Black Friday. I bet that’s how they are feeling in Detroit and Dallas. The two Thanksgiving Day NFL games played—the prime time contest between sinking Baltimore and undefeated Pittsburgh was first moved to Sunday afternoon and now it is scheduled for Tuesday evening due to COVID-19 issues with the Ravens—were blowouts. Both Houston and Washington put up 41 points on their hosts.
I was curious about the Lions. They entered the game at 4-6, although they suffered a 20-0 loss in Carolina last Sunday. This was a team on the periphery of the playoffs via the Wild Card. They had the enigmatic Matthew Stafford at QB along with sure-fire Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson. While Peterson showed some vintage highlight runs, Stafford and the offense were ineffective. The best offense the Lions have is their punter, whose hang time and distance are superior.
Moreover, the Lions defense, decimated by injuries in the secondary, could not contain the Texans, who broke off long runs or easily converted passes into touchdowns. Head Coach Matt Patricia is in trouble. His job tenure was described as tenuous at best, coming off of this national TV embarrassment. That was prophetic, because Patricia and GM Bob Quinn were both fired on Saturday.
Game 2 featured a battle for the top spot in the NFC East. And it was a no contest. Aided by two questionable decisions by Cowboys’ Head Coach Mike Mc Carthy to go for it on fourth down in his own territory—both failures, one via pass and the other a fake punt—Washington dominated the team formerly known as “America’s Team.”
Just like Patricia, I believe Mc Carthy will be fired if the Cowboys don’t win the division. Even with Dak Prescott out, Andy Dalton is a serviceable quarterback. Yet Ezekiel Elliot and a stable of gifted wide receivers somehow are not making the plays which they are capable of.
Such does not bode well for Dallas, with a tough schedule to finish the campaign. Jerry Jones is not a patient man, and he does not like losing, no matter what the situation is.
A few notes which came from Thursday’s broadcasts. First, the Lions are the first team to have the Thanksgiving Day game, starting in 1933 when the Chicago Bears came to town and left as a winner. That game was played at the University of Detroit Stadium, which existed when the Titans played football, and was torn down in the early 1960’s. Other home venues for the Lions included Briggs/Tiger Stadium, the Pontiac Silverdome and the team’s current home, beautiful Ford Field in downtown Detroit.
The Dallas Cowboys franchise began in 1960. So we have had over 60 seasons of Cowboys football. Their first Thanksgiving Day affair was in 1966. From the Cotton Bowl to Texas Stadium and now to AT&T Stadium, where the roof, doors and windows were kept open and supposedly 33,000 fans were inside the building, the Dallas Turkey Day game has always been the second game of a doubleheader or, more recently, a triple header. More than not, masks were worn, but there also were plenty of pictures of mask less patrons in the stands.
I have seen every team in the NFL this season with the exception of Jacksonville. Which doesn’t matter, because I can exclude the Jaguars because they are missing their QB, Gardner Minishew II and they are almost as pitiful as the Jets.
What I have come away with is this: there is no runway team that I can point to as a favorite to win the Super Bowl. Of course, there is Pittsburgh, which is presently undefeated. The Steelers have beaten a couple of good teams but haven’t played top flight opposition. Baltimore, expected to be a contender in the AFC North along with Cleveland, is a disappointment and star QB Lamar Jackson supposedly has the coronavirus. Plus Cleveland is missing Odell Beckham, Jr. and defensive standout Myles Garrett and they have had their COVID-19 issues.
Kansas City survived a late TD by the Raiders to charge down the field on Sunday night led by Patrick Mahomes II, to defeat the Raiders in Las Vegas. While the Chiefs have the most exciting offense in the NFL, I feel their defense is soft and suspect. I am not sure that the Raiders are a playoff team at 6-4, even with an improved offense and fairly solid defense.
