Now is crunch time for the NFL season. And with a couple of teams facing major injuries to star players, it could significantly affect the outcome of the end of the season. The Houston Texans have already lost their starting and second string quaterbacks for the remainder of the season, yet it hasn't affected them much. The same can't be said for the Chicago Bears, who lost Jay Cutler for the remainder of the season and lost Matt Forte to a knee injury earlier today, which helped cause them to lose their second game in a row. It's unknown at this time how serioius his knee injury is, but if it's one where he misses signficiant time, the Bears may be done for this season.

Meanwhile, the New York Giants are fighting to save their season against the undefeated Green Bay Packers while the Cinicnnati Bengals, after getting off to an amazing start, have lost twice to the Pittsburgh Steelers and already lost to the Baltimore Ravens a few weeks ago. The Dallas Cowboys currently lead their division, but they have historically floundered down the stretch during the Tony Romo era, so can they hand on to win their division? The New York Jets are fighting for their playoff lives, and while they have won their last two games in a row, they are trailing in tiebraker scenarios to the Ravens, Bengals, and Broncos, so they basically have to win their remaining games to make the playoffs. As for the AFC West, the race for the divison title is still wide open, since the Raiders lost badly today while the Denver Broncos keep winning with Tim Tebow (and more realistically a good defense). And the San Francisco 49ers can become the first team to clinch a playoff spot with a win against the St. Louis Rams.

Did Ndamukong Suh cost the Detroit Lions a playoff spot? His stomping on a Green Bay Packers player on Thanksgiving Day got him a 2 game suspension, and one of those games is against the New Orleans Saints.

So who will nail down home field advantage in the AFC? The Houston Texans without their main quarterbacks? The New England Patriots, despite a shaky defense? The Baltimore Ravens? The Pittsburgh Steelers? Will the Green Bay Packers go undefeated? Stay tuned....

It appears Matt Forte sprained his MCL in his right knee and will be out 2 to 4 weeks. The Bears are done.

Great effort by my Giants, but a loss is still a loss. They have to go 4-0 against the Cowboys(twice), Jets and 'Skins to win the division. The wildcard is not cming from the NFC East.

Boy..................those Bears sure looked prepared 2 play yesterday didn't they?

uPtoWnNY said:

Mike Francesca reported Brett Favre sent out feelers to the Bears. That's the last thing Chicago needs. Can you imagine Favre behind the Bears o-line?

He needs 2 sit his butt down somewhere. The Bears are toast..........again.

uPtoWnNY said:

Great effort by my Giants, but a loss is still a loss. They have to go 4-0 against the Cowboys(twice), Jets and 'Skins to win the division. The wildcard is not cming from the NFC East.

None of them apparently wants to win the division.

Texans signed QB Jeff Garcia.

TEBOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Abdul said:

TEBOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! Why can't we play defense? Why did Marion Barber run out of bounds during the last drive in regulation when Denver had no timeouts? We had this game won and we blew it! There's no way the Bears are going to make the playoffs.

I'm a fusturated San Francisco 49er fan. They are a good 10-3 team but their inability to score touchdowns in the red zone and the problems with converting on 3rd down is going to be the death of them in the playoffs. They're good at making short pass plays and running the ball but they can't seem to throw the ball long. The defensive line is good at stopping the run, stopping short pass plays, and the special teams is good but they gotta work on stopping long pass plays. If they don't come up with a solution to the red zone problem and start throwing the ball better they'll be out of the playoffs in the first round for sure.

A. How 'bout them TEXANS!!!!! Man, 10 years and $$$$$ worth of season tickets and I FINALLY get to see a playoff game!

B. What can you say about Tim Tebow!!!!!! UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE!!!!!!

ELI!!!!!!!!

JoeyC said:

I'm a fusturated San Francisco 49er fan. They are a good 10-3 team but their inability to score touchdowns in the red zone and the problems with converting on 3rd down is going to be the death of them in the playoffs. They're good at making short pass plays and running the ball but they can't seem to throw the ball long. The defensive line is good at stopping the run, stopping short pass plays, and the special teams is good but they gotta work on stopping long pass plays. If they don't come up with a solution to the red zone problem and start throwing the ball better they'll be out of the playoffs in the first round for sure.

