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			<title><![CDATA[NFL Playoff Picture Scenarios -- Week 14]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[





Houston can clinch the AFC South, a first-round bye, and/or home field advantage this week.(US Presswire) 



In Week 13, we had five teams that could clinch playoff spots and four teams came through with key wins. The lone outlier was Baltimore, who lost a nailbiter to Pittsburgh and now has to deal with a tough schedule and hungry division chasers in the weeks ahead.



NFL playoff picture analysis


Related content




Playoff picture standings
Prisco: Projections: Not convinced by Steelers' win
Pro Football 360: AFC North teams in playoff push





A quick review of where we are in the AFC shows two division champions crowned (New England and Denver both at 9-3), one team that has the best record in the conference at 11-1 (Houston) and has secured a playoff berth and Baltimore with a two-game lead over Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Indianapolis is in the Wild Card driver's seat at 8-4 while both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati have a two-game edge over the rest of the pack fighting for the sixth and final playoff seed.
Over in the NFC, 11-1 Atlanta has clinched the South division title and has a 2.5 game lead over its nearest competitor (8-3-1 San Francisco) for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Green Bay and Chicago are both 8-4 and headed for a Week 15 clash in Chicago, while the N.Y. Giants hold a one-game lead over both Washington and Dallas with their loss Monday night. The Wild Card race shows the Green Bay-Chicago non-division winner and 7-5 Seattle with the slots if the season ended today, but Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Dallas (and maybe Washington after tonight) are on their heels at 6-6.
Some notes:

From tiebreaker record keeper Ivan (thenflrules): The four teams that clinched postseason berths on Week 13 (Atlanta, Denver, Houston, New England) are the most teams to secure a playoff spot with four weeks still remaining in a season. The previous record was three (1990: Chicago, N.Y. Giants and San Francisco; 1998: Atlanta, Denver and Minnesota).
Also from the record books: The three divisions titles clinched this week by New England, Denver and Atlanta are the most division titles clinched with four weeks to play in modern NFL history. Previously, the most was two, with four weeks still remaining in a season (1973, 1990, 2009, 2011).
If Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati win in Week 14, that will eliminate all teams with eight losses in the AFC (due to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati playing each other in Week 16).
If Indianapolis wins against Tennessee and Houston loses at New England, Indianapolis will control its own destiny for the AFC South title since the Colts play the Texans twice on Weeks 15 and 17. Hmmmmm.
If Houston clinches homefield advantage soon, that will render their game against Indianapolis on Week 17 likely meaningless for the Texans. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh fans should be rooting for New England over Houston next Monday night to keep the Texans from clinching the No. 1 seed and potentially rolling over for the Colts.
Baltimore has a tiebreaker advantage over Cincinnati on division record and Pittsburgh on conference record.
Dallas has key losses to Seattle and Chicago and five conference losses, which will likely hurt the Cowboys in the wild card hunt. Their best bet is to win the division (they could have a division record advantage over New York).
How many people are hoping for a wild card weekend game of No. 6 Seattle at No. 3 Green Bay? Anyone remember the ending to Green Bay at Seattle on Week 3? It could be billed the "Replacement Redemption Bowl."

 
Now let's jump into our Week 14 playoff clinching scenarios:

Houston can clinch the AFC South division title with EITHER a WIN + Indianapolis loss/tie OR a TIE + Indianapolis loss. This is a simple case where Houston needs to have overall record supremacy over Indianapolis since they play head to head in Weeks 15 and 17 and the Colts can sweep and win that tiebreaker.
Houston can also clinch homefield advantage throughout the playoffs (No. 1 seed) with a WIN + Indianapolis loss/tie + Baltimore loss + Denver loss. The Houston win would be over New England, giving the Texans head to head wins over Baltimore, Denver and New England, thus winning any tiebreakers among the only teams that could catch them at 12-4.
Houston can also clinch a first round playoff bye (Seeds No. 1 or No. 2) with a WIN + Indianapolis loss/tie + EITHER Baltimore loss OR Denver loss. Simple math -- just get rid of one more team from the homefield clinching scenario. But they have to win the division first.
Baltimore can clinch the AFC North division title with a WIN + Pittsburgh loss + Cincinnati loss. Baltimore would get to 10-6 at worst and has the tiebreaker advantage over both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. With losses by both the Steelers and Bengals, only one of those two teams could get to 10-6 as they play each other in Week 16 and Baltimore's tiebreaker advantages would win out.
Baltimore can clinch a playoff berth with EITHER a WIN + either aPittsburgh loss or Cincinnati loss OR a TIE + Pittsburgh loss + Cincinnati loss. In this situation, Baltimore is getting to 10-6 with the win and guaranteed to beat either Pittsburgh or Cincinnati if they lose in any tiebreaker, thus gaining at least the No. 6 seed. In the case of the tie plus losses by both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, the Ravens could still lose the division to either team, but that would give the loser of the Pittsburgh-Cincinnati game in Week 16 a 7th loss.

In the NFC, here's what we have:

Atlanta has won the AFC South and can clinch homefield advantage throughout the playoffs (No. 1 Seed) with a WIN + Green Bay loss/tie + Chicago loss/tie + San Francisco loss. Atlanta win would get them to 12-4 and 8-4 in the conference at worst. Both Green Bay and Chicago would beat Atlanta in a tiebreaker at 12-4 (only one of them can get there as they play each other) on conference record and San Francisco could beat Atlanta on overall record (12-3-1) or on conference record (8-3-1 to 8-4) in the case of a tie.
Atlanta can also clinch a first round playoff bye with a WIN + EITHER Green Bay loss/tie + Chicago loss/tie OR San Francisco loss (or with a TIE + GB and CHI losses).
San Francisco can clinch a playoff berth with a WIN + Dallas loss + Minnesota loss + Tampa Bay loss + Washington loss + EITHER a Seattle loss/tie or St. Louis loss/tie.A win over Miamigets San Francisco to 9.5 wins but doesn't add to their conference win total where they can still end up 6-5-1. The losses needed by Dallas, Washington, Minnesota and Tampa Bay get the wild card slots down to one team from the NFC North (either Green Bay or Chicago) and San Francisco needs to eliminate one ofSeattle or St. Louis so that no other team can gain a wild card berth.A St. Louis loss or tie gets rid of the Rams and a Seattle loss or tie gets rid of either Seattle if they have another loss or tie or St. Louis if Seattle wins out after this coming week. Loads of fun!


PLAYOFF PICTURE SCENARIOS: WEEK 14


AFC
HOUSTON TEXANS
Houston can clinch the AFC South division with: 1) HOU win + IND loss or tie OR 2) HOU tie + IND loss

Houston can clinch a first-round bye with: 1) HOU win + IND loss or tie + BAL loss or tie OR 2) HOU win + IND loss or tie + DEN loss or tie

Houston can clinch homefield advantage with: 1) HOU win + IND loss or tie + BAL loss + DEN loss


BALTIMORE RAVENS
Baltimore can clinch the AFC North division with: 1) BAL win + PIT loss + CIN loss

Baltimore can clinch a playoff berth with: 1) BAL win + PIT loss or tie OR 2) BAL win + CIN loss or tie OR 3) BAL tie + PIT + CIN loss


NFC


ATLANTA FALCONS
Atlanta can clinch a first-round bye with: 1) ATL win + CHI loss or tie + GB loss or tie OR 2) ATL win + SF loss OR 3) ATL tie + CHI loss + GB loss

Atlanta can clinch homefield advantage with: 1) ATL win + CHI loss or tie + GB loss or tie + SF loss


SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
San Francisco can clinch a playoff berth with: 1) SF win + DAL loss + MIN loss + TB loss + WAS loss + STL loss or tie OR 2) SF win + DAL loss + MIN loss + TB loss + WAS loss + SEA loss or tie


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are my current predictions for NFL playoff seeds at the end of the 2012 season:
AFC:1) Houston 2) New England 3) Denver4) Baltimore 5) Indianapolis 6) Pittsburgh
NFC: 1) Atlanta 2) Green Bay 3) San Francisco 4) NY Giants 5) Chicago 6) Seattle

Enjoy the week!

Follow Joe Ferreira on Twitter: @JoeNFL<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Dec 2012 23:34:45 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Week 13 playoff picture projections]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[

Editor's note: After each week of the NFL regular season, Pete Prisco will update his predictions for which teams will make the playoffs, ranked in order by seed.Playoff picture projections: Week 13AFC1. x- Houston Texans (South champions)2. y- New England Patriots (East champions)3. y- Denver Broncos (West champions)4. Baltimore Ravens (North champions)5. Indianapolis Colts (wild card No. 1)6. Cincinnati Bengals (wild card No. 2)NFC1. y- Atlanta Falcons (South champions)2. San Francisco 49ers (West champions)3. New York Giants (East champions)4. Green Bay Packers (North champions)5. Chicago Bears (wild card No. 1)6. Seattle Seahawks (wild card No. 2)
x = clinched playoff berthy = clinched division championshipz = clinched first-round bye* = clinched home field advantage throughout playoffs
Notice that I have the Bengals in the sixth spot, even though the Steelers beat the Ravens to remain ahead of them. Why? Is there a team playing better than Cincinnati right now? All that young talent is coming together. They just might win the AFC North. NFL playoff picture standings&bull;Super Bowl XLVII: Only on CBS <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Dec 2012 23:20:03 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Atlanta airport catches employee who egged Saints bus]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
When the Saints came marching in to Atlanta last Thursday for the Week 13 opener, they were met with a rude surprise as an airport worker -- presumably a Falcons fan -- egged their team bus.
The eggman, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was caught by authorities and has since quit his job.
DeAllous Smith, spokesman for the Atlanta Hartfield-Jackson International Airport, told the AJC that the suspect, who worked at a restaurant within the airport, was questioned by police.
Neither the person nor the restaurant were named by the airport, but the restaurant will be fined, the egger is no longer able to access the airport (at least as a worker), and the investigation is over.
It's a friendly reminder that sneaking onto the airport tarmac to sling eggs at a football team's bus is probably going to get you fired from your job, regardless of whether or not the opposing team finds it amusing.
So let's pour one out for the eggman, shall we?
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:07:29 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Falcons can clinch first-round bye this weekend at Carolina]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[





Matt Ryan and the Falcons could clinch the NFC's number one seed this weekend at Carolina. (US Presswire) 



The Atlanta Falcons locked up the NFC South division title on Sunday after Denver defeated second-place Tampa Bay, 31-23. Not that it was ever in doubt, but the Falcons are now five games up with just four remaining and have their sights set on a No. 1 seed in the NFC.
With the No. 1 seed, the Falcons would guarantee themselves a first-round bye as well as home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Falcons are currently sitting at 11-1, ahead of San Francisco (8-3-1), Green Bay (8-4), Chicago (8-4) and the New York Giants (7-5).
If all four of the aforementioned teams lose, along with a Falcons victory over Carolina this weekend, Atlanta would clinch the No. 1 seed, according to ESPN Stats and information. If Atlanta wins, there are a number of scenarios where the Falcons could secure a first-round bye, but not definitively the No. 1 seed. Here's how:

Atlanta win coupled with San Francisco loss, plus a loss or tie from Green Bay and a loss or tie from the Giants.
Atlanta win coupled with San Francisco loss, plus a loss or tie from Green Bay and a loss or tie from Chicago.
Atlanta win coupled with San Francisco loss, plus a loss or tie from the Giants, plus a loss or tie from Chicago.
Atlanta win, coupled with Green Bay loss or tie, plus Chicago loss or tie, plus Giants loss or tie.

These are the four most likely scenarios. Should Atlanta tie Carolina this weekend, every team but San Francisco would need to lose in order for the Falcons to clinch a first-round bye.
The bottom line is that the Falcons have a substantial lead and have four games remaining. The combined records of Atlanta's four remaining teams are 20-27. The Falcons have never gone 15-1 and the last time they went 14-2, Atlanta reached the Super Bowl in 1998.
For more Falcons coverage, follow Mike Singer @CBSFalcons.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:56:54 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Monday Musings: I was wrong about Seahawks' rookie QB Russell Wilson]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[





What Russell Wilson lacks in height, he makes up for with ability. (US Presswire) 



&bull;I was wrong about Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. The kid is damn good. I wasn't sure if a 5-foot-11 quarterback could be successful in the NFL. And when he won only one game on the road in his first five, I still wasn't sure. But his play against the Bearson Sunday convinced me that this kid could be a heck of a quarterback. His last drive in the fourth quarter for the go-ahead score was impressive, but his game-winning drive in overtime topped it. He won the game by throwing a touchdown pass to Sidney Rice, but he made some other really impressive throws -- including one on the run on third-and-12. Wilson's ability to get away from pressure and throw on the move was remarkable. He threw for 293 yards and ran for 71 against the Bears. Wilson has nine touchdown passes and no interceptions in the last four games.

&bull; I said it last week, and I will say it again: Colin Kaepernick isn't taking shots down the field. If he doesn't do that, the 49ers have no chance to get to the Super Bowl. The 49ers scored 10 points in their loss to the Rams. Don't tell me the quarterback position isn't a part of the problem. I'm not saying Alex Smith is the greatest passer in the world, but he was doing well before he got hurt. Kaepernick has been just OK. And the gimmick fumble on the read option is essentially the play that cost the 49ers the game. It was a horrible call by the staff, and bad execution by him. The move to make him the starter is one that will hang over this team's head all season. Anything less than an appearance in the Super Bowl and coach Jim Harbaugh will face the heat for making this move.
&bull; It might be time to slow down the talk that Chad Henne is the long-term answer in Jacksonville. He looked good in his first two starts, but not against the Bills. He was just a guy. He did have some drops, though.

&bull; Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder isn't playing well. And that's being nice. He just seems to lack confidence. He makes too many mistakes. He won't take shots down the field and he isn't moving the team. Ponder completed 12 of 25 passes for 119 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, one in the end zone. It was a horrible throw across his body. Could the Vikings be considering going to Joe Webb?




