It is time once again for a Football Friday. As will become apparent throughout today’s offering, last week’s presentation was horrendous. As usual I will begin with a review of last week’s Six-Pack.
- College: 0-3-0
- NFL: 0-3-0
- Total: 0-6-0
- Money Line Parlays: 0-2 Net was minus-$200
Once you have stopped snickering at the ineptitude evidenced above, look at the damage last week did to the Six-Packs’ overall record:
- College: 14-18-0
- NFL: 20-25-1
- Total: 34-43-1
- Money Line Parlays: 2-7 Net “profit/loss”: Minus-$398.
College Football Commentary:
The season came to an end for the Linfield College Wildcats last weekend when they lost in the quarterfinal round of the Division III football tournament to Mary Hardin Baylor University by a score of 49-24. Linfield finished the season with an 11-1 record and won the Northwest Conference Championship for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons.
Sonny Dykes took the head coaching job at TCU. Sonny Dykes is the son of Spike Dykes who was a good football coach at Texas Tech and one of the more colorful characters involved with college football in the 80s and 90s. Rather than limit himself to “coachspeak” when interviewed, Spike Dykes became known for his quips. Here are two of my favorites:
After taking a drubbing on the field his assessment was:
“Oh, we played about like three tons of buzzard puke this afternoon.”
After hearing a defensive tackle try to sing the national anthem before a game:
“He won’t weigh 285 (pounds) for long if he has to do that for a living.”
I wonder if Sonny can match his father quip for quip…?
In any event, TCU fans are in for a philosophical change in their football program. The previous coach, Gary Patterson, was there for more than 20 years with a defensive mentality. Sonny Dykes will bring his version of the Air Raid offense to TCU – similar to the offense that Mike Leach runs at Mississippi State. Another interesting thing to watch for with this coaching move is that Sonny Dykes came to TCU from SMU – two schools that are less than 50 miles apart. Reports say that Dykes will bring several assistant coaches with him from SMU meaning that this rivalry could be enhanced in the next several years.
Fresno St. needed to find a new coach when Kalen DeBoer left to take the job at Colorado State. They convinced Jeff Tedford to come back to Fresno St. earlier this week. Tedford stepped down from that job in 2019 for health reasons, so I must assume that whatever those issues were, they are now obviated. Tedford was 26-14 in three seasons at Fresno St. before he stepped aside; prior to that he was the head coach at Cal for 11 seasons going 82-57 there.
If you had to select the College Football Coach of the Year, I think your choice should come down to two folks:
- Luke Fickell – Cincinnati: The Bearcats kicked the door down and inserted themselves in the CFP for the first time and finished the season 13-0.
- Jim Harbaugh – Michigan: He finally beat Ohio State; he has Michigan in the CFP. Last year he took a pay cut as part of a contract extension.
Baylor 21 Oklahoma St. 16: Baylor scored 3 TDs in the first half over a span of about 13 minutes and held on to win by the skin of their teeth. The Cowboys had the ball first and goal at the Baylor 2-yardline with a minute and a half left in the game. Here is the sequence from that point on:
- First down: Run the gall and gain 1 yard to the 1-yardline
- Second down: Run the ball for no gain
- Third down: Incomplete pass
- Fourth down: Run the ball for no gain
- Baylor takes over on downs and runs out the clock…
Utah St. 46 San Diego St. 13: This is an interesting result because San Diego St. had been winning its games with a stingy defense. The Aztecs rank 15th in the country in Total Defense yielding only 321.5 yards per game. Here, it was Utah St. showing defensive prowess holding San Diego St. to 1 of 14 on third down tries. The fact that the Aztecs also committed 9 penalties contributed to this debacle.
Cincy 35 Houston 20: The outcome here was still in doubt at the half until the Bearcats scored 3 TDs in 8 minutes in the third quarter. Houston acquitted itself well holding Cincy to zero for 8 on third down conversions. Houston finished the season at 11-2 and will play Auburn in the Birmingham Bowl on December 28th.
Alabama 41 Georgia 24: Going into this game, Georgia had never given up more than 17 points in a game and had only given up double-digit points 4 times in 2021. Then Alabama amassed 536 yards of offense converted 7 of 14 third down tries and scored 41 points. I surely did not see that coming.
Michigan 42 Iowa 3: It was not a huge surprise to see Michigan’s defense stifle whatever it is that Iowa calls an offense this year. However, Iowa’s defense is above average and the idea that Michigan might gain 461 yards and score 42 points was a surprise.
Pitt 45 Wake Forest 21: At the end of the first quarter, Wake led the game 21-14. Then the Deacons’ offense went into hibernation. Throwing 4 INTs certainly did not help Wake’s cause.
