Football Friday 12/9/22

When I was a kid, Gene Autry had a half-hour TV show on Sunday evenings.  The show began with Autry singing the theme song for the show which began:

“I’m back in the saddle again,

Out where a friend is a friend…”

I can relate to that here since I have been off the air for the last two Fridays and have missed doing Football Friday on those days.  So, I feel as if I am back in the saddle today and am presumably among friends…

Let me begin by reviewing the last Six-Pack that I offered up:

• College = 1-2-0          Season Total = 20-12-0
• NFL = 1-2-0                Season Total = 15-19-3
• M/L = 1-1                    Season Total = 7-18
• Profit = $36                Season Total = +$142

 

College Football Commentary:

 

The Linfield College Wildcats made it to the second round of the Division III national football championship tournament, but their season came to an end on November 26^th losing to Bethel 30-13.  The Wildcats record for 2022 was 10-1 and their combined record over the past 5 years is 45-8.  Congratulations to the Wildcats; looking forward to following your exploits next year.

I have mentioned here before that I attended an Ivy League college meaning that I have seen first-hand the difference in skill levels between the Ivy league and – say – the SEC or the Big-10.  So, I was a bit surprised to run across a report that said the Ivy League would be sending an “All-Star team” of seniors and grad students to Japan to play a Japanese “All-Star team” in something called the Dream Bowl.  The game will take place on Jan 21, 2023 in Tokyo and the objective seems to be to expand interest in American football in Japan.

If that were not a sufficient surprise, I also learned that this is not the first time this will have happened.  In fact, from 1989 through 1996, the Ivy League and a team of Japanese All-Stars played a game, and the Ivy League won all eight of those encounters.  Who knew?

Here is a paragraph from the report I ran across; it shows that there remains a difference between a traveling All-Star team from the Ivy League and one from some other football conferences:

“The U.S. delegation will arrive in Japan on January 15 to prepare for the game, as well as take part in Japanese cultural and educational events. Two Ivy League professors will accompany the group to further the learning experience.”  [Emphasis added…]

It is official; Deion Sanders will take the head coaching job at Colorado after two very successful seasons at Jackson State University.  “Coach Prime” as he refers to himself will have his hands full there.  The Buffaloes were 1-11 last year and only scored more than 20 points twice in their twelve games.  I know they say that defense wins championships, but you also have to score a few points to win games as well.  [Foreshadowing here:  Remember “Colorado defense” about five minutes from now…]

Frankly, this is a big deal for the PAC-12 as a conference.  Of the so-called “Power-5 conferences, the PAC-12 respectability has been on the decline in recent years.  They had a shot at being in the CFP this year until USC gagged away their opportunity last weekend (see below).  “Coach Prime” will bring more attention to the entire conference; I am already looking forward to PAC-12 media day next year; I just know he will have something eccentric planned for that event.

The coach that Sanders is replacing at Colorado is Karl Dorrell who is as measured and serious as Sanders is ebullient and engaging.  I have no idea if Sanders can turn around the football fortunes in Boulder, but he will turn around the tone and tenor of the program in about the first 15 minutes that he is on the job.

Dan Wetzel writes for Yahoo!sports; here is an excellent column that will give you an idea of the energy that Sanders will try to bring to Colorado.  It takes about 5 minutes to read; I recommend you do so.

Let me go over a few comments about games from last weekend and how we arrived at the four teams in the CFP bracket…

Utah 47  USC 24:  This was a total bed-wetting by USC; they had a “win-and-you’re-in” game for the CFP bracket here and they were totally outplayed and out-coached.  Trojans’ QB Caleb Williams injured a hamstring early in the game and played on with a noticeable limp; when Lincoln Riley was asked if he considered a substitute, Riley said that Williams would not allow him to make the substitution.

• Memo to Coach Riley:  Aren’t you supposed to be the adult in charge?

USC led 17-3 in the first half; from that point on, Utah outscored the Trojans 44-7.  I am not sure what game Coach Riley was observing from the sidelines, but it was not the same game I saw on my TV screen.  One more point here; USC needs to devote just a bit of recruiting attention to defensive players – – either that or find coaches who can teach the current defensive players how to tackle an opponent.  Utah posted 533 yards of total offense and 233 yards rushing.

K-State 31  TCU 28  (OT):  K-State had played TCU tough in the regular season leading by 18 points in the first half and the Wildcats showed up here ready to play the Horned Frogs just a bit tougher this time around.  The stat sheet was as close as the scoreboard.  A chip-shot 31-yard field goal in OT was the difference in the outcome of this game.

