The Sports Curmudgeon

Let me dispense with one item quickly; tonight’s Thursday Night Football game is a toxic waste dump.  The Colts are dead last in the AFC South; the Broncos are dead last in the AFC West; the combined record of these two teams is 7-19.  You absolutely must have something better to do with your time this evening…

The NFL’s concussion protocol seems to be taking a mandatory 8-count for the moment.  It just is not working nearly the way it is purported to work in the name of player safety.  Two events caught on video in the last couple of weeks demonstrate that the concussion protocol is honored sporadically at best.

1. Russell Wilson took a big hit and was sent to the sidelines for examination.  They put the blue tent over him – partially – wherein he bolted out of the tent having had no examination at all, grabbed his helmet and returned to the game.
2. Tom Savage took a big hit such that his arms seemed to convulse while he was on the ground and then returned to the huddle looking dazed.

In what seems to be a PR move, the NFL and the NFLPA pay an homage to “player safety” now; curmudgeons tend to think that the various lawsuits pending and settled against the league regarding CTE are the motivating force behind that concern.  No matter the motivation, the protocol in place is not working because it is not enforced.  Supposedly, there are “observers” who are supposed to be able to identify players who need a neurological screen; in the two cases cited above, it is not clear what the “observers” were observing.

Let me be clear.  I realize that this is a crass position to take; but at the bottom line:

1. I do not really care if a player with a concussion finds the resources to hide that concussion from coaches or “neurological specialists” and continues to play in a game.
2. That player is an adult; if he makes the choice to behave in that way, then I do not care if he puts himself and his future cognitive prowess in jeopardy.
3. Adults make choices and choices have consequences.

My problem is that the NFL has this “protocol” in place and is not enforcing it.  They have a rule book and officials are there to enforce those rules – despite the arcane nature of some of those rules.  When you have a rule – and a “protocol” is nothing more than a rule with a fancy name – then it is a sham unless and until it is enforced.  Imagine for a moment if officials did not enforce the offsides rule…

Here is the obstacle that is going to prevent anything meaningful from happening here:

• The NFL and the NFLPA will have to agree on whatever sort of enforcement steps will be taken in these matters.
• The fact is that those two entities cannot agree that Tuesday came after Monday this week.

Sometime during the offseason, there will be a joint announcement of a new and more rigid concussion protocol for next year.  That will involve genuflecting in the direction of “player safety”, “truth”, “justice” and “the American Way”.  And if the new more rigid concussion protocol is enforced with the same laxity as the current one, it will not amount to a pinch of pigeon poop.

Earlier this week, Kareem Abdul Jabbar pronounced that the NBA would overtake the NFL in popularity sometime in the next 10 years.  Perhaps, he is correct; let me suggest, however, that he may not be the most unbiased interpreter of data in this matter.  Jabbar cites the fact that surveys show a decline in NFL popularity over the last decade and a smaller decline in popularity for MLB over the same decade.  However, NBA popularity is up in that same time period.  Moreover, TV ratings for NBA games are up while TV ratings for the NFL and MLB are down.  Here are some reasons why I doubt that the NBA can eclipse the NFL in the next 10 years:

• In 2017, the NBA revenues are approximately $8B; the NFL revenues are approximately $15B.  That is a huge gap to make up in 10 years – unless you suspect that the NFL revenues will decline significantly over the next 10 years.
• The TV ratings analysis needs some perspective.  Here in the DC area, NBA games get ratings in the range of 3.0 to 4.5 depending on the “juice” surrounding the game.  That is a major improvement over about 5 years ago when NBA games here got ratings near 1.0.  However, last Sunday the Skins played in the late afternoon time slot and the Eagles/Rams game was on the other network in the same time slot.  Not surprisingly, the Skins/Chargers game drew a rating of 11.8.  What is surprising is that the Eagles Rams game – in the same time slot, remember – drew a rating of 11.6.
• The early Sunday afternoon NFL game here – Giants/Cowboys – had a 14.4 rating and the Sunday Night game – Ravens/Steelers – had a 16.5 rating.  On Monday night, the Pats/Dolphins had an 11.1 rating.

Yes, the NBA numbers are up over the past two years and the NFL numbers are down over the last two years.  Nonetheless, the TV ratings for the two leagues are not remotely close.

Jabbar’s prognostication sounds good and he puts a lot of emphasis on the fact – undisputed – that youth participation in football has declined over the past decade and there has been no such decline noted for basketball.  I will stipulate all those stats and, at the same time, point out that I have heard that argument before.

• Soccer was going to be the “next big thing” because of the exponential growth in youth soccer programs.  The growth was there; the growth continues; soccer is not the “next big thing” today and is not going to be the “next big thing” in my lifetime.  [Aside:  Of course it will not be; Jabbar says it will be NBA basketball.]
• More specifically, pundits proclaimed that the success of the US Women’s National Team in World Cup competition would generate interest in girls’ soccer that would translate into an economically viable women’s pro league in the US.  There is indeed a professional women’s soccer league – and a tiered system of leagues – in 2017.  Few, however, would allege that professional women’s soccer is the “next big thing” despite the numbers of young girls playing soccer.

Mark your calendars for December 2027 with a reminder to compare the status and economics of the NBA vis a vis the NFL.  I hope I am alive then to see how this prediction turns out.

Finally, if you want to think about sports that might have great growth potential, consider this observation by Brad Rock in the Deseret News recently:

“Poker, pole dancing and foosball are taking steps toward becoming Olympic sports.

“In other words, at some point synchronized swimming is going to look totally normal.”

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

I have often referred to José Canseco as “the gift that keeps on giving” because he does lots of things that you could label “zany” of “bizarre” and that provides material for these rants.  Now, it appears that he has migrated from the territory of “harmless goofiness” to a field of landmines.  Canseco may have lost his job because he decided to try to be funny about sexual harassment.  Ten years ago, his remarks might – I said MIGHT – have evoked a small chuckle; in today’s environment, his remarks are akin to playing Russian roulette with 5 live rounds in the chambers.  Here are his reported Tweets on the subject:

“Well I mean I’ve been beaten by women taken advantage of by women and molested by women I never complain but it was kind of a turn-on”

And …

“I see the difference I guess cuz I was a good-looking guy and these politicians look like a bag of boogers”

And …

“These women complaining against sexual misconduct are just racist against ugly men”

Canseco was a local TV analyst on the pre-game and post-game shows for the Oakland A’s and his contract expired at the end of the season.  His employer, NBCSports California, said in a statement that they do not agree with these remarks and that they do not reflect the views of the company.  [Aside:  No surprise here…]  The A’s called his comments “disappointing” and pointed out that he is not in a contractual relationship with the A’s.  [Translation:  They want no part of this.]

Unlike many celebrities and politicians and sports figures of today, Canseco has not been fired or forced to resign over these Tweets simply because he does not have a job at the moment.  His contract expires at the end of each season and then the team and the network decide who they want to do the job in the upcoming season.  Right now, I think Canseco’s agent will need to be very conciliatory in his negotiations – – if in fact he ever gets a chance to do any negotiating.