More on NFL


Columns





Clark Judge Judgements: 49ers swapping starting QBs is risky business





Mike Freeman Manning wills Broncos to victory, AFC West title ... but wants more




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Grades: Team marks | Rookies
Sorting Sunday Pile Jets' QB woes
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&bull; You have to give Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh credit. He hasn't played great all season, but he was very good against the Colts. He spent the day in the backfield. He had four tackles for loss and a sack.
&bull; If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I would never imagine Drew Brees having a day like he did against the Falcons last Thursday. He was picked off five times and never looked to be in a groove. He was jumpy and forced passes and made bad reads. There is no doubt the Saints miss Sean Payton.
&bull; The Bengals have 39 sacks, the most in the NFL. They have six games with four or more sacks. This is a pass-rusher league now, which might be what helps get the Bengals into the playoffs. Carlos Dunlap had two sacks against the Chargers, including one late in the game that forced a fumble.
&bull; What got into Brady Quinn? He looked like a competent NFL passer against the Panthers. He was 19-for-23 for 201 yards and two scores.
&bull; Adrian Peterson ran for 210 yards against the Packers. His 82-yard touchdown run was special. And it all went to waste. It's still amazing that it's been less than a year since he tore up his knee. What a player.
&bull; The Falcons are pretty close to clinching the No. 1 seed in the NFC. With four games left, they lead San Francisco, their closest pursuer, by 2 1/2 games. It was a good weekend for the Falcons. They won and Chicago and San Francisco both lost.
&bull; The worst move Jerry Jones made in the past couple of years was paying tackle Doug Free big money. He is horrible. The starting right tackle has become a turnstile.
&bull; Rams rookie receiver Chris Givens is turning into a nice player. He had 11 catches against the 49ers.
&bull; The Ryan Lindley experiment should be over in Arizona. He isn't very good right now.
&bull; The Jets should start Greg McElroy at quarterback. Why not?
&bull; The Rams could not block 49ers defensive end Justin Smith. He had eight tackles, three for loss and one sack. He is a beast.
&bull; I love the passing game more than most, but don't you think the Ravens needed to run the ball more with Ray Rice against the Steelers. Rice ran it just 12 times. Come on, Cam Cameron.
&bull; The game once again brings into question Joe Flacco as a big-game passer. He was 16 of 34 for 188 yards, one pick and big fumble late that led to the tying touchdown.
&bull; So John Harbaugh has his own handshake issue now with Mike Tomlin? What is it with these guys? Tomlin gave Harbaugh the limp handshake after Sunday's game. I will say this, and I was there: The Ravens acted like they won a Super Bowl when they beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh three weeks ago.
&bull; Yeah, Andy Reid. Firing Jim Washburn will fix everything.
&bull; All this time. All this money. All this effort. Does anybody care about "Bountygate" anymore? Aside from Jonathan Vilma trying to save his name, what's it matter? That's like a book that came out about last season. It's old news.
&bull; Bryce Brown. More proof you can find backs anywhere. Never pay them. Or over-draft them.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:00:13 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Sorting the Sunday Pile, Week 13: Jets QB mess gets worse, somehow]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
If you've got a certain step in your house that's stupidly mis-built and caused you to trip the first five times you walked over it, you either pay to have it fixed or remember not to trip on it, right? That's what most people would do.
Not Rex Ryan. He's refused to fix his step until he'd tripped on it, stubbed his toe, cussed himself silly and nearly broken his damn leg before, finally, with 4:48 remaining in the third quarter of a nauseating 3-0 derp-fest between the Jets and Cardinals, he yanked Mark Sanchez for Greg McElroy.
McElroy's not some savior; he'd never attempted a pass in the NFL before Sunday. But he made it look relatively easy against the Cardinals going 5-of-7 for 29 yards for an easy score and no embarrassing mistakes. The bigger issue is what happens going forward, because this is the ultimate culmination of stubbornness.
And the hilarity of it all is two-fold. First, Tim Tebow wasn't even available because of a rib injury. Second, Rex says he sensed that a change was needed.
"It's just something that I sensed, that I felt," coach Rex Ryan said. "When you're around this game long enough, you get that feeling that, 'You know what? I've seen enough, and it's time to make that change.'"
Really, Rex? You thought now was the time to make a change? Really. Because there were other times to make a change and he's stuck by his guy. Sanchez, after all, took Rex's team to two AFC title games. But those were different teams and this is a different situation.
And now Ryan's staring down the barrel of the biggest nightmare imaginable: Sanchez might not be better than Greg Freaking McElroy, which means he shouldn't be better than the guy between them on the depth chart, and the Jets are about to head to Jacksonville, the home of one Timothy G.D. Tebow.
The Jets have an insanely soft schedule over the next four games, with the Jaguars, Titans, Chargers and Bills on the docket. The playoffs are highly, highly unlikely, but those are four beatable opponents, and, impossibly, 9-7 isn't out of the question. That brings the AFC wild card into play.
Is it Tebow Time? I mean, yes, right? Do I want this to happen? No, of course not. Doesn't it have to happen? The only other option is Rex Ryan continuing to run out Greg McElroy. Because Sanchez isn't the answer. The next week is going to be nuts, annoying, over-covered and everything that's wrong about society, when a 5-7 team gets 90 percent of the media coverage.
But the Jets wanted the attention. They got the attention. They did nothing to continue receiving said attention and now they're in a weird rock and a hard place that has America watching. Again. Somehow.
End of the Madden CurseThe Madden Curse decided to take a break this year, apparently, or it's just not strong enough to stop Calvin Johnson. There was some ignorant chatter early in the year that Megatron was "struggling" because he didn't find the end zone early on -- just once in his first eight games actually -- but he's not got three-straight games with a score.
 
He's also locked in on Jerry Rice's single-season receiving record. Rice caught 122 passes for a ridiculous 1,848 yards and 15 touchdowns in 1995. That's an insane 115.5 yards per game. 17 years later, Johnson's got a legit shot at breaking that ridiculous number.
Megatron has 1,428 yards through 12 games after catching 13 passes for 171 yards on Sunday against the Colts, as well as 86 catches on the year. That puts him on pace for 1,904 yards (he's averaging 119 yards per game) and 114.67 catches.
I'd list who the Lions are playing (it's the Packers, Cardinals, Falcons and Bears) but it's largely irrelevant at this point, even if Charles Tillman did shut him down in Week 7. Megatron is having his way with defensive secondaries, Matthew Stafford is giving him chances to make ridiculous plays and Johnson is averaging 154.75 yards per game over his past four games.
He's making some catches no human being is supposed to make. Don't be surprised if he breaks Rice's record and be prepared for the possibility of a 2,000 yard receiving season. Even if his season ended today, he would have the 50th-best receiving season, yards-wise, in NFL history.
The Madden Curse is over.
NFC West Spice The week-to-week fluctuation of the NFL is what makes this sport so wonderful: wasn't long ago the 49ers were cruising and Seattle was dead in the water when it comes to winning a divisional title. Not so fast my friends, because things are setting up for a barn-burner in Week 16 in Seattle.
The 49ers (perhaps flush with an quarterback controversy?) are 8-3-1 now and set to play the Dolphins (in San Francisco) and the Patriots (in New England). If they go 1-1 in those games (not unreasonable), they're 9-4-1. The Seahawks are 7-5 and face the Cardinals (in Seattle) and the Bills (in Buffalo). If they go 2-0 in those games, they're 9-5.
And the week after that, San Francisco and Seattle square off at Qwest Field and somehow, some way, the NFC West is going to be up for grabs.
Rookie Statement Game Speaking of the Seahawks, Russell Wilson engineered two fourth-quarter-or-overtime-and-on-the-road comeback drives against the Bears, managing to lead the Seahawks to a stunner of a win.
Someone on Twitter (I can't remember who, sorry) that Wilson looks "like a point guard" when he's running the Seahawks offense, and it's a perfect description. Wilson isn't the focal point of Seattle's offense, but he's what greases the wheels. He's not some cannon-armed dude that's going to sling for 5,000 yards, but he's a mature quarterback who's capable of running an offense in an incredibly efficient way and making nearly every throw required of him.
On a day when the vaunted Seattle defense continued to struggle in pass coverage -- what was that against Brandon Marshall late in the fourth quarter, Seahawks secondary? -- Wilson remained cool, calm and collective and didn't flinch against one of the toughest defense in the NFL. He put his team on the back and might've just taken them to the playoffs. If people discount his candidacy for rookie of the year, don't listen to them. He's worthy of consideration.
But he won't get it ...
Answer Man Because Andrew Luck's doing unholy things at the quarterback position. He is literally the Colts right now. They have weapons on offense and they have players on defense but Luck is making throws that rookies don't make. He's laughing off a rookie wall and he's already taken the Colts to eight wins.
He has five -- FIVE! -- game-winning drives in the fourth-quarter or overtime in his first year. FIVE. Luck makes big-time throws with defenders draped all over him, he overcomes stupid mistakes like he did on Sunday and he's part of a magical and incredible Colts season.
I noted on Twitter at halftime of the Colts-Lions game that Luck secretly has worse stats on the road than Wilson. It's kind of true ... but it doesn't matter. I laughed when Wilson threw his game-winning touchdown, but my jaw just dropped when Luck threw his. How on Earth he brought the Colts back from 12 points back with less than eight minutes to go is beyond me, but so much of what the Colts are doing this year isn't really explicable.
And the crazy thing is, Robert Griffin III hasn't even played this week. We are so, so lucky as football fans to see this crop of young quarterbacks come into the league. Enjoy it.
Brady Quinn Quinn, a former first-round pick of the Browns who's bounced around three different teams since leaving Notre Dame, won't get many inches of copy when it comes to newspapers around the country. The Chiefs rallied in the face of adversity and that's the story that will, rightfully, win out.
But let's give Quinn credit, because he was fantastic against the Panthers on Sunday. He went 19-for-23 for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the win, not the sort of stat line you expect out of a guy buried on depth charts behind Derek Anderson, Tim Tebow, Kyle Orton and Matt Cassel for his career.
Sunday, though, he was decisive, accurate and efficient. Quinn put the Chiefs in position to win and stunned just about everyone who watched the game with his ability to make some big throws.
It probably doesn't warrant the Chiefs forsaking a future franchise quarterback in the 2013 NFL Draft, but it's the type of game that should be remembered come the offseason, especially if Quinn can build on it as the Chiefs close out the year.
Steelers Stunners Quinn wasn't even the most surprising quarterback to win Sunday. That honor goes to Charlie Batch, who is going to turn 38 years old on Wednesday. Batch went 25-of-36 for 276 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Not stunning numbers, but not so bad this context:

Amazing #fantasyfootball stat today: Charlie Batch has outscored Tom Brady, Matt Ryan and Drew Brees in Week 13.
&mdash; Chris Littmann (@chrislittmann) December 3, 2012
Most importantly, Batch didn't kill the Steelers like he did in Week 12. Now Pittsburgh is just two games back of the Ravens, who have to play the Redskins, Broncos, Giants and Bengals down the stretch.
Pittsburgh gets the Chargers, Cowboys, Bengals and the Browns and if Ben Roethlisberger can come back and play at a reasonable level, it's not that insane to assume the Steelers could catch the Ravens in the AFC North. If they do -- or even if they make the playoffs -- it's in large part because Batch was able to fill in Sunday and come out of Baltimore with a monster win.
The AFC's SleeperOf course, having a discussion about the AFC North without mentioning the Bengals is just silly. Cincy's now 7-5 and just a tiebreaker back of Pittsburgh for the wild card, as well as just two games back of Baltimore. The Bengals have won four games in a row and are doing good things on both sides of the ball right now.
They weren't perfect against the Chargers, but that's the nice thing about playing the Chargers: you don't have to be perfect, because Norv Turner and Philip Rivers are more than happy to beat themselves these days.
What makes their potential playoff run -- they're a tiebreaker back of Pittsburgh right now -- most intriguing is their final two games. Cincy might house some rivers, but for the Bengals, everything runs through Baltimore and Pittsburgh. They play their AFC North rivals in the final two weeks of the season. With games against Dallas and Philly before that, it's possible that even a split could get them into the postseason.
Either way, everyone's talking about Pittsburgh and Baltimore because they're the bigger names. Do not sleep on Cincy.
Brady/Manning Collision Course?It's an insult to the Texans to do this, but I'm going to do it anyway, mainly because I picked the Texans to win the AFC before the season began. So I'm not a jerk, OK, Houston? But it sure does look like we're on a collision course for the continued evolution of the Tom Brady/Peyton Manning rivalry, which will go down as one of the NFL's greatest rivalries, not to mention one of the greatest in sports.
Denver's the current No. 4 seed and New England only just jumped Baltimore for the second seed in the AFC but the football gods just seem to have something in mind, as both Manning and Brady clinched their respective divisions on Sunday.
For Brady, it was the 10th divisional title, the most by an NFL quarterback in history. Realignment and chronological caveats apply, but it's not like this is some cherry-pick job. Brady's an all-timer, and he passed Joe Montana, who had nine divisional titles. You know who else has nine now?
Peyton Manning. He clinched his ninth -- and his first with a team other than the Colts -- on Sunday with a Denver victory and a Chargers loss. That puts him one behind Brady in that particular statistical category and just another reason for Brady champions to put their guy on a pedestal above Peyton.
We already got one look at the two guys squaring off earlier this year. A rematch in the AFC Championship Game -- with the right to potentially take a big leg up on the rivalry overall? -- would be epic. Here's hoping it happens.
Kudos to the Rams For two things, actually. First of all, the Rams decided to honor the late Rick Majerus (who recently resigned from coaching the St. Louis basketball team) before the game with a moment of silence before the game. Majerus was a legend in college basketball and deserved just that.
Secondly, props to the Rams for busting out the Greatest Show on Turf throwbacks (right) Sunday instead of their standard new-era colors (left):

In what world is the uniform on the left better than the uniform on the right? (The Rams have three winning seasons since swapping uniforms after winning the Super Bowl and lost to the Patriots in their subsequent Super Bowl trip. So not this world I guess.
Also fun: Rams coach Jeff Fisher was the coach of the Titans ... when they lost to the Rams in these same yellow/blue uniforms.
GIF O' THE WEEK 
WORTH 1,000 WORDS <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Arizona Cardinals</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Dec 2012 00:20:29 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[2012 NFL Grades, Week 13: Chiefs overcome the impossible for a win]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
Each week we hand out team-by-team grades for every game in the NFL. This page will update throughout the week, so mark it here. You'll probably agree with every single grade, but if not, leave your thoughts in the comments below or harass me on Twitter @WillBrinson.
The Chiefs overcame the tragic events of Saturday, whenlinebacker Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, and then took his own life at the Chiefs facility, to win their second game of the seasonSunday.
It was impressive that Kansas City performed at a high level against the Panthers in a game that began a little more than 24 hours later.The Chiefs managed to show a bit of why people picked them as a possible AFC West champs.
Brady Quinn was an unlikely stud, going 19 of 23 for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Jamaal Charles ran the ball 27 times for 127 yards. The Chiefs converted fourth downs and only punted once. The defense couldn't do much to stop Cam Newton, who threw a number of long passes, but it did pressure him frequently and managed to bottle up DeAngelo Williams and the Panthers rushing attack.
Using the word "inspiration" in the context of a murder-suicide is something I'm not prepared to do, but it was particularly impressive to see the Chiefs galvanize following an unfathomably difficult situation.
It's obviously not over; as Romeo Crennel noted after the game, the healing and all the things that go along with a tragedy like this don't end right away.
"It might not be over for some time for a lot of the guys," Crennel said.
The season is short for KC, but the road's still long. On Sunday, though, the Chiefs did the impossible. And while it's not worth a whole lot of anything in the big scheme of things, they get high marks from me.


TeamGradeAnalysis



Chiefs 27, Panthers 21



B-
Not an ideal game for the Panthers, but not an ideal situation either. The defense couldn't stop Kansas City from running the ball, but you've gotta feel good about the way Cam Newton looked again on Sunday. He's had two very impressive outings a row that reminds a lot of his rookie season. Better days might just be ahead for the Panthers after all.



A
This win won't change the Chiefs' season, but it's a reminder about a few things. One, the fans in Kansas City are a passionate group who deeply care about this team. Two, even if a football team isn't performing perfectly it shouldn't be a full-blown indictment of the people on that team's abilities. Sunday showed that. And three, for as bad as things can look on the field at times, there are much worse circumstances in life.





TeamGradeAnalysis



Falcons 23, Saints 13



D-
Drew Brees' consecutive games-with-a-TD streak ended at 54. Upside: his streak of five-interception games stands at one. Other than the first drive, the defense played well, but the 1985 Bears couldn't have overcome the worst game of Brees' career. It's been one of those years in New Orleans.Before the game, Brees could be heard telling his teammates, "This is our division. We know it and they know it." Somebody forgot to tell the Falcons. - Ryan Wilson



B-
The offense was inconsistent but the defense played out of its mind. Brees suddenly forgetting how to throw a football certainly helped, but much of the credit should go to Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and his players. Maybe this is the game that will get people believing that Atlanta's legit. - Ryan Wilson






Bills 34, Jaguars 18



D
The Jaguars defense got carved up by Buffalo and Jason Babin wasn't exactly an instant-impact addition on Sunday. Chad Henne went 18-for-41, which is just ... ugh. Jacksonville attempted 15 rushes and came away with 49 yards against a Bills team that wasn't exactly stuffing opponents prior to this.



B+
So that's what the Bills would look like if the defense showed up every week and they didn't need to rely on Ryan Fitzpatrick all the time? OK then. Buffalo sacked Chad Henne four times, picked him once and forced a trio of fumbles in this surprising route. Also, Fitzpatrick only had to throw 17 times as Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller were both effective. Can't wait til this formula doesn't work next week!


Seahawks 23, Bears 17



B+
Remember when Russell Wilson was a "game manager" dependent on his defense to win games? LOL. Wilson led two game-winning, fourth-quarter or overtime drives in this game and bailed his secondary, which gave up 165 yards to Brandon Marshall, out on the road. This is the type of win that could change the Seahawks season in a big, big way.



C+
This game should be a major red flag for Chicago: their offense got going with Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall hooking up for big numbers, but they let a rookie quarterback win just his second road game against a really tough defense. Russell Wilson didn't commit a turnover and Marshawn Lynch ran well against a Bears team that's quietly lost three of its last four and a hold on the NFC North.


Colts 35, Lions 33



B
I really want to just paste a picture of Andrew Luck's face/neckbeard here, after the rookie quarterback threw for 391 yards and four touchdowns, including a walk-off, check-down to Donnie Avery to complete his fifth fourth-quarter or overtime comeback of the season. Indianapolis didn't really play well and Luck wasn't that good most of the day, but the dude just gets it done when it counts.



B-
Calvin Johnson's kicking the Madden Curse to the curb and is on pace to break Jerry Rice's receiving yards record for a single season. He had 13 catches and 171 yards on Sunday, but he can't do it himself, and the Lions lack of secondary showed up big time in the fourth quarter, which isn't good in a game you need to win. Mostly though, this was a pretty nice day for Detroit, until the Colts pulled a Lions on them.


Packers 23, Vikings 14



C-
The Vikings could've stolen this game if they'd done the obvious: ridden Adrian Peterson, who ran for 210 yards on 21 carries. Instead, they let Christian Ponder throw in the red zone and he ended up tossing a pair of picks.