Indianapolis is an interesting team. They surprised a lot of observers by downing the Green Bay Packers at home on Sunday, the win courtesy of a fumble late in the game by Green Bay. I think that they are still getting used to Philip Rivers at QB, and they do have a ton of offensive weapons. Again, like many other contenders, they do not have a shut down defense.
Staying in the AFC, I have not been that impressed with the Bills and Titans, both being likely playoff teams. If they make the tournament, anything can happen. But for now, they aren’t elite teams.
Up and coming Miami suffered a bump in the road in Denver when the Broncos beat the Dolphins. Ryan Fitzgerald relieved a struggling and injured Tua Tagolaviloaa at QB, rallying the team before being picked off in the end zone to end the comeback. Could Miami make the playoffs? Yes. For them, it may come down to end of the season and a visit to cold and probably snowy Buffalo, as the teams are currently separated by just one game.
The Saints’ Taysom Hill stepped in for the battered Drew Brees, who suffered 11 rib fractures and a collapsed lung, and stopped the Falcons on Sunday. Hill is a dual threat QB, akin to Michael Vick when he was in his prime with the Falcons. New Orleans appears to be the best team in the NFC, if not the NFL. If they can maintain their lead in the overall standings and not have to travel to frigid Green Bay, they could go all the way in the NFC.
Speaking of Green Bay, they are legitimately good. With Aaron Rodgers at QB the Packers will always be among the NFC leaders. Their defense is that good too. No other team in the NFC North is good enough to push the Pack—the Bears are weak and falling fast, while I already said my piece regarding the Lions.
All four teams in the NFC West can beat each other on any given day. The Seahawks stopped the Cardinals last Thursday night, but have issues with the Rams. Meanwhile, LAR put a hurting on Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on Monday night, with GOAT Brady throwing an interception to end any chance for a miracle win. I like the Rams, but they have a daunting schedule ahead—home and home with Arizona and a trip to Seattle and Russell Wilson and company, with games versus the Jets at home and a trip to Foxboro to meet the fading Patriots. Deciding who wins the division might come down to the final game each team has.
Going back to the Bucs, they cannot win in prime time. Which is what the playoffs are. As for Brady, he walked off the field rather than exchange words with the Rams’ Jared Goff, as quarterbacks tend to do. We know that Brady is a sore loser and we know he has his favorites whom he considers his peers (Brees, Rodgers). Just another shameless act by Brady, who has been known to cheat, too.
Lastly, there is the NFC East. Presently, the Washington Football Team is in first place. Their remaining games are at Pittsburgh, at San Francisco, home against Seattle and Carolina before ending the season in Philadelphia. This team is rejuvenated by the leadership of Alex Smith, who has returned to form from his horrific leg injury to show some of the brilliance he demonstrated with the 49’ers and then with Washington. If this schedule was not so difficult, I could see this team winning the NFC East.
The 3-6-1 Eagles host Seattle on Monday night, travel to Green Bay, are home with the Saints, go to the desert to play the Cardinals, visit Dallas and are home for the season finale versus Washington. A rugged schedule.
Dallas has road tilts with the slumping Ravens and the Joe Burrow-less Bengals, home games with the Niners and Eagles, ending the year in the Meadowlands with the Giants. Andy Dalton and crew can actually win a good number of these games if they play like they did in Minnesota the week before when they upset the Vikings,
Which leaves the Giants. Joe Judge has clearly stamped his name on this team. Starting with a game in Cincinnati this Sunday, the G-Men have to go to tough Seattle, are home for Arizona and Cleveland, then visit Baltimore prior to the clash with the Cowboys. Not a very easy schedule.
Right now, the Giants have a clear tie breaker with Washington by virtue of two wins this season. Dallas has the most favorable schedule. Washington is suddenly improved. Philadelphia has that tie with the Bengals, which can help them win the division if all teams end with the same amount of wins.
What is clear is that the winner of the NFC East will come from the games of January 3 when all four teams meet divisional rivals. All for the right to be summarily defeated in the first round of the playoffs.