Utah 38 Oregon 10: The Utah defense dominated the game allowing Oregon only 221 yards of total offense for the day. As the PAC-12 champion, Utah will go to the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day for the first time in school history.
I cannot ever recall thinking that the State of Utah was a focal point of football excellence for a season. However, Utah is the Pac-12 champion and Utah St. is the Mountain West champion and BYU finished the season at 10-2 ranked #12 in the latest polls.
Looking back at the 2021 season through the other end of the telescope, I wondered which team was the biggest disappointment for the year. I came up with 5 candidates:
- Clemson: Despite losing Trevor Lawrence to the NFL, there were more than a few folks who follow and analyze college football who figured Clemson to be in the CFP again this year. Even after Georgia held them to single digits in Game 1, most folks felt that Dabo Swinney would get the Tigers on a roll. That never happened – – and prized QB recruit DJ Uiagalelei looked more like a walk-on than a 5-star recruit.
- Indiana: They were ranked 16th in the nation in the pre-season polls and finished 2021 with a 2-10 record.
- Texas: Steve Sarkissian was supposed to be the coach to prove that “Texas is back” and relevant in college football once again. Well, Texas lost to Kansas this year giving up 56 points to the Jayhawks.
- Texas A&M: At the start of the season, no one had the Aggies as a serious CFP contender – – and then they beat Alabama. Expectations soared and then Texas A&M proceeded to lose 4 conference games…
- UNC: The Tar Heels were ranked 10th in the country in the pre-season and finished the season at 6-6 barely making it into a meaningless bowl game against South Carolina three weeks from now.
You make the call… Personally, I think it would come down to a toss-up between Clemson and Texas.
College Game of interest:
Army – 7 vs. Navy (34): This game is always of interest; you will never see a player “dogging it” in this one. Army is 8-3 this year and their offense has scored more than 30 points 7 times this year. Navy is 3-8 for the season but they played teams like Houston, Cincy and SMU close. I know both teams will run the ball and that both teams know how to defend the triple option offense the other guys will run. Nevertheless, that Total Line is too low to ignore. I like the game to go OVER – but not by much – so put it in the Six-Pack.
NFL Commentary:
Before focusing on NFL matters, this is the weekend of the Grey Cup Game in the Canadian Football League. The game will be played in Hamilton, Ontario and will feature the Hamilton Tiger-Cats against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Hamilton is 10-6 this year and Winnipeg is 12-3 coming to the game. Over the regular season, the Blue Bombers led the CFL in scoring at 25.6 points per game; the Tiger Cats averaged 22.3 points per game putting them 5th in the 9-team league. Winnipeg also led the CFL in points allowed and in Total Defense; Hamilton was second in the league in points allowed and third in Total Defense.
These teams met on the first weekend of the CFL season back in August. The Blue Bombers prevailed then 19-6. This matchup is a repeat of last year’s Grey Cup Game; Winnipeg won that game 33-12. This year’s game will take place on Sunday evening at 6:00 PM EST and will be on one of the myriad ESPN networks. Check the listings… And here is the line for the game:
- Winnipeg – 2.5 at Hamilton (43.5). Money Lines: Winnipeg -135 and Hamilton +115.
The following item comes from Dwight Perry’s Sideline Chatter column in the Seattle Times:
“Can you get a 15-yard taunting penalty if you’re dead?
Pittsburgh fan Wayne Alexa, 76, got in one last shot at his favorite NFL team in his obituary, posted on PittsburghCremation.com: ‘Passed away on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021, after a long bout with the Steelers. He was at his home with family when they went into overtime against the 0-8 Detroit Lions, and that was all he could take.’”
Presumably no charges for involuntary manslaughter will be filed against Mike Tomlin in the matter…
Reacting to Monday night’s Pats/Bills game where the Pats only threw the ball 3 times, NFL historian, Dan Daly, issued this Tweet:
“Washington Football Team had consecutive games at the end of the 1940 season where the Giants threw 7 passes against them and the Eagles threw 60. Gotta be some kind of record. The Bills might be looking at a similar situation with the Pats and Bucs.”
The Houston Texans continue to confound; if they have any quality players left on the roster, the Texans seem hellbent to purge themselves of such a commodity. This week they chose to waive linebacker Zach Cunningham who is only 26 years old and who has already led the NFL in tackles in his brief career. Last year, the Texans thought he was worth a 4-year contract extension worth $60M.
