Football

All the hype, all the pomp and circumstance, and what did we get?  A DUD!  This year’s Super Bowl was billed as the young lion vs. the old salty dog.  The Rams up and comer head coach, Sean McVay playing the young lion, along with his young QB Jared Goff.  Those salty dogs, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady were playing in their ninth Super Bowl and 3^rd consecutive.

The Rams had been a high wire act all season with there 30+ points per game scoring average and the reigning 2 time DPOY in Aaron Donald.  The Patriots on the other hand had pretty much flown under the radar this season.  This was the first time in a long time that they didn’t have home field throughout the playoffs and were not favored to win the AFC title.  But that is why they play the games.

Prior to the game everyone wondered about the health of the Rams’ Todd Gurley.  He had been shelved over the last 2 weeks of the regular season due to a minor knee injury, and didn’t get his usual workload in the previous 2 playoff games due to the emergence of free-agent signee, CJ Anderson.  But all indications were that he was healthy and would take on his familiar work-horse role in the Rams high flying offense.  However, we received a rude awakening.  I don’t know if it was scheme, or flat out inept play calling, but we’re still waiting for Gurley to show up.

After only 3 touches in the first half, Gurley ended the game with only 10 carries for 35 yards.  This was not how this was supposed to go.  At the half, the score was 3-0 Patriots.  You just continued to feel that L.A. would get on track in the 2^nd half and give heavy doses of Gurley.  But it never happened.  Only 7 carries and only 2 targets out of the backfield.  This is a guy that was your workhorse, and you never got him into a rhythm.  As a result, the play-action pass was a non-factor.  Expecting Goff to drop back and pick apart a Belichick coached defense was asking a lot.  Apparently the young lion failed to do his homework.

Instead of the well-played 27-24 game most expected, this turned out to be a 13-3 snoozer.  People will call it a great defensive game, but in my view, that was definitely not the case.  It was a case of total ineptitude by both offenses.  In other words, 4 hours of my life that I can’t get back.

This will sting the Rams for a while.  But it could also be viewed as karma.  They got here as the beneficiary of a famous non-call in the NFC title game vs. New Orleans.  Fans from the Big Easy will say they didn’t deserve to be here, so they got what they deserved.  Others will say that they blew a golden opportunity on a night when Tom Terrific wasn’t all that terrific.  But the obvious is that young McVay was outcoached by wise old Belichick.

The Patriots now join the Pittsburgh Steelers as the only 6-time Super Bowl champs.  And according to Brady and Belichick, they’re not done yet.  And quite frankly, who in the AFC is gonna stop them?  The Steelers continue to implode.  Kansas City was close, but was this year a fluke?  The Texans can’t seem to get out of their own way in the post season.  And San Diego just seems to be forever a bridesmaid.  Only time will tell, but the haters and nay-sayers may have to endure another Super Bowl trip by the Patriots next season.  Hopefully next time it won’t be such a waste of time.

So after the championship games we have our two combatants for Super Bowl LIII, but not without some controversy.  In the 4th quarter of the NFC Championship game between the Rams and the Saints, the Saints were driving to take the lead late in the game.  After completing a long pass to Ted Ginn to get in the red zone, the Saints were on the verge of closing out the game with less than 2 minutes remaining and the Rams having only 2 timeouts remaining.

Since they were already in field goal range, the Saints decided to stay aggressive and threw a pass on first down.  The pass fell incomplete with the help of an obvious defensive pass interference.  However, to everyone’s surprise, no call was made on the play.  Everyone watching, including the player defending on the play, Nickell Robey-Coleman, knew that this was a penalty but the whistles stayed silent.

Rightfully so, the Saints and their fans were livid.  But there was nothing they could do.  At the most inopportune time, the refs decided to “let them play”.  In a call to Sean Payton after the game the league admitted that the officials blew the call, but there’s no consolation for the Saints as that call helped prevent them from making it to Super Bowl LIII.

But this is not the first time controversy has arisen in the NFL post season.  We all remember the “tuck rule” game in 2002 between the Patriots and the Raiders.  A rule/decision that changed the trajectory of 2 franchises.

