Big Ben, Brett Favre, Matt Cassel shine in Week 12 - Peter King - SI.com
Coach of the Week
Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator, New England. In Week 3 at Foxboro, the New England offense was absolutely embarrassed, held to 215 net yards and 13 points in a 25-point loss to the Fins. Cassel was sacked five times. Fast-forward to Saturday night at the Patriots' hotel in Fort Lauderdale, before the rematch. McDaniels stood in front of his team and said: "We're not going to put up 13 points tomorrow. I can tell you we'll put up a lot more than that.''
Prophetic -- with a very good reason. In Week 3 Cassel was a game-manager. In Week 12 McDaniels knew he had a game-winner. He was aggressive in his play-calling, directing Cassel to gun downfield early and often. Cassel told me after the 48-28 victory: "The gameplan was brilliant. His gameplans always blow me away, but this one was so good. Josh is an outstanding coach. I learn from him every week.''
The Patriots, with McDaniels orchestrating the show, had 530 net yards in the revenge win over Miami. I said this on NBC last night: I don't know a lot about the pro football landscape of 2009, but I do know this: Josh McDaniels will be one of the 32 head coaches in the NFL.