Mentioning José Canseco’s latest verbal excursions reminds me of another current bit of nonsense going around that tangentially involves Canseco.  The Yankees’ acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton very obviously engendered a series of reports on the trade that emphasized the great slugging potential in the Yankees’ lineup with both Stanton and Aaron Judge in the lineup.  A baseball writer who did not mention that would probably have to be drummed out of the Fraternity of Baseball Writers – or whatever it is called.

However, in today’s world, that flurry of reports about the slugging duo was insufficient.  Today, media outlets must to do things to attract eyeballs and to garner online clicks; that leads to “listicles” – articles that are merely lists of things that are in a given category.  Evidently, these draw attention; they must because if they did not, there would no other redeeming social value to writing them in the first place.  And the Yankees’ acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton generated “analyses” of the “Greatest Slugging Duos In Baseball History”.  Here are some of the suggested candidates – in no particular order:

• Ruth and Gehrig
• Mantle and Maris
• Mays and McCovey
• Aaron and Matthews
• McGwire and Canseco – maybe you need an asterisk here?
• Stanton and Judge

I have no problem making these sorts of lists – – AFTER all the entrants on the list have actually accomplished something.  As of this morning, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge have been a “slugging duo” for all of ZERO games.  Who knows?  Perhaps they will supersede all other slugging duos in MLB history; time will answer that for us.  Instead, we have to deal with “listicles” now before there is even a single datum on which to base a conclusion.

The premature “listicles” about Stanton and Judge provides a segue of sorts to my next point of irritation.  I was watching the end of an NBA game involving the New Orleans Pelicans a while ago; the Pelicans won and their pair of big men – Anthony Davis and Boogie Cousins – were dominant in the game.  In the afterglow of that win, the studio team of Shaq and Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley were rhapsodic about the potential of this pairing of big men and how it would give every other team in the league defensive nightmares.  That is typical sports hyperbole; I have gotten used to that over the years.  However, I began to listen closely because I hoped these guys would not go too far with it.  And then they did; they started to muse about Anthony Davis and Boogie Cousins as “one of the greatest big man pairings of all time”.

First, these guys should know better.  Second, these guys need to realize that there is a tendency out there – particularly among millennials – to believe that anything which happened before they were born is either irrelevant or is prehistoric.  Too many young sports fans need to be disabused of that line of thought; it should not be encouraged.

I do not want to turn this into a “listicle” so I am not going to do any stat research.  What I would like to suggest is that there have been “pairs of big men” on NBA teams in the past who have significant accomplishments – playoff appearances and championships – on their résumés and who had a degree of longevity that dwarfs Davis and Cousins.  Off the top of my head, consider:

• Tim Duncan and David Robinson
• Kevin McHale and Robert Parish
• Bill Walton and Maurice Lucas
• Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes

Yes, Virginia, there was life in the NBA before 1990…

Finally, here is a comment from Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times regarding Alex Rodriguez’ recognition that his use of PED’s cost him a shot at the Hall of Fame and about $40M in lost income:

“It’s all right there in this week’s issue of Well, Duh magazine.”

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

Yesterday, I mentioned some of the poor performances from last weekend’s NFL games.  Today I want to add one performance to the list and to comment on another game where it appears to me as if the coaching staff quit on the season.

The additional sour performance from last weekend came last night from the Patriots in their loss to the Dolphins.  From the opening possession, the Pats seemed a step slow; when defenders filled a hole, they hit the runner but did not bring him down; when defenders covered receivers, they were always a foot short of knocking the pass down; when Brady threw to receivers, he did not hit them in stride.  Those are the sorts of “misses” that normally do not happen to the Pats’ they did last night, and they kept on happening for four quarters of the game.

Anyone who watches NFL football even semi-regularly knows from experience that this sort of performance is atypical for the Pats.  In today’s world of over-reaction to the last datum available, I await the cries that announce the demise of the Pats as an NFL powerhouse based on last night’s stinkeroo of a game.

The other game that needs commentary – I should have put it in yesterday’s rant but got sidetracked in my thinking and did not – is the Skins loss to the Chargers.  I will give you a flavor of how bad the Skins’ performance was by quoting the first two sentences from Liz Clarke’s gamer from Monday’s Washington Post:

“The Washington Redskins’ latest defeat – a 30-13 throttling at the hands of Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday – didn’t turn on one ill-advised play-call, one bad quarter of football or even a glaring deficiency on one side of the ball.

“It was a game in which the Redskins were never competitive.”

Every word of that opening to the game report is absolutely accurate.  However, there is a subtle happening in the game that leads me to conclude that the coaching staff recognizes the very glaring flaws of this roster and that the coaching staff has checked out on the season.  Let me take you to the fourth quarter of this shellacking.

• The Chargers lead 30-6 with less than 3 minutes to play.  Bashaud Breeland intercepts a pass from Kellen Clements at the Skins’ 5-yardline and returned it all the way for a TD.  The clock showed 2:36 left in the game and the score was 30-12.
• Let me be clear; that play did not endanger the outcome of the game.  Nevertheless, the ONLY strategic call for the Skins at this point is to try for a 2-point conversion.
• The Skins trail by 18 points; if they are successful with a 2-point try, they make the game a 2-possession game; all they would have to do – tongue firmly in cheek at this point – is to recover 2 onside kicks, score 2 TDs, convert two more 2-point tries and the score is tied.  Hey, they had all 3 timeouts and the 2-minute warning on their side…
• The coaching staff sent out the kicker who made the score 30-13 meaning the game remained as a 3-possession game.

There is an old adage that goes:

• “Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”

I guess I could interpret that coaching decision as “stupidity” in the sense that no one though quickly enough in the atmosphere of utter defeat to see the opportunity to make this a 2-possession game that would eventually wind up as a loss anyway.  My problem with doing that is that Jay Gruden has been the coach in DC for 4 years and while I do not think he is one of the elite coaches in the NFL, I also do not think he is too slow-witted to have noticed.  I think, rather, that he and his fellow-coaches just wanted to get out of the stadium and back home because this lackluster performance stacked on top of the previous week’s pabulum performance against the Cowboys convinced the coaches that this season is over and that this roster is just not adequate to compete for a playoff slot.

If I am correct – and I hasten to add that I cannot read minds – then the Skins’ coaches have either “quit” or they have “come to grips with reality”.  Feel free to take your pick…

I mentioned above with regard to the Pats’ loss last night the current fad of taking minimal data and over-reacting to it by wildly extrapolating it.  There is another example of that making the rounds now; it involves the trade of Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees.  This “analysis” purports to have divined the inner workings of a grand conspiracy whereby Derek Jeter – former Yankees’ captain – made that deal solely for the purpose of making the Yankees stronger.  This “conclusion” is a classic example of a conspiracy theory in that it takes the results of an improbable event and concludes that the only reason the improbably event could possibly have occurred is due to some sort of clandestine deal.

• Memo to these Conspiracy Theorists:  Derek Jeter was born in 1974.  No, he was not the one on the grassy knoll…  That guy was John Wilkes Booth.

Finally, here is an item from Brad Dickson’s column, Breaking Brad, in the Omaha World-Herald:

“A Tennessee State player has been kicked off the team for punching his coach on the sideline during a timeout. ‘OK, next time I tell you guys to go out and hit hard perhaps I need to be more specific’.”

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

“Tubby” Raymond died last week.  Raymond was a Hall of Fame coach at Delaware for 35 years; he is considered one of the innovators of the wing-T formation and its many deception/counter plays.  His coaching record was 300-113-3; in his 35 seasons at Delaware, his teams had a losing record in only four of them.