C+
Green Bay's defense came up with some big turnovers when it mattered and Aaron Rodgers made some big-time throws to seal this game. James Starks and Alex Green both ran well, which is a good sign for the Packers future, even if Jordy Nelson going back down with an injury isn't exactly great news. The defense still has major issues, and could've given up a lot more points.


Patriots 23, Dolphins 16



B-
Aaron Hernandez (eight catches, 97 yards) is very good, but he is no Rob Gronkowski. Fortunately, Wes Welker was his catch-heavy self again, tying Jerry Rice's record for most 10-plus reception games at 17. Solid division-clinching win for the Patriots against a team that's given them lots of trouble in the past.



C-
The Dolphins couldn't hold onto the ball (four fumbles, just one lost) and they couldn't get rolling against the Patriots rush defense. More troubling is the loss of Jake Long, which moves Jonathan Martin to left tackle and turns Ryan Tannehill into a tackling dummy. Tannehill also missed some throws he's got to make.


Jets 7, Cardinals 6



F-
I'm failing both teams because it's not fair for anyone to suffer through this game. The Cardinals lost so they get the "normal" F. Also, why is Ryan Lindley still out there? What point is Ken Whisenhunt trying to prove? The Cardinals have lost eight straight.



F+
I'm failing both teams because it's not fair for anyone to suffer through this game. The Jets get a plus because they won, and would've been higher but it took them too long to realize that Mark Sanchez -- 10/21, 97 yards, 3 picks -- isn't the answer.


Rams 16, 49ers 13



D
It'll be fun to see what "hot hand" means to Jim Harbaugh: Colin Kaepernick only turned the ball over once, but he didn't exactly put any points up on the board for the 49ers, who nearly fell to a very weird 8-2-2. The defense had a nice day but the offense couldn't get a whole lot going when it counted against St. Louis. Kaepernick's throw away from his own end zone was something Alex Smith wouldn't do under any circumstances.



C-
Chris Givens is starting to develop as a nice little weapon for the Rams and their cornerback tandem of Cortland Finnegan and Janoris Jenkins keeps impressing. This wasn't the prettiest win by any stretch of the imagination, but St. Louis held serve against a strong 49ers team and made life tough for Kaepernick.


Texans 24, Titans 10



B+
The Texans did what the Texans do: run the ball well, play good defense and let Matt Schaub take a few shots down the field. A 21-3 halftime lead against a team like Tennessee basically ended this game before it really got going.



D
Jake Locker threw three interceptions and fumbled twice, Chris Johnson never got going (and also fumbled once), and the Titans defense didn't have much of a chance against the Houston offense.






Broncos 31, Buccaneers 23



C+
The Buccaneers have now lost six games by a combined 31 points. That's not a lot, especially when you consider they fell by 32 points in Week 16 last season. This was their biggest margin of defeat and it occurred mainly because Peyton Manning can carve up bad secondaries and the Buccaneers secondary is bad. Josh Freeman wasn't particularly accurate and Champ Bailey shut down Vincent Jackson yet again.



B
Ho-hum. Just another big win for the Broncos as they clinched the AFC West in the first week of December. Peyton Manning threw a pick, but he also had 242 passing yards and three touchdowns as well. Von Miller had a pick-six and Demaryius Thomas had a big old game. Huge third quarter from Denver in an imperfect game.


Steelers 23, Ravens 20



A
Nothing about the Steelers was particularly delightful on Sunday, unless you count the fun of rooting for Charlie Batch, who will turn 38 on Wednesday. Batch turned in the type of game, with the help of the defense, that could send the AFC North into a frenzy down the stretch. It was certainly a gritty, season-saving type of victory.



F
The Ravens didn't "play" to an F, per se, but you can't lose to Chuck Batch at home when you're trying to close out a hated rival. The defense was porous, Terrell Suggs might be hurt and Joe Flacco wasn't anything resembling elite. It's true that anything can happen in this rivalry, but there's no excuse for losing this game.


Browns 20, Raiders 17



B
Not the prettiest day statistically for anyone other than Josh Gordon here, but the Browns went on the road and beat up on an inferior opponent. Nothing about that sentence makes sense. They have four wins now and are overachieving beyond anyone's wildest dreams.



D-
Brandon Meyers had a 14-catch game, finishing with 130 yards a touchdown, which I guess is something. Otherwise, well, Carson Palmer had to throw 54 times in this game, the running game never got going and the Raiders now have a worse record than the Browns. The cleansing is not going well, but cleansings never do.


Bengals 20, Chargers 13



B-
Cincinnati went on the road and won, which is great, but it wasn't a great win, you know? Benjarvus Green-Ellis ran really well, but Andy Dalton made some serious mistakes during this game. Fortunately for the Bengals, the Chargers (and the Cincy defense) was completely willing to bail out the offense in this one.



D+
That last throw from Philip Rivers -- a pick in the end zone on fourth down to end the game after the Chargers ignored the idea of getting a first down with two timeouts left -- just about sums up this season for Norv Turner and his quarterback. They ran the ball nine times and scored 13 points despite the defense scoring once. Oy. Vey.





TeamGradeAnalysis



Cowboys 38, Eagles 33



B-
Bryce Brown is a monster and I hope he's saving your fantasy season too, but, dude ... hold the ball with two hands. The Eagles are re-booting in the middle of a lost season, and somehow still managing to explode late in games -- they gave up 21 points in the fourth quarter -- which is not a good look at all.



B
Dallas doesn't have the look of a playoff team, but they got out of this one alive and are back at .500. Tony Romo continues to prove -- without people noticing -- that he's the solution, not the problem. DeMarco Murray's return is obviously a huge plus for the offense. The secondary's been vulnerable the last few weeks and the defense should be worried about getting gashed by Philly backups.





TeamGradeAnalysis



Redskins 17, Giants 16



C+
The Giants settled for field goals most of the night and it cost them, especially when they were able to easily move the ball against a Redskins secondary that wasn't equipped to stop Eli Manning and the passing game. The defense limited the Redskins enough to win, but they simply couldn't score in the red zone.



B+
Washington's defense kept the Giants out of the end zone for the most part on Monday with a bend-but-don't-break attitude. Robert Griffin III was sensational on a big stage once again, and Pierre Garcon is starting to look like a difference maker for the Redskins. Suddenly the NFC East is wide open.



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			<category>Arizona Cardinals</category>
			<pubDate>Sun, 02 Dec 2012 16:45:00 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[For the gambler in you, Week 13]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
Each week, we'll take the best -- and cleverest -- odds collected by Bovada for the upcoming week and give our take. This is important stuff, perhaps the most important post you'll read all week. Because if you can't lose money while watching a game in which you have absolutely no effect, what's the point of watching sports at all? 
Note: Home team is listed first in Against the Spread.
Game One: Bears -3.5 vs. SeahawksSunday, 1 p.m. ET, Fox



2012 Against The Spread






Overall: 6-5
Overall: 7-4


Home: 3-3
Home: 5-0


Away: 3-2
Away: 2-4


Last 5 vs. SEA: 2-3
Last 5 vs. CHI: 3-2






2012 Team Rankings






Pass offense: 32nd
Pass defense: 3rd


Rush offense: 10th
Rush defense: 11th


Pass defense: 6th
Pass offense: 31st


Rush defense: 7th
Rush offense: 8th



Verdict: When you think about the two worst passing offenses in the league, Chicago and Seattle don't spring to mind. Mostly because Jay Cutler is having a solid season and Russell Wilson has had an imperssive rookie year. But this line is too low. The Bears have injury concerns, but they're coming off a big win against the Vikings. Seattle has played well in Chicago the past two seasons, but Cutler will find a way to get it done Sunday by more than a field goal.
Game Two: Raiders -1.5 vs. Browns
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS



2012 Against The Spread






Overall: 3-8
Overall: 6-4-1


Home: 1-4
Home: 4-2


Away: 2-4
Away: 2-2-1


Last 5 vs. CLE: 0-5
Last 5 vs. OAK: 5-0






2012 Team Rankings






Pass offense: 8th
Pass defense: 20th


Rush offense: 29th
Rush defense: 18th


Pass defense: 23rd
Pass offense: 23rd


Rush defense: 27th
Rush offense: 26th



Verdict: On the CBSSports.com expert picks this week, I'm the only one taking the Raiders, and I'm not sure why. The Browns are a disaster, and although the Raiders are on a four-game losing streak -- yes, I realize that's also pretty terrible -- you can't expect Cleveland to travel across the entire country and beat the Raiders. The Browns won't.
Game Three (largest spread of week): Cowboys -10.5 vs. EaglesSunday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC



2012 Against The Spread






Overall: 4-7
Overall: 1-9-1


Home: 0-5
Home: 0-5-1


Away: 4-2
Away: 1-4


Last 5 vs. PHI: 2-3
Last 5 vs. DAL: 3-2






2012 Team Rankings






Pass offense: 2nd
Pass defense: 13th


Rush offense: 32nd
Rush defense: 17th


Pass defense: 8th
Pass offense: 17th


Rush defense: 12th
Rush offense: 9th



Verdict: I don't know why I think the Eagles will cover. Well, except for the Cowboys' 0-5 record against the spread at home this season. But maybe after a few weeks, Philadelphia rookie quarterback Nick Foles will feel more comfortable in the pocket, and maybe, the Eagles defense this week won't let a receiver run down the middle of the field completely wide open. Philladelphia is underwhelming, but really, can we expect Dallas to cover this spread? I say no.
PROP BETS
Total fumbles lost bySteelers running backs Week 13? 
Over/Under 1
Last week, every running back who played for Pittsburgh fumbled the ball -- and four Steelers took handoffs -- and overall, the team lost eight turnovers. Even if they cut their fumbles in half, the Steelers would still go over. That's what I'd bet.
Will the Cardinals lose their last 12 games of the regular season? 
Yes 6-1
No 1-12
The odds are way against it, but I'd take this bet. The Cardinals should be underdogs in the rest of their games this season (vs. the Jets, Seahawks, Lions, Bears and49ers), and new starting QB Ryan Lindley doesn't give me much confidence. I'd go yes.
Last week: 0-3 against the spread (missed on Packers +3.5 vs. Giants, Falcons -1.5 vs. Buccaneers, and Broncos -10.5 vs. Chiefs) and 1-1 on prop bets. Hit on Ronnie Hillman going under 55.5 rushing yards. Missed on Charlie Batch going over 200.5 passing yards.
Overall: 17-19 against the spread; 27-9-1 on prop bets; two props still undecided (Ken Whisenhunt first coach to get fired;Robert Griffin III won't lead the league in completion percentage at the end of the regular season).
For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, and subscribe to our Pick-6 Podcast and NFL newsletter. You can follow Josh Katzowitz on Twitter here: @joshkatzowitz.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Arizona Cardinals</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 01 Dec 2012 16:41:15 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Falcons Report Card: Defense and special teams shine in win over rival Saints]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[





Matt Ryan celebrates with Tony Gonzalez after a 17-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter of the Falcons' 23-13 win. (US Presswire) 



The Falcons ended a four-game losing streak to the Saints and improved to an NFL-best 11-1 with their 23-13 win on Thursday night. The victory boosted Matt Ryan's career home winning percentage to 89 percent (32-4), trailing only New England's Tom Brady (93) since 2008. Ryan threw for seasons lows in both yards (165) and completions (18), but the Falcons defense forced five interceptions against Drew Brees en route to the victory.
Offense: C-
After abusing the Saints' defensive line in a six-play, 80-yard touchdown drive on the opening series, the Falcons largely ignored their rushing attack and forced passes that weren't there. Ryan was out of rhythm, Roddy White didn't record a catch until late in the fourth quarter, and Jacquizz Rodgers -- who was a game-changer last weekend against Tampa Bay -- was under-utilized. Atlanta struggled to convert great field position into touchdowns but was fortunate that the defense held their own. In one long, ugly sequence spanning the second and third quarters, the Falcons offense managed just 23 yards off of five straight possessions. Previous game's ranking: A-
Defense: A
The Falcons offense routinely put the defense in a hole, but each time the unit responded. The five interceptions -- S William Moore (2), S Thomas DeCoud, LB Sean Weatherspoon, and DT Jonathan Babineaux &ndash; were a career-worst for Brees, who also saw his 54-game streak with at least one touchdown come to an end. Cornerback Asante Samuel re-aggravated a shoulder injury on the Saints' first offensive series and backups Chris Owens and Robert McClain were outstanding in blanketing New Orleans' receivers. It was the first time the Falcons had won the turnover battle since week three. Previous game's ranking: B+
Special teams: A
Matt Bryant rebounded from his toughest game of the year with arguably his best game of the season. He was three for three on field goal attempts and tied his season-long of 55 yards with 4:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, which made it a two-possession game. Punter Matt Bosher punted six times for a season-high 53.2 yard average. Previous game's ranking: C-
Coaching: D
Coach Mike Smith needs to realize when his offense is in a groove and not abandon a rushing attack that fostered the Falcons' first touchdown. They finished with 124 rushing yards, more than half of which came on the opening drive. Too many times this season Atlanta has jumped out to an early lead &ndash; in this case it was 17-0 -- only to cough it up and eventually win ugly. That's part of the reason why the national media has been so skeptical about the Falcons' chances in the playoffs. Previous game's ranking: B+
For more Falcons coverage, follow Mike Singer @CBSFalcons.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 30 Nov 2012 14:19:23 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
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			<title><![CDATA[Saints DL Bunkley fined $20K for kicking 49ers' Boone in head]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[





Bunkley is fined after avoiding a suspension earlier in the week. (US Presswire) 



Saints starting defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley has been fined $20,000 for his kick to the back of the head of 49ers guard Alex Boone, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
Bunkley's kick came in the final minutes of the Niners' 31-21 victory Sunday. The DT was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected with 1:05 left for kicking Boone after the Saints had blocked a field goal.
Bunkley played in Thursday night's loss to the Falcons, registering one tackle and one pass defended. His fine comes on the heels of Detroit Lions DT Ndamukong Suh's $30,000 fine for a kick to Texans QB Matt Schaub's groin on Thanksgiving.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 30 Nov 2012 06:49:03 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Postgame analysis: Falcons 23, Saints 13 ]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
This one was on Drew Brees.In the biggest regular-season game the Saints have played in the last four years, the highest-paid player in NFL history produced a stinker for the ages. A week after throwing two pick-6s in New Orleans' loss to San Francisco, Brees made that performance look like a Hall-of-Fame outing by comparison.He threw not one, not two, not three, not four but a career-high five interceptions as the Falcons beat the Saints, 23-13, on Thursday night at the Georgia Dome. And that doesn't even count Brees' biggest blunder. With New Orleans trailing 17-7 and facing a second-and-goal at the Atlanta 5-yard line in the final minute of the first half, he inexplicably let about 30 seconds run off the clock as the Saints huddled up with no timeouts, then threw a check-down to RB Darren Sproles for a 2-yard gain. The Saints could not get another play off before the half ended.That was the most bizarre sequence in a bizarre game. Atlanta went ahead 17-0 early in the second quarter, then did not pick up another first down until near the end of the third quarter against the NFL's lowest-ranked defense. The Saints pulled within 17-13 despite a litany of mistakes before Brees threw three interceptions on their last four possessions. Even when a pick was nullified by an offsides penalty, he tossed another one on the next play.The loss put the Saints (5-7) on life support in their quest for the playoffs. They'll have to win their last four and get some help.The Falcons (11-1) remained on pace for home-field advantage in the NFC but did nothing to convince anyone they are a Super Bowl favorite, winning by 10 when they had a 5-1 advantage in turnovers. When the game turned: With the Saints trailing 17-13 but possessing all the momentum while facing a second-and-5 near midfield in the third quarter, Brees tried to throw against his body to WR Devery Henderson and never saw safety William Moore, who stepped in front of the pass for an easy interception and returned it to the New Orleans 41. The Falcons kicked a field goal for their first points since early in the second quarter and benefitted from Brees' generosity the rest of the way.Highlight moments: Falcons QB Matt Ryan threw a picture-perfect pass over the middle to TE Tony Gonzalez for a TD to give the Falcons a 14-0 lead in the first minute of the second quarter, beating former Falcons' LB Curtis Lofton's tight coverage. Who knew the Falcons would go almost two quarters before making another first down? &hellip; Atlanta safety Thomas DeCoud made a nice recovery to pick off a deep post pass Brees threw to WR Marques Colston in the end zone on the Saints' first series. Colston was open early, but not late. &hellip; The Brees dump-off to Sproles at the end of the half had to be seen to believed. &hellip; Atlanta's Matt Bryant, who had missed from 22 yards last week vs. Tampa Bay, drilled a 55-yard field goal to seal the victory with 4:25 left.Top-shelf performances:

Saints WR Lance Moore  -- 9 catches, 108 yards
Falcons RB Michael Turner  --12 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD
Falcons S William Moore --10 tackles, 2 interceptions

What they said:

Saints interim coach Joe Vitt on the team's postseason hopes -- &ldquo;The future as far as the playoffs goes looks bleak right now.&rdquo;
Saints QB Drew Brees on his five interceptions -- &ldquo;I felt as good coming into this game as I had about the passing game all season really."

