Author: Jack

Welcome to a mini version of Football Friday.  I have managed to sleep off my stupor that was induced by an amazing intake of l-tryptophan yesterday combined with wall-to-wall football until late in the evening.  I will begin with a review of last week’s Six-Pack:

• College:  3-0-0
• NFL:  1-2-0
• Total:  4-2-0
• Money Line Parlays:  1-1  Net profit = $15

These results bring the totals for the season to:

• College:13-13-0
• NFL:  18-21-1
• Total:  31-34-1
• Money Line Parlays:  2-5   Net loss = $98

 

College Football Commentary:

 

            The Linfield College Wildcats advanced to the second round of the Division III football tournament beating Redlands last week 44-10.  Linfield is now 10-0 for the season and will travel about 1700 miles to Collegeville, MN to take on the Johnnies of St. John’s University.  The Johnnies are 11-0 in 2021 and won their first-round game by a score of 41-14.   Go Wildcats!

Taking a quick look at the teams in contention for the Brothel Defense Award – given to the team that allows anyone and everyone to score at will – here are the contenders late in the season:

• New Mexico State allows 41.6 points per game
• Kansas (the winner of this award in 2020) allows 42.9 points per game
• UMass (winner of this award in 2019) allows 43.0 points per game

[Foreshadowing:  Please look at that list again and keep it in mind…]

Instead of talking about college coaches getting fired this week, let me start today with two coaching contract extension stories.  The first involves James Franklin at Penn State; this week, Franklin signed a 10-year contract extension which – with incentives – could be worth as much as $85M.  Reports said that Franklin’s current salary at Penn State is $5.5M.  Perhaps one motivation for the Penn State administrators to extend Franklin’s contract is that he has been mentioned as being a possible candidate for the USC job that is open this year.

Franklin did a magnificent job in his first head coaching stint at Vandy.  In three years there, he took the Commodores to three bowl games and compiled an overall record of 24-15 at Vandy playing a full SEC schedule.  At Penn State over the almost 8 full seasons, his record is 67-32.  Obviously, Franklin is a successful recruiter and coach, but I wonder about the value of the contract.  Penn State has never won the Big-10 East outright in his time there; and this year, the Nittany Lions lost to a bad Illinois team in 9 overtime periods.  We shall see…

The other contract extension story involves Mel Tucker at Michigan State.  Four weeks ago, Sparty rallied to beat arch-rival Michigan and then kept its undefeated season going until surprisingly losing to Purdue two weeks later.  Plenty of reporting had it that Michigan State and Tucker were on the verge of signing a 10-year contract extension which – with incentives – could be worth as much as $95M.  Reports said that Tucker’s current salary at Michigan State is $5.5M.  Like Franklin, Tucker’s name had been linked to major job openings in college football this year including USC, LSU and Florida.

Those talks were supposedly put on hold after the loss to Purdue and early last week there were reports that the contract may have been pulled off the table by the administrators at Michigan State after Ohio State demolished Sparty last week 56-7.  Those negative reports turned out to be a large pile of over-reaction because this Wednesday the deal was struck.  Tucker was previously the head coach at Colorado for a season and went 5-7 with the Buffaloes.  He has been at Michigan State for most of two seasons and has posted an 11-7 record there.

I cannot completely avoid talking about coach firings because last week I made a prediction that if Missouri beat Florida, that Dan Mullen would be fired at Florida.  Well Mizzou did beat Florida and indeed Dan Mullen was fired less than 48 hours after the fact.

I am going to root to see Ohio State’s offense against Georgia’s defense somewhere in the CFP.  Ohio State did not merely beat Michigan St. last week; it was a rout from start to finish.   Michigan also won in a rout over Maryland last week setting up The Big Game this weekend.

Oregon suffered a big loss – to Utah – by 31 points.  That simply must eliminate Oregon – – and probably all of the PAC-12 from any possible CFP consideration.  Interestingly, Oregon and Utah could meet again in the PAC-12 Championship Game where the winner goes to the Rose Bowl.

Clemson seems to have found its stride late in the season and the Tigers beat Wake Forest by 3 TDs last week.  Wake needs a win this week to be in the ACC Championship Game.

Cincy did what it had to do against a team with a strong record; they disemboweled SMU 48-14.  The Bearcats just made life a bit more difficult for the CFP Selection Committee.  Cincy is ranked 4^th this week; Michigan is ranked 5th and Notre Dame is 6^th.  Guess which teams on that list would bring the biggest TV ratings…

Cal beat Stanford 41-11.  Stanford beat Oregon many moons ago, but the season fell apart for Stanford since the calendar flipped over to November.  In its three games in November, Stanford has been outscored by opponents 128-32.  The Cardinal host Notre Dame this week…

As the college football season draws to a close, I can narrow down the potential field for my imaginary SHOE Tournament where we might determine on the field which team is the worst team in the nation in 2021.  Next week, I will have the field of 8 ready and seeded to present to you; at this point, I think I have 12 teams that deserve serious consideration for the ignominy of an invitation:

1. Akron  2-9
2. Arizona  1-10
3. Arkansas St.  2-9
4. Florida Int’l  1-10
5. Indiana  2-9
6. Kansas  2-9
7. New Mexico  3-8
8. New Mexico St.  1-10
9. Temple  3-8
10. UConn  1-10
11. UMass  1-10
12. Vandy  2-9

 

 

College Football Games of Interest:

 

(Fri Afternoon)  Iowa at Nebraska – 1 (41):  Interesting line here.  Iowa is 9-2 overall this year; Nebraska is 3-8…

(Fri Afternoon) UNC at NC State – 6 (62):  In the pre-season polls, UNC was ranked in the Top Ten; the Tar Heels have lost 5 times this year and are 0-3 on the road.

(Fri Nite)  Washington St. – 1 at Washington (45.5):  This is the Apple Bowl rivalry game. Washington St. is bowl eligible; Washington will not be participating in a bowl game this year other than this “Apple Bowl.”

(Fri Afternoon)  Cincy – 14 at East Carolina (57):  Cincy must win convincingly here if they want to continue to be part of the CFP discussion.

Ohio St. – 7 at Michigan (65):  The winner of this game will be in the CFP save for an upset loss in the Big-10 Championship Game against either Iowa or Wisconsin.

Pitt – 13.5 at Syracuse (58):  Pitt is 9-2 and is one of the participants in the ACC Championship Game.  Syracuse is 5-6; this is their last chance to achieve bowl eligibility.  Based solely on motivation here, I like the Orange to put up a real fight here; I’ll take Syracuse plus the points; put it in the Six-Pack.

Navy – 13.5 at Temple (43):  These are two bad teams; Temple may be a very bad team.  Navy averages 18.6 points per game this year; Temple only scores 16.5 points per game.  There may be a lot of punting here.

Wake Forest – 6 at BC (65):  Wake needs to win this one to play Pitt in the ACC Championship Game.  BC is bowl eligible at 6-5 but all 5 of their losses have been in game against ACC opponents.

Maryland – 2 at Rutgers (53):  The reason this game is interesting is that both teams are 5-6; the winner will get a minor bowl bid.

Wisconsin – 7 at Minnesota (39.5):  This will be a defensive game from start to finish.  Wisconsin needs a win here to face the winner of the Michigan/Ohio St. game in the Big 10 Championship Game.

Arizona at Arizona St. – 20 (53):  This is a big rivalry game but the fortunes of these two teams have been very different this year.

Oregon St. at Oregon – 7 (61):  They call this rivalry game “The Civil War”.

Oklahoma at Oklahoma St. – 4.5 (50):  This rivalry game is known as “Bedlam”.  Both teams are 10-1 overall; both are 7-1 in Big 12 Conference games; the winner will try to convince the CFP Selection Committee to look favorably on their season.  On average, the Sooners score 8.5 points per game more than the Cowboys.  On defense the Cowboys enjoy an even larger advantage; Oklahoma St. ranks 3^rd in the nation in Scoring Defense giving up only 14.9 points per game.  I like the Cowboys at home to assert themselves on defense here; I’ll take Oklahoma St. to win and cover at home; put it in the Six-Pack.

Alabama – 20.5 at Auburn (57):  The SEC Championship Game is set; Alabama and Georgia will square off.  Unless that Championship game is a blowout loss by either team, I think both teams should be in the CFP.  Yes, I know that if Georgia wins that game by a TD, it will be Alabama’s second loss in 2021; I still think they are one of the four best teams I have seen this year.  Having said all that, I think this line is fat for such a rivalry game; I’ll take Auburn plus the points in this “Iron Bowl” game; put it in the Six-Pack.

Penn St. – 2 at Michigan St. (52):  Two coaches with big contract extensions (see above) square off here…

Florida St. at Florida – 3 (59):  Over the last several weeks, the Seminoles have been improving; over the last several weeks, the Gators have been horrible – – and their coach just got fired.

Texas A&M – 6.5 at LSU (47):  If LSU wins here, they are bowl-eligible…

UMass at New Mexico St. – 6.5 (59):  I said above that the Brothel Defense Award stats would show up again.  Well, here they are; two of the three worse scoring defenses in the country face off.  Both of these teams are on the SHOE Tournament list too.  Since this is Thanksgiving Weekend, you should give thanks that you are not forced to watch this hot mess of a game.  Label this one an Avert Your Eyes Special.

 

NFL Commentary:

 

The Jets lost to the Dolphins last week 24-17.  Is that an indication that the Jets’ defense woke up from a 4-week snooze?  In the 4 games prior to last week, the Jets had allowed a total of 175 points – almost 44 points per game.

Tyler Huntley subbed in for Lamar Jackson and the Colts eked out a win over the hapless Bears who had to go with Andy Dalton after Justin Fields was injured.  You are excused if you do not recognize Huntley’s name or recall where he played college football…

The Browns got a real scare from the Lions who also had to go with a backup QB.  Tim Boyle was the Lions’ QB last week and you are excused if you do not recognize Boyle’s name or where he played college football.   I went to the Internet to satisfy my curiosity and found these stats for Tim Boyle at UConn:

• 133 of 275 for 1237 yards with 1 TD and 13 INTs

Now I am curious how he ever got an invitation to an NFL Training Camp let alone how he made an NFL regular season roster…

It looks to me as if Baker Mayfield is regressing – – or maybe his shoulder injury (to his left shoulder not his throwing shoulder) is more serious than the Browns are letting on.

The Titans lost last week to the Texans in a classic trap game; Ryan Tannehill threw 4 INTs.  The Titans’ record is 8-3; the three losses are to the Cards (OK), the Jets (say what?), and the Texans (Are you bleeping kidding me?!).

There were big wins last week by the Vikes (over the Packers) and the Eagles (over the Saints) as those teams eye wildcard possibilities.

The Football Team spoiled Cam Newton’s “homecoming” – – then again it was also Ron Rivera’s “homecoming” so that one was not ruined.

The Chiefs looked good on offense and on defense against the Cowboys.

The Chargers/Steelers game was an entertaining game; that was a big win for the Chargers.

Regarding yesterday’s Triple Header, the Lions/Bears game was a bumble-fest from start to finish.  Early in the second quarter, Troy Aikman said that he had figured that the first team to score 17 points would be the winner.  He was right; the Bears won the game 16-14.

The Cowboys/Raiders game was a penalty-fest from start to finish.  Each team was flagged 14 times in the game.  Cowboys’ DB, Anthony Brown committed 4 defensive pass interference penalties in the game; all 4 of those penalties came on third-down plays where the pass was incomplete; that means Anthony Brown converted 4 third-down situations for the Raiders.  The Cowboys maintain a 2-game lead in the NFC East and the Raiders managed to remain only a game behind the Chiefs in the AFC West.

The Bills/Saints game was no contest.  The Saints were short-handed on offense and the Bills’ defense never let the Saints develop any sort of offensive rhythm.  That is 4 losses in a row for the Saints; the Bills are tied with the Pats atop the AFC East pending the results of Sunday’s games.

 

NFL Games:

 

Teams on their BYE Weeks this week:

• Cards:  They have survived without Kyler Murray for the last 3 games and are still a game and a half ahead of the Rams in the NFC West.
• Chiefs:  They have looked much more like a serious playoff team over the past couple of weeks.

 

Titans at Pats – 7 (43.5):  The spread on this game opened at 4.5 points; it was up to 7 points by Tuesday night and has remained there for the rest of the week.  This is my Game of the Week; both teams are at the top of their division in the AFC.  The Pats have won 5 in a row; the Titans looked awful last week (see above).

Jets at Texans – 2.5 (44.5):  If  you thought yesterday’s Lions/Bears game was bad, try not to watch this one.  Both teams arrive with 2-8 records for the season.  This is my Dog-Breath Game of the Week.

Eagles – 3.5 at Giants (46):  The Eagles are in the wildcard chase in the NFC.  The Giants are in disarray.

Bucs – 3 at Colts (53.5):  This was my runner-up for Game of the Week.  The Colts have won 3 in a row and are squarely in the wildcard picture in the AFC.

Falcons – 2 at Jags (45.5):  Put this game in the same category as Bears/Lions and Jets/Texans; it is meaningless, and it should be as exciting as tofu.

