1. The walking undead Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants are 4-6 after impressive wins on Sunday. Which team do you trust more to keep their reborn playoff hopes alive?
JAMES CARR: Definitely the G-Men. For one, they've earned a living and two Super Bowls pulling off the rope-a-dope during the regular season, only to deliver a knockout blow in the playoffs. Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning were made for this. Though both turnarounds are impressive, the NFC East is always up for grabs, especially when Dallas begins their annual December swoon. The Giants know they just need to lay in the cut in the NFC East, and they might just be able to pull it off.
DJ DUNSON: The Giants are the most defiant team in all of football. Traditionally, when they start out the season 6-2, the balcony collapses beneath them. At 2-6, 3-6, 4-6, you can feel them starting to climb the mountain. The Steelers on the other hand, have Bruce Banner Roethlisberger under center and after a report was released claiming that he would be open to a trade enraged him this week, he hulk smashed the Detroit Lions.
RICHARD BOADU: The Giants. Simply because they play in the NFC Least division. The Cowboys are going to do what they do best and not make the playoffs. The Redskins are struggling right now and I just can't see them making the playoffs. The Eagles are hitting their stride and should win the division, but the Giants have a chance to still win the division.
2. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are starting to show signs of life on offense. Is Greg Schiano on the verge of doing the impossible and saving his job? If not, what else can he do to stay gainfully employed in the NFL?
CARR: I'm upset that you're introducing this thought into my head, because I'd already moved on from Greg Schiano. No, it should not save his job. Wins against the post-Incognito train-wreck Dolphins and the At-least-we're-staying-in-the-city Falcons should get Schiano fired faster if he tries to use them as reasons to keep his job. Tampa's schedule returns to normal next week against the Detroit Lions. Expect a reality check moving forward.
DUNSON: Greg Schiano is the coaching version of belly fat. You hate him, try to lose him, but he just won’t disappear. This winter, he’s looking like he’ll stick around longer than you might have anticipated. However, a healthy dose of games at Detroit, at Carolina, Buffalo, San Fran, followed by a cheat week against St. Louis and a fat-burning session with New Orleans in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in Week 17 should give Tampa Bay a vacant head coaching position by Black Monday. Vincent Jackson and Mike Glennon are beginning to click and whether it’s Bobby Rainey or Mike James back there, the running game is looking robust. If the Bucs start rolling off W’s, I wouldn’t put it past the MRSA
BOADU: No, Schiano is out. There's nothing he can do. He rattle off a winning streak and not lose for the rest of the year, but he's out. The players have tuned him out. His "my way or the highway" style of coaching clearly doesn't work in the NFL.
3. Who is your MVP of Week 11?
CARR: Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians. Carson Palmer did what he could to give Jacksonville another win, but Arians sensed Palmer's turnover tendencies and promptly called a timeout just before the snap. It was so late, the play continued and Palmer threw what would have been a costly pick. Instead, AZ kept the rock, Palmer threw an interception-free game, and the Cards went home with a victory.
DUNSON: I’m going to go with the aforementioned Tampa Bay’s Vincent Jackson. Dude’s pulling down Glennon’s home run balls with the ease of an infielder shagging flyballs. Sunday, he had 10 catches for 165 yards and a touchdown. To top it off, V-Jax is out here saving jobs (even if it is Schiano’s) in a tough economy and making Megatron-type catches like this. I can't tell if he's got gloves on or a catcher's mitt.
BOADU: Peyton Manning. Kansas City has the best defense and he led the Broncos to 27 points when the Chiefs were only giving up 12 points per game.