Then there was the Wild Card playoff game between the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys in 2014 where a penalty was called and then the flag inexplicably picked up.  Not only was the receiver held off the line of scrimmage, but the defender never played the ball contacting the receiver while the ball was in the air.

Of all these controversial calls, the tuck rule game is the only one that was interpreted properly according to the rules of the game at the time.  But we have a larger problem here.  This season in particular the officiating has gotten worse and worse.  Could it be due to the fact that several veteran officials have retired over the last few years?  Are these newer officials not ready for prime time?

Blown calls are a part of the game, but on the big stage, the players and fans deserve better.  I’m not sure what the NFL official evaluation process is, but something must be done to prevent victories, or potential victories from being stolen.

Now you could probably say that this one call did not lose the game for the Saints.  There are obviously things they could have done better throughout the game, but the timing is obvious.  with 1:40 left in the game and your opponent with only 2 timeouts remaining, this completion for another first down obviously lets you milk the clock down to about 4 seconds and thus kick the game winning field goal.

So what happens to officials that blow calls at the most inopportune times?  I don’t have the answer, but something’s got to be done.  Maybe there needs to be more attention to certain rules at the ends of games similar to what the NBA and college football does.  Why couldn’t this be a reviewable play in the last 2 minutes?  Because it was not only PI, but was also helmet-to-helmet contact on a defenseless receiver.

At any rate, the NFL will have all off season to review this and come up with a remedy.  Something’s got to change.

This week the Raiders did the unthinkable.  They traded away the cornerstone of their defense, one of the best players in the league, a once in a lifetime talent.

Khalil Mack was the Raiders 1st round pick in 2014 out of the University of Buffalo.  He had played in all 64 games since becoming a Raider and racked up 40.5 sacks in the process.  He’s a game wrecker.  He wrecks havoc on opposing offenses because you have to plan for him.  You have to know where he is on every play.

Prior to this off season everyone felt it was a no-brainer that the Raiders would re-sign Mack and make him the highest paid defensive player in the league.  After the recent contracts received by Von Miller and J.J. Watt, many thought that was gonna be the standard market rate for defensive linemen of that caliber.  We all expected Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack to receive those $100+ million deals.  But something very strange happened along the way.

When Jon Gruden took over the reigns in his return to Oakland, things started looking a little different.  He immediately made contact with franchise QB Derek Carr, but strangely, there was no contact with Mack.  Why not reach out to your star defender, and former Defensive Player of the Year?  Seems odd.

Camp opens and Mack holds out.  He wants a long term deal, and reportedly wants to remain in Oakland.  Meanwhile, Aaron Donald is holding out in L.A., and the belief is that the two camps are waiting each other out to see who’s gonna blink first.  Well, preseason ends and there’s a break through in the Donald negotiations.  He gets the bag!  6 years $134 million.

The expectation is that Mack will get something similar, or even a little more.  But then the unthinkable happens.  We wake up on September 1st and see that Mack has been traded to the Chicago Bears for 2 first round picks.  So what happened?

According to sources, the Raiders made an offer in February somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million per season.  Mack’s camp made a counter offer that was so huge, the 2 sides entered a 6 month stalemate.

When it’s clear that a guy isn’t gonna sign, and is willing to miss games, there’s really no choice but to cut your losses at that point.  But I don’t think the Raiders respected the value that they had in a player like Mack.  If the Rams can pay Donald and Gurley, surely the Raiders could afford to pay Carr and Mack.  Based on what I’ve seen and heard, I just don’t think enough was done to pay this guy his worth.

It’s gonna sting, it’s gonna hurt.  As Gruden said, the Raiders will be 2nd guessed until the cows come home.  If the defense sucks, and the Raiders miss the playoffs again this season, the whispers will get louder and louder.  I hope Gruden and the Raiders organization know what they’re doing, the NFL world will be watching.

Super Bowl LII. This was to be the crowning moment for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. After not getting off to the greatest starts to a season that many had picked the Pats to go undefeated, they righted the ship after a rough September and entered the post season with home field advantage throughout. Once again, the AFC’s path to the big game would go through Foxboro.