Panthers – 2.5 at Dolphins (42):  I like the Panthers defense to carry the day here.  I’ll take the Panthers on the road to win and cover; put it in the Six-Pack.

Steelers at Bengals – 4 (45):  This is a big game in the AFC North; the Bengals are 6-4; the Steelers are 5-4-1.

Chargers – 3 at Broncos (48):  The Chargers can tie the Chiefs on top of the AFC West with a win here.  The Broncos are in last place in that division and cannot afford another loss.

Vikes at Niners – 3 (49):  The Niners will want to run the ball against the Vikes’ run defense that ranks 28^th in the NFL.  I think they will be very successful in that endeavor; I like the Niners to win and cover; put it in the Six-Pack.

Rams – 1 at Packers (47):  The spread here opened with the Packers as 1.5-point favorites.  The line “flipped” on Wednesday and has stayed here for the past two days.  The Packers have a 2.5-game lead over the Vikes in the NFC North race; the Rams need a win to keep pace with the Cards in the NFC West.

(Sun Nite) Browns at Ravens – 3.5 (47):  Neither team has looked in sync for a couple of weeks now, but the Browns look worse to me.

(Mon Nite) Seahawks at Football Team – 1 (46.5):The Football Team is in the wildcard picture in the NFC; the Seahawks are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs but given tiebreaker situations, they are eliminated from possibly winning the NFC West.  I think the Football Team is starting to find itself on offense and the Seahawks defense is not good.  The Seahawks give up 401.8 yards per game; that ranks them 31^st in the NFL in Total Defense; only the Jets are worse.  I like the Football Team to win and cover here; put it in the Six-Pack.

So, let me review the Six-Pack:

• Syracuse +13.5 against Pitt
• Oklahoma St. – 4.5 over Oklahoma
• Auburn +20.5 against Alabama
• Panthers – 2.5 over Dolphins
• Niners – 3 over Vikes
• Football Team – 1 over Seahawks

And here is a two-team Money Line parlay for the week:

• Eagles at minus-180 against Giants
• Football Team at minus-110 against Seahawks
• A $100 wager here would yield a profit of $197.

Finally, let me close with an email from a reader:

“Since you often close your columns with obscure quotations here is one you may want to use.  It comes from Delmore Schwartz who was a prize-winning poet in the 20^th century.

‘Existentialism means that no one can take a bath for you.’

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

 

 

I attended the University of Pennsylvania from 1961-1965.  In those days the five major college basketball schools in and around Philadelphia – the Big Five – played virtually all of their home games at The Palestra on Penn’s campus.  In order to fit in so many games with so many schools, there were double-headers every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights and sometimes they threw in a double-header on Wednesday night too.  Over the Christmas break, there used to be a Holiday Festival Tournament which had a double-header in the afternoon followed by another double-header at night.

The reason I point all this out is that in my four years at Penn, I believe I messed a total of six games – – not six-double-headers, six games.  I spent more time in The Palestra than I spent in the library, and it was not even close.

Last week, I learned that I was not alone in my fascination for the place.  John Feinstein wrote a column in the Washington Post about the return of college basketball to The Palestra after a hiatus of more than a calendar year due to COVID-19.  Please take a minute to read Feinstein’s column here.  I still think of The Palestra as “hallowed ground.”

Welcome back from reading Prof. Feinstein’s essay…  Last week, I also read a report that Saints’ coach, Sean Payton, said on Dan Patrick’s radio program that he thought NFL officiating would be improved if the league hired full-time officials.  I also read another report that Seahawks’ coach, Pete Carrol, offered the same view.  I respectfully disagree and here is why.

I have mentioned here before that I spent 37 years of my life officiating basketball; that is not the same as officiating football but there are some fundamental similarities.  In addition, for several years, I was “the instructor” for young officials who were about to find out if they wanted to do this as a hobby or if this was something they preferred not to do at all.  And it is from those experiences – – officiating and trying to help others learn how to be an official – – that I disagree with the idea that full-time officials in the NFL will have a significant positive effect on the “quality” of the officiating.

From mid-August through early February the NFL puts on 65 Exhibition Games, 272 regular season games and 13 playoff games.  Those 350 events are where two things happen:

1. Officials hone their skills as officials – – and – –
2. Officials come under scrutiny for “bad calls”.

Outside those 350 events, there are no substitute events for the officials – part time or fulltime – to practice their craft.  “Watching film” can be very effective in teaching the mechanics of officiating – how the officials should position themselves to be able to see what is happening in their area of responsibility on the field.  That is very helpful; I do not mean to downplay it at all.  At the same time, however, an official studying film cannot learn how to get himself/herself into the proper position; all film study can do is to imprint the lesson of where proper positioning is under various circumstances.

So, from mid-February after the Super Bowl is over and the winning team has had their parade until mid-August when the Hall of Fame Exhibition Game happens, there is little to no opportunity for fulltime officials to be doing things that will make them better officials “in the heat of a real game”.  I have heard some folks say that fulltime officials can use that time to study the rulebook.  Obviously, that is the case but most of the complaints about officiating have to do with the calls made by the officials and not about their lack of understanding of the rulebook.

When an NFL official throws a flag for pass interference and half the fans watching the game hate the call, they do not hate it because they believe the official does not know the rules regarding pass interference; those fans hate the call because they saw the action on the field in a different light – – usually a biased light.  If I were given 6 months to study the NFL rulebook, I would be able to “pass the test” on what those rules say an official needs to enforce on the field.  But that does not mean I should be allowed on the field to officiate a real NFL game – – or even a scrimmage.  “Knowing the rules” is absolutely essential for an official to “get it right”; however, “knowing the rules” is not sufficient; a competent official has to practice to learn how to do what the rule book tells him (s)he needs to enforce.

Because the frequency of “errors” by NFL officials that show a complete misinterpretation of the rules  is so rare, I think it is reasonable to conclude that the NFL officials as a whole have sufficiently studied the rule book to the point that they know what it says, what it means, and what it intends.  The “improvements” that are sought by fans and coaches such as Sean Payton and Pete Carrol are  improvements that can only come from having the officials get more live action.  Cue Hamlet here:

“Aye, there’s the rub.”

There is no live action outside those 350 NFL game events summarized above to use as a training ground.  In terms of time on the job that focuses on improving what the officials see and call, the current “part-time officials” have maxed out that time.  So, why hire them fulltime and then try to figure out a way for them to get more “live action” when the only way to do that would be to stage more real games?

Bob Molinaro had this comment in the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot on this subject:

“Baseball umpires work every day and still blow calls and miss balls and strikes.”

He is correct and even if the NFL hires fulltime officials, they too will miss calls here and there.  When I was trying to teach young folks how to be a basketball official, I would start my first classroom session with this statement:

“There are two types of officials; those that have made mistakes and those who are just about to make a mistake.  You will make an incorrect call somewhere along the line.  Deal with that; then move on and try not to make another mistake for a while.”

Finally, let me close with this observation by civil rights advocate/activist, William Sloane Coffin:

“I’m not OK, you’re not OK, and that’s OK.”

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

 

 

Friday is named in honor of Frigg who was the wife of Odin in Norse mythology.  Spiritual folks believe that Frigg’s energy is infused into us at the end of the week reminding us of the need for rest and relaxation in our lives.  That sounds like a good reason to do a Football Friday.  Thanks, Frigg…

Let me begin today with a review of last week’s Six-Pack:

• College:  2-1-0
• NFL:  1-2-0
• Total:  3-3-0
• Money Line Parlays:  0-2

That brings the season totals for all the Six-Packs to:

• College:  10-13-0
• NFL:  17-19-1
• Total:  27-32-1
• Money Line Parlays:  1-4     Net loss on parlays:  =   $113.

 

College Football Commentary:

 

The Linfield College Wildcats finished their regular season undefeated; last weekend they beat Lewis and Clark 51-17.  That record got them an invitation to the Division III playoffs and this weekend they will play the Redlands College Bulldogs at home in McMinnville, OR.  Redlands is 8-1 on the season. Interestingly that one loss came at the hands of Linfield back on September 18^th.  So far this year, Linfield has dominated opponents:

• Linfield has scored an average of 52.8 points per game
• Linfield has allowed an average of 11.7 points per game

The winner of this game will move on to play the winner of a game between St. John’s (MN) and Lake Forest.  Go Wildcats!

We are getting close to the time when the winner of the Brothel Defense Award will emerge.  The award recognizes the college football defense that allows everyone to score at will:

• Arkansas St. allows 41.1 points per game
• UMass allows 44.0 points per game
• Kansas allows 44.1 points per game.

For the record, Kansas won this award in 2020 and UMass won this award in 2019.  The more things change, the more they stay the same…

Three college football coaches were fired this week; none of the three was truly shocking.  Let me go over them in alphabetical order.

Butch Davis was fired at Florida International.  Davis has been there since 2017; FIU made it to bowl games in his first 3 seasons there but in the COVID-shortened season of 2020 the team was 0-5.  This year, FIU has been awful; its record is 1-9.  So, I can understand that the school could decide to make a change.  However, it is the aftermath of the firing that is interesting here; Butch Davis did not go quietly into the night…

Davis made it clear that he thinks the school administrators were fortunate to have had those three bowl game appearances.  He said he was only allowed to offer minimal contracts of one year in length to any of his assistants.  He also said that when he arrived at FIU, all the pads for the players to use were “10 years old”.  The school would not buy new pads but one of the assistants knew that Mississippi State was getting new equipment and the assistant arranged to get the stuff Mississippi State was throwing out.  According to Davis, those pads were “only 5 years old”.  He also said that his assistants were not allowed to travel to recruit players “for financial reasons”.

That is not the kind of statement you hear from a recently fired football coach.  That is more than burning bridges; that is almost a scorched Earth policy statement.  Butch Davis is 70 years old; my guess is that he is not looking ahead toward his career progression.

Justin Fuente was fired at Va Tech.  Fuente has been the head coach there since 2016 and he has had the Hokies in bowl games 4 times.  Last year, Tech went 5-6; I said in my pre-season analysis that Fuente would be on a hot seat if they Hokies did not do better this year; as of this morning, they are 5-5 and he is out of a job.

The surprising thing to me is that he was fired after winning a blowout game over Duke last week; normally a coach that wins a game by 3 or 4 TDs gets to hang around for at least another week.  However, do not fret over Justin Fuente’s fate; reports say that his buyout clause calls for him to get $8.5M in installments over the next 3 years.

One name immediately surfaced as Fuente’s replacement; that would be Shane Beamer who has been the head coach at South Carolina for all of one season.  Beamer is the son of Frank Beamer who was an icon at Va Tech for 29 years.  Stay tuned…

Jimmy Lake was fired at Washington.  Lake has been the Huskies coach since 2020 and his record in 14 games is 7-7; he had been the Huskies’ defensive coordinator for two seasons prior to taking over the head coaching job.  Lake was suspended by the school for one game without pay last week after an incident where he shoved one of his players on the sideline and then fired him this week.  Reports say that Lake’s buyout clause will net him $10M with an offset clause that reduces that amount by any salary he earns in another coaching position.

In SEC action last week…

Alabama 59 New Mexico St. 3:  You guessed it; New Mexico State led 3-0 with about 5 minutes to play in the first quarter; then Alabama scored 59 unanswered points.  The score at the half was 49-3; I was with friends watching another game when we saw that halftime score and wondered if Nick Saban would put in the Alabama Student Council or the Latin Club to play the second half.  For the game the Aggies ran the ball 27 times for a net gain of 9 yards; they averaged 12 inches per carry.

Mississippi  St 43  Auburn 34:  This will not go down well in Auburn; it is a game they needed  to win, and they led 28-3 with 6 minutes left in the first half. Then came the deluge.  The Bulldogs then scored 40 unanswered points to lead 43-28 with 5 minutes to play in the game.

Florida 70  Samford 52:  Yes, that is Division 1-AA Samford that scored 52 points on the Gators’ defense gaining 529 yards on offense in the process.  Yes, that is Division 1-AA Samford that led Florida 42-35 at halftime.  Recall that Florida fired two assistant coaches last week – the defensive coordinator and the run game coordinator; you think maybe there were some other folks who might have been “the problem” that had the Gators at 4-5 on the season entering this game?  According to one report, Samford was paid $550K to come to Gainesville to play this game as a punching bag.

Georgia 41  Tennessee 17:  Here is the story line from that game:

• Georgia gave up more than twice the number of points it has allowed per game so far this year.

Ole Miss 29  Texas A&M 19:  Ole Miss outgained the Aggies 504 yards to 378 yards.  To compound their problems, the Aggies also committed 11 penalties and turned the ball over twice in the game – – one of those turnovers was a Pick-Six.  Both teams now have 3 conference losses; the Aggies cannot win the SEC West;  Ole Miss can win with a lot of improbable outcomes including two straight losses by Alabama in the final two games of the year.

Kentucky 34  Vandy 17:  That ends a 3-game losing streak for Kentucky.

