Nobody likes to lose. Even worse nobody likes to praise the opponent when they lose. Hey, that is what I promised to every contestant of this “Beat The Shark” this season, a blog dedicated to singing the praises of a winning performance. Yes to be humble is ugly, but nevertheless has to be done!

So I come out this week and say congrats to Debbie Doneker. After the tie 2 weeks ago, Debbie was more then anxious to jump back into the “Shark Tank” and take another shot at beating me. Not only did she win, but she finished a perfect 4-0 to “The Sharks” piddly 2-2. Of course she was quick to text message me and let it be known that she had beat me. I can’t say I blame her though, texting me that is, i’m the guy everyone wants to be around! So after all that we are now tied again, 6 wins for “The Shark” and 6 for the ladies. Overall in games its now 26-22 for the ladies and 24-21-1 for me.

With the holiday coming up, I wanted to wish each and every reader a very happy holiday season to you and your family. We get so caught up in sports sometimes that we forget to take the time to count blessing for what we have!

Ok, so now back to the action. Week 14 saw some major stuff in the NFL, and well in the past I used to thumb up and thumb down stuff, now I would just like to point out some great stuff and some bad stuff without getting all “story” on you all.

So lets hear some appluase for:

Brandon Marshall and his record breaking 21 receptions against the Colts this past week. I think he has put his off-season mess well behind him.

Chris Johnson and his amazing season as it continues. Johnson passed the 2000 yard mark from scrimmage this past week, and is the 5th fastest to do so in a single season.

Bill Belichek, telling the Panthers exactly how it is. The Panthers players were saying that their game plan forced Randy Moss to, “quit” this past weekend. Belicheks response was “that’s alot of talk from a team that had just lost yet another game”. Is this guy still the coolest customer in the league?

Brady Quinn and the Browns, finally snapping the curse of the Steelers. Not only did you end that 12 game skid vs Pittsburgh,but put a dent in their playoff chase.

The Colts and The Saints as they continue the “Pursuit of Perfection”

The toughness of Matt Schaub. Arm in a brace? No big deal, just throw for over 300 yards and a couple of touchdowns. Who does’nt love Andre Johnson?

Feel free to BOO at:

The Arizona Cardinals. Was that Monday night game real? This was the team that beat the Vikings?

The fantasy football players that cheered when Larry Fitzgerald got hurt Monday night.Come on,admit it you know you did.How terrible!

The referees. Yes I know your jobs are tough, but the whistle blows now more then in the NBA!

Heck, the NFL itself. Do you really need to fine a guy for wearing a Sombrero on the sidelines?

NFL network and its awful Thursday night broadcast. Always losing sound and freezing screens, bad announcer in Bob Papa, and poor games. Kill this thing already!

Ok so that’s all for me,for now anyway. Check back this week for more fun stuff, including “The Sharks” Sports Wish List to Santa, a Championship Flash and Crash and lots of other great stuff right here at CamelClutchBlog.com

Also remember to check out my fantasy football “Flash and Crash” article this Friday!

If you’d like to hear anything else from me on topics or ideas I can be reached at phillyphan1971@yahoo.com

Get your NFL jerseys discounted now on Amazon.com by clicking here

Check out the NFL Film Classics – Legends of Autumn, Vols. 1-3 DVD by clicking here.

Join ESPN Insider today for the best sports analysis online, plus ESPN The Magazine!

Your favorite NFL teams and players gone big – Fathead.com

Order the Madden NFL 10: Official Strategy Game Guide by clicking here.

Okay, so Thursday is Thanksgiving everyone so first off a Happy Holiday to you and your families from “The Shark” and everyone here at CamelClutchBlog.com. This week, I have passed on Thumbs Up/Thumbs down to give you a little Thanksgiving Day treat. I call it, “The Sharks Nine and Dine”. So why the name, well it is some of my favorite Thanksgiving Day NFL game memories. Ok maybe not the best, but nine that I remember for one reason or the next so theres the Nine and the Dine, well what else do you do on Turkey Day…you eat!

