Wednesday Morning QB (Week 6)
In the NFL there are many different type of players that make up a team and a league that is as popular as the NFL. Some of these players are warriors who become fan favorites and others are simply solid players who do their job well. These players are the lifeblood of the NFL as without them there is nothing. Players go out every week and risk their bodies for the fans entertainment and sometimes it can backfire. Football is one of the toughest sports in the world with every play involving some type of collision. Every player takes at least one hit every game and when there is that much contact things are going to hurt. It is when the pain gets too much that the players see the risk they take go the wrong way. The players know that the risk is there but they take it anyway because they love playing the game. For some these injuries can mean a few weeks out of the season and for others it could mean a lost season. Then there are the players who get injured at the end of their careers who cannot recover from the injury and are forced to think about retirement. These types of injuries are ones that younger players can overcome in a year of rehab. For the older veterans though it is much tougher even if they are in top condition every year. To recover from a serious injury with only a few years left to play can be a tough thing for any player to do. When players are in this situation many times they are thinking about their lives after football and what they will do. An injury that puts them out for an extended period can give these players some time to experiment with what they will do and give them more time to think about if they really want to take the long road back from an injury for another season. 2012 has already seen one player fall to just this type of injury late in his career although his retirement is far from his own choice. In 2011 Nick Collins was a large part of the Green Bay defence as the Packers tried to defend their title. In the first few weeks the Packers looked great including a defence that was beginning to figure things out. Then came a hit in the play that would change Collins’ football life. An awkward hit to the head put Collins on the IR with a neck injury. Collins went through the rest of the 2011 season trying to get back from the injury and tried to finish the comeback in the 2012 offseason. The Packers cut Collins in the last round of cuts as he could not overcome the injury. Collins went into the free agent market but because of the injury could not get signed as his career was essentially done. Collins was a good player and a good bet to go down as a great safety, maybe not a hall of famer but a player that Packers fans would remember. His career was cut short by an injury that he could not get back from and for him it was a heartbreaking way to end his football life. After week 6 in the 2012 NFL season it seems that the path that Collins has taken is going to repeat itself for two more players. First veteran linebacker Scott Fujita suffered a neck injury, much like Collins did, that would end his season. Fujita has been in the league for 10 years and is on the tail end of his career but a neck injury is tough to come back from as he may never return to the NFL. The biggest injury this week though was that of Ray Lewis who tore his bicep muscle against Dallas. Lewis has been the heart of Baltimore for 17 seasons and the questions of his retirement have swirled for years. This latest injury could be the final straw for Lewis though as he has started to tour the USA as a motivational speaker in his offseason to prepare for life away from football. The career of Lewis is in the balance as he will not be back this year and may never be back with only a few years left in his career. These injuries can end careers and when they are suffered at the end of careers. Two careers could have been ended this past week as Ray Lewis and Scott Fujita may never put on an NFL jersey. It is a risk that the players take every time they step on to the field and the fans appreciate it even if it means that some of or favorite players are affected.
Four Quarters
(Four Quick Thoughts on Week 6)
Old Guard Steps Up
The Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers are the new powers in the league for 2012 but the powers from last year are not going easy as the Giants and Packers both showed why they were so good in 2011 by both earning surprising wins
The Drama Continues
The Bounty Scandal continues to bite the NFL especially after Vilma was re-suspended for the year and the players involved in the suspensions filed another appeal but this time requesting Roger Goodell not be involved in the process
Last Team Standing
The Houston Texans were on the wrong end of a surprising win and because of that the Atlanta Falcons are the only undefeated team in the NFL even after they struggled against the Oakland Raiders winning with a last-minute field goal
Rookies Look Like Anything But
Starting a rookie QB used to be a massive risk as nobody was ever sure of how new QBs would react to the NFL but with 5 rookie QBs starting this year the risk seems less and less as all five had amazing performances in week 6
NFL Standings
American Football Conference
AFC East:
1. New York Jets (.500)
2. New England Patriots (.500)
3. Buffalo Bills (.500)
4. Miami Dolphins (.500)
AFC North:
1. Baltimore Ravens (.833)
2. Cincinnati Bengals (.500)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (.400)
4. Cleveland Browns (.167)
AFC South:
1. Houston Texans (.833)
2. Indianapolis Colts (.400)
3. Tennessee Titans (.333)
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (.200)
AFC West:
1. Denver Broncos (.500)
2. San Diego Chargers (.500)
3. Oakland Raiders (.200)
4. Kansas City Chiefs (.167)
National Football Conference:
NFC East:
1. New York Giants (.667)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (.500)
3. Washington Redskins (.500)
4. Dallas Cowboys (.400)
NFC North:
1. Chicago Bears (.800)
2. Minnesota Vikings (.667)
3. Green Bay Packers (.500)
4. Detroit Lions (.400)
NFC South:
1. Atlanta Falcons (1.00)
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (.400)
3. Carolina Panthers (.200)
4. New Orleans Saints (.200)
NFC West:
1. Arizona Cardinals (.667)
2. Seattle Seahawks (.667)
3. San Francisco 49ers (.667)
4. St. Louis Rams (.500)
Key Scores:
Cleveland Browns 34 – 24 Cincinnati Bengals
– The Browns have been around the win almost all season as they have not been able to capitalize on some good play but week 6 was different as they got their first win against in-state rivals the Cincinnati Bengals
Seattle Seahawks 24 – 23 New England Patriots
– The Patriots are not the same team they were a few years ago and the Seahawks exposed them largely thanks to the play of rookie QB Russell Wilson who led Seattle past the mighty Pats for another surprising win
New York Giants 26 – 3 San Francisco 49ers
– The Giants were not supposed to win this rematch of the NFC Conference Finals as the Niners looked like the best team in the league this year but the Giants proved everyone wrong dominating the Niners for the win
Green Bay Packers 42 – 24 Houston Texans
– Houston has been a dominant team all year but they seemed to sleep on the Packers who had been struggling all year but looked like the 2011 version of the Pack as Aaron Rodgers threw 6 TDs to hand the Texans their first loss
Next Week:
Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers (October 18th; 8:20 pm EDT)
– After 6 weeks the Thursday Night matchup between the Hawks and Niners is a great one as the Niners look to recover from their week 6 loss in their first division game while the Seahawks look to build on their surprising week 6 win
Washington Redskins vs. New York Giants (October 21st; 1:00 pm EDT)
– Robert Griffin III has been on fire this year showing that the NFL why he won the Heisman but can he keep it going in a key divisional game against the defending champion New York Giants or will that defensive line be too much for him
Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans (October 21st; 1:00 pm EDT)
– The Texans are coming off of a crushing defeat in week 6 as they take on another 5-1 team but can they recover from their first loss and prove that they are the team to beat or will the Raven continue to roll even without Ray Lewis
New York Jets vs. New England Patriots (October 21st. 4:25 pm EDT)
– The AFC East rivalry continues in week 7 as the loud and in your face Jets take on the private and reserved Patriots as both teams fight to show who is better with the Jets coming off of a big win and the Pats coming off of a big loss
The Sport Addiction 