Rest in peace, “Tubby” Raymond.

• [Aside: “Tubby” Raymond’s son, Dave Raymond, was the creator of the character known as the Phillie Phanatic and was the guy under that costume for years.]

Last Friday, I said that the NFL had a strong card of games for fans with most of the games having an impact on playoff hopes.  Well, the NFL put some whipped cream on top of that for fans providing a lot of close games in those meaningful matchups.  Eight games that were important to at least one of the contestants ended as a “one-score game” and two of those games went to overtime.  I would probably have to forfeit my Curmudgeon Credential if I focused on those wonderful and important games today; to protect my standing in the Community of Gripers as a Senior Bellyacher, let me mention some of sour notes from last weekend.

The Bengals led the Bears 7-6 at the end of the first quarter.  No one should think of the Bears as a good team; they are not.  Well, since that is the case, what should me make of the Bengals who – in the final 3 quarters of the game – were outscored by a “not good team” 27-0.  The Bengals’ defense allowed the Bears and Mitchell Trubisky to amass 482 yards of offense.  Back in my NFL Preview Rant in August, I suggested that this might be Marvin Lewis’ last year with the Bengals; given what happened yesterday, I suspect that prediction is more likely now than it was in August.

The Raiders and Chiefs met with the teams tied in the standings.  The Raiders went sleepwalking through the first 3 quarters and trailed 26-0 as the final period began.  During a commercial in the game here in the DC area, I went to the ESPN app on my phone to check scores around the league.  With 8:47 to play in the third quarter here are some stats to consider.  Derek Carr was 7 for 15 for 32 yards; Marshawn Lynch had 5 carries for 35 yards.

The Titans kicked off yesterday in a tie for the lead in the AFC South.  The Titans make their living running the ball; the coach calls their offense, Exotic Smashmouth Football.  Against the Cardinals, the Titans ran the ball 22 times and gained a total of 65 yards.  The only reason this game was close – the Cards won by 5 points – is that the Cards’ QB was Blaine Gabbert and because the Titans managed to sack him 8 times in the game.

The Browns lost to the Packers in OT.  Recall that prior to the NFL Draft in April, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said that DeShone Kizer should have stayed in school another year; people jumped on Kelly for that remark saying that he cared more about his welfare than Kizer’s career.  Brian Kelly was right.  If you need proof, please watch the replay of the INT that Kizer threw in OT to put the Browns in a position to lose.  Quarterbacks throw INTs all the time but on no field in the known universe should any quarterback have thrown that ball in that situation.  I tell you; it’s just sad…

The Giants put Eli Manning back at QB yesterday against the Cowboys and the game was tied 10-10 as the 4^th period began.  However, NFL football success requires more than a single successful player and the Giants’ “roster rot” final showed through in the 4^th quarter and the Cowboys won 30-10.

King Pyrrhus was in a war with the Romans about 2500 years ago and his armies defeated the Romans in a huge battle.  However, Pyrrhus’ forces suffered such devastating losses that the historian, Plutarch, reported that King Pyrrhus confided in one of his comrades:

“If we win one more battle with the Romans, we shall be ruined.”

From those events, comes the concept of a “Pyrrhic Victory” and it surely appears as if the Eagles achieved a Pyrrhic Victory yesterday in their win over the Rams.  ESPN reports that Carson Wentz suffered a torn ACL in the game; the team says that they do not know what the injury is and that there will be an MRI today.  Meaning no offense to Nick Foles, if Wentz’ season is over, the Eagles’ season is likely over too.  With yesterday’s win, the Eagles are guaranteed to be the NFC East champions and will be in the playoffs but without a Herculean performance from Foles, yesterday’s was a Pyrrhic Victory.  That is the history lesson of the week…

Changing the subject, let me share with you the salient part of an e-mail I received last week from a former colleague who is an alum of West Virginia University and who moved back to the Morgantown area upon his retirement.  He has been a reader of these rants since before they appeared on the Internet.

“I have something you can use … when you refer to ‘culinary concoctions’ that are over the top.  We have a restaurant in town near the campus called Tailpipes.  It has an automotive theme … the sandwiches are named for cars.  One sandwich on the menu is The Charger.

“The Charger is a half-pound burger with bacon, pepperjack cheese, fried bananas and peanut butter.

“Before you ask, I never tried it.”

That sandwich sounds like something you would serve to the ghost of Elvis Presley if it were coming to dinner and you just had to have a bacon cheeseburger for yourself.

Finally, here is a comment from Brad Dickson in the Omaha World-Herald related to college basketball happenings:

“The Creighton men’s basketball team defeated UCLA 100-89. The best news is, after the game every single pair of Creighton’s sunglasses were accounted for.”

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

The calendar says it is Friday.  It is football season.  Hence, it is time for a Football Friday rant.  The commentary on college football for the weekend will be brief; there is only one Division 1-A game this week; it is the Army/Navy game.  That game does not showcase the best collegiate players in the country; that game does not have any gravitas regarding the national championship; none of that matters because I always consider the Army/Navy game as one not to be missed.  Every player on each team will play all out on every play; there will be no “look at me celebrations”; this is a game that will be contested at the highest level of intensity but without any rancor.  My advice to you is simple:

• Take the time to watch this game just for the enjoyment of college football.

There may be a paucity of big-time college football activity this weekend, but the NFL schedule mavens have provided fans with a really good set of matchups.  Last night the Falcons beat the Saints in an AFC South division game that allowed the Falcons to pull within a game of the Saints in the standings.  That game had playoff implications written all over it.  There are 15 other games scheduled for the weekend and way more than half of them have playoff implications.  Savor this weekend’s card; in a couple of weeks, I suspect the number of games that are important for the playoffs will be significantly reduced.

Let me offer a short prelude here.  Favorites have been covering spreads at an unusual rate so far this year in the NFL; and since the public tends to play favorites and lay points, the books have been taking a beating.  On this week’s card, there are lots of attractive underdogs; I think the trend may not hold for this weekend.

Here are the games for Sunday and Monday:

• Lions at Bucs:  This is a game with playoff implications.  There are no lines posted for these games yet simply because we do not know the condition of Matthew Stafford’s throwing hand after it was stomped on – accidentally – in last week’s contest.  If Stafford cannot play and the Lions have to turn to Jake Rudock as the QB, the Lions’ playoff aspirations are probably destroyed; the Lions have 6 losses already; I doubt that a 9-7 team will make the playoffs in the NFC this season.  Meanwhile, the great unknown in this game is Jameis Winston; will he make a great play out of nothing or will he throw a disastrous INT?  He tends to one or the other in every game…
• Bears at Bengals:  Neither of these teams will be participating in this year’s playoffs and neither of these teams is any good.  The Bengals are 6.5-point favorites at home.  I will not be watching this game and I would not wager even a farthing on this game.
• Colts at Bills:  I guess the Bills are still mathematically alive for a playoff slot in the AFC; but in reality, this is a second game without playoff impact.  There are no lines posted for this game yet because the availability of Bills’ QB, Tyrod Taylor, is still up in the air; as of this morning, reports say that Taylor is a “game time decision”.  Nathan Peterman finished out last week’s game for the Bills when Taylor left with an injury; Peterman managed not to throw another five INTs, but let me be polite and say that he does need to work on his accuracy a bit.