Georgia 50  LSU 30:  Lest there had been any lingering doubt as to the best team in the SEC …  Georgia led 35-10 at the half and genuinely coasted to a win here.  For the record, Georgia is the best college football team I have seen to this point in the 2022 season.  The defense this year is good – – but as good as last year’s Bulldog defense.  However, this year the Bulldogs have a much more potent offense.  In the game against LSU, Georgia accumulated 529 yards on offense allowing the team to win comfortably despite the defense allowing LSU to gain 502 yards passing in the game.

Clemson 38  UNC 10:  The Tar Heels averaged 35 points per game this season but only managed 10 points here.  The Clemson defense did not shut UNC down; check out this pair of stats:

• UNC Total Offense = 384 yards
• Clemson Total Offense = 385 yards

Three turnovers by the Tar Heels provided the difference in this game.

Michigan 43  Purdue 22:  The Boilermakers won the stat sheet outgaining the Wolverines by 70 yards in the game and Michigan only led 14-13 at the half.  The difference here is that Michigan scored six TDs and Purdue scored five field goals.  End of message…

And in a game that had no championship implications but was of interest:

New Mexico St. 65  Valparaiso 3:  This game is of interest because it is the Aggies’ sixth win of the season and makes them bowl-eligible for the first time since 2017.  New Mexico St. has been a college football punching bag for the ten years prior to this season – – notwithstanding that bowl appearance in 2017.  In the ten-year period 2012 – 2021, the cumulative record for Aggies football was 26-86.  In fact, the last time New Mexico St. had a football season with double-digit wins was in 1960.  Congratulations to first-year coach Jerry Kill and the New Mexico State Aggies for this bowl-eligible season.

Now that the college football regular season is over – – save for the Army/Navy game this weekend – – it is time to award the 2022 Brothel Defense Award.  This is given to the team that allows anyone and everyone to score on it frequently.  And that team for 2022 is:

• The Colorado Buffaloes who gave up 44.5 points per game.

            Previously, I mentioned Colorado’s anemic offense in 2022 – – one that averaged only 15.4 points per game.  “Coach Prime” must transform a team that lost by an average of 29.1 points per game.  Yowza!

One other piece of business needs to happen at the end of the college football regular season.  It is incumbent on me to present the seedings for my imaginary SHOE Tournament which would decide the worst team of the year on the field if it ever happened.  The teams would play and the loser in each game must play on; the winner can go home knowing they would not be labeled the SHOE Team for the year where SHOE is an acronym for Steaming Heap Of Excrement.  Here is the Tournament field:

• Eighth Seed – Florida Int’l (4-9):  They are the only 4-win team in the field, and they are “invited in” over some other teams with only 2 wins because of how bad some of the losses were.  Early in the season the Panthers lost a game 73-0; in the first three weeks of November, the Panthers lost three games by a total of 117 points.  FIU belongs in this tournament.
• Seventh Seed – Hawaii (3-10):  They are the only 3-win team in the field, and they are “invited in” over some other teams with only 2 wins because of how bad some of their losses were.  In the first three weeks of the season, Hawaii was outscored 168-37.  Toss in another loss by 42 points later in the year and Hawaii belongs in this tournament.
• Sixth Seed – Nevada (2-10):  The season started well for the Wolfpack; they won their first two games.  Then they lost by 2 TDs to a Division 1-AA team and the season came apart at the seams; Nevada did not win a game after that.
• Fifth Seed – New Mexico (2-10):  One of those two wins was over Division 1-AA Maine in the first game of the year.  Why Maine agreed to fly all the way to New Mexico to play that sad sack of a team remains a mystery…
• Fourth Seed – USF (1-11):  The Bulls’ only win was over Division 1-AA Howard back in early September.  Maybe they should have been seeded higher – – which means lower?
• Third Seed – Northwestern (1-11):  Somehow, they managed to beat Nebraska in a game in late August in Dublin, Ireland.  After that, they just stunk.  In two of their November games, the Wildcats lost to Minnesota by 28 points and to Illinois by 38 points.
• Second Seed – UMass (1-11):  That win came at the expense of Division 1-AA, Stony Brook back in mid-September.  In the final game of the season, the Minutemen hosted Army and lost by 37 points.
• First Seed – Colorado (1-11):  The only positive thing to say about this team is that its one win did come over a conference rival.  They gave up the most points per game of any of the 131 Division 1-A teams PLUS they ranked 127^th in the nation in scoring offense.