So in no real order enjoy some fun memories from the past:

November 24th, 2005 Denver Broncos 24, Dallas Cowboys 21 OT
The Broncos came in with an 8-2 mark to face the 7-3 Cowboys

The Cowboys were seen as the favorite and many thought the Broncos were nothing more than a team with an inflated record due to a bad schedule. The Broncos started the scoring with a 65 yard interception return for a TD by Champ Bailey. The offense was led by Ron Dayne who was a throw away picked up in desperation, and for it he delivered 98 yards and a TD including a 55 yard run. Dallas scored with 1:14 left in regualtion, but the Broncos managed to prevail in overtime.

November 25th, 2004 Indianapolis Colts 41, Detroit Lions 9
The Colts entered at 7-3 and the Lions were 3-7
“I’d rather be home cooking,” was a sign held by one of the Lions fans in attendence. True Story! Colts QB Peyton Manning threw 6 TD passes, 3 to Marvin Harrison and 3 to Brandon Stokley, and that was just in the first 3 quarters. Manning broke the NFL record by throwing 4 or more TDs in 5 straight games, in which he managed to accomplish by half-time. Before the game, the Lions honored greats Barry Sanders, Billy Simms, and Lem Borey, all of which wore number 20 for Detroit. Hmm, some honor. They should have let them stay home on the holiday with family instead of this.

November 26st, 1998 Minnesota Vikings 46, Dallas Cowboys 36
The Vikings came into the game an NFC best 10-1 and Dallas at 8-3
This was quite the air show on this day. Some kid named Randy Moss catches 3 passes for a total of 163 yards. The even bigger news, they were all for touchdowns of 56, 51, and 56 yards. Randall Cunningham ended with 4 TDs total, and haunted the Cowboys on turkey day again.

November 23rd, 1995 Detroit Lions 44, Minnesota Vikings 38
An NFC playoff position showdown with the Lions at 5-6 vs the Vikings at 6-5
This one was like a heavyweight showdown. Big play after big play, score after score. Scott Mitchell goes 30-45 for 410 yards and 4 TDs. Warren Moon goes 30-47 for 382 yards and 3 TDs. Barry Sanders rushes for 138 yards and a TD which was a 50 yard run in the 4th quarter. 3 Lions go for over 100 yards receiving as well as 2 Vikings. A beautiful and poetic brawl on Thanksgiving. 2 teams laying it all out there and giving it every last bit of what they had! Oh yeah, and, “The Shark” bet the over! Cha-Ching!

November 23, 2006 Kansas City Chiefs 19, Denver Broncos 10
Denver at 7-3 had a one game lead over the Chiefs at 6-4 in 2nd place in the AFC West.
The NFL throws NFL Network a bone (no Turkey pund intended) and now makes a third game for the holiday. The inaugrial one is this snoozer! You thought tryptophan made you tired after eating Turkey, then you didn’t see this game. Wake me when Grandma is leaving please.

November 23rd, 2000 Detroit Lions 34, New England Patriots 9
The Lions came roaring in at 8-2 while the Pats were slumming at 3-7
Long before the days of Brady and Belichek the Pats were this bunch. Charlie Batch led the charge for the Lions with 1 passing and 1 rushing TD. Drew Bledsoe was picked off twice including a 101 yard runback by Bryant Westbrook during a 21 point unanswered fourth quarter by the Lions. Ok so why is this such a big deal? Well it was the last time to date that the Lions have won on Thanksgiving. Eight years ago for those of you counting at home.

November 25th, 1993 Miami Dolphins 16, Dallas Cowboys 14
Miami came in at 8-2 to face the defending Super Bowl champs who were 7-3
Snow, yes snow was present in this one. The Dolphins stormed out of the gate with a 77 yards TD run by Keith Byars and the Dolphins seemed ready for a big day. Cowboys WR Kevin Williams then stole the show with a 4 yard TD catch then a 64 yard punt return for a TD. Miami battled on and QB Steve DeBerg (yes THAT Steve DeBerg ) outpassed Troy Aikman 287 to 181. The game however will be remembered for, “The Botch.” With 14 seconds left in the game Dolphins kicker Pete Stoyanovich was lining up for a go ahead field goal for the ‘Phins. With the snowy conditions he got little on it and it was blocked by Cowboy Jimmie Jones. Simple, Dallas leaves it alone and they win right? Wrong! Lineman and Cowboy goat Leon Lett, in the heat of the moment attempts to pick it up but instead kicks if down field all the way to the Cowboy 1 yard line, where the Dolphins fall on it. Since it is touched by a Cowboy player the Dolphins were able to regain possesion and as time expired Stoyanovich used his second chance to nail the 19 yard field goal, and nail the Cowboys coffin on this day. This game has been renamed “Lett-It-Be,” by many disheartened Cowboys fans in the years since the blunder.

