Sports

[781Florist]

I am so shocked to see that absolutely no one has expressed a desire for my 

beloved but recently downtrodden New England Patriots to do well in the playoffs.

We poor Patriot fans have not had the joy of winning a Super Bowl in THREE YEARS!!

I can see people rooting for teams that have never won, but we have only been able to play in just eleven of them, and have only been able to claim victory in six!

I know that with all of the issues that are troubling our country right now (Covid, inflation, 

supply chain issues etc...) that we could all get behind that endearing little band from the Northeast and their saintly, grandfatherly Head Coach.

I get all warm and fuzzy just thinking of how happy all of America could be this February

basking in the glow of a Patriots Super Bowl victory.  Not just for ourselves here in New England, of course....but imagine the childlke smiles and gleeful shouts from everyone in 

Buffalo, Indianapolis, New York and Pittsburgh!  Come on, America!  Let's all have a 

Big Mac Attack and celebrate Happy Days Are Here Again!!!!

[gardenman]

Yeah, the poor Patriot fanbase. It must have been hard on them not being in the Super Bowl since Brady left. Oh well, those things happen.

Meanwhile, in Philly, a local beat writer has now dismissed claims that Nick Sirianni is a good coach because the Eagles could have won twelve games and instead are only likely to end up with nine or ten wins. Yeah. Nick took over a 4-11-1 team that most "experts" felt was one of the four or five worst teams in the league, with little cap room, no major free agent signings, limited draft picks, and dragged them to the playoffs, but because there were two or three games the team "could have" won, he's now a bad coach. Welcome to Philly Nick! Isn't it great here! You get such support from the local media. (Well, if you call them pushing you off the bridge support that is.) Our Philly media can find the clouds on the sunniest of days.

[teganslaw]

I think Mac Jones is a very good quarterback, but can't feel sorry for the Patriots. They haven't won a Super Bowl in three years, but my Colts haven't won a Super Bowl since 2006! They lost the Super Bowl to New Orleans in 2009.  That's the last time they were in a Super Bowl, so no sympathy here.

I'm thinking some of the post was written in fun, and I like to see a rookie QB like Jones do well. 

[gardenman]

The playoffs are always interesting and now with covid added, it makes picking games even more challenging. Some teams that weren't expected to make the playoffs (Eagles, Bengals, Cardinals, Patriots) should be playing loose and fast. They've got nothing to lose. They've already exceeded expectations.

Other teams will feel about ten thousand pounds of pressure. The one-and-done Cowboys who haven't been to a Super Bowl since 1996, but who are predicted to win it each year. Matthew Stafford and the Rams. Stafford was the "missing link" to them winning the Super Bowl. Sure, no pressure on him at all. The Bills have "wide right" hanging over them until they finally win the Super Bowl. (Lots of pressure on their kicker.) Carson Wentz has the stigma of "never winning a playoff game" (largely because he was injured in each one.) The Titans have to overcome coming up a yard short of winning way back in Super Bowl 34.

For some teams (Packers, Bucs, Chiefs) it's just another playoff run to get to the Super Bowl. Ho hum. It's just another boring old playoff run. Wake us when we get to the Super Bowl. 

Which teams will shine in the playoffs and which teams will crack? You never know. I think the Chiefs have everything you need to go far. A good coaching staff, experienced players who are very good players. They're a pretty solid team overall. The big hiccup for them could be the home-field advantage going to the Titans if they meet for the AFC title. 

The kids on the Eagles, Cardinals, Chargers, Patriots, and Bengals could be their undoing this year but could develop valuable experience for 2022 and beyond. Nothing quite prepares a team for the playoffs like recent playoff experience. Each of those teams should be better next year than they were this year. You can't really know what the playoffs are like until you get there.

The Packers are maybe one of the least talented NFC teams, but they have Aaron Rodgers and a good young coach. The Rams probably have the most overall talent, but the pressure on Stafford could just break him. You can never rule out the Bucs and Brady. The Eagles are pretty talented but young. That o-line is nasty though and could drag them pretty far. (Adding three first-round picks in 2022 along with a full slate of other draft picks and $30 million in cap space will likely have the Eagles back in 2023 also.)

[soonersis]

All of this discussion about who will be in the Super Bowl, much less win, may be fun but is total speculation and will be up to the end.  While of course it will be among the teams who get in the play-offs, I don't think it will necessarily be the best team win it this year.  That's because the greatest opponent will not be any particular team but Covid.  Who knows who will be able to play any game, and if anyone loses their starting quarterback that could be it for their chances. Of course you could say all are on equal footing, but are they?  Do some teams have better Covid protocols than others?  And what if they do, it just takes one player going to the wrong place at the wrong time and getting infected. 

Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but I don't think anyone should get too excited about their chances of winning at this point.  If Covid wasn't a factor and most of the teams were healthy (always end of year injuries) then we might have a clearer picture of who might be there at the end. Now?  Pure speculation! 

[gardenman]

You never know who will win any game. An injury in the game. An arrested player. A guy like Antonio Brown snapping. Any of them can change the likely outcomes. Covid is just one more variable.

Black Monday is coming up this week. That's the day when coaches were often fired in the past, but these days it's often a bit later before a coach gets the ax. Team GMs and owners like to have an end-of-season chat with the head coach and that often takes place around Tuesday or Wednesday after the final game. A coach whose job is hanging by a thread can save himself in those chats, and a coach whose job is relatively safe can convince the GM/owner that it's time to move on from the guy. Those end-of-season chats are very high-stakes these days.

Doug Pederson largely fired himself last year. The season ended on January third and in the post-season chat with Howie Roseman and Jeff Lurie, Doug made it clear he wasn't going to listen to them and it was his way or they'd have to fire him. They fired him on January 11th. A full week after the normal Black Monday. 

Dave Gettleman is being retired (not necessarily voluntarily) on Monday. Mike Zimmer might get retired also though his retirement might be pretty temporary. Reportedly the Cowboys have him high on their list of replacement defensive coordinators should they lose Dan Quinn.

Bill O'Brien is getting an interview with the Jags for some reason. I kind of figured he'd be off everyone's list after how things went in Houston. He pretty much stole the GM job in Houston and then traded away their star players. Not the greatest resume for a head coach.

[781Florist]

I think that the Northeast media ae all very similar.  Boston,New York and Philadelphia

writers and commentators all feel like they are also "stars" and so are always trying to achieve notoriety by savaging the local teams and athletes whenever they can.

I know that teams, GMs and players are often deserving of criticism, but the media in these cities take it to another level.

[gardenman]

It's game day! The Chiefs and Broncos lead things off and the Chiefs may actually play their starters for a bit as they still have a shot at the home-field advantage through the playoffs if the Texans knock off the Titans. Odds are the Chiefs will get ahead early and pull their starters before too long though.

The Eagles will take on the Cowboys tonight (well some of both teams anyway.) Don't expect to see either team have the starters on the field for long. The Eagles still have eleven guys on the covid list, and they don't seem anxious to take them off the list. They can elevate ten practice squad guys to replace guys on the covid list and I think that's their plan. They did activate center Jason Kelce, but that was largely done to keep his consecutive start streak alive. He's started 121 straight games and they're helping him keep that streak alive. I wouldn't expect to see him out there for long though.

What the Eagles do with Jason Kelce this offseason will be interesting. He redid his contract last year and included a poison pill provision where if he came back in 2022 the Eagles would have to pay him something like $30-$40 million. Bear in mind the highest-paid center in the NFL is Frank Ragnow who signed a four-year deal worth $70 million, so that's less than $20 million a year. I suspect Kelce will rework that deal to make the $30-$40 million go away, but we'll have to see. He's considered retiring in recent years which is why he put the poison pill clause in the new contract. He wanted to either retire or get released by June 2, 2022, which is when the money would kick in if the deal wasn't redone. It gave him an escape clause in case he hated the new coaching staff or didn't want to be an Eagle any longer. He seems pretty happy these days though and I suspect he'll either retire or redo the deal and come back one more time.

Who will win the Eagles game tonight? I think the Eagles' backups and deep reserves are better than the Cowboys' backups (especially at QB) so I'm giving the edge to the Eagles. Despite saying the Cowboys would play their starters, they left quite a few of them behind in Dallas. This will more resemble a preseason game than a regular-season game, but if we get the win, I'll be happy regardless.

[soonersis]

@gardenman I have to disagree that Covid is just one more variable this year.  It is THE variable.  And I won't be that "happy" if my Cowboys beat your Eagles any more than you should be happy if your Eagles get the win.  This game is much like the last pre-season game and has little meaning, although according to Coach Mike he wants to improve the Cowboy's seeding.  I don't know what to expect tonight with so many of our starters out due to Covid and other injuries and not even making the trip.  Think it will be a miserable game for the players and fans in the cold (especially when it would have been in a temperature controlled 72 degrees if it were a home Dallas game).  Too bad the scheduling of these games didn't have the first one in Philly and the second one here because of weather.  I guess the best thing for Dallas if it wins will be perhaps a better seeding and bragging rights for an undefeated division season against the Eagles, WFT and Giants. But having said all of that of course we both hope our teams win and will be happier if they do than if they don't.

[Spurt]

Its a cold rainy day here so good day to stay in and watch the NFL games!!!!