Too bad the NCAA will not allow these games to begin…

The only Division 1-A game left to play before the silly bowl season kicks in next week is the Army/Navy game.  The Middies are currently a 2.5-point favorite in the game, but the more interesting number is the Total Line.  The oddsmakers opened the Total Line at 35 points and it has dropped all the way to 32.5 points and could go down even a tad more by kickoff.  Notwithstanding the fact that there will probably not be much scoring in the game, Army/Navy is always entertaining to watch because you will never see a player on either team dogging to or engaging in a “Hey-Look-At-Me” style of celebration.

 

NFL Commentary:

 

The Rams put Matthew Stafford on IR and that has to be something positive for Lions’ fans.  No, Lions’ fans are not wishing evil on Stafford as “the QB who left town”; the Lions’ fans are happy because they own the Rams’ first round draft pick next year; and with Stafford out, the Rams are less likely to win games than they would be with a healthy Matthew Stafford available.  And the grand part of this irony is that the Lions’ have the Rams’ first round pick because of the trade that sent Stafford to LA from Detroit…

Speaking of the Rams and their QB situation, the team picked up Baker Mayfield off waivers this week after the Panthers cut him loose.  I thought the Niners might have tried to get Mayfield given their QB injury status, but the Rams’ record is well below that of the Niners so the Niners never had a real chance to sign Mayfield up for duty.  Mayfield’s “attitude” got him shipped out of Cleveland, but it was his performance that got him cut by Carolina.  His future as an NFL QB is not guaranteed – – unless he pulls off a few more miracle finishes as he did last night (see below).

I mentioned that the Niners have a QB-injury situation with Jimmy G breaking a bone in his foot last week and Trey Lance having been sidelined since Game One.  Brock Purdy played well last week, and I find the reaction to his success interesting.  Consider:

• Back in Training Camp, folks wondered if Trey Lance (a guy picked #3 overall in the draft after the Niners traded up to get that pick) with his lack of game experience would be a burden that could hold back a Niners’ roster that was strong everywhere else.
• After Brock Purdy (the last player taken in this year’s draft) played very competently for 3 quarters of last week’s game after Jimmy G got hurt, folks are saying that Purdy showed enough to lead the Niners to the Super Bowl.

A month ago, it certainly looked as if the Steelers would have their first losing season in the Mike Tomlin Era which began in 2007 and which has produced a combined record of 158-92-2.  However, the Steelers have won three of their last four games and their record as of this morning stands at 5-7.  Kenny Pickett is maturing as a QB, and I think part of the rapid maturation is because the Steelers run the ball a lot and do not force him to win games by carrying the team on his shoulders.  There is a reason the Steelers have had the same coach for the last fifteen and a half seasons…

NFL historian, Dan Daly, combined current US politics with NFL history in this Tweet:

“Can’t decide if 1,510,916 is Herschel’s vote total or the number of draft picks the Cowboys got for him.”

In game action from last weekend …

Browns 27  Texans 14:  Deshaun Watson definitely showed some rust having gone almost 2 years between NFL games.  The Browns did not have an offensive TD in the game; their 3 TDs came from:

1. A punt return
2. A Pick-Six
3. A Scoop-and-Score

The Texans seem locked in as the team to possess the #1 pick in the 2023 Draft.  The last time the Texans scored more than 20 points was on October 2 and the Texans lost that game to the Chargers 34-24.  Bad as that seems, here is another fact that makes it worse:

• That game against the Chargers is the ONLY time this year the Texans have scored more than 20 points in a game.

Ravens 10  Broncos 9:  If you did not see this game, you might wonder if this was the result of bad offense or good defense.  The answer – from someone who watched some but not all of it – is that it was a bit of both.  Lamar Jackson left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury.  Neither team could muster up 300 yards of total offense for the game.  Russell Wilson looked like he was out of gas.

Packers 28  Bears 19:  The Bears led 19-10 at the start of the 4^th quarter and then that Bears’ defense did what it has done well all year long – – give up points to assure a loss.  Justin Fields threw 2 INTs in that 4^th quarter and those INTs did not help the Bears’ cause even a little bit.  With this win, Aaron Rodgers continues his “ownership” of the Bears; his record as a starter against the Bears is now 25-5.

