COLTS, SEAHAWKS AND OTHER WILD CARDS GONE
WILD!
No Rams, Chiefs or Saints on
Sunday means no fun, right? Wrong!
With the powerhouses away, the
wild-card hopefuls came to play Sunday, and Digest has you covered with all the
action including:
The Seahawks, Colts and other
teams hurdling into the playoff picture;
A shocking upset in Denver;
Baker Mayfield conquering the
ghosts of Hue Jackson past and future;
Wild-and-woolly results in
not-totally-meaningless Bills-Jaguars and Eagles-Giants games;
A Pro Football Hall of Fame
semifinalist argument starter;
and much, much more!
DARK HORSES GAINING GROUND IN AN
UNPREDICTABLE WILD CARD RACE
There's not much drama in the
divisional races this year. The Patriots, Rams and Saints look very safe, the
Bears, Chiefs and Steelers somewhat safe, the Texans control their own fate
with an easy late schedule, and no one really cares who wins the NFC East.
The wild-card race, on the
other hand, is totally bonkers. The Chargers are the only lock. Everything else
is in flux. Teams that looked like shoo-ins three weeks ago are suddenly on the
skids. Teams that were expected to fire their coaches around Halloween are
suddenly relevant again after Thanksgiving.
Digest doesn't have the time
or space to cover all of the possible wild-card scenarios—teams like the Bills
and Lions are still mathematically alive right now—so we'll focus on a handful
of hot teams who have suddenly gone from fringe hopefuls to legitimate playoff
contenders in the last few weeks.
BALTIMORE RAVENS (6-5)
What's up: Lamar Jackson
may not be a conventional quarterback, but the Ravens are at their best when
their quarterback situation is unconventional. The Ravens now have a 6-3 AFC
record, which could help propel them into the postseason in the likely event
that a bunch of wild-card hopefuls get knotted at around 9-7.
What's working: Jackson
and undrafted rookie Gus Edwards have confounded a pair of terrible defenses
(Bengals and Raiders) with options, and the Ravens defense looks a lot perkier
now that the ball-control offense gives it the chance to grab some Gatorade.
What's next: Road games
against the Falcons, Chiefs and Chargers will test the Ravens' ability to win
with cloud-of-dust tactics. Jackson may not be ready for quality defenses or
offenses that could force him to play catch-up. Then again, Joe Flacco has been
in the league for 11 years, and he's rarely ready for those things,
either.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (6-5)
What's up: The Colts
edged the Dolphins 27-24 Sunday for their fifth straight win. Victories over
the Dolphins and Titans give them potential wild-card tiebreaker advantages.
What's working: The Colts
gave up their first sack since T-shirt-and-shorts weather on Sunday, which is a
sign of just how well things have been clicking on offense. They now boast
worthy candidates for Coach of the Year (Frank Reich), Offensive Rookie of the
Year (guard Quenton Nelson), Defensive Rookie of the Year (Darius Leonard, who
recorded 10 tackles and a sack on Sunday) and the hands-down Comeback Player of
the Year, if not the league MVP (Andrew Luck)
What's ahead: The Colts
face all three division foes on the road down the stretch, including the
Jaguars and Texans in back-to-back weeks starting next Sunday. The upcoming
schedule isn't easy, but only a handful of teams are playing better than them
right now.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (6-5)
What's up: Back-to-back
wins over the Packers and Panthers give the Seahawks a pair of head-to-head
victories that could have massive wild-card tiebreaker significance.
What's working: We'll
examine the 30-27 win over the Panthers a little later in Digest. For now, the
Seahawks aren't making many mistakes, and it's paying off.
What's ahead: A pair of
meetings with the 49ers in the next three weeks should leave the Seahawks at
least 8-6 entering the final two weeks of the season.