Let me interrupt the listing of weekend games to mention something about Nathan Peterman and his debut as a starting QB in the NFL.  You remember; that was the game where he threw 5 INTs in the first half of the game and was yanked at halftime.  Five INTs in a half is a whole lot and it would have put Peterman on pace to shatter the all-time NFL record for most INTs in a single game.  That record has stood since 1950 when Chicago Cardinals’ QB, Jim Hardy, threw 8 INTs in a game against the Eagles.  Hardy had a 7-year career in the NFL as a QB and as a DB.  For his career, he threw 54 TDs and 73 INTs.  In the 1950 season – the one where he threw those 8 INTs in a single game – he led the league in INTs throwing 24 of them.  So, now you know – – and back to the games for this weekend:

• Seahawks at Jags:  This game is important to both teams regarding the playoffs.  The Seahawks can still see their way to the NFC West title; the Jags have the same record as the Titans in the AFC South but currently trail the Titans based on tie-breakers.  The Jags are 2.5-point favorites at home and I think a lot of that spread reflects the fact that the Seahawks are much better at home than they are on the road and the fact that his is an early starting game for a Seahawks’ team that will fly across 3 time zones to get to the venue.  There are two wildly competing trends at work in this game.  Seahawks’ games have gone UNDER in 14 of the last 19 games in December; Jaguars’ games have gone OVER in 7 of the last 10 games in December.  You make the call …
• Raiders at Chiefs:  Both teams are 6-6 in the AFC West – as are the Chargers.  The Raiders beat the Chiefs by a point in Oakland 7 weeks ago, so a win for the Raiders would give them the edge over the Chiefs in a tie-breaker situation.  The Chiefs are in a free-fall after starting the season with 5 straight wins.  The Chiefs – not the NFL – suspended CB, Marcus Peters, for this game for his behavior at the end of last week’s loss to the Jets.  Two weeks ago, the Chiefs signed Darrelle Revis off the scrap heap; I guess he will be seeing a lot of action in this game.  This game ought to feature offensive output; both teams yield 5.7 yards per play; only 4 teams in the NFL give up more than 5.7 yards per play.  The Chiefs are 4-point favorites in this game.
• Vikes at Panthers:  The Vikes are 2.5-point favorites on the road.  The Panthers can tie the Saints for the lead in the NFC South with a win; the Vikes can clinch the NFC North title with a win.  This is the 3^rd road game in a row for the Vikes; historically, teams do not do well under those circumstances.  I expect a low-scoring game that will be in doubt until late in the 4^th quarter and I expect it to be a defensive game.  The oddsmakers set the Total Line at 42 at the beginning of the week; this morning it is 40.5 just about everywhere – – and as low as 40 at two of the offshore sportsbooks.  The Vikes’ defense gets plenty of well-deserved props; the Panthers’ defense does not get nearly the recognition it deserves.
• Packers at Browns:  The Packers opened as 6-point favorites, but this line has been bet down to 3 points.  That’s right; there must have been an influx of money on the Browns to effect that movement.  The Packers really need to win out to have a shot at the playoffs and they can probably get Aaron Rodgers back if they get past this game.  To say that Brett Hundley has been erratic as a starting QB would be accurate; so, which Brett Hundley will show up for this game?  Is this where the Browns find their first win of the year?
• Niners at Texans:  This is the third game on Sunday where neither team is going to the playoffs no matter the outcome here.  The Texans are 3-point favorites at home and the Niners are looking to put together a 2-game winning streak to start the “Jimmy G. Era” in the Bay Area.  I actually like the Niners to win outright here – not that it matters a whit…
• Skins at Chargers:  The Chargers are 6-point favorites at home.  The Skins are still mathematically alive for the playoffs; but in reality, they are not going to participate.  The Chargers, on the other hand, are tied with the Chiefs and the Raiders atop the AFC West.  If the Chargers win here it will be their fourth win in a row and will guarantee that they remain tied for the lead in the division.  Both Kirk Cousins and Philip Rivers are playing top-flight football this year; a big advantage for the Chargers is that they have a superior cast of receivers to work with Rivers.  Historically, this is the kind of game that the Chargers blow.  If the team hopes to capture the minds of the fans in LA, they better not do that here.  The Total Line for the game is 46.5.  Consider that the Skins are 20-6 to go OVER in their last 26 games on grass; the Skins are 25-8 to go OVER in their last 33 games overall, and the Skins are 19-7 to go OVER in their last 25 games on the road.  Hmmm…
• Jets at Broncos:  The Jets are 1-point favorites in this game on the road.  Yes, you read that correctly; no, I would never have guessed that would be the case back in August.  This is the fourth and final game on the Sunday card with no importance regarding the playoffs.  If you care about trends, the Broncos are 0-7 against the spread in their last 7 games this year.
• Titans at Cards:  The Titans are 3-point favorites on the road and they need this game because they are tied with the Jags for the lead in the AFC South.  The Titans give up 242 yards per game passing and the thing the Cards like to do is throw the ball.  I’m not sure the right team is favored here – – even though the Cards will be starting Blaine Gabbert at QB.
• Eagles at Rams:  The Rams are 2-point favorites at home; the Eagles spent the week in the Pacific Time Zone rather than flying home and back out to LA after playing last Sunday nite in Seattle.  The Eagles lead the NFC East; they can clinch the division title with a win here or with a Cowboys loss this weekend.  The Rams cannot clinch but they do hold a 1-game lead over the Seahawks as of today and would like to maintain that status because they have to face the Seahawks down the road.  Everyone has been raving about Carson Wentz and the year he is having; meanwhile the Eagles’ defense ranks 3^rd in the NFL in yards allowed and ranks 1^st in the NFL in rushing defense.  This is the best game of the afternoon.
• Cowboys at Giants:  The Cowboys are 3.5-point favorites on the road and the Cowboys need to win this game to stay playoff-relevant.  The Giants will re-insert Eli Manning as the starting QB and he will not be burdened with any of Ben McAdoo’s nonsense for the game.  The coaching change, however, will not change the basic fact that the Giants’ OL stinks; they have no running game to speak of and their WR corps is Huey, Dewey and Louie.  I think the key to this game is whether the Cowboys can run the b all effectively; the Giants’ D-line has played well this year.  The Total Line for this game is 41.5.  I just have a hunch that this will be a higher scoring affair than most folks anticipate…
• Ravens at Steelers:  The Steelers are currently the top-seeded team in the AFC playoff race; the Ravens are currently a wild-card team but cannot afford a loss here.  The Steelers are 5-point favorites at home.  Expect this game to be an old-fashioned slobber-knocker [ / Keith Jackson].   If the Eagles/Rams is not the best game of the weekend, then this one is.  The Steelers defense is the 4^th best in the NFL; the Ravens defense is the 7^th best; however, the loss of Ryan Shazier is a big blow to the Steelers.
• Pats at Dolphins:  The Pats are 11-point favorites on the road.  The Pats have the same record as the Steelers – and the two teams meet head to head in the game that ought to determine the playoff home field advantage in the AFC.  The challenge for the Pats here is to avoid complacency and looking beyond this game to the game against the Steelers.  This does not look like the most exciting Monday Night Football game of the season.

