The Baltimore Ravens had their BYE Week last weekend and there had to have been a fervent hope among Ravens’ fans and Ravens’ coaches that Lamar Jackson’s hamstring injury would be the prime beneficiary of that weekend’s rest. The indications are that those hopes and dreams will not come to pass because Jackson did not participate in the Ravens’ practice session yesterday. But the focus of attention in Baltimore remains on that hamstring muscle because the moment that it is deemed to be sufficiently healed, the Ravens will have Lamar Jackson back on the field playing QB.
Nothing that I have said above should be misinterpreted as a slam on the substitute QB in Baltimore. Cooper Rush is a capable backup QB, and he is not the reason that the Ravens’ record is 1-5-0 having lost their last four games in a row. What I mean to say here is that when Jackon is healthy again, there is no doubt whatsoever that he will be inserted into the lineup; that is not because he is the highest paid player on the team; that is because he is unequivocally the best QB on the roster.
I wonder if that situation similarly obtains in Palo Alto. The Niners lead their division for now based on their undefeated status in division games and the Niners’ starting QB, Brock Purdy, is on the shelf with a toe injury. Mac Jones has been the fill-in for the Niners at QB; he has started 5 games for the Niners, and the team has gone 4-1-0 in those five games.
Like Lamar Jackson, Brock Purdy is the highest paid player on the team and has been identified as the “leader of the offense”. However, when his toe is healed, will he immediately and unequivocally be put on the field as the starting QB? I don’t know the answer to that question, and I wonder if Niners’ coach, Kyle Shanahan, knows the answer. The external trappings surrounding the two injured QBs are similar/parallel but there is a qualitative difference in the way the two QBs are perceived:
- Jackson is seen as an “All-World Talent” who is capable of dominating any game that he participates in. If he returns to health, the Ravens’ season may still be pulled back from the abyss.
- Purdy is seen as the beneficiary of an offensive system created by and employed by Coach Shanahan. Purdy orchestrates the offense – – and other QBs have shown an ability to orchestrate that offense as well. Mac Jones specifically is orchestrating it rather successfully for now.
So, imagine for a moment that Brock Purdy’s toe is completely healed as of this morning. [Aside: I wonder if importing some water from Lourdes would be subject to tariffs? Whatever …] Would that mean it is a slam-dunk decision on the part of Kyle Shanahan to put him back in the lineup at QB?
I obviously don’t know the answer to that question, but I do think that it would be an easier choice for Shanahan to come off a Niners’ loss as opposed to a Niners’ victory last weekend.
Moving on … The Canadian Football League will end its regular season this weekend and the CFL playoffs which start next weekend will have a useful wrinkle called the “Crossover”. Here is the deal:
- Six CFL teams will make the playoffs – – three from the East and three from the West.
- However, when the fourth-place team in one division has a better record than the third-place team in the other division, that “fourth place team” crosses over and competes as the third-place team in the other division.
- This allows for better teams in the playoffs and presumably better/more entertaining games.
There will be a “crossover” this season.
- In the East, the third-place team will finish with a record of 5-13-0.
- In the West, the fourth-place team will finish with a record of 9-9-0 at worst.
- Ergo, that fourth place finisher in the West will play in the East bracket of the CFL playoffs.
One way to look at this is to think of it as a way to do a reseeding of the playoff teams. The last playoff slot is not guaranteed based on geography; it is earned based on a season-long record. I have no reason to like or dislike any of the East teams who might be dislodged from the playoffs this year, but from a fans’ standpoint, the games will likely be more interesting without the participation of a team whose record is 5-13-0.
It would take a cataclysmic event to get the NFL to think of implementing such a selection process for its playoffs. Here is such a cataclysm; let me pick the AFC South as my example.
- Imagine if all four teams lose every game outside the division.
- In the division games,
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- Houston goes 4-2-0
- Indy goes 3-3-0
- Jax goes 3-3-0
- Tennessee goes 2-4-0
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- Houston would be the Division Champion and would host a playoff game with a season record of 4-14-0.
- Really?
Finally, ponder this comment from Doug Larson:
“A pun is the lowest form of humor, unless you thought of it yourself.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………