THE NFC EAST GOOFBALL BRIGADE (COWBOYS AND
REDSKINS 6-5, EAGLES 5-6)
What's up: The mid-majors
in the NFL's answer to the
America East Conference had little chance to earn wild-card berths a few weeks
ago. But the Panthers have lost three straight, the Packers kissed their season
goodbye on Sunday night and the Vikings are embarking on the worst two-game
road trip the NFL could think of (Foxborough in December, then Seattle).
The Cowboys have the best
chance of winning the NFC East outright, but their wild-card portfolio is iffy
(losses to the Panthers and Seahawks).
If Washington can figure out
how to win with Colt McCoy,
it can sweep the Eagles, beat the Giants and Jaguars and use wins over the
Panthers and Packers to gain a wild-card edge if that's not enough for a
division crown.
Similarly, the Eagles could
sweep Washington and get back into consideration after clawing out a win
against the Giants, though their tiebreaker portfolio stinks and, really, they
aren't very good.
What's working: The Amari
Cooper acquisition opened up the Cowboys offense, and their defense is playing
well. Washington has a favorable schedule. The Eagles haven't rolled over and
died just yet.
What's
ahead: Saints-Cowboys and the first of two Eagles-Redskins games will
either bring clarity next week or muddle the NFC East—and the whole wild-card
race—even more.
UPSET SPOTLIGHT: BRONCOS 24, STEELERS 17
WHAT HAPPENED
The Broncos rushed for 124
yards, avoided turnovers and didn't do anything foolish or self-destructive.
Meanwhile, Steelers tight end
Xavier Grimble fumbled near the goal line for a touchback; James Conner lost a
fumble in the open field, negating what should have been a big play; Justin
Simmons blocked a Chris Boswell field goal; Ben Roethlisberger threw
a third-quarter interception that set up a scoring opportunity for the Broncos,
and so on.
The Steelers led 17-10 in the
third quarter thanks to a pair of big plays: Alejandro Villanueva's touchdown
reception on a fake field goal and a 97-yard JuJu Smith-Schuster touchdown
catch-and-run. But the Broncos answered with a pair of touchdown drives, and a
potential game-tying Steelers drive ended when lineman Shelby Harris drifted
into the end zone and cradled a game-icing interception.
WHAT IT MEANS
The Broncos now have
back-to-back wins against AFC contenders (they beat the Chargers last week) and
could well have been included in our opening Wild Cards Gone Wild segment.
Think of them as the Seahawks of the AFC: a run-heavy team with a solid defense
that can win with mistake-free football.
An upcoming
Bengals-49ers-Browns-Raiders slate could get the Broncos to nine wins and into
the wild-card picture. But like the Seahawks, their margin of error is
microscopic. A head-to-head loss to the Ravens hurts their tiebreaker
portfolio, and before you pencil in four straight wins, remember that the
Broncos got hammered by the Jets not so long ago.
The Steelers defense couldn't
stop the run against the Browns and Chiefs early in the season (304 yards allowed
in two games) and then settled down for a few months—only to become porous
against the Jaguars (179 yards) last week and Phillip Lindsay and company this
week.
The Steelers offense can't
subsist entirely on highlights like it wants to when the defense is getting
gashed. They got away with it against the Jaguars last week because the Jaguars
are the dumbest situational football team on the planet. They got burned this
week, and playoff opponents with quality running games—including the suddenly
ground 'n' pound-oriented Patriots—surely noticed.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Steelers face a tough test
as the Chargers visit. The Broncos travel to Cincinnati to learn if there are
any healthy and motivated players left in the Bengals organization.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: BAKER MAYFIELD, BROWNS
WHAT HAPPENED
Mayfield completed 19 of 26
passes for 258 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers in a 35-20
Browns rout of the Bengals.
One of Mayfield's touchdowns
came when David Njoku leapt after catching a screen pass and was carried to and
fro by teammates and defenders like a battering ram being wrestled over by
ancient barbarians at the gates of a city until he tumbled over the goal line.
Another came on a bridegroom catch by Nick Chubb. (That's when the receiver reaches
around the defender's back for a catch, like a nervous bridegroom trying
to...don't make us spell it out.)