Finally, Dwight Perry had this item in his Sideline Chatter column in the Seattle Times recently:

“On the readerboard at Pike Creek Automotive in Wilmington, Del.:

‘We fix suspensions, unless you are Ezekiel Elliott’.”

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

A friend asked me yesterday at lunch which NFL team has had the most disappointing season to date.  He thought it was a slam-dunk that I would pick the NY Giants who made the playoffs last year and who have stunk in spades this year.  I agreed with him that the Giants had to get strong consideration for this label, but I said that I wanted time to think about two other teams that have disappointed themselves and their fans.  Let me present my troika here:

• NY Giants:  They have gone from 11-5 last year to a 2-10 record to date where the team has been outscored by 98 points; that is the worst point differential in the NFC – even worse than the Niners.  To a degree, however, the Giants were a mirage last year.  The defense played over its head and carried a flawed roster to a winning record.  The Giants cannot run the ball and they cannot protect the QB; the roster is seriously flawed; injuries exposed the flaws dramatically.
• Denver Broncos:  It was not all that long ago that the Broncos were Super Bowl champions; this year they are 3-9 and they have been outscored by 109 points.  As with the Giants, the Broncos’ top-shelf defense masked fundamental problems on the offense – the most serious of which is the lack of a QB who is merely a caretaker.  It appears that losing Wade Philips as the defensive coordinator was a serious loss for the team.
• Oakland Raiders:  They made the playoffs last year and lost quickly because they had to play without Derek Carr in the playoffs.  With him healthy, everyone thought they would be in the playoffs again and might be the AFC rep to the Super Bowl in February 2018.  As of this morning the Raiders are 6-6 and have been outscored by 29 points despite that .500 record.  I think I want to identify the Raiders as the team that has disappointed its fans the most in 2017 because I thought they had a better chance to go to the Super Bowl than either the Giants or the Broncos.

Why have the Raiders been so disappointing?  How did they go from 12-4 last year to 6-6 as of this morning?  Let me offer 4 reasons:

1. For some reason, the Raiders changed offensive coordinators in the off-season.  I have no idea why that happened because the Raiders’ offense last year was the main reason the team made the playoffs.
2. The Raiders’ offensive line took a big step back in terms of effectiveness from 2016 to 2017.
3. The Raiders signed Marshawn Lynch who has been mediocre at best at RB – until he broke a long TD run last week in a win over the hapless Giants.  I wish the NSA would release transcripts of phone calls and/or e-mails between the members of the Raiders’ Front Office regarding this signing.  I would not be surprised to learn that it was done as a marketing ploy to the fans in Oakland to get them to forget that the Raiders are leaving town soon.  Lynch is “Mr. Oakland” and this smells like a ticket-selling operation to me.
4. The Raiders hired John Pagano to be the “Assistant Head Coach-Defense”.  I do not know John Pagano from John Adams, but I do know this.  When an entity adds an extra layer of management, the results are usually negative and often very negative.  Regarding the Raiders’ defense in 2017, the result on the field was “very negative”.  Is that John Pagano’s fault?  I do not know.  What I do know is that the defensive coordinator – Ken Norton, Jr. – was fired in mid-season.

Speaking of “disappointing”, I was doing some historical research related to the ongoing futility of the Cleveland Browns’ franchise – candidly, I am not sure why I was looking stuff up, but I ran across this information and copied it onto my clipboard.  The Browns have been part of the NFL since 1950 – save for that brief hiatus in the late 1990s when Cleveland lost the team temporarily until it decided to build a new stadium for a franchise.  From 1950 to 1970, the Browns had two head coaches – Paul Brown and Blanton Collier.  The two of them combined to produce a team record of 194-87-7.  Brown and Collier are the two winningest coaches in franchise history.

Since 1970, however, things have been less than wonderful.  The Browns have had 17 head coaches in 44 seasons (remember, they did not exist from ’96-’98) and of those 17 head coaches, only 2 left Cleveland with a winning record:

• Nick Skorich was 30-24-2 from 1971-1975
• Marty Schottenheimer was 44-27-0 from 1984-1988.

Now comes the datum that surprised me.  Marty Schottenheimer left the Browns 30 years ago; the team has played 27 seasons since then under 12 head coaches.  None has had a winning record; that is no surprise to me.  However, the Browns’ coach with the most wins since 1989 is Bill Belichick.  In fact, of the 19 head coaches for the Browns’ franchise, Belichick ranks 5^th in total wins – – and just about everyone considers his time in Cleveland as a “failure”.

Jimmy Traina reported on SI.com that Rafael Palmiero is “considering a comeback” with a major league team next year; Palmiero will be 53 years old. Reporting on that supposed comeback made it to the local sports radio yakkers yesterday and to Pardon the Interruption and to one of the studio shows on MLB Network.  Pardon my cynicism here, but my first thought was to wonder why this was even worth reporting in the first place – let alone worth talking about in a semi-serious context.  Then I realized that this is a baseball story; this is December; there has not been a lot of “off-season action” to date; the Giancarlo Stanton trade stories and the “Whither Shohei Ohtani” stories have been done to death; so – – any port in a storm.

Finally, Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald had this comment regarding Scott Frost returning to the University of Nebraska as the new head football coach:

“Scott Frost has accepted the coaching job at Nebraska. At about 4 p.m. Saturday, a group of Nebraskans stormed Mount Rushmore and began carving Frost’s visage.

“This may explain why my “Bring Bret Bielema to Lincoln” rally was sparsely attended Friday night.”

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

With all the attention focused on the College Football Playoff, there has not been enough attention paid to the myriad bowl games scheduled to start in two weeks.  There are a few good games sprinkled into the mix; however, as usual, many of these games have no compelling reason to exist.  Let me start with the good games – other than the ones in the CFP itself of course:

1. Camping World Bowl – Dec. 28, Orlando, FL:  The two teams involved are both in the Top 25.  VA Tech and Oklahoma St. are both interesting teams to watch.
2. Alamo Bowl – Dec 28, San Antonio, TX:  These two teams finished the season ranked in the Top 15.  TCU takes on Stanford here; TCU’s defense seems to be able to hold down anyone other than Oklahoma.
3. Fiesta Bowl – Dec. 30, Glendale, AZ:  Penn St. and Washington should be a good match; there is potential for lots of points on the board here.
4. Orange Bowl – Dec 30, Miami, FL:  Wisconsin takes on Miami in a home game for Miami.  Expect a defensive struggle here; the Total Line for the game is only 45.5 points.

And now comes the list of the games that are surely not important and in most cases, are not even interesting.  There will be 6 abjectly meaningless bowl games on December 16 to start the college football silly season.  I won’t even bother going through the games on that date other than to say none of them is significantly more interesting than an infomercial for a colon cleansing product.

