NFL Sunday Recap - Leadership!

Some teams have leaders they can rally behind, some don't:

It's Finally Paying Off!:
Vince Young
The Vince Young Experiment is being renamed the Vince Young Express, because its running over teams every week. Winning four straight games wasn't enough, as people were still questioning his abilities as a QB and be a leader. Well, maybe this week's game against the Cardinal can put some of those questions to rest. Vince went 27/43 for 387 yards, and led his team on a winning TD drive. With 2:37 left to play and trailing by 4, the Titans got the ball at their own 1-yard line after a punt. What followed was a 99-yard drive that featured two 3rd down conversions and three(!) fourth down conversions, including the game winning TD pass as time expired. If the win streak continues, Vince could be a cindidate for Comeback Player of the Year.

Rex Ryan
Much was made this week of Ryan's approach coming into Week 12. With both sides of the ball struggling, starting S Kerry Rhodes was benched for Eric Smith, and a simplified red-green-yellow system was instituted to help Mark Sanchez avoid turnovers. Both changes worked in their first game. Sanchez had only one turnover, on a bad throw. In a limited role, Rhodes had two picks, the second sealing the game late in the fourth quarter. In addition, the running game had 135 yards and a TD, and the defense finally played up to expectations all game. Darrelle Revis had two picks of his own, with the first going for a 67-yard TD, and the Panthers were kept out of the end zone all day.

This Ship Has Sailed:
Jake Delhomme
If Sanchez has been getting some of the blame for the Jet's offensive woes, Delhomme deserves almost all of it for the Panthers. With the 5th best running game in the NFL along with one of its best receivers, the Panthers should be better than their 4-7 record. That's where Delhomme comes in. In the 7 loses, he has committed 18 turnover while scoring 3 TDs. In their wins, he has 5 TDs to 3 turnovers. After his 4 pick performance this week, Delhomme's run might be over. Head coach John Fox admitted to thinking about putting in backup Matt Moore, and so far hasn't committed to which QB will be starting next week. If it is Delhomme, Fox's days might be numbered, too.

Gary Kubiak
Before Kubiak became head coach of the Houston Texans, David Carr wasn't the problem with the team. Two years after running Carr out of town, Matt Schaub and Steve Slaton aren't the problem, either. Each of the past two years, the Texans were picked to finally beat the Colts for their division and have the first winning season in team history. Instead, the team went 8-8 in back-to-back years, and have beaten Indy only once with Kubiak at the helm. Thats was in 2006, with Carr still under center. This season, they've already gone 0-2 against the Colts, and, at 5-6, they're praying for an 8-8 record this season. With a solid QB, one of the best receivers in football, and an overall team leaps and bounds better than when he got there, Kubiak should have this team pointed towards the playoffs. Instead, Slaton has as many TDs as he has fumbles, and Schaub is on pace for a career high in times sacked. This is not what the Texans thought they were getting when they hired him, and speculation says he'll most likely be fired at the end of the season.

Rookie Roundup: Using a complex scoring system to rank two major rookies for the season

Mark Sanchez: 13/17, 154 yards, 1 INT, 3 sacks, 27 rush yards
Points: 9.4, 56.15 overall

Matthew Stafford: 20/43, 213 yards, 1 TD, 4 INTs, 2 sacks, 21 rush yards
Points: -7.25, 77.2 overall

Week 12 Winner: Sanchez

What Have We Learned?: Three things we can take away from this weekend
Backups can still go either way
With their starting QBs down for the count, both Pittsburgh and Atlanta had to rely on backups to lead them to wins this week. In the night game, we already knew 3rd-stringer Dennis Dixon would be in charge before the start of the game. He played well, getting the team to overtime when most expected him to fail miserably. Ultimately, his one mistake doomed him. His only pick came in OT, and led to the game-winning field goal. In the earlier games, Matt Ryan went down in the first quarter with a foot injury. If someone asked you to name the Falcon's backup and you said Chris Redman, you'd be right. Redman was more than up to the task, throwing 41 attempts with 2 TDs and no picks. He would even lead the team on a 59-yard scoring drive to win take the lead for good with 23 seconds left. Ryan's injury is believed to be turf toe, so it isn't yet known if Redman will get the call again next week.

The Redskins are trying to prove me right
Washington actually led against the Eagles at the start of the 4th quarter. Two things let them down in this game: their running game and their fourth quarter defense. With Ladell Betts and Clinton Portis out, the running game never really got going, and totaled only 82 yards. Despite the team scoring a field goal in the 4th, the defense couldn't stop McNabb from getting the Eagles 11 points, including the game-winning field goal inside the 2-minute warning. The 'Skins have something good here, and it should give fans hope for next year.

The Colts clinch!
With their win over the Texans and Jacksonville barely getting on the board against the 49ers, the Colts became the first team to clinch their division in Week 12. Head Coach Jim Cladwell has already said, despite the team's undefeated record, he'll be resting his players down the stretch. With Atlanta winning on Sunday, the Saints will not be able to clinch tonight.