Evidently, Cunningham and Texans’ coach, David Culley did not see eye-to-eye and reports say that Culley had “disciplined” Cunningham several times this year. Here is what the coach had to say when asked about the personnel decision:
“We have standards; I didn’t feel like those standards were being met consistently. It wasn’t tough at all (to waive Cunningham). It’s about the team. It’s not about one individual player.”
Cunningham can be claimed off waivers by any team who would then inherit his current contract. If he is not claimed, he will become an unrestricted free agent and can choose where he wants to play for the rest of this season. I refuse to believe that he will be out of the league; he is much better than that.
The Washington Football Team has been playing well – particularly on defense of late. Call me a cynic if you want, but I believe that the ascension of the defensive unit began when Chase Young incurred a season-ending injury. Let me explain…
Chase Young is a 5-star physical talent; make no mistake about that. Chase Young is also a “look-at-me guy.” I do not know this for sure because I have no idea what the defensive scheme was when he was in the game, but it looked to me as if Young was doing a lot of “ad-libbing” on defense trying to make big plays after which he could dance in the spotlight. The defensive ends who have been playing since he and the other defensive end, Montez Sweat, have been out are folks you have probably never heard of:
- Bunmi Rotini
- James Smith-Williams
- Casey Toohill
- Shaka Toney
- Daniel Wise
However, these guys never seem to be lured out of position and forced to chase down a play on their side of the field. Chase Young will be a fine player in the NFL when and if he becomes more disciplined and more of a team guy instead of a “look-at-me guy.” According to reports, Young attended none of the teams OTAs or mini camp last year; maybe that would be a place for him to start reinventing himself.
Moving on to last week’s games…
Cards 33 Bears 22: The Bears held the Cards to only 257 yards of offense but turned the ball over 4 times on 4 INTs by Andy Dalton. That is how the Cards got so many points without gaining a lot of yards. Three TD drives by the Cards were 12 yards, 20 yards and 28 yards in length.
Colts 31 Texans 0: The Texans managed only 141 yards of Total Offense here and only crossed the 50-yardline once in the entire game.
Chargers 41 Bengals 22: The stat sheet for the game is almost dead even; a big difference here is that the Chargers scored TDs off their drives/turnovers and the Bengals did not.
Lions 29 Vikes 27: The Vikes are 5-7 and 11 of their 12 games have been of the “one-score variety” The Vikes trailed 20-6 at halftime and fought back to take the lead at 27-23 with just under two minutes left in the game. The Lions then drove 75 yards and scored a TD with no time left on the clock to win their first game of the year. Justin Jefferson had a huge day for the Vikes caching 11 passes for 182 yards and a TD.
Dolphins 20 Giants 9: The Giants never got to the end zone; in fact, they only got to the Red Zone once in the game. The Dolphins did not dominate on offense, but they did score 2 TDs that put the game on ice. Speaking of scoring 2 TDs, that is how many touchdowns the Giants have scored in their last 3 games.
Eagles 33 Jets 18: Gardner Minshew II filled in for Jalen Hurts at QB and showed why the Eagles were comfortable trading Joe Flacco over to the Jets at the trading deadline. The Eagles gained 415 yards on offense and Minshew posted this stat line:
- 20 of 25 for 242 yards with 2 TDs and 0 INTs
Not bad for a backup QB making his first start of the season…
Bucs 30 Falcons 17: The game was close at the half with the Bucs leading 20-17; then the Falcons were shut out in the second half. The Bucs sacked Matt Ryan five times in the game and Tom Brady feasted on the Falcons’ pass defense:
- 38 of 51 for 368 yards with 4 TDs and 1 INT.
Here is a fun fact … Tom Brady has never lost a game he started against the Falcons.
Rams 37 Jags 7: The Rams were winless for the entire month of November, but that bad spell came to a halt quickly here. The Jags only produced 197 yards of offense in the game. The Jags scored on a 13-play 61-yard drive in the second quarter to make the score 10-7. After that drive, here are the results of the Jags’ subsequent possessions:
- Three plays and a PUNT
- Three plays and a PUNT
- Halftime
- Three plays and a PUNT
- Seven plays and turnover on DOWNS
- Five plays and a lost FUMBLE
- 8 plays and a PUNT
- Final whistle.
Football Team 17 Raiders 15: Since 2002, the Raiders have had 1 season with a record over .500. Their coach for that season (2016) was Jack Del Rio; last week, Jack Del Rio was the defensive coordinator that beat the Raiders. This is the 4th win in a row for the Football Team
Steelers 20 Ravens 19: When the Ravens kicked a field goal halfway through the third quarter to make the score 10-3 in their favor, I thought the game was over. In no way could I see how the Steelers would score 17 more points – – but they did.
