Lang on NFL: Head-scratching antics

Star of the week:

I really try every week to find someone else other than Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady or Drew Brees for this award.

Brady shredded the Eagles to the tune of 361 yards and three touchdowns. After being held in check for the first half of their win over the Lions, Rodgers ended up with 307 yards, two touchdowns and yet another game with a quarterback rating over 100.

Meanwhile Brees embarrassed the Giants’ defence Monday night as he threw for 363 yards and four touchdowns.

But this week I feel the award should go to the man who claims to have graduated with a Masters Degree in football from Ball So Hard University, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs.

In the highly anticipated showdown between the Harbaugh brothers, Suggs was a one-man wrecking crew as the Ravens held the 49ers to six points and 170 yards of offence. Suggs (aka T-Sizzle) ended the game with three sacks, three quarterback hits and two tackles for losses. Suggs’ signature play of the game took place in the fourth quarter when he sacked Alex Smith and stripped the ball out of his hands.

Stiff of the week:

Stevie Johnson, what in the heck where you thinking? I didn’t have a huge problem with Johnson’s over the top mocking of Plaxico Burress after he scored his second-quarter touchdown. What really bothered me was Johnson’s inability to back up his bold actions.

With the game on the line and the Bills driving for the potential game-winning touchdown, Johnson dropped not one, but two passes. The first was a perfect throw from Ryan Fitzpatrick that hit him right in his hands.

But without question the biggest stiff of Week 12 was Lions defensive tackle Ndomukong Suh for stomping on Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith. With the Packers leading 7-0, the Lions had stopped Green Bay on third down and at worse would have only been down 10-0 at that point in the third quarter.

Instead Suh got ejected for stomping on Dietrich-Smith and two plays later, the Packers took a 14-0 lead and proceeded to crush the Lions. Bottom line it was a stupid and selfish play by a star player who is supposed to be leading the Lions’ defemce On Tuesday, the NFL announced Suh will be suspended without pay for two games.

Tebowmania watch:

While he didn’t score the game-winning touchdown this time, Tim Tebow still played a big role as the Broncos beat the Chargers in overtime to improve to 6-5 on the year. Now 5-1 as a starter; Tebow set the modern day (post-1970) record for the most rushing attempts by a quarterback in a game when he carried the ball 22 times for 67 yards.

Tebow was 9-for-18 for 143 yards and a touchdown. It should also be noted that Tebow’s quarterback rating of 95.4 was much better than that of the struggling Philip Rivers.

Rookie of the year candidate:

It only took Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson 11 games, but after his heroics Sunday against the Rams, the rookie out of LSU has already tied the NFL’s single-season record for most punt return touchdowns.

Peterson’s fourth punt return touchdown (his second against the Rams this season) came in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals won their fourth game of the year.

Team on the rise:

New Orleans’ decisive win over the Giants was a not so subtle reminder of the offensive firepower of the Saints. Winners of three straight, Drew Brees and the Saints have an offence every bit as explosive as the Packers. The Saints are No. 1 in the NFL in total offence, passing offense and No. 2 in points scored. Even though the Falcons won again, the Saints still sit in the top spot in the NFC South and a perfect 5-0 at home.

Dream team watch:

Even the most optimistic Eagles fan can’t quite explain the debacle they witnessed against the Patriots. It got so bad at one point that two assistant coaches, Marty Mornhinweg and Jim Washburn nearly came to blows during an argument on the sidelines.

Eventually Eagles fans at the Linc started chanting “Fire Andy” in hopes that the team will finally get rid of Andy Reid. Working on a short week, the fun-loving Eagles now have to travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seahawks.

Ronnie Lott award:

I really liked the hit that 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis had against Ricky Williams. But by far the roughest hit of the week took place in the Monday night game when Saints safety Isa Abdul Quddus laid out Hakeem Nicks. Ronnie Lott himself could not have done it any better.

Catch of the week:

As painful as Buffalo’s loss to the Jets was, <a class="link" target="new" href="

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2011112700/2011/REG12/bills@jets#menu=highlights&tab=recap”>it did provide one very impressive highlight, Brad Smith’s touchdown catch in the quarter.

That was good, but AJ Green’s catch in the Bengals comeback win over the Browns was even better. With one minute to play in the fourth quarter, With one minute to play in the fourth quarter, Green hooked up with his fellow rookie Andy Dalton on the best catch of Week 12. Green went up high to make the grab, and then raced 51 yards down to the Browns two yard line. Four plays later the Bengals kicked the game-winning field goal.

Unsung hero award:

This award goes out to linebacker Connor Barwin after his four-sack performance in the Texans win over the Jaguars. Going into the game, Barwin had four sacks in the first 10 games of the season. When the Texans lost Matt Leinart to injury, they were going to have to rely on their defence and running game to come through with a big game and Barwin didn’t disappoint.

The punt of the year:

Special teams ruled the day in the Raiders win over the Bears. Sebastian Janikowski set a franchise record with six field goals. But the best special teams play took place in the fourth quarter when Shane Lechler launched an unreal 80-yard punt over the head of Devin Hester.

Best tackle of a cheerleader:

In the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving win over the Dolphins, tight end Jason Witten had four catches for 43 yards. However, all anyone wanted to talk about after the game was his takedown of one of the Cowboys cheerleaders.

In case you’re wondering, Melissa Kellerman has been a Cowboys cheerleader for four seasons and lists “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey as her favourite song and enjoys watching hockey as her favourite hobby.

Big injuries of the week:

The Houston Texans must be starting to feel they are cursed. One week after losing starting quarterback Matt Schaub for the year, they lost his backup Matt Leinart for the season with a broken collarbone. With no other options, Gary Kubiak will have to turn to rookie T.J. Yates as his starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Falcons. The Texans did bring in Jeff Garcia and Jake Delhomme for workouts on Monday.

What to watch for in Week 13:

Things will be tense in the AFC North when the Steelers host the Bengals. The Falcons look to keep it rolling in Houston. The Raiders take on the Dolphins in Miami. The Giants will attempt to knock off the Packers in the Meadowlands. The Lions and Saints are in New Orleans on Sunday n
ight.