[stkelly52]

Week 12
Atlanta 8-2 @ Tennessee 7-3
Tennessee is trying to become the first team in 9 years, other than Jacksonville, to win the AFC South. They currently have a 1 game lead over the Jags. Much as we have this year, Tennessee wins with defense. They don't give up many points, so this should be a low scoring affair.

There were many stars in this game. While we gave up more points than I would have liked, our defense came up big when it counted. We gave up 17 points, but we forced key turnovers, two inside their 20 that we were able to turn into TDs and two inside our 20 that prevented a Titan score. Nixon was named MVP thanks to his 181 yards and 1 TD in 42 carries. We win this one 27-17.

More bad news for my offensive line. Two more guards go down with injuries. This means that 4 of my opening day starters on the line are now out for the next few weeks. I suppose that I should mention that my TE is out as well. It will be tough to patch together an effective line over the next few weeks for Leland to run behind.

Week 13
Atlanta 9-2 @ Dallas 4-7
Dallas is having a very disappointing season. After having winning seasons each of the past three years, and having one of the better QBs in the league, they were expected to contend for a playoff spot this year. Instead they are cellar dwellers, largely thanks to one of the most porous defenses in the league. They have a terrible time stopping the run, though without my crew of linemen, I may be in trouble anyway.

Even without a line to support him, Leland was able to get the job done (in spite of a few fumbles). He picked up 177 yards on 45 carries as we crushed the Cowboys 24-7. And, there were no new injuries as well. All in all it was a great week for us.

3/4 season review.
With four games still left to play, we have already attained one of my preseason goals, to win 10 games. I had no idea that things would be going this well for me this year, particularly on the defensive side of things. I do not see any realistic scenario that would keep us out of the playoff. However there is one issue that we need to be aware of. We hold just a one game lead over Tampa, and as you may recall, Tampa swept us, giving us our only two losses of the year. If we lose one more game, and Tampa continues to win, then we would find ourselves in the wild card spot instead of having the home field throughout the playoffs.

My Goals for Leland included running for 2000 yards. Leland needs just 79 more yards to do just that. In fact, Nixon has more yards rushing than the team does passing. As for my other goals for Nixon, I don't think that they are going to happen. He currently has a 3.97 yard average. It is possible that he could increase that by .03, but with my offensive line in the condition that it is, I don't know how likely that is. I also sought for him to score 15 TDs. He currently has just 9. Again it is possible for him to score 6 more in 4 games, but it is not something that I would count on. Leland is now up to 5 fumbles this season. Still far below what people thought that he would cough up, but he has fumbled in several consecutive games. I am hoping that this is not a trend that he has restarted.

I must also spend a moment talking about my defense. We are still allowing the fewest points of any team in history (thought that figure is creeping upwards). We allow an average of just 61.7 yards rushing per game (which is far and away the best in history), and we have the 5th best pass defense in the league. In addition, we have more takeaways (29) than any other team while at the same time having the fewest giveaways (15). This has been the key to our success this year.