The streak is over: Brees' NFL-record string of 54 games with a TD pass ended in ignominious fashion. He may not have the mark for long. New England's Tom Brady has thrown a scoring pass in 43 straight games.Egg-cruciating performance: Several members of the Saints tweeted that their bus was egged by Hartsfield International Airport employees when they got on their team bus after they arrived in Atlanta on Wednesday. But it was Brees who left the Georgia Dome with egg on his face. Numbers you should know: Brees has thrown an NFL-high 16 interceptions. &hellip; The Falcons rushed for 71 yards on their opening drive after gaining 46 on the ground for the entire game vs. the Saints three weeks ago. Then Atlanta had only 53 rushing yards the rest of the way. &hellip; Since 2008, the Falcons are 28-3 against the rest of the NFL at the Georgia Dome and 2-3 vs. the Saints.Injury updates: Falcons -- CB Asante Samuel left in the first half after aggravating a right shoulder injury. He missed out on the picks parade. Saints -- OT Zach Strief started after missing three games with a groin injury, but he was bothered by cramps at one point in the fourth quarter.Going forward: Saints -- New Orleans' playoff hopes aren't totally over, but all signs point to a loss at the New York Giants on Dec. 9 and the unofficial end to this painful season without suspended coach Sean Payton. If Brees doesn't get out of his funk, a loss is a certainty. Falcons -- They may be the least-respected 11-1 team ever. Still, after a trip to Carolina on Dec. 9, they return to the Georgia Dome to face the Giants in a game that could cement their status as the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.Follow Saints reporter Guerry Smith on Twitter @CBSSaints.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:51:27 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Falcons inactives vs. Saints]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[Falcons inactives: QB Dominique Davis, WR Tim Toone, S Charles Mitchell, OG Phillipkeith Manley, OG Harland Gunn, DE Lawrence Sidbury, DT Peria Jerry (quad).
For more Falcons coverage, follow Mike Singer @CBSSportsNFLATL.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 29 Nov 2012 19:19:10 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Saints inactives vs. Falcons]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[Saints inactives: TE David Thomas (knee), OT Charles Brown (knee), DE Junior Galette (ankle), S Isa Abdul-Quddus (concussion), WR Courtney Roby (shoulder, ankle), DT Tom Johnson (back), LB Scott Shanle.
Follow Saints reporter Guerry Smith on twitter @CBSSaints.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 29 Nov 2012 19:13:31 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Former Saints assistant Williams seen boarding plane to DC for bounty hearings]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[





Williams has yet to be reinstated by the NFL. (US Presswire) 



Suspended defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was seen boarding a plane from St. Louis to Washington, DC, to take part in the NFL's bounty hearings.



Related content


Analysis





Michael Freeman Gregg Williams' NFL future cloudy at best





Williams, the ex-Saints coordinator at the center of the Bountygate scandal, had rebuffed requests to take part in the process, but the league has compelled him to do so, with his reinstatement hanging in the balance, sources said. Williams is now with the Rams, but is banned from any interaction with the team. Former Saints employee Mike Cerullo, the whistle blower in this case, is taking part Thursday, sources said.
Not all players involved will be present for the hearings, though they can listen in on conference call. Saints players Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith are facing the Falcons in Atlanta on Thursday night. Free agent Anthony Hargrove is not there either, sources said. Many members of NFL Security and investigators in the case are taking part, though it is unclear if Joe Hummel, former head of NFL Security who left during this investigation, will be present.
These hearings are expected to last into the weekend, and perhaps longer.
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 29 Nov 2012 10:22:20 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Atlanta airport workers egg Saints ]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
Recently in the Falcons-Saints rivalry, one New Orleans player pretended to urinate on the Falcons logo, Atlanta receiver Roddy White frequently talked about his hatred for the Saints team and its city (except for the food), and after the Saints victory earlier this month, White said, &ldquo;It's not like they came out here and won a game today. I think we kind of gave it to them.&rdquo;
The two teams clearly don't enjoy the other's company.
And apparently that extends to the airport workers in Atlanta.
Witness the following tweet from backup Chase Daniel -- who traveled with his team Wednesday to Atlanta in preparation for Thursday's game. 

Wow, as we're boarding buses on the Tarmac @ Atlanta airport, we start getting eggs thrown @ us by airport workers! Guess they do hate us!
&mdash; Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) November 29, 2012


Tight end Jimmy Graham also noticed the fowl vandalism.

Bus just got egged after landing in ATL by the ramp workers. Classy! "RISE Up" smh
&mdash; Jimmy Graham (@TheJimmyGraham) November 29, 2012


So, that's kind of cool, right? A rivalry that extends all the way to the airport tarmac.
But here's hoping the person who actually had to clean the buses afterward wasn't a big Falcons fans. Otherwise, next time, those airport workers should just use toilet paper to roll the plane after it arrives. For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, and subscribe to our Pick-6 Podcast and NFL newsletter. You can follow Josh Katzowitz on Twitter here: @joshkatzowitz.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:06:19 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
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			<title><![CDATA[Saints Game Preview vs. Falcons: Analysis, prediction, TV info]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[





Saints RB Chris Ivory will need to produce to take pressure off QB Drew Brees in Thursday night's crucial game vs. Atlanta. (US Presswire) 



Saints at Falcons -- Week 13
Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta (indoors, FieldTurf)
When: Thursday, 8:20 p.m. (NFL Network)
Spread: Falcons by 3&frac12; 
2012 records: Saints -- 5-6 (1-2 NFC South); Falcons -- 10-1 (2-1 NFC South)
Past results: Two most recent meetings -- Nov. 11, 2012: Saints 31, Falcons 27 in the Superdome; Dec. 26, 2011: Saints 45, Falcons 16 in the Superdome. Series record: Falcons lead 45-41, but the Saints have won 11 of the last 13.
What matters: Running and stopping the run. The Saints aren't totally out of the playoff picture if they lose, but to have a realistic shot, they would have to win their last four, including a tough trip to the New York Giants next Sunday. In other words, this is pretty close to a must-win game, and the path to victory in the Georgia Dome is on the ground. The Saints match up well with the Falcons because Atlanta has a lousy run defense, giving up 4.8 yards per carry. That's tied for third-worst in the NFL. RBChris Ivory kick-started New Orleans' win in Week 10 with a 56-yard TD run, opening up more room for Drew Brees and the Saints receivers to operate. Conversely, the Saints formerly struggling run defense limited Michael Turner to 15 yards on 13 carries, a typical effort from the Falcons' underperforming back. The Falcons ran 18 times and threw 51 times. If the Saints force a similar imbalance Thursday night, they can pull off the sweep.
Who matters: Ivory -- He's a beast when he has room to run, possessing the best combination of speed, moves and power among Saints backs in the open field. Again, Brees and his receivers will do a lot more damage if the Falcons have to worry constantly about the ground game. Since being activated for the first time against Philadelphia, Ivory is averaging a team-best 5.8 yards on 33 carries. That's nothing new. He also led the team with a 5.2 average in 2010. &hellip; TE Jimmy Graham-- He had a career-high 146 receiving yards on seven catches in the first meeting, including two TDs. Because of a lingering ankle problem and a case of the drops, Graham's third year has not been as spectacular as his breakout second season, but he appears poised for a big finish. The Falcons could not cover him in New Orleans and should not fare better in Atlanta.
Key matchups: CBs Jabari Greer and Patrick Robinson vs. Atlanta WRs Roddy White and Julius Jones. This is the Falcons' biggest edge. Their tall, talented receiver tandem combined for 11 catches and 189 yards in the first meeting, but Greer made a huge play to save the game, deflecting a fourth-down pass for White in the end zone in the last two minutes. The Saints CBs are going to lose this battle more often than they win it Thursday. Greer simply is not playing as well as he did in his first three years in New Orleans, and Robinson is learning on the job in his first season as a full-times starter. But if they make plays at the right time, the Saints can survive. &hellip; Saints zone scheme vs. TE Tony Gonzalez. Gonzalez found holes in the zone to the tune of 122 yards, 11 catches and two TDs in the first meeting. That can't happen again. Roman Harper, who lined up as a hybrid safety/LB in the first meeting, needs to be more aware of him.
Injuries of note: OT Zach Strief is questionable after missing the last three games with a groin injury. The Saints have little depth in the secondary, with Isa Abdul-Quddus (concussion) out and Corey White (knee) questionable.
Inside stuff: All signs point to Strief playing. The Saints have only two other active tackles -- starting LT Jermon Bushrod and Will Robinson. Plus, Robinson said Friday that Strief was &ldquo;good to go&rdquo; and he (Robinson) would &ldquo;play if needed.&rdquo; It's a huge difference. Strief is in his third year as a starter. Robinson, the fourth option at RT, went three years in between his first game (with Washington in 2009) and his second game with New Orleans after Bryce Harris went down with a broken leg last Sunday. Robinson was OK against San Francisco, but the Saints don't want to press their luck.
Connections: Saints MLB Curtis Lofton played for the Falcons from 2008-11 and never missed a game, averaging 133 tackles his final three seasons. &hellip; The Falcons' second-string QB Luke McCown was in training camp with the Saints this year. &hellip; Jones and Saints RB Mark Ingram were teammates at Alabama in 2009 when Ingram won the Heisman Trophy and the Crimson Tide won the national championship.
Stats you should know: The biggest one is the Saints having won 11 of the last 13 in the series. The Falcons are sick of hearing about it and feel like they let the game in New Orleans get away. If the Saints complete the sweep, they will officially be in the Falcons' heads. &hellip; Brees and Matt Ryan combined for 709 passing yards three weeks ago, with Ryan accounting for 411. &hellip; Teams are 2-0 on short weeks this year after playing San Francisco. Green Bay beat Chicago on a Thursday, and Chicago beat Minnesota on a Sunday after a Monday-nighter.
Bulletin board quote: &ldquo;They're like our little brothers. Deep down they know they can't mess with us even when we are having a down year." -- Saints LB Scott Shanle, who was inactive for the first game, to Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports after New Orleans beat Atlanta.
Looking ahead: If the Saints win, they will have some momentum and a long rest before facing Eli Manning and the Giants on Dec. 9. If they lose, the weight of a 5-7 record will make it awfully hard for them to win in New York.
Prediction: Falcons 30, Saints 27
Follow Saints reporter Guerry Smith on Twitter@CBSSaints.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:28:38 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Atlanta's Jacquizz Rodgers emerging as Falcons top back]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[





Falcons RB Jacquizz Rodgers had 152 all-purpose yards and a touchdown in Sunday's win over Tampa Bay. (US Presswire) 



Last Sunday's game against Tampa Bay represented a changing of the guard inAtlanta's backfield. Aside from an early-season blowout against the Chargers, it was the first time all year that Jacquizz Rodgers earned more snaps than Michael Turner, the Falcons primary running back for the better part of the last five seasons.
Although Turner officially started Sunday's game in the backfield, he was quickly replaced with Rodgers who promptly rushed for 32 yards in his first three carries. It remains to be seen whether he has the durability of a three-down back but he certainly showed the ability to make people miss.
Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter seems to be just discovering the weapon he has in Rodgers. The second-year back is capable of running swing passes to both sides, catching passes out of the backfield, or freezing defenders on swift open field jukes. Behind Atlanta's &ldquo;Big Three&rdquo; --Roddy White, Julio Jones, and Tony Gonzalez-- sits Jacquizz Rodgers with 35 catches for 288 yards this season.
Aside from his obvious talent out of the backfield, Rodgers is also the team's kickoff returner, although the logical question should be how much longer would the Falcons subject their top back to the violence and risks inherent to special teams play. Rodgers is averaging 28 yards per return, the 10th most in the NFL and just .7 yards less than the Saints' kick returner RB Darren Sproles.
Rodgers is a lesser-version of Sproles, but the two play nearly identical positions in their respective offenses. The two will go head-to-head Thursday night when the Falcons host the Saints on NFL Network.
The shift in playing time was somewhat stark for Rodgers, but Turner's regression is undeniable. Last season he had eight games of at least 75 yards rushing en-route to an 11-touchdown campaign. Eleven games into the season, he has three games above that mark and has been held to under 50 yards six different times. His legs look tired, his acceleration is slow, and it's becoming increasingly difficult for coach Mike Smith to use him in crucial spots.
The guess is, as the Falcons did against Tampa Bay on Sunday, Atlanta will implement a three-back set with Rodgers, Turner and Jason Snelling (20 catches) out of the backfield. Rodgers' versatility makes him invaluable to the Falcons offense, which occasionally screeches to a halt when it can't run the ball. But with Rodgers, not only can the Falcons pickup yardage on the ground, but the diminutive back (5-6) can easily catch a pass out of the backfield as Atlanta's other receiving threats stretch the defense vertically.
Rodgers isn't an elite hybrid-back, yet but Thursday he'll get a chance to go head-to-head with one.

For more Falcons coverage, follow Mike Singer @CBSFalcons.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:25:39 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Falcons Game Preview vs. Saints: Analysis, prediction, TV info]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
Saints at Falcons-- Week 13
Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta (turf, indoors)
When: Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NFL Network)
Spread: Falcons by 3
Records: Falcons (Overall: 10-1, NFC South: 2-1); Saints (Overall: 5-6, NFC South: 2-1).
Past results: Two most recent meetings -- Nov. 11, 2012: Saints 31, Falcons 27; Dec. 26, 2011: Saints 45, Falcons 16. Series record: Falcons lead the regular season series 45-41, but the Saints have won the past four meetings, including seven of the last eight.
What matters: The Falcons' magic number for clinching the NFC South title is two. Any combination of Atlanta wins and Tampa Bay losses gives the Falcons the title and guarantees them a spot in the postseason. Should the Falcons win, they'd also need Denver to defeat the Buccaneers on Sunday to clinch. At this point, the division is of little concern. Atlanta is focused on claiming the NFC's No. 1 seed to guarantee itself home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Falcons are battling the 49ers (8-2-1) and the Bears (8-3) for the top seed. On a more emotional note, the Saints are unquestionably the Falcons' biggest rival due to the number of close games they've played and their natural proximity. Just three weeks ago, New Orleans ruined the Falcons' bid for an undefeated season. That memory is still fresh and undeniably still stings.
Who matters: If it wasn't crystal clear how much the Falcons missed WR Julio Jones when he was hampered by an ankle injury prior to Sunday's win over Tampa Bay, then it should be pretty obvious now. Five of Jones' six catches against the Buccaneers went for first downs (the other went for nine yards) and no play was bigger than QB Matt Ryan's 80-yard touchdown pass on a simple fly route to Jones on Atlanta's first possession of the second half. Aside from the obvious benefits, his presence alone alters defensive schemes. The Bucs were willing to test Jones' &ldquo;injured&rdquo; ankle -- he was a game time decision -- with single coverage and he in turn had a career-high 147 yards. The only reason that Jones didn't crack 100 yards three weeks ago against the Saints was because Atlanta's other two top receivers, Tony Gonzalez (122) and Roddy White (114), each cracked the century mark themselves.
Key Matchups: The Saints' secondary is crucial to keeping Falcons receivers at bay. It should come as no surprise that four of the Saints' top five tacklers from their previous meeting were defensive backs. Ryan was essentially forced to throw it 52 times for 408 yards because of the Falcons' pathetic rushing attack. Against Tampa Bay, there was a significant changing of the guard in the Falcons backfield. Regular starter Michael Turner was relegated to 38 percent of the offensive snaps while upstart RB Jacquizz Rodgers was in for 52 percent of Atlanta's plays. Rodgers is a significant upgrade to Turner, who's often tackled at or behind the line of scrimmage. Rodgers showed his versatile potential against the Bucs with 10 rushes for 49 yards and a score but also two catches for 30 yards out of the backfield. It's a new offensive look that puts more pressure on the Saints' leading-tackler LB Curtis Lofton (92). &hellip; Saints QB Drew Brees was given way too much time in the pocket in their last meeting and the Falcons will need to generate more pressure from ends John Abraham and Kroy Biermann along the edges.
Injuries of note: Playing on a short week is never good for a banged up team, but that's the situation facing the Falcons. Defensive tackle Peria Jerry missed Sunday's game vs. Tampa Bay and didn't participate in the team's walkthrough on Monday as he was dealing with an ankle injury. Cornerback Asante Samuel re-aggravated a shoulder injury that's plagued him for two weeks but he played through it and helped defend the Bucs' last-second Hail Mary attempt. He didn't participate in the team's walkthrough, either.
Inside stuff: Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon had six tackles in his return from an ankle injury after missing the Falcons' past three games. He was instrumental in shoring up the team's tackling woes. Atlanta limited Bucs RB Doug Martin to his lowest yards per carry (2.4) of the season and the longest run the Falcons conceded was 10 yards. No one has to remind the Atlanta defenders of Saints' RB Chris Ivory's 56-yard touchdown run, where he broke four tackles en route to the end zone. Weatherspoon could be huge in containing their rush attack.
Connections: Saints LB Lofton was drafted by the Falcons in 2008 but chose to leave Atlanta this past offseason in search of &ldquo;true fans&rdquo; and a team with a chance at a Super Bowl.
Record watch: Gonzalez passed James Lofton for seventh on the NFL's all-time receiving yards list last Sunday. Gonzalez had 62 yards last week to increase his career total to 14,050. Former Colts WR Marvin Harrison is next on the list with 14,580.  
Stat you should know: The Falcons were plus-10 in turnover margin throughout the first three weeks of the season. Since then, Atlanta is minus-seven in turnover margin and hasn't had a positive turnover margin once.
Second stat you should know: Turner's 3-yard touchdown run last weekend gave him six for the season and 57 for his career, tying him with former wideout Terance Mathis for most all-time in Falcons history.
Looking ahead: The Falcons travel to Carolina on Sunday, Dec. 9.
Prediction: Falcons 34, Saints 28For more Falcons coverage, follow Mike Singer @CBSFalcons.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 27 Nov 2012 13:07:26 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[NFL Playoff Picture Scenarios -- Week 13]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[