Arkansas 16  LSU 13 (2 OT):  This was a defensive game; LSU outgained Arkansas 308 yards to 282 yards.  Three turnovers – one in the second OT – did LSU in.  That is the 6^th loss for LSU this year; the last time they lost that many games in a season was in 1999.  LSU fired its coach then and hired a guy named Nick Saban.  Ed Orgeron is “stepping down” at LSU this year; can LSU find a comparably competent replacement?

Some ACC results…

Notre Dame 28  UVa 3: UVA played without their starting quarterback Brennan Armstrong, who leads the nation in total offense with an average of 425.3 yards. Instead of getting those 425 yards from the QB position, UVa only got 196 yards in this game.   UVa has now lost 2 games in a row but it only has two conference losses and is one game behind Pitt in the Coastal Division.  You guessed it; UVa and Pitt play each other this week…

Pitt 30  UNC 23  (OT):  Pitt led 17-0 at the end of the first quarter and 23-7 at halftime.  Then the Pitt offense went dormant in the second half until regaining consciousness in the OT period.

Wake Forest 45  NC State 42:  I believe that Wake will be the Atlantic Division winner if it wins either of its last two games this season putting them in the ACC Championship Game.  Both games are road games for Wake – – this week is at Clemson and next week is at BC.

Florida St. 31  Miami 28:  I had this as a hunch bet last week in the Pick-Six.  Let me be clear; I do not think Florida St. is a good team; it is a mediocre team.  It is just that I don’t  think Miami is anything better than average/mediocre either.  This is the 7^th  game for Miami this year decided by 4 points or less.  In those 7 tight games the Hurricanes are 4-3.

Va Tech 48  Duke 17:  This game was not nearly as close as the score might indicate.  Tech outgained Duke by 250 yards for the day.  And the winning coach got fired… (see above)

Clemson 44  UConn  7:  This was a scrimmage and nothing else.

Louisville 41  Syracuse 3:  Yes, this was a beat down that was supposed to be a close game.  Syracuse only gained 184 yards on offense and a meager 46 yards in the air.

On to the Big-10 we go…

Michigan 21  Penn State 17:  This was a slugfest; both defenses came to play and asserted themselves in the game.  The stat sheet is as close as the scoreboard; the difference is that Michigan scored TDs and Penn State scored field goals.  Michigan RB, Hassan Haskins, ran for 156 yards on 31 carries.

Rutgers 38  Indiana 3:  Last week I wondered why Indiana was a TD favorite in the game given that Indiana entered the game with a 2-7 record.  In no way did I think Rutgers would blow their doors off.  The Scarlet Knights ran the ball for 208 yards here.  The Hoosiers were most generous as hosts for the game turning the ball over 6 times (4 lost fumbles and 2 INTs)  Indiana was also 1 of 14 on third-down conversions.

Ohio St. 59  Purdue 21:  I said last week that Purdue’s history of beating Top-10 ranked teams this year would not carry over to this game.  Well, that sort of worked out the way I thought it would.

Michigan St.:  40  Maryland 21:   Finding a way to make it seem as if this game outcome was ever in doubt would be a challenge.  The stat sheet was relatively even until you notice these minutiae:

• Maryland:  3 of 13 on third down conversions
• Michigan St.:  9 of 14 on third down conversions
• Maryland committed 13 penalties resulting in 7 first downs for Michigan St.
• Michigan St. committed 8 penalties resulting in 3 first downs for Maryland.

Maryland turned the ball over on downs on its last 3 possessions in the 4^th quarter.

Here are some Big-12 results…

Oklahoma St.  63  TCU 17:  The Cowboys more than “doubled up”  the Horned Frogs in Total Offense here gaining 686 yards while yielding only 273 yards.  Oklahoma St. ran the ball for 451 yards on 62 carries (7.3 yards per carry).

Kansas 57  Texas 56 (OT):  There are tons of folks in Austin who are not pleased with Steve Sarkissian this week.  Texas trailed 35-14 at the half and did manage to force OT, but ten penalties by the Longhorns and 4 turnovers in the game were too much to overcome even against  a miserable opponent.  Here are the results of the first half possessions by the Longhorns:

• Fumble
• TD
• TD
• Fumble
• INT
• Halftime

Texas Tech 41  Iowa St. 38:  Both teams are now 6-4 and each will go to a meaningless bowl game at the end of the season.  Be still my beating heart …

Baylor 27  Oklahoma 14:  The Sooners led 7-0 with 10 minutes left in the second quarter.  Then Baylor ran off 24 consecutive points until there were only 3 minutes left in the game.  Caleb Williams as ineffective in the game so Oklahoma went back to Spencer Rattler at QB.  The real difference in the game was the Baylor defense; it intercepted 2 passes and it held Oklahoma to only 260 yards of total offense and held the Sooners to 2 of 9 on third down conversions.

In PAC-12 games…

Utah 38  Arizona 29:  Utah stays on top of the PAC-12 South.  But is this the dawning of an awakening for Arizona or just a half-assed effort by Utah?

Arizona St. 35  Washington 30:  The Huskies led 24-14 with 6 minutes left in the 4^th quarter and gagged the game away.  Arizona St. is 1 game behind Utah in the PAC-12 South with two games left on the schedule.

UCLA 44  Colorado 20:  UCLA is bowl-eligible…

Oregon 38  Washington St. 24:  The game was tied at 14 at halftime but Oregon stepped on the gas in the second half to pull away comfortably here.  Oregon/Utah this week is a big game for both teams.

In miscellaneous games of interest…

Utah St.  48  San Jose St. 17:  Utah St. leads the Mountain Division of the MWC by one game over Air Force.  Utah St. has two conference games left against two mediocre teams – – Wyoming and New Mexico.

Air Force 35  Colorado St. 21:  Because Air Force lost to Utah St. back in mid-September, the only way for Air Force to win the division is for Utah St. to lose both games awhile Air Force wins out.

San Diego St.  23  Nevada 21:  The Aztecs lead the West Division of the MWC by a game over Fresno St.  However, if those two teams tie, the tiebreaker belongs to Fresno St. based on its win over San Diego St. on October 30^th.

UNLV 27  Hawaii 13:  Two wins in a row for UNLV and puts their record for the season at 2-8.

Cincy 45  USF 28:  Cincy is 10-0…

Maine 35  UMass 10:  This is the second loss in a row for UMass to a Division 1-AA team in the Colonial Athletic Association.  Maybe there is a message here for the Athletic Department at UMass…?

Here is an updated look at candidate teams for my imaginary SHOE Tournament at the end of the season.  I will narrow the field down to 10 teams this week:

1. Akron  2-8
2. Arizona   1-9
3. Florida International   1-9
4. New Mexico St.   1-9
5. Tulane  1-9
6. Southern Mississippi  1-9
7. Temple   3-7
8. UConn   1-9
9. UMass   1-9
10. Vandy   2-8

College Games of Interest:

 

(Fri Nite) Air Force at Nevada – 3:  Both teams have two losses in the MWC; the loser here will be eliminated from any shot at the conference championship game.

(Fri Nite) San Diego St. – 10.5 at UNLV (41):  The Aztecs lead their division in the MWC; UNLV is 2-8 but has won its last two games.

UVa at Pitt – 14.5 (66):  A win for the Panthers puts them in the ACC Championship Game; a win for the Cavaliers puts them in first place in the Coastal Division via a tiebreaker.  This may not be the Game of the Week, but it is as important as any other game on the schedule.

SMU at Cincy – 11.5 (65):  Cincy is still hoping to get some recognition from the CFP Selection Committee, but SMU is 8-2 so they are not necessarily a push-over here.

UMass at Army – 36 (57):  This game is interesting only because of the imaginary SHOE Tournament and the Brothel Defense Award for 2021…

Va Tech at Miami – 7 (56):  Both teams are inconsistent from week to week.  The Hokies got their coach fired (see above); a bad loss here by the Hurricanes might achieve the same end.

Syracuse at NC State – 11 (51):  Syracuse needs to find another win to become bowl-eligible, but NC State is a perfect 5-0 at home this season.

Michigan St. at Ohio St. – 19 (68.5):  This is a BIG game for both teams.  If you wonder why the spread is so big in a game involving two very good teams, consider:

• Ohio St. ranks 6^th in the nation in passing offense at 353.6 yards per game.
• Ohio St. ranks 1^st in the nation in scoring at 46.3 points per game.
• Michigan St. ranks 130^th in the nation in passing defense allowing 329 yards per game.
• For the record, there are only 130 teams in Division 1-A college football…

Michigan – 16 at Maryland (57):  Michigan cannot afford a loss here and they are the better team…

Florida – 9 at Missouri (69.5):  Both teams are 5-5; both teams have only 2 wins in SEC games.  No one expected Missouri to be anything more than mediocre; lots of people – including lots of Florida alums and boosters – thought Florida might challenge for the SEC East title this year.

• Prediction:  If Florida loses this game, Dan Mullen will be fired.

Texas at W. Virginia – 3 (56.5):  If the Texas defense gives up 52 points to Division 1-AA Samford (see above), maybe the Mountaineers can cover that Total Line by themselves.  Both teams are 2-5 in Big-12 Conference games this season.

Florida St. at BC – 2 (54.5):  BC is bowl-eligible; Florida St. needs to win out to become bowl-eligible.  BC is 3-1 at home; Florida St. is 1-2 on the road.

Minnesota – 7 at Indiana (43):  The Gophers are only one game behind Iowa and Wisconsin in the Big-10 West.  Minnesota is 3-1 in road games this year and Indiana is 1-4 at home.  I really think Indiana has tossed in their jock straps for the season; I’ll take Minnesota to win and cover here; put it in the Six-Pack.

Wake Forest at Clemson – 4.5 (57):  The last time Wake beat Clemson was in 2008; the last time Wake beat Clemson at Clemson was in 1998.  A win for Wake puts them in the ACC Championship Game; a win for Clemson keeps their slim hopes for getting to that game alive.

Nebraska at Wisconsin – 9 (43.5):  The Huskers are 1-6 in Big-10 games.  Normally, you would expect that they would have a huge negative point differential in those games but the point differential for Nebraska in those 7 games is only 7 points.  Nebraska has lost a lot of Big-10 games by single digits and then beat Northwestern by 49 points.  The Badgers are tied with Iowa in the Big-10 West and need a win here.

Illinois at Iowa – 12.5 (38):  The Hawkeyes lost to Wisconsin on October 30^th, so they need to win out and also to have the Badgers lose a game in order for Iowa to play in the Big-10 Championship Game.

Oregon at Utah – 3 (59):  Utah leads Arizona St. by a game in the PAC-12 South and holds the tiebreaker over Arizona St. on the basis of a win over the Sun Devils on October 16^th.  Oregon has a more comfortable two-game lead over both Oregon St. and Washington St. in the PAC-12 North.  This looks to me to be a “preview” of the PAC-12 Championship Game.  I think this is the College Football Game of the Week.

Cal – 2 at Stanford (45.5):  Cal versus Stanford is always a “Game of Interest” simply because of the rivalry.  Stanford has 7 losses this year and is not going to a bowl game; Cal has only 6 losses so they could theoretically make it to a bowl game by winning out over Stanford, UCLA and USC.

Arizona St. – 3 at Oregon St. (59):  Regarding the PAC-12 Championship Game, this is an elimination game for Arizona St.  In 2021, Oregon St. is 5-0 at home.

UCLA – 3 at USC (65.5):  The biggest rivalry game in the country where both schools are located in the same city.  USC is 4-5 this season but those 4 wins have been against some bad teams such as San Jose St., Colorado and Arizona.  Make no mistake, I do not consider UCLA a good team, but I do think they are the better team here.  I’ll take the Bruins to win and cover in this rivalry game; put it in the Six-Pack.

Auburn – 7.5 at S. Carolina (46):  This spread opened at 10.5 points but dropped like a rock once it was known that Bo Nix could not play QB for Auburn this week.  The Gamecocks can become bowl-eligible with a win here; South Carolina has the better defense in terms of Total Defense and Auburn is without its starting QB.  I like South Carolina plus the points here; put it in the Six-Pack.

Arkansas at Alabama – 21 (59):  The Razorbacks are much improved this season – – but they are no match for Alabama…

La-Monroe at LSU – 29 (57.5):  Consider these stats:

• La-Monroe is 115^th in the nation in Scoring Defense yielding 35.4 points per game.
• La-Monroe ranks 122^nd in the nation in Total Defense allowing 462.6 yards per game.

LSU is in the midst of a down year, but this really should be a laugher…

Iowa St. at Oklahoma – 3.5 (59):  Iowa St. has 3 conference losses; this game is for bragging rights.  Oklahoma stunk out the joint last week but is still tied atop the Big-12 with Oklahoma St.; both teams have only 1 conference loss.

Baylor at K-State “pick ‘em” (50):  The Baylor defense was “lights out” last week shutting down Oklahoma.  K-State has won 4 games in a row, and they are at home where they are particularly difficult to beat.

 

NFL Commentary:

 

There are two “QB-related” questions floating around the NFL this morning that I want to opine about.  The first deals with the return of Cam Newton to the Panthers:

• Does Newton’s presence make the Panthers serious playoff contenders?

