Sports

[teganslaw]

We recently added cable because of certain shows we wanted to watch. NFL Network is included in the package. I sometimes watch GMF if they have an interesting guest on, but three hours or more is too much. 

I liked NFL Total access and notice that several months ago the new host, MJ Acosta-Ruiz replaced Lindsay Rhodes. I have nothing against Acosta-Ruiz (she seems knowledgeable and has enthusiasm), but miss Rhodes.  I always liked her;  I wonder why they didn't extend her contract. Is she on another network or a different show on NFL? 

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

We recently added cable because of certain shows we wanted to watch. NFL Network is included in the package. I sometimes watch GMF if they have an interesting guest on, but three hours or more is too much. 

I liked NFL Total access and notice that several months ago the new host, MJ Acosta-Ruiz replaced Lindsay Rhodes. I have nothing against Acosta-Ruiz (she seems knowledgeable and has enthusiasm), but miss Rhodes.  I always liked her;  I wonder why they didn't extend her contract. Is she on another network or a different show on NFL? 

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@teganslaw 

I liked Lindsay too.....  this was what was announced---

As for now, Lindsay Rhodes has left NFL Total Access. ... After she left Total Access, her fans have been pouring comments on her social media to join the NFL again. Most fans say Total Access is not the same, and they miss her on the show.Dec 28, 2020

Someone said she still does an NFL Fantasy Football Show on Direct TV.....

[gardenman]

The offseason is off to a roaring start with crazy rumors. The latest has the Jets trading for DeShaun Watson from the Texans. The Texans would get the Jets second overall pick and more besides while the Jets would get Watson. (Heck, the Texans might just as well add in JJ Watt as a throw-in.) Given the Texans recent trading history, it's not unbelievable that they'd trade Watson, but it's pretty close to unbelievable. How do you hire a new head coach and then trade away his franchise QB? 

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

The offseason is off to a roaring start with crazy rumors. The latest has the Jets trading for DeShaun Watson from the Texans. The Texans would get the Jets second overall pick and more besides while the Jets would get Watson. (Heck, the Texans might just as well add in JJ Watt as a throw-in.) Given the Texans recent trading history, it's not unbelievable that they'd trade Watson, but it's pretty close to unbelievable. How do you hire a new head coach and then trade away his franchise QB? 

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@gardenman @teganslaw 

The Texans are just a big mess--- 

Per a source, Watson advocated for the Texans to hire Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. The Texans, however, became the only team with a vacancy to not even interview Bieniemy. Mahomes “put in a strong word” for Bieniemy, which prompted Watson to push for Bieniemy. The Texans, who had said they’d consult with Watson, ignored Watson’s suggestion. And that undoubtedly has contributed to the consternation and frustration that Watson is currently feeling.  The Texans say they dont want to trade Watson, but they may not have a choice.....SMH

And Colt's DC Matt Eberflus declined the Texans request for an interview for the head coach position...

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

Declining to be interviewed is always an interesting choice for a coach. Some coaches will go on interviews they know they have no shot at just to get the experience. Some teams will interview people they have no real intent to hire simply to pick their brain about players they've coached, other coaches, or their schemes. It's an interesting dance that plays out each offseason.

I think I would come down more on the not sharing my knowledge with a team in an interview where I'm not the top candidate. Why help them if they're not going to hire you? Teams often want to know who you'd prefer as your OC or DC and then whether you get the job or not, they're apt to scoop up the guy you mentioned, or a free agent you say you'd target. 

Head coaching interviews are part job interview, part performance art, part intelligence gathering, and often a charade as the team already knows who they really want. That's especially true of rival teams.

Now the Chargers wanting to interview Garrett is probably genuine. The Giants aren't really a rival of the Chargers. Despite being reviled as "The Clapper" he only had one losing season in ten years with the Cowboys. He was often 8-8 but only had the one losing season. Other coaches tend to speak highly of him as do many former players. I wouldn't be shocked to see him end up out there. That strikes me as a real interview. He's good with molding QBs. They've got Justin Herbert who has all of the potential in the world. He runs the Air Coryell offense and they had Don Coryell as their coach. The pieces all seem to fit.

[teganslaw]

The Cowboys have fired DC Mike Nolan and Defensive Line Coach Jim Tomsula. It looks like Jerry Jones is cleaning house. Cowboys fans have wanted Nolan to go for a long time. 

