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http://mmqb.si.com/2014/12/15/nfl-week-15-winners-losers/
Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
Only in the NFL!
More twists and turns in the story of the 2014 NFL season. Start in the NFC, where Green Bay’s surprise loss to Buffalo opened the door for Seattle in the home-field race. Plus, the Cowboys deliver a big December win, Johnny Manziel’s disastrous debut, updated MVP Watch, weekly awards and much more
By Peter King
The Season That Went Too Fast
A Pro Football Book in Twenty-One Chapters
These are only excerpts that mention the St. Louis Rams(Minus the annoying 'moving to LA' comments). A sad collection. To read the whole article click the link above the pic.
The Seattle Effect. “It’ll be interesting to see how Philadelphia comes out of the Seattle game physically,’’ said one Dallas Cowboy last week, before his team’s trip to Philadelphia for the Sunday night game. This player remembered how physically spent the Cowboys were after playing Settle earlier in the year, and said it could be a big factor in how the team recovered to play the next week. Well, maybe he is on to something. The Eagles are the eighth team in a row to lose the week after playing Seattle; Philadelphia, San Francisco, Arizona, Kansas City, the New York Giants, Oakland, Carolina and St. Louis all lost the week after playing the Seahawks. The Seattle Effect bodes well for San Diego’s playoff chances. Not only do the Chargers play San Francisco, which lost to Seattle on Sunday, but the game is on Saturday, so the Niners have one fewer day to recover from playing the Seahawks.
Why players want to play for Bruce Arians. The Arizona coach said this to Ryan Lindley, the backup to the backup, when No. 2 quarterback Drew Stanton went down with a knee injury Thursday night at St. Louis: “I trust you. Don’t be a game manager. Be a game winner.” Lindley didn’t play particularly well—he completed four of 10 passes in the 12-6 Arizona win—but a win’s a win, especially on the road against a team with two straight shutouts coming in, and especially when the team has been so beat up with so many key players lost. With Stanton likely out for this week and two or three more with strained knee ligaments, the Cardinals seem likely to go with Lindley, and maybe with a package of plays for the rookie quarterback who is more mobile, Logan Thomas. “We’ll figure something out,’’ said Arians. “We’ll just keep on swinging, scratching out points.” Worked pretty well so far.
Special Teams Players of the Week
Chandler Catanzaro, kicker, Arizona. Cards GM Steve Keim had to take a leap of faith before the season, picking the rookie (Catanzaro) from Clemson over the trusted veteran (Jay Feely). With one night as a referendum, Catanzaro redeemed Keim’s faith in him. Catanzaro accounted for all of Arizona’s points, on field goals of 23, 44, 51 and 46. His kickoffs traveled three yards deep, three yards deep, out of the end zone, seven yards deep and three yards deep. One very big reason for the Arizona win: St. Louis started one of its 13 drives all night past its own 33-yard line.
Coaches of the Week
Bruce Arians, head coach, Arizona. Not to make these awards a clean Cardinal sweep, but to have the Arizona Cardinals tied for the best record in the NFL after 15 weeks, with Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley playing quarterback, and hanging in to beat a St. Louis team that had won the previous two games by shutout … well, you can see why Arians is so revered inside the Cardinals’ building and outside the building by a growing legion of fans.
I think this is what I didn’t like about Week 15:
St. Louis guard Davin Joseph not holding the line early on Thursday night, letting Frostee Rucker bust through the Rams line to nail Tre Mason five yards behind the line.
I think there should be a special place in the game for players like Mike Leach, the Arizona long-snapper. Playing Thursday night in his 217th career game as a snapper (he’s snapped in more games than any active player), and in a game defined by field position, Leach made the kind of play you rarely see a man in his position make, never mind a 38-year-old snapper. With the Cards nursing a 9-3 lead late in the third quarter, they punted from the Rams’ 39-yard line. Leach sprinted down on the punt and downed it at the six-yard line. This became significant because Arizona held St. Louis without a first down on the ensuing drive, and the resulting short field for the Cards led to a field goal that gave them a two-score lead (12-3) in this classic points-at-a-premium game. When Bruce Arians stands up and talks to his team about the high points in the win at St. Louis, I certainly hope he mentions the desire of Leach.
Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
Only in the NFL!
More twists and turns in the story of the 2014 NFL season. Start in the NFC, where Green Bay’s surprise loss to Buffalo opened the door for Seattle in the home-field race. Plus, the Cowboys deliver a big December win, Johnny Manziel’s disastrous debut, updated MVP Watch, weekly awards and much more
By Peter King
The Season That Went Too Fast
A Pro Football Book in Twenty-One Chapters
These are only excerpts that mention the St. Louis Rams(Minus the annoying 'moving to LA' comments). A sad collection. To read the whole article click the link above the pic.
The Seattle Effect. “It’ll be interesting to see how Philadelphia comes out of the Seattle game physically,’’ said one Dallas Cowboy last week, before his team’s trip to Philadelphia for the Sunday night game. This player remembered how physically spent the Cowboys were after playing Settle earlier in the year, and said it could be a big factor in how the team recovered to play the next week. Well, maybe he is on to something. The Eagles are the eighth team in a row to lose the week after playing Seattle; Philadelphia, San Francisco, Arizona, Kansas City, the New York Giants, Oakland, Carolina and St. Louis all lost the week after playing the Seahawks. The Seattle Effect bodes well for San Diego’s playoff chances. Not only do the Chargers play San Francisco, which lost to Seattle on Sunday, but the game is on Saturday, so the Niners have one fewer day to recover from playing the Seahawks.
Why players want to play for Bruce Arians. The Arizona coach said this to Ryan Lindley, the backup to the backup, when No. 2 quarterback Drew Stanton went down with a knee injury Thursday night at St. Louis: “I trust you. Don’t be a game manager. Be a game winner.” Lindley didn’t play particularly well—he completed four of 10 passes in the 12-6 Arizona win—but a win’s a win, especially on the road against a team with two straight shutouts coming in, and especially when the team has been so beat up with so many key players lost. With Stanton likely out for this week and two or three more with strained knee ligaments, the Cardinals seem likely to go with Lindley, and maybe with a package of plays for the rookie quarterback who is more mobile, Logan Thomas. “We’ll figure something out,’’ said Arians. “We’ll just keep on swinging, scratching out points.” Worked pretty well so far.
Special Teams Players of the Week
Chandler Catanzaro, kicker, Arizona. Cards GM Steve Keim had to take a leap of faith before the season, picking the rookie (Catanzaro) from Clemson over the trusted veteran (Jay Feely). With one night as a referendum, Catanzaro redeemed Keim’s faith in him. Catanzaro accounted for all of Arizona’s points, on field goals of 23, 44, 51 and 46. His kickoffs traveled three yards deep, three yards deep, out of the end zone, seven yards deep and three yards deep. One very big reason for the Arizona win: St. Louis started one of its 13 drives all night past its own 33-yard line.
Coaches of the Week
Bruce Arians, head coach, Arizona. Not to make these awards a clean Cardinal sweep, but to have the Arizona Cardinals tied for the best record in the NFL after 15 weeks, with Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley playing quarterback, and hanging in to beat a St. Louis team that had won the previous two games by shutout … well, you can see why Arians is so revered inside the Cardinals’ building and outside the building by a growing legion of fans.
I think this is what I didn’t like about Week 15:
St. Louis guard Davin Joseph not holding the line early on Thursday night, letting Frostee Rucker bust through the Rams line to nail Tre Mason five yards behind the line.
I think there should be a special place in the game for players like Mike Leach, the Arizona long-snapper. Playing Thursday night in his 217th career game as a snapper (he’s snapped in more games than any active player), and in a game defined by field position, Leach made the kind of play you rarely see a man in his position make, never mind a 38-year-old snapper. With the Cards nursing a 9-3 lead late in the third quarter, they punted from the Rams’ 39-yard line. Leach sprinted down on the punt and downed it at the six-yard line. This became significant because Arizona held St. Louis without a first down on the ensuing drive, and the resulting short field for the Cards led to a field goal that gave them a two-score lead (12-3) in this classic points-at-a-premium game. When Bruce Arians stands up and talks to his team about the high points in the win at St. Louis, I certainly hope he mentions the desire of Leach.
