Sunday, November 24, 2013

Sunday Morning Insomnia - Football Thoughts

Ever wake up at 3:15 AM and then CAN'T FALL BACK TO SLEEP??????

Maddening, isn't it?  So, how about some football thoughts several hours before NFL Kick-off time.....

  • First, though how about a look back at that 37-27 Steelers win over the Lions last week. The nature of that game - 14-0 Steelers in the first quarter, followed by a 27 point second quarter by the Lions, followed by total impotence by the Lions and/or total domination by the Steelers in the second half - was really kind of weird.  A fun game to watch, to be sure, and a win by the home town team is always nice, but still....an odd game.
  • Makes you wonder how the game in Cleveland will got today.  Both teams are 4-6 (as are the Ravens, the team on deck for the Steelers), but as poor as the Steelers have shown themselves to be, the Browns certainly appear to be even worse.  On the other hand, when you have losses on your record against the Vikings (2-8) and the Raiders (4-6), nothing can be taken for granted.
  • Nevertheless, I call for a Steelers victory on the Lakefront this afternoon.
  • Broncos-Patriots, or Manning-Brady, on Sunday Night Football tonight.  That ought to pull in a nice ratings number.
  • Interesting story in Sports Illustrated this week about how the NFL played their scheduled games fifty years ago on the weekend of the Kennedy Assassination.   Revisionist history has always criticized the NFL for this decision, and Pete Rozelle himself has said it was the worst mistake of his career.  Now, I have no memory of what was said at the time of this decision back in 1963, but I was interested in seeing in the SI article that all of the stadiums for those games on November 24, 1963 were "packed".  A picture in the magazine of Franklin Field for the Washington-Philly game does indeed show a full house.
  • Before leaving the NFL, two remarkable stories this year, to me anyway, are the Houston Texans and the Atlanta Falcons.  The Texans, chic pick by many to be a Super Bowl finalist, are 2-8, and the Falcons, the team that had home field advantage in the NFC throughout the playoffs last year, are 2-9.  How disappointed must you be if you are a fan of either of those teams?  In the words of Fred Willard, "Wha' Hopppend?"
  • Pitt defeats Syracuse, 17-16 yesterday and becomes bowl eligible, and joy exists throughout Pantherland.  However, all this means is that Pitt is now 6-5 and could very well be headed to a Bowl with a 6-6 record. (BTW, thanks to Bob Smizik for pointing out that another definition of "bowl eligibility" could very be "Mediocrity".)  The important thing is, Pitt's coaching staff will now get those all-important extra fifteen practice sessions to jump start Spring Practice.
  • Can't wait to see what garden spot will be the Panthers destination.  Please, God, anything but another trip to the BBVA Compass Bowl!
  • Wish I could get as excited about high school football as so many people do, but it just doesn't happen for me.  Still, it was nice to see my alma mater, Central Catholic, win the WPIAL Quad-A title yesterday.  A very alert Central player - or more likely, a coach on the sideline screaming at him - produced a touchdown for Central after they had botched a punt.  Interesting play.
  • Listening to ex-Steeler Craig Wolfley as color analyst on the WPIAL games on Root Sports is enough to drive you nuts, but then you realize, these are high school games, so why get worked up about it?  
  • Hearing an announcer saying that an apparently injured player has a "hitch in his get-along" is enough to make you cringe.  Wolfley used that expression, not once, but TWICE in the Central-Woodland Hills game yesterday.
  • I am betting that for the eight teams that played yesterday, the Heinz Field playing surface was the worst surface that any of them had played on all season.
  • And let us leave on this note: Arizona State defeated UCLA last night and secured a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game, which means that Todd Graham, the Souless Rat Bastard and a Grandstander H.A. Citation winner, is now one win a way from a trip to the Rose Bowl.  Oh, the humanity!!!

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