Unusual touchdowns aside,
Mayfield demonstrated tremendous pocket poise and an ever-increasing knack for
extending plays and finding receivers after escaping the pocket. Mayfield's
continuing progress—as well as the Browns' first two-game winning streak since
2014—has fans in Cleveland optimistic about the future.
WHAT IT MEANS
Mayfield faced an awful
Bengals defense coached (in part) by Hue Jackson, the awful former Browns coach
who refused to give Mayfield first-team reps in training camp, clamped him to
the bench at the start of the season and played tug-of-war with offensive
coordinator Todd Haley for the right to develop and/or take credit for Mayfield's
success while the rookie endured a midseason slide (which was caused by awful
coaches feuding over him instead of helping him).
So Sunday's performance was part exorcism of Jackson demons
and part breakout performance. Mayfield was impressive in spurts earlier in the
year, but he now has seven touchdowns and no interceptions in his last two
starts. That kind of sustained excellence will attract top coaching candidates
to Cleveland, help teammates develop (who knew Nick Chubb could catch?) and
could be the catalyst for a long, long, long, long-awaited turnaround for the
Browns.
WHAT'S NEXT?
A meeting with J.J.
Watt, Jadeveon
Clowney and the Texans will put Mayfield's pocket presence to
the ultimate test.
GAME SPOTLIGHT: SEAHAWKS 30, PANTHERS 27
WHAT HAPPENED
The Panthers squandered a
237-total yard, two-touchdown performance by Christian McCaffrey on several
red-zone mistakes, including a fourth-down stop, a Cam Newton interception
and a pair of drives that ended with short field goals.
The miscues kept the Seahawks
in the game despite first-half offensive struggles. Russell Wilson then
threw a pair of second-half touchdowns, including a 35-yarder to David Moore to
tie the game with 3:26 left.
Graham Gano missed a 52-yard
field goal after a Panthers drive stalled with 1:45 to play, and Wilson hit
Tyler Lockett for a 43-yarder to set up a game-winning Sebastian Janikowski
field goal.
WHAT IT MEANS
The Seahawks reinvented
themselves as a consistent-but-unspectacular team this year. Wilson video game
highlights aren't as frequent as they used to be, and the Seahawks defense
won't be getting any catchy nicknames this year, but the Seahawks avoid
penalties (just 10 for 96 yards in their last two games), are stingy with
turnovers (just nine giveaways all year, with a plus-eight turnover
differential) and can now manufacture wins in the conventional way, as opposed
to acting like an edgy 1990s superhero team that blows everything up, including
its own headquarters.
Consistent-and-unspectacular
play couldn't beat the Rams in two meetings and won't beat the Saints, but it
has proved an effective formula for beating mistake-prone NFC playoff
also-rans.
The Panthers have now lost
three straight games after a 6-2 start. They are burying themselves beneath an
avalanche of fumbles, sacks and bad situational play. McCaffrey is marvelous,
and the misdirection-heavy game plans still baffle defenses, but the Panthers
now find ways to do all the little things wrong.
The NFC wild-card berths will
go to the teams that leave the least points on the field and best avoid
self-destruction. The Panthers looked like a lock for one of those spots a
month ago. The Seahawks took the inside track with this win.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Panthers get the
Buccaneers and Browns on the road—neither of those games are a sure
thing—before their Saints-Falcons-Saints end-of-season knuckle sandwich.
The Seahawks will host the
shambling undead remains of the 49ers next Sunday.
EARLY AND UGLY DIGEST
Most of this week's
early-afternoon games were nothing to rearrange your life schedule for. But
some were more exciting or enlightening on the field than they had any right to
be. And as always, Digest watched (nearly) everything so you would not feel
obligated to.
