Monday Morning Musings -- Week 12 in the NFL

So how much more damage can Adrian Wilson inflict on opposing quarterbacks? The same guy who broke Donovan McNabb's ankle three years ago knocked Marc Bulger out last week and yesterday dealt Jacksonville's playoff hopes a major blow by essentially ending Byron Leftwich's season. To be fair, Wilson has emerged as one of the league's best safeties despite toiling in anonymity in the desert ... Consider Week 12 a reunion weekend of sorts. Three head coaches went up against former employers, and all three of them won. Jim Mora beat former 49ers boss Steve Mariucci, Marvin Lewis beat old friend Brian Billick, and Marty Schottenheimer won in his first visit to Washington since being fired by Daniel Synder following the 2001 season ... Why does it seem like the Giants are always done in by special teams? Forgetting their 2002 playoff debacle against the 49ers, two of their four losses this season have come as a result of faulty special teams. They allowed punt and kickoff returns for touchdowns in a loss to Minnesota in Week 10, then watched as Jay Feely missed three potential game-winning field goal attempts in yesterday's loss to Seattle ... The Colts are getting all the headlines, but perhaps the Chargers could be undefeated too. Just consider that they have held fourth-quarter leads in all four of their losses ... The Broncos' two losses were to the Dolphins and Giants, the same two teams they lost to in 1998 when the went 14-2 and won the Super Bowl. Furthermore, if Denver goes on to win the AFC championship, it will mark the seventh time in eight years that the eventual AFC champion has lost to Miami during the regular season, with all of those games taking place in Miami ... If you want to assess the jobs that 2005's three new head coaches are doing, just look at their records relative to last season. Neither San Francisco's Mike Nolan, Miami's Nick Saban, nor Cleveland's Romeo Crennel will be coaching in the playoffs this year, but through 12 weeks, all three have already won the same total number of games their predecesseors won in 2004. Albeit 2-9 this year, the 49ers were 2-14 last year, while the Dolphins and Browns, both 4-7 this year, finished 4-12 last year. It appears as if all three coaches have brought stability to organizations that so sorely lacked it last year ... Despite a 2-9 record of their own, the Packers have still managed outscore their opponents, 232-223, thanks in large part to a 52-3 hurting they put on the Saints in Week 5 ... So much for the Packers being well-received on the road. Seems like fans this year and making an extra effort to disrupt the Packers' rhythm -- literally. In a Week 8 visit to Cincinnati, a fan sprinted onto the field during a last-minute drive and took the ball away from Brett Favre. Then last week in Philadelphia, a fan ran onto the field to spread his mother's ashes before he, too, was taken into custody.

No QB controversy, but Johnson brings professionalism to Vikes

He doesn’t have Daunte Culpepper’s arm, his size, or his speed. At 37-years-old, he isn’t considered mobile. And he likely will not be putting up the numbers that Culpepper did in 2004, when he set a franchise record by throwing for 4,717 yards. But he’s 3-0 since replacing the injured Culpepper, and he still has one thing on his plate that #11 doesn’t – a Super Bowl ring. And in three games, he has delivered Minnesota two road wins (they had none in four tries under Culpepper) and also a professional attitude so sorely missed with Culpepper at the helm.
He is humble and smart. He makes sound decisions. And you will never see him involved in a sideline blowup with teammates. Not to say that Culpepper isn’t bright, but he seems to lack the other afore-mentioned qualities. While incredibly gifted physically, Culpepper has yet to fully mature to the point where he can keep his cool when things get rough. And his teammates seem to feed off this, which might help explain their 2-5 start, not to mention being outscored by at least 20 points in all of their first four road games.
Enter Brad Johnson. When Culpepper tore three knee ligaments against Carolina, Johnson came in for mop-up duty and it looked like the Vikings season was now officially over. Not so. Johnson, who battled critics throughout his tenures in Washington and Tampa Bay, led the Buccaneers to a world championship in 2002, yet was still given only enough respect to be benched by the season finale of 2003 and ultimately shown the door following the 2004 season. Now back to where he started his career, Johnson has found a home in Minnesota, as well as his old touch.
The difference between the two is that when Johnson throws an interception, he simply goes over to the sideline, looks at aerial photos, and makes the necessary adjustment for the next series while not changing his mind set or expression one bit. When Culpepper throws a pick, he visibly shows his frustration, either by yelling or stomping his feet in anger. He is easily rattled and he lets one mistake affect his play the rest of the game. When Culpepper does throw a touchdown, he starts rolling his arms (a la a referee calling a false start), then swings his fist in celebration. What does Johnson do? He pats his teammates on the helmet and heads over to the sideline and gears up for the next possession.
Sure, the offensive production has dropped off since Daunte went down. But the other players have stepped up, and Johnson has done his part just to keep his team in the ballgame. Result: the Vikings are back in the race at 5-5.