Lions 40  Jags 14:  To get a feel for this game, consider these stats:

• Total Offense:  Lions = 437 yards            Jags = 266 yards
• 3^rd Down Conversions:  Lions = 8 of 12    Jags = 3 of 12
• First Downs:  Lions = 31       Jags = 14

You get the idea; this was an organized ass-kicking.  Dan Campbell must be doing something right in Detroit; the Lions have won four of their last five games

Vikes 27  Jets 22:  The Vikes won another “one-score game” and sealed the win with an INT at the goal line in the final seconds of the game.  The Vikes have played 9 games where the scoring margin was one possession.  The Vikes have won all 9 of those games.  Amazing…

Steelers 19  Falcons 16:  This game was as close on the stat sheet as it was on the field.  The Steelers never trailed but the Falcons rallied from a 19-6 deficit late in the third quarter to make a game of it.

Eagles 35  Titans 10:  AJ Brown caught 8 passes for 119 yards and 2 TDs to torment his former teammates.  Here is another game where some stat comparisons will give you a feeling for what happened:

• Total Offense:  Eagles = 453 yards   Titans = 209 yards
• First Downs:  Eagles = 26            Titans = 11
• Yards per Pass Attempt:  Eagles = 9.0    Titans = 3.8

This was another organized ass-kicking.  This is the fourth game this year that the Eagles have scored 35 points or more.  In addition, the Eagles’ defense held Derrick Henry to 30 yards on 11 carries and sacked Ryan Tannehill 6 times in the game; that is the recipe for beating the Tennessee Titans.

Commanders 20  Giants 20 (OT):  The Commanders have this week off and then play the Giants as their return game from their BYE Week.  I wish I could say that next game will be a double dip of excitement, but this game was more of a snoozer than anything else.  Both teams played well enough to lose the game but neither team played well enough to win.  Hence the outcome…

Niners 33  Dolphins 17:  Jimmy G is out for the rest of the regular season with a broken foot suffered early in this game.  Remember that Trey Lance is also out for the season since Game 1; so, the Niners now turn to their #3 QB, Brock Purdy who was the last player taken in last year’s Draft.  Purdy acquitted himself well given the credentials he entered the game with; here is his stat line:

• 25 of 37 for 210 yards and 2 TDs

Those are not Hall of Fame numbers, but they are as good as anyone in the Niners’ organization had a right to expect.  The Niners’ defense continued to play outstanding football.  The Niners intercepted Tua three times and limited the Dolphins’ ground game to 33 yards for the game.  Meanwhile the methodical Niners’ offense held the ball for over 40 minutes making sure the Dolphins could not mount a serious threat in the game.

Seahawks 27  Rams 23:  John Wolford was the QB for the Rams with the team having put Matthew Stafford on IR; he managed to throw for 178 yards in the game, which is OK, but he also threw 2 INTs which is not OK.  Even though the Rams were outgained by 119 yards, it took a TD pass to DK Metcalf with 36 seconds left in the game for the Seahawks to post the victory.

Bengals 27  Chiefs 24:  This was a fun game to watch; it was full of great plays, and it was always in doubt.  The Chiefs had a 14-game winning streak for games played in the month of December; that streak is now gone.  Also gone – for the moment at least – is the Chiefs’ hold on the #1 seeding in the AFC Playoffs.  The Bills now hold that slot and the playoff BYE Week that comes with it.  Joe Burrow had a most efficient day:

• 25 of 31 for 286 yards with 2 TDs and 0 INTs
• 11 rushes for 46 yards and 1 TD

Another offensive contributor for the Bengals was Samaje Perine who ran for 106 yards on 21 carries.

Raiders 27  Chargers 20:  This is the third win in a row for the Raiders and it keeps their dim playoff hopes alive.  Josh Jacobs ran for 144 yards in the game, but I think the real story here is that the Raiders’ defense held the Chargers to only 72 yards on the ground making the Chargers one-dimensional.   Here is another piece of good news for Raiders’ fans:

• Both Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow are reported to be close to coming back to action for the Raiders.

Cowboys 54  Colts 19:  Here is all you need to know about what it means to have a football melt-down:

• In the 4^th quarter, the Cowboys scored 33 points and the Colts scored zero points.

Bills 24  Pats 10:  This was a workmanlike showing by the Bills.  The offense gained a respectable 355 yards, held the ball for just over 38 minutes and only turned the ball over 1 time.  Meanwhile the defense held the Pats to 14 first downs and only 3 of 12 on third-down conversions.  Interestingly, this is the first win for the Bills over another AFC East team this year.