PATRIOTS 27, JETS 13
The Patriots used their
running game, defense and the Jets' reliable futility to manufacture another
win that looks commanding on the scoreboard but was much tighter than it was
supposed to be. Everything is just fine with the Patriots, folks, so long as
Tom Brady only has to complete one deep touch pass to a wide-open Rob Gronkowski per
game and they never face an opponent who can stop an I-formation iso handoff.
EAGLES 25, GIANTS 22
The Giants took a 19-3 lead on
the injury-ravaged Eagles defense and then did everything possible to cough it
up. Eli Manning threw a red-zone interception to Malcolm Jenkins, the only
Eagles defensive back who wasn't working at a smartphone accessory kiosk last
month. Pat Shurmur added play calls like a 3rd-and-18 swing pass to a running
back not named Saquon Barkley. The Eagles found a running game thanks to
undrafted rookie Josh Adams (22-84-1), and Carson Wentz regained a little
composure after last Sunday's turnover spree against the Saints.
The Eagles are still in the
theoretical playoff chase despite themselves. The Giants should at least be
disabused of the notion that Manning is mounting some sort of comeback.
BILLS 24, JAGUARS 21
Josh Allen, back from an elbow
injury but still coping with the Aztec curse Tyrod Taylor placed on Bills
quarterbacks, made plenty of plays with his legs (99 rushing yards, 1 TD) but
just one with his arm: a 75-yard howitzer blast to Robert Foster. (The Curse of
Tyrodcthulhu dooms all Bills quarterbacks to Taylor-like statistics or
transforms them into Nathan Peterman clones.)
Blake Bortles no longer looks
like a bumbling bust at quarterback and now looks like a high school freshman
unsuccessfully running a veer offense. Allen and Bortles combined for 9-of-16
passing in the first half in a game where both teams tried to punish viewers
with off-tackle runs, penalties (23 total) and brawls (Leonard Fournette and
Shaq Mason were ejected for a sideline brawl that was roughly as interesting as
the game).
The fact that the Bills are
now better at being the Jaguars than the Jaguars should get a lot of people
fired. And this entire game was punishment for people claiming they didn't like
the Rams-Chiefs Monday nighter because they prefer old-school defense.
RAVENS 34, RAIDERS 17
Lamar Jackson (14-of-25, 178
yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 11-71-1) looked more like a traditional rookie quarterback
than the moonlighting rugby fly-half he appeared to be last week. Jackson made
plenty of mistakes but demonstrated more pocket-passing skills than were
evident last week: better decisions, more skill at moving defenders with fakes
and so on.
Jackson was also helped by
punt return and strip-six touchdowns, and by general Raiders futility, making
this more like a typical Ravens victory than the final score suggests.
BUCCANEERS 27, 49ERS 9
Digest unapologetically
skipped this game entirely. But a Bucs quarterback (Jameis Winston this time)
went an entire game without a turnover, so maybe Tampa should throw a parade or
something.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
PHILIP
RIVERS, CHARGERS:
28-OF-29 FOR 259 YARDS, 3 TDS.
Eh, it's just a completion
rate of 96.6 percent: nothing mind boggling about that number, no sir.
Rivers was 19-of-19 in the
first half. He tied an NFL record with 25 straight completions before getting
hit as he threw midway through the third quarter, with the Chargers leading
35-10, for his only incomplete pass of the day.
One of Rivers' completions
proved costly, however. A throw to Austin Ekeler went for minus-10 yards on a
shovel-sweep trick play. Ekeler lateraled to Melvin Gordon after the exchange,
who got tripped in the backfield by Robert Nkemdiche. Gordon suffered what
appeared to be a significant injury on the play.
Who held the record of 25
straight completions that Rivers tied, you ask? Why, none other than...
RYAN TANNEHILL, DOLPHINS: 17-OF-25 FOR 204
YARDS, 2 TDS.
Oh, hey, Ryan Tannehill is
back after missing...a bunch of games with...some sort of injury?