See you next Monday night when the Steelers come to town. This may be an ugly game

both ways. Steelers struggle to score in red zone too.

728huey said:

Abdul said:

TEBOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! Why can't we play defense? Why did Marion Barber run out of bounds during the last drive in regulation when Denver had no timeouts? We had this game won and we blew it! There's no way the Bears are going to make the playoffs.

Marion Barber wears HUGE goat horns - if he doesn't fumble the damn ball, he scores a TD. And the Bears did a poor job of improving the backup QB position.

I must have had five heart attacks watching last night's game. Our secondary is shit, but Eli and JPP came to rescue. Giants have destiny in their hands again.

phunkdaddy said:

JoeyC said:

I'm a fusturated San Francisco 49er fan. They are a good 10-3 team but their inability to score touchdowns in the red zone and the problems with converting on 3rd down is going to be the death of them in the playoffs. They're good at making short pass plays and running the ball but they can't seem to throw the ball long. The defensive line is good at stopping the run, stopping short pass plays, and the special teams is good but they gotta work on stopping long pass plays. If they don't come up with a solution to the red zone problem and start throwing the ball better they'll be out of the playoffs in the first round for sure.

See you next Monday night when the Steelers come to town. This may be an ugly game

both ways. Steelers struggle to score in red zone too.

With the Niners it seems like they're getting worse instead of better. That's my team but im glad their weeknesses are starting to be exposed. They need to realise that the playoff are a whole different ball game. With their inability to score in the red,they will get crushed by a Green Bay or a New Orleans. I can't even see them beating The Texans or Baltimore at this point. I don't believe Alex Smith is up to the job.

I am so sick of seeing that fat slob Rob Ryan on my TV.

He's got to be the fattest slob I've seen in 20 years. That gut is just disgusting.

Also, he's just as good a coach as everyone else in his family.

.

[Edited 12/12/11 4:16am]

uPtoWnNY said:

728huey said:

AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! Why can't we play defense? Why did Marion Barber run out of bounds during the last drive in regulation when Denver had no timeouts? We had this game won and we blew it! There's no way the Bears are going to make the playoffs.

Marion Barber wears HUGE goat horns - if he doesn't fumble the damn ball, he scores a TD. And the Bears did a poor job of improving the backup QB position.

I must have had five heart attacks watching last night's game. Our secondary is shit, but Eli and JPP came to rescue. Giants have destiny in their hands again.

But Eli Manning did an awesome job of bringing the Giants back last night. And I can't believe Tony Romo missed Miles Austin on that third down pass that would have iced the game for the Cowboys.

BTW, the Kansas City Chiefs fired Todd Haley today. I know their record sucks, but he took them to a division title last season and were decimated with injuries to key players this year. This is a raw deal for Todd Haley, but I'm sure he'll land a huge offesnsive coordinator job next year.

Yeah the Todd Haley firing was surprising given the key injuries they've dealt with

this soon. I thought he would be given another year but it was a power struggle with

him and the GM. Josh McDaniels named has surfaced as a possible replacement.

I would love for Haley to become OC in Pittsburgh next season. All steeler fans have had

enough of Bruce Arians sideshow.

RodeoSchro said:

I am so sick of seeing that fat slob Rob Ryan on my TV.

He's got to be the fattest slob I've seen in 20 years. That gut is just disgusting.

Also, he's just as good a coach as everyone else in his family.

.

[Edited 12/12/11 4:16am]

Even more so than Rex?

[Edited 12/12/11 10:01am]

phunkdaddy said:

RodeoSchro said:

I am so sick of seeing that fat slob Rob Ryan on my TV.

He's got to be the fattest slob I've seen in 20 years. That gut is just disgusting.

Also, he's just as good a coach as everyone else in his family.

.

[Edited 12/12/11 4:16am]

Even more so than Rex?

[Edited 12/12/11 10:01am]

Rex Ryan is obnoxious and perverted, but his gut is no match for Rob's. At least Rex combs his hair and wipes the food off his face before he leaves the house.

This Seattle - St. Louis game is actually unwatchable.