November 24th 1977 Miami Dolphins 55, St. Louis Cardinals 14
As just a 6 year old boy, this was my first real memory of a Thanksgiving day game. Mom continues to yell my name and tell me it’s time to eat, but I’m glued to the set to watch this masacre. Bob Griese throws for 6 TDs, the Dolphins rush for 295 yards as a team and held the Cards to just 210 yards of total offense. Still fairly new to the sport, it made me wonder why guys would do this on a holiday if they thought they would be beaten so badly? It is tied for the most points scored by one team and tied for the largest margin of victory in Thanksgiving day history, and it was my first that I can have a sniff of memory about. Ok mom, I’m coming!

November 23rd, 1989 Philadelphia Eagles 27, Dallas Cowboys 0

The Eagles came to big D 8-3 while the young Cowboys were just 1-10
“The Bounty Bowl,” as it will always be remembered as it featured the Philadelphia Eagles led by Coach Buddy Ryan smearing Jimmie Johnson’s Dallas Cowboys. Troy Aikman was pciked off three times and Hall Of Fame Receiver Cris Carter caught two td passes. Oh, and there is more! Eagle Jessie Small nailed Cowboy kicker Luis Zendejas (a former Eagle cut by Ryan) during a kick off and Zendejas was forced to leave with a concussion. After the game Johnson stated that Ryan, “Played dirty, and that was truly tasteless of him. I would have said something but he ran his fat rear back to the locker room too fast.” Ryan’s reply, “I’m offended by that, I actually lost a few pounds and thought I looked good.” Zendejas had said when he was with the Eagles that Ryan had offered money to his players to take out opposing players, a statement that Ryan denies to this day. It is still the only shutout in Thanksgiving history and yes another black mark on the great city of Philly. We can’t even be civil on Thanksgiving!

So thank you all for reading and have a Happy Thanksgiving! Don’t forget this and every Friday to check out “Beat The Shark”, my NFL pick em contest as well as my fantasy football start and sit article “Flash and Crash”.

If you’d like to hear anything else from me on topics or ideas I can be reached at phillyphan1971@yahoo.com

Check out the NFL Film Classics – Legends of Autumn, Vols. 1-3 DVD by clicking here.

Join ESPN Insider today for the best sports analysis online, plus ESPN The Magazine!

Your favorite NFL teams and players gone big – Fathead.com

Order the Madden NFL 10: Official Strategy Game Guide by clicking here.

This week of Studs and Duds will feature names that have been there all too many times and those who have again disappointed fantasy owners who believed they would have a huge point game.

STUDS:
Chris Johnson: No surprise here. The man is an absolute animal. Johnson had another game over 35 points and another game over 130 yards with 2 TDs. He is literally carrying fantasy owners who were lucky enough to stick with him through his mini slump. Oh yea, and he added in 100 yards in the receiving game. If the Titans give him the touches he deserves, he could easily be on this list every single week from here on out. And Titans owner, Bud Adams, don’t get too cocky about winning against the Bills by flipping the bird; we all knew you should’ve given Johnson the ball more and now you’ve finally realized it.

Randy Moss: The Colts secondary is almost completely on the injury report and Randy Moss made it known to a national audience. With a 63 yard touchdown and a total of 179 on 9 receptions, Moss was his old self. Dominance with speed was Moss’s game on Sunday night and although the Pats fell a little bit short, Brady to Moss will be feared every single week from here on out because clearly they are angry. And you wouldn’t like them when they’re angry.