1. Boca Raton Bowl – Dec. 19, Boca Raton, FL:  Akron and Florida Atlantic will square off here.  This is one minor bowl game that ought to have decent attendance.  Akron supporters might enjoy a trip south at that time of the year plus this is a home game for Florida Atlantic.  Other than that, …
2. Gaspirilla Bowl – Dec. 21, St. Petersburg, FL:  Temple and Florida International will play this game for reasons known only to them.  Temple supporters do not travel reliably to see home games about 10 miles from campus; I doubt they will show up in numbers 1500 miles from home.
3. Birmingham Bowl – Dec. 23, Birmingham, AL:  Here you can see Texas Tech and USF.  Do not watch this game if you like to see any defense played at all.  The Total Line opened at 65 and jumped to 67.5 overnight.
4. Dollar General Bowl – Dec. 23, Mobile, AL:  Appalachian St and Toledo met in the Camelia Bowl last year; it was so much fun they decided to do it again.  You do remember how much fun it was last year, right?
5. Heart of Dallas Bowl – Dec. 26, Dallas, TX:  If you can explain to me how Utah and West Virginia have anything to do with the “Heart of Dallas”, I’m listening…
6. Texas Bowl – Dec. 27, Houston, TX: Texas plays Missouri in this game.  Neither team has been to a bowl game since 2014.  Both schools used to put quality teams on the field regularly; not so much anymore…
7. Military Bowl – Dec. 28, Annapolis, MD:  Virginia plays Navy at Navy’s home field.  That is the most exciting news I can think of regarding this game.
8. Arizona Bowl – Dec. 29, Tucson, AZ:  Utah St. Plays New Mexico St. in this game.  This is the first time since 1960 that New Mexico St. has been to a bowl game anywhere.  If that is not enough to get you to tune in, then you will miss the game and be happier for it.

Oh, by the way, there are two games on New Year’s Day that are pretty bland fare.  Normally, that day presents interesting teams in interesting games.  However, this year I can opt to watch Michigan/South Carolina in the Outback Bowl followed by Auburn/ UCF in the Peach Bowl.  Neither pairing piques my interest much at all…

While on the subject of college football – sort of – I have a suggestion for the folks at Tennessee who are still searching for someone who will take the job of head football coach there.  Recent reports say that new Athletic Director, Phillip Fulmer, wants to have someone from the “Tennessee family” to take over the team and lead it back to previous glory.  The problem is that there appears to be some fissures in the “Tennessee family” at the moment; there are various factions that are not getting along with other factions.  So, what Tennessee needs is identified uniquely with Tennessee who is also someone that everyone involved in the football program there can admire.  I have the answer for Phillip Fulmer; no charge for my consulting fee here:

• Davy Crocket

“Born on a mountain top in Tennessee; greenest state in the land of the free …”

With that bit of fanciful nonsense out of the way, allow me to jump to another sport where reports say there is more fanciful nonsense afoot.  As the Miami Marlins go about the business of restructuring the team and the organization under the new ownership/leadership of Derek Jeter, there are management positions that need filling.  Someone recently took to Twitter – where all of the Twits go to Tweet evidently – to tell Jeter that he would like to be the manager of the Marlins and be part of the effort to “straighten things out there”.  And the identity of the Tweeter who would straighten things out in Miami is – – drum roll please – –

• José Canseco

Given the reports that Aaron Rodgers is back at practice with the Green Bay Packers with his surgically repaired collar bone on the mend, it is worth recalling that he has a metal plate and 13 screws in his body and on the bone to assist in the rapid healing process.  It is a good thing that the Packers travel as a team on charter aircraft.  With that much metal in his body, Rodgers would probably trigger the TSA metal detectors about three steps off the cab at curbside check-in for baggage if they flew commercial.

Finally, regular readers here know that I like to have fun with the names of athletes in various sports.  Here are two that came to my attention in the past couple of weeks:

1. The Washington Post agate type for “Transactions” listed an addition to the Denver Broncos’ practice squad.  They signed NT, Chunky Clements.  What a great name for a nose tackle.
2. A reader sent me a note – and I have confirmed – that Cal has a redshirt-freshman offensive lineman named Gentle Williams.  Presumably, offensive line coach, Steve Greatwood, wants him to be something other than gentle.

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

I have a problem with the four teams selected for the CFP this year – – and it has nothing to do with the widespread debate over Alabama being put in the tournament while Ohio State is left out of the tournament.  I have heard all the arguments offered on the four-bazillion college football analysis programs on ESPN and ESPN2 and ESPN34 and the SEC Network and the Big 10 Network and – you get the idea.  I understand; the two teams are very close in terms of “deserving” a slot in the CFP and I also get the point that all the bloviating on a TV set or behind a radio microphone will change exactly nothing.  Alabama is in; Ohio State is not in; deal with it.

My problem is Auburn.  If you want to play the “review of the résumé game”, consider this:

1. Alabama is in; Auburn is out; Auburn beat Alabama on the field a week ago.
2. Georgia is in; Auburn is out; Auburn and Georgia played twice and split the two games.  Auburn toasted Georgia and won by 23 points 3 weeks ago; Georgia dominated Auburn and won by 21 points 3 days ago.  One is in and one is out…

It sure appears to me as if Auburn and Georgia are equal.  Yes, I know that Auburn now has 3 losses on its dance card and Georgia has only 1.  Nonetheless, these two teams have played one another twice in the last 3 weeks and at the end of 8 quarters of football, the point differential is 2 points.

There is another aspect of this situation that is illuminating.  Many folks have jumped to the conclusion that the way to resolve this problem is to expand the CFP to 8 teams.  Yes, that would get rid of the agita over who is ranked #4 and in the tournament vis á vis who is ranked #5 and is not in the tournament.  There are two problems with this suggested expansion:

1. It merely transfers the angst over who is in and who is out from the “four-five debate” to the “eight-nine debate”.  You know this will be the result here simply because in the basketball tournament where there are 68 invitees, there is an annual wringing of hands over who should have been invited and who should not have been invited.
2. It will render at least some – if not most – of the existing conference championship games moot.  Note please that Ohio State is ranked #5 and Wisconsin is ranked #6 in the final rankings.  That means both of them would be in an 8-team tournament field; that fact would have taken much if not all the “edge” off of last weekend’s game between the two teams.

Back in January 2017, I posted here my plan to “reinvent college football”.  I started out that rant by saying that my plan would never happen; nonetheless, it is as good an idea as what exists now.  Here is the link to that proposal if you want to refresh your memory.

I believe it was Scott Van Pelt on the “Midnite SportsCenter” show who said that there was some justification for Alabama’s inclusion in the CFP based on the Las Vegas odds posted for the ultimate playoff winner.  Alabama may be the #4 seed, but Las Vegas has them at the shortest odds to win it all at 2-1.  This is a bogus argument.

Bookmakers do not set odds based on their predictions of who will win and who will not.  Bookmakers set odds based on their predictions on how the public will bet on the games involved; the bookmakers want their book to be “balanced”.  What they want – and usually do not get – is for the money bet by the public to be distributed in such a way that the book will make a profit no matter the outcome.  That is why “the vig” exists; that is why the odds on all four teams in the CFP are set such that the payoff is lower than it would be in a pari-mutuel situation.  The Las Vegas oddsmakers are not predicting an Alabama victory here; they are predicting that more money will be wagered on Alabama than on the other three teams.