JoeyC said:

phunkdaddy said:

See you next Monday night when the Steelers come to town. This may be an ugly game

both ways. Steelers struggle to score in red zone too.

With the Niners it seems like they're getting worse instead of better. That's my team but im glad their weeknesses are starting to be exposed. They need to realise that the playoff are a whole different ball game. With their inability to score in the red,they will get crushed by a Green Bay or a New Orleans. I can't even see them beating The Texans or Baltimore at this point. I don't believe Alex Smith is up to the job.

Y'all better win Monday against the Steelers. If you dont and my Saints win out (at Minnesota, home against Atlanta and Carolina), New Orleans is the 2 seed and wont have to go on the road until the NFC title game...probably in Green Bay.

Now...if the Niners get the 2 seed, I'm worried. My Saints are a COMPLETELY different team outdoors and I dread that trip to Frisco.

Still a lot of ball to play....

[Edited 12/12/11 23:03pm]

I'm already hyped for the Broncos/Patriots game this Sunday.

I haven't been excited about a non-Texans game in a few years. Hell, I haven't been hyped up for a TEXANS game in a few years.

I guess this is my favorite NFL season in a long time!

728huey said:

But Eli Manning did an awesome job of bringing the Giants back last night.

If not for Aaron Rodgers having a sick year, Eli would get serious consideration for MVP. Look at the roster changes and injuries he's had to deal with on the O-line and at WR. Without his security blankets(Steve Smith & Kevin Boss), he's found new ones in Hakeem Nicks and Jake Ballard. As banged-up as the Giants are, they went toe-to-toe with Green Bay. We'd be scary if Tuck & Osi were 100% healthy, and if Terrell Thomas and Domenik Hixon weren't gone for the year.

The question for the Broncos is can they score with the Patriots? Can they deal with Welker and those beastly tight ends?

uPtoWnNY said:

728huey said:

But Eli Manning did an awesome job of bringing the Giants back last night.

If not for Aaron Rodgers having a sick year, Eli would get serious consideration for MVP. Look at the roster changes and injuries he's had to deal with on the O-line and at WR. Without his security blankets(Steve Smith & Kevin Boss), he's found new ones in Hakeem Nicks and Jake Ballard. As banged-up as the Giants are, they went toe-to-toe with Green Bay. We'd be scary if Tuck & Osi were 100% healthy, and if Terrell Thomas and Domenik Hixon weren't gone for the year.

The question for the Broncos is can they score with the Patriots? Can they deal with Welker and those beastly tight ends?

No team is 100% healthy this time of year.

I'm not going to be the one to bet against the Broncos. Tebow is getting

the pub and it's all good but it's that Denver D that is wrecking shit.

As if things weren't already going downhill for the Bears, now comes this news:

Bears receiver Hurd arrested on drug charges

Chicago Bears receiver Sam Hurd was arrested Wednesday night outside a Chicago restaurant after he accepted a kilogram of cocaine from a confidential informant and an undercover federal agent posing as a drug supplier, according to federal charges filed Thursday in Dallas.

Hurd was charged with one count of conspiring to possess half a kilogram of cocaine with the intent to distribute it.

At the Wednesday night meeting, Hurd negotiated to buy five to 10 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana a week for distribution in the Chicago area, authorities alleged. He agreed to pay $25,000 for each kilogram of cocaine and $450 a pound for the marijuana, according to the charges.

Hurd said at the meeting that he plays for the Bears, gets out of practice at about 5:30 p.m., and would pay them on the next day, authorities said. Bears players are paid on Thursdays.

Hurd told the undercover agent and informant that he and someone else distributed about four kilograms of cocaine each week in the Chicago area but that their supplier wasn't able to meet their needs, according to the criminal complaint.

The Bears issued the following statement: "We are aware of Sam's arrest and are continuing to gather details surrounding it. We are disappointed whenever these circumstances arise. We will deal with them appropriately once we have all the information."

http://www.chicagotribune...1077.story

Those Ex-cowboys are really having a positive impact on the Bears this year.

Hurd, Barber & Williams. What a triplet of knuckleheads.

Was Rob Ryan mumbling some bullshit in an interview today about being

the best defensive coach in football? Evidently he and Rex inherited the

asshole gene from Buddy.