Talk about exciting -- 6-4 Chargers as good as it gets

Never before has it been seen, or at least in recent memory. A 6-4 team that has looked so gosh-darn good throughout their first 10 games, yet only with six wins to show for it. The Chargers very easily could be sitting atop the undefeated perch with the Colts after 10 games considering that they’ve held fourth-quarter leads in all four of their losses, which have come by a combined 12 points. A late goal-line stand by Dallas. Last-second field goals by Denver and Pittsburgh. A blocked field goal returned for a touchdown by Philadelphia. In their wins, they’ve looked downright awesome. They blew out the Giants and Patriots in consecutive weeks to the tune of 86-40, easily handled the Raiders, got three touchdowns by Antonio Gates against Kansas City, used a goal-line stand of their own against the Jets, then trashed Buffalo, 48-10. Whew. Certainly, with all the tough teams they’ve faced already, their schedule must get easier, right? Eh...not really. Their remaining road games send them to Washington, Indianapolis, and Kansas City. They also get a Week 17 visit from Denver. If San Diego can reach 10-6, it’d be nothing short of amazing.
We all know about the offense. It’s the defense that must stay poised. San Diego has been stout against the run this year, something they will need to continue against a fierce schedule. Meanwhile, come playoffs, assuming the Chargers are there, they are dangerous. New England? No problem. Chargers manhandled them 41-17. Denver? Tough. But the Chargers certainly outplayed them in their first meeting in Week 2, a 20-17 last-second Denver win. The Steelers? Also tough, and the Chargers took them to the wire in Week 5, only to fall, 24-22. The Colts? We’ll see. They meet in Week 15 at the RCA Dome. All in all, the Chargers mean business, something we haven’t really been able to say since the mid-90's. But Marty-ball is back, and so is a level excitement in Southern California for the Bolts.

Colts over Pats hump; can they retain perfection?

At long last. The nightmare is over. The Colts, who hadn’t won in Foxboro since Jim Harbaugh was their quarterback, finally got a monkey off their back. Make that a gorilla. Peyton Manning’s precision finally came full circle against the Patriots, and the Colts reborn defense made it stand up as the Colts walloped the Pats, 40-21, in front of a national television audience. For now, the media will ease up on Peyton and Co. The Colts have finally won in New England and have clearly established themselves as the class of the AFC this year. But now the press can put their sole focus on the Colts into their perfect 8-0 start, and whether it will reach 16-0. As of now, the ‘72 Dolphins aren’t sweating. But considering Indianapolis has five of its final eight games at home, maybe they should start loosening their collars.
The Colts face the AFC’s worst team, the Houston Texans, next week, at the RCA Dome. The Texans are 1-7 but they were actually tied with the Colts at halftime in their week 7 meeting before Indy eventually won, 38-20. But the Texans are extremely overmatched and do not figure to give the Colts a legitimate challenge.
The real challenge for the Colts will come in the two following games, when they take on the top two teams in the AFC North, the Cincinnati Bengals (7-2) and Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2). After the Houston game, the Colts travel to Cincinnati to take on a Bengals team in perhaps a familiar stop. Two years ago the Chiefs came to Paul Brown Stadium 9-0 only to have their perfect season ruined, 24-19. The Bengals, who will be coming off a bye, will try and make history repeat itself. Then the Colts return home and return to Monday Night Football, where they will face the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger figures to be healthy by then and if he defeats Baltimore, will enter the game with his perfect career road record intact.
If the Colts get past the Steelers game unscathed, the ‘72 Dolphins will need to start wiping down with a beach towel. The lowly and rebuilding Titans visit in Week 13, followed by a trip to Jacksonville, who did give the Colts a scare in week 2 but fell by a touchdown. The Jaguars and Colts have split their past four games, with the last four meetings being within a touchdown. After the Jaguars, the San Diego Chargers come to town. Last season, the Chargers came to Indianapolis riding an eight-game winning streak. They took a 31-16 lead before the Colts came back to win in overtime, 34-31. The Chargers figure to be the Colts defense’s toughest remaining challenge, although Cincinnati is no patsy.
Indianapolis finishes with two games against the NFC West, first a trip to Seattle and then a visit from Arizona. The Seahawks and Colts do not have much history against each other, and not many teams have been able to go up to the Pacific Northwest and win recently. But if somehow, someway, Manning can lead Indy to 15-0, they should have no problem sealing the deal against the Cardinals in the season finale.
So, can they do it? History (save for Miami) says no. Conventional wisdom says no. But the Colts seem to have what it would take to complete this unthinkable task: a dynamic-yet-consistent offense, a stingy defense, and the game’s best quarterback. They have a tremendous home-field advantage at the RCA Dome, where they have lost just once in their past 13 games (including playoffs). Yet the prediction here is still no. The Colts could very well go 15-1, but the mounting media pressure and the undoubted target on their backs will become a burden, and the Colts ultimately will fall. If I had to pick a game for them to do it, it would be against the Bengals.