Reggie Wayne: On the opposite side of the ball, Reggie Wayne was equally impressive but in different ways. His longest catch was for 25 yards and it happened to be his first catch of the game. The way that Wayne and Peyton Manning carve out defenses the entire game is like poetry in motion. He may have gotten away with a slight push at the end of the game, but that catch was perfect; it looked like he had stick ‘em on his hands. The 9-0 Colts will go to Wayne all day every day they can.

St. Louis Rams: The Rams went step for step with the mighty Saints and almost came up with an epic upset. Steven Jackson looks like the first round pick he was in many drafts and even Marc Bulger stepped up and was only 2 yards shy of a 300 yard passing game. His last total that was this high was Week 8 of 2008 when he threw for 304 yards. Even when the Saints opened up the second half with a kick return for TD, Rams didn’t go away. I thought the Rams were absolutely awful, but they played like an actual professional football team this week and not one that would have a tough game against the Florida Gators.

Notables: MJD (even though he went down at the 1 and lost me my fantasy week), Manning/Brady of course, AP, and Justin Forsett (he’s the RB for the Seahawks for those who didn’t know)

DUDS:
Jay Cutler: What a disappointment he was in this game. How many red zone interceptions can he throw? As a huge Bears fan this game was just embarrassing to watch. I understand that some of the INTs were not his fault, but it doesn’t matter. In the box score he has 5 INTs against the slumping 49ers D. And for the fantasy owners that I know who have him, well they sent me “Jay Cutler sucks” text messages all Thursday night. Fantasy owners may give him one more chance but they have all but given up on him. As a Bears fan I haven’t given up on him because, hey, at least he’s not Rex Grossman.

New Orleans Saints Offense: Marques Colston, negative points. Pierre Thomas, 3 points, Drew Brees 12 points. In a box score like this you would have expected them to be playing the Steelers D or someone equally as good. Nope, the Saints played the awful Rams defense who is giving up over 378 yards per game. I’m sure fantasy owners were attempting to ride the Saints offense into a win this week and were blindsided by the lack of production. There isn’t too much to worry about here because the Saints are still coached by Mike Martz Jr. in Sean Payton and they still have Drew Brees; but they really slumped this week against a weak team.

Jason Witten: This has been a season full of disappointment for Witten owners. His highest receiving total is 77 yards way back in Week 3 and his highest point total has been 9 in Week 2. Every week fantasy “experts” predict that he will have his breakout week that we all thought he should have. Well, it’s Week 11 now and he has done little more than Nate Washington and Benjamin Watson, players who may have not been drafted in your draft. Witten needs to start producing this coming week against the Redskins or it looks like Witten may be benched across fantasy nation.

Notables: Joe Flacco, Bills offense, Steelers offense, and JaMarcus Russell (he got benched against the Chiefs)

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Your favorite NFL teams and players gone big – Fathead.com

Order the Madden NFL 10: Official Strategy Game Guide by clicking here.

Check out the highlights of Sunday night’s New England Patriots-Indianapolis Colts Week 10 game. The game is remembered for Bill Belichick’s questionable call on 4th down with two minutes that gave Peyton Manning back the ball in great field position. However, the game was much better than that and included some truly memorable plays. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Randy Moss, and Reggie Wayne lived up to the hype and gave NFL fans a show.

Personally, I didn’t mind the call if the plan was to allow the Colts a quick touchdown and get the ball back with 1:45 or so ala Mike Holmgren in the Super Bowl. However, that was not the plan and the Patriots lost to another Peyton Manning comeback. I kind of like a coach with the guts to go for it on 4th down in that kind of situation. Yet, playing defense especially when the Colts were at the goal line is really the questionable call in my opinion. Once Addai got down to the goal line, I was shocked that the Pats didn’t allow him to walk in. It is slightly disappointing that such a great game will be remembered for a coaching decision and not the play of some of the greatest NFL players of our generation.

Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots Highlights Video

Place your NFL bets with Bodog.com or BetUs.com.

Get your NFL jerseys discounted now on Amazon.com by clicking here

Play and Win Fantasy Football with the National Football Post – Buy Now

Use Fantasy Football Commissioner for all of your FF needs at www.fflcommish.com/.

Your favorite NFL teams and players gone big – Fathead.com

Order the Madden NFL 10: Official Strategy Game Guide by clicking here.