Seahawks 30 Niners 23: The Seahawks’ defense came to life in this game and held the Niners to only 71 yards on the ground. Russell Wilson and the offense also awoke from a slumber and posted 327 yards of offense. Was that a sign of a turnaround or just a one-off good game?
Cowboys 27 Saints 17: Saints QB, Taysom Hill threw for more yards than Dak Prescott did here. That is the good news for Saints’ fans. Hill also threw 4 INTs in the game. That is the bad news – – and the difference in the game.
NFL Games:
The teams on their BYE Weeks are:
- Colts: Given their defense and the productivity of RB, Jonathan Taylor, how is it that the Colts are only 7-6?
- Dolphins: The Dolphins have won 5 in a row after starting the season at 1-7.
- Eagles: Did Gardner Minshew’s performance create a QB controversy in Philly?
- Pats: The Pats have won 7 in a row after starting the season at 2-4.
This is the last of the BYE Weeks in the regular season.
In last night’s game, it was really two different games from half to half. The Vikes led 23-0 at the half and totally dominated the game. After kicking two field goals in the third quarter, the Vikes led 29-0 with 6 minutes left in the third quarter. Then the Steelers offense arrived; the Vikes’ defense went passive; the Steelers defense picked up the pace and the Vikes’ offense stopped functioning. As a result, the Steelers scored 3 TDs in a span of 5 minutes and 4 seconds turning a laugher from the first half into a nail-biter that was decided on the final play of the game when a Ben Roethlisberger pass to Pat Freiermuth in the end zone fell incomplete. Final score was Vikes 36 and Steelers 29…
The Steelers played terribly for the first 40 minutes of the game; the Vikes played terribly for the final 18 minutes of the game. It was not an artistic game by either team, but it made for entertaining television on a Thursday evening.
Raiders at Chiefs – 10 (47.5): When these teams met a month ago, the Raiders were a small favorite and then they lost to the Chiefs 41-14 in a game that was not that close; it was Patrick Mahomes’ best game of the season. Since then, the Chiefs beat the Broncos and the Cowboys holding both teams to 9 points. Meanwhile the Raiders also beat the Cowboys (in OT) but lost to the Bengals and the Football Team. The Chiefs have a 2-game lead over the Raiders in the AFC West; a win for the Chiefs here would make that the equivalent of a 4-game lead given that the Chiefs would own the tiebreaker between the teams. The Raiders’ offense is clearly struggling so here is the question:
- Who do they miss more, Henry Ruggs III or Jon Gruden?
Saints – 5 at Jets (43): The Saints have lost 5 in a row and have not looked good doing that. The Jets are 3-9 and have not looked good doing that either. There was stiff competition this week, but this turns out to be my Dog-Breath Game of the Week. Alvin Kamara should be back this week for the Saints if that makes you any the more interested in this dumpster fire of a game. The game boils down to this in my view:
- The Saints’ offense is anemic
- The Jets’ defense does not stop anyone
- Something has got to give…
Niners – 1 at Bengals (49): The spread opened the week with the Bengals as 1-point favorites. The line stayed that way until Wednesday when it flipped to the Niners as the favorites. Both teams need this game for their playoff pushes; I have no idea which version of either team will show up here; both teams are inconsistent. Purely a hunch, I like this game to go OVER; put it in the Six-Pack.
Jags at Titans – 8.5 (43): The Titans had last week off and they get Julio Jones back from injury this week. The Jags stunk out the joint against the Rams last week.; the Jags’ offense is only scoring 15 points per game; no wonder their record is 2-10. Moreover, this is the second straight road game for the Jags – – something Urban Meyer has had little experience with in his collegiate coaching days. The Titans are not a reliable team, so I need to talk myself into taking them here even though I know they are clearly the better team. OK, I talked myself into it; I’ll take the Titans and lay the points; put it in the Six-Pack.
Ravens at Browns – 2.5 (43): The Browns had their BYE Week last week and this is the second straight road game for the Ravens. Both teams struggle to score so defensive play is really important here. This is a big game for both teams regarding the playoff hunt. The Ravens have a 1-game lead over the Bengals and a 1.5-game lead over the Steelers and a 2-game lead over the Browns going into the weekend. A victory for Cleveland here would put a blanket over the entire AFC North. Lamar Jackson has regressed as a passer so this could come down to a battle of running games. If that is the case, give me Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
Falcons at Panthers – 2.5 (42): Let me wrap myself up in my “polite scarf” and say that these are two mediocre teams. The Panthers just fired their Offensive Coordinator; whoever inherits those duties will not be helped by the absence of Christian McCaffrey. The Falcons’ defense stinks; the Panthers’ defense is much better. Consider this:
- Falcons’ record is 5-7; their point differential is minus-116
- Three other teams are 5-7; their point differentials are minus-17, minus-2 and +3.
