Have you been watching the games?  I have managed to catch all or part of several bowl games and many of them have even been competitive!

We have to pace ourselves because there are about 27 college bowl games left – and there are football games almost every day between now and January 9.  I changed the batteries in my remote so they would not fail me…maybe you should, too.  I have a couple of meat sticks ready to go, plus some cheese and crackers.  The man cave is ready…

By the way, in the NFL pick contest, I managed to go a respectable 10-6 – way out of the Pizza prize (I may just have to buy one because it looks like I am not going to win).

This week I talk about Brees and Brady, more penalties than first downs, a mascot fumbles, the Lions not being cowardly any more, a revenge game, an upcoming championship game, and much more!

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

With the majority of NFL games being played on Saturday last weekend, my “game clock” was just a little off.  I managed to pull through and watch a couple games by planning my Christmas shopping around football.

Impressive:

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees broke the yards passing in a season record that Dan Marino held for 27 years – so that was impressive.

Watch out – New England QB Tom Brady is only 190 yards behind Brees with one game left.

Unimpressive:

The Oakland Raiders were called for 15 penalties on Saturday.  They had 13 first downs. They won.

The Raiders have been penalized 155 times for 1,293 yards this season.  They are just three penalties short of the NFL record (set in 1998 by my Kansas City Chiefs).

Getting this many penalties was not too surprising – they were playing the Chiefs.

Hail to the Lions:

The Detroit Lions made the playoffs.  Yes, the Detroit Lions made the playoffs.  This is the first time in 12 years.  Congrats!

Games of Significance:

By my calculations, there are only four games this weekend that don’t have any playoff implications.  Here are a couple of games that get my attention:

-Dallas at NY Giants

This is for all the marbles in the NFC East. Win and in. It’s on Sunday Night Football, too.

From now until the game is over, we will hear more about Dallas QB Tony Romo’s injured hand than we ever needed to know.

-Kansas City at Denver

Chiefs QB Kyle Orton heads back to Denver to maybe knock Denver out of the playoffs.  This is the second time the Chiefs have played Tim Tebow. Someone called it the Orton Bowl…I call it revenge.

Realistically, this game is more important to Broncos coach John Fox and executive John Elway – because they are the ones who traded Orton.  Now he may come back to haunt them…

MAJOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL

We are just starting the 2011-12 Bowl Season – the big games will be played after the first of the year – so pace yourself.  Congrats to Mizzou Nation for their big win yesterday.

Mizzou 41, North Carolina 24

It was the final curtain for Missouri as a member of the Big 12 – and they spanked North Carolina on Monday in the Independence Bowl.  Missouri heads to the SEC next season.

The biggest news to come out of the game was that Missouri’s mascot, Truman the Tiger, dropped the trophy during a photo op before the game shattering the crystal cup that sits on top.  Ouch.  Read about it HERE.

FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION (FCS)

In case you forgot, the FCS Championship is Saturday, January 7, with #1 Sam Houston State taking on #2 North Dakota State.

That’s the division where real national champions are crowned.  You can find more information about the game HERE.

Follow Jack on his Twitter account @TheWesternWord.