Switching to another aspect of college football news at this time of year, the college football coaching carousel is still going round and round.  Let me make a few comments about some of the movement:

• Kevin Sumlin was fired at Texas A&M after 6 years and a record of 51-26.  He will be replaced by Jimbo Fisher from Florida State.  You may think that Sumlin got some sort of a raw deal after winning two-thirds of his games with the Aggies but do not shed crocodile tears for him.  Reports say that he will get $10.4M in buyout money and that the lump-sum has to be in his bank account within 60 days of his termination.  Moreover, there is no offset clause in the deal meaning that if Sumlin gets another job, he still gets to keep the entire $10.4M.  Kudos to Sumlin’s agent here…
• Dan Mullen took the job at Florida leaving Mississippi State looking for a replacement.  This looks to me to be only a small step up the college football food chain, but Mullen may have two motivating factors at work here.  First, he used to be an assistant at Florida from 2005 through 2008.  Second, by moving from the SEC West to the SEC East, he will be in a situation where he does not have to play Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M every year.
• Scott Frost led UCF to an unbeaten record in the AAC this year and then left to take the job at Nebraska where he played his college football back in the 90s.  That is a big step up on the college football coaching ladder; Frost will replace Mike Riley at Nebraska after Riley led the Cornhuskers to a 19-19 record over a three-year span.  Brad Dickson of the Omaha World Herald has this to say about Riley’s departure:

“Nebraska fired Mike Riley Saturday morning. My gosh, you’d think somebody at The World-Herald could have predicted this.

“Actually, the following correctly predicted Riley’s termination: World-Herald writers; local sportscasters; national media; Punxsutawney Phil; a psychic octopus; Miss Cleo …”

Let me make one final observation about college coaching before wrapping up today.  I am not trying to be a Debbie Downer here; but in order to maintain my Curmudgeon Credentials, I feel the need to point something out.  Jim Harbaugh has been the coach at Michigan for 3 seasons now; Michigan has plenty of history with several Big 10 schools but when you boil it al down, Michigan has 2 rivalries that are bigger than all the others.  Those rivalries are Michigan State and Ohio State.  In Jim Harbaugh’s 3 seasons in Ann Arbor, Michigan’s record against those 2 big rivals is 1-5.  USA Today says that Harbaugh is the highest paid college football coach at $9M per year.  Hmmm…

Finally, Norman Chad writes a syndicated column where he adopts the persona of The Couch Slouch.  This week, he presents “The sports fan’s gift guide for people you don’t care about”.  There are more than a couple of chuckles in the column and I commend it to your reading.  Here is the link:

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

I should not have to try to convince you that this is the best college football weekend of the season.  Don’t quibble over a few meaningless games on the card [UMass/Florida International or Idaho/Georgia St. or South Alabama/New Mexico St.] and pretend not to notice that Florida State rescheduled a game they previously canceled against La-Monroe simply to get a 6^th win for the season and become bowl-eligible.  Focus on the important conference championship games as I will do here:

1. Stanford vs. USC – 4 (58):  The game is tonight in Santa Clara.  When these teams met earlier this season, Stanford RB, Bryce Love ran wild on the USC defense (17 carries for 160 yards).  Even that was not enough; USC won 42-24.  Stanford has improved as the season has gone on, but Love has been playing on a bad ankle for a month.  I think USC is still the better team; I think they will win and cover.
2. Memphis vs. UCF – 7.5 (81.5):  This game is in Orlando, FL making it a home game for UCF.  The winner is the AAC Champion which normally engenders a reaction like, “Meh”; however, this year the winner will most likely get an invitation to play in one of the big New Year’s Day bowl games so this year the game is sorta interesting.  These teams met earlier this year and UCF won easily.  Both teams win by outscoring opponents and not by defense – hence the Total Line of 81.5.  I have no strong opinion on this game and have no rooting interest either.  So, just to be contrarian, I guess I’d take the game to stay UNDER.
3. Georgia vs. Auburn – 2.5 (48):  The game is in Atlanta.  Three weeks ago, Auburn pushed Georgia around all day long; the final score was 40-17 and that was indicative of how the game unfolded.  That game was in Auburn and the crowd was amped for the game; the Auburn team fed on that.  Auburn shut down the Georgia run offense and forced Georgia to throw the ball 28 times; that is not how Georgia wins games; Georgia wins by pounding its running attack down the throats of opponents.  Meanwhile, the Auburn run game will not be at 100% with workhorse RB, Kerryon Johnson “questionable”.  I think this is going to be the best of the conference championship games and I like Georgia with the points.
4. Miami vs. Clemson – 9.5 (47):  The game is in Charlotte.  Miami has escaped so many games that looked lost that they should adopt Harry Houdini as an honorary captain for this game.  The string ran out last week against Pitt and even though Clemson lost to Syracuse earlier this year, Clemson looks much the better team to me.  I think this will be a defensive game where Clemson’s defense will shut down Miami and where Clemson’s offense will just grind it out.  I like this game to stay UNDER.
5. Ohio St. – 6 vs. Wisconsin (51):  The game is in Indianapolis.  Both teams have relied on excellent defenses to win games; I do not expect that to change this weekend.  If Wisconsin wins, they will be in the CFP; if Ohio St. wins, they do have 2 blow-out losses on their record and might not be in the CFP.  If you are a conspiracy theorist, you might think that the Big 10 conference would prefer Wisconsin to win here to assure a conference rep in the CFP.  Trust me; if Wisconsin does win on a controversial call by the refs, you will hear those cries from multitudes.  I like Ohio St. to win and cover here.
6. TCU vs. Oklahoma – 7 (63.5):  The game is in Arlington, TX.  When these teams met earlier this year, Oklahoma led 38-14 at the half and then put it on cruise control to win the game 38-20.  If you are a TCU fan, you read that game differently; you say that TCU figured out the Oklahoma offense and shut it down in the second half.  TCU can play defense; the question here is whether they can play defense well enough to keep Oklahoma’s offense from running wild.  Purely a hunch, but I’ll take TCU plus the points.

I mentioned above the Florida St./La-Monroe game set up to allow Florida St. to attain bowl-eligible status.  Other than saying that Florida St. ought to be ashamed here, the line on the game is interesting.  Florida St. is a 27-point favorite and the Total Line is 64.5.  La-Monroe does not lose because their offense is incompetent; they have scored 50 or more points 4 times this year and lost 1 of those games.  I do not expect them to do anything of the sort here, but it is not unreasonable to think they can score 3 TDs against the Seminoles and still not cover.  And that would mean the game would go OVER – – if you catch my drift here…

Notwithstanding the menu of top-shelf college games this weekend, the “student-athletes” still must share the stage with the pros this weekend.  The NFL schedule maker has several interesting games and some important ones too.  The Thursday Night Football game last night between the Cowboys and the Skins was an important one.  The only way into the playoffs for both teams is via the wild card; yes, I know that if the Cowboys win out and the Eagles lose out the Cowboys will win the NFC East on tie-breakers; I also know that is not going to happen.  So, with both teams standing at 5-6 for the season, this game meant a lot…

However, no one seemed to tell the Skins that it meant a lot because they came out flat; turned the ball over 4 times and when they needed a 3-and-out from the defense in the 4^th quarter to make a game of it, the Skins’ defense gave up a 75-yard TD drive that took about 6 minutes off the clock.  There is much weeping and gnashing of teeth on sports radio in the DC area today but if the history of the Skins’ franchise is any guide, it is about to go from the “hopeful season” to the “ugly season”.