I think this depends on if you believe the glass is half-full or half-empty.  Cam Newton is not the same QB that he was even 3 years ago; he was never an accurate passer and now that his passing game is a short-passing game, accuracy becomes more important.  Having said that, even a somewhat diminished Cam Newton is a step up from the other three QBs the Panthers have on their roster now – – Matt Barkley, Sam Darnold and PJ Walker.  Using Darnold and Walker for 99% of the snaps this year until Newton showed up for some limited action last week, the Panthers have managed to arrive at this point in the season at 5-5.

The Panthers’ defense has been excellent; it ranks 2^nd in the NFL in total defense only allowing 280.7 yards per game.  Christian McCaffrey is back after missing several earlier games; presumably, he can stay healthy.  I think 9 wins will be enough to make the NFC playoffs this year – – and maybe 8 wins will do the trick – – so the addition of Newton certainly enhances the Panthers’ chances here.

The second QB question for today is:

• Did Russell Wilson rush his return to the field after finger surgery?

All the reporting out of Seattle was that Wilson was working extra hours on his rehab program and that he was progressing far more quickly than anyone had anticipated.  That is certainly a positive report, and it underscores the competitiveness that almost everyone knew was inside Russell Wilson.  He came back last week to start for the Seahawks on the road in Green Bay and played well below “Russell Wilson Standard”.  The Seahawks were shut out by the Packers and here is Wilson’s stat line:

• 20 of 40 for 161 yards with 0 TDs and 2 INTs.

The Seahawks’ record this morning stands at 3-6 meaning they have little margin for error regarding any sort of playoff participation.  However, there are two glimmers of hope there:

Barring a recurrence of his injury, Wilson will certainly play better in future games than he did last weekend.  The stat line from last week is one you expect from a career backup at QB or one who is about to end his career.  Russell Wilson is neither.

The Seahawks’ schedule is manageable.  This week they play the Cards who have QB injury issues of their own to deal with temporarily.  After this week, the Seahawks have perfectly winnable games against the Bears, Football Team, Lions and Texans.  We shall see…

Last weekend, the NFL games reverted to another week of blowouts.  Seven games were decided by margins of 3 scores or more and three of those games were decided by 27points or more.  Let me review…

Cowboys 41  Falcons 3:  The Falcons had just about every negative stat you could imagine in this game.  They only had the ball for 22 minutes; they only made 11 first downs; total offense was 214 yards; they were 1 of 11 on third down conversions; and they turned the ball over 3 times in the game.  Putting out this sort of bed-wetting performance is all the more surprising given that the Falcons came to the game off an upset of the Saints just the week before.  The Cowboys showed total domination.

Bills 45  Jets 17:  This game was not this close; the Jets scored 2 meaningless TDs in the 4^th quarter which began with the Bills in command by a score of 38-3.  Mike White was back at QB for the Jets; he went 24 of 44 for 251 yards but he also threw 4 INTs.  For the Bills, Stefon Diggs caught 8 passes for 162 yards and 1 TD.  The Bills made it to the Red Zone 7 times in the game and came away with 6 TDs.

Pats 45  Browns 7:  The Browns drove the field and scored a TD on their first drive of the game and led 7-0.  Then the roof caved in…  The Browns total offense was only 217 yards and the passing offense netted only 118 yards.  Here are the QB stats for the Browns:

• Baker Mayfield was 11 of 21 for 73 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT
• Case Keenum was 8 of 12 for 81 yards with 0 TDs and 0 INTs.

The Browns went 1 for 11 on third-down tries and 2 of 4 on fourth-down conversions.  The Pats visited the Red Zone 6 times in the game and got 5 TDs; three of the Pats’ TD drives were of the 90-yard variety.  This was a beat down…

Panthers 34  Cards 10:  The Panthers dominated this game from the start and led 31-3 as the fourth quarter began.  Colt McCoy subbed in for Kyler Murray again this week but his results against the Panthers’ defense were not nearly as gaudy as the results from two weeks ago were.  Here is Colt McCoy’s stat line for the game:

• 11 of 20 for 107 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT

The Panthers showed a very balanced offense for the game gaining 175 yards passing and 166 yards rushing,  Cam Newton was in for some goal line packages and he scored a rushing TD and threw for another.  Compare the results of the first half possessions for the two teams:

•             Panthers:  TD, TD, Field Goal, Field Goal INT, Field Goal = 23 points
•             Cards:  FUMBLE, DOWNS, INT, Punt, Punt, Punt = 0 points.

Eagles 30  Broncos 13:  The Eagles outgained the Broncos 388 yards to 308 yards; the reason for the large score discrepancy is that the Broncos gained their yards in the mid-field area and bogged down when they got near the endzone.  For the day the Broncos got 1 TD in 5 trips to the Red Zone.  A scoop-and-score fumble recovery in the third quarter by Darius Slay put this game out of reach.  The Broncos were 1 of 11 on third down tries and 0 for 2 on fourth down tries.

Chiefs 41  Raiders 14:  The Chiefs’ offense was back hitting on all cylinders in this game running up 519 yards for the game.  After getting well under 200 yards passing two weeks ago, Patrick Mahomes posted this stat line against the Raiders:

• 35 of 50 for 406 yards with 5 TDs and 0 INTs.

The Chiefs have had difficulty stopping the run this year; they rank 18^th in the NFL in run defense.  However, the Raiders game plan did not seem to have considered running the ball even a little bit.  They only gained 50 yards on 14 carries.  The Chiefs had the ball for over 35 minutes and ran 76 offensive plays to only 51 for the Raiders.

Niners 31  Rams 10:  The word to describe Jimmy Garoppolo’s performance here is “efficient”:

• 15 of 19 for 182 yards with 2 TDs and 0 INTs

In addition to the 2 TD  passes, the Niners also got 9 first downs from those 15 completed passes.  However, the biggest takeaway for me was that the Niners offensive line pushed the Rams defense around all night long.  They ran the ball down the Rams’ throats gaining 156  yards rushing and holding the ball for 39 minutes.

Lions 16  Steelers 16  (OT):  Well, the Lions cannot possibly lose 17 games this season…  That is about the only positive thing I can say about this game – – and it was the early afternoon game on my local channel this week.  The Lions ran the ball 39 times and gained 229 yards on the ground (5.9 yards per carry).  The Lions managed to miss a PAT and a field goal try in the overtime period that would have provided a win here so do not get the idea that this was a status-changing game for the Lions.  The Steelers have no excuse; they just stunk.  They got a TD on their first possession of the game and then were somnambulant from then on.  Mason Rudolph subbed in for Ben Roethlisberger for the game and was sub-standard to be very polite.

Colts 23  Jags 17:  The Colts ran off to a 17-0 lead in the first 12 minutes of the game including a blocked punt that was returned for a TD by the aptly named E.J. Speed.  From that point on, however, the Colts did not do much on offense and held on to win a game that keeps them in contention for a wildcard slot in the playoffs.  The Colts recovered a fumble in the final minute of the one-score game to put it on ice.  The Jags ran the ball for 179 yards in this game.  The Colts are 5-5 today and have a big game against the Bills on tap.

Titans 23  Saints 21:  The Saints outgained the Titans by 109 yards in the game.  However, what did the Saints in was what happened after they scored 3 TDs in the game.  They missed PATs on the first two touchdowns and then failed to convert a 2-point try on the third TD.  Note that they only lost the game by 2 points…  The Titans’ running game sorely missed Derrick Henry here; a mélange of runners carried the ball 29 times and only managed to gain 66 yards.

Football Team 29  Bucs 19:  The Football Team took an early lead and every time the Bucs rallied to make it a close game, the Football Team responded with another score.  Taylor Heinicke’s stat line was significantly better than Tom Brady’s for this game:

•             Heinicke:  26 of 32 for 256  yards with 1 TD and 0 INTs
•             Brady:  23 of 34 for 220 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs

With the score 23-19 with 10:55 left in the game, the Football Team took possession at their own 20 yardline.  The offense then put together a 19-play drive that resulted in a TD and took 10:26 off the clock making it a two-score game with 29 seconds left to play.

Vikes 27  Chargers 21:  The Vikes outgained the Chargers by 128 yards in this game and held the ball for over 36 minutes and it was still a one-score game.  The only really negative stat for the Vikes is that they committed 10 penalties for 115 yards and gave the Chargers 4 first downs via penalty.  The Chargers’ rookie WR, Justin Jefferson had a big day catching 9 passes for 143 yards.  The Vikes are 4-5 this morning with only 2 losses in conference; they remain in the playoff chase and have a very important game this week against the Packers.  The Chargers are 5-4 this morning in an incredibly tight AFC West Division race.  The span from first place to last place in the AFC West is one game.

Packers 17  Seahawks 0:  The Packers gained 393 yards on offense and the Seahawks only managed 208 yards.  Nevertheless, the score was 3-0 to start the 4^th quarter.  The Packers held the ball for over 39 minutes in the game and the score was 3-0 to start the 4^th quarter.  Red Zone efficiency was not a hallmark here; the Seahawks got there once and came away with nothing; the Packers got there 5 times and got two TDs for their trouble.  Was Russell Wilson merely rusty after being out for a month with a finger injury that required surgery – – or has he not healed as well as folks thought (see above)?

 

NFL Games:

 

There are two teams on BYE Weeks this weekend; both of them lost badly last weekend:

• Broncos:  They are in last place in the AFC West, and they are only 1 game out of first place in the AFC West.  They need to find an offensive infusion.
• Rams:  They are in second place in the NFC West, and they are only 1 game out of first place in the NFC West.  They need to make sure they fix their run defense during the off time.

I missed the first drive of the game last night between the Pats and the Falcons,  All I missed was an abortive 3-minute drive by the Pats leading to a punt.  From that point on, the Pats dominated the game.  The Total Offense for the Falcons was 165 yards; Matt Ryan was sacked 4 times and he threw 2 INTs.  Late in the game, the Falcons sent Josh Rosen in to play QB and he too threw an INT to end his only possession.  Finally, the Falcons turned to Felipe Franks for a shot at QB and he threw an INT on his first attempt.  The final score was 25-0; I had the sense that the teams could have played an additional 60 minutes and the Falcons would still not have scored.

Onward to the rest of the games this week:

Lions at Browns – 11.5 (43.5):  The Lions avoided losing last week in a tie game against the Steelers by running the ball over and over and over.  The Browns run defense is 5^th in the NFL allowing only 94.7 yards per game.  If the Browns can force Jared Goff to throw the ball a lot, this game could become a rout.  Meanwhile the Browns’ run game will be solid with the return to full capacity of Nick Chubb and the Lions’ run defense ranks 30^th in the NFL giving up 135.7 yards per game.

Niners – 6 at Jags (45):  The Niners ran the ball very effectively against the Rams last week (see above).  The Jags’ run defense is statistically the same as the Rams; the difference in  yards per game allowed by the Rams and Jags is 0.8 yards per game.  [Aside: that is 28.8 inches per game in case your calculator is not handy.]  The Niners have to travel a long way off a short week of practice/recuperation to play a body-clock game.

Colts at Bills – 7.5 (49.5):  Both teams need this game – for different reasons.  The Bills need a win to remain a half-game ahead of the Pats in the AFC East; the Colts are 5-5; a loss here leaves them little margin for error in the rest of the season.  I think the outcome here rests on a simple question:

• Can the excellent Bills’ defense put the clamps on Jonathan Taylor?

If the Bills can force the Colts to throw the ball more than they would prefer to do, this could be a blowout win by the Bills – – but it is hard to count on the Bills this year after they lost to the Jags by a score of 9-6.  This game got consideration for the Game of the Week – – but lost out in the winnowing process.

Dolphins – 3.5 at Jets (44.5):  This is so obviously the Dog-Breath Game of the Week.  And to add to the misery this game will inflict on fans consigned to watch it, the Jets are supposedly starting Joe Flacco at QB.  The reason the spread is so small here is that the Dolphins also stink and their QB, Tua Tagovailoa, has been “limited”” in practice this week.  The most cogent advice I can offer for this game is:

• Avert your eyes!

Football Team at Panthers – 3 (43):  Cam Newton will get his first start of the season against Ron Rivera who was his coach in Carolina for all those times there.  It is a “Family Reunion Game” in the weekend before Thanksgiving.  Enough of that nonsense…  The Panthers’ defense versus the Football Team’s offense is the real storyline here.  The Football Team’s disappointing defense will be missing both starting defensive ends.  Chase Young tore his ACL last week and is out for the year; Montez Sweat has a broken jaw and is out for 3-4 weeks.  This is another good game to watch this week.

Ravens – 4.5 at Bears (44.5):  The Ravens have been inconsistent in recent weeks.  Consider:

• 11/11/21:  Ravens lose to Dolphins 22-10
• 11/7/21:  Ravens eke out an OT win over the Vikes
• 10/24/21:  Bengals blow the doors off the Ravens 41-7
• 10/17/21:  Ravens blow the doors off the Chargers 34-6

The Ravens need this game; they hold a half-game lead over the Steelers and one-game lead over the Bengals in the AFC North.  The Bears, on the other hand, are not going anywhere this year and are secretly celebrating the fact that they are in the same division with the Lions, so they do not have to face the fact of being in last place in their division.