- Lions’ record is 1-10-1; their point differential is minus-113
This is the runner-up for Dog-Breath Game of the Week…
Cowboys – 4.5 at Football Team (47.5): This is not the best game on the card for the weekend, but it might be the most intriguing game on the card. Dak Prescott has started 8 games against the Football Team – or its predecessor – and his record is 7-1. As noted above, the Washington defense is on the upswing; at the same time, the Dallas offense is not as explosive as it was 4 or 5 weeks ago. I think the Football Team has a real chance to win outright, so, I’ll take them here plus those points; put it in the Six-Pack.
Seahawks – 8.5 at Texans (41): Above, I wondered aloud if the Seahawks came to life in their win over the Niners last week. Well, here is a litmus test. The Texans are just miserable; so, a living, breathing Seahawks’ team ought to throttle them We shall see… Even if the Seahawks prevail here by 4 TDs, I will not yet pronounce them “back” and “a serious playoff threat”, but they should still stomp the sorry-assed Texans. I’ll take the Seahawks on the road to win and cover; put it in the Six-Pack.
Lions at Broncos – 10 (42): This line opened with the Broncos as a 7-point favorite; the line eased up to 8 points by Wednesday night and then flew up to this level in the next 18 hours. Just as a trend note here:
- In 2021, the Lions are 1-10-1 but they are also 8-4 against the spread.
The Broncos can still make the playoffs notwithstanding the facts that they have lost 6 games; 2 of those losses have been in the division and 5 of the losses have been in the conference. But a loss here would be extremely injurious to those playoff hopes. Believe it or not, even at 1-10-1 the Lions are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs but can flip that status here with a loss. Hey, I am grasping at straws here to make this game seem relevant; this was a contender for Dog-Breath Game of the Week.
Giants at Chargers – 10 (43): The spread line has been steady all week long; does that mean bettors do not think there might be a difference for the Giants at QB if Mike Glennon plays or if Jake Fromm plays? The key here – no matter the NY QB – is the Giants’ running game. The Chargers’ run defense is bad; it ranks 31st in the NFL giving up 141.2 yards per game; the only team worse than the Chargers would be the woebegone Houston Texans. The only reason I will not select this game is that I hate double-digit spreads in NFL games – – but the Chargers need the game and are the significantly better team.
Bills at Bucs – 3.5 (53.5): Tom Brady is 32-3 against the Bills over his career and has won his last 9 starts against them. You can be pretty sure that the Bills will not face weather conditions in Tampa thar are reminiscent of what they saw last Monday night in Buffalo. I think the Bills can score on the Bucs’ defense and I think the Bucs can score on the Bills’ defense. That Total Line is high, but I will still take the game to go OVER; put it in the Six-Pack.
(Sun Nite) Bears at Packers – 13 (43): The last time these teams met; Aaron Rodgers made it known to Bears’ fans who were flipping him the bird that he “owned them”. Coming off a BYE Week, he will retain custody here…
(Mon Nite) Rams at Cards – 2.5 (51): For the second week in a row, the Monday Night Football game is the Game of the Week. The Cards won the first meeting between these two teams by 17 points; as of this morning the teams are separated by 2 games in the NFC West standings; a win for the Cards will not guarantee them the division title – – but it will make that status much more likely. The Rams may have seemed to come back from a deep sleep last week – – but the opponent then was the Jags. The Cards are a much more potent opponent this week.
Let me review this week’s Six-Pack – – which cannot possibly do worse than last week’s:
- Army/Navy OVER 34
- Niners/Bengals OVER 49
- Titans – 8.5 over Jags
- Football Team +4.5 over Cowboys
- Seahawks – 8.5 over Texans
- Bills/Bucs OVER 53.5.
And for good measure, let me throw in 2 Money Line parlays:
- Football Team @ +175
- Titans @ minus-420. $100 wager wins 240
And …
- Titans @ minus-420
- Seahawks @ minus-370
- Chargers @ minus-440
- Packers @ minus-650 $100 wager wins $123.
Finally, here are some words from comedian Fred Allen on the subject of Hollywood:
“You can take all the sincerity in Hollywood, place it the navel of a fruit fly and still have room left over for three caraway seeds and a producer’s heart.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………
Regarding the Las Vegas Raiders, we miss Derek Carr more. Zero TD passes thrown against the Washington WTFs.
TenaciousP:
Interesting perspective…