I hope you all had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving! It seems the division leaders are gobbling up the competition this year (sorry!) as NFL Week 12 brought a little more clarity to the playoff picture. This is first time in memory that four division leaders in a conference (AFC)have a minimum of three-game leads. The NFC is not much closer with only one division within a game (NFC North) and two others that are wide spreads in the NFC West (2.5-game lead for SF) and NFC South (four-game lead for Atlanta).
These wide division gaps will lead to division titles being clinched earlier than normal but will also lead to a murky wild card playoff picture. Also, due to the records of the wild card contenders being worse than normal, we are seeing more teams alive for the playoff race this year. So far, we have only eliminated the 1-10 Kansas City Chiefs from playoff contention, leaving 31 teams in the playoff hunt. That's the largest number of teams in playoff contention with five games to play sincethe 2007 season.
So we look ahead to Week 13 and how teams can lock up playoff positions. We're heavy on division clinching scenarios for this time of year due to the AFC leader positioning, but we have some playoff berth clinching situations to examine as well.



NFL playoff picture analysis


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Playoff picture standings
Super Bowl XLVII:Sunday, Feb. 3 on CBS




2012 NFL Week 12




Sherman saga takes another twist
Judgements:  49ers leaning on defense, not QBs
Freeman: Players need to break silence about Suh
Prisco:  Where will Chiefs find a franchise QB?
La Canfora: Raiders are a complete mess
Brinson: Sorting the Sunday Pile
No suspension for Suh | Prisco takes a closer look
Grades: Team-by-team | Grading rookies
The week that was ... in tweets
Scores, stats, recaps | News, notes | Injuries





Let's start in the AFC:
- New England can clinch the AFC East division title with a WIN at Miami. That's all they need as the win would give the Patriots a 5-0 division record and would give them at least a split in their season series against the Dolphins.No team in the division could beat New England at 9-7 as they would either have a head-to-head advantage (New England swept Buffalo and the N.Y. Jets) or would beatMiami on division record.
- Baltimore can clinch the AFC North division title with a WIN against Pittsburgh +Cincinnati loss. A win getsBaltimore to 10-6 at worst and Pittsburgh to 10-6 at best and the Ravens would own a 5-0 division record and a season sweep of the Steelers. If you combine that with a Cincinnati loss this week which would get the Bengals to 10-6 at best, the Ravens would have at least a split with Cincinnati and would beat them on division record (5-1 to 3-3). Also, there can't be a three-way tie with Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati at 10-6 in this scenario because Pittsburgh and Cincy play each other on Week 16.
- If the Ravens don't clinch a division title this week, Baltimore can clinch a playoff berth with EITHER a WIN OR a TIE + Cincinnati loss + Miami loss or tie. The win gets the Ravens in the playoffs as they would get to 10-6 at worst and only eight teams can get there, so we need to eliminate two teams to clinch a playoff berth. The win puts Pittsburgh behind Baltimore for good, as we saw above with the season sweep.Miami is another team that can get to 10-6 but they can't beat Baltimore in any tiebreaker as they don't play head-to-head, and Baltimore would have a 9-3 conference record while Miami is 7-5 at best.We must also consider if Miami can win the East and the possibility of New England beating Baltimore in a Wild Card tiebreaker. Well, the Ravens beat the Patriots in Week 3 so that hurts those chances, and if we consider a three-way tie between New England, Baltimore and Indianapolis, the Patriots would need to win that tiebreaker to negate the loss to the Ravens. However, if we get each team to 9-3 in the conferencein an effort to have New England win a tiebreaker on strength of victory, that gets Indianapolis to 11-5 overall which kills the three-team tie. If Indy is at 10-6 that would get them to 8-4 at best in conference record, thus leaving Baltimore vs. New England, and we know Baltimore wins that head-to-head. On the TIE scenario leaving Baltimore at 9-6-1 at worst, we need a Cincinnati loss as the Baltimore tie keeps Pittsburgh alive to beat the Ravens. We also need a Miami loss or tie as the loss would keep the Dolphins from catching Baltimore or a tie would create a potential tiebreaker that Miami cannot win over Baltimore (same reasons as above at 10-6).
- Denver can clinch the AFC West division title with EITHER a WIN OR a TIE + San Diego loss or tie ORSan Diego loss. Denver can't lose a two-team tie with San Diego due to their head-to-head sweep of the Chargers. If Denver ties withOakland at 8-8, Denver would win the tiebreaker on common games record (7-5 to 6-6). Also, Oakland getting to 8-8 would give San Diego its 8th loss. In the case of a three-way tie at 8-8, Denver would win the tiebreaker on head-to-head record as the Broncos would be 3-1 vs. 2-2 for Oakland and 1-3 for San Diego.
- The Texans cannot clinch a division title this week, but Houston can clinch a playoff berth with EITHER a WIN or TIE OR Miami loss or tie + Cincinnati loss or tie OR Miami loss or tie + Pittsburgh loss or tie OR Cincinnati loss + Pittsburgh loss. Houston can't clinch the division since Indianapolis could still sweep the Texans with wins in Week 15 and 17. A Texans win or tie gets them into the top seven in the AFC, and with Cincinnati and Pittsburgh playing each other in Week 16 gets Houston a playoff spot. If Houston does not win, they basically need to get rid of two of these three teams: Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Miami. Since Baltimore would win any head-to-head tie with either Pittsburgh, Cincy or Miami, a Miami loss or tie (gets rid of Miami) combined with either a Steelers or Bengalsloss (creates a tie with Baltimore for one of those teams)or tie (creates a situation where tying team needs to win out including win in the PIT-CIN game) gets the Ravens in the playoffs.If Miami wins, we would need both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh to lose to get the Ravens in as Miami could beat them to a wild card, and if either Cincinnati or Pittsburgh wins or ties, they could win out to beat the Ravens to a wild card.
How about some NFC fun?
- Atlanta can clinch the NFC South division title with EITHER a WIN + Tampa Bay loss or tie OR a TIE + Tampa Bay loss. The Atlanta win over New Orleanswould get them to 11-5 at worst, butsince Tampa Bay could still catch the Falcons at 11-5 and beat them in a tiebreaker on division record (4-2 to 3-3) Atlanta would need a Buccaneer loss or tie to clinch. In the case of an Atlanta tie they would simply need Tampa Bay to lose so that the Bucs couldn't catch them in overall record.
- If Atlanta wins or ties but Tampa Bay wins, the Falcons can clinch a playoff berth withEITHER a WIN + Seattle loss or tie OR a TIE +Seattle loss + Minnesota loss.If Atlanta wins to get to 11-5 at worstand we assume Tampa Bay goes on to win the division, we basically need to get rid of 2 of Green Bay, Minnesota and Seattle to lock up a playoff spot for the Falcons. Since Atlanta would only be 7-5 in the conference in this scenario, they could still lose to Minnesota if the Vikings win out.However, the Vikings winning out means two losses for Green Bay, which would mean at least one of those teams couldn't catch Atlanta at 11-5. So if we get a Seattle loss or tie (the Seahawks can beat the Falcons at 11-5 on conference record), that combined with the Minnesota-Green Bay scenario gets the Falcons in the playoffs. If Atlanta TIES, they still need to get rid of two of those same three teams and would need a Seattle loss to avoid a tie, and a Minnesota loss because the Vikings could tie Green Bay and then win out. Which would leave Atlanta, Minnesota and Green Bay at 10-5-1, and Atlanta would lose out in all cases based on conference record.
Those are the clinching scenarios for this week. Fire away with any questions you may have. I'll take a look at other teams vying for playoff spots later in the week.


PLAYOFF PICTURE SCENARIOS: WEEK 13
AFCHOUSTON TEXANSHouston can clinch a playoff berth with:1) HOU win or tie OR2) MIA loss or tie + PIT loss or tie OR3) MIA loss or tie + CIN loss or tie OR4) PIT loss + CIN lossBALTIMORE RAVENSBaltimore can clinch the AFC North division with:1) BAL win + CIN lossBaltimore can clinch a playoff berth with:1) BAL win OR2) BAL tie + CIN loss + MIA loss or tieNEW ENGLAND PATRIOTSNew England can clinch the AFC East division with:1) NE win
DENVER BRONCOSDenver can clinch the AFC West division with:1) DEN win OR2) DEN tie + SD loss or tie OR
3) SD lossNFCATLANTA FALCONSAtlanta can clinch the NFC South division with:1) ATL win + TB loss or tie OR2) ATL tie + TB lossAtlanta can clinch a playoff berth with:1) ATL win + SEA loss or tie OR2) ATL tie + SEA loss + MIN loss
Follow Joe Ferreira on Twitter: @JoeNFL

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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 27 Nov 2012 01:15:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Week 12 playoff picture projections]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[

Editor's note: After each week of the NFL regular season, Pete Prisco will update his predictions for which teams will make the playoffs, ranked in order by seed.Playoff picture projections: Week 12AFC1. Houston Texans (South champion)2. New England Patriots (East champion)3. Baltimore Ravens (North champion)4. Denver Broncos (West champion)5. Indianapolis Colts (wild card No. 1)6. Cincinnati Bengals (wild card No. 2)NFC 1. Atlanta Falcons (South champion)2. San Francisco 49ers (West champion)3. New York Giants (East champion)4. Green Bay Packers (North champion)5. Chicago Bears (wild card No. 1)6. Seattle Seahawks (wild card No. 2)Keep an eye on the Bengals. Here they come. They are playing as well as any team in their division, Ravens included. It will be a tough game Sunday at San Diego, but they have a real chance to be a playoff team.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 27 Nov 2012 00:15:57 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Monday Musings: Where do the Chiefs find their franchise QB? ]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[

I feel bad for the Kansas City Chiefs. As I continually watch their horrible quarterback play, it's likely they will have the first overall pick with few options to fix that position at the top of the draft.

Right now, and the evaluation process is early, there isn't a franchise passer waiting for them in the draft.

The Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins landed their franchise passers last spring in Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. Barring injury, they won't have to worry about that position for a decade.

The Chiefs? What are their options if they have the first overall pick next spring?
USC's Matt Barkley hasn't played as well as expected. West Virginia's Geno Smith became the chic pick early, but is he a system quarterback? Oklahoma's Landry Jones has put up big numbers, but scouts have cooled on him.

What are the Chiefs to do?

And don't dare say they need to acquire somebody's backup. Haven't they done that already with Matt Cassel? How did that work out?

Somewhere in this draft they have to find a passer. Even if it's in the second round, which the Cincinnati Bengals did with Andy Dalton, who is clearly that team's franchise passer.




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Mike Freeman NFL players must break their silence about Suh's antics 





Clark Judge  Niners' QB swap risky, but defense leaves little to chance




2012 NFL Week 12




Brinson: Sorting the Sunday Pile
Grades: Team-by-team | Grading rookies
The week that was ... in tweets
Postseason: Playoff picture | Tiebreakers
Scores, stats, recaps | News, notes | Injuries




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A couple of intriguing guys in that category are Georgia's Aaron Murray and North Carolina State's Mike Glennon. I like both of them from what I've seen off the TV.

But there's a long way to go in the process. Even so, I doubt a real franchise passer emerges, which makes me feel sorry for the Chiefs every time I see Brady Quinn or Matt Cassel taking snaps.


-- I love how after one start as the supposed guy in San Francisco, against one of the league's worst defenses, the cry around this league is this: Jim Harbaugh made the right decision going to Colin Kaerpernick. Please let it play out. Let's not forget he had 14 points from the defense, and he didn't exactly light it up through the air. His big play was a short pass that Mario Manningham turned into a big play. Did he do some good things? Yes. And I like the kid. But claiming it's the right move after one game is a rush to judgment.

--The Bengals are better off with Andy Dalton than they would be with Carson Palmer for the long run. That played out Sunday in Cincinnati. But it's pretty damn hard to play quarterback from behind all the time. The Raiders defense is horrible. Palmer has to deal with that on a consistent basis.

--When the Colts drafted receiver-return man T.Y. Hilton in the third round last April, some scouts wondered if it wasn't too high for the 5-foot-8 receiver. But Colts general manager Ryan Grigson loved the kid's speed. Now we know why. He can fly. He returned a punt for a touchdown against the Billson Sunday and caught an 8-yard touchdown pass. Speed kills. He has it.

--Still want Charlie Batch to play, Steelers fans? He couldn't even reach Mike Wallace on a deep ball that would have been a big play against the Browns. He didn't lose the game, the turnovers did, but he isn't very good. And age does matter. This is a guy who handed off to Barry Sanders.

--I am not a fan of slow, plodding backs. Michael Turner fits that description to perfection He had 17 yards on 13 carries against Tampa. The Falcons are a fast team that plays on a fast track with a slow back. That makes no sense. It appears the Falcons are moving more toward Jacquizz Rodgers, and that's the right thing to do.

--Falcons corner Asante Samuel takes a lot of crap for not tackling. But he showed some toughness playing through a shoulder injury against the Bucs. He appeared to hurt it again late on the final Hail Mary of the game. Dunta Robinson, the team's other corner, left with a concussion. It will be interesting to see if they can get back for Thursday's game against the Saints.

--The fourth-and-29 play was inexcusable for the Chargers. The angles some of the defenders took were horrible. Ray Rice made them pay for it with a first down, and the Chargers ended up losing in overtime. It also looked like some of the players trailing the play let up when it looked like he would be tackled. Terrible.

--One more note on the play: There is no way he got the first down. The spot was terrible. Why was it? The officials weren't in position to make a proper spot. So essentially, the regular officials cost the Chargers the game. Where is the outrage as with the replacement officials doing it in the Seattle-Green Bay game?

--Chad Henne had a nice first start for the Jaguars. He looked comfortable getting the ball out. The Jaguars receivers made some plays too. They look happy to have him in there, rather than Blaine Gabbert. If Henne plays well the rest of the season, he will be the starter heading into 2013. What's that mean for Gabbert? Time to sit and learn. He's young. He has time.

--If the Bears lose guards Lance Louis and Chris Spencer for any length of time, and it looks like they might, Jay Cutler might want to up his insurance policy. The Bears line is so-so at best when they're in the lineup. Can you imagine it now?

--The hubbub over the Red Flag Rule, now known as the Jim Schwartz rule, is unreal. Why should the league change the rule during the season? How about this: Know the rules, and follow them. Is it a stupid rule? You bet. But coaches know what the rules are, and the officials warn them about it before each game. That one is on Schwartz, and at least he owned up to it.

--Ndamukong Suh: Overrated and dirty. Concentrate more on playing football, kid, rather than being a dirty player. The more you look at his kick to the groin of Texans quarterback Matt Schaub last Thursday, the more I think it was intentional. He landed on his head, and his foot was moving in that direction, but he gave it one last kick to reach the groin. The Texans certainly thought it was intentional.


