10 Things We Learned: Sexy Week 11 Edition

By Jonathan Comey
Cold, Hard Football Facts Learner

Ten things we learned from an NFL Sunday where Tebow rested, and it was good …

1. Andy Dalton > Sam Bradford

Andy Dalton threw three interceptions on Sunday while Sam Bradford threw one, both passers losing in the process. Advantage Bradford? Hardly.

Dalton managed to put up 24 points despite the picks, on the road, against the best defense in the league from Baltimore. He took big chances didn’t succeed on some, but generally wowed the league with a bold performance.

As for Bradford? Not so much. He was a pathetic 20 of 40 for 182 yards at home against Seattle, with no touchdowns. In seven starts, he’s only thrown four touchdown passes, and has somehow failed to top 80 in a single game. In his last 12 starts, he’s had exactly one good statistical showing.

Much is made of Bradford’s lack of targets, but he had Brandon Lloyd and Mark Clayton to throw to – on par with Dalton’s top targets of Jermaine Gresham and Jerome Simpson Sunday.

Dalton will probably finish behind Cam Newton this year for Rookie of the Year (and should, even after Newton’s four-pick day Sunday), but he’s a step ahead of last year’s golden boy for sure.

2. It’s been 20 years since a great team has had as much competition in their division as Green Bay.

The Packers have a way to go to be considered a great team, but at 10-0 and with a second-straight Super Bowl looking like a fair wager, they’re on their way.

And they’re doing it despite the twin 7-3 teams in Chicago and Detroit there to try and knock them off.

Most of the great teams of the last 20 years – defined as 13+ win teams that won the Super Bowl – did so without much threat in the division (10 teams fit the criteria). The 1999 Rams, 1998 Broncos and 1994 49ers didn’t even have a winning team in their division. Only three great teams had more than one winning team in there with them: the 2004 Patriots, 1992 Cowboys and 1991 Redskins.

The 1991 Skins had the toughest road, with the 11-5 Giants and 10-6 Eagles in there with them – and it helped them roll to a title, winning by double digits in all three of their playoff games.

3. London Fletcher and Charles Tillman are Hall of Fame quality players.

London Fletcher first made the Pro Bowl at age 34. Tillman will probably make his first this year at age 30. Despite this lack of recognition, both have been defensive backbones for years and both had spectacular days Sunday.

Tillman has been a starter since Day 1 for the Bears, but despite his status as the No. 1 corner for one of the league’s annually excellent defenses, he’s never made a Pro Bowl. Since 2005, he’s picked off 21 passes and forced 23 fumbles and been the leading solo tackler among corners.

Against the Chargers, his forced fumble – and recovery – in the fourth quarter more or less sealed a huge win for the Bears. If he’s not in Hawaii this year as the linchpin of a top-five pass D, there needs to be a recount.

Fletcher has been the defensive quarterback for three organizations, St. Louis, Buffalo and Washington, and has a remarkable streak of 11 straight years with 100+ total tackles. He almost got to the 100 mark in his 10th game Sunday, with 16 total tackles to get him to 96 on the year, plus an interception and a sack. Unfortunately, it came in a losing effort – which he’s spent much of his career doing, one of the reasons he’ll fall short of Canton when it’s all said and done.

4.The Raiders made the right move trading for Carson Palmer.

Barring a whole heap of Tim Tebow magic, the Oakland Raiders are going to make the playoffs this year, and at the very least are going to be in the mix right to the end of the season.  Is Palmer the reason? Not completely, but they wouldn’t be doing any such thing with Kyle Boller at the helm, that’s for sure.

Giving up a first-round pick (and at least a second) is a big deal, but if it ends with a playoff berth it’s worth it. What seems like a king’s ransom really isn’t for a 31-year-old quarterback with some good physical skills and three years left on a contract.

Oakland has the running game it takes to win the West, at least – they piled up 162 yards against a Vikings defense that’s still one of the best in the NFL, and is coming of age as a pass defense. And Palmer added a 107.9 rating to go with his 125.0 from a week ago; with No. 9 set and Jason Campbell probably available in a pinch down the stretch, the Raiders’ quarterback bases are covered for a playoff run, and that’s no small achievement for a team that hasn’t had a legit QB since Rich Gannon.

5. Miami is the second-best team in the AFC East.

The Dolphins were 0-7, and did this: 31-3 road win, 20-9 home win, 35-8 home win. That’s pretty remarkable, and Miami now sports the No. 6 scoring defense in the league – ahead of the ballyhooed Jets and their 21.7 PPG allowed. Give it up for Tony Sparano, who has had a sound football team for his whole run, but still needs a quarterback.

