. Rex Ryan made a terrible tactical call on that play by bringing Jim Leonhard so hard around the right end. Leonhard has to recognize that as soon as Tebow takes off to his left, he needs to get back down the field and play safety. Antonio Cromartie did not realize it was a run until Tebow had already crossed the goal line, a pathetic display of recognition. Sure, give Eric Decker credit for selling the route and a nice block, but Cromartie not catching on that it is not a pass until he is nine yards deep in the end zone and eight seconds have elapsed is poor awareness. That falls squarely on the coaches. There were several other instances during the game where the Jets defense ran curious calls against formations, like having Leonhard line up providing deep help over Revis Island instead of playing Tebow spy or helping the inferior Cromartie. That is akin to double-teaming Kurt Rambis instead of helping on Kareem. It is boneheaded calls backed up with inadequate execution that has doomed the Jets to also-rans in the AFC playoff race. They now trail in the tie-breaker with Denver, a team that cannot throw the forward pass and started 1-5. The Jets are saddled with a below-average quarterback, a lack of talent other than Revis and Harris on defense, and a coaching staff that cannot get out of its own way. I have said for a long time that the Rex Ryan era will not end pretty, and if they lose next week at home to the train wreck that has become the Buffalo Bills, it might be over a lot sooner than anyone expects. $.08-- 5 NFL Quickies: 1. Is the Jake Locker Era upon us in Tennessee? Matt Hasselbeck left the loss to Atlanta with an elbow injury, and Locker was fairly effective in relief. He threw two touchdowns and consistently kept his eyes down the field, although his accuracy was shaky. With Tennessee two games behind Houston and sliding to the back of the pack in the crowded Wild Card race, the Titans have little to lose by seeing what they have in the #8 overall pick. 2. Carson Palmer is looking pretty good in the Silver and Black, and the Raiders sure look like the best team in the AFC West. Palmer made several throws that harken to his pre-injury Cincy heyday, and he also hung in against a strong pass rush several times, delivering strikes under duress. Nice win for the Raiders, who need it as their schedule is no cakewalk: hosting red-hot Chicago, then roadies to surging Miami and undefeated Green Bay, then hosting Detroit before closing at Kansas City and home for San Diego. 3. Strange rare occurrence from the most unexpected place, as Chicago and San Diego both failed to record a sack in their game. That happens about twice a season on average, but given that a combined six offensive line starters were out and both teams rank in the middle of the pack in sack percentage allowed, this sure did not shape up to be one of those. I did not watch the game close enough to decipher if it was bad pass rush or good line play. 4. The Packers stayed perfect, but it was not pretty against Tampa Bay. Aaron Rodgers played his worst game in a very long time, but he is still awesome enough to keep his incredible string of games with a QB Rating over 110 alive. The Buccaneers played their best game of the season and still lost by nine to the Packers on their worst outing in over a year. That is how good these Packers are. 5. The best thing to come from the 49ers yawning victory over Arizona was Niners safety Dashon Goldson channeling his inner Floyd Mayweather on the facemark of Early Doucet. Doucet got away with starting the fracas, while Goldson got ejected so he could go ice his hand. Punching a facemask is stupid. Slap the ear hole or rip the helmet off first. $.09-- College/Draft Quickies: -- Congratulations to my beloved alma mater, as Ohio University captured the MAC East football crown with yet another midweek win. The Bobcats win over BGSU, coupled with a Miami loss, gave Frank Solich and his squad a berth in the MAC title game and pretty much assures Ohio a third consecutive bowl berth. With a little luck, we will finally win one! -- North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples is a favorite of many draftniks. He certainly passes the eyeball test with his physique and fluidity of movement, but I saw some things in the Virginia Tech game (and others prior) that give me real pause before anointing him a Top 10 pick. The primary issue I have with Coples is his inability to adapt on the fly. If you watch the great collegiate pass rushers that come out and make an impact at the NFL level, one common trait is the ability to make quick reactions and improvise when the initial plan is stymied. Brian Orakpo, Ryan Kerrigan, and Von Milller have all shown that skill with very positive early success. I have not seen that with Coples; once he is blocked, he stays blocked. He also does not demonstrate a great deal of creativity with his moves, and his motor can run real cold at times. There were a handful of