Sorry, something about
Tannehill's career makes Digest's memory a little foggy. In fact, we didn't
even see the Dolphins' 27-24 loss to the Colts live. But no worries! We'll
make an educated guess based on the numbers and then check out the ol' tape.
EDUCATED
GUESS: Tannehill's 71-yard touchdown to Leonte Carroo was a short pass and
long run, Kenyon Drake provided lots of YAC on screens to make Tannehill's
numbers look OK and most of Tannehill's production was rancid low-fat
dink-and-dunk ranch dressing.
Oops, turns out the Carroo
play was actually a jump ball on a bomb. Sorry to doubt you, Tannehill!
But then, oh, there's Drake
scoring a 33-yard touchdown on a swing pass and taking another one 13 yards on
3rd-and-15. And there's a pass to Kalen Ballage for a loss of two, and another
for a loss of three; Ballage finished with two catches for minus-five yards!
And there's DeVante Parker getting stuffed on a wide receiver screen: He
finished with three catches for nine, one and zero yards.
Yep, that's how Tannehill
keeps his completion rates so high, which is why his performances are as
memorable as...what were we talking about again?
MARCELL ATEMAN, RAIDERS: 3 CATCHES FOR 16
YARDS ON 10 TARGETS.
Ateman, a seventh-round
rookie, is apparently the Raiders' primary receiver now. He caught an 11-yard
pass on 3rd-and-10 early in the game and appeared to toe-tap the sideline on a
play that was ruled incomplete, but he spent most of his afternoon dropping
short passes and chasing down both Derek Carr overthrows and Terrell Suggs
after fumble recoveries.
The 36-year-old Suggs both
juked out Ateman and outran him up the sideline on his late-game touchdown,
which tells you a lot about the athletic potential of a receiver the Raiders
drafted and promoted into the starting lineup.
AWARDS DIGEST
OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE WEEK
Sony Michel and James White
combined for 206 rushing yards, often rumbling through holes wide enough for a
golf cart. Tom Brady didn't have to move from his favorite spot in the pocket
all game. So this week's award goes to the Patriots line of Trent Brown, Joe
Thuney, David Andrews, Shaq Mason and Marcus Cannon.
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Not only did defensive lineman
Shelby Harris intercept Ben Roethlisberger in the end zone in the waning
seconds to preserve a Broncos upset, but he also hit Big Ben just as he threw
on Chris Harris Jr.'s third-quarter interception to set up a game-tying
touchdown.
SPECIAL TEAMER OF THE WEEK
Cyrus Jones' 70-yard punt
return touchdown kept the Ravens afloat while their offense sputtered and
turned the ball over in the first half until they figured things out after
halftime.
DOLPHINS MOMENT OF THE WEEK
Digest favorite Xavien Howard
intercepted Andrew Luck twice in the span of three plays; Dolphins tight end
Mike Gesicki fumbled in between to make the feat possible. If any defender
someday sets a record with five interceptions on nine plays, with his offense
turning the ball over between each pick and his team ultimately losing the game,
it will probably be Xavien Howard.
DOUBLE TACKLE OF THE WEEK
Eagles linebacker Kamu
Grugier-Hill knew he was playing with a secondary culled from open tryouts for
the touring-company cast of Hamilton, so he left nothing to chance
when the Giants attempted a game-ending hook-and-lateral. Grugier-Hill wrapped
up Sterling Shepard after a reception and then swept out his legs and kicked
Odell Beckham Jr. to the ground after the pitch. Are sweep-kicks legal tackles?
Who cares? It was Giants-Eagles, and everyone just wanted to go home.
HURDLE OF THE WEEK
Seahawks running back Chris
Carson tried to leap over Eric Reid, but the Panthers defender took out
Carson's landing gear early in the flight. No matter: Carson simply
somersaulted, landed superhero-style with one hand on the ground (Dead pool
would be impressed) and rumbled forward for a few extra yards.
Carson set a new high bar for
hurdling; now we won't be impressed until someone performs a double somersault
over a defender.