On the NFC side, after losing Wentz in week 13 no one expected Philly to be here. Nick Foles was a journeyman that had recently considered retirement. Many thought Philly’s hopes and dreams would be dashed again. But they had something to say about that.

The Pats ran over Tennessee and were tested by Jacksonville, but they were once again in the Super Bowl attempting to repeat and win their 6th overall, tying the Steelers.

The Eagles were underdogs in both their playoff matchups, but outlasted the Dirty Birds from Atlanta and knocked the stuffing out of the Vikings and their dreams of being the first team to play a Super Bowl home game.

Just like last year’s game, New England started slow and trailed Philly by 10 at the half. But we’d all seen this movie before. All of Brady’s Super Bowl wins have been 4th quarter comebacks, so we were expecting this to be no different.

In the 3rd quarter the Pats began to surge as Brady threw TDs to Gronk and Hogan to cut the lead to 3. As the fourth quarter came upon us, the only question was when Philly’s hearts would be ripped from their bodies. The two teams went back and forth with Philly getting a field goal and Brady getting the go ahead TD from Gronk to take a 1-point lead at 33-32. Then Foles connected with Ertz to put Philly up again.

But it wasn’t over. There were still 2-minutes remaining and Tom Terrific had the ball. But the Eagles weren’t intimidated. Brady was matriculating down the field when Brandon Graham was able to strip-sack Brady allowing the Eagles to recover the ball and kick a FG to go up 41-33.

With less than a minute on the clock the Pats still had a chance. Brady got them to mid field and heaved a desperation Hail Mary that fell helplessly to the turf.

This game featured 1,151 yards of total offense between both teams, only 2 turnovers, and just 1 sack. It was an offensive explosion that was well played by both teams with a minimum amount of penalties.

In a losing effort, Tom Brady threw for 505 yards and 3 TDs. That’s a winning stat line in most cases. Nick Foles threw for 373 yards, 3 TDs and even 1 TD reception becoming the first player in SB history to both throw for and catch a TD in a SB game.

With its ebbs and flows, and offensive fireworks, this could go down as one of the greatest Super Bowl games ever played.

Sunday night we witnessed both the best and worst of the NFL. Worst is a harsh word, because it was probably one of the most exciting Super Bowls we’ve ever seen, unless you play for, or are a fan of the Atlanta Falcons.

It was the first Super Bowl to go into overtime. The first Super Bowl where a team came back from more than 10 points down to win. And the first coach or QB to win 5 Super Bowl rings. But worst has to be how the Atlanta Falcons feel after what we all witnessed in Super Bowl LI.

In the beginning, the Falcons were steamrolling the New England Patriots. Matt Ryan a.k.a. “Marty Ice”, could do no wrong and the Falcons defensive front was thoroughly harassing Tim Brady. The Falcons took a 21-0 lead on the strength of Ryan’s arm and a pick 6 by the defense. At halftime the score was 21-3, and the game appeared to be over.

At the beginning of the 3rd quarter Atlanta seemed to pick up right where they left off scoring in a Ryan to Tevin Coleman TD. With the score at 28-3 and the Patriots seemingly in a funk, the game looked to be over. But one thing most football fans have learned is to never count out Tom Brady a.k.a. “Tom Terrific”.

At the end of the 3rd Atlanta was still up 28-9, then the unthinkable began to unfold. After forcing 2 Patriot turnovers the Falcons had taken great care of the ball. But then came the pressure on Ryan forcing a critical 4th quarter fumble, giving New England the ball in scoring position, and the swing in momentum that they desperately needed.

The sequence of events was almost mind boggling as New England scored in every possession in the 4th and tied the game forcing the Super Bowl’s first overtime game. What a comeback, and what a collapse. As we all know, New England win the toss and went down and scored the winning TD making history for Belichick and Brady.