--Now we know why the Rams were fine with drafting corner Janoris Jenkins, even though he had a laundry list of problems in college. The kid can play. He had two interception returns for a touchdown against the Cardinals. But remember, two weeks ago he was suspended for the 49ers game for violating team rules. Be smart, Janoris. You have a real chance to be a special player.

--So Ray Lewis might be able to play again? Do the Ravens need him? They've been much better on defense without him. Nobody wants to say it, so I will. He wasn't very good when he played this season. There, I said it.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Arizona Cardinals</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 26 Nov 2012 11:08:31 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Sorting the Sunday Pile, Week 12: Is anyone scared of the Falcons?]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
Is anyone afraid of the Falcons?  Another close win on Sunday -- this time 24-23 over the Bucs -- Atlanta is tied for the best record in football at 10-1. But is anyone afraid of them? I ask that as someone who actually picked them to win the Super Bowl too.
Because I'm not sure anyone should be. OK, let me rephrase that. Atlanta's a good team and plenty scary. But they're not beating the mess out of opponents like a 10-win November team should be.
They're now an improbable 7-1 in one-score games and haven't been able to really crank up the gas against any inferior opponents. Carolina, Oakland and Arizona (combined 9-23 this year) kept things close against the Falcons, something that shouldn't happen, particularly at home.
Sunday's win over the Buccaneers was similar in terms of their inability to harness their full talent and beat up on a team. Tampa's secondary is terrible and even though Matt Ryan finished with 353 passing yards and only six incompletions, it certainly felt like Atlanta could've taken more shots down the field. Why try and run against a good rush defense when heaving it down the field -- your best trait -- exposes your opponent's biggest weakness?
And here's a better question: why isn't Jacquizz Rodgers getting more run? I get that Michael Turner's been their bellcow and he's the guy who gets all the money, but Rodgers needs to go more often. Rodgers (10 carries for 49 yards) outrushed Turner (13 carries for 17 yards) Sunday and it's quite clear that when he's on the field Atlanta is more dangerous on offense. Turner doesn't have to completely disappear, but if Atlanta wants to be one of those scary teams in the playoffs, flipping the usage for Rodgers and Turner might very well be the answer.
Washington Back in the Wild-Card Race?The NFC wild-card race should be fun to watch. Even after getting hammered on Sunday night, I'd expect the Packers to pick up the first seed there, assuming they can sweep the Vikings. Seattle, with three home games left, is a good bet for the second spot. But how about the Redskins as a sleeper to sneak in?
They have a quarterback in Robert Griffin III who can keep them in any game. They're warming up at the right time, winning two-straight division games out of the bye. They have a decent schedule with the Giants, Ravens, Browns, Eagles and Cowboys on tap. And most importantly, they have tiebreakers: the Skins beat the Vikings and Buccaneers head-to-head.
With Seattle, Tampa Bay, Minnesota and New Orleans all losing on Sunday, things are suddenly kind of sneakily opening up for Washington to make a run. Let's say they win four of their last five and finish 9-7.
Tampa plays at Denver, New Orleans and Atlanta. Anything above 8-8 would be impressive. The Vikings have the Packers twice, the Texans and the Bears. Is 7-9 out of the question? Seattle could lose two games on the road and then at home to San Francisco to finish 9-7 with a 6-6 conference record. Even with a loss to the Giants, closing out with wins over Philly and Dallas would get Washington to 7-5 in the conference.
It's a long shot. I admit as much. But it's worth noting as we prep for the stretch run.
Or good one anyway -- there are a group of teams (Seattle, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, New Orleans, Washington, Dallas) bunched up at either 6-5 or 5-6 and prepared to duel it out for the last spot, with Green Bay (7-4) holding a slight advantage.
But look at that list of teams again because they all lost on Sunday. Seattle choked in Miami, Minnesota got hammered by the Bears, Tampa Bay couldn't stop Matt Ryan from marching late and the Saints were overpowered by the 49ers defense. Washington's the only team that made up any ground this week.
Eli-te, AgainOf course, it would be totally irresponsible to get on the Redskins hype train without also pointing out that the Giants have a shot to basically wrap up the NFC East when they head to Washington in Week 13.
Oh yes, and that the Giants team that showed up in New York on Sunday night and whipped the Packers 38-10 sure did look like the Giants team that tends to get insanely hot after Thanksgiving and storm into the playoffs.
When Eli Manning is clicking and they're running the ball efficiently and the defense is disrupting quarterbacks, the Giants are a tough team to beat. They did all those things on Sunday night and now they're a game better at 7-4 than their pace through 12 weeks last season. As the only NFC East team above .500, they don't have a ton of competition in the division at the moment.
Wrapping up the Blaine Gabbert Era Boy, that really got out of hand fast didn't it? Gabbert's got to be done in Jacksonville, what with Chad Henne actually making Jacksonville look competitive the last two weeks. Even if they lose out, Henne's clearly a better option.
This is a sad indictment of Gabbert and perhaps, more importantly, Mike Mularkey. Henne looked horrible in relief against the Colts earlier in the season, but how did Mularkey not figure out that Henne gave them a better shot to win before his hand was forced in Week 11?
It's crazy to think that Jacksonville might already be moving on from their 2011 first-round pick ... but Jacksonville might be moving on from their 2011 first-round pick. Henne's not anyone special, but he's at least making 2012 first-round pick Justin Blackmon look good.
If it's my billions invested in that franchise, I'm going for a full-blown reboot, grabbing a quarterback with upside in the third round (like, you know, Russell Wilson, who the Jaguars passed on in order to take punter Bryan Anger) and rebuilding around other pieces for 2012.
The Niners On the Other Hand ... We're only two games into the Colin Kaepernick Era in San Francisco, and we can't read too much into what he's done, even if he's undefeated. Teams don't have a ton of film on the 49ers new starter, San Francisco stunned the Bears with a great gameplan and New Orleans is bad on offense.
But if the first two games are a barometer for what Kaepernick could do as a starter, the 49ers just became terrifying.
The one thing they've missed is a quarterback who can make their passing game dynamic. And so far, Kaepernick looks like that guy. He can make throws that Alex Smith can't, and Jim Harbaugh will let him make those throws. The 49ers aren't one-dimensional with Kaepernick under center, and Kaepernick's ability to run and throw only serves to make him more dangerous.
Whether it's him or Smith under center down the stretch is probably irrelevant for the 49ers playoff chances. They're going to win that division after today. What's going to be fascinating will be a pair of games in the middle of December: at New England and at Seattle. Those games are back-to-back and they'll test Kaepernick's mettle in two different and extremely difficult sets of circumstances.
In a month we'll have a much better idea of whether or not Harbaugh made the right move benching Smith for Kaepernick (assuming he continues to do so). But right now it's only fair to give Harbaugh the benefit of the doubt in just about anything he does when it comes to coaching. His latest move is looking pretty brilliant in terms of immediate dividends.
Appreciating the Mannings It's pretty easy to think about the NFL and think about the Manning family. Peyton Manning is a sure-fire Hall of Famer and Eli Manning reminded us on Sunday night why counting him out is just dumb.
Father Archie is the third wheel here, but he still managed to throw 125 touchdown passes in his career. And that means, with Eli crossing the 200-TD mark on Sunday night, the Manning family now has a whopping 750 touchdown passes in the NFL.
That's an insane amount -- more than the Panthers, Jaguars and Texans, to name a few, have in their franchise history -- and it's just your latest reminder of how good the Manning family is at slinging the rock around.
And you know what's even crazier about their whole milestone-ish afternoon? On Sunday Eli surpassed CBS Sports own Phil Simms for most touchdown passes by a Giants quarterback, and Peyton surpassed the Broncos own John Elway for second-most wins by a quarterback with 149. And he did it on the same day where he managed to go over 25 touchdown passes and 3,000 yards for the 14th time in his career.
Just a remarkable family.
November Pain "Don't want to spend too much time focusing on the Chiefs because a) they stink and b) I'm writing up the epitaph for their 2012 season. But they're now the first officially eliminated team of 2012 and it's worth noting that they scored all of two touchdowns in November. Like, the whole month!
Lock 'em in for the first overall pick of the draft with the loser of Monday night's game and the Jaguars the only serious competition.
Black Monday? Sunday's spree of college firings was a harsh reminder exactly what time of the year it is. Everyone with the Chiefs should fear for their jobs and it's really really difficult to imagine Norv Turner making it through the year if San Diego keeps this up.
The Bolts have now lost six of their last seven, with their lone win coming against the Chiefs. Sunday's debacle was perhaps the most Norv loss of Norv's tenure, as the Chargers gave up a 4th-and-29 (29!) to Ray Rice and the Ravens and managed to give it up in overtime.
Were they victims of a terrible spot by the officials? Absolutely. But 4th-and-29! That game was over. They're still technically alive in the playoff hunt at 4-7 and five "meh" teams left on the schedule. But they've only beaten Oakland, Kansas City and Tennessee. They're much worse than anyone expects.
GIF O' THE WEEK
It was a disappointing day, GIF-wise. But this shot of tiny Darren Sproles flipping giant Aldon Smith over his back is just pure-tee amazing.

WORTH 1,000 WORDS

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			<category>Arizona Cardinals</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:22:51 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
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			<title><![CDATA[Seahawks CBs Richard Sherman, Brandon Browner face 4-game suspensions]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[





Sherman insists he's innocent (AP) 



One of the big reasons the Seahawks are still in the playoff hunt this year is because their defense ranks fifth in the NFL. One of the reasons their defense is so good is because their secondary is one of the best units in the league.
But that defense is in danger of losing its cornerbacks, Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner, to four-game suspensions for violating the league's rule on performance-enhancing drugs, CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora has confirmed. 
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Sherman and Browner insist they are innocent and are appealing the suspensions. Schefter writes that those appeals could occur this week.
More from USA Today's Mike Garafolo:

Btw, not that this will shock anybody, but I'm told it was Adderall for Sherman and Browner.
&mdash; Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) November 25, 2012


Adderall continues to play a big role in taking down key players. Last week, Falcons reserve lineman Joe Hawley accepted his four-game suspension for using it, and Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib and Buccaneers cornerback Eric Wright also have tested positive for Adderall this season.
If Sherman and Browner both lose their appeals, Marcus Trufant and Walter Thurmond likely would replace them at the cornerback spots for Seattle. And the Seahawks defense probably wouldn't remain in the top five for much longer. For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, and subscribe to our Pick-6 Podcast and NFL newsletter. You can follow Josh Katzowitz on Twitter here: @joshkatzowitz.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Sun, 25 Nov 2012 18:53:31 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
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			<title><![CDATA[Falcons Report Card: Another fourth-quarter comeback improves record to 10-1]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
The Falcons managed to dig themselves out of yet another second-half deficit to win 24-23 in Tampa Bay on Sunday. They overcame two Matt Ryan turnovers in Atlanta territory, two dropped interceptions, two missed field goals, and numerous injuries to key defensive players to improve to 10-1 and give themselves a four-game division lead with five games to play. It's the seventh game this season the Falcons have won by seven points or less, the most in the NFL, according to ESPN stats and info.
Offense: A-
Ryan's staggering offensive numbers continue to pile up. He threw for 353 yards -- his fourth-straight 300-plus yard game -- and connected with WR Julio Jones on an 80-yard touchdown pass for the Falcons' longest play of the year. Jones finished with a career-high 147 yards on six catches, giving the Falcons their seventh 100-yard receiver in the past five games since the bye week. RB Jacquizz Rodgers may have assumed the role of the Falcons' top back with 10 rushes for 49 yards and a score and two receptions for 30 yards. Michael Turner, who had the go-ahead touchdown, had just 17 yards. Previous game's grade: D+
Defense: B+
The Falcons defense settled down after a 10-play, 88-yard drive on the Bucs' opening series, which saw RB Doug Martin rush for 25 yards and a touchdown. Martin, who scored again in the fourth quarter, had just 25 more rushing yards the rest of the day, finishing with his second-lowest total of the season. The defense battled through injuries in both its defensive line and secondary and held Tampa Bay to two field goals after turnovers in Atlanta's territory. Asante Samuel did drop two potential interceptions, though. Previous game's grade: A-
Special teams: C-
For the first time all season, K Matt Bryant looked unsteady. He shanked a 22-yard kick wide left just before halftime and then missed a late-game 48-yard attempt that would've given Atlanta a four-point lead. He's now 26 for 31 this season. Rodgers added to his outstanding overall day with a 43-yard kickoff return following the Bucs' last field goal in the fourth quarter. Previous game's grade: B-
Coaching: B+
Mike Smith managed the game well, using all three timeouts at various points during Atlanta's final drive in the first half, but Bryant just missed the kick that would have broken the 10-10 tie. The Falcons still rely too much on Turner in short-yardage sets and need to find a niche for him within the offense because right now there isn't one. Rodgers is quicker, more elusive, and is a better pass-catcher than Turner will ever be. Credit the staff for recognizing that and making Rodgers a bigger part of the offensive game plan. Previous game's grade: D
For more Falcons coverage, follow Mike Singer @CBSFalcons.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Sun, 25 Nov 2012 18:27:59 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Postgame analysis: Falcons 24, Buccaneers 23]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
Atlanta all but wrapped up the NFC South on Sunday, taking advantage of another strong outing from QB Matt Ryan to eke out a 24-23 win at Tampa Bay.
Ryan threw for 353 yards and a touchdown. He and the Falcons (10-1, 2-1 NFC South), particularly WR Julio Jones, took advantage of the Buccaneers' pass defense, statistically the NFL's worst and depleted at cornerback due to injuries. Jones was dominant, winning a matchup with rookie CB Leonard Johnson.
For the Bucs, it was a near win in a game that showed just how far they have come under first-year coach Greg Schiano. But that won't likely be much consolation for a team that missed multiple opportunities to earn its fifth win in a row.
Tampa Bay (6-5, 2-2 NFC South)squandered two drives that started inside the Atlanta 40-yard line, getting only field goals on both. Kicker Connor Barth missed a 56-yarder late in the game that would have given the Bucs the lead. Instead, Atlanta was able to almost completely run out the clock.
When the game turned: It looked like the Bucs had all the momentum early in the fourth quarter. They scored a touchdown on a 1-yard rush by RB Doug Martin on the first play of the period. Atlanta's ensuing possession ended when Ryan was sacked by CB E.J. Biggers, who blindsided the Falcons' QB and forced a fumble that Tampa Bay recovered in the Atlanta 36-yard line.
But the Bucs' offense couldn't completely take advantage. Three plays gained only six yards, and the team had to settle for a 48-yard field goal from Barth. That made it 23-17.
Atlanta needed only six plays to go 64 yards on its next drive -- helped by a controversial defensive holding penalty in the end zone on Tampa Bay S Ahmad Black on a third down play -- and RB Michael Turner's 3-yard TD rush proved to be the winning score.
Highlight moments:

A bit of trickery from the Bucs late in the second quarter: QB Josh Freeman threw what appeared to be a simple screen pass to WR Mike Williams. But Williams then pulled the ball up and threw it downfield to an open Vincent Jackson for a 28-yard gain to the Atlanta 3-yard line. But Tampa Bay couldn't get in the end zone and settled for a short Barth field goal.


Jones' 80-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. His status wasn't clear coming into the game because of an ankle injury, but he showed on this play that he's just fine. It was a straight "fly" pattern that saw him matched up one-on-one with CB Johnson. Johnson was in good position but couldn't match Jones' speed. Ryan put the ball on the mark, and Jones did the rest.


The defensive holding penalty on Tampa Bay's Ahmad Black in the final minutes. It looked as though Ryan was throwing the ball away, as the pass was well over the head of Atlanta's Harry Douglas. Black was incredulous when the flag came out, and it appeared he had a legitimate argument.


Barth's missed field goal with 3:32 to go. It's hard to criticize Barth for missing a 56-yard field goal, especially after he had made his first three tries of the game, but this miss allowed the Falcons to run down the clock instead of trying to reclaim the lead.

Top-shelf performances:

Falcons QB Matt Ryan -- 26 of 32 for 353 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 fumble


Falcons WR Julio Jones -- 6 catches, 147 yards, 1 TD

What they said about the controversial defensive holding penalty that set up Atlanta's game-winning TD:

The Bucs' Ahmad Black, who was flagged, told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times he believed Ryan was throwing the ball out of bounds on the play: "I guess you've got to look at [the receiver] all the time," he said.

Numbers you should know:

With 353 passing yards, Ryan became the first player in Atlanta's franchise history to throw for 300 or more yards in four consecutive games.