MYSTERY TOUCH OF THE WEEK
Chris Boswell-to-Alejandro
Villanueva fake field goal touchdowns are the reason Digest got into this
business. Villanueva looked like he would display the best "big man
hands" of the game, but then Shelby Harris showed up.
MYSTERY TOUCH OF THE WEEK, PART II
Jacoby Brissett took the field
at quarterback for the Colts on a second-quarter 4th-and-1, with Andrew Luck
lined up as the Wildcat cosplay wide receiver. Dolphins defender Minkah
Fitzpatrick decided not to waste his time covering Luck and blitzed instead. So
Brissett tossed the ball to Luck for an easy first down. It's as if the
Dolphins set themselves up for this play by letting Cutler stand with his hands
in his pockets during Wildcat plays last year.
COACHING FAIL OF THE WEEK
Tom Brady threw an incomplete
pass on 3rd-and-2, but the Patriots were called for offensive pass interference
on a pick play. Todd Bowles accepted the penalty, even though it only moved the
Patriots back to the 34-yard line (still in field goal range) and gave Brady
another third down to work with. Brady floated a teardrop touchdown to Rob
Gronkowski.
"Third-and-12 were good
odds for us," Bowles said after the game (via Al Iannazzone of Newsday). "We've been pretty
good at 3rd-and-12. We knew they would have gone for it on 4th-and-2. We
figured if we backed them up we had a chance [for them] to kick a field
goal."
That...almost makes sense.
Assuming you can pressure Brady. Or cover Gronk with someone other than a
linebacker. Or do other things that Bowles' Jets prove incapable of doing on a
weekly basis.
REVEALING COACHING MOMENT OF THE WEEK
The Patriots later got the
ball back at their own 2-yard line with 1:52 before halftime and three
timeouts. Brady handed off three times to Sony Michel, the Patriots punted and
the Jets took advantage of the excellent field position to drive for a
game-tying field goal.
Yep, Brady is just as good as
he has ever been, Patriots fans, and giving up a crack at a two-minute drill is
totally something the team would have done any other time in the last 16 years.
EFFORT OF THE WEEK
Kudos to Seattle cornerback
Shaquill Griffin for chasing down Carolina's Christian McCaffrey at the end of
a 59-yard run to save a touchdown. McCaffrey scored a few plays later, but
effort is always rewarded here at Digest, and it was fun watching McCaffrey
sneak a peek at the jumbo screen and make a "ruh-roh" face when he
realized Griffin was gaining on him.
FAIL MARY OF THE WEEK
Backup Bengals QB Jeff
Driskel, subbing for injured Andy Dalton, chucked a
Hail Mary on 4th-and-22 with 9:12 left in the fourth quarter. Derrick Kindred
intercepted the pass, but Genard Avery got flagged for walloping Driskel, and
the Bengals used the fresh set of downs to drive for a two-yard Driskel
touchdown.
Cutting a deficit to two
scores late in the game isn't really worth the health of your one healthy
quarterback, and the resulting touchdown neither had fantasy (Driskel is
available in 99.99999 percent of leagues) nor gambling value (the game was
already over). It was just an example of Bengals galaxy-brain strategizing.
DIGEST SPORTSBOOK
PARLAY OF THE WEEK
Digest enjoyed a yummy +320
payout from Draft Kings on the Bills (+3) and the over (36.5) in the Bills'
straight-up 24-21 win against the Jaguars. The lesson: As the season enters the
final stretch, always be on the lookout for undervalued teams (the Bills are
better than the other bottom-feeders), overvalued teams (the Jaguars are
basically the late-era Rex Ryan Jets) and easy-to-clear under (defensive scores
can go a long way, particularly in bad QB duels and/or weather
games).
DOUBLE-DIGIT DEBACLE
Digest has a hard-and-fast rule
about the Ravens as heavy favorites (avoid them like the dumpster behind an
urgent care clinic), so we took the Raiders +13 and ended up screaming at the
television when Terrell Suggs scooped and scored on that Derek Carr fumble to
seal a 34-17 Ravens win-and-cover.