The franchise loves to cannibalize its members.  Look for the innuendos to begin this week with anonymous sources leaking stories from “inside the locker room” and “in the Front Office’.  Weeping and gnashing of teeth always yields around here to finger-pointing and blame-assessing which leads to internal politics and turmoil.  Let the games begin…

• Lions at Ravens:  The Ravens are 3-point favorites at home.  That situation has to be a vote of confidence for the Ravens’ defense because the Ravens’ offense has been AWOL for almost the entire season.  Both teams are 6-5 and have their eyes on wild cards as entries to the playoffs.  Unusually, the Lions are better on the road this year than at home; they are 4-1 on the road.
• Niners at Bears:  The Bears are 3-point favorites in this dreadful game.  This is the first half of a double-whammy for NFL fans in the Bay Area; after getting this game in the early time slot, they will then get the Raiders/Giants in the late time slot – – unless someone gets a Federal injunction to prevent that from happening on the basis that it would be cruel and unusual punishment for Bay Area fans.  The Bears are 3-8 and have not yet been eliminated from the wild card hunt in the NFC.  This is the Dog-Breath Game of the Week.
• Vikes at Falcons:  The Falcons are 3-point favorites at home.  This game means a lot to both teams; the Vikes lead the NFC North by 3 games with 5 to play; they cannot clinch the division this week, but a win here is important to them.  The Falcons trail the Saints by a game in the NFC South; nevertheless, they would be part of the playoffs as a wild card if the playoffs started now; they need a win here.  This is the second straight road game for the Vikes and this is a time when the Falcons seem to have found their stride after suffering “Super Bowl Hangover” earlier this year.  Purely a venue call; I like the Falcons to win and cover.
• Pats at Bills:  The Pats are 8.5-point favorites on the road.  For the moment, the Pats would be the #2 seed in the AFC Playoffs, but they have an upcoming game against the Steelers – the current #1 seed.  Therefore, a win here is a big deal for the Pats and that is bad news for the Bills.
• Broncos at Dolphins:  The Broncos are 1.5-point favorites on the road.  This is another dreary game even though both teams are still mathematically alive in the playoff chase.  The Broncos have lost their last 5 games and they have failed to cover in any of those 5 losses.
• Texans at Titans:  The Titans are 7-point favorites at home.  The Titans are tied for the lead in the AFC South with the Jags; the Texans are 3 games behind those two teams and given their injury situation it looks as if they brought a knife to a gun fight.  The problem is that the Titans’ offense has been woeful this year; Marcus Mariotta appears to have regressed and not progressed.  The Titans only average 185 yards per game passing; their smashmouth running offense produces 90 yards per game; the Titans are offensively challenged.  However, their challenge is nothing compared to the Texans who must rely on Tom Savage and/or TJ Yates to pilot their offense.
• Colts at Jags:  The Jags are 9.5-point favorites at home.  Given the Colts’ anemic offense and the Jags’ strong defense, the only way the Colts keep this close is if Blake Bortles reverts to his “Turnover Machine Incarnation”.  Seriously, I would not be shocked to see that the Colts score 10 points or less in this game.  The Jags are tied with the Titans for now; they need this game.
• Bucs at Packers:  The Packers are 2-point favorites at home.  The line opened the week with the Bucs as 1.5-point favorites but that has flipped significantly as the week went on.  Jameis Winston is expected to be back for the Bucs in this game; Aaron Rodgers will be eligible to practice with the team starting tomorrow but will not be eligible to play in this game; Brett Hundley played well against the Steelers last week and he faces a far less fearsome defense here.  The Bucs allow 395 yards per game to their opponents.  The Total Line for this game is 45 points; in 14 of their last 18 games, the Packers have gone OVER.  Just saying…
• Chiefs at Jets:  The Chiefs are 3.5-point favorites on the road – – even though the Chiefs have lost 5 of their last 6 games outright.  Maybe that is because the Jets have also lost 5 of their last 6 games outright?  The Jets were in the game against the panthers last week until a “scoop-and-score” sealed their doom.  The Chiefs have been horrible recently – particularly on defense.  If I were in Las Vegas, I would be taking the points in this game…
• Panthers at Saints:  The Saints are 4.5-point favorites at home.  These teams have the same record (8-3) and lead the AFC South.  Clearly, this is a big game for both teams; it is probably the best game of the weekend.  The Panthers are 5-1 on the road this year and normally that record would weigh heavily in choosing a side here.  However, the Panthers are facing a Saints’ squad who rank 1^st in the NFL in passing yards at home and in offensive yards per play at home.  In addition, the Saints rank 2^nd in the NFL in points scored at home.  I sure hope this is the late game carried here in the DC area this Sunday because it ought to be a good one.
• Browns at Chargers:  The Chargers are 14-point favorites here.  Last year, the Browns won one game; that game was against the Chargers in December.  This year the Browns are winless; this game is in December.  Does lightening strike again?  The Chargers can make a playoff run – assuming they do not stub their toes in a game like this.  In fact, if the Chiefs lose to the Jets this week and the Chargers win here, the Chiefs and Chargers will have the same record.
• Rams at Cards:  The Rams are 7-point favorites on the road.  The Cards beat the Jags last week with a strong showing from the defense and efficient QB play from Blaine Gabbert.  Maybe the defense will have another good game this week; history says that Blaine Gabbert is unlikely to sustain high efficiency.  I like the Rams here…
• Giants at Raiders:  The Raiders are 8.5-point favorites at home.  The Giants will not play Eli Manning; the Raiders will not have Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper missed practice earlier this week.  This game will be a hot mess so let me call it the Co-Dog-Breath Game of the Week.
• Eagles at Seahawks (Sunday Nite):  The Eagles are 5.5-point favorites on the road.  Will Kam Chancellor be able to play efficiently this week?  Can Carson Wentz function in the environment of the 12^th man the first time he experiences it?  The Eagles can clinch the NFC East with a win here; the Seahawks sit a game behind the Rams in the AFC West and would not be in the playoffs if the season ended today; this is a huge game for Seattle.  The Eagles run the ball for 147 yards per game; that is 2^nd in the NFL.  The Seahawks defense gives up 98 yards per game on the ground; that is 9^th in the NFL.  I think that is the axis on which this game will be decided.  There are some interesting trends at work here.  The Seahawks have lost their last 2 home games outright; the last time they lost 3 home games in a row was in 2008.  The Eagles have covered the spread in 8 consecutive games.  This game is must-see TV and coincidentally, the game is on NBC.
• Steelers at Bengals (Monday Nite):  The Steelers are 5.5-point favorites on the road here.  As noted above, the Steelers are currently the #1 seed in the AFC with a game on the schedule against the #2 seeded Pats in a couple of weeks.  The Bengals still have a pathway to the playoffs, but a loss here will make that a rocky road at best.  The Steelers always play well against the Bengals, but the Steelers also always play less well on the road than they do at home.  In terms of historical trends, this is a prime-time game and Andy Dalton’s record and performance in prime-time games is marginally better than horrid.  The most likely scenario for this game is that the Steelers win on the basis of a 4^th quarter meltdown on the part of one of the Bengals players; Dalton and Vontaze Burfict would be the prime suspects…

Finally, Dwight Perry had this observation regarding the NFL games over Thanksgiving weekend in the Seattle Times:

“Per presidential custom, Donald Trump pardoned two turkeys last week.

“He should’ve pardoned the Giants-Washington game.”

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