The teams went almost the entire first half without an incomplete pass. Ryan's third down pass with less than six minutes to go in the half was picked off by Tampa Bay S Ronde Barber, the first pass of the game that wasn't completed. Three plays later, Freeman threw incomplete for the first pass that wasn't caught by a player on either team.


Tampa Bay RB Martin came into the game leading the NFL in total yards from scrimmage but was held to 63 yards on 21 carries and two receptions. He did add a pair of 1-yard touchdown rushes.

Injury update: Falcons CB Asante Samuel played down the stretch despite being visibly bothered by a shoulder injury.
Going forward: Atlanta -- The Falcons have a four-game lead over the Bucs in the NFC South with only five games to play for each team. Barring an epic collapse from the 10-1 Falcons, the division is theirs. Tampa Bay -- The Bucs are still in the thick of the wild card race but have a reasonably tough stretch run, starting with next week's game at Denver. The Bucs and the Falcons will meet again in Week 17.
For more from Tampa Bay Bucs blogger Patrick Southern, follow @CBSBucs on Twitter.
For more Falcons coverage, follow Mike Singer @CBSFalcons.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/rapid-reports/post/21133228</pheedo:origLink>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Sun, 25 Nov 2012 17:08:38 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[2012 NFL Grades, Week 12: AFC North race is all but over]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
The Steelers still control their destiny when it comes to the playoffs, with a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bengals in their pocket and a current grip on the No. 6 seed in the AFC.
One small problem: this team's not very good without Ben Roethlisberger and the different avenues to get in the postseason are quickly closing up. The AFC North is essentially done; Baltimore's three games up on both Pittsburgh and Cincy. The Ravens play the Steelers next week and a victory puts them four up with four to play. That's good night, Irene.
Which means, with the Colts holding tight at 7-4, the final playoff spot could end up being a battle between the Steelers and Bengals. Coincidentally, those two teams play on December 23!
It's quite possible Roethlisberger is back by then. If he's not, the Steelers are probably doomed anyway, so it might not matter. If he is, they have three games to tread water between now and then. Let's assume a loss to Baltimore in Week 13 and give the Steelers one of the Cowboys/Chargers games. So unless the Bengals, who are rolling right now, go 1-2 in their next three, it's possible that Roethlisberger's absence could cost the Steelers a playoff berth. It certainly cost them a win on Sunday.


TeamGradeAnalysis



Texans 34, Lions 31



B
It's hard not to be impressed with the Texans playing 10 quarters of football in five days and coming out 2-0. On the other hand, their defense looked pretty bad the last two games and they didn't have much of an answer against the Lions on Thursday. Their offense is starting to look even scarier than normal though as Andre Johnson continues to become a monster.



B-
Tough loss for the Lions at home on Thanksgiving, especially when Jim Schwartz gifted the Texans a touchdown by not understanding NFL rules on challenging plays. But their defense did an OK job and Matthew Stafford looked like the 2011 version of himself. Monster games from both Ryan Broyles and Calvin Johnson.


Redskins 38, Cowboys 31



A
Washington came out gangbusters and set the tone against Dallas, with Robert Griffin III heaving a trio of second-quarter touchdown passes. Dallas got back in this game because of some mistakes, but was it really out of hand early thanks to another monster game from RG3. The Skins are now tied with the Cowboys in the standings.



C-
Dallas nearly made this a game with Tony Romo's impressive run down the stretch, but for the most part, they got dominated. A lot of that should fall on Rob Ryan's unit, that got torched badly at home on Thanksgiving. Dez Bryant's absolutely killed it over the last few weeks, but the Cowboys can't get any sort of run game going without DeMarco Murray and that's a major problem.







Patriots 42, Jets 19



A
Mercy. The Patriots just flat-out manhandled the Jets on Thanksgiving, scoring three second-quarter touchdowns in less than a minute of game time. They added three more in that quarter and this game was never close. Tom Brady was mostly outstanding, Steven Ridley ran the ball and the defense scored too. Just a total bloodbath from New England in this one.



F
My wife suggested a grade of "F" for the Jets, because it stands for "Fumble." And frankly it's hard to disagree with her. New York was a trainwreck, they got blown out on national television at home and made a slew of stupid mistakes that offered the Patriots a chance to turn this game into a blowout early. New England obliged.





TeamGradeAnalysis



Falcons 24, Buccaneers 23



B-
The Falcons just refuse to stop winning close games, but it's hard to have a ton of faith in them coming up against a "hot" team in the playoffs. Julio Jones was incredibly impressive and they're starting to use Jacquizz Rodgers more, which is a smart thing. But the defense and some of Matt Ryan's decisions left a bit to be desired.



C+
Tampa Bay very nearly solidified their stunning shot at the playoffs this year, but their porous pass defense continued to cost them. Josh Freeman can get very hot and very cold at times and late in the game was not a good time to get cold.


Bears 28, Vikings 10



C-
Adrian Peterson had another strong day, but only got 18 carries because the Vikings were down early. Losing 25-3 at halftime isn't the recipe for being able to effectively run the ball. The bigger concern is their defense, which only generated a single sack on Jay Cutler; with the weak Bears offensive line, they have to do better. Is Christian Ponder definitely the future here?



B+
Chicago wasn't perfect offensively, but Michael Bush scored twice and Jay Cutler made some incredibly impressive throws. He really might have the best arm in the NFL. Chicago's defense generated some turnovers and, even though they gave up over 100 yards to Adrian Peterson, did a good job of smothering the Vikings.





TeamGradeAnalysis



Bengals 34, Raiders 10



D-
There's not a whole lot going right in Oakland these days: their blowout loss Sunday only added insult to the injury that is the Carson Palmer trade. Palmer did very little and wasn't nearly as good as Andy Dalton, which is awkward. The Raiders defense let BenJarvus Green-Ellis run for 129 yards on 19 carries. Yikes.



B+
A very balanced day from Cincinnati: BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran well, as did Cedric Peerman. Andy Dalton wasn't great percentage-wise, but he threw three touchdowns. The defense smothered Carson Palmer (four sacks), forced him to fumble and picked him off. Pretty sweet payback for his departure.


Browns 20, Steelers 14



F
So ... Charlie Batch is not the answer. He went 20-for-34 and three picks against the Browns. Not that the running game, which produced 49 total yards and SIX FUMBLES, helped him a whole lot. This team simply needs Ben Roethlisberger back in the worst way.



B
It's unclear how the Browns managed just 20 points when the Steelers fumbled a whopping eight times. But a win is a win for Cleveland and even if it required a third-string quarterback to beat the Steelers, they'll take it. Pretty nice days for Brandon Weeden and Trent Richardson against a tough Pittsburgh defense.


Jaguars 24, Titans 19



C
Tennessee's longshot hope of a playoff run took a huge hit, primarily because their defense couldn't do anything to slow down Chad Henne and the Jaguars wideouts. Jacksonville's defense is also bad, which is why it was surprising to see Jake Locker and Chris Johnson not really generate any significant offense for most of the game.



B+
Two weeks into the Chad Henne experiment and things are pretty good ... unless you're Blaine Gabbert anyway. Henne utilized Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon and helped Jacksonville find just the second win of the season. The defense actually produced some turnovers, but nearly let Jake Locker and Co. steal a victory.


Dolphins 24, Seahawks 21



C-
What a brutal loss for the Seahawks. They put themselves in position to win this game and then utterly collapsed late. Their defense can't allow a rookie quarterback with no weapons to march down the field for three scores in the fourth quarter, no matter what time zone they're playing in. Just another strong effort from Russell Wilson. Ho-hum. Stunning that Marshawn Lynch couldn't get going against a previously soft Dolphins rush defense.



C+
This was a very impressive late effort from Miami, who looked dead at several different points. Great job by Ryan Tannehill to move the ball in the fourth quarter and an even better job by the defense to bottle up Marshawn Lynch and the Seahawks rushing attack. Maybe they should fire up the sprinklers every single game when they get down to opponents.


Colts 20, Bills 13



C-
C.J. Spiller as a feature back is working out well, but it took Buffalo too long to realize that. And it took them too long to get going on offense, as they managed just six points on two field goals in the first half. Mario Williams did have three sacks though, so that's nice.



B
Huge, huge, huge win for Indianapolis' playoff chances: even if they're probably not a "true" 7-4 team, that's their record and it's all that matters right now. T.Y. Hilton continues to be an absolute impact rookie and the Colts defense took advantage of some shaky quarterback play from Ryan Fitzpatrick to limit what Buffalo could do on offense.


Broncos 17, Chiefs 9



B
Pretty nice day for Knowshon Moreno, who rushed for 85 yards on 20 carries, even if Peyton Manning was sacked twice. But clearly Willis McGahee makes the Broncos offense more dynamic. I guess this is a nice day for the defense, which didn't allow a touchdown? The Chiefs don't exactly create a great litmus test.



D
No one fails to score touchdowns quite like the Kansas City Chiefs, who hasn't scored more than 20 points in a single game since September. Peyton Hillis attempting a pass on third down sums up this season almost too well.





TeamGradeAnalysis



Ravens 16, Chargers 13



C+
What is the deal with the Ravens offense on the road? A superb game from Torrey Smith, who finished with seven catches for 144 yards. The defense did a good job of limiting Philip Rivers and then when they needed to, the Ravens managed to get the necessary yardage to set themselves up for an overtime squeaker.



C-
Was this the final straw for the Norv Turner Era in San Diego? The Chargers did what they needed to in order to win this game, but gave up 28.5 yards to Ray Rice on a 4th-and-29. They got hosed by the refs, but you can't give up that much real estate. Just an unholy collapse for a team already on the brink of being finished.


49ers 31, Saints 21



A
First of all: what a defensive performance. The 49ers were all over Drew Brees, sacking him five times and intercepting him twice, both of which were returned for touchdowns. Secondly, they did it on the road. And thirdly, hope you enjoyed your job while it lasted Alex Smith. This is Colin Kaepernick's show now and the NFL might should be a little bit worried.



C+
When the other team gets 14 points off your turnovers, it's hard to win. The Saints had a real shot to make a move in the NFC playoff race and, mainly because they couldn't do much to stop the 49ers, fell short on Sunday.


Rams 31, Cardinals 17



B+
Heck of a game for Janoris Jenkins, who returned two picks for scores. Even better game for Steven Jackson, who looked like his old self with some fresh legs later in the year. When you score 31 points and Sam Bradford only has to attempt 17 passes, things have gone exactly the way you want them to.



C-
Ryan Lindley throwing 52 times (!) isn't going to be good for anyone, and it wasn't good for Arizona on Sunday. Lindley threw four picks and though Beanie Wells scored twice, the Cardinals weren't in this game after three quarters. The defense tried to provide opportunities, but mostly let Steven Jackson have his way.





TeamGradeAnalysis



Giants 38, Packers 10



F
Josh Sitton probably put it best: the Giants kicked the Packers asses all the way around. Pete Prisco nailed it when he said Aaron Rodgers would get sacked five times, but he also got picked once and fumbled once as well. New York was all over him all game and the Packers didn't generate much offense outside of a 61-yard first quarter bomb to Jordy Nelson. Every time they got a chance to turn the momentum, Green Bay ended up messing it up somehow.



A
Both Andre Brown and Ahmad Bradshaw ran the ball well, though Brown broke his fibula during the game, Tom Coughlin announced. Eli Manning quieted any concerns about his touchdown-less streak and the Giants salvaged November, with a shot to put the NFC East away next week when they head to Washington. The Giants looked like the team Sunday that stormed the playoffs last year.





TeamGradeAnalysis



Panthers 30, Eagles 22



B+
The game certainly didn't mean much in the standings but it was nice to see Cam Newton play like he did for most of his rookie season. By the time it was over, he had thrown two touchdowns and ran for two more. Meanwhile, the oft-maligned defense recovered two third-quarter fumbles and the kickoff coverage team recovered another late in the fourth.



D+
Rookie quarterback Nick Foles wasn't asked to do much. Rookie running back Bryce Brown was -- and he delivered with 178 rushing yards and 2 TDs. Unfortunately, he also had two third-quarter fumbles. That, combined with another inconsistent defensive effort (not to mention a late fourth-quarter fumble by Brandin Boykin) led to Philly's eighth loss of the season.


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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:30:00 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Falcons inactives vs. Buccaneers]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[Falcons inactives: QB Dominique Davis, WR Tim Toone, S Charles Mitchell, OG Phillipkeith Manley, OG Harland Gunn, DE Lawrence Sidbury, DT Peria Jerry.
For more Falcons coverage, follow Mike Singer @CBSFalcons.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Sun, 25 Nov 2012 11:36:22 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
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			<title><![CDATA[Buccaneers inactives vs. Falcons]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[Buccaneers inactives: CB Eric Wright, RB Michael Smith, S Cody Grimm, LB Najee Goode, C Cody Wallace, WR David Douglas, DT Matthew Masifilo.
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Sun, 25 Nov 2012 11:33:25 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[For the gambler in you, Week 12]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
Each week, we'll take the best -- and cleverest -- odds collected by Bovada for the upcoming week and give our take. This is important stuff, perhaps the most important post you'll read all week. Because if you can't lose money while watching a game in which you have absolutely no effect, what's the point of watching sports at all? 
Note: Home team is listed first in Against the Spread.
Game One: Giants -3.5 vs. Packers Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC



2012 Against The Spread






Overall: 4-5-1
Overall: 5-5


Home: 1-4
Home: 2-3


Away: 3-1-1
Away: 3-2


Last 5 vs. GB: 2-3
Last 5 vs. NYG: 3-2






2012 Team Rankings






Pass offense: 9th
Pass defense: 21st


Rush offense: 13th
Rush defense: 11th


Pass defense: 25th
Pass offense: 11th


Rush defense: 15th
Rush offense: 24th



Verdict: OK, these two teams -- whom we expected so much from this year -- have been slightly disappointing this season. However, I think there's money to be made from this line. With the way Eli Manning has performed in the past five games, it'll be hard for New York to win if he continues his slump. A bye week possibly will have helped set the Giants straight. But so far this season, Green Bay has just been a better team. Forget the spread. Green Bay wins this one straight-up.
Game Two: Buccaneers +1.5 vs. Falcons Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Fox



2012 Against The Spread






Overall: 8-2
Overall: 6-4


Home: 3-2
Home: 2-3


Away: 5-0
Away: 4-1


Last 5 vs. ATL: 2-3
Last 5 vs. TB: 3-2






2012 Team Rankings






Pass offense: 14th
Pass defense: 10th


Rush offense: 9th
Rush defense: 26th


Pass defense: 32nd
Pass offense: 3rd


Rush defense: 1st
Rush offense: 28th



Verdict:By looking at the Buccaneers' team rankings, we can surmise that Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan will have a huge day and running back Michael Turner will do virtually nothing. The Buccaneers have been a surprise this season and are very much in the playoff race. Not much attention has been paid to Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman but he has been a major improvement. He and Doug Martin will help keep this game close, but I like the Falcons to cover on the strength of Ryan's arm.
Game Three (largest spread of week): Chiefs +10.5 vs. Broncos Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS



2012 Against The Spread






Overall: 3-7
Overall: 6-4


Home: 1-4
Home: 3-2


Away: 2-3
Away: 3-2


Last 5 vs. DEN: 2-3
Last 5 vs. KC: 3-2






2012 Team Rankings






Pass offense: 28th
Pass defense: 12th


Rush offense: 4th
Rush defense: 5th


Pass defense: 9th
Pass offense: 5th


Rush defense: 25th
Rush offense: 19th



Verdict: Man, it seems that just about every week we're having to pick a Chiefs game in this slot. But this shouldn't be a tough decision. The Chiefs are terrible this season (and even worse against the spread at home), and I still believe Peyton Manning has turned the Broncos into a Super Bowl contender. Denver will make this an ugly win, winning by two touchdowns at least.
PROP BETS
Ronnie Hillman, Broncos -- total rushing yards Week 12
Over/Under 55&frac12;
With Willis McGahee out for (potentially) the rest of the season with a knee injury, it'll be interesting to see who emerges as the Broncos' new No. 1 running back. Hillman, the team's 2012 third-round draft pick, is certainly a candidate. But with Lance Ball and Knowshon Moreno also hungering for playing time and with the thought that Hillman might not be an every-down back, I'll go under here.
Charlie Batch, Steelers -- total passing yards Week 12
Over/Under 200.5
The Browns allow an average of 248.8 passing yards per game, the 22nd-best mark in the league. And the last time that Batch started a game (in 2011), he threw for 208 yards in an easy Steelers win. All of that adds up to me going over.
Last week: 2-1 against the spread (hit on the 49ers -5.5 vs. the Bears, the Jets +3.5 vs. the Rams; missed on the Texans -15.5 vs. the Jaguars) and3-1 on prop bets. Hit on A.J. Green catching at least one touchdown pass, Nick Foles going under 250.5 passing yards, Byron Leftwich going under 240.5 passing yards; missed on Peyton Manning completing at least 70 percent of his passes.
Overall: 17-16 against the spread; 26-8-1 on prop bets; two props still undecided (Ken Whisenhunt first coach to get fired;Robert Griffin III won't lead the league in completion percentage at the end of the regular season).
For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, and subscribe to our Pick-6 Podcast and NFL newsletter. You can follow Josh Katzowitz on Twitter here: @joshkatzowitz.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 24 Nov 2012 13:21:50 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Buccaneers Game Preview vs. Falcons: Analysis, prediction, TV info]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
Falcons at Buccaneers -- Week 12
Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla. (grass, outside)
When: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Spread: Falcons by 1
Forecast: Sunny, projected kickoff temperature: high 60s
Records: Buccaneers (Overall: 6-4, NFC South: 2-1); Falcons (Overall: 9-1, NFC South: 1-1)
Past results: Two most recent meetings -- Jan. 1, 2012: Falcons 45, Bucs 24; Sept. 25, 2011: Bucs 16, Falcons 13. Series record: Tampa Bay leads 19-18, but Atlanta has won six of the last seven games in the series.
What matters: If anyone is going to catch the Falcons in the NFC South, Tampa Bay simply must win this game. Even after last week's loss to the Saints, Atlanta has a three-game lead in the division over the second-place Bucs. A four-game deficit would almost certainly be too much for anyone to overcome in the final five weeks of the season. A win, though, would get Tampa Bay back within two games -- hardly an insurmountable margin.
Who matters: QB Josh Freeman. With the Bucs' pass defense struggling and the Atlanta passing offense putting together a strong season, Freeman is probably going to have another outstanding game for Tampa Bay to have a chance. He has been one of the NFL's best at the position of late, throwing 16 touchdowns and only three interceptions over the Bucs' last six games. Not coincidentally, the team has a 5-1 record over the same stretch.
Key matchups: The Bucs' offense has been high-flying of late, but its best chance to put up points and yards this week may actually come on the ground. The Falcons are No. 7 in the NFL in pass defense (giving up only 216.3 yards per game) but are 26th in rush defense (130.5 yards per game allowed). Behind the strong running of rookie RB Doug Martin, Tampa Bay has moved to No. 9 in the league in rushing offense (128.9 yards per game).
Injuries of note: Tampa Bay moved WR Arrelious Benn to the injured reserve this week due to knee and shoulder issues. In the secondary, S Ahmad Black and CB Eric Wright both missed practice time this week as well. For the Falcons, CB Asante Samuel didn't practice Thursday due to a shoulder injury that caused him to leave last week's game against the Saints. If Samuel can't play, the Bucs' passing game -- already hot as of late -- would get another boost.
Inside stuff: With all of the Bucs' weapons on offense, one that often gets overlooked is TE Dallas Clark. But it was Clark who caught the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime last week at Carolina, and is going for three games in a row with a scoring grab this week. In the red zone, Freeman has looked for his tight ends often this season, as even reserves Nate Byham and Luke Stocker have caught touchdowns. All told, five of Freeman's 21 touchdown passes have gone to tight ends.
Connections: For a pair of NFC South rivals, there aren't many substantial ties, though Falcons head coach Mike Smith was the offensive coordinator in Jacksonville when Tampa Bay offensive coordinate was a Jaguars' offensive assistant.
Stat you should know: Rookie RB Doug Martin is in rarified air. He has 1,019 yards from scrimmage in Tampa Bay's last six games, joining Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James as the only rookies to tally 1,000 or more yards from scrimmage in a six-game span.
Looking ahead: The Bucs travel to Denver next week for a game against the Broncos. Tampa Bay has beaten all three of Denver's AFC West rivals -- Kansas City, Oakland and San Diego.
Prediction: Atlanta 38, Tampa Bay 31
For more from Tampa Bay Bucs blogger Patrick Southern, follow @CBSBucs on Twitter.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:58:05 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Week 12 matchups: Vincent Jackson vs. Asante Samuel will be key]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
Buccaneers WR Vincent Jackson vs. Falcons CB Asante Samuel: Jackson is a big reason why the Bucs have emerged as a playoff threat. His ability to stretch the field is key to the Tampa Bay offense. Samuel was acquired for this type of battle. Can he handle Jackson in man coverage? It won't be easy.
Chiefs OLB Tamba Hali vs. Broncos LT Ryan Clady: Clady is having a fantastic season. He excels in pass protection and protects Peyton Manning's blind side. Hali is a relentless pass rusher who will be an all-day affair. Put your eyes on this one.
Bears DE Julius Peppers vs. Vikings LT Matt Kalil: It's always fun to see a star pass rusher matched against a rookie left tackle. Kalil has done a nice job this season, but Peppers is a step above most. Peppers has power and speed, which makes it tough to handle him.



More on NFL: Week 12


Column





Jason La Canfora Week 12 Game Rankings: Playoff pushes make for excellent holiday fixin's




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Eye on Football: News, notes from around the NFL




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Raiders QB Carson Palmer vs. Bengals (his old team): Palmer quit on the Bengals and then was traded. You know his old team would love to pay him back for quitting on them, and he will be amped to show them he isn't done. Problem is, his defense is horrible. So he might be trying to catch up all day.
Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul vs. Packers RT T.J. Lang: Lang has moved to the right tackle spot after Bryan Bulaga went down with a season-ending injury. Lang had some trouble against the Lions last week. Pierre-Paul hasn't had the type of year some expected, but coming out of the bye look for him to get it going.
Saints TE Jimmy Graham vs. 49ers safeties Dashon Goldson and Donte Whitner: You know the Saints will throw a lot to Graham, who is healthy now after being dinged early in the season. The 49ers' safeties are aggressive in run support, so look for some big-play chances for Graham.
49ers OLB Aldon Smith vs. Saints LT Jermon Bushrod: Smith is on a sack tear, getting 5 1/2 last week against the Bears. Bushrod is a step up in competition from J'Marcus Webb of the Bears. Drew Brees gets the ball out quick, so it will be a challenge for Smith to get to him.
Ravens OLB Terrell Suggs vs. Chargers LT Mike Harris: Harris has had a rough go of it starting for the injured Jared Gaither, and this is a tough challenge. Suggs hasn't been his usual explosive self, but this could be the game where he gets it going as a pass rusher.
Falcons WR Julio Jones and Roddy White vs. Bucs CBs Eric Wright and E.J. Biggers: The Tampa corners have really struggled, which should give Jones and White a lot of big-play chances. Matt Ryan struggled last week, but he should have plenty of chances down the field here.
Seahawks C Max Unger vs. Dolphins NT Paul Soliai: The Dolphins have slipped some in run defense the past few weeks, so expect the Seahawks to come in and try to pound Marshawn Lynch. That means Unger has to get push on Soliai, who can be a force at the point.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 23 Nov 2012 11:23:39 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Falcons Game Preview vs. Buccaneers: Analysis, prediction, TV info]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
Falcons at Buccaneers -- Week 12
Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla. (grass, outside)
When: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Spread: Falcons by 1
Forecast: Sunny in the high 60s
Records: Falcons (Overall: 9-1, NFC South: 1-1); Buccaneers (Overall: 6-4, NFC South: 2-1)
Past results: Two most recent meetings -- Jan. 1, 2012: Falcons 45, Buccaneers 24; Sept. 25, 2011: Buccaneers 16, Falcons 13. Series record: Buccaneers lead 19-18 but Falcons have won six of the past seven.
What matters:Quarterback Matt Ryan's memory. He needs to forget about last weekend's five-interception debacle and get back to the precise passer that made him the early season favorite for MVP. Ryan had never thrown more than three interceptions in a game but to be fair, only two of the turnovers were directly his fault. Two interceptions were batted at the line of scrimmage and one more was the result of Roddy White's bobbled pass on the first play of the game.
Who matters: Julio Jones. He's played parts of the last two games on a bum ankle and without him, the offense has hit a dry spell. The Falcons didn't score a passing touchdown for just the second time this season last week -- but twice in the last three games -- and over-relied on White (13 targets vs. Arizona). After going through the walk-through portion of practice on Wednesday, Jones was limited in practice on Thursday. Should Jones be unable to play, White, Tony Gonzalez, and third-stringer Harry Douglas will be counted on to exploit the Bucs, who have the worst secondary in the league (312 ypg) but are better than any other team at stopping the run. In other words, their weakness fits right into the Falcons' strength. However, the same can be said about the Falcons' atrocious rush defense, as only four teams in the NFL have given up more rushes of at least 20 yards than the Falcons' 10.
Key Matchups: It all comes down to stopping Tampa Bay rookie RB Doug Martin, who sits at exactly 1,000 yards rushing for the season, the third-most in the NFL through 10 games. He's also the team's third-leading receiver with 27 catches. Martin's efficiency is even more troubling than his total production. His 5.1 yards per carry is among the league leaders and the Falcons may still be missing LB Sean Weatherspoon, the team's top tackler, on Sunday. Weatherspoon hasn't played the past three games with an ankle injury and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan has had to shuffle players out of their natural positions to accommodate for the loss. Should Weatherspoon not play, the burden falls to LBs Stephen Nicholas (60 tackles) and Akeem Dent (40 tackles). The Falcons' rush defense has allowed 130 yards per game, seventh-worst in the league. Against Arizona last weekend, two runs of 40 and 52 yards, respectively, accounted for the majority of the Cardinals' 137 rushing yards.
&ldquo;When you misfit [fail to cover your gap], it gets real ugly and then both of those plays we missed a tackle,&rdquo; coach Mike Smith said.
Injuries of note: Aside from Jones' questionable status, Weatherspoon practiced on Wednesday but was held out on Thursday with an undisclosed illness. The secondary also is facing question marks after CB Asante Samuel left last weekend's win with a shoulder injury. He didn't practice on Thursday and if he can't go, Robert McClain would slide over to the right defensive back spot and likely matchup against WR Vincent Jackson (42 catches, 863 yards). McClain played his most significant game of the season last weekend, when he made eight tackles and was at times, matched up in single coverage against Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald. 
Inside stuff: With only four healthy linebackers last weekend, DE Kroy Biermann would've filled in at LB if two more would've gotten injured.
&ldquo;We're asking him to rush the passer, we're asking him to cover backs, we're asking him to cover tight ends, we're asking him to close the middle of the field. You just don't know where he's going to be,&rdquo; Smith said on Monday.
Connections: Smith was the defensive coordinator in Jacksonville when Buccaneers offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan was the offensive assistant for the Jaguars in 2003.
Record watch: With 54 yards, Roddy White will achieve his sixth-consecutive 1,000 yard receiving season, a franchise record.
Stat you should know: The Falcons have given up third-down conversions on 37 percent of their attempts, but last week against the Cardinals, they were able to hold Arizona to just 2 of 16 on third downs.
Looking ahead:The Falcons host the Saints on Thursday. The Saints handed the Falcons their lone loss of the season.
Prediction: Falcons 31, Tampa Bay 30
For more Falcons coverage, follow Mike Singer @CBSFalcons.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/rapid-reports/post/21103754</pheedo:origLink>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/rapid-reports/post/21103754</guid>
			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 23 Nov 2012 07:59:26 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Falcons Notebook: LB Sean Weatherspoon returns to practice]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[





Falcons LB Sean Weatherspoon returned to practice on Wednesday after missing the past three games with an ankle injury. (US Presswire) 



At 9-1, the first-place Falcons have a lot for which to be thankful.
They have mounted four, fourth-quarter comeback victories thus far and managed to beat Arizona despite a career-worst five interceptions from Matt Ryan last Sunday.
On Wednesday, Atlanta got even more good news. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon practiced for the first time since injuring his ankle on Oct. 28 against the Eagles.
&ldquo;We just want to ease him back in,&rdquo; coach Mike Smith told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. &ldquo;I would anticipate that if there's not a [setback] from today's practice, he'll be a full participant [Thursday]."
The Falcons have sorely missed Weatherspoon's sound tackling throughout the past three games -- contests in which Atlanta has yielded an average of 116 rushing yards per game. In the past two games alone, Atlanta's has given up rushes of 40, 52, and 56 yards, respectively. All of the runs exposed the Falcons tackling deficiencies and could've been prevented with better technique. According to Profootballfocus.com, the Falcons allow an average of 3.1 yards after initial contact, the second-highest mark in the league.
Before the injury, Weatherspoon was the team's leading tackler with 52 stops but has since been bypassed. Second-year linebacker Akeem Dent, normally a two-down defender, has played nearly all of the defensive snaps in Weatherspoon's absence. Dent recorded 20 tackles over those three games and was responsible for relaying formations from the sidelines against Dallas.
The Buccaneers have the ninth-best rushing offense in the league (128 ypg), due mostly to rookieDoug Martin. Three weeks ago, Martin rushed for 251 yards against Oakland, the same team the Falcons managed a mere 45 rushing yards against in Week 6.
If he returns on Sunday, Weatherspoon should help restore order to a defense that was considering playing DE Kroy Biermann at LB if any of the other linebackers would've gotten hurt.
Julio Jones update: Wide receiver Julio Jones has missed parts of the last two games while dealing with a right ankle injury he suffered two weeks ago in the loss to New Orleans. Jones didn't practice on Wednesday, but he did participate in the walk-through portion of practice.
With Jones sidelined, the passing attack -- and thus their offense -- has occasionally looked extremely vulnerable. Defenses have been able to double-cover Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez, negating the Falcons' biggest strength: their depth.
Smith hinted that Jones would play a bigger role in practice on Thursday. Jones, the team's second-leading receiver with 736 yards and five touchdowns, was a game-time decision last weekend but played the majority of the game before re-aggravating the ankle in the fourth quarter.
OL Hawley suspended: Backup C Joe Hawley was suspended by the league on Monday for four games after testing positive for Adderall. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Hawley took the pill in September without filing for a medical exemption with the league. He'll begin his suspension immediately and be eligible for a return following the Falcons' Dec. 16game against the Giants. Hawley played just one snap against the Cardinals last Sunday.
As a fallout from the suspension, the Falcons signed G Harland Gunn (6-2, 310) earlier this week to bolster their OL depth. Gunn was most recently on the Saints' practice squad after he was signed as a college free agent with Dallas following the 2012 draft.
For more Falcons coverage, follow Mike Singer @CBSFalcons.<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/rapid-reports/post/21093711</pheedo:origLink>
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			<category>Atlanta Falcons</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 22 Nov 2012 10:39:10 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[2013 Super Bowl Odds, Week 12: Thanks for playing, Chiefs and Jaguars]]></title>
			<description><![CDATA[
You know what I'm thankful for? Not having to recreate my odds table below to configure whatever the Jaguars and Chiefs were going to end up at if they stayed on the board. Instead, Bovada.lv has taken their odds down, which means we mark them as OFF.
And you know what? The timing couldn't be more hilarious, as these odds came out on Wednesday -- the same day Blaine Gabbert was placed on injured reserve by the Jaguars and the same day Romeo Crennel announced Brady Quinn would be his starter for Week 12.
Do you see how these things are all related?
At any rate, that's the majority of the exciting odds news on this short week. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, everyone!



Team
Week 11 Odds
Week 12 Odds
Trend
Team
Week 11 Odds
Week 12 Odds
Trend


Texans
19-4
5-1

Colts 
66-1
100-1



Patriots
6-1
11-2

Bengals 
150-1
100-1



Broncos 
6-1
11-2

Redskins 
300-1
200-1



49ers 
15-2
13-2

Lions 
200-1
250-1



Packers 
15-2
15-2

Dolphins 
200-1
300-1



Falcons 
9-1
9-1

Bills 
500-1
300-1



Ravens 
12-1
12-1

Jets 
350-1
300-1



Giants 
12-1
14-1

Eagles 
200-1
350-1



Bears 
10-1
15-1

Cardinals 
350-1
700-1



Steelers 
16-1
22-1

Titans 
500-1
500-1



Saints 
30-1
25-1

Raiders 
500-1
750-1



Cowboys 
30-1
28-1

Rams 
500-1
750-1



Seahawks 
33-1
30-1

Browns 
1000-1
1000-1



Buccaneers 
75-1
60-1

Panthers 
1500-1
1500-1



Vikings 
75-1
90-1

Chiefs 
3000-1
OFF



Chargers 
66-1
100-1

Jaguars 
3000-1
OFF



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			<category>Arizona Cardinals</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:18:04 EST</pubDate>
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