According to Pro Football
Reference, the Ravens are now 3-11 ATS as double-digit favorites, dating back to 2010, so
Digest will wager against them again next time they face a team as pitiful as
the Raiders. (It may be a while.)
BACKDOOR COVER LOVERS
The Jets drove to New
England's 4-yard line at the two-minute warning but failed to punch in a
touchdown for a backdoor cover. Never count on the Jets to do anything fun or
interesting.
OVERWATCH
The Chargers cleared the over
of 43 single-handedly in their 45-10 win over the Cardinals. The Cardinals and
their opponents have cleared the
over five times in the last seven games; keep an eye out for
overs in the 50-range when they face opponents with capable offenses in the
weeks to come (Packers, Falcons, Rams). The Cardinals are so pitiful that the
weekly rout potential is extreme.
UNDERTALE
The Colts and Dolphins
couldn't clear the over/under of 52.5 in their 27-24 back-and-forth battle.
Really, the house was just trolling us with that number. What did wagerers
taking the over expect: three Ryan Tannehill touchdown
passes?
MONDAY NIGHT ACTION: TENNESSEE TITANS
(+3.5) AT HOUSTON TEXANS
Marcus Mariota was off the
injury report by the weekend, which means that he should not only play but also
be able to properly grip and throw a football; early in the season, the Titans
did not consider the latter a prerequisite for the former.
The Titans are 7-2 ATS in division games since 2017, the
Texans 3-6. Those figures look more like statistical noise than anything worth
latching onto, but the Texans have won four of their seven games this season by
margins of three points or fewer, and their rickety offensive line makes them a
risky bet to put up too many points. The Texans are overvalued right now, the
Titans underrated because of Mariota's complex injury status all season, so
take the Titans if AFC Southlandia wagers are really your bag.
DISTANT EARLY WARNING
Early lines had the Cowboys +7
at home against the Saints on Thursday night. The Saints are 6-1 as road favorites since 2016; don't fall for the old
"Saints can't play on the road" storyline.
Aaron Rodgers' brother
rips him for donating $1 million to California wildfire charities but
allegedly not calling his California-based mother.
POINT: Jordan Rodgers went on to say that the wildfires
wouldn't have happened in the first place if Aaron had just raked the forest
like mom asked him to.
COUNTERPOINT: Next year's Planes, Trains and
Automobiles reboot starring the Rodgers brothers and Danica Patrick is
gonna be lit.
JERRY JONES COMPARES EZEKIEL ELLIOTT AND
AMARI COOPER TO EMMITT SMITH AND MICHAEL IRVIN.
POINT: Jerrah also compared Tavon Austin to
Michael Irvin in training camp. Maybe someone should add the names "Terry
Glenn," "Joey Galloway" and "Roy Williams" to his
comparison chart.
COUNTERPOINT: The next step in Jerrah Logic is deciding that
Jason Garrett is as irrelevant as Jimmy Johnson, so maybe there's a silver
lining here for Cowboys fans.
BRUCE ARIANS TELLS NFL NETWORK'S IAN
RAPOPORT THAT THE
BROWNS ARE THE ONLY TEAM HE WOULD CONSIDER COACHING.
POINT: Browns owner Jimmy Haslam responded to the news by
grabbing the horse he recently received and peering deeply into its mouth.
COUNTERPOINT: Baker Mayfield does cartwheels upon hearing the
news, gets criticized by Cleveland columnists for being more interested in gymnastics
than football.
JASON LACANFORA OF CBS SPORTS REPORTS THAT THE BENGALS MAY CONSIDER
HUE JACKSON FOR HEAD COACH IF THEY MOVE ON FROM MARVIN LEWIS.
POINT: The fact that Jackson was not cast as mind-controlling
schemer Jafar in the upcoming live-action Aladdin movie is a
crime against film making.