Bucs 17  Saints 16:  The Bucs rallied from 10 points down with about 7 minutes to play in the game to win in the final 10 seconds here.  Sounds great, no?  This game was about as exciting as a fetid bog.  The Bucs are now 6-6 with a BYE Week still in their pocket and that appears to be a commanding lead in the AFC South.  Yes, that is a reasonable assessment of the worthiness of that division…

 

NFL Games This Weekend:

 

This is the last of the BYE Weeks for the NFL regular season.  Six teams will have the weekend off:

1. Bears:  They are the only NFC team already eliminated from the playoffs with their 3-10 record and a 6-game losing streak.
2. Colts:  They have not been eliminated from the playoffs just yet but at 4-8-1, their elimination appears to be imminent.
3. Commanders:  They may be in last place in the NFC East, but they are still very much in the playoff picture – – and they are the only team to beat the Eagles this season.
4. Falcons:  Like the Colts, they have not been eliminated from the playoffs just yet, but that status appears to be approaching quickly.
5. Packers:  The Packers have not been eliminated from the playoffs – – but they have been eliminated from the NFC North race.  With 8 losses already on the books, one more loss will assure the Packers and Rodgers of a losing season – – something that has only happened twice since Rodgers ascended to the starting QB job in 2008.
6. Saints:  The Saints would have the 4^th or 5^th overall pick in the 2023 Draft if the season ended now.  They will likely find a way to screw that up too between now and early January…

With six teams out of action and another game taking place last night, that leaves only 12 games on the weekend card.  A quick glance at those games tells me that there will not be a full Six-Pack this week, and the more I look at the weekend card, the fewer selection opportunities I see.

The acronym that describes last night’s game between the Rams and the Raiders must be AYFKM which stands for Are You [Bleeping] Kidding Me.  Baker Mayfield had less than 48 hours to prepare for and practice with the Rams’ team for this game; they trailed 16-3 with 5 minutes to play and had nothing happening on offense.  The Rams got a TD to make it 16-10 and made a defensive stop but the Raiders punted the ball down to the Rams’ 2 yardline so all that was needed was a 98-yard drive with less than 2 minutes on the clock and no timeouts.

The Rams got all of that and the Raiders’ defensive coaches and defensive players ought to be ashamed.  Defensive penalties gave the Rams a first down and stopped the clock for them; someone in the Raiders’ braintrust decided to play man defense far more often that made any sense to anyone who has watched NFL football for the last  10 years; Baker Mayfield threw the winning TD to a man single covered in the end zone when only a TD could have beaten the Raiders and there were only 10 seconds left on the clock.  The final 5-7 minutes of that game were a disgrace for the Raiders’ defensive players and coaches; they should give back their game paychecks.

Here is the rest of this weekend’s NFL action…

Vikes at Lions – 2 (52):   The spread opened the week with the Vikings as 1-point favorites, but the trend has been to the Lions all week long; that’s right; the Vikes with a 10-2 record are underdogs to a Lions’ team that is below .500.  The Lions ran out to a 14-point lead over the Vikes in their first encounter this year and then – typical of the Lions – they coughed up a hairball and invented a way to lose that game.  However, the Lions seem to be improving week by week.  Consider these two stats:

1. Lions give up the most points per game in the NFL
2. Vikes give up the most passing yards per game in the NFL

I think both defenses will be torched in this game, so I’ll take it to go OVER; put it in the Six-Pack.

Jets at Bills – 10 (43.5):  The Bills’ offense looked good against the Pats but will need to be more efficient against a very good Jets’ defense.  That offensive unit is capable of doing just that.  The question in my mind is how the Bills’ defense is trending.  Yes, the unit has injuries to deal with, but that defense does not seem to be playing nearly as well as it did earlier this year.   I am tempted to take the points here but will resist that temptation.

Ravens at Steelers – 2 (36.5):  This game will be just like an alley fight.  The Steelers are 3-1 in their last four games – – coinciding with the return to action of TJ Watt a month ago.  The Ravens will play Tyler Huntley at QB unless Lamar Jackson’s knee takes a miraculous turn for the better.  If light-up-the-scoreboard offensive football is your thing, pick another game to watch.  This one could easily turn out to be a “last-man-standing” game.

Eagles – 7 at Giants (44.5):  I gave this one some consideration as the Game of the Week because a Giants’ loss would eliminate them – and the Commanders also – from the NFC East division race.  The game is also important within that division race because the Cowboys would appear to have a walkover against the Texans.  I think this will be much more of an offensive game than the oddsmakers think it will be; so, I’ll take this game to go OVER; put it in the Six-Pack.