Saints at Eagles – 2 (43):  The Eagles have played well recently by running the football and then running it some more.  However, the Saints will field the best run defense in the NFL; it allows only 72.9 yards per game.  Meanwhile, the Eagles’ defense has played more effectively in the last couple of weeks and the Saints’ offense will feature the aerial stylings of Trevor Siemian and/or Taysom Hill and/or Ian Book.  Alvin Kamara was “limited” in practice this week.  This could be a fun game to watch.

Texans at Titans – 10.5 (44.5):  This is a cautionary note of a game.  The Titans are obviously a different offense without Derrick Henry and the drop-off may be significant.  Last week’s numbers against the Saints were unimpressive.  Add to that worry the fact that this could be a classic look-ahead game for the Titans; they travel to New England next week to play the Pats and the team in front of them here are the lowly Texans.  I hate double digit spreads in NFL games and the Texans are absolutely not worth backing this year – – but this game could be a whole lot closer than the team records might lead you to believe…

Packers – 1 at Vikes (47):  The spread for this game opened at 3 points and has dropped steadily all week.  Because this is a Division Game and a critical game for the Vikes’ playoff aspirations, I chose this as the Game of the Week.  The Packers are hitting on all cylinders on offense and defense these days; the only “issue” I can see is that RB Aaron Jones is injured but that has not shown up as a huge weakness for the Packers.  So long as Aaron Rodgers can throw the ball to Davonte Adams, the Packers’ offense will be just fine.  The Vikes are not going to roll over and play dead here, but I think the Packers are the better team even considering that the game in in Minnesota; I’ll take the Packers to win and cover; put it in the Six-Pack.

Bengals – 1 at Raiders (50.5):  The Raiders are a mess right now – – and I do not mean to say that because they were blown out last week.  The Raiders had their BYE Week at Halloween; since then, they have lost 2 games in a row; one of those games was to a mediocre-at-best NY Giants team; and, more importantly, the Raiders have only scored a total of 30 points in those two losses.  Both defenses here are “middle of the pack” so I think this could be a high scoring affair.  In any case, I think Joe Burrow should have a good day against the Raiders’ secondary; I’ll take the Bengals to win and cover on the road; put it in the Six-Pack.

Cards – 2.5 at Seahawks (48):  If Kyler Murray is healthy enough to play here – and does not reinjure his leg/ankle – the Cards should win this one handily.  If the QB confrontation is Colt McCoy versus the Russell Wilson that was on display last week, pick another game to watch.

Cowboys at Chiefs – 2.5 (56):  This was my runner-up for Game of the Week.  Yes, the Chiefs were dominant last week against the Raiders and there is plenty of history to suggest that the Chiefs can get on an offensive roll and wear out a scoreboard operator.  The Chiefs have won 4 of their last 5 games but it was not against elite competition:

1. Chiefs beat the Football Team 31-13
2. Chiefs lost to the Titans 27-3
3. Chiefs beat the Giants 20-17
4. Chiefs beat the Packers 13-7 (This was the “Jordan Love game”.)
5. Chiefs beat the Raiders 41-14.

The Cowboys are more like the Titans than they are like the other teams noted above.  I think the wrong team is favored here; I’ll take the Cowboys on the road plus the points; put it in the Six-Pack.

(Sun Nite) Steelers at Chargers – 6 (47):  Maybe Ben Roethlisberger will be back for this game; maybe TJ Watt will be able to play; Minkah Fitzpatrick, on the other hand, is expected to miss the game on the “COVID restricted list”.  Those are three important pieces for the Steelers…  However, here is a statistical item to think about:

• Chargers’ run defense is worst in the NFL giving up 155.1 yards per game.

The Steelers would probably much prefer to run Najee Harris as the centerpiece of their offense as opposed to having Mason Rudolph throw the ball 50 times.

(Mon Nite) Giants at Bucs – 11 (50):  The Bucs have lost two in a row to the Football Team and to the Saints.  Add in the fact that this will be a “Prime Time Game” for Tom Brady, and I doubt the Bucs will extend that losing streak to three games.

Let me review the Six Pack and present two more Money Line Parlays for the weekend:

1. South Carolina +7.5 against Auburn
2. UCLA – 3 over USC
3. Minnesota – 7 over Indiana
4. Packers – 1 over Vikes
5. Bengals – 1 over Raiders
6. Cowboys +2.5 against Chiefs

College Football Money Line Parlay:

• NC State  @  minus-400
• Oklahoma St.  @  minus-370
• Minnesota  @  minus-280   A $100 parlay wins $115.

NFL Money Line Parlay:

• Niners  @  minus-275
• Titans  @  minus-475
• Ravens  @  minus-205  A $100 parlay wins $146.

Finally, apropos of nothing, let me close with this observation by Ambrose Bierce:

“Admiration: n. Our polite recognition of another’s resemblance to ourselves.”

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

 

 

I had the occasion to look at the NFL standings last evening.  In the AFC, I can convince myself that most of the playoff teams have shown themselves.  Barring catastrophic injuries, the Titans and Bills are going to participate.  The AFC North teams will beat each other up such that it will produce one of the wild card teams along with a Division winner – – my guess is the Ravens win the Division and the Bengals get a wildcard slot.  The Patriots will also be in the playoffs from the AFC East.

That accounts for 5 of the 7 teams in the playoffs.  One team will win the AFC West and will be the 6^th playoff contestant.  So, in my crystal ball, the real focus for the AFC late in the season is:

• Colts as wildcard team in the AFC South – – or – –
• Second place team in the AFC West as a wildcard team.

The NFC, however, is not nearly so neat.  The Cowboys and Packers are going to win their Divisions and be in the playoffs.  Even if I project the Rams and the Cards into the playoffs – and the Rams have lost 2 games in a row and played poorly in both – that leaves 3 slots to fill.  In the NFC this morning there are 9 teams with either 5 losses or 6 losses.  The only NFC team I would be willing to write off is the Lions; if you twisted my arm even a little bit, I would also put the Bears on the “not-gonna-make-the-playoffs list”.  But everyone else has a shot and projecting teams in the NFC gets very complicated very fast.  For example, in the NFC East:

• The Eagles are 4-6 while the Football Team and the Giants are 3-6.
• The Eagles and Giants play each other twice.
• The Football Team has 5 Division games to play in the final 8 games.

Last year, the Football Team edged themselves into the playoffs on the final weekend after being written off as roadkill at mid-season simply because the rest of the division played poorly.  I doubt that the Eagles, Giants or Football Team can catch the Cowboys in 2021, but if one of them puts together a winning streak, they could easily become wildcard contenders.  I will not be shocked to see an NFC playoff team with an 8-9 record this year.

Also, it would be easy to write off the Seahawks this morning with their 3-6 record and coming off a shutout loss to the Packers last week.  But looking at their schedule, they have 8 games to play.  Four games are Division games; two against the Cards and one each against the Rams and Niners.  Here are the other four opponents:

• Football Team
• Texans
• Bears
• Lions

If the Seahawks win those four games and win one of the Division games, they will be 8-9 and “in the mix”.  If they win those four games and split the Division games, they will be 9-8 and in the playoffs.

Moving on …  Last season, the Football Team benched and then released Dwayne Haskins who had been the team’s first round pick as their “QB of the future”.  The reports surrounding that decision said the coaches were unhappy with his work ethic and his focus on things like the game plan.  In one instance, he was celebrating with fans and taking selfies with them before the game was over.

Haskins signed on with the Steelers for this year and found himself as the third QB on the Steelers’ depth chart.  Last week, Ben Roethlisberger had to sit out due to a positive COVID-19 test and Mason Rudolph got the start.  Rudolph did not play well; the Steelers could only manage a tie game with the woeful Lions; here is Rudolph’s stat line:

• 30 of 50 for 242 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.

Someone must have asked the coaches if they had considered inserting Haskins in the game and supposedly the response was that Haskins had “thrown lousy passes” in warmups and had been “checking his phone” in the middle of those warmups.

Let me assume for a moment that all the reporting about Haskins’ work ethic and attitude are correct.  In that case, here is something Haskins’ agent needs to think about:

• Dwayne Haskins has played for three coaches and has not endeared himself to any of the three.
• The last two – Ron Rivera and Mike Tomlin – are no-nonsense guys.  Haskins was released by Rivera and is clearly not held in high esteem by Tomlin.
• If Haskins is going to have any sort of a career in the NFL, the agent has to find him a place on a team where the coach is less demanding.

Finally, I mentioned last week that a moose had wandered onto the field where South Dakota State was scheduled to play North Dakota State.  Here is how Dwight Perry assessed that happening in his column in the Seattle Times over the weekend:

“Police and stadium personnel finally chased out the 800-pounder out, averting the first game being called on account of game.”

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

 

 

Sam Huff died last weekend at the age of 87.  His family said death was from natural causes and there had been reports that Huff was suffering from dementia over the past several years.  Sam Huff was a Hall of Fame linebacker for the Giants and Redskins; he and Sonny Jurgensen did radio color commentary for Redskins’ games for decades; they were as important an institution in Washington as the Smithsonian.

Rest in peace, Sam Huff…

I did not think there would be much movement on the baseball free agent market until a new CBA got hammered out, but I was wrong about that.  As I was driving home yesterday, news broke that Noah Syndergaard signed a one-year deal with the LA Angels.  Reports say the deal is worth $21M.  Syndergaard had Tommy John surgery at the beginning of the 2020 season and then missed all of 2021 when “elbow inflammation” put him on the Injured List; so, this is a bit of a gamble by the Angels.  The Mets had offered Syndergaard an $18.5M qualifying offer prior to his decision to go to LA.

That signing got me to thinking generally about MLB free agency a bit more deeply than the two generic items I mentioned here on Monday.

• With the signing of Syndergaard, the Angels will have $113M in salary commitments to 4 players on the team next year.  Anthony Rendon will make $36M; Mike Trout will make $35M Justin Upton will make $21M and Syndergaard will make $21M.
• I knew that Clayton Kershaw and Corey Seager were free agents this year, but I had not realized that two other Dodgers of note were also on the free agent list.  Kenley Jansen and Chris Taylor are also free agents this year and both should attract attention.  Jansen made $20M in 2021 and Taylor made $7.8M in 2021.  The Dodgers – like the Angels – have lots of big contracts on their hands even without considering what these four free agents will be asking for.
• There is one constant in MLB free agent seasons; the Rays will not be in the bidding for any of the “Top 50” free agents on the market.  In fact, free agent speculation related to the Rays usually centers on who they will trade away next year to avoid confronting free agency negotiations come next winter.
• The Mariners were a positive surprise last season staying in the wildcard race until the final week of the season.  The team is young; their Opening Day salary commitments for last year were only $73.4M.  Might the Mariners be active in the free agent market this year?

The news of Syndergaard leaving the Mets reminded me of the highly publicized news conference from a year ago when Steve Cohen bought the Mets and took the reins.  He and Sandy Alderson announced that Alderson would lead a search to find a new President of Baseball Operations who would then hire a new GM and etc.  Cohen said that he wanted to create an efficient and effective management structure to optimize the on-field product.

As of this morning, Alderson is still in his job as Team President and if reports out of NYC are accurate, more than a handful of candidates for the job have either turned down or chose not to take the interviews for the position of President of Baseball Operations.  In fact, Alderson just hired a new GM for the team – Billy Eppler formerly with the Angels – meaning that the orderly hiring timeline presented in that news conference a year ago has been thwarted.

According to reports, Sandy Alderson’s son is an assistant GM for the Mets.  If I were under consideration for the job of President of Baseball Operations – and I am most certainly not – that would be a major issue for me.  My boss’ son would be a couple of layers below me on the organization chart; that would be a less-than-comfortable work situation in my mind.

In the world of college football there is an oddity this week.  The CFP rankings have Michigan one step higher in the ratings than Michigan State.  The oddity in that ranking is that Michigan State beat Michigan straight up just two weekends ago.  The whole concept behind the CFP – – other than as a vehicle to capture TV money for the schools of course – – is to decide a national champion on the field.  Well, there you have an on the field result that is recent and relevant; so, naturally the CFP ranking folks ignore it.

Finally, let me close today with a statement from W. C. Fields and state categorically that I too behave as he does:

“I exercise self-control and never touch any beverage stronger than gin before breakfast.”

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

 

 

 

For some folks, today is “POET’S Day” and the mantra is:

• “Punch Out Early, Tomorrow’s Saturday”

I just call it Football Friday and as usual I shall begin with a review of last week’s Six-Pack.

• College:  1-2-0
• NFL:   2-1-0
• Total:  3-3-0
• Money Line Parlays:  1-1

Looking back over 9 weeks’ worth of selections, here are the results:

• College:  8-12-0
• NFL:  16-17-1
• Total:  24-29-1
• Money Line Parlays:  1-2

Assuming an imaginary $100 wager on each of the Money Line parlays, there is a net “profit” of $87 as of this week even though only 1 of 3 parlays paid off.