COUNTERPOINT: NFL owners run their high-profile multi-million
dollar businesses the way Uncle Carmine runs his boardwalk pizza parlor, giving
management jobs to dudes who wandered in off the street looking for work.
HALL OF FAME SEMIFINALIST DIGEST
The Pro Football Hall of Fame
announced the 25 semifinalists for induction just before Thanksgiving. As
usual, there are 25 worthy Hall of Famers on the list, so predicting who will
get in is less a matter of "Who's best?" and more so "Who is
best positioned to be one of five candidates to earn an 80 percent majority
vote from a 48-member committee?"
With that in mind, Digest breaks
down the field.
THE SHOO-IN
Tony Gonzalez is a six-time
All-Pro, ranks second on the all-time receptions list and set the standard by
which modern tight ends will be judged. Anyone arguing, "But his
blocking..." should be summarily banished from the committee meeting
room.
THE WIDE RECEIVER DILEMMA
Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt
will continue to leech votes from each other in the primaries. Hines Ward is
the kind of "better than his stats" candidate the committee sometimes
talks itself into, but it's hard to see him separating from the two Rams, and
the committee may not feel compelled to reach into the second tier of receivers
after inducting Randy Moss and Terrell Owens last
year.
The never-ending rise in
passing stats has made enshrinement tricky for wide receivers below the Jerry
Rice-Randy Moss level for years. Bruce, Holt and Ward may logjam the way Tim
Brown, Art Monk and Andre Reed did.
THE EDGE
Edgerrin James has the running
back docket to himself, and he has a unique resume: high peak, memorable teams,
and enough good years around the great ones to check all the hypothetical
boxes. Uniqueness is good for a Hall of Fame campaign.
THE SAFETY LOGJAM
Ed Reed joins a crowded docket
that includes Steve Atwater (eighth time as a semifinalist), LeRoy Butler
(second time), John Lynch (seventh time) and Darren Woodson (third
non-consecutive time). Woodson's peak is a notch below the others, and Atwater
is probably destined for the Hall of Snubbed Broncos Defenders, which leaves
safety as a three-overqualified-candidate race.
The committee appeared to
queue up Lynch behind Brian Dawkins last year, so look for him and Reed to make
it this year, forcing Butler to duke it out with Troy Polamalu when he
becomes eligible next year.
OTHER LOGJAMS
Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson
and Kevin Mawae are battling for induction along the interior line yet again.
Champ Bailey joins Ronde Barber and Ty Law at cornerback in a field already
divided by the presence of a million safeties. The design of the enshrinement
process works against multiple players with similar resumes, as does the fact
that it's hard to stand out as a truly special player when there are two or
three guys just like you on a list of 25.
LOCAL LINEBACKERS
First-time semifinalist Zach
Thomas could follow Jason Taylor into the Hall, but he's more likely to be
shunted behind Sam Mills, whose career spanned two leagues and several
memorable teams. Clay Matthews is a dark horse; very-good-but-not-great
defenders who play forever rarely get much love from the voters. Karl
Mecklenburg is an eight-time semifinalist destined for the Senior Committee and/or
the Hall of Snubbed Broncos Defenders.
COACHES
Don Coryell should be
reclassified as a contributor and enshrined immediately. Coryell's meh record
as a head coach keeps getting in the way of induction for his incalculable
contributions to how the game is now played. Neither Tom Flores nor Jimmy
Johnson is a high-priority candidate.
OTHERS
Richard Seymour is one of many
Patriots (including Ty Law) who will bring rings and a few All-Pro berths to
the committee table over the next decade. The fact that so many of these
players look like replaceable Bill Belichick parts
in hindsight will force the committee to do some sorting and prioritization.
Tony Boselli was one of the
NFL's best players for about four years but got pushed behind contemporary left
tackles with longer careers on better teams. Like Edgerrin James, he could
benefit from the uniqueness of his portfolio in a year when so many other
candidates fall into clumps.
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