Once more unto the breach, dear friends.
Man, if only Shakespeare were around to watch some football. I have no idea how he'd feel about the game itself, but I'm confident he'd be fascinated with the countless sub-plots that accompany each week.
So, what are the three most interesting NFL storylines in Week 12?
1. Playoff Implications
The two best games this week in terms of matchups have to be the Detroit Lions at New England and the Seattle Seahawks hosting the Arizona Cardinals in a mini bird bowl. These should be the most competitive games of the weekend and their outcomes will seriously impact the playoff picture.
Barring an epic collapse, the Cardinals and Patriots pretty much have their respective divisions wrapped up. But the Lions are in a dead heat with the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North lead at 7-3 (though Detroit won their first matchup back in Week 3) and the Seahawks are battling it out with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers for the last wild card spot in the NFC.
Should Detroit lose this week and in their Week 17 matchup with Green Bay, the NFC North could belong to the Packers. The Lions would then presumably bump one of the teams vying for that second wild card spot. Seattle, meanwhile, desperately needs a home win against the 9-1 Cardinals to keep their playoff hopes alive. Lucky for them, they have five division games left to improve their stock.
NFL fans will have a much clearer picture of the playoffs after this week.
2. Coaches on the Hot Seat
In my opinion, the following coaches are definitely getting the axe after the season: Rex Ryan (New York Jets), Mike Smith (Atlanta Falcons) and Jeff Fisher (St. Louis Rams). That leaves a handful of other coaches whose seats are warm but whose status is uncertain: Ken Whisenhunt in Tennessee, Lovie Smith in Tampa, Jay Gruden in D.C., Marc Trestman in Chicago, Tom Coughlin in New York. These coaches desperately need a few wins, or at least some signs of life, down the stretch to protect their job security.
Yes, a guy like Coughlin may leave on his own terms, but it could still get ugly if he feels he has a few more years left in him and the Giants think otherwise. Although some of the other coaches mentioned are in their first year with their teams, one-and-done is not exactly unprecedented in the NFL.
The Bears are in disarray, Whisenhunt never seems to have a plan at the quarterback position and the Skins and Bucs are laughing stocks. A few wins would give these deflated teams some much needed breathing room.
3. TV Ratings
Ray Rice brutally knocked out his wife. Adrian Peterson beat his 4-year-old son. Former players are suing the NFL over a litany of awful issues ranging from painkiller addictions to concussions. Off-field problems are abundant in football.
And none of it matters.
NFL games have posted 28 of the top 30 TV viewership totals since the regular season began on September 4. Thirty million people, more than the populations of Greece and Cuba combined, tuned in for the game between the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks. At least one NFL game has topped weekly viewership charts in every week this season.
I'm not passing judgment. I'm in front of my TV every Sunday just like anyone else. But it is a bit concerning on an individual and national level that the NFL just keeps rolling along, unaffected by the string of recent high-profile incidents. They say complete power corrupts completely. That may not apply as dramatically to the game of football, but it's worth monitoring how a multi-billion dollar organization acts when absolutely nothing seems capable of impeding its success.