 

College Football Commentary:

 

The Linfield College Wildcats dominated the Willamette Bearcats last week to the tune of 77-7.  Linfield is 8-0 this season and will end its regular season this weekend at home in a Northwest Conference game against the Lewis and Clark Pioneers who will arrive at the kickoff with a 3-5 record for 2021 and a 2-game losing streak.  A conference championship plus an undefeated season for Linfield should get them an invitation to the Division III post-season championship tournament.  Go Wildcats!

Keeping an eye on the teams in contention for the Brothel Defense Award – the defense that allows the most scoring – here are the top three contenders as of this week:

• Kansas gives up 42.8 points per game
• Arkansas St. gives up 43.0 points per game
• UMass gives up 45 points per game

There was a major shakeup in the coaching staff at Nebraska this week.  Head coach Scott Frost took a pay cut and kept his job, but Nebraska fired its Offensive Coordinator, Offensive Line Coach, Running Backs Coach and Quarterbacks Coach.  Here is what Scott Frost had to say as the firings were announced:

“I appreciate the work and sacrifices these men have made for the University of Nebraska and this football program and wish all of them well.

“They are all men of outstanding character and good coaches, but as we strive for better consistency and execution, we needed fresh ideas and voices on our offensive staff.”

Translation:  I get to keep my job and they don’t…

This mass firing seems a bit odd to me.  The Huskers score an average of 28.6 points per game.  Their overall record is 3-7 and their record in the Big 10 is 1-6.  The Huskers defense ranks 65^th nationally in Total Defense and the offense ranks 19^th nationally in Total Offense.

So riddle me this:

• How is the obviously unsatisfactory record the fault of the offensive coaches?

Another college football coach finds himself out of a job this weekend; UMass fired head coach, Walt Bell last week.  His record over three seasons at UMass was a dismal 2-23.  As a college football independent and a school with no football “pedigree” in a part of the country that does not care about college football at all, UMass will never recruit enough top shelf football players to be a “better than average team”.  The long-term future there is dreary.

Taking over for the final three games of 2021 is Alex Miller who was a four-year starter at UMass at center and has been the offensive line coach there for this season.  Miller may find himself in a bittersweet situation:

• The last 3 games for UMass are Maine (Division 1-AA), Army and New Mexico State.
• As bad as UMass has been this year, the games against Maine and New Mexico State are winnable.  Maine is 4-5 against Division 1-AA competition and New Mexico State is 1-8 with the win coming at the expense of a Division 1-AA team.
• Should UMass happen to win those 2 games, Alex Miller may seen as a savior and should be first in line to get that head coaching job – – and then face the dreary future outlook for UMass football.

Just yesterday, another down at the heels football program in New England – – UConn – – announced that it hired a new coach for next year.  Surprisingly, it was Jim Mora Jr. who has had head coaching jobs in the NFL and with UCLA.  That is a much bigger fish than I ever thought UConn could lure to the campus in Storrs.  Reports say that Mora got a 5-year deal with a starting salary of $1.5M per year  Here is something Mora said when he was announced as the new coach at UConn:

“It’s a chance to do what I love to do with a school that’s a national brand.”

I do not doubt for a minute that Jim Mora Jr. loves football and loves to coach football teams.  However, I do doubt that UConn is a “national brand” in football.  Maybe in women’s basketball and men’s basketball – – but not in football.

USC and Cal were supposed to play this weekend.  However, an outbreak of COVID-19 in and around the football program at Cal forced the postponement of the game until December 4^th.  The interesting thing about that postponement is that USC/Cal will take place the day after the PAC-12 Conference Championship Game.  Not to worry, neither USC nor Cal has any chance of being part of that Championship Game; as of this morning, both teams have 4 losses in PAC-12 games.

Before I get to a review of last week’s games of interest, let me suggest you take a moment and read about an unusual occurrence proximal to a Division 1-AA game involving South Dakota State and North Dakota State.  A young moose wandered into the stadium where the game would be held the next day meandered about and then left the premises.  That is just not likely to happen in many other college football venues.  Here is a link to the “Moose Report”…

In Big-10 games last week…

Ohio St. 26  Nebraska 17:  The Buckeyes remain in the picture for the Big-10 East title; and therefore, in the picture for the Big-10 Championship Game.  The Buckeyes dominated the stat sheet, and they held the Huskers to 2 of 13 on third-down attempts, but they were never able to put the game away.  That was not the kind of impression they wanted to leave with the CFP Selection Committee.

Purdue 40  Michigan St. 29:  This is the second time this year that Purdue has beaten an undefeated Big-10 team that was highly ranked.  Call it a “let-down game” for Sparty if you want but the Boilermakers ran up 591 yards of offense (536 yards in the air)  for the game.  This was not some sort of “fluky win” by Purdue.

Wisconsin 52  Rutgers 3:  Where did that offensive explosion come from?  Prior to this game, Wisconsin was averaging just under 22 points per game.  The Badgers gained 579 yards on offense – – at least half again as much as one would have thought possible based on prior record.  The Wisconsin defense was predictably dominant holding Rutgers to only 205 yards of offense on 60 offensive plays.

Iowa 17  Northwestern 12:  The stat sheet for this game was “dead even”.  Three turnovers by Northwestern provided the margin of victory here.  Northwestern held Iowa to 2 of 14 on third-down tries and still lost the game.

Michigan 29  Indiana 7:  The Wolverines needed a solid win and they got it here thanks to their defense which held Indiana to 195 yards of offense for the day.

In ACC action…

Clemson 30  Louisville  24:  Is this a sign that the Clemson offense has finally started to jell?  Twice in the last two weeks, the Tigers have scored 30 points in a game.  Prior to the last two games – and ignoring a game against an overmatched Division 1-AA team – Clemson had scored 91 points in 6 games (15.1 points per game).  This week, Clemson plays UConn for some unknown reason; expect another offensive outburst there.  But has the Tigers’ offense found itself late this season?

BC 17  Va Tech 3:  Are these Va Tech players trying to get their coach fired?  If so, they are doing a pretty good job of it…

NC State 28  Florida St.  14:  The Wolfpack defense limited the Seminoles running game to 38 yards on 27 carries in the game.  NC State is still relevant in the ACC Championship picture; they trail Wake Forest by one game in the Atlantic Division race.

UNC 58  Wake Forest 55:  This is the first loss for Wake, and it takes a bit of explaining to understand why Wake Forest remains undefeated in ACC games.  This is a non-conference game that was scheduled independently by two teams in the same conference.  Since it was not part of the inter-divisional scheduling of the ACC itself, it is not counted as a conference game.  Hence Wake does not suffer a conference loss and UNC does not get credit for a conference win.  Got that?

Miami 33 Ga Tech 30:  Miami maintains relevancy in the ACC with this win.  The Hurricanes have 2 losses in the Atlantic Division; UVa has 2 losses there and Pitt is the leader in the division with only 1 loss on its record.

Pitt 54  Duke 29:  I said that Pitt needed a “get-back game” after losing two weeks ago and indeed Duke gave them that opportunity.

In the heartland where Big-12 teams play …

K-State 35  Kansas 10:  The game was never really in doubt.  The Kansas offense netted the grand total of 274 yards for the game.

TCU 30  Baylor 28:  That pretty much puts Baylor on the sidelines for the Big-12 championship.  Blame this loss on the Baylor defense; they gave up 562 yards to the TCU offense including 10.7 yards allowed per pass attempt.

Oklahoma St  24  West Virginia 3:  The stat sheet supports this scoreboard result.  The Mountaineers defense held the Cowboys to 285 yards on offense for the game.  Normally, that produces a win for the team – – but not here.  The Mountaineers’ offense only generated 133 yards on offense for the day and only 17 yards rushing on 33 attempts.  The Cowboys are still 1 game behind Oklahoma in the big 12 standings with a head-to-head game upcoming…

Iowa St. 30  Texas 7:  This was a total dump by Texas; the defense did not do its job (gave up 472 yards of offense to the Cyclones) and the offense was a no-show (gained only 218 yards for the day).

Next up is SEC action…

South Carolina 40  Florida 14:  If Florida fires Dan Mullen this year, point to this game result as the straw that broke the camel’s back…

Tennessee 45  Kentucky  42:  Seems as if the bloom is off the rose for Kentucky.  After starting the season at 6-0, Kentucky has lost its last 3 games and all of them have been SEC games.  Tennessee is 5-4 and should get to a bowl game this year because it only needs 1 more win to be bowl-eligible and remaining on the Vols’ schedule are games against South Alabama and Vandy.

Alabama 20  LSU 14:  This game carried a 28.5-point spread at kickoff.  ‘Bama had only a slim margin (13 yards) in total offense and ‘Bama was held to 6 yards rushing on 26 attempts.  Somehow, Alabama won this game – – thanks to its defense.

Arkansas 31  Mississippi St.  28:  Bulldogs’ QB, Will Rogers was 36 of 48 for 417 yards and 4 TDs with 1 INT – – but that was not enough.  Arkansas is now bowl eligible; Mississippi State needs another win to achieve that status.  Upcoming for the Bulldogs are Auburn, Tennessee State and Ole Miss…

Texas A&M 20  Auburn 3:  The Aggies stay in the race for the SEC West slot in the SEC Championship Game – – but they need Alabama to lose another conference game.  Auburn is in a tougher spot.  They need Alabama to lose a game while Auburn wins out – – AND they need the Aggies to lose another conference game.

Georgia 43  Missouri 6:  The Bulldogs dominated here but did not cover the 39-point spread.  Georgia produced 505 yards of offense in the game; Mizzou managed only 273.  The score was 40-3 at the start of the 4^th quarter.

Pac-12 results from last week …

Utah 52  Stanford 7:  Utah is clearly the better team in 2021 – – but by more than 6 TDs?   The Utes hold a 1-game lead over Arizona St. in the PAC-12 South.  Stanford is last in the PAC-12 North with a 2-5 conference record.

Colorado 37  Oregon St.  34 (2OT):  Oregon St. won the stat sheet by almost 100 yards – – but that did not translate to the scoreboard.  This conference loss makes it virtually impossible for the Beavers to win the PAC-12 North; the Buffaloes have been irrelevant in the PAC-12 South for some time now.

Oregon 26  Washington 16:  Oregon is in control in the PAC-12 North.  The stat sheet says this game should not have been this close.  The Ducks produced 422 yards of offense and held the Huskies to only 176 yards.  Washington only managed to record 7 first downs for the entire game.

Arizona 10  Cal 3:  Arizona is off the schneid now at 1-8 for the season.  The total offense for Cal in the game was 122 yards.  The Bears tried to run the ball 26 times and gained only 28 yards.  Nonetheless, Arizona could not put the game away; it was a one-score game.

And in miscellaneous games of interest …

UNLV 31  New Mexico 17:  With this win by UNLV, there are no more winless teams in the country in 2021.  The Lobos’ passing game netted a grand total of 36 yards in the game on 16 attempts.  These are both potential SHOE Tournament teams as you will see below…

Houston 54  USF 42:  Houston has only one loss this year – – but giving up 42 points to a mediocre USF team tells me they might not be quite ready for prime time.

Boise St. 40  Fresno St. 14:  This result changed things atop the West Division of the Mountain West Conference.  This is Fresno St.’s second loss and it puts them behind both Nevada and San Diego St. both of which have only one conference loss.  Meanwhile, Boise St. and Air Force remain in contention in the Mountain Division as both schools are one game behind Utah St. in that division.

Cincy 28  Tulsa 20:  Another lackluster win for Cincy over a mediocre opponent – – but the Bearcats are still undefeated at 9-0 for the 2021 season.

Rhode Island 35  UMass 22:  Rhode Island is 6-3 as a Division 1-AA team in the Colonial Athletic Association Conference.

Memphis 28  SMU 25:  That is two losses in a row for SMU dropping their record for 2021 to 7-2.  The score at the start of the 4^th quarter was 21-10 in favor of Memphis.  SMU rallied late but fell short.

Army 21  Air Force 14 (OT):  The Total Line was a ridiculously low 36 points – – and the game still went UNDER.  Defenses played to stop the run so Army – – uncharacteristically – – threw the ball 13 times in the game.  Air Force went even further out of its comfort zone and threw the ball 23 times.  After a scoreless first half, Army led 14-3 at  the end of the 3^rd quarter but the game wound up  tied  and sent the game to OT.  Both teams came to the game averaging more than 300 yards rushing per game.  Here are the rushing stats for this game:

• Army:  108 yards on 43 attempts (2.5 yards per carry)
• Air Force:  175 yards on 49 attempts (3.5 yards per carry).

 

The SHOE Teams:

 

It is that time of year when I start to focus seriously on the teams I want to put in my imaginary SHOE Tournament where teams would determine on the field of play the worst team in the country.  As a reminder the acronym SHOE stands for Steaming Heap Of Excrement.