But was this an epic collapse by the Falcons, or an epic comeback by the Pats. It’s a little bit of both. In the 2nd half Brady and company got into a groove that could not be stopped and kept the Falcon defense on the field, tiring them out. The Falcons couldn’t muster any offense and kept going 3 and out. To understand how much longer the Falcon defense was in the field, the Patriots ran 47 more plays than the Falcons. That’s a recipe for disaster. And we all witnessed that disaster.

Another issue, where was Julio when he was desperately needed? Well The Pats took that option away as Belichick teams have been known to do. They typically take away the thing you do best and force you to try and win another way. That coupled with the Tevin Coleman injury early in the 2nd half put chinks in the Atlanta armor.

Say what you want, but this latest performance by Tom Brady will go down as one of the greatest in SB history. And let’s not forget James White’s 14 catches for 114 yards, including the game winner in OT.

While Tom was terrific, the Falcons will be mentioned with the likes of the Houston Oilers and the ’99 Minnesota Vikings as the biggest choke performances of all time. Only Atlanta’s is bigger because it occurred on the biggest of all stages.

This past weekend were the conference championships in the NFL playoffs. And unfortunately both games were far less than competitive, which is putting it lightly.

In the NFC, the Atlanta Falcons totally, and completely dominated the Green Bay Packers from the start. The Packers couldn’t stop the run, couldn’t stop the pass, and the Falcon defense made Aaron Rodgers look human for the first time in 8 weeks.

Hard to believe this was the same Packer offense that has been unstoppable for the better part of 8 weeks, including last week’s dramatic late drive in Dallas to advance to the NFC title game.

The ATL was on fire as Matt Ryan and the Falcons closed out the Georgia Dome in style, while Julio Jones cemented himself as the best receiver in the NFL. It was like watching a man play against boys as he run rough-shod through the Packer secondary. The final score was 44-21, and it really wasn’t even that close. This will be the 2nd Super Bowl appearance in Falcon history.

The AFC contest between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers was not much different. It was billed as Big Ben vs. Tom Terrific, but it was all Tom Terrific.

Brady was masterful in carving up the Steelers’ secondary. The Steelers could get no pressure on Brady and somehow no one was guarding Patriot wide receiver Chris Hogan. He was open ALL NIGHT! He looked like the 2nd coming of Steve Largent.

To add insult to injury, no pun intended, Steelers running back, Le’Veon Bell left the game in the 2nd quarter with a groin injury and was not able to return. While they have a capable back up in D’Angelo Williams, Bell is the engine that makes them go, and takes the pressure off of the passing game.

Without Bell, and with no playmakers on defense, the Steelers folded like cheap patio furniture.

So it’s the Pats vs. the Falcons in Super Bowl LI. On paper, this should be a great game, but very few Super Bowls have lived up to the hype. Will this be different?  Brady and Bellichick are going for title #5, while Atlanta is looking for their first. This could cement Tom Brady’s claim as the best ever, or could establish Matt Ryan as an elite NFL QB. All eyes will be on H-town in 2 weeks to see how it all shakes out.

We are now down to the final four after this weekend’s divisional round.

In the first matchup, the Atlanta Falcons dominated the bullies known as the Seattle Seahawks. This year’s probable MVP, Matt Ryan and his favorite target, Julio Jones, shredded the Seahawk secondary, while Devontae Freeman and Tevin Coleman did great work on the ground. They frustrated the Seahawks from start to finish in a 36-20 victory, even causing Seahawks Michael Bennet to lose it in the locker room during a post game interview. Good riddens!!!  We are all too tired of watching the Seahawks sideline antics.

The Falcons awaited their opponent as the other matchup got underway between Green Bay and Dallas. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers came out swinging and took a big lead, looking as though this would be a route. But the young Cowboys showed poise and tied the game with :35 remaining only to be done in by a 51- yard field goal from the Packers Mason Crosby, giving them a 34-31 victory. Bye-bye Cowboys! Great season, but even home field advantage couldn’t save you against Mr. Rodgers and company.

