NFL BY PAUL NEEDELL

NFL analysis by The Star-Ledger columnist

Needell's NFL Week 13 Recap

by Paul Needell/The Star-Ledger

Sunday November 30, 2008, 9:31 PM

Star-Ledger NFL writer Paul Needell takes a look back at some of the interesting storylines that emerged from Week 13 in the NFL:

NFC

THREE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

--Did Michael Turner enjoy his return to San Diego?
And then some. Turner, the Chargers' former backup RB to LaDainian Tomlinson, gave his ex-teammates an up-close-and-personal look at how he has helped turn around the Falcons (8-4). At the same time, San Diego (4-8) fell three games behind the AFC Worst-leading Broncos with this 22-16 loss. Turner finished with 120 yards on 31 carries. L.T.? He scored a 3-yard TD but gained just 24 yards on 14 tries.

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Sorting through the issues: Needell's Q&A on Plaxico Burress

by Paul Needell/The Star-Ledger

Saturday November 29, 2008, 7:12 PM

The Star-Ledger's Paul Needell answers some questions about the Plaxico Burress situation:

Is the Giants' receiving group good enough to do without Burress for the rest of the season, if necessary?
The Giants have proved they are resilient, above all else. Coach Tom Coughlin's defending Super Bowl champs have only one, maybe two indispensable players -- QB Eli Manning and DE Justin Tuck. The team survived, even thrived, without TE Jeremy Shockey last year and seems equipped to carry on without Burress now, too. Domenik Hixon has stepped in whenever called upon for Burress and played extremely well. Don't discount rookie Mario Manningham, the team's No. 3 pick, from here on out, either.

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These turkeys were the stuff of nightmares

by Paul Needell/The Star-Ledger

Saturday November 29, 2008, 6:13 PM

Everybody have a great Thanksgiving? Terrific.

It had to be because of all the delicious food and excellent company, 'cause in no way did the NFL hold up its end of the bargain. Unless you're a Titans, Cowboys or Eagles fan.

In that case, good for you. For the rest of us, the tryptophan effect hit even harder than usual.

Any way you carved the turkeys, the three games didn't exactly scintillate. The cumulative score of the day was 129-39. Even we didn't have to run to a calculator to figure out that comes to a 43-13 average.

The good news: The rest of Week 13 has to be a heck of a lot better than this.

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Moving the Chains: this week in the NFL

by Paul Needell/The Star-Ledger

Tuesday November 25, 2008, 8:10 PM

Saints quarterback Drew Brees is intent on making many people uncomfortable.

Let's start with Hall of Famer Dan Marino. Brees is on pace to shatter Marino's single-season passing yardage record of 5,084 yards, set in 1984.

Then there are my brethren in the media who cast ballots for the NFL's Most Valuable Player award. What is a voter to do?

It begs the age-old question: Should the MVP be given to a player who led his team to a successful season? Or simply go to the player who had the best season?

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NFL Rewind with Paul Needell: Looking back at Week 12

by Paul Needell/The Star-Ledger

Monday November 24, 2008, 9:46 PM

The sound "ka-ching" emanating from Foxborough comes courtesy of Patriots QB Matt Cassel. The former backup at USC and bridesmaid in New England has thrown for more than 400 yards in back-to-back games, a trick not even Tom Brady has turned. In last season's record-setting season, Brady's best was 399 yards.

After watching Cassel pass for 415 yards and three TDs in Sunday's huge 48-28 win at Miami, star WR Randy Moss said, "He's playing hellified ball." That sounds like it's a good thing. Cassel refuses to talk about his impending free agency, but we'll talk for him.

A free agent after this season, he's making himself a lot of money. Look at all the QB-starved teams around the NFL. Now picture Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel landing a head-coaching job. Or VP of player personnel Scott Pioli deciding it's time to break away from Bill Belichick to take over some organization. How many millions do you think they'd throw Cassel's way to help them out? You need not answer.

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Needell's NFL Week 12 recap

by Paul Needell/The Star-Ledger

Monday November 24, 2008, 12:01 AM

Star-Ledger NFL writer Paul Needell takes a look back at some of the interesting storylines that emerged from Week 12 in the NFL:

NFC

THREE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Is Terrell Owens finally happy?

If seven catches for 213 yards, including a 75-yard TD, doesn't make "America's Wideout" content with QB Tony Romo at least until Thanksgiving Day, nothing will. The Cowboys not only disposed of the 49ers with ease, but they did so while T.O. came through with not just his first 200-yard game since 2000, but his only 100-yarder of the season. T.O. had gone 14 straight regular-season without hitting the 100-yard mark since late last season. His career-best was 283 yards on 20 catches when he was with these Niners.

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Replay tweak can't erase this mess, and other Week 12 insight

by Paul Needell/The Star-Ledger

Saturday November 22, 2008, 5:33 PM

We always err on the side of caution when it comes to criticizing the quality -- or lack thereof -- of officiating in the NFL. The zebras have an incredibly difficult job. With the state of modern technology, combined with the always increasing size and speed of the players, they're not about to be perfect.

Now that we're done stroking Mike Pereira, the league's VP of officiating, let's cut to the chase: No one in his right mind is satisfied with the way the NFL has tried to make last Sunday's controversy go away.

To review: The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the San Diego Chargers by the unprecedented score of 11-10. Of course, the final should have been Steelers 18, Chargers 10, which would have thrilled the betting public, which had wagered heavily on Pittsburgh covering the spread that ranged from 4 1/2 to five points.

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Moving the Chains: this week in the NFL

by Paul Needell and Drew Van Esselstyn/The Star-Ledger

Tuesday November 18, 2008, 7:46 PM

It's easy to be swept up in the hysteria of the two local NFL teams playing well. Just listen to the lather pouring out on the talk-radio airwaves. How would the NFL configure the schedule if the Giants and Jets were the home teams for the NFC and AFC Championship games? Would there be enough rooms in Tampa for a second winter migration from the northeast to Florida?

Words of advice: Take a deep breath. We've seen this before, 22 years ago. And no matter how much one team is steamrolling its opponents -- the 9-1 Giants this season and the Jets during a 10-1 start in 1986 -- and the other is just a tick behind -- the 7-3 Jets this season and the lurking Giants at 9-2 in 1986 -- it didn't, and probably won't, result in a Giants-Jets Super Bowl.

In 1986, the Ken O'Brien-led Jets scored 26 or more points in eight of their first 11 games, and some NFL observers -- a younger Paul Needell, for instance -- even made the claims that the Jets were clearly the best team in the league and that O'Brien was the best QB in the 1983 draft class. You know, the one with John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly. (In Needell's defense, for the 1985 season and first two-thirds of the 1986 season, O'Brien arguably was the best of the bunch.)

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