My “tournament” has only 8 teams, but I will list 12 teams that seem as if they could wind up in the final listing as of today.  Here they are alphabetically with their record for 2021:

1. Akron  2-7
2. Arizona  1-8
3. Arkansas St.  1-8
4. Florida International  1-8
5. Kansas  1-8
6. New Mexico  3-6
7. New Mexico St.  1-8
8. Ohio  2-7
9. UConn  1-8
10. UMass  1-8
11. UNLV  1-8
12. Vandy  2-7

 

College Games of Interest:

West Virginia at K-State – 6 (47.5):  K State is tough at home.  I will put K-State in a Money Line Parlay below at minus-220 odds 

UConn at Clemson – 41 (52):  This is what I meant above when I said I doubted that UConn was a “national brand” in football…

Duke at Va Tech – 11.5 (51):  I wondered above if the Va Tech players were trying to get their coaches fired.  Well, if they lose at home to Duke, I think they will achieve that goal…  I canot see Tech losing here so I’ll put them in a Money Line parlay too.

BC at Ga Tech – 1.5 (55):  BC needs another win for bowl eligibility…

Michigan – 1.5 at Penn State (48.5):  Michigan still has a path to the Big-10 Championship Game but a loss here all but rules them out.

Rutgers at Indiana – 7 (42):  Rutgers needs 2 wins to get to a bowl game.  The oddsmakers must be spooked by the blowout loss suffered by Rutgers last week (see above) because Indiana is 2-7 for the season and 0-6 in Big-10 games – – and they are a TD favorite here.

Houston – 25 at Temple (54.5):  Temple doesn’t score; they rank 120^th in the country at 18.6 points per game.  I like this game to stay UNDER; put it in the Six-Pack.

Maryland at Michigan St. – 12.5 (61):  Sparty can still make it to the Big-10 Championship Game – – but not with a loss here.  Michigan St. threw in a clunker last week; it must not do that again.

Syracuse at Louisville – 3 (55):  The Orange can achieve bowl eligibility with a win here…

TCU at Oklahoma St. – 13 (55):  This is a big game for the Cowboys and not so important a game for the Horned Frogs.

Kansas at Texas – 31 (62): When Texas covers this spread, you will hear the Texas fanboys screaming “Texas is back!”  No, they are not…

NC State at Wake Forest – 2.5 (66):  This game could be for all the marbles in the ACC Atlantic Division.

Oklahoma – 5.5 at Baylor (62):  Baylor’s loss last week to TCU took the luster off this game.  It still should be a fun game to watch…

Notre Dame – 5 at UVa (63.5):  UVa leads the nation in total offense per game averaging 545.2 yards per game.  Notre Dame is 70^th in the nation in total offense per game.  So why is Notre dame favored?  Well, UVa ranks 122^nd in the country in Total Defense.  This game could be full of fireworks; I’ll take it to go OVER; put it in the Six-Pack.

Northwestern at Wisconsin – 24 (41):  That is an awfully large spread for a game that should be low-scoring…

Arizona St. – 5.5 at Washington (45):  Washington suspended its coach for this game after a sideline incident where he appeared to have slapped one of his players.  The Sun Devils cannot afford a loss here…

Washington St. at Oregon – 14 (58):  If the Cougars pull the upset here, they would take over first place – thanks to a tiebreaker – in the PAC-12 North.  If you think that can happen here, the Money Line odds for Washington St. are +450 this morning.

Mississippi St. at Auburn – 5 (50.5):  Auburn is playing to keep a hold on its path to the SEC Championship Game against Georgia.  Mississippi St. is chasing a bowl game invitation.

New Mexico St. at Alabama – 51 (68):  That is not a typo; Bama is favored by 51 points in this game.  Only 1 Internet sportsbook has Money Line odds posted for this game.  For your amusement, here they are:

• New Mexico St.   +70,000
• Alabama  minus-210,000

Texas A&M – 2.5 at Ole Miss (57):  The Aggies have something to play for; they can still win the SEC West.  Ole Miss cannot win the division and is already bowl eligible at 7-2.  This Is only the second road game for the Aggies this  year; they have played 6 home games and 2 neutral site games this year.  The Aggies are also going into a Money Line parlay today.

Georgia – 20 at Tennessee (56):  The Bulldogs have played nine games this year; that is a good sample size.  Here is what the Georgia defense has done in nine games in 2021:

• They have allowed 6 TDs
• They have allowed 6 Field Goals
• They have allowed 5 PATs
• That is 59 total points allowed in 9 games = 6.6 points per game.

Purdue at Ohio State – 21 (63):  Lightening has struck twice for Purdue in 2021 but not a third time here…

Miami – 3 at Florida State (61):  This is a potential “season salvage game” for the Seminoles.  Purely a hunch but I’ll take the Seminoles at home plus the points; put it in the Six-Pack.

Arkansas – 3 at LSU (59):  That spread would have been inconceivable just two seasons ago…

Nevada at San Diego St. – 3 (46):  This one is for all the cheese in the West Division of the Mountain West conference.  Nevada has two losses for the season and both losses were on the road.  The Aztecs are 10^th nationally in scoring defense only allowing 16.7 points per game.

Maine – 1 at UMass (59.5):  The oddsmaker is obviously not impressed by the coaching change at UMass…

 

NFL Commentary:

 

The four teams with BYE Weeks are:

1. Bears:  They lost a close game to the Steelers on Monday night; it was their 4^th loss in a row.
2. Bengals:  They took a drubbing from the Browns last week; their record is 5-4, but they are in last place in the AFC North this morning.
3. Giants:  They upset the Raiders last week; they will be pulling for a loss by the Eagles this week.
4. Texans:  They lost again last week; no one will miss their presence on the card for this week.

Earlier this week, Cam Newton returned to the NFL and more specifically to Carolina and the Panthers where he spent most of his career.  The Panthers’ “experiment” with Sam Darnold is not working out plus the team had to put him on the IR meaning that he will be unavailable for a minimum of 3 weeks.  The other QBs “in the room” are PJ Walker and Matt Barkley; that tandem is not going to put the fear of God in defensive coordinators around the NFL.  So, to the rescue – hopefully for Panthers’ fans – comes Cam Newton who spent 9 seasons with the Panthers from 2011 to 2019.

Another major player move was announced yesterday.  Odell Beckham, Jr. was put on waivers by the Browns and none of the 32 teams picked hm up along with his existing contract.  Then as a free agent, OBJ narrowed down his landing spots to the Packers and the Rams; yesterday he signed with the Rams on a one-year deal described as “incentive-laden”.  Beckham has showed diva tendencies in New York and again in Cleveland.  Just recently, his father – –  Odell Beckham, Sr. of course – – did a LaVar Ball imitation by causing a stir as the “parent of the player”.

If OBJ was unhappy about the number of times he got the ball in Cleveland, how is he going to feel in LA when he lines up with – and must measure up to –  Cooper Kupp who leads the NFL in receptions; Robert Woods and Van Jefferson who have each shown top flight ability this year?  I will not be surprised to hear that he is not happy after about a month with the Rams.

Notwithstanding last week’s loss to the Broncos, if there were an award to NFL assistant coaches for biggest turnaround on the field, I think Dan Quinn as the DC for the Cowboys has to be the front-runner.  The Cowboys’ defense last year was as good as gauze  this year  they are giving up 24 points per game which may not sound good but is an improvement over the 29.6 points per game they gave up last year.

I ran across this item in Gregg Drinnan’s blog, Taking Note and I want to say that I agree with this 100%:

“You know what is really wonderful these days? You turn on the TV and tune into an NFL game. A woman is part of the on-field officiating crew and from the game’s start to its end no one mentions it.”

The Bucs will return to action this week after a BYE Week last week.  The Bucs are not a young team, and they needed a week off; injuries have been piling up.  The defensive backfield was hit hard as two starters – – Sean Murphy-Bunting and Carleton Davis – – had to go on IR.  The Bucs brought in Richard Sherman to fill that gap; he lasted less than a game before he became a sideline observer.  Antonio Brown is still wearing a walking boot and one report said he is 3 weeks away from practicing; Rob Gronkowski missed a couple of games but did practice after the BYE Week.  The Bucs are still leading the NFC  South by a half-game simply because the one guy who cannot be replaced has not missed any time this year.

The San Francisco 49ers are an enigmatic team.  They are in last place in the NFC West trailing the Cards by 5.5 games with 9 games left to play.  The Niners’ defense has been a mess; it ranks 25^th in the NFL in points per game allowed (25.3 points per game).  There are 7 teams who give up more points per game than the Niners; of that septet, only the Falcons have a .500 record.  The strange thing is that in terms of total defense – – yards per game allowed – – the Niners rank 8^th in the NFL.  How does that happen?

Regarding last week’s games, we saw a reversal of the trend from several weeks ago.  Instead of having a bunch of blowout games, this was the week where some of the generally weaker teams rose up to smite their NFL overlords.  The mantra, “On any given Sunday …” turned out to be more like “On THIS given Sunday…”

Jags 9  Bills 6:  Three turnovers by the Bills (2 INTs thrown by Josh Allen) were enough to keep the Bills out of the end zone all day long.  The Bills outgained the Jags by 83 yards for the day, but only got to the Red Zone once in the game.  There were two Josh Allens in this game; the one on the Jags played linebacker and all he managed to do was to intercept a pass, recover a fumble and record a sack.

Falcons 27  Saints 25:  The Saints staged a late rally to make this game seem like a nail-biter, but the score was 17-3 Falcons at the start of the 4^th quarter.  Stop me if you have heard this before, but the Falcons’ defense disappeared in the fourth quarter.  The Saints actually took the lead at 25-24 with about a minute left in the game, but they did not convert on a two-point PAT.  The Falcons then drove the field in that final minute to kick a 29-yard field goal with 3 seconds left on the clock.

Broncos 30  Cowboys 16:  This game was not nearly this close.  The score was 30-0 with about 6 minutes to play in the game; the two scores by the Cowboys were meaningless and marginally contested.  The Broncos held the ball for just over 41 minutes and outgained the Cowboys by 117 yards.  The Broncos gained 190 yards rushing in the game and held the Cowboys to 78 yards rushing.

Giants 23  Raiders 16:  The Raiders dominated the stat sheet outgaining the Giants by 158 yards in the game.  Three turnovers (including a Pick-Six by Derek Carr) provided the Giants with the win.  The Giants led 17-16 at the start of the 4^th quarter; here are the 3 possessions by the Raiders in the 4^th quarter:

• 8 plays for 70 yards leading to a Missed Field Goal
• 3 plays for 12 yards leading to an INT
• 10 plays for 52 yards leading to a Lost Fumble

Browns 41  Bengals 16:  You got the idea during the first quarter that this was not going to be the Bengals’ day.  Cincy took the opening kickoff and marched down the field to inside the 5  yardline.  Then Denzel Ward intercepted a pass and took it back 99 yards for a Browns score.  On the next possession, the Bengals drove the field again and scored to tie the game at 7-7.  As the first quarter ended, the Bengals had 143 yards of offense (on pace for 572 yards for the game) and the score was tied.

Pats 24  Panthers 6:  The return of Christian McCaffrey was not sufficient for the Panthers; he led the team in rushing (52 yards) and in receiving (54 yards).  A Pick-Six by the Pats early in the third quarter put the game out of reach at 21-6.

Ravens 34  Vikes 31 (OT):  Lamar Jackson took over the game in the 4^th quarter and then again in OT to lead the Ravens to a come-from-behind win.  Jackson alone accounted for 386 yards of offense for the Ravens.  This puts the Ravens atop the AFC North with a comfortable 2-game lead in the loss column over the Browns and the Bengals and a 1-game lead in the loss column over the Steelers.  The Vikes fall to 3-5 for the season putting them 3 losses behind the Packers in the NFC North.

Cards 31  Niners 17:  The Cards outgained the Niners by exactly 100 yards in the game.  The Cards led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter because here are the results of the Niners’ four possessions in the first quarter:

• 6 plays for 28 yards  leading to a Punt
• 1 play for 18 yards leading to a Lost Fumble
• 4 plays for 11 yards leading to a Punt
• 6 plays for 68 yards leading to a Lost Fumble

The Cards achieved this win without Kyler Murray at QB; Colt McCoy stepped in and led the team with 249 yards passing plus 1 TD with 0 INTs.  Also missing in action for the Cards were DeAndre Carter and AJ Green.  The Cards’ defense forced the Niners’ offense to be one-dimensional holding the Niners to a meager 39 yards rushing for the game.  I ran across another interesting stat relative to this game:

• The Niners have now lost 10 of their last 11 home games.

Chargers 27  Eagles 24:  The Chargers outgained the Eagles by 114 yards in the game.  Justin Herbert threw for 356 yards and 2 TDs in the game as compared to Jalen Hurts throwing for 162 yards and 1 TD.  The score was tied at 24 with 6 minutes left to play.  Then the Chargers drove 69 yards on 15 plays and kicked the game winning field goal with 2 seconds left in the game.

Chiefs 13  Packers 7:  Jordan Love (190 yards) had more passing yards in the game than did Patrick Mahomes (166 yards).  The Packers had 301 yards of offense and the Chiefs only gained 237 yards.  The Packers had nine possessions for the game; here are the outcomes from those nine possessions:

1. Punt
2. Missed FG
3. Blocked FG
4. Punt
5. Turnover on downs
6. Punt
7. Punt
8. INT
9. TD

Greg Cote of the Miami Herald had this observation about this game and the missing Aaron Rodgers:

“Unlike a good neighbor, Aaron wasn’t there for his teammates.”

