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Ten Thoughts on the NFL: Chicago Bears and beyond

"Weird" has been a running theme all through this 2013 NFL season, and there seems to be to relief to the weirdness in sight. A flag that wasn't, a tornado game, 0-6 to 4-6, Riverboat Ron, another sideline spat... Check out our thoughts on week 11.

By Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.
Kevin C. Cox

1) The New England Patriots were screwed last night. The fact that they've been the beneficiary of bad calls in the past does not change that they were screwed last night. Do I really mind that they were screwed last night, no, but they were screwed nonetheless.

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The company line is that the ball was uncatchable, but it seemed to me that Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly makes contact with New England tight end Rob Gronkowski and rides him to the back of the end zone. The ball is picked off near the spot the contact first occurred. Had Kuechly not contacted Gronk, he could have lunged forward and made a play on the ball.

2) The flag that wasn't last night seemed to take away from the super game by Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers. If he and the Panthers can keep rolling, I wouldn't be surprised to see Newton in the MVP discussion, and head coach Ron Rivera a candidate for coach of the year.

3) I wasn't surprised by the spat between Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub. Bad teams have bad team chemistry. The Texans have dropped eight straight, and I would be surprised if head coach Gary Kubiak is retained after the season.

4) The New York Giants (4-6), winners of four straight, can really put some pressure on the idle Philadelphia Eagles (6-5) this week by beating the Cowboys (5-5). I don't know if I'm rooting more for the Giants to crawl all the way back from their 0-6 hole, or for the other NFC East teams to fail to capitalize on their slow start?

5) I really thought Colin Kaepernick was going to take a big step in play this season. I saw this eye opening stat come across Twitter. Since week two, Kaepernick is averaging 154 passing yards per game, which is the worst in that span. A lot has changed since his opening game of 412 yards and 3 TDs against the Packers.

6) So a ref cussing at a player is big news? If the NFL is trying to make the field a PG-13 zone, they need to enforce it with the players and the coaches as well.

I'm not saying that Umpire Roy Ellison was in his right to reportedly call Trent Williams a "a garbage ass disrespectful mother(expletive)," I just find it hard to believe that Williams was simply going about his business all day, until being verbally assaulted by the Ump.

If there really is audio of the incident, I hope they can some how decipher both sides of the story.

7) After Jets QB Geno Smith threw for 3 TDs against the Falcons back in week 5, many thought that would be the turning point game for the young signal caller. It was, just not in a good way. Since that game, Smith has thrown 1 TD to 8 interceptions.

And did you realize that the Jets have alternated wins and losses all season long?

8) Did you see the stat line from Detroit's Matt Stafford in the second half of their loss to the Steelers? He was 3-16 with an interception. This week the Lions have the suddenly competent Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and with the Chicago Bears winning, Detroit may start to feel the pressure..

9) You may not always agree with his decisions, but I find it very refreshing that Chicago head coach Marc Trestman has an answer, and more importantly, is willing to give an answer, in regards to his on field decisions.

10) This little nugget may have been lost in the big win over the Ravens, but Robbie Gould, by going 3-3 on field goals, became the 2nd most accurate kicker in NFL history. His game winning kick was his 11th game winner for the Bears.

I thought Gould, punter Adam Podlesh, and long snapper Jeremy Cain did a great job considering the conditions.

What were some of your thoughts from the NFL this week?

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