The Dolphins would probably be 5-5 or 6-4 with normal luck this year (no pun intended, since they’re no longer Sucking for a certain college QB). They’ve forced 13 fumbles but somehow managed to grab just two of them off the turf, and the sight of interceptions bouncing out of Miami DBs’ arms is a well-known one for the Phaithphul Phin Phans.

That was fun to type.

Meanwhile, life couldn’t be much better for the Patriots. In a week where they are thin on defense, they get an extra day to prepare … for Tyler Palko and the Chiefs. The Jets and Bills play heads up next week, effectively ending the season for the loser, and Miami’s good run isn’t exactly going to alter the course of history at 3-7.

6. Carolina’s defensive collapse is on par with their offensive resurgence.

If there’s any doubt that offense is more emotionally enriching to a fan base than defense, consider the curious case of the Carolina Panthers.

The 2010 edition under John Fox played some pretty spunky ball on defense, holding opponents to 5.1 yards per play (seventh in the league) and holding their own on third downs (38 percent success against). But they were so pathetic on offense that their 2-14 record felt like dental surgery. In the end, it cost Fox his job.

Panther fans have to be wondering what Fox might have done with Cam Newton on his side, as Ron Rivera’s defense has gone spiraling into the tank and rendered Sundays just as futile – but a lot more fun. Sunday’s 49-35 loss to Detroit was a good example. Panthers fans probably enjoyed it, but in the end it was just another 14-point loss.

The Panthers are allowing 6.2 yards a play and 44 percent on third downs, and are allowing 3.1 PPG more despite being on the field five minutes less per game.

When a coach comes in with a specialty on one side of the ball, and that side takes a huge step back … well, combined with a 2-8 record, it doesn’t necessarily add up to job security.

7. Pete Carroll deserves some credit.

The Seahawks don’t have a quarterback to speak of, unless you count Tarvaris Jackson. They can’t block worth a damn (31^st on the Offensive Hog Index). They aren’t in the top 10 in any of our indicators.

And yet, after Sunday’s 24-7 win in St. Louis, the Seahawks are 4-6. They won a playoff game in 2010, and are the rare bottom-feeding NFL team that seems capable of winning against any opponent if the situation is right.

Carroll isn’t doing a great job shopping for the groceries in Seattle as the executive VP, but he’s making the most of the ones he has. He’s 44-46 as a head coach, and has never fielded a non-competitive team in any of his six pro coaching seasons with three organizations.

8. The Chris Johnson thing is just plain puzzling.

You’d think that Johnson would have left the field with his head down after a 12 carry, 13-yard performance that came in a season-crippling loss … but no, he was shaking hands with friends on the Falcons and smiling an untroubled smile.

Too simple? Probably. Perhaps he went into the visiting lockerroom in Atlanta after the 24-17 loss and punched a hole in something. Then again, perhaps he opened up his check book, looked at the balance, and kept on smiling.

Johnson became the 100th back since 1960 to carry as many as 12 times without topping 13 yards. He adds it to a season with healthy outings of 9 carries for 24 yards, 13 for 21 and 10 for 18. For the season, he’s averaging a pi-esque 3.1813 yards a carry – remarkable for a guy who came into the season with a 4.97 yards per carry average.

He’s always hemmed and hawed before hitting the hole, but now it’s all hemming and no hitting. You’d think a team coached by a Hall of Fame run blocker (Mike Munchak) with another one on his staff (Bruce Matthews) would have figured this out, but nope.

9. San Diego’s pass defense is as much to blame for the five-game slide as Philip Rivers.

There’s no question that Philip Rivers isn’t winning games for the San Diego Chargers this year – five losses in a row is some pretty damning evidence on that front.

But San Diego’s secondary, a strength in 2010, has imploded. Against a representative set of NFL starters (Mark Sanchez, Matt Cassel, Carson Palmer, Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler), the Chargers allowed an average of 8.9 yards per attempt (not figuring in sacks) and a passer rating of 102.6.

San Diego was a so-so 19th in Defensive Passer Rating before the slide, at 87.47, but their slide combined with Rivers’ troubles has been a huge blow to a team that was No. 2 last year in Passer Rating Differential.

10. Best. Thanksgiving. Ever.

Having three games on Thanksgiving since 2006 has basically been the NFL’s way to guarantee that there would at least be something worth watching. Well, at least that was the hope. Last year’s three games featured wins by playoff teams over also-rans (Patriots over Lions, Jets over Bengals, Saints over Cowboys).The three years prior, all three games were blowouts.

But this year, five of the six teams in action are quality, and the sixth (Miami) is playing some extremely good football. The Packers take their perfect record to Detroit, the Dolphins try to ruin Jerry Jones’ turkey in Dallas and the Harbaugh Bowl caps it off on NFL Network.

Pass the stuffing, and under no circumstances let cousin Harry’s ramblings about politics and ‘Dancing With the Stars’ distract you from what could be the greatest NFL Turkey Day ever.

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