Colts 45   Jets 30:  The two defenses took a sabbatical this week.  The two offenses combined to produce 1018 yards of offense in the game.  The Jets lost Mike White at QB in the first half to an “arm injury”; no problem, the Jets went to their #3 guy, Josh Johnson, and all he did was post this stat line:

• 27 of 41 for 317 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT

The Colts led 42-16 at the start of the 4^th quarter and the Jets rallied to make the game look closer than it was.

Titans 28  Rams 16:  The Titans did this without Derrick Henry there to control the clock and keep the Rams’ offense on the sidelines; give credit to the Titans’ defense here.  The Rams outgained the Titans by 153 yards for the day but only recorded 1 TD in three trips to the Titans’ Red Zone.  That Titans’ defensive unit also contributed a Pick-Six to the cause.  The Titans led 21-3 at halftime because here are the results of the Rams’ possessions in the first half:

• Punt
• FG
• Punt
• INT
• INT
• Punt
• Punt

Steelers 29  Bears 27:    Each team’s special teams’ unit tried to give the game away and there were more than a few ticky-tack calls by the officials in the game.  Nevertheless, the Bears took the lead 27-26 with less than 2 minutes to play.  That was enough time for the Steelers to set up a relatively short field goal try to take the lead.  The Bears had one final heroic attempt to win the game with a 66-yard field goal try – – but it was short by about 10 -15 yards.

Dolphins 17  Texans 9:  The Texans’ draft position benefits this week from a loss to the Dolphins and a win by the Jags.  As of this morning, the Texans would draft second in next year’s draft immediately after the Lions figure out how to blow a draft pick.  Tyrod Taylor was back as the starting QB for the Texans; he threw 3 INTs and in 4 trips to the Red Zone he produced zero TDs.  Oh swell…

 

NFL Games:

 

Watching the Ravens throw up on their shoes against the Dolphins last night, it occurred to me that through some unknown contagion vector, all the teams in the AFC North now suffer from “Play Down To The Level Of The Opposition Syndrome”.  The Ravens kept the game close because they are a better team than the Dolphins even when the Ravens are at their putrid worst.  However, a defensive TD by the Dolphins sealed the deal on a night when the Ravens’ offense was AWOL from start to finish.

Jags at Colts – 10 (47.5):  The Jags’ defense is rounding into form; last week it kept the Bills out of the end zone for an entire 60-minute game.  The Colts trail the Titans by 3 games in the AFC South and cannot afford another loss here.  This is a game the Colts have had circled as a “W” ever since the NFL schedule was released in May.

Browns at Pats – 2 (45):  The Browns turned up 4 positive COVID-19 tests this week and three of those positive tests – – meaning those players are out for Sunday’s game – – were running backs.  Until and unless the Browns activate someone from the practice squad or sign someone off the street, the remaining RB for the Browns is D’Ernest Johnson.
There is good news and bad news for the Pats:

• Good News is they are back home after two weeks on the road
• Bad News is they are 1-4 at home this season.

Falcons at Cowboys – 9 (55.5):  The Cowboys’ offense stunk out the joint last week not scoring a point until late in the 4^th quarter when the Broncos had 30 points on the scoreboard.  Oh, and the Cowboys’ defense did not cover itself in glory either giving up 30 points to the offensively mediocre Broncos.  I see a big rebound for the offense against a Falcons’ defense that has had “disappearance issues”; I’ll take the Cowboys at home to win and cover; put it in the Six-Pack.

Bills – 13 at Jets (47):  The Bills’ offensive unit should have been totally embarrassed in the team meetings this week after failing to score a TD against the Jags last week.  Two weeks ago, the same offensive unit sputtered against the Dolphins and saw the score tied 3-3 at the half.  Dolphins/Jags/Jets is the soft spot in the schedule and the Bills have not handled the first two thirds very well.  I think this is the week the Bills’ offense gets back in the groove…

Saints at Titans – 3 (44):  This is my runner-up for Game of the Week.  The Titans should have been euphoric for most of this week after beating the Rams last week without Derrick Henry; it was their 5^th win in a row.  I suspect his absence will be more profoundly felt this week.  Meanwhile the Saints have to be angry with themselves after a heartbreaking loss to the Falcons last week (see above).  Here are two opposing trends:

• Titans are 3-1 at home this season.
• Saints are 3-1 on the road this season.

Bucs – 10 at Football Team (51):  Both teams had last week off to rest, recuperate and reassess their goals for the year.  For the Bucs, it is “Back to the Super Bowl”; for the Football Team, it is “Remembering Last Year’s Playoff Status.”  The outcome of this game depends on something simple:

• Can the vaunted and thus far overhyped Washington front four put pressure on Tom Brady?

I don’t think so…

Lions at Steelers – 9 (43):  The Steelers are an average to slightly better than average team in 2021; that is all.  The Lions are on a glide path to – possibly – be the only team in NFL history to go 0-17; the Lions are in tear-down/rebuild mode and right now all they seem to have done is to tear-down.  Like the little kid in a room neck deep in horses[p]it who keeps digging around and  looking for a pony, here is a straw for the Lions’ coaches to snatch to try to convince the team they can win this game:

• Lions had a BYE last week, so they are rested and doubly prepared.
• Steelers are playing on a short week from Monday night’s game.

Like I said, this is grasping at straws…  And by the way, there really is no pony in that room full of – – you know.

Vikes at Chargers – 3 (52.5):  Both teams average scoring just under 25 points per game in 2021.  Both teams give up just under 25 points per game in 2021.  I think this will be a tit-for-tat game where each team that scores gets to watch the opponent do the same.  I think this will be high scoring, so I’ll take the game to go OVER; put it in the Six-Pack.

Panthers at Cardinals – 10.5 (44):  The Panthers’ defense is good; it ranks 7^th in the league in Scoring Defense (20.3 points per game allowed) and 2^nd in the league in Total Defense (293.1 yards per game allowed).  However, I do not think that will be enough to win this one against a rested and recovered Kyler Murray and his Band of Merry Men.  If Cam Newton plays and pulls out this game, he really is Superman.

Seahawks at Packers – 3 (49):  We may get to see Russell Wilson vs. Aaron Rodgers this weekend; that was not necessarily a given due to recent happenings – – Wilson’s injury and Rodgers’ mendacity.  Dwight Perry had a great way to look at this game in his column in the Seattle Times last weekend:

“The Seahawks’ Russell Wilson (broken finger) and the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers (unvaccinated arm) will face off Nov. 14 in Green Bay — maybe.

“Just call it the Pins and Needles Bowl.”

Eagles at Broncos – 2.5 (45.5):  This is the Dog-Breath Game of the Week.  Neither team is very good, and it is an inter-conference game which has the least impact on standings and tie-breakers and things of that sort.  The Broncos just beat the best team in the NFC East on the road last week; now they get to play one of the also-rans in the NFC East at home this week.  The only question here is:

•  Can the Broncos avoid a let-down game?

(Sun Nite) Chiefs at Raiders – 2.5 (52):  This is my Game of the Week.  It is a longstanding rivalry game; it is a division game; both teams need to win this game badly.  What else do you need?  The Chiefs’ offense has been sputtering and wheezing for most of the season; after this much of the season, it is reasonable to wonder if it will ever “find itself”.

(Mon Nite): Rams – 4 at Niners (49):  Both teams lost last week meaning both coaching staffs had the opportunity to chew folks out.  I said above that the Niners are enigmatic, and I do not like the idea of an enigmatic team going up against a very good team that needs to win for playoff seeding purposes.  I like the Rams to win and cover on the road; put it in the Six-Pack.

Let me review the Six-Pack for this week:

• Houston/Temple UNDER 54.5
• Florida St. +3 against Miami
• Notre Dame/UVa OVER 63.5
• Cowboys – 9 over Falcons
• Vikes/ Chargers OVER 52.5
• Rams – 4 over Niners

Now let me give you a 3-team college Money Line parlay and a 3-team NFL Money Line parlay:

• Kansas State at minus-220
• Va Tech at minus-450
• Texas A&M at minus-115    A $100 wager wins $232.

 

• Rams at minus-200
• Bucs at minus-450
• Broncos at minus-150  A $100 wager wins $206

Finally, since I cribbed a comment from Dwight Perry above, let me use another one here:

“Q: What do Russell Wilson’s surgically repaired finger and a hand grenade have in common?

“A: Neither is effective until you pull the pin.”

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

 

 

There is a report on CBSSports.com this morning saying that John Wall may be a “healthy scratch” for the entirety of the NBA season.  Wall wants out of Houston and the Rockets want to trade him.  So, what’s the problem?

The problem is John Wall’s contract; he will make $44.3M this year and the contract has a player option next year for $47.4M; that means any team that acquires Wall is on the hook for $91.7M over the next two years for a player who is not nearly worth that kind of money.  Even if Wall is 100% recovered from his Achilles tendon injury, his game is not what it was simply because of advancing age.  John Wall succeeded because of his speed; at his best, he was arguably the fastest player in the NBA; that is not nearly the case today.

The other part of the current problem is that John Wall was never a good – let alone great – outside shooter; his offensive game remains good and maybe better than average, but it is not $91.7M worth of “good”.  Defense was never Wall’s calling card so that is not going to entice any potential Rockets’ trading partner.  Given his recent injury history, the Rockets do not want to play him lest he get hurt again; with no recent “game tape”, potential trading partners are not exactly lining up.

Back when John Wall was an All-Star for 5 consecutive seasons,  you could say he was underpaid making $15-18M per year.  However, that is not the case in 2021 and as usual, it is “the money” that creates the impasse here.

Sticking with the NBA, the league has retained an outside law firm to investigate allegations that the owner of the Phoenix Suns, Robert Sarver, created a toxic company culture, often using racist and sexist language in front of employees.  [Aside:  Do these allegations have any parallels in other sports?  Hmmm…]  Sarver says he welcomes the investigation as a way to clear his name.  This story is in the early stage where there are flights of rhetorical fancy and reports of lurid behavior hitting the streets at least several times a week.  To give  you an idea of the rhetorical level at this time consider this statement from the NBA Communications Department:

“The NBA and WNBA remain committed to providing a respectful and inclusive workplace for all employees.”

Here is a statement from one of Sarver’s co-owners of the Suns’ franchise:

“The well-being and safety of every Suns employee, player, coach and stakeholder is first and foremost our priority. My sincerest sympathy goes out to all whose lives and professions have been impacted.”

In terms of reports about lurid behavior(s), some former and current Suns’ employees have alleged that Sarver showed pictures of his wife wearing a bikini and talking about instances where his wife had performed oral sex on him.  [Aside:  If Ms. Sarver were one of the complainants in the matter, I would agree at once that she was an aggrieved party.]

The NBA has a precedent for forcing the sale of a franchise based on troglodytic behavior by the franchise owner.  Go to Wikipedia for a short bio on Donald Sterling to refresh your memory of the things he said and did that brought the league down on him.  At this point in the story, I do not have nearly enough information to sense if the Sarver’s behavior is equivalent to – or possibly even worse than – Sterling’s behavior.  The independent law firm hired for the investigation has only begun its work.  However, it is not too early to pose a question about the end of the investigation:

• Will the NBA receive a written report from the law firm?

Moving on …  Last year, the Tampa Bay Bucs set a precedent in the NFL being the first team ever to play in the Super Bowl in their home stadium.  Next February, the Super Bowl will take place in SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and that facility is the home field for both the Rams and the Chargers.

• Might this be the year when both teams in the Super Bowl will be playing a “home game”?

The Chargers have not looked great the past couple of weeks, but they have a very reasonable chance to be in the playoffs – – which is a sine qua non for playing in the Super Bowl.  The Rams are 7-2 as of this morning and it would take a significant collapse on the Rams’ part for them to miss the playoffs.  The Rams seem to recognize their potential for this season because with a variety of trades that brought players like Von Miller and Matthew Stafford to LA, the Rams have denuded themselves of draft picks for next year.  The team seems to be echoing the sentiments of a Rams’ former coach, George Allen who famously had a sign on his desk saying:

“The Future Is Now”

I believe the Rams have only a fifth and a seventh-round pick in next year’s draft.  That means the Rams’ scouting department will be looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack when the Rams finally get on the clock on Day Three of next year’s NFL Draft.

Finally, John Simon was the drama critic for New York magazine and the film critic for National Review.  He has been called “The Vicar of Vitriol” for some of his criticisms.  I will present one of them here and toss over in my mind how some of the Phoenix Suns’ employees might react if they had to read this sort of description of themselves:

“Barbra Streisand:  Ms. Streisand looks like a cross between an aardvark and an albino rat surmounted by a platinum-coated horse bun.  Though she has good eyes and a nice complexion, the rest of her is a veritable anthology of disaster areas.  Her speaking voice seems to have graduated from the Brooklyn Conservatory of Yentaism, and her acting consists entirely of fishily thrusting out her lips sounding like a cabbie bellyaching at breakneck speed and throwing her weight around.”

Now that is what I would call “hostile”…

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