Speaking of the playoffs the NFL should really recognize the need for a neutral site bubble or bubbles if they want see the events through. Any chance for normalcy resides in being proactive—there have been two games this year pushed to Tuesday, which places teams at a disadvantage for the next week in terms of practice and travel.
Look at the scenario in Denver—all three QB on the roster are now on the COVID list; the Broncos say they won’t forfeit. Moreover, Santa Clara County is forbidding contact sports for 30 days, which impacts the home games for the 49’ers, who now must find an alternate site for their two remaining home games.
C’mon, NFL. These COVID-19 related disruptions are going to become more frequent. Man up and do the right thing.
Rutgers football took another step in its development with a 48-42 loss at home to Michigan. This was a game the Scarlet Knights should have won, as they forked up a 17-7 lead. But Greg Schiano’s team never gave up, tying the game with less than a minute to go and then making the needed two point conversion to tie the game.
It took the Wolverines a change at QB in the second half and some luck to win in 3 OT. Rutgers needs to learn how to win winnable games like this one, or to take something from the stunning reversal of fortune at the end of regulation time and make even more good things happen.
Some pundits say this is a down year for the Big Ten, largely based on the pandemic. Maybe so, looking at how perennial winners like Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State have fared.
Nevertheless, give Noah Verdal, the RU QB, and his mates all of the necessary praise for being better than even the faithful expected. Will it carry over into the final three games starting Saturday at Purdue, then home with Penn State before heading to Maryland? Hard to say. But for some small moments, I am certain I was not the only one last Saturday night thinking that RU could’ve beaten Michigan and, in the process, become the best major college team in Michigan with wins over the Wolverines and Spartans.
This is what dreams are made of. All of the hard work is paying off, as demonstrated in Saturday’s 37-30 win at Purdue, with Verdal unable to play. Rutgers and its long-suffering fans are in a good place, dream-wise.
College basketball has begun its season. A number of head coaches have come down with COVID-19. Most notably Scott Drew of Baylor. This led to cancellation of games on the East Coast for the #2-ranked Bears. Then all of a sudden, Baylor has scheduled games with Louisiana-Lafayette and the University of Washington before meeting #8 Illinois then #1 Gonzaga.
I don’t like Baylor for a myriad of reasons. The best thing about the school is its medical school, located in Houston. Which is nowhere near its primary campus in Waco. I have always thought of Baylor as a bunch of cheaters in an outpost like Waco, so full of themselves with so little substance.
I thought Scott Drew came from a coaching tree with integrity, starting with his College Basketball Hall of Fame dad, Homer, at Valparaiso, and his brother, Bryce, who had a legendary career with Valpo, played in the NBA and was the head man at Valpo, Vanderbilt and now at Grand Canyon.
Scott Drew is deep into his faith as a Christian. I do not challenge his devotion to religion. I challenge how any upstanding man succumbs to pressure to renege on East Coast games, which included Seton Hall, only to schedule more favorable early opposition to be ready for the gauntlet of contests his Bears face in the next week plus.
I turn to that pillar of faith and honesty, Rick Pitino, currently the head man at Iona, for reason and logic. Pitino is usually not somebody I subscribe to, based on his nefarious conduct at both Kentucky and Louisville, where scandals erupted and where he cheated on his wife one night in an Italian eatery while coaching the Cardinals.
At the Kentucky schools, he faced enormous pressure to win. He has a chance to redeem himself at Iona. I wasn’t rooting for him, but now I am.
Why? Because he said the right thing. There should not have been anything but a reduced slate of conference games, to allow for control of the virus and to give schools a chance to actually make it to March Madness. Which makes what Baylor is doing so shallow and contemptuous.
And allows me to say that I have finally found my Dr. Anthony Fauci in college hoops—Richard Andrew Pitino. Keep on wearing the mask, Rick!!
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