Browns at Bengals – 5.5 (46.5):  The Bengals are hot right now; the offense is in sync.  The Browns have Deshaun Watson at QB, but he was miserable last week.  Watson is far more talented than the results showed last week so betting on this game is the same as playing the Powerball lottery.  I will pay attention here only out of curiosity…

Jags at Titans – 3.5 (41):  Speaking of “unpredictability” can anyone divine when either of these teams will play at their best and/or at their worst?  I cannot.  Both teams looked awful last week; does that mean anything regarding this game?

Texans at Cowboys – 17 (44):  This is the Dog-Breath Game of the Week simply because it has the potential to become a 30-point blowout.  The Texans’ offense is indeed offensive (see above) and even though the Texans’ defense plays hard – and often plays well – they are not going to keep up here.  The last time there was an apparent mismatch of this proportion the final score was:

• Lions 35
• Christians 0

Just so you know, the Money Line odds for this game has the Cowboys at minus-2500 and the Texans at +1280.  Find something else to watch…

(Sun Nite) Dolphins – 3 at Chargers (52.5):  NBC and the NFL flexed this game into the Sunday Nite slot in place of the Chiefs/Broncos game below.  Probably a good move for NBC…  I also considered this game as my designated Game of the Week because the game is meaningful to both teams – – even though it is more meaningful to the Chargers.  Surely this will be part of the storyline for this game:

• Justin Herbert was the 6^th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft
• Tua Tagovailoa was the 5^th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Have at it, guys…

Panthers at Seahawks – 4 (44.5):  The spread opened at 6.5 points and has been inching down during the week.  I guess bettors think that last week’s BYE was a plus for the Panthers but what I see is a Panthers’ team that is:

1. All but eliminated from the NFC playoffs
2. Bringing an 0-5 road record to the kickoff
3. Traveling about 2500 miles to play the game.

Best hope for the Panthers here is the Seahawks’ defense; it is not good, and it ranks 30^th in the NFL in yards allowed per game.

Bucs at Niners – 3.5 (37.5): This is my Game of the Week.  It matches two division leaders, and it matches the ageless Tom Brady against the wet-behind-the-ears Brock Purdy as opposing QBs.  Both teams bring dominant defenses to the game; the Niners’ defense is first in the NFL in yards allowed per game (283.9).  Someone with lots of free time on his hands came up with this information:

• Six QBs made their first NFL start against Tom Brady
• All six came out of the game as a loser
• This is Brock Purdy’s first NFL start.

Another rarity in this game regarding the QB comparison:

• Tom Brady was a higher draft pick than Brock Purdy; Brady went at the end of the sixth round of his draft at pick #199
• Brock Purdy was “Mr. Irrelevant” last year taken with the 262^nd pick in the seventh round in 2022.

Chiefs – 9.5 at Broncos (44):  The Total Line here opened at 41 points and has climbed to this level as of this morning.  The Chiefs can still earn that BYE Week in the AFC playoffs, so they are motivated here.  The Broncos have lost 4 games in a row and have yet to beat a division foe.  The Broncos’ defense is good, but it may need to hold Patrick Mahomes and Company under 13 points to win the game; I don’t see that happening…

(Mon Nite) Pats – 1 at Cards (43.5):  I cannot pretend that this game was ever part of my thinking as the Game of the Week, but it might be one of the more interesting contests on the card.  The Pats’ offense was somnambulant last week in their loss to the Bills, but that was against the NFL’s 10^th ranked defense in Total Defense.  The Cards check in at 21^st in the league on that stat; so, I expect the Pats’ offense to be more efficient and effective in this game.  But the question for me is the Pats’ defense and how it will deal with Kyler Murray as a running threat.  Mobile QBs have had big days against the Pats this year.  I’ll take the Pats and lay the point on the road figuring that the Cards will find a way to lose this game; put it in the Six-Pack.

So let me review this week’s abbreviated Six-Pack:

• Lions/Vikes OVER 52
• Eagles/Giants OVER 44.5
• Pats – 1 over Cards

            And here are two Money Line parlays just for fun:

• Niners @ minus-175
• Seahawks @ minus-205                   To win $134

And …

• Bengals @ minus-240
• Chiefs @ minus-430
• Titans @ minus-185                          To win $169

            Finally, Dwight Perry uncovered this career note for the venerable Al Michaels:

“From the It’s Not How You Start But How You Finish file, comes word that celebrated broadcaster Al Michaels’ first television job was with Chuck Barris Productions in 1966, choosing female contestants for ‘The Dating Game.’”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………