Adam Schefter said that Cam Newton would be a good choice for Washington. Probably the Rivera connection, though I doubt that he would be interested in signing Newton.

[Spurt]

Oh no please No Cam Newton he's so inconsistent......

[gardenman]

Mike Nolan must be one heck of a nice guy as he keeps getting more chances to be a DC, but he never lasts more than two or three years.

Cam Newton, Nick Foles, and Ryan Fitzpatrick are QBs who can drive you crazy. When they're hot, they can outplay anyone. When they're not hot they're really bad. A whole lot of football gets played between the ears, and those guys just can't stay consistently good. They're insanely frustrating to watch.

[teganslaw]

OT Holden and CB Rock-Ya-Sin are both out for the Colts. DeForest Buckner is questionable, but he had limited practice, so hopefully he'll be good to go. 

Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley are questionable for the Bills. It seems that Diggs will be playing, but unsure about Beasley. 

Rivers hasn't lost a Wild Card game in his career. So, probably I just cursed him by typing this.

Haskins is visiting Carolina. I look for some team to eventually sign him. 

[gardenman]

It's gameday number one of three! (If you include Monday's college championship.) This is arguably the best weekend of TV sports watching for football fans. Three playoff games today, three more tomorrow, and then the college championship on Monday. Let the games begin!

Our first game today is the Colts/Bills. I like both teams so I'll just watch and hope for an exciting game. Game two has the Rams at the Seahawks. There's some chatter about the Rams moving on from Goff if they don't win. I don't buy that, but whatever. The Rams are one of the roughly nine hundred teams rumored to be trading for DeShaun Watson. (I don't think he'll get traded, but that's just me.) And we end up with the Bucs at the WFT. 

I'm kind of torn on the Bucs/WFT game. I think the Bucs will win and I'd kind of like to see Brady do well just to annoy Bill Belichick some more. Brady getting to the Super Bowl while Belichick misses the playoffs completely would be kind of fun. The Alex Smith/Ron Rivera stories are good also though. The WFT winning a few games knocks them farther back in the draft also. They've had it pretty easy picking really good players in recent years with drafting near the top. Where they are now, the pickings get a bit slimmer. Win a playoff game or two and the pickings get even slimmer.

It should be a good day of football anyway. Tomorrow's games are on an odd mix of channels. In addition to the "normal" football channels (ESPN, CBS, NBC, etc.), Nickelodeon and Freeform are getting in the mix with a simulcast. Uh, okay. Why again? It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but whatever.

In non-playoff news, Dwayne Haskins is headed to Carolina to interview for a job. Matt Rhule has known Haskins since his high school days and a coach Rhule worked with in the past, Ryan Day,  was Haskin's coach at Ohio State. Rhule should know pretty much everything there is to know about Haskins and may just be able to harness his potential. The Teddy Bridgewater experiment in Carolina seems to be ending pretty quickly. Teddy got benched late in the season and Rhule said he needs to be much better this offseason to have a job. Haskins reportedly has multiple other suitors also hoping they can resuscitate his career. Players can outgrow immaturity, which apparently was Haskins biggest issue with the WFT. He's still just 23 years old and lots of people aren't all that grown-up at 23.

In other QB related news, the WFT have emerged as a potential suitor for DeShaun Watson. (Pretty much every team has been mentioned, so not really news.) It would be a good fit, but the asking price is likely to be absurdly high if Watson is available at all. Two or three first-round picks and a bit more would be my best guess.

The Eagles continue to flush out coaches. Linebacker coach Ken Flajole is the latest to leave. It looks like one of those "retire or we'll fire you" moves, so he's opted to retire. Unless someone else offers him a job then he may unretire. Expect more Eagles coaches to be moved in the near future. The staff is getting a makeover, for better or worse. (Hopefully for better.) Things are very quiet on the rumor front about new incoming coaches to replace those leaving. There's a big question as to who will do the hiring. In the past, GM Howie Roseman has hired the assistants. There's been speculation that Doug Pederson is doing the hiring this time around. We'll have to see what happens there.

Have fun with the games today and may the best team win in a close and exciting series of games. (Now watch all three be 52-0 blowouts.)