plays in the VT game where Coples lazily jogged behind the play when more hustle could have put him in position to make a play. Caveat draftor. -- We probably should have known that Oklahoma State would choke under the pressure, but to lose at Iowa State with the Cyclones playing a host of backups is almost incomprehensible. A lot of pundits pointed to the tragic plane crash that claimed the womens basketball coach and his top lieutenant weighing on the Cowboys, but that is too easy of an excuse. The reality is that Mike Gundy continues to struggle to get his team to play to its potential against lesser opponents or handle prosperity. There is still an opportunity for redemption with a win over Oklahoma, which would put OSU in a BCS bowl. Just not the one they should be in with the most talented offense in the nation. -- I do not have a Heisman ballot, but if I did my top three would be Robert Griffin, Case Keenum, and Andrew Luck, probably in that order. After watching Griffin pull the monster upset over Oklahoma, the Baylor quarterback seized the signature moment that all Heisman winners seemingly have with his long game-winning touchdown throw after a couple of nice runs to set it up. He is the latest in the line of exciting, dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks that includes Vince Young, Cam Newton, and Tim Tebow. -- Of all the prominent upsets this weekend, the one that surprised me most was North Carolina State pounding Clemson 37-13 and holding the high-octane Tigers offense out of the end zone until garbage time. NC State lost to the worst Boston College team ever last week, and had padded the win total with two victories over I-AA opponents, one of which (Liberty) was not an easy win. Clemson has struggled with turnovers and sustaining blocks along the offensive line the last couple of weeks, and it cost them dearly in this one. They will still battle Virginia Tech for the ACC title, but they blew a great opportunity to get into the top 5. $.10-- Penn State got back to playing football, knocking off Ohio State in the Horseshoe. It was their first road game since the diabolical Jerry Sandusky pedophilia scandal and ensuing cover up, and I think escaping from Happy Valley was probably the best thing for the players. With all the sordid details and astonishing fall from grace of Joe Paterno, most of us have given the current Penn State players short shrift. I got the sense in watching them on Saturday that they felt that way too and wanted to make a point. This win put the Nittany Lions in control of the Leaders division of the Big Ten and in good shape to meet Michigan State for the conference title. Beating Wisconsin in Madison will not be easy, but you have to admire how the Penn State players have handled themselves in the wake of the nightmarish chaos enveloping them. I watched this game with my father, an Ohio State grad and someone who bleeds scarlet and grey. And once we got past the distaste of yet another underwhelming Buckeye offensive performance, we got into a wonderful discussion about the Penn State players. These kids have done nothing wrong, yet people are calling for their program to be terminated because of the despicable lack of institutional control and the egregious inaction by a man most of these players consider God-like. Imagine your hero, the person responsible for why you are where you are and who you are, being exposed as a complicit criminal that enabled another man you greatly respected to sexually prey upon young boys he was supposed to be helping and mentoring. That is earth shattering, especially considering the relative youth of the players. I do not think enough people comprehend the negative impact upon these players. Obviously it is not to the level of criminal atrocity that befell the young men assaulted by Sandusky and consciously ignored by Penn State officials, but this is going to stain these players forever through absolutely zero fault of their own. I think the Penn State players showed tremendous strength and character in victory. Even though I am a Buckeye lifer and have been in the Horseshoe for at least 30 games in my life, I will be the first to admit that the Ohio State crowd is one of the most outwardly hostile and nasty places to be a visitor. The Nittany Lions tuned it all out and pulled off a difficult victory, and they deserve a great deal of credit for that. I can only imagine all the emotions and frustrations they are dealing with, and they have done so with a class and dignity that was clearly in absentia from the men responsible for molding such character at Penn State. I encourage everyone to draw a thick line between the Penn State players and the Penn State program. These kids have earned a place in a good bowl game and deserve to represent themselves for the season they have played. Let the hammer fall after the season, and let it fall swiftly and harshly at that time. -- Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com