In the AFC the Patriots were coming off their 8th consecutive division title and we’re playing against the offensively challenged Texans. The Texans have the #1 defense in the league, but if you can’t score TDs against Tom Brady and the Patriots, you have no shot, and the result was as we expected. The Patriots didn’t play a great game, but they did enough to win handily by a score of 34-16. Brady threw 2 interceptions, after only throwing 2 all season. The Texans Brock Osweiler experiment was a total and complete failure.  Give me the $70 million, I think I could average more than 4.9 yards per pass attempt.

The Patriot’s opponent will be the Pittsburgh Steelers. The game was delayed 7 hours due to an ice storm that never materialized. At any rate, the Steelers had their way with the Chiefs between the 20s, but couldn’t punch it in the end zone. Chris Boswell’s 6 field goals were the only scoring that the Steelers could muster. The Chiefs were able to get in the end zone twice, and score a field goal, but their inability to be successful on a 2-point conversion in the last two minutes proved to be their downfall. Goodnight KC, guess you’ll have to drown your sorrows in some BBQ sauce tonight.

So the matchups are set, Pittsburgh will travel to New England, and Atlanta will host Green Bay, in what will be the finale for the Georgia Dome as the Falcons move into their new home next season.  Should be some great games with 4 of the best signal callers in the business. A-Rod vs. Matty Ice, and Big Ben vs. Tom Terrific. Get your popcorn, favorite snacks, and beverage of choice ready, it should be a very entertaining championship Sunday.

Alabama and Clemson got together for a rematch of last years National Championship, this time in Tampa, FL.  And this time we were treated to another classic showdown.

After taking a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, it was looking like the Crimson Tide would run over the Tigers and easily win back-to-back national titles.  The defense was suffocating and ferocious, the Bama ground game was eating up chunk yards, including 2 first half TDs from RB Bo Scarbrough, and Clemson’s star QB Deshaun Watson looked timid and off of his game.  Bama got 2 first half turnovers, but was unable to convert them into TDs.  Not being able to take over the game, proved costly as Watson and the Clemson offense finally got on track and scored before halftime.

The 2nd half turned into sheer classic drama.  Bama got a huge score from last year’s championship hero, O.J. Howard, on a 68 yard reception from Jalen Hurts.  Then the Bama offense went dormant, as Clemson began to pick up the pace.  Not sure if it was by design or simply a case where Clemson’s defense got stingier, but the Bama offense could do nothing.  Was it the fact that the moment maybe proved to be too big for Bama’s freshman QB Hurts?  Or was it the fact that newly anointed OC Steve Sarkisian was entering his first game as the play caller?  I think it was a bad time to make that kind of switch before the biggest game of the year.

Scarbrough got hurt, Hurts couldn’t complete any passes, and Clemson had the momentum, taking their first lead of the game at 28-24 with about 3:30 left to play.  Bama was able to march down and snatch the lead back with a 30 yard scamper by Hurts, but there were 2 minutes left on the clock, plenty of time for Watson to pull off the unthinkable against the might Crimson Tide.

In what can only be called epic, Watson marched the Tigers down the field, methodically picking apart the vaunted Bama defense.  Clemson could taste victory, and Bama was reeling.  With 1 sec left on the clock Watson throws the winning TD to his favorite receiver.

After 36 years, the college football national championship returns to Clemson, SC.  Many of those who watched didn’t really have a dog in the fight, many believed that this would simply be a coronation for Alabama, and expected Nick Saban to tie the great Bear Bryant with his 6th national title as a head coach.  But I think Saban’s cockiness came front and center.  After having Lane Kiffin as his OC for the past 3 seasons, Kiffin was relieved of his duties after the semi-final game against Washington, and told to move on to his job as the new head coach at Florida Atlantic University.  A strange move, but who’s to question Saban, who has one of the most successful programs in the country over the last several years.

Even though Sarkisian had been part of the staff all season, you don’t change play callers the week before the big game.  Saban thought that he could win this game with defense, and he almost did.  But when you’re on the field for 90+ plays, even the best get tired.

Tonight all eyes will be on Tampa, FL, as the Clemson Tigers and defending national champion, the Alabama Crimson Tide, will battle it out in a rematch of last season’s CFP final, which ended up being an instant classic.

Bama comes in having been ranked #1 from start to finish, and with a defense that can turn a game into a nightmare for the opposition. Just ask the Washington Huskies.

Clemson on the other hand has been in the top 3 all season and has an explosive offense led by senior QB, and 2-time Heismann finalist DeShaun Watson.  The Tigers feel as though this trip represents unfinished business after last year’s 45-40 loss. And the way they dominated the Ohio State Buckeyes in the semi-final, I think you could say they are focused.

Plus, Watson feels somewhat slighted not winning the Heismann. He’s referred to himself as being the best player in the country, and appears to be on a mission to prove it. But he must take care of the football to make Clemson’s dream a reality.  Bama is very adept at turning turnovers into points.

Though Bama won last year they are not happy with the fact that they surrendered 40 points. With a defense that has dominated all opponents this season, I seriously doubt that there will be a repeat of last year’s high scoring affair.

Many of Bama’s players who played in last year’s game have not even bothered to watch film of that contest because they felt embarrassed by the performance. That defense feels that have something to prove, and they too are looking to put their stamp on this second time around.

Can Freshman QB Jalen Hurts and the Bama offense muster up enough firepower to hold Clemson at bay? Can Watson and the Tigers get anything done against that vaunted Bama defense?

Knuckle up, guard your grill!!! This should be a good one!

Wild Card Weekend is upon us in the NFL!  12 teams will try and stake their claim for entry into Super Bowl LI in Houston, TX.  The favorites are the 2 number 1 seeds in the AFC and NFC respectively, the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys.

But there are 10 other teams that will have something to say about that.  Those teams include the Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans, Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins of the AFC, while the Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Detroit Lions will do battle in the NFC.

After a 14 year absence, the Oakland Raiders have returned to the post season.  After being the doormats of the league for almost a decade and a half, the silver and black came storming back this season under the leadership of head coach Jack Del Rio and their field general and MVP candidate Derek Carr.

Oakland was headed for the division title and a first round bye until tragedy struck in week 16 against the Indianapolis Colts.  On what appeared to be a routine tackle Carr broke his fibula in the 4th quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season and post season.

As a result the Raiders went into their last regular season game in Denver with a chance to win the division and get that first round bye, but they appeared flat and uninspired without Carr and had to go on the road to Houston.  Even more deflating was the loss of their 2nd string QB Matt McGloin.  That left them with rookie Connor Cook who had not played in a game all season.

On Saturday the situation proved to be to much for the rookie as the Raiders were dominated by Houston’s league leading defense, 27-14.

In the NFC, the Lions went into Seattle to try and get a win against the surging Seahawks.  The Lions were rolling along in position to secure a first round bye when their leader Matthew Stafford suffered a torn tendon in the middle finger of his throwing hand.

As a result, the Lions dropped their last 3 games of the season and limped into the playoffs as the 6th seed.  On Saturday night the offense couldn’t get anything going and the defense was unable to stop Thomas Rawls and the Seattle run game as the Seahawks punished the Lions by a score of 26-6.

But this game was not without controversy.  As is typical in most games in Seattle the referees decided to swallow their whistles when it came to calls being made against the hometown Seahawks.  On Seattle’s first TD, Paul Richardson made a fantastic one-handed catch but the refs missed the facemask. On another play in which Thomas Rawls took off on a long run, there was an obvious block in the back by golden boy Russell Wilson that also was not called.

These are not surprises, as it seems to be par for the course on big games played in Seattle.  I think we all remember the “Fail Mary” and the ball that was intentionally batted out of the back of the end zone against Detroit last season.

In Sunday’s matchups we’ll have the Steelers taking on the Dolphins and looking for revenge after Miami thoroughly dominated them during their week 6 matchup.  And in the other matchup, the Giants will travel to Lambeau to take on the Packers.  And the Giants have been victorious in their last 2 post season visits to Green Bay.  This should be a good one.

So get your favorite snacks and drinks on deck, make sure those jerseys are clean, and get ready for some great football.